Ten minutes later, Hyuk sat in the back of his homeroom class, staring distractedly at his hands. Xia sat directly infront of him and Max sat at the opposite corner from him. He sighed, biting his lip. Suddenly, someone tapped lightly on his shoulder. He turned quickly to his right, and the boy who sat beside him handed him a small slip of paper before pointing to Max, who was watching them intently. Hyuk glanced at the paper. His name was written on it, and he unfolded it quickly and read it.

Are you alright? You look a little upset. Did something happen?

     Hyuk looked over at Max again, and his new friend was still watching him. Noticing Hyuk's gaze, Max tilted his head to one side, gesturing to the note. Hyuk folded the note again and slipped it into his bag, tearing a piece of paper out of his own notebook to write a quick reply.

I'm fine. I'm just a little distracted, I guess. I was just thinking of something that Jae said to me.

     Hyuk folded the note and wrote 'Max' across the front, handing it to the boy who sat next to him and gesturing towards Max. The boy nodded and passed the note to his right. He turned back to Hyuk then, his head tilted to one side.

     "Are you alright? I would have thought that a new kid would at least pay some attention on his first day, and you don't look much like a dunce." Noticing Hyuk's worried glance towards the front, he added, "Don't worry. He won't care as long as we're quiet."

     Hyuk nodded. "I'm fine, I guess. It's just- Oh, I don't know really. I was just thinking about something a... friend of mine said to me earlier."

     The boy nodded, then frowned. "You're friends with Max?" he asked. Hyuk looked at him quizically.

     "Yeah, I am. Why? Is that a bad thing?"

     The boy shook his head. "I guess not. Most people try to avoid him. Him and his friends have... reputations."

     "We're not the only ones with 'reputations,' Kyung, so you might want to tread lightly with what you say unless you want to come across as a hypocrite." That was Xia, twisting around in his seat to look at them, scowling at the boy who sat next to Hyuk. The boy glared back at him, and Hyuk shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Reputations? What in hell where they talking about? And what had happened between them that made them so... hostile towards each other? Both of them noticed his shift in position and turned their attention to him.

     "Sorry, Hyukkie," Xia said quietly. "I'll explain it to you later." He offered him a smile before turning back towards the front of the classroom. Kyung said nothing for several long moments before speaking again.

     "I'm sorry you had to hear that," he said softly. "Anyway, they're not... bad guys. They're just kinda... closed off? They don't let many people get close to them; they generally stick to themselves. No one really knows much about them except that they tend to be