Further away…

(And when the author means “further away,” what she really meant was further away in space and in time.)

So, further away in space and in time, there was once a timid boy who was about to get an ass whoopin’.

In this wide and overly populated city, multiple human lives were milling about here and there to earn a quick buck. They went about their day, going on trains, buses, cars, taxis, Ubers, you name it, to get to work.

These were the early risers of society.

Yet, there was still one little life in this great, big city who was just the opposite. Instead of being wide awake and ready for the day, he was sound asleep, unbeknownst of everything around him.

In a simple apartment inside this grand city, the little life was avoiding the outside world safely by isolating himself inside his home.

Light radiated from the rising sun and filtered into his room from the curtainless window. It scattered brilliant pink hues and stark oranges across the walls and onto the lump that slumbered on a futon.

The lump rose steadily, signifying the fragile life under the covers. From the lump, a head of hair poked out, eyes shut, facing the door that creaked slightly as it slid open.

An agile silhouette entered the room, trying to be as quiet as possible. It made its way slowly across the threshold until it stood above the lump, a smile loose upon its lips when it thought about how peaceful the scene looked. 

Still smiling, it raised a frying pan in one hand and a wooden spatula in the other. And then...

Bang!

One could say that this poor lump's day started off with a bang, quite literally.

“Aaaaaah!” The small figure who was happily dreaming in the futon was shocked witless and shot upright. For a second, he thought he was going to have a heart attack.

Hearing her baby brother gasping and out of breath, Miko smiled sweetly to draw attention away from the bulging vein popping out of her forehead.

“Hey!” She smacked his shoulder forcibly, then flicked his face a few times to get rid of his surprised face. “Get the hell up, bro bro, you’re going to be late for school.”

The terrified bean sprout of a brother just gave her an incredulous look and groaned.

Well, he seems rather perky now. 

Miko made a satisfied smile and announced, “Oh, and I already made breakfast. I’ll give you five minutes to leave the house or else.”

Her brother didn’t looked like he recovered at all from her “alarm system” but she didn’t really pay any mind to it. Instead, she further tried to annoy him out of his bedding by stripping the blanket from him.

Being an older sibling acting as a parent to a seventeen-year-old boy sure had its advantages. 

Like, when you could freely bully them around without your parents berating you. It’s not like she enjoyed being tough on him, but that’s what you call a sister’s love.

She’s been taking care of him for quite a while now. It’s almost been three years. Ever since she turned eighteen, their busy-bodied and addicted-to-work parents made a clean getaway to America and maintained their business. 

In their wake, they ended up leaving behind a teen in the care of a newly pronounced adult and didn’t think twice.

But these siblings couldn’t hate them, not entirely.

Their parents had always done this kind of thing: worked late hours, barely made it to school events, and left them to take care of themselves. So from early on, Miko was providing for her brother, Dan, before he could walk.

Miko watched as her little bro busied himself out of his futon and went to his closet to get his uniform. Satisfied that he was being quick about it, she “humph”-ed and went back to the living room to get herself ready for work.

She had bought this house herself not too long ago. Her parents had left them some money, but it was only enough to give them the rent of their old home. Once the funds had run out, Miko had bought a cheaper one in a newer city, and quickly got a job at a high-end producing company as an agent.

It paid very well, but the hours were intolerable and she couldn’t keep up with them and taking care of her brother. It had becoming really taxing for her: the constant lack of time, the inability to support her brother's school events, and the lack of being home. 

It gotten to the point where she desperately tried to reschedule her hours to no avail. Without any other choice or doubt in her mind, she ended up resigning and begun another job for a board of marketers in an advertising agency.

With this new job, she could work at home. Yet, it was still important that she had to attend a meeting three times a month to discuss sales and new pursuits that she was going to work on.

Miko went over to a large mirror and fixed the collar of her dress shirt. She didn’t really have many fancy outfits, so she had to make the ones she had count.

She was able to hear a few thumps, a crash, and another round of shocked noises coming from her brother’s room (these walls were so thin). He seemed to be working harder today at getting ready, so she wanted to reward him.

Content with her appearance, she moved on to a more important task in the kitchen.

There, she got out two boxes, one red and the other blue. Knowing her brother wouldn't have time to eat breakfast this morning, she decided to save it in the red bento, then went on making his lunch to put in the blue one. All the while, she lost herself in preparing the meals, putting all of her focus on it. 

She enjoyed anything that had to do with taking care of her brother's needs. So at this time, she was so elated that she began to happily hum a tune she heard on the radio a lot as she worked.

By the time Dan showed himself in front of her, he was a sweaty mess. His tie was slightly askew, and his shirt was untucked on one side. He was also hopping about trying to get his socks on.

Seeing his brother like this, Miko couldn’t contain her laughter. She held her stomach with both arms because she was laughing so hard to the point where she even felt her eyes getting watery. 

Her brother was such a klutz, especially after how she woke him up this morning. 

He was simply too adorable.

“Here,” she smirked, trying to suppress her giggling after she saw he was getting embarrassed. “Let me help.”

She went over and fixed his tie, then tucked his pants properly. He finished putting on his socks which contained the school’s emblem on them. After another glance up and down, Miko thought he looked proper enough, so she handed him his bag from the table and then the two bento boxes.

Dan just meekly thanked her, brushing past her to find his good shoes. She watched him like a hawk, as if he was going to tie his laces wrong too.

She then sent him off when he was done, and locked the door behind her. Dan watched her anxiously as she got into the car and hollered, “Take care, sis!”

Miko wanted to watch her brother off on the first day of his new school, but she had to attend one of those pesky board meetings and couldn’t. 

A little despondent that she couldn’t drive him to school, she just told him, “Good luck! Text me if you need anything.”

Dan feebly smiled back and rushed off to school after seeing his sister off.

As a new student at U Academy, being early was crucial. It’s not like the school was prestigious or anything (if it were, Dan felt he might crack with pressure) but it was very strict with its rules and guidelines.

For instance, getting at least one tardy was enough for you to have after school duty for the rest of the month.

Thinking of this, Dan decided to run the rest of the way.

He knew he was going in the right direction when he spotted several other students in the same uniform walking towards a grand white and blue building. 

Inching near the crowd, he nervously took in his new classmates. All of them seemed preppy with their neat hairstyles and pristine uniforms. They chatted among themselves warmly, as if everyone was as thick as thieves. 

This caused him to gulp audibly, he didn't really think he would be able to get through today. Everyone seemed on a different level than him. He felt like he was intruding on their shining world with his bleak and sudden arrival.

Nonetheless, Dan tried his best to blend in with the crowd, but he was still too nervous and ended up stumbling a couple of times on the way to the teachers’ department.

When he finally made it, a few missed turns later, he slid the door open and tried to find his homeroom teacher.

He looked at the name plates, a few of them recognizable from the class list, but none matched who he was looking for. It took several more desks until he finally found the teacher who'll see him every morning before school starts.

A scruffy man sat in front of the computer, looking slightly bored. It took him a moment to spot Dan, and when he did, he just yawned and gave him a tired look as if he was up all night.

… Is this really a teacher here? He’s way too lax! ∑(ʘᗩʘΙ∣Ι)

Still, Dan knew that this was the correct teacher, the plate on his desk read the same name that was given to him on his schedule.

Without a word, his homeroom teacher picked up a few thick filing folders, gave a tilt of his head to point in the hallway, and led Dan to the classroom.

Dan has traveled a lot due to his parents’ work location, so he wasn’t new to the whole “transfer student” process. However, he still had a large case of stage fright and just the thought of going up in front of his classmates almost made him faint.

After the death-defying introduction, the teacher directed him to his chair and the whispering around him ensued. It sounded so loud that he could pick up every word.

“Hey hey, new kid, huh?” *snickers*

“Oh, wow look at him, his face is so pale, www.”

“Tch, he’s got the protagonist chair, lucky~”

“Yo what do you mean lucky? He’s gonna be the protag of a BL novel.”

“I’m just saying.”

He felt their stares on his back as he moved closer to the chair. They were hard to ignore and he wanted to crumple up into a ball.

When he had finally arrived it had felt like he wandered the desert for 40 days and nights. When he got seated, the chair emitted a slight scratching sound as he pushed in.

The whole class heard it, and again, the stares all landed on his face.

His face heated once again from embarrassment. Dan wanted to hide his face for the rest of the day, so he put his arms on his desk and did just that.

Even if he got in trouble for not sitting upright, he would gladly pay the price. However, this was not an efficient pose to listen to the lecture. So he was only able to partially listen to the notes his teacher taught.

Yet, soon after (Dan didn’t know when), the lesson slowed down, and it sounded as if the teacher was just droning on. Until it got quieter and quieter…