Taekwoon had taken such an obnoxiously long time getting ready for school the first day back that Seungho had to come knock on his door, reminding him to not be late. If only he knew . . . Still, Taekwoon was nothing if not resilient, and even if he wanted to have nothing to do with anyone back at school, he'd strut in with his head high. He wasn't going to show anyone he let them get to him. It just wasn't a very Taekwoon thing to do.

Bothering to wait for Jongdae would be useless; Taekwoon knew he wouldn't be there. The inevitable thought that Hakyeon probably had something to do with it crossed his mind and so did the troubling realization that he might be treated differently at school from today forward because of it.

He sighed.

If there was a good day for his parents to spontaneously sweep him away to another city, today would be it. No one here would miss him.

The first classes of the day saw him keeping a low profile and didn't go so badly because of it. Truthfully, he wasn't sure what kind of "bad" he expected, but going overlooked and not talked too was not it. (That didn't mean the secretive glances tossed his way didn't go unnoticed.)

His nerves began to tell another story as lunch came closer though. There hadn't been a doubt in his mind that he would be shunned from his usual lunch table; which was why he asked Seungho if it wouldn't be too much trouble to make him lunch. (He liked Seungho's cooking; it was one of the only consolations he had left in life these days.)

The situation made Taekwoon have to leave the liveliness he'd gotten so used to behind. Eating on the roof would be easier in any case—but it was the first sign that the next few weeks would be a tough pill to swallow.

Through the school, Taekwoon quietly made his way to the roof and was thankful he hadn't ran into anyone he knew—most of all Hakyeon or Jongdae. He pushed the roof entrance door open with a scowl.

Hakyeon.

Sure, Yixing wanted him to be gracious everything, but how could he? Those things Hakyeon said to him . . . How he spread his private life around the school . . . Hakyeon.

Jung thinking about it nearly began to boil his blood.

After settling next to a ledge wall, he plugged in his ear buds and began to dip into his lunchbox. Right then, a hand waved in front of his face.

He yanked out one of the cords. "What—" He was ready to snap.

Daehyun leaned back. Taekwoon blinked.

"Sorry if I scared you," Daehyun apologized, looking sheepish.

"What are you doing here?" Taekwoon asked. He didn't mean to sound rude.

Daehyun didn't look offended at all, just smiled. "Thought you could use the company." he offered, settling down next to him.

They'd never talked much, him and Daehyun; they were more friends of each other's friends. Taekwoon knew he worked at the cafe, occasionally hung out with Jongup and Junhong, and—oh, right. Was also dating Yongguk, apparently.

"I didn't know you were dating Yongguk." he blurted, surprise on his face.

Daehyun looked taken aback that time, taking a moment to recover. Taekwoon felt a little bad he just put it out there like that.

"Ah, yeah . . ." he muttered, "It's kind of a secret?" He sounded sheepish again. "I was really surprised when I saw you at the party. Who invited you?"

Taekwoon nibbled his lip in thought. "It was Hongbin. . . . Do you know all of them?"

Daehyun nodded. "We're not really friends, but they're nice to me when I'm over there."

Taekwoon nodded, processing all the new information.

"You're friends with them too, huh?"

Taekwoon's nod was more tentative this time. "It's sort of why I'm up here . . . Someone, um. Found out."

"I heard." Daehyun sympathized. "There're some pretty nasty things being said about you now. You know how rumors are." he shrugged.

Taekwoon snorted hard. Who cares . . .

"It's weird that we're both kinda stuck in this situation, huh?" Daehyun continued. Taekwoon shrugged too. "Not that it means much, but you can talk to me."

Taekwoon looked at him as he began to eat. He opened his mouth to say something—Ravi. He kissed me. What do you know about him? Does he kiss everyone? How do I tell if he . . . l-likes me . . .—but the words only played out in his head. He slumped a little.

Taekwoon offered him his free ear bud and they finished lunch together in companionable silence.

The social changes hit him hard during free period. There was an undeniable emptiness when Taekwoon made his way onto the small soccer pitch alone. Jongdae's glaring absence put a dent in his mood and he scolded himself for letting their friendship (or newly lack thereof) get to him like this.

While he stretched out, he told himself that it didn't matter, that he was fine like this.

It was frustrating, he thought as he began to dribble the ball around the goal; doing something with one group of people shouldn't constitute having to give up another group of people. They could go hand in hand. He wished they understood that. He still didn't know what Ravi and the others did to make it this bad, but now that it was affecting him negatively . . .

He launched the ball into a nearby tree. It rolled away after like it wanted to be nowhere near him. The cold wind blew.

He was doing it. He was letting it get to him.

Taekwoon rubbed at his face hard, and hidden behind the tree's trunk, Jongdae watched him with a frown.

As the school day came to a close (finally), Taekwoon weighed his options. He'd unfortunately made it a habit to stop by the cafe just to be around friends for a little while or have a latte or snack, but now he wasn't sure that'd be a good idea. He wasn't a professional by any means but he could read a mood, and if he didn't have to, he didn't want to inject himself into an atmosphere like that. He clenched his backpack straps as he left the school premises.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder. He whipped around to lash out at them, but it was Daehyun again.

"Hey, you can come with me to the cafe!" he piped cheerfully. Taekwoon blinked at him. "I'll give you something on the house, yeah? You probably need it." He laughed.

Taekwoon watched him begin to head in that direction, slightly confused. He wondered why—maybe he just didn't know him—Daehyun only approached him now. He didn't seem shy. It probably wasn't important. Taekwoon allowed himself to feel a little grateful for his new company.

By the time they walked into the cafe, Taekwoon was thinking about what kind of person Yongguk was to date someone like Daehyun. They seemed like real opposites to him; where Yongguk was stoic and thoughtful, Daehyun was bright and a chatterbox. The way they matched up like that was kind of cute the more he thought about it.

"Ah, Taekwoon," Minseok slowly greeted as he tied on his apron. Taekwoon shied away, but Minseok smiled gently instead. "Don't worry, you're fine here." he said, as if the place was some kind of middle ground.

It wasn't enough to soothe Taekwoon because he ended up looking around warily. Students from school trickled in and out and he felt the stupid need to hide at a table closest to the counter, just to be safe. The atmosphere from school still clung to him, so he couldn't help but feel like someone was going to pick a fight.

His hunch ended up being unfortunately right when a chair screeched across the tiled floor across from him. He came face to face with a kid he'd never seen before, but they wore the same uniform as him.

For the love of . . .

"So," the boy starts, aggressive and arrogant, "is it true you were face with that dropout?" His friend who was with him snickered.

Dropout?

"I never pegged that weirdo to be into guys, but I guess since he lives with a bunch of them, catches fast, huh?" he went on, grin splitting viciously into his face. Taekwoon's eyebrow twitched. "Are you one of them too now? Caught the freak sickness from their house?"

Heat flooded into his face—but not out of embarrassment. Who the hell did this guy think he was?

"Yeah, I bet you're just slobbering all over Ravi's di—"

"Taekwoon."

Minseok's worried voice was fuzzy in his head from off to the side, but it was too late. Red had already flashed over his eyes, agitation gripping his nerves. He wrapped a quick hand around the back of the jerk's head and slammed it nose-first into the table. His friend yelped.

"Taekwoon!" That was Daehyun.

"What the fu—"

The chair screeched back and the guy stumbled out, holding his nose.

It didn't take long for the cafe to fall silent. Heads of multiple customers—mainly young adults and teenagers—even poked over the walls in curiosity. The guy growled, but Taekwoon wasn't intimidated.

"Say it again." he provoked, tone low. Say it again, I dare you.

The guy whipped his hand away, droplets of blood flying off it and onto the floor. His face contorted further into ugliness.

Everything happened so fast—the boy leaped at him and Taekwoon dove for his legs—that next thing he knew, he had him pinned to the ground. The guy thrashed under him and he struggled to hold him down, ready to throw punches, but—

"Taekwoon, you gotta get out of here."

Who was it? Pulling at him? Anger smothered his brain so much, he couldn't even see straight.

"Taekwoon." They tried to shake his world back into place.

He snapped his head up—Daehyun was gripping one of his arms, alarm on his face. On his other side was Minseok mirroring the expression; it was enough to pull Taekwoon from his angry stupor. He let them pull him off the other kid who was still ready to go ten rounds with him.

"You need to go," Daehyun whirred, "if you get caught, you're gonna get in big trouble. Me and Minseok will cover for you, just go."

One moment, Minseok was shoving his bag into his arms, and the next, they were both promptly ejecting him from the cafe. Yelling echoed after him from none other than the person who started trouble, but as soon as the cold air hit his face, his brain cleared.

Dread soaked through him.

Why did I—

He set off at a sprint.

Cold wind stung at his face, threatening to freeze his ears and nose off. He had no idea where he was going, but anywhere except for home was good right now.

He couldn't believe he did that. What was Seungho going to say when he found out? And he was going to find out, Taekwoon just knew it. Then he would tell his sisters. Then he would be grounded. Seungho would be disappointed in him. The thought immediately had him running out of steam.

His surroundings sharpened into focus. His face was so numb, he could hardly feel his nose. Under him, his jelly legs threatened to give out and so he collapsed onto the nearest bench. The biting cold curled him into his jacket and he watched his breath puff out in front of him from gasping.

He groaned. Could he have started the semester off in a worse possible way?

How long he sat there, he wasn't sure, but it was long enough for his fingers and toes to start numbing. Part of him wanted to go home and the other wanted to stay where he was and freeze to death.

Yes, he was being ridiculous . . . But freezing to death sounded like a much better idea than going home to face Seungho. Even if he didn't know what happened now, Taekwoon did. He'd lost his temper over something stupid and meaningless and couldn't take it back. Yixing would be so disappointed.

The regret poured over him until he thought about that guy again . . .

"I never pegged that weirdo to be into guys."

"Caught the freak sickness from their house?"

Renewed fury began to roll over his face and he shook the regret out of his head. That deserved to have his face broken. Taekwoon would've broken it if they were somewhere more private. Why did he think he could get away with talking about Ravi like that?

Taekwoon pinched his nose right then. Why did it matter if someone say ty things about Ravi?

It wasn't just about Ravi, he immediately concluded. Those people . . . They were his friends. Friends. Someone couldn't expect to talk trash about another's friends and then be surprised when they got hit—or something. Or something . . .

He groaned again.

"What's wrong?"

Taekwoon flinched, shooting up straight. Wide-eyed, he looked up.

"Ravi." he blurted.

Only, Ravi had dried blood under his nose and all over the collar of the sweatshirt poking through his thick parka.

"Your face," Taekwoon breathed.

Ravi looked surprised and wiped at himself—his knuckles were visibly battered. "Yikes, sorry. Thought I got all of it." he said sheepishly, like it was no big deal. "How come you're out here? It's getting late, aren't you gonna get sick?"

I could ask you the same thing. Taekwoon thought, drawing in on himself. The weather had him starting to feel pretty crappy though. If he ended up getting sick, it wouldn't be a surprise. What a way to end the day . . .

"What'd you do to your face?" he asked, swerving the conversation. "Don't say you ran into a wall or something." That tired excuse wasn't going to be bought at this point.

Ravi plopped down next to him—close—and sighed. "I just got into a little scrap, that's all." He laughed.

"I don't see what's so funny . . ." Taekwoon muttered into his own jacket. He sniffled.

"You're really gonna get sick, man." Ravi reprimanded.

"And you?" Taekwoon accused, but ended up biting his lip to stay quiet.

"I was just on my way home, actually." Ravi replied cheekily, grinning. His lips were so split and chapped in a lot of places, Taekwoon couldn't help but notice when he glanced over. ". . . Wanna come over?"

Taekwoon's stupid heart hopped and he immediately looked off into the distance. The answer was ye—

"I can't." He quickly shook his head. He got to his feet and Ravi did the same, watching him. They were both wearing thick coats, but Taekwoon could swear Ravi's body heat was warming him just a little. "I have to get home . . ."

Ravi tilted forward. "Can you come over soon then? Maybe tomorrow?" It was both endearing and nerve-racking to have him this close, talking to him like that. He inhaled a sharp little breath he hoped wasn't heard.

"Maybe tomorrow . . ." he repeated. Nerves cracked at his voice.

Ravi grinned in satisfaction.

Not sure what else to say or do, Taekwoon nodded awkwardly and then mumbled a goodbye. Ravi waved cheerfully.

Now all he had to do was get home and figure out what he was going to tell Seungho.

"Jeez, Wonsik. Your face." Yongguk's voice was deep with agitation and admonition. "Why didn't you listen to me?"

Wonsik sat on the couch and Yongguk sat on the coffee table across from him, dabbing at his face.

"Hyuk, could you get me the bandages?" Yongguk called. Wonsik hissed at the peroxide. "No, sit here and take it." Wonsik whined. "You couldn't wait for me to take care of it?"

"Hyung, no offense, and I really love you and all, and I'm really grateful and all—"

"The point, Wonsik."

"—but it wouldn't have felt the same if I didn't beat the guy up myself."

"That makes you sound like a bully, Wonsik."

"Don't say that." Wonsik snapped, brushing Yongguk's hands away. Hyuk quickly came into and left the room. "The things that said to Taekwoon . . . And about us, too? Bastard's lucky I didn't do more."

Yongguk eyed him, stern and long, and it didn't take long for Wonsik to shy away. That look, a mixture of disappointment and resignation, always stirred his stomach uncomfortably. He looked at the ground.

". . . You woulda done it for Daehyun . . ." he muttered.

Silence fell a long moment and fear that he said something wrong passed through him.

And then Yongguk sighed. Wonsik could tell by its tone that he wasn't in trouble anymore.

"You're right." he yielded.

He began putting the small first-aid kit away. Wonsik regarded him with apprehension. He wasn't in trouble anymore, but Yongguk giving him the silent treatment was even worse than that. His fears weren't realized when Yongguk spoke again.

". . . You really like Taekwoon, huh?"

A blush spread over his cheeks and he groaned, covering his face.