Another week passed, and another reason was added to Jeongguk's list "reasons I hate going to school".

  
1 - Waking up early in the morning

2 - Taking the bus

3 - It's boring af

4 - Consumes a lot of his time

5 - Mr. Daddy material aka Mr. Kim Taehyung
 

He was still annoyed by Taehyung's behavior that night when he mocked him right in front of his face. Twice. And the whole week he had been calling him on repeat 'big boy' tauntingly like he did that night. He tried his best to avoid him, though, and thankfully, he succeeded most of the time. Taehyung was really getting on his nerves, no matter how unbelievably beautiful he was. He was a brat.

Jeongguk just wanted to have some peace and quiet. Only yesterday was when Taehyung had made fun of him about his age again. He got so infuriated he stormed out of Hoseok's house and walked all the way to his own, which was about forty minutes away on foot.

And today, on Tuesday, he wanted to ignore him and not pay any attention to what he did or said, but things rarely worked out the way he wanted. Because at his first class of the day, which was art history with Mrs. Han, aka little minx witch, an excited Taehyung bobbed into the classroom three minutes before the class would start.

"Mr. Kim, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Mrs. Han asked with her perky voice, eyes sparkling upon seeing the beautiful man in front of her.

"I was wondering if I can attend this class. I always had a love for art history," Taehyung said with a warm smile.

"Well, of course, Mr. Kim, I would be more than happy to have you here with me." She chuckled rather cheekily as she fondled his shoulder.

Jeongguk rolled his eyes skywards upon noticing her flirty behavior. He should have been used to it by now, though. She was always like this with every male teacher and even with some of her students.

"Well, where can I sit?" Taehyung, oblivious to her flirty demeanor, asked.

"Oh, you can sit here next to me." She placed her hand on his back, leading him towards her desk.

"No, no, I don't want to stand out. I want to feel like a student again for a bit."

"Well, you just became my favorite student then." Her flirtatious tone couldn't pass unnoticed by Jeongguk, who was observing the scene in depth but as subtly as possible.

"Unfortunately, there aren't any empty seats so—"

"But I see one over there." Taehyung pointed at a desk at the very back of the classroom.

The boy, who was practically lying on his chair, sat bolt upright in haste. He was the only one who was sitting alone since his seatmate moved abroad before Christmas vacation.

"You can sit next to the little awkward boy who never talks," she sneered as she caressed Taehyung's shoulder, squeezing it mildly.

Taehyung's warm smile dropped in a heartbeat and a stern expression made its way on his face instead. "You shouldn't be giving your students these kinds of nicknames. To be honest, you shouldn't be giving them nicknames at all. If he doesn't want to talk, it's his choice, and if he's a little awkward, he can't help it."

Mrs. Han seemed taken aback at his words and frosty tone, and she tittered through her flustered state. "Take a seat," she said, gesturing towards the younger's desk.

Jeongguk ducked his head and started tinkering with his hands when he realized that the older was walking towards his desk.

"Hi," Taehyung whispered with a hearty smile as he sat next to him.

Although he was still mad at him, he couldn't help but blush when he perceived his teacher smiling so sweetly at him. He giggled for no reason and ventured to peep at him scarcely for a second. "Hello, Mr. Kim."

"Okay class, quiet down, please." Mrs. Han's voice traveled through the room before Taehyung could say anything else.

As the class started, Jeongguk wasn't paying attention as usual. Anything would be more interesting than this class for him. He leaned against his desk, his chin resting in his palm as he scribbled on his notebook.

Taehyung, on the other hand, listened to Mrs. Han with zest, finding himself nodding at her words here and there.

Once she paused to look through her notes, Taehyung glanced at the boy next to him, who had a drowsy expression on his face and was still drawing on his notebook something that seemed to be an animated character. He arched his brows, astonished by the younger's drawing skills, and unconsciously inched closer to take a better look.

Jeongguk felt his chest brush against his shoulder and flinched slightly at the contact. His wide, surprised eyes met with Taehyung's soft ones when he turned his head to the side. "What are you doing?"

"You're really good at drawing."

"I didn't give you permission to look," Jeongguk said huffily as he covered his drawing and shifted to his right, detaching his shoulder from Taehyung's rather toned chest.

"Do I really need permission to—"

"Mr. Kim, as much as I enjoy your beautiful presence in my class, I'm afraid I have to ask you to be quiet," Mrs. Han chirped, not missing her chance to ogle at him.

"Of course, Mrs. Han, I'm sorry," Taehyung replied with a forced smile as he was a tad disappointed he couldn't talk to the younger anymore.

He peeked at Jeongguk's other notebook that was labeled as "notes" and reached for it without contemplation, tearing off a page as the younger stared at him with knitted brows.

He spectated as Taehyung wrote something on that piece of paper and passed it to him. He glimpsed at him, hesitant about reading what was written on that paper, but Taehyung motioned him discreetly to read it while offering him a faint smile.

   
Do I really need permission to see your drawings?
  

Jeongguk's gaze shifted to him, brows still firmly drawn together, and he nodded.

The older rolled his eyes with a silent click of his tongue. "Answer me."

"I just did."

Taehyung tapped the piece of paper with the pad of his finger as he gave him a knowing look.

Jungkook tsked as he wrote something on the paper and slid it to him.

  
Yes.
 

Taehyung shook his head and let a near-silent chuckle fall from his lips.

   
Why?
  

Because you're a stranger. Not even my friends have seen my drawings yet.
   

Taehyung plastered an affronted expression on his face, casting him an annoyed glare before he jotted down something.

    
We played overwatch together!!!!!! At least five times!!!!!!
  

Yes and the only thing I know about you is that you suck at overwatch
  

This time, a mild gasp jumped out of his mouth.

   
1) A little daring don't you think?

2) Watch your pretty little mouth

3) I CAN'T suck at anything. I'm perfect *_*
  

Jeongguk found himself giggling softly upon seeing what the other wrote. Then, he read it again. And again. Pretty little mouth? Pretty? He patted his now blazing cheeks with the back of his hand, sheepish.

Taehyung was able to notice his reddened face since his attention was fully on him and not in the class anymore. He set his hand on the other's thigh gently and leaned a few inches closer. "What happened?" he asked with a deep but smooth voice, oblivious to the effect he had on him.

Jeongguk burst out of his chair, wide-eyed and completely frantic. "Can I go to the bathroom?"

"Um, sure," said Mrs. Han.

Taehyung frowned as he mused over what happened to him. He tucked the piece of paper of their little conversation in his pocket and crept out of the classroom.

His eyes just caught the younger down the hallway, turning right. He quickened his gait and called out his name a few times. When he arrived at the corner, he found Jeongguk leaning against the wall.

"Why are you following me?" Jeongguk questioned in a fit of exasperation, his breath rushing in and out his lungs.

"I just got worried. What happened to you so suddenly?"

"Can you just... leave me alone? Why are you conversing w-with me over notes and being n-nice to me?" Jeongguk murmured, keeping his gaze on the floor.

"Jeongguk... I just wanted to get to know you. I mean, you are friends with Hoseok, and I just thought we could be too."

"I don't want to be friends with you," he blurted out, making the other frown. "You m-make me feel awkward and w-weird and you're my teacher and I don't like that." He kept making twitchy hand gestures as he tried to explain himself to Taehyung, who was outright baffled about what was happening.

Taehyung gripped his wrists when he finished talking, stopping him from moving his hands, as he took a step closer. "What can I do to make you stop feeling like this towards me?"

Eyes now meeting with the older's as cheeks and ears turned fully red, Jeongguk could feel his heart batter harder and harder by the minute. "Just stop t-touching me," he uttered, breathless, as he attempted to free himself from his grip.

Taehyung nodded and released his hands. "What else should I not do?"

He glanced away before he hesitantly set his gaze on Taehyung's worried one. "Don't stand so close to m-me."

With another nod, Taehyung stepped back. "What else?"

The younger's eyes roamed around the hallway in agitation. He couldn't understand what was happening at the moment at all. "D-don't be nice to me. Treat me as a-any other student."

"But I tend to get close with my students."

"Then treat me like a stranger."

"And what if I don't want that?" The softness in Taehyung's voice vanished, making the other gulp anxiously. "I mean, I don't understand. Most of my students would be happy if I was trying to befriend them. Why not you as well?"

"I'm not l-like your other students."

"What's so different about you, anyway?" Taehyung edged closer absently, his stare on Jeongguk's flushed face unrelenting.

"It's not so d-difficult to understand, Mr. Kim. I can't be your friend."

A throaty, amused chuckle rippled through the peaceful hallway as Taehyung slowly shook his head. "Jeongguk, you're not the first student who has a little crush on me." His statement led Jeongguk's eyes to enlarge and his lighthearted tone to irritate him for some reason. "I mean, probably everybody has a crush on one of their teachers. I did too. But when you grow up and look back, you'll just laugh at the thought. I'm flattered that a beautiful boy like you has a crush on me, but it's reasonable at your age. Don't think too much about it." He maintained the smile on his face as he resumed talking with a casual, carefree tone.

If only Taehyung knew it wasn't just a little a crush, if only he knew how his heart was pounding every time he was just thinking about him, if only he knew how his body was reacting to his simple touches.

"Again with my age, huh?" Jeongguk found himself uttering.

Taehyung chortled, clearly mocking his inquiry. "Well, what did you think is gonna happen? I'm five years older than you and your teacher. If you're fantasizing about a story where you'll end up dating your teacher, you should snap out of it. This isn't a movie or a fiction."

Jeongguk stayed silent as he contemplated his options. He could get completely furious at his relaxed, taunting behavior or he could find some confidence and answer him properly. While drawing in a deep breath and standing straighter, his eyes stared back at Taehyung's contemptuous ones.

"You're right." His lips quirked as he huffed in a sudden burst of confidence. "But let me ask you something. Do you have this conversation w-with all of your students? Do you converse over n-notes with all of your students?" His body moved unwittingly, and he ended up nearing him. "Do you go around and call them beautiful?" Another shaky step, leaving just a tiny space between them. "Do you go around and t-touch their thighs?" he provoked despite his faltering voice, daring and oozing pretended assuredness.

For some reason, Taehyung saw red. Rage stirred his stomach, and he snatched his jaw, pinning him against the wall and rendering him in a shock at his actions.

All of Jeongguk's gloating for answering him properly dissolved in a split second and altered to dread rather effortlessly. He could free himself from his grasp since Taehyung wasn't using that much strength, but he was too stunned and hypnotized under his fierce gaze to move even an inch.

"Seeing you act so timidly one moment and so boldly the next is very amusing. I won't lie. But you seem quite dense, so let me say it again." His lips twitched into an askew smirk. "I'm your teacher. I'm five years older than you. You're underage. And I'm not gay," he spat out — his deep, guttural voice managed to send shocks up the younger's spine.

Now Jeongguk shouldn't be feeling something in his pants hardening at his teacher's words and especially these kinds of words, but yes, things were never going the way he wanted them.

Taehyung examined his alarmed expression for a moment and loosened his grip until he released him. He recoiled and lowered his head, not so proud of scaring the younger off. But then his eyes fell on the very much visible bulge in his pants, and fuck, his mouth fell open in a churning of confusion.

Jeongguk caught his eyes staring at his lower part and his panicked state skyrocketed. He was ashamed. God, he was so damn mortified that no matter how much he strove to find words to say, only choked sounds made it out.

Shocked eyes finally locked with Jeongguk's when he heard his stuttering sounds. Before he could even think of something to say, the younger vanished from his sight in the blink of an eye as he sprinted away from him, unable to bear the stark humiliation.

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