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“Sshhh!”
“Don’t ‘sshh’ me! You stepped on my foot!”
“What are you doing?”
Yugyeom and Bambam looked up to see Youngjae staring down at them, where they were crouched just outside the teachers’ room. The door was cracked opened, and he could only assume it had something to do with the two first years in front of him. Their eyes widened as if they had just been caught doing something they shouldn’t be. Given what he knew about them, they probably were.
He glanced curiously over their shoulders into the teacher’s room. “Why are you—”
“SSSSSHHH!!” they hushed him in unison and hurriedly scrambled to their feet. Yugyeom clamped a hand over his mouth and held his other up with a finger to his own lips.
“We’ll get caught!” he hissed in a rather loud stage whisper.
Youngjae glanced behind them again, still unable to see much more than a sliver of wall through the crack. When Yugyeom was sure he wasn’t going to bring attention to them, he slowly lowered his hand.
In a lower whisper, Youngjae replied, “What are you doing?”
Bambam bent low again but remained standing as he peeked through the door. “Waiting for Mark-hyung and Jackson-hyung.”
“...you know you shouldn’t call teachers that—”
“—they’re coming!”
Bambam and Yugyeom each grabbed one of Youngjae’s wrists and dragged him around the corner, just as Mark and Jackson emerged from the teachers’ room.
“I’m just saying,” they heard Mark say, “next time at least put it in my desk.”
Yugyeom peeked around the corner and drew back with an over-exaggerated gagging motion. “They look like they’re already married!”
Bambam gave him a hard shove. “Don’t be ridiculous...it’s their first date!”
Youngjae blinked as they started to creep out of their hiding place as Mark and Jackson turned the next corner. He quickly grabbed the back of their collars. “What are you doing?!”
Bambam and Yugyeom threw him almost identically irritable looks.
“Following them obviously,” Bambam replied.
They tried to walk forward again but Youngjae, with some difficulty, pulled them back. “Why?”
Sighing, Yugyeom forced himself free and spun around to glare at Youngjae. “Because Tuan-teacher is my neighbor and my mom cooks him dinner practically every day, which basically makes him my brother and I want to make sure Wang-teacher doesn’t hurt him.”
Bambam snorted. “Have you met Mark-hyung? I think Jackson-hyung is in more danger.”
“You really shouldn’t call them—"
“Anyway,” Yugyeom cut him off, “it’s our duty as their students to make sure they have a good date.”
Youngjae blinked again. “I...don’t...think—”
“Come on,” Bambam leaned in with a mischievous smirk and wagged his eyebrows suggestively. “You can't say you aren't just a little curious.”
Youngjae had seen enough secret intimate moments between Mr. Im and Mr. Park that he really wasn't.
“If we don't hurry we’re going to lose them!” Yugyeom whined, already sidestepping his way down the hall.
With one last eyebrow raise, as if saying, “you'll regret it if you don't,” Bambam followed after his best friend. Youngjae watched them hurry down the hall to catch up with their “targets.” He should have just turned around. Turned around and gone to the music room he knew would be empty, and practiced for another hour.
But someone had to keep them from doing anything too stupid, right? Besides...he was a little curious. Just a little.
“Man...I thought Jackson-hyung had more imagination,” Bambam said disappointedly. “Dinner and a movie? So boring.”
Yugyeom and Youngjae rolled their eyes and turned their attention to Mark and Jackson, who had opted for dinner at a small taco place across the street from the theater. Youngjae, Bambam, and Yugyeom quickly clambered into a small corner booth and did their best to hide while spying on their teachers, who had taken seats on the small outdoor patio. Mark had his back to them, and Jackson thankfully, seemed too preoccupied staring at his date to really care that all he had to do was look over Mark’s shoulders to see his three poorly hidden students.
“Why exactly are you doing this again?” Youngjae whispered unnecessarily.
“I told you,” Yugyeom said, hiding behind his menu. Also, unnecessary. “I want to make sure Wang teacher is right for teacher Tuan.”
Youngjae glanced at Mark and Jackson, who was smiling so brightly Youngjae was surprised the couple at the table next to them wasn’t blinded. He looked back at Bambam and Yugyeom with a frown, regretting his decision not to go to the music room after all.
“I don’t think you actually get a say in this,” he said.
Yugyeom snorted. “Please...I told you...we’re practically brothers.”
“Is he aware of this?” Youngjae muttered just as the waitress came over to their table.
They quickly ordered something, worried her prolonged presence would draw attention. Though, once again, both Mark and Jackson seemed entirely too immersed in each other to notice anything — or anyone — else. Youngjae tried to think of any time he had ever seen Mark smile, laugh, or talk so much, and couldn’t. Not that he was ever in the nurse's office to know any better. Unlike the two next to him who seemed to be there almost as often as their own classrooms…
They watched as Mark and Jackson chatted over their dinner. Bambam let out a small “eew” when they saw Jackson stretch his legs under the table and tangle them with Mark’s.
“Is he...blushing?” Bambam hissed. His face screwed up in mild disgust when Mark giggled out an insincere protest at Jackson’s-less-than-subtle move.
“I really don’t think we should be here,” Youngjae muttered, watching Mark move his chair forward so he could lock Jackson’s legs more firmly in place with his.
The little acts of affection felt much more intimate than if they had been kissing. Kind of like all those times Youngjae walked in on Jaebum and Jinyoung, with their small smiles or light touches on the cuff of the other’s sleeves.
An hour later, Mark and Jackson stood to leave. Cursing, Yugyeom quickly ducked down and dragged Bambam down so they wouldn’t be spotted. Youngjae ducked down as well. He smiled weakly as the waitress walked by them with a curious look. Thankfully, she said nothing.
“Stage two,” Yugyeom whispered as Mark and Jackson walked towards the crosswalk.
They crept out of the booth, paid for their meal, and followed at a distance. Youngjae felt like he was a cop following a suspect on one of those TV dramas. Except instead of criminals, he was following his two teachers, who were now walking so close that their shoulders and arms brushed together as they crossed the street.
Just hold hands already, he thought.
As they got in line for tickets, Youngjae watched Mark as he and Jackson made their way inside.
He had never thought much about their relationship but seeing it now — the way Mark smiled, the fond, soft look in his eye whenever he looked at Jacksons or laughed at one of his jokes…
It was obvious where the date was going and Youngjae felt like he was intruding in something that was entirely, one-hundred percent not his business. He glanced at Bambam and Yugyeom, who were dancing impatiently on the balls of their feet as they waited to hand over their tickets. Yugyeom even craned his neck over the people in front of him to watch Mark and Jackson at the snack counter.
Sighing, he handed the clerk his ticket and followed Yugyeom and Bambam into the theater, where they quickly commandeered three seats in back. No matter where Mark and Jackson sat, they would be able to see them. Except there was one problem…
“How are we supposed to spy on them if it’s dark?” he asked as Mark and Jackson entered the theater several minutes later.
They sat several rows in front of their hiding space, and Youngjae doubted they would be able to see much of anything except two people enjoying a movie together. Not that he wanted to. Unlike the two idiots next to him apparently, who were now debating whether they should move closer.
“What if they kiss?” Bambam hissed his nose screwing up in distaste. “I'm not sure if I'm ready to see my teachers sucking face.”
Yugyeom gave him a hard shove. “They're not going to be sucking face.”
“Says you,” Bambam grumbled.
“Shall we?” an even voice said behind them. “Might teach you a lesson about following your teachers around.”
They froze. Cringing, Youngjae slowly turned to see Mark standing in the aisle, arms crossed, eyebrow raised. He didn't look mad. But Youngjae had seen the same neutral expression on his mother's face right before she took his computer and phone for a month after his sister accused him of downloading a virus while watching porn. When he said the virus came from a pirated game he was trying to download, he had gotten and extra month…
To their credit, Bambam and Yugyeom widened their eyes and tried to look as adorable as they could. Unfortunately for them, Mark wasn’t buying their act.
“We just wanted to see Iron Man,” Yugyeom flashed his best innocent smile.
Mark smiled back. “Yugyeom-ah,” he said sweetly.
Yugyeom's smile fell.
“Please don't—” he whined as Mark beckoned him forward.
Mark's smile just widened, showing every one of his pointed teeth. He made Youngjae think of a shark about to devour its prey.
With a resigned sigh, Yugyeom clamored over Youngjae and stood in the aisle. He was a head taller than Mark but looked incredibly small standing in front of their still scarily calm school nurse.
Mark raised his hand and flicked Yugyeom's forehead. There was a rather loud thwak! as his fingers hit their mark. Wincing, Yugyeom rubbed at the reddening spot and pouted.
“You shouldn't hit students— OW!”
Mark flicked him again. “And you shouldn't be stalking your teachers.”
“We were just—!” he cut himself off as Mark raised his hand threateningly again.
“We already bought the tickets,” he mumbled, now looking at the ground, properly guilty.
Sighing, Mark looked at him pityingly, before turning his gaze to Youngjae and Bambam, who shrunk back. He so didn't want to have his forehead flicked. Who knew what kind of damage Mark could do…
“Next time the three of you want to crash my date, do a better job of hiding yourselves,” he finally said.
Bambam sat up, beaming, “So you're letting us off the hook?”
A slow smile spread across Mark's lips again.
“I am never hanging out with you two again,” Youngjae grumbled the next day, dropping the mop bucket on the floor.
Bambam let out an annoyed squawk when the water splashed onto his uniform.
“Watch it!”
Youngjae glared at him and flicked the wet rag at him, sending suds and water flying. A few bubbles stuck in his hair, earning another unhappy shout.
“If it weren't for you I could be practicing right now!”
Bambam scowled as he brushed the bubbles from his hair.
“You didn't have to follow us!”
Youngjae raised the wet cloth threateningly, when Jackson's cheerful voice interrupted them from the entrance of the bathroom.
“Mark sent me to check on you, everything good?”
Youngjae and Bambam glared at each other.
“Fine,” they grumbled in unison.
“Excellent!” Jackson replied, before disappearing with a happy little hum.
They looked at each other.
“At least we're not Yugyeom,” Bambam said as they started wiping down the sinks.
Youngjae silently agreed. They might have gotten cleaning duty for a week but at least they weren't trapped inside the nurse's room with Mark.
“Oh my god—” Yugyeom's eyes widened at the boxes and mountains of paper Mark stacked on the bed and entire side of the nurse's office. “Do you ever organize?”
He picked up what was definitely some student's past medical record and thought there just had to be some kind of ethical and legal violation about that…
Mark dropped another stack of binders on the bed and smiled.
“Everything needs to be filed by name and year.”
If this was what he would have to do all week, he wasn’t complaining. At least he didn’t have to clean the bathrooms.
“Before tomorrow.”
His mouth dropped open. “THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!”
Mark’s smile only widened. “Not if you stay overnight,” he dropped his voice to a spooky whisper, “Maybe the ghosts will help you.”
Yugyeom just stared at him, mouth agape, as Jackson appeared in the doorway and the two disappeared. He looked down at the piles and sighed. He was so telling his mother to stop inviting Mark to dinner.