Staying at the maids’ quarters turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Jongin. Despite being thrown there as a form of punishment for letting the previous maids eat with him, it came to the teen, not as a punishment but rather a stress reliever. He was able to talk to the other remaining servants without any inhibitions and create new friendships as the week sailed by with him staying in the basement—which frankly for him didn’t even look like one at all. It’s more of a lobby below the mansion’s ground floor.

Was he even really being punished if he's enjoying his time down there? Here he thought he'd have to face the emptiness of his room, and generally the Oh Household, but then he was ordered to stay in the servants’ quarters and he's all but lonely. He was actually glad that this happened because he was safe from being cooped up in a spacious room with no one to accompany him but himself. He might have to thank Sehun for this (but he still felt culpable for those maids who got fired from their jobs).

The whole week that he was staying in a place where he shouldn’t be, Jongin was also on his own every morning to school. It’s logical enough that he wouldn't be going with Sehun even if Hyejin herself gave the chauffeur strict orders of taking both him and Sehun to and from school safely.

Jongin had enough allowance to ride transport but he didn’t see the need to spend them when he could be walking to school and actually saving money. But maybe it just had to do with the fact that it was already ingrained in his nature to do said action. And so for the whole week, he opted to walk to school without hailing a single cab or riding a bus. He couldn’t be bothered by it at all since this had been his daily routine all his student life, same for him staying in a place lacking luxury. (But again, the basement could be a mansion itself compared to his uncle’s pathetic excuse of an apartment.)

Time management had never been a problem for Jongin as he's always on time to wake up and fix himself before going to school. But today was going to be a different case.

Last night was probably one of the most unbearable nights he had ever experienced yet. He and Baekhyun were walking side by side, ready to go home when all of a sudden a hard downpour came and what’s worse was that they both had no umbrellas with them, considering the weather was just too good for them to even bring one. Baekhyun was forced to call his older brother, Baekbeom, to fetch him and perhaps drop Jongin off just around the corner of his new neighborhood, but unfortunately, Baekbeom’s scooter could only have so much room for the three of them. Jongin insisted Baekhyun should go with his brother and not mind him. This led to a brief arguing and eventually, Baekhyun admitted defeat and parted from his best friend who was left in the rain.

There was practically no place he could seek shelter under to wait until the rain ceased. So in the end, Jongin was forced to run the few miles to his neighborhood. If getting soaked to the bones from rainwater wasn’t already bad enough, it’s just to Jongin’s absolute luck that a flaming red Jaguar suddenly sped up past him and got dirty road water splashing onto him from head to toe.

And he knew that car was owned by none other than his bastard of a fiancé, Oh Sehun. The guy really loved to make his life a living hell.

By the time he changed his clothes and sought comfort under piles of thick blankets the servants prepared for him, Jongin was already a shivering mess. His immune system’s not that great, ergo the constant sneezing and inevitable cold right after. Despite that, he and Baekhyun stayed up two hours past curfew to talk about how cruel life (Oh Sehun) was for Jongin.

Today, he's running late. He'd never been late since it’s in his life-goals to always be on time and yet, here he was, disheveled wet hair from shower, unruly uniform, mismatched socks, and a red, stuffed-up nose. Great.

“Young mas—Jongin! Aren’t you going to eat breakfast first?” Seohyun, one of the servants Jongin had gotten close to within a week, called. Jongin shook his head and wore his shoes in a haste, not caring if his socks were different. He had an extra pair in his locker anyway.

“No it’s okay, I’m late! See you later!” Jongin declined with his usual bright expression, dashing out of the maids’ quarters. The other servants could only sigh and shake their heads in return.

It was a hard feat taking two steps at a time when ascending a staircase, but since Jongin was in a hurry, he did it so effortlessly. He practically flew out of the mansion, giving his daily greeting to the butlers and guards on the way out of the black iron-wrought gates. He broke out into a sprint the second he's out of the road.

When he finally reached the main street, the people seemed to grow in numbers, though not that large enough to make the roads and sidewalks condensed. It was still a bit early but Seoul Academy had the earliest class schedules and was very strict about punctuality. The thought of being given a detention for his tardiness made Jongin speed up more, effortlessly dodging civilians as he rushed past them. The teenager was already heaving by the time he got to the intersection, the pedestrian stoplight glowing red.

Oh, man. I’m super late! Please be quick! Jongin chanted the last word in his mind like a mantra, impatience washing over him while he watched the vehicles pass by him in a blur. The morning rush was beginning to get worse than usual and again, Jongin wondered why he's always blessed with so many misfortunes. Turning to the right side, he made another run for it, deciding to take a short route that would lead him to the highway, past the Cheonho bridge, then to his school.

While thinking of decent excuses should he still run late, Jongin didn't expect to slam into someone, the impact making him fall and hit his bum on the cemented ground quite hard. He yelped in pain, though the shock overpowered it. Even more so when he finally discerned who it was that he just barreled into.

“!” Chanyeol cursed, his entire face scrunched up in both pain and complete, utter annoyance.

Coldness washed over Jongin. The older had just gone out of a coffee shop and it just so happened that Jongin was running the moment he did so. Freshly brewed coffee seeped into Chanyeol’s black slacks, and if it wasn’t for the dark leather jacket, his white polo would’ve been stained brown, too.

At this moment, Jongin's brain had completely zapped blank. All he could do was gawk at a very pissed off Park Chanyeol. The latter, who still hadn't registered his identity yet, growled in anger but the punch he was about to give to whoever idiot it was that spilled his coffee got suspended midair. His eyes fell on Jongin, looking like a spooked, little puppy.

They both looked wrecked.

“ing honestly!” Chanyeol gritted his teeth, emitting a beleaguered sigh. People around them were either walking past them without paying any heed or slowing down just to watch the next turn of events. He messed up his red hair in frustration, rising up to his feet, not even bothering to offer Jongin a hand. The younger boy immediately scrambled up himself, snapping out of it.

“I—I’m so sorry…!” the apology was instantly out of Jongin's mouth when he did so, bowing a perfect ninety degrees. And by the look of things, it took Chanyeol aback as the taller could only blink at the shamefaced mid schooler. “I’m, so, so sorry! I didn’t mean to bump into you! I’m so sorry!”

Of course, Jongin was afraid. He didn't know Chanyeol very well and had no idea how he reacted when mad. Chanyeol was Sehun’s best friend and even though oftentimes Sehun was the one who always picked on him at home, Chanyeol would stand by and watch it all without doing anything. He might not be more of an than Sehun was, but still an nonetheless because he always appeared to be amused whenever Sehun humiliated Jongin’s entire being.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…” the younger boy continued to chant, holding his breath and closing his eyes. Chanyeol got over his momentary surprise and the irritation was back on his face again, though there was an undeniable interest in his eyes.

“You’re a damn walking disaster, you know that?” Chanyeol quirked an eyebrow and clicked his tongue distastefully while wiping the remnants of coffee from his slacks with tissue paper. This is going to be sticky as hell. Jongin went rigid, apologies halting. “No wonder Sehun’s so pissed at you.”

The younger tried not to recoil at that statement. He knew Sehun hated him, to such extent that he’s willing to bully a kid five years his junior. But he didn’t want to be reminded of that fact anymore because he was already aware of the burning hatred running in Sehun’s veins whenever the latter saw him.

“Ah, so troublesome,” C