"They're here!"

"Aish..."

"Keep your voices down!"

"He's right, you don't know what they can do to you once they hear you!"

"Just keep quiet!"

"Try avoiding eye contact with them!"

As the five boys walked the corridor, everyone had their eyes avoiding them, some even had their backs turned. Only Soomin, Taemin and Key were the once looking straight at them, seemingly not intimidated . They just stood there, not moving. Soomin obviously scowled as her hands curled up into a fist.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't our favorite trio." Baekho mocked as he gave of a smirk. "The naggy diva, the baby, and Mr. Girly Boy."

"Yah, Baekho, take it easy with them." Aron chuckled. "These kids might tell you to their moms!"

Baekho, Aron and Minhyun chuckled upon hearing their mocks about the three. Soomin sent glares at them, and if looks could kill, they might have been dead anytime now. Taemin tried to keep his anger while Key looked like he wanted to murder them. Annoyance was seen in their eyes. Minhyun noticed this and smirked, grabbing Soomin by her cheek.

"Yah, what's with that look, eh?" Minhyun asked, his voice mocking him. "Do you wanna cry already?"

"Get your filthy hands off me." Soomin said as she swatted Minhyun's hand away, making the other members glare at her.

"You've got the guts, eh?" Baekho smirked as he grabbed Soomin by her blazer, making Key and Taemin gasp a bit. He raised his fist, preparing to punch her anytime now, that was until Ren stepped in.

"Yah, yah, Baekho, take it easy." he smirked as he patted Baekho's back. The other looked at him and released his grip on Soomin, making her nearly loose balance but thanks to Taemin who caught her, she didn't. She sent glares at Baekho, then to Ren. "We don't want to take things quick now, do we? Let's play with them a bit more." Ren said as he chuckled softly.

"You sicken me!" Soomin cried as she curled her fists. Among Nu'est, Ren was the member she hated the most for some reason. Maybe because he was too full of himself, even claiming that he is prettier than girls. Sure, Ren did look like a girl and is the school's number one flower boy, but just because he's got the looks doesn't mean he can treat others low. The way he acted pisses Soomin so much that she wanted to lay a punch on him right now. Of course, she had to keep it in since she didn't want any fights early in the morning. She simply sent her death glares at the girly looking boy.

"Mind repeating that?" Ren asked as he returned a glare at her. Despite his girly looks, Ren is actually pretty manly. In fact, he was the one who made Soomin take note never to judge others by their outer looks.  She even heard rumors that Ren actually had a fight before with some other gangs by himself, and he defeated them within a minute, single handedly! It amazed her, but that didn't changed the way she saw Ren. 

"I said you sicken me!" Soomin replied, her voice raised.

"Why you-!" Baekho cried as he was about to charge at Soomin, but was quickly held back by Aron and Minhyun.

"Yah, Baekho, chill, dude!" Aron reminded. "You don't want disobeying Ren's orders now, do you?"

"But you heard what he said!" Baekho insisted. "Nobody can insult a Nu'est member just like that!"

"Even so, chill..."

While the two tried to calm Baekho down, Ren and Soomin exchanged glares. Key finally stepped in and pulled Soomin to his side. "Yah, it's early in the morning, don't start a fight." Key exclaimed, crossing his arms like a diva, which he obviously is. His brow was slightly raised too.

"Psh, don't get in our way, stupid diva." Ren snickered as he looked at Key.

"Stupid?! That's it, mister, Soomin-ah, beat him to your heart's content!" Key cried as he looked at Soomin, pointed at Ren. Soomin remained quiet and just patted Key's shoulder, trying to calm him down.

"Aish, calm down, hyung." Soomin sighed as she looked at Key's eyes. Her eyes seemed to talk, making Key regain his manners and back off a bit. Taemin, meanwhile, was about to burst anytime now. One more word from Nu'est and he'll blow! 

"I'm impressed by the patience you've got, Choi Soomin." Ren chuckled as he looked at Key. "That guy's right, we shouldn't cause a ruckus early in the morning. We'll continue this later."

"Whether we settle this now or later, the results are already sure." Soomin smirked. "It's better you leave us alone, Nu'est."

"You little-!" Baekho snapped as he finally got off Minhyun and Aron's grip and pushed Soomin, making her fall flat. Taemin snapped as well and charged Baekho, landing a punch on his face. Baekho gained a split on his lip and quickly bled. The impact Taemin gave was so strong that it even shocked Key. This side of Taemin rarely comes out!

"Taemin!" Key cried as he tried to stop him. His eyes were full of anger at them, especially because one of them pushed his best friend down. It angered him a lot.

"You dare push Soomin again and that's not all that you'd get!" Taemin threatened. Seeing the emotion in his eyes made Ren back off a bit, but later on, smirk and laughed mockingly again at them. 

"Ren, hajima." JR commanded, his voice cold and demanding. Ren quickly obeyed and stepped back, acting as if he was an innocent little kitten. He quickly stood beside Nu'est's leader, JR. The five then went to their classes, bumping the three by choice, and even giving off a mocking laugh at them.

"Aish... that damn Nu'est boys." Key scowled as he clicked his tongue. "Soomin, are you okay? Did that bastard push you too hard?"

"I'm okay, don't worry." Soomin smiled. 

"Are you hurt?" Taemin worriedly asked as he offered his hand.

"Nae, please don't worry about me too much." Soomin giggled as she took Taemin's hand and stood up. 

"You know how caring we are for you!" Key pouted. "Anyways, let's go to class or else the teachers are going to give us punishment!"

"Nae."

==============================================================================================

Hours passed and lunch break came. Soomin, Taemin and Key took their lunch together as usual. Having three good looking guys walking the corridor grabbed lots of attention. Having a bright-faced Taemin, a diva Key, and an ulzzang Soomin, every student had their eyes on them. Being an all boys school, looking up to a fellow boy or even admiring them isn't weird at all, but for Soomin, it is. Showing brotherly romance to one another made her feel awkward, good thing the persons she was closest too didn't have this...

"Soomin-ah~" Taemin called out cutely as he poked Soomin's arm.

"Mwo?" Soomin asked as she glared at him.

"Banana milk please~"

"Aish..." Soomin hissed as she grabbed a bottle of banana milk from her bag and handed it to Taemin. "Here..."

"Gomawo~!" Taemin giggled as he hugged Soomin tightly.

"Aish, get off!" Soomin struggled as she playfully swatted Taemin's arms. Key just watched the two play, a smile curling up his face.

"Aigoo, you two are really close, aren't you?" Key giggled as he watched the two play.

"Aniyo, hyung!" Soomin cried as she tried preventing Taemin from hugging her any longer. "Taemin here just won't stop hugging me! And I'm not that in into skinship, arraseo?!"

"Eh, waeyo?" Taemin pouted.

"Yah! Please remember what exactly I am. Take note of that." Soomin answered.

"Eh, we've known each other since we were kids, of course I'll be close to you!" 

"Even still, Key-hyung's the same, and so is Sulli! They were never this close to me!" 

"Soominnie's right in some ways, Taeminnie." Key laughed as he ruffled Taemin's blonde hair. "Aigoo..."

"I can't help it, me and Soomin are the closest!" Taemin defended. Soomin and Key just sighed before bursting into laughter.

Their laughter didn't last long as Nu'est approached them from no where. Reading their eyes, Soomin, Taemin and Key can sense that these five are up to something not good. Add the fact that these two teams collided earlier that morning, and they caused some ruckus! "Well, well, look who we came across with again." Minhyun smirked.

"What do you want?" Taemin glared.

"Oh, don't be rude, boy, remember this morning?" Baekho reminded as he showed Taemin the still visible wound he inflicted on him lately. Taemin just showed an emotionless face before chuckling softly.

"Yah, what are you laughing at?" Aron asked as he kicked Taemin, causing him to fall.

"Hajima!" Key blurted as he pushed Aron away. 

"You don't push us like that!" Ren cried as he pushed Key away, causing him to fall beside Taemin. Soomin jolted and grabbed Ren by his blazer, glaring at him angrily. 

"How dare you push my hyung like that?!" Soomin hissed. Ren seemed not to be intimidated at all. The two exchanged death glares. 

"How dare that damn hyung of yours push Baekho?!" Ren hissed back.

"Just because you are the school's most popular group and everyone respects you doesn't mean we'll see you the same way, so get off!"

"Hah, so now you've got the guts to fight us, eh, Choi Soomin?!"

"So what if I have? Eversince, I've really found you five disgusting!"

"What did you just call us?"

"Dis. Gus. Ting!"

"Why you-!"

"REN!" JR cried as he crossed his arms. Ren quickly looked at JR, who was scowling at him, seemingly saying not to punch Soomin. Ren looked at JR, wanting to get his permission to hit the other, but of course, he denied his request.

"But... JR..." Ren faltered.

"No." JR said, raising his voice this time. Ren sighed as he lowered his fist. Soomin quickly loosened her grip from Ren's blazer as she continued to beam at the five.

"You're lucky that our leader's in a good mood today!" Baekho cried. "Next time, you three are really gonna get it!"

"Just you wait and see." Minhyun said as Nu'est walked away from them. Seeing that the five had vanished later on, Soomin quickly turned to the fallen Key and Taemin and helped them stand up. Her once fiery glare changed into a somewhat worry-filled emotion. She softened as she saw her closest friends fallen.

"Are you two okay? Hyung? Taemin?" she worriedly asked as she offered a hand to the two.

"We're okay, don't worry." Key smiled as he took Soomin's hand and stood up. Taemin, meanwhile, refused to grab Soomin's hand and remained still, making her and Key wonder.

"Taemin?" Soomin called out as she knelt beside the teen.

"Nu'est is really testing us..." Taemin mumbled as his hands curled up into a fist. "They're annoying... they sicken me!"

"Yah, calm down." Key said as he patted the younger's back.

"Why do they like picking up on us? Is it because we're the only ones who dare to face them?" Taemin asked.

"Seems like that's the only reason." Soomin sighed as she dusted Taemin's blazer. "Well, more likely that you two were just dragged here, I know that those bastards are only interested on me, but seeing that you two are close to me, they bullied you too."

"Aish, if only they knew who you are!" Taemin sighed.

"It's better that they don't." she smiled. "Besides, I can handle them."

"Correction, we can handle them." Key chuckled.

"Heh, right..." Soomin nodded as she laughed along.

==============================================================================================

Dismissal finally came. Taemin, Soomin and Key walked out of the building and were planning on picking Sulli up from her school. By luck, there were no signs of Nu'est. Soomin thought that they had grew cowardly after their clash lately, much to her relief. 

Since Sulli's school was nearby, the three got there in no time. "Sulli-ah~!" Key called out as he waved his hand.

"Oh? Taeminnie! Soomin! Key-oppa!" Sulli called out as she waved her hand back as she ran towards them, hugging Soomin the moment she saw her.

"Yah, yah, yah!" Soomin cried in shock as Sulli wrapped her arms around her. "Yah, I'm still in boy's uniform, people might think I'm some boyfriend of yours!"

"Why so? You're a girl!"

"Yes I am, but my physical look is that of a male's so please, hands off." 

"Key-oppa, is Soomin in a bad mood again?" Sulli asked.

"She's not." Key smiled.

Sulli joined the three on walking home. They had planned on stopping by at Soomin's place after school and have some bonding moments again, since for the past days, they were too busy with school. Suddenly, Taemin's phone rang, making the three stop and wait for him to finish reading the message he received.

"Aigoo, sorry guys, I guess I won't be able to join you." Taemin frowned as he looked at them. "Umma told me to buy some things for her and go straight home."

"Aw, that's disappointing now, isn't it?" Sulli sighed. 

"I'll join you guys some other times, is that okay?"

"Sure." Soomin smiled. "Your mom's errands are more important anyway. See you some other time then!"

"Sure, bye!"

"Bye!"

==============================================================================================

6:48 p.m.

Taemin had finally finished buying everything his mother asked and was heading home. Since his residence is somewhere at the end of a dim alley, he never walks alone and has Key to accompany him. Too bad that he's alone this time, he has to face his fears.

"Aish, I really should've asked Key-hyung to keep me company!" Taemin mumbled as he slowly walked the alley. He was too anxious about his surrounding, looking here and there now and then. He felt that someone was following him but when he turns around, there was no one. Chills were running up and down his spine.

And it got worse after he heard footsteps.

"It's okay Taemin, keep calm! You're a man, Lee Taemin, be brave! Be brave!" he continuously chanted as he walked faster. His heart raced as the footsteps got closer. Finally, he decided to turn around and face who ever was behind him. 

He really didn't expect that a shadow was behind him. He wanted to scream and run but he can't. Fear took over him and he was frozen still. "Well, well, who do we have here?" a familiar voice chuckled.

"Aigoo, a little child wandering at night? That's a no-no." another said as another figure came out of the darkness.

"Too bad it's you who we bumped to." another sighed.

"And since you're the only one here, you're the one who's going to pay." the last voice said, but this time, laughing.

"W-who are you?!" Taemin cried as he backed off. To his surprise, he bumped against something... or someone. He can't actually make it up on who were they, put he had the idea. In a split second, something hard hit his head, causing him to fall down. He noticed his vision slowly getting blurry.

"We pity you... such a beautiful face is going to be destroyed." the voices chuckled. Taemin was helpless and felt himself black out, but for a split second, a faint light revealed on who the people were.

And those people were just who he had expected...