ROCK - SEVENTEEN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJiITD511B8

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School had finally ended for the day. Mingyu would like to think that after a week of going to ‘Earthling’ school that it had changed his life forever and made him become a better student. But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Going to Pledis High was the worst decision that he had made here on Earth. The teachers were redundant, the classrooms smelled like stale piss, the girls ogled over him like he was some piece of meat, the lectures were boring and the food looked like garbage.

It’s a good thing his parents weren’t expecting him to graduate from this hell hole because he would have just given up on this place. It was a hopeless school filled with sad looking students and uninterested teachers. How was Mingyu expected to stay bright and happy in such a gloomy place like this? Not to mention, the navy blue uniform had his skin burning with an unfixable itch that stayed tingling on his skin. Thank god he had S.Coupe, Vernon and Hoshi to keep him hanging. If it wasn’t for them, he probably would have dropped out of Pledis High because of how boring and tedious the place was.

At least having those three as his companions made his high school experience a little more bearable. Once class was over and everyone was getting ready to leave, Mingyu shut his locker and zipped right out of the hallways before the four witches could come and kidnap him. He had a feeling they had other thoughts on their mind for him, and judging from their sultry smiles to him in class, it was NOTHING pure.

Hoshi was already at the bleachers, waiting for him and the rest of the guys. The males blonde frizzy hair stood out to Mingyu as he waved his arm in the air in greeting. From what Mingyu could tell, Hoshi was a pretty loveable kid. He wasn’t exactly the brightest one around, but he definitely had a childish charm about him that made Mingyu like him. 

Mingyu smiled and trotted over to Hoshi. The two of them complained about their boring classes and how hungry they were while they waited for the other two. Not too long after, Vernon and S.Coupe appeared with long faces and tired eyes.

“What’s up with you guys?” asked Hoshi.

Vernon rolled his eyes, looking grumpier than usual. “Phys Ed. Don’t ask.”

S.Coupe smiled tiredly and shrugged as he looked at Mingyu. “Don’t mind Vern, he’s a drama queen when it comes to working out.”

“Oh, piss off,” Vernon growled, walking away first. He was definitely not in the mood for jokes today.The three boys laughed in unison and ran after Vernon. Today they were heading over to Vernon’s place to play some games. Hoshi had offered to show Vernon’s massive Streetfighter collection, to which Vernon scoffed at because it was his game yet Hoshi always loved showing it off. Mingyu didn’t know what streetfighter was so he nodded his head and tried to go along with it, but S.Coupe could tell he had no clue.

“What do you play?” S.Coupe asked.

This one was easy. Mingyu grinned, “I play tricks and pranks on people.”

Vernon chortled. Mingyu didn’t look like the type of guy who liked tricks, because he was very quiet and shy and from what Vernon witnessed, Mingyu didn’t have a bad bone in his body. This wasn’t to say Vernon thought he was a ‘’ or that he didn’t have the ‘guts’ to do pranks on somebody, it’s just that Mingyu was such a shy guy.

“What’s so funny?” asked Mingyu, puzzled.

Hoshi reading his best friend mind blurted out, “I think Vernon’s trying to challenge you to a prank off.”

“Prank…off?” blinked Mingyu.

Vernon punched Hoshi in the arm and scowled. That was not what he had meant at all. “I was not thinking of that. Why are you always instigating for?”

“What? You were clearly thinking that Mingyu didn’t look like the type to be a prankster, weren’t you not?” asked Hoshi, blinking his round eyes in innocence.

Vernon grimaced, and narrowed his eyes at him. Hoshi returned the look with an angelic grin.

“That doesn’t sound so bad actually,” commented S.Coupe, scratching his chin in consideration. “But the twins haven’t been bugging us lately, so we can’t really do anything unless they with us again.”

Mingyu looked between the three boys. “Twins? Were they the ones that chased after you that day?”

Vernon snapped his fingers and winked, “Bingo. You are pretty observant eh, Mingyu.”

Mingyu shared a small smile, but was mildly curious about the situation. It had been a question that was on his mind since the day he first saw them, and since they’ve been on buddy-buddy level, that must mean it was okay to ask, right? Mingyu coughed into his hand and cleared his throat. “So, what exactly made you want to mess with those twins anyways?”

He was expecting S. Coupe to answer, but Hoshi spoke up instead. “They’re just jerks who think they’re so good because they play sports and get girls.”

Vernon held up his hands, “Before you think of anything, no we aren’t jealous because they get girls and have buff bodies.” He laughed, and so did the rest of the guys, but the good mood didn’t last for long.

S.Coupe’s expression seemed to have clouded slightly as his eyes grew distant. “To be honest, they’ve been ing with us since elementary school and it was just time we stood up for ourselves. We’ve had our heads flushed in the toilets and been given wedgies all our lives, and it man, those guys. We aren’t going to be cowards no more. We’re men now and men fight their own battles, not run away from them.”

Hoshi huffed out his chest and pounded it with a serious look, “We are men. We don’t back down from our fights!”

Vernon quickly followed in suit and so did S.Coupe. The three of them stared at each other and then laughed. Mingyu stared at them, truly fascinated by their friendship. Even though Joshua was his best friend, he had never been that close to Joshua. The three boys seemed almost in sync with one another, from walking to talking to their laughter, it was all the same. Instead of feeling any sort of jealousy towards this, Mingyu felt really appreciative for some reason. It was weird, and not really like him to feel any sort of sentimental feelings towards things like friendship and people, but watching the three of them interact and care for each other as brothers was strangely refreshing.

By the time they got to Vernon’s house, it was ten minutes past five. Mingyu glanced down at his watch and wondered how Hari’s day was going and if she had gone on her lunch yet. She didn’t seem like the type of person who would slow down and take a breather as much as she should, but who was Mingyu to say what he knew about her? Without another thought, Mingyu shut the door and copied what Hoshi, S.Coupe and Vernon did and took off his shoes too.

Vernon’s house was filled with pictures of him and his family. Almost every room had a photo of him and his family. It was very homey and cozy, with even stairs going up. From the kitchen, a middle aged woman appeared from the doorframe and greeted the boys. She had medium length dark brown hair and kind eyes. She had a kitchen towel in one hand and a plate in her other as she sweetly smiled at the boys. She looked at Mingyu, her eyes sparkling, “Vernon, is this a new friend of yours?”

To Mingyu’s surprise, Vernon nodded, “Yep, he’s my new homie so don’t say anything embarrassing. I’m still trying to keep whatever I have left of my dignity.”

Vernon’s mom, Mrs. Choi, laughed and playfully tapped her beloved son’s cheek.

“Hey mom!” Hoshi skipped over and hugged her like she was his mom. Vernon turned back to Mingyu and S.Coupe and made a gagging noise.

Mingyu and S.Coupe exchanged looks and laughed silently.

“Mom, we’re going to be upstairs playing games,” called Vernon as