DRAMA CLUB | hyunin ✔

.28

even though jeongin was rested, caffeinated and overall energized, he still wasn't ready to be slapped in the face with another bad grade.

his english teacher could've been using a devil mask for all the evil reeking from her as she slapped the exam paper with a glaring "f" in his desk, as if they were in a dramatic anime battle scene.

"mr yang, it's not necessary for me to express how disappointed i am, is it?" his english teacher said over her cat eye glasses.

jeongin glanced down at his exam, full of red lines over blank spaces, angry question marks scattered all over the pages. he... forgot to take it?

it couldn't be possible! he surely must have taken that test at some point, since he clearly wrote his name himself on it, and jeongin only expected that he'd at least try to milk confusing answers and eenie-meeny-minie-mo his way into the multiple questions automatically, like a knee jerk reaction.

apparently, it didn't happen.

had jeongin been so absorbed into the play and the chemistry project that he'd forgotten he'd taken a test?

jeongin's brain was melting, slipping through his ears like blood. heeeeeeee! his mother would kill him!

two f's in one week! way to go, jeongin! brilliant! incredible! amazing! showstopping! spe--

a light tap on his shoulder. then hot air on his ear.

"what did you get?" chan asked, right on his ear.

it tickled the fuck out of jeongin, and he momentarily forgot he failed the class, just to remember again to answer the question.

he turned. weird. he never noticed chan sat behind him in english 101. jeongin would have noticed! but... wait. wasn't chan, like, australian or something? where they spoke english? why was he even in this class?

"why are you even in this class?" jeongin blurted out, clearly the filter between his brain and mouth was broken. he stuttered around an apology from being rude, then told chan his shameful grade.

"oh, no need to worry," he chuckled, then lowered his voice, leaning even closer towards jeongin's face, "don't tell anyone, but, uh... i'm replacing jungkook this semester. the boy really needs help."

and so do i, jeongin realized. could chan replace him, too? he would have asked him to take his test for him if he knew.

"well, and so do you, i think?" chan scrunched his nose, glancing at the exam paper in jeongin's hand. jeongin quickly hid it under his notebook, ashamed. he looked back up and smiled at jeongin, "i'd love to help you."

wow. chan was really nice. what a thoughtful person!

"you'll also come to class in my place?" jeongin excitedly asked.

chan chuckled, "no. i can't be two people at the same time can i?"

jeongin looked down, it was too good to be true.

he felt a finger lifting his chin, and suddenly he was looking up at chan again, faces really close... too close.

at the corner of his eye, he saw the other students get up to leave. did the bell ring? he didn't hear the bell ring.

"i'd propose to study in your house? what would you say?"

it was actually a good idea. chan knew things, right? if they'd kept chan throughout the whole experiment, they would have surely gotten a better grade.

jeongin opened his mouth to muster a reply, another face pressed close in the space between jeongin's and chan's heads, pushing them apart.

"no," hyunjin responded for him, "we, read, me and jeongin, will study alone in his house tonight. together."

of course, it had to be hyunjin.

jeongin found himself baffled. he didn't own him! how dare he go around and making plans for him without consulting him first! did he think he was too dumb to make his own choices? all right, he'd gotten himself another horrible grade, but that didn't mean anything!

"what? what are you saying!" jeongin exclaimed.

hyunjin looked at him surprised, as if he didn't expect jeongin would go against the plan.

"i..." hyunjin started, "i... thought that was... our thing?"

what? studying? they were both dumb!

he heard chan laughing, then his face was in his vision again.

"so, what is it, innie? will you study with me or..." chan glanced at hyunjin, "him?"

jeongin took a second to think about it. it came to his mind the last time they'd worked together -- alone. not long ago. they failed.

but... hyunjin was right. wasn't it their... thing? now? they were together... in the play, of course. and the previous project.

he was apparently taking too long to decide, since chan glanced up at hyunjin and asked out of nowhere, "so, hyunjin what did you get in the test?"

jeongin watched hyunjin's face redden. from anger or embarrassment he didn't know, but he suddenly clenched his fingers, wrinkling the paper in his hand that jeongin hadn't noticed before.

just like jeongin's, hyunjin's test was painted in red ink, an eye-catching "f" in the center of an uneven red circle.

jeongin inwardly sighed. he had decided.