Jihoon- Woozi

Seungcheol- S. Coups

Hansol-Vernon

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Rain fell heavily all throughout Saturday night and Sunday morning. Jihoon continued to borrow Seungkwan’s pumpkin-decorated sweater as he was forced to walk from the dorm houses to the refectory. Although he said he would help with cleaning duty in the Main Hall, he bailed on Seungkwan last minute and slept in- much to his roommate’s dismay.

It was now nearing dinner time and Jihoon threw on Seungkwan’s sweater again. He’d made trips from the refectory to bring back food and snacks for his poor roommate. Although, every time he visited the Main Hall, he could always see Seungkwan sitting on the shiny floors only to point at spots where he claimed that Mingyu hadn’t mopped yet. Jihoon seriously doubted that Seungkwan was even cleaning, but bringing back food for him seemed like a better choice than being forced to clean.

The sweater (although extravagant) proved, yet again, that it was a good protector from the cold evening air as he took the long trip down to the dining hall. He pulled the garment’s sleeves over his hands and braved the frosted air, the refectory glowed dimly in the distance. Student’s chattered loudly once he entered and he looked around briefly before he headed to the line to pack up a bit of food for both him and his roommate. Jihoon made sure he picked up extra food for Seungkwan as he didn’t want to get an earful about bailing on him as he was warned of earlier. “Bring me extra or you’ll never hear the end of it!” He called out loudly until Jihoon reached the Main Hall doors.

He shook his head at the memory and scooped up a huge pile of rice into a bowl. He moved forward and soon enough, left the refectory with the feeling of multiple pairs of prying eyes that glowered at the back of his skull. He had a feeling that he knew who they were but he quickly left before he could be confronted. Jihoon wasn’t oblivious. He knew that there were people who hated him and he had accepted that fact already.

Jihoon shielded the food with his body and half-jogged, half-walked to the Main Hall building, he turned around frequently just to make sure that nobody had followed him. Ever since that encounter with Haneul yesterday, he’d become slightly paranoid- but only slightly. He frowned at the memory and at what Haneul had told him. After he slapped the guy, he couldn’t get his expression out of his face- after all, Jihoon had never once hit anybody in his life. Nobody.

A figure in the distance pulled him from his thoughts and he smiled at the worn-out looking Seungkwan who waved his arms on the stone steps of the Main Hall building. Jihoon jogged to him and held out Seungkwan’s food, along with the extra portion that he packed away. Seungkwan heaved a sigh of relief and threw a thankful glance toward Jihoon. He brought the food into the Main Hall building, but before he could get two steps in Seungcheol came walking through with a broom in his hand and a baby blue bandana tied around his neck. He pointed his finger at Seungkwan.

“No food.” Was all he said but it was enough to get Seungkwan to walk right back out. Jihoon followed dutifully. “Wait, Jihoon.” He spoke in the same tone that had Seungkwan shaking and Jihoon felt like he was about to get scolded by a teacher. He sighed and turned around as Seungcheol walked up to him.

“We should practice a few more times before tomorrow.” Seungcheol advised and removed his bandana from his neck as he wiped off the few drips of sweat that gathered near his collarbones. Jihoon watched his movements and nodded quietly, his eyes reluctantly followed the trail of wet marks that the bandana left behind. He blinked a few times to get the image out of his head. Jihoon still felt oddly airy when he was around Coups- or Seungcheol, as he now got used to calling him. “We don’t have to practice more but I don’t think we’re ready to present tomorrow.” He continued and Jihoon noticed that his eyes were watching someone in the distance. Jihoon looked over and noticed that he was staring at Jeonghan who stretched upward to hang some decorations on the wall, his shirt rose up just slightly and his brand-name boxers came into view. Jihoon nearly scoffed before he looked away. ert.

“Yeah, okay.” Jihoon conceded and crossed his arms. “When do you want to practice?” Jihoon inquired, glad that he finally found his voice within his millions and millions of thoughts.

“I’ll drop by later if you don’t mind.” Seungcheol tied his bandana around his neck once again, Jihoon made a face at all the sweat he had mopped up previously. “After I’m done here.” His voice was a bit muffled but Jihoon could understand him just clearly. He nodded at Seungcheol before he walked over to the Main Hall doors to leave.

“Just make sure you drop by while I’m still awake.” Jihoon called over his shoulder and left.

He walked with Seungkwan back to the dorms. His roommate recounted his day to Jihoon and told him all about his “fun” day cleaning- although always sarcastically. He hummed at his enthusiastic story about Mingyu’s mediocre mopping skills and even about how Wonwoo was terrible at dusting-which made no sense at all.

Once they reached the dorm rooms they were abruptly interrupted by Jungkook who held a huge black matte box in his hand, he jutted the package towards Jihoon who hesitantly took the heavy thing into his arms. Seungkwan tilted his head as he chewed the rice from his bowl and checked the tag on the box. “It says ‘Lee Jihoon.’” Seungkwan mused and then shrugged before he lead the way up the stairs and to the second floor. Jihoon thanked Jungkook and followed Seungkwan, he glanced back a couple times at Jungkook who looked just as confused about the package as Jihoon and Seungkwan were.

When they finally reached their room, Jihoon set down the package on his bed and opted to eat the rest of his dinner with Seungkwan first before he dug into the mysterious box. Seungkwan bounced up and down excitedly as he guessed what the contents of the box could be. His guesses were “parts to assemble a rocket ship,” and “keys to a new car like on those shows,” or even “a one-way ticket out of this hell hole.”

Jihoon doubted it was any of those but even he was curious as to what it could be. He finished his food quickly and then made his way over to the fancy looking box. Seungkwan glanced over curiously, Jihoon ran his hands over the black box, his heart beating faster the longer he stalled. He took a deep breath and opened the mysterious box.

A...uniform?

“It’s a uniform.” Jihoon laughed and set aside the top of the box. Seungkwan stood up from the bed quickly and looked over Jihoon’s shoulder at the complicated ensemble. “Ah, that’s right. It’s been a week.” He bit his lip as his hands hesitantly reached out to touch the deep blue and dark red of his uniform. He’d seen some kids wearing the same kind of style around the campus but he’d never thought he’d be wearing one of them any time soon. Jihoon heard Seungkwan’s impressed whistle from over his shoulder but he ignored it. Instead, he reached into the box and pulled out a small inner box that held 4 blue ties, all different styles and shades of blue- they ranged from a standard tie to a thin strip of sewn-ribbon. Jihoon put those aside and reached in the box to pull out different set of uniforms, all interchangeable. Seungkwan restrained from reaching in the box himself, and instead played with the ties that Jihoon had already brought out. There were 2 cashmere sweaters wrapped in paper and a sweater vest that was equally as nice. Aside from those were 2 thick uniform jackets, crisp white long sleeve shirts, and fitted uniform pants. A combination of light greys, midnight blues, and blood reds. Jihoon sighed and then covered the box up again, Seungkwan made a small noise of disappointment.

“Looks like I’m officially a student here.” Jihoon slid the black box beneath his bed and it was forgotten about for the time being. Seungkwan nodded and headed to his drawers to pull out a new set of pajamas. He took off his shirt and turned away.

“And you don’t like that.” Seungkwan stated. Jihoon made sure that his roommate had looked away before he nodded his head. He sat down on his bed, the sheets felt cold beneath him.

Honestly, Jihoon didn’t know what to think. It seemed official now, like he couldn’t back out even if he wanted to. He didn’t know how a uniform could make things so complicated but it did and now his fate for the rest of the year sat just below his bed. Seungkwan finished changing and he turned back to Jihoon. His observant roommate noticed him trace the raised scar on his arm so he stretched his arms above his head and twirled in a silly circle to relieve the tension in the room. “Ah, stop being like that. It’s okay.” Seungkwan flopped over on his bed and rolled around. Jihoon smiled lightly and nodded. “Tomorrow will be better.”

It only took a few minutes for Seungkwan to be out like a light. A full stomach and a hard day’s work could do that to a person. Jihoon decided to practice his part in “Officially Missing You” as much as possible before his partner would come and interrupt. If Seungcheol couldn’t be ready to present tomorrow, then at least Jihoon would be.

. . .

2:38 AM

Seungcheol finished closing up the Main Hall, he had packed away all of the cleaning supplies and the only person who waited on him was Jeonghan. They began to quietly walk back to the dorms but before Seungcheol could even get halfway to the buildings, Jeonghan had begun to pull him in the opposite direction.

“What are you doing?” he questioned but Jeonghan only smiled and tilted his head, his grip on Seungcheol’s wrist loosened.

Jeonghan didn’t answer at first but he did begin to walk towards the direction of Seventeen’s practice room. Seungcheol had no choice but to follow him. “Let’s hang out for a little bit.” He turned to look at Seungcheol, his hair flowed around his face beautifully. Seungcheol shook his head reluctantly at the proposal although he knew he couldn’t reject Jeonghan.

“I have to practice with Jihoon for our project tomorrow. Besides, you should be asleep.” Seungcheol stopped walking altogether just as Jeonghan’s expression darkened.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t be able to sleep very well tonight.” Jeonghan looked toward the sky and swept his hair to the side and over his shoulder. His lips formed into the perfect pout, Seungcheol’s resolve fell away at that exact moment. “I’ve been having trouble sleeping. I just want to hang out with you for a little. And talk.” Jeonghan began to walk away from him, he turned to look over his shoulder, albeit briefly. “I’ll be at the practice rooms if you want to come, but you don’t have to.”

Seungcheol eagerly followed him.

. . .

The clock read 4 AM and it seemed like Seungcheol wasn’t going to show. Jihoon laid down his guitar and dressed for bed. He knew that Seungcheol probably wouldn’t drop by like he said he would but Jihoon couldn’t help but feel slightly ignored. It’s not that he was after Seungcheol’s attention or anything, but it seemed like when they were alone together, he’d let that cold mask of his drop if only for a little while. Jihoon felt like he was with Coups when he did that, like Seungcheol never existed.

Jihoon climbed into his bed and turned off the lights. He checked his phone and was surprised to see messages from S.COUPS himself. He opened the app and braced himself for the painful messages that would come but what he had seen was worse than any “Have good dreams.” It was of Seungcheol gushing about his current love, Jeonghan. About how they had just talked and were both “certain of their feelings for one another,” about how “It all happened so fast.” Coups told him about how he was now dating him. “Boyfriend.” Was the word he had used. Jihoon clutched his phone.

So that’s what he had been doing? Jihoon knew that Coups would be able to tell that he had read the messages so he only replied back with a “Congratulations, I’m happy for you.” Jihoon may have held a grudge against him but he wasn’t a ty person. He wasn’t going to ruin Seungcheol’s night, not when Seungcheol still wasn’t sure of himself. Jihoon didn’t want to make him feel like what he had done was wrong. On top of all that, Jihoon knew how much Seungcheol liked Jeonghan. He knew about his feelings.

Jihoon didn’t wait for a reply. He just hoped that Seungcheol was more ready for tomorrow than he thought that he was and Jihoon drifted off into a troubled sleep.

. . .

Jihoon tugged at his uncomfortable uniform and walked into his most dreaded class of the day. He practiced in the garden that morning, and even at lunch time, but Seungcheol was nowhere to be found. He heard from Seungkwan that Seungcheol was going around asking for him but they hadn’t met up the whole day. Just knowing that fact made him nervous, so when he seen a relaxed Seungcheol sitting next to his own seat, he rubbed his eyes and made his way over. Seungcheol looked up at him briefly before he sat down. Jihoon didn’t acknowledge him, he was still pissed about last night but Seungcheol didn’t seem worried. Either that, or he was really good at pretending. The latter seemed more likely. They sat in silence until class started, Jihoon looked out the window, away from Seungcheol.

“Everyone pay attention.” Mr. Jung clapped his hands and put his glasses on. “Today you will all be presenting your projects so let’s get started immediately. If you volunteer to go first, I will give you one point of extra credit.” Mr. Jung announced but there were still no volunteers. Jihoon continued to glance over at Seungcheol who, despite the dark circles beneath his eyes, looked significantly happier than he did the previous week. They hadn’t talked since last night, but since both of them were good at what they did Jihoon was confident that they wouldn’t fail. Besides, they worked well together, no matter how much Jihoon denied it. “Okay then, let’s have Hansol and Han Byul first.” Seungcheol snickered as his friend’s name was called first. Hansol punched his arm on his way to the front.

They both performed and the class continued on smoothly from there, groups of two were called up one after one, and they headed up to the small stage and started to perform. Mr. Jung made comments after every performance, Jihoon was sure that both him and Seungcheol were about to fall asleep. Right as another group of students were called up Jihoon had begun to nod off. It was when he heard a familiar intro that his eyes shot open and he sat up straight in his seat.

As the music began to play, Jihoon immediately recognized a track that he had produced being played through the speakers in the classroom. Jihoon furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, because that was definitely his song. There was no way he could mistake his own music.

“What the hell?” Jihoon muttered to himself, slightly pissed off at the students. They began to perform a combination of singing and rap. Jihoon resisted the urge to jump out of his seat and take credit. He posted the song nearly a year ago but immediately took it down as he was not satisfied. Despite that, he worked hard on it and it was wrong for anybody to take away his hard work. Jihoon quickly realized that these kids had probably saved the track back then only to use it for this project. Not only that but they most likely waited until the last minute to do it--and to make things worse? They sullied his track with their mediocre lyrics. Jihoon narrowed his eyes.

He looked around the classroom to see if anyone recognized his song but nobody seemed to. Nobody except Seungcheol, who was sitting straight up in his seat with a stern expression on his face. Of course, Coups would recognize it. Jihoon sighed and continued to listen to the student’s rendition of his song.

He sat through the whole 3 minutes without letting up on his glare. When they finally finished, the whole room clapped except for Jihoon and Seungcheol.

“Wonderful music. Thank you very much.” Mr. Jung clapped softly, he even tucked his clipboard under his arm to do so. Jihoon rolled his eyes for a moment, only for his vision to catch on Seungcheol who held his hand up high. Mr. Jung noticed too, he sighed and motioned to him.

“Yes, Seungcheol?”

“I agree, Mr. Jung. It is wonderful music.” Seungcheol praised and the students on the stage both bowed politely in thanks. “But it’s not theirs.” He smiled an innocent smile and the two students both exchanged nervous glances, they straightened their posture from their low bow.

Mr. Jung was silent for a moment, he seemed to contemplate the possibility before he sighed, adjusted his glasses and nodded. “Go on.”

Seungcheol tilted his head to address the students, a mischievous look in his eyes. “Did you really think nobody would recognize such genius? That’s Woozi’s composition.” Seungcheol leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. “He released it early January for about a minute and a half. Looks like you both were pretty quick to save it though, huh?” He chuckled at the students’ expressions. Their faces turned red, either in anger or embarrassment. “But don’t worry, I’ll tell Woozi about you two. I’m sure he’ll be flattered.”

It was completely silent in the room save for the whispering of a few brave students in the class. Mr. Jung sighed and walked down the aisle to his desk. “Meet with me after class, you two.” He ordered and the next pair of students were called up. Jihoon had never felt more grateful towards Seungcheol then he had in that moment. The students looked extremely ashamed as they left the stage and Jihoon couldn’t help the smug smirk that he let appear on his face.

As it was nearing the end of the class, Seungcheol and Jihoon’s names were called. Jihoon waited for Seungcheol to stand up, and he followed soon after. Jihoon adjusted his uniform a bit and then walked down the aisle towards the stage. Jihoon made sure to send their music in before the deadline so they were prepared for either their best or their worst. Seungcheol handed Jihoon his mic and they were both prepared to perform. Seungcheol loosened his tie and cued the music. Even from the very first class that Jihoon had, he was impressed by Seungcheol’s stage presence. He had only seen him in action once but that was enough to see why everyone respected him, at least as far as performing went. Jihoon was no newbie to presenting either but he had to admit defeat just that once. Even if their ongoing battle was only in his mind.

Jihoon started to sing and he was completely lost in the music once again. He even missed the little stares that Seungcheol threw at him. Jihoon was confident in himself because he had practiced, and when Seungcheol’s part came along, Jihoon knew that he had practiced by himself as well. Jihoon couldn’t help but fall into the acting of the song and before long, both Jihoon and Seungcheol had begun to sing to each other.

Jihoon felt a tightening in his chest and he had to look away from Seungcheol just for a moment in order for him to complete his harmony correctly. It was no use if he was out of breath. After a few more moments, they had finished their song cleanly and Jihoon felt good about it. They did pretty well considering their situation. The students in the class all applauded and Jihoon and Seungcheol bowed politely.

Although Jihoon felt good about it, he could clearly see that Seungcheol felt nervous about what Mr. Jung would say. Jihoon looked over to their teacher and he suddenly understood why Seungcheol was so worried, Mr. Jung was completely silent and he hadn’t clapped- he was writing down notes on his clipboard. The teacher adjusted his dainty glasses and walked down the aisle until he was nearly in front of them.

“I must say, you two.” He paused and then smiled proudly. “I’m very impressed. Especially you, Seungcheol. I’m not sure if it was because of Mr. Lee’s help but that voice of yours is absolutely wonderful. I’m very satisfied with your performance.” He concluded and Seungcheol bowed gratefully, he felt an immense surge of happiness. For once, he got Mr. Jung’s approval.

“As for you, Jihoon. I do believe I just found my new favorite student.” Mr. Jung then walked over to his desk and set down his clipboard. Jihoon looked absolutely stunned but he played it off, only bowing stiffly. Although Jihoon felt happy, his mood was ruined when he looked out into the classroom and seen people giving him cold glances. Most of them were blue ties or vocal students. Jihoon looked away. Seungcheol took Jihoon’s mic from him and set them down on the stand, he gently guided him down from the stage. Jihoon kept his eyes on the ground, just like he did that first day. He felt like he had been knocked back. Way back. Seungcheol was obviously on a whole different spectrum of emotions than he was. His small smile could vouch for that.

There were only about 10 minutes left in class and Mr. Jung had announced some free time. Jihoon had a feeling that Seungcheol would try to talk to him so he continued to look out the window at the wet fallen leaves and the slow, steady rain that continued outside.

“You did really good.” Seungcheol complimented.

Well, Jihoon didn’t expect that at all. He looked over to him to make sure that his compliment was genuine before he nodded in thanks. “You...too.” Jihoon spoke back, except his compliment was more hesitant than Seungcheol’s was.

“I didn’t expect it to go as well as it did. Thanks.” He smiled and then he gathered up his things and left Jihoon alone in favor of going to sit by Hansol. Jihoon didn’t know if that smile was real or if he had just made it up in his head. The only thing Jihoon knew for sure was that it made his heart flutter, and it didn’t make him feel any better knowing that fact.

. . .

It was after school ended for the day that Jihoon ran across the campus and emerged from the garden, he ran past the heavy trees that blocked his way to the dorm houses. He was being pursued by those damn blue ties again. He could recognize one for sure and it was because of his bright red hair. Jiyong.

The rain made the campus grass slippery so he slid every few seconds that passed and it seemed like he was being chased for an eternity. Jihoon was confronted outside of one of the practice rooms and he was immediately chased after. Jihoon was just glad that it wasn’t in the bathroom again. He learned to avoid those and he never drank a drop of liquid during school hours. It was unfortunate that he was one of the last students to leave, but once he noticed them corner him he ran out of there as fast as he could.

Jihoon finally came upon the dorm houses and he quickly fished out his keycard from his pocket. He scanned it and wrenched the door open, Jihoon quickly climbed the stairs by two’s- he didn’t even stop to check if they had followed him inside. Once he was safely in his room he collapsed on the floor and heaved. As he sat there, out of breath and up against the door he remembered Seungkwan’s then-calming words.

“It’s okay. Tomorrow will be better.”

Unfortunately, he was wrong.

Today wasn't a better day than yesterday.

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Jiyong- G-DRAGON