The usual meet-up place consisted of being in a secluded area down by the river that was next to campus. One of Mitchell’s buddies threw the first punch to Bryce, in his abdomen while the others were laughing cheerfully, all but Kirin – who looked annoyed out of his mind.  

Bryce was on his knees, hugging his stomach, gasping for air as tears began flowing out.  

Kirin let out an exaggeratedly loud sigh, “Are we done?” 

“What is it with you? You are less fun now, Queens. Here, how about you take a hit. Maybe it’ll get you back into the groove,” Mitchell nudged him forward. 

As Kirin moved towards Bryce, Bryce shifted his head so he could look up to see Kirin’s face. Kirin saw fear, despair and devastation on his face. With Kirin’s hand tucked onto his pockets, he just clicked his tongue.  

“This is exactly why I gave this up. This is so fucking ridiculous and stupid. If you need to rage, go to a fucking gym,” Kirin turned back to face Mitchell and his crew.  

“Are you saying that we’re fucking ridiculous and stupid?” one of the buddies spoke up.  

“Did you not get that the first time?” Kirin had a smirk plastered on his face as he slightly titled his head to the side. 

“You fucking bastard!” one of the buddies threw a punch toward Kirin’s perfect face, making his head turn to the left. However, Kirin was still tightly locked in place with his hands in his pockets, as if that punch did not bother him – as if it was just a him casually turning his head to the side. This stunned Mitchell and his crew. 

Kirin just smiled and slowly blinked his eyes as he looked over to them, “Are you asking to get beat?” 

As soon as those words left his mouth, because Mitchell and his crew had the misconception that they had more man power, they all charged at Kirin. But the fight ended in less than a minute. Bryce was shocked as he shifted onto his butt, shuffling himself away from the scene. 

With all four men groaning on the ground, it looked like Kirin made no effort in even trying yet they were all on the floor.  

“Speak of this and I will make sure to keep your mouths shut forever. Don’t forget, you were the ones that started this,” said Kirin as he walked towards Bryce. 

Frightened, Bryce continued moving backwards, but Kirin kept charging forward. When Bryce was stopped by a tree, he no longer had the will to stand up and run, not after what he had witnessed. This man’s strength was something to be reckoned with. Reading his thoughts, Kirin extended a hand to him. Bryce just stared at the extended hand. 

“You’re hurt.” 

But Bryce didn’t move.  

Reaching for Bryce, the smaller man shrunk away, but that only made Kirin adamant on getting closer to the man. Grabbing Bryce’s arm as he tried to struggle out, Kirin pulled him up. 

As Bryce stood up, he continuously tried to struggle out of Kirin’s solid grip.  

“If you don’t like it, then do something about it,” Kirin’s mysterious words drifted into Bryce’s ear. “It’s because you’re like this that others believe they can push you around. And you let it happen.” 

Bryce was staring at the ground, trying to fight back as his eyes were filled with emotions. 

“Well? If you don’t like it, then do something about it,” Kirin tugged his arm, squeezing his wrist quite tightly as he emphasized those words. 

Kirin kept probing him, provoking him to fight back. And in the end, it paid off. 

Bryce ripped his arm from out of Kirin’s grasp and threw a punch to Kirin’s unpunched cheek, making his head turn the other way. Bryce was panting hard with teary bloodshot eyes. 

“Yes! I am a coward! I can’t help it if I was born this way. My father always beats me and my mother and older brother abandoned me!! Leaving me with that drunk. And because of you-!! You bullied me at every turn last semester! Do you know how hard it was for me to even come to campus?!?! There was no one I could turn to!!” 

Kirin did not say anything as he kept his head down, listening to Bryce’s rant as he said it all in one breath. When Bryce was finally done ranting, huffing and puffing, he heard a soft and gentle chuckle escape from Kirin’s lips. 

When Kirin lifted his eyes to meet Bryce, it made Bryce hold his breath. Kirin’s eyes were filled with such sad emotions, looking very fragile – as if they were amethyst glass crystals that would shatter at any moment. “So, you can stand up for yourself,” Kirin smiled softly. 

He has really changed, was the first thought that came to Bryce’s mind. And with Kirin’s statement, Bryce began breaking down, bawling his eyes out, making Kirin speechless. 

“U-h-! Wh-! Why are you crying? I’m the one who feels like crying, being punched in the face twice,” but then he remembered, “Ah, you did take a punch to the stomach as well...” 

=== 

For the rest of the day, Kirin and Bryce both skipped class as Kirin took Bryce to the clinic on campus to check to make sure his injuries weren’t serious. After that, Kirin treated Bryce out for dinner at a small dine-in restaurant. 

As Kirin glimpsed over to Bryce, the rim of his eyes were still red from all that crying. It almost looked like he was pouting, making a smile crawl onto Kirin’s face.  

After they finished ordering food, though Kirin did not want to bring it up, he figured it’d be best if he confronted Bryce now rather than later. 

“I’ve noticed that you have been dressing up quite warmly for this hot weather. Why’s that?” Kirin began. 

Bryce stopped fiddling with his fingers as his lips quivered, something that Kirin took notice with his predator-like eyes. Not meeting Kirin’s gaze, Bryce kept his eyes low and lied through his teeth. 

“I often get cold very fast. And I’m not very comfortable showing my skin,” Bryce managed to address with an awkward smile. 

Feeling Kirin’s piercing gaze made him break out in cold sweat, he could only keep his eye diverted.  

Kirin inhaled deeply as he leaned back against his chair with his arms crossed. “I bullied you because I thought I was superior to you.” 

Hearing that line, Bryce slowly looked up to Kirin. 

“I bullied you because I thought you were taking my place within that circle of people. I was afraid and angry, so I took it out on you. It was a serious case of having an odd sense of superiority-complex. Thinking back to it, I was dumb and foolish. I am sorry, Bryce,” Kirin looked straight into Bryce’s blue eyes. “Even though I know it is too late to apologize for what I’ve done, especially since it has affected you both physically and mentally, I still wish to say so.” 

The sudden apology made Bryce flustered, unsure of how to react, how could only continue to stare at Kirin like a deer in head lights.  

“I never once thought about what you could be go going through in your personal life. Instead of thinking about what you were going through, I only thought about myself. So, I am sorry,” Kirin shifted in his chair and bowed his head down.  

“W-why?” 

Kirin’s ear perked as he looked over to Bryce. 

“Why are you only apologizing now? Why couldn’t have you came sooner to apologize?” 

Kirin gave Bryce a sad smile, “Arrogant pride, I guess.” 

Bryce placed his elbows on the table with his head hanging low in between his hands. 

Kirin decided to probe once again in a tender voice. “So, would you be willing to tell me more about yourself? Why you’re always alone? And where those bruises you have keep coming from?” 

After hearing that last sentence, Bryce’s eyes widened in shock as he looked up to See Kirin’s face. The expression Kirin had on was unreadable. There was no look of humility or pity on Kirin’s face. It was a mix of curiosity, concern and a look of a friend who wanted to help.  

Though Bryce had isolated himself from people, it did not mean he didn’t want friends to be with, it was more of that he couldn’t. His father didn’t allow it, and if his father did discover he had close friends, he would receive several beatings. Bryce wanted more than anything to yell and shout that his father was an abusive, perverse drunk. Bryce wanted friends to hang out with after school, friends to hang out with during the weekdays and weekends. However, no one actually dared approach him; must’ve been because of the gloomy, aloof aura he always exuded. But even then, he wished that someone would be willing to extend a hand to him. 

And now, that person was sitting right in front of him. Someone who has learned from his wrongdoings and wishes to make things right. Bryce poured out everything to Kirin. 

He once had an older brother and a mother. However, because of his father’s abusive and repetitive drinking habits, his mother divorced his father, taking his older brother with her overseas. They’ve lost connection ever since. He was only 4 when that happened. Growing up with his father was a nightmare. If nothing was done to his liking, Bryce would get beaten. If he was stressed out from work, he would take it out on Bryce. Not only that, Bryce’s father has brought all kinds of women in and out of the house, and often times, they’ve laid their hands on Bryce. When Bryce came across a magazine during his senior year of high school, he saw a photo of a person that looked a lot like his older brother. 

Doing his research, he found out that the man on the cover was a billionaire overseas in K country, and that he left with mother after a bad divorce. That man on the cover was Christopher Smith. Because their mother remarried, they took on the new man’s last name, which was Smith. But before the remarriage, their surname was Knowles – the same last name as Bryce’s. 

Now knowing that his brother and mother were doing well, Bryce had thought on several occasions on trying to contact the two, but because of the looming fear of his father and the mentality that: perhaps his mother and brother never came once to visit or contacted him was because they didn’t need him, like his deadbeat dad – so he threw that thought out and decided to go to college, get a job and leave. But even then, life has been a string of obstacles for him. Nothing was easy. 

After listening to Bryce’s story as he wiped away his tears with quiet sniffles, Bryce did not notice the bulging vein on Kirin’s temple nor the clenched fists that rested on the table. Kirin was ready to break someone’s head open. Calming himself down, he stood up and took a seat beside Bryce, hugging his shoulder with one arm. 

“I know it wasn’t easy for you to tell someone, but thanks for telling me. Now that I know, I will be better prepared,” not as if he wasn’t going to be in the first place. “Let me come sleep over at your place tonight.” 

Bryce looked over to him with a confused expression.  

“Did you not hear a single thing I said? If my dad found out I have friends, he’d beat me,” Bryce’s voice shook. 

“He beats you because he wants to keep you under his control. He’s afraid you’d tell. Just as you’re afraid of him, he’s afraid of you,” Kirin smiled slyly. “And don’t worry, he won’t lay his hands on you nor will I let him. Any person who abuses another does not deserve any mercy.”  

Kirin thought that line was quite ironic, considering how many people he’s hurt and killed in the past, but mercy for his doings wasn’t something he was looking for in the first place. 

“And besides, we’ve already had our first fight together, we’re much closer than friends, we’re buddies,” Kirin smiled, flashing a dashing smile that made the waitress swoon when she brought over their food. 

=== 

After dinner, it was already close to 8 pm and Kirin noticed the subtle panic in how Bryce kept checking his phone from time to time. Apparently, he also had curfew, and Kirin was purposely holding him back with a hidden coy smile. Kirin was not going to let Bryce’s father get his way.  

As Bryce led Kirin to his house, filled with anxiety, Kirin gently gave him a pat on the back, reassuring him that everything will be alright. When they arrived, Kirin could see the nervousness in the shorter young man’s hand as he tried to unlock the door with his keys. 

When the door finally opened, the house was dark, expect for the light in the living room down the hall. Though Bryce thought he swallowed his saliva quietly, Kirin heard it loud and clear. It was quite amusing to Kirin. Bryce was like a little prey, making his way into predator territory, or a scared soldier marching onto the battlefield.

Acting completely oblivious to his fear, Kirin exclaimed, “Wow~! Your house is very nice~!” 

Bryce looked over to Kirin in horror, but Kirin just returned a charming wink with a message of: it’ll be alright. 

Hearing the unfamiliar voice, the tall and broadly built man emerged from the living room into the hallway, eyeing down this intruder. 

Oblivious, Kirin extended a hand out, “Liam Queens, sir.” 

The man coldly looked down at his hand before taking hold of it. Bryce’s father, Joe Knowles was about his height, standing around 6 feet tall while Bryce was only about 5’10”.  

“I didn’t know you had a friend,” Joe quickly got rid of the cold mask and put on a warm expression. It was as if the cold expression never existed. 

If Kirin have not known the true nature of the man, he would’ve thought that this man could do no wrong in being a kind, loving father. But that was just an act. 

Someone should award this man for his acting~, Kirin whistled to himself. 

“We’ve actually just became friends this semester. There were some assignments that I was having trouble with but Bryce was kind enough to help me,” Kirin smiled, releasing Joe’s calloused hands. 

“Oh really? Well, I hope my son has been helpful. Was that where you guys were this entire time?” Joe asked with a polite smile. 

“Yeah, we were at a library but couldn’t finish in time. Plus, Bryce said he wanted to go home. Because I still needed help, I ended up following him home. Hope I’m not being a nuisance?” Kirin smile as he lifted one brow, titling his head to the side, exuding his masculine charm. 

Joe quickly glanced to his son then back to Kirin. “Of course not. Since you’re Bryce’s friend, you’re welcomed here anytime.” 

Though it was just for a brief moment, Kirin caught the hostility and anger in Joe’s eyes.  

“Thanks, Mr. Knowles,” Kirin smiled. “Hey, show me your room,” he turned over to the overly silent Bryce and nudged him. 

Bryce, without even looking at his father, led Kirin to his room on the second floor.  

When Bryce closed the door after them, his knees buckled under him as he fell to the ground, exhaling the breath he has been holding in.  

“I thought he was seriously going to get upset,” Bryce sighed in relief. 

Sitting on the ground leaning his back against Bryce’s bed, Kirin smiled an unreadable smile as he said to himself, “Oh, he already is.” 

“What?” Bryce looked over to him. 

“Nothing. Let’s finish this last assignment then go to sleep.”