Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This Monday morning was unlike any other.

A new transfer student came to their small school and made waves. 

Conversation hushed the moment the short teen entered the classroom. Everyone could sense he wasn’t an ordinary person. It was hard to tell what set him apart from the rest. Was it his confident strides, as though he was afraid of nothing in the world? Was it his messy black hair, the deepest shade of black anyone had ever seen? Or could it be his deep blue eyes, which didn’t look entirely human? 

“Introduce yourself,” Mr. Park said in a tired voice. 

“My name is Raon Mir,” the teen said, happily writing his name with chalk on the blackboard. The hangeul was large and round, much like a child’s handwriting.  “I’m here to look for my human!” 

The reaction was instantaneous. Loud whispers erupted in the classroom. What kind of name was that? Was he a chuunibyou? A foreigner who was struggling with Korean? What did he mean he was looking for his human? A girlfriend? 

“Where did you come from?” One of the girls in the front rows piped up.” You don’t look entirely Korean.”

Raon blinked his wide, dark blue eyes and grinned. “I came from a different world!”

His words solidified everything. Yep. Here was a chuunibyou wearing contact lenses. 

The general interest shifted almost immediately to one of judgment and mockery. 

“What… how old is he?” 

“Pfft… He must’ve read too many fantasy novels.”

“Alright, alright. Stop talking,” Mr. Park sighed as he clapped his hands together. “Raon, you can sit in the empty seat at the back. Next to Kim Rok Soo.”

“Okay!” 

Unbothered by the whispers and mocking glances, Raon happily walked to his seat and sat down. His deskmate was lying down on the desk, his forehead pressed against his arms. 

“Hey, Kim Rok Soo!” Mr. Park yelled, slamming a book against the teacher’s desk. “Wake up, it’s time for class! Geez, you should sleep at home!” 

Kim Rok Soo stirred. His eyes were squinty and half-asleep when he lifted his head. His black hair was a complete mess and there was a red mark on his forehead from sleeping so long. His nose scrunched as he stared at Raon, unable to comprehend why there was someone next to him he didn’t recognize. Half-asleep, he pinched his own cheek and grimaced at the pain. 

The sight of Kim Rok Soo frustrated Mr. Park to no end.

“Aigoo, look at you… hah…” Mr. Park sighed and shook his head. “Forget it. Open your books to page 34, guys.” 

Raon raised his hand in the air immediately. When he didn’t get acknowledged, he started waving it left and right to get attention.

“What is it now?” Mr. Park sighed again.

“I don’t have a textbook, seonsaengnim!”

“Borrow your seatmate’s and look at it together. Hahhh, knowing Rok Soo, you can just take the whole book. He won’t be reading it anyways.”

Kim Rok Soo yawned on cue, rubbing his sleepy eyes. He looked like he was about to fall right back asleep. 

Raon turned to his seatmate and looked at the boy curiously. Something about this boy felt very nostalgic and familiar. 

“Hello! My name is Raon Mir. Can I borrow your textbook?” Raon asked politely. 

“Mm,” Kim Rok Soo hummed. He took his textbook out from the compartment under his desk and flipped it to page 34. Then, he placed the textbook between them, with more than half of it on Raon’s side. “Flip it whenever you want.” 

“Thank you!” 

Raon smiled. His seatmate was pretty kind. 

Things were off to a great start. He couldn’t wait for class to end so he could look around the school.

Chapter Text

Despite Raon’s strange self-introduction earlier, everyone was still curious about Raon. Groups of students surrounded him during break time to ask him questions. Kim Rok Soo found it hard to leave his seat due to how crowded it was.

“Where were you studying before this?”

“Are you wearing contact lenses?” 

Questions were shot out one after another before Raon could even reply. 

“I had many teachers! Goldie gramps and smart Rosalyn taught me the most. What are contact lenses?” Raon answered each and every question patiently, not getting annoyed despite the high levels of noise as the students crowded around him.

“Huh? How do you not know what contact lenses are?”

“Is it just a concept you’re trying out? Hey, cut it out. It’s lame.”

Kim Rok Soo watched as the atmosphere around the group turned sour. Raon simply looked confused, and Kim Rok Soo felt a little bad for him. 

“Kim Rok Soo.”

Kim Rok Soo flinched at the mention of his name. He looked up to see a buff student glaring at him at the doorway. 

“Do you think the break lasts forever?”

“...Sorry.” 

He got up from his seat. The conversation hushed as he pushed past the crowd. Raon stared at Kim Rok Soo’s retreating back with curiosity.

“Here,” Kim Rok Soo said quietly as he held out all the snacks and drinks in his hands to the three smoking boys in the courtyard.

Smack!

A sharp slap caused Kim Rok Soo to stagger. The things in his hands fell to the ground but he made no attempt to pick them up. His cheek throbbed with the pain of the blow but he didn’t lift his head. Anything he did or said would only fuel their anger even further. 

“Shit. Have we been too nice to you lately? Do you think I’m a joke?!” 

 There were no right answers to these questions. 

Kim Rok Soo could only grit his teeth and wait for another blow. It would end faster if he didn’t defy them.

“What are you doing?” 

The sound of the youthful voice made everyone pause. 

“The fuck are you?” One of the bullies threw their cigarette on the ground and stomped on it. “Hey, get the hell out of here before you regret it.”

Kim Rok Soo raised his head. He stared at the transfer student in surprise. 

There was a smile on Raon’s face, but it seemed angry, somehow. “Are you bullying someone weaker than you?” 

He stood in front of Kim Rok Soo and crossed his arms. Despite his short and thin stature, he felt pretty intimidating. 

“Fuck,” the biggest of the three boys cracked his neck and snarled at Raon, “What do you think you’re doing?! Shit, every dog and cat thinks they can stand up to me now. Don’t you know who I am? I’m the boss of northeast high’s year 1 class 1!” 

“Then you’re not a good boss,” Raon retorted. His voice was chilly. 

The insult was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The bully swung his fist, but to everyone’s surprise, Raon caught his punch easily. 

And he threw a fist back.

Crack!

This punch connected with a harsh snapping sound, breaking the bully’s nose.

After the shock wore off, the other two bullies rushed in to help defend their boss. 

Their movements looked clumsy next to Raon’s sharp and merciless strikes. 

The way he fought was as if he was a violent whirlwind personified. He made quick work of the three boys until they were lying on the ground, groaning in pain as they held their heads and sides. 

“Hey! What are you guys doing?” a gruff voice yelled from a window on the third floor. 

“Run!” 

Kim Rok Soo grabbed Raon’s wrist and pulled him along. They ran back into the school building and ducked into the washroom. He knew if they got caught here, it would be them who got punished, not the bullies who had rich parents and strong backing. More importantly…

“I don’t know where you came from, but you can’t fight back like that! You shouldn’t have helped me,” Kim Rok Soo hissed, his voice urgent. “They’re part of a gang. Now that you’ve pissed them off, they’re going to bring more people and take revenge. You should transfer as soon as you can.”

Raon didn’t look scared at all. He frowned as he stared at the huge bruise on Kim Rok Soo’s cheek. “How complicated. Then, is it fine if I beat them all up?”

“You?” Kim Rok Soo looked at Raon, who was even shorter than him and scoffed. “You’re heavily outnumbered. No matter how strong you are, you won’t be able to fight against an army.”

“I’m strong,” Raon insisted. “No one can hurt me.”

Kim Rok Soo frowned. He was worried Raon’s confidence would lead to his death. In his entire high school life, not a single person had tried to help him or speak up for him… no one, except Raon who fought off the bullies for him when they’ve known each other for only a few hours.

With a heavy sigh, he pulled Raon over to the sinks. “Wash off the blood on your hands and fix your clothes. You can’t be caught by the teachers.”

“Okay,” Raon agreed obediently. 

“If you still want to fight them, you should try to fight them one by one. Don’t let them set the location for a fight. You should take them down separately. But if they all come for you, you should strike at their egos by calling them cowards for ganging up on you and ask for a one on one fight with the strongest person. Knowing them, they’d fall for it… why are you smiling?”

“You remind me of my human,” Raon said with a grin. “He was very weak too. But also very smart.” 

“Your human?” 

“Mmhm!” Raon hummed cheerfully. His fingers fumbled with his tie again and again as he looped it this way and that.

Kim Rok Soo sighed. He held a hand out.

“Give it to me.”

The tie was placed in his hand. He looped it around Raon’s neck and tied it with deft hands. Even though he acted like it was a hassle, he was very careful and serious as he did it. He pulled it up to Raon’s collar, making sure it was secure but not too tight. “There.”

Raon stared at him with round eyes. His deep blue eyes sparkled as though recognizing something he thought he had lost for a long time. 

Kim Rok Soo asked with a small frown, “What is it now?”

“Hey… can you pet my head?” 

Kim Rok Soo blinked at the weird request. It was hard to say no to Raon’s earnest expression, so he raised a hand and patted the boy’s soft and fluffy hair. 

“Hehe,” Raon chuckled. He looked happy like a little kid as he leaned into Kim Rok Soo’s touch. “Thank you, weak human.”

Chapter Text

“Hey.”

Kim Rok Soo turned his head. He gripped the strap of his bag tighter when he recognized the big group of teenage boys waiting for him in the alley. 

“What do you want?” He asked tersely. “The school gates are about to close.”

“Haha! Listen to this fucker!” One of them laughed, his tone mocking. “Sure, we’ll let you go to school if you answer our questions.” 

Kim Rok Soo glanced at the long and winding path uphill to their school. If he made a run for it, he might be safe for the day, but it’d definitely make his life much harder in the future. 

With a sigh, he acquiesced, stepping into the shadows of the alley. 

The group of boys surrounded him in an instant like a pack of piranhas, blocking off his escape route. They towered over his short and slender frame and he could see nothing but threatening faces. But Kim Rok Soo kept his calm. He stayed quiet and waited for them to ask their questions, lest they beat him up for being cheeky.

“The guy who beat up our boys and sent them to the hospital. Who is he?”

Kim Rok Soo’s expression didn’t change. With a stoic face, he lied,  “I don’t know who he is.”

“Do you think we’re idiots?” Another boy snarled, pushing Kim Rok Soo’s shoulder hard. “If he’s not your friend, why would he fight us? Why would you run away with him?”

Kim Rok Soo was wondering the very same thing.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” they threatened. They took a step closer, crowding around him, suffocating him, trapping him. 

Kim Rok Soo’s hands started to shake. He knew what the hard way entailed. He didn’t want to be beaten up and humiliated. There was nothing he hated more than pain. He couldn’t see a way out of this situation without selling out Raon. 

There was nothing wrong with answering them, right? Raon was strong. Much stronger than Kim Rok Soo. Maybe he’d be able to hold his own against these boys. Plus, it wasn’t like Kim Rok Soo had asked Raon to fight those boys. It was Raon’s own fault for getting involved. 

He opened his mouth. 

But as he recalled those bright blue eyes and childish smile, he found himself unable to tell the bullies about Raon. His lips pressed together once again and he lowered his head.

“Wow, look at this punk. I guess we’ve been too nice to you recently?”

Their voices dipped into something menacing and dark. 

“You better start talking.”

Kim Rok Soo gritted his teeth. 

The first blow against his cheek was a shock to his senses. He staggered backward, head ringing, cheek throbbing, and it wasn’t long before a second blow came at his gut. He coughed in pain and wheezed, but there was no time to catch his breath as the boys continued to pummel him.

A part of him was relieved. If they directed their anger towards him and got it out of their systems, it meant Raon would be safe. 

And soon, he didn’t have the ability to think anymore as he coughed up blood and collapsed onto the ground.

…

When Kim Rok Soo opened his eyes, he found himself lying on the cold hard ground. The sky was now dark, and a light drizzling rain pattered on his bruised and beaten body. 

His breaths left him in small, wheezing gasps. 

It was so cold. 

It hurt so much. 

He couldn’t muster the strength to get up. He didn’t know if anything was broken. 

He could see out of the alleyway through his bruised eyes, but the streets were quiet. There was no one around who would notice him, and even if they did, they might not help him to spare themselves the trouble.

Kim Rok Soo couldn’t help but wonder.

What had he done to deserve this?

All he wanted was to lie low and graduate without any problems. He just wanted to live a peaceful life. Yet the bullies honed in on him from the very first day of school, knowing he was an orphan who had no one to protect him. Someone weak. An easy target.

Tears welled up in Kim Rok Soo’s eyes. His body hurt, and his heart hurt as well. He had never felt more alone than at this moment. Even if he crawled home, there would be no one who would worry over him, no one who would dress his wounds for him.

“Aah…” A muffled, wretched moan left his lips. 

What was the point of living like this? Like something less than a bug? 

Kim Rok Soo closed his eyes. He was so tired of it all.

…

Tap tap tap.

Soft footsteps grew increasingly louder as they approached. 

Kim Rok Soo didn’t open his eyes to look, thinking whoever it was would just pass by him.

But…

“Weak human!” 

Those familiar words, that familiar voice…

Kim Rok Soo opened his eyes, squinting through the rain, and saw Raon, who dropped his umbrella in his hurry to rush to Kim Rok Soo’s side. He knelt down and leaned over Kim Rok Soo. Rain dripped off the edges of his hair, onto Kim Rok Soo’s wet cheeks. 

For a moment, Kim Rok Soo wondered if he was dreaming.

Why… why was Raon here? Why did he look like that?

Raon’s blue eyes were bright even in the dim alleyway, and they were full of shock, fear, and pain.

“Weak human! What happened? Can you hear me?” Raon yelled in a panic. His hands hovered, unsure of whether to touch Kim Rok Soo or not, afraid of causing more harm. “Are you okay? Are you in pain?” 

When there was no response, Raon got increasingly more frantic. “What do I do? There’s so much blood… Don’t die! Please!” 

Even though Raon was supposed to be seventeen years old just like him, sometimes his words and mannerisms made him seem a lot younger. Even though it hurt a lot for him to do so, Kim Rok Soo slowly reached out and patted the teen’s round head to comfort him. Kim Rok Soo didn’t know why, but it felt very natural to do so. 

“I’m okay,” Kim Rok Soo assured him through gritted teeth, forcing a smile on his face.

But Raon became angry instead. His voice was mad as he yelled through the tears, “Don’t lie to me! You can tell me when it hurts! You have to!” 

Kim Rok Soo felt an urgent need to soothe Raon, so he quickly admitted, “Yeah. It hurts.” 

“I should’ve killed them,” Raon snarled, his gaze dark and murderous. “I’m going to rip them apart. How dare they—”

“Hey.” Kim Rok Soo quickly gripped Raon’s wrist to hold him back. He didn’t want the teen to face disciplinary action if things escalated further. “Take me to the infirmary. I’m in pain.” 

Raon’s eyes flew to him in an instant, panicked. All thoughts of murder seemed to have fled his mind as he hovered around Kim Rok Soo like a worried puppy. “It hurts? A lot? I’m going to pick you up! I’ll be careful! You have to tell me if I hurt you!” 

Kim Rok Soo couldn’t help but find Raon very cute. He had never met a person like Raon before—he was like a giant puppy.

Raon scooped Kim Rok Soo into his arms carefully, lifting him in a bridal carry. Kim Rok Soo bit down on his lip to hold back a groan of pain. 

“Hold onto me! Don’t worry, I won’t drop you!”

“How reassuring.” 

“Hehe.”

Raon beamed due to the praise. His smile was bright, the joy behind it so immense it was a little blinding. How could he look so pleased by the words Kim Rok Soo said lightly? It was making Kim Rok Soo feel embarrassed. 

But above that smile…

“Are you crying?” Kim Rok Soo asked in a raspy voice.

“N-no! It’s just the rain!” Raon insisted and twisted his head away to hide his face from Kim Rok Soo. 

Kim Rok Soo smiled. 

It was only the rain on his face too.

There was no one in the school infirmary since it was past working hours. Kim Rok Soo staggered around the place and looked for all the materials he needed while Raon hovered around him. Both boys left wet and muddy footprints in their wake, making a small mess.

“I’ll take it for you!” Raon hurriedly offered once he saw Kim Rok Soo grimacing while reaching for the disinfectant on a high shelf. “Just tell me what you need! I’ll help!”

The corner of Kim Rok Soo’s lips lifted into a smile. They made a good team, and soon Kim Rok Soo was seated on the bed with everything he needed. 

Raon hovered around and watched intently as Kim Rok Soo treated his own wounds. 

A sharp hiss left Kim Rok Soo’s lips as he cleaned a bad scrape on his forearm. 

“...Does it hurt a lot?” Raon asked in a small voice.

For a moment, Kim Rok Soo was dazed. It had been a very long time since someone asked him that. Remembering Raon’s words from earlier, he decided to be honest.

“Mmhm,” Kim Rok Soo agreed. 

“I wish I could take the pain away…” Raon pouted. 

“It’d be nice if convenient magic like that existed.”

“Right?” Raon agreed, his voice wistful, his gaze far away. He looked like he was remembering something from a distant memory. 

Practiced as he was, Kim Rok Soo made quick work of patching up his wounds with bandaids and bandages. They put everything back into their original places and cleaned the place up before they left. 

“I’ll send you home!” Raon offered. “Since you are extra weak, stay right next to me! Don’t leave my sight!”

“...Alright.”

Kim Rok Soo had never been protected like this before. But it didn’t feel too bad. 

It was nice to have someone who cared about him in his life. 

Raon stayed right next to him as they exited the school building. The rain had stopped, but the ground was still covered with puddles that reflected the light of street lamps and stars. It felt a little magical.

“Can you walk? Should I carry you again?”

“Thank you, Raon,” Kim Rok Soo said sincerely as he looked up at the starry sky. He had always lived with his head down, so the night sky looked incredibly beautiful to him at this moment. “Thank you for finding me.”

Chapter Text

True to his words, Raon beat up every single one of the bullies dominating the high school to the point of them entering the hospital. Each and every single one of them remained silent when questioned about their assailant, causing massive frustration for the authorities, school staff, and parents. 

But all of the students knew. 

On his third day at the school, Raon Mir became the boss of northeast high and he took Kim Rok Soo under his wing. He followed Kim Rok Soo everywhere he went like a bodyguard, even to the washrooms. It was an odd sight to see. Why would the strongest person in school follow the weakest student in school? 

Just looking at them, it was hard to tell who the boss was. Raon was short and innocent-looking, and while Kim Rok Soo looked more vicious and cynical, he barely had any meat on his arms. How could he possibly throw a solid punch? 

Whispers followed them wherever they went, but Kim Rok Soo found that the stares and whispers no longer bothered him.

No, he was more curious about Raon. 

“Why are you doing following me the whole day?” Kim Rok Soo finally asked. 

"I-I have to take care of those weaker than me! Because I am great and mighty!” The question flustered Raon, and he started spouting nonsense. “So you should just stay under my wing! I’ll beat up anyone who dares to bully you! Got it?"

Kim Rok Soo couldn’t help but think of Raon as a puppy. A clingy puppy who spoke like a chuunibyou.

A student looked at Kim Rok Soo for too long, so Raon literally growled at him. The student squeaked and hurriedly did a u-turn to avoid them.

“Hmph!”

Kim Rok Soo stared at Raon, who had his arms crossed. Even though Raon was small and lithe, his body packed an incredible power which could bring down an entire gang.

Such a person was choosing to stick by his side.

It was nice to no longer be harassed or beaten up but…

Something felt weird. It felt like he was changing hands from a normal bully to a crazy bully.

"Since you are extra weak, stay right next to me!!!" Raon insisted when Kim Rok Soo didn’t reply.

“Okay, okay.” 

He patted the head of the vicious boy and Raon turned back to his cheerful and giggly self. 

Definitely a puppy with both bark and bite. 

Raon acted like Kim Rok Soo's protective guard dog from that day onwards, walking him to school and sending him home every single day without fail. He stuck close to Kim Rok Soo’s side no matter what time it was or where it was, be it physical education classes, lunch breaks, or toilet breaks. Soon, they were frequently spending time together in Kim Rok Soo’s house as well, having dinner together and doing homework together.

“You really behave like a dog,” Kim Rok Soo chuckled as Raon laid on his desk, looking at Kim Rok Soo with upturned eyes. 

“Do you like dogs?” Raon asked, curious.

“Mm.”

“Then I’m okay with being a dog,” Raon said simply. 

“What’s with that?” Kim Rok Soo snickered. Raon was such a weird person, but Kim Rok Soo didn’t mind it, not when Raon seemed so genuinely happy to be in his presence even when they were doing nothing. 

He reached out and patted Raon’s head. 

This time, Raon didn’t smile or laugh, instead…

“Human. You don’t want to wake up? You want to stay here?” Raon looked at him seriously with round, childlike eyes. 

Kim Rok Soo’s eyebrows furrowed. He was wide awake, but his head was starting to hurt. He held his forehead and frowned. “What do you mean by wake up? Where do you want me to go?”

For a wild moment, he wondered if Raon was merely a figment of his imagination. A convenient character made up for him to protect himself from his tough school life. But it didn’t make sense. If it was all an imagination, why would the bullies be injured and show up to school in casts and bandages?

But… something felt off. 

Something…

“It’s okay human,” Raon said softly. He reached out and held Kim Rok Soo’s hand, and somehow, the pain started to fade. “I’ll protect you this time. No matter what happens, no matter where you are. Do you want to stay here?”

Kim Rok Soo had considered transferring schools before. But the prospect of moving to a new place, of adjusting to a new school where things might get even worse, was daunting. So he had decided to lay low and listen to orders, living under the radar until he graduated. Things were hard, of course.

Until Raon came and made it so much easier to breathe. 

Kim Rok Soo actually looked forward to coming to school now. 

That’s why…

He genuinely wanted to stay here. 

“Yeah.” 

“Then I’ll stay here with you,” Raon declared with a sweet smile, intertwining their fingers together. 

At that moment, an image flashed across Kim Rok Soo’s mind, of a black baby dragon smiling at him, dark blue eyes sparkling with trust and affection. He didn’t know why, but Raon felt like a very, very familiar presence in his life, like a close friend or family. 

All he knew was he wanted Raon to stay with him. 

So he squeezed Raon’s hand, holding it close.

“Okay.” 

And then, he asked, “Why… why me? Why are you so nice to me?”

Kim Rok Soo didn’t understand. He had always believed no one would ever help him, that no one would ever care for him. 

“Because you’re my favourite human!” Raon grinned, answering so simply as though it was a matter of course. 

“...” Kim Rok Soo felt his cheeks warm up as Raon regarded him with a gaze so full of adoration. “You’re… my favourite person too.” 

“...Not a dog?” Raon joked, his smile dimming somewhat. 

“Favorite creature, then,” Kim Rok Soo corrected, and the smile was back full force on Raon’s face. 

“Okay! Let’s be each other’s favourite for all of eternity!” Raon pulled him in for a tight hug, and Kim Rok Soo felt so, so loved.