"Y-you..." Lu Han stammers as he looks upon the tall figure approaching him. There is a group of girls accumulating behind him, squealing and making bold comments about his appearance.

"Oh my god, he's so hot!" "Oppa, do you have a girlfriend?!" "He's mine!" "You can't claim him!" The noise grows louder as they continue to bicker at each other.

"LuHan, annyeong." It's the same guy LuHan met at the bus stop the previous day. "What's with the look? Do you not remember me?" he asks, now standing directly in front of LuHan.

LuHan shakes his head. "No, I remember you. Park Hyung Seok, was it?"

Hyung Seok his head to the side and slightly frowns. "Heh...you answered like you're not completely sure," he softly ruffles LuHan's hair and gives him a half smile,"I'll let it go this time since you did get it correct."

Baekhyun watches, stunned by this new person's action and grabs LuHan's arm to jerk him away. "Yah, don't touch him so casually! Who are you to him anyway?!"

"It's alright Baekhyun. Calm down, okay?" LuHan says in a calming tone while softly tapping Baekhyun's arm with his free hand. Baekhyun glares at Hyung Seok as he slowly releases LuHan's arm. "What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Hyung Seok answers, completely unscathed by Baekhyun's harsh comments and gesturing for LuHan to look at his uniform,"I attend Seoul Arts High now."

"Wha-?" LuHan saw the uniform. It just didn't register in his mind at the moment. His focus was directed more on the fact that the same guy he had just met the previous afternoon, is now attending the same school as him.

"Yeah. My father works here now as the assistant principal, so this is his way of "keeping an eye on me"," he rolls his eyes but then suddenly snaps a grin,"Looks like we'll be seeing each other quite often." Hyung Seok says nothing else and silently slithers pass them - the fangirls still hot on his trail.

Chen, Baekhyun and LuHan watch Hyung Seok as he walks away. "I don't know the guy, but he gives off some weird vibes," Chen sighs as he crosses his arms,"Either way, I'd be careful around him if I were you, LuHan."

"Well, he did help me twice in the same day even though I was a stranger to him. So I'm not sure how-" LuHan begins before Chen cuts him off half-way through his sentence.

"Look, I understand you don't get out much, but don't be so naive," Chen pauses for a brief moment, his face now hardened into a stern expression,"Humans are the worst possible creatures to walk this Earth. I'm not saying you can't talk to him, just keep your guard up."

"Araseoyo." LuHan says looking down, embarrassed that he seemed so gullible.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Baekhyun clicks his tongue and shakes his head while focused on Chen,"Uwaaah...hyung, you're pretty scary when you're all serious like that. You hurt LuHan's feelings. Look at him."

Chen glances back over at LuHan and deeply exhales. "I was just being honest with him. Besides, my words were sincere. They weren't meant to hurt you, but rather to teach you instead. You're our friend and friends look out for each other. So stop looking so disappointed and smile," he warmly smiles and gives LuHan one firm pat on the back,"Now let's get to class before we're late."

"Well, I never made it to my locker thanks to Baekhyun rushing me before I even got there." LuHan replies.

"It's not my fault," Baekhyun pouts,"I missed you!"

"...You saw me yesterday..." LuHan says dryly. LuHan sounded like he was unfazed by Baekhyun's loving words, but the truth was...he was extremely happy. To actually be missed by someone, for someone to be happy when they saw him. It was something he never felt before and it felt...nice.

"So? I'm allowed to miss you if I want..." Baekhyun mumbles.

"Want us to walk you to your locker? It is our fault you never made it there." Chen offers.

LuHan shakes his head. "No, it's fine. I don't want to risk making you both late. Shouldn't take me too long." He says before walking away.

"Alright then," Chen shrugs,"Try not to be late to class." He voices before him and Baekhyun walk the opposite way towards the classroom.

Quickly approaching his locker, LuHan enters his lock combination and opens it. He pulls out what he needs for his next two classes but can't seem to find his notebook. "Hm? I'm sure it was in here," he says to himself, frantically scrambling around his locker,"All my notes are in there."

Chen and Baekhyun arrive in the classroom and greet their fellow classmates whom are already riled up. The first ones to approach them directly were some of the girls that admired them the most, kind of like their number one fans. Their closest friend that was a girl, her name was Yuri. Chen and Baekhyun have know her since they met at the school's orientation for freshmen. Her hair was jet black, straight and parted at the side. Very plain Jane, but her face and charm made up for it. She had a smile that could light up a whole room and eyes that always held a sparkle.

"Sunbaenim," she whines,"I heard that SeHun sunbaenim got into a fight and is now in the hospital. Is that true?"

"...Yes,"Chen hesitated, yet firmly replies,"Unfortunately, it is true. But wait...how did you know that?"

"Hm? Oh...Fei was talking about it this morning to her friends. I just happened to be there and eavesdropped on their conversation. I wasn't able to catch the whole conversation, just the end. Something about LuHan too. Was he in the fight too? Is he okay?" Yuri asks anxiously.

"Woah, woah, clam down Yuri-ah, he's fine,"Chen calmly reassures,"He actually came to school today." He looks down at his Rolex watch and notices class is about to start. "Where is he anyway?"

"I think I should go look for him, hyung. LuHan said it himself. It is my fault that he wasn't able to get to his locker this morning." Baekhyun suggests with a worried expression.

Chen grabs Baekhyun's shoulder. "I would love to do that myself more than anything as well, but LuHan also said that he didn't want to risk us being late too. Do you really want to go against his wishes?"

"I guess not...he's gonna be late though you know." Baekhyun says in a hushed tone.

In the middle of their conversation, the bell signaling for classes to begin rings and LuHan is still nowhere to be found. The teacher walks in and the students quickly scatter to take their seats before the teacher has to tell them.

"Good morning class. Did everyone enjoy their Sunday?" he asks, adjusting his glasses and skimming over the classroom with his eyes.

"Nae~" the class answers simultaneously, expect for Chen and Baekhyun. They just turn their heads to look at each other and frown until Baekhyun finally breaks eye-contact as he looks down.

The teacher pulls out his clipboard and scans his finger down the page before looking back up. He notices there are some empty seats and clears his throat. "It seems we have some students missing today."

Baekhyun's hand shoots up so he could catch the teachers attention before he jumped to any conclusions the LuHan was absent. "LuHan is actually here seonsaengnim. He's still at his locker. But SeHun really is absent. He's uh...sick." He had to lie to the teacher. SeHun was the star pupil of the class and therefore the teacher's favorite. If he was to tell the truth, the teacher would probably start to doubt SeHun in the future.

Just after Baekhyun had finished explaining everyone's situation, the sound of seems like someone running grew louder as they came closer to the classroom. Long and behold, LuHan comes running in the classroom, panting he had just ran a marathon.

"I know I'm late...joesonghamnida, joesonghamnida. I couldn't find my notes for class." he bows respectfully, erstwhile proceeding to his seat.

"Your friend already explained your predicament, but unfortunately, I can't just let this go; otherwise, the other students may think I'm giving you special treatment. So with that being said, your punishment is to stay afterschool and clean the classroom." The teacher scribbles something down on a piece of paper and places in on LuHan's desk. "I apologize. I know your intentions are good."

Baekhyun gazes at the teacher in surprise. "But seonsaengnim, it's not his fault he was was late to class. I was the one-"

"I really am sorry, seonsaengnim," LuHan quickly cuts off Baekhyun from talking any further,"I'm willing to accept your punishment."

The teacher nods in approval and returns back to his podium. Baekhyun eagerly taps on LuHan's back to grab his attention and he turns around to meet his eyes with Baekhyun's. "Yah, while didn't you just let me explain what happened to the teacher?" Baekhyun softly whispers.

LuHan gives Baekhyun an amiable. "It wasn't completely your fault. I was so caught up in talking to Hyung Seok that I forgot to keep track of the time. Furthermore, even if something's not your fault, sometimes it's just better to take responsibility and let things fall into place later on."

Baekhyun stares at LuHan in silence with a perplexed expression, his lips faintly parted. "What the heck are you talking about? Take responsibility for someone else's actions? No, thanks."

LuHan just chuckles and turns back around, leaving Baekhyun to ponder on his words. Even though he wasn't sure how the majority of people worked, that's how LuHan was raised. Did it make sense to him? Not really...but he found some kind of wisdom behind those words of which he spoke.
 

It's finally time for school to be released and the bell rings for the students to be dismissed. Everyone rushes to put away their books and supplies and noisily rush out of the classroom. LuHan takes his time to neatly put his things away since he wasn't in a hurry. He had to stay behind to clean the classroom anyway. Baekhyun swings his backpack over his shoulder and strides over to where LuHan is, places his hands on his desk and slightly leans forward.

"You sure you don't want us to stay and keep you company while you clean the classroom?" Baekhyun asks, still feeling guilty that he was the one who caused him to be late to class.

LuHan nods his head. "Yes, I'm sure. You and Chen sunbae go visit SeHun at the hospital. He's probably waiting for you two right now. I don't think the teacher will let you hang around in here anyway. You'll probably be tempted to help."

"I guess you're right about that," Chen sighs,"Use the phone in the office if you need anything. And I do mean ANYTHING. You still have my number, right?"

Baekhyun snickers. "Hmhmhm....dirty hyung..."

Chen snaps his eyes on Baekhyun and glares at him. "Would you give me a break already? That's not what I meant. Now let's go so LuHan can get his work done." Chen waves at LuHan and flashes him a smile. "See you later, LuHan."

Baekhyun also waves goodbye and they disappear out the door, leaving LuHan by himself. He gets up from his desk, walks over to the back of the classroom where the supply closet is and takes out the all-purpose cleaner and a clean rag. He closes the closet back up, places the items on one of the desks' and begins straightening them out, one-by-one, until he finally finishes.

"Now the windows!" LuHan says loudly to himself as his eyes scour over the room. He picks the all-purpose cleaner and rag back up and begins cleaning the windows, careful not to leave any streaks. The windows are now about finished but he just can't seem to get the higher parts of the windows, so he borrows one of the chairs closest to him and stands on top of it. The chair rocks back and forth as he stands on and off his tip-toes, eventually causing him to lose his balance.

"Oh!...wh- ahh!" LuHan's foot slips and he tightly shuts his eyes, bracing himself for the fall. But he never hit the ground. Someone had grabbed his waist, pulling him towards their direction and they both fall, LuHan landing on top of whoever saved him. His eyes jolt open and he notices it's Hyung Seok...again.

"Uugh, my head." Hyung Seok groans in pain.

"Hyung Seok?! S-sorry!" LuHan prepares to jump up, but is quickly pulled back down by Hyung Seok and strongly embraced him. LuHan feels his face getting hot and he knows he needs to break free from his hold but he can't seem to get his body to do what his brain wanted, as if he was paralyzed.

"Let's stay like this for a while." Hyung Seok quietly suggests.

Still flustered, LuHan manages to get out a few words. "L-let go of me...please...Hyung Seok."

Reluctant, Hyung Seok deeply sighs and finally releases LuHan from his embrace. LuHan sits up and remains kneeled down on the floor, eye-balling Hyung Seok as he quickly stands up and turns his back towards LuHan. "I'm sorry. Please be careful next time...Excuse me."

Hyung Seok swiftly leaves the room without looking back, LuHan still kneeled on the floor as he watches him disappear. "That was weird." LuHan says to himself, gradually lifting himself up off the floor.

LuHan finishes cleaning the classroom, which included straightening the desks, cleaning the windows, cleaning the desk surfaces, sweeping the floor and clearing the chalkboard. He sighs in relief upon finishing his work, puts on his backpack and turns off the lights before proceeding out the classroom. Right upon leaving, he spots Hyung Seok waiting outside of the classroom, leaning back against the wall.

"Why are you still here?" LuHan realizes how rude he sounded, but it was like a reflex after he was so surprised by Hyung Seok's sudden embrace earlier.

Hyung Seok forces himself from the wall and walks over to LuHan. "I wanted to walk you home as a gesture of my apology for my actions earlier."
"You waited out here for me the whole time? Aren't you ready to go home?"

Hyung Seok shrugs. "I was here taking a tour of the school anyway since it's impossible to do during school hours. That's when I happened to see you and I watched you for a while. Then I saw you about to fall, and I..." His words begin to trail off and his face becomes grim.

"I never asked him about all that...although I was a bit curious as to how he knew of my whereabouts." LuHan thinks to himself. "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" LuHan timidly asks, nervously playing with his hands.

"LuHan...? Do you not like my being here?" Hyung Seok hastily shakes his head and lets out a nervous chuckle. "Never mind, don't answer that. C'mon, I'll walk you home." He grabs LuHan's wrist and pulls him along behind him. Without resisting, LuHan obeys and follows closely behind.

"So this is your house? Nice." Hyung Seok closely observes LuHan's house. "I live in the same neighborhood, not far from here. You should come by sometime."

LuHan shyly nods. "Sure...maybe. I have to go inside now. My parents expected me home right after regular school hours. See you tomorrow." He begins walking towards his house and pauses with fear. LuHan's mother is standing right in the doorway, waiting for him - her eyes darkened with anger. LuHan turns his head around with some kind of hope that Hyung Seok was still there...but he wasn't. He had already vanished into the night that quickly. LuHan's heart sank as he nervously draws closer to his mother.

"Why are you now just getting here?! Unless we are notified first, you are to come straight home from school, understood?" She crosses her arms in disappointment and frustration. "Now get inside of this house!"

LuHan quickens his pace and hurries inside before he made his mother even more upset. His father was seated comfortably in the living room smoking a pipe, his gaze fixated into one of his many books on running a successful business. His eyes are finally peeled away at the sound of LuHan coming through the door. "Where were you, boy?" his father asks in a calm, but firm, tone.

"I-I..." LuHan wanted to make up another lie, but his mother already caught him lying once and it didn't take her much time to figure it out thanks to a certain someone he'd rather not mention or think about,"The teacher made me stay behind after school to clean the class for for being late this morning." His head instantaneously drops to his chest. He knows he's in trouble and mentally prepares himself.

"Your teacher called and told us everything," he says, gracefully taking the pipe out of his mouth,"We were just testing you to see if you would tell us the truth. But don't think your getting off that easy just because you told the truth. Your mother and I are not working over-time to pay for your education for you to start slacking off." He slowly stands up, letting out a faint grunt and pulls out the ratted cane he had leaned up against the side of his recliner.

"Hands out, palms facing up." his father commands.

LuHan immediately does as he is told and his father whacks his hands over and over again. He winces at the stinging sensation of every hit, each one hurting more than the last, the blood that trickled down to the back of his hands. But he did his best not to cry. He became tired of being scared and weak. In the back of LuHan's mind, somehow, in a twisted and dark way, his parents were actually helping him for the real world. The hurtful words and the pains he would eventually have to conquer on his own.

"Help clean up his wounds and bandage them." He instructs his wife before sitting back down and turning his attention back to his book.

She bows and obediently does as she's told without a single word or complaint. Once she finishes with LuHan, she sends him off to his room to start on his homework. He has a report to write about the history and evolution of music throughout the twentieth century and the present, but his hands were in too much pain to write so he decided to use his laptop instead.

LuHan ends up staying up until 3 a.m. to work on his paper, researching and creating a resources page as to where he had found his information, even though it wasn't due until the end of the week. He just wanted it done and out of the way as soon as possible so he could have some free time. LuHan pushes himself so hard, he didn't even realize he has fallen asleep at his computer.

**Author's Note**

No cliffhanger~ Yay, right? xD Are you guys okay with the chapters being long? What are your thoughts on the story so far? What are you expecting or what are you hoping to happen? Leave me comments! I could use some input and don't forget to upvote and subscribe for more! ^_^ And also, don't forget to check out my other story 'He Who Cast The First Sin' if you're into horror/apocolyptic stories~ Thanks!