'It was your birthday? When?'

'Oh, it's nothing.'

'When is your birthday?'

'What were you-'

'When is your birthday?' He repeated, and his change in tone sent a shiver down your spine. 

'Yesterday.'

I came a day late. 

It was obvious, how his face darkened, and he did not say anything, but you shrugged it off as you returned your attention to your work. It didn't occur to you that he was actually angry, until quite a while later, when you looked up for a brief moment to find him glaring at the pair of sticks protruding out of your bag. 

The times you saw Taekwoon previously, even though he kept a straight face most of the time, it wasn't as scary as the person before you right then. 

On the other hand, Leo had slightly more expressions on his face, and in his tone. Even though that simply includes a slight smirk now and then along with his mocking tone. That was it. 

But you were sure that you've never seen this body before you, disregarding who it was, this angry before. Not even when you threw your stick at him the last time. 

You didn't know what it was that you did, that could have made him mad, and thanking the wrong person didn't seem that huge of a mistake to you either. 

Counting the accident, and the time he dragged you to the bench, the times which you met him for more than ten seconds were actually two, with only the second one involving interaction between the both of you prior to this. And you wouldn't say that the both of you were close, or were even considered as friends. But it wasn't like you were merely acquaintances either. 

Leo? Do I really call him that? He said he didn't want me to call him sunbae, but it's not like I could call him oppa either-

You flinched when you were startled by the sudden sound of paper tearing, to find him ripping his sandwich wrapper mercilessly, and dumping in on the table before getting up to leave, missing your work by inches. 

Your voice was caught in your throat, you wanted to call him, but you didn't know how. And all you did was simply watch his shadow disappear round the block.

There were completely no signs of Taekwoon for the next few days, not even Leo. And you could not help but to start feeling worried. You didn't know how frequent Leo came out, or if there was a pattern. You didn't even know who you were worried about, Taekwoon or Leo. And you weren't sure what was happening either. 

You kept thinking back to how his mood was, disregarding what he could possibly be mad at. But by the way he talked, the cold, rigid look his eyes gave, his gestures. It definitely didn't seem normal. 

Your lessons weren't going well, with you spending most of your time thinking about him, wondering if it was because of his disorder. Which wasn't what you needed, especially after getting a lecture on your plummeting results just the other day. 

Taekwoon sunbae was the one who told me not to give up, but why is he the one hindering my studies now? 

I don't know him. I don't even know if that disorder and everything is real. I should get a grip on myself. 

That was what you've been telling yourself for the entire week. But unsurprisingly, it didn't work. 

You took out your notebook, planning to finally take down something useful for the first time that day. However, you were soon distracted by the piece of paper which slipped out instead, one that you've never seen before. 

It donned your school's logo at the top, and your eyes quickly scanned through the contents, until it fell upon the subject, and name of which it was addressed to. 

Letter of Suspension

Name: Jung Taekwoon 

And according to the date, it was issued just yesterday. 

W-What is this doing here? You immediately closed your notebook. It wasn't the one that you usually used for note-taking. It was the one that you used as your diary. And also the one that Leo flung before your face the previous time you met him. 

The one that you always had with you, the one that you never let anyone land their hands on it. 

And you knew immediately that it Leo.

The paper was slot in a blank page towards the end, fortunately. But then again it didn't mean that he didn't see it when he placed it in.

But, what did he do? 

...

This is to notify you that your son, Jung Taekwoon, has been suspended for a week as a result of the following offences. 

1. Truancy - from 25/7 to 1/8

2. Destroying of School Property - Broken Window of Classroom 405 on 24/7
...

It's the entire period that I didn't see him. And that broken window. Wasn't it the last time which I saw him? And didn't what was he doing at the junior compounds? Just where on earth is he?

Just when you finally decided to forget about the person whom you've only met a few times, he managed to situate himself firmly back in your head with one piece of A4 sized paper. 

You didn't even realized that you were walking around like a zombie after lessons, with you being so occupied, that you didn't even notice when Hakyeon called you twice. Which immediately allowed him to figure out that something was wrong. Especially when you would usually scream when he ambushed you. 

'Jieun?' 

'Y-Yeah?' By the look of his eyes, you could easily tell that it probably wasn't the first time he called you.

You looked at him as he bent down to your eye level, placing his hands on your shoulders. 'Did something happen?' 

'N-'

'I'm not taking 'Nothing' or 'No' as an answer, and you know that very well.' 

'I'm really fine.' And at that, his grip on your shoulders tightened. 

'Stop that, you looked like you just saw a ghost.' 

'I didn't see a ghost! It's nothing of that sorts.' If it was a ghost, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be worrying about it for an entire week. 

'Then? Has anyone been bothering you?' 

'Nobody has been bothering me.' He has been missing for an entire week, how could he bother me? ... Exactly. How is he still able to bother me when he isn't even physically here? 

'Are you sure? There's no stalker or anything?' 

'Yeah.' You raked your brains for a legitimate reason as his worried eyes were starting to make you feel extremely guilty. 

You didn't want him to know that you haven't been doing what he told you to, to avoid Taekwoon. And it would be even worse if he found out that you were actually like this because of that same person. 

'Studies, oppa. It's just the stress.' 

And immediately, you saw how he heaved a sigh of relief. 

You, too, finally let go of a breathe you didn't know you were holding, as he stood back up, and rested his arm around your shoulder, his hand comfortably patting your head. 

'A little stress is okay, but don't get this stressed out okay?' 

'Okay.'

'Now, do you want food or movie?' But before you could answer, he answered for you. 'Food. Of course.' 

'Why bother asking in the first place?' You smiled as he poked your cheeks gently. 

'To see you smile like that.' 

'Oppa that's cheesy.' 

'What? I just wanted to lighten the mood a bit. And I succeeded, didn't I?' 

Somehow, someway, he decided that a suspension letter wasn't enough to distract you from your daily routines. And he just had to drop another bomb which nearly killed you. 

It wasn't until another three days, did you find something in your locker. But by how it was placed on the day and time that you would only open your locker when you were alone, it simply meant that it was the same person again. 

Thankfully, you were alone. Or else you would not be able to hide it from anyone this time. 

The image of the bloodied white shirt lying in your locker made you pale, and you could feel your limbs turning cold. 

It didn't help that you had to go home alone, and the entire trip you kept being wary of your surroundings, though you weren't sure what exactly you were looking out for. 

And you never felt this relieved to reach home, not forgetting to lock the main door firmly afterwards. 

Is this why they said to stay away from him?

But why is he doing this to me? 

You cringed as you took the shirt out of your bag. It was indeed the size of his frame, but you shrugged off the thought that it was his. Though it simply surfaced back in your mind within seconds. 

Is he okay? 

You managed to get your mind off the shirt now and then as you occupied yourself with your soon dued assignments, which was proceeding quite smoothly, until the doorbell rang. 

But it's late.

And Hakyeon oppa wouldn't come without calling.

It rang for the second time. 

Sunbae? No, he wouldn't be here. 

The bloodied shirt appeared in your mind again as you dragged your feet towards the door.

Knock Knock.

You found your hands gripping tightly onto the door knob as you stood on your tiptoes to look through the peephole.

He's alive.

But you couldn't tell which he was, not that it mattered to you at that point in time.

At the click of the door opening, you saw how tired his face looked, his shoulders drooping.  

'I can't do this anymore.'

You didn't manage to process what he said, or what he meant, as your eyes shifted downwards to his arms, which were covered in cuts and wounds, some fading, others still fresh, though there were no marks on his face. 

You remained silent as you pulled him into your home, before closing the door shut behind him, your hand still around his wrist. 

'I hate you.' He sounded weak, and his tone made you question which one he was for a brief moment. You sat him down on your bed in your small one-room apartment. 'I said I hate you.' He repeated, when you looked back at him after getting out the first-aid kit from underneath your table, and dragging your chair and settled down before him.  

And he saw how your eyebrows furrowed, and your lips that were tilted downwards as you looked at him. I can't understand her. Why can't I understand her? 

You froze when he collapsed on you, his arms hanging loosely around your small frame, as his chin rested on your shoulder. 

'L-Leo?' You couldn't see how his lips tilted up slightly as he leaned his head towards yours. 

'Why are you going along with me? Normal people will just avoid me from the very beginning.' His voice slurred as he mumbled, taking time to form long sentences. You wouldn't have been able to form anything if his voice wasn't next to your ear. 

'But you approached me first.' 

'I hate you. How is it that I can't do what I wanted to do once I see you.' 

'What did you want to do?' 

'Scare you away. Far far away. That you'll never even think of glancing at me.' 

You chuckled lightly, hoping that it would help, even a little. 'By stealing my phone and notebook?' 

'It was easier with the letter and shirt. Since I didn't have to see you.'

'That made me even more worried, instead of chasing me away.'

'But I can't. I can't not see you.' 

Is that, a confession? ... No, it can't be. We don't even know each other. 

'The usual me isn't like this. I hate it that I'm not like myself when I'm with you.' 

'Then what is it like to be yourself?' 

'I don't spend a single second in school. And that blood on the shirt wasn't mine.' 

With that, he felt how your body stiffened underneath him. That should be enough to scare her. 

'That's. That's what I do.' 

'At least you didn't kill him.'

It was his turn to be taken aback as he pulled himself away from you, and looked straight at you instead. 

'How are you so sure.' And you noticed how his words were getting clearer. 

'Maybe that person might be suffering a lot right now, but I know you wouldn't kill him.' 

'The blood is mine.' 

'Can you decide on whether or not it's yours?' 

'Nobody dares to talk to me like that.' She's making me confused. How is she doing that. 

'Maybe because nobody talked to you before.' 

You saw how his eyes changed for a brief moment. You could tell that, somehow, his energy was gaining back. He didn't look as weak as before when you first found him at your doorstep. 

'It's both mine and someone else's.' 

'Okay. We need to wash you up before bandaging it.'

He stared at you as you dragged him towards your washroom, checking the temperature of the water before gently washing away the dried blood on his arms. Leo felt you shuddering when the water turned red as it ran over his arms, and could tell that you were reminded of the shirt.

If she's afraid of me, why is she still not avoiding me?

The things going on with his head was going to start a headache, being with you brought to him something he has never felt before. When all he did when he came out, was to either inflict harm on others or himself - with the aim of harming Taekwoon. He wanted to chase you away from Taekwoon, but it wasn't working out. And now, he wanted you for himself. 

Yes, that was his conclusion. He wanted you for himself. 

That was why he was so ticked off when he went back to school to find you after putting the letter in your book, only to see you with Hakyeon being really chummy. 

'If you get close to him,' That tone. You knew you would not be able to control your expressions if you weren't backfacing him. 'I'll get more of these. You know it's easy for me right?' 

You didn't know why, but you were certain that he was referring to Taekwoon, and you knew that you were right. 

'You shouldn't have even looked at me in the first place.' 

'Why?' 

'Then you wouldn't have your life at risk.' 

There was something that was on your mind too. Your instincts were telling you that his personality was going to and fro. But was that even possible? 

'But, how do you get it right all the time, and straight away?' 

[A/N] Update! I managed to make this longer whee.

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Hope that this chapter was okay and better, and do keep the comments and subscribes coming in!

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