A young boy sat on the bench, with his face to the sky.

His right leg was placed on the bench he was sitting on, while the left, was on the floor.

From the uniform he was putting on, you can already tell that he’s a student.

His white shirt, neatly tucked into those black trousers of his, made him look well-kept and neat.

His black hair was cut round, leaving the middle with hair enough to cover one part of his face.

The green mesmerizing eyes of the boy, made him look so out of the world as he gazed up at the sun.

He was like a model posing for either a photographer or an artist.

The pose and all that made him look so breathtaking and innocent.

He looked, to any passing, like someone who has no cares in the world.

But that was far from the truth. Kon was lost in thoughts.

Currently, he was calculating how to get the required amount before the end of that day, and he was yet not successful in that.

The three jobs he shuffled through weren’t enough to pay the debts. And he needed to add more.

But the problem was his schoolwork.

There was no way a person like him could get through school without studying. And he doesn’t want to be a dropout.

One thing Kon cherished was his education. He doesn’t joke with it.

“Hi!” Lin, his friend since childhood, smiled when he saw Kon sitting on the bench, waiting for him.

Lin was a slender kid with brown, messy hair that doesn’t seem to obey his order. And that caused him to always have his hand on his face, removing the stray hair that threatened to block his sight.

Dressed in the same uniform as Kon, Lin seemed different.

Not only because of how worn his shirt was, but how indecent he was.

He was the opposite of Kon who was every mother’s wish, for a son.

Lin, on the other hand, was the one parents warn their children of. No one wants to associate with him.

“You took your time, didn’t you?” Kon stood from the bench and slung his backpack on his shoulders.

“Mrs Clay asked me to get some things for her. I would have been back earlier had it not been for her.”

Lin grinned in a way he thought was cute. But of truth, it was damn creepy. Anyone can see that. However, Kon was too much of a darling to tell him about that.

“And here comes your everyday excuses. Will there be a day when you won’t have excuse after excuse?” Kon darkly frowned at him.

Lin might have been his only friend for years now, but there were days that he got this urge to bash Lin’s head into the sink.

“I’m sorry, okay? I know I shouldn’t have an excuse, but trust me when I say it wasn’t my fault.” Lin said in a not-so-apologetic way.

“It’s not always your fault.” Kon gave him a once-over, for the first time since he arrived.

“What’s with your clothes? Don’t tell me you had a run-in with the tigers?” Kon raised a brow at him.

“No.” Lin nervously scratched his hair as he thought about his earliest clash with the tigers.

The tigers are the notorious blood gang of the school. Those boys were the merciless bullies the school ever had. And with the backing of the leopard mafia gang in the city, no one ever dared to question their actions.

“Don’t lie to me, Lin.” Kon narrowed his eyes at his friend. “Tell me, what did they do this time?”

“Nothing much.” Lin shrugged as if it were no big deal.

“No big deal? And you are looking this way?

I know you are rough and all that, but never to this extent.”

“It’s no big deal. Chill a bit, will you?” Lin pouted.

“Only when you tell me what happened between you and the Tigers.”

Kon clenched his hands into fists as he tried to restrain his anger.

He hasn’t been a well-behaved boy, who doesn’t want to clash with others. But—

“It’s nothing.” Lin nervously laughed, “Let’s go home. It’s already getting late. Don’t you have work tonight?”

“I have.” Kon decided not to pursue the matter.

It seemed his friend was eager to drop it. So, he did what he asked. He dropped the matter.

“Yeah, I just need to head home, to get ready.”

But Kon didn’t feel like going home. It was the same thing every time. There was no change in it at all.

“You can come over to mine, then. Mother isn’t around, so you are free to stay there for the night,” Lin grinned.

“Really?” Kon’s face brightened at his friend’s words.

He seemed as if he were at the top of his world right now.

“Why will I lie?”

Lin, who already knew that his friend hated going home, was eager to offer him a place.

Even if it was for the night. It makes a difference. At least, it will minimize the amount of time Kon will spend with his mother.

“Let’s go then.”

Kon smiled, having already forgotten about the Tigers. And that made Lin exhale in relief.

He doesn’t want his friend to be in any trouble of any sort.

Kon prided himself on his clean record, and Lin was not eager to cause a stain on the white robe.

“Did he return?”

“No. But she brought several others. Had to hit one when he drunkenly entered my room thinking he was going to get a free lay.”

Kon clenched his hands into fists as he thought back to the night before.

Tired from the overtime he worked at the bar, he was ready to crash and get some sleep. But that stupid mother f*cker had to interrupt his rest.

So, he showed him a good time. With his fists, of course.

His mother got angry with him, but he didn’t feel it.

At least the fool learned his lessons.