One-Shot

Jongin brandished the tattered exam paper towards his mother, eyes locked on the ground and not once would he dare look up at her. He flinched when the paper was snatched from his palm. Silence fell over the pair for too long and it was only when the female sighed loudly that he knew he was in trouble. The bright red "F" stamped all over his work would,by no means, impress the woman. "What is this?" his mother screeched as she threw the paper in her son's face, eyebrows knit together in a frown. "You told me you'd studied! I even allowed you to go out with that Chanyong friend of yours because you'd been studying so hard!" She abruptly stopped, eyes widening. "He hasn't been encouraging you not to study,has he? Jongin, you know how I feel about that boy-"

"Woah,mom-" Jongin whined,finally succeeding in interrupting his mother's rehearsed lecture. "It's Chanyeol and he studies as hard as I do,probably more." the boy admitted,begrudgingly, recalling specifically how Chanyeol had gained a "B" on this exam. Jongin sighed, no amount of arguing on his behalf would ever come close to the way his mother argued. "It was a difficult module this term,I guess." He shrugged his shoulders. "I'll study harder for the re-test."

"Damn right you will." His mother kicked the lonesome scrap of paper on the ground away from them both,smiling from ear-to-ear as though she'd just done some amazing miracle. "In fact, I think we should get you a tutor." The boy's face fell at the suggestion and his mother made an attempt to cheer him up by patting him on the shoulder. "Only for a few months. Just until the re-test and if you get higher than a "C" then I'll cancel the tutor. How does that sound?" Jongin's only option was to agree. If he were to disagree, there was a chance that his father would involve himself and then there'd be no chance of Jongin having a say in anything.

***

Several weeks later, the high-schooler found himself answering the door for a fellow student early one Saturday morning. The smiling face of Kim Joonmyeon was what greeted him on the other side. 

Kim Joonmyeon.Rich,charming,handsome,the list was indefinite,making Jongin cringe just at the thought. Looking at him now, he hated the way his smile appeared so effortless, as if he was born grinning from ear to ear. Everyone adored Joonmyeon and it was so clear why with his winning personality and gentlemanly mannerisms,how could you not love him? "Jongin! Don't just leave him at the door,invite the poor boy inside" His other scooted past him,ushering Joonmyeon inside and guiding him towards the kitchen and then into the living room whether she'd arranged it so that the lessons could be held there. "If you need anything, be sure to ask Jongin. I'm sure he's willing to help out with anything." She clapped her hands in excitement yet Jongin sighed in desperation. Joonmyeon flashed his award-winning grin and dipped his head. "Thank you,Mrs. Kim. I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

***

"Your mom's nice,you know." Joonmyeon chuckled softly to himself as he arranged his belongings across the table, a collection of textbooks to his left and a glass of water on his right which Jongin had been ordered to get for him before the lesson started. He merely shrugged. "You could say that. Or just excited. She's a little melodramatic,you could say." A short laugh escaped his lips and it felt oddly warming when Joonmyeon joined in. Not many people laughed at what he had to say usually. Nonetheless, it was still Joonmyeon, the school's charming,rich-boy who he hated. Maybe a little less now though.

Jongin glanced over at the calendar on the far wall:21st June. His exam was in a week's time and Joonmyeon had only been a mere six times and he felt as though he was still unprepared. "What's worrying you?" Joonmyeon's soft voice caught the younger boy's attention and he realised Joonmyeon had noticed what he'd been doing since the lesson started. "The exam." he stated bluntly, chewing his lower lip. "It's in a week's time. I'll never be able to learn everything in time." He glanced down at the page of questions the older had presented him with earlier, sighing when he saw that he;d only finished three of them so far. In anger, he threw his pen onto the table and held his head in his hands. "Don't get yourself so worked up about it,Jongin." Joonmyeon started. He placed his hand on the other's shoulder and squeezed it softly. His smile stretched from ear to ear as he rested his head against the table in an attempt to make eye contact with the younger. "Jongin.." Joonmyeon whined,sort-of. He poked the boy's elbow and called his name again. "Jongin.."

"What? Are you going to tell me that everything will be okay and that I'm sure to pass this exam the second time round even though you don't know for sure?" His words tumbled out of his mouth and as soon as he started there was no stopping him. Joonmyeon though wasn't angry like Jongin thought he would be. He purposely avoided any eye contact with him at all,afraid he would lash out or something. That charming persona of his had to get angry sometimes,right? Instead, he just chuckled, a soft laugh,genuine with no hint of malice whatsoever. He patted the boy's head and shook his head, eyes turning into small crescent shape when he smiled. "I wouldn't tell you that unless I believed in it,Jongin. There's no use in lying to a student,right?" Jongin reluctantly brought his head out of his hands when the older started talking. His moist,coffee-coloured orbs met Joonmyeon's and he couldn't help but replicate his smile. Joonmyeon continued encouraging him. "And I believe that you will be ready for this exam next week. You've been working great in all of your lessons so far." As quickly as he could, the older boy fished some of Jongin's recent work from his folder and presented it to him, gesturing to the smiley faces Joonmyeon liked to scribble on the papers to show he'd done well. "See? You'll be just fine. Just imagine the exam is one of your lessons with me,eh?"

***

The week seemed to come much quicker than Jongin wanted but he'd promised Joonmyeon he'd study every night until the big day arrived. Walking into school that morning, Jongin chewed his lip,hugging his study notes to his chest. If only he could speak to Joonmyeon before the exam started, tell him that he truly wasn't ready for this and that he'd made a big mistake in helping him. It'd only ruin his reputation in the school- Kim Joonmyeon,the boy who'd failed to help someone. Jongin shivered at the thought but, just to be sure, he shut the window beside his desk also. His re-test was to be taken in a separate room with all of the other 'failures',as his mom liked to call them, and he started by grabbing his stuff from his bag. Joonmyeon had leant him a small case to store his equipment needed for the re-test and Jongin zipped it open one last time before the exam to check that everything was where he'd left it. 

A small note caught his eye and,when the teacher had his back turned, he slipped it out. In neat handwriting, a small message had been left,earning a huge grin from a very nervous Jongin. 

"Good luck,Jongin. Believe in yourself. Love JM"

End of One-Shot