His head now fashions platinum hair, no longer dark and contrasting with his pale skin. You would have to wonder if he does that to draw attention. Isn’t it enough to be the most eccentric kid on campus already? Is there nothing of what you once were remaining?

Seunghyun thinks about it and he can even hear what the other would say. “Who are you to judge me? You’re the one who wears an armor around your body, stopping anyone from ever coming in.” Yes, that is exactly what he would say, and it wouldn’t be far from the truth.

Sometimes he would feel Jiyong would only behave this way, attracting everyone’s look, making them treat him like , having them touch him just to hurt him, so that Seunghyun’s will to tear them apart, to use all of their words as a weapon, would grow stronger and he would become the soulless monster he thought him to be, just to prove he is always right.

In his mind Jiyong was always in danger, always needed him. But from the moment their eyes met, he could see that was not true. Was he really the last thing the other wanted right now?

***************

SeungHyun sat by the table watching through the windows the Sun that had already set, it was fall and all the green was no longer there to be seen, exactly the way he liked, bared trees being punished by the wind for they no longer were beautiful.

“Who do you think you are, freak?” He could hear a sore voice across the room, disturbing the silent moment. SeungHyun closed his eyes taking a deep breath in.

“Weirdos like you cannot seat on this table.” Insults repeated around, this time in a higher tone, so that everyone present could listen to them.

As if nothing was going on, the boy being yelled at just adjusted himself on the seat, bringing the food to his mouth and not even bothering taking his eyes off the book he read.

The lack of attention clearly hits his bully as a slap across the face and with a fast movement he knocks the book out of small hands, making it fall on the table like a heavy brick.

The boy again seemed not to mind, rescuing his book and searching for the page where he had left off. Making the other even more pissed forced to grab his chin and turning his head violently towards him so they would be looking eye to eye.

“Look here you little …” He then began his lecture, words of prejudice and hatred spat against his face. But the silver haired boy didn’t even bothered focusing on him, yes his head was turned in the other’s direction, but all his eyes could see were the lids, lashes e thick eyebrows, arched in the shape of  a V, belonging to the one half-way across the room.

Jiyong sighed in frustration before getting rid of his aggressor’s hands and getting up leaving the table. In his heart he knew the one he couldn’t stop staring at didn’t mind anymore, he probably didn’t have any reasons for it anyway. Had it been before, then all he would be seeing by now would be blood and tears of his enemies, a gift from his former friend for touching him inappropriately.

But now, thinking of breaking those ing idiots’ faces would most likely be boring, unnecessary even, though he still could tell the other was still clearly the kind of person who wouldn’t tolerate injustices, he wouldn’t be the hero now. Now was time to hang low, stand down, his new life style.

Not that Jiyong needed saving, but he surely missed the attention he used to get. He then left hearing unworthy giggling everywhere, defeated one more time. To tell the truth, he could care less about them, about what anyone had to say or think of him for that matter, and maybe that, plus his clothes and unusual hair style were the reason for him to be called eccentric, alas, not eccentric anymore, a freak now.

***************

“Do you know him?” SeungRi asks his friend, walking by his side with hurried steps, since the other was more like running than walking.

“Who?” JiYong asks back adjusting the strap of his backpack.

“You know, I’m not the only one who noticed you keep staring at him practically all day. So you must know him.” SeungRi explains pulling on the strap JiYong was adjusting just now, figuring a way to stop him.

“I have no idea whom you’re talking about.” JiYong answers finally stopping e trying again to fix his backpack.

“Will you quit messing with this thing and pay attention to what I’m saying?” SeungRi complains making the other roll his eyes. “I’m talking about SeungHyun, don’t pretend you’re not understanding.”

“Everyone knows him, the famous bad boy, don’t touch him, don’t talk to him. What kind of stupid question is this?” JiYong crosses his arms in front of his chest.

“I don’t mean knowing him by name, but knowing him for real, like, have you been his friend before, his enemy, neighbor… boyfriend?” SeungRi gets slapped after the last assumption.

“I am nothing to him.” JiYong affirms acting serious.

“I’m not asking if you are, but if you were?” SeungRi asks even more serious than the other. JiYong seems to hesitate for a moment, but finally gives in to boy’s nagging.

“We used to be friends.” JiYong says having a sad expression on his face while looking at his own feet.

“I knew it!” SeungRi smiles after his finding. “And what happened? Why are you no longer friends with him?” He continued his questioning.

“You only have the right of one compromising question per day.” It’s JiYong’s time to smile as he leaves his open mouthed friend behind.

“Hey, that’s not fair!” SeungRi shouts and follows JiYong, again running after him.

***************

SeungHyun tried so hard not to be affected by that heart wrenching scene from before. He had promised himself that nothing JiYong would do should bother him. After all, the shorter boy was the one who once said back then when they last spoke, that they didn’t have a bound anymore.

But that has been proved nearly impossible day after day. At the beginning of the year SeungHyun started at the University and his biggest surprise was seeing JiYong there. He was such a smart boy, to the point that he would be able to enter any place he wanted, then why stay here, so close, so obvious?

All his plans to forget about him came crashing down after that. All of his promises were broken, every day, every time their eyes met between classes and hallways. And to worsen the situation, they had one lecture together, not that they literally were even seen together, it was more like one at each side of the room trying their best to ignore each other, but only the knowledge of the smaller boy’s presence already made everything harder for Seunghyun. Try to control your body when your heart points in the opposite direction.

SeungHyun could have avoided any kind of contact with JiYong until now, but in a few minutes, as it so happened every two weeks, on a Friday, on the last period, he would have to face him again.

***************

JiYong walked slowly across the deserted halls, not many students stuck around for the last class on a Friday night, when they had bars and clubs just a few blocks away. In fact, he might have being there, turning shots after shots of cheap vodka, if today wasn’t the day he craved the most during the week. With his hands carefully warmed in her pockets, he took small steps while enjoying the starry night outside the windows.

Watching the sky so distracted in his thoughts, that he nearly missed a shooting star. He gasped noticing it and before it had vanished, JiYong bit down on his lips and thought about the thing he wanted the most and then he smiled awkwardly, he had never thought he would be wishing upon a star, since he wasn’t a little boy anymore to believe in such silly things, but it was worth a try.

While the door to his class approached, JiYong could only take a last calm breath and fix himself before walking in. Without even taking his eyes out of the chair in the back of the class to the left, he sped up his pace and sat down staring at the blackboard ahead, his arms crossed in front of his body, placed at the table, where his head would rest later on, through possibly the whole lecture.

His lips always suffered the most during those classes, he would bite on them constantly while his feet would nervously bang against the floor, controlled anxiety, the will to look to his right was almost bigger than himself.

Don’t look; don’t look; don’t look; don’t look; don’t look; don’t look; don’t look;

Just a glance maybe, JiYong gripped the edge of his desk turning his head almost in slow motion.

“Hello class!” Jiyong turned his attention towards the unknown face in front of the class room, he smiled too much, and it was very awkward.

“Good evening, I’m JiHoon, and I will be your teacher for the night.” The smiling man said.

“What happened to Mr. Lee?” Someone asked.

“He’s been into an accident, so I came to replace him.” The most unnerving thing is that he still had that shining constant smile despite the tragic news. In fact, the most interesting thing was everyone else’s face after that, a mix of confusion and amusement, just priceless.

JiYong then noticed what he had been trying to avoid since he got in. SeungHyun was there, like always, on the last desk of the right corner of the room.

“Well, anyway, I’ve been informed I should give you an assignment, which will have extreme importance to your final grade; and shall be done till Monday.” The chore of disapproval was general.

“First, I need to form pairs.” Disapproval again, not audible this time, but SeungHyun and JiYong knew very well they wouldn’t like any task in pair, if they were to be chosen as a team.

“Choi SeungHyun e Kwon JiYong.” Speaking of the devil, could he read minds? The smiling man says their names making two sets of hearts jump wildly in their chests, and then continued his list. Both looked at the floor, no escape this time.

No excuse, there’s no excuse. JiYong feels his face burning. SeungHyun glares at the professor and finds it very suspicious the sly grin mischievously pasted on his lips like someone who’s planning something really naughty.

They don’t seat together, they don’t even talk to each other during class and it seem like they won’t have to do it as Jihoon, after giving the pairs a piece of paper with the name of a book written on it and instructing everyone to write essays about it, left and excused everyone from the next hours of class.

“Have fun.” He said before exiting through the door. He was completely crazy, how they thought he could be teaching anything was beyond Jiyong’s understanding.

Without even hesitating all the occupants of the class left as well, celebrating and chatting around, leaving only SeungHyun and JiYong behind, one at each corner of the room. After almost five minutes of silence, SeungHyun stood up and walked to the door.

“Wait…“ JiYong started, quickly standing up, SeungHyun stopped and turned in his direction.

“I don’t have time to do any tasks on the weekend, so if you want help to do this, we have to do it now.” SeungHyun said firmly, the other just nodded and followed him to the University’s library.

Not even if he was alone there would be so much silence, JiYong thought. After all this time without talking, he didn’t expect the other’s first words to be so dry. It was so different to walk beside him now, he could clearly see that their bound wasn’t there anymore.

***************

Arriving at the library the place was as quiet and empty as always, not even the librarian was there, which was weird, but wouldn’t really be a problem. Without wasting any time, SeungHyun unwrapped the piece of paper and read the book’s name out loud. “Dreamland.” He paused. “Humph, what a stupid name.” Then said to no one in particular.

JiYong almost smiled, SeungHyun hasn’t chance at all, the same grumpy way of being.
“I’ll look this side.” He then said the first complete sentence to the other and SeungHyun walked the opposite side.

Minutes had passed maybe even an hour and they still haven’t found the book. They were now at the same row, but didn’t notice it, as they were giving all their focus to the shelves around.
JiYong then gasped when he realized how close Seunghyun was, making the other jump back.

They went through an awkward moment trying to look everywhere but each other’s face, till they miraculously found the book they needed right in front of them. They both reach for it at the same time causing their hands to touch and there was a small spark almost like an electric charge, making them drop the book to the ground.

They looked at the object fallen at their feet, it was open, a colorful landscape printed on the page like those from a fairy tale, it actually felt like a dream. The pages then begin to flutter, rapidly turning one by one as if blown away by a gush of wind, but there was none, and the windows were all shut.

It all looked very strange, making them frown at the feeling of being watched. JiYong then crouched to get the book when a really loud sound echoed through the library. SeungHyun turned around to check where it came from and to his surprise he saw the big wooden shelves falling, one after another, like a domino effect, and they were coming in their direction.

JiYong also saw it and immediately got up trying to pick the book up, but the damn thing wouldn’t move, like it was glued to the floor.

“Leave it, let’s go!” SeungHyun grabs Jiyong by the arm and both start to run to the door, but that way was blocked as shelves from the other side also started to fall, leaving them only one option through the middle.

They ran as fast as they could but only to find a wall on their way, their hearts pounding heavily on their chests realizing they were on a dead end. SeungHyun watches the big structures approaching while JiYong could only lean his back against the concrete behind him, clearly in a state of shock.

When they are about to get hit, JiYong closes his eyes in reflex, his last vision is of SeungHyun opening his arms and wrapping them around him. SeungHyun protecting him with his own body, then everything blacks out.