“Okay, settle down,” Kim Namjoon said in an overly gruff voice, making the girls that are clamped up at the back giggle and talk among themselves about how hot Mr. Kim’s voice sounded, and how suits his really handsome face so nicely like the subtle es they are. Taehyung doesn’t get it though, because, no, Mr. Kim isn’t hot. Well, not that hot. Yeah he’s got this air of something around him that makes him look and seem like he’s willing to have with anyone or everyone at any given time and the way his lips are chapped is a little bit endearing sometimes, but that’s it. There’s nothing special about him. Taehyung doesn’t get girls sometimes.

“So, uh, today we’re going to differentiate the different animal muscle types,” Mr. Kim continued, “and it’s going to be pair work.”

Everyone started chatting in either anticipation or dread; Taehyung doesn’t really care to decipher which. He scanned his eyes around the room in search for his usual lab partner, Jeongguk, but before he could, Mr. Kim beat him to it by announcing that in order to save time, they’re going to pair up with the person beside them since they’re already sitting in pairs.

Everyone doesn’t seem to care though, because of course, everyone would sit beside their friends.

All except Taehyung. Goddammit.

Taehyung glanced briefly at the boy beside him. He’s got thick-rimmed glasses that almost covers his whole face and he’s donning a sweater that all but drowns his small frame.

Taehyung knows him. Park Jimin. He’s kind pf popular because of the hefty amount of certificates, medals, and trophies he’s won for the school in various contest and yet talks to no one. No one bullies him outright, since he’s also kind of a favorite of the staff but people talk about him behind his back occasionally, saying childish things about his “nerdness” and “wilted ” because apparently he’s the only left in their batch. (Pfft. Taehyung doesn’t believe that one bit). Everyone except Taehyung and the people who doesn’t care about childish high school bullying because yes he might be a gossip sometimes, but he’s not a bad person, his mother raised him up right and anyway, Jimin hasn’t done anything worth wrinkling his nose at, so Taehyung doesn’t care much about him.

“Hey,” he greeted after a moment of contemplation, catching how Jimin’s eyes widened in surprise.

“H-hey,” Jimin stuttered back, looking straight ahead and outright ignoring Taehyung’s eye contact.

Taehyung know social cues very well, and right now, he knows that Jimin’s cueing at him to back the up but Taehyung’s stuck with him for an hour and a half and he doesn’t want a whole hour and a half of not talking and silence so he decides to push on, one last time.

“You’re Park Jimin, right?” Taehyung exclaimed, using the cringe-worthy cheerful tone that he uses exclusively for making friends, “I’m Kim Taehyung.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jimin mumbles, still not looking at Taehyung.

“Ah, really?” Taehyung said back, still smiling at Jimin, “How do you know me?”

Jimin didn’t reply. Mr. Kim’s started giving out papers for the lab report they’re supposed to do after.

Taehyung decides to give up and not push it. He’s not in the mood anyway. Park Jimin could do whatever the hell he wants. He could go ahead and do this pair work by himself too, Taehyung doesn’t care.

After minutes of silence and an irritating Mr. Kim, Jimin speaks.

“So, um, Taehyung-ssi, do you know how to obtain cheek cell?’

“What?” Taehyung asks back, leaning in to hear Jimin better, “What’s a cute cell?”

Taehyung saw the slight curl of distaste that formed on Jimin’s lips, “nevermind, i’ll do it.”

Then Jimin’s opening his mouthing and pushing a toothpick inside, scraping at the side wall of his mouth.

“Oh, cheek cell,” Taehyung laughs awkwardly, ruffling his hair unconsciously.

When Jimin’s done, the cell already secured in a slide, he looks at Taehyung pointedly. “You do know how to set this up in a microscope, don’t you?”

And, whoa, Taehyung didn’t realize Jimin could be a little bit terrifying (in a puppy kind of way). “Yeah, ‘course! What do you think I am, eight?”

He snatches the slide from Jimin’s small hands and worked on the microscope with careful hands, “LPO or HPO?”

“HPO,” Jimin answers quickly, throwing the toothpick away and washing his hands,

There was silence once again as Taehyung works on focusing on the slide with, and when he’s done with the fine adjustments in LPO, he switched to HPO.

When the cell’s in 1080p HD already, Taehyung can’t help but smile and be proud because truthfully, he’s never done without Jeongguk because that kid’s also genius as . He takes time admiring his work and observed the complexity of the cell, going as far as realizing how amazing nature is.

That is, until he sees three specks of white on the surface and Taehyung doesn’t have to be a genius to know it’s misplace and not part of the cell at all.

He looks at Jimin, frownin. Jimin looks back at him in question. “What?”

“Come, look at this, Jimin.”

Taehyung stepped back to let Jimin peer into the eyepiece. “See those white spots there? What’re those? D’you have a condition in your mouth or something?”

He knows he wasn’t seeing things when he saw the flush that spread from Jimin’s whole face down to his neck and—oh. Oh.

“Oh,” Taehyung breathes before laughing and laughing, loud enough that the whole classroom’s giving him strange looks and Mr. Kim’s eyebrows are shot up in question but Taehyung ignores them because holy Park Jimin was supposed to be a nerd.

“Oh my ing god, Jimin,” Taehyung wheezes, clutching at his stomach with one hand and slapping Jimin’s back with the other, “I never thought you’d be the type to—“

“Shut the hell up Kim Taehyung,” Jimin hisses, “Sh-shut up or I swear I’ll kill you.”

But Taehyung didn’t, instead, he laughed harder.

“Stop laughing!”

“It’s okay Jimin! I love giving s before bio lab too.”

“Oh my god.”