The administrative office at Văn Khoa
"Oh my god, Mr. Út!"
Dung shrieked when he saw Đông Anh's disheveled look—shirt half-untucked, with some blood stains here and there. He rushed forward and started patting Đông Anh down like a panicked mother hen.
"What the hell happened to you? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No, I'm fine. Ow—"
Whether by accident or fate, Dung had pressed right on the bruise Đông Anh got from falling earlier—or more accurately, the bruise Dung himself had caused when he shoved the boy.
"What do you mean fine? Why'd you 'ow' then? Turn around, let me see!"
Dung spun Đông Anh around, already reaching to pull his shirt up right in front of the professor, who stood frozen, clearly unsure what to do. Mortified, Đông Anh shoved Dung away.
"I just slipped, okay? I'm really fine!"
Clicking his tongue in disapproval, Dung turned on the professor.
"You told me Mr. Út was perfectly fine, and now look at him—bloody and battered! What am I supposed to tell Mr. Liễu?"
The professor stammered, "It… it was an unfortunate incident, no one meant for this to happen. On behalf of the school, I sincerely apologize..."
"No, sir, please, I'm not hurt," Đông Anh cut in quickly, seeing the professor bowing. He turned and snapped at Dung, "I told you I'm fine. Don't make this harder for him."
"How can anyone believe you're fine looking like this?"
"I swear I'm not hurt!"
"Then let me check for myself."
"You... " Đông Anh shot Dung a look that could kill.
"Wait, did they tell you to lie? Is that it? Are they threatening you not to speak up?" Dung said, puffing his chest. "Don't worry, I'm here. You've got me."
"You're unbelievable..."
Before Đông Anh could finish, Dung yanked him behind his back and went off again at the professor.
"You better give us a full explanation. This is only Mr. Út's first day and there's already violence and arrests? How can Mr. Liễu trust this school again after this? And as you know, Mr. Liễu has donated quite a lot to this university before sending Mr. Út here!"
That last line was delivered extra loud, drawing a groan from Đông Anh. He snapped.
"Dung!"
"Don't worry, sir, I got this!" Dung kept playing dumb. "And Professor, I don't think it's appropriate to downplay things like this. I mean, Mr. Liễu—owner of Liberty nightclub—personally entrusted Mr. Kim Đông Anh to your school..."
"Enough!" Đông Anh cut him off, pulling Dung aside and bowing deeply. "I apologize, Professor. He misunderstood the situation. I was just in the infirmary helping treat some injured classmates, so I accidentally got blood on my clothes. But I'm totally uninjured." He glared at Dung. "And you, apologize, now."
"What for? I was just worried about you."
"Apologize."
Grumbling under his breath, Dung gave the professor a half-hearted bow.
"Sorry for the misunderstanding. Since it is a misunderstanding, I suppose I won't report this to Mr. Liễu—owner of Liberty nightclub—"
Đông Anh stomped on Dung's foot to shut him up.
"If you'll excuse us, sir."
Without waiting for a reply, Đông Anh dragged Dung out of the office. Not that it helped much, dozens of nosy students were still hanging around in the hallway, staring.
"Whoa, slow down, sir! Why you dragging me like that?"
"Keep your voice down!" Đông Anh hissed.
"Wait, wait, sir, stop holding my hand, people are staring!"
Startled, Đông Anh looked down. Sure enough, he was gripping Dung's wrist tight. His face flushed red. He yanked his hand back and marched off quickly, aiming straight for the parking lot.
"Sir, slow down! Wait for me!"
Dung's voice echoed obnoxiously across the hallway, clearly making no effort to be discreet. "Kim Đông Anh, don't run! If you fall again, Mr. Liễu—owner of Liberty nightclub—is gonna kill me!"
.
The car door slammed shut as Đông Anh dropped into his seat. Dung was already behind the wheel, hands firm on it. He glanced at the young master's grumpy face and asked in mock innocence:
"What's with the storm cloud on your face, sir?"
"Just drive. Now."
Dung obeyed. The engine roared to life, and the car eased forward. Despite his best efforts to look serious, the corners of Dung's mouth betrayed a triumphant smirk.
"There was a scuffle back there—had me worried sick about you!" he blurted out, trying to sound sincere.
"Why did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Why'd you shout my full name in front of everyone? And why bring up my dad too?"
"What, I'm not allowed to say your name now?"
Đông Anh bit his lip, trying to stay calm.
"I don't want people paying attention to my background. And you just had to yell about how my dad 'donated to the school so I could study here.' You want them to think I didn't get in on my own?"
"Hey now, I'm not that evil! And besides, Mr. Liễu really did make a donation, you know." Dung was clearly enjoying himself, watching Đông Anh fume. "And let's be real, anyone who sees you walking into this school would assume your daddy pulled some strings."
"That's exactly why I don't want people to know who I am. And you just keep running your mouth."
"Ouch, guess I screwed up big time!" Dung tapped his own lips dramatically. "Come on, sir, forgive me just this once!"
Đông Anh said nothing, letting Dung shake his arm like a guilty child.
"You're not saying anything, so I'm taking that as a yes." Dung grinned. "But really now—how else could you have gotten into this school if your dad didn't pull strings?"
"I passed the entrance exam."
"For real?"
"For real! Why does no one believe me? I swear to God!"
Dung couldn't suppress a smile at how dead-serious Đông Anh looked.
"Alright, alright, I believe you from now on, happy?"
"So before this, you didn't?"
"I, uh…" Dung stumbled.
"Forget it. It's not like you wanted this babysitting gig anyway."
"Don't say that. You didn't even listen to me today, you got caught up in something you shouldn't have. Do you know how panicked I was when I couldn't find you?"
Đông Anh sighed.
"I'm sorry. I was in the infirmary, helping out, and I lost track of time."
"What were you doing in the infirmary?"
"Well…" Đông Anh's eyes darted away.
"Hey now, sir, if you want me to trust you, no more secrets, got it?"
"I… I was just passing by…"
"What did I tell you this morning? Come to school, study, nothing else. Why'd you have to go sticking your nose into stuff at the infirmary?"
"I just saw someone needed help, so I helped. I wasn't mixed up in that whole thing, I swear."
"If you're lying, you'll go straight to hell!"
"I'm not! I swear. I saw this masked guy knock out a student and drag him off. I thought it might be a kidnapping, so I followed."
"Holy hell, are you outta your mind?! What if that guy had pulled a gun and shot you? I swear, I need to quit this job soon. With the way you act, I could have ten lives and still not be enough to protect you!"
"I mean… what else was I supposed to do? Just pretend I didn't see anything?"
Đông Anh's voice softened, sounded almost apologetic, though still clinging to his reasoning.
"Do you even know the guy who got kidnapped? Why the hell would you risk your life like that?"
"I don't."
"God, you're making me lose it here!" Dung threw his hands up. "My dear Út, please worry about your own hide for once! 'Cause now, your hide's tied to mine too!"
Đông Anh's face dropped. He didn't say a word for a long stretch of silence—long enough to make Dung nervous.
"…Why aren't you saying anything?"
"I'm sorry."
That hit Dung right in the chest. He suddenly felt his heart go soft. For a second, he even wanted to reach out and gently pat Đông Anh's head—as if to say: "You're forgiven."
After a short drive, Dung pulled into a quiet side street and stopped the car.
"Time to get out, sir."
"Huh? Why?"
"We've arrived. Come on, hop out."
Đông Anh looked out the window at the large building Dung had parked beside. It seemed to be the back of the structure—just a bare, gray cement wall. The only real feature was a rusted metal staircase leading up to a small attic room on the third floor.
"Where are we?"
"Liberty. Don't recognize it, sir?"
Đông Anh shook his head. "But why…"
"You planning to go home looking like a bloodied mess? 'Cause I sure don't have the guts to let you. Go on, head straight to the attic room. That's my place now."
"…What for?"