Chapter Text
“Mr. Edwards.”
Another day, another nag from the teachers. The day wouldn't be complete without Martin’s name being mentioned a hundred times as the teachers complained about how disobedient the blonde boy can be.
The said boy didn’t budge and continued drifting into dreamland, headphones still on his head. His head was down on the table, face buried in his arms, not caring about anything.
The teacher—Mrs. Johnson had enough of the boy’s antics and snatched the headphones from his head. That action made Martin startled, he groaned and looked up only to see Mrs. Johnson’s gaze drilled into him, the latter gulped and quickly rambled, “M-Mrs. Johns, what’s up—”
“Martin Edwards Park.” She said flatly, too disappointed. Before Martin could open his mouth to spit out some nonsense excuse, Mrs. Johnson beat him to it, not giving him the chance to speak.
“This is the fifth time that you have fallen asleep during my class, Mr. Edwards. Not to mention using headphones while there are teachers in the front.” She sternly said, eyeing the boy in front of her from head to toe.
Shit, here we go again.
Martin took a breath to compose himself, already preparing for his teacher to call him out and give him detention. Over the past few days, he had been frequently sleeping during his classes because of an upcoming school event. And no, he wasn’t helping preparing for it—his band was playing at the event. And Martin took music very seriously, so the band rehearsals were killing him.
As he braced himself for the worst, a certain classmate caught his eye. At the corner of the room, sitting perfectly straight at his desk, was Kim Juhoon—the student council president, the school’s sweetheart.
Everyone liked him, whether it was the janitor or the teachers; they all adored the golden boy—everyone except Martin, of course. He’d hated his guts since seventh grade, and judging by the way the brunette rolled his eyes at him, the feeling was clearly mutual. Martin’s brows knit together at the sight.
Did he see that correctly? Did Kim Juhoon just roll his eyes at him? What the fuck is genuinely his problem? He knew how stuck up the boy can be, but rolling his eyes at him is basically calling for war, which started basically at high school.
“Mr. Edwards! Are you listening!?” Shaking his thoughts away, Martin looked back and nodded. “Yes, Mrs. Johns.” He casually replied, as if he was listening.
“Did you really? Then, tell me. Repeat what I just said.” She spat, and all Martin could do was close his eyes. The boy was too tired to even care, if he was gonna get detention, might as well accept it. At least, he can get away from this suffocating class.
Mrs. Johnson was already fuming, and seeing the boy in front of her not responding just made her rage. She inhaled, “Mr. Ed—”
“I’m sorry but I can guide Mr. Edwards to the assistant principal, Mrs. Johnson.” A gentle yet responsible voice interrupted, both Mrs. Johnson and Martin whipped their heads to the voice’s direction.
There stood Kim Juhoon. Hands placed in the front to display respect, his uniform clean and neatly ironed, the student council’s band wrapped in his upper arms tightly. Martin couldn't help but scoff, just great. “Here comes the teacher's pet. I can go there myself, for your information, Mr. Kim.” The blonde boy muttered, earning a look from Juhoon and Mrs. Johnson.
“Mr. Edwards, I need you to stop. And Mr. Kim, that would be great. I don’t trust him going there by himself.” Mrs. Johnson smiled sweetly at Juhoon, clearly appreciating the offer.
Hearing the teacher agree, Juhoon stepped forward with a polite smile. “Thank you, Mrs. Johnson.” He bowed slightly before lifting his gaze to the troublemaker standing in front of him.
“Now, if you don’t mind, please follow me. You’re disrupting the whole class.”
Martin clenched his jaw at the statement. He wasn’t about to take that kind of disrespect. He bent down, emphasizing the height difference between them to piss Juhoon off, and whispered, “I’m sorry, Mr. Perfect, but I can go there myself.” He stood his ground, refusing to let Juhoon step over him. He was Martin Edwards Park—He was not letting some goody-two-shoes control him.
Juhoon’s ears twitched, “Listen, if you don't want to get in trouble any further, then you need to listen to me. You must've forgotten that you're talking to the student council president.” He enunciated every word, making sure the point landed, and gently pushed the latter away.
Martin clicked his tongue, he couldn't care less. But with his life at stake, he couldn't do anything about it. and this sure is making him pissed. He had no choice but to obey. Seriously, what is this guy’s problem?
As they headed their way towards the principal's office, silence engulfed them. With Juhoon walking a step ahead and Martin resisting the urge to scoff at how ridiculous the situation was. The sound of their footsteps echoed through the hallway, each clack against the floor only adding to the tension. The silence ticked Martin off—it was awkward, and he hated every second of it.
But Juhoon suddenly stopped, making Martin come crushing on him. This confused the taller boy, “What? Suddenly forgot where the principal's office is?” Clicking his tongue again, he has no time to waste.
“You're not wearing your uniform.” Juhoon informed, staring at Martin’s long-sleeve white polo, with no uniform in sight, also glancing at the boy’s messy hair.
“So?” He flatly replied, clearly unfazed. This made Juhoon shake his head in disbelief. “You need to wear it, I'm taking you to the principal's office, not detention.” He stated, earning a huff from the boy.
“Guess what? I don't care at all! Let's just get this over with.” He complained, Juhoon just stared at him and rolled his eyes again. That action made Martin fume, “Hey, I know you don't like me, and the feeling’s mutual, but watch your pretty eyes, Mr. President. You don't want to wear an eye patch.”
Huffing, “Well, if you didn't have to be so annoying, then I wouldn't have rolled my eyes at you, Mr. Edwards.” Juhoon's voice dropped, flat and cold. Clearly annoyed as well.
“Just mind your fucking business, then. I’ll go to the principal's office myself.” Martin purposely bumped his shoulder against Juhoon’s as he passed, earning a scoff muttered under the boy’s breath—irritation flashing across his otherwise composed expression. Biting the inside of his cheek, Juhoon watched the blonde walk away. After a moment, the brunette composed himself, letting out another scoff as he straightened his uniform, the weight of defeat settling heavy in his chest.
That rebellious boy will surely be the death of him.
🎸
“I just don't get it! He's always up in my ass!” Martin complained, throwing his body onto the club’s room sofa. He was back from the cleaning duty the assistant principal had given him, which was cleaning the boys bathroom, and it honestly traumatized the poor boy’s eyes.
“We seriously need to vote him out as the president.” He added, massaging his temple to keep himself calm. The two boys in the band looked at him, unfazed. “I doubt that’ll happen, I mean, his father is the principal.” Seonghyeon, the band’s bassist remarked. The other boy also agreed, “There also isn't any other person to be cut out for the position.” It was James—The band’s drummer, also the oldest.
Martin jolted from the sofa to look at them, disappointed. “You both are supposed to be in my team! And what do you mean no one is cut out for the position.” He eyed James and clicked his tongue. “What about me! I am responsible and I am surely better at handling things than him!”
That statement made the boys cackle at how delusional Martin is. “You? Bro, ain't no way you're saying that. You're basically at the bottom and he’s all the way at the top.” Seonghyeon sat beside him and bit his lower lip to prevent himself from laughing too hard.
“Excuse me, I am smart. I just don't care about academic stuffs.” The blonde boy said. Which was actually true, Martin is smart. He has potential, but he doesn't use it for school. “I mean seriously, what did I ever do to him? He's the one who fucking ruined my life since seventh grade. And not to mention how he stole my girlfriend.”
Yes, Martin’s beef with Juhoon started way back in seventh grade, where Juhoon publicly embarrassed Martin in front of the whole class.
Reading Martin’s diary page, and telling it to the whole class. Martin knows that they were immature back then, but the embarrassment stuck with him for the rest of his life. And the “girlfriend” thing? Well, his girlfriend in tenth grade broke up with him and the next day, she was seen with Juhoon.
That was the turning point of Martin’s life. And since then, his resentment towards Juhoon has only deepened.
“Yeah.. Forgot about that. He sure is insane for doing that.” Pressing his lips into a thin line, James sat down next to Martin. Attempting to comfort the sulking male, he placed a hand on the blonde’s boy back.
“You know what, let’s put this aside, I'll deal with him later. Let's practice for now.” Martin got up and picked up his electric guitar, tuning the amplifier for his guitar.
Both Seongyeon and James looked at each other while shaking their heads. No other choice, they implied and went to their instruments. Martin always prioritizes the band, they knew that.
Martin struck the strings harder than necessary, the sound sharp and loud, drowning out everything else. The boys noticed it but pretended they didn't—this was Martin's way of coping. Music really is Martin’s escape.
The blonde male had only one thought in his head.
Kim Juhoon.
Just the thought of his name made his jaw clench. He didn’t care if the whole school adored the “perfect” male—Martin would never. Not after everything.
He swore to himself then and there: no matter what happened, he would never let Kim Juhoon get in his way again.
He had no idea how badly that promise was about to be broken.