Kibum arrived at school the next morning sporting a happy conscience, a wide grin donning his face rather than the usual frown. Despite the fact that he had gotten into trouble when he arrived home last night, nothing could ruin his mood after his wonderful ‘date’ with Jonghyun – not even another gruelling day of school.

His scolding the prior evening had been bearable, thanks to Kibum’s superior lying skills, and he had gotten off with little to no punishment. Did he feel guilty for blatantly deceiving his parents? Not really. After all, it had all been worth it in the end.

Kibum strolled his way across the court yard towards the third year classrooms, when all of a sudden he heard an unnaturally high pitched squeal from his right and saw a blur rushing towards his blazer-clad form.

“Wow, Taemin! Hey!” he greeted in shock, cocking his brow in confusion at the younger’s excitement.

The young student was practically dancing where he stood, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he smiled at Kibum almost mischievously. “Hey, Kibum! How are you?”

“Tired.” laughed Kibum. “You?“

“Why are you tired? What’d you get up to last night?” chirped Taemin casually, dismissing Kibum’s question as a strange glint in his eyes gleamed slyly whilst addressing the third year.

Kibum blinked, tilting his head to the side in slight befuddlement. “Um…I just went out for a coffee and went home. What about you?”

Taemin smirked in a knowing manner, fiddling with his hands offhandedly. “Oh you know, homework and stuff - the usual. Who did you go with?”

Kibum’s jaw twitched sceptically. “Nobody…why?” he retorted defensively, narrowing his eyes in suspicion at the younger dancer whom looked on innocently.

“I was just wondering…don’t worry about it!” shrugged Taemin, shooting Kibum a cheek splitting smile before he began to bounce his way back towards the first year building.

“See ya, Kibum! I have to get to class!” he yelled over his shoulder cheerfully, waving his hand in farewell with the same, cunning look still glinting in his eyes.

Kibum stood still in the same spot, watching curiously as Taemin made his way over to the other side of the school. “What the heck?” he muttered to himself under his breath, scratching the back of his neck in pure befuddlement before his eyes caught sight of Amber’s short hair walking towards the third year classrooms.

“Hey, Amber!” he yelled, waving enthusiastically as the said girl’s head turned to face Kibum in surprise.

Amber’s face broke out into a smile upon noticing Kibum, before she said something inaudible to her friends and ran over towards where the dancer was standing with a bounce in her step. “Yo yo yo, Kibum! How’s it going?” she greeted cheerfully, enveloping Kibum in a friendly embrace.

“Pretty great.” smiled Kibum into her shoulder, biting his lip in mere thought of the last few days spent with Jonghyun.

Amber pulled away gently from the hug but left her hands resting on the older male’s shoulders, staring into his eyes with an intent, suspicious gaze. “What’s got you in such a good mood, ‘Bum?” she smirked.

Kibum immediately flushed crimson, diverting his eyes to face the ground between them. “Nothing.” he defended, looking up at Amber through his long lashes as his lips struggled not to tilt up at the edges.

Amber laughed, shaking her head softly. “You can’t lie to me, Kibum. Come on, we’ll ditch homeroom so you can tell me all about it.”

Kibum gaped in shock, looking over his shoulder worriedly at the building in which his classroom was situated. “If my parents found out…” he began dubiously.

Amber sighed in exasperation, before grabbing Kibum’s hand and dragging him off towards the abandoned tennis courts.

“Ambe-!” exclaimed Kibum in protest, only to be cut off by the tomboy with a pointed glare.

“No complaints! Spill or I’ll force it out of you.”

Kibum screwed up his nose and bit his lip nervously, contemplating mentally whether he should tell Amber about Jonghyun or not. He decided with the latter. “I just went out last night after school…I was thinking about that.”

“Kibum! I want full details, so stop beating around the bush.” she scolded, crossing her arms over her chest and raising an incredulous eyebrow at Kibum’s stalling.

A small silence drifted through the air, the tension around them seemingly getting thicker and thicker as Kibum looked in contemplation. After around a minute or so, his voice finally broke through the stillness in a timorous, tense tone.

“Y-you…You won’t tell right? And you won’t judge?” stuttered Kibum quietly, rocking on his heels apprehensively which induced a worrying look from the younger.

“You can tell me anything ‘Bum…You know that. What’s wrong?” she questioned softly, moving forward to wrap the dancer in a comforting hug.

Kibum inhaled deeply, closing his eyes and sinking into his best friend’s warm embrace. “There’s someone who I really like…” he whispered, voice shaking slightly as he gripped on tighter.

“Hey, why are you acting like it’s a bad thing? Don’t cry…” frowned Amber, rubbing her hands up and down Kibum’s back in a soothing, relaxing manner.

Kibum said nothing, merely burying his face further into Amber’s shoulder. “They won’t ever like me back,” he whispered.

Amber tutted, rocking the two of them side to side rhythmically in an attempt to calm Kibum down. “How do you know? You’re pretty awesome Kibum; she would be mad to not like you back.”

Silence.

The tomboy slowly stopped swaying in concern, feeling the light drop of tears patter upon her uniformed shoulder. “Ki—?”

“—It’s a guy.” choked out Kibum incoherently, and Amber had to scrunch her face up in confusion for a few seconds before she finally made out Kibum’s muffled words and put the pieces together.

She sighed in relief, a soft, knowing smile etching onto her face at the newly received information. “Kibummie, do you think I care about that? Were you really so afraid to tell me?” she spoke gently, pulling back gently to stare into Kibum’s teary eyes.

Kibum sniffled slightly, wiping sleeve across his face in a rough motion. “You’re the first person I’ve told, you know. Do you really not care?”

Amber chuckled slightly, ruffling Kibum’s perfectly styled hair in affection and snorting in amusement as his hands immediately lifted to fix the dishevelled strands. “I’m seriously honoured ‘Bum. And of course I don’t care, you idiot. Besides, I would be lying if I told you I’d never suspected it.”

Kibum exhaled deeply at ease, a wide grin spontaneously replacing the prior frown and erasing all of his worry lines. “Did I ever tell you you’re the best?” he grinned.

“Not often enough.” responded Amber amusedly, before linking her arm with Kibum’s to march back towards their homeroom class tardily.

The dimples on Kibum’s smooth face were displayed evidently, and he felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. As he strolled leisurely back to homeroom, arm linked with Amber’s, he couldn’t bring it within himself to worry about being late or the homework that was due next period. All he could focus on was the contentment speaking to Amber had brought him, and the fact that he now had someone to talk to about Jonghyun – someone he could trust.

“Minho, Minho, Minho! Hurry!” chanted Taemin deviously, pulling the older male along the corridor hurriedly so they could make it to the dance studio before Kibum arrived.

Minho kept in pace easily with the young dancer, his long legs not having to move quickly to match Taemin’s quick steps. “Are you going to tell me why we’re rushing so much, Minnie?”

“Be patient! Besides, no one is allowed to hear.” scolded Taemin, reaching out for the door handle to his usual eating place hurriedly and shoving both himself and Minho inside with haste.

“What the heck?!” exclaimed Minho, looking at Taemin confusedly because of the younger’s strange behaviour.

Taemin shushed him nonchalantly, biting his lip in excitement and bouncing on the balls of his feet like a water balloon about to burst. “We don’t have much time…but guess what I saw yesterday after school?!”

Minho exhaled deeply, running hand through his hair in exasperation. “Taemin, what did I tell you about gossiping?”

“No, you don’t understand! I promise you’re the only person I’m telling, it’s just too exciting to keep to myself.”

Minho looked sternly at Taemin, before the first year’s puppy dog eyes inevitably softened his gaze and he decided to just let the younger boy say whatever it was he was so anxious about. “Fine. What did you see yesterday after school?”

Taemin smirked, clasping his hands together in mere thought of what he had witnessed the night prior. “I saw Kibum…” he began, not impressing Minho in the slightest whom remained expressionless.

“…”

“…And his boyfriend.” finished Taemin, grinning smugly at the gobsmacked look that passed over Minho’s face.

“You’re legit?” questioned Minho after a few seconds, raising his eyebrow in suspicion.

Taemin rolled his eyes, fishing his phone out of his pocket. “You seriously have so little faith in me. All I know is that I saw Kibum hugging an older guy with a car yesterday, and the dude was calling Kibum adorable and stuff. It sounds pretty boyfriend-ish to me.”

Minho frowned slightly, shaking his head in disbelief. “You saw them hugging? Taemin, they could be just friends. Kibum wouldn’t like you making up rumours about him.”

Taemin growled in aggravation, scrolling through something on his phone hastily. “Stop doubting me! I’m not making up rumours…I have photos to prove it!”

Minho’s jaw dropped, and he buried his head into his hands out of pure astonishment. “The fact that you took photos is the worst of all! Imagine if Kibum knew—“

The soccer player was cut off from his scolding all of a sudden however, as a phone screen was shoved into his face and he was left staring at a picture of Kibum’s arms wrapped around an older male who looked all too familiar.

“Jonghyun-hyung?!” he exclaimed loudly, snatching the phone out of Taemin’s hand and zooming up on the other guy in the picture in pure incredulity.

“You know Kibum’s boyfriend?!”

“That’s my brother’s best friend! I didn’t think he was into guys though…” trailed Minho, zooming back out and running his eyes over the embrace between Jonghyun and Kibum. “You’re right though…it does look pretty gay.”

“Oi! Don’t say it like that, you’ll hurt Kibum’s feelings.” scolded Taemin, picking his phone out of Minho’s grasp and looking at the photo once again himself.

Minho rolled his eyes, digging his own phone out of his pocket and tapping on a soccer app out of boredom. “I was merely stating it as a fact. Don’t get iffy with me.”

“Ugh, whatever. At least you believe me now. That Jonghyun guy though…is he nice?” questioned Taemin, studying the face of the man in question via his phone.

“Yeah, really nice. He and Onew-hyung used to sing together I think…that’s how they met.” replied Minho casually, eyes not drifting from his screen as they stayed glued to the sweaty players running amidst the field.

Taemin giggled, turning his phone off as he began to eat his sandwich in hunger. “A dancer and a singer…cute.”

Minho snorted in amusement and went to reply, before all of a sudden they heard the creaking of the handle twist and saw the door opening slightly.

“Kibum, hey!” exclaimed Taemin excitedly as the former poked his head around the dance studio’s door.

“Hey guys,” replied Kibum cheerfully, nodding to Minho who seemed to be wrapped up in soccer livestream on his phone.

“What’s up?” greeted Minho gruffly, flickering his eyes to Kibum for a split second before returning back to his screen.

Kibum smiled, sitting himself next to Taemin and pulling out his lunch. “Nothing much, I just have a lot of homework to do. You?”

“Mmm…same.” agreed the taller male uninterestingly, shooting Taemin a quick glance that went unnoticed by Kibum.

Taemin bit his lip to prevent himself from bursting out into giggles, shoving his sandwich into his mouth urgently. Kibum raised an eyebrow at the odd behaviour, taking a more reserved bite of his own lunch with amusement.

“Hungry?” he laughed in question, eliciting a vigorous nod from the younger boy.

Taemin swallowed his large mouthful before flashing Kibum a bashful grin. “Very.”

Minho rolled his eyes at Taemin’s antics, knowing quite well why the first year was acting so strange.  The younger boy really needed to learn how to control himself. At the moment however, it really was quite amusing, so Minho opted to stay quiet and observe the awkward interactions between the two dancers.

‘Taemin…you’re seriously going to be the death of me.’

Kibum let out a long breath, running his hands through his hair in relief. Lifting his gaze up to meet the classroom clock, he grinned, realising he had finished the assigned questions with five minutes to spare. Resting his head on folded arms, Kibum closed his eyes and allowed his thoughts to drift back to lunch. Taemin really had been acting strange…Normally the younger boy would be really talkative during lunch but all he had done that day was stuff his face and look on the verge of laughter. Minho had been pretty quiet as well, but that wasn’t really a surprise considering it was Minho.

He shook his head to stop his mind overflowing with questions, and decided to just let his eyes rest before the bell went and dismissed him back into his lonely home life. They didn’t stay closed for long however, because all of a second the loud ring was blasting through the speakers and the screeching sound of chairs being pushed backwards was echoing throughout the room. Kibum exhaled, gathering his books together grudgingly before making his way to the front of the class to hand the teacher his work.

“Thank you, Kibum.” she spoke kindly, Kibum nodding his head politely in response.

He took his time making his way out of the door, not wanting to be trampled by the students who were extra eager to make their way back home or hang out with their friends. Packing his books back into his locker and taking out what needed to be done for homework, Kibum then leisurely walked to the bathroom to waste a bit of time before having to make his way back home. After all, it wasn’t as if anything exciting was waiting for him there.

Finishing up in the bathroom, Kibum checked the time on his watch and nodded to himself. If he took the long way out of the school and walked slowly back to his house he would be home right before his parents arrived with enough time to grab a snack and make his way up to his room. His footsteps echoed loudly against the linoleum flooring, the relaxing yet slightly eerie silence comforting Kibum as he walked.

However just as Kibum began to think that he was completely alone, he heard a thump from around the corner and stopped dead in his tracks.

‘What on earth? –‘

The thump sounded again, and Kibum’s ears vaguely picked up on a group of various voices speaking roughly about something. He picked up his pace, not really sure what he was going to see around the corner but curiosity picking at his mind nonetheless.  Turning the bend, Kibum’s mind could not have prepared him for what he was met with, jaw dropping in horror as his eyes landed on the scene before him.

A group of first years surrounded something on the floor, Kibum not being able to see whatever it was they were surrounding but understanding the situation immediately. The group of boys all had smirks plastered onto their faces, and a lone school bag lay by them with a large pile of books and ripped papers spilling out the top. They hadn’t noticed him yet, so Kibum kept studying the situation in shock, eyes running over each boy hastily in assessment. One of the bigger guys seemed to have a bruised fist, but it definitely wasn’t him Kibum was worried about. It was the form on the ground which was shielded from Kibum’s view that concerned him, unable to see the full damage but knowing that it wouldn’t be pretty.

‘I could turn the corner, pretend I didn’t see and leave that kid for dead…Or I could confront the boys, help the kid out and cop some myself.’

Kibum’s decision was made easy when one of the shorter guys aimed a reckless kick at the student on the floor, emitting a whimper of pain from the kid that tugged at Kibum’s heartstrings. He began to move forward, his loud footsteps gaining the attention of the group who whipped around to face him immediately.

“What are you doing?” spoke the bigger boy, most likely the leader of the pack.

Kibum scoffed, pointing to himself disbelievingly. “Me? I think the real question is what the are you doing?”

‘.’

A look of pure anger crossed the guy’s face, and he took a threatening step forward. “None of your ing business. I recommend you get out of here now, or else I’ll smash your head into the locker.”

“I’ll get of here if you leave the kid alone. I bet he didn’t deserve any of this. It’s just like you that put their problems on other people because their lives so much.” jeered Kibum, crossing his arms over his chest sassily and smirking as the big guy’s rage increased even more.

“Shut up, . I can assure you this ing sissy deserved all he got. He looks like a girl, dances like a girl…yet he still thinks he can go in the male bathroom like a normal guy? You’re both as gay as each other.”

‘Oh he didn’t.’

Kibum’s smirk was immediately replaced by a frown, fury boiling inside of him slowly at the bully’s cruel words. One look through the gap and his fears were confirmed…Taemin lay upon the ground bruised and beaten, eyes barely open as he struggled to get a word out. Kibum shook his head in means of getting him to stay quiet, before his gaze drifted back up to stare the group leader directly in the eyes.

“Okay first, ? What, because I can actually afford nice clothes and don’t like getting sweaty? , I could eat a can of alphabet soup and out a better argument than that. And you’ve got to be kidding me. Here you are, beating up an innocent kid because he’s prettier than you’re non-existent girlfriend? I know he probably turns you on but you have to learn to control your urges better than that, bud. I suggest you take you and your little puny gang away from here and actually go get yourself some real , because clearly you don’t know what a female body looks like.”

The whole group stood there stunned, and Kibum smirked smugly in accomplishment. “Did you here that? Shoo.”

The biggest boy grunted, and looked back at the group that hovered around him. “Come on boys, we don’t want to associate ourselves with these poofs.”

Kibum’s eye twitched, yet he remained silent. The huddle of boys began to make their way to where Kibum came from, the leader muttering something quietly to Kibum as he walked past.

“Don’t think you’re safe, . If you piss me off one more time, you’re dead.”

They finally turned the corner, and as soon as they did so Kibum let his tough façade go and rushed over to check on Taemin. “Taemin…we need to get you some help!”

Looking over the younger boy’s body, he inwardly winced at all the bruises that adorned his body and the blood that seeped from his lip and nose.

“Kibum-hyung,” he whispered hoarsely, voice rough as he struggled to form words. “You’re seriously the best.”

“Don’t talk, Taemin-ah. Who should I ring?” questioned Kibum frantically, receiving no response as Taemin closed his eyes and lulled off into a peaceful sleep.

“. I don’t even have Minho’s number…” muttered Kibum, scrolling through the contacts on his phone quickly and groaning in impatience.

His fingers stopped at Jonghyun’s name, and he bit his lip worriedly. He could ring Jonghyun and get Taemin to safety quickly in the older boy’s car, but on the downside Taemin would notice Jonghyun and ask questions. Kibum shook his head. Taemin was more important. Besides, it wasn’t as if Jonghyun and he were dating. He could just tell Taemin they were friends.

Making up his mind, Kibum tapped on Jonghyun’s name and rang his number, drumming his fingers on his leg impatiently as he prayed that the singer would pick up quickly.

“Kibum, hey! How are you?” greeted the older boy cheerily.

“Jjong…I need your help. I’m at school, it’s urgent.”

A slight pause was heard on the other side of the line. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Just please, come as quickly as possible.”

“I’ll be right there.”