Junhong is the first person you meet at school. He’s leaning back in front of the school gate. His eyes sparkle when he spots you.

“Good morning, Hyunae!”

“Hm? Good morning, Junhong,” you reply. You and Junhong start walking into the school together. “You’re not late again.”

“Ah yeah. About that...” Junhong bows his head to match your height, “I forgot my English homework...”

You sigh. “And what you’re saying is...?”

He scrunches up his face, somehow looking ultra adorable, and pleads, “May I copy yours, Hyunae? Pretty please?”

“Nope.”

“Oh, come on...” he begs, “please please please please please plea--”

“Okay, okay!” you say. You have arrived in your classroom, and the two of you sit down on your respective seats. You take your English notebook and hand it over to Junhong.

“Yes!! Hyunae you’re the best!” he reaches for the notebook, looking happy.
“Are you sure you can finish it all before the bell?” you ask as you glance at the clock in front of the classroom, “I don’t want Yongguk songsaenim to catch you and confiscate my-- both of our books.”

“Relax, relax, I got this,” Junhong responds calmly. You watch his hands moving quickly as he copies down all your notes, and then you shift your eyes to the clock again.

“Junhong!” you urge him again when he still hasn’t done his work. The clock now signals half a minute before the first bell.

“Almost there...” Junhong bites his lip, “...and.. DONE!” he leans back, just in time for the bell.

You quickly shove your book into your bag, expecting Yongguk to waltz into the classroom any moment. Before that happens, though, the school speaker crackles throughout the corridors.

“Attention, student Jung Hyunae from class 1-B. Jung Hyunae from class 1-B please report to the principal’s office immediately.”

Junhong and the rest of the class look at you, bewildered, but of course not as confused as yourself. Why would the principal call you? 

“Please tell Yongguk songsaenim where I’m going,” you say to Junhong. He just nods.

You quickly make your way to the principal’s office, where, right in front of the door, stands Himchan. Your heart beats a tad bit faster. Why is your music teacher here? Could this be about your scholarship?

“Songsaenim, you’re summoned too?” you ask him, “What happened?”

“No idea,” Himchan replies. He hesitates a bit before continuing, "Hey, Hyunae. About what happened the other day..."

You let out a tiny sigh. You have too many questions about the other day, but isn't the principal's call also important? "Himchan songsaenim, is this the right time to be talking about this?" your voice come out a little bit too chilly.

“I'm sorry," he turns around to face the door, "I thought you might be worried, and I don't want that. I just panicked and lost control."

You shake your head, "It's okay, songsaenim. Can we please talk about this later?”

"Okay. Well, let's go now."

He lightly knocks on the door before opening it slowly, and the two of you enter the office where the principal lady is sitting upright behind her desk. Himchan stations himself in front of the desk, and you follow his lead. No one says anything for a moment. You don't even know what kind of greeting is appropriate for something like this.

Thankfully, Himchan breaks the silence, or he looks like he's about to, but the principal starts talking before he could even say anything.

“Someone reported...” she starts, “seeing the two of you hanging out together,” She looks up, her eyes piercing you and Himchan, “and hugging each other in the middle of the street.”

You feel your face automatically distorts into a frown. A little part of you feels disappointed because it's not about your scholarship, but the other, larger part lets out a distress signal. You feel something bad is going to happen.

You hear Himchan inhales sharply. Or is it a choke?

Proceed to [...]