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Kim Mina was five feet of pure determination with a curvaceous body and big, captivating eyes. Any boy would be lucky to have a fraction of her time.
This semester, Mina had set her eyes on Yoon Jeonghan, captain of the track team and an infamous pretty boy on the high school campus.
Too bad Yoon Jeonghan was a closeted homosexual.
“Jeonghan-oppa,” Mina gazed up at Jeonghan underneath her eyelashes.
Where did she get the idea they were close enough for her to call him ‘oppa?’
“Yes, Mina?” Jeonghan continued to sort through his locker for his first period materials.
Mina played with her slender fingers a while longer. “Would you like to study together in the library today? For the exams, of course.”
“I’m going to Mr. Park’s study hall with Junhui.”
“How about after school?”
Jeonghan suppressed the urge to laugh. “Can’t. I have track practice.”
“What about tomorrow?”
“Track practice.”
“Tomorrow’s Saturday, Jeonghan-ah,” Mina smiled demurely.
Around the corner, Joshua was watching the scene unfold with amusement in his eyes. Kim Mina sure was something.
“It is?” Jeonghan scratched his head, trying to search his brain for a plausible excuse. “I-I meant─”
“─I’m coming over to tutor him in calculus, Mina,” Joshua interjected with a barely concealed chuckle. “Sorry, maybe next time?”
Mina left out a huff in annoyance and turned quickly on her heel, long and flowing brunette hair smacking Jeonghan in the face in the process.
Once the short drama queen was out of earshot, Jeonghan faced his friend─read knight in shining armour─books in hand.
“Thanks Josh,” Jeonghan shot the said boy a grateful smile.
“No problem, Han,” the corners of Joshua’s lips turned up. “We still on for calculus tutoring?”
“Wait, you were being serious?” Jeonghan balked at the idea of spending his Saturday cooped up inside, torturing himself over calculus─Joshua’s presence would make it worthwhile, but still.
“You forgot?” Joshua playfully tsked at the boy.
“Forgot what?” Jeonghan then gave a sheepish grin. “Oh… that. Sorry.”
“Yep,” Joshua popped the ‘p.’ “It’s fine. Can you come over though?”
“Yeah, it’s only a five minute drive. I wouldn’t dare to miss your life-changing calculus teachings, o’ wise tutor.”
“You’ve already missed ten sessions, Han,” Joshua reminded him.
“Oops?” Jeonghan smiled cheekily at the younger boy. Suddenly the warning bell rang, signaling to the students they only had a couple minutes before roll call. “Bye Josh.”
In a hurry, Jeonghan accidentally dropped a little cream envelope, which Joshua picked up in curiosity.
I like you ♡
─ Y.J.H.
“What?” Joshua’s eyebrows scrunched up in thought. After inconspicuously tucking the note into his back pocket, he hastily jogged through the corridor and barely made it on time to his government class.
✼ ✼ ✼ ✼ ✼ ✼
“Good practice, team,” coach Soonyoung praised. “Don’t forget to grab your stuff out of the lockers before leaving. And boys, you might wanna hit the showers while you’re at it.”
The girls giggled at his comment while the boys just took it in stride.
Back in the locker room, Jeonghan had decided to take coach’s advice after taking a whiff of his sweat soaked shirt. Next to him, for some reason, Mingyu decided that striking up a conversation whilst showering was a good idea.
“Who’re you asking to the Mistletoe Madness dance?”
Jeonghan hesitated. “Oh, you know, just… someone.”
“Someone like Kim Mina?” Mingyu chortled.
Nearby, Hansol decided to give his input. “Damn, she’s so fine. You’re one lucky guy, Jeonghan. If I were you, I would’ve already─”
“─yeah, yeah,” Minghao interrupted with a loud sigh. “Can’t keep it in your pants for a second, can you?”
“Hey, he’s right though,” Seokmin defended. “She’s the embodiment of fine China.”
“Except she isn’t Chinese, she’s Korean,” Mingyu remarked.
“Exactly,” Seokmin answered dreamily.
As the boys continued to rave about the hottest girls on campus, Jeonghan’s mind was secretly on one thing alone: Joshua Hong.
“Yeah, she’s something all right,” Jeonghan said, not talking about Mina at all.
✼ ✼ ✼ ✼ ✼ ✼
“Can we take a quick break, Josh?” Jeonghan pouted, sending Joshua his best puppy eyes. “I’m hungry and tired and I swear if I have to learn about another flipping derivative, I might just die.”
“Stop being so dramatic,” Joshua complained about the older’s theatrics, but secretly loved it. “I’ll grab some snacks. Wait here.”
Minutes later, Jeonghan was sprawled out on Joshua’s bed with various junk food surrounding him while Joshua sat on the ground, flipping through the calculus textbook lazily.
“Are you going to the dance in a few weeks?” Jeonghan’s voice cut through the silence.
“I dunno, are you?” Joshua tried to hide his anticipation for the older’s response.
“Only if someone asks me,” Jeonghan concluded.
“Oh.” That’s new. “You want a girl to ask you? Well I guess Mina would in a heartbeat.”
“Not exactly…” Jeonghan trailed off. “Hey, can I tell you something?”
Joshua looked up at the older’s serious tone and nodded. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”
A pause.
“I’m gay.”
“Cool, me too.”
“You’re what?” Jeonghan blurted out in shock.
“I’m gay,” Joshua gave Jeonghan a wary glance. “Is there anything wrong with that?”
“N-no… no,” Jeonghan quickly answered. Jeonghan might actually have a chance after all. “Um,” he cleared his throat. “Are you thinking about asking someone?”
“Possibly,” Joshua said with a lilt. “Possibly not. Depends on what vibes the guy’s giving me. So far, it’s iffy.”
“Iffy?” Jeonghan willed his beating heart to quiet down. “What do you mean?”
Was it really a good idea to talk about the object of Joshua’s affections to the object of his affections? Probably not. The younger decided to throw caution to the wind though─even going far enough to give Jeonghan a hint.
“Well, recently I found a confession note he dropped,” Joshua pondered. “I think it was supposed to be for me? Not really sure. Either way, there’s this girl who’s obsessed with him, so my chances with him are slim.”
Jeonghan thought back to the confession note he had wrote explicitly for Joshua that he had lost at school. Was Joshua talking about that note?
“Ah,” Jeonghan played off his internal dilemma. “I think you should still ask him. Just because the girl’s obsessed with him doesn’t mean the feelings are mutual. Take Mina and I for example. A bad example, but one nonetheless.”
Oh, the irony.
Joshua chuckled at that, and Jeonghan couldn’t stop himself from staring at the handsome boy. He had a soft face and feline eyes that contrasted perfectly with his lightly toned body, protruding adam’s apple, and big hands.
“Why are you looking at me?” Joshua averted his eyes in embarrassment.
“Just because,” Jeonghan averted his eyes as well and stuffed his face with chips to avoid further interrogation.
Joshua cleared his throat. “Let’s continue, Han. You still need to review related rates.”
Jeonghan groaned in agony while Joshua smiled quietly to himself.
Joshua finally had an idea.
✼ ✼ ✼ ✼ ✼ ✼
Upon hearing his doorbell ring, Jeonghan reluctantly got up from his spot on the sofa to pull open the front door.
“Hello, Yoon’s residence. What do you─”
“Han, it’s me, Josh,” said boy quickly stopped the other’s ramblings.
“Josh? I didn’t know we had…”
Joshua motioned to the small wrapped present in his hand. There was a frosty bite to the air that Joshua wasn’t fond of experiencing at the foot of Jeonghan’s warm and cozy house’s doorstep. “We don’t have tutoring. Can I come in?”
Just like that, Jeonghan snapped out of it. “No tutoring? Forget your present, this is a present in itself.”
Joshua laughed at that and the older boy moved back, opening the front door fully for Joshua to come in.
“Who’s there, Han?” Mrs. Yoon’s voice echoed through the kitchen.
“It’s Joshua, mom.”
“Joshua?”
“Remember?” Jeonghan sighed. “He tutors me in calculus.”
“Oh! That Joshua,” Mrs. Yoon exclaimed in surprise.
Joshua turned to Jeonghan with a smile, albeit a little nervous. “Um, where do you want us to go?”
“Follow me,” Jeonghan grabbed hold of his wrist and tugged Joshua, the younger trailing after him like a lost puppy. “Mom and I have been baking since noon. There should be some gingersnaps and snickerdoodle cookies left.”
“Okay.”
Once Joshua was brought into the kitchen, Mrs. Yoon turned around with batter on her apron and one of the friendliest smiles Joshua had ever seen.
“You’ve helped my son so much,” she praised, hugging the gawky boy. “Without you, Jeonghan might’ve been kicked off of the track team.”
“Mom~” Jeonghan whined in an exasperated tone. “I would’ve been fine. Calculus isn’t that hard.”
“Tell that to your grades pre-tutor,” Mrs. Yoon glared.
Joshua took in the scene and just chuckled to himself. “I don’t mind tutoring him, Mrs. Yoon. Thank you for letting me come here unannounced.”
“Jeonghan’s friends are always welcome,” Mrs. Yoon then brought over a fresh tray of snickerdoodles. “Here, try one.”
Joshua could feel himself grow shy. “N-no thanks, I’m okay.”
“Really, I insist.”
Jeonghan nodded in agreement and Joshua slowly took a cookie off the tray, bringing it to his lips as Mrs. Yoon anticipated a positive reaction.
“Mmm,” Joshua made an appreciative noise, and continued to chew on the rest of the cookie. “This is the best snickerdoodle I’ve ever tasted. Which recipe did you follow?”
Mrs. Yoon giggled with glee. “You’re too kind. Actually, it’s a family recipe and there’s a secret ingredient.” She said the last part with a mysterious glint in her eyes. “Feel free to take as many cookies as you wish, boys.”
“Cool.” Jeonghan nodded and began to quickly pile up a variety of Christmas cookies onto a santa plate. Once the boy couldn’t add any more, he passed the plate to Joshua and ushered him out of the kitchen, yelling a “Bye, mom” over his shoulder.
The boys climbed the stairs, and after passing by a couple doors, they arrived at Jeonghan’s room. His bedroom consisted of sky blue walls, a wooden floorboard, a bed with a gray patterned comforter, and clothes scattered haphazardly on the floor.
“Wow,” Joshua scanned the room with amused eyes.
“My bedroom’s state represents my life,” Jeonghan nodded solemnly.
“So your life is constantly in despair?” Joshua teased, provoking Jeonghan to push him through the doorway with an annoyed grunt.
“No,” Jeonghan corrected. “My life is an abstract work of art. From afar, it looks like a clusterfuck─”
“Language, Han,” Joshua scolded.
“─but there’s hidden beauty up close,” Jeonghan concluded, pleased.
Joshua snorted. “Alright, Han. If you say so.”
Jeonghan shot him a glare which Joshua raised his hands up in defense.
The two boys got situated on Jeonghan’s bed, Jeonghan sitting with his legs crossed and Joshua with his legs out in front on him, back against the wooden headboard.
Jeonghan subtly glanced over to Joshua and the mystery gift box laying next to him─apparently not subtle enough since Joshua’s eyes soon met his. Jeonghan quickly looked away, caught.
“Here, Han,” Joshua extended the present towards the older boy. “Sorry, it’s not much.”
Jeonghan carefully unwrapped the red bow and slowly lifted the top off.
“What is this?” Jeonghan marveled, taking out the hardcover novel. Joshua had gifted him “The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller, a story following the tragic romance of Achilles and Patroclus, his best friend.
“I’ve see you read sometimes, Han,” Joshua explained. “There’s something inside the book.”
Jeonghan opened it to the first page and paper fell out. Upon further inspection, Jeonghan noted it was a ticket to the dance and a laminated bookmark with ‘under the mistletoe’ written in cursive on one side, an aesthetically pleasing drawing of mistletoe underneath. As he flipped the bookmark over, Jeonghan’s heart rate steadily increased until it was noticeably thrumming in his ears.
‘Will you accompany me to the Mistletoe Madness dance?’ was written in Joshua’s neat, little handwriting.
“Please?” Joshua spoke up beside him with hopeful eyes.
Jeonghan coughed, concealing his internal excitement. “Yeah, sure Josh.”
Joshua punched his arm lightly. “Just a ‘yeah, sure?’ You’re too mean, Han.”
“Sorry,” Jeonghan chuckled and turned towards Joshua, who had been hovering over his shoulder. “Thanks,” he squeaked out, taking in how close the two were, and scrambled to move further away so he could calm his racing heart.
“It’s a date then,” Joshua smiled, eyes crinkling cutely at the edges.
✼ ✼ ✼ ✼ ✼ ✼
When Joshua arrived at Jeonghan’s doorstep the night of the dance, Jeonghan opened the door and took in the younger’s appearance with a look of appraisal. Joshua Hong had decided to go all out─his medium brown hair was slicked back and he was clad in a black suit with a navy blue tie, all which gave him a mature aura.
Seeing Jeonghan completely took Joshua’s breath away. The older boy had apparently cut his long black hair sometime between their tutoring sessions and his track practices─and the medium-length hair definitely complimented Jeonghan. He was clothed in a white button down with the sleeves rolled up as well as a sweater-patterned bow tie. Black, skinny dress pants fit snug against his toned legs, slowly tempting Joshua.
“You look nice.”
“Thanks, you too.”
“Ready for tonight?”
“Mhm,” Jeonghan shouted a quick goodbye over his shoulder.
Joshua─being his gentleman self─offered the older his arm and the two walked down the front porch steps, getting into Joshua’s car.
✼ ✼ ✼ ✼ ✼ ✼
Yoon Jeonghan underestimated Kim Mina too much.
Only a couple minutes prior to making their way to the dance floor, Mina had spotted Jeonghan and made a beeline towards him, swaying her hips in a tantalizing manner.
“This girl just doesn’t know when to give up,” Jeonghan whispered into Joshua’s ear, subconsciously moving closer to the boy.
Joshua placed a light hand onto Jeonghan’s lower back, leaning in to hear Jeonghan better and nodding at his words.
“What should I do?” Jeonghan complained. “She can’t take a hint, and I’ve given her more than enough─”
“Oppa!”
Joshua quickly removed his hand from where it had resided comfortably on Jeonghan’s back. “Good luck.” With that, Joshua took his leave, heading off in the direction of food.
“Wait Jo─” Jeonghan began to plead until Mina came into view. “─Mina! Hey…”
“Who was he?” Mina inquired, not interested in the slightest.
“Joshua.”
“Oh, never heard of him,” Mina brushed it off and redirected her focus on the eye-candy in front of her. “Where have you been? I didn’t know you were coming, oppa.”
Never has Jeonghan hated the word ‘oppa’ so much in his lifetime.
“I just arrived,” Jeonghan lied with a smile. “Don’t you have a date, Mina?”
“Well,” she began, tracing a finger up and down Jeonghan’s clothed chest. “A lot of guys asked but I turned them all down. You’re the only one I want, Yoon Jeonghan.”
“Too bad I’m the only one he wants,” Joshua cut in with a smirk, wrapping a protective arm around Jeonghan’s waist. Needless to say, he was tired of seeing Mina─a beautiful girl, but girl nonetheless─attempt to flirt with the─completely gay─boy he’s liked ever since freshman year. Whether or not Jeonghan liked him back, Joshua was on a mission to find out tonight.
“Excuse me?” Mina raised an eyebrow, unamused. “Who are you again?”
“His boyfriend,” Joshua easily answered, internally stomping down the butterflies at the thought of having something real with Jeonghan.
“Is this true, oppaya?” Mina pouted cutely up at Jeonghan.
Jeonghan exchanged a glance with Joshua, silently asking for help. “Yes.”
“Prove it,” Mina smirked, noticing their slight discomfort.
“O-okay…” Jeonghan was out of ideas. Thankfully Joshua was known to be a critical thinker.
In a second, Joshua procured a tiny bundle of mistletoe from behind his back─the teachers were giving them out at the entrance, and Joshua had managed to snatch one, just in case the chance of kissing Jeonghan presented itself.
With the mistletoe dangling above Jeonghan’s and Joshua’s heads, the younger boy leaned in, pressing his lips close to the other boy’s ear. “Pucker up, buttercup.”
“Wha─” Jeonghan’s eyes widened, cheeks growing a soft shade of pink, when Joshua gently connected their lips before he himself could chicken out.
The first peck was nice, albeit a little messy given their inexperience. When Jeonghan pulled away to catch his breath, Joshua leaned back down, hand at the back of Jeonghan’s neck, to recapture the older’s intoxicating lips for an even deeper kiss.
Mina’s face contorted into something unpleasant at the sight. “Oh well, it’s your loss. I never liked you anyway. Have fun with your boy toy, Jeonghan.”
The boys jumped in surprise at her voice, having forgotten her presence completely, and hid their smiles at her disgruntled state.
She turned, hair whacking both boys in the face, and walked off to find another boy to charm, stilettos heels resounding on the wooden floor.
“So…” Joshua averted his eyes, feeling sheepish from his brazen actions a minute ago. There was an awkward silence between the boys─Jeonghan looking at Joshua in shock, and Joshua looking at the ground in nervousness. “I-I’m sorry about that. I should have asked you before─”
“Shut up and kiss me, loser.”
Jeonghan reconnected their lips, without a care of anyone who was watching, and melted into Joshua’s touch.
Joshua learned one thing that night: He wouldn’t be needing mistletoe anymore.