JJG

The sun shined bright and the breeze that blowed ever so lightly tickled Jeongguk's fingertips. With his eyes closed, he tried hard to listen to the music of the rustling leaves, but the chatter of students powered over.

"Jeonggukkie!" he heard someone yell, snapping him out of his peaceful thoughts. He turned away from the open window to wave at his friend, Hoseok. The boy ran to him and threw a arm around his shoulder.

"What're you doing?"

Jeongguk sighed. "Waiting for Taehyung to arrive. It's been a whole seventeen hours, thirty-seven minutes, and twenty-eight seconds since I've last seen him."

Hoseok laughed and ruffled the the boy's hair.

"Gukkie!" another voice yelled. Yerim came running to the two panting. She was in a different class then them but always hanged out in their class when there was time. "You won't believe what I just heard!"

She pulled them to sit down on a desk and began informing them on whatever she heard. Jeongguk listened to his friends speak as if they were background noises, looking around the class, eyes searching for his special someone. His hands fiddled with the heart-shaped sticky note on the chip bag in his hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw through the window Taehyung coming.

"Okay, shoo! Go to your seat! And class!" Jeongguk said, starting to push his friends. They laughed knowing about his little (big) crush. Heck the entire school probably knew from how obvious the boy was.

He quickly set the chip bag on the desk beside his and straightened his back, resting his hands on his own desk. His eyes followed as his one and only entered the classroom and to his desk. "G'morning, desk-mate," Jeongguk said, smiling wide while batting his pretty eyes.

"Morning," Taehyung mumbled putting his bag around his chair and taking a seat. His eyes landed on the chip bag. He grabbed it to read the note: "honey butter chips for my honey <33". The boy sighed. "Jeongguk, you don't need to give me snacks everyday."

On the first day of school, Jeongguk waited until Taehyung took a seat (at the way back nearest to the window) and dashed for the seat beside. Being near him, he heard Taehyung's stomach rumble from having skipped breakfast that day. Ever since then, Jeongguk had made sure to bring in a little something for Taehyung.

"Whaaaaat!" he stretched. "I keep telling you, it's not me! You just have a lot of admirers, and whoever left that for you would be very sad if you didn't eat it. And it would be a waste."

What Jeongguk said wasn't all a complete lie, Taehyung did have many admirers. Taehyung was the quiet boy at their school, popular for his looks and brain. Although, those admirers backed off when Jeongguk "claimed" him as his and instead turned into avid shippers watching the wholesome friendship the two boys shared. He was lucky his school wasn't filled with homophobic pricks. There were the few confessions Taehyung would receive here and there, but they were always rejected kindly.

Soon, their homeroom teacher entered and the class quieted down to greet him. After taking attendance, their math teacher, Mr. Han, came in.

Jeongguk groaned. Math was one of his weaknesses, as was every subject other than physical education, but math was the worst. He crossed his fingers and shut his eyes tight as his teacher handed back test papers.

"Good job," Mr. Han said. Jeongguk opened his eyes to see Taehyung receiving his paper. As usual, a perfect score, which made the boy smile from ear to ear seeing how smart his man was. Next came his paper, carelessly slipped onto his desk. He didn't need to look at his teacher's face to know he was disappointed.

Jeongguk sighed, leaning back in his chair with a pout, not even bothering to flip through to see what earned him his 34%. A sudden idea struck to his mind. He was instantly propping his elbow on his desk and leaning his cheek on his palm, head facing Taehyung.

"Taehyungie~" he mewled. The boy looked at Jeongguk, suspiciously and almost a little scared for what was to come. "Yes?"

"Help me with math? Please, please, please! I'd do anything! Please? We've been friends since forever, c'mon! I'll be really grateful."

Taehyung stared back awkwardly. See, Taehyung was your typical nice guy who found it very hard to say no to people. He even almost said yes to the first confession he received just out guilt.

"Sure," he answered, although this was one of the request he didn't really have any problems with.

Jeongguk squealed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! We'll go to the library after-school." He pointed a finger at Mr. Han. "Just you wait, Teach! I'll make you proud of me!" he yelled, gaining the attention of the entire class except his teacher who really didn't want to listen to another one of Jeongguk's nonsensical speeches about becoming a genius.

Jeongguk stared at the clock nearly the entire day. Usually, he wasn't so excited about school ending because he wouldn't see Taehyung afterwards, but today he'd be getting to spend one-on-one time with him. He'll have Taehyung all to himself! Now that it was finally the end of school, Jeongguk was jumping waiting for Taehyung to finish packing up. Once he did, he grabbed the other wrist and dragged him to the library off to a secluded area.

Taehyung took a seat and set his things down, Jeongguk immediately dragging his seat as close as he could to the other. After actually sitting down, he took out all of his stationary and then stared at Taehyung's face silently.

"Um, what should we start with?" Taehyung asked.

"Hmm, your eyes," Jeongguk said, off in a dream until he realized what he was saying. "I-I mean, your ties!"

"My ties?"

"I meant– your... flies?"

Taehyung looked back, slightly concerned and confused. "Okay, so let's start from the beginning, the basics?"

"Yes! Yup! That's what I meant. God you know me so well."

"Here, this is review from last year."

And so the two started. Jeongguk blanked out ten seconds in, mesmerized by the deep and soothing voice of the other. He couldn't help but look up and observe as his facial features changed when he spoke, or how his cheeks would lift when he smiled at himself for unconsciously making math puns.

"Jeongguk?" Taehyung called out, breaking the boy from his trance.

"Hmm? What, yeah?" Jeongguk said quickly, scrambling to get in a position that looked like he was paying attention.

"I wrote out some practice questions during lunch, do them and then we can see what you need to improve on."

Jeongguk flashed a bright smile and two thumbs up. He pulled out his pencil case and his favourite lead pencil. "Gifted" from Taehyung when Jeongguk reminded Taehyung one of the pencils he had borrowed years earlier and lost — total lie but Taehyung didn't try to argue.

He began working on the first questions, feeling quite confident in himself as he scribbled equations and numbers down. Soon, the questions became more difficult and Jeongguk just wasn't having Jack and his fifty watermelons deciding wether he wanted to try and pass them off as high class watermelons and sell them for thirty dollars each or sell them for a dollar but cut in slices in his sketchy ass white van.

His eyelids began feeling heavier and heavier as he read the next questions, and soon, his head was bobbing as he fell in and out of sleep. Then finally, he gave in.

•—•—•

"Jack sells a half each for 5 dollars!" Jeongguk screamed abruptly, his head shooting upwards. He breathed in, taking a few second to take in his surrounding. He realized the library was much more dim, and looking out the window, it was definitely past the time Taehyung had agreed to. He looked at the other who looked as startled as him.

"What time is it?" Jeongguk exclaimed, looking around for his phone.

"Almost eight thirty," Taehyung said calmly, continuing to type on his laptop.

"What? Why didn't you wake me up? Or go home? Fuck– I mean duck! I'm so sorry."

Taehyung smiled. He closed his laptop, gathered his things and stood up. "Don't worry, I just finished the last bit of an assignment. I got a lot of work done which I probably wouldn't have if I was home. Plus, I didn't have it in me to wake you up."

"Ah," Jeongguk sounded, not knowing what else to say.

"Well, see you tomorrow," Taehyung said putting on his coat. He reached out at ruffled the boy's hair. "Stop staying up so late, judging by how long that nap was. Get good rest, okay?"

"O-Okay."

Taehyung smiled and pulled back his arm, looking away shyly as he's never been that bold around anyone. He somehow felt more comfortable around Jeongguk.

"Bye," Taehyung said lastly before walking off.

Jeongguk looked at the boy as he disappeared through the corner of a bookshelf, chin resting on his hand with a dumb smile. He just fell more in love with the other each passing day. Then he suddenly remembered how Taehyung's beautiful fingers touched his hair. An uncontrollable blush dusted his cheeks as he decided he was never going to wash his hair again.

He wanted to scream with glee, but remembered he was still in a library that was about to close. With his things gathered, Jeongguk returned the blanket and walked to the exit with a light skip in his step. Once he was outside, he noticed the figure that still managed to shine brighter than the moon in the dark.

Jeongguk was a little startled at first to see Taehyung still there, staring up at the night sky. He looked beautiful.

"Tae?" he called out softly.

"Hmm?" Taehyung looked away from the sky to look at Jeongguk. He straightened his back, stepping over to the other boy. "Oh, you're out."

"Yeah, what're you still doing here."

"It's dark, let's walk together. Your place is on the way to mine, right?"

No, no it wasn't. They went in opposite directions, Jeongguk was always upset about that. Before Jeongguk could say a thing about it, Taehyung began walking.

When he noticed the boy wasn't following, Taehyung stopped and turned. "Did you forget something inside?"

"Huh?" Jeongguk was still confused, mouth slightly open. "Uh, n-no," he stuttered, something he never did, not even around Taehyung. He was a very confident boy, always sure of what he wanted and what he wanted to say. What he wanted the world to hear. But all these sudden acts of kindness from Taehyung were giving an error code to his system, and he just didn't know how to act.

"Then let's go."

Jeongguk nodded, running over to Taehyung side. A smile formed to his lips when they began walking. Jeongguk observe as their shadows walked ahead of them. He would move his body so that his shadow's hand would touch Taehyung's, wishing it'd happen in reality one day.

"How do you do it?" Taehyung asked, stopping Jeongguk from continuing to play on with the shadows.

"Huh? Do what?"

"I don't know, make friends, be so outgoing, so confident. Always with a smile."

Jeongguk pondered on the questions for a couple seconds, before flashing another smile. "I don't know!"

Taehyung smiled. "See, there you go! You smile and suddenly everyone around you is also smiling."

"Well there's your answer. I like making people smile, seeing others smile gives me energy. Especially those I really care about. More energy means more smiling means more people smiling means more energy and–"

The other laughed lightly, stopping the boy from speaking who began to shyly laugh as well. Taehyung stopped his laughter and hummed. "I can never be like you."

"Why would you want to be like me? You're the best when you're you."

"I guess you're right, Mr. Smiley."

Jeongguk smiled wider if that was possible. His first nickname — Mr. Smiley. Okay, it wasn't that cute, but from someone who didn't even call him Jeonggukie, or anyone with a nickname for the matter, it was a huge deal.

They continued walking, slowly too. Jeongguk would've walked much faster, but he was trying to match Taehyung's pace, not that he was complaining of course.

Then it roared. Loud and clear. Jeongguk's stomach cried out of no where. The boy's eyes widened, a little embarrassed and hoping the other hadn't noticed. Jeongguk turned to look at him with an awkward smile.

"Wanna grab something to eat? I'm feeling a little hungry," Taehyung said, pointing at a convenience store a couple metres behind them.

"Yeah, sure." Jeongguk bit his lip, feeling a little guilty for keeping Taehyung out so late.

The two turned around and walked inside the store. Greeting the cashier, they went over to the selections of different instant ramen. Jeongguk picked his favourite, the spiciest one, and Taehyung picked his. They payed and went over to the counter after pouring in some hot water and the powder.

"How do you do it?" Jeongguk started, wanting to fill in the silence.

"What do you mean?"

"You're so smart, so organized and neat, so responsible, so damn kind. All the teachers like you, and all the students admire you, me included. There's no ladder in this world that'll help me reach up to you, you're just so goddamn perfect."

Taehyung looked down at his ramen still cooking, but the light blush that kissed his cheeks sadly went unnoticed by the other.

"But don't you think I'm too quiet? That I keep to myself to much?"

Jeongguks shrugged, taking off the chopsticks that was holding down the lid. "I mean, it's kinda hot, the mysterious part of you."

The boy looked at Jeongguk taking a large portion into his mouth, eyes wide. Jeongguk noticed and chewed quickly. "Haha, I'm just teasing. Well, you're not that quiet right now. Not that it's anything bad, you're interacting with me just fine. Not everyone has to be an open book."

"Yeah..." Taehyung sighed, opening his own ramen and blowing slight before taking a bite. "I guess I'm comfortable around you."

Jeongguk smiled wide, taking in as much ramen he could fit in his mouth to enjoy with his good mood. They continued eating the rest in silence, except for the occasional remarks Jeongguk would make about Taehyung looking so cute blowing his ramen. Once they were done, Jeongguk bought a couple snacks and left. The wall from there to Jeongguk's apartment building wasn't too long.

"Thanks a lot, Tae. I'm sorry I fell asleep, I swear it won't happen again tomorrow. I'm also sorry for keeping you out this late, your dad's probably worried, no?"

Taehyung smiled, placing his hands in his pocket as he shook his head. "He closes up the restaurant at midnight, so that's my curfew. You should head in, your parents are probably worried."

"Ah, actually," Jeongguk stretched. He scratched the back of his neck, contemplating wether he should tell him or not, but he didn't really feel like hiding anything from the other. "I live alone."

"Alone?" Taehyung questioned, his tone slightly changing.

"Yeah, my parents still live in the country side. Agriculture, business is better than ever for them, but schools around the area won't look the best when applying for big universities. So I begged to be sent here and proved to them I can live alone. And I can, I know how to cook and do the laundry!"

"But still..."

Jeongguk steppes a little closer, poking his shoulder. "Are you worried about me, Taehyungie?"

"O-Of course. You live alone, it must be hard as a high school student."

"Nah, it's actually really fun. This apartment has a lot of other kids like me, and the owner's a really nice lady who checks up on us once in a while. Plus, I can walk around butt naked and nobody is there to judge me."

Taehyung nodded slowly, not knowing how to react to that. "Well, I'll be off then."

"Get home safe!" Jeongguk said, waving as Taehyung began to walk. Once he was out of view, Jeongguk rushed up to his place, energy coming from his excitement still not dying down.

•—•—•

KTH

Earlier...

Taehyung finished his English homework and turned to check up on the the other as he had received more than enough time to complete the sheet. "Hey, Jeongguk, are you don–"

Jeongguk cheek rested on the paper, pencil still in hand and his mouth slightly parted and eyes closed. He was in deep slumber, looking so peaceful and delicate. Taehyung observed him for a few seconds. The dark circles underneath the boy's eyes were noted by Taehyung when he saw him earlier in the morning.

With his arms folded on the desk, he laid his head against it to get a closer look at Jeongguk. The boy who's used to being so loud was so quiet and at peace now, quite the sight. Taehyung took in every little feature of the other boy, never having been so close up to him. All the small details, he took a mental picture.

When Jeongguk began to stir, Taehyung realized how creepy he would seem if Jeongguk woke up to him just staring at his face. His head immediately sprung up, watching the boy move around for another moment and then laying still.

From his peripheral vision, Taehyung caught sight of a knitted blanket laid on a seat in the silent reading area. He was quick to go retrieve it and lay it carefully on the boy, making sure not to wake him up. They can just continue their lesson when he does, and until then, Taehyung could do his own homework and take occasional glances at the beauty beside him.

—•
New fic! Do y'all like it??

There will probably be a little part of the chap at the end where it's from tae's perspective in every update but yeah

I'm planning on making this a short fic but we'll see

Bye <3