Stray Kids Imagines

Don't Judge a Book by its Cover (Changbin)

You quietly gathered your books and left the classroom, filing out after everyone else.  As you walked out, you noticed someone leaning against the lockers across from the class you were just in, and you gulped.  Nervousness?  Fear?  Anger?  You felt it all.  Why?  Because standing a few feet in front of you was Seo Changbin, the school bully.  But something looked slightly off.  His eyes usually had somewhat of a glint to them.  Today, they were scared, like those of a cornered animal's.  His hair was a mess, and he held a hand over his left eye.

As much as you hated him, you felt bad for him at the same time.  Had he gotten beaten up?  Was he okay?  You waded past the sea of students, your curiosity getting the best of you.  The closer you got, the more fear splashed across his face.  

"I'm not here to hurt you.  Are you okay?  Changbin, right?" you asked, carefully.

He nodded slowly.  "Can we, um, talk somewhere else?  I don't want them to hear me."

Them?  Who was them?  There were so many questions you wanted to ask, but you knew the boy would tell you everything if he wanted to.  

The rooftop was a pretty peaceful place.  There was a flower garden and a few herbs growing in what the school called the green box.  There were red benches that looked like they had been doused with a fresh coat of paint just yesterday.

"Do you like it?" Changbin asked.  "This is your first time up here, isn't it?"  

His expression was gentle, just like the petals on the pastel flowers waving with the breeze.  How could someone like him be a bully?  He looked so kind and sweet and handsome and- wait what?  

Snap out of it Y/N you thought to yourself.  "Yeah, it's super pretty.  The school really invested in this place."

"The school?  I did this.  I fixed up the benches and painted them last week, and I maintain the plants and I take the herbs down to the chefs in the cafeteria sometimes.  Plus, the view is nice, and I love fresh air."

"YOU DID THIS?!"  Your mouth fell open in disbelief.  "That's incredible!"  Then you remembered the reason you were even up here in the first place.  "Changbin... is something wrong?" 

He slowly walked towards you, and you took a step back out of instinct.  "Yeah.  A lot of things are wrong.  I've been living the past three years of high school as someone I'm not.  And I suffer from it all the time."

"Really?  Can you explain?  I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to."

"It's okay.  I like talking to you.  You seemed to look past what everyone else saw and see me for Seo Changbin.  You approached me in that hallway when no one else did.  That meant a lot to me."

Your cheeks turned a rosy pink hearing that.  "I understand what it's like to be alone.  I've gone through some times, too."

Changbin gestured for you to join him on one of the red benches, and you willingly took a seat, waiting to hear his story.

"I've been framed as a bully.  People think it's me who threw toilet paper around the school last year and think it's me who steals people's stuff.  But it's not.  There are actual bullies in this school.  Silent ones.  They made me do it.  And today, I said I was fed up of living that way.  Then they did this."  Changbin moved his hand away from his left eye, and you gasped.  His eye was nearly swollen shut with hues of purple, blue, and black dotting the hit.  Then he proceeded to untuck his shirt from his pants, lifting it up to reveal more bruises along his side.  There was even some dried blood.  

"They... did this to you?" you trembled.  Your eyes glanced down at his wound, and you quickly unfastened your school tie.  Earlier, you had seen a water hose in the corner, and you rushed to turn on the faucet.  Water came spurting out, spraying all over you, but you were too angry to care.  You wet the tie and ran back to Changbin who looked confused.  

"Stay still," you instructed him, and you lifted up his shirt to wipe the dried blood off.  He winced at the sting, but he let you do your job.

"Thank you," he smiled weakly when you were done.  "But you're all wet.  If you want, I can bring you my gym clothes or something.  You'll catch a cold if you stay in this."

"And I'd be more than thankful for that.  Also, don't worry about the bullies.  If you write down their names and what they did to you and give me some evidence, I can get them kicked out of this school," you fumed.  "I mean, I could handle it if you only gave me their names, but I'd rather do it the right way.  Because if I don't, people will judge me even more for being the principal's daughter."

"Ah.  I can get you loads of evidence then.  Thank you so much.  You don't understand how much this means to me.  I could actually kiss you right now."

Both of you realized what Changbin had just said, and your eyes widened before you laughed.  "Me too," you replied.  "Can I ask you something?  You can totally refuse, but I was wondering if I could start coming up here to help maintain this place.  It's also a nice hangout spot."

"What?  Of course!  You're more than welcome to.  And, um, if you're not busy, we should go for a coffee sometime," he smiled.  

"I  like the sound of that."

A week later, the bullies had been thrown out of the school, and Changbin became a hero.  So had you, in fact.  In turned out the bullies had been targeting more students than just Changbin, and they were grateful for what you had done.  No one saw Changbin as the school bully, and no one avoided you because you were the principal's daughter.  In other words, don't judge a book by it's cover.