Going to the cafeteria the following day, Baekho asked Minhyun to go ahead of him since the teacher asked for his help on some boxes that needed to be lifted and carried out of the room. So Minhyun reluctantly went ahead, slightly conscious of walking to the cafeteria on his own. As he finished getting his food, he immediately looked for a vacant table for him and Baekho. When he found one in the corner, he sat down and made sure to put his bag on the seat next to him to reserve a space for his bestfriend.

As he tried to look around to check on Baekho, his eyes were caught by Jonghyun who was looking at his direction. He got startled and he can literally feel the rush of blood flowing to his neck and up to his face and ears. He is screaming in his head as Jonghyun starts to walk to his direction. 

"Hello Minhyun. Mind if we join you?" Jonghyun greeted Minhyun as he asked if him and his friend, Ren and Aron can join Minhyun in the table. 

"Hi Jonghyun… of course! Sure sit down. As he immediately made space, Aron and Ren sat in the chairs in front while Jonghyun eyed the chair beside Minhyun. He tried to check if Baekho had already arrived but with him still not in the cafeteria, he offered the seat to Jonghyun instead.

"I want to thank you again for helping me yesterday." Jonghyun said as he tried to suppress his smile as he gazed into Minhyun's eyes.

"Oh don't worry about it. I'm just glad I got there in time to save you from those bullies." Minhyun said, as he gazed back into Jonghyun's smiling eyes.

His two friends, Ren and Aron, are just looking at them, then secretly squirming and looking at each other.

When Baekho arrived a few minutes later, the cafeteria is now bustling with students rushing in to get food. He roamed his eyes around, trying to find his bestfriend.

When he saw Minhyun sitting beside Jonghyun…. He honestly doesn't know how to describe how he feels… he was happy and sad and angry all at the same time and he cannot explain to himself why he is feeling this way as he continues to gaze into the group who seemed to be busy eating and chatting at the same time…. Should he go there? Should he find a different table? Sit somewhere else?... why is he even hesitating… 

He fell in line to get his food, trying to will himself not to look back at his bestfriend...

Baekho! Baekho over here!" He can actually hear Minhyun calling him but he pretended not to hear and proceeded to walk in the opposite direction. He doesn't know what has gone into him to ignore Minhyun's call, but, maybe, he's just not ready to see Minhyun and Jonghyun together. 

But Minhyun caught up with him as he now held onto Baekho's arm. "Baekho! Where are you going? Didn't you hear me?" 

"Hey Minhyun! I… I didn't hear you.. the cafeteria must have been too noisy.."

"We're sitting on the other side. Come on! I need you there! Jonghyun and his friends want to eat with us."

Baekho let Minhyun drag him to the table. In his mind, he was thinking.. do they really want to eat with us?... or do they want to eat with you?...

"Hi everyone. Meet my bestfriend, Kang Baekho." Minhyun proudly introduced the flustered Baekho into the group. Then since the table was full, he had to go look for an extra chair so Baekho could sit beside him as well. 

All the while that Minhyun was busy taking care of Baekho, Jonghyun was looking at the two and specifically curious about Minhyun's bestfriend, who is in turn also looking back at him…

There was a tense atmosphere that was left unnoticed by the tall handsome boy who remained perky and cheerful all throughout lunch break. He gets to have lunch with his crush and he was able to introduce Baekho to Jonghyun as well, which for him, is quite important… he wanted Baekho's approval on this new relationship, afterall, and he wants Baekho's support in order for this to work…

_____________

Every day, after school, Baekho and Minhyun would meet on the park bench near a sycamore tree. It's a Baekmin meeting spot that they call their own. They even marked the tree as theirs... putting in their names on the trunk of the old tree… "BaekMin".

As always, Baekho can be seen sitting by the bench near the tree patiently waiting for his best friend to arrive so they can go home together. Since the school year has started, Minhyun has to attend extra curricular activities being part of the student council so he needed to stay longer after classes. Baekho could have gone home ahead of Minhyun, but since Minhyun wanted them to take the bus together, of course, Baekho would wait for him as requested…

He's been waiting for more than an hour now, and would keep an eye on the school gate for that tall handsome guy to arrive. They planned to go to that tteokbokki store they both like and Baekho is already salivating from hunger just thinking about it! 

So when he glimpsed that big beautiful head of his bestfriend, he suddenly perked up. However, that perk in his heart added a little pinch as he saw Jonghyun walking side by side with his bestfriend. Of course, Jonghyun is part of the student council! Of course, he will be there with Minhyun…. But as president of the student council, Jonghyun would normally stay in school even longer.… Well that seemed to have changed now that he got more interested in Minhyun… They seemed to be engrossed with what they were discussing, that they just proceeded to walk towards the meeting place without even looking at Baekho…

"Oh hi Baekho!" Minhyun greeted with his usual cheerful self…. Not even giving an explanation as to why Jonghyun was there with him. And for some reason, Baekho felt out of place….

Baekho remained silent as he continued to look at Jonghyun. As Minhyun noticed the two staring at each other… "Baekho, so Jonghyun said he'll take us home today. We can ride with him so we don't need to take the bus, come on!" Minhyun said excitedly.

Baekho remained unsmiling and continued to just look at Jonghyun who was looking back at him. Looking at how Jonghyun stares at him, it seemed like he was waiting to see if he would actually join him and Minhyun… He looked at Minhyun smiling at him… he was thinking, there you go again saying "we" when it's actually just "you" that Jonghyun wants to take home… 

He cleared his throat, "Ah… Minhyun-ah,... I just remembered I need to meet with Seungcheol today." He said as he looked and smiled at Minhyun. "You go ahead and just go home with Jonghyun, okay? I need to go back a little later." Baekho said as he slowly walked backwards moving away from the two.

"Wait… Bae