Days and weeks passed by since Ten slept at Taeyong's place, and things were going quite well. He didn't say a thing and nor did Taeyong, but every time the Thai looked Johnny in the eyes, he felt the guilt filling his mind up. Ever since the first kiss they shared, Ten knew Johnny wanted him badly and Ten felt awful about not having his first time with him. It scared him that he would spill this unconsciously and would hurt his feelings. 

At least Ten barely had time to think as hard tests were approaching. As the semester would end in the middle of July, the teachers were giving them more challenges than ever before. Their dance teacher gave them a choreography for an EDM song and even after hours of days of practicing Ten still had some mistakes; the Thai teacher also gave a lot of grammar practicing tasks, and they had to write an essay for Korean with a minimum of 500 syllables. Whenever Bambam entered their room, he always saw the younger studying and was kind of worried when, one time, he asked if Ten had enough sleep. Ten was practicing a lot with Winwin, Yuta, Hendery, Byeongkwan, Boomin, Kino, and Hyunjae. Byeongkwan was the one who got it the most as if he had done it before, but he wasn't flawless either, he admitted that. 

Bambam did tell Ten that in the first semester, they may have to suffer through a lot to show the teachers how hard working they are. 

Ten had sometimes met up with Johnny so they could study together but occasionally things went offside. Many times the non-Korean students studied and practiced their Korean together because sometimes when they asked for grammar help from their Korean friends, they could only answer with 'it's the way it is'. 

Ten was chugging down his third americano of the day even though it was two in the afternoon when someone knocked on his dorm door.

"Come in," said Ten without looking up. He heard the person opening the door but no footsteps. Ten looked up and saw Hendery looking at him with an exciting smile. "What?"

"I just bumped into our form teacher and they said that we would go on a trip if we all pass our tests!" said Hendery as he was leaning towards and keeping himself from falling by holding onto the doorframe.

"What? Where?" this gave Ten some motivation that if they completed all of their tests and challenges, they could go and have some fresh air without worrying. 

"They didn't say that yet but at least we have something positive to look forward to," said Hendery. "Also, don't you want to take a little break? We could go out for a boba tea,"

Ten could see the pity in Hendery's eyes and remembered how he turned down his friend's previous offers, he felt bad that he would have to cancel this too. Ten thought about it and decided a little break never hurt anyone.

"Yeah, I think a little break would be great," said Ten as he put down his pen. "When should we go then?"

"Oh," Hendery was surprised as his eyes sparkled with joy. "In like 15 minutes if that's fine for you."

"Perfect for me," Ten closed his textbooks and put them aside.

"Alright, then I will see you at the entrance in 15-20 minutes," smiled Hendery then left the room.

Ten tidied up his desk then changed into something casual as he threw his sweatpants and sweatshirt aside that he had been wearing for more than a week straight. Constant studying really kept him in. Ten felt a sudden free and confidence boost so he decided to spice himself up with eyeliner and light eyebrow make-up. 
He got his phone, some money for the tea, and his documents which included his ID card, student card, and travel pass in his wallet. Bambam was studying with his friends, which was a rare occasion, so Ten closed their dorm room and headed down to drop down the key and wait for Hendery.
After a few seconds, Ten saw the expected male figure running towards him like an excited kid. He had a reason to be excited, they hadn't hung out in a while.

"Ready to go?" asked Ten.

"Yeah!" replied Hendery as they started walking.

"So, how were your studying days or weeks?" asked Hendery as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Don't think I enjoyed it, it felt like I was torturing myself. Especially Science, I thought if I keep going I might just end up jumping out the window," joked Ten.

"Hey, don't joke about that-" cackled Hendery as playfully hit Ten's arm.

"C'mon, you know I wasn't serious," replied Ten with a cheeky smirk. 

"I know, I know," said Hendery. "You should have seen Kun's mental breakdown. He was trying to practice his rapping but he just couldn't get that one verse right so he started it over and over again after about 10-20 minutes he had a huge mental breakdown. Xiaojun and I were in the hallway and all we heard from our room was a high noted scream and books being pushed down very aggressively from the desk," Hendery couldn't hold his laugh and Ten just imagined the whole scene in front of him, making him laugh too.

"What happened after?" chuckled Ten.

"We entered the room and Xiaojun just said 'that was a good high note dude' and Kun just looked at him with such an annoyed expression that we decided to leave. After an hour it looked like nothing happened," finished Hendery.

"Damn, if I could let it out by destroying my books, that'd be so much better," said Ten.

The two boys continued their conversation until they arrived at the tea place. The shop was small yet cozy, perfect for the two.

"What would you like to drink?" asked Ten.

"I think I will go with a strawberry milk tea-" said Hendery.

"Aight, you are my guest then," said Ten as he took out his money.

"What, no-"

"Please, I canceled a lot of your offers, it's the least I could do," Ten looked at Hendery with puppy eyes trying to convince him.

"Fine," groaned Hendery as Ten walked to the counter and the cashier greeted them.

"Hi, we would like to have one large strawberry milk tea and one large lemon tea, please," said Ten.

After the teas were done Ten paid and the two boys went upstairs and took their seats next to the window.
Ten thought it worth it to go out after a long time because he felt truly relaxed. Hendery was also having a lot of fun, finally enjoying some time with Ten.

"Hey, I'll be right back," said Hendery as he quickly got up and went downstairs. Ten didn't even have time to process but he was used to it, Hendery was known to be spontaneous. After a minute or so he got back, with a pack of pepero in his hand. "I was your guest for tea, you are my guest for pepero."

"Dude, you really didn't have to-"

"Yeah, 'cause I wanted to," said Hendery as he opened the package and took one out. "Now don't be shy, take some."

Ten took some and snacked on them while they continued talking. As mentioned before, Hendery was spontaneous and also, quite of a goofy person. He didn't hide this side of him now.

"Let's do the pepero challenge," said Hendery.

"What?" exclaimed Ten with a surprised look.

"C'mon, I will do your homework if you win," said the Chinese.

"You don't need to, just practice with me later then," chuckled Ten.

Hendery put the non-chocolate covered part in his mouth and after adjusting it, Ten lightly bit on the other end. The two boys started to slightly bite, getting closer to the other. Neither of them could hold their giggles but neither of them let go. Their lips were only a few millimeters away and it was time for one of them either to bite hard or go closer to the other. Hendery, being the confident one, bit a little closer, and Ten, being the panicked one, got shy and couldn't do anything but blush. Hendery noticed and just smirked at his actions. Ten had the time to study Hendery's face. He never actually looked at him this closely, seeing his big brown eyes,  his skin so smooth and shiny as the ray of sunlight landed on him, and how the smile was perfect on his face. Their lips were just a bite away from each other and Hendery was about to make the move, but Ten saw someone he didn't expect to see.

"Oh FU-" exclaimed Ten as he bit down on the sweet snack and started to cough because he almost choked on it and his saliva. Hendery didn't know what caused it so, with the pepero sticking out of his mouth, turned around saw the person.

"Yo dude you good?" asked the American. 

"Y-Y-Yeah," Ten took a big breath. "Totally."

"Yo Johnny what's up?" greeted Hendery, munching on the snack while Ten was still choking. He then had the energy to grab after his tea and drink slowly half of it.

"I didn't know my appearance was this shocking," smirked jokingly Johnny. A few seconds later Yuta and Jaehyun arrived as well.

"Gosh, it couldn't get any worse than that," Ten thought to himself as he finally caught his breath.

"Hey guys what's up," Jaehyun greeted Ten and Hendery, Yuta just waving his hand. "Mind if we join?"

Ten didn't have any time to answer as the others already pulled the chairs to their table. Hendery didn't seem to mind but Ten got anxious after Johnny witnessed them almost kissing. He started to think, which was a mistake, if he felt jealous or disappointed. His heart was beating fast and started to ache a little. 

"So, how did you keep up with studying?" asked Yuta as he sipped from his coffee milk tea.

"Not so well, the rap teacher really likes to pick on me, so you can guess," stated Hendery, leaning back in his chair.

"Gosh, don't even start with that dick," groaned Johnny in annoyance. "I mean, you're talking about Mr. San, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," nodded Hendery. "His prejudice apatheticness towards non-Koreans is just ridiculous at this point."

"What, why? What did he do?" asked Ten.

"So, I don't know for Hendery, but for me, he picks on me a lot, assumes I'm always the one talking or whenever I make the tiniest mistake, he threatens me and says if I fail the next verse as well, he will make sure I will fail," explained Johnny.

"But when Jinhoo made much bigger mistakes, he was just said to do a little better next time," shook his head Hendery. "He is radiating pure xenophobia."

"Jesus Christ and they let a teacher like be here?" asked Yuta.

"Well, looks like it," said Johnny, drinking his boba tea. "But at least secondary dance is cool. Last time Ms. Cha said she was too tired to teach so she told us to put together a short choreography."

"Oh yeah, I remember," laughed Jaehyun. "Kevin, Jacob, and Jun also came there and we kinda lead the group. I liked your Spotify playlist tho."

"I bet it was full of royalty-free music," added Ten, causing the other to chuckled.

"Bro, how did you know?" added Johnny as improv and made the group laugh.

Ten calmed himself and his thoughts down after a while as they continued to talk about school and what they were doing. Yuta and Johnny talked about growing their hair to be long, the others joked about brading it as they were on a girly sleepover, but Ten imagined how Johnny would look like with long hair, and he kinda liked it. He imagined them hanging out and playing with it as they would be just chilling and playing games or watching a movie.
The sun was setting when the boys left the tea shop, walking wherever their feet were taking them.

"Also, you guys heard we will be going on a school trip after like next week, right?" said Yuta. 

"Oh hell yeah, can't wait to relax," said Ten while stretching.

"Aaaah, I bet they will take us to museums and all that shit," replied Johnny.

"But hey, the night will be ours," said Jaehyun.

The walk back to the dorms could have been calm and smooth if only a particular person didn't ruin the atmosphere.

"Oh, y'all are talking about the after-test-week school trip?" chuckled the man they wanted to hear the least. All five of the boys froze in their steps, taking a few seconds to turn around. The first person to turn was Yuta, Johnny and Jaehyun and then Hendery. The only person who didn't dare to turn and look into the older boy's eyes was Ten. The voice just sent shivers down his spine as his feet were rooted to the ground and his body was stiff. "What?"

"Don't you know it's impolite to interrupt someone's talking?" said Yuta. Damn, the braveness, Ten thought.

"Hey, I'm your senior. You can't talk to me just like that," the person's voice got a little aggressive. "Anyway, I just wanted to ask what you would be doing there and if I could join," a few other people's laughs could be heard.

"Uhm, that's none of your business and no, you aren't welcomed there, Gunki," added Johnny.

Ten hearing Johnny saying Gunki's name just made it worse, because now it was real that he was there. He cursed the world that he had to be there when they were. 

"How dare you speak to me in that manner tone? Didn't your parents thought you better, huh?" Gunki threatened Johnny or it seemed so.

"Why should he speak respectfully to a rapist?" added Jaehyun which made Gunki back off a little as he didn't expect any of the younger students coming at him but his confidence didn't go low.

"Oh c'mon guys, we are school mates, aren't we?" Gunki joked. "Besides, I thought I could join your school trip as I was banned from ours, you know, because someone didn't like a few things, heh."

"Did you really just came to us to tell this?" said Johnny. He was confident to talk to a senior like this as Ten thought. Because yeah, Gunki was a bad person but he still was a senior and older than him, he was expected to respect him but it looked like Johnny knew his morals.

"Oh, maybe yeah. But I couldn't just walk past by not saying hi to your little friend," everyone looked at the other confused. "So sad he doesn't want to show his face to me."

Ten could feel that everyone's eyes were on him now and that his friends would probably ask questions later. This just made him even more anxious and unable to face Gunki. It was too much, Ten felt like the lump in his throat stopped him from breathing.

"C'mon twink boy, don't you wan-"

"Okay, stop, okay? Just leave, please," stepped in Hendery as he couldn't take it anymore. He saw that Johnny was ready to fight as his fist was already clenched and ready to punch. With the death glare in his eyes, he could kill.

"Tsk, fine. You guys are no fun." let go Gunki. "I wasn't in the mood anyway, maybe next time in the halls. C'mon boys, let's leave," he signaled to his mates to follow him as they left the scene.

Ten felt a huge amount of pressure falling off his shoulders, feeling like he could faint. The sound of the fading footsteps was like a cure and the moment he caught his breath, he felt like he was reborn.

"Holy fuck," let out Ten a big sigh as he leaned to the nearest building, keeping him stable with his hand.

"Are you okay? I thought you were going to faint," worried Hendery as he tried to go closer.

"I'm...I'm..." Ten couldn't bring himself to talk. He remembered the other time when he let it all out to Taeyong and ended up crying and sobbing. He certainly didn't want to do that in front of them.

"Taeyong," he thought to himself. Just saying his name in his mind brought him pain.

"You don't have to talk about it, it's okay," added Yuta in a shooting voice which Ten was thankful for as it helped him feel a bit safer.

"Thanks," said Ten with a slight and forced smile on his face. "Not gonna lie but I could kill for some water right now," chuckled Ten.

Ten knew they wouldn't let it go so quickly but he was grateful they didn't bring it up while they were still hanging out.
They bought a bottle of water and a bottle of coke then decided to lay down in the park. They really liked to hang out in the park near the Han river. The scenery was pretty and the atmosphere was calming since especially it was June.

"Oh, I remember what I wanted to say before," exclaimed Yuta as he quickly sat up. "For the trip, did you think about who do you want to be in a room with?"

"Not yet, I barely had time to think," replied Ten and he was thankful for the lack of free time at that point. He did take a few glances at Johnny tho, and the older felt those.

"I really want to be with Winwin, but I think he would rather be with Taeil or Lucas," laid back Yuta, getting lost in his thoughts.

"Well, you're lucky I'm here because I'm telling you," sat up Hendery and turned to Yuta. "That you have nothing to worry about. You know what, you can have him and his tantrums about not being able to make that decision as well," the others couldn't hold their laugh because they knew everything Hendery said was true. Even Ten witnessed it at some point, Winwin walking up and down in the dormitory, mumbling inaudible words as if he was giving a presentation.

"Oh," blushed Yuta a little.

"I see you didn't expect that," laughed Jaehyun.

"Shut it," said back Yuta in a sassy tone then threw himself back on the grass.

The boys decided to get back going when the cold breeze hit them. Jaehyun parted ways with them only after a few blocks so the four foreign boys were walking back on their own back to the dorm. They joked and talked a lot on their way but Ten couldn't ignore Johnny's hand 'accidentally' bumping into his. It happened too frequently to be an accident.

"Okay, it was cool to hang out, see y'all tomorrow probably," waved goodbye Hendery and walked to his dorm room as Yuta did the same. The other two also said goodbye but it looked like Johnny still had some words to say and Ten could feel it.

"You good?" asked Johnny.

"Well, more or less, but it's alright, don't worry," smiled Ten weakly, wanting to let go of the topic, but Johnny wasn't that type of guy.

"I will protect you," stated Johnny as he pulled Ten into a tight hug. "I won't let anyone hurt you, and I know it may sound cliché, but I mean it."

"Tha...Thank you, Johnny," replied Ten as he hugged him back. Ten held back his tears because he didn't want to make a scene nor make his friend uncomfortable. He didn't want to relive what he experienced with Taeyong, for some reason. It certainly wasn't the same but still felt nice to be cared about.

"Therefore, you are going to be my roommate on the trip!" let out Johnny with a cheeky smile on his face.

"What!" smiled Ten as he cackled. "I didn't even say yes!"

"Don't act upset, as if you didn't glance at me today so many times," rolled his eyes Johnny as he smiled.

"The fuck man," let out a light laugh Ten as he parted himself from Johnny's arms.

"I'm not blind nor stupid, you tiny idiot," said Johnny as he ruffled Ten's hair.

"Hey!" yelled back Ten as Johnny just laughed.

"Hey, can you guys keep your lovely bromance down? Get a room or I will get the flipflop to beat y'all asses!" yelled Eric and the two boys just laughed.

"Okay, I think we should go. It was good to hang out, after such a long time," said Ten as he scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, we should bring back our studying sessions, don't you think?" said Johnny flirtatiously.

"I will think about it," said back Ten sassily. "Have a good night."

"Tsk, cheeky bastard," said Johnny as both of them were on their way to their dorms.

Ten stepped inside his room, finding the lights to be on and his roommate studying at his desk with his headphones on. Bambam didn't seem to notice Ten so the younger just walked past him and tapped him on the shoulder. Bambam finally saw his mate as Ten dropped himself on the bed.

"What's up, man? Long free day?" asked Bambam as he took off his headphone.

"Too much and too many things are just...around," said Ten with his face in his pillow.

"Tell me what happened," Bambam now turned his attention to Ten.

"It's just," Ten turned on his back. "We met with Gunki because he wanted some trouble with us, I don't know, and it just shook me. It brought back things I wanted to forget, aaargh," groaned Ten.

"Aaaahh, this dude really can't keep himself in one seat," laughed miserably Bambam. "The literal best you can do is to avoid him at all cost, but even more this time. Your life will be easier if you don't see him, delete the bitch from your head. Second, you need to accept the past to move on, if you are always battling with yourself about it you won't be able to go on. I know it's hard but we are here for you," said Bambam.

"Thanks but how do I accept it and move on if it's like a deep trauma?" added Ten.

"Oh, I see the case now," let out Bambam.

The two Thai boys ended up talking into the night but neither of them regretted it. They let out some of their problems and past, Ten was careful not to let everything be spilled. Both of them listened to the other and added something if they could. Ten felt better after talking with Bambam, it seemed like they were forming a close brotherhood.

"Wait here," said Bambam as he got up from his chair and left the room. Ten looked at the opened door with a confused expression then his mate got back with two cold drinks in his hands. "Usually, whenever I feel down or sad, a little bottle of cold cocoa helps me. Try it,"

"Oh I-" Ten wanted to deny it first then saw Bambam's eyes filled with care and couldn't say no to it. It felt like he had a big brother looking after him. "Thanks."

They both put the straw in the plastic cup and started drinking. Ten felt a little breeze but it definitely had some effects on him. It didn't cure his heavy feelings but it most certainly brought a temporary feeling of joy.

"Told you," said Bambam. "It brings back the feeling of being a child again when our biggest problem was not having snacks at home," The two boys laughed.

"Euphoric times," said Ten. The two boys continued talking but now about happy and funny things. Ten felt like Bambam was the older brother he wished to always have.

The following few days were filled with tests. Ten was stressed 24/7 and just wanted to be done with them. On Monday he started the day with a Science test, which he was happy to be over with, then his next test was History which drained every remaining energy of Ten. He had double Thai after that but it felt like a nightmare. Ms. Srisuk saw how exhausted Ten was because these tests took up 20% of their grades for the semester and then another 20% for the following semester, which would add up to 40%, which would be counted on the end of the full first term,  and these tests took almost half of their grades so they had to study hard.
On Tuesday everyone had to take the Drama test which consisted of a written one and taking part in the improved play. It certainly wasn't easy but the advantage was that they knew each other that much that everyone would adapt to the other. After Drama Ten had double Dance which was sort of a break because then he had to write the test from Social Studies.
On Wednesday in the morning, they had to complete P.E. exercises which tired everyone out and it didn't help them that after gym class they had Arts where their drawings would be graded. 
On Thursday he had to do I.T. tasks in different programs, it drained them to death. They only had tests in the afternoon then so they had time to revise in other classes. Ten finished the day with a Thai and English test, which weren't so bad.
Friday, however, was the toughest one so far. They wrote a 2-hour long Maths test, then Ten had a Vocal test, to check if he could sing notes well then the Dance test where they had to make a choreography, which went surprisingly well and then they were finished.

Ten dropped himself on the bed, groaning in relief. Half an hour later Bambam arrived and did the same thing. 

"Existence is pain," muffled Bambam with his face in the pillow.

"Don't even start," added Ten.

On the weekend, they tried to recover their sleep from the past week so Ten was a bit surprised when he woke up around 1 pm on the following Saturday. Their group chat was surprisingly calm this weekend as everyone was either sleeping or doing something relaxing on their own. Their class trip was starting on Monday so Ten, after waking up after another 10 hours of sleep, was packing his luggage with clothes and other necessities when he got some notifications. He checked his phone and as expected, the group chat was awake.

ChicaGoBoi
So we bringing anything?
Asking for a friend

FancyWineboi
I can bring some
These bottles are just sitting here

Maplecutie
*inserted like hand*

'Drinking, again' Ten thought. He literally couldn't care less since he wasn't much of a drinker. He drank one or two cans of beers with them once in a while but when they went to a big party, he would rather stay at the dorm and just chill. The big crowd just wasn't for him. 

Ten continued packing his bag and after he was finished, he hopped on his bed and was scrolling through social media. About half an hour later someone knocked on his door but he already knew who it was.

"Yes, Johnny?" said Ten without even looking up.

"I'm going to the convenience store, fancy joining me?" asked Johnny, leaning against the doorframe. Ten was about to answer yes when he looked up and saw Johnny's outfit. It was a simple loose blue sweater tucked into his skinny black jeans on the front and his black converse shoes matched so well with his look and the backpack just gave more spice. Ten must have admired his friend's look for a good 10 seconds before actually answering his question.

"U-Um, yeah, sure. Just let me get into something better," said Ten getting up from his bed and making his way to his closet. While then, Johnny made himself comfortable after closing the door and lying down on Ten's bed.

Ten put on a white shirt with dark blue jeans then a red and black checked flannel so he wouldn't be cold. As he was dressing, he felt a pair of eyes looking at him but he didn't want to return the favor, acting a little cheeky.

"Aight, let's go," said Ten as he finished tieing his shoes and grabbing his phone with his wallet and keys. Johnny, as if nothing happened, got up and followed him.
The two walked to a certain convenience store and when they stepped in, the girl in the cash register greeted Johnny like a friend, and the male greeted her back. Ten felt a knot in his stomach but he didn't know the reason, he felt a little hurt in the heart. 

"Hey, this is my friend, Alexa. Alexa, this is Ten," said Johnny as Ten bowed shyly at Alexa.

"Oh, that Ten? Hi, it's so good to finally meet you," smiled Alexa as she bowed back. "What are you guys doing? Need anything?"

"We just need a little help of yours," said Johnny in English which made Ten confused but it seemed like Alexa knew what he was talking about.

"Lucky for you, my lunch break was about to start. Meet me in the back," sighed Alexa as she went to the back to start her break.

Ten and Johnny walked to the back of the building, finding Alexa already outside, leaning against the wall and smoking a cigarette. 

"I really feel like I'm your older sister sometimes," said Alexa in English. This somehow made Ten feel a little better but he didn't know why it was such a relief to hear that. "But I don't mind. We can go in a minute, until then, Ten, tell me. Does Johnny also talk to others about you non-stop?" 

"What-?" this surprised Ten a lot, so much he was speechless. Why would Johnny talk about him, he thought.

"What if I just can't stop praising him, hm?" said back Johnny.

"Sure, sure," chuckled Alexa as she stumped on the used cigarette, threw it out then started walking.

"Where are we going again?" asked Ten as his anxiety started growing. They were walking to God knows where with a girl he barely knew.

"Did Johnny not tell you?" asked Alexa as she turned around and was walking backward. "Homeboy would like some booze but can't get it himself," Alexa turned forward now.

(Reminder: always drink safely and underage drinking is not supported here, always ask someone you trust)

They walked to a different store, not so far away so Ten knew where they were. Alexa went in while the two high schoolers were waiting outside, not saying anything to the other. A little awkward silence but Ten didn't think much of it. About a minute later Alexa came out with at least 5 cans of beers and put them in Johnny's bag. 

"Here's the receipt," said the older as she handed Johnny the paper. The American got his wallet out and paid back Alexa. "Always a good deal with you," Ten couldn't hold his chuckle at this comment.

"Thank you, again," replied Johnny.

"Yet again, you are welcome," said Alexa as she put the money away. "Anyway, I need to go back soon. It was good to see you boys, hope to see you soon, not for alcohol hopefully. I don't want y'all to end in the hospital."

"Got it big sis," rolled his eyes Johnny, at which Alexa just ruffled his hair.

"Look after him Ten," said Alexa, looking and smiling at the Thai. "Bye guys."

"She seems pretty cool," said Ten. "Weren't those expensive? I could have put some money in to help."

"Nah it's fine, you are my guest on it," smiled Johnny as he started walking, and Ten following.

"C'mon, dude. You are always like that, you barely let me invite you to something," complained Ten.

"It's the least you deserve after those stressful days and weeks. You want me to stop treating you like a prince?" said Johnny with a cheeky smirk, fully aware of what he said.

"What- I," Ten was, yet again, speechless. "Now that you brought it up, I may just accept it," replied Ten, not letting him win over this easily. "But seriously, let me treat you like a king sometimes."

A visible light blush was seen on Johnny's cheek and Ten couldn't help but giggle quietly. He had power and knew how to use it when he was with Johnny. 
Back at the dorm, Ten helped Johnny packing his things but it was known that the older just wanted to have a little alone time with Ten after actually helping packing. 

The next day all 14 of them gathered at the school gate with their luggage, everyone was still sleepy as it was 7 in the morning. Ten was wearing an ash blue oversized hoodie and comfortable pants, he was too lazy to dress up that day. He was sitting on his luggage while resting his head against Johnny's leg with closed eyes. Sometimes he opened his eyes for a second and saw the others talking and sometimes he took a quick glance at Taeyong. They haven't really been talking that much ever since that incident, neither of them brought it up, Ten was feeling weird whenever he was around him even though, Taeyong was so friendly with him.

"Good morning everyone!" yelled their form teacher as they have arrived. This woke Ten up in a second and he almost fell back if Johnny hadn't caught him. "Today, we will be going to Mokpo by bus and train. We will transfer to the train in Osong and then just a little bus ride."

"At least I got more time to rest," yawned Ten. 

The bus arrived at the school after about 5 minutes and the boys were told to get on and take their seats. Hendery quickly pulled Ten away and asked him if he wanted to sit next to him, and of course, he said yes.
The bus ride was about an hour long, Ten was sleeping with his hoodie on and his head resting on Hendery's shoulders. He didn't mind skinship, especially if it was good for the other.

They arrived at the Train station but they had about 40 minutes before the train was going so the teacher dismissed them for 20 minutes to shop for snacks and drinks. A sleepy eyed Ten dragged himself to the nearest store along with Hendery and Kun. Ten got himself a bottle of coffee and a can of energy drink. He desperately wanted to wake up.

"Don't you want to buy snacks?" asked Kun.

"Eh, maybe," said Ten as he grabbed a bag of shrimp flavored potato chips and continued walking. After they paid and left, Ten opened the coffee and tried to get some energy in his body.

On the train, they sat in 4-4-6 seats. Ten was sitting with Winwin, Kun, and Xiaojun. He brought his Nintendo Switch and Winwin just wouldn't leave him alone until he agreed to play with him. They ended up playing throughout the whole train trip, meanwhile the other four, Taeyong, Taeil, Doyoung, Mark were also chilling and talking while Johnny, Jaehyun, Lucas, Yuta, Jungwoo, and Hendery were the loud group. 
Sometimes Ten's glance met with Taeyong's, who smiled back at him then went back to his conversation, but it made him a little anxious. 
After playing on his Nintendo, he decided to take a quick rest before they arrive so Ten laid down and placed his head in Winwin's lap. He felt like he was being watched but was too lazy to open his eyes.

After about an hour and a half, they finally arrived at Mokpo and only a little bus ride was left until they would occupy the rooms. Two travel vans arrived as the boys separated into two groups of seven. They put their luggage in the back then got into the vehicle. Ten entered the van after Yuta and immediately spotted the empty seat next to Johnny, who was sitting next to the window in the back. They exchanged looks then Ten hurried to sit next to him.

"You ran here as if your life depended on it," joked Johnny.

"Dude, you have the most comfortable shoulder to sleep on, and I still feel sleepy," said Ten as he rested his head on Johnny's shoulder.

"So, you only love me because of my shoulder?" asked Johnny as he chuckled.

"Without a doubt," answered Ten, making himself comfortable and closing his eyes. Then, after seconds, the word 'love' processed in Ten's mind. He thought it was too late now to make a comment about it so he tried to let it slide but his mind couldn't move on. 

"Hey, sorry, can I sit here?" said the person Ten wanted to avoid the most.

"Sure Taeyong," answered Johnny.

Ten didn't open his eyes and didn't plan to. He kept his head on Johnny's shoulder, trying to look as if he was sleeping.
The van started its engine and was on the way to the campsite. Ten was feeling quite tense, sitting between the guy he had sex with and his best friend who visibly wanted to get laid with him. Ten was hoping that Taeyong wouldn't spill anything to Johnny, as they promised. 
After a few minutes, Ten felt a hand on his right thigh which startled him as he jumped up a little. It could have been fine if Taeyong wasn't there, because there was a chance it was him. Ten opened one of his eyes to peak and saw the owner of the hand was sitting on his right. Ten was relieved but he wanted to look at the boy on his left so bad but he didn't have the guts. He felt bad that he was ignoring Taeyong, he blamed himself but he couldn't bring himself to talk to the most wholesome person he had ever known.

After 10 minutes, they finally arrived at their destination and were so ready to go. Johnny lifted his hand up then slapped Ten's thigh pretty hard.

"Wake up sleepy head!" said Johnny loudly.

Ten instantly lifted his head and leaned towards to try to reduce the stinging pain. 

"You...bitch," groaned Ten out of pain. Ten got to his senses and noticed the empty seat on his left. Taeyong must have left before he opened his eyes.

They left the traveling van, got their belongings out from the trunk then saw the site they would be staying. Traditional big Korean houses with a huge garden and trees, surrounded by nature and wooden fence.

"C'mon boys, time to settle down, finally," said their form teacher as he made his way to their accommodation. The houses were really pretty and had lots of free space. Each bedroom had 4 sets of sheets, pillows, and a soft mattress. "Okay, until you decide who your roommates are going to be, I will occupy my own."

Ten looked around to see if anyone wanted to be with him. He saw the others 'claiming' their roommates, Yuta went to Winwin, Lucas went to Mark, Taeyong went to Doyoung yet his eyes told different opinions. Ten was sure Johnny would be with him but he didn't know if they were going to have two other people in their room. The rooms would be build up as 4-4-4-2 so one lucky pair would have a whole to themselves.
Ten saw pairs joining pairs, Kun and Taeil went with Yuta and Winwin, Mark and Lucas went with Jungwoo and Jaehyun, and it seemed like Hendery and Xiaojun quickly made the 2 person room theirs, which meant only one thing.

"Yo guys, do you want to be our roommates?" asked Johnny Doyoung in the distance.

"Well, do we have any other choice?" asked the younger.

"Fuck no, both of you are with us," chuckled Johnny.

Ten felt uneasy as they entered their room. The sets were in the corner, waiting to be laid, plenty of room for all four of them. Yet Ten knew, it wasn't going to be that easy. He avoided having a single eye contact with Taeyong, he felt extremely guilty, but he couldn't help. He felt like he already hurt him a lot by ignoring, and that there was no way that he could correct it. Ten felt tense, anxious, nervous around Taeyong because of what he did to him, he felt like an awful person.
Ten walked to the window to look at the beautiful scenery of green trees after leaving his bag in the middle of the floor. He put his arms on the windowsill and rested his upper body on it.

"Johnny, do you want to check out the rest of the place?" Doyoung asked.

"Yeah, sure" answered Johnny. "Te-"

"Aight, let's go then. I'm so curious what's here," said Doyoung as he grabbed Johnny's arms and dragged him out of the room before he could finish his sentence.

Ten felt even more tensed up now. He felt as if this situation was planned but he didn't exactly know by who, only one person popped into his mind. His palms were sweaty and his body was heating up, he knew he couldn't run away because Taeyong would catch him. 

"What is he going to do?" thought Ten to himself as he licked his lips out of nervousness. "Is he going to hit me? Because I sure do deserve one."

Ten knew things were going too well to be this easy, the twist in his story would hit him like a meteor.
Ten heard the door closing and it just made everything more real. He didn't want to admit his mistake. He was aware of what he did but he was scared to face the consequences, the responsibility. He couldn't run away now, his biggest fear, confrontation, was becoming real.

"Ten," started Taeyong, but in a low and sad, maybe desperate, voice. "For whatever I did wrong, I'm so sorry."

Ten was clearly taken aback. He expected anything but an apology from the certain person he hurt. He was frozen, legs rooted to the ground, unable to move or maybe breath.

"I'm sorry that I have hurt you and caused this silent conflict between u-us," Ten taught he heard him letting a tear roll down his face as his voice stuttered. "I didn't mean to do that. I'm sorry for doing what I did on that night-"

"Stop!" said Ten louder than he intended to. "It's not your fault, it's mine. I am the bad person here who hurt you, and," Ten couldn't hold back the salty tears, that have been building up ever since he realized what he was doing. "I'm sorry. I'm genuinely sorry. I don't know what had gotten into me when we promised to just move on. I felt tense, nervous, awkward, and somehow scared around you and thought that if I stopped contacting you the feeling would go away but no, it became worse. I realized what I was doing then and I felt like I couldn't reverse it, I have hurt you so bad that no words or action can correct it. I was and am an asshole for doing that. I felt guilty every time I saw you and I don't expect you to apologize, it's even alright if you punch me in the face because I deserve it," at the end, Ten was crying his eyes out but he wasn't the only one crying.

"Ten," Taeyong spoke in a calm voice. "Were you afraid that I would push you away?"

Ten froze down again as his breathing hitched up. He didn't know if he was scared of Taeyong or Taeyong pushing him away. He didn't know if he did all of this because he was afraid of being pushed away first or being used. They talked about keeping that night a secret from everyone, they had conversations days after what happened but then where did this sudden change come from. Had this feeling been building in those days? Did Ten's mind misinterpret the term 'moving on' into a different act? Ten was indeed scared of mentioning to Johnny, he thought maybe if he got away from Taeyong, he wouldn't be scared and he would be in less danger of mentioning it? Or maybe the thought of Taeyong betraying him or taking advantage of him in the wrong way was the cause? Questions after questions coming to his mind but no answer could be found. He couldn't even remember the reason he was anxious, it just came up all of a sudden, slowly, causing him to feel uncomfortable with Taeyong.

"I...I don't know," replied Ten, letting his face fall into his hand and feeling the wetness of his tears. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to hurt you. You are the sweetest person I have ever known. Maybe I was scared to lose you or that I would be used. After that night, my mind started going crazy. My head was flooded with negative thoughts of me being taken advantage of, betrayed, made fun of, and other things, just like in the past. It was never my intention to hurt you, I panicked because of my stupid thoughts and thought it would be best to keep a distance between us. I don't know what I could do to correct my mistake if there is any way to do it now."

"Please, turn around and look at me," replied Taeyong with a little whimper in his voice.

Ten gathered his courage and after a good few seconds, he got his face out of his wet hands, straightened himself, kind of, and turned around to face the older. 

Taeyong's eyes were puffy and a little red, his cheeks were shining from the fallen tears. As Ten turned around and looked him in the eye, a faint smile appeared on the Korean's face, as if God's blessed him with something fascinating. Ten, however, couldn't smile back as the guilt was filling his body the more he looked at Taeyong. Seeing his dried tears made everything worse, he felt like he could collapse and cry his heart out on the wooden floor any second now.

"You silly goose, come here," chuckled Taeyong lightly as he quickly walked to Ten and hugged him tightly and said those three words Ten was dying to hear but denied ever hearing them.