Archive of Our Own

By all outward appearances, Kim Sunoo was a bright and confident beacon. The captain of both the drama club and choir, he seemed to be waltzing through his second year of high school doted on by all and excelling in everything he attempted. Inwardly, it honestly wasn’t that much different. Sunoo knew what he was good at and loved to do it. He enjoyed making people smile and didn’t care much about what others thought of him. If himself and those closest to him were happy, not much else mattered, including other students’ opinions. At least, that’s what he thought until the appearance of one Lee Heeseung.

The first year of high school is one where students begin to etch out their places within the miasma of teen life and Sunoo was no exception. With his natural flair and love for performing, he quickly became an essential addition to both the drama club and the choir. However, even with his focus being drawn more towards the arts-related extra-curriculars, there was no escaping the rumours of the legendary second-year Lee Heeseung who would probably take over the role of captain of both the basketball and dance teams. Sunoo was busy enough between his own clubs and trying to stay on top of school work that he had only ever seen the older boy from a distance a half dozen times throughout the whole year but even that little bit was enough to leave a significant impression in his memory. All he really knew was that Heeseung was tall and lanky but also extremely talented, a veritable ace at anything he tried. His first year ended quietly however, Sunoo content with the corner he had carved out for himself in his high school life.

It was as his second year started that Lee Heeseung began to enter Kim Sunoo’s life much more prominently.

It all began by chance. Sunoo, having been held back a few minutes by his music teacher, was running dangerously late for math class and was walk-running as quickly as he thought he could get away with down the hall. His backpack thumped halfway open and empty against his back as he clutched a mess of binders and papers to his chest, in too much of a rush to be bothered to place them all back into his bag. As he ran up a flight of stairs, he began to feel a little out of breath as his endurance had never been the greatest and he felt sweat begin to bead across his brow as he threw open the door at the top of the stairs and continued to rush forward. He rounded a corner a dozen or so feet away from his destination but was met with another kind of wall as his face slammed into a surprisingly hard chest, sending him sprawling backwards onto the ground, his folders and papers getting strewn all over the floor in the process.

“Oof,” Sunoo squeaked as he hit the floor, immediately looking up, an apology on his lips that immediately died as he took in the Lee Heeseung himself staring down at him. Heeseung apparently had put his own things away in his backpack like you’re supposed to, so he instead bent down and began gathering Sunoo’s belongings himself.

“I’m so sorry,” he said hurriedly, quickly stacking the binders back together. Sunoo stared at the top of his fluffy black-haired head as he did so, noticing that the older boy’s voice sounded almost as out of breath as he himself felt. Heeseung, having gathered the papers into a somewhat cohesive pile, stood back up and held a hand down to Sunoo, his big round doe-eyes looking apologetic. Sunoo quickly reached up and took it, letting him pull him to his feet, noticing that he was nearly a full head shorter than him.

“It’s okay,” Sunoo said with a smile, taking back his books as Heeseung reached up to wipe some sweat off of his own brow. “I was in a rush too. I guess this is why they say not to run in the halls.” Heeseung’s eyes widened as a bright smile crossed his face even as he began to step around Sunoo to continue on his way.

“You’re probably right. Let’s both try not to let that happen again, huh?” Heeseung threw the last question over his shoulder as he briskly walked the way Sunoo had come. Sunoo himself continued on to his own class, mentally preparing himself to be marked late even as he struggled to contain his small smile.

Sunoo’s childhood best friend, Nishimura Riki (or Ni-ki for short) was a year younger than him and therefore started high school a year later than he did. The thing about Ni-ki was that he was a dance prodigy, an honest-to-god legend in the making. Due to this honestly indisputable fact, Ni-ki was named as the captain of the dance team while he was just a first year, an unprecedented move. Sunoo was worried for his younger friend at first but the transfer of power went over very smoothly, despite the presence of two very experienced third years that could have also taken over the role: Lee Heeseung and his best friend Park Jongseong (or Jay as he insisted everyone call him).

Needless to say, the now second-year Sunoo was very proud of his best friend. He knew Ni-ki had a lot of worries going into high school but Sunoo was determined to become a pillar that his younger friend could rely on. This of course included him going to the arts studios located at the back of their school to meet him after dance club finished at the end of his first day as captain.

This part of the school was very familiar to Sunoo because all the music classes were located in this area as well. Sunoo spent a lot of time in the small vocal practice rooms and mini studio for both class and choir practices. Now that Ni-ki was the captain of the dance team he was sure he’d become even more familiar with the dance studios also located in this section of the high school.

As Sunoo approached the large room the dance team used for practice, he saw Ni-ki standing just a little way past the door deep in conversation with their dance coach, Mr. Son. They seemed to be having a pretty important discussion so Sunoo instead sidled his way up to the door of the dance studio which was ajar and still brightly lit in the interior and poked his head around the doorframe, the sound of a dance track emanating from the room signalling that there was still someone still in there.

His eyes immediately fell upon none other than Lee Heeseung, seemingly the only one still around now that practice had finished. The room was long, one of the long walls being covered in a floor-to-ceiling mirror so that no dance movement would be overlooked. Heeseung was dancing in the middle of the room now, facing the mirror with his back to Sunoo, a look of absolute focus on his face as he free styled to the beat of the song reverberating through the otherwise empty practice room. His mop of black curls bounced slightly with every movement, some strands sticking to his sweaty forehead, evidence of an hour or more of hard practice. The big, bright eyes that Sunoo had noticed when they had first (literally) ran into each other were now narrowed in concentration, his lips a thin line of focus.

Sunoo could see his own reflection in the mirror too, peeking in from the doorway. Thinking that the older boy could definitely see him, he smiled slightly and tried to give a tiny wave without being too obvious. To Sunoo’s disappointment (disappointment?), Heeseung’s eyes never strayed from his own reflection in the mirror, his focus seemingly completely absorbed by his dancing. He probably wouldn’t even recognize that we had bumped into each other before, Sunoo thought as he slowly pulled his hand back from the wave. It made him feel kind of bad as he thought it even though he knew it was probably the truth. Sunoo recognized Heeseung because of how well-known and popular he was. While Sunoo was famous throughout the student body in his own right, it didn’t seem like something Heeseung would be interested in knowing or keeping track of. It made sense that he wouldn’t recognize him. Perfect sense.

A tap on his shoulder made Sunoo look away from Heeseung and at Ni-ki who had finished talking with Mr. Son. “You didn’t have to come and get me,” Ni-ki said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. Sunoo took a step back from the doorway and patted Ni-ki’s back.

“Of course I had to come and give you moral support after your first day as captain. What kind of best friend would I be if I didn’t?” Ni-ki simply shook his head with a small laugh and then leaned past Sunoo to stick his own head into the practice room.

“Bye, Heeseung hyung!” Sunoo watched as Heeseung blinked, his eyes darting around to look at Ni-ki through the mirror. The older boy smiled and waved at Ni-ki, his seriousness while practicing mere seconds ago vanishing.

“Good night, Ni-ki! You did well today!” Ni-ki smiled, pleased, and began to walk away, Sunoo trailing behind after glancing once more at Heeseung who once more started to dance as soon as Ni-ki left. Sunoo looked sideways at his younger friend as they made their way out of school into the quickly falling night.

“Practice went well then?” He asked, trying his best to sound mildly curious.

“Really well. Everyone is really nice and helpful.” Sunoo couldn’t help but notice how enthusiastic Ni-ki seemed.

“Even him?” Sunoo slightly jerked his head back the way they came.

“Heeseung hyungie? He’s great!” Ni-ki beamed. “At first I thought he was kind of scary but he’s actually really nice. And he’s such a good dancer, he has so much experience. I think we’ll be able to learn a lot from each other.” Sunoo nodded, somewhat satisfied with that answer for Ni-ki’s sake, even as his heart pressed slightly uncomfortably against his chest.

Not too long afterwards Sunoo found himself in the school’s cafeteria eating lunch with Ni-ki, as was their usual ritual. Sometimes they sat with their extended friend group but other times it was just the two of them, like today. They were both leaning over Ni-ki’s phone, engrossed in scrolling through his catalogue of anime they had yet to watch, when sudden hurried footsteps approached them. Sunoo glanced up to see Lee Heeseung weaving between the cafeteria tables, making a beeline right for them. He was followed closely behind by Yang Jungwon. Jungwon was in the same year as Sunoo and was a student council representative as well as the captain of the taekwondo team. He was also Heeseung and Jay’s very close friend. These three and Park Sunghoon, an in-school celebrity as he was a professional under-18 figure skater, were a very popular and well-known group among the student body as combined they had their hands in many extracurriculars around the school.

Right then though, Heeseung came to a stop at their table, looking a little frazzled and out-of-breath. Jungwon nodded at them from behind him but was busy doing something on his phone so didn’t approach.

“Ni-ki,” Heeseung huffed out, his gaze zeroing in on the youngest. Sunoo’s fingers inadvertently curled tight around the hem of his sweater underneath the table. “Dance practice today… what time does it start again?”

“4:30,” Ni-ki responded. Heeseung nodded and tilted his head slightly, eyes staring past them. Sunoo could almost see the gears turning in his brain as he was no doubt in the middle of rearranging a schedule in his mind.

“Okay, thanks,” the older boy said eventually with a grateful smile at Ni-ki. He was about to bound away once more when his gaze suddenly met Sunoo’s and his steps slightly faltered. Sunoo instinctively straightened, nudging Ni-ki slightly with his knee under the table.

“Oh, this is Kim Sunoo by the way. You know, the captain of the drama club and choir?” Ni-ki gestured to Sunoo. Sunoo flashed his trademark blinding smile, his eyes turning into sweet crescents as he raised his hands to give a little wave.

Heeseung nodded and smiled at him, waving back. “Ah, nice to meet you. I’m Lee Heeseung.” He began to take a step away from the table as he shifted his gaze back to Ni-ki. “I’ll see you later. Let’s go Jungwonie.” With that, the two of them continued on their way, weaving hurriedly through the tables out of the cafeteria. Sunoo watched them go, an almost resigned smile on his face.

“I don’t think he likes me,” he whispered to himself.

“What was that hyung?” Ni-ki asked from beside him, already unlocking his phone once again.

“Nothing,” Sunoo quickly denied as he rejoined Ni-ki over the phone, pushing the thoughts of Lee Heeseung’s opinion of him out of his mind.

“Have those guys bothered you at all recently?” Sunoo glanced sideways at Ni-ki’s question as they walked along the tree-lined path that wound its way around the perimeter of the school. The two were in the middle of their lunch break, enjoying the late summer sun as the first half of their school year began to end.

“You mean Jinyoung and his gang?” Ni-ki nodded, a small pout on his face.

“I was so angry when you told me that they made fun of you last year when I wasn’t anywhere nearby to defend you.” Sunoo laughed and reached up to pat the younger boy’s shoulder, realizing for the hundredth time that Ni-ki was taller than him now.

“You have nothing to worry about, Ni-ki,” reassured Sunoo as they continued to walk. “I’m sure they’ve forgotten all about me. Besides, I can take care of myself, you know me.” Ni-ki looked at him out of the corner of his eye before sighing and shaking his head.

“Just in case, if they ever do, come and find me right away. I’ll handle them.” Sunoo laughed again, jostling the other boy with his shoulder.

“What, you’re going to fight them? Get suspended? You’ll be lucky if I ever tell you. I won’t even need to because I’m sure they just grew bored of poking fun at me for something I’m never going to change. Don’t think about it again, got it?” Ni-ki nodded slowly, raising his head as they walked along the path. His eyes suddenly narrowed as he caught sight of something in the distance.

“Hey, isn’t that Heeseung hyung?” Sunoo’s head jerked up at Ni-ki’s exclamation and he followed his gaze to where, sure enough, Lee Heeseung sat underneath a tree just off the path in the middle of a handful of other boys, most of which were familiar to Sunoo in some way or another. There was of course Jungwon, and also Jay, Ni-ki’s fellow dance team member and student council treasurer. There was also Park Sunghoon, and one more boy that was more familiar to Sunoo than the rest, Shim Jake.

Sunoo could almost feel the bounce in Ni-ki’s steps as they got closer to the group, even as his own heart sped up in excitement. The afternoon light filtered down through the still-green trees as Sunoo watched Heeseung – whose face was more open and expressive than he had ever seen it before – throw back his head at something Jay had said and giggled loudly, eyes crinkling in mirth, his laughter so contagious a tiny smile crept onto Sunoo’s own face.

Jay looked over that moment at them and smiled waving them over. “Ni-ki!” The four other boys looked over at the approaching duo as well and Jake’s eyes widened in surprise before a pleased smile crossed his face.

“Sunoo! Over here!” Sunoo instantly beamed and trotted over to Jake’s side, squeezing in between him and Sunghoon while Ni-ki slotted himself between Jay and Jungwon on the opposite side. Jake patted his knee as he got comfortable on the grass. “It’s been a while.”

“How are you doing, hyung?” Sunoo asked excitedly, leaning into Jake’s side slightly.

“Pretty good, Sunghoonie has taken me under his wing so I’m not falling behind as much as I could’ve been.”

“That’s a relief. I know you’ve been doing well, you’re even the captain of the soccer team now, right? I’ve been meaning to come to a game!” Jake laughed, patting Sunoo’s knee with a warm smile.

“It was all thanks to you, seriously.” Sunoo could feel the others’ eyes on them. He could almost just see Heeseung looking at them from the corner of his eye.

“I didn’t know you guys knew each other.” Sunoo truly hadn’t thought Heeseung would be the one to bring up how they were acquainted but there he was on the other side of Sunghoon, floppy black hair almost reaching his eyes that squinted under the afternoon sunlight, posing the question himself.

“You know I transferred here just after this year began from Australia, right?” The brown-haired boy leaned forward to explain eagerly. “Sunoo was in charge of showing the other transfer students around the school that first day. He was our official tour guide.”

Sunoo laughed fondly at the memory. “Jake hyung looked like such a lost puppy so I made sure to show him around one last time after the official part of the tour ended. His eyes were so big and sad-looking that I absolutely could never have walked away.”

“He even showed me where I could sign up for the soccer team tryouts,” Jake went on, throwing an arm around Sunoo’s shoulders affectionately. “And he put in a good word for me. He’s probably the only reason why I’m the captain of the soccer team right now.” Sunoo scoffed even as he felt his ears start to burn at the praise.

“I know that’s not true, I literally just showed you where to sign up.”

“Nah, you really helped me out Sunoo.” Sunoo smiled happily as Jake ruffled his hair. The others seemed to accept this explanation easily enough. Ni-ki beamed proudly at him from across the circle the seven boys had made on the grass to which Sunoo cheekily grinned back. He thought he could see Heeseung smiling at them from the corner of his eyes but when he turned his head to check the conversation had already been diverted.

“Oh Heeseung, did Youngbin text you?” The question came from Jay. “He said he wasn’t sure what time you guys were leaving on Friday for the tournament.” Sunoo watched as Heeseung reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

“Oh yeah he did, thanks Jay.” Heeseung instantly began to reply to the text he’d apparently gotten while the others looked on.

“I can’t believe the championship bracket is already this weekend.” Jungwon plucked a little at the grass by his foot. “You guys haven’t lost a single game.”

“It’s all because of Heeseung,” Sunghoon said with a smile, reaching over to pat the occupied Heeseung on the knee. Sunoo watched as Heeseung fought against a smile that was blooming over his face, his mop of black hair almost obscuring the view but not quite.

“No way,” he quietly protested as he finished his text and put his phone away. “Everyone’s worked hard and helped me lead the team to be honest. I couldn’t do it alone.”

“I bet you could!” The others all laughed at Jake’s insistent tone, Sunoo noticing how Heeseung threw his head back and giggled in fond exasperation at the praise.

“Thank you for your faith in me everyone.” Heeseung clapped his hands together and looked at everyone in the circle, his gaze feeling like a sunray as it slid over Sunoo. “I’ll do my best to bring first place back home!” At that moment, a shout from a little ways away got the attention of the group.

“Yah, Lee Heeseung!” Seven heads glanced over to see the student council president and vice-president, Kang Taehyun and Kai Huening, standing not too far from the school. The two of them were waving for Heeseung to come join them. Heeseung rolled his eyes good-naturedly and stood, grabbing his backpack and brushing grass from his pants.

“I’ll see you all around,” he said, giving a brief wave as he jogged over to his friends, the trio starting to walk back into school together.

“I forget how popular Heeseung hyung is sometimes,” Jungwon said as the six remaining boys gazed after him.

“He’s really good friends with those two,” Jay acknowledged. “I’m on the student council too, but the three of them are also friends with a few idol trainees. One goes to a different high school; two others are older than we are.”

“I thought Heeseung hyung wasn’t going to try and be an idol,” Ni-ki spoke up from his spot between Jay and Jungwon. “I thought he was going to get a music degree after high school?” This was news even to Sunoo. Granted he didn’t know much about Heeseung as a person, only that he was good at sports and dancing. This newest tidbit only served to make him even more intrigued than he already was.

“I don’t think he’s too sure of himself either right now,” Jay said, exchanging a glance with Sunghoon and Jake. “Third year is rough for everyone, but I think he especially isn’t sure what he wants to do.” Sunoo’s gaze drifted back to where Heeseung had entered the school, even though he was long gone. Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, he wondered what kind of thoughts a person like Lee Heeseung would have, and why he seemed to not care about who Kim Sunoo was as much as Kim Sunoo apparently cared about him.

Sunoo stared at the announcement board in front of the administration office a few weeks later, vaguely trying to reason out how this situation came to be. They were well into the first weeks of fall now and a little while back, the choir director, Mrs. Kim, had asked Sunoo if he’d be willing to take part in any events for the upcoming open house. Sunoo had eagerly offered his services to her in whichever way she thought he’d do well in. However, he truly hadn’t expected this turn of events.

“Sunoo hyung!” Sunoo was suddenly bowled over from behind by Ni-ki who had ran into him and thrown his arms around his shoulders. “This is going to be so amazing!” Sunoo weakly nodded, still staring at the seven names underneath the “Special Performance” section of the event sheet. There was his and Ni-ki’s names, along with Park Jongseong, Shim Jaeyoon, Park Sunghoon, Yang Jungwon and Lee Heeseung.

“Did you know about this?” Sunoo asked as he and Ni-ki made their way out of the small crowd that had gathered around the announcement board.

“Jungwon hyung had mentioned it to me earlier today. Apparently, a lot of people on the student council thought it was a great idea, especially since a lot of us are captains of various teams and more than half are in some sort of performance team already.” Sunoo’s complicated feelings must have shown up on his face because Ni-ki frowned at him and tugged on his arm. “Aren’t you excited? Do you not want to do it?”

Honestly, Sunoo did want to do it. It sounded like a lot of fun, and he knew all the people involved were super talented. That was the thing though, they were all just really good at what they did. Especially Lee Heeseung. “I haven’t danced much outside of girl group covers,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep up.” Ni-ki just laughed and patted his shoulder.

“That’s what you’re worried about? I’m sure you’ll be able to pick it up in no time! Besides, you have me! Heeseung hyung is a really good teacher too. You don’t have to worry about picking up the choreography because we’ll all help you if you need it!” Sunoo smiled at his best friend gratefully, mentally forcing himself to think more positively even as his stomach began to tie up in knots. Sunoo knew he was overthinking, but he really couldn’t help it. All of the other students in the group were very popular and well-known amongst the student body. Of course, Sunoo was too in his own right, but there was something about the aura that Lee Heeseung and his friends carried around with them that made them seem unapproachable. They’d been kind whenever he’s crossed paths with them individually, but they just had never seemed interested in pursuing friendship. And Sunoo would be the first to admit that Heeseung was the main cause of his worries. In the three or four times he’d ever crossed paths with the older boy, he’d never felt anything resembling interest or curiosity coming from him. He’d always seemed very caught up in his own thoughts and head and Sunoo didn’t think he’d ever be able to worm his way in there in any significant capacity, which bugged him more than he’d like to admit.

The first meeting of the Chamber Five Team (named after the original song they were performing) was that very afternoon. Around three-thirty, after all the classes had finished, Sunoo found himself gathered inside the dance studio along with the six other boys and Mr. Son who briefly went over the choreography with them before heading back to his office, trusting the members of the dance team to help out the others. They had all gotten express permission from their respective clubs to be able to attend the practices which would be held three times a week the four weeks leading up to the open house.

The song itself was very fresh and cute, something right up Sunoo’s alley and he couldn’t stop the excited smile from spreading across his face as they listened to it for the first time. As he beamed happily, he happened to catch Heeseung’s gaze in the huge wall-length floor-to-ceiling mirror. The older boy also had a small smile on his face as they exchanged excited glances before Sunoo quickly looked away, trying to ignore the way he could feel the tips of his ears heating up. His ears were always the first to give him away whenever he was feeling embarrassed. A pair of traitors.

It didn’t take too long for the seven of them to start dissecting the choreography video Mr. Son had left behind for them, Ni-ki, Heeseung and Jay gathered around the iPad while the others milled around talking about the other events that would be at the open house. There were rumors of a haunted house being set up along with a café and a lot of food trucks, which Sunoo was very vocally excited about.

“Okay guys!” Everyone stopped moving around and redirected their attention to Heeseung who had clapped his hands. “Ni-ki is going to lead us, it shouldn’t take too long for him to pick it up so just follow along as best as you can for today.” Everyone nodded, satisfied, as Ni-ki set up the iPad on the ground by the mirror and began to slowly work through the steps, the others falling in behind him. Right before they started, Ni-ki met Sunoo’s eyes in the mirror and gave him an encouraging smile, Sunoo smiling tightly back at him as they began.

The dance wasn’t too difficult by any means. Sunoo had seen Ni-ki do much harder choreographies growing up. That didn’t completely stop Sunoo from feeling a little lost every now and then though. It took Ni-ki exactly ten minutes to memorize the dance, Heeseung following twenty minutes later, followed by the other member of the dance team, Jay. Jungwon and Sunghoon, who had the closest backgrounds to dance out of the rest, had the dance almost memorized by the end of the session. Jake and Sunoo were the slower ones. Heeseung and Ni-ki took turns guiding them through it though, and Sunoo was honestly taken aback by how patient Heeseung was. More than once, Sunoo was surprised to look up at the mirror to see Heeseung examining his movements from across the room. He’d also appear at his shoulder every now and then to raise an elbow or help him bend his knee at exactly the right angle in such a way that Sunoo knew he must have been closely watching to make sure he got it right. Of course, Ni-ki also helped, bouncing between Sunoo and Jake like an excited puppy half of the time, while the other half he was off in the corner making the dance harder than it needed to be for his own amusement.

“Alright, it’s time to wrap up!” Jungwon said as their hour-and-a-half practice session came to an end. Before their first session had started, everyone had voted Jungwon to be their unofficial leader and spokesperson purely because he was the most responsible and already a student council representative. Heeseung nodded from where he had been laughing over Sunoo getting his legs tangled in a moment of distraction and almost falling over, Sunoo himself dissolving into giggles at the sound of Heeseung’s light and pleasant-sounding chuckles.

“Everyone did really well!” Heeseung exclaimed as he recovered from laughing at Sunoo’s mistake, making his way over to Jungwon and patting his shoulder. “I’ll send the video in the group chat Wonie made so you can practice whenever you have free time. What do you all say we meet in the choir practice room Wednesday so we can go over the vocal parts?” Everyone nodded and practice swiftly ended, Heeseung, Jay and Jungwon heading off in one direction, Sunghoon and Jake in another, Ni-ki and Sunoo the last to leave.

“You did really well,” Ni-ki said, elbowing Sunoo lightly as they made their way out of the school.

“Thanks, you helped a lot though.” Sunoo looked up at the almost dark sky, breathing in the fresh, crisp air.

“Heeseung hyung helped you a lot too,” Ni-ki pointed out, also looking up. Sunoo hummed in agreement as they made their way home. He really had. Despite Sunoo’s apprehensions, Heeseung had helped him perhaps even more than he had helped Jake. He was a good teacher and Sunoo could tell that he was obviously paying close attention to how he was doing. He let a satisfied smile cross his face, burrowing deeper into his jacket, letting his accumulated worries regarding one Lee Heeseung to begin to float away.

Wednesday rolled around and Sunoo made his way over to the corner of the school where the music rooms were, currently on his own as Ni-ki had texted saying he was meeting with his math teacher for a little while after school for not handing his homework in one time. That kid only knows how to dance, Sunoo fondly thought as he walked through the slowly emptying halls, some students heading to their own extracurriculars, others eager to get home.

The music and choir rooms were very familiar to Sunoo. He spent a lot of time here practicing with his friends, sometimes in the main classroom, other times a group of them gathered in one of the smaller side practice rooms, each of them having a small piano in them for small group or individual practices. It was a space that was comforting to him, and he was much more confident in being able to hold his own when it came to his singing rather than his dancing so he was headed to this meeting of the Chamber Five Team with much less apprehension than he had for their first meeting.

Sunoo let himself into the self-contained wing of the music department, knowing that there weren’t any classes in here during the last period of the day and so expecting to be one of the first ones to arrive. However, as he made his way deeper in, he began to hear the sound of one of the pianos in the practice rooms being played. He followed the sound to where it was coming from, careful to be quiet so as to not disturb whoever was playing. Each of the smaller practice rooms had a door with a window on them, but one of the three rooms had its door slightly ajar, allowing the normally soundproofed room to leak out the music that was coming from inside.

Sunoo stopped right before the door and leaned forward just enough so that he could peek through. Seated at the piano on a chair was none other than Lee Heeseung, slowly playing a soft and slow melody. The piano was situated so that Sunoo could see Heeseung’s side profile perfectly, his fluffy black hair falling over his forehead. Then, Heeseung began to sing.

Honestly, Sunoo shouldn’t have been surprised. Though he had never heard Heeseung sing before, he had been told that he had a very good voice. He thinks now those accounts had never done him any semblance of justice. His voice was so clear and, to put it simply, beautiful. Gentle when it needed to be and yet powerful at other times, Sunoo wouldn’t be joking in the slightest to say that he had the nicest voice he’s ever heard and vaguely he wondered why Heeseung had never joined the choir.

Sunoo remained transfixed throughout the whole song, peeking in through the door and bracing himself against the handle as he tried not to miss a single note or expression on Heeseung’s face. He was so engrossed, however, that near the end of the song, he accidentally leaned a little bit too hard against the door, causing it to click shut from its slightly open position. Sunoo’s eyes widened in shock as Heeseung’s head whipped over to look at him through the glass, his big eyes also wide. When he saw who it was, he blinked in surprise but quickly smiled at him and motioned for him to come him.

Sunoo’s mouth went dry as he bashfully opened the door again and let himself into the small practice room, closing it gently behind him. He watched as Heeseung leaned back on his hands on the piano bench, tilting his head to eye Sunoo with a small, questioning smile.

“How long have you been there?” Sunoo debated saying that he had only just arrived but instead he opened his mouth and confessed.

“Since you started playing ‘Butterfly’.” Heeseung pursed his lips, suddenly looking very shy and Sunoo rushed to reassure him. “You were amazing! I honestly had no idea you were so good at singing; your voice is like an angel’s.” He felt his ears begin to burn once more but this time it was matched by Heeseung’s own blush as he raised his hands to cover his face.

“That’s a bit much, but thank you,” he giggled. He slid over on the piano bench and patted the spot beside him for Sunoo to sit. Sunoo clasped his hands in front of him as he edged next to the older boy, suddenly feeling like the room had dramatically decreased in size and increased in temperature.

“No really,” Sunoo continued, wanting to fill any semblance of potentially awkward silence with his own voice. “Everyone knows that you’re amazing at sports and dancing but I don’t think many people are even aware that you can sing or play the piano that well. Which is a shame,” he added, side-eyeing Heeseung who had begun to gently brush the ivory piano keys with his hands. Heeseung chuckled softly and shrugged, eyes fixed on the piano in front of him.

“I decided to focus on basketball and dance for my extracurriculars but I really want to pursue music after school. I want to be a producer.” Heeseung gently moved through a soft chord progression, filling in the gaps between their voices.

“I heard you might become an idol?” Sunoo hesitantly asked the question, not exactly sure if that was something he was allowed to know but relaxed when Heeseung looked at him in surprise but not appearing to be displeased.

“I’ve been thinking about it. I feel like I could learn a lot about making music while being an idol. It’s a career that won’t last forever – full-time at least – and I think it could be a good jumping off point.” Heeseung paused in his playing to turn to Sunoo again. “Does that make any sense to you?”

Sunoo nodded vehemently, holding his intense gaze for a few moments to get his sincerity across before the sheer force of it made him look away again. “I think it makes perfect sense. You’d be an amazing idol and you’d get to pursue making music at the same time which sounds like it fits like a puzzle.” A sigh of relief came from Heeseung who continued to pluck away at chords.

“I’m glad it makes sense to you. Some people I’ve talked to think I’m being crazy and that I should just go to university to get a music degree. I just don’t like school enough to do that, you know? My parents will support my decision regardless so I guess I don’t have to worry too much but…it’s just nice to get more opinions sometimes.” He nudged Sunoo’s side gently with his elbow. “So, thanks.” Sunoo beamed back at him, a warm fluttery feeling filling his chest.

“No problem! I think I know how hard it is, I want to be a musical theatre actor and a variety show host one day, neither of which are exactly normal career paths. So I understand a bit about how you’re feeling.”

“Oh, I think you’d be amazing at both of those things! I’ve seen a few of the plays the drama club has put on and I’ve heard you during your solos in the choir. Your voice is honestly really nice, too. I really love your tone.” Sunoo could feel himself blush even as his already bright smile widened at the high praise.

“You’ve heard me sing before?” He quietly asked, happiness mixed with a bit of confusion bubbling up inside of him.

“Yeah, there was that one time earlier in the year…” Heeseung was cut off by a sudden stampede of boys through the practice room door as the other five members of their team bustled in, carrying in a whirlwind of energy and noise. Sunoo slid off of the piano stool as Heeseung greeted the others, Jake patting Sunoo’s hair affectionately as Heeseung pulled out the sheet music for ‘Chamber Five’ and called their practice to order. Their hour-and-a-half almost flew by with Heeseung directing the vocal practice, all of them divvying up parts and Heeseung analyzing rhythms and tunes and leading them along on the piano.

Most of the process was second nature to Sunoo from choir so he allowed his mind to somewhat wander back to his first true conversation with Lee Heeseung. He’s heard me sing before? So, Heeseung must have at least known his name at the start of this year, right? It sounded like he had high enough praise for his voice as well. And yet, almost every time they’ve crossed paths with each other, it seemed like Heeseung had no intention of getting to know Sunoo or even introduce himself at all. Sunoo had spent almost the entirety of his second year thinking at the back of his mind that any relationship with the Lee Heeseung was nothing but wishful thinking. But here came Heeseung nonchalantly saying that he had been aware of who Kim Sunoo was this whole time. We have mutual friends, Sunoo thought to himself, watching as Heeseung crouched beside Ni-ki on the ground, trying to help the maknae make sense of his lines. It honestly shouldn’t have taken us this long to get acquainted, right? Why now? Is it only because we’re on the Chamber Five Team together? If we weren’t would we still continue to be strangers? Will we be strangers after the performance?

His thoughts wandered along this line until their practice came to a close and by then he had worked himself into a ball of anxiety. I can’t let this go on, he decided as he slowly followed everyone out of the music wing. He pulled his phone out to text Ni-ki to go on without him and he came up behind Heeseung from where he was walking with Sunghoon to pull gently at the back of his coat. Heeseung glanced back at him inquisitively and must have seen the very determined look in Sunoo’s eyes because he obediently slowed his steps and motioned for Sunghoon to go on ahead. Sunoo could see Ni-ki glance back as he got his text, look between himself and Heeseung for a second, curiosity in his eyes, before continuing to skip down the hallway, Jungwon hot on his heels, telling him to slow down.

Heeseung matched strides with Sunoo as they made their way out of school, even though his legs were much longer than Sunoo’s were. They continued to walk in silence out the school doors and through the front gate of the school, turning to walk down the sidewalk at a slow pace, their footsteps sounding loud in the silence of the cool, dark evening.

It was Heeseung who broke the silence first. “I actually was about to pull you aside on our way out of school right before you did anyways, so this works out.” Sunoo could feel Heeseung glance over at him for a split second before continuing to look ahead. “You seemed kind of…distracted during practice.” He coughed awkwardly. “Not that you weren’t doing a good job, because you were, you always try your best, it’s just that…” Heeseung trailed off for a moment as if struggling to find the right words. “You seemed like half of you wasn’t present, like you were lost in thought almost. And,” he paused again, chuckling ruefully to himself as he reached up to pat his hair flat that had gotten tossed around by the light wind, “I guess I was just scared that it might have something to do with me? I was the last one to talk to you before practice after all.”

Sunoo was shocked at his words to say the least. To think that the Lee Heeseung had noticed all of that and it had bothered him to the point that he needed to ask Sunoo about it. “You’re right, it is your fault.” Sunoo’s lips quivered from holding back a smile as Heeseung’s head whipped around to stare at him, mouth agape, genuine concern in his eyes.

“What really? How…?” Sunoo, being Sunoo, couldn’t suppress his smiley eyes for very long at all so soon enough Heeseung picked up on his teasing, the taller boy giggling and pushing Sunoo lightly as their pace slowed to a crawl. “Why would you joke like that,” he laughed. “I got really scared for a second.”

“If I’m being honest hyung, it wasn’t entirely a joke.” At the shift in Sunoo’s tone, Heeseung stuffed his hands in his coat pockets, eyes shifting to look at Sunoo’s side-profile so often that Sunoo eventually drew them to one of the benches that lined the sidewalks every now and then. The two of them sat side-by-side, watching the odd car pass by, headlights lighting up the dark that was only broken by the sparsely placed streetlamps. Sunoo took a deep breath, clenching his hands tightly into tiny fists. “I’ve spent most of this school year thinking that you hated – maybe hate is too strong – that you disliked me. Or at the very least were indifferent. Which hurt because I’ve always thought you were really cool.” Sunoo’s mouth clamped shut, his cheeks burning as he accidentally divulged more than he had intended to. Heeseung didn’t immediately respond to Sunoo’s confession and Sunoo chanced a glance over at the older boy, who seemed to be staring out into the dark with a small frown on his face. Heeseung suddenly turned his head to face Sunoo, causing the smaller boy to jolt slightly in surprise.

“I’m really sorry, Sunoo-yah.” Heeseung’s voice was naturally very soft and mild but Sunoo had never heard it go as tender as it was right then. His big dark eyes stared straight at Sunoo apologetically. “I know we haven’t had many chances to ever talk but I promise it was never because I disliked you.”

“We have though,” Sunoo was quick to point out, pouting slightly, feeling more confident in airing his grievances now that Heeseung made it clear that he was willing to listen. “I don’t know if you remember running into me in the hallway last year…although I guess that can be excused because you were in a rush. But! Do you remember on the first day after Ni-ki became the dance captain?” Heeseung nodded slightly, and though his lips remained serious and still, Sunoo could see his eyes begin to brighten in amusement which filled the younger student with a sense of indignation. “Well, I came to pick him up and saw you dancing alone in the practice room while Ni-ki talked with the coach. I even tried to wave at you to start a conversation, but you didn’t give me the time of day.”

 “I get tunnel vision when I practice!” Heeseung’s tone was defensive but Sunoo could see the smile trembling across his lips even in the half-light cast by the streetlamps. “I would honestly be lucky to notice my own mother if she showed up at the door and only waved.” Sunoo huffed, fully leaning into the “annoyed” act he knew he could pull off very well.

“What about that time you came up to Ni-ki and I during lunch and barely greeted me when we were first officially introduced. You couldn’t even say more than ‘Ah, nice to meet you. I’m Lee Heeseung’? That’s all I get?” This was what broke Heeseung, the taller boy dissolving into giggles as he reached up to gently pat Sunoo’s hair, his hand big and warm on top of Sunoo’s head.

“After hearing about the time practice started, I had to rush to move the basketball team’s practice up a little bit before the lunch break ended, I was in a rush.” Heeseung’s hand dropped from Sunoo’s head to wrap his arm lightly around Sunoo’s shoulders. “I promise, Sunoo-yah,” he said, his already gentle-toned voice dropping even lower. “It wasn’t on purpose. I’m a naturally shy and awkward person at first and sometimes find it hard to approach or connect with people if they don’t land directly in the middle of my path.” Sunoo nodded slowly, gaze dropping to his hands which were linked together in his lap.

“I’m like that too. I know I don’t look like I’m shy, but I find it hard to approach others first,” Sunoo chanced a glance up to the side at Heeseung, “no matter how much I might want to get to know them.” Heeseung’s big doe eyes brightened as he smiled back at him, the arm around Sunoo’s shoulders tightening in confidence.

“If I’m being honest, I was really excited when I learned that you’d be a part of the Chamber Five Team because I knew that this was exactly the chance we needed in order for us to become friends.”

“So…” Sunoo poked Heeseung’s side lightly. “You’re really saying you’ve never disliked me?” Heeseung straightened and put one hand over his heart, raising his other into the air, the warmth around Sunoo’s shoulders vanishing.

“Never! In fact, it was the total opposite. I’ve heard you sing before obviously, but even beyond that I’ve always thought you were…what’s the right word. Interesting? Funny?”

“Funny?!” Heeseung giggled at the mock indignation in Sunoo’s tone.

“You’re just so cute and are always smiling! I really don’t know how you do it. You’re like the embodiment of the sun and I think that’s very cool of you!” Sunoo wanted to say that Heeseung was also like a sun in his own right, a person with so much gravitational force that he drew everyone around him in like a beacon, but by then Sunoo could feel his cheeks burning up in embarrassment. Heeseung also pressed his own lips together in a shy smile, suddenly standing and pulling Sunoo with him to continue their respective walks home. Nevertheless, Sunoo was able to end the day more than satisfied.

The next few practice sessions of the Chamber Five Team passed by light-heartedly, with Sunoo using every free moment getting used to officially being friends with Lee Heeseung, a sensation that never seemed to get old. The first time Sunoo perfectly nailed the dance all the way through, Heeseung had clapped happily and bounded over, reaching Sunoo first even before Ni-ki to pat him affectionately on his head, ruffling his sweat-soaked hair. Sunoo had beamed happily at him even though the praise was a bit embarrassing, but there was no way he’d complain about the attention.

There was another part in the choreography where the two of them had to look at each other and smile brightly for an extended period of the time. It was a little awkward the first few times but soon it got to the point where they’d both almost be dissolving in giggles whenever it rolled around, playfulness exuding off of them in comfortable waves.

Two weeks before the school’s open house, Jungwon approached Heeseung and Sunoo after practice to let them know that they had been chosen as the MCs for the upcoming event. Sunoo was pleased, as MCing was definitely something right up his alley, but he could tell by the way Heeseung’s face suddenly froze that he wasn’t as confident.

“Why me, Jungwonie?” Heeseung pouted and tugged on Jungwon’s arm, the younger rolling his eyes in fond exasperation.

“Because you’re popular and funny, hyung. At least when you’re comfortable. Don’t worry, Sunoo’ll definitely help you learn how to act, right?” Jungwon’s sharp eyes glanced over at Sunoo who nodded vigorously, anticipation filling him.

“Don’t worry, hyung. You’ll do great, with my help of course.” The two of them accepted their scripts from Jungwon and made their way to a corner of the practice room as the other five members gathered their things and headed home.

They silently read through their scripts the first time through, Heeseung sighing every so often and shaking his head in worry which made Sunoo bite his lip in order to hold back his giggles. It was so seldom that Lee Heeseung was seen at a loss as to how he was supposed to accomplish something and Sunoo was relishing in it.

“This is perfect for you Sunoo.” Heeseung tossed his script onto the floor, leaning back on his hands and glaring up at the ceiling. “I don’t know how to be that bubbly and cute in front of so many people.”

“You’re already really cute, hyung,” Sunoo responded without thinking. He immediately glanced up to see Heeseung staring at him with wide eyes. “I mean, Jay hyung and Jungwonie are always taking care of you in the little everyday things. You naturally exude cuteness! You just have to bring out that energy and use it on the stage!” Heeseung’s lips quirked up in a smile, his eyes staring straight into Sunoo’s soul even as Sunoo tried to steer the attention away from his slip-up. “I’ll show you! Just do what I do, it’s easy.” Sunoo slowly began showing Heeseung certain expressions and tones that would work well on a stage as an MC, including ways they could bounce off of each other’s aegyo in a fashion that would be both cute and charming. Sunoo could feel his heart melting as Heeseung’s eyes went from wide and worried, to shining and adorable as he slowly got more comfortable testing various expressions in the mirror. That was the thing with Heeseung; his eyes were truly the gateways to his soul. Almost every emotion he experienced would show up one way or another in those big eyes of his.

Ah… cute, Sunoo thought as he watched Heeseung pout, holding up a peace sign like they were bunny ears before winking and flashing a sly grin. The thought entered Sunoo’s mind so quickly and naturally that he didn’t even register it so that he could tuck it safely back away, the sentiment floating now in his subconsciousness to stay.

“Alright everyone, good work today!” Mrs. Kim swiftly called an end to choir practice, everyone quickly rushing to gather their bags and head out of the main music room. Sunoo lagged behind, eyes glued to his phone to text Ni-ki who had been sentenced to extra study sessions for math and was supposed to meet him after practice ended. He heard the last of the choir members’ voices vanish as he continued to take his time when Ni-ki responded saying he’d be another ten minutes.

Sunoo began to head for the door that led out of the music wing when he suddenly collided with a solidly built body, causing him to almost drop his phone. He looked up in shock, his startled gaze quickly turning into dismay as he saw none other than Han Jinyoung and his small band of cronies staring down at him. Granted, they weren’t that much taller than Sunoo was, but they were definitely stockier, Jinyoung and some of his boys being a part of the rugby team. They were the same age as Sunoo but somehow seemed like they shouldn’t even be in high school.

“Well if it isn’t little Kim Sunoo,” Jinyoung grinned, folding his arms in front of his chest. Sunoo straightened his spine in indignation, fists clenching in order to stop his hands from trembling.

“I know you and your gang aren’t the brightest, but you still should be able to tell the music wing apart from the gym. I don’t think you guys will be able to find much of use in here that you’d be able to understand.” Sunoo wanted to applaud the way his voice refused to tremble, even as Jinyoung’s own face darkened. The bigger boy took an aggressive step forward, causing Sunoo to retreat, his back hitting the wall behind him as he continued to glare upwards.

“It’s been a while,” Jinyoung went on, ignoring Sunoo’s bait. “We couldn’t ever get a good shot at you what with that Nishimura kid always hanging out around you. It’s been so long and yet…” Jinyoung stepped right in front of Sunoo, a mocking grin crossing his face. “You haven’t changed at all. You’re always going around with that stupid smile on your face, making you look like an absolute idiot. You’re bringing down the reputation of the entire school by merely existing, how can you live with yourself?” Again, again, the same shit. Aren’t you tired of saying the same things? Was what Sunoo wished we could have said. Instead he felt his lips tremble in a mix of fury and indignation, his fists clenched so tightly now that his fingernails dug harshly into his palm.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to either tear into them or burst into furious tears, the sound of one of the smaller practice room doors banging open tore the attention of the gathered group away. Sunoo whipped his head around to see none other than Lee Heeseung striding out of the room, his eyes narrowed in absolute disgust as he came to step right in front of Sunoo, shoving himself in between him and Jinyoung to allow Sunoo to hide behind his back. Heeseung reached behind him with one hand to covertly hold onto Sunoo’s hand, his thumb reassuringly brushing over his fist. His other hand held up his cellphone menacingly as he stared straight at Jinyoung, looking down at him as he was a bit taller.

“I can get Mrs. Kim to come right back here in less than three minutes. You all had better beat it.” He began slowly punching numbers into his phone, the beeps resounding in the now still space. Sunoo watched as Jinyoung, suddenly confronted with someone with a reputation as well-known as Lee Heeseung, exchanged uneasy looks with his cronies before they begrudgingly began to retreat towards the exit. However, Jinyoung couldn’t resist one more nasty glare back at Sunoo, which Heeseung quickly caught. “If I catch any of you within ten feet of Sunoo in the future I will make sure to bring the CCTV footage from just now in front of the student council.” Heeseung punctuated his statement with a lazy finger pointing at the blinking red light coming from the camera mounted just above the door to the main music room. Sunoo felt a burst of satisfaction as Jinyoung visibly paled and scurried out of the room, his buddies quick on his heels.

As soon as he heard the door click closed, Sunoo let out a shaky sigh, leaning fully back against the wall as every muscle in his body relaxed. Heeseung turned around quickly, still holding onto his hand gently. “Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you, right?” The worry in Heeseung’s voice made Sunoo’s heart ache. He lifted his head, his signature bright smile reappearing on his face as he tried to reassure the older boy.

“No, I’m fine.” But even he could feel his own smile waver. Heeseung frowned at him and put his phone back in his pocket. Suddenly, he reached up and gently touched Sunoo’s cheek, his thumb brushing reassuringly just under his eye where a few emotionally charged tears had threatened to pour out just a moment before.

“It’s okay to be upset, Sunoo. I’m here.” Sunoo blinked in surprise as his heart skipped a beat. He bit his lip for a second before a softer, more genuine smile replaced the forced one from before.

“I’m really, really okay. Because you’re here.” Heeseung smiled warmly down at him, reaching up to ruffle his hair affectionately as he pulled Sunoo close to his side, guiding the smaller boy out of the music wing.

“You were probably going to meet Ni-ki at the tutoring room, right?” Sunoo mutely nodded as Heeseung steered them in the direction of Sunoo’s best friend, keeping the smaller boy safely tucked into his side the whole entire way. As they made their way through the school, Sunoo knew that the feeling of admiration that had begun in his heart a year ago had suddenly evolved into a big, all-encompassing crush on Lee Heeseung. If Sunoo was honest with himself, he’d know that all of the emotions he’d ever felt towards the older boy were always headed in this direction. Now however, he was only drifting in a sea that was simultaneously calm and tumultuous; because even though he now knew that he was well on his way with being in love with the other boy, there was a part of him that knew that this boy that was destined for so many great things would never be within his grasp in that way. If Sunoo was the sun, a star, then Heeseung was a blazing comet, merely passing by his orbit on his way into the farthest reaches of the universe.

If, after that day, Heeseung noticed that Sunoo became a bit quieter and more reserved around him, he never commented on it.

Finally, the day of the school’s open house arrived. The day dawned bright but cool, the crisp fall air adding to the inviting atmosphere as visitors poured into the high school in anticipation of the various events.

Sunoo paced outside an hour before their show was set to begin, Ni-ki leaning on a wall nearby. “They’re so late,” Sunoo muttered, glancing continually at the school gate where a big welcome banner was set up, a steady stream of people making their way onto the school grounds.

“They’re really not,” Ni-ki said mildly, watching Sunoo walk back and forth impatiently. “There’s still an hour before the show starts.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen them, I guess I’m just anxious.” Sighing, Sunoo made his way over to join Ni-ki against the wall, the two of them resuming their positions keeping an eye on the front gates.

“You’re not nervous for the performance and MCing right? You and Heeseung hyungie have practiced so much, I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Sunoo inwardly flinched at the mention of the older boy’s name but shook his head at Ni-ki’s words.

“No, we’ll do fine. We’ve all practiced a lot, it’ll go perfectly.” And it was true. Although Sunoo had, in some ways, become more reserved around Heeseung and less clingy, he had tried his hardest to not let it affect their practices. It was almost painful to be around him now though so Sunoo was glad that after today he’d have less chances to have to be around Heeseung. Although that in itself was also another source of pain for Sunoo, but one that he knew he had to put himself through if he would ever be able to get over his hopeless crush.

Ni-ki suddenly straightened as he looked towards the school gate. “It’s Heeseung hyung!” Sunoo’s eyes were automatically drawn to where Ni-ki was looking. Sure enough there was Heeseung quickly approaching the incoming stream of people from where he had appeared around the side of the school. He was followed closely from behind by none other than Kang Taehyun and Kai Huening, the three of them making a beeline for a trio that had just entered the school grounds. “Oh, I know them,” Ni-ki whispered to Sunoo in a hushed voice. “Those are the idol trainees that Heeseung hyung is friends with and started training with.”

Sunoo watched as Heeseung approached the three strangers. The shorter of the trio had fluffy black hair and immediately bowled Heeseung over with an exuberant hug. There was another boy with bright pink hair and foxy features that were similar to Sunoo’s, radiating an overpowering and confident aura. The tallest of the three had a soft face and had faded blue hair and beamed as he greeted the other three. The idol trainees really stood out in the crowd, drawing stares from everyone that passed by.

“They’re so tall,” Ni-ki whispered, watching the reunion in awe. Sunoo looked away quickly, a familiar pang squeezing his chest as he saw how well Heeseung blended in with them. There it was; the reason Sunoo would never hope to be something more to Lee Heeseung than a simple friend. He was on track to enter a world that Sunoo knew next to nothing about, constantly surrounded by people that shone so brightly Sunoo wasn’t sure that he’d ever be able to stand next to.

Sunoo resolutely refocused his gaze on the entrance to their school, his mind trying to ignore Heeseung’s presence in the periphery of his vision. He suddenly gasped as two familiar faces showed up among the crowd and grasped Ni-ki’s arm in excitement. “It’s Jaebeom hyung and Taeyong hyung! They’re here!” Sunoo didn’t even wait for Ni-ki as he hopped down the front steps of the school and dashed towards his approaching friends who also had noticed him rushing their way. Sunoo was vaguely aware of passing right by Heeseung and his group as they slowly walked back towards the school but ignored Heeseung’s gaze that immediately followed him.

“Hyungs!” Sunoo cried joyfully, leaping into the air, Jaebeom and Taeyong both bringing him in for a hug at once, squishing him in between them.

“Sunoo-yah you’ve grown a bit taller!” Jaebeom laughed as he patted Sunoo’s hair affectionately, eyes warm as he looked Sunoo up and down.

“Just a little bit,” Taeyong chuckled, reaching up to poke Sunoo’s cheek. Ni-ki showed up then, his smile big and boxy as the two newcomers cooed over how tall Ni-ki had also gotten. Sunoo had known Jaebeom and Taeyong since they were children. They had met at a community children’s choir and had grown up together. Ni-ki had hung out a lot with them by default and the four of them had been very close until they all went separate ways during high school. Their group chat was still lively though and Sunoo was grateful that he’d always have these friends to get him through difficult times.

“Want to give us any spoilers for your performance?” The group had started their walk into the school, Sunoo holding onto Jaebeom’s sleeve and tugging him in the right direction. Sunoo giggled at his question, grinning mischievously.

“Where’s the fun in that? You’ll just have to wait and see!” The four of them walked through the school’s front doors, Sunoo completely unaware of Heeseung standing just inside the doors and off to the side, hidden amongst the stream of people, a complicated expression on his face as he watched Sunoo skip by.

It wasn’t long before Sunoo and Ni-ki had to part ways with Jaebeom and Taeyong, the latter two heading straight into the auditorium while Ni-ki and Sunoo made their way into the spacious backstage area. The various performers of the night were all bustling around getting prepared, ducking behind curtains to change or huddling in front of brightly lit vanities to get their stage makeup done. Sunoo was immediately hustled to get ready as he was the MC so he needed to get prepared sooner than everyone else from the Chamber Five Team. He was led into a small room at the back where Heeseung was pulling on the ball cap that completed his outfit for their dance, staring straight into a mirror on the wall across from the door. Sunoo couldn’t help it as their gazes met in the mirror, Heeseung’s dark eyes flitting over him for a brief second before straightening his cap once more.

Heeseung turned around finally as Sunoo was handed his own costume, consisting primarily of a striped blazer. “Are you ready?” Heeseung asked as the two passed each other, Heeseung heading out of the room as it was Sunoo’s turn to get changed. Sunoo’s footsteps paused as he glanced up. Heeseung was smiling slightly down at him but Sunoo could tell from his eyes that he was nervous. Heeseung was a good talker but it was his first time doing something like this and his nerves were showing. Sunoo pulled himself out of his state of hopelessness that appeared every time he ran into Heeseung for a moment in order to reach up and pat Heeseung’s shoulder reassuringly.

“Just follow my lead,” Sunoo said, nodding firmly, making sure that his expression appeared unwavering and determined. Heeseung finally flashed his bright smile at him, his posture relaxing as he nodded and continued to walk.

“Was already planning to,” the older boy tossed over his shoulder, closing the door behind him, leaving Sunoo to dress in silence.

By the time the two of them were ushered out to the podium located on the side of the unlit stage, there were already over a hundred people crammed into the school’s auditorium, their true number hidden from the boys as the spotlights suddenly came on, shining directly at them, causing their audience to become a whispering black void. The two of them exchanged one final glance before Sunoo raised his microphone and smiled the smile he knew would win anyone over once they saw it.

“Hello everyone and welcome to our thirtieth annual open house!” His voice resounded around the auditorium, the enthusiasm in his tone filling the air with excitement. “We will be your hosts for today! I’m Ddeonu!” Sunoo grinned even wider, striking a cute pose with confidence.

“I’m Heedeungie!” Sunoo knew that if he went all in Heeseung would no doubt follow and it seemed that he was right. The older boy pouted his lips adorably, his black curls peeking out from beneath his cap. “And we’re so excited to be able to showcase to you some of the amazing performances that the students at our school have put together. Isn’t that right Ddeonu?” Heeseung turned to Sunoo, confidence slowly beginning to bloom on his face, his big eyes sparkling and Sunoo couldn’t help but giggle as his heart raced as it always did whenever Heeseung said his name cutely like that.

“That’s right! We have a stunning lineup prepared which also includes Heedeungie and I along with other captains of various teams performing a special original song. We really practiced a lot, didn’t we?” Heeseung nodded solemnly, looking seriously out at the audience.

“We really did practice so much, all in the hopes that we’d be able to show all of you an awesome performance! Speaking of, let’s announce our first acts!” Heeseung made a grand show of flipping through his cue cards although Sunoo knew that he had had everything memorized by their second practice session. “First up we’ll get to see Nicholas from class 3-B do b-boying!”

“After that will be Taki and K from the dance team performing their own original choreography!” Sunoo looked back up at the audience with a blinding smile. “Well? Are you all ready to get started? Let me hear you!”

There was a beat of silence for a moment and Sunoo almost thought that he’d lost the audience’s interest somewhere along the way. But suddenly, like a building wave, there came a chorus of “Aegyo! Aegyo! Aegyo! Aegyo!” Sunoo burst into fits of giggles as he saw Heeseung stiffen beside him before he too started laughing in embarrassment. There had been lots of people talking about how interesting the choice of MCs was and that a lot of people were looking forward to seeing if any of Sunoo’s legendary cute behaviour had at all rubbed off on the famous Lee Heeseung. They all must have planned this, Sunoo thought as he buried his face in his hands, peeking over at Heeseung from between his fingers who was busy taking a deep breath. Thankfully, before Sunoo had realized his feelings for the older boy and had withdrawn from him a bit, the two of them had devised a few things they could do should it come to it.

Without waiting for Heeseung to suddenly chicken out, Sunoo once more raised his mic. “Ddeonu!” He cutely said, holding out his right hand across his body in the shape of half a heart. He looked up at Heeseung who was staring at his hand with a small smile before quickly looking into Sunoo’s eyes. They held each other’s gaze for the briefest of moments but that was enough for Heeseung’s face to dissolve into his own bright and giggly smile.

“Heedeung!” He laughed into the mic as he raised his left hand to complete the heart.

“Please enjoy the show!” They finished in unison, both of them dissolving into breathless giggles as the audience became a roaring mix of shrieks and amused groans. Heeseung bent over as the spotlight that had been shining on them turned off, his hand reaching to grab Sunoo’s as they laughed together, quickly making their way backstage. Sunoo felt his face burning in embarrassment as he laughed helplessly, pressing his face into Heeseung’s shoulder as the older boy dragged him forward.

The two of them emerged into the backstage area, still giggling, Heeseung’s hand still firmly wrapped around Sunoo’s. They were immediately greeted by a group of their friends and acquaintances who instantly started teasing them mercilessly. In the now normally lit interior, Sunoo finally registered how his hand was almost burning within Heeseung’s grasp and how nicely their hands fit together. His stomach suddenly lurched, his heart dropping in disappointment as he realized how easily he had allowed himself to drop his guard.

“Thirsty,” Sunoo said, feigning a cough with a smile as he swiftly wriggled his hand out of Heeseung’s grasp, trying his best to keep his expression bright but knowing that he probably wasn’t doing a great job at it if Heeseung’s suddenly crest-fallen expression was anything to go by. It’s better this way, Sunoo reminded himself as he quickly walked to the other side of the room where Ni-ki had fallen asleep tucked away in the corner. It is. He started to find it hard to believe himself as every once in a while he felt someone’s gaze on him only to look up and see Heeseung on the other side of the room quickly glancing away.

The next times they had to go onstage to announce the next performers, they stuck strictly to the script with no audience participation allowed. It turned out that the both of them were amazing actors as the difference between their bubbliness onstage to the instant awkwardness that permeated the atmosphere as soon as they left the spotlight was truly something to behold. Sunoo began to feel frustrated with himself. He knew that all of this was his fault, he was the one that had pulled away first because he was the one that had suddenly caught feelings. At this rate, if the Chamber Five Team even wanted a chance to stay connected as a group of friends after the performance, Sunoo would have to do something (lose his feelings) and do it quickly.

All too soon, the most anticipated performance of the night began. The seven very different boys gathered on the stage, lying down in formation in the darkness, waiting for their music to begin. The preparations had been as fun as Sunoo had expected. He had gotten to get closer with a lot of people that he had already thought were really cool and he was glad to be able to call them all his friends now. He had also gotten a crush on Lee Heeseung because of this stage, but he really couldn’t afford to think about that right now.

The opening notes of Chamber Five began to play and the rest was left up to the memory and performance skills that the seven of them had refined in a relatively short amount of time. Everyone was in rare form, sporting bright smiles taught by Sunoo that were out of character for some but still managing to appear energetic and convincing. Sunoo began to feel emotional as the song went on, pride in his and his friends’ hard work coming to fruition before his very eyes.

Then came the part where he and Heeseung had to dance smiling and looking at each other. In that moment, all Sunoo could see were his big doe eyes staring at him almost tenderly as a gentle smile tugged at his lips. The smile was honestly not as bright as the one they had all practiced together, it was much softer and more genuine, matching the unfiltered affection and pure emotions contained in Heeseung’s gaze. Sunoo’s vision suddenly became blurry as a layer of unshed tears appeared over his eyes like a veil. His lips trembled ever so slightly and Heeseung blinked in confusion as the song continued to wind on to its conclusion.

Sunoo valiantly kept his smile in place, knowing that the audience wouldn’t be able to tell that he was on the verge of tears from that far away. The performance came to an end without any difficulty and with thunderous applause. The other boys bowed graciously, beaming out at the audience before being ushered off of the stage, Sunoo dashing ahead of them all.

It was as if all of the emotions he had been trying to push away and suppress had suddenly bubbled to the surface under Heeseung’s gentle expression and all he knew was that he had to get somewhere quiet because he couldn’t hold back his tears any longer.

“Sunoo!” Sunoo’s heart lurched at the sound of Heeseung’s voice as he pushed his way out the doors of the backstage area and into the currently empty hallway, the student populace thankfully distracted by the many other activities happening in other areas of the school. He moved as fast as his legs could take him without breaking into a full run, heading for a staircase that seldomly saw traffic as it was in an out-of-the-way area. He stumbled up the stairs to the first landing, hand reaching up to clutch at his chest as half-gasps half-sobs burst from his lungs, trying desperately to take a deep breath.

Suddenly a hand grabbed onto Sunoo’s arm, stopping him from running any further. Sunoo spun around, tears beginning to spring back to his eyes as he came face-to-face with Heeseung who had apparently dashed after him. Sunoo’s rush of emotions and his desperation to get away had prevented him from hearing the sound of footsteps that signalled that the other boy had followed him. Heeseung was now staring down at him in dismay, eyes wide with worry.

“Sunoo-yah…” Sunoo’s body shook at how soft and full of concern his voice was. He weakly tried to pull himself from Heeseung’s grasp but the older boy wouldn’t budge. “Please…” Heeseung raised his other hand to hold onto Sunoo’s other arm, trying his best to get Sunoo to look at him. “You’ve been avoiding me for weeks. We were doing so well, I thought we could be really good friends. I know I must have done something wrong, just…” Sunoo’s heart ached at the pain in Heeseung’s voice, knowing that he was the one that put it there. “Just please tell me what I did. I’ll fix it, I promise, no matter what it is.” Big tears began to roll down Sunoo’s cheeks as Sunoo finally allowed his gaze to meet Heeseung’s, lips quivering in distress, heart heavy in resignation. “Why are you crying?” Heeseung whispered, raising a hand to gently thumb away a tear.

“I don’t think we can be friends, hyung,” Sunoo hoarsely whispered, looking up at Heeseung in anguish. Heeseung’s eyebrows knit together as a hurt expression crossed his face.

“What do you mean?” Heeseung’s eyes roamed over Sunoo’s face as if searching for any answers his distressed expression could give him. Sunoo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew that he would have had to do something eventually. This was the one thing he didn’t think he’d ever do but being put into this corner, this seemed to be the only way he’d be able to put an end to it.

“I like you.” Sunoo’s voice was firm as he opened his eyes to look directly up at Heeseung, even though it felt like his heart was breaking, which it probably was. “As more than just a friend,” he added when Heeseung’s expression became unfocused as if trying to process what he had just said. Sunoo stared up at Heeseung who had become motionless, feeling his last bit of hope fade away along with the strength in Heeseung’s grip on him. “Sorry,” he whispered as he now easily pulled himself from Heeseung’s hands and spun around, ready now to continue his path to a secluded janitor’s closet where he could pretend none of this had ever happened, sobbing his eyes out for at least an hour.

However, he was once again prevented from moving more than a single step by Heeseung throwing his arms around his shoulders and across his chest, hugging him tightly from behind, almost completely enveloping the smaller boy. Sunoo froze like a cornered wild animal, eyes going wide in shock as he felt Heeseung’s breath brush across the top of his hair.

“I like you too.” Sunoo’s breath stopped in his chest at the whisper-quiet confession. He couldn’t believe that that was what he had just heard.

“…What?”

“I said,” Heeseung slowly reiterated as he gently pulled back and turned Sunoo around by his shoulders, his own eyes wide and full of wonder and brimming with warmth, “that I like you too.” Sunoo gaped up at him, absolutely dumbstruck.

“I – what?” Sunoo shook his head in disbelief. “That’s not possible.” Heeseung chuckled softly, his expression slowly calming into one of radiant contentment as he lifted his hand to gently swipe away the last of Sunoo’s stray tears.

“You said you like me. Why can’t it be possible for me to like you too?” Heeseung’s voice was teasing even as his hand remained gently caressing Sunoo’s cheek. Sunoo was completely overwhelmed at this point, his ears burning in embarrassment.

“But, you’re…you’re Lee Heeseung.” Even Sunoo knew he sounded silly and he pouted in frustration as Heeseung sighed.

“I think we both may have been kind of dumb,” he mused, fingers idly tapping Sunoo’s soft cheek, Sunoo leaning into the touch, still trying to wrap his head around what was going on.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’ve spent the past few weeks convincing myself that you were too bright for someone like me.” Sunoo frowned in confusion.

“What are you even talking about? You’re bright too, hyung.” Heeseung shrugged slightly, his hand moving now to rest comfortingly on Sunoo’s shoulder.

“I can be, sure. But the other half of the time I can be quiet and broody. I just didn’t think I’d be able to match well with you.” Heeseung smiled down at the smaller boy, his expression brimming with warmth and affection. “Of course, you were too cute that I couldn’t help it. Liking you, I mean.” Sunoo rolled his eyes and scoffed even as his cheeks burned in embarrassment. His whole face felt like it was on fire, the feeling matched by the warmth that was filling his chest.

“Well, I’ve spent the past few weeks thinking that you were way too perfect for me and that I’d never be able to catch up with you.” Heeseung shook his head at Sunoo’s confession, softly sighing, eyes fixed on his hand that was now straightening the collar of Sunoo’s blazer.

“Sunoo-yah, it’s never a matter of catching up with anyone. Everyone has their own pace and destination in life. My pace is different from yours, just as yours is from mine. I wouldn’t ever want you to change in order to match me.” Sunoo pouted, nodding as Heeseung ruffled his hair and pulled him closer. “So…” Heeseung said, eyes drifting over Sunoo’s features. “Since we’ve established that we’ve both been dumb, will you go out with me?” A happy smile bloomed on Sunoo’s face as he enthusiastically nodded, causing Heeseung to beam down at him as well. They stood there, lost in the happy flow of emotions that came with staring at each other with such intensity that it was as if they were trying to commit how each of them looked in this moment to memory, until a voice called up to them from the ground floor.

“Sunoo hyung, Heeseung hyung!” The two of them jumped at the sound of Ni-ki’s voice, startled out of their happy reverie. Heeseung reached down to grab onto Sunoo’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “If you both are done with whatever you’re doing up there, you’d better hurry! Jungwon hyung’s about to lose his mind because you guys need to do the closing remarks and you disappeared on him!”

“Oops,” Sunoo whispered, putting a hand to his mouth in shock, glancing up at Heeseung. “I guess we should go.” Sunoo started to move towards the stairs to head back down but was quickly pulled back once more by Heeseung. The taller boy swiftly cupped his cheek and stepped forward to press a soft, firm kiss on Sunoo’s forehead. Sunoo immediately felt himself flush from head to toe, eyes widening in surprise as the spot on his forehead burned. Heeseung poked his cheek once for good measure and grinned, winking slyly down at the stunned smaller boy.

“Let’s go together,” he said, taking the lead down the stairs, pulling a dazed Sunoo after him. And if the two of them made their closing remarks while holding hands behind the podium? Well, no one needs to know about that but them.