Like a Fool - Hyungwonho

5.

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Hyungwon had never before found himself straight out avoiding people, not during high school or university. Just in general during his life. There had never been need for doing so before as everyone else avoided him after a single glance.

But there he was, actively glancing around, hoping that the ball of unwanted energy he knew as Hoseok didn't pop out from behind the corner to talk about whatever he wanted. He had no clue how he had gotten to the point of having to mute notifications from Instagram because the older kept sending him memes. Hyungwon could handle it at first but when it turned to 10-15 shared posts in an hour and a half, he had to take action.

Hyungwon had a hard time understanding why Hoseok was doing what he was. Sure, the older had stated that they could be friends but why? 

Hyungwon had thought about it after their conversation after Hoseok decided to poke too deeply into his painting. He even asked for advice from Changkyun and Hyunwoo, which was very much unusual for him. His two friends didn't exactly know how to help him. Changkyun hadn't had much contact with Hoseok while Hyunwoo had only seen the guy at a gym and they had talked there. The older said that he was nice and that Hyungwon should just let him be.

"He'll give up eventually. Once he realizes there's no use in trying." Changkyun had stated, and Hyungown hoped his friend was correct. Maybe he should ask Jooheon to ask Hoseok to leave him alone. Hyugwon wasn't sure how long he could take the insanity.

Friday rolled around faster than Hyungwon would have liked. Somehow, the class he adored had become one he dreaded the most during the week. He actively did extra work for art history classes just because he enjoyed the subject. but knowing that he'd have Hoseok poking at his shoulder any second wasn't appealing.

Good for Hoseok for attempting something hopeless that could possibly hurt him. Hyungwon was an asshole but he didn't want to make anyone feel bad for trying to be friends but might have been inevitable. He just wanted to be left alone most of the time, hang out with the only two people he trusted fully, and live in peace.

Hyungwon huffed once he arrived at the classroom. The door was open and it looked like most of the students were there already. Hyungwon's bus had been delayed thanks to some traffic slaughtering his chances of getting onto the room without other students being there. The tall boy walked inside, eyes glued to his usual spot.

A person calling his name, caused Hyungwon to freeze for a moment and the chatter to die down. Hyungwon's stomach immediately twisted uncomfortably, feeling the multiple pairs of eyes on him as he moved his gaze to focus on Hoseok. The guy was smiling at him, as usual, but Hyungwon couldn't even muster a fake one back even if it had been polite. The curved lips contrasted against the other students' frown and even Minhyuk's snarl.

Anyone could tell that Minhyuk was not too fond of one of his best friends trying to be friends with him. If only he knew he was related to one of them too.

Hyungwon lowered his head to avoid making eye contact with anyone, quickly walking over to his seat and sitting down. How hard was it to understand that being friendly with him would be a downfall for the both of them? He bit down on his bottom lip, pulling out his notebook for the class and pencils from his backpack.

He then took out his phone, hesitating a little before opening Instagram. He pulled open the direct messages menu, clicking at the one on the top that was once again highlighted by bold text. He quickly scrolled through the shared posts, not finding most of them too funny or interesting.

He sighed as he started typing out a message to the older, trying to not sound too mean. Hyungwon read over the words he had written multiple times before sighing deeply and sending the message. He immediately regretted it because the older would take his reply as a victory, even if he was rude.