Chapter Text
Kang Yeosang was an infamous figure in Hana Academy Seoul. The person who spent more time in detention or being suspended than he did in actual class. The person that wore enough eyeliner to make a raccoon feel bare-faced. The person who always wore that goddamn leather jacket written and painted over with profanity and vulgar imagery that was just so Yeosang over his uniform. The person that broke rules like he broke hearts - mercilessly and at least once a day. He was nothing but trouble, all icy eyes and a cold, never-cracking exterior. His mouth was filthy and dripped muddy insults on a daily basis. But as irritating and disruptive as the teenager was, for all the damage he caused, he was never thrown out of the prestigious private school. And why? His father had money. And regardless of whether or not Yeosang was blackened in the eyes of the teachers and students - like Seonghwa - he was golden in the eyes of the high-ranking administrators. The weight his name carried was his shield against any real, permanent punishment. Suspension and detention didn’t matter, because Yeosang was always back, sooner or later. His wealth saved his skin time and time again. And Seonghwa found it positively infuriating.
Park Seonghwa was a respected figure in Hana Academy Seoul. All soft smiles and gentle gestures. Students swooned over his nurturing nature and admirable ambition. He was the top of his class, on the verge of getting a full scholarship to each of the top universities in South Korea. He had a flawless track record, and was the prime example of purity. He rarely - if ever - cursed, he had never smoked, never drank alcohol. He was the poster child for respectfulness and the optimal representation of a perfect student. All students and faculty loved him for his sweetness. The riskiest thing the boy had ever done in his life was enter this year of schooling with bleached hair, the shade a striking platinum blonde against his honey skin. He had been terrified, but everyone praised him for the new style and for embracing a harmless way to express himself. He gave love and got love in return, but once again, in the purest form. Seonghwa had never kissed anybody, never had a boyfriend or girlfriend, never even expressed interest in anyone. But he was Park Seonghwa, so nobody expected him to - the debauchery that came with high school love was too risqué for someone as soft and angelic as Seonghwa. His reputation was flawless in its purity.
But reputations were just gathered information compounded into what would be accepted as facts based on group observation. In simpler terms, a facade. And Seonghwa’s snow white purity? It was exactly that. Now, there was no doubt that he was a phenomenal student - his lowest ever mark being a 98% and his clean slate when it came to behavior proving the previous statement true. And what everyone believed about his personality was true as well. Seonghwa was the type of person to blow off personal plans that he’d normally use to sit back and relax in favor of helping people out that needed it, especially those older than him. Most people saw Seonghwa as a prince among commoners, a young knight that proved chivalry wasn’t dead, but when Seonghwa looked in the mirror, he just saw a regular boy that thrived off of making others happy. And all the notions stated about his love life were upheld by fact. Seonghwa was an untouched angel. But it was common belief that Seonghwa’s thoughts about relationships were as soft and pure as his cuddly exterior. These believers all couldn’t be more wrong.
It shouldn’t really be that surprising that Seonghwa’s thoughts could easily be turned sinful. Facing the raw facts, he was a teenage boy. A teenage boy with hormones and desires that weren’t as innocent as the common belief of Seonghwa’s personality liked to say. And he wasn’t raunchy, not in the slightest. Keep in mind he’s never been with anyone before. He had his thoughts, and that was all. Which Seonghwa was more than fine with. Thoughts were healthy, self gratification would suffice, especially when the person Seonghwa wanted was someone unattainable. Seonghwa could more than easily deal with his less than pure mind. It was the subject of his thoughts that drove him to exasperation.
The leather-clad, dirty-mouthed, ice-eyed absolute terror that was Kang Yeosang. Seonghwa had never shared his secret attraction to anyone for a number of reasons. One, he wanted to keep his reputation fair and stellar. Two, they were his own private thoughts; why the hell would he be obliged to voicing his desires to anybody? Three, even in the 21st century, South Korea was not the most accepting of homosexuality. It was common belief that Seonghwa was straight, because that was just how a heteronormative world worked, but that was one of the most false assumptions made about Seonghwa. Only his three best friends knew that he was gay, and they kept his secret like true friends would. Four, Seonghwa was attracted to Yeosang. The same Yeosang that graffitied anything he felt like. The same Yeosang that thought it was acceptable to blatantly ignore school rules. The same Yeosang that had every girl and boy wrapped around his finger just to crush their hearts under the heel of his combat boots. The same Yeosang that, despite the fact that Seonghwa had shown no interest - outwardly, that is - in, decided to take every moment to openly flirt with him.
Sometimes it was casual, a soft smile shifting to a smirk the Devil himself would be proud of. Other times it would be slightly more noticeable, a lazy wink that Yeosang would throw in Seonghwa’s direction because he felt bored. But there were the times - that occurred most often - involving no subtlety. Yeosang would stare down Seonghwa in the few classes they had together and practically undress him with his eyeliner-intensified gaze. He’d shamelessly slide his pen between his constantly reddened lips and draw it farther into his mouth, all the while holding a fierce round of eye contact with Seonghwa, a perfectly sculpted eyebrow arching as he saw the faintest hints of a pink blush gracing the high points of the blonde’s cheekbones. Seonghwa absolutely despised Yeosang - well, not exactly. He despised the effect the vexing boy had on him. Seonghwa never lost his focus in class except for when Yeosang was staring at him like a predator would its prey. So, to keep his reputation untainted, Seonghwa would avoid Yeosang at any cost.
When Yeosang had been on the verge of failing history, and their professor kept both him and Seonghwa after class to ask if Seonghwa would mind tutoring him, the blonde had stumbled over his words in a rushed excuse to avoid having to take on the task. The white lie worked, resulting in a few different things: Seonghwa could keep his sanity and Yeosang ended up failing that semester. Yeosang’s failure aggravated Seonghwa past lines he didn’t even know existed before Yeosang crossed them. No, he wasn’t pissed because the boy had failed; he wasn’t annoyed because he knew that if he had offered to help, Yeosang wouldn’t have failed. Yeosang wasn’t an idiot, and if he put in the effort, we would be passing with flying colors - almost on Seonghwa’s level. But he just didn’t care. Academics were nothing to him, and he brushed them off as if they were negligible particles of dust on that damn leather jacket. That was what angered Seonghwa. Seonghwa took everything academic to heart, and would berate himself at any grade lower than 100%. And there would even be times where the perfect marks couldn’t satisfy him, because he had “just guessed on that question” or “could have incorporated such a better vocabulary into that essay”. He cared too much, and Yeosang not enough. So was that it? Was the ‘help everyone’ part of Seonghwa just twisting his aggravation at seeing someone fail when motivation was the only thing stopping them from succeeding into attraction?
He wanted to believe that was true, that he didn’t actually care for Yeosang like that and only thought about him constantly because his behavior and attitude pissed him off. But the many nights that Seonghwa would wake up in the middle of, both hot and cold flashes running through him with the dream of those damned cherry red lips already fading, proved that his hopeless crush was exactly that. Hopeless, because why would Yeosang like him back? A crush, because Seonghwa was just going to be crushed once Yeosang found out and shattered his heart like he did to all his other admirers. But throughout all the agita this crush was putting him through, Seonghwa had one thing going for him. It was a secret.
Except… No, it really wasn’t.
Part of Yeosang’s rebellious charm was his charisma. His people skills. His way of understanding how others worked, what they liked, what made them tick. It was why a large part of the student body gravitated towards him. Every kid had their secrets, and every kid wanted Yeosang to figure it out and anonymously call them out for it. It was a sick sense of satisfaction for the students, to know that their guises weren’t as strong as they thought, and for Yeosang, it was enjoyable to know things. He’d never expose people by name or out them or things of that nature. He wasn’t a bad kid, just a curious one. And at first, Seonghwa confused him. How could someone be so goddamn perfect? He had no flaws in his appearance or skill set, and his personality was unrivaled. He was the only student who had never come to Yeosang looking for his secrets to be pried into and excavated. Seonghwa was the first person whose secret did truly puzzle Yeosang. But all it took was one day for him to uncover what the school’s perfect boy was hiding under his exterior.
When his grade in history was dropping faster than the pants of the students Yeosang would give just a bit of attention to, which was an immensely impressive speed, he’d been forced to stay after class with the professor as he called over Seonghwa and asked if he’d be willing to tutor Yeosang, that was when he figured it out. Seonghwa had stammered out some pathetic excuse and scampered out of class without even looking Yeosang in the eyes. It was a behavior pattern Yeosang had seen more than enough times to recognize what it meant. Mr. Perfect had a typical schoolboy crush. How cute. Part of Yeosang’s brain had turned elated when he made the realization. Finally, he had some dirt on the golden boy’s snow-pure record. And if he wanted to, he could take the blonde off his perfect throne built off his perfect grades and perfect personality. But the other part of Yeosang’s brain was the sensible part. And subsequently, the part that had been harboring feelings for the other back when he had first realized girls just didn’t do it for him.
The equation worked out perfectly. “Person A liking Person B” plus “Person B liking Person A” equals “Happy Relationship”. But as it turned out, Yeosang was absolute shit at math. He was good with figuring out people - stellar, even - but responding to them? Connecting with them? A damn funny story. Yeosang had three friends, all “rich kid troublemakers” like him. Song Mingi, Jeong Yunho, and Choi San. It was an unspoken rule that they were the four that you didn’t mess with. And for a damn good reason - the four boys had influence from the money their name carried. Yeosang had the three of them, and in all honesty, that was it. He was terrific at exposing people and getting into their heads, and horrendous at befriending people and getting into their hearts for a reason other than lust. But Yeosang had his three friends and his reputation… One that scared others away from him… But it was a reputation nonetheless, so shouldn’t he be fine with that?
“Yeosang. Yeosang? Earth to Yeosang?” Yunho’s voice snapped the boy in question out of his reflective trance. “You wanna be lab partners?” Right. Chemistry class. The present. Reality. That’s where Yeosang had to be; not his own head. Daydreaming about how his worth was monetarily phenomenal but interpersonally nonexistent. Quickly, Yeosang scanned the classroom. Most people had paired up already, but there were a few lone stragglers. And much to Yeosang’s surprise, Seonghwa was alone. As Yeosang finished his scan, he realized why. Seonghwa also had his respective three closest friends - Choi Jongho, Kim Hongjoong, and Jung Wooyoung - in the class. Wooyoung and Jongho had already formed their pair and were heading to the back lab table, and Hongjoong was absent. Other classmates were making their way over to him, offering their partnership, but Seonghwa kept politely turning them down. Yeosang narrowed his eyes and almost snorted. What, was he planning to work by himself? Did he think his academic prowess was too precious to share?
“I need to knock perfection down a peg.” Yeosang spat. “Work with Mingi, he’ll give you a better grade than I could anyway.”
Yunho rolled his eyes, smacking Yeosang in the back of the head. “Just admit that you’re falling for him and it’ll make your life so much easier.” Before he could hear Yeosang’s response, he walked away, wrapping an arm around Mingi’s shoulder as he - loudly - announced “C’mon, bro, you’re giving me a good grade.”.
And even though Yunho was now wrapped up in something else entirely, it didn’t stop Yeosang from grumbling an overly defensive “Fuck off, nobody would wanna get romantically involved with someone as bland as him.” before sauntering off towards the supposedly bland boy. A boy was looking up at Seonghwa with only the most innocent of eyes, asking if he would work with him, and Seonghwa got a shy - pained - smile. It looked as if he couldn’t decide whether to start laughing or crying. And as odd as it was, Yeosang found it strangely endearing. No. Interesting? No. Enthralling? Even worse. “Sorry, man,” Yeosang said as he sidled up next to Seonghwa, startling both him and the other boy. “Seonghwa’s already working with me.”
Seonghwa was sure he was dreaming. In no way would the infamous Kang Yeosang that seemed to get off on teasing Seonghwa until he was on the verge of jumping into the nearest volcano offer - no, declare - that the two of them were working together. The boy that had previously asked nodded quickly and scurried away. Seonghwa turned and scowled at Yeosang, his normally passive eyes glinting with frustration. “What was that for? Maybe I wanted to work with him, did you ever think of that?” Seonghwa sighed when Yeosang only gave him a blank stare. “Of course you didn’t. Why would Kang Yeosang ever spare a second to think? How utterly moronic of me to think that you’d waste your precious time actually taking the desires of other people into account.”
Yeosang had to admit he was taken aback for a moment. There was a fire in Seonghwa’s eyes, and his jaw was set in a way Yeosang had never seen before. “Who got your panties in a bunch, blondie?” Yeosang taunted, his arms crossing over his chest.
Seonghwa huffed in annoyance as he looked around in a desperate attempt to escape before registering that everyone else had already paired up. Which meant his master plan of avoiding Yeosang to avoid embarrassing himself, or even worse, letting hints of his crush show, was destroyed. “Just-” Seonghwa glanced towards the ceiling as if asking the angels up above to bestow a blessing of protection on him. “Just don’t interfere with the lab. Don’t mess anything up. I’ve been balancing a ninety-nine as my average and I’ve been planning to have it round off to a hundred after this lab. So do me a favor - if you can even comprehend what that means - and don’t screw this up for me.”
Yeosang honestly didn’t really know what to think of Seonghwa’s words. Sure, he’d never really spoken in depth to the other boy, so it wasn’t like he could have any expectations. But from the meek persona he had always carried with him and the way he blushed when Yeosang would do as little as throw a teasing wink his way, Yeosang had never assumed his words to be so assertive. As he stared at Yeosang in silence, it was finally dawning on him why he had chosen to work with Seonghwa in the first place. It wasn’t to knock him down a peg or two, it was because his teenage hormones decided to take precedence over his sensibility and say ‘Pretty boy is open to work with. You work with pretty boy.’. Yeosang wanted to kill his hormones. “Whatever, blondie. Work your magic and gimme a good grade or some shit.”
“You are infuriating.” Seonghwa responded without missing a beat. “And I truly hope that you’re aware of that fact.”
“Think whatever you want of me, I think it’s impossible for me to care less.” Lie. “Just get all the stuff and do all the stuff like you want and I’ll leave you alone.” Lie.
Seonghwa licked his lips before biting down on them, his eyes closing. A completely innocent act, but it still affected Yeosang in ways he never wanted to be affected - and especially not by the paragon of perfection. “Pick one of the lab tables, I’ll get everything I-” He coughed. “I’ll get everything we need.” And just like that, Seonghwa had turned from a fiery boy Yeosang was getting riled up by to a soft-spoken boy focused solely on the task at hand.
“You can’t just order me around, this is a two person project. And as much as you’d like to believe, I’m not totally incompetent.” Yeosang snapped, glowering at Seonghwa. “Contrary to what I know you’re thinking, I’m more than my dad’s company name.” Yeosang paused after his sentence like he had to digest the words in order to force himself to believe them. “Just go get your shit, blondie.”
Seonghwa’s frown deepened with frustration as he turned, headed towards the main table for chemicals Yeosang couldn’t force himself to care about. As Yeosang watched the taller boy walk away, he couldn’t fight back Yunho’s words and stop them from re-entering his mind. Just admit that you’re falling for him… Sure. Like hell he was. Just because he wanted to make Seonghwa smile and talk to him like a normal person without firing an insult or threat in someone’s direction didn’t mean he was losing himself in enamoration. Just because he wanted to hold Seonghwa’s hands and maybe even wrap himself up in the slightly older boy’s sweaters didn’t mean he was falling for the other. Yeosang didn’t fall for people. And especially not flawless masterpieces like Park fucking Seonghwa. Yeosang had enough shit to work through on his own - having a boyfriend, especially one as impeccably stunning as Seonghwa, would just complicate his life even further. He already had the classic “rich-boy-daddy-issues” cliche burdening his life, and adding having to worry about a love life on top of trying to manage his own life was out of the question. Seonghwa had already walked back to where Yeosang was standing before the black-haired boy had the chance to pull himself from yet another self-deprecating train of thought.
“The one thing I asked you to do was get a lab table.” Seonghwa stated. He looked… Disappointed? “I just- Why did you even want to work with me?” He was glancing down at Yeosang with a mix of pity and confusion in his gaze, and admittedly, it caused Yeosang’s blood to boil.
“What?” He he retorted, overly defensive as per usual. “Is your superior intellect too priceless to waste sharing it with someone as rough around the edges as me?” Yeosang’s gaze was naturally sharp, and with it being accented by just the right amount of makeup, he looked downright intimidating. But to either Yeosang’s chagrin or his joy, Seonghwa wasn’t taking the bait and gearing up for a challenge.
“That’s not what it is, Yeosang.” Seonghwa’s face fell, and it crushed Yeosang. Sure, the boy had made Seonghwa’s expression change a multitude of times before - but it was always to shyness or sometimes, which Yeosang loved, a small grin - but he’d never made Seonghwa look this explicitly sad. He’d never even seen Seonghwa look as devastated as he did now, but before he could work up a flimsy apology, Seonghwa continued to speak. “You’ve just never shown any sort of interest in me…” He trailed off, cheeks tinting themselves pink. “I mean, you haven’t ever talked to me. So coming over here and asserting yourself as my partner-” Once again, Seonghwa’s speech halted. “As my lab partner, I mean, it was just unexpected. I wanted to know your reasons, but if you don’t want to tell me, obviously you don’t have to. I guess I’m just a bit curious as to why the Kang Yeosang wanted to waste his time with the school-certified most uninteresting prude. Don’t you have cooler friends to hang with?”
Now it was Yeosang’s turn to frown. Did Seonghwa really think of himself as some prudish, boring kid? Yeosang had seen how he acted around his friends - carefree, cracking jokes left and right, and never failing to bring light wherever he went - so how was it possible for Seonghwa to not see what Yeosang so clearly could? Yeosang wanted to say something along the lines of You idiot, why can’t you see how fucking perfect you are? , but he could only mutter a few misplaced words under his breath, “You fucking idiot…” falling from his lips.
Seonghwa backed away, a faraway look entering his eyes. “Real nice, Yeosang.” His voice was shaky, and it made Yeosang curse himself out in his head with the rage of a thousand fires, all fresh from hell. “Just go fuck around with your friends and I’ll get you your grade.” Seonghwa’s tone was void of emotion, causing Yeosang’s fists to clench at his sides in self-directed anger. The lack of expression mixed with that being the first time he’d ever heard Seonghwa curse led to Yeosang recoiling in shock. Without a response, he walked away to an empty lab table. As he trekked across the room, people parted away from him. Of course they did, of fucking course. Yeosang wished he could scream, wished he could show people that he wasn’t the seductive, unattainable villain they made him out to be. But instead, he squared his shoulders and steeled his gaze, freezing anyone that made eye contact with him.
Seonghwa eventually walked over, his steps light and calculated, all the materials for whatever procedure he needed to do in his grasp. He was silent as he set the materials down on the black table, silent as he handed Yeosang a pair of goggles, silent as he attached the plastic tube to a bunsen burner and reached over by the sink to turn the gas on, silent as he grabbed the striker and lit the scientific instrument with one drag of the striker. Perfect in one shot, but what else was to be expected of Seonghwa? As the small blue flame erupted from the opening of the equipment, Yeosang had the odd desire to touch the fire. Was that weird? It wasn’t that he wanted to hurt himself, he wasn’t like that, but it was a part of the sickening curiosity he possessed.
“…Yeosang. Yeosang? Yeosang!” Seonghwa was becoming more and more agitated with every repetition of Yeosang’s name, but by the seventh time, he had finally caught the other boy’s attention.
“Huh? What is it? Does Blondie actually need me for something?” Yeosang spat, eyes narrowing. “Or are you going to question my motivations for every decision I make again?”
Seonghwa’s face flushed, but this time it wasn’t a flustered reaction based on Yeosang’s less than demure teasing; he looked frustrated and angry. “I really don’t know what it is you have against me…” He mumbled, teeth clamping down on his lower lip to stop any more words from slipping out. His words were true, he didn’t have any notion as to why Yeosang was so unnecessarily aggressive towards him. Seonghwa wanted to yell at his heart, convince it that pining after Yeosang was a hopeless thing, because clearly, the shorter boy wanted nothing to do with him. “I just wanted to ask if you could hand me a pencil.” Seonghwa could feel an ache in his jaw from the intensity of it being clenched and stiff. “But forgive me, I forgot you don’t do things that don’t solely benefit you.”
Yeosang was ready to lay down in the middle of the road and let the cars have their way with his body. He really could never stop his mouth from running; he didn’t know when to tone down anything, and now he was faced with the repercussions. He had tried to take control of the reins around his heart, steering it towards sensibility instead of defensiveness, but clearly it only led to more antagonism between him and the boy he most definitely didn’t want to date. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, and tried that mentally counting down from ten trick that San had taught him to help him with his anger. “I’m not as much of a selfish dick as you think, you know?” Yeosang muttered, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. “Just because I’m not a goody-two-shoes, people-pleasing, straight-laced perfect student like you doesn’t mean I’m the human equivalent of Satan. Although I’m pretty flattered you give me that much importance.”
“Shut up and just give me the pencil, Yeosang.” Seonghwa huffed, his platinum hair falling over the goggles covering his eyes and providing him a shield from Yeosang’s intense and watchful gaze. Yeosang almost growled - yeah, growled - low in the back of his throat, but he caught himself and nipped his aggravation in the bud. He reached over into his bag and pulled out a worn out pencil. It was missing its eraser, about as long as his little finger, and the point was so worn down it was practically inverted. As Yeosang spun back around to hand the stupid boy the stupid pencil, his arm knocked into the bunsen burner, sending the metal contraption crashing sideways. The flame from the actual extinguished as it fell, but the lab papers it had fallen on lit up, heat flaring up as the papers caught fire and small clouds of smoke entered the room. “Yeosang, what the fuck?!” Seonghwa exclaimed, pushing the dark-haired boy out of his way to rush towards the cabinet containing the fire blanket. Apparently, Seonghwa was louder than he had intended to be, because the room had silenced itself, and all eyes - including their teacher’s - were on him and Yeosang. As Seonghwa threw the fireproof cloth down over the burning papers, and whirled around to face Yeosang with a look of incredulous irritation, their teacher walked over, brow furrowed angrily.
“Would either of you like to explain the meaning of the commotion?” With the way he spoke, it was obvious that the professor already knew everything he needed to. Yeosang’s eyes glinted with darkness, and he opened his mouth to speak, but was met with a firm “Mr. Kang, close your mouth.” He looked over the two teenagers with disapproval. The expressed emotion shifted to disappointment when he faced Seonghwa, who practically cowered under their teacher’s irate eye contact. The entire room was quiet to the point where the sound of a pin dropping would be audible. “So, let me get my facts right. The two of you were careless enough to knock over your lit bunsen burner, and Mr. Kang over here isn’t following proper dress procedures. Is that correct?”
“Yes, sir…” Seonghwa’s eyes were boring holes into the tile floor.
“I would expect better from you, Mr. Park,” Their teacher admitted, the disappointment returning to his face. “I hate to do this, but not even you can get special treatment. I’ll be seeing the two of you after school ends for detention.”
Seonghwa’s reaction might have been overdramatic, but he felt as if his world was crumbling down around him. His thoughts spiraled exponentially. His perfect track record was ruined, his parents would find out, they’d ground him, they could fucking disown him for all Seonghwa knew, he’d be living on the streets, he’d have to drop out of school, he’d never finish his education, never get a job, and be a homeless beggar for the rest of his now worthless life. The other kids in the class were looking around at each other in disbelief, and Seonghwa felt a lurching in his stomach; a need to escape. Without another word towards his professor, towards Yeosang, towards anyone , he made a hurried beeline towards the door, grabbing his bag in the process, and willing his angry tears to hold off from spilling for just a few minutes. His throat felt like it was closing, and he felt utterly idiotic. Why did he let Yeosang work with him? Why did he ask anything of the other boy? Why didn’t he realize that something would get fucked up, because when would his life ever be nice to him? And why, damnit, why was he overreacting to such a high degree? Seonghwa kicked open the door to the bathroom, not caring about anything anymore, and entered the first stall, locking it behind him, and letting his head fall against the cold metal of the door.
And then came the tears.
It was stupid, but it didn’t mean Seonghwa wasn’t affected by it. He lived a pathetic fucking life, where the only thing he had pride in was his clean slate and perfect grades, but those were ruined. He felt ruined, and he couldn’t help but blame it on Yeosang. Was knocking into the bunsen burner an honest mistake? Probably. But something inside of Seonghwa, some deep desire that craved vengeance, was convinced that it was an intentional and vindictive act. Yeosang wanted to bring Seonghwa down, that’s why he insisted on working with him. It was the only explanation Seonghwa could accept, and as he paced the miniscule floor space the bathroom stall provided him with, he only got angrier.
Meanwhile, Yeosang felt like a fucking idiot. He was getting dirty looks from every angle, his only saving grace being Yunho and Mingi, looking at him from across the class with unfeigned concern. The two boys glanced at each other for a moment; Yunho leaned closer to Mingi to whisper something in his ear, and Mingi nodded. The two of them walked quickly, their strides evenly matched with the other, and they grabbed Yeosang by one arm each, dragging him out of the room. As soon as the door closed behind the three boys, Yunho had Yeosang slammed against a locker, and Mingi was leaning down to be at face level with Yeosang, asking a confused, “What in the actual levels of hell did you do?”
“I knocked over a stupid fucking fire tube!” Yeosang shouted, trying to wrestle out of Yunho’s iron grip to no avail. “And now everyone fuckin’ hates me more than they already do, because cliche bad boy Kang Yeosang fucked up and got high school heartthrob Park Seonghwa into trouble for the first time in his prettily perfect life.”
“You realize what you’ve actually done, right?” Yunho questioned, his normally grinning mouth twisting into a frustrated frown.
“Yeah, Yunnie, I do.” Yeosang grumbled, still trying to squirm away from the two tall boys. “I made more people hate me because everyone loves Seonghwa and I just screwed him over.”
“You are so damn dense.” Yunho stated, leaning back as he rolled his eyes. “You screwed over your chances with him. I tell you to work with him because I’m trying to get my bro a boyfriend-” Yeosang’s eyes widened and he hissed out a ‘Shh!’ as Yunho continued to speak. “-and you go and try to become an arsonist and burn down the school.”
“It was an accident!” Yeosang protested, his eyes darkening. “And I don’t like him,” Mega lie. “And I don’t feel bad about what happened,” Major lie. “So if you could let me go off and distract myself from the fact that half the student body will want my head on a spike for tainting their pretty little angel, that would be fuckin’ wonderful.”
“Why won’t you just admit you like him, Yeosang?” Mingi sighed. “You’ve got all the classic tell signs, just a shit way of expressing them.”
“How the fuck would you know what liking someone looks like? You’ve been single all your life.” Yeosang threw his head back. As it hit the locker, he winced, missing the weighted look that Mingi and Yunho exchanged.
“I’m not as dense as you. Now you better use your time in detention to apologize, fix things, and tell the damn kid how you feel. But when you talk, please don’t do that thing where you have a sentence in your head and get tongue-tied and only say a few words from aforementioned sentence, leading to you insulting someone, leading to misunderstandings and fights and whatnot. Okay? Actually, no, you aren’t getting a choice. If you don’t stop acting like a dumbass, Yunho and I are joining the Put Yeosang’s Head On A Spike club.”
“Why the hell am I friends with you two?” Yeosang spat. To anyone else, Yeosang’s eyeliner-accentuated death glare would bore holes deep into their souls, but Yunho and Mingi just took the supposed-to-be-intimidating look in stride, brushing it off as if Yeosang were a toddler about to throw a hissy fit. “Because I’m seriously questioning myself and my decisions.”
“You damn baby…” Yunho released his grip on Yeosang, now running his hands through his hair to try and push it back off his forehead. “We’re your friends because we care about your well-being, and you know that. Minnie and I - and San - are here to stop you from being an idiot and screwing yourself over. We aren’t the type of people that sugarcoat shit, because there’s no point in skirting around something. Even if it was an accident, you fucked up, so now you gotta own it and rectify it. It’s already last period, and…” Yunho paused to check the time on his watch. “You’ve got about fifteen minutes ‘til class is over, so I’d suggest using that time to prepare how you’re gonna fix your mess.”
“And if I don’t?” Yeosang’s challenge was an empty threat, but a challenge nonetheless.
“You have Yunho, San, and me on your ass until you do. Now stop getting inside your own head and fix your bullshit.” Mingi gave Yeosang one last cold look that was a mix of ‘I care about you, so stop being an asshole’ and ‘you fucked up bigtime, man’. Yeosang draped his arm over his eyes, groaning out curses to nobody in particular. With his obstructed vision, he didn’t catch how Yunho’s hand slipped into Mingi’s back pocket as the two of them silently walked away, eyes consistently darting around to scan the halls for other kids.
In the next fifteen minutes, Yeosang’s apology consisted of absolutely nothing. Yeah, he felt pretty fucking terrible, but one measly “sorry” wasn’t going to do shit. It wouldn’t erase the detention or take back the look of transparent betrayal Seonghwa had given him. The bell rang, and Yeosang whined a dragged out curse, pushing himself off the row of lockers to trek back towards the detention room. When he got there - five minutes late, because like hell would he show up on time for this crap - Seonghwa in all of his fragile glory was nowhere to be found. To have the blonde be late for something was unimaginable, and when he entered the classroom in the next five minutes, clearly out of breath, Yeosang was half expecting him to be carrying a late pass.
“I’m so sorry, ma’am…” Seonghwa bowed his head in both respect and embarrassment as he took a seat - the farthest possible from Yeosang - and quietly slid in one of his earbuds. “I didn’t have the slightest idea where I was supposed to come for this.” The woman just nodded, looking bored as she took sips of her coffee.
The room was deathly quiet, especially considering Seonghwa and Yeosang were the only two kids with after-school detention for the day. Although, it was only silent for Yeosang; Seonghwa had his steady stream of music - his other earbud was in now - and he was in his own little bubble in the opposite corner of the room, bobbing his head to the melody only he could hear with his eyes closed and mouthing the words of whatever song he had playing. The same wave of curiosity that had plagued Yeosang when he wondered what it would be like to thrust his hand into the bunsen burner flame washed over him again; he wanted to know what song Seonghwa was listening to. He pushed himself up from his chair and strode over to Seonghwa, still oblivious to the world around him, sitting down adjacent to him. He pulled one of the earbuds away from Seonghwa, making the boy’s eyes snap open in alarm. Before he could protest, Yeosang was already inserting the earbud into his own ear. The song playing was one he had heard before, one he typically listened to, one he never imagined Seonghwa knowing. Yeosang was only able to catch two lyrics from the song before Seonghwa pulled the earbud away, looking practically scandalized. The lyrics were in English, but Yeosang had looked up the full lyrics to the song after the first listen, and knew the translation by heart. I’ve been thinking ‘bout my life. Is it better if I die? “What the hell are you listening to that kind of music for?” Yeosang blurted out.
“Please just don’t talk to me.” Seonghwa’s voice was devoid of emotion like it had been earlier, and it frustrated Yeosang beyond belief. And even though Yeosang was sitting right next to him, Seonghwa still kept his eyes trained on the smartboard in front of him. “And don’t interrupt my time to listen to music.”
“You’re listening to an existential song with a couple less than subtle references to suicide. Why?” Yeosang always viewed music as a way to truly see into someone’s soul and inner thoughts, and the fact that the poster child for facile happiness was listening to something like this didn’t fit into the archetype Yeosang had stuffed Seonghwa into.
“Just back off, Yeosang.” Seonghwa turned to face Yeosang this time, and the shorter of the two was shocked to see that Seonghwa’s eyes were bloodshot, and even slightly puffy. “Get away from me, and go fuck someone else over.” There it was again - Seonghwa cursing, completely breaking the stereotype everyone seemed to be compliant in shoving him into. And… Had he been crying?
“Were you crying?” Yeosang asked bluntly, apparently still not in control of his mouth.
“Back. Off. Yeosang.” Seonghwa’s words were hissed out through gritted teeth, and he turned away just as quickly, once again putting in his earbud and trying to block out Yeosang’s incessantly aggravating questions.
“Why do you hate me?” Yeosang’s tone had lost malice; instead, it held sincere confusion and hints of regret. Seonghwa didn’t answer, so he was either making a conscious effort to ignore Yeosang, or he legitimately couldn’t hear him. So Yeosang asked again, louder this time, but was once again only met with radio silence. In the middle of his next repetition, he was cut off by Seonghwa’s irritated response.
“I don’t hate you. I’m just pissed off at you, and you know what? I’ve got good reasons to be. Not only do you rarely get in trouble for all the shit you do just because your daddy’s got cash, you have some penchant for going after everyone in the student body. At least once a day, you do something to me, and I don’t even know what the hell it’s for. Are you trying to seduce me like some damn incubus? Or are you trying to out me in front of the whole school? Because honestly, tell them if you fucking want, I don’t care anymore.” Seonghwa’s chest was tight as he looked at Yeosang who just stared at him in silence. “What? I answered your stupid question, can you leave now?”
“You know today was an accident, right? And that I’m sorry about it?” Yeosang asked, because apparently he and Seonghwa could only hold a question-based conversation. “I’m not a terrible person, I wouldn’t have purposefully done something like that.”
“Oh, just cut the crap now.” Seonghwa glared at Yeosang out of the corner of his eye. “You force a partnership between us, and the only thing you do is try to burn down the class. Whatever you’re trying to do to me to ruin my clean slate, congratu-fucking-lations, it worked. Are you happy now? Are your sadistic desires fulfilled?”
“I fucking apologized, Seonghwa!” Yeosang’s voice had definitely raised in volume, but the detention supervisor was too enthralled in her computer to notice. “I don’t know what else you want from me… I know how much your academics mean to you, an--”
“You don’t know the first thing about me, Yeosang, so don’t even pretend. I am nothing without my perfect record, and you screwed it up. So, thanks to you, I’m literally nothing. You got what you wanted, you should be ecstatic.” Seonghwa spat.
“Why the hell would I want to do that?” Yeosang was becoming exponentially more frustrated. “Just…” Mingi and Yunho’s words were running around inside his head. “Let me make this up to you. I feel terrible.”
“You know you can’t just get your dad to pay off a detention, right?” Seonghwa sounded uninterested, even though Yeosang had just offered to somehow rectify what he’d done.
“Actually, that’s where you’re wrong. He’s done it for me more times than I can count. But that’s besides the point. I’m…” Yeosang’s sentence stopped for a moment. “I’m worth more than just a few bucks… Listen, I know I can’t really fix this. But I feel like shit, because you’re a great person and didn’t deserve to have this happen to you. Just, I don’t know, let me take you out to dinner tonight or something, I can at least try to get your mind off of all this.”
Seonghwa’s eyes went wide, and he quickly picked up his phone to pause his music. It was then that Yeosang’s brain caught up to what his mouth had said. He’d offered to take Seonghwa - the boy he didn’t like, the boy who he was almost positive liked him - out on a date. Tonight. He half-expected Seonghwa to look disgusted, and maybe even collect his things and move seats, but a small smile graced his features, and he turned towards Yeosang. “Now do you see what I mean?” There was a sense of mirth in his voice, and Yeosang was confused. “You’re literally some sex demon trying to drag me in.”
Yeosang honestly had to put a great deal of effort into not laughing. “Listen, listen…” Yeosang started, searching for ways to defend himself. “I’ll have you know I’ve never tried to make advances on anybody. They all come to me because apparently, I’m what they’re all looking for in a guy. Because my dad’s wealthy and I stopped caring about my own life years ago.”
“Wait, hold on, what? Stopped caring? Are you…” Seonghwa trailed off, his dark eyes shining with a fresh coat of concern.
“No.” Yeosang spoke with certainty. “I’ve just got the ‘cold, uncaring, enigmatic’ personality that everyone wants to see up close.”
“I don’t think you’re cold.” Seonghwa responded in complete sincerity. “Defensive, yeah, but not cold. And you’re not uncaring, even if you have odd ways of showing people that you do care. You know, like, asking them out. But enigmatic? Yeah, I could see that.”
Something stirred inside Yeosang, right around where his heart was. He had to remind himself that he didn’t have feelings for Seonghwa. “Detention ends in a few minutes.” Yeosang said softly after looking at his phone.
“And?” Seonghwa prodded, folding his arms across his chest. “Is that supposed to get a reaction out of me?”
Yeosang’s face felt like it was burning, but he steadied whatever rush of emotions he was feeling and reminded himself of the Put Yeosang’s Head On A Spike club. “Am I taking you out tonight or not?” He tried his damnedest to sound uninterested - he was uninterested - but a small trace of hopefulness was evident in his words.
“That depends,” Seonghwa glanced at Yeosang. When the other boy didn’t speak, he continued. “What is this? A pity sort of thing, a distraction from my sadness, or a date?”
I want it to be a date. Yeosang’s hormones said to his brain. I am going to kill you later, we don’t like him. Yeosang’s brain said to his hormones. “I want it to be whatever you want, blondie. I haven’t stopped feeling like shit since I knocked the stupid thing over, and I want to make things up to you. So whatever you want, that’s what it is.” Yeosang said to Seonghwa.
“Well… I would hate to be pitied, and a distraction is no way to cope with an issue, so that only leaves us with a date.” Maybe Seonghwa was trying to come across as teasing, but the sugary sweetness behind his voice just made Yeosang’s heart melt - wait. Pause. No, it didn’t. Yeosang was wholly unaffected. “But there are just a few things I’ve been mulling over. I’ve never gone on a date before… Is my first date really going to be spent with the same Kang Yeosang that ‘never dates’ because it requires ‘too much commitment’?”
“The only reason I ever said that was to get people off my ass. Figuratively and literally.” Yeosang was quick to defend himself. But not because he wanted to convince Seonghwa he wanted to go out with him. He didn’t want to.
“Fine.” Seonghwa spoke cooly, and he regarded Yeosang with a side-eyed glance. “But since you offered to take me on a date, you’re responsible for planning it.” Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out something - Yeosang noted it was a gel pen, a purple one - and grabbed Yeosang’s hand. Yeosang most definitely didn’t feel anything from the action; the shiver that he’d felt run down his spine was probably just from the room getting colder. Seonghwa was scrawling something on the back of Yeosang’s hand, and quickly pulled the writing utensil away before the shorter boy had the chance to question his actions. “I’ve already finished my homework for tonight. So text me later and tell me where we’ll meet up; I’ll spare you the struggle of picking me up and stuff like that, so just give me some general information. Is… Is that okay?”
“I wanna pick you up,” Yeosang responded quickly, and he realized that he would need to have a stern talk with his mouth and yell at it for always just blurting out random shit that he totally didn’t mean. “I mean, you said this was going to be your first date, so I wanna make it a good one for you. Besides, it’s the least I could do for screwing up your school day, like, why not make your night better?” Yep, Yeosang was going to have to tape his mouth shut.
Seonghwa shifted away to hide the faintest appearance of a blush on his cheeks. “Alright then, Yeosang. Pick me up, take me out…” He looked back towards Yeosang with a boyish grin making his features turn soft, and right as he picked up his phone to turn his music back on - afterwards staying silent and closed off to the world for the rest of detention, even walking out without so much as a goodbye to Yeosang - he said, “And make it a night I’ll never forget.”