Hate | Nosung

9

Jisung knew people were staring at him. Since the moment when Jeno laughed a little too loud and said things he shouldn't have said, Jisung felt pairs of eyes never leave him.

The hairs on his arm stood on end while he tried to write in his notebook. He did his absolute best attempting to ignore the holes that were being melted into him. His knuckles went white from how hard he was gripping his pencil, and his jaw clenched.

This was getting very annoying very quickly.

"You good?" Jeno whispered to him, as he noticed how visibly bothered he was.

With a single glance, Jisung poked his cheek with his tongue. "Just great. Now pay attention."

Jeno didn't have to be told twice.

When the lunch bell rang, Harin, from Jisung's dance team, flounced up to Jeno with a bounce in her step.

Jisung kept an eye on her through his peripheral as she glomped the basketball captain. "Jeno! Jeno! Let's have lunch together!" She flashed a pearly white smile at him, which he returned.

Harin left Jisung alone and skipped out of the room with Jeno at her side, which the young boy was grateful for. The classroom was nearly empty when he began to zip up his backpack.

"Jisung," the teacher called from her desk. The boy stood from his seat with an inward sigh and he walked up to her with extra weight in his steps.

"Yes?"

She didn't look up from whatever paper she was grading. "Jeno's first assignment back is already better than before. Keep it up and your own grade will benefit as well. Good job."

"Ah, thank you. I will." He bowed his head and turned on his foot to leave. Remembering that he was Jeno's tutor was an absolute nightmare that he didn't want to relive.

Upon leaving the classroom, two shadows followed him, which he immediately noticed. He knit his brows and turned. Before he could see who was behind him, however, Jisung was pushed up against the lockers quite forcefully.

He grunted, but didn't fight. He was way too confused for his fight-or-flight to kick in, so he just sat still and waited for what came next. He really had no idea what was happening.

Then, a female voice spoke quietly, but threateningly into his ear. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but stay in your lane, and stay away from Lee Jeno."

He wasn't any less confused, but the message came across clearly when harsh hands pushed Jisung to the ground.

"What the—?" He nearly cursed, but the impact of his palms on the hard flooring made him cut himself off with a yelp.

Two pairs of footsteps made themselves scarce and scurried away before Jisung could identify them.

He looked around the empty hallway and sat up on his knees, massaging his aching hands.

What in the world just happened? Stay away from Lee Jeno? Didn't she know that's what Jisung wanted anyway? He was only a tutor, and against his will at that. Jeno was the one responsible for any interactions between them.

It's not like Jisung wanted to be friends with Jeno, much less be in a relationship.

"Ouch," he hissed down at the reddening skin, as the soreness of the muscles pulsated angrily.

This wasn't the same as being dead in a ditch, but that possibility wasn't too far off base for the intent of this misdemeanor.

He sighed with closed eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "High school girls are crazy."

******

Jisung lost most of his appetite, and sat at the lunch table with only an apple in his hands. "I hate teenagers." He announced with a matter-of-fact tone as he took a bite of his fruit.

"Welcome to my world, baby!" Renjun ironically held up his hand in a 'rock on' gesture as he shoved a celery stick into his mouth.

Jaemin took notice of how Jisung was holding the apple, then he noticed the redness in the boy's hands. He grabbed the back of Jisung's free hand and turned it so the palm faced up.

With a small gasp, Jaemin gently ran a thumb over the raw muscle. "What happened, Jisung??"

"I fell." He shrugged nonchalantly, which made Jaemin furrow his brow. "Because some crazy girl pushed me."

The other three boys widened their eyes in unison. Jaemin paired his surprise with a louder gasp. "You're serious?"

"Yeah, then she told me to stay away from Lee Jeno," Jisung snorted, taking a bite of his apple with disinterest.

"Who?" Donghyuck was eager to match a face to the tea that was just spilt.

"I'll cut a b*tch if I have to," Renjun was ready to fight, and Donghyuck hopped the bandwagon.

Jaemin was incredibly taken aback. "Are you gonna report her?"

"Well, considering I didn't even see her face, I'd say no." Jisung really wasn't finding it within himself to care very much about this event. "It's not like I'm trying to get with Lee Jeno anyway. He was just mouthing off like he does and someone took it the wrong way."

"Tell him to stop, then!" Donghyuck folded his arms on the table.

"I do," The boy groaned in exasperation. "He's gonna end up indirectly killing me."

Renjun laughed, but Jaemin was still very concerned. His disappointed eyes looked at the jock, who was sitting happily oblivious on the other side of the room with a giant smile on his chiseled face.

Jisung's eyes also found Jeno, and he wondered if Jeno had any idea about his crazy admirers. Jisung scowled and looked back at his apple when Jeno started flirting with the girl next to him.

Nope, Lee Jeno was too dense.