I wasn't sure how to feel as JR and I made our way to the principle's office. In all my years of going to this school I've NEVER been sent there.

 

 

 I looked over at JR. He had a totally blank expression and a calm aura around him. He was walking quite leisurely with his hands in his pockets. It looked like he was walking down a runway rather than a school hallway towards the principle's office.

 

'He's probably used to this...he must practically LIVE in that office...that troublemaker...' I sighed. We finally stopped in front of the office. We walked in and waited for the secretary to take notice of us. She was busy making a phone call. Once she finished she turned to us and gasped at our appearances.

 

"Oh...is there something I can do for you boys?" She asked hesitantly.

"We're here to see Principle Choi..." I explained quietly. She nodded knowingly and ushered us to wait in some seats across from his office door. JR sat down at one end and I sat at the other. It was incredibly awkward having to sit near each other. The secretary coughed to get our attention.

 

"So...do you boys think you'll be returning to class after this? Or is this...going to take a while?" She asked. I shrugged in response. I had no idea how long this could take. She nodded.

 

"Alright then...I'll email your teachers in case then..." She disappeared behind her desk to do just that. She didn't want to stay around us and our suffocating air. I didn't blame her.

 

We waited for around 15 miserable minutes. Each second that ticked by made me more and more nervous. I hoped since this was my first office Principle Choi would be gracious and not punish me too harsh. JR still had that blank expression on his face. I glared at him. I really wanted to smack that stupid look off his face. But that would only mean more trouble for me. JR then looked over at me and I quickly faced the opposite way. Too upset to look at him. I heard him grumble something under his breath.

 

"What did you just say?!" I snapped. He glared at me.

"Nothing you need to hear!" He responded. I was about to say a sassy retort but I was interrupted.

 

The door to the principle's office opened and Principle Choi stepped out. His cold and distant features sent chills down my spine. I heard stories of people being sent to his office and passing out just from his harsh glare. I gulped, afraid.

 

He motion us to come in. We both got up and followed him. We sat down at a few seats which were in front of his desk. Once he sat down at his desk he eyed up coldly.

 

"Alright boys, tell me exactly why you both are here in my office." He stated simply, his deep voice sending fear down to my core.

 

We both remained silent. I was too afraid to speak and JR....he just didn't talk.

 

"Why are you both are here in my office?" He repeated. I gulped.

 

"Well...you see....I set up this prank...and JR was involved...but my friend got in the way and...JR thought he did it so JR beat him up but then I stepped in...and Baekho stepped in...and they fought and...JR threw garbage at us...." I explained rather lamely. Principle Choi took a moment to take everything in.

 

"So you're telling me you irresponsibly pranked another student and risked the safety of a friend of yours for said prank and as a result a fight broke out which triggered another stunt?" He questioned, tone never wavering.

 

I nodded and hung my head in shame. JR still stared straight ahead, expressionless.

 

"I'm very disappointed in you boys. Since this is a first offence for both of you I shall let you off with a warning. If anything like this ever happens again, there will be very serious consequences. This type of behavior will not be tolerated at this school. Do I make myself clear?" He claimed. We both nodded in response. 'My mom is going to kill me when she hears about this!!'

 

"For your punishment I'm sentencing both of you to two weeks of detention. As well as one week of cleaning duties afterschool. You will both be assigned different locations around the school to clean." Principle Choi continued.

 

I nodded but also panicked on the inside. 'I'm in so much trouble! And I have to spend time with THIS IDIOT?! I'm gonna die!!!'

 

It was then that Baekho entered the room. He sat down in between JR and I.

 

"Ah Mr. Kang...so glad you could join us. You were involved in this stunt as well am I correct?" Principle Choi inquired. Baekho nodded. Principle Choi asked him to share his side of the story.

 

"Well...I was at lunch in the cafeteria when I heard some kids talking about a fight going on. I heard that JR was involved..and was worried. When I got there I saw him and...another friend of mine in a fight. I didn't want it to get worse so I stepped in and tried to stop it but I ended up only adding fuel to the fire...Things escalated and some other...students...threw trash at us..." Baekho explained pausing a couple times, as if choosing his words carefully.

 

JR had a very sour expression on his face but remained still and silent. Principle Choi nodded when he finished.

 

"I see...considering you involvement was less than theirs and how you at least tried to stop it I can give you less punishment. But you still played a part. And added to it. Instead of joining you should have alerted a teacher. For this you shall be joining these two in two weeks of detention." He paused to let it sink in before continuing. "Now you mentioned another student involved. What student is he?"

 

"Aron Kwak" I responded instead of Baekho. He gave me a look but I ignored it. The principle didn't acknowledge it.

"Alright considering his involvement he shall also receive detention but I shall wait until I hear what he has to say before determining the amount. Where is he?"

"In the nurse's office sir..." Baekho said almost solemnly. Principle Choi only nodded.

 

"Alright. That's all I need to discuss with you boys. Your detention sentence starts tomorrow afterschool. If you skip more time will be added on. If you cause more trouble you will be suspended or potentially expelled. Do I make myself clear?"  We all nodded and stood up to leave. "Alright then all of you get back to class." We bowed and exited his office.

 

The secretary wasn't in the room so it was just the three of us.

 

"Good going JR...this is a great start to the week." Baekho commented sarcastically. JR snarled.

"OH YEAAHHH blame me why don't you!?"

"Well why shouldn't I?! Isn't most of this because of your doing?!" Baekho shot back. JR seemed taken aback.

'Don't you understand that I wasn't the one who started this?! It was that blond freak's fault! He started all of this!" JR boomed.

"But you took it way too far JR! You always do! Instead of being a rational person you just explode!!!" Baekho yelled. JR looked like he wanted to say something else but instead just stormed out of the office. Baekho watched him as he walked away. He turned to look at me for a second before leaving the office as well.

 

I stood there still. I was surprised at Baekho. I always knew he was the more peaceful one of them, but he still was always there for JR. But now he was against him. And he was there to protect Aron hyung.

 

'Is there something going on with them??...Or is Baekho just a nice guy?...or...' I didn't know what to think about Baekho at the moment. But I was curious.

 

'Well I have two weeks of detention to figure him out...'  The secretary returned and gave me a smile. I smiled politely in return and exited the room, going back to my class.

 

 

 

As soon as I walked into the nurse's she was all over me, asking me questions about what had happened. I told her that I was involved in a fight and she frowned. She walked around to a little freezer and pulled out an icepack.

 

"Here put this on your jaw sweetie..." She instructed and I did what she said. She sat me down in a plastic chair and walked back over to her desk.

 

"Alright dear I think we should call your mom and see if she can pick you up or just to inform her at least." She picked up the telephone and flipped through a book of phone numbers. I panicked. If my mom found out she'd freak out and she's already working so hard.

 

"No!" I exclaimed. The nurse gave me a startled and puzzled look. "u-uh...she's very busy at work now and I'd hate to bother her! It's fine!" I said. She paused for a moment before putting the phone down.

 

"Oh alright...if you say so..." She went around to a few cabinets and pulled out different bottles. She then went and sat in the chair next to me. Putting the icepack on a nearby table, she examined my face for a bit.

 

"Oof...those look pretty bad....Let's put some ointments of those bruises to help them heal a bit faster." She opened one of the bottles and squeezed out a little blob of ointment. With careful, light touches, she rubbed the cream onto my wounds. I winced a bit but bared it the best I could. 'these really do hurt like hell...'

 

When she was finished she examined my lip. She got up to get a wet washcloth. Dabbing it carefully at my lip, cleaning up the blood until it was clean.

 

"Oh so it was just a tiny little cut after all!" She cheered. "But it still bled quite a bit. It should heal in a couple days though. Just stay away from salty foods. That might sting!" She joked. I smiled a bit but stopped because it hurt. She giggled.

 

"Oh sorry...be careful when you smile and laugh too. Alright so let's have you lay down over on this bed for a bit. I know technically you don't need to but I can tell that you aren't in good condition to reenter a classroom!" She added motioning me to a big bed. I nodded and laid down.  I noticed that she was quite young actually. Most likely younger than my mom. And pretty quirky. Before she shut the curtains surrounding the bed she told me to holler if I needed anything. I didn't respond but I knew she knew I understood.

 

Now that I was technically alone I had plenty of time to think. I thought of what I said to Baekho on the way to the nurse and my stomach churned with guilt. I didn't know why I said what I did. I just felt like I needed to be mad at someone. And unfortunately it was him...

 

'Oh gosh he probably hates me now...I'm a terrible person....' I wanted to do something to apologize for my actions. But I had no idea what to do. Sighing I rolled over onto my side. I don't remember closing my eyes but when I opened them I heard the bell for fifth period go off. The nurse opened to curtains.

 

"Ah...you're awake! I wasn't sure when you'd wake up so I emailed your teachers in case you didn't go back to class. Since you're awake let's have a look at you bruises." She sat down at the edge of the bed and examined my face.

 

"Oh goody! You're looking better already! Let's apply more ointment to keep it fresh!" She applied more of the ointment onto my face. I looked into a mirror and saw that a lot of my bruises did seem much lighter.

 

 

"So are you all set to head back to class?" She asked. I remembered what Mr. Xu told me earlier.

"Actually I need to head to the principle's office now..." I replied. She rushed to her desk.

 

"Oh! Before you leave let me write down the brand of that ointment so you can purchase some! I'd gladly give you the one we already have but that's against school rules....so here you go!" She handed me a slip of paper with the brand of ointment written on it. I thanked her and left her office.

 

I made quick steps to the principle's office, wanting it to be over as soon as possible. When I arrived, the secretary ushered me into his office. I sat down in a chair across from him.

 

"Hello there Mr. Kwak." He greeted.

"Hello Principle Choi." I returned the greeting.

"Alright so tell what happened." He got straight to the point. Not that I minded.

 

"I was grabbing some files inside room 216 for Mr. Xu when I heard a commotion outside. When I got outside I saw JR covered in pie. He thought I was the one who did it and attacked me. Soon Ren and Baekho joined the fight and then garbage was thrown onto us. It ended when Mr. Xu broke up the fight." I described what happened simply.

 

"So you were gathering files for Mr. Xu?" He asked.

"Yes sir..." He began typing away at his computer. It was silent for a few minutes while he typed.

 

"I just emailed Mr. Xu and he confirmed that. Alright, your story checks out. Now tell me...Did you have any knowledge of this prank beforehand?" He inquired. I nodded.

 

"And did you inform anyone of it so that it could have been prevented?" I shook my head. "I see....I'm sorry for your injuries but you still must receive punishment for not acting accordingly..."

 

"Yes sir..."

"You, along with everyone else shall receive two weeks worth of detention afterschool starting tomorrow."

"Yes sir..."

"I will allow you to leave school early today on account of your injuries."

"Alright sir..."

"You may leave now. Get better soon and do not cause further trouble. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir"  I bowed and exited. Since I was allowed to leave school early I gathered my items and left. I stood at the corner of the street trying to figure out what to do though. I didn't really want to go home just yet.

 

'Might as well buy that ointment...' I walked to the nearest pharmacy, bought the ointment, and left. Since the pharmacy was right by a park I decided to walk around there for a bit. I walked to the empty playground and sat down on the swing. I checked my phone and saw that school had just ended. I sighed knowing that I should go home but I just didn't feel like it.

 

I swung on the swing for an unknown amount of time on out of the corner of my eye I saw someone get on the swing next to me. Looking to my right I saw that it was Minhyun.

 

"Hey.." He said.

"Hi..." I returned.  We swung in silence for a few minutes.

'Are you okay?" He asked. I knew he was talking about my injuries.

"I'm alright. They don't hurt much..." I replied. "Thanks for calling Mr. Xu....if you hadn't I don't know what else might have happened..."

"It's no problem....I only wish I had sooner..." I patted him on the shoulder and smiled. (carefully considering my lip)

"Don't worry about it. Just be glad you did...." He still seemed troubled. I figured it was best to change the subject.

 

"So what brings you to the park?" I asked.

"Oh I pass by here everyday afterschool....It's a shortcut to my house.."

"Oh that's cool!....you probably should be getting home soon..."

"Yeah...are you gonna stay here?"

"Yeah. I'm not in the mood to go home right now." He paused to think for a second, jutting out his bottom lip in a cute manner.

 

"Well...if you wanna...you can come over my house...my mom wouldn't mind..." He said blushing. I laughed.

"Yeah that sounds like fun. If you'd have me I'd love to come over."

"Well I offered so of course!" He smiled.

"Great. So let's go?"

"Yeah" We both jumped off the swings and made our way to Minhyun's house.

 

We kept walking until Minhyun stopped in front of a large house on the corner of the street. My jaw dropped. It had dark grey paneling around it and a two door garage. It also had plenty of windows and dark mahogany shutters.

 

"Wow...Minhyun...your house is incredible!" I exclaimed. He seemed unfazed.

"Yeah I guess..." We walked up the driveway and to the front door which was a dark brown with a fancy brass knocker. We stepped inside and took off our shoes. Looking around the foyer I was in awe, everything was so beautiful. The décor was very simple and modern looking. And EVERYTHING looked so new and clean.

 

"Min you never told me you were rich!" I commented. He scratched the back of his head.

"It never really came up...and I'm not rich per se....my mom just has a good position in her job..." He explained. "Now let's go the living room." He continued, leading the way into his spacious living room. I took a seat on the black leather sofa. Min sat next to me and looked closely at my face leaning in slowly. I was confused.

 

"Uh...Min? I know I'm handsome but it doesn't look that much different up close." I joked. He backed away quickly and punched me in the arm, blushing brightly. I began laughing intensely.

 

"S-shut up Aron hyung! I was getting a closer look at your injuries!!" He grumbled. I laughed and pinched his cheek.

"Aigoo poor Minnie...I didn't mean to make fun of you...I was joking" He huffed and puffed out his cheeks. Then he got serious.

 

"But really hyung...are you in pain? Do you need any ice??"

"No...I'm fine really. Nothing hurts and the nurse gave me plenty of ice earlier." He nodded but still seemed unsure.

"Anyway...what do you want to do...?" He asked.

"I don't know...It's your house." I shrugged. He thought for a moment.

"Do you want to play video games?" He suggested. I agreed and he got up and walked over to the TV. Beside it was a bookcase full of different videogames.

 

"What do you want to play?"

"Whatever is fine..." He picked out a game and put it into his console. After grabbing two controllers he walked back over to the couch. The game started and it was a fighting game. I've heard a lot of good reviews about it but never played it before. [IB: I don't know what game they should play so if you have a specific game they should play just use your imagination :P]

 

"Awesome. I've never played this before!"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah."

"It should be easy to beat you then!" Minhyun smirked.

"We'll see about that! I'm a quick learner!" I countered. He clicked start and we began playing.

 

We played for a few hours. He beat me a lot at first but once I got the hang of it I became the victorious one.

 

"Haha! I win again!" I exclaimed after my 20th victory in a row. Minhyun just sighed and threw the controller onto the ground.

 

"I quit!" He yelled, clearly defeated. Looking around at the clock I saw that it was already 6:00. I wasn't sure when my dad or mom was going to be home.

 

"Wow! Time sure flies..." I commented.

"Yeah I didn't even realize how late it was getting..."

"I should get going..." I said standing up. He stood up also.

"I'll walk you to the door then.." I grabbed my things and we made our way to the foyer just as Minhyun's mom entered the house carrying a big takeout bag. She looked at me surprised.

 

"Oh...Minhyun dear....who is your friend?" She asked.

"Oh mom...This is my friend Aron hyung." He introduced me.

"Hello there Mrs. Hwang...It's nice to meet you." I greeting, bowing politely. She smiled.

"Oh yes Minhyun has talked about you before! It's nice to finally meet you! Are you leaving now dear?"

"Yes ma'am. I was about to go home."

"Oh are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner? I just picked up some takeout and there's quite a lot. I wouldn't mind an extra mouth at the table. It only means less leftovers." She laughed.

 

 I thought it over for a moment. I didn't really want to go home yet. I looked at Minhyun who just smiled kindly at me.

 

"Sure Mrs. Hwang. I'd love to stay for dinner."

"Oh great! Minhyun dear go set the table and we'll eat." She took off her shoes and made her way past us and towards the kitchen. Minhyun followed after her. I set my stuff down and did the same.

 

Arriving in their kitchen I noticed that they had a large kitchen table in the center of their kitchen. Minhyun was setting out plates and utensils around it. Minhyun's mother was taking the food out of the bag. It was just Chinese food.

 

"Aron dear what would you like to drink?" She questioned me once she saw me.

"Oh...water is fine."

"Alright Minhyun dear pour Aron a glass of water. Actually get me one too." Minhyun poured a glass of water for everyone. We all sat down and began eating. I wasn't very hungry but still ate to not be rude.

 

It was pretty silent throughout dinner except for the occasional "how was your day" type chatter. That is until Mrs. Hwang asked me.

 

"What happened to your face dear?" I paused mid-bite.

"Oh...well...I was...involved in a fight at school." I said truthfully, not able to think of any other kind of excuse. Mrs. Hwang seemed taken aback.

 

"Oh my...are you alright dear?"

"Oh yes! I'm fine! It looks worse than it is.." I replied. I saw Minhyun eyeing me from across the table.

 

More pleasant conversation follows after that but I feel like Mrs. Hwang is watching more carefully now...with much more...interest. I shook it off and looked at the clock. It was almost 7:00 now and I figured that it really was late now.

 

"Thank you so much Mrs. Hwang for dinner...But it's rather late now so I must be leaving now."

"Oh alright. Do you need a ride home?" She offered.

"No thank you..."

"Alright then...Goodbye Aron dear."

"Goodbye." I began walking back towards the foyer, with Minhyun following behind.

 

I grabbed my shoes and my bag and turned to face Minhyun.

 

"Thanks for letting me come over Min..."

"It's no problem hyung....You can come over whenever you like."

"Thank you. It's so nice here that I just might!" We laughed and said our goodbyes.

 

It took me a while to get back home since I wasn't familiar with this neighbor yet. When I did make it home it was very dark and all the lights in my house were still off. Stepping inside I noticed that no one was home yet. I sighed and kicked my shoes off, going straight into my room. Throwing my bag down I figured a nice hot shower would be good so I stripped off my clothes, grabbed a towel and made my way to the bathroom. I spent a long time in the shower just letting the warm water envelope my body. [IB: shoo erts! Away!  and showering Aron is quite the thing to imagine but that's not the point here!!]

 

When I finished my shower I got into a fresh pair of pajamas and went to my mirror. While my bruises were better they were still pretty bad. I went and applied more of that ointment and went downstairs to get some painkillers. I did what little homework I had (since I only really had two classes today) and decided to just go to sleep early.

 

I was out like a light as soon as my head hit the pillow. I hoped that tomorrow would be a much better day though.

 

 

 

 

'I can't believe Baekho would act like this towards me! I thought we were friends! But he just went and betrayed me!' I was still fuming. I made it through the rest of the school day but it was still annoying. I was so mad at Baekho I told everyone else in our gang to ignore him. They were reluctant since he is a good friend of ours (or was) but in the end they listened to me since I was the leader.

 

'Maybe he doesn't deserve this....' I do feel bad about this. We've been through so much over the years but he just up and left to take sides with some loser new kid!

 

I groaned and rolled around the couch. I hadn't even realized I had walked home, my emotions clouding everything, even my vision apparently. I replayed our fight outside the principle's office.

 

 

I was disrupted from my thoughts by my sister Jaehwa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Why are you giggling?"

"Oh nothing~" I glared at her.

"Tell. Me."

"It just seems like the start of a drama here~"

"What? How many times did you hit your head today?" She slapped the back of my head.

"NONE BUT I'LL HIT YOURS AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT!"  I groaned.

"Alright so about this Ren guy...how long have you known him?" She asked.

"He's in the same grade so...I've always known him...kinda...just not personally until the arcade...why?" She cackled evilly.

"OMG! DAEBAK! THIS IS GREAT!"

"YAH! Quit laughing or I'll call the insane asylum on you!"

"Listen Jonghyun...I wouldn't worry about anything~ It'll all play out well with Ren..." I stared at her dumbly, not understand her hidden meanings.

"I don't want anything to do with that freak..."

"You will" She coughed. I ignored her.

"I'm more worried about Baekho..."

 

I saw her grow serious for a second before smiling yet again. She started rubbing my back soothingly.

 

"Remember in second grade? You and Baekho got into that huge fight over that red truck toy?" I nodded, vaguely remembering said event. She giggled.

 

"Remember how you and him would fight over the toy? Eventually you agreed to take turns playing with it. You would switch off every other day." She paused. "Well one day Baekho came over to play and it was your day to have the toy. But Baekho didn't give it to you because he lost it somewhere. You were so upset. You cried for at least an hour! Then you swore you'd never talk to Baekho EVERRRR again! BUT after two days without seeing him you got so upset and lonely you practically ran all the to his house to hang out again with him again..."

 

"Okay where are you going with this story?" I asked, sipping on my tea. She smiled.

"My point is, even though right now it might seem like it's a serious issue, once you have some space to breath and readjust, you'll see the picture for what it really is. And you'll see that this is only a minor hurdle you two are going through."

 

 

"Plus...who else is going to be the best man at your wedding?!" She exclaimed.

"What wedding?"

"Why once you and Re--- oops~ No spoilers! I'll wait until you two idiots are fumbling around in the dark and finally figure it out yourselves!" With that she skipped out of the kitchen.

 

'Okay I take everything back my sister is a total weirdo! How are we related??' I sighed yet again and sipped my tea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HALLELUJAH!!!! Another chapter :3 This one is really long XDD I wanted to include A LOT of stuff in it. Including a hint of minron.... teehee~ Who else is excited for when Baekho has his movie 'date' (not really a date but it'll be cute) with Aron?? Hehe it'll be a chapter or two before that comes though! I've gotten more inspiration for this story and I think it's showing in my writing :D

 

Keep commenting because I love it! Love you~

 

-Icebook231 :3