"Oh my god, Youngjae, you’re finally back!” Mrs Yoo rushes forward and cups his face. “The school informed me that you left halfway and your father is out looking for you right now.”

“I’m sorry.” Youngjae mutters and pulls away from Mrs Yoo. He was feeling guilty enough and her concern for him wasn’t helping. “I will call him and tell him I’m fine.” He forces a small smile before going upstairs.

“Sebastian, I really need your help on keeping an eye on him.” Mrs Yoo was no doubt worried about him but the things she could help him with were very limited. “He really just needs to find someone to confine to.”

~~~

"Sebastian? Is this noise coming from our neighbours?" Mrs Yoo frowns at the constant thuds echoing throughout the house.

"No Ma'am. I believe it’s coming from upstairs."

Apprehensive, Mrs Yoo silently goes upstairs to check on Youngjae. Her blood freezes when she realises what he was doing.

Youngjae's fists were gory and busted as he bashed the wall repeatedly. He was wincing and groaning but he didn’t stop.

"Youngjae! Oh my dear god, don't do this to yourself!" Mrs Yoo grabs his wrists and pulls him away from the bloodied wall.

"Can you tell me what's wrong my dear? Please. Don't beat yourself up like this." Mrs Yoo was on the verge of tears as she lovingly caresses Youngjae's stained red knuckles which were crushed out of shape.

"Look at the wall."

Mrs Yoo glances up at the wall and chokes in shock.

A part of the wall was severely dented, the paint had chipped off from the impact and portions of it were crumbling away. Not to mention the blood mixed in with it. It looked just like construction work gone horrifyingly awry.

"What's wrong with me Mrs Yoo...? I nearly killed a guy with my hands..." Youngjae clamps his fists and winces in agony. The bones were no doubt shattered.

"There's nothing wrong with you honey. The orphanage workers warned me that there's something different about you but I didn't care. I will always love you so stop doing this to yourself. I know you're suffering a lot. But please promise me you won't do something like this again my dear." Mrs Yoo brushes her thumb across Youngjae's dampened cheek. She gently holds his two hands and looks him in the eye, wanting a promise. "If you've any problems, I will always be here, ready to listen to all of it. So promise me please."

"I... I promise."

~~~

Instead of walking around with his hands in a cast, they were perfectly fine the next day.

Hmm, lethal strength and absurd healing, not bad.

"Bastian, have you had yet?" Out of utter boredom, Youngjae decides to tease the thirty year old butler. And yes, underneath all that coldness was just an innocently curious teenager.

"Master Youngjae need not concern himself with my personal matters."

In a blunter version, “ off from my personal affairs.”

"You know you should go out more often. Wanna come along?" Youngjae gets up from the couch and starts tugging Sebastian towards the door.

"I'm sorry Master Youngjae but I've duties to fulfil." Sebastian pries Youngjae's fingers off and continues with his sweeping.

"Suit yourself." Youngjae wrenches open the door only to slam it shut when he realises who was standing outside.

"Youngjae! How could you be so rude to me!?" Hyomin starts whining noisily on the Yoo's doorstep.

Reluctantly, Youngjae opens the door again, with a what-do-you-want look plastered on his face.

"I heard that you were suspended cause you beat up Chanyong. Daehyun and his gang did this to you right?" Hyomin gestures to the discoloured patches of skin on Youngjae's arms.

"Mr Woo is a total jerk! Just cause their parents "donate" a huge sum of money to the school, they always go scot-free! If only-"

"Hey sorry to interrupt, but if you're here to about that then please talk to my butler. He's single." Youngjae pulls Sebastian over and pushes him towards Hyomin. Before they had time to react, Youngjae sprints out of the door towards the garage. Getting into the white Mercedes, he quickly drives off before Hyomin could stop him.

With nowhere in mind, Youngjae decides to go to his favourite cafe, Moon Garden. After having parked the car, Youngjae saunters over to the entrance. A bell rings throughout the store as he pushes open the door. It was rather quiet and empty other than a few chatty school girls. Taking a seat by the windows, Youngjae signals for the waiter.

To his horror surprise, Daehyun was actually the waiter. Daehyun had yet to notice Youngjae and was busy flirting with the group of school girls.

God, is there no limit to this man's frivolity?

However, Youngjae can't help but admit that Daehyun did look good in that uniform. The white shirt was tight around his arms, showing off his fit biceps. His hair now had streaks of black running through it, with his bangs still swept over his left eyebrow. His eyes were two crescents as he beams widely at the swooning girls.

As Youngjae marvels in the sight of Daehyun's tight shirt, something wet starts trickling down his forearm. Thinking that it was merely water, Youngjae dabs at the spot and flinches at the sudden jab of pain. His arm was bleeding again. Grabbing a napkin from the table, he quickly absorbs the blood before it oozes further.

Mentally slapping himself for having such indecent thoughts, Youngjae opts to order his drinks from the counter instead.

Remember Yoo Youngjae, he’s an , , . comes out of him.

After receiving his drink, Youngjae goes back to his table only to find Daehyun standing there. He was staring at the blood soaked napkin and his eyebrows were creased as though he was in deep thought. Youngjae swivels around abruptly, spilling a bit of his drink down the front of his white V-neck shirt.

"!"

"Here, let me help you." Daehyun rushes over and places Youngjae's drink onto a nearby table while wiping off the stain.

" off." Youngjae bats Daehyun's hand away from his chest and snatches up his drink. He shoots him a menacing glare before exiting the store. Pissed off, Youngjae decides to sit inside his car to enjoy the icy goodness of his drink. He was shocked at Daehyun's behaviour; maybe it was just the fact that Youngjae was a customer to him then.

What the was he doing working at Moon Garden anyway? He crushes the plastic cup and tosses it out of the window.

~~~

[A few days later]

"Youngjae~ I know you're in there!" Hyomin starts banging loudly on the door and spams the doorbell.

"Oh my god, this is harassment. Sebastian, chase her away!" Youngjae flops back onto the couch, placing the opened book back on his face.

It was already the fourth day of his suspension and Hyomin had harassed visited him every day after school without fail. Claiming to want to know him better.

"Youngjae! Stop ignoring me! ~ I won't go until I see your face!" Hyomin starts rattling the doorknob and pounding on the door.

"Get rid of her Sebastian! She's giving me a headache!"

"You heard her request." Even the usually calm and collected Sebastian was obviously irritated by her unwelcomed presence.

Groaning, Youngjae tears the book away from his face and drags himself over to the door.

"Youn- finally! Oh my, you look good with messy hair!" Hyomin winks flirtatiously while pouting her lips.

"Thanks. Is there anything else? No? Bye."

"Hey wait! C'mon I've been here so many times already, just let me in?" Hyomin jams her feet between the door's gaps to prevent Youngjae from closing it, while forcing her way in.

Youngjae finally relents, rolling his eyes as she prances around the living room gasping and touching. Making use of this moment of distraction, Youngjae darts to the kitchen and grabs the currently cooking Sebastian.

"Here's your date Hyomin. Have fun!" Youngjae shoves Sebastian forward, grinning as he leaves the two alone.

Retreating to his bedroom, Youngjae lies down onto his bed. As a habit, he examines the injuries on his arms for signs of improvement. They were no doubt getting better but the one on his abdomen still wasn't healing well. Grimacing as he jabs at the bruise, he unknowingly starts picking the dried blood off his arms. It was once more an open wound now; fresh blood begins dribbling out and onto the crisp white sheets. Sighing a little, Youngjae smears the blood into a circle.

He starts drifting off to sleep as his finger slows down its circle of blood.

~~~

[End of suspension]

"Welcome back to Allistair High!" Jongup flings open his arms in an attempt to make Youngjae feel welcome once more.

"Thank you Jongup." Youngjae offers him a genuine smile and the two enter the building, a friendship finally forming.

"You! Thanks to you now Chanyong is paralyzed waist down!" A resentful guy barrels forward once he catches sight of Youngjae. Wagging a finger in Youngjae's face, he sends numerous insults to the impassive boy in front. Severely agitated, the guy's face had turned a hideous shade of red.

"Done yet? Good, I'm late for class." Youngjae strolls off towards his classroom as the guy gapes back at him, stunned by his impassiveness.

Breathe Youngjae, it isn’t entirely your fault.

The rumours which had spread around the school were harsher now, claiming that Youngjae was a cold hearted murderer with no sense of remorse.

Youngjae took everything in silently, making sure his emotions never got out of control. Putting on an aloof expression seemed to be the easiest solution.

Daehyun wasn’t bothering him directly but he was kind of creeping him out with his occasional trademark stare.

"Class, Allistair High's annual trip is coming up! For this year's trip, you'll be strolling through the Meridian forest. And of course, as a school tradition, your assigned partners." Mr Lee digs through a bunch of papers and pulls out one. Scanning through the list of names, he starts reading them out one by one.

"...Hyomin and Crystal, Eunjung and Junhyung, Youngjae and Amber..."

Youngjae turns to look at Amber, she was rather masculine for a girl but she was fine.

At least it wasn't crazy .

~~~

[Day of the trip]

"Remember not to stray away from the path! If you need help, don't panic and just dial my number, understand?" Mr Lee tries to shout over the noise of the boisterous students. "Remember to scout for potential research materials!"

They had arrived at the Meridian Park and were getting ready to start. Decked out in jeans and a black hoodie, Youngjae paled in comparison to the others who had on branded sports attire. He was never a fan of branded items. Stains and spills were too risky. As he scours the surroundings for Amber, a chilly breeze ruffles his hair and tugs on his hoodie. Signs of an imminent downpour.

"Youngjae, I'm afraid Amber is unwell today, so you will have to go with... Daehyun." Sighing, Mr Lee squeezes his shoulder in encouragement, he was fully aware of the tension between the two.

"What?! No way, I will do fine on my own Mr Lee."

"I believe you will, but it's always good to have a partner to help you out, Youngjae." Giving him one last reassuring smile, Mr Lee disappears off to start the trip.

Oh great, I'm stuck with the crazy for two hours. How lovely.

It was stupid to have partners when they were all old enough already. Apparently it was just the school's way of ensuring their safety.

This whole trip is a load of bull.

Youngjae sticks his hands into his jeans pockets to keep them warm, while sulking about having such a lovely partner.

"Be back here in two hours! If I don't see you or your partner, I will come and find you with Ms Evelyn!" Everyone groans inwardly at the mention of "Ms Evelyn", she was one lady not to be messed with. "Don't think you can slack off in one corner! I will know it!"

Reluctant and lethargic, the class began their slow ascend. Determined to be on his own, Youngjae bounds ahead of the small crowd and turns onto a narrow trail along the river.

"Hey! We are supposed to be together!" A slightly out of breath voice calls from behind. Youngjae whirls round and raises his eyebrow at his odd way of saying they were partners.

"I-I mean not together but like y'know partners... Urgh you!" With a tinge of red staining his cheeks, Daehyun stomps ahead of Youngjae.

Since when did he care this much about the teacher's instructions?

Amused by his mistake, Youngjae can't help but smile and follow along. The two trudge on quietly, with Daehyun leading and cursing as random branches whacks him in the face. A snicker could be heard as yet another branch prods the extremely pissed off Daehyun in the waist.

"It's not funny!"

"Karma~" Youngjae says in a singsong voice as he guffaws at how ridiculous Daehyun looked with leaves and twigs in his hair. For a moment there, he forgets entirely about the crazy and sees him merely as Daehyun.

"Are you building a nest in there?" Youngjae can't help but burst into yet another hearty fit of laughter as Daehyun furiously ruffles his hair while glaring at the younger.

"You don't look any better either."

"Least I'm not building a bird nest."

"Go yourself!"

"I would rather do it with a partner."

Chuckling heartily as Daehyun throws his arms up in defeat, Youngjae continues down the path.

It was somehow comfortable just walking together like this, their feud at school had obviously been thrown away.

The path turns unsteadily steep as the two venture deeper. It was clearly unused by most visitors as the path was strewn with dead leaves and broken twigs.

"Hey, I think we should go back caus- Ahhhh!" Youngjae flails his arms wildly to try and gain his lost footing.

Alarmed by the scream, Daehyun throws out his hand to grab at Youngjae's shirt only to have it slip right through his fingertips.

Youngjae tumbles backward like a snowball. Stones and sharp branches stab his skin as he desperately tries to hold on to something. All he got was a handful of leaves while he plummets to the bottom. The human snowball rams into the base of a tree truck before it finally comes to a stop.

"Youngjae! Oh my god Youngjae! Are you alive? Answer me!" Daehyun frantically tries to get an answer as he slips and slides his way down. More dead leaves and twigs flutters onto Youngjae's body when Daehyun lands heavily beside him.

"Hey! Are you alive? Answer me!"

"How am I supposed to answer you if I'm dead?"

"Now's not the time to joke!"

"But I'm not." Youngjae grips at his abdomen; it felt like someone had just run a truck over it. Repeatedly.

". Call Mr Lee." The pain was unbearably tormenting, even talking seemed to hurt.

"But I don't have my phone now!"

"What the ? Who comes out without a ing phone!?" Youngjae winces in pain as the throbbing ache escalates. Clutching his side, he attempts to reach into his back pocket for his phone.

Daehyun tugs Youngjae's hands away from his back and reaches in to grab the phone himself when he sees the younger struggle with such a simple task.

"Dude you have got to lift that up if you want me to get it."

"I didn't say I needed your help."

"Fine, then don’t scream molest." Upon hearing that, Youngjae quickly lifts his waist up, long enough for Daehyun to snatch the phone before it came crashing back down.

Daehyun swiftly informs Mr Lee and attains the necessary instructions for them to be rescued.

"Think you can make it back up?"

"I don't know. I can try." After a few failed attempts, the two finally make it back up onto the pathway with Youngjae clinging onto Daehyun.

"You seriously...need to...lose some weight." Daehyun wheezes as he fights to catch his breath after literally hauling the younger back onto the path.

Youngjae yelps out a string of curses when he lay onto the path, completely ignoring the fact that Daehyun just insulted his weight.

"I think there's something in my skin. Get it out." Youngjae pushes himself off the ground and lifts the back of his shirt for Daehyun to examine. Gasping at the scars and lesions running along the younger's back, Daehyun scoots closer to take a look. Finding the source of Youngjae's discomfort, Daehyun briskly jerks out the embedded stone. He instantly regrets it when a generous amount of blood starts gushing out of the open wound.

"Holy ! Dude, you're leaking like a ing tap!"

Despite Daehyun's minor panic attack, Youngjae calmly removes his hoodie and hands it over to the older. Daehyun grabs the shirt and dabs violently at the gash. On closer looks, Daehyun realises the younger was bleeding from multiple small gashes.

Small cuts like these weren't supposed to produce such an amount of blood.

"Do you have Diabetes?"

" no!" Youngjae wrenches his soaked hoodie from the older's hands and throws it back on before he could spot the monstrous bruise.

He honestly didn’t know it himself. He was always bleeding a lot of from small wounds which made him terribly weak at times.

When you gain something, you are bound to lose something as well. 

"Then why the hell are you bleeding so much?"

"How am I supposed to know? It's always been like this."

"And I did this to you?" Daehyun guiltily gawks at the discoloured skin.

"Oh no, my mum did it." Youngjae remarks sarcastically as he recalls the events of that fateful day.

"I'm sorry... I-I didn't mean it..."

"Save it , I don't give a ."

"Really. I didn't know what came over me that day..." Daehyun unconsciously trails his finger along the swelling scar.

"Yeah, you really needn't beat me up over a seat you know."

"It wasn't the seat. It was just- urgh!" Daehyun tousles his already messy hair in frustration. There was just something about the younger that made his emotions and thoughts go haywire.

How he had successfully grabbed the attention of the school's most good-looking heartthrob, on the very first day. And the way he smiles with his front row of perfect white teeth showing. Or his contagious laughter, which he tends to muffle with his fist. Or the adorable sulky expression he has on most of the time, looking like the world owed him big time. It was practically everything about the younger that made Daehyun so perplexed and confused. And now with the younger sitting right before him, Daehyun can't help but admire the flawless jawline he has along with his high cheekbones. Youngjae was perfect.

"Oi, ." Youngjae snaps his fingers to bring Daehyun back from wherever he drifted off to.

Daehyun hastily shakes his head to rid of the insane thoughts he just had.

"We should try to go back." Daehyun brushes the fallen leaves off his thighs, getting up while extending his hand to hoist the younger to his feet.

", I think I sprained my ankle."

Daehyun has the younger's arm slung across his shoulder instantaneously. To support his weight better, Daehyun slides a hand across the younger's waist and grips firmly but gently.

"I feel violated." Youngjae reluctantly grabs onto Daehyun's shoulder, simultaneously trying to edge away from him.

"Shut up, I don't exactly like touching you."

The two hobble slowly back to where they came from, occasionally stumbling.

"Why is Mr Lee taking so long to find us?" Youngjae grumbles and holds on tighter to the older's shoulder. He was getting really uncomfortable with Daehyun in such close proximity and how unusually silent he was currently. But he didn't exactly have much of a choice.

"Hey, . Can we stop here for a moment? My feet hurt." Youngjae asks after hobbling walking for ten minutes.

"Your feet hurt? I've been dragging you along and you tell me your feet hurt? And my name is Daehyun, not a freaking human anatomy." Despite his sarcastic reply, Daehyun tenderly helps Youngjae sit down against a tree trunk.

"Call Mr Lee. Tell him to get his here now." Weakened by the loss of blood, Youngjae shakily hands over his phone once more.

"Mr Lee? Youngjae told you to get your here now, bye." Daehyun ends the call and tosses the phone back to the younger.

"I didn't mean word for word idiot! What the did you do that for?" Youngjae hisses as the throbbing sensation in his abdomen returns.

"Chill. You've got to relax and stop aggravating that wound."

"Yeah and you're not exactly helping!"

"Just shut up and rest." Daehyun scowls at the younger as he reaches for his ankle. Pulling up Youngjae's jean leg, Daehyun could finally see the extent of his sprained ankle. There was a small purple swelling building up there which was no doubt going to enlarge later on.

"Oh your ankle looks delectable. You know like the grape flavoured ice cream you can get at Sally's?"

"Seriously? How lame can you get?" Youngjae lifts his eyebrow, surprised at how childish the older was.

Joining Youngjae by the tree trunk, the two sit side by side as they wait for Mr Lee to arrive.

~~~

Two days had passed since their trip to the Meridian Forest.

Youngjae had just returned from Allistair High with his foot in a cast. Pushing open the door with his shoulder, Youngjae lifts himself off the ground with the help of his crutches. Moving around had never been more troublesome. He was constantly told to stay put while various maids tended to his needs. It made him feel useless and terribly annoyed.

Youngjae discards the crutches and slumps against the makeshift bed, which was actually the couch. Climbing the stairs proved to be too much of a challenge.

"Sebastian, can you get my textbooks from my room? Thank you." Youngjae was lacking slightly in his studies and he definitely needed to catch up.

Just as he flips open his textbook, the doorbell starts ringing.

"Sebastian, tell her to leave me alone!" Youngjae groans and rubs his forehead, irritated.

"You know Youngjae, I may look a little feminine but I'm quite sure I'm not a 'her'." A familiar voice replies as Sebastian opens the door.

Snapping his head up, Youngjae glances at the door to find Daehyun winking back at him. He blushes a little at how casual the older was behaving around him now.

"Sebastian! Who said you could let him in?" Flustered by Youngjae's comment, Sebastian quickly tries to drag Daehyun out the door.

"Hey this isn't how you're supposed to treat a guest!"

"You aren't a guest."

"Okay fine. A friend."

"Not one either."

"A lover perhaps?"

"."

Chuckling as he successfully escapes Sebastian's grasp, Daehyun saunters right into the Yoo's house, looking like he owns it.

"Since when, were you this friendly to me." Youngjae mumbles under his breath as he returns to the splayed textbooks in front of him.

"School just ended, what the are you doing?!" Daehyun slams Youngjae's textbooks shut and lays his palm on them, refusing to let the younger re-open. Glowering at the older, Youngjae jerks his hand away and flips open the textbook, only to have it slam shut once more.

" off, I need to study."

"And I need company." The two started bickering with each other as their retorts got more and more ridiculous.

"You really need to loosen up, Youngjae." Daehyun tugs the textbook off the younger's lap and places it on a table, far out of reach for Youngjae.

"Okay fine. What do you want me to do?" Youngjae finally caves in to the older's obstinate pleading.

Just as Daehyun was about to reply, the obnoxious noise returns once more.

"Youngjae~ open up~ it's me Hyomin~" Upon hearing her voice, Daehyun stares questioningly at the younger who shrugs in return.

"Hey Hyomin, Youngjae and I are busy, come back later." Daehyun answers the door and flashes her a bright smile.

"What are you doing here, Daehyun? What could you two possibly be busy with anyway."

"I don't know~ ing maybe?"

A loud gasp could be heard from outside the door as Hyomin flinches at how blunt Daehyun was.

"Oh okay. Umm, enjoy?.." Hyomin gives an awkward laugh before leaving the Yoo's doorstep.

"What?" Daehyun questions as he turns around and spots the astounded look on the younger's face.

"You're mad."

"I believe I am."