NIGHTMARE

07 | a strange sense of deja vu

kihyun was almost dozing off when he felt a sharp nudge to the ribs.

"shit," he blurted, and then the world came into focus through his bleary eyes.

"not getting enough sleep?" smirked the guy in the seat next to his.

"oh, shut up, minki," kihyun grumbled.

kihyun's best friend at night school was another teacher-in-training - choi minki. he wore his hair long, should've gotten his degree years ago, and insisted he was always, always right.

"you can copy my notes later, if you want," minki offered.

"thanks," kihyun mumbled softly, right before a huge yawn.

in all honesty, kihyun hadn't been getting enough sleep for a while, plagued by incessant nightmares. but since moving to this town, closer to his night school, with the gift of a new teaching position, the nightmares didn't come so frequently anymore. and for that, kihyun was glad.

"how's that school going?" minki whispered over the lecture that ensued.

kihyun turned to him and nodded slowly. "it's okay," he said eventually. "everyone seems to be pretty nice..."

he decided to leave the subject of lim changkyun out of this conversation. it was too complicated to explain, and minki would probably never understand.

"you're lucky," minki sighed, "i need a job. i mean other than that shitty restaurant."

"i offered to run the choir," kihyun blurted in a sudden rush of nerves.

"wait, what?" minki stared at him.

"i know," kihyun groaned. he buried his face in the desk, "i bet no one will even come and it'll be really embarrassing..."

"no it won't, don't be stupid," said minki. "hey, i'll make you some fliers you can put up around the school to attract some attention."

"really?" kihyun glanced up at him dubiously.

"duh," minki insisted. "i can do them quickly and we can print here before we go home, okay?"

kihyun grudgingly agreed. he knew minki had a hand for graphic design, and for twenty minutes after the lecture finished, he watched the older man put together a flier advertising the choir club.

"i'm basically an artist," minki told him smugly as they watched twenty-odd fliers come out of the printer. "i'll send the file to you anyway, in case you need more copies."

"you sure this will really get the kids to come?" kihyun asked a minute later. a wistful expression passed over his face before he wrinkled his nose.

"all the girls will come, for sure," minki assured him.

"huh?" kihyun blinked.

"come on," minki smirked, "you're young, cute, and an easy catch. i'm sure you've already heard how they'll be all over you."

kihyun hit him and collected the fliers in irritation. "shut up," he said, "i am not easy."

minki just laughed. "anyway, now the fliers are done, we should get going," he said, and he and kihyun packed up their stuff to leave the building.

"wish me luck in school," kihyun groaned as they fell into step on the sidewalk. the sky was dark now and the air was cold.

"wait, you're walking home?" minki asked suddenly.

"yeah, yeah, it's not far," kihyun answered. "you're getting picked up."

"yeah, my brother hasn't gone back to college yet, so i've been making him drive me everywhere," minki snickered. he spotted his younger brother in a new car and waved. "sure you don't want a lift?"

kihyun just shook his head, clutching the posters against the wind. "you live the other way," he shrugged. "just go, i'll be fine."

"okay, well, see you next week, hyun," said minki. he crossed the road to where his brother waited in the car, and kihyun watched him go for a second, before continuing on towards home.

a few blocks of steady walking, and the night had turned itself into a repeat of new year's eve.

"shit, sorry!"

kihyun spluttered as he crashed into another body, and then watched his precious fliers land in a deep puddle on the tarmac. "you've got to be kidding me," he sighed in frustration.

"wait... kihyun?"

kihyun looked up into the face of none other than the troublesome lim changkyun. kihyun's expression became buried in a deep frown.

"it's mr. yoo," he corrected for the millionth time.

changkyun tilted his head and grinned. "we're not in school now, kihyun," he said. "hang on... are these yours? gee, i'm sorry..."

he tried to pick up the soggy mess, but kihyun just pushed him away and gathered the posters up himself, dumping them in the nearest trashcan. "just... forget it," kihyun snapped, pushing past changkyun and continuing on.

now nobody would come to his choir club.

"i'm sorry!" changkyun insisted, jogging to catch up with kihyun's quick steps, "i really am, okay? were they important? i could print them if you-"

"actually," kihyun said with a sharp inhale, "yes, i would like that. i'll send you the file. i want a dozen copies printed first thing tomorrow. you can consider it an extra homework task."

changkyun stared at him, finding himself mesmerised by the way the light of the moon reflected in kihyun's eyes. he stared a little too long, barely hearing kihyun's words. just as kihyun began to turn away, he caught his arm.

"how old are you?" changkyun blurted, "...by the way."

kihyun continued walking towards home, changkyun keeping pace with him easily. kihyun considered telling changkyun the answer to his question. maybe if he did, changkyun would realise how tough of a time he was having, being so young, and make his life a little easier.

"i'm twenty-one," kihyun said eventually.

changkyun's lips spread into another grin. "twenty-one?!" he repeated.

"yeah," kihyun said slowly, "...why did you want to know?"

starting to smirk, changkyun reached for kihyun's hand. "so i know whether i have a chance at chasing you, sir."

kihyun snatched his hand away, throwing changkyun a sideways glare. "stop messing around," he said, but even though the dark could hide his blushing ears from changkyun, it couldn't hide them from himself.

"i'm just joking around," changkyun said, with a little less enthusiasm. "i'll walk you home again?"

"you don't have to," kihyun huffed. "it's not funny to make jokes like that. i'm your teacher."

"and?"

kihyun stared at him, mouth agape. "and i don't want anyone to get the wrong idea. misunderstandings can too easily happen, and i don't want one happening to me."

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