stay now / vkook ✓

1

Jeongguk walks to his lecture with his feet dragging across the concrete, eyes puffy behind his glasses, the only motivation for going to his Monday morning lecture is the unknown of whether there's going to be a pop quiz. He could care less about this gen ed credit and would much rather be asleep, bundled up in the comfort of his tiny bed. But in order to fulfill graduation requirements, Jungkook has to push through the morning grogginess every Monday and just get his ass out of bed.

Blearily slipping on a hoodie over the t-shirt he slept in last night, Jeongguk grabs his backpack and heads to his lecture, still half asleep. Or at least, where he thought the lecture was.

Walking up to the entrance of the hall, he notices there's no one inside. Not one student sat in the rows, the lights shut off and no professor droning on about psychology.

Confused and dazed from sleep, he barely notices as someone stands beside him, the person lightly letting out a sigh of dismay. Looking to the side with a quirked brow, Jeongguk's surprised to see a somewhat familiar face- Kim Taehyung.

Jeongguk would say he's moderately well versed with the students at his college. He may be introverted, but he gets along with everyone just fine, especially his fellow dance majors; he sometimes goes to parties and art exhibitions, where he's managed to make a few close friends and lots of acquaintances.

All of the rumors about the infamous Kim Taehyung flood Jeongguk's mind as he stares, lips parted in wonder. Taehyung's an artist, the only freshman to land a month-long exhibition for his paintings in the gallery downtown, and now a junior with a large reputation for his artwork that rivals all of the other students' in the art department.

Although ridiculously attractive, Jeongguk overheard girls saying that he was cold and hard to talk to, always sticking to himself. When he looks up, the rumors don't do Taehyung any justice. He really is attractive, with shiny brown hair and golden skin, and he's looking over at Jeongguk with a soft gaze of confusion, features inviting and warm.

"Shit," Taehyung curses, "Did we get the wrong schedule?"

How am I supposed to know, Jeongguk wants to ask. He's standing there like a dope, just like Taehyung. He shrugs, murmuring, "I dunno. Probably."

Too tired to feel embarrassed for his dumb reply, Jeongguk slips his phone out of his pocket, logging into the school website to see if there were any changes to the schedule. He clicks on the message board and sees that the class has been moved to another hall, about a five-minute walk from where they were.

"Oh, they moved it to South Hall," Jeongguk says quietly, the click of shutting off his phone loud in the stillness of the room. He yawns and covers his nose, not wanting to flash Taehyung with wide nostrils.

The elder's eyes lighten up a bit, smiling as he says, "Well let's go, then."

They walk out of the building and down the steps, feet pattering to the same rhythm against the concrete, crisp morning air hitting Jeongguk's trembling fingertips. Mind hazy, Jeongguk wonders how he's never seen Taehyung in his class as he makes a left on the path, before he's stopped by Taehyung's voice. "Hey freshman, you're going the wrong way!"

Jeongguk stops in his tracks and turns around to see Taehyung standing there with an amused smile, head slightly tilted to the side.

His cheeks burn as he looks down at his feet, walking back over to join Taehyung. A few seconds later, shoes pattering on the concrete, he asks "I-is it that obvious? That I'm a freshman?"

"Only a bit, don't worry. It's just that we're in a gen ed class and you were walking over to the language building." Taehyung teases.

If Jeongguk had been a ~little~ bit more awake, he knows he'd be embarrassed. Overthink every movement. Hesitate on his words. Yet the fatigue has set in, a heavy weight pressing on the bottom of his eyelids, the laptop in his backpack pulling him down and grounding him.

Questioning the junior, Jeongguk pushes his glasses higher up on his nose, heart thumping wildly in his chest, "Well, what are you doing in a freshman class then, Taehyung-ssi?"

There's a pause, Jeongguk looking over to see Taehyung gazing over with a raised brow. Shit, did that sound stalkerish? Knowing his name?

"Oh, fuck. Sorry! That was creepy. I just- I've heard about you before, I love your artwork by the way- and you're like one of the most talked-about juniors on c-campus-" "It's okay, it's no biggie." Taehyung interrupts, reassuring Jeongguk through his mini nervous breakdown.

There's a slight blush on both of their faces now, awkward stilted silence between them as Jeongguk fiddles with his backpack straps. Of all mornings for Jeongguk to run into the artist, it's when he's sleep-deprived and his filter is gone. They approach the south hall, side by side, a few girls staring at them and whispering to one another, probably wondering what Taehyung is doing with him.

"I wanted to jump straight into my art classes and only took two gen eds in freshman year, so I gotta pay the price for it now," Taehyung replies to his earlier question, his hair flopping down over his eyes as they walk up the steps.

"Well, this is us. See you 'round—?"

"J-Jeongguk. Jeon Jeongguk" He replies, voice cracking a bit.

With a wink, Taehyung heads into the lecture hall and down the stairs towards the front seats as Jeongguk stands dazed in the entrance of the door. It's only when Taehyung looks back at him with a shy grin that he finally moves, blushing and heading towards one of the back seats.

He completely forgot that there was a lecture going on and that they were late today, noticing how a few students turn around in their seats to see why he was just standing there.

And for the first time in his academic career, Jeongguk doesn't take any notes during the lecture. He absentmindedly draws doodles and hearts on his notebook instead, the cursor on his laptop flashing on a blank page, heart buzzing in his chest. The only thing on his mind is the golden-skinned artist with a blinding smile.