CAUTION: Love Ahead! | HAOBIN |

Nineteen

It was after French class, and Matthew was walking with Zhang Hao, the bubbly boy blabbering something about his day as usual as the more silent boy simply listened.

"And you know, my mom woke up with a pile of water. Simply because I was too exhausted to move my feet or open my eyes this morning." Matthew recited, laughing hard. His laugh caught the attention of some of the other students, who started to stare at the walking duo with raised eyebrows.

Among those who stared and looked annoyed, one was Yoon Jae-Yun, who was standing with his hands in his pocket with a somewhat irritated look on his face. The look of irritation on his face reminded Zhang Hao of the reason behind it.

He had arrived late to class—by 25 minutes after the class started—and that was enough of a reason for an already vexed French teacher, Mr. Luo, to feel even more angry. Even when the student threatened to call his father, Mr. Luo paid no attention and continued yelling at him. And even before he knew it, Jae-Yun was out of the class with no means of contacting anyone to have his way.

Besides, by the looks of it, it didn't seem like Mr. Luo was someone who would cower away if messed with, according to Zhang Hao. He was old, had tons of experience, and seemed like the type of teacher who wouldn't take shit from anyone, especially not from a spoiled brat.

So, when the bell rang, students stumbled out, whispering amongst themselves while glancing at the "outstanding" student. He had a furious look on his face, and seeing Zhang Hao did nothing to calm it.

Zhang Hao lightly pulled on Matthew's sleeves, indicating that he felt uncomfortable with all the stares, but the bright boy paid no attention as he continued working his mouth, attracting even more stares.

Zhang Hao turned lightly to his bully, a look of uncertainty plastered on his face. Jae-Yun, with one hand in his pocket, shoved the other hand around his neck, and with the thumb finger pointing in, he dragged it across his neck. Upon seeing this frightful gesture, Zhang Hao turned pale, stumbling back and avoiding his murderous stare.

He let go of Matthew's arm and took off, running in the opposite direction.

"Zhang Hao!" Matthew yelled behind him.

He didn't know where he was going. All he knew was that he wanted to get rid of all thoughts and wanted peace of mind. He just kept going wherever his feet led him without any protest. not caring whether he bumped into students or teachers.

He was panting heavily, and his eyes were clouded with tears. He wanted to let them go and cry his heart out.

Upon reaching a certain place, he came to a halt. Reaching out to the handle of the door, which led to the rooftop, he froze. He wanted to feel fresh air and calm himself down, but coming to the rooftop felt like a mistake, especially considering what happened when he last came to this place.

The rooftop was his comfort place before the incident. He used to visit the place every day when he was feeling sad, angry, frustrated, or even happy. It was a place for him to get rid of all his worries and troubles; whatever he was feeling, it would all fly away along with the wind.

He especially liked the privacy of the place. Not many went up to the rooftop considering it's poor and messy condition; he was one of the few, if not the only one.

But after that incident, everything changed.

The rooftop became a scary place for him. Even in his own house, he would never go up to the balcony, getting flashbacks of that evening. That particular evening changed the entire course of his life.

In his own thoughts, he didn't realize the presence of another person.

"Go on..." a voice darkly murmured near his ears, sending chills down his spine as he recognized the voice.

Whipping his head back in an instant, he was met with the eyes of the person he hated.

The eyes he hated.

It came habitually when he lowered his head, refusing to look into his eyes.

"Why don't you enter?" Jae-Yun asked innocently with large doe eyes. He was faking it, and that was evident from the smirk on his lips. His hair was whipped back with only a few strands in the front—really clear evidence of an overgrown undercut on the sides of his head.

He was an attractive guy based on looks. He was voted the most handsome guy at school every year before, until Zhang Hao first joined. The position was automatically stolen from him. During the next vote, it wasn't his name that popped up, but instead Zhang Hao's. He was beyond furious.

Zhang Hao always thought that that was the reason why he was disliked by the other boy. He remembers the multiple attempts he used to make to talk with him, only to be ignored or laughed at.

"What are you thinking about, Zhang Hao?" He heard as he looked up, only to find Jae-Yun dangerously close to his face. The latter's breath was fanning his mouth. They were so close that if either of them moved even a bit, they would've ended up kissing.

Zhang Hao froze with his eyes wide open and his lips slightly parted at the proximity.

Visibly, Jae-Yun looked down to the boy's lips and slowly looked back up to meet his eyes, creating tension—a weird kind of tension.

It was clear from the atmosphere that neither of them were feeling it. Jae-Yun was simply playing around.

He stepped back to have a better look at the frozen boy's face.

"You haven't changed, Hao Hyung," he whispered sweetly, the nickname rolling off his tongue easily.

Zhang Hao shot his eyes up as he heard the nickname from the other male. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe how much he hated being called something so lovely by someone so cruel.

With glossed eyes, he stared at Jae-Yun resentfully, finally gathering the courage to utter something. "Don't call...me...that," he muttered with a hateful look, surprising Jae-Yun.

"Wow, surprised you could even speak," he exclaimed with fake surprise. "Anyways, now that you started talking, tell me something." He dipped his tone, so it went extremely low, making him sound crazy and scary.

The look in his eyes darkened, and the usual smirk came back to his lips. His eyebrows rose a bit, and his right eye twitched. Whatever he was going to say after was what he had been waiting for since he got here.

Zhang Hao got the hint of what could come out of his mouth the second he changed his facial expressions and altered the mood. It was something he was dreading and something he didn't want to answer again, because that would mean going through all the torture once again. Heck, he didn't even want to be left alone with Jae-Yun after everything that had happened.

The scene felt all too familiar to him.

The both of them.

Alone.

In front of the door that led to the rooftop.

The second, before he asked the question he wanted to know the answer to,.

Zhang Hao shut his eyes while clutching his head in severe pain. He fell to his knees as he cried his heart out. The scene from two years ago kept replaying in his head like a broken movie tape, and he couldn't get it out no matter how much he banged his head on the wall.

He started hyperventilating, taking deep breaths, and trying to calm himself down with no success.

Jae-Yun watched with an amused smirk from the sidelines, walking over to the boy and crouching down to meet his level.

He scoffed with a roll of his eyes and asked what Zhang Hao was dreading the most.

"Is the pen drive still in your possession, Zhang Hao?"

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What do you think he wants from a 'pen drive'?

Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter.

The next few chapters might or might not reveal bits of Zhang Hao's past—not completely, though.