Hey guys, I'm so sorry for keeping you waitng for so long. And Thnak you for waiting for me. My exams are finally over and I'll be writing again!! Enjoy reading ^_^

Chapter 16 : The stanger

Jong Suk wakes up at six thirty as usual to his phone alarm going off; he silences it and tries, unsuccessfully, to move away from Woo Bin. Jong Suk’s heart starts beating faster when he feels the other boy all around him. Woo Bin’s breathing lets Jong Suk know that he is still sleeping, but Jong Suk would have known this without listening to Woo Bin’s breathing.

Woo Bin has been spooning him from behind, breathing deeply into the crook of his neck. His heavy arm is draped over Jong Suk, pinning Sukie’s arms to his chest, he is holding Jong Suk’s hand tightly, their fingers interlaced, his leg slung casually over Jong Suk’s. Within the past three weeks Woo Bin has turned very affectionate toward him with a lot of hugging and touching, teasing and even occasional kisses. But this is way too much, even for him; he can feel the usual ‘morning glory’ pushing against his back. Jong Suk wriggles, pushing his shoulder backward. A slight moan escapes Woo Bin’s lips and he stills immediately. Moving around doesn’t seem like the best option right now, given that it only makes Woo Bin’s lower body rub against his thigh even tighter.

“Woo Bin…” he calls, not daring to move at all. Only a groan followed by a sigh answers him and so he tries again, this time elbowing Woo Bin in the chest, he calls bit louder, “Woo Bin… wake up!”

“What?” Woo Bin mumbles, tightening his arms around Jong Suk, spooning him even closer to his body.

“God! Woo Bin!” he hisses, “We have to go to school! Now get up!”

Woo Bin groans disapprovingly, but shifts his weight off Jong Suk slightly, never letting go of his waist. He forces Jong Suk to turn around in his embrace, facing him. Jong Suk’s knee accidentally brushes against his very uncomfortable groin, causing him to jerk with a little moan that makes both of them stiffen.

Woo Bin has been pressing his on him since that night two weeks ago when he had opened up to Jong Suk with his haunting past. He wakes up with one every day and most of the time falls asleep with one too. Jong Suk just ignores it. It was weird the first time it happened and it really freaked Jong Suk out. Woo Bin had been petrified, he had stared as Jong Suk freaked out, kicking him off the bed. At that time Jong Suk had completely forgotten of the fact that Woo Bin was injured. But luckily his kicks hadn’t damaged those injuries. Woo Bin had promised he would never do anything to hurt him and that his ‘morning glory’ is something he has no control over. It still feels weird having another man’s pressing up against him, more than that it stirs some uncanny memories in him. Each time he reminds himself that this is Woo Bin, the boy who fought to protect him.

Woo Bin slowly opens his eyes carefully shifting his lower body back, away from Jong Suk’s knee. He then offers Jong Suk an apologetic grin, but his arms still hold him close.

Jong Suk sighs, rolling onto his back. He stares at the upper bed which used to belong to Woo Bin, but unoccupied for over two weeks now. Woo Bin’s wounds had healed completely after two weeks, his twisted arm has regained its motions and the fractured ribs have healed too. He had returned to his bunk once when he could manage to climb up, but later that night he slipped back under the blanket with Jong Suk. After two weeks, sleeping in Woo Bin’s embrace has somehow become a regular thing for both of them.

Woo Bin somehow had convinced Jong Suk’s mom into writing a letter informing Jong Suk’s absence along with Woo Bin’s recovery absences. Jong Suk had assumed that Woo Bin had told her the real story behind his fight which certainly would make her keep Jong Suk at home at all cost. The school allowed them two weeks to rest, perhaps their parents’ careers had some influence on this matter, but Jong Suk didn’t protest. He was sure returning to school alone would do him no good.

“It’s six thirty,” Jong Suk mumbles sleepily, trying to get up, but Woo Bin spoons him back to his chest. He buries his face back where it belongs, in Jong Suk’s neck.

“Get up!” Jong Suk hisses, knowing that they are going to be late if they don’t get up soon. “I don’t want to be in Ms Jung’s black list,” he mumbles pushing Woo Bin off with all his strength.

Woo Bin sighs and releases his grip on Jong Suk. “Pookie…can’t you let me sleep bit longer,” he mumbles sleepily.

“Stop calling me Pookie!!” Jong Suk snaps.

Woo Bin props on his elbow, watching Jong Suk climb out of the bed. “Then…angel?”

Jong Suk gives him a death glare.

“Then…Boo? Angel boo? Sunshine? Baby?” Woo Bin asks, grinning amusedly as Jong Suk’s face darkens with each word.

“Stop calling me those weird names. I’ve my own perfectly acceptable name if you haven’t noticed!” he gives one last drop dead look at Woo Bin before hurrying toward the bathroom.

“Angel it is then,” he hears Woo Bin finalising his nickname as he closes the door shut.

***

“Angel slow down a bit, will you,” Woo Bin shouts hurrying after a practically jogging Jong Suk.

Jong Suk stops on his tracks immediately. He eyes around to see if anyone else on the road has heard Woo Bin; luckily no one seems to be paying any attention to them. “Stop calling me that! I’m not a girl you know,” Jong Suk grunts, earning a wide grin from Woo Bin.

“There are male angels too you know,” Woo Bin whispers, “And mom said you are my angel,” he says before walking pass Jong Suk.

Jong Suk hurries to walk beside Woo Bin. “What do you mean by mom?” he asks hopefully. Perhaps Woo Bin had changed his mind and decided to call his aunt ‘mom’.  

“I dreamed of my mom,”

Jong Suk’s face falls realising he is never going to call her ‘mom’ anytime soon.

“Hey baby!!” Jong Suk’s head perks up at the familiar voice. He sees Woo Bin frown when Seung-hyun throws his arms around Jong Suk’s neck, pulling him into a headlock. Jong Suk struggles to break free, his breath coming to a halt at the tightening grip around his neck.

Woo Bin grabs Seung-hyun by the neck and pulls him off Jong Suk. “What the hell do you think you are doing?”

Jong Suk takes his time to heave in a good breath, filling his collapsed lungs back.

“Jeez, chill out man,” Seung-hyun says, lifting his hands in surrender. “I was just joking. Your princess is safe.”

Jong Suk scowls at the word princess. He doesn’t like the way these two people have decided to name him whatever they pleased with, and to top that all girly names. Do they see him as a girl? He hates when that thought even comes anywhere near his mind, it gives him a shudder.

“Feeling better now?” Jong Suk asks Seung-hyun when Woo Bin has let him off the grip.

Seung-hyun grins, inching closer to him. He leans down and whispers, “You should worry about your hubby,”

Jong Suk frowns. “What hubby?”  

Seung-hyun nods at Woo Bin who had turned to glare at them with disapprove for been so close.

“See, he is already glaring at me,” he whispers before breaking into a laugh. Perhaps the fight had some influence on it, but Seung-hyun’s whispers doesn’t bother him as much as it did before—at least not to the point where he is reminded of those unwanted memories. Jong Suk says nothing, he decides to ignore these two brick heads and hurry ahead to the class room.

Seung-hyun has been visiting their house few days a week after the fight on the rooftop. He had helped Woo Bin that day and now they were apparently back together in their glorious friendship, or at least that’s what it seemed on Seung-hyun’s part. Woo Bin didn’t seem too happy with the idea of him visiting his home almost every day for the past two weeks. He’d always eye him suspiciously whenever he got close to Jong Suk, especially when he slings his arm casually over Sukie’s shoulders as if they were eternal friends or something.

“Slow down angel!” Woo Bin shouts after him and he hears Seung-hyun’s sudden outburst jingling in the air. He turns to find Woo Bin glaring at Seung-hyun’s hysterical laugh.

“Oh my god!” Seung-hyun howls, trying to catch his breath again, “Did you just call him angel?”

“Whatever I call him is none of your business!” Woo Bin glares at him bit longer and leaves the still laughing boy behind and hurries toward Jong Suk. Seung-hyun hurries after them and walks beside Jong Suk, that wide grin never leaving his face.

“Are you really okay with him calling you angel?” he asks Jong Suk.

“No I’m not,” he states, and Woo Bin pouts unhappily. Seeing the dinosaur pouting like that somehow makes him smile infectiously. He hides the smile and turns to Seung-hyun, “And I certainly don’t like being called ‘baby’ either,” he says with a firm expression.

“Aww…come ‘on,” Seung-hyun croons, “It suits you,” he says, giggling when Jong Suk glares at him.

Woo Bin moves closer, pushing Seung-hyun off and pulling Jong Suk closer to him.

“Alright alright,” Seung-hyun giggles, “I won’t touch your angel,” he says and runs off before Woo Bin could punch him.

Jong Suk likes how his life has brightened over the past few weeks. He enjoys seeing these two going at each other’s neck every time they meet, and he likes how Seung-hyun seems to no longer hate Woo Bin, instead he seems to enjoy pissing Woo Bin off now.

***

Seungri inhales one last time on his cigarette before trampling on the bud. Lunch time is already over and as a senior he should be in his class studying for the upcoming finals, but to hell with that, he has better things to do. He has no intentions of returning to class and rot there for hours. Instead he decides to return to his base where his gang members will be waiting for him. He scans his surrounding one last time before jumping over the wall fence.

He straightens back to his height and brushes of the dust sprayed on his uniform. He is ready to walk down the now empty road that would lead to his base but he halts when he notices the middle-aged man lurking around the school back gate, trying to peer into the school ground. Is he some kind of a ert? He wonders as he heads toward the man in question. Well, it’s not really any of his business, he decides as he ignores the man now observing him as he walks past the back gate.

“Hey, kid,” Seungri stops at the man’s hoarse voice; he scans the surrounding and sees no one except himself and the man.

“Me?” he asks pointing a finger at himself. The man nods and limps closer to him.

“You are a student from this school, aren’t you?” he asks with a bit of an accent that did not belong here in Seoul. Seungri nods, eyeing the man suspiciously. Is he perhaps a father of some kid I’ve beaten up? Is he here for revenge? He takes a step back at the last thought, just in case if the man is here for revenge he can swing around and make a run for it. He doesn’t want to get into trouble right in front of the school and get expelled in his last year, he has been held back a year already and his father wouldn’t let him free unless he graduates. His own father being a mafia leader means he has no power to go against him, so he has to play safe for the last few months of his high school life.

“Then, do you perhaps know a student called Lee Jong Suk?” he asks. Seungri perks his head in interest at the name of the beauty he hasn’t been able to get a proper hold of, just because he hasn’t return to school after the incident at the rooftop.

“Do you know him?” Seungri asks, taking a proper look at the man this time. He has eyes that remind him of a beast, a scar runs down his left cheek and being a mafia leader’s son, he can tell it is from a knife. The man’s thick lips have taken on a greyish black colour due to years of smoking and his thick fat fingers have blackened over years of labour work he assumes.

“I am his father,” the man says and Seungri jerks his eyes back to the man’s ugly face. He resembles nothing of the beauty, so he wonders if he is talking about some other Lee Jong Suk.

“I don’t think your son is the Jong Suk I know,” Seungri says, taking another careful look at the man.

The man chuckles, but it comes out in a gurgle followed by an ugly cough. Seungri makes a mental note to cut down on his cigarettes.

“I know we look nothing alike,” the man says after his cough has subsided, “I’m actually his step father.”

“Why don’t call him then?” he asks, still not able to believe this ugly man could be of any relation to that beauty. 

“You see, I’m leaving Seoul today and I thought I’d say good bye to him before I go. But he doesn’t have a phone, so I can’t call him,”

“Look mister, I don’t care about what you want to say to your son. I’ve have my own problems to attend to, so I have to go now,” he says and turns to leave, but the man holds him by the wrist.

“Please, can you tell him his mother is here,” the man asks and Seungri gives him a puzzled look.

“I—I…he and I...had a bit of an argument,” the man stammers “and he has been avoiding me, so he won’t come if he knows it’s me waiting for him.”

Seungri doesn’t’ like the way the man’s eyes gleam with something that he can’t quite put his finger on. He snatches his wrist from the man’s grip and pulls out his phone. He dials one of his underline’s number. The call is answered on the second ring.

“It’s me,” he says, “Go tell Jong Suk his mother is here to meet him.”

***

Woo Bin stares at Jong Suk’s empty seat. He had left the classroom a while ago with the messenger boy, whoever that was. It is bit strange, he thinks, for his aunt to visit him at the school. Why hadn’t she called his phone directly? Woo Bin ignores the uneasiness stirring in the pit of his stomach and digs his pocket for his phone. He is searching through his contact list for his new step mother’s number when his screen lights up showing a new message. He taps it open and reads through.

I hope I’m not disturbing your lessons. I wanted to contact Jong Suk, but he has left his phone in the kitchen.

Your uncle has been in an accident and rushed to the hospital, and we are at the airport, on our way to Gwangju and we probably won’t be returning home today. Let Sukie know and both of you make sure to fix something for dinner and I’ll give you a ring later when we reach there.

Woo Bin reads the message again. It clearly says they are at the airport. He jerks up at the realisation and runs out of the classroom. He hears Seung-hyun calling after him, but he doesn’t have time for that.

***