Work Text:
It was Friday, 3rd period, during English class when Park Jaehyung found himself absentmindedly staring at his crush, or as he likes to call it, lovingly admiring Kang Younghyun’s beauty.
It was no secret to anyone that Jae had the biggest crush on Younghyun, there were little things that made it obvious; like going out of his way to get Younghyun coffee on the way to school, or memorising his timetable secretly so that he always knew where to wait for him after lessons.
Jae’s crush on Younghyun wasn’t short-lived, in fact it has been going on for over a year, but Younghyun was still oblivious. I mean, it wasn’t like Jae tried to make it show, god, he didn’t even know if Younghyun liked boys, and he knew for sure that if he did then he wouldn’t like Jae.
“Jaehyung!”
Jae’s head turned sharply and his thoughts were rudely interrupted by the booming voice of his teacher who stood at the front of the classroom, angrily waiting for Jae to respond.
“Tell me what I was just saying.”
Jae had just been trying to decide what hair colour would suit Younghyun best. (It was currently a competition between black and light brown).
“U- uh”
Jae stuttered and looked towards the teacher. He could feel Younghyun’s eyes burning into his back. His cheeks were painted bright pink at the thought of Younghyun seeing him this nervous.
“Since you can’t seem to pay attention then you can come back here at lunch to learn! Detention!”
Jae looked down at his desk in embarrassment and could feel tears pricking at his eyes. Not only had he landed himself a detention, but he had practically humiliated himself in front of the love of his life.
He sighed loudly and was about to pick up a pen to begin his work when he heard Younghyun’s voice from behind him.
“Sir, do you think that I could just explain to Jaehyung what he missed when he wasn’t listening at lunch rather than him having detention? Wouldn’t it make sense?”
The teacher looked taken aback by Younghyun’s question but his expression quickly softened.
“Well, since you are one of my best students, I’m sure I can trust you to catch him up. But, Jaehyung, this is your last chance. Start paying attention or me and you will be seeing eachother at lunch a lot. Understood?”
Jae nodded quickly and the teacher got back to explaining something. He turned to look at Younghyun who was smiling widely at him. God, he was really perfect. The way his eyes sparkled when he talked about something he loved, or the way his hair fell perfectly in place after he had been running to-
Wait. Jae was staring again.
He quickly shook himself out of his daydream and turned back around to his desk, continuing with his work.
---
The bell echoed throughout the classroom, signalling the beginning of lunch. The usual chorus of chairs scraping against the floor and pencil cases being zipped up could be heard, and as Jae threw his backpack on, he heard a voice calling his name.
“Jae! Wait for me!”
Younghyun was having a struggle with the zip on his bag and waved to Jae for help. He walked over and quickly fixed the pencil case with a gentle pull.
“How did you do that? I swear every lesson it takes me 10 minutes!” Younghyun exclaimed as they walked out of the classroom together.
“Maybe it never works because you tug it as if you want it to break?” They both laugh loudly together, making their way to the library and finding the same spot they sit at everyday. It was hidden away from everyone else and gave them some space to study in peace, but also laugh and joke as they wanted, without the worry of other people being around to pry.
They put their bags down and took their seats, taking their books out and beginning to study quietly, just how they liked it.
“So, I’m guessing you don’t really need the English stuff explained to you?” Younghyun asked, smiling with the smile that Jae thought could bring world peace.
“Nono, the less English work I have to think about, the better!”
Their chatter eventually died down and they sat silently, engrossed in their school work, that was until Younghyun said something.
“Jae?” He played with his hands nervously in his lap. He had become curious about Jae’s feelings towards him after he had caught Jae multiple times over the last few months, staring at him, and Younghyun just couldn’t help but want to know whether Jae could possibly maybe slightly have a crush on him? Even though, to Younghyun, that was the most unlikely thing, or was it?
It seemed impossible to either boy that the other could have feelings for him.
Jae: Never In A Million Years. He would never be able to believe that someone as perfect as Kang Younghyun could love him.
Younghyun: Probably not as unlikely. Still unexpected, but not unwelcome.
“Yeah?” Jae responded, still continuing to scrawl notes into one of his books. There was a long pause and Jae looked up, raising an eyebrow at the boy who sat opposite him in silence, looking terrified.
“What’s up?” asked Jae.
“S- so you, uh, know earlier in English?” Younghyun usually spoke gently and with care, it was something Jae had always loved, but today, he seemed uncertain and rushed. It worried Jae slightly but he just nodded and let Younghyun continue.
“When, you know, sir caught you not paying attention? It seemed like, uh, maybe you were staring at me or something? And this isn’t the first time I’ve noticed but I’m probably just being really stupid aha yeah that’s me stupid and you probably don’t have feelings for me and it probably isn’t anything like that all because like- wait, am I rambling? I’m sorry oh my god.”
Jae sat with his mouth agape. Younghyun looked like he was about to cry.
“Y- Younghyun?” Jae’s voice barely went a whisper, it was almost like if he spoke too loudly, then he might break Younghyun.
It was weird seeing his best friend, who was usually loud and confident, looking so almost vulnerable, and nervous.
Younghyun slowly looked up and was met with the calming face of his best friend, painted with a weak smile.
He was sure that his cheeks were almost as red as a tomato but he didn’t really care because Jae’s didn’t look any better (Not that he would ever tell the poor boy who blushes if someone remembers his birthday).
“Do you know that I memorised your timetable so that I’d know where to wait for you after every lesson?”
Younghyun shook his head. His eyes went wide, he never knew his best friend cared that much.
“Do you know why I did that?”
Another shake of Younghyun’s head.
“Do you know why I always bring you coffee every morning?”
Younghyun shook his head again.
“Because I like you.. I like like you?”
“Huh?” Younghyun responded.
“Do I need a hearing check?” He quickly followed with.
“Nope!” Jae responded, he had no clue where his sudden burst of confidence had come from but he was certainly enjoying it.
“Well, I, uh, I think I like you too.”
Jae choked on his water and Younghyun rushed over, roughly hitting his back. He really did care about Jae more than he ever realised.
“You okay there?” questioned Younghyun, softly rubbing the spot on his back that he had been hitting just moments ago.
“I am wonderful.” Jae responded with.
They found themselves staring at each other, almost examining every single part of each others’ faces that they can’t usually see in such up-close detail.
“I’m gonna say something but promise you won’t choke this time?” Younghyun laughed and Jae hesitantly nodded, nervous for whatever his bes- potential romantic partner/boyfriend/husband was about to say.
“Can I kiss you?” Younghyun whispered.
No more words were exchanged from there. Their lips were pressed together and Jae was right when he said that Younghyun’s smile could cause world peace, because god, as soon as those lips touched his own, he had never felt so at peace in his life.
Younghyun relished in the taste of the strawberry water on Jae’s lips that he had been drinking (and had choked on) minutes ago.
They didn’t quite notice how long they had been with their lips connected until they pulled apart and the two boys were left almost gasping for air.
“Kang Younghyun, staring at you in class is the best habit I’ve ever had.”