For ZukoFireBook

Jonghyun admits he is probably the laziest student in his cohort. He goes for classes only for the sake of attendance and never participates in class but always makes sure his attendance is taken. He seldom prepares for classes, never completes any required readings, but still manages to get through each lesson by pretending to listen to his professor. If that isn’t enough to prove how he is probably worse than the average student, he never does his assignments until the day before the due date and always submits them just before the deadline. When he prepares for the final exam, Jonghyun does the same, studying only the day before his paper and praying all that he has memorized is enough to get him through the exam. So far, it always works out.

You see, all Jonghyun wants to do is get a pass for each and every module he takes, and by sticking to the way he does things now, he knows he will safely graduate at the end of his four year course. But everything changes as he enters his second semester of his third year in university. Jonghyun ends up taking an advanced module under an eccentric professor who has extremely high expectations. The third year student realises he has to step up his game in order to get a pass from the strict professor who demands a whole lot from his students. It surprises not only his friends but also himself when he voluntarily signs up for the peer tutoring program. Jonghyun thinks it’s best to learn from someone who has taken the module before. And so, he finds himself dedicating two hours on Friday evenings to his tutor, a senior called Lee Jinki.

When Jonghyun first meets Jinki, he instantly understands why Jinki signed up to be a tutor. The fourth year student is just that great a person. There’s just something about Jinki, most probably his smile, which leaves people with a good impression. Jinki doesn’t even have to speak for people to know that he is friendly, helpful and all things good. When their tutoring sessions begin and Jinki starts answering all of Jonghyun’s doubts as well as guides him through the module, Jonghyun can feel just how passionate Jinki is about helping others. Jinki makes Jonghyun believe that there really are good people in this world. Although Jonghyun gets a glare on the second session when he asks in all seriousness for Jinki to send him all his personal notes and completed assignments, Jonghyun can never hold it against his tutor. The more time he spends with the senior, the more Jonghyun finds out about how attractive Jinki actually is. He knows how easy it is to fall in love with the seemingly perfect man but that still doesn’t stop Jonghyun from actually falling in love with him. It is just something that happens so naturally that when Jonghyun finally realises he is in love with his tutor, he is already in too deep.

“Jjong, you’re not listening again.”

At Jinki’s soothing voice, Jonghyun snaps out of his daze and blinks at his tutor, “Huh?”

“Why do you keep staring at me? Is it my hair?” Jinki asks as he consciously pats his newly cut fringe, “It looks weird, doesn’t it?”

“It was fine until you touched it...” Jonghyun laughs as he naturally reaches out to help his tutor style his fringe back into place, “There, all better.”

“Thanks.” Jinki smiles, resisting the urge to touch his fringe again, before he returns his attention to the papers on the desk they were sharing, “So did you manage to catch what I said just now?”

Jonghyun shakes his head as he pushes the papers away and gathers them messily into a pile, “Let’s take a break...”

“But we only started minutes ago.”

“Please?” Jonghyun pleads with his famous puppy eyes that Jinki ultimately surrenders to.

“Fine.” Jinki lets out a breath as he agrees, “You seem distracted anyway... Have something on your mind?”

Jonghyun doesn’t know how to answer that because if he tells Jinki the truth that all he could think about was Jinki himself, his tutor would probably run for his life like a scared rabbit who heard a gunshot.

Eventually, Jonghyun shrugs and says, “You know, just tired from classes and all... didn’t have much sleep last night.”

“What were you doing? Were you out late?” Jinki asks with concern as he frowns at his junior, “You know, Jjong, I think it’s best if you actually manage your time well and make sure you give yourself enough time to prepare for assignments and exams. Don’t always leave things to the last minute.”

“Hyung, you’re so studious sometimes that I’m actually worried you don’t have a life outside school. Jonghyun sniggers, “You need to go out! Have some fun, go on dates… and stuff.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know I do have a life!” Jinki punches Jonghyun on his arm before he coughs and embarrassedly admits, “And umm, I actually have a boyfriend too so we do go out quite a bit.”

“What?” Jonghyun’s jaw drops as he checks if he has heard Jinki correctly, “You have a boyfriend?”

Jinki nods and reveals, “I’ve known him since high school... I should introduce you to him one day, I think you two will make good friends! Oh! And there’s someone else I think you should meet too… I just know you will hit it off with him!”

“Sure...” Jonghyun finds himself saying because that is all he can do to mask the pain in his chest. He quickly puts a smile on his face as he reaches out for the papers and decides that it’s best for Jinki to start tutoring him again.

“We should probably get back to studying now.”

“Alright then, let’s get started!” Jinki announces as he places his concentration to the reading materials that Jonghyun is already staring intently at and mumbles out loud, “There’s quite a number of theories that will be useful for your exam so listen carefully to what I’m about to teach you alright?”

Jonghyun nods absently; the truth is, everything in front of him becomes a blur. It was bad enough that Jinki already has someone he loves… yet, to hear the person he loves want to introduce someone else to him and pair them up together is just plain cruel. Jonghyun doesn’t know how he is even capable of staying where he was, being close to the person who just dashed all his hopes and dream.

As he rattles on with the lesson, Jinki thinks Jonghyun is paying attention but he’ll never know that at that point in time, all Jonghyun can think about is how he never expects that Jinki will also be the one to teach him how it felt to have his heart broken.

Author's Note: i don't think i'm cut out to write angst... *runs away*