TG

"Another," Jeongguk demanded, eyes still closed, lips curved in a big smile and slightly pouted out. Taehyung giggled and leaned in, leaving a quick peck on the boy's lips.

Jeongguk squealed as he did every time it happened. "Another," he repeated.

"No," Taehyung said in a playful tone, uncrossing his legs and walking back to Jeongguk's dinner table, where all his material was laid out.

"Whyyy?" Jeongguk whined. He put his chin on the edge of couch to look at Taehyung as it faced away from the table and pouted, eyes big.

"Because, I came here to study," he explained, taking a seat. Taehyung grabbed his pencil and picked up where he left off. "And you should too," he added. "The exam is right around the corner." He looked at Jeongguk, smiling seeing the boy giving him puppy dog eyes. Taehyung sighed, "c'mere."

Jeongguk's face instantly brightened. He jumped off his couch and basically bounced his way to the chair beside Taehyung.

"Yes?" he asked, smile wide. He blinked his eyes all prettily, and even though Taehyung knew what the younger was trying to do, his heart couldn't help but beat so fast.

Taehyung stared at the boy for a bit too long. He finally realized and snapped back to reality, reminding himself of why he called him over. "Let's study together! I'm going over mathematics right now, well calculus. Let's do a practice test and mark for each other."

"Mathematics..." Jeongguk repeated quietly, tone filled with disgust and disappointment, also wondering who even says mathematics. Taehyung does. Of course he does. Jeongguk found that absolutely adorable. He sighed, closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, his bright smile was back on like he just flicked a switch. "Let's do it!" he said with as much enthusiasm he could muster up.

The next half hour was spent doing a past math test Taehyung managed to get from a teacher. Taehyung finished before the other, so he took it as the perfect opportunity to appreciate the art that is Jeongguk. He watched the boy bite and purse his lips as he tried to solve an equation, and then in the end just circling whatever "felt" right to him. He found that absolutely adorable — a little concerning, but adorable.

"Ooh! For every wrong answer, they get a flick on their forehead!" Jeongguk had suggested in the middle somewhere. Taehyung wasn't all too sure about it, but agreed thinking it might motivate the other a little more.

Once Jeongguk was done, they switched papers. Taehyung placed the answer sheet in front of them. The two immediately began marking. Jeongguk smiled proudly seeing Taehyung's near perfect mark, he just got one out of thirty questions wrong. The smile faltered when he took a glance at his own sheet, seeing all the red circles. Taehyung looked at him with a sheepish smile.

"How many?" Jeongguk asked, already regretting the punishment he thought of. Taehyung kept quiet and Jeongguk repeated his question.

"Just three wrong," the other muttered. Jeongguk raised a brow, waiting for the real answer. "Okay, sixteen," he admitted. Jeongguk sighed, but readjusted his seat to face Taehyung.

"You first!" Jeongguk said. He brought his hand up and flicked the boy's forehead, Taehyung face scrunching up. Jeongguk really didn't hold back. He let out a huff of air then said, "Okay, sixteen, no more, no less!"

Taehyung unsurely brought his finger up. Jeongguk closed his eyes tight, waiting for the impact but all he felt was a light tap. He opened his eyes. "Tae," he whined, "Do it properly!"

Jeongguk closed his eyes again, hearing Taehyung sigh and mumble out an alright. After what seemed like forever, Jeongguk finally felt the flick. He winced, it didn't really hurt but he was not looking forward to the next fifteen. After about five, Taehyung let out a huff of air.

"Okay, that's it! That's enough. How about we review and do another test. And let's get rid of the punishment, and instead a reward for every correct answer," Taehyung said. Jeongguk opened his eyes, interested at the mention of a reward.

"What kind of reward?" Jeongguk asked, getting closer to the other.

"Well, umm, what do you want. I can give you a sticker or something, I've still got the ones that I stick on the milk car–"

"How about kisses!" Jeongguk cut in, too excited.

"Oh, yeah sure," Taehyung replied, his cheeks reddening. He put his head down and smiled shyly.

Another half hour was spent on Taehyung helping Jeongguk go over material he was struggling on. As usual, Taehyung always managed to sneak in his math puns to hear Jeongguk's giggles and being called a cute dork. Soon enough, Jeongguk declared he was ready. Taehyung gave him a different and shorter test. While Jeongguk completed that, Taehyung worked on some other subjects.

"All done," Jeongguk said, sliding the paper over to Taehyung. Taehyung happily took the paper and began grading. The other chewed on his lip nervously as he saw Taehyung put his pen down on the paper a couple times from the corner of his eye, he was too scared to look. He knew Taehyung understood his difficulties with math, but so far he'd shown improvements whenever Taehyung helped. He didn't want to disappoint the other.

"Wow," Taehyung said. Jeongguk looked at the boy, not knowing if his tone was good or bad. Taehyung smiled and said, "Eighteen out of twenty-one!"

Jeongguk clapped his hands, cheering for himself. Then he become even more happy when he realized what that meant. He brought his head close to Taehyung and closed his eyes softly. He then felt a quick kiss one his cheek.

Without opening his eyes, Jeongguk pouted. "Tae!" he whined once again.

Taehyung smiled. He had to admit, he enjoyed teasing the boy slightly. He wanted to kiss his nose this time, but even Taehyung couldn't help himself. He leaned in and gave the boy a peck on his pretty lips.

"One," Jeongguk counted.

Taehyung let out a short laugh before giving another.

"Two," Jeongguk continued.

And another after another.

"Three."

"Four."

"Five."

"Six."

"Sev–"

"Shh," Taehyung shushed him, connecting their lips and didn't pull away that time. He brought his hands to cup Jeongguk's cheeks to have easier control. Jeongguk was a little surprised so it took him a few moments to start kissing back. Soon enough, the two were caught in a deep kiss, pulling away only to take big breaths and diving back in almost immediately.

A hand left from Jeongguk's cheek and went down to grab his arm. Taehyung pulled at it, bringing the boy up from his chair and onto his lap. He then put that hand around his waist, Jeongguk throwing his over the other's neck. Now Taehyung hadn't had much experience with kissing, but he was a quick learner after all. As Taehyung worked the kiss diligently, Jeongguk couldn't help but let out a short moan, which was muffled out.

Finally, the two broke apart breathless, both panting heavily, faces flushed. They rested their foreheads against each other. Jeongguk bit his lip has his eyes opened to meet Taehyung's.

"I t-think that was only seventeen," Jeongguk managed to whisper out. Taehyung smiled and kissed the boy's nose like he had wanted to previously, making Jeongguk smile.

"Maybe we should just stick with the punishment," Taehyung breathed out, barely able to make a sound.

"Yeah," Jeongguk agreed. As much as he loved that and has dreamt of this exact scenario in his head over and over again, he knew this wasn't the time.

They spent another minute or so staring into each other's eyes, not moving a muscle. Then Taehyung called out his name, and Jeongguk knew they had to break away. He slowly got off the boy's lap and back onto his chair. The two continued to study together, and Taehyung felt more easy flicking Jeongguk every time he messed up somewhere as time went on. He'd sometimes even pretend to make a mistake so that Jeongguk could get his sweet revenge.

Taehyung had developed an understanding for the perfect amount of strength to flick the boy in a way Jeongguk wouldn't complain and it wouldn't hurt him in any way.

Taehyung would never (nor let anyone else) intentionally hurt his precious Jeonggukkie. He'd been through enough emotional pain through the past years where Taehyung couldn't figure out his damn emotions right. He swore to himself he'd only make Jeongguk smile from now on. A smile he loved so much to see.

•—•—•

JJG

Jeongguk blinked his eyes repeatedly, chewing at his lips, breathing heavily, all from nervousness. He felt a hand take his and entwine their fingers together. The only thing calming him now was that little contact and the sound of the snow crunching under his feet.

"Hey, calm down okay? You weren't even this nervous during the CSAT," Taehyung said, laughing a little at his boyfriend.

"Yeah 'cause I knew I was gonna fail anyways!"

"You didn't fail!"

It's been a whole month and a half since they had their college entrance exam. Their results had been posted up the about two weeks ago, and lucky to say, Jeongguk did not fail. His score was quite average. Taehyung got himself in the top percent in all of South Korea, as expected of many but Taehyung was absolutely astonished to find out. All those all nighters pulled paid off for the both of them. Spots in the top universities were confirmed for Taehyung. Jeongguk on the other hand wasn't so sure.

"I can't do this, Tae!" Jeongguk said, stopping in his tracks.

Taehyung sighed. He faced the boy and pulled him closer. "Listen, you've faced the exam! My dad is a piece of cake. You even came back early from your holiday for this."

Jeongguk could only frown.

Taehyung kissed his nose. "C'mon, it's my birthday! You promised."

"Alright... I can do this!"

Jeongguk raised the free arm and threw a fist in the air. He kissed Taehyung really quickly and pushed his hat (one that Jeongguk had knitted for him as a gift) down before continuing to walk, going in front of Taehyung but still keeping their hands linked. Taehyung smiled and followed while he repositioned his now favourite hat.

The couple were disgustingly sweet. Everyone was jealous that they had time to date while their top priority was to study. Truth is, Taehyung and Jeongguk hadn't gone on a single date during that time. The first date they went on was right after the results were posted to celebrate. They got ice cream and then Jeongguk got sick and Taehyung spent the rest of the month until winter break taking care of him. It wasn't even a proper date. Then as soon as break began, Jeongguk left to see his parents and family for festivities as usual.

Jeongguk had finally returned on the day of Taehyung's birthday. He had promised Taehyung that it'd be the day where he could introduce him to his father. Jeongguk was sweating buckets even in the cold weather, scared that he'd mess up somehow and his future father-in-law would not be his future father-in-law!

"We're here!" Taehyung declared, stopping in front of his father's restaurant. Jeongguk took in a deep breath before nodding. Taehyung opened the door, both instantly pleased with the much warmer temperature and all the nice scents coming in.

"Dad!" Taehyung called out. "We're here!"

The two began taking off their coats, Taehyung guiding Jeongguk to a seat. They set them on chairs, Taehyung pulling one out for Jeongguk and bowing as if he was a server. Jeongguk cracked out a smile, feeling a little less nervous.

"Taehyung-ah!" a loud voice yelled, running from the kitchen to them. His eyes widened seeing Jeongguk.

"Oh my, look how you've grown. It's been a while hasn't it? What? 5? 4 years? It's so good to see you again!" Taehyung's father began, hands on his hips with a wide smile.

Jeongguk was slightly startled, but quickly gave a bow. "Hello, Mr. Kim. Yes, it's very good to see you too. Thank you for welcoming me to your restaurant, it is a very wonderful place."

Mr. Kim blinked and turned his attention to Taehyung. "Jeez, what'd you tell the poor boy about me? Oh, Jeongguk, loosen up!" He got closer and patted Jeongguk's shoulder twice. "I'm the chill dad! The cool dad! The super duper awesome–"

"Dad," Taehyung cut in. "He just came back from a long trip, how about we have him sit down first?"

Taehyung's dad laughed. "Ah, of course, my bad. Sit down, I'll bring the food!"

Jeongguk took a seat, and Taehyung took the one beside. He nudged Jeongguk with his shoulder. "See, he's like this big ol' teddy bear. My mom and him were complete opposites, she was always shy and reserved and he was— well, loud."

Now he sees who Taehyung takes after, but he definitely got his looks from his father. Their physical similarity was astonishing.

Jeongguk nodded. "Your father seems like a wonderful person."

"Why, thank you!" Mr. Kim said, coming back with some side dishes like egg and beef. Taehyung had offered to help, but his father turned him down. On his last run, he came with a large bowl. He set it down, and passed around the smaller bowls already on the table. "Seaweed soup! Tell me how it is. Happy birthday, Taehyung-ah."

"Thanks, dad," his son replied. He poured some for his father, Jeongguk, then himself.

"Thank you for the food, Mr. Kim," Jeongguk said and then dug in. He couldn't stop himself from complimenting the food after every bite, truly liking every bit of it. Mr. Kim loved the boy even more for that.

After they had all finished eating, Mr. Kim thought it was finally time to have loner conversations. He asked about how his parents were, how his life was, how his school life was, how he met Taehyung again and finally how they got together.

"I'm sure it wasn't Taehyung who did it! He's far to shy," Mr. Kim said, laughing loud. Taehyung fiddled with his fingers, shyly laughing along.

"Actually, it was him. I was so surprised! He got a push from a friend, but he confessed in front of the entire school!" Jeongguk replied. At that point, Jeongguk felt very comfortable with Taehyung's father. They were joking around like casual friends, and they would've been sharing drinks by now if Jeongguk weren't underage.

"Taehyung! Our Taehyung?" Mr. Kim questioned eyes wide.

"Oh c'mon, I didn't mean to do it in front of everyone. Let's stop talking about this..." Taehyung muttered out. The two laughed more at Taehyung, Jeongguk going as far as pinching his cheeks.

"Ah, you know, I would've known he liked you since a while ago," Mr. Kim said. Jeongguk's interest immediately perked at that, wanting to find out when. He continued, "The day we moved, Taehyung woke up bright and early. I found him picking daisies from our garden, something he never did. He ran off somewhere and came back with no daisies, looking redder than your field's tomatoes and the best blueberries money could buy!"

"Our tomatoes are quite red," Jeongguk commented. He knew the exact memory he was speaking of, making it all more exciting.

"I didn't want to pry on it, so I left it at that. When we got to our new house, he went inside his new room and didn't come out for hours. I thought he was unpacking, but when I went to check up on him, he had been crying! Sitting down, head in his knees, he looked up and looked a mess. I hadn't seen him cry that much since... since his mother's passing. I just went up to him and hugged him tight, so worried. Then he was mumbling something like jungle as he cried louder but now I understand what he meant."

Jeongguk lips we're slightly parted as he was listening to the story intently. He looked at Taehyung, who buried his face in his hands.

"Well if it helps, I cried for a whole month," Jeongguk said. He looked at Mr. Kim. "This jerk didn't even tell me he was moving towns!"

"I'm sorry," Taehyung said leaning his head towards Jeongguk. "I got nervous and forgot."

Jeongguk giggled. "You're lucky you're cute."

"You're cuter," Taehyung replied, Jeongguk giggling even more.

Mr. Kim cleared his throat, readjusting himself in his chair. "I'm right here, guys."

Jeongguk and Taehyung looked away from each other quickly. Jeongguk laughed awkwardly. It happened way too often, the two getting lost in their own worlds, not noticing anyone around them.

"Hey! If you'd missed me that much, you didn't seem to be so excited when you saw me again," Jeongguk said, wanting to bring back the cheerful mood.

"I'm very good at hiding my emotions," Taehyung said. Jeongguk just squinted his eyes at him, but let it slide. The day continued with the three chatting and laughing. It was probably one of Taehyung's most favourite birthdays.

•—•—•

KTH

First day of junior year

Taehyung walked through the entrance, looking a little bored almost. No one from his middle school went to his high school, not that it really mattered since he wasn't close to anyone. He couldn't wait for all the new people who are going to try to befriend him and find out how much of a mistake that would be. Or probably get scared off to even try.

The boy sighed, shoving his hands in his pocket and checked the class list for his name. As he skimmed through, they landed on a name that wasn't his. His mood instantly brightened.

"It can't be..." Taehyung muttered under his breath, his bored frowned face returning. He shook his head, continuing on with the list and finding his a few names down. He turned around, deciding to go to class and get first pick with seats. As he walked, he stopped in his tracks as he heard his name being called out. He turned around to see who it was, and like a blur, a figure ran to him and engulfed him in a hug. Taehyung almost lost his balance, but managed to stand on two feet.

"I missed you so much!" the boy yelled. He finally pulled away, and Taehyung saw a familiar face.

"It's me! Jeon Jeongguk!" the boy chirped with an eye crinkling smile.

"Jeongguk..." Taehyung repeated, all the memories and feelings from years ago all coming back in an instant. "Ah, yes. It's nice to see you again. How have you been?"

Jeongguk frowned. "Why are you talking so formally? Whatever, you were always like that, nothing's changed I see." His eyes then trailed to the announcement board. "I wonder which class I'm in."

"We're in the same class," Taehyung answered.

Jeongguk jumped. "Really!? C'mon, let's go to class then. We've got lots to catch up on." With that, the boy hooked his arm with Taehyung's and walked happily to class. Maybe Taehyung wasn't going to be so lonely after all.

As soon as Taehyung got home that day, even Mr. Kim noticed the unusual cheerfulness in the boy. He had a smile plastered on the entire day. When his father tried to ask how his first day of school went, Taehyung would only answer good. Well, it's better than his usual answer of so-so. In his room, Taehyung stayed up all night, rolling around in his bed, not understanding why he was so happy that he was able to see Jeongguk's adorable smile again.

—•
I'm trying to get this story to go a little faster oof

Also, in previous chapters I wrote it was just a mock exam but I realized that wouldn't make sense time wise and had to change things up a bit to make it a little more factually correct, so now they were actually studying for the college entrance exam, idek if y'all are even paying attention to stuff like that but I just want to make this fic the best it could be!

EDIT: IF YOU GOT A NOTIFICATION FOR THE NEXT UPDATE IM SORRY IT WAS A MISTAKE, UPDATE WILL COME SOON IM WORKING ON IT

Bye <3