Sehun's POV:

So far during the day, I've been receiving odd looks from practically everyone that I happen to pass by. They're either odd looks of admiration or odd looks of hate. Multiple people have walked up to me and said a few words. Most of the words they said to me were either supposed to make me feel good or make me feel lesser than. 

But most of the time, I've been witnessing something else happening. People give me odd looks as I walk past them, but I notice something else too. They want to talk to me. They really do. Whether it's to tell me something mean or nice, they do want to tell me a few words. But the thing is, they don't have a clue how. 

They're so used to just treating me as if I didn't even exist. Like I was a regular, every day item that you barely took the time to notice or admire. People don't usually talk to me, so when people finally do wanna talk to me, they're at a lost when it comes to how they wanna talk to me. They already know what they wanna tell me, but they can't really voice out those thoughts to me in person. 

It will feel like they were breaking a law. The law of ranking and class here in high school. The higher ranking students, the ones who get most of the attention at school, roam with their crowd. They stick to their own group and they don't usually interact with the people they claim are lesser than them. The same rules goes with every other rank and group.

I always hated this "rule". It wasn't technically a rule in high school. It just magically became one as the school year progressed. The fact that people are classified by their popularity and ranking completely sickens me. That's why I never bothered to enter myself in any of those groups and ranks. I became my own group. My own rank. My own person.

I didn't wanna be classified as anything or anyone. Sure I was called various names, ranging from quiet to mysterious to weird, but that didn't mean I was a part of the other quiet, mysterious, or weird people. 

Surprisingly, even teachers had the same situation going on in their heads. From the moment I enter their classrooms, all they could do is look at me. Wanting so badly to speak to me, but haven't the clue as to how they should speak to me. I could imagine the questions swimming around their heads. Should I comfort him? Should I praise him for doing a good deed? Should I finally do what I failed so many times to do as his teacher, make him feel like he's an actual living thing at this school?

There were so many times during the day, in which I found myself wanting to talk to Shin Yeong. I stole a few glances at her throughout the day in class, but that wasn't enough. I wanted to know how she was feeling. What she felt about all of this. How she got through these type of situations. Conversing with her had to be limited now, of course I knew that. If only we could find the right time.

It was the last period of the day. Shin Yeong and I had the same class. This was usually the class in which students would constantly look up at the clock to see if it was nearing the end of the school day. I never did that, considering I had practically nothing to look forward to after school. Apparently the teacher was lecturing us all about something that I happened to drown out of my mind, ten minutes after she opened . I had enough of this torture and decided to make an excuse to get out of class. I just went with the oldest, most simple excuse in the book: Bathroom.

Thankfully, the teacher allowed me to go. I walked out of the classroom, eyes on me as I passed through the door. Shin Yeong was one of those eyes. As I glanced at her for a moment, she discreetly gave me a signal with her hands. I didn't know what the single meant. She was making a cross with her fingers. It looked like the letter T. At first I thought she was signaling someone else, but her gaze directed on me. No one else saw the signal except me. What did it mean?

I shook the signal she gave me away from my mind. I could find out about it later. I didn't go the bathroom. That was just my excuse. Instead, I walked to the tree. My tree. This was where I went during free time. Where I wanted to be alone and rid myself of practically everyone and everything. I just like the shade and peace that this tree gave off. This tree gave me a place in which I can be by myself, enter my thoughts and feelings, be away from it all. It's like this tree was planted here for a reason. For someone like me. 

I sat at the base of the tree, oblivious of the time and the fact that I could get caught. The weather was very nice today and I regret not coming here earlier. I was considering dozing off for a few minutes, when I heard footsteps approaching me. I wasn't in the mood for anyone's snide remarks about me or praises for doing a good deed. Nor was I in the mood to have my peace and quiet completely taken away from by a teacher. I decided to stay quiet, hoping whoever was there would just turn around and leave me alone.

It didn't work. Whoever was here, walked in front me. I closed my eyes and hoped that whoever was here in front of me would just pass me by. I finally figured out that there wasn't a chance that that would happen. I slowly opened my eyes and squinted up at the newcomer's face. The sun was shining behind the person's head, so I was having trouble viewing their appearance. Slowly, the person came into view. It was Shin Yeong. What was she doing here? Why is she here? How is she here?

"I knew you would be here," she said. She sat down next to me. "I just gave you a signal just in case you didn't come here."

"Ah so that's what that was for," I said. T for tree. Smart. Shin Yeong smiled. The smile on her face didn't last for long. It showed on her face, but then faded completely. As if something else was taking up her mind all of a sudden.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Am I okay? Should I be worrying about myself? But then I remembered what happened. I asked myself that question again, now that I knew what she was referring too. But as I asked myself that question again, I couldn't help but waver on my answer. I didn't even know myself.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said. I even smiled to show her that she didn't have to worry about me. But she saw right through my disguise. She knew right away, from the smile on my face, that I wasn't okay. People just had the ability to do that. Shin Yeong was one of them.

"No, you're not," she said. "I can tell. What's wrong?" She looked intently at me. As if she needed an answer. Like she wouldn't stop until she had an answer from me. And not some lame excuse for an answer, but the truth. The honest truth.

Shin Yeong's POV:

Sehun. Please trust me. Please tell me what you're feeling inside. I can help you. When you're in need. When you're in doubt. When you're hurt. I can help you.

I stared right at Sehun. Waiting as he decided whether or not he should tell me how he honestly feels about all of this. Has he come across any of Nick's allies? Has he experienced any discomfort today?

I know that he doesn't know me very well and I know that I didn't know much about him as well. But we're both a part of this situation. We should be able to tell each other what's on our minds when it comes to this situation. I guess you can say Sehun and I are the innocent ones. The ones who didn't cause this problem in the first place. After a while, Sehun finally spoke to me.

"I don't know," he said. "I honestly don't know how I feel about all of this. I don't know whether or not I should feel good about myself or not. I know I did the right thing. But people are so indebted to Nick that they would probably just put all the blame on me. I've never felt like this at school. I never wanted to experience feeling this way at school. I wanted to live high school the way I wanted to. I never thought about wanting to fit in or draw any attention to myself. Sorry, you probably can't relate to anything I'm saying right now." 

Sehun's POV:

I looked down at the roots of the tree. I didn't wanna face her. Not after what I just told her. Not after the way I just opened myself up to her.

What happened next surprised me completely. Never did I expect I'd get this from Shin Yeong. Never did I expect that I would even receive another one. I thought back to the last time I received one of these. I refrained from trying to remember, knowing that it would only bring back horrible memories. Memories I've tried so hard to forget. We stayed like that. For a while. Neither of us moved. Neither of us spoke. We sat there together, on the base of that tree. 

Encompassed in a hug.

~ Hello readers. Sorry for another late update. T - T I'm starting school next week, so I'll try to get another update down before I do. I sure hope I would still be able to update once school starts back up again. Anyways, hope you liked this chapter. Stay tuned for the next one and please no unsubscribing! ^^