Chapter Text
Kim dokja’s pov
BEEPP-
The blaring noise of Kim Dokja’s alarm cut through his dreams and he woke up with a start. He groaned as he noted the time and got up quickly, not wanting to be late for school. Of course this had to happen right when it was getting to the interesting part. He had dreamt that he was isekai’d into his favourite novel “ways of survival” and that he was now a character. He had just heroically sacrificed himself for his companions sake yet again, and was on the brink of death. He laughed a bit as he thought about it- he really had a strange imagination, huh?
Quickly buttoning up his shirt and adjusting his pants, he went to the kitchen to get some breakfast. He noticed that his foster family had set out three meals, even though there were four people in this household. He shook his head lightly and told himself that he should be used to this by now. They never cared about him, but it was alright, he could manage by himself just fine. This didn’t bother him anymore.
He heated up a few slices of bread and slapped some cheese on. There- a perfectly decent sandwich. He scarfed down the bland sandwiches quickly, ran out of his front door, took the stairs down 3 at a time, and ended up holding the wall for support as he breathed in and out heavily. Curse his poor stamina.
Suddenly, a bottle of water came flying at his face and smacked him square on the forehead.
He rubbed his head and glared at the short girl who threw said bottle, and snapped “You couldn’t have just, i don't know, handed me the bottle?”
“To be fair, that was an easy catch. I can’t help it if you’re weak and lack the required hand-eye coordination”, replied Han Sooyoung, his self-proclaimed best friend, and currently also his only friend. He glared daggers at her before grudgingly opening the bottle and gulping down the water.
“Ah, what would you do without me?”, she asked smugly as she began walking towards the train station. Han Sooyoung came from a rich family, and had the option of riding to school in a Ferrari everyday, but he refused to ride with her. Maybe he felt like he was undeserving, or simply felt uncomfortable at the excessive price tag, but for some inexplicable reason, Sooyoung decided to join him on the train. She could’ve just travelled without him, and to this day he doesn't fully understand her reasoning, but he gave up trying to make sense of her a long time ago (I mean- who in their right mind would be friends with him in the first place? The murderer’s son?) Unfortunately, her parents weren’t pleased with this decision, but she wasn’t on the best terms with them, so she took the train anyway, simply to spite them.
He ran to catch up with her, and they travelled the rest of the journey in a comfortable atmosphere and engaged in friendly banter. To his dismay (or was it a blessing?) Sooyoung didn’t attend the same school as him. Her parents insisted on going to this rich private school, so in class, he was back to being friendless, much to Sooyoung’s amusement. As they approached her stop, she looked at him and held up her middle finger as a form of goodbye. “Have fun in school, cocksucker”, she yelled, loud enough for everyone on the train to hear. Embarrassed, he hastily plugged in his earphones and opened his webnovel to distract himself from the stares he was getting, thanks to sooyoung. He was so going to kill her after school.
He got off at his stop, and slowly walked towards the school gates. He made it just in time for the bell, and took a seat at the back corner of the class. The teacher was telling them about having assigned seats from now onwards, but he wasn’t really paying attention. The view outside was beautiful. The clear, azure sky, dotted with fluffy, pure white clouds stretched across the horizon. He could hear the distant chirping of birds, and the calming slosh of water from the river beside their school compound. He admired the lush greenery and how the gentle–
“-ka! Kim Dokja! Can you please move here? This will be your permanent seating arrangements for the rest of the year”
He hastily walked over and set down his bag at the new desk, which was more toward the front of the class. With all the movement, he failed to notice who his deskmate was, until he turned to the side and saw him. Yoo Joonghyuk. A pair of dark, glowing eyes, looking at him murderously, as if he wanted to tear him apart simply for existing. It was terrifying. And a little hot. But mostly terrifying.
Yoo Joonghyuk was the perfect guy. The pride of the school, the golden boy. And the complete opposite of me, Kim Dokja thought to himself.
Awkwardly, he turned away and grabbed a random book, flipping it open and pretending to read, praying that Yoo Joonghyuk would lose interest and look away. However, he continued staring intently, and he squirmed a bit under the pressure and intensity of his gaze. After a few seconds of pure torture, he heard a chilling, deep voice to the side of him, and snapped his head towards it as he asked “Are you going to keep reading that upside down?”. Confused, Kim Dokja glanced down to see the book he picked up and flipped to a random page as a distraction. And of course, because the universe hated him, it was upside down. He froze in embarrassment, heat travelling to his cheeks and ears already, before turning the book back around and continuing reading, as if nothing was wrong.
Yoo Joonghyuk finally looked away, and he let out a relieved sigh. Only 2 hours into Monday and he had been publicly humiliated twice already. Yay. Hopefully the teacher wasn’t serious when he said this was permanent. Or he’d make exceptions. Yes, he probably would, wouldn’t he?
Twenty minutes of arguing and an evening in detention later, he discovered that apparently, no, he did not make exceptions.
Yoo Joonghyuk pov
Joonghyuk didn’t care, or react when he was made to sit beside Kim Dokja, a boy he didn’t know existed before (but apparently was in his class for the past 2 years).
“Boring” was his first impression of this Kim Dokja, and “stupid” was added to the list soon after, as he stared at the boy reading his textbook upside down. He pointed this out and watched, mildly amused, as Kim Dokja froze up with embarrassment and looked away, the tips of his ears going bright red.
However, after that interaction, they didn’t talk again, or even look each other’s way. Kim Dokja seemed determined to remain as invisible and out-of-sight as possible. It was annoying. Yoo Joonghyuk didn’t know why, but it annoyed him. He simply couldn’t understand why Kim Dokja did this, or frankly, how he did this. It should be humanly impossible to do nothing and stay still for the whole day. Yet, Kim Dokja did exactly this, and it seemed he’d mastered the art of camoflaguing, as nobody ever acknowledged him - not even the teachers. It wasn’t until recently that Yoo Joonghyuk himself noticed Kim Dokja. And for some inexplicable reason, his frustration with this peculiar boy led him to observing his actions.
He started noticing many things about him- Kim Dokja never ate lunch at the canteen, always seen heading in the direction of the library or around random spots in school. He liked books and webnovels a lot, especially something called ‘Ways of Survival’. That novel never failed to bring a small but genuine smile to Kim Dokja’s face. It lit up his whole face, and all of a sudden it was hard to ignore him again. Of course he didn’t mean to notice that. He just happened to see him reading it on his phone. Yoo Joonghyuk didn’t care at all.
The few times Yoo Joonghyuk managed to ‘accidentally’ find him eating at these random lunch spots, he noticed that he always picked out his tomatoes, or that he always packed shabby, low-quality lunches. It seemed he wasn’t a complete loner either, he often texted this girl Han Sooyoung, and she could be seen in the evenings, walking home with Kim Dokja. Maybe it was his girlfriend? Not that he cared, of course. Trivial things like this didn’t matter to him.
Recently, he realised that Kim Dokja was covered in cuts and bruises most of the time, but he hid it so well that Yoo Joonghyuk only saw it when he briefly removed his shirt one day while changing for PE. Not that Yoo Joonghyuk was staring (but on a completely unrelated note, Kim Dokja had a very slim waist). This new revelation that Kim Dokja was likely being bullied made him angry for some reason. He chose to direct all this anger and complicated feelings toward Song Minwoo, who seemed to be the bully.
Although Yoo Joonghyuk was the consistent school topper, Song Minwoo occasionally beat him to it. He was the only one capable of keeping up with him academically, so although the guy was a jerk, he always reserved a certain amount of respect for him. Until he found out he bullied Kim Dokja. Yoo Joonghyuk told himself that he hated Song Minwoo simply because he was his biggest competitor. Definitely not for any other reason.
After this realisation, all the pieces clicked together- the two of them disappearing for extended periods of time, before returning with Kim Dokja slightly limping and a black eye. Or during tests, when Kim Dokja whispered, or handed Song Minwoo a piece of paper, while he marked his own answers wrong. And although he had no way to prove it, he was sure Kim Dokja did both their homework. The mystery of how a dumb bastard like Song Minwoo managed to score top scores suddenly made sense. It was Kim Dokja all along.
But Yoo Joonghyuk’s frustration toward Kim Dokja only grew. Why? Why, when you knew the answers all along? Why let that jerk get undeserved praise and recognition, while you hide from everyone in the shadows? He thought to himself one day during class.
He squeezed his pencil in anger and it snapped loudly. Out of his peripheral, he noticed Kim Dokja startle from the noise and glance at him inquisitively. Yoo Joonghyuk’s heartbeat sped up as he feigned nonchalance and reached for another pencil, only to realise he didn’t have one. Suddenly unsure of what to do, he stared at his notebook awkwardly. He heard a rustling noise to his side and slowly turned to see Kim Dokja pull out a pencil and hesitantly hold it out to him, eyes fixed on the floor. Yoo Joonghyuk’s eyes widened at the unexpected intervention, but accepted the pencil gratefully.
“Thanks”, he whispered near Kim Dokja’s ear, and he shrunk back at the proximity. “No problem” he muttered back quietly.
They continued their work in silence after that, but Yoo Joonghyuk noticed Kim Dokja was glancing in his direction more often. Irritated, he asked bluntly, “Is there something you need?”. Kim Dokja whipped his head towards Yoo Joonghyuk, clear shock etched all over his face. But he replied anyway, “Um, your working for the 5th question is wrong”, he said, barely loud enough to hear (maybe that’s what he was hoping for?). But Yoo Joonghyuk definitely heard, and went over his working. Huh. It was wrong. He corrected the problem swiftly and turned back over to Kim Dokja, who had already turned away to continue his work. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and before he fully registered what he was about to do, he tapped Kim Dokja on the shoulder lightly and asked,
“Could you tutor me?”