A hand across the room waves for him to come in and he waves back, carefully making his way between the tables in the bar, can't believe at the sight of the other person even when he was informed beforehand.

"Want anything?" A glass of water is being poured for him as he takes a seat and Yifan shakes his head, finishing the water in one gulp before staring at his collegue that is sitting across him.

Three empty bottles and almost empty snack plates fill the round table and he kind of amaze at the two people as his own stomach can't really take the alchohol that well.

"Since Yifan is here, I'm going to go, okay? I will ask the owner to call a taxi for you when you are ready to go, okay?"

"But, I- I don't want you to- to go." A hiccup. "Let's drink some more!" Luhan is raising his full glass and Minseok just shaking his head, telling Yifan to wait as he goes to pay the bill.

He has never seen Luhan like this, being his apartment is kind of far from the teacher and he doesn't drink much, but has heard some from Minseok. The student teacher is small but he can hold his liquor quite well and has been Luhan's drinking buddy when the Chinese language teacher found out about it.

"Can we leave him just like that?" Yifan asks and Minseok just smiles.

"I always leave him like that. Except when I'm in a good mood, I drop him off at his house. He is kind of clingy when he is drunk."

"We only arrived like a month ago and you already drink that much with him? Are the rumors true?"

Minseok is smiling as he kicks a pebble in his way. "No. We are not dating. The students were just bored, especially the third years. They were the ones starting it."

Yifan nods in agreement. It was their second week in teaching and a group of female students surrounded him during recess and asked about the details of Minseok and Luhan's date at him. Apparently someone saw them coming out from a cafe together last weekend and wondered if Minseok had told anything to him.

"But there are truths in that rumor, right? You left him like that but seemed like you never turn down his offer when he asked you out."

Minseok just sighing as they turns a corner. "He is nice but we are just friend, Yifan. Just like you and me."

"Yeah, but I don't have feeling for you like Luhan does," he teases and an elbow strucks his side, making him groan in pain. "See, your red ears can't lie."

"It is the alchohol, Mr. Wu." Minseok has his key inside the keyhole and opens the door, inviting Yifan to come in before disappears into a room.

Yifan plops himself on the sofa, looking around the living room and turning on the television before his friend returns to him with a towel and a blanket.

"Do you want to borrow my clothes? It will be a bit tight though."

"Nah, it's fine. I'll be wearing this back," he pulls the hem of his shirt and scoots over to the side for Minseok to sit down. It is almost two in the morning and the rerun drama isn't picking up his interest but he is too lazy to change the channel.

"Are you going to tell me now?" Minseok is looking at him and Yifan takes a deep breath. Minseok didn't ask more when he asked if he could crash at his place for the night but he knew sooner or later his friend would want to know his reason.

"Joonmyeon is sleeping over at my house."

The Math teacher has his eyes wide open as he looks over at Yifan. Minseok was there when he asked Joonmyeon's homeroom teacher for his address and had offered to help him finding the student but Yifan refused, saying he's going to check things out first and will tell him if he needs any help.

"How did he end up at your place? He wasn't at home?"

Yifan shakes his head, contemplating to tell Minseok or not about what Joonmyeon's parents said to him when he infromed them about their child's situation. "They don't get along and," he turns to face his friend, "they don't have a child like him."

Minseok is looking at him with shock all over his face and Yifan sighs tiredly, telling the Math teacher to go to sleep and not to worry as he will handle it. The bedroom door shuts closed and Yifan lies on the sofa, forcing himself to go to sleep even thought his last wash was over twelve hours ago but his mind keeps worrying about Joonmyeon.

And the slip up he made.

-----

"Are you going to tell the whole school next?!"

Yifan's hands tightens around Minseok's shoulder, cowering behind the Math teacher when Joonmyeon spotted them while arraging the chips on the shelf. He forgot this side of Joonmyeon and didn't think it through went Minseok said he wants to follow him and see the student.

"Joonmyeon, calm down. I'm not going to tell anybody. I just want to see how you are doing. Have you had breakfast yet?"

The student doesn't answer as he continues his work. Yifan almost lost his mind when nobody answered his greeting as he opened the door to his apartment and the worn-out pair of shoes disappeared from the entryway. Luckily Minseok was there to calm him down and decided to check the minimart first before going to Sophia's house.

Joonmyeon would definitely kill him if that happened.

"Can we talk?" Minseok asks and Joonmyeon moves to the side to arrange the crackers shelf. "Can't you see that I am working? Do you want me to get fired again?"

"Hey," Yifan steps in front of his friend, "mind your manners! Mr. Kim is still your teacher!"

Joonmyeon is staring at him with his laser-eyes again and Yifan steps back, hiding half of himself behind Minseok. He never thought he was this coward before. Being afraid like a little kid. And of his own student, nonetheless.

"Okay, okay. I won't bother you anymore." The Math teacher steps closer. "But, you should eat your breakfast." He hands over the paper bag from the bakery they stopped by on the way here.

Joonmyeon is staring at the bag offered to him before accepting it half-heartedly, "Thank you."

"No problem. I'm leaving, okay? See you at school tomorrow."

Yifan watches his friend disappear between the shelfs before turning to face his student, only to find Joonmyeon is still shooting laser-eyes at him. "Can- can you not look at me like that?"

"Because I am telling you to go away too."

"But I won't." Yifan instinctively steps back when Joonmyeon tries to get closer to him, hands fisted and all, but the student doesn't proceed and Yifan just stands there, beside the shelf full with variety of chips, watching his student arraging the stock with Minseok's breads by his feet.

-----

"Don't you have homeworks to check or something?"

Yifan looks up from his plate of fried rice and meets with his student's eyes that is sitting across him, doesn't miss the barely touched spicy seafood noodle in front of him. "I don't. Why aren't you eating?"

"Full."

He stares at the student, swallowing his own food as he scans him. How can Joonmyeon be full when the noodle still have more than half left? He can't eat spicy food? But the dish isn't that spicy, a bit sweet to be honest since he had tried the dish before and he really liked it. That is why he ordered for Joonmyeon when the student just stayed silent when he asked him what he want to eat.

"If you don't finish it, then we won't leave."

Joonmyeon is looking at him with uncaring eyes as he sips his water before standing up, suprising Yifan and steps away from the chair, clearly wanting to leave but Yifan manages to grab the student's wrist before he could walk away.

"Sorry, sorry," he apologizes as Joonmyeon side-eyeing him, silently telling him that his threat has no meaning; he doesn't care about it, less scare him. He pulls Joonmyeon back to his seat, pushing his shoulders down to make him sit before going back to his own. He can never win against this particular student of his, huh?

He wipes his mouth, pushing his empty plate towards the middle of the table and gulps down what left of his water in one go, the plate of already cold spicy seafood noodle doesn't missed his eyes. He glances at Joonmyeon that has his attention on the documentary on the television and he calls the shop helper, asking him to pack the noodle since it is obvious his student won't touch it anymore.

He has his eyes locked at the student when the shop helper comes back with a paper bag of the packed noodle and keeps glancing at the younger as he pays for their meals. So, his eyes weren't wrong. Joonmyeon is thinner comparing to a week ago when he first saw him in the classroom. He says his thank before exiting the restaurant and finds his student is staring at the night sky, hands tucked inside his hoodie pockets, and he can only watch the small trembles on the small body as the night wind wraps both of them.

It is not the time yet.