Thank you for reading! If you can help it, please refrain from accidentally putting spoilers in comments. It ruins the fun! Thank you so much again~

Taemin gradually opened his eyes just enough to read the thirty new messages he received from Jonghyun, all begging for forgiveness which Taemin already abided too. He would never reveal this to Jonghyun, but he was genuinely thankful his unrealistic fantasies were harshly slapped into reality; it was much needed. Taemin had already copied his forgiveness messages beforehand, and simply pasted them into his response for the hundredth time. He felt he was already on the road to proving Jonghyun wrong anyway; though he was careful not to let his thoughts get ahead of him this time.

His body presumed to be less enthused about school, yet it improved since the few days beforehand. He sighed and pushed himself out the door, headed for school; his most loved and dreaded place.

~~

The hysterical and hand-clapping laughter echoed throughout the long hallway. Taemin and Kibum laid their backs against the wall for support to hold up their side-aching gasps. Moments earlier, Taemin and Kibum spotted each other and began prancing towards each other for their friendship and quality time was much missed. Kibum however slipped drastically on the shiningly clean floor, making the, according to Taemin, most priceless expression in the world. While they were busy laughing with each other and clutching to their chests, Taemin had missed Jongin’s presence in the hallway.

It was the first time that had ever happened. Taemin never thought it was possible, yet there he went; holding a rubix cube looking extremely confused while Luhan walked besides him bossily directing him how it was done. Jongin probably wouldn’t have even noticed Taemin anyway. Taemin managed to control himself to get a better look at Jongin and his back. It was obvious he was walking a little off, and Taemin could see the outlines of an ace wrap around his back. If it was possible, Taemin found Jongin’s demeanor to be especially sumptuous. His hair blew gently with his steps, and his lips were perked in aggravation.

It was this vulnerability of Jongin that erupted a longing to shower him with love and passion. Taemin desperately desired to nurse him back to health, yet he pushed that thought to the back of his mind for that moment to wipe the tear of laughter away and finish the journey to his next class.

~~
“Heyyy Taeminnn…” Jonghyun cautiously approached Taemin, although he had already received his forgiveness letters. “Its sixth period, your favorite class”, Jonghyun continued, as if to cheer Taemin up; not that he needed it.  Pouting, Taemin pretended to be extremely infuriated with Jonghyun and crossed his arms to face the wall opposite to them, letting out an exaggerated huff. This went on for some time before Jonghyun caught on and playfully punched Taemin which ended in laughter and the continual conversation as if there had never been an interruption in their friendship.

Jongin walked in; late as usual. He immediately noticed Jonghyun and Taemin’s friendly bickering and waved to them both, yet his eyes lingered for a few extra seconds on Taemin. As soon as he turned to take his usual seat, Taemin squealed into Jonghyun’s arm.

The class continued this way for some time. The occasional exclamations from the back of the room were common now. Taemin always had something to say to counteract someone’s argument, unless he fully agreed, which was unusual. It was quite often Taemin’s arguments were proven valid. A boy named Minho usually defended Taemin, yet Jongin did the most. At times Taemin wished he wouldn’t, it would always, without fail, lead to Taemin completely forgetting the subject, what he was saying, or anything besides Jongin. It happened so often, that the pair was now referred to as a team; as one opinion. Each topic that was thrown to the classroom, Taemin and Jongin responded with exact views. It was hard to find something they disagreed upon, and it hasn’t happened yet.

Each time they interacted through debating, Taemin’s heart skipped a few beats and his breath grew quicker. Just a few months ago, Taemin wouldn’t have even imagined saying a word to Jongin, let alone discussing the world’s greatest obstacles.

In this present day however, the conversation ended on an abrupt note. The bell rang just as they began to dive further into the main issue causing frustrated groans and shouts from the proud teacher, “We’ll continue this tomorrow!”

Taemin grabbed his bag, said his goodbyes to Jonghyun, and began heading towards the math club which he promised he would find this time. He hadn’t even noticed footsteps shadowing his own and remaining with him as they walked through the same hallways. Taemin looked down at the feet a few feet away from his. Black, worn down converses. His heart performed somersaults and he gasped as he realized whose feet they belonged to. He looked up to find a smiling Jongin staring at Taemin.

“Looks like we’re both headed towards the same place”. Taemin gulped, tried not to stutter, and gripped the books across his chest tighter. “Actually I’m trying to find a.. um.. club.” Jongin opened his eyes a little wider and surveyed the hallway they were in. “In here? You like art?” Taemin looked around the hallway they were in last time, though he hadn’t finished exploring the rooms. I don’t even like math anyway. Taemin cleared his throat to prevent any further speaking malfunctions. “Are you here for dancing?” Jongin peered down at Taemin and smiled crookedly. “Yep.” “No you’re not. You haven’t recovered.” Jongin laughed. “Are you gonna stop me?” Taemin just looked away quickly. It was then he realized how quiet it had gotten, since most of the students had cleared out.

Taemin could feel Jongin’s piercing stare, threatening Taemin to melt into his shoes. It was then that Jongin grabbed Taemin’s wrist and began tugging him towards the door at the left tip of the hallway. “Want me to show you?” Oh yes. “Yeah, okay.” Jongin continued to drag Taemin down the seemingly growing path to alone time with Jongin. His nerves slowly crept upon him, thighs beginning to tremble.

The room was used for old storage and where most of the band kids kept their instruments, yet Jongin cleared out an extremely large space for practicing. He informed Taemin that the band kids gave up trying to figure out why there was a gaping hole every morning, so they left it alone. Without warning, Jongin dropped his backpack by the entrance to the room, closed the door, and stepped to the middle of the clearing. All the while, Taemin stood absolutely frozen. Wait is he starting? Now? He’s gonna dance now? Taemin moved his lips yet no words came out. Finally he choked out, “D-don’t you need music?”

Jongin turned his head from his feet to look directly into Taemin’s deep brown and innocent eyes. “You don’t hear it?” Jongin’s smile grew gradually with Taemin’s speechless expression. Jongin…

Without any warning, Jongin began to glide across the floor, seemingly hovering into the thin air. His steps matched his hands, while his fingers matched his toes. Every move was precise, yet seemingly effortless. While his movements became fast and sharp, there were idle pauses occupied with whispering motions from his concise yet flowing muscles.

Taemin couldn’t think. He couldn’t breathe. This god dancing, no, flying before him was almost too overwhelmingly perfect. His movements were unlike anything Taemin had ever witnessed before. He felt his own body heat increasing as Jongin added a few crotch grabbing every here and there, yet it seemed to fuse in with the beauty of the dance, and maybe even add to its enhancement. Taemin truly did hear the music. It boomed off of Jongin’s chest and into the listening ears of the room and Taemin’s veins. When the dance was finally over, Jongin’s chest was rising and falling with deep and long breaths, yet he seemed to still be filled with energy.

“That..was…wow.” Was all Taemin could say. Jongin motioned for Taemin to come closer to the center of the clearing. “Do you want to try?” Taemin scoffed slightly. “Jongin, I can’t. Not nearly as good as you.” Yet, he still placed his bag besides Jongin’s and felt as though he was posessed. He was reeled into whatever charm Jongin naturally had, knowing that if it had been anyone else, he would never have allowed himself to dance; let alone his unrequited love.

As he stepped closer to the center, their eyes only saw each other. Jongin began introducing the beginning to the dance, slowly and gracefully. After a few mimics, Taemin mastered the first eight counts; much to Jongin’s delight and surprise. “Wow, that was fast.” He smiled to Taemin, growing  a little more shocked the longer he watched Taemin repeat the first eight counts. “Really fast.” Taemin blushed and grinned, anxiously waiting to learn the next part.

Taemin’s movements were almost flower-like. He withheld the grace of a rose petal escaping with the wind, yet that was unknown to Taemin. Jongin and Taemin’s synchronized movements almost made their different styles transparent, until they became one passionate soul. As Taemin learned the next few beats, Jongin directed Taemin on perfecting his minor errors, and Taemin listened, felt, and danced the correct movement almost immediately.

“Move your fingers more like this. Yeah, roll off the sound.” Taemin did just that. Without being told twice or in need of a demonstration, the waves of movement rolled in, resulting in a crash of a glistening ocean that dissolved into the shore; that dissolved into Taemin’s soul.

Jongin took a step back to fully look at Taemin, before he formed his thoughts into words. “Taemin, that looks beautiful”.

Almost tripping on Jongin’s words and on his own two feet, Taemin felt his face burn up in flames. If Jongin hadn’t noticed by now, he must’ve been blind. Beautiful? My dancing? He’s just saying that. Wait, does he mean me in general?

Jongin noticed Taemin’s sudden loss of coordination and apologized through slight laughter at distracting Taemin with his words. “Are you sure you’ve never danced before?” Taemin shook his head. “Only in the shower.” Jongin smiled, yet it fell as quickly as it came. “You’re an amazing dancer.” Taemin was taken aback with frustration and infatuation. “Jongin! Have you seen yourself?! Jesus, I thought I was witnessing a welcoming ceremony to heaven.” He ended this much worked up annoyance with a slight slap to Jongin’s shoulder. Jongin smiled, exposing his snow white teeth. “It’s just the truth, Taeminie.”  

He suddenly came very close, and mumbled just so softly that only Taemin would hear him, even if they weren’t alone in the room. “Step on my feet, Taemin. This next part is difficult to learn.” Hesitantly, yet surely, Taemin traced his eyes upwards towards Jongin’s face as if asking for reassurance. Their foreheads were incredibly close. The heat radiating between their bodies clashed and intertwined into a strong chemistry connection. Jongin laughed to himself, his cool and light breath grazing Taemin’s. “Don’t worry, I don’t think you’re that heavy.” Taemin obliged, and grasped Jongin’s wrists for support as he stepped onto Jongin’s converses.

“Are you okay? Your face is re-“ “No it’s not.” Oh my god this was such a bad idea. He’s way too calm to have feelings for me. Jongin shook off Taemin’s quick reply with a slight shrug and smile, while beginning to lead Taemin’s feet back, then forward, then back again. Jongin lifted him through the air with his support effortlessly. They almost tumbled over a few times, which only resulted in unconstrained laughter. It definitely helped Taemin learn however, once he blocked out everything about Jongin besides his feet. “Okay, I got this.” He stepped off of Jongin, and mimicked his movement exactly, naturally adding in his own grace. “You’re already better than me.” Taemin scoffed. “Yeah, okay.”

It was then that Taemin remembered he had to catch the late bus in order to get home, and he was certainly not getting a ride with Jongin again. He looked at his phone, and saw he had only a few minutes to get to the bus loop. “Ahh I have to leave now.” Jongin frowned at the sudden dismissal. He shrugged and figured Taemin probably needed to go. “Alright. I’ll see you around. We should do this again sometime, if you want.” Taemin stared at him, and practically froze to the floor beneath him. His breath quivered, as he figured out the right words to say. “Yeah… I really…really enjoyed this. Thank you for showing me your hidden talent.” Jongin smiled at Taemin’s words and ruffled his hair. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t show that to just anyone.” With that, their eyes locked, and Taemin could absolutely, without a doubt, stand it no longer. He bolted out the door before shouting out a quick, “Have a good night!”, and continued to prance through the hallway towards the bus. With each day, their relationship became closer and closer; and that was all Taemin could ever hope for. Jongin was even more talented and special then he could have imagined, and having witnessed that equaled to the absolute best day of Taemin’s life.

Jongin’s Perspective

Jongin peaked out from behind the door at the blonde and exuberant boy skipping down the hallway. He noted that Taemin was quite the enigma, and it always left a smile on Jongin’s face. Whilst staring after this young, naïve, and natural born dancer, Jongin rested his shoulder against the archway and thought to himself. He’s actually pretty amazing if you really think about it. And adorable. It’s a shame he’s not into guys.

With that, he let the door close behind him and shook the thought off his shoulders, reassuring himself his minor feelings were only fleeting.  Probably.