2 You Only Live Once

The cyber cafe was humid and crowded with thirty running computers. However, in its early working hours in the morning, it stood waiting for its customers, with only three stations occupied. It was stuffy and dark and smelled like the shrimp chips, stale coffee, and instant noodles the place sold as snacks.

Park Jihoon loved it.

His eyes were focused on the glowing computer screen, sweat beading on his brow and forehead. His expression was serious as his eyebrows knitted in a frown. He clicked with nimble fingers, his left hand glued to the hotkeys, his right hand sweeping the mouse over the screen.

"If we don't leave now, we'll be late," Kang Seojun said, his hands waving like anxious butterflies with nowhere to land. It had been a long time since he had logged off his own computer and was waiting for Jihoon, biting his nails and tapping his foot anxiously.

"Then we'll be late." Digital armies marched across Jihoon's screen.

"I can't be late again." Seojun frowned, not at all pleased by Jihoon's nonchalant behavior. It highlighted his handsome but worried features. With black hair and green doe-shaped eyes, Seojun still lacked some charm that would have completed him into a handsome man. He was just a flower that was still waiting to bloom.

Jihoon knew being late wasn't Seojun's problem. His problem was being timid as well as anxious and having a family rich enough to care. As the eldest son, he held the weight of the Kang name on his shoulders, which was only doubled by wealth.

Even though Seojun was a talented lad and could do anything; his anxiousness always ruined it. The thought of having to be the heir of one of the biggest business empires in South Korea always wrecked Seojun's nerves. A Korean Ronald Weasley, someone had called him.

It made Jihoon grateful he'd been an orphan and be adopted in a mediocre family.

"Seojun-ah, you always worry about the future instead of enjoying what's happening now. You need to learn that life isn't worth living if you're not having fun. You only live once." Jihoon narrowed his eyes, searching for the final tower on his opponent's base. He found it with a triumphant grunt, and the screen announced victory in bold green letters hovering over his Protoss army.

"Great, you won. Time to go?" Seojun asked.

Jihoon stood and shrugged on his navy-blue uniform blazer.

"Seojun-ah, no one likes a nag."

Seojun scowled and Jihoon added a friendly smile. One that said he meant no harm but knew he spoke the truth. He wielded his grin like a weapon, a crooked tilt of his lips that revealed deep dimples.

When he used it, few could stay mad. It worked, as Seojun gave him a reluctant smile.

Jihoon smirked internally. His ultimate weapon had done its magic well enough

Outside, Jihoon took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of car exhaust and simmering oxtail from the seolleongtang restaurant down the street. He swung an arm around his friend's shoulder as they walked in and out of the sun that peeked between the tall buildings.

"Is it me, or does the morning always smell fresher after the thrill of victory?" he took in a deep breath as they began walking towards the school.

"It smells like someone needs to clean their fish tanks." Seojun scowled and scrunched his face at the seafood store. Jihoon followed his gaze to one of the giant glass aquariums, the bulging eyes of a flounder stared back.

The city bus pulled up, and Jihoon slapped Seojun's shoulder cheerfully. "Come on, don't want to be late."

As poor Seojun had anticipated, they were late.

By the time they reached the school, the front gate sat closed, a signal that the class had started without them. Jihoon helped boost Seojun over the sidewall before climbing up himself. He miscalculated the distance and his pant leg caught.

"Fuck!" Jihoon grimaced at the long rip in the calf of his beige pants. He hated it every time it happened.

Puberty has hit him like a fire truck and he'd had a growth spurt the past year, making him the tallest in his class. It also made him unintentionally clumsy.

And Jihoon hated being clumsy.

The school was a U-shaped building with long narrow hallways, lined on one side by classrooms and the other by wide windows facing the inner courtyard and sports fields. The building was old, and there was no central heat to warm the halls in the brisk fall chill. Adolescent hell, he called it.

They snuck into the back of the classroom with ten minutes left in the homeroom. The teacher, Miss Chae, was still addressing the class.

"I'd like to remind everyone that now is not the time to slack off."

She zeroed in on Jihoon. "Next year is your third and final year of high school. It's our job to prepare you. And your job to learn."

"Yes, Sunsaengnim," the class chorused.

Jihoon caught the hint and nodded with a smile. Miss Chae's eyes were quick enough to get it.

"That's it for today," Miss Chae said.

"Yes, Sunsaengnim," the class chorused.

"That's it for today," Miss Chae said.

The class president stood. "Attention. Salute."

"Thank you," the students chorused as they bowed in unison.

Instead of leaving, Miss Chae walked down the aisle and knocked on Jihoon's desk. "If you come in late again, it's detention."

Jihoon widened his eyes, feigning a fake sense of surprise. He didn't expect to be seen but it wasn't his first time either.

"Yes, Sunsaengnim." Seojun bowed so low, his forehead smacked his desk beside Jihoon.

"Miss Chae, you say that like spending more time with you is a punishment." Jihoon accompanied the words with a lazy grin.

Miss Chae fought the smile that eventually bloomed across her face.

"I'm serious, Park Jihoon."

"So am I," Jihoon replied without missing a beat. He widened his smile so his dimples flashed.

Miss Chae let out a soft chuckle despite herself. Composing herself immediately, she put a serious expression across her face, "It's my last warning, I would hate to see a smart student as you fail." she said before exiting the classroom.

As soon as she cleared the back door, the peace of the room erupted into the chaos of kids jumping up from their seats to join their friends. Jihoon laid back into his seat, annoyed by the noise.

Seojun shook his head. "I don't know why teachers let you talk like that."

"It's because of my charm and good looks." Jihoon shrugged cockily.

"It's because he's so ridiculous, they have to laugh or else they'd scream." Park Minjae stepped up to the boys' joined desks.

He was 184 centimeters of attitude packed in a huge package who'd known Jihoon since they were in first grade. Minjae was Jihoon's stepbrother.

He glanced at the kid sitting in front of Jihoon. "Get lost."

The boy scurried from his chair like a startled rabbit.

Jihoon took in his best friend. Minjae dressed like a handbook for how to break the school's dress code: his uniform shirt unbuttoned to reveal a graphic tee beneath. His hair was different again. Somin's look changed with the seasons, a guy who could never make up his mind.

It gave Jihoon whiplash, but he also hated change. It took too much effort. Today his long unruly hair was a mixed shade of violet and cyan like a purple flame, and he looked as fired up as his locks right now.

Jihoon flicked a hand across a flaming strand. "What punishment did the vice-principal give you today?"

"I had to kneel in front of the school this morning. Again." Minjae rolled his eyes.

"You had to know you'd get in trouble for it," Jihoon pointed out.

"You're one to talk," Minjae retorted. "What are you going to tell mum and dad if you get detention and the school calls her again?"

Jihoon's easy smile disappeared at the thought of his foster parent's reaction. Then he dismissed it. Concern took too much effort. And Jihoon was a person who liked to stay six feet away from the effort.

"You should care more. The school year is more than half over," he said with a pointed look at the changing leaves of autumn outside.

Jihoon usually loved fall. It meant that it was beautiful to let things go. It also meant winter was right around the corner and then the school would end. At least until it annoyingly started up again in March.

"So?" Jihoon asked, though he exactly knew what Minjae was going to say.

"So next year is our third year."

When Jihoon gave him a blank stare, he continued, "Our senior year and suneung exams. You're the bottom-ranked student in the second-year class right now."

"Someone has to be last when there are rankings," Jihoon pointed out.

"Why is everything such a joke to you?" Minjae asked. He hated this laid back attitude

"I'm not joking. I just—"

"Don't care," Minjae and Seojun chorused.

Jihoon shrugged with a rueful smile. He knew everyone thought he was an affable guy with nothing much going for him. That's how he liked it. The fewer people expected from him, the more they left him alone. He hated being the center of attention.

Minjae was the only person in the whole school who continuously believed in Jihoon no matter what. Something he graciously forgave him for, due to their lifelong friendship.

"One of these days you're going to find yourself in a situation you can't talk your way out of," he said, his savage attitude replaced by one of concern.

"When that day comes, should I take a page from your book and punch my way out?" Jihoon mussed his hair.

Minjae slapped his hand away. "Like you could. Look at those weak sticks you call arms. The only time you lift your hands is to shove food into your mouth or wipe your butt."

Seojun cringed. "Minjae-ah, not very polite of you."

"And when did I ever claim to be polite?"Minjae smirked, tilting his head. A tiger eyeing his prey.

"Never." Seojun lowered his eyes, squirming under Minjae's intense stare

As his friends continued to bicker, Jihoon laid his head down to take a nap.