Archive of Our Own

The dim 10 AM sun sees Sicheng excitedly walking into a hair salon with his less excited best friend, Jaehyun, tagging along. Following the night of stay-at-home drinking and as a result of a game of truth and dare, Jaehyun regrets waking up in the morning. It’s a shame how weekends tend to be the only time he can spend with Sicheng. Ever since he moved schools, the only way they’ve been in touch is phone calls and sleep-overs.

“Jaehyun, come on.” Sicheng drags him to the chart where all the hair colours are displayed. Jaehyun sighs as he follows along.

“So, we agreed on something bright, right?” Sicheng asks.

“There was no actual agreement -”

“How about electric blue?”

“No. I don’t want blue, it’s too dark.” Jaehyun whines. “How about something on this side?” He gestures to the warm colours.

“Sure, dude. Whatever you want.”

Sicheng says this, then continues to prod Jaehyun with suggestions of orange and yellow. Jaehyun’s too busy trying to make his mind up on whether he should sign Sicheng up for a gym subscription or a day-care assistance program when something catches his eye.

“I’m not saying that you’ll rock purple, but you’ll totally rock purple, like-”

“How about pink?”

“Pink?” Sicheng’s eyes are wide, expressive.

“Yeah. You think it’ll look good?” Jaehyun asks. The light filters through his brown hair, and Sicheng almost regrets it when he vehemently agrees.

An hour and a half later, when Jaehyun’s hair is wet and a striking shade of pink, Sicheng thanks his gods he agreed to it. It’s definitely going to turn some heads.

“How about like… honey? Or caramel?”

“I was thinking something more bold, actually,” Taeyong says.

He’d been meaning to do this for a while, ever since his cousin dyed her hair a shocking red. She turned up to a family function looking like that, and his grandmother absolutely loved it. A fresh start , she had said, nodding her head sagely. And while Taeyong wasn’t going through a rough patch or anything of the sort, a change was always welcome.

Which is how he found himself dragging his friends to the nearby hair salon when his Saturday schedule cleared up, determined and excited. Now, they make quite the sight: two moderately tall boys and one giant in front of a hair colour chart pinned up against a wall.

“Blue…?” Johnny suggests, slightly out of his depth. “I’m not quite sure what you’re going for, Yongie.”

“Yeah, I’m not quite sure, either…” Taeyong trails off, attention caught by the far end of the chart.

“Purple!” Yuta pipes up, but it falls to deaf ears.

“Pink. I want pink.”

An hour later, Taeyong sees himself in the mirror, hair in the process of transitioning. A smile hadn’t slipped off his face since the dye was set in hair, and it truly felt like a new beginning.

Jaehyun shows up to football practice on Monday morning with a head full of pink hair. Coach has some choice words to say, rather unpleasant ones at that, but Jaehyun is level-headed enough to ignore them.

The team has varying reactions, though.

Seokmin is overjoyed, having been the only member on the team with coloured hair since the start of the school year. Minghao just looks disappointed, shaking his head and shooting Jaehyun a look that could either be interpreted as What the everloving fuck are you doing? or Why would you choose to bring social hell upon yourself? Jungkook, his beloved hype man, tramples him in a fierce hug and congratulates him on embracing his ‘true’ colours as a fairy prince. Jaehyun accepts it, and likes it more than he’d like to admit.

Some members are rather neutral, complimenting him with one Looking good, cap , and one Daaaamn, Jaehyun . But as all good things go, there’s a catch. And here, the catch is in the form of one Hwang Jinim. Hwang Jinim, your resident discriminator to all things possible, that slimy, slimy creature, is the principal’s son. And thus, our lovely, oh-so-respectful Hwang Jinim gets off whatever trouble he’s caused because the teachers fear for their careers.

“I won’t be told what to do by a girl,” He says, in all his egoistic glory. “You look so fucking pathetic, Jaehyun. I can’t believe you’re the captain of a football team, go do make up or something.”

Jaehyun doesn’t react. He’s learnt such stimuli will stop acting once they are deprived of adequate attention. He’s only thankful Yugyeom knows the same, because who knows what damage Jungkook could have done if he wasn’t held back.

“Should we begin warm-ups, then?” He calls to his team. He receives some groans, but mostly indifference. Hwang Jinim parks himself on the bleachers.

Jaehyun believes he is one with the team, so his usual routine is to warm up with them. On this particular unusual morning, Coach stops him.

“Look, I know he’s a lot to deal with,” He begins, “But you can’t exclude a member of the team.”

“I get that, sir. I’m not excluding him. He’s just not choosing to participate.”

“Jaehyun-”

“If a team member’s hair bothers him so much, sir, I don’t think he’s fit for any team sports,” Jaehyun says quietly.

Coach sighs, having been at the receiving end of many such tantrums.

“You know how he’ll react, don’t you?”

And now it’s Jaehyun’s turn to sigh, because he’s had enough of this, and he knows there’s nothing he can do. So he reluctantly makes his way over to the menace.

At the bleachers, he takes a seat next to him.

“Hey, Jinim,” Jaehyun starts, a bit uncomfortable himself.

“Hm? Come to apologise for your decisions?”

Jaehyun really, really wants to slap him.

“No,” He manages, through gritted teeth. “Just came to tell you something.”

“Oh? The great Jung Jaehyun, our unfit team captain, you-”

“It was a dare.” Jaehyun says, clean and clear. “Does that make you feel better?”

Jinim pretends to think over it, behaving like he possesses such a skill.

“I’ll take it.”

Jaehyun gives in, silent anger laced in his veins. At least it was short and crisp, unlike what happened last time with the cheerleaders.

If anyone notices Jinim suffering the brunt of the team’s collective anger by being the unfortunate goalie during practice shoots, they don’t say anything.

Looking back, Jaehyun didn't realise his half-assed apology to Hwang Jinim would change anything. Of course, as he so often is, Jaehyun is mistaken.

Freshly showered and heading for his first class, his realisation comes in the form of odd looks and whispers behind bracketed hands -- a tell-tale sign of the gossip that's going around.

Jaehyun doesn't consider himself popular, not by a long stretch, having only ever been known as a sportsperson and an above-average student. He supposed his hair would garner a few looks and some comments, but on this scale, with the entire student body whispering as he passes by? Never in a million years. Which is why he draws a reasonable conclusion: something else is bothering the populace.

Jaehyun shrugs the thoughts off. They do more harm than good, and he's confident to chase any such feelings away. As he goes about his business of extracting books from his locker, the whispers increase ten-fold. He looks up in time to see Jinim whispering in the ears of a girl, pointing to a couple of retreating figures down the hall. Jaehyun follows his line of sight. He catches a glimpse of… Yuta, was it? The one who drops by the field every now and then and challenges the team. Yeah, him. He seems to be escorting a friend to class. Jaehyun wonders what's got Jinim so worked up over that, and slams his locker shut.

Yuta drops Taeyong to class Monday morning, sending him off with a cheery wave. Taeyong happily returns the enthusiasm, and settles in his seat with a little smile on his face. His seatmate doesn’t flinch from where her head is nestled in her arms as he drops his bag to side of the table. Murmurs ripple through the class, much like they had in the halls. Professor Cha notices his presence.

“Say, Taeyong,” He begins.

“Yes, sir?” Taeyong's eyes snap up.

“Are you and that Jung Jaehyun… a thing?”

The class falls silent. Mina lifts her head from where it was in her arms, and if I-sleep-in-psych-because-my-parents-are-therapists Mina can wake up for this, it must be important.

“Um, no, sir. Why do you ask?” A curious tilt to his head sets in place.

“My apologies, then. I thought the hair,” he gestures, “was a statement or something.”

Taeyong doesn't understand. “Okay,” he says, unsure.

Professor Cha seems satisfied with that answer. The class commences.

Lunch time rolls around soon enough. Taeyong maintains his confident stride as people turn and stare at his hair, and it pleases him. Some would argue that it’s an attention-chasing stunt, but Taeyong merrily considers it a boost to his self-confidence, or, as Yuta so lovingly calls it, his ego.

“Do you know a Jung Jaehyun?” Taeyong pronounces the name carefully once he finds Johnny.

“Huh?” Johnny looks up from his phone. “Sounds familiar.”

They’re in the cafeteria, at their usual corner table. Yuta’s still with his friends on the field, so it’s just Johnny and Taeyong. Taeyong talks as he takes out his mini spread.

“It’s just that Professor Cha mentioned him -- actually, he asked if Jaehyun and I were dating.” Casually, he explains.

“He what ?”

“Weird, right?” Taeyong begins picking on his food. “And like, is it even Professor Cha’s business?”

“You know what he’s like,” Johnny rationalises. “He’s a bit nosy, but he means well.”

“I suppose.” Taeyong shrugs. He stuffs a bite of food into his mouth, then notices. “Why aren’t you eating?”

“Hm?” Johnny’s eyes don’t leave his screen.

“Why aren’t you eating?” Taeyong repeats, his patience unwavering.

“Oh.” Johnny finally looks up. “I didn’t notice.”

Taeyong shoots him a suspicious glace. “What’s got you so worked up?”

“Nothing,” Johnny sighs. He puts his phone down and takes his lunch out. “Just arguing with my dad, as always.”

“Nothing too drastic, I hope.”

He shakes his head. “We’ll sort it out today. Don’t worry.”

“How can I not?” Taeyong asks, rhetorically. “You’re my best friend, of course I’m going to worry.”

Johnny looks at him fondly. “The world doesn’t deserve you, Lee Taeyong.”

“It’s bare minimum, Johnny, please -”

“Just take the fucking compliment, Lee.”

Taeyong looks like he’s going to protest, but Johnny silences him with a glare. “Thank you,” Taeyong says instead, and returns to his food.

Yuta joins them eventually, sweat drenched and tired.

“Hi,” He greets, before planting half his torso on the table. Taeyong pulls his food towards himself, lest Yuta try and steal it.

“Yuta,” Taeyong says.

“Yeah?”

“Do you know a Jung Jaehyun?”

“He’s… I think the football team captain? Why do you ask?” As Yuta cranes his neck upwards, it cracks. He lets out a satisfied hum, while Johnny looks mortified.

“Professor Cha asked if I was dating him,” Taeyong explains.

“Huh?” Yuta, Taeyong knows, has the most expressive reactions. He doesn’t disappoint with the way his mouth is open and an eyebrow arches high.

“Odd, isn’t it?”

“Very. Why is he so bothered about your love life, anyway?”

“He’s just nosy, according to Johnny.”

“That I know,” Yuta clarifies. “But why did he even ask? Is there a rumour going around or something?”

“Not that I know of.” Taeyong begins packing his food. “Oh, yeah. He said something about my hair.”

Yuta looks deep in thought for a second, staring at Taeyong’s lunch, mouth perused. “Fuck. The hair .”

As Jaehyun walks back from lunch, he can't shake the feeling of being watched. He tends to have lunch with the team -- because he's a loser with two friends, not because he loves them to death, no, not at all -- and he knows none of them are following him to his chemistry class after their usual post-lunch match, so he slows down. The person behind him slows down, too. Jaehyun turns.

“Hi, can I help you?”

The girl he's facing looks intimidated. She's probably a junior, Jaehyun reasons.

“Um, yeah. I had a question for you,” she says.

“Sure, go ahead.”

Please don't want to go out with me. I'm not straight.

“Are you dating Lee Taeyong?”

Jaehyun wants to ask who, out of reflex.

“No, I'm not.” He manages, out of the shock on his face.

“Oh. Alright, then. Thanks for clearing it up.”

She walks off. Jaehyun stares, dumbfounded.

Lee Taeyong, he thinks to himself. He doesn't know a Lee Taeyong.

Probably a rumour, then. Who wants to spread rumours about me?

Jaehyun stops dead in his tracks. Hwang Jinim .

By the time classes are over, at least three people have questioned Taeyong and five have questioned Jaehyun.

Finally out of school and on their way home, bags slung over their shoulders, bearing the brunt of the taxing day, Taeyong stops his friends.

“I'm really curious about this guy,” He says. Yuta notices he's wringing his fingers together and smirks.

“Sure, I can set you up with him.”

“Yuta!” Taeyong admonishes. He blushes a brilliant red. Johnny laughs at his misery.

“What? It’ll be cute -- the strawberry couple.” Yuta gestures dramatically, flinging his hands up.

“Don’t set them up. What if they end up hating each other because of the hair?” Johnny wonders.

“... why?” Identical pairs of confused eyes fall on him.

“Because, you know, competition and shit,” Johnny fails to explain, and after a short silence, lets out a small forget it.

“Anyway,” Yuta says, loudly, as he begins walking again. The other two follow suit. “I was serious. Maybe you guys could be good friends?”

“It seems a bit unlikely, Yuta. We’re in our senior year and if we haven’t even met, then…”

‘Don’t start with your fate bullshit, Taeyong.” Johnny warns.

“But -”

“Nope. We’re definitely doing this now.” Yuta declares cheerily. Taeyong lets out a pathetic groan, even for his standards.

“C’mon Yongie, when was the last time you dated? Ninth grade?” His giant of a friend prods. “It’ll be fun, and who knows, maybe you’ll fall in-”

“Don’t say the L word.”

“-Love.” Johnny completes, with his perfect pearly whites in a Cheshire display.

“Okay, that’s it.”

Taeyong chases after Johnny, past the new coffee shop and across the road in record time. Yuta power walks his way, and in his attempt to keep up with them, notices how horrific he looks in a shop’s reflective window. He promptly slows down, just able to catch his precious idiots run into a stationery store.

He sighs, and sets after them.

In comparison, Jaehyun’s after-school day is uneventful. He walks home with Mingyu and Seokmin, who both live nearby. The drop Mingyu first, then Jaehyun, and then Seokmin goes home. It’s a routine, and is now getting slightly disturbed by the curiosity of onlookers.

“Are you uncomfortable, Jae?” Mingyu, bless his kind soul, asks.

Jaehyun’s in half a mind to deny it, thinking he’d bear with it until he’s home, but decides his comfort is important, too.

“Just… just a bit,” He says, and they get the hint.

“Seokmin knows all the shortcuts, he’ll get us out of here,” Mingyu whispers to him. He gestures to Seokmin, who leads the way.

Once they’re in an alleyway behind a street of houses and enveloped by comforting, domestic sounds -- the water taps behind the houses, the occasional stray cat, the children running around -- Jaehyun speaks up.

“So, uh, do you guys know this Lee Taeyong?”

Seokmin hums. “Remember Joshua? My senior?”

“Yeah, I think. He used to sing, right?”

“Yep. He knows Johnny Suh -- they’re both American -- who’s Taeyong’s friend. I’ve met him a couple of times. Johnny seems pretty nice.”

“Huh.” Jaehyun approves. “Do you think it’ll be worth getting to know him?”

“Oh definitely,” Mingyu interrupts. “And who knows, maybe it’ll be the beginning of something beautiful and profound and life-changing and-”

“Yeah, nope,” Jaehyun grimaces, gaze trained ahead, where they reach an intersection. “I’m fine as I am, thank you very much.”

“Don’t be so dour, Jaehyunnie,” Mingyu whines as Seokmin leads them down a rather suspicious alley. “You don’t know what life has in store for you.”

Jaehyun sends him a playful glare. “Sorry, I stopped listening after you said ‘dour’, which, by the way, is a commendable word to have come across, and I can’t help but wonder -”

“We get it, you’re not interested in him,” Seokmin deadpans. “Anyway, here’s where out catacomb journey ends -- turn left and you’ll be on the main road.”

Jaehyun braces himself with a deep breath as they step out into the roads graced with populace. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots a head of pink hair dash into a store. He smiles.

“I’m starting to regret this, Sicheng,” Jaehyun whines over the phone.

There’s some static, then a muffled reply. “You what?”

“I said I’m starting to regret this,” Jaehyun whines, a little louder.

He’s been stuck on a trigonometry question for about ten minutes, and had given up and given in to his urge to complain to his best friend.

“You know what they’re doing in school?”

“No. Do enlighten me,” Sicheng says. Jaehyun hears him roll over in bed, and petulant envy builds up within him as he imagines Sicheng relaxing.

“There’s this guy who also dyed his hair. They think we’re dating or something.”

“What colour?” His best friend asks, and here Jaehyun pauses.

“Well, uh, don’t laugh, but it’s pink, too.” He grimaces as he finishes his sentence.

There’s a shocked silence, and then Sicheng laughs.

“Traitor,” Jaehyun mutters.

“I’m sorry -” Another peal of laughter, “But how do you expect me not to find this funny?”

Jaehyun doesn’t reply. He fiddles with his pencil, looking at that damned triangle in his textbook again, before it hits him. He forgot the fucking cosine rule.

“-hyun, Jaehyun? Are you there?”

“Yeah,” Jaehyun answers, scribbling away in his notebook.

“Is it really bothering you?”

“No, I just figured it out. I learnt the cosine rule two years back, I can’t believe I forgot-”

“I meant the shipping, Jaehyun. Not your maths homework.”

“Ah,” Jaehyun says. “I won’t say it isn’t bothering me, but it’ll probably die down within a day or two, so I’m not that concerned.”

Sicheng hums. “Yeah, let’s hope it does.”

It’s quiet again, until Jaehyun clears his throat.

“Can I call you later? I think I’ll finish my homework for now.”

“Okay,” Sicheng says simply. The line cuts.

He hopes Jaehyun won’t go into one of his moods again, but it’s a bit inevitable considering what just happened. Even if he does, it won’t be as bad as last time , he reasons with himself. Hopefully.

Taeyong returns home after several detours and a bit breathless. He sets his things down on his desk and relieves the joints in his neck, creating a sound he considers satisfying. His parents aren’t home yet, and he considers cooking something before succumbing to his urge to check his phone. He isn’t exactly avid on social media, but it piques his interest from time to time.

Which is how he finds himself going through Yuta’s followers on Instagram, looking for a Jung Jaehyun. He does a small victory dance in his head when finds user jungjh14, only to realise it’s a private account. His profile photo is an old picture of him, Taeyong can tell, with the lack of pink hair. He looks good, Taeyong thinks idily. Johnny’s words replay in his head, so he chases the thoughts away. The ‘follow’ button looks rather tempting, and in a moment of courage, Taeyong hits it.

He regrets it, of course he does, but when Yuta congratulates him for being a confident gay, he feels slightly better.

Thank the fucking gods, Jaehyun does call Sicheng later.

“Are you done with your homework?”

“Yes,” He replies. “I forgot to tell you something.”

“Hm?”

“Remember Hwang Jinim?”

“That annoying as fuck creep? Yeah, I remember him - no, don’t tell me he had something to say to you. I’ll fucking kill that son of-”

“Calm down,” Jaehyun placates. “I dealt with him.”

“You better have,” Sicheng grumbles.

“But I think he was the one who spread the rumours about Taeyong and I,” He says thoughtfully. Sicheng hears him walking.

“Are you pacing?” He asks, out of curiosity. “Damn, he better not have gotten you so worked up.”

“No, I’m just going downstairs for dinner.”

Ah, yeah. Jaehyun has dinner with his family every night. Sicheng thinks it’s pretty cute, how they set the dining table together and only leave once everyone’s finished eating. He tends to eat dinner in his room, surrounded by textbooks and notebooks, concentrating on maths formulae rather than his food. Jaehyun isn’t speaking, so he lets his thoughts wander.

“Wait, who’s Taeyong?”

“The guy.”

“What guy?”

“The one who dyed his hair, too.” Jaehyun explains simply. His footsteps die out, so Sicheng assumes he must have reached the carpeted floor of his dining room.

“Oh,” Sicheng dramatically draws it out. “Is he cute?”

“I wouldn’t know, Sicheng. I haven’t met him.” He replies, all matter-of-factly.

“How come? You guys go to same school, right?”

Jaehyun shrugs. “Dunno. Maybe he’s new or something.”

“Maybe,” Sicheng echoes. Through the phone, he hears Jaehyun’s parents and his sister, and feels mean, holding him back like that. “I’ll call tomorrow. Go have dinner.”

“Okay. Sleep well, Sicheng.”

“You too.”

“And one last thing -- he sent me a follow request.”

“He wh-”

Jaehyun hangs up with a grin. He pockets his phone and approaches the table.

“Who were you talking to?” His mother asks.

“Sicheng,” He replies as he takes a seat at their large dining table.

“And who’s this ‘guy’?” Jaehwa, his older sister, prods. She holds her chopsticks up accusingly, which makes Jaehyun roll his eyes.

“No one important.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“Don’t, then.” Jaehyun shrugs, meeting his sister’s glare with one of his own.

Their father looks between them with amusement, until Mrs. Jung reprimands him with a kick to the shin.

“Eat,” He demands, playful demeanour gone. And so they do, like the Jungs have always done, with chaos brewing on the dining table.

Past ten, after hours of studying and an unfulfilling dinner, Taeyong desperately checks his phone. He’d turned if off after checking it the fourth time in twenty minutes to concentrate on his trigonometry homework, and now that he’s finished it, along with all the revision he was planning for today, he gives himself a break.

Two Instagram notifications greet him.

‘jungjh14 has accepted your follow request!’

‘jungjh14 has sent you a follow request!’

Taeyong lets out a breath he was embarrassingly holding in. He quickly approves Jaehyun’s follow request before apprehensively clicking on his profile. A grid of selcas and the occasional still photograph flood his phone screen, which he compares to the selcas and pictures of food he posts. Any contemplative thoughts of his are thrown out of the window when he sees Jaehyun’s latest post. It’s a simple couple of pictures of Jaehyun with his pink hair, one candid and one with him pointing finger-guns to the camera. ‘be careful, objects in the mirror are hotter than they appear.’ The caption reads, followed by; ‘psa don’t objectify yourself it’s uncool :/’

Oh , Taeyong thinks, as his heart rate picks up. I guess we’re going down this path, then.

Little does he know, just a neighbourhood away, Jaehyun’s looking at his emoji-captioned selcas and thinking the same.

Jaehyun doesn’t expect to meet Taeyong like this, in the school washroom, standing in front of the mirror and trying to decipher his own outfit. He was walking to class after practice, his hair dripping from his shower, when Minghao informed him of the uneven state of his collar. Later, he’d explain he was so desperate to fix it because the prefects were cracking down on anyone dressed anything short of impeccable, and they’d all know it was because a certain Lee Taeyong hadn’t left his mind since last night, and Jaehyun was damned if he didn’t make a good first impression.

So here he is, in the school bathroom, his shirt’s top buttons undone as he straightens his collar from the back. The sudden smell of cologne fills his senses, and fuck, he’d marry that scent if he could. Looking up as inconspicuous as possible, Jaehyun catches the culprit’s eyes in the mirror. Or rather, he catches his hair first, because it’s a brilliant shade of pink.

“Oh, hi,” Taeyong says, and it makes Jaehyun gulp. He’s a little breathless with a slight sheen covering his skin. His school bag’s still strung over his shoulder, and he holds it with a determined grip.

“Hey,” Jaehyun manages, catching another whiff of the incriminating cologne. He realises his arm’s still awkwardly behind his neck somewhere, so he swiftly straightens his collar and buttons up his shirt. Taeyong’s standing at the door, looking out every few seconds. It's quiet.

“Are you waiting for someone?” Jaehyun asks, mostly to clear the air.

“Waiting for someone to leave,” He corrects, eyes trained outside. “One of your goons, actually.”

“My- my goons ?”

“Hwang Jinim, he’s on the football team, right?” Taeyong finally, finally looks at him.

Jaehyun lets out a groan. “God, what does he want?”

“I see you’re not fond of him, either.” He sounds amused now, which Jaehyun considers a good sign.

“Not in the slightest.”

Taeyong hums. “Then again, who is?”

“You didn’t hear this from me,” Jaehyun whispers, beckoning Taeyong closer. “But I heard Principal Hwang quite likes him.”

Taeyong widens his eyes exaggeratedly. “Really?”

To this, Jaehyun nods sagely. Taeyong smiles, laughing to himself.

“Very well. I’ll take your word for it.”

Jaehyun gaze falls down for a moment, distracted by his tie. When he looks up, Taeyong's looking at him with something in his eyes.

A second later, the bell chimes.

Taeyong looks up at the sound and sends a cautionary glace outside. The coast is clear. “See you around,” He says as he leaves the washroom.

Jaehyun gives him a two-fingered salute in response, then looks back to his reflection in the mirror. He curses his red-tipped ears, then curses himself, because his tie is still hanging around his shoulders and class must have started. Still, it doesn’t hold back the impressive grin Jaehyun sports when he enters Professor Cha’s class five minutes late.

By lunch, it’s evident that Hwang Jinim’s attempt of spreading a rumour was unsuccessful. Things continue normally. Or as normally as they can with Jaehyun’s ears turning red at the very mention of a certain Lee Taeyong. The football team can’t shut up about it, and they take full advantage of the fact.

“He’s looking at you, Jaehyun,” Mingyu says to him. He channelled all his attention to his food, resolutely deciding this crush isn’t good for his health, with how he makes him lose his train of thought and embarrass himself in class.

Sadly, Jaehyun falls for this. He startles, eyes darting up, finding no one except his irritating team mates looking at him.

“Fuck you all,” He mutters, before focusing on his food again.

They cackle gleefully, and the sound of Seokmin’s laugh is enough for his faux-anger to disappear. A small smile tugs at his lips, and a second later, he’s giggling along with them.

Just a few tables away, a similar scene is playing out. Yuta’s been eating food off Taeyong’s plate for a good two minutes -- making himself as discreet as possible, which, in true Yuta fashion, is as far away from discreet as possible -- and Taeyong hasn’t reacted.

He’s been staring off into space. Johnny has this all-knowing look on his face, and judging by the direction Taeyong glances in every now and then, he’s thinking the same as Yuta.

“Look at him, he’s all grown up,” Yuta says. Johnny smirks, and it’s only widened by the fact that Taeyong looks confused as fuck.

“Who has?” He asks, all innocent and unaware.

Johnny refuses to respond, opting to shrug dramatically. Yuta just grins.

“What are you guys talking about?” Taeyong tries again, with a whining edge to his voice.

“The day will come, Yongie, when you know your own feelings before we do,” Yuta drawls. “But sadly, that day seems far away.”

Taeyong's in half a mind to break each of his chopsticks on Johnny and Yuta's heads. “I hate you both,” He says under his breath.

“He just looked at you,” Yuta whispers, and Taeyong instinctively whips his head up. He misses Jaehyun's eyes by a second, but continues to see him say something rude to his friends. He smiles slightly to himself.

“See, he's already looking like a lovelorn fool,” Johnny says to Yuta, but it's muted, because he's just locked eyes with Jung Jaehyun.

His heart is doing fucking cartwheels in his chest, but he doesn't look away. And at Jaehyun's slight head tilt, he narrows his eyes and makes his gaze a challenging one.

He wasn't expecting the raised eyebrow he got in response.

If he's going to play like this-

A hand obstructs his view. Taeyong blinks stupidly, brought out of his stupor. He casts a brief glance Jaehyun's way and sees him glaring at his food so fiercely he fears it'll ignite at the spot. It takes a moment for him to tear from his stare.

The hand shows up again.

“Oh, what is it?” He childishly demands.

Yuta and Johnny have twin unimpressed faces as they regard Taeyong.

“Are you sure you don't have a crush?” Johnny asks.

“I never said anything of the sort.”

Him and Yuta look at each other in understanding.

“Well then, maybe you're not as dense as we thought you were.” Yuta grins.

Taeyong refuses to talk to them for the rest of lunch.

It's safe to say things are tense on the field. The ball hits the net, soars through, and lands on the ground after bouncing a couple of times. Again, the ball hits the frame with great velocity. Ruthless, kick after kick after kick, and the goalie's had it.

“What the fuck is up with you, Jinim?”

“Ask our fucking pansy of a team captain, why don't you?” He shoots back angrily.

Helpless, Jungkook turns to Jaehyun. He's instructing Seokmin on some new technique he'd come across, and looks up at the call of his name.

“Yeah?” He calls back, still occupied with deciphering what's wrong with Seokmin's footwork.

“Someone's pissed with you,” Jungkook replies simply.

Jaehyun diverts his attention and groans at who's glaring at him.

“Yes, Jinim? Anything I can do for you?”

“Put me forward next game.” Jinim says, with the energy of one inspecting their nails.

“If you give me a good reason, sure.” Jaehyun says nonchalantly.

“Do you think people will take you seriously?”

He heaves an exasperated sigh. “I don’t understand why you’re so concerned about my hair, Jinim.”

“You just don’t get it, do you?” Jinim demands.

Great. He’s frustrated again.

“Look, it isn’t a big deal. If it comes to it, I’ll deal with the consequences.”

“But it’s affecting the team!” He insists.

“It really isn’t, Jinim. I don’t see your problem.” And this, this calm that Jaehyun’s schooled himself into, this calm he always schools himself into with Jinim, this is frustrating.

Of course you don’t see it, Jung Jaehyun. You don’t look in a mirror enough.

Taeyong doesn’t see Jaehyun often. They don’t have a single class or any club activities together, and the fact hasn’t struck him till today, a few days after their first interaction. He saw Jaehyun leave Professor Cha’s class before his own class, and he saw Jaehyun when he was leaving maths, and he saw Jaehyun when he was going for lunch. Scratch that, he’s had the opportunity to see Jaehyun a lot, but he’s never taken advantage of it, because he never knew .

He knows now, and if he gets late to biology because he was sneaking a glance in the chemistry lab, no one mentions it.

Or, well, maybe someone does.

Taeyong had finished his experiment early despite being late for class and had excused himself to go wash his hands. He had oh-so-casually strolled past the chemistry lab and quietly peeked in through the window, catching a glimpse of his… well, his crush. He stands in front of the mirror now, attempting to tame his hair. He’ll be slightly disappointed if Jaehyun doesn’t show up. Something’s been bubbling in his chest for a while -- barely three days -- now.

“You know,” A bold arm slings over his shoulders, “As much as I admire the attention, I must admit it’s distracting me.”

Taeyong ignores his statement, though it leaves its mark with the burning blush Taeyong’s chosen to ignore, too. “Is this going to be our rendezvous?” He asks, with a tilt to his head. It reflects in the washroom mirror.

“God, I sure hope not,” Jaehyun says. It elicits a laugh out of Taeyong, which, in return, elicits a genuine, dimpled smile out of Jaehyun.

“Yeah,” Taeyong’s laughter dies down as he goes back to observing himself in the mirror, and a soft smile sets in its place. “Somewhere more hygienic would be better.”

“Mmh,” Jaehyun agrees. The arm he has over Taeyong burns a fiery, fiery flame through the layers of clothes he’s wearing. He’s not quite sure what to do with himself now.

“Do you know who started the rumour?” Taeyong asks out of the blue. What rumour - ah. Yeah.

“I- uh, I have an inkling,” He says, looking to his feet, suddenly embarrassed.

“Oh?” Taeyong peers up at him through the mirror.

“Yeah, Hwang Jinim is a good candidate. I don’t know what he wants from me.” Jaehyun removes his arm from Taeyong’s shoulders to run a bashful hand through his hair.

Taeyong rolls his shoulders and cracks his neck before he answers Jaehyun. “He had it out for me the other day, now I know why.”

“Huh. I never asked you what he was doing.”

“Nothing I couldn’t deal with. He really thought he was all high and mighty because he has untreated hair.” Taeyong says. “A baseless thing to be insecure about, in my opinion.”

“Why would he be insecure about that?” A furrow sets between Jaehyun’s brows.

“Don’t ask me.” Taeyong shrugs. “All I know is that someone won’t act that way unless they’re insecure.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Jaehyun says, lost in thought all of a sudden.

“Anyway, I didn’t finish my bio experiment early to talk about a low-life, and I’m guessing you didn’t leave class to do so, either.”

“You guess correctly,” Jaehyun commends. Taeyong shoots him a meaningful look, and it’s quiet as he gathers his bearings. Jaehyun waits patiently.

“I don’t know about you, Jaehyun, but,” Taeyong inhales, because he can’t remember the last time he’s been so brave. “I want to get to know you better?” He ends with a hesitant bite of his lip, which is not good for Jaehyun’s health or sanity.

“Me too, Taeyong,” Jaehyun refuses to meet his eyes, and refuses to look at the mirror, too, because he doesn’t want to know how red his ears are.

Taeyong laughs again, all pleasant and uninhibited. There’s a question in eyes -- it’s clear as day. Jaehyun was expecting this when he followed Taeyong, out of the chem lab with his experiment quickly finished and a half-hearted analysis written.

“Do you want to go out sometime? Like, after school or something…” He trails off, like he rehearsed this, but still couldn’t get it right.

“Yeah, yeah - I’d love that,” Jaehyun answers, catching his eyes in the mirror. He didn’t expect it to be so simple.

And so they go on, the day-in-day-out drudgery of school carrying them forwards. Taeyong catches glimpses of Jaehyun -- on the field, at lunch, leaving the chemistry lab -- and Jaehyun catches glimpses of Taeyong -- in Professor Cha's class, at lunch, leaving the biology lab. But that's all they really do, as Jaehyun relays to Sicheng.

“I know, I know, I have to make the first move and all -”

“Or he does,” Sicheng helpfully supplies.

“Yeah, yeah.” Jaehyun mutters as he rolls over in bed. His chemistry homework lies undone on his desk. He glares at it.

“I can hear you moping from here, Jaehyun. What's the matter?”

“I'm not moping. I'm just… generally distressed.” He half-heartedly attempts. His ceiling looks down at him, disbelieving, a reflection of Sicheng's all-knowing hum through the phone.

“And why, pray tell, are you ‘generally distressed?’”

“I don't know,” He whines.

Sicheng sighs. “Listen, if you want to go out with him, just ask-”

“But he asked! I can't ask him again, can I?”

“Well… I won't recommend it, but I guess you can?”

“What if he changed his mind?” Jaehyun sits up abruptly. “Or what if he was joking?”

“No, Jaehyun. I don't know him personally but he doesn't seem to be the type to do that,” Sicheng soothes. “Besides, if he didn't mean it, why would he go to the lengths he does just to see you?”

There are too many thoughts running through Jaehyun's mind. “You know, I'm starting to think my chemistry homework is easier than this.”

“I don't know what to tell you if you think stoichiometry is easier than dealing with your feelings.”

“You make me sound so in need of a therapist when you put it like that,” Jaehyun grumbles.

“Maybe you should consider it, then.”

“Please stop talking.”

“...”

“Sicheng? Wait, I didn't actually meant that -”

“I'm still here, idiot. What else is going on?”

“The usual. Football's going good. Coach actually helped us quite a bit this year, we're expecting to get into the semi-finals of the school-level tournaments at least,” Jaehyun explains.

“That's good,” Sicheng says. “I'm pretty sure our school's participating too. Maybe we'll meet.”

And even though Jaehyun spends the better part of his evening making absentminded conversation, yet a nagging feeling doesn't leave him. What does Lee Taeyong want?

“You asked him out last week, Yong. Isn't it time you make a move?”

“Stop it.”

“He has a point, though. Poor Jaehyun must be feeling like shit.”

“Not you, too.”

Taeyong’s caught in a dilemma, and his idiot friends are of no help. It seems like Jaehyun’s the only topic of discussion whenever they walk home. Johnny’s accompanying him as he trudges along, while Yuta walks ahead of them.

“I just… I never get the time to actually talk to him, y’know?”

“Bullshit,” Johnny reprimands. “You can talk at lunch, or in between classes, or before school-”

“But I never see him!” Taeyong insists. It garners attention from a few passersby. He bows to them in apology.

“I regret telling you guys, now. Stop nagging me,” He says through gritted teeth.

“You don’t.” Yuta tells him, turning around and continuing to walk backwards. It’s a miracle he doesn’t bang into anything -- or anyone. “I have a simple solution for your problem, by the way.”

“Oh?”

“Just text him.”

Johnny looks at Yuta with wide eyes. “How come I never thought of that?” He whispers.

Taeyong smacks the back of his head, then catches up with Yuta, who’s too fast a walker for him. “Do you think I can just…text him? Out of the blue?”

“Yeah, why not?” Yuta shrugs. “Or you could text him out of the pink. ”

Johnny has the fucking audacity to laugh. Taeyong’s sure he’s caused a damper in Yuta’s mood by all the negative energy he channels to him, but Yuta sees him off with a cheery wave when they drop him home.

I hope his cats scratch him , Taeyong thinks, as he angrily climbs up the stairs to his apartment.

Yuta’s words continue to haunt him through his maths homework and through his psychology homework, until he gives up and glares at him phone. It looks back, innocently, and Taeyong wants to throw it across the room. He shuts that train of thought down, though, because that phone costs more than his pocket money could ever amount to.

Should I…? Fuck it.

He unlocks his phone and opens Instagram up. He doesn’t think as he types Jaehyun’s name into the search bar and pulls up his profile. He clicks the ‘Message’ button with surety in his fingertips, but he’s at a loss of anything coherent when an empty screen opens up and prompts him to write a message.

He sends a simple ‘heyyy’ and turns his phone off.

‘leeteewhy sent you a message!’

Jaehyun taps on the notification hurriedly.

leeteewhy

heyyy

He takes a calming breath and types out a suitable reply.

jungjh14

hi!!

He doesn’t get an immediate response, he wasn’t expecting one, but it doesn’t stop him from checking his phone every couple of minutes. He even turns his mobile data on, just in case the wifi fails him. But Taeyong doesn’t text back until after Jaehyun’s rejected a call from Sicheng and finished his psychology homework.

leeteewhy

i was wondering

are you free anytime soon?

jungjh14

yes actually

tournaments aren’t for another couple of months

so i’m all yours till then

Jaehyun’s fingers work faster than his mind. He desperately wants to slap himself.

leeteewhy

i’ll take full advantage of that ;)

haha

jungjh14

heh

i’ll look forward to it then :P

leeteewhy

i’ll talk to you tomorrow??

jungjh14

lunch?

leeteewhy

yepp

jungjh14

see you :D

leeteewhy

see you!!

Jaehyun's a nervous wreck the next day. He shows up to school earlier than usual, despite not having practice in the morning, and tries his hardest to study but he can't concentrate. Classes drag on for longer than usual, and Jaehyun doesn't know if he's excited or terrified.

Lunch time arrives soon enough, and Jaehyun isn’t the only anxious one. Taeyong makes his hesitant way to outside Jaehyun’s class, a storm brewing somewhere in his stomach. They haven’t been dismissed yet, Taeyong sees through the window, with Professor Noh droning on about energetics or bonds or something. After a good few minutes, she seems to realise the time and quickly writes some homework on the board before dismissing the class. Taeyong slips to the side as a steady stream of students leave the room, keeping an eye out for a certain pink-haired someone. Who doesn’t show up.

What…?

Taeyong peeks into the class and sees Jaehyun, diligently scribbling away, as Professor Noh packs up. He looks up, squints at the board -- Professor Noh has, for lack of better words, a rather indecipherable scrawl -- and continues writing away.

“Making up for last week?” She asks him, in a very Professor Noh-like, kind, fashion.

“Yes, ma'am,” Jaehyun replies, shy, and Taeyong gets it.

The experiment he made him finish in a hurry. Taeyong grimaces.

Professor Noh notices him standing in the doorway, his pink head peeking in. Taeyong avoids eye-contact at all costs, and thankfully, she looks away too.

“Your partner in crime is waiting for you,” She says. The window's looking very tempting to Taeyong. “Go for lunch. I'll make you stay back some other time.”

“My… what?”

Professor Noh tilts her head to the door. Having given up his dignity, Taeyong waves as Jaehyun looks at him.

“Oh.” Jaehyun's ears match his hair as he finishes his work and puts his books away. He wishes Professor Noh a good afternoon before leaving the class, and she sees him go with an amused tint to her features.

“Hey,” Jaehyun says, breathlessly, as he jogs to Taeyong waiting for him.

“Hi.” Taeyong smiles back.

And it’s awkward, because neither of them know what to do now.

Third time’s a charm, Jaehyun thinks, we’ve officially become awkward.

“You two are going for lunch, right?” Professor Noh interrupts, looking between them curiously. She stands, in all her jumpsuited glory, tall and thin and scrutinising.

“Yes,” Jaehyun mumbles, stiff-shouldered, before walking away with Taeyong in tow. When they’ve crossed the threshold of Professor Noh’s earshot, Jaehyun relaxes.

“Doesn’t she remind you of Professor Cha?” Taeyong asks, as they start in the direction of the cafeteria. The hallways are mostly empty.

“I’ve never really thought about it,” He replies. “But now that you mention it…”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re married or something,” Taeyong says offhandedly.

Jaehyun stops, shocked. “Shut up. What if they’re actually married?”

Taeyong has an amused set to his eyebrows as turns and regards Jaehyun, who looks slightly awestruck. “ Shit - they’re the epitome of a power couple.”

“I suppose.”

“And like, they’re both teaching sciences and they both gossip about their students a lot- shit, why didn’t I realise earlier?”

“I don’t think it’s that big a deal,” Taeyong comments. “Come on, we’re late for lunch as it is -- I don’t need Yuta haggling me.”

“You don’t get it,” Jaehyun whispers, still entranced. “Lee Taeyong, you’ve changed my life.”

“Have I now?” He asks, beckoning Jaehyun to walk with him.

Jaehyun complies. “I’m never going to look at them the same, you know.”

“Neither will I, I guess.”

Conversation ceases until they reach the cafeteria.

“People will talk,” Taeyong warns, shooting him a cautionary glance as he stands by the door.

“That’s what people do.” Jaehyun shrugs. “Nothing we can do to stop them.”

That plasters a smirk across Taeyong’s face. “After you,” He prompts, opening the door for Jaehyun, who enters while shooting him a smile.

It’s worth the stares and whispers as they take their food to a conveniently empty table. Especially when over Taeyong’s shoulder, Jaehyun sees Mingyu trying to shut Jungkook’s mouth from where his jaw has fallen to the floor.

He’s not the only amused one. Yuta and Johnny shoot Taeyong encouraging looks from across the hall, and -- if Taeyong can read lips correctly -- Johnny tells him to ‘fucking get it, already.’ He chooses to ignore that as he spends his lunch laughing and sharing his food with a dimpled, strawberry-haired boy.

“You’re in a good mood,” Johnny comments as they begin their daily walk home.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Taeyong replies as he skips along. Yuta’s giving him quite the distasteful glare.

“He’s going out with his crush tomorrow, do you expect him to be anything short of happy?” He grumbles.

“Damn, what happened to you?”

“Fucking energetics, man. I don’t get this bonding shit,” Yuta continues to complain.

“Jaehyunnie likes chem,” Taeyong tells him. “I’m sure he can explain it to you.”

“Jaehyunnie, huh?” Johnny teases. “That’s cute.”

“Can we please focus on my problem?” Yuta kicks a pebble he finds on the road. It rolls away and hits the side of a dustbin. The three follow it with their eyes.

“Of course, of course.” Their giant relents, focusing on Yuta. “How about, I don’t know, reading your textbook?”

“Man, fuck you.” Yuta whines.

“If you still don’t get it, you can watch something online. Or just ask Professor Noh. She won’t kill you for not understanding, right?” Taeyong suggests, mellowed down.

“I mean, yeah, she’ll explain it again, but I don’t wanna ask her. She’s scary.”

“She isn’t,” Taeyong insists.

“She doesn’t even teach you, how would you know?”

“I was waiting for Jaehyun today and she was making him do some extra work or something. She saw me and let him go, so she-”

“Sorry, but that’s only because she ships you.” Yuta interrupts, all matter-of-factly.

“Fuck off.”

“Seems plausible, actually,” Johnny hums. “Like Professor Cha -- I think he ships you both, too.”

Taeyong honestly considers it, and it makes him blush spectacularly. “I- I guess? I mean, Jaehyun thinks they’re married.”

And now it’s Johnny’s turn to be dumbstruck. “Shit, your boyfriend’s a genius, holy fucking shit .”

“He’s not- not my boyfriend,” Taeyong corrects half-heartedly. With Yuta observing Johnny and Johnny very much distressed, it falls to deaf ears.

“Shut up. Shut up. That makes so much sense, oh my god. I’m not okay, Taeyong. Taeyong, what the fuck.”

“Jaehyun said I changed his life with that,” The boy in question drily comments.

“And with good reason!” Johnny nods, enthusiastically, while Yuta cackles at his behaviour. Taeyong shakes his head in mock-disappointment, but finds himself smiling at his friends’ antics and the day’s events. He decides he really likes Jung Jaehyun.

“... and then we went for lunch, right, and he stood outside the cafeteria and he was all like, people with talk and bro, you will not believe what I said, I swear I was so fucking cool-”

“What is it, Jaehyun?” Sicheng relents.

“I'm glad you asked! So I said ‘that's what people do, nothing we can do to stop them,’ all calm and collected and I swear I impressed him. I think he likes, like, bad boys, but not like evil bad -- like soft but badass boys? You know what I mean?”

“Totally,” Sicheng deadpans.

“Anyway, we had lunch together and it was quite fun. We talked a lot about school and stuff and our friends and I told him about you -”

“Did you, now?”

“Yeah, of course I would. You're my best friend. Oh! And while we were sitting down I saw Jungkook, and his face, oh my god, his face , his jaw was on the fucking floor -- he couldn't believe I had the guts to ask Taeyong to lunch. Well sike bitch, he asked me !”

“Very good,” Sicheng hums.

“But, yeah. I had a great day, and we’re going out tomorrow. How about you?”

Really, they should be studying. But Jaehyun found himself daydreaming too often and missing his best friend, so he abandoned his books on his desk, settled in bed, and called Sicheng.

“The usual. I’m failing bio, though. And this fucking tutor that school gave me can’t do shit so I’m stuck staring at the textbook wondering what the fuck it’s going on about. What even is adenosine triphosphate, anyway?”

“Sicheng… that’s ATP.”

“I wish I knew what you were talking about,” Sicheng sighs tiredly.

“Like, energy? C’mon man, even I know this,” Jaehyun says. “Didn’t you do this like a year back?”

“... Fuck off.”

“You know who’s good at bio?” He perks up. Sicheng hears him sit up in bed.

“Don’t say Lee Tae-”

“Taeyong is!”

“I’m hanging up if you say his name again,” Sicheng warns. “I really hate when you have crushes. It’s fucking irritating.”

Jaehyun notes the sudden change in his mood. “Damn, what’s got you so worked up?”

“It’s… It’s nothing much, really.” Sicheng tells him. He pauses, then proceeds. “I’m just worried because my grades are slipping and dance isn’t going well and I have that fucking showcase in two weeks - and I’m just… so fucking stressed.”

“How long has this been going on for?” Jaehyun asks. Sicheng hears him sit up straighter.

“A couple of weeks? I don’t know.”

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“You’ve been so happy, Jaehyun,” Sicheng admits, softly. “Why would I want to ruin that?”

“Hey, you’re not a burden on me, okay? And so what if I’ve been happy? Your problems are important, Sicheng. And they’re very important to me, because I’m your best friend and I care about you so, so much.” Jaehyun matches his volume, voice soothing as he speaks through the phone. “You mean a lot to me, Sicheng. I don’t like seeing you like this.”

“You’re going to make me cry at this rate, asshole,” Sicheng murmurs.

“Don’t deflect my statement. You’re important and your feelings are valid, okay?”

“Okay.” Sicheng says, a slight irritation to his voice. Jaehyun knows this tone well; it’s his I’ve-opened-up-please-stop-making-me-think-about-it tone.

“Louder.”

“Okay,” Sicheng insists, louder.

“Good. Now let’s figure out your biology bullshit.”

“You take a lower level of biology than I do, Jaehyun.” Sicheng reverted to his deadpan. “How the fuck are you going to help me?”

“How much harder can it be, Sicheng?”

“Famous last words.”

‘leeteewhy sent you a message!’

Jaehyun’s head jerks up as his phone vibrates. He’d been slumped over his desk, head buried in his psychology textbook after over an hour of doing high-level biology with Sicheng. He had been proud to say he understood most of it, then read the questions in the textbook, and had given up. It had taken too much of his brain power, and when he opened his own textbook to study, he found he could barely comprehend it.

A little smile set in place as he opened the message.

leeteewhy

hey!! lunch was fun

do you wanna do that again sometime?

jungjh14

hi!! and yes, i’d live to!

*love oops

leeteewhy

hehe dw about it

are you tired?

jungjh14

yea it’s been a tiring day

and i have morning practice tomorrow :(

leeteewhy

oh no :(

remember to get enough rest!!

jungjh14

i will!!

anyway

how are you?

leeteewhy

i’m okay

bio’s been frying my brain lately tho

jungjh14

same for one of my friends

i tried helping him with his bio

but i think we both just confused ourselves

leeteewhy

yeah i get that

bio can be a real bitch :\

“Jung Jaehyun!”

Jaehyun almost drops his phone at the suddenness of his sister’s screech.

“What is it?” He calls back.

“Dinner!”

“I’ll be right down!” He promises.

jungjh14

it can :\

i have to go have dinner now!!

i’ll talk to you in school?

leeteewhy

sure!!

sleep well

i mean

for when you go to bed

junhjh14

you too <3

Jaehyun holds his breath.

leeteewhy

<33

He exhales, then tries and fails to control the giddiness in his chest.

“Jaehyun!”

“Coming!”

“He sent me a heart yesterday. That’s gotta mean something, right?”

“He likes you! Get it into your thick skull, will you?” Yuta groans.

“You’re going out today, isn’t that enough for you?” Johnny pipes up, over his soup. And what the fuck. How did Johnny manage to get soup to school safely and keep it hot?

“I mean yeah, but like-”

“No, no buts. Don’t act like you don’t know,” He warns, holding out his spoon threateningly.

“I- yeah, okay.” Taeyong gives up, choosing to eat his lunch in silence.

“You know,” Yuta muses, after a contemplative silence from his side, “I’m not sure I like him.”

“Why?”

“He's always…” Yuta gestures vaguely. “Always so aloof? I don't know. He rubs me the wrong way.”

“He's perfectly nice!” Taeyong insists, but it's weak.

“Yuta's got a point, actually,” Johnny says gently. “You don't really know him. I mean, you like him and stuff, which is completely valid, but it's more on a looks perspective, right?”

“... Right.”

“So maybe just get to know him before pursuing something?”

“I mean, yeah, you're right. But he's - he's funny? And he's nice!”

“That's all you have to say about him?”

“Stop it! Why are you making me question my choices?” Taeyong says with an agitated edge to his voice.

“We just want what's best for you. Even if you're gonna treat this as something not serious, it'll still affect you, right?”

“Yeah, of course it will. But it’s my decision in the end, and I’ll suffer from the consequences.”

Johnny and Yuta share a look.

“What?” Taeyong demands. “What is it?”

“Will you just let us advise you? You always think you’ve got everything figured out. You always refuse help, Taeyong. Let us help you.” Yuta quietly tells him.

He looks at them in disbelief.

“Taeyong, we’ve always been supportive of what you have going on with Jaehyun. It’s just that it’s kind of getting a bit much. You’re too… how should I say this?” Johnny sighs. “You’re too into him, you know? And we don’t think it’s good for you, because who knows what he’s truly like. We only know you, Taeyong. We only know how it would impact you.”

“Look, guys. I really appreciate the concern, but I can handle myself-”

“That’s the problem! You can’t, Yongie. You haven’t been this bold since god knows when. You’re rushing into this!” Yuta says, blunt and irritated.

“So this is about me, now?”

“It was al-”

“You think insulting something I want to do is a way to get through to me?”

“Don’t misunderstand, Taeyong.”

“No! Don’t leave it to misinterpretation. If you think I’m being too rash, just tell me. You don’t have to drag Jaehyun into this and demean him.”

“We weren’t demeaning him,” Johnny says. “We were just wondering if he is who you think he is.”

“Don’t paint him out to be someone bad. You barely know him.” Taeyong points out. “Why do you both always see the worst in people? It’s so fucking annoying to deal with! Johnny, you’re always so fucking gloomy; and Yuta, you’re so assertive like, shut up sometimes, will you?”

“Taeyong, I think you need to calm down.”

“Yeah,” He agrees, tone still sharp. “I think I do.”

Taeyong packs his lunch and walks out of the cafeteria, all while Johnny and Yuta just watch him. He checks the time, it’s about ten minutes until classes start, so he decides to head towards the field. He really needs some air.

Jaehyun doesn’t think it’s Taeyong at first, but the pink hair makes him rather noticeable.

I’ve literally never seen him on the field. What the hell?

A little ray of hope tell him Taeyong’s here to see him, but Jaehyun hopes that isn’t the case because he’s sporting quite the scowl as he briskly walks to the bleachers.

“Snap out of it.” Jungkook snaps his fingers in front of Jaehyun’s face, literally snapping him out of his daze.

“Stop staring,” Jungkook says again, just to solidify his point. “He’s probably creeped out by how obvious you’re being.”

“I’m not being obvious!” Jaehyun insists.

“Uh-huh. Even Hwang Jinim can figure you out. You ain’t slick, Jaehyun.”

“I-”

Jungkook places a hand on his lips. “Shut up. I think he’s coming here.”

Jaehyun’s eyes widen as he notices Taeyong walking. He seems to be coming in their direction, sure footsteps on his field’s dried-up grass, but he takes a detour when he notices them.

“Trouble in paradise?” Jungkook asks -- after they’ve observed Taeyong settle himself on a patch of grass -- as innocent as he can be.

“There isn’t any paradise to have trouble in, Jungkook.”

“Yeah, right.” He scoffs. “You give each other moon-eyes all the time. Don’t deny it.”

“First of all, who even says ‘moon eyes?’ And secondly, he does?”

“I do, and yes. He does. All the time.”

“Oh,” Jaehyun says.

Jungkook shoots him a sympathetic look, one that says I feel you, bro , and what the fuck are you doing at the same time.

“Anyway! Nice little chit-chat we had there, time to get back to the game.”

“You know,” Jaehyun stops him. “I’m starting to think playing after lunch is a bad idea. Like, we’re digesting food and stuff, we shouldn’t be doing any form of intense exercise.”

“You’re disgustingly whipped, you know that?” Jungkook asks, through gritted teeth.

Jaehyun just grins. Once he’s turned his back, he vaguely registers Jungkook groaning to the team about their ‘incompetent captain.’ He pays it no mind as he jogs to Taeyong.

“Hey,” He greets Taeyong, his grin still intact. Taeyong looks up from where he’s seated on the grass and permits a smile on his face.

“Hi.”

“How come you’re here?” Jaehyun asks. He sits down beside Taeyong in one fluid motion, consciously putting a distance between them.

“I uh- I came here to cool down, actually.” Taeyong confesses, bashfully. “I got into an argument with Yuta and Johnny.”

“Ah,” Jaehyun nods in understanding. “Do you wanna talk about it? Or if you don’t, that’s fine, too.”

“I… well, I don’t really want to talk about it.” He says. “Thanks for offering, though.”

“Don’t sweat it.”

Taeyong spares him a grateful glance, then goes on to stare into the distance. After a few seconds of silence, he clears his throat.

“So where do you wanna go today?”

“Anywhere’s fine.” Jaehyun answers, then perks up. “But you asked, so I think you’re obliged to pick where we go.”

“You’re no help, are you?” Taeyong deadpans.

“Nope.” Jaehyun says, popping the p.

“Well, if it’s up to me,” Taeyong throws Jaehyun a pointed look. “We’re going to the new coffee shop. It’s a fifteen-minute walk from school.”

“As long as you’re there,” Jaehyun sing-songs. “I’m glad.”

Taeyong throws a handful of dried grass at his face. It misses, horribly, but at least it makes him laugh.

“It’s a date?”

Taeyong smiles, properly. “It’s a date.”

Taeyong successfully avoids Johnny and Yuta till it’s time to go home. He’s had time to think about it -- time he should have spent paying attention in maths -- and concludes he overreacted. Afterall, Johnny and Yuta only want the best for him. Right?

Yes, yes they do.

He sees them, Johnny coming from physics and Yuta from literature, and makes a beeline for them. Of course, in a crowded hallway with souls desperate from the release of school’s clutches, it’s a bit hard.

“Hey guys,” He greets awkwardly, trying to dissipate the obvious tension with finger-guns.

“Hello, Taeyong.” Yuta replies stiffly.

“I’ll cut straight to the chase -- I’m sorry about lunch. I overreacted, I should have considered it in your perspective. I don’t really like it when people - how do I put it - interfere? In what I want to do. And I totally understand that you guys want the best for me, it’s just that I’m a bit hot-headed. Yeah. Sorry, again, for what I said. They were words out of anger.”

“It’s alright, Taeyong. We uh-” Johnny cuts himself off to kick Yuta’s shin.

“We also acknowledge that we may have possibly insinuated some rather mean things. So, yeah. Sorry about that.” Yuta completes.

Oh god.

“It’s fine,” Taeyong says. He doesn’t quite know what to do now.

“Hey, uh. Aren’t you guys going out today?” Johnny asks -- changing the topic, thankfully -- gesturing behind Taeyong.

Taeyong turns, and Jaehyun throws a timid wave his way.

“Oh, uh, yeah. See you guys tomorrow?”

“Yeah, see you, Taeyong.” Yuta smiles, strained.

“Have fun!” Johnny exclaims, sounding livelier than Yuta.

Taeyong supposes it’ll take time for them to come around. It disheartens him, but there isn’t much he can do about it. No use spoiling his mood over it, at least.

“So!” Jaehyun enthusiastically says. “Lead the way.”

Just a fifteen-minute walk from school, there’s a new cafe. It’s one of those neo places, all quaint and appealing to a minimalist aesthetic, with its uniformity and use of the colour beige. It isn’t big, but it isn’t suffocating, either. It’s wooden panels and sleek metal and the occasional burst of colour, in the form of graffiti on the walls. Against one, there’s a counter with a cashier in between two displays of various cakes and pastries. It’s a nice place, and they claim their waste is greatly minimised by their use of recyclable products -- so basically, it’s for your youthful souls with something shy of a saviour-complex.

Jaehyun and Taeyong quite like it. They find a cosy table for four, two chairs for them and two for their school-bags. Which is kind of sad, but oh well.

“Have you been here before?” Jaehyun asks, as they approach the cashier.

“Twice. The carrot cake is nice.”

“Cool cool.” Jaehyun pursues the menu put up overhead. “Have you tried the,” he pauses, “How the fuck do you pronounce that?”

Taeyong leans in to follow his line of sight. “It’s macchiato.” He sounds unimpressed. “Jaehyun, do you drink coffee?”

“I do! Just… not this fancy stuff.”

“Right, of course.”

Jaehyun glares and Taeyong nudges him, playfully, until they’re both hiding snickers behind their hands. Another customer enters the cafe and the bell chimes overhead, and they’re brought out of their stupor.

“I’ve decided,” Taeyong says, after a second of deliberation.

“You know what, I’ll have whatever you’re having.” Jaehyun throws his hands up in surrender.

“Jaehyun, how much sugar can you tolerate? Wait, don’t answer that.” He sighs. “I’ll order for you.”

“That’s a new one,” Jaehyun comments, trailing behind Taeyong.

“Huh?”

“New way of impressing someone. I’m gonna woo you with predicting your coffee order.”

“Who says you aren’t already woo’d?” When did you become so confident, Lee Taeyong?

“I- yeah, good point.”

Taeyong’s confidence is rather short-lived as he stumbles his way to place their order. He practises in his head; one caramel macchiato, one carrot cake (two spoons, please) and a latte? Or a cappuccino?

“Jaehyun, pick a finger.” Taeyong stands a step away from the counter and holds up two fingers. Jaehyun wearily picks one. Cappuccino it is.

They must make quite a sight -- two school-going boys in their ridiculous uniforms, deciding what coffee to have in a (let's face it) overpriced coffee shop.

“Hi, I’d like one caramel macchiato and a vanilla cappuccino, please. And one carrot cake. With two spoons.” Yikes.

About six minutes later, there's sitting opposite each other with two steaming cups of coffee and a carrot cake between them.

“So… you thought I'd like espresso, vanilla, and milk.”

Taeyong cringes. “Do you?”

“Yeah, yeah. I do.” Jaehyun's dimples appear, which is enough to reassure Taeyong.

“I thought you might be a hard-core Americano person, but it seemed a bit off.”

“Well I definitely expected you to be a chocolate and coffee person. Glad to know my intuition isn't wrong.”

“Am I really obvious?” Taeyong asks, smiling pleasantly as he blows the steam away from his cup.

“I was going to use some horrible pick-up line, but yes. You are.” After a pause, he continues. “It's cute.”

Taeyong blushes a lively crimson, cheeks contrasting with his hair. He looks down while biting his lip, keeping an embarrassing grin at bay.

“I… uh, thanks.”

Jaehyun doesn't try to hide his amusement as he stares at Taeyong, resting his cheek on his hand propped up on the table.

“Stop,” Taeyong mutters.

“Stop what?” He says, impurely innocent.

Taeyong covers his face with his hands, peeking at Jaehyun through his fingers.

Jaehyun reaches over, across the table, and coaxes Taeyong's hands away.

They look at each other in bashful silence until Jaehyun pushes the carrot cake towards him.

“You said it's nice.” He shrugs.

Taeyong nods and picks up a spoon. Jaehyun watches him, carefully carving a bit of carrot cake out, holding up the spoon, and leaning forward.

Jaehyun opens his mouth to speak, but he's met with a mouthful of carrot cake. It is good.

“It's good, right?”

“Yeah,” Jaehyun answers. He picks out his spoon and mimics Taeyong, reaching over to feed him. And really, Lee Taeyong is too cute for his own good.

“Should have got one spoon,” Taeyong says, after swallowing his bite of cake.

“Why?”

“We could have, like, indirectly kissed.”

Jaehyun demands his heart to beat slower. He can't get through this date without having palpitations every five minutes.

It's worth it, he realises, later, when him and Taeyong are walking in the same direction home. Their route is the same until Taeyong goes left and Jaehyun continues straight, and they agreed they wouldn't drop each other home on the first date.

(“I’d like to walk you home. I think. You don't live too far away, right?”

“Jaehyun, this is our first date. Please save that for the third, at least.”

Once you get to know him, Taeyong can be a bit of a smart-ass and a ruiner of romantic moods. He's a rather confusing character.)

“Jaehyun,” Taeyong says, abruptly.

“Hmm?”

“I need to tell you something.”

Jaehyun looks over, his eyebrows furrowed. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just,” Taeyong takes a hold of his wrist and pulls him into an alley.

Oh god. No, please don't let my type be serial killers.

Jaehyun stands against a brick wall, his mind working a mile a minute. And Taeyong is no help, with the way he checks both ends of the alley before he leans closer.

Well, at least the last face I'll see is Lee Taeyong's. Maybe it'll be a quick, painless death. Who knows?

“Can I kiss you?”

Jaehyun's brain short-circuits. He literally hears two wires spark before everything goes dead. He's only able to nod, dumbly, as Taeyong sends him a bright smile.

And then there are lips on his. Fuck.

He presses back, with slight pressure, and Taeyong pulls away. He smiles the same bright smile as before, and Jaehyun's still as dumbfounded as before, but it's fine. They're happy.

“Jung Jaehyun!”

“Yes, mother?”

Jaehyun's greeted unpleasantly as he gets home, but it doesn't destroy his mood.

“Where the hell have you been?”

Oh, fuck.

“I- uh, I was at…” Jaehyun gesticulates, conveying nothing.

His mother has that disappointed-parent glare on point. “Go to your room. We'll discuss this at dinner.”

She knows. Jaehyun thinks, resigned. I can't keep a secret in this house.

After ranting to Sicheng about it -- another feat in itself -- and doing his chemistry homework -- a greater feat -- Jaehyun trudges down for dinner. He hopes he won’t get a repeat of Sicheng’s words; a cross between I knew you didn’t have the fucking guts and what does this guy see in you, anyway?

(Jaehyun’s a bit insecure about that second one.)

“Look what the cat dragged in,” His sister comments as he takes his seat at the table. He pulls a face at her, which she mimics in mockery.

“I think Jaehyun has something to tell us,” His mother clears her throat and throws him a pointed gaze. “Where did you go today, Jaehyun?”

“School?” He tries. His father raises his eyebrows at him. Oh no . If his parents have teamed up, he’s well and truly fucked.

“I went out with someone,” He confesses. In an attempt to deflect questions, he reaches for the rice to serve himself.

“And who was this someone?”

Jaehyun shoves plain rice in his mouth. He’s embarrassingly obvious.

“No, shut up,” Jaehwa says. “No, you didn't go on a date, right?”

Jaehyun stuffs more rice in his face.

“Oh, my god. I can't believe this.”

“So who's the lucky one?” Jaehyun's father asks, clearly amused. Beside him, Jaehyun's mother is critically observing him.

“No one,” He says, through a mouthful of rice.

“Is it the hair?” Mrs. Jung wonders, ignoring her son’s claim.

“Uh… I guess.” Jaehyun indulges. “Actually, yeah. It was the hair.”

“Well, Jaehwa. You know what to do.” Mr. Jung says. It makes Jaehyun choke on his rice.

“Unlike Jaehyun, I’m not looking for a distraction. So no, thank you.” She challenges, haughty.

“I’m not looking for a distraction!”

“Whatever, whatever.”

Dinner proceeds. Jaehyun’s thankful there’s a lull in conversation. It’s not like he’s against his family finding out, not at all, but he isn’t particularly keen on having the whole relationships conversation.

It’s once he’s finished his meal does the question pop up again. It’s Jaehwa, and she seems genuinely curious.

“Who did you go out with?”

“Just a friend,” You did it. They’re totally gonna believe you-

“Definitely not a friend, then.”

God damn it.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jaehyun sees his parents lean in with interest.

“Come on, spill.”

“I- I mean, like, he’s kind of my friend?” He looks away, suddenly finding the symbols for peace painted on the wall interesting.

“Kind of, huh?” Jaehwa prods. “What do you mean by that?”

“I am not answering that.”

“It’s fine. Your ears answered for us.”

Jaehyun hates his family sometimes.

When Taeyong sees Jaehyun in school that day, it’s a bit surreal. It’s in the morning, before classes start, and Taeyong denies he was actively looking for him. He just happened to see Jaehyun, chattering away with his football friends, and wondered when the school uniform started to look so good.

“Some things never change,” A voice says into his ear. Taeyong flinches, letting out an ungraceful yelp, before punching Johnny in the shoulder.

“Fuck you,” He says, petulant. Johnny laughs his loud laugh, and it’s like things are back to normal. Except Taeyong knows better, so he spares Jaehyun one last, lovelorn look, before tugging Johnny along in the direction of Yuta’s first class.

“Where are you taking me?” Johnny whines.

“To Yuta, because we need to talk.”

“What about?” He says, and he’s answered by Taeyong’s meaningful look.

So they reach the physics lab. Yuta's hovering outside, probably formulating an excuse for his unfinished homework. He lights up when he sees the both of them.

“Taeyongie here wanted to talk to us,” Johnny says, draping an arm over each of their shoulders.

“About yesterday, yeah,” Taeyong clarifies.

“Ah, yeah. Um, I wanted to apologise, again,” Yuta fumbles. “I'm sorry, I think we really went overboard and said some uh, not-nice things. It wasn't fair to you… or Jaehyun, for that matter.”

Taeyong nods along. “No, I kind of get it. I can be… difficult, at times.”

Johnny nods vehemently, mocking. Yuta throws him a glare and he pouts, but stops nonetheless.

“But it’s okay, Yongie. We respect your decision, even if we think it’s still sudden-”

“Actually, I think it’s pretty cute,” Johnny interjects.

“Oh, pick a side, will you?” Yuta admonishes. Johnny shrugs, lips pursed with his smirk still evident.

“It’s fine.” Taeyong waves off. “Thanks for understanding, guys.”

“You shouldn’t be thanking us,” Yuta begins. “We’re your best friends, we shouldn’t be so-”

“Okay, okay, Yuta. We get it, you’re sorry. Can we move on now?”Johnny requests, sickly-sweet. Yuta just shakes his head.

“Taeyong!” Johnny smiles. “How was your date?”

“Good. I kissed him.”

With impeccable timing, the bell rings. Taeyong saunters off, missing his friends’ comically expressive faces.

Lee Taeyong isn’t known for being particularly excited to go to school. But these days, he can’t really help himself. Jung Jaehyun makes things hard for him, things he could usually do without a hitch -- not daydream in Professor Cha’s class, have lunch without constantly looking for a certain face, not use pink ink for his notes. He doesn’t mind, though. Any change is welcome, as long as it isn’t harming him. And this, whatever they have, is doing quite the opposite.

There’s a skip in his step as he walks to the field early one morning, fixing his ugly, black, school blazer as the wind bites.

Jungkook and Seokmin are still on the field, not having changed or showered -- by the looks of it, at least -- aimlessly kicking a ball between themselves while they gossip. Taeyong checks the time on his watch, he’s pretty sure he got it right, when Jungkook’s voice calls out.

“Yo, Jae, your boyfriend’s here!”

Taeyong’s head whips up.

“Fuck off,” Jaehyun yells before jogging over to Taeyong, an automatic smile on his face.

“Hi,” He says, a bit breathless.

“Hey.” Taeyong smiles back.

Jaehyun’s collar is rumpled, and his hair is damp, slightly on the wetter side, but there’s a pleasant red to his cheeks. Absentmindedly, Taeyong reaches forward and fixes his collar for him. When he looks up, Jaehyun’s ears have gone pink. It rumbles a laugh out him.

Jaehyun pouts and paws at Taeyong’s shoulder, which he takes full advantage of by grabbing Jaehyun’s hand. And that makes him splutter and turn even redder, and if it doesn’t make Taeyong’s day, he’d be lying.

“Come, let’s go to class,” Taeyong says, tugging on Jaehyun’s hand.

Jaehyun stumbles but follows, still red-faced, catching up to Taeyong in a couple of strides.

“People will stare.”

“That’s what people do,” Taeyong states. “Nothing we can do to stop them.”

Jaehyun falls in a heap on his bed, exhausted after an evening session of practice. His skin is sticky with sweat and it’s starting to itch; he desperately needs a shower. He drags himself out of the sheets, already regretting his decision, but it’s mechanical from now on. He puts on a peppy playlist to he doesn’t fall asleep in the shower and cranks his phone’s volume up. These post-practice showers should be relaxing, but they just give Jaehyun’s mind the opportunity to exhaust itself to the level of his body, which is not always a healthy thing.

Shampooing his hair only reminds him of Taeyong, pink and coincidental. Which is when he looks into his feelings a bit more critically. Does he like Taeyong because they suddenly have something in common? Or is it more of a ‘I’ve been waiting for someone like you’ thing?

No, no. Taeyong’s smart and witty and confident and fun to be around.

Are those qualifying measures to like someone?

Yes. And he’s pretty attractive.

There it is.

Come on, I don’t just like him because of his looks. He’s much more than his looks.

Is he?

Shut up, stop projecting.

That’s when Jaehyun tugs a tad bit too harsh on his hair while he’s rinsing it. He takes a deep, calming breath, inhaling steam and artificial peppermint essence while EXO’s Tempo plays in the background, muffled.

He finishes up quickly, brushing his teeth and changing into a comfortable pair of shorts and a t-shirt. He hesitates for a second before turning the music on his phone off and dialing Sicheng’s number.

The line rings as he throws himself on his bed, again, and once he’s under the sheets, Sicheng picks up.

“Yes, Jae?”

“Tell me about your day.”

“Oh, Jaehyun. What are you thinking?” Sicheng says, in a practised, placating manner of speaking.

“I don’t wanna think about it,” Jaehyun mumbles. “Tell me about your day?”

“I already told you,” Yeah, they spoke when Jaehyun came home, before practice. “But it’s fine. I’ll tell you again.”

Jaehyun smiles as Sicheng recites about his slightly improved bio score and the new Thai exchange student who’s ‘fucking shady because he transferred in the middle of the year.’ It soothes Jaehyun and his thoughts, and he’s even smiling a bit when Sicheng finishes up by explaining how he ended up doing his bed twice.

The line is static until Jaehyun speaks.

“Thanks, Sichengie.”

“Anytime, Jae.” He says warmly.

“Yeah, ye-”

“And I’m glad you reached out to me before it got worse.” He continues. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“I… no, not- not really.” Jaehyun tells him. “I feel a little guilty about it all, actually.”

“Why so?” Sicheng inquires.

“I’m like, invalidating my feelings? Through Taeyong? It’s kind of messed up because I’m projecting and just. Yeah.”

“... Go on.”

“You know how I have this whole identity thing?” Jaehyun approaches.

“Yeah.”

“So like… I’m questioning Taeyong’s feelings for me by questioning my feelings for Taeyong while I’m… projecting on Taeyong.”

“Okay, I think I understand.” Jaehyun hears him sit up straighter.

“So I ended up at a why-does-he-like-me why-do-I-like-him scenario, and it’s fucking with my self-esteem.” He explains.

“Ah, yeah, I understand.” Sicheng clears his throat. “I can’t tell you why Taeyong likes you, because I’m not him, but I can tell you why you like Taeyong. And maybe through your projecting bullshit you’ll figure something out.”

“Maybe.”

Sicheng clears his throat louder.

“Sorry, do go on.”

“From what I know, you like Taeyong because he’s confident. He has a different outlook on things than you do -- where you might notice something lacking, he’ll notice something plentiful. He’s outspoken, more than you’ve ever been, and he likes being heard, in all kinds of situations. You guys got along because you had something in common, and that’s not going to die out, is it? And sure, he can be impulsive, but he’s thoughtful too, right?”

“Right.” Jaehyun says, slowly, processing Sicheng’s words. “You’re very eloquent, you know.”

“I know.” Sicheng replies, smug.

“Wow, I… okay,” Jaehyun mutters. “Thank you for your disguised compliments.”

“You’re welcome.”

“And thanks for giving me more to think about. In a positive way,” he clarifies. “I, uh. I’m really fucking tired.”

“Go to sleep, Jaehyun.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just remember I’m here for you, okay? And you’re very important appreciated, and loved. And I-”

“Good fucking night, Jaehyun,” Sicheng repeats, a finality to his tone.

“Yeah, good night. Sleep well.”

“You too.”

“Hey, Jaehyunnie.”

“Yes, Taeyongie?”

It’s during one of their study dates, at the very same coffee shop. Jaehyun’s going through his chemistry notes while Taeyong’s doing… well, it looks like maths, but you can’t really tell when it comes to high school subjects.

“Do you remember the sine rule? To find the side of a triangle?”

“Huh?” Jaehyun leans over the table to inspect Taeyong’s notebook.

Taeyong recites what he remembers. “It’s sine A divided by-”

“Just use the Pythagoras theorem.”

Taeyong stares at him long enough for Jaehyun to snap his fingers in front of his face.He’s got this sort of reverence to his face, like the maths question he just attempted looted him of house and home.

“You good?”

“Jaehyun,” Taeyong whispers. “Trigonometry is fucking me up.”

Jaehyun sighs, looking back down at his notes. “You and me both, babe.”

He only registers his words when he hears a strangled noise from Taeyong, followed by him trying to cover up his blush by gulping on his coffee. Jaehyun, too, turns a beautiful shade of pink.

“I- uh, um-”

“Say it again,” Taeyong urges, much more confident.

“Say what, babe?” Jaehyun says, with a faux-innocent tilt to his head.

Taeyong bites his lip and turns away, trying to contain his embarrassing smile. When he looks at Jaehyun through his eyelashes, he’s staring intently at his notes. He doesn’t seem to be registering anything.

“Thanks, peach.”

Taeyong deserves the paper napkins thrown at him. He looks beautiful like this, laughing his pretty laugh at Jaehyun’s pathetic attempts. When the atmosphere has subdued, when they’re left looking at each other with tinted complexions, Jaehyun pops a question.

“Why do you like me?” It isn’t accusing, nor is it unkind, but Taeyong takes offence to it.

“Excuse me?”

But Jaehyun stands his ground and asks again. “Why do you like me?”

Taeyong stares at him for a second before closing both their books and pushing them to the side. “Do I have your undivided attention?”

Jaehyun’s in half a mind to say ‘always,’ but he figures this isn’t the time. He settles for a simple nod.

“I’m not gonna lie, when I first saw you, I was attracted to you,” Taeyong begins. “Looks-wise, because you’ve gotta face it, you’re pretty hot, Jaehyun.” He pauses to gather his bearings. Jaehyun merely watches on.

“You had a good first impression on me.”

“In the washroom?” Jaehyun laughs, “When I had to fix my collar?”

“No, your caption; ‘psa, don’t objectify yourself.’ Remember?”

“Oh, god,” Jaehyun sighs. He takes a gulp of his coffee. “Yeah, I don’t know where you’re going with this.”

“I thought it was cute!” Taeyong insists. “Very adorable and a bit… silly? I don’t know. But yeah, very cute.” He looks away and sighs. “Just listen.”

“Okay. I’m listening.”

“You think before you act, you know? And maybe you overthink, too, but that’s fine. That means you’re considerate. I know you despise Hwang Jinim with a burning passion, but you’re still willing to give him a chance on the field. And I know for a fact that your friends can be insufferable, but you never really lash out on them. You’re honest, Jaehyun, and you’re genuine. It’s really nice to be around you.”

Jaehyun’s got his hands covering his face, much like Taeyong had on their first date. “Are you done?” He asks tentatively.

“I guess I could go on, but I think you’ve had enough.” Taeyong says. “For today.”

“Are you planning on making this a regular occurrence?” Jaehyun’s voice stays muffled by his palms.

“If I think you need it.”

“You’re too much for me, Lee Taeyong.” He groans. Taeyong smiles, softly, and reaches over to remove Jaehyun’s hands from his face. When Jaehyun reluctantly obliges, he gets a good look at his red ears and the slight dampness in his eyes.

“Oh, baby.” Taeyong smiles wider, reassuring. He laces their fingers together and leaves a kiss on Jaehyun’s knuckles, which entices the same reaction out of him.

When Jaehyun blinks away the tears, he squeezes Taeyong’s hand in thanks. “It’s really nice to be around you, too.”

The sun is bright the day Taeyong confesses something monumental to Johnny. They’re walking home, and Taeyong -- miraculously -- doesn’t have a date.

“Johnny, I think you were right.”

“Well, that’s not something you hear everyday.”

Taeyong rolls his eyes. “Fine, I guess you don’t wanna hear it.”

“No, no - what happened?”

He smirks before he continues, “Remember when I first told you guys about Jaehyun?”

“Oh, yeah. I’ve been shipping you guys since then,” Yuta buts in.

“Right. Remember what you said, Johnny?”

“Of course I do,” Johnny grumbles. “You chased me all the way home for it.”

His eyes widen a second later. “No, shut up.”

“Can someone fill me in?” Yuta says.

“Taeyong, you can’t be serious.”

Taeyong just shrugs.

“Guys, what-” Yuta gives in, pulling Johnny’s arm to get him to stop walking.

“Dude, I used the L word.” A frantic Johnny tells Yuta, who takes a minute to process the words.

“Lee Taeyong!”

But Lee Taeyong’s power-walking away, a huge grin and a slight blush plastered on his face.

On a Saturday, a few interesting conversations take place.

The first, at a party Jaehyun didn’t attend;

“He’s drunk out of his mind. Can you take him home?”

“Who the fuck even invited him?”

“We called the entire team. Now, I need you to drop him home.”

“Man, why do I have to be responsible for him?”

“C’mon, Jungkook. Just drop him home.”

“And have Principal Hwang come for my neck? No, thank you.”

“Okay, okay. How about just drop him at the gate? He can find his way inside, I guess.”

“And what will you give me for doing this?”

“If you come back before I clear up, I have a nice, unopened bottle of expensive soju.”

“... Deal.”

The second, in a car Jungkook shouldn’t know how to drive;

“Man, what’s got you so fucked-out?”

“It’s nothing.”

“You sure?”

“Life. It’s fucking me up.”

“You’re the principal’s son, dude. Why’s life fucking you up?”

“Do you ever just have a fucking crush?”

“Dude, you can’t get so worked up over a girl. I’m telling you, romance fucking sucks.”

“Yeah, but…”

“Bro, listen to me. You need to get a fucking grip. Yes, I hate you, but this is something I’ve been through. It’s never worth it, in the end.”

“Can you shut the fuck up?”

“No. You should be thanking me for doing this. I’m giving you life advice.”

“Your life advice won’t work when it comes to Jung Jaehyun.”

The third, after a bottle of expensive, unopened soju was opened;

“I’m fucking serious bro. He likes Jaehyun.”

“Fuck off. He’s straight as a… as a goddamn ruler.”

“Yeah, but he likes Jaehyun. He said it.”

“So what? He’s suddenly gay?”

“I don’t fucking know. Don’t ask me.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not!”

Gossip spreads like wildfire. Jungkook’s drunk text to an equally drunk Yugyeom is screenshotted and reposted and spread, until the tendrils of fire reach the nooks and crannies of the smallest supply closets of the school. Monday morning will not be good.

On Monday morning, there’s a sheet of A4 paper taped to Hwang Jinim’s locker. It’s the print-out of a message with an extreme typo count and some horrifically foul language, but still coherent enough for it to be understood. The man of the hour himself is at practice currently, and there’s the signs of an oncoming racket as the school day comes nearer to starting. Fortunately or unfortunately, Taeyong’s locker is just three lockers away from Jinim’s. He’s mildly surprised when he sees a crowd nearby, and greatly surprised when he sees why. He’s walking away before Yuta and Johnny get the chance to see him.

It’s a routine now. Jaehyun powers through his post-practice shower in the morning, desperately towels his hair till dampness, and wears the nice cologne he spent his pocket money on. Then he speed-walks to the main school building, because he might build up a sweat if he runs, and meets Taeyong half-way, just by the cafeteria.

Today’s a hugging day. Taeyong opens his arms, pouting -- as if Jaehyun was ever going to deny him -- and Jaehyun pulls him in. He sighs happily against the skin of Jaehyun’s neck, which makes his hair stand on edge and makes him feel tingly all over. He can’t shake it off, though.

“Is something wrong?” He whispers. Taeyong’s grip is unusually tight.

“No, not exactly.” Taeyong mumbles. “Just… well, I should tell you.” He breathes deeply before stepping back.

“Come, let’s talk somewhere else.” Taeyong takes his hand and tugs him along, past the cafeteria, and a sharp left, until they’re between two of the school’s buildings, sandwiched between bricked walls.

“You have a thing for alleys, don’t you?” Jaehyun mutters. “Are you just dragging me here to make-out?”

“As much as I’d like that,” Taeyong says, once he’s checked for any prying eyes, “You should know this.”

Jaehyun shoots him a look of amplified confusion, eyebrows drawn up and mouth pursed, and Taeyong has to make himself focus on the matter at hand and not Jaehyun’s cuteness. He settles for squeezing Jaehyun’s hand, which is still in his.

“So, uhm. There’s a rumour going around-”

“Isn’t there always?”

“- and it’s about Hwang Jinim.”

“Oh, damn. ”

“Yeah, exactly. Anyway, before someone confronts you about it, it’s basically that he…”

“He…?” Jaehyun leans forward, a bit of worry seeping through his features at Taeyong’s reluctance.

“He has, uh, a crush. On you.”

“He what .”

Taeyong sighs, “Yeah, that.”

“I don’t think it’s true?” Jaehyun tries. But honestly… it’s plausible. It would also explain a lot. “Fuck.”

“You don’t sound so sure about that, Jae.” Taeyong replies. He’s taken to staring at the brickwork instead of Jaehyun, resolutely avoiding his eyes.

Oh. So this is what insecurity looks like on Lee Taeyong?

“Hey, hey,” Jaehyun pulls Taeyong out of his daze by lacing their fingers together. “It’s no big deal, okay? People are always spreading rumours. It’ll blow over.”

“I know,” Taeyong insists, weakly, “But I just… I don’t know, felt a bit bad about it.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Jaehyun tells him. He still doesn’t look convinced, eyes darting between Jaehyun and the walls. “You idiot. Come here.”

Taeyong’s enveloped in Jaehyun’s arms again. It feels nice, like warmth of dry sun hitting your skin. He burrows deeper, and the arms around him tighten, firmly, reassuring. He smiles. He’d needed this.

Jaehyun kisses the crown of his head, a rare sign of affection -- considering they’re in school -- before he releases him.

“I’ll walk you to class.” He smiles, dimpled and genuine.

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Taeyong smiles back, crookedly.

People stared as they walked, and whispers broke out, much like they had a couple of months back. In hindsight, this wasn’t a big deal. But it made Jaehyun feel a little powerful and a little protective, and it made Taeyong want to tear people’s eyes out.

In a surge of confidence and a want to reassure his… well, his crush, Jaehyun leans in and leaves a kiss on Taeyong’s cheek. Taeyong splutters, and it’s very, very cute, and Jaehyun’s rewarded with a kiss of his own. Professor Cha waves excitedly at Jaehyun when he sees him in the doorway with Taeyong, embarrassing the both of them, but it’s fine. They’re okay.

Jaehyun makes a decision that day. He’s going to ask Lee Taeyong to be his boyfriend, preferably sooner than later, and he’s going to make the most out of it.

Things take a slight turn after that. Not for the worse, but not much for the better, either. Hwang Jinim takes an extended leave of absence. Jaehyun, the kind soul he is, feels terrible about it. Taeyong, not so much.

(“He’s always been a pain in the ass. Why are you sympathising with him?”

“He has feelings too, you know.”

“Yeah. For you.”

“...”)

The world continues turning.

When Hwang Jinim makes his much-anticipated return, the flames haven’t settled completely. Nor have his, because one look at Jaehyun and Taeyong skipping to class together has him turn his back and walk the opposite direction.

Football practice the next morning is awkward, to say the least. But neither of them can exactly avoid the issue, so in an awkward conversation outside the changing rooms, Jinim apologises to Jaehyun and the team, and Jaehyun accepts with begrudging support of the rest of them.

Of course, things don’t sort themselves out. But they work on it, as a team.

‘jungjh14 sent you a message!’

jungjh14

hey listen

are you free this saturday?

leeteewhy

yea

why?

jungjh14

there’s a game

friendly match thingy

and i was wondering if you’d like to come?

leeteewhy

yes!!!

what time is it??

jungjh14

the match starts around two and ends four ish

but you don’t have to come for the match if you don’t want to

leeteewhy

ofc i’m coming

wait

where is it??

jungjh14

sicheng’s school!!

i’ll text you the address

leeteewhy

okiee

i’ll see you there

look for me

jungjh14

always <3

leeteewhy

<3333

The game isn’t what Taeyong expects it to be. Granted, he doesn’t know shit about football, and Yuta and Johnny both refused to come with him. But it’s fine, a skinny brunet sought him in the crowd and introduced himself as Sicheng, a name Taeyong’s familiar with, now. He finds them good seats in the bleachers. Sicheng tries to explain the game to him, but Taeyong declines politely and tells him he’s just here for Jaehyun. Sicheng shoots him a look of disgust, and Taeyong can’t tell if it’s amusement or disdain that it disguises.

Some fifteen minutes in, Taeyong’s got the gist of it. He knew the basics, with Yuta’s constant rambling and some research he’d done, but it was different in reality than it was in theory.

“Hey, Sicheng,” Taeyong says, experimentally.

“Hm?”

“Uh, what are they doing now?”

“Oh, now you want to know?” Sicheng turns to him, a menacing eyebrow raised.

“Damn, sorr-”

Sicheng clears his throat, tilting his head towards Taeyong in apology. “That’s a corner. They’re basically restarting the play because the ball got kicked out.”

“Okay, thanks.” He replies, a bit stiff. “Do you play?”

“On occasion. I don’t really have time.”

“Oh? Is it school or do you have any… external obligations?”

“‘External obligations’, yes.” Sicheng laughs. “I dance.”

“That’s pretty cool.”

Sicheng acknowledges him with a smile, and they return to watching the game.

Jaehyun finds him, finally, after the first half. The teams are tied, and both are discussing strategies. Just a minute before the break ends, Jaehyun’s eyes scan the audience. Taeyong’s hard to miss, with his vibrant hair, and it plasters a huge smile on Jaehyun’s face when he catches Taeyong’s eye. A whistle blows, and the moment is gone.

It’s another hour and a half before Taeyong gets to see Jaehyun. The game had gone into penalty shoot outs, until Hwang Jinim, of all people, scored the team a goal. Taeyong quells his jealousy as Jaehyun gives him a congratulatory high-five and a pat on the back.

“They should be going to change,” Sicheng whispers to him. “Let’s get out of here.”

Confused, Taeyong follows him out. “I’m pretty sure there’s a closing ceremony-”

“I should’ve known you’re not the gullible type,” Sicheng mutters. “Jaehyun’ll be out in ah, fifteen minutes?”

“Okay…?”

“So we’re waiting for him.”

“We are?”

“Yes. I want to avoid the stampede before it starts.”

“... Right.”

Taeyong isn’t convinced, but he plays along.

“Wait, actually, we shouldn’t be waiting here. Come along.”

Sicheng drags him away to the main school building, then behind it. From here Taeyong can see the other end of the field. It makes sense.

“Are you sure we can be here?”

Sicheng glares at Taeyong, and that silences him.

About ten minutes later, Jaehyun’s running in their direction.

“You came!”

He’s changed out of his football… garb (Taeyong still doesn’t know what it’s called), wearing black jeans and a white t-shirt, and a mustard jacket so -- for lack of better words -- stylish, Taeyong knows he didn’t pick it out. All in all, he looks pretty good. It kind of knocks the air out of Taeyong’s lungs. Kind of.

“Of course I came.”

It takes him a second to register Jaehyun’s arms are thrown over his shoulders. He hugs back, just as tight, covered in the scent of Jaehyun’s peppermint shampoo and his cologne.

“I’m still here,” Sicheng interrupts.

Jaehyun flips him off.

“Don’t thank me, then,” He grumbles. “I’ll be going.”

Jaehyun throws a ‘thanks, Sichengie’ in his direction, still not having let go of Taeyong. When his retreating figure is out of earshot, Jaehyun steps back and takes Taeyong’s hand.

“Come, I wanna take you somewhere.”

Taeyong follows him, back the way he came, to behind the school building. It’s a concrete stretch of land, a boundary wall up on one side and the school building on the other. It’s oddly reminiscent of their previous encounters.

“Have you dragged me here to make-out?” Taeyong can’t help but ask.

“And what if I have?”

“Well then.” Taeyong smirks, pulling Jaehyun closer. He laughs, draping his arms over Taeyong’s shoulders.

His neck is warm, Jaehyun can feel. If he moves his fingers upwards, just slightly, they'd brush against strands of strawberry hair. Taeyong's looking at him, all intense and alluring, and then he closes the gap.

Oh , Jaehyun thinks. It's warm. And then he realises what exactly is going on. Taeyong is kissing him. Which is always an entire roller-coaster ride in itself, and Jaehyun feels his insides lighting up like an amusement park display.

Softly, he presses his lips back. This elicits a reaction out of Taeyong, who grips at the open ends of his jacket with hunger and presses his lips deeper, further. Jaehyun kisses back with fervour, a heat coursing through his veins. And if them ending up pushed against a wall is anything to go by, Taeyong feels it, too.

His hands move away from Jaehyun’s denim jacket to a surer grip on his waist, arms wrung tight and unrelenting. Jaehyun takes the opportunity to loop his arms around Taeyong’s neck and pull him closer.

It’s messy -- Taeyong can feel saliva on the corner of his mouth -- but it’s also, in his humble opinion, very hot. Jaehyun kisses fiercely, slightly competitive, like he’s challenging Taeyong. And Taeyong, the little shit he is, doesn’t give Jaehyun what he wants. He kisses with a temperament of slow and all-consuming, and it pays off when Jaehyun bits his lower lip.

Taeyong pulls back with a gasp, ready to shoot a smart-ass remark, when his head hits against the wall. Right. He forgot about that.

Jaehyun’s demeanour changes in a second. Where his eyes were clouded, they become clear and gentle.

“You okay?” He asks in a soft tone as his fingers rub against where Taeyong hit his head.

“Yeah,” Taeyong breathes. “Just fine.”

Jaehyun’s smiling now, sheepishly, and his hands have taken to stroking through Taeyong’s pink strands.

“This wasn’t how I was expecting this to happen,” Taeyong admits, blushingly.

“Yeah, me neither,” Jaehyun laughs. “Do you uh- god this is gonna sound so awkward. Do you wanna keep going?”

Taeyong just nods, trying to keep a smile from his face. Jaehyun leans in, blinks up at him once again, and sees affirmation in Taeyong's eyes. He takes initiative and brings their lips together. It's better this time. Taeyong kisses him, deeper and with intent, and returns the favour by taking Jaehyun's lower lip between his teeth.

Oh. Okay, then. Jaehyun's grip becomes harsher, slipping from Taeyong's neck to his shoulders. He darts his tongue into Taeyong's mouth, tracing behind his teeth. There's a line of metal there, and when Jaehyun's tongue smoothens across it, Taeyong lets out a whine.

Then he pulls back for a second time, his hold on Jaehyun loosening.

“Why's that there?” Jaehyun asks, curious, his words tumbling out at the rate he tries to catch his breath.

“Dentist put it there. She said I can remove it once my wisdom teeth are gone,” Taeyong explains. Jaehyun marvels at his lung capacity -- he has no trouble catching his breath.

“Oh, cool.”

“You like it, don't you?”

Jaehyun turns pink. “Don't - don't say it like that.”

“How else will I say it?” Taeyong asks, innocently.

Jaehyun can't stand it, the way he glows, the way there's nothing that seems to stop Lee Taeyong in this moment. He loses himself staring into Taeyong’s eyes, at the corners of his lips, over the ridge of his nose.

“I wanted to ask you something,” Jaehyun blurts, once he's stared at Taeyong enough and Taeyong has stared at him enough.

“Hm?” Taeyong's snapped out of his daze.

“Will you…” Just do it. “Would you,” Jaehyun corrects himself. Use the conditional tense, fool.

“Yes?” Taeyong has an amused smile playing at his lips.

“You know I really, really like you, right?” Jaehyun says, changing tactics.

“I know. As do I.”

“Right, so… um, would you like - would you like to be my boyfriend?”

Taeyong bites his very red lip to keep himself from grinning.

“Yeah- yes. I'd love that, Jaehyun.”

“Oh, thank god,” Jaehyun exhales.

“Were you expecting me to say no?” Taeyong asks, as Jaehyun leans against him, placing his head in the juncture between Taeyong's neck and shoulder.

“I don't know,” He whines, petulant.

“Jaehyunnie, look at me.”

Jaehyun looks up. Taeyong kisses him, soft and supple, on the mouth.

“I really, really like you.”

“I really, really like you, too.”

There’s a moment of content silence, both of them just basking in each other’s presence. The sun shines, and-

“Don’t you have an award to receive?”

“Fuck.”