;;;

"my name is
mr kim,
but you can
call me taehyung
because I'm
barely a few years
older than you all,
i hate formalities,
and i doubt the
headteacher
comes down to this
shitty department
that
often, so
i don't exactly
see any reason
as to why you
can't."

well...
jeongguk certainly
wasn't expecting
that.

hearing mr kim-
no- taehyung curse
was electrifying.

and it was true,
he barely looked a
day over twenty
with glowing skin
like that.

how is he
already a qualified
teacher then?

the class
murmured
in surprise at
the man's
abrupt
nonchalance,
some girls whispering
about how hot he was,
boys high-fiving each other
underneath the tables
because he seemed
laid back and relaxed,
unlike mrs light.

speaking of mrs light,
where was the woma-?

"mrs light is on
her maternity
leave,
so lucky for you
folks, you're stuck
with me for the rest
of the year," taehyung
leaned back on the
teachers desk,
reaching a large
hand out to weave its
way through his
soft, silver locks.

it was a godly sight.
it really was.

the class began murmuring
with excitement,
happy that mrs light
was gone and
excited because
taehyung seemed
charismatic, prosperous.

"that doesn't mean
you can sit off," taehyung
added sternly,
silencing the wild,
boisterous students
in mere seconds.
"though, i will admit,
i do like to
do things a little
different." taehyung
ruthlessly smirked
again, gaze wandering
over to where
jeongguk sat.

what did he mean
by that?
and why was he
staring at jeongguk
again? for god sake,
his dick was hard enough
it was.

jeongguk blushed profusely
under his fierce gaze,
turning his attention
back to his own pathetic
painting.

there must be
something on my
face. yeah, thats it.

there's something
on your face, gguk,
you're not special.

taehyung turned
around suddenly and
snatched  a pen from
the desk to scribble
something down on the
white board.

jeongguk lifted his
gaze again and furrowed
his brows.

'space.'

taehyung underlined it.

and then he turned around
to face the confused
pupils.

"our new topic;
the final topic on
your course work,
the last section
of your graded
portfolio
and the one that you'll
be examined on at the
end of the summer
term,"
the students nodded
in agreement, jeongguk
spied a glint of satisfaction in
taehyung's dark eyes.

"space," he breathed,
deep eyes assessing every
single soul in the room.
"what comes into mind
you think of that word?"

a girl who jeongguk
did not know the name
(and couldn't care less
about)
shot her hand up
like a fucking bullet.

teacher's pet.

"yes?" taehyung smiled,
his smile was pretty.

everything about him
was so goddamn
pretty,
why was life
so unfair?

"you know,
like stars." she
talked with her teeth,
every syllable over
pronounced to the
extent that jeongguk
wanted to be sick.

now, now gguk,
don't be too
judgemental.

he had the sudden
urge to roll his eyes.

'stars'... how pathetic.

it did not take a
fucking genius to
think of that. she wasn't
straying from the line,
she wasn't thinking,
she wasn't
allowing
her brain relax and
letting her imagination take
over like it should have.

that's what art was,
afterall!
it was your imagination,
your creative colours,
your ideas and statements;
shining thorough
everything else,
breaking the stereotypes
of a photo and writing;
where everything was
fixed,
in order, restricted
to boundaries
that cannot be
escaped.

art was an escape.
at least, to jeongguk.

whereas an author
could spend hours on
end correcting their novel,
jeongguk could spend
all the time in the world,
just correcting his pieces.

he could sit for days
and days and days,
pulling his hair out over
his artistic imperfections,
they made him more
self conscious than his
own appearance.

jeongguk wasn't
bothered by all that.

he just wanted
some peace of mind.

and peace of mind to
jeon jeongguk,
was art.

perfect, splendid,
evocative...
art.

"stars. right. anyone
else?"

jeongguk smirked at
taehyung's sudden
dissmissal and the
disappointment in
his tone was music
to his ears.

a boy sitting in front
of jeongguk put up
his hand too;

"galaxies and planets."

"yes," taehyung hummed.
"something more abstract,
perhaps?"

jeongguk vaguely
aknowledged
the way taehyung's
eyes again wandered
over to him.

he felt his
breath hitch in
his throat.
for like,
the eighth
time in the past
fifteen minutes.

"i want you guys
thinking outside
of the box,
outside of your
comfort zones,
i want you all
to picture yourself
in space. what is it that
you see around you?"

jeongguk saw a void.
because space wasn't
limited.

the class began
to shout out
random astronomical
vocabulary at him
and it was clear that
taehyung
was getting more
than pissed.

you should have
just asked me,
kim
taehyung,
you would have got
the answer you were
hoping for.

then again,
gguk was no
public speaker,
he could barely stutter
his way through
a novella in
literature lessons
when
some dumb fuck decided
that it would
be a good idea to
read it together
as a class...
and then individually,
it was rather humiliating.

taehyung held a
hand up to silence
the rowdy class,
they were quiet
in a second.

jeongguk was not
expecting him to
say what he
said next.

never.

never in a
million years.

"jeon jeongguk,
how about your
interpretation?"

;;;

kookie in this book:

Hey don't @ me I'm obsessed with that gif okay^ 😎