~ 𝘼𝙇𝙇 𝘼𝙇𝙊𝙉𝙂 ~

<2>

As I placed the box of cupcakes from the bakery on the table, I asked, "Red velvet or chocolate?" We had just finished school, and everyone was hanging out at my house again.

"Chocolate, please!" Yeji exclaimed, raising her hand in excitement even before I opened the box. Suddenly, we heard loud and quick footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Cupcakes!" Yuna gasped, rushing over to the counter with a towel still on her head. My house had become like a second home for them; they showered, cooked, cleaned, and made a mess of it, but it was okay since my parents were always out of town for their companies.

"Did I hear that right?" Lia and Chaeryeong ran out of my room, looking all excited.

I handed the chocolate cupcake to Yeji and let the others pick their own. As soon as I stepped aside, it was like moms at a Black Friday sale; they quickly grabbed one or two and took a big bite.

"This bakery never disappoints," Yuna said in delight, closing her eyes tightly and enjoying the taste of the cupcake in her mouth.

"Word," Chaeryeong agreed and jumped a little to show her excitement.

I chuckled at all of them and grabbed a chocolate cupcake as well.

"Don't I get a thank you for driving all the way there just for 12 cupcakes?" I joked before biting into the cupcake.

"Thank you, Abu!" they all said in unison. I glanced at Yeji, who was licking her lips since the icing had gone everywhere, giving her a white and red mustache.

"Here..." I muttered, placing my index and middle finger on her jaw and gliding my thumb over the icing above her lips, licking it after because why not.

"Oh, thank you, Abu," she smiled and continued eating her cupcake.

They all had a habit of calling me Abu since Abu was a monkey, and I looked like one when I have my hood up. So instead of calling me monkey, they called me Abu from Aladdin.

"So, are we actually going to do some homework today or slack off like the other day?" I asked the others as they grabbed their second cupcakes.

"Depends," Yuna shrugged and took a huge bite.

"On what?" Yeji chuckled, having finished her cupcake and not seeming to have any plans for getting a second one.

"If I'm bored or not," the baby frowned and threw the cupcake wrapper in the trash. Lia was on her phone while involuntarily taking bites of her dessert.

"Ryujin, the school is having soccer tryouts soon. Are you going to go?" That sparked my interest.

Soccer was a huge thing for me. Ever since I was born, my mom bought me a small soccer ball to play with. As I grew, my dad taught me how to play soccer and made me watch national games. I used to complain about it until I actually got into it.

"Yes, duh! When is it?" I asked, quickly going beside Lia and looking at her phone screen.

"This week Wednesday after school..." she frowned, along with everyone else.

Wednesday after school was when we all did something special together. Once we went to an internet café, and it was a blast. It was also the day when Yeonjun wouldn't bother us since he would stay after school until like 8 just to practice.

But they also knew how important soccer was.

"Can't we delay our hangout a little after? It takes... an hour!" I said, looking around the group. Their expressions had softened, so I guess that was a good sign.