My Art Teacher | Johnyong

Chapter 4: Provocative

<Taeyong's POV>

My feet carried me all the way up to the gymnasium, already becoming out of breath before class began. NCT Academy had only began requiring P.E. within the last 2 years, with their attempt at encouraging us to become more active as transparent as the white t-shirt that the instructor, Jung Jaehyun, wore every day. Most of the boys saw it as a chance to roughhouse without consequence, while others used our gym time as a way to fulfill their superiority complex via competition. For me, I tended to beat my peers unintentionally, making me usually the first choice for kickball but the last choice as a friend.

I barely made it into the locker room before the bell rang, stumbling across my loose shoelaces. Without looking, I feel my hands reach out to catch my fall, but instead was confronted with the P.E. instructor's pecs right in the palms of my hands.

He looked down at me in shock, "Woah there, Taeyong!" Jaehyun-nim exclaimed, placing his hands on mine to lift them off of his chest awkwardly. "Better make sure those shoes are tied by the time you're ready for my class, yeah?" he posited while I nodded vigorously from embarrassment, simply wanting to get away from him.

He chuckled deeply and casually left the locker room. I exhaled a deep sigh, touching my hands that were now burning from his touch, pulsing from my heart beat. God, I hope he didn't feel that. Shaking my hands from this uncomfortable feeling, I quickly brushed it off and got changed, meeting the rest of the class on the squeaky gym floor just in time.

Jaehyun-nim blows his whistle, gaining our attention. "Alright, everyone, listen up! Today, we will be breaking into small teams for basketball"

Shit, I thought, the one sport I'm not that great in. It requires a height that I simply don't have. Sure, I have the strategic foresight to be able to predict the moves of my opponents well, but I am best for blocking rather than actually making a basket.

Our instructor crosses his arms, veins popping forward while he stares us down, gauging our athletic ability. Lost in tracing his veins with my eyes, I almost didn't catch him calling my name.

"Taeyong" he states for the nth time, "Come on, get your head in the game" he instructs me like he is already fed up with me like all the other teachers at this school.

I walk over to him slowly, staring at my feet. He clears his throat and gestures to the rest of the boys lined up in front of us. Still with me visibly confused, he realizes, "You didn't hear a word I said, did you?"

"No um Jaehyun-nim, I'm sorry" I mutter.

"Save your apologies for after you win the game!" Jaehyun barks at me, "I told you to pick students you would like on your basketball team"

Double shit. I analyze my classmates, some that I recognize, others that I don't care enough to learn their names. However, a pair of younger students catch my eye. Where have I seen them before? I squint at the blonde and chestnut haired pair, pointing at them subconsciously. They look at each other in confusion before hesitantly walking to me.

"Mark and Donghyuck, say hello to your team captain Taeyong" Jaehyun announces. His voice fades into the back of my mind while he chooses the other team captains and they choose their members.

Without yet having spoken to me, I decide to break the ice with a simple "Hi". I barely get my greeting out of my mouth before the shorter one, who I vaguely remember as named Donghyuck, bellows with laughter. I stare at him, furrowing my eyebrows, the extended laughing fit becoming painful for me to witness. The blonde one, Mark, elbows his friend, egging him to cut it out as they both straighten their posture to look me in the eyes.