The Cliff's Edge • Doyoung x Jungwoo

0.1

AN:/ Italics are significant words or inner thoughts
•
Jungwoo's POV

I woke up to the sound of my alarm going off. I sat up, stretched, and yawned. I ran my hands through my hair and looked to my right to see the clock. "5:30 am..." I immediately got up and started getting ready for school. School for me doesn't start till 7:40. The reason why I get up so early is to avoid my father that wakes up at 7 every morning without fail. I go through my usual routine. Shower, hair, clothes, and cereal. I'm always ready to go by exactly 6:30. The school is only five minutes walking distance from my house but I take my car everyday to go the cafe and sit till about 7:20. I go there nearly every morning and get the same thing, Iced Americano. I made it to school a few minutes later.

On my way to class I hear yelling and smashing of old lockers from the recreational hallway no one uses. Curiosity got the best of me and I ran towards the noise. At the end of the hallway was Taeyong beating up a boy I've never seen before. Usually I ignore these sort of conflicts because what can I do? I can't fight to save my life. I've never even punched anyone before, but something came over me and I ran towards the two of them pushing Taeyong off of the boy. I give him a dirty look and say "What the fuck is your problem." Taeyong smirked, "Why do you care?" But before I could say anything he spoke again, "Listen I'll let you off easy. Leave now. Tell no one. And I won't hurt you." I shook my head and said in a firm voice, "No you leave." Taeyong didn't like my answer at all, "Faggot. This is probably your boyfriend huh?"

Faggot. The word rang through my ears in an endless loop. I lowered my head. Taeyong grabbed me by the collar and landed a punch in the dead center of my face. Blood dripped on to my shirt. I was scared. The punch itself didn't hurt all too much but it's the fact that he can keep on hitting me and all I can do is stand there and take it. That's what scared me. My weakness. My inability to defend myself. I closed my eyes and braced myself for another hit but it never came. Out of nowhere I was shoved to the ground. I looked up to see the boy holding Taeyong to the lockers by his neck repeatingly punching him in the face. Blood flowed from Taeyong's nose and mouth onto his shirt and the floor.

It was terrifying to watch. This boy had absolutely no mercy. Seeing this caused a question to appear in my mind. If he can fight why does he let Taeyong beat him up? I couldn't watch this anymore. I quickly stood up and yelled, "Hey! Stop hitting him I'm fine!" The boy immediately stopped his actions and looked at me. He removed his left hand from Taeyong's neck and wiped his right hand on his jeans. "Don't say anything." The boy said in a low tone looking at Taeyong who nodded his head and ran away to the nearest bathroom leaving me and the boy alone. He took a couple steps towards me and I got a chance to really take in his features. He's absolutely gorgeous. I was captivated by his face. Beautiful, smooth skin. Jet black hair that fell perfectly on his forehead and his eyes. They were big, round, and gave him a sort of innocent look.

"Hey..." He said in a quiet tone. His voice snapping me out of my thoughts. I replied flustered, "Hi-" He cut me off by handing me a handkerchief and said, "Why'd you intervene?" I wiped the blood from my face with and sighed "You looked like you needed help...You can fight well so why do you let him beat you?" The boy only shook his head "Please leave me alone." He turned a sped walked away. I waited till he left the hallway before I went to my locker. I took out a Jacket and put it on to cover my blood stained shirt. I  then started to head to my first class. I got there just as the first bell rang. I couldn't focus at all because the events of this morning kept replaying in my mind like an endless movie.

That boy...Why haven't I seen him before? I went the whole day thinking about him. Wondering what lunch he has or what his name is. Eventually it was time for my last class of the day. I walked in and took my seat at the front of the room. A couple minutes passed and I watched my peers as they entered the room. The warning bell rang and before my teacher could shut the door the boy from earlier ran into the room. My eyes widened. We have the same class and I've never noticed him before?!?! Him and I made quick eye contact before he went to his seat at the back of the classroom. "Okay class, today I'm going to be pairing you guys up. You will be assigned a topic and have to do a presentation and an essay. This project will be worth thirty percent of your overall grade for the semester and counts as your final exam." The class had different reactions. Some positive, most negative.

My eyes traveled the room looking at my potential partners. I sighed and put my head in my arms realizing that I have no friends in this class. Maybe I could get that boy.... The teacher called off pairs until there was six of us left. Me, that boy, and four others. "The next pair will be Jungwoo and Doyoung." Who the fuck is Doyoung? I looked around the room again and noticed that boy staring at me. I felt a blush on my face so I turned my head away. The teacher called out the last two pairs and passed out the syllabus. "Now that you know your partners, move next to them and start working. This project will be due Thursday. A week from now." I watched everyone as they moved towards their partner. I sat in my spot quietly not knowing what to do. After a minute I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked to the side and noticed the boy standing there. He spoke in such a soft and quiet tone it was as if he was whispering, "I'm Doyoung...your partner...from this morning..." I smiled at him, "Hey Doyoung, I'm Jungwoo." Doyoung nodded his head slightly and sat in the open chair next to me. "Let's get to know each other a bit." I suggested.

He nodded his head again, "Okay well my name is Doyoung, I'm eighteen, I have a little brother that I'm really close to, my family doesn't have the most money but we make it work, I know how to drive, I have a car, and..." He trailed off, "I have absolutely no friends." I shook my head at him, "The last one isn't true." He gave me a questioning look. "What do you mean?" "Well I'm your friend right?" He didn't say anything so I spoke again. "Well I want to be your friend...How about it?" Doyoung gave me a small smile. "You sure you want to be friends with someone like me? I got a lot of shit." I waved my hand, "Yes I'm sure. Trust me I got a lot of shit too." Doyoung nodded and smiled again, "It's your turn...tell me about you." "Okay well, my name is Jungwoo and I'm gay..." I looked at him seeing if he would have any reaction.

He noticed the nervous look on my face, "I don't care if you're gay. That doesn't make your different from anyone else. We're all people." "Sorry I just get nervous because there's a lot of people not okay with that sort of thing." Doyoung rested his hand on my shoulder causing me to flinch. He gave me a look, "Why did you flinch just now?" "I have a bruise there..." He immediately took his hand off my shoulder, "I'm sorry..." "No! It's alright, you didn't know." "Please continue." "Well...I'm eighteen as well, I'm an only child, my mother passed away six years ago so it's just me and my dad, and my family is a bit on the wealthier side." Doyoung nodded, "Nice...To work on the project can we go to your place?" I would've said yes but my dad then came to mind.

"Um how about we go to yours instead?" I said quickly. Doyoung sighed, "Well the thing is, I never have people over so..." I immediately got what he was trying to say so I suggested we go to the cafe not far from the school which, he agreed too. We exchanged numbers and started working on the project. Doyoung was extremely smart and surprisingly creative which something you wouldn't have expected based on his looks or the way he carries himself. I often found my self just staring at him listening to the sound of his voice. I may have just met Doyoung but I think I like him.