Sehun woke earlier than he’d anticipated. He was both glad and annoyed by it -- glad because he needed to get ready and annoyed because it was becoming habitual. Sehun was the only person awake in the house; even the live-in maids were still asleep. He chose not to bother them. They also had schedules to adhere to once they opened their eyes. Sehun sighed to himself as he prepared breakfast. The thought of meeting the glass room kids was making him wary. He wondered what they would try to pull this time. He had no hidden cards but they had plenty.

Sehun had already told the driver about the early shift he’d be taking. No questions had been asked of Sehun and he was glad to be left to his thoughts as the car left for school. He thought about how useful it was to have a fan club, he’d never even dreamed of opening one but it was there. Sehun had so far managed to avoid all fan meetings successfully but he was thinking about visiting them for once because he owed a lot to them. They were the reason that the glass room kids didn’t dare to touch him. He tapped his forehead, his thoughts clicked away until he’d reached an ataraxic frame of mind and this meant that he’d reached a successful conclusion.

He noted how sinister the school looked when it was empty, it was the home of mischief or at least mischievous school ghosts conniving strange plans and drawing odd speculations and turning them into theories. He still hadn’t met Yang Jin Sung since the last time he’d seen her. Sehun slipped a hand into his pocket. There were so many conspiracies forming themselves on school grounds.

The usual three occupants had abandoned the glass room, instead there was someone else in their place. A someone who had been gone so long his surroundings considered him a stranger. The stranger glanced at his surroundings, he was back in the place he’d left against his will yet being back meant he’d have to drag himself through each day.

His cold eyes chose to ignore his environment. They flickered to look through the glass at a world of green and amber. The false sense of serenity brought a smile to his cold features, and for a moment a painfully ethereal glow emanated from him before being replaced by the coldness he carried. He had thought to be alone until a car had stopped at the gate and a certain brown haired male smoothly left the car.

The cold eyes had narrowed down on the figure that was a miscalculation in his lone world. Oh Sehun, he was without doubt making his way to one place, and one place only.

Another cold smile illuminated his features. “It was beginning to get dreary on my own.” The stranger chuckled to himself and finally turned his attention to his environment. It made him frown because it was perfect and hence detached as a space of learning and relaxing. The stranger clicked his tongue. His guest would be uncomfortable in such a cold place and he doubted his aura would do anything to change that.

‘Seo Kangjun…’  The name played in Sehun’s head like a reel and suddenly he felt afraid. All the courage his fans had given him earlier left him, and the only think left behind was raw fear. Sehun wasn’t afraid of people but Seo Kangjun didn’t count. He was a being to be feared, and Sehun regretted slamming the door open as hard as he had.

Seo Kangjun was the only person the crazy kids Sehun hated feared, no, everyone feared Seo Kangjun. He was dangerous! ‘When did he come back?!’ Sehun took a deep breath to relax himself.

Seo Kangjun smiled at the guest he’d been expecting, the vicinity they were in still wasn’t welcoming but Kangjun wanted to at least try and make his guest comfortable when he’d come all the way here to visit at such a time.

“Oh Sehun, it’s nice to finally meet you! I’ve heard a lot about you, you’re a fascinating person from what I can tell,” Kangjun frowned here as Sehun’s eyes widened in slight alarm, Kangjun shook his head and raised his hands in defense, “I swear I’m not a stalker, I hear things from the kids in school and your name usually comes up, that’s how I know you. I heard you have a fan club too so I assume you must be fascinating.

“Anyway, never mind that, I’m just glad I’m not the only one whose early because the school looks so malicious when it’s empty.” Kangjun paused his guest didn’t seem to be enjoying himself too much nor did he seem to agree so Kangjun shrugged his previous statement and joked, “I blame all the Korean school horror stories I’ve watched.”

Sehun nodded out of curtsy, this was the leader of the three idiots, those three idiots who Sehun had hoped to confront were petrified of Seo Kangjun and didn’t dare defy him because he was the President’s son and because of that, Sehun was wary, careful and fearful.

Kangjun could see his words making no response, he wanted to strike a conversation with the one male who his classmates were spiteful of. Kangjun didn’t know what kind of person Sehun was but he admired him for just being himself in all open and honest form that was something Kangjun was unable to do as the President’s son.

“I spent so long trying to convince my mother that I didn’t need bodyguards because they waste tax payers money but if school will be this scary then I might need company. Do you normally come to school early?” Kangjun hid his card waiting for Sehun to say something because Kangjun didn’t wish to disclose that he had a suspicion why Sehun was early and Kangjun thought it was something related to Kim Hana, the rumors were interesting but Kangjun was only interested it the truthful part of the rumor.

A sly smile crept onto Kangjun’s face making his eyes crinkle, “How about I treat you to coffee but warning, it’s instant but that doesn’t mean it tastes bad! I swear, everyone at this school is just spoilt! They should stay overseas on their own and face the reality of things, most people don’t lavishly throw money everywhere they find an opportunity to. I was so shocked when I found out how easy it was to make instant stuff.”

“I’ve never drank instant coffee before,” Sehun admitted, he’d been offered it at the homeless shelter but he’d never accepted to drink it. Coffee for the homeless was also scarce and Sehun didn’t want to take what they had away from them even if it was in the gesture of thanks.

Kangjun’s demeanor wavered, he looked around feeling flustered. “The chef’s aren’t here because brunch on campus isn’t scheduled for today so all I have to offer is instant coffee… Let me go check the fridge to see if there’s something else.”

Sehun pursed his lips at his odd companion, “It’s okay. Coffee is fine too.”

Kangjun nodded still flustered, his disconcert manner was still quite fresh and had found its way to his ears rendering them with a light splash of pink. “First day back and I’ve already managed to embarrass myself…” He muttered light heartedly.

“Where is everyone else? They’re normally having brunch at this time,” Sehun reminded Kangjun and hoped that the President’s son could shed some light over the darkness that.

Kangjun made a face and then proceeded to scrunch his nose, “They eat out today. It’s a weekly ritual.”

“And you didn’t go to join them?” Sehun asked knowing that if the three idiots were going out for a morning feast Seo Kangjun would be the first person they invited to join them.

Kangjun was about to pour milk into the coffee, Sehun’s words however hindered his task and made him look up to meet the eyes of the schools top student. Kangjun gave Sehun a half smile that was a mix of wry nature and injury, “I just can’t seem to get along with that crowd,” Kangjun explained adding milk to the concoction he was whipping up, he proceeded to mix the contents with a tea spoon, “They resemble a wild pack of dogs and I’ve found no common ground with them. They’re usually quite uncomfortable in my presence so I’d rather just not mingle with them too much.”

Sehun nodded understandingly he understood exactly what Kangjun was trying to say and Sehun felt like he could relate to a degree with the President’s son, ‘So that means you don’t have any friends not any real ones.’

“I was meant to be meeting your ‘friends’ about now, that’s why I bothered to come in early,” Sehun made a face, he’d sacrificed precisely an hour of sleep and was doing nothing remotely rewarding to make up for the time he had.

“Ah, I see, I thought you might come in early to study,” Kangjun chuckled more to himself than at Sehun as if he were laughing at a private joke, to ease the tension Kangjun decided to joke with Sehun, “You’re my rival in academics Mr. Oh Sehun. I plan to keep myself on point and study early every morning, I hope you don’t lose your focus because I plan to compete against you. I’ve got quite a competitive spirit and I hope to see you working hard too, that way I’ll be able to work harder so you shouldn’t get lazy.”

Sehun nodded, he didn’t need someone to tell him to work hard, he knew how to do that and he was pretty good at it too all it took was listening in class, taking notes, revising the notes and applying the extracted knowledge to exam questions. Sehun knew he would never have any trouble where studying was involved not because he was showing of but rather because he knew how to study. Sehun didn’t know why he worked so hard at studying, he just did it because he was supposed to but he wondered why Seo Kangjun was trying to work hard when Seo Kangjun clearly lacked nothing.

“Do you want to become President in the near future?” Sehun asked out of pure curiosity. However the question didn’t seem to appeal to Kangjun because he simply made a disgusted face. “The President job is a bit too much for me, I’d like to do something more humble and less over dramatic. My interest lie in the army, I’d like to protect my country in that way.”

Sehun was more than just a little flabbergasted, the army was no joke and set aside from military enlistment just getting into the army meant sitting a series of tests both mental and physical to sum things up, it was anything but easy to get into the army if someone wanted it as a career path. Behind his composed mask, Sehun was impressed by Seo Kangjun’s way of thinking and for the first time in a long time Sehun believed that he might actually get along with a person. Kangjun was both intellectual and had interests that the average high school students lacked. The high schoolers Sehun attended school with had no dreams or aspirations, they would most likely take over their parents businesses and if their parents were the government position holding types then their children would only squander money and run the farms/lands that their parents had bought so they could have something to do in the future. The future of the schools students was pitiful and sad.

Sehun inclined his head in ‘thanks’ as Kangjun placed a tray onto the table. The tray was set neatly, a little too neatly, two cups of instant coffee, both equally frothy and surprisingly palatable looking sat at one end of the tray while the other side was taken up by the sugar pot and an odd assortment of biscuits. Sehun resisted the urge to furrow his browns as Kangjun waiting for him to pick up a cup, which Sehun graciously did.

“I didn’t add any sugar because I wasn’t sure how you’d find it,” Kangjun explained reaching for the left over cup. Sehun felt perturbed by the being who now sat opposite him, there was something remarkable yet something strange about Kangjun’s character from his simplistic elegance to his vast knowledge of things that included how to arrange a tray better than the housekeepers, Sehun felt appalled, disgusted and yet intrigued.

“Is there anything you’re aspiring towards? I think the President’s job would suit you quite well Oh Sehun.” Sehun sighed and took a small sip from his cup, the coffee tasted strangely not too different from what he normally drank. Sehun felt cheated by the tastes of grounded coffee vs. its instant competitor. “There’s nothing really that catches my interest,” Sehun admitted truthfully. There was so much to study yet there was nothing Sehun wanted to focus on for the sake of a college degree.

“Oh really? I would have thought scientific research or research of some kind would be your forte,” here Kangjun grinned and his cold eyes almost seemed like an optical illusion, “I heard you’re a study-holic so I would assume.”

Sehun wasn’t too surprised to hear that, he was in fact a study-holic, studying provided the perfect excuse to blend out of group activity, class gossip and the like, “I don’t study for the fun of it, I just want to get out of school.”

Here Kangjun laughed once again, he was beginning to like Sehun’s honesty, “Everyone wants to get out of here because it’s such a strange place, studying has its own grounds but the system of anarchy is very dysfunctional. I’d like to change that, I really would but I don’t think anything will change. I’m in my final year, I can try to change it but people might not like what I try to reinforce. I’m like a king but I’m powerless…”

The bitterness in Kangjun’s voice was avid and it made Sehun think, “I don’t think so… You’re wrong there because the mongrels are afraid of you.”

“I think if it weren’t for my status I would be fed to the fishes.”

Sehun smirked and darkly muttered, “A lot of people want to feed us to the fish,” under his breath. He hadn’t intended for Kangjun to catch his words but the President’s son laughed in response, “Do you hold a grudge?”

Sehun didn’t respond to that question. He felt as if it were already obvious, his hostility towards the mongrels and their hostility to him were mutual. The real reason to Sehun’s sudden unfriendliness lay elsewhere, he’d realized it after he’d drunk half of his coffee, Seo Kangjun had been there with the mongrels when Sehun had become a sort of half-blood prince. It was laughable because the school was already full of royalty but they’d tried to make him one of them. Suddenly Sehun wasn’t sure if Kangjun was trying to recruit him again or if the President’s son was being genuine.

Kangjun crossed his legs, he sensed something was amiss when Sehun chose not to answer, Kangjun felt as if he’d struck Sehun’s wall and that striking again meant Sehun would never trust him. Kangjun didn’t need a fourth idiot in his battalion of a classroom, dealing with three was headache enough and he reckoned he’d have to stand in for them today and clean the mess they’d made because Oh Sehun would be expecting as much. “If the mongrels, as you call them, are bothering you, let me know. I can boss them around because I was fortunate enough to be born as the President’s son.”

“They’ve taken to bullying my sister,” Sehun replied quietly, “And they’re taking the camera tapes to watch their show. The footages are missing, I can only assume those mongrels are enjoying themselves. It’s barbaric and disgusting and it needs to stop! Why don’t you stop the bullying, you should be well able to do that?!”

Kangjun furrowed his brows, his eyes flashed a warning of danger at the mention of ‘bullying.’ “The person their picking on lately is Oh Seryung?” Kangjun smirked sarcastically when Sehun nodded grimly. Kangjun uncrossed his legs and leaned his elbows on his knees, his eyes still became chillingly devoid with his previously friendly nature, the only think left in them was rage like a fire let out of control. Kangjun shook his head in disbelief and calmly clenched his fists, ‘Oh Seryung is an outcast? That’s why you’re here? Ugh… Those guys just…! Don’t worry, I’ll stop them! It mightn’t happen straight away but it will stop because I will make it stop.’

Sehun narrowed his eyes as Kangjun clenched and unclenched his fists as he thought of something, ‘Why is he reacting like that? Does he like Seryung or something?’

As if on cue Kangjun’s head snapped back up and he leaned back into his seat, “You must think this is a mocking party instead of a simple greeting. You came here for your sister so you must think all of this is a mocking gesture. I’m sorry for my rudeness. It seems like the boys have gotten out of hand, I’ll have to stop them before they further lose their minds. I promise you that Oh Seryung will be safe from now on because I’ll be watching via camera, two can play it that game….

“However, places like the girls’ toilets don’t have cameras so I will need Seryung’s assistance, she just needs to tell me if people are bothering her and I will take it from there. We’re too old to be bullying, bullying is what kids do when they find that someone is different from them, kids are innocent and don’t mean harm, they can be taught. I just hope the big kids are like kids and will learn because otherwise, it will be hard for everyone.”

Sehun paused to soak in Kangjun’s words, they were sharp, almost knife-like and Sehun wondered if it would be safe to leave matters in the hands of the President’s son. This was the first time Sehun had spoken to Seo Kangjun and Sehun felt as if the image he’d been given of Kangjun had been wrong. Kangjun, Sehun felt was similar to him, born with different statuses yet their thoughts were alike, they could have been brothers.

Sehun smiled at the thought, he recounted the first time he’d been in the vicinity of the President’s son back in middle school as he left the glass room. Sehun recalled how he’d never been able to even glimpse the face of the President’s son because there had been so many bodyguards around. There had even been a rumored incident where someone had tried to assault Kangjun and his bodyguards had beaten the perpetrator to a pulp. The news had been glossed over and had never even made it to the papers because that was how much the President herself controlled. No one except the mongrels of the glass room knew Kangjun personally, the other students only lived of rumors and those rumors were setting themselves to be false.