LONG SLOW DISTANCE

03 | nerds r us

For Jaemin, studying biochemistry at SeoulTech was something that just made sense.

Seoul National University of Science and Technology was a big name, and Jaemin was proud to receive his acceptance letter when it arrived in the post. It meant that all of the blood, sweat and tears he'd put in had really paid off. For some reason, studying had always been a huge driving force in Jaemin's life, with those perfect scores as proof of his hard work. If Jeno and soccer was the perfect ship, Jaemin and studying was a close second.

(Of course, nobody shipped Jeno and soccer anymore. Noren was the new thing - and Donghyuck liked to take credit for the ship name.)

The great thing about SeoulTech was that every single person there was a huge nerd. It was a comforting environment for someone like Jaemin, who used his biochem textbooks as a coping mechanism sometimes.

"Goodness me," said Taeyong as he walked through the campus with the Jae Brothers - one brother on either side. "What is this - Nerds R Us?"

They were helping Jaemin move into his new dorm that day, though the youngest of the trio had insisted multiple times that he could do it by himself. Both Taeyong and Jaehyun had refused to allow this to happen, and had firmly told him they would accompany him on his first day to help carry his minimal belongings from the car up to the dormitory. Jaemin only had one large suitcase and two cardboard boxes, which contained an unhealthy number of textbooks that he had purchased over the holiday.

"What Taeyong means to say," Jaehyun amended jokingly, "is well done on getting into a good school, Mini Jae." He would have patted his younger brother on the back, only his hands were full with all of Jaemin's textbooks. "But, yeah, there are plenty of nerds to go around, Yong. Take your pick."

"Hm..." Taeyong pretended to deliberate over the next few students they passed, before a dark-haired boy in a purple sweater crossed the path in front of them and headed off in another direction. "Actually, that guy was pretty cute," he remarked.

"Watch your words," Jaehyun warned, with a teasing look in his eyes.

"He's too young for you, hyung," Jaemin piped up, rolling his eyes at the pair of them.

"I'm pretty sure Taeyong has a thing for younger guys."

Since he didn't have a free hand to give his boyfriend a good slap, Taeyong outstretched a leg to kick Jaehyun instead. "Shut up! I'm not even that much older than you," he insisted.

There was only a year or two between them, but Jaehyun liked to pull the age card at any given opportunity and tease Taeyong to no end. Taeyong had gone back a year in high school, and had ended up in the same year of university as Jaehyun, which is how they'd met - on the same course in marketing. Now that they'd both graduated, they were moving into their very own apartment together, near the office they'd managed to score the same internship at. Apparently, it was nothing but good luck for the pair of them since they could stay together in Seoul for at least another year.

(In the back of Jaehyun's mind, he was wary of the fact that Taeyong could pull the hyung card in retaliation to the teasing and tell him what to do. But Taeyong hadn't thought of that yet.)

"Isn't it this building?" Jaehyun asked, and they all came to a halt in front of one of the on-campus halls of residence.

"Yeah, I think so," Jaemin answered. He watched a few students come and go through the doors of the building, picturing himself in their position as soon as he'd settled in.

"Shall we go up then?" Taeyong spoke up gently, offering Jaemin a smile of encouragement. Jaemin nodded and they headed up to the dorm, and Taeyong managed to elbow Jaehyun in the ribs before they got there.