high and low | s.c. + j.y. (jeongcheol)

6.

"So which part of this don't you understand?" Seungcheol asked.

"Um...all of it?" Jeonghan hesitantly replied, blushing lightly with embarrassment. Seungcheol glared at him, and Jeonghan flinched.

"Yoon Jeonghan, you can't even understand this? This is one of the easiest pieces of poetry to understand. How are you going to be able to understand everything else if you can't even understand this?" Seungcheol scolded harshly.

Jeonghan frowned. He didn't think it was that easy to understand. Jeonghan opened his mouth to voice his thoughts, but Seungcheol cut him off.

"Fine, forget it. Just read it out loud so I can see if you read correctly," he commanded.

Jeonghan clenched his fists. Did Seungcheol seriously think he was that stupid? How could someone even read incorrectly? There was no wrong way to read poetry. He cleared his throat.

"When to the sessions of sweet silent thought-" Jeonghan began.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Seungcheol interrupted, shooting him a look of disbelief.

"What do you mean what am I doing?! I'm reading the damn poem!" Jeonghan retorted, getting annoyed himself.

"You're reading it all wrong!" Seungcheol exclaimed.

Was he really? Jeonghan felt like crying. He wasn't sure if he could deal with the pain that came from Seungcheol's harsh attitude for any longer. Maybe he should just stick to admiring Seungcheol from afar. This clearly wasn't working out. Tears pricked at the corners of Jeonghan's eyes. Seungcheol seemed to notice this because his face softened.

"Are you crying? Shit, okay look, I'm sorry. But you really are reading it incorrectly, you know. You know what meter is, right?" Seungcheol said, and Jeonghan nodded. "Do you know what the meter of this poem is?"

"Is it...iambic pentameter?" Jeonghan questioned hesitantly.

"That's right! So do you know how to read iambic pentameter?" Seungcheol asked. Jeonghan shook his head. "It's in the name. Iambs are basically just a type of feet composed of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. So iambic pentameter is...?"

"...five iambs in a line?"

"Correct! So now just try reading it like that. It'll be pretty hard at first, but you should be able to get the hang of it. Now try it again," Seungcheol commanded. Jeonghan swallowed nervously and started to recite the poem again.

"But if the while I think on thee, dear friend, all losses are restored and sorrows end," Jeonghan finished, glancing at Seungcheol to gauge his reaction. Seungcheol nodded approvingly.

"You certainly did better that the first time you read it. But the tests won't only be asking about the meter and feet. It'll ask about the meaning too. So what do you think the overall theme of this sonnet is?"

"I think my classmates said that it was about friendship or love or something? Was Shakespeare gay?" Jeonghan asked.

"No one knows for sure, but many people, including myself, think he was. This isn't the only sonnet he's written that's about a man. However, the thing with poetry is that you can't assume that the author is the narrator. But why do you want to know? Would it be a problem if he was gay?" Seungcheol said, glaring at Jeonghan.

"What? No, no! There's nothing wrong with being gay! I was just wondering," Jeonghan responded, a light blush on his face. How could a gay teenager be homophobic anyways?

"O-oh. My bad then. Sorry. I've had to deal with a lot of homophobic assholes in middle school, so I've become kinda defensive as you can see," Seungcheol apologized, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Seungcheol, um...a-are you gay too?" Jeonghan stuttered nervously, his face growing redder and his cheeks becoming warmer. Seungcheol didn't respond for a few seconds, then his eyes widened.

"Wait, 'too'? Jeonghan, you're gay?!" Seungcheol exclaimed. Jeonghan nodded timidly.

"Didn't you know? I came out a few years ago. I thought everyone knew by now," Jeonghan said.

"No, I had no idea!" Seungcheol replied, a surprised look still on his face. Seungcheol blushed suddenly, and Jeonghan frowned. Was Seungcheol sick?

"Seungcheol? You look ill. Are you okay?" Jeonghan asked, placing a hand on Seungcheol's arm soothingly. Seungcheol jerked his arm away and blushed harder.

"I'm fine! Should we get back to studying then?" Seungcheol quickly said. Jeonghan shot him a confused look, but nodded anyways. "Great! So, Sonnet 30! Where were we?"

Seungcheol turned away from Jeonghan, staring at their textbook intensely and hiding his face. Jeonghan stared at him curiously, tilting his head to the side in confusion. What was Seungcheol's problem?

A/N: (if you've read this in my other stories' Author's Notes, you don't need to read this again)

okay, so I have some important news about updates in the summer. I'm still going to try to update weekly, but I can't guarantee it, so don't be surprised if my updates are inconsistent. I'm actually going to be really busy this summer. I'm taking Chemistry and Geometry/Algebra online, and I already have a LOT summer work for AP World History which I'll be taking during the school year(rip me). and obviously, I'm going to get summer work for Lit. hopefully there won't be any for AP Bio, but I have a strong feeling that there will be.

in addition to that, I'll be at my aunt and uncle's place in Oregon, so I'll be hanging out with their kids(my cousins) a lot bc surprisingly enough I am capable of human feelings such as love(ö shocker). nah, but I'm going to be trying to hang out with them a lot, and I'll be doing all my work at my aunt's hospital(I can't stay alone in their house for safety reasons).

I also have to practice piano there a lot too. if I finish all my work for the day and still have time left over, then I'll probably be able to write chapters(hopefully good, lengthy ones). also, I'll probably be sleeping in another room, well at least I hope I will be, so if I am, I don't mind staying up late to write the next updates.

but even after I go back home from Oregon, I'm going to be busy. when I fly back into Atlanta with my aunt, uncle, and their kids, my parents are going to be redoing their wedding vows(bc my mom thought it'd be cute for their 25th wedding anniversary(I think it's the 25th anniversary anyway)), so that's gonna be hectic.

actually, I think I'm supposed to be working on multiple things for the ceremony right now lmao(speeches and some other things that my mom wants me to collaborate w her friends on and shit). so yeah, I'm gonna be really busy, hell I'm kinda busy now, but I'm still gonna try and get updates out on time for you during the next few months. okay, that's all you needed to read of this author's note! I'll do the normal stuff now, if you still wanna keep reading.

I think we all know what the linked song is, but for those of you who don't know this legendary gem, it's "Cross My Heart" by Marianas Trench! what a wonderful piece of the past. also, credits to Shakespeare for writing the (totally gay) poem that is Sonnet 30.

hey did y'all notice how Seungcheol didn't answer Jeonghan's question about his sexuality? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) so Jeonghan doesn't know if Seungcheol is gay or not yet. what problems will this cause in the future? let's find out >:) nah I prob won't do anything dw.

ok that's it for now! have a wonderful day! you're all amazing! tysm for reading and all the votes and comments it really makes my day! ily guys and ty again!