Present Day

It's Monday morning once again, and the campus is packed with busy students, trying to catch up with each other and chatting about how their weekends gone by. There’s one particular place that is more crowded than any other place though – it was the soccer field, and Donghyuck didn’t bother guessing why. For sure, the cause of the commotion is just a certain someone having his luxury as Mr. Popular, getting flocked by the students because they want to catch up with every second of that jerk’s breathing.

Whoever plays ball during the first period anyway? Mark Lee isn’t afraid to get all sweaty, he’s THAT confident. The idiot is at the field playing with his friends, Lee Jeno and Park Jisung.

Unfortunately, he has to pass by the noisy crowd. Hopefully, no one among those people would notice him, or it would be another one hell of an encounter with the school’s most displeasing soul—Mark Lee.

“Heads-up!”

He halted on his track when he heard the warning, looked up and –

“Hell!” He mumbled. It was too late to dodge when he saw an incoming ball, hitting him straight on the face. “Ouch!”

The students started flocking him, there was also Lee Jeno trying to help him up.

“Lee Donghyuck! Are you okay?” He just nodded, still feeling a bit dizzy.

“I think you should get checked, hyung. You might have gotten whiplash.” Jisung on the side remarked, he said ‘hyung’ as he’s a year younger but is in the same year as them. “Mark hyung exerted a lot on that kick.”

Yes, he ing exerted a lot, but stupid Mark Lee hit the wrong target… or did he? Donghyuck’s blood started boiling upon the thought that it was intentional.

“Shoot, I’m sorry. I did warn you though!”

He sneered when the devil walked up to him, looking truly sorry, but his eyes seemed mischievous.

“Be careful next time, Lee Minhyung.” It was the only thing he bothered to reply. He wanted to leave immediately but said guy held him by the arms to stop him.

“Okay, if it makes you feel better, why don’t you hit me as well?” Mark said with a lot of confidence, with no further words, he dragged him a few feet away from the crowd. Mark created a distant between them. “Here, I won’t budge… free kick.”

Donghyuck gritted his teeth. He dreamed of doing this for a while now – not just to hit him with a ball, but to actually put Mark in a catapult and shoot him out to the moon.

“What are you waiting for?” Mark asked again. “C’mon.”

“M-Maybe, we can settle this differently.” Jisung said as he walks up to them, while Jeno was trying to disperse the crowd before following them too.

Donghyuck shook a head. “I’m not that low.” And why would he hurt Mark Lee in front of other students? No, he can have his payback in secret, but right now, he has a reputation to uphold. “I’m leaving, Mark.”

“I insist… unless you’re not confident that you can hit me.”

That made him frown. “If you have forgotten it, Mark Lee, I was once part of the soccer team too.”

Yet the idiot only laughed at his annoyance.

“What are you laughing at?”

“You really think I can forget that, when your only reason for being there was—"

Donghyuck’s eyes widened. “Shut up! You’re such an attention .”

The brat crossed his arms. “It’s pretty pretentious to say when we know you actually love giving me attention.”

“Dream on!”

“Hah!” Mark smirked, eyes shining with playfulness. “Glad to say you’re never in my dreams.” He then looked at him from head to toe and laughed at the sight of his shoes. “I see, you’re afraid your shoes won’t hold for longer if you kick the ball.”

Donghyuck clenched his fists as he looked down at the pair he was wearing. It was old and worn out… but was it his fault for not having enough money to buy new ones?

“What’s the matter? Are your parents too poor to buy you a new pair?”

“Oh no, Mark, not that.” Jeno said, scratching the back of his head. Jisung also made a comment about how it was foul.

On the other hand, Donghyuck felt like he was poured with ice water at the mention of his parents. He stiffened and felt his cheeks burned—anger bubbling up inside him.

“Lee Donghyuck.” Jeno turned to him, wearing an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, Mark doesn’t know that your parents are—"

“Dead.” He finished what the other was saying. “He doesn’t know my parents are dead… it’s okay, Mark Lee doesn’t know jack about anyone anyway, and even if he does, I doubt he would care.”

Jeno and Jisung bowed while chanting ‘please forgive him’ and Donghyuck’s gaze stayed on them, even when he heard Mark’s gasp, and he saw the other’s face softened from his peripheral vision, he didn’t bother to look at him. He doesn’t want to see guilt in his eyes… because Mark Lee is not entitled to feel sorry or guilty.

“I – I… I don’t know… I’m—”

“I'll see you later, Lee Minhyung.” He quickly said, cutting off what the moron was about to say. He would rather not hear his sorry… he doesn’t want that bastard’s pity. Likewise, he just walked away.

-s-e-i-m-a-r-i-

“Finally! My best buddy!”

The first thing to greet Donghyuck when he opened the door of their classroom was his best friend, Jaemin. The guy’s eyes are wrinkling from smiling too much.

“What’s with you getting all softie with me?” he asked while taking a seat beside the now pouting boy.

“Yah, Haechan!” He covered his eyes from Jaemin’s yell. “You’re making it look like I’m not soft with you! If I’m not, then how do you think I’d be when it comes to other people? You are one Jaemin-privileged rat.”

“Tch.” He chuckled. “Other people here think you are cute and adorable, Nana but if they’ll be given the chance to encounter your mouth, I’m sure they’d think twice before describing you as that…”

Nana and Haechan, those who are close to them are the only ones who call them that.

Jaemin let out a very dramatic sigh and turned to him. “I just want to ask if you’ll be happy to have me as your guest later? You know, sleep over?”

“Oh!” Donghyuck nodded knowingly. “That’s why you’re acting all cute right now because you need something from me.”

“You’re making it sound like I’m a user! I just don’t want to be alone, and crashing in your house sounds like the perfect getaway. I’ll be lonely all by myself and the remedy is in front of me!” Jaemin motioned him. “It’s you!”

Perfect getaway? Right. Playing video games, movie marathon, and snacking is the perfect getaway for Jaemin.

“You’re all alone again?” he asked, curiosity peeking obviously from his heightened eyebrows.

“Do you really have to ask?” The other crossed his arms. “Mom left this morning for a business trip, it will take a week, Haechan! A whole damn week! And dad’s too busy to even visit. If I want to see him, then I should visit him instead. Urgh—No ing way! I might end up killing his entire family! They should have at least left me with a sibling before getting divorced.”

Donghyuck scowled. “Fine!” He agreed, trying to sound not sympathetic because the last thing his best friend wants is pity.

Jaemin might be cheerful and all, but it makes it easier for him to hide his past wounds. He was from a broken family – the usual stuff like his father cheated on his workaholic mother and his stepmother was the worst kind of . He also has step siblings who are wicked and love pissing the hell out of him. You’d get a picture that he’s the male version of Cinderella, however it’s A BIG NO! Jaemin is not the kind to get defeated easily, be it physical fights or stupid fights—especially stupid fights.

“You can sleep over our house. I know Taeyong hyung would love that too.” It’s just the two of them living together anyway.

“Uwaah~! You really are my savior.”

Just when his best friend was about to jump on him from excitement, the classroom door opened. The former pouted the moment their Math teacher, Professor Kim Minseok walked in. “Here we go again! Geez! Having Mathematics early in the morning makes my brain more twisted than it ever was.”

Donhyuck let out a chuckle. “If I remember it right, in middle school, you tried your best in Math more than any other subject just becau—ow!” he wasn’t given a chance to finish his sentence when the other flicked his forehead.

“There’s no way you’d say that again without me slapping your mouth, get it?” Jaemin smirked. “That makes us even, don’t you think? You once tried to enter the soccer team for obsession too.”

“Good morning class!” Professor Kim’s energetic voice shuts both Donghyuck and Jaemin up.

“Hey! What’s the answer to #4?” After spending a lot of time on question number 4, Donghyuck decided to copy whatever answer Jaemin had. “I can’t get the answer…” he whispered, eyes glued on the teacher, making sure that he wouldn't notice.

“Tell me you love me, and I’ll tell you…”

Donghyuck wasn’t looking at his friend, but he knows the tricky rabbit is smiling cunningly right now… like he always does. “Son of a .” He muttered.

“No. My mom’s great pal, you should try son of a jerk—or bastard, my father would fit very well.”

“That’s supposed to be an expression!” He whisper-shouted.

“Whatever. Time’s running, you love me or not?”

Donghyuck scratched his head. “Fine! Fine, I love you!” he cringed. “Now what?”

“I love you too and that’s 26.6° for you, look here for the solution.” Jaemin slightly raised his paper to let him take a peak.

“Eww! And thank you~” Donghyuck wrote down the answer and the solution with a smile.

“Oh! I almost forgot!” Professor Kim exclaimed out of the blue as they were in the middle of answering the given seat work. They all lifted their heads to look at the teacher.

“Starting tomorrow, you’ll be having Math with Class B since Mrs. Ka—”

“Really?!”

“OMG!! You’re the best, Professor Kim!”

“Finally, we’re talking about hot guys!”

“Will it be till the end of the school year?”

“I hope so.”

The poor teacher didn’t have the chance to finish when the whole class started to make noises… mostly girls, getting all excited because Class B is full of ‘hot guys’ as they have said earlier. Donghyuck didn’t know if it was an insult or what, since the only boys in Class A consist of him, Jaemin, Jungwoo, Sohee, and Shotaro.

“These traitors are being insensitive.” He heard his best friend whisper. “Can you please stop talking like that in front of us, hunnies?”

Donghyuck snickered when after whispering the first sentence, Jaemin pretended to smile sweetly and proceeded to say the last phrase to their classmates.

“Don’t misunderstand oppa, class A boys will always be the cutest, but we’re just happy!” Uchinaga Aeri giggled.

Jaemin smiled and raised his chin. “Right, I’m an oppa.”

“Okay, okay! Calm now ladies.” Professor Kim raised a hand. “I understand that you’re happy about this, but I still have 20 minutes before break so, if you could keep it in just a little longer, I’d be very grateful.” The noise quieted down, and the teacher continued what he was saying earlier. “As I was saying, Mrs. Kang starting tomorrow is on maternity leave and the faculty decided to pass it to me. Considering you’re all excited, I hope that you’ll treat them very well.”

“Yes, Ssaem!”

“Good! Now, go back to your work.”

As the rest of the students got back to their seat work, Jaemin shot him a sly grin. “Oh I’ll treat them very well, Lee Jeno is up for a nasty surprise if he does something stupid.”

Yep, Jaemin is a big anti-Jeno, the usual best friends vs. best friends trope yet the cause of Jaemin and Jeno’s quarrel isn’t clear to him. It’s as if one day came, and they just started hating each other.

“I wonder why you hate Lee Jeno. You used to get along well.”

Jaemin shrugs. “As you were with Mark but birds of the same feathers do flock together. If you started hating Mark Lee because he’s arrogant, then you can just assume that Jeno is as arrogant as him.”

Donghyuck shook his head. Talking about Mark Lee… as if having that jerk in the same school wasn’t enough. Fate decided he still has to suffer and went on to put that reptile into their Math class. He’s always been the worst in Math, with Mark around, may his last two brain cells be able to solve the x and ys.

After morning classes, Donghyuck found himself in the school cafeteria, with Spaghetti on his plate, but instead of focusing on eating, his eyes were busy darting back and forth from what he refers to as the most displeasing soul in the campus, Mark Lee.

Looking at him from this point, the guy seems… okay, innocent event. He was eating peacefully, smiles at anyone who greets him, even the so-called nerds who are usually bullied by campus jocks. He seems okay with everyone—yet when their eyes met, Mark only put on a smug grin before rolling his eyes and sha