As slowly as humanly possible, Minjun put away his things, and silently cursed when a classmate tried to talk to him. Eventually, she got the hint and left along with the other students, giving him the opportunity to approach the teacher's desk.

“Uh… hi, teacher.” Minjun started slightly more awkwardly than he would have liked, but quickly moved ahead before it would become even worse. “I… just wanted to thank you for the coffee the other day, and pay you back.”

“Oh, it was nothing, really.” Teacher Changkyun smiled, but before he could refuse payment, Minjun blurted out like he had planned:

“Or I could buy another coffee for you... like… instead?”

The silence was deafening, and Minjun started to lose his spirit. What was he thinking? It was Friday evening, so of course a University student like Changkyun would have plans with friends his own age. So it wouldn't turn too awkward, he retreated: “Or if you are busy...”

“A coffee sounds nice.”

“Great,” Minjun tried his best not to smile so broadly it would become creepy, “I know a good place in the neighborhood.”

By 'knowing a good place', he of course meant that he had spent his entire lunch break (and maybe also a part of his work day) searching for the perfect place. Somewhere quiet and cozy so they could talk, but not too quiet so it would become awkward. A place that would set the right mood for a date, but would also work for a casual meeting between friends, if this would turn out to be a non-date. And a place where the coffee was highly recommended, because Minjun wanted to show that he was a man of taste. So it hadn't been easy, but eventually he found it, a small warm family place, a hidden gem, judging from reviews and pictures on the internet.

Little did his research pay off, because when they arrived, it was closed, due to a family emergency the note on the door said.

“Oh... I'm sorry,” Minjun stuttered awkwardly, completely at loss now that his plans had been ruined. “I... I... didn't know.”

Why did something like this always happen to him?

Luckily teacher Changkyun didn't seem to mind so much.

“Don't worry… we can always check it out later.” As happy as the prospects of seeing him again made Minjun, he had sort of been hoping they could spend some time together now, so it was difficult not to be disappointed. But then the teacher surprised him by adding, “Maybe we should grab something to eat instead? I know a place nearby?”

“Sure, I'd love that.” He couldn't get the words out of his mouth fast enough.

Soon, Minjun convinced himself that going to a restaurant was a much better idea, this wasn't the time of the day for coffee, dinner made much more sense. Walking along side Changkyun was nice, he was nice. And now, when Minjun wasn't focused on pretending to know the route to a coffee place he had never visited, he could use every opportunity to glance at him from time to time and he liked what he saw. His teacher was handsome, and kind of cool the way he dressed and styled his hair. And now that they were walking side by side, Minjun also realized that he was actually shorter than he looked, which somehow made him even cuter.

The restaurant didn't take too long to reach, and they found a nice table at the back. The atmosphere of the place was far from romantic, and Minjun tried to tell himself that he wasn't disappointed. That he hadn't really been hoping for that, he had only wanted to repay for the coffee. Besides, as a college student it did make sense that Changkyun liked these kinds of places, where both the alcohol and food came cheap. So even though it wasn't really his usual style, he decided that dinner was on him, and he would take care of it smoothly afterwards.

Talking to the teacher was even easier than he remembered. He was so mature for his age, Minjun couldn't help being impressed, and maybe a little bit attracted. It was his sense of humor he decided, because he was unexpectedly funny. The deep, kind of raspy voice was good too. And he was smart, Minjun liked smart guys. And he really was cute. Minjun was not opposed to those either.

But most importantly he was very grown up for his age, so Minjun didn't have to feel too guilty about finding him a little y from time to time. It was the tongue, occasionally peeking out, and the voice, and the way he casually leaned back, and his laughter and his smile and his manly eyes.

Not that Minjun had any expectations. Of course not. He was just casually drinking beer with his English teacher, repaying him for a favor.

Still, he couldn't even to pretend not to be disappointed when he happened to turn his head and noticed the time on the wall.

“Ah, .”

“What?”

“It's late.” He sighed. “And I should go... if I want to catch the last metro home.”

“Ah...” Changkyun's gaze wandered down to his beer, before he looked up again, staring right at him as he casually added: “Or you could just... not.”

“Not?” Instantly Minjun's heart started beating a thousand times per second.

“Yeah... My place is pretty close by, so if you wanted to crash... I wouldn't mind.” Even though his voice was very casual, his gaze was not. Of course Minjun tried with all his might not to read too much into it. That was hard. But it was not like he could refuse an offer like this.

“If you are okay with that...?”

“I am.”

There was no force in the world that could stop Minjun from smiling, so he grabbed the attention of the nearest waitress and quickly asked:

“Two more beers please.”

The atmosphere changed after that. Became more intense. Or maybe that was only on Minjun's side. He tried to keep the conversation light, but he couldn't stop the knot from forming in his stomach. Were they really going to his house? What would happen? Would maybe nothing happen? Minjun wanted something to happen. Some very specific... things. He couldn't even pretend otherwise. Not with a few beers in his system. Not when Changkyun was looking at him like that.

The evening that had been passing so fast, suddenly turned slow. Very slow. The clock barely moving at all. Maybe it was the tension, or possibly just tiredness, but eventually they ran out of beers and things to say. But Changkyun kept looking at him. Directly at him, which made his stomach warm, and heart tingly. That could only mean one thing, right? Or maybe it was just one of those things that young people did these days and Minjun didn't understand, like watching fifteen second videos online, and texting in allcaps.

“So should we go?” Changkyun suggested. It was a simple thing to say, but somehow he made it sound y.

“Okay.” In spite of the beers, Minjun's mouth was dry. “Let me go to the bathroom first.”

After splashing some water in his face, and convincing the bathroom mirror that he didn't have any expectations, and that he was totally fine even though nothing would happen, Minjun felt refreshed.

When he came back to the restaurant, Changkyun was already standing by the counter.

“Oh hi, you're back.”

“But...” Pointing to the counter, Minjun suddenly remembered his plan to smoothly pay for everything, be the responsible hyung (even though he normally wasn't too enthusiastic to spend his money).

“I took care of it.”

“But...”

“This restaurant was my choice, so it makes sense. Don't worry about it hyung.”

Any more objections were stopped by a charming smile, and Minjun's stomach turned into a mess when his teacher repeated:

“Common... let's go to my house.”