VMK. FEATHERS FOR ONE, A CROW FOR THREE.

02

The air was humming.

He could feel ants crawling along his arms, pinpricks staggering their way down his back and over his legs. Jeongguk looked paler than usual, a sheen to his face. No one thought anything about it, including the friend by his side. The sweltering heat outdoors was enough to mask the trepidation gathering on his skin. His body was a hive and the bees were constructing.

What he had seen earlier was false. An image in his mind built upon the unsteady foundations of his health. He guessed that was what happened when you hadn't slept for two days straight, the hours ticking on and on, like a bomb poised to blow. Didn't articles say you started to hallucinate after so many days spent without shutting down? He'd had an unfortunately timed incident. Nothing more. Jeongguk would worry about getting rest sometime when he wasn't already preoccupied.

Friday afternoon had rolled around, hitting the whole school like a punch to the face. Everyone was antsy and on edge, ready to drop their books in their lockers and rush home and bury themselves in meaningless media for hours. It was exactly the kind of thing Jeongguk was not going to do. He had plans. A run to orchestrate. He was the conductor and they were the musicians following his lead.

The sky was boiling, sticking to Jeongguk's tight clothing like burrs. Rips coiled up his lean legs and muscled thighs, melting into a silky black shirt, worn leather jacket shadowing his form from the bright heat, yet only making it seem that more intense. Hoseok told him he needed to stop dressing like such an "emo bitch." The comment went ignored by the boy consumed with umbrage.

The same fiery personality was by his side, mouth running in circles. His hair shone a wicked orange-red in the presence of the sun, curling at the nape of his neck, every section standing up at odd, uncontained angles. On anyone else, it would have looked atrocious, but Hoseok made the unkept habits attractive to those who looked his way. And unlike Jeongguk's moody wardrobe, the redhead always wore bright outfits that should have looked appalling together but somehow made it work. Though for once, he had socially acceptable attire on.

His slim legs were concealed by baggy camo cargo pants, a long white t-shirt with "artistic" paint splatters draped over his abdomen untucked, giving him an overall boxy shape. His chunky, white sneakers clunked alongside Jeongguk's, contrasting his friend's pitch-black boots. Hoseok had drawn all over the sneakers with varying shades of orange and yellow in cheap drug-store markers. Colorful bracelets of all kinds lined his forearms, bringing attention to the way his muscles would flex and relax as he talked animatedly.

"Seriously, Park is gonna lose his shit."

"Yeah, I'm kinda planning on that."

"It's not a good idea."

Jeongguk shot a glare at his friend. "It is. It'd be even better if you didn't have to yap about it to everyone." The heated statement collided into Hoseok, his face crinkling in shame. The redhead scratched his cheek aimlessly, mouth twitching.

"To be fair, I doubt the news reached Park. Our crowds don't exactly intermingle."

"That's the only thing keeping me from punchin-" Jeongguk faltered, steps coming to a halt, slate filled eyes assessing the figure coming into view. "Well, speak of the devil."

Park Jimin was a god.

With every step he took, another head glanced his way, eyes tracking his every movement. Jeongguk fell prey to his spell just like every other teenager at Regent High.

The glaring daylight settled on Park's skin, glistening with warmth. He was that of a demigod, resplendent and dripping with sin. Sssst. With every polished inch of him came a tenebrous side, reflecting his auroral personality with iniquity. Each side was contrasting, alight with both irradiated skies where immortals walk and the sunless underworld where beasts crawl and brood for centuries. He was a wonder to lust upon, to envy and loathe, and despite every bone in his body revolting at the thought, crave.