It turns out that everything did not go as planned. Despite being the school’s student president, Jae Suk was a prankster in heart, not born to abide by the rules, while Jong Kook, on the other hand, would not hesitate when it comes to the matter of the heart. The agreement they had agreed on lasted for only a day; Jae Suk broke it off when he saw Jong Kook taking care of Kwang Soo during lunch. They were back to square one.

Kwang Soo was certainly burdened; this was the first time of his life he had been courted by two people at the same time – taking part in a love triangle was the last thing he would expect to happen in his life. He knew the exact way to finish this chaos between them.

He had to choose.

But he was afraid to hurt their feelings. One of them would be hurt. He knew they would. Rejection is not the easiest thing to take in.

It was not that Joong Ki’s method would not work; it would, but that was not the best solution to the problem. Plus, it may cause further conflicts on the long run, should Kwang Soo not made his decision.

Kwang Soo was grateful for the showers of love, but he knew of the pressure behind it. Besides, people were starting to judge and belittle him since rumours of him dating the both of them had begun to spread. He had to make an end or he would be ended.

He was always teased by his looks, always being the target of potty mouths. Now that the rumours are out, he was targeted, worse insults than before were all coming his way, boys and girls alike.

The male population looked at him like he was some sort of a desperate male , the females were just generally angry that the school’s top boyfriend candidates were all hooked away by him.

He knew all about it, for he had been at the receiving end of bullies every time he reached school, before he had meet up with Jae Suk and Jong Kook. People would trash his seat, misplace his chair, and make all sorts of mischief just to see him fell for it. Which he did. Joong Ki knew all about it, and was really tempted to tell either the student president or the super athlete, but Kwang Soo insisted that he kept it a secret from them.

“The lesser the problem, the better things are going to work out, isn’t it?”

Joong Ki had caught some of the people who played prank on Kwang Soo before, but he always let them off due to Kwang Soo’s request. He felt helpless and desperate for his best friend, but there was nothing he can do. He had told his cousin, whom also advised him to stay out of it. Ji Hyo promised that she was going to try her best to help; after all, Kwang Soo was like that annoying little brother to her, and she would be sorry to herself for not lending a hand.

She was also against the idea of going to either Jae Suk or Jong Kook. It would definitely bring about more complications. The only thing that the Song-Song pair could do was to teach Kwang Soo to be more alert to his surroundings, or at least be by his side and looking out for him. Ji Hyo knew she could not hang around Kwang Soo, for that will certainly rouse suspicions, so she and Joong Ki went to Suk Jin, explaining the whole situation to him, hoping that he would help out. They also made him swore that he would not, in any way, tell this to Jae Suk.

Their actions were oblivious to Kwang Soo, until Suk Jin was dumped a water-filled bucket to his head. As promised, Suk Jin helped averting the trouble, but Kwang Soo immediately noticed that this hyung has been too unlucky today. He saved his questions, and waited until they were alone in the school’s toilet to ask about it. Suk Jin ignored him at first, concentrating on twisting his shirt dry, but when Kwang Soo repeated his question with apparent annoyance and anger, Suk Jin began the whole story from scratch, from how he was recruited by Joong Ki to help Kwang Soo, and that he was also sorry for everything that had happened to him before he began to offer his help.

Kwang Soo was bewildered at this fact, shocked that his friend would go to such measures to protect him, and also the group of three’s willingness to help him. As clichéd fate would have it, the group that had been targeting Kwang Soo locked them both inside the toilet. They only realized it when they were trying to get out, but to no avail. There were other people inside the toilet, too, and all of them were equally shocked to get involved in this.

They tried to smash their way out, but they don’t have the strength to do so. Cell phones did not work, either, having either no battery or no more credit to make a call. Kwang Soo immediately admitted that it was his entire fault, but nobody blamed him for that, wanting just a way out.

Kwang Soo prayed for somebody to notice his disappearance, especially Jae Suk and Jong Kook, because they were his only hope now.

Indeed, they noticed something was wrong during recess. Jae Suk nearly missed lunch due to his sudden increase of his student president duties, and Jong Kook was mysteriously consulted on studies by flocks of students today. They finally met up during the last few remaining minutes of recess, both driven by the urge to get away, and also to meet Kwang Soo. When the first thing they saw was each other, they each heaved a huge sigh of annoyance.

“Where is Kwang Soo?” They asked in sync, towards the remaining people on their table, the harmonious Monday Couple, HaHa, and Joong Ki. The flower boy looked nervous, too, having no idea where did the Suk Jin-Kwang Soo pair go off to. Jae Suk and Jong Kook immediately took off, searching for the imprisoned pair, followed closely by the remaining friends.

It was hours since they were locked in. The other guys were hungry, tired, and growing restless by each passing minute. Kwang Soo remained curled up in a corner, sitting rather awkwardly on his shoes. He was sorry about getting other innocent students locked up rather than the fact that he was again the target of bullying. Patience was running out, and so were the kind-natured. The students were now blaming Kwang Soo on what was happening to them, and he knew he could do nothing but apologize and wait it out. He let them vent on, and even thought it was only rational for them to down a full bucket of chilling water on him. Suk Jin stopped them, yelling at them and using his age as his weapon. Although they were trapped, they still had control of their respect towards their seniors. Backing off Kwang Soo, they let Suk Jin check up on Kwang Soo while they bicker in another corner.

Suk Jin helped to dry out the water in Kwang Soo’s hair when the younger boy started to whisper to him. “This wouldn’t have happened if I chose.”

“It’s not your fault,” Suk Jin whispered gently, continue rubbing his shirt at Kwang Soo’s hair. “People like us were always targeted. Even if you chose either of them, they were still going to come after you.”

“But I’ve dragged you into this too, hyung. That was my fault.”

Suk Jin shook his head and said nothing else. Kwang Soo slowly leaned into him, seeking for an embrace to nurse his guilt. Feeling his hyung’s warm skin on his forehead, Kwang Soo was instantly reminded of Jae Suk. About how Jae Suk used to bury Kwang Soo’s head in his arms when the taller male had sat down, and the already countless times that Jae Suk landed a kiss on the top of his head, or basically anywhere that he could set his eyes on.

He missed the hugs. He missed the kisses. He missed the sweet nothings Jae Suk loved to whisper in his ear. He missed the way Jae Suk would force-feed him any food he bought. He missed him.

He missed Jae Suk.

The water that latched themselves onto Kwang Soo’s body made him feel colder than everyone else whenever a gust of wind managed to squeeze itself through the toilet’s high windows. Suk Jin felt the chills too, being dumped by the water before being locked in, and he offered his body warmth to his junior so that they could keep each other warm.

After a long moment of silence, the atmosphere quiet and eerie, the students who lashed out at Kwang Soo earlier inched forward to apologize to him. But Suk Jin shushed them because said male was already asleep leaning on the side of his shoulder. The students later all huddled together around Suk Jin and Kwang Soo, feeling Mother Nature’s chilling breath as well.

If only somebody could rescue them.

Gary and Ji Hyo were searching along the hallway. Jae Suk had decided to take matters in his hands, and called on the little group of friends that he trusted to aid him in the search. He gave them slips to excuse them from class, putting his student president privileges to good use. Jong Kook’s initial theory is that Kwang Soo was being locked up somewhere as a victim of bullying, since he had rescued the younger boy from situations like this before, when things were not so complicated. His instincts directed everybody to look for closed and secretive places, and also locked doors as well.

The couple trod along the path, looking for any possible concealed places. And they happened to stumble onto the one toilet that was locked from the outside. Wasting no time dawdling, the pair immediately pulled out their cell phones.

“Jong Kook hyung? I found it.”

“Jae Suk oppa? I found…”

They looked at each other for a few stunned seconds, before breaking into a quarrel over who to call over. Gary insisted that it should be Jong Kook, while Ji Hyo was sticking to Jae Suk because of what HaHa was going through, and that she thought that if Jae Suk ended up with Kwang Soo, then HaHa may stand a chance with Jong Kook. While they were quarreling between themselves, Suk Jin heard the commotion, and began to call for help. The couple confirmed that Kwang Soo and Suk Jin were inside, and wasted no time calling for as many people as possible.

Jae Suk was the first to arrive, already arming himself with a heavy wrench after getting information from Ji Hyo that it was locked with an unfamiliar lock that he knew the school would have no spare key to unlock it. The student president heaved the wrench high, sending it crashing down to the lock without second thoughts.

Suk Jin had never been so happy at the voice of the Monday Couple. The trapped students also had their moods all lifted up at the voice of their saviors. They waited excitedly, eager to get out from the toilet and get some warmer clothes. Suk Jin looked at his side, and shook the sleeping Kwang Soo awake, telling him that help had arrived. Unfortunately, the taller male was deep in sleep, and it took him a huge clash to wake him up.

The first thing Kwang Soo heard was cheering voices. His head felt dizzy and heavy, and it took him a long while to finally pry them open. By that time, he had felt hands cupping his cheeks, a body shadowing him from the artificial light that shone on him. The first thing he saw were a pair of bespectacled eyes looking straight down onto him, mirroring his which were casted upwards.

“… Are you alright?” He could hear faint noises, the loudest being that particular sentence. He nodded weakly, feeling the strength seeping out from him. The next thing he felt was his face being held against a warm something. He doubted that it was Suk Jin’s; that hyung was shivering, this one wasn’t. And he could hear a consistent drumming sound hammering gently into his ear. Kwang Soo smiled at the messy beat, and fell unconscious soon after.

The first thing that Jae Suk did after breaking the lock was to go towards Kwang Soo. He found him sleeping against Suk Jin, both of them obviously was drenched in water before. Rushing towards the sleeping male, Jae Suk wanted to wake him, check up on him to see if he’s okay. Taking over his body from Suk Jin, he held Kwang Soo’s face in between his palms, forehead creasing because of the heat emitting from it.

“Kwang Soo ya! It’s Jae Suk! Are you alright?” Head filled with nothing but worry and the colours of panic, it took Jae Suk a lot to control his trembling hands, until he felt Kwang Soo’s body in his arms. Jae Suk could always feel Kwang Soo’s breath when he did that, but now he felt only abnormal heat grazing his skin through the fabric of his shirt. Kwang Soo was always trying to struggle whenever he did that, the stillness he displayed right now was making Jae Suk uncomfortable, the colours of his mind distorting into a murky pattern, to the point that Jae Suk was questioning himself if he was comforting Kwang Soo or his fragile emotions by holding the taller male close.

The strings of control broke when he felt him unmoving in his arms.

~TBC

A/N: Another two more chapters and this story would be finished!

Also, this was posted at 10 Feb, and I would like to wish Suk Jin oppa a very happy birthday! 2013 is your year, fighting!