"Well" Hyunjin laughed, deeply amused as he watched Jisung's blood boil under the surface of his milky skin, ears red and lips pushed into a pout.
"I honestly find this very hilarious, but I also don't really think you can go against Mr. Park's words, so" Hyunjin drawled out his words in an annoyingly knowing way, shrugging when the preferred choice of words didn't come to the taller's tongue. "I guess your just gonna have to work with whom you've got" He finished lamely, pulling a frustrated groan out of the younger.
Jisung buried his face in his hands, thinking back to the events that had taken place throughout that day that had lead to this...... catastrophe!
"What have I done to deserve this God?!"
__________________
It was Monday morning and Jisung had entered the school in slightly better spirits than usual, but, of course, luck wasn't on his side as usual.
"Jisung!" A voice called from behind Jisung. The boy in concern looked up to see a girl— shorter than him, much to his pleasure— run up to him while managing a handful of files in her arms.
Finally, she panted to a stop in front of Jisung. "Jisung?" She asked again to crosscheck.
"Uh.... yes?" Jisung looked the girl up and down, a mane of dark curls, a noticeably short height and feet clad in slippers coming into view.
"Mr. Park is calling you" She said crisply, and speed walked away.
"Um..... okay?" Jisung questioned at her retreating back.
"Now!" The girl called over her shoulder.
"Coming!" Jisung yelled to no one in particular, since the girl was already out of view. Thrusting some books back into his already overflowing locker with difficulty, Jisung ran in the direction of the Chemistry Lab where he knew Mr. Park would probably be, sorting chemicals and arranging instruments as usual.
The doors of the Chemistry Lab were wide open, and as Jisung came to a stop in front of it, two voices could be heard distinctly from inside, along with the usual clatter of glass apparatus.
Quietly and nervously, Jisung tip toed into the Lab, looking around to spot his favourite teacher.
A white Lab coat came into Jisung's line of vision fairly quickly, followed by a head of dark, silky hair and round glasses.
"Mr. Park!" Jisung exclaimed on seeing him, a wide toothy smile breaking out on his face for the first time in days.
Mr. Park looked up. "Jisung!" He smiled. "Come in. Why are you standing at the doorway?"
Jisung obliged, walking over to where his Chemistry teacher was standing.
"Good morning Jisung" Mr. Park smiled, the smile lines around his eyes crinkling.
"Good morning sir. You called?"
"Yes yes I did. But not just you. I called another one of my beloved students as well. Let's just wait until he shows up."
"Okay sir" Jisung replied, wondering who this mystery guy was.
"Sorry I'm late sir, I overslept today morning" An irritatingly familiar voice said as footsteps were heard and a figure emerged from the doorway.
Messy hair, sharp nose, intimidating eyes and a casual yet commanding voice.
Jisung's blood boiled at the sight in front of him. Lee Minho. His sworn enemy. God, what the hell was this pompous bastard doing here?
How did he even KNOW where the Chemistry Lab was? Wasn't he supposed to be basking in the attention of all those overly made up girls right now?
Han Jisung and Lee Minho.
The two biggest rivals of JYP High School. The duo had been enemies since they saw each other's faces in fifth grade when Jisung had transferred from Malaysia, immediately deciding they didn't like the other, a feeling which was only intensified by a debate that had promptly ensued between the two about the existence of black eyes- Jisung arguing that they did, using the logics of Sci-fi and Anime, Minho contradicting.
Their Science teacher at the time, bearing witness to the two's immediate hatred, took it amusingly, using the chance to push the two as close as they would go.
A risky experiment involving two nuclear bombs.
Time passed by fairly quickly ever since that fateful day. Mainly because ever since that one twenty second of November, almost a decade ago, both Jisung and Minho had become obsessed with trying to pull the other down in whatever way they could. Which took up quite a lot of their free time, to be honest.
"Yes good morning Minho" Mr. Park nodded, on seeing him and Jisung snapped out of his murderous thoughts. "Come here"
Minho obliged, walking over to where Jisung was standing. "Hey sweetheart" He smirked looking outrageously handsome as his backpack remained slung over one shoulder, shirt untucked and tie loosened.
Yes, it was eight in the morning but since this was Lee Minho, everything was okay. Jisung rolled his eyes, growling at the nickname.
"My name isn't sweetheart" He hissed, annoyed.
"Oh it isn't?" Minho blinked innocently. "Well it should be. After all, you are the living definition of beauty without brains" He said, laying emphasis on without.
Jisung groaned out loud as Minho chuckled and even Mr. Park cracked a smile. The younger looked incredulous at that.
"Sir!" He exclaimed in disbelief. "You can't side with this.... this..... asshole too!" He yelled out, surprising even himself at the language that had slipped out of his mouth.
Mr. Park chuckled. "Language, Han"
"Language sweetheart" Minho bent down to whisper in his ear, lips still pulled up amusingly. "You wouldn't want to land a detention because of me now would you?"
"Oh fuck off" Jisung groaned.
Mr. Park pretended not to hear that as he cleared his throat loudly. "Now" He started and the two snapped to attention. "I am sure you both have a lot of classes to attend to right now so I'll just keep this short. Since both of you are my most brilliant students till date, I want the two of you to team up for a project."
Jisung and Minho stared in surprise, before bursting into a chorus of confusion and incredulousness.
"I KNOW you both hate each other's guts-" Mr Park continued in a louder voice. "But I also need to see what is best for my department in the school too and since you two are my best students I want both of you to prepare an experiment for a competition that will be held in our school next month. I will give you the rest of the details later. You may now leave for your classes."
The duo stared flabbergasted at Mr Park who walked away crisply and shut himself into his own office. As soon as he was out of sight Jisung whirled around to face the older.
"I am not" He started emphatically. "Under any circumstances, even if a fucking asteroid hits the earth, working with you together for a science project"
"Well to be honest" Minho took a step forward, shrugging casually. "I wouldn't want to work with you either considering your....." He sucked in a breath, grimacing with mock sympathy. "Shockingly low knowledge in the subject, but, I suppose, we dont always get what we want, right sweetheart?"
Jisung let out an annoyed growl at that.
_____________________
It was well after school now, and Jisung and Minho were still stuck in the lab, figuring out what to make for the competition.
Well, mainly Jisung. Minho was just absentmindedly mixing random hazardous chemicals, emitting loud bangs at the most unexpected times and then apologizing amusedly as he would watch Jisung's patience dwindle gradually. Safe to say, the older was enjoying this a little too much.
An hour passed with the same boredom for Minho, his only enjoyment being the little grumbles and growls Jisung would let out whenever the older irritated him.
Minho would just laugh silently on hearing those sounds. God, he was obsessed, he thought, ashamed.
But he had been, ever since he had heard the latter argue so passionately about the existence of black eyes that one twenty second of November, almost a decade back. Sadly however, Minho was never able to show how much he liked Jisung. Matters became worse when Jisung just assumed that Minho hated him and so began reciprocating that feeling with a passion.
Minho could never make himself go against Jisung's assumption, however he would take a great deal of pleasure in annoying the crap out of the flustered younger, as he flirted with him while exchanging insults. And for Minho, this was enough. For now.
Minho looked up as he heard Jisung heave out an irritated sigh. "What's wrong?" He asked, noticing the younger's tired eyes and downturned lips.
Those tired eyes however, still managed to shoot a poisonous glare toward the older when he heard his voice, and Minho resisted the ridiculous urge to grin widely at that look.
"Nothing" Jisung snapped and Minho sighed. The older stood up and walked over to where Jisung was sitting across him.
"Look sweetheart," He said pretending not to hear Jisung's growl at the nickname as he leaned on the table. "I know you don't want to be here any more than I do, but if we want to live without wringing each other's necks, we've got to cooperate."
Jisung barked out a laugh at that. "Says the guys who's been thinking of himself as Hermione Granger for the past hour while I sit here and actually try to work!"
Minho blinked at the comparison, then started to laugh. "Alright" He said still smiling, holding his hands up in surrender. "I get it. But I'm not taking my words back since we really do need to win this"
Jisung buried his face in his hands and groaned, as if the very thought of agreeing with Minho on something was giving him physical pain.
"Fine" He mumbled grudgingly after a minute. "I thought I would be the one to give this noble speech since you were the one annoying the crap out of me, but, I guess, this works too"
"Perfect" Minho clapped his hands. "Now, how are we winning this, sweetheart?"
___________________
It had been three days since their first episode and by now Jisung and Minho had reached a sort of temporary agreement to not kill each other on sight. The two had also kept their arguments to the minimum and quite frankly, Jisung was pretty proud of himself at the way he stayed calm at every outrageous comment Minho made.
However there was still one difficulty. Their project. None of them had been able to figure out what to make yet and Jisung was close to ripping his hair out at the sheer frustration. Minho was too, but he was better at hiding it underneath all that sarcasm and wit.
Minho was currently sitting in the lab, half asleep as he watched Jisung scribble furiously in a notebook, crossing out whatever he wrote and then rewriting it just as quickly. The older's eyes softened as he watched a strand of Jisung's soft hair fall into his eyes which the boy brushed away swiftly as his glasses slipped down his nose.
Minho resisted the urge to brush away his hair and tuck it carefully behind his ear then fix his glasses properly so the boy could work without any disturbances.
Although the biggest disturbance in Jisung's life was probably Minho himself right now.
"You're down bad" The older heard Bangchan's voice in his head suddenly, his knowing chuckle infuriating him and yet, deep down, Minho knew his hyung was right.
He was down bad. He just needed to make sure Jisung didn't see it.
"Check this out" Jisung said after almost an hour of silence, and slid his notebook towards Minho.
The older snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at the open page, which was covered with Jisung's tiny print like handwriting, messy because of the innumerous times he had cut some lines out and then rewritten on top of them, but still understandable. More or less.
The page contained a list of chemicals, seemingly random, as well as some explanations. Hydrochloric acid, Iodine solution, Sodium thiosulphate, starch solution.....
The chemicals seemed familiar.
"Well?" Asked Jisung expectantly. "Don't tell me your genius brain couldn't figure out what these chemicals are used in yet?" He sassed, raising an eyebrow and Minho smiled as he looked down at the sheet.
"Iodine clock" He said, then looked up at Jisung. "Looks like you've got more brains than I gave you credit for"
"Oh fuck off" Jisung scoffed. "You should be thanking me for finally brainstorming a good project idea that we can show instead of acting like a moody pre teen."
Minho laughed at the description. He slid his chair closer to Jisung and looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes as he leaned on the table using his elbow.
"And yet here I am," He smirked. "Acting like a moody pre teen"
___________________
It's been a week since Jisung and Minho began working on the project they had brainstormed and the two were getting along now, more or less.
There were still arguments and judgy looks and sarcastic comments but they were bearable now.
The two had discussed their idea with Mr Park who had immediately given the green light, praising them for their brains and arranging all the chemicals they needed as well. He had allowed them to spend a longer time in the lab as well so that they could practice the experiment till they had all the measurements and timings perfect.
And personally, Jisung didn't feel quite so repulsed at the idea.
"Minho can you please get your ass up and help me out here instead of sticking your finger under the microscope to see what your skin cells look like?" Jisung groaned as he watched Minho giggle excitedly at whatever kaleidoscopic shapes he was seeing through the microscope, a small smile making it's way onto the younger's face at the pure childish joy Minho seemed to be experiencing.
The older immediately looked up however when his name was called (rather rudely), clearing his throat and nodding his head. "Yeah what's up?"
"Add starch to this mixture and then help me make the other ones in varying quantities"
"Okay" Minho took the bottle of starch solution and added it to the mixture Jisung was stirring. "This much good?"
"Yeah" Jisung nodded. "Now the others"
The two worked in silence as they prepared a few more solutions of starch, Sodium thiosulphate and Potassium Iodate. At the last one however Minho messed up.
While pouring the starch solution into the beaker, his hand slipped and for once Minho's lightning fast reflexes didn't save Jisung's shirt from getting completely drenched in the solution.
"Fuck I'm so sorry!" Minho panicked as soon as he heard Jisung's yelp at the liquid dripping down his now stained shirt. The flimsy lab coat did nothing to prevent the spill and Minho hastily pulled the younger over to the nearest sink to wash off any excess of the starch.
"I'm sorry" Minho kept muttering as he wet a cloth and began to clean off the residue of the starch. Distractedly he wondered how many choice insults were brewing in an abnormally quiet Jisung's head right now, and surprisingly, he found himself scared to face them.
Then suddenly..... a laugh erupted from Jisung's throat. The older froze, looking up to see..... Jisung. Throwing his head back and laughing, eyes squeezed shut as he seemed to fall short of breath and yet unable to stop the flow of giggles that sounded like music to the astonished older's ears.
God his laugh is beautiful, Minho thought as his lips stretched into a smile and before long, he too, was laughing along with Jisung, the starch spill long forgotten as the two showed their emotions freely for the first time in each other's presence.
"God you face" Jisung giggled, wiping away tears as he looked up at Minho in amusement. "You looked so ready to shit your pants"
The two dissolved into another bout of laughter at that, finally slowing down to get some oxygen. Jisung looked up at Minho through the hair that had fallen into his eyes, panting slightly.
His eyes met darker ones as Minho too looked up, and Jisung felt a sudden tug in his stomach, a foreign feeling coursing through his body at the look the older had pinned him with.
The younger gulped and Minho noticed, parted lips stretching into a smirk as he watched Jisung's Adam's apple bob up and down in nervousness.
"I think your shirt is clean now" Minho whispered, as he leaned away from Jisung. His eyes involuntarily travelled down to the younger's wetted lips, then snapped back up again, rather guiltily.
Jisung blinked, then looked down at his own shirt. "Right" He cleared his throat, stepping back as well. "Should we.... uh.... get back to the experiment?" He asked, averting eye contact.
"Right" The older walked back to their set up, running a hand through his hair as he watched Jisung come over as well, stopping a few steps away from Minho.
The distance irked him, but Minho decided not to act on it. That would become a little too much for one day.
___________________
"Hey" Minho smiled as he walked over to the table where Jisung was sitting, writing something in his notebook.
Jisung looked up, pushing up his glasses. "Hi" He smiled tiredly as he went back to writing. "I was just performing the experiment again and I found out some contradicting results. Did you know that the concentration of the solution we're using as well as the environment in which we're performing the— Hey!" Jisung exclaimed as Minho snatched his diary out of his hands, shutting it and placing it on the table.
"Listen sweetheart" Minho turned to the frowning younger. "I know you really want to make sure we win this competition but you also need breaks. I'm not having you studying all the damn time and then working on this too whenever you get free time" The older stated firmly and Jisung gaped up at him.
"This—" Jisung spluttered. "This is Lee Minho right?"
Minho rolled his eyes. "Ha ha. Very funny. Now come on. Get your ass up. We're going out"
"Wait what?" Jisung's eyes widened. "Woah we're not going anywhere, smart ass" He exclaimed. "I need to work on these new stuff I found out and I need to see if the temperature and concentration of the solutions affect the—"
"Yeah yeah yeah" Minho talked over Jisung's voice, determined not to hear him. "I know you're really brainy and really passionate about this and all but I'm not joking when I say you really do need a break. So get your ass up" The older repeated forcefully. "And come with me. We're going out"
Jisung stood up and walked after Minho, smiling. "Is the Lee Minho asking me out on a date?" He asked amused.
Minho just shrugged. "Maybe" He smiled at the astonished laugh Jisung let out.
The two walked out of the school gates and into the biting cold wind, trudging along the snow covered lanes in silence.
"So" Jisung started after they left their school behind, shivering a little in his jacket. "Will I get an answer if I ask where we're going or am I just gonna have to trust you to not murder me?" The boy asked.
Minho cast a sidelong glance at the younger. Silently, he shrugged off his coat and laid it on Jisung's shoulders. "You're just gonna have to trust me to not murder you" He replied matter of factly to the younger's question, speeding up and smiling when he saw Jisung unfreeze from where he was standing, struggling to catch up with him.
After fifteen minutes of surprisingly comfortable silence the two ended up infront of a cozy looking café. They walked inside and were greeted with the enticing aroma of coffee and chocolate and fresh bread.
Minho pulled a starstruck Jisung along to the empty counter, amused at the way the younger was so in awe at a simple café. He smiled at the barista.
"The usual?" The guy behind the counter asked and Minho nodded.
"You know me" He chuckled.
"And for your friend?" The barista asked, referring to Jisung who was still looking around the café in surprise.
"A classic New York cheesecake and a cappuccino" Minho ordered on behalf of Jisung who's attention snapped back to the present on hearing the order Minho rattled off.
"Wait" Jisung said, surprised. "How did you know I like cheesecake?"
Minho walked over to an empty seat, sitting down quickly and motioning for Jisung to do the same. He shrugged in response to Jisung's question. "I've got my sources"
Jisung narrowed his eyes at that, but got distracted when a waiter placed a slice of his favourite cheesecake on the table in front of him. The boy's eyes twinkled and he immediately picked up the fork, digging into the cake.
The flavours seemed to burst in Jisung's mouth and the boy closed his eyes as his mouth curved into a satisfied smile, savoring every bite of the creamy dessert.
Minho smirked at the sight. "Still think I'm gonna murder you, sweetheart?"
"Well, I mean that's not entirely out of the question yet, is it?"
___________________
"So?" Asked Felix, as him, Jisung, Hyunjin and Seungmin sat in one of the corner tables of the cafeteria about two weeks after Jisung and Minho got paired up for their project. "How's the project going?"
Jisung chewed on his food, slowly before answering. "Minho's still an asshole" He shrugged.
"Am I sensing a but?" Asked Seungmin, raising an eyebrow.
"But," A small, unwilling smile spread on Jisung's face as he thought of everything Minho had done for him in the past two weeks. "I guess.... he's grown on me a bit"
"Details" Hyunjin smirked knowingly.
Jisung blushed. "Well I mean, he took me out for cheesecake when he randomly decided that I was pressuring myself too much and he also lent me his coat when I was cold. His sarcasm is.... endearing at times. He's.... also not as heartless as I thought he was. He acts like a child sometimes which is.... really cute. And..... I think we're getting along better now."
"So?" Felix pressed, a wide smile on his face as he watched Jisung gradually get lost in fond memories while speaking.
Jisung put down his chopsticks and rested his chin on his hand, a warm smile on his face. "I don't think I hate him anymore"
***
Word count: 3556
This one was lame.
Anyways, have a great day/night!
<3