taehyun pov

"what is the value of the discriminant if..."

c'mon! if what?!

i thought to myself as i waited for the questioner to finish the question.

i was in a math competition held in my school. we were supposed to be competing with other schools, but i made it to the finals along with a student from my school too.

and it was not other than y/n.

"the nature of roots is imaginary?"

i quickly pressed the button, and thank god i pressed it before she did.

"taehyun, what's the answer?"

i leaned onto the microphone, and answered it with confidence.

"the value of the discriminant is less than zero."

"that is correct!"

the crowd cheered. i saw some of the girls were booing, but the rest was smiling and clapping. yes, my school really supported math stuffs.

i smiled ear to ear knowing that i won first place again. the questioner soon left the stage, and came back with a trophy. i took a quick glance at y/n, and her face was as red as a tomato, staring angrily at me. i shrugged it off, knowing that she was just jealous that i won again.

yes, y/n was smart. she would always make it to the finals with me. but, i would always beat her, making me probably her biggest rival in school.

i quickly walked to the center of the stage to receive the trophy. i was still smiling as i shook the questioner's hand and being congratulated by people after.

i was actually shocked when y/n came up to me and held her hand out, a tint of anger still on her face. i smiled, shaking her hand. then suddenly she leaned into me, a little smirk on her face.

i took a step back, but i knew she didn't have those kind of intentions since she stopped before the gap between us closes. my eyes was wide in shock, and my heartbeat helplessly got faster. she stared intensely into my eyes. god, those eyes...

"i'm gonna beat you next time." she scoffed, then left me there in shock before i could reply or react.

oh my god, she was so close. i though to myself as i rubbed my chest, trying to make my heartbeat slow down.

"yo, what happened bro?" soobin approached me, looking at me in confusion as i still tried to calm myself down.

"y/n." i sighed, sitting down at the nearest chair.

"still?" he said, sitting down next to me.

"of course." i smiled and looked down at my feet to hide my blushing face from soobin, thinking about what just happened.

"ooo, someone's in love~" he teased, nudging me with his elbow.

"stop it~" i whined, both of us bursting into laughters after.

"but i don't think she likes me back, hyung."

"you don't know that for sure, taehyun."

"she think of me as her rival, not her love interest." i explained, whispering the last two words.

"you don't know for sure unless you ask her, taehyun." he sighed, patting my back.

"okay, you're right hyung. i'll ask her." i smiled, looking at him.

"bye, hyung!" i cheered, standing up.

"bye, taehyun." he waved back.

on my way home, his words kept on playing in my mind.
"you don't know for sure unless you ask her..."

then with determination, i told myself, "i'll ask her."

y/n pov

"oh my god i was so close." i mumbled to myself as soon as i left taehyun there in confusion. i mentally face palmed to what i did.

"yah, y/n! you okay?" nari asked. she realized i was constantly sighing and spacing out as i thought about what happened.

"i don't know anymore." i sighed again.

nari and i always walk home together since our houses are near. and ever since we started walking home together, we became closer. i knew her too well, and vice versa.

"it's taehyun, isn't it?"

i nodded, knowing i was out of words.

"you should tell him how you feel!" she suddenly exclaimed.

"i can't! he keeps on beating me, so now he's basically my enemy!"

"so beat him!" she stated. she was right.

"you're right."

"i'll beat him." i declared in determination after a brief silence. and from the corner of my eyes, i saw nari slightly smiling at my determination.

_

"why do you really love math anyways?"

"well, i just really like numbers." i shrugged, sipping my tea as we studied in the café.

"yeah, but why numbers? out of all the other stuff?" nari asked again.

"they make up everything. i don't know, i mean, the minute i saw them, i instantly felt happy. my mom even said i could count before i could talk." i chuckled, recalling how excited my mom was when she talks about it.

"they became like an escape from life. when i count, it felt like i could do it forever. when i get an answer to a question, i felt like i can do anything, it felt like i achieved something." i went on, smiling at her.

"nerd." she teased, making us laugh.

"well, i'm glad you found your passion, y/n."

"thanks, nari."

_

it was time for another math competition. as expected, taehyun and i made it to the finals.

but something new's gonna happen. i'm going to win the competition. i'm going to beat taehyun.

"hey y/n." someone suddenly appeared in front of my table. i looked up to see him. i hummed in reply, not about to let him distract me.

"i just wanna wish you good luck." he gleamed, giving his hand out. i hesitated at first, but i slowly took it to show that i wasn't intimidated by him.

i just smiled, not saying a word to him when we shook hands. after what it felt like forever, he walked away.

"i'm gonna beat you, you know?" i suddenly yelled, getting an urge of courage before i realized what i did.

he turned to face me, then chuckled. "i know." he said, then he walked to his table.

let the competition begin.

_

(a/n. ok i did a time skip so yall wouldn't be bored lmao)

it was time for the last question. it was tense, because we got a tie, and whoever gets the next point wins the competition.

i have to win. i just have to.

"what is the remainder of..." the questioner announced.

"x² + 6x - 5 divided by x - 5. go!"

the both of us started counting, leaving a lot of scrabbles on the paper. as soon as i got the answer, i reached for the button.

but taehyun pressed his button first.

i sighed, knowing i lost again. i looked down at my feet, trying to hold the tears.

"taehyun! what's the answer?"

there was a few seconds of silence before he answered, "one." i looked up, my eyes wide in shock. the crowd was gasping and whispering.

because his answer was wrong.

i saw him looking at me, then he gave a small smile before looking at the questioner. i could've swore my heart skipped a little bit.

"that is, unfortunately wrong, taehyun. y/n? what's your answer?" the questioner said, looking at me.

my brain was still processing what just happened. my body was frozen, my mouth was slightly open from shock. but i managed to say the answer.

"z-zero." i leaned in to the microphone, making sure the questioner got my answer.

"that is correct!" the questioner cheered, going backstage to get the trophy. people were cheering and clapping, some even stood up. i was on cloud nine.

"y/n, please step forward." the questioner said, bringing me back to reality. i took a quick glance at taehyun's table, but he wasn't there. my heart dropped for a second, knowing taehyun might be upset about it.

i decided to shrug it off just for the stage. i smiled ear to ear as i accepted the trophy. many people were trying to congratulate me after i accepted it, but i pushed my way through the crowd as i tried to look for taehyun.

"hey, y/n! congrats for-"

"where's taehyun?!" i demanded, shaking nari.

"i think he's near the door." she pointed at the exit.

"thanks!" i screamed as i jogged towards the exit.

i was frantically going through the crowd when i finally saw the exit. i stopped for a while, smiling at the thought that he might still be there.

i quickly ran, not caring who i bump into. but as soon as i was outside the building, i instantly sighed in dissapointment, because no one was there.

i started to walk back into the building, knowing i've lost my chance. i've lost the one chance where i get to say tha-

"are you okay, y/n?" a voice suddenly stopped me in my tracks. i took a couple steps back, because i found the person i was looking for. and there he was, leaning onto the wall just right next to the exit.

"i'm perfectly fine." my lips slightly curved at his concern.

"i need to ask you something." he exclaimed, stepping into the moonlight. his hair was slightly messy, his uniform casually unbuttoned. the street lights shone over him, providing me with the ability to see all of his facial features. those big eyes, pointy nose, and full lips. god, one of the reasons why i fell for him...

"s-sure." i stuttered, slightly nervous of what he was about to ask. he took another step towards me, now our bodies only inches away.

"do you hate me?" he asked in a whisper.

i shrugged, "sometimes. why did you give the wrong answer?" i looked up to see his surprised face. i tried to hold my chuckle, and it worked.

"i've had enough trophies." it was his turn to shrug. he then gave a sheepish giggle, which made my heart melt.

"thanks, taehyun. i owe you one."

"how about a date?"

i froze at what he just said. i couldn't believe my own ears. date?

our bodies were still really close to each other. my heartbeat was getting faster and faster as i thought of my answer.

i could also feel his heartbeat against my chest, which was so intense i could almost hear it.

then, with all my courage, i embraced him into a hug. he forze at first, but he started to put his arms around my body in response.

"i would love that."

***

hey yall! sorry for the late update... i had no inspo :/
how's the new year so far??

so first, i wanna do a little shameless promo of myself lol.
i made a soobin fanfic! it's called A Simple Hello.
go check it out!!

secondly, i've been wasting my time watching nct shit and reading nct ffs during my holiday and honestly

iDk whY i sTaN tHem iN tHe fiRsT pLacE thEy'Re AlL cRacKhEadS.

yes, i'm a multifandomer, and i love every group equally.

anyways, hope you liked this story!