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aseplant · 2 years

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some high school au drawings that i don't think i'm ever gonna finish haha... but i figured i'd post them here so they'll stop marinating in my drafts at least P:

some scenes from the incomplete fic below the cut ✨

------

It takes a moment to realize Ruth has stopped beating him. Kaizan’s hand is on his shoulder, and Nagyunn glances up to see Tyr standing in the doorway.

He’s seen them, of course. It’d be impossible to miss them in the otherwise empty classroom. He doesn’t look surprised to see Ruth and Nagyunn in this position, Kaizan looming over them stoically, but how could he be? The things that go on in this place when no one is looking are an open secret.

“Hey, class monitor,” Ruth says, his grip on Nagyunn tightening nervously, even as he greets Tyr with a blustery tone. “We’re just playing. You know.”

Tyr inclines his head briefly, considering.

“Yeah, sure,” he says after a moment, moving past the doorway to his locker. “Whatever. Don’t take it too far.”

Ruth’s nervous smile morphs into a leer. He turns back toward Nagyunn, fully reassured. “Aw, look at that. Even the class monitor knows you’re just getting what you deserve.”

From the corner of his eye, Nagyunn watches Tyr retrieve his English textbook and leave without a backwards glance.

It’s not betrayal, really. That would imply he expected something from Tyr in the first place.

He hasn’t expected anything from his peers in a long, long time.

------

Najin and Lauzun appear by the school gates after about twenty minutes, back from cram school at last.

“Gyunn-ah!” Lauzun waves a hand eagerly as they approach, still energetic despite the long day and the late hour. “The teacher says my reaction speed improved a lot! I think your pointers last week really helped.”

“See, hard work pays off even outside of studying,” Nagyunn bullshits with a straight face as he falls in step with them. Truthfully, he has no idea how his advice helped when he’d mostly invented ludicrous training exercises to get Lauzun to leave him alone, but sure, whatever works.

“…You gave him advice?” Najin pouts. “What about me?”

Nagyunn gives him a playful shove. “What advice could I give you about gaming that you don’t already know?”

“It’s not about the advice, it’s about the principle of the matter,” Najin pretends to whine. “Are you showing favoritism? You like Lauzun better than me, is that it?”

“No, Jin-ah, don’t say that, Nagyunn would never,” Lauzun says earnestly.

------

He sets down the bags in his right hand to fumble for his keys, then checks his phone as he pushes open the door—no new messages from Najin and Lauzun, which means they’ll probably be home for dinner. They’re probably still out with friends for now, though.

He slides his phone back in his pocket. Alright, produce in the fridge, and then, ah, someone forgot to turn off the lights on their way out this morning, and—

Marsha. Is. Straddling. His. Brother. On. The. Sofa.

“…Hi, Nagyunn,” Najin says sheepishly, cheeks flushed and Marsha’s hand frozen halfway up his shirt.

Nagyunn calmly sets down the groceries and walks back out.

The front door falls shut behind him. He sits down on the steps, has a brief scream into his hands, and then recollects his composure.

“My eyes,” he tells the empty air forlornly.

Marsha storms out moments later, fully dressed and hair hurriedly finger-combed back into submission, her cheeks still an angry red.

“You have the worst timing,” she snaps at him.

He thinks this may be the only thing they’ll ever agree on.

------

Ruth’s face darkens. “Who—”

“The history teacher is looking for you,” the boy from the stairwell says, unreadable gaze directed toward Nagyunn. “Come.”

Nagyunn glances at Ruth. His expression is stormy, which doesn’t bode well, but Kaizan, ever the voice of reason, tells him, “Hey, look, if the teacher’s wants him we should probably lay low…”

Ruth grits his teeth.

“I’m not done with you,” he warns Nagyunn.

But he does release him, which is good enough for now. Nagyunn forces himself to his feet as the boy from the stairwell turns and starts heading for the teacher’s room, not bothering to check if Nagyunn is following. His friend throws a curious glance at Nagyunn over his shoulder, but says nothing as Nagyunn scrambles to catch up to them.

They walk to the teacher’s lounge in silence. The stairwell boy wasn’t very talkative last time either, so Nagyunn isn’t exactly surprised. He figures he’ll just give him a quick word of thanks before heading in, but when he reaches for the doorknob of the teacher’s room, the boy grabs his wrist.

“Not there,” he says shortly.

Nagyunn blinks. “But you said…”

“I lied.”

He tugs Nagyunn forward. Nagyunn obliges, even though he’s confused; he shares a glance with the boy’s blue-haired friend, who seemed just as bemused by his behavior.

They end up on the roof. It’s devoid of other occupants, which—makes sense, actually, since he’s heard rumors that one of the most ruthless third years likes to hang out up here. Doesn’t seem like she’s around though; he can’t tell if the other two are lucky or out of their minds.

The boy from the stairwell, Nagyunn notes, shields his eyes from the sunlight as soon as they push open the door. Hungover again?

His friend sits in a shady corner, and the boy all but collapses into his lap, curling up on his side with his back to the sun. Nagyunn stands awkwardly, not sure of what to do, until the boy’s friend gestures at a vague spot beside him, and he sits obediently.

“Is this because of—” that time in the stairwell, Nagyunn begins to ask, but cuts off partway when the other boy shifts slightly to glare at him. Better not to bring that up, he guesses. “…Thanks.”

The other boy goes back to hiding his face in his friend’s lap, mollified. “No problem.”

His friend glances back and forth between the two of them, utterly lost. He smiles when he notices Nagyunn looking at him. “Hey. I’m Fidorance.”

He forces himself to smile back despite his confusion and matches the other boy’s barely audible tone out of respect for stairwell boy’s hangover. “Nagyunn.”

“Zius,” stairwell boy offers, without looking up.

Fidorance raises his eyebrows, but of course, Zius can’t see, so he doesn’t react. He looks back toward Nagyunn. “So, uh, how do you two know each other?”

“We don’t,” Nagyunn says. And then, because Zius seems to want to hide their actual first meeting, he throws in a small lie. “We met in the cafeteria once.”

Fidorance looks about half-convinced, but if Zius wants a more elaborate lie, he’ll have to spin it himself. Nagyunn’s done what he can; time to change the subject.

“How’d you know my name?” Nagyunn asks. “In the hallway. Earlier.”

“Your brother’s pretty well-known,” Zius says vaguely.

God, is this how he answers all questions? Nagyunn glances at Fidorance, who just shrugs. “Najin, right? I think the whole school’s heard of him. He’s good at soccer, right?”

Nagyunn perks up. “Yeah, and gaming. He’s been that way since forever, so he’s always been popular.”

Fidorance laughs. “Yeah? Maybe I should ask him to join us at a PC bang sometime.”

“Ah, he can be picky about who he plays with,” Nagyunn grins, half-amused and half-apologetic. “Even seonbaes. Sorry.”

Fidorance is still smiling, but there’s a weird, searching quality to the way he’s looking at Nagyunn now. His smile falters. Did he say something wrong? But…

To his surprise, Fidorance breaks eye contact first, scratching his neck awkwardly.

“Um,” Fidorance begins, “so there’s no good way to ask this, but—does your brother know you’re being bullied?”

Nagyunn blinks. “But I’m not?”

Fidorance stares at him. Zius mutters something that sounds suspiciously like christ.

“What was with that kid back there then?” Fidorance asks.

“Ah.” Ruth, he means. “You know how it is.”

…Judging from Fidorance’s stare, he does not, in fact, know how it is.

Nagyunn resists the urge to cross his arms. No point in assuming a defensive posture; then Fidorance will know he’s getting under his skin.

“I mean, it’s not that big of a deal,” Nagyunn says. “Najin’s in another class. It’s natural that these things wouldn’t affect him.”

They can’t. Nagyunn’s been careful to keep it that way. He’s the older brother; it’s his job to deal with these things, not Najin. It’s troublesome, but not the end of the world.

Fidorance is giving him a weird look that’s uncomfortably close to pity.

Stop that, Nagyunn wants to say, but he doesn’t want to come off as rude when they’ve gone out of their way to help him, so he swallows his discomfort.

“You should spend your breaks here,” Fidorance says at last. “It’s pretty quiet usually.”

Nagyunn hesitates. “But Ruth will…”

“Let him,” Zius says shortly. “He’ll have a hell of a time if he thinks he can go up against Fidorance.”

Nagyunn blinks. Fidorance grins at him, and it’s no longer the amiable grin he’s been greeted with but one with a predatory glint to his eyes, and—ah, perhaps he was a little quick to write off that kind of facial scarring as an accident. This guy is dangerous. Even he can see that now.

“…and Waron?” he asks. The infamous reason why anyone with common sense knows not to hang around the roof during breaks.

Zius yawns. “You don’t need to worry about her either.”

Is Fidorance that strong? Or have they heard about the things he’s done in middle school and are setting up some kind of elaborate prank on him? Nagyunn’s always been good enough at reading people that he’s never had to worry about that kind of thing before, but today has proven that even when Zius is lying, he cannot tell.

That’s incredibly dangerous for someone who relies on reading others well to navigate school properly. Which means he should stay away from Zius, unreadable intentions and all, if he knows what’s good for him.

But… what they’re offering, even in the worst case, means that he’d get a horrible beating and then return to his normal life with Ruth. It wouldn’t be a bad deal to see what they’re playing at, at the very least.

“Alright,” Nagyunn says, offering just the right amount of a tentative smile. “I really appreciate it.”

Fidorance smiles back, all sunny and disarming again. “Of course.”

It’s not… he’s not optimistic about this, really. Nagyunn knows better than to get his hopes up.

But it can’t hurt to play along for a bit, can it?

------

At first, he assumes she’s picking on Zius. He’s heard of her, the girl with a face full of unkempt hair and a smile full of threats; everyone has. No one in middle school would look her in the eye. Rumor has it that she transferred mid-year because she beat up a teacher at her old school.

So what’s he supposed to think when he pushes open the door to the roof and finds her pinning Zius to the railing? She’s laughing, all mockery and jeers, and he’s stammering something at her, eyes averted—

But then he catches sight of Nagyunn and he lifts a hand in casual greeting. Nagyunn returns the greeting, confused.

Zius is… hm… his ears are slightly flushed. Maybe not a fear response after all. That’s interesting; he hadn’t thought the ever-unflappable Zius could react that way to anyone.

It seems it isn’t dangerous for now, so Nagyunn approaches cautiously. Waron turns, releasing her grip on Zius’s shirt, and cranes her neck at him curiously, white bangs falling into her eyes. “Who’s this? Mr. Should’ve-Been-A-Trainee?”

“That’s Najin,” Zius corrects her, subtly straightening out his collar before shoving his hands right back into his pockets. “This is Nagyunn.”

He gives a small bow. “Hello, Waron seonbae.”

She seems nonplussed. “Hm. You know me?”

“Who doesn’t?” Zius answers for him. “Anyway, answer the question. Where’s Fidorance?”

“Fighting with someone in the cafeteria, probably?”

“What.”

“He told me not to get involved,” Waron says, draping one arm lazily over Zius’s shoulders—

“—yes, you dumbass, because you just got back from suspension—”

“—So here I am~” Waron finishes brightly.

…This is a lot to process, Nagyunn thinks.

Zius heaves a long-suffering sigh and shrugs Waron’s arm off. “I’m going to go get him.”

Nagyunn looks between the two of them, unsure of what to do. “Um…”

“You can come with me if you want,” Zius tells him. Then to Waron, over his shoulder, more irately: “You stay put.”

Waron laughs. “Lighten up~”

Zius mutters something unflattering under his breath.

------

Waron bends down slightly so that their eyes are level. She flashes a bright grin at him. “I don’t do things for free.”

Sure, he gets that. “What do you want?”

Waron tilts her head, considering. Then: “Fadiyan says you’re ranked first in your year. Add me. Let’s figure something out.”

“Okay.”

She stares at him for a moment, then drops her phone into his outstretched hand so that he can type in his KaKaoTalk ID.

When he passes her phone back to her, she tells him, “That was too easy. Put up more of a fight next time.”

He furrows his eyebrows. “Against Ruth?”

Or does she mean herself?

She hums as she types something out and doesn’t answer the question.

“Alright, check your phone,” she says cheerfully. “I’ll see you around.”

She gives him a jaunty little wave and strides off.

Nagyunn opens his phone to find a new message: it’s waron~

Her profile picture is a chicken, of all things.

He wonders, briefly, how his life got so strange that he now has their schools’ most notorious troublemaker’s contact information.

------

He makes a strangled noise and buries his face in his hands. “I thought we agreed to never talk about that again.”

Zius laughs. “You brought it up.”

He offers Nagyunn some more of his pocky as a consolation prize. Nagyunn takes another and nibbles it contemplatively.

Truthfully, he hadn’t really expected Zius to actually answer his questions. He’s normally so reluctant to talk about himself, though to be fair, he has been making an effort to be more open with Nagyunn after that bathroom incident.

He hadn’t expected a lot of things when he’d first met the third year, or even when he’d met him the second time—or, if he’s being honest, even now. But Zius has always said that their kindness isn’t contingent on helping him. So… why?

“Seonbae?” he says at length.

“Yeah?”

“Why are you—” Nagyunn waves his hand around vaguely. “You know.”

Zius blinks. “The others enjoy your company. I enjoy your company.”

“But…”

Zius studies Nagyunn for a long time, a calculating look in his eyes.

“Well,” he says, “I mean. I’m surrounded by dumbasses; you’ve seen Fadiyan and Fidorance at work. It’s nice having a perceptive hubae.”

Nagyunn squints. He gets the distinct feeling Zius is humoring him. (Or perhaps lying straight out to his face, hiding his true intentions—)

“Okay,” he says. “…thanks for looking out for me, hyeong.”

Zius snaps the pocky stick he’s currently holding.

“What the hell,” he says, then bonks Nagyunn over the head with the rest of the box. “Idiot.”

Nagyunn tilts his head. That’s an interesting reaction. He grins. “Are you embarrassed?”