Jisoo left the student council room and headed to the shoe lockers but she was surprised to see Bobby leaning against them.

"Bobby, what are you still doing here?" Jisoo asked. "I thought you already left."

"Well, you said i could leave but i didn't say i would." Bobby stood straight. "And besides, you're not the only one i'm waiting for."

"Hey guys!" Hanbin suddenly showed up, waving his hand. "I'm sorry if i'm late. Did you wait long?"

"No." Jisoo replied. "I also just got here myself. Where are the other two, Jinhwan and Yunhyeong?"

"Oh, Yunhyeong already left while Jinhwan is still with his baseball club." Hanbin opened his shoe locker and took out his school outdoor shoes.

Jisoo did the same. The three of them then started heading out from their school building. They passed by the baseball field where Jinhwan and his teammates were still practicing. Hanbin waved at their friend who returned it by waving back at them.

"Speaking of clubs, what club does Bobby belong to?" Jisoo asked curiously.

Hanbin flinched. He looked at Bobby who was walking a few steps ahead of them. When Hanbin made sure Bobby wasn't able to hear what Jisoo had just asked, he leaned closer to Jisoo and whispered.

"As far as i'm concern, you didn't hear this from me, okay?"

"Okay." Jisoo nodded.

"Well, Bobby is actually part of the baseball club with Jinhwan." Hanbin's voice came out weak and he rather looked sad. "He's the team's ace pitcher while Jinhwan's the catcher. A perfect combination if i say so myself. But something happened during the first semester. There was a fight that Bobby got dragged into. The student council found out about it and prohibited him from attending any club activities for a month as a punishment."

"That's awful." Jisoo exclaimed. "And what about now? I'm sure Bobby's punishment has long been over now."

"That's the thing." Hanbin smiled sadly. "Bobby never came back to the club. He never came for their morning practices since that incident happened. Jinhwan has actually been trying to convince him to go back but Bobby's just too stubborn to comply."

"Hold on, i don't understand." Jisoo scolwed. "If his punishment was already over, why wouldn't he go back to the club? Don't tell me it had something to do with those rumours i keep hearing about? Are those rumours true?"

"Rumours?" Hanbin frowned.

"Yeah. Rumours regarding him being a troublemaker."

"Nah. He was just misunderstood." Hanbin insisted. "If you want to blame someone, blame the student council."

"Who?"

"Listen to me Jisoo and listen to me well." Hanbin cupped his hands towards his mouth. "The people Bobby fought that day were not even from our school. They were just a bunch of hooligans who were trying to extort money from one of the students studying here. Instead of rewarding Bobby, the student council chose to punish him."

"I don't understand." Jisoo's scowl deepened. "Why would they do that?"

"Isn't it obvious? They made an example out of him." Hanbin growled. "I bet Bobby wanted to go back to his team but the student council just wouldn't let him. What happened to Bobby would serve as a reminder to all of the students here to never get themselves into trouble."

"Yah."

The two of them flinched when they heard Bobby call for their attention.

"What are you two doing back there?" Bobby's eyebrows twitched. "Hurry up or we're gonna miss the train."

•••••

Jisoo was almost at the train station when she suddenly received a text message from her uncle.

"I'm sorry guys." Jisoo told the two boys who turned towards her. "But i need to go to my uncle's shop first."

"Aww~ you're not going home with us?" Hanbin pouted.

Jisoo smiled apologetically.

"Well, do you even know how to get there from here?" Bobby asked. "To your uncle's shop, i mean."

"Yeah." Jisoo looked around. "I think i can find my way there just fine. I remembered this particular street while we were on our way