“Alright, pencils down,” the teacher said. “Last person in each row, please collect the test sheets and bring them forward. Good work today, everyone.”

Today was the day of the March mock exam. Third-years had one every month to prepare themselves for their CSAT in November. There were seven more of these mock exams to go. Or to Hamin, only seven chances left for him to have any hope of getting into a decent college within commuting distance from home.

“I brought the answer sheets,” Euiheon said, having gone to the teachers’ office to pick them up as the class representative.

He placed the stack of newspaper-sized booklets at the front of the classroom. He got one for himself and Hamin before returning to his seat. Sounds of papers being flipped and lots of sighs filled the room. But the biggest sigh of all came from Hamin.

“I’m screwed…”

Euiheon finished grading his tests and turned around. He saw the test sheets sprawled out on Hamin’s desk, the score for each written in red on the top of the first page. Not a single number surpassed 30.

“Please tell me the mock exam was hard this time…”

Euiheon held out his own test sheets. Every single one was a perfect 100 expect for math, which he got just a single 4-point question wrong. “It wasn’t that hard.”

“Fuck you, man.”

“Not my fault you’re a dumbass.”

“Hey, I’m not that dumb. I just don’t know how to study.”

“Have you ever even tried?”

“…Shut up.”

Euiheon paused in thought for a moment. “Look, I’m going to head to the library every morning on the weekends to get a few hours of studying in. Why don’t you come with me? I’ll help you out where I can.”

Hamin’s eyes glistened in awe. “You’d really do that for me?”

“I’m not doing it for you,” Euiheon said bluntly. “I’ll be at the library anyway, so I might as well drag you along with me.”

“That sounds awfully like you’re wanting to spend time with me. Is this a study date?”

“Forget it—”

Hamin grabbed Euiheon by both his hands before the boy could turn around. Needless to say, Hamin was fully back to being all touchy and loving with his best friend. It might have come to him even more naturally now.

“It’s a date, baby. I’ll work really hard, I promise!”

Euiheon tried his best to pull his hands free, to which Hamin clasped them even more tightly. It was impossible to tell which felt warmer: Hamin’s hands or Euiheon’s cheeks.

. . .

Yuel didn’t know what had come over him earlier, but he was now sitting with Edin at a café after school. Even if he really didn’t want to go home and be alone today, he should have thought twice about asking the boy who liked him to hang out with him as just the two of them.

“Order 87, your drinks are ready!” the café worker called out.

“Oh, that’s us,” Edin said, checking the number on the receipt. “I’ll get it.”

“Sure, thanks.”

Yuel watched Edin head to the pickup counter. He thanked the female worker and sent her a short smile. Edin didn’t notice with his back turned to her, but Yuel caught sight of the young lady keeping her eyes on Edin for a few extra seconds after he left. When he switched his gaze back to Edin, he didn’t need any other explanation as to why she did that.

Of course she would find him cute with a face like that—

Yuel turned his head far enough so Edin couldn’t see his mouth as he mumbled to himself, “What the hell am I thinking?”

“You okay?” Edin asked, placing Yuel’s hot green tea in front of him.

Edin opted for an iced tea because he was the type who swore by cold drinks even in the middle of winter.

“I-I’m fine… Thanks.”

The two boys spent the next few minutes quietly sipping their drinks. During this time, Yuel thought about what had led to this moment. The reason he didn’t want to be alone at home was because it made him remember what had happened on Saturday. He hadn’t checked his messages once since then, but there were probably a bunch from Kyungwon.

Perhaps this was for the better. At least now, Yuel really felt motivated to cut all contact with Kyungwon, even though he did feel sorry to Sori.

“Oh, it’s almost Hyunsoo’s birthday,” Edin said, seeing the date on his phone.

“Hyunsoo?” Yuel responded to the unfamiliar name. Since it sounded like a girl’s name to him, he asked, “Is that your sister?”

“Yeah,” Edin replied with a grin. “She’s my little sister.”

Yuel recalled Edin mentioning his older sister before and automatically assumed he was the youngest in the family. It seemed fitting of him to be so. But as it turned out, he was actually the middle child.

So he’s an oppa too, Yuel thought, wondering what kind of big brother he was to Hyunsoo and how it compared to his relationship with Sori. Considering how attentive and thoughtful he was to him, Yuel was inclined to believe Edin was just as nice to his little sister at home. It made Yuel feel even more guilty about the fact that he hadn’t talked to Sori all week.

“Do you have any siblings?” Edin asked.

“Huh? Oh… I have a little sister, too.”

“Wow, we have something in common.”

Edin’s eyes were practically sparkling with delight. Yuel didn’t think it was anything to be that happy about. But then again, Edin seemed to get excited about even the smallest things when it came to him.

Yuel shook his head. “Not really. We’re only half-siblings. My parents got a divorce, and my mom remarried and had her, so…”

Yuel wasn’t sure what made him reveal so much to Edin. He had never once mentioned his family matters to anyone at school. But now that he had with Edin, he realized that it wasn’t as difficult as he thought. Or perhaps it only felt that way because it was Edin he was talking to.

“Then, we definitely have something in common,” Edin said. “I’m not exactly related to Hyunsoo by blood, either.”

“Your parents are divorced, too?”

“Oh, no. Honestly, I sometimes wish they would be a little less loving toward each other.”

“I don’t get it.”

“I’m saying my parents tend to be overly affectionate—”

“No, not that. I mean I don’t get what you mean by not being blood-related to your little sister.”

“Ah, well, you’ll know what I mean if you meet her. Do you want to go see her right now?”

“Right now?”

Yuel looked at him in disbelief. But Edin finished the rest of his iced tea, seeing that Yuel was done with his drink, and got up. He wanted to reach out his hand, but he had a feeling Yuel wouldn’t take it. Instead, he nodded toward the door.

“Come on, let’s go. I’m sure Hyunsoo will love you. Probably.”