The drive to school was overbearing. Any sharp object could effortlessly slice through the thick tension that had gathered inside the running vehicle.

Jongin sat stiffly at the farthest left of the leather seat, clutching the straps of his backpack tight. He’d been gnawing on his bottom lip throughout the ride with his eyes only focused on his lap, well aware of the searing stare directed to him from across the car.

“Sehun.”

Kwon Hyejin began in a stern way that lightly startled Jongin. The way she poisedly sat beside Jongin exuded such elegance that unintentionally gave the young boy a sense of insecurity. She had this aristocratic air around her that more often that not made other people feel like a gutter rat.

“Stop glaring at Jongin.”

Jongin’s grip on his backpack clenched at that. Not only was he sweating bullets thanks to the anxiousness festering in his stomach that it felt it could turn itself inside out, but the fact that Sehun also kept on poisoning him with his venomous gaze every five seconds also made it all the worse. He buried himself deeper into the leather seat. Honestly it was a wrong move on Hyejin’s part to call Sehun out as the boy would just take his harassment to the next level, but Jongin couldn’t have told that to the elder even if he wanted to.

Sehun hadn’t been the nicest person to Jongin since three days ago, Hyejin was aware of that, but her grandson ought to familiarize himself with Jongin’s presence. After all, the moment Jongin was of legal age the both of them would have to start living under the same roof.

Alone.

Several of Seoul Academy’s students traveling on foot along the sidewalk could be seen as the vehicle drove by, an indication that they were near to their destination. The sight of them distracted Jongin from Sehun’s stabbing eyes and he began to count every student on spot, fervently hoping that Sehun would just quit it with the glares because it terrified the poor living soul out of him.

Today marked the first official day of Jongin going to school together with Sehun. To make sure no disputes arose, Hyejin thought it best to drop them off before heading straight to work. Sehun started shooting daggers at Jongin the moment he took his seat across them, and the old lady was internally grateful she went with her gut feeling.

The school’s huge iron-wrought black gates stood proud and tall outside, welcoming the steady stream of students as their car slowed down to a halt. Hyejin chose that moment to tap Jongin’s shoulder gently and the teen looked at her, traces of unease marring his expression. “Time to go, dear.”

Jongin gave a meek nod and pitched forward to leave a parting peck on the woman’s cheek, the first conduct he learned upon living the lavish life. His eyes clashed with Sehun’s at that moment he pulled away, and Jongin regretted it instantly. Sehun was real frightening when mad, more so if he woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

“Walk Jongin to his classroom, Sehun,” came Hyejin’s order the next. It was enough to turn Jongin into a stiff statue and take Sehun aback. Quickly getting over his shock, Sehun’s eyes narrowed in unadulterated annoyance.

“You really expect me to?” he scoffed quite loudly, the frown on his face stretching longer. This earned him a pointed look from Hyejin that shut him up quick. Old folks sure could be petrifying.

“...Grandma, it’s fine, really—” Jongin interjected. He wanted to say more, but Hyejin was having none of it.

“He is going to walk you to your classroom. And if he doesn’t, be sure to tell it to me after class.” In spite of Jongin’s pleading eyes, the Kwon matriarch was unlikely to be swayed, her words left no room for any arguments. As soon as the students outside spotted the familiar sleekness of the Oh Family’s limousine, they stalled, eagerly waiting to see Sehun step out as the chauffeur held the door open.

But it was to the bewilderment of many when someone shorter and definitely younger than him stepped out. And upon realizing who it was, their eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. Why, anyone in Seoul Academy who kept up to date with their gossips would be astonished too if they saw a middle schooler come with Oh Sehun to school together – and not just any middle schooler, but the very same one who just got popularly rejected by Sehun himself recently; Kim Jongin.

A buzz scattered throughout the small crowd in a flash and being shoved into this kind of spotlight so suddenly made Jongin so anxious he began to fidget. He couldn’t even look ahead, for some reason he just didn’t want others to catch sight of his pitiful, deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression.

Seeing how stunned the crowd was outside tempted Sehun to personally commit arson – specifically on the campus building. The judging stares, the murmuring, and looks of disbelief…everything was getting into his nerves. As he seethed in silence he was thrown with yet another pointed stare, his grandmother still expecting him to do her bidding. He’s inclined to yell out all the cuss words known to man but then again he wouldn't want to be backhanded by the prude elder so early in the morning.

Jaw flexing, Sehun leaned and kissed the other side of Hyejin’s cheek, before he too stepped out of the car where Jongin was patiently waiting. The younger was passed a resenting glare the moment their eyes met and was once again given the cold treatment. His dislike towards Jongin was instantly made apparent to the baffled bystanders which, to be frank, he couldn’t care less about. He was too pissed to consider anyone’s feelings much less his own fiancé’s. And as the limousine finally sped off, Sehun stalked away, unbothered to call Jongin.

All the eyes were much too invasive that it unnerved Jongin to hell and back – the hushed mutterings, even more so. They kept on staring at him as though he was just convicted of murder, his every move taken into account and Jongin felt even barer than a newborn infant. Of course, he had already seen this coming, after all, one just doesn’t step out of the Oh Family’s car and come out unscathed, but even then he was still never prepared for the actual thing.  

Having to keep up with Sehun’s long strides drained Jongin, but he wasn’t about to complain. He’s not going to lie; for Sehun to treat him like the lowest scum on earth was tearing his heart to shreds, but what could he do? Their situation wasn’t meant to take the smooth road. What’s funnier was that for all the impertinence he was shown, he still couldn’t feel a fraction of anger toward Sehun because he understood why the other was so hateful. He already tried to put himself in Sehun’s shoes and to tell the truth, he would have acted much worse than this.

I mean...who even in their right mind would to be engaged to someone five years younger than you? And a boy at that. Jongin mused begrudgingly.

It wasn’t counted upon for Sehun to walk him to his classroom seeing as the other didn’t even want to breathe in his general direction, but as he passed by the high school division and headed straight to the middle school building which was teeming to an extent, Jongin soon came to the realization that Sehun was indeed walking him to his class. He wasn’t sure whether to be happy or scared with this new information.

It’s no secret that Sehun was popular even in the middle school department. Surprised looks were thrown in the latter’s way at the rare sight of him walking down a corridor that led to the 9th-grade classrooms, a jittery Jongin in tow.

Everybody knew the Oh heir in more ways than one. He was the embodiment of a perfect student with outstanding marks, great social skills and attractive to boot. Not to mention he belonged to a family with immense wealth, that alone in itself was enough to build a reputation around his name. Jongin was sure that at one point, he was everyone’s crush – particularly when he got accepted into the football team and became the quarterback a few years later. In addition, he played the vice president’s role in the student council which made his reputation all the more important.

Sehun nearly had no flaw and it was very impressive. That’s why a lot fawned over him; Jongin was no exception. And yes, he’s admitting this, even after witnessing firsthand the older’s defect...which was his terrible attitude.

The latter was unaware of him spacing off until Sehun snapped his fingers before his face. The cloud in his eyes cleared and right away Jongin stopped fantasizing about his crush…or rather fiancé. The mere thought of being in this kind of status with Sehun had Jongin’s gut plummeting yet at the same time feeling like it was ambushed by a swarm of butterflies.

“U-Um, thank...thank you for taking me here, sunbae…” Jongin bowed his head docilely once he realized they were already in front of his classroom door, the muffled noises inside reaching his ears. The way the younger mumbled his words tugged yet another frown on Sehun’s face and for reasons incomprehensible, the boy’s every action irked the