Love In the Ice

Foreword and Preemptive Warnings

Pairings: YunMin, YooSu, BoJoong (Boa and Jaejoong)
Warning: This contains male on male love. There are NO rating warnings on ANY of my chapters, so if you're squeamish about rape,abuse,suicide attempts or anything that may fall into the "I'm going to be squeamish about it" category. Push Main Index and pick a happier story.

Bottom Line: Don't like it , stop reading.

On February 18 in the midst of heavy hail, rain and thunder, the sounds of violence and agony evaporated into the raging storm and some silent soul was crying to sail away, even if their wings had been torn off in apathy and spite.
"Don't-"

Glass broke.

"Ever-"

Bottles rolled.

"Disobey-"

Bones broke.

"Me-"

Over the glass covered table he rolled.

"AGAIN!"

Halting in his own despair in the middle of the old wooden floor, he felt a single tear fall and his horrified scream of agony was lost in the rolling thunder and the depths of his sorrow.

It had always been this way, for as long as he could remember.

Lightning illuminated the innocent blood spilt over coffee tables, cigarette cartridges and empty beer bottles. No remorse to be shown, no guilt felt, no sympathy to give.

It had always been this way, for as long as they could remember.Considering that they were both drunk out of their usually deteriorating sanity, that wasn't long ago.

"Fucking ,kid!" The strong kick to the fragile body on the floor was answered by a she-devil's laugh and a pitiful outcry barely heard above the sadistic pleasure.

"Clean this shit up before morning, or you're really going to get it."

The man walked on top of the broken body dragging his wife in a passionate embrace up the stairs and to their shared bedroom. The body lifted itself slowly from the ground ignoring the glass digging into his face, side and hands and the blood rolling down his face. Hugging himself tightly to keep out the cold as he shuffled across the dirty, blood stained floor for the bucket and broom. Singing softly as he cleaned up the glass and drew an image with sixteen lines in the blood with his scared fingertips.

"Seng il chook ha hamni da..."

Sliding the broken glass bits into his hands ,

"Seng il chook ha hamni da."

Dumping them in the bucket,

" Sa rang ha nuen ge ji ni ye..."

That one tear fell into the bucket , the only one he could allow himself to shred...wasted on a hopeless and futile mission to fill the ever deepening bucket::his apathy, sympathy, empathy and frailty.

"Seng il chook ha hamni da..."

His voice drifted into the raging storm knowing that no one would hear him. There was no one around to hear his fall. By the time he righted the living room that was never used for living, he dragged himself into the bathroom - his bedroom- and fell asleep in the embrace of the cold faux marble of the tub.

But everything there was fake, even the things he believed to be true.

Still bleeding, still suffering and to his disdain, still alive.

Happy Birthday, he'd survived another day.

Peace. All he had ever wanted was peace. Peace and happiness. Peace in the midst of his labyrinth of chaos in which he couldn't feel. He ran for peace. He ran for that bright light shinning at the end of the tunnel. Away from the screaming, away from the yelling, and away from that obnoxious neighbor.

"Come on man! If we're late again Ms. HanMi will kill us! I'd like to live until lunch!" He said opening his bedroom door and kicking Yunho out of bed.

Yunho groaned waking up at the call and kick of his best friend in his room. He lived alone with no family to speak of , not anymore, and Park Yoochun (known to him as Mickey) was his alarm clock, because he lived across the hall. His alarm clock was complete with Kung Fu kicks and battle cries at six o'clock sharp.

'Rush to stores and get one today,' Yunho quipped as he lay on his bedroom floor face down tangled in his bedsheets, 'Before I smash them all to death.'

"Ah! Damn it Micky I'm up you didn't have to kick me off the bed!" He chuckled standing over the mostly naked boy.

"I know, it's just funny to see you fall off the bed like that." He glared at his best friend watching the retreating back to get dressed.

"How the hell does he always get in my apartment anyway?" Yunho muttered walking out throwing on his blazer. Halting at his bedroom door as a set of keys was dangled in his face.

"You gave me a set of keys remember..." Yoochun said smugly stowing the aforementioned keys in his pocket and walking ahead of Yunho. "Think fast!" He barely caught the package Yoochun tossed over his shoulder at him.

"You gotta eat on the way, lazy bum..."Yoochun said opening the elevator .

Yunho sighed opening the package and taking a large bite of the sandwich. If his morning start was any indication, it was going to be a long day....

"Where the hell are you going?" The stern voice of his father,legally, yelled at him. He froze turning to look down at his feet, fearing to look into his eyes.

"T-To s-school.."He said timidly. It was always this way.

"Here," His mother- in country law only- threw his book bag at him forcing the air from his already weakened body, "You'd better on time today. Go shopping. I want steak."

He nodded meekly bowing before leaving out the door and sprinting down the dirt road towards the end of Seoul's city streets.He wore his uniform, for the best school in Korea, Seoul Tech, located in downtown Seoul, as the pride of his life. If only all the bandages he had to carry everyday to school and the medication he had to pump into his system in order to not break down in agony would stop being necessary... He might've been a normal student going to school.

He reached the temporary safe haven that he transferred into a few days ago. He smiled despite of the pain that had not yet been eased by the painkillers he had taken that morning. He was a transfer student into the nearly impossible school to be accepted into let alone transferred into and he was a year away from college.

He could handle one more year of this hell if it meant freedom. He walked into the school looking around at its cleanliness and clear hallways looking for the office.

"Yoochun... I think we're early." Yunho said reaching the school and picking up his skateboard and glancing around the school grounds. Empty. Completely empty...

"For a change..." He interjected becoming distracted by a movement in his peripheral vision.

"What is it?" Yunho asked sensing Yoochun's high alert.

"Yunho who's the kid?" Yoochun asked directing Yunho's attention to the tall boy with shoulder length black hair messily falling around his face. His backpack was old, black hanging off his shoulder and he seemed to be lost despite wearing the school's uniform.

"I don't know..." Yunho said honestly, "Ya!" The boy froze turning slowly to gaze at the two. Yunho instantly registered that the left side of his face was covered by his thick hair and large eyes that looked bewildered.

"Who are you?" He looked around and then pointing at himself as if to say "Me?"

"Yes you, come here!" Yoochun said readjusting the strap on his backpack.

The boy came closer almost hesitantly, his head was down and when he was close enough Yoochun had to look up, much to his annoyance.

'Damn tall ass people...' He thought angrily.

Yunho was looking down on the boy, as he was a head taller than the mysteriously shy boy.

"Ya, what year are you?" Yunho asked, beginning the interrogation.

He didn't appreciate it when the kid looked down from his face as if he was going to slug him. He had been at Seoul Tech for three years and had never seen this kid. He supposed that he really couldn't know his entire class, decpite there only being about two hundred of them on campus.

"Th-Third Year...." He said softly. So softly that the two had to lean in in order to hear what he was saying.

"I've never seen you before..."

"I...I'm new."

"So that's why you looked so lost, odd time of the year to transfer kid.. Come on we'll take you to the office." Yunho offered walking ahead of him with Yoochun, expecting him to walk up with the them, instead the mysterious boy trialed behind in silence until they stopped in front of the school's main office.

"Here you go. See you later good luck kid." He clapped him on the shoulder and walked off.

The boy's shoulder was tense and there was a hiss of pain from the raven haired ghost of a boy. Yunho shrugged it off thinking that the boy was just too sensitive or he was getting too strong. He didn't think the kick boxing team was making his gain that much muscle.

'When coupled with fencing, basketball and everything else I do on the other hand...' He thought, maybe he was getting too strong.

"That kid was really weird don't you think?"Yoochun said glancing back at the boy walking into the office.

"Eh, we're at the top school in Korea. You think you're normal?" Yoochun punched him in the arm as they made it to class before the bell rang. Ms. HanMi smiled at the class.

"Now class, settle down. We've got a new student joining us today. Be nice to him. He's very shy..." The door opened but no one came in.

"Come on in..."She said with an encouraging smile.

The student was hidden behind the large gym teacher's girth but the top of his head was still visible. Tall and lanky, great another one to add to the collection of tall and lanky in the class.

"Mr. Lee that wasn't necessary...."She said with a derogatory stare.

He laughed nervously leaving the student beside HanMi. Looking down dark hair flowing over his face hiding his face from sight. He was more of what one would call "tall, lanky, pale and quiet' a deadly combination when placed in Seoul Tech. Despite it being the best school, that never stopped it from being a high school. With high school comes conflict and confusion and with that comes chaos followed quickly by despair broken heart and disintegrated sanity.

"Why don't you introduce yourself?" HanMi encouraged as the mysterious student turned towards the classroom, pulling on his blazer in a nervous fashion.

He had never been so afraid in his life.


Yunho and Yoochun glanced at each other. It was the boy from earlier. They were curious enough to pay attention but not curious enough to really care. Until he began to speak.

"Uhm... Hi... I'm Choikang Changmin...I'm uhm... a transfer I'm really uhm... shy...and uh..." His face was alight with embarrassment unable to meet the eyes of his class member and his voice was soft and musical.

"Please take care of me..." He bowed keeping his face down as the girls in the classroom already began to fawn over him.

"Oh he's so shy! How cute!" The guys on the other side scoffed at their fan girl tendencies and already despised the boy with thick dark hair and a quiet demeanor.

"Please don't hesitate to ask any questions Changmin... Why don't you take the seat next to Kwon Boa."

She raised her hand with a smile and he took the seat beside her. Boa was known to be the beautiful entertainer of the school. She was in everything : tennis, volleyball, the dance team, basketball, fencing, judo...the list went on.

"Hi, I'm Boa..."She said with a smile he shook her hand shyly.

"Changmin..."

She smiled as he turned to look up at the board and watch. He took out a notebook and opened the textbook. Writing , the silence between them comfortable and friendly.

By the time lunch came, Boa had managed to get a few sentences out of Changmin. Basic conversation of course, albeit stuttering and shy , but basic and functioning.

"How old are you by the way?" She asked as they stood in line. His dark hair still obscured her line of sight to his face. She had not yet seen what he looked like behind dark bangs.

"I'm sixteen." Her eyes widened, she had pegged him to be at least 17 with his height. He was the youngest junior in the school, "My birth date was yesterday."

She laughed softly earning a glance up at her, "Birth date? Don't you mean birthday?" He stayed silent.

No reply? She frowned as they walked together to the "Table".

The Table was the the center of popularity in the school. Of course Changmin the innocent bystander did not know this, sitting across from Boa. Yunho and Yoochun sat down at the table facing each other and looking over at Boa and Changmin.

"Ya, what are you doing at our table?"Yunho asked suspiciously.

Changmin flinched afraid of being hit and decided to stand and leave , rather than cause trouble or get hurt even more. He was no sadist nor was he stupid.

"Wait a minute Changmin-" Boa was cut off by Changmin falling to the ground after bumping into,"Jae..."

Kim Jaejoong and his brother Junsu stood there looking down at Changmin who wouldn't look up holding his arm as the pain ricocheted up and down his nerve endings. Fucking glass...

Why does the floor always have to be so hard? Changmin asked scoffing at the ground and holding his arm.

Jaejoong set his bag down and kneeled to help him up. Changmin had sworn that an angel had descended into his life. A soft blue colored the planes of Jaejoong's concerned and angelic face. Changmin almost blushed.

'Synesthesia?' Changmin thought.

He didn't know he had synesthesia. Why the hell hadn't it shown up earlier in life? Or maybe it had he had always been a little color blind. Thing had always seemed a little two gray, a little too dark. People sometimes were only one hue of gray. He figured he was just color blind. Unless this angel was really blue, but that would make him an alien and not angel. Then what about everyone else...maybe because he never looked at people directly and when he did they were usually just one color:gray

'Oh shit, what was I just thinking about?'

"Are you alright?"Jaejoong asked, bringing Changmin out of his own mind that wandered often and into the real world. Being the class president for three years straight -and being overly caring- gave him the nickname "Jae-umma" among his closest friends. The name fit him well considering that he was often the first person to call if something happened.

"I-I'm fine... Minahe..." Changmin said stepping back ready to run.

"Don't worry about it. Why don't you sit with us? What's your name?"

"Choikang...Changmin." He said nervously as Jaejoong smoothly pushed him back into his original seat across from Boa, who smiled at Jaejoong usual suave moves.

He was class president for a reason. Smooth , suave, caring and always smiling. He was the angel of the school.

"Ah, the new transfer student. I'm Kim Jaejoong, your class president.It's nice to meet you..."

Yunho shrugged.If Jaejoong wanted someone to sit with them , there was usually a good reason.

Changmin sat there unable to really understand what was happening. First Boa, invited him to eat lunch with her and now the class president was basically saying the same thing. What did he do?

"Aren't you hungry?" Jaejoong passed a lunchbox across the table to the over joyed Junsu,"You should go get lunch..."

"I ...uhm don't have any money."He said still sitting there, his hands in his lap face tilted down from view.

"Oh..."Jaejoong said digging in his bag, "Well then it's lucky that I packed an extra lunch huh?" He handed Changmin the container and a pair of chopsticks sitting it in front of him...

"Hyung, you always make extra lunches." Junsu said finishing his lunch and downing a can of tea, "Jae-hyung is like the Umma of our class."

"More like the school,"Yunho corrected finishing his lunch as well. Jaejoong blushed slightly.

"Shut up both of you." Changmin looked down at the container and back at Jaejoong.

"Go ahead and eat..."

"Are you sure? I don't...want to be a burden or anything..." Jaejoong raised an eyebrow and opened the container taking the chopsticks and fishing out food.

"Changmin, " he said sternly making his head snap up in time for Jaejoong to stuff food in his mouth.

Changmin's eyes widened at the flavor and his stomach, for once in a few weeks, reacted to the smell and taste of food, growling loudly.

"Eat, Jae-hyung is a really good...cook..."Junsu's voice died off as Changmin took the chopsticks from Jaejoong without needing to be told twice and ate as if he hadn't eaten in the weeks- in the months- in which he hadn't eaten.

He had never been so happy in his life. Before Boa had even finished her meal, Changmin had finished the lunch Jaejoong had given him, half of Boa's meal, and anything else the others were not willing to eat.

"When's the last time you ate?"Yoochun asked as Changmin finally stopped eating , placing a hand over his stomach and still hungry.

"I...I don't remember..." He said blushing a bit.

His face was no longer deathly pale and his natural tan seemed to glow with life: no longer a ghost.

"Is there....nothing to eat at your house?" Jaejoong asked worriedly. He always kept their apartment stocked with food simply because that was how they grew up. And if he didn't keep food in the house, Junsu sure wouldn't.

"No...not really...unless I go shopping," he replied still not meeting eyes or looking up as his mind and stomach silently added 'and unless you count broken beer bottles coated in blood with cigarette butts on the side, yum.' .

"What about your parents?" Jaejoong asked.

Changmin's eyes went dark with despair and there was no answer to be heard other than the rustling of clothing as he stood and his footsteps out the cafeteria.

"Minahe..."

"Changmin-ah! Wait!" Boa yelled after him chasing him out the cafeteria.

The remaining four guys looked at each other. Two in pure confusion, two in concern for Changmin and love at one another.

"He's a bit sensitive isn't he?"Junsu said looking at Yoochun.

"Maybe something happened to his family..."Jaejoong with a look of guilt , "I shouldn't have asked."

"I don't know that kid's kind of weird..."Yunho said, the bell rang for the end of lunch and the headed to their next class.

The only class they all shared: Home Ec.

"Changmin?"Boa asked, he looked down at her shaking his head as the class filled in. Home Ec a.k.a. cooking.

Changmin could definitely get used to this class. He had never had a class like this before at his other school, or any school he had attended before. They were baking today. Changmin had never had a Home Ec. class that required them to cook.

'Is this like a second lunch?' He blinked as the teacher tied a red apron around his waist and everyone followed suit.

"Choikang, you're with the Kims."He looked up walking over to Jaejoong and Junsu's station.

"You're making chocolate chip cookies today by the way. Get started..." Jaejoong's eyes were alight as Junsu just sat back watching his hyung mix the batter.

"Can... Can I help?" Changmin asked.

Jaejoong looked up unable to meet the dark eye behind the bangs, he was curious but smiled in lieu of asking questions that may have been uncomfortable to answer for his dongsaeng.

"Of course, why don't you mix the batter?" He nodded taking the handle and imitating Jaejoong's hand movements. He smiled indulgently at Changmin's concentrated face.

'Like a little kid...'

It was obvious enough that Changmin had won a special place in Jaejoong's heart. He already felt protective of the newcomer and wanted to know more.

'Before you know it he'll be called the long lost love child...'

He chuckled grabbing the chocolate chips and pouring them into the bowl as Changmin stirred.

"Make sure to keep an even hand..."

"Okay..." Changmin replied a soft voice.

Meanwhile, hell was braking loose between the Bo-Yo-Yu team. Boa stirred, Yoochun whined and Yunho nearly set their station on fire turning the gas oven too high with the door wide open so the flame nearly touched them.

"Yunho!" Boa cried slapping his hand away from the stove with her knee still mixing the batter, "Don't touch the stove. Sit down and shut up before you set us on fire."

Yoochun snickered as Yunho sat down with a pout.

"Shut up Mickey."He laughed turning his attention to the bored looking Junsu and the cozy almost mother-son scene taking place over the baking sheet.

"Wow, Jaejoong is already attached to Changmin...." Boa said from behind them with a slightly harsh tone.

"Jealous Boa?" Yunho asked earning a kick to his stomach as she continued to add in Chocolate chips.

"Say something Yunho?" Boa asked with a whimsical tone.

She could be very scary even when she was being very sweet.Mickey leaned down to speak to Yunho , curled up on the floor.

"Just say 'No' ." Yoochun suggested with a smirk as Yunho glared at the remark rubbing his stomach.

"What are you a drug commercial?" A shadow covered Yunho's fallen form and he looked up to see Jaejoong towering, for once in his life, over him.

"Fighting again?" He asked.

"Shut up Jae." Yunho stood up as Jaejoong walked over to stand beside Boa.

"I'm sorry they're causing trouble for you..." Jaejoong said, making her laugh.

"I'm used to it by now... What are you doing over here?"

"Changmin's putting the cookies in the oven. I have nothing else to do." She thrust the bowl into his hands.

"Help me then... I can't... I can't get it to thicken...." She said sadly with a slight pout that reminded him of his baby brother Junsu.

He smiled and stood behind her taking her hand to show her the motion.

"Partly because you have to stir like this...see?" She nodded silently content with some part of the lovely scene they made.

It was no secret to her closest friends, outside of Jaejoong, that she had been in love with the scarlet haired angel since their freshman year. IT had taken Yoochun five seconds upon seeing them together that she loved him. What had baffled he was how oblivious Jaejoong seemed to be.

"We were sailing along on moonlight bay~~~~..." Yunho and Yoochun sang from the corner and laughed when they turned to look at them with a glare.

Jaejoong armed with a spatula and Boa armed with the large spoon in her hand covered in batter a fierce 'say-another-word-and-I-will-slit-your-throat-with-this-plastic-utensil' look in their eyes and cold voice that sent shivers down the boy's spines.

"Mwo?"

"Nothing." They answered quickly glancing at each other. Boa and Jaejoong were known to have the worst tempers in the school and the best revenge plans in Seoul. If they ever team up in one revenge plot, they could probably have all of Korea bowing at their feet. They were just that scary. Nice, angelic, caring but oh-so scary.

'That's what makes them perfect for each other...' Yunho thought watching the interaction between the two.

From a friend's standpoint. It was obvious which direction their relationship was headed. Considering they were usually single around the same time, kicked each other's exes if they were ever hurt. It was especially obvious that Boa was in love with Jaejoong.

They just needed a little push. Glancing at Changmin and Junsu at their work station... Yunho got an idea. He tapped Yoochun on the shoulder.

"Ya?" Yunho met eyes with him glancing at Jaejoong and Boa and looking back at him.

Yoochun tilted his head questioning and then Yunho pointed at Changmin before glancing at the couple. Silent communication saved them a lot of time and trouble, a developed skill they were still developing. Yoochun smirked.

"Who said you weren't smart...." Yunho grinned proudly, "Oh wait that was me. Then I guess you're not smart at all." Yunho pouted a bit, his pride deflated and punched Yoochun in the arm.

"Jerk."

Class slowed to an end, the Kim Choikang trio aced the assignment. Bo-Yo-Yu trio did as well. And all the left over cookies were given to Changmin and Junsu , who seemed to have made quick friends once the subject was soccer.

Changmin didn't understand why but he liked Junsu., aside from the bright blue that was radiating from whatever body part of Junsu that Changmin could see, he had a good feeling about this. The laughs never stopped and they were friends before the end of the period. Talking as if they had known each other all their lives. All a bout soccer.

Junsu was the school's star soccer player, they called him "Speedy Dolphin" because of his laugh and his speed on the field. His hair was dark cut around his face making his face seem longer than it really was and still making Junsu look like a little kid. He also realized that all of the people that he had just met were older than him, making him the youngest of the group.

When he told Junsu of this and his love for soccer. The dolphin nearly flipped.

"Really, you're only sixteen? Why don't you join the soccer team then? We could really use some more players."

Changmin wanted to smile at Junsu's attention deficit when it didn't concern soccer but couldn't. It was the end of the day and all that awaited him at home was to make a dinner he couldn't eat and homework. He sighed changing shoes and walking out the school with his new... acquaintances.

"I don't know... I don't think they'll let me stay after school for that..." Junsu pouted, not wanting to see the happiness go away Changmin sighed.

"I'll ask."

"Really?! Awesome!"

"Changmin, your birthday was yesterday right? We should get you something."Boa suggested Changmin shook his head.

He didn't want anything nor did he had the time to go out with them for his own birthday if he wanted to make it to the next one.

"No It-It's fine. There's nothing really special about my birth date. I'll see you guys tomorrow...." With those trembling words he ran off , out of the school gates and away from safety.

"You think it was something we said?" Boa asked, Yunho shrugged in reply.

"That kid's just weird... I'm out. Gotta go shopping before I starve."

"Aish, Yunho, paboo..."Jaejoong began to scold him for his laziness and procrastination.

Yet was never able to finish because like Changmin , Yoochun and Yunho were fleeing the school grounds leaving him alone with his childhood friend and crush in an awkward silence.

"Jae-oppa, I think things are looking up." She said ominously, walking forward leaving Jaejoong to stare after her.

He was always watching her from afar, always watching her get farther and farther away. Farther and farther out of his reach... and all he could do was watch and do nothing because he was so afraid of what would happen. Destroy his friendship for a chance at love? He didn't think so. He wasn't stupid, he would rather have this unrequited love than loose her. She might as well have been his other half.

"Wait, I'll walk you home." He offered running to catch up with her and protect her on her journey home.

When had he become such a coward?

'Damn high school insecurities...'

Changmin checked his nearly broken watch he had thirty minutes to get home and cook before he would face the horror that were his angry parents....yet he lived an hour away and hadn't even gone shopping yet.

Why is god doing this to me?

He went into the grocery store his wallet in his backpack, rushing around the to gather the required items.

Steak. Steak. Su-teak, Suteki. Suteku.

He scoffed realizing his brain was chanting 'steak' so much as he waited in line for the register that he was crossing over language barriers for things that sounded like 'steak'. He sometimes wished he only knew Korean.

Finally reaching the register and carrying the several bags of groceries outside, stuffing them feverishly into his bag as he stumbled to the bus stop. Narrowly catching it and arriving to his house in the next hour.

'Please, give me break. Don't let them be home. Don't let them be home... '

His prayers were met with an answer.

'Finally,' he thought sarcastically stumbling into the house with his heavier than usual backpack and racing to the kitchen.

Who knew how long his "parents" would be gone?

He'd finished dinner, left it on the stove, peppered steak and rice as demanded, and receded into his bedroom: the bathroom. He crammed himself into the 'out-of-order' bathtub and began his homework and somewhere in his mind he was glad that his room was the non functioning bathroom in the house, in the basement secluded and always away from his parents...

'It's not as though they want to see me anyway...I've never been much more to them than a waste-of-space used for entertainment.'

He sighed his stomach rumbling, he ignored it.

Hunger : never anything new, nothing special, nothing out of the ordinary. He was always hungry, for as long as he could remember. He shrugged it off closing his text book and opening his notebook. He usually finished his homework early, that was never any surprise.

The front door slammed shut , there were voices and noises in the kitchen. But of course, no voices calling for him.

'For once I catch a break...'

He closed his eyes leaning back into the uncomfortable faux marble curves of the tub and slept. Peacefully, and unworried even as he felt the bandages around his torso stick to his skin reminding him of the pain that he was supposed to be feeling. He didn't care. He was making tentative friends , in this life that seemed to always be on the verge of ending.

'Let's hope tomorrow goes as smoothly...'

'I didn't think it was possible, but there is a God! THERE IS A GOD!' Changmin exclaimed in his mind, dropping to his knees and looking up; farther than the ceiling of the hallway, beseeching cosmic forces that must have existed somewhere , to which he owed many thanks.
There was a clause. A clause in the student handbook that would save Changmin's sanity until the end of the year, allow him a social life and a bit of normalcy. There was God who created this clause especially for this moment and had to be smiling down on him making a fool of himself in the middle of the hallway.This God given clause was the answer to his prayers. The Student Graduation Requirement clause of the student handbook required all students to take part in at least three teams or clubs every year, promoting well-rounded students and socialization amongst them.

Changmin didn't give a damn whether the clause promoted socialization or world domination he was just happy the clause existed. He had never been so happy in his life as he sat in the Principal's office having this explained to him and his "parents". They nodded in understanding and looked at each other, Changmin ,front and center, nearly bursting out of his skin with joy.

If he had to participate in school activities, three of them in fact. Then his school day was never over until about six o'clock in the evening, meaning he would get home about seven-thirty. He couldn't cook dinner for them anymore. Aside from that, he would have to be kept in perfect health because of the campus regular check ups, sport's physicals and things so they would be much more reserved in their abuse. No more broken fingers, with which he had to write; no more stuffing his backpack with bandages and textbooks to last him through the day; no more self-stitching in an uncomfortable bathtub with less than sanitary conditions; no more abnormality... well at least less of it.

If he knew the trade off that would occur because of this "god-given" clause... he would've transferred schools at that moment.

However, being blissfully ignorant of the torment that was to come,he was beside himself with joy as he walked to class. The classroom went silent with his entrance, they couldn't recognize him. His head held high, his hair still messy and covering him face, he looked....confident.He took his seat beside Boa who was the first to comment on the change.

"Changmin- ah~, something good happened today?" She asked he beamed at her.

A bright smile with perfect teeth from the shy angel was her answer, she couldn't help but smile back.

"The Student Graduation Requirements are nice..." He said grinning as the class bell rang and Trigonometry began. While math had always been his easiest class, he couldn't wait for his composition class, the only class he was a participant in all day. He was a child of many things, but his favorites had always been the liberal arts: music, literature, art...

"Hm... let's have you come up, Choikang," He looked up at the teacher, "Your records say that you were Number one in your class, I'm sure this problem won't be an issue for you...."

Boa smirked at Changmin's lost face. He hadn't been paying attention. She almost pitied him looking at the board. Before Changmin stepped foot into the school, Jaejoong and Junsu were top seeded for math. They were the best, and this problem at them lost. They who had the highest math scores in the city. What hope did Changmin have against this unsolvable equation, if the best of the best had no idea where to start?

But that was before Changmin came to Seoul...

"Do I have to stand up?"

"If you want to solve the problem..."The class laughed and he stood approaching the board.

He didn't understand what was so funny about his question: he could've just said the answer from his seat.

Then he realized, ' Oh yeah, they do the whole long sheet of work to get an answer. Forgot about that...'

Yunho and Yoochun snickering. They knew that Changmin had never payed attention in class. They doubted if he even knew where to began...until Changmin wrote:

X= 54b+sin78/tan-1= 0

Leaving the equation and answer in the smallest letters of the blackboard he walked back to his seat, sitting down without another word.

"Where's your work?" The teacher asked, astonished at the speed in which he answered it.

He picked Changmin because he thought he had not been paying attention. He thought that the boy was goofing off and had meant to humiliate him into paying attention. He hadn't meant to have the boy come up and know the answer.

He sighed, 'here we go again...'

"In my head," He answered for at least the millionth time since he could remember, since he was eleven, 'God , sometimes I wish I was normal...'

The teacher took out a scratch piece of paper to solve the problem: Changmin was right.

"How did you..."The teacher's voice was covered by the sound of the end of class and he began to pack his things, " I want to see you in my office after school Choikang." With that he walked out as the next teacher came in.

"I think he doesn't like the fact that you knew the answer... No one knew the answer not even Jae-oppa..."Boa said from beside him..

"It's my second day of school and already teachers hate me. Great..."He said sighing and laying back on his chair as the next class begin, his favorite: writing.

"Ya!Changmin-ah~ come sign up for clubs with me!"Boa called down the hallway with Junsu and Jaejoong.

"Hai-okay-"He covered his mouth realizing what he just said, 'Gotta remember I'm Korean...'

"Aish, minahe..." He said walking with them to the indoor gym, noticing their questioning looks.

Every club and team owned a table and position in the room. All the same size, all the same number of people, all with the same goal: making as many people join as possible.

"Come join us! We're the tennis team! It doesn't matter if you can swing or not: we'll teach you everything!"

'Ah, high school campaigning, may the best slogan win...' Changmin thought, reminiscing, as he walked around with Boa and Jaejoong, apparently they were supposed to be looking for Yunho and Yoochun first.

There was a time when he was a part of campaigning for club sign up. There was a time when he was normal, when he was pure and happy and innocent, untainted and clean. Though he could no longer remember the time, he knew there must have been a period in his life like that. If only he could remember...

"Min-ah~ over here!"

Awakening from his personal world, he turned at Boa's call and made his way across the gym to her. She was standing beside Jaejoong in front of Yunho. The banner over their head read , " Dong Bang Shin Ki."

"I don't understand why you can't let me join!" She protested, pouting at Yunho's stern features.

"You have your dance team. This is for guys only,"Yunho said, "For a reason, all the music we dance to is composed by us, written by us and all the dances are created by us. I doubt you want to do the type of dances we do."

Changmin came closer until he was within Jaejoong's clutching range and was immediately pulled towards the group.

"Changmin-ah~ why don't you join up? We need at least five people to stay open, and you'll be the fifth," Jaejoong said encouragingly,"besides you need at least three clubs before the end of the day, and we happen to have the most flexible schedule."

Changmin smiled at his encouraging words, despite his name already being on the list in Boa's handwriting. He felt warmth coming from them all, they were all glowing blue. Bright blue, bluer than the sky, bluer than the ocean, the strongest blue he had ever seen streaked in soft yellow.

Safety and friendship, happiness and joy: encompassed in these three.

'Three?'

It was at that moment that he realized that the sharpest hues of blue and yellow (aside from Yunho)- Junsu and Yoochun- were missing from the group.

"Aish, Junsu's probably with his soccer team-"

"Changmin-ah~!" He turned at Junsu's voice when he realized something odd. His tie was undone, his hair ruffled, he looked as though he had either just been wrestling some way or doing something he shouldn't have been doing in school... which one it was Changmin would ask later.

"Where have you been?"Jaejoong asked scolding.

"Hyung, I'm not a baby anymore,"Junsu said pouting then grabbing Changmin's arm, " Come on Min-ah~, you've gotta come sign up."

"Sign up for wha-" Changmin's words were cut off by Junsu dragging him away towards the soccer team's table,'Soccer, of corse.'

"Junsu, there's Yoochun..."He said and took notice of Junsu's blush and Yoochun's smile.

Predatorial and coveting: his eyes focusing on Junsu as they stopped walking. Yoochun's clothing seemed to have taken a beating as well, his shirt was wrinkled and out of his pants, no tie, shirt half buttoned; aside from all this, the satisfied smirk on his face preceding Junsu's inflamed cheeks gave them away.Changmin smirked at the realization, he thought Junsu was so pure...

"Yoochun, they're looking for you,"Changmin said.

"Okay,"He replied brushing his shoulder against Junsu's and winking at him as if Changmin wasn't there at all and walking away.

As soon as Yoochun was out of hearing distance Changmin asked, "You're dating Yoochun, aren't you?"

"Mwo?Weh? Wh-Why would you say that? " Junsu stuttered his reply. Changmin only smirked and neglected to mention that Junsu's eyes were turning green: the color of deciet.

"You eyes are lying..."Changmin said with a teasing smirk watching Junsu's face turn red.

" Paboo, let's go..."

Changmin allowed himself to be pulled along, knowing he was right the second Junsu couldn't look him in the face. Junsu was never good at lying. He knew that much. But how, in the span of a minute, did Changmin, a boy he had only just met, figure out a secret he had been keeping for three years?

'Aish, what is he psychic?'

Junsu glanced nervously leaving Changmin to sign up for the team, finally completing the roster and walked off from the fair. He was nervous. If he was that obvious, did everyone else know too? What would he do if Jaejoong found out that he'd been keeping this secret from him for three years....

"Aish, what am I going to do?"

Along with Junsu, Yoochun was the first in the group to realize that something was different about Changmin. He had the air of ...knowing, you could say. Knowing something everyone didn't, keeping secrets, and yet not knowing anything. A sort of other worldly knowledge and innocence as contradictory as that sounded, it was accurate. Changmin seemed to know enough about a world and nothing about this one.

'The kid's...interesting.'

The fair ended, the day ended with Changmin signed up for five different clubs to occupy his time. It was beautiful, flipping through the schedules he had been given from each of the clubs. Soccer, DBSK, Music, Creative Writing, and Basketball.

He chuckled at the basketball, Yunho had forced him to join because of his height. After he confessed that he had been on a basketball team before, Yunho was far too happy to accept- force- him onto the team. It was a happy feeling of being wanted and cared for.

He made his way to the Creative Writing Club room and when he opened the door he noticed something strange about the room. The room was in gray scale and pink, save one person: Jaejoong. In that sea of grey, black and pink Jaejoong was a blue beacon that noticed him first and waved him over.

"You joined this club too? I didn't know that..."Jaejoong said as he took the seat next to him, " What's wrong?"

Changmin peered around the room , unnerved by the colors. He knew black and gray were colors of danger and apathy but he had never seen pink before. For some odd reason, other than himself and Jaejoong there were three guys and they were all pink and black. His senses gave him a bad feeling. He didn't want to know why they were hot pink striped in black.

He hoped he would never find out.

"Alright everyone let's get started..."HanMi came into the classroom,the sponsor and instructor.

"Why do I have this feeling that...this isn't going to turn out very well?" Changmin muttered as she began speaking.

"Why do you say that?" Jaejoong asked opening his notebook.

"Aish, let's call it a second instinct..." He said and would say no more on the subject.

He would enjoy this class, this club, to the fullest because that was all he could do. It was the answer to his prayers. He wanted dearly to enjoy this, but the chill up his spine would not go away. He didn't want to find out why or what it was coming from.

Three pairs of eyes overlapped and watched him, from the moment he walked into the room, till the moment he left. Sinister eyes with only bad intentions for their prey. The three sets of deep obsidian watched in dangerous lust and wanting.

They would catch the dark angel alone one day, he was the answer to their sickest prayers.

Since your using this one now I'll delete the other thread, to prevent duplicates.

Forum Moderator

Thanks I have no idea how to use this thing. ^.^

Changmin sighed, somehow it was mid term exams already. The soccer tournament was coming up, he had a manuscript draft due tomorrow night by midnight for his creative writing club, he still wasn't eating outside of the lunches Jaejoong made him, basketball season was starting soon and DBSK was due to perform at the football game with two other school organizations the TRAX and Boa's dance group...
When was he supposed to study? He scoffed at the thought glancing around the library and stood. He didn't study for the test to get into the school, and he was in. He didn't study period. There was no point in it. He was getting a strange feeling again that came with being watched and left the library to run directly into a frantic Boa.

"Changmin-ah~ let me borrow your notes for trig!" He froze at this request, wondering how to explain this without sounding strange.

"Uhm... my hand writing's really bad. You wouldn't be able to use them even if I gave you my notes. You should get them from someone else..."

"You're lying, I've seen your handwriting. It's better than mine!" She said indignantly. He took her arm and pulled her away from the library door. He didn't need anyone listening to their conversation, the school already though he was freaky because of his tendency to switch languages in the middle of the conversation. He didn't think he'd ever live his Korean-Italian down in life. That on top of the fact that he didn't take notes for anything, especially trigonometry notes would definitely not help in convincing the school that he wasn't a freak. They arrived outside and he let go.

"What's the real reason you don't want to let me copy your notes?" She asked, crossing her arms and staring him down, she needed to study hard for her worst subject and Jaejoong was nowhere to be found.

"Promise me you won't say anything to anyone. It's embarrassing enough as it is...." Changmin said looking through is bag for the notebook labeled "Trigonometry" in small letters. He gave her the notebook and she flipped through it, he face become angrier and angrier.

"Mwo?! This is empty! You've gotta be kidding me Changmin-sshi. You really weren't paying attention. Paboo, how are you gonna pass mid-terms like this?"

"Boa, it's not that I don't pay attention in class... " He started, sensing her concern for him, " I don't take notes. Not written notes anyway. I have photographic and auditory memory."

She blinked, "You're lying."

"I'm not, sometimes I wish I was, but I'm not."
He wished that he didn't have such a die-hard memory, if he didn't he wouldn't remember everything that had ever been done to him.

"Really?" She asked skeptical, "Prove it."

"How am I supposed to prove that?" Changmin asked.

"Get a perfect score on the Trig midterm..."

"Fine, will you believe me if I do that?" She nodded, 'Then I have no choice then...That teacher is already suspicious of me...This can't end up well.'

The day ended on the soccer field. Yoochun sat in the bleachers with Boa, Jaejoong and Yunho studying for their midterms as Changmin and Junsu ran around the field trying to score a goal. In the time that soccer team practiced the two already earned the duo name "Blitz" because of Junsu's speed and Changmin's reflexes.

"Aish, I don't get this!I'm going to fail this stupid test!" Yunho complained pushing the book away and pressing his fingertips into the sides of his head trying to relieve the headache. Jaejoong shook his head at the boy pitying Yunho's inability to grasp math.

"It's because you're looking at the wrong page, paboo..."He said turning the page to the explanations on the other page. He turned to Boa who was watching Changmin run around the field with a far away look.

"Boa, is there something wrong?" She turned her head, the conversation with Changmin earlier weighing on her mind. If Changmin failed his finals, he would be thrown out of school. They had become close after the general awkwardness. She didn't want to see him fail. She smiled ,despite he concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Hyung~! I'm hungry, can we go home?!" Junsu called from center field with Changmin holding the ball in one hand and walking towards them.

"Practice over already?"Yoochun asked as the two changed shoes.

"Ah, coach is worried about midterms ..."

"With reason,"Yunho said with a downcast look.

Changmin said nothing, meeting none of their eyes as he slipped on his tennis shoes and stood prepared to go home. They all noticed his silence and looked up as he walked away not even bidding them goodbye.

"Is there something wrong with Changmin?" Jaejoong asked watching him go, "He's more quiet than usual..."

"I don't know, he hasn't said much all day..."Junsu said, "I wonder if he's nervous about midterms too... Maybe we should all study together..."

"Maybe, not tonight. Tomorrow is the first day of midterms. We need to relax, "Jaejoong said, " We'll ask tomorrow what's up with Changmin..."

Changmin stumbled into his house , down the stairs into the basement, into the bathroom his bedroom and collapsed into the bathtub. Exhausted and lightheaded, he felt the blood drenching his black t-shirt during practice and tried to restitch himself then, but he couldn't get a moment of privacy.

"The stitches broke again...so tired..." He never made another move to try and fix the stitches as his mind and body shut down for the night leaving him slumped over the bathtub's edge uncomfortably sleeping. If anyone saw him in that moment he would have never lived it down. The blood running down his chest and soaking his black t-shirt, tainting the pure white of the tub in scarlet.

He was wrong when he thought that the school requirements would keep him safe. They-his parents- got worse. Much worse, so much so he couldn't move sometimes and the amount of bandages he had to carry around during the day increased. It also got harder to do these things because he was a part of so many things and so many people now cared about him....

It was nice but troublesome. He awoke at three o'clock to shower and fix his stitches, take his medicine and make breakfast. He left the house before the drunken demons could even wake up. It was the first breakfast he'd had in months...

'Thank God for hangovers...' Changmin said opening the door to school before being pulled aside and into a room , slammed into a chair as the light turned on and he stifled his cry of pain at the rough treatment.

"Wha-What did I do-"He started until he realized he was surrounded by five familiar faces, all bright blue and worried. He exhaled his panic and looked at them.

"Ya, Changmin, "Junsu started.

"What the hell is up with you lately?" Yoochun finished , in true couple fashion.

"You've gotten even more quiet than before..."Boa said, meeting his eyes, " You can talk to us you know that don't you?"

"Arasso, we're worried about you Min," Jaejoong interjected.

Changmin was left speechless, he hadn't thought that they would be so concerned about him. He didn't think he was worth being concerned about...

"Minahe..."He said softly not meeting their eyes behind dark bangs. It had been about three months since he arrived and none of them had seen his face yet. His had always flowed over the face and his words were always soft. It was odd being friends with someone they could never really identify.

"I...I didn't mean to trouble any of you..."

"Trouble us?"Boa asked,"You're our friend we're going to worry about you whether you like or not. Be happy you don't have a phone or we'd be calling you all the time..."

He chuckled and the bell rang.

"Time for torture..."Yunho said stalking off to their classroom and the midterms they felt would be their undoing.

"I failed that test..."Yunho admitted as they got out. Mid-terms allowed them a week of half days and they all planned on using them to their fullest.

Changmin planned to take a trip to the hospital to get more pain medication and the others planned to go out for some fun.

"Changmin-ah, why don't you come with us?" Boa asked as they left the school grounds.

"Uhm... I've got something else to do sorry..."Changmin replied nervous, "I need to stop by the hospital."

"For what? Are you alright?" Jaejoong asked.

"We'll go with you!"Boa interjected, earning agreement from the rest of the group.

Changmin shook his head, "No... No. I'm fine. It won't take long. I wouldn't ask you to do that. I'm just...picking up some medication..."

"Are you sick?"Yunho asked finally joining the conversation, "What's wrong with you?"

"It's nothing...can we just..drop it...Please? I'll see you guys tomorrow..." They watched him run off to catch the bus, pondering over his words.

"You think something is seriously wrong with him?" Boa asked looking up at the other four.

"I'm sure whatever it is, he'll tell us in time." Jaejoong said ushering them towards their usual hang out spot, the pizza parlor that Yoochun's family owned.

"Let's eat , before we think anymore!" Junsu declared racing into the shop outrunning Yunho and the others.

Changmin arrived at the hospital with the doctor's note. He couldn't remember the last time he had been to a hospital bu froze hearing his name from some one's lips.

"Choikang, is that you?" He turned around slowly as the attendant handed him his medication.

Doctor Han BaeYun, cam around the corner in her pressed white lab coat and cornered him in the lobby.

"Doc-Doctor Han... what are you doing here?"

"Better question , what are you doing here?" She asked snatching the bag from him and reading its contents.

"Pain killers? Injured are you?" He looked down not meeting her eyes, "Well if you won't answer, might as well have a look come on Choikang, into my office."

He sighed he could never get away from her grip. She was the only person that had ever cared for him, like a mother would a son. He couldn't say no to the woman. He stepped inside her office and began to remove his clothing. It's not as thought she hadn't seen it all before.

"I see... self-stitched?" He nodded embarrassed as she unwrapped his bandages and looked over the stitches. "These stitches look well done. You could've fooled me."

She looked him in his eyes, seeing fatigue and malnutrition. The dark rings around his veiled eyes weren't hard to miss.

"You haven't been eating. Still living with those monsters huh?"

"Please don't call them that,"He said softly, "They're still my parents..."

"Arasso. You have a good heart Changmin... A very good one... I expect to see you back here next week so I can take out those stitches properly."

"Doctor...could you...not say anything about this-"

"A doctor patient confidentiality is unbreakable." She said as he pulled his shirt back on and she opened her drawer.

"Why don't you eat something? It's been a while since I've talked to you kid." He looked down at the sandwich in his hands and looked back at her.

"C-Can I really have this?"

"Have I ever given you anything that you can't actually have?" He didn't have to be told twice and dug into the sandwich as if it was his only meal for the day.

She knew it wouldn't be enough, but at the moment that was all she could give him. She smiled at his eating face, he seemed to be so strong for someone so young. Dealing with everything that had happened. The poor boy hadn't even suffered through half of it.
'Maybe his condition is a good thing...for now."

"Th-Thank you..."

"Aish, quite down,"She said shrugging off his thanks and checking her clock, she was off, "Why don't you tell me how you've been doing? What school are you going to now?"

"I-"

"Better yet, why don't we go out to lunch and you can tell me all about it?" He blinked in surprise before he was dragged out of the office, out of the hospital and down the street to a quite pizza parlor. He had never been in one as far as he could remember, but when she told him lunch was on her and the "All You Can Eat" special sign was up, he couldn't refuse the date with his doctor.

For once since arriving in Seoul, he felt normal. Talking to someone about the weather, new medical treatments, stitching patterns, school life, etc. He felt maybe life wasn't so bad. They arrived back at the hospital to grab his bag after his stomach was full and she was due back to the hospital.

"I expect to see you at my apartment every morning here after, before school...."

"But I-"

"No buts. I take it that you won't officially go to the hospital and no way am I going to trust you, Min-agiya, to take care of yourself in this state. Besides, you could use breakfast." She said cutting off his argument and daring him to say something.

He sighed in defeat and nodded. Happy that she cared enough to force him into such predicaments and a little annoyed. Puffing out his cheeks in indignation he said, "I'm not a baby, " and left her laughing at her desk.

Changmin had never ceased to make her laugh, with his witty comments, bright smile and snarky remarks. Sometimes he really felt like the son she never had....or rather never could have. She sighed turning back to her desk looking at the photo of Changmin at six years old with her at the beach. He hadn't changed one bit, despite everything that had happened...he hadn't changed one bit.

'Still as cocky as ever...'

By the end of finals week, plans were made , tests were over and results posted. As Changmin walked into school , after bidding goodbye to his pseudo-caretaker. He was rushed at by Boa and pulled into a crushing hug, that pushed at the boundaries of his pain tolerance.

"Boa, you're hurting me!" He cried, in all seriousness, "Why are you in such a good mood?"

"Don't tell me you don't know!" She said looking up at him, he shook his head.

"Oh my god, come on! You have to see this!" And without an explanation pulled him to the result boards through the crowd of students surrounding them, "Make way! Make way! Move!"

The crowd cleared and backed up.

"I passed and we're trying to find out who this guy is..."Boa started off and was interrupted by Yoochun.

"Yeah, whoever he is. He's making us all look bad." Changmin raised an eyebrow looking through the results and froze, the grades were marked with their security codes. He'd had his memorized for years. he knew it on sight.

'Uh oh...' He'd done it again, 'I knew I shouldn't have let myself get carried away.'

"What's-" The bell rang cutting off Boa signaling the start of classes and he could swear he'd caught a break. How was he supposed to explain that...well. .. he'd basically aced all his mid-terms with perfect scores, without studying and note taking?

Exactly, he wasn't... Who would believe him?

Exactly, no one.

"Everyone, I'd like to announce the high scorer...."His trigonometry teacher started with a suspicious glance in Changmin's direction. " 100% goes to Choikang Changmin."

He winced, and wished that his name was anything except that. Boa was looking at him with wide eyes. He was the one. The one that topped in all classes... The guy , as Yoochun put it, "made everyone look bad".

There was no clapping that accompanied the announcement as classes went on. His english teacher gushed about his mid-term paper and actually hugged him.

"It's so beautiful! So wonderful!Where have you been for the last three years?!"She exclaimed nearly crushing Changmin as the bell rang and the principal's voice came on over the intercom.

"Choikang Changmin, please report to the Principal's office after school. Choikang Changmin please report to the principal's office immediately after school."

He hung his head as the day continued. Suspicion or joy, it just depended if the teacher liked him or not. Anything that was straight forward was met with suspicion. His liberal arts classes were met with joy and praise. He'd actually tied with Yoochun for first spot in Music, but that didn't stop the generally suspicious aura from the group.

In their minds, there was no way he did it without cheating. Changmin didn't really pay attention in class, at all. Most of the time he was writing things that had nothing to do with the class at hand , drawing things that didn't resemble notes of any type. Even Jaejoong, who had to attend the meeting after school, was suspicious of it all.

"Ya! Changmin,"Yunho called glaring at the boy. Changmin stopped in his tracks as he was surrounded by the five. All of them giving him looks of suspicion.

"What the hell..." Yoochun started, " unless you're a genius, you freaking cheated. Perfect scores in everything? Bullshit!" Yoochun grabbed him," What the hell did you do?"

"Yoochun let him go, you're scaring him!" Boa said pushing Yoochun off of him. Changmin , though being in a state of shock, did notice that none of their colors changed...They actually seemed to get stronger in an overpowering blue. They were concerned for him, they would not hurt him, some part of his mind changed his panic at Yoochun's anger and calmed himself down.

"We'd better go,"He said to Changmin," Wait for us."Jaejoong instructed leading Changmin to the principal's office with all his school books and things.

He'd only been there a week and of course he was in danger of getting kicked out again. He sighed taking a seat at the end of the table, his teachers and Jaejoong on the other side. He had been in this place before, getting ready to be expelled for cheating. The seating arrangement seemed to be in an heirarchyJaejoong was the closest, seeming to be a type of mediator and the teachers were on opposit sides of the table leaving the empty head seat directly across from him. He wasn't surprised to see all of his core subjects on one side and his electives on the other. The principal of the school walked in, a lady he had never seen before, and took the head seat.

Tall for a woman dressed in professional black and a short bob hair cut. She took the seat directly across from him, looking at him with curious eyes. He was just as curious about her.

'Why is she yellow?' Changmin thought tilting his head.

All his other teachers were gray, pure gray. Jaejoong and the Principal were the only colored being in the room. It was odd considering that he had never met the woman before. Yellow, she was colored yellow as if a child had tried to color of her in a coloring book, messy and chaotic, but effective enough to be recognized.

No one had ever been colored that way before...except Doctor Han who was also yellow.

"Good evening , Changmin. I'm your Principal Shim BoMi. How are you?"

He could only look down unable to meet her eyes, even though he knew she couldn't see his face. He was nervous and scared, he knew why he was here and he expected it. He had even sabatoged some of his work so as not to come to this result, but of course intelligence just can't be cloaked.

"I-I'm fine..."

"Nervous?" He nodded, earning her kind smile, she sat back contemplating him, "You should be."

"Let's cut to the chase, "His trigonometry teacher finally said snatching his backpack, which sent tendrils of alarm through Changmin as he snatched it back hugging it to his body. His head burried in the fabric of the old bag.

"Give me the bag, I'll prove to you he cheated. There's no way !" His trig teacher said, his voice fading as he registered the glares he recieved for Jaejoong, BoMi, and HanMi.

He sat down without another word. He was a math teacher: three to one was never good odds.

"Control yourself, and let Changmin explain himself."BoMi said turning her eyes to the now shivering and scared Changmin, "Changmin could you give us your notebooks for your classes please?"

He opened the bag, shuffling aside the rolls of bandages and medical supplies to pull out all the papers from his bag. Every handout, all his textbooks and his notebooks, sliding them across the table and curling into the chair in fear.

This meeting would not end well he could feel it.

'Great I'm going to get kicked out of school... damn memory.'

"What the hell... you think this is a joke?" His trig teacher asked throwing the notebook down, realizing it was empty.

"Changmin, this is not helping your position..."BoMi said flipping through all the notebooks. Empty, except for the one unmarked one, all of them empty. Jaejoong hadn't taken his eyes off of Changmin.

"This isn't a joke..."He replied softly, "This is what I carry around to all my classes..." He said.

"Give me the bag, " The ever persistent man said, holding out his hand. Changmin shifted his seat away from him, clutching him half empty bag to his chest.

"Changmin-ah, give him the bag. Mr. Jun, control yourself please." BoMi said. CHangmin resigned his fate and handed over the bag.

Mr. Jun opened the bag and dumped it's contents on the table. A medicine bottle, half filled with strong painkillers, rolls of bandages, a first-aid mini kit with organic thread, and a jar of a green substance marked "Naoru", something only Changmin could understand.

"What all this?" Mr Jun asked, angered.

No other papers were to be found in his backpack. Nothing else to clear or condemn his name.

"Changmin, why do you think you're here?"BoMi asked ignoring the pile of medical supplies on the table and the old backpack, the problem at hand was the cheating incident not the fact that the boy seemed to carry half a hospital in his backpack.

" You all believe that it is impossible for me to have scored perfectly on all my exams without cheating." He answered, he wasn't stupid.

"Did you cheat?"

"No."

"Liar!" Mr. Jun accused,"Never once in all my time of teaching has a student done so well on my exams. Not once. Am I supposed to believe that this kid, who is half a semester behind in his classes and doesn't pay attention in class at all, scored perfectly on my exam? "

"You are expected to sit down, and listen to what the boy has to say."BoMi said, with a commanding voice putting him in his place, "Please continue Changmin."

"I didn't cheat... I don't know what you want me to say?"

"Why don't you start with, why your notebooks for classes are empty."

"I don't take notes,"he answered.

"Why not?"

"I don't need them."

"What do you mean?" He sighed scooting up to the table to rubbing his now stinging eyes.

"I don't need notes. They don't do anything for me."

"Why not?" Mr. Jun asked, annoyed with Changmin's arrogance.

"Look, if you believe that I cheated then make me take the test over again. But you're invading my privacy and showing complete disrespect. I'm innocent until proven guilty, and since you can't prove me guilty: I'm innocent." Changmin said, finally raising his voice to an audible level and glaring at Mr. Jun.

"I know you don't like me because I answered that question in class. I know that. But that doesn't give you the right to abuse your power as a teacher and harrass me, "Changmin said crossing his arms and earning a smirk from BoMi.

"He has a point..."

"You can't be seriously thinking of letting this punk off can you?!"

"Unless you have evidence to prove him guilty..." BoMi said, "None of you here do. You can't cheat on an essay, outside of plagirising. You don't even have a test key for your tetst, and you waited until the morning of the exam to print out the exam. At what time would he have to probe your brain and collect the answers that weren't even created until you started grading?"

She paused for his answer that was not forth coming at all and continued," Exactly, never. So as far as I'm concerned. We've gotten a very smart student on our hands."

"It still doesn't make sense,""He sneered at Changmin, "He doesn't take notes. He can't study. There's something missing here..."

"Would it help end this meeting, if I told you my memory's non-conventional?" Changmin said from the end of the table.

"What do you mean?"Jaejoong asked, finally joining the conversation.

"I store things differently. I don't know why, I just do,"He started, annoyed that he had to explain the working of his mind to them.

He didn't like explaining it, because the resulting name was always the same: freak.

"Explain,"BoMi said curious, she knew Changmin enough to trust his words.

A few year as a military investigator and interrogator allowed her the sixth sense of a lie detector for the people she was interrogating. Changmin had been telling the truth.

" Imagine yourself as a video recorder with infinite memory and the ability to cut the footage that you store,"Changmin said thinking of the simplest analogy, "that's my brain."

"You mean you have photographic memory..." BoMi said, "and auditory memory...."

He nodded.

"Prove it,"Mr. Jun said, skeptical. Wanting to nail him, "Prove it."

He sighed, " Page 2, Section 4 of the Student Handbook states that all students are required to participate in three school clubs or teams every year. If a student fails to comply they will not graduate."

"Is he right Jaejoong?" BoMi asked, Jaejoong who was looking through the school handbook and nodded.

"What was the first thing I said, when I entered the classroom?" HanMi said, "The first day you had my class."

" 'Romeo , Romeo where for art thou Romeo. Deny thy father and refuse thy name. What is in a name? A rose by any other name woulld smell as sweet- unfortunately we will not be reading this sappy excuse for love story. We'll be reading MacBeth...' " He said recalling that moment, and his inner laughter at the joke.

"Is he right?" HanMi nodded amazed, a student that remember everything that she said...

"Well than, this meeting is over,"BoMi annoucned standing and leaving being followed by the other teachers as Changmin stuffed all his belongings into the old backpack, he'd had it since he was eleven.

"Changmin-ah,"Jaejoong started. He didn't turn around at the call, "Are you alright?"

He'd only asked because of the boy's obvious fear, switch in attitude and the midical supplies he kept with him.

"I'm fine,"He replied zipping up his bag and turning to leave the room.
He was stopped by the four at the door.

"So,"Yoochun said questioningly looking at Jaejoong as Changmin left the room, pushing past them.

"He didn't cheat..."Jaejoong said watching him go.

"Ya, Changmin!" Yunho called.

The boy stopped walking, feeling the anxiety in waiting for what they would say.

"Changmin-ah~, I didn't know you were a genius!" Boa said running for him and tackling him to the ground hugging him. " You have to help me with my homework now!"

He sat up groaning as Yunho thrusted his hand in his face to help him up.

"She's right you know, you have to help us pass our classes now..." He blinked and smiled almost , taking the hand before him and smiling.

They were just worried about him, they didn't want him to be kicked out of school. They really were his riends it seemed.

'Well, maybe being a freak isn't so bad. I made some good friends...'

He chuckled at the thought as they headed out the school and downtown for a meal and relaxation. It was the most normal day he'd had since he was eleven.

---

A/N:

If you don't want to read the story like this. This is the link to the story, that I post on winglin.net.
(I am the same person by the way)

http://www.winglin.net/fanfic/BLV13/