Paper Hearts

18

Taehyung sat near the cafeteria, the benches near the east wing, eating the remainder of his lunch and scrolling through his phone. He'd been sitting for the past twenty minutes, waiting anxiously for the results of the Olympiad he'd participated in.

Yoongi's voice echoed in the halls as he talked to one of the juniors, delivering a few instructions and patting him on the back before making his way to Taehyung. "You look like you failed a test."

"I just might- I don't know yet."

Yoongi's mouth formed an 'O' and he nodded. "I see. Pre-result jitters."

"Mhm." Taehyung rocked back and forth in his seat, nibbling on a piece of bread and looking up at Yoongi with his large eyes.

"Why you gotta worry, kid," Yoongi muttered, sitting next to Taehyung. He looked the younger, his eyes gentle. "You do know you're literally the smartest guy in the school, right?"

"I'm not," Taehyung fired with a pout.

Yoongi raised an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe I am," Taehyung said again, sighing and smiling, adjusting his head in the crook of Yoongi's neck and putting his weight on him. The elders body responded naturally, his arm enveloping Taehyung and making it comfortable for both of them.

"I don't think I performed well at the Olympiad. I messed up a few answers and I was nervous the entire time," Taehyung mumbled, his voice audible only to the person next to him.

"You'll still kick their asses," Yoongi stated a matter-of-factly.

Taehyung looked up towards the elder, his eyes twinkling with warmth. "You think so."

Yoongi looked down at Taehyung with a kind of adoration that was rarer than Taehyung's beauty; he smiled. "I know so."

•    •    •

"I hate this," Jungkook groaned for the eighth time that evening.

"Shut up," Taehyung snapped, pushing him towards the desk in the middle of the room.

"No," Jungkook cried. "Hell no."

His hip hit the edge of the desk and he winced, his eyes landing on about a dozen tiny humans staring up at him. "Say hi," Taehyung hissed in his ear.

Jungkook lifted his hand in the air, waking awkwardly. "Hey."

The silence was deafening, shattering as a little girl giggled heartily and mumbled a shy 'hello' and looked down at the ground, her ears as red as tomatoes. Taehyung noticed that almost every girl in the class was blushing furiously, staring at Jungkook with wonder and Jungkook seemed as oblivious as it could get.

"Kids," Taehyung said in a cheerful voice. "Jimin couldn't be here today, so I brought another one my friends. This is Jungkook. Say hi everyone!"

A shy 'hi, jungkook' erupted from the little crowd of kindergarteners and Taehyung grinned. "Tell them about yourself."

"Me?" Jungkook pointed towards himself.

"Yes."

Jungkook cleared his throat and looked down at the floor. "I'm Jeon Jungkook And I'm sixteen. I play football and hate math. I like video games and- yeah, that's about it."

"Good," Taehyung mumbled and lead the kids towards their seats.

Thirty minutes later, Jungkook was lying on the floor, balancing four kids on this back and giggling hysterically. "I don't feel anything! Don't you tubbies eat?"