Jinki was always positive and nothing could ever dampen his spirit. He was brought up by loving parents , he was selfless, compassionate and caring. 
So when one day he was told by his parents that they were moving to Seoul because of his father’s transfer, he didn’t complain. He quietly left the place that he grew up for the past seventeen years behind, looking forward to making new memories and starting a new chapter in his life. 

It was a happy day for Jinki, he wore his crisp new school uniform and his signature smile before he headed off to his new school. He was turning eighteen this year and he was joining the last year of high school.  As he was approaching the school gate enjoying the little things he saw and feeling the fresh breeze touching his face,  he was suddenly shoved aside by force towards a brick wall. Before he could even comprehend what was happening in front of him, he was face to face with two boys both wearing his school uniform- one pretty boy with a smaller petite frame, and a much taller bulkier boy. They were both smirking at him now. “ Hey there newbie” The taller one of the two was tugging his collar now, his breath stinks, Jinki thought. It didn't take long for Jinki to figure out that they looked like a due of school bullies.  “We always love some new blood around here”. The older guy was intimidating, but the younger guy was really really pretty that Jinki was a bit distracted.

“ What do you want” Jinki managed to say while staring at the pretty boy with feline eyes. He shrugged and looked at the taller boy. “ You show him Jae”. The taller boy’s smirk got wider as he punched Jinki right across the face.  Jinki had a black belt in karate, but his skills were never of any use because the boy always hated violence. He was still dazed from the blow when the boys pushed him on the floor, digging his pockets for his wallet. He watched the pretty boy remove all his cash, throwing the wallet back at him and then leaving with a smile on his pretty lips.
His jaw hurt and his clothes were a mess but Jinki brushed himself up and walked towards the school. His first day was already so dramatic.

It took him some time, but Jinki finally managed to find his class. “Lee Jinki, do you want to introduce yourself to the class?” The short and stubby teacher asked him. Jinki smiled and moved forward to introduce himself. ”Hi everyone, I am Lee Jinki.  I just transferred over from Busan to Seoul and I hope that you will take care of me”. Jinki flashed his most beautiful and blinding smile to the students. And he could see that the majority of the students were smiling back at him. “Go over and sit next to Kim Kibum, Kibum raise your hand so that he can find his seat.” Jinki then noticed that this " Kim Kibum" was no other than the pretty petite boy from earlier that morning. His stomach felt a bit uneasy while he walked towards his seat. “ I will take good care of you, alright “ He whispered while smirking at him. Jinki smiled back at him, genuinely with his eyes forming beautiful crescents. 

Jinki knew for a fact that Kibum was by no means trying to befriend him and he that he probably only had bad intentions. But somehow, the boy didn’t really scare him. He was intrigued, but not afraid. So during the second period in school, he made a little effort to talk to him. “Say, Kibum…can you show me around the school during lunch?” Jinki sported his signature eye smile at him. Kibum looked at him with his eyebrows raised. “Didn’t you get the memo earlier? You definitely looked stupid but I didn’t know that you were that stupid” He rolled his eyes. Jinki was genuinely amused by the boy in front of him.” I suppose that it’s a yes?” Jinki was smirking back at him now. Kibum was clearly frustrated. “That’s a no, ” It was almost as if Kibum spit fire at him and Jinki ended up giggling. Unfortunately , this only made the boy angrier and his cheeks were now cherry red. He’s really gorgeous, Jinki thought.

When it was time for lunch, he watched Kibum leave the classroom and since he had nothing to do- he followed Kibum. “hey wait up Kibum” Jinki was trying to catch up with the smaller boy. Kibum groaned and continued to ignore the boy behind him but Jinki caught up fast. Kibum was reaching his limit. He caught the older boy by his sleeve and used all of his strength to push him to a corner of the corridor. Kibum was fuming because Jinki was still smiling. “What is wrong with you, you retard!!!! your smile is freaking me out”. Jinki was honestly just amused. He knew that in terms of strength, this petite boy was no way a match for him. But somehow he just didn’t want to hurt him. “You are really pretty” That was all he was able to say and Kibum looked absolutely and beyond shocked with his reply.  The notorious school bully Kim Kibum, who was feared by many was thrown a curve-ball when he least expected and he didn’t even realise that he was turning red all over.  Flustered and confused, Kibum just let go of Jinki's collar and walked towards the school canteen, hoping that this creepy guy was not following him anymore. 
Thankfully, he met Jay and the gang there, cornering one student. He let today’s incident slide past and joined the boys, ignoring the chocolate  brown orbs that were watching him from time to time. 

Jinki continued to pester Kibum on a daily basis and Kibum tried his best to act like the boy didn’t exist.  Jinki also managed to make two new friends, Minho and Taemin, who made it a habit to join him during lunch. “ Kim Kibum is trouble I tell you Jinki” Taemin was saying while chewing his ham sandwich. “He’s the nastiest in school after Jay, you should really just leave him alone” he said matter of fact-ly. " Yeah Jinks, you should really be careful around them, they are just horrible kids, pampered and just living to make someone else's life miserable" Minho chimed in. Jinki was smiling listening to the animated description of Kibum that the boys were giving him. “ I don't know about the others, but Kibum is not as bad as you guys think.”.  Taemin rolled his eyes at Jinki” Says the guy who got mugged by him on the first day of school. You should have just reported  them both and given them what they deserve”. Jinki smiled at Taemin " Not going to do any of that Taemin ah, everyone has a reason for what they do, what they become and I don't give up on people that easily." Jinki replied. Little did they know that a certain feline eye's boy happened to be eaves dropping their conversation that day. 

A week later, much to Kibum’s dismay, the teacher assigned him with Jinki for an English group project. He could see that the Jinki was already so pleased about it and smiling ear to ear. “Hey Bummie” Jinki was happily tagging along with Kibum after the school bell rang. “I swear to God,  I will kill you the next time you call me that “ If Kibum could throw daggers from his eyes at Jinki he would. Jinki was unaffected as usual, angry Kibum was really cute, he thought. “ So, do you want to come over to my place for the project ..or?  Jinki said while trying to keep up with Kibum. Keeping up with Kibum was a thing he did every day and it was a habit now. “ We should also exchange numbers I think?” Jinki heard Kibum's dramatic groan as he stopped on his tracks. “ Okay , here’s the deal. I will only accept working on the project at my place. Discussions will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays only. My driver’s gonna pick me up at school so be there at 2 sharp. . I would like to keep interactions with you at a minimum so let’s get it over with quickly”. Jinki nodded, happy that he will finally have some time to bond with Kibum. “I know what you are thinking and remove that stupid smile off your face, idiot”  Kibum then stepped on Jinki’s shoe with all his might and left. Jinki ignored the throbbing pain in his leg and burst out laughing at how ridiculously cute and childish Kibum was.  

So the first Tuesday, Jinki followed close behind Kibum as he ended school and waited for his car outside school with him.Kibum barely acknowledged him but Jinki was so used to this by now. “ Hey Bum, what are you doing hanging around with that wimp?” It was that nasty breath Jay again, Jinki thought. Kibum rolled his eyes in response and before Jay could approach them, a sleek black Mercedes stopped right in front of their tracks.” Ride’s here, hop on ” Kibum gestured Jinki to get in his car and in minutes, they drove off.

Jinki knew that the kids in his school were pretty well off but Kibum seemed to be one of those “privileged kids” born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Jinki’s guess was confirmed when he arrived at Kibum’s house- or was it a mansion, Jinki wasn’t sure. Jinki acknowledged and bowed to his mum at the door ( He guessed it was his mum because Kibum didn't  bother for any introductions) and just followed Kibum as he drank in all the expensive furniture and fittings in the house. It was truly beautiful.  Kibum finally opened the door to his room and Jinki quietly followed him from behind.  They hadn't spoken a word since the car ride but it was a comfortable silence. Nothing more awkward than it already was anyway. 

Kibum’s room was pretty, Jinki thought. It was just like the owner. The sheets and wallpapers were peach and he had some posters of a band that Jinki never heard of. He also noticed that the ceiling was painted like the night sky. It was beautiful. “ Bummie your room is really pretty. I love the ceiling- especially the stars”. Jinki was so used to Kibum’s eye rolling but he smiled back at him anyway. “I’m not gonna respond if you call me Bummie again, old man” Kibum placed his belongings on his table and sat on his bed. “ old man?” Jinki smiled and sat beside Kibum as he shrugged and took out his notes to start on their project. 

Kibum realised that it was actually not too bad working with Jinki because he seemed like a smart cookie and it was easy making decisions together because ( believe it or not) they thought alike. He always thought so highly of himself when it came to his knowledge of English, but to his surprise- Jinki was close competition. Kibum didn’t want to admit it but they were working rather well as a team. He just made sure everything was strictly business, smacking Jinki whenever he got carried away with his silly jokes. Jinki would just respond with his silly "brighter than the sun" smile and Kibum wouldn't hesitate to smack him again. 

The project hard a part where they had to draw their ideas and it was Kibum’s specialty. He started sketching the ideas that Jinki was throwing in pretty quickly and when he looked up, he saw that Jinki was looking at him with something that looked like admiration. He couldn’t help but blush when their eyes met, hoping that the other didn't notice.
“Bummie, I didn’t know that you draw really well” he said softly. Kibum just shrugged and continued to draw, praying that Jinki won’t notice his flustered face. While his head was ducked down while drawing, Jinki noticed that Kibum’s hair was constantly falling on to his eyes. Kibum looked fairly irritated and Jinki reached out softly to tuck the strand behind his ear and smiled at Kibum when he looked up to meet his eyes. Kibum was getting pretty overwhelmed by all this and his heart storming inside his chest. “Stay away!” the words were supposed to be stern but they came out soft and weak. Kibum didn't understand what Jinki was doing to him.

When Kibum finished sketching and looked up, Jinki smiled warmly at him, his eyes forming in to beautiful crescents. Kibum did the best thing he could think of and flung his highlighter at his face and Jinki yelped with a small “ow” and made a pouty face. “That’s for that stupid smile on your face 24/7 , pabo”. Jinki ended up laughing while rubbing his abused forehead. Jinki knew that Kibum was indeed the most amusing human being he ever met in his life.
 
They met on the scheduled dates for their project for two weeks in a row and the project was almost halfway done. Kibum rarely acknowledged Jinki in school, although when they were together he was not as unforgiving as before. Kibum sometimes even had a hard time controlling the urge to smile because Jinki was just too silly.  But he held it in well.  No he will not be weak and give in to that silly dork of a man.

Time flew by pretty fast and it was already their last week on the project. One night when Kibum demanded Jinki to grab some snacks from the kitchen, Jinki ran in to KIbum’s mum downstairs.  Jinki never really conversed with her before because Kibum never did introductions but he’s always smiled and bowed at her whenever he saw her. “ Here for some snacks?” She asked Jinki.        “ Yes m’aam, only carrying out orders” he smiled back at her. “ Take a seat here, I’ll fry some nuggets for you both” . She grabbed a bag of nuggets from the freezer without really waiting for any response from Jinki. Jinki smiled at how similar she was to her son. “ So Jinki, how long have you known Kibum for?” she asked while preparing the pan. “ Just maybe a couple of months? I’m new to the school so..” . Jinki saw her quietly nodding while frying the nuggets. “ I.. I think you should know by now that Kibum isn’t exactly the friendliest person” she laughed and Jinki laughed along with her. Oh boy he knew that too well. “ I’ve been called to the school so many times, for bullying especially. But from the looks of it, you seem to be handling my son quite well” she said while turning around and giving Jinki a wink. “ You know..he’s gone through a lot at a young age. I wasn’t able to protect him from a lot of things.. His father hurt him, in many ways that I don’t want to go in to detail.  I had to separate from him for Kibum, and we moved to start a new life here. I think I was too late and the damage to him was already done” she sighed. " He may come off as a strong personality, but it's just a barrier that he seemed to have created around himself to protect him" Jinki noticed that she was tearing up.
He was taken aback from this piece of information and didn’t dare to think about how Kibum's father had hurt him. He only knew that his heart ached for Kibum. “ Please don’t tell him I told you any of this. I can sense that you are someone who cares about him. You can call it a mother’s instinct” She smiled and placed the nuggets in front of Jinki. “ Off you go, and I hope that I can see you around often. Jinki nodded softly, taking the plate of nuggets and walking up to the room with a million thoughts in his head. 

Kibum had fallen asleep on his bed while waiting for Jinki. He saw Kibum's peaceful face and felt that urge to protect hi from all the ugliness in this world. At that moment and he understood what made him such a bitter and hateful person. He understood why Kibum was building up a strong facade. Jinki didn’t hesitate and placed a soft kiss on the crown of the sleeping boy and his cheek. Kibum woke up a little later, embarrassed from falling asleep and pretending to be annoyed at Jinki for not waking him up earlier. That day when Jinki left, he hugged Kibum. Kibum stiffened at the contact but slowly relaxed in his arms. Jinki was happy that Kibum didn't push him away. 

 It was two days later when things got a little complicated. When Jinki was near the cafeteria, he overheard some familiar voices nearby. One of those voices was Jay’s and he was talking to Kibum with the rest of their group.
“ Yah, are you and that wimp Jinki friends cz he keep following you everywhere. Did your standards drop that low Kibum?” They were laughing along with Jay and Kibum looked annoyed. “ Shut up Jay, it’s not my fault that he’s following me everywhere. He’s nothing more than someone who I’m forced to sit with every day.” It felt like an arrow through Jinki’s heart.  He couldn't stand to hear more of what he had to say and decided to leave when his eyes locked with Kibum’s.  Kibum saw a flash of hurt in Jinki's usually happy and sparkling eyes. He watched Jinki turn around and leave and he felt this throbbing pain in his heart.

From then on, Jinki just stopped being himself and he stayed away from Kibum's way. Kibum was too proud to initiate anything and he waited and waited for Jinki to come around, but he didn't. He talked less with Kibum and often hung out with his friends, Minho and Taemin. Kibum noticed that even when he sat beside him during school,he wouldn't be chatty and like he used to. He would still smile when their eyes met, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

After that day at the canteen, Jinki thought that he meant nothing to Kibum. He just didn't want to annoy Kibum anymore after hearing those hurtful words. He was heartbroken, because he thought that they had progressed but now everything seemed to be just an illusion. There was nothing Jinki wanted than to love and cherish Kibum but he knew that he should stop. He just wanted to see Kibum happy and if hes in the way of Kibum's happiness - he should just leave. 

Three days after the incident, Kibum was at his desk not quite grasping what he was reading because his mind was elsewhere when someone's panicked voice broke his trance.
“ KIBUM HYUNG, KIBUM HYUNG PLEASE” Kibum had always seen the kid Lee Taemin hanging around with Jinki but they never really talked. “ Yeah?” Kibum replied him curtly. “ I know that you probably hate Jinki hyung but please don’t let your friends hurt him, he wouldn’t even fight back” Taemin was now crying and Kibum started to panic.” Taemin what the hell happened? Tell me NOW !” Kibum was shaking him for answers and the younger told Kibum that the two of them were at the staircase near the library earlier when Jay had grabbed hold of Jinki with a group of boys and brought him up to the school's rooftop.  For the first time in a long time, Kibum was afraid, he was afraid of what they would do to Jinki. He ran as fast as he could towards the roof top, hoping and praying that he won’t be too late. 

When Kibum reached the rooftop he saw Jinki sprawled on the floor curled and clutching his body in defense position while Jay was kicking him. Kibum ran towards Jay and pushed him away with all the energy he could muster. “ KIBUM WHAT THE ” . Jay was looking at Kibum angrily. “ GET THE AWAY FROM HIM, DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH A SINGLE STRAND OF HAIR OR I WILL KILL EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU I SWEAR’ Kibum was screaming with tears flowing from his eyes and somehow, Jay took it as a sign to back off because no matter how small, he was afraid of Kibum's temper. He left the two boys at the rooftop and gestured the others to leave with him. 

Kibum was already on the floor cradling Jinki in his smaller arms, sobbing. " why are you so stupid?? why didn't you even fight back? I HATE YOU JINKI". " Shh, Bummie I'm fine it doesn't hurt at all, don't cry" Jinki hugged the shaking Kibum back and leaned on him because he was in pain. " Let's get you to the nurse" Kibum said as he supported Jinki to stand up. He was only bleeding on his lips but Kibum could tell that he had bruises on his chest and stomach by the way he winced in pain when he stood up. They quietly went to the nurses' without any words being exchanged. After Jinki was treated, Kibum got permission to stay with the boy for a while. 

Kibum took the seat facing Jinki's bed and when he arrived, Jinki welcomed him with a soft smile that warmed his heart. Kibum reached out to caress Jinki's cheek. " You know, I was so worried earlier. I thought that they would do something worse.." Kibum was looking in to Jinki's eyes with so much sadness when Jinki took Kibum's hand in his. " Thanks for coming, Bummie. It means a lot to me" Jinki said softly. Kibum smiled at him and to Jinki's surprise,  he stood up and settled himself on the side of Jinki's bed - cuddling next  to him in that little space they had." Bummie, what if the nurse.." Jinki was worried of what  the nurse would think seeing them huddled together. " I don't care, I will not move" Kibum said with playful smile and moved closer to him." I want to properly apologise , Jinki. That day, I didn't mean a single thing that I said. I was a coward and I was too proud to say sorry" Jinki saw that Kibum's eyes were glassy now. " I ..I missed you so much, not having you beside me is lonely and scary and too.. quiet.. I hate it"  Kibum was softly sobbing on to Jinki's chest while he held the crying boy closely in his arms." Bummie don't cry, I'm not going anywhere. If you didn't know by now, I already belong to you"  Jinki leaned forward to Kiss the crying boy's tears away. " You are so cheesy , old man" Kibum smiled between his tears and leaned forward for a kiss and Jinki gladly captured the soft pink lips in his.