Chapter Text
Chan wasn’t one to get into trouble often. He was well-behaved and polite. Yet, somehow, call it the infamous Lee-Luck, he had managed to get in trouble on the first day of school. The principal had practically dragged Chan to his office by the ear.
There he stood, cowering, ears back and tail tucked between his legs. Sometimes he hated his wolf instincts. He could just barely stop a whimper bubbling in his throat when the man, a fellow werewolf, stood up from the desk.
The principal tsked in disapproval. He made his way around the desk to where Chan stood in front of it. The older werewolf was a mere two inches taller than Chan, but to the young werewolf, it seemed like a thousand.
“Lee Chan, it’s only 9:14 in the morning. Why are you fighting already? On your first day, no less.” The principal asked, leaning against the wall of the room that seemed really small all of a sudden.
Chan gulped, his left ear twitching as it always did when he was in trouble. Still bowing his head, staring at the grey linoleum tiles, he opened his mouth to speak.
Suddenly, the heavy oak door swung open, scaring him out of his skin. He jumped immediately, then tried to curl into himself.
The principal spluttered as a blonde man with a pure white stripe in his hair walked into the small office. The man looked from the principal to Chan, who had to stop himself from whimpering again. Damn wolf instincts.
“Ah! Sorry, Cheo- Mr. Choi. I didn’t realize you were with a student.” The blonde man bowed, though his smile showed no remorse. The principal, Mr. Choi, just shook his head.
“It’s quite alright, Mr. Yoon. Now, if you’ll excuse us-” Mr. Choi tried to usher Mr. Yoon out of the room, but the blonde scooted past him and ended up in front of Chan.
Mr. Yoon put his hands on Chan’s shoulders, who almost shied away from the touch.
“What’d you do to end up in the principal’s office on the first day, huh? Get in a fight?” It was a joke. A good-natured joke that had Chan biting his lip and cowering even more.
Mr. Yoon gasped. “No way! I thought it was just the kids making up stories again, but wow. I have to say, I am proud.” Mr. Yoon said. Chan looked up at him in confusion.
“First impressions are important! It’s good to let people know not to mess with you!” The blonde male shrugged, then absentmindedly raised a hand to Chan’s head, and pet him, before scratching behind his ear.
As a werewolf, Chan is kind of used to getting pets. When he was just a puppy, the other kids loved to pet him! But this, this was…different. He didn’t know this man. He was a complete stranger. A very pretty stranger, but still.
Yet, he couldn’t help the way his grey ears immediately perked up, tail wagging happily behind him. He could feel the heat rising to his cheeks.
“Okay, Mr. Yoon, that’s enough. We need to talk about this fight.” Mr. Choi was fighting a smile, his coal-black tail wagging just slightly. Mr. Yoon sighed and lowered his hand, looking at the other man.
“Can I stay here? I wanna know what happened!” He almost whined, and Chan suddenly felt like he was intruding. Like these two had known each other their entire lives, and Chan was just there. Witnessing it.
Mr. Choi rolled his eyes, and shut the office door, before going back to his desk. “Sure, just…be quiet. Let me ask the questions.” He sat down, Mr. Yoon happily standing behind his chair.
“Mr. Lee, go ahead and take a seat.” Mr. Choi gestured to the muted blue-ish green chair in front of the desk. Chan sat down slowly, ears flat on his head with his tail tucked between his legs once again, to show submission to the older wolf.
Mr. Choi smiled warmly. “Now, Chan,” He looked at the computer to the side of the desk, “You got into a fight at approximately 8:40 AM, outside of the main entrance, correct?” Mr. Choi asked, looking at the teen.
Chan nodded slowly, hands clenched on his knees. Mr. Choi typed something into the computer. “Now, it was with another student, Kim Youngseok, correct?” He asked. Chan almost sighed. He nodded.
Mr. Choi turned full body to face Chan, and Mr. Yoon straightened his posture behind him. “Now, why did you fight?” There it is. The most important question. Now, Chan had a perfectly reasonable reason as to why he beat Kim’s ass, but maybe Mr. Choi would think differently.
He struggled to form his thoughts into coherent sentences. “W-well, he said something…mean to me, and I didn’t appreciate it. I know it sounds stupid, but it- it was about my family, and that’s like a really sore subject for me and apparently, he knows all about my family. He was bad-mouthing my mother! What was I supposed to do, just let him?” He immediately clamped his mouth shut. He was rambling.
Mr. Choi nodded, sighing through his nose. “I understand, Chan. Can you tell me what exactly he said?” He asked gently. It was clear Chan was upset just thinking about it.
“He…He said my mom…never loved me and that’s why she…left. Which isn’t true! She didn’t want to leave, it wasn’t her choice! She…She loved me.” Chan looked down at his lap, feeling tears welling in his eyes.
It was times like this he wished he wasn’t so emotional, so quick to anger or tears. Times like this, he wished his mom stayed with him.
“I’m sorry, Chan.” Mr. Choi said softly. Chan sniffled, rubbing his eyes furiously. “It’s fine. I’m fine.” He looked up, only to be met with soft expressions from both Mr. Choi and Mr. Yoon.
He felt his heart tighten in his chest, and he looked back down quickly.
“Now, while what you did was admittedly understandable, Mr. Kim won’t be able to return to school for at least a week. You’re lucky his family isn’t pressing charges.” Mr. Choi sighed.
Chan nodded, internally preening at the thought of Mr. Choi thinking his actions were justified.
“However, as the principal, I do have to punish you. So, how about…cleaning the first-year housing bathrooms for a week?” Mr. Choi suggested.
“Okay…” Chan agreed quietly. He enjoyed cleaning, it was easy enough. Suddenly Mr. Yoon was by his side, offering an unnecessary hand to help him up. Chan took it anyways.
He stood up and watched as Mr. Choi opened the door. He handed Chan a yellow slip. “Here’s a slip to your first class, in case you’re late.” Mr. Choi smiled.
Chan couldn’t help but smile back, tail wagging just slightly. “Thank you.” They led him out of the office and into the main waiting area.
“Of course. If you have any more problems, please don’t fight. Come get one of us instead, okay?” Mr. Choi sounded somewhat exasperated, and Chan couldn’t help but giggle, his tail now wagging quickly.
“And Chan,” Mr. Yoon put his hand on Chan’s shoulder once again. Chan’s ears perked up, turning to the spellcaster. “If you need anyone to talk to, about anything, I’m always here, and so is Mr. Choi. I’m a teacher, but I can still help.” Mr. Yoon smiled. Chan looked at his feet, now somewhat shy.
They were just so nice and Chan couldn’t figure out why. He nodded before they ushered him into the hallway.
There were only a few students still lingering, the bell set to ring any minute. As he walked to his first class, Chan thought the navy blue uniforms they had to wear looked quite nice with the dark oak wood interior of the school building.
The school was large, shaped like a square, and separated into four different sections, one for first-years, one for second-years, one for third, and one for fourth. The cafeteria was right in the middle of the building, with the main office in the front, next to the main entrance.
Each section had 2 floors, the gym was connected to the building by a small pathway on the left, and the housing was on the opposite side. Housing was just a slightly smaller version of the school, but instead of a cafeteria in the middle, it was a common room for all years.
Chan was only two classrooms away from his first class when the bell rang. He groaned internally. He hated being late to class. It was always so awkward, everyone staring at him while he just shuffled into class.
He made it to the door, pulling his schedule out of his backpack to triple-check the room number before raising his hand to knock.
Out of nowhere, he felt a heavy weight slam into his side, tossing him to the ground with a shriek. His head hit the ground as he fell and he groaned, feeling a weight on top of him.
He closed his eyes in pain, feeling whatever was on top of him get up.
“Oh shit! I’m so so so sorry, oh my gosh! Are you okay? Are you dead?! Oh my God! I killed him!” A voice rushed out. Chan opened his eyes slightly, the lights causing his head to throb even more.
Through blurry eyes, he could just barely make out a boy with short white hair, and animal ears of some kind standing above him, looking close to tears.
“Oh, good! You’re not dead! Are you okay, though? I’m so sorry.” The boy held out his hand for Chan to take. He did so, and the other heaved Chan up onto his feet.
Once his eyes focussed, Chan got a good look at the other. The boy was only a little taller than himself, his eyes were very squinty, and he was smiling.
The orange, black, and white ears on his head, and the tail swishing slowly behind him, told Chan that the other must be a tiger hybrid.
“I’m fine, I just…wasn’t expecting that.” Chan rubbed the back of his head where he hit the floor. The boy nodded.
“I’m really sorry…” The guy scratched his head, looking sheepish. “Oh! I’m Kwon Soonyoung, but my friends call me Hoshi! I’m a tiger!” The guy, Soonyoung, held his hand out for Chan to shake, which he did. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Lee Chan, a werewolf.” Chan smiled politely.
“Oh, you’re the kid that kicked Youngseok’s ass! Are you a first year? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around before.” Soonyoung tilted his head, and Chan thought that for a cat, he was awfully loud.
Chan looked down, ears laying flat in embarrassment. “Yeah, I am…What about you?” He asked. The other beamed at him. “I’m a fourth year! It’s my last year here, it’s kind of sad.” Soonyoung pouted.
“Oh…I’m sorry?” Chan said slowly, feeling like he went on a rollercoaster of emotions. Soonyoung smiled again. “It’s chill! Oh, crap. I should really get to class.” He started walking down the hall, leaving Chan confused.
“You should too! First impressions are important!” He called after himself. Chan watched as Soonyoung disappeared around the corner. It was the second time someone said that. First impressions are important. So cryptic.
Chan shrugged, bent down to pick up his bag and schedule, then faced the oak door once again. Ears back, tail flicking behind him, he whimpered. He was anxious.