Archive of Our Own

The one flaw that Donghyuck is aware that he has is that he doesn’t know when to give up. While it sounds like a nice thing that he can brag about when talking about things like learning and grades, that persistence can be a nuisance for some things. One of those things just happens to be Mark Lee.

Hyuck met Mark few months ago, at the beginning of the school year, when he sat next to him on accident at their first Psychology class of the year. He wondered how he hadn’t seen Mark before, with it being his first day of his fourth year at the university, and not the first day at the university.

Mark is exceptional. Mark is also not interested. But instead of walking away like any normal being would, Hyuck persists. He’s not really that interested anymore, being rejected so many times isn’t exactly good for his ego. But. Mark is a challenge.

He does every single thing he can to get his attention. He sends him notes, nudges him on the shoulder, throws little balls of paper, tries to slip his hand in Mark’s. Mark dodges all attempts with the precision of a Swiss watch. He pulls away, switches seats, he sometimes avoids him in hallways. The only place Mark can’t avoid him is Psychology class, and that makes Hyuck a nuisance to the people around him. Every class that ends with getting Mark to read one of his notes, while also not getting reprimanded by the professor, Hyuck counts it as a success.

That’s until the TA catches him.

“Donghyuck?” TA Moon calls after him.

“Yes.”

“See me after class.”

The thing about Psychology TA Moon Taeil is that Hyuck gets intimidated at times simply because he’s totally Hyuck’s type. He’d be all over that if he had seen him before he saw Mark. That actually is the direct quote from that time last week when Jeno wanted to give him a talking to and failed. Too bad that he’s the TA. Even if Hyuck wanted something to happen between them, it wouldn’t be ethically correct, and TA Moon is a stickler for that shit.

Ever since he started going to the university, all he’s had has been bad luck when it comes to dating. The last few months only prove that hypothesis of his even more.

But it’s all about to change.

Hyuck hangs back after class, he gathers his things painstakingly slowly because then he wouldn’t have to wait for long until everyone in the lecture theater leaves. He then heads downstairs, once again slowly because TA Moon is gathering his own things. He’s very detailed and focused, and Hyuck almost says something because he hasn’t acknowledged that he’s there. But TA Moon is well aware of his presence.

“What are you doing?” he asks him. For a moment Hyuck wonders if it’s a trick question, but it can’t be, it’s too straightforward. TA Moon isn’t mean enough to be throwing trick questions at ten o’clock in the morning.

“You told me to see you after class,” he answers, innocently.

“Yes, I did. What are you doing during class?”

Maybe it was a trick question after all.

“Oh, that? I’m…” he pauses, thinking how to get himself out of this one.

“You spend every class flirting with Mark Lee and he keeps ignoring you.”

When he says that, TA Moon is looking down at his bag as he slips a few more sheets of paper in. It sounds casual and like it’s a fact, and not his opinion. It takes Hyuck aback. He didn’t think TA Moon paid attention to that.

“Yeah. Sorry. Am I being disruptive?” he returns. At this TA Moon finally stands up straight and looks at him, eyes meeting his. Hyuck swallows. This is exactly what he tries to avoid. TA Moon’s eyes are fucking beautiful, and it’s not the first time that Hyuck is on the verge of losing his breath because of them.

“Yes, very. Annoyingly so,” TA Moon says. He pauses, using that moment to zip up his bag, before he adds, “Embarrassing also.”

“Embarrassing.” He repeats the word in attempt to figure out what it means. Why is TA Moon embarrassed by what Donghyuck’s doing?

“Have you tried reverse psychology?” TA Moon asks another question that Hyuck is confused by.

“You haven’t taught me regular psychology yet, I don’t know what I’m supposed to reverse.”

Donghyuck folds his arms over his chest, and he takes a quick glance of the clock that’s on the wall above the black board. He’s low-key proud of his reply, but he doesn’t want to show it. That’s why he lets his impatience be so evident. To hide his arrogance.

“The cold shoulder. Not being interested in him might make him interested in you.”

“You think that will work?” It’s an innocent question. He needs TA Moon to clear things up because this was the last thing he expected. Love advice from someone who’s technically his professor.

“If it doesn’t, at least I won’t have to go through a long line of your classmates complaining about you talking during class again.”

That clears everything up.

“Got it.”

“Good luck,” TA Moon concludes, and he picks up the last of his things before he heads towards the stairs that lead out of the lecture theater.

“Thank you,” Hyuck returns, his arms falling down in their usual position.

Well, that was weird, Hyuck thinks. He feels like there’s something more here.

He needs to get to the bottom of it.

Taeil likes to think that he has made a pretty sweet deal. He’s roommates with his childhood best friend, he’s almost done with his thesis which was supposed to take him longer than it has, and he has an okay job.

With that being said, it’s not perfect.

He’d keep living with Taeyong if he could, but he knows that won’t last forever because Taeyong has a boyfriend that he’s been in a happy relationship with for about a year. They’re endgame, and Taeil knows that.

When it comes to his thesis, it could also be better than it is. He’s maybe weeks of work away from being done with it, and he’ll be done with it in a shorter time frame than it’s expected, which is impossible to pull off, but it’s also a longer time frame than he initially planned.

His job might be pretty decent, but it can be better. He wishes he had a better position than just a TA. He doesn’t feel like teaching is his forte, he’d rather be doing than teaching. He started applying for jobs during the summer, but none of those applications have been successful. So he decided to remain as a TA for the semester, with the option of both renewing and terminating his contract at any given moment.

And the last thing of all that’s decent but not perfect is that Taeil is single. He’s been single for a few years now, which on one hand is great, because he doesn’t have to bother anyone with his doctorate and all the struggles that come with preparing a doctorate. But on the other, it sucks, cause Taeil gets lonely and lovesick. The fact that he works at a university where he has to look at hormonal new adults and all their public displays of affection isn’t helping either.

Taeil is sitting on the couch in the living room, proofreading a printed out version of his thesis paper, and adding notes to it with a red colored pencil. This is where he spends most of his nights now. If not on the couch with his paper, then with a book, doing more research, or going over the questionnaires he had students from the university fill out for the survey he needed.

“Shnookums, I’m home,” Taeyong announces as he walks into the apartment. Taeyong works a nine to five at the city government office. He’s in charge of the parks in the city, and overall making sure that the city is a cleaner place. That’s how he met Doyoung, his boyfriend. Doyoung is the local spokesperson for the national park services.

“Shnookums?” Taeil questions, raising an eyebrow, though he already knows the answer.

“Doyoung keeps ix-naying the nicknames I give him, so I’m just trying that one out today,” Taeyong smiles at him, and Taeil groans in response. A few months ago, when he and Taeyong were out drinking one night, Taeil might have told him Doyoung’s secret, in the form of the nickname Doyoung likes. It’s a bit frustrating that Taeyong doesn’t remember, “How was your Thursday?”

“Why say it like that?”

“We all know what happens on Thursdays,” Taeyong wiggles his eyebrows. Not this again. Taeil once let it slip, and now it comes up regularly. How does Taeyong remember that, and not the nickname? It happened on the same night, “How’s that cute student of yours?”

“Annoying,” Taeil responds, as he moves the papers around the couch to make enough space for Taeyong to sit down.

“Still?”

Taeil lets out a breath to emphasize his point.

“So annoying that both me and Dr. Kang started receiving complaints from other students. I had to talk to him about it today.”

What Taeyong gathers from that sentence though is not what Taeil was aiming for.

“Ooh, you talked to him.”

“Not like that Taeyong.”

“I know. But still. You hadn’t actually talked to him one on one before.”

Taeil’s slightly more frustrated about it than he should. He doesn’t get crushes often. So it’s really discouraging that the first crush he’s gotten in the last few years is on a student. It’s not like it’s forbidden. But it’s just not right. Besides, Donghyuck’s not interested.

“So what if I talk to him. It’s not like I can date him.”

“Not while you’re the TA. When you quit, you can.”

By the time he quits, Taeil figures, Donghyuck would probably have worn down Mark.

“With how things are going, I don’t think I’m ever gonna get to quit.”

“You never know. Keep applying, you’re gonna get past the first interview one of these days. Or, you know, get an actual first interview.”

“I can’t fucking wait,” Taeil says, allowing himself to imagine the freedom of moving on with that part of his life.

Taeyong gets off the couch, then walks to the kitchen and gets himself a glass of water. He breaks the little silence between them after a few moments, with the most burning question he has.

“What do you think about shnookums?”

“Not even in a million years. If you call Doyoung that he’ll break up with you right there and then.”

In one ear out the other. Hyuck has no plans to ‘reverse psychology’ Mark into dating him, cause if that’s the thing that does it, Hyuck doesn’t want it. He’s desperately needy, and he’s always clingy and initiating some physical contact, and if Mark can’t be comfortable with any of that, then there’s no fucking point in him trying.

So he keeps doing what he’s doing, annoying Mark and everyone around him at the same time. It’s not like he wants to date Mark anymore, now that he can say they’re friends it’s just more of a thrill of making him annoyed.

He’s almost there, with Mark turning red in the face. If only TA Moon didn’t catch him. Again.

“Yo! Spoony!” TA Moon calls after someone. Donghyuck only deduces that he’s talking to him because TA Moon is looking straight at him.

“Me?” he asks, pointing at himself, just to make sure that it’s him.

“Yes you. Quit it.”

“Sorry,” Hyuck responds, fighting the urge to roll his eyes.

“We talked about it, Donghyuck.”

It might be something in the tone TA Moon uses, but it makes Hyuck even more curious.

“I know. I remember. It was life changing,” Hyuck says, quickly switching to a question he really needs the answer to, “Can I see you after class again? I have a question.”

“As long as you shut up right now,” TA Moon offers in return.

Donghyuck doesn’t answer with any words. He instead nods, then makes a motion of zipping up his lips and settles into his seat. This is gonna be a long lecture.

TA Moon has grown balls overnight, and it makes Hyuck curious. He hasn’t seen this side of the TA before, the more assertive, confident TA. TA Moon has constantly been a friendly figure in the Psychology department. The one that helps the students get through midterms and lets them know which materials they need, which bits are more important than others. TA Moon doesn’t get emotional. He also doesn’t get invested in their private lives, so to see him actually invested in what Donghyuck’s doing is frankly a miracle.

Donghyuck entertains the idea that getting TA Moon to show more emotion is a fluke in the system. But then he remembers that it’s happening two Thursdays in a row. Something happening twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern. Hyuck needs to see if he can make it happen a third time, that way he’ll know for sure.

While he waits until the lecture theater empties out, Donghyuck’s getting overly excited. On the verge of cocky, even. TA Moon is patiently waiting for him at his desk, his things still spread around the desk, his laptop open too. It’s a mess. But it also means TA Moon isn’t on guard like his usual, punctual, tidy self that Hyuck has gotten to know.

“What’s your question?” TA Moon asks immediately after Hyuck approaches the desk. Donghyuck would crumble under the eye contact if it wasn’t for the forty minutes of anticipation and preparation. He’s cocky enough to be able to handle it.

“How are you?” Donghyuck returns with a question of his own.

“That’s your question.”

“Yep.”

“What are you up to now?”

“Nothing. You just surprised me by actually scolding me in front of everyone, so I thought I’d ask if everything is okay.”

TA Moon eyes him from head to toe. Hyuck suspects that he’s trying to figure him out. But it’s not that easy. He should know, he’s been trying to figure out TA Moon for months now.

“If you don’t have a valid question, then go be annoying somewhere else,” the TA says, his voice taking on a tart tone.

But Hyuck has a response.

“You’re not supposed to insult your students.”

“How did I insult you?”

“You called me spoony.”

“Do you know what that means?”

“I googled it, it means foolish,” Hyuck states matter-of-factly.

TA Moon actually rolls his eyes at him. The fucking nerve.

“What else does it mean?”

“I read foolish and stopped reading.”

Upon hearing that, TA Moon sighs. Donghyuck can’t believe his luck. Time number three. That means, there’s something here. It’s not just Donghyuck.

“Next time if you’re going to google shit during my lecture instead of paying attention, at least have the decency to read all the way through.”

“But you just called me annoying.”

“That’s a fact, not an insult,” TA Moon declares. The confidence almost makes Hyuck’s heart jump out.

Okay. It’s time for the next step in his plan.

“I love how you flirt with me.”

“Someone has to, since Mark doesn’t have the decency to do it and shut you up.”

There’s no denial, so it has to be reality. They’re starting to flirt, that’s what this conversation is.

“Bitter much?” Hyuck crooks an eyebrow, taking it up a few notches. He’s great at flirting and it’s time to show it.

“Sure,” TA Moon sighs again before saying, “Just stop disrupting class.”

“If disrupting class is what gets you talking I’ll have to do more of it.”

“I’ve created a monster.”

“I was a monster before I met you.”

“Please?” It sounds like bargaining. But TA Moon’s facial expression softens, which is the only reason why Donghyuck finds himself actually considering it. When he decides, the words leave his lips so fast that he kind of loses control and says something he regrets immediately.

“Fine. There’s no reason to beg, princess.”

“What did you say?” TA Moon replies immediately. His eyes are widening, and he’s now openly staring at Hyuck’s face. Hyuck surprised him. Hyuck surprised himself, but he especially surprised the TA.

“Fuck. Please don’t fail me.”

He can’t believe that he put his foot in his mouth like that. But then he looks at TA Moon, and the blush painting his perky cheeks.

“Leave before you say something even more stupid.”

“Good idea,” Hyuck nods, turning around immediately. He’s already rushing out, but he stops to add just one last thing, “Stop blushing though, you’re adorable when you blush, it makes me want to stay and say more stupid things.”

All Hyuck really needs in order to stop bothering Mark is find someone else to bother. Another challenge for him to tackle. It’s that easy because Mark made it clear that he’s not interested in him, and Mark also made it clear that he’s interested in someone else.

TA Moon Taeil just happens to be that challenge that Hyuck needs.

Challenge accepted.

Taeil panics his way to the office. He cannot believe that that just happened. He feels caught and exposed. He can’t recover from this easily. He flirted with Donghyuck. Idiot. He’s such an idiot. He gave himself away.

He leaves all of his things on his desk, and plops himself down in the chair. He takes a deep breath in, the conversation replaying in his mind on a constant. The embarrassment he feels is starting to give him a headache.

He needs to unload immediately, so he picks up his phone and calls Taeyong.

“Hey. Can you talk?”

“Um, sure, I can spare a few minutes. Did something happen with that student?” Taeyong asks, hitting the nail right on the head. Taeil isn’t too surprised. They’ve known each other since they were kids, Taeyong knows him better than anyone else.

“Yes, Taeyong. Obviously. Otherwise I wouldn’t be calling while you’re at work.”

“Damn. Calm down. What happened?”

“We flirted,” Taeil says, then swallows before he adds the key detail, “He called me princess.”

“He got you right in the kink,” Taeyong says with a chuckle. He cannot believe this either. Taeyong is laughing at him. “You know, I can cover rent for a few months while you look for a job.”

“It’s not funny.”

“I think it’s hilarious. I can’t wait to tell Doyoung in fact.”

“What do I do?” Taeil finally asks, hoping for some advice that will make him feel better about this.

“I suggest you take a long shower when you get home. I’ll bring food, pick up Doyoung and we’ll calm you down.”

“Okay.”

There is no reason why he shouldn’t follow Taeyong’s instructions. Within minutes after he arrives at the apartment, he finds himself in the bathroom, taking a really long cold shower, trying to clear his head. He’s all mixed up now. What he thought he had decided no longer matters. Because Donghyuck has a different idea in mind. He’s all about do, not so much about think. Taeil on the other hand is all think and less do. He can’t risk this by doing things Hyuck’s way and not thinking. He can’t risk his future for a fling with a student that’ll forget all about him within a week.

That’s what he’s trying to explain to his friends.

“If he’s the one flirting with you, then what’s the problem?” Doyoung asks.

“I’m not supposed to flirt back.”

“You’re literally there for a few more months and you never plan on teaching again,” Taeyong reminds him. Both of them are trying to help, but Taeil’s way too cautious to allow himself that.

“My ethics will still be put in question if it gets out that I dated a student. If I apply for any position at a school…”

“Right. That reminds me,” Doyoung interrupts him, “They’re looking for a new educational psychologist in my old elementary school.”

“They probably want someone with experience,” Taeil dismisses it. He’s had his hopes up way too many times, applied and got turned down from too many places that were less demanding than a school. He’s not gonna get an interview, he knows that much.

“I already submitted your CV, you should know by next week.”

“Thanks,” he says on instinct. Even though he knows that nothing will pan out of it, the fact that Doyoung thought of him means a lot. When he and Taeyong first started dating, Taeil was worried that Doyoung wouldn’t like him and that they wouldn’t get along. It’s important to him that he gets along with the person his best friend is dating.

“You were saying?” Taeyong queries, getting them back on subject.

“If it gets out that I had dated a student when I was a TA it’ll be even harder to get a job. My entire field of work revolves around ethics and morals.”

“Flirting isn’t dating,” Doyoung states, and it’s kind of enough to shut Taeil up. He and Doyoung have gotten close enough to know how to minimize each other’s anxiety. Even if it’s just temporary.

Donghyuck didn’t say anything to anyone. He just suffered in silence from the faux pas. All he could actually do was keep the promise he gave TA Moon, and keep quiet, not just during the psych lecture with Dr. Kang on Tuesday, but throughout the week. He was too busy thinking of how to proceed with the flirtations anyway.

He’s well behaved in class on Thursday too. He’s taking notes, keeping quiet and actually paying attention. Only getting distracted by TA Moon’s round behind, then getting excited for what he has in mind. He can’t wait until the lecture is over so he can talk to TA Moon again.

“Are you okay?”

Mark asks him as soon as the lecture ends, a worried look on his face.

“Yes, Mark. I’m excellent. Why do you ask?”

“You didn’t say a word to me during the entire lecture.”

“Was I supposed to?” Hyuck acts innocent with his questions, blinking a few times while Mark becomes even more confused.

“No. It’s just that you usually do.”

“Didn’t feel like it today,” he tells Mark, seconding it with a shrug. He walks away moments after, heading downstairs.

He struggles to make his way down as the rest of his classmates are rushing to get out of the theater. It takes him a few minutes, but by the time he gets down there, most of the theater is empty, which is perfect. Exactly what he wanted. This way, by the time he breaks the ice and gets into it, there won’t be any witnesses to his awkward flirting.

“You were right.”

“About what?” TA Moon asks. He seems distracted, stacking the papers he received in a neat pile, but he also seems kind of drained.

“Both spoony and reverse psychology,” Hyuck lets him know. He did look up spoony again to find out the other meaning of the word, and he has to agree with TA Moon, it’s a good word to describe him.

“Congratulations.”

“Thanks. I wouldn’t get that far ahead of myself, cause I lost interest in the meantime, but I thought I’d let you know.”

TA Moon lets out a deep breath before he responds with a simple “Alright.”

He pauses with what he’s doing, still sat in his seat, and looks up at Hyuck, anticipating whatever’s about to happen.

For a moment Hyuck considers that TA Moon might be giving him the cold shoulder now. The next thing he does is connect the dots with the other odd things that he noticed during class and he decides to ask to soothe his worry.

“Are you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You seem a little tired.” Hyuck only says the obvious. The other thing he thinks is going on is that TA Moon might be feeling some pain. A headache probably, those normally accompany exhaustion.

“I was finishing up my thesis, so I stayed up late,” TA Moon explains. Just saying it seems to get him to relax, and the little gestures he notices make Hyuck realize something.

They’re the same. Hyuck might be after a bachelor’s degree, while TA Moon is getting a PhD, and there might be a bit of an age difference between them, which is still a smaller difference than the one of his aunt and uncle, but they have the same worries. Passing exams, finishing thesis. All-nighters that leave you looking like a zombie in the morning. They share that, and honestly, Hyuck can’t wait until they share that as partners.

He’s determined to make that happen now, that’s why he turns the conversation into flirting right there and then.

“Will I have to call you doctor after you get your PhD?”

“You don’t have to do anything Donghyuck,” TA Moon responds, and it sounds a bit too genuine for Hyuck to be able to write it off as flirting. He wishes TA Moon would bite like he did last time. Now he has to turn it up a notch.

“Just Hyuck is fine. I think we’re close enough to call each other by our first names,” he says, proudly.

“I don’t know about that.”

Ah. He’s gonna have to take a chance again, and this one on actual purpose.

“Oh, come on Taeil-hyung. You can call me Hyuckie if you prefer. You know you want to. Besides, I’ve been well behaved during the entire lecture. I deserve a little reward.”

TA Moon’s lips quirk into a smile, few drops of blush starting to color his cheeks. Yes, this is exactly what he wanted. But at the same time Hyuck is going to turn into a puddle. Jesus.

“You’re walking that line again.”

“Sure. But it made you smile, and you didn’t smile once during the entire lecture. I really needed to see it,” Hyuck says, smiling back at TA Moon, “Mission achieved. I’ll be on my way. See you next Thursday.”

“I’m already dreading it,” TA Moon tells him, a hint of a smirk remaining on his lips. Yes. A goddamn success.

“I know damn well that you’re looking forward to it.”

Hyuck always starts with his finals week preparation a month in advance. It’s how he’s managed to get through his previous three years as a university student, and it’s how he’s going to get through this last one. He makes a plan for every subject, and how to attack it. There are always lists involved and a part of the money he put into savings gets taken out and used for energy drinks and beef jerky. He depends on that plan. And now that he’s taking part in a side project of trying to get TA Moon to date him, he’s gonna need that plan more than ever. ‘Flirting with TA Moon’ needs to get put into the schedule.

He’s doing that all afternoon, cooped up in his room. It normally takes him up to three days before he gets it done, but the sooner he finishes the better, it’s one less thing to worry about.

He only leaves his room to get himself some food, but even that quick trip proves itself to be a mistake. Cause Jeno and Jaemin are in the living room, and those two are always up for a conversation. Match made in fucking heaven.

Hyuck met Jaemin on his first day of university, they became friends because Hyuck couldn’t find anyone else that’s as loud and energetic as himself. He met Jeno a few months later, after Jaemin met him at some party and they started dating. It wasn’t in the plan for him and Jeno to become roommates, but one thing led to another, and frankly it was better than living in a dorm room.

“Are you okay? Mark said you weren’t feeling well.” Jeno asks the question the moment Hyuck takes his first step out of his room. Hyuck should’ve known it would get out. Much like himself, Mark can’t keep his mouth shut.

“As I told Mark, I’m feeling excellent. I don’t know where he got that from,” he responds. He’s quick to find himself to the kitchen, putting a cup of noodles in the microwave.

“Apparently you haven’t been hitting on him today during class,” Jeno further explains.

“I made a deal with TA Moon that I wouldn’t talk during class.”

“And you didn’t break your promise?”

“Nope.”

“Mark was right. You really aren’t feeling well,” Jaemin pipes up, promptly getting off the couch. He rushes to the kitchen where Hyuck is standing and puts a hand against Hyuck’s forehead, feeling for his temperature.

“Stop that,” Hyuck pushes his arm away, “I’m fine. I’m just not chasing after Mark anymore.”

“Why not?”

“He’s not interested.”

“We’ve been saying that for months. He wants to date Jaehyun-hyung,” Jaemin says. None of it is new information, so Hyuck doesn’t appreciate the tone.

“There’s someone I’m interested in, that’s interested in me, but it’s also a challenge, cause we can’t date.”

It’s obvious to his friends. It’s not like it’s something he hadn’t mentioned before.

“Oh my god. Leave TA Moon alone,” Jeno groans.

“He wants me Jeno.”

“No one wants you, you’re just an egoist.”

“You’ll see. You will all see.”

“And the dramatics have begun,” Jaemin whispers, rolling his eyes at Hyuck. Luckily for him, the microwave goes off, giving him an out from the conversation.

“And they’ve ended,” he says. He gets himself the noodles and a pair of chopsticks, and he’s on his way back to his room, “Later losers.”

Hyuck now has even more incentive to get TA Moon to date him.

The conversation with Donghyuck is what wakes Taeil up just the right amount. After that little burst of energy he gets from him, he’s able to finish packing up all the papers and the projector, then make his way to the office. He leaves the papers he got from the students on Dr. Kang’s desk, then plops himself on the couch in the office. He discusses with himself whether or not he should take a nap.

He can sneak in solid twenty minutes of a power nap before Dr. Kang arrives, and that just happens to be the best idea he’s had in the last 24 hours. Even more than the last minute idea to rewrite the entire conclusion for his thesis.

Just as he slumps into the couch, letting himself relax, a thought that causes him to get jittery pops up into his head. Hyuck getting ballsy and saying his name. It’s jitters, uneasiness, but there’s some excitement mixed into all of those emotions too. Holy fucking shit. They’re so close to actually happening, but so far away at the same time. If only things could change quickly so Taeil could decide what to do. If only he knew exactly what was going on in Hyuck’s head, cause it seems like Hyuck changed his minds about Mark really quickly.

It’s then, just as he makes those wishes, that his phone starts going off. He sits up, takes his phone out of his back pocket and answers the call.

“Hello?”

“Hi. Am I speaking to Moon Taeil?”

“Yes.”

“Hello Mr. Moon. I’m calling from the Dalton International School. It’s regarding your application for the position of educational psychologist. We want to schedule an interview with you.”

As soon as he hears that Taeil goes into autopilot mode as he chats with the lady. He gets up and goes to his desk, grabbing a piece of paper to write down the details so he doesn’t get anything mixed up. He’s only doing so to stop himself from celebrating, because he hadn’t received a single interview in his six months of applying for jobs all around the city.

He’s at his desk, taking in the excitement that has been added to his previous feelings when Dr. Kang arrives.

“Good news?” he asks.

“Kind of. I got a job interview.”

“That;s great. But I have to say, you’ll be hard to replace.”

“I doubt that.”

“I swear. Mrs. Bae wanted me to tell you that she’s spent three and a half years trying to get Lee Donghyuck to stop talking, but you did it with two conversations. He’s been well behaved all week long.”

Taeil doesn’t exactly know what to do with that information. It doesn’t make sense.

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. I’m serious.”

That’s really weird. Either Hyuck is actually taking that conversation seriously, or there’s something wrong. But Hyuck seems pretty normal.

He might be serious about everything he’s said to Taeil.

But Taeil can’t let himself believe that. Not yet, at least.

He further celebrates his interview by preparing his thesis defense some more when he gets back home. They might be interested in hiring him with his degree and no experience at the job, but with a PhD that he completed in shorter time than expected, they might give him an actual chance. It’s his last hurrah, reading through what he wrote the previous night before he goes to his room, drops on the bed and sleeps for some twelve hours.

He’s so immersed in reading, so focused at staying awake, that he doesn’t notice that Taeyong and Doyoung have come back from work.

“Overly preparing will only make you worry more,” Taeyong says instead of a greeting, before quickly disappearing in his room. So Taeil responds to Doyoung who takes a seat on one of the stools for the kitchen counter, and is looking at Taeil, expecting for a conversation to start.

“I’m not worried, I know every line of the paper. It’s just going over the presentation in my head cause I can’t wait to get it over with.”

“Yongie says you got the interview.”

Taeil texted him soon after he finished the call with the lady from the school. He really needed to tell someone about it.

“Yeah. I just heard today. Thank you so much for submitting my CV.”

Doyoung shrugs, making it seem like it’s nothing.

“You’ll thank me if you get the job. I was in the neighborhood and had a few minutes, it was no big deal.”

“It is to me,” Taeil admits, then he switches to a different subject because it seems like Doyoung doesn’t want to take credit for this, “What nickname did Taeyong go for today?”

“Sugar plum,” Doyoung says, seconding it with a smile.

“That’s his best one yet.”

“He’s getting closer,” Doyoung responds, “What are we getting for dinner?”

“Something quick hopefully. I can’t wait to go to bed.”

Hyuck has a plan. Kind of.

The main part of the kind of plan is looking like boyfriend material. TA Moon is quite a mature guy, he has his life figured out, and Hyuck doesn’t. He has so much more to do before he can say he has things figured out. What he thinks he has to do to make up for that is emulate that he has his life figured out, and one way to do that is dress like it’s true. Fake it till you make it, right?

His closet is a bit limited at the moment, and none of what he owns screams soft boyfriend. Nothing is baggy and beige or brown, those are the main soft boyfriend colors for Hyuck’s complexion. Since he can’t go shopping at seven in the morning, he has to ask Jeno for a favor. And first thing in the morning, when Jeno isn’t really interested in any type of talking, that’s a tricky thing to pull off.

“Can I borrow that really large sweater Jaemin bought you cause he has no depth perception?” he asks, standing in Jeno’s doorway. Jeno doesn’t answer, he just looks at him with a poker face. Hyuck didn’t expect him to answer after all. He knows better than to expect Jeno to be cheerful and talkative in the morning. But he is surprised that Jeno indulges him and fishes out the sweater from the closet and throws it towards him. Hyuck expected to beg a whole lot. “Thank you.”

Hyuck rushes back to his own room, slamming the door behind himself from eagerness.

The sweater basically swallows him whole, and he has to roll up the sleeves just so he can use his hands. But it achieves exactly what he wanted it to achieve. Cause the moment TA Moon walks into the auditorium his eyes land on Hyuck, and he blushes as he looks away. Hyuck is satisfied with himself for the duration of the entire lesson.

He spends another lecture paying attention and keeping quiet, cause he promised. Not bothering Mark at all. Reverse psychology turns out to be working like a charm on Mark, it seems, cause for a second Thursday in a row, after the lecture is over, he’s eager to talk to Hyuck. If only Hyuck knew how easy this was months ago.

“Let’s go get coffee,” Mark suggests. But Hyuck has something else in mind.

“I can’t right now,” he responds, already looking at how he can make his way down the stairs in the quickest fashion.

“I’m buying.”

“I still can’t. I’m busy.”

“You’re never busy for me.” Mark says, pouting at Hyuck. Hyuck is frankly frustrated at that comment. He doesn’t really understand what’s going on in Mark’s mind. If only he did. Cause what exactly is that supposed to mean?

“I am from now on,” he says, then catches himself, “Sorry, that didn’t come out right. I’m just not interested in the way I used to be.”

“Seriously?”

“Why? Did you change your mind about dating me?” Hyuck then asks.

“No. Never in a thousand years.”

“Then we’re finally on the same page Markie. I’ve moved on. Enjoy it.”

“You never move on. That’s part of the issue,” Mark tells him as Donghyuck starts slowly edging away.

“I have now,” he responds. He’s starting to take larger steps now, wanting to spend as much time he possibly can with TA Moon before one of them has to rush off to their next commitment. “I’m sure you’ll find someone to get coffee with. Maybe tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow. And you’ll explain the fuck is going on?”

“Sure. Let’s say that’ll happen.”

He leaves Mark with that and finds himself downstairs with TA Moon moments later. He doesn’t think about anything on his way down, all he does is feel the excitement.

The excitement gets extinguished quickly.

“Do you need anything?”

Damn. Slightly colder than Hyuck was hoping for, but it’s nothing that he can’t work with. TA Moon seems a bit different today though. He seems to be in a rush. Luckily, Hyuck likes it when things move quickly.

“Just a chat. With you.”

“With me? Did Mark ditch you again?” TA Moon returns, not even looking at Hyuck as he packs the last of his things.

Hyuck smiles at him.

“Stop being jealous, I don’t like him that way anymore.”

“I’m not…”

“Yes, you are,” he interrupts him. TA Moon exhales sharply before he finally looks at Donghyuck, “What do you think? I dressed up for you. I was going for a soft, cream filled donut look.”

“You nailed it.”

“I knew I made an impression as soon as our eyes met,” he notes, watching as TA Moon smirks and puts on his coat.

“Do you mind if we walk?” he then asks.

“Not at all,” Donghyuck shakes his head. A moment later, they’re walking together, “How have you been? Did you get some rest?”

“I did. I’m good. How about you?”

Yes. Genuine conversation. This was exactly what Hyuck was hoping for.

“I’m good too. I’m starting to get ready for finals. How’s your thesis, when are you defending it?”

“It’s finished. I submitted it on Monday. I’m defending it in about two weeks.”

“What day and what time? I want to be outside the window with a banner.”

“A banner? Like a parent that’s slightly too invested?”

Hyuck can’t believe he’s getting him to show more and more of himself. He’s never been happier to be talking to anyone.

“Exactly. I’m thinking Pokemon themed. Or were you more of a Yu-Gi-Oh! kid.”

“Are those my only two options?” TA Moon asks. Hyuck is doing his best to keep up, and succeeding, but he can’t help but notice that they’re walking so fast, they’re basically running.

“Yeah, you’re a nineties kid,” Hyuck confirms. It’s starting to get uncomfortable, so he has to say something about it, “You’re walking really fast today. Are you in a rush?”

“Yes. I have a job interview in an hour, I don’t want to be late.”

This confuses Hyuck a bit.

“A job interview? You have a job. You’re the best TA in the world.”

“I don’t want to be a TA forever.”

“So if you get a job, you won’t be my TA anymore.”

“Yep. I won’t be anyone’s, but also, I specifically won’t be your TA anymore.”

This is when they finally slow down, steps away from the office door.

“Then you can be my boyfriend. Cool,” Hyuck concludes. His eyes focus on TA Moon’s face, watching carefully as his facial expression relaxes. His entire stance softens, but what Donghyuck enjoys more than anything else is the fact that Taeil doesn’t say no. So Hyuck takes his cue before his too much gene takes over, “Good luck on your interview. It’ll be bittersweet for me, but I do hope you get the job. It’ll suck not seeing you on Thursdays, but not only can I not wait until we can date and we can see each other every day, I also can’t wait to go back to disrupting class and making some new TA’s life hell on Thursday morning.”

“You have some huge balls.”

“Oh, princess, I can’t wait until you see them.”

Hyuck starts walking back, and Taeil scrunches his face in disapproval.

“Disgusting.”

“Yep. I knew it as soon as I said it. But I’m sticking to it.”

Taeil doesn’t want to get his hopes up, but he seems to do well during the interview, despite the excitement and slight shock he’s feeling from the conversation with Donghyuck. He’s going against people who actually have experience in the field, so his chances are pretty slim, but pretty slim chances are much stronger than nonexistent ones, so Taeil can’t complain.

By the time he gets home after the interview he gets a call that he’s invited for a second interview, one on one with the school principal. Taeil feels like screaming from the rooftop because of how happy he is about it.

He has an actual chance. It all might actually happen. He might actually move on from being an underpaid TA.

He might get a chance to date Donghyuck.

Once he gets to the bottom of whatever Hyuck is thinking, that is.

The interview with the principal is the following day, and Taeil’s way more nervous about it than he thought he would be. He’s done way more scary things, and he isn’t sure why he gets that nervous about it.

He gets Taeyong to give him a pep talk in the morning before he gets to the school, and it helps him a whole lot. He feels ready.

“Why did you choose psychology as a major?” the school principal asks him. That’s a simple enough question to answer, they just want to know how much you love the field you’re interested in working.

“I have always been interested in how the mind works and I have always been interested in helping people. Psychology was something that brought those two interests together, and once I started learning about it, I didn’t want to stop.”

“You took a break after graduating, and worked for the child services for a while. Then you got your MA in a short period. Now you’re working on a PhD in Educational Psychology. How far along are you?” the principal is reading from Taeil’s CV, that’s what prompts the question.

“Almost done. I’m defending my thesis in a couple of weeks.”

“Technically, by the time you’re supposed to start working here, you’ll have that completed that PhD. Potentially?”

“Yes, if I pass, all that’ll be left is the university to formally award me the title.”

“And you’ve been working as a TA in the meantime.”

“Yes,” Taeil confirms.

The principal pauses, looking over Taeil’s CV again. He finally speaks moments later, a sentence that gives Taeil some hope.

“That’s valuable experience. Your few years at the child services also. I think that you could potentially fit really well in our school. We’ll let you know of our decision by the end of the day.”

What follows is the principal asking if Taeil has any questions. The conversation lasts for a few more minutes, Taeil gets all the information he needs before saying goodbye.

He just really hopes the stars are aligned in his favor and it all goes well.

When he finds out about whether or not he got the job it’s that same day, and upon hearing about it his friends decide to take him to the nearest bar. Getting you drunk is what friends are for, anyway.

“To Taeil, on his new, better job,” Doyoung prompts, raising his glass. Taeyong and Taeil follow suit.

“To Taeil,” Taeyong seconds it, clinking his glass against Taeil’s, “I wish you all the best, bud. And I wish that we come here again next week, to celebrate your PhD too.”

“If everything goes to plan, we’ll be here,” Taeil promises. That’s a happy thought. It would be amazing if it could come full circle around. Everything solving itself in a span of a week could be the best outcome one could hope for.

“I’ll drink to that.”

They’re all taking a sip from their drink when Taeil hears a familiar voice.

“Taeil-hyung!”

Taeil looks up to double check, cause that just can’t actually be his luck. But now, it really is true. He wonders what the odds are, Taeil doesn’t believe in faith, cause it’s stupid. But he does believe in coincidences. This is one hell of a coincidence. Everything about the day feels that way.

“Shit,” he immediately says, almost choking on his drink.

“What’s happening?” Taeyong asks, but Hyuck is moving fast, so there’s no time for him to actually answer.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Hyuck says, smiling from ear to ear.

“Ditto.”

“Introduce us,” Doyoung says. It almost sounds like a treat, which Taeil has learned is what Doyoung sounds like from time to time when he’s talking under his breath. He doesn’t mean anything scary with it.

Taeil clears his throat before he answers.

“Right. These are my friends Taeyong and Doyoung. And this is Donghyuck, he’s one of my students.”

The realization strikes his friends, cause it’s not like Taeil has been holding back the name of his cute, annoying student.

Donghyuck rolls his eyes at him.

“Pshhh, one of his students. I’m the most important student.”

“You sure are,” Doyoung responds, turning towards Taeil to give him a smile. They’re getting ready to tease the shit out of him, Taeil knows it.

“Are you alone?” Taeyong then asks Donghyuck.

“My friends are supposed to arrive any minute now.”

“You guys should join us. Or at least, you shouldn’t wait by yourself.”

It’s Doyoung that extends the invitation. Of course it was going to be Doyoung. Taeyong would dare.

“That’s an offer I can’t refuse,” Hyuck says, then takes a seat on the empty chair next to Taeil, “How did the job interview go?” he asks him.

“Really well. I got the job.”

“Yeah? Congratulations. That’s the best news I’ve heard in months.”

“Thank you.”

Taeil allows himself to talk freely, mostly because he knows that his friends will scold him if he doesn’t. But he knows very well that this isn’t a done deal. He has some doubts. He is a bit confused about some things.

He needs to talk to Donghyuck before it goes any further.

“When is your last day?”

“The last day of the semester.”

“Then you’re no longer my TA.”

“I’m no longer anyone’s TA.”

“But also, specifically not my TA,” Donghyuck says, and Doyoung snickers at that.

“We already went over this yesterday.”

“I’m just making sure I have it correct. I don’t want to cause any university scandals.”

Taeil doesn’t notice it when it happens, but he realizes that Taeyong and Doyoung have signaled each other, they’re standing up.

“We’re gonna go get drinks. You two keep flirting,” Taeyong says and he winks at Taeil. Donghyuck speaks before Taeil can.

“Thank you, hyung.”

He can’t believe it. Hyuck remains unbothered and braver than Taeil will ever be.

“The nerve of you.”

“You know you love it.” He has him there. He does. “Besides, if I wasn’t the way I am, we wouldn’t be here. You might be the love of my life on paper, but I wouldn’t even dare talk to you.”

Hyuck leans in closer, making the exchange as intimate as it can be in a fairly crowded bar. He’s using some really big words there. Love of his life on paper. And what now? Taeil has to prove it?

“I think you’re getting ahead of yourself there.”

“Oh, please. We both know what this is going to turn into, and it hasn’t even started yet.”

“Now, when you say this…”

“I mean us,” Donghyuck cuts him off. This line of conversation gives Taeil the chance to say exactly what he wanted ever since Donghyuck first brought up dating. The flirting is mostly harmless, with Taeil panicking about it cause he just doesn’t want to be that kind of guy. But when it comes to dating, Taeil isn’t sure that’s it’s actually on the table for genuine reasons, or if it’s just Hyuck’s wish to conquer him.

“You’re not interested in me, Hyuck,” Taeil states. He’s quite confident in that statement, it’s pretty obvious after all.

“Who told you that?”

“My experience with you.”

“Your experience is wrong then.”

“It doesn’t tend to be. You weren’t interested last month.”

“I’ve been interested since the first Thursday of the academic year, but I’ve been hiding it well because everyone knows you can’t date a TA. Mark was a distraction that I lost interest in after a few weeks of getting turned down. But I kept going with it because he’s my friend and it’s just funny when he’s annoyed. I’m only admitting to it now because I realized it wasn’t just me that’s interested,” Donghyuck speaks clearly, providing an answer to all the worries Taeil had about it. They’re staring at each other, neither of them speaking. Taeil’s examining every bit of Hyuck’s face, looking for any sign that Hyuck is bullshitting him. But there’s nothing. Hyuck isn’t lying to him. And it’s kind of making sense. “That shut you up,” Hyuck finally says.

“I’m thinking.”

“I’m not fucking with you, I know that is also a concern of yours.”

“It was, thanks,” Taeil nods and purses his lips.

“I can read you like a picture book,” Hyuck smiles, satisfied with the outcome, “One month.”

“One month?”

“Date me for one month. Then we’ll talk about this again and see if we like it.”

“Hyuck,” they both hear, and Taeil realizes that even though Doyoung and Taeyong are giving them a bit of privacy, Hyuck’s friends don’t exactly know what’s up and have no intention to do so.

“Let me know after you defend your thesis.”

Right. One more thing to worry about while preparing for the defense.

Jaemin and Jeno, who he recognizes from the lecture slot he teaches right before Hyuck’s, are making their way towards the table.

“Hello Mr. Moon,” Jaemin’s the one that greets him, while Jeno politely nods his greeting.

“Hi guys.”

“Let’s go get drinks,” Hyuck says to his friends, than looks at Taeil for a one last, “We’ll be right back,” before he goes off.

Taeyong and Doyoung return with drinks, and Hyuck and his friends join them minutes later. It’s pleasant, with a whole lot of getting to know each other sprinkled into the conversation. Taeil drifts off with his thought a few times.

He might be going out of his mind, but he’s actually considering it. One month. That’s not that long.

Hyuck is sitting on a bench outside the Psychology department, a Dragon Ball themed banner in hands. He might have wasted two evenings working on it just so he can make a silly joke, but in his minds it’s absolutely worth it. He’s waiting as patiently as he can. He’s been there for over an hour, and he knows that Taeil is about to come out any minute now, and let him know how it went. He doesn’t mind the slight chill in the December air, the suspense has him pacing in front of the bench a few times, so he doesn’t actually feel it that strongly. He’s excited to see what the outcome’s going to be, so the excitement keeps him going. A lot depends on this after all.

The moment he sees Taeil exit, Donghyuck stands up, smiling, anticipating. Taeil heads straight towards him, seeing that makes him smile even wider.

“Dragon Ball was the answer, yes. Who gave me up?” Taeil says.

“Taeyong,” Hyuck smiles at him. His expression then changes to slightly worried one, cause it’s the moment of truth, and he really hopes that what he needs to know is good news, “How did it go?”

“Excellent. I passed. No revisions needed, which is basically a miracle.”

To say that a weight is being lifted off Hyuck’s chest is an understatement.

“That’s excellent! Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” Taeil returns. They’re both standing a bit awkwardly, knowing that both want to hug each other, but they can’t. Not yet. So they keep talking, “How long have you been here?”

He checks the time on his phone before he answers.

“An hour and a half.”

“You should’ve just come inside. Family and friends are allowed inside, and my parents couldn’t make it.”

While Hyuck adores the insinuation behind it, and this was something that he actually considered, he also considered the potential backlash they could face.

“I didn’t want to risk it. Besides, they would’ve made me leave the sign outside, and I worked really hard on it.”

“I appreciate it, it looks great,” Taeil gives him another smile.

“I was thinking, we’ll both graduate in May, even though you’re basically already done with school.”

“That’s right. Where’s this headed?” he then asks, and Hyuck feels caught. Taeil already knows him well enough to be able to notice when he’s about to launch into some nonsense. This dating thing is going to be easier than he thought it would be.

“Graduation cap sex, doctor, obviously.”

Just by the facial expression and the blush on his face Hyuck can tell that Taeil is slightly horrified upon hearing that. He knows why too, he let himself forget that they’re in public.

“Jesus, calm yourself. Our trial month hasn’t started yet.”

“That’s a nice way to give me an answer to my question. Our,” Hyuck giggles, then says, “What I was also thinking is that both our families in the same spot. We could meet each other’s families and announce our engagement then.”

“What did I just say?”

“I like it when you blush,” Hyuck finds himself admitting. He’s on the verge of taking it a step further, but they get interrupted by Dr. Kang of all people.

“Taeil?”

“Doctor Kang,” Taeil acknowledges him in return, nodding his head.

“Hello doctor Kang,” Hyuck greets him also.

“Donghyuck. What are you doing here?”

It feels like now or never, but in reality, what Hyuck does is cover for Taeil, making it seem much more one sided than it is.

“I’m trying to get Taeil to date me. He won’t budge.”

Dr. Kang chuckles at that.

“Give him a few weeks, I’m pretty sure he’ll budge then.”

So Dr. Kang knows. Cool, cool, cool. Did Taeil tell him, or is it that obvious?

“Yeah, I think so too,” Hyuck confirms.

“Congratulations are in order. You passed on your first try. I don’t know a lot of people who have done it.”

“Thank you doctor,” Taeil replies. Hyuck is enjoying the blush still dotted on Taeil’s cheeks, and the hints of pride in his mannerisms. He already seems more confident than he was yesterday. Hyuck sends a wish to the universe that Moon Taeil always remains this way.

“See you on Monday,” Dr. Kang signs off.

“Have a great weekend.”

“You too. Not too good though. Not until New Year’s day.”

“Yep. Got it,” Taeil confirms, then looks at Donghyuck with a smile present on his lips.

“Well, now I know what I’m doing on New Year’s Eve,” he retorts, and Taeil rolls his eyes at him. Hyuck melts every time that happens. He likes when people can handle his bullshit.

But he also decides that Hyuck’s cockiness is rubbing off on him, and he is enjoying every minute of it.

“Morning everyone.”

“Morning Mr. Moon.”

“Today’s the last Thursday of the semester. It’s also my last Thursday teaching. In that honor, I’m going to keep it light, and talk to you about the last section of the lifespan development chapter. Today we’re talking about death and dying.” Taeil’s jokey announcement is met with groans from most of the people in the lecture theater. “Yeah, yeah, I know. But I promise you that it’s actually an interesting subject, and not as depressing as it sounds.”

Taeil’s weird. He’s also really passionate about his work, and Donghyuck’s loving every moment of it.

He watches with awe for most of the lecture. That’s his boyfriend up there, technically, even though they have yet to start dating. Well, his boyfriend starting next week. But that technicality doesn’t matter here, because Hyuck’s point in it all is that he is really proud of Taeil in that moment. He can’t wait to be showed up in the future, and be even prouder.

It’s a well-rehearsed routine by now, with Hyuck finding his way down and Taeil expecting him to do exactly that. Mark doesn’t attempt to hang out with Hyuck that day, he now knows what’s up, and he just leaves Hyuck with a good luck wish. Hyuck had to share a bit more than he initially planned before the lecture started though, because he brought something that he needed Mark’s help to keep whole and unharmed during the lecture.

Hyuck brought two things in fact. He wanted something to commemorate the occasion, but with no idea in mind, he turned to the internet. There, he found the perfect gift. Then he found a second, equally perfect gift. He got both in the end, his ‘too much’ gene taking over.

“How does it feel to be done with teaching?”

“Freeing.”

“For me too. I’m gonna get to talk during lectures again.”

“Please don’t. It was so nice teaching without you disrupting.”

“I’ll think about it,” he lies. He found out the perks of not talking during class, he’s gonna have to stick to it, actually. He remembers more from the lectures that way. “I got you a gift,” he then announces.

“Why would you do that?”

“I saw it and thought of you. It’s nothing big.”

It’s nothing big, but saying that Hyuck saw it and got it isn’t completely truthful. He saw it after looking online for it specifically, with the intention of getting it for Taeil.

Taeil accepts the gift bag that Hyuck hands him, and he pulls out a coffee mug with a PhD pun on it. Ph.inally. D.one. Hyuck is really proud of finding that one. A smile breaks out on Taeil’s face, and just a hint of blush. Hyuck gets a sudden burst of butterflies in his stomach.

“Thank you, I love it.”

“You’re welcome,” Hyuck mimics his smile, before showing him the second gift bag, “But I also got you this one because I couldn’t pick.”

Another bag, another coffee mug. This one says ‘Please don’t show me that, I’m not that kind of doctor’. Hyuck is equally proud of that one.

“Thank you. Again.”

“It was my pleasure,” he says. That’s the moment when he decides to do it. He can’t wait any longer. “So. Do you have any plans for New Year’s Eve?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“My friend that took forever to graduate is having a party at his bar. We kind of have to go because Mark has a crush on his best friend and he’ll be there. You should come. Your friends too, if they want to.”

“I don’t know about my friends, I’ll have to ask. But I’ll be there,” Taeil seconds it with a smile. Hyuck could fucking explode from the overwhelming excitement he feels in his body.

“First date,” he exclaims, putting both hands in the air to celebrate. Taeil immediately has his hands on Hyuck’s wrists, nudging him to put his arms down.

“Not that loud.”

“First date, yay,” Hyuck whispers, smiling. He then asks for the most crucial information in the entire exchange, “You should give me your number so I can text you the details.”

Hyuck celebrates the date and getting Taeil’s number and brags about it until it annoys Jeno to the point where he threatens to kick him out of the apartment. But Jaemin is on his side, so Hyuck isn’t too worried about it.

“Can’t believe you’re taking us to your date.”

They’re in the cab, traveling to the address Donghyuck sent him when the first complaint arrives from Doyoung. It’s not exactly a complaint, it’s more anxiety. The last minute nerves taking over. Doyoung has opened up about it in the past to Taeil, that’s why Taeil knows that he should just remind him of the prior conversation to calm him down. Doyoung also told him that helps him a whole lot, his anxiety leads him to believe that he’s in a situation that isn’t what he wants, so he needs to be reminded that it actually is.

“I’m not taking you anywhere, I simply passed on the invitation from Donghyuck. You two agreed and said you didn’t have anything else going on.”

“We don’t know anyone there except your boyfriend,” Doyoung says once again.

“I think it’ll turn out that we’ll know someone there,” Taeyong pipes up from the other side of the backseat while absentmindedly staring at his phone. There was a work emergency last minute, for Taeyong those always happen at the worst of times, and he’s now handling it through emails as quickly as he can.

“Ah, Yongie, always so positive. Annoyingly so.”

“Ah, honey bun. Always thinking of the worst case scenario. You ground me.”

Taeil does a double take while Doyoung’s face lights up with a smile.

“Finally. The correct nickname.”

Upon hearing this Taeyong looks up from his phone, a wave of shock washing over his face.

“Wait, there was a correct one? I thought I was just trying out to see which one you’ll like.”

“Nope, that’s not what this was.”

“Did you know?” he turns to Taeil.

“Yup.”

“Did you know which one was correct?”

“Yup.”

“And you didn’t tell me.”

“I told you, but you didn’t take it seriously.”

“I’m mad at both of you.”

“You’ll get over it really quickly,” Doyoung says, and it’s almost like he wasn’t panicking just a minute before.

It turns out that yes, Taeyong knows someone at the party, but it’s not a huge surprise because Taeyong just kind of knows everyone. He’s one of those people.

They meet up with Donghyuck and his friends in front of the bar where the party is held, and from the moment they meet up Donghyuck doesn’t leave his side. They get drinks, Taeil gets introduced to the rest of Hyuck’s friends, they small talk and talk big, and it’s almost like they’ve been doing this for centuries.

When the clock strikes midnight Hyuck initiates the kiss, gluing his body onto Taeil’s.

It takes his breath away.

That’s how their month begins.

Their month ends on February first, but they extend it to Valentine’s Day. Then they extend it again. By March, Taeil has to admit that it’s not a trial anymore, and they’re actually dating, and it’s working extremely well. It’s gonna last for a while, which is absolutely the last thing he expected to happen.

By May they’re both talking about the long term, about potentially moving in together once Taeyong and Doyoung do the same. Most days it’s the four of them in the apartment, but surprisingly it doesn’t get crowded. Doyoung’s and Hyuck’s characters sometimes clash, but it never gets out of hand and they end up teasing each other. Hyuck learns to let go more and more which Taeil knows he’s only doing for him. He can’t be more grateful for it than he already is.

The mornings when Taeil wakes up next to Hyuck are his favorite ones. It’s then that he wakes up happy and eager to start the day, get things over with just so he can come home and be with Hyuck again. His Hyuckie.

Fuck, how the tables have turned since six months ago.

Donghyuck is a night owl, and it’s sometimes really hard to get him up in the morning. Luckily, Taeil has gotten a bit of that persistent, ‘too much’ gene from Hyuck, and he knows exactly how to do it.

He’s all dressed for work when he sits down on the bed and runs a hand through Hyuck’s hair.

“Wake up sleepy head.”

Hyuck wiggles his body slightly, moving into the touch.

“Don’t want to,” he says, his voice still asleep.

“I’m off to work, and you’ll be late for class.”

Hyuck opens his eyes, hints of a mischievous smirk on his lips. He catches Taeil by the wrist and pulls him closer, until they are face to face, noses almost touching.

“But your bed is so comfortable. And I don’t want to graduate,” he whines. He lifts his head up and places a lingering kiss on Taeil’s lips. Once the kiss breaks Taeil gives him a knowing look, which is more than enough to get things moving again, “You’re right. I can’t wait to get it over with. Okay. I’m up.”

They both get off the bed, Taeil straightening his shirt and tie before he forgets. He often forgets about things like that when he’s around Hyuck, cause with Hyuck there’s a never-ending stream of too much going on and he needs to keep up.

“Don’t forget that I’m picking you up. We have to get the graduation gown thing done.”

“Never forget. Like 9/11.”

“That’s not funny Hyuckie.”

“That’s cause you haven’t tried laughing at it.”

He’s so stubborn about the wrong things. Taeil loves him so much.

“Breakfast’s on the counter. I recommend you change quickly before Doyoung drinks the last of the coffee,” he tells him as he reaches out for his backpack. Hyuck walks towards him then.

“Pfft. Doyoung-hyung, can you make me a cup of coffee, please,” Donghyuck shouts towards the door.

“Right away!” Doyoung’s voice comes in through the crack Taeil left.

“Such a spoiled brat,” he whispers while Donghyuck wraps both arms around him, smiling.

“You love me anyway,” Hyuck returns.

“I do.”

“I love you too.”

Hyuck kisses him then, deeper than the kiss from a minute before. A kiss goodbye before they separate for the working hours of the day. Something for Taeil to hold onto and think about while he deals with teachers who refuse to listen to him because of his age.

He can’t wait to be able to put that Ph.D. degree on the wall of his office. They’ll listen to him then. He also can’t wait until graduation week. Donghyuck insisted on both meeting each other’s parents and the graduation cap sex, and Taeil gave in. It's not like he was resisting too much anyway. Both of those things sound phenomenal.