Chapter Text
Saint keeps stealing glances at Shin, sitting beside him in the teachers’ office. Shin’s gaze is fixed on the wall behind the teacher’s desk and he hasn’t stopped tapping his leg since he sat down.
Mr Sung announces his presence with a discreet cough before sitting down in front of them. “You must be wondering why you’ve been summoned here.”
Shin makes a non-committal sound. Saint resists the urge to touch his leg and stop its restless movement.
The teacher adjusts his glasses. “I have a little project for you two.”
He finally gets Shin’s full attention. “What do you mean?”
“You two have been fighting no stop since the beginning of the school year, so Miss Jan and I devised a plan.”
Shin’s eyebrows shoot up.
“Just to be clear, I’m not fighting with him,” says Saint. “He is fighting with me.”
“It takes two to tango,” observes Mr Sung.
“I’m fighting with him because he won’t leave me alone,” groans Shin as he looks in Saint’s direction for the first time.
Mr Sung dismisses their complaints with a wave of his hand. “Miss Jan and I think that it would benefit you to work alongside each other for a few days.”
“Work?” asks Saint, bewildered.
“What benefit can come from it, exactly?” whines Shin.
The teacher rests both of his hands on the table. “You need to learn how to get along for your classmates’ sake and yours.”
“I don’t want to get along with him,” sputters Shin, his face contorted with contempt.
“What kind of work are we talking about?” asks Saint again.
Mr Sung nods. “We have loads of old chairs and desks stored in a closet. I want you to stay after school to…renovate them. As you may know, the school is on a budget, so we need to save on whatever we can for next term.”
Shin scoffs. “My mum would never agree to this. I have to pick my sister up from school.”
“We’ve already talked to your parents. They okayed it.”
“Did you tell her that I’ll be working with him?” Shin points at Saint without looking at him.
“They don’t need to know the details.”
“They do!”
Mr Sung tilts his head and looks at Shin with a glint in his eyes. “Do you want your mother to know that you’re being punished because you keep fighting with your classmate?”
“So it is a punishment,” jumps in Saint.
Shin sucks his teeth. “Don’t pretend you’re not enjoying this.”
Saint tries to catch Shin’s eyes, but the look Shin gives him doesn’t linger. “I have work. I mean, actual work,” he protests. “Work that makes me money that I need. I can’t stay after school every day.”
Shin chuckles as he gives Saint a side glance. “You mean that you need to make money to pay off your father’s debts.”
Saint’s intake breath is loud. “That was unnecessary cruel.”
Shin shakes his head. “Coming from you...”
Mr Sung claps his hands in front of their faces. “It will only take you a week, if you don’t slack off.”
Shin starts rocking his chair back and forth. “What if I don’t want to do it?” he asks, defiant.
“Do you think you have a choice?”
Shin’s eyes narrow. Saint can sense his tension and tenses in turn.
“It’s either this or getting a suspension next time you have a fight, “ continues the teacher.
The legs of Shin’s chair touch the ground with a thud. “It’s Saint’s fault. He gets on my nerves.”
“Don’t you think it’s a good time to start working on your self-control?” asks Mr Sung.
“He is right, I might have been…bothering him lately,” says Saint apologetically. “Sometimes he just snaps.”
“That’s an understatement,” comments the teacher as Shin blurts “Then stop bothering me so we won’t have to do this?”
Saint rolls his eyes. “I can’t do that.”
Mr Sung clears his throat. “I figure that there is some…history between you two, so I guess this will be the perfect opportunity to sort your issues out.”
Shin snorts. “Sure.”
“Will you give us tools? Screwdrivers? Hammers?” inquires Saint.
“Please, I’d like a hammer,” jokes Shin drily.
Mr Sung scratches his head. “You won’t need any of those. Your job will mostly consist of cleaning the tables and the chairs, maybe shaving them off and repainting them. Stuff like that.”
Shin sighs. “Your plan is doomed to fail.”
“Why? Are your hands too delicate for this kind of job?”
Saint chuckles. Shin shoots him a glare. “I mean, your ‘reconciliation plan’ is going to fail. I hate his guts.”
“Ok, that’s an overstatement,” says Mr Sung.
Shin’s chair scrapes the floor as he gets up. “No disrespect, but you know nothing, Mr Sung,” he declares. “So, when does this nightmare start?”