“Taec, quit acting like such a girl,” I said crossly. No point in being gentle or soothing. Let's get right down to business. What Taec needed wasn't someone to console him but someone to knock some sense into him, the big guy needed it. Badly.

According to Junho, he, Minji, and Taec had been at our library table doing homework peacefully before the after school program started when Yoona and her little group came walking in to do the same. Taec had been his normal self, ogling and appreciating, and Junho and Minji paid no heed to him. Until of course Yuri came by, and this surprised me because it happened once at the party too. Kwon Yuri it seemed was finally showing off her true colors. I remember her being the shy, quiet, and reserved type, but her actions lately were a complete and utter contradiction of how people saw her in the previous years. Yuri had seen Taec looking, and she had very explicitly told him off. Minji of course was at Taec's defense immediately saying Taec was doing no harm in just looking, but Yuri had shoved Minji back down on her seat and pointed a finger at Taec telling him to give up because Yoona was way out if his league. Taec had said he was alright the moment Yuri left, Minji too, but Junho told me that he knew otherwise. Taec was suddenly unresponsive and Minji was more vindictive than usual. That was when he decided to come looking for me.

And now here I was inside the boys' room knocking on the door of the cubicle Taec was hiding in. I would be lying if I said I've never been to the boy's washroom before because I have. Many times if fact. Most of which involved dares from Taec and Minji, and the remaining times were similar to this little situation I found myself in now. I stared at the white and blue mosaic tiles on the wall and took a deep breath. Taec was not responding to me at all. Behind me, Junho, Minji, Seulong, and Jay were blocking off the door, and the clock was ticking. We had fifteen minutes until the after school program started, being late for that was not an option.

“Taec,” I started again, pounding on the door. “Talk to me.”

There was no answer from the other side and I faced the rest of us waiting at the door. I shrugged as I sent them a silent call for help. Taec was not responding at all, and while I was confident he wouldn't do anything stupid or deleterious to his well-being, I was worried about him.

“C'mon big guy, talk to me?” I pleaded again. This was probably the worst out of all the incidents we had with Yoona and her posse. This was getting ridiculous on so many levels. “Taec!” I said more forcefully this time. We're going to be late for class seemed like good bait considering how nerdy he was, but I didn't want to sound inconsiderate of his feelings.

I cast another helpless glance at Junho and the others. I had no idea what to do this time. Usually, when Taec decided to go on a tantrum and hideout inside the boys’ room he would at least respond to me when I'd talk to him.

“Taec, please. Please talk to me,” I desperately called out to him, it wasn't right that he kept himself in here.

“Taec, just say the word and you know I'll be more than willing to pull all the hair out of that 's head,” Minji chimed in, a little too cheerfully for the threat she had just released.

I shook my head at her, but not out of disappointment. Minji crossed the the small distance from the door to the cubicle Taec was hiding in and started banging loudly on the door. “Yah Ok Taecyeon, you come out of there this instant or I'm calling my brother so he can call your sister!” she threatened.

Not one of us doubted that one bit. Minji's older brother Minhyuk was Taec's older sister's age. They too, were alumni of IDOL-MIAS. Minhyuk-oppa and Taeyeon-unnie were pretty close, but they weren't together-together, much to the delight of their two younger siblings. I had to hand it to Minji though, using Minhyuk-oppa was a good threat, why didn't I have older siblings to blackmail my friends with? Well, technically speaking, I did, but let's get back to that at another date.

Jay, Junho, and Seulong were all crowding the little area as well, all wrought with the same expression on their faces: confusion, worry, panic. Jay surprised me, I didn't think he would still be here. He kept his eyes down, his hands inside the pockets of his dark gray pants.

“Oi, Taec you know the more you mope around in there the more we'll be late. This better be on your conscience,” Seulong said, leaning against the sink behind me.

Minji let out a laugh and seconded Seulong, “Then again, I don't mind being late. We have Math today and I'm not really in the mood.”

“You know they're not going to stop harassing you until you come out,” Junho added, he too, leaning against one of the stalls. “And don't take Minji's threats lightly. You know better than that.”

An amused smile now graced those three's faces and I felt a smile spread on mine as well. Oh Taec, if this doesn't make you feel loved, then I don't know what will. Jay remained fidgety to one side. It was apparent that he was uncomfortable and that he didn't know what to do in the situation. Couldn't blame him. It was his first time in this situation.

I backed up towards him, crouching in front of him to meet his eyes. I know I was really annoyed at him just a while back, but what can I do? I have no anger in me. Annoyance easily dissipates for me. Jay met my eyes though, I somehow knew he was feeling a little bit- okay, maybe more than a little bit iffy and uneasy about the whole thing. From both me and Taec, I'd like to think.

Straightening up while still holding onto his gaze, I moved to stand next to him. I wanted to encourage him to speak up, Taec would want to know he was here too. I motioned my head towards the stall Taec was in, but he just shrugged and gave a self-deprecating smile. This caught me off-guard to say the least.

“What is it?” I asked, my voice a little above a whisper.

Jay shook his head a little. “Dunno what to say.”

I couldn't help but laugh. Jay? Not know what to say? “Hey Taec!” I called out, “Just so you know, Jay is out here too, he's just a little shy so come out now.”

We waited in anticipation as we heard rustling inside the stall we’d been talking to the last few minutes. We were all smiles waiting for Taec to finally emerge from the cubicle. Slowly, the door creaked open, and we waited in bated breath for Taec to come out. It was exactly like a scene from a movie as the door clicked unlocked and in slow motion, the door opened, and a hand shot out to open it completely.

“Minjae-ssi?!” we all screamed...Minjae-ssi was the head of security...and apparently the one we had been talking to this whole time?!

I shot an alarmed glance at Junho who was equally as stunned. Minjae-ssi looked confused and quickly made an awkward exit. Where the heck was Ok Taecyeon?!

“That was really sweet if not for the fact that I'm over here.”

“Taec!”

“Dude!”

“Yah!”

And other derivatives were heard the moment Taec did decide to finally show up. While it had been embarrassing to have been talking to the wrong door, Taec eventually came out, and that was all that had mattered. After Taec received a good amount of Minji and Seulong's abuse he made his way towards me, Junho, and Jay. He looked awful. His glasses were askew, his clothes horribly wrinkled, and he looked like he had been crying like a girl, eyes puffy and red with his cheeks flushed- it didn't matter really. Taec was okay.

“Are you all better now?” I asked, smiling.

“Yeah,” he replied sheepishly. “Sorry you guys had to see this. I feel loved.”

Big dork. Of course you're loved.

…

After the little episode concerning Taec, the whole table, plus one Im Seulong literally had to restrain Minji from going into war-mode when we saw Yoona and her posse later that night. We were waiting out at the main entrance for our rides home when they arrived. Yoona was being Ms. Prim and Proper as usual with Sunny busy on her phone texting, and Yuri was...well...now very obviously faking. Personally, I would have ignored all three, but Minji was awake, and someone needed to pacify her. Seulong already had an arm around her keeping her still and Taec was trying to distract both himself and Minji by trying to instigate an argument with the much shorter girl.

Luckily, their rides both arrived soon enough. Minhyuk-oppa came to pick Minji up followed by Taec's family driver with Taeyeon-unnie. Taecyeon and Taeyeon, it was freaky how their names were so similar but they looked nothing alike. We said our goodbyes, and eventually I was left with Junho and Jay at the waiting area.

Needless to say it was awkward in all definitions of the word. I stood in between the two of them in an inescapable impasse. What was with guys and waiting for the girl to leave first before heading off on their own? It would have been much more convenient for me if Jay and Junho just...left. I sighed.

“What is it?” Jay asked. I turned to him and he had both hands in his pocket, his backpack slung over one shoulder. His uniform was in a mess as always, but why oh why did he look like he was fit to attend an event as is?

“N-nothing,” I stuttered. I my phone in my hands. I was going to have one or both parents today, which meant Ian wasn’t coming over. Which meant I may or may not be waiting for him to pick me up. He said earlier that he wouldn’t but he changed his mind and said he’d take me home tonight, but with both Junho and Jay here, it was near impossible for Ian to drive by. I wanted to call Ian, but how exactly?

I noticed Jay checking his watch. “You can go ahead you know.” Please go. “I'll be fine here.” I turned to Junho. “You too, it's not really a big deal,” I said. I swallowed the pleading in my voice, afraid they might sense the desperation in my wanting them to go. It was almost seven, and I wasn't going to lie. I was hungry.

After a few more moments, Jay readjusted his bag on his shoulder and turned to me and Junho. “Hey, I really have to get going now, I'll see you two tomorrow.”

I watched him walk out of the gates and disappear into the corner before checking my phone. A frown soon plastered itself on my face when I saw Ian's message.

Hey, sorry I can't take you home today. Something came up at uni and I'm needed there for the night. I promise I'll make it up to you. I already called for a driver to come pick you up. It might take a while so just stay inside the school okay?

I bit my lip to keep the disappointment from spilling out. By the time I tasted blood, I had my mind made up. I may have been upset, but there was a reason I was friends with Minji and Seulong. I stomped down the driveway and out the gate. A bubble of anger was daring to burst from within me, and I didn't want to just stand there alone and waiting. So I walked.

“Hey, where are you going?” I heard Junho call out to me. Honestly, I didn't know, but I recognized the streets and buildings, so I wasn't completely lost just yet.

Junho's footsteps became progressively louder, and I found my self being dragged backwards by bag. Yes, the bag. “Where do you think you're going?” Junho asked again, his voice not even out of breath.

I wriggled out of his grasp, but all I ended up doing was slipping my arms through the straps of by bag. Somehow I expected him to be laughing, and yes indeed, Lee Junho was laughing. His eyes crinkled on his face until they almost disappeared and his shoulders were shaking as his grin split his face. Junho slung my bag over his shoulder and grabbed hold of the sleeve of my uniform. “You, let's get you home,” he said softly.

Why Junho dragging me by the sleeve didn't bother me, I'll never know. Junho walked at a steady pace, his fingers wrapped tightly on the fabric of the gray blazer we wore, just where my wrist would be. I knew I was supposed to say something about the situation, but I found that I didn't have anything to say at all, and so I let him drag me off to wherever.

“What was that?” he suddenly asked.

What was what? Junho stopped moving and turned to me. “I think your stomach just told me it's hungry.”

Excuse me? And because I was apparently meant to embarrass myself in front of Junho today, a low grumble rumbled from my midsection and I hung my head down as a soft laughter erupted from Junho's lips.

“Let's go get you something to eat before your driver gets to school.”

The swirling steam rising from the night stall was curiously inviting as it permeated through the crisp night air. Junho stood behind me, a hand on my shoulder while the other was pointing at different snacks on the cart. In my mind, I knew I was supposed to know what these were, but the harsh reality was I've never actually been out to a night snack bar before. In fact, I've never been out on the streets with just myself before. Streets being...literal streets.

Junho took a stick of something that appeared to be some kind of rice cake in spicy sauce and handed it to me before taking one for himself. After he paid for the snack he grabbed me by the back collar of my blazer and we slowly walked towards an empty park bench directly across the school's main gates. I stared at the stick on my hand as Junho led the way. He seemed to be enjoying himself as he sunk his teeth into the soft treat nibbling on the cake before his lips and chewing. I tore my gaze away from him and looked at my own food, slowly taking a bite myself. It was as soft as it looked, savory, and spicy. It was actually good.

Junho pushed me down to sit on the bench before turning towards a vending machine. He took a step towards it, then turned back to look at me hesitantly. After a few more seconds he made a brisk turn and headed towards the vending machine and came back with two cans of juice in his hands.

I took the drink graciously from him as he sat next to me. He leaned on his knees as he opened his can; after a sip he looked further down the road, what could he be thinking of?

“Thanks,” I said, softly.

Junho only hummed a reply and took another sip from his can. “He should be worried.”

Huh?

“The guy who picks you up from school everyday. Not the driver, the other one. You should call him.”

I averted my gaze and studied the pattern of the concrete under my feet. Did Junho know?!

“Your ride's here.”

I looked up to see the same car that had brought me to school earlier today. I didn't get a chance to respond to Junho as he took my trash and chucked them into the garbage bin nearby. I stood to thank him again and extended my arms to ask for my bag, but he just walked towards the car and opened the door for me, gently setting my bag on the seat.

“I'll see you tomorrow,” he said, again pulling me by the sleeve and pushing me into the vehicle then closing the door.

I watched him as he grew smaller as the driver accelerated down the road. Junho just stood there, watching for a moment before turning to get home himself.