splinters 一 weak hero.

0-5

sangchul was back the next day, unusually but not surprisingly subdued. taehyung, however, continued to stay by his side for some unknown reason. whether it was mockery, or pity (which i very much doubted), i didn't care. ever since our talk on the rooftop, he hadn't approached me since. he did like to smirk an awful lot when i made eye contact with him, though.

yoongi and i were civil to one another, though he flat out refused to sit with me at lunch again, having endured a whole afternoon of endless taunting from his companions after our last episode. he'd returned my cardigan, not only having washed it (trust him to show such courtesy) (it smelt like jasmine now) but also tucked a sticker inside of it depicting a cartoon cat flipping me the finger.

both fingers.

i stuck it on the chair leg of my desk that faced him.

i had quite a lot of thinking time during the school day (partly because i just didn't pay attention, but also partly because despite it being mundane, i was efficient with work). and so my thoughts were always busy, primarily focused on the newcomers.

i hadn't had another chance to interact with any of them beyond taehyung and yoongi ever since that one lunchtime. equally, however, there was no reason for me to talk with them. and going out of my way to converse with them didn't strike me as the most necessary thing for the moment. jimin's absence was common during breaks and lunch, and during other times, he would be studying diligently. i rathered for him to continue doing that. as for the others, i didn't share any classes with them, and we kept our distance respectfully from each other elsewhere, which was fine by me.

what i was curious about, though, was why they'd moved here, and where from. what was so secret about it that taehyung had refused to tell me? i'd say i was well within my own rights to question their agenda, even if they answered on the utmost surface level; they'd toppled one hierarchy so quickly that it was impossible not to believe that they had no ulterior motive.

for one, there was their time of arrival. i was unable to come up with a good reason for an entire group of flatmates to switch in the middle of a term, unless it was something like relocating after a flat lease. for another, their numbers. and not only that, but they weren't simply a bunch of harmless kids. jimin could fight. yoongi could fight. even the one who looked like a bunny and wouldn't hurt a butterfly could fight. taehyung - i bet taehyung could, too. his violent nature must have had some source.

and yet i knew that asking them upfront about it, especially if they had something to hide, would get me nowhere and only make them suspicious. i decided then that i would do some digging of my own, and curb my excessive paranoia. as long as their influence didn't begin to move beyond the classroom, everything was fine. no one else seemed to concerned about it - so there wouldn't be much i could do now.

turning my head, i fingered my chin lightly, the skin sore and pink.

fucking bastard. he didn't even ask if i was okay today.

moonsik had, though, as we met by the front gates this morning into school, and he'd bombarded me with questions concerning what had happened after he'd left with kangho. 'it's a bit extreme, sticking a plaster over a bruise, though, isn't it?' he'd asked before proceeding to press down on it.

i'd given him a bruise of my own by whacking my bag into his head.

'hatsume,' i asked during english, 'have you heard of any more new students fighting yet?'

hatsume paused her rapid scritching on her workbook. 'besides jungkook, no. why'd you ask?'

'just thinking.' so the blue haired's name was jungkook.