Faded Sun| SunSun

[Chapter 26]

"Hey it's the psycho! Gonna smash another window ya fucking loser?!"

Head down, Riki kept walking. One goal in mind, get away from these kids, without doing anything stupid.

"Where's the rush? We've got a whole thirty minutes for lunch." One of the boys poked.

"Tryna find some dark corner to hide in probably." Another snickered.

"Figures, who would want to hang out with a psycho like him?"

The words hurt, but he heard them everyday, so in a strange way, it was easier. He'd been plastered a psycho ever since he had that altercation a few weeks ago, and he couldn't deny that a small part of him wanted to embrace the nickname fully. He knew he had the strength, and he knew he had the rage pent up inside. He could put all of them back in their places.

Yet, he wouldn't do that.

He knew a lot of things; the most important being, that he knew better than that. No matter how angry they made him, he couldn't act on it. He had opportunities he couldn't lose out on, and people he couldn't let down. It was his time to show everyone, that he wasn't this impulsive child anymore.

Riki continued down the hall, the pattered sound of footsteps following behind. He ignored the occasional ear flick, or shove, just hoping they would leave him alone. All they wanted was a reaction, something he refused to give them now. 

It was lunch period, and since he still wasn't trusted around regular students, he was headed to his designated room. It was one of the only places he could get some peace, so he actually liked it. Unfortunately for today, he knew he definitely wouldn't be able to get there before he snapped. 

"Come on psycho, let's have some fun!" 

"Yeah you're being so boring today psycho! Where's the riled up dog we love to see?!" 

He knew he couldn't keep ignoring them if they wouldn't leave him alone, he had to think of something to get them off his back. It only took a few seconds, and he had an idea. It wasn't the most ideal option, but there wasn't anything else he could do. Finally lifting his head up, Riki glanced around the hall, quickly working out the fastest way to get where he needed to go.

Then, he ran.

Sprinting down the corridor, Riki felt the adrenaline pumping, boosting him forward at a steady pace. He felt like a dork, running from his bullies, but he just needed to get away. He kept running, making his way down each corridor, pushing through doors, rushing past other students, with the boys close on his tail. Luckily for him, his end was in sight. Gripping the handle, Riki pulled open the door, collapsing onto the chair in front of Yeosang.

The mentor cocked a brow at the heaving boy, darting his eyes to the door. The group stood frozen, visibly shocked that Riki had gone to a teacher. "I'd suggest you all get away from my classroom, before I work out what you've done this time." With that, the boys scurried away like the rats they are. 

Yeosang shook his head, closing his door again. "Are you alright Riki? What did they do to you?" He asked, coming back over to his desk. 

Riki composed himself slightly, sitting properly on the chair now. He was still panting, trying to catch his breath from the running. "Nothing, they were just taunting me."

"Well I must say I'm proud of you, this is the first time you've come to me." Yeosang smiled, taking a seat at his desk. He picked up his fork, from the salad he was eating, moving around some pieces of lettuce. "This is what I'm here for Riki. To guide you, and help you when you're struggling. I'm glad you didn't do anything stupid, and came here, like we've talked about. Now have you eaten?" 

"Not yet." Riki muttered. "I was meant to be in room 207, can you tell them I'm here so I don't get detention?"

"Of course, I'll get on that immediately. You just relax, and eat your lunch." Yeosang replied, followed by the sound of typing. He wrote up a quick email for the teacher in room 207, informing them where Riki was. "How have you been getting on with your homework?" 

Riki took a bite of his sandwich, chewing for a minute, then answering. "It's been alright, I was kinda stuck on my math homework."

"Have you got it with you?" Riki nodded. "I'll check it over for you, I am a math teacher after all."

"Jake helped me with some of it, so if it's wrong blame him." Riki said, pulling his homework out of his bag, and placing it on the desk. 

Yeosang let out a chuckle, dragging the paper towards him. "I'm sure it'll be fine. How has it been living with Jake? You seem more cheery now." 

"It's good." He mindlessly replied. 

He didn't think too much about living with Jake, since it had become normal now. Though, he did agree with Yeosang, in how he felt much happier than he did before. It had been a rough ride since he came to Seoul, but things were looking up.

"Thank you by the way." Yeosang furrowed his brows at Riki. "I know it was your idea for me to get a roommate, Jake told me. It's actually helped me a lot, so thank you."

"You're very welcome." Yeosang smiled. He never expected, nor required a thanks from Riki, all he wanted was to see a positive change in the boy. Which seemed to be happening. "All of these are right." He announced, pushing the homework back to Riki.

The boy took the paper, stuffing it into his back pack, his SHINee Key ring jangling at the zip.

"Are you a fan of SHINee?" Yeosang asked, pointing out the key ring.

"Of course, I have taste."