When the Kim's car arrived at a packed school the next morning, since this time all the students were present - that meant several hundred teenagers and not just the first-year students - a small crowd gathered to see its occupants get out.

First, the very popular Kim Namjoon, second-year student, model and brilliant student, promised a future that has always been mapped out, the best catch that the girls of high society dreamed of conquering without anyone having succeeded yet, as he was fully focused on his studies and nothing else.

Then, his little brother, the explosive Kim Taehyung who had made a strong impression the day before and whom everyone was still talking about that morning, making his reputation travel to the ears of the oldest who were not present the day before and who wondered if they should fear and respect him even more than his older brother.

And finally, a boy with a frank smile whose first name was hard to remember for now but who also bore the name of Kim without anyone knowing if he was or was not a direct member of this prestigious family.

The sustained attention he received made Seokjin blush, and he quickly looked for Seung with his eyes so that he could flee and hide with him.

"Don't be embarrassed, you're a pretty boy Jinnie, you can proudly greet your admirers," Namjoon told him with a teasing wink, putting an arm around his neck and waving his admirers, over-excited girls who squealed in delight upon seeing Namjoon notice them and pay attention to them.

"Don't make fun of me," Seokjin said before realizing, " I feel like they're mostly looking at you."

He didn't know Namjoon outside of the house and hadn't imagined that so many people looked up to him. 

"Of course, they're looking at me, I'm not just handsome and smart, I'm the king of this school," Namjoon confided in satisfaction , glaring at Taehyung who gladly returned the glare. "Taehyung is going to want to take my crown, now that we're in the same school, but I won't let him. The only person I want to share my crown with is you Jinnie."

"Is that right, you're the king of middle school?!" Seokjin exclaimed in awe as he gave Namjoon his full attention, then sought confirmation in the loving eyes of the girls watching them.

Delighted to see Seokjin ignore Taehyung and above all, find again all the admiration he felt for him when they were children, Namjoon nodded:

"Of course, and that's why you have nothing to fear when you're with me, no one will ever dare to harm you. I hope it makes me super amazing too?" He said that in reference to how Seokjin told him about Seung. 

"Ooh yes, you are super amazing too!" Seokjin nodded enthusiastically, "maybe a little more but Seung mustn't hear me say that."

The two boys laughed at this light secret.

"Okay, are you done singing your praises, Namjoon?" Taehyung grumbled, visibly jealous that Seokjin and the other students didn't look at him with admiration like they looked at his brother.

"At least I have some praise for myself, which is not the case with someone who assaulted someone on his first day of school and is already feared and hated by everyone," Namjoon said.

Stunned, Taehyung shot Seokjin a hurt look, feeling betrayed.

"You told him?!"

"I didn't know I shouldn't tell him," Seokjin defended himself, still feeling guilty, "I just wanted to tell him about my friend Seung, that's it."

Hearing Seokjin's friend's name again pissed off Taehyung even more if it was possible, but he didn't have time to let him know.

"Rest assured that Jinnie will tell me absolutely everything, including if you hurt any of his friends and I will make you pay for it," Namjoon interjected in a threatening voice.

"Try a bit, we'll see what you can do to me without incurring dad's wrath," spat Taehyung, whose only advantage over his older brother had always been the influence he had over his parents and that Namjoon secretly dreaded. "I'll get you off your pedestal soon, and Jin will see that you're just a pathetic braggart. When you've become an uncrowned king, you'll be less proud of yourself."

He glared venomously at his brother and with marked hesitation, threw the same at Seokjin who tensed. Then, he joined Jimin who had just appeared in the crowd of students.

"I didn't mean to upset him..." Seokjin whispered.

"Don't feel guilty, it's not you who made him mad it was me and anyway he doesn't need us to get mad, he does it to himself. Believe me that before the end of the day he will have exploded more than once on others than us."

"Do you think he's going to get revenge on Seung?" Seokjin suddenly worried as he watched Taehyung disappear among the other students and searched his eyes for Seung.

"Don't worry, he won't do anything for now," Namjoon assured.

"How do you know?"

"Because I control this school and at the moment, he does not yet have a sufficient network of friends to stand up to me. Given his pig-like character, it's even possible that he never gets there."

Seokjin chuckled relieved but guilty.

"I shouldn't laugh, that's mean," he scoffed himself.

"Yes, what a mean, despicable person you are Jinnie! The worst of all," Namjoon scoffed affectionately patting his head reassuringly and giving him a smile. "Don't feel guilty, he deserves to be left alone and he doesn't deserve your compassion. You should go join your friends now, everyone knows you're under my protection," he said, nodding to the people who were still watching them and who would be sure to warn the absents of the special bond that bound together Seokjin to Namjoon. "Come see me whenever you want: when you have a problem or when you just want to spend time with me, it would make me happy, okay?"

"Okay, thank you very much Joonie!" Seokjin thanked him, returning to his usual warm smile, sincerely glad that Namjoon was here with him.

Watching him walk away, Namjoon realized how happy he was that Seokjin was finally in the same school as him. He had patiently waited for this moment, brushing aside the obstacles that had tried to get in the way. Now he was going to show Seokjin that of the two Kims, it was he who should receive his trust and affection. He was going to destroy Taehyung by taking away Seokjin's friendship.

As Namjoon had predicted, for several weeks, Taehyung didn't do anything except make everyone understand that they should definitely not upset him. However, he was increasingly surrounded by a group of people who spread fear whenever they could in Taehyung's name.

Even though Namjoon often mocked Taehyung saying that they weren't friends but a gang of idiot and sycophantic courtiers, Seokjin was afraid of what mischief his newfound influence over middle school students might cause him to commit. Because if Taehyung had felt powerful from the first day of school without knowing anyone, now he must have felt even more powerful. So Seokjin usually kept away from him, or rather, he kept Seung away from Taehyung so that the latter wouldn't have anything to blame his friend for, since the two were unable to get along.

Even though Taehyung was unhappy that he didn't want to stay with him, Seokjin forbade himself from spending time with him. Indeed, he was absolutely convinced after the first day that didn't belong in Taehyung's circle of influence as Mr. and Mrs. Kim had told him and he thought it better not to stay with Taehyung too much. He still had in mind that Taehyung didn't appreciate him defending him and that he felt humiliated.

He didn't want Taehyung to feel further humiliated by his presence and and thought he wouldn't dare tell him for fear of not being his friend anymore. So he took the liberty of walking away from him on his own, without Taehyung asking him, thinking it was the best thing to do. Seokjin considered being at home together was enough to have a good time together and let Taehyung have the freedom to be with his other friends at school.

 After all, since Taehyung had friends now, he didn't need Seokjin always staying with him, that was his belief and he tried to avoid Taehyung as much as possible at school. But very soon, the void left by Taehyung's absence in his daily life had been filled by Seung and his other friends from Class 1-D and he didn't feel Teahyung's absence, he was fulfilled.

With Seung, Seokjin was always well surrounded. On the one hand by the students of their class who appreciated them both for their particularly pleasant character, one, Seokjin, being the kindness and frankness incarnate, the other, Seung being a clown who refused that one day pass without making anyone laugh or giving a smile to someone who needed it. On the other hand by the football team whose players had taken a liking to them, they who were the two youngest players.

Although it turned out that Seung was not as talented as Seokjin, he was just as passionate and the two had been particularly well received in this team which, unlike other sports teams at this prestigious middle school, did not did not yet have a great track record to his credit.

By dint of spending time with all these people, Seokjin spent less and less time with the Kim brothers and in doing so, he became closer to these other children who, although fortunate, did not have the same authoritarian attitude and arrogant that Seokjin had been able to discover in the Kims. He was relieved. His middle school life was going well, and he was glad he trusted Namjoon and agreed to come.

Academically, M. and Mrs Kim had nothing to reproach him for, he was studious and had excellent grades and not once since entering middle school had Mr. Kim called him into his office, which suited him perfectly. He had the feeling that if he continued like this, he would be happy. Very happy.

Neverthess, he didn't realize how much his estrangement annoyed Namjoon and Taehyung who hadn't expected that, by integrating the same school as them, Seokjin would be so infrequently with them.

Namjoon was working on slyly cultivating Taehyung's jealousy, for the sheer pleasure of seeing him so upset on the one hand, but also to push him to go after Seung, because after making sure to protect him so that Seokjin be happy in middle school, he had ended up getting fed up with this boy who was monopolizing Seokjin, and stealing the time he should have spent with him. Not wanting to incur Seokjin's hatred, he used his brother as a pawn to go after Seung.

And indeed, seeing that his brother was becoming more and more permissive and letting him do as he pleased in school, Taehyung took advantage of it. Seung, who however tried to ignore him and live his life on his side with Seokjin, began very soon to particularly suffer from the jealousy and meanness of Taehyung and his obedient friends.

Because the more Taehyung expanded his network and subjugated the students through threats with the help of his loyal friend Jimin, the more he could attack Seung, through the students who attacked him in the hallways, some of his teammates from the the football team who cruelly hazed him and soon, some of his classmates including the beautiful Yoona who had turned into the first of the nuisance on contact with Taehyung - unless it was the other way around because Taehyung was worse than ever since she joined his group, followed very quickly by Ha-Neul who did everything like her .

Seung was forbidden to say anything to Seokjin because those who attacked him told him that if Seokjin knew, then they would also attack him in the same way. He refused to let someone as kind as Seokjin suffer from the meanness of others and endured without telling him. Furthermore, even though he was harassed almost daily, it was always in Seokjin's absence or when his back was turned that Seung was attacked and he hid it as best he could, as he knew Seokjin would do anything to stand between him and Taehyung. However, Seung knew that Seokjin lived with the Kims and that he was at the mercy of this cruel family, him as well as his mother and grandfather.

Seokjin, by becoming his best friend, had told him who he really was, granting him a blind trust that Seung intended to honor, even if he did not really understand what could have prompted Mr. Kim to grant Seokjin this opportunity to studying at this school since that was the only thing Seokjin said he couldn't tell him.

Anyone else at this school would have taken information such as this in order to go after Seokjin because he was only the son of the Kim's maid. But Seung wanted to protect his friend. Protect him from the other students but also from the revenge of the youngest son of the Kims, who was deeply bad at heart in his eyes.

Thus, faced with an outraged Kim Taehyung who thought that he had to become much more tyrannical and cruel than that and stop being afraid of hurting Seokjin along the way, Seung held on and day after day, his bond with Seokjin became stronger and distanced him from the Kims in an imperceptible way.

The vase was full for Taehyung when Seung invited Seokjin to sleep over. One evening, as Taehyung entered Seokjin's house, Yoko informed him that Seokjin was not sleeping at home that night, having been invited by his friend.

"He didn't tell me anything," Taehyung said in a blank voice.

"I'm sorry Taehyung, Seokjin and you don't seem to be on the best of terms right now, I can see that, as you don't even play together anymore, but he didn't tell me what was wrong. That means it's not that bad, so I'm sure it will get better soon."

"He didn't tell me anything," Taehyung repeated slowly, starting to flush red with anger.

"Yes, that's what you just-"

"I didn't allow him to sleep over at Seung's, I want him home right away!"

Stunned, Yoko realized that Taehyung had instantly reverted to the bossy boy he once was with Seokjin. She then thought he must be very anxious about not being able to sleep without Seokjin so she said to him:

"Taehyung, I know you think you can't sleep without Seokjin but you're grown up now and if you don't try, you won't know if you can. In addition, Seokjin should be allowed to sleep over with friends sometimes if he wants. Of course, you can sleep in his room even if he's not there."

"I don't want his room, I want him," Taehyung replied.

"But you can't, he's not here." 

"I can't?" Taehyung repeated with a menacing voice. Who was that woman to tell him what he could or could not do when no one dared to disobey him?

"That's right, you can't, I'm very sorry. It's true that he could have tell you that he was going to sleep at Seung's, it's not very nice of him and I'll scold him for that, I promise you, but for tonight, you will have to accept that he is not here. I gave him permission and you can imagine how happy he was sleeping for the first time at a friend's house, I can't tell him to come home now, it would be too sad. And I know you don't like it when he's sad either. However, the three of us will discuss when he comes back tomorrow, he will apologize to you for not telling you before, and we will try to make sure you two reconcile no matter what is wrong, okay Taehyung?"

For several years, Yoko's closeness to the Kim children had made her call them by their first name rather than by appellations such as "young master", or "Mr. Taehyung" when she was alone with them and her family. But that night, Taehyung suddenly seemed to find this closeness to his maid unwelcome if it made her believe she could argue with his orders.

"YOKO!" Taehyung shouted then in an imperious tone, startling her as well as Seokjin's grandfather who was dozing not far from them. The heir was exasperated at not being able to make his servant obey him. "Give me Seung's address now, I'll get Jin."

"Taeh-"

"If you don't give it to me, I'll tell my parents that you refused to listen to me and that Jin went to sleep over at someone I hate knowing it would make me angry. My mom will punish you two, that's for sure!"

Shocked, Seokjin's mother realized that she didn't have the boy she loved as a son in front of her and was like a brother to Seokjin. He had just given her an order as Kim Taehyung and intended to be obeyed. While she was relieved that he didn't threaten to go after Seokjin directly, she also couldn't let Taehyung's mother get mad at Seokjin, knowing full well what this woman was capable of when his son was upset. She had no choice.

She would have liked so much that her son could stay where he was, with his friend who made him so happy, rather than bring him back to the son of the Kims who had become again in an instant in her eyes as odious as several years before.

However, in front of the fury ready to be unleashed from this boy who could not be refused anything, she complied and gave him Choi Seung's address. 

"Stay here, I'll go get Seokjin with Soo," Taehyung ordered seeing that Yoko was about to follow him.

Again, Yoko had no choice but to comply. Seokjin having no phone, she had no way to warn him that Taehyung was coming and she could only stare sadly through the window at the black clouds that were beginning to form, promising summer rain to come, while Taehyung called and driver and got the car out.

"I'm so sorry Seokjin," she whispered.

After dinner and taking advantage of this Friday night to stay awake as they approach the end of their freshman year in middle school, Seokjin and Seung made passes with Seung's ball in his garden lit by garden lights installed at regular intervals around where they had fun at night. The Choi family's property was nowhere near as large and luxurious as the Kim's but Seokjin didn't notice or care, and Seung was grateful.

The Choi were nouveau riche and had many Chaebol partners and holders much wealthier than them, but while his schoolmates were pointing it out to him more and more to make fun of him and belittle him, Seokjin never gave him a similar remark. His natural goodness and his personal situation had inspired Seung with an idea that he hadn't told him until he received his parents' agreement. He did it that night, when they were having fun, acrobatically throwing the ball to eachother.

"Jin," he said suddenly, gathering his courage, "I have a proposition for you."

Curious Seokjin grabbed the ball that was coming towards him with his hands and asked:

"What is it?"

"You say that Mr. Kim took care of your education while your mom and grandfather worked for him, is that right? So what would you say if it was my dad who hired your mom and your grandfather to work and live here, and financed the rest of your schooling?"

"Eh?!" Seokjin said who never corrected his language when talking with Seung, because he could be himself like he was with Namjoon.

"Yes," Seung nodded with a big smile, "I asked my parents who accepted my request after making sure it was possible."

"B-but why? I mean, I didn't do anything to deserve this kindness and your parents don't owe me anything!" Seokjin wondered.

"Because you owe something to the Kims, is that why you have to stay with them?"

"No, no, that's not what I mean," Seokjin denied, tense. The only thing he didn't tell Seung was what Taehyung did to him when they were little. It was his secret and even Seung must not know. "But Seung, I can't accept becoming a burden on your parents, not until I know what I can do in return."

Seung, even though he understood Seokjin's hesitation, looked sad, thinking that Seokjin didn't deserve to be treated with anything other than the most extreme kindness.

"Don't you understand how we can be nice to you for free? It's sad, it means that you have been treated so badly that you no longer believe it is possible for someone to give you a gift without ulterior motive. It makes me want to convince you even more that this family doesn't deserve someone as nice as you. Jin, do you want to know why my dad willingly accepted my request?And it's not to take advantage of you, I promise."

"Why?" Seokjin asked curiously.

"Because not only are you a good person, they could see it in the way you treated their only son and it made them happy, but above all, my family started from nothing and worked hard to reach the status we have today and knowing you are so hardworking and persevering despite the difficulties, they wanted to participate in your success. My dad would even want you to work for him later, can you imagine us, working together as partners after our studies? That would be cool, right?" Seung asked, his eyes sparkling.

He had matured a lot in a year of middle school and especially because of the harassment he had to face, but he still retained this overflowing enthusiasm that he reserved only for Seokjin. The latter, faithful to his usual sincerity, nevertheless replied with kindness:

"But I want to be a footballer, not an employee of a company, you know that well Seung!"

Seung chuckled.

"Yes, I know that well, but the career of a footballer is not very long you know it and after having known the success of the football fields, you may want to do something else. At that time, know that the door of the Choi will always be open to you!"

"It's really very kind of you and your family," Seokjin thanked him with an enlightened face, before suddenly realizing what was holding him back at the Kims: "but I can't abandon my friends... Taehyung, Namjoon and I, we've been friends since we were young! They care about me and I care about them, I think they'd be really sad to see me go and I don't want them to-"

"Trust me," Seung cut him off, "You'll be much better off away from them, you have no idea how much Taehyung put me through this year and how much he would be able to do to you if it was you he started to hate. And I'm sure his brother consciously let him do that because even if he never hurt me and in front of you, he always smiled at me, I understood that he didn't like me either."

"Taehyung hurt you?!" Seokjin exclaimed, stunned that he didn't know about it and only learned about it at the end of the year.

"Yeah, and not just once," Seung confirmed sadly, lifting his shirt to show Seokjin the last collection of bruises Jimin had given him by beating him in the toilet on Tahyung's orders.

Jimin had transformed himself not only into a bodyguard for Taehyung but above all, into a particularly formidable hunting dog not only for his docility towards the Kim heir but also for his cruelty which was said to be superior to Taehyung's.

All of this, Seokjin had known nothing about, living his life with no interest in gossip or seeing the evil behind people since Jimin always spoke to him with the same feigned sympathy and smile that Seokjin took for friendly, and Taehyung had assured him that he hadn't touched a single hair on Seung's head after the first day. One night, Seokjin indeed had managed to make Taehyung promise that he wouldn't hurt Seung again and he believed him, thinking that Taehyung cared enough about him to agree not to take it out on his friend if he insisted. But Taehyung had betrayed the word he had given him as if it didn't matter...

Seokjin's amazement was painted on his face and Seung felt a pang of guilt.

"I'm so sorry I didn't say anything," he said, pulling down his shirt to shield Seokjin from the violence he had been subjected to. "I didn't want to worry you or put you in an awkward position with Taehyung and his family, but he's been mean to me all year and if it helps me convince you to come and live with me, then I'd rather tell you now and hide nothing from you anymore. Your friend Taehyung is just an asshole, sorry for my foul language but it doesn't deserve polite language. You would be better off without him."

Seokjin was confused, he thanked Taehyung a thousand and one times for agreeing to leave Seung alone and Taehyung accepted his recognition without telling him even once the evil he had done. Now he wanted to cry. Cry in pain that he didn't see his friend's suffering, cry in pain that he blindly trusted Taehyung and believed that Namjoon's presence would prevent such things from happening. With tears in his eyes, he stammered:

"I'm... I'm so sorry Seung, it's my fault, I should have realized that and protected you from him, I'm so sorry for not seeing that he was lying to me..."

"Hey, hey, don't feel guilty, it's not your fault he took advantage of your gullibility," Seung hurriedly told him, "he's the problem, not you! And that's why I really want to get you away from him. You will be much better off here, my parents will welcome your family and no one will ever make you feel guilty for being a good person. What do you say about that?"

Seung was really a good person, it was him that Seokjin now really wanted to see as his dearest friend and not Taehyung anymore, he realized it only too well. He had a spontaneous reaction that suited him so well and jumped into his friend's arms, spouting out a stream of enthusiastic words, thinking of the wonderful life he was going to lead, and which made him love his life:

"Of course, I agree! I want to come live with you, I don't want to live with Tae and the Kims anymore. Thank you so much for what you did for me, you are truly my best friend! Do we still play a little before going to sleep? I'm in great shape, I want to shoot on goal again and again! I think it's going to rain soon but that's okay, it will be fun to play in the rain! Oh, but first I have to go thank your parents for their kindness and promise them that I will work hard to make them proud for taking care of me. And of course, I'll talk about all this to my mom and my Ji-chan tomorrow, I'm sure they'll accept and they'll be happier here! Ji-chan will make your garden even more beautiful, you see, he is a flower lover and the best gardener in the world. And mom can give you Japanese lessons to help you when she has time and she will prepare delicious bentos for us when we have football competitions in other schools. Oooh, this is going to be so awesome, I can't wait!"

"May I know what makes you so certain that I'm going to let this happen?" came a deep voice that spun them around at the same time

Coming out of the darkness of the garden where he had directly witnessed all this discussion, with great difficulty preventing himself from intervening, Taehyung looked in turn at the two boys who, still bound by Seokjin's embrace, were convinced, a few seconds earlier that they were going to live soon their best life together.

"T-Tae..." Seokjin muttered, startled to see his face contort with a fury he had never experienced in him.

Suddenly thunder rumbled and Seokjin jumped. Above them, the dark clouds had gathered and an air blew in, heavy with a damp smell that announced rain and trouble to come.