You sighed as you listened to the teacher lecture. It had been around a week since the party but your cheeks still were a bit sore. They were feeling better however so for that you were thankful. You heard mumbles from the people around you. To your surprise, the gossip lately was less insults and more praise. In fact, at this very moment the boys whispered about how they wouldn’t mind going against Sunggyu to get at you.

This idea that you were connected to Sunggyu was when you had gotten into his car at the party after Woohyun saved you. The rumor was that you were going out with Sunggyu, the boy who graduated last year. For some reason, the people watching neglected the fact that Sungyeol, Hoya, and Sungjong got into the car right after you did.

The reason there were less insults was due to the insult spreader being preoccupied. Bang Minah was actually being paid attention to by her longtime crush Myungsoo. When he first called out to her you were surprised but Hoya told you not to let it bother you. That Myungsoo disliked the situation just as much as he disliked humans in general; which you knew from experience was a lot.

The lunch bell rang, making you jump from surprise. You looked around, your thoughts making you forget it was even nearing lunch time. The teacher bowed and you all did the same before he exited. Everyone got up, all doing their own thing. One boy who sat three seats behind you started to approach you.

“Song Hyunjoo, are you eating alone today?” He asked you, a nervous look on his face. Before you could answer, a loud voice entered your eardrums.

“Hyunjoo!” A voice called cheerfully from the entrance of the classroom. You leaned over to look to see who it was though there should have been no reason to do so. His voice gave him away. Sungjong peaked into the classroom, only his head sticking out from outside the door. You laughed at his silliness. He stuck out his hand and waved to make sure he had your attention before he spoke, “Eat lunch with me?” He smiled widely.

You looked up at the boy who was talking to you, “Is it okay if I go?” You asked. Even though the boy hadn’t said it yet, he meant to ask you to lunch and though you didn’t know him you didn’t want to offend or hurt him. You didn't need to make any more enemies in this town. 

He shook his head yes, “Yeah.” He answered lowly before slumping back towards his friends who all gave him pats on the back in encouragement.

You weren’t used to this kind of thing so you secretly wished Myungsoo would hurry up and finish whatever business he had with Minah so she could spread bad rumors about you again. That made it easier to get through the day without many stares.

“Hurry.” Sungjong called from the doorway as if he was afraid to enter the classroom. You nodded and stood up, grabbing your lunch bag before doing so.

“You what?” You asked Sungjong, almost choking on the sandwich you were eating in the process.

“I heard you were dating Sungyeol and cheating on Sunggyu-Hyung.” He said again, his amused look not leaving his face. He knew the situation wasn’t like that at all but he couldn’t help but find it funny. “You should have seen the look on Sungyeol’s face when he heard about it.”  He laughed again upon remembering.

You frowned, “Why do things escalate so quickly?”

“I told you already, we draw more attention than normal people. Blame the hormones.” He logically explained with a shrug before taking another bite of the bread in his hand. He chewed only twice before remembering something he had to talk to you about. He lowered his food and scooted closer to you on the bench in the courtyard, “You need to know that from now on, you shouldn’t hang around anyone else besides us.”

“No need to tell me twice.” You waved your hands in front of you in rejection of ever risking being kidnapped or attacked again.

Sungjong blinked at you a few times. He didn’t know that you would accept it so easily. It was basically like telling you not to have a social life but you seemed fine with that. He thought that maybe you had misunderstood what he was saying. Before he could open his mouth, you read his mind.

“I know it’s for my own good so I won’t argue with you about it.” You nonchalantly took another bite of your sandwich. You looked around at the people who passed by, some giving you looks and some not. When you didn’t hear any words coming from Sungjong, you turned back to him. He was staring at you, eating not even on his mind anymore. You blinked a few times, your body feeling a bit warmer than usual due to his eyes on you. “What?” You asked him.

He grasped his food in both hands, his eyes looking at you in admiration, “Why are you so…” His words faded out as he mumbled the last part of his questioned. You got closer in reflex.

“What?” You questioned softly, “Say that again.”

Sungjong held back his thoughts. He couldn’t believe that you, a human, could somehow understand him so well. You were strong-willed and stubborn. Sharp-tongued yet kind. You were amazing to him but for some reason he couldn’t get those words out. It was as though something was holding him back.

“Sungjong?” You called his name.

He focused his eyes back on you. What he saw made him inwardly sigh in satisfaction. Your eyebrows were scrunched together a little and your obvious worry for him showed through. He put his thoughts to the back of his mind and smiled, “Why are you so much more popular than me?” He feigned a frustrated look.

You could tell something was wrong but you didn’t want to put his efforts to waste by calling him on it. Instead, you played along and laughed at his joke.

Sungjong watched you laugh, your eyes forming eye smiles that he couldn’t keep from staring at. It was the first time he had felt he had to do anything besides be faithful to his pack. However, like it was by pure instinct, he knew he had to. He knew he had to protect you. Make sure that you weren’t hurt again. That was the feeling he got anyway.

Myungsoo stared out the window at the bird perched on a tree. He heard each of its chirps and tweets as it rested. It was calming that the sound of birds filled his ears and not the sound of-

“Myungsoo-Oppa!”

A cheery voice made Myungsoo cringe. He turned slowly, not wanting to put himself in pain so quickly. It was Bang Minah, though that should have been obvious. He glanced over at your desk, past Minah, to find you weren’t there. He remembered then that you had left with Sungjong. “Hey.” He forced the muscles controlling his mouth to form a smile. “Are we eating lunch together today?” He wanted her to say no but of course that’s not what she was going to do.

“Wow, Oppa asked before I could. It’s like you read my mind.” She lightly smacked his shoulder and hid her face using her other hand. She was sort of cute in that kind of twisted way. Of course, Myungsoo couldn’t help but be put off with her personality. She was sweet to the point of being rude and frank. She was pretty to the point of putting down others’ looks. She was caring to the point…well no, she didn’t really care about anyone; deeply anyway. That’s what he had learned about this girl, Bang Minah, this past week. That and that she had absolutely no idea what her father was up to. “But I can’t today. My dad wants me to come home for lunch.” She looked down at her toes, disappointed.

Myungsoo’s nerves tingled. His ears perked up at the topic of her father, “For what?” He asked, feigning an equally disappointed look.

She shook her head while pouting her lips, “Just family stuff.”

Myungsoo tsked in frustration. If only she wasn’t so cryptic then he’d have something to go off on. He didn’t want to but he made himself do it. His gut dropped uncomfortably as he reached out for her hand and grasped it in his. She looked up from her feet and into his eyes. She was ecstatic, of that he could tell. A smile tugged on her lips as he pulled her hand closer to him. “Did something happen?” He asked, frowning.

She held back a giggle as she answered him, “Well, daddy’s new friends are coming over. Daddy said we all have to be there.” She pouted again before getting a wild idea in her head. “I know, why doesn’t Oppa come along?” She smiled widely as she shook his hand up and down in excitement, “You’ll come won’t you Oppa?”

Myungsoo bit his lip. It was a bad idea accepting. An incredibly bad idea. What else could he do though? He was offered a way inside the house. He had to accept it. He just had to. “Are you sure?” He bought himself time.

Minah jumped up and down excitedly, “Yes yes yes. I’m sure! Daddy will be really happy!”

Myungsoo thought for a moment before nodding, “Alright I’ll go.” She was about to talk again when he interrupted her. “But on one condition.” He faked a teasing smile as he raised a finger into the air.

She quickly nodded, “Anything.”

“I’ll go only if my friends can come too.”

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A/N:

I can't answer all of your theories because I don't want to ruin the story and spoil something. So in response to all of your comments, you'll just have to wait and see :)

Thank you for reading guys! I'll see you next chapter.