Angelic || suhyeok x cheongsan || aouad || ON HIATUS

Chapter 15 - fires that might burn

Living at Cheong-san's house was perfect. Although his room was small, neither he nor Su-hyeok minded. They would often wake up to find Su-hyeok had somehow climbed off the inflatable mattress on the floor and into Cheong-san's arms. Neither had any recollection of it actually happening, but it always led to both waking with a smile.

The food was the best Su-hyeok had ever tasted, though perhaps there was always slightly too much served. Mrs Lee told him she couldn't starve him, the poor boy that he was, especially when he was living with her and her family. He accepted it all graciously, though he would often slip Cheong-san a few extra bits of chicken when he wasn't looking.

School improved for both Su-hyeok and Cheong-san. Their grades were at an all-time high, as they'd actually dedicated some time to studying together, with the odd hug, kiss and insult thrown in – of course. There seemed to be no consequences from Su-hyeok's outburst at the principal, which he was eternally grateful, though he still made sure to stay out of his way, just in case.

Gwi-nam appeared to be a distant memory for the entire school, until exactly two months after he nearly killed Su-hyeok, he returned.

SU-HYEOK

Perfect.

Fucking perfect.

Of course he had to come back when everything was going well.
As soon as I saw him slouched in his old chair in the third row, with one earphone in, Cheong-san's hand flew to my wrist. I nodded and slumped in my own seat at the back of the room – thank fuck. Cheong-san was clearly nervous as he sat next to me.
"I won't do anything. Unless he does something first," I smiled, not fully genuine, but I hoped it reassured him.
"Promise?" he wasn't convinced.
"I promise."

I would have stayed glaring at Gwi-nam throughout the entire lesson, but I'd started to become committed to trying to pass all of my exams, meaning I unfortunately couldn't. At the end, Cheong-san pushed me out of the classroom first so we could avoid Gwi-nam as much as possible. I was just grateful to see that our friends were already gathered at the table.

Even when we sat down, they seemed to be too engrossed in their conversation to even notice us.
"I can't believe he's back," Woo-jin sounded stressed.
Shit.
"How did he not get arrested?" Gyeong-su half-yelled.
They'd heard.
"Strangling someone is a crime, right?" Dae-su began to pull out his phone.
At least they cared.
"Obviously," Joon-yeong slapped the phone from his hands, "It's literally attempted murder."
My hand fluttered over my neck. The bruises weren't visible anymore.
Cheong-san cleared his throat, making the others look at us. They were clearly nervous.
"Hey, uh, guys. I assume you heard that... he's back?" Woo-jin's eyes darted all around.
"He's not going to appear in front of you if you say Gwi-nam," I laughed slightly.
"Sorry, yeah, of course, I was... we were worried. About you both, and if you knew, and, uh yeah..." Woojin's panic finally died down.
It was nice knowing that they were genuinely concerned, but they were seemingly on the border of obsession and it hadn't even been a full day.
"We're okay, I promise," I tried to reassure them, but they still exchanged looks.
Cheong-san just smiled and shook his head slightly, whilst reaching for my hand under the table. His thumbs drew small circles, filling my mind with the indisputable urge to drape myself over him and kiss him. I had to bite my lip to stop myself, which only really made it worse, as I bit down too hard and started bleeding.
Fuck me. That was stupid.

CHEONG-SAN

Su-hyeok's hand was radiating a comfortable warmth in mine. I attempted to restrain my glimpses at him from lingering too long. Only, on one look, I saw deep red.

I instantly turned towards Su-hyeok, ran my thumb over his lower lip and stared at the blood, illuminated by the harsh lighting, on it.
"Shit, Su-hyeok!" my hand tenderly rose to his cheek, "What happened?"
"I just bit my lip, it's nothing," although he laughed, the burning flush that appeared on his face revealed pure embarrassment.
"Hey, it's okay," I gestured to our friends, now speaking in hushed tones, but still definitely on the topic of Gwi-nam.

I pulled a tissue out of my bag, and gradually began to wipe the blood off his lip. Su-hyeok quietly protested at first, flustered with the action, but when Dae-su began to show signs of interest in what we were doing, he immediately halted his objection. I grinned at him, and continued to dab the blood.
"You're a bit of a moron," I tutted.
"As are you."
"Yes, but I didn't bite my own lip so that it bled, did I?"
"No... you didn't."
I winked, triumphant.
"Fuck you," he beamed.
I gasped audibly as he grabbed my tie and pulled me in. It appeared to be my turn to blush. I couldn't complain, though the taste of blood was a slight shock. We released one another, both breathing deeply.
"Sorry."
"Don't be. It was..." I struggled to catch my breath, "Nice. It was very nice."
"It made a pretty little picture, too."

The voice came from only inches away from our faces. Both Su-hyeok and I pivoted towards the source at once.
Shit.
"Shit," Su-hyeok repeating my thoughts would have had me wondering if we were telepathic, but with him staring down at us meant I couldn't allow my thoughts to wander.

Gwi-nam pocketed his phone, sneering with such glee that I was genuinely surprised no one punched him. I took a quick look at our friends, all the embodiment of fury and surprise. At any other time, it might have been funny at how much they looked like caricatures.
I didn't laugh.

There was a silence hanging around the entirety of the cafeteria.
"If you're happy to be so public, I'm sure you won't mind this photo being everywhere around school. It'll just show how accepting Hyosan High is towards gays. That's what you want isn't it?"
Every word had Su-hyeok tensing up. I rested a hand on his arm, feeling every muscle contract."
"You can't even speak!" his laugh sent a coldness through my body, "Is that to show how grateful you are to me for thinking of this amazing idea?"
I wasn't a violent person, but the thought of killing Gwi-nam there and then was exceedingly tempting. I couldn't imagine what was going through Su-hyeok's head. All I knew was that it wouldn't be good.

A few whispers started up. The ginger movements of people reaching for the phones to film it. The complete stillness from Su-hyeok.
It scared me.
M

otion. Su-hyeok was standing. He gently plucked my hand off his arm.  Although Su-hyeok was tall, Gwi-nam was maybe a centimetre taller. It didn't seem to matter for Su-hyeok. He stayed perfectly stationary.
"Is this supposed to scare me? You've changed... become pathetic. Maybe, just maybe, that's what happens to someone when they turn gay."
Su-hyeok was pissed. But still motionless.
"Why aren't you saying anything, huh? That's just rude."
Silence.
"Talk, you freak!"
Gwi-nam slapped Su-hyeok.