"Mom it's not my fault!"
"Taehyun Kang! Your father and I did NOT raise you to be second place in your class! How could you get a 99 and not an 100!?"
Before Taehyun could even answer, he found himself hit with a belt. Every time he tried to answer, he got whipped again. His mom finally sent him to his room to study. He used the time to cry into his textbooks.
Honestly, the 17 year old didn't understand why it even mattered. He was mature enough to know his parents were trying to live through him since they never accomplished anything remarkable in their life. Their marriage seemed stable. They weren't struggling for money. Why did it matter? Still, as their only child, he wanted to make them happy.
Kai Huening lived the opposite way. He had two sisters and parents who loved him dearly. His intelligence was praised, not beaten into him. He didn't have to try that hard to get good grades. It just happened like breathing.
That's exactly why Taehyun hated him. He had the life he wanted. Everything seemed to come so easily to the 16 year old whereas he actually had to try.
On a number of occasions, Kai actually did try to reach out to him. He wanted them to be friends but the attitude he received back was unpleasant. Hate is a strong word but Kai eventually grew to heavily dislike the Kang. It made every higher test score that much sweeter.
In every subject, the two seemed to be evenly matched with each other. All of them but one. Music class. Taehyun tried to argue to his mom that Kai had perfect pitch and that his dad was a musician but that was "just a bunch of excuses." Those were pretty good ones in his opinion.
Their final was coming up. He was worried about his music one. His parents told him they wouldn't go to their son's graduation ceremony if he got second. "Why would we want to see our son be second in life? That'll teach you it's okay to be a failure!" Taehyun wanted his parents there, simply because they were his parents.
He was desperate. A perfect score would put him in first, even if Kai got one too. He swallowed his pride and walked up to his rival at lunch. "Hi. Can we talk for a second?"
Kai and his friends looked at him funny. Beomgyu whispered "maybe he's tired of eating alone." Kai told them to go. He was going to see them later at physics class anyways. With a pinch of an attitude, he asked "what do you want?"
Taehyun sat down. As pathetic as the situation was, he actually was thankful to have someone to eat with. "I need help..."
"On your music final I'm assuming?"
"Yes..."
Kai bit his apple. This was mildly funny to him. "So when I tried seeing if we could be friends before, I distinctly remember you telling me to get lost. That's exactly what I'll say to you now. Get lost."
Taehyun knew this was hopeless but he was desperate. "I'm sorry."
Kai dropped the attitude. Now he was genuinely curious why the Kang waited until now to ask him for help. "Do you seriously need to be number one that badly? Colleges love top tens. Number two isn't going to hurt your future."
"Will you help me or not?!" Taehyun realized he fucked up with his outburst. He took a swig of water then calmed down. "My parents won't come to see me graduate if I'm not number one..."
Now Kai felt bad for him. "That can't be true." Taehyun stood up and showed him the welts on his back. Kai cringed at the sight. "I'll help you. I'm not failing my own final to make you look better though."
"I'm not asking you to."
Before the Kang left, Kai warned "if that was me, I wouldn't give a shit what my parents thought. You shouldn't either."
Taehyun walked away. That was easy to say because they weren't his parents. It took him two classes to realize he didn't actually make any plans with Kai. Pathetically, he waited outside the school doors for him.
Kai walked out laughing with his friends. He saw Taehyun walking up to him. That killed his mood. Soobin grumbled by his side. "Ugh, what does he want now?"
Taehyun could feel how unwanted he was. "I was just wondering when you were available to study..."
Yeonjun butt in "he's not available today. We have plans. I'm sure that's something you're not familiar with." The group laughed.
"Guys, cut it out. I'll meet you there. Just give me a second." Kai waited until his friends left to talk to him. "I'm assuming you're available whenever?"
Taehyun looked down in shame. He forced himself to look back up. His pride was extremely damaged. "Pretty much."
"The final is in two weeks. I'm not sure how much help I can be in that time."
"I'll take any help!"
"Fine. Meet me at the doors here after school tomorrow. We will go to my house."
"Thanks."
The boys split to go their separate ways. Taehyun went to get berated while Kai hung out with his friends.
The next day, Taehyun was getting impatient waiting. He was starting to think Kai lied to him as some sort of mean prank. He saw him a couple minutes later with a guitar in his hands. "What took you so long?"
Kai turned right back around to go put it back.
Taehyun's attitude always was his downfall in life. It's why he didn't have any friends. "I'm sorry! That came out worse than intended. I just assumed this was a prank and that you weren't really coming."
"Why would I do that?"
He didn't have a good answer. He kept assuming things about the younger with nothing to base it on. "I don't know..."
Kai handed Taehyun the guitar then unlocked his car doors. They drove to the Huening house in silence. Their walk into his bedroom was also in silence. Kai had posters of all of his favorite musicians plastered on his wall. An entire shelf was dedicated to signed albums with funko pops used as book ends.
Taehyun was also surprised to see his bed was 90% stuffed animals, 10% actual mattress. He sat on the small couch against the wall then tried to hand the guitar back.
Kai shook his head. "Guitar is easier to play than piano. I'm not going to bother teaching you the written portion. I know you've memorized music theory and that shit. Do you know any basic chords?"
Taehyun knew them. Doesn't mean he could play them. He tried his best to strum d minor but his fingers slipped. He heard Kai giggle which he assumed meant he was being made fun of. "I'm trying my best!"
Kai laughed because he thought it was cute. He refused to say it outloud but the blush on his cheeks gave it away. Taehyun noticed his rival's face getting gradually more red as their fingers on the neck of the guitar met. He felt his own being positioned into the correct hold. He held his breath for some reason as Kai kept adjusting his hands. When the other backed away, he started to breathe again. Taehyun strummed. It was a lot easier than before.
As their study went on, Kai kept adjusting his trainee's fingers while talking him through what he was doing.
Taehyun got nervous every time. He found it hard to concentrate. He wondered if Kai was always this touchy or if it was only with him. His skills were already better and it's only been a day. He had the perfect mentor.
Kai watched him play on his own for a bit. His trainee still stumbled at times but not nearly as much. He noticed he did a lot of talking for the past hour and a half while the other barely said five words. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"
Taehyun nervously kept strumming. "No."
"You sure? You usually have something smart to say."
He adorably smiled at the comment. "I was just wondering if you usually did this much skinship."
"So I was making you uncomfortable."
"I didn't mind it..." Taehyun realized he was developing a crush. He looked at his phone and faked an excuse. "Um. I have to go. My mom is expecting me for dinner."
Kai drove him home. "So when do you want to practice again?"
Taehyun hated having a crush. It distracted him from his studies. He bullied himself into thinking Kai secretly hated him. Or worse, pitied him. "I think I'm good now. Thanks."
Kai looked over in disbelief. "Are you sure about that?"
"Yup."
"If you say so."
Two weeks passed and it was the day of his music final. Taehyun was beating himself up. He practiced at home but he really could've used Kai's help. His pride kept him from asking. Every time he saw him, the crush got worse. He managed to convince himself that Kai thought he was a loser and that he would laugh if he asked him out.
Now, the 17 year old was nervously bouncing his leg because his turn to preform was next.
Kai watched him play an acoustic version of "If I Had You" by Adam Lambert. It was beautiful to say the least. His heart broke every time Taehyun missed a few notes. He saw him try to cover it up with his voice but the teacher saw it too. The image of the welts on his back never left his mind.
Taehyun was depressed as he slumped back into his chair. He fucked up a couple of times and he knew it. He was hoping for a 95 at best. A 90 at worst. He cried to himself in his chair for failing his parents.
Kai looked over before he started. His crush looked so sad. Taehyun got up to leave. That made him feel worse. He knew what he had to do.
The next day, the final class rankings went out. Taehyun couldn't believe he was number one. He looked over to see Kai celebrating school being close to over with his friends. He opened his phone to check his grade on his music final. It was a 93.
Kai found Taehyun in the crowd and dismissed himself. He ran over expecting to see the delight on the other's face. "Hey! Wow, you made number one! That's awesome!"
"Why did you do it?"
Kai should've known he would be met with an attitude. He was honest. "It means more to you than it does to me."
"Why do you care?"
"You know what? I've tried being nice but you're never going to change are you? You can't even be thankful I fucked that final for you!"
Taehyun snapped. "I didn't ask you to!"
"I did it anyways!"
"Why?!"
"I liked you! I felt bad for you! I thought..." Kai closed his mouth then looked at Taehyun. "I thought your opinion of me would change if I did that. I guess I was wrong."
"You liked me?"
"Why wouldn't I? When you're not being crass, you're actually very cute."
The blush returned to Taehyun's cheeks. "Thanks... um... I'm not having a graduation party but if you want..."
Kai grabbed his hands. "Come to mine! We can do something together after." He saw Taehyun look behind him towards his friends. His face read nervous. "Hey. Don't worry about them! I want you there. I'm not going to leave you standing by yourself. You'll be with me the whole time. Then it'll be just us after!"
Taehyun gave in. They exchanged numbers.
At graduation, his parents were super proud of him. After taking pictures with them, he left with Kai to his graduation party. Kai kept his word. He dragged Taehyun everywhere he went and made sure to include him in the conversations.
Their date afterwards was just a night swim in their pool. Kai didn't know how to swim but he thought it would be fun. Taehyun laughed a lot trying to teach him. Their first kiss was in the shallow portion. Kai was wiping water off of his eyes. Taehyun brushed his wet bangs away from his forehead. The younger used the opportunity to kiss him. It was adorable.
They spent the summer hanging out at least three times a week. Taehyun was sad they were going to colleges at opposite ends of the country.
When fall came around, they had to break up. They were each other's first loves. Kai held him as they cried. After they kissed, he joked "I can't wait to see what Crown High's number one will do in the future."
Taehyun found it hard to laugh through the tears. He sniffled then nodded. Kai was the best first love he could ask for.
Mrs. Huening honked her horn. They had a plane to catch for move in day. Kai kissed him one last time then said "don't ever let yourself be hung up on your parent's evaluation of you ever again. You're Taehyun Kang! You're so much more than their son. Go rule the world okay?"
Taehyun nodded. Watching him leave was the hardest thing he ever had to do.
He took that advice well into his adult life. It helped him make friends in college. He learned how to be secure as a person. He knew his self worth. The confidence helped him nail the interview to his dream job.
5 years later, they saw each other again at their class reunion. They learned they were both in relationships and had pretty early success in their careers. It was obvious feelings still lingered between the two but too much time had passed to do anything about it. Maybe one day, their first loves would be their last.