Mark lay on the bed in the nurse's room trying to find a position where his aching head wouldn't throb so much. It was no use and he gave up trying and sat up.

Bad idea. All the blood flowed to his head and the world spun. With his vision blurring he lost his balance and fell off the bed.

“Oww! Fuck!” he moaned. He kept one hand on his pounding head and grasped blindly for something to hold on to.

A warm hand clasped his and helped him back onto the bed. It was the nurse, a kind middle aged lady who was one of the few adults at school who didn't treat him like the troublemaker that he was.

“You need to rest, Mark.” She said gently. “Your injuries aren't so bad that you need to go to the hospital, so I've contacted your guardian to pick you up so you can rest at home.”

Mark frowned. “My guardian? I live alone, who’s down as my guardian?” He could only think of one person who it could possibly be and was dreading the confirmation of it.

“Your neighbour, Wonho.” The nurse replied.

And there it was. Fucking Wonho. How did he manage to get himself put down as his guardian? That sick bastard just didn't know when to stop.

“He's probably at work. Lucas or Jaehyun can walk me to the bus stop and I can make my own way home from there. Wonho doesn't need to pick me up.” Mark told her, hoping there was some way of avoiding Wonho.

Mark didn't even want to think about how he would react to seeing him being beaten up. And feeling like he did now - with his ribs aching and his head pounding - Mark really didn't want to put on an act and pretend to like Wonho in front of the school nurse.

“It's fine. He’s already on his way here. He said he wanted to make sure you would get home safely.” The nurse responded, looking very much like she was thinking what a wonderful and caring man Wonho must be.

How wrong she was though. Get home safely? Wonho may be good at appearing like his warm and caring hyung, but under that mask he was a monster. A sick, twisted fucker that made Mark’s skin crawl just thinking about him.

Then, almost as if on queue, Wonho burst through the door with worry and concern etched on his face. He stopped momentarily, first noticing Mark and then the nurse. He bowed politely to her before rushing over to the bed where Mark was sitting.

Mark backed up until his back hit the wall, his body moving automatically on its own. He balled his hands into fists, his fingers tangling up in the bedsheets in order to keep himself from pushing Wonho away from him.

“Oh God, look at you.” Wonho worried, pain evident in his voice. He cupped Mark’s face in his big hands and brushed his thumb over the bruises that were already forming. Mark winced at his touch, not from the pain, but from having to sit there and act like Wonho touching him in a caring way was normal. He hated it and wished he could run away right now.

He didn't. Instead he sat there and played along with Wonho’s sick game that he seemed to enjoy playing so much when other people were around.

“I'm fine hyung. It doesn't hurt, much.” Mark told him, pulling Wonho’s hands gently away from his face. Inside, he wanted to claw those hands away from him and punch Wonho square in the jaw.

Mark glanced sideways at the nurse. Her hand had fluttered up to her chest as she watched the two of them, clearly falling for their fake display of friendship and affection.

Wonho replied, still sounding concerned for his young neighbour. “Don't be silly. It looks like it hurts. Who did this to you?”

“I don't know, he jumped me from behind.” Mark lied, keeping up the façade that he and his friends had planned yesterday.

“Although, it seems like Mark might have been targeted.” The nurse interjected, stepping forward.

Fuck’s sake, Mark thought. He lowered his head while he fought to keep his anger from showing. Why did she have to bring that up in front of Wonho? He preferred to keep Wonho completely out of his own business, regardless of whether it was his fabricated lies or the truth. Now Wonho would start asking questions.

Wonho’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean targeted?”

“Another student was badly beaten a few days ago and then the student who attacked Mark this morning said it was him. Isn't that right, Mark?” The nurse explained, sounding quite upset about the whole situation.

Mark didn't reply. He avoided looking at both the nurse and Wonho, all the while quietly simmering with rage.

“So Mark wasn't the first to be attacked then?” Wonho asked incredulously.

“Yes, it was one of his classmates. He didn't tell you?” The nurse answered, looking a little confused.

“No, I-” Wonho began, but Mark stopped him short by sliding off the bed and slowly straightening up. His bruised ribs made him wince and his throbbing headache still hadn't stopped. Wonho put an arm around his shoulder. “Are you okay to walk?” He asked, probably wanting to carry Mark out of the school bridal style and let him die of embarrassment.

Mark shrugged out of his grip, trying to hide the fact that he was repulsed by his touch. “I'm fine; I just want to go home.”

Wonho sighed and smiled at the nurse before bending down to pick up Mark’s backpack off the floor. “I'll get him home now, so he can rest.” He said, flashing the nurse a beautiful smile, the sort that would make any girl swoon. Even though she was older, the nurse’s cheeks still flushed red.

“Thank you, Wonho.” She said, smiling back at him.

Wonho ushered Mark out off the room. As soon as the door shut behind them the hand on Mark’s shoulder tightened. “How the hell did you manage to get yourself beaten up?” Wonho demanded. “Mind you, it is you we’re talking about. You're definitely good at pissing people off.” He snickered to himself.

Mark rolled his eyes, preferring to keep silent about the topic. At Mark's silence Wonho clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Mark glanced out the corner of his eye at him, trying to gauge how much he had pissed Wonho off. The more irritated he was, the more trouble Mark would have getting him to leave him alone, and right now Mark actually did just want to lie down and rest.

It was too difficult to tell though. If Wonho was pissed, he kept it from showing. Instead, he looked calm, if not a little tired as they walked through the corridors and past students milling around and talking to each other before class started.

They walked down a flight of stairs and turned right, heading towards the front of the school when Mark roughly bumped into a guy standing in the hallway.

“Watch where you're standing, idiot.” Mark grumbled as he rubbed his shoulder. The guy turned to face him and a dark smile pulled at Mark's lips as he recognised him.

It was none other than Jeno, who was obviously caught by surprise probably by both Mark himself and his beaten up appearance. Almost shaking next to him stood Jaemin, clinging to Jeno’s sleeve like scared little girl. Mark smirked at him, loving the fact that he had such an impact on him. Jaemin’s eyes shot to the floor and he shrunk back behind Jeno. He gave Jeno one last glare before continuing down the hallway.

“You're foul mannered even when you don't speak.” Wonho mused, shaking his head.

And I wonder why that is, Mark thought to himself, shooting daggers at Wonho.