“You’re in my seat.”

            Kyungsoo looked at the student with surprise clear in his eyes. The irritation and superiority was clear in the man’s face as he stared down at Kyungsoo. Hee Neul could practically see the gears turning in Kyungsoo’s mind.

            The air grew tense, and Hee Neul was sure that she could slice it like a cake with her hidden knife and have it with tea. Away from this classroom. Kyungsoo sent Hee Neul a look, but it was gone in an instant, and Hee Neul didn’t know whether her mind made it up. For a split second, he looked as if he was going to rat her out, tell the threatening student that he was set up--to tell the student to shift his focus to the cowardly girl in the corner, the traitor who placed him in a rough spot with a predator ready to pounce.

            And she was sure that he would tell. She would do so if he was in her spot. How easy it would be to throw the traitor under the bus and get away from it all. Was she scared? Partly. More so because of who Kyungsoo was up against than on simply being told off or tattled on.

            “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that there were seating arrangements,” Kyungsoo said in a tight voice, gathering his things and standing up from his seat.

            Hee Neul had to swallow the surprise that came up. She was so sure, so sure that her name would slip from his lips. She was ready to deny it. She was ready to keep the focus on Kyungsoo. What was Do Kyungsoo playing at?

            The tall student, his face hardened to marble, raised a brow and hissed, “New kids should learn their place.”

            “Sehun,” his companion called out worriedly, almost in warning, tugging on the male’s sleeve. The student, Sehun, merely shrugged the hand away, his whole attention on Kyungsoo.

            Hee Neul turned her attention to Kyungsoo, watching, waiting for any reaction to latch on to. There were still so many questions that she needed answers to that revolved around a certain wide-eyed student “buddy.”

            “Look, I honestly didn’t know that I had taken your seat.” Kyungsoo tried to pacify the male, keeping his voice even and his stance unthreatening, though the stiffness of his jaw. “I won’t do it again.”

            “Good morning!” a new voice piped up. The deep voice, which felt like it came from the very bottom of Marianas Trench, was so familiar to Hee Neul, and she had to suppress a groan. A cheery morning greeting only meant one thing: Chanyeol.

            And speak of the devil; the tall, lanky teen entered the room, all smiles and bright eyes. Hee Neul could never understand how every morning could be good for him, or how Chanyeol wasn’t able to read the tension in the room.

            Ignoring the greeting, Sehun said—no, spat—at Kyungsoo, “Better make sure of that,”          

             Sehun eyed Kyungsoo down, waiting for the wide-eyed boy to move. Though Kyungsoo’s head was down, Hee Neul could see the scowl on his lips. He moved away from the desk and gestured to the chair politely. “Sorry, again. I didn’t know people here would be so about seating arrangements and ty in personality.”

            Hee Neul almost choked on her own spit at the retort from Kyungsoo. Slowly closing her eyes and covering her face with her hands, she wished and prayed that death would come quickly to the boy who was still reckless, even with his words. There was a sharp intake of breath—most probably from Yixing, or maybe even from Chanyeol.

            “What did you just say?” Sehun hissed, and through parted fingers, Hee Neul saw that Sehun was already reaching towards Kyungsoo, no doubt to grab the new student’s tie.

            “Hey, hey. Let’s not tear each other apart first thing in the morning,” Chanyeol piped up cheerily, squeezing himself between the two slinging his arms around Sehun’s and Kyungsoo’s shoulders. The tall student pulled the two close to him, like the three of them had been friends all their lives.

            Hee Neul had to hold in an eye roll at the man’s attitude. His wide and toothy smile unnerved Hee Neul in more ways than one, and she was a tiny bit relieved when she saw Kyungsoo shudder as well.

            “Get off me, you elf,” Sehun muttered tersely, pinching Chanyeol’s arm and taking it off his shoulders as if it was dirty. “And isn’t that the point of this school?”

            “The point is that we learn how to tear each other apart,” Chanyeol corrected, not the least bit bothered by Sehun’s actions. Instead, he turned to Kyungsoo to address him. “Right?”

            “Uhm, right,” Kyungsoo answered, looking away from Chanyeol. He looked ridiculously small in comparison to Chanyeol. It didn’t help that his actions of shying away from the giant of a man made him look even smaller.

            “Don’t mind him,” Chanyeol said, undeterred. He gestured with his chin towards Sehun who huffed and sat on his seat, making a point to drop his bag noisily on his desk. “Sehun’s always grumpy in the morning. I’m Chanyeol, by the way. Park Chanyeol. That’s Zhang Yixing.”

            The boy in question lifted his hand and offered a small smile at Kyungsoo before taking his seat next to Sehun. Yixing, ever the more calm of the duo, simply took out his own textbook from his bag and placed it on his desk without looking back at the new male student.

            “Do Kyungsoo,” Kyungsoo replied, looking at each of the males that were introduced. His gaze hardened when it landed on Sehun.  

            “Do Kyungsoo? Nice to meet you! You got a specialty or a signature, new kid?” Chanyeol asked. If it was possible, his smile widened even further as he pulled Kyungsoo closer in interest. Even the other two males in the room looked up with thinly-veiled interest, Sehun being the one who was trying and failing to hide it.

            It was kind of sad, Hee Neul thought. The scene reminded her of vultures leaning in dangerously close to watch as an injured animal struggled to retain the life that was slowly slipping away. Malicious, sadistic as they watched the animal squirm. Still, she couldn’t help but listen into the conversation, her interest and curiosity heightening at the opening that Chanyeol presented. So maybe she was one of those vultures as well. She had to give it to the giant of a student; he didn’t waste time in getting intel.

            Kyungsoo stared at the tallest student with a blank expression. A pregnant pause flew by, and Hee Neul wondered if Kyungsoo was doing that for effect or if he was really thinking of an answer.

 “I’m just new.”

            “Aish, don’t be like that!” Chanyeol laughed, patting Kyungsoo’s back. Kyungsoo could only wince at the strength that the man seemed to place in his hand, almost stumbling at the first hit.

            “Everyone has a specialty or signature. Sehun and Yixing are amazing with guns.”

            Hee Neul tried to conceal her frown with her hands. There was certainly more than just “amazing with guns.”

            “What’s yours, then?” Kyungsoo asked, turning his head at angle where Hee Neul could not see his expression.

            Right at that moment, Chanyeol became silent, and the tension was back in the room. Kyungsoo’s voice was like a huge splash of cold water fell onto the students in the classroom. And though Hee Neul couldn’t see his expression, she caught a glimpse of shock in Chanyeol’s expression. However, when that second passed, the usual easy-going smile was back on the tall student’s lips.

            Why? The question was innocent enough. What did Chanyeol see that warranted that kind of expression? More importantly, what did Kyungsoo do to warrant that response?

            “Well,” Chanyeol drawled, his hand going to the inner pocket of his blazer.

            There was a small “tch” before Sehun stood up, brandishing a small Glock 26 from his belt holster and pointing the muzzle at Chanyeol’s forehead. The distance between the two students was enough for Sehun to know that he would not be able to miss and that if Chanyeol wants to disarm him, the lanky teen would have to get closer—seconds that Chanyeol could easily lose with a squeeze of the trigger. Dodging wasn’t an option as well. The gun that he had was perfect for follow-up shots since the size created little recoil.

            “Nice and easy, Chanyeol,” Sehun warned, his tone becoming dark. There was no mistaking the steady hands with which Sehun carried his gun.

            He was in his element. The gun was an extension of who he was.

           Immediately, Hee Neul’s hand went above the area on her thigh where she hid the small dagger. It was definitely a stupid idea to use a dagger as defense for a gun. Hee Neul gritted her teeth at the thought. Now she felt stupid for not taking a gun from her stash. A dagger was in no way a great defense against a drawn out gun. Taking the exits of the classroom weren’t an option either. From her desk to the closest door would take her around six seconds, more than enough time for Sehun to aim and shoot. It didn’t help as well that Hee Neul could see that Yixing already had a Glock with a suppressor* in hand though he still focused on his notes. With Yixing, it was more a silent warning compared to the glaring threat that Sehun showed.

           Two gunmen: bad chances. Kyungsoo could see that as well, moving a bit to place as much distance as he could from Chanyeol without attracting attention which could bring the ire of the blank-faced man towards him again.

            Though there was a gun pointed right at him, Chanyeol never lost his smile. In fact, his eyes brightened as if Sehun was handing him a neatly-wrapped present.

            Park Chanyeol. He was definitely a scary person.

            “You’ve found it?” Chanyeol asked with glee, his hands carefully reaching into his blazer pocket. “You’re becoming faster at this, Sehunnie. Also, a Baby Glock with no suppressor?”

            “If it gets the job done,” Sehun answered with a shrug. His face was still blank even with the jab at his choice of gun. “Hand it over.”

            Chanyeol let out an overly dramatic sigh, his shoulders slacking. The slack in grip helped Kyungsoo move further away, watching the two interact with a cautious gaze. Quick as lightning, Chanyeol brought out his hand and chucked a small device at Sehun, probably hoping that the armed man would duck or get distracted. However, Hee Neul still remembered that there was a reason why Sehun was in the top ten of the batch ranking.

            Without even a blink, Sehun used one hand to catch the device, his other hand still holding the gun steady.  The action was so sudden that Hee Neul flinched, and she could see that Kyungsoo did too.

            “Thank you,” Sehun said, though his tone and face remained blank. His eyes flickered for a moment to the small device that fit snuggly in his palm. “I swear, Chanyeol. If this isn’t the correct remote, I will put a bullet between your eyes and string you up the school flagpole.”

            “I don’t doubt that you will,” Chanyeol said cheerily. “But that’s kinda , don’t you think?”

            Sehun let out a low, agitated hum at the answer, a clear distaste in his eyes at Chanyeol’s remark. While keeping the gun pointed at Chanyeol, he made his way to the side of the classrooms where the wide windows were. Using the hand with the device, he opened one of the windows, his back towards it so that he could focus on the giant man in the middle of the room.

            Hee Neul, though not in any way in the line of fire, in a breath, terse and muscles coiled when Sehun reached towards the inner flap of the lapel of his blazer and p