(no subject)
January passes with lethargic complacency. The sky is permanently cast in shades of grey and the days are spent indoor waiting in a stupor for the snow to melt.
February brings slivers of sunlight and Seoul High is getting itself ready for the annual school festival. Kyungsoo’s mother has generously donated all the pies they need for the fundraiser. It is up to Jongin and Lu Han to bring their respective crowds of customers.
The moment Kyungsoo finishes writing the price board a hoard of loud boys spills in front of their booth. Jongin and Sehun jump out to mingle with their friends and Kyungsoo waves at a couple of them from behind the counter. Joonmyun recognizes some of the ones in his grade, otherwise leaving Kyungsoo and Lu Han to handle the sales. He settles down in a folding chair at the back of the booth, idly wondering if he should go by his class’s game booth to check things out, but that would involve passing the debate club’s horror maze. Joonmyun sinks further into his seat, too much effort.
The day drags. The chatter and laughter from the group in front of their booth ebb and flow. Sales start slowing down comes noon and Kyungsoo suggests Jongin and Sehun’s crew to go check out other booths too since they are kind of blocking the booth. Jongin boos and latches on to Kyungsoo, when the crowd starts getting rowdy with the whipped cream Joonmyun pushes himself off of his majesty chair to kick them all out.
Lu Han’s fan club does come by eventually, buying one pie and managing to pull both Lu Han and Sehun away to the maid café some of the girls are hosting. Lu Han’s last word before he excitedly skips off is, “Cake!”
Joonmyun pulls the folding chair up next to Kyungsoo and flops down again, sighing.
Kyungsoo glances at him, worried, “Are you OK, hyung?”
“Yeah. Actually,” Joonmyun gulps and jumps, having glimpsed Wu Fan making his way over, “I’m gonna go to the restroom. For a while. Text me if you need anything.”
Kyungsoo stares after him with saucer eyes until he disappears around the corner.
By the time Joonmyun makes it back, Kyungsoo and Lu Han are emptying the coolers where they have kept the pies and Jongin and Sehun are working to take down the booth.
“What happened to the rest of the pies? Didn’t we have like, 10 left?”
Kyungsoo opens the cash box to smooth out all the bills, “Wu Fan hyung came by looking for you. He bought the rest of them for his club.” Kyungsoo turns and eyes Joonmyun knowingly. Thankfully he says nothing more.
From the back, Lu Han sing-songs, “Math swag.”
Joonmyun withholds the new jackets from all of them, promising he will give them out on the day of the competition.
“But that’s like, three months away!” Lu Han protests with his pen pointed at Joonmyun.
Joonmyun waves a piece of chalk back, “You’ll get yours. Think of it as incentive to try extra hard during these last three months.”
Time is gaining on them. Joonmyun worries his bottom lips, flipping through the lesson plan. They’re behind by one lesson, but Lu Han has been consistently inconsistent, scoring high on assessment tests but forgetting formulas the next day. Joonmyun cuts him slack because around this time third years have to worry about cramming for college entrance exam. Lu Han also has soccer practice.
Kyungsoo is always on top of his portion of materials, but he can only memorize so much. Jongin and Sehun learn what they can, Jongin faring a little better but still nowhere ready for real competition.
Joonmyun flips through the study guide Kyuhyun has compiled for him every night, working problems over and over. Three months, he estimates, are enough for him to review and take over some of the others’ parts. As long as Joonmyun knows his math, they will be OK.
Nothing prepares him for Kyuhyun’s new email, however.
“Calculus? Why the hell would we be tested on Calculus? That’s college level math!” Joonmyun slams the notes on his table, the chalk dust in his hand flying up in frantic.
The Olympiad is about a month and a half away, nagging in the back of Joonmyun’s head.
“Stay behind with me today Kyungsoo. We need to adjust the plan.”
“What’s on your mind hyung?” Kyungsoo asks when it’s just the two of them in the empty club room, “I’ve known you all my life, this is the first time you’ve gotten so flustered over anything. You can’t be that scared of Calculus.” Kyungsoo nudges him with the tip of his shoe.
Joonmyun sighs wearily, “It came out of nowhere, screws everything up.”
“They pull surprises like this every year though. We always manage to get around to it. You’re the one who always tells me to stay calm and think of a solution.”
“That’s what I’m doing right now.” Joonmyun scratches out something in his lesson plan, eyebrows furrowing.
Kyungsoo pulls the stack of paper away from under his pen, “Hyung. What you are right now is the furthest thing from calm. Is it Wu Fan hyung?”
Joonmyun lets out a sharp breath.
Around them the air is still. Straggling evening sunlight pours into the classroom and settles on desk tops in muted orange trapezoids.
“He’s leaving for Canada after graduation.”
Kyungsoo lapses into stunted silence. He extends a hand to rub small circles on Joonmyun’s back, “I’m sorry hyung. I didn’t know.”
Joonmyun inhales, “That shouldn’t matter though. He is here on a transfer program. Naturally he’ll go back to his own country.”
Kyungsoo’s hand is still, warm against the early spring breeze.
Joonmyun presses his palms against his face, “We’re running out of time.”
Kyungsoo squeezes his shoulder and slides the packet of paper back in front of him, “Short term goals hyung. Let’s tackle the lesson plans first.”
Joonmyun stares at the paper in front of him. The lucky charm Kyungsoo and Jongin have gotten for him dangles on the side of his school bag in his peripheral. Step by step, he’ll figure this out step by step. Because Wu Fan is right, Joonmyun does have his life panned out in clear stages. He’ll take it one step at a time.
Wu Fan waits for Joonmyun outside of the teacher’s lounge one day in May, leaning against the exact spot on the wall, school bag on his shoulder. Déjà vu washes over and Joonmyun feels the smallest throb in his chest.
“When are you leaving?” Joonmyun asks over the matching rhythm of their walk.
“Two weeks after graduation.” Wu Fan’s hair is even longer now, gathered in a pony tail at the back of his head. His shirt is unbuttoned at the top. He looks young and more like a high school senior today than ever. Joonmyun kind of likes it.
“So, remember our bet?”
“Yeah. I think I figured out what I want you to do for me.” Wu Fan cocks his head.
Joonmyun purses his lips, “Win first, then we’ll talk. And me too.”
They walk together in silence, the sun setting behind their backs and their shadows stretching on the narrow road, Joonmyun’s looking even more like a kid next to Wu Fan’s. In that moment, Joonmyun really wishes that he were a little bit taller. Just a little. He wants to see the world on Wu Fan’s height.
The club spends every evening at Kyungsoo’s house the week right before the Math Olympiad. Joonmyun makes sure every single one of them has taken care of their school responsibilities first. It’s trying, but they all pull through somehow.
They study well into the night before. At midnight Lu Han and Sehun start leaning into each other and breathing evenly. Jongin has his head in Kyungsoo’s lap and a notebook over his face, no doubt also drooling underneath. They’ll all wake up with cricks in their necks the next morning, but Joonmyun doesn’t have the heart to wake them now.
Kyungsoo sets down his own notes, moving Jongin’s head to a pillow and gets up to prepare blankets and pillows for everybody. Joonmyun mutters formulas under his breath one last time then tosses everything in his school bag. Enough is enough.
The city’s Math Olympiad is held in Seoul High gymnasium this year. There are 6 other schools and 3 rounds of competition in the tournament.
“Last year’s champion is seeded straight into the semi final round. The other schools are lotto’ed into pairs. We’re right here, so we’ll go against the champ when we get through the elimination,” Kyungsoo points at the tournament chart and explains the overall scenario to Jongin, Sehun and Lu Han. Students from other schools narrow their eyes at him.
“If you get through the elimination,” a boy sneers. Jongin glares right back and he huffs, walking away with his school.
Straightening his brand new varsity jacket, Joonmyun nods at his team, “Let’s go.”
They crush during the elimination round. The other team looks on in horror as Lu Han repeatedly slams his hand on the buzzer before anybody else can react, paying no regard to the questions asked. Kyungsoo and Joonmyun handle most of them anyways. Joonmyun did not count on this strategy, and frankly Lu Han’s reaction speed scares him, just a little, but so far it is working out brilliantly. Seoul High scores a whopping 300 to nothing in the first round, moving on to the semi final.
There is an individual problem solving segment in the second round and Joonmyun sends out Lu Han, the senior being the second best when it comes to solving equations. He has to save himself for the final round, for each member can only participate in the individual round once. The other team sends out a mousy girl that Joonmyun recognizes from last year. She’s quite fast and precise.
Joonmyun puts a hand over his heart and prays incessantly for Lu Han.
As he fears the other team finishes first, but their final answer is rejected. Panicked, the girl starts erasing her entire paper and working frantically from the beginning. Meanwhile, Lu Han works steadily and at the last 5 seconds of the round, he slams his buzzer. Seoul High wins the individual round by one negative sigh. Joonmyun breaths deeply, common mistake.
The team round proves more difficult. Lu Han’s former opponent proves to be on par with him in buzzer speed. Eventually Seoul High wins thanks to the leading points from the individual round.
The two final teams are given a 15-minute break before the last round starts, so Kyungsoo passes water and snacks around. Lu Han stands up to walk around and stretch, coming back with a flyer in his hand.
“Looks like the debate competition will also be here in the evening. We should stay to cheer on Wu Fan’s team!”
Joonmyun takes the flyer from Lu Han, remembering the bet he has with Wu Fan and feeling entirely fired up, “Yeah sure. Let’s kick ass first.”
Lu Han claps his hands in glee.
The final round is laborious. Again, Lu Han dominates the buzzer but the questions are getting increasingly harder in scope. Seoul High manages more right answers but ends up trailing by two points at the end of the team round because there is a penalty for wrong answers and guesses.
Joonmyun pats Kyungsoo who sits right next to him and thumbs up the rest of the team, “No worries. We’ll win it back during the individual round.”
This year, for a twist, the final individual round contenders are decided by a drawing. As fate would have it, Sehun is picked.
Sehun stands up and heads to the podium in a daze, wandering to the opponent’s instead. Lu Han runs over and guides him back, squeezing Sehun’s shoulders and mouthing, “You can do it.” Behind them, the opposing team snickers and high-fives one another from under the table.
Joonmyun scowls at them. He calls a quick time-out and walks to Sehun, patting the freshman’s back. Sehun looks at him in guilt. “Sorry hyung,” he whispers.
Joonmyun shakes his head, “Just do what you can. I believe in you.” He slips the good luck charm into Sehun’s jacket and thumbs him up with a smile. Sehun smiles gingerly back.
When he settles back down with the rest, the moderator calls start and reveals the question. All nine of them, with the exception of Sehun, take one collective sharp breath. Kyungsoo whimpers in the back of his throat and Jongin mutters, “What is this witchcraft?”
Joonmyun scans the problem and shudders. It is complicated, but doable, but it would have taken him the entire allotted time to solve it. Sehun doesn’t stand any chance.
Lu Han glances at Sehun’s opponent, “At least they’re struggling too. What happens if they both don’t get the right answer?”
“Neither team will get points. But that means we’ll lose.” Kyungsoo says worriedly, beads of sweat starting to roll down from his temple.
“Wait, what is Sehun doing?” Jongin points to the podium, they all follow his finger.
Sehun, as if possessed, has picked up his pencil and is now writing furiously on his piece of paper. His opponent glances over in shock and he too, starts filling his own paper. They finish at the same time, right when the alarm goes off, signaling the end of the round.
The moderator looks over both answers carefully then pushes his glasses up and there is an awful moment of silence during which Sehun’s opponent bites into his fingernails and Sehun stares ahead with a poker face.
“And, five points to Seoul High.”
Lu Han and Kyungsoo scream.
Joonmyun jumps off his seat, knocking his chair over as he and the others pounce on Sehun.
“Dude what the hell happened?” Jongin ruffles Sehun’s hair with both hands.
Sehun shrugs rather nonchalantly, “That was the 3 by 3 Rubik cube solving equation. I’ve been looking it up in my free time.”
Kyungsoo stares open mouthed at Sehun and Lu Han turns the freshman around, “Oh Sehun, you’re a genius!” He pulls Sehun into an embrace, jumping up and down in celebration. Sehun turns beet red.
Joonmyun laughs loudly and slaps Sehun’s back, “Good job freshman.”
Sehun turns to him, grin taking up his entire face and hands the charm back to Joonmyun, “Thanks hyung.”
They shake hands with the other teams and bow to the judges and moderator and run up to the audience benches to wait for the debate competition. The trophy ceremony will combine both the Math Olympiad and the debate. Kyungsoo disappears and comes back with sandwiches and everybody scarves down on their share, the event of the morning finally taking its toll.
“Congratulations hyung.” Kyungsoo says as he flops down next to Joonmyun.
Joonmyun leans his head back and lets out a deep breath, “It’s over, just like that. To think we were so worked up for nine whole months.”
Kyungsoo jabs a finger at him, “You, hyung, to think you were so worked up for nine months,” he puts his hands on his knees and smiles at Joonmyun, lips turning heart shape, “I’ve always believed hyung could do it. Because it’s you.”
Joonmyun reaches out to pinch Kyungsoo’s cheek, “No, Kyungsoo. We did it together, the five of us.”
On the other end, Lu Han starts clapping and pointing down, “It’s starting, it’s starting.”
Joonmyun leans forward to look for Wu Fan, spotting him almost too easily. Wu Fan is wearing Seoul High uniform blazer today, a long, lean tie hung neatly below his collar, hair pushed back and gelled in an imposing business manner. Naturally he towers over everyone else.
Lu Han yells and waves like a maniac until Wu Fan makes eye contact with them, to which Lu Han cheers even louder. Wu Fan sees Joonmyun and waves with the barest hint of a smile. Joonmyun thumbs him up and Wu Fan winks in response like he’s just gotten a secret message.
Joonmyun almost falls off his seat.
Kyungsoo coos, “Somebody’s in a good mood today.”
Wu Fan’s team places second, losing to the first place school by five points. Lu Han is the most disappointed. He sulks through the award ceremony and only stops pouting when both clubs announce a celebratory trip to the barbecue house.
On the way there, Joonmyun walks slow and deliberate, counting his footsteps until Wu Fan is the only one matching his pace. Wu Fan has forgone his blazer, loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt at the top again.
“So, congrats.”
“You too.” Joonmyun nods, “You did very well in there. I was surprised.”
“Thanks. Listen, I’ve been thinking about what you said, about making short term goals. And I realize this is not short term, but I think I want to be a lawyer. So I guess the immediate goals are get into college, major in Political Science.”
Joonmyun rubs his chin. “Sounds good. See, you’re already an expert at this planning thing.”
Wu Fan grins at him, a different grin from his usual tight lip one. This time, Joonmyun glimpses gum. And the new smile changes Wu Fan’s features in a way that makes Joonmyun’s lower stomach coil and fires his brain in strange places, places that scream at him to pull Wu Fan down and kiss him senseless in front of all their club members. Joonmyun puts a hold on that thought. Instead, he closes in to Wu Fan’s side, their arms brushing.
“About our bet.”
Joonmyun grabs Wu Fan’s wrist and they stop walking. From where they touch, Joonmyun can feel Wu Fan’s pulse, quick and seeming to match the erratic beating of his own heart.
“Wu Fan, go out with me.” He announces.
Wu Fan looks thoughtfully at him, he starts, “Not that I have a choice in the matter since I did lose that bet.” He swallows, “But you know I’ll only be here for a little more than two weeks. That’s OK with you?”
Joonmyun nods in resolute, “I like you.”
“OK. Then let’s start now.” Wu Fan pulls his wrist free to grab Joonmyun’s hand in his. “Incidentally, I planned on asking you to take me on a date had I won that bet.” Wu Fan winks again.
Joonmyun laughs and feels the warmth of their joined hand spread over his entire body. Wu Fan is still too tall and infinitely more mature than Joonmyun, but maybe Joonmyun isn’t too far away from him after all.
Author's Rants --
Written for choisiwon via runandgun's 2012 Summer Exchange. Original post.
Prompts:
"You are strong but you're needy,
Humble but you're greedy
And based on your body language,
And shoddy cursive I've been reading
Your style is quite selective,
though your mind is rather reckless
Well I guess it just suggests
that this is just what happiness is."
In that moment, Junmyeon really wished that he was a little bit taller. Just a little.
As per usual, fic is whipped into presentable shape by Kimmu Kelso's fantastic red pen (ﾉ｡◕‿‿◕｡)ﾉ*:･ﾟ’✿,｡･:*:･ﾟ’❁
My longest story to date, and possibly my weakest one ;____; Which is a shame because I got such fantastic prompts. But this is what happened when one tries to pump out one fic after another within one week (unheard of in this author's history)
Feedback/critics/squee is extremely sought after! I can take a punch, so do voice your honest opinions if something (or everything) doesn't please you.
My Anon Feedback thread.
Bah