Work Text:
“So, how are we going to initiate the new principal?” You rolled your eyes as you turned to shoot a soft glare at Jimin and Taehyung, the orange-haired man shrugging at your response.
“Taehyung’s got a point, noona – initiation is just as important among staff as it is among students,” he stated innocently, nodding along to his own words.
“You’re talking as though we’re a frat house and not a high school staff – and besides, since when do our students do initiations?,” you teased, ignoring Jimin’s petulant pout as you pulled your lunch out of the microwave and seated yourself on one of the couches, tucking your feet up underneath you.
“Keep in mind, these two are pretty much straight out of university – they still haven’t adapted to an adult lifestyle,” Jin added from where he was sitting, their immediate outbursts of annoyance putting a smile on the oldest boy’s face. You grinned from where you were seated, observing the group of teachers. You’d started in the school about four years ago – you’d been fresh out of college, and Bangtan Academy was desperate for teachers. It was nowhere near the city, but you didn’t particularly mind the escape. Hoseok and Yoongi were already established teachers by the time you got there, were the ones to show you the ropes – well, okay, it was mostly Hobi who showed you the ropes, but Yoongi was the one who helped you establish order after you’d started to believe that maybe you just couldn’t handle a classroom after all. Hoseok had taught you kindness and how the class structure worked, Yoongi had taught you strength.
Next to arrive was Seokjin – a transfer, but more experienced then all of you, and though none of you really liked to admit it… It showed. He’d made a good addition to the group, had brought in new techniques and a better communication system, made classes flow more seamlessly from one into another – hell, he’d become the parental figure among the teachers and students alike. Then along came Jimin and Taehyung (though you often found yourself questioning whether or not the two were actually teachers, or just students in disguise). They’d gained popularity among the students for the fact that… Well, they were pretty much just like the students. But the two of them knew how to work a classroom – their friendliness and playfulness gave them insight on the students that you might never have noticed. And last but not least – Jungkook, or the golden teacher, as you were prone to calling him (he was only a student teacher, but he often acted more maturely then the twin terrors). He’d been frighteningly cold when you’d first met him, but it didn’t take long to melt the kid’s walls of perfection, soon getting him to call you noona instead of sunbae. It was pretty much understood that come next September, he was going to be hired.
It had taken time, but you’d built yourselves a little community in that school – your students were your children, and you considered the boys your brothers, the seven of you working in tandem along with the principal, Bang SiHyuk. Your school was solid, a community built on trust and understanding and openness. Students could always find an ally in their teachers, whether it was for tutoring, settling disputes – hell, just someone to listen when their day was going wrong.
Things were changing though – Principal Bang had informed the full staff before telling the students about his retirement, and though you were all pleased that the man would finally get the rest he deserved, none of you were happy to say goodbye to him. He’d been a mentor to each and every one of you, and without his guidance you could never have become such a tight knit group. But, things were always changing, and so you took his retirement in stride, focusing instead on what was to come, which lead you to the current conversations of what ‘initiations’ must be done.
Except the conversation had now devolved into an argument between Hoseok and the teacher terrors, the pair arguing fervently that they were too adults, and Hoseok denying any claims with ease, the current debate being their cooking skills. “WE CAN MAKE RAMEN.”
“Can you make anything besides ramen…?”
“Well – that’s not – SHUT UP HYUNG.” You chuckled to yourself, rolling your eyes as you settled deeper into the chair you’d claimed as your own after your first year, about to finally put an end to the argument when Yoongi’s sudden entrance did that for you, his gestures sharp as he slammed a paper onto the table in the middle of the staff room.
“Nobody’s initiating this man into anything, because apparently he’s fucking initiating us,” the teacher hissed, Jungkook hurrying in quickly behind him. The argument died immediately, Seokjin standing alongside Yoongi to read the sheet.
“What are you talking about…” Jin trailed off, his eyes narrowing as he got through the paper, his lips pressing into a thin line.
“Guys – clarification?” you asked, your gaze flickering to the other three boys who were listening expectantly. It was Jungkook who finally spoke up, a slight tremor in his tone.
“The – the new principal… He’s doing full evaluations on the teachers.” Your eyes widened, and you let out a strained laugh, looking over to Jimin and Tae, who looked nothing less than horrified.
“What do you mean, evaluations?” Jimin finally managed, his voice a little less loud.
“As in, the asshole wants to see if we’re ‘compatible’ with the school,” Yoongi growled, and you couldn’t help but smile slightly to yourself (despite his attempts at appearing apathetic, he was probably the most protective of the school’s students and staff).
“But – none of us have to worry, right?” Hoseok asked, gesturing around the room. “We all have tenure – he can’t let us go until our contracts…” You all turned to stare at the two men in question whose heads were hung low – Jimin and Tae. Yes, the rest of you had tenure and were safe in your positions – however, those two boys were only completing their second year to achieve tenure, and considering their track record… Well, they’d managed to stay because Principal Bang understood their teaching styles. Maybe they weren’t the strictest teachers, but their students were successes nonetheless – an outsider however, might just see it as two guys who’d rather screw around then get work done.
“He won’t let you go – we’ll make sure of it,” Jungkook suddenly insisted, but the two men were already envisioning the worst.
“Jungkook-ah, we appreciate the support, but let’s face it – Jimin and I are royally screwed,” Taehyung answered with a groan, slumping forward over the end of the table he was seated at.
“It was nice knowing you guys…” Jimin mumbled woefully, his hands massaging Tae’s shoulders, trying to relieve some of his stress.
“No way – not gonna happen,” you retorted, and the boys all looked to you in surprise as you stood. “Look – we all know how the system works. As long as you get past this evaluation – and don’t do something royally stupid between now and the end of the year – you guys can keep your jobs, you’ll have tenure, and then you can claim your spots next year. All we have to do is make sure that the day this guy shows up, everything is… Well, perfect.”
“Oh yeah – how are we gonna make that happen?” Hoseok was already laughing, until Jin smacked him over the back of the head, shooting the younger boy a glare.
“We can do it – we’ve got what, three weeks? We can shape these boys into real men.” Jimin and Taehyung were already cringing at the words, but they knew they had no other choice. They needed these jobs, and more importantly, this school needed them.
*
“Alright, guys – today’s the day!” Hoseok cried out as he entered the staff room, fluttering around nervously. You leaned against the table, hands tucked into your skirt pockets, going over the routines in your head – initial meet and greet of staff and new principal, then he’d start doing the first round of evaluations. Jimin, Tae, you and Jin were all going today with one part of the staff, Hobi and Yoongi were tomorrow along with the rest of the teachers. Glancing up, you observed Tae and Jimin as they entered, standing up and already approaching them to adjust their ties, straighten out their hair.
“How are you two feeling?” you asked quietly, ignoring the noise of Yoongi, Jin and Hoseok arguing about some minute details behind you.
“Like I’m gonna throw up,” Jimin admitted begrudgingly, shooting Tae a thankful look when the younger gently started to rub his back.
“Bad, but… I mean, I think we can do it,” Tae finally stated, breathing in deeply and straightening his posture. You nodded, about to give them some final reassuring words, but then the loudspeaker was crackling to life, the secretary announcing that the new principal had arrived. Smiling faintly at the boys, you nodded at the others, the seven of you joining the rest of the staff at the entrance to the building. The secretary left the office, followed by a man… Who looked like he couldn’t be much older than you. Your jaw dropped and you were pretty sure you could feel Jimin and Tae going stiff on either side of you, uncertain as to whether their nerves should be rising or falling.
He was tall, with blonde hair that was slicked back and away from his forehead, and the best name you could give for his expression was… Disdain. Cockiness. You didn’t like him. Not one little bit. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” he said with a deep voice. “My name is Kim Namjoon, and it is an honor to join your school and be working with you. Please, don’t treat me differently in your classroom than you would any guest – I just need to make an assessment of my staff.” You kept your arms crossed over your chest, your gaze narrowing at his words. “I’ll let you get back to your work – I’ll see you later in your classes.” Namjoon turned back to the secretary (who was blushing quite noticeably under his intense gaze), gesturing for her to follow him back into what you supposed was now his office.
“I don’t like him,” you muttered with gritted teeth as soon as he was out of earshot, glancing around at the boys.
Yoongi shrugged slightly, looking between you and the younger boys, simply stating, “Look – it could be worse, right? Could be some uptight old geezer who likes ‘ye olde fashioned way’.”
“I still don’t feel good about it,” you answered sharply, and Yoongi held his hands up, taking a step back.
“Whatever – you two are up, so go do your preparations.” Jimin and Tae nodded, nearly sprinting off in the direction of their classrooms, and you sighed, already starting to chew on your nails.
“Yah – stop that,” Jin scolded, slapping your hand away. “Just because your position is safe doesn’t mean you don’t need to make a good impression.” You nodded slowly, shooting Jin a small glare before heading off to your own classroom – it couldn’t hurt you to do some revisions of your own class plans.
*
Ten minutes. He showed up a whole ten minutes late to your class, disturbing the pace you’d set for the session. You nearly jumped at the knock on the door, turning to stare at the principal as he smiled at you. “I apologize – don’t mind me,” he murmured, bowing to the class while you quietly introduced him. “I’ll just take a seat in the back.” You nodded, immediately returning to your own lesson and trying to ignore the shock of blonde hair that stood out in the back of the classroom. It was a simple lesson – just balancing some algebraic equations, it was a younger year. As you stood up at the front of the class, writing some problems on the board, you could feel his eyes on you. You hated that sensation.
Turning around, you asked if anyone could try and answer the problem, a stiff smile on your face. Letting your gaze wander over the class, your eyes somehow ended up once more at the back, and were now locked on Namjoon’s. You hadn’t had the chance to check in on Jimin or Taehyung, and for all you knew, this man was already planning how to dismiss two of your friends. Your gaze hardened as you began to look away, except then he was… Crossing his eyes? Your eyes widened at that, your lips parting in surprise. A couple high-pitched giggles escaped the students, and you were sharply brought back to reality as Namjoon raised his eyebrows, a stupid (stupidly attractive) smirk overtaking his face. You had to have imagined it, you finally decided and quickly pointed out a student to come and start solving the problem on the board, a boy sitting by the windowsill. Leaning against the opposite side of the classroom, you let your gaze wander again while waiting for the student to finish – then watched in confused horror as Namjoon pulled another face. This time, you knew you weren’t seeing things, because he specifically kept his eyes on you rather than looking away, and you forced yourself to keep a straight face, trying not to lose focus.
“Miss?” You were drawn out of your concentration when the student quietly spoke, drawing your attention to the chalkboard.
Reviewing the problem quickly, you nodded at the child, gesturing for him to take his seat. The class continued in that terrible manner – you constantly trying to avoid Namjoon’s gaze, because instead of receiving the normal look of a principal assessing his teachers, you’d get a grimace, or some kind of strange expression. You pretty much let out a sigh of relief once the bell rang, sinking back to lean against your desk while the students ran out of your classroom quickly. Your gaze wandered once more to the back of the classroom, your features immediately hardening at Namjoon’s patronizing smile. “I have to say, you have quite a good handle on your class,” he told you as he stood, starting to approach you. You didn’t give him the chance to finish, instead closing the space between you.
“Is this some kind of joke to you?” you asked in a hushed hiss, watching his eyes widen in surprise. “Because I’ll have you know, this school is not a joke to us, nor is the possibility of losing our staff a joke either!”
“Losing your – what are you – excuse me, would you mind explaining yourself?!” You stormed out of the classroom, in no mood to debate with the principal, already heading for the staff room, about to let your rage explode onto the others – then froze at the sight you were met with.
The boys were all laughing, clearly happy about something, and both Jimin and Tae nearly tackled you once they saw you walk through the door. “Okay – whoa, what did I miss?” you asked in confusion, looking between both boys.
“Namjoon-hyung is so nice –“
“He said there’s no way we’d risk losing our jobs –“
“He says he understands what it’s like to have to start at a new job cause he is too –“
“He likes that we’re funny –“
“He said he’s definitely okay with us joking around –“ Both boys were clearly ecstatic at the idea of the new principal, but all you could feel was the blood draining from your face as you began to piece together just exactly what had happened back there. “Noona? Noona, are you okay?”
“I – um – excuse me for a moment…” You spun around, prepared to go beg on your hands and knees for forgiveness – and spun face-first into Namjoon.
“Hyung!” Jimin called out, clearly excited to see the man. Meanwhile, the blood was now rushing immediately back to your face as he smiled at you cautiously, then nodded towards the hall.
“May I talk to you?” he asked quietly, and you nodded, wondering if there was any way you could just disappear off the face of the earth for a little while, or go back in time so you could know that Namjoon was just trying to be playful instead of thinking he was mocking you. When you were finally out by yourselves in the hall, he opened his mouth to speak, but you beat him to the punch.
“I – I’d really like to apologize, what I said in the classroom was terribly rude, but I – I just assumed that you were actually evaluating us, that it wasn’t just a formality…” You trailed off as he began to chuckle lightly, shaking his head.
“You have no reason to apologize – I perhaps should have been more professional, but after seeing how your coworkers are…” You laughed softly, nodding in understanding. “I just assumed that everyone would be the same.”
“Well, I am the same!” you quickly answered, though you started to change your answer at his expression. “Well – maybe not exactly the same – look, I was just worrying that you were gonna get rid of the boys, excuse me for being slightly stressed.”
“Not a problem,” he responded, smiling brightly, those dimples of his making it very difficult for you to tear your eyes away. “Hopefully I haven’t stressed you out enough for you not to consider going out for drinks after the lessons tonight with the rest of us? My treat.”
Your eyes locked once more as he spoke, that goofy grin of his only getting wider, and before you could truly process what was coming out of your mouth, you said, “I’d be more than happy to let you treat me to drinks anytime.” And just as your cheeks had started to turn a natural shade, the red color quickly rushed back in as you stared at your new boss in horror.
He, on the other hand, was loving this moment, giving you a wink as he walked back to his office, making sure to call out as you turned away: “I’ll keep that in mind!”