Park Hyemi sullenly picked at her breakfast, occasionally sending some suspicious glances to the person sitting across from her. Her father sat at the head of the table, telling Myungsoo some story from back in the day when he had first started working as a cop and Myungsoo listened intently as he ate. Hyemi on the other hand focused solely on keeping shut since in the past week that he had been here, nothing nice seemed to come from . So as her mother once told her, keep your mouth shut when in unfamiliar situations, listen and assess your situation first and foremost.

So she was listening.

Unfortunately for her, Myungsoo might as well have been a mute with how little he spoke. He stayed quiet and only ever muttered thank you's. He was good at keeping silent. Maybe his mother had told him the same thing. She will give him credit though, she didn't think the look of shock and gratitude when her dad had come in a few days ago with arms full of new clothes for him and his school uniform had been a lie. She had even caught the loser wearing the stupid uniform in his room. She was going to make some mocking comment, but instead she pretended not to have seen anything. She wasn't completely heartless.

Her own feelings hadn't changed though, he was hiding something. She knew it and she was dying to know what it was.

"Hyemi are you listening? I'll be taking you both to school today. It's Myungsoo's first day so I want to at least be able to take you both" He said with a smile and she shrugged.

"I'm biking to school today. Besides I don't want to be seen walking in with him" She said and her father sighed.

"Hyemi I really need you to cooperate here, it wouldn't kill you to be nice"

"I don't play nice with people I know nothing about. Besides you don't know what kind of secrets Myungsoo has hidden away" She said pointedly and smirked as Myungsoo shot her a quick glare before catching himself and looking back down.

"Fine. I'll take Myungsoo myself then" Her father said tiredly. Breakfast didn't include much of a conversation after that.

She didn't bother waving goodbye as she climbed on her bike and took off. They passed her on the car and she looked their way briefly. Goosebumps ran down her arms at the look in Myungsoo's eyes as he looked out the window and stared straight back. She continued to bike calmly still trying to dissect everything she knew about him. Which was not much. She wondered if there was any way to get into her dad's study and find out exactly where he had found him. She had heard there was a big raid on one of the biggest criminal networks that night, so maybe Myungsoo had something to do with them. She got to school on good time, with minutes to spare as she secured her bike and ran up the front steps.  Her mind felt heavy with all the theories she was creating in her mind.

"Hey! Park Hyemi! When did you get a brother?!" Jaekyung asked, eyes bright as her friend walked into class.

Hyemi sighed, "He's not my brother. My father brought him home to help him or something. He's an orphan. He's older than us too" She said coolly.

"But I heard he's going into our grade?" Jaekyung asked in confusion and Hyemi gave her a pointed look until realization dawned on her face.

"Oh... that's disappointing. He's super good looking so at least he has that going for him" Jaekyung said with a shrug and Hyemi shrugged as she took her seat.

"Hyemi I heard there's a convict living in your house. Is it true?"  Hongbin asked, his face serious as he leaned onto her desk.

She smiled, "Who said that?"

"Everyone, I heard about it last night" He explained and her smile faltered slightly.

She glanced around and everyone inched closer and waited for her reply. She glanced at Hongbin again, remembering the date they had for next week and sighed. Why did the boy with the brightest future here have to be so into her life? Not that she didn't want him to, his dad owned the biggest hospital in Seoul, but she didn't like the possessive tone in his voice. It bothered her.

"He's not a convict. He's just staying with us because my dad wants to help him out" She said carefully.

"Wait, so he's just got a stranger living with you guys?" He asked incredulously and Hyemi shrugged, opening her book and wishing he would just stop asking questions.

"Hongbin, don't be so transparent. It's normal to feel threatened when there's a good looking man living with the girl you like" His friend mocked and Hongbin rolled his eyes.

"Whatever" He snapped as the bell rang and ended their conversation, "I'll talk to you later"

The talk of their teacher droned on and on and Hyemi found herself staring out the window she sat next to instead. She tried to estimate how long this whole situation would last when she saw the boy’s gym class walk out to the field. She sat up in her chair and scanned the crowd, but didn’t see Myungsoo. He was taller than most of the guys here so she should have been able to spot him relatively easily. She continued to search and finally found him, coming out to join the rest of the class a few minutes later. She continued to watch him through the entirety of the time they were outside, he always stood off the side and no one bothered to talk to him.

She frowned as Hongbin's friends bumped into him and pointedly ignored his existence as they passed the ball around him. The rest of the guys followed in their steps. Even if Myungsoo hadn’t looked so damn out of place, no one would have bothered to talk to him either she realized. Regardless of how isolated he was among them though he didn’t really look timid. He simply stood there and stared calmly.

He reminded her of a predator, carefully studying his pray. Waiting for the right time to strike. She found it hard to really feel sorry for him when she suspected he could more than take care of himself.

It happened when class was almost over, Hongbin held the ball in his hands and aimed the shot straight for Myungsoo’s head. It hit the older boy straight on the back of the head, sending him stumbling forward, but he didn’t fall.

Hyemi slammed her hands on her desk as she stood up to take a better look. Myungsoo’s body had gone completely tense as he turned to face Hongbin. His hands were balled up into fists and she knew that the look he had on his face was probably not a friendly one.

“Miss Park is there something you needed to tell us by interrupting class?” Her teacher suddenly asked and Hyemi recalled that she was in fact in the middle of class.

She smiled, “Sorry” She said simply as she slowly sat back down and once the teacher finished glaring at her she subtly turned to stare out the window again.

The class was walking back in and she relaxed, glad that nothing had happened. Myungsoo hung back as he ran a hand through his black hair and rolled his shoulders back. He looked up at the sky for a few seconds and began to turn in the direction of the class when his eyes scanned the windows of the school and found her. She was only on the second floor and nearby enough that they could see each other clearly. She kept her face blank and he did too before turning away from her and walking inside.

She thought about that moment as she joined her friends for lunch and laughed lightly at the jokes being made. A few girls commented on her new housemate and Hyemi swiftly ignored them and moved on.

“Hyemi let’s go shopping this weekend” Jaekyung offered and Hyemi smiled.

“I can’t. Hongbin’s taking me to see a movie” Hyemi said with a bright smile and Sera sighed from besides her.

“I literally can’t believe you’re going on a date with the most handsome guy in school!” She gushed and Hyemi was about to comment something about how lucky she felt when the loud crash of metal on the floor startled her.

She turned around in her seat and her eyes found Myungsoo almost immediately. His tray of food laid on the ground, food sprawled all over the floor. She frowned as she took in the whole situation. Hongbin and his friend stood beside him and Hyemi didn’t have to guess too much to figure out what had happened.

“Watch where you’re going convict” Hongbin sneered, his voice light, but his words filled with menace.

Myungsoo let out a long breath and stared at him with a glare that Hyemi could only describe as deadly. She tensed up, waiting for a fist to strike out and was even more surprised when Myungsoo simply turned and began to walk away. Hongbin grabbed the milk from his tray and tossed it in Myungsoo’s direction. The milk spilled all over his pants and Hyemi clenched her teeth. She tried to stand up when Jaekyung reached over and grabbed her.

“Don’t make things worse” She whispered, “You know why he’s targeting him, speaking up for him will make things worse’ She explained and Hyemi sighed angrily.

“I really hate how Hongbin thinks the whole school belongs to him” Hyemi snapped, watching as Myungsoo simply kicked the carton away and walked away.

“Right, when it actually belongs to both you and him right?” Sera said sarcastically and Hyemi wrenched her arm from Jaekyung’s grip and glared at her other friend.

"What? I'm just saying your dad is pretty damn important too" She amended, Hyemi rolled her eyes, she wasn’t up for jokes.

She grabbed her food and threw it in the trash before heading out of the cafeteria out the other door. By the time Hongbin turned to look for her she was gone.

She headed towards the hallway that led out of the cafeteria from where Myungsoo had exited and looked for him. She could turn right and head to the men’s bathroom, but instead she turned left towards the hallway that led toward the empty gym. She heard a low grunt and the loud thud of a hit echo down the hallway first as she peered around the corner. Myungsoo was punching the wall so angrily that flecks of paint cracked off and fluttered down to the ground. He swore loudly and Hyemi smirked.

“You’re going to break your hand at the rate you’re going” She said calmly as he turned around quickly and held his hand. His eyes were guarded as he tried to step in front of the dent he had put into the wall.

Hyemi walked towards him calmly and peered around him at the dent in the wall. She chuckled as she reached out and touched it. Fine powder from the paint got onto her fingers and she brushed it away with a satisfied smirk. He had been beyond angry. He was never going to last. She looked at his hand, bloody and bruised and looked up at him knowingly. He struggled to calm down, the look on her face wasn't helping.

“If you have strength like that why didn’t you defend yourself?” She asked him plainly.

He went mute once again and let his arms go limp at his side. Drops of blood splattered onto the floor.

“Go to the infirmary, tell them you fell, they won’t ask questions, they don’t really want to know” She advised him as she turned to walk away, she had seen enough to learn one more thing about him. She stopped and turned back to him, “Myungsoo, stop trying to pretend you’re something you’re not. I don’t know what innocence my father sees in you or what on earth someone like you is doing here, but I know you’re not as meek as you want people to think. Some can adapt and some people can’t. You just don’t belong here” She said before walking away and leaving him to his own thoughts.

Myungsoo stood alone and gave the wall one last good punch before deciding he was done. His chest rose and fell with anger as he tried to focus on the pain he felt instead. He headed to the infirmary and thought about Hyemi’s words. She was right, he didn't belong. Not really anyways. He had overstayed his time and he was desperately grasping at straws to stay. He had realized something in the week that he had stayed with these people. He realized that this life was easier, this life, the life that Jongin had desperately wanted was one that Myungsoo had slowly grown to want. If Jongin could have it, why wouldn’t he? But he found that it was harder than he had expected, he had come in and the murmurs and whispers around him all talked about the many crimes they were imagining that he had committed. They weren’t all wrong, but that was besides the point. He didn’t know how to communicate with these people, they had nothing in common and Myungsoo hadn’t been a kid himself in many years.

I'm not normal. I can't adapt. I don't belong here.

It had taken every ounce of self control in him to not have beaten the out of the that threw the milk at his legs. It had taken everything from him to not grab the tray that he had been holding and bash his head in with it. The idea of blood spurting from that self-entitled brat's face made his lips twitch with the mild satisfaction of imaginary revenge.

He took a shuddering breath.

He thought that at least he had done a good job at hiding his instincts, but she saw right through him. That girl truly was the daughter of a cop, she had instincts better than most of the ones he had met before. He wondered if he shouldn't try to put in a call and try to go back to his old life. He knew they were probably looking for him. The thought made his head hurt and he decided to save it for another day. He slumped his shoulders forward and tried to act normal again. He had to stifle down every instinct so that she wouldn’t see him for who he was.

It was the only way for him to be able to stay.