❧

"Jesus, this place is huge!"

"Shh," Sehun hushes Jongin. "Not so loud. The slightest noise bounces off of every wall in the building." He looks behind him when he doesn't hear any footsteps besides his own and chuckles in amusement when he sees Jongin ogling a marble statue. "Come on now, let's go."

"But wait," Jongin whines, staring intentely at said marble statue with stars in his eyes. The gigantic statue is carved into a globe and he's more than perplexed. "It's so cool, this place is so cool."

"We only have an hour or so," Sehun states before walking over and pulling Jongin away from the statue by the arm, much to the latter's unamusement. "Don't you wanna see my locker?"

"Why would I wanna see your lo-" Jongin starts but quickly stills when he looks up and nearly gets the wind knocked out of him. The ceiling is so high Jongin has to look away in order to avoid getting dizzy - he figures whoever designed the building doesn't suffer from batophobia like he so does. Said ceiling is painted white, edges rimmed with gold and for a second Jongin forgets that he's currently in a university and not the White House. He hears faint footsteps scurrying up and down the stairs in the distance and right now he can't hear anything except for his and Sehun's synchronized footsteps as they (slowly, since Jongin feels the need to stop and inspect every little thing) make their way down the main hallway.

"Is this a ballroom of some sort?" Jongin asks when they step into an extremely spacious room with a small black stage in the far left corner. Looking up, he spots a few lights attached to the ceiling and his eyebrows furrow. This is the ballroom, it must be. This is where all the rich- students dance.

"No, silly," Sehun says with a roll of his eyes. "This is a lecture hall."

"So...this isn't where you celebrate your A's?" Jongin asks with wide eyes. He watches as Sehun brushes past him and proceeds to walk in front of him. The latter struts with an extreme amount of confidence and for a second Jongin feels extremely out of place, again. Sehun's poshness combined with the the luxuriousness of the room itself sends a chill down Jongin's spine because they fit together so well??? He blames everything on Sehun's fancy suit.

Grabbing Jongin's arm again, Sehun tugs him towards the door. "No, no. Like I keep saying, we're not that fancy." He drags Jongin towards the door before the latter gets the chance to run over and ogle the red velvet carpet hanging on the wall between two big windows. Sehun chuckles when he sees Jongin pout in disbelief. "No seriously, we aren't."

"Yeah, that's why you have a goddamn velvet carpet hanging on the goddamn wall!" Jongin exclaims, squirming out of Sehun's grip so he can cross his arms over his chest. He shoots Sehun an expectant gaze. "Just admit it already, you're all filthy rich boarding students."

Sehun sighs before running a frustrated hand through his hair. "Seriously," he huffs, "what do I have to do to get you to believe me? We aren't quadrillionaires with an IQ of 150."

"The giant- golden chandelier with diamonds surrounding every single candle begs to differ," Jongin mumbles after looking up at the ceiling.

"It's the school that's filthy ing rich!" Sehun exclaims, throwing his hands in the air. "Not me, not us, not anyone!"

"How does that even make any sense?" Jongin exclaims just as loudly, not caring if anyone happens to hear. "You're here for a reason, aren't you? So you're telling me your parents made you attend this school despite not having enough money to put food on the table? You may not be quadrillionaires, but you're pretty en rich!"

"Did I not tell you not more than ten minutes ago that some of us are prosperous, and not rich? I hate the term 'rich' anyway," Sehun scoffs. "Oh, and big emphasis on the word 'some'. Some of us major in extremely advanced stuff while some of us don't. Some of us are extremely smart - the smartest student actually has an IQ of 145 - while some of aren't - one of us has an IQ of 80, I think, which is terrible."

Jongin huffs in annoyance. "What's your IQ?"

Sehun blinks. "Mine?" he scratches the back of his head. "Uh...if I remember correctly, something along the lines of 136."

Jongin's jaw nearly hits the crystallized marble floor before he nearly stumbles backwards and falls flat on his . "Are you joking?"

"Uh. No, why?"

"Thats," Jongin nearly chokes on his own spit, "really ing smart! That's like, considered superior intelligence, isn't it?"

Sehun shrugs. "I guess." He suddenly looks at Jongin with a grin. "Hey, what's yours?"

"Let's move on to your locker, shall w-"

"I told you mine, so you have to tell me yours," Sehun says sheepishly before standing in front of Jongin and blocking the latter's path before he has a chance to exit the room.

Jongin nearly cries. "Why?"

"Because, I'm curious to know," Sehun says simply.

Realizing Sehun isn't taking no for an answer, Jongin sighs before looking down at his feet in shame. "Odehdttoo."

Sehun leans in closer. "What?"

"Odehdttoo," Jongin says, a little bit louder, playing with his fingers in shame.

"I can't hear a single goddamn wo-"

"122," Jongin practically screams and almost covers his mouth in shame when his voice echoes and bounces off every wall in the room. Great, he thinks, now the whole entire university knows how stupid I am.

Sehun stays quiet for a long time. "Okay, two things," he says and puts one finger in the air. "One - I think the whole entire university knows your IQ," he chuckles before putting another finger in the air, "and two - what the hell're you so ashamed of? Hey, look at me." He reaches out and gently places a finger on Jongin's chin, lifting the latter's head so they're looking at each other. "122- that's really good."

Jongin blushes before looking away. "Compared to you and everyone else here I'm a complete and utter ."

"So?" Sehun raises an eyebrow. "Hey, you know what? IQs of 122 and 135 are both regarded as superior intelligence so we're on the same boat!"

"Really?"

"Yup," Sehun says as a matter-of-factly before his eyes widen a little. "Hey, I was gonna tell you this, but one student actually got expelled last week for sneaking drugs into the building."

Jongin's mouth falls open. "Are you kidding?"

"Nope." Sehun shakes his head. "I wish I was, though. You should've seen how berserk the principal went when he and a couple of other professors found out. Trust me, it wasn't pretty. I should also mention the fact that he -the student, that is - had an IQ of 85. And if I remember correctly, he couldn't even afford to ride the bus to school. So yeah, we're not all well-behaved angels with the intelligence of Albert Einstein. But I think I've made that pretty clear by now, haven't I?"

"Yes."

"You're lying."

Jongin blinks. "Huh?"

"You still think we're all Harvard material, don't you?"

Jongin smirks before muttering a small 'yep', quickly rushing past Sehun before the latter can grab him. "Can we go already? We've been standing in this room for God knows how long." He doesn't give Sehun a chance to reply before he turns on his heel and runs out the door.

Chuckling to himself, Sehun shakes his head in disbelief (and amusement, he must admit) when he hears the sound of Jongin's footsteps rushing down the hallway. This kid, he thinks to himself. What am I gonna do with him.

Sehun barely makes it out of the room when he hears his phone beep. He inwardly groans when he sees an email from one of his Physics professors. Opening it up, Sehun starts to read.

~~~

Running down the hallway, Jongin rushes past the neverending rows of ridiculously tall windows. He briefly wonders where Sehun went and why the latter isn't following him out when he feels the wind get knocked out of him and he suddenly sees stars.

Before he knows it, he's lying on his back, looking up at the (high) ceiling with a bunch of pencils and papers strewn across the floor around him. Three feet across from him, a male student is doubled over with his briefcase lying open on the floor at his feet. They're both rubbing the sore spots on their sore bodies - Jongin is rubbing the back of his head and the unknown student is his shoulder that he must've hit in the collision.

"Sorry about that," the student says, still rubbing his shoulder blade. "I didn't see you coming and I didn't have time to move aside. Are you okay?"

Nodding, Jongin sits up. "I'm fine, no harm done," he says before his eyes widen when he spots the mess on the floor. Papers, textbooks and even the guy's briefcase are scattered all around the floor and Jongin feels a wave of dread wash over him. "Jesus, did I do that? I'm sorry, - , I shouldn't swear, sorry - I'll pick everything up, don't tell anyone or your principal, pl-" he doesn't get to finish rambling when the unknown student suddenly reaches his hand out in front of Jongin's face. Jongin blinks and stares at the hand like it's a grenade that's seconds away from exploding. "What are you doing?"

"Helping you up, of course," the stranger says with a chuckle. "What does it look like?" When Jongin doesn't make a move to get up, he chuckles. "Are you injured? Do I need to carry you?"

Jongin quickly reaches out and grabs the man's hand and quickly stands up, immediately regretting it when a sudden head rush hits him out of nowhere. He eyes the mess on the floor and bites his lip in worry. That needs to go before anyone sees. "Hey, I'll help you clean up," he mutters guiltily. "I'm so freaking sorry, I shouldn't have been running in the first place."

The stranger shrugs. "No problem." His gaze suddenly lands on Jongin's chest and the latter feels himself flush. "Hey, are you lost or something?"

Blinking in confusion, Jongin raises an eyebrow. "No. I mean, I've never been here before but I'm not really looking for anything in particular. Why?"

"It's just that you're not wearing a uniform," the man laughs before getting on his knees and proceeding to pick up the pencils lying on the floor. Jongin follows suit and quickly grabs a handful of pencils and literally tossing them into the stranger's briefcase, much to the latter's amusement.

Jongin places his hand on top of a yellow highlighter and is seconds away from picking it up when he suddenly feels the man's hands on top of his own. Blushing, Jongin quickly withdraws his hand and gulps in embarrassment. "Jesus, sorry."

"Sorry, didn't know you were reaching for that one too," the man says with a shrug but Jongin doesn't sense any hints of guilt in his voice - if anything, Jongin thinks he sounds almost shameless. He dismisses it as his nerves talking.

Mumbling a barely audible 'alright', Jongin quickly gathers a few more pencils, erasers and rulers before placing them in the man's briefcase, the latter closing it shut. Standing up, Jongin brushes himself off before looking at the man. "Sorry again. Have a nice day." He's about to turn around and look for Sehun (because honestly, where is he?) when the man speaks up.

"What's your name?"

Jongin blinks. "What?"

"Don't tell me you don't know your own name," the man laughs and Jongin feels himself blush again.

"Jongin."

The man nods. "I'm Mark." Jongin shakes his hand. "Now tell me Jongin, what are you doing in a place like this?"

Jongin gulps. "Oh, um...well," he stutters and rubs the back of his neck, "I'm not actually a student here."

Mark raises both eyebrows in astonishment. "Really? Well, alright," he says in a semi weirded-out tone, "what are you doing here, then?"

Should I say it? Am I allowed to? Is that weird? Jongin internally panics. Not having the courage to look Mark in the eye, he opts to keep his gaze fixated on the latter's neatly styled black hair instead. I wonder how much he spends on styling products, Jongin thinks. Definitely no less than 500 bucks. "Uh, I'm here with someone."

"Really? People who aren't students don't tend to come here very often. So, you here with your girlfriend, then? She a student here? What's her name, maybe I know her."

Jongin bites his lip. "I don't have one." Anymore.

"Ah," Mark nods in understanding, leaning against the extremely long windowsill. "So you're with a friend, then?"

"Uh." Jongin gulps and looks down at his shoes. What the hell do I say? "I guess."

"You guess?" Mark stares at him with an amused expression. "It's okay, I won't pry."

Jongin nods slowly. Boy, he thinks, am I glad no one saw us run into eachoth-

"You know, you're kinda cute."

Whipping his head up, Jongin's eyes widen to the size of quarters. "What did you say?"

"I said," Mark says, voice dropping an octave, "that you're kinda cute. No wait, scratch that. You're really cute."

"Uh," Jongin stammers, scratching the back of his head. "Thanks?"

Chuckling, Mark nods in amusement before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a piece of paper. Ripping off a corner, he proceeds to scribble something on it before handing it to Jongin. "Here."

Jongin just stares. "...what? What are you doing?"

"Just take it," Mark laughs before placing the piece of paper in Jongin's hand. He watches as Jongin proceeds to stuff it in his sweater pocket. "My last lesson just ended."

"So?"

"Would your friend mind if I took you out for a drink?" Mark asks, crossing his arms over his chest. Jongin feels himself shiver at the intensity of his gaze.

"Uh," Jongin stutters, mind going blank. "I'm...I'm underage," he lies. He's fibbing and he's well aware of it, but the idea of going out and getting piss drunk with a (rather attractive, Jongin won't lie) guy he met ten minutes ago really doesn't sit well with him.

"What's your age?"

Jongin coughs awkwardly. "Seventeen."

"You sure? Lots of people say I look older than my age, I'm sure I could get you in without an ID," Mark says as a matter-of-factly, smoothing out his dark blue tie. "Not to mention you look at least 18, maybe even 19 or 20. What do you say?"

"That's awfully nice of you, but no thank you," Jongin says quietly, subconsciously running a hand through his hair.

"So you're one of the good kids then," Mark laughs before leaning in and ruffling Jongin's hair. Jongin's lips curl upwards slightly (since he likes it when people play with his hair in general) and Mark chuckles low in his throat. "I see, I see."

"Yeah." Jongin clears his throat before averting his gaze so he's looking out the window. He feels like someone has glued him to the floor - he can't move.

"So." Mark takes a step closer and stuffs his hands in the pockets of his fancy suit pants. "What do you think of the school? Any good first impressions?"

"Yeah," Jongin repeats, nodding. "I really like it. It's a little too prestigious for my liking, but otherwise it's super duper cool! All of you must be super rich and intelligent, huh?"

Mark raises an eyebrow before taking another step closer. "Well, I can't guarantee that every student in the school is as sharp as you might think," he says and leans in so his breath is ghosting over Jongin's ear, "but they say that I'm one of the top three most intelligent students in the entire school, no kidding."

Jongin leans away with wide eyes. "Really?"

"Well, what can I say," Mark shrugs nonchalantly, "I'm naturally gifted, I guess." He chuckles and looks at Jongin. "You consider yourself smart?"

Jongin visibly blushes before turning his face away. "Uh, no, not at all. I don't consider myself intelligent in the slightest. The only person I know who's smarter than me is my best friend. Well, him and my," he clears his throat. "Nevermind."

"Why is that?" Mark furrows his eyebrows and stares Jongin square in the eye. Jongin fights the urge to look away.

"I went through a...small phase," Jongin coughs, "and my grades kinda dropped and now I'm failing like, every single subject," he says sheepishly.

"Well, that's not good, is it?" Mark leans against the windowsill. "Hey, you know what, maybe I could tutor you."

Jongin's eyes flash. He suddenly feels extremely excited because boy, do his grades need improving, and fast. "Really?"

Mark nods. "Yeah, of course."

"You're like, a straight-A student, then?"

Mark nods a second time. "I am."

"Wow, that's so cool," Jongin squeals. "That'd be awesome!"

"Man, you're adorable. And sure, why not? You have my number, just give me a call whenever you like," Mark gestures towards Jongin's sweater pocket.

"I should probably have you know that I'm broke as hell right now," Jongin points out and plays with his fingers.

Mark is silent for a long time before he speaks up, and Jongin almost thinks he sounds...smug? "That's alright, I can think of other ways you can pay me."

Something settles in the pit of Jongin's stomach and he swallows in discomfort. "I'm," he clears his throat, "I'm sorry?"

Mark takes a step closer and Jongin instinctively backs away. The latter chuckles nervously before rubbing the back of his neck. He takes a subtle glance behind him (seriously, where on Earth did he go?) before turning to face Mark, who's staring at him with such intensity Jongin worries he might pass out on the floor. "Uh, it was nice meeting you, Mark," Jongin starts and feels his heart race when he sees Mark's expression darken. "But I need to get back to my-"

"Leaving so soon?" Mark asks and his head to the side. Jongin doesn't think he looks as friendly as he did when they ran into each other fifteen minutes ago. "But we were just starting to get to know each other."

"I know, and I apologize," Jongin says before taking a step back. "It's just that-" he quickly goes silent when Mark's tall frame comes closer and Jongin fights the urge to turn around and sprint back into the ballroom or whatever that room was called.

"The hell's going on here?"

Jongin nearly jumps out of his skin and nearly collapses in relief when he turns around and sees Sehun walking down the hallway towards them. He turns back to Mark who's staring at Sehun with a questioning gaze. Sehun stares back.

"Me and this cute piece of were just getting to know each other before you interrupted," Mark says and gestures towards Jongin who looks like he's on the brink of tears. "Right, Jongin?"

Jongin gulps. "I...I guess."

"It was the weirdest thing," Mark chuckles to Sehun, "he was speeding down the damn hallway like a crazy person and just bumped into me out of nowhere. I offered to buy him a drink but he politely delinced seeing as he's an innocent angel and all. I also offered to tutor him since apparently his grades are dropping, aren't they?" He nudges Jongin who doesn't say a word. Mark looks at Sehun. "Anyway, who are you?" He raises an eyebrow when he sees Sehun's uniform. "Do I know you or something?"

"I'm the one who's gonna beat the goddamn living out of your sorry if you don't step the hell away from him right this ing second," Sehun seethes before stepping forward so he's standing between Jongin and Mark. Jongin worries Sehun's voice might attract teachers or other students and he's seconds away from asking him to calm down but decides against it. He opts to hide behind Sehun's broad shoulders instead.

Mark blinks in astonishment before chuckling. "Whoa there, big guy," he puts both hands up in defense. "What the ? The hell's the matter with you? You jealous or some ? Jesus, what a temper. Anyway, what class are you in? You look like you belong in the Physics department," he chuckles dryly.

"Shut the up." Sehun turns to Jongin. "Did he touch you?"

Jongin gulps, eyes darting back and forth between the two men in front of him. "Well, I-"

"You sound like a little ," Mark rolls his eyes while looking at Sehun. "Who the hell are you anyway? Where'd you even bloody come from? Do you two know each other?" He looks at Jongin. "Is this your friend you kept talking about earlier?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Friend?" Sehun spits in distaste. "Answer me, did he touch you? Anywhere?"

"He kind of ruffled my hair," Jongin says quietly and sticks his hands in his pockets. He winces when he sees the menacing look in Sehun's eyes. Boy, if looks could kill. "But-" he starts and quickly removes his hands from his pockets, feeling a certain agony creep up on him when the rumpled piece of paper falls out. ing . 

Jongin moves to pick it up before Sehun gets a chance to spot it. He moves too late, however, and Sehun, as eagle-eyed as he is, instantly spots it in his peripheral vision and catches it before it even touches the floor. Jongin bites his lip in worry and...fear? when Sehun proceeds to unfold the piece of torn-up paper. 

Time seems to stop when Sehun visibly tenses and slowly turns to look at Jongin. "What's this?"

Jongin prays that his knees don't give in and send him tumbling back onto the floor. "Um." 

Sehun's eyes scan the row of numbers neatly written out on the paper along with the words 'call me <3 x - M' and momentarily sees red. Balling it up in his fist, he throws it over his shoulder. It lands with a dull thud on the floor.

"Yo, what's your ing problem?" Mark asks, agitation lacing his words. "Who the do you think you are; strolling up out of the blue and proceed to talk like a little for no reason whatsoever. Rich- mofo, with your goddamn Rolexes and all," he scoffs before reaching out and grabbing Jongin's hand, pulling the latter slightly towards him. "C'mon, let's get the hell out of here and away from this goddamn creep."

"I don't even know you," Jongin retorts, attempting to pull away with no success. His heart is racing and his head is spinning. How did I get into this, again?

"The are you doing," Sehun exclaims before taking a step forward and placing a protective hand on Jongin's chest. He glares at Mark with an evil glare. "I'll give you three seconds to let him go," he growls, not breaking eye contact, "and if you don't, I'll send you head first into the nearest wall."

Mark shoots Sehun an annoyed expression before slowly loosening his grip on Jongin's wrist. "Who the even are you?" His gaze lands on Sehun's hand that's still positioned on Jongin's torso and he chuckles when he sees the latter's semi-frightened (and confused) expression. "The hell, blondie. You're scaring the poor boy, get your nasty- paw off of him and give him some ing space, jeez."

Sehun's eyes flash dangerously before leaning in closer and staring Mark square in the eye. "Was that your number?"

Scoffing, Mark crosses his arms over his chest and averts his gaze so he's looking at Jongin who's still hiding behind Sehun's shoulders. "Jongin, do you know this weirdo?"

Jongin gulps before opening his mouth to speak, but Sehun quickly cuts him off.

"Answer me." Sehun his head to the right in a threatening manner and for a second Jongin thinks he sees a flash of fear in Mark's eyes, but he isn't sure. "I'll count to three. One."

"Yes, it was my ing number on that ing paper." Mark throws his hands in the air, briefcase nearly hitting Sehun in the face. "What the hell's it to you? You jealous you didn't get to claim him first? ing moron," he mumbles before grabbing Jongin's hand and forcefully pulling the latter towards him so that they're standing next to each other. "Finders, keepers," he says with a dramatic shrug in Sehun's direction. Jongin does his best to pull away and curses under his breath when he realizes Mark no doubt has an iron grip. His wrist is starting to ache and he prays to God that he doesn't dislocate it. He looks to the left and nearly jumps out of his skin when he sees the enraged expression on Sehun's face - broad shoulders heaving up and down, gaze locked on Mark, tracking his every move and not letting him out of sight, upper lip curled upwards in a menacing snarl. Jongin gulps.

"You have two seconds to let him go and get the out of here and out of my goddamn line of vision," Sehun growls, gaze darkening when he looks down and sees Jongin subtly attempting to pry his hand out of Mark's. "One."

" you," Mark spits in Sehun's face. "Soon we'll have the principal on our asses so I'd recommend you not to go completely ing mental. Go find yourself another dude or whatever, I don't give a - just stay the hell out of my business and don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong. Let's get out of here, Jongin, okay?"

It's not until Sehun hears Jongin emit a pained yelp when Mark proceeds to tighten his grip on his wrist even more (if that's even possible) that he feels something snap at the back of his head. His arms and legs seem to move on their own as he takes a step forward and delivers a steady blow to Mark's face - Sehun doesn't even register the crackling noise of knuckles against bone when his entire fist comes in contact with and lands on the left side of his head.

For a second, Sehun hears nothing, save for the constant white noise in his head, that's closely followed by Jongin's startled shout as Mark stumbles backwards and lands with a thud on his back on the floor. His briefcase hits the floor a fraction of a second later and lands by his feet. A tingling sensation is beginning to settle and spread across Sehun's hand but he can't bring himself to care - he doesn't even feel it at the moment. Taking a step forward, he places his arm across Jongin's torso in a protective manner before proceeding to hover above Mark's mangled form on the floor.  "Get the outta here."

Mark looks up at Sehun and attempts a snarl only to wince when a sharp pain surges through and numbs his entire face. "Wait 'til the principal hears about this, your sorry will be out and onto the goddamn ing streets in a matter of seconds."

Sehun chuckles but there's no humor in his voice. "Don't you dare lay a finger on my boyfriend ever again," he seethes before turning to face Jongin who's stares at him with wide eyes. "Are you alright? Are you okay?"

Jongin nods but quickly shakes his head before holding up his wrist that's already starting to turn a blu-ish shade of purple. It looks like he's wearing a violet colored bracelet. "Hurts."

Sehun's mouth falls open when he sees the markings on Jongin's wrist and he briefly sees red before turning around and kicking Mark square between the legs. "You goddamn motherer."

Rolling around in pain, Mark cradles his crotch before smirking up at Sehun. "Boyfriend? He never said anything about being here with a significant other." Jongin shudders. Boy, if looks could freaking kill.

Sehun his head to the side and raises an eyebrow. "What?"

"I ing asked him what he was doing here all by himself and he said he was here with a friend," Mark says before clenching his eyes shut in pain.

Sehun ignores the tugging sensation at his heart. He turns to Jongin. "Is that true? Did you say that?"

Swallowing, Jongin nods slowly. "But-"

"He never said anything about a ing boyfriend," Mark spits before attempting to stand up. "Not a single word. All he said was 'friend', whom I'm assuming you are?" he chuckles before looking at Jongin. "Your friend's a ing psychopath. You need better friends."

"If you so much as get up," Sehun closes his eyes and exhales, "I'll sock you so hard you'll wake up in a hospital bed a week from now wearing a ing body cast. Stay the down." He turns to Jongin with an unreadable expression on his face. "Honestly, what the ?"

Jongin opens his mouth to speak but quickly closes it again when he sees the hurt in Sehun's eyes. Jongin's hands scramble to grab Sehun's hands, only for Sehun to aggressively shove him off and storm down the hallway without as much as a word. A sense of dread crashes down on Jongin like a tidal wave when he sees Sehun walk off into the distance before swiftly turning the corner. He turns to face Mark, who's still lying on the ground, with his fists clenched. "Are you ing happy?"

"Psscht," Mark rolls his eyes. "Your friend - no, boyfriend - is a goddamn ing psychopath anyway. Break up with the bastard already and be with me instead. I'm so much more handsome and smart than he is and will ever be. Plus, I don't go into an all caps rage for no reason whatsoever," he snickers before reaching out his right hand. "Sorry this had to end on such a dramatic note, but we can get to know each other better, what do you say?"

Jongin stares at the hand outstretched in front of him for a few seconds before a certain rage fills his chest. " you, you goddam ," he growls before proceeding to kick Mark in the stomach (at least Jongin thinks it's his stomach, he might've socked him in the ribs instead, but he doesn't care, at all) before turning around and speeding down the hallway after Sehun. His head is so clouded that he can barely run in a straight line and he trips over his own feet and nearly crashes into the wall a few times. His right wrist is starting to throb but he does his best to ignore it, figuring he's got more important things to worry about right now.

Jongin runs down the neverending hallway, the only audible noises (which is awfully strange, seeing as it's only 3:30 in the afternoon) being the frantic sound of his own hurried footsteps as well as Mark's agonized grunts of pain behind him.

❧