Class rep and his Plans
Parallel Planes
Pairing -- Kris/Suho
Rating -- PG
Disclaimer -- Yes I'm LSM and I do own, sue me X3
Catch -- Class rep Kim Joonmyun has one goal: to lead his rag tag team of 5 to the top of the high school Math Olympiad.
Lu Han set his pen down rather loudly next to his open notebook, startling Joonmyun. Joonmyun stared dumbly at the long chalk line he scratched on the black board in involuntary response, jarring against the neatly written formula and round numbers he has been laboring on for the last fifteen minutes.
From his table, Kyungsoo stops writing to look at Lu Han. So do Jongin and Sehun. Though in Sehun’s case, Joonmyun suspects the freshman has never once looked away from Lu Han since the older stepped through the classroom door into their Math club.
They are one problem in out of the five Joonmyun has prepared for today’s meeting. Lu Han interrupted him right when Joonmyun was about to wrap up his meticulous explanation. Looks like whatever Lu Han has in mind, it is important. So Joonmyun sighs and turns to Lu Han; he’s too disturbed to even remember what he has been going on about anyway.
“Yes, Lu Han.”
On the other end, Kyungsoo puts away his notebook and pulls out another, getting ready to jot down club’s meeting minutes if need be. Jongin starts shaking his legs impatiently and Sehun rests his head in his propped up palm.
Having gotten the room’s attention, Lu Han’s eyes twinkle. Sehun chokes on his spit.
“Can we talk about the new Chinese transfer from Canada instead? Wu Fan?”
There’s a small thud and they all turn to see Sehun picking his head up from where it has connected with the table top. Sehun coughs. “What about him?”
Turning to Sehun, Lu Han swoons. “He’s dreamy, isn’t he?”
Sehun blushes beet red and for a moment Joonmyun considers turning on the air conditioner in the room. Sehun looks down, trying to avoid Lu Han’s large eyes. He stutters, “I- I don’t know. I don’t really see him around.”
“Oh that’s right, you are still a freshman. He’s in our class.” Lu Han flicks his index finger between himself and Joonmyun. “He speaks Korean so well. I was surprised!”
“You also spoke Korean very well when you transferred here.” Joonmyun raises an eyebrow at Lu Han.
“Yes, but nobody bothered inviting me into the debate club.” Pursing his lips and ignoring Joonmyun, Lu Han turns back to the room at large. “The Literature teacher asked him to join right after class. He was arguing up a storm about Shakespeare something something with Mr. Park for like an hour!”
“Macbeth. We were talking about Macbeth,” Joonmyun helpfully interjects. He gets shushed from Sehun and a narrow glance from Lu Han. Lu Han continues on.
Normally, Joonmyun has ample respect and fondness for how Lu Han can endlessly sing positivity and praises for other people. At the moment however, as the clock ticks noisily above him, Joonmyun wishes to divine Mathematical beings he could somehow wrestle back control of the club meeting because Lu Han is waving his arms animatedly while jerking his eyebrows up and down, Sehun is mesmerized, Jongin is leaning against Kyungsoo with his eyes closed, Kyungsoo is swinging his legs under the table, algebra and geometry evidently forgotten.
Joonmyun finds his own thought wandering. Is Lu Han aware of the effect he has on people? On Sehun? Does Sehun practice any other facial expressions aside from the dazed eye slack jaw one he wears around Lu Han? Granted Joonmyun doesn’t see Sehun a lot outside of Math club, but for the five weeks he has known the freshman, Sehun’s face is either pressed against the table snoring or fixed on Lu Han.
Joonmyun shakes his head and taps his chalk on the blackboard with half hope of breaking Lu Han’s spell on the underclassmen. The chalk breaks instead. He sighs and goes back to finishing the problem. This way at least something will have been accomplished during today’s meeting.
Except now Joonmyun is staring at his own writing dumbly, unable to reconnect his previous train of thought. He looks in distress between the black board and the notes in his hand, turning the page back and forth and winces when he hears knocks coming from the open door.
Joonmyun looks up and widens his eyes in horror as a Wu Fan stands, in the flesh, smiling at him from the doorway. In the background Lu Han is talking merrily, “… and he was such a show-off during English- Ouch!”
Lu Han looks at the piece of chalk that’s just bounced off of his head. Incredulous eyes turn on Joonmyun.
Joonmyun chirps, “Hello! Wu Fan!”
Still at the door, Wu Fan glances from Lu Han to Joonmyun.
Lu Han lets out a high pitched squeak.
Smiling with slight unease at Lu Han, Wu Fan strides over to Joonmyun, holding up a black notebook, “Class rep, you forgot this in the teacher’s lounge.”
“Oh! Thank you!” Joonmyun reaches for his notebook with both hands, slightly conscious of the difference in their height. Wu Fan is easily a whole head above Joonmyun, towering as he looks thoughtfully at the black board.
After a moment, he snaps his finger and points at the second line of formula. “Right here.”
Joonmyun does not follow. “Excuse me?”
“You forgot the negative sign, right here. That’s why you’re stuck right?” And Wu Fan proceeds to erase Joonmyun’s hard work from that evening, replacing it with messy writing and launching into his own problem-solving spiel. Joonmyun stares at him dumbfounded, humility bubbling from a deep pit in his stomach, rising in unfamiliar waves. From behind he can hear Kyungsoo furiously writing everything down and Lu Han exclaiming, “That makes sense!” Occasionally, he thinks he hears Jongin’s not quite discreet cackle.
“There.” Wu Fan puts a check mark next to his result, “It’s actually a very common mistake. You just need to be extra careful next time.” He beams up at Joonmyun like he’s just done the Math club president a colossal favor. Joonmyun tries to smile back with gratitude, lip corners quivering.
“Any questions?” Wu Fan turns to the others.
Jongin raises his hand, “Please join our club.”
Joonmyun snaps, “No!” He glares at Jongin, just in time to see Kyungsoo stomping on Jongin’s foot. “I mean, you have your other club duties.” He looks back at Wu Fan and tries on his sweetest smile. “Well, anything else?” He wishes Wu Fan would just leave already.
As if on cue, Wu Fan shakes his head, “No, just dropping off your notes for Mr. Park. I hope I didn’t intrude.”
Lu Han materializes out of nowhere on Wu Fan’s side, “Nope, not at all. You should come to help out sometimes.”
“If you have time.” Joonmyun feels a twitch on the side of his head.
“Sure.” Wu Fan shrugs and finally steps out, waving bye to all of them.
Lu Han follows him to the door, flailing his arms and shouting, “See ya!”
As Wu Fan’s footsteps retreat down the corridor, Sehun audibly echoes Joonmyun’s thought, “I don’t like him.”
Kim Joonmyun is in his last year of high school. For the third consecutive year he is voted class representative, reputation earned through consistently placing first in his grade ever since he’s first set foot in Seoul High. He bows deeply and smiles brightly enough to be on good terms with both teachers and students. By the time he’s a senior, Joonmyun has gotten to know everybody in his class at a level that makes carrying out class duties easy. It only makes sense when you’re the one people come to seeking help with assignments and homework.
Joonmyun is not perfect. He does not know the answers to all the subjects. He just pays absolute attention in classes. Enough to know a little more than his peers, thus appearing holy and all-knowing. Plus the girls like coming to him because he speaks softly and smiles a lot.
Unlike Lu Han, Joonmyun is aware of the influence he has on people. So it stings a bit lately, when his classmates, especially Lu Han, start to crowd around Wu Fan’s desk asking for help with their English homework and such. Wu Fan is from Canada, Joonmyun reminds himself. Still, that doesn’t stop Wu Fan’s perfect English from grating on Joonmyun’s nerves. He buries his head in his Math notebook, poring over the remaining four problems from last club meeting, making sure he does not make any more silly “common mistake” this time.
If anything (not Wu Fan) has proven a challenge during Joonmyun’s three years at the top of his school, it is Math club, his sole extra curriculum activity. It also could well be the deciding factor in getting him into his first choice college.
Seoul High has a solid reputation region-wise. Seoul High’s Mathematics Club has even bigger face to keep, having placed high in numerous competitions over the years. For the past five however, it has never gotten first.
Thus it falls on Joonmyun’s shoulders, as it happens when one senior class graduates and the year below takes over, the task of upholding and upgrading the club’s glory.
Joonmyun and Kyungsoo attend their upperclassmen’s graduation. After plenty of pictures and teary group hugs, former club head Kyuhyun whips a small bronze cast trophy from his gown sleeves- the trophy they have won that year, third place- and formally passes it to Joonmyun on two hands.
“You’re in charge now.” Kyuhyun ruffles his hair and pulls him in by the neck to celebrate the new captain. Everyone claps. Kyungsoo runs around snapping endless photos.
Wedged between Kyuhyun’s arm and his chest, Joonmyun wants to cry, for many reasons, heart aching from the parting with their seniors but brain overwhelmed by the impending fact that it is he, now, who must somehow end the club’s member dry spell. Kyungsoo is the sole student they have recruited that year. The year before, it was Joonmyun.
At the end of Joonmyun’s junior year, his Math club is down to two members.
As the situation goes, Joonmyun needs exactly five club members to 1) keep his club active and 2) be eligible for the city’s Math Olympiad coming up at the end of the school year. His one shot at recruiting new blood comes at the beginning of school, anytime after that proves inefficient in terms of prepping club members for the late spring tournament.
Lu Han, Jongin and Sehun are dealt to Joonmyun in the new school year, either by an incredible stroke of luck, or a subtly cruel hand of fate. Joonmyun still cannot decide. Kyungsoo has been a club regular since his freshman year.
Kyungsoo, in fact, doesn’t need recruiting. He is there because he and Joonmyun grew up together and ever since first grade Joonmyun has been Kyungsoo’s personal, free tutor anyway. Joonmyun doesn’t ask but he has a strong theory that Kyungsoo’s parents, Kyungsoo’s mother to be specific, has pulled plenty of strings to get Kyungsoo into Seoul High just so Kyungsoo can be close to Joonmyun. With grades alone, Kyungsoo has a 50/50 chance at best.
Academically Kyungsoo is neither fast nor slow, going at his own space and is obsessively detailed, so Joonmyun tasks him with secretarial duties like notes taking during meeting and compiling formula sheets. Kyungsoo’s expertly organized compilations help cut down their reviewing time in at least half, of that Joonmyun is pleased. Kyungsoo himself, on the other hand, is not exactly 100 percent reliable in real time competition. Joonmyun needs at least one other member who can keep up with his thought process.
When he spots Lu Han one day, Joonmyun repeatedly thanks his lucky star. Lu Han is sitting alone behind bushes, leaning against a tree trunk as his fingers deftly twists and turns, solving a Rubik’s cube with rapid ease. As Lu Han finishes scrambling and solving his cube a second time, Joonmyun jumps out from the bush where he has been observing the transfer student, hair littered with leaves and twigs and a lone cricket, effectively scaring Lu Han into throwing the cube at him. Joonmyun catches it with one hand, extending it back to Lu Han.
“You are Lu Han, transfer student from China. Correct?”
One hand over his heart, Lu Han answers with wide eyes, “Yes sir.”
“Oh please don’t call me sir. I’m Joonmyun. I’m also a senior.” Glancing at Lu Han’s Rubik’s cube in his hand, he says jovially, “That trick just now, can you show me?”
Pushing himself up, Lu Han smiles, “It’s not a trick really.”
They spend lunch that day discussing Rubik’s cube methods, the differences between Lu Han’s old school in China and Seoul High, where under the same tree Lu Han has been eating lunch alone with his Rubik’s cube for a week.
“You’re my first friend, Joonmyun-shi.” Lu Han turns crescent smile on Joonmyun and it is probably Joonmyun’s easy eye smile that propels Lu Han to say yes to joining his club.
Jongin and Sehun come together to the club’s first meeting of the year, two days after Lu Han is recruited. Jongin holds up a flyer with MEMBER WANTED in red block letters across the headline and Joonmyun says yes before either freshman opens their mouth.
And thus, Joonmyun gleefully muses, concludes his first very successful recruiting event.
He also finds out, during the same meeting, that Lu Han isn’t really interested in anything else mathematical besides solving Rubik’s cubes and Jongin and Sehun aren’t interested in anything at all besides Kyungsoo and Lu Han. (He finds out a little later that Jongin decides to join whatever club Kyungsoo is handing out flyers for upon checking Kyungsoo’s behind from the school’s dance team room. Sehun agrees when he spots Lu Han coming up to Kyungsoo)
It’s a recipe for disaster, the five of them together, but as Joonmyun sits down on his computer that night to write an email to Kyuhyun, he can’t help but feel an overflowing stream of pride and hope. He has roughly nine months and boundless amount of enthusiasm; it’s only a matter of planning. If they meet twice a week, by the time of the tournament everyone will be ready to kick ass.
Assuming they all progress at the same speed.
By the third meeting during the second week of school, Joonmyun decides Jongin and Sehun will only be there to fill the 5-man team quota. Lu Han has soccer practice that day and has left early, leaving a snoring Sehun in his usual desk. One desk over Jongin has dragged himself right next to Kyungsoo, pushing hands and notebook onto Kyungsoo’s desk top under the pretense of not understanding the problem Joonmyun has explained to him three times.
Miraculously, Jongin gets it and is eventually able to finish his portion of assignment from just watching Kyungsoo solves the problem. Joonmyun stares in bewilderment as Jongin brings a hand up to pinch Kyungsoo’s cheek in form of thanks, the dormant big neighbor brother in him about to jump in and throw Jongin out of the window had it not been for Kyungsoo’s low giggles at Jongin’s antics. Joonmyun drops his chalk. He clears his throat and averts his eyes when they look at him, only to settle on Sehun drooling all over his table top.
Joonmyun dismisses both freshmen early and keeps Kyungsoo so they can work on a different lesson schedule with emphasis on the core three, himself, Kyungsoo and Lu Han.
“What’s wrong with Jongin?” Kyungsoo asks in surprise, “And Sehun?”
Joonmyun eyes the junior with one eyebrow raised, “Did you not see what happened today? They didn’t learn a thing. But it doesn’t matter, you, me and Lu Han together are enough for the actual questions. Jongin and Sehun can be placeholders.”
“Hyung, that’s a little shady. Plus what are they gonna do during club meetings from now on?” Kyungsoo asks in earnest.
Joonmyun rolls his eyes, “Stare at you and Lu Han like they’ve been doing from the start maybe?”
Kyungsoo tsk’s at his tone, “Hyung, I don’t know about Sehun, but Jongin’s actually a really fast learner. When he wants to learn. You can’t just give up on them.”
And that’s how Jongin and Sehun start eating lunch with them on the roof top, so they all can get to know one another a little better, as per Kyungsoo.
Lu Han has made many friends by now, not to mention a legion of fans that shows up to watch him play soccer and screams their throats hoarse whenever Lu Han scores or another player dares collide with him. He still prefers sticking with Joonmyun and Kyungsoo for lunch however, having taken a liking to Kyungsoo’s cooking.
As the scene pans out before him, Joonmyun wonders how this would improve his opinions on Jongin and Sehun seeing that the others automatically pair themselves up just like any normal club meeting. On one side Jongin lays his head in Kyungsoo’s lap and demands Kyungsoo feed him food. Kyungsoo makes faces at him mostly, but feeds Jongin regardless. Opposite from them there is Sehun and Lu Han, the former sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest, arms around his legs and head propped on top, lolling slightly to the side as he listens to the latter going on about celebrity gossips and upperclassmen he doesn’t know. Joonmyun gives Sehun props anyway, for nodding and exclaiming at all the right places in Lu Han’s many stories just when Joonmyun thinks Sehun isn’t listening anymore.
After their rather dramatic encounter with Wu Fan, Lu Han has somehow managed to rope him into their lunch circle. The two speak in laugh-laced Mandarin sometimes, but most of the time Lu Han is invested in Sehun and by process of elimination Joonmyun is left with only Wu Fan to talk to.
Conversations come with noticeable force for the first couple of times, to Joonmyun’s dismay. He isn’t used to being awkward around people. But Wu Fan in Joonmyun’s mind comes with a preconceived image of a cocky show-off, Joonmyun’s embarrassment from days ago preventing him from relaxing around Wu Fan. Perhaps Wu Fan senses the guard around Joonmyun, he makes conscious effort at small talks.
Slowly, surely, Joonmyun comes to (kind of, just kind of) like the low bass of Wu Fan’s voice. He learns that Wu Fan too, has been made Captain of the debate team, and the basketball team, all while kicking Joonmyun’s ass on exams. Only some, far and few in between, Joonmyun has to remind himself. Because while resentment is inevitable -Joonmyun has never had to try too hard to earn his place at Seoul High - Joonmyun finds himself more and more in admiration and awe of Wu Fan every time he learns something new.
Wu Fan is methodical, almost bookish, in the ways he handles his responsibilities, in extension his life. Though he laughs and jokes a great deal, there is an air of maturity and confidence in his manners of speaking, especially evident when he interacts with Jongin and Sehun. Joonmyun figures it is Wu Fan’s assertion that has drawn Lu Han to him that very first day, that is drawing Joonmyun to him now. Wu Fan makes him feel very young and meek, but never in condescending ways, he’s rather warm and encouraging. Before Joonmyun knows it, aspiration has taken over his initial wariness towards Wu Fan.
“Let’s make a bet.” Joonmyun says over bites of omelet rice one day.
“Hmm?” Wu Fan hums from where he lays, arms folded under his head.
“Your club and mine, let’s see which one of us will get first place in the year end competitions.”
Wu Fan quirks an eyebrow at him, “And the reward?”
“Loser does whatever winner wants?”
“And if we both get first places?”
“Then I’ll give you the win, since you did have a late start.” Joonmyun purses his lips cheekily at Wu Fan.
Wu Fan deadpans, the slightest hint of a smirk ghosts over his lips, “You know, if you really want me to do something for you, you should just ask.”
Joonmyun does not expect that, tripping over his response as his cheeks start to flame, “N-No… I. What! It’s not like that.”
Joonmyun’s club members look over at them curiously as Wu Fan laughs heartily and pats Joonmyun’s back, “OK. It’s on.”
His cheeks are still slightly warm, but Joonmyun can feel the enthusiasm from two months ago lights anew. Math club is his number one priority. If he could beat Wu Fan at this, then maybe, just maybe, Joonmyun would be on more equal footing with Wu Fan.
2
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Pairing -- Kris/Suho
Rating -- PG
Disclaimer -- Yes I'm LSM and I do own, sue me X3
Catch -- Class rep Kim Joonmyun has one goal: to lead his rag tag team of 5 to the top of the high school Math Olympiad.
Lu Han set his pen down rather loudly next to his open notebook, startling Joonmyun. Joonmyun stared dumbly at the long chalk line he scratched on the black board in involuntary response, jarring against the neatly written formula and round numbers he has been laboring on for the last fifteen minutes.
From his table, Kyungsoo stops writing to look at Lu Han. So do Jongin and Sehun. Though in Sehun’s case, Joonmyun suspects the freshman has never once looked away from Lu Han since the older stepped through the classroom door into their Math club.
They are one problem in out of the five Joonmyun has prepared for today’s meeting. Lu Han interrupted him right when Joonmyun was about to wrap up his meticulous explanation. Looks like whatever Lu Han has in mind, it is important. So Joonmyun sighs and turns to Lu Han; he’s too disturbed to even remember what he has been going on about anyway.
“Yes, Lu Han.”
On the other end, Kyungsoo puts away his notebook and pulls out another, getting ready to jot down club’s meeting minutes if need be. Jongin starts shaking his legs impatiently and Sehun rests his head in his propped up palm.
Having gotten the room’s attention, Lu Han’s eyes twinkle. Sehun chokes on his spit.
“Can we talk about the new Chinese transfer from Canada instead? Wu Fan?”
There’s a small thud and they all turn to see Sehun picking his head up from where it has connected with the table top. Sehun coughs. “What about him?”
Turning to Sehun, Lu Han swoons. “He’s dreamy, isn’t he?”
Sehun blushes beet red and for a moment Joonmyun considers turning on the air conditioner in the room. Sehun looks down, trying to avoid Lu Han’s large eyes. He stutters, “I- I don’t know. I don’t really see him around.”
“Oh that’s right, you are still a freshman. He’s in our class.” Lu Han flicks his index finger between himself and Joonmyun. “He speaks Korean so well. I was surprised!”
“You also spoke Korean very well when you transferred here.” Joonmyun raises an eyebrow at Lu Han.
“Yes, but nobody bothered inviting me into the debate club.” Pursing his lips and ignoring Joonmyun, Lu Han turns back to the room at large. “The Literature teacher asked him to join right after class. He was arguing up a storm about Shakespeare something something with Mr. Park for like an hour!”
“Macbeth. We were talking about Macbeth,” Joonmyun helpfully interjects. He gets shushed from Sehun and a narrow glance from Lu Han. Lu Han continues on.
Normally, Joonmyun has ample respect and fondness for how Lu Han can endlessly sing positivity and praises for other people. At the moment however, as the clock ticks noisily above him, Joonmyun wishes to divine Mathematical beings he could somehow wrestle back control of the club meeting because Lu Han is waving his arms animatedly while jerking his eyebrows up and down, Sehun is mesmerized, Jongin is leaning against Kyungsoo with his eyes closed, Kyungsoo is swinging his legs under the table, algebra and geometry evidently forgotten.
Joonmyun finds his own thought wandering. Is Lu Han aware of the effect he has on people? On Sehun? Does Sehun practice any other facial expressions aside from the dazed eye slack jaw one he wears around Lu Han? Granted Joonmyun doesn’t see Sehun a lot outside of Math club, but for the five weeks he has known the freshman, Sehun’s face is either pressed against the table snoring or fixed on Lu Han.
Joonmyun shakes his head and taps his chalk on the blackboard with half hope of breaking Lu Han’s spell on the underclassmen. The chalk breaks instead. He sighs and goes back to finishing the problem. This way at least something will have been accomplished during today’s meeting.
Except now Joonmyun is staring at his own writing dumbly, unable to reconnect his previous train of thought. He looks in distress between the black board and the notes in his hand, turning the page back and forth and winces when he hears knocks coming from the open door.
Joonmyun looks up and widens his eyes in horror as a Wu Fan stands, in the flesh, smiling at him from the doorway. In the background Lu Han is talking merrily, “… and he was such a show-off during English- Ouch!”
Lu Han looks at the piece of chalk that’s just bounced off of his head. Incredulous eyes turn on Joonmyun.
Joonmyun chirps, “Hello! Wu Fan!”
Still at the door, Wu Fan glances from Lu Han to Joonmyun.
Lu Han lets out a high pitched squeak.
Smiling with slight unease at Lu Han, Wu Fan strides over to Joonmyun, holding up a black notebook, “Class rep, you forgot this in the teacher’s lounge.”
“Oh! Thank you!” Joonmyun reaches for his notebook with both hands, slightly conscious of the difference in their height. Wu Fan is easily a whole head above Joonmyun, towering as he looks thoughtfully at the black board.
After a moment, he snaps his finger and points at the second line of formula. “Right here.”
Joonmyun does not follow. “Excuse me?”
“You forgot the negative sign, right here. That’s why you’re stuck right?” And Wu Fan proceeds to erase Joonmyun’s hard work from that evening, replacing it with messy writing and launching into his own problem-solving spiel. Joonmyun stares at him dumbfounded, humility bubbling from a deep pit in his stomach, rising in unfamiliar waves. From behind he can hear Kyungsoo furiously writing everything down and Lu Han exclaiming, “That makes sense!” Occasionally, he thinks he hears Jongin’s not quite discreet cackle.
“There.” Wu Fan puts a check mark next to his result, “It’s actually a very common mistake. You just need to be extra careful next time.” He beams up at Joonmyun like he’s just done the Math club president a colossal favor. Joonmyun tries to smile back with gratitude, lip corners quivering.
“Any questions?” Wu Fan turns to the others.
Jongin raises his hand, “Please join our club.”
Joonmyun snaps, “No!” He glares at Jongin, just in time to see Kyungsoo stomping on Jongin’s foot. “I mean, you have your other club duties.” He looks back at Wu Fan and tries on his sweetest smile. “Well, anything else?” He wishes Wu Fan would just leave already.
As if on cue, Wu Fan shakes his head, “No, just dropping off your notes for Mr. Park. I hope I didn’t intrude.”
Lu Han materializes out of nowhere on Wu Fan’s side, “Nope, not at all. You should come to help out sometimes.”
“If you have time.” Joonmyun feels a twitch on the side of his head.
“Sure.” Wu Fan shrugs and finally steps out, waving bye to all of them.
Lu Han follows him to the door, flailing his arms and shouting, “See ya!”
As Wu Fan’s footsteps retreat down the corridor, Sehun audibly echoes Joonmyun’s thought, “I don’t like him.”
Kim Joonmyun is in his last year of high school. For the third consecutive year he is voted class representative, reputation earned through consistently placing first in his grade ever since he’s first set foot in Seoul High. He bows deeply and smiles brightly enough to be on good terms with both teachers and students. By the time he’s a senior, Joonmyun has gotten to know everybody in his class at a level that makes carrying out class duties easy. It only makes sense when you’re the one people come to seeking help with assignments and homework.
Joonmyun is not perfect. He does not know the answers to all the subjects. He just pays absolute attention in classes. Enough to know a little more than his peers, thus appearing holy and all-knowing. Plus the girls like coming to him because he speaks softly and smiles a lot.
Unlike Lu Han, Joonmyun is aware of the influence he has on people. So it stings a bit lately, when his classmates, especially Lu Han, start to crowd around Wu Fan’s desk asking for help with their English homework and such. Wu Fan is from Canada, Joonmyun reminds himself. Still, that doesn’t stop Wu Fan’s perfect English from grating on Joonmyun’s nerves. He buries his head in his Math notebook, poring over the remaining four problems from last club meeting, making sure he does not make any more silly “common mistake” this time.
If anything (not Wu Fan) has proven a challenge during Joonmyun’s three years at the top of his school, it is Math club, his sole extra curriculum activity. It also could well be the deciding factor in getting him into his first choice college.
Seoul High has a solid reputation region-wise. Seoul High’s Mathematics Club has even bigger face to keep, having placed high in numerous competitions over the years. For the past five however, it has never gotten first.
Thus it falls on Joonmyun’s shoulders, as it happens when one senior class graduates and the year below takes over, the task of upholding and upgrading the club’s glory.
Joonmyun and Kyungsoo attend their upperclassmen’s graduation. After plenty of pictures and teary group hugs, former club head Kyuhyun whips a small bronze cast trophy from his gown sleeves- the trophy they have won that year, third place- and formally passes it to Joonmyun on two hands.
“You’re in charge now.” Kyuhyun ruffles his hair and pulls him in by the neck to celebrate the new captain. Everyone claps. Kyungsoo runs around snapping endless photos.
Wedged between Kyuhyun’s arm and his chest, Joonmyun wants to cry, for many reasons, heart aching from the parting with their seniors but brain overwhelmed by the impending fact that it is he, now, who must somehow end the club’s member dry spell. Kyungsoo is the sole student they have recruited that year. The year before, it was Joonmyun.
At the end of Joonmyun’s junior year, his Math club is down to two members.
As the situation goes, Joonmyun needs exactly five club members to 1) keep his club active and 2) be eligible for the city’s Math Olympiad coming up at the end of the school year. His one shot at recruiting new blood comes at the beginning of school, anytime after that proves inefficient in terms of prepping club members for the late spring tournament.
Lu Han, Jongin and Sehun are dealt to Joonmyun in the new school year, either by an incredible stroke of luck, or a subtly cruel hand of fate. Joonmyun still cannot decide. Kyungsoo has been a club regular since his freshman year.
Kyungsoo, in fact, doesn’t need recruiting. He is there because he and Joonmyun grew up together and ever since first grade Joonmyun has been Kyungsoo’s personal, free tutor anyway. Joonmyun doesn’t ask but he has a strong theory that Kyungsoo’s parents, Kyungsoo’s mother to be specific, has pulled plenty of strings to get Kyungsoo into Seoul High just so Kyungsoo can be close to Joonmyun. With grades alone, Kyungsoo has a 50/50 chance at best.
Academically Kyungsoo is neither fast nor slow, going at his own space and is obsessively detailed, so Joonmyun tasks him with secretarial duties like notes taking during meeting and compiling formula sheets. Kyungsoo’s expertly organized compilations help cut down their reviewing time in at least half, of that Joonmyun is pleased. Kyungsoo himself, on the other hand, is not exactly 100 percent reliable in real time competition. Joonmyun needs at least one other member who can keep up with his thought process.
When he spots Lu Han one day, Joonmyun repeatedly thanks his lucky star. Lu Han is sitting alone behind bushes, leaning against a tree trunk as his fingers deftly twists and turns, solving a Rubik’s cube with rapid ease. As Lu Han finishes scrambling and solving his cube a second time, Joonmyun jumps out from the bush where he has been observing the transfer student, hair littered with leaves and twigs and a lone cricket, effectively scaring Lu Han into throwing the cube at him. Joonmyun catches it with one hand, extending it back to Lu Han.
“You are Lu Han, transfer student from China. Correct?”
One hand over his heart, Lu Han answers with wide eyes, “Yes sir.”
“Oh please don’t call me sir. I’m Joonmyun. I’m also a senior.” Glancing at Lu Han’s Rubik’s cube in his hand, he says jovially, “That trick just now, can you show me?”
Pushing himself up, Lu Han smiles, “It’s not a trick really.”
They spend lunch that day discussing Rubik’s cube methods, the differences between Lu Han’s old school in China and Seoul High, where under the same tree Lu Han has been eating lunch alone with his Rubik’s cube for a week.
“You’re my first friend, Joonmyun-shi.” Lu Han turns crescent smile on Joonmyun and it is probably Joonmyun’s easy eye smile that propels Lu Han to say yes to joining his club.
Jongin and Sehun come together to the club’s first meeting of the year, two days after Lu Han is recruited. Jongin holds up a flyer with MEMBER WANTED in red block letters across the headline and Joonmyun says yes before either freshman opens their mouth.
And thus, Joonmyun gleefully muses, concludes his first very successful recruiting event.
He also finds out, during the same meeting, that Lu Han isn’t really interested in anything else mathematical besides solving Rubik’s cubes and Jongin and Sehun aren’t interested in anything at all besides Kyungsoo and Lu Han. (He finds out a little later that Jongin decides to join whatever club Kyungsoo is handing out flyers for upon checking Kyungsoo’s behind from the school’s dance team room. Sehun agrees when he spots Lu Han coming up to Kyungsoo)
It’s a recipe for disaster, the five of them together, but as Joonmyun sits down on his computer that night to write an email to Kyuhyun, he can’t help but feel an overflowing stream of pride and hope. He has roughly nine months and boundless amount of enthusiasm; it’s only a matter of planning. If they meet twice a week, by the time of the tournament everyone will be ready to kick ass.
Assuming they all progress at the same speed.
By the third meeting during the second week of school, Joonmyun decides Jongin and Sehun will only be there to fill the 5-man team quota. Lu Han has soccer practice that day and has left early, leaving a snoring Sehun in his usual desk. One desk over Jongin has dragged himself right next to Kyungsoo, pushing hands and notebook onto Kyungsoo’s desk top under the pretense of not understanding the problem Joonmyun has explained to him three times.
Miraculously, Jongin gets it and is eventually able to finish his portion of assignment from just watching Kyungsoo solves the problem. Joonmyun stares in bewilderment as Jongin brings a hand up to pinch Kyungsoo’s cheek in form of thanks, the dormant big neighbor brother in him about to jump in and throw Jongin out of the window had it not been for Kyungsoo’s low giggles at Jongin’s antics. Joonmyun drops his chalk. He clears his throat and averts his eyes when they look at him, only to settle on Sehun drooling all over his table top.
Joonmyun dismisses both freshmen early and keeps Kyungsoo so they can work on a different lesson schedule with emphasis on the core three, himself, Kyungsoo and Lu Han.
“What’s wrong with Jongin?” Kyungsoo asks in surprise, “And Sehun?”
Joonmyun eyes the junior with one eyebrow raised, “Did you not see what happened today? They didn’t learn a thing. But it doesn’t matter, you, me and Lu Han together are enough for the actual questions. Jongin and Sehun can be placeholders.”
“Hyung, that’s a little shady. Plus what are they gonna do during club meetings from now on?” Kyungsoo asks in earnest.
Joonmyun rolls his eyes, “Stare at you and Lu Han like they’ve been doing from the start maybe?”
Kyungsoo tsk’s at his tone, “Hyung, I don’t know about Sehun, but Jongin’s actually a really fast learner. When he wants to learn. You can’t just give up on them.”
And that’s how Jongin and Sehun start eating lunch with them on the roof top, so they all can get to know one another a little better, as per Kyungsoo.
Lu Han has made many friends by now, not to mention a legion of fans that shows up to watch him play soccer and screams their throats hoarse whenever Lu Han scores or another player dares collide with him. He still prefers sticking with Joonmyun and Kyungsoo for lunch however, having taken a liking to Kyungsoo’s cooking.
As the scene pans out before him, Joonmyun wonders how this would improve his opinions on Jongin and Sehun seeing that the others automatically pair themselves up just like any normal club meeting. On one side Jongin lays his head in Kyungsoo’s lap and demands Kyungsoo feed him food. Kyungsoo makes faces at him mostly, but feeds Jongin regardless. Opposite from them there is Sehun and Lu Han, the former sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest, arms around his legs and head propped on top, lolling slightly to the side as he listens to the latter going on about celebrity gossips and upperclassmen he doesn’t know. Joonmyun gives Sehun props anyway, for nodding and exclaiming at all the right places in Lu Han’s many stories just when Joonmyun thinks Sehun isn’t listening anymore.
After their rather dramatic encounter with Wu Fan, Lu Han has somehow managed to rope him into their lunch circle. The two speak in laugh-laced Mandarin sometimes, but most of the time Lu Han is invested in Sehun and by process of elimination Joonmyun is left with only Wu Fan to talk to.
Conversations come with noticeable force for the first couple of times, to Joonmyun’s dismay. He isn’t used to being awkward around people. But Wu Fan in Joonmyun’s mind comes with a preconceived image of a cocky show-off, Joonmyun’s embarrassment from days ago preventing him from relaxing around Wu Fan. Perhaps Wu Fan senses the guard around Joonmyun, he makes conscious effort at small talks.
Slowly, surely, Joonmyun comes to (kind of, just kind of) like the low bass of Wu Fan’s voice. He learns that Wu Fan too, has been made Captain of the debate team, and the basketball team, all while kicking Joonmyun’s ass on exams. Only some, far and few in between, Joonmyun has to remind himself. Because while resentment is inevitable -Joonmyun has never had to try too hard to earn his place at Seoul High - Joonmyun finds himself more and more in admiration and awe of Wu Fan every time he learns something new.
Wu Fan is methodical, almost bookish, in the ways he handles his responsibilities, in extension his life. Though he laughs and jokes a great deal, there is an air of maturity and confidence in his manners of speaking, especially evident when he interacts with Jongin and Sehun. Joonmyun figures it is Wu Fan’s assertion that has drawn Lu Han to him that very first day, that is drawing Joonmyun to him now. Wu Fan makes him feel very young and meek, but never in condescending ways, he’s rather warm and encouraging. Before Joonmyun knows it, aspiration has taken over his initial wariness towards Wu Fan.
“Let’s make a bet.” Joonmyun says over bites of omelet rice one day.
“Hmm?” Wu Fan hums from where he lays, arms folded under his head.
“Your club and mine, let’s see which one of us will get first place in the year end competitions.”
Wu Fan quirks an eyebrow at him, “And the reward?”
“Loser does whatever winner wants?”
“And if we both get first places?”
“Then I’ll give you the win, since you did have a late start.” Joonmyun purses his lips cheekily at Wu Fan.
Wu Fan deadpans, the slightest hint of a smirk ghosts over his lips, “You know, if you really want me to do something for you, you should just ask.”
Joonmyun does not expect that, tripping over his response as his cheeks start to flame, “N-No… I. What! It’s not like that.”
Joonmyun’s club members look over at them curiously as Wu Fan laughs heartily and pats Joonmyun’s back, “OK. It’s on.”
His cheeks are still slightly warm, but Joonmyun can feel the enthusiasm from two months ago lights anew. Math club is his number one priority. If he could beat Wu Fan at this, then maybe, just maybe, Joonmyun would be on more equal footing with Wu Fan.
2
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