Today’s moral: Teach a boy to fish and he’ll probably go get a new hobby.

“The fuck does that mean?” Yang Edin said, rereading the sentence off his phone.

Seong Hamin, who was walking next to him, took a quick peek. “You still haven’t deleted that stupid fortune app?”

“Too lazy. Besides, it has its uses sometimes.”

“Yeah? Like when?”

“Like when Edin has to walk to school with the neighborhood idiot,” Chu Euiheon remarked, catching up to the two boys from behind.

Hamin put him into a headlock. “Oh, if it isn’t our little Chewie. Have you grown a bit during the break?”

Although struggling to breathe, Euiheon flipped him the bird and snapped, “At least there’s more hope of me growing taller than you ever becoming smarter.”

“Hey, being smart isn’t even that important in today’s society,” Hamin replied, tightening his hold around Euiheon’s neck. “What will really get you far in life is having connections. Speaking of which, I was able to get us a three-on-three date with some chicks at Dalbit Girls’ High School this weekend. You can make it, right?”

By then, Hamin totally forgot about how much force he was putting into his arm. Euiheon smacked his hand for dear life.

“Let go of me already… you asshole…!”

Hamin finally let him go. “So, it’s a yes?”

“Like hell I’d spend the weekend with you,” Euiheon groaned, catching his breath and stretching out his neck.

“You won’t be spending it just with me, though. There are going to be girls from an all-girls high school!”

“Have you forgotten that we’re third-years now? We don’t even have a year left until college entrance exams anymore.”

“Which is why we have to spend our youth to the fullest while it lasts!”

“Crazy bastard.”

“Your loss, Chewie. I’m being nice enough to ask the two of you before anybody else. Edin, you’re going though, right? Edin?”

Edin was still busy trying to wrap his head around the day’s moral. “Fish, hobby… Huh? Did you say something?”

“Yang Edin! Chewie may be a lost cause, but I can’t have you ending your high school career as a shriveling lonely soul, either!”

“Why am I a lost cause?” Euiheon said. “I’m not dating because I don’t want to, not because I can’t.”

“Yeah, try saying that while standing on one of those height-measuring things.”

“It’s called a stadiometer. And there’s nothing wrong with being a bit short.”

Hamin ignored him and put an arm around Edin’s shoulders. The two boys were about the same height at 184 centimeters, though Hamin was just a hair shorter. Compared to them, Euiheon easily got overshadowed at 170 centimeters.

Hamin widened his steps. “Us tall folk are going to go on ahead.”

Euiheon rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Being tall just means your head has more distance to fall before hitting the ground when you trip.”

Hamin turned around to face Euiheon and walked backward. “Isn’t that a good thing though, since my head will take longer to reach the ground than yours?”

“Your head’s going to gain more momentum and hit the ground harder, you idiot. And there’s a rock behind you.”

“Where— Ack!” Hamin’s heel got caught on the rock, sending him right down on his behind with a painful THUD! “Ouch…”

Brushing right past him, Euiheon said, “Your ass will take a harder fall too, dumbass.”

“You okay?” Edin asked, offering Hamin a hand.

“Nope… Could you carry me the rest of the way to school?”

Edin took back his hand and also went on ahead without him. With his focus back on his phone, none of his friend’s cries for help reached his ears anymore.

By then, the shorter-legged Euiheon had traveled much farther than his two taller friends. He appreciated the quiet commute on his first day back to school. He was going to be stuck with Hamin in the same class all year, so he might as well get as much peaceful time in for himself as he could.

“Wait a minute,” Euiheon said, momentarily stopping in his tracks to straighten his big, round glasses. “Is that who I think it is?”

He watched as the back of a familiar-looking boy got farther and farther away from him. There was no way Euiheon could catch up to him with his fast walking speed. But even at a distance, one thing was for certain. The boy went to the same high school as him. He was dressed in the same uniform, after all. And just in case there was any room left for doubt, the boy made a turn for Jayu High School’s front gates. But by the time Euiheon arrived there himself, the mysterious person was nowhere in sight.

“Maybe I was mistaken,” Euiheon mumbled to himself, entering the school building. “Yeah, no way that was him…”

. . .

“About time you got here,” Euiheon said, watching Hamin limp in through the door at the front of the classroom.

Since it was the first day, seats had yet to be decided. Edin sat way at the back by the window, with Euiheon seated in front of him. Both of their partner seats were empty, but Hamin chose the one next to Euiheon.

Sitting down slowly and carefully, Hamin said, “I think you broke my ass, dude.”

“How’s you acting like a dumbass my fault?” Euiheon replied.

Hamin hugged him and leaned his head on his shoulder. “But, baby, I thought you were responsible for making sure I didn’t act like a dumbass.”

Euiheon pushed him away and turned his head to the window. “I don’t know this person.”

“Aw, baby! Are you upset that my ass is broken now?!” Hamin said loud enough for the entire class to hear, hugging Euiheon from behind even more tightly.

“I really don’t know this person!”

“Good morning, everyone,” Ms. Kim said.

She was the homeroom teacher for third year class one. Due to her soft voice, not many students heard her greeting. The ones at the back of the room didn’t even notice her arrival. Naturally, the boy behind her went largely unnoticed at first as well. But Euiheon caught sight of him while turning around to get Hamin off him.

“I wasn’t mistaken?” Euiheon said under his breath.

“What are you talking about?” Hamin asked, letting go of his friend to see the new face in the classroom. Well, it wasn’t entirely new to him, either. “Woah, isn’t that Ye Yuel?”

“Right?” Euiheon replied with equal bewilderment.

Edin looked up from his phone to see what his friends were on about. At the front of the room was a tall and thin boy who had the lightest brown hair and equally light brown eyes that shined golden against the morning sunlight seeping in through the open windows. His face was small and features gentle—fragile almost. With some makeup, he might even be able to pass as a girl. A rather tall girl, at least.

Can a boy look that pretty? Edin thought.

“I know it’s the first day, so technically everyone is new to this class,” Ms. Kim said after getting all the students’ attention. “But we have a new student at our school. While we may not typically get transfers during the last year, I do hope you can make him feel welcome and help him adjust. Could you please introduce yourself?”

The boy took a single step forward. His eyes didn’t seem to focus on particularly anyone or anything, yet Edin got the sense he was looking straight at him. To that thought, his heart fluttered ever so slightly.

The boy gave a small bow and said, “Hello. My name is Ye Yuel. It’s nice to meet you all.”

Ye Yuel, Edin mouthed. The name tingled on his lips.

Even his name was pretty.