Rivalry
Pinky-PromisesJaehwan wasn't in the best mood during the bus ride to school. Taekwoon was obviously worried, but he didn't ask any questions. It was mostly carried over from the day before. The cause of Jaehwan's bad mood was the annoying Cha Hakyeon. Jaehwan already hated Hakyeon. He hated how somebody had the nerve to try and take Taekwoon from him. Jaehwan hated how he had to worry about whether or not Taekwoon was safe around Hakyeon when he wasn't there. Jaehwan was certain that Hakyeon was going to take advantage of Taekwoon and humiliate him.
When Taekwoon and Jaehwan got off the bus, they were stopped by a girly shriek calling out Jaehwan's name. Both boys turned and saw Jinsu running over to them. She stopped a few feet away from them, fixed her hair, and approached Jaehwan.
"Jaehwan, how are you? I haven't seen you since last year!" Jinsu squealed, and Jaehwan wanted nothing more than to run away.
"I-I'm great. It's a shame that we don't have any classes together..." Jaehwan trailed off and looked to Taekwoon for help.
Taekwoon remained silent, and Jaehwan honestly wished to be arguing with Hakyeon instead of talking with Jinsu. Of all things, why did he have to be stopped by Jinsu?
"I was really hoping that we'd get at least one class together. I miss hearing your annoying laugh." Jinsu smiled, and Jaehwan noticed Taekwoon shift slightly.
Jaehwan wasn't oblivious. He didn't miss how Jinsu described his laugh as annoying. Honestly, he didn't mind it. After being rejected, Jaehwan got used to hearing Jinsu call him annoying. Even though Jinsu constantly called him annoying, he still liked her.
Taekwoon, however, hated Jinsu with every fiber of his being. He never liked her. Even before Jaehwan came up to him and told him of his crush, Taekwoon hated Jinsu. Jaehwan's rejection just gave him even more reason to hate the girl. Anyone that was mean to Jaehwan was someone to be hated.
After some more conversation with Jinsu, Jaehwan and Taekwoon managed to escape to homeroom. As expected, Jaehwan and Hakyeon argued the second they laid eyes on each other. Their argument was short-lived, however, since Hakyeon tripped and slammed his face into a desk, causing his nose to bleed. Jaehwan couldn't understand how someone was so clumsy. Much to Jaehwan's dismay, Taekwoon was asked to Hakyeon to the clinic. Jaehwan's mood was just getting worse.
The bell rang for first period, and Jaehwan slowly walked to the chorus room. Once he got there, he plopped down on his chair and ignored the class. It was ten minutes into the class when Taekwoon and Hakyeon made their appearance. Taekwoon immediately went to Jaehwan and sat down, but Hakyeon allowed the girls to swarm around him as they shrieked about his injury.
Jaehwan didn't mind the shrieking. He was used to hearing shrieks because he used to throw sand at girls during recess just to bother them. Taekwoon never approved of the behavior, of course, but Jaehwan did it anyway. The shrieks weren't annoying. It was what the shrieks were for that annoyed Jaehwan to no end. The girls were acting as if Hakyeon had broken his limbs, not like he had gotten a bloody nose. Honestly, Hakyeon's nose had obviously stopped bleeding.
The teacher called for attention, and they were given music. As they warmed up and began learning the pieces, Jaehwan's eye twitched whenever Hakyeon's voice stood out. Jaehwan loved chorus. Well, more specifically, he loved singing. It was just hard for him to enjoy it when Hakyeon was close by. Jaehwan couldn't concentrate when he knew that they were breathing the same air. Luckily, Jaehwan sang well enough during the class period.
The bell rang for second, and Jaehwan and Taekwoon walked together. Their classes were in the same hall, so they didn't have to separate just yet. Taekwoon talked about what had happened in the clinic in short sentences, and Jaehwan laughed at Taekwoon's facial expressions. His laughs earned him a glare, but he ignored it.
When they reached Taekwoon's class, they parted ways with a brief goodbye. They weren't girls. They weren't going to cry about how much they were going to miss each other or how boring their classes were going to be without each other.
Jaehwan entered his classroom and was tackled by a body as soon as he made it two steps in.
"Help me! That weirdo is trying to kill me!" A boy that Jaehwan recalled to be Wonshik looked back at an approaching figure.
"I can't believe you had the nerve to touch my face! I am a priceless piece of art that is not to be touched!" The approaching boy, who Jaehwan remembered to be Hongbin, stopped right in front of Jaehwan and glared at Wonshik.
"I was just trying to help you! You had something stuck on your face."
Jaehwan watched as Hongbin's anger disappeared from his face and was replaced with a smile. Hongbin walked around Jaehwan, grabbed Wonshik's hand, and shook it politely.
"Well, if that's the case, thanks a bunch. I'm Hongbin by the way. I don't think we talked yesterday. We basically sit on other sides of the room." Hongbin then turned to Jaehwan. "I'm sorry if we bothered you. What's your name again?"
"I'm Jaehwan. I sit like right behind you."
"I'm Wonshik. Sorry for using you as a shield." Wonshik joined the conversation and turned to Hongbin. "I won't touch your face again if you're gonna react like that. I'll just tell you if you have something on your face next time."
There conversation ended there due to the teacher's entrance, and the class quickly sat in their seats. It was math class, so nobody was looking forward to the day's work. However, the teacher had other plans.
"I'm aware that most of you already don't like me since I gave you a test right away. However, I will allow all of you the opportunity to get to know each other. Today, and today only." The teacher walked to his desk and sat down, which signaled the end of what he had to say.
Hongbin quickly turned in his seat to face Jaehwan and offered him a bright smile. Jaehwan returned the smile, and Wonshik came to join them. They ended up comparing their schedules and talking about their teachers and the people in their classes. Turns out, Hongbin and Jaehwan also had fourth period together. Wonshik and Jaehwan didn't share any more classes.
"I can't believe you argued with that guy about where someone else was going to sit. What was the point of that?" Hongbin stared at Jaehwan curiously.
"Taekwoon, the one we were fighting over, has been my best friend for six years. We do everything together. This year, we don't have a lot of the same classes, but we sit next to each other in all the classes we have together. That idiot Hakyeon was trying to move Taekwoon's desk closer to his. Hakyeon thinks that Taekwoon's his best friend now. They only met two days ago." Jaehwan grumbled his explanation to Hongbin.
"You made him slam into the desk."
"He deserved it!"
"You're so childish."
"Says the one that made a big deal out of his face being touched..."
"Do you want to die?"
"No, I'm good."
"Good."
Third period came along, and Jaehwan was upset. Hakyeon was in his class, and there was no Taekwoon. Hakyeon was actually tolerable when Taekwoon wasn't around. The weirdo was asking for it when he was all over Taekwoon.
"Hey, duck-face." Jaehwan rolled his eyes at the name.
"What do you want?" Jaehwan couldn't help the bite that came with the question.
"Geez, calm down. I'm only here as a delivery man."
"What?"
Jaehwan watched as Hakyeon reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. He smoothed it out against the edge of Jaehwan's desk and handed it over.
"Some girl wanted me to give this to you. She said she saw us talking and figured I could be the one to give it to you. I think she said her name was Junhee."
"I don't know a Junhee."
"Well she's either a secret admirer, which I don't understand, or I misheard her. I don't really care. Here's your note. Now, bu-bye." Hakyeon sashayed to his seat, and Jaehwan made a face.
Jaehwan unfolded the note and recognized the handwriting immediately. He slowly read the note and felt both dread and excitement when he finished reading it.
Jaehwan,
Me and my friends will be sitting with Taekwoon and you at lunch.
Ok? Kthxbye.
~Jinsususoo~
P.S. Don't do anything weird or stupid around my friends.
P.P.S. Tell that tan friend of yours that I think he's hot.
P.P.P.S. Kthxbye.
"So, what the note say?" Hakyeon popped out of nowhere and looked over Jaehwan's shoulder at the note.
"None of your business." Jaehwan decided that Hakyeon didn't need anything to boost his ego.
It was time for fourth period, and Jaehwan was anxious. Fourth period was lunch period, and Jaehwan wasn't sure if he wanted to see Jinsu. When Jaehwan caught sight of Taekwoon, he tackled the latter while wailing. Naturally, Taekwoon shoved him off without a second though.
"Mr. Jung! No physical contact is allowed!" The teacher screeched at Taekwoon, and he frowned.
Jaehwan gave Taekwoon an apologetic look, and Taekwoon rolled his eyes at him. Jaehwan pouted. The last thing he needed was an angry Taekwoon. If Jinsu was going to be sitting with them at lunch, he needed Taekwoon to be not angry with him.
Before Jaehwan could explain anything, Hakyeon came in and announced his presence.
"Hello everyone! I've arrived! Taekwoonie, where are you?" All the girls giggled, and Taekwoon and Jaehwan frowned simultaneously.
"Stop calling him Taekwoonie! You make it seem like you guys are in a relationship." Jaehwan made a face at the thought.
"Hey, if you can't call him a nickname like that, you're not as close as you say you are."
And from there, the boys argued until the teacher called for order. As the lesson proceeded, Hakyeon and Jaehwan sent each other glares. Taekwoon acted as a buffer so that physical harm would not come to either of them, but he let out an audible sigh whenever they turned to look at each other. Occasionally, Jaehwan and Hongbin made faces at each other, but Jaehwan mostly glared at Hakyeon.
Soon enough, the bell for lunch rang, and the class filed out. Jaehwan caught Taekwoon's arm and was going to explain the lunch situation, but a female voice interrupted him.
"Jaehwan! There you are! My friends and I didn't know which table to sit at, so we waited." Jinsu smiled at Jaehwan and Taekwoon, and they saw two girls behind her do the same.
"Oh...yeah...it's the table by the windows..." Jaehwan trailed off and felt two eyes burning into the back of his head.
"Alright! We'll go sit and wait."
As the three girls walked away, the two boys heard one of them say, "The taller one was hot."
Jaehwan slowly turned to Taekwoon and smiled sheepishly.
"No." Taekwoon began walking in the other direction, and Jaehwan panicked.
"Look, I know that you don't like her, but I couldn't do anything about it! Jaehwan held onto Taekwoon's arm in desperation.
"Tell her no."
"I can't, and you know that."
"You can."
"Taekwoon, she just invited herself and her friends to our table. I know you're not happy about it, but she didn't leave room for argument. I don't want her at the table, but I do. I can't tell her no. I don't want to, but I do. I just-." Jaehwan sighed. "Fine. If you really don't want her there, I'll tell her to leave."
Taekwoon watched as Jaehwan walked dejectedly to the table, and he felt guilty. He caught up to him and sighed a quiet agreement. Jaehwan's eyes lit up, but unhappiness was still present in them. They went to get their lunch, and they joined the three girls at the table.
The entire duration of lunch was filled with irritating giggles and questions that were mostly aimed at Taekwoon. Jinsu's two friends were obviously flirting with Taekwoon, but it was hard to tell with Jinsu. She just seemed normal toward both of them.
Eventually, lunch ended, and the boys were more than relieved. They parted ways for their next class, but Taekwoon was clearly worried about Jaehwan. Naturally, he didn't say anything. Jaehwan went to his next class unhappy.
Nothing happened in fifth period. Taekwoon wasn't in class with him, and Hakyeon wasn't either. The class period was slow, quiet, and uneventful. It was an environment that was more suited to Taekwoon, not Jaehwan. Jaehwan finalized his decision of hating his fifth period class.
Sixth period was not a time to celebrate. Jaehwan was happy that it was the last class of the day, yes, but sixth period was the class where Jaehwan could compete against Hakyeon without any consequences. It was a time of proving himself. It was a time where he could show everyone that he was better than Hakyeon.
Today, they were going to play dodgeball. Jaehwan hated dodgeball, but he was fairly good at it. Taekwoon was a monster when it came to dodgeball. Jaehwan was pretty sure dodgeball was the way Taekwoon let out all the anger he kept hidden inside. Jaehwan was thinking logically, of course. Everyone that ever played against Taekwoon in dodgeball ended up with multiple bruises and sometimes a bloody nose.
The team captains were chosen, and everyone was split into two teams. Jaehwan and Taekwoon were on the same team, and Hakyeon was on the opposing team. Jaehwan was given a great opportunity. The game started, and the balls were flying in every direction. The girls, unsurprisingly, were screaming left and right. What was surprising, however, was the point of origin of the loudest scream of all.
Jaehwan watched as Hakyeon scampered around the court while screaming. Whenever a ball came his way, Hakyeon ran away from it. It was amusing, but it was also annoying. A ball was thrown at Hakyeon, and it almost hit his face. Jaehwan felt a slight bit of fear as Hakyeon held the ball that he barely caught and glared at the person who threw it. The anger that was on his face was like the anger on Hongbin's earlier that day, but at the same time, it was much worse.
"You dare aim for my face!? You will regret that decision! You will suffer!" Hakyeon let out a shriek and heaved the ball at the offender.
Everyone stopped and stared as the ball hit the offender right where it hurts. There was silence. Everyone stared as the ball rolled on the ground, and the offender collapsed to his knees. Everyone quickly covered their ears just in time for the scream. The offender knelt on the ground, holding his privates, and screamed his heart out from the pain.
Everyone turned to Hakyeon and witnessed the victorious smirk that was spread across his face. When the offender stopped screaming, Hakyeon walked over to him and smiled.
"That'll teach you to aim for my face again." Hakyeon pat the boy on the shoulder and walked back to his team's side. "What? Aren't we gonna keep playing?"
Everyone hurriedly picked up the balls they had dropped and resumed the game. Jaehwan decided that beating Hakyeon could wait a day. At this point, Jaehwan and Taekwoon both suspected Hakyeon of secretly being a girl. A scary, powerful girl.
During the bus ride home, there was a lot of gossip about what happened during the game of dodgeball. The girls were fawning over the thought of Hakyeon, but the guys were obviously scared. Taekwoon was silent, as usual, but Jaehwan was uncharacteristically so. Jaehwan wasn't so sure that he wanted to prove himself to Hakyeon. He was afraid it would cost him his life.
A/N: HELLO MY LOVELIES~~~!!! It has been quite a while. I'M SUUUUUUUUUUUUUPER SORRY ABOUT THAT BY THE WAY. I'm not even going to use any excuses. Just...throw tomatoes at me through the internet because I'm a bad author...
Also, I did not do a separate chapter on the Voodoo MV because an explanation on my feels would take approximately three years for me to type and ten years for you to read. I'm sparing you. Just know that my thoughts and feels are equivalent to 1,000 nuclear explosions on Pluto. Why Pluto? Because Pluto is small, and my feels are big.
The song is amazing, and the video is amazing. I also drooled over the fact that Leo was pierced and chained(?) up. Don't judge me.
Leo was perfection. He was SO AMAZING AND- *slaps self in face before I can go into fangirl mode*
I'm just sorry I kept you guys waiting for so long. T^T
SHOUT OUT TO MY SUBSCRIBERS THAT I DID NOT GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO LAST TIME BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T SUBSCRIBED AT THE TIME.
I LOVE YOU ALL~! Including my other subbies. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you~~~!
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