;;

"jeongguk,
will you get the door for
me love?" his mother's
sweet voice
rang out from the
kitchen.

it was a typical
late sunday afternoon,
jeongguk sprawled
across the couch, absently
watching the avengers
on the television and
doing all things unproductive.
he was procrastinating.
yes, he had a lot to do,
yes he was shoving everything
that he should be worrying
about aside and passing
time as though he had an
infinite amount of it in the
palm of his hand.
(he really didn't, despite
wishing so.)

his mind of course, was
elsewhere, snapping out
of his long trance as his
gaze flickered over the
ceiling, sighing.

he just couldn't bring
himself  to do anything,
it seemed like such an
effort, he had zero
motivation, he was drowsy
and tired and his head was
constantly spinning these
days- it wasn't like he
had anything to stress
over in the first place, anyways.

and taehyung.. god, taehyung.

he seemed to be the centre
of his happiness and the
centre of his problems, there
was no barrier that jeongguk
hadn't crossed. he shouldn't
be thinking of his teacher
in the way that he always did,
he shouldn't be dreaming
about him, heck, he
shouldn't be touching
himself with him in mind.
it had just occured
to him how awfully
unacceptable this all
was. if mr kim were to
ever find out about his
newly acquired feelings
for him then his reputation
would be in tatters.

every inch of his
skin burned at the
thought of him.

"who is it, mum?" he groaned,
reaching under his bottom for the
tv remote. the ravenette
waited for an answer
from her but he didn't get one,
so, he sat up and turned off
the television, and rose up from
his seat. they didn't usually
have visitors unless it
was one of his mother's
friends, unlikely, jeongguk
was usually informed before
anyone was coming over.

it would never be one
of his own friends.

jeongguk didn't have
any friends.

running a hand through
his hair, he gingerly trudged
to the door.

ever so lazily, he absently unlocked
it and turned the handle,
gaze meeting the strangers
abnormally well polished
shoes.

how strange.

who wore shoes like that
on a sunday? ohhh, he'd probably
been to church or something,
either that or this guy had
a very peculiar sense of fashion.
not that jeongguk was judging
his eyes wandered up his body,
and he didn't forget to appreciate
his style, he had some and it was
actually pretty hot. the man wore
simple black trousers and a
pristine white dress shirt
that did wonders for his
waist, tan skin on show from his
rolled up sleeves, his hands were
tucked deep within his pockets
with nonchalance, aura proud,
confident and wow- was jeongguk
checking him out?

his eyes met the man's own
as he scanned his features,
reacting to the alarm bells
ringing in his head a
little bit too late.

there were
plenty of them, he didn't know
why he just kept staring at him
as though things didn't matter,
as though this wasn't fucking
creepy as though he probably made
him think rethink his opinion
about him- not that jeongguk had
a reputation to live up to anyway.

not that he'd just checked out
his teacher.

"hello, sweetheart."

jeongguk slammed the door shut
on taehyung's face.

he turned and leaned his
back against it, his
shaking hand fumbling for the
wall beside him for some sort of
pathetic support that he desperately
required right this very second.

mr kim was at his door.

mr kim was at his door.

why did jeongguk find that so
hard to believe- oh, he knew exactly
why!

because he was hallucinating
about him so often these past few
weeks that he didn't know what was
right or wrong or what was true
or untrue anymore and this- well,
this was more on the untrue
side of things.

he slammed a clammy hand
on his mouth to prevent himself
from letting out a high pitched
scream, the other threading through his
hair as he tired to control his
breathing,

this was not fucking
real.

this makes no sense,
his mind whirred as he
quickly sprinted into
the kitchen, head whipping
around from side
to the side to search for
his mother.

"mum!" jeongguk whispered,
nails digging into the wall as
his heart hammered against
his chest with intense anticipation.
"why in the world is mr kim
at our door?!"

the older woman turned
around from the sink to face
her son. she gave him a soft
smile. all knowing.

"oh, i invited him
around for lunch lovely, thought
it'd be nice, let him
in will you?" her smile was
sickeningly sweet.

no, no, no!

oh fuck, fuck, what was he
going to do? this would
be so damn embarrassing!
jeongguk wasn't prepared to
face it.

it'd be so bad, he could
already foresee his mother
saying something
about him that
would make him want to dig
his grave, then and there.
he'd accepted defeat, knowing
very well that he possessed no
other option than to give in and
let mr kim into his house.

a pillow from the sofa
was shoved in his face,
in which jeongguk silently
screamed into,
before removing it
and placing it neatly
back in its place as though
nothing had happened and he
wasn't panicking on the inside
and his heart was hammering
faster than the speed of light.

for a brief second,
he gazed at his reflection in the
mirror above and corrected his
raven hair a little, tucking a few stray
hands behind his ears and
wondering how he'd shout
at his mother for not warning
him about this an hour or so
in advance because he didn't
even have time to change his
clothes or put the slightest bit
of makeup on, his hoodie and
jeans would have to do
and yes, his mum
would get a massive scolding at
that.

the teen exhaled slowly
and made his way to the
door yet again, gently opening
it with caution. he expected the
worst of it. why did jeongguk
have to be so rude? oh god
why did mr kim have to be
so rude then- looking so fine
and sexy and-

"mr kim." he squeaked.
it came out a little more
high pitched than he'd intended
it to. damnit, he should have
cleared his throat first.

"ggukie." he tilted his
head in acknowledgement,
taking the younger in.

yes, he was definitely fucked.

_____

"so, jeongguk tells me
you've only recently graduated
taehyung, you're so lucky
to have found a job so
quickly." jeongguk's
mother piped as she
cut into the roast
steaming roast turkey
on the dinner table.

jeongguk wanted
nothing more than
to sink into his seat and
cease to exist but
he was well aware
that he didn't have
that option, as useful
as it would have been
in an unprecedented
circumstance such as
this.

he prayed to the
lord that nothing
that would make him
want to cry would
leave his mother's mouth.
she knew very well what
she was doing.

how awfully evil.

"yes, i was surprised
there were so many
vacancies in this town,
actually. wasn't quite
expecting it." taehyung
replied, he was always
so polite and respectful,
the adoration that jeongguk
held for him only
grew stronger as much
as he desperately tried to
keep it at bay.

it was unfair how
perfect he was to him.
jeongguk knew that
perfection was one's
unique interpretation,
people had their
different perceptions on
the matter, saw things in
a completely different light.
but taehyung, in his eyes,
was his perfection.
there wasn't a bone in
his body that the boy wasn't
fond of.

"jeonggukie doesn't
have any plans for the future."
his mum mused,
placing the meat on
their plates.

jeongguk and
taehyung reached for
the gravy in unison,
fingers accidentally
brushing as they
fell in contact with
eachother.

every touch burned like
fire.

the teen quickly
retracted his hand,
cheeks burning with
a soft blush under
taehyung's silent
stare.

he could feel his
eyes on him from a mile
away.

"nor did i when i was
his age."

there it was again.

that stark reminder of their
gap, the professional line he
had drawn between them.

jeongguk felt it's pressure
in these times, times when
taehyung would make it
clear that he was simply
his teacher and nothing more.
times when he'd call him
'kid' and refer
to him as though he was
giving a lecture. he wasn't
sure if he meant it at all but
still managed to hurt.

and other times,
his heart would soar.

othertimes, he felt so
special and cared for and
happy with the names
he'd call him and the
signs he'd give him.

he simply didn't know
what was happening anymore.
what to do with himself
when he treated him like
that.

he treated him like gold,
like he was fragile and
precious and to be protected.
jeongguk definitely wouldn't
mind that. he wouldn't
mind that at all.

"what degree was it,
dear?" his mother seemed
to be doing all of the talking,
lately. every second that
her mouth was open, the
teen felt his heart halt in his
chest.

he was preparing himself
for the worst of it.

"fine art." taehyung
smiled, cutting into his
vegetables.

of course.

of course it was fine art.
he could expect nothing
less than that, it'd be little
use in putting such raw talent
that he possessed to waste.

the portrait that mr kim
had drawn flashed through
his mind.

he'd never witnessed
anything so perfect, so
carefully executed. each
proud pencil stroke was strong,
precise, so, so perfect. like him,
like every inch of his being.
taehyung had captured her
work in a blink of an eye and
transformed it into a sketch
so beautiful, it clouded
his mind.

he knew exactly what he was
doing. jeongguk wished
he had some sort of reassurance,
anything, just anything to
keep him anchored to the floor
and to not lean across the
table and smash their lips
together with an urgence that
threatened his very existence.
his heart yearned for more
than just a gentle touch,
than just the ghostly
thoughts of his mouth
and his tongue and
his cold fingertips caressing
him, marking him, making
him his own.

it frightened jeongguk
how quickly he'd submit if
he were asked to.
he didn't care in the
slightest anymore.

"i don't require a plan,
mum." the ravenette muttered,
head hung low with a passionate
blush on his cheeks, driven
by his frenzy of wild thoughts
that frolicked about in his head.

"you certainly don't."
the older male replied,
eyeing the teen wearily.
he, of course, knew this all
too well. mr kim probably
had no intention of
becoming a teacher, fate
just happened to drive in
that very direction, how
bizarre. it was the best
thing that had ever happened
to jeongguk. "they're a waste
of time."

"unplanned events
always have the most
severe consequences,
mr kim."

there was something else
beneath his words, something
that taehyung should have turned
a blind eye to. something
that jeongguk
didn't expect anything of at all.

"what if they are delightful?"

a smirk.

ruthless and cold and
the teen was dying
to know if they were along
the same lines, whether he
could read the twinkle in
his gaze, the look in his
wide bambi eyes, the crimson
warmth that stained his
cheeks with a permanent
rose-red pigment.

oh, he knew alright.

it was frighteningly
attractive.

_________

peepoo i luv chu 💜 i knowwwww y'all are starving for some taekook action, and taekook action you shall soon get 😌

also, a few of you have told me that this fic gives off call me by your name vibes- don't make my sensitive ass cry pleaSe 😢😢I love cmbyn so much hdjfjfj