Taehyung had never felt so relieved to be at school before. As soon as he'd seen Jimin he'd latched onto his arm without saying a word, dropping his head onto his shoulder.

    "What happened to you?"

    "I'll tell you at lunch," he muttered into Jimin's shoulder.

   When they separated and strolled into the chemistry classroom together, taking their seats, Taehyung rested his arms and forehead on his desk, sighing heavily. It was going to be a long day.

   His long day started sooner than he expected, because he heard the teacher call him just seconds after he took his seat. With drooping shoulders he brought his head up and looked at his teacher.

    "Sorry, but the principal asked me to move you up to the front."

    "Huh?"

    "Your seat's getting switched."

    "Why?"

    "He didn't say... Sorry about that." She pointed to a seat as close to opposite from his current seat as possible. "That's yours now."

   Reluctantly, he grabbed his things, and glanced at Jimin, who sat watching the exchange with a furrowed brow, then at the empty seat in front of him. Jeongguk's seat.

No, it couldn't be-

   He trudged to the new desk. His new desk. He'd spent almost an entire year in what he considered to be the best spot he could've gotten in the whole class, next to Jimin (as they'd both pleaded for), and behind the boy that made his heart thump like crazy constantly.

   This new desk was lonely and he felt the metal bars poke into his back more than ever. He could hardly see out the window from where he was. This desk didn't have the little smiley face Taehyung secretly carved into the side, matching Jimin's. It creaked with every little movement Taehyung made. It sucked. So much. All those observations might've been pretty childish reasons to conclude he absolutely hated the new desk, but the last observation made it quite understandable.

    Amongst the students filtering in, Jeongguk appeared, with eyes searching for Taehyung before he even stepped into the room. When he saw him at the front of the room, no longer sitting right behind his desk, he cocked his head, letting a quiet noise of confusion slip past his lips.

 The very moment he stepped forward and paused at Taehyung's side-

    "Alright, everybody, sit down. We've still got a fair bit to cover in this module so let's get it done quickly."

   Closing his mouth, Jeongguk let his eyes linger on Taehyung as he forced his feet to move on forward and take his seat. The last observation was that in this cursed new desk, Taehyung would not be able to see Jeongguk at all unless he almost completely turned around in his chair.

   That made the next several periods so much worse than they usually were. Except for art. In art, he got to move to a different classroom, with different seats, and a clear path for his eyes to casually land upon Jeongguk. Maybe he slacked off on his project a bit, but that was only because he was taking his chance to appreciate beauty. Art. Jeongguk's pretty, starry eyes glued to his canvas. His silver earring wobbling as he moved his head in to take a closer look at it. His gentle fingers tapping at his lower lip as he assessed his work.

    And at lunch he finally got the time to speak to him.

    Before getting his lunch tray, Taehyung went straight for Jeongguk in the cafeteria. It was easier to get to him because the other boy was also doing his best to find him as soon as possible.

   "Taehyung! What's going on today? Why were you sitting somewhere else? Are you okay? I-"

    "Jeongguk, calm dow-"

    "Mr. Kim," a middle-aged, male voice called. Both Taehyung and Jeongguk's heads snapped to the side. Mr. Hwang, the grammar teacher, stood waiting.

    "Yes?" Taehyung replied, somewhat apprehensively.

    "The principal wants to see you in his office."

    Again, Taehyung replied, with furrowed eyebrows, "Huh?" He looked at Jeongguk, who was just as confused and concerned. "Well... See you later, I guess?"

    "Okay."

    He couldn't decide if he should slow down or speed up his footsteps. They echoed in the empty hall. His stomach growled, clearly miffed that he hadn't delivered it sustenance in about twenty-four hours. It looked like he might be missing another meal. He'd really rather just turn on his heels and sit beside Jeongguk with a steaming bowl of rice and tofu stew than continue down the lonely hallway.

   "Why's the principal out to get me today?" Taehyung muttered, under his breath. He knocked on the office door.

   He was permitted entry almost immediately. Inside, it was a very typical, unspectacular principal's office. He'd never been inside before, because he'd never been in trouble. Which made him wonder, to the point of being incredibly anxious, what'd he done to be summoned?

   The principal, bathed in a cloud of anxiety-inducing dominance, beckoned him to sit in one of the chairs facing the desk. Chairs of shame. Chairs where students that were in trouble sat. Taehyung sat.

    "Mr. Kim, your parents have informed me that you are being negatively impacted by one of the other students."

    "What? I- N-no.."

   "On the contrary, multiple of your teachers have mentioned that, of late, you have not been paying close attention, and that your grades have been going down gradually. This seems to be the negative impact your parents spoke about." The man rested his elbows on the desk in front of him, causing the harsh, white light to reflect off of both his black hair and shiny glasses, in such a way that Taehyung could not see his eyes.

   "Before this gets serious, I have agreed to do what I can to get you back on track, academically. You will agree to pay more attention, and raise your grades again, as well as staying away from Jeon Jeongguk during school hours. Your failure to comply will result in suspension."

    "What? You can't tell me who to be friends with." He tried. He tried to put his heart into that statement; to make it a shout of passion and ferocity, yet he just couldn't seem to manage it and it came out weak and unsure. Regardless, he was seething.

   "I cannot, and I am not doing so. What I have told you is that you may not speak with this student while school is in session. Is that clear?"

   "No! No it's not! It's not clear and it's not right!" That's what Taehyung wished he had been able to say, but instead he stared at the floor with a blank face and shivering pupils as he let the words 'Yes, sir' slip meekly out of his lips.

   "Good. You are dismissed. I look forward to seeing your performance improve."

   He didn't say another word as he stood and left the room, pulling the door behind him until he heard a soft click.

   When, with a drooping head and a clenched jaw, he returned to the cafeteria, he filled his tray with the leftovers and searched through the sea of lunch tables housing small groups of chatty students. Jimin, Sorah, and Jeongguk were sitting together. Jeongguk looked nervous, bouncing his leg as he munched on a carrot.

   Despite what he'd just been told, he could've easily taken his seat right next to Jeongguk. But he was paranoid, especially with Mr. Hwang sitting nearby. He was clearly aware of Taehyung's predicament. Defeated, he sat alone, at an empty table that gave him a clear view of his friends.

   Only five minutes later did Jimin spot him, stand up, and stare at him with his fists on his hips. He crossed the room to speak to him. "What the heck are you doing by yourself?"

    "Jimin, I'm dead."

   "What on earth happened?"