Chapter 2

"Because you were having a hard time."

"Because you were having a hard time!" Gold mimics Kolya's kind words that keep on playing on his mind. He slightly changes his tone hoping to change the impact of the statement.

Unfortunately, the effect of it didn't diminish. If anything, it only strengthens the attack of the termites in his stomach.

Kolya's words bring him comfort. Like real comfort. It's different from what he feels every time his friends or acquaintance tell him that he's good or that everything is going to be okay. Kolya's words meant a lot probably because Gold can feel his sincerity even though he's been an ass to the transferee.

"Damn it." He blows his fringe—a habit he does when he is frustrated.

"Mr. Adana, you're late!" Mr. Song scolds when his eyes land on Gold who just entered the classroom.

Today's Tuesday. Every second day of the week, Mr. Song's class starts at 8am and ends at 11:30am.

"Sorry," Gold murmurs, slouching on his seat. He didn't even look or bow at his dance instructor.

He's thirty four minutes late because after his encounter with Kolya, he went straight to the change room to take a quick shower and change his rain soaked clothes.

Mr. Song shakes his head and just proceeds into finishing his lecture for the day.

This class is divided into two activities. Lecture part is from 8:00 to 9:30am. They have a short break for fifteen minutes. After that, the practical or application of the lecture will then begin. It's from 9:45 to 11:30am.

"Gold, you okay?" Jacob, one of Gold's best friends, asks during their recess.

"Yeah," the golden boy sighs just like how he sighed during Mr. Song's lecture. The man is a great instructor, but his way of teaching is so boring. Gold fought the strong urge to sleep in the class because he knows that he already has one strike for being late.

Speaking of late, Kolya is still nowhere to be seen. He didn't attend the morning lecture today. It's kind of a relief actually. Everyone is surely going to ask what happened to his beaten up face.

"You sure? You were late this morning," Carter, another friend of Gold, questions too.

It's odd. Gold Adana is never late in class. This is another reason why almost everyone he knows admires him. He's literally a model student.

"I forgot my umbrella so I had to take a shower at the change room." The golden boy semi lies.

Admittedly, he's embarrassed. Christopher and his friends cornered Kolya on their own. They're really bullies who pledge their so-called loyalty to Gold. The latter doesn't even like them, but Christopher is kissing Gold's ass because his father is a subordinate of Doctor Adana, Gold's dad.

Gold knows that the bullies won't stop beating up Kolya if he didn't stop them. Thank God he's able to do so. Nikolai could have been in serious danger if not for the golden boy. He isn't a hypocrite, though. Gold admits; it felt good to see the person who stole his spotlight to be so helpless.

Kolya needs to learn his place.

"Park! Where the hell have you been!?" Mr. Song's face is as red as fresh tomatoes. He's so stressed because they cannot start the dance performance without the center position, his role is really vital in this part.

The instructor then questions himself. Is it worth it to replace Gold? The golden boy may not be perfect, but at least he tries so hard. Unlike Kolya who showed up 3 hours late in class. What a sloth!

"Sorry, Mr. Song!" Nikolai bows repeatedly, his voice sounds so scared that the instructor can't help but ask if there's something wrong.

"What happened to your face!?" There is something wrong! Kolya's face is swollen. He has black eye and there are cuts all over his face.

"Did you get into a fight!?" Mr. Song is hysterical now. He cares for Kolya; sure, however, the reputation of the university is more important to him.

Morello University is not a joke. It's the best art school all over Asia. They can't afford to taint its name.

"I fell on the stairs...." Kolya's excuse is lame and unbelievable, although it proves that he knows his place now. He is also aware that he cannot mess up with Gold.

"Did you go to the clinic?" The teacher examines Kolya's face, making the latter scowl. A simple touch makes the pain worse.

"Not yet, s-sir..." Tears fill his eyes. The throbbing pain is truly insufferable. He should have gone to the clinic instead of crying his heart out at the men's rest room.

Kolya is a little emotional ball. He wonders what's wrong with him. He just followed his grandmother's advice, yet he still got into trouble.

"You should go. You're excused." Mr. Song is willing to let this go just this once. Midterm practical exam is fast approaching, they need to hurry up.

"Thank you, Sir." Just as Kolya's about to leave the room, Gold stands up.

"I'll come with you." He says coolly, hiding his shaky hands.

Everyone turns to Gold, clearly amused that he offered to help a fellow student. Gold is known to be the kind of boy who only looks after himself. This is a shocker especially because he barely knew Kolya. Besides, why would he want to help the person who just stole his position?

"Okay." Mr. Song didn't hesitate because "Class dismissed. Just go rest for now. I know your class with Ms. Manoban is killing you all." Plus they can’t practice without Nikolai.

The class cheers and sighs in relief. Thank God! They need more energy to deal with a much stricter dance choreographer.

"Let's go." Gold blows his fringe again and then he inserts his hands on the pocket of his jeans, passing by Kolya who's still frozen on his feet.

Nikolai swallows hard, just like his classmates, he's also confused. Gold acted like he hates Kolya's guts, and now he's helping him? Is this true? Or is he planning to do something bad again?

"Are you just gonna stand there?" Gold furrows his brow. They're already in front of the clinic. The lead dancer even opened the door for Kolya.

The guy with the center position gulps, eyes still quivering because of uncertainty. He nervously switches his gaze at Gold who looks impatient as hell.

"Thanks..." Kolya smiles sheepishly, the soft pink blush is painted on his cheeks again.

"Whatever." Gold blows his fringe and enters the clinic after his classmate.

The nurse is as shocked as Mr. Song upon seeing Kolya's face. She asked what happened to him—her voice is totally different from Mr. Song, though. Karen, the nurse, asks sincerely and gently, like she's really urging Kolya to speak up, like she is certain that he didn't just 'fall down' on the stairs.

"Don't worry about me, Ms. Karen. I'm just one clumsy boy." Kolya giggles to dismiss the silly idea inside the nurse's head.

"You're too kind, you know?" Karen sighs, glancing at Gold like she knows that the golden boy is behind all of this.

This isn't the first time something like this happened. Christopher always beats up the person who gets under Gold's skin. Normally, the golden boy just lets the bully be. In fact, he's grateful. Annoying students should learn their lesson. Again, no one is supposed to mess up with the it boy.

Karen also knows about this. The victims of physical abuse tell her their stories. Of course the nurse is deeply bothered by it, howbeit aside from what the Principal considers as hearsay, she doesn't have a solid proof. She tried convincing the victims to speak up, but they always shake their heads no. They only tell their stories to the nurse to somehow alleviate the pain. Karen understands them, but they know that they can seriously get in trouble if they speak up.

Gold's life is just like what people see in the movie. His family is influential. They can get rid of anyone who stand in their way, so why waste their energy into destroying something as indestructible like Gold?

"I’m kind for kissing the floor?" Kolya jokes, making the nurse chuckle.

She says he's kind because he's the only victim who doesn't seem to be holding grudges. Or maybe he's just good at pretending. Either way, Karen applauds him. Kolya never complained about his pain. It's not like she hates the victims for complaining. Hell, she's even pushing them to do so. Victims, whatever abuse they're going through, should always speak up.

Tolerating the abuser won't solve the problem. This is not the kind of scenario wherein something will stop if you don't give it enough attention. This shouldn't be tolerated.

It's just that Kolya appears to be the kind of person who is willing to forgive the people who hurt him.

"Fine, just drink the pills I gave you." Karen finally dismisses Kolya. "And please, watch out. Don't fight the stairs next time, it's really stubborn and annoying, especially the highest stair thread." She says this while glancing at Gold again.

The golden boy knows that Karen is subtly implying that he is the stubborn and highest thread of the stairs. It's obvious. Gold is in the highest part of the pyramid, he's an elite.

"Aye, aye captain!" Kolya salutes at the nurse.

Karen laughs and bids him goodbye.

"Finally." Gold rolls his eyes, getting into his feet. He stayed seated on the chair for almost two hours. He's extremely bored because he forgot to bring his phone. He had no choice but to listen to Kolya and Karen's lame conversation.

"You didn't have to wait for me, you know..." Kolya bites his bottom lip, shyly scratching the back of his head.

"Too late. I already did." Gold shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly.

Kolya just purses his lips. They continue to walk side by side. It's awkward. They're awkward. The silence is making Kolya blush and their distance makes it look like they're lovers having a fight.

"Why?" It is the golden boy who breaks the silence.

Kolya tilts his head to face his classmate. He's confused again.

"What do you mean why?"

Gold stops walking. Kolya too.

"Why," the lead dancer repeats, this time, his voice is acrid. "You had the chance to tell Mr. Song and that annoying nurse what I did to you. So why?" He leans closer, an act to intimidate Kolya. "Why didn't you?"

"You didn't do this to me...."

Gold almost backed off when Kolya stares deep into his brown eyes. The former hates the latter's eyes. It's usually intense, but when you look straight into it, you'll realize that it's actually soft and tantalizing.

"Your friends did," he continues.

"They are not my friends." Gold's jaw tenses.

"Even better," Kolya beams. "You just proved my point. You have nothing to do with this."

Gold's lips press into a thin line. He has a feeling that whatever he says won't matter to Kolya, so why bother speaking at all?

Gold continues to walk. Kolya follows.

"Oh." Kolya abruptly stops. "This isn't the way to class."

Their class with Ms. Manoban is at the east building, but the path they're taking is the west side—to the university's exit.

"I'm cutting class." It's a bold thing to say. Gold is aware that Ms. Manoban is fearless. She won't accept excuses if it's not valid. She even said that her students do not have the right to skip class unless they're dead or is dying. She's cruel.

"B-But..." Kolya interjects, yet he follows Gold. He hasn't met Ms. Manoban yet, but his other classmates told him their dreadful experiences with the mentioned instructor.

"Why are you still here?" Gold knits his brow.

"Uh..." Truthfully, Kolya can't think of any reason why he's following the golden boy.

They're not even friends.

"Right," and so he chuckles awkwardly and then he turns to the East direction. "See you around, Gold!"