CAUTION: Love Ahead! | HAOBIN |

Seven

"Hey Zhang Hao!" an excited voice yelled as the said boy spun around, stepping back lightly as an excited Matthew came running, quite unstably. "It's your second day, right?"

"Yeah," Zhang Hao nodded, wondering if Matthew had already heard the rumors and was just pretending to not know or if he really didn't know.

"Well, since Hanbin hyung isn't here, how about I show you around the school? I'm pretty sure you didn't have the time to explore the school yesterday considering all the...drama...that happened..." Matthew clarified but it only confused Zhang Hao more. "Don't look at me like that! Although I personally got to know about it from Jiwoong hyung since I'm not much interested in gossips, but all the other students now know too. Talk gets around here, you know?" he stated with a sassy roll of his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Zhang Hao whispered, not understanding what it was that was going on about him in the school. 

Was it about him coming back after all these years?

"About HyunJun bullying you of course!" Matthew said as Zhang Hao sighed, feeling relieved that it wasn't anything he was dreading.

"Don't worry though, Jiwoong has provided you with an insurance plan. He will protect you from HyunJun, so don't stress about it, okay?" Zhang Hao just nodded, not knowing what to say. He hadn't even properly seen the face of Jiwoong, let alone know him. But he knew that he had to express his gratitude for saving him from HyunJun the last time.

"Anyway, come on, I'll give you a tour!" Matthew said, grabbing Zhang Hao's hand who in response, flinched.

"What about class?" 

"Class doesn't begin until 10'o clock today; I don't know why, so don't ask me. But, because of whatever the reason is for the delay of class, we have plenty of time..."

Zhang Hao hesitated. He already knew every part of the school since he was a student before, but Matthew didn't know that. And Zhang Hao didn't have the heart to deny him after seeing the pure childish excitement on his face, so he reluctantly agreed. 

"This is the Swimming Area!" Matthew said dramatically, using both of his hands to gesture to the large swimming pool in the sports area. Zhang Hao laughed along, already getting comfortable with the boy.

"It's large, isn't it? It's 50 meters long and 25 meters wide - used mostly for competitions since it has a huge maintenance cost. We usually practice swimming in that pool - the smaller one," Matthew said, pointing at a smaller sized pool in the corner.

"I see..." Zhang Hao nodded along. 

"Now, let's go to the gym!" Matthew said, clapping his hands.

"Alright," 

"Hey Matthew..." Zhang Hao called the boy, who was in front of him, leading the way. Matthew hummed in response. "Do you happen to be close with this Jiwoong guy?" he asked.

"Of course! Why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to thank him for helping me yesterday...do you mind if I ask you which class he is in?" Zhang Hao asked hesitantly, not knowing how Matthew would react to it.

"I guess, but Jiwoong hyung is not going to come to school for one week," Matthew replied and continued, "- he got suspended."

Zhang Hao gasped. "Is it because of my problem with HyunJun?"

"Uh- yeah- but don't worry; he did it on his own," Matthew shrugged nonchalantly, avoiding Zhang Hao's eyes. 

"But...he was just helping me! Why would they suspend him for saving a student from a bully? And what about Hyunjun?!" Zhang Hao asked with his eyes wide open. He was getting annoyed rather than angry after realizing that the school's management was the same as it was all those years ago, when he was a student before.

"Everyone knows that he was helping you, hyung, but he has already done too much against the rules. They just added up his previous punishments and decided to suspend him temporarily. And about HyunJun, well, the Student Council wanted to either give him detention or suspension but the management...sort of...excused him...because of his family connections." Matthew said, hating how he is the one breaking the bad news to his new friend.

"But he is not at school now, so don't worry. Jiwoong hyung's punched were enough to admit him in hospital for three weeks, or that's what I heard."

Zhang Hao mindlessly stared at the wall behind Matthew after hearing everything, not knowing how to react but Matthew was quick enough to understand the situation and make him move on before he could overthink.

He said, "Anyway, we have to get back to class before Hanbin hyung finds us and gives us detention. Class begins soon but you don't realize the time passing when you're walking around such a big campus!" 

Zhang Hao was still dazed when Matthew pulled his hand, dragging him along to their next class, which Matthew already knew they shared together.

On their way, Matthew spotted Hanbin exiting the Principal's room with a troubled face and walked over, before greeting him.

"Hanbin hyung, hey!" Matthew exclaimed with a wide smile but it faded away as he didn't get a reply. 

"Good morning," Zhang Hao softly said, staring at Hanbin who was looking lost.

"Oh, Zhang Hao, Matthew, hello..." he muttered almost inaudibly as his eyes stopped at Zhang Hao, recalling the last evening's events.

Hanbin had given Zhang Hao a ride home only for the both of them to blush deeply after Zhang Hao had gotten off his cycle and their eyes had met. Hanbin remembers Zhang Hao running inside after whispering a small 'thank you'.

"What happened, hyung? Why do you look like an alien invasion is going to start soon?" Matthew asked, breaking both the boys from their trance. 

Hanbin sighed deeply, before saying, "there's bad news."

"Bad news for whom?" Matthew asked as Zhang Hao and Hanbin stared at him with a frown, amused by the peculiar choice of words.

Normally, a person would ask what the bad news was, but Matthew had logically asked who the news was bad for.

"Well," Hanbin said, his eyes darting to Zhang Hao, 

"for Hao hyung..."