Chapter 3

To tell the truth, Taeyong hadn’t been aware that his student ID had been missing until he checked his email account and saw the message from Lee Jun.

He had been spending the last two days working on his research, coming along with Jisoo to the school where he worked to observe while Jisoo taught his students using the lesson plan Taeyong had prepared beforehand, and following Jisoo to wherever the guy dragged him to after that.

Taeyong realized, as he watched his best friend teaching his students, that Jisoo was really born to be a teacher. He was gentle and soft spoken, but in the classroom his presence demonstrated authority and when he addressed the class, he demanded undivided attention without needing to raise his voice. He was a resourceful teacher and despite being strict, he didn’t make his students afraid of him. In fact, Taeyong noted, the students loved him.

He saw from the way the students at the back rows craned their neck to see his face when he spoke from the front of the class, even if Jisoo wasn’t actually explaining about the topic being discussed but was instead talking about inane stuff. He saw from the way the students seek Jisoo out whenever they had even the slightest problem with the task assigned by Jisoo, and watched how they listened, wide eyed and eager, as Jisoo patiently repeated his previous explanation. Jisoo even managed to make his students, not quite forget, but less aware of Taeyong’s imposing figure at the back of the classroom.

This Jisoo was different from the Jisoo Taeyong had known from all the years they had been friends, but Taeyong knew this Jisoo had been in there all along. It just hadn’t found the perfect time to materialize before. And Taeyong found himself secretly admiring his best friend and hoped he would be able to interact with his students as well as Jisoo did. Thanks to the fact that most people always thought he was angry just by looking at his face, however, Taeyong might have to consider that a lost cause. Chances were his students would be too frightened to just greet him on the hallways because his face looked scary. Taeyong tried to not be too depressed over it.

Or maybe he wasn’t supposed to be a teacher after all, like what his father had said.

Taeyong set that thought aside immediately.

The afternoon of the second day Jisoo took him to a café a few blocks from the school for lunch. The food was surprisingly good. When they were back at Jisoo’s place, Taeyong remembered that he had an email from Taemin that he hadn’t checked yet because Taemin had sent it the day he left. Taemin was this underclassman of his that somewhere along the way had become more of an adoptive younger brother rather than a junior to Taeyong.

Taemin was a lot of things but one of the most bizarre things about Taeyong’s pseudo-little brother, Taeyong thought, might be the fact that Taemin wrote fanfictions. Not just your generic fanfictions, but slash fanfictions, as in fictions about two famous guys being romantically involved with each other, with sex and all. Taeyong at first found out about this when he one night strolled into Taemin’s room while Taemin was typing something on his laptop and was too absorbed in whatever it was he was working on that he hadn’t noticed Taeyong come in.

Taeyong was curios so he casually walked to stand behind Taemin and read over Taemin’s shoulder. He then noticed that Taemin was writing a story in English. And like the anal reader that he was, Taeyong immediately spotted Taemin’s slight errors.

“It’s not ‘he would tell Jaebom’,” Taeyong said without thinking. “It’s a past conditional; you should write ‘he would have told Jaebom’.” and managed to surprise Taemin that he jumped in his seat, head knocking Taeyong’s jaw.

Taemin hadn’t been too pleased when he found Taeyong sneaking into his room unannounced, but then his face had brightened and he had declared that Taeyong should be his beta-reader, whatever that was. Turned out a beta-reader was the equivalent of an editor plus proofreader. Taeyong thought it wouldn’t be a problem. He didn’t have better things to do besides studying, which as much as Taeyong liked doing still could be boring at times.

When Taeyong found out what exactly Taemin had been writing he had looked at Taemin with raised eyebrows, to which Taemin had raised his eyebrows back challengingly.

“What, Hyung? Don’t say this kind of fiction bothers you since I didn’t see you having any problem with Jisoo-Hyung and that boyfriend of his. What’s his name again?”

“It’s Hansol, Taemin,” Taeyong said as he turned his eyes back to Taemin’s laptop screen. “And it doesn’t bother me. It’s just not my usual cup of tea.”

Almost all his friends were either gay or bi anyway, and if Taeyong would spend enough time to figure out his sexuality he doubted he would be strictly straight either. But Taeyong hadn’t bothered sitting down and reflecting on any of his past flings to find out if he would be interested in going for the members of his side of the field. He was more interested in romance when it was written in the novels he read anyway. In real life it was surprisingly too bland for Taeyong’s taste, not that he had ever had one serious enough to call a real romance.

Taeyong had been editing Taemin’s works for over a year now, and found himself endlessly surprised, and mortified, by the extent of Taemin’s imagination – he would never be able to look at Seventeen members the same way anymore. Taemin published his stories (or fics – the way he called them) on this online blog thing called AO3 where he posted as mingold97, to Taeyong’s amusement, and had insisted that Taeyong create an account as well so he could tag Taeyong for being his beta-reader. Taeyong had refused. Taemin then took the liberty to mention Taeyong as ‘mr.betasloth’ on his posts just to spite Taeyong.

Taeyong logged in to Jisoo’s home network and opened his email. Sure enough there was an email from Taemin and a few advertisements from brands he had shopped from in the past. Then he noticed one that was neither from Taemin nor brand commercials. The sender’s name was Lee Jun and the subject said ‘Your Student ID’.

Taeyong clicked the email and, for some unknown reason, felt anticipation well in his stomach.

The moment he finished reading he immediately grabbed his bag to take out his wallet, and as expected, couldn’t find his student ID in it. It wasn’t in any of his bag’s pockets either. Then he remembered that he had slipped the card into his cardigan pocket after the security check at the train station and had forgotten to take it out before giving his jacket to his seatmate.

To be perfectly honest, Taeyong hadn’t planned on giving his cardigan to the guy. It was a nice cardigan, and he did regret not asking for it back after he left with Jisoo that day, if only a little. But the guy – Jun, Taeyong’s mind supplied as he turned his head to re-read the email, had looked adorable in it. Shit, not that word again.Okay. The thing fit him, that was it.

Besides, Taeyong thought in defense, Jun had really needed it more than Taeyong. He wondered if Jun had gotten well now, he looked so miserable on the train.

Taeyong couldn’t help the slight chuckle as he finished reading Jun’s email the second time. This boy is cute, he thought. He was smiling as he started typing a reply.

Dear Lee Jun,

Thank you for notifying me about my student ID. I seriously forgot that I put it in the cardigan pocket after the security check. I am on midterm break so I haven’t had any trouble at all. But I will need it once classes start.

Are you still in town? If you are, will you meet me --

Taeyong turned to Jisoo who was lounging on the other side of the couch, checking his students’ works.

“Hey Jisoo, you know a place to meet someone, not quite an acquaintance? You know, somewhere casual but not too fancy?”

Jisoo put his green pen down and turned to Taeyong with raised eyebrows. “You’re having a blind date?”

“What? No. I’m meeting someone. He has something of mine,” Taeyong supplied. “I guess it’d be rude to ask him to send it to me by mail. And since I think he’s staying in this town as well it’s only polite to thank him in person.”

“Well...,” Jisoo trailed off. “There’s this coffee shop downtown. If he lives here he will know. The Nest.”

“The Nest?”

“Yes,” Jisoo confirmed as he picked up his pen, eyes back to the papers on his lap. “And this something of yours ended up in this person’s possession because?” he asked without looking up.

Jisoo wasn’t prying. Feigned nonchalance was Jisoo’s way of showing concern. Taeyong didn’t like being fussed over, so Jisoo always pretended that he didn’t really care whenever he was concerned about things happening to Taeyong.  Taeyong wasn’t sure if Jisoo actually realized Taeyong knew about it.

“It’s my student ID,” Taeyong said truthfully since he didn’t think he needed to hide it from Jisoo. “It was inside the pocket of the cardigan I wore on the day I came here. I gave it to this boy, he was having a fever and shivering on the train. I told him to keep it when we got off. I forgot my student ID was inside one of the pockets.”

“This boy, you mean the tall guy with the auburn hair wearing the retro cardigan at the train station?” Jisoo did look up from his papers now.

“Yeah.”

“I thought the cardigan looked familiar. Turns out it was yours. Well, Taeyong, that was awfully nice of you,” said Jisoo teasingly.

“He was shivering on the train and overall looking miserable. And the weather was a little cold that day wasn’t it. So I told him to keep it,” said Taeyong. He had this urge to bang his head on the nearest surface when he caught sight of Jisoo’s amused face. “I know what you’re thinking. Stop right there, Hong Jisoo. I don’t find him cute at all.”

Jisoo only raised his eyebrows higher.

“What?”

“You totally did find him cute. How could you know that’s what I was thinking if you weren’t thinking of the same thing?”

“Oh shut up you. Just because my best friend is happily in a relationship with another guy doesn’t mean I’ll follow his lead. I don’t date guys, Jisoo.”

“Yet,” supplied Jisoo smugly.

Taeyong decided to ignore his friend and turned his attention back to his unfinished email. He took his words back. Jisoo would pry when he deemed it fit to do so. After all that was what best friends did.

Dear Lee Jun,

Thank you for notifying me about my student ID. I seriously forgot that I put it in the cardigan pocket after the security check. I am on midterm break so I haven’t had any trouble at all. But I will need it once classes start.

Are you still in town? If you are, will you meet me at The Nest downtown tomorrow at three pm so you can give my id card back and I can thank you over a cup of coffee?

Thank you once again for contacting me regarding this.

-Han Taeyong

P.S.: Has your fever gone down?

P.P.S.: It’s not stalking when it’s done out of necessity. It’s called research ;) 

Taeyong swore the post scripts weren’t meant to be flirty. He was genuinely concerned about Jun’s well-being. The boy had sounded a little worried in his email that Taeyong would be offended since he got Taeyong’s email address online. Taeyong thought it was only proper to reassure the boy that he didn’t mind.

No, Taeyong wasn’t being flirty at all. He was only being friendly, and Jisoo wouldn’t get a say in this.

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