The week following Yunho and Jaejoong’s Japanese lesson passed awkwardly. The two of them only spoke in the mornings when Jaejoong would wake the young prince up for school. Once they were at school, they would only talk to each other out of necessity.

On the day of Yunho’s first game of the season, Boa and Yoochun had decided that they were getting sick of the tension between the prince and the chef’s son. Before lunch, Boa met up with Yoochun at his locker.

“We need to do something about those two. Honestly, I can only talk to you for so long.” Boa said to Yoochun as she leaned against the locker next to his while he put a few books into his locker.

“I know what you mean– wait, what?” Yoochun finally caught on to what Boa had said to him and shot her a glare. The brown haired girl just smiled at him in jest.

“I have an idea.” She said as a mischievous grin found its way to her face. Intrigued, Yoochun smiled back.

“You have my attention.” He told her as he closed his locker and leaned against the door. Boa smiled and then divulged her plan.

“When we get to our table, we’ll have a conversation like we usually do. Since there’s a very good chance that neither of them will contribute, you take Jaejoong and I’ll take Yunho out into the hall and we’ll confront them about whatever it is that’s going on between them.” Yoochun nodded as he thought about the plan.

“It all sounds good to me but there’s one thing – do you have any idea what the reason could possibly be?” He asked as he looked at Boa. The shorter girl looked back at him.

“Yoochun-ah, you can’t tell me that you haven’t noticed how they looked at each other before all of this awkwardness started.” She stated instead of asked. Yoochun thought about it for a second and opened his mouth into an ‘O’ shape.

“It all makes sense now.” He said as he put his hand on his face. Boa laughed and patted the boy’s shoulder.

“You’re so slow.” She said in the nicest but most condescending way possible. Yoochun nudged her in the side gently, causing the two to crack up. As if on cue, the lunch bell rang. The two plotting friends looked at each other.

“You ready?” he asked her. Boa smiled and nodded, and with that, the two headed into the cafeteria, making a B line for their table. When they arrived, they sat across from each other and began to wait. A few minutes had passed when Yunho walked into the cafeteria and took a seat beside Boa. After he was seated, Jaejoong made his way to the table and sat beside Yoochun. Boa and Yoochun watched as the other two avoided looking each other for what seemed like the millionth time that week. The two conspirators rolled their eyes before setting their plan into action.

“What is with the two of you?” Boa asked, her exasperation clearly conveyed through her tone. She knew that this wasn’t exactly what she had in mind, but she wasn’t one to beat around the bush. In unison, Yunho and Jaejoong looked at her.

“Nothing.” They answered unanimously. Boa flashed a look at Yoochun and he just nodded.

“Okay, that’s it.” She said as she stood. She grabbed onto Yunho’s wrist and pulled him from his seat.

“Come with me.” Yoochun said as he did the same thing to Jaejoong. Boa and Yoochun dragged their person in opposite directions. Bewildered, Yunho and Jaejoong started yelling at their respective captor until they were in an empty hallway.

~~~

Yunho was first to speak once Boa had stopped pulling him.

“What the hell, Boa.” He said. Unamused, Boa crossed her arms across her chest, her eyes fixated on the young prince’s face.

“Don’t start. What is going on between you and Jaejoong? You two never act like this.” She started in on him. Yunho was sure she was going to burn a hole through his head with the way she stared at him.

“Nothing is going on between us!” Yunho said in his defence. Boa smirked and nodded her head up.

“Right, that’s why you two haven’t spoken to each other for almost an entire week.” She countered. Yunho’s eyes started shifting uneasily before he finally looked down at the floor. “Taeho Oppa told me.” She said gently, eliciting a look of rage and panic from Yunho.

“What?” Yunho practically yelled.

“I had a feeling about you two so I begged him to tell me something and he told me what happened. It wasn’t his fault.” She said, not doing a very good job with softening the blow. Yunho locked eyes with her before sighing in defeat, closing his eyes as he fell back into a locker.

“Boa, I just–“ Yunho wasn’t sure about what to say. Boa, on the other hand, had more of an idea.

“Yunho, it doesn’t take a genius to see that you have feelings for him. You should see the way you look at him sometimes.” She said as she shifted her weight over to her right leg. With pleading eyes, he looked at his friend. “What happened?” she asked.

“I kissed him.” He said, his voice hardly louder than a whisper. Boa found herself staring at Yunho, her expression a combination of shock and confusion.

“So, you’re acting like this just because of one kiss?” she asked, trying to understand what was going through the hockey player’s head. Yunho hesitated to answer, looking down at the floor one again before looking back at Boa.

“It wasn’t…one kiss.” He said.

“Okay, you’re gonna have to explain.” She said, even though she figured she had a rough idea of what happened. Yunho took a deep breath in effort to slow his rapidly beating pulse.

“He asked me to teach him some Japanese for when Kumiko visits, so I did. We were sitting in my room and he had made a joke. I reacted and before I knew it our faces were centimeters apart. That’s when I kissed him. But, after I had kissed him, he pulled me back and kissed me. Taeho hyung walked in after that.” The prince explained. Boa nodded as she took in the information.

“Well, I can’t say that I’m surprised.” Boa started to say. She was interrupted by Yunho’s dumbstruck expression. Ignoring him, she continued. “Yunho, Jaejoong has definitely been harbouring some kind of affection to you for years and you’ve been just as bad.” She told him matter-of-factly. Yunho’s face went blank.

“He’s one of my best friends Boa.” Yunho began to say under his breath. Giving in to Yunho’s vulnerability, Boa approached her friend and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Yunho looked up at her before adding, “You know things could never happen between us.” Boa, even though she understood what he meant, looked at him apologetically.

“If you’re talking about the fact that you’re a prince, who cares? You know, this could be a big opportunity for change.” Yunho looked at Boa with remorseful eyes.

“If I were Taeho it would be. Don’t forget that my father–“ Yunho cut himself off, not really in the mood to talk about his sour relationship with his father. He knew Boa was aware of his family drama. All she could do at this point was sigh.
“I know, but Yunho, if you talk to your brother, I know he’ll understand.” Boa said, offering Yunho as much comfort as she could. As he looked at her, he couldn’t help but smile at her kindness, but there was still one thing on his mind.

“Uh, Boa, you don’t think this is…wrong, do you?” He asked apprehensively as his smile faded. Boa looked at him and shook her head.

“I’ve always believed that you can’t help who you like.” She said with a smile. Relieved, the young prince returned her smile before she attempted to hook her arm with his. The prince bent his arm and let Boa tug him. “Now, let’s get something to eat and when the other two get back, I expect you to say something to Jaejoong.” Yunho chuckled as the two of them returned to their vacant table.

~~~

Meanwhile, Yoochun was having a similar conversation with Jaejoong in a different hallway.

“Jaejoong, what’s going on? What happened?” Yoochun asked as directly as he could without upsetting him. Jaejoong sighed, deciding that it was futile to try to dance around the subject.

“We kissed. Twice.” He told his friend, his voice quiet and unsteady. Yoochun just looked at Jaejoong with a kind expression.

“That’s all?” Yoochun asked. Jaejoong’s expression changed from nervous to surprised. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Yoochun continued. “Jae, you’re acting like you accidentally saw him naked, and I’m being generous with the example.” The older boy furled his brow in confusion.

“Wait, you’re not disgusted?” Jaejoong asked. This felt all too strange for him. Yoochun simply shook his head from side to side.

“I’d be a bit of a hypocrite if I were disgusted.” Jaejoong was completely shocked by Yoochun’s confession.

“Since when—“ The older boy was completely flustered and unsure of what to make of it. Yoochun laughed as he watched the other boy’s expressions change by the minute. He stopped laughing when Jaejoong’s face returned to being sullen.

“Something on your mind?” He asked gently. Jaejoong, keeping his head down, nodded.

“Yunho was the one who kissed me first.” He began to explain. “But I initiated the second kiss. What if I took things too far? What if he didn’t really want me to—“ Jaejoong stopped mid-sentence, becoming overwhelmed by his thoughts. Unexpectedly, Yoochun grabbed his friend and pulled him into a hug.

“Jaejoong, you’re overthinking.” He released the other boy from the bug before continuing. “I’ve known you and Yunho for a long time. It took me a while to realize it but when I look back now, I can see that the feelings you have for each other are mutual. It’s nothing to be ashamed about.” He told Jaejoong with sincerity and certainty. Jaejoong looked at his friend, his eyes still filled with anxiety.

“Yoochun.” Jaejoong said quietly.

“What is it?” the other boy asked gently. Jaejoong took a deep breath before smiling at his friend.

“Nothing, it’s not important.” This time, it was Yoochun’s turn to furl his brow. However, he soon softened his expression as he wrapped his arm around the older boy’s shoulder.

“Come on, let’s get something to eat. This confrontation business really makes a person hungry.” Yoochun said, making Jaejoong laugh. As the two headed back to the cafeteria, Yoochun looked at Jaejoong and added, “Please say something to Yunho when we get back. Boa and I are sick of talking to each other.” He begged. Jaejoong laughed again and nodded as he looked back at his friend.

Once they entered the cafeteria, Jaejoong and Yoochun filled their own trays with something to eat before heading back to their table where Boa and Yunho were already sitting and eating. Once they were seated, Yunho looked at Jaejoong and smiled. The other boy just looked at him with a blank expression.

“Hey.” He said to the hockey team captain, finally smiling back at him.

“Hey.” Yunho replied, his smile growing brighter.