Who cares if he is at the bottom of the social ladder? Who cares if he is living in solitude everyday? Who cares if he suffers from bullying?

“Move it, loser.”

Zelo gets shoved to one side as one of his classmates, a tall boy, taller than he is and stronger than he is, pushes him to get out of the door first. Zelo stares as the taller boy looks down at him and exits the classroom nonchalantly. Watching the arrogant classmate leave, Zelo picks up his dropped iPod and fixes his earpiece back into it before standing to leave again. The rest of his classmates only gave a glance to him as he got jostled as if it was a mundane thing.

Zelo pays no attention to the harsh treatment and goes downstairs, making his way through the central plaza to the school field. The central plaza is where they have their morning assembly and it is also where they had their orientation celebration on the last day of the first week of school. Zelo sighs as he thought of the fun times he had before things turned to this… Zelo stuffs his iPod into his pocket and goes down a flight of stairs made from stone bricks to get to his favourite tree at the side of the field—the tree where he sat under on the day he met Yongguk. Zelo likes the stone stairs too because they are the only ones in school and its unique. He touches the rough tree bark, feeling it caress his hand before sitting down, cross-legged in its shade. Zelo takes out his iPod, puts on his earpiece as he picks a random song.

There’s a one-hour break now and during breaks, this place is Zelo’s best shelter. The trees won’t look down on him or push him around, instead, Zelo thinks they are the kindest ones. They wouldn’t even get angry when you sit in their shade, all they do is ruffle their leaves like they are laughing. Leaning against its trunk, Zelo looks up at the tree’s leaves, sunshine seeping through them. A breeze comes by and sweeps up the fallen leaves, ruffling the trees as well. The crisp sounds of the leaves and the swaying trees calm Zelo down. He feels healed from today’s battering.

Gazing across the green field, almost shimmering in the afternoon sun, he sees nobody on the grass, playing soccer. Zelo’s shoulders slump a little as he was expecting to see that one person there, the one with the bright smile that shows his gums. Disappointed, Zelo lets his gaze wander. Yesterday he said maybe they’ll see each other the next day but today, Zelo’s neck was growing long on the train, searching for that familiar figure but that figure never appeared on the way to school. Feeling a little upset being unable to see his best happy medicine on a rough day of school, Zelo’s lips tug downward a little at the ends.

‘Please, let me see him today!’ Zelo prays to the sky and sighs.

Just then, something caught his eye in his peripheral vision which made him jump a bit. A body lying flat in the grass under a nearby tree? Zelo removes one of his earpiece and slowly stands up to look at the motionless body with its limbs spread out wide. Zelo knows of one person that sleeps like this, in a scary way like he is dead.

Zelo takes slow steps towards the person sleeping soundly, silently hoping very hard that it would be whom he wish it would be. And to his delight, it is “Yongguk!” whispers Zelo to himself excitedly. He squats down beside Yongguk, admiring Yongguk’s features with a child-like smile on his face like he found candy. He shuffles a little as his legs got numb from squatting for a while, engrossed in watching Yongguk. Yongguk stirs in his sleep and stretches his limbs while making a rumbling sound coming from his chest. Zelo giggles quietly as he looks at Yongguk dreamily waking up from his slumber.

“Holy sh—You scared me!” Yongguk pushes himself up on his elbows as he notices Zelo squatting beside him quietly. Zelo smiles at Yongguk who slowly sits up with his arms resting on his thighs, legs spread out. “What’re you doing here?” Yongguk’s baritone voice is even lower when he just wakes up, Zelo thinks.

“I was just over there... At the other tree.” Zelo replies and he notices a football under Yongguk’s tree.

“Why are you always waking me up…” Yongguk sighs.

Zelo, afraid that Yongguk is upset, quickly apologises, “I’m sorry!”

Yongguk smiles at Zelo’s panicking voice and glances at him from the side of his eye, reassuring Zelo, “Nah, I was just joking.”

Zelo smiles back at Yongguk and they fell silent for a moment as Yongguk tries to get himself out of sleep mode. “Hey, you want to play soccer?” Yongguk points to the football at the foot of the tree behind him with his thumb, smiling to Zelo.

“Uh, o-okay.”

>>>>>>>> 

“Man, Zelo-ah! You need to practice more!” Yongguk shouts from afar, the sleepiness all gone as he chases after the ball Zelo just kicked out of line. “Sorry!” Zelo chases after the ball with Yongguk in his sweat-soaked shirt. They both played in their uniforms, shirt and long pants but neither of them cared if their pants were dirty or their shirts wet and stinking from perspiration.

Both of the boys collapse on the ground when they got the ball, too tired to continue anymore. Most of their energy went into laughing because Zelo was playing really