NIGHTMARE

03 | twenty-one and eighteen

kihyun awoke the next morning to the violent sound of knocking on the door to his apartment.

"ugh, what do you want-?"

he opened the door to reveal an innocent-looking changkyun leaning on the doorframe.

"what the fu- changkyun, why are you-?" kihyun couldn't quite form a coherent sentence.

"morning, kihyun!" changkyun said, a little too loudly for kihyun's morning ears.

"mr. yoo," kihyun corrected, his brows furrowing in annoyance. "how did you find-"

"i knocked on every apartment in the block," changkyun interrupted. "so, do you still have that hoodie, or...?"

kihyun rubbed at his eyes. "is that the only reason you came here?" he mumbled sleepily.

"well, that and i wanted to accompany you to school," changkyun added. "i heard you were late yesterday because you got lost."

"how-?" kihyun sighed and huffed. "just... nevermind. i think you need to leave."

"aw, sir, please," changkyun begged, "i didn't even eat breakfast on my way over."

kihyun fixed him with a frustrated glare. "please wait outside," he instructed, trying his best to deal with the situation, "and i will return your hoodie."

"oh, so you do still have it," changkyun grinned at him.

kihyun slammed the door shut.

the next time he opened it, changkyun was asleep on the floor against the closed door, and he toppled backwards. then his eyes shot open.

"can i come inside now?" he asked through a yawn.

"no," kihyun insisted. he clutched changkyun's grey hoodie, and dropped it onto the younger guy's face.

changkyun sat up, peeling the sweatshirt off. "oh, it's warm?" he questioned. "did you wear it to bed, mr. yoo?" changkyun threw him a teasing smirk.

"go to school, changkyun," kihyun told him. "do some extra study before class, huh?"

changkyun stood up, standing a good two inches above kihyun, which was irritating. "but i'm hungry," he complained. "make me breakfast?" he asked as cutely as a guy like him possibly could.

"i am your teacher, changkyun," kihyun said firmly. "please leave."

ignoring him, changkyun pushed past the little teacher into his apartment, taking a look around. "you know, for sunshine apartments, this isn't half bad-"

"changkyun!" kihyun shouted as loud as he could.

changkyun looked at him, ever so slightly stunned.

"leave - now," kihyun said loudly, pointing to the door.

changkyun's expression became serious and unreadable for a second. then he broke back into his ordinary self. "if you say so, sir," he said. "see you in lit class!"

and kihyun finally closed the door on him, eyes closed tight and breathing heavily.

***

"oh, morning, mr. yoo," said another teacher at the coffee machine that morning, as kihyun stepped into the staff room.

"morning," kihyun replied, feeling a little better about his day after the friendly smile the teacher gave him.

"did you want a coffee?"

kihyun nodded at him. "that would be great, thank you.."

"i'm mr. son, by the way," the teacher told him, "but you can call me hyunwoo. i teach maths."

"literature," kihyun piped up quickly.

"mhm," said hyunwoo, "you're on a teacher placement, i've heard?"

he handed kihyun his coffee as kihyun nodded again. "it's in the final year of my course," he said quietly.

"does that mean you're still doing classes then?" hyunwoo questioned conversationally.

"night classes."

"ah, i see... how old are you, by the way?"

"twenty one."

"ah, just wondering," hyunwoo laughed a little stiffly. "there aren't too many younger teachers in this school, if you know what i mean, and i'm keen to make friends where i can."

"oh," said kihyun. then he blinked. "i mean, um, i see."

"the girls have a thing for the younger male teachers," hyunwoo informed him, taking a long sip of his coffee. "they'll love you."

"oh, but i'm not-" kihyun cut himself off. "uhm... i mean, i'm sure it'll be fine."

"of course!" hyunwoo said encouragingly, clapping his shoulder and smiling through his serious exterior. "i'll see you around, mr. yoo."

kihyun finished the hot coffee as quickly as he could once mr. son hyunwoo was gone, and hurried to his next class. he didn't think he could face the senior class again.

"good morning, class!" said kihyun once he had arrived, putting on a cheerful image. "today we're going to look at the language used in the opening, and why it is used. i have some handouts for you to write on, so don't worry if you don't have your exercise books."

he went about handing out the sheets, already dreading the moment he would get to changkyun's desk. but changkyun, unlike earlier, seemed indifferent.

kihyun spotted the familiar grey hoodie slipping out of changkyun's bag and he almost sighed. maybe it was true that he'd worn it to bed last night... and the night before... for the last week...

but that was only because it was comfortable. and after falling asleep in it the first night he'd met changkyun, he figured wearing it a couple more times wouldn't do any harm.

the annoying thing was that kihyun had grown a little attached to that grey hoodie in the last week he'd kept it, and being apart from it was difficult. it was soft, and warm, and its scent was comforting.

kihyun sighed again and put the handout on changkyun's desk. changkyun moved his hand a little to receive the sheet, his fingers brushing against kihyun's.

and kihyun rushed back to the front of the class to avoid the embarrassment of the bright red ears.

as the lesson ensued, kihyun thought about what hyunwoo had said in the staff room earlier. sure, he was certain that some of the girls were whispering about him instead of the work.

but the girls wouldn't be the problem.

changkyun would.

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