Ivy: friendship

In the previous chapter:

“Kai,” he said. Lu Han stared at him with confusion.

“You can call me Kai,” Jong In said. “My brother prefers to be called Suho.”

“Does everyone call you that?” Lu Han asked.

“No, it’s only reserved for certain people.”

“Then I guess you can call me Luhan. It’s reserved for certain people, too.”

Kai let out a mirthful laugh. Luhan smiled at this.

“You should laugh more; it suits you.”

Do Kyungsoo loved school. It was a place where he could increase his knowledge with the many books it offered and spend time in the music room. However, every good thing came with a price since there was only one person that irked him the most inside SM Academy.

That person goes by the name of Kim Jong In.

Kyungsoo and Jong In were meant to be on opposite sides when Kyungsoo chose Min Dohoon over Jong In to be his friend in first grade. Everyone knew that Dohoon and Jong In were always arguing with each other. It was the same routine over the following years, but one day, words turned into fists; Dohoon lost the fight. As a result, Dohoon transferred out of the school, leaving Kyungsoo all by himself. Even though Kyungsoo never really felt any hatred towards Jong In back then, the boy held a grudge against the younger Kim for taking away his only friend.

Time flew away, but the grudge was still there. Their feud never reached to the point where violence was involved, but words were always exchanged whenever possible.

“Let go of the book, Kim. I grabbed it first,” Kyungsoo told Jong In, his annoyance barely hidden. The was grasping the same book he was holding and it seemed it was the only copy left.

“Fat chance, D.O,” Jong In replied with a smirk on his face.

Ugh! How dare he use that nickname?

“Don’t call me that!” Kyungsoo said a bit too loud. People nearby were now staring at them.

“What’s going on?”

Both males turned to look at the owner of the voice. Kyungsoo watched as Jong In gave the boy the biggest grin possible.

“Ah, Luhan! Um, I got a hold on one of the books that Shin-ssam assigned us, but D.O here is trying to steal it away,” Jong In told his friend.

The nerve of this guy!

“That’s not true! We both know who got it first! And I’ve told you many times to stop calling me D.O!” Kyungsoo exclaimed. The two boys were starting to fight again when Luhan cleared his throat.

“Please stop arguing; I don’t want you two to get in trouble with the librarian,” Luhan told both of them before he only faced Kyungsoo. “If you want the book so badly, you can have it. I was going to check it out but I just remembered I have that book at home.” He gave Kyungsoo the book.

“But Luhan!” Jong In pouted.

“Don’t start with me, Kai. And you better apologize to him; don’t think I didn’t hear the argument from where I was standing,” Luhan scolded Jong In. The younger boy just groaned.

“Do Kyungsoo, I apologize for the book and for calling you D.O,” Jong In said unwillingly.

“I didn’t really like how you said it, but I guess that’s as far as I can go,” Luhan patted Jong In’s head. “Let’s go, Suho and Yixing are waiting for us outside.” Jong In was muttering something quietly, while Luhan chuckled. “I apologize on his behalf,” Luhan told Kyungsoo. 

“Um, thank you so much,” Kyungsoo said, utterly confused at Luhan’s kind gesture. Usually, people always sided with Jong In because of his charisma and good looks. He found it odd that a friend of Kim Jong In scolded said boy in front of his nemesis and managed to get an apology out of the boy’s mouth. Luhan was like a miracle worker in his eyes.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it, but you can’t pull stunts like that. I will be surprised if you manage to stay completely awake throughout the day,” Luhan replied as Kai dragged the poor boy to their homeroom class.

“Pfft, there’s no need to worry about me,” Kai grinned. “Simple things like lack of sleep won’t hurt me ‘cause I’m invincible!”

“In other words, he drank too much coffee this morning,” Suho appeared next to Luhan, with Yixing nearby.

“Oi! You’re just jealous about my youthful energy,” Kai retorted.

“I’m a year older than you. I have the same amount of energy as you, git,” Suho deadpanned. Yixing and Luhan started laughing and Kai pouted.

When the four boys reached their room, their laughter faded when they noticed most of their classmates were huddled around one of the desks.

“What’s going on?” Yixing asked, confusion written over his face. The boys just shrugged.

“There’s a new student here,” Luhan heard Yi Fan’s voice behind them. Luhan turned around while Yixing hid behind the Kim siblings, who were also taken by surprise. “Do you always creep behind people?” Luhan asked Yi Fan. “Maybe,” Yi Fan smirked. Luhan just shook his head.

“Um, Yi Fan-si, then why are people making such a big fuss?”  Yixing sneaked a peek from behind Suho’s shoulder.

“It appears that our new classmate is none other than Byun Baekhyun,” Yi Fan answered.

“Who?” Yixing was still confused.

“He’s the son of Byun Il Sung, who won the Blue Dragon Award and the Daejong Film Award for Best Actor, and his mother is top model Eun Ae. From what I’ve heard, he was homeschooled until recently. However, the reasons are unknown although many suspect it’s a publicity stunt or something of that sort.” After Yi Fan’s explanation, the four boys just stared at the blonde incredulously.

“What?” Yi Fan shrugged.

Before any of them could say anything, their seonsaeng ordered everyone to go to their assigned seats.

“Class, I know you are very excited about your new classmate, but I need you to stop acting like rabid wolves surrounding a rabbit. That is not the proper behavior that proper ladies and gentlemen should display,” Shin-ssam scolded them. Although most of the students became quiet, they kept staring at the petite dark-haired boy.

“Before we continue with what was left of yesterday’s lesson, I need to make some announcements. All of you must pay attention because I’m not repeating myself again. All of you, with the exception of Baekyun-ah, have obtained Our Twisted Hero. I will divide the class into five groups. Every day, we will have class discussions about the book.  I already chose the members of each group; my decision is final. You will find more information about your group on the board,” the seonsaeng said before walking up to the new student. Throughout the class, squeals of happiness and groans of protests were heard after they saw the board.

Luhan paid no mind to the noises his classmates were making; his attention was solely on the board. His hazel brown eyes roaming around until he caught his name. According to the board, he was in Group Four with Wu Yi Fan, Huang Zitao, and Do Kyungsoo. He (sort of) knew Yi Fan and Kyungsoo, but he wasn’t familiarized at all with the owner of the second name.

I just hope all of us will get along with each other and complete the assigned work.

Kai was fuming; he didn’t get paired with his brother and his friends. Instead, he was paired up with Byun Baekhyun, Park Chanyeol, and some random girl for Group Two. He knew Suho and Yixing were together in Group Three with two other people, but what about Luhan? According to the board, he was in Group Four with Yi Fan, Huang Zitao, and- oh, hell no!

I don’t get to be in Luhan’s group, but D.O does?!

Kyungsoo grinned as soon as he found his group. He was relieved that Kim Jong In wasn’t in his group; he didn’t want to deal with the annoying anyways. However, he was even more grateful that Luhan was going to be in his group. He glanced at Jong In’s direction. The younger Kim was glaring at the board. At that point, Kyungsoo resembled the Cheshire Cat with his smug grin.

Tao (also known as Huang Zitao) stared at his reflection one more time until he was convinced that the liquid foundation had hidden all of the bruises on his face. He dumped the makeup kit into a plastic bag before putting it away in his school bag. Tao made sure he didn’t leave anything behind and walked (more like limped) out of the boy’s restroom to go to his homeroom. However, he was stopped when he heard someone yelling his name.

“Zitao! Wait up!”

Tao turned around only to see Wu Yi Fan running towards him. He decided he would wait for his fellow group member to catch up to him. This turned out to be a big mistake because of the events that followed his decision. Yi Fan tripped and crashed into Tao as he fell; Tao collapsed to the floor.

“Oof!”

“Ow!”

Tao repressed the painful scream he wanted to release. He could feel Yi Fan’s knee stabbing his injury.

“I’m so sorry!” Yi Fan stood up rapidly and pulled Tao off the floor.

“I-It’s al-alright,” Tao had a hard time replying. He avoided the other’s gaze.

 “You’re not hurt, are you?” the other’s concern barely hidden in his question.

“I-I’m fine,” Tao assured him, even if it was a lie.

“Oh, okay.”

“Um, why were you calling me?”

“What? Oh right! Can you please tell the others that I’m going to be slightly late to our group meeting.  But I swear I’m going to be there.”

“Uh, yeah, I’ll tell them.”

“Great! See you later, Zitao!” Yi Fan gave Zitao a wide grin and a thumbs-up before walking (stumbling) away. Tao was startled; no one had ever been this friendly to him. Although he did find Yi Fan to be slightly intimidating, he always appreciated those moments that people were nice to him since they barely occurred. Usually, people didn’t even try to approach Tao (even if he attended SM Academy with the rest of his classmates for the past six years), or they bullied him like Jeung Hong-gi and his high school cronies.

He was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn’t realize he entered his destination until a familiar voice interrupted him.

“Um, are you going to sit down?”

“Ah, er, I-I’m sorry,” Tao hastily sat down and avoided the elder’s gaze. He only heard the other chuckle.

“It’s alright,” Lu Han said, “there’s no need to apologize.”

Tao released a sigh of relief and looked up. Lu Han was smiling at him. Tao didn’t know how to react now. Two people had been kind to him in one morning; that was a blessing for him.

“Annyeong hashimnikka,” he barely heard Do Kyungsoo greet them.

“Annyeong,” Lu Han grinned at Kyungsoo. Tao managed to compose himself and follow the elder’s actions.

“Everyone’s here except for Yi Fan,” Kyungsoo said to no one in specific. “I just hope he’s not absent.”

“Don’t worry about that. I saw him this morning and he told me he would be running a bit late,” Tao replied. His eyes widened in surprise. Tao had never said a word without stuttering or pausing for a long time. He sheepishly looked at his companions who were also shocked. Kyungsoo and Lu Han got over it fast.

“When isn’t he late?” Kyungsoo asked, his playful tone barely hidden. Tao chuckled quietly. Everyone knew Yi Fan was always late, but nobody knew the reason behind the boy’s tardiness.

“Good point,” Lu Han agreed before calm silence settled within their group. A few minutes passed, everyone was getting settled within their groups. Chatter surrounded the room until the door was slammed open. The students heard footsteps and Yi Fan revealed himself.

“Mianhae,” Yi Fan muttered audibly. Everyone returned to whatever they were doing as he walked towards his seat in front of Tao. Shin-ssam was giving instructions to everyone and Tao was listening attentively until he heard a ‘psst’ from Yi Fan. Yi Fan passed him two pieces of paper. He read the first one.

Sorry to disturb you, but some friends of yours told me to give this to you

Tao shuddered when he read ‘friends’ on the paper.

Could it be?

He was afraid to see the content of the second paper, but he opened it anyways.

It seems you never learn your lessons, do you? We always teach you that you aren’t supposed to tattle to others like a b****, but you never listen. I wonder if that clumsy friend of yours is easy to break. His name is Wu Yi Fan, right?

However, I am feeling merciful today. Why don’t you meet us in the boy’s restroom near the cafeteria when lunch time starts? I guarantee it will be fun. Unless you want us to use Yi Fan as our new toy.

You’ve been warned.

~JH

Tao started to tremble. He didn’t want to face his tormentors, but he also didn’t want innocent people to suffer because of his cowardice. Tao glanced at Yi Fan, who had not noticed his partner’s odd behavior, before he made up his mind.

It seems I have to do this… I have no other choice.

“Duh, I finally get to see you guys. The group assignments don’t really allow us to talk during class… Not that I don’t like my group; Suho is with me after all,” Yixing rambled excitedly.

“Speaking of groups, are you guys getting along with your partners?” Suho asked Kai and Luhan.

“Yeah, the guys are alright. Yi Fan is intimidating in the outside, but he is a total goofball. Kyungsoo is really funny, too… Zitao is really nice, but I wish he would open up to us a bit more,” Luhan replied, completely oblivious to a fuming Kai after he complemented Kyungsoo. He faced the younger Kim. “What about you?” he asked Kai.

“Uh, what?” Kai was caught off guard at that moment.

“Are you getting along with your group?” Luhan asked again.

“Well, sort of… Not really, no,” Kai replied, disappointment shown in his voice.

“Why?” Yixing asked curiously. Suho cooed at this inside his head.

“I’m stuck with almost all of the work. Park Chanyeol is cool, but he’s not really helping. Byun Baekhyun doesn’t really bother talking to us, and if he does, he’s always fighting with Chanyeol. What’s-her-face is probably the worst; she’s either looking at herself in the mirror or she’s staring at me. She’s so  creepy,” Kai ranted and took multiple deep breaths. His friends just looked at him with pity.

“I’m sure you’ll survive,” Suho told his brother. Kai was about to retort, but he heard a familiar voice yell out Luhan’s name.

Oh no…

“Hey Luhan,” Kyungsoo placed an arm around Luhan’s shoulder.

“Oh hey Kyungsoo,” Luhan greeted the other with a smile. Kai huffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Kyungsoo noticed this and smirked at him.

“You wouldn’t mind if I sat with you guys, right?” Kyungsoo asked, knowing that he is pushing his nemesis’ buttons.

“I guess not, that is if you guys don’t mind,” Luhan turned to Suho and Yixing.

“Of course I don’t mind! Any friend of Luhan is my friend too,” Yixing replied, not reading the atmosphere.

“Alright,” Suho said, not sure if this was a good idea. After all, he knew about the feud between his brother and Do Kyungsoo.

“Great!” Kyungsoo exclaimed with joy.

This is great! Not only do I get to sit with Luhan, but I also get to spite that idiot! Ha! Take that, Kim Jong In!

After this, the boys got their lunch and sat at their usual table. Luhan and Yixing were talking to their companions, but they were ignoring the rising tension between Kyungsoo and Kai. Suho was trying to ignore it too, but he couldn’t.

I just hope this tension doesn’t escalate, he thought.

Yixing was in the middle of telling a joke that involved unicorns when Luhan noticed Zitao walking nearby.

“Zitao!” he called out. Said boy noticed Luhan, but kept walking away.

Something’s not right… He’s usually so polite.

“Zitao!”

His eyes widened when he recognized Luhan’s voice. If his heart wasn’t beating fast enough, the organ now threatened to jump out of his chest.

“L-Luha-an, y-you have to l-leave,” Tao told him, hoping that Hong-gi didn’t appear any time soon.

“Tao, are you alright?” Luhan asked worriedly.

“I’m f-fine, b-but you have to go!”

“Why?”

“Just trust me!”

“Well, well… What a nice surprise!” a deep voice made the two boys jump.

“Hong-gi!” Tao cried the other’s name in fear.

Luhan narrowed his eyes at the blonde high school student and his two companions.

“I see you brought a friend,” Hong-gi stared at Luhan. Something about the other’s gaze made Luhan want to squirm.

“H-he was ab-bout to leave. Just l-let him go,” Tao told his main tormentor.

“Hm, I don’t think so,” Hong-gi replied nonchalantly before snapping his fingers. One of the boys held Tao.

“Don’t hurt him, please, I beg of yo- aah!” Tao hissed in pain when the crony grasped his arm tightly.

“I see you’re starting to beg! Oh ho! This is rich! I knew you were pathetic, but to start begging like a b****?” Hong-gi pulled Tao’s hair, making the younger boy face him. “You really are worthless!” The blonde then instructed his minions to hold Luhan as his grasp on Tao hardened, making him cry out of pain as he felt the pressure.

“Hey! Don’t touch me!” Luhan protested as he struggled against one of the high school students.

“You’re a fierce one, aren’t you?” Hong-gi released Tao and walked towards Luhan. He lifted Luhan’s chin. “I like you already. It’s going to be so much fun to rip you apart.”

Ever the defiant one, Luhan spit at Hong-gi’s face. The latter wiped the wetness of his face before slapping Luhan. Luhan growled after this, anger showing on his reddening face.

At that moment, Tao felt guilty for everything. He was such a coward. He was weak. He hated himself for not being able to protect Luhan.

This shouldn’t happen! It’s all my fault!

“You weak f*****! How dare you? Do you even know who I am?” Hong-gi sneered at Luhan. He lifted his fist, but Luhan kicked him in his nether regions. Everyone, especially Tao, stared at the scene with shock.

“Boss!” the idiot holding Luhan released him in order to see if his leader was alright. Big mistake: Luhan kicked the boy’s backside. Luhan may have brought Hong-gi and his crony down, but Tao noticed the two fallen boys trying to get up.

You have to do something now!

Something snapped within Tao and before anyone could register what was happening, he lifted his head to meet the crony’s face. A sickening crack was heard.

“Aargh! My nose!” the high school student howled in pain. Tao just stood there, completely unresponsive while staring at the blood dripping from the boy’s nose. He didn’t even notice Luhan kicking the older students one more time before dragging him out of the restroom. Tao got out of his trance when he realized he was no longer inside the dreaded place. Instead, he was inside their empty homeroom. Both of them collapsed to the floor.

“Are you okay?” Luhan asked him.

Tao wanted to tell him he was fine, but only a whimper came out. Tears started falling down his face. Tao covered his face, feeling ashamed that he was crying.

Luhan felt his heart break into pieces when he saw the sadness and desperation in Tao’s face. He pulled Tao into a tight hug.

“Sshh, it’s alright. You’re safe now,” Luhan whispered into Tao’s ear. Tao just grasped Luhan closer to him.

“I’m s-sorry,” Tao told Luhan.

“Sorry for what?” Luhan asked.

“For being a coward… for being weak… for everything” Tao cried. “I failed to save you!”

Luhan grabbed Tao’s shoulders so the younger boy could face him. He brought his hand up to Tao’s face to wipe the tears away.

“Don’t ever say that again. You are none of the things you said. I don’t know how long you have endured this crap, but whatever those bastards said to you are lies. You are the strongest person I’ve met, and sure, I got hurt but I don’t care.”

“Why?” Tao was confused. Was Luhan out of his mind?

“What are you talking about?” Kyungsoo knew where this was going, but decided to play along.

“You are trying to take Luhan away from me,” Kai accused his nemesis. Kyungsoo’s smirk made Kai’s blood boil.

“So what if I am?” Kyungsoo asked nonchalantly.

“I won’t allow that to happen,” Kai warned, determination shown on his face.

“Riiight, keep dreaming,” Kyungsoo stood up and patted Kai’s head. “Don't be surprised when I do.”

Now he’s done it!

That’s odd…

He tapped a random girl’s shoulder until she faced him. The short-haired girl’s cheeks turned deep red when she realized who was trying to catch her attention.

“I’m sorry for bothering you,” Luhan said politely. “But where is the rest of the class?”

“You don’t know?” the girl asked surprised. Luhan shook his head.

“Kim Jong In and Do Kyungsoo started a food fight and a few boys got involved, too. Right now, they’re in the dean’s office.”

Luhan’s eyes widened after hearing this. “Do you know who the other boys were?” Luhan asked, hoping that his suspicions aren’t true.

“Um, I’m pretty sure it was Wu Yi Fan, Park Chanyeol, and Byun Baekhyun. Oh, I almost forgot Kim Joonmyeon and your cousin, Yixing,” the girl said absentmindedly until she realized who she had mentioned at the very end. “Omo! I’m so sorry Luhan.”

“It’s alright.”

No, it is not alright… This is bad!

To be continued...

Author's Notes: Hhhiiiiiiiii! I know I said I would update before Monday, but I was busy with school. But hey, I updated!

I found this chapter to be an interesting one. I felt bad for making Tao go through this, but it was totally necessary. I loved the food fight (it makes me want to be in one (not really)). Yes, Kai and D.O don't like each other (riiight, keep telling yourselves that... major Tsundere alert)... same goes to you BaekYeol. Poor Kris, Suho, and Lay (especially Lay (poor Xing T^T)) for getting involved unwillingly and having to suffer the consequences for these idiots' actions. Now they have to spend detention with Dean Choi Siwon... Yes, Choi Siwon from Super Junior (different K-pop idols will make different cameos... this is starting to sound like I'm making a real drama or something).

For those of you who don't know, Our Twisted Hero is a book written by Yi Munyol (published in 1987). I haven't read it but I found it in a list of "4 Must-read Korean Novels ["Available in English" from Korea-Canada Blog. It's supposed to be really good.]

I'm gonna stop ranting... I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please subscribe, review, vote, donate money (Kidding! Don't donate money!) and thank you to everyone for your support. You guys are the reason why I push myself to write better. 

Until next time,

Ulyana ^J^