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Maybe Jeongin had a little too much fun when Felix had came over yesterday. The boy had practically ran into their house with a bag full of various items: water guns, duck tap, super glue, etc. He found a look he never thought would dawn the Aussie's face, a look of mischief and genuine rowdiness. It felt weird seeing him so excited to mess with Soonhee, but he only assumed it was because Hyunjin had spoken about her before.
There was absolutely no way Soonhee wouldn't tell their parents of what they did to her. He remembered that she was specifically enraged when she discovered that the shampoo she used had been swapped with temporary hair dye. Until the babysitter washed it out, she was stuck with bright pink hair as if she was an idol. Jeongin remembered he made a sharp remark about her hair when she came out to confront the boys she threw her heels at him.
There were countless other pranks the boys did as well, thanks to Felix wanting to get revenge on the woman for messing with his friend. They were all childish and stupid, something little elementary schoolers would pull on teachers. He knew that Hyunjin's personal favorite was when they set a bucket of water above her door and watched it drench the woman in freezing cold water. Jeongin had never seen the boy so giggling and happy when it happened.
"Jeongin?" A voice called, snapping the boy out of trance. In front of him stood Seungmin, waving his hand in his face to get his attention. He glanced up at him, finally acknowledging his existence. "It's time to go, lunch started not to long ago." Jeongin looked around to see that the classroom was practically empty, only a few students lingering to talk to friends.
He got up, embarrassment flooding through him as he glanced down. There sat a notebook he was using for the last class, absolutely nothing written inside. Had he zoned out the entire class period? Didn't they have a test coming up? "Ah, sorry." Jeongin apologized, trying to grab his things as fast as possible. "I didn't even realize that class had ended..."
"You're good! When you walked in you seemed really happy." Seungmin pointed out as the two began to make their way out of the class. The boy gave him a skeptical look as he continued. "I was going to ask you what happened, but then you completely zoned out for the rest of the class. But... I'm asking now so?"
Jeongin felt excited bubble up inside of him, ready to spill everything that he possibly could to his friend. But his mouth refused to say open, realizing what he'd have to do if he wanted to tell him everything. The boy still hadn't told him of his relation to Hyunjin, forgetting that he had kept it a secret because he didn't want anyone to know. It seemed like a good plan, just avoid literally any mention of his step brother's name.
Yet that was when Jeongin hated Hyunjin with every fiber of his being. Now? Not so much. He doesn't know when the turn in attitude happened but... he felt like he could tolerate his existence now. He turned to Seungmin with a sheepish smile as he began. "My step mom hired this really bad babysitter so I pranked her... with my step brother."
Seungmin whipped his head around to him, staring at him with big eyes. "Your step brother? You said you didn't have a brother!" He exclaimed, shocked by the news he was receiving. Jeongin only fiddled with his fingers, not responding to him. It felt awkward now that only part of the truth was out, but he didn't know if he had the guts to reveal that it was Hyunjin.
He knew how much Seungmin and Daehwi steered away from his step brother because of some stupid rumor and reputation he had. The boy still found it stupid how everyone though Hyunjin was some scary upperclassmen who would beat lowerclassmen down who dared to challenge him. His step brother was just a goofy and stupid boy who liked music from JYP Entertainment. His step brother was just an average guy who adored his dog to his hearts content.
"I guess I just felt... awkward telling you." Jeongin told him, his breath hitching when he saw Daehwi come down the hall. The boy wasn't a bad guy, in no way was he. Yet he was the one who told him that Hyunjin had that odd reputation of his. So what if the boy was a strong believer as such? Would he believe Jeongin that his step brother is Hwang Hyunjin? Would he even take the chance to meet the guy?
Daehwi finally caught up to the two, a smile on his face as he walked with them. "What happened here? Seungmin looks like a total idiot." He asked, poking at the said boy's cheek with a goofy grin. Seungmin sent the boy a glare, swatting away his hand as quick as he possibly could. He then slung an arm around Jeongin so he could bring the two close together so they'd be able to hear him.
"Jeongin told me he has a brother! Wild right? He never mentioned him before now." Daehwi exchanged glances with Jeongin, as if he was trying to get the correct information out of him. Yet the boy only shrugged, a sheepish smile on his face as he silently answered his question. His eyes widened in realization and the same shocked look on Seungmin's face now dawned Daehwi's.
The trio walked out the doors, finally arriving in the courtyard that lunch would be taking place in. He could tell both boys' minds were bubbling with questions, ready to pummel him to death with them. Jeongin braced himself for impact, not even bothering to try and shield himself. Yet his eyes caught onto something else, or someone else he should put it.
There was Felix, sitting there at a table and scrolling through his phone without a care in the world. Every so often he'd glance up and laugh at a boy who was sitting across from him, Jeongin had only seen him maybe once or twice before. He looked tough and dark, like he could throw you half way across the room if he really wanted to. Yet there was such a soft expression on his face as he cracked a joke to him. Maybe if Jeongin ran away to them, then maybe Seungmin and Daehwi would leave him alone.
"Jeongin?" Daehwi asked, waving his hand in front of his face. He shook his head and snapped himself out of his daze as he glanced up at the boy in front of him. He gave him a skeptical look, his eyes darting from him to the duo he was staring at. "What do you think you're doing? You do know you're staring at a junior and senior right? The ones that are friends with Hwang Hyunjin?"
Speak of the devil, here came Hyunjin. He hadn't noticed the existence of him yet, stopping beside his friends with a strawberry milk in hand. The boy shoved his belongings on the table and sat right next to the tough and dark boy, who sneered at his late entrance. Jeongin didn't get any time to see what else they'd do when Seungmin and Daehwi began to shove him away from that area in a hurry.
He desperately tried to resist, trying to make the two let go of him. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Seungmin hissed, shielding the boy away from the sight line of sight of the trio they walked away from. "You were staring for so long, I thought you were about to challenge him or something! God I don't know how I'd get you out of that if you did." Daehwi nodded in agreement, fanning himself as if he'd die from the 'intensity' of the close encounter.
Jeongin frowned at them, his eyes darting from the two in front of him and the trio behind him. He bit the inside of his mouth as he spoke,"It's him." The two gave him an odd look, not clicking with what he was talking about. "He's my step brother, Hwang Hyunjin is my step brother. He's not some crazy and rude upperclassmen, he's a goofy and stupid dog loving older step sibling. My step brother."
Daehwi gave the boy a frightened look, as if he didn't want to believe what just came out of Jeongin's mouth. Seungmin gave him a confused expression as everything slowly began to process in his head. The boy pushed past the two, getting close enough to the trio that they'd be able to hear him. "Jeongin? What are you doing?!" Daehwi exclaimed, trying to stop him from doing something stupid.
"Hyunjin!" The boy called, yelling out his name as loud as he possibly could. The said boy turned around, his eyes round with curiosity as he slurped on the strawberry in his hands. His friends looked back too, Felix giving the boy an excited and friendly wave while the dark and tough student seemed intrigued by his sudden appearance. Jeongin gave the smile, a little awkward as he pointed back to the boys behind him. "These are my friends, Seungmin and Daehwi. I was wondering if we could all start hanging out during lunch together?"
