Antithesis | StrayKids

Chapter 1:

Seungmin's P.O.V.

Seungmin sat at his desk in the early hours of the day, contemplating whether or not he should even bother going to the horrid school he attended. There, he was simply a friendless loser who ate a cheap excuse of a lunch in the bathroom stalls, watching slowly as the minutes ticked by before the bell finally rang. At school, Seungmin was just as ignored and outcasted as he was in his own home.

Letting out a fatigued sigh, he stood up and walked over to the messy heap of clothes that had not been washed in forever. Picking through them, he wondered why he even bothered changing his clothes... no one would notice it anyway. Throwing on an old pair of jeans and a hoodie, Seungmin slowly made his way downstairs to catch the 6am bus that would take him to that shithole of a school.

The house was quiet.

"Well I'm off. See you after school mom," he half-heartedly yelled out, knowing that she was not home.

As a matter of fact, neither his mom nor his sister were ever home. Looking around the house one last time, Seungmin sighed and locked the empty house door before trudging to the bus stop.

*******

'RINGGG'

The shrill sounding bell signaling the end of first period awakened Seungmin from his half slumber. As other students hurriedly packed their things away to get to their next classes, Seungmin took his time putting away the notebook that was practically falling apart at the seams, filled with the stories and poems he had written.

Finally he made his way down the next hallway to his third period class, Photography. Seungmin loved taking pictures just as much as he loved burying his face into the dozens of poetry books he owned. But as much as he loved photography, he didn't love the class... or the people.

The teacher walked in holding a coffee mug and a stack of papers. He looked just as tired and wasted away as Seungmin felt.

"Alright everyone, settle down. I'll be announcing your final semester projects." The class let out a chorus of groans and muffled underbreath curses.

"Oh come on you lot, you don't even have an exam for this class- nor do you get any homework really so be grateful." The teacher silenced them as he stood in the front of the class. "Now. Your task will be to take 50 photos all containing the following topics: Emotions captured, animals, nature, architecture and 10 other photos of your choice."

Once again groans erupted from the 25 or so students in the class. Seungmin really didn't mind the project, he liked working by himself, despite constantly feeling alone.

"Listen you guys. I'm going to make this project even easier for you since you all seem to have your mind set on the break. You will be working with one other person for the next few weeks to bring together this project."

It was at that moment Seungmin felt as if the world once again was working against him. Seriously? Come on, if things aren't hard enough as it is... maybe he could ask to work alone.

"Alright go find a partner and then come to me and I'll write down your names."

Sending them off, the students went around to find their friends and line up behind one another to write down their names. Seungmin slouched back into his chair, heart hurting and ears burning in embarrassment. He realized sooner or later the teacher would ask why he didn't have a partner causing the whole class to stare at him in mock pity and him to be more of an outcast then he already was. If that was even possible.

A group of boys behind him began to argue about something. "Jeongin, I already promised I'd team up with Minho for this next assignment." The one named Jeongin let out a frustrated groan toward his friend and Seungmin couldn't help but feel envious of his friend's attention. How could one person be so liked.

Oh he knew who the friend was. Hyunjin, the hottest most popular boy in the school next to his best friend Minho. Seungmin just didn't see it. Rolling his eyes he went back to ignoring them and took out his phone just as he got a text.

Mom: Hey Honey, I won't be home tonight again, Tommy is taking me out to the countryside to see his family's farm. Isn't that cool? Anyway I've added some money to your account so buy some food and don't forget to always lock the door before leaving. XO mom.

Great. As if this day could get any better. "Seungmin! Have you found a partner yet?" The teacher's voice rang out pulling Seungmin from his sad thoughts. "Oh um no... I haven't..." he mumbled, ears burning when a few students turned to look at him. "Perfect! Then you and Jeongin can work together."

Great fucking shit.

"Uh- but sir I would rather work alone. I mean work better alone." Seungmin tried to protest. "Nonsense, I always let you work alone Seungmin but you need to learn some teamwork."
His teacher then proceeded to guide Jeongin toward an empty desk beside Seungmin.

Of all people he could have ended up with why did it have to be one of the most popular kids in the school. No popular kid wanted to work with the school loser. Seungmin awkwardly leaned back into his seat while avoiding any sort of interaction with the boy next to him. He didn't have to look over to know that the so called Jeongin was just as unpleased, if not more, at the situation they were in.

Seungmin looked over at the clock only to be disappointed with the fact there was still 20 minutes of the class left. He was in no mood to begin this project so he took out his phone and scrolled through his feed. After what felt like hours, he finally took the chance to look over at the boy next to him. His head was resting upon the desk in a rather peaceful manner given the situation. His dark brown wavy locks covered the top part of his closed eyes. This boy badly needed a haircut.

"Um, can I help you?" an irritated voice drew Seungmin back out of his thoughts.

His face heated up in embarrassment once again and he looked away in panic. "Oh- um." "I uh just was wondering how you wanted to do this." Great googly moogly he thought.

After a brief moment Jeongin sighed. "I dunno. Take some pictures and I'll look through them at some point."

Taking out his phone he slid it across the table toward Seungmin. "Here put in your number and send them to me."

Doing as he was told, Seungmin entered his number and sent a quick text to himself saving the contact on his own phone. The bell rang just then and the whole class stood up in a frenzy to get a spot in the cafeteria. Jeongin stood up to leave with his friends.

"Oh and don't text me unless it's absolutely necessary got it?"

Seungmin nodded in reply fighting the urge to roll his eyes instead. Why the fuck would anyone wanna text him?

When the whole class was empty he stood up and put his things away before making his way over to the third floor bathroom where he would hide away for the 40 minute lunch. The day really couldn't get any worse...

At least he didn't think it could.