It was the first time since Taehyung met Jeongguk where he felt that immense hatred flare inside him for him. His badass, insensitive, asshole image was starting to get on his nerves real good, and he didn’t know how to crush it.

Every time he fought with him, he said to himself that it was the last time he made an effort to get to know him, but he just couldn’t bring himself to keep that word.

He was done this time, though. He was determined to keep his distance. After the way Jeongguk screamed at him for no reason before he took off, he wanted nothing to do with him. Whether he was doing it on purpose or not, Taehyung was done. For good.

He didn’t spare him even a glance for the rest of that day and neither the next morning. He spent his first break outside instead of going to the cafeteria to sit with his friends. He knew he couldn’t avoid him for long, but he needed at least some time to cool off.

At his third break that was one hour long, he stayed for a while in the classroom, writing some random ideas about his novel. That didn’t last for long since there was so much noise in the hallway he couldn’t even hear his thoughts at some point.

With a heavy sigh passing through his lips, he collected his things and trudged towards the yard. Upon exiting the building, he spotted two guys from afar, clearly in distress, arguing. A moment later, they started running towards him and burst into the uni before he could ask what was wrong.

Alarmed, Taehyung jolted forward, scuttling towards where he saw the boys have their fight. Groans and choked sounds infiltrated his senses once he was there, and he sprinted towards the back of the building, his heartbeat hammering in his ears by a churning of anxiety and confusion that blustered within him.

His mind blanked, his eyes grew double their size, and his jaw fell open as he took in the scene in front of him, suddenly feeling like he was going to faint. “What the fuck, Jeongguk!” he exclaimed as he watched him throw punch after punch on a boy he couldn’t even recognize by the amount of blood he had on his face.

His mind flipped back alive and allowed him to run closer in an attempt to pull him away. “Jeongguk, you have to stop, Jeongguk!” he cried out as he grabbed him and pushed him back, but the younger didn’t seem like he had realized he was there.

“Jeongguk, please, please stop.” Tears shimmered in his eyes as he continued his efforts to wrench him away, but the turbulent boy shoved him back with full force. “Jeongguk, stop, you’re going to fucking kill him!”

Taehyung noticed through his frantic, foggy vision Jeongguk’s movements ceased abruptly and his trembling, bloody fist unclenched.

“I—I’m not—I, I w-would never—”

“Shut up, just move!” Taehyung fastened an arm around his waist, but halted once he glimpsed at the beaten boy. “Is this fucking Juseong? Oh my God,” he whispered on repeat as he led him away from there. “Put your hands in your pockets.”

He could feel how Jeongguk’s entire body shook against him as Jeongguk did what he was told, and he bit his lower lip hard, suppressing his tears once more. He caught a guy from his class with the corner of his eye as they entered the building and called out his name. “Go to Mr. Kung and tell him to go with the doctor to the back of the building, no questions, just do it now!”

The boy frantically nodded and scooted off right away as they resumed their way to the bathroom. Both panting for breath for different reasons, they stepped inside and Taehyung shut the door when he made sure no one else was there.

Taehyung drew in a few stuttering breaths as he squeezed his eyes closed, trying to soothe his agitated condition. “Okay, okay,” he muttered as he neared Jeongguk, who seemed to be in a trance, just staring at his bloody hands with bulging eyes.

“It’s okay.” Taehyung lifted his hands at a creep and took a hold of his. He positioned them beneath the faucet and turned it on, letting ample water run down as he gently rubbed the blood off them. “Are you good?”

Jeongguk whiffled as he returned to the current situation little by little with the help of the ice-cold water. But no matter how cold the water was, he felt his hands burn under Taehyung’s touch. And for some reason, he didn’t want the burning to disappear.

“Jeongguk, talk to me. Say anything, please.”

The said boy glanced at him through the mirror, his eyes void of any emotion, his breath still uneven but calmer than before. “I’m good.”

“What the hell happened?” Making sure his hands were cleaned, Taehyung grabbed lots of toilet paper to dry them. “Answer me.”

“Nothing.”

Taehyung huffed in stark disbelief as he stared at him. “You beat the crap out of someone and you say nothing happened?”

“Kim, back off.”

“Back off? You tell me to back off?” he gritted out as he slammed his fist against the sink, his blood boiling in rage, so much rage that the tears he choked back before flooded his eyes in just a split second. “I said I won’t care about you anymore, but you’re making it so fucking hard for me right now!” he popped off as he shoved him back, voice roaring, rumbling, and gaze blazing with turmoil.

The door was rammed open before the younger could reply, and they snapped their heads at the sound.

“Follow me,” Mr. Kung calmly stated with a hand gesture.

“He had nothing to do with this.”

“Did I ask, Jeongguk? I don’t think so. Follow me, both of you.”

The two boys obeyed and trailed behind him, all the way to his office. Once they strolled inside, they sat on the couch as Mr. Kung brought his chair in front of them and took his seat as well.

He observed as Taehyung silently cried, hurriedly wiping any tears that trickled down his cheeks, and Jeongguk kept his head away from them. “Taehyung. Can you tell me what happened?”

The said boy sniffled as he peeked at him through his blurred vision, and opened his mouth, but a stifled sob came out instead of words.

“Why the fuck are you crying? Stop it now.”

“Jeongguk, watch it,” Mr. Kung warned with a strict voice. “He’s allowed to feel whatever he needs to feel and do whatever he needs to do.”

Taehyung swiped a palm over his wet cheeks and took a deep puff of air, managing to contain his chaotic feelings. “I just—I went outside, and I saw two guys run towards the entrance. I got worried, so I headed towards where I saw them come from. Then I heard something like groans and went to check. I found Jeongguk hitting that guy, Juseong. I’ve only talked to him once, yesterday. I don’t know what happened, and he isn’t talking.”

“I see. Thank you, Taehyung. You can leave now.”

“But I want to know—“

“This doesn’t concern you. Please.” He gestured towards the door as he offered him a warm smile.

Reluctantly, Taehyung rose from his seat and cast a wary glance at the caramel-haired boy before he exited the office.

“Talk to me, Jeongguk.”

“There’s no need to say anything since you already know what happened.”

“I know you assaulted someone who didn’t do anything to you, so you better start talking now. Did he do something or do you just enjoy beating up students?”

His jaw clenched and his knuckles turned white from gripping the edge of the couch so hard as memories of the events before the beating rushed into his head. “I heard him say something disgusting about someone.”

“Jeongguk. I need you to walk me through everything that happened in detail. What did you hear and about who?”

A deep sigh emitted from his mouth as he shot him a glance. “I was coming back inside and I heard that guy say something like, ‘Yeah, I bet Kim will suck any dick he’s given like a fucking lollipop. Can’t wait to choke him with mine.’ I stopped then and looked at him. I asked him what did he say, and he told me that it’s none of my business.

“Then I asked if he was talking about Kim Taehyung and he said, ‘Yeah, I was talking about that dumb bitch, you have a problem with that?’ And I just saw red then. I grabbed him by his hair, I yelled at his two friends to keep their mouths shut and leave, and I dragged him to the back of the building. And you know the rest.”

Mr. Kung listened thoroughly and nodded his head when he finished, monitoring his demeanor. “That’s... fascinating.”

“What?”

“Jeongguk, you’ve never defended anyone except from your two good friends. And of course, what you did was wrong. You should never hit someone, and especially in here. I just don’t understand why you defended him. Taehyung isn’t your friend. He’s still the new guy who mentioned your parents and got you all pissed off. Why did you go so far to defend him?”

Jeongguk visibly tensed at his words while he lowered his head and remained silent for a long, long time.

“It wasn’t completely about him, was it?”

Jeongguk fiddled with his hands as he chewed on his bottom lip, feeling sick to his stomach just by the memories swirling in his mind. “No.”

“Then tell me. What was it about?”

“I remember my father saying something similar to my mother and I just... I flipped.”

“And because Juseong was referring to someone you care about, it pissed you off.”

“I don’t care about Taehyung,” he retorted with a half snicker as he firmly shook his head.

“But would it be the same if you heard him say that about someone you didn’t know?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure? One hundred percent sure?”

A few moments of silence rolled by as the boy’s eyes roamed around the floor, void of any answer. “Don’t act like a shrink, Mr. K. I’ve been there, done that.”

“My apologies. I just wanted to help you understand a few things. Thank you for telling me the truth. But I’m afraid I have to suspend you.”

“How long?”

“Three days.”

“Great.”

“Jeongguk. If you get suspended again for over two days, you’ll lose this year. You’ve already been suspended for a whole week just when your classes started. And you remember why?"

“Because the reason I fought that guy was stupid as you had said.” A near-silent chuckle slipped out of his mouth with his statement.

“Exactly.” The older cracked a small smile. “Beating someone just because he sat at your table and refused to leave is stupid. At least this time you wanted to defend someone. And I’ll keep Juseong in check. His parents will be notified about his behavior and trust me, they won’t be happy at all. That guy is always getting into trouble.“

“I get into trouble too.”

“It’s not the same. You have some issues and it’s perfectly okay. You don’t pick on others, you don’t curse at teachers, you don’t give me the middle finger just because your family is rich.”

“Did he really give you the finger?”

“Yes, that little prick. Thankfully, his parents scold him a lot and punish him for his behavior, but what more can they do? The kid just doesn’t want to behave.”

“So maybe a little beating would help him get his head straight.”

“That wasn’t a little beating, you almost—” He forced his lips together, stopping himself from saying something he knew it would trigger him. “You hit him badly. And I’ll make sure to calm down his parents so they won’t press charges.”

“What? Charges? I can’t go to jail!” Jeongguk exclaimed as a wave of dread coursed through him.

“Relax! Do you think I’ll let you go there? I helped their son countless times, so they owe me and they’ll drop the matter in a heartbeat. Don’t worry about that.”

Jeongguk released a long, broken sigh, feeling his racing heart calm down bit by bit. “Thank you, Mr. K.”

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I don't know who needs to hear this, but I hope you're doing okay, angels. Stay strong💜