We make our way to our seats, and I notice that Luhan and Kyungsoo are both missing as well. I shrugged it off and took out the textbook from my bad and start catching up. The class goes on quietly.

When the final bell sounds, I realise that theres still time left in the day, and im left wondering what to do. Its odd, at the hospital i had 24 hours a day of free time, but here filling the considerably shorter feels difficult.

Everyone else leaves, and im alone with the teacher. Junho is examing the assignments, marking them with red ballpen. Raising his eyes from the papers, he notices me and furrows his brows.

"Is there a problem?" i jump a little, realised he's talking to me. "Um, nothing. Thinking what i'd do after school" the teacher puts the cap on the pen and arranged those papers.

"You have no plans?"

"No. i was thinking to join a club but i don't know what to join"

"Just try joining some, then you would know what clubs will you be interest in"

"I guess...." i sighed. "I just don't know how to deal with the other students. I just don't know what to think about.... the disablelities. It's like it feels im being rude if im paying way attention to them, and its weird to ignore them" the teacher awkwardly scratched his cheeks. "These things are only an issue if you make them one"

Its hard. How can you not consider for example Kyungsoo deafness when the only way to communicate with him is only through Luhan? or Baekhyun.... its not like you can ignore his face.

"But.." im interrupted by the door of the classroom suddenly slamming open.

"Teacher!" Luhan crashes in, his voice is soft but loud enough to wake the dead from their graves.

"Luhan" he looks at the teacher innocently. "Yes?" 

"We've talked about volume control before, so what is it?"

"We need help! we are running out of supplies for the festival" Yunho suddenly grinned. Its so creepy. "I wonder if you can get some temporary help?" he looked at me and his expression said "go make some friends"

"Uh, yeah. I guess i can help" Luhan smiled. "You can? thanks Hyojin!"

"So what do you need?" he handed me a roll of paper. "Here's the list. Thanks again Hyojin. Try to be quick, we are in a stall-building streak now, we must hurry hurry!" looking at the list with a number of items ranging from paint to plywood, all written with small, neat handwriting that is undoubtedly Kyungsoo's, I heave a sigh and exit to the hallway, trying to find the art room.

I carefully push open the furthest door, and peek in. It's a classroom, but it seems rather badly kept or not in use. Am i in the right place? desk and chairs are all around the room, a think layer of dust settled on them. There are some easels in the corner so at least this look like the right place.

Jokingly, i call into the empty room.

"ANYBODY HO-" i stopped hallway. Something catches my eye and i stop mid-sentence.

Sitting on a desk is a boy, with a fork between his toes, a morsel of food stuck firmly on the end. This odd way of dining seems to be cause of his apparent lack of hands. The boy seems to be frozen in the place with his mouth open.

"Hello" the boy stuffs the forkful in his mouth, and is now staring at me while chewing on his food. This is awkward......

"Um, hi? i was told to pick up some things from here. For some festival i think? i didn't expect someone to be here.."

"There isn't. thats why i came here" he picks up another forkful. "But who are you?"

"I'm Hyojin. Kim Hyojin. I just transferred in on Monday"

"I'm Yixing, but just call me Lay." he gave me a kind smile and with much decisiveness, Lay once again picks up the fork between his toes and he points it straight at me. "So Hyojin, what brings you to this place?"

"Like i said, i was told to look for these things"

"No, the school. From outside you look fine. Is your problem inside?" i come to a full stop, opening my mouth but not getting a word out.

"I-" he cut me off.

"I can guess. I am good at guessing" i froze in front of this issue again. I haven't even told anyone here about my condition, or maybe its only because it hasn't really come up. Naturally, while i go through this all in my head, Lay keeps considering what my condition could be. He puts his fork between his lips and leans back, looking at the ceiling as if the answer is written there.

A beam of light illuminates his face from the window side, creating a mask of dark shadow on the other side. There was a silent..

"Uh, Lay?" he flinches, and look at me. "Huh?" he said confused.

"And your answer is?..." he stared at me even more confused than before. "Answer? what answer?" i sighed and mentally facepalm myself. Does he have a memory loss or something?

"Heart. I have a heart problem. Arrhythmia" i said it.

"Oh, yeah! now i remember what i was going to say!" 

Seriously this guy?

Its the first time I told anyone about my condition. All the other people have either known about it already, or heard about it from someone else. Should i have told it as a natural part of my introduction? "Hi i'm Hyojin. I have a serious heart condition" like that?

I walk to the back of the room to pick up the items on Luhan's list. I keep searching the cabins and shelves, but after the time passes the silence grows too uncomfortable, so i try to force some conversation out of this strange boy.

"So do you always eat alone, this late?"

"Hmm i don't always eat alone. Sometimes i eat with a certain people on the roof, if he's not horsing around"

"Horsing?"

"He likes to do sport" he said it with a blank expression. 

"Oh" and thats all i can think of to say. Both of us fall silent again as Lay forks the last bits of his meal to his mouth. I look down at my haul and double check it with Luhan's list. It seems i have everything except plywood. "Um, so i think i have all the things now"

"That's good, im about to take a nap. You need to go right? or perhaps you like to watch guys sleeping?"

"Heh?" im not sure what to make of this, but Lay look serious. "Even if i did, i think i need to get going. I.. i'll catch you around, bye"

I quietly back out of the room. From inside, i heard a muffled, sing-song voice

"I heard that!" i heard Lay said. 

"What did he hear?" i jump at the sudden appearence from Luhan, who just popped out from only god knows where. Kyungsoo, standing slightly behing Luhan, looks alof as he couldn't have heard the remark that drew Luhan's attention.

"But wait, who's in there? there's no club meeting today" he tries to curiously peek past me, even though the door prevents him from seeing anyway.

"What are you doing here?" i asked.

"You took so long that we had to come check whats wrong"

"Oh... sorry, i got the things here, was just going to bring them"

"I think you were up to something mischief, Hyojin... I wonder who was there with you.." Luhan signs something quickly to Kyungsoo, pointing at the door. Kyungsoo quickly pushes his way past me and opens the door into the classroom. I can only imagine the shock he's in now. He stared at Lay, frozen in place. Kyungsoo takes a few deep breathes and slams the door shut to sign furiously at Luhan.

"Hello" Lay's voice comes from the other side of the door and it takes a few eyeblinks to realise he might have trouble opening it. I open the door to find Lay directly behind it, looking at us with a half-interested, half-sleepy face.

"What do you you're doing? you're not allowed to use the school property for such an activity!" Luhan scolded him. 

"It sure is suddenly crowded here. I didn't know i was this popular" at any rate he ignores their scolding so they have no choice but to drop the issue.

"Anyway, hows your project going? will it be done for the festival?" Lay looks at them blankly, apparently feeling uncomfortable from Kyungsoo's cold stare is putting on him. "I keep wondering about that myself too" he said.

"And?..."

"Will think about it harder"

As Luhan signs his reply to Kyungsoo his face tunrn into an unsastified frown. Kyungsoo shakes his head, takes the materials from me and takes of with Luhan in town. Lay frowns thoughtfully as he looks after the retreating student council duo.

Im about to ask what project he has but he walks back to the classroom.

"Since you have nothing to do, would you give me a hand? the paint can doesn't fit into my bag but i need it" he kicks lightly at a huge can of paint thats lying on floor next to the table he was sitting and sleeping on. It lets out a dull clang.

Being a nice girl i am, i naturally pick it up. Nah, its because i actually have hands.

Its so heavy.

"Yeah sure. Where do you need to take it?"

"Away" and with that, he takes off to the hallway and the paint can following theres little choice for neither of us.

The hallway is quiet and empty now they're gone, so we too leave towards the stairwell at the other end. Every ten or fifteen or twenty steps i have to change the can from one hand to another because the thin handle cuts into my palm. At least it keeps my arm from tiring too fast. Lay strolls beside me looking at me with a slight concern on his face. Maybe im walking werid because of the extra weight.

Two flights of stairs below, trouble appears in the form of the head nurse and her cheerful grin.

"Ah, Hyojin! what a coincidence. Theres something i forgot to say on Monday" i nodded and wait impassively "Its about your medications. Since you haven't been that long on your current medications there might be an unexpected side effects which might adjusting dosages or even changing to another kind of medications. So, tell me if you feel something is off with your body"

"All right" she smiled and leave with a wave. I walk to Lay who has been waiting, idly leaning against the hallway wall and staring at the pale lighting fixtures in the ceiling.

"Are you getting medication for your heart?" he said, didn't divert his eyes from the lighting

"Yeah... they're for my heart"

"Will they make you better?"

I sighed. "No.. not really. They just make me a little worse" Lay keeps looking at me for awhile longer, he neither says anything further, nor displays any emotion.

We leave the main building, and Lay lead me onwards to the dorm. We stop at the small patch of greenery infront of the main building.

"So is this your project? you did this..?"

"Yes, yes"

"Its nice, but..." i trailed of my words.

"Its ok, you can say it. I won't get mad"

"How do you paint with no hands..?" he chuckled. "See, im an easy person to talk to, right? with my feet" i can't get my mind around the fact that he could be and artist, but seeing how adept he was using his feet to eat i figure painting might not be the problem either. Neither of us has nothing to say to add the topic.

"Hm, shall we start painting now?" so he sits on an empty wooden box and naturally picks up a wide brush between the toes of his bare right foot. I open a few cans and pour some of the liquid into bowls of mixing.

Lay sets to work, every now and then asking me for a hand with something.

"Add half a splash of green" i crouch down to pick the can of bright green paint. "No no, the other green. This green" i carefully pour the dark green into the mixing bowl. "No, thats almost a whole splash. Add more white" with this exclamation i pour a little of white into the mixing bowl. It looks slightly... whiter.

"Thats no good.. Maybe a little yellow" 

After mixing the paintings, seeing the paints being born on the plastered wall feels like magic. I spend the moments i have between the mixing paints crounching down on the paving and just looking at him work. His entire presence emits a complete different air as he patiently works the details, adding layers, steadily moving his foot across the wall to add more shapes.

We stay there late into the evening until it becomes too dark to paint properly.

[A/N] Heyy. Omg i was so busy with my assignments and all and got no time to update but TADA!

and i will be away for.. 1 week or 2? for a late summer vacation. yeap. I have no idea where i'll be going this year but im going to make sure its going to be fun since this year has been so messed up and hectic for me.

so... see you lovelies next week or the week after!

♡