Sojin's POV

 

Mom sat in the living room, going through some papers. I softly knocked on the door and she looked up immediatly. Our relationship was still stiff, but she was still making an effort. I opened my mouth, leaving it hangning for a moment while I tried to get my words together.

 

"I just wanted... Can you do me a favor?" I asked, and shifted awkwardly between my two feet.

 

"What is it about?" she asked. 

 

"I have to visit Minhyuk", I said.

 

It was silent for a couple of minutes while she stared at me. I bit my lip and crossed my arms.

 

"Why?" she asked.

 

"Because he needs me", I answered simply. 

 

It hadn't been what I'd planned on saying, but it sounded so right when I did. Mom pulled her brows together and leaned back in her chair.

 

"You can't just go because of some boy. What about school? And who is going to pay for the trip?" she asked.

 

"My grades are fine and the only thing you have to do is call me in sick. Dad said he would pay for everything I needed, right?" I said, my heart racing away.

 

She sighed and shook her head. "I can't see what good this will do you. There's no good reason for you to just take off."

 

I felt how my patience was running thin. Was she going to act like a responsible parent now?

 

"I only need one day. One friday. And then I'd be home by sunday evening. You can't deny me this. Not after everything that's happened", I said quietly. 

 

She just looked at me for a moment before she sighed again. 

 

"You definitely know how to play your cards."

 

The corners of my mouth turned upwards. I had won.

 

Minhyuk's POV

 

It was a shame the lockers weren't bigger. If they were, I could've hidden inside them and waited for lunch break to be over.  But they were too small, so the best I could do was stick my head inside and pretend I was looking for something. 

 

They hadn't hit me. Yet. But they did nothing to hide the loathing they felt for me. Looks or snorts followed me everytime I walked by. The first couple of days had been fine, since I'd been too worried about Sojin to actually notice. But once I was completely sure she was okay, I begun to notice how disliked I was. And without a reason. So I didn't even try to approach anyone, knowing that I'd get nothing back. 

 

"Hey, new kid", someone called behind me.

 

I flinched and stood completely still, hoping they were talking to someone else. Of course, that wasn't the case. A rough hand gripped my shoulder and spun me around, so I was standing face to face with another student. He reminded me of Kyunwoo. They had the same threatful posture and angry eyes, and I swallowed. Was this where everything went downhill?

 

"Are you ignoring me?" the Kyunwoo clone asked.

 

"No", I answered blankly, avoiding eye-contact.

 

"I think you are", he said, his grip of my shoulder tightening. I had to bite my tounge to not show any sign of pain. "And I don't like being ignored."

 

"I'm not ignoring you", I said monotonously.

 

He gave me a degrading look and backed me up against the locker. It became horribly clear to me that no one else except his friends behind him was in sight and that they could do what they wanted without interruption. He grabbed my collar and came even closer.

 

"Listen here, you little-"

 

"Hey!"

 

That voice sounded like an angel in my ears. Kyunwoo's twin snapped his head to the side and glared at whoever it was that dared to disturb him. I turned my head slowly and it took me a few moments to actually understand what it was I looked at. With clenched fists, messy hair, red cheeks and an intensity in her eyes I'd never seen before, Sojin stood in the middle of the hall. 

 

"Sojin?" I whispered in disbelief.

 

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked angrily.

 

The guy who had me pressed against the locker looked at his friends and then back at Sojin, before he started laughing.

 

"Who the hell are you?" he asked.

 

"Someone who will get your busted if you don't back away from him this instant", she spat through her teeth.

 

I was both amazed and horrified. Exactly how and when she'd arrived, I didn't know. I wasn't even sure that it was really her. 

 

"Oh yeah? How?" the Kyunwoo clone asked, mostly amused by her.

 

"Trust me, I have my ways. But if you need it more specifically, I got three students expelled not long ago", she retorted calmly. "And I'm guessing your principal won't accept this kind of behaviour either."

 

I forced myself to look at the boy in front of me, to see him struggle. The little he had inside his head seemed to work in full speed. I looked back at Sojin, who breathed heavily. 

 

"Whatever", Kyunwoo's clone snorted.

 

He released his grip of my shirt with one last dirty look, before he took off with his companions. My legs gave up under me from the sudden removal of support, but a couple of soft arms catched me before I fell to the floor. Sojin helped me regain my balance, and then I threw my arms around her with no hesitation and held her tightly.

 

"What are you doing here?" I asked breathlessly.

 

To my surprise, she forced me away. I looked down at her with shock, and she glared back up at me.

 

"You are such an idiot!" she said and hit me on the chest with her fist for every word she spoke, using a little more force in the last word.

 

"Oww", I whined and tried to take her hand, but she backed away.

 

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked. "Has it been like this the whole time?"

 

I sighed and let my arms drop to my sides. She looked absolutely furious, and it was the first time I'd ever seen her so upset.

 

"Sojin..."

 

"No. I did not come all the way over here to hear some kind of excuse", she cut me off. "So please tell me, has it been like this the whole time?"

 

"What, right here? Now?" I asked and looked around in the empty hallway.

 

"Yes. Here. Now", she answered calmly.

 

We looked at each other for a moment, and I felt warmth bubble everywhere in my body. She was actually there, right in front of me. I averted my eyes to the floor and took a deep breath, before I looked straight into her eyes.

 

"No. It hasn't been like this the whole time, this was the first time something physical happened", I said truthfully.

 

"Don't you have any friends?" she asked.

 

"No. Not exactly", I answered and frowned slightly.

 

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, softer and calmer than before. 

 

"Because I didn't want to worry you. You already have enough on your mind", I said and gave her a pleading look.

 

Her eyes looked thoroughly at my face before twitched upwards in a tiny smile. She shook her head and blew some hair out of her face.

 

"Idiot", she mumbled and wrapped her arms around my waist.

 

I wrapped my own arms around her and buried my face in her hair. It smelled like home.