When Jongdae finally introduced the two new transferees to all of his friends (which, apparently, is the whole student body of Shinjae), they settled themselves on the park, eating their own snacks and drinks for the remainder of the whole lunch break. There's still 20 minutes left before classes resume again so the 3 boys quickly grabbed snacks to eat and settled themselves on the grass field of the park.

"So how do you find my school?" he asked the two while munching on his sandwich. He stressed out the word 'my' so much it's impossible to not notice how he thinks of himself as someone above everyone else, whether he was just kidding or not.

"It's good," Jongin plainly replied without looking at the other. "Everyone seems nice."

"They sure are!" Jongdae merrily said. "They're all my cute, little obedient pets!"

Apparently, Jongdae fancies himself as something like the King Of Shinjae or something equally dumb as that. Being the son of the school director does that to his mind.

Sehun groaned a little, twisting his ankles over here and there and stretching his long legs out. He's not used to walking that much and he definitely doesn't like being introduced to countless people he hardly cares who anyway. Sehun is a perfect example of those rich, spoiled brats we typically see on the TV dramas.

"So since you're almost friends with everyone," Jongin suddenly said after taking a sip from his strawberry milk tea, "which group do you usually hang out with? I mean, there are a lot of groups to choose from your collection of... uhh... 'pets' so..." he trailed off after realizing he just sounded equally retarded as the other.

"Hmm. My favorite group?" Jongde replied, getting the point of Jongin's confusingly dumb question. "Hmm. If I have to choose my favorite... That would be Joonmyun's friends, I guess."

Jongin fought back a smirk from escaping his plump lips. "Ah, that group with the timid boy?"

"You mean Kyungsoo-yah?" Jongdae asked back, grabbing his can of cola after finishing one whole sandwich in just 5 minutes. "Yeah, that group."

"That Kyungsoo kid seems quiet..." Jongin said while taking another sip on his milk tea. He did his best to sound as casual as he can, but Sehun knew all along that this was just the sole topic the dark skinned guy wanted to talk about with Jongdae all this time. "Is he really that shy or something?"

"Yeah, Kyungsoo-yah is just naturally shy and awkward." Jongdae replied normally, oblivious to the snide looks Sehun sends to Jongin's direction. "But lately, I noticed that he's really doing good. I mean, he's slowly breaking out of his shell. Plus he's a really cute boy, too. Everyone treats him like an adorable little brother to look after to, and it's really cute how almost everyone wanted to play 'hyung' with him when he's practically the same age as everybody; sometimes even older." Jongdae finished explaining with a silly smile.

"Ah, is that so?" Jongin replied ever so casually again, sipping out the last remaining ounces of his milk tea. "He sure looks nice."

That remark, though, didn't escape Jongdae's awareness. He noticed how Jongin's thick lips form the littlest of curves at one side as if he's controlling a smirk from coming out. He then quickly just shrugged it off and said "He most definitely is, and it would be really nice if you two can be close."

Jongin suddenly stood up and fixed his slacks a bit, straightening his uniform and fixing his pushed back hair a little. "Yeah, that would be really nice." he said while flashing the other a genuine smile.

"We should probably head back," Sehun finally said as he himself stood up to return to their building.

"Yeah, let's go." Jongdae replied, hastily standing up as well.

-----

The remainder of the day went surprisingly fast for Kyungsoo, in contradiction to the painfully heavy first 3 periods he tortured himself with. He expected to tremble and fidget uncontrollably for the entire next set of classes, but he surprisingly find himself worrying of other matters beside Jongin's stalking stares behind his back.

But what really occupied his mind and distracted him from the intense pair of eyes on his back was the little piece of note that Jongin passed to him through their handshake a while ago, so maybe he wasn't really that free from worrying of Jongin at all. The whole 'meet me later after class' scenario was something that Kyungsoo never expected to happen, making him even more confused and startled. His first reaction to it was a solid 'no!' because he would never thought of meeting up with this guy alone. But then curiosity got the best of him and the next thing he knows, he was pretty much under the process of convincing himself that it's alright to go meet the guy later. He just thought that he can at least ask the guy himself in person about all the questions going on in his mind, so he pretty much decided to go and talk to him later.

He worries about Joonmyun, though. He's sure the guy would never let him go anywhere where Jongin might be around, and he specifically wouldn't want for Joonmyun to be there when he talk with Jongin privately either. So he has to settle for the worst option; keep it a secret to Joonmyun. He knows he shouldn't keep any secret from the other when the guy basically just wants to protect him and assure his safety, but sometimes there are things that Kyungsoo ought to do alone and independently, and this meeting is definitely one of those.

When their teacher suddenly faced the blackboard to write something on it, Joonmyun took advantage of the situation and whispered "Hey, Kyungsoo..."

"Hm?" the other hummed in reply as quietly as he could.

"I won't be able to hang out with you guys later after class," he whispered in an apologetic manner. "I have to talk with Mr. Choi in his office."

Kyungsoo felt glad after hearing that from the other. It's not that he doesn't like hanging out with Joonmyun, he just really can't be with him today because of his rooftop meeting with Jongin and the other just saved him from planning up lame excuses and stuff. "It's okay, I'm going to music club after this, anyway."

"Alright," Joonmyun said with a smile then returned his gaze to the front, copying the sentences written on the board to his own notebook.

When the shrill of the bell rang and echoed through the halls and classrooms, Kyungsoo's heart almost leaped out of his chest. This is it, he thought to himself. I can do this.

Everyone quickly stood up and fixed their stuffs to leave. Minseok bid his two friends a quick goodbye then hastily left the room, saying he's got soccer practices and other club related things.

Sehun automatically got up to his feet too to quickly leave the room, expression of relief and gladness plastered on his usually stoic face as if this was the only thing he was waiting for the entire day. He happily hurries his way out of the room without even looking back to his friend's direction.

Jongin, on the other hand, grabbed his bag and left almost as quickly as everyone as if he was trying to catch up to something. Joonmyun was surprised that he didn't bother him or Kyungsoo after class and just left the room like a normal student.

"Will you be okay?" Joonmyun asked worryingly to Kyungsoo before they split directions; Kyungsoo going downstairs while the other continues through the corridors to reach Mr. Choi's office.

"Yes, Joonmyun, I'm not a baby," Kyungsoo said, embarrassed at the way the other treats him like an infant or something. "I can... I'm big enough to look after myself..."

Joonmyun wasn't completely convinced by this, but he just shrugged off and said "Alright, I know you are. Take care!"

Kyungsoo smiled and waved a goodbye to him as he walks downstairs, and when Joonmyun was far enough into the corridors, Kyungsoo quickly walked back to the floor and started going up the stairs instead to reach the rooftop.

His whole body tenses and his heart is seriously palpitating so much he wonders if he can reach the top without having a heart attack in the process. Everything was still painfully confusing and unclear to him, and he's not really sure if this is the right decision or not. But directly talking to Jongin himself might be the first step to understanding the reason why he is here again all of a sudden, and that's currently the best option Kyungsoo has.

-----

"You made it." Jongin said with a sweet smile plastered on his face, making his expression mismatch with the usually intimidating, badass aura his face emits. "I thought you'd never come."

"I thought you'd never show your face again," Kyungsoo barked back with a hint of anger in his voice, shocked at his own capability to talk like that. "Why the hell are you here?"

Jongin placed his hands on his chin, pretending to think properly. He wasn't exactly surprised at the snide remarks of the other, as if he himself was actually expecting it in the first place. "I'm here to graduate highschool, Kyungie."

The doe-eyed boy felt an intense shiver run down his spine he almost grabbed his shoulders to brace himself. No one ever dared to call him 'Kyungie' other than Jongin. He vividly remembered how the other gets mad when other kids call him with that nickname, saying that the name 'Kyungie' was exclusive to him and only him. After he left his old school and never saw Jongin again, he swore to himself that he will never ever let anyone call him with that name again, not even his relatives or his own parents, because it will always remind him of Jongin. He can settle with other nicknames, but definitely not with that one.

So you can imagine how Kyungsoo must have felt when the word rang through his ears, coming right from Jongin's own deep and teasing voice.

"D-Don't make fun of me..." he managed to say in between stutters, "You can graduate in your old school. You don't have to transfer here."

"But I like it here," Jongin calmly said as he brushes his hair backwards, effortlessly looking cool and dashing.

"...Why?"

"Because Kyungie is here."

The other felt another streak of shiver travel down his spine and he knows he won't be able to take this suffocating atmosphere any longer. "Jongin..." he started off, throwing all caution to the wind as he let his lips articulate all of his thoughts freely, "I don't know the exact reason why you're here, and I don't know the reason why you wanted to talk privately with me. But I want to tell you that I hate you and I don't want to see you, and--"

"I know," Jongin cut him off coolly. "I know that..."

"Then why are you here?"

"To see you."

"Why would you want to see me? So you could ruin my life all over again?"

"I didn't ruin your life, Kyungie. I made it better." Jongin firmly said, all cool stares and witty remarks gone. He was serious; dead serious that Kyungsoo almost trembled at the intimidating sight.

Fighting off tears from falling down his eyes (because there is no freaking way that Kyungsoo will cry in front of him, he'd rather die than cry in front of this guy), he averted his gaze from Jongin's eyes and looked on the ground. "How dare of you to say you made it better..." he chuckled bitterly and mumbled to himself loud enough for Jongin to hear. "How dare you..."

"Trust me, Kyungie. You don't need them. You only need me because--"

"Stop." Kyungsoo cut him off abruptly. He heard all of this same bull before and he definitely wouldn't like to hear it again. "I... This is getting nowhere..." he added as he quickly turned around to leave.

But as when he was about to open the door that'll lead him to the stairs, he certainly didn't expect a pair of strong, masculine arms suddenly wrap itself around him from his back. He was dumbfounded for a few seconds then squirmed and tried to push the arms away, but he was too weak to fight back; the hug around him strong and unmoving.

"W-What the hell Jongin?! Let me go!" Kyungsoo almost screamed at the top of his lungs, doing his best to struggle away from the tight hug.

"Kyungie... I missed you..."

And that was enough to break Kyungsoo's not-so-strong defense walls. He slumped his shoulders, removed his hands on Jongin's arms, and surrendered to the sudden back hug the other trapped him in. He was confused, he was bewildered, he was torn.

"I... I don't understand you..." Kyungsoo said in a low whimper as he felt Jongin's hug tighten around him even more.

"You don't need to understand me," the taller guy said as he buries his face on the crook between Kyungsoo's neck and shoulders. "All you have to do is trust me."

And then, the other was utterly confused at the sudden wetness he was feeling on his neck. Is Jongin crying? W-What the hell is going on?

"Look, I am sorry for making your life miserable for the past 9 years," Jongin said while still hugging Kyungsoo from the back, the tone of his voice unexplainably sad and down-spirited. "But I am not going to apologize for pushing all of those people away from you. Someday, Kyungie, someday... I believe you will understand me someday... You'll understand everything... Someday..."

Kyungsoo was paralyzed inside Jongin's protective and loving embrace as his mind tried to analyze everything the other just said. He was completely shocked and confused over the fact that the other was saying those things in such a sad and depressed manner, which is very opposite to his usual confident and brash personality.

But no matter how much he tries, he just can't understand Jongin's point. He cannot understand where he is coming from, and he most certainly cannot comprehend why it was better to be pushed away by your friends and be hated by them for having a possessive best friend.

Kyungsoo stood motionless and blank for a couple of seconds until he snapped from his trance and realized what was currently going on, so he quickly pushed Jongin's arms away and successfully struggled his way out of his tight yet warm embrace.

"Just... Just don't harm my friends..." Kyungsoo suddenly said, his back facing Jongin as he just struggled to get out of the hug. "I'm not a little kid anymore. I'll protect them. I won't let you harm them."

"If there is someone doing the protecting here, that would be me, Kyungie." the other replied calmly, voice no longer sad yet not specifically confident either. "But okay, I won't harm them."

Kyungsoo's eyes widened at the other's reply. He was honestly expecting to hear the same monologue as a reply from Jongin but what he received instead is an agreement from the other, making him even more confused than he already was.

Kyungsoo didn't even bother to look at Jongin before he started walking out of the rooftop. He was afraid of what he will see; he's afraid to see tears from the other's eyes because while Kyungsoo may have hated Jongin almost all his life, he's not exactly sure if he can handle such a sad and disoriented look from the other, because no matter how much he hates it or denies it, he knew all along that he has a natural soft spot for the boy.

And that's what he actually fears the most; that hidden soft spot he has for Jongin, and all this sudden hugs and serious sad talks isn't exactly helping him out but is just burdening him even more. He has to get rid of whatever soft spot he has for the boy, because he knows he definitely can't let it go any deeper than that.

Jongin, on the other hand, looked at Kyungsoo with sad, loving eyes. He quickly wiped the tears in the corners of his eyes as he continuously looked at the other's back.

Someday, Kyungsoo... he thought to himself.

Someday.
 

(NOTE: AAAAND THAT'S IT FOR CHAPTER 3 YEHET. I decided to update the first 3 chapters daily as a sort of gift for myself and my readers for Kyungie's upcoming bday! hurray!
I'm not really sure if I can update this tomorrow as well, coz hey I have a lot of other fics to update I better update them first before I continue with this omg my life OTL
So, as I have written in the foreword, Jongin has his reasons for being like this, but I can't let you guys know it just yet so you have to wait patiently for it lol keke. I already planned everything for this story up to the end and omg I am so so excited to write the future chaps! lol.
comment your thoughts guys! xoxo!)