“Hyung, I’m home!”

 

Woohyun felt himself smiling at the cheerful tone he thought he would never had the chance to hear ever again. Zelo plopped himself onto the couch and wrapped his arms around the older tightly.

 

            “You look happy,” Woohyun commented. Zelo pouted at him.

            “Why? Am I not allowed to be happy, hyung?”

            “That’s not it… It’s just… Never mind.”

 

The two stayed in that position until Woohyun felt the arms around him somehow tightened. Anxiety started to creep up once again.

 

            “Junhong… You’re still under the hospital’s supervision, right..?”

            “What’s with it, hyung?” Zelo’s arms tightened around Woohyun’s waist even more.

            “You’re still attending the therapy, right..?” Woohyun bit his lips when his question met with silence.

            “Junhong-ah… You need to get treated…”

            “Do I look sick to hyung?” Zelo looked up at the older. Woohyun sighed and shook his head.

            “That’s the problem, Junhong-ah. You look all right.”

            “Then why are you forcing me to go back to the hospital?” Zelo narrowed his eyes.

            “I’m not forcing you. I’m just… worried,” Woohyun muttered, fingers running through the younger’s hair.

 

Zelo looked up at Woohyun and their eyes met. They stared at each other for a good few seconds until Zelo leaned closer to the older, pushing Woohyun down on the couch. Woohyun just stared at the younger crawling on top of him. He’s too tired to fight back.

 

            “Are you really that curious about the reason why I got sent to the hospital, hyung?” Zelo mumbled. Woohyun raised an eyebrow.

            “Well, I should know about it if I don’t want to catch the same sickness, right?”

 

Zelo tucked the older male’s head under his chin, slowly bringing his face down to let his lips touch Woohyun’s forehead. Zelo closed his eyes, inhaling the sweet scent of the older.

 

            “It’s you, hyung… You’re the source of my illness,” Zelo muttered, resting their foreheads together.

            “You’re really contagious, hyung… And scarily addictive…”

 

Woohyun’s eyes shot open when Zelo brought both of his hands above his head and held them tight. Woohyun’s breath hitched the moment Zelo sneaked a hand under his shirt. ‘No… No, this is wrong… It shouldn’t be like this!’

 

            “And your mere presence… It makes me feel high,” Zelo breathed out making the older shuddered involuntarily.

            “Junhong, you don’t know what you’re doing,” Woohyun said shaking slightly.

 

Silence once again met his words. But not only their conversation, the younger’s action stopped as well. When Woohyun looked up, that’s when he noticed tears b on the other’s eyes.

 

            “Hyung… Woohyun-hyung…”

.

.

Woohyun’s eyes shot open as he heard whimpers coming from behind him.

 

            “A… Dream..?” Woohyun whispered as he noticed the familiar room despite the darkness surrounding him.

 

‘Yet it felt so real…’

 

He blinked a few times at the feeling of something restraining him from moving. Woohyun looked behind and spotted his flatmate wrapping his arms around his waist, shivering as he called for Woohyun.

 

            “Woo-hyung…”

 

The shaky voice called softly, too soft that it sounded so fragile. Woohyun untangled himself from Zelo’s grip and turned around so that he faced the younger guy. Placing both palms gently on the younger’s face, he Zelo’s cheeks to calm him down.

 

            “What’s wrong, Junhong-ah? Why are you crying..?” Woohyun asked softly. Zelo’s eyes fluttered open. Woohyun almost flinched at the sadness portrayed in the younger’s eyes.

 

‘He seemed so different now… So distant…’

 

            “Hyung… You’re not going to leave me, right..? You’re not going to hate me, are you..?” Zelo choked as he looked at the older. Woohyun smiled gently at him.

            “Silly, I can never hate you,” Woohyun said. Zelo snuggled closer and laid his head on Woohyun’s chest, closing his eyes slowly at the sound of the constant heartbeat.

            “Don’t leave me hyung…” Zelo muttered. “I might die if you leave me...”

 

Now that he heard about Zelo from Sunggyu, Woohyun couldn’t help but notice how strange Zelo’s behavior actually is. Talking about death so suddenly is so not Zelo-like. Especially not in the middle of the night.

 

‘What’s wrong with you, Junhong-ah..? You look perfectly fine,’ Woohyun thought sadly.

.

.

            “Nurse Kim!”

 

Sunggyu frowned at the name that his friend had somehow invented for him. He was in the middle of worrying about a certain student who hadn’t showed up since a few periods after the bell rung, and apparently a certain dino just had to ruin the mood for him.

 

            “Stop calling me that, Dongwoo,” Sunggyu muttered.

            “Man, you need to loosen up! What might happen if an injured student comes here looking for the nurse? You might kill him with your eyes,” Dongwoo laughed.

 

Sunggyu couldn’t help but smile at the sound of Dongwoo’s laugh. It wasn’t even that funny and yet Dongwoo laughed so loud about it. Sunggyu doesn’t hate it though. He must admit that his friend is the best in bringing his mood up.

 

            “What are you doing here anyway?” Sunggyu raised an eyebrow, sending Dongwoo and amused look.

            “For our little bonding time of course! It’s break time, Gyu-hyung, you need to eat~” Dongwoo cooed. Sunggyu had to roll his eyes at him.

            “You keep saying that—“

            “GYU-HYUNG!”

 

Sunggyu flinched at the loud sound of the door slammed open. He raised his head to see other two teachers coming in with huge grin on their face.

 

            “Man, I really need to relax,” Himchan laughed dryly before he plopped himself onto the clinic bed. Sunggyu raised an eyebrow at this.

            “Something happened?” Sunggyu turned to the other two occupants of the room.

            “His plan didn’t go that well,” Daehyun shrugged and sat next to Dongwoo.

            “Well, if your plan includes that nasty wooden stick together with paper stacks then those definitely won’t work on the kids now,” Sunggyu rolled his eyes again.

            “Old habit dies hard,” Himchan chuckled making Sunggyu smiled at him.

 

Himchan and Sunggyu both graduated from Woollim High at the same year. They’ve been classmates and partners for group works for the last two years of their high school. During their years, the principal wasn’t exactly a fan of moving class, and the teachers’ best friends were long wooden sticks.

Sunggyu was a good kid. In fact, Kim Sunggyu was known to be the model student of his batch. On the contrary, Kim Himchan was quite the troublemaker. Despite the fact that Himchan attended school with straight-As coloring his report card, the teachers would still send him to detention room and hit him with the infamous ‘stick’.

 

            “It’s just… I didn’t expect them to be here today,” Himchan frowned at the thought of it.

            “Who?”

            “I don’t know if you’ve heard about him, but I think the principal warned you since you’re in charge of the infirmary,” Himchan shrugged. Sunggyu’s eyes narrowed instantly.

            “Nam Woohyun?”

            “Well, apparently Nam Woohyun finally showed up today, but sadly he’s together with Kim Myungsoo the whole day, so…” Dongwoo grinned.

            “Did they bully you?” Sunggyu smirked at Himchan. Himchan immediately shot him a glare.

            “Of course not, pabo. The students fear me.” Himchan said smugly. Dongwoo laughed so loud that Daehyun thought he was about to die from heart attack.

            “True, the students fear you, but you have to exclude some people,” Dongwoo snickered.

 

Sunggyu tilted his head in confusion. Things definitely had changed during the past years, huh?

 

            “If only the students are as good as we were before,” Himchan mumbled to the pillow. Daehyun exchanged a look with Sunggyu.

            “Something we need to be aware of?” Daehyun raised an eyebrow.

            “Ah, it’s something all teachers should know,” Dongwoo chuckled. “You just have to be careful with these guys.”

 

Daehyun and Sunggyu glanced at each other before they leaned closer to Dongwoo who had toned down his voice to whispers.

 

            “First one, obviously you know Nam Woohyun. Man, that kid has the ability to make us living hell with his own ways. He’s pretty famous around the school, and the principal himself doesn’t exactly like him. His scores are… I don’t want to think about it. He’s often seen in the infirmary during the first few periods but apparently you managed to lock him out, huh?”

            “Second, right next to him there’s Kim Myungsoo. This kid is even worse compared to Nam in terms of attendance, but he still managed to gain As in his papers. But even though if you spot him in your class, you would see him face on desk.”

 

Daehyun frowned. He spotted a student sleeping throughout the class but he couldn’t get his name since his seatmate decided to be a smartass and shot back his questions back to him. Apparently he had an idea who those two students were.

 

            “They’re not the only ones, though. You noticed the trio who usually sit on the back?” Himchan muttered. Dongwoo clapped his hands as the thought reached him.

            “Right! There’s also Lee Howon. His friends address him as Hoya, and so do the teachers. He’s really quiet and he refuses to answer questions during class. He does well in written tests though.”

            “And next, there are Lee Sungyeol and Lee Sungjong. The family background told us that they’re brothers, but apparently the two refused to acknowledge the fact. They’re the noisiest people I’ve ever met,” Dongwoo rubbed his temple at the thought of them going to be in his next class. Himchan snickered at him.

            “Next, there’s Yoo Youngjae. His name is on top of the school’s rank but his behavior record is at the bottom of the bay. The principal actually wanted to drop him out a few times before, but since Yoo is an influential kid… Well, there’s nothing he could do,” Dongwoo shrugged.

            “Wait. Don’t tell me they’re all in the same circle..?” Sunggyu blinked at the thought of placing all of them in the same room as him.

 

‘... Don’t even think about it,’ Sunggyu frowned.

 

            “Sadly, yeah. And there are still two others. They’re second years,” Himchan laughed at Sunggyu’s expression.

            “Moon Jongup, the ace of the school’s dance crew. Even though he appeared to be a really cute and kind kid, don’t be fooled. One time a student annoyed him and he literally flipped the teacher’s table,” Himchan said shaking his head. Sunggyu frowned even more.

            “Then there’s Choi Junhong. The whole school knows him, and the other students call him Zelo. Nobody knows why, but he skips school whenever it’s major exam week. No seniors dare to mess up with him since he’s also a part of that circle.”

 

Dongwoo and Himchan looked at the other two to see their eyebrows furrowed. Sunggyu didn’t expect to hear Zelo’s name around the school. Sure, Zelo was one of his patients—he’s not sure if he can still be considered one—but Sunggyu didn’t do any background check on him.

The redhead bit his lips in thought before he turned to Himchan.

 

            “Say, Himchan, do you teach the second years as well?”

 

Himchan blinked his wide eyes.

 

            “I do. So does Dongwoo,” Himchan said gesturing to the man now sitting next to him.

            “Any information about this Choi Junhong? I… There’s something I need to confirm,” Sunggyu trailed off.

 

Himchan stared at the school nurse with interest. Himchan knows Sunggyu’s profession and he could grasp the situation with just a hint.

 

            “All I know is that he was absent for three days until he finally came back yesterday,” Himchan said.

            “Had there been anything weird happening lately around the boy? I mean, if he suddenly got called by the teacher for doing something…”

 

Both Himchan and Dongwoo fell into deep thoughts. Daehyun raised an eyebrow at Sunggyu.

 

            “I covered for his class yesterday. And I must admit, he surprised me.”

 

Sunggyu’s head shot up and he immediately looked at Daehyun with wide eyes.

 

            “What happened?” Sunggyu asked, trying not to look too obvious.

            “I was in the middle of grading some papers and he was talking with a boy in the corner of the room. A group of boys came to them and they quarreled for a bit, that’s until Choi turned his fist in,” Daehyun sighed.

            “Ah, right. Those kind of things happened lately,” Himchan nodded. “He sometimes got angry without any reasons.”

            “It’s kind of sad, though. He used to be a really bright kid,” Dongwoo frowned. “Suddenly he turned all quiet and dark.”

            “Dark?” Sunggyu furrowed his eyebrows.

            “Yeah. He suddenly developed this depressive aura around himself, it’s like… Creepy, you know,” Dongwoo shivered.

 

Sunggyu nodded as the room fell into deep silence. He had the same impression of the boy when he first saw him at the hospital. The same thing happened when he visited Woohyun’s apartment the first time. Even though both Woohyun and Zelo had the bright expression plastered on their faces, Sunggyu just knew that Zelo’s were all faked. It’s either he didn’t want to worry his flatmate or he developed that habit himself.

 

            “As teachers you guys surely gossip a lot,” a voice broke the ice.

 

Sunggyu snapped his head to see Woohyun leaning on the doorsill while Myungsoo standing behind him with a smirk. Daehyun and Dongwoo immediately left at the sight of the two troublemakers.

 

            “The same with you guys talking about us behind our backs,” Himchan mumbled. Myungsoo blinked at him.

            “Well, ssaem, if we voice out our opinion directly on your face then won’t you drag us to detention room everyday?” Myungsoo raised an eyebrow. Sunggyu stared at the boy amusedly.

            “There’s detention room?” Sunggyu turned to Himchan with questioning look.

            “There is, but not many use it,” Himchan said with a shrug. “Kind of sad, isn’t it? To think that we got dragged there almost everyday…”

            “Excuse you, Kim-ssaem, it’s you who got dragged everyday. Don’t bring me into that delusion of yours,” Sunggyu rolled his eyes.

 

Myungsoo and Woohyun exchanged a look before they turned again towards the teachers.

 

            “You were students here?” Woohyun tilted his head to a side. Himchan smirked slightly.

            “Your so-called territories actually belong to us, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Himchan cooed. “And you can say that we know some weird traditions of the students.”

            “I’m guessing you know a lot more about the nice spots here,” Myungsoo eyed the man with interest. Himchan chuckled.

            “Not only that, we know many hidden places that wouldn’t get caught by the cameras around,” Himchan smirked.

 

Himchan almost laughed at how obvious the excitement twinkled in Myungsoo and Woohyun’s eyes. Sunggyu snorted when the two boys turned to him with big eyes.

 

            “Ssaem~ Please spill some of your dirt to us~”

            “Yah! What might happen if we tell you about those places? And what do you mean by dirt?!” Sunggyu barked.

            “Let’s just say that this is our way of trading with the others,” Woohyun chuckled. Himchan raised an eyebrow.

            “You trade dirt?”

            “Not literally. More of an ‘anything’ trade for something,” Woohyun rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly feeling awkward talking about their ‘hidden business’ with one of the strictest teacher in the school.

            “Anything including any kind of service?” Himchan eyed the boy in interest.

 

Noticing the way Himchan studied Woohyun along with the lines he sent him, Myungsoo immediately grasped what Himchan was hinting at.

 

            “He had been asking for Woohyun!”

 

‘So this is what Yeol was talking about,’ Myungsoo inwardly shook his head. He glanced at Sunggyu to see that the redhead had been staring intently at the other two conversing. In fact, it’s quite visible that Sunggyu had been glaring daggers at his so-called friend.

 

            “Kim-ssaem, what are you trying to imply here?” Sunggyu raised an eyebrow.

            “A trade, wasn’t it?” Himchan shrugged.

 

Sunggyu didn’t like it. He wanted to tell the other man not to do any dangerous things, but Kim Himchan had always been a hardheaded person. No, Kim Himchan is no more than an idiot to Sunggyu.

 

            “I don’t care about your stupid trade, but it’s better if you discuss about it outside the school,” Sunggyu muttered, slamming his pen to the table.

            “Don’t worry, Sunggyu-hyung. It’s obvious that Kim-ssaem was only joking,” Woohyun chuckled awkwardly.

            “Not really, I’m not exactly joking about the offer,” Himchan shrugged. “If this boy would be willing to be a one night stand then—“

 

Himchan didn’t even have the chance to finish his words as Sunggyu abruptly stood up, gripping Himchan’s collars tightly as he glared at the man in front of him.

 

            “Don’t even think about it, Himchan,” Sunggyu said with a low voice. Himchan swore he heard the other man growled at him.

 

Raising both hands in a defensive manner, Himchan nodded. Sunggyu sighed and let go of his friend. Woohyun blinked at him while Myungsoo’s lips curved up into a small smile.

 

            “Whoa, Sunggyu-hyung… Just whoa.”

            “Stop staring at me like that, it’s annoying,” Sunggyu muttered while Woohyun flashed him a small grin.

            “Why? I must say that you’ve managed to capture my interest there,” Woohyun said crossing his arms.

            “True. I wonder if doctors actually do that to their patients,” Myungsoo muttered.

            “Or could it be that Sunggyu-hyung is worried about me? Do you care about me hyung? Do you?”

 

A frown once again climbed up to Sunggyu’s feature as he watched Woohyun once again playing his overly dramatic self across him. Myungsoo just chuckled while Himchan eyed the boy with interest.

 

            “Why don’t you admit it, hyung? You love me right?” Woohyun slammed both hands to the top of the desk making Sunggyu’s jaw dropped.

            “W-what? Why are you spurting out some kind of nonsense now?!” Sunggyu spat.

            “Man, that hurts. You should’ve gotten the hint that I was joking around,” Woohyun pouted.

 

Sunggyu rubbed his temple as he breathed out deeply. It’s just at this moment that he actually started to question the sanity of all Woollim High students.

 

            “The way you reacted made my heart hurt, hyu—Oh .”

Myungsoo raised an eyebrow, “what is it, Nam?”

            “. Junhong was here. He had been listening again…” Woohyun bit his lips before he stormed out of the infirmary.

            “Wait, Nam!”

 

The moment the two boys were out of sight, Himchan turned to Sunggyu with a questioning look.

 

            “I don’t exactly get the situation. But I’m guessing that Choi is one of your patients?”

            “He’s actually Bang’s case,” Sunggyu muttered. “The real patient I’m handling is not Zelo.”

 

Himchan raised an eyebrow at him. Sunggyu stared at the open door blankly for a while before he let out a breathy sigh.

 

            “It’s the other one I’m working on. He’s the one I’m supposed to supervise.”