Satisfaction [NCT]

7.

Taeyong left Tens' apartment pretty late last night. They had time to watch 2 of the movies. Ten was adamant about watching them in chronological order and Taeyong just shrugged everything he was saying off. He couldn't care less if Captain America came first or Iron Man, it wasn't going to make any sense to him anyway.

While Ten looked for the movies, Taeyong searched the cabinets for food. Most of them were empty, holding a couple bowls and plates, he found Tens stash of Protein Bars as well as his stash of prepackaged donuts. He found two boxes of almost empty cereal and a packaged of marshmallows before finally finding what he was looking for. Ten had 2 packages left of butter popcorn.

"Can I make this popcorn?" Taeyong called out to Ten. He realized that he probably should've asked before looking for it and hoped that Ten would say yes.

"Ooh, yes, please make some. I haven't had popcorn in centuries." Ten exaggerated.

"Well you're in luck." Taeyong spoke, grabbing the bad of uncooked popcorn and putting it in Tens microwave. During the first movie they shared the first bag of popcorn. Taeyong watched the entirety of the first movie and decided it wasn't bad. He can see the appeal for other people. Taeyong cooked the second package of popcorn for the second movie that Ten put in. He went through a slight panic, realizing he never texted his parents about where he was and what he was doing. He told them he was hanging out with a friend and he'll be home by 9. They seemed to accept his text, bringing a wave of relief over him.

The second movie was different. Taeyong didn't like this one as much so instead of watching the movie, he watched Ten. Ten was obviously very into the movie, picking up little pieces that he didn't understand the first time he watched it. The boys were sitting on each cushion of the loveseat. Taeyong's arm was resting on the back of the couch behind Ten, he made sure not to let his hand fall to rest around Ten. He succeeded for the entirety of the night.

When the night was coming to a close, Taeyong started to gather up all his belongings. A conflicted Ten watched his every move. "Nothing more will happen" he repeated in his head. "Respect Taeyong's wishes, he's your only friend" he continued to argue with himself in his mind. Becoming the respectful Ten who decided to not make a move on the boy preparing to leave.

"I hope you had fun tonight." Ten said when Taeyong looked at him expectingly. Taeyong smiled at the boy.

"I did have fun, thanks." Taeyong shied away from looking at Ten, knowing Ten wanted more.

"I hope it wasn't too boring for you." Taeyong built up the confidence to look at Ten again. Bad move. Taeyong felt a tingling on his face. A craving to feel Ten's soft lips before he left. "Is this how it should end" he thought to himself. Without answering his own question he started walking toward Ten, grabbing the side of his face with his hand, holding him into place as he placed a kiss onto his lips. Realization hit him as he remembered Ten saying "not unless you want something more to happen". Taeyong immediately pulled back shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, that's all for right now." He clarified so Ten wouldn't get the wrong idea. Taeyong tried to step back to his stuff but Ten stopped him.

"If this is all for now, then don't stop." Ten pulled him in, extending the kiss for a longer time.

———

The first day of a new school is never fun for anyone. Jaehyun had spent the past couple weeks preparing his Korean again so he could speak with the people he is going to go to school with. After many years of not speaking Korean, Jaehyun lacked most of the skills he needed to have a decent conversation.

Jaehyun felt nervous walking to his first classroom. His uniform didn't make him feel confident at all. He tugged on the blazer, pulling it closer around him. He felt as if everyone was staring at him, like he was so different than the rest of him.

His speaking skills were put to test when he met with his first teacher. "My name is Jaehyun, I'm not speak in Korean good, but I try my best." He said hoping his sentence was alright.

"Nice to meet you Jaehyun. You are in luck because math doesn't need many words." The teacher spoke with ease. Jaehyun stood there like an idiot as he processed everything the teacher said. He didn't fully understand every word the teacher said but he was able to create the general idea for the words he picked up.

"Thank you," He said, taking a spot at an empty desk the teacher assigned him. The desks were set up in groups of 4, Jaehyun completed the only group of 3 in the class, making each group equal in people.

"Hi, my name is Winwin, what's yours?" The boy named Winwin asked. Jaehyun waited a second to make sure the sentence in his head was correct.

"My name is Jaehyun." He simply said. He practiced this sentence the most, knowing if he couldn't introduce himself, he would never live down the embarrassment.

"Nice to meet you." Winwin ended the conversation. Their math professor started to teach class. Jaehyun sighed in relief that he didn't have to talk in front of the class. In first grade, when he moved to America from Korea, his teachers forced him to speak in front of the class when he knew 4 words in English.

Throughout class, Jaehyun was confused. None of what the professor was teaching was stuff he understood, he's already behind for his age, now he's going to be even more behind. He didn't talk to anyone else in his class, mainly because he didn't know how to translate his thoughts into Korean words.

Jaehyun went to the rest of his classes. Each one started with him talking to the teacher right before class. Most of his classes were fine, except for his Korean and history class. His Korean class was his worst. He talked to the teacher before class and she still made him stand up and introduce himself in Korean. "My name is Jaehyun, I did live in America but now I live in Korea. I am— join the swimming team." He sat down immediately, feeling embarrassed. He forgot how to say joining in Korean and could feel everyone judging him. If that wasn't bad enough, his teacher had him stand back up and reintroduce himself using the proper words she gave him. With her help he said, "Hello. My name is Jaehyun. I used to live in America but then I moved to Korea. I joined the swimming team at this school." He sat down before the teacher could ask him to do anything else.

When Jaehyun looked at the clock, he was disappointed. Only five minutes have passed.

———