The taste of blood on his lip was bitter, but it was overlooked by the throbbing pain in his left cheek. Vision getting blurry, he could barely see the four boys that surrounded him. He was left with only sound, and all he could hear were the sneers and cackles coming from his attackers. They grew louder as the one who he assumed to be the oldest hit him across the face once more. Sehun could hear the boy’s knuckles crack as he made contact, giving him chills. His legs gave way and he landed on the hard concrete. With the impact, his pants ripped and a scrape was exposed on his left knee. These boys would always attack him verbally, but they had never actually caused physical harm. It was the first and Sehun hoped, but knew not likely, to be the last. Often would he hear comments such as “disgusting” and that he was “a mistake”. They would all tell him that he should have never been born and no one cared for him. Even though he had to go through this every day, he would take it all. Not letting it get to him, he would continue on as if it were nothing.

“Why do these guys feel the need to cause me pain? I too am a human being no different from them. Is it really that wrong to be gay?”

He was cut off from his train of thought as the four boys all began to kick him, giving him multiple bruises all across his entire body. With each affliction he wished someone would come and help him; to help him escape from the pain. But who in all of South Korea would bother coming to help out a gay boy? They would rather join in with his attackers than to help someone who they see as a disgrace to their country. Sehun was just going to wait until they exhausted themselves because it would only get worse if he were to fight back. Having made up his mind on accepting the beating, he gritted his teeth and tried to think of other things to distract himself. The only thing that came to mind however was how he was going to explain the purple marks on his body to his mother.

“Falling down the concrete stairs to our house would probably suffice but then she would suggest taking me to the hospital and I can’t let her do that. Besides, the one that hit me across the face is the son of the man who owns the place. What if I –“

“Four against one; does that really seem fair?” Sehun was interrupted mid thought by an unknown passerby. The four boys put a halt to their aggression in order to see who the stranger was that had caught them. Standing in front of the five was a boy that looked slightly younger, wearing the same uniform they had on for their high school. “I would say that you are cowards,” the boy continued, “Do you feel proud of yourselves for ganging up on someone who is not even fighting back?”

“Keep on walking; this has nothing to do with you,” The oldest replied. His voice grew louder as his short temper was already close to its limit. It was because of this short temper that he was known around the school as “Mad Dog”; only his friends bothered to call him by his actual name. However, the boy was unfazed by the threatening tone and took a few steps towards the group.

Sehun couldn’t believe someone was standing up for him and that he was actually being helped. He had never seen the boy before, but it was still possible he knew he preferred men over women. But why would he help him if that were the case? The confused Sehun just stared, bewildered, into the eyes of his defender as he took two more steps forward; contemplating why someone, who possibly knew about him, would help him out.

"I said keep walking." Mad dog was not pleased that the boy kept approaching despite his words; it was as though the boy's actions were meant to mock the four and he was definitely not going to have that. He was the son of one of the richest men in the town and was as spoiled as they come. If he were to put someone on the brink of death or even kill them, he knew he could more or less get away with it. Of course it would be with the help of his father because he himself had no power. "This has nothing to do with you, so get your nose out of our business and leave before you regret trying to play hero," Mad Dog sneered, but the boy just continued walking towards them until he was only a few feet away.

"Why would I leave right when it is just about to get fun?" He laughed and looked down into the eyes of the person who was staring holes in him which caused Sehun to blush a rosy pink out of embarrassment. With a crooked smile he glanced up to the four and in the blink of an eye, Mad Dog was on the ground underneath the boy with raised fists. Sehun couldn’t believe how fast he moved, it seemed almost inhuman-like he had done this many times before in the past. He could have sworn he was in front of him just a moment ago, but there he was right beside him on top of the confused Mad Dog. Even his three friends were in such shock of what had just occurred that they didn’t even bother to help out their friend on the ground. They just stared blankly at the two of them, having not yet processed the situation.

“I can get away now; I can really get out of here in one piece.”

Sehun took the opportunity given to him to stand up on his feet. The cut on his knee burned as he stood up, but at least he was able to get away with fewer injuries than he would have before. He was happy that someone, a boy he had never seen before, came to help him; maybe not everyone was so bad after all. Before that day, he could only trust his family, who accepted him with open arms, but maybe there were others as well. Of course, only if he does not regret helping him once he finds out he is gay. The chances of that happening were high to Sehun only because he was so used to rejection that it came naturally overtime.

“If he doesn’t find out then it is alright… I just won’t tell him. I would really love someone other than my family to talk to.”

“Get off of me!” Mad Dog struggled to get out from under the boy but was hit in the face as a response. His friends finally stopped staring and realized they should help as he was being hit once more but as soon as they approached, the boy turned his attention to the three; stopping them in their footsteps. He quickly got off of Mad Dog and hit the one on the left before doing the same to the other two. Even Sehun, who was watching from the sidelines, started shaking, “Just who are you?” he said under his breath. All sorts of questions flooded Sehun’s mind as he stared at his defender beating the three that had attacked him.

Authors Note: This is not the full chapter, I am debating on finishing it, so if it gets good feedback I will continue with it. Leave a comment with what you think or subscribe