"Where do you think that new boy is? He wasn't even here for a full day and has been away for like three weeks now." I overheard one of the girls in my class ask one of her friends. I bit the inside of my cheek and looked down at my hands which were on my legs in order to keep myself quiet so I could keep listening to what the three girls would say about my best friend.

"I don't know... Didn't he faint in the cafeteria in the first day and someone from Jeonghan and Seungcheol's table carried him to the sick bay or something? The teacher said he's sick but I don't know about that." Stay calm. Stay quiet. Breathe in and out. I thought over and over again as I watched myself curl my hand into a fist and I could feel that my fingernails were harshly digging into the palm of my hand, they were likely going to leave crescent shaped indents in the flesh of my palm.

I had this instinct that was telling me that they were likely going to say something rude. They seemed like they were those types of people who had no filter when they were around each other and didn't care what others thought.

"He looked a bit like a thug if I'm being honest. He looks like he's a troublemaker. I wouldn't be surprised if he was caught out with drugs or something and was sentenced to like a year in jail because he's too young to go for longer." The last girl in the group said and I stood up abruptly and stalked over to them, feeling like I was about to explode because of how mad I was.

"You do not have the right to say that about my best friend. None of you do! Minghao is away because he is sick. He has pneumonia and has been bed ridden for two weeks straight. He had to go to the hospital for Jisoos sake. I can't believe that the three of you are dense enough to think he's some sort of druggie without even knowing him for a second." All three girls were staring at me with wide eyes and one even looked like she was about to cry

Lots of people in my class were staring at the four of us in shock because nobody had ever seen me snap like this. I was normally a calm, quiet person in the classroom. "People like you despise me. If I didn't-" I went to continue with my rant but I felt a soft tug on the sleeve of my hoodie and then an equally soft voice spoke which made me temporarily forget why I was mad. "Gēge stop, please." Was what the voice said to me.

I turned my head at break-neck speed to face the source of the voice, the source of the fond nickname and almost screeched. My eyes widened once I saw who it was. "Xiao HaoHao? Why are you here? You should be at home in bed still." I asked, astounded, as I abandoned the girls and returned to my desk with Minghao following. "I've been feeling better, which you know. And I called Zitao-ge to check on me and he said I'm almost over the pneumonia so I'm free to come back." I blinked in shock.

"He said that I've gotten better faster than he expected. He said that we both need to thank you because you've been helping me get mor