Captive (JiKyu)

8. 친구

Junkyu is not a very good teacher. It had been evident since day one. He wasn't bad at understanding,  however, trying to make someone else understand was not his cup of tea. He had to make notes, memorize them, think about ways to present them and yet, he fails to deliver them well. The only reason Haruto still hadn't dismissed him was maybe because he's close to Yoshi, and maybe he knew about Junkyu's situation.

Or maybe, because Haruto never really saw him as a tutor, rather a good friend. Junkyu was older than him by almost 4 years, but his thought procedure was simple and fun. And honestly, Haruto enjoyed spending time with him. He knew he could easily go by without a tutor, but he pretended that he needed the help- so that his parents agreed on spending money behind the tutor- ultimately helping Junkyu.

The thing about Haruto- he's a kind young man. He's extremely good looking, so much that he makes people turn heads here and there. But unlike his intimidating aura, he's very friendly. He laughs easily, cares for people. When the first day, Junkyu sat on his chair with his hands clasped, he immediately knew how desperate that man was for the tuition. And when the tutor started talking- he sounded confused and innocent and cute. He didn't have the heart to say that Junkyu absolutely sucked at his job. He let the other carry on, making effort, making notes. The notes were helpful though. Haruto was quite lazy to do that, so he kept them from his tutor. Other than that, his dynamic with Junkyu was that of two strangers on the way to become friends.

Like when he first asked whether Junkyu liked games. Funny how such a naive looking man's eyes glistened as he talked about rpg games, racing cars and even Minecraft. Haruto found it so amusing- Junkyu's emotions were on his sleeves, you can tell when he's happy, or angry, or sad. That day, talking about games, he looked like an excited puppy. Even after that, when finishing the session, they'd sometimes compete in racing games, and Junkyu would win by a small margin, the grin on his face would be very pleasant to look at.

Sometimes, Haruto would intentionally lose just to see that smile.

It was a day as such. They were out in a cafe for the session that day. It was Haruto's proposal. According to him- studying at home always was boring.

The session was going smooth. Junkyu had handed him the chemistry notes he had prepared back at home. Haruto was given a few minutes to go through all the reactions and then his tutor would take a small test to see if he had memorized everything. While his student was at it, Junkyu took his phone out to read some unread texts. Most of them were from various groupchats and Yoshi, but there was also one from Jihoon.

Curious, Junkyu tapped on it.

Jihoon asked him where he was. Junkyu answered accordingly. He then checked Yoshi's inbox, the guy had sent him several texts explaining why they wouldn't be able to hang out at night. Junkyu sighed. He knew Yoshi's situation, hence couldn't blame him. Sometimes life throws shits at you when you haven't even done anything wrong. Ironic, but what can we do??

"Hyung you know, I've been wanting to try another nfs challenge with you?" Haruto asked suddenly.

"Didn't I beat you thrice already?" Junkyu flexed. It made the younger scoff a little, "Well, yeah, but I've been playing in my free time. Bet I can now outrace you."

"Oh really?" Junkyu smirked, "Finish this lesson first, then we'll see."

"So the challenge is on, huh? I've upgraded my vehicle, just wait till I finally defeat you!" Haruto sounded excited. Junkyu waved it off by gesturing him to look back at the notes. However, deep inside he looked forward to the game too.

Especially the way his heart beams in joy after winning.

"I'm done." Haruto handed his tutor the notes, "Give me that." He took the exercise book to finish it off fast. Junkyu chuckled. Game was probably the biggest motivation for the Japanese young male. Well, he didn't know, it wasn't just the game. It was a game with him that mattered to the younger.