The Devil I Know | Jaeyong

5: Reveal

Taeyong fiddles with the key to his locker, trying to get it to turn and unjam as he huffs a breath. Last quarter, before the yearly infamous Summer-time renovations, their lockers had codes on them. But after the school's janitor complained to the principal about the influx of freshmans forgetting their codes and having to manually open it for them for days on end, they were ordered to be replaced. Now, Taeyong's been reassigned and stuck with a locker with a keyhole that never works. After painstakingly turning his key in for the hundredth time, a familiar click resounds and his shoulders sag in relief.

"Take your time with it," Ten says lazily next to him. "It's not like you don't do this every morning."

Taeyong cuts him a sideways sheepish smile. A couple weeks back, he might've mistaken that for Ten being mean, but by now he knows the difference between serious-blunt Ten and joking-blunt Ten.

With his arms crossed, Ten leans by the blue lockers next to him looking like he hates early Monday mornings just that little bit more than everybody else. Taeyong chooses not to converse and pulls his locker open to swap out his books needed for the day. Inside, there are only a handful of thin notebooks. Now that he's a senior, he's found that the load of things he carries in his bag has significantly reduced, and he casts pitying looks at the freshman whose bags look like they're packing gear to go mountain climbing. Finishing up with his last notebook, Taeyong shoots Ten a passive glance, watching the obvious tick of his jaw as Ten chews gum, but Ten isn't looking at him. He's got his gaze laser-focused at something or someone behind Taeyong, and Taeyong doesn't get to ask what it is before Ten speaks up.

"Three o'clock," Ten points out with the imperceptible nod of his head.

At once, Taeyong stiffens a little before he closes his locker door halfway and looks over his shoulder at the direction Ten pointed out. There, on the opposite side of the hallway, stands Jaehyun. He's surrounded by some of the guys on the soccer team next to Johnny, a small circle around him, but he's got his posture fixed so that even over the circle, Taeyong can see him from head to shoulder. His breath catches in his throat, stomach fluttering up, when Jaehyun, too, catches his gaze. And then, Jaehyun's eyes caper sideways. It's barely a flicker. A flash. If Taeyong blinked, he easily would've missed it. But over the past couple of weeks, he's learnt to watch out for cues, be on his toes for signals, and know just exactly what every look Jaehyun gives him means. This look in particular is one he gets most mornings, like now, before class starts and the hallways aren't as full, or sometimes nearing the end of lunch. And despite the arrant familiarity of it now, his veins still flare like it's the very first time.

Taeyong's head jumps back to his locker, heartbeat thrumming.

"What was that about?" Ten asks, sliding close to him. He doesn't exactly bother to whisper, but the flock of chatter around them makes sure only Taeyong can hear him.

"Uh—" Taeyong says as he shuts his locker door, decidedly not looking at Ten. He knows what he'll find; pursed lips, slitted eyes, and a look that says he can read right through him. "What was what?"

"Taeyong," Ten says, all breadcrumbs of wry humour dropped as Taeyong toys with his key in the lock. "That look. What was the look Jaehyun gave you about?"

"Nothing," Taeyong answers, pocketing his key when his locker finally stays shut.

His shoulders bunch up, tense, when Ten steps forward, and he avoids Ten staring down at him. For a moment, the speck of dust on the floor looks that little bit more interesting. That moment seems to linger, too, with neither him nor Ten saying a word. Taeyong knows what's coming. It's something Ten practically reminds him of on a daily basis, for some reason recently now more than ever, and it's something that Taeyong forcefully makes sure he notes. He isn't supposed to forget it. He can't.