Sungyeol didn't know what to expect when Sungjong had come running into his classroom, hair wet, almost as if he had just taken a shower - most likely coming from gym, and an unusually disheveled uniform. The younger boy's tie looking quite messy and was way too loose for what was normal for the boy, while his shirt wasn't even tucked in properly as a portion of it was hanging out of his pants. Something of which Sungjong usually was a lot more careful about, especially since he was the type that wore the uniform the way it was supposed to be worn, looking almost as if he had stepped out of a uniform catalog. And pairing that with the fact that Sungjong was in student government where it was almost imperative for everyone in it to follow the dress code to a T and look sharp, it was definitely odd to see.

If he thought about it, he couldn't help but be a bit worried, because while it wasn't unheard of for Sungjong to come by to see Hoya, it was unheard of for the other to look the way that he looked right now. Sungjong was definitely no Sungyeol or even Hoya when it came to how he dressed.

Even his expression was a bit ragged and filled with something akin to worry that Sungyeol couldn't help but feel himself start to get cold. Almost as if his body was waiting for Sungjong to tell him something important, but something that would cause him some type of hardship as well. It was an odd feeling and something that he really didn't experience often. He felt anxious. And looking at Hoya whose brows were almost completely drawn together in worry from Sungjong's words, something was obviously up. 

Letting the other get his breathing under control as soon as he had made his way to the front of his desk, Hoya having jumped out of his seat to stand beside him once he was close enough, it didn't take long for Hoya to ask, voice soft, "Babe, what's wrong, did something happen?"

Hoya conveniently ignoring how the other looked when he phrased his question, knowing that if he had said anything about it, it would have just caused Sungjong to get mad. Even if there was a good enough reason for why his soulmate wasn't looking his best, but with as much Sungjong put into appearances, it wouldn't have done any good to say anything. Sungjong probably knew already and once he had a moment to fix things, he most likely would.   

Sungjong nodding as he took a couple more breaths until he felt that he could speak without having to stop, his gaze turned to Sungyeol, a very serious look in his eyes. He finally gave, "I know you just patched things up with Myungsoo and have finally given him a chance... But he's hurt and he's in the nurse's office-"

Hurt?

Nurse's office?

What the hell happened?

"What? What do you mean by hurt?" Sungyeol quickly asked, not caring if he had been rude by interrupting the other. 

His soulmate was hurt and while it had taken him about a week or so to finally get over himself and actually want to accept the other as his soulmate, finally knowing that it was him, he couldn't help but feel worried. Which was kind of odd since Sungyeol didn't really know the other, at least not yet, but wasn't that odd in the sense that he knew Myungsoo was a good person. A much better person than he was at least and just seeing how much the other cared about him, how much he liked him despite everything he had done, he wouldn't want anything ill to happen to the other. And if anyone hurt him on purpose... Sungyeol didn't know what he would do, but he felt a bit of anger at that thought as he subconsciously clenched his hands into fists. 

Myungsoo didn't deserve anything like that. 

"Let me finish explaining and you'd know!" Sungjong couldn't help but glare at him, telling him off so that he could continue on with what he knew, "I didn't see everything alright, but from what I know and from what I've gotten from Zitao-"

"Who the hell is Zitao? And why would he know anything about Myungsoo?"  Sungyeol asked, the questions quickly flying out of his mouth before he could stop them.

He knew nothing about this Zitao person, and going from what he had seen so far when it came to his soulmate, he didn't think that Myungsoo had a lot of friends, if any. At least none that he had noticed. And while anyone would have told him off for that type of thinking, especially since Sungyeol hadn't done much to even get to know the other, he couldn't stop himself if he tried. He even felt a little justified in asking it, because if they were important to Myungsoo, he would need to get to know them and befriend them. He didn't want Myungsoo's friends to dislike them, specifially best friends that would hold his behavior over his head. He would deserve it, but he already felt bad enough about it and with the fact that Hoya and Sunggyu would probably scold him for what he was thinking now, he probably shouldn't be thinking the way he was.  

Just feeling Hoya's glare was enough to cause him to gulp a little, and take back his inquiry, "Never mind, you can tell me later, please continue." 

Giving him another look, a look that definitely meant that Sungyeol was not going to get away with what he had just done, Sungjong couldn't help but sigh a little before restarting once again. This time his voice was a bit sharper than it had been before, "So as I was saying, I don't know all the details to everything that happened, so you're going to have to ask Myungsoo. But from what I got from Zitao, who had been next to Myungsoo during that time, Myungsoo got himself hurt.

"We were playing dodgeball in gym, so you know how some people can get hurt from playing it, and Myungsoo had supposedly tried to dodge a ball and ended up landing on his ankle pretty badly... I don't know what had happened after that since I was taking care of getting a few of my teammates back into the game, but it probably wasn't that long later that someone hit him when he was down. He got hit in the head and while he wasn't bleeding or anything like that, I don't really  know how bad things are. Especially since Mr. Kim dismissed our class as soon as he had realized what had happened. Zitao and him are in the nurse's office and I thought you should know since Myungsoo's your soulmate and if Hoya ever got hurt, I'd want to know about things too-"

"I get it, let's go." Sungyeol gave as he quickly went to pick up his things, ignoring the way that some of Sungjong's words caused the class to break out in various discussions about him and his soulmate and what had just happened.

Turning to Bora to tell their teacher that he was going to be in the nurse's office and that he'd be back when he could be back, he didn't even need to see her nod her head when he turned to Sungjong. Hoay quickly telling her the same, even though Myungsoo wasn't his soulmate, but with how close he and Sungyeol were and with Sungjong there, Bora didn't need to ask questions. Hoya was just doing what he needed to do.

While Sungjong could only motion them to hurry up before he was leading them out of the room to where Myungsoo was. The youngest of the group answering their questions as they went, Hoya even going so far to keep a hand in Sungjong's as they ran. Hoya obviously knowing that Sungjong needed a bit of a support, probably kicking himself for not noticing anything right away. Watching out for Myungsoo being a responsibility of his, but with how quickly Tao took to Myungsoo, easily shooing everyone off because he genuinely liked the other, Sungjong thought it had been okay to relax a bit. 

But going by how Myungsoo landed himself in the nurse's room, he probably should have paid a little bit more attention. 

While Sungyeol couldn't stop himself from wondering who this Zitao person was and if that ball hitting Myungsoo in the head had been an accident or not. If it wasn't, Sungyeol was going to do his best to figure out who and why they had done that and give them a piece of his mind.

Myungsoo was too nice and sweet to do anything to warrant such abuse, and as his soulmate, Sungyeol had to take care of his own. 

xxxxxx

Zitao, it's okay, I'm fine. 

Myungsoo signed as he held an ice pack to his face to reduce the swelling of the bump that was along his temple, the bump having come from a ball that had impacted his head. Someone had accidentally put too much spin on a ball and as he had been too busy checking out his ankle at the time, obviously rolling it when he had fell, he hadn't noticed the ball until it had been too late to get out of the way. Complete accident at the time, but with the way Tao had rounded on the kid that had hit him, he had been quite pissed about it and still was. 

Right foot elevated a bit while a couple of ice packs were set in a formation to keep the swelling down, his ankle not broken, but just badly sprained, Myungsoo truly was okay. Especially since the nurse had given him some decent OTC painkillers that were keeping the pain from his back and ankle at bay, so despite him still being beyond sore, almost to what some would think were intolerable levels, everything was a bit more manageable now. Even if his foot was quite swollen and was an injury that his dad would most likely force him to work through despite needing a couple of days to let it rest. 

However, despite that, he couldn't help but feel a little bit of relief at the thought of Tao focusing all of his attention on his sprain and dark bruise along his temple instead of the back pain that he had noticed earlier. So for as unlucky as Myungsoo had been that day, he was thankful that he had been so clumsy. 

He hadn't wanted the other boy to know anything about the state that his back was in, so having his attention directed to new injuries that weren't caused by his father, he felt a bit more calm. Even though it seemed like Zitao was anything but calm with what had happened.

"B-but Myungsoo, your ankle and head! It's a miracle you didn't have a concussion at how hard you got hit with that ball. How can you even say that?"

Feeling warmth spread through him at the thought of Tao's worry, the other giving him puppy dog eyes as he did so, Myungsoo could only sign with a small, slightly pained, smile on his face: 

It's only a sprain and a bruise. I'll be good in a few days, nothing to worry about, okay?

Grumbling something about how he had been saying that since the start of everything, despite not knowing if that was entirely true or not, Tao couldn't help but want to shake his head at the other boy. But once Myungsoo had vetoed the idea of going to a hospital and had let the nurse check out his foot and ask him a few questions to see if he had a concussion, Myungsoo answering all of them with ease, she ended up agreeing to keep him there as long as he had felt fine enough to forgo a hospital visit. If anything changed though, she would take him despite his protests to have him get checked out. Even though it was unlikely that Myungsoo would ever mention anything like that, because his father would be quite angry if he had found out about Myungsoo going to one, but she nor Tao knew that, so Myungsoo just kept quiet and nodded. Myungsoo letting the nurse take care of his injuries while he mentally took notes on how to take care of his foot, grateful for how lenient she had been, even if Tao hadn't been entirely happy.

"Fine, but if your foot doesn't get better in a few days like the nurse said, I'll drag you to a doctor to get you checked out, x-rays and all." 

Giving him a slightly bigger smile while nodding his head to placate the other's worries, the two jumped a little when Sungjong, Hoya, and Sungyeol burst into the room. Sungyeol taking one quick look around the office before he was zeroing in on Myungsoo, causing the other to blush at the intensity of the other's gaze. It was seconds later when Sungyeol was quickly making his way towards him. 

While Myungsoo unable to stop himself from looking down and fiddling his fingers, wondering if he had caused Sungyeol to worry. Only to cause himself to bite his lip when he promptly realized that he most likely did. The thought of doing such a thing causing himself to panic a little, even if his heart had thrummed a little in delight at the thought of his soulmate being worried about him. His soulmate liking him enough to do such a thing. But in reality it really wasn't needed since Sungyeol didn't need to do that, at least not for someone like him. 

His father's words of always a burden, can't do anything right, why did she have to die instead of you running through his head. He shook at the last bit, trembling at the thought. Despite his father having every right to think that way, losing the love of his life way too early and still in pain because of it. He was just hurting and Myungsoo pretty much deserved it, so he couldn't fault his father for the way he thought and treated him. Even if Myungsoo wouldn't have done such a thing if he had been in his father's shoes. 

Sungyeol seeing the other shake, he couldn't help but grab onto one of Myungsoo's hands and give him a small smile, silently telling him that things were alright, before he was turning to Tao to ask him what had happened, "Tell me everything you know."

While Tao, confused by the sudden intrusion, but quick to realize that this older student was Myungsoo's soulmate, couldn't help but frown as he silently assessed the other. Noticing that Sungyeol had no idea how to communicate with Myungsoo, the other probably having Myungsoo use a notebook or something stupidly similar to that to speak with, Tao wasn't exactly happy. But hoping that this was just a recent development and that Sungyeol was working on learning how to use sign language, Tao just filed that little tidbit away for later. Because as much as he had wanted to judge, there were a thousand other things that he could judge the other on. Like how he treated Myungsoo, because as much as Tao barely knew Myungsoo, he knew that Myungsoo deserved the best soulmate that he could ever ask for. 

Especially since his peers barely tolerated him. 

"Myungsoo-ah dodged a ball and ended up rolling his ankle. And while the guy says that it was just an accident and how much Myungsoo thinks it was too-" the 'I don't really believe that' silent yet loud to everyone's ears, causing Myungsoo to shake his head at Tao, telling him that no it wasn't that and that it was just an accident and that he was being too worried about things, Sungyeol grunting for Tao to continue, "But anyway, guy threw a ball, put a little too much spin on it and it ended up hitting Myungsoo in the head when Myungsoo wasn't looking. Nurse says he most likely doesn't have a concussion and that he just has a really bad sprain, but she wants to keep him here just in case and if his foot doesn't get better within a few days, he'll need to get some x-rays to see if it's just a sprained ankle or if it's actually a break."

Nodding at Tao's words, Sungyeol couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as he turned to Myungsoo, ignoring Tao's eyes for the time being, "I thought it was much worse, Sungjong was quite worried about you. But it's good to see that you're okay."

"Yeah, I was. It's good to see that you weren't hurt that bad." Sungjong piped up, a bit more relaxed than before and uniform fixed for the most part, only his tie a bit out of place. While Hoya gave a small nod of his own, "Good to see that you're okay."

Not having a notebook or anything to write with, Myungsoo could only give them a small smile, eyes shining with an apology for making them worried, that Tao couldn't help but sign: I'm going to grab a pen and some paper, alright? This way you can communicate with them.

Thank you.   

"Not a problem Myungsoo-ah." Tao quickly replied as he went around the room in search of a pen and some scrap pieces of paper.

While Sungyeol couldn't help but turn to Myungsoo with an apology of his own as well, feeling quite a bit more inadequate about things. Tao literally giving him the evil eye whenever he thought Myungsoo and him weren't looking. But despite the animosity that Tao was displaying, Sungyeol couldn't help but feel a little happy at the thought that Myungsoo had such a good friend, proving him wrong. It didn't matter if the two hadn't been friends for long, it was obvious that Tao was quite taken with Myungsoo, which in Sungyeol's books was a good thing. And as much as he would love for Myungsoo to be friends with his friends, it was good to see that he had some of his own. 

Even if Tao gave him the same looks that half of his friends have given to him when it came to Myungsoo and how he's messed up and how he's more than likely to mess up many times in the future as well. 

Turning to Tao to thank the other, Sungeol voiced, "Thanks Tao, it's much appreciated." 

While Tao could only hide a snort at Sungyeol's words, "It's fine, but hopefully it isn't always this way." 

Sungyeol easily able to understand the message in the other boy's words, the other issuing him a challenge. A challenge that Sungyeol needed to take, even if Myungsoo would have been fine with speaking to him via notebook and pen forever. It was not only the right thing to do, but if he was going to make things work and give Myungsoo the chance he should have given in the beginning, he needed to be able to give just as much as Myungsoo gave to their relationship. Something of which Myungsoo didn't lack. 

Feeling that things were taken care of and that Myungsoo was in good hands, Sungjong and Hoya finally excused themselves to go back to class. Sungjong making sure that Myungsoo knew that he would be by his locker after school to give him his homework for the classes he had missed. While Hoya told them to take care and that he would see them later. 

Waving the two good bye, it didn't take long for Tao and Sungyeol to turn to each other, questions ready. Myungsoo could only put his head in his hands, hoping that things would turn out okay.

Five hours later, both were unscathed, but Sungyeol couldn't help but have a lot to think about as he silently ordered a phone for Myungsoo as the other boy took a nap. The nurse having forced Tao to go back to class for his last period of the day, Tao begrudgingly doing as he was told, not wanting to cause a scene since Myungsoo was already asleep. While Sungyeol eventually found himself buying some things on his phone, a book about sign language included, knowing that he would have to put a bit more effort into his relationship with Myungsoo.

Ending his purchase with a cheap data plan and a black and blue phone case, something that he felt that Myungsoo would like, he patiently waited for the other to wake. He needed Myungsoo to know that he was going to do things right.  

[ Author's Note ] : So I'm sure you were all expecting something with this latest chapter, so don't hate me because things weren't taken care of just yet, it was too soon in my opinion. So you'll just have to wait a bit more until they do, but it won't be too long since I don't foresee this story going more than 20-25 chapters or so. But at least Tao and Sungyeol have met and you'll definitely see more of Tao in the future for a variety of reasons. However, I hoped you enjoyed the chapter and if you can, tell me what you think.