Taeyong walked in his gym class the next day, already dreading the hour and a half that he has to spend with playing sports. They had been playing soccer for the past week and Taeyong hated every second of it. Thankfully, today was a rainy day which means they don't have to go spend their gym time outside but in the big gymnasium instead.

Entering the men change room, Taeyong can't help but to wrinkle his nose at the smell of sweat, mixed with worn socks and body spray. Taeyong settled changing his clothes in an empty corner, his bare chest meeting the warm air in the change room.

"Man, aren't you that guy who rejected Nakamoto Yuta?"

Startled, Taeyong turned around covering his chest, his eyes widening as he took notice the guy in front of him, smiling widely at him. The unknown guy is already in his gym clothes and Taeyong can see that the guy is much younger than him.

"W-what the hell? Who are you?" Taeyong muttered, putting on his shirt.

The guy chuckled as he sat one of the wooden benches nearby. "Sorry, I'm Mark Lee." the boy stuck out a hand which Taeyong accepted as he muttered his name back which Mark only responded with, "I know who you are."

Taeyong glances up at him, shocked. "Let me guess, because of Yuta asking me out?"

Mark nodded. "Yeah, everyone was shocked over the fact he asked you out."

Taeyong stopped tying his shoelaces as he narrowed his eyes at Mark. "What, they're shocked 'cause someone like Yuta asked a nobody, like me out?"

"Oh god, no!" Mark shook his head, defensively. "That's not what I meant at all. You're actually one of the attractive ones here." he muttered but Taeyong still heard, causing him to smile in his head.

"Then what did you mean?"

"It's just, when have you ever seen Nakamoto Yuta asking someone out?" Mark asked.

Taeyong arched a brow at him. "So the different people I've seen that he's got his arm around few weeks ago are not people he's asked out?"

Mark threw him a look, stunned. "Are you serious?" He fixed his hair in the mirror after posing a handome pose which made Taeyong mentally roll his eyes. "Of course not, those people are just flings for a quick make-out session."

"Still, he doesn't reject them." Taeyong mumbled under his breath.

Mark laughed, walking out of the change room with Taeyong beside him. "Well, it's not like he's actually with someone."

"That will never change if that's the way he asks people out."

Confused, Mark stopped on his tracks as he faced Taeyong, his face filled with curiousity. "What do you mean? How'd he even asked you out?"

"He didn't," Taeyong looked around the gym, trying to avoid Mark's piercing gaze. "'He just told me to get ready one day 'cause he's taking me out on a date."

Mark laughed loudly, causing other people around them to glance at them. Mark shook his head, trying to contain his laugh. "Oh, come on. Give him a break, Tae. It's not like he has much experience on those kind of stuff."

The gym teacher whistled his whistle, catching their attention as he ushered all his students to find a partner. Mark stared at Taeyong, giving his new found friend a knowing look.

"Partners?" Mark asked.

Taeyong nodded, and for the whole gym class, his mind was clouded with all the things Mark discussed with him about.

---

Apparently, Mark was younger than Taeyong by a few years but he soon explained why he's in the same grade as him. Mark skipped a few grades because all his teachers agreed that his level of knowledge is much bigger than others, causing him to be with people older than him. With that, Taeyong took admiration towards the younger and wished he has that kind of ability in school too.

"So where are you eating lunch?" Mark asked as they walked out of the gymnasium after a lot of running their teacher made them do. Taeyong, who's still trying to catch his breath fanned his face with his hands as he replied.

"I usually eat lunch in the cafeteria with Ten, my best friend."

"I think I've seen him around," Mark told him as they reached Taeyong's locker who immediately placed his gym bag inside. "The guy who has a nice smile and are always with you?"

Taeyong grinned, closing his locker as they headed towards the cafeteria. "That's him."

"To be honest, I thought you were dating him at first because you two were too close but that changed when I heard about Yuta asking you out." Mark said, suprising Taeyong.

"Are you serious?" Taeyong tried to mask any uneasiness