Cheondung was seriously having a bad week. He got kicked out of school for something he didn’t even do! Some kids were smoking pot in the toilets and he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He hoped that he could at least see some of his old friends during weekends or after school and somehow maintain his old life .Well, until his parents crushed all of his hopes by telling him the “great news” as his mother had said. A little confused he asked what exactly are these so called “news”.

“We’re moving.” His father had said calmly.

“What?” his heart skipped a beat.

“Oh sorry I meant just you” Mr. Park continued heartlessly.

His hopes were shattered into little pieces and thrown in the garbage.

“ I-I don’t understand. W-why so sudden?”

Mr. Park just shrugged and said:

“Your expelling from school was a big disappointment to us, so your mother and I decided it’s best if we make your surroundings more… appropriate for a young man such as yourself.”

With that his father left no room for protest and send Cheondung to pack his things.

His father was going to drive him so they left early in the morning and arrived in the late afternoon. He was glad that they at least bought him a small house instead of an apartment. Not that there was something wrong with apartments, but he just felt caged there so he preferred a house. He was happy his mum had given him at least some freedom by making his dad let him live here alone. After checking out the house, with his dad’s help he carried his bags to the bottom room on the second floor, where he decided would be his bedroom. After unpacking his father took him on a tour around town, which he seemed to navigate pretty well.  It wasn’t until they came back and cooked dinner that he figured it out. Cheondung ignored the impulse to slap his forehead for not seeing this sooner. Of course his dad wouldn’t let him live here alone, uncontrolled. Mr. Park obviously knew the town very well and probably had friends here. Cheondung felt so stupid for even thinking his father could him the slightest bit. After dinner his father helped him clean and headed for the door.

“Aren’t you sleeping over, dad?”

Cheondung asked, his hands still wet from the dishes. Mr. Park quickly explained that his mother was waiting for him at home and he didn’t want to worry her. After getting a nod from his son and wishing him goodnight he quickly left. Cheondung felt as if his dad didn’t even want to be in the same house as him let alone the same room. Completely miserable he went to his room and got ready for bed. It was a really nice room with a big bed, a cute little nightstand and a huge wardrobe with a lot of drawers. He felt like his father had been preparing for this from some time now. Yes, he was sure of it now. His father was really trying to get rid if him. Come to think about it maybe he was from a lot of time. This realization almost made him cry. Why was his dad trying to get rid of him? What so bad had he done? If he wasn’t so angry he would have broke down and cried. Was that it? Was his father’s antipathy triggered by Cheondung’s sensitivity? Guess so. It couldn’t be anything else, right? He did his homework often, never skipped lessons and was the top of the class. He put his PJ’s and went to bed totally beat down. The minute his head hit the pillow he was out.

Cheondung got up early in the morning because he had to go to school. He didn’t even need an alarm anymore his biological clock was set for 6:30 and wasn’t moving a minute more or less.  He remembered about a bag his dad gave him while he was packing, which he wasn’t supposed to open until tomorrow. After he unpacked he threw the bag next to his bed. Cheondung had a pretty good guess of the bag’s containing. His father had already singed him in the school so when he opened the bag he found his permanent schedule and all the books he needed. The sight in front of him brought memories from last night and his eyes filled with tears. Cheondung threw the bag away and headed for the bathroom. After brushing his teeth, getting dressed and fixing his hair he took a look at his schedule. When he was done packing his stuff he went in the kitchen to grab a snack after which he left for school. It was a good thing that on their little “tour” around town his dad showed him where his school was. It was 10 or 15 minutes away which was good since he didn’t have a car. Cheondung didn’t show any interest in the school building but the people were very interesting to him. They were indeed very different from his old classmates. The kids here looked very carefree and relaxed while his friends were always worrying about exams and such. Looking at these new and strange people he felt like he could finally relax a bit from all of his hard work at school. He immediately pushed that thought away when he remembered why exactly he was in this situation. He had to make a good first impression, no slacking out. Along with his schedule he found a map of the school. Since he didn’t want to look like a complete nerd the first day he tried to memorize the map. His first lesson was English, on the second floor, classroom №45. Cheondung took a look at the map just in case and headed for his first lesson. The kids in the hallways were turning their curious gazes towards him when he passed through. He could hear them whispering things like “Is that the new student?” or “I heard he got kicked out of school. A prestigious one too.”He sighed deeply and told himself to just it up, because if he wanted to fit in he would have to take a lot more of this gossiping. Totally lost in thought Cheondung didn’t notice the group of people moving down the hall just in front of him. At least not until he bumped into one of them and fell to the ground. From the fall some of his things fell out of his bag and spread on the floor.

“What the…” Cheondung whispered and looked up only to see the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. A gorgeous boy was looking down at him, anger in his brown puppy eyes. His hair was a mess of brown locks falling elegantly over his face. He was dressed in black skinny jeans and a blue t-shirt. Cheondung could see a collar with spikes around his slender neck. His puffy lips formed a thin line. Just looking at him made Cheondung’s breath hitch. He could imagine what it would look like if the boy’s beautiful lips turned from a thin line to a warm smile. Those puppy eyes shining with life instead of anger. So lost in his thoughts he didn’t notice how every one went silent and was now staring at the scene in the middle of the hall until the miracle boy didn’t open his mouth to speak.

“Watch where you’re going.” He said in a cold tone and passed Cheondung followed by the rest of his group. His voice was so amazing that it left him speechless and staring after him like an idiot.

When he was finally able to function normally a round of whispering infiltrated his ears. “Did you see that? The way they were looking at each other.”  “Bang hyung was so going to kick that idiot’s .”  Seeing him sitting so pathetic on the floor one of the students kneeled down next to him and started helping him gather his things after which he helped him up and lead him down the hallway under everybody’s curious gazes.

“You don’t have to do this, you know. I can take it, it’s no problem.” Cheondung said to the stranger walking next to him and carrying his books.

“No, it’s ok. I don’t mind.” The boy said smiling nicely at him. “I’m Seungho by the way.” He continued stretching his free hand towards Cheondung.

“Cheondung.” He said and shook Seungho’s hand.

Seungho was also a very pretty guy, not as stunning as the boy before, but still very cute. He had short brown-red hair dark brown eyes and a nice smile on his full lips. He was wearing blue worn out jeans and a red shirt matching the red in his hair.

“What’s your first class?” Seungho asked.

“Umm…English.”

Seungho offered the younger one to walk him to his classes today so he could get used to the school atmosphere. Cheondung tied to convince him that it wasn’t necessary but the other boy insisted and while they were arguing they reached the English classroom.  Before letting him go in Seungho said:

“I’ll be waiting for you here after the class, ok?” He patted the younger’s head and gave him his books. Smiled widely and went towards his class. Cheondung stared after his retreating form and couldn’t help but compare him to the boy from earlier. Again. But they were so different, one so happy and full of life while the other looked so angry and lifeless. But he decided he should go in now if he didn’t want to be late for his first lesson. He quickly walked in the room and immediately wished the ground could just open up right now and swallow him alive. The beautiful boy he saw before was sitting freely on a desk next to the window like he didn’t have a care in the world and chatting lightly with his friends but when he saw Cheondung he frowned and turned into the cold guy from the hallway. Cheondung squeezed the books in his hand and took a look at the classroom. His breathing stopped for a minute. How was this possible? Why? The whole classroom was full. There were only a few free seats, but they were in the front row where all the girls were sitting. He glanced towards the boy and saw that the seat in front of him was free. He was having a serious debate in his head about where to sit. With the girls or in front of the pretty boy from earlier. Girls? Or cool guy? While he was arguing with himself he was suddenly left with only one option. It appears that the seats in the front were saved for some girls which came during his inner battle, so he was left with no option. His grip on the books tightened as he slowly walked towards the free seat. He put his books on the desk and slowly sat down. He glanced back towards the pretty boy and with the corner of his eye he saw that there was a girl sitting next to him which wasn’t shutting up. Seeing the boy so annoyed from this blond girl he couldn’t help but feel a little satisfied by his lack of interest. He continued to secretly watch him until the bell rang and the teacher walked in so he was forced to turn around. The teacher was short and thin, he was wearing huge glasses and old fashioned vest over a blue shirt. He looked at the class over his glasses and smiled kindly when his gaze met Cheondung’s.

“I see we have a new student, don’t we?” He said with his squeaky old-person-voice. “Please introduce yourself.” That kind smile still on his lips as all heads turned to Cheondung. His breathing accelerated, why was he so nervous? “I-I ‘m…” “Don’t be shy, come on.” The teacher tried to comfort him. Cheondung took a deep breath.

“My name’s Park Cheondung.” He said finally, his voice sounding more confident than he expected it to be.

“Now that wasn’t so hard now, was it? I’m Mr. Lee, by the way.” Mr. Lee said with a huge smile as he turned towards the class now “Ok class so today’s lesson is…”

Cheondung felt a lot more relaxed now than he did in the beginning. He was starting to enjoy his new school life, at least until the bell rang and he was supposed to go to his next class. On the way out some of the students introduced themselves and asked for his name. It was no big deal but he felt like things might not be as bad as he expected them to be. He remembered that Seungho was going to wait for him after first period. An involuntary smile graced his lips as he saw the older boy standing by the wall looking around searching for Cheondung through the crowd of people coming from the classrooms. When he finally saw him a huge smile appeared on his full lips.

“Hi, there stranger I’ve been looking for you.”

“Hi, sunbae.” The younger one smiled brightly. Seungho raised an eyebrow. “Someone looks happy.” He noted and Cheondung’s smile widened. “Yep.”

“I’m glad you are. What’s your next class?”

“Aah, Music.” He said as he bounced happily down the hall.

“Where are you going? The music room is on the 2^nd floor. Cheondung!”

Seungho had to chase the younger one down the hall and drag him to the music room because he kept insisting that he memorized the map and knew exactly where the music room is. They studied a lot of music here since the school was with a musicаl profile. When Cheondung finally made it to class the bell had already rang. He gently knocked on the door and cracked it open so he could slip in without drawing any attention to himself. His teacher had other plans. When her gaze landed on him an evil smile came to her face.

“Well, well, well what do we have here? Who might you be?” she asked. Before he could answer she almost yelled “Come to the board! Now!” He slowly moved through the rows of desks, everyone was staring at him, just like in the morning. “What’s your name, boy?” she asked.

“Park Cheondung.” He mumbled

“What? Please repeat that, I can’t hear you. And I doubt anyone else can, speak up!”

Cheondung gulped and repeated his name louder.

“Park Cheondung?” She asked with suspicion

“Mhm.” he said nodding

“You can not say “Mhm” to a teacher!” she screamed in his face. “You will answer me with yes or no, understood?”

Cheondung turned his head to the side and stared at the floor as if his eyes were glued to it. Seeing that he wasn’t going to answer her she grabbed his wrist and spun him towards her. His eyes widened as he was moving his gaze between her hand squeezing his and her face.

“Understood?” she asked again

“Y-yes.” He stuttered.

“Didn’t they teach you anything in that private school? Maybe your lack of manners was the reason you got kicked out?”

Cheondung clenched his fists.

“Probably.”

 She gave him a death glare and waved him away to find a seat. He walked towards the back row and sat at one of the free seats his face red from embarrassment. He didn’t even notice who he was sitting with until the teacher turned to the boy next to him.

“Mr. Bang please be so kind and show our new student what we were doing before he decided to join us.”

Bang?! Cheondung turned around wide-eyed and his gaze met a pair of brown puppy eyes. The boy ripped a page from his notebook and slid it towards Cheondung, thinking he didn’t have one. He tossed him a pen and asked in a low voice:

“Rеady?” Cheondung just nodded and took the pen between his fingers enjoying the warmth from the other boy’s fingers. He moved closer to Cheondung so he could hear him clearly. The teacher continued with her lesson while Cheondung was writing. When he was done he lay back in his chair and played with the pen in his hands.

“What did you say your name was?” Cheondung asked suddenly staring at the boy beside him remembering he still didn’t know his first name. He looked up, his puppy eyes burning holes in Cheondung’s face but he kept silent for a moment.

“I didn’t, but I don’t quite remember what was yours.” He said finally and Cheondung released the breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

“P-park Cheondung.” He answered quickly hoping that he would finally give him his name. But the boy went silent again just watching Cheondung like a predator his prey, those puppy eyes following his every move waiting for some kind of sign so he could jump him and rip his thin body apart. He got up and leaned over Cheondung.

“See you later Dungie.” The boy whispered as his hot breath was tickling Cheondung’s ear. The bell rand just as he left the room and Cheondung was left starring at him just like this morning. Long after everyone left the room he was still sitting there like a complete idiot but he remembered Seungho was waiting outside. How long was he zoning out like that? Maybe Seungho was already gone, but he still had to get to class so he pulled the map out of his pocket and squeezed it in his fist. When he finally exited the classroom a relieved smile spread across his lips. Seungho was waiting for him just like before leaning on the window.  When he spotted the younger one he smiled widely.

 “Took you long enough!” he said with a seemingly angry tone but the smile on his face was giving him up. “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting here?”

“Nope.” Cheondung said through laughter.  The older boy laughed as well.

“No seriously, what took you so long? I was beginning to think I went to the wrong room or something.”

“I was just…” he started but didn’t  know how to continue. He couldn’t tell him that with just a few words from that guy he wasn’t able to function properly.  No matter how nice Seungho was they just met and Cheondung wasn’t quite sure what he would think about such a thing. God damn, even he wasn’t sure what he was thinking!

“Did something happen in class?” Seungho asked worried. “Is everything ok?”

Cheondung couldn’t think of anything else so he told him about the teacher.

“Oh, that ! How dare she?!I’m going to have a talk with that old hag!” Seungho’s voice shook with anger “Don’t listen to what I’m saying!”

“It’s no problem Seungho sunbae. I can take care of everything.”

“But…”

“Like I said it’s no problem. Just let me deal with this, ok?”

“But…”

“If  I can’t handle things I’ll personally ask for your help, alright?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” He mumbled finally.

“Thanks sunbae!”

“Oh, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Seungho said suddenly.

Cheondung raised an eyebrow. “What is it sunbae?” he asked suspiciously.

“This.” He said like it was obvious.

“What?” Cheondung asked again

“That “sunbae” thing.”

“What about it?”

“I don’t like it. And I would really appreciate it if you just call me hyung, ok?”

“Yeah, I guess I can do that.” Cheondung said shrugging.

“Yey!”  Seungho said clapping his hands together with a huge smile.

“Maybe we should get to class, huh?”  Cheondung said with a sigh.

“Guess so.” The older boy agreed. “What’s your next lesson?”

“P.E.” he said and shoved the map in his pocket.

“Let’s go then!” Seungho said and pushed the younger one down the hallway towards the dressing rooms.

                                           To be continued…