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12

jisung looked for a topic all week, then emailed minho to ask him if prejudice against people with disabilities is an acceptable subject for a presentation but received no answer during the weekend.

he did his homework and contemplated on the change in minho's behaviour and what might have prompted it. he was (almost) a psychologist after all. occupational hazard.

chan.

that was probably the answer. minho knew jisung's friends knew about their adventure and so showing interest in their presence wasn't weird. but chan probably wasn't aware of the situation so minho was playing safe. that was the only explanation that made sense.

monday came and there was still no reply from the young teacher so jisung found himself obliged to visit mr jeon's office, hoping he'd actually be there during the indicated office hours. it was scary and awkward to go see him but minho was leaving no choice. who knows, maybe that was a part of some strategy, though jisung didn't want to think that. he was set on remaining professional.

he knocked on the door and gulped, reminded of the night of their first meeting. it was awkward then but who knew it could get even worse! the soft voice invited him in again but this time it was a whole lot less delightful. he sheepishly opened the door and entered the room.

"yes?," minho, sat on the big canapé and, biting into half a peach, greeted strictly before lifting his eyes to see his intruder.

"um, hi..," jisung started but the atmosphere distracted him and the fact that they were alone in the older's territory again was making it difficult for him to concentrate, "i mean, good morning.. mr lee," he stammered and froze when a smile started growing on the other's lips.

"morning, mr han. what may i help you with?," the teacher left the remains of the fruit on a small paper plate, probably there for the occasion, and dusted his hands off mechanically.

"i.. uh.. wanted to t-talk to.. you," the shorter boy nervously explained, scratching his arm.

"oh yeah? what is this about?," minho nonchalantly returned, as if he couldn't imagine a reason why a student may want to see him privately. he stood up and went to the side of the desk, leaning against it so that he was closer to the visitor.

jisung finally snapped out of his stupor and nodded to himself before speaking, "well, i sent you an email with my topic.. i mean idea..," he couldn't help but giggle. scolding a teacher really wasn't something he could handle.

"mhm.. oh yeah?," minho mechanically questioned, "sorry, i didn't see it," he simply apologised but his face wasn't bearing any regret, "so what's the topic?"

"discrimination against disabled people..," the boy quietly muttered. it didn't seem very impressive now that he was in front of the guy.

"oh?," the taller returned idly. he obviously didn't give a damn about this and it almost made jisung smile. he wished he could react so casually to all things in life.

"is this one okay? i mean, i can make it about mental disabilities. or about discrimination against people with rare conditions. or genetic disorders.."

"i'm sure we'll see that a couple of times throughout the semester," minho smiled nonchalantly and took his peach again to finish it. he seemed to find jisung's exasperated face funny because he was clearly having trouble keeping a straight face.

"then maybe you could suggest a topic for me to tackle.. mr lee?," the student asked, taking in the other's entire body. today he was wearing a sweatshirt, sneakers and blue jeans, completely different from when he was coming to teach. maybe today he was only here for office hours.

he looked pretty cute like that, like an actual student, a little closer to jisung's perception of approachable. he was very boyfriend-like today and that style was very much appreciated.

"hmm.. i would do something like 'the origin of the negative perception of polyamory in society' or 'the psychological impact of swear words on young adults'.. like, why is it important for every young person to swear when talking. is it part of the process of maturing?," minho quietly narrated as he looked down at the papers on his desk, then at the boy in front of him who looked confused.

"polyamory?," jisung repeated in shock. the teacher smiled and nodded.

"yes. have you tried it?"

"no," the shorter exclaimed and earned a mischievous smile. minho was about to speak but was interrupted by another hasty question, "a-and you?"

"no," the older grinned and licked his lips, "but many people i've worked with are into it. i'd find it interesting to research it.. or 'to what extent your family life can impact the age at which you lose your virginity," he suggested seriously but jisung was done with that game.

"alright, what are you implying?"

"i'm not implying anything. i'm simply proposing topics," minho calmly returned to the sight of the other's red face, "you don't need to talk about your own case, nor mine, nor anybody else's. in fact, i'd appreciate it if you don't," he giggled, "my point is, there are no limits. you can choose whatever you want."

jisung bit his cheek and looked down, embarrassed by his own frustration, "can i do discrimination against sex workers then?"

"of course," minho nodded seriously but then a smile creeped on his face, "i'd enjoy hearing about that."

the student smacked his lips together to hide a smile and was going to leave but then heard the other speak up.

"do you have your homework with you now?"

"um.. yeah?," jisung prudently replied, surprised by the peculiar question.

"if you want to i can check it for you. i'll tell you if there's something wrong. i won't grade it in front of you but i can still give you tips for next time," minho suggested calmly, as if he didn't give a shit about whether the other would stay or not.

if he hadn't asked in such a hurry, jisung would've totally thought it was just his way of being polite.

"yes. that would be nice.. mr jeon always gave me b's on homework because i didn't follow the sentence structure he wanted," the younger sighed and smacked his lips together again when he realised he was giving too much information.

"yeah, he's kind of.. hard to please. i'm not like that but you still have to play by my rules," the teacher explained with a wide grin and pointed to the small leather couch on the other side of the room to invite his guest to sit on it.

jisung did and they sat down next to each other, their thighs rubbing against each other, their faces close but neither of them was moving nearer, nor further and they kept the tension going up but didn't cede to it.

minho read the whole thing and noticed that it was very well done but the sentences sounded like they were written for a novel, rather than a mini-research paper. it wasn't a problem for him but he knew mr jeon was kind of into hard-to-read extra scientific student papers.

he went over everything with the boy and pointed out a couple of small mistakes to perfect the work, then started a conversation about the topic.