the days passed and jisung continued crossing paths with minho at least a couple of times a day and greeting him shyly, dreading the day when they'd have to meet again in class.
the group was also teasing him big time and he, though lowkey thirsting over the guy he slept with every time he saw him, felt even more smitten over the situation.
when he came into class next week, just a minute before the start of the lecture (to avoid looking at minho more than needed), he was greeted by two smug smiles from his friends and a smaller, warmer smile from the teacher.
"morning everyone. you look well-rested, mostly, and ready to listen to my instructions for your oral exam," was the first thing minho said as the clock stroke 10 and the lecture officially began.
the students knew this was probably going to be about presentations and let out hateful sighs. except for a few people, hyunjin included, nobody liked giving talks.
minho explained what the structure should look like, what the length and the props should be and jisung was trying very hard to follow but it seemed to him that the teacher was looking at him way too often and every time their eyes met he felt dazed and hot and mentally undressed the older.
finally, the instructions were over and minho asked people to pick their topics until next week and either go talk to him or email him to propose them. jisung already knew he was going to write to the teacher but didn't have a clue what the subject of his talk could be when he heard a soft voice speak up again.
".. i could make you present in alphabetical order but that's boring and overused," minho shrugged with a mischievous smile, "so we'll do my order," he lifted a brow authoritatively and leaned against the wooden desk nonchalantly.
"..and before you say anything, you'll all go through it, it doesn't matter when. first is han, because han means one. then we can do lee. cause it's my name. then we'll do bae and the other names of fruits," he smiled and caused jisung to sigh and lean back, knowing this was a bad idea.
"han is one," hyunjin quoted with a giggle, "guess you'll be the first one to embarrass yourself, huh?"
"haha, very funny. i bet he's laughing on the inside too," jisung scolded and crossed his arms. he hated giving presentations in front of the class.
".. do we have a deal? see you in 2 weeks mr han, mr and miss lee?," minho asked after a couple of minutes, lifting his eyes to jisung who got startled. so far, they had had no one-on-one interactions during this class and he gulped. someone laughed at his stupor but he shook it off quickly.
"yes, mr lee."
"that's what i like to hear," the teacher rejoiced and waited for the others' mumbled replies before continuing the lecture.
~
"can you believe he wants me to go first, lix? that's literally the worst idea ever. and he also wants me to email him my topic. i don't even have a topic!," jisung complained loudly on his way to the cafeteria with his friends.
"well, you're not supposed to have a topic right away. you can tell him later..," seungmin interrupted with a smile, "and you'll fail anyways. why are you so concerned about failing before everyone else?"
"because i may stutter or even not be able to speak at all if i'm the first one to go," the shortest sighed and put his hands on his hips.
"okay, what do you want us to do? we can make a little chant..," hyunjin proposed, a little too serious and jisung wondered if he would actually do that. probably.
"yeah, we'll be your cheerleaders," seungmin joined in, doing jazz hands in a joyful manner.
"or, you can just ask him to change the order," felix lifted a brow, "i'm sure he'd be down."
the other two nodded but jisung furrowed his brows and clicked his tongue, "no way. i'm not gonna go talk to him. this is awkward," he pouted and crossed his arms.
"ugh, you're disgustingly stubborn," seungmin pointed out and rolled his eyes. the group entered the cafeteria, where minho was sitting next to another older student, maybe an assistant, fervently discussing something.
the three boys immediately went over to them and asked to sit on their table, even though there were other tables available. jisung loitered behind hesitantly, hoping that the original occupants of the table would magically refuse to let them use it.
"oh hey, you're felix, right?," the second guy smiled to his freckled friend who nodded, looking a little starstruck, "i'm glad i'm seeing you again. i didn't get your number last time.."
"um, uh, do you want it now?," felix asked sheepishly and everyone was stupefied by the weird interaction they had just seen.
"yes, that'd be nice," the guy smiled at the other three newcomers, "good to see you guys as well. i'm guessing you know minho," he suggested in a friendly manner.
the boys knew chan from the department and started making small talk immediately, while minho looked through some papers in front of him. jisung stared at him intently and blocked out the entire conversation his friends were having right next to him.
this was kind of weird: why was minho so determined on ignoring him now that they could finally have a casual conversation in a public setting while their friends were also speaking and wouldn't be listening to them?
even though minho felt the pair of eyes glued on him, he still didn't make any effort to return the attention. he did his best to busy himself with the pile of sheets and eventually succeeded because jisung joined the others' conversation. once he did, minho casually started eavesdropping on the group discussion.
"bang chan hyung, i actually have a presentation i need to get ready in two weeks..," jisung started with a smile.
"oh, don't call me that. just chan is enough," the older encouraged and earned a nod, "woah, did minho assign you that? ugh, he's so annoying, isn't he," he joked, leaning onto his colleague with a smile but he didn't seem to be listening. the boys smiled but didn't agree out loud, "anyways, what's up with that?"
"oh, um.. it's just that i don't have a topic yet," jisung admitted sulkily. he was lowkey trying to get minho's opinion actually, "it's still early but i.. like being prepared."
chan nodded pensively and asked what he had in mind, swiping him into a semi-private conversation that minho didn't seem to mind as he took out his phone. jisung wondered if he was making appointments or something. he was expressionless and it made the boy ponder what was going on inside his head.
"..what do you think, minho?," chan, who had given all the permitted tips, turned to his colleague cheerfully.
"yes?," jisung's teacher returned, putting his phone down and addressing his seatmate confusedly.
"about jisung's project? he said he's torn between choosing 'prejudice' and 'non-verbal communication' as a topic.."
"oh? and what about those? i mean, sure, but you should be more specific," minho replied, looking to chan and then back to his paper. his face showed a lack of interest but his voice was lively.
"well, i was thinking the origins of.. discrimination against a group of people could be a topic..," the boy spoke out, trying not to seem nervous.
"which group?," minho insisted, fixing the other with his eyes finally.
'sex workers,' jisung wanted to propose but held himself back, "gay people..?," he responded, more like a question than a statement.
the teacher nodded and looked to the side thoughtfully for a second, "sure, but that's boring," he ended up concluding, shooting chan a glance. the older seemed to agree, "it's very classic. you should find another group. i'm sure there's plenty," he threw a charming polite smile in as if he was referencing something in particular then instantaneously stood up to go.
everyone looked at him inquisitively and he smiled, tapping chan on the shoulder and smiling at the group, "i have class. you three don't forget your homework. hyung, i'll see you later," he took the papers in his hand and started going but remembered something and turned around.
he looked so dreamy with his parted hair and bomber jacket and the black combat boots, "..and jisung, i'm sure you'll find something more interesting. tell me when you do."
with that he was gone, leaving behind him the faint aroma of something sweet, like peaches or a summer at the beach.