It was no secret that Lee Jinki was brilliant. He was always battling for first in the class. Everyone loved being his partner on projects because it almost always meant an A plus. He was loveable and awkward and it was impossible for anyone to hate him for any reason.

Kim Jonghyun was the opposite. He was always alone, even though he had a nice following of the younger girls in the school, naïve and entranced by his puppy boy face but gruff style.

Not many people knew he was smart, ahead a year in school. He excelled in writing and grammar above anything else, his poetry extremely popular on the internet, but no one in his school knew or would have cared.

He was Jonghyun, the short loner that would kick your ass to Canada and back if you crossed him. He wasn’t ever really given the chance to be anything otherwise.

It was school policy for the teachers to assign partners for projects. The school was small enough that everyone knew each other, but everyone still wanted to work with their best friend or Jinki.

But that also always meant someone was forced to work with Jonghyun.

“Hey… hey. The bell hasn’t sounded yet.. Listen to me,” Mr. Choi said over his class, his deep voice seeming to rattle the windows. “Your partners for the Shakespeare writing project will be on my website tonight and you’ll get your syllabus tomorrow. Have a good day!” Everyone finished packing their bags and rushed out the door.

“M-Mr. Choi. Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, Jonghyun. What is it?”

“Have you already made the finally selections for the partners or can you still change them around a bit?”

“Who do you have in mind that you want to work with? I can see what I can do but you do have to be with someone for this project, Jonghyun…”

“No… no, it’s not like that sir. I want to work with Lee Jinki.”

“But you both always do so well. Do you think that would be fair?”

“He’s logically smart. I’m creatively smart. This project might be harder for him than it is for me… and you know how he can be when he doesn’t understand something or doesn’t get an A.”

“You have a good point, Jonghyun. I’ll make the revision for you now. But… why Jinki?”

“Oh… I just think we’d complement each other with this project. Plus, I want to get to know the smartest kid in the school. I know he’ll get the credit from our peers for the good grade, but I don’t mind. I want to get to know Lee Jinki on a personal level.”

Jonghyun left out the fact that he thought Jinki was pretty and he wanted to be around him more.

—-

“Kim Jonghyun, Mr. Choi… Really? Do you hate me now? What did I do? What were you thinking? Want to pass… not fail…”

“Lee Jinki, where are your manners?”

“I’m sorry sir but I just don’t understand. I don’t want to do this project alone. I’m not that great of a writer.”

“You’ll be working with Jonghyun. He’s an excellent writer and he has the best grade in this class. That was a very rude assumption.”

“Mr. Choi, please…”

“Have you ever read any of Jonghyun’s poetry?”

“N-No sir.”

“My partners are final once they’re posted. There isn’t anything you can say or do to change my mind now. Someone has to work with Kim Jonghyun. I chose you.”

“Mr. Choi…”

“Jinki, go enjoy your time before class starts in the lab with your friends. My decision is final. I promise you that you will not fail and you will be surprised with what Jonghyun can do. I’ll see you in class.”

—-

“No, Jinki, his sonnets and his plays are all the same… 10 beats per line, stressed then unstressed… iambic pentameter.”

“Does it have to rhyme though?”

“Yes. His sonnets are ABAB CDCD…”

“This is so complicated! Isn’t poetry supposed to be about expression?”

“Yes, it is, but it also is like anything else that has beauty. It has to have structure, consistency in the midst of the manipulation of language. There are plenty of free verse poets but they don’t have style. It’s why Shakespeare is still being studied today.”

“I just don’t understand anything about this man…”

“It’s because you’re being too literal, hyung. Think of all the different meanings for each word and you’ll start to understand. That’s the beauty of the language. There is always more than one meaning for something and when you put it together… the possibilities are endless. You can’t dissect it like a frog. You have to pull it apart in pieces and savor it like chicken tenders.”

It was creepy how much detail Jonghyun remembered but it made Jinki feel special.

He was starting to realize that Mr. Choi knew what he was doing when he paired him with Jonghyun. The kid really was brilliant and knew his stuff. He wouldn’t admit that to Jonghyun; he had his pride to keep in check after all.

“Life isn’t all about the facts, hyung. It has underlying meanings and complications than an equation or an algorithm won’t be able to solve. It’ll take a deeper understanding and critical thinking to figure out.”

Jonghyun looked up from his book with all of Shakespeare’s works that Jinki had managed to find at a bookstore and at a cheap price. So he had bought it for the project.

He was planning on giving it to Jonghyun once the project was over as well. Jinki knew he’d love it.

“Does that make any sense to you, hyung?”

“Yes, it does…”

Damn that kid was so much more brilliant than he let on. Jinki made a mental note to apologize to Mr. Choi for the fuss  he had made about being partnered with Jonghyun.

“Good, then tell me what these lines mean from what I’ve told.” Jonghyun pointed to the first two lines in a sonnet Jinki had heard about a million times.

“‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and temperate.’” Jinki read aloud slowly, taking in the words. “He’s describing someone, saying they’re beautiful and… hot.”

“Interesting pick up line, huh?” Jonghyun chuckled, sending a small shiver down Jinki’s spine. Who knew this loner had such a charming smile. “What about the next two lines then?”

“‘Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May and summer’s lease hath all too short a date.’”

“Tell me what it means literally, first, hyung.”

“Well… May is windy, blowing blooms around and that summer is too short.”

“Now tell me what you think Shakespeare means.”

“I think he’s saying that this person is beautiful but they’ve got a bold personality and a terrible temper but they are still beautiful no matter what because that’s just how the person is.”

“Good, hyung, keep going…”

“But just like summer doesn’t last very long, neither does the youth and beauty of the person he’s talking about.”

“See, you can think creatively. It’s not too hard is it? You’re just underestimating yourself.”

“T-Thank you, Jonghyun…”

“Want to try one more, hyung?” Jinki nodded, feeling his confidence rising as Jonghyun pointed to the couplet at the end of the sonnet. “See if you can get this one…” Jinki read over the words, trying to keep his mind on everything the younger boy had told him.

“Read it out loud. It makes it easier when you hear it.”

“‘So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, so long lives this and this gives life to thee.’” Jinki paused for a moment, stringing the words together, his eyebrows scrunching together before he turned to look at Jonghyun. “Is he talking about his love for the person in the poem?”

“A lot of people think that, but no, I don’t think that’s what he’s getting at here.”

“Then what is the ‘this’ then? Is he talking about his sonnet? That those words of the person’s beauty will live on and make them live on as well? That his words are eternal?”

“Very very good hyung. This project will be a lot easier for us from now on…”

—-

“Jonghyun, you’re a really talented writer. No wonder your nose is always buried in a notebook…” Jinki said, his finger trailing the curly but messy words on the paper. The younger boy chuckled, his hand ghosting over the elder’s thighs as he leaned closer, seeing what poem Jinki was reading. Jinki shivered, the affection never failing to make him lose more sanity.

“Thank you, hyung…” he whispered, another jolt of electricity washing over Jinki. “Read this one here… it’s my favorite…” Jonghyun said quietly, sliding the stack of papers around, selecting one that was in surprisingly neat handwriting, making it seem more special and significant.

Jinki picked I up, feeling Jonghyun shift uncomfortably next to him, a light blush growing on his high cheekbones.

“Oh is this about a girl…?” Jinki teased, skimming over the words, seeing it full of sensual diction.

“Not… not exactly…” Jonghyun stammered. “But, it is about someone… special to me.”

Jinki smiled, he loved how close they had become. He felt guilty for judging him so harshly but Jonghyun had been so quick to forgive, bringing their class partnership to friendship.

“Bright eyes like Mercury in the night sky and a voice that rings like pounding oceans, his body gives off a euphoric high…” Jinki stopped reading, finishing the rest in silence as shock washed over him…

It was full of “he’s” and “him’s” and then at the very end…. Lee Jinki…

“J-Jonghyun…?” he stuttered, glancing over at his classmate who was smirking, but his eyes and cheeks were burning red. “M-Me?”

Instead of responding, Jonghyun just leaned over and captured Jinki’s lips.

—-

Jinki never thought he would have been attracted to men. He had just assumed he’d lead a normal life as a normal guy.

But it was Kim Jonghyun that changed everything, gave him as much excitement as a student could have as he pinned Jinki against  the dusty old stacks in the library. The younger boy’s lips were devouring Jinki’s neck as his hand kneaded into the older boy’s crotch, making him shake as he bit back his moans.

“You’re so sexy, hyung. You don’t know how long I’ve wanted you…” Jonghyun whispered in Jinki’s ear, causing the older to moan loudly. “And I can’t wait any longer. I need you now…” He popped the button on the taller’s  slacks, slipping his elegant pianist fingers between the seam of his boxers.

They gasped in unison, Jinki in surprise from how cold Jonghyun’s hands were, the other at how thick Jinki felt in his hand. But that only made it more exciting.

“F… Fuck, Jonghyun…” Jinki whimpered at the familiar but still new sensations, a different hand stroking him perfectly.

“Do you like that, hyung?” Jinki nodded. “How about if you were inside me?”

How he didn’t cream his pants then was a mystery, those words sending almost painful twitches to his hot arousal, an undistinguishable noise ripping through his throat. He brought the shorter boy up for a hot kiss, teeth nipping and sucking, a rough side coming out that Jinki didn’t know he had taking over his senses.

He flipped their positions, slamming Jonghyun into the shelf, a few light books tumbling from their places onto the floor. It was a tangle of kisses and arms trying to get each other’s pants down, Jinki’s hands molesting the well-hidden muscles that just made the younger boy even sexier.

“H-hyung… hurry… please…” it was the first time he had ever seen his classmate broken, his usual cool confidence melted away. Jinki knew it was an act anyway, that Jonghyun was always alone because he was afraid to just open up and let someone in. He was different, weird, poetic… perfect. And he had Lee Jinki under his spell.

“What am I supposed to do? I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t want to hurt you…”

The younger responded but pushing Jinki away and bending over to take his hyung’s dick in his mouth, laving his thick tongue around the engorged flesh. It was his first blowjob and it was nothing like he thought it’d be. It was Jonghyun, it was better than he had imagined, the most beautiful boy sucking and bobbing, coating his erection liberally.

Jonghyun pulled off, the “pop” muffled by the thick dust around them. His lips were swollen and red, abused but gorgeous as he put his fingers in his mouth one at a time until he was sucking obscenely on four of them.

The next sight was more glorious, however, and it made Jinki’s dick twitch shamelessly. Jonghyun reached behind him and judging by the rapid flexing of his arms, he was thrusting his fingers in his body, stretching himself, preparing for Jinki.

“You know if we do this hyung… everything will change. I promise I’ll stick it out with you, Lee Jinki. I-I love you…” Jonghyun whispered as his fingers moved from behind him and behind the elder’s neck as Jinki stepped closer to him.

“I know what’s going to come but it’s alright. I’ll have you,” Jinki replied, pressing a kiss to Jonghyun’s forehead. “I love you too, Kim Jonghyun.”

the shorter reached between them, guiding Jinki’s slickened arousal to his entrance. “Then what are we waiting for, hyung? Make love to me right here…” Jinki didn’t miss a beat before pushing in slowly. He distracted Jonghyun by peppering kisses all over the younger boy’s face.

Jinki lifted Jonghyun’s legs up until they wrapped around his waist, panting into his mouth, their breaths mixing. “M-Move… please…” Jonghyun whimpered and Jinki responded instantly, pulling out almost completely before pushing back in quickly causing the shorter boy’s head to drop back, exposing his pretty neck. The older attached his lips to the tan column, the salty taste of sweat overloading his senses.

Jinki set the pace slowly, feeling every slick slide against Jonghyun’s tight walls. Jonghyun met every thrust, rocking down onto the cock he was sucking into his body, moaning at being full, too full.

It was when Jinki wrapped his hand around his neglected shaft did Jonghyun lose it, his orgasm crashing over him as he came all over Jinki’s shirt and hand. The older let his head fall, the tight heat almost making him pass out as he trust in a little harder, his stomach clinching as felt his climax creep up on him. He dropped Jonghyun’s legs and pulled out, watching as the younger dropped to his knees and wrapped his mouth around him again.

Jinki laced his fingers in Jonghyun’s locks as he moaned, his hips rocking slightly as he felt teeth scrap lightly on the vein on the underside of his cock and he came in thick ribbons, the shorter boy moaning as the taste of his hyung coated his mouth.

The bell rang as Jonghyun pulled off, smacking and licking his lips, smiling like a kitten finish its milk. Jinki hurried to clean up the younger boy, straightening his tie and blazer before pulling his over his shoulders and buttoning it to hide the drying cum.

“I’ll see you in English,  Jjong…”

“Yep!” Jonghyun said as he grabbed Jinki’s collar and pulled him down for a deep kiss, his tongue grazing over the elder’s bottom lip before bouncing off to his lunch period. Jinki smiled as he watched him leave. Hopefully Mr. Choi would pair them together again…