[fic] Admiring Boy (1/9)
Title: Admiring Boy
Chapter: 1/9
Genre: AU School fic, Drama, Fluff, A little cracky at times
Fandom: The BOSS (Daeguk Nam Ah/Daikoku Danji)
Pairing: MiKaram, EveryonexJay (very onesided, poor jailbait)
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Bullying, Possibly some strong language, Jay being ultimate middle school jailbait
Disclaimer: I do not own anything and everything belongs to their respective owners.
Word Count: 1,562
Summary: When Hyunchul moves to a new school he goes from being teenage royalty to bully bait. After the mysterious Suhoon saves him time and time again, Hyunchul finds himself needing him in a different way. But can Suhoon really give himself in this manner, or is Hyunchul asking for too much?
Notes: My first BOSS fic, and my first chaptered fic in 3 years. I will warn you now, I’m a sucker for romance as a result of adversity. Also, poor Jihwannie doesn’t show up until the third chapter, but he’s worth the wait. （・∀・）
Have you ever felt like you had stepped out of everything and right into the middle of nothing? Leaving everything he had built behind, Hyunchul stepped forward into this new world where everything was strange and scary. He stood facing the school, leaning against the gate post and hoping he was somehow looking cool or interesting and that was why everyone was staring at him as they walked past. That’s why everyone was whispering about him. That’s why they would giggle and look away when he caught their gaze. He didn’t want to admit that they were obviously laughing at him, or that his new uniform hung off his thin frame in a strange manner. He scrunched up his face, and reluctantly stepped forward towards the grey building which towered over him.
Hyunchul tried to walk confidently down the corridors, not entirely sure if he was going the right way but heading in, what he believed to be, the general direction of his new class. But maybe he seemed over confident, because suddenly he came to a halt.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”
Hyunchul turned slowly and deliberately, not keen to put a face to the voice. Staring at him was a heavy built boy with short black hair and tight piercing eyes. He was scowling and, most worryingly, flanked by two boys who looked just as intent on causing harm as him.
“I said, what do you think you’re doing?” the boy repeated again, stepping forward towards Hyunchul. By now everyone else in the corridor had turned to face them. “You walked into me. Apologise.”
The last thing Hyunchul wanted to do right now was apologise, but he just wanted this day to pass without complications. He mumbled an apology and quickly walked off down the corridor, this time being careful not to even brush against anyone else.
He finally found his classroom, and only just in time. Despite all his anxiety, he introduced himself to the class with a smile, flicking his head to the side so his hair would fall attractively on his face (a skill he’d most certainly mastered at his old school). As he did this, he suddenly felt sick, like his heart was in his mouth. That boy was in the same class as him. And although the girls looked starry eyed as they watched him, they suddenly jerked their heads away when they noticed the way that boy looked at the new arrival.
“Hmm, ah, there’s a free seat at the back there, next to Shin,” the teacher told him, and Hyunchul felt his heart sink even further.
Throughout the rest of the day Hyunchul found himself being prodded and poked from behind by Shin, a boy who seemed intent on making his every moment in class unbearable. He felt eyes on him from all around, silently observing every motion that was made against him. He noticed two boys to his left exchange glances and then look over at him. One seemed to have a soft apologetic smile on his face as he made eye contact with Hyunchul, but at that exact moment Shin cleared his throat and both boys jumped round to face the front.
Grateful to be out of the stifling negativity that surrounded him in class, Hyunchul made his way to the toilets. Staring in the mirror at himself, he couldn’t help but ball his fists and grimace. How the hell had he ended up in this situation? Here he was, stood in a somewhat grimy bathroom in a school where he knew no one in a uniform that didn’t fit properly. He’d tucked his shirt in the best he could but it still seemed to bulge out at odd angles, and his trousers were at least an inch too short. “I’m sorry, we can’t afford a new uniform right now. This will have to do. But Haneul will get a promotion soon.” Hyunchul scoffed, kicking at the pipes of the sink in front of him. Haneul wasn’t going to get a promotion anytime soon. He would be surprised if that waste of space managed to keep his job this time. It was his fault they’d had to move. His fault he had to change schools.
“I bet you thought you were some kind of royalty at your old school.”
Hyunchul jerked around, his hands grabbing at the sink. Shin had suddenly appeared in the doorway of the bathroom, his two cronies hanging around him once again.
“I bet everyone thought you were so cool,” Shin continued, sneering. “You’ve got undeniable good looks, I’ll give you that, but other than that you’re no better than anyone else. In fact,” he continued, stepping forward until the two boys were almost touching, “you’re worse than everyone else.”
Hyunchul didn’t see it coming, but he certainly felt it. His head jerked back onto his shoulder and a searing pain shot through his cheek. Shin grabbed the back of his head with his other hand, pulling roughly at Hyunchul’s hair as he forced him to turn to look in the mirror.
“Look at yourself,” he snarled. “Look at what you’re wearing. You look like you just walked in here off the streets. You’re pathetic.”
Hyunchul collided with the floor, hard. He couldn’t understand why this boy had such a vendetta against him already. Was it simply enough that he had bumped into him slightly - if he even had as Hyunchul couldn’t even remember? Was that enough to spark such a violent reaction? He had no time to think though, and he braced himself as he saw Shin position himself between his sprawled legs, lifting his leg back. There was a deliberate slowness about it, and the smirk on his face showed he was obviously enjoying this painfully sluggish torture.
“Hoobae! Stop!”
Hyunchul flinched, expecting the foot had made impact and he just hadn’t noticed it in shock or something. But as he raised his head off the ground he could see Shin had walked away from him now and was glowering angrily at one of his lackeys. No, not one of his lackeys. This was another boy. He stood in the doorway, long brown hair framing his hard set face. Hyunchul couldn’t help but note this boy was obviously handsome, and as such was probably a million times scarier than Shin could ever be. The harsh air Shin gave off and the rough appearance alerted others to the violent persona underlying. But this boy, with his soft features and immaculate uniform, looked like the angriest angel Hyunchul could ever imagine.
“If you lay another finger on him,” this guardian angel told Shin, poking his own finger into the boy’s chest for emphasis, “then you definitely will not enjoy the consequences.”
Shin grimaced, but as this boy stepped to the side to make room in the doorway, he said nothing and left. Hyunchul was left, still sprawled on the floor, staring up into the face of this mystery boy.
“I’m Suhoon,” he said, extending a hand and pulling Hyunchul to his feet. He had unnervingly bright eyes, but now his face was painted with a smile. “Are you okay?”
“I’m… I’m fine,” Hyunchul replied, but Suhoon prodded at his cheek. He hissed in pain and Suhoon tutted, softly feeling the area.
“Yeah,” he eventually said, slowly, then he suddenly laughed. “You’ll live.”
His finger lingered on Hyunchul’s cheek for a second longer, but he seemed to realise what he was doing and pulled away. Hyunchul felt a slight blush tingeing his cheeks and made an effort to turn away and look out the window.
“You’re the new kid, in Hyunmin’s class?” Suhoon suddenly blurted out.
“Uhm.”
“You don’t know Hyunmin? I thought he would’ve introduced himself… But your name is Hyunchul, right?”
Hyunchul nodded, confused by the turn the conversation was making.
“Wow, Hyunmin said you were cute but I thought he was kidding.”
Hyunchul really did flush red this time, tensing in embarrassment. Okay, he’d been called cute by girls before, but by a boy? He was suddenly very conscious of the fact the two of them were alone. And in the boy’s bathroom. And that he was wearing this hideous ill fitting uniform.
“Ah, I’m sorry! I just meant, well, I can see why Hyunmin said you seemed like you were the popular type. At your old school, I mean.”
Hyunchul didn’t really have much to say to this. He was never usually this shy, but something about this boy made him nervous. It wasn’t the same kind of uncomfortable nervousness he got from Shin, but some kind of feeling he didn’t really know how to place. Every time their eyes locked he felt a kick in his stomach, and when he smiled his whole face lifted and brightened immensely.
“Well, I’ll see you around, Hyunchul,” Suhoon said, shuffling from side to side. He looked uncomfortable all of a sudden.
As he was about to leave, Hyunchul reached forward and grabbed his arm. “Thank you,” he said, and he smiled at Suhoon, a part of him willing the other boy to smile back, just so he could see that smile one more time.
The smile came, but this time it seemed strained. Suhoon quickly made his exit, and Hyunchul was left wondering why he felt like he’d lost something the moment he left.