Zelo woke up Monday morning, feeling somewhat fresher than usual. He looked beside him, half expecting someone to be there but then remembered he came back home alone. He groaned and sat up, looking at his clock. School would start in an hour. Zelo pushed himself up and changed out of his pjs into his uniform. “God damn it stupid tie!” He cursed and fumbled with it. After he gave up, he slapped on everything else and went downstairs, “Morning Omma, morning Appa.”

His father waved and smiled at his son, “Morning Junhong. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes Appa. When did you guys get home? I didn’t hear you.” He asked his parents and sat down across his father. Well, the last sentence was not a lie.

His mother answered, “Oh. We got home at around ten and suspected you had gone to sleep because your lights were off. We were trying to be quiet so you could get your sleep.” He nodded as his mother set down his breakfast.

“I still don’t understand how you can eat that Junhong.” Zelo’s father pointed to his odd western breakfast of eggs, toast and bacon. Zelo grinned and offered his dad a piece of bacon, “No thank you Junhong.”

“Aw come on Appa. It’s good.”

“Nope~!” He sang and drank his coffee, smiling, “Must be some odd genetics you have from back a little.”

Zelo paused and smiled, nodding, “Maybe so Appa.” He stood, “I should get going. I wanna meet up with a friend from school.”

“Ooh? One of the guys meeting up with you?” His mother asked. Zelo stopped and bit his lip.

“Uh…no. It’s a girl.” He smiled a little at the thought of her.

“What?!” His father scoffed, “I don’t believe it!”

“Wow thanks Appa.” Zelo said sarcastically, “No. I’m not joking. It’s a girl, she asked if I wanted to walk with her to school and I said yes.” Took a while too He thought. She had asked him when the leaders were talking and everyone else wasn’t paying attention. He thought about it, then, deciding that Junhong was always a welcoming person, agreed.

His father clapped, “That’s my boy! I raised him!”

His mom laughed, “Have a good day at school, Junhong.”

“Will do Omma!” He called and shut the door. Sighing, he started walking and waited beside the edge of the road where Jilin said she’d meet him. “Aish, where is that girl?” He mumbled and checked his phone. Scrolling through the contacts, he stopped at her number. He clicked on it quickly and looked through their texts.

Meet me at the bus station down the block from your house @ 7:10~Jilin

Was it a sin to smile at her text? To feel warmth in his chest at the thought of her? No, of course not. Not to him anyway… “Yah! Junhong!” He looked up and smiled even wider, shoving his phone in his pocket and waved.

“Hey, Ji.” She bounced forward; wearing the school issued shirt and blue tie, but kept on a slim pair of jeans. Her small black backpack suddenly looked bigger, as if bulging. She didn’t wear any hat or hoodie or even rings, but a simple green jade bracelet on her wrist and white converse. He looked at her and then back up at her eyes and said, “You’ve toned it down. A lot, even wearing some school stuff.” Zelo flicked the tie and continued up the road. She walked side-by-side with him and smiled.

“Well, if I want to be a good student, I’m gonna try to look like it, but with my own twist. Like it?” Zelo took a longer look and nodded.

“Though, you’re regular fashion is really cool too. I think I like it better than this.”

She shrugged and held the backpack at her shoulder, “Really? Well, don’t worry; this’ll be only for school nowadays.” Jilin pulled her sleeves up to her elbows and smiled.

“Your smile is really nice, Ji.”

“You’ve told me that so many times, Junhong.” She gently shook her head and laughed, “Really, it’s not that great is it?”

He nodded, “It is.” Was his simple response. They continued walking together in silence, and Zelo noticed they were already nearing the school gate.

“You know, if you don’t want to mess with your image, I can always come in later.” She said, knowing this was probably hard for the teen beside her to agree to. He bit his lip and shook his head.

“No.” He said, “No, it’s ok. I’ve always been nice to new students. Considering, you’re still one; I don’t think it’d be completely out of context.” Knowing he’d be receiving criticism from his friends and peers and possibly his parents during the day, he still walked through the open gates with Jilin by his side. Her arm came in contact with his and he couldn’t help but smiling himself. Stares pierced into his back, but he continued up the steps with her firmly at his side. “I’m really sorry, Jilin.” He suddenly felt guilty for driving her into this, even if it was her request.

“Why? You know better than anyone that I really don’t care about what people say about me.” She rested a hand on her hip and smiled, “I’m different and do you think that I don’t know that?”

He shrugged and continued walking to class, hearing her follow beside him, “Of course I believe that. But high school is…brutal.”

She scoffed, “Junhong, I’m in a gang, I’ve kicked thousands of asses ever since I could walk. I think I know brutal when I see it.”

“But high school is worse. You’ve been through everything except high school and-I’m afraid it could be too much.” He pushed open the door for her and sat down in his usual seat, gesturing for the seat in front of him. “Sit here today.” His voice echoed in the empty room.

“But doesn’t your friend…uh, Minhyun sit here usually?”

“Seriously, sit here. I insist.” He tapped the chair and she sat down as he continued talking, “You know high school girls are-“

“Real es?” She nodded and smirked, “Junhong, you know how I live. I’ve dealt with it all. High school is the least of my problems.”

He raised a brow, “But you’ve never been through high school.”

She shrugged, “I don’t need to, this is my experience from now on. Trust me; I don’t care about people annoying me. You’ve got your ‘good boy’ image though, worry about yourself.” Her hand touched his and he smiled, making her look at him questioningly.

“But I don’t like putting me before others. I always care about someone else. That just happens to be-you…” He cleared his throat, his face becoming warmer than usual.

She whispered, “Is that why you couldn’t just tell your parents about the SAK? Even after a year?”

“Of course. I put their needs before mine. They mean everything to me.” He replied, his lips and noticing her nose twitch.

She brushed the tip of her nose and asked him, “Why?”

Zelo looked up at her and leaned in, their faces mere inches apart as he said, “I’m gonna tell you something…that I haven’t told anyone yet. Now, this you can’t say anything about. Just like how I’m living double lives. Ok?”

She scoffed, “You act like I can’t keep secrets, Junhong. What’s wrong?”

He sighed and scratched his nape, looking at the door to see if anyone was coming in. Then he told her, “I’m adopted. And they took me in when I was five. I knew everything about my old parents, about my old family. They just couldn’t take of me-or they didn’t want to. My parents put me up for adoption when I was four. Appa saw me when he and Omma were on vacation in Mokpo and they took me in. I didn’t tell anyone I was adopted because…I don’t know. I felt embarrassed.”

He stopped for a moment and closed his eyes, remembering very vaguely his parents, the people he used to call his mother and father. He had an older brother, whom he thought he was close to as a child, but apparently was wrong. Zelo was a trouble maker, he used to love soccer, but now he’s changed. Had his new parents raised him wrongly? No, they should’ve been his parents in the first place. Zelo was polite-well more so than back when he was a kid-he loved music. But he just didn’t know what to do with his life. “Hey, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” She whispered, touching his hand with hers, “Lots of kids are adopted nowadays, Junhong. It’s common, nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“Everyone thinks I’ve come from such a perfect family. They say I’m lucky that my parents have brought me into the world… But I had to leave my biological parents to be so lucky for this. I owe them everything, they’ve raised me for eleven years, given me everything I’ve wanted, made friends by their consent… How can I tell them I’m part of the gang that they forbid me to be near?” Zelo felt his nose sting and his vision go blurry, so he ducked his head into his arms and took deep breaths, “Oh my god…”

She tousled his hair, gently creating patterns through his scalp, “Don’t cry. Be strong.”

“I don’t know how long I can keep going on, Jilin. I’m so tired of hiding.” In the darkness of his arms, he felt a tear slip his eyes and hit the desk, “I can’t do it anymore.”

He heard her shift in her seat and lean closer, whispering by his ear, “Have faith in yourself, Junhong. Really, it helps a lot. You’re not the only one who has your life-“

“Yes I am.” He said as gently as he could, “I can’t be like you. I’m not strong, I’m not tough, I’m not determined and I don’t have support…”

She sighed, “Junhong, you are all of those things. You’re strong, you’re tough, you’re determined and…your parents may not know what you’re doing on Sunday nights, but you always have me there for you.” Jilin got up from her seat and leaned down over him, “Look at me.” He shifted his gaze, his eyes slightly red. She smiled and said, “We’re friends. You can trust me…because I trust you.”

He nodded stiffly, pulling his head up and forcing himself to get rid of any hints of his tears, “Thanks Ji.” He chuckled, “I haven’t cried in so long.”

She laid a hand on her hip and shrugged, “We’ll make a new record, I’ll help you.” He noticed the curve in her body as she leaned on his desk more and bent down to kiss his cheek. It felt like hours, but she pulled away after a second or two and said, “You can always trust me.” He nodded again. Jilin sat back down, the bell ringing loudly. Just as others started coming in, their voices fell as their eyes glued to the ‘good boy’ smiling at the ‘dangerous girl’ who sat in front of him.

Maru and Changjo came in before the other two and Changjo’s mouth dropped in shock, “Junhong-!” He covered his mouth, realizing his voice was a lot louder than he intended. Junhong only looked up and waved, his smile still plastered on his face, then he went back to sitting close to Jilin. Changjo rushed forward with Maru behind him and glared at Jilin, “What the Hell is she sitting in Minhyun’s seat?!”

Before Zelo could open his mouth, Jilin smiled sweetly up at him, “There’s not a lot you can do with a desk,” She gestured to herself, “as you can see, I’m sitting.”

Changjo slapped his hand on the desk and continued his glare at her, “Yes. I can see that, but what I want to know is why you’re sitting here.”

Zelo rose his hand a little, “I asked her to.”

“You what?” Maru asked, shocked.

“Yea. Look guys,” He stood and huddled his two friends away, “she’s new, so I wanted to be nice and invited her to walk to school with me and sit by me today. She’s not so bad as everyone says. She’s pretty cool.”

Changjo groaned, “Junhong. Your record-I must say-is as clean as the rain that falls to the ground. Hanging with Woo Jilin will kill it-taint it forever! I’ll get rid of her for you-!” He started to run for her but Zelo grabbed their arms.

“Yah! Stop! Look, I’m just being nice, and she’s not a bad person…” It wasn’t a lie. She was possibly now one of his best friends. Or…his only best friend now. “You guys should just give her a chance.”

“No, I’m not hanging around that dangerous beast.” Changjo grumbled and pouted, crossing his arms.

“Fine. But I am.” He shook his head while walking back to his seat and said, “Sorry Jilin. My friends aren’t the nicest people.”

“It’s cool. At least someone is.” She smiled at him. The teacher came in just as Minhyun and Sungjae stumbled forward.

“Wha-?! Yah! Where am I supposed to sit now?!” Minhyun complained. Their teacher yelled at him to sit down somewhere else and to not disrupt the class. “But Jilin is in my seat!”

“I don’t see your name on it.” She snapped, “You don’t own this seat.”

Minhyun’s face was flushed, “I-“

“Minhyun, just sit down.” Zelo said. The angry teen turned towards him. Zelo nodded, “Really. It’s a seat. It’s not a big deal. Just go sit in the back or something.”

Their teacher smiled, “Thank you Junhong. You heard him, Minhyun.” Shocked, Minhyun turned back and sat down in a random seat.

-----

The bell rung, signaling the first break. Jilin turned around to talk to Zelo when the teacher tapped her shoulder, “Miss Woo?”

She looked up, “Yes sir?”

“I just received word from your brother. He wishes to have you home immediately.” Jilin wrinkled her brows.

“Why? Is something wrong?”

He nodded, “He stressed that it was urgent you come home.” On instinct, Zelo’s phone rang as he left. Jilin looked at him and gestured to it.

“Who’s that?” She whispered.

He checked and wrinkled his brows, “It’s…It’s your brother. I didn’t even know he had my number.”

“What’s it say?” She asked curiously, leaning to look.

Zelo recited it, “Find Jilin. Make sure she’s safe. Something happened, and she seems rather attached to you. Please watch after her.” He looked up and hissed back, “Something bad must’ve happened. Let’s go.”

“I’ll go first, you come a little later. It’d look suspicious if we left at the same time, right?” She smiled and pulled on her backpack, “I’ll wait outside the front gate. Come out in five minutes, or when break ends.” Waving, she walked out briskly. Zelo watched her from the window, making sure she was safe so far. She stood outside the gate, pretending to take a call.

“Yah, Junhong, you’re joking with this whole thing right?” Sungjae asked, sitting down in the seat in front of him, “If I didn’t know better, you’re flirting it up with that chick.”

“Am not!” Zelo insisted, “I’m just trying to make her comfortable.”

“She’s a monster.” Minhyun growled, pointing at her from the window, “She’s dangerous, oh my god. If she gets agitated-“

Zelo groaned, “You guys are acting like she’s a ‘thing’. She’s a person, and she should be treated like that. Oh my god, what if someone treated you like a thing and treated you badly?”

“Well, I don’t like looking at things like that. We’re just nothing like her. We’d never risk anything like that. Every teen’s dream is to just fit in, and, it’s a fact.” Changjo said, patting his back.

Zelo scoffed, “No, it’s not. I don’t care about fitting in.”

“But to you, you’re just a person who has it naturally.” Maru said.

He sighed and looked out the window and widened his eyes-Jilin was gone. He stood up, grabbing his stuff, “I gotta go. Something came up. I’ll see you later.” He left the room, not even telling his teacher, but screw it. His shoes squeaked against the floor as he ran and burst through the door, calling out her name, “Jilin! Jilin! Where are you?! Jilin?!” He frustratingly pulled at his hair and looked all directions for her. She just disappeared. “How the Hell is this possible?! JILIN?” In the distance, he heard her scream. That made him make a break for it. “Jilin?!”

“Zelo!” He ran faster at the familiar voice and started panting, “Zelo! RUN!” He slowed for a brief second and then continued running. Why would she be telling him to run? Faster? “Zelo! Stay away!!” He stopped. Looking around, he wondered what was going on. She screamed again. His heart was pounding and he started back up again, ditching his backpack in a bush and losing his tie along with it. His shirt collar puffed along with his chest. He silently wished he had packed a separate pair of clothes like Jilin. Zelo stopped at a crossway and looked side-to-side; he spotted an alley not far to his left and ran for it. Perhaps she was trapped here.

He walked forward and heard a slam, metal over skin, “God damn it, Jilin. I thought you said there were no rule-breakers.” The voice was male, oddly melodic.

She coughed and growled, “There aren’t any rule-breakers in the SAK.”

“What a lie! You and that other Maknae attend school. We saw you.” Another voice spoke, a bit higher than the first, “You should’ve known we knew, after sending that warning with Youngjae and Jongup. Or are you just stupid?” Zelo clenched his fists. These people had beaten up his Hyungs. How many of them were there? He needed something to take them down.

“You know calling for him won’t do anything.” The first voice had said, mockingly. “I’m already sending some people out to get him. Only a couple though, need to have enough to keep you in line. Yah, go.” Zelo frantically looked around as more footsteps came in his direction. He looked up and jumped to the fire escape. Two came running. One with short light brown hair and a blue jacket, the other with yellowish gold hair and black jacket. Both were pale and holding knives in their hands. Something fell out of the second one’s pocket. Zelo held onto the bars as he lowered himself down. He was weaponless and he wasn’t amazing at hand-to-hand combat.

She spoke up again, “Oh please. Those two could never go against Zelo and win.”

“You have confidence in that little twerp?” A different voice spoke, deeper than both, “He’s never gonna know what hit him.”

There was a slap noise, but he doubted that she was the one inflicted, “Zelo is tougher than you think. Those two will never be a match for him.”

“You wanna bet?” Zelo looked for something, anything to fight with and suddenly remembered what that young man had dropped. He looked down and picked up a knife.

It was small and thin, but the tip was sharp. “This’ll do.” He decided and took a deep breath. Zelo ducked his head down and walked by, kicking a rock and looking around innocently. He hoped to get their attention. This is exactly what had happened.

“Y-Yah!” Zelo jerked around and lunged, stabbing the first one he could lay his hands on. This male’s cheeks were hollowed a bit, narrow face and dark hair to match the shocked eyes. His thin lips parted in a small gasp as the weapon broke skin through his stomach. Someone else ripped Zelo off of him but he managed to flip back and drive the knife into his arm. Zelo looked at this one; his eyebrows were big, dark eyes and black hair, pale skin as white as his teeth. Or maybe it was the sun. He let out a yell and Zelo was again ripped away, the knife out of his grasp.

This one looked very angry-no duh. His small eyes narrowed, teeth bared, brown hair on end. Somehow, he looked like Daesung, but Zelo could also see that he was nothing like the smiling angel. “I knew we should’ve killed you both when we had the chance.”

“Get off him!” Jilin crashed into the male and sent him to the ground, hurrying up and grabbing Zelo, “Let’s go!” With her backpack over one shoulder, Zelo followed her back where they came from and he grabbed his backpack. He barely had time to pull it on before they returned to their frantic run.