There’s a link you’ll probably click on and I need to say two things about it: I’m obsessed with those pictures and the caption doesn’t say that but we don’t care^^

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“So, we went to his apartment and he told me all about it,” Soobin finished telling his friends.

HueningKai had told Taehyun and Beomgyu that he had seen Soobin leaving the school with Yeonjun the day before and they all asked Soobin to tell them everything when he would arrive in the morning. They were all sitting in Soobin’s classroom. The staff room wasn’t private enough.

“And?” avidly asked Beomgyu.

“And what? That’s it,” replied Soobin.

“Are you telling me you did nothing? Not even a small kiss?” Beomgyu asked, this time sounding disappointed.

“Of course not! Why would we kiss?!” Soobin exclaimed, shocked.

“Dude, you can try fooling everyone, even yourself, but not us,” Taehyun said. “We know you like him. I’m pretty sure you know you like him too. It’s clear as day.”

“And he likes you too,” HueningKai added.

“You guys are crazy,” Soobin stated. “First of all, I don’t like Yeonjun hyung –”

“Hyung? Since when do you call him hyung?” Beomgyu cut, astonished.

“And second of all” Soobin went on, ignoring Beomgyu, “he doesn’t like me. Period.”

“You really are the biggest idiot I’ve ever seen,” Taehyun snapped. “You are so eager to keep your cold act around him for whatever stupid reason that you don’t notice you’re acting like a child! We’re way past the point of tormenting our crush to make them notice us, Soobin. You might be my best friend but you’re dumb to think that we didn’t see you stare at him like he was some sort of angel sent from Heaven the first time he entered the staff room and introduced himself! Keep lying to yourself if you feel like it, I don’t care anymore!”

Taehyun got up and stormed out of the room, Beomgyu looking apologetically towards Soobin before following him.

“You know, he only wants you to be happy, Soobin-ah,” HueningKai softly told the taller.

“I know. But can’t he understand that it’s harder for me than for him?” Soobin asked, burying his face in his hands.

HueningKai deeply sighed and left the room, sensing Soobin needed some time alone.

 

At lunch, Soobin didn’t want to face anyone. So, he went to the nearest convenience store and bought a sandwich before going back to his classroom. He closed the door, opened the window and began to eat. When he was halfway done with his sandwich, someone knocked on the door.

“Yes?” Soobin asked, wondering who could come see him during lunch break.

The door opened and Yeonjun appeared.

“Hey,” He softly said.

“Hey,” Soobin replied.

“Can I join you?”

Knowing that if he refused Soobin would come off as rude, he just nodded. Yeonjun smiled and entered, closing the door behind him.

“Why are you eating here, alone?”

“Just didn’t feel like eating with anyone,” Soobin simply stated. “Have you eaten?” he asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.

“I have,” Yeonjun shortly replied and silence took place for some moments. “You know, I thought we were past that,” Yeonjun spoke, sounding a little disheartened.

“Past what?” Soobin asked, confused.

“You avoiding me. I thought we had come closer yesterday.”

“Oh my god, no. That’s not it, hyung, I swear,” Soobin said, putting his sandwich down. “I’m not avoiding you.”

“Then why didn’t you come at lunch?”

“It’s just… I didn’t wanna face Taehyun,” Soobin admitted.

“Why? Did you fight? He looked pretty pissed to be honest,” Yeonjun stated.

“We didn’t really fight, we just… didn’t agree on something,” Soobin replied, evasive.

“It happens between colleagues, right? You’re best friends from what I heard.”

“Not only. We’re actually cousins. We practically grew up together.”

Soobin wasn’t ready to have that talk at all. Yeonjun had told him something very personal the day before so it logically was Soobin’s turn. Yet, he wasn’t ready for it.

“Hyung, there’s something very personal going on with Taehyun and, honestly, I’m not ready to tell you about it yet. So, either you leave or we talk about something else. Please,” Soobin said, trying his best to sound nice.

“I’m not going to force you to tell me anything, Soobin-ah. If you’re not ready to talk about it, that’s okay. If you decide to never tell me anything, that’s okay too. You don’t owe me a single thing,” Yeonjun said, his eyes and voice turning softer at every word. Then, his smile widened a little bit. “Did you know that Dongwoon came to see me this morning and told me that he’s found a dream?” he excitedly asked.

“Really? What is it?” Soobin asked, curious and relieved that Yeonjun wasn’t pushing. He took a bite of his sandwich and listened to Yeonjun telling him everything.

 

“Bin-ah, can we talk?” Taehyun asked, entering Soobin’s empty classroom.

Soobin’s last class had just ended and he was getting ready to go home. He sighed and sat on his desk, his arms crossed on his chest.

“Depends. Are you going to snap at me again?”

“I’m really sorry. I am. But it’s so frustrating! You can be happy but you’re not giving yourself a chance! I don’t like seeing you like this,” Taehyun spoke, getting worked up again as he stood in front of Soobin.

“Hyun-ah… You more than anyone should know why I’m not letting go. You know me by heart, you were the only who stood by my side besides my brother. I thought you would understand,” Soobin admitted.

“I just – I didn’t realise…” Taehyun sighed, looking apologetic. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, stop apologising,” Soobin said, smiling lightly as he uncrossed his arms.

“Are you still seeing your brother tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Thanks to you, I have a lot of things to tell him now.”

“Have you told Yeonjun hyung? About meeting your brother, I mean.”

“No, I haven’t. And I’d like it if no one told him, please. I’d like to tell him myself when I’ll be ready,” Soobin said, taking his bag and finally walking out of the classroom, Taehyun following him.

“Okay. I hope it’ll go well,” Taehyun said.

“It always goes well with my brother,” Soobin replied.

“I wasn’t talking about this.”

“I know.”

 

“Little brother! How are you?” Minhyuk exclaimed when Soobin opened the door the next morning, jumping on him, hugging him and ruffling his hair.

“I’m fine, hyung. Let me go!” Soobin complained, pushing his brother away but wearing a wide smile on his face.

“It’s been a whole month since we last saw each other, I missed you!” Minhyuk said, making his way to Soobin’s living room and sitting on the couch.

Soobin was living in a small but comfortable apartment. It was close to the school and town centre, which was very convenient.

“Hyung, we see each other once every month” Soobin said, rolling his eyes, “but I missed you too.”

“So, what have you been up to lately?” Minhyuk asked as Soobin handed him a beer. “Still crushing on that music teacher?” he .

“I’m not crushing anymore. I’ve actually fallen for him,” Soobin admitted, blushing a little. “But that makes the situation even more complicated.”

“Aww, my little bro is in looove~!” Minhyuk cooed. “But why is it more complicated now?”

“Well, first of all, I don’t even know if he’s gay –”

“That’s not a problem,” Minhyuk interrupted.

“What do you mean, ‘that’s not a problem’? That’s the biggest problem!” Soobin exclaimed, disbelieving.

“It is not. From what you told me about him and based on his social media, he’s not straight,” Minhyuk calmly replied, taking his phone out.

He opened Instagram and scrolled down his feed to find Yeonjun’s latest post.

“You follow him?” Soobin asked, surprised.

“I do. If he’s gonna date my baby brother, I need to know a bit more about him,” Minhyuk said, then showed his phone to Soobin. “Look. The caption reads ‘Doesn’t matter if you’re a girl or a boy’. If that’s not enough, I can show you other posts –”

“It’s okay!” Soobin said, reluctantly tearing his eyes away from Yeonjun’s pictures. “Okay, he’s not straight but he may not like me back. It would be so embarrassing to confess just to be rejected. And by a colleague on top of that! I could never face him again and I don’t wanna switch schools again.”

Minhyuk immediately hugged Soobin, caressing his back.

“You won’t have to switch schools. I promise. Everything will go well, I can feel it,” Minhyuk said, releasing his brother after a light squeeze. “But if you don’t wanna confess, that’s okay. Whatever you decide to do, it’s okay because it’s your choice. Your life, your decision.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m here for this,” Minhyuk replied, taking a sip from his can. “I’m happy to hear that you’re not lying to yourself though. Taehyunnie has told me some very sad and upsetting things lately…”

“I’m not proud of myself but I just can’t help it. It makes me angry that I’m still not over it, I mean, it happened ages ago, I’m a grown man now but I just… keep thinking about it,” Soobin said, frowning.

“I know it’s easier said than done but really, just don’t think about it. You don’t see them anymore and you’re happier than ever now!” Minhyuk spoke. “If you’re happy that’s all that matters.”

“Do they… Do they ask about me?” Soobin shyly asked and immediately regretted it.

“Mom does. But I don’t tell her a lot. Just that you’re fine and happy. After that, we just speak about other stuffs.”

“Hmm…”

Soobin knew that. He knew that his mom was expecting news from him but he never wanted to see her ever again. She didn’t support him when he was young, he would never forgive her. He didn’t miss her anyway, just like he didn’t miss his dad.

“What about Eunkyung noona? How is she doing?” Soobin asked, a smile on his face now.

Minhyuk has been dating Eunkyung for ages now and they would get married next month.

“She’s great. A bit stress with the preparations but okay either way. I told her that we didn’t have to throw a big party but she wants to. Said she needs to show her sister how a real wedding is done,” Minhyuk said, rolling his eyes but a fond smile on his face. “Now that I think about it, I need to show you how it’s done too, if you ever get married with Yeonjun, you know?” he joked and almost got his drink all over himself as Soobin threw a pillow at him.

“Why are you stupid?” Soobin exclaimed, laughing out loud.

After this, the two brothers kept on drinking, eating and talking. They even watched a movie before Minhyuk left and they agreed to meet once before Minhyuk’s wedding for his bachelor party.

While Soobin was tidying up, he heard his phone vibrate on the table. He took his phone and saw a notification from Yeonjun.

‘Hi, Soobin-ah. I didn’t see you at school today and no one told me anything. Are you okay?’

Soobin smiled to himself, finding Yeonjun’s concern cute. He decided to reply.

‘Hi, hyung. I’m fine don’t worry. Every month I take a Wednesday off to see my brother.’

He put his phone on his back pocket and kept on tidying. When he was about to take the trash out, it vibrated again.

‘Oh, I didn’t know you had a brother!’

‘There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me.’

Soobin then went down to throw the trash out and when he went up and lied on his couch, getting ready to watch some drama reruns, his phone buzzed again.

‘I guess. But I’d like to learn more about you.’

This caught Soobin off-guard. Was that just friendly or was Yeonjun trying to flirt with him? Soobin hesitated for a minute and decided to try his luck.

‘What’s stopping you?’

Not even two seconds later, Yeonjun replied.

‘I don’t know. Maybe I find you intimidating?’

Soobin chuckled.

‘We’re friends now, aren’t we?’

‘We are but that doesn’t change the image I have of you.’

‘What image?’

Soobin waited for Yeonjun’s response as he saw him type and stop a couple times. Just as he was about to tell him that he didn’t need to know, Yeonjun’s reply came.

‘Hot and professional literature teacher Choi Soobin.’

Soobin squealed, locking his phone and throwing it to the other side of the couch. He felt like a teenager all over again. Yeonjun finds me hot!

He got his together and reached for his phone. He wondered what to type and decided to push his luck.

‘I find you hot too, professor Choi.’

He saw Yeonjun reading the message and immediately write a response back.

‘I hoped you did.’

Soobin smiled and chose to cut their conversation short.

‘See you at school, hyung.’

‘See you at school, Soobin-ah.’

If instead of focusing on his drama Soobin spent the whole evening daydreaming about Yeonjun, then no one had to know that.