1. 
when jongdae wakes up for the second time that morning, his parents have gone off to work.  his older brother, minseok, has already left for school. 

"alright!" jongdae fist pumps.

now he can sing on the top of his lungs without anyone yelling at him to please be quiet.  he sings in the shower as he hurries to get ready.  as he's putting some lotion on his face, there's a knock on the door.

"yah!  kim jongdae!  let's go already!"

it's chanyeol's loud voice that rivals his own.

"coming!" jongdae shouts, grabbing a piece of bread on the way out.

when he opens the door, there's chanyeol grinning mischeviously.

"is that how you sound when you're with your girlfriend?"

chanyeol a brow and jongdae's ears turn red as the dirty joke dawns on him.

"ah, this dirty bastard!" jongdae exclaims, punching his arm.

a few steps behind chanyeol, baekhyun cackles, clapping and pointing at jongdae's reddened face.

kyungsoo sighs.

"if we don't leave now, we're gonna be late" he says calmly.

"kyungsoo-yah, did you hear my joke though?" chanyeol asks kyungsoo with widened eyes.  "did you?  if you don't get it i can explain.  you see, jongdae just shouted 'coming!' so i-"

"yeah.  whatever."

kyungsoo starts walking briskly ahead.

"yah!  do kyungsoo, wait up!  ah~!  wait!  i have to lock the door or my brother'll get mad at me!"

kyungsoo ignores jongdae, walking ahead.  the other two rush to catch up, leaving jongdae behind.  jongdae pouts, but soon runs after them, punching them for good measure when he catches up.

"you guys are so mean!" he whines again.

 

2.
when the bell rings for break, jongdae turns to kyungsoo who's quietly reading.

"yah, wanna go to the snack corner and get something?"

"no."

kyungsoo's answer is fast and negative.  jongdae's about to pout, but a girl from the front row comes up to his desk.

"um.  jongdae-yah?" the hesitant voice calls him.

jongdae's lips curve into a smile, his eyes crinkling into half moons.

"haejung-ah!  how are you?"

the girl flushes, producing a handout from behind her back.

"it's just.. i was wondering if you could help me with this math problem..."

"ah~" jongdae nods, tilting his head closer to the girl to get a better look.  "this one!  i had to ask my brother to solve it too!  here's how he showed me..."

he speaks in pace, slow enough to understand yet fast enough that he's not wasting her time.  his mother, living with all men, often said that he must always treat girls like they were princesses.  that it was because of a woman that he was brought into this world.  and jongdae has always taken that to heart.

"thanks jongdae!  that was to easy to understand!"

"no problem!  any time, haejung-ah!  let me know if i can help with anything else!"

jongdae gives her a little wave and turns back to kyungsoo just as the girl runs back to her group of friends, who titter and giggle with their heads bowed together.

"i'm hungry, kyungsoo-yah!" jongdae whines.

kyungsoo snorts.

"where's that sweet voice you used with haejung?  why are you back to whiny jongdae?"

"huh?  what are you talking about?  i said i was hungry, come on, let's go down to the canteen!"

kyungsoo closes his book without another word and jongdae knows that he's won.

"alright!" jongdae fists pumps, following kyungs out of the classroom.

as he leaves, he barely hears the snippets of the girls' conversation.

"he's .... sweetest guy in the ... whole school!"

he turns his head reflexively and makes eye contact with haejung and her friends.  jongdae smiles again, eyes crinkling and lip corners curling upwards.  he does his little wave again and as he catches up with kyungsoo, he can hear the girls squealing in the background.

 

 

3.
after the third class, there's a self study period and jongdae gets chosen to help the teacher deliver memos to the other facullty.

"alright!" jongdae fist pumps.

it was always a popular task that everyone wanted to do.  it meant you didn't have to study for two whole hours.

he's waiting in the teacher's lounge when a first year teacher calls him.

"jongdae-yah, do you have time?"

"yes ma'am.  what do you need?"

"could you take this first year to the front gate?  he's not feeling too well."

jongdae turns his head.  the first year in question is taller and paler than jongdae is.  he looks queasy and when jongdae gives him a curious one over, the teacher sighs.

"we had dissections in biology today and... well...  now, sehun has to go home."

"sure, i'll take him to the front gate and wait for his pick-up.  don't worry, teacher."

jongdae smiles up at the first year teacher and she smiles back.

"i knew i could count on you, jongdae.  you're so good with your hoobaes."

jongdae's feeling pretty good about himself at the compliment, so he grabs sehun's arm and throws it over his shoulder.

"i'll help you get down the stairs.  let me know if you feel sick ok?  we'll stop at a bathroom."

the tall first year nods and they exit the teacher's lounge.

on the way, jongdae passes chanyeol and baekhyun's classroom, only to find that they're standing in punishment outside the class.

"yah, what did you guys do this time?" jongdae asks incredously.

"oh!  it's sehun-ee!  what's wrong with him?" chanyeol asks, ignoring jongdae's initial question.

"bio dissections.  got queasy so he's going home early."

"i didn't know you knew oh sehun too" baekhyun whispers, eyeing the teacher inside.  "we should all hang out."

"i didn't.  but now i do" jongdae grins.

sehun's trying to grin back when the teacher inside yells.

"park chanyeol and byun baekhyun!  what did i tell you about quietly reflecting on your actions!"

chanyeol and baekhyun go back to hanging their heads, hands raised.  jongdae snickers and makes a mental note to ask what inane thing they did this time.  he silently waves goodbye and keeps going.

"still doing ok?" jongdae asks sehun, who's being awfully quiet.

and now that jongdae looks closer at the boy, he's looking kind of scary and intimidating with his face arranged in a frown.

"yes, hyung.  i'm ok" sehun whispers.

"i rushed out of there without even properly introducing myself.  i'm -"

"i know" sehun mutters.  "you're kim jongdae hyung, younger brother to kim minseok hyung."

sehun smiles and jongdae gets awestruck because it changes his whole demeanor.  gone is the intimidating tall boy, and it's hello to a squishy young baby chick.  even his way of talking is a little mushed so that he sounds like a baby.

"how did you know?!  ah, park chanyeol?"

"anyway, i just know" sehun says, blushing.  "from now on let's be friends, hyung."

the boy smiles, eyes crinkling prettily.

"haha, sure!" jongdae replies.

he's always nice to his dongsaengs.

 

4.
when jongdae returns, the class is still in self-study mode.  the noise level is minimal, but some kids are still talking in their indoor voices.  jongdae doesn't feel like studying, so he scoots a chair up to kyungsoo's desk.

"whatcha doin'?"

kyungsoo ignores him.

"ah~ why~  why are you ignoring meeee~?!"

kyungsoo looks up from his textbook, glaring sharply.  jongdae hears kyungsoo sigh and dogear his page.  jongdae smirks in victory, wiggling in his seat because he's won kyungsoo over.

"which is it, kim jongdae?" kyungsoo asks wearily.

"huh?"

"one second you're whiny, the next you're labeled the sweetest boy in our grade.  next thing i know you're teacher's pet and just a few minutes ago, i saw you playing the dependable sunbae to that first year."

"ah~" the corners of jongdae's lips curl upward and he nods in understanding.  "well, if you must know..."

kyungsoo stares, waiting for an answer that's most likely nonsensical.

jongdae cackles and shouts, "it's all me!"

a teacher pokes his head in to quiet jongdae down.  jongdae apologizes but the teacher doesn't say anything about not studying.  after the teacher leaves, jongdae giggles, making plans for karaoke later on in the week.

kyungsoo shakes his head.  there is no helping it.  after all, kim jongdae is versatile.