Chapter Text
“Come on, Junnie, it’s not the end of the world. It’s just one ‘B’”
“Just one ‘B’?!” Kim Junmyeon fumed, “I have never gotten a ‘B’ in my life, Kyungsoo! This would have never happened if I hadn’t skipped night study for that date my parents forced me on. How am I supposed to be running for student council president when I can’t even stay at the top?” Junmyeon crossed his arms on the lunch table and buried his head in them.
“There’s nothing wrong with going out. All you do is study.” Putting a hand on his best friend’s back, he patted lightly in an attempt to comfort the other boy. Kyungsoo heard a groan coming from the pathetic scene beside him. He knew better than to laugh at the over-dramatization, so he shook his head away and gave his attention back to his food.
Academically speaking, Kim Junmyeon was the best. No one had ever topped his scores, and the ‘humbling’ experience was a little more than his ego could handle. Being the heir of wealthy hotel chain owners, Junmyeon was expected to work hard, get perfect grades, and have excellent leadership skills. He believed it was his destiny to run the school council and prove to his parents and peers how capable he was. Coming in the first place was his obsession, and with the school’s student government election around the corner, there was no time for goofing off.
However, after seeing his most recent test score, he wasn’t feeling too confident this time around. And it was all thanks to the very people who pushed him to do his best.
“I don’t get it.” He mumbled into his sleeve.
“Get what?”
“I mean, my parents chose Minhee as my future wife. I already agreed to marry her. Why do they have to force me on a date?” Junmyeon scoffed. He sat up and pushed his food around on his plate scornfully as if somewhere in there, he’d find the answers to his problems.
“You are forced to go on dates so you can strengthen your connection with her, but you’re obviously not interested in her. Just tell them you’re not feeling it.” The other kid paused to consider his words but shook his head to the useless idea.
“It’s just this whole arranged marriage out of high school tradition. Tradition is like God in my family. That’s cool and all, but it’s rather inconvenient. If I’m already cooperating, why does it matter if we go on dates? Since they picked her, I’m sure I’ll like her just fine anyways. She cooks well; she’s great with children; she’s warm and caring and has a lovely smile….” Junmyeon winced at the memory from that previous evening.
“But…”
“But after that kiss... I just think she deserves better.”
“You two kissed!?” Kyungsoo’s wide, round eyes lit up in excitement. “How did it go?”
“Well, when she kissed me, my heart was racing a lot…” his leg started shaking under the table at the uncomfortable thought.
“Yeah?” Kyungsoo leaned in, hanging on to every word he said.
“My mind went sort of blank….”
“And?”
“…and I couldn’t think straight. My head was spinning, and I felt… Perturbed? I don’t know… I just remember that while driving home, I had to park somewhere because I felt nauseous.” Junmyeon looked down at his hands, fidgeting with his napkin.
“Wait… WHAT?!”
“Still upset about the B?” a voice interrupted, coming up from behind him. Kyungsoo nearly leaped out of his chair. He was in shock from hearing his friend’s confession that he didn’t notice the footsteps behind him. The boys turned around to be greeted with a sly smile by their friend and classmate, Byun Baekhyun.
“Yeah, he’s being a big baby and won’t stop moping about it,” Kyungsoo said, quickly changing the subject back to the original problem.
Taking a seat next to Junmyeon, Baekhyun loudly plopped his plate of food down on the table.
“There, there. It will be okay.” He mocked a soothing tone.
“Byun, I am not in the mood,” Junmyeon said while rubbing his temples.
“What else is new? You say the same thing every day, like a broken record. I’m starting to think that may be your favorite phrase. And aside from Mr. Dramatic’s problems, I have some of my own too.”
“Let me guess….” Kyungsoo began, knowing full well what he was going to say. “Park Chanyeol threatened you again?”
“He said that if I didn’t do his homework, he would have his goons kick my ass.”
Park Chanyeol wasn’t your average rich-jock-bully. He knew more people in higher (and shadier) places than any kid should have at eighteen. Chanyeol had the kind of power to do what he wanted when he wanted and with whom he wanted. The day Baekhyun accidentally crossed paths with Chanyeol would be the day his whole life would change.
Just a week ago at a party, there had been a lot of drinking and dancing. Baekhyun, as accustomed to every festivity, was busy trying to impress a fine young lady by making a drunken fool of himself for a few good laughs. He was used to being the life of the party, so it was only natural to do a cannonball in the pool, in his boxers, during winter.
What he didn’t realize was Park Chanyeol and his gang walking by at the perfect moment to get drenched by the splash. Chanyeol made sure to let him know that his outfit was worth more than Baekhyun’s life, and he was going to pay one way or another. It was a miracle that he hadn’t been drowned and killed that night. But he also had to suffer the humiliation of running home in just his underwear, soaked from head to toe, just to stay alive.
Baekhyun hasn’t touched a drop of alcohol since.
“Ugh! I can’t do both of our homework! What am I supposed to do now?!”
“Maybe you can do some good in the world for once and donate your body to science.” Junmyeon chimed in.
“Haha, very funny, Junnie. You know, the teacher saw that giant idiot cheat on the English test and didn’t do anything about it. But when I talk in class, I always get reprimanded. It’s unfair, I tell you!” Baekhyun sulked, crossing his arms. Kyungsoo just laughed to himself, thinking how childish he looked.
“What?? The teacher doesn’t think your lame jokes and loudmouth are entertaining? That’s a first.” Junmyeon pretended to be surprised. Baekhyun glared at him, not the slightest bit amused.
“Chanyeol’s a spoiled kid,” Kyungsoo tried to shift the atmosphere. “The Parks donate a large amount of money to the school so that he can have free reign. I hear they don’t believe in punishment, so they pay the school to let him do what he wants. That’s just life. Money and greed control the world.”
Baekhyun furrowed his eyebrows at the aggravating situation. Why did he have to be so unfortunate? Something had to be done. Then an idea sparked his mind.
“Wait, you’re going to be running for president soon! Maybe you can do something about him when you’re finally in the office!”
“Keep dreaming. The only person that could stop that kid would be someone with a bigger bank account.” Baekhyun huffed and went back to sulking.
“Or someone he truly respects or loves,” Kyungsoo stated nonchalantly.
Both boys looked at him and each other, unsure if he was joking or being serious. The silence was broken when all three busted into laughter at the same time.
“I thought you were for real. That kid could never love or respect another human being.” Baekhyun let out an airy reply trying to regain his composer.
“Hey, don’t jinx yourself.” Junmyeon teased, “Knowing your luck, you’ll be that human being.”
“Oh god, no. Anything but that creep!” Baekhyun was horrified by that statement. “I’d step on a rusty nail and get an infection before that could ever happen.”
“Well, I mean… You can do that too.” Junmyeon laughed when Baekhyun almost pushed him out of his seat.
The kids joked for the rest of lunch, allowing their worries to disperse for the final moments they had left in their solace away from class.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the time Junmyeon pulled his dark grey Audi r8 up the round driveway of the large estate, the sun was already set. He stayed in the library at school, crunching over numbers and math problems to make up for the time he lost over the date. It helped some, but he still wasn’t finished.
The first thing he noticed was the crystal chandelier beaming through the front window, indicating that his parents were home tonight. Not that it mattered. If his parents weren’t up late at night working in the office at work, they were up late at night working in the office at home. It has probably been days since he had seen them. The only interaction Junmyeon ever had with his parents was formal conversations about school and staying on top of his responsibilities. Usually, conversations would turn into lessons, and nothing would ever be said between them.
The butler that greeted him at the entrance had confirmed what he had already deduced. So Junmyeon decided it best to leave his parents alone to their business and take his dinner in his bedroom. Because he spent most of his waking hours studying, it was customary to eat alone.
To outsiders, the boy’s home life may have looked empty and lonely. Rather than dwelling on it, he made the best of his resources and focused his energy on earning his grades. And tonight would be no different than any other. He sat at his desk, book and papers scattered everywhere as he crammed over the rest of his studies while taking small bites of food now and then.
Hours went by, and before he knew it, an unexpected voice sounded from the doorway.
“So I heard about your little date last night,” a chuckle came from behind him. Junmyeon nearly jumped out of his seat. He turned around to meet the smug gaze of his cousin, Oh Sehun.
“And exactly what did you hear?” He wasn’t surprised. Sehun would find out one way or another as he did with everything.
“That you left your poor fiancée on her doorstep, humiliated and crying after she kissed you.” Junmyeon’s eyes lit up.
What he said, however, had surprised him. He didn’t intend to humiliate the poor girl. Junmyeon had only been thinking about himself and how he felt that he didn’t consider how his stunt had affected Minhee.
“If you don’t fix your little problem soon, you’ll have a hard time succeeding in the business.” Sehun had said with much amusement before turning on his heels and walking out of the room.
“What problem?” Junmyeon question went unanswered. He tried at first dismissed it as Sehun playing mind games. He was always exceptionally talented at mental warfare. However, doing his best to finish his studies proved difficult as he was left contemplating the meaning behind those words. Had he finally found a weakness in him, or was he just bluffing this time?
Oh Sehun had been like an enigma to Junmyeon. He never knew what he was thinking. They weren’t very close growing up. And even though they now lived in the same household, they may as well be strangers. But Junmyeon still loved his cousin no matter what. He was intelligent. Not as academically as Junmyeon was, but he grasped things easily and came to conclusions quickly. He was great with words and got along well with most people.
But he also had a manipulative and cunning streak to him. And if he was honest, Junmyeon was a little bit afraid of him at times. He would do his best to mask it. He couldn’t afford to expose weakness to an unpredictable kid like him.
Lying in bed, he was left to ponder the connotation, and it wasn’t before long when Junmyeon finally fell to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Walking into class the next day, the kids seemed livelier than usual. The giggling girls a row away sounded like a bunch of annoying hyenas. Some boys, surrounded a desk a few seats away, were talking loudly amongst each other. What had gotten everyone so worked up? Junmyeon took out a book in an attempt to ignore these so-called classmates.
“Oh my God! He is so gorgeous! I swear he smiled at me!”
‘Could these girls be any more annoying’ Junmyeon thought to himself.
“Someone’s delusional. He was barely even looking in your direction!’
‘Don’t they have anything better to do than to gossip? I swear this is why these idiots get such low scores.’
Junmyeon tapped his fingers on the desk staring at the group of girls in frustration. He couldn’t concentrate on his book, and their screeching voices were like nails on a chalkboard to him at this point.
“What is even more impressive are his entrance exam scores! I got a glimpse of them while filing papers in the office. I never thought anyone could beat Kim Junmyeon’s!”
“What?!” He gave them a questioning look which caused the young girl to look shocked and embarrassed, realizing she had been too loud.
“Alright, class, take your seats. We have a new student today. Come on in and introduce yourself to the class.”
When he finally turned his focus to the front of the classroom, time seemed to freeze. In walked the most attractive person Kim Junmyeon had ever seen in his life. His beautiful black hair pushed to the side, eyes full of kindness, and a dimple when he smiled that caused Junmyeon’s heart to skip beats. His charismatic aura was attention-grabbing. He exuded confidence, yet that didn’t distract from the fact that he gave off a gentle air.
“Hello, I’m Zhang Yixing, but most people just call me Lay. I just moved here a few days ago. I’m so excited to meet you all. Please take care of me.” The boy bowed with a shy smile.
Lay’s voice sent chills down Junmyeon’s spine. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it made him shifted in his seat a couple of times while gawking at him shamelessly. Only when the teacher mentioned his name did he break from his daze.
“Well, Lay, I’m sure you’ll make a lot of new friends here. Would you please take a seat? There’s an empty one next to Kim Junmyeon.” Once eye contact had been made, he realized just how long he had been staring at this near godlike figure, and it made his face grow hot with humiliation.
Lay made his way to the empty chair. He coolly took his seat and got settled in. Junmyeon glanced in his direction, cheeks burning. He had no idea why he was reacting this way.
“Mind focusing your attention on the teacher?”
“Wha-what?” Junmyeon stuttered, look up at Lay sharply.
“Haha, I noticed you haven’t been able to take your eyes off me ever since I walked in. It’s a bit distracting.” Lay joked, nodding in the direction of the girls Junmyeon had earlier found so annoying. “For a moment, I thought you were going to squeal like those girls when I looked at you.” Some of the students within earshot laughed.
Junmyeon went from being awestruck to angry in a matter of seconds. How could someone who looked so kind be such an arrogant prick?
‘Who does this guy think he is?’
“Someone’s delusional. I hardly even looked in your direction” He bit off, ripping his eyes away to look forward. He was so flustered that the only comeback he could come up on the spot was a repeat from what he had heard earlier. He mentally slapped himself for sounding like those girls Lay had just compared him to.
“Whatever you say,” Lay scoffed, turning towards the teacher and ignoring Junmyeon’s presence the rest of the day.
Junmyeon glared at Lay with the corner of his eye. This new guy and his arrogant attitude had really rubbed him the wrong way, and, for the first time in his life, he thought about hitting the offending party. No one had ever talked down to or attempted to humiliate Junmyeon in front of the class. And the fact that the culprit was someone who he was captivated by really got under his skin.
He sat there and held his breath, trying to gain some control over himself before he did something he’d regret.
Unfortunately for Junmyeon, he was about to meet his match. What was supposed to be HIS school year, one full of pride, reign, and academic achievement, would arguably become his worst and most challenging year to date.