Evanescent Youth - [Yugbam Oneshot 1/4]
A/N: So...I kinda realized halfway through writing this fic that while I wrote the setting to be in Korea, I completely disregarded the Korean school system and calendar. After considering, I finally decided to leave it as is, so yes, that’s one major fail in terms of being realistic, but I hope you guys can look past that? If you must, pretend it’s an alternate universe... OTL xD
Inspired by Super Junior’s “This is Love” and “Evanesce.” Dedicated to 我亲爱的 symmetrophobic <3
~~
Like every clichéd love story, they met in spring. Beautiful springtime, when flowers were beginning to bloom and the weather was pleasant. Blue skies reigned over the days, the air refreshing with the warm breezes that blew through.
Like every common drama trope, Kunpimook was the late transfer student arriving just in time for the last term of the school year. Yugyeom was class president, tasked with introducing the tiny Thai transferee to the school and ensuring he was “comfortable,” or whatever that entailed.
Now if this was a drama, this situation could only go one of two ways. One, either one or both of them would fall in love at first sight, setting up a chain reaction of events that would undoubtedly result with them as an item by the end of the school year. In the second scenario, a misunderstanding would lead them to become bitter enemies within the first five minutes of meeting, thus leading to a slightly more angsty chain events, but would still ultimately end in reconciliation and love.
Thankfully, for the sake of being original, neither of those storylines was followed. Yugyeom led Kunpimook around school for his first week of school, sat with him at lunch, and after the first week that was that. Kunpimook eventually settled down in a friend group primarily composed of class clowns and foreign exchange students, and Yugyeom returned to eating lunch with his studious buddies who also shared his same fiery passion for manga. The two of them had established a strong relationship as acquainted classmates with relatively decent first impressions, but the romantic spring season was wasted on days spent enclosed in school walls.
That was the end of sophomore year.
It was only until autumn that they came into contact again, missing out completely on the season of hot summer passion. Kunpimook and Yugyeom were no longer in the same class, but still saw each other regularly after school at Dance Club. Yugyeom had been a part of it since his freshman year, and Kunpimook had joined as soon as he found out the school had such a thing.
Perhaps this was when the seeds had finally been planted. Kunpimook and Yugyeom both had very distinctly different dance styles, and so it was only natural they most often practiced in different groups. But when it came to dance battles and performances, one boy’s eyes would always linger just a split second longer on the other, and vice versa. It was unconscious, just an appreciation of skills and nothing more, except maybe the barest of primitive attraction.
And thus junior year came and went.
Senior year. Two words that were full of weight, heavy with implications of endings and impending new beginnings. Kunpimook and Yugyeom were both voted as dance captains, replacing the recently graduated seniors.
It was an end giving birth to a beginning.
Friendships were unpredictable. Initiation could be deliberate, forced, or coincidental. In the case of two senior boys, it merely took a bit longer for the previously planted seeds to germinate and sprout.
They’d known each other for over a year, so all things considered it was a bit ridiculous their first one-on-one conversation since the time Yugyeom was Kunpimook’s guide was only now taking place, mid-august before the school year began. It was a casual meeting, an attempt to roughly plan out the year for their club. Dates, competitions they wanted to attend, practice schedules, and etc.- general logistics. Yugyeom found himself feeding off of Kunpimook’s excitable energy and high goals, and Kunpimook found himself pleasantly surprised by Yugyeom’s laid-back humor laced with barbed wit.
Kunpimook told Yugyeom to call him Bambam from now on.
~~
But really, it wasn’t until a week later that they truly clicked, at the bowling alley. What was supposed to be a team bonding event turned into an unfortunate date for the duo. Although, this was entirely due to the incredibly bad planning on their part, as the only reason nobody showed up was because invites were sent out last-minute the night before.
It started out a bit awkward, both embarrassed by their apparent failure at leadership before falling into a game of self-deprecation. And it didn’t take long before that progressed to disses aimed at each other and then finally, a full-blown, high passion bowling match, in which Yugyeom completely decimated Kunpimook. Kunpimook didn’t get discouraged though, valiantly rolling gutter ball after gutter ball until they were out of rounds to play.
However, Yugyeom almost wished he hadn’t won afterwards, what with all the whining and pouting Kunpimook had laid on him until he’d agreed to buy them both dinner.
For a kid as thin as a rod, Kunpimook ate way too much in Yugyeom’s opinion. But then Kunpimook had shyly offered to pay for ice cream as dessert and Yugyeom found himself not minding so much anymore.
It wasn’t till later, much, much later, that they realized that this was their true first date, intentional or not.
~~
Once school started, it didn’t really matter that Kunpimook and Yugyeom shared no classes together, because two hour dance practices after school were more than enough. They were trying something new this year, merging the different cliques and groups that had formed in the club due to various differences, be it dance style or personality.
Things were going incredibly well, all things considered, but with the much larger group came a lot more shenanigans that went down at practice.
And a looooot more dance battles.
“Yugyeom! Yugyeom! Yugyeom!”
The chanting increased in volume in proportion to the music as the chorus picked up, Yugyeom grinning as his feet moved impossibly fast, double-time the music but still hitting every major beat. Kunpimook’s team had their unimpressed faces on, but it wasn’t hard to see the excited gleam of respect in their eyes as they watched.
“Okay, okay, enough! My turn!” Kunpimook hollered when the song finally ended, and Yugyeom waved him to the center of the room as he himself staggered off to the side, finally letting his exhaustion show.
The next song was upbeat, fun, and just the slightest bit dirty. Kunpimook smirked, winking at Yugyeom as he began to dance. Unlike Yugyeom, whose style was entirely focused on the complicated steps and combinations of his feet, Kunpimook enjoyed his flair, putting just as much emphasis on his arms and facials as his footwork. He was an entertainer, jumping and twirling, and yes, sometimes rolling various body parts just because he could, earning hoots and cheers and laughs easily.
When the song ended he gave a dramatic bow, eyes twinkling as he too staggered off to the side, settling down on the floor beside Yugyeom as they let their other teammates take over.
“Hmmm, seems like I won that one,” Kunpimook stated nonchalantly, though a glimmer of mischief in his eyes couldn’t be concealed entirely. Yugyeom only scoffed.
“Are you kidding me? I’ve never seen sloppier footwork,” he declared, sniffing in mock disdain but the corner of his lips were tilted upward.
Kunpimook pretended to be outraged.
“My footwork? Have you seen your arms? You let them flail all over the place, they’re so distracting no one’s gonna be paying any attention to your feet! You’re worse than a tapper!”
“Did you just compare my dancing to tapping?!”
Eyes narrowed as they glared at each other, but it only took two seconds before their act cracked, and they each dissolved into breathless laughter. Kunpimook tipped over onto Yugyeom, body shaking with mirth.
“Ewww, get off me,” Yugyeom wrinkled his nose in disgust. “You’re all sweaty.”
“Pft, as if you’re not,” Kunpimook shot back, now purposefully draping himself over his fellow captain. “Deal with it~”
Yugyeom rolled his eyes, but made no further complaints as they both (finally) turned their attention back to the out-of-control dance battle taking place on the dance floor, their sweat intermingling as it dripped down their skin.
~~
When you spend so much time together with another person, it’s inevitable you begin to learn of the other’s weaknesses.
Although, Kunpimook didn’t exactly make his subtle, anyways.
“I don’t understaaaand,” he wailed first thing as he stomped into their practice room, everyone stopping in the choreography as they turned to look questioningly at their tardy captain.
“You’re late,” Yugyeom commented instead, raising an eyebrow as someone else ran to turn off the music.
“It’s not my fault…” Kunpimook had the decency to look somewhat guilty, but his lips still formed a petulant pout. “Teacher made me stay back.”
Yugyeom raised an eyebrow as everyone else watched the exchange curiously, “Why?”
“Because he’s a jerk!” Kunpimook whined, even stomping his foot. But there was just a slightly bit of worry present in the way his brow was furrowed, and Yugyeom made a quick decision.
“Okay, whatever, just get your butt over here and help me teach the choreography.”
Kunpimook pouted some more, but Yugyeom knew he wasn’t imagining the relief in the way his brow smoothed.
He cornered him after practice, pulling Kunpimook back into the practice room with a firm grip on his shoulder.
“Okay, spill.”
Kunpimook bit his lip, worrying it with his teeth, clearly reluctant. Yugyeom didn’t back down, though, hand tightening around Kunpimook’s shoulder.
Kunpimook took a breath, avoiding Yugyeom’s eyes.
“I’m failing Korean right now.”
Yugyeom immediately grasped the implications of that sentence, and his eyes widened.
“What?!”
Kunpimook slumped, sliding down the mirror until he was sitting, leaning against the reflective surface with his head between his knees.
“Yeah. And, it’s not like- I’m trying, I really am. I’m not slacking. It just, got a lot harder this year. And this year, I don’t get the chance to redo assignments. That saved me last year, being able to get points back by doing corrections. It’s just so hard for me to get it all right the first time around.” He sighed, ruffling his own hair in frustration.
Yugyeom was quiet, pensive as he sat down too. If Kunpimook couldn’t get his grade back up, he’d get kicked out of all his extracurriculars.
“I’ll tutor you,” were the next words to come from Yugyeom’s mouth, and Kunpimook’s head jerked up.
“What? Wait, really?”
Yugyeom cuffed him on the side of his head.
“We need you on the team, you idiot. We’ve got competitions, we can’t be short one of our best dancers, and a captain at that. I’m good at Korean and composition stuff.”
Kunpimook looked relieved and grateful, but then doubt overtook him again.
“But, I…I can’t pay you, Yugyeom. And I really suck right now, it’s gonna be really time consuming…”
Yugyeom cuffed him on the head again, a little harder this time and earned an indignant yelp in return.
“Who said I wanted to you to pay me? Geez. And redoing all the choreography, and teaching all the choreography by myself would take much longer than it’d take to tutor you, I guarantee it. Just buy me ice cream as payment, got it?”
Kunpimook still looked uncertain, but the forcefulness of Yugyeom’s words and stare convinced him.
“Okay.”
~~
They settled into a routine easily. Kunpimook and Yugyeom already stayed after practice anyways to tie up any loose ends. Now, they just stay back even longer, sprawled out over the hardwood floors, careful not to bump the mirrors but occasionally doing so anyways.
Yugyeom was a good tutor. He had all the personality traits that enabled him to be one: patience, eloquence, and a perceptiveness of when it was time to push and when it was time to take a break.
It took a few weeks, but soon their efforts were rewarded with tangible results. Kunpimook wasn’t exactly excelling in Korean, but at the very least he was no longer in danger of being pulled from his activities. That day, after getting their tests back, Kunpimook had pulled out all the stops, treating the entire team to ice cream after practice.
(He came to regret that later when his wallet was completely emptied, and Yugyeom, the jerk, had only laughed at him).
But of course, all things come at a price. With both of the team captains’ attention focused more intensely on academics the past few weeks, naturally less energy had been input into practice. To save time, Yugyeom and Kunpimook had started to choreograph more during group practice, leaving the others to work on what they’ve already taught them, and thus allowing them more time to work on Kunpimook’s Korean after school.
And, well, while everyone one the team loved to dance and desperately wanted to win come competition season, that old saying soon proved to be true: when the cats are away, the mice come out to play.
“What is this? Have you guys even been practicing? We cleaned this part weeks ago! Even if we’re not expecting progress, at least maintain the same level! Everything’s gone backwards!”
Yugyeom was quite literally the personification of a giant teddy bear, always smiling and teasing and laughing, so it was easy to forget how intimidating his towering physique could be. Like right now, with his arms crossed and eyes narrowed as he stared everyone down.
“We still have a lot of time until competitions, that’s true, but do you think the other teams that are after first place are gonna be slacking like this? Thinking that oh, there’s plenty of time left, we’ll just pull it together later?” Kunpimook’s voice was softer than Yugyeom’s but his words were just as harsh, and all their teammates bowed their heads in shame.
There was a pause, a tense silence as everyone waited with bated breath. Yugyeom and Kunpimook shared a glance, something odd being reflected between them.
“Go home for today. Reflect, and we want everyone back here tomorrow giving a hundred percent, got it?”
There was a chorus of yes’s as everyone scattered, grabbing discarded articles of clothing and workout bags.
“Make it two-hundred percent tomorrow to make up for lost time, got it?” Kunpimook added just for good measure and Yugyeom had to turn away, everyone who hadn’t ducked out of the practice room yet chorusing their assent.
The second the door to the dance studio swung shut, Kunpimook and Yugyeom made eye contact, and immediately burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“Oh my god did you see Jimin’s face-”
“Taehyung looked like he was about to pee his pants oh my god-”
“Who knew we could be so intimidating-”
Soon, they were both collapsed on the floor, clutching their stomachs in pain from laughing so much. It took a few more minutes for their giggles to die down completely, and then they just lay there, panting, amusement still audible with every breath.
“Well, we sure whipped them into shape,” Kunpimook finally said, earning another giggle from Yugyeom.
“I’m surprised you managed to keep a straight face through all that,” Yugyeom commented, earning a half-hearted slap on the arm.
“Are you kidding? I thought you were gonna lose it halfway through that!”
This brought about another round of laughter and pathetic attempts at slaps and punches, until they finally settled down again, exhausted and breathless.
“Either way, I think that was the motivation everyone needed at this point.” Yugyeom finally said this seriously, but his tone was still light, his eyes fond as he looked over at Kunpimook.
“Oh yeah. We’re definitely gonna win this year.” Kunpimook grinned back at Yugyeom, eyes blazing.
Part 2