Stay ~ A Stray Kids Fanfic

Jeongin

Jeongin's POV
Same Day

They walked in one by one, taking seats where they were open. It wasn't hard to figure out that they had come from the Principal's office. One boy was crying slightly, the one who sat behind me on the bus today.

Chan closes the door and opens his arms in greeting. "Welcome, my newest recruits!" It was said in English, then translated quickly by Felix. Few bowed in return, but a majority sat in silence.

I recognized a few from the halls. Most were seniors, but I spotted 2 juniors and then me...the only sophomore. "How did you find them so fast?" I asked accidentally aloud.

Felix pivoted his head towards me and grinned. "Doesn't matter," he looks to Chan. "After Taehyun quit, I was beginning to doubt your skills, Chris."

"Can we-" a small boy beside Hyunjin behind before stopping to breathe deeply, "can we just get this over with?"

Chan smiles and nods. "Of course." He takes a small stack of papers and begins handing them to the filled desks. "This is the project due at the end of the quarter for the Art's Festival.

     "You will be assigned a job and we will meet at least 2 times a week. Preferably before school for the sake of the athletes in this homeroom-"

     "Wait, we're switching homerooms?" The boy with the basketball asks. I think his name was Changbin. He was my advisor last year when I was a freshman. "I didn't know that was possible during the school year."

     "It can happen. Choir kids do it all the time," He replies, opening the packet and reading the first paragraph. "I handed these out randomly so whatever the label says at the top, that's your job."

     I flip mine open immediately, and right there was the word, "actor." I almost forgot about that.

     No one complained or said anything as they silently read to themselves. Even the feisty one beside Jisung shut his trap and read. "When do we do this?" The boy beside Hyunjin asked. He worked for the newspaper; I've seen him reporting at sport events.

     'Seungmin,' I remembered instantly. A more popular one seeing how he had to socialize a lot.

     "We'll start tomorrow. Today, we'll begin introductions and getting to know one another."

     Seungmin crossed one leg over the other in preparation for this long homeroom session. Hyunjin, beside him, crossed his arms as well. The swelling of his cheek went down, but the redness was hasn't ceased yet.

     Chan grabs himself a stick of chalk and writes his name. "Christopher Bang. I do ask if you call me Chan in front of teachers because they don't particularly care for my English name."

     Felix bit the inside of his cheek at that.   

     "Alright you're name?" He points to me.

     "Yang Jeongin."

     We went down the rows, saying our names for him to write in on the board. "Hwang Hyunjin. Kim Seungmin. Han Jisung. Lee Minho. Seo Changbin," he reads before lastly pointing to Felix.

     "What do you prefer, Felix?" He asks the blonde, hands cupped in his lap. Gazing at the board, I watch him glance at Chan, the mood all of a sudden feeling melancholy.

     That's when I realized something. "You're name's Yongbok, right?" The attendance sheet on Monday had his name that way in Study hall. I didn't realize it was him until he said, "present."

     His hazel eyes met mine for the quickest second before turning away. His posture straightened uncomfortably where he then nodded. "You all can call me Felix in here and outside of school," he licks his lips and looks to Chan. "Like Chris, please call me by my Korean name in front of teachers and other students."

     A simple task, and yet one that was still hard to ask, I could imagine.

A sudden wave of sadness washed over me. The boy who showed me a the warmest of kindness I have ever received was down. 'It's your fault.' My posture weakens at the sound in my head. 'Perhaps if you hadn't shown up, people wouldn't be in such a bad mood.'

I shoot up from my desk. All eyes lock on me. "May I be excused?" My stomach churned in guilt for what I've done. Punishment had to be done.

"Yeah, sure. You alright?" Chan asks, motioning down to my hands rushing to clasp behind me. The tips of my fingers pulled down my sleeves so Seungmin couldn't see behind me. "You've gone a bit pale, I'll admit."

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you," I bow and push through the doors. My skin burned over my forearms, pulsing my feet to move faster.

When I reached the bathroom, I caught the last stall door opened; my stall. My hands scramble in the crevice of the wall for the Exato blade. When I took art last semester, it was my first time grabbing a blade.

The previous times were used with the sharp plastic of bottle caps.

'You made Yongbok feel bad,' I remind myself. Sitting down, I roll my sleeve up, revealing my canvas of scars. "I'm sorry, Felix," I whisper, piercing the tip of the blade barely into my skin. Dragging it down, the red line halts before dripping down my hand and onto the floor.

"Oh, shit." Toilet paper bundles in my hand and goes to wipe the evidence clean, including my arm. It stung like a thousand knives. If only I had that many to use.

The second I flushed and got out of the stall, the bell rang. I cursed myself for the poor time management whilst washing my hands. As the wound tried desperately to heal itself, I couldn't help but grin at the pain.

     'Well done, Jeongin,' the voice applauds.

     My smile vanishes, however, as a student enters the restroom. I scramble to cover my marks, especially seeing Hyunjin's face as the intruder. "Are you alright?" He asks.

     I must've looked suspicious; nevertheless, I nodded. "Are you?" I return, gesturing to his cheek. He shrugs and dismisses it immediately. "Sorry."

     "It wasn't your fault."

     I suppose it wasn't. I wasn't even there to see it happen. "Are you free during lunch and after school?" With his hands in his pockets and his body rocking back and forth on his heels, he looked rather nervous. I nod, knowing I really had nothing better to do.

     He nods as well. Those dragon eyes wander around the room, the wall of chatter swinging past us through the opened door. Just when he turns his foot to leave, I stop him. "What're we doing after school?"

     That smile...that genuine smile. My heart sank in a way that didn't...hurt.

     "Minho wants to play basketball with Changbin. We're going to a place to play and Chan is buying Tteokbokki for all of us. While we're there...I want to sketch you also."

     I felt my heart stop and my eyes broaden. Pointing to myself, I murmur, "me?" He nods, shows me one last smile, and leaves.