Jonghyun couldn't sleep that night. After his unexpected meeting with Kai just a few minutes ago, he wandered around the neighborhood in the late hours of the night, unable to separate himself from his thoughts. There was so much going on in his life.

The last time he went to school was a few months ago, when he and Kai had fought in the locker room. Their principal had had enough of Jonghyun and his disruptive behavior in school. The troublemaker had violated the school rules one too many times, and the principal simply couldn't keep him there any longer. He'd kicked Jonghyun out once and for all. When he came home later that day, he wasn't surprised to see his parents waiting impatiently at the dinner table, smoke practically radiating off their heads from anger. He assumed the principal had given them a call, notifying them about the not-so-great news. Jonghyun took off his jacket and unlaced his shoes as slow as possible, wanting to prolong the silence in the house as much as he could before the inevitable chaos that would soon fill it. 

"JONGHYUN, GET IN HERE RIGHT NOW!" he heard his father growl. Jonghyun cringed as the loud tone hit his eardrum. He slowly stepped into the dining room, careful not to make eye-contact with his parents but still keeping his cool, appearing as though he didn't care about the situation. He never showed any sign of weakness in front of his parents. From an outsider's point of view, the Kim family seemed like the ideal family that anyone would want to have; lots of money, a big house, expensive cars. But Jonghyun would tell you otherwise. He'd tell you that his parents were never home; never cared about him, only about their social reputation and expanding their business, nothing more; that they were both alcoholics, though you'd never know from their excessively chic and sober attitude when at work. They were always fighting at home, whether they were sober or drunk. But when they were drunk, it was more aggressive, more violent. Jonghyun often woke up to the noise of plates and glasses being shattered, his parents cursing each other, and when that wasn't enough, they made sure to remind Jonghyun of what a nuisance he is, never accomplishing anything in his life and threatening to ruin the family name with his anything-but-perfect behavior. 

Jonghyun used to be like every average kid; never wanting to disappoint his parents, always seeking their attention. But despite his efforts, his parents never gave him what every child wants, what every child needs. He was lacking their attention, their love, their support. So, Jonghyun decided that if he can't it like this, he'd have to find another way. His behavior quickly changed; he became an angry and aggressive kid. Complaints starting pouring in from his teachers from as early as middle school, proclaiming that Jonghyun was acting up, getting into fights with other students at school, talking back at teachers, disrupting the class, and everything in between. Did he finally get his parents' attention? You bet he did! But not in the way worth being proud of. Jonghyun recalls the first time his parents were called into the principle's office to pick up their child; he had beat up some kid in the bathroom for calling him names. The poor kid had a broken nose, but Jonghyun couldn't care less; letting his anger out the way he pleased was such a freeing feeling, he couldn't deny it. But he knew he'd have to face the consequences, and he definitely was not looking forward to that. His parents walked into the office, anger evident on their features, looking at Jonghyun like he was the embodiment of disappointment. Jonghyun half expected that his parents would show some sign of empathy, that they'd at least ask him why he did it, or how he feels about the situation. 

But they never did.

What they did instead, as soon as they walked into the house, was bombard him with insults, calling him weak for not keeping his cool, and embarrassing them in front of the school principle. Their reputation was on the line, and Jonghyun was a threat to it. 

From that moment on, Jonghyun had made up his mind. He would no longer live to please his parents, he would live only for himself and care for only himself. The people he loved most and trusted most had let him down, tearing his heart to shreds. He knew from then that his parents never loved him, and never will love him. He'd given up on trying to make his parents proud. It's not like they ever appreciated him anyway. From an early age, he'd become a very cold, apathetic person, never letting anyone in. He made his own rules, lived his life the way he desired, and never gave a of what other people thought. He built walls around himself, blocking out any feelings of love and care, because what's the point if you're going to get hurt anyway? For the years leading up to high school, he lived that way, until someone came along and demolished the walls he thought were indestructible. 

It was Jonghyun's first day of his sophomore year of high school in a new school. He'd been kicked out from the last high school he attended (can you guess why?) and had no other choice but to attend a new one. He was known as the town rebel, and his multiple piercings, tattoos and overall menacing aura didn't help the situation. So, it was only natural that the students kept their distance from him when he changed schools, never talking to him and being careful to avoid eye contact. Jonghyun never had many friends, barely a handful of people who he'd hang out with from time to time. He spent most of his school years by himself, staying loyal to the decision he'd made. Jonghyun would never admit it, but deep down, he was incredibly lonely and wished he could feel whole again. The students at his new school. just like the last, made rumors about him; some were true, but others were far fetched. Jonghyun never took from anybody, and as soon as he got his hands on the person who started all those ridiculous rumors, he made sure not to let him go easily. He'd become the school bully, intimidating anyone and everyone who dared talk about him. It had only been several weeks since his transfer that this began, and he had already had a bad reputation in school. At this point in his life, Jonghyun was used to being ignored and treated differently, so nothing prepared him for the turn of events.

A few weeks after the semester had begun, a new student had transferred to the school. It was hard to miss him with his blonde hair. He immediately caught his classmates' attention, including Jonghyun's. When he entered the classroom, the teacher announced the blonde haired boy had just transferred and asked him to introduce himself.

The blonde bowed to the classroom before his introduction. "Annyeonghaseyo, my name is Lee Taemin. Nice to meet you all. I hope we can get along," he said, and then proceeded in offering his fellow classmates the sweetest smile Jonghyun had ever seen. Jonghyun's eyes scanned the room and he noticed the student's whispering to each other, boys and girls alike pointing out how handsome the latter is. 

Taemin was quick to become popular, girls talking to him any chance they got and guys including him in their squad. Finally, the attention was no longer focused on Jonghyun, but in the blonde now instead. 

One day, as Jonghyun walked down the hallway, he overheard a couple of guys talking to Taemin. 

"Oh, and stay away from that Jonghyun guy, he's trouble," he heard one of the guys inform Taemin. Jonghyun stepped right behind the guy.

"Aww, come on now Sandeul, I'm not the bad, am I?" he said, placing his arm around the now frightened boy's shoulder.

"N-No, I was just j-joking..." Sandeul tried to explain, unable to hide the fear on his face. Jonghyun gave a menacing pat to his shoulder. "That's more like it," he said, and offered a sarcastic smile to the latter. He then shifted his attention to Taemin, who looked at him with a small smile tugging at his lips, a little amused at the whole display.

Later that day, the blonde did something that took Jonghyun by surprise. He saw Taemin enter their humanities class and the latter scanned the room, looking for a place to sit. The class was quite full, only two more seats available. One was next to the class president at the right corner of the room, and the other was on the left corner of the room, right next to Jonghyun. Jonghyun placed his bag on the desk, resting his head on it, his face to the side and his eyes closed. A few seconds later, he heard footsteps approaching him, and he shuffling on his side. He opened one eye to see that Taemin had seated himself right beside him. Jonghyun would be lying if he said he wasn't shocked, but he didn't think much of it. 

Their teacher started the lecture and posted questions on the Smart Board, then asked to students to discuss them with the people beside them. Jonghyun hated his humanities class, because their teacher always made them do this and nobody ever spoke to Jonghyun, not that he minded. He couldn't care less. So, like every class when they had to do this, Jonghyun proceed to play with the pencil in his hand, hoping the discussion would end soon. What he didn't expect, however, was a light tap on his shoulder. He was beyond surprised to see Taemin looking at him expectantly. 

"Hi, I'm Taemin," he introduced himself the second time that day, and held his hand out for a handshake. "Nice to meet you," he continued, with that oh-so-charming smile.

"I'm Jonghyun, n-nice to meet you too," he said, hesitantly reaching his arm out to shake the blonde's hand and mentally cursing himself because why the am I stuttering? Taemin smiled sweetly at the latter and began talking about the discussion questions. 

Jonghyun answered to the best that his knowledge allowed and so did Taemin. After some time, the initial awkwardness left and Jonghyun found himself feeling more comfortable talking to the blonde. It had been a while since Jonghyun had spoken this much to a fellow classmate, and he enjoyed it more than he wanted. He knew it was just a class assignment, but there was something so alluring about Taemin that made him want to keep talking to him. 

"Ok class, time's almost up, but I want you all to write a small paragraph about the following question with your partner and hand it in to me next class," the teacher announced, before writting down the question on the board. After the bell rang signalling lunch time, Taemin turned to Jonghyun once more.

"Are you busy right now? I was wondering if you wanted to work on that paragraph," he asks.

"Uhh, sure," Jonghyun replies, surprised once again because holy I'm not going to be eating lunch alone for once. Taemin smiles and follows Jonghyun to the study area. They spend the next half an hour writting their paragraph, with an hour left to go. 

"Have you eaten yet?" Taemin asks once they're done.

"No."

"Me neither, I'm starving," says the blonde, pulling out a sandwich from his bag. "Aren't you hungry?" he asks, seeing that Jonghyun hadn't taken out his food.

"Nah, I normally skip lunch." Just as Jonghyun finished his sentence though, his stomach grumbles. Taemin laughs.

"Liar," he says playfully. "Here," he cuts his sandwich in half and hands one to Jonghyun, "have it."

"N-No, it's ok," Jonghyun says, because who shares their food with a stranger? But Taemin's eyes were so warm and inviting that Jonghyun couldn't deny it when Taemin insisted. They both ate while making small talk, getting to know each other more. Jonghyun could feel the other students staring at the two and whispering to each other, nothing positive, he was sure. Taemin noticed too. 

"Why do they keep staring at me like that..." Taemin finally asks.

"It's because you're with me...I should go."

"No, no, it's ok! I don't care what people think, nothing positive ever comes out their mouth anyway," the blonde explains, and Jonghyun finds himself smiling because he can relate.

"Yeah, tell me about it," he scoffs. 

From that day on, the two had become friends, spending a lot of time together, and although they seemed to come from worlds apart, the two got along very well. Taemin somehow made made all the anger and hate in Jonghyun's heart disappear slowly. He didn't bully anyone anymore, no longer caused a lot of trouble, and Jonghyun was genuinely a much happier person. Only Taemin was able to change him. Slowly but surely, Jonghyun's walls began to shatter, and Jonghyun allowed himself to feel in a very long time. Taemin was the only one who didn't judge him based on his so called 'menacing looks', what with his tattoos and piercings and all. Taemin didn't believe in the ridiculous rumors that were flying around about him. Despite the rest of the school hating him, Taemin stood by his side, actually wanting to know the latter and be friends with him. After several months of knowing each other, the feelings of friendship and fondness that Jonghyun initially had for the blonde transformed into something he never imagine he'd feel. He denied it for weeks on end, convincing himself that it's not possible, that he's numbed himself for so many years that now he's mistaking this for love and that he shouldn't feel this way, but the fact of the matter was that Taemin made him feel like no one else ever had; he made Jonghyun feel whole again. These feelings were multiplying day by day until Jonghyun was forced to face the truth.

One Friday night in Taemin's bedroom, as the two finished their match in Call of Duty, Jonghyun could no longer resist. He stared at the younger, the light of the TV screen being the only thing that illuminated the room. His heart beat fast as he stared at the blonde's full lips. He found himself leaning closer and closer until he captured Taemin's lips with his own. Suddenly, the world seemed to have gone still, the sound of the gunshots from the next match no longer being heard; the only thing he could feel was Taemin's lips, his warm hands wrapping around his neck and pulling him closer to deepen the kiss. An unfamiliar feeling invaded Jonghyun's stomach. He felt warm all over and as though he'd run a marathon. It's not like Jonghyun had never kissed before. Heck, he'd had more one night stands (with boys and girls alike) than he'd like to admit, but never had any of them made him feel what he felt with Taemin wrapped in his arms. 

The two kissed for what felt like hours, until their lips were chapped and swollen, never wanting to stop. But Taemin's parents had returned and they forced themselves to pull away before they let their teenage hormones get the best of them. Jonghyun couldn't stop smiling, and neither could Taemin. They were each others' first love.

The two had a very healthy relationship for the next several months. Jonghyun still couldn't believe that he was lucky enough to be with someone as flawless in his eyes as Taemin. 

But that all changed when a student named Kibum transferred to their school. 

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Hiya!

As I was writting this chapter, I noticed it was 4k+ words, so I decided to make it into two parts. I focused this chapter mostly on Taemin and Jonghyun's relationship because I thought you guys should know their past since I never mentioned it before. Hopefully, this clears things up for you as to why they're associated with each other. The next part will be posted tomorrow most probably!

Also, I want to thank all of you who are still putting up with my story haha, I know how frustrating it is, but I promise it'll get better y'all, just wait a little longer. Thanks for always leaving comments, they really motivate me to keep writting the story and I love to hear your thoughts!

And shoutout to AeZSiA for upvoting the story and to the new subscribers! Thank you :)

I'll talk to y'all soon again, annyeong~!

P.S.: WHERE ALL MY ARMYs AT?? CAN WE TALK ABOUT BTS' COMEBACK TRAILER? IT HIT ME LIKE A TRUCK, IT WAS RELEASED WITHOUT ANY WARNING WHATSOEVER. I'm so done with BigHit entertainment and BTS, they are just full of surprises and not to be trusted. So about the comeback trailer itself, who do you think is the animated guy running? It kinda looks like Jungkook to me but I read tweets saying it's Jin, or maybe it's neither, hmmm....anyway ARMYs, let's brace ourselves for yet another comeback from BTS because y'all know they're gonna slay er'thang. OK BYYYEE