Better safe than sorry:

it is preferable to be cautious in your choices and actions than to suffer afterwards

5.30PM, Woollim High school

"OK stop! Place the Oxygen cylinder there!" The teacher, Ms.Song instructed her students to prepare for the Science festival. "Be caution! They are explosive! And not to carry any source of fire to this!"

As they had to order the cyclinders of gas and  also decorated the stage, kiosks and the corridors and the number of 12th grade students was not enough, Ms.Song had no other choice than mobilizing more students to give a helping hang and that was exactly what Dongwoo had expected, since he was in the official Chemistry group.

"Here are they, Ms. Song." Dongwoo gathered six other in front of her. "Sungkyu, Hoya, Sungyeol, Myungsoo, Woohyun and Sungjong."

"Ahh Sungkyu, I know you! You are the former prefect of class 11A last year, right?"

"Yes, Ms. But I quitted now. I wanna focus on studying in grade 12."

"Great. So, let's start now. Not much time to waste. We have to be ready before 7AM tomorrow. Sungkyu, can you help with the Calculating team? And, erhm, Sungjong and Myungsoo, I hope you two can push the decorating team, they are so sluggish! Hoya, please help with the cyclinders and carry the chemicals. Sungyeol, your height is so great to check the electricty and the projectors."

"Ms, all of us haven't eaten anything right? Can I buy something for all?" Woohyun cut in

"Arhh, I don't realize that. We have to stay here till 10PM. If so, you can ask others to fund money and go buy some meals for us."

"Really? Thank you miss. Hey guy...." Woohyun immediately shouted out his mission

"You Dongwoo, get back to your Experimenting team? Have you guys prepare enough equipment and gears for tomorrow performances?"

"Yes Madam. Would you mind visiting us? We aren't clear at some points..."

(10PM, everybody started to leave)

"Good night, chingu!"

"Remember to appear at school at 5Am otherwise I'll kick you out of the group!" Ms. Song loudly announced before leaving.

"Hey, where is Woohyunie?" Sungjong looked around. 

The crew were hiding in a secret place, or actually their favourite rooftop, which isn't supplied with a camera.

"He told me he is out in the shop, buying some alcohol. Remember the plan?" Sungkyu picked out his phone and called Woohyun to check if he had got back to the school. "He said that just stay still, he will be back in two minutes, and he will call us. Then Hoya and Dongwoo will climb the wire fabric here (see the picture in chapter 4) and jump onto the rooftop of the stadium, then follow the path behind the storage hall and head right to the security office!" 

"Great plan! But you two (Hoya and Dongwoo) of course have to call us back when you guys finish the task!" Sungyeol patted the two's shoulders. Right after that, Woohyun called back.

Hoya and Dongwoo instantly ascended the fabric and landed on the stadium top. Dongwoo raised an OK sign for the rest to show them they finished their job easily. But meanwhile,...

"YAH, YAH, why nobody answer me? Have Hoya and Dongwoo moved yet? And what about others??? Aishhhh!" Woohyun shouted in the phone when he appeared at the security office. But his emotion changed right when he opened the door.

"Mr.Jun?"

"Woohyun? Why are you still there?"

"Dongwoo told he needed some more stuff to decorate the corridor so I went and bought those. So as some food for you!I'm sure you haven't had anything"

"When is it since you became so nice to me !?"

"Arhh, I'm always nice to everybody." Woohyun opened the bag and took out some sandwiches and Soju bottles.

"Yah, you're just in grade 11. You're not allowed to drink alcohol yet!"

"Urh come on, there isn't anybody here except you and me. By the way I have lots to tell. These days I'm so frustrated..." He sat down on a chair and started portraying. 

Their plan was to intoxicate Mr.Jun - the security guard - to sleep, then Hoya, Dongwoo (and Woohyun) would get in the office and disable the cameras. And the boys were free to travel around the school without being traced. Of course, nobody else would be able to get in the school, because they still left the office lighted, other people would think that the security man was still firm in his watching position.

"Looks like the plan is going on well, right!" Dongwoo poked Hoya while they were waiting in the narrow path between the storage and the wall separating the school and an office building. 

"Absolutely! The plan is arranged by this Hoya!" 

The two slightly smiled at each other .

"Aigoo these sitting and watching time is killing us. I feel so helpless." Dongwoo seated himself on the verdant ground instead of squatting like before. Hoya also immitated him.

"Hyung-ah, have you ever...felt so helpless like this before? Maybe powerless in front of something?"

Dongwoo looked at his friend in confusion. "Why do you ask me like that?"

"I'm just curious!"

"Well, it's hard to answer when you ask me so suddenly like this. So what about you? I guess you've already prepared the answer, haven't you?"

"Ahmm, yes..."

"So tell me!"

"Remember the accident made me like this?" Hoya pointed at his head, which was still bandaged. (see chapter 2) "I consider that incident was done by me. Do you know Seo Youngjoon?"

"I'm not sure. Is he the arrogant one who is likely the misbehave with Ms.Song?"

"I don't know if Ms.Song teaches him (Dongwoo: Sorry, I only know about Chemistry classes) but he is in grade 10 and he is arrogant. He provoked me once to play in another position and he said he could be a forward as well as me. The moment he stood in the middle of the pitch and highly raised his voice, I felt like...yeah, I can't do anything to kick him out of his world. Like I was tugged into his world and he had to fight to take the forward position."

"But why did you think like that? I mean you are actually charaismatic and talented." Dongwoo tilted his head.

"(quiet for a while) I'm afraid someone would take away my position...I'm scared of being looked down on, being held in contempt."

Hoya looked at the plain dark sky and dropped himself lying on the ground.

"Life is unfair."

"You said what?" Hoya popped up again.

"So that's why we are here. It's not only in the football team that it is stressful. Do you know the feeling when you try to heat soidum bicarbonate and radiantly waiting for carbonic coming out to give limewater a milky solution? How do you feel if you have waited more than half an hour and nothing happened and then you realised the salt is too old to be successfully decomposed? That's the same feeling of yours. Hopeless. And what are we doing now? Waiting for Namu and then break into the office. For what? Discovering the secret of this school! And that's what has freaked us out for a long time, So just enjoy life and let it go!"

Hoya didn't really understand Dongwoo's chemical style of talking but he felt better because, at least, there was someone to comfort him. And gladly Dongwoo is his best friend, best senior at school.

Sungkyu, Myungsoo, Sungyeol and Sungjong couldn't wait for other three. What were they doing? Had Woohyun's plan worked? Had the two hidden safely behind the storage hall? Why didn't any of them call back, or at least Woohyun, why didn't he give a single signal while they could easily see each other whether in the office or on the rooftop.

"Sungkyu hyung, call Woohyun hyung pleased! I'm almost died from waiting." Sungjong lay on the floor.

"Let me call him. What are you doing, that bastard?"

At the same time, a cold breeze blew. The old door of the small storage on the rooftop slightly creakily opened.

(To be continued)