{panic(king): changki}

11

"This is bullshit!" Jooheon slams the already wrinkled letter into the table, standing up with a kind of fury that startles even Hyunwoo. "They can't kick you out of the music program! That's so—" He growls in frustration. "We have to find out who decided this and report them."

Kihyun clings to my arm. He doesn't say anything and I'm waiting for some kind of response. For him to say or do anything. He doesn't.

"My guess is that it's the head himself," Hyunwoo says, clicking his tongue. "I've seen him giving looks to not only Kihyun and Changkyun, but even popular kids like Jungkook and his friends."

Minhyuk, Hoseok, and Jooheon all furrow their brows simultaneously. "Then we need to do something about it, don't we?" Hyungwon asks. "Before more people get kicked out?"

Jooheon nods in agreement. "The only question is how we should do it," he says. Our table went quiet as the seven of us thought, but my mind kept drifting back to the pink boy messing with the rings on my right hand.

I kiss his head and he leans into my arm. "You okay?" I ask. He shrugs.

"You shouldn't have to lose your spot in the music program because of me," he says. "And I know music still means a lot to you."

"Yeah, but I love you," I tell him. He tilts his head up and I kiss him. "We'll figure it all out." He nods, letting out a relieved sigh. He leans his head on my shoulder and we both turn back to the group discussion.

"Should we try to get him replaced?" Hyunwoo asks.

"Well, definitely," Hoseok says. "We can't have students being afraid of admitting who they are  if they want to get into the music program." Jooheon and I nod.

"Until we can get a replacement, should we boycott the whole program?" Jooheon asks.

"That would definitely convince more people to want a change," I put in, and Kihyun nods against my shoulder.

"I can design flyers and pickets and help get them out to everyone," Minhyuk offers. As Hyungwon's hand goes toward the back of his neck, Minhyuk's stops it.

"You need a new canvas," Hyungwon sighs.

"I thought you enjoyed being my canvas," Minhyuk says, looking at his boyfriend with a slight pout.

Hyungwon blushes. "Well, I mean, I-I do, but I prefer be-being a muse." He goes to scratch the back of his hand and is again stopped by Minhyuk. "Paint is itchy."

"You look pretty with or without all your sunset colors, Hyungwonnie," Minhyuk practically purrs, kissing Hyungwon on the cheek. Hyungwon's blush deepens and I can't help but snicker.

"We can help rally people for the cause, too," Hoseok says, Hyunwoo nodding in agreement.

"So what about us?" I ask, referring to Kihyun and myself, as well as Jooheon.

"Every meaningful rally has some sort of chant to back it up," he says. I raise my eyebrow and Kihyun pulls away from my shoulder as we wonder where exactly he's going with this. "What if ours had a soundtrack?"

"Wait, you mean like—"

Jooheon nods. "We're going to record and produce your EP."

"No," I say, shaking my head. "Not the EP."

"But I thought you really wanted people to hear yo—" Kihyun starts.

"Yeah, one day, but this rally isn't about me. It's about love and music," I say. "About making this school a better place for everyone." Jooheon nods slowly. I turn to Kihyun, whose eyes widen in surprise. "You told me you wanted to be a performer. How would you feel about helping me write a song?"

Kihyun blushes and I hear Minhyuk stifling a laugh. "Kihyun performing? As in song and dance, idol style performances?" he asks.

I kick him under the table, which leads to an exclamation of, "Ow!" from his lips. The kick is swiftly returned, Hyungwon giving me a quick glare as I look back up at him.

"No more kicking each other," Hyunwoo says. Minhyuk opens his mouth to speak. "Or teasing, or glaring," he adds, followed by a stern look toward Hyungwon. Hyungwon dips his head and the rest of us go quiet.

"I'd love to, Changkyun," Kihyun says, ignoring his roommate's teasing.

"I can help record and produce it," Jooheon offers. I nod, smiling gratefully at him.

"So Hyungwon and Minhyuk are our design committee, Hoseok and I are our recruiters, and Changkyun, Kihyun and Jooheon will record and produce a new song for the rally," Hyunwoo says, listing out everyone's roles. We murmur and nod, agreeing to our roles in the grand scheme of things.

"Should we get started after school today?" Hoseok asks.

"You and Hyunwoo can't really start your job until Minhyuk and Hyungwon get flyers designed and printed," I point out.

"You could help Naeun with the printing," Minhyuk pipes up. "I'm sure she won't be able to carry all the flyers by herself." Hoseok smiles and nods, Hyunwoo practically mirroring his expression.

"That's one thing to look forward to at the end of the day," Jooheon sighs. "Until then, we actually have class and stuff, I guess."

We all groan and sarcastically thank Jooheon for reminding us. He squirms as I elbow him. "We were fine until you reminded us that lunch has to end," I say.

"It could have been just the seven of us hanging out and planning a boycott and protest," Hyunwoo adds.

"And being able to spend time with our boyfriends," Minhyuk says, holding up his and Hyungwon's intertwined hands.

"Sorry to bring you all back to reality for a minute," Jooheon says. "But we're not going to be much of a help to the school if we flunk out of it."

Hoseok half-nods in understanding, a kind of gesture that just says 'I guess you're right'. Minhyuk sighs and lays his head on Hyungwon's shoulder, which I'm almost sure has the same pink, purple and orange paint as his neck and the back of his hands do. Lunch isn't over yet, I realize gratefully. I intertwine my fingers with Kihyun's as we listen to Jooheon's plans for his own EP.

It's nice to forget that there are people that hate us for no good reason. That we just get to love each other the way we are, without anyone telling us we shouldn't. We're happy just being with and around each other, like nothing else matters.

I break into a grin after hearing Jooheon's laugh in response to Hoseok joking about Jooheon including a track about the importance of not flunking out of school. Minhyuk's laugh mingles with his, and that's when I really notice the smiles from everyone at the table.

Kihyun's warmth next to me is the most important thought of mine right now. I have him, and I have music. If this works, I won't have to choose between them. I kiss Kihyun's temple and he smiles softly. A bright spark of hope flares in my chest and I'm certain this is going to work, for the sake of us, and everyone else affected by Mr. Jin's prejudice.

Before we know it, lunch is over. We're all disappointed by the reality of the situation.

"I told you!" Jooheon says.

"Can I take this paint off first?" Hyungwon asks, his dark brown eyes pleading with his orange-haired boyfriend.

"Later. I just want to see it one more time before it all gets washed away," Minhyuk replies, smiling his gummy smile at his taller boyfriend, who rolls his eyes with a soft sigh.

"You're lucky you're cute," he says, which makes us all laugh.

We disperse into groups, and I leave Kihyun at his classroom before heading to my own. "I love you!" he calls.

"I love you too!" I call back. His math teacher smiles and says something to him, which makes him nod. I smile too. This is already a step in the right direction.

{a/n: Get in, losers, we're planning an uprising. Here's a soft and kinda chaotic chapter for you guys. Hope you liked it.}