"The real me I’ve never shown anyone and can’t let out anywhere
Please hold me tonight"
~Under My Skin by Taemin~

Chanyeol led Taemin through the second wing of the faculty. They walked down a long corridor and turned many corners. Taemin remained silent because he feared that his curse would activate if he talked too much. The tall boy did not say a word either because he realized that Taemin felt uneasy. They walked side by side and at some point, they reached a sealed off room. Taemin tilted his head in confusion.

“It’s the old dance practice room.”, Chanyeol informed him and opened the door, “No one ever comes here. You are safe here.”

Taemin hesitated first, but then grabbed the fabric of Chanyeol’s sleeve and followed him inside. The taller boy smiled to the shy and slightly frightened attitude of the cursed boy but did not show it to him. When they entered the huge room together, Taemin looked around with curious eyes. The floor was made of vinyl – there were some scratches on it – and two walls were completely covered with mirrors. One of them was broken and had a huge crack in the center. Along the wall, of the entry area was a ballet bar reaching to both corners – the doorway was not blocked by it – and across that wall were the huge windows, all covered with black curtains reaching to the ground.

“I- It’s dark…”, Taemin whispered behind the tall boy, as the room was only illuminated by the light from the corridor.

Chanyeol nodded and switched the lights. Some spots on the ceiling were burnt out, and some were sill intact. The tall boy stepped aside and Taemin let go of his sleeve. The cursed boy approached the mirror on the left and touched it. It was dusty.

“What happened here? Why is this room not used anymore?”, he asked in a whisper.

He did not mean to say it out loud, as it was a rhetorical question. Chanyeol crossed his arms behind Taemin and stared in the mirror.

“Three years ago, when I was a freshman, there was a huge fight among some seniors of that time…”, he informed the cursed boy about it, “A student died in the incident. And since then, this room is considered doomed. No one uses it anymore, and the faculty does not want to spend money on it, since the students avoid it anyway.”

Taemin gulped. He turned around and looked Chanyeol deep in the eyes. The tall boy chuckled. He noticed that Taemin felt uneasy about the backstory of the room, thus he patted his shoulder and smiled softly to the cursed boy.

“Don’t worry, I’m always practicing my guitar sessions in here. The walls are soundproof and like I said, no one comes here and annoys me.”, Chanyeol added.

Taemin nodded to his words. The tall boy then told him that he had to leave because his original intention was to meet his friend – the milkshake-lover – at the music department. The cursed boy nodded and thanked him with a polite bow.

“Chen told me about you.”, Chanyeol admitted with another cute chuckle, “You don’t talk much, so, here, that’s my number. If you ever need someone to talk- I mean text, let me know.”

He gave a business card to the cursed boy. Every student of the faculty had those cards, to exchange their phone numbers, IDs and needed information with others. Taemin glanced at it for a while and then grabbed it with both his hands. Chanyeol noticed that the cursed boy had small hands. He chuckled again and then left the room – waving at Taemin – while taking steps backwards. The cursed boy sighed in relief. Now, that the tall boy was gone, there was no more threat surrounding him. Luckily, his curse had missed the orders of Chanyeol – maybe he was really cured – and Taemin could act on his own will. The cursed boy looked around in the huge room and placed his bag on the floor, as he sat down. He ped it and took out his notebook. He took a deep breath in and unwrapped the brown cord around it. He brushed his fingers over its cover – his eyes shut – and then breathed out slowly. He was nervous, but he needed to take note of what had happened today. He took out his fountain pen, turned over some pages and put the nib on the yellowish paper – thanks to the lignin and cellulose – and started to write.

-Thirtieth time noticed by the delinquent Kim Jongin – made me kiss a girl.-

He frowned upon reading what he just wrote and touched his lips purely by instinct as the sensation of the kiss tingled his full lips. Then he flared his nostrils as he felt angry about it. He turned back the pages and looked at the cryptic words, which he still could not read. The delinquent had told him, that he had read it. Was it a foreign language that the orange-haired boy was fluent in? Or maybe he had just mocked him. Taemin pouted and brushed his fingers over the words, then he put aside his fountain pen and shut the notebook. He wrapped the brown cord around it firmly and stuffed it back in his bag. The cursed boy clenched his lips and lifted his head. He stared right into the mirror.

Outside – at the front yard – the students had gathered around the seniors and the delinquent. Kai’s eyes had doubled in size as he watched his sister standing close in front of Minho. Her forehead on his chest. The white-haired boy had blushed, the Chanel beauty had flinched, and the students around had gasped. Why you may ask… because no one ever touches Minho. The senior was known for his aggressive attitude.

“J- Jennie!”, Kai shouted, and she turned around immediately, “Come here!”

Minho snapped out of it and quickly glanced at the delinquent. Jennie wanted to step forth – her heart raced – but suddenly the senior wrapped his arms around her arms and interlocked his hands in front of her body and pulled her back. Kai hissed instantly and took a step forth, but Xiumin – the tiger-eyed boy – stepped in between and blocked his way.

“Is she your girlfriend?”, Minho asked the delinquent and grabbed Jennie’s chin to lift her head.

His breath her cheek. Kai gulped and his eyes became filled with hatred for the senior. The Chanel beauty squinted her eyes and trembled. She wanted to avoid situations like this. She knew getting involved with her brother would ruin her reputation.

“Leave her alone!”, Kai commanded and approached the white-haired senior, but Xiumin grabbed his arms and interlocked them in his back.

The tiger-eyed boy – with his blue hair – was too strong for the delinquent to bring him down. Kai struggled and tried to free himself, and when Sehun and Baekhyun wanted to interfere, they were grabbed by the two other friends of Minho. Kibum – the senior with a cut brow – grabbed Baekhyun’s arms and Jinki – grey-haired chicken-lover – grabbed Sehun’s arms. They were too strong. Minho chuckled and clenched tight Jennie’s jaw.

“So, you made that loser of a geek kiss my sister, huh?”, the white-haired senior questioned the delinquent and briefly glanced at Lalisa then back to Jennie’s hair, “It’s only fair if I kiss someone, who is dear to you, right?”

“No!”, Kai screamed and waved around his arms and tried to kick himself free, “Let go of me, !”

Xiumin only fastened his grip on the arms of the orange-haired boy. Lalisa wanted to approach her brother, but she was held back by a Chinese boy with an astonishing fashion sense – called Zitao – and pulled back. He shook his head and indicated that she should not interfere. Lalisa and Zitao were from the same neighborhood – both the same age – and thus the fashion-king – that is how Lalisa calls him – knew Minho’s attitude too well.

“P- Please…”, Jennie whispered with a shaky voice and trembled in the strong and muscular arms of the senior, “Please