“And a one...and a two… and a three.. start.”

Seungcheol’s P.O.V-

We were all silently walking to school. I couldn’t get what Hyemi said out of my mind. Our peace was broken when a group of girls ran to us frantically. “Oppa! Hoon is fighting!” We all stood in silence at what they said. We let it process in our heads before we dashed into the school. We rushed into the main building to see a bunch of students holding the two boys apart. We didn’t recognize who he was fighting with but in the middle was Hyemi, with her head down. We went over to her and she looked rather scared but then lowered her head once more. I was about to yell at Hoon when the other boy broke free and charged at the boy. The other students quickly moved out of the way, allowing Hoon to get hit with the punch. He slightly tumbled over and blood was evident on the side of his mouth. I saw as Hoon took in a deep breath before calmly walking to the boy, who tried to hit him but all his hits were blocked. Hoon raised his fist and  strongly struck the boy, sending him to the floor. “Apologize to her.” I slightly raised my eyebrows. What was he talking about? What happened? The boy on the ground didn’t do anything so Hoon rolled his eyes and walked over to us, grabbing Hyemi by the wrist and dragged her over to him. “I said ing apologize!” We all slightly flinched at how he spoke. It was strong and louder. Totally unlike his usual tone. The other scoffed and glared at him. “Why should I?! What I said was true! She is nothing but a ! I bet she ed you just to get on your good side.” I felt anger bubble up and was going to speak when Hoon rushed over to him, about to strike him again when someone caught his hand. We all looked to see the principle. “Both of you. In my office. Now!” He roughly separated the two before pushing them out of the room. People were whispering amongst each other and it was honestly bugging me. I asked Hyemi to explain and she said the boy just came up to her and started yelling. I guess Hoon overheard him badmouthing her and snapped. I couldn’t help but smile. He really cares about her huh… The first couple periods past by and soon enough it was time for lunch. As we all ate in laughter, I saw Hoon pass through the halls. It seems like I wasn’t the only one who saw him because Hyemi rushed in his direction. We all carefully followed him up to the roof? Before he could see us we hid behind a large bin. I saw him sit down on one of the benches and run his hands through his hair. He seemed troubled. As much as I wanted to go talk to him, I also wanted to see what would happen next. He slowly pulled out his phone and dialled a number. “Hey… I need a favor…” His voice… it was different. “I got in some trouble today… and I can’t go home. Not for a while… so could I crash at your place?” Why can’t he go home? “What do you mean? Why not? You know why I can’t go back!” His voice was becoming more and more strained. “Please… I don’t have any other place to go. None that are safe that is… Please… I am scared... ” I guess things didn’t go his way since he angrily threw his phone. He stared at it for a while until it started ringing. He stared at it for a minute before quickly picking it up and answering it. I already knew who he was talking to… it was her. “How are you? O-Oh you already found out huh. Haha.. don’t worry about me. Just focus on getting better okay? Yeah I already have stuff figured out. A friend is going to let me stay at his place so don’t worry. I’ll talk to you later on today okay? Rest up..” He sounded so broken as he ended the call with her. He slowly placed the phone into his pocket before bringing his hand up to his face. He was crying and trying to hide his sobs. What was wrong? What was he scared about? Before any of us could speak, Dino rushed out and grabbed the shocked boys hand. “Hoon! You are always welcome to stay with us!” We all were speechless at his invitation. After composing himself he spoke.“No thanks.” The boy coldly stared at us before speaking once more. “I don’t like being watched. So don’t follow me everywhere.” He tried to walk past but Hyemi grabbed his arm. “Where are you planning on staying then? They kindly offered you a place to stay. Haven’t they already proven that they aren’t like the others?” We all watched as Hyemi interrogated him. I also noticed him slowly balling his fist up. He would never hit her right? In a blink of an eye, he punched. Right next to her head, denting the wall behind her, leaving all of us frozen in shock. He slowly leaned down by her head. “I’ve been thinking… I don’t think you should stay around me anymore. I don’t want to be friends anymore.” After stating his idea, he coldly left. I could see tears drop down her face and soon enough she broke down. They all rushed to her side, but I was angry. I rushed after Hoon. I slammed the door for his practice room open and rushed over to him, punching him hard. “What the was that?!” I was so blinded in by my anger that I didn’t see how broken he looked. It almost got my guard down. Almost. He sighed and slowly got up, wiping the blood away from his lips. He was going to keep walking when the door busted open and a puffy-faced Hyemi came in. Her eyes were red and she was sobbing. She went towards Hoon and slapped him with all her might. The other guys were here so we just stayed silent. We were going to let her vent but if he tried something, we would handle him. He simply stared at her while she weakly hit his chest. “Why?! Huh?! Why?!” It hurt to see her so down. “Why so suddenly huh?! You can’t just get up and walk out of my life!! Jerk!!! Speak damn it!! Why?!” She was about to hit him again when he caught her hand. It wasn’t a strong grip but I was still cautious. His hold on her didn’t last long though. He hissed in pain before reaching to his head, stumbling back. We all were worried and surprised at his sudden action and Hyemi quickly reached for him but he slapped her hand out of the way.“I heard you...” She silently stared confused. He sighed and leaned against the wall, folding his arms. “After I left the hospital.. I went to visit you. Your parents told me you were at the school, so I went . I was going to tell you how happy I was. But then I heard you. I heard ing both of you.” He glared at both me and Hyemi and we knew exactly what he was talking about. He heard us talking about his sister. “You really think of her like that? Are you ing kidding me?” He chuckled a dark laugh before staring coldly at us. “Don’t show your faces to me ever again. I am already feeling sick.” He looked so angry.. but we didn’t have anything to say. “H-Hoon please! She doesn’t care about you. We care about you but she doesn’t! I know that is hard to hear but trust me! Once you turn your back, she is a whole different person! She is jealous at how much you have accomplished! She wants you to suffer with her!!” Hyemi was just going off but stopped when Hoon told her to shut up. He was going to yell at her more but stopped and stared in disgust. “Just stay away from me..” He walked right past us and out of the door, leaving us all alone. Hyemi turned to me and I could see how hard this was for her. This was too much… and the contest hadn’t even started for today. “We can’t leave him alone… Please.. please just try to win him back…” She sounded so defeated. So certain that their friendship was over. We all walked together to the back of the stage, where everyone was getting ready. Hoon was already changed into leather pants and a fishnet shirt. It was so normal to go over and try to talk to him..but now we can’t. We all got ready and soon sat down in the bleachers, waiting for our turn. Hoon sat a row in front of us, with his other bandmates. Of course, they were happy he sat with them. For us.. not so much. Soon, one by one, people performed. Then it was Hoon’s turn. His group walked onto the stage, greeted once more by both BTOB and the fans. Hyemi always looked worried when BTOB was nearby. I wondered why but.. I don’t think she would tell me. Soon enough they started playing.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=45j5qoy8Ad0

The song was in English but you could still understand it. He ually moved along which caused everyone to cheer. He slowly ran his hands through his hair while biting his lips which made us all surprised. He was so charismatic. And then, his song ended. They all nodded and eliminated the chosen person. As we made our way backstage to change, Hyemi slowly went up to Hoon. “G-Good job Hoonie..” His eyes slowly turned to her but were still cold. Without saying anything, he walked past us. I was going to speak but he was already gone. “Just give him some time to cool off Hyemi… He will come around.”

Hoon’s P.O.V-

I slowly walked out of the school building. I didn’t have anywhere to go to. I would just be beaten if I went home. I ended up walking under the bridge. What a great day… I finally decided to just go home… It would happen either way. When I reached the house, I was relieved to find his car wasn’t there. I quickly ran up to my room and locked the door. I grabbed a large bag and filled it with some clothes. When I opened one drawer, I was slightly surprised at the sight. I hadn’t worn one in such a long time.. it was almost foreign to me. My hands slowly reached for my mask. The soft fabric sent chills down my spine. I quickly put it on and rushed out of the house. People ignored me as usual and it was actually calming. I hated when people looked at me. I finally reached my destination. When I knocked on the door, they greeted me. “Woah! Hoon! You haven’t come by in forever! The rest of the band is in the living room!” They quickly moved to let me in and I could only nod. The rest of the guys were playing videogames but stopped when I walked in. They were shocked. I never came here. Thankfully they didn’t ask much questions. They sat me down and got some snacks for me. “Hoonie you know what you need? A makeover!” I raised my eyebrows at the boy who stuffed his face with chips. I was going to refuse but… maybe that is what I need? A new look? I finally nodded and they all grabbed me and rushed me to the bathroom. They grabbed some pitch black and white hair dye as well as some scissors and got to work. I was lost in my thoughts. I could only think about what they said. Why would she think that? It doesn’t make sense. About two hours later, they were done. I had a sharper hairstyle. I looked like a whole different person. My whole head was pitch black with the tips of my bangs white. The style of my hair gave me a rather mysterious look and I actually liked it. The guys were so excited, they decided to get a new look as well. After we cleaned up, I slowly walked up to their guestroom. They always welcome me with open arms but I always treat them like . I felt bad.. but it was best to not be close with anyone. I put my bag in the corner and crashed onto the bed. I have been slacking off.. I need to get a job. I had actually gotten fired from the cafe on account of my tardiness. The construction wasn’t so bad. It was pretty tiring though… and it hurt my head. I groaned and placed my hands over my eyes, drowning in the darkness. It was like a blink. I thought it was until I was shaken and greeted by the guys all ready for school. Was I really that tired? I didn’t think I was… I got ready and soon enough we walked to the school. I had my black and white skull face mask on. It fit perfectly with my new look. The girls fangirled extra loud and all complimented me on my new hair. We all walked into the main practice room to see Hyemi and the idols sitting together. When they saw us, it took them a second to realize who we were.

Seungcheol’s P.O.V-

Holy .. that’s Hoon? He… looks so different. I felt that annoying tug in my heart and knew his new look was bad. We all noticed he went back to wearing masks… it kinda made us sad. It was like he was going back into hiding. All the girls swarmed over to them and kept flirting but Hoon just sat down and rested his head while his friends flirted back. I was actually… kind of relieved that he didn’t notice any girls. That is until this popular girl sat next to him and kept poking him. Can’t you see he wants to sleep? She kept calling him oppa and I was pretty annoyed at how high-pitched her voice was. He finally looked at her which caused her to giggle. “Oppa want to go on a date with me?” She did her disgusting aegyo but all Hoon did was yawn and stretch his arms. “I’m sorry but there is someone else in my heart. There are a lot of guys better than me for you.” His answer was mature. It was a good strategy to let her down easy but what really caught my attention was that… he liked someone? “O-Oppa I thought you said you only like Hyemi as a friend.” The poor girl's head slowly lifted as her name was mentioned. “Please don’t mention her name to me. It is bothersome.” His cold answer felt like a stab in my heart as well. Lord knows what Hyemi is going through… the poor girl. I heard some girls giggling and mocking Hyemi. They were happy he didn’t like her. “Still…. I had better not find out any of you do something to her.” We were all shocked at his warning. He..still cared for her. No matter how mad he was he still cared for her wellbeing. Things were going pretty well after that. People calmed down but were still whispering. That is until a girl walked in. I recognized the girl to be one of his fans. She quietly walked in and set a speaker on the floor. We all just stared at her while she walked up to Hoon. “I want to be your new dance partner.” Hoon raised his eyebrows before sighing and shaking his head. “I don’t want a new partner. I’m going solo.” He then got up and attempted to walk away but the girl blocked him. “Please just watch me. You will be impressed.” I recognized the cold look Hoon gave her. “I don’t care how good you are. I am not interested.” He then tried to walk around her but she grabbed his arm and dragged him back to the table, sitting him down. “Gosh… doesn’t she get it? He isn’t interested.” I smiled in amusement at the obviously jealous Hyemi. Hoon had given up and just sat back, folding his arms. The music started and soon she started dancing. It was obvious she wasn’t a dancer. She was only doing it to be closer to him. She walked up to him and was practically giving him a lapdance when Hyemi stormed over to them, ripping her off of him. “Yah! What the hell do you think you are doing?!” The girl roughly pushed Hyemi but she just pushed back. “If you aren’t interested in dance then stop! It is obvious you are doing this to get closer to him but he isn’t interested in your dumb ual fantasy!” Hoon sighed and told them to knock it off. It was obvious he was annoyed. Both girls pouted at him getting up and walking off. He was about to leave the room when a soft voice spoke up. “I-I’d actually like to be your partner…” All eyes turned to the nerdy girl from the cafe. She was still wearing the necklace Hoon had given her. She looked...terrible. People snickered and laughed at her but Hoon just stared at her. He was silent for quite some time before walking back to the table and sitting down. “Show me.” We were all honestly shocked that he would give someone like her a chance. I know that sounds ed up but.. no one notices her. She seemed to be surprised as well but nodded and headed to the middle of the room. As the music soon began, she closed her eyes and let her body dance. People kept laughing at how she was an amateur but Hoon just stared. His eyebrow slightly rose as a small smile formed on her lips. Is he serious? Soon enough she finished her dance and he was silent. “We will start tomorrow. Don’t be late.” He then got up and walked out of the room. Hyemi looked so sad and I felt the need to talk to him. Why would he pick her? She can’t dance! I followed him to the bathroom and saw him washing his hands. “You shouldn’t just pick someone to get back at Hyemi. She gets it okay? She feels like .” I heard him slightly chuckle before he looked at me. “I have long forgotten about that. And about you all. I didn’t pick her over something so petty as to make her pay. I picked her because she has potential. She actually enjoys dancing and wants to become more involved in it. Her eyes light up when she moves. It is something I am very familiar with. THAT is why I chose her.” I was about to say something else when he started to walk away. I don’t know what came over me but I grabbed him and pinned him to the wall. He slightly groaned before staring at me with his dark eyes. “Listen Hoon. We said we were sorry okay? We all care about you and just don’t want to see you get hurt. Hyemi has been looking out for you since day one and this is how you treat her? I thought you were better than this. This isn’t the Hoon I know.” He slightly laughed and stared at me. “Then who am I? Huh? You have known me for about a week and now you think you know my whole story. I’m not a good person. So stop believing I am.” He then pushed me to the side before walking out. I was honestly left speechless.” I stormed out of the bathroom and was met with Hoon starring at BTOB. They each smiled kindly towards him but he simply glared. “Hoon! Glad we caught you here. We wanted to do an interview with you.” Before he could even answer, Hyemi popped up shaking her head. “No. He is busy.” The boy began nodding and walking away but BTOB wasn’t done yet. “Then… we can always meet after school.” Their tone.. it was weird and it caused Hoon to slightly freeze. “We will do the interview now. After we are done I don’t want to see any of your faces in front of me.” He then let them lead him towards the broadcasting room. They were going to do a live interview for the whole school to listen to. I then looked at Hyemi who sighed. “He doesn’t only hate them because of his sister. It was about a year or so ago… they him. He was broken and vulnerable. They took him back to their dorms and…” I could tell it was hard for her to explain. I was shocked too… how could idols do that?! We have a job to show a good example to our fans and they just do something so disgusting like that! We heard the bell chime and next thing we know, the interview was starting.

Hoon’s P.O.V-

“We are here with top student Lee Chi Hoon, asking some questions.” The cheerful boys spoke into the microphone. It angered me how fake they sounded. “So Hoon, what kind of song are you going to deliver this time?” I rose my eyebrows. Idiots, it isn’t like we had a choice. I sighed and spoke. “Rock Ballad.” They all ooh’d and ahh’d but it was all fake. Then they asked me to explain further. “What kind of message do you want to get across to your fans with this song? What does it mean to you?” I was a bit silent. I didn’t think much when writing the song. “This song… I want it to inspire people. I don’t want them to give up like I did.. I want them to overcome anything no matter how hard it is. I want people to listen to this when they are sad so then it gives them something to smile about.” They were shocked at my answer. Hell, even I was. “Wow, you are very caring aren’t you? Now to some personal questions. We all have written down some questions and had some of your fans send in their questions for you.” Cameras were all aimed at me so I just nodded. “Now Hoon do you have any siblings? What is your home like?” I immediately froze. They know so why ask?...

Seungcheol’s P.O.V-

We were all pretty shocked. Especially me and Hyemi. There was a long silence on the radio and we got pretty worried. “I have a little sister. My home is like anyone else's.” We could hear the strain in his voice. Hoon…. “Ah I see. And your parents? What do they do? We haven’t seen them come to your performances so they must be busy huh?” I could see Hyemi balling her hand into a fist. “How dare they ask him this..” Her voice shook and we were pretty scared. “If you don’t mind I would rather not give too much detail on my parents personal lives. Please go onto the next question.” He still wanted to continue?!

Hoon’s P.O.V-

They wanted to hurt me… expose me to the whole school. “Very well, do you have any dreams for the future? We heard from other students that you intend to give up dancing. Please explain.” I slightly groaned and glared at them. “I plan on finding a nice job to do. I have never wanted to pursue dancing as a career. It was only a hobby to me, once I leave the school, that hobby will end.” They all nodded and continued. “Now onto some of your fan questions. Are you in a relationship with anyone? Or do you have your eyes set on someone?” As soon as they said it, their head popped up in my mind. “Omo is our Hoonie blushing? Any hint as to who this lucky girl is?” I glared at them for over exaggerating. I was not blushing so no need to make a big deal. “I do happen to be interested in someone right now but have no interest in pursuing them. I am merely admiring from afar.” They all nodded and wrote it down? “Now Hoon, if you could go fix one mistake in your life what would it be?” I felt my heart stop. The whole accident repeated in my mind. Without realizing my hands started shaking. “Hoon are you okay?” I snapped out of it to see their rather amused faces. Bastards. I nodded and motioned for the next question. “Okay before we continue with the next questions, there is something we would like you to do.” I had a bad feeling about this whole thing.. what would they make me do? “I know you would rather not talk about your parents but they must care and be so proud of you. Please send them a video message.” I felt the air out of my lungs in that moment.

Seungcheol’s P.O.V-

My heart stopped. Why were they doing this to him? After what felt like forever, he spoke. “Mom… dad…” His voice was so quiet and I could just hear pain in his heart. “You have always been there for me… You have always wanted me to be happy in life and sacrificed so much for me. I knew I could be a handful as a kid but.. you still showered me with love. You encouraged my hopes and dreams and taught me everything I know. I… I love you both so much…” Hyeri was crying by now and even I was getting a bit emotional. “I would like to stop this interview.”

Hoon’s P.O.V-

Before they could even say anything, I stormed out of there. Tears were threatening to drop.. but I couldn’t allow it to happen. I stormed into my practice room and slammed the door, slowly falling down, crying. I ran my trembling hands through my hair before looking up and realizing I wasn’t alone. Seungcheol stared at me with such sad eyes. My eyes widened as I realized how pathetic I looked. I just looked down and kept crying. Next thing I know, I am being pulled into his embrace. I was about to push him off when I froze. This hug… It was the exact same feeling I would get when my mother hugged me. On instinct, I wrapped my trembling arms around him and cried into his arms. “I miss them so much…” He held me closer and rubbed my back, trying to comfort me. “How could I do that? I… it was my fault.” He quickly pulled away from me and stared at me. “Hoon it was not your fault. Don’t think that way. BTOB is just trying to get under your skin.. you are stronger than that so don’t let them.” I took in a shaky sigh before letting him go. I rested my head and could feel my head hurting. I didn’t have anything left… there was nothing left for me. I was hanging on a thin string of hope. She was my hope… “I miss them so much… I am so tired of being strong… I just want to go home to my parents and have them hold me tight.. and tell me I’m not alone. Do you know how awful it feels to realize… you will never see your parents smiling face again? I never saw them grow old… Every time I go home.. I hope to just see them.. welcoming me home with open arms. Every time I wake up… I hope so much that it was all a dream… that my mom would rush into my room and scold me for being late for school...” Seungcheol sat beside me and placed my head on his shoulder. Tears were dripping down onto his clothes. I was so tired… I was so tired of acting so strong… I want to be carefree…

Seungcheol’s P.O.V-

It wasn’t long before Hoon passed out. Slowly, his head slipped from my shoulder and into my lap. He looked so tired. Carefully, I removed his mask to let him breath better. He looked so innocent and his face was still rather puffy from crying. We heard a soft knock and I carefully moved us before allowing the rest of the guys and Hyemi to come in. She looked so sad at the broken boy in my arms. He slowly snuggled closer into me, which made me slightly shocked. “I think it is obvious you all know more than we do.. Mind filling us in?” Both me and Hyemi looked to Woozi who stood with his arms folded. Sighing, Hyemi explained his whole story. Each of them stood, shocked at his harsh life. “They did the interview just to hurt him…” Dino looked pretty pissed but his expression quickly changed once we heard Hoon slightly whimpering and shaking. Hyeri rushed over and gently his hair, causing him to calm back down. “He.. he gets bad nightmares. It took me forever to get him to spend the night at my house.. but when I did, I learned about them. The whole accident just replays in his mind and haunts him… He barely sleeps because of it..” I looked at the innocent boy with such sad eyes. Something came over me so I slowly leaned in and gently pressed my lips onto his cold cheek. When I came back up, the others stared at me with shocked eyes. Even I don’t know what came over me. The others decided to give us some time alone and left to go check up on the concert. It was pure silence until I heard soft buzzing. He had multiple messages however they were from unknown numbers. One read ‘Come here after school. I got a job for you.’ I was slightly worried… was it ion? I clicked on the next one and my heart stopped. ‘Wowww I heard your confession on the loudspeaker. It is Seungcheol isn’t it? Mmmmhmmmm knew it. You are too obvious my little one.’ I could feel my heart speeding up. He… likes me? How was he obvious?! I felt the boy below waking up and quickly placed his phone back where it originally was. He didn’t speak but glanced at me. “I’m sorry… I ruined your shirt.” He slowly stood up and helped me up as well. He turned to leave but I quickly stopped him. “Hoon… who do you like?” Maybe what the text says wasn’t true. The boy turned to face me with questioning eyes. “Why?” I could feel my ears getting hotter than ever and awkwardly chuckled. “No reason in particular. I was just curious. Besides, if you tell me, I may be able to help you get together with them. I am a pretty good wingman.” I quickly stopped myself from rambling but wasn’t able to stop myself from sounding like an idiot. “I don’t want to get together with anyone. I would rather be alone.” He then turned to leave but I wasn’t done just yet. “Okay but who is it?” The boy sighed and turned to stare at me with annoyed eyes. “You. Now will you be quiet? I want to walk in peace.” He then continued walking, leaving me speechless. He said it like it was nothing… The other guys were walking towards us but his confession was still downloading into my mind. My body began to get hot and my stomach was doing flips as my heart pounded against my chest. I don’t even know what came over me but I rushed over to the boy, grabbed his wrist and turned him around. He looked at me with his cold eyes before asking what I needed. My hand slowly reached for his face, gently cupping his cheek. Confusion was evident but before anything could happen, I quickly placed my lips onto his. My eyes peeked open to see his rather surprised ones. People were gathering around and taking photos. Both him and the rest of Seventeen were frozen in their places. He finally snapped out of it and pushed me off, glaring daggers into me. “Don’t ever ing do that again.” He then wiped his lips before walking away in anger. I stood in confusion. I thought he liked me… why did he hate it so much? I finally admit it.. I have feelings for this interesting boy. Everything about him intrigues me… and now his plump red lips intrigue me even more. I want to explore him further…