Feeling supportive and responsible, Taehyeon further delays any response to the unread messages on his phone. Minjun sent five messages over the course of Sunday but Taehyeon was almost afraid of what they would say. Bada's crisis was an important distraction and Taehyeon needs to stay distracted. His best friend's life is at stake.
At the first break time of the day, Taehyeon rushes to Bada's classroom two doors down from his own. He's about three paces into the classroom when he works out that Jeongwon isn't crying for once. She's actually trying to give Bada some advice by the sounds of it. The second she notices Taehyeon, she shuts her mouth.
Taehyeon wonders whether battle lines have been drawn by Minjeong. If so, she would likely have recruited Taehyeon against his will without even telling him. He'd like to tell Jeongwon that he understands her, he has seen Lee Dongmin's glamorous and sophisticated university girlfriend too.
"Can we talk at lunch instead?" Bada asks Taehyeon. He's fine with that. Taehyeon thinks that Bada looks relatively happy so they can just check in at lunchtime. That will be for the best.
Lingering for a moment outside class 6, Taehyeon hears a very disgruntled, "What is he talking to her for? That should be me."
Lee Dongmin is standing an arm's length away from Taehyeon. He's staring through the window over at Bada. Another arm's length behind him is a growing cluster of first year girls.
This seems like an optimal time for an escape.
"Don't just ignore me, Lee Taehyeon. I heard something awful happened to Bada at the weekend. What was it? Did something happen after you cockblocked us?"
Taehyeon is baffled. Nothing was ever going to happen between Bada and Dongmin, especially not on Saturday BH (Before Heartbreak). As well as that, shouting about being cockblocked at school seems very ill-advised. Taehyeon can't believe Dongmin had the audacity to accuse Taehyeon of being gay when the only successful boy-kisser between them is Dongmin himself.
"Leave Bada alone. He's talking to Kang Jeongwon."
Dongmin takes a step forward that his numerous, titillated shadows follow.
"Should I talk to you instead, Taehyeon?"
"No! Leave me alone too."
Taehyeon doesn't like running but he has no choice but to run away from Dongmin and the tidal wave of his admirers. Taehyeon has learnt his lesson, he decides whilst unsuccessfully dodging other students. Whilst it was true at some point in the past that he did fancy Dongmin, that was the crime of a stupider Taehyeon. He's much more knowledgeable about the world now, even if that extra knowledge is just all the unappealing things he has discovered about Dongmin.
Getting to know someone he fancies has been a perfect cure in this case. Speaking of people he fancies, Taehyeon finds himself standing outside year 3 class 7. He doubts Minjun would do much to save him from Dongmin but there must be a reason his subconscious compelled him to smash his shins several times on the way up the stairs.
Taehyeon should cure himself of this too. If one of the side effects of alleviating minor adoration is the fact that he gets to stare at Minjun's handsome face for a while, Taehyeon won't complain. Mustering up all his courage, Taehyeon walks over to the nearest classroom door.
The universe must be testing his determination with this obstacle. Taehyeon can pass this test. All he needs to do is open the door. It isn't rocket science. Just hook his fingers into the handle and slide the door open. That's how doors work. Simple. Taehyeon can do this. There's nothing scary about opening—
"Taehyeon, what are you doing here?"
"I… I'm here to see you."
Something is very wrong. Minjun pulls Taehyeon into a hug, squeezing tightly.
"Thank goodness! I was so worried that I said something to offend you. I saw that you didn't read any of my messages so I knew it must have been something at my party. I have been trying to remember everything I said to you but I couldn't work out what I said to make you not want to be my friend. Oh." Minjun finally loosens his grip, his fingers curling cautiously against Taehyeon's sides. "Are you here to tell me that you don't want to be my friend?"
"No, no way."
"Great!"
Minjun slings his arm over Taehyeon's shoulder and guides him into the classroom. As always, Minjun's friends are sitting near his desk, though this time there are a few other girls around. Whilst Taehyeon should have accounted for Kyungran and Nayoon, he wouldn't ever have thought about having more witnesses to him curing himself of being stupidly in love.
"We will take care of it," Nayoon says firmly. "You know that you can always rely on Minjun."
"Can we? I've heard he's a pretty inattentive boyfriend."
"It's not real, Bomin, it will just be pretend."
Taehyeon doesn't think he should be around for this conversation, yet Minjun is dragging him forward like this is his surprise public execution.
As though he knows exactly what Taehyeon is thinking, Minjun says, "Suji has asked me to help her out with a boy who is bothering her. I'm supposed to be like a knight in shining armour or something."
Taehyeon doesn't have to work hard to imagine Minjun as a knight in shining armour. He's athletic and probably brave too. The sticking point is whether or not he would be astride a noble steed. Can Minjun even ride a horse?
"No I can't," Minjun says as though Taehyeon was speaking aloud. "I went with Eunkwang once, the boy from my party, remember? He's really good."
Taehyeon considers the fact that he did speak out loud. The girls he doesn't know probably wouldn't be struggling not to laugh if the thought had remained inside his head. Nayoon, with her fringe wrapped around a pink hair roll, sends an 'OK' sign Minjun's way. Or it might be a money sign. Taehyeon isn't sure. All he knows is that Minjun doesn't hand Nayoon any money. He just smiles at Taehyeon like he hasn't a care in the world.
"Are you saying that you'd like to go horse riding some time? I bet it would be really fun."
Horse riding with Minjun would be fun. Inexplicably, Taehyeon's rendering of the occasion is like the event cutscene in Dynasty of Destruction where Isabu invokes Geodo's tactic of using displays of games on horseback to lower the enemy's defences. They can't do that, they might die that way. Taehyeon needs to think of something more romantic. Kim Yushin coming to after being blackout drunk and slaying his horse for bringing him to a courtesan's house. That's not romantic either. Taehyeon's takeaway from this failed fantasy is that he needs to play less Dynasty of Destruction.
"This isn't going to work," he mutters to himself.
"Oh, well, that's fine too," Minjun says, awfully pink in the face. "You can go horse riding with whoever you want to. We can just do other stuff. If you want."
Now Taehyeon feels like he has said something wrong. He probably has but he could do without the guilt.
"Hey, how about you take Taehyeon on a walk and explain your knight in shining armour thing to him. We'll go over everything with Suji," Kyungran says in a tone much firmer than a suggestion.
"Are you his secretary or something?" The girl standing over her friend asks. "How is this fake boyfriend thing going to work if he's never here?"
Taehyeon doesn't get to hear the response to that because he's going on a walk with Minjun. At least, that was the intention. Minjun's interpretation of a walk is as far as the corridor outside the classroom. He hops up to sit on the windowsill right outside the door. He leans forward, grinning at Taehyeon as though he isn't one shove away from death. Maybe Taehyeon will have to be the one to defend Minjun's life. He isn't confident in his abilities but he'll do what he must.
"Did I already explain the pretend boyfriend thing to you?" Minjun asks.