The next few weeks after that chaotic night were business as usual - until the hockey season began. The entire school seemed to be in pandemonium. Although it was probably because the school year was officially in full swing, most people associated the chaos with the school’s precious gem that is the hockey team. For the last three years, the team was undefeated, wining championship after championship, trophy after trophy, title after title. With every success the team achieved, the more excited everyone became – everyone except the hockey team, that is.

It was lunchtime and Yunho was sitting with Jaejoong and Yoochun as usual. This particular day, the three didn’t have a lot to talk about. Yunho was exhausted from morning practice and all of the adoring fan girls that surrounded him throughout the day. Jaejoong hadn’t slept very well because of how nervous he felt about the math test he had to write today. It also didn’t help that he had woken Yunho up when he decided playing piano at three o’clock in the morning was a good way to calm himself down. Yoochun, on the other hand, didn’t say anything because of the lack on conversation. He instead focused on eating his lunch and watching the girls who passed their table. Suddenly, Yunho bent over, hitting his head off of the table noisily. Yoochun snapped out of his daze while Jaejoong, who was already lying down on the table, turned his head to look at the young prince.

“Is the hockey season over yet?” Yunho groaned. His friends just looked at him, not too sure about how they should handle the situation.

“Didn’t the season just start?” Jaejoong asked bravely. Yunho turned his head to look into Jaejoong’s blood-shot doe eyes.

“You try being followed around all day. You’d want it to end now too.” He replied in a snarky tone. Yoochun scoffed before quietly shoving more rice into his mouth. He wanted to see how this conversation would play out.

“You’re going to be king someday, you should get used to it.” Was Jaejoong’s reply. Yunho sat up slowly, all the while keeping his gaze fixed on Jaejoong. Suddenly filled with anxiety, Jaejoong sat up as fast as he could.

“That’s easy for you to say.” Yunho snapped, his eyes growing more intense and making Jaejoong even more nervous. Not sure of what to do, he turned to look away from Yunho, shifting his gaze to his hands sitting in his lap. Yoochun smirked as he put another spoonful of rice into his mouth. The fight was over just as quickly as it started.

Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps were heard. Yoochun scanned the cafeteria to see where it was coming from and suppressed a smile when he saw a girl with long brown hair walking up behind Yunho and Jaejoong, an index finger pressed to her lips while she looked at Yoochun. To ensure his friends wouldn’t suspect anything, he focused his attention back to his lunch.

“Oh, cheer up Prince Grumpy. You know you like the attention.” The girl said as she stood behind Yunho and pinched both of his cheeks playfully. Yoochun couldn’t help himself. He broke down and laughed, laughing harder when Yunho’s expression changed. Jaejoong, who was now looking at Yunho again, covered his mouth as he laughed quietly. Once he was annoyed enough, Yunho swatted the girl’s hands away as he turned round to look at her.

“Really, Boa?” He said to the girl standing behind him, smiling back at him with blatant satisfaction. She took a couple of steps before she sat down in between the prince and Jaejoong.

“You look like crap Yunho.” She said. Yunho just scowled at her. If there was one person that could shut him up, it was Kwon Boa. The two had known each other for years. Her father was a prominent politician for years before he was elected as the president of South Korea.

“I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks so.” Yoochun finally spoke up. Yunho looked at his friend and glared at him. Yoochun laughed him off just as he usually did.

“I know what might help, let’s all go out tonight.” Boa said as she looked from Yunho to Yoochun. “The four of us.” She said once she turned her head to look at Jaejoong. The boy’s expression was that of shock. Even though he’d been friends Boa for a few years, the two had never really spoken much to each other.

“Are you sure?” He asked apprehensively. Boa smiled and nodded.

“Of course! It’ll be fun. I’ll buy dinner.” She said with a kind smile.

“I have a team meeting after school, so can we leave after that?” Yunho asked. Everyone exchanged glances, nodding passively.

“That's fine. We can all wait somewhere for you.” Boa said. Yoochun and Jaejoong looked at each other and just shrugged. If there was anything they both knew it was to leave any and all planning to Boa. She kept them in order 99.9% of the time.

“Cool.” Yunho said with a smile. For some reason, Jaejoong couldn’t help but smile when he saw Yunho flash his perfectly straight pearly whites. It had been the first genuine smile of his the other boy had seen all day. Suddenly, the warning bell rang and many of the students began to scurry off to their next class. The four friends took their time, standing as the others rushed. The boys grabbed their trays and they all walked to the garbage casually. Once they had tidied up, they stood in a circle to determine their plan of action

“We have literature next so Boa and I will go together.” Yoochun said as he gestured to Boa. They looked at each other and Boa nodded her approval.

“Do you need to go to your locker first? Because I need to go to mine.” She asked him politely.

“We can go to your locker. I don’t need anything, I don’t stay awake long enough to participate.” Boa laughed and nodded before they looked back at Yunho and Jaejoong.

“We’ll see you after school then. I’ll text you with the meeting place once class starts.” Boa told them. The other two boys nodded before Yoochun and Boa waved and headed in the direction of Boa’s locker.

Once they were alone, Jaejoong avoided looking at Yunho. The taller boy noticed and nudged Jaejoong with his elbow.

“Come on, we should go get our stuff before we’re late for gym again. I personally don’t feel like running laps.” Yunho said once he captured Jaejoong’s eyes with his own. Jaejoong licked his lips before biting the lower one nervously, nodding in consent. Yunho smiled and turned to the cafeteria doors with Jaejoong following quietly behind him.

When they were at their lockers, Yunho started to feel guilty as he began to turn his lock to his combination. Once the lock was undone and he had swung the door open, Yunho looked at Jaejoong and watched him grab his gym uniform from his locker.

“Hey, Jae.” Yunho started. Jaejoong turned his head and held his gym uniform in silence as he looked at the tanned boy beside him. “I’m sorry I snapped at you during lunch. I really didn’t mean to.” Yunho apologized. Jaejoong felt his cheeks grow warmer. He looked away from Yunho and focused back to his locker.

“It’s okay. I wasn’t exactly being nice either.” He said as he closed and locked his locker. He looked back at Yunho who stood with a smile on his face, his gym bag slung over his shoulder.

“Should we get going?” He asked. Jaejoong nodded and the two bounded down the hall as the bell signaling the beginning of class sounded through the hallway.

~~~

“I feel like I’m going to die!” Jaejoong yelled as he lay on his stomach with Yoochun and Boa in the empty field while they waited for Yunho

“Maybe if you actually showed up for class on time, you wouldn’t feel that way.” Boa said condescendingly as she leaned back on her hands and looked at the rolling clouds. Yoochun laughed as he sat crosslegged and picked at the grass around him.

“It wasn’t my fault. Yunho started to talk to me when we were at our lockers.” Jaejoong defended himself, his voice quiet and tone filled with embarrassment. Boa looked down and focused on Jaejoong. She wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted to say, so she stayed quiet.

“Where is he? What could they possibly have to talk about that they couldn’t talk about after practice this morning?” Yoochun grumbled as he threw a handful of grass off to the side. Boa and Jaejoong just looked at the frustrated male.

“It’s the beginning of the season so maybe something came up.” Boa suggested. Jaejoong nodded in agreement.

“Their first game is coming up so I’m sure it’s about that.” He added. Yoochun sighed as he flopped onto his back. Just then, all three of them looked in the direction of what sounded like someone running. As the steps got louder and faster, Yunho was revealed to be the reason for the noise. Once he got to his friends, he bent his knees and put his hands on his thighs to catch his breath.

“I’ve never seen you run so fast in my life.” Yoochun commented as he sat up. Jaejoong followed suit and did the same.

“Guys.” Yunho said between breaths. “The. Best thing. Just happened.” The other three students looked at him in anticipation, and Jaejoong couldn’t stand the suspense.

“What happened?” He asked as his voice became high pitched due to his curiosity. Yunho looked at him and flashed him a huge smile.

“The team selected me to be captain.” He said calmly. The other three opened their mouths in shock at first, but their expressions soon changed to smiles filled with excitement. They all got up and went over to Yunho. Boa was the first to give him a hug.

“Congratulations Yunho! You definitely deserve it.” She told him, pulling away to pat his cheek with her hand. She stepped back just in time for Yoochun to throw Yunho a hug. He patted Yunho’s back repeatedly before moving away.

“It’s about time, man! You’ve only been carrying the team for the last two years.” Yoochun grinned at his friend and Yunho chuckled at his friend’s enthusiasm and obvious bias toward him.

“I wouldn’t say that.” Yunho said modestly. Jaejoong stayed quiet as Yunho looked at him. The shorter male looked back causing the other to look down as he stepped closer to Yunho.

“Congratulations, Your Highness.” He said. Yunho just looked at Jaejoong before putting his arm around the boy’s neck, putting him into a headlock.

“How many times do I need to tell you? You can call me Yunho. It’s not illegal.” He told Jaejoong as he gave him a noogie. Jaejoong started to laugh as he tried to squirm from Yunho’s grip.

“Sorry, Hyung!” he yelled, but it didn’t help his case. Yunho rubbed harder into Jaejoong’s head until he started yelling more. “Jung Yunho, you asshole!” He cursed at the prince. Yunho laughed just before releasing Jaejoong from his hold. Jaejoong looked pointedly at Yunho before the prince flashed him a smile.

“Are you two done flirting? I’m starving.” Yoochun quipped. Yunho and Jaejoong stopped looking at each other and looked at Yoochun and Boa, obviously flustered. Yunho saw Boa smile ever so slightly as Yoochun laughed at their expressions.

“Where do you guys want to eat? I promised I’d buy.” Boa asked the boys. They all exchanged looks and shrugged in unison. Boa sighed and then laughed at how alike they could be sometimes.

“Why don’t we decide where we’re going and go from there?” Yunho suggested. Yoochun and Jaejoong looked at each other and nodded.

“Works for me. Anyone have anything in mind?” Yoochun asked. Jaejoong shook his head and Yunho and Boa looked at each other.

“How about bowling? It’s been so long since we last went.” Boa suggested. Yoochun nodded, stating that it sounded like a good idea. Yunho, on the other hand, laughed as Jaejoong violently shook his head.

“I’m so bad at bowling.” Jaejoong whined shyly. Yunho smiled at him and patted his back.

“It’s been a while for all of us, don’t worry about it.” Yunho said to him. Jaejoong looked at him with a displeased expression on his face. He kept looking at him before letting out a defeated sigh.


“Okay, let’s go bowling.” He said without an ounce of excitement in his tone. The others laughed at him before walking away toward the bus stop together.