13

Sunggyu’s intense stare was fixed on the white paper in his hands. His frown deepened as seconds ticked by. The number that was written sloppily in red ink on the top right corner did not seem to satisfy him.

“Stop staring at the paper. You’ll burn a hole through it.” Sunggyu turned and scowled at Woohyun.

“But the marks… Urgh.” Sunggyu ran his hand into his hair. “It’s so annoying.”

“You’ve been staring at it since yesterday. Are you trying to show off your marks or something?”

Sunggyu snorted. “Why would I want show off my marks?”

Woohyun leaned over to look at Sunggyu’s marks. 24 out of 50.

“I don’t know. Maybe the fact that you nearly passed get into your tiny head.” Woohyun shrugged before adding, “You never really cared about your marks before.”

Sunggyu released a heavy sigh. Woohyun smiled at his friend’s depressed face.

“Look buddy, it’s a brand new day so get over it and start anew.” Woohyun tapped his friend’s shoulder comfortingly.

“But seriously, I don’t get how that guy got good marks.”

“What guy?”

“Who else would I be talking about?” Sunggyu said. His line of vision strayed past Woohyun’s shoulder to reveal a bored figure sitting at the back of the class.

“Who?” Woohyun turned to where the guy next to him was looking and nodded in comprehension, “Myungsoo?”

Sunggyu gave him a weak nod.

“Sunggyu, he’s a genius,” he started off seriously, “so stop wrecking your brain and making your life difficult by comparing yourself to him.”

Sunggyu turned to face Woohyun. But there was not even a slight mockery that traced the lines of his face. And he realised that Woohyun was just trying to help.

Sunggyu shrugged and left Woohyun for his seat. He could not deny the fact his ears really did sting when Woohyun voiced out that his intellectual level was nowhere near Myungsoo’s. It was a blow to his pride. It was true that he was viciously competitive and would not let Myungsoo be the better one among them. And suddenly, he was swept with the determination to improve.

 “Yo, morning.” Sunggyu greeted as he approached Myungsoo’s desk.

“Hey.” Myungsoo muttered dully.

“Hey can I borrow your history test paper?”

Myungsoo hit the pause button on his phone and looked at Sunggyu with raised brows. Okay, so this was strangely unusual. Since when had Sunggyu ever cared about these things? Was he hearing correctly? He peered at his friend’s determined eyes. Well, he definitely did not look like he was joking.

Myungsoo nodded and concentrated on his game again. “Yeah, it’s in my bag.”

Sunggyu picked up the bag gingerly and positioned it on his lap. He ped it and scanned through the contents. After identifying the paper, he recklessly drew it out from the stack but in the process he had accidently pulled some other papers along with it. What Sunggyu saw had intrigued him and upon reflexes, he had reached out for it.

The paper was imprinted with complex lines and dots that in an instant knew that it they were musical notes and it was a music sheet he was looking at. His eyes skimmed the words at the top of the page.

Voiceless Cries

Composed by Kim Myungsoo and Park Jiyeon

He froze. Myungsoo and Jiyeon? Jiyeon? Numbness spread throughout his body. He looked at Myungsoo in disbelief. Was this true? He reread the words again. This was true. He had seen it with his own eyes. Quickly, he pushed the file back into the bag. Sunggyu stood up and left before his friend could notice his stiffening presence. His mind was all tangled up in intricate knots. He no longer knew how he should be feeling right then.

--------

Myungsoo strode alongside Sunggyu during break and noted that there was definitely something off with his friend. Sunggyu’s eyes stared blankly ahead. They were unusually distant and looked like they were lost in thoughts. This was not Sunggyu.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

But something else in the distance seemed to have grasp Sunggyu’s attention and he ignored the guy next to him wholly. Myungsoo spun to his right to see what had made Sunggyu discount him. And what he saw flustered him. It was Park Jiyeon.

He looked at Sunggyu and tried his hardest not to narrow his eyes at the man. Sunggyu raised his hand to wave at her. Seeing that had set something burning inside of him and he felt as though someone was clawing at his feelings. Despite all that, he reminded himself to stay unaffected.

Sunggyu’s mouth opened to call her but someone else had approached her before he did. And as usual, it was one of those y girls who was all set to humiliate her. Sunggyu lowered his raised hand as his smile faded. He walked forward and at that moment, his figure was like the epitome of confidence as he approached Jiyeon.

For the first time in his life, Sunggyu left Myungsoo. Following Sunggyu’s narrowing back was his friend’s gaze. Myungsoo’s heart clenched painfully. Even so, his eyes refused to look away. And Myungsoo watched the whole scene as it unfurled in front of him.

 “Leave her alone.” The words rolled off Sunggyu’s tongue, bitter and sharp. He sent a glance at her, solid with disdain. Yoojin stepped back, shocked at his harsh tone. Sunggyu enclosed his fingers around Jiyeon’s wrist and gently pulled her away from the area.

Myungsoo tore his gaze away from them when he could no longer contain his tumultuous feeling while keeping his impassivity in check. He ran his hands into his hair and grunted in frustration. Just like that, he lost his appetite. He turned the other way and drowned himself in his own thoughts as he walked.

He was caressed with a sudden gust of warm air as soon as he stepped out. The fountain sprawled before him, gushing out water that sparkled when touched by the sun’s rays. Standing majestically in front of the fountain was the clock tower that soared into the clear sky. He was about to take a step forward but stopped immediately as two familiar figures advanced into the area.

And as expected, they were Sunggyu and Jiyeon. Myungsoo smacked his lips and looked at the smiling Jiyeon. Sunggyu rubbed the back of his neck and lowered his head. Then, he looked up and smiled at Jiyeon. Myungsoo wanted to bash his friend right then. He leaned against the tree and tried to steady his heavy breaths.

Instinctively, Sunggyu turned and examined the shadows. Myungsoo held his breath. Sunggyu looked straight into his eyes. Sunggyu had known and seen him there. To his surprise, Sunggyu gave him an apologetic smile and a look that is hard to decipher. Was he seeing guilt in his friend’s eyes?

Myungsoo spun around and walked off.

--------

Myungsoo hit the stop button of his stopwatch roughly.

17 minutes and 27.07 seconds.

That was absurd. Completely absurd. A math question as easy as this one normally took him less than four minutes. But today was different. Something was tugging at his thoughts and his attention kept straying from the thing he was doing. He could not focus.

Myungsoo turned to the next page of his exercise book and scanned the next question. He just needed to substitute the first equation into the second one, find the point of intersection and complete the question in three and a half minutes and he could end this practise session.

25(5 - 6x) + 16x² +14x = 3

Easier said than done. As soon as he started solving the question, his head started replaying scenes from the earlier: the way Jiyeon had smiled at Sunggyu was as if he was the light to her eternal darkness. Myungsoo cringed and shook the scene off. Focus: he needed to focus.

125 - 150x + 16x² + 14x - 3 = 0

Sunggyu took over his mind. The look he gave too Myungsoo earlier: what did it mean? Myungsoo rummaged his mind for the possible things that Sunggyu might be telling him. He stopped. What is wrong with you, Kim Myungsoo? The topic Simultaneous Equations is your forte. Focus.

122 - 136x + 16x² = 0

Why did Sunggyu approach Jiyeon? Why did it seem like Sunggyu was trying to get closer to Jiyeon? Why did Sunggyu take Jiyeon’s side? Why did not remain neutral like he always did when things like did happen? Why Jiyeon? No, no, no. You have to solve this math question, Myungsoo.

2(61 -

Focus.

2(61 - 68x +

Focus.

2(61 - 68x + 8x²) =

That was it. That was as much as he could handle. He gripped his pen with maximum force and scribbled scurrilously on the paper. He snarled as he tore the page out of the book and crumpled it in his hands before shredding the ball of paper into pieces.

Anger was raging within him. It was as if something had pricked his anger and it surged out of him violently. The fury that had overwhelmed him drove his hand to grab the glass cup near him. He swung the glass with overwhelming force and it darted across the room before colliding with the wall and smashing into pieces.

The sound to shattering glass hammered into his ears. He stared, with red eyes and frantic breaths, at the broken pieces. He bit his tongue in genuine bitterness till he could feel the coppery flavour of blood. He was uncontrollably outraged.

He was enraged at the people who made fun of Jiyeon. He was furious at Sunggyu for approaching Jiyeon. He was displeased with the teachers for not taking good care of Jiyeon’s secret.

Mostly, he was mad at himself. He had seen Jiyeon’s pleading face but he ignored her. He had the choice to help her but he neglected her.

He roared and swept the things off his table with his arm. He watched the objects as they obeyed the gravity and fell to the floor. His empty eyes gazed absently at the clutter at his feet and thought how much the mess resembled his disarrayed thoughts. Something breezed through him and his anger faded, leaving the man battered and empty. He slumped in his chair and rested his head in his hands in defeat.

A soft rasp at the door was heard.

“Come in,” he croaked weakly.

The door opened and he peeked through his fingers to see who it was. And to his upmost surprise, it was his sister. Brown locks were tumbling out of her ponytail and she had her slanted smile on. She was carrying a tray with a single cup of coffee and half of the contents were spilled out of the cup.

Myungsoo let a small laugh as she set the tray on the table. Her face urged him to try the coffee. He picked up the cup gingerly and took a sip. It was surprisingly good.

“Did you make this yourself?” Myungsoo asked in disbelief.

His sister kept that slanted smile on. She looked satisfied.

At that moment, Jiyeon came to his mind. Her satisfied smile when he complimented her; her wise eyes; her teasing grins. She had given her trust to him. But on that day, when she had needed him the most, he had betrayed her trust. Why was he so ignorant? Why did he not care?

Myungsoo lowered his head. He had fallen deep in regret and did not know what to do. He pulled his sister and hugged her tight. He rested his head on her shoulder. Hesitantly, she started to his back. Myungsoo wanted to cry. He used to fold her into his embrace and her back gently like that when she was little. They would stay like that for hours and only his butler managed to separate them.

Right then, all he wanted to do was to curl up in her arms and feel solace engulf him. He wanted to forget about all the wrongs he did and just feel her gentle on his back. Because he knew that when she let go, all his problems were going to swarm him and taunt him relentlessly again.

---------

“I kind of pity that Park Jiyeon.”

Myungsoo stopped the moment he heard someone uttering Jiyeon’s name. He was loitering around the school after his classes ended and accidentally overheard the conversation. Intrigued, he advanced to the corner and strained his ears.

“Dude, you can’t be serious.”

There was a snort followed by a scornful laugh. “I can’t believe you fell for it, Woohyun. Why would I waste my time pitying that useless girl?”

So, it was Woohyun and another guy.

“I know you too well to actually believe what you said. It would be a cold day in hell before you actually feel anything for that mute.”

A long laugh followed.

Anger, that was what he felt when he heard them talked about Jiyeon so naturally; so comfortably without a hint of guilt in them. Myungsoo leaned on the wall tying to steady his ragged breaths. The voice of one of the guys greeted his ears and it ignited the fury in him further before he had the chance to really calm down.

 “Whoever started this thing is a genius. This term won’t be boring.” The guy remarked.

“You mean you don’t know who started it?”

 “No, I don’t. So, who started this whole thing in the first place?” Curiosity was clear in the voice.

“It doesn’t really matter, does it?”

“You know who started it?”

For a moment, silence filled the space. Myungsoo waited patiently, anticipating his answer.

“You know who started it, don’t you?” this time the guy’s tone was harder, urging Woohyun to speak up.

“Of course I do. I wouldn’t be me if I don’t know things as important as this one.”

Myungsoo could imagine how the corner of the guy’s lips lifted to form a satisfied smirk right then.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Before the guy could press his friend further, his phone rang.

“Hello?”

Myungsoo could hear nothing while the person on the other line was speaking.

“I got it. Bye.”

Myungsoo guessed that he had hung up.

“. It was my mother. I’m late.”

“So… you have to go?”

“You know what? Just tell me tomorrow. Bye!”

His footsteps started to fade as the guy ran out in the other direction. After several seconds, Woohyun emerged from the corner with a lopsided smile carved on his face.

“Who was it?” Myungsoo asked harshly.

Woohyun jumped, obviously surprised at the sudden intervention. He spun around. Recognition flickered across his face and his smile spread wider. Myungsoo walked towards Woohyun, anger scarring his breath.

“Who started it?” Myungsoo asked again. He gritted his teeth as he stared rigorously at the man’s loathsome face.

“I’m not telling you.” Laughter rimmed Woohyun’s voice as he said this.

Myungsoo swung his hand, gripped Woohyun’s collar and thrashed him onto the solid wall. He pulled his collar up so Woohyun was forced to face him.

“Tell. Me.” The hurled out of his mouth sharply. Myungsoo’s cold, detrimental gaze bore into Woohyun’s and grated his spirits. Despite that, he forced himself to sneer disdainfully at Myungsoo.

“Don’t you know? It was your own best friend,” Woohyun spat.

Best friend? Myungsoo could only think of Sunggyu. But Sunggyu was good towards Jiyeon. He helped Jiyeon. Why would he start it? He examined Woohyun’s face. There were no traces of deceit. No one had managed to lie under his destructive glare, anyway. This was not a trick.

“It was Sunggyu.” Woohyun confirmed.

Stupefied, Myungsoo loosened his grip on Woohyun’s collar. The guy took his chance to free himself from Myungsoo’s grasp.

Roughly, Woohyun wrenched Myungsoo’s hand from the collar of his shirt and pushed the guy away. Myungsoo staggered backwards, his brains still processing what the man had just said.

“Why? Does it shock you?” Woohyun mocked.

 A satisfied grin slithered across his face before he walked away. Sunggyu? He started this?

----------

A/N:

OMG 88 SUSCRIBERS?! THANK YOU YOU ALL. WAAAA I WANT TO CRY RIGHT NOW. TT.TT Thank you soo soo soo much.

Soo... I've been in Malaysia these past weeks(from 22nd December till this afternoon) and I couldn't get any wireless connection there soooo I could not update.  OH and HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU~~ HOPE THIS YEAR WILL BRING MORE GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!! wait, isn't the world supposed to   end this year? oh well....

This is the last day of my school holidays and  my school will reopen tomorrow and OMG I HAVE NOT FINISHED PREPARING so I think I better go now. 

Please continue to support me~~ Thank you ^.^

-Faith