Chương 2: How Oddly Great

Eungoo woke up to the sound of his alarm going off indicating him to get up and prepare for the competition. He licked his lips and said a little prayer before getting off the bed and folded his blanket before quietly walking across the hall so that he wouldn't wake anyone up. Their bathroom was two doors down meaning he had to pass his parents' room.

He sighed in content as he began washing as fast as he could so he could get, occasionally dancing here and there because of the very cold water. He then wrapped a towel around his waist and bolted as fast as he could and because the clumsy lord himself, he slipped and fell on the floor.

'FUCK' he thought to himself and crawled as fast as he could to his room. He smiled and locked the door before going through his drawer and pulled out his luck blue polo shirt that his hyung gifted him a few years back; he considered it his true good luck charm. As soon as he got dressed he grabbed his bag; and began stuffing the things he thought was essential meaning: wallet, keys, notebook, and pen.

He then checked himself in front of the mirror and lightly slapped his cheeks to put some color in them and smiled.

"You got this!" He cheered himself on.

And with one deep breath, he walked out of his room and boldly went past their doors. As soon as he got to the living area of their run-down apartment, he noticed that no one is awake. He wondered why but he didn't linger on the thought and went straight to the refrigerator and pulled out an orange juice for him to drink on the way to the venue. He then closed the lid loudly on purpose just to see if no one was awake; no one really was.

He found that odd because usually, his dad would be sprawled on the couch with a beer in his hand and the mess of empty bottles, burnt out cigarettes and switched on tv in the living room. And his mom's clothes scattered on the floor with a stranger's clothes mixed in them. His mom brings clients over and fucks them for a good 'income' and his dad wouldn't mind because it somehow pays the bills and well… his dad would have a good supply of booze. But now, the mess was there but no one around.

He snapped out of it as he scolded himself that he should be focusing on the competition ahead. He then ran out of the door and yelled a quick goodbye before catching the first train in the morning. And as soon as he got there he saw his Kwan-hyung waving at him at the entrance.

He panted once more and held himself against the wall and smiled at his hyung. "Yah! Are you sure it's okay for you to be skipping?" He asked knowing that his hyung will be graduating soon enough; the guy was busy and here he is skipping in order to never break tradition.

"Yep! Here!" Kwan said and shoved a sandwich in Eungoo's mouth. "I figured you haven't eaten yet so I bought a quick snack. We can eat more afterward okay?"

Eungoo bit the sandwich and gulped it down to speak, "You're loaded today huh?" He teased before eating the rest.

"I got my bonus pay yesterday so it's fine." He assured. Kwan then pulled Eungoo in the building and dragged him to the backstage and hugged him, wishing him good luck as he waved the board he brought with him. He told his friend that he would be in the audience cheering him on.

Eungoo smiled and took a deep breath before joining the other members for a national math quiz bee competition that his professor recruited him in. His members weren't very fond of him but had to cooperate because he is a great addition to the team since he has an IQ of 148.

As soon as they stepped on the stage and faced their opponents, there were so many applauses and smiling faces that greeted them but Eungoo's eyes searched the crowd and saw his hyung waving the damn board with his name written on it. As expected of Kwan, he was cheering Eungoo's name loudly as he didn't have a care in the world.

As the competition carried on. The silence made it even more intense as they Eungoo and his team proceeded in the next levels. And as soon as they reached the top, they were faced off with the champion team of last year but Eungoo wasn't nervous, how could he when his hyung was dancing and cheering him on like a silly fool but thankfully he wasn't noisy.

As hours passed, question after question each team was gaining on each other that both teams were now on the tie-breaker round. Eungoo wiped off his sweaty palms on his jeans as he was supposed to answer the question. He nodded to himself and went on the center stage and stood beside him his opponent. Each representative must press the buzzer quickly and whoever did it first may get the chance to answer and win it all. Eungoo's hand slipped and missed his chance. His heart was pounding, and he was almost ready to cry and soon his anxiety was catching up to him, defeating him.

"Mr. Kim?" The host snapped him out of his thoughts. "Mr. Go answered incorrectly. This means that you have a better chance of winning."

Eungoo swallowed the curse he almost said and took a deep breath before saying his answer. There was a brief moment… the suspense killing everyone present in the building before finally announcing that their team won.

"Shiiiiiiiit." Eungoo let out but no one heard him too much as his voice was overpowered by the roaring crowd and other contestants. He gasped when he was carried by their coach, the professor that recruited him, and began hopping around. Eungoo didn't know what to do and when his professor stopped, he looked down and saw his hyung smiling and asking for the professor to let him go. He was brought down and was engulfed in a warm embrace by his friend.

"Don't you ever think I didn't hear you say shit." Kwan instantly teased instead of congratulating the other.

"Shhhhhhh. Shut up!" He said. "What for me here, mkay? Gotta get my cheque."

"Talking like a boss now, huh? Go get it, tiger!" Kwan smiled and slapped Eungoo's ass. He laughed it off when the younger glared at him but after a while smiled as soon as he returned waving the cheque in front of his hyung.

"LET'S GO!!" Kwan laughed as he was practically being pulled down the stage. They received a few stares because Eungoo was a good 5'9" and he was a small man of 5'3", to be dragged by this was kind of embarrassing but he was happy seeing that he was being treated well by his dongsaeng.

Kwan smiled and hooked his arm around Eungoo's neck pulling him down. "What are you up for today?" He asked.

"I'm feeling some Chicken noodle soup and some ice cream! Oh and a soda too!" Eungoo chirped.

"You gotta eat more than that ya know!" Kwan pouted and after a few moments his face lit up as he remembered a good restaurant where they could dine in without worrying about the expenses.

Eungoo's heart swelled in joy and looked up at the sky as he withdrew from his hyung a little since he was taller than the other. He smiled at how oddly great his morning was going. He hoped that his luck could stay longer. He wished he was this happy every day. Oh, how he wanted his wish to come true someday…