Jin looked at himself in the rear view mirror. He looked like he didn't have a clue what he was doing. He took a deep breath and confidently pointed at his reflection, “You're Handsome Jin, worldwide handsome! There is nothing you cannot do!”. He smiled at himself, owning it. Sometimes the only way to make it was to fake it. He got a subtle pang in his chest when he heard himself saying 'worldwide handsome' out loud. It sounded so lonely in his voice alone. He and his ex used to say it together, it was sort of their nickname, the worldwide handsome couple. They had used the phrase many a times to psych themselves up, for them it had adopted the meaning of 'fighting!', their own private version. Every time one of them was having a difficult time or was nervous, they would stand together in front of the mirror, posing coolly while saying the phrase out loud, proudly and loudly, showing the world how handsome they really were, inside and out. And it had actually worked, it always gave him a feeling of strength to see them together in that mirror, them against the world. But now it was only him against the world. A lonely party of one, desperately trying to rise to the challenge of being a good teacher, facing mission impossible. How was he supposed to inspire others when he had lost faith in himself? A part of him was missing, the good part, and he felt it every day.

Their couple-nickname had actually been given to them by a good friend of theirs on one of their amazing trips abroad on school break, after they had been called handsome in three different languages. “You guys are officially worldwide handsome!” he had said and they all laughed, and then it kind of stuck and became their thing. Ah, he missed those days. Back when everything was simple, and he believed they would be together forever.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the car. The cold morning air made him shiver. He walked over to the field, looking around, but there was no sign of Taehyung. He still had five minutes. It was so like him to leave it to the last minute, he thought to himself as he sighed. His breath turned to vapor as it met the cold air.

One minute turned into two, he was officially late. Jin's stomach churned. He thought he had gotten through to him. He really did. He couldn't believe he wasn't there. There was nothing more he could do. If he didn't even make the effort of actually showing up, it was pointless. He was a lost cause. His pet project was over before it even started. He had failed. Again. The disappointment started creeping into his bones, making him feel heavier and heavier. He was being silly, it wasn't like it was the end of the world. It could actually be a good thing, now he didn't have to spend all his free time as an unpaid slave. He was free! He didn't feel free. He had actually started to feel like a teacher again, like he was making a difference. It was nice to have a sense of purpose. But now the purpose had vanished right before his eyes, all that was left was this all consuming void, constantly threatening to consume him too.

He turned and started heading back to the main building when he heard a faint sound. It almost sounded like a pop song. He did a full circle, scanning the surroundings but there was nothing there. He strained his ears but he could hear nothing but the clinging sound of the flagpole as the wind played with the school flag. As he was about to give up and go back, he heard it again, but louder this time. Curious, he summoned his inner mountain lion and started a hunt which brought him to the bleachers. There he discovered a little puppy-dog curled up on the bench, fast asleep. The lion inside him turned into a tiny kitten.

“Taehyung-ah. Taehyung-ah.” he softly nudged the sleeping beauty.

“Mm? Huh? Whahh?” Taehyung mumbled and turned over to the other side, nearly falling off the bench, still sleeping. The song started again, it was coming from his phone. It was an alarm. Taehyung automatically hit snooze without showing any sign of higher brain function. It was like he was in a coma.

“TAEHYUNG-AH!” he shouted at the top of his lungs an inch from his ear.

“Uh! Oh!” Taehyung shot up into a sitting position, extremely disorientated. Jin couldn't help but chuckle at how cute and puffy his face looked.

“When did you get here?” he asked him, wondering how early he had to have been to manage to fall asleep while waiting for him. That little, dopey idiot.

“I slept here.” Taehyung rubbed his face, trying to loosen sleep's tight hold on his drowsy eyes.

“You what?” Jin spat out in surprise.

“I didn't want to risk being late.” Taehyung answered as if it was a no brainer. Jin was speechless. He was so afraid of being late that he slept outside in the cold all night? This time it was not only his heart, but all his insides that melted. Maybe he had been a bit harsh threatening to take back his offer of help if he was even a moment late.

“And you're still late!” he threw his hands theatrically in the air, covering up how touched he was.

“Hehh... sorry.” A goofy grin took over Taehyung's face. He looked like a puppy that knew he had done something wrong.

“You'll still help me though, right? I was here at the right time!! I'm here. I'm in my gym clothes. You said nothing about me having to be awake!” Taehyung's grin widened.

“Hahh! Not just a pretty face!” he laughed heartily. That was without a doubt the best excuse he had ever heard, and he had heard them all. And technically Taehyung was right.

“You think I'm pretty?” a shy smile visited Taehyung's lips.

“No! Ah.... what?... I mean... it's an expression, it means you are more clever than you look.” he said, panicked. He had taken him completely by surprise. Usually he was good at handling the students' attempts to unnerve him, but this time it caught him totally off guard.

“So you think I'm smart AND pretty.” A smug grin replaced the shy smile, followed by a booming laughter.

“Uhhhmmm... stop being silly.” he coughed awkwardly. “Let's get started.”