you're here, that's the thing [nohyuck]

chapter 1

"That's gonna leave a scar, damn!" Jaemin says as he inspects Jeno's stitches, "Is he a goddamn cat or something?"

They're both sitting at the school's biology garden after school hours. Jeno couldn't leave yet because he was punished to clean the school's toilet alongside Donghyuck for a whole month and they had to tend to the school's garden on every Sunday. Jeno preferred getting suspended over spending his weekend at school. Jaemin had knocked on the 2nd floor toilet of the science department, wary of Donghyuck splashing water on the floor at the end of the toilet, and signaled for Jeno to come out for a moment. Somehow they ended up in the garden.

"This is all your fault, shithead," Jeno punches Jaemin's shoulder lightly and Jaemin cackles menacingly, rubbing at his shoulder.

"Who is he, by the way?" Jeno doesn't mention his name but they both know he's asking about Donghyuck, "Why'd he want to kill you?"

Jaemin rolls his eyes at Jeno's choice of the word kill, "We're in the choir team. There's a competition at the end of this month and I got the solo part but Donghyuck wasn't happy about it."

Oh, just another case of petty jealousy.

Jeno scoffs. This is why the science stream is better. The students are too busy trying to survive every term that they don't have the chance to be jealous of other people's achievements. Art students on the other hand....

"He was quite vocal about it; not getting any solo and begged for a solo for days. And it annoyed me a bit, you know, the way he asked for it, he belittled me. Talking shit like, how he's been in the team longer, how I couldn't reach a calm C#5 live and I got pissed off, naturally," Jaemin takes a deep breath as if recalling those moments makes it hard for him to keep his calm. "I mean, it's fine to ask for a solo part if you think you're good enough for it you know? But to downgrade me while doing it? Of course, I'm not gonna stay put"

"So, we had a small talk after practice one day and somehow it got heated. That little shit left mid-argument. Walked out the door while I was still talking and I swear to God, I really wanted to kick his face but I held myself back you know? So, I got home and post something about him and his mother or some shit like that."

Jeno remembers seeing that tweet passing on his timeline. 'Don't have to speak about me getting a solo part when you're just not good enough to be chosen. Not even your own mother would choose you, right?' but at that time, Jeno didn't pay much attention to it. Jaemin gets into so much school drama, anyway so this was probably one of his little drama but Jeno was dead wrong about this one. He was the one who suffered the consequences of Jaemin's action. For one, it hurts everytime he speaks because of his stitches, and second, Jaemin was right, it IS gonna leave a scar so he's gonna have to live with an ugly scar on his face for the rest of his life.

"I guess it struck a nerve," Jaemin continues, gesturing towards Jeno's beat-up face, "I'm sorry it was you that he punched when it was supposed to be me. Maybe we look more similar than we thought." Jaemin chuckles awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

Jeno should be angry for taking Jaemin's punches for him and ending up having to take a trip to the hospital but he just couldn't find it in himself to be mad at Jaemin. He knows he'd die for Jaemin for something even less than a high school's drama. Though he is mad at Donghyuck though.

Donghyuck who wailed immediately the moment the attending doctor touch his broken thumb. Donghyuck who insisted on the principal following him into the X-ray room because he was too scared. Donghyuck who fainted when the doctor said his thumb might never look normal again even after it healed, then woke up crying as if he lost an entire limb.

Talk about being dramatic. Jeno who had bruises all over his chest and around his eyes from being punched on the nose, a cut on his jaw and a blocked nasal passage didn't even react half as dramatically as Donghyuck.

"JENO!" Both Jeno and Jaemin jumped at the booming voice calling out to Jeno from the science building.

It was Donghyuck, shouting from the 2nd floor. When Jeno looked up from his bench, he sees Donghyuck holding a mop and his injured arm, wrapped in bandages around his thumb area, signaling for Jeno to come up and meet him.

Jeno sighs before standing up, "I got to get back to work," He says to Jaemin.

Jaemin also follows suit, "Alright, I'll see you this weekend at dad's"

Jeno nods as a response and starts to walk to the 2nd floor of the building where Donghyuck was waiting for him in front of the toilet door.

"I cleaned up everything so you can go home now," Donghyuck says the moment Jeno stands in front of him, his eyes not quite meeting Jeno's. Ashamed maybe, or afraid.

Jeno looks at the inside of the toilet behind Donghyuck to see its condition looks better than it was before they started cleaning despite some minor spots that still look dirty.

Noticing the change in Jeno's look, which looks unsatisfied, Donghyuck speaks up, "As best as I could with my thumb, anyway."

Jeno's gaze turns back to Donghyuck, looking down at his thumb and he scoffs, "Is this your way of apologizing?"

Donghyuck nods timidly, "It's the least I could do. I'm really really sorry about earlier. I was so angry I couldn't see and think properly."

"Do you think that's enough?"

Donghyuck knows it's not enough, he had punched the wrong person and dragged him into all of this situation, "Please tell me how I can make it up to you. I feel really shitty for what I did. I'll talk to the principal and tell her to exclude you of this punishment."

Jeno scoffs, "She won't listen to you. I broke your thumb so she thinks it's fair for both of us to clean every toilet in this fucking school."

"I'll tell her it was purely self-defense on your part," Donghyuck looks up at Jeno, taking Jeno's face in. His nose is swollen, bruises are starting to bloom under his eyes, the red skin around his stitches and he feels a thousand times more guilty.

Jeno mockingly chuckles at Donghyuck's face, "Save your words, Donghyuck. Do you think getting out of this punishment can reverse back what you did to me? It hurts when I take big breaths and it hurts when I open my mouth too wide."

Donghyuck could actually cry now under Jeno's mean gaze, he opens his mouth to speak but what comes out are gibberish stammers.

"Give me your phone number," Jeno says something so unexpected.

And it shocks Donghyuck that he asks Jeno to repeat it again to make sure he didn't hear him wrong.

"Give me your phone number," Jeno reiterates, "What? You're deaf now? As far as I know, I didn't punch your ears so for you to-"

Donghyuck quickly takes out his own phone and shoves it to Jeno's chest, "H-here, you can call your number on my phone."

Jeno smirks and snatches Donghyuck's phone from the shorter boy, dialing his number and pressing the call button. When his own phone rings in his pocket, he ends the call and hands the phone back to his rightful owner.

"Alright, I'll text you when I know what to do with you," Jeno says and it sounds like a threat to Donghyuck. He clutches tighter to the mop that's still in his hands.

"I'll do anything you say," He says and it feels like agreeing to his death sentence.