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Mr. Choi Seungcheol considers himself to be fairly popular amongst the other staff members at Pledis High School. He’s good friends with Mr. Yoon Jeonghan – the math teacher and he goes drinking with Mr. Lee Jihoon – the music teacher. He regularly chats with Mr. Jeon Wonwoo – the history teacher. He’s neighbors with Mr. Wen Junhui, the Chinese teacher, and he often has lunch with Mr. Kwon, the principal.
So he has no idea what it is about Mr. Hong Jisoo, the English teacher, that has him stuttering and blushing like one of his students on the verge of confessing.
(He saw Choi Hansol and Boo Seungkwan the other day. He knows what he looks like. He looks like Hansol when Seungkwan does something which the other boy finds exceptionally cute.)
Whenever the soft-spoken English teacher appears in front of him, Seungcheol finds himself incapable of speaking clearly. His usually friendly chatter gives way to awkward, stuttering conversation and his legs feel weak.
Mr. Hong tells him “Good morning,” each and every morning. And each and every morning, Seungcheol only manages to stutter “Morning,” back. Mr. Hong smiles at him in the staff office, and Seungcheol can feel his heart accelerate. Mr. Hong always offers him a cup of water when he gets one himself and Seungcheol wants to propose to him each and every time.
He has it bad for the English teacher.
And it seems like the rest of the staff and students have figured him out.
“You know, you should probably just ask Jisoo out,” Jeonghan says conversationally over coffee one morning.
Seungcheol chokes on his latte and stares at Jeonghan. The math teacher stares back at him innocently.
“No,” he splutters in response. “I’ve barely spoken more than a few sentences to him since he came here last year.”
Jeonghan rolls his eyes.
“So ask him out and get over it. Everyone knows.”
Seungcheol chokes on his coffee again and decides never to confide in Jeonghan about his love life again.
At the same time, Jihoon and Wonwoo walk in with Junhui trailing behind them. They’re all chattering about grading and whatnot.
“Hey, you okay, Seungcheol?” Junhui asks worriedly.
Seungcheol shakes his head as he tries to cough out his morning coffee. The three other teachers look to Jeonghan for an explanation. The long-haired math teacher rolls his eyes.
“Help me convince Seungcheol to ask Jisoo out.”
Junhui immediately begins to laugh as Jihoon sighs deeply and Wonwoo blinks.
“Is that why you wouldn’t come to the last staff dinner?” Wonwoo asks.
Seungcheol finds a chair to sink into.
“No,” he protests weakly.
“Mr. Yoon? You said you needed to see me?”
The teachers all turn to see Kim Mingyu standing awkwardly at the open door. His wide eyes show that he had heard their entire conversation.
Jeonghan smirked. “Yes, I did. Come to my desk so we can talk about your last homework.”
Mingyu nods and follows Jeonghan to his desk. As he passes Seungcheol, he pauses.
“Um, it might not be my place to say this, Mr. Choi, but I’m pretty sure that Mr. Hong likes you too.”
Seungcheol buries his face in his hands as the remaining teachers all laugh obnoxiously after Mingyu leaves with Jeonghan. He resolves to put salt in their milk and fail Mingyu’s next test.
Scratch what he said about his colleagues.
He doesn’t get along with them at all.
It isn’t long before Principal Kwon catches on to Seungcheol’s “I’m sick so I’m skipping this dinner, I’m sorry” ruse, and he corners Seungcheol on his way home one afternoon.
“Seungcheol,” Soonyoung intones seriously. “If you don’t come to this faculty dinner, I’m locking you into the janitor’s closet until you make babies with Jisoo.”
Seungcheol splutters that yes, he will go to the next dinner, and no, he will not need to be locked into a closet with Jisoo because babies aren’t made that way, did you take Biology at all, Soonyoung? The principal laughs heartily before slapping Seungcheol on the back and leaving.
And that is how Seungcheol finds himself sitting next to Hong Jisoo at the faculty dinner with the rest of his colleagues giving him significant looks and Jeonghan making lewd gestures in his direction.
He hates his life and all of his colleagues.
“How are the labs going this week?” Jisoo asks conversationally as he begins to grill some meat.
Seungcheol swallows nervously.
“Pretty good,” he replies with a small laugh. “No major accidents. Mingyu got an A instead of a B because he didn’t cause any accidents this time.”
Jisoo chuckles fondly. “Mingyu is such a sweetheart.”
Seungcheol nods and takes another swig of his soju.
Everyone else seems to purposely avoid talking to him or Jisoo and he wants to throttle them. Principal Kwon keeps giving him wide, expectant smiles, so Seungcheol drinks shot after shot in order to get through the evening.
By the time that the dinner is over, Seungcheol is beyond drunk. He’s slurring his words and leaning on Jisoo heavily. The English teacher seems to be struggling slightly to keep Seungcheol upright.
“Does anyone know where Mr. Choi lives?” he asks the rest of the teachers.
Junhui smiles. “Oh, I’m his neighbor. But I won’t be going home today and I don’t know where his keys are. Maybe you should take him home, Jisoo.”
Everyone else makes similar excuses, and Jisoo, being raised to be polite, can’t refuse. So he carries Seungcheol into the first cab he sees and rattles his address to the taxi driver. Seungcheol’s head has found its way into his lap, and Jisoo finds that his heart is racing faster and faster as the chemistry teacher smiles up at him.
“Didja know you’re really pretty, Mr. Hong?” Seungcheol slurs. “Yer eyes shine like the hardest element on the Mohs scale. Dat’s diamonds.”
“That’s very nice, Mr. Choi,” Jisoo manages to choke out.
“And that shirt looks really nice on you. But it would look nicer accelerating to my floor at nine point eight one meters per second.”
The taxi driver gives Jisoo a weird look.
“He’s a colleague of mine,” Jisoo explains in panic. “He’s very drunk. I’m making sure he has a safe place to sleep tonight.”
“Sure…Have fun…”
Jisoo shoves an approximate amount of money at the driver and asks him to keep the change before hoisting Seungcheol’s arm over his shoulders and dragging the chemistry teacher up to his third-floor apartment. The whole time, Seungcheol flirts mercilessly with him, and Jisoo is pretty sure that his head is about to implode.
Thankfully, he manages to get Seungcheol onto his bed before the other man passes out. But not before the other man winks at him and tells him that his ass must be dipped in sugar because it’s so sweet. Seungcheol passes out right after that last pick-up line, so Jisoo goes about taking off the man’s shoes and tucking a blanket over him. Once his job is done, he runs to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face because he’s pretty sure that he’s red enough to blend into the Chinese flag that Junhui keeps at his desk.
Seungcheol doesn’t sulk all Sunday after returning to his apartment. No, he vegetates. He eats ice cream while watching cheesy dramas. He wraps himself up in his blanket and pretends like he didn’t just ruin all of his changes with the handsome English teacher after passing out drunk at the other man’s apartment.
On Monday, Jeonghan approaches him excitedly, expecting good news. Seungcheol tells him to fuck off.
“Dammit,” Jeonghan moans. “I bet money on you. Come on, Cheol.”
“Suck it,” Jihoon announces as he enters into the staff office. “I’m going to win all of your money and then I’m going to treat myself to nicest headphones that money can buy.”
“What about our anniversary?” Junhui whines, following Jihoon into the office.
“Just for that, I’m going to win all of your money and buy myself a new bookcase,” Wonwoo mutters from his desk.
Principal Kwon sticks his head in through the door. Seokmin, Chan, and Minghao stick their heads in right after.
“No pressure, Seungcheol,” Soonyoung begins, “But the students and I have a whipped cream pie-throwing contest on the line here. So please be considerate and try to get a date with him by the end of the month.”
“A date with who?”
Everyone turns to see Jisoo standing just outside the door, eyeing everyone in confusion. Principal Known smiles brightly at the English teacher.
“Oh, nothing, Jisoo. Why don’t I treat you to some coffee this morning, hm? You’re the last staff member I’ve yet to treat.”
The three students and the teachers in the staff office all stare at the open door as Soonyoung drags Jisoo away.
“Not to be rude, Mr. Choi,” Minghao begins. “But if you don’t get a date with Mr. Hong, someone else is going to snatch him away from you.”
Seungcheol just ignores them all and buries his face in his arms.
Hong Jisoo, contrary to popular belief, is not oblivious. Sure, he has his moments of air-headedness and he went to church camp as a young boy, but he knows how Mr. Choi feels about him. He’s seen the chemistry teacher’s blushing face and shifting eyes. He had noticed Seungcheol skipping out on staff dinners and the knowing smirks that Mr. Yoon had cast in Seungcheol’s direction. The drunken night at his apartment only confirmed that the chemistry teacher likes him. And it had maybe confirmed that he likes Seungcheol too.
The chemistry teacher is kind. Although he has a reputation of being a strict teacher, the students love him. Seungcheol never hesitates to help anyone in need.
And not to mention that his long eyelashes and thick thighs had all sorts of thoughts running through Jisoo’s mind.
He knows that all of the students and staff have placed bets on when Seungcheol will finally ask him out on a date.
And there is exactly only one person who has bet on him.
“I know you’re plotting something,” Wonwoo drawls.
The two of them as sipping tea in the staff office one evening. The rest of the teachers have all left for the day, leaving the two to relax while they finish grading their last tests.
Jisoo smiles placidly at Wonwoo.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Jisoo replies innocently. “If I remember correctly, you bet that I would confess to Seungcheol by the end of next week.”
Wonwoo rolls his eyes. “Just remember that I have a bookcase and a chance to throw a pie at Soonyoung that I don’t want to pass up.”
Jisoo chuckles.
“No worries.”
Seungcheol has a feeling that today is the day.
He’s going to do it.
He’s going to take Mr. Hong Jisoo, the English teacher and resident Pledis High hottie out on a date.
He’s going to do it.
The only two people left in the staff office are him and Jisoo. The other teachers are either coaching after school activities, overseeing after school clubs, or have left for home. Jisoo has his reading glasses on as he reads through essays, and Seungcheol’s finishing up the last few homeworks that he has to return tomorrow. Jisoo is chewing on his lip adorably.
Suddenly, Jisoo takes his glasses off and sets them down on his desk. He gazes at Seungcheol thoughtfully.
“Do you remember how you greeted on my first day of work, Seungcheol?”
Seungcheol is startled for three reasons. Number one, he didn’t think that Jisoo would remember his first day of work. Number two, he can’t believe that Jisoo has called him by his first name. Number three, he can’t believe that Jisoo is asking him this question right now.
“Uh…I gave you a coffee and told you that we were glad to have you?”
“Not only that.”
Seungcheol blushes. “I didn’t think you overheard that.”
“No, I did.”
“I also might have mumbled the word, ‘cute.’”
Jisoo smiles.
“Is that why you avoided me after that?”
“Uh…”
Jisoo leaves his seat and walks to Seungcheol’s desk. He seats himself casually on the desk. Seungcheol thinks he might simultaneously combust.
“Did you ever think that maybe my first thoughts on seeing you were, ‘He’s very handsome’?”
Seungcheol splutters a quick, “No.”
“And maybe that in the year and a half I’ve been here that my thoughts have been, ‘Mr. Choi has a good heart’ and ‘Mr. Choi is beautiful inside and out?’”
Seungcheol’s face is growing redder and redder by the second, and he finds himself completely speechless as Hong Jisoo leans down and smiles at him demurely.
“Mr. Choi Seungcheol, I think we have been dancing around each other for way too long.”
Seungcheol’s mind is blank. He didn’t plan for this at all. He had no idea that Jisoo was so forward, but he also finds that he doesn’t really mind.
“Do you think we could go for coffee tomorrow afternoon after work?” Jisoo continues.
“Yes,” Seungcheol replies immediately. “Yes.”
Jisoo straightens his back and stands up. “Tomorrow then.”
At that very moment, they hear Boo Seungkwan’s excited yells echoing through the hallways.
“MR. HONG FINALLY ASKED MR. CHOI OUT ON A DATE!”
Cheers resound through the hallways, and the faculty all crowd into the staff room.
Seungcheol thinks that he’s about to faint.
“Did you all plan this?” Jisoo asks incredulously.
Wonwoo smiles apologetically. “I needed witnesses.”
Jihoon’s face is especially sour as he shoves a few thousand won into Wonwoo’s hand.
“You better buy the best goddamn bookcase there is, or else I will never forgive you.”
Soonyoung sighs dramatically as he flings himself into a chair. “I guess we should go purchase pie tins and whipped cream.”
Seungcheol buries his face in his hands. Jisoo rubs his back soothingly.
“Look on the bright side,” the English teacher whispers into Seungcheol’s ear. “They’ll get bored soon and then move onto the next couple.”
Seungcheol raises his face slightly to peer at Jisoo.
“Who?”
Jisoo points at Jeonghan whining at Wonwoo about having to give him money.
“It won’t be too long before those two become the center of attention.”
Seungcheol turns back to Jisoo.
“I’m learning a lot about you today,” he mumbles.
Jisoo grins and places a chaste kiss on Seungcheol’s cheek.
“And I’ll teach you more tomorrow.”
“HEY EVERYONE, MR. HONG JUST KISSED MR. CHOI ON THE CHEEK!”