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Jongho is in the ninth circle of hell.
Or whatever circle is the worst one, he doesn't know. He's no Dante connoisseur. But whether it’s the ninth or the seven thousandth circle, he knows one man has a premium, first-class ticket straight to it, and his name is Jeong Yunho. Or Professor Jeong, as he likes—actually, demands—to be called. On the first day of class, he walked in, self-assured, said to the class, “My name is Jeong Yunho, you may call me Professor Jeong,” and immediately proceeded to talk about multivariable differentiation.
In his three years of college, Jongho’s had his fair share of questionable professors. Professors who are consistently late, outright lazy, or simply unpleasant—he’s seen it all. But none of them can hold a candle to his calculus professor.
Professor Jeong is good at his job, Jongho will give him that. He’s by no means lazy or a bad teacher. But that’s about where the good qualities end, because aside from that, he’s stiff, abrasive, and overall unapproachable. Any question from a student is answered in a gruff, almost condescending tone, and though the syllabus says his office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3PM to 4PM, he’s not once advertised that in class.
Not that it matters, because an assassin could be pointing a gun at him in a game of Russian roulette and give him the choice of playing or going to see his professor, and Jongho would still take his chances with the gun.
Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But his point still stands.
Even as he sits at his laptop in the living room, eyes burning from staring at his empty document for hours, the thought of asking his professor for help holds no appeal. What kind of calculus professor assigns a paper, anyway? On top of a midterm exam, too?
“You’re still sitting there?”
Jongho turns to see his roommate, San, enter the apartment, on his face a look of both disbelief and pity. “Yeah,” Jongho grunts.
“Why are you out here? You don’t have a desk in your room?” San asks, raising a brow.
“I don’t want to be doing this near my bed. This assignment has bad energy. Feng shui and all that.”
“I really don’t think that’s what feng shui means.”
“Man,” Jongho sighs, hanging his head back. “Let me live. This is due next week, and I still haven’t started studying for the exam. Which is for the same class.”
San whistles. “Professor Jeong, huh?” He walks behind Jongho, resting a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. “Been there. He really doesn’t let anyone catch a break.”
“Where the fuck does he get off torturing his students?” Jongho says, frustration bubbling to the surface. He turns to look back at his roommate. “Genuinely, what is the purpose of making our lives infinitely harder?”
“Don’t know,” San shrugs. “Can’t say he’s bad at his job, though. The man’s certainly built for something as agonizing as calculus. Did you know he’s married, by the way?”
Jongho raises his brows. “Married? Him?” he scoffs. The thought alone almost makes him laugh. "No way. Where'd you hear that?"
"Wooyoung mentioned it once."
"And you believed him?" The skepticism in Jongho's voice is obvious.
Wooyoung isn't malicious. He's just... misguided, sometimes. He wouldn't intentionally spread lies, but he wouldn't put in the effort to fact check anything before telling his boyfriend, either. Or the rest of his friends, for that matter. He just eats up any kind of gossip.
"Hey!" San protests. "Nothing to say he's wrong!"
Jongho snorts, turning back to his computer. "Yeah, okay."
If Professor Jeong truly is married, he must have one hell of a wife.
♡
One time, Jongho heard a story about a woman who, no matter how much anyone tried to make laugh, never even smiled. Even with the prospect of winning a thousand dollars, no one was able to make her even grin.
But it turned out she had some form of facial paralysis that made it impossible for her to smile. Or at least, that's what some form of the story says.
Jongho thinks Professor Jeong could fulfill that role as well. He stands by the giant whiteboard in the front of the lecture hall, giving his lecture with a completely straight face, facial muscles unmoving. Jongho's never seen the man's mouth even quirk up in the slightest, let alone smile. And, okay, Jongho will admit it, the man is decent looking and any lack of smiling makes him look closer to a model posing for a camera than anything unpleasant. But his looks are overshadowed by his brick wall demeanor, and at this point, not even a smile could save his reputation in Jongho's mind.
His attire is stiff, too, what with the perfectly ironed white button up, nondescript (but not completely patternless) tie, and the black slacks. Is the tie even necessary? Is it not suffocating?
The sound of the door opening yanks Jongho out of his thoughts, and he sees a head of dark hair pop through the crack in the doorway.
Professor Song Mingi looks to the body of students and smiles apologetically before looking back towards Professor Jeong.
For a moment, Jongho sees Professor Jeong's eyes lighting up as he looks at his colleague.
That paper last night must've really done a number on Jongho if he's hallucinating his calculus professor having emotions.
Professor Jeong looks at the students for a moment, nodding briefly—is that supposed to be an excuse me?—before making his way out the door.
The door clicks shut, and Jongho blinks as a question rises in his head a few seconds late. Why is a literature professor in the math and sciences building?
♡
Professor Song Mingi is married.
Which isn't surprising, to say the least. It's not like he hides the silver band around his ring finger, and unlike some other professor, he's actually got a really great personality.
It's actually a little jarring, coming from the world's most tense, suffocating lecture hall to what unironically feels like bathing in the sun. Professor Song being the sun.
He's never demanded his students call him that, but Jongho feels inclined to out of his undying respect for him. Which is a little strange once he thinks about it, because it puts Professor Jeong (derogatory) and Professor Song (affectionate) at the same level.
"And what kind of role do you think dreams play in this scene? What significance does Puck's rather random monologue hold in the context of this whole play?"
Jongho's never been interested in literature. So, he lets the other students answer—with unabated passion—the professor's question. But, frankly, he's glad that out of all the literature electives he could've taken to fulfill his credit requirement, he chose to take this one. Professor Song's undeniable passion bleeds into every lecture he gives, and the classes feel more like a dynamic discussion rather than a one-sided lecture.
The class erupts in laughter at something Professor Song says, and Jongho thinks to himself that if he ever became an educator, he'd want to be like Song Mingi.
♡
Jongho stares at the sight in front of him. Or at least, he tries to, before Wooyoung moves his head and blocks his view.
"Hello?" he says, waving a hand in front of Jongho. "You there?"
"Shh," Jongho mumbles, still trying to look past Wooyoung. "I'm trying to see something."
Him, Wooyoung, Yeosang, and San are sitting at a table in the cafeteria, and Jongho is in perfect view of the line at one of the counters.
The line in which Professor Song and Professor Jeong are standing next to each other in.
Wooyoung turns to look. "What am I looking at?"
"That would be Jongho's archnemesis," says San, turning to look as well. Yeosang snickers next to Jongho. "Professor Jeong."
"Oh, that's him?" Wooyoung asks, turning back. "He's pretty hot."
Jongho rolls his eyes. "Trust me, you wouldn't give a shit about how he looked if you took one of his classes." He frowns, a thought occurring to him. "Wait, you don't even know who he is?"
"Oh, I've heard plenty about him. I've just never seen him," Wooyoung shrugs. He plucks a fry from San's plate and eats it. "Why were we looking at him again? Does your incessant desire for revenge just alert you or something?"
"No," says Jongho. "He's just... talking to Professor Song. I didn't even know he was capable of social interaction."
"Jongho!" Yeosang chides, but there's a barely suppressed grin on his face.
"You know it's true! You've taken his class before!" Jongho exclaims, looking back towards the professors. Professor Song is talking animatedly about something undoubtedly of interest, and Professor Jeong merely nods slightly every few seconds. Dogshit luck, Jongho thinks, having to stand in line in front of Professor Jeong and engage in polite conversation.
"True," Yeosang acknowledges. "But apparently someone likes him enough, because he's apparently married."
"He doesn't even have a ring," says Jongho, squinting just to double check. He's right.
Yeosang shrugs. "You never know."
True, Jongho doesn't know everything. But he does know one thing, and it's that there's no way anyone could willingly stand being in Professor Jeong's presence for more than a few minutes.
♡
Jongho's a little early for his meeting, but he doesn't think Professor Song will mind. He's not even sure the man's capable of feeling anger, actually, but that's besides the point.
Professor Song asked everyone to book a short 15-minute, one-on-one meeting with him before midterm week, mainly to discuss progress and topics for their upcoming essay. Which isn't due until way after midterms, unlike Jongho's calculus paper that makes him want to rip his hair out.
When Jongho reaches the office, he pushes the handle and opens the door—since Professor Song always emphasized that they can simply walk in without knocking—only to be met with what feels like a fever dream.
Professor Song is sitting at his desk, pointing at something on his computer, and Professor Jeong is standing behind him, bent down to look at whatever is on the screen as well.
And he's smiling.
Professor Jeong murmurs something Jongho can't hear and Professor Song barks out a laugh in response.
And Professor Jeong is still smiling.
While Jongho stands in stunned silence, Professor Song notices him by the door and smiles brightly.
"Oh, you're early!" he says, waving Jongho in. "Come in."
As Jongho closes the door behind him, Professor Jeong straightens, and his face is back to the usual stillness Jongho is used to. Did Jongho hallucinate that smile? Absently, he slaps a hand to his forehead. He's not sick. So, it wasn't a fever induced illusion?
Jongho sits down on the couch by the door to wait.
And then, the strangest thing happens.
Professor Jeong reaches out and ruffles the hair on Professor Song's head, quietly saying something unintelligible, and Professor Song smiles up at him. He smiles like Professor Jeong himself hung the stars in the sky.
When Professor Jeong turns to leave, he walks past Jongho and gives him a curt nod. "Mr. Choi," he says, not even waiting for a response before he's out the door.
"Sorry," Professor Song says, reaching for something under his desk. "I'll be with you in a second."
Isn't Professor Song married? Is he allowed to be looking at someone else-
Someone else?
Jongho's eyes widen as the thought occurs to him.
No. No way.
Professor Jeong doesn't even have a ring. It'd be rude, right? To pretend you're unmarried while your partner wears the ring proudly? Professor Song wouldn't let that happen to him, right?
Right?
♡
"God, I'm just glad it's over," Jongho groans as he pushes the door to the cafe open. "You don't think he'll just give me a bad grade out of spite, right?"
"You haven't even done anything to him," San laughs. "It'll be fine. Professor Jeong's a hardass but he grades fairly."
The two make their way to a free table in a corner, weaving past crowded tables. The cafe is loud, but Jongho supposes that's what they get for coming in on a Saturday afternoon.
As San gets up to order first, Jongho sits and lets his eyes wander. The family in front of him is bickering about what flavor ice cream to order, and the two women next to them are gossiping heatedly about some extramarital affair. He should've invited Wooyoung. He would've loved the free gossip.
His gaze wanders across the room, to the booths lining the wall, and-
What the fuck?
Professor Jeong sits in one of the booths, dressed in something other than his button up and slacks, looking at something on his phone. Jongho's shock of seeing his professor is only multiplied when he sees Professor Song sitting across from the man, leaning across the table to look at whatever Professor Jeong is looking at.
Both of them start laughing, and Jongho wonders if it's possible to die from shock.
He's never seen Professor Jeong laugh. He's never seen his face so bright and full of joy.
"What're you looking at?" San asks, sitting down next to him.
Jongho nods his head in the professors' direction. He sees, in his periphal vision, San's mouth open in surprise.
And then he sees, in his central vision, Professor Jeong lightly hold Professor Song's chin and press a kiss to his lips.
Once the shock wears off a little, Jongho thinks that it's actually... endearing.
"What the fuck?" San whispers.
"Yeah, I know," says Jongho.
A glint of metal catches Jongho's eye, and that's when he sees it.
Made visible by the v-neck sweater Professor Jeong has on, a silver band hanging on a fine chain on his neck.
"My god," says Jongho. "I guess Wooyoung was right."