Baekhyun had lost count of the sheer number of times Chanyeol had grabbed his wrist and started walking off to some unknown place, but this time the mood was completely different. Neither party was sending each other shy, nervous smiles nor attempting to start a conversation. Baekhyun’s cheeks were flushed red, but not because of the fact that he was only centimeters behind his crush. This time it was out of anger.

The hallway was pitch black, obviously a sign that the two shouldn’t be out at such a late time. But talk was crucial and it looked like both boys could care less whether they would get caught or not. Chanyeol finally stopped in front of a familiar looking door and turned to Baekhyun, pointing ahead.

“Let’s put this place to use, shall we?”

Baekhyun quickly reached down and took out the silver keys he had received earlier and pushed open the door. They both entered and Chanyeol immediately went over to turn on the light. Finally, when they turned around to face one another, they could see the dark, grim expressions as plain as day on each other.

“Chanyeol-”

“Baekhyun-”

The two began at the same time, and halted when they realized that this was not going to work. Chanyeol sighed and walked over, grabbing Baekhyun’s shoulders and pushing him down on one of the seats. He took a seat beside the boy and ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

“Mind if I start first?” Chanyeol asked, and when answered with a short nod of affirmation he opened his mouth again.

“I should probably begin by saying that I’m the one who got into the fight with Taemin. I was out after curfew, and when I bumped into him I sort of lost my temper. I wasn’t thinking straight when I dragged him into our dorm hallway. I just wanted to show him to Kyungsoo and Jongin, force some kind of apology out of him in front of the both of them and sort out this situation, but now I realize how stupid I was being. So I’m sorry Baekhyun - I didn’t mean to put Jongin in trouble.”

Baekhyun turned around and grabbed Chanyeol’s arm, startling the taller boy.

“What did Taemin do? Why were you so angry in the first place?”

Chanyeol froze and hesitated. He didn’t want to be the one to tell Baekhyun. He felt like he didn’t have the right to iterate Kyungsoo’s past, especially in front of someone who barely knew his friend, but he was desperate to make things even slightly better and if it meant getting one less person hating on Kyungsoo it was good enough.

“Kyungsoo was bullied when he was younger,” Chanyeol sighed, observing Baekhyun turn redder at the comment, “when he was in third grade, Jongin was the first person he ever got closed to. Apparently they did everything together, and eventually Kyungsoo started liking him. Taemin and Kwanghee were friends with Jongin at the moment, and they didn’t like Kyungsoo very much. They used to bully him behind Jongin, but Kyungsoo ignored them because he had Jongin as his friend. Then he went to confess and everything went downhill from there. Jongin thought his confession was some sort of a joke and twisted everything around, and Kyungsoo took it to heart. You’ve heard of that cafeteria prank, right? Kyungsoo thought Jongin was bullying him. And then for nine years he thought Jongin was mocking him in public and embarrassing him in the cruelest ways possible. I know it sounds crazy, but I was beside Kyungsoo during the whole time. He never showed his pain but it was obvious it was driving him insane.”

Baekhyun remained silent, and Chanyeol sent him an uneasy expression, unsure of how he would react.

“Are you telling me that Kyungsoo thought Jongin was bullying him? All these years he thought my best friend Kim ing Jongin was torturing him?!”

“Baekhyun, you have to understand-”

“No Chanyeol, I don’t have to understand,” Baekhyun snapped, and suddenly he froze as if the fact that he just said that to Chanyeol was crashing in.

Chanyeol dropped his gaze and sighed. “Kyungsoo’s my best friend, and although there are parts I don’t understand the fact that he was traumatized is clear. He was scared, Baekhyun, and Jongin was adding fuel to the fire. Of course Jongin didn’t know he was doing that, but Kyungsoo couldn’t see the truth.”

Baekhyun finally snapped out of the shock and regained the color in his cheeks, but there was a newfound fire in his eyes.

“I’m sorry Chanyeol, but that’s no excuse,” he replied, “he still treated my best friend like , and I have no intention of letting him off the hook. Jongin spent the last nine years trying to make Kyungsoo understand, but he’s too caught up in his own head he won’t listen to anyone. You know what that makes him? It makes him stubborn. It makes him selfish. It doesn’t make him into a victim. His behavior towards Jongin is still unjustified, but it looks like I’m the only one around here who sees it that way.”

Chanyeol remained silent before his lips curled up into a bitter smile. He nodded in defeat.

“I’m not saying the way Kyungsoo treated Jongin should be ignored. I’m just saying there was a reason. But I can see where you are coming from - Jongin is your best friend, and it’s your obligation to be on his side. I just wanted to let you know. I’m going to go to the teacher first thing in the morning to clear up this mess. I’m not just gonna sit here and watch Jongin get expelled, so you don’t have to worry, okay?”

Baekhyun sat still as Chanyeol stood up. The taller male stared down at Baekhyun before extending a hand, much to the said boy’s surprise.

“It really is too late,” Chanyeol joked, and Baekhyun, who finally returned the tired grin, stood up and took the hand without resistance.

“I’m sorry Chanyeol,” Baekhyun muttered, “I’m sorry for what I said to Kyungsoo. Although I’m still mad at him for the way he treated Jongin, what I said to him was unfair. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions and the things I said to him was horrible. I’ll go apologize to him next time I see him.”

Chanyeol looked down at the small boy beside him and slowly squeezed his small hand.

“Thank you.”

Jongin flinched when a thick stack of papers was slammed on top of the desk, bringing him back to reality. He had unfortunately started falling asleep during the disciplinary’s long boring- lecture (not that he could be blamed) and was annoyed that he had been so rudely woken up.

“This is the tenth time this year,” the teacher sneered, pounding his tightened fist over and over again on the books that Jongin was surprised it didn’t start turning purple. “This is preposterous! Absolutely ridiculous! I thought I knocked some sense into that head of yours last time we talked, which I must sadly add was last month, but apparently not because here you are again! At 1 in the morning!”

Jongin winced as the teacher’s voice rose into a seemingly impossible sounding screech. He sighed and opened his mouth to respond.

“I honestly have no excuse this time,” he muttered, earning a frustrated scream from the adult.

“Just give me one reason not to expel you Kim Jongin, because you know perfectly well that ten detentions in one semester is an expulsion!”

“Well, you could be nice and let me off the hook this time-”

“Kim Jongin!”

Jongin bit back a snicker as he saw the teacher jump up and down in anger. He was much too easy to provoke, even when Jongin wasn’t necessarily trying to.

“Sir, I’m not sure if I should say this right now, but Lee Taemin was asking for it.”

“I don’t care if he was asking for it. You do not beat up fellow students, do you hear me? You certainly do not blame it on others!”

“Sir-”

“And not only that! Asking Park Chanyeol, the definition of a model student with a perfect record, to clean up after your mess? That’s a whole new level of low, Kim Jongin. What were you thinking?!”

Jongin straightened up and his eyes hardened in frustration.

“Lee Taemin is a bully. He made Kyungsoo miserable when he first transferred here, and has been spreading false rumors about the both of us ever since. I’ve waited long enough, sir. I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have used violence, but I believe expulsion is a little too extreme when I was just doing the right thing.”

The teacher slammed his fist down once again. “Violence is not the answer! We taught that to you boys back in elementary school. If Lee Taemin is a bully, you bring him to us. You do not take justice into your own hands. Now, I will have a conversation with Taemin to clarify things, but I’m warning you beforehand. The committee is getting sick of your behavior and they will not be so easy on you this time-”

Suddenly there was a soft knock from the other side of the door. The teacher immediately froze and his eyes traveled to the wooden door. He gave Jongin one more pointed look before walking over and pulling open the door.

“Kyungsoo? What are you doing here?”

Jongin felt his body stiffen up before he slowly turned around to look at Kyungsoo, who was shifting nervously from foot to foot. From his demeanor it was clear he had never visited the disciplinary hall before, but his eyes were fixed on Jongin’s shocked ones with an unreadable look.

“I-I was wondering if I could talk to you,” he said quietly, and the teacher looked even more shocked. He had never talked to Kyungsoo before - the boy was perfect, just like his friend Chanyeol, and there really was nothing they could possible converse about.

Finally snapping out of the temporary surprise, the teacher’s lips tightened into a thin smile.

“I’m sorry Kyungsoo, but I’m talking to Jongin about some urgent matters. If you could come back tomorrow I’ll be more than happy to listen to you-”

“Actually, it’s kind of about Jongin. And it’s really urgent to. It would be best if we could talk right now.”

“You want to talk to me about Jongin?” The teacher said, sounding completely taken aback. It was common knowledge how much Kyungsoo hated Jongin, even to the teachers. Kyungsoo was known as the quiet kid - the one all the teachers respected, but didn’t necessarily have a personal relationship with. Kyungsoo was known to have unapproachable air around him, unlike Chanyeol who most teachers adored for being so hardworking and friendly.

Kyungsoo’s eyes quickly darted to Jongin, who was gaping back at him. He sighed and slowly nodded.

“I believe there’s a misunderstanding here. Jongin wasn’t fighting with Taemin and Kwanghee. They were harassing me, and he was simply helping me get away. They got into a quick brawl, but it honestly wasn’t Jongin’s fault. Chanyeol was dealing with the two while Jongin was getting me back to our room. This isn’t his fault, so I don’t think it’s necessary to keep him here.”

Kyungsoo, who managed to say all that in one breath, blinked up at the teacher before biting his lips in anxiety. The room was silent, both Jongin and the teacher too stunned to say anything.

Finally, the teacher cocked his head and peered down at Kyungsoo.

“Has this bullying been going on for a long time, Kyungsoo?”

Kyungsoo glanced quickly at Jongin, who stared back with pained eyes.

“It started in third grade,” he replied after much hesitation, “and has been going on ever since. It wasn’t necessarily direct, but they always found a way to make me feel miserable.”

The teacher nodded in understanding.

“Alright. Just come back tomorrow for a longer talk. I’ll have a talk with both Taemin and Kwanghee. Jongin, you can go for now, but if I catch you brewing up more trouble you are going straight to the committee, do you understand me?”

Jongin didn’t respond, but before the teacher could open his mouth again Kyungsoo quickly walked across the room and grabbed Jongin’s arm, pulling him up from his seat. Kyungsoo could feel Jongin freeze under his touch but turned a blind eye to it, facing the teacher instead and bowing politely.

“Thank you sir, I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Kyungsoo dragged Jongin out of the room and slammed the door behind him, letting out a nervous shaky breath when he was finally free from the teacher’s scrutinizing gaze.

“Kyungsoo?”

Kyungsoo’s throat went dry when he heard Jongin call out his name, his voice sounding vulnerable as it always did when he was addressing the said boy. He slowly turned around and dropped his hand, facing Jongin with an expressionless face.

“I did it for Chanyeol,” he said quickly, taking in the look of confusion washing over Jongin’s face, “I didn’t want him to get in trouble. Your lie would’ve been too obvious if the teacher started questioning Taemin and Kwanghee - there has to be a stronger reason for him to start doubting both of them. Bullying is the perfect excuse, isn’t it?”

Jongin remained silent, before he broke into a sad smile.

“That wasn’t what I was going to say,” he replied, “I was going to say thank you. I really didn’t want to be expelled. What you did for Chanyeol, it was really nice of you. So thank you. Really.”

“I didn’t do it for you,” Kyungsoo repeated, but his hardened face was softening up, and Jongin took notice of it. After a long tense moment of silence, Jongin took a tentative step forward, ignoring Kyungsoo visibly flinch at the short distance.

“You didn’t have to do it for me. It still helped me, so I’m thanking you for it. I’m also letting you know that I’m not done with Taemin and Kwanghee. Chanyeol got a punch; I didn’t. That kind of pisses me off,” Jongin let out a shaky laugh. He smiled down at Kyungsoo before walking past him, but halted when he heard Kyungsoo call out his name quietly.

“Don’t be stupid, Jongin,” Kyungsoo said, but his eyes were pleading, “don’t get yourself into trouble. Do you want to get expelled? Just stay away from them. Please.”

Jongin smiled toothily and shook his head.

“There are tons of things I did in the past years without ever getting caught. I’ll just be a little more discreet this time.”

“Jongin, please.”

“They’re the reason we’re in this situation in the first place,” Jongin spun around, but this time there was no playful smile playing on his lips. “I’m not letting them go. I’m going to give them exactly what they deserve, and I’m going to get back your trust. Just wait and see.”

Kyungsoo remained still as he saw Jongin give him one last longing look before turning around and walking off.