Work Experience Training Day 2

“So, is everyone ready~~” Professor Fujimoto adjusted his funky thick-rimmed glasses. “Then let’s get cracking, shall we~~ Ah! And remember, all your computers are hooked up to the mainframe and each other, so try not to spend too much time surfin’ websites, k~~”

“….Sensei!!!!!!!!!! We would never!!!” “…speak for yourself~~” Jimin sotto-voiced at Hana’s outraged gasp, making Sehun, who was sitting beside him, chortle.  In sharp contrast to the day before, the atmosphere in this office was really fun – they were assigned to the Economics College today, and had been snapped up by one of the classes in the Behavioural Economics Dept - It seemed the last few weeks the senpais had been going around the town, handing out surveys, and today their task was to input all the data into the computers. The professor in charge was super cool, with tattoos all up and down his arms, a waistcoat over a white tee, and even a quirky hat, jauntily stuck on one side. The office was pretty casual too, with a messy Snacks section along one wall, and colourful posters blaring down from every side advertising local festivals and concerts, along with motivational cat print-outs. All the college students who worked there were totally laid back, and ready to help them if they had any doubts or were confused about something, even the ones who dressed more professionally – all in all, the impression was of an Arts course, and not at all like what they’d imagined an Economics dept to be!! The 4 of them were alone today, too, Yuuna Sensei and Yixing Sensei were with the third and first years, so they were even more relaxed…..

The room was set up with rows of tables backed by comfortable chairs (Coz Fujimoto Sensei said “if you’re going to be sitting for hours you have to be careful about your butts”), each with a computer, and a workspace piled high with the surveys. Tao had been assigned a spot next to a really cool college student (it was the first time Tao had been this close to someone with an actual lip ring, and it took a long time before his fascination faded; Arata Senpai was really nice though, answering all his questions, from, “did it hurt”, to “how do you eat”, to “doesn’t it get caught on stuff”) , while Sehun sat next to Jimin, diagonally in front.

Huh…..

Funnily enough, this was pretty much the same view of him he had during school, too….
And somehow, Tao couldn’t stop the old reflex of looking up, sneaking peeks and stealing glances at him every now and then….

It felt a little bit… different though…

just the fact he was in casual clothes?

.... I dunno….

But……

Wow, Sehun’s really really good looking isn’t he…. like… objectively, totally rationally speaking – he’s amazingly handsome? Like a…. a…. celebrity, or something! Ehehe, yeah, he should totally like, become an idol or something…

Ah…

But…

I..

Tao frowned – it felt sort of weird…but… it was kinda uncomfortable to think of… uncomfortable in an oddly… kinda… painful way, the idea of

other people….

Looking at him….

Huh???

What is this….

Ehehe, when did I become so possessive over my friends, usually it’s Ten who gets annoyed if everyone doesn’t agree he’s their “best” friend out of the whole group and stuff…

Wait, this is…. A bit…. -Different-   from that, righ-

ah!

As he was working his mind over the problem, Sehun turned around, feeling his gaze on him –

As their eyes met, Tao reflexively spun around, blushing, like he’d been caught - in an instant slipping back into the old pattern, the old fear and anxiety and muddle –

Wait!!! That’s right! –

We’re…

Now we’re…..

So it’s fine, right….  Grinning sheepishly, he looked up again - just in time to see Sehun stick his tongue out at him. Laughing, Tao stuck his tongue out too, flipping him off for good measure, setting Sehun off into giggles, though he just shook his head at him in a superior manner, as if to say, “what a child”, before turning back to his work, his cheeks only slightly reddened…

Which turned into a full blown tomato red the next time, when Sehun was the one who had sneakily peeped around, only to get caught by Tao…..

And as the day progressed, the surveys tediously dragging on, it happened again – and again – and again, till it evolved into an actual game. The rules were simple – to catch the other person looking at you, or alternatively, to look at the other person without getting caught (though there were no points for that). Each time you caught them, you got one point – and by the time they broke for lunch, Professor Fujimoto having come in with a giant tray piled high with sandwiches and subs and boxes of pastries, Sehun was happily laying claim to Tao’s chocolate cake – he’d won 22 to 16, and was proudly teasing Tao about the fact, loudly exclaiming how bad the Wushu club must be, if their ace had such slow reflexes….

Both of them laughing and teasing, as if the game hadn’t started to get really uncomfortable, and the weird tension between them grown till it was like a ripe fruit that only needed the slightest touch to burst open, spewing seeds everywhere….

By unspoken agreement though, once they got back to what had quickly become a really boring task of typing in the answers to the surveys, both of them called a ceasefire, and spent the next three hours studiously avoiding each other’s eyes.

“Aaahhhh…. My eyes are burning!”

“From the screens right… I’m getting cramps in my fingers typing that much! Aaarghhh after yesterday’s potatoes and now this, I’m going to go lame in my hand, fo sho!!”

“…ehehe, idiot.. ahh, but it was soo much better than yesterday!!!”

“I know right!!!! Professor Fujimoto was so nice!!”

“And so cool!!! I wouldn’t mind working for him!! Ah…that is, if the work wasn’t that BORING!!”

“Yeah!! Ehehe, but he sure was nice though….. Even giving us two boxes of pastries to take back to the dorms~~”

“Speak for yourself, I really don’t wanna share this with Ishihara the demon..”

“……well, we can give him the smallest slice~~ Aaaaahhhnnnnn…” Stretching, Tao looked over to Sehun as they walked back, past the rambling gardens. Jimin had already run off to see if Yua had finished her Work-Exp, and Hana disappeared long ago, leaving them to go back to the dorms alone. “Hey..”

“Hmm?”

“It’s still early, right, it’s just 5pm…. Let’s go somewhere?”

“…eehh…where?”

“I dunno…. Like, around the college? Or the town…”

“This campus is huge! I mean, it’s not a “college” at all, right, it’s a “university”… I’m not walking all around it!!”

“…eeehhhhhh Sehun~ Stingy!!”

“……….. …………. Go die, you jock-freak, go get your exercise by yourself!”

“…… …………. Aaahhhh…this from the guy who had three and a half slices of cake for lunch, I guess you don’t care even if you get fat, eh, Hunnie~~”

“………… …………. Let’s go.”

The campus around the university was huge and rather daunting, so first stop was the Information centre beside the Admin Offices they’d been to the first day. Happy to help, the kind lady at the counter gave them a map, and even marked out a route! “Aahh, and this building here has the best ramen shop in the whole town, everyone loves it – and right here, to one side of the Quad., is a little crepe stand – it’s small, but they have super delicious ones! Ah…and if you wait, till about seven pm, see this lot here – it’s empty otherwise, but in the evening, there are a lot of food trucks that open here – ah, you’ll see when you go to the Restaurant course –”

“Oh, we already finished that yesterday!”

“Ehh..is that so~~ well, most of these food trucks are run by the students of the Culinary School – we feel it’s a good way for them to learn “on the ground”, so to speak, right~~ Plus let them earn some spending money~~~ So be sure to check them out!! And right over here – ah, before that, these are our rose gardens, they are modelled after the British style, and the flowers are in bloom right now, so definitely don’t miss it!! And just down from there – this here is a little stream, there’s a very pretty bridge to cross – we have shops, boutiques, general goods, convenience stores – all in this one area, so you can browse through as you like!”

“….WOW!!!” “this is incredible!!!” “All on a college campus!??” “Ehehe..well, it is a university, you know, so we have to cater to a lot of colleges, and lots of different students… But yes, it was intentional – you see, our goal was to create a complete city within our walls… Hahaha, most of our students never even step out of the campus grounds in all the time they’re here – all the dorms are here, plus everything you could need – shops, restaurants, cafés… next year, we’re even opening a multiplex beside the convention centre, so it’s really a world within a world!!”

“….whaaaa~~~” “this is so cool!!”

“Ehehe, you boys work hard, and you could definitely get to study here someday too!!”

“…ah…ehehe, yeah! Thank you!” “Thank you, madam!” “Have fun!! Bye bye now~~ and feel free to come ask me if you need anything else, okay!!” “Yeah!!” “Byee!!!”

“Whaa this is so cool!!”

“yeah! I knew it was big, but I didn’t realise…”

“hey!! Where do you wanna go first!!!??Where do you wanna go first?? Should we go to the Persian café? Aahh that sounds so cool!! Oh oh oh, or this, the shops, let’s go shopping first!!?? I bet they have really nice stuff, Arata senpai was telling me how awesome the Fashion Design College is, seems his girlfriend goes there – and I bet they’re the ones managing these shops, right?? Right??”

“……………..”

“……what!?”

“I swear I can see your tail wagging.”

“….eeeeehhhhhh what’s that supposed to mean!!”

“alright, alright, down Tao-puppy, let’s just go along like this – see, the route she marked, so we can go round in a circle – and ‘stead of cutting through here, we can just go through this way, so we’ll end up at the lot with the food trucks – and then from there to the dorms?” Sehun traced his finger across the map, and Tao eagerly agreed with everything he said – making him to reach to ruffle and mess up his hair.

“Hey!!! Stop it!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, there’s no mirrors here right, Mr I need-3-hours-to-fix-my-hair~~”

“….erfhd…well….I do have a pocket mirror-”

“……..UWWhhahaahahahahhaaaaaa!! Omg, you girl!!!!!!!!!!!”

“Shurrttup!!!! Stupid Sehun!!! Be…be…besides, I did not take 3 hours!!”

“…aahhuhhh, you almost did, the only reason we weren’t late today is coz I went in first~~ idiot~~ C’mon, let’s go see those gardens~~”

“Umm!!” Happily, Tao skipped up to him, linking his arm through his, as they set off.

It turned out to be the most fun few hours – wandering round the rose gardens till Sehun yelled he’d had enough (the heavy dolorous scent was stuporous , making his head ache, though the idiot was totally into it, taking roughly 3746483999 selfies in the midst of the blossoms, then about double that of twoshots with them both, pulling and tugging and arranging Sehun artistically beside the rose creepers, the bower, the ruler-straight beds of bushes…) (Even though Sehun cribbed, he had to admit some of the pics were really nice…. Of course, there had been an awkward moment when Tao had announced he was gonna upload and post all of ‘em – for some reason, something inside Sehun had violently opposed the idea stupid nut, this is OUR time, why the do we have to share it with….etc), after which they’d meandered along to the Shopping district… Sure enough, they did have to cross a creatively constructed miniature stream, with a picturesque stone-hewn bridge, to get to the large complex of shops – and they’d ended up basically having to sprint all the way, coz…

damn college kids!!!!!!!!!!

The grassy slopes leading to the stream were filled – completely blanketed  - with couples being all lovey dovey; Sehun had literally seen some of ‘em totally making out right there, in public - not to mention something going on by the clump of trees at the crest of the slope he did not wanna even accidently look at - and worst of all, when, hurrying by as fast as they could and keeping their heads down, the two of them had bumped smack into a couple of a couple….

of

Guys!! Actually!! KISSING!!!!!!!!!

 – Startled, Tao had just gawped, but Sehun had had the presence of mind to grab his arm, and pull him off the older kids – who barely noticed, the guy whose back they’d stumbled into only vaguely looking around, leaving off biting his boyfriend’s lip long enough to wave their apologies off, before diving back in….. Pretty much 60 different shades of red from their toes to their ears, the boys had rushed off, not slowing down till they were inside the thankfully air-conditioned, clinically cool clothing store they’d barged into. For some reason, that had absolutely been the most uncomfortable moment of his entire life, and Sehun couldn’t even bring himself to look at Tao after that – and apparently, it was mutual,  it took them about 20 minutes of awkwardly trying on clothes before they’d been able to act normally around each other….)

The clothing shops were, just like Tao had predicted, being run by students from the fashion designing school, and the stores they went into were brilliant – the first full of pastel and coloured clothing, discreet checks and pinstripes, polo necks and cardigans – though everything was way too expensive for their high school pocket money, Tao had insisted Sehun looked so good in those “ivy league” clothes, he’d taken prol another GB of photos, making Sehun model for him….. and despite all his grumbling, Sehun had really had fun…. Not only did he actually look awesome in these clothes, but Tao’s total honest-to-God awe at how Sehun appeared – the way he so enthusiastically, so whole heartedly..practically… worshipped his looks – it just…

Arrghh, he didn’t ever wanna stop trying on different outfits just to show off in front of Tao, and hear him praise him like this!!!

 The second shop was more casual, cartoon prints, joke tee shirts, aisles of just accessories… they ended up buying a bunch of stuff, pooling their money together after realising they could kinda wear the same size, so they were able to buy loads of different items they could share…. (it wasn’t until much later that Sehun suddenly remembered, with a really odd feeling like he’d been punched in the gut, that he didn’t actually normally live with Tao….). The third store though, was the one that looked awesomest – it was totally like an explosion of punk rock and metal - black leather and spikes in the windows, loud music thumping from inside… Super excited, Sehun and Tao had pushed their way in – and the interior did not disappoint, it was done up like one of those “industrial” themed clubs, with bare pipes and hanging stairs, chains and chrome, the mannequins up on little stages made to look like the ones dancers used, some of them even in cages!!! The clothes were fabulous too, Tao quickly running in as he spotted the perfect leather jacket, Sehun surreptitiously eyeing the giant -off boots on display –

“Ah!! Arata Senpai!!!”

“….eehhh… Tao-cchi~~ What are you doing here~~”

“We came here coz we got off early - but this is amazing!”

“Ehehe, I’m glad you like it~~ Oh hey, Sehun~~”

“Hello, senpai, hey, are these for guys?”

“Eh? Yeah…I guess..?? Ah, it’ll definitely look cool anyway~~ You should try it on~~”

“…eeeehhhh no way, nu-huh, I can’t-”

“Eehhh, what’s with that, come on – ah! Jin! “mere a sec, wouldcha~~”

“Hmm…?” A tall, long legged purple-head, who had been sorting out clothes over to one side, kinda wearing a shirt with the shop’s logo on the front (only ripped up to reveal a bunch of lace pressed tight to her flawless skin, paired with a super short plaid skirt with garters and thigh high boots), came up – and Arata Senpai grabbed her, wrapping both hands around her waist as he gestured to Sehun. “Look, he wants to know if he can try those on~~”

“Ehh…of course!! Ah…. But you know, I think those platforms over there will suit you more…”

“….ar…h….”

“And, oh – while you’re at it, try- Oy! Arata, let go, you !”

“…eeehhhhh don’t be so mean, aren’t you my girlfriend~~”

“…..humph whatever, I’m working now, so go sit in the back like a good boy!”

“…eheheh… If I behave, does that mean I’ll get rewarded later~~”

“..You bet~~” Flirting, Arata senpai’s girlfriend – Jin senpai – leant in to kiss him, before shoving him off towards the back. Turning about, she quickly grabbed a pair of printed skinny jeans from one rack, a red tee and a black printed ripped up one from another, with a jacket – cloth, not leather, but with giant safety pins and chains stuck in, from the hangers against the walls, before lastly adding the boots she’d showed him earlier to the pile – they looked like some sort of military meet punk cross, totally cool – before pulling him in the direction of the changing rooms. “Go on, try that on!”

“..hey!! What about me??”

“…Ehhh…” laughing, she looked Tao up and down. “Ah! I think for you…. We can go a little nearer the edge than your boyfriend, huh….let’s see, how about that –”

“Gurhu-”  “ahrh!!” “Grnhg-”

“…..eh?” Puzzled, she stopped, quizzically raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow at the boys who were spluttering at her.

“..we’re not-” “REALLY not-” “we’re ju-” “FRIENDS!!”

“………eh????”

“…………” The image of those guys they’d just run into still uppermost in Sehun’s head, he subsided into fiery silence, leaving Tao to explain. “we’re..grhhmm – just friends, not..urnmn..”

“……………eeeehhhhhhh….” For a long moment, she looked archly at them, tapping her lip with a long, rhinestone encrusted finger, before turning back to picking clothes for Tao. “Is that so~~~”

“…………”

“………………………….”

“Well, here you go, go on then, I guess you’ll need two changing rooms after all, ehehe~~” Laughing as they choked, she pushed them towards the changing rooms, going back to the rack she’d been sorting through.

“….tr..ao…” Sehun whispered, tugging his sleeve.

“Hmm?”

“She- that is…I mean, Jin…senpai…..that’s a guy, right?”

“………OH MY GOD, SE-”

“SSSHHHHhhhhh!!!!!”

“AH! Sorry…urm – yeah!! That’s what I was thinkin too!!!! That’s definitely a guy, right??? But Arata senpai said “girlfriend”…”

“….plus, I mean, her body is like a girl’s? Just tall…and like…’round the shoulders a bit…but those are definitely s!?”

“Yeah, but, Sehun! Adam”s apple!! Girls don’t have ‘em right?? The s could be fake…”

“….yeah…..” Sighing, Sehun shook himself, stepping into the tiny changing cubicle and closing the door. “College kids are so weird….”

“….eehhhh….”

“….Huh??” Over the sound of zippers and the slither of cloth, Sehun frowned at the artistically grafittied-on-purpose wall that separated him from Tao.

“Ah…nothing….”

“What???”

“ehehe…well…it’s just…. I thought if it’s Sehun you’d start yelling about “homos” and want to like, leave right away or something…”

“………….”Blushing, Sehun quickly turned away, pulling his tee shirt off and reaching to untie his sneakers. “Shuttup!”

Ah……

But…yeah… it doesn’t…..

I mean, not that it doesn’t bother me, it bothers me A LOT, even more than before, like really….really… bothers me…

But just…

Not in that same way…..

As he looked up in preparation to putting on the red tee shirt Jin senpai had picked out, he accidently glanced in the mirror – and froze.

It was stuck to the back of the door, reflecting just the tiny cubicle, so small he barely fit in – grey and black walls with bright lines around the graffiti…

And only him inside…

But somehow….

Somehow….

!!!!!

Maybe it was some weird reaction in his brain, set off by seeing those guys, and then Jin senpai…. And spending all his time hanging out with that idiot…

But it was like..

Just on the other side of this wall….Tao was taking his clothes off too, right……

For a moment –

Like he was back there, like what he was seeing in the mirror was what he’d seen that day he’d been clearing up after that stupid basketball match, and he’d seen Tao…

Tao with that girl…

Tao’s face…. Screwed up, almost like he was in pain, but…

Flushed…

Those noises…..

!!!!!!!!!!!! this is bad, this is OH Sehun get a grip –

“Se..hun..~~~ you done~~?”

“…gru-ah” Stopping to cough, and loudly clear his throat, Sehun snapped up, hurriedly pulling on the jeans, and the black tee – “Almost!”

“Ah, me too!! Hey, this looks good!!! I think…. Do I look good….”

“….how should I know , till I see y…..o…….u…………” They’d finished at the same moment, opening the doors and stepping out together –

“……”

“ah…….”

The next moment, mumbling something incoherent, they both burst back into their respective cubicles, slamming the doors so hard behind them, Sehun sinking down onto the floor in his cell, Tao shoving his face into the wall of his.

!!!!!!

–

BU DUMP

he looked –

BU DUMP

BU DUMP

How – omgomgomg – he looks so …..ing…..

The outfit was beyond imaginable on Sehun, the jacket emphasising his ing broad shoulders – omg what is this, I feel so weird, what – did he always – his shoulders are so broad, his arms, his…his whole ing frame – , why did I always think of him as “slender” or….”feminine” or…kinda slight……he’s not anything like that at all, he’s so ing manly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And his skin – that shirt, the red peeping out through the ripped black one on top, it was like –

BU DUMP

BU DUMP

BU DUMP

!!!! Holy , how is he so – Jin Senpai had, indeed, picked a more outrageous look for Tao, the shirt was ripped just like Sehun’s, but without anything underneath, it just revealed his tanned, bronzed skin, muscular torso..the deep gashes in the cloth were “bound” by strips of leather with metal work, so the whole thing looked like..some sort of…. -hooolly crap what the , omg-

Over that, he had a leather jacket with dangerously sharp looking spikes, and his thighs tightly sculpted, like they were ing POURED into – leather pants, ending in boots similar to Sehun’s….

BU DUMP

BU DUMP

BU DUMP –

“Oyyyy!! Aren”t you two done yet!??”

“…………………………………………………..”

“…ah…”

“erm…” “yeah…” “sorry….” Sheepishly, the two of them slowly – carefully, so as to not look at the other – stepped out again, emerging into the main floor –

“Oh my god!!!” Jin senpai clapped her hands, rushing at them – tugging them this way and that, making some adjustments to Tao’s shirt, rucking up Sehun’s undershirt….. Squealing all the while about how she’d known, she was such a genius, wasn’t she –

“…eh….?”

“This is fabulous!! This is brilliant!!”

Hearing the commotion, Arata senpai came out too – and to the boys’ still growing befuddlement, he seemed just as struck, coming over to prod and poke at them.

“Just the hair, hmm?” “and the styling…” “this one could do with a piercing?” “I was thinking that chain ring from the winter collection – “ “ah, the cross! That would look awesome!” “Riiiighhhtt~~???”

“Hey!!” Tired at them talking over their heads – and kinda wary about where this conversation was heading, Sehun cut in. “What’re you-”

“Ah!! That’s right!! You guys are working in the different colleges all week, right?”

“….yeah…” Tao slowly pronounced, looking as warily as Sehun at Arata senpai.

“That’s great!! Jin, put in a request for them!!”

“Yeah!!! This will totally blow that stupid out the water!! Muhahhahahahahaaa!!!!”

------

“So, you want us to model?” Sehun picked out a slice of strawberry, making sure to scoop a good dollop of cream and caramel along with it. After they’d changed back into their regular clothes, Arata senpai had walked them to the next stop on their tour, the crepe shop, treating them to the deluxe size crepe of their choice. “Um!”  The sun was starting to set – dying the sky a brilliant tawny red, the ochre disc glimmering through the trees… this part of the campus was really calm, a cobblestoned quadrangle bounded by the Joint Library on three sides, and the Astrophysics building on the other. Large trees, enormous with age, stood here and there, erupting over generations from the cobblestones, and wide parapets had been cemented around them, where kids sat, talking in low voices, or reading, or like them, eating crepes.

“Jinks been thinking about getting someone to wear her clothes and walk about the town, handing out fliers and stuff for the shop, ya know… like promotion…She’s been facing kinda stiff competition from Ayumi-Chan – ah, perhaps you guys went to her shop? The first one in the complex..”

“…eh? Yeah! With the….preppy clothes….”

“Yup! Ayumi and Jin are the top students of their year, so they’re really competitive with each other…. And ever since Ayumi won the contest held a couple of months back by the Arts College’s advertising dept., her sales rocketed – they made a CM, it looked damn near professional, ya know, and played it during the Festival….Well, ever since then, Jin’s been really looking for a hook, and I think you guys will be perfect!”

“…….whoa…..”

“I…..”

“WE”D LOVE TO!!!” both of them burst out together – then – “eh..?” turned to each other – before bursting out laughing. “Ehehehe, modelling sounds so much fun!!”

“Plus I look killer in that outfit!!”

“It’s super cool!!!”

“Yeah, and hot!!!”

“Yeah!!!”

“………………. ………………….” Arata senpai, who’d been watching them with a raised eyebrow, started sniggering – cutting their enthusiasm short as they turned to frown at him. “….senpai!! Why’re you laughing!!??” “Jin senpai and you’ve been doing that all this time, what’s so funny??!!”

“…so…ry…sorry, nothing….” Waving his hands in apology, he finally smothered his laughter.

“…………humph.” “Tcheh…senpai….” “Well, anyway, we’d love to, but really, we don’t get to decide, they just tell us everyday where we have to go, and then when we get there the professor says what to do-”

“yeah, so it’s no use asking us…”

“plus, I don’t even know if we’ll be allowed to go off campus, to the town….”

“yeah!”

“Ehehe~ you guys don’t worry about that!!” Standing up and stretching, Arata senpai started on his way back, waving goodbye. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it – since you are, I have no qualms getting Jin to talk to the Professor – if they put in a request early, they can get you, just like how Fujimoto got you guys today~~ Bye bye then! Ah, enjoy the rest of your safari~~” facetiously winking, he disappeared round the corner of the courtyard.