"I swear there's something wrong with this kid. Look at the way he's acting," pointed out Taeil.
It was obvious something was wrong with Taeyong. When he arrived at the university campus to meet with his friends, his charmingly sweet smile was absent. His random bursts of energy vanished and all that was left was the shell of Taeyong's bubbly personality. Eye bags decorated his face, and he didn't bother trying to hide them. His disinterested eyes gazed over at his surroundings before staring off into space, not hearing what his friends were saying. He was currently sitting in front of Taeil and Johnny with a pencil in hand, staring blankly at the empty page in his sketchbook. He wasn't even looking at the sheet but zoned out as he intently stared at the university building.
"Taeyong, are you even alive at this point?" questioned Johnny as he snapped his fingers in front of the male, making him snap his head towards the elder.
"I'm still breathing, so I think I'm alive. Just not sleeping enough." Rubbing his eyes, he let out a yawn and stretched his arms.
"We're really worried about you. Please speak to us." Taeil's hand reached out to caress Taeyong's forearm as his eyes stared deeply at the male. Waving his free hand, Taeyong dismissed what he said.
"Hyung, don't worry. Everything is ok. Uni work is just time taking and being an annoying bitch, nothing else," he reassured the elders, forcing a small on his lips.
"Taeyong," Johnny spoke sternly, giving him a look
"What?"
Letting out an exasperated sigh, he swept his hair back in frustration. When Taeyong started being stubborn, it was difficult to make him talk. "Stop lying. Just tell us the truth. It's so obvious that something is bothering you and you're hiding things from us."
As a result of not sleeping enough and being stubborn, he also lost his patience quite quickly. "I said I'm fine, is it that hard to understand?" he snapped at them. "Even if there was something wrong, you wouldn't get it."
"Taeyong-"
"I'm not in the mood to hear anything. I'm just going to my literature lesson early." Before the two could retort, Taeyong already slung his bag over his shoulder and walked off into the building, not sparing them a glance.
Walking with his head down, he felt guilt creeping to him for being surly with his friends and snarling at them, but he couldn't help it. What would he even tell them? They wouldn't take him seriously if he revealed what the true issue was.
"I started feeling extremely overwhelmed by loneliness and lack of love that I created an imaginary friend. I managed to fall in love with him to the point I draw us together and write scenarios of stuff I'd want to do with him. And now here I am, crying over someone who isn't real."
Taeyong scoffed at himself for sounding ridiculously delusional. His friends would drop him the second he would utter anything to them.
"I'll just stay quiet and deal with it on my own."
Upon entering his class, Taeyong realised he was extremely early since not even the professor was there. Despite all the free seats, he decided to climb up the stairs and settle on the penultimate seat of the last row in the lecture hall. The good thing about the class was that despite its size, there weren't too many students, so he'd probably be the only one at the back. Another thing was that the room was well lit all around, so he could look out of the window whilst being blessed by the gentle sunlight peeking through.
The number of people in the class burgeoned, and as suspected, most sat in the middle or front rows. Two others decided to sit at the back, but they were far from Taeyong so he didn't mind. As the professor entered and started her lecture, the male couldn't help but glance away from his workbook and eye at his notebook. He was eschewing the urge to write more ideas about him and Doyoung, but it was irresistible. All he could visualise was this imaginary person's gorgeous face and charming smile, causing flower buds to bloom within him.
Whilst his eyes were staring, his hand had already moved ahead to take the book and a pen to write about a particular bunny male.
.
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Scenario #10: Affection in Class
"Gosh, this lecture is so boring,' sighed Taeyong, glaring at the teacher up front one last time before shoving his head into his crossed arms.
Doyoung looked at his boyfriend and ran a hand through the elder's hair. "As boring as it is, we still have to get through it."
Sitting at the back had its advantages. The teacher barely picked on them and couldn't see them properly so left them alone. She was at the front chatting away about the topic they were looking at, so didn't notice Doyoung switch from one seat to another. His elbows were propped up on the table and his head was sitting on the palms of his hands as he curiously looked at Taeyong's movements. For a moment the male just laid there with his head down before slowly turning to look at the taller, his cheek squished against his forearm.
"How much more time here do we have?" He watched as Doyoung stretched his arm out for him to read the time. A groan escaped his lips. "We still have half an hour left. I'm done I'm going-"
"And leaving me too? I'm offended." Doyoung made an act of being upset and turned around to face away from Taeyong with his arms crossed.
Covering his giggle with a little smile, he tapped on Doyoung's shoulder using a pen before poking him on the back. When the male wouldn't budge, Taeyong risked a glance at the professor before getting up and giving Doyoung a little gift on his cheek, making him satisfied as he turned around.
"Now let's get back to listening to this lecture before we miss out on anything important," Doyoung reminded him, making the latter scoff a bit before remembering something.
"Want to go to the new café that opened nearby? I hear it has really good drinks and pastries. I'll pay!"
"Sure then. We haven't gone on a date in a while," replied Doyoung with a soft smile, his bunny cheeks more prominent.
Whilst he got back to note-taking, Taeyong decided to shuffle his chair closer to Doyoung's before casually placing his legs over the taller's lap. The table was high so he was able to do it easily. The bunny male was unfazed by this action, and placed his arm over Taeyong's legs, his eyes briefly glancing up to see Taeyong's silly smile.
The teacher's eyes fell upon them, and she saw them peacefully taking notes. Somehow, she didn't notice the proximity of how close they were sitting.
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Once Taeyong finished writing, he heard his name being called.
"Lee Taeyong. What's your opinion on this matter?"
During the time he was busy writing, a small debate had risen amongst a few students, who were trying to prove their points on the situation. The interlocutors paused their conversation and turned to look at him in the far corner of the room. Feeling the pressure of being stared at and not knowing what to say, he gulped before processing an answer.
"Uhm, I'm not sure professor," he admitted.
"That's perfectly fine. I'll choose someone else then," she replied with a gentle smile as she gazed around the room, searching for her subsequent victim.
"Guys, I told you not to pick Taeyong. The guy's just trying to get through university and mind his own business and y'all chose to pick on him at the moment he looked like he was busy doing something," a girl called Seulgi scolded her friends.
"I barely hear him speak so I decided to pick him. Besides, he's usually great at debates so I thought he'd be able to help us," replied one guy, Yuta.
The rest of the conversation was a blur to Taeyong, who looked down at his mini scenario that was penned in his neat handwriting. Carefully closing the book, he placed it away in his bag before resting his head in his arms, turning to face the window. The golden rays of winter sun had vanished, leaving him to encounter the world darkened by hefty clouds outside.