ANON. ❪ KTH + ??? ❫

twenty-two

the back of anon's head is somehow more fascinating than the front.

which is just as well, because that's all taehyung's been seeing the entire duration of class with his face resting in his hands and an irrepressible smile dominating his lips. it had only taken him a few seconds to pinpoint anon's location in the front row, and now that he's watching him properly he realizes that that fluffy mess of hair had always been there. it had always existed somewhere in the corner of his vision, every single math class, but had never really been looked at.

because that was all it had been beforeㅡa fluffy mess of hair belonging to an irrelevant student in the class of a subject he despised, who he'd probably only interacted with once for the sake of a project or such.

but taehyung knows better now.

it may have been just a big mass of disshelved hair that he's gazing at so intensely, but he finds himself recalling more and more the longer he stares. he's not entirely sure if anon belongs to the top-scoring part of the class or the bottom, but he definitely remembers him being personally called up to the teacher's desk on numerous occasions when being returned test papers. had mr. choi's expression been stern or commending? hell if taehyung knows.

capturing the end of his pencil between his teeth, taehyung chews on it pensively, eyes unwavering from the boy three desks ahead of him. the name still isn't coming to him. he knows that he has no better chance of remembering it now than yesterdayㅡif he hadn't been able to recall the name to his face then, how was it any easier now? but taehyung's an impatient person and he needs to know. so very badly.

he pulls the pencil out of his mouth with a frustrated sigh, spitting out small pieces of wood he'd bitten off unintentionally. wiping the pencil off on his sleeve, he finally manages to move his gaze away from the boy and to the teacherㅡthe board is filled with numbers and symbols that taehyung could have sworn hadn't been there a few seconds ago.

i'll distribute your papers in the last five minutes of class, he recalls mr. choi saying. he shifts restlessly in his seat, twisting his pencil between his fingers as his eyes dart straight back to anonㅡdistractedly, he observes that his hair's a rat's nest but still looks notably soft. taehyung wants to touch it.

i'm going to touch it, he decides.

telling himself to push away his stubborn determination to not pay attention to what mr. choi is lecturing about, taehyung focuses on the blackboard, trying to make sense of the seemingly meaningless squiggles. it takes a few moments for the formulae on the board to take form and meaning in his mind, but they do, and taehyung starts in shock because holy shit that's never happened before.

after a short period of absorbing the contents of the board, the only thing left that he can't understand is the fact that he can understand everythingㅡand just like that he understands that too.

kim motherfucking namjoon, taehyung thinks to himself with a begrudging respect. recalling the previous day, the boy had seemed more eager than taehyung himself to assist him in his studies (an easy task considering that taehyung was not in the slightest eager), cornering him in the library after school and sitting him down with textbooks he'd never set eyes on before in his life. his mother had only deadpanned at him when he'd showed up home two hours late claiming earnestly that he'd been studying with the genius of the gradeㅡhell, the entire school.

he turns his head slightly to glance at namjoonㅡneatly parted hair with his glasses slipping down his nose as he dedicatedly takes down notes. if he hadn't been a certified klutz and basically married to his books, his height would have made him a valuable asset on the school's basketball team.