Clashing Colors
The Color of Love
01. Gray
Jongin rested his elbow against the desk while his head rested in the palm of his hand. A white headphone was nestled in his left ear, pouring smooth lyrics into his brain while the other ear listened to the useless bickering of his fellow classmates. It was third period, study hall. A class that was mixed to the brim with all grade levels, of all cliques. There were the quiet freshman in the front, the gossiping juniors and sophomores in the middle, and the loud seniors in the back. Jongin was seated in the seventh row out of the ten that occupied the room. He sat alone in the seat closest to the window, letting his mind wander through the raindrops softly patting the ground outside.
"Students settle down!" The class was stunned into silence. It was a rare occurrence for the teacher to be in the same room as the class this period, let alone telling them to quiet down. Jongin raised his eyebrow out of curiosity.
An announcement?
The young brunette teacher clapped his hands with no enthusiasm what so ever. Mr. Cho had the same emotionless face as he did any other day. Never had any of his students seen the man crack a smile.
"We have a new student joining us. Be sure to treat him well." Everyone’s eyes burned through the door while Jongin’s remained on the wet leaves outside, dancing with the heaviness of rain on their backs. He lost interest long ago and was now back to his third period routine; ignoring the world. He failed to notice a small boy entering the room, clutching his green messenger bag strap across his chest for dear life. His eyes were wide like a deer caught in headlights, his pink bottom lip trembled slightly. He hated being tossed in front of a crowd like this.
“Who starts school a month later than usual?”
“His eyes are so big! You can barely see his pupil with all the white around it!"
“He seems a little scrawny to me..."
The room started buzzing with comments and questions while the poor boy stood at the front of the large room, terrified. It wasn’t until after the teacher slammed his hands on the desk that everyone became silent again. Mr. Cho then nudged the boy on his back, beaconing him forward. “Introduce yourself.” With shaking knees and a racing heart, he stuttered out a small greeting along with a polite bow. "A-annyeonghaseyo. Je ireumeun Kyungsoo imnida" The rain increased its flow outside, beating down on the ground with a thick sound. Jongin continued to watch the raindrops dance across the window with slight amusement. He imagined the drops moving to the smooth rhythm of the music playing through his headphone until the unnatural sound of metal scraping against tile rang through the air. Jongin rolled his eyes in distaste.
Why can’t these girls just leave me alone? They are so pathetic.
The buzzing in the room seemed louder than before and a few soft gasps filled the air. Jongin could literally feel all of the eyes on the back of his head. He shifted his gaze to the reflection on the window to see an unfamiliar figure filling the forever vacant spot beside him. He examined the boy's figure with swift analytical eyes. He took notice of his dark hair shaved at the sides and back, the shape of his lips and the fact that, by the way he gripped his bag, he must have been really scared.
Too bad he didn't care.
The boy turned to him, but he pretended not to notice.
"P-please take care of me." His voice was shaky and awkward. His 90 degree bow showed that he had an insane amount of respect. Jongin replied with a slight tilt of his head. The room erupted with even more whispers. Kyungsoo of course was as confused as they came. He caught murmurs of ‘Ice Prince’ and ‘Kai’ and of his own name as well but nothing entirely bad. He was able to relax just a bit. Kyungsoo was also very curious about the boy decked out in black next to him. He took note that no one talked to him, despite his very handsome appearance. The boy that looked to be very popular in fact, looked like he simply had no one. It made Kyungsoo all the more curious.
“I-I’m Do Kyungsoo, what’s your n-name?” He didn't mean to stutter so much, but the boy opposite him did look intimidating enough to draw that reaction from him.
“Kim Jongin.”
The boy didn't bother to turn, but Kyungsoo could clearly see his face through the reflection in the window. Not even seconds later, the class became completely silent once more but for an entirely different reason. It was the first time anyone has ever heard Jongin speak since being in school. He would only ever give half a chuckle when rejecting girls or sigh when he was dealing with stupidity, but to be completely fair on Jongin’s part, no one dared to try and befriend him. He seemed to have this deathly aura to him. It was just as intimidating as it was frightening.
Both boys noticed the silence. One was genuinely confused while the other was extremely annoyed.
Jongin was the first to move. He turned so that he was facing the other, but his eyes scanned the room. Everyone held their breath with anticipation of more words to be spilled out the pretty lips that belonged to the well known mute. Kyungsoo quickly caught on to the situation as he turned to scan the room as well. It seemed obvious that Jongin was the black sheep. Kyungsoo turned to the boy in question, locking his gaze with his. The world seemed to stop to them both. For Kyungsoo, it was those dark, sad eyes that screamed seclusion along with agony. Such a handsome face to hold those kinds of emotions was something new to him. He wanted to know. He was eager to learn, if the other opened up of course.
Opposite, Jongin was also captivated with Kyungsoo’s rather large eyes. Those wide innocent eyes seemed so fictional, as if he lived in a completely different world. He seemed untouched by the filthy truth of the real world but, the bruises poorly covered with makeup told him differently. He, for once, was curious about another being.
What had brought them to reality were the whispers that filled the room. Annoyance once again spread through Jongin’s body as he turned away to resume what he was doing before. He was disappointed to find that the rain had stopped, but it gave him an excuse to watch the other through the reflection of the glass. Jongin was fascinated with his eyes. It was something about those wide eyes. Maybe the way they shined, he guessed.
Seconds later, the room filled with the typical morning announcements about the weather, after school activities, and events that would take place throughout the year. One particular announcement had Kyungsoo dreading that his father threw him into this school. There was a talent show that was to be taking place in July, the day before their summer vacation, and for his grade, it was mandatory. Jongin noted the way Kyungsoo sunk in his chair ever so slightly. He concluded he must be a year older than himself. He watched the wide eyed boy stare into space while his lips hummed a soft tune.
Time passed by without notice because when the bell rang, signaling the end of class, the two peculiar boys were startled. Jongin was the first to stand of the two. He pulled his black bag over his shoulder then shoved his hands into his pockets while making his way to the door. Startled, Kyungsoo reaches into his bag and scurries after Jongin, only to bump into his back. Jongin turned to see Kyungsoo rubbing his nose, and then nervously bowing while mumbling an apology. Jongin raised an eyebrow until he noticed a schedule in Kyungsoo’s small trembling hands. He quickly looked through it, and for some reason unknown to him, he memorized it as well.
“Follow.”
Kyungsoo didn't need to be told twice as he quickly followed Jongin’s long strides through the crowded hallway. He attempted to make small talk about how big this school was compared to his other school. Jongin never responded but gave a slight nod to let the other know he was at least paying attention. Kyungsoo never minded the silence. He was just happy with the fact that someone for once was listening to him. They saw that all eyes were on them but chose to ignore it. This was something that they both would have to get used to. Once the two reached their destination, Kyungsoo’s fourth period Art class, the shorter of the two bowed for the third time that day.
“Thank you, hyung.”
The taller raised an amused eyebrow and, Kyungsoo noticed the small twitch at the corner of his lips.
“You’re the hyung, hyung.”
Jongin watched Kyungsoo’s eyes grow wider, if possible, and his cheeks flushed a dark red. Kyungsoo turned away, embarrassed then coughed out a small, “Thank you, dongsaeng.”
“Jongin is fine.”
Before they both had a chance to realize what Jongin had said, he was already walking off towards his History class. With flushed cheeks, Kyungsoo watched until Jongin’s back was no longer in sight.
Kim Jongin, who are you?
On the opposite side of the hall, Jongin’s head swam with questions of why he had dropped his guard after so many years of building his indestructible wall. Well, what he believed to be indestructible.
Do Kyungsoo, who are you?
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