[DC27] Conscious Distance
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: YooSu
Genre: AU!General, Romance
Theme: Globe, Phrase to include: "fantaaaaastic!"
Summary: The past may be the past, but it doesn't mean it isn't worth reliving.
-
He brushed his finger against the ridged countries of the standing globe in the classroom, eyes scanning across the once familiar classroom, but the setting had changed since he lost set foot here.
He intertwined his hands behind his back and turned the moment he heard the door slide open. He looked back and smiled at the man who walked into the room, books and planners in hand. An all too familiar sight, that he felt as if he walked back in time.
"Hello," Junsu both spoke and greeted politely in sign.
The teacher stood there, stunned for a moment before resuming his own smile. Greeting back in sign. "It's been a while."
"Too long for my liking." Junsu said quite somberly, his finger lingering on the desk.
"Have you visited your other teachers?" Yoochun asked politely.
"No," Junsu uttered, a slight edge to his tone. "They're not worth my time."
"And I am?" To that, Junsu's lips shifted upwards.
Yoochun noted that familiar glint in the other's gaze, one that despite his matured looks and appearance, still held. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or hesitant by that fact.
"I'm glad to see you still teach here," Junsu said afterward, stepping towards the still teacher. "Otherwise... I'd be disappointed if I couldn't see you again."
Junsu's hand outstretched to adjust the man's frames properly, breaking the ice of the initial awkwardness between them. Yoochun cleared his throat as Junsu lowered his hand. Yoochun tried to remain unfazed, but failed miserably. He also remembered, it was a task he had always found difficult.
-
"I work as a sign language interpreter now." Junsu informed, sitting across from him in the outside cafe. They had met up a few times after that initial day.
"You put those years in my class to good use then." Yoochun said politely.
"You make it sound as if I never paid attention." Junsu said lowly, insulted.
Yoochun chuckled. "Why did you even start in my class in the first place? I was under the impression you never liked school." The former student added sugar to his drink, a short pause ensued before he answered honestly.
"I liked you, and that was a good enough reason for me at the time." Junsu said idly, stirring his drink as he gave a wistful smile.
Yoochun shifted his gaze, his hands beneath the table tightening, the man's blunt honesty hadn't changed.
"It shouldn't shock you, other students had the same reason."
"But they were never obvious about it." To that, Junsu merely shrugged. Something seemed to be bothering him.
"Is something wrong?" Yoochun prompted. Junsu thinned his lips.
"Don't act so polite with me." Junsu added, his tone displeased. "It sounds too distant for my liking."
Yoochun nodded, sipping his own warm drink. To his mild surprise, the man hadn't changed whatsoever. Not since the first day the student strolled into his class, acting high and mighty.
The man who stepped into his life as easily as before, the memories resurfacing each time they met up. The familiar student was reawakening feelings he thought were long past dormant. He should have known better than to assume some distance would change that.
-
"Just fantaaaaastic!" The younger Junsu groaned, throwing the report onto the desk.
"If you worked harder, then maybe you'd have less to complain about." Yoochun noted, writing down on his daily planner. He was interrupted when the student hovered over his shoulder, glancing at his filled in pages.
"Is there ever a time you just do as you wanted? Without a schedule?"
Yoochun wasn't sure what to make of his tone, and chose not to reply. He paused his hand the moment he felt the other's arm lay across his back, their faces only inches apart as Junsu continued to peer over his work. The student never seemed to understand the matter of personal space. Or at best, ignored it entirely.
Yet it was clear the older was too conscious of the student's actions and words, more than a sensible, respectable figure of society should be.
"I do have work to do." Yoochun said calmly, Junsu sighed as he pulled away and signed.
'When do you not?'
Yoochun shook his head, but coughed quite loudly before he could give an actual reply. Afterward, he saw Junsu hand him his drink, staying by the teacher that was prone to sickness. Junsu despite his reputation, cared more for the teacher than most would assume.
"I'll get you some water." Junsu said, grabbing his cup and leaving the classroom.
Yoochun was now able to breathe freely, relaxed. Only around the other could he be both tense and timid, but also free of his burdens. This constant balance between them tipped according to the student's whims, all because the teacher felt more than he should.
Just a few more years, Yoochun had told himself, then the crush would be gone. He wouldn't have to jeopardize his student, an afterthought included his career.
-
The present Yoochun heard a soft knock on his door, he looked up at the open door where Junsu leaned against the door frame. "You're still the same." The man walked behind the teacher, his hands on his shoulders and forcing him upright. "You're aging faster than you should."
"That's not a compliment I like hearing."
"Then stop making it so." Junsu informed. His cheek daringly brushed against the other's, skin against skin that made his neck warm at the contact. "If you don't rest, you'll get sick like before."
"It was never your job to worry about me." Yoochun said lightheartedly.
Junsu glowered, hands in his pockets as he leaned against the desk. "You say that, but it's impossible not to worry about you." He murmured. He waited until the teacher finished his work, the two then walking outside the campus until they reached the neighboring streets.
Junsu still kept by, but they remained in silence most of the way. Yoochun's gaze followed after him as the other continued stepping forward.
Despite the years, these feelings didn't lessen, that momentary crush he thought would end never did. He looked on as Junsu kicked the ground, stopping a short distance away as he looked up at the clear skies.
"Do you ever think about what could have happened?" Junsu asked. "If you hadn't been so uptight, what could have happened between us that day."
Yoochun shifted his gaze. "You understand why now though, do you not?"
Junsu sighed and signed with his hands, gesturing the words. 'I do, but it's not a good enough reason.'
Yoochun remained still as Junsu stepped forward, voicing his thoughts.
"Back then, a student and a teacher couldn't do anything more. But now we're just two adults." Junsu rested his arms around Yoochun's neck. "What's stopping us now?"
Yoochun visibly cleared his throat, his glasses lowering as Junsu, by habit, went to adjust them for his former teacher. Their physical proximity shortened, and the longer their gazes remained locked, the shorter it became.
Junsu kissed him softly on the lips.
It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling. That much Yoochun had known.
The day before Junsu's graduation, he was busy speaking with his student in the seclusion of his classroom. When to his surprise, the very student who propped himself on the desk, pulling Yoochun in for a brief kiss. Brief, only because Yoochun had pulled back before it could go any further.
"Why not?" Junsu had asked, the sight of him in his uniform made Yoochun realized the circumstances.
"We can't. I have obligations and you're just..." He struggled to say, Junsu's gaze hardened.
"You're telling me that I'm too young to understand how I feel?" Junsu asked, an edge of disappointment laced his words. "Don't disregard my emotions because of some number."
"You may not think anything of it, but that's how... That's how it works." Yoochun uttered, turning his back on his student.
Junsu scoffed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. The globe was thrown off its spot, spinning in place on the tiled ground.
He left without a word that afternoon, leaving Yoochun in internal turmoil. Because despite his self-righteous words, that kiss was something he yearned for, wanted, needed. But the same gesture brought him back to reality, and even if Junsu had graduated the next day, their difference in age was still too blatant.
He held back from running after him the moment Junsu stormed out of the classroom, a decision he regretted to this day.
Junsu pulled back, watching as Yoochun slowly opened his eyes. "Just as I remembered them to be."
Yoochun shifted his gaze, but the younger met his stare each time.
"I understand how the world works now," Junsu informed. "I know it too well that to be honest, I can't stand it. But I gained my obligations, my role to contribute to society, I did everything so that you wouldn't have a valid reason to reject me this time."
He gave a wistful smile. "Unless of course, you don't feel the same at all. Then I shouldn't have bothered coming back."
"Why did you come back?" Yoochun asked. "You used to say you'd never return to this town, that it was too simple for your liking."
"I thought there were better things out there, but the best thing in my life was here all along."
Yoochun felt Junsu pull away, hands lowering.
"Am I old enough for you to take my feelings seriously? Or are you going to brush them aside like before?"
The slight edge to his tone, the lingering bitterness of being rejected, was overshadowed by his dejected voice.
Yoochun placed his hands on Junsu's wrists. "I won't. Not anymore."
"Are you sure?" Junsu asked, afraid to get his hopes up.
"I am." Yoochun uttered without hesitance.
Junsu smiled as he leaned in to meet his lips once more, a feeling he couldn't get enough of. Not then, not now.
-
"Will you be leaving soon?" Yoochun asked. Junsu chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Now that I finally have you, leaving is the last thing I want to do."
Their shoulders brushed up occasionally, but Yoochun didn't mind their close proximity as they walked.
Junsu continued. "I had a job offer to this part of town, and wanted to see if it was worth coming back."
"Is it?" Yoochun teased, crossing his arms. The student feigned ignorance as the teacher shook his head, waving him off as he walked inside his home. Once inside, he looked through the parted curtains as Junsu still stood on the spot where he left him.
'Don't stay up too late.' Junsu gestured, Yoochun arched an eyebrow and held back a laugh. Their roles had reversed as to who should care for whom. But he decided it didn't matter.
That chance Junsu wanted, he'd finally give.
- ❄ Challenge 26 ❄ | ❄ Challenge 28 ❄ -
Pairing: YooSu
Genre: AU!General, Romance
Theme: Globe, Phrase to include: "fantaaaaastic!"
Summary: The past may be the past, but it doesn't mean it isn't worth reliving.
-
He brushed his finger against the ridged countries of the standing globe in the classroom, eyes scanning across the once familiar classroom, but the setting had changed since he lost set foot here.
He intertwined his hands behind his back and turned the moment he heard the door slide open. He looked back and smiled at the man who walked into the room, books and planners in hand. An all too familiar sight, that he felt as if he walked back in time.
"Hello," Junsu both spoke and greeted politely in sign.
The teacher stood there, stunned for a moment before resuming his own smile. Greeting back in sign. "It's been a while."
"Too long for my liking." Junsu said quite somberly, his finger lingering on the desk.
"Have you visited your other teachers?" Yoochun asked politely.
"No," Junsu uttered, a slight edge to his tone. "They're not worth my time."
"And I am?" To that, Junsu's lips shifted upwards.
Yoochun noted that familiar glint in the other's gaze, one that despite his matured looks and appearance, still held. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or hesitant by that fact.
"I'm glad to see you still teach here," Junsu said afterward, stepping towards the still teacher. "Otherwise... I'd be disappointed if I couldn't see you again."
Junsu's hand outstretched to adjust the man's frames properly, breaking the ice of the initial awkwardness between them. Yoochun cleared his throat as Junsu lowered his hand. Yoochun tried to remain unfazed, but failed miserably. He also remembered, it was a task he had always found difficult.
-
"I work as a sign language interpreter now." Junsu informed, sitting across from him in the outside cafe. They had met up a few times after that initial day.
"You put those years in my class to good use then." Yoochun said politely.
"You make it sound as if I never paid attention." Junsu said lowly, insulted.
Yoochun chuckled. "Why did you even start in my class in the first place? I was under the impression you never liked school." The former student added sugar to his drink, a short pause ensued before he answered honestly.
"I liked you, and that was a good enough reason for me at the time." Junsu said idly, stirring his drink as he gave a wistful smile.
Yoochun shifted his gaze, his hands beneath the table tightening, the man's blunt honesty hadn't changed.
"It shouldn't shock you, other students had the same reason."
"But they were never obvious about it." To that, Junsu merely shrugged. Something seemed to be bothering him.
"Is something wrong?" Yoochun prompted. Junsu thinned his lips.
"Don't act so polite with me." Junsu added, his tone displeased. "It sounds too distant for my liking."
Yoochun nodded, sipping his own warm drink. To his mild surprise, the man hadn't changed whatsoever. Not since the first day the student strolled into his class, acting high and mighty.
The man who stepped into his life as easily as before, the memories resurfacing each time they met up. The familiar student was reawakening feelings he thought were long past dormant. He should have known better than to assume some distance would change that.
-
"Just fantaaaaastic!" The younger Junsu groaned, throwing the report onto the desk.
"If you worked harder, then maybe you'd have less to complain about." Yoochun noted, writing down on his daily planner. He was interrupted when the student hovered over his shoulder, glancing at his filled in pages.
"Is there ever a time you just do as you wanted? Without a schedule?"
Yoochun wasn't sure what to make of his tone, and chose not to reply. He paused his hand the moment he felt the other's arm lay across his back, their faces only inches apart as Junsu continued to peer over his work. The student never seemed to understand the matter of personal space. Or at best, ignored it entirely.
Yet it was clear the older was too conscious of the student's actions and words, more than a sensible, respectable figure of society should be.
"I do have work to do." Yoochun said calmly, Junsu sighed as he pulled away and signed.
'When do you not?'
Yoochun shook his head, but coughed quite loudly before he could give an actual reply. Afterward, he saw Junsu hand him his drink, staying by the teacher that was prone to sickness. Junsu despite his reputation, cared more for the teacher than most would assume.
"I'll get you some water." Junsu said, grabbing his cup and leaving the classroom.
Yoochun was now able to breathe freely, relaxed. Only around the other could he be both tense and timid, but also free of his burdens. This constant balance between them tipped according to the student's whims, all because the teacher felt more than he should.
Just a few more years, Yoochun had told himself, then the crush would be gone. He wouldn't have to jeopardize his student, an afterthought included his career.
-
The present Yoochun heard a soft knock on his door, he looked up at the open door where Junsu leaned against the door frame. "You're still the same." The man walked behind the teacher, his hands on his shoulders and forcing him upright. "You're aging faster than you should."
"That's not a compliment I like hearing."
"Then stop making it so." Junsu informed. His cheek daringly brushed against the other's, skin against skin that made his neck warm at the contact. "If you don't rest, you'll get sick like before."
"It was never your job to worry about me." Yoochun said lightheartedly.
Junsu glowered, hands in his pockets as he leaned against the desk. "You say that, but it's impossible not to worry about you." He murmured. He waited until the teacher finished his work, the two then walking outside the campus until they reached the neighboring streets.
Junsu still kept by, but they remained in silence most of the way. Yoochun's gaze followed after him as the other continued stepping forward.
Despite the years, these feelings didn't lessen, that momentary crush he thought would end never did. He looked on as Junsu kicked the ground, stopping a short distance away as he looked up at the clear skies.
"Do you ever think about what could have happened?" Junsu asked. "If you hadn't been so uptight, what could have happened between us that day."
Yoochun shifted his gaze. "You understand why now though, do you not?"
Junsu sighed and signed with his hands, gesturing the words. 'I do, but it's not a good enough reason.'
Yoochun remained still as Junsu stepped forward, voicing his thoughts.
"Back then, a student and a teacher couldn't do anything more. But now we're just two adults." Junsu rested his arms around Yoochun's neck. "What's stopping us now?"
Yoochun visibly cleared his throat, his glasses lowering as Junsu, by habit, went to adjust them for his former teacher. Their physical proximity shortened, and the longer their gazes remained locked, the shorter it became.
Junsu kissed him softly on the lips.
It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling. That much Yoochun had known.
The day before Junsu's graduation, he was busy speaking with his student in the seclusion of his classroom. When to his surprise, the very student who propped himself on the desk, pulling Yoochun in for a brief kiss. Brief, only because Yoochun had pulled back before it could go any further.
"Why not?" Junsu had asked, the sight of him in his uniform made Yoochun realized the circumstances.
"We can't. I have obligations and you're just..." He struggled to say, Junsu's gaze hardened.
"You're telling me that I'm too young to understand how I feel?" Junsu asked, an edge of disappointment laced his words. "Don't disregard my emotions because of some number."
"You may not think anything of it, but that's how... That's how it works." Yoochun uttered, turning his back on his student.
Junsu scoffed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. The globe was thrown off its spot, spinning in place on the tiled ground.
He left without a word that afternoon, leaving Yoochun in internal turmoil. Because despite his self-righteous words, that kiss was something he yearned for, wanted, needed. But the same gesture brought him back to reality, and even if Junsu had graduated the next day, their difference in age was still too blatant.
He held back from running after him the moment Junsu stormed out of the classroom, a decision he regretted to this day.
Junsu pulled back, watching as Yoochun slowly opened his eyes. "Just as I remembered them to be."
Yoochun shifted his gaze, but the younger met his stare each time.
"I understand how the world works now," Junsu informed. "I know it too well that to be honest, I can't stand it. But I gained my obligations, my role to contribute to society, I did everything so that you wouldn't have a valid reason to reject me this time."
He gave a wistful smile. "Unless of course, you don't feel the same at all. Then I shouldn't have bothered coming back."
"Why did you come back?" Yoochun asked. "You used to say you'd never return to this town, that it was too simple for your liking."
"I thought there were better things out there, but the best thing in my life was here all along."
Yoochun felt Junsu pull away, hands lowering.
"Am I old enough for you to take my feelings seriously? Or are you going to brush them aside like before?"
The slight edge to his tone, the lingering bitterness of being rejected, was overshadowed by his dejected voice.
Yoochun placed his hands on Junsu's wrists. "I won't. Not anymore."
"Are you sure?" Junsu asked, afraid to get his hopes up.
"I am." Yoochun uttered without hesitance.
Junsu smiled as he leaned in to meet his lips once more, a feeling he couldn't get enough of. Not then, not now.
-
"Will you be leaving soon?" Yoochun asked. Junsu chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Now that I finally have you, leaving is the last thing I want to do."
Their shoulders brushed up occasionally, but Yoochun didn't mind their close proximity as they walked.
Junsu continued. "I had a job offer to this part of town, and wanted to see if it was worth coming back."
"Is it?" Yoochun teased, crossing his arms. The student feigned ignorance as the teacher shook his head, waving him off as he walked inside his home. Once inside, he looked through the parted curtains as Junsu still stood on the spot where he left him.
'Don't stay up too late.' Junsu gestured, Yoochun arched an eyebrow and held back a laugh. Their roles had reversed as to who should care for whom. But he decided it didn't matter.
That chance Junsu wanted, he'd finally give.
- ❄ Challenge 26 ❄ | ❄ Challenge 28 ❄ -