GLOW-UP

04 | senpai obtained

"Hyung, are you sure you're okay?" Sicheng squinted at him across the cafe table. "You've been jittering like that for ages."

Taeil froze. Sicheng was right - he couldn't seem to keep still and he'd been stirring his noodles around the bowl for the entire time they'd been sitting there. "Uh... no! I'm fine," he said, offering Sicheng an unconvincing smile. "I just need to- um... I'll see you!"

On that note, Taeil dashed out of the college cafe and back over to the ice rink. He couldn't stop thinking about his new plan, and waiting to put it into action was agonising. Before he knew it, he was at the door of the boys locker room, and marching inside.

The boys locker room.

Taeil gulped.

He wasn't particularly sporty himself so he hadn't been in many locker rooms, but now he was seeing everything he was missing out on. Being a panicked gay in most instances, the boys locker room was both Taeil's heaven and hell in one place. Being surrounded by so many tall, hot, sweaty boys with abs was almost more than he could handle.

Taeil kept walking in a straight line, too embarrassed to turn around and walk out right away, since he figured it would look weird as hell. And that was when he bumped into the exact person he was looking for.

"Moony?"

There he was - Johnny Suh - all sweaty from practise, a smirk on his lips and his eyes bright. Taeil sighed.

"Oh, I've got another pick up line to try out," said Johnny then, clicking his fingers. He lifted up the fabric of his ice hockey shirt and said, "You know what material this is made from?"

"Don't-"

"Boyfriend material," Johnny finished with a grin, nodding his head with his own self-approval. "What do you think? The ladies will go crazy for that one."

Taeil gaped at him, suddenly suffocated by the sheer number of topless guys in that locker room. With a gulp, he fled through the doors and didn't look back.

They had math later. He would just have to ask Johnny in math.

"God," Taeil shivered anxiously.

Forgetting entirely about his younger Chinese housemate that he'd left in the cafe, Taeil hurried towards the math block. It would be fine. Johnny would agree to this, and soon enough Taeil would be the coolest person on campus - and dating Lee Taeyong. What happened yesterday was just... a mistake! No, an opportunity. It was Taeil's chance to get a real upgrade so Taeyong would finally think-

Oof!

Without even realising it, he'd walked straight into someone.

And that someone was none other than Lee Taeyong.

"Fuck!" Taeil blurted. He could feel his whole face heating up in shame. "Uh... I mean, um... sorry..."

Taeyong wore a cap and had his hood pulled up over the top. It made him look very cute, but Taeil knew why he was dressed like that - in full Incognito Mode. It was clear he was too embarrassed to be seen by others, and after seeing the video footage for himself Taeil couldn't exactly blame him.

"It's okay," Taeyong muttered. He offered a brief smile and in an instant he was gone, halfway across the courtyard before Taeil could even begin to formulate a sentence.

"Death, accept me now," Taeil groaned, and continued towards the math block.

The universe had officially screwed him over for good this time. Johnny Suh was his only hope now. (Taeil fought off a laugh because of the Star Wars reference that instantly entered his head.)