"Stay where you belong, you piece of trash!" Came the snarled voice before the dumpster lid slammed shut, leaving Eunhyuk in darkness. 

Eunhyuk held his breath as he listened to the footsteps fade. Slowly, he stood up and opened the lid before climbing out. Standing on the pavement he let out a long sigh as he looked down at himself. Little bits of trash was stuck all over his body. Bending down he began to brush them all off, swatting away the banana peel resting on his head. 

He would've liked to have said that he was new to being bullied, that this was the first time something like this had happened to him. In truth though, Eunhyuk was too used to this kind of thing. From the time he was a little kid, he had been faithfully bullied because his father was the town drunk. Not even some of the adults could hide their distaste for him. A few didn't even make any effort to hide it. 

If it wasn't for one person, Eunhyuk had no doubt he would've been lost in the darkness, succumbed to the ever growing anger and sadness he harbored inside him. He would've eventually become the shell of a man his father was, just like everyone thought he would. But his hero had come, had protected him and helped him when no one else would. He gave his young self the hope that one day this will all change, that things will get better. His hero had helped Eunhyuk find the determination to show everyone that they were wrong. He will amount to something. 

It had crushed Eunhyuk when his hero, his first friend, had to leave shortly after appearing. He had only stayed for a short while in the summer to visit his grandparents. But Eunhyuk got through it and with his newfound hope, he put his all into turning his life around. He would become something for himself, for his family, and to honour the memory of his hero. 

He worked his off with his studies. While other kids his age were out playing, he was indoors studying, surrounded by books. During his first year of high school, he had the top grades in the whole school. The administrators at Pinecrest High School, one of the most renowned high schools in the country, saw this and sent him a scholarship to attend their school until graduation, so long as he kept at least a 90% average.

His family was ecstatic. This was the opportunity they were dreaming of. A chance to escape the clutches of the poverty that threatened to swallow them whole every month with the arrival of their bills. A chance to lead a better, brighter life. So, even though attending Pinecrest High would mean moving from their small town into the big city, they leaped at it. They packed up their stuff and moved into an apartment in the city as soon as they could. 

Which is why after all the hardships it took for him to get here, to earn his scholarship and get to attend the prestigious high school that was Pinecrest High, a school where it was known for teaching the rich, young hopefuls of society, that Eunhyuk felt proud. He had showed his town wrong. He was going to amount to something and they all knew it now. 

But what he wasn't expecting was to be bullied again at his new school. He thought he would be able to leave all the hardships behind him and start a new life here. Make lots of friends and be happy. How naive he had been. No, he was still bullied. Worse than before even, with his new tormentors being the young and entitled teenagers that they were. 

The students at Pinecrest High did not like him because Eunhyuk was poor. They deemed him inferior and as someone who dirtied the name of their golden school. They didn't want him. They wanted him gone. Since the first day of school Eunhyuk had been targeted. The most popular clique in his school, the young teens with the most money, power, and looks, had wasted no time in letting Eunhyuk know he wasn't wanted. They and insulted him at every chance. 

It's been two weeks since school had started for the year, and already Eunhyuk had been thrown into the garbage more times then he cared to admit. But he wouldn't let the bullying get to him. He needed to make it through to graduation if he was ever going to get his family a better life. They were counting on him, and he wouldn't, couldn't let them down.

Satisfied he was garbage-free, he fixed the straps of his backpack and straightened his shirt  before heading back inside the building, off to his first period class.

Inside the hallways he noticed that everyone was talking to each other in hushed, excited whispers. In fact, even though there were still a few glares thrown his way as he walked down the halls, there wasn't near as many as normal, everyone too distracted to pay him any mind. Something must've happened. Something important. 

Straining his ears, Eunhyuk tried to hear what was being said. 

"...came back from vacation yesterday..."

"...he looks so handsome!"

"...heard he went to Italy or something..."

Eunhyuk's eyebrows rose. He wondered just who this guy was that he could cause this much excitement. Shrugging, he figured he would find out eventually. 

"...Kyuhyun's back...."

Eunhyuk froze for a second, before shaking his head rapidly and quickly making his was to class. "No way. It couldn't be," he muttered to himself. "It can't be him. It's not possible."

Stepping into his first period class, Eunhyuk was a bit confused as to why there was a crowd of students around one of the desks. Realizing it must be the kid everyone was talking about, Eunhyuk's curiosity was peaked and he walked over to the crowd and tried to find a spot where he could have a good view of the mystery guy. Someone stepping to the side gave Eunhyuk the view he was looking for, but once he got a look of the guy, Eunhyuk felt his heart stop for a moment before jump starting again at rapid speed. 

For sitting in the chair in the back corner of the class room, with the sunlight streaming in and washing him in a golden glow of sunlight, was Eunhyuk's hero. His protector.