He hasn’t been to the skatepark since school began, and it’s beginning to drive him crazy. He itches for the freedom of sailing over the concrete with the warm late summer breeze in his face. He yearns for the oddly soothing repetitive sound of the wheels gliding over heated pavement. Mostly, he needs to see the blond boy again, needs to prove to himself that his teacher and that mysterious person cannot possibly be the same no matter how certain his rational mind is on the subject.

Regardless of his displeasure from not being able to sneak off to the skatepark, the first weeks of school are undoubtedly the most fun Yongguk has had in as long as he can remember. At the very least, he is forced to think a lot more than he ever had to do for school in the past. Not about schoolwork or learning because those things come easy to him, but still it is enjoyable to make use of his brain while making plans. So he suffers through all the boring classes that he could pass in his sleep, only managing to keep his sanity by concocting ideas to make Mr. Choi notice him.

It shouldn’t be so hard to do. After all, Yongguk has had people fawning over his every move since he was six years old and his older brother eloped with the e that had frequented the street corner by their house. His parents never came right out and said it, but Yongguk has always been too smart, so he’d understood what had happened even then. His older brother—Yongguk can barely remember him since he’d been so young when his brother left and nobody has spoken of him since—had been their parents pride and joy. All of their expectations had rested on his shoulders, and so, when he ran away, the heavy responsibility of their dreams fell to Yongguk. Cautious of losing their last hope, his parents had kept him in place with firm rules and a strict schedule. Since the age of six, Yongguk has been trained to one day take over the family business whether he wants to or not. He’s always been watched, studied and judged by first his family and his peers, and then as he got older, females of varying ages. He’s always met everyone’s expectations, captured their attention with his intelligence and psychical features.

So why does Mr. Choi disregard him?

Well, that’s not technically true. Mr. Choi doesn’t ignore Yongguk; he simply treats him exactly like he treats the other students. Mr. Choi is all polite conversations, encouraging smiles and thorough lesson plans, which is great and everything. The prime example of what a teacher should be.

But he treats everyone that way, and it frustrates Yongguk. What does he have to do to be noticed by this one person?

Walking into his favorite class on the fourth Monday of his senior year, Yongguk slides into what he’s designated as his seat in the front of the room. The homework from over the weekend is neatly written out and ready to be handed in before half the class has even shown up. The book is opened to today’s chapter, highlighter placed in easy reach with notebook and pencil ready to go beside it.  Yongguk smirks to himself with premature triumph. How can this possibly fail?

Mr. Choi is obviously enthusiastic about teaching, so Yongguk will be the perfect student. It’s flawless in its simplicity.

Right on cue, the blond teacher runs into the classroom with his arms laden with papers and books. The bell rings seconds later, causing the teacher to startle. Yongguk is out of his seat and kneeling to pick up some of the objects that fell from the blond’s tenuous grasp before he realizes what he’s doing. It fits in nicely with his ‘be the perfect student’ plan though.

“Here you go.” He smiles the wide grin that normally has people swooning as he hands the papers back to the teacher, trying valiantly to fight off the blush he can feel rising on his cheeks when their fingers accidentally brush. Yongguk is puzzled by this feeling because this tingling in his stomach, this nervousness rushing through his system, is not something he’s dealt with before. He pushes it away for later inspection and does his best to maintain eye contact with his teacher while he has it. “Mr. Choi, can I ask you a question?”

The blond blinks, a small smile lurking at the edges of his mouth. “Of course, I’m always glad to answer anything for my precious students.”

Yongguk mentally scowls at the reminder that he’s just another student in this man’s eyes. He covers his irritation well and leans forward conspiratorially, distantly noting that the blond’s cologne is more than a little bit pleasant as he unconsciously takes a deep breath to soak it in. Maybe if he talks like an adult, then Mr. Choi will pay more attention to him.

“Why are you always so late to class? Is there someone that keeps you busy during breaks?” Yongguk winks suggestively, but Mr. Choi simply scowls for a moment. The look is so foreign on the almost perpetually cheerful man’s face that Yongguk is shocked. A heartbeat later, the man sighs and smiles brilliantly again. Yongguk isn’t really a poetic sort, or at least not as far as anyone but himself knows, but the look on his teacher’s face reminds him of sunrises, flowers blooming, shooting stars and warm Christmas lights reflecting off pure white snow.

Mr. Choi pats his arm as he stands, ripping Yongguk from his peculiar thoughts. “Mr. Moon often breaks out into dance--I’m sure you’ve noticed--and misplaces the things he needs for his classes which leads to Mr. Kim asking Mr. Jung to help, and well… Mr. Yoo doesn’t really like that. While they’re being crazy, I find whatever Mr. Moon lost, so we can all work to the best of our abilities.” His eyes aren’t focused on Yongguk, looking somewhere past him, kind and sincere, fondness in his tone. “So yes, they do keep me quite busy, but I don’t mind. Now, you should get back to your seat so we can start class, yeah?”

Yongguk can only nod in response. Mechanically, he walks to his desk and writes down half-phrases and partial sentences from the lesson that don’t make any sense upon later review. It doesn’t matter though because he’s much too preoccupied to care, and he more than likely already knows whatever they're learning today.

Throughout the class, his eyes hardly ever stray from Mr. Choi. The blond is overdressed in a neatly pressed suit and bowtie that expertly showcases the long lines of his torso and legs. His hair is styled in a way that makes it look like he didn’t try, but he probably spent at least a half-hour on it. Looking at him, Yongguk finds it hard to believe that he’s younger than this person. It doesn’t seem possible. Yongguk is jaded and guarded, worn down to nothing more than a complacent shell that does what he’s told. Whereas, Mr. Choi is vibrant and full of life, appearing painfully innocent, and yet passionate about teaching and passing knowledge on to others.  

It’s intoxicating.

Energy pours off of Mr. Choi in waves, and it makes Yongguk feel alive just by proximity. Perhaps, that’s why he craves Mr. Choi’s attention so much.

He is perplexed by his emotions in a way that he’s never been before. His heart feels too big, too vulnerable as it beats in his chest. There’s a churning in his stomach, a fog over his thoughts. He’s not stupid, so he has his suspicions about what it means, no matter how much he wishes it weren’t true.

Yongguk has a crush. On his teacher. On his older, decidedly male teacher that barely acknowledges his existence as more than another grade to improve.

This year will definitely be interesting.

*****

A/N: I hope this didn't disappoint so far. Updates should be more frequent (that goes for all of my stories) with any luck. Real life . Comments are lovely ;)