***

The boy flinched when he felt another small object hit him in the back of his head. Trying his best to ignore it, he refused to turn around and react, knowing that would only worsen things. He focused on the teacher's lesson with patience and concentration, closing his eyes tiredly when he felt another thing hitting his head. Snickering sounded from behind him, but he only pursed his heart-shaped lips and continued jotting down notes. 

D.O. held on to the corner of his desk while he used his other hand to write, the grip around his pencil and the desk tightening when another ball of paper was slung his way. The teachers never noticed, of course. They only questioned him after class sometimes, wondering why the area around his desk was so messy. He never told them the real reason, cleaning up afterwards instead. 

Was he angry? Of course. Was he tired of putting up with all this crap? Naturally. Did he often caught himself fantasizing how he would use his strength and powers to torment the living daylights out of his bullies? Oh yes. Hell yes.

But did he give in to those urges? 

Never. 

D.O. had always been quiet and reserved. He was shy and didn't speak a lot. He preferred the silence and being left alone to his thoughts. That was probably how it all started, why the bullies picked on him over anyone else. Naturally, he didn't have a lot of friends growing up. He was miserable and suffered in silence, making his parents believe that everything was alright and that he was having the time of his life, while in truth, there were moments that he just wanted to disappear. Especially when he found out what he could do. If he let his emotions speak for him, his anger in particular, it took one stomp of his foot to make the earth crack underneath him and split in two. One punch to obliterate and fell trees. When he was alone during his first full moon, the people of Hanwol experienced an earthquake like no other, finding the next day that the town itself was relatively spared, but a large part of the woods had been destroyed. And utterly so.

It was Kai that had found him and brought him to meet more people like him. There were only seven of them at the time, he became the eighth. Even though D.O. wasn't sure what was going on, he was happy and grateful to his brothers for taking him in. For the first time, he felt like he belonged. He had friends, who accepted him for who he was. Not that it stopped the bullies, or anything, but now he had a family to fall back on. Not to mention that he learned to control himself, especially when he realized the size of his outburst and how it had affected the people of his home. He never wanted to feel like that again, overwhelmed by blinding rage. His brothers kept him calm and it became easier for him. 

But the struggle was still real. Very real. 

He took a deep breath when the tiny eraser hit him against the tip of the ear, counting to ten in his mind. Full moon was coming, which meant that his usual self-control was waning. His brothers knew to keep their distance during this time of the month, but that wasn't common knowledge to anyone. It took very little to agitate him during this sensitive time. His patience wore thin. 

When yet another crumpled ball of paper hit the back of the head, D.O. had had enough. Before he knew what he was doing, he got up from his desk and spun around to meet his bullies' gaze. 

"STOP IT, ALREADY!" he nearly growled, his chest heaving since he kept the real anger pent up inside of him. He didn't take his eyes off his tormenters, who seemed rather startled at the outburst. Except, it was then that D.O. realized, to his horror, that he had interrupted the lesson and that all eyes were on him. 

Freezing up to the unwanted attention, he slunk back, resisting the urge to pounce his bullies when they had started snickering at him again. 

"I hope you have an explanation for this outburst, Kyungsoo?!" his teacher scolded, in disbelief that one of his best and well-behaved students would act this way. 

"I- they...!" D.O. sighed. "I'm sorry, seonsaeng-nim. It won't happen again," he bowed to apologize to Mr. Tabi under the tormenting giggles of his classmates. He quietly took his seat again, wishing he could become invisible. Now that was a power he wouldn't mind having. 

"Make sure it won't," said his teacher, eyeing D.O. a moment without the boy returning the gaze. The teacher quirked up his eyebrow at the mess that surrounded the teen's desk and his eyes quickly shot to the back of the class. He shook his head in disapproval upon seeing the boys suppressing their laughter. 

"Kenn, Jean and Kwang, I want the three of you to clean up the class when we're done here," Mr. Tabi instructed, to which D.O.'s eyes shot up to his teacher, slightly startled. How did he know? 

Mr. Tabi, a young teacher, pretended not to have noticed D.O.'s reaction and kept a firm gaze on the three boys in the back. 

"What? But, seonsaeng-nim, we didn't do anything! It's not our fault that Dungsoo can't keep his desk clean," Kenn's hoarse voice sounded. D.O. winced at the nickname, slumping in his seat. 

"Are you arguing with me, Kenn?" Mr. Tabi provoked, taking off his glasses for good measure. D.O. frowned slightly when he heard the girls in the class sigh dreamily when the young teacher did so. Mr. Tabi taught Biology and was, admittedly, one of the more attractive teachers that worked at the school. D.O. had liked the man since the beginning, but he had always been amongst the teachers that never noticed a thing. However, now that D.O. thought about it, Mr. Tabi was the sole teacher that had always taken note of him. 

"Because if you are, I'm sure the detention class hasn't been filled up for today, my friend, so say the word and I'll send you to see Mrs. Tan," Mr. Tabi continued. 

"We'll clean the class, sir," Kenn grumbled. 

Mr. Tabi nodded. "Good. As for you, Kyungsoo, I want to see you after class," he said in a gentler tone which was no less authoritative. 

"Yes, seonsaeng-nim," D.O. answered and looked at his notebook. He pretended that the rest of the world didn't exist at this point, pretended that he didn't feel the heated glares boring into the back of his skull. When he returned to wanting to make notes, he saw, to his own shock that the pencil he'd been holding all this time had snapped. Upon looking at his desk, D.O.'s eyes widened further, seeing the crack in the hard wood. He covered it with his book, hoping that no one would notice. He rubbed his eyes and wished for the moon to come soon. He needed to blow off steam. 

The bell rang, signaling the end of the class. D.O. moved slow, quickly gathering his things and moving out of the way when Kenn, Jean and Kwang had come up to clean the mess they had created. He was too late to move when Kenn shoved him against the shoulder. "See you after school," he muttered threateningly under his breath. 

"Kyungsoo, a word outside, please. Kenn, why don't you shine up my desk while you're at it?" Mr. Tabi interposed, smirking at the burly teen. 

"Yes, sir," he grunted. 

"Good man! Kyungsoo, this way," Mr. Tabi lead D.O. to the busy hallway, quickly crossing over to the window where they could speak more privately. D.O. nervously adjusted the strap of his messenger bag. 

"Alright," Mr. Tabi started, "what's up, kid? Shouting in the middle of my most intriguing lecture about fungi without explanation? That's not like you." 

D.O. swallowed and shrugged, looking at the ground. 

"Listen, Kyungsoo, you're a quiet, smart kid. You get above average grades and make a good shot at getting into a decent college. I know you have friends, but you can't depend on them to solve the conflicts you have. I had rather hoped that you would speak up one day yourself to deal with those guys," he gestured into the classroom, "but you always keep quiet. Why is that? You've a voice, don't you?" Mr. Tabi asked, and D.O. shuffled with his feet. He knew Mr. Tabi meant well, but there was no way his teacher would understand. 

He was silent too long and his teacher placed a hand on his shoulder. "I don't mean to pressure you or anything, but you've got so much potential in you and it's like you're holding back. It's alright to stand up for yourself and just be there, you know? Plant your feet on the ground and show the world that you're here," he encouraged, but D.O. only gave a weary smile. 

"You know what? The word around the school is that there's a new kid starting classes today. This student is new to everything; the island, the town, and the school," Mr. Tabi started explaining. 

"Oh, well maybe Kenn and the others can bully the new kid instead," D.O. quipped without expression, making his teacher laugh. 

"I knew there was a secret optimist hiding inside of you," he pointed. "However, the teachers have been discussing that it may be nice for the new kid to be shown the ropes by another student of the school," he continued and D.O. started feeling warm. 

Oh no, please, no... D.O. wiped the sweat from his brow. 

"And I suggested that perhaps you would be a good candidate for it. You know the school, you attend a number of extracurricular clubs and activities, and yeah, I mean, maybe you're more of a silent, humble presence than a noticeable one, but I thought you were well-suited for the job. Perhaps it would be nice to meet someone new, make new friends," Mr. Tabi suggested, but D.O. felt like running away. 

"I have friends..." he stammered quietly, big eyes looking up to the biology teacher. 

"True, I know them as well," his teacher chuckled. "However, that may be another good reason to try this out. Take the reigns on this one instead of depending on others to do so. Lead, kid," he smiled goodnaturedly. 

Internally screaming, D.O. balled his fists and kept them stiffly by the sides of his body. "Well, if you know who I hang out with, why not ask one of them to do it, sir?" he tried. 

"Because I don't want to overwhelm the new kid. Can you imagine if I sent Jongdae or Tao? I send Luhan and it may scare the kid off, all the girls trailing after them," he joked, shaking his head. 

"What about Xiumin? Or, Suho?" D.O. suggested instead. He did not want to be a guide to the new kid. He could already see Kenn and his goons endlessly tormenting him over it for sure. 

"I want you to do it, Kyungsoo," Mr. Tabi stressed. "You can do this, I believe you can. Like I said, you've potential, but I want you to work on your self-esteem. Who knows, you may get a new friend out of this," the biology teacher patted him encouragingly on the shoulder. "There's some extra credit in it for you, and you get to be excused from a few classes to give the kid a grand tour- you know, to sweeten the deal," Mr. Tabi winked. 

Upon realizing that there was no getting out of the job, D.O. finally, - reluctantly -, agreed. 

"Good man! Here, the list states the places you can show the new kid, but just talk about your experiences. The student will be waiting for you at the main hall in front of the clock at lunch time. The cafeteria would be a nice place to start the tour, right?" Mr. Tabi said enthusiastically.

"Yes, sir," D.O. stared rather miserably at the list.

"Hey, I'm proud of you. Thank you for trying this," his biology teacher said sincerely to which D.O. managed the tiniest smile. "I'll see you around. Let me know how it went, okay?"

"Yes, sir," he replied again, watching his teacher leave while he was still holding onto his list. Giving it a deadpan stare, D.O. slowly made his way to his next class. At least Kenn and the others wouldn't be there, but he was still bummed for having to play tour guide for the newbie. Lunch time was about the only thing he looked forward to on Mondays since that was the only time he could hang out with his brothers. He had a few classes with some of them (since he took some advanced classes as well), but he was on his own on Mondays.

No, not on my own. D.O. read the name of the new student and frowned. "Miyano Jae?" he read out loud. Jae. Was that a girl's name or a guy's name? 

Great. How was he going to know who the new kid was? Mr. Tabi must've purposely done this on short notice so that D.O. had no alternative but to accept. Perhaps the biology teacher knew more about him than he initially thought, but he didn't necessarily appreciate it. He hoped he would meet one of his brothers before lunch, to tell them that he won't be joining them. He knew that he didn't stand out much, but he took comfort in knowing that his brothers would miss him. 

He stopped in his tracks and grabbed his cell phone instead. He tapped the group icon he shared with his brothers and started typing.

Guess who got stuck playing tour guide for the newbie? Can't make it to lunch. I'll see you after school. - D.O. 

He quickly put the cell phone away without waiting for a reply and dragged himself to English class. He was not looking forward to lunch time...