k-pop; foolproof plan
Title: Foolproof Plan
Pairing: Junmyeon/Jongdae
Rating: PG-13
Summary: AU. (551): My fall semester strategy is to submit my papers with a nude selfie.
Author’s Note: 3901 words. For this prompt on exopromptmeme. First time writing this pairing but I was terribly inspired by the prompt and just went with it. It was a lot of fun!! I hope you like! :)
There’s only one thing about Jongdae’s required literature class that makes getting up at 8 AM worth it, and that’s his T.A., Kim Junmyeon. All kind smiles and an unrelenting enthusiasm that would usually drive Jongdae nuts so early in the morning, is actually kind of strangely endearing. When Junmyeon rattles on about how Shakespeare utilizes iambic pentameter, Jongdae finds himself listening with much more rapt attention than he gives anything else. He knows that it’s because of Junmyeon, in his perfectly pressed button-ups and shining eyes, and not the fact that Jongdae has any actual interest in Shakespeare’s thousand sonnets.
*
“I’ve figured out how I’m going pass my lit class,” Jongdae announces. He slumps into a chair at the round table that Baekhyun and Yixing are occupying in the corner of the cafeteria.
“How’s that?” Yixing questions, looking intrigued, while Baekhyun is disinterested, staring intently at his phone in his hands.
Jongdae reaches over to steal a handful of Baekhyun’s fries, jabbing them into ketchup and then his mouth before Baekhyun can say anything. “My T.A. He’s really cute,” Jongdae says. Baekhyun looks up now, eyebrow raised. Jongdae grins. “Kim Junmyeon? He’s kind of tiny?”
“You’re kind of tiny, so I don’t think you can say anything,” Baekhyun snorts. “So, what? Are you going to blow him or something so he’ll pass you?” He swats Jongdae’s hand away when he tries to steal more fries.
“That’s part of it, at least,” Jongdae agrees. “Nah, I have to get his attention first. My strategy is to submit all my papers with a nude selfie.”
Yixing laughs, hides his mouth behind a hand. “You sound rather confident that this is actually going to work.”
Jongdae feels offended. “Of course it’s going to work!” he says. “I am confident. Look at me!”
Baekhyun and Yixing share a glance and then look at Jongdae. They burst out into laughter then, and Jongdae thinks he’s completely justified in grabbing Baekhyun’s entire plate of fries when he’s distracted.
“Assholes,” he grumbles. “The point is that this is totally a foolproof plan. There’s no way he’ll fail me.”
“Well, good luck,” Baekhyun says while Yixing continues to laugh, clutching onto Baekhyun’s arm and giggling into his shoulder. “Just don’t show us any of those nudes.”
*
Jongdae's friends think he's just messing around, but Jongdae is dead serious. He takes the selfies with a little bit of difficulty and Chanyeol hollering from his room whether he needs help, only to double over in laughter right after.
Actually writing his first paper for his class doesn't go as terribly as he thought. Maybe he really does retain more information in his class than he thought. Maybe the way Junmyeon's mouth looks as he talks helps him remember the rhyming patterns and how to tell the difference between a simile and a metaphor, so analyzing his choice of sonnet isn’t as terrible as he'd feared.
Whatever the case, literature has never been one of Jongdae’s strong points, so he's banking on the selfie to help him out. He stapled it to the end of his paper and feels pretty confident about the whole thing when he stops by the podium in the front of the lecture hall to turn it in at the end of class.
"How'd the writing go?" Junmyeon asks him conversationally. He really does have a nice smile. Jongdae thinks he's kind of adorable.
"Could have been worse, I suppose," Jongdae says with a shrug.
"You know you can always stop by and ask for help whenever you need it, Jongdae," Junmyeon says, and fuck, even the way Junmyeon says his name is nice.
"Thanks, hyung," Jongdae says. If things go as planned Junmyeon is the one who will come looking for him. "I'll keep that in mind."
"I'm sure your paper is great though."
Jongdae smirks. "Oh, it is," he says. "I expect nothing less than an A. Don't let my efforts go to waste."
Laughing, Junmyeon nods. "All right. I guess we'll see." And he takes Jongdae's paper from him with intrigue.
Jongdae grins at him before bidding his goodbye, a slight skip to his step for a job well done.
*
"I can't believe you actually did it!" Lu Han exclaims. He looks half amazed, half disturbed.
"I said I would, why do none if you believe me?" Jongdae demands.
"Because you gave your T.A. a nude photo." Kyungsoo, on the other hand, just looks disturbed. "What if he reports you?"
Jongdae opens his mouth and then shuts it. The possibility never even occurred to him. Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and says, “Now I hope he does, because you’d deserve it. Junmyeon’s really nice, and you’re trying to cheat your way into a good grade.”
“He actually likes Junmyeon though,” Lu Han says, flashing Jongdae a grin when Jongdae glares at him. “You should see him whenever he talks about him. So lovesick. It’s kind of gross.”
“Shut up,” Jongdae hisses. He chucks the remote off the coffee table at Lu Han’s head. Lu Han ducks, laughing, and Jongdae slumps back into the couch. “Anyway, Junmyeon’s too nice, he probably won’t report me without confronting me about it, first.”
“What will you do, if he does confront you?” Lu Han asks eagerly.
“Ask him if he’d liked to take the next selfie for me.” Jongdae grins. He can almost imagine Junmyeon’s flustered, confused face.
Kyungsoo sighs, rubbing at his temples in dismay. “Don’t get yourself into trouble, okay?” he says.
Jongdae just pats him on the back. “Don’t worry!” he says. His plan is foolproof afterall.
*
Except Junmyeon never comes and confronts Jongdae about his photo. Their papers are returned to them the next week, Jongdae’s classmates sitting around him groaning as they check over their grades. Junmyeon simply drops Jongdae’s paper onto his desk and then moves on without a word, and Jongdae feels a heavy weight sinking into his stomach.
The page with his photo has been ripped out of the stapled bundled. On the back of the last page is Junmyeon’s neat handwriting, telling him he’s done a good job but needs to work on presenting his thesis better, along with a few other points. In red pen, there’s a small B- in the corner of the paper.
There’s nothing else. No come see me after class, no please be careful not to attach unnecessary pages to your paper. Just the grade and Junmyeon’s comments, and Jongdae wonders where his plan went wrong.
*
Jongdae’s not one to give up. He tries again. They have a short essay to turn in that upcoming Friday and Jongdae takes another photo and attaches it to his paper without a second thought.
When Jongdae hands it in, Junmyeon says nothing about his previous paper or the photo that he’d handed in with it. Instead, he just smiles and takes Jongdae’s essay and says cheerfully, “I’m interested to read what you’ve written!”
He sounds so sincere that Jongdae feels a little embarrassed for including a nude photo once again. But only a little. “Well, I hope you like it,” he says. “I tried to keep what you said last time in mind.”
“Then I’m sure you’ve only improved,” Junmyeon says, with much more faith than Jongdae thinks he probably deserves. “Have a good weekend, Jongdae.”
“You, too, hyung,” Jongdae says and leaves class feeling slightly conflicted.
*
Jongdae doesn’t usually see much of Junmyeon outside of his literature class, but he finds him at the small campus coffee shop the following Monday.
It’s 7:30 in the morning and Jongdae really needs some caffeine to keep him awake, especially through his lit class. He’s waiting in line to place his order and Junmyeon is two people ahead of him, smiling kindly at the unhappy looking student employee named Sehun who seems like he can’t believe he has to work such a crappy shift. When Junmyeon gets his cup and turns around, he meets Jongdae’s eyes almost instantly and Jongdae ignores the fact that it’s probably because he hasn’t been able to stop looking at him, over the shoulder of the girl standing between them.
“Good morning!” Junmyeon says happily, joining Jongdae in line again. “You look...haggard.”
Jongdae would glare but he’s too tired. “You look annoyingly cheerful,” he returns and Junmyeon just smiles over the rim of his cardboard cup. “How do you manage to look so--” Jongdae quickly bites down the word cute because hitting on his T.A. at 7:30 in the morning isn’t really part of his plan for the day, “--so...awake?” he finishes lamely instead. Fuck, he’s a mess. It just figures he’d see Junmyeon so early on a day when Jongdae feels like there’s something growing in his hair and he’s got dark, hideous circles under his eyes that could rival Zitao’s. He doesn’t even have a good excuse; he’d just been up playing video games with Chanyeol until three in the morning.
“I go to sleep on time,” Junmyeon says, and he smirks a little, like he can read Jongdae’s thoughts and knows exactly what Jongdae spent his night doing. “You should try that, sometime.”
“Sleep is for losers,” Jongdae grumbles. It makes Junmyeon laugh, though, eyes crinkling and full, white teeth showing, and Jongdae watches him with a strange warmth in his chest.
“But if you did, you wouldn’t sleep through my classes.” Junmyeon pouts. Jongdae has to force himself not to stare at his mouth. “Are my lectures that boring?”
“Well, you could maybe stand to not get so carried away and go off on tangents for half the class,” Jongdae says, grinning slowly.
Junmyeon delivers a half-hearted punch to Jongdae’s shoulder with a laugh, and Jongdae, surprised by their easy camaraderie, laughs, too. “I guess you make a good point,” he says. “Next time I do that, just yell at me.”
“Since you’re giving me permission, I definitely will,” Jongdae says, and Junmyeon’s bright smile makes Jongdae’s stomach twist into knots.
*
“You’re kidding. He hasn’t said anything?” Kyungsoo says, eyes wider than usual as he stares at Jongdae in disbelief.
Jongdae rolls around on his bed, hands twisted into his hair. “I know!! I don’t understand!”
“Well, clearly the only answer here is that he’s not interested,” Chanyeol says, unhelpfully. He looks seconds away from bursting into laughter at Jongdae’s expense. “Guess your dick isn’t that impressive--Ow.” The book Jongdae had thrown at him falls to the floor with a dull thud while Chanyeol glowers at him and clutches his forehead.
Jongdae ignores him. “If he wants to ignore the photos, that’s fine, but I figured he’d still say something. Like he doesn’t even ask me to stop?” Jongdae’s sent along two more photos for recent assignments and still Junmyeon says nothing. He wonders if he even sees them, if he just throws the photo away or, if, for whatever reason, he keeps them. What if Jongdae’s just given Junmyeon blackmail material for life?
His whole foolproof plan is starting to sound a little ridiculous now.
“It was ridiculous to begin with,” Kyungsoo says, also unhelpfully. Jongdae needs new friends. “You should just give up and actually do your work properly and you won’t need to humiliate yourself in the process.”
“I’m not humiliating myself. He doesn’t even mention them! He asked if I wanted to get lunch with him yesterday and the whole time we ate, he talked about his graduate classes and told me which professors I should avoid next year and didn’t say anything about the stupid photos!”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Chanyeol says. He’s stopped rubbing his head and is spinning around on Jongdae’s wheely chair. “The fact that he even wants to have lunch with you after what you did means he doesn’t care.”
But maybe I want him to care, Jongdae thinks unhappily, pushing his face into his pillow and wallowing. It’s kind of a weird blow to his ego that Junmyeon hasn’t confronted him about the photos.
Maybe he should take Kyungsoo’s advice and just give up.
*
Jongdae turns in his first draft for his lit class’ big research paper without a photo. It’s the first assignment he’s handed in without one. If Junmyeon’s not going to say anything about them, then there really is no point, right? Other than hoping the photos would’ve gotten him a good grade, Jongdae was looking forward to Junmyeon’s reaction. He really would have suggested Junmyeon to take the next photo for him, if he had.
So instead, Jongdae does the work as well as he can, and he turns in his draft with a smile and leaves before Junmyeon can catch him in conversation.
What Jongdae doesn't expect is his draft to be returned with a small note from Junmyeon.
I feel like this is missing something your other essays had. Let me know if you need help. :)
Jongdae reads that message over multiple times, but the only conclusion he can come to is the Junmyeon's referring to the photo. He's realized, by now, that Junmyeon's not a pushover, that the photos probably haven't been helping him get a good grade at all because Junmyeon's not the mind of person to take the bribe. But then, maybe, Junmyeon hasn't mentioned the photos because he has been keeping them for himself.
Jongdae could just ask him about it. But instead he staples a new photo to his next assignment, a short reaction to Act II of King Lear, and, after a moment's hesitation, scribbles across the bottom, I hope this is more like what you're looking for.
*
It’s like ever since Jongdae started sending Junmyeon naked photos of himself that he starts seeing Junmyeon across campus more than ever before. Jongdae’s not complaining about that in the least, but it’s slightly disconcerting, considering Junmyeon still doesn’t even mention Jongdae’s photos. Instead he sort of snakes his way into Jongdae’s life like Jongdae never expected him too, with his cheerful demeanor and his weird laughter and the cute way his eyes curve when he smiles too wide. He takes all of Jongdae’s friends by surprise, slinking into a seat beside Jongdae in the cafeteria and startling Baekhyun and Lu Han when he introduces himself. Jongdae is quick to notice the glint of mischief in their eyes, and steers the conversation away from Jongdae’s lit class before his good-for-nothing friends can bring up his admittedly-not-that-foolproof plan to passing his class.
It’s strange, because despite all that, they seem to like him, and Jongdae really likes him, has come to like him even more now that he knows him more. Junmyeon likes to read a lot and hates scary films (which was a delightful realization when Jongdae dragged him to a campus screening of Sinister and Junmyeon had clung to his arm throughout the whole two hours). He’s funny and impossibly nice, offering Jongdae help in not just his lit class but other courses, too, even though Jongdae brushes him off because Junmyeon has a lot to do with his own graduate classes.
“I don’t mind,” he insists, and Jongdae’s started to realize Junmyeon just enjoys helping people. So he suggests they study together in the library sometime, and if he ever needs the help, Junmyeon would be right there to assist him.
“You realize he wants to spend more time with you,” Yixing points out one evening after Junmyeon leaves their table early after dinner. “Maybe your weird photos actually worked.”
“I don’t know,” Jongdae says. “He still won’t talk about them. And fuck if I’m ever gonna bring it up myself.” He scratches the side of his face and adds, “And, well, yeah, I do realize. I want to spend more time with him, too.”
That was definitely the wrong thing to say because Yixing’s face breaks out into a big, soppy grin. “Awww, so cute,” he coos, reaching across the table to pinch Jongdae’s cheeks.
Beside Yixing, Chanyeol snickers. “This is basically the weirdest dating routine I’ve ever seen.”
“But we’re not dating!!” Jongdae hates how unhappy he sounds about that fact.
“Yet,” Chanyeol says. “Maybe he’s been waiting for you to ask him about the photos.”
“If he was interested, he’d bring them up,” Jongdae mutters, and refuses to believe otherwise.
*
Jongdae turns in the second draft of his research paper with another nude selfie. He’s not completely sure why he keeps doing it, when it’s clear that his grade in the class hasn’t jumped to an A and stayed there. He’s been doing consistent B-range work, which is definitely better than his usual literature grades, but he’s not sure how much of that is affected by his photos.
He’s gotten used to not expecting Junmyeon to say anything about the photos, so when he gets the draft back, he almost drops it in shock. Scrawled at the bottom of his draft is: this is good, but I think it could be better. Come see me after class.
And that’s it, that’s what Jongdae’s been waiting for. He spends the entirety of the lecture with anxiety bubbling in his stomach and he can barely look at Junmyeon without thinking about what might happen after class. Jongdae doesn’t take many notes that day, absentmindedly scribbling in his notebook instead, and when Junmyeon dismisses them, he nearly trips over himself in his haste to get out.
Junmyeon is shuffling his notes into his soft brown leather messenger bag when Jongdae comes up and says, “You wanted to see me?”
“Yes,” Junmyeon says, and he smiles as he shuts the flap on his bag. He glances around the room, waiting for the last student to file out, and Jongdae knows there’s no class in here for another hour. When Junmyeon walks over to shut the door on them, he swallows thickly, and feels a little trapped.
The silence is a suffocating; Jongdae doesn’t know what to expect. He clears his throat and tries to play it cool, asks, “Was there something wrong with my paper, hyung?”
Junmyeon laughs softly, walking back over to Jongdae. He shakes his head. “No,” he says, “it’s good. I just think...”
“Think what?” Jongdae prompts. He licks his lips slowly, anticipation rising in his veins, because Junmyeon is suddenly very close, and he doesn’t look like he’s interested in talking about Jongdae’s paper at all. The way his eyes dart down to watch the swipe of Jongdae’s tongue across his lips says more than enough.
Instead of waiting for Junmyeon’s response, Jongdae just leans forward and kisses him like he’s pretty much wanted to do for weeks. It’s a hard press of lips against lips, and Jongdae catches Junmyeon’s eyes widening before they fall shut, and then Junmyeon’s fingers are clutching at the front of his shirt and his mouth parts. Jongdae takes that as a sign to push on, and he kisses him a little deeper, a little more desperate, fingers reaching out to curl into the back of Joonyun’s hair, sliding down through the soft locks and cupping the nape of his neck.
Junmyeon makes this tiny noise of pleasure that has Jongdae grinning, wide, and pulling back, eager to look at Junmyeon in the face. He enjoys the slight flush across his cheeks, and the way Junmyeon is trying to tug him close, fingers tightening in his shirt.
“You know,” Junmyeon says slowly. “No one has ever flirted with me like that before.”
He doesn't need to elaborate for Jongdae to know what he’s talking about. Despite that, Jongdae ends up blurting out, “I wasn’t flirting! I just wanted to pass the class!”
The second Junmyeon’s face falls, Jongdae wants to punch himself. “Oh,” he says, and he looks unbelievably put out. Jongdae hates when he pouts because it makes him want to kiss him. He probably could, right now, but maybe he should salvage this first.
“No, I mean--well, it kind of started that way, but now--”
“But now?” Junmyeon looks so hopeful.
“But now I like you, I mean I’ve liked you for awhile, I mean you realize I’ve been sending you nudes all semester like I don’t just give those out for anyone!” Jongdae exclaims, bordering on hysterical.
Junmyeon is laughing now, and there’s clear amusement in his eyes. “Really? How can I be so sure you don’t hand them in to your philosophy class that Yifan T.A.s for?”
“Oh my god, why would you even say that.” Jongdae makes a face and shudders. “I would never--”
His words are cut off because Junmyeon is kissing him again, tongue slipping into his mouth and making Jongdae's head spin. "Good," Junmyeon says when he breaks away. "I don't think I'd have liked that very much."
Jongdae just gapes at him, unsure what to say. Junmyeon, however, smiles and unfurled his fingers from Jongdae's shirt and smoothes down the wrinkles. Even through the fabric, his touch is burning.
"You don't have class until eleven, right? Want to get breakfast with me?" he asks and Jongdae nods wordlessly, still feeling a little dumbfounded by everything.
"Good," Junmyeon says, and he squeezes Jongdae's hand.
*
"Why didn't you ever say anything about the photos?" Jongdae asks. It's later in the day, after all of Jongdae's classes have ended and Junmyeon has a break before his evening lecture. They'd spent most of the hour making out in Jongdae's bed, which was a wonderful surprise. He hadn't expected Junmyeon to show up at his dorm and nearly manhandle him to his room.
"At first I just thought it was an accident," Junmyeon admits, "but then you kept sending them, and honestly, I wasn't sure what to do. Other than the fact that I didn't exactly mind getting them, so I guess I didn't say anything in case you stopped?" He flushes, looking embarrassed, and presses his face into Jongdae's shoulder.
"If you liked them you should have said so! I could have sent you them personally." Jongdae waggles his eyebrows.
Junmyeon snorts. "I think I have enough to last me awhile."
"You kept them?" Jongdae squeaks, not sure if he's delighted or embarrassed.
Junmyeon gives him a look like "duh," and then leans up to kiss him, slowly. "Maybe I'll help you take the next one," he says with a very attractive smirk, and Jongdae doesn't even mind that that was technically supposed to be his line, and just tugs Junmyeon in for another kiss.
*
The next morning Jongdae wakes to a message from Junmyeon on his phone.
Good morning! ☼☼☼ it reads, obnoxiously cheerful for so early like Junmyeon always is.
But there’s more underneath, and Jongdae rubs sleepily at his eyes as scrolls down with his other hand. Jongdae drops his phone onto the floor in shock because there’s a photo of Junmyeon attached. A photo of Junmyeon naked.
Before Jongdae can even begin to process this, his phone beeps with a new message. He almost falls off his bed in his haste to retrieve it.
I think it’s time I return the favor, don't you? ;)
Jongdae grins. He’s looking forward to it.
note: this was fun to write i hope you enjoyed it!! thank you reading! 。(⌒∇⌒。)
Pairing: Junmyeon/Jongdae
Rating: PG-13
Summary: AU. (551): My fall semester strategy is to submit my papers with a nude selfie.
Author’s Note: 3901 words. For this prompt on exopromptmeme. First time writing this pairing but I was terribly inspired by the prompt and just went with it. It was a lot of fun!! I hope you like! :)
There’s only one thing about Jongdae’s required literature class that makes getting up at 8 AM worth it, and that’s his T.A., Kim Junmyeon. All kind smiles and an unrelenting enthusiasm that would usually drive Jongdae nuts so early in the morning, is actually kind of strangely endearing. When Junmyeon rattles on about how Shakespeare utilizes iambic pentameter, Jongdae finds himself listening with much more rapt attention than he gives anything else. He knows that it’s because of Junmyeon, in his perfectly pressed button-ups and shining eyes, and not the fact that Jongdae has any actual interest in Shakespeare’s thousand sonnets.
*
“I’ve figured out how I’m going pass my lit class,” Jongdae announces. He slumps into a chair at the round table that Baekhyun and Yixing are occupying in the corner of the cafeteria.
“How’s that?” Yixing questions, looking intrigued, while Baekhyun is disinterested, staring intently at his phone in his hands.
Jongdae reaches over to steal a handful of Baekhyun’s fries, jabbing them into ketchup and then his mouth before Baekhyun can say anything. “My T.A. He’s really cute,” Jongdae says. Baekhyun looks up now, eyebrow raised. Jongdae grins. “Kim Junmyeon? He’s kind of tiny?”
“You’re kind of tiny, so I don’t think you can say anything,” Baekhyun snorts. “So, what? Are you going to blow him or something so he’ll pass you?” He swats Jongdae’s hand away when he tries to steal more fries.
“That’s part of it, at least,” Jongdae agrees. “Nah, I have to get his attention first. My strategy is to submit all my papers with a nude selfie.”
Yixing laughs, hides his mouth behind a hand. “You sound rather confident that this is actually going to work.”
Jongdae feels offended. “Of course it’s going to work!” he says. “I am confident. Look at me!”
Baekhyun and Yixing share a glance and then look at Jongdae. They burst out into laughter then, and Jongdae thinks he’s completely justified in grabbing Baekhyun’s entire plate of fries when he’s distracted.
“Assholes,” he grumbles. “The point is that this is totally a foolproof plan. There’s no way he’ll fail me.”
“Well, good luck,” Baekhyun says while Yixing continues to laugh, clutching onto Baekhyun’s arm and giggling into his shoulder. “Just don’t show us any of those nudes.”
*
Jongdae's friends think he's just messing around, but Jongdae is dead serious. He takes the selfies with a little bit of difficulty and Chanyeol hollering from his room whether he needs help, only to double over in laughter right after.
Actually writing his first paper for his class doesn't go as terribly as he thought. Maybe he really does retain more information in his class than he thought. Maybe the way Junmyeon's mouth looks as he talks helps him remember the rhyming patterns and how to tell the difference between a simile and a metaphor, so analyzing his choice of sonnet isn’t as terrible as he'd feared.
Whatever the case, literature has never been one of Jongdae’s strong points, so he's banking on the selfie to help him out. He stapled it to the end of his paper and feels pretty confident about the whole thing when he stops by the podium in the front of the lecture hall to turn it in at the end of class.
"How'd the writing go?" Junmyeon asks him conversationally. He really does have a nice smile. Jongdae thinks he's kind of adorable.
"Could have been worse, I suppose," Jongdae says with a shrug.
"You know you can always stop by and ask for help whenever you need it, Jongdae," Junmyeon says, and fuck, even the way Junmyeon says his name is nice.
"Thanks, hyung," Jongdae says. If things go as planned Junmyeon is the one who will come looking for him. "I'll keep that in mind."
"I'm sure your paper is great though."
Jongdae smirks. "Oh, it is," he says. "I expect nothing less than an A. Don't let my efforts go to waste."
Laughing, Junmyeon nods. "All right. I guess we'll see." And he takes Jongdae's paper from him with intrigue.
Jongdae grins at him before bidding his goodbye, a slight skip to his step for a job well done.
*
"I can't believe you actually did it!" Lu Han exclaims. He looks half amazed, half disturbed.
"I said I would, why do none if you believe me?" Jongdae demands.
"Because you gave your T.A. a nude photo." Kyungsoo, on the other hand, just looks disturbed. "What if he reports you?"
Jongdae opens his mouth and then shuts it. The possibility never even occurred to him. Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and says, “Now I hope he does, because you’d deserve it. Junmyeon’s really nice, and you’re trying to cheat your way into a good grade.”
“He actually likes Junmyeon though,” Lu Han says, flashing Jongdae a grin when Jongdae glares at him. “You should see him whenever he talks about him. So lovesick. It’s kind of gross.”
“Shut up,” Jongdae hisses. He chucks the remote off the coffee table at Lu Han’s head. Lu Han ducks, laughing, and Jongdae slumps back into the couch. “Anyway, Junmyeon’s too nice, he probably won’t report me without confronting me about it, first.”
“What will you do, if he does confront you?” Lu Han asks eagerly.
“Ask him if he’d liked to take the next selfie for me.” Jongdae grins. He can almost imagine Junmyeon’s flustered, confused face.
Kyungsoo sighs, rubbing at his temples in dismay. “Don’t get yourself into trouble, okay?” he says.
Jongdae just pats him on the back. “Don’t worry!” he says. His plan is foolproof afterall.
*
Except Junmyeon never comes and confronts Jongdae about his photo. Their papers are returned to them the next week, Jongdae’s classmates sitting around him groaning as they check over their grades. Junmyeon simply drops Jongdae’s paper onto his desk and then moves on without a word, and Jongdae feels a heavy weight sinking into his stomach.
The page with his photo has been ripped out of the stapled bundled. On the back of the last page is Junmyeon’s neat handwriting, telling him he’s done a good job but needs to work on presenting his thesis better, along with a few other points. In red pen, there’s a small B- in the corner of the paper.
There’s nothing else. No come see me after class, no please be careful not to attach unnecessary pages to your paper. Just the grade and Junmyeon’s comments, and Jongdae wonders where his plan went wrong.
*
Jongdae’s not one to give up. He tries again. They have a short essay to turn in that upcoming Friday and Jongdae takes another photo and attaches it to his paper without a second thought.
When Jongdae hands it in, Junmyeon says nothing about his previous paper or the photo that he’d handed in with it. Instead, he just smiles and takes Jongdae’s essay and says cheerfully, “I’m interested to read what you’ve written!”
He sounds so sincere that Jongdae feels a little embarrassed for including a nude photo once again. But only a little. “Well, I hope you like it,” he says. “I tried to keep what you said last time in mind.”
“Then I’m sure you’ve only improved,” Junmyeon says, with much more faith than Jongdae thinks he probably deserves. “Have a good weekend, Jongdae.”
“You, too, hyung,” Jongdae says and leaves class feeling slightly conflicted.
*
Jongdae doesn’t usually see much of Junmyeon outside of his literature class, but he finds him at the small campus coffee shop the following Monday.
It’s 7:30 in the morning and Jongdae really needs some caffeine to keep him awake, especially through his lit class. He’s waiting in line to place his order and Junmyeon is two people ahead of him, smiling kindly at the unhappy looking student employee named Sehun who seems like he can’t believe he has to work such a crappy shift. When Junmyeon gets his cup and turns around, he meets Jongdae’s eyes almost instantly and Jongdae ignores the fact that it’s probably because he hasn’t been able to stop looking at him, over the shoulder of the girl standing between them.
“Good morning!” Junmyeon says happily, joining Jongdae in line again. “You look...haggard.”
Jongdae would glare but he’s too tired. “You look annoyingly cheerful,” he returns and Junmyeon just smiles over the rim of his cardboard cup. “How do you manage to look so--” Jongdae quickly bites down the word cute because hitting on his T.A. at 7:30 in the morning isn’t really part of his plan for the day, “--so...awake?” he finishes lamely instead. Fuck, he’s a mess. It just figures he’d see Junmyeon so early on a day when Jongdae feels like there’s something growing in his hair and he’s got dark, hideous circles under his eyes that could rival Zitao’s. He doesn’t even have a good excuse; he’d just been up playing video games with Chanyeol until three in the morning.
“I go to sleep on time,” Junmyeon says, and he smirks a little, like he can read Jongdae’s thoughts and knows exactly what Jongdae spent his night doing. “You should try that, sometime.”
“Sleep is for losers,” Jongdae grumbles. It makes Junmyeon laugh, though, eyes crinkling and full, white teeth showing, and Jongdae watches him with a strange warmth in his chest.
“But if you did, you wouldn’t sleep through my classes.” Junmyeon pouts. Jongdae has to force himself not to stare at his mouth. “Are my lectures that boring?”
“Well, you could maybe stand to not get so carried away and go off on tangents for half the class,” Jongdae says, grinning slowly.
Junmyeon delivers a half-hearted punch to Jongdae’s shoulder with a laugh, and Jongdae, surprised by their easy camaraderie, laughs, too. “I guess you make a good point,” he says. “Next time I do that, just yell at me.”
“Since you’re giving me permission, I definitely will,” Jongdae says, and Junmyeon’s bright smile makes Jongdae’s stomach twist into knots.
*
“You’re kidding. He hasn’t said anything?” Kyungsoo says, eyes wider than usual as he stares at Jongdae in disbelief.
Jongdae rolls around on his bed, hands twisted into his hair. “I know!! I don’t understand!”
“Well, clearly the only answer here is that he’s not interested,” Chanyeol says, unhelpfully. He looks seconds away from bursting into laughter at Jongdae’s expense. “Guess your dick isn’t that impressive--Ow.” The book Jongdae had thrown at him falls to the floor with a dull thud while Chanyeol glowers at him and clutches his forehead.
Jongdae ignores him. “If he wants to ignore the photos, that’s fine, but I figured he’d still say something. Like he doesn’t even ask me to stop?” Jongdae’s sent along two more photos for recent assignments and still Junmyeon says nothing. He wonders if he even sees them, if he just throws the photo away or, if, for whatever reason, he keeps them. What if Jongdae’s just given Junmyeon blackmail material for life?
His whole foolproof plan is starting to sound a little ridiculous now.
“It was ridiculous to begin with,” Kyungsoo says, also unhelpfully. Jongdae needs new friends. “You should just give up and actually do your work properly and you won’t need to humiliate yourself in the process.”
“I’m not humiliating myself. He doesn’t even mention them! He asked if I wanted to get lunch with him yesterday and the whole time we ate, he talked about his graduate classes and told me which professors I should avoid next year and didn’t say anything about the stupid photos!”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Chanyeol says. He’s stopped rubbing his head and is spinning around on Jongdae’s wheely chair. “The fact that he even wants to have lunch with you after what you did means he doesn’t care.”
But maybe I want him to care, Jongdae thinks unhappily, pushing his face into his pillow and wallowing. It’s kind of a weird blow to his ego that Junmyeon hasn’t confronted him about the photos.
Maybe he should take Kyungsoo’s advice and just give up.
*
Jongdae turns in his first draft for his lit class’ big research paper without a photo. It’s the first assignment he’s handed in without one. If Junmyeon’s not going to say anything about them, then there really is no point, right? Other than hoping the photos would’ve gotten him a good grade, Jongdae was looking forward to Junmyeon’s reaction. He really would have suggested Junmyeon to take the next photo for him, if he had.
So instead, Jongdae does the work as well as he can, and he turns in his draft with a smile and leaves before Junmyeon can catch him in conversation.
What Jongdae doesn't expect is his draft to be returned with a small note from Junmyeon.
I feel like this is missing something your other essays had. Let me know if you need help. :)
Jongdae reads that message over multiple times, but the only conclusion he can come to is the Junmyeon's referring to the photo. He's realized, by now, that Junmyeon's not a pushover, that the photos probably haven't been helping him get a good grade at all because Junmyeon's not the mind of person to take the bribe. But then, maybe, Junmyeon hasn't mentioned the photos because he has been keeping them for himself.
Jongdae could just ask him about it. But instead he staples a new photo to his next assignment, a short reaction to Act II of King Lear, and, after a moment's hesitation, scribbles across the bottom, I hope this is more like what you're looking for.
*
It’s like ever since Jongdae started sending Junmyeon naked photos of himself that he starts seeing Junmyeon across campus more than ever before. Jongdae’s not complaining about that in the least, but it’s slightly disconcerting, considering Junmyeon still doesn’t even mention Jongdae’s photos. Instead he sort of snakes his way into Jongdae’s life like Jongdae never expected him too, with his cheerful demeanor and his weird laughter and the cute way his eyes curve when he smiles too wide. He takes all of Jongdae’s friends by surprise, slinking into a seat beside Jongdae in the cafeteria and startling Baekhyun and Lu Han when he introduces himself. Jongdae is quick to notice the glint of mischief in their eyes, and steers the conversation away from Jongdae’s lit class before his good-for-nothing friends can bring up his admittedly-not-that-foolproof plan to passing his class.
It’s strange, because despite all that, they seem to like him, and Jongdae really likes him, has come to like him even more now that he knows him more. Junmyeon likes to read a lot and hates scary films (which was a delightful realization when Jongdae dragged him to a campus screening of Sinister and Junmyeon had clung to his arm throughout the whole two hours). He’s funny and impossibly nice, offering Jongdae help in not just his lit class but other courses, too, even though Jongdae brushes him off because Junmyeon has a lot to do with his own graduate classes.
“I don’t mind,” he insists, and Jongdae’s started to realize Junmyeon just enjoys helping people. So he suggests they study together in the library sometime, and if he ever needs the help, Junmyeon would be right there to assist him.
“You realize he wants to spend more time with you,” Yixing points out one evening after Junmyeon leaves their table early after dinner. “Maybe your weird photos actually worked.”
“I don’t know,” Jongdae says. “He still won’t talk about them. And fuck if I’m ever gonna bring it up myself.” He scratches the side of his face and adds, “And, well, yeah, I do realize. I want to spend more time with him, too.”
That was definitely the wrong thing to say because Yixing’s face breaks out into a big, soppy grin. “Awww, so cute,” he coos, reaching across the table to pinch Jongdae’s cheeks.
Beside Yixing, Chanyeol snickers. “This is basically the weirdest dating routine I’ve ever seen.”
“But we’re not dating!!” Jongdae hates how unhappy he sounds about that fact.
“Yet,” Chanyeol says. “Maybe he’s been waiting for you to ask him about the photos.”
“If he was interested, he’d bring them up,” Jongdae mutters, and refuses to believe otherwise.
*
Jongdae turns in the second draft of his research paper with another nude selfie. He’s not completely sure why he keeps doing it, when it’s clear that his grade in the class hasn’t jumped to an A and stayed there. He’s been doing consistent B-range work, which is definitely better than his usual literature grades, but he’s not sure how much of that is affected by his photos.
He’s gotten used to not expecting Junmyeon to say anything about the photos, so when he gets the draft back, he almost drops it in shock. Scrawled at the bottom of his draft is: this is good, but I think it could be better. Come see me after class.
And that’s it, that’s what Jongdae’s been waiting for. He spends the entirety of the lecture with anxiety bubbling in his stomach and he can barely look at Junmyeon without thinking about what might happen after class. Jongdae doesn’t take many notes that day, absentmindedly scribbling in his notebook instead, and when Junmyeon dismisses them, he nearly trips over himself in his haste to get out.
Junmyeon is shuffling his notes into his soft brown leather messenger bag when Jongdae comes up and says, “You wanted to see me?”
“Yes,” Junmyeon says, and he smiles as he shuts the flap on his bag. He glances around the room, waiting for the last student to file out, and Jongdae knows there’s no class in here for another hour. When Junmyeon walks over to shut the door on them, he swallows thickly, and feels a little trapped.
The silence is a suffocating; Jongdae doesn’t know what to expect. He clears his throat and tries to play it cool, asks, “Was there something wrong with my paper, hyung?”
Junmyeon laughs softly, walking back over to Jongdae. He shakes his head. “No,” he says, “it’s good. I just think...”
“Think what?” Jongdae prompts. He licks his lips slowly, anticipation rising in his veins, because Junmyeon is suddenly very close, and he doesn’t look like he’s interested in talking about Jongdae’s paper at all. The way his eyes dart down to watch the swipe of Jongdae’s tongue across his lips says more than enough.
Instead of waiting for Junmyeon’s response, Jongdae just leans forward and kisses him like he’s pretty much wanted to do for weeks. It’s a hard press of lips against lips, and Jongdae catches Junmyeon’s eyes widening before they fall shut, and then Junmyeon’s fingers are clutching at the front of his shirt and his mouth parts. Jongdae takes that as a sign to push on, and he kisses him a little deeper, a little more desperate, fingers reaching out to curl into the back of Joonyun’s hair, sliding down through the soft locks and cupping the nape of his neck.
Junmyeon makes this tiny noise of pleasure that has Jongdae grinning, wide, and pulling back, eager to look at Junmyeon in the face. He enjoys the slight flush across his cheeks, and the way Junmyeon is trying to tug him close, fingers tightening in his shirt.
“You know,” Junmyeon says slowly. “No one has ever flirted with me like that before.”
He doesn't need to elaborate for Jongdae to know what he’s talking about. Despite that, Jongdae ends up blurting out, “I wasn’t flirting! I just wanted to pass the class!”
The second Junmyeon’s face falls, Jongdae wants to punch himself. “Oh,” he says, and he looks unbelievably put out. Jongdae hates when he pouts because it makes him want to kiss him. He probably could, right now, but maybe he should salvage this first.
“No, I mean--well, it kind of started that way, but now--”
“But now?” Junmyeon looks so hopeful.
“But now I like you, I mean I’ve liked you for awhile, I mean you realize I’ve been sending you nudes all semester like I don’t just give those out for anyone!” Jongdae exclaims, bordering on hysterical.
Junmyeon is laughing now, and there’s clear amusement in his eyes. “Really? How can I be so sure you don’t hand them in to your philosophy class that Yifan T.A.s for?”
“Oh my god, why would you even say that.” Jongdae makes a face and shudders. “I would never--”
His words are cut off because Junmyeon is kissing him again, tongue slipping into his mouth and making Jongdae's head spin. "Good," Junmyeon says when he breaks away. "I don't think I'd have liked that very much."
Jongdae just gapes at him, unsure what to say. Junmyeon, however, smiles and unfurled his fingers from Jongdae's shirt and smoothes down the wrinkles. Even through the fabric, his touch is burning.
"You don't have class until eleven, right? Want to get breakfast with me?" he asks and Jongdae nods wordlessly, still feeling a little dumbfounded by everything.
"Good," Junmyeon says, and he squeezes Jongdae's hand.
*
"Why didn't you ever say anything about the photos?" Jongdae asks. It's later in the day, after all of Jongdae's classes have ended and Junmyeon has a break before his evening lecture. They'd spent most of the hour making out in Jongdae's bed, which was a wonderful surprise. He hadn't expected Junmyeon to show up at his dorm and nearly manhandle him to his room.
"At first I just thought it was an accident," Junmyeon admits, "but then you kept sending them, and honestly, I wasn't sure what to do. Other than the fact that I didn't exactly mind getting them, so I guess I didn't say anything in case you stopped?" He flushes, looking embarrassed, and presses his face into Jongdae's shoulder.
"If you liked them you should have said so! I could have sent you them personally." Jongdae waggles his eyebrows.
Junmyeon snorts. "I think I have enough to last me awhile."
"You kept them?" Jongdae squeaks, not sure if he's delighted or embarrassed.
Junmyeon gives him a look like "duh," and then leans up to kiss him, slowly. "Maybe I'll help you take the next one," he says with a very attractive smirk, and Jongdae doesn't even mind that that was technically supposed to be his line, and just tugs Junmyeon in for another kiss.
*
The next morning Jongdae wakes to a message from Junmyeon on his phone.
Good morning! ☼☼☼ it reads, obnoxiously cheerful for so early like Junmyeon always is.
But there’s more underneath, and Jongdae rubs sleepily at his eyes as scrolls down with his other hand. Jongdae drops his phone onto the floor in shock because there’s a photo of Junmyeon attached. A photo of Junmyeon naked.
Before Jongdae can even begin to process this, his phone beeps with a new message. He almost falls off his bed in his haste to retrieve it.
I think it’s time I return the favor, don't you? ;)
Jongdae grins. He’s looking forward to it.
note: this was fun to write i hope you enjoyed it!! thank you reading! 。(⌒∇⌒。)