Taehyung gripped the front doorknob with all the strength in his fist. Anger, fear, and deep disappointment swirled uncomfortably in his stomach as he twisted it and stepped inside. His mother was at the kitchen table, rubbing her temples with half of a cup of tea sitting in front of her.

    It hurt. It hurt to be so angry at his mother, who he only ever seemed to look at with adoration. His loving, happy mother.

    With heavy breaths spilling from lungs filled to the brim with frustration, Taehyung shouted. "You called the principal?"

    She opened her mouth to speak, but the next words spoken did not come from her.

    "Yes, I did." Taehyung's father's voice suddenly filling the air caused the fierceness in his expression to falter. He was subdued as the man rose from where he'd been sitting on the couch, out of sight until now. However, he was still angry enough to push it.

    "Why would you do that? What did you tell him?" Taehyung gritted his teeth.

    "It doesn't matter what I told him. I informed him of the situation and asked him to help us fix things."

    "Fix things? Telling the principal to separate me from my friends for the rest of the year is fixing things?!"

    "Don't you dare raise your voice at me, young man," his father growled. "We're only taking the necessary actions here. Soon enough, you'll look back and thank us."

    By then, Taehyung's jaw felt sore and stiff with all the resent and fury he was holding in his mouth, stuck to his tongue. With his clenched fists hanging at his sides, he stood in the short silence, studying the wooden floor.

    His mother spoke next. "What about Sorah, Taehyung? What were you thinking?" Her tone wasn't of anger but rather pure disappointment that stung far more than any of his father's shouts.

    He wouldn't speak.

    His father sighed, clutching his temples with one hand, his other perched on his hip. "Son, I want to make something very clear. You are never to speak to that boy again. Do you understand me?"

   It was almost funny, the way that man called Taehyung 'son'. In his case, it always felt more like he was trying to convince Taehyung that he was indeed his son. When he called Taehyung 'son', he was playing his game of pretending to be a parent. He'd pick and choose when to put on this act, but it tended to be when it made him look good: in public, when Taehyung did something good he could take partial credit for, or when Taehyung did something bad that he could reprimand him for to prove his superiority. It was almost funny. But in this instance it was nothing more than appalling.

   Suddenly, hearing those words, Taehyung's anger was covered in fearfulness and pleading. However, he knew that any pleading or begging would only make things worse. He gave in.

   "Yes." The word slid dryly and untruthfully off his tongue. Another silent moment passed before he added, "Fine."

   It was obviously nowhere near fine, and he had no intention of abiding by that command.

xxx

   "I'm supposed to just... never be with him again," Taehyung muttered, tracing patterns into his bed sheets as he spoke.

   "But you're not going to listen to them, right?" Jimin was fuming, almost yelling into his phone.

   "I don't think I have any choice at school, at least..." He spoke as quietly as possible. While his parents didn't say anything about calling his friends when they grounded him, he wasn't in the mood for taking chances.

    "That's another thing! I don't think it's legal for the principal to tell you who you can or can't talk to at school!"

    Taehyung sighed. "I know. I was thinking the same thing."

   "You know what I think is going on here? I think your parents are bribing the school."

   "Honestly... I wouldn't put it past my dad." He could hear Jimin make some vague noise of frustration over the phone. "I don't know what to do at this point... I just wanna talk to him about what happened, at least. I want him to know I'm not ignoring him."

    "He knows you're not ignoring him because I told him at lunch." Jimin paused. "Wait a second! You can talk to him. I'll get his number off Sorah."

   "Oh my gosh- I'm an idiot. How did I not think of that-"

    "That's why you have me, bestie."