School is already a hard enough thing to deal with, and high school even more so. For Park Jinwoo, it was a make it or break it deal. Being Korean-American in a small town is a lot to deal with on its own, but becoming popular was a good way to combat everything. Because of his Korean name, he decided to give himself the nickname "Jin Jin." He would constantly bleach his hair a light blonde color, and be as American as he could. Jin Jin is the school's best football player, and is even the quarterback. The racist agenda of many of the students didn't think he would even be good at sports, and now nobody cared whether or not his parents were Korean immigrants. But his status was a fragile thing to him. If anything went wrong, he felt as though he would go into ruin.

"Hey, Jin Jin." A girl waved to him as he passed, just before turning and giggling with her friends.

"Hey." Jinwoo waved back with a smile.

"Morning, Jin Jin." Another girl said, her hand across his shoulder before leaving.

"Morning." Jinwoo was a bit taken back by that, but he didn't mind. "Good morning, Mrs. Harper. You're smokin' today!" He winked at his english teacher. The only reason he did that was because his friends were within range, and he went bragging to them immediately after.

His friends all agreed that their teacher was hot, not caring how rude they sounded.

"I'd like her to hop on my mustang, if you know what I mean."

"Shut up, you don't even have a driving license."

Jinwoo rolled his eyes as the bell rang. "Let's just agree that we'd all rock Mrs. Harper."

There came a unanimous "word" from each of their friends. And with that, they all parted to their homerooms for morning announcements.

Of course, Jinwoo didn't care as much about school as he did about his image and reputation. As soon as he sat in his desk, he pulled out his walkman, listening to his ACDC Back In Black cassette. He knew the teacher would see his headphones on his head, and that he shouldn't be listening to music in school, but he didn't care yet again.

As the teacher came in, it was a miracle that she didn't see him right away. She hurried to her desk, setting down some papers before standing in front of the black board. "Okay, class, settle down. Please, quiet down. I have an important announcement to make." Once the class fell silent, she continued. "Alright. Before we go on with our regular announcements, I would like to introduce a new student." The chatter picked back up again excitedly. "Please, quiet down! Yes, we do have a new student joining us at Newman High. Why don't you come in here and introduce yourself?" She turned towards the door and beckoned him in.

In came a shy, young boy with tan skin and dark hair. He was holding a textbook in his arms, hugging it flush against his body. "H-hello, I'm-"

"Jinwoo Park!" The teacher shouted out. "Jinwoo Park, you put that away right now." When she realized the other couldn't hear her, she marched towards the boy with his eyes closed and headphones on his head. She plucked the headphones off of Jinwoo's bleached hair. "Don't look at me like that. There is a new student introducing himself, and you are being extremely rude. Give me your walkman."

Jinwoo groaned, pulling his poor walkman out of his pocket, then handing it over. "Fine, whatever. Don't have a cow." He smirked as the teacher rolled her eyes and walked away. It was only then that he noticed the new face in front of him. "You're Asian."

"Jinwoo, that is enough! I'm sorry for interrupting, please continue."

The poor boy had been standing in front of the class for way too long and he felt like he would die. He wasn't normally this shy, but he knew literally no one here. Not in this school, town, or state. Not a soul. Save for his family, of course. "Um... My name is Minhyuk Park. But people usually call me Rocky... I-I'm Korean-American, and I like to read."

"He looks like Jin Jin, but he sounds like such a dweeb." It was a faint whisper, but it was enough for Minhyuk to hear.

"May I sit down?" Minhyuk looked pleadingly at the teacher, who nodded. He was directed towards the empty seat in the back. He felt like an outcast, but that was fine. It's only the first day.

The teacher went on with the regular morning announcements before the bell rang, and everyone immediately moved to run out of the classroom. Except Minhyuk.

"Here, I'll help you to your next class. I don't have anything until next period, so it's all right." The teacher motioned him out of the classroom, and began walking with him down the hallway. "I apologize again for the interruption. That must have been embarrassing. I would steer clear of that Jinwoo if I were you. He's the school's quarterback, but he is so rude."

Minhyuk felt a bit awkward, and shook his head. "It's fine. There'll always be students like that, it's not like it's your fault. But I shouldn't judge someone before getting to know them." He offered a smile, and a thank you as he reached his new class. He double checked his school schedule before going in. First is English class. That's fine, it's his favorite subject.

Once again, he had to introduce himself. The teacher had insisted, and so he felt outcast again. At least this time he didn't have to sit in the way back. Minhyuk ended up sitting next to the troublesome blonde boy from earlier.

In an attempt to be friendly, he decided to introduce himself. "You're Jinwoo right? That sounds like a Korean name. Are you also Korean-American?" Minhyuk was actually interested. He was sure he would be the only Korean in this new school, but finding someone was a miracle.

"Buzz off. I got in trouble because of you." Jinwoo sighed and sat back in his seat.

"I think.. you got yourself in trouble for using something you shouldn't-"

Jinwoo leaned in close to Minhyuk and whispered. "Don't. Talk. To me." He then leaned back again, arms crossed and legs wide open.

Minhyuk was never very cool or anything. He didn't like to use slang, and he enjoyed reading and writing. But no one had ever been mean from the very beginning back in San Francisco. It was frustrating to move to a new state, yes. Minhyuk had not wanted, and refused to move to a small town in the middle of nowhere in ia. But he was trying to make the most out of a bad situation. It was a very difficult thing to do when Jinwoo had just become an obstacle, and another source of frustration.

But whatever. Minhyuk didn't need to be friends with him.

"Okay class. Today we will continue as usual, and start off with our quotes of the day. Minhyuk, you can just sit this out since it's your first day."

"With all due respect, sir. I'd be happy to join in. I know a few quotes at the top of my head if that'd be alright."

The teacher nodded and clapped for three seconds exactly. "See that? New to the class and already excelling. Would you like to go first, then?"

Minhuk turned red, and could feel everyone's eyes on him. Even Jinwoo's. "Um.. Okay." He stood up and took a moment to think of a quote to share. "Um, what kind of.."

"Anything. Any quote you like or even a poem."

Minhyuk took a deep breath and looked straight in front of him to try and combat the embarrassment. " 'Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow.' William Shakespeare."

"Oh, we have a romantic, huh?" The teacher said, which made Minhyuk blush. But it wasn't his fault. The teacher was just trying to be encouraging.

Poor Minhyuk sat down as the other students whistled and called out to him. Yes, he is a big romantic, but he doesn't want to be made fun of for it.

Everyone else in the class shared their quotes and poems, usually lines from their favorite movie or song. Then there was Jinwoo.

Jinwoo stood up, obviously not having anything. "Um, I got nothing."

"Well why don't you ask your bright new classmate, Minhyuk?"

The two boys turned to each other in disgust, but they had no choice. Minhyuk was too nice to object, and Jinwoo was too concerned over having at least a passing grade to stay in football.

"Do you know anything I could share?" Jinwoo asked under his breath.

Minhyuk sighed and wrote down something in his notebook before passing it to the other.

"I've oft been told by learned... friars, That wishing and the crime are one, And heaven punishes desires As much as if the deed were done." Jinwoo turned to look questioningly at Minhyuk, who was just smiling. Then continued, "If wishing damns us, you and I Are damned to all our heart's content; Come, then, at least we may enjoy Some pleasure for our punishment....."

A few people began laughing, even the teacher. "And who is the author of such a fitting poem?"

"Thomas Moore..." Jinwoo read it off the page with a grunt.

The teacher quickly calmed down. "I'm sorry, it's just such a fitting poem for you. You do enjoy causing mayhem."

Jinwoo slammed the notebook back down on Minhyuk's desk, earning a slight whimper from the boy, and then sat down in his chair. Of course he was angry. The whole class had laughed at him. That was foul play. Minhyuk knew exactly what he did.

The rest of the class went on uneventfully due to Jinwoo being too embarrassed to speak up. He would rather not have any more attention on him. And so the rest of the day flashed by. Minhyuk didn't really make any friends, but he was satisfied with himself. Whatever Jinwoo's damage was, he probably wouldn't be mean to him again after that.

At home, Minhyuk had finished his homework and eaten dinner. His parents didn't mind much what he did after that. All they cared about was that he was acing school. What their son liked and disliked wasn't important to them, and would even get him generic gifts for his birthday as if they were an aunt who was unsure what teenage boys liked these days. Minhyuk didn't quite enjoy being with them, and would find solace in books.

He grabbed his weathered paperback copy of Where The Red Fern grows to read it for the umpteenth time, and decided to find a nice reading area somewhere. Minhyuk left the house while his parents argued over who would pay off the home loan and who would pay the monthly utilities. He must admit, this town was much greener and prettier than the big city. But oh how he misses the sound of cars and the bright lights shining like stars from the highest point of the city.

Minhyuk didn't even know where the nearby trail would take him, but he decided to follow it. It seemed magical, and like it would lead him to a beautiful place like in Frances Burnett's The Secret Garden. And it did. Emerging from the brush of trees around the path, he came up to a wide field of long, green grass. It was the most beautiful green he'd ever seen. It stretched out far and wide, only stopped by the edge of the trees surrounding the area. A few wild flowers were sprung up here and there, and there was a tree near the center of it all, no more than 20 feet tall, but full of foliage.

As he walked up to the tree, he couldn't help but look all around, taking in the beautiful sight. It looked untouched, like a secret world far away from reality. He finally reached the tree, and was about to sit down to read when he jumped at the sight of something on the ground. There, between the tall blades of grass, lie a boy. With light, blonde hair, fair skin, and his legs spread out.

Upon closer inspection, Minhyuk found that it was Jinwoo, sleeping on the grass. It was weird, he looked so peaceful sleeping like that. Minhyuk pulled the hem of his shorts up a bit and knelt down on the ground, peering over the other boy. He wasn't so awful. His hair was obviously bleached, but the way he would style it with gel made it look so nice. The hair, swept to the side in a gentle wave... The soft, pink lips on his face... The way his shirt collar had opened up where the top two buttons were undone... ".." Minhyuk cursed himself under his breath. He already knew he loved and craved the touch of other men. Yes he is gay, and yes he hides it from other people. But that wasn't the problem.

Of all the people on this godforsaken earth, why did he have to fall for Jinwoo?

It's not like he enjoys the other's personality, or really knew him all that well for that matter. But he was so stunning. Minhyuk hadn't even noticed earlier how handsome he was. But looking at him asleep in the middle of such a beautiful field, on a beautifully sunny day.... Well, that would make anyone crush on him. Even as the other began to stir and open his eyes, Minhyuk did not move.

"Can I help you?" Jinwoo groaned sleepily. The sun was filtering through the leaves, creating a soft glow over them.

Minhyuk blushed and scoot further back. "Oh, sorry. I was checking if you were okay. I just got here, and I noticed you..." He stopped himself before he began to ramble on. He was nervous. How could he just say that he was watching another man sleep?

"Well..." Jinwoo started as he sat up, turning to look at the other. "What are you doing here? How did you even get here?"

"I walked here. It's a little ways off from my house, over there." Minhyuk pointed back towards where he came from. "Where did you come from?"

"Um.. over there." Jinwoo pointed to where his own home was, in the opposite direction as Minhyuk's. "So what are you doing here?"

Minhyuk held his book up nervously. "I was going to read. I followed the path, and it led me out here. I thought it was beautiful so I decided why not? I didn't know you would be here."

Jinwoo yawned and scratched the back of his neck. "I'm always here. But I guess you wouldn't know that. Nobody else knows about this place, anyway."

"Hey, Jinwoo. How come you're being so nice to me now?"

Jinwoo blinked and stared at Minhyuk for a second. "I'm just in a good mood." He lay back down, one knee bent up, and a hand over his stomach. "But call me Jin Jin."

Minhyuk couldn't help but smile and leaned back against the trunk of the tree. "Okay. You can call me Rocky."

The two boys decided to stay there. It was silent, but it wasn't an awkward silence. It was soothing, and just having the company felt nice. Occasionally, a breeze would blow through and rustle up the grass and leaves, making a calming noise in that silence. Jinwoo just lay there on the grass, focusing on the feeling of the sun, and wind, and the grass brushing up against him. He would occasionally also focus on the turning page of Minhyuk's book. Minhyuk, was obviously just reading. He had never felt more at ease. And as the sky had just begun to turn a light pink color, he finished his book.

Minhyuk set it aside and decided to lie down next to Jinwoo. "Hey, Jin Jin." He earned a small hum in reply from the other. "Do you think we can be friends?"

Jinwoo turned to look at Minhyuk through the thin layer of grass blades growing between them. He could only make out an eye and his lips. "I think so. But you need to be cool. I can say we're friends, but we won't actually be friends until people accept you."

Minhyuk frowned, turning onto his side. "Accept me? There's nothing about me people could accept. I don't want to live in fear of being bullied by everyone."

That was something Jinwoo didn't quite understand. "What do you mean? Fine, you know what? Just try to not be a nerd all the time. I'll even protect you if you want. But I can only do so much. So really, please just don't be such a dork. It's not cool."

They lay in silence for a few more minutes, feeling the cool air of the evening blow in.

"I would rather be myself than pretend I'm something I'm not." Minhyuk sighed. "But I guess if I have to tone myself down a bit-"

"No, I'm sorry." Jinwoo interrupted. "Don't listen to me. I guess I'm also pretending."

Minhyuk opened his mouth to say something, but decided not to. If Jinwoo didn't pry into his words, then why should he to Jinwoo? They're not close enough to be talking to intimately about themselves anyway. But why did this conversation with Jinwoo stir him up inside? He was unsure of what to do with himself at that point.

 

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I think for a first chapter, this wasn't too bad? I hope it's not, at least.

I hope you enjoyed reading this, and will continue to support me as I write up the chapters to come <3