Junkyu's first period was hell. Everyone was talking about the boys from the last performance. He felt like his head was going to explode. It's not like he didn't appreciate the performance, he was practically drooling over the boy he saw when the performances were over. Hyunsuk has to shake him to bring him back to reality. But, the constant chatter was, as always, never a help to his incessant headache. 

So, when it came time to switch classes, Junkyu was sprinting down the hall to get at least 30 seconds of peace and quiet before the chatter took over. He stepped into the classroom, and to his relief, only 2 people were there: their teacher, Kr. Kwon and Yedam. The two were talking, so Junkyu opted to just wave to Yedam and sit down. As more people started filing in, his disappointment became more obvious. Again, the only topic of conversation was the final performance.

"They were sooo talented!!"

"Do you think he'd be interested in me?"

"Oh, but the rapper! His voice was just so- Ugh !"

Junkyu was sick of it. When the final bell rang, it was like music to his ears. Yedam and Mr. Kwon ended their conversation, and Yedam headed for Junkyu to sit down next to him. A few of the girls in the front of the class were still chatting about the boys.

"Well, I liked the guy who started in the middle! He was so cute, but he could really dance..." One girl said dreamily. Mr. Kwon stood up and stared at them, not in a nice way. More in a teach-waiting-for-class-to-quiet-down way.

It did nothing, they were oblivious.

What did shut them up, however, was the boy they were talking to stepping into the classroom awkwardly. There was no doubt he heard he was being talked about and had been debating coming into the classroom. He wouldn't intentionally be late on his first day .

Wait.

What?

It was him.

It didn't even register with Junkyu when the boy stepped into the class. His brain was going completely blank. Yedam looked over at him, confused. " What's wrong with you ?" He mouthed to Junkyu. No response. Junkyu had forgotten how to register any thoughts.

Mr. Kwon quickly changed his stance when the boy walked in. "Ah, hello! I'm glad you made it!" The boy gives a small awkward nod. The poor thing looked like a deer in headlights. He was so much smaller than Junkyu thought he would be. Cute . 

"Alright, class!" Their teacher turns to face them, "This is our new classmate. I believe some of you saw him perform earlier! Great job, by the way," He turns to the boy and gives him a quick thumbs up. "Could you please introduce yourself?" 

Finally! Junkyu thought. A name. Just a name is all I need.

"H-Hello I'm Mashiho. Takata Mashiho." Mashiho bows and smiles at the class, briefly making eye contact with Junkyu. The whole class responds back with an enthusiastic, "Hello!"

Mr. Kwon nods, seemingly satisfied with his introduction. "Alright! Mashiho... where can you sit?" He looks around for an open desk. The only one is in front of Junkyu. His heart rate instantly sped up; Mashiho? Right in front of him? Just like that? "Well, the only open seat is in front of Junkyu right there, is that alright with you? Junkyu raise your hand." 

The look of bewilderment on Junkyu's face would definitely not be the best first impression, so he does his best to look normal as he begins to raise his hand. It's shaking as he slowly raises it up in the air, and Junkyu does his best to not make eye contact with the boy.  

"Um.. yeah. That's good." Mashiho thanks the teacher and heads for his seat. Mashiho gives Junkyu a quick smile as he sits down, which Junkyu returns with a face somewhere in between friendly and scared? He could feel his face turning bright red, but by then Mashiho was already sitting down

I blew it. Why am I so damn awkward? 

The whole class had started talking again. Same subject, but with slight glances to Mashiho's direction this time. Junkyu could see how uncomfortable it was making the boy in front of him, and he frowned. 

Yedam elbowed him slightly and whispered, "Dude! What's up with you and the new guy? Do you guys know each other?" He asked. Junkyu shakes his head no. 

"Just please get Mr. Kwon to start class. It's too loud in here." Junkyu points to his head and gives a sad smile. Yedam knew about the headaches as well. Just not the full extent of it. 

Yedam seems surprised but nods right away. "Oh, of course, Junkyu!" He immediately put his hand in the air.

"Mr. Kwon! Can we please start class now? I'm dying to know what we have in store for us today!" Yedam smiled brightly. He wasn't entirely lying. Yedam was a fan-favorite among the teachers, he was a great student, and had a lot of pride in the school.

Their teacher silenced the class, "Of course Mr. Bang. Actually, class, we're going to be starting a project today. This will be your end of year project. I know what you're thinking. 'Mr. Kwon!! It's only January!'. It's going to be a LARGE percentage of your final grade," The whole class groaned, even Yedam. These projects were the worst . 

Mr. Kwon smiled evilly at the reaction. “The project is entirely up to you. Be creative, give us something powerful or exciting. Hope that’s not too vague,” he winks playfully to the class. " However , because I know you might need a couple of friends to complete this project with, I'm letting you! Be wise with your choices. Go pick your partners! We're doing groups of three." 

"There has to be a catch, right? There's no way he's just letting us choose our groups," Yedam says. Most people had already gotten into their groups, but not everyone had three people. Yedam and Junkyu were one of those groups. They looked around, completely unsure of what to do. 

"If there's anyone that doesn't have a group yet, people come to the front and I’ll find one for you. Groups without a third person please raise your hand,” Mr. Kwon says, quick problem-solving. Both Yedam and Junkyu raise their hand, and watch as more hands start to fly up as well. There were three people up front that didn't have groups, Jihyuk, Minhee and... Mashiho.

  "Okay... Jihyuk goes with Dongcheol and Mido, Minhee with Seyeon and Yoona, and Mashiho- No wait. Minhee goes with Yedam and Junkyu. Mashiho Seyeon and Yoona. Alright! Get to work."

Seyeon and Yoona squealed. They were the ones talking about Mashiho earlier. Junkyu looked at the group and sighed, he felt bad for the boy.

"Junkyu, you’re staring again. Anything you need to tell me?" Yedam smirks and hits him playfully. Junkyu groans and holds his head in his hands

"Stop pointing it out every time! We can talk later, Ok?" Junkyu replies, looking up for confirmation. Yedam nods, satisfied he’ll get something out of it.

Then, a new voice joins the conversation, "So... what are we doing for this project, guys," Minhee nervously laughs. Junkyu jumps back slightly, easily surprised. He hoped Minhee hadn’t heard anything they were talking about.

1. That would be embarrassing
2. He’s not out to anyone except for his friends.

From what he knows, their school was relatively tolerant, but they weren’t exactly flying pride flags in the hallway. But, there was no doubt that he would face scrutiny for being gay. It was just too much for him.

"Oh yeah! Sorry, we'll get started on the outline now," Yedam apologizes. 

-

To say their project was going to be awful was a little harsh, but, it wasn't looking too good.

"Junkyu! What are we going to do?! What am I going to do? I'm part of the student council and I really can not afford to fail this class, guys! It's a complete disaster!" Yedam is panicking. Clearly. Junkyu and Minhee both share a this-guy-is-completely-overreacting glance.

"Dude, it's our first day working on it. We have 5 months to perfect everything. So, please, for the sanity of Minhee and I, just stop complaining!" Junkyu answers. His head was pounding . So much technical talk and generating ideas and actually using his brain did not make him feel good. 

But, it was odd. His migraines were better than usual today. He went a good hour without one, but then they began on the project. It was too odd.

After Yedam’s mini-meltdown came to a close, Mr. Kwon stood up in from of the class. “Everyone, look up here! We only have 10 minutes left until the end of class, and I need to give  you one more important detail about the project.” 

"Alright! I have one thing to say and for you to decide before we leave today. Some of you must have thought this was too easy. You got to pick groups, the project guidelines were vague and not too strict,” We waited for some sort of class reaction. Everyone kind of just muttered, the verdict unclear.

“Well, here’s the catch you all were waiting for. Every group has to pick one member in the group to get rid of. That person will form a pair with one of the others that got kicked out.  You’ll be working in teams of 2 now! The people that get kicked out of their team have to combine the ideas of your original projects. You'll have the rest of the class to decide and pick your new partners, have fun!"

It was like a bomb had dropped in the classroom. Yeah, this teacher is usually on the harsher side, but this was just awful. How could you do that to a teammate? I feel really bad for Minhee because she'll have to find a different partner but there's no way I'm-

"Junkyu, you're out. Sorry dude," Yedam says immediately. Junkyu didn't even have time to make a case for himself. 

“Yedam! Wha- No!” Before he knew it he was being shoved into the crowd of other group rejects. As Yedam walks back over to Minhee, Junkyu shoots daggers at him from his eyes. "Trust me, you'll thank me later," Yedam months and winks. Minhee looks sorry but somewhat relieved. It’s not her fault . Junkyu tells himself

Junkyu stands there awkwardly while people are making their new pairs. Is there an odd number of people? Am I really going to have to do this whole project alone? I swear to god Yedam has a death wi-

"Hey, do you need a partner?"

Junkyu hears the voice from behind his and turns around quickly, but stops short.

Mashiho.