Each student from each class was lined up side by side, awaiting the results from yesterday’s discussion. Taemin and Jongin stood beside each other, Taemin sweating while Jongin seemed to be mentally constructing up a grocery list; he seem unfazed by the new knowledge he gained of Taemin.
The night before was sleepless, fantasies instead of dreams filled Taemin’s mind to the brink of cold sweats and nerves: for absolutely no reason in the end. Knowing Jongin was sleeping in the next room, probably shirtless, his body limp and inviting, did not help the nerves either. In a way, this was Taemin’s worst nightmare, yet he refused to add extra weight to his already sunken heart. He gulped and looked at Jongin from the corner of his eye. The sneaky effect of this failed, Jongin immediately turned his head to stare right back. He smiled largely, grabbed Taemin’s hand and began swinging it in a Taemin get excited we’re about to find out who won c’mon let’s get pumped kind of way.
In the next few moments, the judges introduced themselves to the front of the large room holding three trophies representing first, second, and third place. They cleared their throats, and rambled on about the dedication and intelligence of the students, and how each class should have won a trophy but there could only be three. The judge holding the third place trophy cleared his throat and gave a quick speech on why this group was unique, and qualified to win. Taemin held his breath in anticipation, yet his anxiety was mainly based on the knowledge that Jongin knew his ual preference and still treated him as a good friend, with maybe even a little more smiles. Relief of understanding friendship is quite the beauty; yet the tension between them had increased immensely, if there was any tension in the first place.
Completely spacing out on third place, Taemin opened his ears for the next prize. “This next class was definitely deserving of first, and probably would have won if not for the vulgarity and unnecessary comments—“ Taemin’s teacher glared at him. “--yet we’ve decided to award the Debate and Speech Class of Seoul High School second place!” Shrieks of victory from Jonghyun echoed around the room, bouncing off the expansive and gaudy walls. A warmth was pressed into Taemin, shaking him gently yet eagerly, whispering fervent words directly into his ear. “We won, but it was you who won, Taeminie. It was right of you to stand up to that asswipe, even if we did win second: we all know you won us first.”Jongin finished his confession with hopeful eyes, begging Taemin to smile and raise his mood.
I’m so done with this.
Taemin elbowed Jongin the ribs and began walking towards Jonghyun to calm him out of his triumphant state. “Jongin, I already told you. There isn’t a ‘me’ without a ‘you’. We’re a package deal.” Care and worry leaked out of his troubled mind in a natural reflex to block out strong emotions, essentially rebuilding his mental wall.
~~~
Late afternoon. It was around that time when the evening owls hooted softy in some faraway hill that was never quite close enough to see. The wind was picking up gently, causing the bottoms of shirts to float upwards and hair to reveal fuchsia cheeks. The last few hours of sunshine were blocked by a few threatening clouds, yet they passed over, returned, and then passed over again. The kids of Debate and Speech shoved their bags into the trunks of their assigned car, obviously not packing as diligently as when they had first arrived.
The kids were beginning to squeeze into the limited cars, Jongin going in first because of his seat arrangement. Minseok, the boy who originally was sitting next to him, began to climb in after. Taemin watched as he struggled with his footing. I want to sit next to him… But…no, I cant. Taemin’s mind told him no, yet his heart and feet told him yes, one hundred percent yes. Before anybody knew anything, Taemin threw himself in front of Minseok, blocking his entry and literally ramming into Jongin due to his force. He wasn’t quite sure just what specific thought primarily provoked him, yet he figured it was a mix of jealousy, a now careless mind, and love. I don’t care anymore, I just want Jongin all to myself.
