A white limo is an attention .

 

The moment it pulls up to the drive way, it magically turns the heads of everyone around it. A white limo causes commotion. First there will be hesitant whispers which then gradually rises in volume until people are pointing and shouting at the limo. Then the bolder ones would come up to the limo, some with admiration in their eyes and others with jealousy, to knock on the windows and scratch at the sides. 

 

Hwang Minhyun thought that whenever the knocking and scratching happened, it would feel like a zombie raid. All they lacked was rocking the thing back and forth. And the low moans. 

 

Minhyun sank deeper into the lush leather seat of the limo as he thought about how his first day as a transfer student would go. The limo was definitly a bad idea. His eyes surveryed the people that had gathered around his ride so far—too many for comfort. And most of these people would be making judgements about him already. Perhaps how rich his family is. Perhaps about how bratty he may be. Perhaps how mean he should be. Perhaps how pompous he could be.

 

All of these preconceptions about him...Minhyun rubbed his face slowly. All of these preconceptions would put an invisible wall between him and his new schoolmates. This invisible wall would cut off ties that form between hearts. People would avoid him, at best. At worst, people would target him. And once he became the makeshift bulls-eye, Minhyun would have to transfer schools again. His father didn't want to attract negative publicity; he was a man of stature. 

 

Minhyun heaved a sigh into his palms. He was homeschooled until junior high and since then, he had transferred 5 times. 

 

"I hope this is the last one. Really. This needs to be the last one." Minhyun whispered. 

 

"Young master, is everything alright?" Yul, his family butler reached out a gloved-hand to gently pat his shoulder. 

 

Minhyun nodded, his face still covered by his hands. "I'm fine."

 

"We should be going."

 

"Yeah. Yeah. We should. Get going. Yeah." Even though I really don't want to move right now, Minhyun dryly thought. I want to be rooted to this spot forever. 

 

"Young master, let me fix your tie."

 

Minhyun removed his hands from his face, sat up straight and leaned backwards. Yul started to tug here and there, dusting off imaginary fluff and fixing what really did not need to be fixed. 

 

"Young master..."

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Remember what you were taught."

 

"Yeah."

 

Minhyun gave one last sigh before the limo door slid open for him. The bright light contrasted starkly with the darkness of his ride—he was momentarily blinded. His eyes half closed, Minhyun didn't notice that someone on a bike was about to crash into him. 

 

"NOOO—————!!!"

 

A roaring pain on his left hip and Minhyun found himself catapulted across three feet of air. He landed on a mass of hands and feet. 

 

"Young master!!" Yul sprinted over and patted him down. "Where? Where does it hurt? Is it here? Or here? Here? Here? Noo! Not there! Not the baby maker!!"

 

Minhyun felt his face flush. Yul was such a blabbermouth at times. "I'm fine! It's just a bike, not a freaking monster car." Minhyun's face flushed a deeper red when he heard his voice come out higher than he expected to. He sounded like a freaking eunuch. 

 

Minhyun looked for the person who had crashed into him. It was a...girl...?

 

The girl(?) casually got off her(?) bike and slowly strolled over to him. She(?) was damn pretty!! Minhyun sat there, on the dirty sidewalk, mesmerized by the way her(?) blonde hair reflected the morning light, giving her(?) the radiance of a goddess(?). He watched as the wind blew her(?) bangs to the side and how she(?) blew upwards to get it out of her(?) eyes. He watched as worry and confusion flitted across her(?) face when she saw him sitting on the floor, another man's hands on his crotch. He watched as a poker face quickly masked her(?) emotions, even though her(?) eyes were still questioningly peering at Yul.   

 

Adorablessssssss! A dopey smile formed on Minhyun's face. She's really pretty. Her prettiest feature is .

 

The girl(?) squatted down—Minhyun thought she looked even prettier up close—and asked: "You okay?" 

 

The dopey smile was instantly wiped from Minhyun's face. "What the!? You sound like a dude!!"

 

The pretty girl(?)'s face instanly darkened. Minhyun felt himself pulled up from the ground, his face inches away from the pretty girl(?). 

 

"That's cause I am a dude," she(he?) growled. 

 

"W-w-wut?"

 

"Goddamn. Stupid Ford!" The girl(boy) hissed under her(his) breath. 

 

Minhyun felt him abruptly released from the iron hold.

 

"My name is Ren. Choi Ren. And I'm 100% a dude." 

 

Minhyun frantically nodded—the "100% dude's" stare was scary...

 

"I'm sorry I crashed into you. But you suddenly came out of your car, so you can't blame it all on me." The boy searched his bag and took out a lunch box which he gave to Minhyun. "We're even now."

 

Minhyun tried to play it cool. "You don't really think one small lunchbox can call this even. Come on, don't be so stupid."

 

The blonde boy's demeanor instantly became icy. "Then what do you want?"

 

Minhyun forced a smirk. "Kiss my feet, then we'll call it even."

 

. Minhyun cursed at himself. Why, Hwang Minhyun? Why can't you keep your stupid mouth in check? Every time, you always mess things up! Always saying the opposite! Stupid! 

 

Minhyun saw the blonde boy's eye twitch. It was kinda cute. 

 

"Kiss...what?"

 

"Kiss my feet," Minhyun said, with feigned confidence. 

 

The boy's eye twitched again. "What's your name?" he asked.

 

"Heh. You don't have the status to know." Minhyun crossed his arms.

 

The boy nodded. He leaned in until the tips of their noses touched. Then, in a dangerously low growl, he said: "Listen, big shot. I don't know where the you came from and where the you think you're gonna go. But keep up the attitude like that and you'll be dead meat within the week. Don't let me see you, cause next time, I won't be this nice. I know judo and I'll flip you until your back breaks."

 

To make his point, the boy took hold of Minhyun's hand and, without further warning, flipped him over. It was quick. Perhaps two seconds. Minhyun felt the feel of the hard concrete once more. Above him, the blonde boy stood unmoving. Above him, the blonde boy stood emotionless. Above him, the blonde boy stood like a God that took no pity in mere human follies, that vested no interest in the likes of himself. For the first time, Minhyun felt small in the presence of his peers. He felt vulnerable. 

 

Time seemed to slow and gradually began to reverse. He was transported to a decade back, when he was still a toddler in denim overalls, bawling on the floor because his favorite toy broke. His father heard his wails and entered his bright blue room. Appa, Minhyun had called between his wails. Appa. Minhyun's eyes were bluried from his tears and he could only sit there helplessly; he looked up to his father, the man whose face he could not see quite clearly because of their difference in height and the play of the light. His appa was always a figure that towered over him, emotionless and speechless. Minhyun remembers that his father had walked away soon after with no words of condolence. No cooing. No expression of love. He would forever be that figure that stands above him, not protectingly, just almightly. 

 

The blonde boy, with his emotionless features, reminded Minhyun so much of his father then, standing above him and being unreachable. 

 

"Take the lunch. We're even," said the boy. He threw the lunch box. Then he left. 

 

Dazed, Minhyun can only lie on his back to watch Ren's retreating figure and clutch the lunch box tightly. What is this feeling? This hotness in his loins? The boiling of his blood? The scorching heat on his face. 

 

Was this...love? 

 

 

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Credits on image. 

 

PS. the parallel between baekren and minren's meeting was intentional. I was NOT being lazy. Hahaha...