Hansol couldn’t believe the words that Xero wrote on the slip of paper.  His mind was instantly flooded with a thousand questions, but he knew he’d have to wait until class was over to get any answers.

“Alright children, please turn to page 347 in your Web Design manuals,” Mrs. Shin said.  She seemed to possess the ability to stare into the souls of every student simultaneously…

“Um… we don’t exactly have manuals,” Seogoong said.  Hansol had never heard him speak in such a hushed tone before.  He could have sworn he heard a growl as Mrs. Shin stomped to the back of the classroom and opened the closet.  She grabbed the box of books and slammed it on a random kid’s desk.

“Shin Jiho, give every student a manual immediately,” she commanded.

“My name’s not Jiho,” Xero whispered as he grabbed the box and began handing out manuals.  Hansol couldn’t imagine how Xero came from such a terrifying woman.  After Xero took his seat, Mrs. Shin began to write something on the chalkboard, but she stopped halfway through and faced the class again.

“Shin Jiho and Kim Hansol… just so we won’t have any misunderstandings later on, you will be doing something about that unsightly hair of yours, understood?”

Hansol’s ears reddened and Xero looked like he was about to blow a fuse.

“Seriously?” He said through clenched teeth.

“Quite seriously,”

“You know this is our natural hair color… why are you being like this?”

“Did I not make myself clear? Either your hair changes, or you fail the course,”

“Well it looks like you’ll have to give me an F,” Xero locked eyes with her; Hansol could tell this was not their first debate on the subject, and Xero was not about to back down.

“So be it.  And as for you Hansol?” she turned and looked directly at him.

“I um… I’m sorry, but I can’t change my hair.  It’s more than just a color, it’s symbolic of what makes me who I am,” Hansol replied, trying to keep his heart from beating out of his chest.

“Then it looks like you’ll be failing the course as well.  Good luck getting into Arario University next year,” Mrs. Shin said with a sadistic smirk as she continued writing on the chalkboard.

It seemed like a millennium passed before class finally ended.  Xero stormed out and Hansol rushed to catch up with him.

“You realize that you have a lot of explaining to do right?” he said.  Xero nodded.

“My mom has been teaching at our local high school for years but she always wanted a boarding school job.  Arario has been fully staffed for a while, but I guess with Mr. Cho’s promotion they finally had an opening.  She always has wanted to ruin my life in any way possible, so it’s no shocker that she’d show up here,”

“Wow, this really .  How do you think she’ll react when she finds out we’re dating?” Hansol asked.  Xero’s eyes widened.

“! I didn’t even think of that! Hansol, promise me you won’t say anything around her.  She can’t know until I’m ready to tell her okay?”

“But Xero… I thought…”

“You know I love you Hansol, it’s just that… I’m not ready for her to find out about us yet.  She knows I’m gay, but knowing about it and seeing me kissing another guy are completely different things,”

“I understand,” Hansol said with a nod.  Xero pecked him on the lips, forcing him to smile against his will.

“Cheer up, let’s go to lunch, we can find a table away from the guys and have some alone time okay?”

“That sounds nice,” Hansol replied.  His phone beeped as they started walking away.

From: The Master Planner

When the revolution comes, what side will you be on? The ball is in your court wizard.  Text me back when you’re ready to drop the loser squad and team up with the real heroes.

Hansol studied the strange message with a puzzled expression.  Who was “The Master Planner” and how did they get his number.  He decided to push the issue from his mind for the moment and focus on spending time with Xero, but he would definitely bring it up to the others later.