Chapter 15

School wasn’t as tense as you thought. A lot of the students were calmer and even cheerier than you thought they’d be, albeit there were still a few that you noticed looking a bit more apprehensive and jumpy, probably shaken after seeing the added security around town. All in all, nothing much has changed.

Well, except for two particular fellows that you know.

“Oh my God,” you widened your eyes when you saw Jongin and Sehun walking in, looking like they just got into a fight. The classroom became obviously quiet, everybody inside staring at the two as they moved to their seats. You couldn’t help but to stare too.

Did those two get into a fight?

A few students immediately went to Jongin, asking him multiple questions about the cuts and bruises on his face. Jongin seemed pretty cool about it, still offering a smile and shook his head as he told the others to not worry. Sehun, on the other hand, looked just as normal as he would on a regular day—except without the very apparent wounds on his face. The blond threw his bag in his seat and sat down promptly, his face turning sour from how noisy it became.

“Jongin! What happened to you?”

“Are you okay?”

“Sehun, what happened to your face?”

Sehun visibly contorted his face in discomfort after hearing more and more people holler towards their direction, the blond not even bothering to hide how annoyed he looked. Meanwhile, Jongin was already cracking a comforting and rather bright smile to everyone, already busy trying to calm them down before he could even take a seat.

“Seriously, guys. I’m alright!” Jongin laughed as the group of students surrounding him continue to show their worries. “We just got into a little accident, that’s all. Isn’t that right, Sehun?”

Heaving a sigh, Sehun turned his eyes to the small crowd. He stared at their cautious, yet expectant eyes, staring back at him with vigilance. “If I say yes, would you leave us alone?” he muttered.

A few of them narrowed their eyes at him. “Um… that wasn’t funny,” one of them mentioned flatly.

“I wasn’t trying to be funny.” the blond replied, visibly unfazed by her tone.

“Yeah, sure.” she snorted before turning back to Jongin, earning low chuckles from the others.

You couldn’t help but to scowl after hearing them. It was obvious that they weren’t taking him seriously, going as far as subtly mocking him. You took notice on how the people who used to fear him due to his cold disposition start to stare at him with resentment.

It was a disturbing sight.

You could also notice a few dirty looks being tossed to the ones who mocked him, and soon enough the tension was rising. Jongin visibly tried to distract them by striking up a conversation, but it wasn’t really helping. The other students who didn’t seem to share the same sense of humor jokingly tried to lighten the atmosphere, giving their kind attention to the blond as well, which Sehun lightly responded to.

“For the last time, we’re fine.” Sehun sighed.

A few of the students chatting with Jongin stopped when they heard him, narrowing their eyes at him in distaste, especially Kang Hye Ra who was standing closest to Jongin. “Hey, did you do this?” she asked in an accusing tone.

Hearing the absurdity behind the question, Sehun scoffed in disbelief, “What?” he turned to her, holding back a laugh.

“It’s disgusting how you act all stupid when you know what you did,” she spat, earning surprised looks from a few of the students, including Jongin himself.

“What are you doing?” Jongin frowned, his voice serious as he pulled the girl back.

“What was that supposed to mean?” one of the girls in class asked her with an obvious frown on her face.

“What do you mean?” the girl who spoke to Sehun asked her back with a lifted brow, arms crossed.

“Don’t act like you didn’t just clown,” the latter scoffed.

“Excuse me?” the girl lifted a brow.

“You just tried to blame the bruises he has on Sehun!”

“Isn’t it obvious that he’s the one behind them?”

Oh my God, they’re going to fight.

As the tension escalated, you couldn’t help but to look around the classroom in anxiety. Seung Joon wasn’t anywhere in sight, and the class was barely full since it was still early in the morning. You turned your attention back to them when you heard someone slam the table.

“What did you just say?” another girl popped up behind Sehun, seemingly standing in the blond’s defense. “You can’t just talk to him like that,”

Sehun turned his head back to shake his head at them, “Don’t.” he told them in a low voice, not wanting them to get involved.

“God, I can’t believe my ears,” the first girl chuckled before shifting her face into something of menace, “I can’t believe you’re defending this guy,”

“Hye Ra, stop,” Jongin finally stood up from his seat, pulling on her wrist once again with more force. “I’m serious.”

However, the girl quickly pulled her hand out of his hold, showing him an upset look instead of a guilty one. “And you,” she turned to look at Jongin, “Why are you still friends with this douchebag?”

“Kang Hye Ra!” Jongin scowled at her, his voice clearly showing how upset he was.

Right around the same time, your patience thinned out. Her tone could be described with one word—venomous. Your ears became hot as you heard more and more from the fight, so much so that you stood up abruptly from your seat, glaring at the girl as your temper started b over its limit.

“Hey,” you hollered sharply. Everybody turned their eyes to you, and for the first time, you weren’t afraid of it. “Do you know who’s more disgusting than someone who tries to act stupid? The idiot who thinks she’s smarter than everyone else.”

The class widened their eyes upon hearing your daring words.

Hye Ra paused for a moment before scoffing, “Say that again? I’d like to hear it up close. Why don’t you come here and say it in front of my face?” she dared you.

You didn’t know what came over you, but all the adrenaline in your body just kept pushing you to take her challenge. You moved away from your seat and pushed it hard against your desk before strutting towards her.

However, Sehun blocked you before you could even reach her. With speed, the blond removed himself from his seat as soon as he saw you approaching them and stood in the middle of your path. “Don’t be stupid,” he spoke in a quiet voice.

“That’s exactly what I’m doing,” you replied with confidence, yet still keeping your voice low enough for him to hear.