Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kim Sehyun. Smart guy, timid, the top one of Yuseong High, Gamin Yoon's first recruit and the best of the study group. His friends may have been doing a good job, but their performance is incomparable to Sehyun's. One could even ask how he got into Yuseong High, aka the "school of delinquents."

Well, it was his father's idea. He wanted to decide his son's future, to get him to follow his own footsteps. Never once believed in studying hard and getting into college—but Sehyun wanted to prove him wrong.

It took him numerous attempts to convince his father to leave him alone and let him study in peace. He kept promising him that all his efforts will pay off once he graduates and gets a job. And what does his father do? He pays no heed to his desperate pleas. Over time, Sehyun grew tired of all this back and forth. What is it that makes it so hard for his father to just let him be? He doesn't even need his support, doesn't need someone to cheer him on, or be offered help. He just wants his father to give him one simple thing, peace .

Just as he was about to give up then, Gamin Yoon, like an absolute angel he was, pulled him out of the grave he slowly dug for himself.

And here he is now, with his friends having a good time while simultaneously getting better grades together . It was all he could ever ask for.

The study room was bustling with excitement, even through the thick walls of the enclosed room, one can still hear an assortment of earsplitting and sprightly voices talking over one another. Yet it is no surprise as the group of teens were always loud no matter the occasion. What made it different this time, though, was that the noise was just enough to damage someone's ears if they got close enough and they sounded overly enthusiastic than usual. This must be something serious, then.

The door swung open with a loud bang and a huffing Gamin barging in. He stops after a few hurried steps, body bent over with both hands clasping his knees as he regains his stolen breaths. Ms. Lee called for him to inform something far too important and urgent that he had to run all the way from the first floor up to their study room immediately. This can't wait.

"Guys-" His voice trails off as he is met by the sight of his friends huddling over Sehyun. If he didn't know them, he'd probably think they're assaulting him by the way each pair of hands shove the poor Sehyun back and forth. Just what on earth is going on?

"Well, what are you hesitating for? This is your chance!" Screeched an awfully thrilled Lee Jun, head threatening to split in half horizontally if he screams even louder with his mouth wide open.

"I'm not-" protested Sehyun, whose voice is overpowered by others.

"I'm so proud of you, Sehyun!" Choi Heewon whispered.

"But-"

"Yuseong High for the win!"

Sehyun spots Gamin through the overwhelming flock gathered around him and seized the opportunity to call for help.

"G-Gamin!" His voice cuts through the noise. All heads turned towards the boy behind them who was now covering his ears with his hands while looking all confused.

"What's going on?" Gamin asks. Although he did look a little terrified by witnessing an assault right before his eyes, he had a small smile in his mouth. If his friends are this excited, something good must've happened, then. 

"Our Kim Sehyun here is going to be the school's representative for the annual high school math competition!" Lee Jun cheered with tears in his eyes. God, that drama queen.

"What's that?"

"You don't know? And here I thought you were supposed to be the one that's most interested in school stuff out of all of us," Lee Jiwoo sighs. "The annual high school math competition is an event where all high schools battle their top ones on a super challenging math quiz. It lasts for three days. The first day is the elimination round, the second being the semi-finals, and the third and last day is the final round."

"And like Jiwoo said, each school chooses their number one as their representative. Which means that Sehyun is number one!" Lee Jun, once again, screamed in that same deafening voice.

"I see. Congratulations, Sehyun." Gamin nods at Sehyun with a bright smile.

"Oh- um, thanks…" Sehyun mumbles awkwardly. It felt weird getting this much support, he'd never got to experience something like this before. It's something worth cherishing.

"Did you have something to tell us, Gamin? You did seem like you were in a hurry to get here," Heewon asked. Successfully shifting the room's atmosphere into something serious.

Right, he almost forgot about that.

The room fell silent. So silent you could hear your own heartbeat. All eyes were now focused on Gamin, their faces filled with curiosity and anticipation. It felt intimidating, to say the least.

"Oh- well… I didn't really want to break the whole mood, but uh.." Gamin hesitates for a second before continuing, "we should come up with something to impress the school director… he says he's gonna come by soon and check on what we've been doing so far and our accomplishments."

"Accomplishments? Was going ten levels up on the school ranking not enough? Who does he think he is?!" Lee Jun stomps angrily. He really did look stupid with that pout he always wears whenever he gets angry.

Just as he was about to go on an threateningly long ramble about the directors "audacity" to demand such a thing, a sudden and hard smack on his head shook all his thoughts out of the window.

"Hey!" The redheaded boy turns around to face the owner of the concrete-like hand that just hit him, only to be met by the sight of Jiwoo's piercing gaze. He shudders.

"Shut up, gochujang. You're not helping." A low 'tsk' escapes under her breath. "Gamin, what should we do?"

"That's the thing… I don't know."

A unison of long, exasperated sighs followed after he spoke. Everyone was quiet for a while, thinking of what they could do. Even Lee Jun, thank god. Eventually, he spoke up.

"Should we recruit more people to expand our group?"

"Are you serious? No one else even wants to join our study group. We already asked around our school and this is everyone we can get," Jiwoon reminds him.

"Yeah, our school . But have we tried recruiting people from outside yet? From other schools? I mean... I think it would be a great idea to show the director that we're united in some way by having diverse members of the group," Heewon shrugs, thinking out loud.

Gamin's eyes practically sparkled from Heewon's genius idea. "Wait, you're onto something… but where do we even start?"

"The annual high school math competition!" Sehyun perks up. "A bunch of other students from different schools will be there. It's a great chance for us to talk to them and recruit some people. And it would be nice to have smart people in the group to help others too."

Lee Jun gasps at the notion, promptly running up to Sehyun to aggressively shake him by the shoulders. "SEHYUN YOU ABSOLUTE GENIUS!"

"What- Hey! It was Heewon's idea!" The offended Jiwoon comes up to them and attacks the redhead. How dare he deny Heewon the credit she deserved for the idea that she came up with?!

Once again, the room is in chaos.

Gamin hurriedly breaks the fight before it escalates further. Although it wasn't an easy thing to do knowing who exactly he's dealing with. He eventually manages to peel the wild Jiwoo off of Lee Jun, who's now bruised and crying.

Once the situation calmed down, Gamin asked, "So, Sehyun. When does your competition start?"

"Tomorrow."

Sieun is intelligent. “Smartypants,” “Big-brained,” according to Baku. Well, of course he is. He was a star student at Byuksan High, his old school. Always competent with his studies, makes sure his grades are good enough, and doesn’t waste any time not studying. His life had been steady since then. That was until it all crumbled apart at some point in the past. 

He transferred to another school, Eunjang High. It wasn’t the best, but it was the only school that had accepted him at the time. Needless to say, the whole place was full of chaos. But in the chaos he found a few people that he calls friends. 

Being in a different environment didn’t stop him from doing what he’s always been good at—studying. But lately he hasn't been himself. With the union still rampant around the streets — and the days adding to Suho’s slumber— it took quite a toll on his performance in school. All the stress had made it difficult for him to sleep. Lesser sleep means less performance. 

And so here he is, sitting amongst a couple other students competing for the annual high school math competition. His body is physically there, but everything else isn’t. 

He arrived early. The waiting lobby was empty, save for the few contestants with their buddies waiting together. He recalled his teacher telling him that it wouldn’t be a problem to have a few of his peers tag along with him. “It might help to give you emotional support,” she said. 

As expected, all of his friends, especially Baku, absolutely did not let the opportunity of skipping class “legally” pass. Sieun wished he didn’t relay the teacher’s message. Because now, he has to deal with two loudmouths and one who was weirdly more nervous than Sieun himself.

“The competition begins at 10 o’clock-” Juntae mutters to himself. Loud enough for Baku and Gotak to hear.

The two yappers who were just arguing had now focused their attention on Juntae. He was being too restless and jumpy all morning.

“-which means that there’s 30 minutes left… three out of nine students have arrived- SIEUN DID YOU STUDY?!” the anxious boy hollered.

“Dude… you good?” Gotak leaned in, examining Juntae’s face. He reached for his pocket and pulled out a clean handkerchief, dabbing it against Juntae’s sweaty forehead. 

“Seriously, you need to chill out bro. Sieun the goat will obviously beat the shit out of everyone without breaking a sweat,” Baku pats Juntae’s back.

“Baku, for the last fucking time- this isn’t a boxing match.” sighed Gotak.

“Same thing. Whatever, man. Come on Juntae, let's get some ice cream. It might cool you down a bit.”

The helplessly stressed Juntae was dragged out of his seat and was led by the two taller boys who were practically skipping their way to the ice cream stand.

Finally,

They were gone.

It was indeed a lot hotter than usual. But Sieun didn’t need to ingest anything more right now when all he’s thinking about was how he was still able to function normally with just 3 hours of sleep. 

And so he sat alone, waiting, repeatedly thinking if skimming through five textbooks this morning was enough to get him through this. Normally, he wouldn’t even be phased by such things called competitions. He was confident, he knew that he was good. But right now, he wasn’t sure. Not when he’s got a lot on his plate. The Union, Na Baekjin, Suho.

Loud voices echoed throughout the room and snapped Sieun out of his thoughts. He looked up and spotted another set of students cheering a friend on. The red-haired one was even carrying a flag like it’s his own accessory. He looked closer and tried to read the words embroidered on it. 

Yuseong High.

Hm.

There were two other girls stringing along with them. It must be a co-ed school… How interesting. The group was loud and energetic, reminiscent of his own circle of friends. 

With nothing better to do, he decides to inspect the people in it. 

They seem to be supporting a guy that he figured would be their school representative. He appears to be a quiet kid, who was being pushed around by a fierce looking girl and that same red-haired guy carrying a big ass flag on one arm. Do they seriously allow dyed hair in their school?   Sieun huffs.

They walk further into the room with enthusiasm not only in the way they speak but in the way they carry themselves too. Like a bunch of toddlers running to their mom to get some candy. The other girl was quietly walking along with them, smiling softly and enjoying their company. She weirdly reminds him of Juntae.

Then, came a tall, pale guy with glasses and a face that screamed innocence, trailing just behind them — must also be part of the group. He was whipping his head around, scanning the room looking for something, or someone. He doesn’t know. 

Then, they locked eyes for a brief moment. 

He stopped in his tracks. 

Sieun blinked once. 

As soon as he opened his eyes, the guy was already smiling from ear to ear, giving Sieun a small wave — like he’s the one he’d been looking for the whole time. Sieun’s brow furrowed, What’s his deal?   The weird smiley guy didn't seem like he was planning to look away anytime soon. Just waving… continuously.

What a weirdo.

Chapter Text

A sharp, annoying voice assaulted Sieun’s ears. 

“Yah! Ice princess!! Watcha lookin’ at?” 

Baku and the others were already back. Each with an ice cream cone in one hand. 

“Nothing,” Sieun mutters, looking back down at his neglected textbook.

Soon enough, the room began to fill. More and more people walked inside, occupying the space that was barely available to begin with. A few are standing in some corners as there aren’t enough chairs for everyone that came. The sound of people chattering began building up as well, only adding to the heat of the enclosed and crowded room. It felt like a sauna and a motionless busy train all at once. 

Amongst the crowd of participants and their companions sat Gamin’s group. Lee Jun followed right after finding the perfect place to display his huge ass Yuseong High flag. It was a miracle they even got to have the luxury of claiming a seat for each one of them. Turns out going early did pay off.  

“Okay, team. Remember our agenda for today,” Lee Jun declared straight away as soon as he got to sit down. With the kind of leadership which seemed to have been inspired from Gamin himself. The boy had been idolizing him for so long he started inheriting his traits. 

“We’re not only here to support Sehyun but to also search for new recruits. Everybody start looking!” 

Everyone turned their attention to the red-haired boy with exasperated faces. 

With a sigh, five pairs of eyes quickly yet precisely dart around the room in search of the perfect victim—one that can tick all the checkboxes Lee Jun made for his “Member Qualifications” list. 

Qualities include:

1. Must be enthusiastic
2. Looks stuiod studious 
3. Smart

From every corner of the room, anxiety is evident from the faces of the students. The anticipation only grew as the clock got closer to striking 10 o’clock. Almost everyone was making the most of the few minutes left by rereading their textbooks and reviewers, or even praying for guidance–at least most of them. Some were unbelievably cool-headed about the situation, laughing with their friends without a care in the world. Perhaps they were confident–of their capabilities and themselves. Maybe seeing the troubled looks of their competitors made them feel like they had the upper-hand. 

The others kept looking, eyes swiftly moving from one person to the next like computers scanning for viruses. But Gamin, on the other hand, had been staring at nothing for quite a while now.

He had his eyes fixed on a particular direction for the past fifteen minutes. Unblinking. Certain. 

And of course, Lee Jun noticed it. 

The boy was contemplating like his life depended on it. Brows furrowed, eyes squinting, fingers fiddling with the hem of his shirt and all. And yet Lee Jun couldn’t help but catch the slight twitch at the edges of his mouth, a barely suppressed smile. What could he possibly be thinking about right now?  To him, this was one of the rare instances where Gamin is nothing but a book with blank pages. 

And for once, he decided he’d use his brain to find out exactly what is bothering this conflicted boy in front of him. He leaned in closer, following his gaze until it landed on a guy from across the room. And then it hit him. 

Gamin wasn’t looking into the abyss. 

He was looking at someone. 

-3 hours ago-

Today was the day. The day of the math competition’s elimination round where Gamin gets to support Sehyun and meet other people that share the same interests as him. The thought of it was enough to get his heart beating from the excitement and nervousness. He was beyond grateful that the school let Sehyun have more than one companion to go along with him in the competition. The more the merrier. 

He woke up early. A bit more than early for his usual morning routine. He thought that if he did so, he would have more time planning for the day ahead of him and to make sure the recruitment goes on successfully. The moment he roused from his sleep, he got right into it. Plan the day, do his morning exercise, eat breakfast, take the bus, and arrive at school. 

Him and his friends agreed to meet by the school gates to go to the venue together the day before. Gamin arrived first, then he waited until the others came one after another. 

The bus ride was tight. Too cramped and too full of people. 

“Jun, what the actual fuck is that with you right now.” Jiwoo was beyond disbelief. Staring at the big flag he rested upon his shoulders. Jiwoo guessed that he tried looking like one of those "badass" movie characters with a bat as their weapon. Except Lee Jun looked not even remotely close to said movie characters, having instead an object that made absolutely no sense in this situation.

“Oh, this?” Lee Jun smirked triumphantly as he held up their school’s flag. “Can’t you tell? It’s our flag! Cool, isn’t it?” 

Then the idiot waved it around as if there was even space in the vehicle for him to do that. Pretty sure at least three people were accidentally hit in the process. It took a bunch of muttered curses around them until someone decided to stop him.

“Hey! Stop that shit- you’re hitting other people!” Jiwoo slapped his hand to stop him. And as if that wasn’t enough, she went over and grabbed his wrist, locking it in place. 

“Wait… isn’t that the flag from the principal's office?” Gamin muttered.

“Um, yes??” 

“Hold on, did you steal the flag?” Sehyun gasped at the realization.

“What’s the big deal? It helps with our school's public image, doesn’t it?”

“You’re insane.” 

Gamin snickers at the back. Barely holding it in. 

He basks in the presence of his friends bickering and laughing with each other during the ride. Their voices blending into the sound of the busy street muffled by the enclosed space in the bus. Along with the feeling of the sun’s rays hitting some parts of his face, warming him up from the chilly morning. It was soft and comforting. All enough to distract him from what lies ahead in his day. He doesn’t need to think about that stress. Not right now. 

And so he listened in to more of his friends’ arguments until it became background noise for the rest of the ride. 

They arrived at the venue thirty minutes later. Well, the bus ride only took about 10 minutes. The group got lost as soon as they got off, spending almost half an hour to get to the building they’ve turned out to be circling around this whole time. It was an agonizing morning Gamin had to go through—having to walk endlessly until he began sweating and arguing with everyone with a barely-processed brain. 

The day had hardly just begun and yet he already felt signs of exhaustion creeping into his body. Or maybe it was all because he was nervous and excited. He prepared so hard for this, after all. 

He held the door open to the waiting room and in came his friends. Jun Lee stepped in first, proudly dragging Sehyun with him before the others followed. He caught a whiff of the smell of books as he came in and felt the tense atmosphere brewing. His heart pumped loudly in his chest, the cold air prickled against his warm face. He looks around the spacious room, filled to the brim with all sorts of competitors and supporters from different schools.

But amidst this large crowd, whose faces seemingly blend in the background, something— or rather someone— caught his eye. 

A guy in a blue uniform, sitting alone, with a textbook sat on his lap and a pen in his hand. He looked… tired. And most importantly, he definitely looks like someone competent with studying. 

Okay, we’re off to a good start. He thought. Just a few steps in and he already found a potential recruit. This wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be. 

It was only then when the latter looked up at him had he realized he’d been staring. For a moment, the noise in the room died down, save for the loud thumping in his chest that only got quicker for each second that passed. No one broke eye contact. But that wasn’t the worst thing—the boy was staring him down with a dead look in his eyes. 

He felt cornered. Didn’t know what to do. And in the heat of the moment, Gamin stupidly decided to send him a big smile with a big wave, like they’re lifelong buddies separated for years, thinking they fell apart only to reunite once again. It was embarrassing. And although the other guy had absolutely zero expression on his face, he could feel the judgement radiating off of him even from across the room. He was a quiet kind of dangerous. Like poison. 

-Present-

His mind kept replaying the same scene over and over again like a broken record, even now when he’s waiting along with the others for the program to start. He began analyzing every gesture and every minor movement of his muscles from his interaction with the guy earlier. He needed to make sure he didn’t come across as a creep and blow his chance with recruiting him. 

Gamin was so focused on hyperanalyzing his small interaction that he didn’t notice he was staring. Again.

A slow, gentle, and disgusting caress on his cheek snapped him out of his thoughts. 

“What the-” Gamin flinched and instinctively slapped Lee Jun’s hand away. The redhead dramatically fell off of his chair with a grunt. 

“Come on, dude. You were zoning out for like, fifteen minutes.” He got up to his feet, patting the dust off his clothes before plopping back down next to Gamin. The poor guy had been sitting beside him the whole time he was staring.

“Was I? It’s nothing.”

“Yah, by the way, who was that guy you were waving at earlier? Didn’t know you had friends outside school.” 

Gamin practically lit up at the question. His eyes twinkled and his lips curved into a big, stupid smile. 

“A potential new member. He’s got the looks of a determined student. He even got an open textbook on his lap!”

“You already found a recruit? Which one?” Jun gasped. 

“Um,” He looked around, making sure no one’s watching. He pulled out a pen from his pocket, spun it with his fingers until it landed with the tip pointing towards the mysterious guy’s direction. A stupid attempt at trying to be discreet. 

“Over there.” 

Lee Jun followed his gaze, as if tracing an invisible line eventually leading to the guy in a blue uniform, writing notes and unbothered. He squinted his eyes to inspect him from head to toe. He looked fragile but intimidating. Eyes soft but somewhat piercing. 

Then all of a sudden, as if sensed by instinct, the boy looked up and found Lee Jun’s gaze. He stared back, if not more intense. Jun immediately looked away, clutching Gamin’s wrist. The eye contact was abrupt, only lasting half a second, but it felt like the guy had told Jun Lee at least a hundred different ways of slaughtering him in that brief moment. 

“What the fuck- he looks like someone who wouldn’t hesitate to kill you if you provoke him enough!” Sputtered poor Lee Jun, eyes filled with panic. “Did you see the way he looked at me?! He’s definitely plotting murder on me!”

“You’re just being dramatic.”

“I’m not!” Jun was downright offended. Who wouldn’t be after being denied the right to be slightly worried for their own safety. “Forget him, dude. Aside from him being a freak, he probably thinks you’re also a freak.”

“Are you sure? Let’s not judge a book by its cover right now. He could be-”

A high pitched screech coming from the speakers cut him off. 

“Attention, students. Welcome to the annual high school math competition! I thank everyone for joining us today. Wow, I can already see the excitement on your faces haha!” The teacher went on and on about the introduction of the event, special mentioning of guests, and the rules of the competition. 

After what seemed like an eternity of words spilling from the teacher’s mouth like an overflowing sink, the competition has finally begun. 

“Before we begin, I would like to ask those who are not participating to please wait in the waiting area right beside this room. Thank you.” The teacher finished off while ushering students out the room. A few ‘see you later’s and ‘good luck’s were exchanged before everyone got outside. 

And just like that, pencils were brought out, papers were given out, and they went all out. 

It ended just as fast as it started. 

The moment the doors opened, everyone came barging in, reuniting with their friends as if they’ve been through war. The room was crowded once more, now with voices louder than ever. Some were complaining, some anxious about their answers, and others were bragging about how fast they answered the questions. 

A loud crackle startled almost everyone, followed by the teacher’s voice blaring through the speakers. 

“Settle down, please, while we wait for the results.” 

They all quickly found their respective seats, and the group managed to stay together in one corner of the room. 

Jun, for the love of god, could not sit still in his seat with his leg bouncing and fingers drumming against his thighs. As if on the verge of exploding unless he’d say something, he finally spoke. 

“So, how was it?” He whispered to Sehyun beside him with that same enthusiasm he carried this morning.

“Hm? Oh.” Sehyun looked up. “It was alright. Everyone was pretty good, actually.”

Jun nodded a few times with a “serious” face. 

“Should we try to recruit people right now?” Gamin spoke out of nowhere. It got everyone's attention as they have now turned their heads towards him. 

“I suppose it’s not that bad of an idea,” Jiwoo hummed. 

“I also heard the teacher saying that it might take about thirty minutes for the results. We have lots of time.” Heewon beamed. 

After a mutual agreement, Heewon divided the flyers of their study group with all the details and contact info on it to each one of them. Heewon insisted on making it the night before as she claimed it would be an efficient way to grab people’s attention. They split individually and began giving them out to as many people as they could. 

Gamin found himself at the left side of the room handing out flyers to the people at the edge of the left aisle. Despite the amount of people he’s given them out to, he couldn’t help but look for that guy from earlier. After all, he’s the one that stood out amongst all the people he’s seen today. 

There were only about eight flyers left in his hand now. He kept giving them out with a bright smile on his face, telling each person about their group and why they should join. But behind that friendly face, his eyes were somewhere else. Searching. Gaze shifted swiftly from person to person, hoping to spot that familiar silhouette—the image of it replaying in his brain over and over for the entirety of his day. 

And there he was. 

Quietly sat in the middle of the fifth row, head dipped down at his phone, the brightness of it illuminating his gloomy face. 

Gamin had his eyes fixed onto him as he quickly made his way through the chairs, from one row to the next, until-

“Students! Please go back to your seats. The qualifiers will be announced shortly.” He glanced up at the teacher, and when he looked back, the guy was gone.

Curse that teacher.  

The sun had begun to set only a few hours away from meeting the horizon, giving way for golden rays to glow upon the city. The first round of the competition had finally concluded. Most people have already gone home. But Gamin and his friends stayed behind, of course, barely close to done with celebrating Sehyun making it in the semi-finals. Gamin could practically hear everyone’s cheerful voices echoing around the almost-empty room. 

As his friends cheered Sehyun on, Gamin decided he’d check out the ranking. Maybe he’ll find the names of worthy members for his group there. 

He withdraws himself from them, slowly striding towards the blank, plain, wall with nothing but a single piece of paper slapped onto it. He pushed his glasses up his nose, eyes squinting as he skimmed through the names of the qualifiers.  Twelve competitors are now reduced to five with Sehyun second and-

“Wait, second?”

Gamin nearly jumped at Jun’s sudden appearance. He gave him a look before glancing back at the paper. 

“Well, yes, he’s second. It’s not that bad though...” 

Jun said something back but he barely registers it, his mind already flying to outer space. If Sehyun is in second place, then-

It didn’t matter who else got in this round anymore, he barely even read their names. His eyes were focused at the only name at the very top of the list. 

Yeon-

“SIEUN GOT IN LET’S GOOOO” 

An obnoxiously loud guy in a blue uniform yelled beside them. Jun flinched so hard he practically clung onto Gamin’s shoulders, hiding behind him. 

That didn’t bother him, though. He was merely staring down the guy yelling just now. He unmistakably looks like one of that guy’s friends from earlier. So his name is…

“Yeon Sieun,” Gamin breathed out, the name sounds real pretty.

“Hold on.. is the first placer the guy from earlier?” Jun whispered from behind.

“Seems like it.” Gamin muttered with a small smile, feeling proud of his instincts being right about this Sieun guy being a good student. Now he really needs to go get him.

Beside them, they overheard the unnecessarily loud conversation going on between the two boys, which Gamin figured to be Sieun’s friends. 

“Baku, you idiot, stop hopping like a child! My stomach hurts like hell right now,” The guy with a blue hoodie winced as he clutched his abdomen. 

Baku, the guy wearing a red jersey underneath his uniform just looked at him as if he had just insulted his whole bloodline. 

“The fuck does that have to do with me hopping in joy and whimsy? I’m just happy for our Sieun, you killjoy.” 

“I don’t need that right now, I need you to tell me where the toilet is.”

Baku gasped in realization before straightening his back, striking a salute pose. “Aye aye, Captain Gotak.”

Hyuntak sighs in exasperation before they both begin walking towards the direction of the bathroom. Jun snickers beside Gamin, they were both unintentionally — or not — eavesdropping on them just now. Gamin kept a straight face, thinking deeply of what his next move would be. He needs to find this Sieun guy. He even saved a flyer for him.

“Wait here,” He says to Jun before he rushes to catch up to Baku and Gotak who are now making a turn. 

He manages to reach them on time before calling out, “Hey! Excuse me!”

The two boys stopped in their tracks to turn around and look at Gamin. 

“What’s up, man?” Baku nodded, gesturing for him to continue. 

“Do you know where um… Yeon Sieun is?” He hesitates. 

Baku’s eyes widened and Hyuntak's mouth slightly hung open, seemingly surprised that their supposed “quiet friend” had someone looking for him. 

“You know him?” Hyuntak asks. 

“Well- not really. I just have something to talk about with him.” He scratches his head.

Hyuntak and Baku shared a look before pointing to the right. 

Baku then spoke, “Sieun left like a few minutes ago. You might still catch him, though. You go ahead, dude, my friend needs to take a shit.” 

Gotak immediately kicks him in the shin. “Aish, you fucker! You really had to say that!”

Baku groaned in pain until his dramatic sobbing eventually turned into laughter. Gotak kept hitting him and the latter just kept laughing louder and louder. Gamin watched them awkwardly before he nodded in gratitude.

“Thank you so much.” He muttered. 

He wasted no time and made his way to the exit. 

It was only then when he made a turn to the right had he realized he’d been running. The last thing he remembered was Jun’s voice calling out to him as he tried to catch up. He stopped to look behind him, only to see that Jun was five blocks away at best—panting loudly.

His legs started working again. There was no time for waiting, he had a guy to chase.

It took a few more minutes until he finally saw something in the distance. A group of four students surrounding something. They looked like delinquents. Gamin manages to hide behind the building to observe what was happening.  

It was hard to see who they were. But one thing’s for sure, those punks were ganging up on two people. They were on the ground, repeatedly being kicked by each of them. After ultimately finding a good angle, he caught a glimpse of the beat-up guys on the ground. One of them had glasses on, his arms blocking his face from the kicks, crying and begging them to stop. And the guy beside him…

Sieun?