TW:  criminal attitude from a man responsible for minor boys.

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"Please help me!" Seokjin shouted at the man who had just entered who half-blinded him with the flashlight he pointed at his face.

"Seokjin? What are you doing here?" Mr. Kang asked with surprised, turning off the flashlight in his hand, making it appear as if he was doing a surveillance tour of the high school.

Trying to catch his breath after his fast run, Seokjin hastened to explain the situation to him:

"Mr Kang... I was chatting with them and... and suddenly... suddenly Heungmin hit me and said he wanted to hurt me because he said..." he thinks of a way to say things in an acceptable way, "he said I don't belong in Eunma!"

He trusted Mr. Kang in saying this, because he was the one who forbade students and teachers from discriminating against him because of his special status. He was deeply relieved when he he recognized the identity of the newcomer, although he wondered how he could be so lucky and what he was doing there. Under the attentive ear of the director, he continued: 

"They created a club that meets here in secret, they tortured Jimin and now they want to do the same to me. Please sir, you have to help me!" Seokjin pleaded, pointing to the other motionless boys who were observing the director without a word.

Kang seemed perplexed for a few seconds and looked for a moment at the boys behind Seokjin, first Joonwoo who was closest to him in his race to catch up with Seokjin, then Raenjun who was painting in front of his easel and finally the other four, who had not moved from the sofa where they had settled to listen to Seokjin play the piano before watching the race between him and Joonwoo.

"Don't worry Mr. Kang, we were just playing with Seokjin," Joonwoo explained as politely as possible, as if he had suddenly become a model student again.

"Oh, I so that's it," Mr. Kang said in an kind tone.

"No! That's not true, he's lying! They weren't playing around or pretending, they really hit and burned me, look!" Seokjin said indignantly brandishing his injured arm at the sight of the man who observed him with some kind of fascination.

"Do you took Jimin's place?" Kang asked, smiling weirdly.

"W-What?" Seokjin stuttered, taken aback. "How do you know Jimin came here? Do you know what they did to him?!"

"Of course I know, it's my school after all," the man retorted, amused. "Not only did I know but I even rewarded him for it. It was undoubtedly the lure of gain that pushed you to take his place, right my boy?"

"R-rewarded?" Seokjin asked, perplexed. 

"Did you really think that simpleton would be able to get the best results on the math exams if Mr. Kang hadn't given him the corrections so he could learn them by heart?" Heungmin said ironically. "He obviously wasn't the only one in your class, Heechan, got them too, but he made a mistake and came second. It sent him into a rage, that little idiot!" he chuckled visibly amused by his little brother's defeat against Jimin. "He asked Jaekyeon to make him pay for his insolence."

Horrified, Seokjin turned and met the gaze of the first year student who gave him an evil smile. So it was him who put Jimin in such a state?! He beat up Jimin at Heechan's request, only because he got first place in the exams. 

Jaekyeon must have been his friend, otherwise he would have asked his brother to do it. The other first year student wasn't in their class and that's why Seokjin didn't know him. He seemed like a cruel child among the other older boys who were calmer than him but probably just as dangerous given what Heungmin had just done to Seokjin. 

If Heechan had also been part of the Midnight Club, there is no doubt that he would have tortured Jimin himself, Seokjin realized with some dread, understanding what kind of boy his classmate really wasthe same way he had rediscovered his captain that evening.

He also understood that by obtaining a favor, Jimin had received a punishment in exchange. Was it really worth it?

"And you Seokjin, what do you want in exchange for your services for my boys?" M. Kang asked, sure Seokjin was going to ask him something too.

"Y-your boys? You mean you're the one who allows them to do this?!" Seokjin cried out, horrified. "I thought it was Mr. Ra!"

"Mr. Ra tolerates their activities even if he doesn't agree because I ask him to turn his head," Mr. Kang explained. "This place as well as my office are the only one outside his jurisdiction, he has no power there so he doesn't come here."

So Ra was indeed honest when he warned Seokjin on the first day. He was not responsible for what happened to him: Mr. Kang was. 

Then, Seokjin understood the real reason why Jimin couldn't complain to anyone: with the director involved and covering up the Midnight Club's misdeeds, who would have protected him? He would have been fired if he had wanted to file a complaint. Was that who was waiting for him too? He couldn't complain to anyone otherwise he would be kicked out of school? 

He also remembered Mr. Ra at the beginning of the year who redistributed the rooms because of illegal activity in the rooms. Was it the misdeeds of the Midnight Club? Had the members tried to move their activities from the 5th floor to the rest of the dormitory last year?

Seeing his desperate look, Kang looked conciliatory and put a friendly hand on his shoulder before saying:

"Now, now, my boy, don't put yourself in such a state and look on the bright side: you will help my boys relieve their stress and I will reward you in whatever way pleases you. If they like you, they too will reward you personally and you will be the big winner in this story. You'll have more than a miserable boy like you could ever have dreamed of, isn't that great luck?"

"Are you asking me to let them torture me?! Is that what you call luck?!" Seokjin cried out, shocked.

"Come on, let's not use that kind of word to dramatize the situation. Jimin will tell you that it wasn't just about beatings every night, there are other ways to get rid of stress. Sometimes it's just playing games with them. Jimin also danced for them because they enjoy seeing him dance gracefully, sometimes it's for me that he dances, what a beautiful sight it is." 

Seokjin couldn't believe it.

"Tonight, Seokjin also played the piano for us," Joonwoo informed Kang as if Seokjin had volunteered for that himself.

"Really? I'm glad to see that you already feel at home here."

Speechless, Seokjin realized that he had nothing to expect from this man. He did not consider him as an ordinary student but as a toy for his protégés.

"It was me who proposed that this year, the club's bonus recruit be Jimin or you: you both have a family that is not very powerful compared to the others and an advantageous physique and that is very valuable in a boys' school," Kang continued, looking attentively at Seokjin from head to toe to the point where he was very uncomfortable.

He had always liked it when people complimented him on his looks, but coming from this man, he got no satisfaction from it, only terrible embarrassment. 

"I would like my boys to lose their chastity but it is a difficult task here because girls are lacking. You'd be perfect for them, what do you say, Seokjin?" 

"P-perfect for what?" Seokjin stammered, his look revealed his incomprehension and his fear because whatever this man was implying, it could only be dangerous for him.

"Don't try to find out yet, innocence suits you perfectly," Kang said, amused, with a scary expression.

His hand, still on his shoulder, began to caress him and Seokjin shivered. He felt in danger more than if the man had hit him and he would have liked to escape this hand but his body was as if frozen in horror. At the same time he felt the devouring gaze of the other boys weighing on him.

Whatever the director had in mind, they seemed to be particularly impatient. Seokjin saw the boy named Dongmin lick his lips like a wild beast eager to pounce on its prey, already imagining himself on it.

Trembling, Seokjin turned sharply to Kang:

"No, you can't let them hurt me!"

"I let them do what they want and I encourage them to become strong men because they will become the pillars of our society," Kang replied. "And who knows, maybe I too will call on your services if I need you. After all, I have been good to you and if you want to continue to benefit from my protection, I intend to obtain some favors from you."

Shocked to hear such words from the director's mouth, Seokjin turned pale and cried out:

"Y-you can't, it's illegal! I-it's a crime!!"

"It's my school, I do what I want," Kang replied quietly.

"In this case, I will report you, Jimin too and you will go to jail! And if you think that my family is not powerful enough to file a complaint against you, know that Kim Taehyung's family protects me and will be against you!" Seokjin protested vehemently before regretting it. 

The man's previously relaxed features hardened and upon seeing this, he took a few steps back, moving closer to Joonwoo despite himself.

"This is the one and only time I will tolerate your threats, boy. Listen to me carefully: if Jimin reports me, he will have to admit to having cheated on his exam and we will wonder if all his exams until now were not the result of cheating, his family will be humiliated and their company will probably go bankrupt. Jimin will never have the courage to denounce his shoolmates and me, just as he will never dare to say that he managed to come first by cheating when others worked hard. 

As for you, if you say anything that could cause harm to any of these boys, I will make sure that you are expelled from this school with the academic record of a delinquent so that no school will never accept it again," Kang threatened. "Your life will be forever ruined."

Stunned, Seokjin remained silent, too shocked to say anything. This man was a real monster... He was finally an adult like those at Gugbo school, an adult like Taehyung and Jungkook's parents, who threatened him instead of protecting him.

"Much better," Kang said in a satisfied tone. "Now boys, have fun with him, you need to release your stress after this examination period, don't be afraid to send him to the infirmary, Mr. Kang takes care of everything," he concluded with a form of sickly tenderness towards the boys behind Seokjin, a forbidden tenderness that resembled the one that had accompanied his caressing gesture towards him, Seokjin realized.

Leaving Seokjin in the hands of the dangerous boys from the midnight club, Kang left, without even bothering to close the door: he knew that Seokjin would not try to escape because he had no escape now.

Giving up on fleeing, Seokjin remained still, feeling completely vulnerable and trembling perceptibly. He tried as best he could to control his irregular breathing but he found it difficult to concentrate on that as danger surrounded him.

He jumped when Joonwoo placed a caressing hand on his swollen cheek, where Heungmin had slapped him hard before. Weirdly, this hand didn't frighten him like Mr. Kang's. Still, Joonwoo had proven himself dangerous so why, Seokjin thought, why did he continue to have hope that this was all just a set-up and that Joonwoo was going to go back to being the nice boy he always was? 

"Calm down, you're too tense," Joonwoo said, "I don't want you to have an asthma attack here." 

"C-can I go back to my room?" Seokjin asked with little hope, "I...I need my medicine."

But he knew it was a mistake when he saw Joonwoo's soft-featured face darken and his hand withdrew from his face.

 "I preferred it when you liked me, you were adorable. Now you just want to run away even when I'm nice to you. I do not like it." 

"I- I'm sorry," Seokjin whispered, terrified that he had made him angry. "Please don't hurt me..."

Joonwoo observed him without saying anything for a few moments and his silence only made his anxiety worse.

"You know Seokjin, I stand by what I said earlier. Mr. Kang gave us the choice between Jimin and you but it's you I wanted from the beginning I don't know why, I feel like you should belong to me from the start. Too bad you belong to the Kims."

Seokjin gathered what little courage he had left and bravely asked:

"S-so why didn't you choose me from the beginning instead of bringing Jimin?"

Joonwoo seemed deeply displeased to remember why. He said with annoyance:

"Because the seventh of us flatly refused, saying that he had already had his way with you and that he was no longer interested in you. He also said that he did not want his father's honor to be tarnished. We don't want to get confused among ourselves, we must be united because in a few years, it is as partners that we intend to reign over Korea and the world, but as enemies but since you came from your willingly, he will not be able to tell us anything."

"Who is the seventh among you?" Seokjin asked feverishly, even though he had already guessed it.

"Me," a voice came from behind him, making him turn around and widen his eyes.