THE START OF SOMETHING STUPIDLY BEAUTIFUL

The rest of the first morning class dragged on in a blur of introductions, textbook handouts, and teachers going over the rules Lekir already knew. His head was starting to ache slightly— maybe from the lingering stares, or the fluorescent lights overhead.

He tried his best to focus on his notes, occasionally glancing at the boy beside him.

Hoshi Akihiko.

That was his name.

A quiet, crisp voice had responded with nothing more than, “Here,” and that was it. No emotion, no expression. Just silence and ice.

Hoshi hadn't spoken a single word to Lekir all morning after they three got yelled at by the teacher because of talking. Hoshi didn’t even look his way. He just sat there with one earbud in, head tilted slightly toward the window like he wanted to melt into it.

Lekir grumbled under his breath as he doodled on the edge of his notebook.

“Tch. Seriously, what’s with that guy? Does he even blink?”

Lekir stared at the doodles he made.

I wonder what Lekiu's doing right now...

____________________________________________

It was Lekir's third class at King Ludvig IV Private Academy—he slowly walked through the hall. A cold winter morning, and he feels he just transferred in from another place. Despite the expensive uniform hugging his already thinning body, the cold still bit into his skin. He quietly took his assigned seat in the second row during math class, just a few steps away from the windows, where frost was already blooming in crystal patterns.

He didn’t expect much. New faces. New place. Same loneliness.

That was until chaos erupted beside him.

Those two guys again...

Lekir told himself to ignore the two and never look at them. No eye contact and you're safe.

Or so he thought--

"Are you dumb or just blind?! It’s supposed to be x \= -2, not 4!" Hoshi, the cold, sharp-tongued boy, now with glasses, barked across the table.

"The limit does NOT exist! And x \= 4 makes perfect sense if you stop being such a pessimistic number Nazi!" Jinwoon, the overly energetic Korean boy with wavy bangs and three pens tucked behind his ears, flailed dramatically with his worksheet, nearly smacking Lekir in the face.

Lekir blinked, stunned. “...Huh?”. The hell they're doing right now?

“YOU!” both turned to him suddenly, like cats fighting and then noticing a mouse between them.

Lekir raised his hands instinctively. “I just got here—I’m not even involved—”

“What’s your answer?” Hoshi narrowed his eyes.

“Yeah, you look like the type who actually studies. Help us settle this!” Jinwoon shoved the math problem toward him. “Is it x \= -2 like Cold Boy here says or x \= 4 like a future genius like me would say?”

"...It's x \= -2," Lekir muttered after glancing briefly at the equation.

"HA!" Hoshi smirked victoriously.

"TRAITOR!" Jinwoon gasped, clutching his chest. "You were supposed to be neutral! You had one job! And you betrayed me, jagiya!"

“I didn’t know I was in a warzone,” Lekir deadpanned, lips twitching slightly.

Unfortunately, their passionate debate had already caught the attention of their math teacher, Mr. Takemura, who cleared his throat loudly and approached them with a heavy frown.

“You three. Out. Now.”

“Wait—what—?” Lekir’s stomach dropped. But I just got here?! It's the second time now the teacher asked us to stand outside on my first day of school-! It's all because of these two-

“We weren’t that loud,” Hoshi muttered. “It’s Jinwoon’s fault, sensei.” he added quickly.

“Don’t throw me under the bus, you iceberg!”, The pink haired guy slaps Hoshi's shoulder with his paperwork.

"No more talking. Outside. Now." Mr. Takemura crossed his arms.

The three of them were about to rise from their seats, the heavy weight of public humiliation looming, when Lekir—desperate and somehow impulsive—blurted out, “Wait, sensei! We were just, uh...passionately discussing math...because we really, really love it. Honest!”

Mr. Takemura blinked, eyes narrowing. “...You love math?”

The three exchanged quick glances. Lekir gave a tiny, almost pleading smile. “We were...trying to solve ahead of the lesson. You know, self-motivated learning?”

To everyone’s shock, the teacher merely sighed and waved them back into their seats.

“Fine. No more yelling. Solve it quietly if you love math so much.”

When they sat back down, Jinwoon leaned in and whispered, “You’re either an excellent liar or a secret genius. I like you.”

“I’d vote liar,” Hoshi muttered, but there was no edge in his tone.

And from that moment, something clicked between the three of them. Somehow, that chaotic, ridiculous math argument had sparked something else—an unexpected warmth that Lekir hadn’t felt in a long time.

____________________________________________

The bell rang, signaling the start of lunch break. Lekir stretched a little, reaching into his bag to pull out a bento box that he had packed for him earlier.

"Jagiya! Let's eat together, me, Hoshi and YOU! In the cafeteria! After that, we'll show you around the school and where my favorite spot is!" Jinwoon put his arm around Lekir's shoulder.

"It's fine, I can eat alone--"

"Think this as our thank for math class earlier! Please!" Jinwoon begged.

"Sure..." Lekir reluctantly just agreed. It's not like he has a choice to begin with. It's sucks cause he only knows these two...

"You don't get to decide over everything." Hoshi rolls his eyes.

"So you're not coming with us?", Jinwoon tilted his head, eyebrow raised.

Hoshi looks at Jinwoon and Lekir for a moment.

"I didn't say I want to starve myself." Hoshi stood up and walked past them.

(Skip)

"Stop wasting food." Hoshi said and Lekir looked up from his bento box. Too stunned cause he was actually talking to him now.

"Huh?"

"Bro was asking why you eat so little and was worried about you like a mother hen." Jinwoon took the sausages from Hoshi's plate and got smacked on the head after that.

"What are you, that green owl translator now?" Hoshi dissed the pink haired guy.

"It's called Duolingo, dude!"

"Don't care."

"And you." Hoshi past some of the spicy tuna onigiri to Lekir, even threatened Lekir to finish it for him. "At least eat something decent rather than those grass, you're not a cow." Hoshi continued as he stared at the salads inside Lekir's bento box in disgust.

"Don't even think the cold guy here would care what I eat..." Lekir muttered but still eat the onigiri, hums as the rice ball was good.

Hoshi huffed in response.

"I just pity your body cells from the lack of nutrition they got cause the owner want to play a role as a cow."

Lekir let out a chuckle. "Yeah, yeah."

From that day forward, despite Hoshi’s cold persona and Jinwoon’s overflowing energy, they began sitting together during lunch. Arguments still happened—mostly about dumb things like food, movies, and math problems—but Lekir started to laugh more, smile more.

Because he had finally found something he never thought he would—

Friends.

And stupid math was to thank for it.

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