"Teach"

7

The next time Jinyoung held class, Jackson was surprisingly right on time. He's never seen such punctuality from the student before, therefore watching those familiar auburn locks and charmingly bright smile make their way through the classroom caught him by surprise.

"Mr.Wang, you're on time." He stated amid his shock, a smile decorating his own face.

"Don't get used to it, teach." The student replied, shooting a wink in his direction.

"Professor Park." Jinyoung corrected. He quickly turned to face the board and write the topic of the day; totally not in an effort to hide the blush he felt creeping to his cheeks.

Jackson rolled his eyes and continued to his seat with a much more enthusiastic mood than usual. Throughout the class, Jinyoung found himself constantly meeting the latter's gaze, and every time their eyes locked, Jackson would smirk at him with an irritating yet amusing smugness. 

It was difficult for Jinyoung to make it through class without breaking into a flustered fit of smiles and laughs.

He was able to end the class with no incidents, dismissing the room as usual, though he continued to sneak glances at Jackson who took his sweet time packing up his things. The student waited until all others had left the room, slowly making his way down to the front of the room.

He mosied on down to Jinyoung's desk, leaning on the surface as Jinyoung pretended to ignore his presence. "So, Professor."  

"Is there something you need, Jackson?" The other male asked while packing away his teaching material into his leather bag.

"You should be proud of me, I came on time, did my work, and listened to the entire lecture without falling asleep." The latter enthused.

Jinyoung hummed, his brows risen. "Should I be applauding you for doing the bare minimum?"

"You should applaud me for simply existing."

"We've gotta do something about that ego of yours."

"Come on, give me a little praise. I'm trying, right?"

"You are trying, Jackson. Good job, keep this up and your grades should improve." Jinyoung replied as requested, watching the smile on Jackson's face widen. "But, I won't praise you every time you do what I expect of you."

The latter brightened like a puppy; quite adorably. "You'll praise me when we meet later this week, I'll make sure of it!"

Jinyoung let out a chuckle, his chest warming from the student's enthusiasm. He didn't expect one of his seemingly most troublesome students to slowly become his most interesting. He didn't know exactly how he felt about him, but it was definitely growing more positive by the day; he's never felt so intrigued by a student before.

He hadn't realized how close he was leaning in over his desk until he happened to catch a fellow professor passby the open classroom door, glancing in for just a moment before dissapearing. 

He quickly cleared his throat and pulled back, remembering that he was interacting with a student on campus. He had to remain professional. "We'll see. Though um... try not to mention our meetings too often."

Jackson frowned, cocking his head as he watched the professor return to packing. "Why not?"

"They aren't exactly professional, so I don't want to attract attention to them."

"But, it's just a professor and a student meeting to talk about work. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Well sure but--" Jinyoung paused, letting out a soft sigh. His main job was to help his students perform their best in his class; his personal interest in Jackson should come second. "...it's a strictly professional meeting... I just want to protect my job is all, so, no distractions. We strictly focus on work, okay?"

"But last time we--"

"Last time turned out unplanned. We had our fun but, I really care about your grades too. Let's stay focused."

Jackson faltered, his lips parting to argue, but quickly abandoning the attempt. 

"Yeah... sure, whatever." He mumbled before turning and walking toward the exit.

As Jinyoung watched him go, it was hard to ignore the pounding of his heart in protest of the words he'd just spoken.