#shineesanta16

The first time Jonghyun really speaks to Kibum, he’s in the music room. He’s inking out notes for his new song (still untitled) when suddenly the door opens and Kim Kibum walks in. He’s alone, and Jonghyun freezes when their gazes meet. Kibum’s eyes sweep up and down almost imperceptibly before he speaks.

“What are you doing this weekend?”

“Nothing...or, I might have-”

“Cancel it.” Kibum interrupts, then spins around to leave.

“Wait! Kibum?” and when Kibum stops, “how did you find me?”

Kibum turns back to face him, one brow raised. It makes him appear haughty, or maybe amused. “I have eyes everywhere, Jonghyun.” When Jonghyun says nothing, Kibum turns back to leave.

Jonghyun’s breath whooshes out as soon as the door shuts quietly behind him.

Everyone in the school knows Kim Kibum; he is the sole ruler of the school, almost always with his main underlings (a freshman, Taemin, and two juniors named Woohyun and Nicole). Kibum is also friendly with Jonghyun’s closest friends, Jinki and Minho. But that’s no surprise: everyone knows and loves their class president, and the athletic pride of the school. Jonghyun is just in the middle of the popularity chain: he knows everyone and everyone knows him, but they’re not friendly. He wouldn’t say he has many friends (just Jinki and Minho), but he’s fine with that. He has his music.

But Kim Kibum? Jonghyun has...spoken to him in passing, has had classes with him before, and he had probably been the only one that was able to properly speak to Kibum without stuttering. Jonghyun is in the same grade as Kibum and they are familiar with each other even if they’ve never had a real conversation, something that wasn’t about school.

And Jonghyun is fine with that, because Kim Kibum is everything he is not: beautiful and unapproachable, alluring and ethereal. As for himself, he is...unassuming, subservient and humble. Unlike Kibum, Jonghyun does not mind keeping to himself, does not mind being relatively unknown and disregarded.

In all sense of the word, Jonghyun is completely ordinary.

The next day, when he gets to the music room, Kibum is there, scrolling through his phone. “Kibum?”

Kibum jumps and then smiles tightly at Jonghyun. “Jonghyun. Did you clear your schedule?”

“Yes? But why-”

“We’re going on a road trip, just the two of us. I’ll drive you to your house so you can get your stuff right after school Friday and we’ll be back Sunday afternoon.”

“What? Why-”

“Pack your bags, Jonghyun. We’re going to a music festival. And I’m paying for everything, don’t worry. I’ll talk to your parents as well,” Kibum looks back up at Jonghyun, smile not reaching his eyes, “capiche?”

“I...I guess. I’ll see you Friday?”

Kibum just nods and stands to go, and over his shoulder, he says, “The part where you’re stuck. You should try a minor key. It would sound interesting with your voice.”

Jonghyun is skeptical, but he finds that it works. A smile spreads across his lips as he continues figuring out notes and singing along, just enough to figure out his vocal range. The whole while though, he keeps thinking about Kibum.

It’s late, let’s go home now It’s another late night and I’m taking you home The moon is big, it’s a full moon If I let you go like this, I won’t be able to sleep for a while

Friday comes soon enough and Jonghyun waits outside for Kibum, sees him pull up and hops in the back. Taemin is in the passenger’s seat and he grins back at Jonghyun, curiosity in his eyes, “Hi. You’re really cute.”

“I’m-”

“Stop flirting with him, Taeminnie. It’s not cute.”

Taemin rolls his eyes conspiratorially at Jonghyun before pouting. “I’m cute, aren’t I cute?”

“He’s pretty cute.” Jonghyun nods, grinning when Taemin sticks his tongue out at Kibum.

“See, everyone thinks I’m super cute!”

“Not me. Shut up, gremlin.”

Taemin cackles and fiddles with the radio as soon as Kibum starts to drive. He ends up leaving it on a station that’s playing some cutesy girl group song that he starts doing choreo to. Jonghyun can’t help giggling and Taemin grins back at him through the mirror.

“Kibummie, I like him. I like him a lot.”

“Shut up, Taemin.”

“Kibummie!” Jonghyun says then, and Taemin gasps.

“He’s so cute,” and to Jonghyun, “you’re so cute!”

Jonghyun beams at the praise and nods, making his eyes wide and his smile cute. “I’m really cute, huh?”

“Super cute. I wanna kiss your cheeks, you’re so cute.”

Jonghyun grins, leans in and Taemin does too, cackles when Jonghyun whispers, “Which set?”

“I like him!”

“I heard that, and I am not amused.” But there is an amused little grin curving Kibum’s pretty lips up and then he stops the car and Taemin hops out.

“Nice to meet you, Jonghyun. Hey, you should hang out with us some time.”

“Noted,” Jonghyun says, gets out the car to take Taemin’s seat and is surprised when Taemin hugs him tight.

“Hey, be careful with this one, Kibum. Have a good weekend, you two.”

“What did he mean?”

Kibum shrugs, even though there’s a little grin playing across his lips. “Nothing. Which way is your house?”

“Oh, you can keep going.” Jonghyun directs Kibum to his house, jumps out the car and quickly switches out his backpack for his dufflebag and jogs back to the car.

“Where to?”

“My place, and then we’re off. Ever been to a music festival?”

“No, have you?”

“Nope.”

Jonghyun wants to ask then why now? but as soon as he opens his mouth, Kibum speaks. “I think I wanted to do this with you because I see how passionate you are about your music. You’re always...writing and humming and singing and playing piano. It’s...admirable. And your lyrics, they’re very good. Your music is very expressive.”

Which brings up another point. “Does that mean you play an instrument too, Kibum? You seem knowledgable about music.”

Kibum shrugs a shoulder and gives Jonghyun a little grin before turning back to the wheel. “I was a dancer, you know. I wanted to be an idol when I was younger, and I wanted to conquer the world. But that didn’t happen.”

Jonghyun wants to ask what exactly did happen, but the look on Kibum’s face says no more talking, and Jonghyun does not mind that at all. (Besides, he can only assume that Kibum had gotten injured, or failed his auditions. Maybe he’d been told he didn’t have the talent or the looks, but that was impossible. Kibum is flawless, perfect, unworldly.)

Shaking his head from thoughts of Kibum, Jonghyun pulls out his phone, headphones and a little notebook and begins to pen out the lyrics that had been in his head all day.

Oh beautiful tonight, oh say, oh say, oh say, oh say Oh beautiful tonight, oh say, oh say, oh say, oh say

He doesn’t know when he’d fallen asleep, but Jonghyun jerks awake suddenly; the car has stopped and it’s evening, they’re at a gas station and Kibum smiles at him. “You slept well?”

“Yeah…” Jonghyun gets out to stretch, “do you want me to drive?”

“No,” Kibum sounds scandalized, “no one drives my baby other than me.”

They pile back into the car after buying snacks and set off down the road again. Jonghyun is idly humming along to the song playing on the radio. His fingers dance over his thigh like he’s playing piano and Kibum’s gaze flicks down to his fingers more than once.

“How long have you been playing piano?”

“Years...since I was eight or nine. I picked up guitar when I was twelve, I think.”

Kibum nods and Jonghyun studies his profile: the sharpness of his jaw and cheekbones, the pink of his lips, his nose, the feline shape of his eyes, his dark hair falling into his face. He is very attractive and Jonghyun can’t help staring.

“Is there something on my face?”

“You’re very attractive, that’s all.”

And Kibum - stoic, intimidating Kibum - blushes.

(Jonghyun finds that he likes being the one to make Kibum blush.)

“Anyway,” Kibum says then, speaking quickly, “are you comfortable with sleeping in the car? I’d rather save money than use it on a motel.”

“The car is fine,” Jonghyun says slowly, “but please don’t be offended if I don’t sleep, as much as you do, or at all. I have insomnia.”

“Oh,” Kibum doesn’t sound surprised at all, “I know.”

“You do?”

“Dark circles,” Kibum clarifies, “they’re very obvious. You should try using concealer, maybe.”

“Oh.” Jonghyun doesn’t know what else to say, so he falls silent, and they stay silent until they pull over. Almost as soon as they stop, Kibum digs out a sweatshirt from his bag and closes his eyes.

“Goodnight,” he murmurs, and Jonghyun echoes it, quieter. The moon is full and bright and the shadows and planes and curves of Kibum’s side profile, his steady breaths and even the way he can imagine Kibum’s open eyes, his sharp tone and his bright smile gives Jonghyun plenty of inspiration for lyrics.

It’s late, let’s go home now It’s another late night and I’m taking you home The moon is big, it’s a full moon If I let you go like this, I won’t be able to sleep for a while

Kibum is gorgeous like this, him and the moon and the stars he can faintly see; the night is beautiful and Jonghyun hopes that this night will be one of the ones he’ll never forget.

And surprisingly, he sleeps well that night.

The next day is the festival: Kibum has on a black mesh tank top and light jeans that have most of the front ripped away. On anyone else it’d look stupid, but Jonghyun quite likes the look on Kibum, especially with his dark hair slicked back away from his face.

“You look nice,” Jonghyun says, eyes lingering on the leather jacket tossed in the back of the car, “are you wearing that too?”

“Of course,” Kibum rolls his eyes, “I couldn’t not.”

“Won’t it be too hot-”

“Fashion is pain,” Kibum insists, “and I already know I’ll look great.”

“Don’t you always,” Jonghyun hums, mostly to himself. He’s almost beginning to doubt his clothing choice (all black, a Guns n Roses tank top and tight, tight pants) but Kibum glances at him sidelong just long enough for him to look Jonghyun up and down, and then he says,

“You look good too.”

Oh beautiful tonight, oh say, oh say, oh say, oh say Oh beautiful tonight, oh say, oh say, oh say, oh say

Jonghyun is...very flattered from the praise but he doesn’t show it, instead nods like Kibum’s approval means little to him. “How long until we get there?”

“Maybe an hour?” Kibum shrugs, “do you want to stop and get food before we get there? It’ll probably be a lot cheaper to get something on the road.”

“If we pass something,” Jonghyun allows.

“Good, I’d kill for some coffee.”

Jonghyun wants to ask if he can drive, but Kibum looks at him and he changes his mind.

By the time they reach the festival site, the sun is high in the sky and there are already people roaming around. Kibum grabs for Jonghyun’s hand as soon as they get onsite and insists it’s because he doesn’t want to lose him. All Kibum has on him is his phone and a portable charger in his jacket pocket and Jonghyun only has his phone and wallet in his pockets. They roam from band to band, staying for all the ones they both deem worthy, and shy away from all sight and smell of food. And being the romanticist Jonghyun is, he almost thinks that he and Kibum are meant for each other with the way their taste in music collides. Kibum likes even the more obscure bands that Jonghyun likes, and while Jonghyun does dislike one of Kibum’s favorites, he agrees to try to listen to them again on the way home.

Kibum makes Jonghyun take millions of pictures of him; ridiculous poses and others that are Instagram worthy - there are some of both of them and millions of selcas Kibum takes himself after seemingly pointless hair and facial adjustments. Like the one time where he’d spent no less than ten minutes brushing his bangs into his eyes before running his hand through his hair to slick it back for the picture. Jonghyun had no idea why Kibum bothered to spend all that time fixing hair if the end effect was to mess it up again, but when he saw the finished product, he kind of understood why.

The day passes quickly in a haze of loud music and so much sweat and Kibum and by the end of it all, Jonghyun wants to both go home and stay longer. But when night falls, Kibum takes his hand again (they have held hands for most of the day and Jonghyun can’t say he minds) and leads him back to the car.

They’re in the backseat of the car - it’s Kibum that pulls out the bowl and the weed, whispers a question that Jonghyun hesitantly nods to. He watches Kibum measure it out, watches him pack the weed to the rim of the bowl, watches him light it with trembling fingers. When Jonghyun reaches out to take the bowl, he realizes that his hands are trembling and suddenly he’s hyperaware of how close and alone they are and the subtle scent (he can only describe it as being citrusy and lemony) that is hovering around Kibum.

Their fingers brush and Jonghyun’s gaze flies up to meet Kibum’s; the other smiles gently at Jonghyun and suddenly, he doesn’t feel nervous anymore. Because while Jonghyun is no stranger to smoking (he’s only done it a few times, and he doesn’t particularly love or hate it), he doesn’t want to mess up, not in front of Kibum. But the look in Kibum’s eye is so...fond that Jonghyun ducks his head to avoid his gaze, and before he can lose his nerve, he takes the first hit. And when Jonghyun looks up at Kibum again, he freezes for just a second, because in that moment, he looks ethereal and beautiful with smoke hazing around his face and moonlight reflected in his eyes.

And Jonghyun doesn’t know if it’s the drugs or the heat or the emotions tumbling in his stomach, but Jonghyun takes the bowl from Kibum’s hand (he thinks he’d be nervous, but the weed - he supposes it’s the weed, anyway - has replaced his anxiety with vague want). When Kibum looks up, Jonghyun touches a finger to his lips and Kibum must realize what Jonghyun wants because he parts his lips and sucks in Jonghyun’s finger. They’re both still until Jonghyun feels Kibum’s tongue light on his finger and then they’re both leaning in for a kiss that is soft and sickly sweet. Jonghyun places the bowl on the far right seat before sliding to the middle seat to kiss Kibum better, hold him tighter. His fingers are trembling but he wants this and the way Kibum kisses him back tells Jonghyun that he wants him too.

At some point they fall asleep (they haven’t done anything more than kiss, but even that had set Jonghyun’s veins on fire) and when Jonghyun wakes up in the early hours of the morning, he’s pressed against the door and Kibum is in his arms, still asleep. He wishes, at that moment, that he had his notebook, because there are more lyrics in his head.

I go this way every day but I pretend I didn’t hear you As I go round and round, you probably noticed right? I don’t mean anything else, I just wanna be with you a little more, that’s why I’m doing this

Kibum doesn’t wake up until hours later; the sun is just beginning to rise. Kibum presses a sleepy kiss to Jonghyun’s lips and then they go out to watch the sunrise on the hood of the car. They’re holding hands and it feels like they’re on top of the world and all Jonghyun can think is that he doesn’t want this day to end.

Kibum lets Jonghyun drive home after he finishes scribbling down his thoughts on a clean sheet of paper.

It’s just past sunset by the time they get back to their familiar neighborhood - they could’ve gotten there sooner but there were so many times Jonghyun parked the car (usually on Kibum’s command) so they could get out and stretch and kiss. At one point it ends with them in the backseat, the door is open so their legs can dangle out and Kibum’s weight is a comforting, sweat-sticky blanket and it feels so natural for Jonghyun to place his hands against the sweat-damp skin of Kibum’s back, beneath his shirt. Kibum rears back then, spine an elegant arch so he can stare down at Jonghyun, and then his swollen lips part so he can murmur, “What will we do on Monday?”

Instead of answering, Jonghyun tugs him back down for another breath-stopping kiss.

(He doesn’t know, and he doesn’t want to find out.)

“Run away with me,” Kibum whispers when they get to Jonghyun’s house, “run away with me.”

Jonghyun hesitates for barely a moment before nodding his head, and he drives off with one hand holding Kibum’s, the other on the wheel.

Except that’s not how it goes.

“I had fun,” Kibum whispers when they get to Jonghyun’s house, “goodbye.”

Jonghyun hesitates for barely a moment before nodding his head, and he steps out of the car without another glance behind him.

Let’s get up now, why is it so sad? We’ve been saying the same things for the past 30 minutes I can’t hold your hand, let go of your hand or hug you So I’m only looking at your pretty eyes, nose and red cheeks and lips

School the next day is...different. Jonghyun is both nervous and excited to see Kibum. He spends lunch in the music room again, but he doesn’t touch the piano - he sits on the bench with his back to the keys - and writes out his thoughts and his feelings, everything that had gone on that weekend.

He doesn’t want to forget. He wants to keep in each moment of that weekend, from the long drive to Kibum’s soft voice and the way the car had smelled, the heat of the sun on his shoulders and back, the sweat-slick softness of his hand, his skin beneath his shirt. Their first kiss, the drug-induced sweetness and all the kisses to follow, the softness and shape of Kibum’s lips, all the little noises he’d pulled from them. He wants...to be closer to Kibum now, doesn’t know what sort of label he wants them to have. Friends like how Kibum is with Taemin or Nicole isn’t what he wants, but neither is that are-they-friends-or-are-they-more thing Kibum has with Woohyun, but boyfriends...

How, just how can I get you? Don’t go, don’t go, will those words work?

When Jonghyun looks up, Kibum is standing in the doorway. There’s an unreadable expression on his face and Jonghyun doesn’t try to decipher it, just stares back, eyes roving over Kibum’s face. His lips are the same pretty pink and his skin is slightly more tan - Jonghyun knows that there is a slight sunburn on his shoulders from when Kibum had finally taken off his jacket and wrapped it around his waist - and Jonghyun can practically feel the soft of his skin. His hand twitches almost imperceptibly but Kibum latches onto the movement and licks his lips subconsciously. The smoky eyeliner is back but Jonghyun misses how fresh-faced Kibum had been for the festival, how much more natural and free he’d looked.

Oh beautiful tonight, oh say, oh say, oh say, oh say Oh beautiful tonight, oh say, oh say, oh say, oh say

Kibum doesn’t say anything and neither does Jonghyun; he barely notices when Kibum slips out of the room and the next time they see each other is at the end of the day. Jonghyun is getting ready to walk home and Taemin is just getting into Kibum’s car, and their eyes meet. Jonghyun stops walking and Kibum’s hand freezes in midair and Jonghyun can’t help feeling...strangely (betrayed nostalgic aching in his chest) when he sees Taemin sitting in his seat.

Kibum freezes, and when Taemin turns around to see what was going on, he meets Jonghyun’s gaze and his face splits into a grin. He beckons for Jonghyun to come over and gets into the backseat, grinning widely and as soon as Jonghyun slips into the passenger’s seat, everything feels right again.

As soon as they drop Taemin off, they head to the edge of town and watch the sun set on the warm hood of the car, holding hands tightly. Jonghyun kisses Kibum and Kibum kisses back and it’s beautiful like this - just him and Kibum and the stars and the setting sun and the rising moon.

“You’re beautiful,” Jonghyun whispers when they part for air, and before he can psych himself out, “be mine.”

Kibum just flushes pink and leans in to kiss Jonghyun again. His lips are curved into a grin and Jonghyun almost, almost misses his breathy yes.

“Deal.”

As they ran, Ji Sung stuck out his right hand for a handshake, and the two sealed the deal before continuing on their way around the field. Their legs were seemingly becoming as heavy as lead, and the more they ran the slower they travelled.

“Would you move your legs over there?” came a shout, and Eun Ha and Ji Sung looked up in shock to see Mr Choi yelling at them. “I don’t have all day, you know! Sometime this period would be nice.”

With red ears acquired through embarrassment rather than exercise, the two students hurriedly jogged their way back over to the rest of their class and tried as hard as they could to avoid their teacher’s gaze. Mr Choi seemed to look down on everyone (with his intimidating height as well as his sharp, angry features), and scowled in disappointment. “I am so sick of everyone in this class not even trying. If I tell you to run, you run god damn it.” His voice switched to a higher pitch in imitation. “”But I can’t run any faster.” Oh, please.” Rolling his eyes, Mr Choi placed his hands on his hips and seemed to glare at one student in particular. “Let me tell you, you’d wanna be running faster than that if you’re trying to escape a lunch time detention. I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again – I’m not in the mood for lazy twats. It’s either you do what I say, or face the consequences. Got it?”

“Yes, Mr Choi.” the students droned simultaneously, Eun Ha and Ji Sung sharing a mutual, disdainful expression.

“Oh, and you two?” he added all of a sudden, raising an eyebrow at the two friends and allowing his lips to twitch into a half-hearted, smug grin. “Twenty extra push ups for taking so long to get here. I’ll see everyone else next lesson.”

 Dropping into their chairs with weak, shaking legs, flushed cheeks and sweat running down their face, Eun Ha and Ji Sung breathed a long sigh of both relief and exhaustion. They sat in music now, currently awaiting the arrival of their favourite teacher (quite a contrast from their feelings towards Mr Choi), Mr Kim. He always seemed to be at least a few minutes late, whether it be because he really needed to use the loo, needed some help carrying his things or simply was too caught up having a chat with the other staff members.

The door gusted open and in came Mr Kim, with red cheeks, a large stack of books in his grasp and another currently shielded from view teacher who was carrying both an acoustic and a bass guitar. “We’re gonna be having a fun day today!” sang Mr Kim as he walked through, placing his books on his desk before taking the two guitars from the other teacher and hence revealing his face.

“Mr Choi!” gasped Eun Ha in a hushed whisper, bad memories of the period before suddenly flashing before her. She gave Ji Sung a look that seemed to scream pain, and the boy nodded softly in agreement at the unspoken statement.

Mr Kim smiled up at the taller teacher warmly, the same shade of rose still brushing over his cheeks delicately. “Thanks, Minho.” he spoke, patting Mr Choi’s shoulder in a friendly manner and subsequently sending the strict man on his way.

Ji Sung and Eun Ha shared a befuddled look at the apparent lack of hostility between the two teachers – they certainly hadn’t expected the two polar opposites to get along so easily. And to have Mr Choi help carry musical instruments to class? It was just unheard of. But the whole class had seen the occurrences transpire before their very eyes, and sat shell shocked in their seats as they waited for the lesson to begin.

“I would’ve thought they hated each other…” said Ji Sung under his breath.

Eun Ha shrugged. “Maybe they do. They probably just have to keep up appearances in front of the students.”

He nodded in agreement, however scepticism still laced his features lightly. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Standing before the class, Mr Kim scratched the back of his neck sheepishly with a wide smile. “Sorry about that.” he apologized, picking up the back guitar and giving it a testing strum. “We’ve been doing a lot of theory lately so I thought we should do some fun practical work today. I’ve brought in these guitars from home so make sure you treat them with care, m’kay?”

Everyone nodded enthusiastically, and Mr Kim seemed to bounce with delight and excitement. “Good, good! And you guys know where everything else is hidden, so I’ll give you a few minutes to choose an instrument you like and then we’re gonna do some improvisation. If you get left with something you hate just tell me and we’ll figure something out, alright? Now, off you go!”

Bustling around the room, all the students hurried desperately to get an instrument that they could at least play somewhat decently. Eun Ha and Ji Sung, with nowhere else left to go (and no musical talent really whatsoever), were left to sit by the piano together side by side, grinning impishly up at Mr Kim when he asked why they were sharing. “We don’t know how to play much else, and there’s enough room here.” They had replied.

Mr Kim simply nodded to himself with a wide smile and a thumbs up, leaving them to play the large instrument together. “Fair enough!” he spoke as he shuffled to another part of the room. “Who am I to say no?”

The two best friends breathed a sigh of relief, more glad in this moment than any other that Mr Kim was such a blessing. With his small and petite frame, his soft, calming voice and his musical talent, he really was a favourite at their school. It was beyond safe to say that Mr Kim was much nicer and preferred than the tall and masculine, deep voiced, sport crazed sadist Mr Choi – it was a fact which nobody ever questioned.

Well, up until that Saturday, at least.

A hard elbow shoved against Ji Sung’s side just as he went to take a lick of his ice cream, and he turned to face Eun Ha with a harsh glare. “What the heck was that for—“

“Shut up and look over there.” she whispered harshly, gesturing with a nod of her head in the direction of the park.

With a roll of the eyes, Ji Sung redirected his gaze towards the large, green field, decorated beautifully with colourful trees that swayed in the wind and water that cascaded down a large, central fountain. It took him a few seconds for his eyes to find what his friend was referring to, and then a few more to focus, but once they had Ji Sung gasped in shock and accidentally caused a scoop of ice cream to fall from his cone. But in that moment, the fallen ice cream certainly wasn’t the most important thing which had captured the student’s attention.

Because in that very park, looking rather cosy if he did so himself (much cosier than he and Eun Ha had ever looked together for that matter), were Mr Choi and Mr Kim, laughing loudly together at something one of them had said. Eun Ha and Ji Sung blinked, and blinked again, before shooting each other a gobsmacked expression with dropped jaws.

“M-Mr Choi…Is laughing?” stuttered Ji Sung.

“I didn’t know he could.” added Eun Ha.

The two watched on with wide eyes, becoming more surprised by the second as the scene unravelled before them.

With a smile full of sunshine, Minho gently slipped his fingers through Jonghyun’s and entwined their hands together, taking pride in the bright, rouge blush which spread across Jonghyun’s cheeks accompanying his actions. The shorter of the two looked down at the ground shyly, squeaking in pleasant surprise when Minho lifted his chin and gave his nose a chaste peck. “You’re too cute sometimes, hyung.”

“And you’re too much,” replied Jonghyun with soft laughter, swinging their arms back and forth wildly as they strolled along the gravel path. “So extra all the time.”

Minho grinned and gently ruffled Jonghyun’s dark brown hair so it stuck up at the edges. “You love it.” he teased, pausing in his tracks for a mere few seconds to swoop down and press his lips softly against Jonghyun’s.

Jonghyun’s smile was so wide and pure that his eyelids crinkled mirthfully at the edges and his face screwed up in joy. With a light giggle he pressed himself against Minho’s side and held his arm firmly, adding with a devious grin, “And I love you.”

“I love you too, Jonghyun.” smiled Minho with a tinge of pink painting his ears. They hadn’t really said it all that much to each other yet, so both males got extremely bubbly and flustered whenever the three special words were spoken.

Minho’s hands moved sneakily under the hem of Jonghyun’s shirt, tickling his ribcage softly so that his boyfriend squirmed wildly in both laughter and discomfort. Jonghyun turned away in desperation so that his back was facing Minho instead, but it was to no avail and the tickling continued, with the younger male’s hands slipping all the way around to tickle the soft skin of Jonghyun’s stomach. “Stop!” Jonghyun squealed with tears forming in the corners of his eyes, but the authentic smile decorating his features told Minho that they were tears of laughter rather than hurt.

Feeling as though he had tortured his boyfriend for long enough, Minho instead grasped Jonghyun around the waist and lifted him around with a spin, holding the older close to his chest and placing a small kiss on the nape of his neck. Jonghyun’s whole face was bright red, but he made no move to hesitate when Minho held his cheeks tenderly with his hands and pulled him close for a long, languid press of the lips.

“I’m seriously so lucky.” whispered Minho against Jonghyun’s mouth.

Jonghyun smiled and placed one last, chaste peck on Minho’s lips before jumping away with a mischievous look shrouding his features. “You seriously are.” he responded. “A mean ol’ sport teacher like you doesn’t deserve me, aka, the fluffiest, kindest music teacher to ever exist. How did you manage?”

With a pout, Minho stepped forward closer to Jonghyun, only to have his boyfriend jump away once again with a teasing poke of the tongue.

“It must have been my god-like body…or my chiselled face.”

Melodious giggles engulfed the warm spring air. “Or maybe…” spoke Jonghyun, stepping forward and fisting the chest of Minho’s shirt. “It was your flaming charisma.” His tone was mocking, and not a second went by before Jonghyun was erupting in full-fledged laughter, clutching onto Minho for support.

“I can’t believe…” he wheezed. “You introduced yourself as—“ Jonghyun’s giggles muffled his words, and despite the struggle to continue, he finished the sentence with tears of amusement running down his cheeks. “’Flaming Charisma Minho. I—“ And he was off again in hysterics, but all Minho could do was pout in distaste and hold Jonghyun up to prevent him from falling.

“I was young and naïve, alright?” Minho defended fruitlessly, a whingey tone to his voice.

Jonghyun’s chuckles came to a slow halt, but the wide grin and crinkled features adorning his face made no move to disappear anytime soon. “Sure, sure.” he responded sarcastically, before all of a sudden hooking his arms around Minho’s neck and pulling him down to kiss him softly on the cheek. “I love you, flaming charisma.”

“I love you too…” Minho grinned. “Bling bling.”

 Eun Ha and Ji Sung stood shell shocked, jaws dropped so low that they almost grazed the floor. The astonishment and surprise that they both felt in that moment was indescribable in words, so they simply stood there, watching on whilst frequently nudging the other in the ribs. The kisses shared between their two teachers, the pure joy on Mr Choi’s face, how well the polar opposites seemed to get along was just…odd. Not expected. Shocking. Unbelievable. Strange, in some sort of way. But despite all that, when Mr Choi and Mr Kim finally walked off with their hands clasped together tightly, it was with utmost joy when Eun Ha and Ji Sung turned to face one each other.

“That was not Mr Choi.” stated Ji Sung with disbelief, shaking his head softly with wide eyes.

Eun Ha nodded slowly. “I…I think it was, Ji Sung. But Mr Kim and him dating—“

“…”

“…It’s totally adorable!” they squealed simultaneously, jumping with joy.

“My OTP.” added Eun Ha.

Ji Sung nodded fervently in agreement. “I mean sure…at school Mr Choi is an asshole but…I guess he does have a heart after all.”

With a sly smile, Ji Sung stepped closer to Eun Ha and held out his hand.

“Um…” spoke Eun Ha with wide eyes, looking at the offered hand with a frown. “I-I don’t think we should be u-um—“

“—My money, you idiot. You owe me ten dollars.”

Silence filled the air.

“Oh.” blinked Eun Ha. Her gaze lifted to meet Ji Sung’s, and then she smiled wildly with fake innocence glazing her eyes. “Don’t remember, didn’t happen.”