It's a few seconds before Tao hears the door slam from the floor above, and his smile widens just a bit. He chuckles to himself. They've left him alone in this house full of valuables? What kind of family is this?

With the other boy's school bag still in hand, he heads to his room, conveniently placed across the hall from the young master's. He closes the door quietly behind him. He has a call to make.

Sehun hears the door click gently across the hall. And he just knows it's him. Who else could it be? He sighs and musses his hair. Of all places his parents had to put him, he's just a few meters away? It feels ridiculous and frivolous. There's absolutely no need to give someone like him a bodyguard. He's perfectly safe from secret societies and mythical conspiracies. He's just a high school boy for God's sake!

" it." He mutters under his breath as he slides down the wall to sit on the floor. He clutches his head in his hands, feeling a headache coming. A sharp pain behind his temple starts throbbing and he rubs it with his forefinger. 

He skips dinner that night, despite having not eaten breakfast in the morning. Hunger isn't a problem compared to the current predicament he's suddenly found himself in. Later that evening, he storms into Tao's room and grabs his bag back, without even glancing at the other boy, casually reading on his bed. The gears are clicking in his mind. He has a person to get rid of. And he would do anything.

The next morning, Tao wakes up to a noisy commotion. Or rather, noisy to him. He was trained to sense the slightest noises, the least noticeable movements. It sounds like muffled thumps. He hurries up and leaves his room a mess to find out the situation. 

What he discovers is an irritable Sehun in the kitchen, opening and closing the fridge door and then furiously rubbing the nape of his neck. He mutters a "dammit" and walks away, oblivious to the confused Tao standing in the doorway. Sehun's hair is a complete wreck of blond strands sticking up here and there and he's walking around in his pajamas still. 

"Um, is there a problem, sir?" Tao decides to ask when Sehun starts to bang his head against the wall. Tao feels slightly amused at his choice of words, not ever thinking that he'd have to call someone younger than him "sir" in his lifetime. He pushes away the slight bubble of laughter rising up to focus. He starts to wonder if the young master has gone insane.

Sehun looks up and glares at him. "Nothing. Go away."

Tao chuckles at the rough treatment from the other boy, but despite that, he follows him as he walks into the hallway. "Are you not going to eat breakfast?"

Sehun turns around to face him, frustration prominent in his expression. "No. I'm not. Now go away." He scowls.

"I can't." Tao replies, folding his arms around his chest.

"And why the hell is that?" Sehun asks, feeling distressed as he throws his arms in the air. 

"I'm required to go to school with you." Tao walks away, leaving Sehun feeling even more irritated than before. 

"Why?" He screams in a whisper, as he runs his fingers through his hair incessantly.

A half an hour later, both boys are in their school uniforms and heading out the door. Mr. Kim is waiting, as usual, by the car and he greets Sehun with "good morning" and a smile. 

Sehun is grateful for his driver acting like he normally did, even though there's the obvious presence of the somewhat-stranger beside him. "Good morning, Mr. Kim. Are we picking up Jongin today?" 

Before the older man can respond, the window rolls down and a cheery Jongin waves at him. "Mornin' Sehuna-" But he stops before he can finish his sentence and stares at Tao. "Uh, Tao, right? What...what're you doing here?" He raises an eyebrow in suspicion at Sehun and the younger boy mouths to him, I'll tell you later. He nods and sticks his hand out the window. Tao shakes it firmly and they exchange short introductions.

Mr. Kim seems aware of the situation and calmly opens the door for the two of them. They climb in, Sehun forced to sit beside both boys in the middle of the backseat. He'd much rather have the window seat, to be able to lose himself deep in thought at the sight of streets passing by. But unfortunately, that is not what happens and he begrudgingly tries to find comfort in being squished between his best friend and now-bodyguard. He finds himself missing the comfort of having the seat to himself on those days Jongin would bike to school by himself, back in those days without this Huang Zi Tao which, he remembers, was just yesterday. He unknowingly sighs out loud and Jongin gives him a questioning look.

When they arrive, he practically flees the vehicle, happy to be free of that one misery. Even the boring atmosphere of the classroom would be a wonderful distraction to him, him feeling the way he is. He takes extremely long strides towards the school building, practically stretching his legs as far as they would go, trailing ahead of both the other boys. Jongin runs to catch up and asks him, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"He's my bodyguard."

"What?" Jongin almost stops in his tracks (but can't because he knows the other boy wouldn't even hesitate to leave him far behind).

"I said," Sehun repeats. "He's my in bodyguard." His expression remains hard and he presses his lips together at the sound of the word escaping his own lips.

"Why?" Jongin feels rather worried because the only reason his friend would have a bodyguard in the first place is because he's in danger. Jongin, though not living the life himself, knows how difficult it is to be in Sehun's position. His family owns countless riches and plenty of priceless objects. It puts him in a constant state of risk, though nothing before this day was threatening enough that it required him to be under the care of someone like a bodyguard.

"My father hired the son-of-a- and I'm goddamn stuck with him. Help me Jongin." He whispers through his clenched teeth, and he gives the boy his most vulnerable expression. He feels helpless. His father's wishes and orders are, ultimately, final, and he couldn't think of a way to get away from Tao. 

Jongin has never seen his best friend this desperate and he nods, unsure of what other reassurance to give him. 

Tao stays behind them, watching them speak and exchange faces. He mentally envisions his ears perking up, like a dog's, to listen in on their conversation like he's tempted to, but he shakes his head no. He wouldn't hear anything important. It is of no use for him. 

The three of them walk into their classroom together, an impressive looking bunch. Eyes follow them as they take their seats. Sehun is popular by himself. With Jongin, they could rule the school. But now this mysterious, but handsome, boy is with them, and it amplified the mesmerizing effect they would've had otherwise.

All through class, Sehun is utterly distracted. He's thinking of any and all ways to get Tao out of his life for good. He makes himself a mental list and when he runs out of ideas, he starts thinking of local folklore. There's plenty of legends about various wish-making methods. He would go as far as to trust such outrageous myths to do this. He'll honestly do anything he needs to to get rid of the bothersome bodyguard. As mentioned, Sehun does not like change on his life. No, not at all. 

At the sound of the bell, he grabs Jongin's sleeve and pulls him out into the hallway. As soon as he's out of earshot of anyone in the classroom, and before Tao could show up, he hisses into Jongin's ear, "Help. Me."

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Jongin nudges his shoulders upwards a little, feeling puzzled at what possible advice he could give him. Sehun sighs impatiently.

He puts his hand on his forehead and paces back and forth for a couple seconds. When he stops, his eyebrows are scrunched and he lets out another sigh. "Just...what do you think of all this? At least, tell me your opinion."

Jongin is tempted to say something sarcastic like The great and powerful Oh Sehun is asking for my opinion? Wow, what a day. Instead, he nods and gives his honest thoughts. "I think you'll end up liking him."

Sehun stops breathing. Just for a moment. "What.... What did you just say?"

"I think you'll end up liking him. Like, fast."

Sehun gives him an incredulous look. "What kind of logic is that?"

Jongin shrugs. "Well you asked for my opinion."

The younger boy grabs Jongin's shoulders and gives him a shake. "What are you talking about?!"

"Stop stop stop!" Jongin grabs his arms and brushes his hands off his shoulders. "Look, think about it this way, Sehun-ah. You've never really had all that much affection from the other people in our class. Except me, 'cause we're friends. But you're not really...social, you know?" (At this point, Sehun raises an eyebrow at him.) "It's true. So you're not really used to it. And suddenly there's this new kid, and he's living with you, and he's all up in your personal space and eventually, you're probably gonna-- Oh hey Tao, what's up?" Jongin elbows Sehun, who groans and turns after giving Jongin the I'll get you back for that later look. He wants to know what Jongin was trying to say, but he's positive that he'll have the time to ask him later.

Of course, they don't know that Tao had heard the last bit of Jongin's consultation with Sehun and is simply hiding his smile behind cold eyes. He glances from Sehun, who is still clutching his rib cage, and Jongin, who's grinning at him like the most innocent human being on earth.

Sehun is knowledgeable of the fact that his position is higher than Tao's. He decides to take advantage of it. "Tao, can you go buy me a coffee?" He hands him some coins. (Jongin feels a little weird hearing this. It's usually him who ends up running to get the other boy a canned coffee.) Tao nods once, slowly, as if a little unsure if Sehun has the right to be telling him this. But he walks away anyway. 

Right when he leaves, Jongin's boyfriend, Do Kyungsoo, skips up to them with a smile. Kyungsoo is a short boy with red-brown hair, big bright eyes, and heart-shaped pink lips. He puts an arm around Jongin's waist, who responds by putting his arm around Kyungsoo's shoulders. Sehun is used to seeing their display of public affection. Kyungsoo looks up at his boyfriend. "Watcha guys talking about?" He smiles. 

"Nothing. We were just talking about Sehun's new dilemma." He gives Kyungsoo a peck on the cheek and Sehun rolls his eyes. He doesn't understand why they date. He doesn't understand love in general. It was a foreign concept to him, and not one he's very curious about. How can people be so stuck up on each other that they want to always be together? Emotional strains like that can't cause physical desire for another person, so he believes. 

"Jongin, just tell me the rest of the sentence." 

Jongin is already leading Kyungsoo away, but he turns around quickly and smirks. "You sure?"

Sehun has a feeling he won't like it, but he nods anyway. 

"Eventually, you're probably gonna end up falling for him, Sehun-ah." And before Sehun can protest, little doe-eyed Kyungsoo is leading his best friend away and he is left feeling even more irritable than this morning.

Where the hell is my coffee? As if on cue, Tao is walking back to him, turning the cold can of coffee in his hand, round and round in a distracted fashion. He looks up as he approaches Sehun and holds it out to him. Sehun takes it, pulls the tab, and takes a swig. Out of the corner of his eye, he is looking at Tao, who's now absentmindedly staring out the window. 

He's got a nice physique. Tall, skinny, but still built. His eyes could be orbs stolen from the night sky, coal black and twinkles of light. He looks intelligent, but a silent type of intelligence. His pink cat-lips turn down at the corners naturally, making him look somewhat frightening when he blanks out. He never seems to brush his hair, unless it's running his fingers through the blond strands, so it stays disheveled, but it an enticing way. Like he just woke up. His skin is so pale and smooth; it makes Sehun want to brush his cheek lightly with his fingers. Then Sehun realizes what he's thinking. He blushes, finishes the drink, throws away the can, and stomps away from Tao in a hurry.

And as Tao catches up to his displeasure-powered stride, he thinks to himself, No in' way. 

_{A/N: Hi everyone! >w< Oh gosh, thank you for subscribing! I'm very honored! I'm also really excited for this story ahhhhhh~ Please tell me if there are any typos and/or grammar mistakes! I'll be editing whenever I can so that it can be grammar perfect ahaha ^^ Comment and Vote if you like it! It would really help me and give me the support I need to update this as fast as I can! Thanks again!}