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The morning bell sounds in the distance just as Jeongguk's taking his third or fourth drag, loud even from the hideout behind the school gym.
Well, 'hideout' being a loose term. It's really just a blind spot from security cameras and the rest of the school grounds, littered with crushed cigarette butts, greying gum and graffiti announcing all sorts of obscenities along the wall- all things he's added to by himself on the days his frustrations needed an easy destructive release and tobacco just wasn't cutting it.
He swears under his breath, wisps of angry smoking pouring out alongside it and he looks at the cheap cigarette in his hand disdainfully, eyes trained on the glowing orange embers peeling off into ash with each gentle gush of wind that rolls by.
What a waste.
He drops the stick to the ground, crushing it under the heel of his thick leather boots, worn-down and dirty from age and neglect. Then, he shrugs back on his blazer, brushing off the dust it collected from laying wrinkled on the ground and blows out the rest of the smoke from his mouth, waving it away impatiently with his hand so the smell doesn't stick to him so much.
He pops a piece of bright pink bubblegum in his mouth for good measure- strawberry flavored and almost sickening against the stubborn remnants of the cigarette. He doesn't do it because he cares if people smell the burning scent from his breath, though, but because, if he's honest, he hates the lingering taste of ash on his tongue.
Pretty ironic, really.
Jeongguk's lucky nobody's hanging around the gym building when he makes it to the front, most students probably already in their homerooms, and he's silently grateful he isn't going to get ratted out by any loser freshman this morning because fuck if he can be bothered with another damn detention this week.
He's already gotten two last week for smoking on school grounds- one of which Principal 'expulsion is imminent if you don't clean up your act' Noh actually phoned his fucking mom about without telling him.
That phone call earned him a ruthless couple of smacks from the woman who's much less bothered about the whole smoking thing and much more adamant on him at least graduating from high school and getting a certificate. A piece of paper so hard to get, yet almost worthless to someone like him, as tragic as that is.
As much as he's the epitome of rebellion, he also doesn't want to piss her off- she's scary when she flares up.
So Jeongguk's slightly more careful when he's smoking in school (old habits die hard), more aware of little stuck up snitches a head shorter than him with those ugly spectacles sitting atop their uglier noses. Rude, but he's never bothered being nice anyway. Honesty is the best policy, isn't what they all say?
He's nearing his homeroom, giving himself just enough time before Mr. Soong gets to class for first period, when there's a tap on his shoulder.
Now which little fucker is this?
He whizzes around, a scowl on his face he knows is mean enough to scare off some of the other kids. He doesn't want another detention for being late. The scowl deepens when he sees exactly who has interrupted him on his mission to get to class on time. Not just any little snitch, but the biggest fucker of them all who's always out to get him- Kim Taehyung.
Taehyung is everything Jeongguk isn't. He's vice-president of the student council, typical model student with straight As, teachers' pet, and the biggest busybody. And of course, he could have been the council president, but he said he wanted to give the opportunity to someone else. How benevolent.
All in all, Jeongguk absolutely despises him.
"What," he growls, narrowing his eyes at the other boy. If it was anyone else, they'd be cowering in fear from the death glare. But not Taehyung. The boy doesn't even so much as flinch, large chocolate eyes behind silver-rimmed spectacles set in a firm stare.
"Unbuttoned collar, Jeon. Detention later." Taehyung says, low voice smooth and even as he rips off a little detention slip from God-knows-where, handing it to Jeongguk. Jeongguk doesn't take the paper, doesn't even give it a look, glare trained on the older boy in front of him.
"And why should I?" He retorts testily. It never works- always backfires on him- but doesn't mean he can't try.
"Because," the elder starts, voice unwavering as always, "you don't want to be visiting the principal's office, again."
Jeongguk hates that he's right.
He snatches the detention slip with detest, gripping it to a point of almost crumpling it. He's tempted to squash it into a ball and throw it at the other boy.
"Also, you might want to try something else." Taehyung says, "Strawberry doesn't really cover the strong smell of cigarettes." Jeongguk hears the underlying mockery in his words.
As the elder turns around sharply, walking away to wherever he was originally heading to, Jeongguk grits his teeth in anger, balling the paper in his fist.
"Fuck you, Kim!" He seethes, hurling the crushed paper at Taehyung's retreating shadow. It falls weakly to the ground and, as if on cue, the bell rings again, echoing throughout the empty hallways.
So much for getting to class on time.
.
"He gave you detention for that?"
Jeongguk nods his head slowly, as if he can barely be bothered to even do that much, kicking his feet off the side of the building from the ledge they're seated on. The school grounds seem a hell of a lot smaller from up here, the entire city on display to wash it out, but, somehow, on the ground, it feels like miles stretch from the main building to the front gates.
He distantly wonders if he could use that as an excuse for his lateness next time, so he won't have to sit through another ten-minute lecture in front of the whole class about it. Not that it was even his fault he was late this morning.
Hoseok shakes his head, frustratedly, chewing the gum he mooched from Jeongguk earlier after the boy caught him about to throw it out. The strawberry is just as nauseating now as it'd been in his own mouth. He wonders how Kim could even smell the cigarette over a scent so overpowering.
"That kid thinks he's so damn great, doesn't he?" Yoongi murmurs, head tilted down at his phone like he isn't even listening in- but he never misses an opportunity to shit talk Kim Taehyung. He's got almost as many problems with him as Jeongguk has. Almost. Somehow, Jeongguk's always the one getting caught instead of him. Yoongi says it's because he's terrible at being sneaky, but he thinks Taehyung just hates him more.
He huffs in response, snapping, "Yes, he fuckin' does," knowing fine well that that perfect fucking asshole has a superiority complex that could rival Alexander the Great, just from how he walks down those damn halls like he owns them and looks at Jeongguk like he's dirt on the sole of his shoe.
Jeongguk's pride refuses to be wounded like that.
"God," He whines, irately, "I'd just love to kick him off his stupid pedestal."
Hoseok seems to perk up slightly at this, turning his head to him as his teeth sink into the bubble he's blowing. The gum deflates rather sadly- but his eyes flicker with something much much more alive.
"Something that would show him who's really on top, right?"
Jeongguk eyes snap briefly to Yoongi who looks just about as dubious as he feels before they drag back to the other boy, grinning mischievously at him, eyebrows raised like he's just begging him to ask what 'stroke of genius' he's suddenly had.
"I guess...?" He mutters, and before Jeongguk even has the chance to ask him what the hell he's so excited about, the boy leans in far too close for either of them to be comfortable, still smiling a little too maniacally as he very slowly repeats, "Show him who's really on top."
Jeongguk tries not to cough from the strong stench of strawberry as Hoseok leans back again, palms gripping the rough surface of the roof ledge, chin pointed upwards like he's just bestowed the greatest plan of the modern era on him.
But Jeongguk just stares, dumbfounded.
"You're... are you suggesting I-"
"Yes, he's telling you to fuck him, Jeongguk," Yoongi cuts in, harshly, like he thinks this entire exchange is taking way too long. "We all know you have a constant hard-on for him anyway. Kill two birds with one itty-bitty stone."
"Itty-bitty? " Jeongguk echoes, brows pinching together heatedly as Yoongi graces him with his undivided attention, glancing up from his device for all of three seconds to say, "You can't have it all, Gguk." Then, he looks down again, leaving Jeongguk to grind his teeth irately at him, but knowing better than to take the bait. Yoongi's second favourite hobby is to wind people up, right after his first favourite hobby of jacking off to the hot basketball team captain Hyung-sik's instagram page- so he just turns back to Hoseok, instead.
"How the hell am I supposed to get Kim Taehyung of all people to let me fuck him, huh? Especially on school property. "
Hoseok tilts his head at him, lips curling into more of a smirk than anything else now as he jibes, "So you do want to?"
Jeongguk scoffs, shifting back off the ledge of the roof to stand up again. He smooths out the wrinkles in his shirt, buttons up his collar (God, he feels like such a prude now), muttering, "I just want him off my back," but, of course, neither of his friends believe him, judging by their snickering. "I think I know how to get him there, anyway- since neither of you is any help."
"Hey, it was my plan," Hoseok grumbles, moving away from the ledge himself to follow the other boy as he prods, "But what have you come up with, Napoleon?"
Jeongguk folds his arms over his chest, tilting his head at him with one corner of his mouth turned up as he boastfully announces, "Two words, Seok. Hate sex."
Hoseok rolls his eyes at him, clearly critical of his conclusion, but to both of their surprise, Yoongi actually gets up from the floor to join their impromptu circle, telling him, "You know what... that's so stupid it just might work."
Jeongguk tries not to feel too offended at that.
.
"Hate sex, hate sex, hate sex," Jeongguk mumbles to himself as he makes his way to class after lunch break, his mind filled with nothing but the idea of getting back at Mr. Perfect. Sure, he's got an idea of what he wants to do, but that's pretty much it- a lofty idea with no actual action plan. If Taehyung isn't so pressed on stepping on his nerves so badly every day, he would have dropped the entire idea of getting back at him. It's too tiring to think.
He snaps out of his trance when he feels a familiar tap on his shoulder. Too light to be Hoseok (the boy prefers smacking him on the back), and definitely not Yoongi (who doesn't seem to like physical contact at all). That means...
"Jeon." The familiar velvety voice calls out. This time, Jeongguk no longer bothers giving the boy a stink eye when he turns around- it's not like Taehyung will be affected anyway. He simply grunts in reply, rolling his eyes as he crosses his arms, prompting the elder to speak.
"The headmaster is not in for this afternoon-" Taehyung says, and oh, does that mean there's no more detention? "-so I'll be in-charge of you during detention."
Oh, great. Of course, Lady Luck would not be shining on him.
Well, whether Noh's in or not, it makes no difference. Jeongguk still has to sit in the small room, filing old documents after old documents that should really just go straight into the trash bin. It's not like they have any more use of students' particulars from a decade ago, right?
Jeongguk makes a non-committal sound in acknowledgement as the other boy gives him a curt nod, turning around to walk away. The retreating back view, the sound of footsteps on the glossy floors, the emptiness of the hallway- it's all too familiar, and Jeongguk's suddenly reminded of his earlier anger and his brewing evil scheme.
"Wait!" He calls out, too loud against the silence of the hallways. Everyone has probably returned to class to prepare for afternoon lessons. "Is... is anyone else going for detention today?"
Taehyung quirks an eyebrow in curiosity, head tilting to the side, his fringe falling into his face, partially covering his wide brown eyes. He pouts a little, humming as he thinks, before saying, "No, just you."
Perfect.
"Just me?" Jeongguk repeats, feeling slightly giddy with excitement.
Taehyung offers him a smile, a peculiar rectangular-shaped grin, one so blindingly innocent Jeongguk almost feels bad. Almost.
"Don't worry Jeon, it'll just be like the usual detention. Nothing you're unfamiliar with." The elder says, patting him on the shoulder, smile still lingering on his face.
Jeongguk simply shrugs, holding back the grin threatening to split across his own face. He doesn't want to raise any suspicions, no one's ever happy to go for detention. "I'll see you later?"
Taehyung nods in confirmation, then turns to walk away.
Oh, sweet sweet Taehyung just served himself on a silver platter- but revenge will be even sweeter.
... wow, he's really gotten into Hoseok's whole 'evil mastermind' aesthetic, huh?