MAGIC SHOP || BTS

21. Historical Sculptures

You refocus on the class and the lesson, trying not to lose your train of thought everytime you lock eyes with him. The class is about to end and he opens up the window for doubts and questions.

“Sir, when will you mail us the tentative schedules for all our assignments?”

“I'll do it by end of day. Also, Mr. Kim is just fine for my students.” He smiles.

The bell rings and everyone packs up. You feel your phone buzz again.

“Jimin!” you think to yourself.

It’s Bee. You're slightly disappointed but it fades away in a second.

B- How’s the hot professor doing!

Y- He looks fine. You want me to ask him on your behalf?

B- Right! Like you could talk to him without losing your voice and walking out with thumbs up.

She's right, but you're slightly offended. You smile and get back to replying.
Y- It only happened once.

B- That's like a sadder version of YOLO. Anyways what's your next class. I don't think I have it with you.

Y- Ur mean. I got sculpture next. And you?

B- I'm in photography. Pretty sure your boy toy has sculpture tho.

Y- Ma whooo?

B- Taehyung lmao

You scoff audibly, as you had presumed that everyone had left. Oh how wrong you were.

“Everything okay, Miss y/n?”

Shit. It’s hot professor. You scold yourself for using bee terminology in your head before you look up.

“Yes Mr. Kim, just a minor inconvenience.”

“That's not what you call me.”

“Sorry?”

“You don't call me Mr. Kim”

“Uh, I, you said we should call you that though.”

“I said they should call me that. Not you.”

“The rules are different for me?” you question.

Trying not to smudge the line between formal and inappropriate.

He smiles and leans on his table. He’s about 5ft far but you're no less intimidated. Holding your breath for him to respond.

“It's just not as cute when the others say it. So you keep calling me what you do, am I clear?”

“Yes.” you barely say it loud enough for him to hear.

“Hm?” he looks at you with slightly raised eyebrows.

“Yes sir.” That makes him smile.

“Good girl. Oh also, you're late for your next class.” He says before finally leaving the studio.

“Fuuuck” you exclaim as you pull up the schedule and start moving out.

The sculpture studio is just one floor down so you decide to run down the stairs.

As he said, you are already late and you barely make it 2 seconds before the teacher enters. It’s two students per table and you only find one place empty. It's next to the “nice guy” Bee told you to avoid.

Well what can you do, you reluctantly make your way there. You look around to see if you know any of these people. You lock eyes with Taehyung.

He's trying to tune out the girl next to him who’s constantly speaking to him. He sees the person next to me and immediately raises his hand.

“Mrs. Lee, can I switch places please? My partner’s perfume is giving me a headache.”

No one expected that, and a couple people laugh. Mrs. Lee agrees as long as he can find someone who voluntarily switches places with him. You feel a nudge on your shoulder so you turn, nice guy is trying but failing at doing a puppy face.

“I guess you would want me to switch, right? It happens all the time. Girls don't actually want to spend time with the nice guys they only say that they do and you're so pretty of course you wouldn't want me to be your partner. Haha I meant like studio partner not the other kind. I mean, I'm not very attractive or anything so I’d understand if you want me to-”

“Yes. Move.”

Thankfully Taehyung cuts him off before you reach new heights on your cringe meter. He seems scared of Taehyung the way he scurries off. You let out a big sigh. Involuntary, but necessary.

Taehyung smiles, “You're welcome!”

“Oh please don't pretend like you didn't do that to save yourself as well.” you reply.

He laughs as he's caught. “Ah yeah? What gives you that idea?”

You look up at him. “hmm maybe the fact that you smell like the bath and body works cherry blossom perfume threw up on you.”

“Oh you know exactly what I smell like? Slightly obsessive, isn't it?”

“I also know that in the morning, before that gremlin buried your actual cologne in her cheap sorority scent, you were wearing Tom Ford Neroli. It's not obsessive, taetae, it’s observant.”

He looks pleasantly surprised, and you can swear you see the ghost of a blush creeping up to his face. Before he shakes his head and replaces his expression with the classic Taehyung smirk.

“Nicknames already? Look at us go.”

“You started.”

“Fair enough, milady.”

You shake your head as you smile. You both start paying attention to the class as Mrs. Lee starts to teach. This is an intermediate level class so she skips directly to the first assignment. That's when you realise why every table is a group of two.

You have to sculpt faces.

“Turn to your partner, students. That's a face you're gonna need to memorize and sculpt in clay over the next month.”

You see the perfume girl from earlier raise her hand.

Mrs. Lee continues.
“No you may not change your partners anymore. And yes the resemblance has to be as close as possible. This is going to be 30% of your total grade for my subject so no, you may not skip this assignment. Any doubts other than that?”

You turn to see her hand down.

You notice “nice guy” is happy to have a girl partner at all and that's when you realise. You have to sculpt Taehyung.

Fuck.

You turn to him, he's already looking at you.

“What?” you question.

“Just practicing” he answers.

“Huh?”

“If I have to sculpt your face I’m gonna have to look at it, you know.”

“Okay weirdo” you roll your eyes at him using this chance to flirt. He taps on your shoulder so you look at him again.

“It’s taetae for you”

“It's still weird when you flirt with me.”
You tell him honestly.

“Ah well now I have a legitimate reason to look at your face keenly for a month. Not that I’d need one. Get used to it, shortcake!”