“taerae, are you coming with us or what?”
park hanbin leaned against the door frame, waiting impatiently for his friend to answer.
taerae sighs, “i still have some errands to do.”
of course, kim taerae ALWAYS has some errands to do. being an obedient kid that he is, it is no denying that every teacher adores him. hence, everytime they need a hand with their paper works or anything related to school, taerae is their very first option to call. after all, he looks very reliable and capable to carry out the job.
“paper works again? goodness gracious, you need to learn how to refuse them!” park hanbin slammed his thighs out of frustration.
“i have nothing to do in particular so i agreed.” taerae lied. he has something to do, actually. but because he is too kind to refuse his teacher's favor, he agreed absentmindedly. taerae then added, “you guys should go first. i can go home by my own, i guess.”
park hanbin rolled his eyes, “whatever suits you. call us if you get home.”
and just like that, hanbin left taerae all alone inside the empty room with a plethora of papers scattered around his table. this is definitely a lot of work, taerae thought. but whose fault is that? definitely his. if he had the guts to reject his teacher, he would be lying on his bed as of the moment, waiting for the morning to come. yet, just by looking at his pitiful situation, his head will burst at any moment.
what a great life.
it has been three days since that incident had occured, changing taerae's life (not really, he's just being overdramatic). he was so close to crying and burying himself six feet underground because of the embarrassment he felt. thank god lee jeonghyeon barged into the scene, saving taerae's life from crumbling into dust. he owes jeonghyeon a lot; he's gonna treat him once he gets his allowance to thank him.
since then, he has been avoiding junhyeon. he doesn't have the guts to face his crush who probably—not probably but definitely—knows taerae has a crush on him. just the thought of it makes him want to smash his skull against the wall to wash away that shameful memory of his.
what if junhyeon gets weirded out because a boy is crushing on him? what if he's disgusted? what if he hates me?
too many what ifs that his head is about to combust.
taerae massaged his temples. he tried focusing his attention onto the task he has received instead of contemplating about his (nonexistent) love life. he needs to accomplish this first in order to go home immediately.
aside from junhyeon, this task is stressing him, too.
_______
after an hour of breakdowns and procrastination, taerae finally finished the paper works given to him by his teacher. he tried stretching his back to remove the uncomfortable feeling caused by stiffness, only to hear cracking noises coming from his bones.
it's obviously a sign of aging. could also be because of his bad posture. or both, actually.
just when he's about to stack the paper one by one in an alphabetical manner, he heard a soft knock coming from the door. at first, he was certain that the person has got to be mr. xiu—the school's security guard—to check the room. to his surprise, he was greeted with a familiar face whom he doesn't want to see as of the moment (kinda).
“hello...oh? kim taerae?”
jesus fucking christ. just when he's trying his best to avoid him these past three days, god decided to put him in constant struggle to face his demons (the demons being homosexuality).
“ah...?” that's the only sound that came out of taerae's mouth. he sings to the heavens and angels to take him now and never shall he return to this godforsaken world.
junhyeon walks toward him, “it's already late. what keeps you here?”
taerae gulps, “just... some paper works.”
junhyeon sat down in front of him, looking at the papers. he scanned them thoroughly, discerning what kind of task is taerae doing to keep him this late.
taerae, on the other hand, continued his work. he seems unfazed despite junhyeon's presence, but deep inside, he's cursing all of the people and characters he could think of right now—blaming them for whatever misfortune they brought to his life.
junhyeon cleared his throat which caught taerae's attention, “do you need some help?”
taerae shook his head, “no, thanks.” he tried his best to smile at him.
junhyeon just nodded, not saying anything. he stayed there for a minute like a statue with his arms crossed, watching taerae do his job. taerae tenses up.
good lord. please spare me this time and let this man get out of this room. please, please, please let this man leave this room for the peace of my mind. taerae prayed.
but his prayers weren't heard.
junhyeon is still in front of him. taerae might not be looking at him directly, but he can feel his gaze striking right through him like a sword. he felt uncomfortable being watched.
taerae mustered up his courage to speak up. he lifted his head to face him, “uh... do you need anything?”
why aren't you leaving? he was about to add that, yet it may come off as rude. he doesn't want to hurt the young man's feelings, at least. so, he ended up keeping the question to himself.
junhyeon smiled a little, “nothing, really.” he answered straight to the point.
taerae retracted his eyes from him, seemingly nervous. he started moving faster to accomplish his job immediately and leave before things could get more embarrassing for him. he asked him, “then... why are you still here?”
junhyeon tilted his head. he stared at the man in front of him and smiled, “i am waiting for you.”
taerae nearly choked on his own saliva. “w...what?” he was too startled that it came out as a whisper.
“i mean it's pretty late. i guess you're alone too because i saw your friends leaving earlier. so, as a good samaritan, i decided to accompany you. how does that sound?” junhyeon lifted his left eyebrow and smiled at him.
taerae almost laughed at himself. of course, he is saying this AS A CONCERNED CITIZEN and not anything more. that incident happened three days ago probably got right through his head that he started thinking some nonsense. gosh!
taerae fixed the last piece and secured them with a clip. just when he's about to stand, he looked at junhyeon gave him a soft look, “you don't have to.”
junhyeon returned the look and grabbed the paper from him, “i want to.”
YOU ARE READING
head over heels . . . JUNRAE !?
Fanfiction"do you have a crush on the class clown?"
