Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

At ten, Kihyun felt like he was the luckiest boy in the whole world.

Even if he had never met his mother, for she had passed away giving labour to him, Kihyun had never felt like he was missing something. He had never felt like he needed a mother figure in his daily life.

Every morning, after he woke up and got ready, he would meet his father and they would go to their family 24 hour diner. Yoo Jongwon, Kihyun’s dad, was the owner of the most famous diner in the district and Kihyun loved spending time there. His father treasured the diner as much as he treasured his son, treating his employees just like a member of the family. Once Kihyun got there every morning, he would be greeted by Hyolyn, the cashier-slash-manager, and the rest of the gang, and Kihyun would feel like the most special boy, pampered by them.

It was not the only nice thing Yoo Jongwon did for Kihyun either. Jongwon and Kihyun did everything together, a father-and-son duo, up to the point that Kihyun thought that his dad was the best person and his best friend.

Jongwon taught Kihyun everything, and it’s not only the trivial things like how to ride a bike or how to play catch (that, Jongwon also did and they played baseball together so very often). Jongwon also taught Kihyun to keep believing in himself. That Kihyun was special because he was himself and that no one could take it from him. That every dream could be achieved if Kihyun just believed and remember who he was. And Yoo Jongwon would never let Kihyun forget it, for he would always remind them every time they read a fairytale book before Kihyun went to sleep.

“Everything you need in life, you would find it here.” Yoo Jongwon would always say as he patted the blue fairytale print, Kihyun smiled brightly yet sleepily beside him, “Don’t forget that.”

Kihyun didn’t need anything else. Kihyun didn’t ask for anything else. But Yoo Jongwon, being a long-time widower and someone who would think of Kihyun above anything else, would think that a family consisting of a father wasn’t enough for his only son; so Yoo Jongwon brought Lee Minhyuk into their lives.

Lee Minhyuk was also a widower who worked odd jobs to support his small family. He met Yoo Jongwon at the diner, when they were celebrating Kihyun’s eleventh birthday. Minhyuk was visibly rushed, with disheveled hair, tired eyes, mumbling lips, and baggy clothes, clutching to take away food when he bumped into Kihyun’s father. Yoo Jongwon and Lee Minhyuk instantly felt a connection that eventually led to their marriage. A marriage that introduced Minhyuk as Kihyun’s new stepfather, and Kihyun to his new step brothers of the same age, Minhyuk’s two sons; Jooheon and Changkyun. They soon became Kihyun’s stepfamily.

Everyone said that having a step family would be a living hell. However, Kihyun was ecstatic. He saw that his father looked even happier (he never knew that his father would like a man too!) with the new addition to the family. As for their relationship, nothing changed at all. Kihyun and his father still spent a lot of time together, played baseball together, ate at the diner together, and read fairytale stories before Jongwon tucked Kihyun to the bed and kissed his forehead.

Nothing could make Kihyun feel like he wasn’t the luckiest boy in the whole world.

Until it happened.

An enormous earthquake robbed Kihyun of his most treasured hero. Yoo Jongwon died that day, trying to save Minhyuk and Jooheon from a falling wall in their house. And since Yoo Jongwon didn’t leave a will, Kihyun’s stepfather Minhyuk got everything; the house, the diner, and to his dismay, Kihyun himself.

And Kihyun’s life of misfortunes then began.

Chapter Text

“Kih — ”

.

.. bzzt,

.

..” — hyun!”

.

..

“Yoohoo, Kihyun —”

.

.. bzzt,

.

..

“YOO KIHYUN!”

“Ouch!”

Shrill shriek of Minhyuk’s voice resonated through a speaker on Kihyun’s messy desk, powerful enough to wake Kihyun from his deep slumber with such force that Kihyun bumped his toe on his desk. Shit , Kihyun internally cursed, frantically looking around to see where he had been sleeping all night, book crease apparent on his mushy cheek, I must’ve fallen asleep! Shit, I haven’t reviewed the AP Bio. Am I late? Shit, I think I am. I shoul —

“Yoo Kihyun, are you there?” Minhyuk-through-the-speaker asked again, voice bored yet demanding. Kihyun rolled his sleepy eyes. Oh yes. Of course. He forgot that he must prepare the daily morning ritual for his needy step father. “It’s breakfast time! Where is my salmon?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I fell asleep. I needed to study for this big exam and I —”

“Do I sound like I care?! Bring me my breakfast! ” Kihyun’s sentence got cut mid-through by another shrill, making the speaker buzzing in effect. Honestly. One more scream and the speaker would explode any other day. Kihyun groaned, responding to another demand of Minhyuk’s, screaming “Kihyun!! ”

Trotting as quickly as possible, Kihyun juggled a tray filled with a plate of raw salmon and three glasses of organic orange juice. He walked a little bit more carefully when he finally got into the pool area, where his step brothers Jooheon and Changkyun were having their morning practices for synchronized swimming (they did really bad despite their absolute enthusiasm—or at least it was what Kihyun observed. And what their coach desperately said). The brothers splashed water everywhere every time they attempted to do an underwater backflip.

“Here you go, Minhyuk,”  Kihyun said as he put down the tray on a table next to Minhyuk, who was sunbathing while reading a book called The Salmon Diet . Kihyun never called Minhyuk ‘dad’, and Minhyuk definitely never encouraged him to do so.

Minhyuk only slightly looked up, for the summer sun shining too brightly even though he was wearing sunglasses. As he reached for the fork, Minhyuk croaked again, “Is this the Norwegian salmon that I ordered?”

“Yeah. I sliced a new one. Only the best for you!” Kihyun nodded, “And I also bring juices for Jooheon and Changkyun, in case they’re thirsty after practising so much.”

Minhyuk grabbed a slice of salmon and put it directly into his mouth. He chewed for a while then he hummed appreciatively, not to Kihyun but to the salmon. “Yeah, I can tell. It cost a lot of fortune to fly those stuffs from Norwegia. It would hurt my wallet if it’s not the best.”

Their attention was distracted for a while by a scream from Changkyun. He wanted to do a backflip but accidently hit Jooheon’s head instead, and now they were fighting inside the pool, each of them trying to drown one another. Their coach blew the whistle frantically, trying to separate them by shouting orders at them.

“What are you doing? Get to work!” Once Minhyuk remembered what he had been doing, he barked another order at Kihyun, “The tables aren’t going to wait for itself!”

Kihyun pursed his lips. A slight change in his demeanor was visibly noted by Minhyuk, who was raising one of his perfectly shaped eyebrows. Kihyun laced his own fingers while shifting his weight from one feet to another. “Mmm, Minhyuk, I can’t go to work today.” Kihyun slowly and carefully explained, “I have this big exam I need to prepare and—”

“Listen Kihyun,” Minhyuk let out a hyperbolic sigh. He sat up a little bit straighter, his The Salmon Diet book was closed on his lap with a soft thud sound. The obnoxious sunglasses were taken off, showing his bright yet annoying pair of brown eyes. “People go to school to get smarter, so that they can get a job. You already have a job. It’s like skipping a step.” Kihyun pouted at this, but Minhyuk didn’t care. “Come on, get going!”

And because Kihyun didn’t have anything he could use to argue, he could only give up and whisper a yes as he walked back to the house to get ready.

Kihyun worked morning and night shifts at his father’s old diner, the 24 hour glorious food place now rebranded as Hyukkie’s and abandoned the ancient baseball interior for a retro and purple neon aesthetic one. Despite the drastic changes, the diner managed to retain its old customer and still stood tall as one of the most famous diners in the neighborhood. Kihyun worked as a waiter there before and after school, for Minhyuk wouldn’t give him pocket money if he didn’t do so.

He didn’t mind it, though. Hyukkie’s still employed his father’s old employees. Going there was like a trip for Kihyun, because he knew everyone there and no one was barking ridiculous orders at him on a daily basis. Kihyun usually worked diligently and happily, when he didn’t have a big test in which he was really unprepared for.

And Hyolyn, as usual, noticed it.

“Hey, Yoo Kihyun!” Hyolyn called, walking towards a rushing Kihyun who was putting dirty plates and glasses into a grey basket, “What are you doing here?”

“Obviously, I’m working.” Kihyun didn’t look up and keep strolling (the employees were required to wear a roller skate as part of the uniform—something that Kihyun didn’t really understand), picking one dirty plate at a time. “And you should too, Hyolyn.”

Hyolyn had been always in Kihyun’s side. She was there when Kihyun lost his father, she was there when Minhyuk first started to get Kihyun work at the diner, and she was there when Kihyun needed someone to talk to. Hyolyn felt a big mother bear emotions every time she looked at Kihyun, so she liked to fuss about him.

“You should go to school!” she exclaimed, “You’ll be late!”

“I’ll get there,” a mere mumble was all that Kihyun could give as a response, “Minhyuk would kill me if he didn’t see this diner cleaned when she got here.”

“Your father would want you at school, not here,” again, Hyolyn tried to give Kihyun a little bit of understanding, “A diner is no school, fluffykins.”

“But—”

“No more buts!” Hyolyn finally snapped, snatching the basket full of dirty dishes from Kihyun’s hand. Kihyun tried to take the basket back, but Hyolin swatted his hand with a hard whack. “You leave Minhyuk and his big butts to me.”

A small, grateful smile formed on Kihyun’s thin lips. He hugged Hyolyn for a while, before rolling to the counter and taking his bag and books with him. “Thanks, Hyolyn. I owe you big.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now get going!”

He was very, very late. But fortunately, Kihyun didn’t have to walk and wait around for a bus to get to school—or to commute. Because Minhyuk wanted to make sure that Kihyun got home and got to work punctually, Minhyuk let Kihyun drive his father’s old Mercedes car as his own. The ancient car was now rusty, the machine made a weird, coughing sound, and it moved a little bit slower than it used to. But it did the job and Kihyun definitely couldn’t get another, nicer car, so he bore with it.

Also, the old car opened another friendship for him. When Kihyun first got his licence and brought the car to the school, a kid finally came and spoke to him for the first time, saying that he loved Kihyun’s old Mercedes due to the fact that his father collected one too. After that, Kihyun’s friendship with Hoseok was history, because since then, they did everything together.

Kihyun honked the horn when he finally got to Hoseok’s house. They had all the classes together, so he would always pick him up and they would go to school together. It was fun; Hoseok was a member of their school’s drama club and often went to auditions for plays or commercials. Hoseok always claimed that he was a method actor, so he never wore the same style of clothes in a week. 

It was always fun to guess what Hoseok would wear every time he walked through his parent’s house door.

“Yo, yo, yo!”

Apparently, today was a rapper-wannabe day.

“Hey. Lil’ Seok? What’s that?” Kihyun laughed at the big chain necklace Hoseok wore. Hoseok had it custom made and now it was bearing his name on a tacky gold plate. Good thing that Hoseok’s family was well-off that he could afford to make things such as a gold chain necklace. “What a shitty rapper name you got there.”

“I ain’t askin for yall’s opinion.” Hoseok calmly answered, pulling his oversized ripped jeans before he opened the car door and let himself sit beside Kihyun on the passenger seat. The rustic fabric he wore made a sizzling sound, loud enough for Kihyun to form a frown on his face. “You waitin or somethin?”

“Um, yeah.” Kihyun was glad that Hoseok asked, because he was so ready to give him a piece of his mind. His calloused hand immediately reached for Hoseok’s beanie, pulling it as quickly as possible that it made Hoseok’s perfectly coiffed hair messed up as the result. “I can’t drive you if you’re like this, sorry.”

And cue; Hoseok’s exaggerated disbelief. Kihyun sighed. How many times had he seen this kind of routine?

“Ki, I’m a method actor, okay. This,” Hoseok gestured to his outfit, prompting a stifled snort from Kihyun, “Is part of my training!”

“I know, but still.” Kihyun threw Hoseok’s beanie back to him, “Change your clothes or I’m going to leave you here.”

“I hate you.” was the only thing Hoseok could muster before he gave up and went back to his house, three times changing his clothes until Kihyun approved his outfit; one that wouldn’t make them the bigger target of the school.

Kihyun drove a little bit faster than usual, making Hoseok jumpy on his seat every time the car turned and almost giving into a drift. Even with the speed, the school parking lot was already full when they got there—their school was located in a high-end area and even though it was a public one, most of the students were well off enough to bring their own transportation method. The school announcer, Bora, a quirky girl who looked tough but sounded very nice and warm, had already begun their daily announcement. Her voice could be heard throughout the building; “Buenos diaz, Fighting Frogs. Happy Earth Day! Don’t forget to conserve water, as we’re… ”

Kihyun needed to drive around the lot three times before Hoseok pointed to an empty space hidden between packed cars.

“Ki, there’s a spo—”

“ Oops! ”

Kihyun slammed the brake as fast as he could and it almost made both of them hit the dashboard, if only they weren’t wearing their seatbelts. His reflexes were apparently pretty good, considering that the convertible cut the way so very dangerously.

“Okay, you snooze you lose!” the group claimed, laughing with great dismay, “OMG he’s such a loser! Did you see his face though, Wonnie?”

The bunch consisted of one boy and two girls, the three of them were the queen bees of the school. Led by Chae Hyungwon, the wealthiest, the second most influential student, and not to mention the cheerleading captain, the three of them controlled the social hierarchy. High school was their kingdom, so Hyungwon, Dasom, and Soyou weren’t going to let anyone forget it—especially Yoo Kihyun, the notorious diner boy and geek in the neighborhood.

“Well,” Hoseok said, his voice can only be heard by Kihyun behind the safe space of his old car, “If it isn’t Chae Hyungwon and his ladies-in-waiting,” Kihyun rolled his eyes at this, “Hyungwon wants me so bad.”

“You’ve never even talked to him before!” the shorter of the two exclaimed, disbelief clearly shown through his annoyed eyes. “We’re not having this conversation again.”

“Ooh, I’ve talked to him okay? In my mind, okay?” Hoseok responded to Kihyun, but his eyes never left Hyungwon. Hoseok kept staring and he didn’t miss anything; Hyungwon opened his convertible, Hyungwon swiped his bangs out of his beautiful face, Hyungwon smiled wickedly with Dasom and Soyou, Hyungwon fixed his designer clothes, Hyungwon chatted happily while leaning on his convertible, “In my mind, let me tell ya, in my mind, he wants me so bad.”

Dasom apparently noticed that the old car was still facing towards them, with Kihyun and Hoseok gawking at them. She sighed exaggeratedly, whispering to Hyungwon before leaning towards the backseat of the convertible to take out a megaphone (Kihyun was like, what the fuck do they need that for? Oh I forget. They’re cheerleaders. They need to make their presence more annoying than they already have ) and give it to Hyungwon. Hyungwon didn’t even need to be told twice.

“Get off, stalkerazzi.” Hyungwon said, “This zone is for cool people only. No geeks.”

“Fuckers.” Kihyun muttered behind his breath, but got ready to move his car because Hoseok spotted another empty space not far from where they were at the moment. But of course, when Kihyun’s car rolled towards the space, he got cut off again.

“Oh come on!” Kihyun screamed, bumping his tiny fist into the steer. The big Jeep was as annoying as the mini convertible. It was even more annoying because the second cutting made his car restarted.

“Hyunwoo!”

Hyungwon’s voice made Kihyun look towards the car. Of course. Of course . The Jeep was driven by Hyunwoo, the star quarterback of Fighting Frogs, their football team. He dropped off the car with so much pretentiousness (at least it was what Kihyun thought, no one stepped off from the car looking that cool thank you very much), followed by his friends, Jackson and Gunhee. Hyungwon immediately walked cutely to where Hyunwoo stood up, pecked his lips, then hugged his buff arms.

Kihyun wanted to gag.

“I swear, people like Hyungwon and Hyunwoo are genetically designed to find each other.” Kihyun said. His hands and feet were still busy trying to restart his car, “How can there be so much ego in a relationship?”

“I don’t know, but you better start that car ASAP,” Hoseok “Or they would start calling you Diner Boy before you could even go to the first period.”

Hoseok was right, so Kihyun didn’t respond and just rode his car around, trying to find another empty spot in the parking lot. It took them three minutes, but they could manage it five minutes before the first period bell rang.

So much for trying to survive the big exam.

Chapter Text

“ Move. ”

Hyungwon didn’t have to say twice, and neither did those who heard them. When Hyungwon and his girls walked in the hall, people actually stopped and waited until they were gone. The people were separated as if they were the sea and Hyungwon was Moses; only he was supporting a head-to-toe designer outfit and smug face and leading a herd of equally mean-faced cheerleaders as followers.

They were the unholy trinity of the school. They ruled them all, because they could, and they wanted to. Hyungwon was born to be a queen, a ruler, the only one that always mattered. He didn’t want to become second best. Everything nice and good should have belonged solely to him .

The rest of the students—freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors; they all did—said sorry for standing in Hyungwon’s way and scurried off in a hurry. As much as they hated them, they also loved them. Dasom and Soyou rolled their eyes, scoffing at their audacity to talk to the de facto queen of the high school, even to say sorry. Those students should just keep their head down and look away. They were the royalties, and the school was like their version of Versailles. Hyungwon, Dasom, and Soyou should be the first ones to speak—

“Hyungwon! Hyungwon !”

“Hi, brother-friend!”

—not the other way around.

The three cheerleaders scrunched their faces, visibly annoyed by how loud and obnoxious Jooheon and Changkyun waved their hands to the trio. Hyungwon, whose name was called by the disastrous duo, winced as he waved back, never however, taking a single stop on his way to the cafeteria. Jooheon and Changkyun looked confused, but happy enough to be acknowledged by the pink-haired tall guy.

“Remind us why we tolerate them?”  Hyungwon asked, having walked two-three steps away from the giggling Olsen twin-wannabes that were Jooheon and Changkyun.

“Because they gave you a Prada bag for your birthday,” Dasom said, you being directed to Soyou, who scoffed and muttered, “Try Frada bag. Totally fake.”

The three of them kept walking to their designated seats at the center of the cafeteria, where almost all people could see them from any direction possible. Chin high, head talk, heels always make a clickity-clickity sound, and Hyungwon bumped into Kihyun, whose chocolate milk almost spilled onto his white Gabbana shirt.

“Uh yes, sorry, I was—”

“Seriously, Diner Boy?” Dasom screeched, “Just move away, you dork. Jesus, people nowadays.”

If only Kihyun didn’t remember that fighting was extremely time wasting, he would have jumped and scratched Dasom’s pretty-but-annoying face and let her scream to death. Thankfully, Hoseok’s big wave distracted him from future catastrophe, leading Kihyun to forget whatever they were bickering about. Soon after, Kihyun found himself sitting down directly across Hoseok, whose eyes never left Hyungwon.

“Stop staring, Hoseok. It was weird.”

Hoseok gasped, pretending to be hurt by the crude inside Kihyun’s words. “Uhm, sorry, all mighty and cool Yoo Kihyun. Did someone bite your sandwich and spit them back, because you’re acting nasty and I don’t know if I can tolerate it further.”

Kihyun actually threw a pickle towards his best friend as a retaliation. A wide smile and cheerful chuckle followed soon after, signaling that they were bickering just like usual.

“What makes you get fixated on Hyungwon so much anyway?” the words came out a little bit in a stutter, due to the large sandwich inside Kihyun’s mouth, not bothering to chew and swallow first because Kihyun knew Hoseok could decipher it anyway, “Hyungwon is so… I don’t know. Fake . No high school student acts like he does, it’s not natural.”

“Dude, I really wanted to record your reasonings and play them to you sometimes because honestly you can answer your own damn question. Hyungwon being unnaturally perfect was the reason why he was so popular. No one could do it like Hyungwon, yet he does it so effortlessly and I know people hate him but also, who doesn’t want to be with him and get a small spray of the sunshine shot through his body? Apart from you anyway.”

Hoseok rolled his eyes when he realized that Kihyun was not listening to him anymore and busied himself with his phone, smiling all the way to his ears while drumming his fingers and typing words inside a bubble chat. Should’ve seen this coming.

“Besides, you’re the last person that should criticize Hyungwon for being fake, though. Or am I wrong, dear princetonboy2211?”

“Oh shut up.” Kihyun had the audacity to look fluttered. Red burst from his cheeks to his ears and neck, showing that he actually acknowledged what Hoseok had told him. At least Hyungwon put his own identity out there. Kihyun had to shy away behind a pseudonym that he chose; princetonboy2211. He swallowed a big gulp of diet soda and started to gather his things. “I hate you and I’m going first. Bye.”

“Oh yes. Leave me for a secret admirer. How nice of a best friend you are, Mister!”

“Go ogle on Hyungwon and leave me alone, please.”

“Will do, sire. Will do.”

**

nomad_1806: how was your day so far?

nomad_1806: i miss you.

princetonboy2211: pfft. we talked this morning!

nomad_1806: honestly, it feels so long.

nomad_1806: you haven’t answered my question, though.

princetonboy2211: ugh. raging stepmom, work, and cool guys that can’t get over themselves.

princetonboy2211: ever feel that you don’t belong?

nomad_1806: absolutely.

nomad_1806: i can be surrounded by a sea of people and feel all alone.

nomad_1806: then i think of you.

princetonboy2211: LOL

nomad_1806: ah. i really want to hear your laugh.

nomad_1806: when can we finally meet?

princetonboy2211: soon!

princetonboy2211: hey nomad, do you think we’ve ever met?

nomad_1806: i don’t know. our school has over 500 kids.

nomad_1806: well, at least i just need to focus on the 500 kids.

nomad_1806: you really go to our highschool right?

nomad_1806: because if you don’t, i’ll kick your butt.

princetonboy2211: lmao. i am!

princetonboy2211: don’t worry, k?

princetonboy2211: anw, have you told your dad about princeton yet?

nomad_1806: uh, not yet. if only i could.

nomad_1806: haven’t even told him i want to be a writer.

princetonboy2211: my dad always told me to pursue my dreams.

nomad_1806: not mine.

nomad_1806: well, he has a whole set of plans for my life.

princetonboy2211: ugh. sorry to hear that :(

princetonboy2211: btw, i really need to turn in.

princetonboy2211: work at 5 mins.

princetonboy2211: good day!

nomad_1806: wait.

nomad_1806: i can’t continue without knowing there’s hope.

nomad_1806: as i lay, i waste in sighs.

nomad_1806: in my wake moments, i sorrow.

nomad_1806: for the hands,

nomad_1806: the lips,

nomad_1806: the eyes,

nomad_1806: for the meeting of tomorrow.

princetonboy2211: influenced by tennyson, huh?

princetonboy2211: impressive.

nomad_1806: haha.

nomad_1806: well, i have a favor.

nomad_1806: please meet me at the homecoming dance.

nomad_1806: i’ll be waiting for you at 11 o’clock

nomad_1806: in the middle of the dance floor.

nomad_1806: good luck on your work.

nomad_1806: hope there’s no unreasonable customers.

**

Kihyun’s eyes almost bulged out of its socket, reading three of the last chats sent by Nomad. He almost threw his phone away, if only he didn’t remember that he couldn’t afford a new one.

“Fuck me. Now what should I do?”

Chapter Text

Kihyun almost got heart palpitations. He did bad at work and after an hour Hyorin sent him home, promising she wouldn’t tell Minhyuk she did so. Kihyun still couldn’t think straight, and he couldn’t go back to home yet, so he immediately called Hoseok and took him to the school’s baseball field.

The sun was still high, the school was still crowded with kids. The football team was still practicing on a field next to theirs, its captain (“Hyunwoo’s here. Where’s Hyungwon? I want to see him!” Hoseok had said excitedly when they first got into the pit) leading a throw and catch practice session.

Kihyun held a bat and Hoseok scaredly put baseballs into a launcher. He couldn’t throw that far, due to his fright of getting hit with the ball, so Kihyun made him do it.

“Ugh!”

Baseball would always be Kihyun’s coping mechanism. Everytime he was stressed, he would do it. It felt like his father was still here, giving him advice, a way to reconnect with him even though he was now in heaven.

“Aaah!

But his concentration was a little bit broken because Hoseok screamed a little, as Kihyun made the ball hit his shoulder slightly. His bedazzled shirt, courtesy of his punk outfit of the day, gleaming under the scorching light of the drought sun.

“Okay that was close, that was fine, okay.” Hoseok hurriedly got himself together, and took another ball from a basket next to him. “Well, Ki! It’s good, right? You can finally meet this Nomad guy.”

“I don’t know!” Kihyun shouted, because they were a little bit far apart, “This guy is a little too good to be true. A poet who can understand me? Meh.”

Hoseok put a ball into the launcher and immediately, Kihyun hit another one, sending it far behind Hoseok who sighed in relief.

“Well, it’s been… I don’t know, three? Three months since you met him in that Princeton chatroom, okay?” Hoseok reasoned as he scrunched down and took another ball, “You talked to him all the time, Ki. You know him.” And he launched another ball.

“Yeah, but he—doesn’t—know—me!” another great hit, sadly it also caught Hoseok in his tummy (he groaned and cursed, but continued to help Kihyun unwind), “What if I meet him and I’m not someone he expects? Maybe this relationship is better for cyberspace.”

 Hoseok sighed, feeling dejected. Kihyun was a little bit stubborn and he needed to be constantly reminded not to put himself down. He definitely wouldn’t let this conversation down, so he replied, “Okay, you have to go to this dance okay. T-this Nomad guy, isn’t gonna be there for long. You clearly like his company. If it helps, I’m going to be your escort.”

Now he just had to focus on staying alive, because Kihyun didn’t look like he’s going to stop hitting baseball anytime soon.

“Really? Well, thank you, Hoseok.” Kihyun was ready for another ball launch, but his phone rang from inside his pocket, “Uh, wait. Got a call—” Kihyun threw his bat away, rushing to get his phone out. He scowled a little when he saw the name plastered on the screen, but he took it anyway.

“Ki??”

Kihyun winced. Minhyuk was so loud.

“Some little brat took my salmon and ate it all! I need a new salmon! And pick up my dry cleaning! And wash the Jag!”

And guess what? He hung up. Not a word about Kihyun, no hi how are you, no am I bothering you sweetheart, nothing. It’s not new. Kihyun just shrugged, put his phone back to his pants pocket, and got his bat back. “Minhyuk. Okay, one last pitch!”

Hoseok, who was considerably pale throughout the afternoon, was now getting his color back. He was visibly relieved that the session is going to end so soon, and didn’t shy away from hiding it. “Why do you act like his slave?” Hoseok asked as he put the last ball to the launch.

“Simple… No Minhyuk…” Kihyun imagined the ball as Minhyuk’s annoying face, screaming and begging for Kihyun not to hit him on the pretty little fake face he got, “...No money for—Princeton!”

The ball got into a homerun. It flew way across the field to where the baseball team was training, almost hit the captain there. Son Hyunwoo chuckled, took the ball, and threw it away back to Kihyun, who responded with a loud and nice thank you!.

**

Another dull day for Hyunwoo. Actually, every day was a dull day for Hyunwoo.

Waking up felt like a job. He had everything scheduled down to the dot. Every day, he would wake up, get a shower, and help his father with his business. Then he would take his car to his friends’ houses, so that they could go to school together. After a kiss from his boyfriend (whom he got together because he blurted out a yes when Hyungwon asked and it wasn’t hurt to havehim around because Shownu thought he was so beautiful and likeable in his own way), he would just go directly to his AP classes, where the teacher would sing uncomfortable praises of how they think Hyunwoo was so responsible, smart, have such a good leadership, not to mention the student body president, and that every other student in the school should make him an example and learn from him.

Hyunwoo would love to think that he could get some steam off with his football practice almost every day, but ever since his father noticed that Hyunwoo did a little better than his teammates, it was not fun anymore. Not even close. His father became obsessed with it, treating it as a family coping mechanism ever since Hyunwoo’s mother died of cancer. He planned Hyunwoo’s entire life based on the football game. Football sooner became no more than a job for Hyunwoo; it’s not fun anymore, it’s not relaxing, it’s adding more stress that now he’s the captain and the quarterback. The only piece missing from his father’s vision board for Hyunwoo was to have a football scholarship from USC and graduate to continue the family business.

He was almost getting mad from all the expectation and the responsibility that every single person seemed to put on his shoulder until he stumbled upon Princetonboy in a Princeton chat room when he was desperate to feel something. He didn’t think that talking to a stranger over the internet would be so comfortable. He’d never feel at home as much as talking to Princetonboy.

Hyunwoo smiled from behind the cashier counter. He got home not long ago, practice today wasn’t a very heavy one, so he politely asked if he could go first due to his part-time job at his father’s. He had been sitting there for more than one hour, standing up occasionally to serve some customer. But after, Hyunwoo would go back to what he’s been looking at throughout the entire time he’s sitting there.

He smiled, a wide one. Eyes glued on to his phone, during peak hours of his family’s business of the most famous car washing spot in the area called Son’s. Hyunwoo had met this guy in Princeton chat room months ago, and they kicked it off nicely. Now they almost always chatted to each other, stopping only when they needed to study or sleep.

nomad_1806: i’ll be waiting for you at 11 o’clock

nomad_1806: in the middle of the dance floor.

But he hadn’t met the guy yet, and he was curious. He wanted to know who was the guy who was so accepting of who he was, even though he didn’t know his father or his own name. It’s all a mystery to Hyunwoo, and it made him excited.

nomad_1806: good luck on your work.

nomad_1806: hope there’s no unreasonable customers.

It’d been several hours. Princeton Boy hadn’t replied yet. He was taking it longer than usual.

Hyunwoo wondered. Would it be a yes? A no? He almost held his breath. The homecoming dance would be the next day, and he wasn’t sure if he could be patient enough to wait for another day to come. But it was homecoming! Everyone surely went to it, right? It was the perfect excuse. No one would miss it, especially when his school has a tradition to turn homecoming dance into a Halloween dance party.

Hyunwoo checked into his phone once more, hoping that by now Princeton Boy had already repl—

“Hyunwoo!”

—ied.

Sighs. Another summon from the King. Hyunwoo stayed on his seat, making zero effort to acknowledge his father’s calls. It’s so typical. Something happened and he would come looking for Hyunwoo. Sometimes he just wanted everything and everyone to leave him alone.

“Hyunwoo!”

“Yeah?”

His father, seeing that Hyunwoo didn’t make any attempt to come closer or even turn his seat and look at him, walked towards his son instead. He slammed a paperboard with a stack of empty car washing order papers still intact, eyes intensely drilled on Hyunwoo’s face.

“What are you doing with those college brochures I found in your room?” Her father asked, voice sounded more confused rather than accusing. It gave Hyunwoo hopes. “Are you trying to keep your options open?”

Hyunwoo’s eyes perked up, expression brighter. He turned to see his father, an excited smile hanging on his lips, “Yeah Dad, I’ve been thinking that I—”

“Well, don’t.” As quickly as Hyunwoo’s father gave him hope, he crushed it and stepped on it as if it was nothing. His stern voice was back, not to mention the strong clench of his jaw that made Hyunwoo immediately thought that the tip point of his shoes was more interesting to see than his father’s face right now. “We’ve been through this before, Hyunwoo. USC Football is the best for you. Then you’re going to graduate and help me here at Son’s. We’ve been planning for the whole thing since you were nine. Don’t mess up. Now go take some orders.”

**

Kihyun’s chores of the afternoon went quite easy. He only needed to pick up Minhyuk’s dry cleaning, get his stepfather’s share of a high-quality raw salmon from the diner, then wash the Jag. Kihyun would opt to wash his car by himself, but since Minhyuk loved to shower himself with luxurious and mostly obnoxious things, Kihyun would need to get the car washed at Son’s.

And here he was, at Son’s, waiting for his turn to get Minhyuk’s car washed. He didn’t realize that someone was coming to get his order, because he was busy rearranging Minhyuk’s piling dry cleaning (in which throughout the entire time Kihyun arranged it, he thought of how could Minhyuk had so much shiny leathery clothes, and how Minhyuk was such as show off).

“Hey.”

“Oh shit! You scared me.” Kihyun said after he could catch his breath. He went back to organize Minhyuk’s stuff; he didn’t bother to say what kind of car wash he wanted because Minhyuk insisted that the entire family got their car washed here, so Kihyun was kind of a regular with the exact same order every time he turned up here. “Just the regular, thank you.”

“Well, I think today you need a wax. Looks awful.”

“Wait, excuse me?!” Kihyun’s high pitched voice expresses how offended he was with the claim that the Son’s employee threw upon him. He even glared.

“Oh, sorry.” Son Hyunwoo chuckled as he wrote down Kihyun’s order receipt, “I meant the car.”

“O-ohh. Uhm. Yeah, well,” fuck, “Okay then. I’m sorry too for—”

Annoying and loud car horns shifted both of Kihyun and Hyunwoo’s attention from each other, as two dirtiest cars in the whole world, so dirty that they looked like the drivers intended to make them dirty, arrived at the car wash. Two SUVs of the same breed only in different colours—one gold and one silver—cut the line and stopped directly beside where Kihyun and Hyunwoo stood. Kihyun rolled his eyes.

“Hyunwoo!” Jooheon stepped out of the gold car, looking extremely ecstatic it looks like he gulped down tons of sugar with all those fidgeting and giggling, “I need my car washed!”

“Yeah me too, Hyunwoo!” his younger brother Changkyun followed, stepping out from the silver one, jumped as he walked to claim a position next to Jooheon’s, pointing to their cars “Look, dirt!”

Hyunwoo looked confused, between wanting to ask how the hell they got their car that dirty—basically every single inch of the body was coated in mud—and also needing to heed to the orders because above anything else, the two brothers were his customers. He ended up with saying “Someone will get to you, guys,” to Jooheon and Changkyun, and giving an order receipt to Kihyun while saying “Give this to the cashier when you’re done and thank you very much.”

Jooheon and Changkyun still giggled together even when Hyunwoo’s gone back, tending other orders. Both brothers talked in an excited hush, gushing over how handsome Hyunwoo was, how he was so cute when he looked lost, and that they should do this more often together.

“So,” Kihyun folded his arms, eyes accusing. Even though he was a little bit shorter than the two, his stance made it impossible to be unnoticed. “Who did you guys pay to make your cars look so dirty?”

“Uhm, excuse me,” Jooheon mock accused, perfectly imitating Kihyun’s pose with exaggerated flailing gestures, “Like who are you? The dirt police?”

Changkyun laughed loudly beside his twin brother. “Yeah! The dirt police!” Changkyun added, in between his laughs, only to be responded with an eye roll from Kihyun, “Like, excuse me sir, but do you know how fast your dirt were going? Get it? The dirt police? Hahaha!”

Jooheon gave Changkyun an exasperated sigh.

“You should’ve stopped at the dirt police.” Jooheon said, which immediately shut Changkyun up. The older of the two then shifted his weight, now looking at Kihyun again with the same judging eyes and body language that screamed I’m Minhyuk’s son, so you better listen to me before I tell you off to my father. “You know, you should get going because our dad is looking for you.”

“Well, where is he right now?” Kihyun asked, decided to ignore the two’s antics and focused on the more important matter and hand which was Minhyuk’s orders.

“He’s at home,” this time, Changkyun answered. “Tanning.”

Ugh.

“Right.”

**

Once the Jag was ready, Kihyun sped up to their home—well, his late father’s home that now was owned by Minhyuk because he was the other parental figure and his father didn’t leave any will. He left Minhyuk’s dry cleaning at the living room and the salmon in the fridge, rechecking once to make sure that he didn’t leave anything behind, before he went to the poolside where the self-tanning bed was placed.

“You want to see me?”

“Yes!” the tanning bed opened, revealing a butt naked Minhyuk, who had zero shame in showcasing his well-made body to his stepson, making Kihyun yelped as he slammed his palms to cover his eyes. “I want to tell you that you need to take a night shift on the thirty-first. I just fired someone and it would be bad for my skin if I’m stressed out just to look for another waiter.”

Minhyuk’s loud slurps signed that now Kihyun could see his stepfather without having a traumatic experience. At least now Minhyuk’s lower body was covered in a rainbow towel that would probably cost more than Kihyun’s two week worth of wages.

“Um… That night is my day off, Minhyuk.” Kihyun said, politely, as not to make Minhyuk offended. He shifted his weight from one foot to another. He just could not work at that time. “And I was planning to go to the school dance, so…”

“I know, Kihyun.” Minhyuk replied, after sighing and putting down his drink, “But you need to stop being so self-centered, Kihyun, and start thinking of others. And others need you to come to the diner on the thirty-first and mop the floor.”

Kihyun scoffed. He could not believe it. Out of anyone in the world, it was Minhyuk who was telling him not to be self-centered? Was it supposed to be a joke?

“B-but, please, Minhyuk. I really need to go to this dance. I have to.” Kihyun pleaded.

“Come on Kihyun. You need to earn your tuition money for college.” Minhyuk waved him off, “You gotta wipe a lot of tables.”

“Minhyuk, I’m a straight-A student,” Kihyun started. He really needed to be at the dance. He could feel his eyes getting teared up. “I worked seven days a week, and I take extra AP classes. I’ve never asked you for anything, Minhyuk. Please just let me go to this dance!”

Again, for the countless times, Minhyuk gave another long sigh. Now he was looking at Kihyun with a tired face.

“Sweetheart,” he raised, now standing up, eyes level with Kihyun’s. “Now you’re old enough, there’s something I’ve always wanted to tell you and I think you’re ready to hear it now.”

Kihyun nodded. The gleam in his eyes were threatening to drop and turn into tears.

“You’re not very pretty.” Minhyuk said, proudly, with a soft yet strict voice. Kihyun could not believe his own ears. He could feel a frustrated tear rolled into his cheek. “And you’re not very bright. So, there’s nothing left for you even if you go to that dance.”

Minhyuk smiled.

“I’m so glad we had that talk!”