“You look like death,” Taehyun told Soobin on Monday.

“Thank you,” Soobin muttered, glaring at his cousin.

“I’m sorry but that’s the truth. You didn’t sleep well?”

“No. Shocking, right? I tried watching a stupid rom-com but even that didn’t work,” Soobin huffed, entering the staff room.

“Got a lot on your mind?” Taehyun asked, filing a mug of coffee before handing it to Soobin.

Soobin didn’t answer, Taehyun knew the answer anyway.

“What happened with Yeonjun hyung? You haven’t told us anything, you haven’t even complained about the betrayal. Was it that bad?” Taehyun asked, sitting next to Soobin.

Just then, the door opened, revealing a smiling Yeonjun.

“Good morning everyone!” he exclaimed, coming to sit in front of Soobin. “Hello, Soobin-ssi.”

“Hello,” Soobin curtly replied, not looking at Yeonjun.

“Are we gonna eat together today?” Yeonjun asked and Taehyun thought Yeonjun really was persistent.

“I guess,” Soobin replied, his voice just above a whisper.

Taehyun turned to look at Soobin, his eyes wide in shock. He never thought he’d live to see the day Soobin would eat with Yeonjun.

“Great! Well, I have to prepare for my first class so I’ll see you at lunch. See you later, Taehyun-ssi,” Yeonjun spoke before leaving the room.

“Soobin-ah, what the hell happened on Friday?”

“I don’t ing know,’ Soobin groaned, pulling on his hair.

 

“So, you mean to tell me that you agreed to attend one of Yeonjun’s classes to try figuring out why students like him?” Kai asked him as they were waiting for Yeonjun in the entrance hall.

Kai had kindly agreed to join Soobin so he wouldn’t find himself alone with Yeonjun. Beomgyu, the traitor, as Soobin liked to call him after his last scheme, had declined and Taehyun had followed Beomgyu.

“Yes. But let’s stop talking about this now, I don’t like it,” Soobin replied.

“Are you ready guys?” Yeonjun asked, appearing at the top of the stairs, a bright smile on his lips, his fluffy blonde hair bouncing as he went down the stairs.

‘Soft’ Soobin thought before mentally slapping himself hard, regaining his senses. Yeonjun’s bouncy fluffy blonde hair annoyed him.

“Is there somewhere in particular you’d like to eat, Yeonjun hyung?” Kai asked.

“Hm, not really. But maybe Soobin has a place in mind?” Yeonjun asked Soobin, expectant.

Soobin thought about it for a second. Beomgyu and Taehyun had probably gone to eat at the closest spicy rice cake place and Soobin really didn’t wanna bump into them. Moreover, if they went out to eat, it would mean that he would have to spend more time with Yeonjun than he’d like.

“Let’s eat in the school’s cafeteria this time, is that okay?”

“Whatever you’re comfortable with, Soobin-ssi,” Yeonjun kindly replied, leading the way to the cafeteria.

They entered, sitting in a far corner so they wouldn’t be bothered by the students. Some of them particularly liked to annoy them during lunch but they were not very keen on meeting them today.

“Hyung, do you like eating spicy?” HueningKai asked Yeonjun seeing he had chosen gochujang stew.

“I’m actually pretty good with spicy food, yes,” Yeonjun proudly replied.

“Soobin hyung isn’t good with spicy food at all,” Kai said, teasing Soobin.

“I still enjoy it though!” Soobin protested, pouting. “And you’re not better than me, you have no right to make fun of me!”

“It’s okay, not everyone can eat spicy food,” Yeonjun gently said. “In my last school, I was the only teacher to eat spicy, all the others were having a hard time eating lunch at the cafeteria. They tended to bring their own lunch.”

“Yes! You told us last time that the spiciness was on a whole other level!”

This having piqued his curiosity, Soobin reluctantly asked,

“Where were you before coming here?”

“In a little high school in the countryside,” Yeonjun replied.

“And why did you leave?” Soobin asked again.

“Honestly, I was bored there. Like, people are super nice and the scenery is beautiful but there’s not much to do. Most people were old too so I didn’t have friends my age to go out or drink with, you know? Coming to Seoul was a spur of the moment decision. When I arrived in August, I didn’t have a clue of what to do.”

Yeonjun then began to think about something deeply and Soobin couldn’t help but stare at him. It must have been hard to come to a new city with no plan whatsoever, he thought. Just then, Yeonjun smiled.

“It’s fine though, I found a job and a place to stay pretty quickly. I’m in a stable position now so everything’s fine,” Yeonjun said, as if he’d heard Soobin’s thoughts.

Soobin knew it was time to drop the topic but he had one last question. He thought about it for some moments until deciding he couldn’t hold back.

“Where did you stay then?” he quietly asked, worrying if he had crossed some line.

When Yeonjun didn’t immediately answer, he knew he had been too far. But then Yeonjun looked at him in the eyes.

“In public bathhouses. I stayed there for about a week before meeting Mr. Jung. I guess he took pity on me and treated me to some cold noodles. We talked and he told me he was in need of a music teacher. That’s how I ended up here,” Yeonjun explained, smiling so bright his eyes disappeared.

Soobin unconsciously smiled at the sight, finding the older adorable.

“Oh? You look cute when you smile Soobin-ssi,” Yeonjun said, taking a spoonful of stew and making Kai giggle.

Soobin immediately stopped smiling and diverted his attention to his own food, hoping that he wasn’t blushing. It would be so embarrassing to blush because Choi Yeonjun of all people complimented him.

“Anyway, now that you heard about my story, I’d like to hear how you both became teachers,” Yeonjun said after he swallowed and Soobin hated that self-satisfied tone, like he had done something he was proud of.

“Well, I’m pretty new in this school too, I arrived like 2 years ago? I arrived the same year as Beomgyu hyung. Actually, we passed the exam the same year and were both affected here.”

“Oh, that’s fun! I didn’t know you already knew Beomgyu.”

“Yeah, we met in uni and have been friends since then.”

“How about you, Soobin-ssi?”

“I arrived in this school 7 years ago. I’ve been a teacher for 10. I was in a middle school in a rich neighbourhood of Seoul the first three years after passing the exam. Then, I asked to change schools and was given the privilege to choose. I choose this one because it’s closer to my apartment,” Soobin quietly explained.

“Already 10 years of being a teacher?” Yeonjun exclaimed, clearly surprised. “That’s only 4 years lesser than me!”

“Why is that surprising?”

“Well, you look so young. I didn’t know you were already in your thirties!”

You look young too. Soobin scoffed and kept on eating.

“Anyway, that’s interesting,” Yeonjun said, halfway done with his stew. “Any funny stories that happened here? Last time we ate together, Kai, I told some stories about my old schools but you never told me any about this school.”

“Oh, there’s not much to say, really. When I arrived, most of the students were already familiar with the teachers so there’s no real troublemaker. And, thanks to Taehyun, they all get to vent during his class. When we have them they’re either too tired or too focused to make any ruckus,” explained Kai.

“I’m sure Soobin-ssi has got some stories to tell us. You surely saw some special students in seven years!”

Soobin pondered about it for a short moment before smirking.

“There was this guy, Lee Junsu. He was in his last year of high school. He was very smart, he had good grades but he was a real troublemaker. Always pranking everyone, students and teacher the same.” Soobin snickered. “One day, I entered my class and there was this very pretty drawing of me on the blackboard. I knew it was him, I had seen his notebook and immediately recognised his style. Anyway, when I went to erase the drawing, I realised it had been ing painted on the board!” Soobin laughed, his eyes crinkling and his dimples showing.

“You never told me this story, hyung!” HueningKai said, quite reproachfully as he laughed.

“What did you do?” asked Yeonjun, short on breath from laughing too hard.

“I gave him detention for a whole week and sent him to fetch some solvent to try removing the paint. Unfortunately, it didn’t work so the school had to replace the board. Actually, that’s how we came to use the white boards instead of the black ones. The first to have been changed was the one in my classroom,” Soobin explained.

“That’s very interesting! No one ever told me this story!” HueningKai exclaimed, drying his eyes and resuming on eating.

“Thanks for this cool story, Soobin-ssi. I loved it,” Yeonjun said, winking to Soobin.

 

After lunch, Yeonjun retreated to his classroom, leaving Kai and Soobin alone.

“Didn’t I tell you he’s cool? Didn’t I?!” HueningKai excitedly asked Soobin, lightly punching him on the shoulder.

“He’s not as annoying as I thought,” Soobin slowly said, hesitant. “But I still don’t care about him,” he added.

“You’re such a party pooper,” HueningKai pouted.

“I actually had a good time, thanks to you. Thank you,” said Soobin, ignoring the other’s comment, waving him goodbye as he walked to his classroom.

When he arrived, he closed the door and sat at his desk, facing all the students’ empty seats. Soobin didn’t know how to feel. First of all, he needed to make some things clear with himself. The first one being that he actually enjoyed Yeonjun’s company. Easy. The second one, that said person was actually pretty handsome. Actually, Yeonjun wasn’t just handsome he was gorgeous. Okay, less easy. Yeonjun was actually totally Soobin’s type of guy. Funny, outgoing, patient, strong (no, Soobin didn’t look at Yeonjun’s arms and thighs on a daily basis, of course not), sweet. But he still didn’t get why he taught music out of all subjects. At this thought, Soobin remembered that they did not agree on a day and time so Soobin could attend Yeonjun’s class.

He got up, deciding to go ask Yeonjun before classes began. He opened the door and was face to face with Yeonjun who was about to knock on the door.

“Oh, hey,” Yeonjun said, flashing a blinding smile to Soobin.

“Hey. I was on my way to talk to you, actually,” Soobin replied. “We didn’t agree –”

“– on a date and time for my class. I just realised it too,” Yeonjun finished Soobin’s sentence, giggling. “Is tomorrow okay for you? From 4PM to 5PM?”

“Yes, that works with me. See you tomorrow then?”

“See you tomorrow,” Yeonjun replied, turning around and going his way.

Soobin hardly stopped himself from calling him back to tell him to keep smiling like that. He looked beautiful.

 

“So you agreed to attend to his class tomorrow?” Taehyun asked Soobin as they walked out of school.

Mondays were their day, they usually went to a café to spend some time together.

“Yeah. I really don’t know why I even agreed. I admit I’m curious about how he teaches but…” Soobin trailed off.

“Well, I think there’s something more. You know, having known you for some time now, I think Yeonjun hyung is your type of guy. Not that you have a type but the kind of person he is really matches with you,” Taehyun said.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, for example, you’re quite cold but he’s warm to everyone. You’re introverted and he’s extroverted. You like to stay in whereas he likes to go out. You can’t eat spicy food but he can. You’re kinda like polar opposites you know? The cliché opposites attract,” Taehyun explained.

“Do you think so?” Soobin asked, sipping on his latte.

“Hyung, even your coffees are drastically different! You like drinking latte but Yeonjun hyung swears by americano!” Taehyun said, laughing. “I think you’re made for each other.”

“But isn’t it exactly why we can’t be together? I mean, if we’re too different, aren’t we bound to have arguments?”

“You know, having arguments is something that happens in a relationship. Even between friends. Having too much arguments is not healthy but being different doesn’t mean you’ll imperatively argue. Acknowledging you’re different and that you can’t totally change is already the first step to be in a good and healthy relationship.”

Soobin thought about it for a moment.

“I don’t see why we’re talking about this anyway because I don’t plan on getting in a relationship with Yeonjun.”

“Yeah, sure. Resume sipping on your latte while I act like I believe you,” Taehyun said, earning a glare from Soobin.