Flawed Perfection

|➵ that which comes after

*･゜ﾟ

❝So just hold on tight,
We'll be sitting on top of the world❞

┊　　┊　　┊　　┊
┊　　┊　　┊　　★
┊　　┊　　☆
┊　　★
☆

➷

Life had never been sweeter. The sky was majestic and blue, and sunlight warmed everything it touched. The breeze was scarce but effective in swaying the waves of nature with itself whenever it ran through. 

His eyes lingered on the rustling tree tops and scattered pebbles on the path as he walked towards his class in pure adrenaline rush. Taehyun's anxiety was long forgotten, except for that bit which floated like a single thin cloud above his mind, overlooking the carnival of fireworks beneath. This was a new chapter for him, one that came after the darkest phases of life, one that resurrected him. His smile never left his pretty face as Taehyun's eyes scanned the crowd of students that roamed around the campus, trying to meet with any familiar ones.

 And they did.

His hazel eyes met with Zuki's wide ones and he saw them crinkle as a grin spread across her small face. Taehyun immediately smiled back, as wide as possible, almost involuntarily. She was standing- or rather slouching just a few feet away from the main gate. Felix was right behind her with his head leaning on her shoulder, his arms drooped over her sides and hair strikingly yellow. Although it looked highly uncomfortable since Felix and Zuki had quite height difference, it was a sight to behold. Zuki seemed overly excited, as always while Felix looked peaceful with his eyes slightly closed and a half smile embedded on his pale freckled face.

Taehyun's attention returned to Zuki as she spun on her toes and steered in his direction, running in a zig zag motion to avoid bumping into people. Felix behind her, smiling at Taehyun and waving gently while getting dragged by Zuki.

'They're happy to see me.'

Taehyun's heart swelled with warmth to the point where it ached. He had found people that were genuinely welcoming him although they had nothing to gain from it. This kind of selfless social relations were unfamiliar to him and it thrilled him to know that he had found his people now. 

"Perhaps school wasn't such a bad idea."

➷

The weather was the perfect coalition of warmth and cool breezes. It was the ideal climate to laze on your bed and watch something like the Midsommar .

'On a second thought, anime would be better. Buddy Daddies, perhaps?'

At the thought, Zuki's lips curved upwards in a smirk, her eyes on Taehyun's dirty blonde hair who sat towards the front, five seats ahead of hers. The very next moment she was busy preparing a mental list of the snacks she would like to buy on her way home to enjoy her cinema-at-home experience to the fullest before getting rudely interrupted by her teacher.

"Since we have long covered this topic- a month ago I presume-, I believe it will be the easiest one to prepare for something like, eh- a surprise quiz, right?" Her red lips were locked in a painfully fake and sinister smile, her voice a tad bit high pitched and head nodding in excitement. Zuki could feel her eyes sinking into herself like knives.  

Zuki put on her most innocent smile in response, nodding her head in the slightest. Felix, sitting right beside her on her left, snickered internally. It was true that no one ever really paid any attention in linguistics lectures but Zuki was exceptionally talented in making it obvious. It was like a board was stuck on her forehead with 'I am currently day-dreaming' pasted on it in neon lights.

"She always looks at me like I blew her birthday cake candles", Zuki was complaining while shaking her head as the trio walked down the hallways, "She doesn't even try to hide her hatred."

They had headed out as soon as the bell had rung. By now, Zuki was back to her usual self, with matted hair brushing her shoulders and a permanent scowl plastered on her face. Taehyun was following right behind them, gawking at the school interiors, he was visibly trying to keep it subtle but also very visibly failing.

"She doesn't need to hide it Zee. She's the authority figure in there and if anything, its you who should learn to be more..." Felix trailed off, trying to find the exact word. 

"Imperceptible?" , Taehyun suggested, eyes shinning.

"Exactly! Be more unnoticeable and not so obvious about the fact that you're never mentally present in her class." Felix grinned encouragingly at Zuki who returned his smile with a sarcastic one.

"Oh, how stupid of me. Sorry I am not as fake ass as you lot."

"It's called diplomacy.", Taehyun retorted, hand hanging in the air, waiting for Felix to slap his own on it. 

"And that's on actually knowing how to function in a society.", Felix happily gave the shorter guy a high-five as Zuki simply rolled her eyes at them.

"Woe is me. Getting sandwiched between slices of moldy cheese."

It was the last class of the day soon. The sun had glided in an arch, taking her bunch of clouds with her leaving a clear sky overhead. The hours had ticked themselves away on Tehyun's Daniel Jubile silver wrist watch and before he could realize the speed of the clouds moving, the school day had almost ended. Brown eyes trained on the tattered and worn out mascara hanging  on Mrs. Sommer's eyes, Taehyun fought back a yawn blooming from the back of his throat.  

He could feel many pairs of eyes drilling into his head. To say he hadn't expected this reaction from his new found classmates would be a lie and for it to not happen would be even more impossible. He was, after all, quite pleasant to look at. And he knew that well, more than anyone else. At the same time, he was happy that no one had approached him yet. He didn't mind admirers, it was a requirement of his career to not. What made things messy and ugly was when said admirers started overwhelming him in his own life. He could not comprehend why it happened or how but at one point, admiration and positive attention morphed itself into scrutiny and adhesive contempt. Things like that could easily wound one's soul and so, Taehyun had decided to not let that happen again. Not to him, nor his new friends.

'Friends.'

Taehyun whisked his head sharply, instantly locking eyes with Zuki who just wiggled her eyebrows at him. He looked at Felix who was looking at Zuki's eyebrow trick and muffling a laugh. 

He looked back at front and then at his notes. The faintest of curvature danced on his lips. Something like a wild fire extended its roots from within his chest, the tenderness of it sprouting out from his ears, his cheeks and nails. Something strikingly scarlet and evidently florid engulfed him in a sickly sweet sensation, suffocating his lungs with a blushing cloud. His vision felt blurry and fear pinched his muscles but his senses were too dulled to feel the pain at all. He felt beyond euphoric; he was at the top of the world.

-

a/n, taehyun is in his barbie era