“What makes him so ing special?”

    "Who does that kid think he is?"

    "Why is Kai even wasting his time on that punk?"

    Those were just some of the things Jongin overheard a few days after the fight in the staircase had occurred. He was getting pretty sick of all the people had to say. He was also getting sick of Kyungsoo not defending himself. All the smaller boy did was lower his head and endure it. Not too long ago, while Jongin was looking out the window, pondering deeply, out of the corner of his eye he saw the boy that sat behind Kyungsoo kick his chair. Kyungsoo was shoved roughly against the desk and had the wind knocked out of him, but he did nothing to stop it from happening a second time. That's why when Jongin saw that bastard lift his leg to kick at Kyungsoo's chair again, he lost it.

    After coming back from being suspended, Jongin aimlessly wandered the empty halls. His feet led him to the gym where Kyungsoo was currently having class. Jongin caught a glimpse of Kyungsoo in his uniform from the hallway window. He was far behind the rest of the group and struggling to keep up with the intense pace they set, eventually tripping over his own feet clumsily. Jongin shook his head and started on his way down the hall until he saw something that stirred up an unknown feeling in him. Jongin faced the window completely to watch Kyungsoo being helped up by a curly headed boy. The smile Kyungsoo gave the giant after being helped make Jongin's heart feel heavy. Jongin couldn’t place these feelings, but he knew he didn’t like it.

    He didn’t want others touching Do Kyungsoo. His Do Kyungsoo.

    During lunch, Jongin watched Kyungsoo water the small plants along the windowsill of the classroom in silence. Kyungsoo hummed a lovely melody to a small stem of green while he gently patted a small grown leaf with his index finger. Jongin noted silently that the smaller had a love for nature. He would always sing happily while tending to the plants. 

    “Who was the red head?”

    Jongin couldn’t stop himself from asking. He had to know who this guy that made Kyungsoo smile so brightly was. It bothered him but, he had no idea why. “Red hea… oh you mean Chanyeol hyung?” Kyungsoo set the small duck shaped watering can to the side and walked over to sit beside Jongin with a small smile. “He’s really nice. We have history together and our classes do warm-ups together in gym. Why do you ask?”

    “No reason.”

~*~*~

    As the next couple of weeks passed, Jongin couldn’t help but notice that Kyungsoo was spending more and more time with the certain red head that he didn’t exactly approve of. At first, Kyungsoo would miss out on lunch with Jongin every so often, but then it escalated to several days in a row. It didn’t go unnoticed, not one bit. It was to the point where Jongin purposely avoided Kyungsoo during the day. Moving to another seat when Kyungsoo sat next to him, or even ducking in a crowd of people when he saw the smaller approach him.  

    “Why have you been avoiding me?”

    “You’re being stupid.”

    Kyungsoo watched Jongin throw his things into his bag and proceed to leave the classroom. Panicked, Kyungsoo reached out and grabbed the sleeve of Jongin’s hoodie. Jongin, being stronger, easily released himself from Kyungsoo's grip, leaving him there shell-shocked. He's really leaving me. Jongin stormed out into the rain. The sound of the falling water assisted him in clearing his jumbled mind. It was the only sound that he welcomed to his ears. "Jongin-ah! Jongin-ah, wait! Please come back!" Kyungsoo's voice brought him out of his trance. Jongin wanted to so badly turn around and make things better, but he couldn't stand the idea of getting hurt by Kyungsoo. Let him go. He’s only going to walk all over you. Sure, he’s innocent now, but what will happen when he gets tired of you? You’re nothing interesting, nothing special or worth anyone's time. 

    “Jongin-ah! Please!" At this point Kyungsoo had caught up to Jongin and grabbed his sleeve again. His eyes were wet and glistening, but Jongin couldn't tell if it was just the heavy rain or actual tears. "Don’t touch me." 

    Kyungsoo could feel his heart sinking. His chest becoming heavy as his breathing became even more labored. “Please.” Don’t leave me. Everyone leaves me. “I can’t.”

    “Why?”

    “I won’t let myself get hurt again.”

    The silence grew thick. Only the sound of rain pouring down around them filled the atmosphere. Jongin squeezed his eyes shut and tried once more to lose himself to the pitter-patter of the rain's sorrowful song against the ground. He wanted nothing more than to dissolve in the rain right at that very moment. He had just dug a hole for himself and it was too deep to climb out alone. “I won’t hurt you.” There he was, holding out a warm hand full of promises, extending it towards Jongin.  

    “You can't make that promise.”

    Jongin shoved away Kyungsoo’s hand and ran to the only sanctuary he had in the school. Don’t listen to the lies. Everyone leaves and everyone hurts you. Appa said he was going to be fine. The one person you trusted most lied straight to your face. He knew he was sick, he knew he had such little time left, yet he got your hopes up! Jongin found himself in the abandoned dance studio. He flicked on the lights and was greeted by the mirrors that lined the walls. Everywhere he looked he could see his drenched pathetic reflection. It was as if the mirrors were mocking him. Mocking how pitiful he was. Mocking his very existence. 

    “Get the f-“

    “I won’t let you go!”

    “Shh, I’ve got you now. Please stop this."

    Jongin let himself relax under Kyungsoo’s touch and suddenly his knees gave way. They both fell to the floor but Kyungsoo never let go. Kyungsoo sat against the broken mirror and cradled Jongin's head into his chest, where the younger boy listened to the gentle thrums of his heartbeat. He gently Jongin's hair until he completely relaxed under his touch. Jongin’s mind was muddled with questions and doubts, but he locked them in the recess of his mind behind a door. He could still hear them clawing at the thin wood.

    Silence filled the room as Kyungsoo skillfully removed the tiny glass shard from Jongin's hand. The whole time Kyungsoo treated him, Jongin just stared at him with concealed amazement. Even though the boy was soaked, Jongin could still manage to identify the tear stains on others cheeks. When he looked closer, he could see that the rain had washed away some of the makeup on Kyungsoo's face. He could see purple bruises peeking out from behind the concealer. They traveled from his temple, past his eye and down to his jaw, probably further down, but his long-sleeved turtleneck shielded his body well. 

    Once Kyungsoo finished removing the last of the glass, he placed small butterfly stitches on the deeper cuts on Jongin's hand. "How did you get so good at this?" Kyungsoo never lifted his eyes from his work. A forlorn smile spread across his lips. 

    "Practice."

    Practice? The simple answer clearly had an underlying meaning. But before Jongin could comment on it, Kyungsoo applied the last of the bandages and stood up. He extended his hands towards Jongin. 

    “Come on. I want to take you somewhere with me.”