(for hidden_onigiri) Troublemaker
For: hidden_onigiri
Title: Troublemaker
Pairings: Kai/D.O
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~5,100
Summary: High School AU. Due to his association with Beagleline (Baekhyun/Chanyeol/Chen), Do Kyungsoo finds himself in the most ridiculous situations. One joke goes too far as to avoid expulsion the boys are forced to become mentors to troubled Freshman students. There Kyungsoo meets Kim Jongin, a kid who acts tough but really is not.
There was always a time when Do Kyungsoo would prepare his mind for the worse. Whenever he found himself in a difficult ridiculous predicament, he would always lay out the consequences in his mind and mentality prepare himself beforehand of the punishments that were to come. This had been a procedure he had learned to develop all his life since meeting the three rowdiest boys in kindergarten. Little did he know that he would be stuck with these three boys for the rest of his years and all the ups and downs that came with the package.
Byun Baekhyun. The mastermind. The enabler. It blew Kyungsoo’s mind how often ridiculous ideas would come from Baekhyun’s mouth and his mind blew even further when he found himself executing these so called brilliant ideas. Baekhyun was the first boy to ever speak to Kyungsoo as he tied a red ribbon around Kyungsoo’s neck, holding him like a kid on a leash and telling adults sob stories that he was mute in order for them to receive cash to buy trading cards.
Park Chanyeol. The initiator. The happy virus. When Baekhyun had a plan, Chanyeol had no problem executing them. This boy always had a way with words and with his cute face and charming smile; he had no difficulty getting what he wanted. Kyungsoo always thought Chanyeol’s overly happy façade was a bit annoying and would often tell the other boy to his face, but that just made Chanyeol want to bother the smaller boy even more. There was no else Chanyeol loved teasing than Kyungsoo.
Kim Jongdae. The talker. The troll. If you wanted to shut up anyone in an argument within 30 seconds, Jongdae would get the job done. He was a smooth talker and definitely a favorite among adults. On the outside he was the perfect polite student but in the inside he was a childish troll who found fun from the most idiotic propositions made by Baekhyun. He always developed a level of respect towards Kyungsoo and admired the smaller boy a lot. However that never stopped him from making Kyungsoo a victim of his trolling.
Thus made the Beagle Line. How Kyungsoo got dragged along? Even Kyungsoo himself would never know. Apparently Kyungsoo had some strong magnetic force within him that couldn’t help but have troublemakers automatically stick to him. They have been a group he had tried to avoid in the past, but could never get rid of. In the end he had great memories with them and not so great memories with them. The predicament that they were in at the current moment was definitely one of the not so great memories…
Palms sweating, nerves twitching, every tension in his body was uptight, Do Kyungsoo’s mind went crazy as he can hear the thunderous ticks of the school clock in the principal’s office. Every second that clicked by felt like an eternity as he couldn’t help but squeeze his two small hands together. Goodbye scholarship, Goodbye College, goodbye future…
Surprisingly this has not been his first time in the principal’s office. He made frequent visits in the past due to the whole concept of being caught wrong place wrong time when his friends played out plans to what they thought were brilliant. But this time…this…this was something different.
“Dude, I have to admit, what we did was pretty badass,” Baekhyun grinned as he turned to the boys beside him.
“Hell yeah, it was a triple crown, triple! We did so much in one go! We should get an award for that!” Chanyeol nodded in agreement. “No other senior could accomplish what we did!”
“Hehe, oh man, the idea with the door handle? Brilliant. Also what we did in the schoolyard? No one could pull that stunt off in five minutes!” Jongdae’s face brightened as he grinned at the other boys. “Oh man, if only Kyungsoo didn’t get caught, we could have done the whole field too!”
Kyungsoo felt his eye twitch as he threw the other three boys a deep glare. His arms crossed tightly against his chest as he continued to look forward, ignoring the chatting dogs beside him.
“But it’s okay you got caught Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol smiled as he gave the smaller boy a pat on the shoulder. “Don’t feel too guilty about it!”
“Don’t touch me,” Kyungsoo continued to stare straight ahead as he could feel his head boiling.
At that moment the principal walked into the office. The man was in his mid-50s as his hair began to gray slightly. He was a tall man with a lean body as he looked like he had a history handling a bunch of troublemaking kids in the past. The principal took a seat at his desk directly across the four boys as he looked at each one in the eye one by one.
“So let me get this straight,” the principal stared at the boys before him. “You boys smeared dog poop on the door handles of every car in the parking lot, you littered toilet paper all over the front yard, you let lose 10 rats in the girls locker room, put laxatives in the school lunch, and had 100 boxes of pizza delivered to my office.”
The three boys nodded slowly as Kyungsoo felt sweat drip from the back of his neck.
“You know, you boys committed so many offenses…” The principal stared at Kyungsoo’s panicked face. “It can guarantee you all expulsion…”
The four boys tightened in their seats as they all felt the pressure of reality.
“Sir, let me explain-” Baekhyun piped only for the principal to slam his hand on the desk.
“QUIET! I’m still speaking,” the principal picked up a folder that was in front of him. “But I don’t want to do that.”
The four boys felt a sigh of relief as they felt a heavy weight lifted from their shoulders.
“Aside from being a group of idiots, you boys are ranked in the top 20 of this school,” the principal looked down his list as he shot a look towards Kyungsoo. “With Do Kyungsoo being at the top of that list…how can I afford to expel the four top students of the graduating class?”
The principal stood up as he gave each of the boys a small forced smile. “I’m going to punish you all. Starting on Monday you boys will be paired with a problem kid from the freshman class. Your job is to help raise the boys grades and to better their attitudes along with your own. This is a commitment you boys will have to compromise in order to keep your records clean and off the books.”
The principal looked at each boy once more.
“Do I make myself clear?”
“…”
“I said, do I make myself clear?”
“Yes sir.”
+++
Kyungsoo stared at the classroom before him. It was filled with apathetic looking freshman with vicious glares. Kyungsoo felt a bit uneasy as he entered the classroom. He looked down at the paper in his hand as it had the name of the boy he had to supervise.
“Kim Jongin…” Kyungsoo mumbled as he scanned across the room. His eyes scanned across his friends as they all were already getting acquainted with their ‘problem’ kids. His eyes then stopped at a boy in the corner who had his head down on the desk with a pair of headphones. He looked to be asleep as his hoodie covered a good part of his face.
Kyungsoo approached the lifeless boy as he debated how he should grab the boy’s attention. He began with a small nudge on the shoulder. The boy would not budge. Kyungsoo then proceeded to nudge even harder. Still no response. He then decided to remove the boy’s headphones only to feel a tight grip on his wrist.
“Don’t touch my headphones.”
The freshman boy gave a dark glare as he tossed Kyungsoo’s wrist to the side. Kyungsoo winced in pain as he began to massage his wrist. He kept his face solid as he stared the younger boy down.
“I’m assuming you’re Jongin. Well, I’m Kyungsoo, starting today I’ll be your mentor.”
Jongin scowled as he turned to the side. “You can just leave. I don’t need a mentor.”
“As much as I would love to do that, I can’t,” Kyungsoo replied as he did his best to monitor his temper.
The smaller boy took a seat as he couldn’t help but notice how much bigger the other boy’s features were compared to his own. Jongin was tall and lean; his hair was slicked to the side as he had a few piercings on his ear.
“Do you have any homework that needs to get done? Or need any help with that?” Kyungsoo asked as he looked at the boy’s empty desk.
Jongin shook his head.
“School just ended, I’m sure you have a lot of homework that needs to get done,” Kyungsoo crossed his arms.
“I already did it.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Jongin turned to the smaller boy with a poignant glare. He slowly reached into his bag as he pulled out a stack of paper. He then proceeded to slam the stack down in front of Kyungsoo’s desk.
“I already did it.”
Kyungsoo’s eyes widened in surprise as he felt his heart race slightly. He had never met anyone so intense in his life. The smaller boy slowly reached over the stack of papers as he quickly glanced through them. His eyes wavered over perfectly written assignments and correctly solved math problems. It was a wonder how Jongin managed to complete everything before school was over.
“This is amazing, when did you have the time to do this?”
“I do it during class because I get bored.”
“If you’re so smart, then why are you here?”
“Because I’m a ‘problem’ kid, a troublemaker.”
“And what’s your problem?”
“I punched a guy and broke his arm.”
+++
Kyungsoo took a bite out of his pizza as he stared at his three friends uproariously chatting like a group of hyenas. Baekhyun couldn’t shut up about the Chinese foreign exchange student named Tao and made fun of his Korean pronunciations. Chanyeol had a little brat named Sehun who apparently had ADD and couldn’t stop pulling random pranks on the older boy. Chen complained about the stoner boy named Lay who reeked of weed and was slow at almost everything.
“And then he told me that he could chew gum faster than me! I mean, was that even a challenge? Who the hell challenges people to a gum-chewing contest? And then I realized the whole time he was trying to steal my wallet! What is he? Who does he think he is?” Chanyeol took a sip form his soda. “Anyways, how’s your kid Kyungsoo?”
“Yeah!” Baekhyun wrapped his arm around the smaller boy. “You haven’t peeped a word ever since we sat down for pizza.”
“Who can blame him? The pizza is so good,” Chanyeol talked with his mouth full as bits and pieces flew out of his mouth.
“Disgusting, can we please eat cleanly?” Kyungsoo frowned as he grabbed a napkin to wipe his cheek.
“So what kind of brat do you have?” Chen asked.
“Well, his name is Kim Jongin, he’s really smart and gets all his homework done and he broke a another boy’s arm.”
“Whoa, what, excuse me?” Baekhyun’s mouth dropped.
“So you’re telling me he’s a genius that breaks arms?” Chen raised an eyebrow. “Why did he do it?”
“I don’t know. He never said.”
“That means he can rip you in two,” Chanyeol teased.
“I’ll be fine. I’m not afraid of him.”
“Brave little DO Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun ruffled the hair on the smaller boy’s head. “No one messes with brave little DO.”
“Stop it,” Kyungsoo pushed Baekhyun’s hand away as he straightened down his hair. “There has to be a reason why he broke another kid’s arm.”
“Who cares?” Chen shrugged. “All we have to do is sit there for an hour and then go home. We aren’t there to change lives or mindsets.”
“He has a point,” Chanyeol agreed. “After all, who really listens to mentors anyway?”
+++
Kyungsoo looked at the sleeping boy before him. He let out a soft sigh as he took a seat beside the still boy. Kim Jongin looked rather peaceful and harmless in his sleep. It was rather unbelievable that a docile sleeper could be such a ‘violent’ person.
Kyungsoo decided to let the boy sleep as he took out his own book to read. After a few lines in he heard soft whimpers coming beside him. The smaller boy turned as Jongin shifted slightly in his sleep with deep frowns embedded in his forehead.
“Hey,” Kyungsoo gently shook the other boy’s shoulder. Jongin frowned even deeper. “Hey!”
Jongin woke up as his eyes were at the brim of tears. He held them back as his face immediately turned into a strong scowl. He shifted slightly as he rubbed his eyes rather violently to keep himself fully awake.
“What do you want?” Jongin glared.
“Did you have a bad dream?”
“No.”
“You were whimpering in your sleep-”
Jongin immediately grabbed Kyungsoo’s collar as the whole class turned to stare. He then slowly released the other boy as the class turned back and resumed to their own activities.
“I wasn’t whimpering,” Jongin whispered sharply.
Kyungsoo straightened his collar as he was a bit shaken by the sudden outburst. He noticed his friends staring in concern, but he gave them a little nod indicating that he was okay.
“My bad,” Jongin forced an apologetic gesture as he leaned his chin against one arm. “I have a tendency to have angry outbursts.”
“It’s okay.”
Kyungsoo bit his lips as he looked away from the table. “What makes you so angry all the time?”
“I’m a problem child.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Saying what?”
“You keep calling yourself a problem child.”
“It’s because I am.”
“Well, what defines a problem child?”
“A child with problems.”
“And what problems do you have?”
Jongin paused as he stared off to the side. His brows darkened as his expression turned into a deep frown stemming from a memory he revisited in his mind.
“I broke a guy’s arm.”
“Why?”
Another pause.
“Because he was about to set fireworks on a kitten.”
+++
The four boys were at the neighborhood arcade playing their weekly rounds of fighting games. Chen and Baekhyun were the most competitive ones when it came to playing games, as Kyungsoo and Chanyeol would often be the viewing spectators. However from time to time Kyungsoo and Chanyeol would challenge a round or two.
“I’m convinced he’s a school girl. I have never seen any boy fawn over baby animals or is obsessed with sweets,” Baekhyun stuck out his tongue as he concentrated operating the controls of the video game. “Ah, don’t hit me there!”
“But isn’t he the same kid that did that martial arts routine during the talent show?” Chen furrowed his eyes as tapped with utmost persistency. “I have to admit, he was pretty good.”
“That’s the thing I don’t get. How can a school girl be like some kung fu master-FUCK!” Baekhyun slammed his hand on the controllers. “I hate you.”
Chen responded with a smile. “Just admit it, I’m better than you.”
“Just give up Baek, you’ll never win against Chen,” Chanyeol smirked as he took a bite out of his ice cream.
“Yeah. When was the last time you beat me?” Chen smiled. “Oh right, never.”
“One more time! One more!” Baekhyun begged as he dug his pocket for loose change.
“No, play Kyungsoo, at least you’re somewhat on par with him,” Chen pointed at the smaller boy.
“Hey, don’t underestimate me,” Kyungsoo frowned as he finished the last bits of his ice cream. “I can take you on.”
“Challenge accepted!” Baekhyun grinned as he cracked his knuckles.
Kyungsoo took a seat on the opposite side as he set his bag aside. He inserted a couple coins only to catch a familiar face from the corner of his eye.
“J-Jongin!” Kyungsoo’s eyes widened at the sight of the familiar boy only to see a group of boys from another school cornering him into an alleyway.
“Jongin?” Chanyeol turned to the window of the arcade shop. “Looks like he’s getting into another fight.”
“Kyungsoo, pay attention! Our game is about to start!” Baekhyun tapped his right leg rather impatiently.
“Oh, ouch, that guy is getting him good,” Chanyeol took another bite out of his ice cream.
“We have to go help him!” Kyungsoo stood from his seat.
“No we do not,” Chen shook his head as he sat the smaller boy down. “It’s none of our business.”
“There are four guys against one. He’s clearly outnumbered!”
“And like I said, it’s none of our business. Kyungsoo, this guy almost punched you. What makes you think you should go help him?” Chen placed his hands around the smaller boy’s head as he turned it to face the video game screen. “Play your game, Baekhyun already stole a couple hits from you.”
Kyungsoo let out a small sigh as he began to tap away on the buttons reluctantly.
“YES I WON!” Baekhyun shot up from his seat. “But I guess its not that much of a victory, I still need to beat Chen-”
“I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” Kyungsoo grabbed his bag as he dashed towards the exit. “Plus I lost on purpose.”
“What’s with him?” Baekhyun stared in disbelief.
“He’s trying to be a helpful citizen,” Chen shook his head.
Kyungsoo stopped in his tracks as he found Jongin on the floor leaned up against the corner concrete wall of a convenience store. Jongin’s chest heaved heavily as he had a few bruises on his cheek. The injured boy supported himself with one arm but immediately fell back down due the immense pain that ran throughout his abdomen.
“Fuck…” Jongin breathed as he massaged his arm only to notice a small silhouette in front of him.
“Here, grab on to my hand,” Kyungsoo offered.
“I don’t need your help,” Jongin glared as he held on to his sides.
“Who were those guys? Why did they beat you up like this?” Kyungsoo ignored the boy’s rejection as he bent down to help the injured boy up.
“I never saw them in my life.”
“Then why’d they beat you up?”
“Because people are fucking stupid and are little ignorant shits,” Jongin spit out blood as he wiped his lip on the sleeve of his uniform.
“People do things for a reason,” Kyungsoo rummaged his pocket for a handkerchief. He gently wiped the other boy’s chin.
“People do unreasonable things,” Jongin held on to the other boy as he kept his balance. “My place is up ahead. I don’t like having you help me like this, but it’s either you help me or I crawl my way home.”
“I don’t mind.”
The smaller boy wrapped the bigger boy’s arm around his shoulder as they made their way down the street. Jongin couldn’t help but notice how narrow Kyungsoo’s shoulders were as he did his best not to slip.
“You’re fucking tiny.”
“Yeah, I tend to get that a lot…”
“You don’t look like a senior at all.”
“I get that a lot too.”
“Ow…fuck…”
“Do you need to see a doctor or something?”
Jongin shook his head. “I’ll be fine…”
The two finally arrived at the end of the street. Kyungsoo looked over to see a shabby apartment complex. Suspicious people hung around the railings as they stared at the innocent newcomer.
“You can leave now, I can get by myself,” Jongin let go of the other boy as he fumbled for his keys.
“It’ll take you another year just to get to your door. I don’t mind helping you,” Kyungsoo grabbed the keys from the other boy.
“Well, maybe you should mind. You don’t even know me.”
“You’re right, I don’t,” Kyungsoo looked at the boy with wide eyes. “But I know you’re not a bad person.”
Jongin let out a small laugh.
“You should take a bath.”
“I can wash myself.”
Kyungsoo felt his cheeks burn slight red. “I know! I was just making a suggestion!”
“Why are you the one getting embarrassed?” Jongin let out a small smile. It was the first Kyungsoo has ever seen a smile from the other boy.
“Just take a bath!” Kyungsoo pushed the other boy into the bathroom as he closed the door behind him. In a few moments he began to hear the bathtub water running.
The smaller boy turned to take a tour of the living room. The house was rather clean and immaculate. Books were neatly lined up on a shelf, the furniture was nicely arranged and tidy, and there was not a speck of dust to be found.
“You really can’t judge a book by its cover,” Kyungsoo smirked as he walked into the kitchen. He opened the fridge to see it filled with food. “At least it looks like he can take care of himself.”
“K-Kyungsoo…!”
Kyungsoo heard his name from the bathroom. He slowly walked over wondering what the other boy could want from him. The smaller boy propped the door slightly opened as a gush of steam came out.
“What is it?” Kyungsoo asked.
Jongin replied with a deep sigh.
“What?” Kyungsoo repeated.
“I really didn’t want to ask this of you, but my arm fucking hurts like hell…” Jongin took another second. “Can you wash my back?”
Kyungsoo let out a small laugh. “Yeah I can.”
The boy rolled up his sleeves as he entered the steamy bathroom. He waved off the steam as he made his way to the bigger boy. He couldn’t help but notice the bigger boy’s tanned muscular body as he tried his best not to look too much.
“Here’s a towel,” Jongin handed as Kyungsoo began to scrub away.
“Ow, easy, don’t scrub too hard,” Jongin winced in pain.
“Sorry,” Kyungsoo apologized, as he scrubbed gentler.
A second of silence went by.
Jongin let out a small laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Kyungsoo asked rather awkwardly.
“What’s so funny?” Jongin continued to laugh. “This. This is funny.”
Kyungsoo stopped scrubbing as he looked around the bathroom tile. “What? Where?”
“I mean you. Me. You and me. You scrubbing my back. You being in my bathroom, this situation is funny.”
Kyungsoo let out a small laugh. “I guess you’re right. I never would have imagined I’d be scrubbing your back after school.”
“See?” Jongin smiled. “Who would have thought?”
Kyungsoo felt his cheeks turn red at the sight of Jongin’s smile. He tried his best to hide it hoping the heat of the shower steam would be the reason of his blush.
“You’re not as loud as your other annoying friends. Why do you hang out with that obnoxious trio?” Jongin asked. “They remind me of a flock of parrots that won’t shut up.”
“Haha, that’s a new one. They are really like a flock of parrots,” Kyungsoo smiled. “We all grew up together. I was stuck with them whether I liked it or not, but between you and me I wish I could have escaped them years ago.
“If I were you, I’d go crazy!” Jongin laughed. “But it must be nice to have friends.”
“Do you not have friends?”
“I’m a freshman student who got transferred in the middle of the year. I was transferred during a time where everyone already made their friends and cliques. It was too late for me.”
“Oh…I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing. It doesn’t fit you.”
“Sorr-”
Jongin pressed his finger against the smaller boy’s lips. Kyungsoo felt his heart beat slowly.
“Fuck,” Kyungsoo grinned.
Jongin raised an eyebrow as he gave a small approving nod. “Ok, that can work.”
“Ok, think you can handle the rest by yourself?” Kyungsoo stood up as he handed the towel back to the other boy.
“Yeah, thanks for the help,” Jongin smiled.
“You’re welcome. It sucks that those guys beat you up for no reason,” Kyungsoo shook his head slightly.
“No, you were right earlier,” Jongin gave a small sigh. “People do things for a reason.”
“What do you mean?”
“The reason why those guys beat me up was because one of their girlfriends said I was cute. Then he got upset and decided to take out his anger on me.”
“Did you know the girl?”
“Never saw her in my life.”
+++
It has been a month since the four boys started their punishment of participating in the after school-mentoring program. They had once again found themselves in the principal’s office, waiting for the principal with slight anticipation.
“So, I wanted to check in with everyone’s progress. I want to hear from each and every single one of you,” the principal smiled as he looked at each boy individually. “Why don’t we start with Baekhyun?”
“Well considering I don’t understand half the things coming from his mouth, I think progress with Tao is going good. I doubt he’ll be causing any more ruckuses any time soon. The boy comes from a rich family and thinks he’s the shit so he doesn’t know that he actually comes off as a dumb ass on the outside.”
“Baekhyun, please remember to be nice. He is a foreigner and this isn’t his native country. Think if you were in his position and how hard it would be to adapt to a new country.”
“But what do you expect-”
“Thank you Baekhyun. Moving on, Chen?”
“Well, I think the first step with Lay would be for him to admit he has a problem. Second would be to get him to stop being high all the time. Third would be to find ambition?” Chen looked rather unsure of himself.
“Well which step are you on?”
“I want to say one and a half?” Chen shrugged slightly. “That kids is smarter then he looks and sometimes he sprouts philosophical bullshit that I never even heard about. I mean who is this kid?”
“Hm, that could be a way for him to seek meaning in a different place. Be open to his ideas that can distract him from being under the influence.”
“Hmm, I don’t think you catch my drift on this-”
“Moving on. Chanyeol?”
“Sehun is a little shit. End of story.”
“Ok, brief and straight to the point, put a little more effort, will you?”
“Yes sir.”
“Kyungsoo?”
“I think it’s a mistake for Jongin to be there. He’s not a bad kid. He’s actually really smart and kind.”
“But he broke another boy’s arm,” the principal folded his arms across his chest.
“People do things for a reason.”
“His actions were unreasonable.”’
Kyungsoo pursed his lips slightly.
“People who do unreasonable things do things for a reason. Sir do you even know why he broke that other kid’s arm?”
“I do.”
“No I don’t think you do-”
“The other kid was going to set firecrackers on a kitten and thus he broke the other kid’s arm. I know his story,” the principal gave a small nod. “But he chose to be there.”
“What?”
“You’re right Kyungsoo. He’s a really smart boy and he has good intentions and one hell of a punch. What I want you to figure out is why such a bright boy would purposely put himself into a mentoring program?”
+++
The two boys were on the rooftop during lunch. It was forbidden for students to gain access to the rooftop so Kyungsoo felt a bit nervous for breaking a rule (as if he hadn’t broken numerous rules while being with beagle line), but Jongin didn’t have a care in the world. He stood against the railing as he felt the sun shine down on his face and a light breeze brush by his skin.
Kyungsoo stared at the other boy’s backside as he took in the image of Jongin enjoying the day.
“Jongin?”
“Hm?”
“Why do you pretend to be someone that you are not?”
“Isn’t that what all people do?” Jongin stretched his arms as he leaned further on the railing. “We all put on this show, this show of what people perceive us to be. Because really, what is the point of convincing someone of being someone that they already perceive you as?”
“I’m not going to ask questions any more.”
Jongin frowned slightly as he turned to face the smaller boy. “I don’t care.”
“I’m going.”
Kyungsoo turned as he made his way towards the exit. He walked rather stiffly as he couldn’t help but feel somewhat agitated by the other boy. He had finally came to the point where he couldn’t help but wonder if it was even worth putting in any effort. He knew what Jongin’s problem was. A selfish boy who won’t will himself to change. A weak minded individual who refused to put in any effort to change the perceptions perceived by others.
“Wait.”
Kyungsoo felt a tug on his wrist as he turned around, only for his lips to meet with another pair of lips. His eyes widened in surprise as he pushed the other boy.
Jongin looked at the smaller boy with a worried expression. His fists were clenched tightly as Kyungsoo couldn’t help but notice the sweat slowly appearing on the back of his neck.
“What?” Kyungsoo stared at the other boy rather emotionlessly as he wiped his lips with the side of his sleeve.
“I’m sorry.”
Kyungsoo responded with a blank stare.
“I know I came off as a huge asshole, but…” Jongin looked directly into the smaller boy’s eyes. “I thought that if I stopped being an asshole, you would stop talking to me.”
Kyungsoo looked in surprise. This was not a confession he had expected to receive.
“You must hate me and think I’m an ignorant asshole, but, I like you,” Jongin confessed. “I like you a lot, but I don’t expect anything. This will probably be the last time we speak, but I’m okay with it. If this is the last time we speak, I figure that I should at least tell you the truth before you go.”
“You can be really horrible, you know that?” Kyungsoo bit his lip slightly.
“I’m sorry,” Jongin apologized again.
Kyungsoo slowly walked over as he inched closer and closer to the taller boy. He stopped a few centimeters away as he leaned forward with a kiss. He then quickly pulled away as he could feel his cheeks flush red.
“I don’t know why, but I’m drawn to you.”
“It’s because you attract troublemakers.”
“I guess you’re right.”
Jongin smiled as he leaned for another kiss.
Title: Troublemaker
Pairings: Kai/D.O
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~5,100
Summary: High School AU. Due to his association with Beagleline (Baekhyun/Chanyeol/Chen), Do Kyungsoo finds himself in the most ridiculous situations. One joke goes too far as to avoid expulsion the boys are forced to become mentors to troubled Freshman students. There Kyungsoo meets Kim Jongin, a kid who acts tough but really is not.
There was always a time when Do Kyungsoo would prepare his mind for the worse. Whenever he found himself in a difficult ridiculous predicament, he would always lay out the consequences in his mind and mentality prepare himself beforehand of the punishments that were to come. This had been a procedure he had learned to develop all his life since meeting the three rowdiest boys in kindergarten. Little did he know that he would be stuck with these three boys for the rest of his years and all the ups and downs that came with the package.
Byun Baekhyun. The mastermind. The enabler. It blew Kyungsoo’s mind how often ridiculous ideas would come from Baekhyun’s mouth and his mind blew even further when he found himself executing these so called brilliant ideas. Baekhyun was the first boy to ever speak to Kyungsoo as he tied a red ribbon around Kyungsoo’s neck, holding him like a kid on a leash and telling adults sob stories that he was mute in order for them to receive cash to buy trading cards.
Park Chanyeol. The initiator. The happy virus. When Baekhyun had a plan, Chanyeol had no problem executing them. This boy always had a way with words and with his cute face and charming smile; he had no difficulty getting what he wanted. Kyungsoo always thought Chanyeol’s overly happy façade was a bit annoying and would often tell the other boy to his face, but that just made Chanyeol want to bother the smaller boy even more. There was no else Chanyeol loved teasing than Kyungsoo.
Kim Jongdae. The talker. The troll. If you wanted to shut up anyone in an argument within 30 seconds, Jongdae would get the job done. He was a smooth talker and definitely a favorite among adults. On the outside he was the perfect polite student but in the inside he was a childish troll who found fun from the most idiotic propositions made by Baekhyun. He always developed a level of respect towards Kyungsoo and admired the smaller boy a lot. However that never stopped him from making Kyungsoo a victim of his trolling.
Thus made the Beagle Line. How Kyungsoo got dragged along? Even Kyungsoo himself would never know. Apparently Kyungsoo had some strong magnetic force within him that couldn’t help but have troublemakers automatically stick to him. They have been a group he had tried to avoid in the past, but could never get rid of. In the end he had great memories with them and not so great memories with them. The predicament that they were in at the current moment was definitely one of the not so great memories…
Palms sweating, nerves twitching, every tension in his body was uptight, Do Kyungsoo’s mind went crazy as he can hear the thunderous ticks of the school clock in the principal’s office. Every second that clicked by felt like an eternity as he couldn’t help but squeeze his two small hands together. Goodbye scholarship, Goodbye College, goodbye future…
Surprisingly this has not been his first time in the principal’s office. He made frequent visits in the past due to the whole concept of being caught wrong place wrong time when his friends played out plans to what they thought were brilliant. But this time…this…this was something different.
“Dude, I have to admit, what we did was pretty badass,” Baekhyun grinned as he turned to the boys beside him.
“Hell yeah, it was a triple crown, triple! We did so much in one go! We should get an award for that!” Chanyeol nodded in agreement. “No other senior could accomplish what we did!”
“Hehe, oh man, the idea with the door handle? Brilliant. Also what we did in the schoolyard? No one could pull that stunt off in five minutes!” Jongdae’s face brightened as he grinned at the other boys. “Oh man, if only Kyungsoo didn’t get caught, we could have done the whole field too!”
Kyungsoo felt his eye twitch as he threw the other three boys a deep glare. His arms crossed tightly against his chest as he continued to look forward, ignoring the chatting dogs beside him.
“But it’s okay you got caught Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol smiled as he gave the smaller boy a pat on the shoulder. “Don’t feel too guilty about it!”
“Don’t touch me,” Kyungsoo continued to stare straight ahead as he could feel his head boiling.
At that moment the principal walked into the office. The man was in his mid-50s as his hair began to gray slightly. He was a tall man with a lean body as he looked like he had a history handling a bunch of troublemaking kids in the past. The principal took a seat at his desk directly across the four boys as he looked at each one in the eye one by one.
“So let me get this straight,” the principal stared at the boys before him. “You boys smeared dog poop on the door handles of every car in the parking lot, you littered toilet paper all over the front yard, you let lose 10 rats in the girls locker room, put laxatives in the school lunch, and had 100 boxes of pizza delivered to my office.”
The three boys nodded slowly as Kyungsoo felt sweat drip from the back of his neck.
“You know, you boys committed so many offenses…” The principal stared at Kyungsoo’s panicked face. “It can guarantee you all expulsion…”
The four boys tightened in their seats as they all felt the pressure of reality.
“Sir, let me explain-” Baekhyun piped only for the principal to slam his hand on the desk.
“QUIET! I’m still speaking,” the principal picked up a folder that was in front of him. “But I don’t want to do that.”
The four boys felt a sigh of relief as they felt a heavy weight lifted from their shoulders.
“Aside from being a group of idiots, you boys are ranked in the top 20 of this school,” the principal looked down his list as he shot a look towards Kyungsoo. “With Do Kyungsoo being at the top of that list…how can I afford to expel the four top students of the graduating class?”
The principal stood up as he gave each of the boys a small forced smile. “I’m going to punish you all. Starting on Monday you boys will be paired with a problem kid from the freshman class. Your job is to help raise the boys grades and to better their attitudes along with your own. This is a commitment you boys will have to compromise in order to keep your records clean and off the books.”
The principal looked at each boy once more.
“Do I make myself clear?”
“…”
“I said, do I make myself clear?”
“Yes sir.”
+++
Kyungsoo stared at the classroom before him. It was filled with apathetic looking freshman with vicious glares. Kyungsoo felt a bit uneasy as he entered the classroom. He looked down at the paper in his hand as it had the name of the boy he had to supervise.
“Kim Jongin…” Kyungsoo mumbled as he scanned across the room. His eyes scanned across his friends as they all were already getting acquainted with their ‘problem’ kids. His eyes then stopped at a boy in the corner who had his head down on the desk with a pair of headphones. He looked to be asleep as his hoodie covered a good part of his face.
Kyungsoo approached the lifeless boy as he debated how he should grab the boy’s attention. He began with a small nudge on the shoulder. The boy would not budge. Kyungsoo then proceeded to nudge even harder. Still no response. He then decided to remove the boy’s headphones only to feel a tight grip on his wrist.
“Don’t touch my headphones.”
The freshman boy gave a dark glare as he tossed Kyungsoo’s wrist to the side. Kyungsoo winced in pain as he began to massage his wrist. He kept his face solid as he stared the younger boy down.
“I’m assuming you’re Jongin. Well, I’m Kyungsoo, starting today I’ll be your mentor.”
Jongin scowled as he turned to the side. “You can just leave. I don’t need a mentor.”
“As much as I would love to do that, I can’t,” Kyungsoo replied as he did his best to monitor his temper.
The smaller boy took a seat as he couldn’t help but notice how much bigger the other boy’s features were compared to his own. Jongin was tall and lean; his hair was slicked to the side as he had a few piercings on his ear.
“Do you have any homework that needs to get done? Or need any help with that?” Kyungsoo asked as he looked at the boy’s empty desk.
Jongin shook his head.
“School just ended, I’m sure you have a lot of homework that needs to get done,” Kyungsoo crossed his arms.
“I already did it.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Jongin turned to the smaller boy with a poignant glare. He slowly reached into his bag as he pulled out a stack of paper. He then proceeded to slam the stack down in front of Kyungsoo’s desk.
“I already did it.”
Kyungsoo’s eyes widened in surprise as he felt his heart race slightly. He had never met anyone so intense in his life. The smaller boy slowly reached over the stack of papers as he quickly glanced through them. His eyes wavered over perfectly written assignments and correctly solved math problems. It was a wonder how Jongin managed to complete everything before school was over.
“This is amazing, when did you have the time to do this?”
“I do it during class because I get bored.”
“If you’re so smart, then why are you here?”
“Because I’m a ‘problem’ kid, a troublemaker.”
“And what’s your problem?”
“I punched a guy and broke his arm.”
+++
Kyungsoo took a bite out of his pizza as he stared at his three friends uproariously chatting like a group of hyenas. Baekhyun couldn’t shut up about the Chinese foreign exchange student named Tao and made fun of his Korean pronunciations. Chanyeol had a little brat named Sehun who apparently had ADD and couldn’t stop pulling random pranks on the older boy. Chen complained about the stoner boy named Lay who reeked of weed and was slow at almost everything.
“And then he told me that he could chew gum faster than me! I mean, was that even a challenge? Who the hell challenges people to a gum-chewing contest? And then I realized the whole time he was trying to steal my wallet! What is he? Who does he think he is?” Chanyeol took a sip form his soda. “Anyways, how’s your kid Kyungsoo?”
“Yeah!” Baekhyun wrapped his arm around the smaller boy. “You haven’t peeped a word ever since we sat down for pizza.”
“Who can blame him? The pizza is so good,” Chanyeol talked with his mouth full as bits and pieces flew out of his mouth.
“Disgusting, can we please eat cleanly?” Kyungsoo frowned as he grabbed a napkin to wipe his cheek.
“So what kind of brat do you have?” Chen asked.
“Well, his name is Kim Jongin, he’s really smart and gets all his homework done and he broke a another boy’s arm.”
“Whoa, what, excuse me?” Baekhyun’s mouth dropped.
“So you’re telling me he’s a genius that breaks arms?” Chen raised an eyebrow. “Why did he do it?”
“I don’t know. He never said.”
“That means he can rip you in two,” Chanyeol teased.
“I’ll be fine. I’m not afraid of him.”
“Brave little DO Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun ruffled the hair on the smaller boy’s head. “No one messes with brave little DO.”
“Stop it,” Kyungsoo pushed Baekhyun’s hand away as he straightened down his hair. “There has to be a reason why he broke another kid’s arm.”
“Who cares?” Chen shrugged. “All we have to do is sit there for an hour and then go home. We aren’t there to change lives or mindsets.”
“He has a point,” Chanyeol agreed. “After all, who really listens to mentors anyway?”
+++
Kyungsoo looked at the sleeping boy before him. He let out a soft sigh as he took a seat beside the still boy. Kim Jongin looked rather peaceful and harmless in his sleep. It was rather unbelievable that a docile sleeper could be such a ‘violent’ person.
Kyungsoo decided to let the boy sleep as he took out his own book to read. After a few lines in he heard soft whimpers coming beside him. The smaller boy turned as Jongin shifted slightly in his sleep with deep frowns embedded in his forehead.
“Hey,” Kyungsoo gently shook the other boy’s shoulder. Jongin frowned even deeper. “Hey!”
Jongin woke up as his eyes were at the brim of tears. He held them back as his face immediately turned into a strong scowl. He shifted slightly as he rubbed his eyes rather violently to keep himself fully awake.
“What do you want?” Jongin glared.
“Did you have a bad dream?”
“No.”
“You were whimpering in your sleep-”
Jongin immediately grabbed Kyungsoo’s collar as the whole class turned to stare. He then slowly released the other boy as the class turned back and resumed to their own activities.
“I wasn’t whimpering,” Jongin whispered sharply.
Kyungsoo straightened his collar as he was a bit shaken by the sudden outburst. He noticed his friends staring in concern, but he gave them a little nod indicating that he was okay.
“My bad,” Jongin forced an apologetic gesture as he leaned his chin against one arm. “I have a tendency to have angry outbursts.”
“It’s okay.”
Kyungsoo bit his lips as he looked away from the table. “What makes you so angry all the time?”
“I’m a problem child.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Saying what?”
“You keep calling yourself a problem child.”
“It’s because I am.”
“Well, what defines a problem child?”
“A child with problems.”
“And what problems do you have?”
Jongin paused as he stared off to the side. His brows darkened as his expression turned into a deep frown stemming from a memory he revisited in his mind.
“I broke a guy’s arm.”
“Why?”
Another pause.
“Because he was about to set fireworks on a kitten.”
+++
The four boys were at the neighborhood arcade playing their weekly rounds of fighting games. Chen and Baekhyun were the most competitive ones when it came to playing games, as Kyungsoo and Chanyeol would often be the viewing spectators. However from time to time Kyungsoo and Chanyeol would challenge a round or two.
“I’m convinced he’s a school girl. I have never seen any boy fawn over baby animals or is obsessed with sweets,” Baekhyun stuck out his tongue as he concentrated operating the controls of the video game. “Ah, don’t hit me there!”
“But isn’t he the same kid that did that martial arts routine during the talent show?” Chen furrowed his eyes as tapped with utmost persistency. “I have to admit, he was pretty good.”
“That’s the thing I don’t get. How can a school girl be like some kung fu master-FUCK!” Baekhyun slammed his hand on the controllers. “I hate you.”
Chen responded with a smile. “Just admit it, I’m better than you.”
“Just give up Baek, you’ll never win against Chen,” Chanyeol smirked as he took a bite out of his ice cream.
“Yeah. When was the last time you beat me?” Chen smiled. “Oh right, never.”
“One more time! One more!” Baekhyun begged as he dug his pocket for loose change.
“No, play Kyungsoo, at least you’re somewhat on par with him,” Chen pointed at the smaller boy.
“Hey, don’t underestimate me,” Kyungsoo frowned as he finished the last bits of his ice cream. “I can take you on.”
“Challenge accepted!” Baekhyun grinned as he cracked his knuckles.
Kyungsoo took a seat on the opposite side as he set his bag aside. He inserted a couple coins only to catch a familiar face from the corner of his eye.
“J-Jongin!” Kyungsoo’s eyes widened at the sight of the familiar boy only to see a group of boys from another school cornering him into an alleyway.
“Jongin?” Chanyeol turned to the window of the arcade shop. “Looks like he’s getting into another fight.”
“Kyungsoo, pay attention! Our game is about to start!” Baekhyun tapped his right leg rather impatiently.
“Oh, ouch, that guy is getting him good,” Chanyeol took another bite out of his ice cream.
“We have to go help him!” Kyungsoo stood from his seat.
“No we do not,” Chen shook his head as he sat the smaller boy down. “It’s none of our business.”
“There are four guys against one. He’s clearly outnumbered!”
“And like I said, it’s none of our business. Kyungsoo, this guy almost punched you. What makes you think you should go help him?” Chen placed his hands around the smaller boy’s head as he turned it to face the video game screen. “Play your game, Baekhyun already stole a couple hits from you.”
Kyungsoo let out a small sigh as he began to tap away on the buttons reluctantly.
“YES I WON!” Baekhyun shot up from his seat. “But I guess its not that much of a victory, I still need to beat Chen-”
“I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” Kyungsoo grabbed his bag as he dashed towards the exit. “Plus I lost on purpose.”
“What’s with him?” Baekhyun stared in disbelief.
“He’s trying to be a helpful citizen,” Chen shook his head.
Kyungsoo stopped in his tracks as he found Jongin on the floor leaned up against the corner concrete wall of a convenience store. Jongin’s chest heaved heavily as he had a few bruises on his cheek. The injured boy supported himself with one arm but immediately fell back down due the immense pain that ran throughout his abdomen.
“Fuck…” Jongin breathed as he massaged his arm only to notice a small silhouette in front of him.
“Here, grab on to my hand,” Kyungsoo offered.
“I don’t need your help,” Jongin glared as he held on to his sides.
“Who were those guys? Why did they beat you up like this?” Kyungsoo ignored the boy’s rejection as he bent down to help the injured boy up.
“I never saw them in my life.”
“Then why’d they beat you up?”
“Because people are fucking stupid and are little ignorant shits,” Jongin spit out blood as he wiped his lip on the sleeve of his uniform.
“People do things for a reason,” Kyungsoo rummaged his pocket for a handkerchief. He gently wiped the other boy’s chin.
“People do unreasonable things,” Jongin held on to the other boy as he kept his balance. “My place is up ahead. I don’t like having you help me like this, but it’s either you help me or I crawl my way home.”
“I don’t mind.”
The smaller boy wrapped the bigger boy’s arm around his shoulder as they made their way down the street. Jongin couldn’t help but notice how narrow Kyungsoo’s shoulders were as he did his best not to slip.
“You’re fucking tiny.”
“Yeah, I tend to get that a lot…”
“You don’t look like a senior at all.”
“I get that a lot too.”
“Ow…fuck…”
“Do you need to see a doctor or something?”
Jongin shook his head. “I’ll be fine…”
The two finally arrived at the end of the street. Kyungsoo looked over to see a shabby apartment complex. Suspicious people hung around the railings as they stared at the innocent newcomer.
“You can leave now, I can get by myself,” Jongin let go of the other boy as he fumbled for his keys.
“It’ll take you another year just to get to your door. I don’t mind helping you,” Kyungsoo grabbed the keys from the other boy.
“Well, maybe you should mind. You don’t even know me.”
“You’re right, I don’t,” Kyungsoo looked at the boy with wide eyes. “But I know you’re not a bad person.”
Jongin let out a small laugh.
“You should take a bath.”
“I can wash myself.”
Kyungsoo felt his cheeks burn slight red. “I know! I was just making a suggestion!”
“Why are you the one getting embarrassed?” Jongin let out a small smile. It was the first Kyungsoo has ever seen a smile from the other boy.
“Just take a bath!” Kyungsoo pushed the other boy into the bathroom as he closed the door behind him. In a few moments he began to hear the bathtub water running.
The smaller boy turned to take a tour of the living room. The house was rather clean and immaculate. Books were neatly lined up on a shelf, the furniture was nicely arranged and tidy, and there was not a speck of dust to be found.
“You really can’t judge a book by its cover,” Kyungsoo smirked as he walked into the kitchen. He opened the fridge to see it filled with food. “At least it looks like he can take care of himself.”
“K-Kyungsoo…!”
Kyungsoo heard his name from the bathroom. He slowly walked over wondering what the other boy could want from him. The smaller boy propped the door slightly opened as a gush of steam came out.
“What is it?” Kyungsoo asked.
Jongin replied with a deep sigh.
“What?” Kyungsoo repeated.
“I really didn’t want to ask this of you, but my arm fucking hurts like hell…” Jongin took another second. “Can you wash my back?”
Kyungsoo let out a small laugh. “Yeah I can.”
The boy rolled up his sleeves as he entered the steamy bathroom. He waved off the steam as he made his way to the bigger boy. He couldn’t help but notice the bigger boy’s tanned muscular body as he tried his best not to look too much.
“Here’s a towel,” Jongin handed as Kyungsoo began to scrub away.
“Ow, easy, don’t scrub too hard,” Jongin winced in pain.
“Sorry,” Kyungsoo apologized, as he scrubbed gentler.
A second of silence went by.
Jongin let out a small laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Kyungsoo asked rather awkwardly.
“What’s so funny?” Jongin continued to laugh. “This. This is funny.”
Kyungsoo stopped scrubbing as he looked around the bathroom tile. “What? Where?”
“I mean you. Me. You and me. You scrubbing my back. You being in my bathroom, this situation is funny.”
Kyungsoo let out a small laugh. “I guess you’re right. I never would have imagined I’d be scrubbing your back after school.”
“See?” Jongin smiled. “Who would have thought?”
Kyungsoo felt his cheeks turn red at the sight of Jongin’s smile. He tried his best to hide it hoping the heat of the shower steam would be the reason of his blush.
“You’re not as loud as your other annoying friends. Why do you hang out with that obnoxious trio?” Jongin asked. “They remind me of a flock of parrots that won’t shut up.”
“Haha, that’s a new one. They are really like a flock of parrots,” Kyungsoo smiled. “We all grew up together. I was stuck with them whether I liked it or not, but between you and me I wish I could have escaped them years ago.
“If I were you, I’d go crazy!” Jongin laughed. “But it must be nice to have friends.”
“Do you not have friends?”
“I’m a freshman student who got transferred in the middle of the year. I was transferred during a time where everyone already made their friends and cliques. It was too late for me.”
“Oh…I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing. It doesn’t fit you.”
“Sorr-”
Jongin pressed his finger against the smaller boy’s lips. Kyungsoo felt his heart beat slowly.
“Fuck,” Kyungsoo grinned.
Jongin raised an eyebrow as he gave a small approving nod. “Ok, that can work.”
“Ok, think you can handle the rest by yourself?” Kyungsoo stood up as he handed the towel back to the other boy.
“Yeah, thanks for the help,” Jongin smiled.
“You’re welcome. It sucks that those guys beat you up for no reason,” Kyungsoo shook his head slightly.
“No, you were right earlier,” Jongin gave a small sigh. “People do things for a reason.”
“What do you mean?”
“The reason why those guys beat me up was because one of their girlfriends said I was cute. Then he got upset and decided to take out his anger on me.”
“Did you know the girl?”
“Never saw her in my life.”
+++
It has been a month since the four boys started their punishment of participating in the after school-mentoring program. They had once again found themselves in the principal’s office, waiting for the principal with slight anticipation.
“So, I wanted to check in with everyone’s progress. I want to hear from each and every single one of you,” the principal smiled as he looked at each boy individually. “Why don’t we start with Baekhyun?”
“Well considering I don’t understand half the things coming from his mouth, I think progress with Tao is going good. I doubt he’ll be causing any more ruckuses any time soon. The boy comes from a rich family and thinks he’s the shit so he doesn’t know that he actually comes off as a dumb ass on the outside.”
“Baekhyun, please remember to be nice. He is a foreigner and this isn’t his native country. Think if you were in his position and how hard it would be to adapt to a new country.”
“But what do you expect-”
“Thank you Baekhyun. Moving on, Chen?”
“Well, I think the first step with Lay would be for him to admit he has a problem. Second would be to get him to stop being high all the time. Third would be to find ambition?” Chen looked rather unsure of himself.
“Well which step are you on?”
“I want to say one and a half?” Chen shrugged slightly. “That kids is smarter then he looks and sometimes he sprouts philosophical bullshit that I never even heard about. I mean who is this kid?”
“Hm, that could be a way for him to seek meaning in a different place. Be open to his ideas that can distract him from being under the influence.”
“Hmm, I don’t think you catch my drift on this-”
“Moving on. Chanyeol?”
“Sehun is a little shit. End of story.”
“Ok, brief and straight to the point, put a little more effort, will you?”
“Yes sir.”
“Kyungsoo?”
“I think it’s a mistake for Jongin to be there. He’s not a bad kid. He’s actually really smart and kind.”
“But he broke another boy’s arm,” the principal folded his arms across his chest.
“People do things for a reason.”
“His actions were unreasonable.”’
Kyungsoo pursed his lips slightly.
“People who do unreasonable things do things for a reason. Sir do you even know why he broke that other kid’s arm?”
“I do.”
“No I don’t think you do-”
“The other kid was going to set firecrackers on a kitten and thus he broke the other kid’s arm. I know his story,” the principal gave a small nod. “But he chose to be there.”
“What?”
“You’re right Kyungsoo. He’s a really smart boy and he has good intentions and one hell of a punch. What I want you to figure out is why such a bright boy would purposely put himself into a mentoring program?”
+++
The two boys were on the rooftop during lunch. It was forbidden for students to gain access to the rooftop so Kyungsoo felt a bit nervous for breaking a rule (as if he hadn’t broken numerous rules while being with beagle line), but Jongin didn’t have a care in the world. He stood against the railing as he felt the sun shine down on his face and a light breeze brush by his skin.
Kyungsoo stared at the other boy’s backside as he took in the image of Jongin enjoying the day.
“Jongin?”
“Hm?”
“Why do you pretend to be someone that you are not?”
“Isn’t that what all people do?” Jongin stretched his arms as he leaned further on the railing. “We all put on this show, this show of what people perceive us to be. Because really, what is the point of convincing someone of being someone that they already perceive you as?”
“I’m not going to ask questions any more.”
Jongin frowned slightly as he turned to face the smaller boy. “I don’t care.”
“I’m going.”
Kyungsoo turned as he made his way towards the exit. He walked rather stiffly as he couldn’t help but feel somewhat agitated by the other boy. He had finally came to the point where he couldn’t help but wonder if it was even worth putting in any effort. He knew what Jongin’s problem was. A selfish boy who won’t will himself to change. A weak minded individual who refused to put in any effort to change the perceptions perceived by others.
“Wait.”
Kyungsoo felt a tug on his wrist as he turned around, only for his lips to meet with another pair of lips. His eyes widened in surprise as he pushed the other boy.
Jongin looked at the smaller boy with a worried expression. His fists were clenched tightly as Kyungsoo couldn’t help but notice the sweat slowly appearing on the back of his neck.
“What?” Kyungsoo stared at the other boy rather emotionlessly as he wiped his lips with the side of his sleeve.
“I’m sorry.”
Kyungsoo responded with a blank stare.
“I know I came off as a huge asshole, but…” Jongin looked directly into the smaller boy’s eyes. “I thought that if I stopped being an asshole, you would stop talking to me.”
Kyungsoo looked in surprise. This was not a confession he had expected to receive.
“You must hate me and think I’m an ignorant asshole, but, I like you,” Jongin confessed. “I like you a lot, but I don’t expect anything. This will probably be the last time we speak, but I’m okay with it. If this is the last time we speak, I figure that I should at least tell you the truth before you go.”
“You can be really horrible, you know that?” Kyungsoo bit his lip slightly.
“I’m sorry,” Jongin apologized again.
Kyungsoo slowly walked over as he inched closer and closer to the taller boy. He stopped a few centimeters away as he leaned forward with a kiss. He then quickly pulled away as he could feel his cheeks flush red.
“I don’t know why, but I’m drawn to you.”
“It’s because you attract troublemakers.”
“I guess you’re right.”
Jongin smiled as he leaned for another kiss.