Chapter 27.

If a lion, a lion roars would you not listen?
If a child, a child cries would you not forgive them?

Jaehyun was having class with Ten when Taeil entered their class. “Jaehyun you’ve been called to go to the principal’s office.” He said and Jaehyun shared a gaze with Ten who wore a grim expression.

  “I told you.” He said and Jaehyun just nodded, closing his book and getting up from his desk. Everybody wondered why he was going there, but the news had spread about Jaehyun beating those sophomores. He ran a hand through his hair and followed Taeil down the hall.

  “Jaehyun it doesn’t look good.” Taeil said. “I saw adults arrive here which means angry parents.” He warned Jaehyun and he sighed.

  “I couldn’t stand to see Mark being bullied like that. Ever since we came back from camp it has happened. It even happened before he has said.” Jaehyun explained.

Taeil huffed. “These kids deserved it, but you know it can easily be turned around and be pinned on you if Mark doesn’t stand up for himself.”

  “Damn it.” Jaehyun cursed to himself and Taeil stopped when they reached the office of their principal. The older gave him a sympathetic look and Jaehyun gave him a small smile before he entered the office. He was surprised to see his father sitting there too. Mark wasn’t there, obviously the kids who had told their parents about this hadn’t mentioned the very cause of it.

Jaehyun bowed deeply then he went over to his father to take a seat, not even glancing at the whimpering kids who really should drop their bull.

  “Jaehyun.” His father whispered to him. “Why are they telling me you beat up their kids?”

Jaehyun noticed everyone looking. His principal was a short man, hair always pushed back to cover his hair loss and he wore a suit that matched the colors of their school, black and with an orange tie. They were all waiting for his explanation. Jaehyun looked at the parents and noticed one of the women looking a little too well-dressed. Maybe that kid was rich which meant bad luck for Jaehyun. “Can I speak?” Jaehyun asked and the principal nodded.

  “We’d like to get straight to it.” He said.

Jaehyun nodded. “I must say I’m not really the main character of this problem nor am I the villain.” He explained and the well-dressed woman huffed much to Jaehyun’s annoyance.

  “You hit my Kwang Oh and you’re not the villain?! I can’t really see-”

  “Sorry.” Jaehyun said cutting in which was considered very rude but he simply couldn’t contain his anger. “Have you smelled the uniform of your kid? Because of what I saw he was forcing a freshman to steal cigarettes from his aunt, and what- eh- Kwang Oh does with these cigarettes is not my problem, but if he beats up my friend because of not stealing enough… Well then I had to do something about it.” Jaehyun quickly continued before anyone interrupted him. “I shouldn’t have beaten them, that was a little too much, but I don’t understand why Mark isn’t here. Did they forget to mention that they have bullied him for over a month? I wondered why Mark was always dressed before us or changing later than us… Now I know why.”

Jaehyun stormed out of the office with his father in his heels. “Jaehyun what have you gotten yourself into?” He cried and sighed. “You’ll definitely receive some punishment if you don’t get Mark to speak. He needs to say something or else it will look like you’re the bully.”

  “I’m not!” Jaehyun snapped and Jaehyun’s father gave him a look. Jaehyun sighed. “Sorry.”

  “Get Mark to talk or I’m afraid you’ll get expelled.”

Jaehyun sighed. “I hope Taeyong likes bad boys.”

Jaehyun’s father chuckled. “Why are you like this, son?” He asked and Jaehyun smiled.

  “I just did what was right...”

 His father gave Jaehyun a gentle squeeze. “We’ll get through this.”

  “Mark.”

  “Jaehyun no…”

  “Mark!”

  “Jaehyun, please.”

  “Mark will you stop?” Jaehyun grabbed the younger’s arm and Mark was forced to turn around and face Jaehyun. “Did you hear?”

Mark’s gaze dropped to the ground. “I can’t face them.” He muttered and Jaehyun’s heart got torn when he noticed the tears that were b in the younger’s eyes.

  “Yes you can, Mark.” Jaehyun told the other but then had to clear his throat, feeling it burn. Jaehyun grimaced but ignored the sensation. “Mark, you have to do this to save yourself and to save me.”

Mark looked up. “You? What have they done?”

  “They are playing the victims… They say I’m the one bullying them now.” Jaehyun closed his eyes and ran a hand through his air. Mark’s eyes widened, guilt swimming in them.

  “Oh no…” He cried. Students passed them and the two turned around to face the windows. “I’m so sorry Jaehyun.”

  “Don’t be.” Jaehyun said and wrapped an arm around Mark’s shoulders. “I brought this upon myself.” Jaehyun eyed the sky above their school, the few clouds upon the sky looked like white pencil . Mark was worrying on his bottom lip and Jaehyun felt himself weaken as well.

Mark sighed and stepped away. “I promised to meet with Eunhye.” He sounded hopeless. Jaehyun cheered up a little at the name Eunhye.

  “You’re together?” He asked and expected Mark to smile but he still looked even more hopeless.

  “Yeah… Been dating for a week.” He said and Jaehyun noticed the other’s eyebrows twitch closer.

  “That’s great!” Jaehyun said and patted Mark’s back. The younger came out of his thoughts.

  “Yeah, it is.” He said but didn’t sound convincing. Mark sighed and looked out of the window again. Jaehyun rubbed his neck.

What had he gotten himself into?

The group of friends sat on the benches facing the basketball court in the park. Taeyong had greeted Jaehyun with such a bright smile he felt all his worries vanish, and he embraced the other tightly.

  “You okay?” The other asked and Jaehyun sighed.

  “No.” He said honestly. “Everything has gone to .” He felt Taeyong take his hand in his and Jaehyun didn’t know what he would’ve done without Taeyong. He let the other guide him towards the benches and Jaehyun took seat beside Ten and Johnny. Taeyong’s hand found its way around Jaehyun’s thigh; it brought a tingling sensation through his body, distracting him from his anxiety that tried to get at him.

  “What are we going to talk about?” Johnny asked. “Mark’s girlfriend?”

Jaemin who was sitting with his phone nearly dropped it. “WHAT?!” He shrieked but he wasn’t the only one. Sehun and Ten both stared at Mark.

  “You- what?!” Hansol repeated and Jaehyun chuckled a little. “Damn… I’m behind.”

Yuta chuckled. “Don’t worry.” He said and patted Hansol’s knee. “You’re not alone.” He smiled and Hansol sighed in relief.

  “Single forever!” He joked and the two high-fived.

Doyoung, Kun and Sicheng came over and took a seat. Doyoung and Jaehyun shared a small smile. Jaemin though took off his shoe and threw it in Mark’s direction. “Dude tell us!” He said with a smile but as soon as everyone turned their attention to Mark Jaehyun noticed Jaemin’s smile falter.

Mark’s gaze landed on Jaemin for a short moment before he spoke up. “We’ve been dating for about a week, nothing much, now please get off my back.”

  “Never.” Ten said. “Mommy needs to know all about this girl, is she nice?”

Johnny laughed but jumped upon the wagon. “Does she treat you well?” He asked as if he was a worried father and Kun and Sicheng laughed. Jaehyun felt Taeyong shake a little as he laughed softly.

Mark glared at the two. “I’m going to murder you.” He threatened and in that moment Taeil appeared behind him.

  “No, Mark, if anyone’s getting murdered I’m afraid it’s Jaehyun.” He said and went over to them to sit. “Mark, Jaehyun is in trouble if you don’t say anything.”

  “Say anything?” Doyoung spoke up. “What has happened?”

Mark sighed. Jaehyun looked at him cautiously before speaking. “I caught some bullies forcing Mark to steal cigarettes from his family to them…” (“WHAT?!” Kun exclaimed.) “I gave them a few kicks and punches, just to draw the line, but they went to their parents and have now made it look like that I’m the bully.”

Mark hid his face in his hands and then Doyoung stood. “Mark, you have told them about it right? You need to give them proof while you have it.”
Everybody was taken aback by Doyoung’s serious expression and Mark looked up at him. “I… I’ve taken pictures of the bruises and kept track of what I’ve stolen, actually I paid for the cigarettes myself… I’m not stupid.”

Jaehyun nearly toppled over in relief. ”Then tell them, Mark please, they’ve threatened to expel me.”

Taeyong’s eyes widened. “What?!” He asked and his hand on Jaehyun’s thigh tugged in his leg so that Jaehyun turned around to look at Taeyong. The other leaned in closer. “They’ve what?” He asked, eyes worried and Jaehyun covered the other’s hand with his own to calm him.

  “Beating up younger students isn’t exactly a thing our school would be proud of, so of course they’d expel me.”

Doyoung’s eyes narrowed on Jaehyun. “You can’t let this happen to you.”

  “What am I gonna do?” Jaehyun asked and Doyoung sat down with his arms crossed over his chest.

  “Mark-”

  “I know!” Mark groaned and Jaemin stood from his seat, walking over and wrapping an arm around his friend’s shoulder. Mark leaned into the touch.

  “You can do this Mark.” Johnny spoke up giving Mark a stern look. “You’re a strong and wise kid, don’t let other’s knock you down.”

Jaehyun nodded and noticed the other boys nod too. “You’ve helped me so much Mark, you can do this.”

Mark nodded and ran his hand through his hair. “I won’t let you down, Jaehyun.” He then said and Jaehyun smiled. Doyoung nodded and smiled as well.

  “Mark, it’s really brave of you, don’t forget that.” He said and Jaehyun looked at Doyoung, there was this look on his face, and Jaehyun was reminded of the time in the hospital when Doyoung warned him about choosing before it’s too late to choose. There was something Doyoung hadn’t told Jaehyun, something Jaehyun knew was serious.

Sehun, Jongin and Chanyeol came driving through the gates into the park on their bikes, they placed them against the benches on the opposite side of the basketball court. “Hey boys!” Sehun greeted them and Jaehyun and the others raised a hand in greeting. Sehun wore a smile on his face. “Got the sweetest news,” he said. “My parents will be out of the house this weekend, how about a sweet party, just chill, some good music and some good booze?”

Johnny beamed. “You had me at booze!” He smiled and Jaehyun felt Taeyong’s fingers drum over his thigh.

Jaehyun looked at Taeyong and noticed the other’s deep brown eyes on him. He was so handsome, Jaehyun thought and he saw Taeyong’s lips stretch into a smile. “Let’s keep it cool.” He said softly and Jaehyun laughed and nodded. No more throwing up, no more panic attacks, no more fighting.

Jaehyun rested his head on Taeyong’s shoulder the next day. He loved to breathe in the other’s scent, wishing for some time with him before school started.

  “Taeyong…” Jaehyun started and felt Taeyong whose head rested on Jaehyun’s move away and Jaehyun sat up to look into the other’s eyes. “What are you doing after school?” He asked the other and Taeyong blinked.

  “Nothing.” He said and Jaehyun grinned.

  “Wanna hang out?” He asked the other and Taeyong looked taken aback but he still nodded.

  “Sure.” He said with a beginning smile and Jaehyun felt a tingling sensation in his stomach. As the bus stopped he stood from his seat.

  “See you after school.” He smiled and Taeyong waved at him, his dark hair covering his forehead and hood framing his face. Jaehyun felt his heart leap as he realized that this boy liked him.

Jaehyun stood up as soon as Taeil stepped into the classroom. Ten gave him a worried look, but Jaehyun just passed the row of seats and followed the senior.

  “Mark is there.” Taeil said as they went down the hall.

  “How is he?”

  “His mother is with him, I think you guys will be alright.” Taeil smiled. “We have to take care of the kid.”

  “Yes,” Jaehyun smiled. “He doesn’t deserve to be treated like that.”

Taeil smiled. “Neither do you, good luck.” The senior smiled and Jaehyun entered the room.

Jaehyun found himself and his father talking a lot at the meeting. Mark’s mother who was as humble and nice as her son also spoke a lot. Jaehyun could really see who Mark resembled, but he hadn’t seen Mark’s father, so he wasn’t sure. Mark’s mother’s hair was black and straight, she was youthful probably in her thirties and she was dressed in simple but pretty clothes that fitted her well. She stayed polite but made sure her points came across and Jaehyun and Mark suddenly noticed they were both watching their parents back each other up and argue against the bullies’ parents. Jaehyun found out that good people still existed as the principal called off Jaehyun’s suspension and chances of getting expelled and decided to think this through and hear them all out individually and without the parents.

Jaehyun smiled at his father when he gave his arm a comforting squeeze and then Jaehyun wrapped an arm around Mark who had just been embraced by his mom. Jaehyun was ruffling up Mark’s hair and cheering him up when he looked up to see his father small-talk with Mark’s mother, his father was scratching the back of his neck.

  “Oh, what is this?” Jaehyun gasped and Mark looked up. Jaehyun looked at Mark. “Seems like my father likes Lee Jenny.”

Mark straightened his back and observed the two. “My mother seems quite interested in your father.”

  “Oh.”

  “Oh.”

Jaehyun laughed shyly and tugged Mark with him saying goodbye to his father and to Mark’s mother. “Let’s go get some lunch, I haven’t eaten this morning.”

  “Me neither.” Mark said sheepishly and the two of them found their friends in the cafeteria. 

A/N:

So I had been writing on a chapter and I had written the scenes perfectly and my computer shuts down. Gone. So I've tried to re-write them but I found myself not remembering what I wrote so it's so bad. I'm really demotivated to write, I hate when this happens.

We're catching up on where I am with the chapters because I haven't written anything because I'm so disappointed.

I've this planned for a while and have many plans for the future chapters so I'm so happy to see it all begin. Now, Taeyong and Jaehyun were going to hang out after school so let's look forward to that! ^^ 

Comments are always appreciated <3

Love,
Emma <3