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Chirp! Chirp!

“What was that?”

Little Sehun sat as still as possible, as if it would make him any less guilty of the crime he was committing. He was silently hoping that his kindergarten teacher hadn’t heard where it was coming from. When his teacher went back to giving instructions on what color to fill in the flower drawing’s stem, Sehun turned to the backpack that was hanging on the back of his chair.

“Shh, little birdy! I don’t want to get in trouble!” he whispered.

It was quiet for a while, so Sehun thought the bird understood what he had asked of it. Sehun almost forgot about it since he was so focused on coloring in his flower drawing. The class was also silently concentrating on their own coloring, so the classroom was quiet. If the bird chirped now, it would definitely be discovered.

Throughout the day, the bird slept in his bag — which was a good thing because Sehun was afraid it would be able to fly out and possibly eat the caterpillars that the teacher brought in for the class to watch and raise. Since it was sleeping, it had made no noise whatsoever; but now that it had woken up…

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!

“There it is again! Baekhyun, did you hear it?” The teacher asked his assistant. “I swear I heard it this time!”

He listened for it again.

Chirp! Chirp!

“Sehun, is it coming from your bag?” He started to walk over, which was when Sehun started to panic.

“No! No, it’s not! It’s probably coming from outside!”

“Give me your backpack,” the teacher commanded.

As the student, Sehun knew he had to obey. Reluctantly, he took his bag off the back of his chair and handed it to his teacher. The chirping was becoming more frequent and distressed with all the movement going on and the teacher was able to find the bird easily.

The teacher assistant, Baekhyun, leaned over his friend’s shoulder to look at the bird in the bag. “Yup, that’s a real live bird, alright.”

The teacher handed the bag to Baekhyun and looked at Sehun. “You’re coming with me to the principal’s office.”

“Oh, Jongdae! What are you doing here?”

The teacher — Kim Jongdae — and Sehun walked into Principal Wu’s office. Jongdae became confused when he saw the amount of garbage that was piled onto the principal’s desk.

“Yifan,” Jongdae acknowledged. “I’m here because Sehun decided it was appropriate to bring a baby bird to scho—”

“A baby bird? Where is it?” the principal asked. “Can I see it?”

“Sure!” Sehun answered enthusiastically, taking off his backpack and opening the compartment where the small winged animal sat. Jongdae could already tell Sehun didn’t know exactly how much trouble he was in and the principal was not taking this matter as seriously as he should have when he heard the man cooing at the little bird.

“Anyway, I’m going to call Sehun’s guardian and tell them to come down here so they know what he’s done,” Jongdae announced.

The principal turned his attention away from the bird. “Why? Is Sehun in trouble?” Yifan asked, genuinely curious.

Jongdae’s expression was incredulous. “Yes! Yes, he is!” He took another look at the mess on the principal’s desk. “Now, if I can find his file underneath all that garbage…”

Yifan reached into the pile of garbage on his desk and managed to easily pull out a small stack of papers. “I personally don’t see what Sehun did wrong, but I think this is what you are looking for.”

“I don’t know how you could find anything through this mess…” Jongdae muttered while looking for Sehun’s document. When he found it, he walked over to the office phone and dialed the first number listed under the emergency contacts section. After three rings, the phone was picked up.

“Hi, good afternoon, is this Sehun’s older brother?” Jongdae asked into the phone. “It says you are the first emergency contact listed on Sehun’s file. Hi, I’m calling to let you know Sehun is in trouble and is sitting in the principal’s office right now, I’m going to need you to come down here.

“I will let you know what he has done once you reach here.

“Five minutes? That’s fine. Alright, goodbye.”

Yifan was watching Jongdae with expectant eyes. “Okay, are you done now? Because I want you to move aside so I can play Paper Toss.”

The teacher raised his eyebrow. “So that’s why you have a mountain of junk piled onto your desk? Sometimes, you are so ridiculous…”

“Oh, Kim Jongdae,” Yifan smiled while shaking his head. “You don’t know just how ridiculous I can get! Just you wait, you haven’t seen anything yet!” The principal picked up a crumpled ball of paper and shot it into wastebasket across the room. “SCORE!!”

Jongdae just shook his head and turned to his student. “Sehun, we can just wait for your brother outside, because it seems that Principal Wu is… busy …” Jongdae said, carefully selecting the last word. He prodded Sehun along outside the door and they both sat down at a table.

A few moments of awkward silence — besides the chirping — passed when the buzzer rang, indicating a visitor was ringing the doorbell. The tell-tale sound of a beep and the door opening let Jongdae know that the visitor was allowed inside by Yifan’s secretary Kim Joonmyun.

Sehun got up from his chair when he saw his brother. “Hyung!”

“Sehun! What’s wrong? What did you do?” a young man asked, probably about the same age as Jongdae. The teacher stood up to greet the visitor, so Sehun stood at his brother’s side and hugged his leg while the older man turned to greet Jongdae. Momentarily, Sehun felt his older brother freeze and tense up.

“Oh, I’m sorry, how rude of me. I’m Yixing, Sehun’s older brother,” Yixing introduced himself, extending his hand for a handshake. Due to his brother’s weird reaction, Sehun curiously looked up at his hyung and saw his face growing a beet red. Never in his life has he seen his older brother blush like this before.

“H-hello, I'm Teacher K-Kim,” Jongdae stuttered while shaking Yixing’s hand, “Sehun’s Kindergarten t-teacher.” Sehun’s eyes widened as he looked at his teacher. He's also never witnessed his teacher stumble with his words and become nervous like this.

What was happening?

Sehun knew, and a knowing smile started to spread across his face.

It was obvious that his hyung and his teacher have already fallen for each other.

“Nice to meet you,” Yixing greeted. “Uh, what is it that Sehun did? You said over the phone that you would tell me once I’m here.”

“I called you in here because… because…”

Chirp! Chirp!

“Right! Because Sehun brought a duck, I mean, bird? Yeah, a bird to school in his backpack!”

“A bird? … Wait, a bird?!” Yixing quickly turned to look down at his little brother. “How'd you manage to pick up a bird?”

Sehun just shrugged.

“So we just w-wanted to let you know what Sehun did, and we hope that you take the necessessaryry — excuse me — necessary c-courses of action to ensure that it doesn’t happen again,” Jongdae managed to say. “We are letting him off with a w-warning this time.”

“Okay, thank you so much.” Yixing bowed. “Sehun, apologize,” he ordered.

“I’m sorry, Teacher Kim,” Sehun said. Yixing took hold of Sehun’s head and pushed it down, making the little boy bow.

“It’s okay, Sehun,” Jongdae reassured him. “You can go home since the day is almost over. We weren’t r-really planning on doing anything else. T-thank you for coming in,” the teacher bowed then turned to leave.

Yixing picked up Sehun and started for the door. Being against his hyung’s chest, he could feel the erratic heartbeat and his slightly quickened breathing. Sehun could also see what was behind Yixing — his kindergarten teacher was smacking himself in the head and muttering to himself. The funny sight caused Sehun to giggle.

After walking off the ground of the school, Yixing stopped and set his little brother on the ground. He then bent down so he could be at Sehun’s level. “Hey, I would say I’m disappointed in you, but I’m not. I know you just wanted to help the baby bird.”

Sehun nodded. “If I just left it there, it would have died.”

“I know, but what if you managed to catch a disease from it? You're not supposed to pick up just anything from the ground…”

“If I got a disease from it, then you’d get sick since you touched me. Teacher Kim, too! You guys shook hands.”

“Oh, haha,” Yixing chuckled nervously, “I think we’re both fine. Just don’t bring random things you find on the ground to school. Or else you’d get in trouble again.”

“But if I get in trouble, you’d have to come to the office again, right?” Sehun asked.

“Yes, I’d have to come in again.”

Sehun held onto Yixing’s hand as they continued walking in silence. Their house was a couple of blocks from the school; it wasn’t a long walk, but Sehun could get in a few words with his brother before they reached home.

Sehun turned his head to look up at his tall brother. “Hyung, do you have somebody you like?”

Confusion scrunched up Yixing’s face. He was a little taken aback by the sudden question, but he thought he could answer it anyway. “No, why?”

“I think you have somebody you like,” the little boy said while smiling cheekily.

Yixing became even more confused. “I do? Who?”

“You should know yourself! You'll figure it out sooner or later!”

“Huh?”

Sehun began humming to himself, not offering any answers. Yixing decided that he would just drop it, since his brother was probably starting some meaningless baby talk.

“Hyung!”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Can you pick me up from school instead of mommy?”

“Why all of a sudden?” Sehun has never asked his brother to do this before.

“I don't want mommy to hear that I brought a birdy to school.”

“Oh.” Yixing thought that the answer made sense. “But they called me in. They won't tell her since they told me already. I’ll keep this a secret between you and me, so mom and dad don’t have to know; just don't do it again.”

“But I want you to pick me up, just like today,” Sehun kept insisting. “It’s boring getting into the car and getting driven home. I wanna walk with you!”

“But mom comes home from work at the same time you finish school, so she might as well pick you up along the way.”

Sehun pouted, his first subtle plan already sabotaged. Now he’d have to think of another way to get his brother to come to school…

Yixing only walks with Sehun to school in the mornings. On warm enough days, the kids wait outside in lines in the school yard, where they wait for the day to begin and their teachers to bring them inside. Yixing almost never comes into contact with any of Sehun’s teachers — and Sehun knows this.

This day is like any other; Yixing walks Sehun to school and says goodbye as Sehun walks into the school yard. Yixing stands there behind the fence with all the other parents, until he thinks he’s been there long enough and goes home.

“Jongin, Jongin Jongin!” Sehun yelled as he ran to the Kindergarten line.

“What?!” his friend yelled back. Jongin is always there before Sehun, waiting on line.

“I have to tell you something!”

“What is it?!”

“You know my brother Yixing?” The tanned little boy nodded. “I think he has a crush on Teacher Kim!”

Jongin gasped. “NO WAY!!”

“Yeah way!! The thing is… it’s gonna be hard for them to see each other…”

“Aww, why? They saw each other at the principal’s office, though, right?”

“Uh-huh…” Sehun replied.

The bell rang, and all the little kids — except Sehun and Jongin — screamed and scrambled to line up. In a few moments, Teacher Kim and TA Byun showed up to say their morning greetings and bring them inside to their classroom.

But an evil smile continued to spread across Jongin’s face as they began walking inside. Walking behind Sehun, he whispered into his friend’s ear, “Don’t worry, I got a plan.”

Jongdae didn’t mind Sehun after the baby bird incident — he knew Sehun was a capable little boy who did not typically cause trouble.

What he didn’t know was that Jongin was a latent troublemaker who has the ability to influence Sehun. Jongdae is about to see just how intelligent Jongin and Sehun are for their age.

The Kindergarten teacher decided it was a great day for making their flower drawings more three-dimensional. He and Baekhyun demonstrated how to take colored tissue paper and stick it onto the paper; they were too distracted to notice Jongin whispering in Sehun’s ear.

When Jongin was done, he pulled away and Sehun nodded and smiled at him.

“Is there anyone who would like to come up and show the class their flower?”

A bunch of hands shot up — Jung Soojung, Huang Zitao, Bae Sooji, and Ji Hansol all wanted to showcase their work.

“All right, Zitao, come on up here. Show the class your flower and tell us why you chose to color it that way,” Jongdae instructed.

Zitao got up from his seat and walked to the front of the classroom with his flower drawing in his hand. He turned his drawing towards the class, so all of them could see it. He opened his mouth to speak, just when someone else shot up from their seat.

“YOUR DRAWING IS BAD!!” Sehun shouted. “YOU LOOK LIKE YOU DREW THAT WITH YOUR FEET!!”

Everyone turned their heads in shock. “Sehun!!” Jongdae scolded.

“AND YOU’RE A DOO-DOO BRAIN!!” Sehun continued.

Zitao’s face turned extremely red and tears started welling up in his eyes.

“Oh no,” Jongdae breathed out, ready for what came next.

“WAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!” Zitao wailed, drawing forgotten on the floor and cries piercing into the ears of his classmates. Tears streamed down his face as Jongdae and Baekhyun rushed over to him to cheer him up.

When their attempts to get him to quiet down didn’t work, Jongdae turned to Sehun. “Sehun, apologize right now!”

“But I don’t wanna.”

“You need to apologize,” Jongdae insisted, trying to remember that it’s not right to raise his voice at Kindergarteners.

“I’m not gonna.”

“But Sehun, you really hurt Zitao’s feelings.”

“I still don’t want to say sorry.”

“Sehun, please? It’s basic manners…”

“No.”

“Say sorry while I’m asking nicely…”

“I DON’T WANNA!!”

“Alright, that’s it, you’re coming to the principal’s office with me!” Jongdae was exasperated at this point. Zitao’s cries rang clear in his ears and he’s never dealt with such disrespect from one of his students in his life.

When the assistant saw Jongdae making his way with Sehun towards the door, he panicked. “OY! Where are you going?! You’re going to leave me to deal with Zitao alone?!” Baekhyun exclaimed.

“YES!” Jongdae shouted back. “SEHUN NEEDS TO GO TO THE PRINCIPAL!!”

Jongdae took hold of Sehun’s wrist and led him out the door. He missed the way how Jongin gave his friend a thumbs up and how Sehun smiled back.

When Jongdae walked into the office with Sehun in tow, a really peculiar sight met his eyes. “Wu Yifan, what are you doing?”

The principal was struggling to place a lamp stand onto his photocopy machine. He was using his arms to hold the lamp in place on the machine, while using one of his legs to hold up the stand. Wires were everywhere and it was truly a sight to behold.

"Jongdae, Jongdae, Jongdae... You can never be too careful!"

“What is that even supposed to mean?!”

“Oh! Sehun, you’re back again,” Principal Wu greeted in surprise. “I mean, it hasn’t even been a day, but you must’ve missed me! How’s that baby bird doing?”

“My brother made me look for where I found it and he put it back into the nest since I wasn’t tall enough to reach it!” Sehun answered excitedly.

“Speaking of your brother,” Jongdae interrupted with Sehun’s document already in hand, “we need to call him.”

“What did Sehun do this time?” Yifan asked, still wrestling with his lamp stand.

“He disrespected one of my students and refused to apologize to him when he started crying,” Jongdae huffed, already dialing Yixing’s number.

“Well, if it’s that Zitao kid, I don’t blame him,” Yifan mumbled.

After another hurried phone call, a couple of moments, and another round of Yifan photocopying his stapler, Yixing came through the door and into the office.

One look at Yifan photocopying a cactus plant — he had received it as a gift — and Yixing thought he was in the wrong place. He couldn’t help but blurt out, “Uhh, how high are you?”

Yifan immediately stopped and turned to Yixing. “No, it’s, ‘Hi, how are you?’”

As Yixing cautiously shook the principal’s hand, Jongdae smacked himself in the face and wondered what he did to deserve working under such an unprofessional boss — but then again all the staff were close friends and he was getting paid the amount of money he was supposed to be earning.

“Nice seeing you here again,” Jongdae calmly greeted Yixing. Sehun was surprised because he remembered how badly his teacher was stumbling over his words yesterday. Teacher Kim seemed perfectly fine today.

“Good morning to you, too,” Yixing addressed him. “What trouble did Sehun cause?”

Jongdae cleared his throat as if he were going to spout out a long list of grievances. “Well, we were presenting our drawings to class and I called on one of his classmates. When his classmate was about to speak, Sehun spoke out of turn. He said his classmate’s drawing was “stupid” and that it looked like he “drew it with his his feet”. He proceeded to call that classmate a “doo-doo brain”. Furthermore, he refused to apologize when I asked him to.”

“Sehun!” Yixing scolded sharply. “I’ve taught you that you need to say sorry when you hurt others.”

“I’ll apologize now,” Sehun answered, almost too happily. He immediately turned to Jongdae and bowed. “I’m sorry, Teacher Kim, I’ll also apologize to Zitao, too.”

Jongdae nodded, since he thought that was it, but Sehun kept on talking. “Because my brother is the one who taught me well! He’s such a good hyung! Isn’t he good-looking, too? He’s really handsome, right?”

Jongdae was a little bewildered and he felt slightly attacked. He did think Yixing was really good-looking, but how could he say that out-loud in front of everyone in the room?

Yifan tried to stifle his laugh and Yixing realized what his little brother just asked. “Sehun!” Yixing cried out, clamping a hand over his younger brother’s mouth. “Don’t worry about him, he doesn’t know what he’s asking, really,” that deep red tint from yesterday returning to his face as he tried to explain to Jongdae. “You don’t have to answer that, seriously, haha…”

“I want to know the answer!” Yifan butted in.

“No! We’re done here for today,” Jongdae announced. “Thank you for coming, bye!!” He said as he put his hands on the kindergartener’s shoulders and guided him out of the office to go back to class together.

Yifan was pouting, his arms crossed over his chest, as Yixing turned to him, still confused as to what just happened. “Guess it’s my cue to leave?” He stuck out his hand for Yifan to shake. “Thank you for having me here, have a nice day.”

Yifan, arms still folded, looked at Yixing’s hand in offense and then at Yixing. “I have other plans than to ‘have a nice day’.”

When it was evident the principal wasn’t going to shake his hand, Yixing slowly and awkwardly retracted his hand back. “Right… well… I’m just gonna go now,” he said, darting out of the room as fast as he could.

When they arrived at the classroom, Jongdae watched as Sehun walked up to Zitao and apologized to him. Sehun received a huge smile and a big hug before he went back to his seat.

“So? How’d it go?” Jongin asked.

“Not good,” Sehun frowned. “They just talked about me! They didn’t really talk to each other that much…”

“What?! Why not?! You gotta show Teacher Kim how great a person Yixing-hyung is!”

“I tried!”

“Maybe you didn’t try hard ‘nuff!!”

“So I have to go back in there?!”

“Uh-huh! I can find another way for you to get in trouble!”

It’s been a while — it’s been so long that Jongdae let his guard down. The last time Sehun pulled off something, their class caterpillars were just tiny larvae that wriggled around in their butterfly garden cage. Since it’s been a few weeks, they have gone through metamorphosis and were now beautiful butterflies that flew around in the cage.

“Alright, class, it’s time for nap time!” Jongdae announced after they finished singing a song. The children got up from their song circle and went to retrieve their mats from the closets.

The children set their mats on the floor and climbed onto them; Jongdae and Baekhyun were too busy helping to hand out the mats to each kid that they didn’t notice Sehun near the butterfly cage. When the last mat was left and there was no child to claim it, Jongdae looked at the name on the mat.

“Sehun,” Jongdae called out, “come get your mat!!” He caught sight of the little boy scuttling towards them.

“Uhh, Jongdae?” Baekhyun nudged his friend.

“Sehun, you need to come and fall in line to get your mat once I say it’s nap time,” Jongdae lightly scolded the kid and ignored Baekhyun.

“Jongdaeeee…”

“Yes, Teacher Kim,” Sehun bowed his head in apology, then ran off to set his mat next to Jongin’s.

“JONGDAE!”

“WHAT?!”  

“The butterflies are loose,” Baekhyun pointed out, several butterflies flying overhead.

“What the…” Jongdae looked at the butterfly cage to see that the top was wide open — someone must have zipped it open when they weren’t looking.

Soojung opened her eyes just as a butterfly landed next to her on her mat. “Huh?” She sat up and looked at the butterfly cage. Upon seeing that it was empty, she shouted out, “THE BUTTERFLIES!! CATCH THE BUTTERFLIES!!”

Everyone awoke and saw the butterflies were fluttering around. They all immediately shot up, laughing and chasing the butterflies. While everyone was running around, Baekhyun rushed to close the door so none of the flying critters could escape.

“WHICH ONE OF YOU LET THEM OUT?!” Jongdae yelled.

“Me!” Sehun answered, raising his hand. He and Jongin were just standing around, the only two kids not bothering to chase after the butterflies.

“Sehun…” Jongdae seethed through his teeth.

“Jongdae, it’s okay, we just have to catch them. There’s like seven of them, right?”

“There’s eighteen.”

“Oh…”

“We also released a tarantula to eat the butterflies,” Sehun casually said, as if he were telling them he got a pet bunny.

Jongdae blanched as he heard the kids start screaming and stumbling around, trying to climb on tables. “SAVE THE BUTTERFLIES!! SAVE THE BUTTERFLIES!!” kids were screeching at the top of their lungs, as if it would save their own lives.

Zitao was sobbing as hard as possible, gasping out, “I DON’T WANT THE BUTTERFLIES TO BE EATEN!!”

Meanwhile, Sehun and Jongin stood in the same spot since the beginning of the whole thing, Jongdae and Baekhyun towering over them, demanding answers.

“He was just joking,” Jongin grumbled, trying to defend Sehun.

“Tell that to the class!” Baekhyun exclaimed, waving his arm towards the crowd of students huddled up on top of a single table.

Jongin turned towards them and cupped his mouth with his hands to shout, “GUYS, HE WAS JOKING! NO TARANTULA!”

“I DON’T BELIEVE YOU!!!” Hansol hollered back.

Jongin and Sehun turned back to the teachers and shrugged.

“Alright, Sehun, you’re coming to the principal’s office with me, again,” Jongdae snapped, taking hold of Sehun’s hand and pulling him towards the door. “Jongin, you better stay here and not cause any more trouble!!”

“HEY! DON'T LEAVE! HOW DO I CALM THE KIDS DOWN?!” Baekhyun asked in mid-panic.

“YOU FIGURE IT OUT!”

When they stumbled into Yifan’s office, Jongdae and Sehun saw Yifan reading a book and acting like a normal person for the first time in their lives.

“Oh, Sehun! Long time no see!” Yifan greeted, looking up from his book. He set it down and immediately handed Jongdae Sehun’s document without him asking. Jongdae promptly went over to the phone and politely told Yixing to come over.

When he finished the call, Jongdae kneeled in front of Sehun. “Sehun, why are you misbehaving lately? Is there a specific reason?”

Sehun stared at the teacher and just shrugged.

“Have I done something wrong?”

Sehun shook his head.

“Then why are you acting like this?”

“I personally think Sehun shouldn’t be sent to my office all the time. He’s had to come in here for such stupid reasons,” Yifan butted in.

“You don’t even know what he did this time!!”

Yifan shrugged and said, “Sounds like a personal problem.”

Jongdae sighed and stood up when he heard the door open. Yixing stood there, a long box in his hand. His hair was a little disheveled, even though it looked like he tried his best to fix it.

“What? How’d you get here so fast?” Jongdae blurted out.

“I was in the doughnut shop across the street,” Yixing explained, pointing behind him in no particular direction. He opened the box of doughnuts. “Would you like some?”

“No, thanks,” Jongdae waved the doughnuts away, but Yifan ran up to Yixing and chose a doughnut for himself.

“You got so many doughnuts,” Yifan remarked, wanting to take more than one.

“Yeah, I needed a muse for a song I’m trying to compose…”

“You get inspiration from doughnuts?” Jongdae deadpanned, but in reality he thought it was ridiculous and cute at the same time.

“Hyung won’t let me have some because he says I’ll get fat,” Sehun piped up.

“But really, I just want the doughnuts to myself,” Yixing whispered to Jongdae, who in turn laughed. “I need as much inspiration as possible.”

“You compose songs for a living?” Jongdae asked, surprised. He’s never met a composer before, and for some reason he pictured Yixing to be the type of person to work with animals, or even be a doctor, or maybe save the whole planet for a living.

“Mhm!” Yixing answered.

“Alright, enough about doughnuts,” Yifan butted in. “Tell Yixing what Sehun did wrong so you can all leave and I can have my office to myself again.”

Jongdae looked scandalized for a second because this was not how a professional worked, and at the same time, Yifan was trying to kick Yixing out of his office as soon as possible.

“Alright, so Sehun basically terrorized the rest of his classmates by releasing the butterflies we were taking care of and lying that there was a tarantula on the loose,” Jongdae told Yixing.

Sehun saw that his brother and teacher were face to face and took it as the perfect opportunity. This could only work if he was strong enough!!

“And you believed him?” Yixing asked incredulously. “He’s scared of the teeny-tiny spiders, how could he touch a tarantula?”

“ I didn’t believe him,” Jongdae defended, blush creeping up his neck, “but the rest of his classmates did.”

Yixing felt something nudging his legs forward from the back. “Oh?” He turned around to see it was Sehun trying to push him forward as hard as he could, but to no avail. “Sehun, what are you doing?”

Sehun was still putting all of his energy into moving his brother, even at one point putting his whole weight by leaning his whole body on Yixing’s leg, but his brother was just too tall and too heavy. Sehun gave up and slid down onto the floor, sighing exaggeratedly.

“I’m trying to move you!!”

“You could have just asked me to move… Why are you trying to move me?”

“It doesn’t matter because I can’t move you!! You’re too heavy!!” Sehun yelled dramatically.

“Are you calling me fat?”

Sehun shrugged and giggled, still on the floor. Yixing pulled Sehun up to stand straight and then kneeled in front of him. “Sehun, I’m talking to you seriously now. I’ve taught you that you shouldn’t tell lies. Lying makes you a dishonest person. I want you to say sorry to Teacher Kim and your classmates when I leave, alright?”

Sehun was pouting, but he nodded.

“Be good, okay? I have to get back to work,” Yixing told him while standing up.

“Sorry to bother you while you are so busy,” Jongdae apologized.

“It’s not a problem,” Yixing reassured him. “You should tell me if he apologizes to you and his classmates. I want to make sure he actually does what I tell him to.”

“Huh? How?”

“Uhhh,” Yixing thought about it. “You can just text me. You have my number, right? You’ve called me so many times already,” he joked.

Jongdae gulped. He could contact Yixing with his own cellphone. He would have an excuse to save Yixing’s number on his cell phone!! He would have a reason to contact him!!

Jongdae was still internally screaming when Yixing said his goodbyes and respectfully bowed to Yifan. Yifan nodded and sat back down with the book in his hand.

And out the door Yixing went.

Jongdae was still a little day-dreamy at the fact that he could now text Yixing and dazed that he got to see him today, so Sehun was just staring up at his teacher, wondering when they would go back to the classroom together.

“Kim Jongdae,” the principal called out, shaking the teacher out of his thoughts.

“Huh? What?”

Yifan outstretched his arm with the book in his hand. It was a copy of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and he was handing it to Jongdae.

“Here. Proofread this for me!”

“What,” Jongdae deadpanned, taking another look at the hardcover book to make sure it was bound before looking Yifan in the eye.

“I said proofread it!”

“Yifan… it’s been proofread and published already…”

“Then why can’t I understand a single word that’s being said?! It’s complete gibberish!”

“Oh boy… We’re just going to head back to the classroom now, Wufan,” Jongdae told him, placing his hands on Sehun’s shoulders and leading him out of the office, despite the principal’s protests.

While walking down the hall back to the classroom, Jongdae felt a tugging at the bottom of the back of his shirt. He looked down to see Sehun staring at him.

“Teacher Kim, I’m sorry,” Sehun apologized to him, while still walking. “I didn’t want to lie to everyone or scare everyone.”

Jongdae couldn’t put his finger on it. Sehun seemed genuinely sorry about misbehaving, but at the same time, it was like he had to do to it for some reason. Jongdae prayed that this was the last time and that Sehun wouldn’t try to pull anything off anymore.

“It’s okay, just… just apologize to your classmates, too.”

The classroom was nice and quiet when they arrived back — Baekhyun managed to put everyone back to sleep successfully.

“You owe me big time ,” Baekhyun mouthed to Jongdae as the teacher and kindergartener came through the door.

“You’re amazing,” Jongdae whispered back. “I’ll treat you to lunch sometime.”

“Lunchtime!!” Baekhyun called out, interrupting Jongdae during storytime. The teacher sent a glare to his assistant, as Baekhyun insistently held his watch up. It was already 11:45 AM, so the kids had to eat.

“Okay, we’ll finish this book next time, but now, get your lunchboxes from your cubbies!! Red goes first!”

Sehun and Jongin both had the red cubby, so they walked up together.

“Am I doing it today?” Sehun asked his friend in a hushed voice.

“Yeah, you should,” Jongin whispered back.

They came back to the table with their lunchboxes, quietly waiting for the other kids to get their lunch. Once everyone was back in their seats, they were free to start eating, since Teacher Kim had taught them it was polite to wait until everyone had gotten their food so they can start eating all together.

“Class, while you eat, I have an announcement to make!!” Jongdae proclaimed from his desk. “Since this week’s animal of the week is the Bear, I decided we could do something special. We are going on a field trip to Build-A-Bear Workshop, sometime next week!!”

The kids gasped and then started cheering, happy that they finally get to go on a field trip. “I will be sending a letter home, so be sure to give your parents that letter so they could give you permission!!”

Lunch buzzed with more energy and excitement than usual since the kids were talking about the field trip that was just announced. Jinri was explaining to Kyungsoo what happens in Build-A-Bear Workshop and what they were going to do. Sooji was a little too excited to be coming home with another stuffed animal.

Everyone was too busy talking about the trip to notice Jongin making his way over to the CD player at the back of the room. He looked at Sehun, who gave him a prompt nod before he pressed the play button.

Everyone jumped in surprised at the sudden loud music playing, but mouths dropped when they saw Sehun climb on top of the table and start dancing. Jongin was pretty much the only soul in the room cheering Sehun on, while everyone just gaped in shock at what was happening.

“SEHUN, GET DOWN FROM THERE!!” Jongdae shrieked as he dropped his lunch onto his desk and made his way over to the little boy. In a slight panic, Sehun stopped dancing and backed up only to step on… something soft and mushy.

“Oh, Lord…” Baekhyun breathed when he saw what just happened.

What was soft and mushy was Zitao’s lunch and it was now under Sehun’s shoe.

“Zitao…” Jongdae breathed out, bracing himself for the oncoming storm.

“WAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Zitao howled, starting to sob over his lunch. Sehun felt a bad for him because now he didn’t have anything to eat, but then he remembered… it’s Zitao. And Zitao cries over everything.

Jongin was still standing next to the music player, trying not to laugh because Zitao was crying again.

“SEHUN!!” Jongdae picked up Sehun and placed him back on level ground, while Baekhyun tried to soothe Zitao.

Jongdae pinched the bridge of his nose, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. “Let's go to the principal’s office for the one millionth time,” he seethed.

“Hmm… You really don't need to bring Sehun to the office and call his parents, you know…” Baekhyun cut in while rubbing Zitao’s back. “You could just send a note home after the first or second offense.”

“He made Zitao cry!!” Jongdae insisted, already holding Sehun’s hand to go to Yifan’s office.

“Zitao always cries,” Baekhyun countered. “Is it because you want to see Yifan?”

“Not Yifan!!” Jongdae squawked before ducking out the classroom with Sehun in tow. He didn’t get to see the teasing glint in Baekhyun’s knowing eyes.

“You!” Jongdae addressed Sehun, who seemed to be very giddy despite being in trouble. “Why are you doing this? You have been misbehaving too much lately!! You’ve been sent to the principal’s office more than anyone in the class combined!!”

Sehun just shrugged and kept walking, leaving Jongdae to feel like clawing his own eyes out of frustration.

“I feel like you’re victimizing (huisaeng-yang) Zitao, do you not like him that much?”

“Scapegoat (husing-yang)?”

“What I mean is… targeting Zitao?” Jongdae tried clarifying himself to the little boy.

Sehun’s eyes widened in alarm. “Zitao is not a target! He doesn't have a bulls-eye!!”

Jongdae groaned, just as they approached Yifan’s office. He was just thinking about how he could really get Sehun to stop his possible bullying of Zitao when the smell of smoke started to fill his nose. When he opened the door to Yifan’s room, he immediately saw fire.

“YIFAN, THERE’S A FIRE!!” Jongdae shouted, running out of the room to grab the fire extinguisher. He faintly heard the principal shouting, “No, no, NO!!!” before pointing the nozzle of the extinguisher and ultimately putting out the fire.

“NO!! JONGDAE!! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO COOK MY LUNCH?!”

Jongdae was confused at first, but he finally saw Yifan holding sticks with food stuck at the end of each one.

“Are you kidding me?”

“Nah, I have hotdogs and marshmallows to roast!! Do you know how long it took to start that flame?”  

"There are little kids in this school, and you don't care that this has the potential to start an actual fire?!"

"I gotta eat!"

"You can't have a normal lunch like a normal person?! Like properly cooking it at home and then bringing it to work?!"

The principal shrugged. "Nah, that’s not my style."

Jongdae had a string of curse words flying through his head, but couldn’t say them out loud because Sehun was still standing around, which reminded him he had to call Yixing…

“Why you wanted to be a principal, I will never know. Every time I step into this office, I never see you do any work,” Jongdae muttered, taking out his cellphone and calling Yixing, while Sehun climbed onto a seat, patiently waiting for the adults to handle everything.

After the phone call, Jongdae took a seat next to Sehun and placed his head in his hands.

Baekhyun’s words echoed in his mind. He was right; Jongdae didn’t need to call Yixing over even after the first offense. Sehun’s misbehavior wasn’t even terrible enough to warrant being called to the principal’s office every single time. He’s also pretty sure Jongin has something to do with some of these pranks too, but why isn’t he here in the office with them?

He just really wants to see Yixing, doesn’t he?

A knock on the door interrupted Jongdae’s thoughts, and he felt like a deer caught in the headlights when he saw it was Yixing. Sehun’s older brother was already bowing 90 degrees in both greeting and apology.

“I’m very sorry for whatever Sehun has done, Mr. Wu and Teacher Kim.”

“Pfffft, I don’t even know what he did,” Yifan laughed.

“He disrupted lunch time by getting up on one of the table and dancing. He ended up stepping on one of his classmates’ lunch.”

“What?” Yixing turned to Sehun. “You did that?”

Sehun only shrugged. “I didn’t mean to step on Zitao’s lunch.”

“Aiyo…” Yixing sighed. “The poor boy must be hungry… you better share your lunch with him when you get back to the classroom. And apologize .”

Sehun nodded, showing Jongdae that at this point, the little guy was used to not getting extreme punishment for his misbehavior.

“Please don’t behave like this on the trip next week,” Jongdae pleaded to the kindergartener.

“Trip? What trip?” Yixing asked.

“The kids are going on a trip to Build-A-Bear Workshop,” Yifan explained. “I would know because I just approved of it yesterday,” he said, speaking smugly of his authority. Then he turned to Jongdae. “Speaking of which, don’t you need parent chaperones? Why don’t you ask Yixing right now?”

“YEAHHHHH, COME ON THE TRIP HYUNG!!” Sehun shouted, jumping up and down excitedly.

Yixing hesitated. “Uhhh, maybe a parent will want to go on the trip with their child… You don’t need me to go, necessarily…”

Sehun stopped jumping up and down immediately, pouting and crossing his arms across his chest. “Then I don’t want to go!!”

“But it’ll be fun, even without me there! Sehun, don’t be like that,” Yixing lightly chided the kid.

“If you don’t go, then I won’t behave!!”

“Why not?!”

“Because you won’t be there to make me behave!!”

“Sehunnnnn,” Yixing whined. “Don’t be like this!!”

“I will be bad if you don’t go!!” Sehun said stomping his foot, a tell-tale sign of an oncoming tantrum.

Yixing turned to Jongdae, whose eyes took on a pleading look.

“If you don’t go, I honestly don’t know what he’ll do,” Jongdae murmured.

Yixing sighed. He looked at Sehun, then at Jongdae, then back at Sehun. He thought about the music he needed to compose before his deadline, but he could probably fit in a couple of hours at a school trip.

“Alright, I can probably go,” Yixing said, defeatedly. “But you have to behave,” he told Sehun. “Nothing crazy from you.”

“As long as you go, hyung!”

It was a few days before the trip and all the children had already gotten permission from their parents to go. Baekhyun and Jongdae were still trying to figure out what they should do for lunch — since Build-A-Bear Workshop was in the mall, they could somehow manage to squeeze somewhere in the food court, maybe?

“We could ask them what they want tomorrow, but it’s almost the end of the day and I want them to learn how to paint before leaving,” Jongdae told Baekhyun, who nodded in agreement.

While Baekhyun set up the painting easels, Jongdae explained to the class how to use a paintbrush and how to get the right amount of paint to put on the canvas.

“You can paint anything you want,” Jongdae said, dismissing them to their own canvasses when Baekhyun was done setting everything up.

Of course, Jongin and Sehun were painting right next to each other.

One look at each other, and they smiled and nodded.

“This is boring!!” Sehun shouted, causing everyone to stop painting and look what was going on. “I’m done with my painting already!”

Jongdae went over to Sehun and asked,” Would you like some more paper, so you can start another painting?”

“No, I want to do something else!!” Sehun said, waving his paintbrush around. The paint on the brush flew off and splattered onto the floor, causing Jongdae to groan.

“Sehunnnnn, Sehun, stop!” he exclaimed, taking the brush from him and putting it in a water cup. “Since you’re done, you can take out some toys and play if you want. Aish, I have to clean this up now…”

Baekhyun was already beside him, handing him moist paper towels. Jongdae gave him a questioning look, but the assistant walked away to leave him to clean it. Jongdae got down on his knees and started wiping the paint.

He was so concentrated on not staining the floor that he didn’t see Sehun gather two cups of paint and walk over him. It was when he felt a thick, gunky liquid on his head and saw colors of yellow and pink dripping off of him and onto the floor that he realized what was happening. The whole class gasped when they saw what their classmate had done to their teacher.

“There! Not boring anymore! You’re so colorful!” Sehun exclaimed with glee.

“Heol…” Baekhyun shook his head.

“Sehun…” Jongdae said, standing up and wiping off the paint near his eyes.

“Principal’s office?”

“Yeah,” Jongdae answered, his voice strained from trying to hold back his anger and frustration.

“You’re not gonna get cleaned up first?” Baekhyun called out to him.

“Dismiss the kids for me, please,” Jongdae ignored the question and answered back before leaving the classroom with Sehun.

Jongdae didn’t want to blow up in Sehun’s face. He didn’t want to get angry at a little child and the last thing he wanted to do was make him cry. Afterall, Sehun was just a kid. He just quickly walked into the office with Sehun in tow, so he could just call Yixing over to deal with this mess. He, himself, honestly didn’t know how to deal with things anymore.

“Oi, what happened to you? Did a unicorn throw up on you or something?” Yifan asked, lifting his legs off his desk upon seeing the teacher come into his office with his student. “Eugh, pink and yellow don't even suit you.”

Jongdae chose to ignore the ridiculous question and wanted to get straight to the point. “Do you mind dialing Yixing's number on the phone?”

“Uh, do you want a side of fries with that? Do I look like a waiter who takes orders from you?!”

“I can do it, but I will get paint on your phone,” Jongdae answered.

“Okay, then you can just clean the mess.”

“OH MY GOD, YIFAN, JUST. DIAL. THE NUMBER!”

“Damn, alright, alright,” Yifan ceded, grabbing the phone and looking at the paper with Yixing’s contact information.

“Hi, Zhang Yixing? This is Principal Wu. Sehun is here in my office with Teacher Kim. You better come quick because Teacher Kim looks very angry. He looks like he’s about to have a stroke — a brush with death. So it’s best if you pass by with flying colors . Okay, see you soon.”

Jongdae stood there, gaping at his friend. “Those puns were all terrible and you know it. The last one didn’t even make sense.”

“Try coming up with three puns in less than thirty seconds, let’s see how well you do,” Yifan retorted.

“You’re such a child,” Jongdae muttered. “Can you watch Sehun for me while I go and wash off?”

“Why would I do that?” Yifan asked. “A child watching another child doesn’t sound plausible, in my opinion.”

“You’re really impossible,” Jongdae moaned in despair. He sat down in one of the chairs, waiting for Yixing to come in — to come in and see what a mess he is and what a mess his life is.

In a matter of moments, the buzzer went off and Yixing was soon in the office with them. Jongdae was the first person he saw, so he was too shocked to say any greeting.

“T-teacher Kim…” Yixing stuttered. “Did Sehun do this to you?”

Jongdae pursed his lips, unsure if he should answer nicely, or snarkily, or answer at all. As much as he liked Yixing, even though he hasn’t fully admitted it to himself yet, he was still a little frustrated at this whole situation. “Oh yeah. Sehun did this, alright.”

“I… am so sorry,” Yixing apologized. “I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry am I that he did this.”

“I just hope you take the necessary course of action to ensure this really doesn’t happen again,” Jongdae told him tiredly.

“You should clean yourself off. I’ll help you,” Yixing offered sincerely.

“No, it’s fine.”

“No, I insist,” Yixing continued. “Afterall, Sehun is the reason why you are like this. Let me make it up to you.”

“I’ll watch Sehun now,” Yifan piped up, smiling smugly at Jongdae.

Yixing gave Jongdae an earnest look, making him cave in. He motioned for Yixing to follow him and led him out the office and into the boys’ bathroom.

They both grabbed some paper towels and soaked them in water. While Jongdae wiped down one side of his face, Yixing wiped down the other. After a few moments, Yixing noticed Jongdae’s wiping wasn’t really getting the paint off, since he couldn’t even see where he was wiping, and Jongdae pointlessly moving around wasn’t really helping him either.

“Stay still, I’ll wipe it off,” Yixing told Jongdae. The teacher was about to insist, but Yixing took the paper towel from his hand and set it down on the sink. “How you’ve never blown up at Sehun, I am grateful. You must have a lot of patience.”

All Jongdae could do was stare. He tried to divert his eyes to something else, such as the blue walls, but how could he when Yixing was so close to him? When Yixing was touching his face, holding his chin in place, with such a concentrated and determined expression? Jongdae could literally soak everything in, from his kind eyes, sharp nose, his lips…

“You’re really good-looking,” Jongdae blurted out.

The wiping stopped. “Hm?”

“I-I m-mean, that time,” Jongdae continued, “when Sehun asked me if I thought you were handsome. I didn’t answer, so I was afraid it had hurt your self-esteem or something…”

Yixing laughed, a beautiful melody to Jongdae’s ears. “I’ve forgotten all about that, but thank you,” Yixing replied and continued cleaning.

And for the first time, he smiled directly at Jongdae. Jongdae felt like melting into a puddle of goo, partly because of the newly discovered fact that Yixing had a dimple. He felt his heart speeding up and finally knew why.

It was now a known fact that he likes Yixing.

Yixing stopped wiping and finally let go of Jongdae’s face. “I got most of the paint off your face, but I can’t really do anything about your hair or clothes.”

“It’s a-alright, I can do it m-myself later… Thanks…”

When they both walked back into the office, Yifan screamed upon seeing Jongdae.

“WHAT?!” Jongdae asked in surprise.

“You look more hideous now!! You looked better when the paint covered your face!!”

“You are so rude,” Jongdae snapped at him, just as Baekhyun walked in carrying Sehun’s backpack.

“You left his stuff in the closet, and I dismissed everyone already,” the assistant said while handing everything to Sehun. That was when he saw Yixing. “Oh, you must be Sehun’s older brother. I’m Byun Baekhyun, the teacher assistant,” he introduced, bowing.

“Zhang Yixing,” Yixing replied, shaking hands with Baekhyun. “It’s getting late, and we’re probably holding you guys up,” he told everyone, putting the backpack on his little brother. “We’ll get going. Have a good evening.”

Yixing held onto Sehun’s hand and was about to make his way out of the office when Jongdae called out to him.

“You’re still on for the field trip, right?”

And for the second time that day, Yixing smiled at Jongdae. “Right.”

By the time Yixing arrived at the school, the kids were already lined up outside to get on the school bus that was bringing them to their destination. Jongdae and Baekhyun greeted him with a smile on their faces, welcoming him, but mostly relieved that they don’t have to deal with the kids by themselves anymore.

“Glad you could make it!!” Baekhyun said, patting Yixing on the back. “Jongdae, here, was especially getting worried that we would have to leave without you,” he said nudging his friend a little.

Jongdae elbowed him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. “I mean, we’re not very good at controlling Sehun, so we wouldn’t want anything bad to happen on this trip.”

Baekhyun, who was hunched over and hugging his stomach, wheezed and grunted out,” Yes, that’s exactly it!”

Jongdae sent a sweet smile towards Baekhyun’s way and patted him on the back before indicating to Yixing that they should move along and start getting the kids on the bus.

“Are you all excited?!” Jongdae shouted, and the kids all started yelling and jumping up and down excitedly. “Okay, when you get on the bus, remember to put on your seatbelt! Teacher Byun and I will be coming around to check! Now form a line!”

The kids lined up in front of him and one by one, they filed onto the bus. Sehun was right at the end of the line, and Yixing was behind him. When they finally got onto the bus, Yixing tapped Sehun on the shoulder.

“Do you want the window seat or the aisle seat?”

Sehun only blinked. “Hyung, I don’t want to sit next to you.”

“What? Why not?”

“I want to sit next to Jongin!!” Sehun exclaimed happily.

“But I thought you wanted me to go on this trip with you, that’s why I volunteered in the first place!”

“I do!” Sehun insisted. “I don’t want to sit next to you, though.”

Yixing could only face-palm as Sehun continued on his merry way to the empty seat next to Jongin. There was at least one whole bench empty all the way at the back of the bus, so Yixing made his way over to that one. He sat down and started to unconsciously look for Jongdae.

The teacher assistant finally got on the bus, with the teacher trailing right behind him. When Baekhyun saw that there was an empty seat next to Yixing, he smiled. He stopped at the one empty seat next to little Kyungsoo, who was just staring out the window.

“Why are you stopping? Keep walking to the back,” Jongdae ordered.

“Nah, I think I’m going to sit next to my favorite student,” Baekhyun gestured toward Kyungsoo, who now turned his tiny head to look into the situation at hand.

“What? But Kyungsoo hates you,” Jongdae deadpanned.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Baekhyun stubbornly insisted. “I can sit here, right, Kyungsoo?” he asked in an enthusiastic voice.

Kyungsoo was now glaring at Baekhyun, his huge eyes full of hatred and unspoken anger, and it was honestly starting to scare Baekhyun because the boy’s demonic side was slowly starting to come out. Baekhyun wouldn’t be surprised if Kyungsoo was really the evil spawn of Satan.

“Look at him!” Jongdae exclaimed.

“I don’t want you to sit next to me.”

Baekhyun laughed nervously, it was so obvious that it was forced. “ Haha , Kyungsoo… you’re too funny for me!! I thought I told you today wasn’t opposite day!!” Laughing again, he planted his butt on the seat, despite an enraged Kyungsoo and a surprised Jongdae.

“Alright, you have fun then,” Jongdae told Baekhyun, who was starting to sweat and tremble under the intense eyes of Kyungsoo.

Jongdae continued walking down the aisle and saw that the only seat available was right next to Yixing. Nervousness started to fill every fiber of Jongdae’s being as he got closer and closer to the only seat left. He was feeling slightly panicky because he would be sitting next to Yixing, be really close to Yixing, and would have to make conversation with Yixing and not seem like a fool, and Yixing, Yixing, Yixing…

He decided to quickly take a seat before the bus driver became more annoyed, having to wait for everyone to be seated before starting up. For a few seconds, it was a little uncomfortable — he could feel the awkward energy around the two of them just sitting there — so he decided to make conversation first.

“Hello.”

“Hello,” Yixing replied.

“Nice to be talking to you somewhere other than the principal's office," Jongdae joked.

“Haha, yeah…”

Jongdae realized he just sat down without asking if it was alright. It made him feel more flustered and awkward than he already was being within such close approximation with Yixing. “I hope you don't mind me sitting here by the way…”

“I mean you've been sitting down here already —”

“Oh, I can get up if you want me to —” he started, already standing up.

“No no! I mean you’ve been sitting down and I haven’t told you to get up, so I mean I thought you knew it was fine!”

“Oh,” Jongdae answered dumbly, feeling even more stupid now.

“Also, I know I apologized to you the other day, but I still can’t tell you how sorry I am about Sehun…” Yixing carried on, trying to continue the conversation. “He's usually such a good kid. Everything he does is well intended for the most part.”

Jongdae’s face scrunched up in surprise. “What good intentions does he have getting up on the table to cause a ruckus? Or throwing paint on my head?”

“To be honest, I don't know... I don't know what goes on in his head sometimes. Maybe to make the other kids laugh?”

“He made one of his classmates cry,” the teacher deadpanned.

“Oh...uh... I actually asked him why he did it and he didn't really give me an answer.”

“Hmm…” Jongdae thought, finding Sehun’s behavior stranger than before. “Is there something going on in the house?”

“Pardon?”

“Sehun seems to be trying to get your attention. He almost looks happy when he goes to the principal's office.”

“I don't think we have any problems…” Yixing answered, then started thinking. “Well, none that I know of. But then again, Sehun is a lot more observant than I am. He knows what's going on more than I do.”

“A five year old? More observant than you, a grown man?” Jongdae joked.

“Hey,” Yixing started. “In my defense, Sehun is a very smart kid. Our parents were debating whether or not he should skip Kindergarten and just start first grade.”

“Wow, how different that would have made everything,” Jongdae murmured.

“Huh? What was that?”

“Ah, noth—”

Jongdae was cut off when the bus swerved, making a really long, sharp turn. Yixing was smushed against the window with Jongdae completely leaning on him. They could hear the children squealing and shouting ahead because of the driver’s rough driving, but they were trying their best to not be pressed against each other.

The loop finally ended and the driver was on a straight road again. The kids were laughing and talking again, but Jongdae suddenly felt conscious of his body and the distance between him and Yixing.

“I’m so sorry,” Jongdae apologized.

“It’s fine, it wasn’t even your fault, Teacher Kim,” Yixing chuckled. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Oh, you can call me Jongdae. Only the kids call me Teacher Kim — and the principal, but he does that when he mocks me.”

The bus ride was 20 minutes. Within that time, Jongdae learned that Yixing was a talented musician who could play the piano, guitar, and sing and he composed songs for a living with doughnuts as inspiration. Yixing learned that Jongdae just got out of college, like him, and only recently figured out that he wanted to work with little kids. He had spent most of undergrad college switching from major to major, but now went to grad school at night while teaching during the day.

“That’s amazing…” Yixing admired. “You’re not tired at all?”

“It’s tiring at times,” Jongdae admitted. “But I have so much fun with the kids, I can’t picture myself doing anything else. Right now, they’re at a time when they’re so innocent and pure, and I want to be an influential figure in their life. I want to be someone they will remember when they grow up. I want to be there for them right now, because I think there’s so much more to little kids than adults think.”

Yixing looked as if what he had heard was sinking deep into him — as if he was soaking in the meaning and weight of Jongdae’s words when the bus came to a stop. The two of them were so deeply immersed in getting to know each other that they didn’t realize they were at the mall already.

Without warning, Jongdae stood up and walked to the front of the bus. “I want everyone to file out of the bus, one at a time, alright? Starting with the seats nearby.”

One by one, everyone got off with Yixing getting off the bus last. Jongdae led the kids into the mall, while Yixing and Baekhyun stayed in the back. Jongdae wished that he had brought that ridiculous safety rope that Yifan wanted him to use for fear of losing at least one of the kids, but at the same time, he was glad that they didn’t have to be that group of people on a school trip. Thankfully, the mall wasn’t so crowded, since it was a school day, and it would be easy for Yixing or Baekhyun to spot if one of the kids attempted to run off.

They rounded the corner where the kids started to see a bright store with stuffed animals displayed in the window. The kids started chattering louder and happier. “We’re here!” Jongdae announced, and the kids all cheered and jumped up and down. “Remember to behave, okay?”

When they all walked into the store and the kids were busy marveling at all the machines of fluff and the displays of bears, two staff members walked up to greet them.

“Hey guys! How’s everyone doing today? Are you excited?!”

“Yes!!” the kids all chorused.

“I’m Luhan!”

“And I’m Minseok!”

“And we’ll be your guides today!”

While the two men led the children to a certain spot and told them to sit on the floor, Baekhyun, Yixing, and Jongdae followed closely behind. The two guides sat down on chairs in front of everyone and held a book that told a story about a boy and his stuffed bear doll that came to life and became his friend. The kids cheered at the happy ending, and then the guides let them choose the dolls they wanted to make.

“I really hope they’re having fun,” Jongdae whispered from next to Yixing.

“Of course they are,” Yixing assured him. “They all look so happy.”

Luhan and Minseok then started handing out small silk hearts for the kids to put inside their doll. “Keep it safe!! We have to make sure your bear will be full of lots of love!”

Love.

“Give one to Teacher Kim!!” Sehun exclaimed.

“Huh?” Jongdae asked when Minseok and Luhan came over with their basket of hearts and handed one to him. “I’m not making a bear…”

Minseok and Luhan were about to hand one to Yixing too but Sehun shouted out, “No!! Don’t give him!! He can share with Teacher Kim!”

Yixing and Jongdae were still puzzled with Sehun’s odd behavior but shrugged it off anyway. Jongdae held the heart in his palm, hand tightly closed around it.

The kids were able to choose which animal they wanted to bring to life. Then, they were split evenly between Luhan and Minseok and taken to the machines where they could fill the animal with fluffy insides.

Jongdae would catch Sehun looking back at them from on line, but he couldn’t tell if he was looking at him, Yixing, or Baekhyun. Jongdae thought it was a little strange, but then again, Sehun has been strange for the past few weeks. He looked over at Baekhyun who had a more stoic expression than usual. When it was down to the last few kids’ turns at the machines, Baekhyun spoke up.

“I’m going to help the kids who are done look for doll clothes,” he told Jongdae before walking away.

Jongdae should probably help too, but he had to watch the kids who were still filling their dolls with fluff and if they were treating the workers with respect. Plus, he had Yixing beside him, so he didn’t really want to leave.

“I’m glad Sehun hasn’t tried anything funny yet,” Yixing said.

“Same,” Jongdae replied. “He’s been good this whole trip so far.”

“Yeah, I’m surprised though because he doesn’t really like playing with dolls or anything.”

In surprise, Jongdae’s eyes widened and he turned his full body to face Yixing. “Really? He seemed really excited to go on this trip. And during class time, he plays with dolls if Jongin wants to.”

“Huh, maybe I thought he disliked it because I’ve never seen him pl—”

Suddenly, Yixing felt someone forcefully bump into him from behind, causing him to lose his balance. He couldn’t register what was going on, except that he heard a couple of gasps and then a couple of seconds afterwards, tiny voices cheering. He realized that his lips were on Jongdae’s.

His lips were on Jongdae’s.

His lips were on Jongdae’s and no one was pulling away.

Their eyes were wide open in shock and confusion and a bunch of other mixed emotions. If he were to be honest, Yixing didn’t mind, but then he felt shoved back.

Jongdae had pushed him away.

And it didn’t feel nice at all.

“I am so sorry,” Yixing could barely hear Baekhyun’s faint apologizing through his daze and hurt. He and Jongdae were just looking at each other, trying to read each other’s expressions, trying to see what the other was feeling. “I just tripped and… You guys aren’t hurt, right? Guys?”

The expression on Jongdae’s face was unreadable and Yixing found it unbearable. “Excuse me,” he pushed past Baekhyun and out of the workshop. Jongdae could only stare at him go, since his feet were planted firmly on the ground.

“What are you doing? Go after him!” Baekhyun exclaimed to Jongdae.

“No,” the teacher answered. “I can’t. He probably needs to clear his head a little without me being there.” Baekhyun thought he was done talking, but then he smacked himself in the head. “BYUN BAEKHYUN, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT.”

When the kids finished picking out clothes for their dolls and Luhan and Minseok said their goodbyes, Yixing came back. He seemed a little avoidant of Jongdae, so on the bus ride home, Jongdae sat with Baekhyun, and Yixing with Sehun.

At first, Sehun was happy that the teacher’s assistant was able to carry out his plan. He wasn’t able to do it himself in the principal’s office, because no matter how hard he pushed his brother’s leg, there was no way he could move him, but TA Byun was a much bigger and stronger person. However, on the way home, his hyung looked so gloomy and didn’t even make eye contact with his teacher.

Maybe he did something wrong and went too far this time.

When Sehun and Yixing arrived home, the little boy realized how exhausted he was. The trip was something he didn't do everyday, but the anticipation and emotions he felt because of his plan for his brother and teacher also tired him out. The little boy curled underneath the blankets on his bed with his new bear doll and fell asleep.

Sehun woke up from his nap a couple of hours later. He had no idea what time it was since his parents insisted they put an analog clock in his room, even though he had no idea how to read it yet.

He felt thirsty. His older brother taught him how to use the water dispenser, so he could be able to get water by himself.

He got up from bed and padded his way over to the kitchen. He was about to walk in, but stopped when he heard his name. He would usually keep walking on into the room to brag that he heard his name, but it was not said in a good tone.

“We are too old now, I don't know why you insisted on keeping him.”

“He's our child!! You shouldn't be talking about him that way.”

“If he's our child, why is he getting into so much trouble at school? He threw paint on his teacher!! I, for sure, didn't raise him to be that way. Honey, we are too old for this.”

“Xingtuo takes care of Sehun when we are busy. It’s enough for now and Sehun is growing up fine.”

“That’s exactly what’s wrong. Yixing is the one taking care of Sehun, not us. We don't have the time or energy to. Yixing has his own life, but it's as if Sehun is Yixing’s child, instead of his brother.”

“What are you trying to say? You want to just give him away now or something? We can’t do that, it’s already too late!!”

“If you ask me, he's a mistake that we shouldn't have kept in the first place.”

“Shhh!! Don't say that!! If Yixing hears you say that, he will get angry again.”

Sehun was a bright boy — he knew what a mistake was. It was when he colored outside the lines of his drawing. It was when he spilled his milk or orange juice. It was when Yixing would ask him what 1+1 was, and he’d say 3. It was something done accidentally and it ended up being something wrong or something you'd regret.

He didn't like the feeling of making a mistake. He didn't like the feeling of being called a mistake at all.

His parents didn't want him. He knew that much.

Sehun didn’t feel thirsty anymore. The words his dad said left an unknown bitter taste in his mouth that he knew water would not help wash away. He left just as quietly as he came and managed to make it into his room without his hyung noticing.

Having to tuck himself back in bed made him feel even lonelier and more unwanted than before.

“We are too old now.”

“I don’t know why you insisted on keeping him.”

“If you ask me, he's a mistake that we shouldn't have kept in the first place.”

“He’s a mistake we shouldn’t have kept.”

The tears that sprang from his eyes began to dampen his pillow. He always felt neglected by his parents, but Yixing’s love always made up for it. Yixing was always there for him, when his parents were not. He didn’t want to seem like a burden to the one only person that loves him. Eventually, his eyes hurt too much to keep open, so he closed them and slept with the tears in his eyes.

The next morning, Yixing noticed there was something off with Sehun. Sehun was getting ready slower than usual and he had a blank, empty expression on his face. He was a little dumbfounded because he didn’t know how to deal with something like this. Sehun has never shown this side of himself before.

Yixing couldn’t really do anything earlier since he was busy packing up Sehun’s lunch and making sure all the things he needed for school were in his backpack, but now that they were walking to school, he decided to approach the little boy.

Yixing was slowly and cautiously walking behind Sehun, who only walked dejectedly while looking ahead. The kindergartener’s shoulders were slumped and his walking was a little sluggish, but he was still walking ahead of Yixing.

“Hey, Sehun…” Sehun stopped walking and turned around to look at his brother. “Is there something wrong?”

Sehun shook his head.

“Are you sure?”

Sehun nodded.

“Alright… then… is it okay if I ask you to try your best to stay out of trouble today? Hyung has an important meeting at work and I really can’t miss it.”

Sehun only looked at Yixing before turning around and continuing to walk on. Yixing could only sigh and follow.

When they finally reached the school yard, Yixing was a little reluctant to leave Sehun there, since the little boy still looked so downtrodden, but he had to get ready for his appointment. He was meeting a producer who may finally be giving him his huge break with his music by giving him a professional contract at a really well-known company. This was definitely an opportunity that he could not miss.

While Sehun was going inside the fence, Yixing called out to him. “Sehun!”

The little boy turned around to look at his brother.

“Chin up and smile, alright? I’ll see you later at home, kiddo!” Yixing said loud and clear, smiling and waving his little brother goodbye.

Sehun only turned back around and kept walking, worrying Yixing even more because Sehun did not usually act this way at all. Yixing was beginning to think that he had done something wrong, but had to push it to the back of his mind as he went home to get ready for his meet up with the producer.

Sehun, on the other hand, felt worse and worse the farther he walked away from his hyung. He wanted to cheer up for his older brother, but the words he heard from his parents last night really hurt deeply.

When he reached where the other kindergarteners lined up, Jongin bounced up to him happily, excited to spend another day with his best friend. That was until he saw the crestfallen look on Sehun’s face.

“Sehun? Whatsa matter?” Jongin asked.

Sehun only shook his head and frowned deeper. Jongin looked like he was going to say something more until the bell rang and he had to pick up his backpack from the ground. The whole class, except Sehun, greeted their teachers as Jongdae and Baekhyun arrived to take them inside to the classroom.

Their usual morning routine was to get to class, unpack their backpacks, and hang them up along with their jackets in the closet. When they reached the classroom, Sehun slowly took out his color pencils and his lunch before going to the closet. The whole time, he didn’t speak to Jongin or any of his classmates.  

“Alright, class, settle down, settle down!!” Jongdae called out when all the other kids were talking in their seats. “Did you eat breakfast this morning?”

“Yes, Teacher!!” the class chorused together.

“Good, good! Alright, today we are going to start off class by talking about our family!” Jongdae said enthusiastically. “Who wants to come up here and start?”

Everyone looked expectantly at Zitao, but he just shook his head. He’s usually the one that goes first, but after being the target of most of Sehun’s shenanigans, he knew better than to stand in front of the class now.

Eventually, Soojung went first, then Hansol, then Seungwan. They all spoke about how much fun they have with their family -- how their fathers always come home from work with a new toy in their hands, their mothers always cook delicious foods for them, and their brothers and sisters always played with them.  

It made Sehun feel so lonely.

Yixing didn’t have enough money to go and buy a new toy for Sehun every time. He tried his best to cook what Sehun wanted, since his mom was sometimes too tired from work to cook. Yixing was the only figure in his family who fulfilled his role, not only as a brother, but also as a parent. Sehun knew he should be grateful for Yixing, but he also wanted his parents to love him.

“Alright, class,” Jongdae clapped to get their attention again. “Not all of you will be able to present your wonderful families, so instead, what I thought we could do was draw them! You could draw you; you could draw your mom, your dad, and brother or sister if you have any.”

Baekhyun was already handing out white sheets of paper to everyone, and Jongdae started to put down sets of crayons on the tables.

When Sehun got his paper, he just stared at it.

He didn’t know what to draw. What was his family? Did his parents love him? Did Yixing really love him? Or was he seen as a burden to all of them?

Jongdae saw Sehun with his head hung and his arms unmoving. He walked over to him to make sure everything was alright. “Sehun, are you okay?”

Sehun didn’t want to respond, but it was disrespectful not to answer the teacher. When he lifted his head up, Jongdae saw the tears in his eyes that threatened to spill.

“Sehun…”

Jongdae was speechless; he didn’t know how to deal with this. His class was usually a group of such happy kids. Moreover, Sehun was usually calm and composed, and he wasn’t the kind to cry in front of everyone.

“Sehun, what’s wrong?”

Sehun only shook his head, but his lip was quivering as the tears finally fell down. “I want my brother…”

Panic flashed across Jongdae’s mind. How was he supposed to call Yixing over and tell him that Sehun was crying for him?

“Ummm… Shh, shh, don’t cry,” Jongdae tried comforting the kindergartener. “Don’t cry, don’t cry…”

“I want Yixing-hyung,” Sehun whimpered, cries growing louder.

Jongdae desperately looked at Baekhyun for help, but Baekhyun looked so lost and shrugged apologetically, not knowing exactly what to do either. He held his hand up to his ear and mouthed, “Call Yixing.”

“What happened, Sehun? Did something happen to make you cry?”

Sehun was unresponsive at this point, wailing and crying harder than ever. The other kids were just staring at the sight, no longer feeling up to drawing. Jongdae really couldn’t get Sehun to stop crying himself, so he did what he thought was the best option he had.

“Ah, Mr. Zhang, very glad you could make it this morning.”

Yixing stepped into the meeting room, closing the door behind him, and bowed before shaking the producer’s hand. He bowed multiple times, since there were many other members of the team seated at the long table, with the producer at the head, nearest to the door and front of the room.

“I am so honored to be called here,” Yixing answered, smiling brightly. “You have no idea how much I respect your company.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” the producer replied with a smile of his own. “So, as I’ve mentioned in the phone call, I’m sure you would have music that you have not released on your platform yet.”

“Yes,” Yixing responded, making his way to the front of the room where there was a laptop on a podium. He took out his flash drive and connected it to the computer. While he was waiting for it to come up, his phone started ringing.

He froze.

This was completely unprofessional. How could he forget to silence his phone? What would the producer and the members of his team think of him now?

He hurriedly dug into his phone to silence it when a voice stopped him.

“Pick it up.”

Yixing looked at the producer, who was looking straight back at him. He had a straight sincere face that said it was really okay if he answered the phone. Yixing gave a small bow and excused himself to the window where he opened his phone and received the call.

“Yixing, I’m sorry to bother you at this time,”

“Sehun has been crying for you non-stop. I seriously can’t get him to stop crying.”

“Do you think you can come over? Please? He’s really not stopping and I’m actually getting really worried that he will end up choking or collapsing from exhaustion.”

Yixing quickly hung up the phone but his mind ran in circles. Sehun could end up getting seriously hurt if he didn’t go now. He knew Sehun was acting a little strange this morning… He felt terrible — he should have confronted him and asked what was wrong…

Yixing looked around at his surroundings and saw the producer and the team members all staring expectantly at him. He couldn’t even register how important this meeting was for his career — not when his little brother was crying for him. His mouth suddenly went dry, but his mind was asking, “What am I still doing here?”

“I— I have to go,” Yixing managed to stutter out before sprinting out of the room.

When Yixing made it all the way to the school, he checked the principal’s office to see if Sehun was there. When he wasn’t, he sprinted all the way down the hall to where the Kindergarten classrooms were — Jongdae and Sehun were outside the classroom, on the floor, with the teacher trying his best to comfort the kindergartener.

When he heard panting and breathing, Jongdae looked up to see Sehun’s older brother had arrived. “Sehun… your hyung is here, alright? Please stop crying now, hm?”

Sehun started crying even harder when he saw his brother. In his entire life, Yixing has never seen Sehun cry so hard that it broke his heart. What hurt him so much to make him cry like this? He immediately kneeled down and embraced Sehun, rubbing his back and telling him that it’s going to be okay.

Yixing continued those motions until Sehun’s crying was reduced to hiccupping. When it was evident that Sehun had significantly calmed down, Yixing thought that it was a good time to ask what had upset him.

“What’s wrong, Sehun? What happened?”

His little brother looked hesitant to answer, but eventually he replied, “Last night…”

“Mhmm,” Yixing goaded on. “Last night…?”

“I heard mommy and daddy talking about me…”

Dread filled Yixing’s body from head to toe. He knew how his parents felt about Sehun, so he could see where this was going.

Sehun looked like he was going to cry again just from thinking about it. “They called me a mistake.”

In the corner of his eye, Yixing could see Jongdae shift uncomfortably as if he wanted to interject and disagree. But Sehun kept on going.

“They said that only you can take care of me. And that I’m a burden to you.”

Yixing looked at Sehun dead-straight in the eye.

“Sehun, you’re not a mistake and you’re not a burden to me. You know that I love you very much, right? I’m very happy that I get to take care of you and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I enjoy walking to school with you, cooking for you, and being with you. I love you, Sehun, and don’t forget that, alright?”

Sehun nodded and hugged Yixing, wrapping his tiny arms around his neck. Yixing hugged back, breathing a small sigh of relief because Sehun is a smart kid and now knows better. Sehun got the message how much Yixing loves him and the extent he will go to take care of him.

After a few more moments of hugging, Yixing ruffled Sehun’s hair, and the little boy finally let go. “You’re good now?” the older brother asked, and the kindergartener nodded. “Ready to go back to class?” Sehun nodded again, wiping at the dried tear marks on his face with the back of his hand.

Jongdae opened the door and Sehun stepped in, joining his classmates again with a small smile on his face. Jongdae closed the door and stood in front of Yixing.

“I’m sorry I had to call you here… Sehun really wouldn’t stop crying, no matter what I told him…”

“Yeah, I saw how hard he was still crying when I got here,” Yixing sighed. “I didn’t think he knew about the way my parents felt about him. He is really way too smart and observant for his age…”

“He’s the smartest one in my class,” Jongdae told him. “Which is why I was surprised every time he got in trouble…” Jongdae trailed off before taking a good look at Yixing. “Were you busy beforehand? You’re dressed formally and you took longer than usual to get here.”

It hit Yixing on what he had done, what he had sacrificed to come here, and disappointment suddenly flooded his system. “Yeah… I had an important meeting with a producer who was interested in my music. I ran out during the middle to get here as soon as possible.”

Jongdae looked at Yixing with horror and realization. “I am so sorry for calling you. I didn’t know…”

Yixing shook his head. “No, I’m glad you did. Sehun needed to hear what I had to say and he needed to hear it from me. He wouldn’t have told anyone else why he was crying. To me, Sehun comes before anything else.”

Jongdae saw a man with responsibility and overflowing love for the people he cared about. He could only hope to be one of those people one day…

“I’m glad Sehun has such a caring older brother like you in his life. He will really grow up well with you by his side,” Jongdae said, giving a reassuring pat to the side of Yixing’s arm. “I have to get back to class. Baekhyun is probably taking care of everything again and wondering where I am since Sehun walked in a while ago…” Jongdae turned around to go back into the classroom when Yixing’s arm shot out and grabbed Jongdae’s.  

“About that kiss…”

Jongdae briefly feared what Yixing was going to say, so before he could hear it and have his heart broken, he blurted out, “Don’t worry about it. You can just pretend it never happened. It was an accident and I’ll apologize on behalf of Baekhyun’s clumsiness.”

Yixing found himself at a loss for words, as Jongdae bowed 90 degrees to him. “I, uh — right… Yeah.”

“I’ll see you around, right? If Sehun gets in trouble again,” Jongdae joked, but Yixing wasn’t laughing or joking along.

“Yeah,” Yixing replied, as Jongdae stepped back into the classroom.

Sehun showed no signs of going back to his trouble-making ways, so Jongdae hasn’t seen Yixing in a while. Every time he thought about their last encounter, a disturbing and unsettling feeling made its way deep in the pit of his stomach. He missed seeing Yixing and he began wishing Sehun would do something ridiculous again, so that he would have an excuse to see him.

Soon, parent-teacher conference day rolled around and Jongdae was ready to meet and talk one-on-one-plus-Baekhyun with his students’ parents.

“Dude, what if no one comes?”

“That means less work for us,” Baekhyun joked, earning a smack in the arm from Jongdae.

At times, Baekhyun noticed Jongdae spacing out and he figured it had to do with a certain student’s older brother. He couldn’t really talk about it with him though, because Jongdae would be the type to deny his feelings in front of him.

“So,” Baekhyun started, causing Jongdae to raise his eyebrows. “Sehun told me that his hyung was coming instead of his parents.”

“Really?” Jongdae asked a little too loudly. Baekhyun shot him a look. “I mean… Really?” he asked in an attempt to seem less excited, scratching the back of his neck.

“Yeah, I mean you already know that both Sehun’s parents work from early morning to afternoon, so only Yixing can come.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Jongdae agreed, just as the first parent walked in. “Ah! Hello! Welcome, welcome! I’m so glad you came! Please take a seat here,” he directed the mother to the chair in front of his desk.

One by one, all nine parents came, except for Sehun’s. Yixing hasn’t shown up yet, and Jongdae’s hope to see him was somewhat diminishing.

“I thought you told me Yixing was coming,” Jongdae whined.

“That’s what Sehun told me,” Baekhyun shrugged. “Oh, you know what? I think I told him the wrong time. I told him that conferences started at 5.”

“But that’s when it ends.”

“Oops.”

“What do you mean, “Oops”? How are you going to tell him the wrong time and just shrug it off?”

“Oh, Jongdae. You’re hungry, right?”

“What? I—” Jongdae was a little thrown off since Baekhyun suddenly moved on to a different and random topic.

“It’s almost dinner time. You must be really hungry!”

“Uh, not really…”

“Sure you are!! I have a stash of food in one of the janitor’s closets. You know Chanyeol? He lets me keep of box of Lay’s chips in there.”

“Uhhh…”

“Come with me to get them!! The closet’s light is broken and you know I’m scared of the dark!”

“Why should I?! Ask Chanyeeool,” Jongdae complained. “It’ll give you a good excuse to talk to him,” he jabbed, referring to his best friend’s crush on the janitor.

“I don't want to bother him right nowwww, he's workingggg,” Baekhyun continued to whine, eventually clinging onto his best friend’s arm and rubbing the side of his face on Jongdae’s shoulder as if he were a cat. Jongdae couldn’t bear to look at his sickeningly sweet puppy dog face, so he needed to put a stop to it.

“Alright, alright! If it’ll get you to stop,” Jongdae muttered, “I’m not even that hungry…”

“You’re the best, did ya know that?”

They walked down the hall to said closet and Baekhyun used his key to open it. (“Of course, Chanyeol would give me the key, how else am I supposed to get my chips?”)

“Now go in and find the chips.”

Jongdae looked back at his friend suspiciously, because he was being pretty demanding for a stupid bag of potato chips. He stepped into the closet and tried pulling the string attached to the light bulb, but no light came on. Baekhyun wasn’t lying.

He looked around but only saw cleaning supplies. He tippy-toed to try and see if it was on the upper shelves, but he doubted it since Baekhyun was not much taller than he was — there was a mop and a bunch of sprays, but no box of potato chips.

“Baek, I don’t see any po—”

He was interrupted by the sound of the door closing shut behind him.

“What the—”

It was completely dark and he realized Baekhyun had purposely closed the door on him. He heard a click, meaning he was being locked in, too.

“Baekhyun!!” He grabbed the doorknob, but it really wouldn’t turn, so he resorted to banging on the door. “BYUN BAEKHYUN!!”

“Yes, Jongdae?”

“Let me out, you prick!!”

“That’s not a very nice word to call me,” Baekhyun scolded. “What if there were kids out here with me? They would be learning such bad words from you.” Jongdae could hear the keys jingling from swinging in Baekhyun’s hand. “Kindergarten teachers shouldn't be speaking such vulgar language!” the assistant rambled on.

“Open the door,” Jongdae seethed out through gritted teeth.

“I’ll open it once I find Yixing, I promise,” Baekhyun assured him while laughing.

Finally, realization dawned on Jongdae why his best friend was doing this; he couldn’t believe he could be this dim the whole entire time. “The whole thing was a set up! This is literally the worst betrayal,” Jongdae told him, making Baekhyun cackle.

“How am I betraying you? I’m helping you. I gotta go wait for him now, I’ll be back in a few,” his assistant reassured him. Jongdae could hear footsteps getting quieter, meaning Baekhyun was walking away from the closet. He really needed to get out, but it wasn’t like he was paid enough that he could have the luxury of kicking the door down and paying for it afterwards. Maybe if he screamed loud enough, a parent passing by would help him get out.

“HELP!!!!! LET ME OUT!!! HELP!!!!”

“The closet!” Jongdae heard a tiny voice shout out.

“Do you think it’s Teacher Kim in there?”

Jongdae recognized the voice. It was Sehun.

“SEHUN!! SEHUN!! OPEN THE DOOR!!”

“It is Teacher Kim! Teacher Byun did it!!”

Wait, what?

“Told you he would help,” Jongdae recognized the second voice to be Jongin.

“What? What are you talking about?!” Jongdae yelled through the door.

He heard Jongin and Sehun giggle before he heard them walk away. “Wait, where are you going?! Are you really going to leave me here?! Why are you guys like this to me?!’

Jongdae could hear them trotting away and decided to drop it, since yelling would be no use. All teachers were inside their classrooms for parent-teacher conferences. There were barely any parents walking around since the younger grades were smaller (less kids = less parents, Jongdae’s logic reasons) and everyone else were on different floors. If Baekhyun, Sehun, and Jongin were going to leave him here, he could only hope the janitor would find him soon.

“He’s in here,” Baekhyun’s voice shook him out of his thoughts. Someone was going to get him out!! He thought about how he’s going to put Baekhyun in a headlock once he gets out. Wait, why can’t Baekhyun open the door himself? Who is he talking to?

“Jongdae!! Are you okay?” A new voice called out. “Can you move your ankle?”

“Yixing?”

“Yeah, it’s me! I’m here to help you!!”

“Wait, what’s wrong with my ankle?” Suddenly realizing Baekhyun lied to Yixing, he needed to warn Yixing before Baekhyun could trap them both in the closet.

“Wait, wait! No! Don’t come in! I don’t need help!!”

“Oh!”

The door opened and quickly closed. Jongdae felt a huge weight knock him over. Somehow, over his daze, he could hear Sehun and Jongin cheering from outside the closet. Yixing got up as fast as possible and tried to help Jongdae up.

“I am so sorry, Jong—”

“BYUN BAEKHYUN, YOU BRAT!!”

“I love you, Jongdae! I’m not letting the both of you out until you proclaim your love for one another!!”

“What—”

“If you let the both of us out now, there is a slim — but better — chance that I will spare you,” Jongdae seethed through gritted teeth, interrupting Yixing again.

“Nah, you’ll really thank me later. Come along now, kids, we’ll leave the adults to solve their adult things.”

“No!! Come back and let us out!! Why are you guys being like this?!”

There was no reply so it was clear that they had all left.

Jongdae realized that his heart was beating erratically and he was starting to sweat. This was the first time he was stuck with Yixing in an enclosed space alone .

“Why did Baekhyun lock us in? Is he going to find the key?”

Jongdae would usually find someone’s oblivion to be annoying, but Yixing was too innocent that it was adorable.

“You didn’t feel him push you in?”

“Oh, he pushed me? I thought I accidently tripped on something…”  

Jongdae promised himself the first thing he would do when he got out of here was to hurt Baekhyun.

“You’re okay though, right?” Jongdae asked worriedly.

“Yeah,” Yixing replied. “What about you? Baekhyun told me you hurt your ankle. Unless he was lying to me…”

“Yeah, he was lying to you.”

“Oh,” Yixing responded. “Why would he do that?”

Jongdae took a deep breath. This was probably the only opportunity he could possibly mend things with Yixing and let him know how he felt. Baekhyun is also the type of person to stay true to his word and never let them out until he at least confesses.

“He… He wanted to trap both of us…” Jongdae started, “so that I could tell you that I liked you.”

Jongdae couldn’t see a reaction from Yixing and he didn’t hear one, either. He decided what he couldn’t see or hear couldn’t hurt him, so he decided to keep going.

“To be honest, I thought you were really cute when I first saw you that time Sehun got in trouble for bringing a bird to school. But then he started getting into more trouble, and I slowly got to know you more through those little visits to the principal’s office. Teachers are supposed to send a note home with their student after the first offense, but I guess I unconsciously started wanting to see you more.

“And during the field trip, when Baekhyun pushed you into me and we ended up kissing… I didn’t mean to push you away. You looked so hurt and I can never forget the look you gave me. I was really only shocked since it happened so fast. And I didn’t mean it when I asked you to forget about it… It meant something to me, and I was scared you didn’t feel the same way.

“I just really like you, and I’m really surprised that I had the courage to say all that, because now it’ll probably be awkward for you and—”

“Jongdae—”

“—you probably wouldn’t want to see me again after this, and I totally understand, so I’ll just send a note home if Sehun ends up getting in trouble again—”

“Jongdae!” Yixing exclaimed, loud enough to get the teacher to stop talking.

“I always came to the office when you called because I wanted to see you, too. I’m usually working on songs during the day, so I could easily say on the phone that I’m busy — but I never did.

“Also, I’m glad that Baekhyun bumped into me. I won’t forget about the kiss just because you told me to.”

“I like you a lot, too,” Yixing said while laughing happily. “I would really like to get to know you more outside of the principal’s office and school trips.”

For the first time since he was locked in that closet, Jongdae was grateful that the closet light was broken because Yixing's wouldn't be able to see him blushing through the dark.

“Do you happen to like coffee?”

“Yeah,” Jongdae smiled. “Yeah, I like coffee.”

“We should go grab some after we get out of here.”

“Is that a date I hear?” Baekhyun sing-songed through the door.

Both Jongdae and Yixing jumped at the sudden intrusion during their intimate moment. They hadn’t even heard him walking around outside!! Jongdae internally groaned when Baekhyun continued to persist, “You two lovebirds are going after I let you out, right?”

“Yes,” Jongdae forced himself to say. “So will you please open the door now?”

Jongdae and Yixing heard keys jingling again and stood up. As soon as the door opened, Jongdae’s hand shot out and grabbed Baekhyun’s shirt.

“Woah, woah, woah! You should be grabbing me into a hug! Not grabbing my shirt — which is expensive, by the way.”

“There were other ways you could've gone about this, other than shoving us into a closet. You could've hurt Yixing.”

“Awww, thinking about your boyfriend first already?” Baekhyun teased.

And Yixing had to hold back his new boyfriend from strangling Baekhyun a few times before their coffee date.

“I GOT IT! I GOT IT!” Sehun yelled when he heard the doorbell ring. He reached out his arms as high as he could, grabbed the knob, and turned it.

“Teacher Kim?” Little Sehun was surprised as he saw his teacher standing in front of him, smiling down at him. “Why are you here? Am I in trouble again?!”

Yixing came up behind his brother and opened the door wider. “No, Teacher Kim is here to go on a date with hyung,” he said while smiling proudly. It’s been about a month since they started dating, but this was the first time Jongdae showed up at their house.

“You’re all ready to go?” Jongdae asked his boyfriend, who nodded. “Hey, Sehun, do you want to tag along?”

Sehun made a face, pouting and scrunching his nose. “No, that’s weird.”

Jongdae laughed. “Alright then, maybe you can come next time.”

Yixing bent down in front of his little brother. “Sehun, make sure the door is locked, okay? And let mom or dad answer the door from now on.”

“Mhm, hyung!” Sehun nodded.

“We’re going now, okay? Behave,” Yixing stood up and ruffled Sehun’s hair.

Sehun closed the door as Yixing and Jongdae watched to make sure the door was locked. He immediately ran over to the window, so he could look at what his hyung and teacher were doing.

They were holding hands and walking to Jongdae’s car.

“Your brother isn’t very discreet,” Jongdae laughed. “Before I even turned around, I could see that he ran all the way to the window.”

“Let him watch, he’s probably still in awe that his older brother is dating his teacher,“ Yixing laughed. “By the way, that music company from a while ago called me.”

“Mhm?”

“They want me to come in again. This time to discuss a contract.”

At first, Jongdae’s eyes widen, but then he let go of Yixing’s hand to jump up and down in happiness. “OH MY GOD, I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!” He hugged his boyfriend and gave him a peck on the cheek. “What happened?! You said you ran out of there!”

“I did, but I left my flash drive there since I was in a hurry. They found it and listened to the songs I put there, and they were happy with what they heard.”

“That’s amazing, now we have a celebratory reason to eat out,” Jongdae proclaimed. “We can buy doughnuts afterwards so that you can have as much inspiration as possible!”

Yixing wrapped his arm around Jongdae’s shoulder and smiled. “I don’t need doughnuts anymore. You’re my muse and inspiration now.”

From the window, Sehun could see the bright smiles on their faces, something he could tell were genuine for the both of them. If he had to get in trouble a million times just so his teacher and his brother could meet, he would do it all over again.

Sehun watched as they drove away together.

Extra Scene: Earlier Stages of Planning

Jongdae stood up from the kneeling position that he was in to help Sooji tie her shoe. He looked over at what everyone else was doing; Tao was playing with a bunch of legos with Kyungsoo and Hansol in one corner of the room, Soojung and Jinri were painting in another corner, and Seungwan and Seulgi were playing with dolls on the floor. The last pair of students caught Jongdae’s eyes: Jongin and Sehun. They were whispering to each other while occasionally stealing glances at him.

Jongdae sighed. After the butterfly accident and the dancing on the table, Jongdae knew they were up to no good. He just left them as they were, preparing for the worst. Ignoring them, he made his way over to Soojung and Jinri to make sure they weren’t getting paint on the floor.

Baekhyun also took notice of the two schemers and snuck up behind them. He bent down to their level so he could hear what they were muttering into each other’s ears. “What are we whispering about?” he whispered, interrupting their quick murmuring.

Jongin and Sehun both turned around to see who it was. When they saw it was Baekhyun, they deemed him okay to learn about their plans since he wasn’t Jongdae. “We are trying to think of ways to get Sehun to the principal’s office,” Jongin whispered back.

“What?! Why?!” Baekhyun exclaimed out loud.

“SHHHH!!!!”

Jongin and Sehun peered over Baekhyun’s head to see if Jongdae was looking at them. Their teacher was preoccupied with helping Jinri paint a cookie, so the coast was clear.

“What? Why???” Baekhyun harshly whispered.

“So Yixing-hyung can be called in and Teacher Kim could see him!” Sehun answered.

“Why would you want Teacher Kim to see your brother?”

“Because they like each other!”

“Oh, really now?” Baekhyun asked, amused.

“Yes! I saw it on their faces!” Sehun exclaimed. “With my own eyes!”

Something occurred in Baekhyun's head. "Wait a minute, ‘get Sehun to the principal’s office’? Is that why you let the butterflies out?"

Sehun and Jongin nodded.

“And lied about the tarantula?”

Sehun and Jongin nodded again.

“And called Zitao a doodoo brain?”

“Oh no, he's actually a doodoo brain," the tanner little boy said a little too bluntly. “He cries all da time!!!”

“Uh, right… huh…” Baekhyun pondered, “so are you guys planning to do something else to get in trouble?”

Sehun and Jongin gave each other a brief look before nodding. They’ve decided Baekhyun is now an ally and they trusted that they could tell him their plans. “We might throw paint at Teacher Kim,” Sehun answered.

“What?”

Jongin spoke up, “You’re not allowed to tell him.”

Baekhyun put his hands up defensively, then pretended to zip up his lips and throw the key away. “So… wow… you guys are really going all out, huh? Sounds like you let me in on a big secret! Well, I happen to be a nice person and have great acting skills. Would you like me to help?" Baekhyun asked, a playful but cunning tone laced into his question.

Sehun and Jongin beamed, a spark of mischief hinted in their smiles.