Chapter Text
“Wh-I’m not an Ahjussi! I just turned 17 this year!”
“Whatever! Just help us find master! Please!”
“How would I know where he went!?”
“Unnie said you know each other very well, right Unnie?”
Jung Heewon nodded gravely.
“Let’s all split up and try to find him.”
Han Sooyoung groaned as Yoo Sangah pulled her up from her seat, sighing reluctantly.
Lee Hyunsung added, “We should all go in pairs, in case something happens.”
Kim Dokja nodded.
“Yes, Yoo Sangah and Han Sooyoung, check the first floor. Lee Jihye, Jung Heewon, Lee Hyunsung, check the second. I’ll go check the rooftop, alone.”
There was a protest against letting him go alone ("Why don't you ever listen to us, you rat!?") but he didn't budge. It was time to actually talk to the other man, instead of having this awkward tension between them. They would have to face each other sooner or later anyways. He was slightly nervous, but mostly worried about the missing man. He hoped Yoo Joonghyuk was alright.
And also he didn’t want anyone to witness it and get the wrong idea or something.
The others gave up on trying to change his mind, and ran to search their respective floors. Kim Dokja took the chance to sneak to a staircase no one used, running up 6 flights of stairs before reaching the rooftop, of which the door was left slightly ajar.
Kim Dokja’s heartbeat resounded in his chest as he peeked through the crack. He had a feeling Yoo Joonghyuk would be here.
The same place they met and spent the most of their time in, where they bickered, laughed, and played in.
There was a sense of nostalgia after coming up to the roof. Kim Dokja did not come up here before even once, in all the 2 years he studied at this school. He had feared that coming here would only make the hole in his heart feel emptier.
But as he stared at the man resting his hands on the railing, looking down at the world like he was searching for something, Kim Dokja felt like it would all be okay.
Yoo Joonghyuk’s hair blew beautifully against the wind, the slightly melancholic aura gave him the perfect protagonist feel, and Kim Dokja was nothing if not a reader obsessed with this protagonist.
He slowly and silently sauntered towards the other, trying not to disturb the fragile atmosphere. He knew the other would find out anyway, the bastard always had superhuman senses.
Kim Dokja gazed at the tiny streets below, everything hustling and bustling at this time with an air of business, like it usually does.
“It’s beautiful, huh?”
“...”
“Well, it could be a bit more peaceful around here.”
“...Hm.”
At the curt response, Kim Dokja giggled like it was the funniest thing in the world. It was so endearing, he was so worried about the other boy changing, but it felt like he was the same boy he once was at 15.
Yoo Joonghyuk observed him, still quite wary, before his defences crumbled at the mesmerizing smile of the boy before him.
He looked like he was about to say something, but suddenly, a shout pierced through the comfortable stillness in the air.
“Get them!”
Immediately, the two got into a defensive position, sticking back to back to protect each other.
A whole pack of thugs surrounded them from all sides. Kim Dokja clicked his tongue in annoyance. And just when he was starting to have a heart-to-heart with Yoo Joonghyuk too!
The group parted to reveal the perpetrator behind such an ambush.
The Egyptian transfer student, Cleopatra, gracefully stood in the midst of the dozen or so boys, but her face was morphed into a comically angry scowl.
She stepped forward, exuding arrogance similar to a queen’s. She glowered daggers at Kim Dokja, obviously mad, barely refraining from calling him a slur.
Kim Dokja simply smirked, radiating his own cockiness right back. He had already beaten their asses over a hundred times by now, even though they used every dirty trick in the book, and they still haven't learned their lesson.
“Hm, does Papyrus like being humiliated by me? It’s funny how you guys are still sending your little henchmen after me even though you know they’ll lose.”
The girl turned red with anger, huffing like an angry bull, opting to ignore him as she trained her eyes on the man next to him instead. She raked her eyes up and down, staring at him like he was a nice meal, definitely planning to seduce him.
Feeling disgusted by the thought, he stepped in front of the other man, trying to shield him atleast a little bit, from that leering gaze.
The woman batted her eyelashes as she spoke,
“So, you're the new student, hm?”
Yoo Joonghyuk just grunted, already feeling done with the conversation. He could see from Kim Dokja’s expression that the woman in front of them was not to be trusted.
Cleopatra giggled, “Not much of a talker, are you? Boys!”
She shouted, clapping her hands twice. Two of the men came forward, holding a contract in their hands, like servants from the olden times. As they presented it in front of him, Cleopatra spoke with a regal voice,
“Ahem, since you are new here, you must not know the rules of this school. We, the great and mighty ‘Papyrus’, offer you a deal. If you join us, and help us take down that rascal-”, she sneered at Kim Dokja, “-we will offer an allegiance. You will receive-”
“No.”
He was slowly getting aggravated by the unfolding events, even more so when Kim Dokja just shrugged like it was a normal occurrence.
‘Just what trouble has this fool been getting into?’
Kim Dokja scratched the back of his head sheepishly, like he could telepathically hear Yoo Joonghyuk’s thoughts (he wouldn’t put it past the man).
“Haha, I’ll explain later…”
Cleopatra looked irked at being dismissed so quickly, but she didn’t give up.
She threatened, “If you don’t join us now, we will be forced to use other methods. And we aren’t above…say, harming you.”
There was a sick smile on her face, she thought the tall boy would definitely listen this time.
Yoo Joonghyuk glared daggers at her with vitriol, irritated at her words.
Cleopatra was outraged at being ignored once more, but she merely huffed and ordered as she walked away.
“Fine then. Boys!”
The surrounding men immediately got on the offensive, readying their fists, as the two boys slunk back as far as possible, eventually hitting the railing, still stuck to each other.
With a war cry, they began to throw around their limbs, amateurishly trying to take on the professional and the other professional(?). The two merely grunted as they dodged the oncoming fists and legs aimed at them.
Yoo Joonghyuk pressed a hand to a cowardly boy’s head, who was trying to tackle him, and threw him to the ground in a flash. A few others tried to grab him to restrain him but he quickly kicked them off, before his heavy shoes stepped on their faces and hands with sickening crunches.
Kim Dokja was quite flexible, and used this to slink away from his opponents before doing a karate chop to their neck. Unfortunately, he got a kick to the stomach while trying to protect Yoo Joonghyuk from a guy attacking from behind, making him buck and wince at the pain in his back. They were seriously never-ending, with three more appearing every time one was incapacitated.
Yoo Joonghyuk looked like he wanted to hold him and ask him if he was okay, so he shrugged before showing him a thumbs up, which, unfortunately, seemed to be the wrong move. Yoo Joonghyuk’s glare burnt him. Kim Dokja was sure he would find holes on his skin later from how madly the other glowered at him, but that was for another time.
Their staring contest was broken by a boy smacking Yoo Joonghyuk in the face with a staff, probably stolen from the Drama club. Yoo Joonghyuk must've missed it because he was too busy being an asshole as always, and Kim Dokja would've laughed at him any other day. But…
“Hey, watch it, you prick! Stay away from his face!!”
Kim Dokja rushed to grab the guy by his collar, landing multiple hits on his face with his knee as payback. Seriously, he couldn't have hit anywhere else!? Yoo Joonghyuk’s face was an important future asset to this country, okay!?
The other boy screamed and wailed in pain, begging for it to stop, but Kim Dokja didn't let up until Yoo Joonghyuk had to drag him like a misbehaving cat, a warning grip on his neck.
Petulantly, Kim Dokja wriggled as much as possible as he was dragged away from all the bodies littered on the floor of the rooftop, hoping to make it harder for the taller boy, but of course he had no reaction. It seems that that guy was the last of them.
“Ugh…not the face…how could he hit the face!? Korea’s GDP depends on this face!!”
Kim Dokja mumbled to himself, cursing out Papyrus, swearing vengeance on their entire lineage. He was broken out of his stupor when Yoo Joonghyuk sat him down near the railings. Quietly, he retrieved a cutesy bandaid from his pocket, peeling it and sticking it on Kim Dokja’s cheek.
There was a small gash he hadn't even noticed.
Kim Dokja touched his warmer-than-normal cheek, feeling the bandaid. It was quite a silly bandage with cute kitties littered on it.
As if Yoo Joonghyuk could read his mind, he answered, with a piercing gaze.
“Yoo Mia is clumsy. And she doesn't like normal ones.”
There was a tint of red in his ears and Kim Dokja laughed a little. Reminiscing, he thought that the Yoo siblings were way too similar, from their looks to their demeanor.
Ah, he hadn't seen the little girl in ages…
Yoo Joonghyuk stared at the smiling boy from the corner of his eyes. He didn't want to think about how Yoo Mia seemed to have gotten Kim Dokja’s bad habits after he left. He remembered how upset she looked when she finally realised the older boy wasn't coming back.
…
Speaking of, he should tell her that she needn't look so sullen anymore.
Kim Dokja hummed, an unhappy curve in his lips as he spoke wistfully.
“Havent seen her in a while. D’ya think she missed me?”
Yoo Joonghyuk did not respond.
There was a comfortable silence draped over them as they rested, quite relaxed on the railings. Kim Dokja had leaned on Yoo Joonghyuk’s shoulder at some point, and then stared at him while the taller man pretended not to notice. There was a lot they wanted to say, yet the quietness was too comfortable to let go of. Their preferred way of communication was never through words anyway. They would rather bash each other’s heads in before actually talking.
A loud bang interrupted their moment. The door to the rooftop swung open, a group of sweaty teens huffing and puffing at the entrance. They looked entirely too ready for combat, unusually ready for a mere group of highschoolers. One would think they were part of a mafia with how formidable they looked at the moment. Their hands held multiple weapons, glinting menacingly against the light.
Jung Heewon began speaking without blinking or breathing.
“Isawyouguysfightingandlefttogetreinforcements-”
Lee Hyunsung interrupted, awkwardly.
“Um…Heewon-ssi, it looks like they took care of it already.”