Title of Gift: Different but in love

Pairing: Hyukbin

Number of words: 1,997

Genre: High School Affair, Romance

Note to my Giftee: For the lovely Fluffyqueen11, it’s a bit rushed but I hope this is fulfills your expectations. I tried and I hope you like it ><

Different but in love

Hongbin was not exactly that far from ordinary. He handed in his homework on time, listened to his parents and had a reasonable amount of friends. Even if he might be on the slightly nerdy side of being a gamer but he participated frequently in basketball. He really was a normal teenager, nothing about him was out of the ordinary. His best friend, however, said otherwise and Hongbin, despite disliking this abnormal part of himself, has to accept the truth. Lee Hongbin is, and has been, since his first year in high school, the most perfect student. Straight ‘A’s, good-mannered, handsome, he was blessed with both looks and brains. If one ignores the fact that his legs are slightly on the short side, or that he has far too small hands and a slim waist, he is flawless. As the female population preferred, minor flaws were what made Hongbin approachable and not out of their league.

But Hongbin truly hated it. The image that was forced upon him can no longer be removed. Luckily, there was only one more year before he can kiss high school goodbye. As the said boy happily counted the days left before his freedom, he turned around the corner and crashed into someone in a very cliche manner. His books were scattered everywhere and instead of apologising to the person he knocked into, Hongbin started apologising to his messed up papers and books.

“I am sorry,” the boy repeated countless times as he collected his belongings, completely oblivious to the other person who was watching him. It was only when loud laughter echoed through the hallway that caught his attention and the most accurate thing to describe Hongbin was that he was frozen stiff. Han Sanghyuk, the school’s most infamous bad boy, smirked at him before letting a brief chuckle. “You’re cute,” Sanghyuk commented before picking up some of the scattered items. By the time he was done, he was crouched down like Hongbin, face to face with the latter. As he placed the items in front of Hongbin, he whispered into Hongbin’s ear, “I think I would really love to date you.”

The encounter with the school’s most notorious student had Hongbin shaking like a leaf even after he reached the classroom. His ever-so-helpful Literature teacher, Baekhyun, slapped him on the back hard, causing him to make a pained sound along with a terrible ache on his shoulders. The teacher cackled and started animatedly telling the class that he expects them to study hard or they can expect to be whacked by him. After the lesson ended, Hongbin found himself standing outside with the teacher asking if he was facing love problems. The out of the blue question only confused Hongbin but his teacher had helpfully supplied that shaking was a sign of falling in love. Truthfully, he really did not understand Baekhyun’s train of thoughts and chose to keep his mouth shut until the teacher decided to leave him be. With an encouraging pat on his shoulder, the teacher left and soon Hongbin found himself surrounded by his friends.

“I heard that you bumped into Sanghyuk just now? Did he do anything to you? You look out of sorts.”

“I'm fine…”

For Lee Hongbin, the day after bumping into Han Sanghyuk was the beginning of his troubles. Hongbin found himself with Sanghyuk next to his locker the next day. The blonde who had never spoken a word to him started talking to him and asking him about how his day was. It was unlikely that the perfect student would fall for the school delinquent but the unlikely did happen. Three months after Sanghyuk spoke to Hongbin, they found themselves at the quiet end of Seoul, on their way to a cafe for their first date.

Sanghyuk was different from Hongbin, that was definite. However, during the time where the former kept pestering him, he found out that Sanghyuk was mostly misunderstood. The boy was quick-tempered, choosing to use his fists to settle things over talking but he fought for things he valued. Things like his family, when people insulted his mother for being a and running away with another man despite the truth being her passing away when he was young. Or when they insulted his father, saying that he was going to end up as useless as his father despite his father making a honest living by owning a small eatery that made barely enough to get by. There were many things that angered Hongbin and he wanted to defend Sanghyuk all the time except the latter always stopped him, saying that it did not matter. But Hongbin knew, that it was to prevent him from being dragged into the mess.

As for when he started to look at Sanghyuk in another light, he was not too sure. Perhaps it was when the boy casually saved him as he once again nearly collided with the lamppost, or simply catching Hongbin whenever he nearly trips over nothing. Or the time when he had a severe headache and attempted to rest in a corner he thought no one could find but Sanghyuk appeared and offered him medicine. And the time when he was too stressed out over schoolwork and the boy just held him tight and let him cry it out. Hongbin stopped counting the number of times he was lost in the embrace of Sanghyuk whenever he was saved from his own clumsiness and insecurities. Perhaps above everything, Hongbin loved the feeling of his small hand in Sanghyuk’s overly large ones. The latter often sneakily held Hongbin’s hand and it was undeniable that Hongbin was greatly affected by the warmth of Sanghyuk’s hands.

Despite the fact that they were going together, there were so many things Hongbin wished he could do differently. He wished they could openly date without being judged or hold hands whenever possible. Yet, it was something that could not be done as his parents knew nothing of his uality or the fact that Sanghyuk’s reputation would probably lead to some terrible things. During the time when Sanghyuk started speaking to him, there were already many unpleasant voices. Despite having come to terms in a way or another about this problem, Hongbin still found his thoughts being overtaken by it and many times, Sanghyuk seem to understand and squeeze the hand he was holding for comfort.

There were also times he could not control his facial expressions and times like this are the ones his boyfriend would press a kiss onto his lips. In an instant, he melted into the kiss and allowed it to become deeper, forgetting his troubles. It would always be amusing to Sanghyuk when they kiss, for Hongbin’s enthusiasm could never go unnoticed. Their first few kisses were the most endearing for Sanghyuk as Hongbin’s lack of experience showed when he trembled during those times. However, it had gotten better with time and Sanghyuk would forever appreciate the cute blush whenever he told his boyfriend about how much he love his kisses. It was still a challenge for Sanghyuk to ease his boyfriend’s worries. The moment the kiss ended, Hongbin found himself sinking into the deep hole of thoughts. Even as they held hands and Sanghyuk’s warmth was comforting him, Hongbin still let out a sigh. The other boy wasted no time to lift Hongbin’s chin, searching his eyes for answers.

“I'm fine.”

“You can't lie so spill.” The grip on his chin got tighter.

“It’s just… I wonder how long we have to date so quietly… I kind of wish we can be like the others…”

“I am sorry. If it wasn't for me-”

“It’s not you. It's my parents…”

“We will get through this. It’s only another six months before graduation,” Sanghyuk said, smiling while pushing Hongbin’s bangs aside tenderly. Hongbin flashed his dimples at the other before leaning his head on Sanghyuk’s shoulder.

Time passed almost too quickly for Hongbin’s liking, studying for exams made him tired and not getting to see Sanghyuk much only served to worsen that ache in his chest. He wanted to endure just a bit more since they were only a week from graduation. But his heart went against his better judgment as he pulled out his phone, texting Sanghyuk to meet him in the art room. Hongbin hastily made up an excuse to leave his friends before heading towards the meeting place. The moment Sanghyuk opened the door, Hongbin rushed over to hug him.

“Missed me?” Sanghyuk teased with a knowing smile. Hongbin merely held him tighter, slowly taking in the scent of his boyfriend. It was not long before Sanghyuk pulled back from a whiny Hongbin and kissed Hongbin senseless. They were so lost in the kiss that they failed to notice the sound of the door opening and it was the sound of a cough that woke them up. They quickly pulled apart from each other, Hongbin’s eyes wide-blown from shock. Getting caught kissing by the teacher was definitely the last thing they had in mind. It did not help that a string of saliva was still connecting their lips when they moved away from one another. But the teacher said nothing as he turned to grab a colouring set from the side before moving around to tidy the place.

“You are not going to reprimand us?”

“For what reasons?” The teacher, Kyungsoo, stared at them with an unreadable face.

“Um we… Well…”

“No one said kissing is wrong. In any case, next time if you boys want to do such things, I suggest the science classroom at the West Wing, third level. It's much quieter. If you take things further than kissing, no one can hear either,” Kyungsoo explained calmly, seemingly unperturbed by how he just caught his students making out in school.

The two students continued to look confused by the situation and it was then the teacher decided that he should clarify. “I won’t judge the two of you. Besides, I have already found out some time back. You kids should really find another place because I have caught you both kissing like there is no tomorrow a few times here.”

“I… We are sorry…” Hongbin apologised, face as red as it could get. Sanghyuk only managed a sheepish smile before the teacher brushed them off. Thankfully, the incident remained unknown to the school as the teacher did not mentioned a word of it.

On graduation day, the graduates sat, excited and nervous of their future. Hongbin looked as if he was going to collapse any time as he walked towards the stage.

Hyukkie: You will do great, babe ;) <3

Bracing himself, he stood before the entire school, ready to make his speech.

“To dear teachers and parents, I thank you for supporting us. To dear friends and fellow graduates, today, we will embark on a new journey to the next phase of our lives,” Hongbin began with a confident voice. “We will all be heading towards different paths, difficult or easy, there is a lot to see in this world…”

“With this, I would like to congratulate all students in graduating. Continue to work hard!” The principal’s voice announced, marking the end of the ceremony.

The noise in the hall began to increase with the students beginning to move. Hongbin took the opportunity to grab Sanghyuk’s wrist before pulling him along. “Wait, Hongbin, what are you doing?”

“It’s important, follow me first,” the boy commanded as he hurriedly navigated the crowd in search of his parents.

The moment he stood before them, Hongbin took a deep breath and laced his fingers with his boyfriend’s. “Hongbin-ah, congratulations on graduating,” his mother said with a warm smile. His father gave a similar look before turning to look at Sanghyuk and asking, “Who is this boy?”

“Omma, appa. I have something very important to tell you,” Hongbin managed confidently, pulling Sanghyuk forward to stand beside him. “Actually, I am…”

~End~

Side note: I envisioned that the Hyukbin couple will be accepted by both boys’ parents and that the entire school was in an uproar the moment the truth came out. Also, Hongbin’s parents had already guessed his uality but was waiting for him to say it first. As for Sanghyuk’s father, he is happy as long as his son is happy. I was not able to add this in as I felt that it would destroy the flow of the story. Nevertheless, I hope you like this J