the second chapter;
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                                                       WHERE IS THE FLOWER THAT BLOOMS WITHOUT SHAKING?

Trying to keep herself busy during the study break before the end of the school day, Kaeun started to begin reading the chapter that the teacher had just assigned earlier in class. History was never a strong subject for her, and especially now, in the noisy classroom, she found it particularly hard to concentrate on the material. She placed her hands over her ears to try and drown out the noise, but it didn't seem to help much. Finally giving up, she closed her book and sighed.

The other students around her were using their break to socialize with one another. Many of them had moved seats to sit closer with their friends, leaving Kaeun alone in the back row. She could hear the girls talking and giggling a few rows over and found herself wishing that she could have been a part of it. They seemed to be enjoying each other's company while she was just in the back, sitting and waiting for the day to end. She missed being able to talk freely with people.

But she took that wish back as soon as she heard what came out of one of the girls' mouth.

"Hey, did you hear about that new girl? I guarantee you she's going to get an A in this class without even studying, if you know what I mean." The girl said out loud, knowing that most of the people in the room could hear her. Just as the words came out of , the whole group of girls sent a nasty glare at Kaeun who quickly looked down, knowing where this was going and hoping that the girl wouldn't continue. 

"Why do girls like her make the rest of us look bad?"

"Please, don't associate normal girls like us with trashy girls like her."

"How much do you want to bet that the principal's going to start calling her out of class soon?" 

Kaeun tried to ignore it but they seemed to be getting louder and louder each second. Placing her head down on her desk, she wished for the day to end soon. It was only her first day here and she still had the rest of the school year to go before she could graduate and leave. 

"Ugh, I can't believe she even got into this school. Can you?" The girl sitting on Sehun's desk asked. He simply shrugged, looking back at her for a moment before turning back to look forward. He knew that the girl had just started going here this morning and wondered how these people seemed to think they knew so much about her.

But then again, he didn't even know her; who was to say that the students weren't telling the truth?

"Why did you sit back there with her today anyway?" The girl asked, making a face in Kaeun's direction before returning her attention to Sehun. Slowly leaning down, she grabbed his tie and pulled him close, "I'm more fun, why don't you sit up here tomorrow?" She said, bringing her face even closer to his.

"I don't know," He smirked, "I like it back there."

"Ugh, with that piece of trash?" She said, sitting back up straight, annoyed. 

Sehun shrugged in response. 

"I can't believe people like that exist in the world," She said loudly, making sure Kaeun could hear, "What kind of family raises a daughter like that?"

Kaeun's head shot up as soon as she heard what the girl had said. Remembering how Luhan had told her to not let them see her cry, she tried to hold back her tears. She wasn't going to let him down. She had to show them that they couldn't get to her. Taking deep breaths, she tried her best to maintain her composure.

"I bet her father's really proud of his daughter, isn't he?" One of the girls from the group a few rows over remarked.

Kaeun couldn't take it anymore. Not even bothering to grab her things and not caring that the class hadn't offically been dismissed, she bolted out of the room.

Sehun looked up when he heard her getting out of her seat. But as soon as he turned his head, she had already passed him and had run out of the room. 

"What a loser. The girl can't even handle a little teasing. School's not even over yet; guess the little baby couldn't wait to go cry or something." The girl in front of Sehun remarked, laughing at the other's misfortune. She was laughing as if Kaeun's misery was a source of pleasure. In fact, most of the class was laughing as well.

Normally, Sehun wouldn't care much about these things. This kind of stuff wasn't any of his business. He always knew how the kids at his school were.

But today, he had a mission. Luhan had given his trust and Sehun was not about to let his hyung down. He wasn't going to let that happen again.

"Shut up." He stated plainly as the whole room immediately quieted down, "I hate noise. It's too noisy right now." He said as he got up and kicked aside some of the desks as he made his way to his own. The rest of the class watched him nervously as he sat back down in his seat, arms crossed and eyes focused forward.

Just as the class calmed down and returned to their own seats, the teacher came in and addressed the class. As he began to go over important points from the day, Sehun's eyes wandered over to the empty seat next to him. The class was going to end soon and she still wasn't back yet. Where did the girl go? She had even left her bag behind. He sighed as he noticed the class bowing to teacher, signalling the end of the day. Grabbing the backpack, he slung it over one of his shoulders and got up, leaving the room as soon as the teacher dismissed them for the day.

As soon as he walked out of the door, he saw met by Luhan's wandering eyes, looking past his friend for the girl he had accompanied here this morning. Once they landed on the backpack on Sehun's shoulders, he sent the younger man a questioning look, especially when he noticed that Kaeun wasn't coming out behind him.

"Where's Kaeun?" Luhan asked as he walked towards Sehun, looking over his friend's shoulder into the classroom.

"I...she..." He struggled to get the words out, knowing that whatever he said was going to upset the older male. Not knowing what to say, he looked down and sighed.

"Yah! Oh Sehun! I told you to look after her!" Luhan shouted as he pulled out his cell phone, dialling a number and placing the phone by his ear as he grabbed the bag off of Sehun's shoulder and walked past him. Without even thinking about it, the younger immediately turned around and followed after his hyung.

Turning the corner, Sehun noticed a group of students that he recognized as people in his class gathering in a circle close to the girl's bathroom. His eyes landed upon the girl that had been flirting with him earlier and took note of her expression. It was that same smug smile she had on her face as she taunted Kaeun. Beside her, a couple of guys were laughing loudly and making suggestive gestures at the person in the middle.

"Hyung." Sehun said, grabbing Luhan's shoulder when it dawned on him. 

Kaeun was in the middle of that circle.

"I think she's in the middle of that." He said, motioning towards the group of students. Luhan turned his head and noticed the group. There was about six or seven of them, but what he noticed was the girl in the center of it. He couldn't see her face since she was looking down, but he'd recognize Kaeun anywhere. His anger rose as soon as he overheard what one of the males was saying as he tried to grab Kaeun by the shoulder.

"Song Kaeun!" Luhan shouted as he moved over to the group with hurried steps.

Sehun stayed back, knowing that it wasn't his place to go with his hyung. He hated when Luhan had that look in his eyes. He was furious and Sehun knew that, especially when Luhan, who usually respected other people and treated them with such kindness, pushed past all the students and pulled Kaeun away from them. The look of guilt on their faces turned into shock when Luhan grabbed one of the boys' collars and pinned him against the locker.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He shouted in the younger male's face, his own turning red as he tightened his grip on the young man's collar.

"Oppa!" Kaeun grabbed into Luhan's arm when she noticed him. She grabbed his forearm, stopping his fist in midair, when she saw him draw it back, "Please, stop! Don't do this. Just take me home. I want to go home. Oppa. Please, let's just go." She pleaded, trying to hold back her tears, yet failing. She tugged on his arm when he didn't make any moves to leave, whispering pleas for him to calm down.

Taking one look at the crying girl beside him, he dropped his arm, gently pulling Kaeun behind him as he let go of the man, letting him fall to the ground in shock. No one had ever seen Luhan that angry before. The students looked on, holding their breaths as their once calm and collected sunbae took deep breaths to calm himself down. Sehun, too, having known him for many years, had only seen Luhan upset once. But not like this. Who was this girl and why was Luhan acting like this?

"Let's get one thing clear, right here, right now." Luhan said loudly, making sure that everybody was watching and listening. Kaeun kept her head down as Luhan held onto her wrist. "Keep this in mind and never forget it: if you want to make it past this school year and into the next, you do not mess with Song Kaeun. Lay a finger on my little sister and you're dead." He said, making sure to look at the group of students in front of him dead in the eyes, "That goes for all of you."

There were whispers all around as he led Kaeun out of the school building, making sure to tell Sehun one last thing as he passed him.

"Thanks for letting me know I can count on you."

It didn't matter much that his hyung was angry; it was the disappointment in his voice that hurt Sehun the most.

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✉(A/N).

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