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Jaemin hates marketing class with a burning passion. Why? First, the teacher sucks at teaching - they’ve literally been working on the same worksheet for over an hour. Second, the subject matter is as dry as dust (Jaemin doesn’t know why he chose to take marketing. Oh, wait. Because Jeno said he was interested in it, maybe). And lastly, because of whatever this fuckery is.
“Hina, if Jeno’s bothering you, let me know. I’ll smack him,” the shithole of a teacher, Mr Park, says jovially. He then laughs it off. “I’m just kidding. I won’t smack him. But do tell me if he’s bothering you.”
Yes, this is what happens in marketing; the teacher likes to pair up his students. Jaemin is half torn between snickering at Jeno's unfortunate dilemma, and punching his desk loudly in anger. Donghyuck - the asshole - giggles in Jaemin's behalf from across the room, so Jaemin settles for an in-between solution; he drops his head on his desk. There’s a quiet thud, and Jeno looks back at him, curious. Jaemin smiles weakly and waves at him. Appeased, Jeno turns back around.
What a pain in the ass.
This is all Mr Park’s fault. After a few weeks of, according to Mr Park, “rowdy, raucous and intolerable animal noises” (Donghyuck had dared Jaemin to say ‘meow’ really loudly, and he and Jeno had died of laughter when Jaemin had finally caved in. Donghyuck still calls him a furry to this day), the stupid teacher had the brilliant idea of something called a seating arrangement.
So now, Jeno sits beside Hina. Jaemin sits in the corner of the room, beside some kid named Renjun. And Donghyuck sits at the very front. Jaemin doesn’t mind sitting far from Donghyuck - appreciates it even - and Renjun’s pretty nice, if a bit savage at times, but what he does mind is being separated from his one and only love aka his boyfriend.
That’s right, suckers. He and Jeno are boyfriends. That means they’re dating. That also means that Mr Park should shut the fuck up before Jaemin strangles him.
“Hey, I see what’s going on there,” Mr Park says, raising his eyebrows like some perverted old man (Jaemin might be a little biased here). “Hina’s laughing at Jeno’s jokes. I bet they’re not even funny.”
The thing is, Mr Park is probably right. Jeno can’t tell a joke to save his life. And Hina is laughing, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Friends laugh together all the time. Heck, Jaemin laughs at Donghyuck 24/7, but that doesn’t mean he has a crush on the weirdo. Fuck no. He likes Jeno, and Jeno likes him back.
Right.
“You’ve gotta make a move first, Jeno. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck in the friend zone forever,” says Mr Park.
Hina laughs uncomfortably at that, and Jeno pulls a grimace. (Granted, Jaemin can’t see his face from the back of the class, but he knows that’s what Jeno’s doing. Also, Donghyuck has his back turned around and is mimicking his grimace. Sometimes, Jaemin can learn to appreciate a friend like Donghyuck.)
“You hear me, Jeno?”
“Sure,” Jeno says uneasily.
“I’ll be cheering you on,” says Mr Park. Then he goes back to typing on his laptop.
Jaemin wishes he could walk up to Mr Park and say, “Hey, fuck you. Jeno and Hina are just friends , because Jeno’s gay as fuck and also, he’s my boyfriend,” but he can’t, because he and Jeno have an agreement. When they’ve first started dating (Jaemin had latched onto Jeno and refused to let go), Jeno had expressed his reluctance to being out to everyone.
(“Like, I won’t mind telling our families or friends, but I’d prefer if we kept it kind of private, you know?” Jeno had said, fingers tangled in Jaemin’s hair as the latter snuggled into the crook of his neck. “Unless you really want to be public about it, then I’m fine with that. I don’t want you thinking that I want to keep you a secret. Because I don’t.”)
And of course, Jaemin had agreed to keep it lowkey. That’s what Jeno wants, and he respects his decision. (But do you know who he doesn’t respect? A certain teacher who likes to ship his students together.) Anyway, he can’t do anything except moan in self-pity and slam his forehead onto his desk, repeatedly.
“Are you okay?” Renjun asks, after Jaemin's hit his head too many times to count.
“I am just dandy. Yup. Definitely.” Jaemin lifts his head up, dazed, and Renjun looks like he’s close to diagnosing him as clinically insane or some shit.
“So, Hina, what do you think about Jeno as a person?” comes Mr Park’s raspy voice, loud and clear.
Jaemin slams his head back down. Renjun, who's probably gotten the gist of it, pats his back comfortingly.
“Hey, Jaemin’s pretty pissed at you,” Donghyuck says brightly, slinging his arm around Jeno's shoulders. He wriggles his eyebrows. “You should have seen his face. Absolutely ridiculous.”
“I didn’t need to see his face. I could hear the sound of his head slamming on his desk,” Jeno says grimly. He runs his hand through his hair and sighs. As soon as the bell had rung, signalling the end of class and the beginning of lunch, Jaemin had bolted out of his seat. He didn’t even wait for Jeno to walk him to the lockers, like what they usually do after class.
Donghyuck cackles at that. “The poor thing. Whenever he gets frustrated, he bangs his head on something. He should stop doing that. We all know he can’t afford to lose any more brain cells.”
Jeno starts to chuckle, then realizes he’s supposed to be defending his boyfriend. So, he frowns. “Don’t be an asshole, Hyuck.”
“Too late. Pretty sure it’s in my DNA.” Then he saunters off with a wave of his hand - he’s always acting so high and mighty - and Jeno’s left on his own. He heaves a sigh and checks his phone. There's already a message from Jaemin.
[ nana: sorry i left you. I had a club meeting so i was in a rush. sigh u_u ]
[ me: ah, no problem. I was just worried you’d be jealous or something ]
[ nana: what???? No ??? way ??? ]
[ nana: why would i be jealous lol ]
[ me: idk. Because of what mr park was saying about me and hina? ]
[ nana: nah, i’m chill with that. I know hina’s just a friend duhh. Plus, you have me aka the love of your life aka your boyfriend!! ]
[ me: lol yeah. What mr park said was inappropriate and hina's def just a friend ]
[ me: and also. Btw. just a little side note…. ]
...
[ nana: what. You’re killing me in the suspense here jenoooooo oOOOO ]
[ me: i love you ♡♡♡ ]
A high-pitched scream can be heard, bleeding through the walls and reverberating around the school. It sounds an awful lot like Jaemin. Jeno leans against the lockers, his lips curved up into a wide smile. His phone vibrates again.
[ nana: yeah ily2 whatever ]
Jeno knows that despite everything, Jaemin tends to be the jealous type. The next day, marketing class is still hell.
“Jeno! Get your act together and ask her out,” says Mr Park teasingly. There’s a sudden loud thump from the back of the room.
Jeno scowls. He genuinely likes Hina but only as a friend. And it’s getting really annoying whenever Mr Park makes a side comment about their relationship.
That, and Jeno’s truly fearful for Jaemin’s intelligence. He wonders how many brain cells Jaemin’s lost over the course of the past few weeks, constantly banging his head on his desk. Even Donghyuck looks concerned, and that’s saying a lot.
He spares a glance at his boyfriend. Jaemin’s wearing his oversized white hoodie. He has his hood up, while his head is facing down. His sleeves are too long for his arms, and they hang over the edge of the desk. Jeno’s heart tugs at the sight. His boyfriend’s cute, as cute as a button.
Donghyuck silently fakes a vomit at the front of the class, and Jeno briefly wonders if he's said that aloud. He doubts it, judging by his classmates’ indifferent reactions. Hina shakes her head and gives him a fond smile, though. Now, that's weird. She never shows that kind of emotion, especially to Jeno of all people.
“Aw, you look like a lovestruck teenager,” Mr Park says, out of the blue. Jeno startles in his seat, and then groans internally. Not again.
“I could tell by your face that you were thinking about a loved one.” The teacher winks at him conspiratorially, and Jeno blinks back, deadpan.
“I was?” he asks skeptically.
“Yes, you were.” Mr Park stares at him knowingly. He pauses, then hums. “Say, I heard that this boy band… NCT, I think?... Yes, NCT’s coming. You gonna take Hina to their concert, Jeno?”
Hina looks downright uncomfortable and scrunches her face in disgust. There’s another sound of a head slamming against a desk.
Mr Park continues to smile, unaffected by his students’ plights.
Jeno stands up. “No,” he says firmly.
For the first time, Mr Park has the audacity to act surprised. “Why not? Don’t chicken out now-”
“I’m taking Jaemin to the NCT concert.”
There’s silence in the classroom. Everyone turns to look at Jaemin. Jaemin lifts his head up. His hood falls off of his head, revealing his honey brown hair in all its messy glory. Jeno wants to card his fingers through Jaemin’s soft hair, except he's too far away. There’s also a bright red mark on his forehead from banging his head on the desk so many times, and Jeno has to resist a smile at his idiot of a boyfriend. (He feels his lips quirk up, anyway.)
“You’re taking your friend over Hina?” Mr Park asks, incredulous. He still doesn’t get it. Donghyuck coughs into his elbow, muttering, “Fucking idiot,” in between each cough. Jeno shakes his head lightly. His friend’s lucky Mr Park’s too preoccupied with him to notice.
“Jaemin’s not just my friend,” he admonishes, waving his finger left and right. (Sue him, he’s feeling oddly sassy today. It must be Donghyuck rubbing off of him.)
“What?” Mr Park doesn’t get it, of course.
“Let me show you,” Jeno says, then he spins on the back of his heels and marches to the back of the class. His classmates scooch closer to their desks, pulling their chairs in to let him pass. Donghyuck gives him a solid high-five on the way.
Jeno watches as Jaemin sits upright, straightening his back. His eyes grow wider and wider as Jeno approaches. “What are you doing,” he mouths.
Jeno cocks an eyebrow, not bothering with a reply. Without preamble, he slams his hands on either side of Jaemin’s desk and leans down so that their noses are barely an inch apart. Jeno takes a moment to relax, examine, and breathe. Jaemin’s eyes are still wide open in shock, before they slowly flutter shut, his long eyelashes casting thin shadows over his cheeks. His lips typically have a slight curve to them anyway, but now they’re curved even higher, irrepressibly. He’s stopped breathing entirely. (The entire class has stopped breathing. Fuck. No, the entire world has stopped breathing just to witness this moment.)
Jeno kisses Jaemin, a brief peck on the lips and perfectly appropriate for school. He can taste a hint of mint. (Jaemin has a habit of popping in mints after Jeno’s mentioned his morning breath once . “What kind of boyfriend tells them that their breath stinks?” Jaemin later retells the story to Donghyuck (who nods solemnly like he cares). Every time, Jeno has to smack his shoulder to remind him that that’s not true. All he said was, “Let's make out after you've brushed your teeth.”)
Jeno pulls back immediately, but then Jaemin releases a sound of frustration and gets out of his seat, reaching for Jeno’s collar to pull him back down. They kiss again, and it lasts a bit longer until someone (Donghyuck) coughs loudly, interrupting their makeout session like the asshole he is.
Jaemin falls back into seat, flustered. His hair is still a mess. Jeno combs his fingers through the strands of his hair, and out of habit, Jaemin nuzzles his hand.
“Gross,” Donghyuck mutters.
Hina smirks and shoots him a thumbs up. And Mr Park? Mr Park looks confused. Jesus fucking Christ, do I have to spell it out for him? Jeno nearly combusts in anger.
“Remember a couple of seconds ago when you said I was lovestruck?” he asks, slowly enunciating every syllable in his sentence.
Mr Park nods, barely.
“Well,” Jeno moves his hand from Jaemin’s hair and pinches his cheek, instead. Jaemin complains but doesn’t push him away. “I was thinking about my boyfriend, Na Jaemin.”
Mr Park tilts his head, rubbing his chin in confusion. "Does that mean-"
Jeno sighs, “Yes, I’m dating Jaemin. Yes, teach, I’m gay. A Homosexual. I like guys. ”
There’s a sudden pause, again. Renjun starts to clap, then Hina, then Donghyuck, reluctantly, until everyone’s clapping. All except Mr Park. The man looks like the whole world has betrayed him. Serves him right. Jeno has had enough of his inappropriate remarks towards Hina and him. Plus, Jaemin deserves better than to be ignored like that. He's his boyfriend, after all.
“Hey,” Jaemin whispers softly, tugging his sleeve.
Jeno looks down. “Yeah?”
“Does this mean we’re gonna be out to… everyone?”
“I guess so.” Jeno shrugs, unable to stop smiling.
Jaemin wrinkles his forehead in worry, and Jeno represses a chuckle. He pokes Jaemin’s forehead with his index finger. “Don’t worry. I’m fine with that,” he says lightly. He cups his hand over Jaemin’s ear and utters, “By the way, have I ever mentioned that I love you?”
With an undignified squawk, Jaemin pushes him away, the tip of his ears bright red.
“Hey,” Mr Park’s voice cuts in. They both freeze, ready to fight or bolt, or whatever. “Jaemin, if Jeno’s bothering you, let me know. I’ll smack him.” A pause. “Oh, who am I kidding, you two are already together. I can’t even be a matchmaker here.”
Simultaneously, they breathe a sigh of relief. Jaemin finally lets out a laugh, kind of deep and so Jaemin-like, and Jeno is so in love.
“Hey, Jeno?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you too.”