Flashback

The king sat on his throne. All he see is red. His eyes burning with rage and his heart pounding hard against his ribcage. He glared at the queen with such a menace gaze, as if he could burn a hole through her head.

"I married you because of the late king, because of my father and for the country's sake. But still, I gave you everything. Everything." he said with a low voice, almost sounded like a growl.

"But yet, you're still ungrateful. How dare you! You tried to poison the woman I love!" he spat venomously.

The queen stood on her knees in front of the king, her hands fell limply on her side, shivering violently. Her eyes dazed faraway, void of any emotions. She doesn't say a single word since she was brought into the palace hall. The big space made her body seemed small and tiny. Suddenly, the main door flung open, a young kid came running to her and kneeled beside.

"Your highness, I seek pardon upon my mother." the young kid said. His eyes boring daringly into the king's. Eventhough tears are evident in his eyes, already threatening to flow down his cheeks, the young kid's gaze is fixed and intimidating.

"Your mother just commit an unforgivable sin. She doesn't deserve to be forgiven."

Then the king turned towards the guards.  "Take her!"

"Now, you're no longer my queen. You deserve to die."

"Your highness I beg you, please stop. Father, don't do this!" the young kid panicked and his eyes widened in terror. He knew exactly what the king's wrath could do to people.

The king came down from his throne and walked towards the young kid. He is ticked off by the almost challenging tone. He stopped right in front of his son and lifted his head with one of his fingers. "You're just like your mother don't you? Typical of the White Wolves bloodline, always ungrateful and rude." the king said indignantly.

Jaebum hold on his mother's arm when the guards were taking her away. The guards tried to pry off the the iron grips but to no avail. "Young prince, please let go of her hand." one of the guards pleaded. He was reluctant to separate the son and mother from each other, but what can he do when it's the king's command. "Please stop or else the king will get mad at you too." he said softly, his voice almost cracked at the end.

But Jaebum is persistent. His grip only get tighter.

 "Give me a moment" was the first words that came out of the queen's mouth, barely a whisper. The guards nodded and retreated to give the two some space. She turned her body to her son and cupped his cheeks with her hands.

"I love you" she said into his ear lovingly.

"Mother, please tell the king you didn't do that. Tell him it's not your fault. " he said desperately with b eyes.

"Shh...Don't cry. Don't shed your tears at all. I'll be fine."

The queen took out her necklace and put it around his neck. A ruby diamond dangled above his stomach. She wrapped her hands around his small frame and kissed his forehead. Jaebum snuggled further into her embrace and breath in his mother's scent, feeling the warmth slowly eased down his erratic heartbeat.

"Be strong like you always do. Act the way you were taught to be. Always remember, I love you with all my heart, body and soul." was what she said before the guard took her away from him. Her warmth was gone and Jaebum was left alone in the palace hall.

When the next sunrise came the next day, his heart felt hollow as if something was ripped apart from him, leaving a deep and endless loophole. Grief and agony seeped through his whole body the moment he woke up. He knew right then, that the king had killed his mother.

 Flashback ended

Fifteen years later

Jinyoung

Jinyoung rushed his steps through the hallway. He is late for class . He doesn't even spare a glance to the surrounding as he walked towards his locker. Following closely behind him are two other males, a blond and a brunette.  Suddenly, he bumped into a stranger, knocking off a nearby flower vase as they both fall down. Unable to stop in time, Jackson and Mark fell atop of them. The stranger,  a boy, being the bottom of the human piles, pushed everyone away and got up.

Jinyoung also stood up abruptly. He brushed off the dirt from his sleeves. "Oh god. Why is this happening when I am already late to class..." his voice trailed off as he caught a glimpse of the stranger's hand. Blood was trickling down from where sharp pieces of the vase cut through the skin. He was alerted and quickly took out his handkerchief from his pocket. He grabbed the stranger's hand and pressed it on the cut to stop the blood.

But suddenly, the stranger slapped his hands away the moment their hands came in contact. He shoved Jinyoung's shoulder, causing him to fall on his as he was not ready for the sudden attack.

"Don't touch me" he said. Half of his face is hidden in a red Trasher hoodie.

"I am sorry. I just want to-" Jinyoung's sentence was cut midway as the boy replied with a cold voice "Forget about whatever you're about to do. I don't need your help." Then he walked away, leaving the three of them baffled. Anger rises in Jackson as he lunged forward and grabbed the stranger's hoodie.

"Why are you so rude? You don't have to push him like that!" Jackson said, almost sounded as if he was shouting. When the stranger boy turned his body around, only then, they could clearly see his face as the hoodie fell off his head. He stared at Jackson and moved his uninjured hand to his back, where Jackson's hand was grabbing his hoodie and yanked the latter's hand away.

" I already told not to touch me, didn't I?"  Then, he continued to walked away.  Jackson doesn't react. He was too stunned to say anything after what he saw that he stayed frozen from where he was standing. Mark helped Jinyoung to stand up.

"What's wrong with him? Are you okay, Jinyoung? "Mark asked.

Jinyoung doesn't reply. He looked pale and surprised. He stared at the boy until he was gone from his sight.

"Huh... What an . Let's go already." Jackson shrugged them off after he snapped out of his thought.

When the three of them entered the class, the professor already arrived earlier and was about to start the class. They bowed at him and apologised for their lateness. Then, Jinyoung saw that someone else was standing beside the professor. A certain boy with a black slack and a red hoodie. He glanced at the boy's right hand, he can see blood stain, but the cut was now hidden under the long sleeve. The boy was wearing a placid expression and he look indifferent even when he saw the three of them.

"You guys can take your respective seats. I'll start the class now." his professor said.

"Thank you." Mark uttered the words, earning a nod from their professor. As they made their way to the backseat, Mark and Jackson shared an equally puzzled look when they realised that the person standing beside the professor is the same boy they bumped into at the hallway.

"Before I start today's class, I want to tell you guys a good news. As you can see, we received a new transfer student. I hope that all of you could help him to cope here. Please introduce yourself" he gestured to the boy. All eyes are on him as he take a step forward.

"I'm JB. I transfered here from Ilsan Art College." he said nonchalantly, his voice sounded raspy, as if it is rarely used. His head hung low and he made no eye contact with other students.

"That's all you want to say?" the professor asked. He nodded as a reply.

"Well then. You can go to your seat there" he pointed to an empty chair just beside the door.

From their seat, Jinyoung eyed the boy with a mixed emotion. He cannot bring himself to focus during the entire class and  Jackson and Mark noticed how tensed he look since the incident at the hallway. He looked troubled and sick, as if he was just woken up from a nightmare.

During lunch, Jackson and Mark dragged him to the cafe even as he insisted that he is not in the mood to eat. Reluctantly, he settled himself at the most secluded area inside the cafe.

"What do you want to eat?” Mark asked.

He pretend to look around the menu on the counter. Nothing really piqued his interest. He let out a sigh and said "I'm not hungry."

"Order something. Anything. Then we'll eat. After that, we'll talk. I know something was bothering you, but you still need to eat. The last meal we had is yesterday's dinner." Jackson said adamantly.

Mark touched his shoulder. "He's right."

"Fine. But you guys do remember that you are only assigned to guard me, not baby me, right?"

"Jinyoung, we are your friends. On top of that, your only friends. It's up to us then." Mark shrugged off.

He smiled. "Thanks."

Halfway through the meal, Jinyoung stopped eating, saying he was already full. He rested his chin on his folded hands and stared outside the cafe with a dazed look.

"In class just now, why did you stare at JB so intensely, that I thought that your eyes has some laser or something." Jackson asked with a full mouth.

He lifted his head and looked at Jackson and Mark, both of them are still busy dining on  their hearty lunch.

"He reminds me of someone I miss very much." Jinyoung said with a sad tone. "I think, he might be Jaebum hyung."

"What? No way."

"I know you feel that way too, Jackson. Don't think I didn't notice how your face expression changed the moment you saw his face. You look surprised and stunned as much as I did."

"Well, he did have some resemblance, but that's it. There's no way he is Jaebum hyung"

"Why would you think so?"

"Jinyoung, Jaebum hyung disappeared fifteen years ago. We never heard anything about him since then. We don't even know if he is still alive. He might be dead, Jinyoung-ah. He was only five years old when he was gone, he can't possibly survive alone in the outside world."

Hearing that, indignance crept through his whole body immediately. He gritted his teeth and hold on the table's end really hard that his knuckles turn white.

"How can you say that... How can you say that, Jackson. I thought you wanted to help me to find him, but it turns out that you're just the same as everyone else. Why is everyone thinking he is dead when there's no proof at all. Jaebum hyung is still alive! " Jinyoung said. His face flushed red with anger.

"Calm down, Jinyoung. I am sorry about what I said. You know I didn't meant it. Of course I wanted to find Jaebum hyung as much as you want. I miss him too. But I just don't want you to get attached to that JB guy and hurt yourself. You should stay away from him."

"The main reason I agreed to be sent outside the palace and attend college in this human world was to find him, remember? But then, why are you telling me this?"

"Because we know nothing about him, Jinyoung, nothing. We just met him this morning and suddenly you said that you think he is Jaebum hyung. That doesn't make any sense to me." Mark said.

"Mark is right. There's something fishy about JB. When I was near him, I can't smell him at all. He is scentless. That is not normal, even human has their own spesific scent. He must have used some kind of illegal potion to hide his scent. He might know who we are and that is a threat. JB is dangerous."

"No." Jinyoung shot up from his seat. "He surely knows who we are. Maybe that's why he's hiding his identity. I'll find out." He started to walk out of the cafe, leaving Jackson and Mark panicked.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Don't follow me. I am going to figure things out myself." Mark stood up from his seat and said "Wait here, Jackson. I'll go after him."

"I'm sorry Mark, I hate to say this, but this is a command. Don't follow me."

"At least let us help you. We're in this together, Jinyoung. You can always count on us."

"You guys didn't believe in me when I say he might be Jaebum hyung. I don't think I need your help."

Mark let out a defeated sigh. "We're sorry. Please, let us help you." he pleaded. Jinyoung stopped in his track and turned to Mark.

"I'll still need your help in the end. But, not now." Then he continued to walk away from the cafe. Mark and Jackson can only eye him from afar with a worried look.

He searched for JB around the campus. He is must be around here. Our class is not over yet. He thought to himself.

Flashback

 Jinyoung is just a son of a maiden. The king was still a crown prince when he fell in love with his mother. But their love is an impossible and a forbidden one, because the king was already betrothed to marry a beautiful woman from the White Wolves bloodline. Even when the queen had given birth to the king's heir, the king was still secretly in love with the her. The king kept his mother close to him as his personal slave. Only the people in the palace knew about the king's affair and swore to keep it themselves as a sign of loyalty. A few months later, the maiden also gave birth to a baby boy. The king's son. The queen knew about this. But to h