Chapter 5: Project Soulmate

 

~10th Grade, Fall, First Semester~

 

Lu Han gently kicked a small pebble across the quiet road as he stalled his arrival at school. The brunette sighed while he wondered about the upcoming Language Arts project the teacher had slyly hinted last class. The class had been talking about Icarus and they read the story together. Poor boy, should’ve listened to his father. For the second time, Lu sighed as the sun's rays brightly lit up the soon to be busy city of Seoul.

 

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“Now, class, we’re going to be reading another greek myth today, about a boy that you may or may not know. His name, is Icarus.” The whole class cheered, because, who wouldn’t? Greek mythology was a subject that interested many of the students. Mostly everyone had read Rick Riordan's books, and they were looking forward to this unit.  “Okay, who can tell us who Icarus is?” The teacher paused for a few moments, waiting for hands to raise. Lu Han quickly raised his hand, along with other students who were just as eager as he. “Lu Han?”

 

“Icarus was the son of a great inventor, Daedalus. He was hired by King Minos to build a labyrinth to be the home of a minotaur. However, after the labyrinth was built, King Minos didn’t want the public to find out about his minotaur. He decided to isolate Daedalus, left alone with only his son, Icarus. Soon after the pair was imprisoned, they chose to escape. They searched for a way they might have been able to leave. Daedalus, being the great inventor he was, found his inspiration from the smallest of details. Birds. They were able to do what they please, and they were free, because of their wings. This led Daedalus to invent their escape method. He used wax, and carefully crafted two pairs of wings, to aid the two of them in escaping. Not much longer, the day of their departure arrived. Daedalus made sure to inform Icarus that he should not fly neither too close to the sun, as the wings would melt, or too close to the ocean below, and the wings would get wet. But, Icarus paid no regard to his father’s warnings, and as soon as he was airborne, he started to do tricks. Soon, one thing led to another, and Icarus was flying higher, and higher, closer and closer to the sun. As his father predicted, his wings melted due to the heat coming from the sun. In the end, Icarus died, because he had fell into the ocean.” Luhan concluded the tale, and resounding applause could be heard moments later. The short boy, being the geek and nerd he was, was in love with any type of myth. His bookcase was filled with Greek and Roman myths he had collected over the years, ever since his obsession first began. Of course, this was his second passion, as his first was none other than Imagine Dragons.

 

“Fabulous, Lu. Now, we’re going to watch this short film on the story of Icarus. Fill out this packet while you watch. Sehun, please pass these out.” The instructor passed the pile of packets to Sehun. He began to distribute them to the class. “When the video is done, we’re going to go over the homework before class ends. Pay close attention, it might help you with the upcoming project we’re starting tomorrow.” Whispers were heard throughout the room, at the mention of a project. However, Lu Han was focusing on his crush, whom was inching closer and closer to give him the class work. When he finally reached the shorter boy’s table, his heart stopped as he stared at Sehun’s perfection. Both their hearts raced as they stared at each other in a frozen silence. The latter coughed awkwardly before handing the former the 3 page packet.

 

“T-Thank you, Sehun-sshi.” Lu Han stuttered awkwardly and quickly averted his gaze back to the teacher. He missed the slight upturn of his classmates lips. The video started and Sehun returned back to his seat.

 

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Without realizing it, Lu Han had made his way to the front gates of the building. His right eyebrow slightly arched in confusion as he witnessed the scene in front of him. His best friend was casually talking to his crush with a smile engraved onto his face. Not wanting to ruin the moment, he silently walked into the school by himself as he tried to ignore the bubbling jealousy that had erupted in his heart. No, he did not like Minseok, nor Jongdae, but rather he was envious of how easily the pair could talk when their feelings for each other were on the edge of bursting out. Sighing again, for what seemed like the millionth time, he pushed his backpack into his locker to only have his book fall on his head and drop onto the floor. Before he could bend down to get it, slender fingers grabbed it for him and handed him his book. “Here, Lu Han.” The mentioned boy looked up, only to stare into brown eyes. He automatically recognized them as the same chocolate orbs he fell in love with.

 

“Thank you, Sehun, again…” Lu Han trailed off, not knowing what to say. They both awkwardly stood in front of each other before the shorter male decided to break the loud silence. “I guess you’re always saving me, huh?”

 

“Y-Yeah. I guess I am. Well, see you in homeroom.”

 

“Sure.” Lu shyly turned away and placed the book back into his locker. Again, he missed the triumphant grin that plastered itself onto his crush’s face as he mouthed the word ‘score’.

 

After replaying the event in his head over and over again, Lu Han was sure that he didn’t look or sound stupid. Making sure his cheeks were no longer red, he casually walked into his classroom, contradicting his rapidly beating heart.

 

Students were talking animatedly to their friends as they waited for the bell to ring and for the tiring day to start. Soon, the math teacher, Mrs. Jung, walked in and ordered everyone to take a seat. Sehun stood up.

 

“Attention, bow.” Hot, Lu Han thought as he stared at the SeBooty that he’s heard all the girls in the school gossip about.

 

The whole class bowed and Sehun sat down. “Thank you, Prez. There are no important announcements today, besides the fact that we have another soccer game this afternoon.” Mrs. Jung smiled over at Sehun before she continued talking. “I hope to see you all there. Thank you.”

As soon as she left, the students began chatting again. Some people asked their friends if they were going to attend the soccer game, while others were discussing the latest movie that had come out. Lu Han, on the other hand, was multitasking between fantasizing about Sehun and worrying about the upcoming Language Arts project.

 

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It was lunch. Minseok entered the cafeteria with a large smile plastered across his face. All of his friends, excluding Lu Han, stared at the approaching boy, as he looked as if he had just seen a unicorn eating skittles while dancing on a rainbow. He looked that high.

 

“Sup, guys.”

 

“Sup? SUP? What do you mean, ‘sup’?” Kyungsoo threw his hands up in the air out of rage, as he began to lecture the unfortunate boazi. “Why do you look so high, like how Lu Han looked when he fell onto Sehun? I demand an answer. Wait, are you on drugs? Kim Minseok, if you are doing drugs then, I will first tell you parents, and then I will decapitate you. At the age of 15, you should be releasing your stress by eating or playing video games. Or you can take up a sport that involves hurting people. Anything is better than drugs, alcohol, or it. Do you hear me, Min? Or do I have to repeat myself? Hm?”

 

“Kyungie, I know that you’re the mother and all, and that you’re motherly instincts are acting up, but I’m not doing anything of that kind, and I will never. It just… has something to do with a certain dinosaur.” Xiumin’s eyes glazed over, and he smiled dreamily as he thought of a certain camel/velociraptor.

 

“Jongdae?” Baekhyun asked Minseok, finally joining the conversation. “Don’t you, like, have a crush on him or something?”

 

“Don’t call it a crush, Baekkie. It’s called being in love. And yes, the dinosaur is Chen.”

 

“But didn’t you say it was Jongdae?” Lu Han questioned his best friend with confusion. “Isn’t Chen a Chinese name? Do we even have a Chen in our school?”

 

“That’s the thing. Jongdae and I met each other on the bus this morning, and we started talking just like we were old friends. It was amazing. He’s so easy to talk to.” Minseok sighed as he rested his hand on the palm of his head, daydreaming about Jongdae.

 

“Are you seriously not going to explain to us what a Chen is? Tell us what happened.” Kyungsoo impatiently questioned Minseok, who had begun paying attention again.

 

“Not what, but who. Anyways, here’s what happened.” Kyungie, Baek, and Lu made no sounds besides the occasional ‘no way’s and ‘really’s as Minseok explained what had happened earlier that morning.

 

“I knew something was up when I saw you guys talking at the front gates. It was sorta cute, so I just left y’all alone. You owe me bubble tea now. Taro, to be exact.”

 

“Sure, I always buy it for you anyways. But you saw us? Did I look okay? I didn’t look embarrassed, right?” Worry quickly overcame the boazi cheeked boy’s handsome face.

 

“No, you looked like the idiot you are, as usual.” Lu Ha smirked at his own witty reply.

 

“Hey, I am not an idiot! I, in fact, am very smart.” Minseok exclaimed, slightly offended.

 

Kyungsoo decided to team up with Lu Han and bully the small boy. “You do realize that you’re speaking to the second smartest person in the school, right?” Min blushed at his own stupidity.

 

“I-I knew that.”

 

“Totally. Anyways, did you guys see the new student? We were talking about him yesterday. He is so cute. I literally can’t even… he has the cutest eye bags ever! He looks just like a panda! I’m seriously going to die.”

 

“But don’t you like Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo scrunched his nose as he tried to comprehend his hormonal friend.

 

“Yeah. I don’t really like Tao, I just think he’s kinda cute. Not like, cute cute, he’s puppy cute.”

 

“Puppy cute? What has my friend turned into? But his name’s Tao? So he’s Chinese?” Lu Han’s doe eyes lit up with happiness.

 

“Yep. Yesterday, he took a tour of the school, but today is his actual first day. Although, I haven’t seen him here though.” Baekhyun frowned at the thought of not being able to see the mentioned boy before lunch ended.

 

“You said he has large eye bags, right?” Kyungsoo waited until his friend nodded before he continued. “Isn’t that him right there?” Baekhyun glanced towards the cash register, where a tall boy with raven hair stood. He was balancing his lunch on one hand while the other was punching his lunch code onto the keypad.

 

“Oh my gosh, it is! Kyungie, I guess being an owl does help!” Kyungsoo motioned, as if he were about to spill his milk onto Baekhyun’s hair.

 

“That’ll ruin my eyeliner! It took me forever to get it to look natural.” Following that remark, the eyeliner obsessed male called a confused looking Tao over to their table.

 

“Hi, Baekhuyn,” Kyungsoo and Lu Han stared in awe at the tall boy, who looked attractive enough to be a model.

 

“You’re handsome,” Lu Han blurted out by mistake. He immediately covered his mouth with his hands, and blushed a deep shade of red. “Did I say that outloud? Sorry…”

 

“That’s okay, thanks. You guys are handsome too.” Tao replied,  as smile grew on his face.

 

“Why are you still standing? Sit with us!” Baekhyun pulled the taller male down to the seat next to him. “Tao, these are my idiotic friends. I’ll introduce you to them. I’m sorry if their stupidity rubs off on you. This is Lu Han.” Tao glanced over at Luhan, who shyly smiled back at him. “I admit, he’s handsome but he looks more like a girl, if you ask me.” The diva skillfully dodged the fork that came flying at his face. “This is Kyungsoo. You can call him owl boy, he doesn’t mind.” Again, the boy ignored the plastic knife that narrowly missed his face. The small, ‘I do mind’ that was muttered was overlooked. “And this is Minseok. He looks like a boazi.”

 

“Boazi? He’s Chinese?” Tao smiled a little wider at the thought of not being the only Chinese person at school.

 

“No, actually, I’m Chinese. When I first saw him, I said he looked like one. Doesn’t he?” For effect, Lu Han cupped Minseok’s face so that he somewhat resembled a fish.

 

“Yeah, I guess he sort of does. Well, I’m Tao, as you all already know. I just moved here from China so please excuse me if my Korean is bad.”

 

“You’re fine.” Baekhyun complemented. A few moments later, the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch. “See you in class, Tao.” The five friends headed to their respective classes after throwing out their garbage.

 

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Silence filled the room as the Language Arts teacher walked in the doorway. Finally, I can know what project she was talking about, Lu Han thought.

 

“Hello, class. We’re starting a new project today. Aren’t you excited?” Groans echoed throughout the class at the mention of a project. “Don’t fret, my pupils! This will be fun project, trust me. We’re going to write our own myths. But not any myth, it’s a creation myth, where you create something. Doesn’t that sound fun to you?” Some people cheered while others absentmindedly nodded their heads. “For this project, you will need a partner.” A girl raised her hand. “Yes, Tiffany?”

 

“Will we get to choose our own partners,” she asked, hope shimmering in her eyes.

 

“Only if all of you behave while I’m teaching. Now, this is a myth from a pair of girls in a different school.” The instructor paused. “Oh, I forgot to mention one thing. Your myth has to be at least 6 pages long, but it’s going to be double spaced so don’t worry. Once you finish writing, you need to get it approved by me. Then, you need to create a presentation out of it with pictures so that it is like a book. It’s crucial that you don’t forget to cite your sources. Anyways, this is a good example of a creation myth. Later, I’ll show you a bad one.” As the teacher was reading the story aloud, multiple students in the class needed to be hushed. When she read the bad example, many students shouted out loud, or weren’t paying attention at all. They were caught staring off into space.

 

“I’m sorry guys, I don’t think I can trust you to choose your own partners.” Protests of the students complaining were heard around the room. “The class couldn’t stay quiet the whole time I was reading. I’ve never seen you all act this way before. I know you’re excited, but I also know that this class knows better. Don’t be upset or protest when you get your partner. It’s very rude, and we’re all friends here anyway.” Lu Han could've sworn that every single person sitting in the room, including himself, were all thinking about the people who they most certainly were not friends with. “Hm, let’s see now.” The teacher began pairing people up. Some students cheered ecstatically, like the girls who got paired with other females, while some frowned before switching their seats so that they could sit next to their partners. “Lu Han, and… Sehun.” Both boys’ jaw’s dropped and eyes widened, as their faces rapidly grew a dark shade of pink. Awkwardly, Sehun pulled a stool next to Lu Han who used to sit by himself.

 

“Hello.”

 

“Hello.” Well, isn’t this awkward at all. I’d thank God and all of that, but I think I’m a bit too busy being embarrassed, Lu Han thought sarcastically to himself.

 

After the teacher finished pairing the people up, she informed them that they’ll have to work outside of school and that the project would last about one and a half months. She concluded by  telling the students to begin planning and drafting their myths. Then, she walked over to the teacher’s desk and began grading the students’ papers.

 

“So, what do you want to write about?” Sehun inquired, trying not to make eye contact with the boy sitting next to him.

 

“I… don’t know. What do you like?”

 

“Bubble tea, but I don’t think that we can use that?” The taller boy sighed.

 

“I like bubble tea too! It’s better than tea, coffee, soda, soju, and every other beverage combined!” Lu Han exclaimed.

 

“Right? Bubble tea is love, bubble tea is life!”

 

“I’m glad someone finally agrees with me. All of my friends say that I have an unhealthy obsession. Well, it’s not my fault taro is so addicting!” Lu Han complained to his crush about how mean his friends are.

 

“Taro? My favorite is chocolate. But we’re getting off topic! I need you number.”

 

“What?” Lu Han was taken back by Sehun’s sudden proposal.

 

“Relax, I’m not asking you out.” Not yet. “I need it for the project. I also need your email.” For a moment, Sehun thought that he could detect disappointment appear behind Lu Han’s pupils.

 

“Oh, ok. Here, I’ll write it down for you. I need yours too.” Getting out a wrinkled piece of lined paper, Lu Han hurriedly scribbled down his phone number and email for Sehun. He carefully ripped the sheet in half, and gave it to the mentioned boy to write down his own. “Thanks.” Both boys took the other’s paper.

 

“Seriously though, we need a topic to write about.” The brown haired boys turned their heads to look around the room for inspiration.

 

“How about penguins?” Lu Han glanced over at the adorable penguin mug placed on the teacher’s desk.

 

“Penguins? So like, we create penguins? I like them, and I think they’re cute and all, but how are we going to create penguins? Is it going to be something like, ‘the birds got their wings wet, and then they could no longer fly’?”

 

“No! That’s so silly! It doesn’t have to be their wings, it can be one of their other body parts. Like, they could originally be colored completely black, but then something happens to make them have white bellies!” Sehun could not possibly say no to the sparkle that lit up Lu Han’s already shimmering doe eyes.

 

“I guess that’s fine.” The taller tried to sound somewhat excited but Lu Han didn’t seem to buy it,

 

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t think about your opinion at all. You probably won’t like things like that. You could decide, if you’d like. What do you want to do?” Lu Han asked Sehun,

 

“What makes you think that?”

 

“Well, seem more like the manly type, so I just thought that something as silly as penguins wouldn’t fit your style. Are you saying that you like penguins?”

 

He thinks I’m manly. I’m going to die. “Yeah, I’m cool with penguins.”

 

“Great! Okay, let’s start this organizer-” Lu Han was interrupted by the bell.

 

“Class, keep these organizers. Your homework for today is to fill this out with your partner. Have fun!” The teacher walked out of class.

 

“We can always plan later. Next, is math. Yay.” Sehun said, the sarcasm dripping off his lips.

 

“You don’t like math?” Lu Han asked.

 

“Nope, with a capital N. I hate it. Pre-calc is literally the easiest thing in the world. Seriously. I wish there was a class for advanced people so that we can go there. I hate easy things, I love challenges.” So he’s implying he wants me to play hard to get. I think I can do that, but I don’t think I’ll be able to resist his perfection for long, Lu Han thought.

 

“I like challenges too. Especially large jigsaw puzzles. Those are the best!” Both students took out their math textbooks.

 

“That band, Imagine Dragons, is another thing I like. Have you ever heard of them?” Sehun replied. Lu Han thanked the gods for making Sehun his soulmate.

 

“They are legit the love of my life.” Lu Han didn’t notice the slight pang of jealousy that flashed behind Sehun’s eyes. “Have you heard their new album? Oh my god, Gold and Polaroid are my favorites.” Lu Han hesitated for a moment. “Wait no, Shots, and Summer have got to be my favorites. I don’t know, they are all perfect. Not to mention the title track, Smoke and Mirrors! I could talk about them for days.” Lu Han rambled on about his favorite band.

 

“Me too! I love their new album! Dan’s voice is so amazing!”

 

Lu Han stared at Sehun with wide eyes and an open heart. His crush liked one of his favorite bands. He took a moment for his brain to process this information.

 

“Um, Lu Han, you ok?” The mentioned boy’s eye’s focused back onto Sehun as his thoughts slowly faded away.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Dan’s voice is really amazing, isn’t it? Did you hear those high notes in Summer? And their instrumentals are incredible.”  

Sehun smiled back at Lu Han in agreement. “Of course I could hear those high notes that Dan totally killed! I can’t believe you like iD too!”

 

“Same! I didn’t think a lot of people from non-English speaking countries were fans!” Lu Han’s sparkly doe eyes glimmered with even more happiness.

 

Throughout the remainder of the day, Lu Han’s mind replayed his first real conversation with his crush countless amount of times. The gleam in his eyes and the smile on his face didn’t leave for the rest of the day.