MINKI’S POV

MinKi instantly spots JongHyun in his second class. “JR!” he calls, relieved. The students who are familiar with MinKi from the previous years stare at the supposed ‘mute’ Choi as he quickly claims the seat beside his one true friend.

JR bumps shoulder with MinKi as he sits down. “Annyeong, Ren.” MinKi freezes at the old nickname. Lowing his voice he whispers, “Don’t call me that in school.”

“Oh, right. Mianhe. ^^;”

MinKi sighs as the bell rings. He glances at the board to see ‘Mr. Dong’ written in sharp angles. He pulls out his schedule and says to JR, “Do we have any classes together?” It turns out that JR and MinKi have second hour, third hour, and eighth hour together.

The teacher claps his hands. “Attention, students,” he begins and the room quiets down respectively. “I think we should jump right into the rules of my class. I know you all think Japanese is a blow-off class – but I’ll make sure it’s not. Rule number one: when the bell rings, you will stop all conversation, whether or not I am in the room. If I happen to be running late, I should walk into a silent room. Am I clear?”

The class nods. Mr. Dong catches sight of MinKi’s blonde ponytail, his nail art, rings and necklaces, and pink jacket. His brows furrow. Mr. Dong points to MinKi and asks loudly for all to hear, “Are you a boy or a girl?”

MinKi blushes with humiliation as the class giggles. JR shifts beside him with annoyance. MinKi’s been asked this question by a teacher before, but otherwise they usually just wait to see how his voice sounds when replying to roll call. His masculinity puts their doubts to rest (most of the time).

MinKi clears his throat. “I’m a boy, sir,” he answers quietly. Mr. Dong doesn’t move, just stares at MinKi outright, surveying his appearance again. “. . . Rule number two,” he continues, not turning his eyes away. “No accessories.”

A chorus of “what?” and “why not?” rises up. Mr. Dong waits with a stony face to the students to settle down. When it’s quiet, he clarifies, “Necklaces, bracelets, rings, gloves – all these are distractions that take away your attention for the lesson. That being said –” Mr. Dong reaches behind his desk and retrieves a clear plastic bin “– this will be passed around in the beginning of class during attendance. Any and all jewelry will be discarded into this bin until after the next bell rings.”

Mr. Dong places the bin on a student’s desk to be passed around. Then he begins to call out attendance. As the bin goes down the rows, MinKi starts to fidget.

My promise rings.

MinKi has two promise rings: the second one he endowed with a promise that he made a couple years ago to stay a until he was married [A/N: This is actually true -^^- If you look closely, you’ll be able to see a thick silver ring on his left hand, even in the photoshoot pictures. This next ring, though, I obviously made up]. The other one is blessed with a memory of his mother.

*FLASHBACK*

“MinKi . . .” Umma said softly. Little MinKi was perched up on her lap. He was ten years old at this time. “MinKi, I know you’re younger than Ro . . . but can you make Umma a promise?”

“What is it?”

She leaned down to touch her lips to MinKi’s ear. She whispered, “Always take care of Ro. Protect her and watch out for her. She’ll do the same for you, of course. Can you promise me this?”

MinKi nodded. Umma produced a silver ring from her pocket with swirls inscribed into it. She slipped it onto his chubby thumb. “This,” she said tenderly, “will represent your promise, okay?”

“Okay, Umma.” MinKi was mesmerized by the shine of the ring in the low light of the room.

“Don’t ever let anyone take it away from you . . .”

*END FLASHBACK*

“Don’t ever let anyone take it away from you . . .”

Okay, Umma. MinKi absently grasps his fingers.

“Choi MinKi.”

MinKi jumps, heart racing. Was he caught already? Mr. Dong swivels his head around. “Choi MinKi?”

MinKi stutters, “Um, h-here.” Mr. Dong lands his laser-like eyes on MinKi’s apologetic face. He raises an eyebrow. “Daydreaming already?” MinKi looks down at his desk, not answering. Mr. Dong shakes his head, sighing, and read the next name.

Taking advantage of the teacher’s diverted attention, MinKi slips the two rings into his pocket.

(This is the ring I had in mind for the ring that Umma would've given Ren. (Actually, I imagined something a little bit simpler, so I'll keep looking xD). I'm not sure about his abstinence ring cuz I honestly don't care about that in this story xD I respect it, Ren Oppa, but I don't need it in this story x3 <3)