Kyungsoo and his mom ended up talking late into the night. She was quiet, only squeezing his hand or holding his head to her shoulder as he explained the basic parts of his situation. He explained how the whole student body worked in secret and the reasons that he had hypothesized since the beginning.

He explained how he hadn't told Jongdae or Yuwon and why. He didn't mention any specific actions against him if he could help it. The worst that he had let loose was the disgusted looks, the kicked pencils, and sneering insults. He didn't feel ready to tell her all the terrible things that had happened to him. There was one thing he definitely wanted to mention though, and that was Jongin.

He told her how he helped him, through words, through rags being chucked across the mall, by coming to sit next to him, by scaring people away with a glare at the lunch table, by layering him up with his beloved scarf. He even mentioned how he had tucked him into his bed and given him Halley to hold. She looked the most confused at that point, and Kyungsoo realized what had just escaped his mouth so he had continued with his explanations.

When he had finished, she kissed him on his head and sighed. She wasn't happy that he had holed up all his feelings for so long. She had suspected that something might have been strange, mostly from that night after the café hang out with Jongin. What he had said about not wanting to be a hypocrite in listening to gossip had bothered her, and the sometimes lifeless texts uncharacteristic of him worried her, but she didn't inquire about it because she was never sure. Regret had saddened her expression, and Kyungsoo hugged her arm, telling her that it hadn't been her fault.

Despite that, she told him that she was proud that he was able to tell her, and Kyungsoo let out a shuddering breath of relief. He asked her not to tell Jongdae or Yuwon, because he wanted to be the one to do so. The possibility from Jongin's words still held him up, and he had the determination to keep holding onto them this time. His mom had showed her support with a hug, but she also slapped the back of his hand with two fingers.

"Jongdae and Yuwon will understand and stand by you. They'll accept you and not care about any rumors because they're good kids. They can stand up for themselves even if someone is mean to them because you all have each other's backs. And Kyungsoo, they're your friends. You shouldn't call the situation 'your muck,' because it's not yours. It's a situation that has no excuse to be existing."

"Jongin... said something similar."

"Ah, I knew that that pepper classmate was a good boy! Mm!"

He flushed and buried his face into his hands at her exclamation, but his mom hadn't been wrong. Jongin helped him in more ways than he could count or name, and he needed to thank him. Not only that, but a tiny wish budded within Kyungsoo; he wanted to tell Jongin that he had taken his advice and told his mom. That little wish energized him, giving him an actual reason to want to go to school. His mom had bid him good luck and another comforting hug this morning, and Kyungsoo felt that he could do it. For once, positivity buzzed in his steps. 

That didn't mean he was impervious to everything though. During class, he had started staring at the back of Jongin's head again. He told himself to stop it because he could have drilled a hole into Jongin's head with how long he stared at him. Doing was harder than saying that he would, and as Teacher Hei told them to take one assignment page and pass it back, his eyes automatically glanced over to see if he could catch a bit of Jongin's face.

Kyungsoo accidentally bit his tongue when he saw Jongin turn around and look in his direction too. Jongin's eyes widened in an instant, and he whipped around in his seat at the same time Kyungsoo snapped his head back to the front, only to see Jongdae raising an eyebrow with the slyest troll smirk at his mouth. Taking the paper from him, Kyungsoo covered his face, trying to hide himself while the whole of him burned in embarrassment.

As classes passed and lunchtime neared, Kyungsoo gave himself Yuwon fists of encouragement. After biology, he could catch Jongin and tell him thanks. He was going to eat lunch with Krystal and Taemin today, so Kyungsoo would make it short and quick. As Teacher Zhang dismissed them for lunch, he hurried to pack his things and stand.

"Wow. I think that's the fastest I've seen you pack," Jongdae said.

"Huh? Oh, I just wanted to get ready."

"Fooor?"

"Just going to lunch."

"So it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that Jongin is walking towards us right now?"

"What? How do you even know..."

He trailed off as a figure stopped at Jongdae's desk. He looked up and bit his tongue again when he saw Jongin rubbing the inside of his elbow, though a small smile graced his face. He put up a hand in a wave, and Kyungsoo fritzed for a moment before waving back. He was too busy screaming at Jongdae with his eyes. His friend mouthed 'Qiao'uyi' as his response, flashed him a grin, then turned around to Jongin.

"Jongin! What's up? You heading out to lunch with your friends?"

He nodded, tapping at the back of his hand.

"Do you guys want to eat lunch with us? We can get Yuwon-shi first."

"I don't knooow. Kyungsoo, do we accept this kind invitation?"

Kyungsoo just wanted to grab his best friend in a headlock and flip him backwards into the floor, and he did his best to communicate that with the look he shot at him. When he turned back to Jongin though, he cleared his throat.

"Yes, please. It'll be fun."

"Hooray! I'll text Yuwon so she can pack her stuff. Where should we meet up?"

"It's better if I show you."

"Ooh, a secrety secret! Okay, then let's hurry and get Yuwon."

Jongdae hopped up and towards the door. Kyungsoo moved to follow, but stopped when he saw that Jongin had turned to look behind him. He caught Teacher Zhang giving Jongin a thumbs-up and spun around on his heel, feeling like he saw something he wasn't meant to see. Plus, that was just embarrassing even if Teacher Zhang was as supportive as ever.

Kyungsoo didn't think much as they walked down to the lunchroom, picked up Yuwon, and started following Jongin out some obscure exit in the back of the school. He didn't think much as they walked across part of the green that surrounded the school, coming to a stop near a tree patch. It wasn't until Jongin rattled the fence and Krystal and Taemin poked their heads out from the treetops on the other side, turned the branches into monkeybars, and jumped down onto the ground next to them that Kyungsoo realized something. Telling Jongin thanks couldn't be short and quick anymore.

"Woah! That was cool! When are you going to teach me how to climb trees, Krystal-shi?"

"When I'm not starving. We even brought a picnic cloth since we're all eating together. Everyone make way."

All of them stepped back as Taemin opened a paper bag, took out a plaid cloth, and spread it out on the ground. As Kyungsoo started to settle down on the cloth, he stopped. He shifted his stuff back and to the side, pulling out from between Jongdae and Yuwon as they both marvelled at Taemin's array of doodles on the edge of his whiteboard. He shifted Jongdae's stuff closer towards Yuwon's, closing the gap between them, and moved to sit on the other side of them. Krystal caught his eye and gave him a smirk full of mischief. He just put a finger to his lips in a please, and she sat with a nod.

Settling down for real, Kyungsoo froze up a little when Jongin sat next to him. He didn't know why, but he started wondering if the way he was sitting was taking up too much room, or if his lunchbox lid was intruding onto Jongin's area, or how much elbow space he had for him to twist open the lid to his thermos. He managed to open it without feeling that he hit anyone, but then he felt a warm presence lean at his shoulder.

"What did you bring today?"

Kyungsoo would have dropped his container if he wasn't holding it from the bottom as well as the side. Jongin sounded so close. 

"Jongin, are you planning on stealing his lunch?" Krystal asked, moving her hands as she spoke.

The presence left, and Kyungsoo let out the breath he was holding.

"I'm not," he said, also moving his hands.

"You know, he always waits for Kyungsoo to open his lunch before asking for a bite," Yuwon said.

"Then they exchange food bites!"

"Really? So THAT'S how you know his cooking is so good. Kyungsoo-shi, can I try next?"

"Uh..."

Taemin tapped on Krystal's shoulder and signed something, and she cackled evilly as she signed something back.

"I do not," Jongin said. "Don't tell him that."

"Tell him what?"

"Well, if Jongin doesn't want it known, then just this once."

Krystal's grin hadn't lost its sneakiness though, so Kyungsoo wondered what they could have been talking about.

"Mm, that reminds me. Since we're all here and we've met in person, let's just drop the honorifics."

"Agreed," Yuwon said around her burger. "We're all pretty much friends anyway, if our last scheme-up is any proof."

"True."

Kyungsoo hid his face in his thermos as he recalled how they had all planned for Jongdae dragging him out to talk to Jongin and how he had ended up Jongin's window, and then his bed. He inhaled a grain of rice at that thought and coughed it out.

"Kyungsoo, you good?"

"Yeah. Rice Grain." Then he remembered that he hadn't shared any with Jongin yet. "Uh, sorry. I forgot to give you some before I coughed onto it."

Jongin looked at the thermos and waved a hand.

"It's okay. I shouldn't take your food anyways."

"Yeah but..."

The whiteboard was pushed towards him, and he needed another second to reread it despite Yuwon and Jongdae letting out laughs.

Don't worry he'll eat it anyways

A hand smacked over the board, and Kyungsoo watched as Jongin, hand on the whiteboard, arm stretched out over his lunchbox, the crown of his head right under his vision, cleared his throat.

"Taemin, take back your whiteboard please."

Taemin raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Taemin," Jongin said again, almost in a whine, and Kyungsoo rolled his lips in to cover his smile. He had never heard him sound so playful.

After that, he retracted his board with a snicker. They continued eating their lunches, talking about the nice weather, which school subjects were their favorites, and school bathroom horror stories. Kyungsoo listened as Jongdae, Yuwon, and Krystal started a rageful critique about the quality of nearby fast food restaurants, Taemin listening and providing his opinion with thumbs-ups, thumbs-downs, and qualitative observations on his whiteboard. Kyungsoo was listening too, but when Jongin stopped a napkin from flying away by nailing it with the edge of his water bottle, his mind trained back to what he wanted to tell him. 

He shouldn't say it now though, right? They were all having fun, and this was their first lunch together with Krystal and Taemin. Kyungsoo didn't want to spoil the mood. He had tutoring with Jongin later today, so he could just tell him then? But the words stood on the plane of his tongue, waiting and ready, and he didn't want to chicken out or find another excuse to stop them. He wanted to tell him, and his mom had given him encouragement and luck. Maybe he was being selfish, and maybe he was taking from Jongin again... but Jongin had said that it was okay for a friend to help a friend, and Kyungsoo couldn't leave gratitude unacknowledged.

Making sure that the others were occupied and confirming it when Yuwon started telling the hilarious story of when they had gone to an amusement park one time, Kyungsoo reached towards Jongin's third sandwich, a single slice folded in half with peanut butter squishing out from the sides. He heard Jongin shift towards him and took a deep breath.

"I told my mom."

He traced his finger along the plastic wrapping of the sandwich, waiting for Jongin's response. There was a moment full of laughter as Yuwon got to the punchline of the story, but Kyungsoo tensed as the seconds passed. He had said it really quiet, so he would understand if Jongin hadn't heard him. That was his one chance though, he decided. No more just in case he had overstepped his boudaries.

Then Jongin's hand landed on his, and Kyungsoo stopped computing. Even in the pleasantly warm spring weather, Jongin's hands were warmer. The possibility that he was just waiting for Kyungsoo to move so that he could get to his sandwich crossed Kyungsoo's mind, but Jongin tapped at the back of his hand. Was he telling him to look up?

Kyungsoo lifted his gaze a little and felt something in his chest squeeze and relax when he saw Jongin's small smile. A light glimmered in his eyes too, and Kyungsoo thought that it looked like pride.

"It must've been hard."

He nodded and watched Jongin's fingers wiggle under his own, holding them, his thumb rubbing along Kyungsoo's knuckles. The action sent heat to his face and a nervousness throughout his body, bouncing in his chest and up to his mouth.

"I just wanted to tell you since it was your advice that helped me. Mom didn't get upset like I thought she would but in a different way and..."

He bit his lip before all the words could escape him. That wasn't part of his plan. He just wanted his thanks to be short and quick. He didn't even say the words he needed to yet. He wanted to talk about what his mom had said, Kyungsoo admitted, but that didn't mean that he could do it now or at all. A squeeze to his fingers brought him out of his thoughts before they could continue.

"Do you want to tell me more?"

"What?"

Jongin pointed at Kyungsoo's lips.

"You chew your lip when you want to say something."

Kyungsoo rolled his lips in, feeling the heat well up in his face. A spark zipped in his chest too, like his heart had just clapped its hands to its face and was wriggling in feel-good fuzzies. Kyungsoo beat his free fist onto it to tell it to STOP.

"I guess that's a habit I have."

"So do you?"

He hesitated, then nodded, actually covering his face next.

"Then want to meet after tutoring today?"

Kyungsoo nodded again. Both his resistance and his ability to hide his feelings fell apart so easily now. He noticed that it was only when he was talking with Jongin that it happened. Rationally, he recognized the danger that being so transparent in front of Jongdae or Yuwon posed, but at the same time, he didn't feel the rush to hide or the anticipation to control his words right now. Kyungsoo didn't know what to do with this new feeling, but he couldn't say that he disliked it.

With a last squeeze, Jongin's fingers withdrew from Kyungsoo's. Kyungsoo also took his hand back from the sandwich and took a bite of his food, trying not to think about how Jongin's touch seemed to linger along the back of his hand. Tuning back into the conversation, Kyungsoo saw Taemin looking their direction. His mouth quirked up in a familiar suggestive smile, and his hands started signing something.

Jongin leapt forward and clapped Taemin's hands together, stopping him and Jongdae and Krystal's heated debate over how long to heat the almond milk when making pudding.

"Did something happen?"

"Why're you holding his hands like that?"

Jongin dropped them and sat back in his seat.

"No reason."

"Jongin!" Yuwon said, raising her chopsticks in the air. "If you're going to hold anybody's hands, please hold Kyungsoo's!"

Kyungsoo choked on his food, rice splattering out all over the picnic cloth, and he hurried to reach for his napkin as he continued hacking up rice, bok choy pieces, and ground pork. Jongdae started patting his back while Krystal chimed in.

"Yeah, Jongin, you're always going on about how rough his hands are. Just caress them until they're soft."

Just as he was catching his breath, Kyungsoo inhaled his saliva, choked on it, and resumed coughing into his napkin.

"Yuwon, Krystal, I like teasing them too, but I think we're overdoing it. Jongin also looks like he's going to start sprouting tomatoes."

Kyungsoo could only imagine what Jongin could have looked like for Jongdae to use that description, because he was WAY too embarrassed to look over and because he was still coughing on his embarrassment. Yuwon passed him some water, and he drank it down, hoping to cool his face with it too.

After two minutes of straight coughing, Kyungsoo managed to finish his lunch in relative peace. Yuwon and Krystal were talking about video games, Jongdae and Taemin were discussing food, and when he could face Jongin again, he asked him about him. They talked about his work, TV shows and movies to see, local festivals that they wanted to go to, and everything in between. Kyungsoo absorbed every detail as best he could, in Jongin's words and his expressions. Kyungsoo learned more about the little movements that told of Jongin's opinion—the small scrunch to his nose at a bad movie, the slight huff in his tone at an irritating customer he handled for his cashier friend, the way his eyes twinkled at the mention of night walks to eat streetfood. It felt like when they had their first visit to Stay Mallow, but this time, Kyungsoo freely called him without honorifics. This time Kyungsoo let an earlier thought giggle underneath as he spoke.

Jongin was charming.

At the end of lunch time, everyone helped pick up trash and fold the tablecloth. Kyungsoo creased on the final touches and handed it back to Taemin. He slipped it back into the paper bag and tapped on Kyungsoo's arm, reaching for his whiteboard. Kyungsoo didn't have to wait long before Taemin handed it to him.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 

Kyungsoo shoved it back to him and covered his face. Taemin had the same expression as the emoticon when he looked at him, and he burst into another blush. As the siblings climbed the trees again, they all waved, bid their byes, and turned back for school.

Yuwon and Jongdae had started ahead, talking about their sports and club meetups, while Kyungsoo lingered a few steps behind, next to Jongin. They didn't talk much, but he felt Jongin's arm bump into his as they walked. His friends seemed to be filling the conversation just fine anyway, and it made sense to keep Jongin company instead so that everyone had a buddy. There was no other reason, Kyungsoo told himself.

They waved bye to Yuwon as they separated for their classrooms. For the remaining lecture time, Kyungsoo listened and wrote down notes. He occasionally glanced over at Jongin but only ocassionally. There were no other papers to pass back, so there was no chance that Jongin would turn around and see him. All Kyungsoo saw was the back of his head and the way his hair curled in soft waves.

After Teacher Liu's class dismissal, Kyungsoo stowed away his things into his backpack and stretched. Jongdae turned around in his seat, a sly smile at his mouth.

"What?"

"I know that you were staring at Jongin's head again."

Kyungsoo looked the other way and set his backpack upright on the desk. Jongdae, however, floored it back against the tabletop.

"Just admit it, Kyungsoo."

"I'm not admitting to that."

"I even felt you do it. Just admit it!"

"'Felt me do it?' What?"

Jongdae leaned in closer.

"Remember that I can sense movements using the hydrogen in the air."

"But do you have to use it in such a creepy way?"

"I wasn't trying to sense you in particular! I was bored. By the way, Jongin is coming over."

Kyungsoo lifted his backpack right into Jongdae's face and pushed him away. He saw something moving towards him though and turned to see Jongin coming up to them and waving. Kyungsoo waved back and took his backpack from Jongdae's face.

"Jongin, ready to go to tutoring?"

He nodded and waved at Jongdae before they left the classroom, his friend still giving him that sly look. Walking down to the library, Kyungsoo felt Jongin follow behind him in the hallway, crowded with students leaving the building.

He expected a little proximity and bumps here and there. He weaved past most of them until someone in the opposite lane stepped out and threw out their shoulder, shoving him into the wall. He shut his eyes just as his cheek crashed into the edge of a bulletin board. The world shook a little when Kyungsoo opened his eyes again, and he took a second to reorient himself and his vision. Then he remembered who he was walking with and flipped around.

Jongin had the person's shirt collar in his fists. The tips of their shoes slipped and skid on the ground as Jongin held them up to his eye level. The crowd had stopped, eyes darting, mouths covered, but whispers lucid and rampant. Kyungsoo moved to grab Jongin, to ask him to hold back, when Jongin did something that he did not expect.

"That wasn't nice."

Kyungsoo felt a shockwave shatter out through the crowd, stilling them, cutting off any whispers. He felt it shudder in his core too, because he could not believe that Jongin had spoken to a stranger, much less in front of a whole crowd of them.

The person batted at Jongin's wrists but feebly, and they looked down and away.

"W-What you're doing now isn't nice either."

Jongin stared at them. In the silence, the crowd seemed to hold their breath, trained still, but listening, wondering if they would witness such a laconic person speak again. Their gazes watched him, waited for his next move as if he were exotic, but Jongin didn't look as if he noticed or cared. He only looked at the person. Then he set them down so that their feet pressed flat against the floor again.

"I don't like it when my friends are treated badly. That's why."

Jongin let go of the person's shirt collar, and they stumbled back. Another person, most likely their friend, held them up, started pulled them into the crowd, but the person yanked themselves back, pointing a finger at Kyungsoo.

"Why're you defending him? Didn't he get you in trouble during a lab or something?"

Kyungsoo felt his chest pinch at those words. He knew that new strands of gossip would have spread about that day, but he hadn't thought about what scripts they would take. Didn't he get Jongin in trouble? He only got called back by Teacher Zhang because he was trying to protect Kyungsoo's belongings. Wasn't that by extension his fault for making Jongin care in the first place?

"Someone was going to dump water onto his backpack. I saw and decided to stop him. Kyungsoo was working on the lab for class. How is that Kyungsoo's fault?"

"Because... because..."

The person looked down and away again. Jongin stepped towards them, and they jerked back.

"Apologize to him."

The person's friend stepped in front.

"Why should he? He never demanded an apology before."

Kyungsoo flinched at how they pointed at him. Jongin glanced back at him, and for an instance, he saw the rage smolder under the glass of his eyes. But he turned back towards the two, moving in front of Kyungsoo.

"If you do something wrong, you're supposed to apologize. Why should he have to ask? If you're not going to apologize, then don't bother him or talk about him behind his back."

Jongin turned, took Kyungsoo by the hand, and pulled him down the hall, the crowd parting for them. Kyungsoo couldn't look up from the flashes of shoes. Neverending walls of them hovered at the edges, writhing, to retreat or to leap. He saw where they pointed—all towards him and Jongin. He recoiled whenever one shifted, clenched his hand to get ready to run. But then he felt a squeeze back. He remembered that Jongin was guiding him somewhere. He saw Jongin's hand holding his and tried to focus on that bridge instead of the shoes. 

Eventually, Jongin slowed. Kyungsoo blinked up, taking in his surroundings again. They stood in front of the library doors. The only other person visible was the librarian at the reception desk inside. Jongin shifted enough to look at Kyungsoo behind him, then looked away.

"Sorry."

Kyungsoo squeezed his hand again, asking him to face him, and after a moment of hesitation, Jongin turned around.

"Don't be sorry."

"I tried holding back. I really..."

A quiet clack sounded from his mouth. Kyungsoo grew curious. He looked up. Jongin nibbled on his bottom lip under the cover of his top, and Kyungsoo remembered the way he had done that after asking about the unused study room in his house. He remembered and decided that that look shouldn't touch the gossip or rumors surrounding him. He wanted that little look of guilt and the quiet clack that came from Jongin's mouth to be reserved for their good-natured awkwardness, for when they learned about each other through tentative questions, for when Jongin could chuckle behind the back of his hand at the end. Kyungsoo held onto him with both his hands, playing with Jongin's fingers.

"I know you did. I still can't believe you spoke to someone, and in front of a crowd. Thank you."

Jongin's eyebrows twitched up in surprise before he looked down at their hands.

"Are you okay?"

Kyungsoo couldn't find any scars on Jongin's right hand, so he drew his fingers over the lines of his bones and veins. Then he stopped, realizing what he was doing. He retracted them back, but Jongin reached out and pulled his hands back in.

"If you need to do this, then just do it. I don't mind."

"But, it's not too much? I'm not asking too much from you?"

Jongin shook his head with more vigor than Kyungsoo expected, but the action patted an ease in him alongside the way he put his hand back into the cradle of Kyungsoo's. That was sweet of him, Kyungsoo thought. As the minutes passed, Kyungsoo tracing the lines of Jongin's skin, he felt calmed, warmed. He breathed easier, the chains and weights not rattling as much. They seemed fewer than before, or maybe they had been suspended in the air, just this once. Kyungsoo couldn't tell, but he knew that he felt better, enough to tutor his tutees, enough to feel the small curl on his lips when Jongin muttered under his breath, quietly, as if the words accidentally fell out.

"You really need lotion."

Kyungsoo dropped his hold for one of his hands and used it to push through the library doors. He led them to their usual room, peeking inside to check for people before pushing open the door. He only let go of him when they had to take out their textbooks. Seulgi hadn't arrived yet, but he decided not to take Jongin's hand again. He felt okay, so whatever desire to keep holding onto him that lingered must have been because he had never liked leaving the comfort of warmth. 

As they settled in their chairs and homework, a buzz sounded. Jongin pulled out his phone, and Kyungsoo was flipping through his journal pages when Jongin tapped his arm.

"Something came up."

Kyungsoo didn't quite get what he meant. 

"I have to go home after tutoring. My dad wants me to meet someone."

"Meet someone?"

"A family friend's daughter."

Kyungsoo's wrist spazzed, tearing the page he was flipping. He quietly cursed and huffed a little sigh of relief when he saw that it was notes to their last unit and he knew the material already.

"So if you're going to be busy today, we don't have to meet up."

"No, I'll go after. I can walk to your house after they're done. It might be a bit late though."

"If it takes long, you might be tired. It's better to rest."

"But I want to be with you."

Kyungsoo's eyes ballooned out, and he knew that Jongin knew because red flared up on his face too.

"To talk. To listen to what you wanted to tell me. Since you wanted to tell me something."

Kyungsoo felt his own face flush, and he looked away just as Jongin did, Jongin covering his face with his hand. The door clicked open, and Seulgi walked in, the smile on her face turning confused, an eyebrow arching up.

"What did I miss?"

"Nothing!" Kyungsoo yipped.

"Uh huh. Definitely not about math, I'm guessing."

"Just some, uh, convening matters. Anyways, what's up? You seem in a good mood."

"That's because Taeyong told me that he apologized to you at the Open House."

"He told you just now?"

"No, he texted it to me the night of, then told me about it in person this morning."

"You're still in a good mood from that?"

Seulgi pulled out her stuff, flipped open her journal, and pushed it towards him.

"He's as dense as a rock, but he has his moments. Anyways, help me with this please."

Kyungsoo didn't miss the slight blushing of her cheeks, but he cut her some slack and looked at the problem. Time dragged by since neither Seulgi nor Jongin could grasp their topic, mathematical logic. Kyungsoo had explained the basic operations, and they understood it when he explained it them. But actually applying them to truth tables, sentences, and math concepts had been their main hurdle for at least forty-five minutes. The room steeped in heavy silence at yet another failed attempt at a question, and Kyungsoo could see the defeat sag in both his tutees.

With fifteen minutes left, Kyungsoo rubbed his temples and closed his eyes, ransacking the file cabinet of his mind for ideas. He knew that the truth tables came first, because they were the best reference for application. Jongin had trouble making sentences follow the logic statement after solving it, and Seulgi had trouble with compound statements when they were theoretically p and q but had no trouble with the worded statements. He just needed a way to bridge the gap from both ends.

"Kyungsoo, I think this logic stuff is illogical. I don't see the point in it," Seulgi groaned, tilting her head back on the chair.

Jongin nodded, and Kyungsoo sighed.

"It's part of our lessons, so we don't really have a choice."

"I just don't get why p is true or sometimes false, and then how that makes q true or sometimes false, and it's irritating."

She sighed, and Kyungsoo looked over his notes, trying to think of another way to phrase the defintions, when Jongin lifted up his paper.

"p and q are the givens. If its true, then it gets a 'T.' If its false, it ge