It was weird. Jeongguk wasn’t so aggressive to him after the notebook incident, but suddenly, he went back to being an ass. Did it bother him so much that he asked him to make out with him? He couldn’t think of any other reason because, since that day, Jeongguk ignored him or snapped at him if he started a conversation.

At first, he thought he just wasn’t in a good mood, but five days passed, and he still treated him like when he first met him. He made it clear that he didn’t like him. But did he really have to be so mean about it?

“Stupid Jeon Jeongguk, with his stupid face and his stupid temper, stupid, stupid, stupid!” Taehyung grumbled as he slammed the locker door closed, but a growling whine emitted from his mouth when it bounced back and collided with his face.

“Oh my God,” he mewled, cupping his throbbing nose as he shut his eyes in his attempt to contain the sudden wave of tears that threatened to fall.

He inhaled a trail of slow breaths to pacify the pain, and once he made sure his tears were securely held back, he rubbed his face and locked his locker.

Someone flashing up in his way the moment he spun around had him jolting back, crashing into his locker by his shock. “Desin,” he murmured with a forced smile as his heart continued racing.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” A dangerous smirk was engraved on his lips as he stepped closer at a slow rhythm.

“Just been busy.”

That was a lie. Of course he was avoiding him, and it was no secret. After their make-out session, Desin kept on trying to talk to him despite that Taehyung made it clear that he wasn’t looking for something more.

“We both know that’s a lie,” Desin whispered as he set a hand against the locker and got dangerously close to him, something that tensed Taehyung to the core.

“Desin, I told you from the start that I just wanted someone to make out with once. I’m not interested in anything else—“

“But it’ll be fun.” He placed his other hand beside his head as well, trapping him, and he brought their bodies together, paying no mind to how uncomfortable he was.

“Back off or else I’m gonna punch you,” Taehyung gritted out as he attempted to push him, but he didn’t even budge.

Desin yanked his hands harshly and pinned them to the locker as he shoved his knee into his crotch to immobilize him. “Don’t pretend you don’t want this, slut.” He was a second away from kissing him when a brutal hand grasped his neck and wrenched him away from the now trembling boy, ramming him against the wall across them.

“You still enjoy harassing students I see,” Jeongguk said, voice thick with sarcasm and annoyance mixed as he pressed him cruelly, not letting him go despite his constant efforts.

“We were having fun, Jeon. Why are you meddling in my business? You never gave a fuck about what I did.”

“Because I never caught you myself, you pathetic bitch.” The more Desin fought to release his neck, the harder he squeezed, leading his face to turn red by the lack of oxygen.

“What, you’re g-gonna beat me like Juseong? You’re gonna k-knock me out? Or you’re such a psycho you’re gonna c-choke me?”

The corner of his lips twitched into a sinister smile, maintaining his hold for a few more seconds before he slammed him against the wall once more and then tossed him to the ground like the trash he was.

Desin coughed furiously as he laid there, holding his bruised neck, but Jeongguk couldn’t see anything else than Taehyung, who looked back at him with big, teary eyes.

He edged closer to him, ignoring the group of students surrounding them, and examined him from head to toe in depth. “Did he hurt you?” Before he could answer, he discerned his reddened wrists and grabbed his hand to take a closer look. “That fucker—“ He turned on his heels, ready to pounce on him, but the older threw an arm around his waist.

“It’s okay. I’m okay.”

Jeongguk stared at his arm with wild eyes, feeling his heartbeat rocket more and more as he took in the way his back was pressed against the older’s body.

“What is going on exactly?” Mr. Kung questioned with a booming voice that made the students beetle off right away, leaving only three of them there.

Before Jeongguk could even analyze what was that unfamiliar warmth that flooded his existence, Taehyung jerked back and took it all away with him.

“Desin, are you okay?”

The said boy just pulled himself to his feet and rubbed his sore neck as he glowered at Jeongguk. “I’m fine, sir.”

“Then what the hell did you do again?”

“Me? He almost choked me! He’s a psycho,” Desin snarled as he pointed an accusing finger at the caramel-haired boy, who remained unshaken by his words.

“You haven’t admitted your wrongdoings even once, so don’t play innocent with me. I know you. The three of you to my office, now!”

Taehyung made a step to follow, but the younger instructed him to halt with a delicate hand he placed on his shoulder. When Desin proceeded, he gently pushed him behind him and started following the two with a good amount of space between them.

Taehyung was left staring at his back moon-eyed and with his mouth open in shock by his thoughtful, heart-melting gesture. Just yesterday Jeongguk told him to fuck off and let him enjoy his beer time alone. And now he protected him like he was the most important person in his life. What the hell?

 
“Sit.”

Jeongguk outstretched an arm in front of the violet-haired boy before he even moved, blocking his way. “He won’t sit anywhere near him.”

“He won’t dare to hurt him, Jeongguk, don’t worry,” Mr. Kung reassured, but the stern expression on the younger’s face didn’t yield.

“He won’t sit anywhere near him,” he repeated, the words coming out stricter than before. “He’s uncomfortable.”

Mr. Kung scanned Taehyung, noticing how tightly he held his hands in front of him and his bowed head, and he nodded in understanding. He dragged his chair where Taehyung stood in front of the door and signed him to sit before he returned to his desk, leaning against it.

He nodded his chin towards the couch for Jeongguk to sit, and the boy did with an eye roll. “Now that we’re all set, talk.”

“Nothing happened, sir—“

“Not you.” Mr. Kung shot a warning glare at Desin. “Jeongguk.”

“I don’t know what happened. I saw Desin press Taehyung against the lockers while holding his wrists and I grabbed him and pushed him away.”

“Taehyung?”

“I—Desin came to talk to me. We, um, we made out like five days ago, and I told him I don’t want anything more, but he kept bothering me. I thought he would stop if I ignored him, but he didn’t. And today, he cornered me against my locker, I explained to him once again that it was a onetime thing and I’m not interested in anything else, but he didn’t stop. I pushed him, but he grabbed my wrists and pressed his knee against my, uh, my crotch. He called me a slut, and he was ready to kiss me when Jeongguk showed up. Jeongguk didn’t hurt him. He only took him away from me. Don’t punish him.”

“Yeah, he didn’t hurt me. He almost choked me.”

“And you sexually harassed a student! Again!” Jeongguk growled as rage seared inside him, urging him to attack Desin, but somehow he managed to suppress it.

“Alright, alright,” Mr. Kung said with a sigh as he shook his head. “Desin, this is the third time someone is accusing you of this. If you think you’ll get away with it again because your parents are rich, you’re wrong. Because now, thankfully, we have witnesses, so no matter how powerful your parents are, I will make sure you’ll receive a harsh punishment. Jeongguk, I warned you to stay out of trouble. Unfortunately, I have to suspend you—“

“What? No!” Taehyung burst out of his seat, a panicked look cloaking his face. “He didn’t do anything—“

“Kim Taehyung! Don’t raise your voice at me and don’t question my decisions. He should have come to me right away instead of bruising his neck like that. No form of violence goes unpunished in this university. Suspension for two days for you, Jeongguk. And you know what will happen if you get suspended again.”

“Wait, what will happen?” Taehyung asked with a small voice as he glanced at the caramel-haired boy.

“I’ll lose this year.”

Another torrent of panic rushed through his body at the statement as his eyes popped. “Sir, first, I’m very sorry for raising my voice.” He made a ninety-degree bow and then set his eyes on him. “But please, don’t suspend him. It’s my fault he’s in this place right now. Please suspend me instead.”

“You’re the victim here, Taehyung. I can’t suspend you.”

“But sir—“

“Just stop,” Jeongguk murmured, his gaze firmly fixed on the floor. “Apparently, we shouldn’t do anything when we see pricks like Desin harass someone because we’ll get into trouble otherwise, huh?” His eyes jumped to Mr. Kung, giving him a vicious stare.

“Jeongguk—“

“You really think he’s gonna change if you just suspend him? You think if his rich parents find out about what a disgusting son they have, they’ll do something about it? The only thing they’ll do is to cover his ass at all costs because of their image. Because that’s the only thing they care about. Their image. And their money.”

“What do you want me to do, Jeongguk, huh? What? Are you saying all this to make me feel bad so I won’t suspend you?”

“I’m just saying that we shouldn’t be afraid of getting into trouble if we just want to help someone. Because I’m me, and I don’t give two shits if I lose my year to protect someone, people I know, and my friends who are my family. But someone else, if they get into trouble once because of it, the next time, they’ll see pricks like Desin harass someone and they won’t do shit about it. And that will be on you.”

A thick silence enveloped the entire office as Jeongguk continued to stare Mr. Kung down for a little while longer. He rose to his feet and nodded his head in goodbye before he walked towards the exit. He beckoned Taehyung to follow him, and the boy shifted the chair to the side in a hurry, bowed to Mr. Kung, and scurried behind Jeongguk, who was already out of the office.

The two boys strolled along the now empty hallway with Jeongguk on the lead and Taehyung trailing behind him, unsure about what to do or say.

Taehyung wouldn’t lie; he was staggered by how much he defended him and protected him. With the way he was treating him the past few days, he could never imagine that Jeongguk would be the one to help him.

“What you said at the end was really nice,” the violet-haired boy uttered below his breath, hesitant and cautious as he tinkered with his hands. He risked a peek when he didn’t receive any kind of response, feeling the coil of guilt in his gut swell inch by inch. “My parents are like that, you know. They only care about their image and money.”

The silence from Jeongguk’s side carried on strong, not even bothering to offer him a glance to acknowledge his presence.

“How did you know? That I’d be uncomfortable to sit on the same couch with him?”

“I just did.”

“You knew I was scared too?”

Jeongguk darted him a sidelong glance and dragged his head down, clearing his throat before he spoke. “I knew you were scared too.”

How? How do you know that? Why do you know that? Is it because it’s reasonable? Common sense? Or...

A shiver of something awful traveled down Taehyung's spine at the thought and led him to draw in a chest-swelling breath in his attempt to force it out.

“Am I in the 'people you know' category or in your 'friends' category?” Taehyung asked instead of the reams of questions swirling in his mind since he knew he wouldn’t get an answer to those, anyway.

“People I know,” Jeongguk said, apathetic, as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“Yeah, I thought so. Thank you, anyway. It was awful and... Just thank you.”

“I just don’t understand what you were thinking,” he blurted out, his tone a tad harsher than before. “Making out with a fucking stranger?”

“I know, I know, I screwed up. I asked Jimin to help me, but I couldn’t find him during that break. So I sat outside to observe some guys, you know, trying to find someone who acts like a jerk, and I guess Desin thought I was staring at him and came to talk to me. I should have waited for Jimin. I’ll be more careful next time.”

Jeongguk’s steps slowed down until he stood still as he squeezed a hand into a fist. “Next time?”

“Well, yeah. I barely finished a chapter, even though the kiss was good.”

“Are you stupid?” he snarled as the muscles along his jaw clenched with the fit of vexation that overwhelmed him. “What if the next one does the same, huh? And he corners you outside when no one will be there to help you?”

“I told you, I’ll be more careful. I’ve done this before, and today was the first time something like that happened,” he mumbled with a deep pout on his lips as he tentatively gazed at his rowdy expression.

His annoyance upsurged and vibrated fiercely under his skin, rippling and making his blood boil in his veins. “I don’t know why I even bother to help someone like you. I guess Desin was right. You are a slut after all.”

“What the fuck did you just say?” Taehyung snapped back, a thread of warning in his voice as his face gradually grew scarlet by his ever-increasing fury.

“You heard me.”

“I’m a slut? Why the fuck? Because I make out with people?”

“If you’re not, why are you so offended?”

“Because I’m not, you prick!” Taehyung growled as he shoved him with both hands, sending him stumbling back by the sudden blaze of adrenaline. “You get mad when people call you something you’re not. Guess what, I get mad too!”

A blustering feeling stirred inside Jeongguk that had him dangling on the brink of his self-control, and he stormed off before he let it consume him.

“Yah!” Taehyung charged behind him and yanked him around, his scowl only deepening. “You can’t just take off whenever you like!”

Jeongguk’s whole body shook from his suffocating frenzy as a rigid knot tightened his throat, making it hard for him to breathe. He forcibly released his hand from his grip and marched off, but fuck, he was stopped once again and had to truly struggle to not hurt the boy.

“For your own sake,” he choked out through ragged breaths as different parts and muscles of his body twitched uncontrollably. “Leave me alone. Please. Please.”

Sadness clouded Taehyung’s features as he loosened his grip, dragging his hand away and letting him go as Jeongguk so desperately requested. He was supposed to still feel rage for what the younger said to him, but why the hell did he feel such harrowing sorrow overflow him instead?

⚜✳⚜

☹Drama, drama, drama☹

This part has two more chapters and I'll publish them both tomorrow🤭 I can't wait!! 💜