Chapter Text
They slipped into a rhythm that felt effortless. Closer, too—especially since Keonho didn’t really have friends outside of school.
Not close enough to be questioned, but not distant enough to be forgotten. Just a quiet cadence that formed on its own—walking to school together when their schedules aligned, sharing earphones on the bus when seats were full, sitting across from each other in the library with books open, rarely actually read.
Most days, they didn’t talk much. But the routine was comfortable, and Keonho could be teasing. Seonghyeon never really teased back, either because he didn’t feel like it, or because it didn’t seem necessary.
Keonho hummed softly when he studied. Seonghyeon noticed it one afternoon while pretending to read, the sound nearly swallowed by the turning of pages. He didn’t say anything. He never did. Some things felt better left uncommented. Sometimes.
“So,” Seonghyeon said, glancing up from the book, “why did you borrow my book if you’re not going to read it?”
“To… read it?” Keonho replied. “Just not right now. Later.”
“Then why are you staring at me?”
“Did you dye your hair?”
Seonghyeon shook his head.
“It’s really brown,” Keonho said thoughtfully. “It reminds me of the chocolate I lost yesterday. I left it on the cafeteria table for like five minutes and it just disappeared.”
Seonghyeon frowned slightly, connecting the dots, until realization finally settled in.
“The table at the very front?”
Keonho nodded, his mouth drooping into something almost sad. Before his eyes returned to Seonghyeon’s, he asked, “…How did you know?”
“Yesterday… um,” Seonghyeon said quietly. “My friend... ate it. Martin.”
Keonho’s face scrunched up. “Martin?”
“Yeah. I told him not to just take things, but he said it wouldn’t be a problem. So… he ate it.”
"Oh, really? Well... I guess it's better than the chocolate just ending up in the trash." Said Keonho.
Seonghyeon looked at Keonho, who was once again pretending to be focused on his book. For some reason, knowing it was Keonho's chocolate made him feel a little... guilty? And sad?
I should have told Martin to keep his eyes and hands off that chocolate yesterday.