~POV Jisung~

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Monday, November 9

Question :

1 catastrophic Saturday + 1 pitiful Sunday =

Hn. That's right.

A shitty weekend.

Wretched.

I was wretched.

I had spent my whole Sunday under my duvet, thinking about what had happened on that damn Saturday. Once at home that night, I'd drunk several beers, sitting on the floor in front of my sofa, looking at his cap which had stayed with me.

My head was so in the clouds I had forgot to give it back to him. After watching it for hours, I had gone to bed, hoping to tame that unacceptable turmoil reigning in my mind and, unfortunately, also in my heart.

Arriving at highschool this morning, I naively hoped I had succeeded. I hoped by setting foot in my workplace, I would be able to look at Minho with a teacher's eyes. I hoped the highschool's atmosphere would clear my head and help me erase that madness that had invaded me that weekend.

Naive, isn't it? Or rather, idiot.

On Monday, my first class was with the 3C-3s. So, I entered their classroom with an unsure step, trying as much as possible to look natural and confident. I greeted them as usual, without looking at my neighbor. But, when calling the roll I pronounced his name, I looked up at him by reflex.

Idiot, really...

Was the highschool's atmosphere magical? Did seeing him sitting at his desk, among the other students, make me forget everything? Of course... not. Like in a roller coaster, my heart had started beating faster, stronger, while I felt ashamed and guilty.

After that, I had avoided him. I had stopped looking in his direction, even though I saw often, of the corner of my eye, Hyunjin turn to him like a talkative friend. Then, at class' end, I had left their classroom in a hurry, praying to not run into him in the hallways.

Pathetic, isn't it? And it had been worse when, before afternoon classes started, Mr. Shin came to tell me that once again, one of my students had got into trouble. Entering the headmaster's study, I thought my heart would explode with worry. I expected to see my neighbor being scolded by Mr. Hyun, when I saw Hyunjin's begging gaze.

That one...

How could he have done something so stupid?

"It was just a game... a bet with other students..." He had said in his defense. "I'm quite good at baseball, so I thought I could do it. Actually, I was doing pretty well, but..."

Unsurprisingly, Solar didn't let him finish. She was furious because this unconscious, blindfolded, had hitting a baseball in the middle of the Honor Hall, which ball had landed on Yang Jeongin's picture, smashing its frame and glass into pieces.

#Disaster

No, really. Because, in addition to material damages, Hyunjin had found the way to break the photo frame of the whole highschool's most beloved student. So, as 1A-2's homeroom teacher, Solar wasn't going to forgive easily that infamy towards his adorable little favorite.

She was even scarier than Mr. Hyun and Mr. Shin put together and I couldn't do much because deep down, I understood her. But I probably should have intervened, because by offering to fix things by just paying a new frame, Hyunjin had made his case worse.

Thinking back to the chores he had received as punishment, I rolled my eyes by leaving the library. It was almost 5:30 pm and I was about to leave the highschool when I heard someone running towards me. Immediately I turned around, ending up in front of a desperate Hyunjin, lips trembling like jelly.

"Mr. Han... please, help me..."

"Hyunjin..." I sighed. "You're not a kid to play this kind of game anymore. Besides, your punishment isn't that bad... You didn't even have detention..."

Immediately, the pink-haired boy gave me a dismayed gaze.

"Ah?! I would rather be in detention! Mr. Han, do you realize how much work Mrs. Kim has given me?! I won't be finished until tomorrow!"

⬐☑⬎

❶ Wipe all the Honor Hall photo frames

❷ Clean up the Plastic Arts room

❸ Clean and tidy up the highschool's storage room + sort all the boxes contents therein

⬑☑⬏

"You're exaggerating..."

Well, his sanction wasn't easy to execute, but not to the point of needing my help... Yet, as an answer, he took me into every concerned room: the Honor Hall and its hundreds of photo frames representing all classes and highschool's best students since its creation thirty years ago, the Plastic Arts room and its thousands of painting stains, then, the two adjoining rooms forming the... storage room and... 

...uh... how to say...

"So?"

As Hyunjin looked at me with puppy eyes, I swallowed ma saliva.

"Y-you... Are you sure she asked you to clean this place by tomorrow?"

Hmm... Okay...

Me too, I would have preferred to be in detention...

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~POV Minho~

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6:15 pm.

I was about to leave highschool. Classes had been over since 4:30 pm and I wasn't into any clubs, but there was a place I liked to go and spend time, away from everything before going home, in that hell where my uncle was.

Along the way, I passed some students coming out of their clubs. All of them were talking about that moron Hyunjin who had become, in a flash, Yang Jeongin fan club's enemy. Amused, I had almost reached the highschool gate when my phone started to vibrate.

Minho... It's Hyunjin... 😭

Immediately, I stopped walking.

Fuck... Was that a joke?! When did that idiot get my number?!

Annoyed, I deleted his message when another one appeared on the screen.

Minhoooo... Bestie...😣😣😣 I still have to clean the art room and the storage room in the lower ground... Come and help me... It's a mess here... 😭😭

What?! Did he seriously think I was going to help him?! This guy's audacity had no limits!

Shaking my head, I deleted this one too before putting my phone in my jacket pocket. While walking, I was listening the dead leaves crackling under my feet when, once again, my phone vibrated. Angry, I was falling on his pathetic SOS.

We're going to be late if you don't come... 😫😫😭

Tss... What a pain in the ass!! Why should I care?!

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Wait a minute...

"We"?

Who's "we"?

Hyunjin had convinced a student to help him?

Well... It was a good sucker...

Me, I wasn't...

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"If I make a big mistake, you'll do anything to save me, won't you?"

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No.

No...

He couldn't have done that!

This idiot Hyunjin couldn't have involved the squirrel in this story!!!

Suddenly, I saw red. Been worked up, I backtracked before running through the highschool's courtyard and hallways until I found myself in front of the Art room on the 2nd floor. As I opened the door with full force, I hoped it was just Hyunjin's trap. I hoped not to see my idiot teacher here, when...

Fuck!! What a stupid squirrel!!

Surprised by the sound of the door slamming against the wall, the two turned towards me with big eyes, as I tried not to grab a chair to throw it on Hyunjin. My cold gaze went from him to my neighbor who was staring at me motionless, as if he had just seen a ghost, when the pink-haired boy ran to me complaining like in a melodrama.

"Minhoooooo!!!!! You came!!!"

As I didn't take my eyes off him, the squirrel went back to what he was doing while Hyunjin, glued to me like a leech, whispered in my ear.

"Minho... I thought with Mr. Han's help I would finish faster, but..." He lowered his voice, before continuing. "He has some kind of power, I don't know... When he tries to clean something, it gets dirtier... and when he tidies, mess grows... I swear, it's almost scary..."

Hn. Of course...

Asking my neighbor to do housework was like attaching a message to one hen's leg hoping it does the carrier pigeon...

"Look... He tries to clean this vase for five minutes and now, there's a huge stain on it... and it's getting bigger..."

Damn it...

Even though I was irritated to see him here, I couldn't stand still by understanding what he was doing. Pushing Hyunjin unceremoniously, I rushed towards the squirrel to stop this massacre that started to give me cold sweats.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I said by taking the vase from his hands before he repainted it completely black. "This rag is full of paint! You're not cleaning anything!"

Immediately, the squirrel looked at the cloth with which he was trying to polish that poor vase, before giving me a contrite and embarrassed look. His chubby cheeks turned peony red as I sighed loudly.

"Leave it to me. I take care of it."

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~POV Jisung~

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Fuck... Why...?

I was expecting everything except for Minho to join us, but it was normal. He wanted to help his friend. I was the problem. Me, who felt things I shouldn't. Me, who couldn't even clean a damn vase. I felt so ridiculous I didn't know where to put myself...

Minho was good at tidying. Methodical and careful, he had quickly done more and better than Hyunjin and I combined. So, seeing them side by side, I had decided to leave. Without saying a word, I went at lower ground while they cleaned the art room together.

As I entered the storage room however, I wondered if it was humanly possible to put such a mess in order. There were so many things in that two rooms it was frightening. Old tables, old chairs, old science and sport equipment, piles of boxes full of junk... I didn't even know where to look.

The place smelled musty, dampness and filled with dust and spider's webs. While the light bulbs hanging from the ceiling flickered like in a horror movie, I rolled up my sleeves. I wasn't good at cleaning, but I could gather all the boxes and sort their contents.

While I was busy doing this, my mind was still confused. I felt nervous and tense. I kept thinking about my student and the way my body had frozen when his fingers had brushed against mine to take the vase from me.

Why? Why it had disturbed me so much?!

Furious with myself, I climbed up the stepladder to take the boxes that were at a shelf top, thinking over and over again about this, when my fingers touched something flabby and viscous like...

...lizard ???!!!!!

Panic-stricken seeing the shape of this animal which was terrifying me, I let go of the box screaming, instantly losing my balance. As I fell, I closed my eyes when two arms closed around my waist. I fell then on someone whose body kept me from hitting the ground.

Breathless, I recognized at once that person's scent. I was so afraid he had hurt himself I turned quickly towards him, realizing I was lying on him, our faces just a few millimeters apart. Because of me, his mask had slipped and I noticed the wound in his mouth corner when he sighed, lifting my chin to force me to look at his eyes instead of his lips.

At that very moment, my cheeks began to burn furiously as he whispered, while I was absorbed by his deep and intense gaze.

"So, who's the wimp now?"

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Hello sweeties !! I hope you liked this new chapter !! Thank you so much for reading !! Don't hesitate to tell me your opinion !! You're all so cute with me !! Take care sweeties! <3