Rumors spread fast. Faster than either of you could shut them down.

It started with Ryu’s harmless flirting. A hand lingering on your shoulder a second too long, leaning into your space just to watch you roll your eyes, the occasional comment spoken quietly enough that only you could hear it. Most people brushed it off as him being himself.

Minho didn’t. By the time the final bell rang, whatever had been simmering beneath the surface finally snapped. Half the school had gathered around the football field, a crowd pressing inward as the fight unfolded in the center. No teachers had made it over yet. Phones were already out.

Ryu stumbled backward, catching himself for only a second before Minho’s fist connected again, sending him to the ground. He hit the grass hard, a split lip staining the corner of his mouth as a few people instinctively stepped back.

Minho didn’t move to celebrate. He stood over him, shoulders rising and falling with each measured breath, his knuckles scraped raw and his jaw set so tightly it looked like it might crack. “I told you,” he said, his voice low enough to quiet the crowd around him. “Stop bothering them.”

Ryu let out a dry laugh, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand before looking up at him. “What…” he scoffed, “you their bodyguard now?”

Minho’s expression didn’t change. Ryu’s grin only widened despite the blood on his lip. “Or are you just pissed because I got their attention before you ever could?”