Junmyeon swears to all gods that his actual (and only) goal when he enters the library one morning is to study. Nothing else. He pushes the doors with a game face on, focus intact. He'll have an exam in three hours and he swears to himself he won't settle for a grade lower than 99. Why? Because he has standards too high he himself can't even meet.

He mentally lists the things he needs to read and expects to stick to it faithfully alongside his hope for no distractions. But life loves to things up on him because three words on his Humanities reviewer and thirty minutes later, Junmyeon is covering half of his face with a book except for his eyes. He is supposed to read on a literary piece about the beauty of Florence but the moment his sight lands on a boy sleeping solemnly right across him, he decides he can perhaps spend a couple of minutes (extendable to hours, to be honest) on a form of beauty he believes should be the actual topic for Humanities.

"M-minseokkie," he whispers in between gritted teeth and tries to quell the giddy warmth in his chest that would normally translate to incomprehensible squeals and squeaks. Well, aside from the fact that he's in the library, he doesn't want to disturb Minseok in a seemingly peaceful nap, probably dreaming of the nicest things in the world Junmyeon has always wished for his biggest crush.

Well, in all fairness though, Junmyeon has never been this close (literally) to Minseok ever. Although they are classmates, the only exchange of words they probably had was on the first day of school, when Minseok was (he still is) chosen as the class representative, doing an attendance roll call, mentioning Junmyeon's name, and Junmyeon promptly answering a "yes". He almost said "Marry me."

He must be intimidated, Junmyeon supposes, especially when he’s crushing on one of his batch's honor students, the vice president of the student council, and a very popular member of their Glee club. Junmyeon, on the other hand, is a… student who is, well a normal student who would occasionally struggle in Math, English, and History and has repeatedly turned down invitations from the same club as Minseok’s (“No I’m sorry I don’t really sing even if I have trained since I was seven.”). At least he isn't too anti-social. He's an active member of his class' Monday room cleaners.

Cutting the story short, Junmyeon believes he lives a shoujo life by becoming the too normal almost negligible student watching from afar as he cries his heart out but silently for his boy that is Kim Minseok. At night he sometimes wonder why they have the same surname. A big part of his delusional self believes they've probably gotten married and they are yet to realize they've already tied the knot.

Some things happen once in a lifetime and he thinks this is one of those horribly-painful-to-accept-but-what-can-he-do-anyway things. He's too awkward to actually strike a proper conversation with Minseok so from this distance, in a moment Junmyeon has overly dramaticized, he makes sure he's getting the most out of it.




Junmyeon somehow gets his together and manages to read at least half of the chapter. Of course it isn't easy. Eighty per cent of the time is spent ogling at Minseok while the remaining twenty is divided into reading, understanding, and memorizing Italian names he wishes are just as easy as munching a plate of ravioli (seconds later, his stomach makes sure he regrets thinking about it). Then he looks at his wrist watch, that fancy bulky 90's type that would illuminate in neon blue when you press a button on its edge, and realizes he only has thirty minutes left before exams. Maybe he can also add panicking in the twenty percent.

He reaches almost the end (of his sanity) and is glad to realize that Donatello is actually a sculptor and not a turtle highly skilled in ninjutsu. He packs his things quietly so Minseok, who still is fast asleep, doesn't wake up. But Minseok actually moves, shifting to his right with a slight groan, slowly raising his head before going back to a sound nap. For five seconds, Junmyeon freezes. He holds his breath, watches, then exhales very slowly when he is sure Minseok is back to his dreamland. Also, he thinks the groan is y.

There is a mark of his forearm on the face, a slightly red thick streak on Minseok's cheeks and Junmyeon finds it extremely endearing. Minseok even snores a bit, not too loud, but audible when close. Which brings Junmyeon's eyes to grow round and wide because...how does it happen that the distance between him and Minseok is this close? God, Junmyeon doesn't want to believe he's also smelling Eternity Aqua from Calvin Klein because if Minseok is indeed using this perfume, Junmyeon might have a new reason for an extra minute in the shower tonight. His hands are slightly trembling and cold but he musters the courage to move closer (this probably won't happen again anyway) enough to actually see the pores of his face. Pores. Minseok has pores. Junmyeon is relieved. Minseok is still a human being after all.

Suddenly, Minseok's hands slowly move to reach for his shoulders that he looks like he's hugging himself. Junmyeon can't help but mentally coo at this because aaw Minseokkie is perhaps cold he might want a hug. But he realizes it isn't the best time to think of taking inappropriate advances because if Minseok feels cold then he might get sick. If he gets sick, he might miss a national quiz bee or something which Minseok could easily ace and if it happens, the school's name will go downhill. It may then close down which can eventually lead to out-of-school youths, no doctors and teachers, poverty in the city, and a miserable death that could also escalate to some zombie apocalypse Junmyeon is pretty sure he won't survive. Also, he doesn't want to eat Minseok in such necro-cannibalistic way.

Convinced by his apparently ridiculous slippery slope, Junmyeon quickly takes his jacket off, gently places it on Minseok, and covers his shoulders until he supposes it's making his squishy lad warm and comfy.

"Sweet dreams," he whispers. With that, Junmyeon makes his exit with a giddy smile on his face. This should be a happy day. Besides, he believes he's also saved his country from a potential zombie crisis.

Minseok on the other hand smiles as he pulls Junmyeon's jacket closer to his face.




Maybe Junmyeon regrets a bit lending Minseok his jacket for two reasons. One, it actually is his favorite jacket and his attachment to it is strong basically because it's expensive as . Two, Luhan knows it's Junmyeon's and he won't stop talking about it going as far as assuming his best friend had library so Minseok ends up grabbing Junmyeon's jacket instead.

"You are the most absurd person ever," Junmyeon rolls his eyes and drops his head on his table with a groan.

"Says the one who thinks he stopped a zombie apocalypse," Luhan teases. He drags his chair closer to Junmyeon's desk and with still a menacing grin on his face, pokes Junmyeon on his side that the other flinches.

"So, how was he? Was he rough?"

Junmyeon scratches his head and groans louder, slapping Luhan on the arm. "Listen. Not because you are my bestfriend and Chanyeol has ed you there for god knows how many times it means I have plans of replicating your indecent public activities because nope not with the books not in public not on anything that isn't comfy and sweet and romantic as the beaches of Maldives. I just want my jacket back."

Luhan scoffs and pats Junmyeon gently on the back. "It's okay. I understand. You'll know how a feels like soon," he mutters sympathetically.

"Leave."

"No. Okay," Luhan straightens his back and tries to sound serious so Junmyeon can take him seriously, too. "Why is your jacket with him in the first place?"

"Because I put it on him," Junmyeon answers and he misses Luhan's raised brows.

"Why put a jacket on him when you can be on him?"

"I hope you pee your pants now."

Luhan laughs. "You could simply ask him you know?"

At that, Junmyeon shakes his head with wide eyes as if gripped with fear. Just to be sure his words won't spill onto the other person nearest to them (which could be Kyungsoo doing calligraphy of his English groupmates' names on a black notebook Junmyeon thinks is similar to an anime about death gods), he pulls Luhan closer and whispers. "He doesn't know I put it on him. He was asleep. He looked cold. I thought it's sweet."

"Well it is," Luhan agrees with a nod.

"Thanks," Junmyeon smiles. "But I want it back. Because it's my favorite jacket."

Luhan pats him again on the back. "At least he's sharing body essence with you. He could have at the very least sweated a drop on your jacket you know."

Junmyeon breathes in slowly. Now is not the time to give in to his desire to kick Luhan in the balls. "Why am I friends with you?"

Luhan winks at him and pushes his chair back to his desk, just in time before their first class teacher comes. Junmyeon gives him a desperate look but Luhan gives him back a teasing grin.

"Look," Luhan mouths silently, wiggling his brows as he gently tilts his head towards the front seat. Junmyeon follows the direction with his eyes but a second later he regrets doing so.

Minseok is looking at him with his lips tugged to a small, shy smile. All of a sudden, Junmyeon sees sparkles and glow overload around Minseok's face that his heart begins pumping rainbows and glitters fast it feels like blasting his stomach. He gasps and bows his head, slowly before stiffly shifting to Luhan to mumble a ". You."

Luhan gives him a thumbs up Junmyeon wishes he could actually shove up Luhan's nostrils.




Junmyeon isn't really used to have eyes on him almost every minute of the day. Again, he believes there isn't anything extraordinary about him worth anybody's eyes. He's too ordinary he feels a bit glad (or maybe he convinces himself he's glad when in fact he's uncomfortable) when people he hardly knows call him by his first name and talk to him and recognize him. At points like that he remembers he actually exists in the eyes of the school populace and not only to Luhan.

Which explains why he is all fidgety one lunch break because he feels he's gotten a pair of eyes on him, watching his every movement, counting his every breath. Losing his appetite from the uncomfortable feeling, Junmyeon spends half of his lunch time poking on his food than actually eating it.

"Can I have yours instead? I'm still hungry," Luhan who just finished his meal says, almost ready to take Junmyeon's plate. He gets a slap on his wrist and he quickly pulls his hand back with a pout.

"Can you for a second understand what I feel?" Junmyeon asks. "What if somebody wants to kill me?"

"For saving the world from a zombie apocalypse? No dude. I'm handsome and people love to look at me. Deal with it and give me your food," Luhan says and attempts to take Junmyeon's plate for the second time. He fails.

"God you are the worst," Junmyeon sighs, rolling his eyes.

"How sure are you that somebody is—"

"I trust my guts. I know it. I can feel it," Junmyeon says firmly. He sounds so sure, a lot surer than his essay answers in his Humanities exam. Also, once Junmyeon says it's his guts, Luhan knows he will never win this argument. Junmyeon's guts are always right (Junmyeon wishes he studies with his guts instead; it works better than his brain anyway).

It may not be obvious with their almost never-ending show of disrespect and insults but they are the best of friends and they do really care for each other. Luhan knows Junmyeon isn't really comfortable with people watching him and if this happens, he might not really eat anything for lunch. If Junmyeon doesn't eat he might die out of hunger, or worse, begin eating human beings and the supposed savior of the world from zombies becomes the virus himself. Fearing for an undesirable death, Luhan realizes he shouldn't get Junmyeon's food and covinces himself this is his moment to be the hero.

"Fine, fine," Luhan sighs. "I'll check."

And so he begins the patrol. He roams his eyes around as he pushes Junmyeon to finish his meal. But two spoonfuls of rice and fifteen minutes later, Luhan doesn't find anyone who is directly looking at Junmyeon. Or at him, or at the both of them. That or he's missed it.

Apparently it's the latter. And Luhan feels happy and proud and excited when he finally finds out because it's something he really enjoys learning about. He may end up getting a fist on the face but who cares, he loves to see his best friend flushed than anything else.

"Hey Junmyeon," Luhan makes sure he calls him just as he has taken a spoonful of rice. With a full mouth, Junmyeon hums and raises his brows curiously. "Behind you," Luhan follows up quickly.

And of course, Junmyeon does look behind him. It can be anyone and he's nervous and curious at the same time. But Luhan's face doesn't show any alarm so Junmyeon supposes there is no reason to worry.

Well now he has.

A few tables from them are a bunch of other guys Junmyeon is pretty sure are from the Glee club. His heartbeat races because it slowly sinks in that they are the club's council and somewhere among that clique should be Minseok.

And he isn't wrong. His gaze wanders a little to his right and he meets Minseok's eyes, beautiful and perfect, a window to Junmyeon's paradise of fluffy bunnies, cotton candies, and hot . Or maybe he's crossing out the hot and have it later because Minseok looks the squishiest right now with his crinkled crescent eyes and adorable slightly parted lips as he creates laughter that is wonderful music to Junmyeon's ears. He's watching too much shoujo anime.

Then Minseok bites his lip, tilts his head a little, gives Junmyeon a teasing smile, and now Junmyeon is slowly putting the hot back in his paradise list. The next thing he knows, he's choking on something that is obviously not Minseok's to his utter disappoinent. Then there are rice grains in the air, a painful twist in his throat, a difficult coughing fit, and a horribly red face as he attempts with trembling hands to reach for a glass of water.

Luhan is quick to help him, grabbing the glass and shoving it to Junmyeon's hand although he himself is as red as Junmyeon is as he tries to hold in his laughter. Junmyeon gulps the contents, pounds his chest, and wipes the tears on his eyes until his coughs slowly die down. He sighs, grabs the fork, stabs the sausage on his plate so hard it almost gets cut in half and looks at Luhan with fiery eyes.

"You er!" He exclaims but Luhan raises both his hands shoulder level and shakes his head.

"I didn't do anything! I just said look back," Luhan defends himself, giggling in between words.

Junmyeon then groans because well, Luhan is actually right. It's not his fault that his body is on turmoil everytime Minseok does things he hates (loves) seeing, giving him nightmares (wet dreams) he doesn't even want to go back to (he enjoys thinking about). Now he's done the most embarrassing thing to date right in front of Minseok's eyes, tainting his sight with a horrible shower of grossly salivated chewed rice.

"That is ing embarrassing!" Junmyeon buries his head on his arms laid on the table. He doesn't even have the slightest courage to look behind him again because Minseok is probably laughing at his extreme misery.

Luhan stands up and pats him on the back. He leans closer, lips almost touching Junmyeon's ears, and whispers. "Well at least he now knows he can make you explode—"

"Shut—"

"And you can blow—"

"Up!"

Junmyeon stands up and runs, exiting the cafeteria because that's what a shoujo main character would do. Luhan follows him because he's the supporting character.




Forty-eight hours pass and Junmyeon's jacket is still with Minseok. Which means for two days already he's been trying to snap the out of Luhan's belief that "Hey, Minseok probably faps on your jacket because he's like that." Not that Junmyeon has not thought of it but that's very unhygienic. But then again the nicest people can also be the nastiest so..

"God," Junmyeon mentally slaps himself and groans a little too loud. Unfortunately, he forgets he's currently in class. Which means his noise has captured the attention of everyone. Luhan's worried eyes is the first he sees then the teacher's judging gaze. Then he sees Minseok, looking at him bewildered and curious as everyone else.

"Okay Kim Junmyeon," the teacher calls. Junmyeon stands up promptly although he's trembling inside and out because he hardly has the idea what is happening in class thanks to Luhan successfully implanting in his brain the image of Minseok on his jacket. . Only at that point Junmyeon realizes he may be just as because in his current awkward state, Junmyeon can say he actually likes it. He seriously needs an award for realizing the most irrelevant of things at the wrong time.

"Read the second paragraph for us, please?" And there goes his favorite Humanities teacher putting him yet in another humiliating situation as if groaning blasphemously out loud isn't embarrassing enough. Abuse of power, Junmyeon argues but only to himself.

Luhan whispers something about page 100 sort of but Junmyeon can't make any out of the last digits. So he ends up flipping pages for a minute without uttering a single world. He can hear his teacher cluck his tongue in feigned disappointment although Junmyeon can see the evilest of grins on his lips.

"Anyone who wants to help?" The sarcasm in the teacher's voice is so obvious Junmyeon almost cringes. Then a hand shoots up and Junmyeon's eyes widen in surprise. He expects Luhan, because at times like this the only persons who saves each other are the two of them.

"Let me, sir." But the voice isn't Luhan. Junmyeon refuses to recognize the voice until Minseok himself stands up, takes his book on his hands and looks at Junmyeon with a very kind smile he can melt on the spot and feel perfect even as a horrible blushing goo on the floor.

The teacher gestures at him to sit down. He does as he is told but when Minseok begins reading, he's lost again. His voice. The only sound Junmyeon needs to hear, the music to his ears, the melody of his heart, his love, the romantic anime life that he's supposed to live.

Luhan pokes him and hands him a small paper torn from his notebook with badly scribbled words: "You two should ."




It's a Monday which means it's Junmyeon's group to clean the room after classes. He's an active member. It's his only school affiliation anyway. That's why he's always volunteered to do the floor polishing. He's good at it and he takes pride on it. In fact, his group's always recieved the "Best Polished Floor" award since the first month of the school year. He takes home the certificate.

He finishes quickly, earlier than he normally does because the clouds that afternoon is thick and gray. So he arranges the chairs fast, leaves the room squeaky clean, locks the door and runs for the school gates. But then, as always, life has loved him so much it s up. Junmyeon is stuck in a waiting shed right across their school gates. The rain pours hard and he has forgotten his umbrella in his classroom because he's assumed he can make it back home before the rain comes. The waiting shed's roof isn't enough to cover the area wholly so when the cold wind blows, rainwater reaches him and he shivers a little. There's no way he can go back to his building though without getting drenched right through his soul.

The rain hasn't stopped yet and Junmyeon has been under the shed for more than fifteen minutes already. He tries not to get his Monday failures to get into him too much but he can't help himself. He crouches on the shed's slightly wet seat (his pants absorbs the droplets and they seep through his boxers it feels horrible). He sighs defeatedly to himself.

He feels somebody stand right next to him, probably another student stuck in the rain but he couldn't really bring himself to care about others when he's just too sad about his Monday. Who said Mondays are even nice to begin with?

"Everyday is nice if you want it to be nice," the student next to him says. Suddenly, Junmyeon feels something warm placed on his shoulders, a thick cotton clothing with white stripes on its sleeves that is so familiar to be real he does a double take before jumping to a conclusion that this jacket is indeed his. Then it hits him.

He looks up and sees Minseok staring at him with a gentle smile on his face, his arms still stretched from placing the jacket over Junmyeon. At that point, Junmyeon isn't sure if he's shaking because of the cold wind or because he's next to his fluffer nutter fruity loops love muffin casanova. He sniffs on his jacket a little just to make sure Luhan's nasty made-up story isn't true although he can be very slightly disappointed if he doesn't get a tinge of smell of Minseok's—

"Colds?" Minseok asks with a light chuckle. At that point Junmyeon realizes he isn't being too discreet about smelling and he laughs awkwardly, pulling the sleeves away from his nose so it goes back to hanging on his shoulder.

"S-sort of. It's cold," Junmyeon mutters shyly. "Thank you."

"No problem. Somebody's put that jacket on me a few days ago," Minseok says as he takes the space next to Junmyeon. "I saw you here and I thought you must be cold so. Yeah. I guess you needed this more than I do."

The truth is, the very second Junmyeon sees Minseok, he begins to feel unusually warmer. Maybe it's his heartbeat pumping blood faster, getting his veins all excited and worked up. The jacket is just a comfortable supplement. Well, he's glad he feels simply warm and not in heat.

It becomes an awkward silence when Minseok stops talking. Junmyeon is a total turmoil on the inside because he really isn't good at reading between the lines. What if Minseok actually knows that it's Junmyeon who's put the jacket on him in the library? What if he's just being nice (he's always nice, for heaven's sake) and he already knows the truth but he doesn't want Junmyeon to get busted? What if he actually cares for Junmyeon and that he doesn't want to put Junmyeon again in a compromising state because he already had enough for the day? What if Minseok—

"Also I realized you're cute."

The wind blows again and Junmyeon gasps both at the water hitting his face and the words that just came out of Minseok's mouth.

"I'm...sorry?"

Junmyeon's utterly speechless, lips parted but not a single sound spilled. Minseok just keeps his warm and kind smile, chuckling a little to himself, and doesn't say anything. He stands up and stretches (Junmyeon internally flails because he finds it too adorable and he's clenching his fist too hard to contain it). "Well it's really raining hard. You got no umbrella?"

Junmyeon shakes his head. "I left it in our room," he shyly admits.

Minseok then opens his umbrella and looks at Junmyeon. "This is quite big enough to cover us. The rain doesn't seem to end soon anyway. I'll bring you home."

Again, Junmyeon looks at Minseok as if the latter has told him something so farfetched to believe. Well, as far as Junmyeon's definition of normal life is concerned, this is definitely not normal. But then again in his headcanon shoujo life, this is supposed to happen and he isn't prepared for this yet.

Also, Minseok knows where he lives?

"You stay in a private dorm by the second avenue's corner right?"

Junmyeon gives him a stiff nod. If this is what he gets for putting a jacket on Minseok then he'll be more than willing to do this day and night.

Of course because Junmyeon loves being overly dramatic he says a shy "No, it's okay," at first and lets Minseok convince him that "Nope. You might get colds and getting sick is definitely not okay." It carries on a little longer until Junmyeon is too giddy to keep it going so he finally agrees. He makes sure he doesn't miss the smile Minseok makes when he says yes before they start walking.

Whenever Minseok is around, Junmyeon is extra conscious about everything. Now that Minseok is just an inch away from him, the slightest contact of their skins feels like a tender burn on Junmyeon. He tries not to flinch when Minseok's arm brushes on Junmyeon. Sometimes they get that weird static shock and Minseok simply laughs at it (Junmyeon calls it "sparks"). Because of that, Junmyeon attempts to keep a safe distance, discreetly taking an inch away from Minseok's shoulder at every step he makes. But again, Junmyeon fails and Minseok notices the apparent gap between them.

"What are you doing?" Minseok asks. Suddenly he stretches his arm and places it over Junmyeon's shoulder, holding the younger on the other side and pulling him closer to Minseok. "You'll get wet."

Junmyeon gasps. He's too preoccupied to realize the other half of his body is no longer under the umbrella so when Minseok pulls him, he is at loss for a proper reaction. But Minseok holds him firm on the shoulder and keeps him in his arm tight, not letting go. Junmyeon's body hits Minseok and his brain goes haywire. It doesn't help that he can also smell that -oriented Calvin Klein perfume again. Junmyeon holds his breath.

If they continue with this, somewhere that is not the other half of his shoulder, Junmyeon is pretty sure he'll get wet.

Until they reach Junmyeon's dorm, Minseok keeps a tight hold of Junmyeon's shoulder. Every time Junmyeon tries to wriggle his way out of it, Minseok just holds him tighter. Not that Junmyeon doesn't like it. In fact, he's enjoying everything about it: the smell of perfume, the comfort of a caring arm over his shoulder, the shared body heat under the same umbrella.

Minseok presses the doorbell of their dormitory and Luhan is quick to open the gates. He first sees Junmyeon then Minseok then Minseok's hand on Junmyeon's shoulder and in three seconds, Luhan's face has shifted from relief, surprise, and confusion. He's speechless, too, as he lets the two walk inside until they're by the doorstep.

"Th-thank you," Junmyeon mutters, bowing shyly at Minseok. He wishes he isn't red in the face because he swears his face feels warm for quite a time already.

Minseok shakes his head. "No problem. Change to dry clothes so you don't get sick."

Junmyeon nods with pursed lips. Minseok then bids good bye and leaves. At the sound of the gates closing, Luhan jumps on his best friend and excitedly rubs his face.

"That is just ing awesome oh my god!" Luhan exclaims. His hand finds Junmyeon's shoulder and shakes him. "Did he kiss you? Did you guys make out? How was he? Good kisser? Bet he tastes good oh my god!"

Then he notices Junmyeon's jacket is back. Before Junmyeon can even react, Luhan raises his best friend's arm and begins sniffing. "No smell. No smell," he shakes his head but continues to sniff. "Oh god. He probably washed all the stains on it but Kim Junmyeon! I'm so happy—OUCH! H-HEY!"

Junmyeon suddenly drops his arm, just in time to lock Luhan's head around it tightly. "Shut up or I'll break your neck."

"Kidding! Kidding! Leggo!" Luhan chokes. Junmyeon releases Luhan from the headlock and suddenly smiles at him half apologetically half giddily. He grabs Luhan by the arm, dragging him to their room. "I'll tell you everything later," he says.




Since that lucky afternoon, Junmyeon has never missed a free time daydreaming of what could have happened if Minseok didn't really leave immediately. Not that the short walk isn't enough for Junmyeon to get him reeling, rolling on his bed until he's practically a blanket-and-human sushi. He could have invited Minseok for a hot cup of coffee (so Junmyeon can remember his type of coffee because that'd be very handy once they're married) or a tea (that's classy). They could have talked more, like a chance to redeem how much he's been fretting with Minseok basically embracing him in the rain.

Then he sighs. Because they're missed chances. And his imagination's feeding him emotions that are far beyond reality. Minseok's just...nice. He's done it with other people, too. Girls included. And Junmyeon is mad.

Since that day also, his playlist contains nothing but Rihanna's song.




His hyper emotions get his hormones active even at the most ungodly of hours. After a wrecking day at school, he does his homework and sleeps but wakes up at three in the morning only to think of Minseok and his long umbrella. Either in his bedroom under imaginary stars. Or in the bathroom with the shower on, thinking of a different kind of long.

It happens for several days and yes, as he expects, his body clock gets messed up. He may have regretted thinking about Minseok too much but when he catches the other looking at him and smiling like he's the holiest of all y angels on earth then he begins scheduling when he can revel on that beautiful set of teeth and plush lips again.

A wrong thing to do though is to let his mind wander too much on things he shouldn't be thinking about in an ongoing class. Which he ends up doing one day, when the night before is practically a sleepless night from a research paper about emo bands (he watches My Chemical Romance's Ghost of You and he cries at the end). Since he's sitting at the end of the room, he supposes a nap wouldn't hurt. So he puts his arms on the table, rests his head on it, closes his eyes, and wishes the teacher wouldn't catch him.

Luckily, he wakes up after class without him getting noticed. The thing is, he wakes up at half past six in the evening. He opens his eyes, head still on the table, and realizes that the fluorescent lights are on, the room is dead silent, and he isn't alone. He's heard of school ghost stories. All schools have ghosts anyway and it's a popular belief that their floor is the most haunted. He breathes heavily and moves his eyes towards the back door. He's just a couple feet away from it and if he grabs his bag and runs for the exit which isn't really too far from the staircase beside their room, he can make it out of the building alive.

He sighs. Then he stops, holding his breath in because no, he didn't sigh. It isn't him. A little more moment of silence from him and he realizes there's someone—or something—watching him across his desk.

Gripped with fear, Junmyeon pulls his head up, eyes wide, and expects to see a horribly contorted bloody face of a man or a woman (whichever life wants to give him he's too scared to care) watching him with the creepiest grin showing sharp yellow teeth and black tongue.

But instead, he sees a perfect pair of eyes, a pair of pink, lush lips, a beautifully God-crafted nose, and a smile that is so bright it can practically banish all that is evil in this place.

"You're a lot cuter when asleep."

Minseok.

Junmyeon tries to scream when his lips part and open wide but no sound comes out. Minseok of course isn't a ghost but the perfection of everything that is right under his nose causes him to be a lot more scared than actually seeing a ghost. He pulls himself away, too hard, fast, and strong that his chair tips on the back, lifting its front legs that he's falling backwards. He can feel his heart drop and his stomach turn upside down. He instinctively stretches his arms, reaching for anything to hold so he can pull himself back.

What he gets are a pair of hands, fingers wrapped tightly on Junmyeon's cold ones, and a quick, strong tug. He feels himself getting pulled back and when the feet of the chair touches the floor, he lurches forward, stopping just in time so his nose is a centimeter apart from Minseok's, eyes on each other. The proximity of their faces is so close Junmyeon can actually steal a kiss but he's so lost in Minseok's eyes he's left frozen.

Before he turns blue from holding his breath, Junmyeon tears his gaze away from Minseok and stands up. He's cheeks are painted red in a second as he packs the remainder of his things back in his bag.

"Why are you still here?" Junmyeon asks when the dull silence is too awkward for him to take. He doesn't look at Minseok who is now laughing at Junmyeon repeatedly taking his things in and out of the bag. Junmyeon doesn't realize it.

"Student council meeting. Also I left a book here but I found you sleeping instead," Minseok says casually.

"Why did you not wake me up?" Junmyeon follows up. He finally zips his bag close.

"Because I thought I should watch you sleep?" And again, Minseok's words are honest. "You look too peaceful so I didn't."

Junmyeon is so flustered he isn't entirely sure if he's heard Minseok properly. He mumbles a "Thank you" before even knowing if it's the most appropriate response. He already has his bag slung around his body and all set to run and save himself from further embarrassment when Minseok suddenly holds him by the wrist.

"Hey, uh, thank you," Minseok says. His cheeks are slowly getting stained with pink and he's biting his lower lip adorably that makes Junmyeon weak in the knees.

"What?"

"Thank you. For the jacket," Minseok says.

And Junmyeon literally freezes. His eyes grow wide and his hands are instantly cold. He's busted and he wants to cry and melt and scream and feel extremely bad for failing at being discreet, shattering his dreams of joining the country's cryptic investigation bureau. Not really.

"Oh my god." Junmyeon's mouth feels dry and it drops open. "I'm—oh my god. I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to disturb you like oh my god. I'm so sorry! Really!"

Minseok is shocked. It's quite expected of Junmyeon to panic at times like this but he finds it a little concerning, funny and amusing at the same time the degree of apology Junmyeon makes. And Minseok bets Junmyeon is panicking and feeling sorry for the wrong reasons. He thinks there shouldn't be any reason at all.

"No! No," Minseok loosens his hold of Junmyeon and sits on a desk. "Don't apologize. I actually think it's...sweet."

He smiles and chuckles to himself. "In fact I think I should be the one apologizing. I didn't return your jacket the next day."

"I-it's okay," Junmyeon mutters shyly. Well, he wouldn't say it's fifty-fifty fine and not fine but he'd rather have the jacket in Minseok's hands than Luhan's.

"I thought I should give it back in the same sweet manner like how you lent it to me," Minseok continues. "Also, sorry if I kept on staring at you. I think I caused you so much... discomfort. Like in the cafete—"

"No no no don't mention it—it's totally fine!" Junmyeon exclaims that it actually startles Minseok. But he doesn't really care when the nightmare of that horrible lunch time comes back in his head and he's cringing and close to tears. That is just the worst thing to bring up. He realizes Minseok can be an at times. An endearing lovable pucker.

"Sorry. I didn't really mean to make you really uncomfy but I just...wanted to talk to you but I don't know how," Minseok gulps and he sounds a little nervous. "But now that I've thanked you, I feel a lot lighter now. And happy."

Junmyeon doesn't say anything. He's trying to comprehend the night because it all feels like History class when they discussed the whole Greek civilization in one session and the information overload got him almost fainting. Except that this time, he likes the overload. He likes the lightheaded feeling and the churns of his stomach. He likes the heavy curls in his chest because it makes him feel full, the happy kind of full.

"Also one more thing," Minseok speaks again when he discerns Junmyeon won't be spilling any word. He heaves a sigh and he's a lot more red in the face. He looks a lot more nervous than earlier, too, with the way his fingers curl to a fist and his frequent lip-biting. Junmyeon raises his brows and Minseok takes it as a sign to carry on. "Are you...dating anyone?"

"Are you gonna ask me out?"

Junmyeon asks and it's one of those ed up moments when his mouth works faster than his brain and he's messing things up with all his most ridiculous assumptions like how the hell is Minseok even going to ask a nobody like Kim Jun—

"Yes? Like uh tomorrow. Around one? If...you don't mind that is."

.

Junmyeon smiles. Then he frowns. Then he smiles again. Which becomes a light chuckle. Then he's frowning again. He doesn't understand what exactly he should feel about this. All he knows is that his hands and legs are shaking he doesn't know if he can keep up standing without any support right now.

"I don't really mind."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Minseok suddenly jumps from the desk he's sitting on and hugs Junmyeon so tight and so hard he can practically feel Minseok's heartbeat race against his chest. Junmyeon gasps and yelps and feels numb he thinks the support he needs right now is complete life support. Oxygen tanks please. Never in his life has he thought getting hugged by Minseok is going to happen. Well, he's imagined many sorts of things with Minseok that actually go beyond hugging but he never knew that the real thing would feel just as good, or even probably better than just simply thinking about it.

When Minseok lets go, his smile disappears and worry washes over his face. Junmyeon has become pale.

"Are you alright?" Minseok asks, holding Junmyeon on the shoulder.

Junmyeon nods. "Yes. I just got too excited I forgot to breathe."

Minseok blinks at him. He tries to understand whether Junmyeon is trying to be figurative and creative with expressing his emotions or he means it literally.

Junmyeon laughs. "I'm really okay. Don't worry. Uh so, I...gotta go now."

Minseok takes his hands off Junmyeon and nods. "I'll send you home."

"No! No it's okay."

Minseok shakes his head. "I gotta go, too, anyway so..."

Junmyeon feigns a hesitant nod when his heart is in fact screaming yes. Obviously, the no is just his shoujo drama.




They leave their building generally silently except for occasional "Are you okay now?" questions from Minseok which Junmyeon simply responds with a nod.

Junmyeon is overwhelmed. He is yet to have a complete grasp of everything and it still feels surreal, like a dream, like that feeling when he's living vicariously through a romcom anime of some sort. Earlier, he's giddy and he can't think straight. But now that the whole thing is very slowly sinking in, his heart sinks along with it. He grows a lot more anxious at every second.

A hug and a date. Does Minseok really mean everything he's said and done earlier?

Just as they step out of the school gates, Junmyeon stops. Minseok misses him and goes a few step further, stopping only when he realizes he's alone seconds later. He looks back. "What's wrong? Did you forget something?"

Junmyeon shakes his head. "Nothing," he answers. "I'm just..." he trails off and looks at Minseok's eyes. "Confused."

Yes. That. Or he's being dense again. Either way he still wants an explanation.

"Why?"

Junmyeon scratches his head then his hand slowly slides down to his nape until he's awkwardly rubbing it. "Why...why are you asking me out?"

Minseok is staring at him, his eyes seemingly a little surprised. He doesn't answer and Junmyeon decides to continue with his thoughts.

"I mean, I'm not really good at this," he says and he bows his head slightly because he's going to admit something he thinks is embarrassing for their age. "I've...I've never dated anyone before and I don't understand what I'm feeling right now. I have questions and I don't know if I'll get answers but maybe I will sooner or later—"

"You can ask me. I will answer," Minseok cuts him off. Surprisingly, he has a way with his words so that he doesn't sound rude or arrogant or too proud. Junmyeon is a little hesitant. He initially plans not asking Minseok about this because it's kind of premature to do so but the desire to make all things clear is really strong. He can be really dense at times but he isn't oblivious of very obvious clues. He is pretty sure he isn't the Ouran High School type of dense taking twenty-six episodes before actually realizing he's fallen deeply in love.

Minseok keeps a calm expression, perhaps but with a tinge of worry. Junmyeon thinks Minseok wants him to be comfortable when they're together. With that, he forms the most important question in his head, parts his lips to breathe in enough air, enough courage to ask it out, and speaks.

"Do...you like me?"

There is silence yet again. It's still awkward like it normally is but this time, Junmyeon dislikes it.

"If...if it isn't even obvious yet," Junmyeon continues. His heart is clenching, curling painfully on its own. "I like you. I really like you. Because you're cool, kind, smart and like you're the nicest person on earth that I know. And that exactly is the reason why I'm confused right now. Maybe you're asking me out because you simply want to be nice to me. And I...I just want things to be clear between us. Because if I'm right then I don't need to hold on to some ty hope—"

He doesn't finish his words when he feels a strong tug on his shoulders and the next thing he knows, Minseok's face is so close to him and a pair of soft lips are pressed against his. Junmyeon's eyes are wide and his heart that has almost dropped to his guts comes back to life, beating so fast against his chest he can feel the rush of blood all over his body.

He's holding his breath in, shocked as Minseok holds him tight, keeping him in place as he continues to kiss him. It's chaste, soft, slow, and Junmyeon feels himself burn in an overflow of emotions. It feels like many seconds, probably minutes, or hours, his mind a total blank to have a proper grasp of the moment. Minseok's hands loosen, allowing it to go down Junmyeon's arms and down further to the back of his waist until he can pull Junmyeon closer, hugging him with their lips still pressed together.

Minseok is the first to break, pulling away slowly, their faces still close they can see their reflection on each other's eyes. "I don't think you're confused," Minseok whispers. "You're afraid. But I wish...I hope that settles your worry," he continues, smiling softly.

Junmyeon pulls a hand to his lips, pressing a finger on it as if making sure he isn't dreaming, that the kiss really happened.

"I like you, too," Minseok speaks again. "I don't know since when and I don't think it should really matter now. But please believe me and don't doubt me when I say I really waited for a long time to do this. So if we're still on with going out tomorrow, can we suppose it's gonna be our first date?"

Junmyeon looks at him, eyes just as wide as seconds ago. That is a quick return of feelings and he really likes it. He nods, mumbling a still shy "Yes."

Minseok then lets go of Junmyeon from the hug and holds his hand, gently squeezing his palm before keeping it wrapped around his fingers tight. Junmyeon can't help but smile to himself. Why do things have to happen all in one day? Can life like give him enough time to absorb everything so he doesn't really have to be awkward and stiff and very slow when Minseok just comes crashing on him but in a really good way? Not that he's complaining. This is pure bliss and he simply can't ask for more.

Or maybe he actually wants more. Like that one involving wet kisses and messy bed sheets and a bit of because that would be hot and nice. Soon. Really soon.

Junmyeon is convinced that watching too much anime isn't that bad after all. Besides, he is no longer living vicariously through the leads and the romantic unfolding of their love lives. He isliving the shoujo life. And he makes sure that his story won't just simply end here. He laughs giddily because starting from now, he's gonna have a genre upgrade. Shoujo to shounen-ai. Eventually and hopefully, .