Chapter Text
As a senior, he should have been able to skip any classes he wanted. But Thanos was on his third warning of the week, and the vice principal had already threatened to take him out of every class with Namgyu if he didn't at least make an effort to show up to this class.
Both him and Namgyu had caused enough of an ‘impact’ in the school that they were known by almost every staff member there. Not all of that was a bad thing, cause Thanos got along with almost all of them, using his ‘charming personality’ or whatever, and they usually let him slide with just a detention or a warning.
Namgyu was definitely not liked but somehow he got away with it just by being associated with Thanos.
However, right now, because the vice principal, Mr. Seong, knew about him and Namgyu being inseparable, he had started to come up with new threats, and ‘removing him from all of your classes’ was a newer one.
Currently Mr. Cho, was going on and on about some dumb Civil Law System Thanos didn't understand, but he didn't care enough to pay any attention to his teacher in the first place. He sighed and leaned back in his chair; he had this class alone. He's sure the others were living their best life in Physics together without him.
A few months ago, he got an email from his guidance counselor saying that some of his classes were canceled. Okay, no big deal, he would just use his backup courses. Unfortunately, those were also canceled, something about Mr. Hwang, their principal, doing some type of budget cuts?
That is how he found himself here, in a Business and Law class filled with a dozen wannabe business owners, and even worse, Myung-gi sat right in front of him. Every day, even the thought of coming to this class made Thanos cringe. Curse his past self for telling his counselor to “just choose a fucking course already”.
Myung-gi was here because all he ever talked about was becoming a business owner or some crypto guy. He kept calling himself MG Coin.. he even went as far as to make his own YouTube channel.
Goddamn was he annoying. Might as well enjoy this if he had to be stuck here.
Thanos fake yawned very dramatically and kicked MG Coin’s chair hard.
“What the hell was that?” MG Coin asked, glancing backwards.
Thanos just shrugged “sorry my foot slipped”
MG Coin gave him a ‘death’ glare, Nothing compared to Namgyu’s death glares so Thanos was unfazed.
As soon as MG turned around again Thanos grabbed a pen from his bag and launched it at the back of MG Coin’s head.
“AYE WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU-”
“-Do we have a problem here?” Mr Cho asked, pushing his glasses down a bit to try and give off that ‘I’m so prestigious’ look. He failed at achieving that.
“Yeah! Thanos won’t stop harassing me!” MG Coin yelled across the room.
What a moron! Thanos laughed to himself.
“Who is Thanos?”
The class burst into laughter. “Ugh- I mean Subong!” MG Coin corrected, his face burning with anger. Mr. Cho looked over MG Coin’s shoulder at Thanos who was pulling off his best innocent look imaginable.
“Mr. Choi, are you causing a problem again?” The teacher asked unamused.
“No!? OF COURSE NOT! He’s lying!!” Thanos yelled, throwing his hands up in mock surrender.
Mr. Cho just sighed and went back to the board writing down something about speeding ticket fines. BORING!!!
Thanos leaned forward over his desk and whispered to MG Coin. “I heard you were trying to tell on my boy Namsu yesterday for defending himself, is that true?”
MG Coin scowled and whispered back “Look asshole, he should not have tried to hit me in the back of the head with a World History textbook.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have been so sensitive about him mentioning your stupid girlfriend” Thanos mocked, although he did feel a bit protective over Namgyu at the moment. Weird
“Just because I told him to cut it out doesn’t mean he should switch seats to the one behind me and try to fucking decapitate me with a book…Also leave me the hell alone. I had a rough day..”
Thanos felt the need to punch him for saying anything bad about his best friend but maybe he could let that slide for now. Namsu was in the right anyway, he had the right to defend himself. Thanos smiled “awww poor baby, what??? Did your mommy forget to cut the crust off your sandwich?”
“Leave me alone right now!” He said and started to tap his pencil against the desk in an attempt to try and calm down.
Oh he’s so easy to rile up.
Thanos leaned forward and hissed, “Tap any louder and NASA’s gonna think you’re sending signals.”
“Shut up!” He hissed.
That’s all Thanos needed because he stood up dramatically, sending his chair falling backwards and yelled. “GUYS GUYS!!! OH MY GOD!! DID YOU HEAR HIS SASS? MG COIN IS ON HIS PERIOD!!” He was pointing dramatically in front of him.
The teacher didn’t even react, he just casually walked over to his desk and started writing him a detention slip. Scheduled for right after school.
Thanos flopped back into his chair with an exaggerated groan, slumping. “Detention? Already? But… Sangwoo, it’s only 9:56 AM! Isn’t that a little… early for me to be punished?”
“That’s Mr. Cho to you, don’t get smart with me. Your whining won’t save you. You’ll serve it after school. Don’t make me extend it.”
Thanos’ dramatic sigh of defeat echoed through the classroom as he leaned back, balancing precariously on the edge of his desk.
—————-
Meanwhile, Namgyu wasn’t having a good time either. The physics room was freezing first of all and Namgyu forgot to bring a sweatshirt yet again.
They started the class somewhat normally, just some random warmup.
The teacher was playing a video of some American dude named Joey Chesnut, who could somehow eat 70 hotdogs in 10 minutes. Uhhh that’s disgusting.
They had to do some motion graph on how much hotdogs he ate per minute or something like that. ‘Against’ Namgyu’s will he had to work with Gyeongsu, Semi and Minsu who kept snickering throughout the entire video.
Ok sure the video was hilarious- cause dude come on… but without Thanos, Namgyu felt the need to act like the toughest in the room, acting disgusted and above what the teacher had assigned them to watch.
Semi leaned across the table and spoke in a mean, teasing tone. “Hey Nam, I bet you would have no problem eating all those hotdogs, you’d probably enjoy it.”
He flipped her off and kicked her shin under the table so hard, Minsu who was sitting next to her visibly recoiled in his chair.
About 10 minutes later the teacher had handed out a worksheet that everyone was supposed to be working on but to the looks of it nobody actually was writing anything.
Namgyu slouched in his chair, arms crossed over the desk, eyes narrowed at the worksheet. AP Physics? Really? Because, last time he checked, he didn’t sign up to suddenly become a mind reader. And judging by the blank, mildly panicked expressions on the faces around him, neither had anyone else.
Semi, sitting across from him, furrowed her brows at the worksheet in front of her “Wait… what is an this supposed to be again?” she whispered.
Namgyu barely suppressed a laugh. Semi, brilliant as she was, looked like someone had asked her to recite Plank's constant without stuttering. “Uh… I think it’s, like… the thing that does the thing?” he said, waving a hand.
“Woah thanks genius you're so helpful.”
Gyeongsu dramatically leaned back putting his hands over his face. “This class is pointless, we are gonna fail the final at this rate. I could be at home playing guitar hero right now!”
Semi pinched the bridge of her nose. “You know, I thought I understood most AP classes… but this is insane. Absolutely insane. Maybe we should just start our own class and have Thanos teach it.”
Namgyu froze. “Oh, don’t even get me started on Thanos right now. You think he’d care if we failed? He’d just… laugh and be like, ‘Good luck, Namsu.’ And then sleep through the next 3 classes!”
The four of them couldn’t help but giggle, the tension breaking just slightly. But not enough because when was this paper due?
Minsu raised his hand and the teacher slowly walked over, she took dramatic steps. “H-hey so uh how do we do this?” Minsu asked sheepishly.
“Ask your table mates. You’ll figure it out.”. She said as if that action alone was enough to transfer years of knowledge directly into his head. Then she just walked away.
“Well tough luck Minsu cause the three of us have no idea what the hell is going on.” Gyeongsu added.
Minsu just groaned.
Namgyu’s fingers clenched around his pencil until it nearly snapped. He really needed Thanos right now. Semi sighed so hard “Why is this a class if she doesn’t teach anything?”
Gyeongsu opened a bag of snacks and started trying to move the conversation away from physics because this clearly was going nowhere. “Hey so that sleepover at Semi’s house last Saturday was so amazing, I can’t believe how that Roblox game turned out. Thanos practically jumped halfway across the room when the owl appeared in 99 nights ”
Semi leaned close "Speaking of Thanos” she started pointing to Namgyu “You two were out like a light at only 1am. And I looked over and you two had switched blankets. Like who does that? It was cute I have to admit.”
Namgyu rolled his eyes. “Can we please stop mentioning that, I just liked his blanket better than mine.”
“Yeah like I said, cute”
Namgyu stiffened, face turning slightly red. “Oh, come on. That was just- his blanket is warm, I’m cold- it’s not what you think.”
“Sure, Nam, sure. Totally innocent.”
Namgyu could tell she was making fun of him and he was just about to snap at her when the teacher's voice drilled into the air.
“Okay class, tomorrow we have a quiz on this.”
Namgyu stared at the teacher hoping he could explode her with his mind. His hand shot up, slamming his notebook onto the desk. “What?! A quiz?! You can’t just ASSUME everyone is prepared AFTER YOU DON'T TEACH and then spring a quiz on us!”
She raised an eyebrow, perfectly calm, as if the storm of teenage rage in front of her was part of the lesson plan. “Detention, Namgyu. After school.”
Namgyu let out a sound that didn’t sound human, part strangled scream. “This is BULLSHIT!”
Minsu sighed. “It’s ok..”
“Also Namgyu you are going straight to your principal after this. Your lashing out has got to be stopped. This is the 5th time this month it’s gotten out of hand.” The teacher announced to literally the entire class. Earning a snicker out of Semi.
And then as the bell rang, signaling the end of class, Namgyu stormed out, detention already looming over him, with Semi, Minsu, and Gyeongsu trailing behind. “I’ll see you in gym class!”
Minsu waved towards Namgyu and walked to his math room with Semi and Gyeongsu.
So here he was, storming down the hall with his backpack slung carelessly over one shoulder, muttering under his breath the whole way. Students in the hall made way for him instinctively; Namgyu in a bad mood was like an incoming storm no one wanted to get caught in.
5th period was supposed to be Study Hall for Namgyu, he shared this class with Thanos and it had always been the highlight of his day. Getting some alone time with his cru- best friend.. Best friend. But now he couldn’t because of his damn teacher and he couldn’t even communicate with Thanos because of the phone ban.
Sucks. But the rest of the class would probably be grateful. They hate to see Thanos coming, he’s so annoying. He literally started yesterday's class by yelling "WOOHOO STUDY HALL!!” Not to mention how he always is saying something gross or just straight up trauma dump unknowingly.
Maybe he would be quiet for once if Namgyu wasn’t in class today. For the sake of his classmates please don’t let Thanos talk to Namgyu’s chair again.
———
Semi, Minsu, and Gyeongsu were navigating their next class: math. Semi slumped into her seat, already pulling out her folder.
“God, that physics meltdown…” Minsu started, then stopped, noticing Semi’s sharp glare.
“We’re not talking about Namgyu,” Semi said firmly, leaning back in her chair. “He’s… problematic. Full stop.”
Gyeongsu snorted. “Yeah, ‘problematic’ is one way to put it. Let’s talk about something actually worth our time .” He immediately sat up, looking as if something had interested him suddenly. “Honestly though, I can’t stop thinking about Thanos’ new rap song he’s been writing. It’s supposed to drop next week, and I swear it’s going to be fire.”
“Fan boy alert!” Semi laughed, while handing Minsu her lunch bag so he could eat her snacks before Gyeongsu got his hands on it.
Gyeongsu waved her off, “NO! You don’t understand, he let me listen to half of it and this one verse is like 10 times faster than his last song! AND THAT'S SAYING SOMETHING!”
“That’s cool!” Minsu spoke, nodding his head politely.
“SO LIKE THINK OF EMINEM'S RAP GOD but multiply that fast part by 15! That’s what his verse sounds like. And it’s not even sped up!”
Semi rolled her eyes “Minsu you don’t need to pretend to be interested in what he’s saying”
He sheepishly looked down. “But I am..”
“No you're not.”
“No im not”
————
“Welcome back Namgyu.” Mr Seong greeted as Namgyu pushed open the door to the principal's office.
“OH THANK FUCK!” Namgyu cheered when he saw the vice principal instead of the actual principal, Hwang In-ho. Ewwwww!!
The principal was the only staff member who Thanos and Namgyu were actually afraid of. Not because he had the power to expel them but because he was… intimidating? No, that's not the right word. A psycho? For lack of a better term, yes he’s a psycho.
“Please do not swear here Namgyu, just come sit.” Namgyu walked over and sat in the chair across from him, throwing his backpack on the floor. Which landed on the floor with a loud THUMP!
“Are your parents doing alright?”
It was a perfectly innocent question. Routine, casual, the kind of thing adults asked without thinking. But it still made Namgyu freeze.
He opened his mouth, then shut it again. What was he supposed to say? That they were never around? That half the time they didn’t notice if he came home late, or if he even ate dinner? That “alright” wasn’t really a word he could use?
He gave a short shrug instead, eyes flicking away. “They’re… fine, I guess.”
Seong nodded like that was enough, completely unaware of the weight that sat under those words. “Good to hear.”
Namgyu leaned back.
Mr. Seong studied Namgyu’s face, then put his pen down. “I heard you’re quite the performance in physics class today.”
Namgyu groaned loudly, running both hands through his hair. “Do you know what she said? There’s a quiz tomorrow. A quiz! Like we magically can do the material we don’t even understand because she never explained it!”
Vice Principal Seong leaned back in his chair, studying him carefully. “So you’re frustrated.”
“Yes!” Namgyu threw his hands up. “Frustrated, furious, ready to tear my hair out- pick a word!”
“ I understand she’s not a nice fit for her job and I get that but that doesn’t mean you could lash out on a teacher.” He sighed and pulled out a few pieces of paper. Writing god knows what down. “Look, you are in this room almost every single day Namgyu, I’m not saying your anger is wrong. But if every time something’s unfair you explode, you’re only hurting yourself.”
Namgyu rolled his eyes and kicked his feet up onto the vice principal's desk. He knew he couldn’t just scream at every teacher who annoyed him. But it felt like nobody understood how impossible it was to sit there quietly while things went wrong all around him.
Vice Principal Seong studied him for a long moment, expression unreadable. Then took Namgyu’s silence as an invitation to keep talking. “Anyway,” Seong continued, pulling out a form, “you’ve got detention today. You’ll be in room 354 after school. Consider this a… pause button. Cool down, think, maybe even do some homework if you feel like it.”
Namgyu scoffed. Yeah like he’d ever do homework. He usually just got it off of Minsu anyway- it’s free of charge because for some unknown reason Minsu is terrified of him.
Namgyu was halfway out of his chair, ready to storm out, when his eyes caught something on the desk: a clipboard with the detention roster, names scrawled in a messy green pen.
Without hesitation, he leaned over and snatched it.
“Namgyu-” Vice Principal Seong warned, but it was too late.
Namgyu’s eyes skimmed the list. His own name was there, glaring back at him. But right below, Oh hell yes, was Choi Subong!
His scowl melted instantly into a grin so wide it almost hurt
Seong said firmly, standing now. “That’s private!”
“Private my ass,” Namgyu shot back, holding the sheet high above his head like a trophy. “It’s destiny! Of course Thanos got detention. He gets it, like, every other day. It would’ve been weird if he didn’t!”
Seong marched around the desk, plucked the paper out of Namgyu’s hands with an irritated sigh, and set it back down. “Yes, Choi Subong has detention. Again. It shouldn’t be a cause for celebration.”
“Not surprising,” Namgyu managed between laughs, shaking his head. “Honestly, what did he do this time?”
Seong pinched the bridge of his nose. “He was harassing another student in 3rd period. Again.”
“Who?” Namgyu asked eagerly, though he already had a hunch.
He shook his head. “I’m not allowed to discuss that information.”
Namgyu did his best to convince him, he leaned over the desk and tried doing puppy dog eyes. It worked when Thanos does it, might as well give it a try. “PLEASEEEEEE!!!?? Couldn’t you tell your favorite student?!”
Vice principal Seong gave him an unimpressed look.
“Damn, is Thanos your favorite??? Ok fine… couldn’t you tell your second favorite student” he tried again.
Seong hesitated before answering. “…Myung-gi.”
That did it. Namgyu doubled over, laughing so hard his voice cracked. “Of course it was MG Coin! Oh my god, that idiot must’ve asked for it.”
“harassment is not funny!”
But Namgyu was grinning ear to ear, tucking the detention slip into his pocket like a golden ticket. “You don’t get it. This is the best news I’ve heard all day.”
“You can go now.”
———-
“Where is Namsu?” Thanos asked the teacher, after he spent the past 15 minutes thinking of all the ways Namgyu could have been mad at him for.
“Look, this is the 4th time you have asked, just sit down before I write you up.”
Thanos sighed in defeat and walked slowly back to his desk, collapsing against the chair.
Most of the students were quietly flipping through textbooks or typing into laptops, but not Thanos. He slouched in the corner, arms draped over the back of his chair, tapping his pen against the desk with all the subtlety of a marching band.
He picked up a pen and drew a random doodle on his notebook: a tiny version of MG Coin getting chased by some monstrous dragon, “hah Gdragon reference”. He chuckled under his breath, imagining the room in full swing with him and Namgyu plotting petty revenge together.
Study hall without Namgyu wasn’t just boring, it was an existential injustice.
But right on cue Namgyu came walking through the door, backpack slung over his shoulders looking like he was contemplating every decision that got him here but smiled the second he saw Thanos.
If you were paying enough attention you could hear the kids around them let out a collective sigh.
“Finally! I was starting to think you got transported into a new dimension, like the spiderverse or somethin’”
“What’s with you and Spider-Man-” Namgyu started but was completely interrupted.
“-NAMSU GUESS WHAT?!”
Namgyu tried to give him an unimpressed look but failed miserably by accidentally cracking a smile. “What?”
“I found this!!! You were MIA!”, Thanos pulls out a very poor drawing of Namgyu with the description:
Missing!!
Name:Namsu
Age: 17
Reward: one free win in Mario kart
Namgyu grabbed it from his hand, looking it over. He froze, staring at it, and then burst into laughter before he even realized what was happening. “This is so stupid…” he said but put it in his backpack anyway.
“Where were you anyway?”
“Ugh, I just came from a very annoying meeting with Mr. Seong..”
“Did you… miss me while you were interrogating the vice principal?” Thanos asked, while he pushed his desk closer to Namgyu’s.
Namgyu rolled his eyes, but there was a small blush creeping up his face. “Miss you? Don’t be ridiculous.”
Thanos scoffed at that. “Ok but at least it wasn’t the actual principal this time, he woulda killed you… Anyway, what I’m trying to say is you survived his little guard dog.”
Namgyu let out a long exhale. “Barely. But I did get a fun little bonus… detention after school.” He smirked. “Guess what? You’re stuck with me, buddy.”
Thanos grinned, already leaning toward his backpack. “Perfect. But first… I’ve got something better than detention to make this boring study hall actually tolerable.” and pulled out some random cd player from his backpack, fumbling with the wired headphones. “Wanna share? I got an Eminem album and a Gdragon album, your choice.”
Namgyu nodded, grabbing the left side of Thanos’ earbuds and leaned in. To an outsider this would look too intimate. “Gdragon obviously, only you and Gyeongsu care about American rappers.”
“You're missing out, my boy!”
————
The bell finally rang after what seemed like the longest class ever. The teacher had droned on and on about some boring story about his home life.
Semi stood up, wiping the crumbs from her snack off of her jeans as she turned towards the two other boys. But of course Gyeongsu was asleep.
“Ok man get up.” Semi said, kicking his chair leg.
Gyeongsu startled awake, and jumped up. “Oh god. What time is it?”
“Time for gym class…” Minsu answered quietly as he was zipping up his backpack.
“Woohoo fun, another class I can third wheel in.
Semi glanced over and rolled her eyes as she yanked Gyeongsu up by the arm and pushed his backpack into his hands. “You are not a third wheel, stop saying that.”
“Oh yeah? Then when they say get in groups of two, who do I go with huh? Cause you and Minsu are always together and don’t even get me started on the other two” Gyeongsu protested.
“Don’t be a baby, just think about it! This is how you're gonna meet your future girlfriend.” Semi said as they all walked out of the classroom and down the hall towards the locker rooms.
“I'm sorry Gyeongsu. I'm sure someone will wanna partner with you this time. You are literally the nicest person I know. If not then one of us will.” Minsu added weakly.
“Thanks!!” Gyeongsu smiled, ruffling Minsu’s hair.
They eventually made it to the gym and Semi waved at them as she disappeared into the girls locker room.
The two boys pushed open the door to the boys room and immediately cringed at the smell. Okay yeah gym sucks.
“It literally smells like socks in here.” Minsu whispered to Gyeongsu, trying not to make his presence known by MG Coin's friends.
“Naw it smells like Thanos’ bedroom.”
“That’s surprisingly accurate.”
Right on cue someone launches himself onto Minsu’s shoulders, hugging him tightly. “My lil boy Minsu! I’m so happy to see you again bro!”
Minsu shrugged Thanos off of his shoulders and said placed his backpack on the floor. “Hi! How were your other classes?”
“Fantastic baby! I got to terrorize MG Coin today!”
“Hmm that’s cool.” Minsu replied opening his locker door and started to grab out his gym clothing.
Namgyu slammed his locker shut, “Why do they even make these shorts so short? It’s like they want us to be embarrassed.”
“I like you in short shorts..” Thanos winked.
“Eww..” a voice from across the room said.
Gyeongsu and Thanos snickered.
Minsu, attempting to be helpful, held up a dark blue gym shirt. “Uh… it’s not that bad. You’re overthinking it.”
———-
The boys exited the locker room together and spotted Semi leaning against the bleachers tapping her foot impatiently.
“Took you long enough” she smirked and threw her arm around Minsu’s shoulders.
The teacher Mr. Abdul, had excitedly started explaining the rules of tennis and started to lead the class outside towards the tennis courts.
Once they all got there the class had lined up on the tennis courts, the chain-link fence rattling slightly in the autumn breeze. The gym teacher blew his whistle again, barking orders. “Groups of four for warm-up drills! Move!”
Semi and minsu had somehow convinced Mr. Abdul to let Gyeongsu join their group. He nodded and Gyeongsu happily skipped over to their court. Next to them Thanos immediately walked up next to them, grinning like he had a secret plan.
“You guys! MG coin and his group are in the court across from us. Should we purposely hit them in the head?”
Sure enough MG Coin, Junhee, Daeho and Hyunju were across the net from them.
“Our mission is clear: terrorize MG Coin and Daeho, and have fun while we’re at it.” Thanos continued.
Gyeongsu and Namgyu laughed historically and nodded quickly.
“I’m not sure that’s the best idea..” Minsu said, which earned him a don’t be a sissy look from Namgyu.
Deaho had served the ball first which had been aimed directly right at Namgyu’s face. Namgyu ever the athlete had basically yelped and tried to duck out of the way.
Thanos kinda just swooped in hitting the ball before it made contact with his best friends face sending it flying over the net. Right next to Junhee.
She grabbed swung her arm but missed the ball completely. Okay no biggie, who is actually good at tennis anyway.
She attempted to grab the ball off the pavement but stumbled a little, grabbing her stomach.
MG Coin picked it up for her and threw it back towards the other side.
Thanos grabbed it and bounced it a couple times.
However, just as Thanos went to serve the ball he stopped as he glanced at Junhee who seemed to be very outta breath from just one failed swing from her racket.
Hmmm probably just period cramps, he guessed. Continuing the game, be careful to be respectful towards Junhee and not hit any ball in her direction. No matter how much he hates her boyfriend, he was still a nice guy.
As the game continued they kept their original plan going. MG Coin yelped more than once, narrowly avoiding Thanos’ enthusiastic swings. “Stop doing that!” he shouted.
Semi had a few great hits in launching the ball directly at Daeho. Who sometimes hit it sometimes didn’t.
Gyeongsu had fun hitting some stray balls that his team had missed. He was just happy to be here. Minsu meanwhile just hid behind them.
But then Hyunju started moving. Smooth, fast, and deadly accurate, she intercepted almost every spike that came near her. Her hands were steady, her eyes sharp. “You really think you can fuck with us?” she said, sending the ball straight back with precision.
Thanos groaned dramatically as the ball soared back toward him. “She’s… putting us in our place. No! This is not allowed!”
Namgyu caught the ball mid-air, gritting his teeth. “I know, I know! Don’t worry.” And with that, he faked a hit toward Daeho, who lunged unnecessarily, but still made contact with it while Thanos swooped in from the side to spike it past MG Coin’s head again.
Gyeongsu clapped loudly, grinning. “Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Team Thanos, you’re winning on style points alone.”
Semi shook her head, laughing. “You guys are ridiculous. But I have to admit… it’s kind of fun.”
In the end they got their asses handed to them by Hyunju, she was actually scarily good. Respect
Mr. Abdul blew his whistle and Thanos yelled a ‘good game’ towards just Junhee and Hunju, excluding MG Coin and Deaho.
Everyone started walking back inside.
“That was ridiculous, you three boys gotta learn how to be kind.” Semi joked, nudging Namgyu in the shoulder who gave her a death glare.
“You too were destroying it out there señorita.”
“Why thank you!” She fake bowed.
“Oh before I forget, me and Namsu got detention after school today so we can’t walk home with you guys.”
“Awww man I wanted to listen to Thanos’ new cd.” Gyeongsu frowned and kicked a loose pebble, sending it under a nearby car in the parking lot.
“Why are you surprised this happens almost everyday.” Minsu said.
“Don’t worry, I will make sure you get to hear it! It’s the new Death of Slim Shady album.”
Gyeongsu smiled. Namgyu rolls his eyes.
“Well good luck with detention, Grimace and his little twink.” Semi said as she hurried into the girls locker room before Namgyu could swing at her.
———
After school Thanos and Namgyu walk into the familiar room. Already claiming the same chairs they always sit in.
“Well, well, well,” he said, folding his arms. “If it isn’t my most loyal customers.” Mr. Park greeted as they sat down.
“Hey boss, what's up?” Thanos replied, kicking his feet up onto Namgyu’s lap.
Namgyu gave him a look but didn’t push him off.
The teacher set his book down, squinting at them with mock seriousness. “So. What was it this time? Don’t tell me you punched another vending machine, Namgyu?”
“That thing ate my money and gave me stale chips. I should’ve burned it.”
Thanos sat up grinning. “Naw not this time, just some trouble with MG Coin you know how it is. And Namsu here got a little cranky over some physics work.”
Namgyu shoved Thanos feet off of him hard. Giving him a glare “I wasn’t ‘cranky’ don’t be a dick Subong.”
“Wow, legal naming me now?!” He said as he put a hand to his chest.
“Stop calling me ‘Namsu’ then I might start calling you what you want to be called.”
Mr. Park sighed again, though it was less of a tired adult sigh and more like these two are my free comedy show. “You know, I don’t even bother writing up incident reports for you anymore. I just leave the box checked: ‘same as usual.’”
Thanos laughed, Namgyu didn’t.
Namgyu leaned his chair back dangerously far, arms crossed. “Then why make us stay?”
“Because,” the teacher said simply, “if I let you go, you’d just end up back here tomorrow for something worse. This way, at least I can keep an eye on you until 5:00.”
“Aw, so what you’re saying is, you’d miss us if we didn’t show up?” Thanos said.
The teacher pinched the bridge of his nose, but he was still chuckling under his breath. “God help me, I probably would.”
Namgyu scoffed, but there was a twitch of a smile he couldn’t hide.
For the next twenty or so minutes, Thanos and Namgyu went back and forth playing a game of Cham Cham Cham, when their attention was stolen by two students in the back gossiping.
Two girls were talking who seemed to be dating but it was not confirmed.
One was named Sae-byeok, and the other was Jiyoung or something like that. If Thanos remembered correctly.
Namgyu wasn’t usually nosy, but something about their tone made his ears perk. He nudged Thanos with his elbow. “Shh. Listen.”
Thanos tilted his head, as the girls’ conversation filtered over.
They were talking in hushed whispers about another student- wait no two other students.
“I heard Junhee’s been acting… weird,” Sae-byeok said, voice barely audible. “Like sick in the mornings, leaving class a lot…”
Jiyoung nodded quickly, eyes wide. “That’s because she’s pregnant.”
Namgyu’s head whipped toward them, eyes narrowing. Pregnant? His brain stumbled, processing the word.
Thanos blinked, stunned, before his lips parted in slow shock. “Wait… what?” he whispered, more to himself than to anyone else.
The first girl leaned even closer to her friend, her voice dropping lower, though in the silence of detention it carried just enough for Thanos and Namgyu to catch it.
“And it’s Myunggi’s.”
Namgyu almost choked on his own breath. He slapped a hand over his mouth, Thanos turned his head and made eye contact with Namgyu.
Thanos slapped his hand on the desk, trying to stifle his laughter.
The two girls kept whispering, oblivious, and Thanos leaned closer to Namgyu, still shaking with silent laughter. “Namsu… we cannot keep this to ourselves. I mean… do you realize what we just stumbled onto?”
They literally had a conversation with their eyes and immediately pulled out their phones. Banned or not. They hopped on the ‘Thanos world’ groupchat and typed.
Thanos: SEMI’S HOUSE 7PM, YOU GUYS BETTER BE THERE WE HAVE NEWS!
Namgyu: OH YEAH WE DO GET READY!
Semi: You can’t just invite yourself over.
Thanos: NO YOU NEED TO HERE THIS!
Gyeongsu: tell us!!
Namgyu: This needs to be done in person
Semi: … ok fine see you there.
Thanos and Namgyu grinned and gave themselves a high five. Oh yeah this just became their problem, MG Coin ur secret is out.