#ALSO hey is there tagging etiquette on this yet - do we want a show exclusive tag or?

[futureshawolhearts]

teacher au 2/?

like 1.5K words, still minkey. less stuff happens but there’s a lil more background

(( @minhoinator @taespoon-of-sugar if anyone else wants to be tagged, just let me know! ))

“Hey guys, sorry to interrupt your art viewing, but it’s 30 minutes before students and I have coffee for you,” Suho says in a quiet voice.

When Minho had gone to bed the night before, he had told himself that he wasn’t going to make a big deal out of helping Kibum out. And yet, here he is, already arriving at school a full half hour earlier than normal. He tells himself that it was just because he wants to make sure he has time to go over his lesson plans like normal. As he gets out of his car, he prays that Kyuhyun and Suho weren’t there already. There’s a cough behind him as he’s clocking in and when he turns around he’s face to face with Kibum. He’s got two cups of coffee in his hands and he offers one to Minho.

“I thought I’d buy you coffee since you’re taking time to show me around and everything,” Kibum starts, rushing through the words like he has a time limit to speak. “I didn’t know how you like it though, so I just got it how I like it, I hope that’s ok.”

Minho takes the cup and tastes it, moving aside so Kibum can also clock in. He’s surprised that it’s almost the same way he likes his coffee, though there’s little less cream than he likes in his.

“Is the coffee okay?” Kibum asks when he’s done.

“Yeah. Honestly at this point I’m willing to drink coffee in almost any mix, but it’s actually pretty close to how I make mine at home. Thanks.”

Kibum looks relieved. The two enter the hallway and Minho leads the way to his classroom.

“So, if you don’t mind my asking, since you’ve done mainly admin work previously, what is your degree in?” Minho asks, unlocking his classroom.

“It’s in education, with an art minor. I just wasn’t able to find a teaching job after graduation. There was a lower administration job at the school that I interned at that I was able to catch because the dean liked me. It was basically secretary work. I’m excited to be properly teaching, but it’s been a few years since I have and it was never fully on my own.”

Minho starts setting up his classroom while he listens, trying his best to keep eye contact so Kibum will continue. He knows there’s a good chance he’ll get distracted and he doesn’t want to have to rush to set up as his students are coming in.

“What were you hoping to teach when you graduated?” he asks.

Kibum looks down and takes a moment before answering. “I honestly didn’t let myself dream that far. I just wanted to be able to teach something.” Minho thinks he sees tears in Kibum’s eyes, and for a moment he thinks about comforting him; but Kibum quickly tries to blink them away and collect himself, he decides not to risk embarrassing him.

“What about you? What lead you to kindergarten?” he asks.

Minho laughs, finishing setting up the last station for the day.

“Well, I started out as regular education with a physical education minor. I had done, and still do, a lot of volunteering at sports programs, so I thought I’d become a P.E. teacher at like a middle school or something. When I went to go start shadowing and looking for an internship, the only place open was a preschool program. When I signed up for it, I was upset since it was pretty different from what I wanted. But once I started actually being there, I realized I loved it. Way more than I liked P.E. classes. So I changed it so all my electives were in early education. My advisor always joked that i was majoring in ‘sort of early education.’ I had met Kyuhyun’s boyfriend Changmin in an injury prevention class and so when this spot opened up, they let me know about it and put in a good word for me. I’ve been here for almost 3 years now and I’m so glad I took that internship.”

There’s a knock on the door and Sunny comes in.

“Hey, Minho! Just wanted to bring back the rest of your laminating sheets. You’re such a lifesaver, I really owe you one!”

She hands the box to Minho, waves to Kibum, and leaves as quickly as she came.

“And that is...?” Kibum asks.

“Sunny. The other kindergarten teacher.”

“So there’s two of you?”

“Basically. We’re a small school, as you know. Originally there was just one kindergarten class, it was just her. A lot of parents reached out to Leeteuk, saying that one class of 20ish was ok for older kids, but with kindergarteners it’s usually their first experience being away from family so they were concerned that such a big class was stressful for them. So they split it in two, which was when I was hired.”

“Is having that many kindergartners that unmanageable?”

“Well, no. It’s technically manageable. But having fewer definitely makes a huge difference. I’m able to spend more one on one time with them, which is helpful especially for kids like Chanyeol or Jieun who sometimes need a little more encouragement. It helps us make sure that they’re really ready for 1st grade and more proper lessons. There’s been a huge decrease in students having to repeat grades since we divided the class.”

Kibum nods attentively and Minho’s worry that he’s boring him lessens.

“Maybe it’s just because there’s a quality kindergarten teacher that the number has gone down.” he remarks. Minho blushes a little and fiddles with the empty coffee cup in his hands.

“I don’t know that I’d say I’m a good teacher, I just try my best.”

“Oh please, Minho. I know I’m new and I’ve never seen you actually teach, but your kids were the best behaved class I had yesterday. When I asked them who they were making their pieces for, half of them said their parents and the other half said you. Then they all started asking to do two so that they could give you and their parents one each. It was really cute actually.”

Minho smiles and feels pleased with himself over the story. He looks over at the bulletin board where he hangs (almost) everything his students bring in for him. It’s a little full but he prefers it that way. Kibum follows his eyes and walks over to inspect the pieces.

“Did they make these?”

“It’s all things they draw at home that they bring in.”

“Oh how sweet!”

Minho joins Kibum by the board and starts pointing out different pieces; he explains how Seoeun draws exclusively in red while Seojun draws exclusively in blue, how Chanyeol likes to draw puppies since he can’t pet them due to allergies, and how Yeri can seemingly only draw cakes and pizza. Kibum listens to everything, makes comments or laughs at each account. After a while, there’s another knock and Suho pokes his head in.

“Hey guys, sorry to interrupt your art viewing, but it’s 30 minutes before students and I have coffee for you,” he says in a quiet voice. Minho wonders if Suho is hungover at all from yesterday but doesn’t ask and just thanks him for the coffee instead. When he leaves, Kibum’s silent for a moment.

“So does everyone bring coffee?” he asks.

“There’s a rough rotation schedule. We all switch off making and distributing coffee in the morning. I don’t know if you’ll be put on it since you’re also technically admin and they have a different system. You’re always welcome to some though, it’s in the breakroom. The only rule is to not leave less than a cup in there, which to me seems like it should go without saying but some people apparently need a reminder so.”

“Good to know. Anything else I should know?”

Remembering suddenly that the whole reason they had met up early was so that he could explain the school to Kibum, Minho starts rushing through everything he can think of. From radio etiquette (everyone’s code name is just the grade they teach), to parent volunteering, to Principal Leeteuk’s penchant for turning any sort of special event into a fake tv show, Minho fits everything the can into the 25 minutes. He feels bad throwing all this information at Kibum, but he seems to handle it well enough.

“If you ever forget, just come see me or radio. Everyone’s pretty nice here, but I’m definitely the rookie of the group so I remember best how it feels to be new,” he finishes.

“Well thanks for talking through things with me. Sorry I took up your planning time, I hope I wasn’t a bother,” says Kibum, making his way towards the door.

“Oh it’s no bother! Feel free to stop by whenever you like. I might be covered in small children at the time but I’ll do my best to make time for you if you need.”

“Thanks, Minho. I’ll see you later.”

Minho nods and waves goodbye. He hopes Kibum will come visit him after school or tomorrow before, so he can ask more about his background and why he didn’t have a hope for career when he graduated. As Kibum leaves, a familiar something purple comes into the room. It’s Yeri, with her daily piece of art.

“Look Mr. Minho! I drew you a pizza!”

#im like...............getting really attached to this au #eventually.................onjongtae are comin in #just fyi #pls yell at me about this if you like it #minkey #@subminhonet #uhhh idk if you want to be properly tagged for this au so just let me know? #he's the tenderest kindergarten teacher i promise #mari apparently writes things #mari made a post #teacher au