Chapter One

As the bell rang signaling the end of class all of the tired-eyed students spilled from the small English classroom as fast as they could. It didn’t take long until everyone had exited with the exception of four male students who were still left in their seats, and their teacher who was pacing back and forth in front of her desk. One boy sat back in his chair with his arm slung around the head of his seat. His gray uniform jacket was left ed as well as the first few buttons of his white dress shirt that was underneath. His skin was a light bronze and his eyes were a dark chocolate color that glistened from the rays of sun that were creeping in through the classroom windows. His hair was a dusky brown and he raked his fingers through it roughly. He peeked over his shoulder at the other three students and studied their expressions closely.

The one a few seats behind him to the right had his elbows propped up on his desk and his chin resting on the palms of his hands. His princely face exhibited nothing but utter boredom. The boy sitting to the right of him was occupying himself by trying to balance his pencil on his upper lip, which failed every time. Every time it fell, he tried once again.

A few rows behind them was a boy whose head was burrowed deep into his folded arms on his desk, most likely sleeping like he usually did during English class. There was nothing he found more boring, so to block it out he would cozy himself up for a trip to dream land almost every day. It was surprising that the teacher never scolded him for doing so. Speaking of the teacher….

The brown haired boy glanced back at the front of the room after his quick assessment and watched as his teacher leaned up against her desk top and crossed her arms over her chest. Her irate gaze had him believing that the reason to why she had asked them to stay after was because they were in trouble. And boy, were they in some BIG trouble.

“I know you four did it.” Soojin asserted firmly, looking over each of the boys’ faces.

“Did what?” asked the brown haired boy, acting as if he had not a single clue as to what she was going on about.

“Don’t play dumb with me Jongin. You and your little buddies were the ones who vandalized the principal’s office. No matter how many times you deny it, I know the truth.” Soojin explained. There was no doubt in her mind that she was right.

On the day prior to the current day, a group of hooligans (or so the Principal had called them) had broken into the school at night and completely damaged and vandalized the Principal’s office as part of some sort of humorous joke. The furniture was scattered, walls were spray painted with vulgar pictures and words, and the Principal’s personal items and belongings were cruelly destroyed. The morning the damage was discovered the head of school was devastated. Who would even think of doing something like that? Soojin knew exactly who, and they were sitting in her classroom, looking right at her with their less than innocent eyes.

“You think we did it?” Jongin scoffed, “You’re kidding me right?”

“Yes, I’m keeping you all here just to joke around with you,” Soojin answered sarcastically and rolled her eyes. “Stop playing around. Just come clean.”

“I’m sorry Ms. Cha but I think you’ve made a mistake,” said the princely faced boy, still resting his chin on his palm. “We weren’t anywhere near the school yesterday night. Honestly.”

“It’s you four that have made the mistake. Lying to me isn’t going to get you anywhere Baekhyun-ah.” Soojin sighed and shook her head.

“But he’s not lying! When would we find the time to sneak into school and do all of that stuff? We’re juniors. We’re always busy.” The boy seated beside Baekhyun spoke up, making a valid point.

Soojin’s brows rose at the child’s comment and the corner over curled into an entertained grin. “O’really Taehyung? Are you sure about that?”

“It’s V, and of course I am! I was studying that night. Never had a chance to leave the house,” Taehyung insisted while tapping the eraser end of his pencil on the hard wood of his desk.

“This is a waste of time. We didn’t do it ok? Now can you please let us go home? I have more important things to do than sit here and get accused of doing something I didn’t do.” Jongin said looking disinterested and definitely sure that what he was saying was the truth.

“Do you guys swear?” Ask Soojin.

“We swear.” The three boys said together with annoyance clear in their voices.

Soojin eyed them in silence, giving them a few seconds to reconsider their answer. They only stared around the room waiting impatiently in their seats for when she’d decide to dismiss them. With a click of her tongue she pushed off of her desk and stepped behind it where she opened a drawer and began fumbling through it in search of something important. What was it? Her secret weapon of course! A little friend she liked to call evidence.

Baekhyun and Taehyung became a tad-bit uneasy. Both lifted themselves from their seats a few inches in an attempt to get a better view of the open drawer, in fear of what their teacher might have. At the same time, Jongin was managing to keep his cool. He didn’t know what she was looking for but it surely couldn’t be anything he would have to worry about. Or so he thought.

“Then you guys wouldn’t mind if we watched a little video I found, would you?” Soojin asked. She sent them a cocky grin when she fished out a small silver camera from her trusty drawer. Their mouths suddenly dropped and the oh-so-calm-and-cool Jongin’s face drained of all color. It was Chanyeol’s camera. The one he used to…….

“It’s all on here. Yeup, your so called “busy night,” advised Soojin. She sat all the way on her desk top this time and played with the camera by twirling it in her hands. Meanwhile the three boys’ carefree aura was turning grim. They were totally caught.

“W-where did you—?” Jongin stuttered.

“—Find it? It was in the hallway when I came in this morning. You guys are pretty lucky I was the one who found it.” Soojin told them and turned the device on, searching through the various clips to find the right one she needed. Choosing one she turned the screen for the three to see and the video played out for them.

 

{Video}

“Helloooooooo~” a boy with a puppy-dog like face and curly caramel blonde hair cooed into the camera.

“Is it on? Did you get it working yet Chanyeol?” Baekhyun’s said as he slunk up beside his friend and pressed his head against Chanyeol’s to get his own face into the camera’s field of vision. Both of them made funny and aegyo like expressions and then Baekhyun began fixing his hair, making sure it was as close to perfect as it could get. “We look goooooood~” he boasted and they both chuckled.

“Wow my ears are really pointy,” Chanyeol confessed and Baekhyun just nodded in agreement.

“Hurry up Hyungs! We’ve got to do this before someone catches us!” Jongin’s voice called them from off of the camera and Baekhyun disappeared from the picture. “Coming!”

“Aish. This school really is creepy at night,” Chanyeol whispered under his breath and began moving, making muffled sounds in the video’s audio.

There was no mistaking that they were at the school. It was dark and the camera continued to switch back and forth from the green night view to the regular color. Chanyeol directed the camera towards the floor as he traveled through the school (Chuckling like a fool) until he arrived at the principal’s office. He pointed the lens back at his face and it quickly changed to a green light, making him look somewhat demonic. “Woah, so cool,” he muttered quickly to himself and then fixed a stray hair that was sticking out of the side of his head. “Ok! Its initiation night.” He announced in a hushed tone and revealed a spray can he was carrying with him to the camera. “Time to mess things up!” he snickered, “Hope you watch this video well Zico!” he cheered and the camera turned to face the door. It wobbled and shook as he opened the door and entered the dark room. “Jongin-ah? Taeyung-ah? Baekhy— AHHCK!” He suddenly jumped when Taehyung popped out of nowhere in a hilarious attempt to scare the giant boy. The camera’s view became askew and blurry as Chanyeol scurried away in a panic. There was a chorus of laughs and heavy breathing in the background and the camera nearly slipped through Chanyeol’s fingers. “ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?! Aish!! I thought my heart was going to stop!” He panted and his friend’s laughter grew louder.

“You’re too easy to scare.” Baekhyun chuckled as he made a quick appearance in front of the camera again.

The video blurred off and on until it finally focused itself.

“Stop joking around and get to work.” Jongin ordered sternly from somewhere off camera.

“Ok, give me ooooooone second!” Chanyeol cooed as he bounded over to the principal’s book shelf and arranged the camera so that it was overlooking a majority of the office. The four boys were all visibly working away at the content of the room. Valuables were smashed and walls were painted on. Baekhyun snickered with Chanyeol as they drew profanities all over the principal’s prized portrait of him and their school’s former principal. A memento of the day the school lost a great principal and gained a nightmare of a new one. Baekhyun was sure to add devil horns to the picture as well as inappropriate images on the current principal’s lower body. After they finished they high-fived each other and then roamed off to another part of the room to continue the rest of their dirty work.

About ten minutes went by when there was a flash of light outside of the office and the tapping of footsteps. “Yah! Stop, stop, stop!” Jongin shushed the boys and they all paused.

There was someone in the hallway.

Incoherent words were exchanged between them and all four of the boys fumbled to the door. Taehyung cursed under his breath after almost tripping over a broken chair, earning a bombardment of shushes from the others.

“Sorry.” He whispered and ducked behind Baekhyun.

They seemed to be plotting their way out. Jongin was whispering instructions to which the three nodded in agreement.

Just as Jongin reached for the door handle, Chanyeol hopped up and ran to grab the camera. It shook in his grip and then came into focus on his face.

“Chanyeol get over here!” Baekhyun called in a high pitched whisper.

The screen fogged up with condensation as Chanyeol breathed out and he hurriedly wiped it with his index finger. He aimed the camera without looking at the screen and ended up filming only his forehead and bit of the ceiling. All while the other boys were cursing at him and coaxing him back to the door.

“Initiation, FINISHED~!” He sang and the footage cut out, ending the montage of destruction.

--

The classroom was dead silent as the video went on, and by the end there was a medley of groans.

“Chanyeol you idiot!” Jongin growled while Baekhyun covered his face with his hands in embarrassment.

“! You dropped the camera?!?!” Taehyung threw his pencil at the sleeping boy causing him to flinch.

Soojin snapped the camera screen back into place and smirked, feeling completely satisfied with herself. She slipped off of the desk and leaned against it again, resting her palms along the edge of the fine wood. “So, do you four still plead innocent?” She asked in the most intimidating way she knew how. This was fun. It was times like this she wanted to personally give herself a reward, maybe a trophy or medal. She definitely deserved it.

Chanyeol slowly lifted his head and glanced around the room with his sleep-ridden eyes. “Is class done already?” He stammered.

Suddenly a hard, marvel notebook smacked him straight on in the face producing a pain filled yelp from the tired boy.

“We’re the ones that are going to be done! NO THANKS TO YOU GENIUS!” Taehyung shot up from his chair with fists clenched tightly.

Baekhyun was still sitting with his hands covering his face. He was so embarrassed. Not only was he embarrassed, but he feared for his life too. His entire high school career, and possibly his whole life was about to go down the drain all just because Chanyeol couldn’t keep his meaty paws on his camera. Great.

Jongin was massaging his temples, trying not to lose his cool over his friend’s stupidity.

Chanyeol looked up at Taehyung while rubbing his nose, confused as to why his friend was practically exploding with anger towards him.

“Calm down Taehyung-ssi.” Soojin prompted him with a sigh.

“It’s V!” Taehyung whined and rounded his desk to get to Chanyeol. The older boy slouched down in his chair and held his hands out in front of him in defense.

“Stop it!” Jongin yelled sternly and Taehyung refrained from causing anymore damage to the confused boy’s fragile face.

Soojin looked at Jongin and pursed her lips. She kind of wanted to see how the three of them would deal with themselves knowing that they were now doomed, but it was the end of the school day and she didn’t really feel like having to stay any longer then she had too. Letting out another sigh, she proceeded down the row of desks, heels clacking loudly, and stopped in front of Jongin. His downcast eyes met hers as she presented the camera to him. The room went silent and even Baekhyun uncovered his face to gawk in disbelief.

“Here.” She said simply.

“What?”

“I said take it.” She offered again, “Unless you do want me to show it to the principal?”

Jongin’s eyes averted to the camera and he hesitantly took it, as if he was waiting for her to reveal her cruel joke.

“Why..?”

“Why not?” She shrugged and clacked her way back behind her desk to begin packing her things to go home.

Dumbfounded expressions etched their ways onto all of their faces. Chanyeol’s was mostly because he still wasn’t sure what was going on. They silently watched her gather her things until Baekhyun pushed out of his chair.

“So that’s it? You’re just going to let us off of the hook?” he questioned her, not full comprehending what their teacher was doing for them.

Soojin zipped up her bag and looped the strap over her shoulder. “Of course not.” She admitted, which put them back on edge. Here comes the punchline of the joke they assumed that she was pulling. They braced themselves.

“Clean up duty.” She announced, placing her hands on her hips.

“Clean up duty?!” Taehyung repeated.

“Clean up duty.” She validated in a sarcastic tone. “I’m putting you four on clean up duty for the next month. Maybe even the month after that. It all depends how well you behave.” They truly were lucky that she had been the one to find the camera and not someone else. Soojin liked to think of herself as a very generous teacher. It was very rare for her to deal out a harsh punishment, mostly because she didn’t like dealing with delinquents. It was all too much work for her and she wasn’t a big fan of the principal anyways. If anything, he got what he deserved..

Taehyung was about to open his mouth again when Jongin interjected, “Deal.”

“Good, then lets all—“

Someone knocked a couple of times on the open classroom door and Soojin looked to see her fellow teacher standing in the doorway. Kim Junmyeon, one of the few math teachers who taught some of the junior and senior classes. Soojin wasn’t sure how long he had been standing there or how much he had heard of their conversation, but she decided to play it cool.

“Don’t forget to study harder next time.” She asserted, changing the subject and gestured for them to leave. “You can go now.”

It took a few seconds for the four boys to understand the situation. Jongin stood up first and bowed to his teacher. “Thank you ssam.” He urged the rest of them to leave with his eyes and they all grabbed their things and bowed their heads. “Thank you ssam! We’ll see you tomorrow!” they each said their goodbyes and quickly filed out of the classroom with the exception of Jongin. Soojin caught his arm as he passed her and she gave him a sly grin.

“Talk with me after class tomorrow.” She whispered discreetly and winked before sending him on his way. She was interested in this “Zico” fellow they had mentioned in the video, but she would speak to Jongin privately about it at another time. For now, she had someone else to worry about.

“What was that about?” Junmyeon asked upon entering the room. His brown hair was neatly slicked back and his blue cardigan and tan khaki pants appeared noticeably pristine. He was cradling a couple of algebra textbooks in his left arm and he rested them on his lap when he sat down on one of the desk tops, waiting for her answer.

“Ah it was nothing much. Just English stuff.” Soojin lied.

“Oh.” Junmyeon replied. He watched her tidy up her desk, and then waited until she was done to speak again. “So, some of the other teachers and I are having a little get-together after work, are you interested in going?” He asked hopefully.

Soojin wiped down the chalkboard and thought over his offer. “A get-together?” She hummed. That usually meant a group of her colleagues “getting-together” and getting drunk at some restaurant. It wasn’t exactly her definition of a good time. She only ever went to one of their little “get-togethers” when she first started working at Myunghun High school, and even then she was dragged there against her will. In other words, she was obligated to go and it . Nearly everyone got drunk, ending in Soojin having to take half of them home, which was a nightmare. Throw up everywhere. Terrible, terrible memories. So no. She was not interested in going to their “get-together.” Never again.

“I can’t. I have something to do tonight.” She answered, trying to let him down gently.

Junmyeon frowned. He was slightly disappointed, but he already had a feeling that she would say no before even asking the question. Soojin never went out with anyone unless she really had to. He didn’t know what made her so introverted, but it always made him feel somewhat sympathetic towards her. “That’s ok! Maybe next time?” He hopped off of the desk and headed back to the door.

“Maybe.” Soojin smiled and followed after him.

“There you are Junmyeon!” A woman’s voice called from the other end of the hall. Soojin rolled her eyes as she saw the small, petite woman come gliding down the hallway in their direction. Her black hair was done up in a messy bun and her gray sweater dress was too tight for comfort. Park Yongha was her name. She was a sophomore homeroom teacher, and the brattiest person Soojin ever had the misfortune of meeting. Maybe if she was fast enough, she could slip away and not have to deal with her.

“Soojin-sii! What are you still doing here?”

Nevermind.

Yongha stopped in front of them and stared at Soojin, waiting for an answer.

“I was just asking her to come with us tonight.” Junmyeon replied with a smile.

“And?”

“And I’m busy tonight, so I had to decline.” Soojin faked a smile and adjusted the strap on her shoulder.

“Didn’t think you would come.” Yongha snickered bluntly and hooked her arm between Junmyeon’s who looked at her with his brows furrowed.

Soojin clenched her teeth. This smile was a lot harder to keep than she thought. “Well, you two have fun. I have to be getting home now.” She sent them a curt wave and didn’t wait for them to say anything else before leaving. She couldn’t stand that girl. She didn’t look, or act like an adult, and though she didn’t want it to bother her, Soojin couldn’t help but feel annoyed in her presents. She especially hated how she was always fawning over Mr. Kim whenever she could. It was so unprofessional. She truly hated it.

All things aside, Soojin was looking forward to going home and taking a much deserved nap.

 

It was starting to rain. The rain was falling lightly but it was only a matter of time before the heavy rain would begin. She could feel it. Umbrella out, Soojin walked to her car and started it. She tossed her bag to the seat beside her and pulled out of the parking lot with windshield wipers going strong. She could taste a warm cup of coffee already. She was craving one desperately.

The drive home was going smoothly until she came to a stop in a line of traffic. Great, this was just what she needed. Soojin leaned over to try to see how far the line went. Some cars were trying to turn around, causing the traffic to get worse. There were police lights flashing on the bridge in front of her along with a single firetruck. What on earth is going on? She thought, gripping the steering wheel tightly out of annoyance. She just wanted to get home.

Suddenly there was a tap on her window that startled her. A police officer wearing a vibrant orange vest was standing beside her car, requesting to speak with her. Soojin rolled down her window, feeling the droplets of rain fall against the side of her face.

“Yes officer?” She asked innocently.

“We are going to start turning the cars around. This bridge might be closed for a little while longer. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.” He notified her while waving around the baton he was holding in his hand.

Soojin frowned and let out an audible sigh. “What happened? Did something get damaged?”

The cop didn’t answer right away. It was almost like he wasn’t sure whether he was allowed to tell her the truth or not. “Well,” he started, “There’s a kid on the bridge. We think he might jump.”

The words resonated in her head as she brought her attention to the police lights in the distance. “O-oh. Ok, thank you.” She bowed her head to the cop and he bowed back before going to the next car.

Soojin rolled her window back up and sat in silence. “There’s a kid on the bridge. We think he might jump.” Those words were not sitting right with her.

A honk from the car behind her pulled her back into reality and she quickly composed herself. The cars in front of her had moved up considerably leaving a wide gap in the road. The cop was on his way back to her car when she finally moved up past him. She didn’t know what she was thinking. Her mind felt jumbled and she couldn’t focus.

It was when she approached the bridge that she saw a figure crouched down on the beams below. The streaks of rain running down her windshield partially obstructed her view, but she could see well enough to spot the young boy the cop had mentioned. Soojin’s heart tightened in her chest and an overwhelming feeling of dread caused her to bite down hard on her lip. Again there was a honk from the car behind her to move. It was her turn to turn her car around, but instead of proceeding, she pulled over on the side of the road and got out of her car. Had she been feeling spontaneous at that moment? Either that or she was just being stupid. Probably both. There were car horns blaring as Soojin ran onto the bridge, through the cop cars and caution fences.

The rain was coming down hard now, just as she had predicted.

---

Author Note:

Happy first chapter! Hope it wasn't too long. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon. Thanks for reading! 

Are you liking the characters so far? Or the story? Haha, feel free to comment.