Remedial Math *oneshot*
Pairing: Zico/Zelo
Rated: PG13/M-ish (no smut but Zico has a naughty mouth)
Length: 5.2K
The embarrassing reason that Junhong was switched to remedial level math wasn’t because he wasn’t smart enough for the class all of his friends were in. He knew that in a few months he would be up to date on all of the lessons everyone else had done and would be placed back in the proper class. Having two broken legs the second week school started back and missing two months meant he needed extra help in his schoolwork and the guidance counselor thought pulling him back a little for math would give him a boost.
Junhong wasn’t very fond of his counselor.
“It’s just until you catch back up on everything else.” Jongup tried to cheer him up as they walked down the hallway to where they would separate and go to opposite ends of the school. Jongup on the normal side and Junhong on the side where the detention kids thrived. “We still have three other classes together. And hey, at least you’re back! Not seeing you every day kind of sucked.”
He was still limping from the lack of use of his legs but Jongup was right, being back was actually amazing. For the last two months he had spent every day on the couch watching TV or playing video games on the computer. He never thought he’d say it but school was a better alternative than Call of Duty.
“But it’s not just the class for stupid people,” He whined to his best friend. “That period was full so they stuck me in with the bad kids. Mr. Im even had to tell me not to look any of them in the eye and to give a fake name!”
“He was joking, Junhong.” They reached the corner where Jongup went one way and Junhong headed the other direction. “I’ll see you in gym after this, okay? You’ll do fine.” He jogged off towards his own calm, normal class and left Junhong to slog slowly into the math class from hell.
The sounds in the hallway were loud and boisterous, sending Junhong’s already thin nerves into a skydive. He kicked a forgotten notebook out of his way and opened the door hesitantly.
Inside the room was looked like it had been hit by a freak windstorm with balled up paper wads flying from one end of the room to the other and personal belongings strewn over the floor where he had to carefully tiptoe his way over them to reach the teacher’s desk on the back wall.
“Excuse me?” He cleared his throat until the well-dressed man looked up and raised an eyebrow at him. “My name’s Choi Junhong and I’m new to your class.”
The bored expression on his teacher’s face turned to one of amusement as he looked over the forms Junhong had handed him. “Fresh meat.” He clapped his hands together and grinned. “Kid, you look like you haven’t been in trouble a day in your life. What could possibly have made them stick you in here?”
He could hear the murmurs rising from behind him once the other students noticed they had a new visitor. “I was out of school for a while and they want to give me time to catch up. The other math class was full.”
“Ah,” The nameplate on his desk read Mr. Kim but to Junhong he didn’t look old enough to be a teacher. He wanted to learn from someone experienced and who could handle a class of delinquents. “Well good luck. If you want to take a seat then we’ll be starting once the bell rings.”
Junhong turned around and finally took a good look at the students he was going to be forced to mingle with for at least a few months. One had a tattoo creeping over the collar of his unbuttoned uniform. He quickly turned away from him because even if Mr. Im was joking there was no way Junhong could look him in the eye and not imagine he was a serial killer. There was a girl that had her uniform skirt pulled up so high that Junhong saw places he didn’t think he’d see for at least another year or so. There wasn’t a single student he imagined himself sitting beside and making it out of class alive.
“Just take the seat in the front, Junhong.” Mr. Kim helped him out and pointed to a free chair in the middle of the first row.
“I think he’s going to piss himself.” Someone laughed behind him.
His cheeks flushed scarlet but he refused to give them the satisfaction of knowing he had heard. The door opened up one more time before the bell rang but Junhong kept his eyes turned forward and waited for the teacher to start.
“Page ninety-three. Do questions one through ten.” Mr. Kim kicked his feet over the desk and opened up a magazine. “If you finish early then don’t kill each other. Too much paperwork.” A bottle of soda was twisted open and he relaxed in his chair for the next hour.
“Are you kidding me?” Junhong muttered to himself, looking around for an extra book.
A book slid across his desk already opened to the correct page. “Here. You can share mine.”
He looked up and immediately wished he hadn’t. The one person in the school he was hoping wasn’t going to be in his class just had to take the seat next to him. Woo freaking Zico.
“Thanks.” He muttered, carefully grabbing onto the edges of the book just in case there was a bomb or a booby trap placed under it.
Zico scooted his desk closer and leaned towards Junhong. “Do you need help?”
He shook his head, scooting his own desk a few inches to the other side. “No thanks.”
“What are you, thirteen or something?”
Junhong counted to ten in his head before replying. His mother always told him that when he was older his baby face would be a blessing but right now he was annoyed by the constant questions of how old he really was.
“I’m a junior.” He felt whisper soft fingertips tracing their way across his shoulder but stayed quiet because he didn’t want to cause a scene in front of these people. Zico was well known around the school to be an asshole and Junhong wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was bothering him.
“You have amazing lips.” Zico’s voice lowered as he tilted his head, mouth brushing against Junhong’s ear. “I can only imagine how they’d look wrapped around my c-“
He broke off with loud laughter when Junhong jerked wildly in his seat and the desk toppled over backwards on top of him.
“Don’t be a jerk, Zico.” Mr. Kim’s bored voice interrupted the class’s outburst at Junhong’s expense. “And stop harassing the new kid. Do we really need another Yongguk incident?”
What had happened to Yongguk had been whispered about in secret but it had happened while he was out with his broken legs so he didn’t know much. Junhong had only heard what Jongup told him but he knew it had something to do with breaking into the school late one Saturday night. One person said Yongguk had gone insane and tried to burn the science lab down. Another claimed Zico and his friends had forced him to tag along and blamed the east wing fire on him.
“Sorry Mr. Kim.” Zico smiled sweetly and leaned back in his seat, giving Junhong enough personal space to breathe normally again. “Will you flail that hard if I kiss you?” His quiet whisper was only loud enough for Junhong to hear. “You picked the wrong class to be stuck in, Choi Junhong.”
It was only hours later when he was at home and safe that he wondered how Zico knew his name when he’d never given it.
--
“You want to come over after school?” Jongup waited with a smile at the corner where they had to part from each other every day. “My dad’s getting pizza.”
He did want pizza. He loved pizza. “I can’t. My mom doesn’t like me being in this math class so she’s making me spend every weekend at the library until I can catch up and move to a normal one.”
Jongup’s smile didn’t dim but he patted Junhong on the back sympathetically. “You’ll get there. I’ll see you in gym then. Good luck!”
He dragged his feet to the classroom down the hall and mentally prepared himself to enter. It had been two weeks since he was stuck in this hellhole and that meant two weeks of Zico slowly driving him insane.
At first it was just the random annoying comments, some were actually compliments but Junhong wasn’t going to think about that.
“Your ass looks amazing in your uniform.”
“Why’d you straighten your hair? I like it when it’s curly.”
“You need to buy some chapstick. I don’t want dry lips around my dick.”
Okay not all were compliments.
But he did go out and buy some chapstick after school anyways.
It wasn’t like he wanted dry lips or anything.
After he realized his words weren’t getting to their intended target, Zico stepped it up a notch and made the seat next to Junhong’s his permanent one. Now Junhong couldn’t even study his math book in peace without Zico tapping his pencil across the desk and mumbling the lyrics to some stupid rap song under his breath.
“Will you please be quiet?”
Zico stopped humming and turned to Junhong with a raised eyebrow. “What was that? Did the great and almighty Junhong stoop to my level and actually bring himself to speak to me?”
He didn’t know he was coming off as thinking he was better than the other kids in the class. Just that he had more common sense. And was smarter.
Okay, he thought with a wince, maybe that did seem like he thought he was above the rest. But the only thing he wanted was to get through this class and get back to his real friends as soon as possible.
“I can’t concentrate on my work.” He pulled the book closer and chewed the end of his pencil as he tried to work through the same problem he had been stuck on for the last ten minutes.
A chest hovered over his back but for the first time it wasn’t accompanied with flirty comments or not-so-subtle whispers into his ear. Zico mouthed the problem to himself before pointing to answer C. “That one. X equals 24.”
He went back to his regular position, the same annoying rap lyrics pouring from his lips. Junhong gaped at the book for a moment until he figured it was worth a shot and entered the number into the problem. “You got it right.” He muttered in shock. “How did you even know how to do that?”
Zico shrugged. “I’m not as stupid as you seem to think. If you’re having trouble you could have asked for help anytime.”
The bell rang and the other boy shot up out of his seat before Junhong could say anything else. He watched him go with a frown on his face. He didn’t want to think friendly thoughts about the school bad boy. He wanted to put this class behind him and pretend that in the last two weeks he hadn’t actually started to grow used to his classmate’s annoying behavior.
Junhong wondered if he could break his legs again and be put all the way back into junior high level math.
--
He saw Zico every day at the end of school but other than a glare his direction Junhong never acted like they knew each other. When Zico would grin cockily at him from his locker he would quickly turn his head away and ask Jongup something that he didn’t have to pay attention to the answer of as they headed out the front door.
So it surprised both of them when Junhong stopped suddenly in front of a now speechless Zico.
“How do you do it?” He could feel Jongup’s curious eyes on his back but it had been bothering him all afternoon and he had to know. “How do you understand the problems better than I do?”
Zico stared at him for a second. “You mean ‘how is this worthless boy smarter than me’?” The attitude he showed off for everyone else had disappeared and in its wake was this quiet boy with shy eyes and hunched shoulders. “I may get into trouble a lot but I’m not an idiot, Junhong. Something you would know if you didn’t stalk into our classroom with your nose in the air and your crown on.”
“If you’re so smart then why are you in remedial math then?” Junhong felt almost like he was meeting a new person. “You should be in a normal class.”
“And leave those idiots to fend for themselves?” The cocky Zico reappeared making Junhong’s anger flicker again inside of him. He thought that maybe if Zico acted like a normal respectful human being that they could actually talk and might end up friends. “If I abandon them they’ll probably kill themselves trying to make it through the lunch line.”
Junhong chewed on the inside of his cheek and immediately regretted his next question before he had even voiced it.
“I need help.” He admitted. “Can you teach me?”
The slow smile Zico gave him made his stomach cramp.
“I can teach you anything you want me to.” Zico reached up for the ink pen behind his ear and grabbed Junhong’s hand, scribbling his number into the palm. “Call me later.”
When he turned around Jongup was looking at him in equal parts shock and disgust. “What was that about?”
“Nothing. Let’s go.” He ignored the repeated questions Jongup threw at him as they left the school and headed towards their neighborhood.
Jongup refused to let it go though and finally grabbed Junhong by the arm and spun him around. “Should I be worried that you’re making a date with the biggest loser in school?”
“He’s not a loser.” Junhong growled, surprising both of them by the anger in his tone. “And it’s not a date. He’s helping me with math. I don’t like it either but he’s a lot smarter than he lets on.”
The nod Jongup gave him was obviously full of disbelief but he finally dropped the subject and they walked the rest of the way home in silence.
Later when Junhong worked up the nerve to dial the phone to set up a study time he didn’t expect to talk for two hours about nothing and about everything and he certainly never imagined he would hang up with a grin covering his face.
See you tomorrow!! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
He laughed at Zico’s cheesy text, throwing the phone onto his dresser and wondering to himself just what exactly he had gotten himself into.
--
“Hey.” Zico was waiting for him by his locker a few days later with a happy smile on his lips. Ever since they had joined forces and started to work together he had taken it upon himself to wait for Junhong every morning just to say hi. He looked behind Junhong to see Jongup glaring his direction. “Your sidekick doesn’t like me much.”
“He thinks you’re going to get me into trouble.” Junhong told him matter of factly, shoving his backpack into his locker and pulling out the books he needed for his first class. With a frown he popped his head around the door and pointed a finger at the senior boy. “You’re not going to get me into trouble are you?”
The change that came over Zico always seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. One second he was shy and unsure and the next he was radiating pure sex directly towards Junhong’s body.
“That depends on what kind of trouble you’re looking for exactly.” He kept his eyes on Junhong as he leaned forward, enveloping just the tip of the finger pointed at him between his lips.
The suddenness of the move was what kept Junhong from moving, eyes locked with Zico’s and mouth parted as his finger slowly disappeared. Teeth scratched gently down his skin and the warmth of Zico’s mouth was only amplified by the swirling of his wet tongue around the digit.
Zico pulled away with an obscene sounding pop and gently pushed Junhong’s shaking hand back down to his side. “I’ll see you in class.”
“That,” Jongup began, pulling tissues out of his backpack so that he could wipe his best friend’s hand off. “Was disgusting. He probably gave you herpes.”
Junhong didn’t realize he was turned on to the point of being painful until he tried to take a step away from Jongup. “He’s only like that when people are watching.” He told him distractedly, tugging at his uniform pants distractedly. “I think he’s actually kind of sweet if you would believe it.”
“I don’t.” Jongup threw the soiled tissues into Junhong’s locker and slammed it shut. “Junhong, you know he’s a bad kid. I don’t want him to turn you into one of his groupies. Just because he makes your pants tight doesn’t mean you should drool over every look he gives you.”
He adjusted them again because he had hoped Jongup hadn’t noticed but apparently he was wrong.
“I’m fine.” He told him, mind already a million miles away to when he’d see Zico again. “I know exactly what I’m doing.”
--
“You have no idea what you’re doing do you.” Zico laughed, taking the pencil out of Junhong’s hand and erasing everything he had written. “It doesn’t matter if it’s multiplication or division, you just have to go left to right and do whichever comes first.” He quickly worked the problem out himself, explaining each step slowly and thoroughly. “How did you manage math last year? This is freshman stuff.”
“I forget math easily.” He scowled, snatching his pencil back. The flush creeping over his skin was part embarrassment at getting the answer wrong and part nervousness because Zico was pressed directly against his side, chin snug in Junhong’s shoulder. “You’re practically on top of me. It’s distracting. Scoot over.”
Even though he sighed in fake sadness, Zico moved away anyways and watched Junhong try the next problem himself. “You multiplied wrong.”
“And you’re hovering!” Junhong screeched back, turning his desk sideways and hunching over the paper so Zico couldn’t see it.
“You’re making your girlfriend mad.” One of Zico’s friends spoke up teasingly from the back of the room. “Someone’s not putting out tonight.”
Junhong spun around with a completely red face. “They call me your girlfriend?”
“It’s cute.” Zico shrugged. It was obvious he wasn’t ashamed at all of the demeaning nickname. “If you’re that upset over it then you can be the boyfriend and I’ll be the girlfriend.”
He sputtered in reply because it was only one week ago that he had hated Zico and had begrudgingly asked him for help, not near enough time for a rumor about them dating to have been spread all through the school. Their three study times together since then were not dates no matter what the rest of the world thought.
“I’m breaking up with you then.” Junhong told him haughtily. “I’ve got Jongup anyways.”
That was the wrong thing to say to Zico. The laugh died on his lips and the friendly eyes Junhong had been seeing for the last week narrowed in anger.
“He’s not your boyfriend though. He’s never been your boyfriend. And if I even think his skin’s touched yours I will rip him apart.”
Junhong would never admit that a territorial Zico made his heart race.
“What do you know? You’re never around the both of us.”
“Didn’t he tell you he’s been stalking you for like, a year?” The same boy behind them offered.
Zico turned around with a glare that would have frightened the devil himself but his friend was laughing too hard to notice.
“You’re the whole reason Yongguk w-“
“Shut. Up. Kyung.” This time there was no mistaking the threat in Zico’s voice and Kyung thankfully caught on and kept quiet. “Just ignore him. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about, Junhong.”
He might have been a little slower than most kids his age in math but Junhong was no dummy. “What did he mean? What about Yongguk? I don’t even know him.”
“It’s nothing.” The bell rang and Zico released a long breath of air, seemingly glad for the interruption. “Kyung’s just stupid. I’ll see you later.”
It was the first time since he had started this class that Zico left before him. Before they had become friends he had always hung around throwing vaguely sexual comments at him and for the past week he had waited calmly while Junhong packed his books up.
“What did you mean?” He stopped Kyung with a hand on his sleeve. “What about Yongguk?”
Kyung shook his head, terror written all over his face. “Uh-uh. I’m already going to get the shit kicked out of me for saying that much. He’d kill me if I told you the rest.”
The other kids practically pushed each other out of the door in their rush to get away from Junhong.
“You’re the kid Zico got Yongguk suspended over?” Mr. Kim laughed from behind him. “That’s hilarious.”
Junhong turned to him and frowned. “Would someone just tell me what happened?”
Mr. Kim leaned back in his chair and cocked his head to the side as he stared at Junhong. “I don’t know why it happened. I only know he was furious at Yongguk for hurting someone and staged the fire in the lab to make it look like he did it. That’s the rumor at least. No one’s saying Zico set it up but Yongguk wouldn’t have hurt a fly and actually liked school so I know he wasn’t the real culprit.”
He thought back to the beginning of school and if there was any time he could remember Yongguk being around him. The only times he ever saw Zico and his friends were in the hallways or hanging out on the lawn after school. Yongguk’s face was just a blur in his mind.
“Yongguk never hurt me though.”
“Well then maybe I’m just mistaken.” Mr. Kim didn’t look like he meant what he was saying. “Must be some other kid. You better hurry before you’re late to your next class.”
Junhong trudged towards gym class and wondered what the hell everyone wasn’t telling him.
--
At the end of the day he waited impatiently by his locker wondering where Zico was. He normally saw him in the hallway before seventh period and he’d wink at him as he walked past with his friends but no matter how hard Junhong craned his neck around he couldn’t spot him anywhere.
“Do you want me to wait with you or are you going to go embarrass yourself with Zico again?”
Jongup’s comments had been slowly getting on Junhong’s nerves over the last week and he finally snapped.
“Can you just stop being a jerk? Please? For five minutes just stop talking about him like’s he’s dirt?”
“Junhong-“
He shook his head and shoved his best friend out of the way to head towards the other side of the school where he knew Zico’s locker was located. “I like Zico. He’s nice to me, he helps me, he’s a little bit of a pervert but when I ask him to stop he does, and what you all see isn’t the Zico I see so stop treating him like you’re better than he is.”
“I’m okay with it.” Zico’s voice made the two boys spin around in shock. He stepped out of the doorway to the bathroom and slung his backpack on his shoulder. “He is better than me so why bother pretending otherwise?”
His smug smile that always made Junhong roll his eyes had disappeared again and left the timid one in its place. This smile broke Junhong’s heart and he wanted to punch Jongup right in the eye for putting it on Zico’s face.
“I don’t think that.” Junhong had given it a lot of thought over the last week and finally came to terms with the fact that he might have a slightly there, almost nonexistent, thing for the senior boy. “You’re my friend and I would never say you’re below anyone.”
Zico sucked his bottom lip between his teeth, a move that made him look so broken and defenseless that Junhong didn’t think twice when he reached a hand out for him to take.
“Let’s go.”
Jongup was quickly forgotten the second Zico took his hand into his own and tugged him towards the doors.
“Are you going to tell me about Yongguk now?”
At the quiet whisper Zico sighed and tugged Junhong closer so that their shoulders bumped together as they walked. “Do I have to?”
“Yes.” Junhong could see how the rest of the students still lingering in the hallway watched them with curiosity in their eyes. In their school Woo Zico was not known for showing others affection. “I think holding my hand is causing your reputation to dip.”
“Imagine what they’ll do the first time I kiss you in the hallway.” The casually thrown remark made Junhong trip even further against Zico’s hip. “God, just imagine what you’ll do the first time I kiss you.”
Junhong covered his face with his free hand and groaned. “You’re such a creep.”
“You said yourself that I was a little bit of a pervert. What’d you expect?” Zico nosed along the edge of his jaw and let go of his hand to wrap an arm over his shoulder. “Roses and candy and romance? Sorry kid, that’s not me.”
They both knew he was a lot softer than he let on but Junhong let him keep his dignity for the moment. Besides he had other battles to fight.
“Tell me about Yongguk.”
They reached the parking lot where Zico unlocked the door to a faded brown car and motioned for Junhong to climb inside. “My mom’s.” He explained to the raised eyebrow Junhong shot him. “She lets me borrow it when I go a week without a detention.”
“You’re the girliest bad boy I’ve ever seen.” Junhong told him wryly, lifting up the Hello Kitty toy hanging from the mirror. “And I see your name written on the bottom so don’t even tell me it’s your moms, too.”
Zico blushed and pushed Junhong’s hand away from the doll. “Shut up, I’m a badass.”
“A badass who likes Hello Kitty.” Junhong corrected.
“Do you want to know what happened or do you want to walk your ass home.”
Junhong stopped the teasing and leaned his head on the seat, staring intently at Zico’s profile. He waited patiently for the other boy to start speaking but when his lips stayed clenched shut Junhong reached his hand over to cover Zico’s clenched fists. “Tell me.”
“How did you break your legs?”
He blinked and had to process the obscure question before he could answer it. “I was riding my bike home from school and someone ran a red light and hit me.”
“And who was it?”
“They never found out. The driver just drove away and-“ Junhong stopped suddenly at the annoyed snort Zico gave at the answer. “It was Yongguk? But… But how do you know that?”
Zico finally lifted his eyes and looked at him for the first time since they had sat down in the car. “When we met up the next day he was talking about it. Said he didn’t mean to do it but that if anyone found out he’d be arrested since it was a hit and run.” Swallowing nervously, Zico carefully palmed Junhong’s cheek, stroking a thumb over his lips. “Everyone knew I wanted you and he thought just telling me he was sorry was going to make things right. Like an apology made up for the fact that he had hurt you and put you in the hospital.” Junhong could see the rage drawing tighter in every roll of Zico’s jaw. “So I got rid of him.”
“You started the fire.” Junhong murmured in realization. “And blamed Yongguk.”
“No one touches you.” Zico’s words were threatening but the tender way he was caressing Junhong’s skin was anything but intimidating. “Are you scared of me now?”
He wasn’t, far from it. No one had ever stood up for him before and Zico doing something so horrible just to avenge him made Junhong feel guilty for how much it turned him on.
“I don’t want to be called your girlfriend anymore.” He warned Zico, nipping at the finger pressed against his mouth. “And from now on if someone has a problem with me then you tell me first before handling it yourself.”
Zico was unmoving from the seat next to him. His eyes were wary but hopeful as Junhong laid down the rules he wanted him to follow. “Anything else?”
“No more acting dumb. You’re smart and you should be proud of it.”
“That it?”
Junhong undid the first two buttons to his uniform and yanked the tie off, throwing it into the backseat before launching himself across the seat divider and landing in Zico’s awaiting lap. “I don’t care what you want, you’re not kissing me in the hallways because it’s gross when I see other people doing it and I don’t want anything to think that about us. Besides, let them all think you’re a badass still. I like being the only person to know you’re a Hello Kitty loving math dweeb.”
Zico growled against his lips and squeezed the thighs that were straining against him with every jerk Junhong made on his lap. “I get to hold your hand though. And maybe slap your ass when you walk by.” His tongue slid between the grin on Junhong’s lips and he was right to be curious about what Junhong would do the first time he kissed him. The needy moan against his mouth and the sudden fist in his hair made the last year of watching Junhong and not being able to touch him so worth it.
Reaching beside the seat, Junhong grabbed the attached handle and reclined them so that he was able to stretch further across Zico’s lap. “Your car’s too small.”
“You’re too big.”
“Not a sentence you probably hear too often is it.”
“I changed my mind. I want a new girlfriend.”
Junhong bit sharply over his bottom lip and hissed. “You set a fire for me there’s no going back now.”
The grin Zico gave him when he pulled away was the one he liked the best, wide and childish and beautiful, and Junhong felt a rush knowing he was going to be the only one who was lucky enough to see it.
“I set a fire and got a boy suspended for you. You should at least stick your hand down my pants or something.”
“Woo Zico, your mouth is going to get you into so much trouble.”
Rated: PG13/M-ish (no smut but Zico has a naughty mouth)
Length: 5.2K
The embarrassing reason that Junhong was switched to remedial level math wasn’t because he wasn’t smart enough for the class all of his friends were in. He knew that in a few months he would be up to date on all of the lessons everyone else had done and would be placed back in the proper class. Having two broken legs the second week school started back and missing two months meant he needed extra help in his schoolwork and the guidance counselor thought pulling him back a little for math would give him a boost.
Junhong wasn’t very fond of his counselor.
“It’s just until you catch back up on everything else.” Jongup tried to cheer him up as they walked down the hallway to where they would separate and go to opposite ends of the school. Jongup on the normal side and Junhong on the side where the detention kids thrived. “We still have three other classes together. And hey, at least you’re back! Not seeing you every day kind of sucked.”
He was still limping from the lack of use of his legs but Jongup was right, being back was actually amazing. For the last two months he had spent every day on the couch watching TV or playing video games on the computer. He never thought he’d say it but school was a better alternative than Call of Duty.
“But it’s not just the class for stupid people,” He whined to his best friend. “That period was full so they stuck me in with the bad kids. Mr. Im even had to tell me not to look any of them in the eye and to give a fake name!”
“He was joking, Junhong.” They reached the corner where Jongup went one way and Junhong headed the other direction. “I’ll see you in gym after this, okay? You’ll do fine.” He jogged off towards his own calm, normal class and left Junhong to slog slowly into the math class from hell.
The sounds in the hallway were loud and boisterous, sending Junhong’s already thin nerves into a skydive. He kicked a forgotten notebook out of his way and opened the door hesitantly.
Inside the room was looked like it had been hit by a freak windstorm with balled up paper wads flying from one end of the room to the other and personal belongings strewn over the floor where he had to carefully tiptoe his way over them to reach the teacher’s desk on the back wall.
“Excuse me?” He cleared his throat until the well-dressed man looked up and raised an eyebrow at him. “My name’s Choi Junhong and I’m new to your class.”
The bored expression on his teacher’s face turned to one of amusement as he looked over the forms Junhong had handed him. “Fresh meat.” He clapped his hands together and grinned. “Kid, you look like you haven’t been in trouble a day in your life. What could possibly have made them stick you in here?”
He could hear the murmurs rising from behind him once the other students noticed they had a new visitor. “I was out of school for a while and they want to give me time to catch up. The other math class was full.”
“Ah,” The nameplate on his desk read Mr. Kim but to Junhong he didn’t look old enough to be a teacher. He wanted to learn from someone experienced and who could handle a class of delinquents. “Well good luck. If you want to take a seat then we’ll be starting once the bell rings.”
Junhong turned around and finally took a good look at the students he was going to be forced to mingle with for at least a few months. One had a tattoo creeping over the collar of his unbuttoned uniform. He quickly turned away from him because even if Mr. Im was joking there was no way Junhong could look him in the eye and not imagine he was a serial killer. There was a girl that had her uniform skirt pulled up so high that Junhong saw places he didn’t think he’d see for at least another year or so. There wasn’t a single student he imagined himself sitting beside and making it out of class alive.
“Just take the seat in the front, Junhong.” Mr. Kim helped him out and pointed to a free chair in the middle of the first row.
“I think he’s going to piss himself.” Someone laughed behind him.
His cheeks flushed scarlet but he refused to give them the satisfaction of knowing he had heard. The door opened up one more time before the bell rang but Junhong kept his eyes turned forward and waited for the teacher to start.
“Page ninety-three. Do questions one through ten.” Mr. Kim kicked his feet over the desk and opened up a magazine. “If you finish early then don’t kill each other. Too much paperwork.” A bottle of soda was twisted open and he relaxed in his chair for the next hour.
“Are you kidding me?” Junhong muttered to himself, looking around for an extra book.
A book slid across his desk already opened to the correct page. “Here. You can share mine.”
He looked up and immediately wished he hadn’t. The one person in the school he was hoping wasn’t going to be in his class just had to take the seat next to him. Woo freaking Zico.
“Thanks.” He muttered, carefully grabbing onto the edges of the book just in case there was a bomb or a booby trap placed under it.
Zico scooted his desk closer and leaned towards Junhong. “Do you need help?”
He shook his head, scooting his own desk a few inches to the other side. “No thanks.”
“What are you, thirteen or something?”
Junhong counted to ten in his head before replying. His mother always told him that when he was older his baby face would be a blessing but right now he was annoyed by the constant questions of how old he really was.
“I’m a junior.” He felt whisper soft fingertips tracing their way across his shoulder but stayed quiet because he didn’t want to cause a scene in front of these people. Zico was well known around the school to be an asshole and Junhong wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was bothering him.
“You have amazing lips.” Zico’s voice lowered as he tilted his head, mouth brushing against Junhong’s ear. “I can only imagine how they’d look wrapped around my c-“
He broke off with loud laughter when Junhong jerked wildly in his seat and the desk toppled over backwards on top of him.
“Don’t be a jerk, Zico.” Mr. Kim’s bored voice interrupted the class’s outburst at Junhong’s expense. “And stop harassing the new kid. Do we really need another Yongguk incident?”
What had happened to Yongguk had been whispered about in secret but it had happened while he was out with his broken legs so he didn’t know much. Junhong had only heard what Jongup told him but he knew it had something to do with breaking into the school late one Saturday night. One person said Yongguk had gone insane and tried to burn the science lab down. Another claimed Zico and his friends had forced him to tag along and blamed the east wing fire on him.
“Sorry Mr. Kim.” Zico smiled sweetly and leaned back in his seat, giving Junhong enough personal space to breathe normally again. “Will you flail that hard if I kiss you?” His quiet whisper was only loud enough for Junhong to hear. “You picked the wrong class to be stuck in, Choi Junhong.”
It was only hours later when he was at home and safe that he wondered how Zico knew his name when he’d never given it.
--
“You want to come over after school?” Jongup waited with a smile at the corner where they had to part from each other every day. “My dad’s getting pizza.”
He did want pizza. He loved pizza. “I can’t. My mom doesn’t like me being in this math class so she’s making me spend every weekend at the library until I can catch up and move to a normal one.”
Jongup’s smile didn’t dim but he patted Junhong on the back sympathetically. “You’ll get there. I’ll see you in gym then. Good luck!”
He dragged his feet to the classroom down the hall and mentally prepared himself to enter. It had been two weeks since he was stuck in this hellhole and that meant two weeks of Zico slowly driving him insane.
At first it was just the random annoying comments, some were actually compliments but Junhong wasn’t going to think about that.
“Your ass looks amazing in your uniform.”
“Why’d you straighten your hair? I like it when it’s curly.”
“You need to buy some chapstick. I don’t want dry lips around my dick.”
Okay not all were compliments.
But he did go out and buy some chapstick after school anyways.
It wasn’t like he wanted dry lips or anything.
After he realized his words weren’t getting to their intended target, Zico stepped it up a notch and made the seat next to Junhong’s his permanent one. Now Junhong couldn’t even study his math book in peace without Zico tapping his pencil across the desk and mumbling the lyrics to some stupid rap song under his breath.
“Will you please be quiet?”
Zico stopped humming and turned to Junhong with a raised eyebrow. “What was that? Did the great and almighty Junhong stoop to my level and actually bring himself to speak to me?”
He didn’t know he was coming off as thinking he was better than the other kids in the class. Just that he had more common sense. And was smarter.
Okay, he thought with a wince, maybe that did seem like he thought he was above the rest. But the only thing he wanted was to get through this class and get back to his real friends as soon as possible.
“I can’t concentrate on my work.” He pulled the book closer and chewed the end of his pencil as he tried to work through the same problem he had been stuck on for the last ten minutes.
A chest hovered over his back but for the first time it wasn’t accompanied with flirty comments or not-so-subtle whispers into his ear. Zico mouthed the problem to himself before pointing to answer C. “That one. X equals 24.”
He went back to his regular position, the same annoying rap lyrics pouring from his lips. Junhong gaped at the book for a moment until he figured it was worth a shot and entered the number into the problem. “You got it right.” He muttered in shock. “How did you even know how to do that?”
Zico shrugged. “I’m not as stupid as you seem to think. If you’re having trouble you could have asked for help anytime.”
The bell rang and the other boy shot up out of his seat before Junhong could say anything else. He watched him go with a frown on his face. He didn’t want to think friendly thoughts about the school bad boy. He wanted to put this class behind him and pretend that in the last two weeks he hadn’t actually started to grow used to his classmate’s annoying behavior.
Junhong wondered if he could break his legs again and be put all the way back into junior high level math.
--
He saw Zico every day at the end of school but other than a glare his direction Junhong never acted like they knew each other. When Zico would grin cockily at him from his locker he would quickly turn his head away and ask Jongup something that he didn’t have to pay attention to the answer of as they headed out the front door.
So it surprised both of them when Junhong stopped suddenly in front of a now speechless Zico.
“How do you do it?” He could feel Jongup’s curious eyes on his back but it had been bothering him all afternoon and he had to know. “How do you understand the problems better than I do?”
Zico stared at him for a second. “You mean ‘how is this worthless boy smarter than me’?” The attitude he showed off for everyone else had disappeared and in its wake was this quiet boy with shy eyes and hunched shoulders. “I may get into trouble a lot but I’m not an idiot, Junhong. Something you would know if you didn’t stalk into our classroom with your nose in the air and your crown on.”
“If you’re so smart then why are you in remedial math then?” Junhong felt almost like he was meeting a new person. “You should be in a normal class.”
“And leave those idiots to fend for themselves?” The cocky Zico reappeared making Junhong’s anger flicker again inside of him. He thought that maybe if Zico acted like a normal respectful human being that they could actually talk and might end up friends. “If I abandon them they’ll probably kill themselves trying to make it through the lunch line.”
Junhong chewed on the inside of his cheek and immediately regretted his next question before he had even voiced it.
“I need help.” He admitted. “Can you teach me?”
The slow smile Zico gave him made his stomach cramp.
“I can teach you anything you want me to.” Zico reached up for the ink pen behind his ear and grabbed Junhong’s hand, scribbling his number into the palm. “Call me later.”
When he turned around Jongup was looking at him in equal parts shock and disgust. “What was that about?”
“Nothing. Let’s go.” He ignored the repeated questions Jongup threw at him as they left the school and headed towards their neighborhood.
Jongup refused to let it go though and finally grabbed Junhong by the arm and spun him around. “Should I be worried that you’re making a date with the biggest loser in school?”
“He’s not a loser.” Junhong growled, surprising both of them by the anger in his tone. “And it’s not a date. He’s helping me with math. I don’t like it either but he’s a lot smarter than he lets on.”
The nod Jongup gave him was obviously full of disbelief but he finally dropped the subject and they walked the rest of the way home in silence.
Later when Junhong worked up the nerve to dial the phone to set up a study time he didn’t expect to talk for two hours about nothing and about everything and he certainly never imagined he would hang up with a grin covering his face.
See you tomorrow!! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
He laughed at Zico’s cheesy text, throwing the phone onto his dresser and wondering to himself just what exactly he had gotten himself into.
--
“Hey.” Zico was waiting for him by his locker a few days later with a happy smile on his lips. Ever since they had joined forces and started to work together he had taken it upon himself to wait for Junhong every morning just to say hi. He looked behind Junhong to see Jongup glaring his direction. “Your sidekick doesn’t like me much.”
“He thinks you’re going to get me into trouble.” Junhong told him matter of factly, shoving his backpack into his locker and pulling out the books he needed for his first class. With a frown he popped his head around the door and pointed a finger at the senior boy. “You’re not going to get me into trouble are you?”
The change that came over Zico always seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. One second he was shy and unsure and the next he was radiating pure sex directly towards Junhong’s body.
“That depends on what kind of trouble you’re looking for exactly.” He kept his eyes on Junhong as he leaned forward, enveloping just the tip of the finger pointed at him between his lips.
The suddenness of the move was what kept Junhong from moving, eyes locked with Zico’s and mouth parted as his finger slowly disappeared. Teeth scratched gently down his skin and the warmth of Zico’s mouth was only amplified by the swirling of his wet tongue around the digit.
Zico pulled away with an obscene sounding pop and gently pushed Junhong’s shaking hand back down to his side. “I’ll see you in class.”
“That,” Jongup began, pulling tissues out of his backpack so that he could wipe his best friend’s hand off. “Was disgusting. He probably gave you herpes.”
Junhong didn’t realize he was turned on to the point of being painful until he tried to take a step away from Jongup. “He’s only like that when people are watching.” He told him distractedly, tugging at his uniform pants distractedly. “I think he’s actually kind of sweet if you would believe it.”
“I don’t.” Jongup threw the soiled tissues into Junhong’s locker and slammed it shut. “Junhong, you know he’s a bad kid. I don’t want him to turn you into one of his groupies. Just because he makes your pants tight doesn’t mean you should drool over every look he gives you.”
He adjusted them again because he had hoped Jongup hadn’t noticed but apparently he was wrong.
“I’m fine.” He told him, mind already a million miles away to when he’d see Zico again. “I know exactly what I’m doing.”
--
“You have no idea what you’re doing do you.” Zico laughed, taking the pencil out of Junhong’s hand and erasing everything he had written. “It doesn’t matter if it’s multiplication or division, you just have to go left to right and do whichever comes first.” He quickly worked the problem out himself, explaining each step slowly and thoroughly. “How did you manage math last year? This is freshman stuff.”
“I forget math easily.” He scowled, snatching his pencil back. The flush creeping over his skin was part embarrassment at getting the answer wrong and part nervousness because Zico was pressed directly against his side, chin snug in Junhong’s shoulder. “You’re practically on top of me. It’s distracting. Scoot over.”
Even though he sighed in fake sadness, Zico moved away anyways and watched Junhong try the next problem himself. “You multiplied wrong.”
“And you’re hovering!” Junhong screeched back, turning his desk sideways and hunching over the paper so Zico couldn’t see it.
“You’re making your girlfriend mad.” One of Zico’s friends spoke up teasingly from the back of the room. “Someone’s not putting out tonight.”
Junhong spun around with a completely red face. “They call me your girlfriend?”
“It’s cute.” Zico shrugged. It was obvious he wasn’t ashamed at all of the demeaning nickname. “If you’re that upset over it then you can be the boyfriend and I’ll be the girlfriend.”
He sputtered in reply because it was only one week ago that he had hated Zico and had begrudgingly asked him for help, not near enough time for a rumor about them dating to have been spread all through the school. Their three study times together since then were not dates no matter what the rest of the world thought.
“I’m breaking up with you then.” Junhong told him haughtily. “I’ve got Jongup anyways.”
That was the wrong thing to say to Zico. The laugh died on his lips and the friendly eyes Junhong had been seeing for the last week narrowed in anger.
“He’s not your boyfriend though. He’s never been your boyfriend. And if I even think his skin’s touched yours I will rip him apart.”
Junhong would never admit that a territorial Zico made his heart race.
“What do you know? You’re never around the both of us.”
“Didn’t he tell you he’s been stalking you for like, a year?” The same boy behind them offered.
Zico turned around with a glare that would have frightened the devil himself but his friend was laughing too hard to notice.
“You’re the whole reason Yongguk w-“
“Shut. Up. Kyung.” This time there was no mistaking the threat in Zico’s voice and Kyung thankfully caught on and kept quiet. “Just ignore him. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about, Junhong.”
He might have been a little slower than most kids his age in math but Junhong was no dummy. “What did he mean? What about Yongguk? I don’t even know him.”
“It’s nothing.” The bell rang and Zico released a long breath of air, seemingly glad for the interruption. “Kyung’s just stupid. I’ll see you later.”
It was the first time since he had started this class that Zico left before him. Before they had become friends he had always hung around throwing vaguely sexual comments at him and for the past week he had waited calmly while Junhong packed his books up.
“What did you mean?” He stopped Kyung with a hand on his sleeve. “What about Yongguk?”
Kyung shook his head, terror written all over his face. “Uh-uh. I’m already going to get the shit kicked out of me for saying that much. He’d kill me if I told you the rest.”
The other kids practically pushed each other out of the door in their rush to get away from Junhong.
“You’re the kid Zico got Yongguk suspended over?” Mr. Kim laughed from behind him. “That’s hilarious.”
Junhong turned to him and frowned. “Would someone just tell me what happened?”
Mr. Kim leaned back in his chair and cocked his head to the side as he stared at Junhong. “I don’t know why it happened. I only know he was furious at Yongguk for hurting someone and staged the fire in the lab to make it look like he did it. That’s the rumor at least. No one’s saying Zico set it up but Yongguk wouldn’t have hurt a fly and actually liked school so I know he wasn’t the real culprit.”
He thought back to the beginning of school and if there was any time he could remember Yongguk being around him. The only times he ever saw Zico and his friends were in the hallways or hanging out on the lawn after school. Yongguk’s face was just a blur in his mind.
“Yongguk never hurt me though.”
“Well then maybe I’m just mistaken.” Mr. Kim didn’t look like he meant what he was saying. “Must be some other kid. You better hurry before you’re late to your next class.”
Junhong trudged towards gym class and wondered what the hell everyone wasn’t telling him.
--
At the end of the day he waited impatiently by his locker wondering where Zico was. He normally saw him in the hallway before seventh period and he’d wink at him as he walked past with his friends but no matter how hard Junhong craned his neck around he couldn’t spot him anywhere.
“Do you want me to wait with you or are you going to go embarrass yourself with Zico again?”
Jongup’s comments had been slowly getting on Junhong’s nerves over the last week and he finally snapped.
“Can you just stop being a jerk? Please? For five minutes just stop talking about him like’s he’s dirt?”
“Junhong-“
He shook his head and shoved his best friend out of the way to head towards the other side of the school where he knew Zico’s locker was located. “I like Zico. He’s nice to me, he helps me, he’s a little bit of a pervert but when I ask him to stop he does, and what you all see isn’t the Zico I see so stop treating him like you’re better than he is.”
“I’m okay with it.” Zico’s voice made the two boys spin around in shock. He stepped out of the doorway to the bathroom and slung his backpack on his shoulder. “He is better than me so why bother pretending otherwise?”
His smug smile that always made Junhong roll his eyes had disappeared again and left the timid one in its place. This smile broke Junhong’s heart and he wanted to punch Jongup right in the eye for putting it on Zico’s face.
“I don’t think that.” Junhong had given it a lot of thought over the last week and finally came to terms with the fact that he might have a slightly there, almost nonexistent, thing for the senior boy. “You’re my friend and I would never say you’re below anyone.”
Zico sucked his bottom lip between his teeth, a move that made him look so broken and defenseless that Junhong didn’t think twice when he reached a hand out for him to take.
“Let’s go.”
Jongup was quickly forgotten the second Zico took his hand into his own and tugged him towards the doors.
“Are you going to tell me about Yongguk now?”
At the quiet whisper Zico sighed and tugged Junhong closer so that their shoulders bumped together as they walked. “Do I have to?”
“Yes.” Junhong could see how the rest of the students still lingering in the hallway watched them with curiosity in their eyes. In their school Woo Zico was not known for showing others affection. “I think holding my hand is causing your reputation to dip.”
“Imagine what they’ll do the first time I kiss you in the hallway.” The casually thrown remark made Junhong trip even further against Zico’s hip. “God, just imagine what you’ll do the first time I kiss you.”
Junhong covered his face with his free hand and groaned. “You’re such a creep.”
“You said yourself that I was a little bit of a pervert. What’d you expect?” Zico nosed along the edge of his jaw and let go of his hand to wrap an arm over his shoulder. “Roses and candy and romance? Sorry kid, that’s not me.”
They both knew he was a lot softer than he let on but Junhong let him keep his dignity for the moment. Besides he had other battles to fight.
“Tell me about Yongguk.”
They reached the parking lot where Zico unlocked the door to a faded brown car and motioned for Junhong to climb inside. “My mom’s.” He explained to the raised eyebrow Junhong shot him. “She lets me borrow it when I go a week without a detention.”
“You’re the girliest bad boy I’ve ever seen.” Junhong told him wryly, lifting up the Hello Kitty toy hanging from the mirror. “And I see your name written on the bottom so don’t even tell me it’s your moms, too.”
Zico blushed and pushed Junhong’s hand away from the doll. “Shut up, I’m a badass.”
“A badass who likes Hello Kitty.” Junhong corrected.
“Do you want to know what happened or do you want to walk your ass home.”
Junhong stopped the teasing and leaned his head on the seat, staring intently at Zico’s profile. He waited patiently for the other boy to start speaking but when his lips stayed clenched shut Junhong reached his hand over to cover Zico’s clenched fists. “Tell me.”
“How did you break your legs?”
He blinked and had to process the obscure question before he could answer it. “I was riding my bike home from school and someone ran a red light and hit me.”
“And who was it?”
“They never found out. The driver just drove away and-“ Junhong stopped suddenly at the annoyed snort Zico gave at the answer. “It was Yongguk? But… But how do you know that?”
Zico finally lifted his eyes and looked at him for the first time since they had sat down in the car. “When we met up the next day he was talking about it. Said he didn’t mean to do it but that if anyone found out he’d be arrested since it was a hit and run.” Swallowing nervously, Zico carefully palmed Junhong’s cheek, stroking a thumb over his lips. “Everyone knew I wanted you and he thought just telling me he was sorry was going to make things right. Like an apology made up for the fact that he had hurt you and put you in the hospital.” Junhong could see the rage drawing tighter in every roll of Zico’s jaw. “So I got rid of him.”
“You started the fire.” Junhong murmured in realization. “And blamed Yongguk.”
“No one touches you.” Zico’s words were threatening but the tender way he was caressing Junhong’s skin was anything but intimidating. “Are you scared of me now?”
He wasn’t, far from it. No one had ever stood up for him before and Zico doing something so horrible just to avenge him made Junhong feel guilty for how much it turned him on.
“I don’t want to be called your girlfriend anymore.” He warned Zico, nipping at the finger pressed against his mouth. “And from now on if someone has a problem with me then you tell me first before handling it yourself.”
Zico was unmoving from the seat next to him. His eyes were wary but hopeful as Junhong laid down the rules he wanted him to follow. “Anything else?”
“No more acting dumb. You’re smart and you should be proud of it.”
“That it?”
Junhong undid the first two buttons to his uniform and yanked the tie off, throwing it into the backseat before launching himself across the seat divider and landing in Zico’s awaiting lap. “I don’t care what you want, you’re not kissing me in the hallways because it’s gross when I see other people doing it and I don’t want anything to think that about us. Besides, let them all think you’re a badass still. I like being the only person to know you’re a Hello Kitty loving math dweeb.”
Zico growled against his lips and squeezed the thighs that were straining against him with every jerk Junhong made on his lap. “I get to hold your hand though. And maybe slap your ass when you walk by.” His tongue slid between the grin on Junhong’s lips and he was right to be curious about what Junhong would do the first time he kissed him. The needy moan against his mouth and the sudden fist in his hair made the last year of watching Junhong and not being able to touch him so worth it.
Reaching beside the seat, Junhong grabbed the attached handle and reclined them so that he was able to stretch further across Zico’s lap. “Your car’s too small.”
“You’re too big.”
“Not a sentence you probably hear too often is it.”
“I changed my mind. I want a new girlfriend.”
Junhong bit sharply over his bottom lip and hissed. “You set a fire for me there’s no going back now.”
The grin Zico gave him when he pulled away was the one he liked the best, wide and childish and beautiful, and Junhong felt a rush knowing he was going to be the only one who was lucky enough to see it.
“I set a fire and got a boy suspended for you. You should at least stick your hand down my pants or something.”
“Woo Zico, your mouth is going to get you into so much trouble.”