Hansol nodded and replied quietly, "Nice to... Meet you... Shin Jiho."

The other guy laughed as he leaned over to pat Hansol on the shoulder, surprising the latter. "It's cool Hansol! Just call me Jiho~ Formalities are boring and tedious to me." Jiho beamed a white smile at Hansol after he spoke, as if he were pleased with his own words. Hansol gradually got over his shock at the sudden skin ship Jiho initiated as he stared at the guy. 'Is he just... Permanently happy or something?'

Their conversation moved on smoothly from there (but it was mostly just Byoungjoo and Jiho chatting to each other. Hansol occasionally nodding in response to any questions either boys asked him, but he mostly just listened). As he sat there, Hansol ate the rice and chicken Byoungjoo had given him, listening and learning about the other two boys. Apparently Jiho and Byoungjoo both loved to dance, even with each other. Jiho didn't belong to any type of dance team or anything organized, neither did Byoungjoo. Both of them liked to dance on their own time, free styling and creating routines for themselves and for the other person. From what Hansol had gathered, these two had been friends for quite some time, although he didn't dare ask. He was quite content just listening.

"So, when did you come here again Hansol?"

"Uh... Y-yesterday..." Hansol mumbled. Byoungjoo lightly whacked Jiho's arm playfully," Really Jiho? I literally just said that earlier!"

The latter smiled sheepishly," Sorry, I just felt bad 'cause Hansol has hardly said a word the entire time... Plus,” he looked up and scanned the room, watching the students begin to exit out the doors," -it looks like lunch is almost over." At this, all three of them stood up after packing whatever was left of their lunches into their bags and began to head back to class. Jiho said goodbye to them as they walked through the hallway, insisting on talking again with both of them before running off to chat with a couple other guys, assumedly also his friends.

Byoungjoo sighed and slowed down once Jiho left, walking next to Hansol instead of having the other trail behind him. "Hey, are you okay?" He continued after Hansol nodded." I know Jiho is pretty high energy compared to me, but that's just how he is, so, sorry if he scared you. We've been friends for a while; I know he's a good guy and won't make fun of you or anything," he grinned as he spoke the last sentence. Hansol nodded again, and to Byoungjoo's surprise, spoke up," Yeah, he seemed nice... Kinda loud though... He's touchy... But I got used to it..."

The brunette stopped walking and looked at Hansol, a huge grin on his face. "Slowly... You're talking to me more!” Hansol stared at Byoungjoo blankly, unable to find words to speak. 'What’s the big deal?'  Byoungjoo seemed not to notice and continued walking, glancing back to smile at Hansol every now and then. Once they arrived in front of their sixth classroom doors, Byoungjoo grinned at Hansol again as he entered the classroom, leaving the other to slowly amble into his own with confused emotions. Hansol had grown tired of trying to wrap his mind around why Byoungjoo was so happy and instead, focused on the lesson.

But, doing just that proved to be difficult for poor Hansol. For some reason or another, his usual teacher wasn't there, and they had a substitute instead. 'Weird... My second day and my teachers have already gone...' Their substitute was an old, decrepit fellow who decided to make that class period a living hell for Hansol. His usual teacher understood that Hansol was quiet and generally left him alone except for asking him a couple questions to make sure he was on track. But not this substitute. Because Hansol sat in the back and looked quiet (and to the substitute, lonely), he decided to pepper Hansol with question after question. To which Hansol had no idea what the answers were because they had nothing to do with any kind of history in the first place. Hansol felt his eyes begin to sting as tears started to form.

At one point the man even asked Hansol what his shoe size was, to which Hansol just blushed and put his head down on the desk, wishing desperately for the bell to ring and to save him so he could go running to Byoungjoo. 'Wait... What?' The raven haired boy wiped his eyes hurriedly, hoping his face wouldn’t flush pink and cause more reason for the teacher to . Hansol heard some shuffling of a chair being pushed back, and jumped when a sound of hands being slammed onto a desk could be heard.

"Mr. Min! I do not understand why you are picking on him! Don't you have some questions to ask the rest of us?" Hansol stared at his desk in shock, his mouth slack with surprise. 'Was that...Jiho?! I forgot he was even in this class! What is he doing?!' Hansol raised his head up in time to see the substitute, or Mr. Min, snort then cackle out a laugh that sounded like a goose being punched repeatedly. "Well, well, well. What is this? A rebellious student? How shocking" he muttered sarcastically. "I'll have you know that when I was your age-" and then he ranted about how kids these days are horrible to their elders and things similar that old people often complain about. Jiho, after a few seconds of the man complaining, rolled his eyes and sat down with a sigh. He twisted around till he was looking at Hansol and smiled sympathetically and whispered "Hey... Sorry about that... I got tired of hearing this old man blab on and on..."

Hansol shook his head, tilted his head to one side in confusion, and then nodded instead, laying his face back down onto his arms that were on the desk. Jiho raised an eyebrow and just chuckled lightly before turning towards the front once more, somehow understanding the gratitude Hansol was trying to express. The old man seemed not to notice and kept rambling on, slapping the desk in front of him every now and then to emphasize his point. “And then all I had for entertainment is my brain! These days you damn kids have all these fancy schmancy electronics that are so complicated and hard to use! And you alllllllwyas complain about being bored! Ugh! My generation is so much more superior to this-“then he ranted until the bell finally rung. The entire class sighed in relief, Hansol even sighed quietly in his corner. The substitute teacher yelled out as the students filed out of the room,” Hey hey HEY! You all need to complete the project that your teacher assigned you and make sure you turn it in on time! Understood?!” The students that heard him yelled out lazily “Uh-huhhhhhhh” as they left.

Hansol practically ran out of the room, muttering a swift “thank you” as he passed Jiho, and ran out of the classroom sniffling. His heart was pounding as he searched for Byoungjoo desperately, needing to see his friend and to feel more secure. ‘ Secure…? Am I that dependent on Byoungjoo? No………… Depending on someone…. No….’ Before Hansol could connect his thoughts together and come to a decision, someone grabbed his arm gently, only for a moment before letting go. Hansol looked over to see Byoungjoo staring at him, his eyes full of concern. “Hansol…? Are you okay? You look…….Hey! Your eyes…. Have you been…... Crying….?” Hansol gasped a turned his head away to avoid Byoungjoo’s prying gaze. “I-it’s nothing…-” 

“Obviously it isn’t nothing, Hansol. What happened…?” Hansol bit his lip and turned away from the latter, not knowing how to explain himself. ‘What am I supposed to say? That a teacher practically bullied me?’ Hansol eventually shook his head and spoke in a quiet, cracked voice “The teacher... w-was kinda rude to me... that’s all………” Byoungjoo sighed quietly before patting Hansol on the shoulder gently. “I’m really sorry Hansol… But… I thought your history teacher was okay? Didn’t you say he was nice?” Hansol nodded. “Y-yeah but…” Byoungjoo leaned forward curiously,” But…..? What?” Hansol felt his face begin to heat up and stepped away before answering him. “Th-there was a substitute...” ‘Shoot… I think I scared him… ’ Byoungjoo nodded pityingly and began heading towards their last class. “The teacher wasn’t nice to you… okay. Well, just forget about him and concentrate on our next class, okay?” As he walked, Byoungjoo turned and smiled brightly at Hansol.

The latter nodded, trying to hide his face that was tinged a light pink. He wasn't expecting Byoungjoo to invade his personal space like that. Frankly, it surprised him, unfortunately for him, triggering his face to heat up. He didn't want Byoungjoo to get the wrong idea and think he was blushing for a different reason because 'oh my god that would be awkward'. Hansol was in such deep thought that he hadn't realized he had zoned out again. Byoungjoo watched in slight amusement as Hansol mindlessly bumped into him again, but this time it was Byoungjoo's front since he had long since turned around to check in the other. Hansol nearly jumped out of his skin as he felt his finally-not-so-pink face run into something slightly hard and sturdy. As he looked up to see what he had run into, his stomach nearly dropped as Byoungjoo's face stared down at him with that slight smirk he constantly sported centimeters away from his face. Hansol jumped back in surprise, too shy and shocked to even stutter out any apologies. Byoungjoo giggled and watched Hansol's panicked face turn bright pink and flushed with embarrassment. He beckoned for the latter to follow him, “Come on! We're pretty much late now."

Hansol nodded and followed him, putting more distance between the two of them, preventing any possible events from ensuing. They rushed down the hallway and into their classroom, apologizing to the teacher and nodding at her scolding before sitting down.

Hansol sat down and set out his books, trying to ignore the weird looks the two boys in front of him were giving Byoungjoo and him. Hansol was used to the stares and the whispering. He had learned gradually to just ignore it and move on in life. ‘There is no point in thinking about people who aren't worth your time and who'll only hurt you.’ He heard Byoungjoo hiss out gruffly,” Turn around you two, there’s nothing to see here.” Thankfully, they ended up just staring at them for a bit then turned around and continued their work. Hansol felt a wave of gratitude wash over him at Byoungjoo’s hostility towards them. Even though Hansol usually ignored anyone who stared at him, but having Byoungjoo actually do something about it made him feel… protected. It was weird for someone to stand up for him, and he felt slightly uncomfortable with that. Hansol quickly looked over at Byoungjoo and nodded at him, mouthing a ‘thank you’ before turning back to his part of the table and stared at his book.

As the class period drew to an end, the teacher addressed the class,” Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Class, for the project that’s due a week from today, Friday in case you forgot, you will need a partner.” The entire class either groaned with annoyance or hissed out “Yes!” or “YOU. Me. Partner, Now. ” The teacher frowned as she waited for the class to settle down before continuing, “How-e-verrr! Whoever is sitting at your table will be your partner, and ohhh- look at that! You all are sitting next to only one person since it’s two to a table! Look at that?! I don’t even have to assign you partners! ” She uttered in a heavily sarcastic tone. This time, the whole class’s reaction to her statement was groans, followed by “Awww man! Why?!”  

“Seriously? EW! Why do I have to sit next to you of all people?!”    

“Damn it….”

Byoungjoo looked over to Hansol and smiled brightly, “Good thing we already know each other!” Hansol merely nodded and smiled slightly in response. He had long since gotten over his confused thoughts as the period had progressed and sorted them out. The teacher laughed lightly at the class’s mixed emotions and yelled above the bell,” Hey! Everyone! Remember that even though you need a partner, you need TWO separate papers! Interview each other so that your papers are NOT the same!” The class mumbled out an agreeing groan as they packed their bags and began to head out of the classroom.

Once Byoungjoo and Hansol got out into the hallway, Byoungjoo stopped and turned to Hansol, a slight smile on his face. “Hey, so when do you want to get together next week?” Upon seeing Hansol’s alarmed face, he waved his hands as he explained himself,” No! No that’s not what I meant! I meant for the project, because, you know… Since we’re partners and all… “Hansol stared blankly at him before realization struck him. “Ohhhhh…” He whispered out. ‘I’m so dumb. Duh, that’s why he said that…’

“Um… How about Thursday?”

“Really? The day before? Are you sure you want to cram?” Byoungjoo looked at him calculatingly, surprised at his choice to plan to cram. Hansol nodded shyly,” Y-yeah… I work best… under pressure…” Byoungjoo stared at him a bit longer, as if studying his face for any signs of changing his mind before finally nodding in approval. “Huh… Okay then, if that’s what you really want to do. We can work out the details later, probably by phone…. Oh, that’s right. I still don’t have your number…”

Hansol blinked as he processed what he said and then nodded, digging around into his front backpack pocket before retrieving his phone. He wasn’t too sure about giving his number to Byoungjoo, but he seemed more trustworthy than anyone else he knew. ‘If worst comes to worst, I can delete his number and block him, then move on from there’. He switched it on and unlocked it, handing is gingerly to Byoungjoo. “Th-there… My number ….” Byoungjoo slid out his phone and quickly typed Hansol’s number into his phone, swiftly typing something into the latter’s phone before handing it back to Hansol. Hansol stared at his phone curiously, wondering what Byoungjoo did exactly. He unlocked his phone to see a new entry to his contacts: Bjoo~. He hid a smile as Byoungjoo clicked his phone off and grinned. “Great! Now I can just ask you about next Thursday via text~” Hansol nodded, his gaze still locked on Byoungjoo’s number inputted into his phone, the nickname entered staring cutely back at him. “B….joo…?” Hansol questioned, sounding much like a curious five year old. Byoungjoo looked up at Hansol’s face and smiled widely. “It’s a nickname that my friends and sometimes family calls me.” Hansol nodded understandingly, his gaze finally shifting back to Byoungjoo’s happy face. “If you like, you can call me Bjoo instead of Byoungjoo…” Hansol shook his head,” Maybe… later.” He blushed, not wanting to explain that he wasn’t quite comfortable with calling Byoungjoo by a nickname just yet. The two boys walked out and spilt ways at the school’s gates, bidding each other goodbye until the next school day, Monday.

A/N: I’m late, but Happy Birthday Byoungjoo!!!! <3 I hope you had a nice birthday~! I bet Hansol was all over you and stuff XD

Oh and sorry this is kind of late! Thank you by the way for the support!! ^.^