a small whisper

-01-

"Jeongguk can you come and answer this question?" the teacher yelled at the boy who was staring attentively at his notes.
Jeongguk's eyes bolted up when his name was uttered and he felt the whole room stare at him.

Jeongguk's hands slowly began to tremble as no one dared to move their eyes away from the small boy, who couldn't even utter a small cry in front of everyone.
"Jeongguk, board, now!" the teacher yelled again making the student look back at the teacher.
Jeongguk let out the smallest sigh, not even the breath was heard as he inhaled and exhaled.

The small squeak of the boy's chair was heard as it scraped against the floor as he stood up. His legs shook with each small step he took till finally he was in front of the class. He didn't even want to turn around, because if he did he would probably end up panicking due to all his classmates stares.

Jeongguk was quick to answer the question on the board, to him it was easy but the teacher was guaranteed that it would be challenging. But no Jeongguk was smart, the smartest of the whole class, and a small equation like that didn't phase him.

But just as he was walking away the teacher grabbed the boys arm. Jeongguk's eyes widened in shock, and his heartbeat quickened. The boy tried yanking his arm away but the woman only held his arm tighter. After all she was a wolf hybrid meaning her strength was triple his.
"When are you going to learn to stop being a smart ass! I mean how can you be smart if you can't even utter a single word. Stop being cocky" She growled, with her eyes flickering red.

Jeongguk quickly nodded in fear and she finally let go before demanding that the boy should go back to his seat. He was quick to sit in his seat, which in that moment felt the closest to home. He knew he was safe on the seat and he could finally calm himself down. But it wasn't working, his chest was tight, his arms were weak, and his head was throbbing. His breathing became erratic and the room was spinning.

Jeongguk grabbed his bag and ran out the classroom not even paying attention to the laughs the class made as they watched him scramble out of the room. Jeongguk sprinted down the corridor, so fast that it looked like a quick flash. He could see the toilets right ahead of him, making his run a little faster. But within seconds Jeongguk was on the floor. His chest was still tight, and his throat felt like it was almost blocked.

"Oh shit" a deep voice was heard.
The person was quick to help Jeongguk who was close to passing out. They gently held the back of Jeongguk's head and used their own school bag to prop the boys head up. They circled their fingers around Jeongguk's wrist, pulling it up and placed it on the boys upper chest, allowing Jeongguk to feel his tightened diaphragm. Jeongguk was too weak to move away from the gentle grip.

"Listen to my voice and my voice only. Don't listen to the voices in your head, listen to me. Take a deep breath. Smell the flowers and blow the candle" the male instructed, watching how Jeongguk's face was slowly relaxing as his tightness in his chest eased.
Jeongguk continued to take deep breathes while the person who was helping him was encouraging him.

Finally after 8 minutes Jeongguk's breathing was steady, and he was no longer trembling. His eyes were shut but they weren't squeezed tight, they were relaxed. Jeongguk slowly opened his eyes and noticed a boy sat on the floor next to him, but enough space for personal space. Jeongguk slowly leant up and face the boy with shock.

"How are you feeling?" He asked carefully.
Jeongguk opened his mouth but quickly shut it as he grabbed his bag. The boy was watching with confusion as the smaller boy was holding a notepad and a pen.
'I'm feeling okay, thank you so much for helping!' Jeongguk quickly scribbled down, showing the boy with a weak smile.

"No problem, my name is Taehyung by the way" Tae smiled brightly at the cute boy sitting on the middle of the hallway with him.
Jeongguk began writing again, and showed it to the boy.
'My name is Jeongguk' Jeongguk smiled once again.
Jeongguk looked at the boy who was sitting near him, traveling his eyes around seeing if he recognised the boy. But nothing came to mind, and instead the ears and tail caught the boys attention.

Tae noticed the boys stares which were darting from his forehead area to his side. He let out a deep chuckle and gained the boys attention back.
"I'm a tiger hybrid. I joined uni around eight months or so ago, that's probably why you might not have seen me before. I'm a senior so you might not have seen me in class or something "
Jeongguk made a gasp expression but no sound was made. He again scrubbed something down and Tae waited patiently for him.

'That's so cool, you tail and ears are really...pretty!' Jeongguk blushed as he showed the boy before he quickly scribbled down something else.
'I'm a junior and well i'm not a cool hybrid i'm  a human who doesn't talk. I'm a mute...'  this time Jeongguk wasn't so eager to show him the notepad but he still showed him.

Tae quickly read the paper and still held a small smile to his face. He noticed how the boy in front of him began to tremble slightly in fear. Tae was confused but still spoke.
"I'm sure you have your reasons and that's okay. Being mute isn't a bad thing and you shouldn't let anyone tell you that" Tae softly spoke to the younger.
Jeongguk thought to himself that it was already too late but he couldn't help but blush from the elders words.

'Thank you'