𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 lee chan

10: kim mingyu

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If there was one subject I did somehow manage to excel in, it was Herbology. As typical of a Hufflepuff boy as you may think, not everybody was good at it - which gave me the tiniest boost of confidence in my abilities.

Therefore, when our Herbology professor assigned me a Gryffindor in my year to tutor, naturally I accepted.

This is where I met Kim Mingyu.

Though I had Herbology class with the Ravenclaws, I had seen him roaming the corridors many a day, looking like he'd escaped attempted murder by a garden bed.

It certainly wasn't hard to believe he struggled with the subject.

Unfortunately, admiring him from a distance (even when covered from head to toe in fertilizer) still didn't seem to be enough for me not to mentally panic the second he walked into the greenhouse for our first tutoring session.

After all, Mingyu was widely popular around school as "the hottest Gryffindor of the century". My female and male housemates alike certainly agreed with that title, judging by the gossip I'd heard floating around the common room.

It only got worse as the years passed and he "kept getting hotter" as they would say. Not that I'd disagree with such a statement.

But staring at somebody for a split second and slightly admiring them is a very different thing to actually talking to them.

As he entered, towering over me, I really wasn't sure if any words would come out of my mouth at all. In that moment, I distinctly remember asking Merlin why I had ever agreed to tutor Hogwarts' major hottie in the first place.

Upon reflection, it really is no wonder I keep managing to land myself in these situations with all these different boys...

But back to my explanation.

I did eventually manage to find my tongue enough to meekly instruct him to follow me over to a bench, while I grabbed the tools we'd be needing, though I could feel his gaze linger on me as I moved about.

I'd decided to start him on Snargaluffs, since we'd covered them in the sixth year, so he shouldn't have too much of a hard time remembering what to do.

As soon as I brought one out however, I noticed his face pale ever so slightly, and I fought back the urge to smile at how endearingly afraid of the plant he looked.

"Snargaluffs, really?" He whined, seeming to drop any previous airs at once.

"Yep! Shouldn't be too difficult, right? We covered them last year."

He nodded mutely, though I understood his resignation to be purely out of respect for me as his tutor. The poor boy already very obviously did not want to continue with the lesson.

After explaining to him the process of retracting the Snargaluff pods without facing any injuries, I encouraged him lightly to give it a try. As his mouth automatically formed a small pout, I wondered if the Hogwarts population knew their school hottie was also a big baby.

After a split second of what I'm sure was inner panic, Mingyu reached hesitantly out towards the offensive-looking plant, using both his gloved hands to firmly hold the long, prickly, bramble-like vines that had sprung to life the second he made a move.

But he'd already made a mistake, his concentration faltering the second the plant began to defend itself, and I noticed he was about to get himself in a rather puzzling situation.

Just as I was thinking upon how to assist him, a deadly sharp array of prickles whipped towards his head and I acted without thinking.

"Mingyu, the vine!"

Tackling him to the ground, we both only just missed being carved by the Snargaluff, the vicious plant returning to its dead log appearance the second we disappeared from sight.

Before I could roll my eyes and reprimand the silly boy, I realized a little too late that my face was way, way, way, way too close to his.

"Hi there," He giggled softly, looking down at my lips and back up to my now flustered expression, "I think I'd enjoy our lessons much better this way."

And who was I to refuse the hottest Gryffindor of the century?

But maybe I would have refused, if only I had seen Xu Minghao written in my immediate future...

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hi it's midnight but idc i wanted to upload now since it's technically the next day and so i WILL