Calculus was hell for Mingyu.
He did, eventually, get a few things corrected in his assignment. Quite like he'd expected, he received a smug grin from Wonwoo the moment the professor pointed out his mistakes as he'd handed it back.
His next class was better, since he had his friends keep him company throughout. Kwon Soonyoung and Xu Minghao – both exchange students for the year, as clueless and new as Mingyu, had befriended him almost in an instant. His mother was clearly not aware of the people he hung out with; she would go berserk if the fact reached his house. Mingyu sadly had to keep his friendship low, not wanting to go through the trouble of explaining why he couldn't let many people know, although almost everyone did. He was Kim Mingyu, after all. Son of the reputed Kim Minkyoung.
"Doesn't look like Calculus was fun, was it?" Minghao questioned, first thing, as he slid into the seat next to Mingyu's.
"Is it that obvious?" Mingyu looked sour, getting a nod in return.
"What did he do? I swear I'll punch the living daylights out of him-"
Mingyu could only shake his head miserably. "Don't. It's not worth it. I can't risk it, Minghao, you know how my life is."
"Pretty depressing, not gonna lie Mingyu, I wouldn't want to be your mother's son." Soonyoung's voice revolved around the two boys' heads, as he settled himself on the chair beside Minghao – who glared at the new presence.
"That's not nice-"
"As much as I hate to agree, he's right." Mingyu admitted.
"Are any of you signing up for the clubs today?"
Right, the clubs were something Mingyu really looked forward to. "Yeah, I am," he answered.
"Oooh! Which one?"
"Theatre."
"Me too!" Minghao and Soonyoung exclaimed at the same time.
Mingyu grinned at the prospect of getting to spend more time with his friends once, hopefully twice, a week.
"I just hope that-" Minghao struggled to find an apt word for none other than Wonwoo.
"He won't, he's too busy hooking up with anyone his eyes land on." Mingyu completed for him, reassuring his friends, though it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.
"You don't sound too sure yourself, Mingyu."
"I don't, but it doesn't hurt to hope, does it?"
"I guess not..."
Minghao and Soonyoung silenced themselves just then, when Professor Choi entered the classroom, and made all the girls shriek.
Mingyu snorted, cringing, when he observed Professor fighting the urge to show his discomfort visibly. Minghao and Soonyoung snickered next to him.
"Good morning, everyone!" Professor boomed.
Out of all the oblivious professors at Pledis, Professor Choi was the most sensible one; he might be Mingyu's favourite one, too. He was the only one who actually had a good idea of how un-idealistic Jeon Wonwoo was, unlike how the rest of the teachers painted him to be. Why, Professor Choi had even caught him on several occasions doing things he shouldn't be doing at university, and he was the only one who had been able to see him through Mingyu's eyes.
"Good Morning, professor!"
Only the girls' high-pitched squeals resonated inside the classroom, along with Mingyu and his friends' normal-toned voices, although theirs didn't bounce off the walls.
Mingyu decided he might as well talk to the Professor about his club activity; just to be on the safer side, in case his mother actually called in and inquired about it. Mingyu pushed his chair back, scraping it against the floor, much to his annoyance, and walked to the front of the class to quickly let Professor know.
"Good morning, professor," he said quietly. "May I have a talk regarding the club activities after class?"
"Sure, Mingyu. Meet me in the staff room later? You're free after this, aren't you?"
"Yes sir, thank you so much."
Professor smiled. "No problem, Mingyu. Now off you go, I have to start class."
Mingyu smiled back, and bowed, returning back to his seat.
Minghao nudged his side. "What was that about?"
"Club things,"
--
"May I come in, sir?" Mingyu knocked on the staff's quarters' door.
"Yes, Mingyu."
Mingyu bowed at the man.
"Speak away, Mingyu." Professor said,
"Yes sir. According to the flyers, club activities will take place twice a week, right?"
Professor nodded, gesturing for Mingyu to continue.
"Since you're aware about my... Issues, would it be possible for you, or any of my other professors, to tweak my timetable a bit, so that it seems that I have an extra class of whichever course on any of the days the clubs would be taking place?" Mingyu pleaded.
By the rules set by his mother, Mingyu wasn't allowed to involve himself too much in extracurriculars. According to her, Mingyu had to focus more on his courses to replace her just as efficiently when she stepped out of the business. Mingyu thought otherwise; he would rather wash his car than spend most of his time buried in textbooks and theory.
"It would be a bit tricky," Professor began, "but I think I could get that done for you, Mingyu. You've been top of class ever since you joined, albeit late. But if the clubs turn out to strip you of your title, I'm afraid your mother will have to know. Especially since she donates a huge amount for Pledis to keep running the way it does, I hope you're aware."
"Yes sir."
"I'll hand you your new timetable to you by the end of this week. Clubs don't start until the third week of October."
"Thank you so much for your help, sir."
Professor beamed at him. "Anytime, Mingyu. You're the star student. I have high hopes for you, Mingyu."
"I won't let you down, sir." Mingyu bowed, and carefully closed the door on his way out.
Much to his dismay, he was met with Wonwoo in the hallway just outside the staff's quarters. The boy wore his signature, conceited smile.
"Bribing the professors now, are we?"
Mingyu hated how Wonwoo affected him. Why did he have to get so worked up by his words every time they left his lips? Instead of letting his bubbling displeasure show, Mingyu let something slip from his mouth, not caring if he sounded offensive in any way.
"I don't need to, Jeon. My mother probably donates Pledis an amount more than your entire family's worth."
Wonwoo's eyes went stone-hard – possibly at the mention of his family – a furious fire raging behind their cold gaze. He stepped dangerously close to Mingyu, speaking through gritted teeth, "do not bring my family in this matter. I'll make sure you don't see the light of day if you mention them ever again."
Of all the things Wonwoo had said to him, all empty and pretentious, his threat didn't sound empty in any way. Mingyu would have been scared, but then he reminded himself Wonwoo had brought it upon himself.
"Should have kept your mouth shut in the first place then, Jeon." Mingyu said cockily, and he'd meant it, delighted to have the upper hand this time, although Wonwoo's words had struck something.
He didn't notice the way Wonwoo looked at him as he walked away. Wonwoo could have murdered him with his bare hands if he were allowed to.
