Blind Leading the Blind

Yeowool has always known everything about everyone at Hwarang Academy. As Valentine's Day approaches, he's not surprised that Hansung is preparing a confession for Sunwoo. He'd always known that was where Hansung's heart laid. But sometimes even the gossip king can miss things, especially when he's blinded by love. Yeowool/Hansung. Side Banryu/Suho. Side Jidwi/Sunwoo/AhRo.

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This story takes place in the same modern day AU 'verse as I Was Going to Keep It A Secret. However, it is 100% unnecessary to have read I Was Going to Keep It A Secret before reading this. They simply both take place at Hwarang Academy.

I started writing this at 11 PM the night before Valentine's Day, and the V-Day itself was so hectic (even without a valentine), so it's a tad late. But hey, that's how the Suryu Christmas fic went too, so I guess that's just how Hwarang works for me. :P

Also, I did my best with the Korean titles in this fic, but if you are fluent in Korean and see anything that is just grossly incorrect, please let me know how to fix it and I most definitely will!

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Hwarang Academy boasted the sons and daughters of some of the most prestigious families in Korea. Once these students graduated and became adults, they would take control of corporations, join the world of politics, become award winning athletes and scientists and artists, or run schools of their own, whether in martial arts, sports, or academics. The academy was a place to establish crucial connections, to network with people who might prove useful in the future.

Or at least, that's what their parents told them.

For the most part, the students of Hwarang Academy didn't really care about any of that. Despite the strict warnings of absent parents, the students of Hwarang Academy lived spoiled, care-free lives indulging in their every whim and fleeting fancy and divulging secrets, with little regard as to who might be listening in and preparing to use the information against them.

Kim Yeowool was not like them. He had been born to a famous actress, but no one knew the identity of his father. His mother wouldn't tell a soul – not even Yeowool himself. As a result, Yeowool kept himself mostly secreted away.

His preference for men was well documented, even if no one had ever agreed to a date with him yet. And everyone knew he was beautiful. He'd even had modeling gigs before. But what Kim Yeowool was most known for was gossip.

If something was happening at Hwarang Academy, Kim Yeowool knew about it, or soon would.

He had been watching people his entire life. As a child, he was looking for his father. Now, he simply enjoyed knowing more than others, and the panicked look people got when they realized he knew all of their secrets.

When Kim Jidwi and Kim Sunwoo joined the school, he knew within a week that they were related. By the end of the month he knew that Sunwoo was not actually related to Kim Ah Ro, but was in fact Jidwi's cousin. Watching the romantic drama unfold among those three was better than any movie or play Yeowool had seen in the past five years.

When Park Banryu started receiving gifts during the Secret Santa Gift Exchange, Yeowool had immediately known it was Kim Suho giving them to him. He'd seen the growing relationship between those two for most of his life, since they had all gone to the same schools together. If their bickering weren't so amusing, he might have clued them in sooner - especially if he had known how much more amusing it was to watch them pretend they weren't dating after Christmas than it ever was to watch them fight.

And when Suk Hansung wrote a letter to his grandfather stating that he would not be taking over the family business, and that his older half-brother Dansae should inherit it in his place, Yeowool was the second person to know. Second because Hansung had fallen head over heels for Sunwoo within minutes of laying eyes on the man, so he'd told Sunwoo about it first…and his best friend about it second.

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"Sunwoo isn't in school today," Hansung whined, leaning over and plopping his head on Yeowool's shoulder. "I miss him."

Letting out a small scoff, Yeowool pushed the younger male away. "Look at you. He'll be back tomorrow."

Hansung took a despondent bite of his lunch, crumbs falling onto his sketchbook in his lap. He swallowed and then gave another sigh. "I miss him."

"Yah," Yeowool said quietly with a frown. "What about me?"

Hansung sighed again and Yeowool frowned deeper, scooting away.

"You do this every time he isn't here. He isn't even in our class."

"But he's so cool," Hansung defended. "Don't you think so, hyung?"

"Who's your 'hyung,' huh?" Yeowool griped. He popped some fruit into his mouth and chewed, probably more viciously than an orange called for.

For a few minutes there was relative silence between them as they both ate their lunches, but then Hansung gasped. "Hyung! I drew a new picture! You've gotta see it!" He quickly brushed the crumbs from his sketchbook and began flipping through the pages.

Now that did interest Yeowool. He knew that someday Hansung would be well known in the art world. It was this talent and this dream that had him turning down a solid future in business.

The sketchbook pages stopped for an ever-so-brief moment and Yeowool just caught sight of charcoal shading before Hansung was gasping again and flipping hastily further into the book. Whatever might have been on that page was lost and forgotten as Hansung found the image he'd been searching for and presented it to Yeowool with a grand flourish.

It was Sunwoo and Jidwi, dressed in their school uniforms, in profile and facing each other. Their eyes were locked on one another with intense expressions; as if they would surge forward and either fight or kiss. It was colored. Jidwi was pale next to Sunwoo's tanned skin, and the blue of their uniforms popped. Their eyes even seemed to shine, though the color was done with pencils.

"Hm," Yeowool said, considering the image. It was very well done. He remembered when Hansung's art had been barely beyond stick figures and now he was making pseudo-realistic art like this. It was, frankly, amazing. "I think, next time, you should dress them in traditional hanbok, like they're princes fighting for a throne. It's more dramatic that way."

The idea pleased Hansung. "Sunwoo-hyung would be the best king," he said, pulling his book back and gazing at the picture there with pride.

Yeowool leaned closer to him. "What about me?"

"No, you'd be terrible."

Yeowool let out an offended, "Yah!" but Hansung just gave a wide, overconfident smile and then hopped up from his seat to return to class.

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"Banryu-hyung," Hansung started, bounding over to the other's desk. He'd warmed up to Banryu following Banryu's mad dash after Suho at Christmas. His brother, Dansae, had told Hansung to give Banryu his blessing and, though Hansung still had no idea what the blessing was for, his brother's approval meant that Banryu was now a friend rather than an enemy. "Are you doing anything for Valentine's Day?"

Yeowool paid close attention to the way Banryu's expression went blank, but his cheeks went pink. Across the room, Suho pointedly turned to look out the window, as far from Banryu as his eyes could get. Honestly, those two.

"Why would I do anything for Valentine's Day?" Banryu asked carefully. The fact that more people didn't realize he was hiding a relationship was astounding. He was such a bad actor.

Hansung shrugged. "You and Suho are the two most popular people in our class and girls are always confessing to you both, so I thought, out of everyone, you might have plans."

The other students in the class weren't paying the least amount of attention to the conversation. Even Banryu's friends, who usually gathered around him and wasted perfectly good oxygen, were messing around near the cupboards at the back of the room instead.

Banryu shook his head and leaned over to put all of his focus on the paper on his desk. Yeowool was too far to see what he was scribbling, but he would bet it was nonsense just to make himself look busy. "I don't have any plans." When Hansung let out a small whine, Banryu lifted his head again and asked, "What?"

Hansung sat down on the desk next to Banryu's, letting his legs dangle. "I wanted ideas."

"Ideas for what?" Banryu asked.

A shrug, not meeting anyone's eyes. "Confessing."

Yeowool slapped one hand over his mouth and the other down onto his desk. No one even glanced at him, as usual.

Confessing?! Hansung wanted to confess to someone? Who did he like?

Sunwoo.

Hansung wanted to confess to Sunwoo on Valentine's Day? Behind his hand, Yeowool frowned deeply. Hansung already spent most of his time extolling the virtues of Kim Sunwoo. What would it be like if they ever started dating? Hansung might become like everyone else at the school and forget Yeowool existed most days.

That stung.

But no, Yeowool reminded himself. Sunwoo was already in a three way knot with Jidwi and Ah Ro. He cared for Hansung like a brother, but nothing more. So if Hansung confessed, he would get rejected. He'd be heartbroken.

That stung more.

But was there anything Yeowool could do about it? Not likely. Hansung danced to a different drum. He wouldn't listen to Yeowool, especially not on the subject of love.

He would just have to be there to pick up the pieces once everything was over.

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Though classes continued in the days leading up to Valentine's Day, Hansung was hardly paying attention. Yeowool watched him drawing, writing, and cutting paper hearts through every period. He even skipped out on lunch with Yeowool to continue whatever creative endeavor he thought would win him Sunwoo's heart.

It wasn't the not paying attention in class that grated on Yeowool's nerves. Hansung was actually a year younger than everyone else in their class, including Yeowool and his own brother, because he was so smart that he'd been bumped up a year. What bugged him was that Hansung was completely ignoring Yeowool, too. It was just like what he had feared would happen if Sunwoo ever gave Hansung the time of day and they weren't even together yet.

He was already losing him.

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The Monday before Valentine's Day, Yeowool caught sight of Sunwoo talking to Dansae at the end of the hall and casually meandered over, inserting himself into their personal space. It took only a moment for Dansae to notice him, and a moment more to have Sunwoo's attention.

"Yes?" Dansae asked, not unkindly. He would make a good businessman if only because he had an aura that felt professional and yet didn't alienate people.

Yeowool gave a one armed shrug. "With all the excitement over Valentine's Day, people are even more talkative than usual. I know what everyone in our class is planning with their significant others, did you know?"

The look both men gave him told Yeowool they didn't care about what other people were doing for the holiday and they didn't know why he was bringing it up.

He gave a wistful sigh. "I was thinking about my own plans for Valentine's Day when I realized that there was actually one person who hadn't blabbed their plans yet." He pointed at Dansae. "So, would you mind filling in the gap?"

Dansae glanced at Sunwoo, who just shrugged, looking completely out of his depth. Part of the reason the relationship with Ah Ro and Jidwi was such a knot was because Sunwoo was almost bankrupt in the romantic feelings department. He just didn't know how to handle them.

Now Dansae sighed, but it sounded put upon. "I don't have any plans," he admitted. Just as Yeowool opened his mouth to ask about Hansung's plans, Dansae continued, "What are your plans, Kim Yeowool-ah?"

Revealing that he had no date and would likely sit at home watching sad romance movies and drinking wine while his mother spent the evening with her latest boyfriend was not ideal, so Yeowool merely smirked and said, slyly, "Why, do you want to join me, Suk Dansae-yah?"

The flirtation made Dansae visibly uncomfortable, which was half the reason Yeowool did it. He grinned.

"It would seem I have been rejected again," he said lightly. "Do not worry. You aren't who I have my eye on." He turned his attention on Sunwoo. "You should do something dramatic to express your feelings for Ah Ro and Jidwi. Maybe sing a song or make a radio announcement."

Sunwoo stammered and made soft noises of protest but no actual words escaped his lips. Yeowool sashayed away, self-satisfied as he left Sunwoo's mind in chaos and Dansae silently laughing at him. He had no more idea on what Hansung's plan for confessing was than he had before, and no idea how to lessen the pain from the coming rejection, but he was sure he would come up with something. He had to, for Hansung's sake.

The poor boy was so innocent. He deserved a true love.

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The idea came to Yeowool upon lying down for sleep the night before Valentine's Day.

Perhaps if Yeowool admitted to harboring feelings for Hansung…then maybe Hansung wouldn't confess to Sunwoo.

They had been friends for years now, he reasoned. Hansung would believe his feelings were genuine, right? Because they were genuine. They really, really were.

If Yeowool confessed, would Hansung remember all the Christmas Eves they had spent together, loudly claiming that it didn't have to be a day only for lovers, but best friends too? Would he remember the study sessions where Yeowool helped him cram for tests and kept him from panicking, because even if he was a genius, tests were Hansung's archenemy? Would he think about the birthday gifts of art supplies and space models, two of Hansung's favorite things, while his father and grandfather insisted on buying him cufflinks and portraits?

Or would he remember that Yeowool was an abysmal flirt? Would he remember that Yeowool horded gossip and secrets like currency, and worry that any confession was simply a way to gain access to more personal dirt?

Yeowool remembered when he and Hansung were thirteen. He'd just come out, clearly and completely, with his interest in men. He and his class from school had gone camping. They had played tug-of-war, gone swimming in a lake, and cooked their dinners over a campfire. Then everyone had pitched their tents and prepped for bed.

In the middle of the night, Yeowool's tent flap opened and Hansung had crawled in. He hadn't only crawled into the tent, but practically into Yeowool's sleeping bag. Yeowool had been astonished. He knew Hansung as a nice, shy person, and here he was being so bold. His heart had been beating so fast he was surprised Hansung couldn't hear it.

"Is it me?" he'd asked into the darkness. "Have you chosen me to be yours?"

Hansung had woken up just enough at the sound of his voice to notice where he was, and promptly threw himself away from Yeowool, out of the sleeping bag and out of the tent. It had hurt Yeowool to see the panic in Hansung's face, but they'd become friends after that. They'd become friends because Yeowool had promised not to tell anyone about that night.

Hansung would remember that, and know that Yeowool would never do anything just to get dirt on him…right?

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At school the following day, Yeowool was the first one in the classroom. In his school bag was a pair of arc welder's glasses that looked like normal sunglasses.

Hansung liked looking at the sun, the brightest star, when he was searching for inspiration. He had several simple arc welder glass products that he held before his eyes on such occasions, and a large telescope-like set up in his bedroom, but both options either made him look a bit childish or were unusable when out and about. Yeowool had bought the sunglasses variation in preparation for Hansung's birthday in two months, but if he was going to confess, he would need a gift. There was no way he would go into this empty handed.

Suho and Banryu showed up next, only a minute apart. They looked at him, then at each other, then pretended to be upset to see each other and sat facing opposite directions. Yeowool shook his head.

"So obvious," he mused quietly.

Both boys looked at him with varying levels of objection, but then other classmates began to file in so they resumed facing away from each other rather than argue the point.

The anxiety in Yeowool's chest spread to his arms, his fingers, down his legs into his toes, the longer he went without seeing Hansung. Opening himself up like this was not his forte. He wanted to get it over with. But by the time the teacher had walked in and called the class to order, Hansung hadn't arrived.

Hansung wasn't there.

The idea seemed preposterous. Hansung had been making paper art and doodling poetry on his work for days in preparation for a confession to Sunwoo. How could he not show up the day of the confession?

Was he sick? His brother was in class so it wasn't a family problem.

At break, he stood over Dansae's desk and asked, "Is Hansung okay?" without even asking for the other student's attention first.

Dansae looked up at him with what Yeowool would call 'feigned indifference.' It wasn't an expression he was used to on Dansae. Usually Danse was actually indifferent. "He's fine." When Yeowool continued to stand next to him instead of walking away, he elaborated, "He had a stomach bug this morning but he'll probably be up and back to normal before school is out."

Yeowool hummed and went back to his seat. He reached into his bag and fiddled with the glasses. This was good. He could go to the Suk house and confess to Hansung privately, well away from Kim Sunwoo. He could cut off any plans Hansung had about confessing before he ever had a chance to try.

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"I'm sorry, but the young master isn't here," said the maid who opened the door at the Suk house that afternoon. "He hasn't come back from school yet."

As soon as the door was shut before him, Yeowool pulled out his phone and speed dialed his number one.

"Where are you?" he asked when he heard the phone pick up.

"Hm? Me?" Hansung asked, innocent as ever.

Yeowool crossed his free arm over his chest. "Yes, you. Your brother said you were sick but Hae Young said you were out somewhere all day. She seemed to think you'd been at school."

It wasn't like Hansung to skip school or break rules. Heck, even things that seemed illegal but were totally fine made him antsy. And why would he skip school on Valentine's Day, of all days? And why had Dansae covered for him?

How did Yeowool know that Banryu and Suho were being stupid at the aquarium and that their teacher was going to propose to their girlfriend and that Jidwi had rented out a dinner cruise for tonight, but he didn't know what Hansung was up to right this moment?!

"Ah, I was just busy. I had to go do some stuff," Hansung said, unconvincingly. "I won't be home for awhile so you should probably just go home, Yeowool-hyung."

Yeowool scoffed. "Would I stand around here waiting, huh?"

Hanging up, he turned and began walking stiffly away from the Suk house door.

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This was his house, Yeowool reminded himself. He'd definitely walked in through his own front door. But this living room was not the one he'd left that morning.

There were 3-D paper hearts and stars hanging all around the room, from the ceiling and the lamps and the curtain rods. A paper chain looped around the edges of the ceiling. Tiny paper hearts covered the coffee table. Paper lotus flowers that looked incredibly realistic were draped over the arms of the couch and the lounge chairs.

A portrait of Yeowool, in the style of Van Gogh, was sitting, framed in bronze, in the center of the table.

"Hansungie?"

It was more a question of confusion, since the picture was obviously Hansung's style, but it got an answer from the person himself.

"Surprise!" Hansung cheered, jumping out from behind the stairs.

Yeowool set his school bag down on one of the chairs, amidst all the paper flowers. He motioned to the room. "What is this?" he asked, totally baffled. It wasn't often Yeowool was baffled.

The smile on Hansung's face dimmed. "Banryu-hyung didn't have any good ideas so I just went with what felt right." He gave a grand gesture to the room in general, but to the coffee table specifically. "It's my confession."

"Your-," Yeowool stopped. "I'm confused."

Hansung moved closer, but stayed out of arm's reach. He cast his gaze around the room, anywhere but on Yeowool. "I know I don't show it well, but you really are important to me. Super important, actually. You have been ever since we became friends. And I like us spending holidays together but I'd like if we could spend them together….together instead of as two single friends." He frowned, aggravated. "I'm not good at this, I guess."

No, he was doing fantastic in Yeowool's opinion. Was this a confession to Yeowool? Was this really happening? "What about Sunwoo?"

Now Hansung's frown was confused as he met Yeowool's eyes. "Sunwoo-hy-He's my idol. I'd love to be just like him. But what does that have to do with…," he trailed off, uncertain.

Yeowool shook his head. "Nevermind."

A mischievous glint lit in Hansung's eyes. He knew exactly what Yeowool had thought, and he also knew he could now tease Yeowool about this for the rest of eternity. Gossip is as gossip does. Sometimes Yeowool realized that he was probably a bad influence on Hansung. Most of the time he didn't care.

Hansung stepped into Yeowool's personal space. "Not Sunwoo-hyung. It's you," he said. "I've chosen Yeowool to be mine."

The call back to their tent encounter had Yeowool's heart leaping into his throat. He cleared his throat but it didn't dislodge. "That's good," he said, trying and failing to sound as aloof as ever. "After all, I am the most beautiful man. You'd be lucky to have me."

A whack to his arm. "Yah."

Yeowool chuckled at Hansung's pout. He leaned forward and planted a kiss to Hansung's cheek, which left the younger man blushing bright red and wide-eyed.

"I choose you, too."

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"Yeowoolie!"

Yeowool sighed from his place in the lounge chair on the balcony. He pulled his sunglasses down just a fraction to look over their rims at where Hansung was standing with his hands reaching up toward the sky, staring at the sun.

"Yes?"

Hansung laughed, bright and clear. "These sunglasses are amazing! Look at the sun! It's beautiful!"

"Alas," Yeowool bemoaned dramatically, "my glasses are normal. I can't look or else I will go blind, and then I would miss out on seeing your face every day. That would be tragic."

Keeping his hands in the air, Hansung looked down at Yeowool with a gaping mouth. "Wah. You startled me," he breathed out. He lowered his arms and pulled his sunglasses off. "Suddenly romantic."

Yeowool pat the chair next to him, inviting Hansung to sit and sunbathe with him. Hansung sat but did not lie down to sunbathe. Instead he pulled out his sketchbook and set about drawing. He was facing Yeowool as he did, so Yeowool knew the art was likely of him. A lot of the art in that sketchbook was of Yeowool, surprisingly. More than the amount of Sunwoo even.

Pushing his sunglasses back up over his eyes, Yeowool relaxed into his chair. "Did the sun inspire you?" he asked.

Hansung shook his head. "A much closer star inspired me this time," he said with a grin.

Yeowool let out a small gasp. "Me?" he asked, teasingly, placing a hand on his chest.

"No. A truck drove by with one painted on the side," Hansung answered quickly, his attention flipping entirely to his book.

"Aigoo," Yeowool let out, smiling.

The quick wit of his Hansung always surprised him. Sometimes he didn't even know that Hansung was teasing him and took it seriously. In a world where Yeowool knew everyone else's secrets, Hansung could always pull the wool over his eyes and make him blind.

It was like staring at the sun, but the view was much, much better.

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fin