Jimin hadn’t seen Minjoon since the day he had moved in. He was worried – maybe Minjoon didn’t like him anymore because he thought he was weird. He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his calendar. Today was Monday, his favourite day of the week because it was the first day of school. His dad had told him that the reason why he looked forward to it being Monday was because he enjoyed what he did. And it was true. Jimin loved going to school.

                But right now, Jimin didn’t know if he liked Mondays anymore. What if Minjoon went to the same school as him? What if Minjoon didn’t want to talk to him? All of these questions filled his mind as he jumped out of bed, put his calendar down, and got ready for school. He adjusted his school uniform and took a peak at himself in the mirror: big brown eyes staring back at him and lips pressed into a pout. Jimin nodded. He was going to school, and he was going to enjoy it like he always did.

                Jimin walked down the stairs, backpack slung over his shoulders. His mother looked down at him, smiling. The past events had all been forgotten, and it seemed as if everything had gone back to normal, from Jimin’s cute little smile to the confident bounce in his step. But Jimin wasn’t back to normal. Behind the confidence was a shy little boy who was worried.

                “Mom, do you think I’ll see Minjoon at school today?” Jimin asked as he munched on a piece of bread. His mother looked at him inquisitively.

                “I believe he will be going to the same school as you, but I’m not sure if he is going to school today. If you do see him though, be sure to say hello,” his mother replied.

                After he finished eating his breakfast, Jimin and his mother headed outside, hand in hand, bathing in the early morning sunshine and listening to the sound of the wind rustling the leaves. It was a beautiful day, and as they walked side by side to the school, the birds chirped in the trees above them.

                “Bye, Mom!” Jimin said, waving goodbye as he entered the school. His mother waved back.

                Jimin walked down the familiar school hallway, the walls covered in students’ artwork and posters. He finally reached his class, the door opened. As he walked through the door, he realized that there were more kids than usual. Why are there so many people? Jimin thought. As he sat down at his seat and took off his bag, he turned to see a large throng of his classmates huddled around one person. When he took a closer look, he noticed that it was Minjoon.

                “What’s your name?” “Where do you come from?” “Do you like to play sports?” “What’s your favourite colour?”

                The questions were thrown into the air with no response, for with each question, the smaller Minjoon seemed to get. Jimin didn’t like the way the other students were pestering Minjoon. The more he looked on, the more upset he got. Soon, the students started getting rowdier, grabbing onto Minjoon’s sleeves and taking hold of his hands. The boy flinched, scooting away but only getting caught by another curious student.

                “Guys, stop it! Can’t you tell he’s uncomfortable?” Jimin cried, pushing his way past all of the students and wrapping a protective arm around Minjoon’s shoulder. “If you guys really wanted him to feel at home here, you wouldn’t be bullying him like this.”

                The classroom grew quiet. Underneath Jimin’s body, Minjoon was silently sobbing, tears trickling down his face. Jimin knelt down in front of him, holding his hands, and looked up at him. He smiled and said, “Minjoon, it’s ok. I’m right here for you.”

                Minjoon looked down at Jimin, his eyes red with tears. “Thank you, Jimin. I appreciate it,” he said, a little smile tugging at his lips.

                “Look at how weird they are together!” one boy shouted out loud. The other students hummed in agreement.

                “That’s right! My mom told me that it was wrong for two guys to like each other,” that one boy explained. “My dad said that they all should go to jail!”

                Jimin looked up, scared. Am I going to jail? he thought. What about Minjoon? He turned to look up at Minjoon, who sat in his seat, quiet. The students started moving towards them, grabbing at them and saying nasty words that he didn’t understand.

                “Students, I don’t want to hear any more of this screaming.” Everyone stopped and looked to see their teacher, Ms. Kim, standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. “Get back to your seats,” she said, her voice loud and clear. With an angry grumble, the students moved back to their desks, leaving Jimin standing by Minjoon’s desk.

                Ms. Kim looked at Jimin and said, “Jimin, please go back to your seat.”

                “But they were bullying Minjoon! I just wanted to help out,” Jimin said, his feet firmly planted on the ground.

                Ms. Kim sighed, and then looked at the empty seat in front of Minjoon’s desk. “If you want to sit with Minjoon, Jimin, then you can take the seat in front of him. Is that ok?”

                Jimin went to his desk, grabbed his bag off the ground, and sat down in the seat in front of Minjoon’s desk. After the teacher took the attendance and did a short introduction for Minjoon, she called Jimin and Minjoon out into the hallway.

                “Minjoon, can you tell me what happened today?” Ms. Kim asked, her voice lowered.

                Minjoon stood there, his bottom lip quivering and his hands shaking at his side. His eyes started welling up with tears, and he shook his head.

                Ms. Kim nodded her head. “Very well, then. Jimin, can you tell me what happened?”

                “They were getting in Minjoon’s personal space,” Jimin said. He’d heard his mom say that phrase before, and it sounded just about right. “They were bothering him, and he was crying, so I told them to stop, and one boy said that we should be put in jail because he thought that two guys can’t like each other,” Jimin explained.

                Ms. Kim gasped, her face a mask of shock. But what she was about to say surprised the two young students. “I know that what that student said was very disrespectful, and I will make sure to talk to his parents about this issue; however, I don’t want to see any more of these public displays of affection. Understood?”

                Jimin didn’t understand. Why was the teacher so upset with him? He didn’t do anything wrong. On the other hand, Minjoon wiped his tears away with the back of his sleeve, straightened his back, and said, “Yes, teacher. Sorry, teacher.”

                And with that, Ms. Kim herded both of them back into the classroom, where the first class of the day would start. Throughout the whole lesson, Jimin held back his confusion and sadness, unsure of what to make of the situation.