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    “Let’s get started– your name is Kim Kibum, right?”

    Kibum shifted in his seat, anxiety already sinking its shaky, annoying claws into him. He sat in a small room with one door, and a table in the center with multiple swivel chairs pushed in around it. This wasn’t the first time he’d had a job interview, but it was certainly one of the most important job interviews he’d ever had. It’d taken him a ridiculous amount of time and effort to get to his current scholastic status, and this position was by far the highest paying, and most overall rewarding position he’d ever applied for.

    “Yes, that’s me.”

    The man across the table set out a small stack of papers on the table in front of him, then looked up to meet Kibum’s eyes. 

And, was that a cruel move. 

He was gorgeous.  

The man smiled brightly, flashing white teeth and tilting his head ever-so-slightly as to make his light brown hair fall just barely in his eyes. Kibum noticed at this point that he was dressed casually, unusual for this sort of confrontation, and seemed to be more laid back than determined in examining Kibum’s skills. Kibum smiled weakly in return, not quite knowing what to think and being caught of guard when he began to speak again. 

“I’m Kim Jonghyun, head of the Bio department. Or– well, more like co-head. Jinki’s really the genius around here.”

“Uh-huh…” 

Kibum was beginning to get slightly annoyed by the time he was wasting, but it all became forgiven because the man–Jonghyun–smiled again, and the whole world turned upside down and made Kibum dizzy. 

“I’m sorry, let's get to some questions, yeah?” 

“O-okay.”

Kibum mentally prepared himself as much as he could, at a loss for what he might be asked. The clock on the wall seemed to tick much louder, and though Kibum hadn't realized it, his hands were sweating as well. He didnt know how he’d forgive himself if he let go of an opportunity this huge. 

“What do you believe is the best way to teach a class, and which mediums would you use to do so,” Jonghyun read off of his papers, then looked up again, one hand holding up the sheet, the other mindlessly tapping a pen. His lips were still pulled into a small smile, his eyes watching Kibum’s every fidgety move with interest.

“Well,” Kibum started, collecting himself and taking a breath, “I would approach from a few angles, as to make sure everyone in class can be taught in a way that they understand… Different learning styles, I believe, should be attended to in order for the best results. So, all-in-all, I’d probably use powerpoints, study sheets, auditory lectures, and test review to state a few tactics.” 

Jonghyun leaned back in his seat, still keeping his eyes on Kibum and tapping a pen with one hand. He nodded a few times, then continued with the questions. 

“How would you accommodate students with plans, such as 504 and other documents as such.”

The way Jonghyun’s words were spoken were nearly lyrical, even if they were boring and statistical. Kibum noticed the way the pitch of his voice changed, the overall softness and uniqueness that came to intrigue him. This was by far the worst case scenario for this interview, Kibum concluded, biting his lip and trying to shake away how badly he wanted to just get Jonghyun’s damn number. 

“Uh– right, well, I’d provide printed powerpoints, extra testing time, allow audio recording for lectures, and provide other resources like… video recommendations and links, books, and so on,” Kibum finished, snapping his mouth closed as quickly as possible in fear of saying something stupid and messing up his interview. 

Jonghyun smiled again, and now it was just pissing Kibum off how much it got to him. 

Kibum looked at the table, then pushed back his black, waved bangs in a nervous gesture. Finally, although he really didn't want to at this point, he looked back up to Jonghyun and met his eyes. 
They were nice eyes, pretty, wide, creased but not perfect– slight dark circles rimmed the bottom, and Kibum could understand why as a teacher that would be. They complimented the rest of his face, which was unique and ultimately flawless. Kibum began to silently envy his full lips and dashing smile, as he believed his own was very thin and often mistaken for fake. Everyone he asked said otherwise, but irrational loathing of one’s own features was inevitable. 

Jonghyun snapped him out of his daze when the pen’s tapping stopped. Kibum realized that the brunette was now leaning on his elbows on the table, looking at Kibum with his face in between his hands. Kibum saw it as pretty unprofessional, but he didn't complain. 

“What is your personal preference in when classes begin and end for your teaching period? Do you live in the city? What is your marital status?”

Jonghyun half mumbled, as if on automatic at this point, still gazing into Kibum’s eyes as if lost in them. Kibum took another deep breath. 

“I’m a morning person, but really any time of day is wonderful. I live in the city, near fourth street, and I am single.”

Kibum noticed how the last part of his sentence came out, and he began to open his mouth to rephrase but was cut off with Jonghyun’s own comment.

“You’re single?”

“Uh,” Kibum’s eyes widened, “yeah?” 

Jonghyun grinned, playfully tilting his head, still as if in a lovestruck lull. Kibum, rather, felt like he was on fire, cheeks heated, palms sweating, the whole package. 

“You wanna go out with me to dinner?” 

Kibum felt his soul leave his body. His train of thought off the tracks, leaving him to reply on impulse rather than plan– because he certainly hasn't planned this. 

“What about–”

“The interview? Ah, don't worry about it,” Jonghyun huffed, sitting up and waving his hand around with his words, “the board approved you yesterday, and you're the only good pick. Technically, I needed to do this, but really as far as I’m concerned you've passed…”

“I did?”
    
“You more than passed,” Jonghyun smiled sweetly, innocently, somewhat too giddily, “you’ve done super well, and you're so cute, that you've not only got the job, but a date if you want.”

Kibum scoffed at the cheezy comment but couldn't help chuckling to himself as well. He covered his mouth with his hand. 

“Yeah, okay,” Kibum answered, making Jonghyun’s pretty eyes light up with excitement.

“Really?”

“You're really cute, and you can give me a lot of advice for this job, so yes,” 

    
Kibum couldn't match the pure joy on the brunette’s face in that moment, but still he laughed at the over-dramatic expressions, the jokes Jonghyun made about the job as the night progressed, and how wonderful of a kisser he turned out to be. Kibum fell in love with the idea that he was casual, comfortable, inviting, yet still polite– pulling out Kibum’s chair, holding his hand when he finally took up the courage to, asking before every move he made. 

Laying in bed that night, an arm over his chest and soft snoring emanating from the figure beside him, he really couldn't imagine a better outcome for the interview he’d been fearing the entire day.