𝗶 𝘄𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗶'𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 (𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙤 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧) | 𝙝𝙖𝙤𝙗𝙞𝙣

v

The room was almost entirely silent, as every kid was focused on the canvas sitting on a small easel, which was standing in front of everyone, including the two teachers.

Hanbin and Zhang Hao were sitting on a stool next to each other, wearing two matching aprons. They seemed both really focused on their paintings too, and while it was surely true for Zhang Hao, there was no doubt that it wasn't really the case for Hanbin.

Even though his hands were quick, dipping his paintbrush skillfully into the various cans of colorful paint, his mind was running far away from the very classroom he was in. Obviously, he was thinking and rethinking again about what happened yesterday. What almost happened yesterday. Because he couldn't help himself but wonder how far things could have gone. And he somehow almost wished it did happen.

But each time this thought came across his mind, he could feel his heart slightly beating faster, so he pushed the idea away and tried to think about something else, just for it to come again at full speed. So he was stuck there, trying to focus on his painting as he was thinking about kissing his co-worker.

Said co-worker was currently sitting right next to him. Hanbin stole a glance at his hands. Zhang Hao was painting too, but Hanbin wasn't at the right angle to look at what he was drawing. Hanbin wondered if he was as skilled in painting as he was in music. His gaze traveled to his scrunched face, probably because of how focused he was. And like each time he looked at him, the latter looked back.

Once again, Hanbin found his eyes meeting Zhang Hao's, but this time, he didn't flinch as much as he used to and held his look a little bit longer. Maybe he grew accustomed to their gaze meeting unexpectedly, but that didn't prevent his stomach from doing a flip inside him. This time, Hanbin wasn't the only one to look away. Almost at the same time, they turned away from each other, both pretending to focus on their canvas again. And because Hanbin was too busy dipping his brush in a can of paint without even looking at it, he didn't notice the slight blush creeping up from Zhang Hao's ears, all the way to his cheeks.

As the embarrassment started to get unbearable, Hanbin put down his brush and got up, to check on his students' progress.

[...]

Today's theme was 'nature', therefore a lot of the students decided to draw landscapes. The classroom was arranged in a circle so that Hanbin could walk behind all of his students to look at their drawings.

Being the amazing teacher that he was, he made a point to look at everyone's painting and compliment it. Most of the children drew flowers and animals, and even though it wasn't perfect and sometimes even hard to tell what it was supposed to be, Hanbin smiled and praised everyone.

'Woah, is that a dinosaur? He asked one little girl.'

— 'Yeah! Look at his feet, aren't they cute?'

— 'That's lovely sweetie.'

'Teacher Hanbin, do you think rainbow flowers exist?'

— 'What do you mean? Asked Hanbin, puzzled.'

— 'I want to draw flowers with all the colors, but does that exist?'

— 'Hmmmm...' Hanbin said as he pondered. 'I think it doesn't matter right? As long as you like it, it doesn't matter if it exists. Paintings are not always realistic you know.'

What Hanbin did not realize though, was that the more he walked away from his seat, the closer he was getting to Zhang Hao. That thought alone made him slightly panic, but he did his best to hide it.

'Look teacher Hanbin, I drew a fairy!' A little girl said excitedly.

— 'Oh she looks really cute. What's her name?'

— 'It's Elsa, like the girl in Frozen!'

— 'Is she an ice fairy?' Hanbin asked very seriously.

— 'Yes, and she can make snow appear when she sings!'

Unexpectedly, as Hanbin walked from one child to the other, he started to count how many more he would walk by until he would be standing right next to the guy he almost kissed yesterday. Totally not nerve-wracking at all.

Each step he took made him a bit more anxious than before, so to relax, he tried to focus on his breathing, just like how his teacher in performing arts at university told him to. As he was standing by the kid who was sitting next to Zhang Hao, he attempted to start a conversation, just to look busy so he wouldn't be just standing there awkwardly.

'So... What are you drawing Woojin?'

— 'It's a tree.' He replied in a small and unassured voice.'

Maybe attempting a conversation with the shyest kid in the classroom wasn't the best idea to relieve stress.

Just when Hanbin was about to say something else, Woojin moved a bit too abruptly and his hand who was holding his green can of paint fell from his grip, hitting Hanbin in the process before falling to the ground in a thud. Woojin looked upset, but he started to apologize anyway, as Hanbin quickly crouched to pick up the can of paint and put it back on the small shelf included with the easel. He then checked if any paint got on his clothes and sighed heavily, not because of Woojin— he couldn't blame him for these sorts of careless mistakes— but because he now had to mop the floor.

But before Hanbin walked away to get the mop, he heard someone chuckle behind his back. And it wasn't hard to guess who it was. He turned over and was quick enough to catch Zhang Hao, trying to conceal his amusement behind his hand. His eyes were closed because of how hard he was trying to refrain from laughing out loud. So Hanbin stood in front of him, not knowing what to do or what to say.

'I'm sorry I shouldn't be laughing so hard.' Zhang Hao said when he managed to calm down.

Maybe Hanbin was going insane because before he could register it, his body moved on its own to scoop a little bit of paint and smear it onto Zhang Hao's apron. A mischievous smile bloomed on Hanbin's face as he was trying not to laugh.

'Hey what are you doing ?' Zhang Hao said in an offended tone.

Before Hanbin could answer him, the older man, who still had his brush in hand, aimed it at Hanbin and splashed yellow paint on his apron. Quickly, things escalated and they both found themselves fighting against each other like little kids. Ten minutes later, after a very tough battle, they were both covered in paint and giggling like fools. Hanbin even had some red paint on his left cheek.

'We should stop now...' Zhang Hao said between two giggles. 'We're setting up a bad example for the kids.'

They were against each other, Hanbin was holding Zhang Hao's wrists, and the latter still had his brush pointed at him. They were both looking at each other with this strange gaze that meant nothing and everything at the same time. But this time, Hanbin didn't flinch, nor did he blush.

He released Zhang Hao from his grip, and right when he was free from it, the older lowered the arm which wasn't holding the brush, and moved his arm forward, to reach for Hanbin's paint-covered cheek. He gently stroked it to wipe the paint off.

They stayed like that for a while, frozen and staring at each other in an almost loving way that one could start to wonder if they were only co-workers. At this point, someone would have probably told them to get a room, if they weren't in a kindergarten full of five-year-old children, who, for most of them, were still focused on their canvas. But surely, it was better like this.

☼ ｡ :*•. ─────.•*: ｡ ✧

the end is near !

anyway, what's your thoughts about this ?