20

                                    

                                          
as seungmin neared his class, he heard muffled silence adorned with the chit-chat of the crowds of students gossiping in the long corridors.
                          
for the first time in days, he felt happy; excited to meet his friends though his beeming expression completely dropped the moment he swung the classroom door open.
                          
there stood a boy with bangs towering another one who seemed to have fallen on the ground.
                          
as seungmin walked closer to get a better view of the situation, it hit him that the boy lying on the floor was none other than hyunjin. 
                          
he then, realised that not only was the boy on the floor crying with his hands held up in air in his defence but also was he having his eyes shut tightly, looking all scared.
                          
the boy with brunette bangs had hyunjin's collar in his grip as he held a smug expression on his face.
                          
"oh dear~ weren't you bold just two days ago? why are you crying now? you have such a pretty face. it would indeed look so beautiful with my fingers imprinted on it, wouldn't it?" the boy mercilessly raised his hand, his fingers in line, all ready to leave a red mark on the tall boy's cheek; a mark that would probably turn purple soon; a mark that might stay for the next few days, but even before his fingers could brush against the honey skin, he felt a punch fly across his face, leaving back nothing but a burning sensation inside the warmth of the closed classroom with a deep red imprint of strong knuckles.
                          
"don't. you. dare. raise. your. hands. on. him. ever. again! any of you!" seungmin's spine-chilling voice ecoed across the walls of the classroom sending shivers down all the students' backs.
                          
soon after the intense moment, a certain silence drew its path through the corners of the room and hyunjin saw a hand getting offered in his direction making him to look up. 
                          
he felt trapped in a trance by the sparkling eyes and an upward curling pair of lips which he found getting presented to him along with a friendly hand. he felt his own long fingers getting drawn to the ones offering him support before he got helped onto his feet.
                          
"you're okay? are you hurt?" the tall boy shook his head in a slight motion.
                          
the younger took his hand and pulled him to his own bench. hyunjin didn't realise why but the gesture induced some unusual feelings in his stomach; his eyes disagreed to detach from the sight of their intertwined fingers which almost everyone in the class looked at in shock or confusion, we'd never know.
                          
hyunjin felt confused. he experienced some similar sensations the previous day at areum's place, too. every now and then, he would catch his own eyes, staring down the boy's eyes, nose, lips and what not but what surprised him even more were the thoughts his mind was keeping in front of him; the thoughts of the beauty of the younger; the thoughts of the sweet smile of the boy; the thought of the glittery eyes of seungmin. the eyes he once made tear up all the time, seemed to attract him, now. maybe it was just a phase. maybe he ignored the beauty in front of him earlier and was now, getting to see it up close.
                          
he was probably just feeling overwhelmed by the way the younger was such a sweetheart to not only forgive him but to calm him down and befriend him. maybe the way seungmin stood up for him in class despite how the elder had treated him earlier, had an impact on him. maybe he just felt grateful. and about the daze, he believed that maybe he finally got his eyes on something to appreciate, something he was ignoring earlier although it stood right in front of him and that it was him who was just so impressed by the beauty that was held in front of his eyes. nothing less, nothing more. he felt he was just overwhelmed.
                          
his thinking came to a pause by his short friend coming running to the bench he sat at with the 'beautiful boy.'
                          
"hey guys! ssup?!" the girl exclaimed to seungmin before seeing the taller boy. "hey~ why are you crying bitch?" areum leaned towards hyunjin, curiosity and confusion bending about her mind. 
                          
"ahh! hyungho was-" "that bitch." even before seungmin could complete his sentence, areum found herself nearing hyungho's desk. 
                          
"show time." hyunjin said chuckling making seungmin smile. ouch- that smile. hyunjin is definitely going to have a tough time convincing himself that he is just overwhelmed and nothing else.
                          
areum harshly pulled the boy's chair which then balanced on its two backward feet before falling down back onto all fours. the boy sitting on it, winced at the jolt and turned to face whoever did it, with an annoyed expression. 
                          
areum grabbed the boy's chin forcing his face up to meet her eyes while a teasing smirk played on her lips.
                          
"i swear i won't hesitate to make you cry. touch him and you will  definitely die." "wooh! that rhymed bish!" seungmin hooted making areum pass him a smile before coldly facing the boy in her grasp, again.
                          
soon, the girl had the boy's collar clenched in her tiny fist. her eyes were displaying dancing fires in them but the moment the boy gulped, it made her lose it. her lips began to quiver weirdly and she knew she wouldn't be able to hold her laugh in for any longer. she couldn't stop herself anymore and burst into tears of laughter, letting go of the boy. "how cute!" she left a faint mini slap on hyungho's cheek, who just stared at her, perplexed. 
                          
she turned towards hyunjin, " you scared of him, bitch? come on, hyun. you're better that this." she rolled her eyes as she walked to sit on the bench in front of her two friends. 
                          
just as she was about to take out her books, she got an evil desire to tease her dear friends. she turned around patting hyunjin's cheek singing, "have a great date, you two~" 
                          
little did she know, her idea had left hyunjin a pink tint on his cheeks and his eyes suddenly started finding the floor really interesting.
                          
a/n: the seungmin effect~ it's starting;)