It's not like it was the first day that he came late to university and it would most probably not be the last but it has been some time since he was late continuously for several days which raised enough attention to let rumors rise up again. Wooshin never understood where these rumors had come from to begin with. He had never brought any weapons to school, got caught smoking because he doesn't smoke anyway, when he was attending he was good and he also had never hurt anyone. Did people at his school really think so cliché and it is to be blamed on his favorite pair of leather jacket which he had never traded for any other jacket whatever season currently was going on? He shrugged it off while running through the hallway and upstairs to room C65. He wasn't necessarily a nerd or one of those students that would always have to be there at time and run to the classroom, but this certain class is important for his year-end exam and he already missed 50 minutes of a 60 minutes class.
Wooshin opened the door with a loud sound as it crashed against the wall behind itself, almost completely out of breath. He had just interrupted his teacher who jolted at the sound, same as some of his classmates. While he was trying to come up with another bad excuse his eyes wandered around the room to see if any of his friends that shared English with him were there. He first locked eyes with Wei who just kept on looking at him in disbelief. Wei was one of those top students that came to school an hour earlier on purpose to "get ready for studying and to be able to properly take in all the information" he had once explained to him. Wooshin could only imagine how confused he was about his friend's behavior. His eyes went to Miyeon who sat right behind Wei, offering him a sad smile as their eyes locked. The second their teacher started talking she jolted once again.
"Out!", he simply yelled at Wooshin who was just closing the door to go and take his seat. He halted his actions and looked at his teacher in disbelief, "Excuse me?" he scoffed, an annoyed undertone laying within. He knew it wasn't polite nor great to come to class this late, but on the other side Wooshin wasn't like this on purpose. Some clients and jobs take more time and he has to finish them if he doesn't want to get kicked out. And, yes, the only way to get kicked out of a gang that is being serious about his business is to, in fact, die. With the young age of 20 he hadn't planned to die so early. His job was already dangerous enough, his life on the line multiple times. Dying by leaving his second family would be too easy.
"I said get out! This is the third time this week you've come to my class way too late. On Tuesday you did not come at all! You can come and join us again when you've decided if you want this degree or not.", his teacher finished the conversation as he opened the book that he had been holding in his hands from the beginning on and started talking to class again. Wooshin was a stubborn person which had helped him a lot in life, but also cost him some struggles. It was in his nature to keep protesting against him, but he it was no use this time. He had messed up big time.

It was during lunch break where the whole group of friends sat down together in their usual spot, the last huge round table at the far end of the hall. They had once joked about it that nobody ever dared to sit on this spot ever, because they knew it was this group's spot. They sometimes arrived 10 to 15 minutes later to the 1 hour break yet their spot was still empty.
"What did Mr. Park say to you after class?", Minsoo asked and took a bite of that thing the cafeteria called a burger when it looked far from it. The others raised their heads while Miyeon and Wei locked eyes. The rest couldn't know that he was late once again since English was their first class on Fridays. Wooshin hesitated. After he had waited outside for the last ten minutes of class to pass by so economics would start, Mr. Park had wanted to talk to him about him being late so often lately and if he would want to talk about it. In secret, he was surprisingly worried about his students and cared for them - but that didn't mean Wooshin would tell him the truth. That was against the rules anyway, no matter how many times he would ask nicely. In the end Wooshin came up with the lie that his mother was sick and he had to take care of her all alone lately which his teacher swallowed.
"Don't tell me you were late again...", Minsoo said lowly in both concern and disappointment while his eyes flew over to Wei for a short moment since he knew they shared classes, "he didn't, right?" he asked his best friend, Miyeon who was sitting next to him and just looked up to him. She didn't like to lie, especially not to her best friend, but at the same time she didn't want to make Wooshin feel like she actually disliked him. He was a nice guy, just a little clumsy and stressed. Xiao had introduced him a few months ago after the older one had transferred there. It had turned out him and Xiao had been best friends since kindergarten and the affection the younger showed to Wooshin just made her crush on him grow even more. Xiao was everything. Funny, kind, cheeky and friends with everyone. Miyeon was sure he was perfect.
"My mom is sick and I had to take care of her.", Wooshin blurted out quickly and stuffed his mouth with the same weird looking burger that Minsoo was trying to eat currently. A terrible taste spread in his mouth, but it was a perfect excuse to not meet eyes with his friend or to answer him. Minsoo on the other hand just shook his head lightly and let the matter drop. He knew that something was going on, but he couldn't pinpoint what exactly it was and they were friends. He wasn't going to lecture him like a parent would do and ask him if education is even important to him. Xiao on the other hand was silent that day and just kept on eating some pudding he had gotten from Hyemi, a freshman that had joined their group of friends a few weeks ago and liked to take care of him even though he was younger. At first it threw him off a little and he was confused about her motives, but after time it was clear that she really was just being affectionate and used to take care of others since she had four younger siblings at home.
"Did you guys do math?", Xiao decided to speak up to change the topic and the awkward and rare atmosphere. He was the only one who knew about Wooshin's secret. Or better to say: He was actually part of it. From time to time he helped them out since his dad was a cop and he knew plenty things about guns, how to use them and where to get them from. He had been on some jobs, had seen how the guys had killed some people. Sometimes it fascinated him how different Wooshin was next to him in this exact moment than during those hours he had seen him before. Just yesterday evening he watched Wooshin beat the out of a client who had lied to them while Kuhn kept on asking him questions. Their gang was ruthless, but they were loyal and honest with their clients. In the end the leader, Kuhn, had decided to kill him because of the betrayal and Xiao had helped drown the body. Xiao shivered once remembering that he too was becoming a little different from his actual persona and halfway listened to the answers about math, Ahyoung complaining that she had not understood it while Wooshin, who was the best in their entire year, offered to help her later with a small smile and picked up his cherry juice with his delicate hands. Nobody would think that those hands had just almost murdered someone hours ago. That those warm, brown eyes that tended to look away quickly whenever he was shy about something would turn cold while pulling the trigger. Wooshin was two-faced in a different way. The sweetest guy tons of guys and girls swooned over during school and the strongest fighter who everyone silently respected. A thought hit the youngest boy of the group. Would all these people still want him if they'd know his back story? If they had seen him actually kill someone in front of their eyes? He plopped his chin onto his palm while still looking at his best friend. Well I would.
"No, it's really fine", Wooshin brushed it off and looked back at Miyeon as they all got up and grabbed their bags to get to the most hated class, math, "I'll just explain it to you after school during study meeting." he added quickly.
Study meeting was something Minsoo, Xiao, Hyejeong and Miyeon had created in early freshman year. Every Friday they would meet up in their favorite café after school and revise what they've done at school over the week. They made sure that none of them would get something lower than a C or have to re-do a year; they would stay together. Later during freshman Ahyoung had joined the group because of Miyeon and her getting along during math. In their current sophomore year Wooshin had followed quickly and the group is now fully rounded with their only freshman Hyemi. "You aren't wasting my time", Wooshin said to her as they sat down in class, sounding both shocked and offended, but not in a bad way. Miyeon beamed at him, thankful for his kindness as she sat down in the seat a row in front of him and got her math book and a block to write everything down out of her bag. It was a motion everyone did right now. Getting their stuff out of their bags and sitting down yet he was fixed on her. Did she do it in a special way? In a certain way? Is there even any way to do this? He couldn't figure it out and it bugged him. His crush on her was since the day Xiao had introduced them to his group of friends and she had looked at him with those deep blue eyes and introduced herself with a voice that was a perfect melody; not too high and not too low. Recently his attention was even more on her than before. Was it because the weather was getting nicer? Was she wearing new perfume? She didn't do anything to her long hair, did she? You can always waste my time.
"Someone is staring", Wooshin heard Minsoo say next to him with a grin and if he didn't have so much love for his friend he probably would've wanted to wipe that grin away as quickly as it had rested itself there. Wooshin's gaze went back to his notes, deciding that they were suddenly way more important than to talk about Miyeon with her best friend for what feels like the 100th time this month. It really must've been something about the weather. Everyone was being weird these days.
"I told you she likes you, too!", Minsoo said as he had brought his desk a little closer to Wooshin's so that not everyone would hear their small conversation while the teacher hasn't arrived yet. "And I told you she doesn't.", Wooshin said as nonchalant as possible, as if he was explaining the subject he hated the most: English. He didn't particularly hate Miyeon. He would never use that word towards her. It's just that she's messing with his head in moments where she shouldn't and he needs to fully concentrate for both school and his second family. One wrong move and they can get hurt during one of their jobs. He was Kuhn's right hand; everything was on him.
"And you know I'm her best friend and since we're friends too I have no intentions to lie to you.", Minsoo added after thinking for a few moments. He was good at reading people, actually, but Wooshin was a different case. There were moments where he was open like a book, several days where you could see right through him. And on the next day he came to school fully closed up and practically sunken into himself and his own mind that the older one just wants to ask him what happened to him; what did he have to see? He had never really opened up to any of them. When the group was talking about their problems the furthest they had gotten with Wooshin was that he had confessed to need help with English or otherwise his good streak was in danger. He never really talked about personal stuff, now that Minsoo was thinking about it actually. What was his favorite color?
Wooshin quickly added, "I just don't want it to be awkward between us or split our group." before their teacher slammed the door shut. In reality he just doesn't want her to get hurt by him. A relationship with him is doomed; he knew that. They'd fall in love, he would want to protect her from everything evil, other gangs would see them one day together, him and his gang would have a weak spot, she'd be in constant danger out of sudden and in the end one of them is going to get killed. A modern drama. He wasn't up for that and most importantly she didn't deserve that. Miyeon deserved a normal everyday life where the worst part was going to university and complaining about homework and not hoping to make it through the next hours and not to get a bullet blown through your skull because the client was a trap.
Wooshin was mindlessly scribbling down the notes their teacher had written onto the white board, but his mind kept going around this freaking blue-eyed girl. No, he told himself, it's just not meant to be he crushed the little spark in himself that told him to at least try it after Minsoo's try of making him change his mind. She was a normal student, rarely getting into trouble and leading the basketball club on Wednesdays while he was dealing with weapons, drugs and at least shooting one person once a month. They were like day and night, though in their case the day didn't need the dark and cold night to continue a living. The day was better off thinking that the night was protecting it and trying to relieve its shoulders at the end of its shift when in reality the night was ruthless, forcing humans, animals and the sun to back away as soon as it arrived. Nobody liked the cold and quiet night with its own mind and the day was the only one that didn't know the true night, because it always had its back turned.
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First chapter and it is so freaking long. I still hope you liked it!