You Are (Not) a Cursed Boy // 2ho/yunjong

Let's Be Partners

It had been almost two months after that night at the park, and Jongho barely saw Seonghwa since. Even during recess and lunch, when they often crossed paths, Seonghwa was keeping his distance, as if he forgot that conversation even happened at all.

However, Jongho still had this feeling of being watched.

On the other hand, Yunho was becoming harder to get rid of. In the beginning, it was all Jongho could do to keep from indulging in his attention. Yet the accidents came nonetheless. When Jongho ignored Yunho's greetings in the corridors, he turned around to find him face-down on the floor from tripping over his own legs. When Jongho hid behind a tree during recess, the basketball hoop collapsed and the court was closed for a week. When Jongho jumped out of a bus to avoid riding with Yunho, a car crash happened down the road.

Somehow, Yunho barely got a scratch - no, a bruise - from all of that. Other students did, though. But never him.

As much as Jongho wanted to forget, he couldn't stop thinking back to what Seonghwa said that night. It was true that Yunho never got hurt, and even seemed unfazed by what could potentially be traumatizing accidents. Perhaps the curse had no effect on certain people, or maybe Yunho was immune somehow. If no harm came to him, what reason was there not to...?

He wants to be your friend.

What was more important was that no one ever enjoyed Jongho's company. Years spent trying to drive people away meant that people saw him as an outcast. A small part of Jongho hoped that this might be his chance to make a friend, to enjoy his teenage-hood properly.

Maybe his desperation to get a taste of it was too strong, because on this day, he was given a chance to finally make a change in his life.

"This week, we will be starting a new assignment. It's not a big task, but I will give you two weeks to complete it," Ms. Lee said in the beginning of the class, gaining everyone's attention. "I would like you to work in pairs."

The class erupted in a chaos of groans and complaints. Ms. Lee slapped her meter ruler onto the blackboard three times, and everyone went quiet.

"The instructions are online, but briefly speaking, you should make a video that can inspire your peers and juniors to become a better student. Make sure to..."

As Ms. Lee droned on, Wooyoung eyed San, who was sitting next to him. He pointed at San, then at himself, and then gestured towards the teacher. They nodded at the same time. There was never a group project that they didn't work on together.

Seonghwa's seat was towards the back of the classroom. He heard soft snores coming from behind and turned around. Mingi sat at the corner farthest from the teacher's desk. His head was in his arms and he was drooling. Seonghwa shook his head and sighed. If Mingi was lucky, Hongjoong would repeat everything the teacher said after class.

The student president was diligently writing notes, and probably already brainstorming ideas. Everyone wanted to be his partner, but he only chose people who actually did work. It usually came down to Seonghwa or Yeosang.

Being the top student of the year, Yeosang couldn't care less about who he worked with, as long as that person was a good enough actor to convince the teacher that it wasn't all Yeosang's work.

Yunho, as usual, was grinning excitedly. He loved teamwork, and silently hoped that Ms. Lee would let them choose their own partners. He sneaked a glance at Jongho, hoping to get his attention, but failed... to his expectation.

Yunho never felt deflated when Jongho ignored him. For the past two months, he felt he was actually making progress, even if it was just a little. This time, Yunho's instinct told him things were going to work out exactly the way he wanted.

"Song Mingi." Ms. Lee's raised voice snapped everyone back to reality, especially the sleeping beauty. He even had the audacity to stretch and yawn as if he was at home.

Ms. Lee's anger was almost palpable to the students sitting at the front - they dipped their heads and avoided eye contact as much as possible. "What did I just say about pairing up?"

Mingi gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "Uh..." San snickered and Seonghwa sighed again, but with a corner of his mouth curved slightly upwards.

Ms. Lee waited two seconds before repeating herself in an even louder voice. "I said, I would like you to pair up with someone you have never worked with before."

The rest of the students who also weren't listening opened their mouths in a gasp now. Wooyoung frowned, because that meant he couldn't work with San anymore. Everyone else looked just as distressed for losing this freedom to choose their friend.

Except for Yunho, who was smiling as bright as ever, and Jongho, who was nonchalant and perhaps even a little amused to find that his classmates were all upset.

For Yunho, it meant that he could finally work with Jongho, because he remembered everyone he ever teamed up with, and Jongho wasn't on the list.

Once Ms. Lee gave the permission to find a partner and start discussing about the project, Yunho jumped from his seat and practically skipped to Jongho's desk against the side of the room, underneath a window. Jongho was just about to stand up as well, but sat back down when he felt another person's presence next to him.

"Hi, Jongho." Yunho waved, unnecessarily. He walked to the front of Jongho's desk and put his hands on the two corners, leaning forwards. The sunlight landed on Yunho's white hair, giving it the silvery glint. "Let's be partners."

It came out sounding like a statement more than anything, as if they were already paired up by default. Jongho's first instinct was to search the back of his head for an excuse to refuse without hurting Yunho's feelings, but he stopped himself.

Yunho's dark eyes looked browner under the light, and there was no mistake about the amount of hope it reflected. Jongho saw that Yunho's long index and middle fingers were overlapping - crossed - at the corner of his eyes.

In spite of himself, Jongho smiled.

He wants to be your friend.

When? If not now?

Almost imperceptibly, Jongho nodded. When Yunho's smile grew wider, Jongho broke eye contact and looked away. He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, but Yunho ignored his embarrassment and ruffled his black hair.

Seonghwa, too, failed to suppress a smile. He had dragged his chair to sit across from Mingi, his new partner. Instead of a mind map, Mingi's notebook was full of doodles. "Why did you choose me, anyways? I thought you'd go for Yunho for sure."

Seonghwa turned back to Mingi and blinked. "Ah... well... I think Jongho's the only person Yunho hadn't worked with, so..."

Mingi cocked his head. "Really? I'm quite certain he hadn't worked with you."

"Nah, no way. You remembered wrong." Seonghwa waved a hand to dismiss the conversation. "Come on, focus on brainstorming, not drawing. If not, I'll tell Ms. Lee."

"Alright, alright!" Mingi ripped out the page and started on a blank one.

Seonghwa looked back at Jongho and Yunho, who were talking to each other while pointing at something - probably some ideas - on a laptop screen. In truth, he had wanted to partner with Yunho at first, but when he saw Yunho walking towards Jongho's desk, he knew he better not ruin the beginning of their friendship.

—

Author's Note:

Has Jongho finally gotten rid of his curse? Can he begin to live a normal teenager's life? Stick around to find out! If you like this story so far, please vote! :)

- Nerdy Giraffe