Eccedentesiast (n.)
- A person who fakes a smile.

The sound of the siren is deafening. The blue and red lights mixing, reflecting on the puddles of water on the streets. The eyes of the students that have been capturing us, every wound I got, every pain I felt. They already knew my secret.

The police informed me that they will file a case of physical injury to my dad. I don’t know how many months he will be imprisoned but I know it will take 6 months and above for him to get out.
Before he went inside the car, he just stared at my dirty and wet clothes, smiling as he approached me. It was a creepy smile for me..
“You’ve been such a good guy.” In a sudden, my mind became confused. It can’t interpret what my dad is saying and It’s like I’m learning a new language.

“What are you saying.” I hissed. My voice is weak, because of cold and the pain of my body.

“You really don’t know?” Why would I? I’m not a guy who can read minds just like Ten.

“Son,

I’ve been punishing you, for you to live your life fighting. Not surrendering. I want you to fight me and yet you chose to be quiet. I want you to punch me, kick me. I want you to give that deadly glare your friend gave me. I want you to say ‘I’m not the person you can control’. I want you to---..

Y-you’re like your mother, Jaehyun. Very gentle and calm.” I don’t get why in a sudden he’s like this. Is this his true motive? To beat me and just say like It’s okay?

“Sometimes, it’s okay to be bad. You need to fight for things that is important for you,

but I guess you’ve found it.” I don’t know if he’s still drunk. He shifted his gaze to Ten and back to me again.

I closed my eyes and sighed as the silence go on. “Can I ask something?” I don’t care about myself or how I got wounded. This question will determine if I’ll forgive him or not.

“Did you loved Mom?”

He then smiled. The tears he’s holding welling up to his eyes and as one tear fell down, he nodded. The burst of his cry is like a volcano erupting as the lava is his tears, flowing down to his face, as his cheeks became wet, once again.

He kept on nodding, crying, clenching his fist like it’s about to break. I need to be strong in front of him, so I force myself not to cry. I bit my lip, trying not to, as I felt warm fingers edged mine, slightly and carefully. I held it tight after Ten brushed his hand on mine. I feel safe and comfortable. We have are sharing the same heat of our palms.

“Sorry...” Dad whispered.

The police closed the car and drove away. The flickering red and blue lights faded in my eyes, as well as the deafening sound of siren that kept on resonating on the streets. Here then, I smiled.

-Ten’s-

It feels painful. My arm is stinging, but even though it was burning and achy, I can feel like I can endure the pain, because he already smiled from the depressing face he had.

~

I went to the classroom and saw his presence nowhere to be found. I don’t know what got me but I felt Jaehyun is not inside of the campus anymore. I ran through the intersection ignoring the small drops of rain, because I felt something bad was happening. This is very unusual but my heart seems to know, Jaehyun is in danger. It’s like you’re worrying of someone you know is safe.
As I got through the intersection, I saw him and a stranger. The guy pushed him, as the rain fell so bad that my vision became blurry and to my surprise everything went vivid. It’s like I wore contact lenses making it so clear like I’m watching a movie. I felt the rush of adrenaline as I ran fast and there, before the guy slammed the bottle onto his head, I came.

It was fast. Funny thing is I know where would I go.

“I don’t know what just happened.” I whispered as he stared at me tiredly. I want to explain how I got here but I know it’s not the time to explain. Just on how I saw them crying, makes me realize I’m not the only one on earth that is suffering loneliness.

He grinned weakly. Tears building up on the side of his eyes, waiting to drop. It hurts me to see him like this. I feel like my heart is being ripped, burned into ashes until it dissolved into thin air. I want to cry as well, but I’m not in the position to. I pity him. I pity him, the way I pitied myself.

He slowly walked towards me. We’re standing in the same puddle of water now. So close, I can feel his warm breath on my cheeks.

His arms caressed my body, leaving me breathless and startled, as he hold onto me. He’s squishing my back, tapping it while he keeps on trembling. There was no other sound than the rain, coming back, once again. The wind was blowing a cold feel, but I can’t really feel it. It’s like I’m numbed because of it. I look up in the dark sky, and just like the wounds he had, the painful memory he had, it won’t go away. No matter how long I stare, it won’t fade away. His warmth reached my heart as I started to tear up. After seconds of watching him cry like a baby lost in the crowd, I started to quiver, and just like him, I cried.

Behind every smile, lies a story that is yet to be told. 

As the time passed by, he calmed. I wiped his tears that he keeps on shedding, and as we walk to nowhere, we glanced at each others faces, smiling through the pain, because we know we can do it if we have each other.

We arrived in Jaehyun’s dorm. It is not messy, in fact it was shiny clean. It’s wide here making it look big but actually not. It’s just the illusion. “Are you the ones cleaning this?” I asked as I held the picture of him and Taeyong during their old school days.

“Nope. Taeyong is cleaning for me. Okay, not at all times. But when I try to clean, Taeyong will come over and clean it instead.” The smell of the dorm is like the scent of the petrichor outside. I noticed that Jaehyun opened the windows so maybe that’s why. It’s already night and the rain stopped as well. “Taeyong frequently sleeps here because his mom sometimes takes overnight working. He’s afraid of sleeping alone, so he’s coming in. That’s why we have two beds.”
I’ve been noticing on how elegant the room is.

From the table set, the beds, the lamps, the bulbs, and how the huge is the dorm, it is surprising. “Here, Ten.”

I caught the white and soft towel that he threw and scrubbed it to my hair. He’s now wearing a white bathrobe. “Take a shower already before you catch a cold.” I ed my shirt and went straight inside the bathroom but he stopped me. I turned back, looked straight to his worried eyes as my eyebrows meet.

“Hey..

You don’t have tattoos anymore....”

I had a goosebumps. It’s like an electricity went through my spine as I shivered. “I-I don’t know.” Trembling, I said. It was so weird. I haven’t got a tattoo since, and now that mysterious tattoo they’re talking about is fading. They must have been kidding me.

I took a shower, didn’t mind what happened and changed my clothes inside. I heard Jaehyun is talking to someone I can’t hear, so I went back outside to see who it was and it was Taeyong. “This stings.” I whispered as I put the new bandages on my wound.

“Ey. Ten.” He called me. “Hey look at me.”

“I’ll look at you if you smile.”

“No thanks. I heard Jaehyun’s dad almost beat him up and you came running for rescue. I knew Jaehyun’s dad is like that and I kept on telling Jaehyun to beat him up as well since he’s quite stronger than his dad. It’s child abuse.” Taeyong doesn’t know anything about child abuse though. I sighed and Jaehyun scratched his scalp while grinning fakely. “Hey Jaehyun, We’re having a dinner with my mom. I’m not staying here. Take care of Ten.”

“I should take care of Jaehyun.” I laughed and he smiled. Finally. It’s only once in a blue moon to see him smile and when he does, everything lits up. “You really want him to smile huh?”

“Well that would be my biggest achievement. If I let him smile everyday in front of people it would be a miracle.”

I sat on my bed and stumbled because it is freezing wet! What did just happened? Did something spilled? “HEY JAEHYUN WHAT HAPPENED. IT’S WET. THE BED IS WET.”

“YOU SAT THERE EARLIER WHEN YOUR PANTS IS DRIPPING WET. IT’S YOUR FAULT.”

Hey, hey, does this mean we have to share the same bed?

“Why you’re face is so red? Are you catching a cold?” Jaehyun asked worriedly.

“No. It’s just--- It’s hot you know.” What the heck is that lie, Ten. How pathetic.

“We’re sharing the same bed, then.” I shook my head as I stood straightly. I think it was the best posture I’ve done in my whole life. I stepped back.

“I’m sleeping on the floor.” I feel my heart racing as he keeps on walking towards me. He grabbed both of my hands like he’s about to handcuffed me. I felt nervous and weak. “You have a fever, though.”

As far as I can recall, this is the first time I got a fever. Weird.

I got dizzy as I kept on walking. “How about the class tomorrow?” I asked.

“We’re not attending classes. I’ll message Taeyong if he’s not as well.” I’m sighed as I kept on shivering because of cold. I shifted to side, watching the lights of the car down in this building, finding my house as far as I can. It’s cold but my body is hot.

I closed my eyes for a moment until I felt the bed cushion sank and the lights went off. I opened my eyes to see what happened and all I see is Jaehyun’s eyes. Nose to nose, I held my breath. I gulped and try to sleep. The lights are already off and only the lamp beside me is giving off the light I need.

We’re too close to each other, I can’t move.

“Thank you.”

He whispered as he moved his body close to me. “Thank you for saving me.”

I’m hearing it right. I smiled as I feel my heartbeat beating fast like a drum roll in a concert. There is nothing I can hear, only his breathing, and his calming voice. We shared the same warmth. He doesn’t care even if I have cold.

He kept on moving towards me.. I did not open my eyes as I kept on smiling. I know he doesn’t know I’m grinning, because all he knows, I’m already asleep. “I should be the one to thank you, Jaehyun.” I whispered as I fell asleep.

I woke up as the sunlight flashed on my eyes. The brightness of it blinding my eyes as if I’m in front of the projector in the cinema. I scanned around in searched of Jaehyun, until I remembered that we slept together, so close, sharing warmth.
In front of me is the guy I like, my everything. He’s like an angel sent from above. He’s sleeping like a child, dreaming about rainbows and unicorns that made him smile. The sunlight compliments his skin tone, making it pale as ever. I fixed the strand of his hair and that makes him shift to other side. “Pretty.” I whispered. White walls, white ceilings, his dorm is more clean to observe during morning.

I stood up to wander around his room, until I noticed a book. A year book from his middle school. A noise came outside the door, and as I opened the book, the door creeks as well. It was Taeyong. He bought fruits and snacks for us. “Good morning.” He tediously grunted.

“Why do I feel like your morning is not good?” I giggled.

“I woke up early to buy something for you guys, and JAEHYUN SHOULD STOP ACTING LIKE HE’S SLEEPING EVEN THOUGH HE’S ALREADY AWAKE.” Jaehyun shifted his position facing us right now, and opened his eyes like he didn’t slept. It’s like he woke up earlier than me and just lying beside me. “Come on, you always wake up early. It’s already 7am.”

Taeyong prepared for the fruits and chopped him on the wooden chopping board. He’s good at cooking, I guess. His chopping skills look professional because I hear him chopping the fruits fast.
Jaehyun asked what he’s doing and Taeyong answered he’s going to make a fruit salad. I turn the pages of the yearbook I’m reading without minding them. It’s like I’m scrolling my phone here without minding my friends cooking or what.

I chuckled as I saw him very serious on his picture. He’s like that even now and that’s what makes it funny. I scanned the page to find Jaehyun and I saw him.

HE WAS CHUBBY. I can’t believe he’s skinny right now. “Open your eyes, Ten. Jaehyun is chubby during his middle school. Now he’s y as f.” Taeyong exclaimed without giving any emotions on his face. “Hey stop scanning that. I was ugly.”

“Was.” I whispered.

“Yeah, I’m so handsome right now can’t you see.” What the heck.

“Ah. Jaehyun, the fruits tastes bad now, stop complementing yourself.” Taeyong let a big blow of knife on the chopping board and that made us startled. He’s like he’s going to kill someone with that knife. I smell bloodlust.

I turned the page once again. It’s the girls. I don’t know about the girls but I keep on scanning their names and faces. I’m not memorizing them. I’m just scanning it for fun. Taeyong is done mixing the salad as he sat beside me. Jaehyun is preparing the bread and letting it heat in the oven, until I noticed a girl with a jet black hair. Nothing special about her. It’s just that her face is so sweet like a blossoming flower on the streets. Her eyes is innocent, my focus onto her and she’s like telling me to look at her. She’s like the female version of Jaehyun.

“Jung Hyejin? From Daegu?” I asked.

Taeyong wants to say something but he’s not sure whether to say it or not. It’s like he’s unsure of what he’s going to say, like a student unsure of reciting in class. “I’m not sure..” he whispered.

“You’re not sure? She’s your classmate. How can you not be sure? Hey! She’s also a model of the school. How can you not be sure! She must be famous.”

Jaehyun walked towards us to see who the heck I’m talking to.

“Shana...”

“Shana? It’s not Shana.”

“Shana is her english name, idiot.” Taeyong hit my head as he complained about the name. Suspiciously, I smiled at him, and that made him lose his mind. “Ah. Is this your girl?” I muttered. The dishes fell and made a startling sound that made me jumped out of fear. It was Jaehyun who is washing plates.

“THE F NO.” Taeyong yelled. “Look, we’re not even close. Even Jaehyun.”

“What a pain. I thought Jaehyun is friendly to everyone.”

“Yes he is. What I mean is,-- Wait you really don’t get me. Jaehyun and I were friends since and that girl you’re talking about is just a normal girl of the class. She’s just there, sitting, quietly, and I don’t mind approaching her.”

“What about Jaehyun?”

He paused for a while. He’s thinking an answer to say. It feels like I already knew what it was. I think Jaehyun and that girl had a relationship and it’s just that Taeyong doesn’t want to go back to the past, because it would be uncomfortable for Jaehyun. I’ll take my logic and try to catch Taeyong’s lies. “So, did Jaehyun enjoyed their relationship?”

“Well, It’s bitter-sweet.”

Taeyong then gasped as Jaehyun eyed him with disgust. I see. So, it really turned out to be like that. I didn’t bother because Jaehyun doesn’t care about that girl anymore and the fact that we’re not studying in the same school, it would be okay.

What am I saying? It’s not like Jaehyun is mine or what.

A day has passed as I walked on the streets without minding my temperature. The leaves on the trees are starting to grow and even though the wind tries to blow them, they won’t fall. The smell of the petrichor had gone away and it was a nice day to welcome schooling again from a long day we had yesterday. I had fun talking with them. The topic we talked about was entirely nonsense for them, but it really matters to me. That way, I feel like I knew everything about them already.

Someone ran beside me as I smell the perfume she has. Her chestnut brown hair complemented her skin color and her skin color matches well with her uniform. She ran so fast, doesn’t care if her skirt is flying behind her. She’s definitely the type of girl you want to hang out or be friends with.

I continued walking and after I entered the room, I saw Jaehyun sitting quietly, earphones on and as I scanned the room for Taeyong, I found his presence nowhere inside. I tapped Jaehyun’s back to asked where Taeyong is and as he removed his earphone, I grunted because our teacher already went inside the room with Taeyong beside her? What happened?

“Taeyong is late. He went to her mom. He called me.” Jaehyun whispered. I nod as I shifted my glance to our teacher.

“This will be a new day for all of you guys, because something new is going to happen. A change is going to happen. Today, we will welcome a new transferee from Japan.”

As soon as she arrived, I already knew it. She was the girl running outside the school. The girl with chestnut hair,

The girl with the jet black hair I saw on Jaehyun’s yearbook.

It was Hyejin.