[long ass chapter! I'm so sorry]

By the time Jisung woke up, he knew he was late. As his eyes fluttered open and adjusted to the brightness of the living room, he took the phone lying over his chest and held it above his face, squinting to read the notifications on his screen. He smiled at the sweet morning texts from his boyfriend, quickly typing up a reply to let Minho know he was up.

He shifted on the couch, still too sleepy to get off, then turned his head to face the coffee table.

Did I leave my notebook open last night?

Jisung then shot up, realizing he didn't even bring any notebook downstairs the day before. Now wide awake, he grabbed the book and stared at the words neatly written in blue

thank you for treating me
and letting me stay..
you're really nice.

His lips initially turned into a small smirk, then a huge smile. Even if the words weren't much, he felt intense happiness swirl within just at the thought that Felix had finally spoken to him. Well, not literally speak, but it was more than enough.

Although he didn't have much time, Jisung couldn't care less about being late to school. His mind was a mess, a happy one at that. The smile never leaving his lips, Jisung went upstairs and walked into his room. The sweet fragrance of jasmines lingered in the empty room, and Jisung assumed Felix must have left not too long ago.

He slipped into the first pair of trousers in his reach, which happened to be some black cargo pants, then paired it with a white tee. After brushing his brown locks back using his fingers, Jisung threw his backpack over one shoulder and left his apartment with a fuzzy feeling warming his heart.

On his walk to school, Jisung's mind felt louder than a traffic jam. A multitude of thoughts crashed into each other, some of which worried about whether or not Felix had breakfast, and if he got a change of clothes before leaving.
He stopped by the convenience store, then returned with a bag of freshly-made steamed buns.

Barely reaching before the final bell goes, Jisung headed into the school building, with a certain boy on his mind.

•

⇒ GWC building B . South Wing

Jisung bid goodbye to both Hyunjin and Seungmin, who couldn't understand why he was so excited to go to his second class, chemistry.

He barged into the classroom, not paying attention to the boys that had whipped their head to his direction. Instead, he eagerly searched the back rows, then a smile settled on his lips.

Without hesitation, Jisung headed to Felix's seat, where the latter had his gaze downturned, his soft blond hair falling over his eyes as he concentrated on whatever was inside his pencil case. The bruises from yesterday were perfectly covered up, and Jisung concluded Felix either had someone help him or was just a really good make up artist.

"Hey baby." Jisung greeted casually, instantly grabbing Felix's attention.

The blond met Jisung's gaze with red coating his cheeks. He then melted into a smile, his eyes turning into crescents.

It was the first time Felix smiled at Jisung.

Jisung made a mental note to mark the date as special as he took a seat by the boy's side.

"You went home and changed?" asked Jisung, gesturing towards Felix's striped t-shirt.

Felix nodded, a small smile still evident on his lips. Jisung's eyes travelled to Felix's neck, which was gracefully wrapped with a plain white choker. He couldn't lie though, the blond looked incredibly attractive with the accessory.

Jisung placed the paper bag of steamed buns on the boy's lap, who looked at him bewildered.

"You didn't have breakfast, did you?" asked Jisung, and his guess turned out to be correct as Felix timidly nodded 'no'. "Eat it before Mr. Wonpil gets here."

•

Once the bell sounded, Jisung realised not a single word of chemistry made it into his head. Instead, the adorable sight of Felix munching on the steamed bun with innocent eyes stayed imprinted in his mind. Feeling a tug on his sleeve, Jisung glanced at Felix, who timidly passed his book across the table.

thank u again. i don't
understand why you're
really kind to me..

A smile formed on Jisung's lips as he read the words. He messed Felix's near blond hair. "I don't understand why you're so cute either."

A visible blush spread across the blond's freckled cheeks with a shy smile that caused Jisung to chuckle.

"Since we share Maths, I'm guessing you have Maths next?" asked Jisung as he collected his things to leave. He looked at Felix, who nodded in response.

Jisung displayed a toothy grin. "Let's go together."

During the walk through the packed hallways, Jisung wondered if he should've put more thought into his choice of outfit. Because he just couldn't stand the stares burning into his head. He also thought it might have been because Felix looked really adorable today, especially with those green high tops. But the glances people threw their way weren't nice, they were rather rather nasty. Jisung was almost convinced it was his sloppy appearance with zero efforts, until certain words managed to make it to his ears.

'Why is he hanging out with the mute kid?'

He instinctively shot a glare at the stranger who voiced those words, causing the boy to immediately turn away. Seriously, what's the matter with people?

Just as they reached room 274B, somebody tapped on Jisung's shoulder. He turned around and was met with a black-haired boy, nervously fiddling with his sweater's hem. Involuntarily, Jisung grabbed Felix's wrist, stepping in front protectively.

The stranger gulped. "A-Are you Han..?" As Jisung nodded, he subconsciously nodded along before continuing, "Can- Can I talk.. In private?"

Jisung cocked an eyebrow, but mumbled a small okay. He glanced at his side to see Felix look at him with conflicted eyes.

"Go to class baby, I'll be back soon." said Jisung as he brought his hand to Felix's shoulder, giving him a light squeeze.

"So.. Who are you?" Jisung couldn't help but ask, following behind the fidgety boy. Once they were quite far from the Math classroom, the boy stopped.

He turned around, sucking in a deep breath. "My name is Jungwoo.."

After a moment of silence, Jisung sighed, the awkwardness starting to get on his nerves. "What do you want? Why did you bring me here?" He asked with a slightly harsh tone.

Without replying, Jungwoo snatched his phone out and dialed a number, setting the call on speaker so Jisung could hear the rings. Jisung folded his arms over his chest, eyebrows furrowed. Right as the call was picked up, Jungwoo jolted, visibly a hundred times more nervous.

A sick chuckle was heard from the other end.

| "Han Jisung. We meet again, huh?" |

Jisung tilted his head and glared at Jungwoo, who instead averted his gaze. "What the fuck is this? Who are you making me talk to?"

| "Calm down, Han~ Stop talking to him when I'm  right here." |

Irritated, Jisung grabbed the phone from Jungwoo, causing the ravenette to shrink back. And although he could swear he's heard this voice somewhere, he couldn't tell just who. "What the fuck do you want? I'm late for class so finish this."

| "It's simple, little one." |

The person said, a sadistic ring evident in his voice.

| "Just don't get close to the mute boy. Easy, right? Stay away... and things will be good." |

It took all of Jisung's strength to refrain from smashing the phone onto the ground and stepping on it. He gritted his teeth. "Fuck off. Felix is my friend."

After a silence, another chuckle echoed through the phone.

| "Alright. You're asking for this, kid.. This will be fun." |

Then, he hung up. Clicking his tongue, Jisung tossed the phone at Jungwoo and turned on his heels without bothering to say something. Not only was he so incredibly annoyed, he was also getting late for class.

As he cursed under his breath, stomping down the hall, Jisung recalled meeting someone with the same rough voice previously. His face twisted into a scowl. "That gangbin thinks he's so cool." He muttered.

As he turned the corner, a crowd of students that was previously not present now blocked the area ahead. Jisung slowed down and felt his heart rate accelerate. Is Felix okay?

When he managed to see through the crowds that somebody was on the floor, a familiar pair of green converses caught his eyes. That very second he knew, Felix was far from okay.

"Felix!"

Before his mind could process it, Jisung took off and shoved himself through the crowd. He chanted Felix's name, his heart pounding in his ears as he made way through the stubborn kids who didn't budge. When he stumbled forward into the centre, the atmosphere melted into a tense silence and all eyes were on him. All, including Felix's teary eyes, except one person. The bully. The person had his back turned, his veiny arm harshly gripping Felix by the poor boy's messy hair, the blond on his knees.

His blood boiling, Jisung didn't hold back from yelling at the top of his lungs, "Get the fuck away from-"

Sharply cutting him off, the bully turned around in one swift move. When their eyes locked, Jisung felt everything shatter. His breath caught in his throat.

Jisung felt a tremble in his legs, amidst the suffocation that turned his throat voiceless. He felt moistening in his eyes, the sensation burning along with a slight tingle in his nose.

"M-Minho..?"

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