Niel's POV

2010.04.01, Thursday

April Fools has been so dull these days. The fact that I was put in the smartest class in this school wasn't quite helping either. I know teachers separated me from my friends because we've been the loudest, the most mischievous group in our previous class, but seriously? put me in this grave?. I raised my head to scan my classroom, everyone was so focused on the black board in front. God, even graveyard is far merrier than this class. The teacher was explaining something about time and space... and gravity. this. I won't graduate to be a Physician. What's this lesson gonna bring me?

Maybe I should find a job like my two brothers did. My dad was a successful businessman before, but suddenly a recent crisis made his business fall quite rapidly. We didn't have much money, in fact the savings was almost run out. My older brother is working at the nearby assembling factory while my younger brother is working at a car reparation center. I should help them to get some money, plentiful and quick, being a Physician is definitely not an option here.

"Lee Byunghun!", Mr. Choi, our Physics teacher yelled at one of the student that quietly sleeping in the corner, exactly at the other end of my seat.
"What?!", Byunghun stood up from his chair rudely.
"Can you sleep outside?", Mr.Choi threw a chalk to him. I was lying my head on the table too, but Mr.Choi really hates Byunghun. We both are the lost boys here. Everyone knows Byunghun, he likes to challenge everyone. He actually was a year older than me. He had to repeat his grade since his scores were too bad. My year-mates weren't quite in good term with him, since he was the bad guy of his year, now that his friends were in the other building, he was all alone.

I tried to talk to him couple times, but he was such a snob that keep ignoring me. What's with that attitude, really. That's why he was always alone; every time his same year mates flocked together, he always excluded himself and smoked somewhere else. But he was a great fighter, no one wants to be in one on one fight with him. I saw his fights couple times. When everyone screamed and squealed when they got hurt, Byunghun smiled instead. He enjoyed it. It was scary.

Now back with Mr. Choi. I prayed hard that Byunghun wouldn't do something outrageous. I saw the look in other students' eyes, I guess they also thought the same. But Byunghun was no other student;
"What's your problem with me, sir?!", he smirked and looked to Mr.Choi with disgusted eyes.
"YOU! WATCH YOUR TONE, YOU BRAT!", Mr.Choi clenched his fist and walked to Byunghun's desk. Everyone was avoiding the scene and looking down. The loud bang suddenly heard as Mr.Choi slammed Byunghun's desk and yelled out; "YOU SHOULD BE EXPELLED SINCE YEARS AGO. THIS SCHOOL DOESN'T NEED A TRASH LIKE YOU!!". He pointed his stiff finger at Byunghun that still proudly raised his head to met his teacher in the eyes.
“Go ahead. Slap me in the face. It won’t hurt”, Byunghun sneered to Mr. Choi, made the atmosphere much more intense. Mr. Choi took a deep deep breath and finally took down his hand.
“Why? I thought you’re really mad at me?”, Byunghun chuckled.
“LEE BYUNGHUN! GO TO THE DETENTION ROOM NOW!”, Mr. Choi's anger echoed throughout the class. Byunghun still looked at him proudly and scoffed; “Weak”.
He took his time to examine Mr. Choi unspeakable reaction and walked out the class confidently.

Mr. Choi then wiped his forehead with a piece of handkerchief and cleared his throat.
"Okay, class", he started with trembled voice.
Everyone looked at him hesitantly. The awkward chattering started to appear; some went through the book for nothing as some others tried to copy everything on the black board.
"Do exercise at page 501. I want it finished before lunch break", he took a deep breath and finally walked out the class. He must be really taken aback, I never saw him that nervous before. Mr. Choi is known as the "killer teacher" in this whole school. It definitely needs someone like Byunghun to make him scared. Weirdly enough, no one was talking about the recent incident after Mr.Choi walked out the door. Daebak. This class is totally daebak. Everyone just did the exercise... no one even talked about it? God. I had enough. I stood up from my chair and the creaking sound enough to turned everyone's head. I didn't have time to think about what they think. Before I knew it, I was running toward the detention room, lurking through its door's window, watching Byunghun from outside. He was resting his head on the table. How carefree...

"Ahn Daniel!", a familiar voice shot through my ears.
I turned my head and hated what I see; "Mr... Mr. Choi...", I smiled awkwardly.
"What are you doing here?!", he said still with his menacing tone.
"I... um... I wanna go to the rest room...", I looked around in panic.
"The rest rooms are on the other side of corridor! you want to spend your day in detention room too?! huh?!", he kept yelling at me. I took a glance inside the room and Byunghun was looking at us for a moment and back to sleep.
"If that's alright with you", I chuckled.

So then, with my clean sheet of never having to spend any school hour in detention room, I was there. Being ignored by the almighty Byunghun again. Damn, what was I thinking, want him to at least pay attention to me?!. Of course he won't budge an inch. I watched his somehow peaceful sleeping face. He looked really innocent when he was sleeping.
"Yah. Lee Byunghun", I poked his cheek.
He rudely tossed my hand as expected.
"Tsk. What are you doing here?!", he yelled at me.
"Can you be more friendly? Heol. I don't understand you", I yelled back.
"Your voice is really annoying. My head hurts", he narrowed his eyes and lied his head back to the table.

I just stare at him. Seriously... he asked people to hate him. What did I do here. I thought he might finally realize that we're both outcast in that class, and outcasts are meant to stick together. But he really enjoyed being alone.
"I thought you were really cool saying that to Mr. Choi", I cleared my throat.
He just groaned in his seat, hiding his face with his arms. I noticed something wrong when I saw blood on his hand.
"Hey, are you alright?", I lift his shoulder to check his condition. He finally raised his head and held it tightly. Blood was flowing from his forehead.
"What happened? God...", I took his hand out of his head and saw a bloody bandage sticked behind his bangs.
"Get off!", he tossed my hand and mumbled; " this wound. It started to get annoying"

"Let me bring you some new bandages", I ran out to the door but it's locked.
"What the hell! Choi locked this room. Is that even allowed? he basically prisoned us here", I yelled in frustration. I looked back to Byunghun that still whimpered in pain.
"Hello! anyone out there??? We're locked here! Someone hurts heeere~!", I banged the door over and over.
"That's useless, ", Byunghun said.
"I'm trying to help you!", I yelled.
"I don't ing need your help!", he yelled back.
"But we're trapped here. How can I just ignore your bloody head?!"
"Just look to the other side!", he pointed his finger to the corner of the room angrily.

"Fine then! just bleed to death I don't care!", I kicked a table and sat far behind him.

He took a deep breath and lied on the table once again. We spent hours in silence. I chatted with my friends on the phone to keep myself entertained. I took a glance at him couple times, I didn't know why I do that... though he was really annoying, I was kinda worried too. I'm a human after all. Unlike him.

The clock struck at 12PM. The bell rang for lunch. I stood and inspected Byunghun once again. He didn't move at all. I poked his back neck nervously.
"Yah... it's lunch", I whispered. Still no reaction. I went panic and turned his body aside. He groaned and opened his eyes slowly. The blood already covered a half of his face. His lips has turned white.
"You're seriously not look good. When on earth Choi will get us out of here?!", I looked around to find something that maybe could help his bleeding.
"I'm fine", he mumbled.
"No way", I removed his hand that been holding his forehead religiously.
He had no energy left to avoid me. I looked to the bloody bandage and removed it slowly. I saw the blue -almost black, actually- wound that swollen almost as sized as Byunghun's forehead itself. The blood kept coming from its splitting center.
"You should've stitch this!", I said.

"What are you doing...", he deliriously replied.
I took off my uniform and took my undershirt, folded it into four and stuck it onto his wound.
"Here. Pressed this", I put his hand on the shirt and positioned his head to lied on its back, hoping that the bleeding would reduced that way. I inhaled deep as I called one of my friend to informed the school that Byunghun had some emergency. Minutes after finally Mr. Choi let us out and Byunghun was admitted to the hospital. Infirmary doctor didn't have the right equipment to stitch it.

I re-entered my class and dropped my body on my comfy corner. That was really a random detention. Where did he get his wound? he must be involved in an epic fight with someone to get a wound that severe. Then I remember his sleeping face, how an innocent angel like that wake up being a devil in an instant? It's rather cute though, how he insisted that he didn't need help. I didn't know why smile arose on my lips. In the next day I found a new freshly folded undershirt on my desk, with a simple "thank you" written on a ripped notebook paper above it. I looked at Byunghun that weirdly arrived so early that day. There was a bandage circled around his head. He didn't look particularly happy about it.

He tried his hard to pretend that he didn't notice me. I chuckled to myself and shouted at the empty space "You're welcome~!".
And I saw that little smile lurking behind Byunghun's tough face. I wanna see a lot more of that smile. Next time little bit more apparent for sure.

2010.05.12, Wednesday

A month past. Dozens of detention room sessions we've been through together.
Finally I could get closer to Byunghun. First, because we're seriously have no choice, and second, I can't accept rejection. With little patience-and persistence, actually... I could at least make him replied my words. It was a real hard work, I don't know why he always insist in being alone. Every time I asked him out to have a lunch he never wanted to. When I saw him in the street while I was with my friends, I was being nice and asked him whether he wanted to go to the convenient store, he said he didn't want to. But minutes after, I spotted him walk there. He wanted to go to the convenient store but he really didn't want to go there with me. Am I really such a nuisance? Am I that annoying?!. Heol. He really got my nerve sometimes.

"Chicken, you want to spend your lunch smoking in the parking lot again?!", I poked his shoulder. I called him Chicken since I didn't know what should I call him. Byunghun? Byunghunnie? he's actually a hyung, but we're on the same grade. He wasn't nice too, so Chicken is the most convenient name for this time being. He looked like one anyway. My friends laughed about it when I told them, because they also thought the same. No one dared to call him that though, unless they wanted their faces black and blue.

He just stared at me with that typical annoyed face. At first he punched me and kicked me over that nickname but I guessed he was tired already.
"Chicken-ah.... it's not healthy to stay indoor for such a long time", I poked him again.
"Can you just ing leave me alone?!", he yelled.
I chuckled and snapped my finger. I took one small notebook from my pocket and scratched one set of lines; "It's the 15th times you've said the exact same thing to me!", I cheered joyously. He sighed and tapped his foot on the innocent floor.
"Yah... it's rather cool~", I looked at him anxiously.
"Tsk... seriously...", he stood up furiously and dragged me outside the class and took me to the parking lot.

"Cig?!", he offered me and I just took one with dazed look.
"Where's your friend? why don't you have lunch with your friends?", he asked me while lighted up his cig.
"My friends are there... I just want to have lunch with you, why are you soooo uptight?", I chuckled.
"I'm not~!", he exclaimed.
"You are~! see, you just are", I inspected him. He still put that cold face to me.
"Tsk... what's up with you, acted cool, challenge everyone, put everyone away... isn't it boring being alone?", I continued.
"It's none of your business", he scoffed and looked at me furiously.

I couldn't help but giggle; he tried hard to meet my eyes since he was short. And look at that face, he definitely look like chicken, you know when chicken realize that there's danger they will raise their heads and look around with those crazy eyes.
"Hmph... hmphuahahaha", I bursted into laugh.
"Yah! what are you laughing at?!"
"You definitely looked like a chicken", I giggled.
Within a second he threw a kick to my shin bone and it was really painful.
"Argh! what are you doing! it hurts like hell!!", I held my leg and leaned myself on the fence.
"You deserve that, son of a ", he spat to the ground.
"I'm just joking, alriiiight~!", I yelled in frustration.

He just looked at me unsurely.
"Tsk. Chicken~!", I again, curious about his reaction.
"I have name you know...", he whispered quietly and threw his cig.
Black clouds suddenly circled our sunny parking lot. He looked down and stepped on his cig, chewed it into the ground with his little leg. I thought he was gonna throw another kick to me or punched me or skinned me, I don't know... Other than this sulky manner that put me in weird guilt turbulence for sure...
"Niel~!", he raised his head and looked at me in the eyes.
"Call me Byunghun-hyung~! is that difficult for you?!", he said still with arrogant manner.

I giggled and stepped closer to him. I didn't know why but I put my hand over his head and petted him. He was indeed short.
"Don't!", he tossed my hand and stepped back like a scared kitten. I was quite surprised. He usually put an angry face, but this time, he was really frightened.
"Byunghun-hyung...", I whispered his name.
"Wh-what are you doing... I thought you're gonna pull my hair", he smiled awkwardly at me.
"No... yah, why would I do that?", I leaned back to the fence and my cig to ease the tension.
"Yeah, I just... You don't do that to your hyung, though!", he exclaimed.
"Why can't I?", I stepped closer to him and pet his head once again. "Shortie~!", I called him and before he kicked my , I ran away as fast as I could. Not as fast though, maybe I slowed down a bit, maybe I wanted him to catch me, and before I knew it, I had someone jumped into my back, strangled my neck with his tiny arm, demanded an apology.

"Say it~! say sorry!!", the Chicken-hyung yelled before my ear.
"H-how c-could I say s-sorry i-if you strang-led meeee~"
He giggled and loosened his grip.
"Say it", he pulled my ears.
"Okay okay! sorry!", I exclaimed as I put him back to the ground.

"You're heavy! aish", I massaged my back and looked at him.
"Weak~!", he exclaimed and kicked some dirt to me. I observed him that now pouting at me. Heh, I just wanted to bully him, hard. Look at that, didn't he realize that his annoyed face made me want to even more?
"Tsk~! you little evil chicken. Let's eat", I rounded my arm on his shoulder and he nodded passionately. Finally for the first time we'd have a lunch together.

2010.10.04, Monday

"Hyung, let's go", I poked Byunghun-hyung that still lied his head on the desk.
"Nng... you go", he opened his eyes slowly and back to sleep.
He was the kind of person that get affected by weather. In this autumn season, of course he would be really really gloomy. Like, seriously gloomy. Even that one time when Mr. Choi called him to the detention room again, he just went out the classroom quietly.
"I have no friend this tiiiime~", I whined and moved a chair near to him.
"Where are your friends?", he turned his head to me and asked weakly.

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