Bad Behavior
Chapter Six
Junhong POV

As we sat there, cleaning up the bowls from our lunch, I told Yongguk a bit about the group of jerks that had been giving me trouble. It wasn't bullying. I wouldn't admit to it being something like that. It was a group of douchebags being... well, douchebags. I just got caught in the middle of their 'fun' since the goons had nothing better to do with their precious time.

"Zico's the leader. He's hated me since day one. We've gone to the same school all my life. Kyung's his lacky, and a total poser. B-Bomb's a drop out, and Yukwon's his buddy. I'm pretty sure they have matching tattoos or something. You know, gang stuff," beside me, Yongguk stifled a laugh, and I shot him a glare, "Then there's Lee Taeil. He's actually a senior, even if he's little. He's one to look out for though; he bites. Then P.O.'s the big one. He goes to public school, but is a Zico wannabe.”

Suddenly I felt his hand on my shoulder, and they went tight. I was still a little sore from being shoved around the day before, but more importantly, he was touching me freely. I thought back to the day before, when I had kissed his hand, and involuntarily my cheeks flared up at the memory. I didn’t know what I had been thinking at the time, it had just kind of happened, but it kind of left me in an awkward spot with the man. After all, students don’t go around kissing their tutors boo-boos. I wasn’t his mom, but still, I had done it.

“You’re playing into their hands, you know,” he said with a chuckle, giving my shoulder a squeeze. The gesture was manly and brief, but left me uncomfortably lagging behind. Frowning over at him, I pushed my body away, placing distance between us.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I snapped, glaring down at him. Nonchalantly, he shrugged, placing the now clean dishes back in their rightful places. He looked tired, and his movements were slow. I hadn’t expected him to be out when I arrived, and I was lucky that I had only beat him by a few minutes. I was inclined to ask where he had been, but truthfully I knew it wasn’t any of my business.

“They’re doing the whole bad-boy act. Trying to play grown-ups as little kids, you know. Like those smoking friends of yours,” I averted my eyes, “And you’re playing along with their game. They’re nothing but a bunch of punk- kids.” Pursing my lips, I looked at my feet. I wasn’t sure if he was teasing me or insulting me, perhaps it was a little of both, but either way I didn’t like it one bit.

Silence hung in the air for a few minutes, with only the clang of plates to break it up.

“I’ll put them in their place, don’t worry.”

I nodded a bit, stifling a yawn.

“You tired?”

I wasn’t sure whether to admit to the fact that I hadn’t managed to get much sleep or not. It wasn’t because of the s from school or anything, but something a lot more unnerving. Just as sleep was nipping at my heels, I had heard a soft noise from the hall. At first, I had thought I was dreaming, but as I strained to listen in the dark, the sound became more and more audible.

It was my mother.

And she was crying.

My eyes weren’t able to close even for a second after that. My jaw and shoulders alike were tight, and all I could think about was what he had done to her.

Shaking away the thoughts from last night, I shrugged. Yongguk nodded his head in the direction that sat in between the living room and kitchen combo. “Go sleep.” I raised an eyebrow at him, attempting to gage his seriousness. He simply stared back with lazy eyes, and I began to question his lucidity. I opened my mouth to argue but he was already gone, disappearing into another room that I assumed to be the bathroom. Left alone, confused, I sat blinking at the empty space he had left behind.

Was he really that comfortable with me?

Awkwardly, I moved across the tiny floorplan and fumbled with the door that didn’t want to open. Throwing my weight against it, it gave way with a creak. Yongguk’s apartment was starkly different than what I was used to. Everything here looked... dirty, and old. I know it seemed spoiled, but I wasn’t used to leaving my pristine world of marble and white walls.

His room was tiny, like the rest of the apartment, with a bed made for two people squeezed in between a dresser and a closet. On the dresser, there was an ashtray that was put to heavy use. Stepping over pants and shirts that had been discarded, I made it to the bed with one bound. The bed, much like the door, whined under my weight. I was sure that I wouldn’t be able to sleep on the mattress that was comparable to concrete, but as soon as my head hit the pillow exhaustion devoured me.

Within minutes, my body became heavy with the sands of sleep, as I buried myself deep into the thick covers. As I surrendered my mind to my subconscious, my thoughts ran wild, jumping from this to that, so quickly it seemed like I was thinking of nothing at all. One thought, I remember distinctly, because it startled me, was how great the bed smelled. Though there was a slight musty scent of smoke that clung to the furniture, there was this... robust smell, that was a bit like aftershave, but more natural.

It smells like him, I mused as finally I fell over the cliff of consciousness into a deep sleep.

When I woke again, Yongguk was dragging me out of bed and pushing me out of the room. I could barely open my eyes and observe my surroundings or register the words he was saying. Squinting at blurry shapes, I leaned against him as we walked.

Wiping what had to be drool away from my mouth, I rubbed my eyes as a breeze hit me in the face. We were outside. Finally able to open my eyes all of the way, and lucid enough to get a half coherent thought out, I pulled away from him to walk on my own. I yawn, stretching my long arms up into the air feeling a few pops down my spine.

“Where are we going?” I asked at last, voice a little hoarse.

“The courthouse. We’re going to take Himchan’s car,” he told me, not even batting an eyelash. My mouth hung slightly open, and I stared at him like he was crazy.

“You mean the pink one? It’s great that you and Legally Blonde are best friends and all, but if we show up in that, they’re going to gang up on us and kick our asses.” A sudden impact connected with the back of my head, causing me to yelp and hands to rush and cover the spot.

“Don’t swear. Besides, I know a certain brat who has pink hair----”

“Fine, fine, I got it,” I growled, looking elsewhere. Basking in his victory, he lead the way to the elevator. I hadn’t noticed it before, but the light in that elevator had a weird greenish tint to it, that gave everything a cheap and sickly glow. Yongguk really lived in a dirty place; Dirtier than I had ever been, and I found myself scared to lean against the walls. He seemed unfazed, and it left me wondering just how this man had grown up, and what he had been through.

Never before had someone been so insufferable one minute, and so admirable the next. I had never found an adult that could hold my attention and twist my head around the way he did. They were always scared of upsetting my parents, or bitter snobs. Yongguk was neither of those things, and instead, a man who seemed to care about nothing but his own agenda. That bothered me a little, that he treated dealing with me like a chore, but at the same time, I wanted to be just like that, with no fear of failure, and no pressure from other sources.

The walk to the courthouse was short, in a weird part of town where everyone shoved around. Yongguk walked with his eyes ahead, but I found myself staring at all the strange characters, in their either textured, or very colorful clothing and mean faces who glared back in return. I swore I heard Yongguk chuckle when one of the guys shoved past me and nearly knocked me over. He nodded to the person, and they exchanged a look that seemed to say they were friend. Bitterly, I glared down at the man who walked beside me.

“A friend of yours?” I spat, as if there was acid in my mouth.

“A neighbor, not a friend. That’s different in this part of town,” he said with a shrug. I had no idea what he meant about that, and I had considered asking, but we were there and he made me sit on the steps outside of the courthouse. I gave him a skeptical look, considering the people we had passed by, but he disappeared within the building before I could say a word. So, there I sat, mulling over those words, and all the strange things he had said, swirling them around in my head again and again trying to rearrange them to make sense.

I was lost in thoughts when he returned, nudging my back with his foot. I jumped a bit, looking up to a gummy smile, and I scowled. “Get up, brat, we have to finish this quick. Himchan has a date later,” he told me, nudging me again. Rolling my eyes, a bit grossed out at the idea of older men like Himchan, or Yongguk, for that matter going on dates. They were at the age where they should have been married, and not playing a game of run around. Though, I supposed Yongguk’s case was a bit different, so I said nothing as I followed him to the embarrassing pink car.

“Why pink?” I asked as he started the car. He simply shrugged, not saying that it was a childish question, or that I was being immaturely distracted by colors. He didn’t call it a stupid question, and he didn’t even answer with, “I don’t know.”

“Why pink?” he replied, gesturing toward my hair. My cheeks flushed a bit, and I buckled the seatbelt.

“It was supposed to be red,” I lied.

“Sure. A kid like you? I’m sure you have the money to fix it,” he shot right back as we pulled back into the street. Yongguk’s driving was a bit scary, I learned that day. He was chopping and awkward, waiting too long at intersections, or faulting on the breaks before a stop. “I had purple hair once. It’s not embarrassing,” he said, eyes locked on a car turning out from another street. I glanced over at him, wondering if I was truly this easy to read.

“Even if it’s pink? Isn’t that girly?” I asked hesitantly. He laughed, and shook his head.

“Girly doesn’t exist once you get out of highschool,” he promised. “Nobody cares what color your hair is, or how you dress, as long as you look presentable for work. There are more important things to worry about, like bills, and starting a family, and buying a house.”

I was being lectured again, but it seemed different. There was just something about Bang Yongguk that was off. I had abandoned the ideas of ual sadism, and abuse. He had been too patient and too kind for any of that. I was still at a loss of reasoning behind the union of my cousin and this man dissolving on such bad terms. My cousin obviously held a bitter view toward this man, and I desperately wanted to know why. I felt like there was something everyone else knew and I was being excluded from some great secret.

Other than that, the ride was pretty quiet. Yongguk flipped on the radio halfway through, surprisingly to rap. I gave him a skeptical look, but he was too focused on not crashing to pay me any mind. I wouldn’t have expected him to listen to hip hop like myself, but Yongguk seemed to be a man of secrets and a man of surprises. I was beginning to think I’d never figure him out.

As expected, the guys were lingering after hours, even though everyone else had gone home. They liked to congregate and discuss their activities in the parking lot. It was their parking lot, in a sense, and nobody stayed there longer than the allotted hours, or their cars would suffer the consequences. When it got down to it, everyone was scared of the group that called themselves Block B. I would have been fine! ...If there weren’t 7 of them.

Yongguk got out of the car, calling out to them. In sync, they all stopped their loud roaring laughter to look over at us. I hesitated, still embarrassed by the ride we had shown up in. I felt like a little kid that had tattled to the teacher, and now I was regretting this choice more than ever. Taking a deep breath, I climbed out and followed after Yongguk, doing my best to ignore the snide comments and jeers they shouted in our direction  as we approached. Yongguk stood proud, unfazed.

“Did the little prince bring his knight in shining armor?” sneered Kyung. I ground my teeth, but Yongguk didn’t even bat a lash on at the comment. He stood tall (well, as tall as he could) with his head held up high confidently. I stayed quiet, waiting beside him, bracing myself as they formed a circle around the two of us. That was it; I was going to die.

“Listen up, brats,” Yongguk said, seven pairs of fierce eyes snapping to him instantly. “Some things are going to change around here,” he stated, and laughter erupted amongst the group. Yongguk remained unchanging, eyes narrowed at Jiho, who laughed the loudest. I withheld a groan.

“Yeah? Or what?” Jiho growled back. Lee Minhyuk faked toward me, and I jumped back toward Yongguk. It was true. I was really going to die. Yongguk put an arm out, between Minhyuk and me, but never took his eyes off of Jiho.

“I’ll tell your parents.”

There was a moment of silence, and then howling laughter. This time I couldn’t hold back the groan. He was just making things worse. He waited until the laughter to die down before speaking again.

“I’ll tell your mother,” he said, pointing to Jiho, “About the shoplifting charge that was mysteriously dropped last month. I’ll tell your father,” he moved to look at Minhyuk instead, “That you’re being investigated for gang activity.” Suddenly the laughter seemed to die down a little, and he moved between all of them, wiping the smiles right off their faces.

“Wouldn’t your parents like to know who defaced their church, Park Kyung?” He swallowed and fell back a bit.

“Yukwon, the pick-pocket that was terrorizing Ggeongi-do, right? Living in foster care? Well, I’m sure they’d be willing to work with you,” he cooed. Yukwon cleared his throat, looking elsewhere.

“Lee Taeil, didn’t you get caught with drugs? Just because you fooled the cops out of it, that doesn’t mean your mom and dad will let you off as easy.” The bespectacled senior looked at his feet.

“Ahn Jaehyo. You just transferred here after being investigated for arson, right? Would you like that case to be reopened?”

“And Pyo Jihoon--- I hear your mother has filed several domestic violence reports against your father. How would she feel to know her son beats up others?”

Crossing his arms, Yongguk wore a smug smirk. My lips fell slightly agape, as I looked in him as much awe as the rest of them. No one spoke, and we all just marveled at his confidence and knowledge. Now that I thought about it, he had been in the courthouse for a while, probably talking to Himchan and his coworkers, but I didn’t imagine that he was going to pull a stunt like this. My surprised look slowly turned to a grin, as the guys exchanged looks.

“I, of course, can keep this information to myself,” Yongguk said, with a nod. “So long as you guys keep to yourselves, and leave my student,” he placed a hand on my shoulder, “alone.”

Jiho pulled Kyung close and they whispered to each other, and gave me nasty looks. “He messed with us first,” Kyung said, and I rolled my eyes. “He says stuff about Zico’s mom, and he looks at him in the locker room. There’s something wrong with him.”

I lunged at him, only to be pulled back by Yongguk, who held me around my midsection. I growled, about to lay into him, give him a real good for even suggesting such a thing, but Yongguk cut me off.

“He’ll stop saying stuff about his mom, and you guys really shouldn’t flatter yourselves that much. Who doesn’t size up the other guys in the locker room?” They couldn’t offer much of a response, but I was fuming mad. My breathing had become irregular, and my face felt hot. I wanted to hit him. I wanted to hurt him. To smash his stupid looking glasses into his face, but Yongguk’s grip was firm, preventing me from doing anything.

“Look, just keep to yourselves, and Junhong’ll do the same. Sound good? Well, even it doesn’t, you’re going to abide by that, got it? I’m not above beating some sense into your thick skulls. I’m being nice now, just be aware that that can change.”

Yongguk grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me along. They parted for us, and didn’t shout anything after us, which was a good sign, but I was still seething. Grinding my teeth down, I wanted some outlet. I wanted to scream or yell, but Yongguk was completely calm, which made me even more mad. I slammed the door to Himchan’s car and Yongguk drove in silence.

I kept playing the scene in my head over again. Every time I’d tweak it a little, thinking of snide comments to shout back, or imagining the rewarding act of punching the jerk’s face until he would need surgery to ever see the light of day again. The words churning around in my head made me sick to my stomach as I slumped against the window.

“What if he was right...?” I muttered. Yongguk hummed in reply, saying he didn’t understand.

“About... the locker room.” I felt my heartbeat pick up, leaping into my throat. I feared that I would either chicken out, like I had done so many times before, or I would throw up. “W-what would you say?”

Yongguk didn’t bat a lash at this either. “I’d say you have bad taste in guys,” he replied smoothly.

“I wasn’t looking at him, I was looking at Yukwon!” I shouted before I could even think. Feeling my cheeks catch on fire, I covered my mouth. I had said it. I had finally said what I had been burying deeper and deeper ever since my 12th birthday. I closed my eyes, waiting for him to lay into me, to tell me I was disgusting, or to read me the riot act, like I was sure my own father would have done. But instead, Yongguk had to do things in his weird way that always seemed to escape me.

“It doesn’t make you any different. I’d still say you’re still a brat with pink hair who doesn’t apply himself, but has a brain somewhere in that bull head of his.”

Ever since I was young, my family had had a habit of judging others. If they saw people across a department store that looked poor, they would say it. If someone dressed in a weird way, they criticized and pointed them out. If there were an affectionate couple in public they scoffed and averted their eyes, and scrutinized mothers with noisy kids. I had been taught that piercings and colored hair were bad. That art was a waste of time, and that, of course, being gay was the worst thing ever.

I was twelve when my cousins all came to visit me. Our family was pretty big, and my fourth cousins, Kibum and Kijoong, twins, were my best friends growing up. They lived in Busan, while my family lived in Seoul, but family reunions were only fun if they came. They were a year older than me, and never left each others’ sides. When I was really young they would play games and make me guess who was who. I admired them more than anything.

That was I met Jongup for the first time too. He was sixteen at the time, and catering at the party. Kibum had always been the more affectionate of the two, and Kijoong watched over him like a hawk. They never fought, and Kijoong catered to any of Kibum’s soft commands. On my twevelth birthday, the greatest gift was getting to see them.

But, strangely, my cousins were split apart that day. Not speaking to one another, they stayed on opposing sides of the room. It was the weirdest thing. I had never ever seen them apart from one another, and my parents hadn’t either. They were whispering about them the entire day, but when I tried to listen in they quieted down and told me to go and enjoy my party.

I hated it when they kept secrets from me, though, I should have been used to it.

Pouting, I stalked off to get cake, and that was when Jongup looked upon me with kind eyes, offering me a piece. “You’re the birthday boy, huh?” he asked happily. Normally the staff didn’t talk to me, so I rolled my eyes and sat at the counter eating. Jongup didn’t seem to notice my reluctance to speak to him because he just kept smiling happily, watching the crowd.

He pointed to Kibum, who had been looking over. “That boy likes you,” he hummed. Of course, Jongup, just a mere worker, had no way of knowing that Kibum was my fourth cousin, but he had been completely right. I had brushed off his words completely, but later in the night, Kibum had pulled me aside and pressed his lips on mine in a sloppy awkward kiss. I thought my heartbeat would have never slowed down.

I had pushed him away, since we were cousins. He apologized and explained it all to me, about how he liked boys, and how Kijoong was angry at him for having a crush on me. The idea had been one that had never crossed my mind. Liking boys? That was so unnatural. So strange. Such a foreign concept that I had never even considered it.

So, later that night, I had asked my dad if it was okay for boys to like boys. I never forgot his words that day.

“Of course not. It’s wrong. Disgusting. Don’t ever go around guys like that.”

I didn’t like Kibum back, and so my relationship with my cousins sort of fell to after that, but I started paying more attention to the boys in my class. It wasn’t long until I figured out that I liked boys more than girls, but my father’s words had always stuck with me. So, Yongguk’s words threw me for a loop.

“Really?” I looked at him with wide eyes. He nodded.

“Himchan’s gay too, y’know. It doesn’t matter. Ignore anybody that tells you otherwise, that is, if you’re gay. Who knows, you’re too young to really know,” he continued, stealing a glance to me.

I decided from that moment on, I needed Bang Yongguk in my life, somehow. And I would do anything to keep him there.