“Partner up,” the science teacher told his students as he entered the laboratory. “We’ll be conducting an experiment on making soaps.”

The girls started grabbing their friends by the arm, giggling in anticipation while the boys nudged each other and talked like they didn’t care a bit about the experiment.

Junhong looked around him. Almost everyone had their own partner. The ones without partners would look at him but then change their minds and decide to stick with each other when they were reminded of Junhong’s position in the class.

He was the toy. 

The toy for the three bullies to play with. Who would want to talk to him unless they wanted to turn into toys themselves?

No one would risk themselves and Junhong understood them completely, albeit the pain he felt inside.

The teacher proceeded to the experiment without checking whether his students had found their partners. Junhong had to strain his ears to listen to what the teacher was talking about. He spoke in a rapid tone which Junhong found irritating but when Junhong looked around at the students, they would nod understandingly, jotting down important notes.

Junhong swore he would rather stand in the rain alone instead of standing there, in the laboratory listening to the teacher babbling about the experiment. The more words came out from the teacher’s mouth the harder it was for Junhong to concentrate. It seemed like the teacher was talking in a foreign language.

When the teacher had done explaining about the experiment, the students started moving, grabbing the apparatus from the side tables and setting them up on their own tables.

Junhong stood still, not knowing what to do.

Just then someone placed a set of apparatus on his table. Junhong looked up to meet the person’s eyes.

It was Jongup.

Jongup gave him a friendly smile and nodded.

“You can watch and follow. My table’s behind yours.” He told Junhong before he went back to his table, joining his partner to start the experiment.

Junhong stared at the apparatus and back at Jongup. He bit his lips, contemplating whether he should thank him but he knew he was too shy to do that and he wouldn’t want the bullies to see him talking to him for he was afraid that they would start bullying him too.

With a silent thank you coming out of his lips, Junhong watched Jongup and his partner conduct the experiment. Then he followed them.

The experiment ended successfully.

♦

“Orphan!” Aron greeted Junhong the moment he and his friends entered the classroom.

They’d just finished P.E and the other students were still in the changing room. Junhong had decided to change his clothes earlier to avoid coming across the bullies but it turned out that he was wrong.

Misfortune seemed to be fond of Junhong.

“So how about playing together after school?” Baekho slung his arm around Junhong’s shoulders, his face in a mocking manner.

Junhong avoided eye contact and stayed silent as usual. He didn’t want to cause trouble. Well, not that he could anyway.

They were always the ones who caused trouble.

“What’s this?” JR snatched Junhong’s backpack and fished out a photo.

Junhong gasped in response. He tried retrieving the photo but was pushed aside by Baekho.

“Who’s this? Your father?” JR asked; his eyebrows furrowed. He’d never focused on something before. He was always asleep during study session.

“No, this man looks too young to be his father.” Baekho shook his head.

“Is this your brother, retard?” Aron asked Junhong, staring at the photo with a smirk on his face.

Junhong didn’t answer. Instead, he reached out his hand to snatch the photo away but was once again, got shoved to the floor by Baekho.

Baekho was starting to get on his nerves. Junhong clenched his teeth and got up from the floor, glaring at the three bullies.

“What? Are you mad?” Aron raised a brow. Then he held the photo in the air and said, “If you want it back, you have to drop on your knees and beg.”

Junhong balled his hands into tight fists.

“You know, glaring like a retard won’t change anything,” Baekho scoffed.

“Maybe I should burn this photo,” Aron took out a lighter from the pocket of his pants and held it closer to the photo.

Junhong took a step forward, his eyes widened in surprise. Aron laughed at him, enjoying every second of Junhong’s fear.

“On your knees, orphan,” JR demanded.

The lighter lit up.

Then Aron brought the fire to the photo.

At that moment, Junhong decided to toss his promise with Yongguk outside the window and lunged towards Aron, sending him to the floor.

He started throwing punches to his face, all the while yelling at him furiously.

The other two quickly grabbed him by the arm and pinned him to the ground.

“I didn’t know you can fight,” Aron laughed, his eyes darker than ever. He was enjoying it. Junhong didn’t understand why he was acting like that. “Well, too bad you’re not that good.”

Aron sent him a bone crushing kick to his ribs. Junhong doubled over, gasping for air. The pain was almost unbearable. He bit his lips and curled himself into a ball, closing his eyes as they started beating him up. He had grabbed the photo when he lunged at Aron earlier.

Luckily the photo didn’t get burnt or else Junhong would’ve lost his mind.

He held onto the photo as if his life depended on it, trying to ignore the pain that was shooting all over his body.

Yongguk hyung, where are you? Please take me away from here.

“Yaa, we should stop,” JR told Aron before he could give Junhong another painful kick. “The teacher would come soon. I’m not gonna risk getting detention. I have a date tonight.”

“Yeah, I hate detention anyway,” Baekho sighed.

“We can always play again after school,” Aron muttered and started laughing as he and his friends walked out of the class, not to forget shoving a junior out of their way.

As if on cue, the other students started filling in the classroom, chatting and joking with their friends, oblivious to the bruises on Junhong’s face.

Junhong sat down at his desk and winced in pain when he touched his cheek. He regretted for not fighting with all his strength. He should’ve strangled Aron to death, he thought.

If only those two weren’t there to stop him.

Before Junhong could rest his head on the desk, a box of banana milk appeared before his sight. He stared at it confusedly before he looked at the person who’d given it to him.

“Thought you would be thirsty,” Jongup gave him a hesitant smile as he sat across from him.

Junhong creased his forehead, looking at the boy in total confusion.

“They beat you up again, didn’t they?” Jongup said it in a low voice. Junhong didn’t answer him because he knew Jongup knew. “I’m a coward.”

Junhong blinked at the sudden statement. Jongup met his eyes and gave him another hesitant smile.

“I want to be friends with you,” he said, earning another confused look from Junhong. “It’s not fair that they treat you like a piece of trash. I wanted to help you when I saw them beating you up but I’m not that brave enough since I’m not a good fighter. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t talk to me,” Junhong said it in a faint whisper.

Jongup looked up from his lap and stared at Junhong in shock, his jaw slack. It was his first time hearing his voice.

“But you don’t have friends,” Jongup stated after recovering from his shock.

“I don’t want to be pitied.”

“I’m not becoming your friend out of pity,” Jongup slammed his fist on the table, causing Junhong to flinch in response. Junhong blinked and stared at him in disbelief. “I just wanna…be your friend okay? Why would you prefer to be alone anyway? You can’t enjoy life without anyone by your side. Well, that turned out cheesy.”

Jongup scratched his neck, embarrassed all of the sudden.

Junhong stared at him for a moment but then he covered his mouth with his palm. Jongup knew what he was doing so he started laughing.

“Yaa, why would you try to hide it?” Jongup chuckled.

Junhong removed his palm from his mouth and shifted uncomfortably in his seat but then he ended up doing it again.

For the first time after Yongguk’s death, Junhong smiled.