CHINGUX 2014: tell me if this is love (3/5) for coeurdelupine
← PART 2
The next day, Kyungsoo wakes up with a hangover from hell, tangled up in the bedsheets on Baekhyun’s bed. He props himself up on his elbows as he rubs the sleep from his eyes and looks around the room, trying to remember how he ended up in here, when he spots Baekhyun coming out of the bathroom with a shit-eating grin on his face. Ugh, it’s too early and his head hurts too much to deal with Baekhyun’s hyperactive personality first thing in the morning, so he flops back onto the bed, burying himself under the blankets to avoid whatever conversation Baekhyun intends to have with him.
“Good morning sunshine!” he hears Baekhyun holler loudly and he groans, pulling a pillow over his head to muffle his voice, but it’s still too damn loud. “Come on, it’s almost noon.”
“I don’t wanna,” Kyungsoo whines but lets Baekhyun grab the blanket and pillow away from him anyway, tossing them on the floor by his bed. “It’s too early. I wanna sleep.”
“And I want a new car for my birthday but we both know that won’t happen unless I stay put for the rest of the term,” Baekhyun sighs, taking hold of Kyungsoo’s wrists to pull him out of the bed and drags him over to the bathroom. Kyungsoo wants to ask him what he needs the car for since he can’t drive, but talking requires energy and that’s something he doesn’t have right now. “But I’d rather go out every night and get drunk like you.” Baekhyun says teasingly with a little wink, patting Kyungsoo on the butt.
“Shut up,” Kyungsoo manages to mumble and ugh, his head is pounding so much, it might explode any minute now.
“Take a shower, you look like something a cat threw up,” Baekhyun decides to ignore his remark and starts to take his clothes off, and Kyungsoo doesn’t protest, lets Baekhyun manhandle him into the shower cabin instead. “There are painkillers in the medicine cabinet and I brought your toothbrush and laid out your clothes on my roommate’s bed, so once you’re done in here get dressed and join us downstairs for breakfast. Jongdae is already there waiting for us, so hurry up.”
Kyungsoo is about to ask “what about Chanyeol?” but then he remembers the events from last night and curses mentally. Stupid habits; he needs to start getting used to a life where Chanyeol isn’t his best friend.
He grabs Baekhyun’s hand as the said turns around to leave, pulling him back to peck him on the cheek. “Thank you. For last night and all, y’know.”
Baekhyun scrunches up his nose, but squeezes on his hand regardless. “Anytime, bro. And besides, who’s gonna film you while you throw up all over yourself, if not your best buds.” He ruffles Kyungsoo’s hair and leaves the room before Kyungsoo could hit him, slamming the door behind him probably on purpose.
Kyungsoo will get him back for that one later, once he goes back to being fully human again.
By the time Kyungsoo downs two painkillers and is done with the shower, he feels considerably better. His head still hurts, but the immense throbbing has dulled down a bit, making it more bearable as he makes his way through the crowds of yelling students in the hallways and down to the cafeteria.
He grabs two cups of coffee when he realizes he’ll have to face Jongdae and Baekhyun and drags his feet over to their usual table by the windows, scowling when Jongdae greets him loudly.
“Too loud,” he groans out and sits down, covering his face with his hands in agony.
“Sorry,” Jongdae practically yells at him, sounding the least bit apologetic. He wraps his hands around Kyungsoo’s wrists and pulls his hands away, grinning at him brightly. “And hurry up, me and dipshit over here have the whole day planned out and we don’t wanna go off schedule.”
“Ugh, guys, can we do it some other time?” Kyungsoo whines pathetically and leans down to rest his head on the table. It’s uncomfortable, but at least it doesn’t hurt as much as it does when he’s moving it. “Like, never?”
“Just because you still haven’t learned how to control handle alcohol yet, that doesn’t mean we are gonna feel sorry for you,” Baekhyun whacks him on the head rather painfully and suddenly, someone’s hands are sneaking under his armpits and he’s being lifted off the chair.
“But my coffee,” Kyungsoo tries to reach out for one of the cups but it’s too late. He’s already halfway across the cafeteria.
“We’ll get you some, be patient.” Jongdae pinches his cheek and links one arm through Kyungsoo’s, Baekhyun doing the same on the other side. Now there’s really nowhere he could run.
“Guys, I know you’re just trying to cheer me up, or whatever this intervention is about, but can’t we do it some other time? I have homework to do.” Kyungsoo looks at them both, smiling sweetly, hoping they would change their minds and have some mercy on him.
“This isn’t about you,” Baekhyun snorts, “We’re just going out like we always do. God, why do you always think the universe revolves around you?” He groans out dramatically, but his grip on Kyungsoo’s arm tightens and he leans in to peck him chastely on the cheek. “It’s gonna be fine. You’ll see.” Baekhyun whispers in Kyungsoo’s ear before he pulls away, but keeps his hold of him. Just in case.
The first agenda on the list for the day is to go to a noodle shop, order the greasiest meal they have and then go for some patbingsu. Number three on the list is to eat food from street vendors as they browse the market for trinkets to kill time before the movie starts.
By the time the movie is over, Kyungsoo manages to drink three coffees and is feeling fully awake and functioning, just in time for a very long and excruciating shopping trip to all of Baekhyun’s favorite stores. Everything is oversized and colorful and way too tacky-something Kyungsoo would never be caught dead wearing-and he sticks to the side with Jongdae who tries on different types of hats and sunglasses for fun, making Kyungsoo take hundreds of pictures of him.
Number six is behind an alleyway a few blocks down the mall and Kyungsoo stops in his tracks once he realizes where they’re taking him.
“A strip club? Seriously? It’s like, barely seven p.m..” He deadpans and turns around to look at his best friends who just giggle mischievously.
“Come on, it’s gonna be fun.”
Thanks to their fake IDs, they manage to get inside, despite the hesitant bouncer guarding the front door. He is taller and bigger than the three of them combined and squints down at their cards, giving each of them a slow once over. Baekhyun lowers his voice when he tries to coax him into letting them in and the bouncer just huffs, but steps aside.
Kyungsoo is not really in the mood for seeing half-naked women dance in front of him, but the evil twins are ready to attack at any moment, not leaving him out of their sights (which is impressive, considering how much fun Jongdae is having and the half an hour talk Baekhyun’s been having with one of the waitresses) not even for a second.
But Kyungsoo has to admit their efforts to cheer him up have so far proven themselves to be impressive, and he’s been having some fun as well, even though he’s still completely sober.
✩
Kyungsoo changes seats during all of the classes where he sits next to Chanyeol. He figures, better sooner than later and before Chanyeol has the chance to do it himself.
If Chanyeol wanted to distance himself in order to move on and let his…infatuation with Kyungsoo die off, then Kyungsoo won’t stand in his way, even though he feels sick to his stomach every time he tries to imagine what his life with zero amounts of Chanyeol would be like.
Empty, yes. Considerably more dull, yes. But life goes on. Kyungsoo is only eighteen and it’s not like he will have the same friends he has right now until the day he dies, because that would be impossible. He still might not be used to the lack of Chanyeol’s weirdness in his life, but that’s something he’ll have to work on.
If Chanyeol is willing to erase Kyungsoo out of his life just like that, without even talking to him about it or anything, then he’s going to make the same, even though it will be one of the hardest things he’s ever had to do so far in his life.
The thing is, Kyungsoo thought that Chanyeol would always be his best friend, because everything is easy with him. It’s natural and comfortable and the moments when it’s just the two of them are the ones Kyungsoo loves the most.
It’s not like they do much; it’s mostly just Chanyeol talking about things that happened during basketball practice or bothers Kyungsoo about the movies he wants to watch, and Kyungsoo listens to him because it’s what he does best. He’s never been that good with words or with coming up with interesting topics of conversation, but Chanyeol never minded that. His voice is low and soothing and it keeps Kyungsoo anchored, helps him relax and unwind.
Everything about them has always been so different, from their physical appearances to the way they express themselves and deal with certain problems, and they really shouldn’t work. Chanyeol likes to talk and likes to listen to people’s stories, learn about them and find out what makes them who they are, while Kyungsoo prefers to keep things to himself. They shouldn’t work, but they somehow do. Or well, did…
Now they have to ignore each other when they’re in the same room and not make any dramatic scenes in front of their mutual friends (especially not in front of Jongdae and Baekhyun) so it wouldn’t make things between all of them even more awkward.
He ignores the way Chanyeol’s eyes bore holes to the back of his head during class, keeping his back straight and eyes focused on the teacher, taking more notes than necessary so he would keep himself preoccupied. He wants to turn around and see if he would catch Chanyeol's eyes on him, but he doesn't have to. He can feel Chanyeol's eyes on him and if he had the power to shoot lasers out of his eyes, Kyungsoo would’ve been burnt to crisp by now.
✩
After a few weeks of (not so) accidentally bumping into Sehun and a few arranged meetings, Kyungsoo kisses Sehun for the first time, catching the younger boy completely off guard.
They’re sitting on one of the benches up on the roof, using Kyungsoo’s key card to unlock the door, watching as the sun sets in front of them. Kyungsoo skipped dinner because Sehun texted him earlier that day, telling him he needed a smoke and Kyungsoo texted Jongdae, telling him he won't show up for dinner. The roof has always been one of the best places to go to if you wanted to smoke during the day, since it’s on the fifth floor, above the rest of the campus where no one would be able to see you or smell the cigarette smoke.
Lately Sehun has started to become more playful and less shy around Kyungsoo, casually placing a hand on his thigh when they’re sitting side by side on the sofa in the common room or slinging an arm around his shoulders, around his waist. He talks more, which is kind of surprising because the first few times they saw each other Sehun fumbled around with his words and even ran away. Literally.
Now he smiles at him brightly and teases Kyungsoo about his height and how easy it would be to lift him up and throw him around. He always brings Kyungsoo snacks or drinks, especially when they’re in the library, sliding them across the table when he notices Kyungsoo’s concentration has gone away.
It's a nice day. Cold and windy, but the sky is bleeding in hues of pinks and oranges, the rays casting a lovely orange glow over Sehun’s face, accenting the high of his cheekbones and the slope of his nose, making him look ethereal. Kyungsoo can’t stop himself from staring at Sehun’s face; the sight in front of him a hundred times more beautiful than the sun in the back, and he catches Sehun’s lips in a kiss when the said turns around to look at him, brows furrowed in confusion, probably thinking of asking Kyungsoo to stop staring at him.
Sehun freezes next to him and Kyungsoo pulls back, afraid that he crossed the line and mistook Sehun’s looks and touches for flirtatious instead of just friendly. But then, Sehun reaches out to place a shaky hand on his shoulder to pull him back in again and Kyungsoo’s heart skips a beat.
He cups Sehun’s cheek in his hand as he sucks on his bottom lip, his thumb gently tracing back and forth along Sehun’s cheekbone. He licks along the seam of Sehun’s lips and the younger parts them open, dragging his tongue along the row of Kyungsoo’s teeth, dipping it further to deepen the kiss.
Kyungsoo can hear Sehun breathe hard through his nose as his hands find purchase where they’re interlocked behind Kyungsoo’s neck, pulling him closer, silently asking for more. It tastes like the cigarette Sehun smoked earlier and cherry flavored candy, and Kyungsoo can’t get enough of it.
A cold gust of wind makes both of them shiver and they pull back to stare at each other for a few seconds as they process what just happened. Sehun bites on his lower lip, trying to stop himself from smiling and Kyungsoo scoots closer, pulling on Sehun’s loosened tie to bring him in for another kiss, a much shorter one this time, but equally as good as the first.
“Hyung,” Sehun whispers against Kyungsoo’s parted lips, his eyelashes fluttering when Kyungsoo's teeth bite down gently on his lower lip, tugging on it as he pulls back. He can feel the way Sehun’s whole body shivers next to him as the wind gets stronger so he presses one last kiss to the corner of Sehun’s mouth before he stands up, offering Sehun a hand. The tip of his nose is pink and he sniffs, trying to sink further into the warmth of his thick jacket and Kyungsoo resists the urge to coo at the sight in front of him. He's not the type to coo over things, after all.
“Come on, it’s cold.” Kyungsoo says as he pulls Sehun back up to his feet. December is right around the corner and the winters here have always been cold and merciless. “I don’t want you to get sick, especially not when I can finally kiss you whenever I want.”
“What makes you think I’d let you kiss me again?” Sehun teases, slightly nudging Kyungsoo with his elbow.
Kyungsoo stops mid-step and turns around to look at Sehun, lifting an eyebrow in intrigue. “Is that so? Well in that case, you’ll be missing out on a lot,” he grabs Sehun’s hand and pulls him closer. “I’m an excellent kisser.”
“I wouldn’t throw around the word ‘excellent’ so carelessly if I were you.” Sehun interlocks his fingers with Kyungsoo’s and squeezes on his hand, looking down at him with a challenging smirk on his face.
Kyungsoo snorts and pins Sehun against the door of the rooftop, standing on his tiptoes so he could kiss him again, thread fingers through his hair to tug on it as he kisses him hard; kisses him until his mouth is swollen and shiny with spit and his knees are trembling.
Sehun’s mouth is hanging open as he blinks dumbly a few times, clearing his throat before he speaks. “Um, wow. I-I-okay then.”
“I’ll accept that as an apology for your previous comment,” Kyungsoo smirks in victory and reaches up to fix Sehun’s hair before his hands move down to his tie, tightening the knot to make him look presentable. “Come on, I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
✩
He meets Jinah for the first time during breakfast one day, before he even gets a chance to drink his usual morning coffee.
She’s holding Chanyeol’s hand as they make their way towards their usual table in the corner by the windows, where Kyungsoo and satan’s evil minions are already halfway through breakfast. Chanyeol’s smile falters when he spots Kyungsoo and Kyungsoo just pretends like he doesn’t notice it, taking a sip of coffee, ignoring the concerned looks his friends give him.
Jinah seems to be taller than Kyungsoo remembers her to be; even prettier, too. She has legs that go on for miles and Kyungsoo would probably barely come up to her waist. Of course, everything about them is different and there's no reason whatsoever to compare himself to her, but it’s just a simple observation.
She’s shorter than Chanyeol, though, but the height difference isn’t so noticeable. Kyungsoo didn’t know Chanyeol was into tall girls (or boys, for that matter), but then again; he’s never really seen Chanyeol with someone else other than Jongdae and Baekhyun. He kind of assumed Chanyeol was more into people shorter than him, or maybe he just wants to be surrounded by them so he could feel bigger and taller. Asshole.
The table is meant for four people, but they make it work. Luckily Jongdae plops himself down next to Kyungsoo and offers Jinah his seat while Chanyeol borrows a chair from the nearby table and sits down next to her, greeting all of them with a smile.
“Guys, this is Jinah,” Chanyeol points at her and she smiles shyly, nodding her head and Kyungsoo smiles back, although a bit stiffly. “Jinah, these are the guys I’ve been telling you about.”
Chanyeol starts to introduce them separately now, pointing first at Baekhyun, then Jongdae and Kyungsoo leans back in his chair when his turn comes. Chanyeol clears his throat before he points at Kyungsoo with his hand and says “And that’s Kyungsoo.” He looks uncomfortable and it makes Kyungsoo feel kind of smug for some reason.
Jinah easily falls into conversation with Baekhyun, who’s always been the most social one in the group, followed by Jongdae who follows quickly and starts telling her embarrassing stories about Chanyeol, like the one from their last year at summer camp when he accidentally picked poison ivy while he was picking flowers for the girl he liked, and got a nasty rash all over his body. Long story short, he had to be taken to the hospital since it got really serious and the girl felt so grossed out by it and never spoke to him again.
Kyungsoo is surprised to see her laugh along to every story they tell her, throwing her head back and covering her mouth with her hand as she pats Chanyeol’s shoulder sympathetically with the other one, who looks like he’s about to dig a hole and bury himself in it. She doesn’t flinch at all when Baekhyun starts laughing so hard, he spits orange juice through his nose, nor when Jongdae starts to chew with his mouth open to gross Baekhyun out for making a mess all over the table.
Kyungsoo sits quietly the whole time and fake laughs along, slowly assessing her with his eyes. She’s pretty and honestly-she looks kind of perfect, but there’s just something about her that rubs him off the wrong way, for some reason. He can't figure her out.
She’s sophisticated and delicate and chic, with her pretty dark hair that falls like a waterfall over her shoulder, a strand tucked behind one ear to reveal a small pearl earring that makes her look even more delicate. Kyungsoo tries to find one detail about her that isn’t perfect, feeling kind of mad at her too, as well as being mad at her new boyfriend. But no matter how much he looks, he can’t find anything. Even the color of her nail polish matches the details of her bow that’s tied securely around her neck, her make up light and simple so it's according to the school’s dress code.
Kyungsoo has a feeling she will manage to stay longer than any of their previous boyfriends or girlfriends have done in the past, and Kyungsoo frowns at the thought. She’s very funny, her lively and bubbly personality making her get along perfectly with The Gang and he doesn’t even know her, for crying out loud! Maybe he should give her a chance, but trying to get to know her better without Chanyeol’s presence would be weird, not to mention impossible.
It’s childish, yes, since technically, she didn’t do anything wrong, but he can’t help himself. Chanyeol’s the one he should be mad at, not her. He’s the one that let his feelings get in the way of their friendship, even after years of calling Kyungsoo his best friend. He even gave Kyungsoo a friendship ring when they were fourteen; a simple silver band with a wavelength engraved along the middle. He had said “I know you won’t wear it, and I know how corny it is, but I wanted you to have it. This is my promise to you, that I’ll always be Park Chanyeol, your best fucking friend till the day we die.”
Kyungsoo scoffs bitterly at the thought of it. Funny how things work out differently than what we had planned out.
✩
“Come on man, you should come to the party,” Baekhyun repeats for the fifteenth time that day and Kyungsoo fixes him with an exasperated look.
“We’ve been over this already.” Kyungsoo says with a sigh. “I don’t know if you’re up to date with things, but Chanyeol and I stopped being friends two months ago."
“Man come on, you are his best friend. It would be weird without you there.” Baekhyun pouts and puts his head on Kyungsoo’s lap, looking up at him with big puppy eyes.
“Have you been listening to me at all?” Kyungsoo looks down incredulously, “No means no.”
“But ‘Soo.” Baekhyun starts to whine again and Kyungsoo pushes him off his lap, sighing contently when Baekhyun ends up rolling off the couch.
“Can you please back me up here?” Kyungsoo groans and turns to Jongdae for help, who finally looks up from his phone with a dazed look on his face. “Ugh, not again. Why won’t you tell us who you’re talking to? I thought we were best friends.”
“You don’t get to play the best friends card on me,” Jongdae sticks his tongue out. “You won't even come to Chanyeol's birthday party.”
"Don't try to turn this around on me, Kim," Kyungsoo narrows his eyes at Jongdae suspiciously. "You know we'll find out who he is sooner or later."
“Yeah man, come on.” Baekhyun whines, drawling out his words and tackles Jongdae to the ground, making him throw his phone in surprise. Kyungsoo seizes the opportunity and snatches it before Jongdae could push Baekhyun off of him and get to it first.
It’s locked, but Jongdae has always been the type to use dates as his passwords. Kyungsoo tries 0921, but it doesn't work. He tries it backwards and it works, successfully unlocking the phone. "And you really need to stop using your birthday as your password," Kyungsoo tsks as he waits for KakaoTalk to load, opening the first chat once it does. There's no profile picture and the name is custom changed to "SH", and Kyungsoo's brows furrow in confusion. "Who's 'SH'?"
"You guys are not to be trusted!" Jongdae wheezes out, trying to kick Baekhyun away so he would stop tickling him. "You'll just scare him away."
Baekhyun gasps dramatically and straddles Jongdae's stomach, grabbing him by his wrists to pin his hands above his head. "Dude, this is like, the meanest thing you've ever said to us."
"Yeah," Kyungsoo agrees and continues scrolling through the chat. It's mostly that "SH" guy sending Jongdae lame jokes and Jongdae laughing along, saying stuff like Hyung, you're so funny~~~ kkkk. Gross. "We won't scare him off. We're really nice."
"We were nice to Jinah the other day," Baekhyun presses on, trying to blow raspberries on Jongdae's neck who starts to squirm wildly. "Even Kyungsoo!"
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Kyungsoo freezes. He might not really like her for various childish reasons, but that doesn't mean he's going to act like a jerk towards her.
"Oh come on, we all know how jealous you are," Baekhyun says casually and finally lets go of Jongdae, flopping down on the floor by him, pushing his hair back from his forehead.
"Why would I be jealous of her?" Kyungsoo snorts, shaking his head. "Don't be ridiculous."
"Because you love Chanyeol?" Baekhyun says matter-of-factly and Kyungsoo starts to fume on the inside. Jongdae uses the opportunity to get his phone back, snatching it away from Kyungsoo's hands who doesn't even bother to stop him. "I don't know why you guys haven't hooked up already."
"I am not jealous of her," Kyungsoo says slowly. "And I do not love Chanyeol."
"Oh, my bad. I forgot we were supposed to keep it a secret and pretend like we don't know what's going on," Baekhyun rolls his eyes and Kyungsoo suddenly feels like punching him in the face. "I can't believe how fucking slow you are. Whatever. I can't deal with your stupid puppy love anymore." Baekhyun waves him off and places an arm over his face. Jongdae sits there quiet, watching at Kyungsoo worriedly.
"'Soo?" Jongdae asks, phone forgotten. "Do you think that, maybe...you love Chanyeol?"
"I love him; that's true," Kyungsoo starts, ignoring the headache that's starting to build up slowly. "But I love him the same way I love you guys. There's nothing more to it."
Jongdae doesn't say anything to that. Kyungsoo grits his teeth and stares at Baekhyun, at the hole in the carpet he made once with his cigarette, at the bones on Jongdae's wrist, at the door, watching as more people come inside, the whole room slowly filling up with loud laughter and people chatting about their schoolwork. He tunes them out and keeps his hands balled up in fists by his sides until he eventually calms down.
He doesn't love Chanyeol. At least not like that.
✩
Kyungsoo talks to Chanyeol for the first time after their fight at the restaurant, a few days later.
They somehow end up being the last ones to get paired up for an experiment, and Kyungsoo doesn't bother to greet Chanyeol when he sits down next to him. It's quiet and awkward and they both do their halves of the work on their own, both of them acting like it's a task that doesn't require group work.
Kyungsoo feels very hyperaware of Chanyeol's presence next to him, careful not to bump his elbow against Chanyeol's as he writes down notes about the experiment, not even turning around to look at him or check up on his progress. It's so weird, Kyungsoo thinks to himself, to be next to Chanyeol and not talk to him. To pretend like they don't know each other. It makes him feel mad all over again. It's not supposed to be like this. Chanyeol was supposed to be his best friend and Kyungsoo was supposed to feel comfortable around him instead of squirming in his seat throughout the whole lesson, wondering if there's a way to fix this mess.
He's not used to being a stranger to Chanyeol. They're back to square zero, since square one for them was getting close in less than two hours. Chanyeol was even more annoying than their first encounter in the principal's office, but Kyungsoo found himself laughing along to his jokes, slowly opening up and telling him about his likes and dislikes, about music and games and everything and nothing at the same time. They kind of clicked and everything just fell in its rightful place. He doesn't know how to act around Chanyeol now. Is he allowed to talk to him, or at least greet him in the mornings during breakfast? Are they even still talking to each other? Ugh, everything is so confusing.
He gets lost in his own thoughts and doesn't even notice when Chanyeol clears his throat once the lesson is over. Kyungsoo takes out the gloves and goggles he was instructed to wear and sets them in the tray at the edge of the desk, slowly cleaning up after himself.
"Hey," Chanyeol says suddenly and Kyungsoo almost drops the tray on the ground in shock. He was not expecting this to happen.
Kyungsoo looks up at him and greets him back quietly, ignoring the way his heart starts beating rapidly in his chest. Chanyeol is quiet for a while, opening and closing his mouth a few times like he's about to say something but then changes his mind, and Kyungsoo taps his fingers along the edge of the plastic tray in anticipation, waiting for the other shoe to drop already.
"You should come," Chanyeol breathes out once he finally gives up. "To my birthday, I mean."
"That's not a good idea," Kyungsoo swallows. "And I already made plans with Seungsoo hyung, so I won't be able to come." He bites on his lower lip. He's always been good at lying-maybe he's not a pro like Baekhyun, but good nonetheless-but he's never had to lie to Chanyeol before. It's weird. He doesn't like it.
"Ah. Okay." Chanyeol smiles at him, although a little stiff. "Say hi to him from me, will you?" Kyungsoo knows Chanyeol managed to look past him and his stupid lie and he's thankful he doesn't mention anything about it, or presses on even further like Baekhyun did the other day.
Kyungsoo nods and doesn't know if he's supposed to say anything other than, "have fun at the party", smiling a little before he grabs his bag and leaves.
His hands don't stop shaking for the rest of the day, not even after he meets up with Sehun in the library for their study date.
✩
Kyungsoo plays with the phone in his hands for almost half an hour after the clock strikes midnight. He bites on his thumb and quickly types happy birthday clicking the send button before he would change his mind again. He goes to sleep before Chanyeol replies.
The next morning he wakes up to an unread message from Chanyeol. tnx... :)
Kyungsoo can't help but smile down at his phone.
✩
Kyungsoo wasn't planning on telling them about Sehun and thought of doing the same Jongdae does with that mystery SH guy, and see how long it takes them to find out. Jongdae was the first one to notice the hickey hidden beneath Kyungsoo's collar and Kyungsoo had scoffed, using the same excuse as Jongdae. Then Baekhyun followed him to the library and caught the two of them sitting side by side and immediately connected the dots.
“You guys look like twins,” is the first thing that comes flying out of Baekhyun’s mouth (along with some of the food he’s apparently not so good at keeping inside) when he sees Kyungsoo and Sehun approach their usual table for four by the windows.
“Hyung, say it don't spray it,” Sehun’s nose scrunches up in distaste at the mess Baekhyun made. “People are trying to eat here.”
Baekhyun scoffs at that and simply rolls his eyes, chewing on his rice with a little pout on his face. Jongdae chuckles loudly and reaches out to bump his fist against Sehun’s before turning around to nod at Kyungsoo. “I really like this kid. He’s a keeper.” Kyungsoo hides his smile behind the rim of his coffee cup and turns around to sneak a glance at Sehun who is still smiling cheekily at Jongdae, the apples of his cheeks slightly pink.
It’s been a little over a week since he introduced Sehun to everyone and he’s surprised to how well the others are taking in on him, accepting him into their little gang of four. Or well, three, since Chanyeol is practically nowhere to be seen lately. Kyungsoo sees him in class (though that doesn't count; Kyungsoo leaves the classroom before Chanyeol does so he technically doesn't seem him at all), and on rare occasions when Jongdae manages to drag him along to his brother's college parties.
Sehun fits in very well and he doesn’t let dumb and dumber’s teasing comments get to him, joking along or saying something witty to shut them up, instead, and he’s close to Jongin too, which is also a plus. Kyungsoo has a feeling Chanyeol already found out about him and Sehun, but he doesn't let that bother him. He's starting to get the hang of his new life, even though he still hasn't been able to stop thinking about what Baekhyun had said to him.
“But I’m serious, look at them.” Baekhyun smacks Jongdae’s arm to get his attention, pointing at Kyungsoo then at Sehun with his chopsticks. “They even started styling their hair the same way. It’s kinda creepy.”
Kyungsoo rolls his eyes at Baekhyun and kicks his foot under the table. “Eat your food Baekhyun. It’s too early in the morning to get my hands dirty with your blood.”
“Anyway,” Jongdae drawls out before Baekhyun could reply or hiss back at Kyungsoo, “are you guys going to the Christmas party afterparty?”
“What party?” Kyungsoo asks, spooning some of the rice in his mouth. He’s never really bothered to keep himself updated with the latest happenings in the school, usually waiting for his friends to drag him along with them, even if he says no.
“The one in the house by the lake?” Sehun pipes up and Jongdae nods, grinning mischievously.
“Yup! It’s gonna be awesome!” Jongdae exclaims and wiggles his eyebrows at them. “I heard there will be a lot of cute girls there. My brother's crew is gonna be there, too.”
"Do you wanna come along?" Kyungsoo asks Sehun. The party would be more bearable with him there.
"I leave for my skiing trip right after the school party, remember?" Sehun pouts at him and he doesn't stop the younger when he takes a sip from his coffee cup.
"I forgot about that," Kyungsoo hums, reaching out to wipe the crumbs away from the corner of his mouth. Sehun flushes, ducking his head down before Baekhyun sees it and starts making fun of him again.
✩
While everything about Jinah might be perfect, she's not the perfect fit for Chanyeol.
Kyungsoo comes to this conclusion during the fourth time Chanyeol brings her over for lunch, finally figuring out why he didn't really like her. There is less than a week left to go before the midterms begin and the entire school is too busy studying, everyone hunched over their books in every corner of the campus.
"Ugh, I hate science," Jinah whines, closing her textbook angrily before she slumps back in her seat, crossing her arms across her chest like a kid. "It's so useless and boring."
Chanyeol and Kyungsoo look up at her at the same time; Baekhyun is too busy dozing off with his nose practically buried in his algebra textbook to react and Jongdae almost drops the sugar shaker he's playing with absentmindedly. Oh. This will be fun.
"What do you mean useless?" Chanyeol asks conversationally, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. The tips of his ears are already starting to get red.
The thing is: Chanyeol is crazy about science. Always has, always will be, and he always gets mad whenever someone insults his favorite (and the most important, in his opinion) subject. If his parents weren't forcing him to become a lawyer then he would've pursued a career as a mad scientist for sure. One time in freshmen year, he almost got into a fight with a guy from their class because he said science was for geeks.
"It just is! I don't care about this, it's nonsense!" Jinah whines louder and Chanyeol immediately starts to rant about how everything is connected to science, and before Kyungsoo has time to blink, they are already arguing about it, loud enough to wake Baekhyun up.
Jongdae nudges Kyungsoo's foot with his underneath the table and nods towards the exit pointedly. Kyungsoo nods and grabs all of their books, while Jongdae takes care of Baekhyun, the three of them escaping from the scene before they start throwing the plates at each other.
Kyungsoo feels a sudden surge of satisfaction as they make their way to Jongdae's room; he knew there was a reason he didn't realy like her. She might be perfect and she and Chanyeol might look like the perfect couple on paper, but they're far from being perfect from each other.
In the past few weeks, Kyungsoo has been listening to Jongdae and Baekhyun make fun of Chanyeol and the sort of things he's been doing for Jinah-not like he cares about their relationship or anything; Baekhyun is just really loud. First she made him take her to a cat café, even though Chanyeol has a mild allergy to cats. Apparently, Chanyeol spent their entire date sitting in a kitten-free corner while she snapped pictures of herself with the cute little animals and posted them all on her Instagram.
He let her pick all of the movies and even skipped basketball practice because she wanted to go shopping. Kyungsoo also overheard something about how she didn't like his music because it was very loud, or something along those lines.
Maybe this is just his best friend instincts kicking in, but he really thinks the two of them aren't compatible.
✩
"So I heard you are going to the Christmas afterparty," Chanyeol says to Kyungsoo one day after class and Kyungsoo doesn't know what surprises him more; the fact that Chanyeol is talking to him or that he actually stayed up and waited for Kyungsoo to come out by the door.
"Yeah, everyone's going to be there," Kyungsoo starts walking and Chanyeol follows after him. "What about you?"
"I don't know. It's not really Jinah's scene," Chanyeol shrugs, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I might drop by afterwards, but I'm not sure."
"Oh," Kyungsoo tries not to smirk in satisfaction at being right. "But it's tradition. We always go."
"I know," Chanyeol tugs on the straps of his backpack. "But, it's no big deal. It's the same thing every year, anyway." He says after a while and Kyungsoo shrugs his shoulders, giving him a if you say so look. God, this feels so awkward.
Kyungsoo doesn't really know what to say, so he settles for suit yourself, instead of asking him why are you still dating her if she's making you do stuff you don't wanna do? because that wouldn't be appropriate.
"Well, have fun, I guess," Chanyeol smiles at him awkwardly and Kyungsoo just nods and turns around the corner, walking away from Chanyeol before he could follow after him. He's never been a fan of having awkward small talk, especially not with someone he knows better than himself.
And even if Chanyeol does have a point-which he kind of does-he wouldn’t admit it. The parties are the same every year, true, but it’s a tradition for the four of them, not to mention all of the memories they share from those crazy nights.
The first year, they were fifteen, following Yura as she sneaked out of the campus with her friends because she refused to bring them along. They got so drunk they almost got caught on their way back and had to run away from the security guard before he could see them and report them to the principal’s office. It took them half an hour to get rid of him, having to hide in dark broom closets, all of them huddled close together and giggling drunkenly. Chanyeol threw up in a bucket and Kyungsoo sprained his ankle on his way up the stairs, but it was worth it. That was probably the first time Kyungsoo had that much fun at this damn school.
The second year, Kyungsoo gave Chanyeol a handjob for the first time. They were locked in an empty bathroom, both of them drunk and giddy after their victory over Jongdae and Baekhyun in beer pong. There was beer all over them and Chanyeol started to splash water at Kyungsoo while they were washing up, then one thing led to another and Kyungsoo had Chanyeol pinned against the door, sneaking a hand down his pants. Chanyeol had returned the favor a few days later, getting down on his knees in his kitchen while the rest of Chanyeol's family was in the dining room, having Christmas dinner.
It will be weird without Chanyeol. Kyungsoo will have to play alone against his friends this year; he can take both of them on his own, but it wouldn't be as fun as it always is with Chanyeol there.
✩
A few days before the term is over, a rumor starts floating around school that there will be talent scouts coming over for the school's anniversary, offering full-tuition scholarships to two lucky students. There's going to be a showcase and a big party afterwards, and the choir is supposed to be a part of the opening ceremony, followed by the drama club and a performance by the dance club.
Jongin and Sehun have been talking about it for months now, and Kyungsoo can't help but smile fondly whenever he sees the way their faces light up when someone mentions it. They're keeping the concept a secret from everyone that's not a part of the performance, claiming it would be freakin' awesome!!! as Sehun once texted him.
But what Kyungsoo is really curious about is whether the talent scouts rumor is true or not. He heard they would be from Yonsei University and Kyungsoo's heart had stopped beating the moment Jongdae had told him about it. Yonsei has always been Kyungsoo's first choice, whether it comes down to making his dad happy and studying business or pursuing his lifelong dream of becoming a singer.
Kyungsoo had been thirteen when his father slid the pamphlet across the dining table, acting nonchalant and going back to his meal like nothing had just happened. His wife kept sneaking curious glances at Kyungsoo while he turned the pages over, slowly and carefully, trying to stop his hands from shaking. That was the first time Kyungsoo had heard of the idea of him going away to a boarding school in the middle of nowhere, an almost three hour drive away from his current life, his home and friends and family.
"What is this?" Kyungsoo asked calmly, still trying to process the information he had just received. He kept looking down at the pamphlet, keeping it at an arms length away, hoping the words scribbled across the front page would change each time he looked at them. This can't be happening, he thought to himself, setting down his fork and knife in his plate.
"You're going to a boarding school starting next week," His father said, cutting up his steak in small bite-size pieces. "We thought this would be the best for your education."
"We?" Kyungsoo scoffed, quirking an eyebrow at his father who simply ignored his remark and kept chewing on his food. First of all, Kyungsoo is one hundred percent sure this was all her doing and second, she's not his mother and never will be; she's just a typical trophy wife that's after his fathers fortune, and she has no right whatsoever making decisions regarding his academic-or any other-future. "Does mom know about this?" Wife #2 had stiffened visibly at the mention of Kyungsoo's mother and Kyungsoo smirked in satisfaction.
"Your mother doesn't have a say in this," his father had continued talking calmly. "neither do you. This is the best option for you if you're going to take over the company once I retire."
"But I don't want to!" Kyungsoo slammed his fists angrily against the polished surface of the table, the utensils shaking in his plate. "I'm not going there. I want to sing!"
"You will do no such thing!" his father said, raising his voice for the first time since they started talking about this. "You will look up to your brother and follow in his footsteps, and together you will run the company when I retire and that's final."
Kyungsoo gritted his teeth angrily, his nostrils flared. "We'll see about that," he pushed his chair back and stormed upstairs to his room, not even flinching at the sound of his chair hitting against the floor.
His father threatened him a few years back, telling him he would be cut out of his inheritance if he doesn't do what he tells him to. Now, Kyungsoo figures, if he manages to get the full paid scholarship, then his father wouldn't have any choice but let him do what he wants. Kyungsoo never cared about the money, anyway, and his trust fund from his grandpa kicks in the second he turns legal.
Seungsoo got lucky, Kyungsoo thinks. He had it easy because he did everything he wanted to do and fulfilled all of his dreams. He was good at school (although that’s probably the only field Kyungsoo can say he’s slightly better than him), graduated from business school being second best in his class, enrolled into the army, started working in their father’s company and got married by the age he turned 29. Now he’s expecting a son and he couldn’t be happier.
But unlike him, Seungsoo enjoyed business school and enjoys working hard and preparing himself to take over the company when needed. He married his high school sweetheart, a nice sweet girl that adores Kyungsoo and always sends him home made food whenever she’s free.
Kyungsoo couldn’t care less for business or their company. He wants to sing. He’s pretty damn good at it (if Chanyeol’s constant praise is anything to go by) and it makes him feel happy when he does it. He might not be the best out there and he still needs to work a lot if he wants to do it professionally some day, but he’s willing to learn. It’s been his dream since he was six and now at eighteen, that dream is only bigger and harder to make true that it used to be.
As his high school graduation approaches and his father’s constant pressuring speeches about living up to the family name get longer, it looks like that dream of standing on a stage in front of thousands of people is getting further away from him, slipping through the gaps in between his fingers and slowly vanishing into thin air.
But he’s willing to try and make it happen, despite what his father might do to him. He might cut him off and never speak to him again, but it’s not like Kyungsoo cares that much about money anyway. Besides, he can’t remember the last time he had a proper conversation with his father that wasn’t about school or work. They ran out of things to talk about years ago and Kyungsoo isn’t so sure he wants to stay and try to make things work between them.
✩
The party at the school is boring and drags on for hours, just like every year. The music is way too loud (not to mention awful) and there are people dancing all around Kyungsoo, the room a blur of fancy ball gowns and black tuxedos; the whole scene like a flashback to the night of the Welcome Freshmen party.
Except, this time, Kyungsoo spends the night huddled up in a corner with Sehun while Baekhyun and Jongdae bicker over who gets to drink first from the flask with smuggled alcohol. Chanyeol is somewhere with his girlfriend, Kyungsoo assumes. It's not like he cares, really.
Sehun has to leave early and on their way back to Sehun's room to grab his suitcases, Sehun spots Chanyeol and Jinah making out in the dark corner in the hallway, far away from the crowd. He points over Kyungsoo’s shoulder, giggling out a “hey isn’t that your friend and his girlfriend over there? I thought he wasn’t coming to the party.”
Kyungsoo turns around and his stomach sinks when he sees Chanyeol and Jinah making out, their lips locked in a deep kiss. Chanyeol has Jinah backed up against a wall and one of her legs is slightly hooked around his waist with Chanyeol’s hand gripping on her thigh to keep her in place, the two of them slowly rutting against each other.
“That makes two of us,” Kyungsoo huffs, not even bothering to correct Sehun and tell him Chanyeol said they wouldn't be coming to the afterparty.
He feels like throwing up, and it’s not just because of the gross punch he drank earlier. He leaves when he sees Chanyeol slip his hand underneath Jinah’s skirt, squeezing on her ass to pull her even closer. He grabs Sehun’s hand to tug him over to the direction of the elevators, walking side by side in silence.
"Is everything alright?" Sehun asks curiously once they're in the elevator, Kyungsoo tapping impatiently with his foot against the floor. The elevators in this place have always been too damn slow; they should've taken the stairs instead.
He feels weird. His heart won't stop hammering against his chest and his palms are starting to sweat. He feels like he's going to suffocate.
"Dyo, are you okay?" Sehun grabs his hand and tugs on it, successfully grabbing his attention.
"Huh? Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about it." Kyungsoo squeezes on Sehun's hand reassuringly and takes a deep breath. He feels so restless all of a sudden, like he's in someone else's skin. It's weird.
"Can I ask you something?" Sehun speaks up after they're (finally!) out of the elevator and heading towards his room. Kyungsoo nods, muttering out a sure, go ahead and Sehun stops to fiddle with his key card, biting on his lower lip before he speaks. "Are you in love with Chanyeol?"
"What?" Kyungsoo scoffs. What's up with everyone lately? Why does everyone think he loves Chanyeol? "No I'm not."
"Are you sure?" Sehun speaks over his shoulder as he opens the door and Kyungsoo follows him inside, closing the door behind him harder than intended. "Because you seem to be very angry after seeing Chanyeol and his girlfriend humping each other like wild bunnies down there. I know it's none of my business, and don't think I'm asking because I'm jealous or anything. I was just curious."
"I'm not angry," Kyungsoo protests and sits on the edge of Sehun's bed as he waits for him to change. "I'm fine. I don't love Chanyeol. And I know you're not jealous, though it does kind of hurt to hear you say that out loud."
"Oh, really?" Sehun smiles at him as he takes his jacket off, working on getting rid of his bow tie next. "I thought that's what you wanted?"
Kyungsoo's mouth goes dry when Sehun takes his shirt off, not even bothering to turn around or go change in the bathroom. They've fooled around before, agreeing to take it slow so it wouldn't get complicated, since Sehun will be leaving for China next year and Kyungsoo will be busy with college, but he's never seen Sehun without a shirt on before. He's surprised Sehun isn't blushing like he usually does.
"Well, I want a lot of things," he starts, getting off the bed to help Sehun out of his pants, his hands joining Sehun's to unbuckle his belt.
"Like what?" Sehun asks, sounding a little breathless.
This time, when Kyungsoo's knuckles teasingly graze along the zipper, Sehun does blush. He also doesn't stop Kyungsoo when he unbuttons his pants and pulls the zipper down, stepping closer to Sehun as the pants slide down his legs and pool by his ankles. "Like you, for example." He speaks against Sehun's lips before he kisses him, tangling his fingers in Sehun's hair as they walk backwards until his knees bump against the edge of the bed.
"I have to leave in ten minutes." Sehun gasps when Kyungsoo sucks on his neck, sneaking a hand in between their bodies to slide it inside of his briefs.
"Then we better be quick."
After making Sehun come and dropping him off at the gates, Kyungsoo calls a cab and joins Baekhyun and Jongdae at the afterparty. He doesn't bother to change his clothes before he leaves, even though he feels gross and sticky all over, and immediately accepts the drink Baekhyun hands him as soon as he spots him entering the house.
"Rough night?" Baekhyun asks after Kyungsoo drinks almost half of his vodka raspberry, lifting an eyebrow pointedly.
"I saw Chanyeol and Jinah earlier," Kyungsoo winces at the bitter aftertaste in his mouth. He takes another sip to wash it down, even though it only makes it even worse. "They were all over each other in the hallway. It was very..." He trails off and shudders; the thought of Chanyeol and Jinah together like that making him feel restless all over again. Jealous and angry, in a way.
Baekhyun just pats him on the shoulder and drags him towards the kitchen, opening all of the cabinets in search of as many shot glasses as he could possibly find. "So you finally admit it then, huh?" Baekhyun's voice comes as an echo from where he has his head inside one of the cabinets under the sink. "Don't worry. Your best friend Baekhyunnie knows the best way to make you forget about it." He winks cheekily at Kyungsoo and starts to line up the glasses along the countertop.
Kyungsoo would've asked him what he meant by that, but he knows exactly what he's referring to. He doesn't argue with Baekhyun because of it, like he normally would, and waits until he finishes pouring a bunch of different types of alcohol in the glasses, tapping against the marble surface impatiently.
"Cheers." Baekhyun hands him a glass and clinks them together.
The shots taste absolutely awful, but Kyungsoo accepts another one, keeps accepting them until his throat burns and his eyes sting. His head is swimming and all he could think about is Chanyeol and her, the sight of the two of them together like that keeps flashing through his mind every time he closes his eyes.
"I think you're right," he starts, holding onto the edge of the counter for support. He feels like throwing up. His knees feel weak all of a sudden, too. "I think I'm in love with Chanyeol."
→ PART 4
The next day, Kyungsoo wakes up with a hangover from hell, tangled up in the bedsheets on Baekhyun’s bed. He props himself up on his elbows as he rubs the sleep from his eyes and looks around the room, trying to remember how he ended up in here, when he spots Baekhyun coming out of the bathroom with a shit-eating grin on his face. Ugh, it’s too early and his head hurts too much to deal with Baekhyun’s hyperactive personality first thing in the morning, so he flops back onto the bed, burying himself under the blankets to avoid whatever conversation Baekhyun intends to have with him.
“Good morning sunshine!” he hears Baekhyun holler loudly and he groans, pulling a pillow over his head to muffle his voice, but it’s still too damn loud. “Come on, it’s almost noon.”
“I don’t wanna,” Kyungsoo whines but lets Baekhyun grab the blanket and pillow away from him anyway, tossing them on the floor by his bed. “It’s too early. I wanna sleep.”
“And I want a new car for my birthday but we both know that won’t happen unless I stay put for the rest of the term,” Baekhyun sighs, taking hold of Kyungsoo’s wrists to pull him out of the bed and drags him over to the bathroom. Kyungsoo wants to ask him what he needs the car for since he can’t drive, but talking requires energy and that’s something he doesn’t have right now. “But I’d rather go out every night and get drunk like you.” Baekhyun says teasingly with a little wink, patting Kyungsoo on the butt.
“Shut up,” Kyungsoo manages to mumble and ugh, his head is pounding so much, it might explode any minute now.
“Take a shower, you look like something a cat threw up,” Baekhyun decides to ignore his remark and starts to take his clothes off, and Kyungsoo doesn’t protest, lets Baekhyun manhandle him into the shower cabin instead. “There are painkillers in the medicine cabinet and I brought your toothbrush and laid out your clothes on my roommate’s bed, so once you’re done in here get dressed and join us downstairs for breakfast. Jongdae is already there waiting for us, so hurry up.”
Kyungsoo is about to ask “what about Chanyeol?” but then he remembers the events from last night and curses mentally. Stupid habits; he needs to start getting used to a life where Chanyeol isn’t his best friend.
He grabs Baekhyun’s hand as the said turns around to leave, pulling him back to peck him on the cheek. “Thank you. For last night and all, y’know.”
Baekhyun scrunches up his nose, but squeezes on his hand regardless. “Anytime, bro. And besides, who’s gonna film you while you throw up all over yourself, if not your best buds.” He ruffles Kyungsoo’s hair and leaves the room before Kyungsoo could hit him, slamming the door behind him probably on purpose.
Kyungsoo will get him back for that one later, once he goes back to being fully human again.
By the time Kyungsoo downs two painkillers and is done with the shower, he feels considerably better. His head still hurts, but the immense throbbing has dulled down a bit, making it more bearable as he makes his way through the crowds of yelling students in the hallways and down to the cafeteria.
He grabs two cups of coffee when he realizes he’ll have to face Jongdae and Baekhyun and drags his feet over to their usual table by the windows, scowling when Jongdae greets him loudly.
“Too loud,” he groans out and sits down, covering his face with his hands in agony.
“Sorry,” Jongdae practically yells at him, sounding the least bit apologetic. He wraps his hands around Kyungsoo’s wrists and pulls his hands away, grinning at him brightly. “And hurry up, me and dipshit over here have the whole day planned out and we don’t wanna go off schedule.”
“Ugh, guys, can we do it some other time?” Kyungsoo whines pathetically and leans down to rest his head on the table. It’s uncomfortable, but at least it doesn’t hurt as much as it does when he’s moving it. “Like, never?”
“Just because you still haven’t learned how to control handle alcohol yet, that doesn’t mean we are gonna feel sorry for you,” Baekhyun whacks him on the head rather painfully and suddenly, someone’s hands are sneaking under his armpits and he’s being lifted off the chair.
“But my coffee,” Kyungsoo tries to reach out for one of the cups but it’s too late. He’s already halfway across the cafeteria.
“We’ll get you some, be patient.” Jongdae pinches his cheek and links one arm through Kyungsoo’s, Baekhyun doing the same on the other side. Now there’s really nowhere he could run.
“Guys, I know you’re just trying to cheer me up, or whatever this intervention is about, but can’t we do it some other time? I have homework to do.” Kyungsoo looks at them both, smiling sweetly, hoping they would change their minds and have some mercy on him.
“This isn’t about you,” Baekhyun snorts, “We’re just going out like we always do. God, why do you always think the universe revolves around you?” He groans out dramatically, but his grip on Kyungsoo’s arm tightens and he leans in to peck him chastely on the cheek. “It’s gonna be fine. You’ll see.” Baekhyun whispers in Kyungsoo’s ear before he pulls away, but keeps his hold of him. Just in case.
The first agenda on the list for the day is to go to a noodle shop, order the greasiest meal they have and then go for some patbingsu. Number three on the list is to eat food from street vendors as they browse the market for trinkets to kill time before the movie starts.
By the time the movie is over, Kyungsoo manages to drink three coffees and is feeling fully awake and functioning, just in time for a very long and excruciating shopping trip to all of Baekhyun’s favorite stores. Everything is oversized and colorful and way too tacky-something Kyungsoo would never be caught dead wearing-and he sticks to the side with Jongdae who tries on different types of hats and sunglasses for fun, making Kyungsoo take hundreds of pictures of him.
Number six is behind an alleyway a few blocks down the mall and Kyungsoo stops in his tracks once he realizes where they’re taking him.
“A strip club? Seriously? It’s like, barely seven p.m..” He deadpans and turns around to look at his best friends who just giggle mischievously.
“Come on, it’s gonna be fun.”
Thanks to their fake IDs, they manage to get inside, despite the hesitant bouncer guarding the front door. He is taller and bigger than the three of them combined and squints down at their cards, giving each of them a slow once over. Baekhyun lowers his voice when he tries to coax him into letting them in and the bouncer just huffs, but steps aside.
Kyungsoo is not really in the mood for seeing half-naked women dance in front of him, but the evil twins are ready to attack at any moment, not leaving him out of their sights (which is impressive, considering how much fun Jongdae is having and the half an hour talk Baekhyun’s been having with one of the waitresses) not even for a second.
But Kyungsoo has to admit their efforts to cheer him up have so far proven themselves to be impressive, and he’s been having some fun as well, even though he’s still completely sober.
✩
Kyungsoo changes seats during all of the classes where he sits next to Chanyeol. He figures, better sooner than later and before Chanyeol has the chance to do it himself.
If Chanyeol wanted to distance himself in order to move on and let his…infatuation with Kyungsoo die off, then Kyungsoo won’t stand in his way, even though he feels sick to his stomach every time he tries to imagine what his life with zero amounts of Chanyeol would be like.
Empty, yes. Considerably more dull, yes. But life goes on. Kyungsoo is only eighteen and it’s not like he will have the same friends he has right now until the day he dies, because that would be impossible. He still might not be used to the lack of Chanyeol’s weirdness in his life, but that’s something he’ll have to work on.
If Chanyeol is willing to erase Kyungsoo out of his life just like that, without even talking to him about it or anything, then he’s going to make the same, even though it will be one of the hardest things he’s ever had to do so far in his life.
The thing is, Kyungsoo thought that Chanyeol would always be his best friend, because everything is easy with him. It’s natural and comfortable and the moments when it’s just the two of them are the ones Kyungsoo loves the most.
It’s not like they do much; it’s mostly just Chanyeol talking about things that happened during basketball practice or bothers Kyungsoo about the movies he wants to watch, and Kyungsoo listens to him because it’s what he does best. He’s never been that good with words or with coming up with interesting topics of conversation, but Chanyeol never minded that. His voice is low and soothing and it keeps Kyungsoo anchored, helps him relax and unwind.
Everything about them has always been so different, from their physical appearances to the way they express themselves and deal with certain problems, and they really shouldn’t work. Chanyeol likes to talk and likes to listen to people’s stories, learn about them and find out what makes them who they are, while Kyungsoo prefers to keep things to himself. They shouldn’t work, but they somehow do. Or well, did…
Now they have to ignore each other when they’re in the same room and not make any dramatic scenes in front of their mutual friends (especially not in front of Jongdae and Baekhyun) so it wouldn’t make things between all of them even more awkward.
He ignores the way Chanyeol’s eyes bore holes to the back of his head during class, keeping his back straight and eyes focused on the teacher, taking more notes than necessary so he would keep himself preoccupied. He wants to turn around and see if he would catch Chanyeol's eyes on him, but he doesn't have to. He can feel Chanyeol's eyes on him and if he had the power to shoot lasers out of his eyes, Kyungsoo would’ve been burnt to crisp by now.
✩
After a few weeks of (not so) accidentally bumping into Sehun and a few arranged meetings, Kyungsoo kisses Sehun for the first time, catching the younger boy completely off guard.
They’re sitting on one of the benches up on the roof, using Kyungsoo’s key card to unlock the door, watching as the sun sets in front of them. Kyungsoo skipped dinner because Sehun texted him earlier that day, telling him he needed a smoke and Kyungsoo texted Jongdae, telling him he won't show up for dinner. The roof has always been one of the best places to go to if you wanted to smoke during the day, since it’s on the fifth floor, above the rest of the campus where no one would be able to see you or smell the cigarette smoke.
Lately Sehun has started to become more playful and less shy around Kyungsoo, casually placing a hand on his thigh when they’re sitting side by side on the sofa in the common room or slinging an arm around his shoulders, around his waist. He talks more, which is kind of surprising because the first few times they saw each other Sehun fumbled around with his words and even ran away. Literally.
Now he smiles at him brightly and teases Kyungsoo about his height and how easy it would be to lift him up and throw him around. He always brings Kyungsoo snacks or drinks, especially when they’re in the library, sliding them across the table when he notices Kyungsoo’s concentration has gone away.
It's a nice day. Cold and windy, but the sky is bleeding in hues of pinks and oranges, the rays casting a lovely orange glow over Sehun’s face, accenting the high of his cheekbones and the slope of his nose, making him look ethereal. Kyungsoo can’t stop himself from staring at Sehun’s face; the sight in front of him a hundred times more beautiful than the sun in the back, and he catches Sehun’s lips in a kiss when the said turns around to look at him, brows furrowed in confusion, probably thinking of asking Kyungsoo to stop staring at him.
Sehun freezes next to him and Kyungsoo pulls back, afraid that he crossed the line and mistook Sehun’s looks and touches for flirtatious instead of just friendly. But then, Sehun reaches out to place a shaky hand on his shoulder to pull him back in again and Kyungsoo’s heart skips a beat.
He cups Sehun’s cheek in his hand as he sucks on his bottom lip, his thumb gently tracing back and forth along Sehun’s cheekbone. He licks along the seam of Sehun’s lips and the younger parts them open, dragging his tongue along the row of Kyungsoo’s teeth, dipping it further to deepen the kiss.
Kyungsoo can hear Sehun breathe hard through his nose as his hands find purchase where they’re interlocked behind Kyungsoo’s neck, pulling him closer, silently asking for more. It tastes like the cigarette Sehun smoked earlier and cherry flavored candy, and Kyungsoo can’t get enough of it.
A cold gust of wind makes both of them shiver and they pull back to stare at each other for a few seconds as they process what just happened. Sehun bites on his lower lip, trying to stop himself from smiling and Kyungsoo scoots closer, pulling on Sehun’s loosened tie to bring him in for another kiss, a much shorter one this time, but equally as good as the first.
“Hyung,” Sehun whispers against Kyungsoo’s parted lips, his eyelashes fluttering when Kyungsoo's teeth bite down gently on his lower lip, tugging on it as he pulls back. He can feel the way Sehun’s whole body shivers next to him as the wind gets stronger so he presses one last kiss to the corner of Sehun’s mouth before he stands up, offering Sehun a hand. The tip of his nose is pink and he sniffs, trying to sink further into the warmth of his thick jacket and Kyungsoo resists the urge to coo at the sight in front of him. He's not the type to coo over things, after all.
“Come on, it’s cold.” Kyungsoo says as he pulls Sehun back up to his feet. December is right around the corner and the winters here have always been cold and merciless. “I don’t want you to get sick, especially not when I can finally kiss you whenever I want.”
“What makes you think I’d let you kiss me again?” Sehun teases, slightly nudging Kyungsoo with his elbow.
Kyungsoo stops mid-step and turns around to look at Sehun, lifting an eyebrow in intrigue. “Is that so? Well in that case, you’ll be missing out on a lot,” he grabs Sehun’s hand and pulls him closer. “I’m an excellent kisser.”
“I wouldn’t throw around the word ‘excellent’ so carelessly if I were you.” Sehun interlocks his fingers with Kyungsoo’s and squeezes on his hand, looking down at him with a challenging smirk on his face.
Kyungsoo snorts and pins Sehun against the door of the rooftop, standing on his tiptoes so he could kiss him again, thread fingers through his hair to tug on it as he kisses him hard; kisses him until his mouth is swollen and shiny with spit and his knees are trembling.
Sehun’s mouth is hanging open as he blinks dumbly a few times, clearing his throat before he speaks. “Um, wow. I-I-okay then.”
“I’ll accept that as an apology for your previous comment,” Kyungsoo smirks in victory and reaches up to fix Sehun’s hair before his hands move down to his tie, tightening the knot to make him look presentable. “Come on, I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
✩
He meets Jinah for the first time during breakfast one day, before he even gets a chance to drink his usual morning coffee.
She’s holding Chanyeol’s hand as they make their way towards their usual table in the corner by the windows, where Kyungsoo and satan’s evil minions are already halfway through breakfast. Chanyeol’s smile falters when he spots Kyungsoo and Kyungsoo just pretends like he doesn’t notice it, taking a sip of coffee, ignoring the concerned looks his friends give him.
Jinah seems to be taller than Kyungsoo remembers her to be; even prettier, too. She has legs that go on for miles and Kyungsoo would probably barely come up to her waist. Of course, everything about them is different and there's no reason whatsoever to compare himself to her, but it’s just a simple observation.
She’s shorter than Chanyeol, though, but the height difference isn’t so noticeable. Kyungsoo didn’t know Chanyeol was into tall girls (or boys, for that matter), but then again; he’s never really seen Chanyeol with someone else other than Jongdae and Baekhyun. He kind of assumed Chanyeol was more into people shorter than him, or maybe he just wants to be surrounded by them so he could feel bigger and taller. Asshole.
The table is meant for four people, but they make it work. Luckily Jongdae plops himself down next to Kyungsoo and offers Jinah his seat while Chanyeol borrows a chair from the nearby table and sits down next to her, greeting all of them with a smile.
“Guys, this is Jinah,” Chanyeol points at her and she smiles shyly, nodding her head and Kyungsoo smiles back, although a bit stiffly. “Jinah, these are the guys I’ve been telling you about.”
Chanyeol starts to introduce them separately now, pointing first at Baekhyun, then Jongdae and Kyungsoo leans back in his chair when his turn comes. Chanyeol clears his throat before he points at Kyungsoo with his hand and says “And that’s Kyungsoo.” He looks uncomfortable and it makes Kyungsoo feel kind of smug for some reason.
Jinah easily falls into conversation with Baekhyun, who’s always been the most social one in the group, followed by Jongdae who follows quickly and starts telling her embarrassing stories about Chanyeol, like the one from their last year at summer camp when he accidentally picked poison ivy while he was picking flowers for the girl he liked, and got a nasty rash all over his body. Long story short, he had to be taken to the hospital since it got really serious and the girl felt so grossed out by it and never spoke to him again.
Kyungsoo is surprised to see her laugh along to every story they tell her, throwing her head back and covering her mouth with her hand as she pats Chanyeol’s shoulder sympathetically with the other one, who looks like he’s about to dig a hole and bury himself in it. She doesn’t flinch at all when Baekhyun starts laughing so hard, he spits orange juice through his nose, nor when Jongdae starts to chew with his mouth open to gross Baekhyun out for making a mess all over the table.
Kyungsoo sits quietly the whole time and fake laughs along, slowly assessing her with his eyes. She’s pretty and honestly-she looks kind of perfect, but there’s just something about her that rubs him off the wrong way, for some reason. He can't figure her out.
She’s sophisticated and delicate and chic, with her pretty dark hair that falls like a waterfall over her shoulder, a strand tucked behind one ear to reveal a small pearl earring that makes her look even more delicate. Kyungsoo tries to find one detail about her that isn’t perfect, feeling kind of mad at her too, as well as being mad at her new boyfriend. But no matter how much he looks, he can’t find anything. Even the color of her nail polish matches the details of her bow that’s tied securely around her neck, her make up light and simple so it's according to the school’s dress code.
Kyungsoo has a feeling she will manage to stay longer than any of their previous boyfriends or girlfriends have done in the past, and Kyungsoo frowns at the thought. She’s very funny, her lively and bubbly personality making her get along perfectly with The Gang and he doesn’t even know her, for crying out loud! Maybe he should give her a chance, but trying to get to know her better without Chanyeol’s presence would be weird, not to mention impossible.
It’s childish, yes, since technically, she didn’t do anything wrong, but he can’t help himself. Chanyeol’s the one he should be mad at, not her. He’s the one that let his feelings get in the way of their friendship, even after years of calling Kyungsoo his best friend. He even gave Kyungsoo a friendship ring when they were fourteen; a simple silver band with a wavelength engraved along the middle. He had said “I know you won’t wear it, and I know how corny it is, but I wanted you to have it. This is my promise to you, that I’ll always be Park Chanyeol, your best fucking friend till the day we die.”
Kyungsoo scoffs bitterly at the thought of it. Funny how things work out differently than what we had planned out.
✩
“Come on man, you should come to the party,” Baekhyun repeats for the fifteenth time that day and Kyungsoo fixes him with an exasperated look.
“We’ve been over this already.” Kyungsoo says with a sigh. “I don’t know if you’re up to date with things, but Chanyeol and I stopped being friends two months ago."
“Man come on, you are his best friend. It would be weird without you there.” Baekhyun pouts and puts his head on Kyungsoo’s lap, looking up at him with big puppy eyes.
“Have you been listening to me at all?” Kyungsoo looks down incredulously, “No means no.”
“But ‘Soo.” Baekhyun starts to whine again and Kyungsoo pushes him off his lap, sighing contently when Baekhyun ends up rolling off the couch.
“Can you please back me up here?” Kyungsoo groans and turns to Jongdae for help, who finally looks up from his phone with a dazed look on his face. “Ugh, not again. Why won’t you tell us who you’re talking to? I thought we were best friends.”
“You don’t get to play the best friends card on me,” Jongdae sticks his tongue out. “You won't even come to Chanyeol's birthday party.”
"Don't try to turn this around on me, Kim," Kyungsoo narrows his eyes at Jongdae suspiciously. "You know we'll find out who he is sooner or later."
“Yeah man, come on.” Baekhyun whines, drawling out his words and tackles Jongdae to the ground, making him throw his phone in surprise. Kyungsoo seizes the opportunity and snatches it before Jongdae could push Baekhyun off of him and get to it first.
It’s locked, but Jongdae has always been the type to use dates as his passwords. Kyungsoo tries 0921, but it doesn't work. He tries it backwards and it works, successfully unlocking the phone. "And you really need to stop using your birthday as your password," Kyungsoo tsks as he waits for KakaoTalk to load, opening the first chat once it does. There's no profile picture and the name is custom changed to "SH", and Kyungsoo's brows furrow in confusion. "Who's 'SH'?"
"You guys are not to be trusted!" Jongdae wheezes out, trying to kick Baekhyun away so he would stop tickling him. "You'll just scare him away."
Baekhyun gasps dramatically and straddles Jongdae's stomach, grabbing him by his wrists to pin his hands above his head. "Dude, this is like, the meanest thing you've ever said to us."
"Yeah," Kyungsoo agrees and continues scrolling through the chat. It's mostly that "SH" guy sending Jongdae lame jokes and Jongdae laughing along, saying stuff like Hyung, you're so funny~~~ kkkk. Gross. "We won't scare him off. We're really nice."
"We were nice to Jinah the other day," Baekhyun presses on, trying to blow raspberries on Jongdae's neck who starts to squirm wildly. "Even Kyungsoo!"
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Kyungsoo freezes. He might not really like her for various childish reasons, but that doesn't mean he's going to act like a jerk towards her.
"Oh come on, we all know how jealous you are," Baekhyun says casually and finally lets go of Jongdae, flopping down on the floor by him, pushing his hair back from his forehead.
"Why would I be jealous of her?" Kyungsoo snorts, shaking his head. "Don't be ridiculous."
"Because you love Chanyeol?" Baekhyun says matter-of-factly and Kyungsoo starts to fume on the inside. Jongdae uses the opportunity to get his phone back, snatching it away from Kyungsoo's hands who doesn't even bother to stop him. "I don't know why you guys haven't hooked up already."
"I am not jealous of her," Kyungsoo says slowly. "And I do not love Chanyeol."
"Oh, my bad. I forgot we were supposed to keep it a secret and pretend like we don't know what's going on," Baekhyun rolls his eyes and Kyungsoo suddenly feels like punching him in the face. "I can't believe how fucking slow you are. Whatever. I can't deal with your stupid puppy love anymore." Baekhyun waves him off and places an arm over his face. Jongdae sits there quiet, watching at Kyungsoo worriedly.
"'Soo?" Jongdae asks, phone forgotten. "Do you think that, maybe...you love Chanyeol?"
"I love him; that's true," Kyungsoo starts, ignoring the headache that's starting to build up slowly. "But I love him the same way I love you guys. There's nothing more to it."
Jongdae doesn't say anything to that. Kyungsoo grits his teeth and stares at Baekhyun, at the hole in the carpet he made once with his cigarette, at the bones on Jongdae's wrist, at the door, watching as more people come inside, the whole room slowly filling up with loud laughter and people chatting about their schoolwork. He tunes them out and keeps his hands balled up in fists by his sides until he eventually calms down.
He doesn't love Chanyeol. At least not like that.
✩
Kyungsoo talks to Chanyeol for the first time after their fight at the restaurant, a few days later.
They somehow end up being the last ones to get paired up for an experiment, and Kyungsoo doesn't bother to greet Chanyeol when he sits down next to him. It's quiet and awkward and they both do their halves of the work on their own, both of them acting like it's a task that doesn't require group work.
Kyungsoo feels very hyperaware of Chanyeol's presence next to him, careful not to bump his elbow against Chanyeol's as he writes down notes about the experiment, not even turning around to look at him or check up on his progress. It's so weird, Kyungsoo thinks to himself, to be next to Chanyeol and not talk to him. To pretend like they don't know each other. It makes him feel mad all over again. It's not supposed to be like this. Chanyeol was supposed to be his best friend and Kyungsoo was supposed to feel comfortable around him instead of squirming in his seat throughout the whole lesson, wondering if there's a way to fix this mess.
He's not used to being a stranger to Chanyeol. They're back to square zero, since square one for them was getting close in less than two hours. Chanyeol was even more annoying than their first encounter in the principal's office, but Kyungsoo found himself laughing along to his jokes, slowly opening up and telling him about his likes and dislikes, about music and games and everything and nothing at the same time. They kind of clicked and everything just fell in its rightful place. He doesn't know how to act around Chanyeol now. Is he allowed to talk to him, or at least greet him in the mornings during breakfast? Are they even still talking to each other? Ugh, everything is so confusing.
He gets lost in his own thoughts and doesn't even notice when Chanyeol clears his throat once the lesson is over. Kyungsoo takes out the gloves and goggles he was instructed to wear and sets them in the tray at the edge of the desk, slowly cleaning up after himself.
"Hey," Chanyeol says suddenly and Kyungsoo almost drops the tray on the ground in shock. He was not expecting this to happen.
Kyungsoo looks up at him and greets him back quietly, ignoring the way his heart starts beating rapidly in his chest. Chanyeol is quiet for a while, opening and closing his mouth a few times like he's about to say something but then changes his mind, and Kyungsoo taps his fingers along the edge of the plastic tray in anticipation, waiting for the other shoe to drop already.
"You should come," Chanyeol breathes out once he finally gives up. "To my birthday, I mean."
"That's not a good idea," Kyungsoo swallows. "And I already made plans with Seungsoo hyung, so I won't be able to come." He bites on his lower lip. He's always been good at lying-maybe he's not a pro like Baekhyun, but good nonetheless-but he's never had to lie to Chanyeol before. It's weird. He doesn't like it.
"Ah. Okay." Chanyeol smiles at him, although a little stiff. "Say hi to him from me, will you?" Kyungsoo knows Chanyeol managed to look past him and his stupid lie and he's thankful he doesn't mention anything about it, or presses on even further like Baekhyun did the other day.
Kyungsoo nods and doesn't know if he's supposed to say anything other than, "have fun at the party", smiling a little before he grabs his bag and leaves.
His hands don't stop shaking for the rest of the day, not even after he meets up with Sehun in the library for their study date.
✩
Kyungsoo plays with the phone in his hands for almost half an hour after the clock strikes midnight. He bites on his thumb and quickly types happy birthday clicking the send button before he would change his mind again. He goes to sleep before Chanyeol replies.
The next morning he wakes up to an unread message from Chanyeol. tnx... :)
Kyungsoo can't help but smile down at his phone.
✩
Kyungsoo wasn't planning on telling them about Sehun and thought of doing the same Jongdae does with that mystery SH guy, and see how long it takes them to find out. Jongdae was the first one to notice the hickey hidden beneath Kyungsoo's collar and Kyungsoo had scoffed, using the same excuse as Jongdae. Then Baekhyun followed him to the library and caught the two of them sitting side by side and immediately connected the dots.
“You guys look like twins,” is the first thing that comes flying out of Baekhyun’s mouth (along with some of the food he’s apparently not so good at keeping inside) when he sees Kyungsoo and Sehun approach their usual table for four by the windows.
“Hyung, say it don't spray it,” Sehun’s nose scrunches up in distaste at the mess Baekhyun made. “People are trying to eat here.”
Baekhyun scoffs at that and simply rolls his eyes, chewing on his rice with a little pout on his face. Jongdae chuckles loudly and reaches out to bump his fist against Sehun’s before turning around to nod at Kyungsoo. “I really like this kid. He’s a keeper.” Kyungsoo hides his smile behind the rim of his coffee cup and turns around to sneak a glance at Sehun who is still smiling cheekily at Jongdae, the apples of his cheeks slightly pink.
It’s been a little over a week since he introduced Sehun to everyone and he’s surprised to how well the others are taking in on him, accepting him into their little gang of four. Or well, three, since Chanyeol is practically nowhere to be seen lately. Kyungsoo sees him in class (though that doesn't count; Kyungsoo leaves the classroom before Chanyeol does so he technically doesn't seem him at all), and on rare occasions when Jongdae manages to drag him along to his brother's college parties.
Sehun fits in very well and he doesn’t let dumb and dumber’s teasing comments get to him, joking along or saying something witty to shut them up, instead, and he’s close to Jongin too, which is also a plus. Kyungsoo has a feeling Chanyeol already found out about him and Sehun, but he doesn't let that bother him. He's starting to get the hang of his new life, even though he still hasn't been able to stop thinking about what Baekhyun had said to him.
“But I’m serious, look at them.” Baekhyun smacks Jongdae’s arm to get his attention, pointing at Kyungsoo then at Sehun with his chopsticks. “They even started styling their hair the same way. It’s kinda creepy.”
Kyungsoo rolls his eyes at Baekhyun and kicks his foot under the table. “Eat your food Baekhyun. It’s too early in the morning to get my hands dirty with your blood.”
“Anyway,” Jongdae drawls out before Baekhyun could reply or hiss back at Kyungsoo, “are you guys going to the Christmas party afterparty?”
“What party?” Kyungsoo asks, spooning some of the rice in his mouth. He’s never really bothered to keep himself updated with the latest happenings in the school, usually waiting for his friends to drag him along with them, even if he says no.
“The one in the house by the lake?” Sehun pipes up and Jongdae nods, grinning mischievously.
“Yup! It’s gonna be awesome!” Jongdae exclaims and wiggles his eyebrows at them. “I heard there will be a lot of cute girls there. My brother's crew is gonna be there, too.”
"Do you wanna come along?" Kyungsoo asks Sehun. The party would be more bearable with him there.
"I leave for my skiing trip right after the school party, remember?" Sehun pouts at him and he doesn't stop the younger when he takes a sip from his coffee cup.
"I forgot about that," Kyungsoo hums, reaching out to wipe the crumbs away from the corner of his mouth. Sehun flushes, ducking his head down before Baekhyun sees it and starts making fun of him again.
✩
While everything about Jinah might be perfect, she's not the perfect fit for Chanyeol.
Kyungsoo comes to this conclusion during the fourth time Chanyeol brings her over for lunch, finally figuring out why he didn't really like her. There is less than a week left to go before the midterms begin and the entire school is too busy studying, everyone hunched over their books in every corner of the campus.
"Ugh, I hate science," Jinah whines, closing her textbook angrily before she slumps back in her seat, crossing her arms across her chest like a kid. "It's so useless and boring."
Chanyeol and Kyungsoo look up at her at the same time; Baekhyun is too busy dozing off with his nose practically buried in his algebra textbook to react and Jongdae almost drops the sugar shaker he's playing with absentmindedly. Oh. This will be fun.
"What do you mean useless?" Chanyeol asks conversationally, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. The tips of his ears are already starting to get red.
The thing is: Chanyeol is crazy about science. Always has, always will be, and he always gets mad whenever someone insults his favorite (and the most important, in his opinion) subject. If his parents weren't forcing him to become a lawyer then he would've pursued a career as a mad scientist for sure. One time in freshmen year, he almost got into a fight with a guy from their class because he said science was for geeks.
"It just is! I don't care about this, it's nonsense!" Jinah whines louder and Chanyeol immediately starts to rant about how everything is connected to science, and before Kyungsoo has time to blink, they are already arguing about it, loud enough to wake Baekhyun up.
Jongdae nudges Kyungsoo's foot with his underneath the table and nods towards the exit pointedly. Kyungsoo nods and grabs all of their books, while Jongdae takes care of Baekhyun, the three of them escaping from the scene before they start throwing the plates at each other.
Kyungsoo feels a sudden surge of satisfaction as they make their way to Jongdae's room; he knew there was a reason he didn't realy like her. She might be perfect and she and Chanyeol might look like the perfect couple on paper, but they're far from being perfect from each other.
In the past few weeks, Kyungsoo has been listening to Jongdae and Baekhyun make fun of Chanyeol and the sort of things he's been doing for Jinah-not like he cares about their relationship or anything; Baekhyun is just really loud. First she made him take her to a cat café, even though Chanyeol has a mild allergy to cats. Apparently, Chanyeol spent their entire date sitting in a kitten-free corner while she snapped pictures of herself with the cute little animals and posted them all on her Instagram.
He let her pick all of the movies and even skipped basketball practice because she wanted to go shopping. Kyungsoo also overheard something about how she didn't like his music because it was very loud, or something along those lines.
Maybe this is just his best friend instincts kicking in, but he really thinks the two of them aren't compatible.
✩
"So I heard you are going to the Christmas afterparty," Chanyeol says to Kyungsoo one day after class and Kyungsoo doesn't know what surprises him more; the fact that Chanyeol is talking to him or that he actually stayed up and waited for Kyungsoo to come out by the door.
"Yeah, everyone's going to be there," Kyungsoo starts walking and Chanyeol follows after him. "What about you?"
"I don't know. It's not really Jinah's scene," Chanyeol shrugs, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I might drop by afterwards, but I'm not sure."
"Oh," Kyungsoo tries not to smirk in satisfaction at being right. "But it's tradition. We always go."
"I know," Chanyeol tugs on the straps of his backpack. "But, it's no big deal. It's the same thing every year, anyway." He says after a while and Kyungsoo shrugs his shoulders, giving him a if you say so look. God, this feels so awkward.
Kyungsoo doesn't really know what to say, so he settles for suit yourself, instead of asking him why are you still dating her if she's making you do stuff you don't wanna do? because that wouldn't be appropriate.
"Well, have fun, I guess," Chanyeol smiles at him awkwardly and Kyungsoo just nods and turns around the corner, walking away from Chanyeol before he could follow after him. He's never been a fan of having awkward small talk, especially not with someone he knows better than himself.
And even if Chanyeol does have a point-which he kind of does-he wouldn’t admit it. The parties are the same every year, true, but it’s a tradition for the four of them, not to mention all of the memories they share from those crazy nights.
The first year, they were fifteen, following Yura as she sneaked out of the campus with her friends because she refused to bring them along. They got so drunk they almost got caught on their way back and had to run away from the security guard before he could see them and report them to the principal’s office. It took them half an hour to get rid of him, having to hide in dark broom closets, all of them huddled close together and giggling drunkenly. Chanyeol threw up in a bucket and Kyungsoo sprained his ankle on his way up the stairs, but it was worth it. That was probably the first time Kyungsoo had that much fun at this damn school.
The second year, Kyungsoo gave Chanyeol a handjob for the first time. They were locked in an empty bathroom, both of them drunk and giddy after their victory over Jongdae and Baekhyun in beer pong. There was beer all over them and Chanyeol started to splash water at Kyungsoo while they were washing up, then one thing led to another and Kyungsoo had Chanyeol pinned against the door, sneaking a hand down his pants. Chanyeol had returned the favor a few days later, getting down on his knees in his kitchen while the rest of Chanyeol's family was in the dining room, having Christmas dinner.
It will be weird without Chanyeol. Kyungsoo will have to play alone against his friends this year; he can take both of them on his own, but it wouldn't be as fun as it always is with Chanyeol there.
✩
A few days before the term is over, a rumor starts floating around school that there will be talent scouts coming over for the school's anniversary, offering full-tuition scholarships to two lucky students. There's going to be a showcase and a big party afterwards, and the choir is supposed to be a part of the opening ceremony, followed by the drama club and a performance by the dance club.
Jongin and Sehun have been talking about it for months now, and Kyungsoo can't help but smile fondly whenever he sees the way their faces light up when someone mentions it. They're keeping the concept a secret from everyone that's not a part of the performance, claiming it would be freakin' awesome!!! as Sehun once texted him.
But what Kyungsoo is really curious about is whether the talent scouts rumor is true or not. He heard they would be from Yonsei University and Kyungsoo's heart had stopped beating the moment Jongdae had told him about it. Yonsei has always been Kyungsoo's first choice, whether it comes down to making his dad happy and studying business or pursuing his lifelong dream of becoming a singer.
Kyungsoo had been thirteen when his father slid the pamphlet across the dining table, acting nonchalant and going back to his meal like nothing had just happened. His wife kept sneaking curious glances at Kyungsoo while he turned the pages over, slowly and carefully, trying to stop his hands from shaking. That was the first time Kyungsoo had heard of the idea of him going away to a boarding school in the middle of nowhere, an almost three hour drive away from his current life, his home and friends and family.
"What is this?" Kyungsoo asked calmly, still trying to process the information he had just received. He kept looking down at the pamphlet, keeping it at an arms length away, hoping the words scribbled across the front page would change each time he looked at them. This can't be happening, he thought to himself, setting down his fork and knife in his plate.
"You're going to a boarding school starting next week," His father said, cutting up his steak in small bite-size pieces. "We thought this would be the best for your education."
"We?" Kyungsoo scoffed, quirking an eyebrow at his father who simply ignored his remark and kept chewing on his food. First of all, Kyungsoo is one hundred percent sure this was all her doing and second, she's not his mother and never will be; she's just a typical trophy wife that's after his fathers fortune, and she has no right whatsoever making decisions regarding his academic-or any other-future. "Does mom know about this?" Wife #2 had stiffened visibly at the mention of Kyungsoo's mother and Kyungsoo smirked in satisfaction.
"Your mother doesn't have a say in this," his father had continued talking calmly. "neither do you. This is the best option for you if you're going to take over the company once I retire."
"But I don't want to!" Kyungsoo slammed his fists angrily against the polished surface of the table, the utensils shaking in his plate. "I'm not going there. I want to sing!"
"You will do no such thing!" his father said, raising his voice for the first time since they started talking about this. "You will look up to your brother and follow in his footsteps, and together you will run the company when I retire and that's final."
Kyungsoo gritted his teeth angrily, his nostrils flared. "We'll see about that," he pushed his chair back and stormed upstairs to his room, not even flinching at the sound of his chair hitting against the floor.
His father threatened him a few years back, telling him he would be cut out of his inheritance if he doesn't do what he tells him to. Now, Kyungsoo figures, if he manages to get the full paid scholarship, then his father wouldn't have any choice but let him do what he wants. Kyungsoo never cared about the money, anyway, and his trust fund from his grandpa kicks in the second he turns legal.
Seungsoo got lucky, Kyungsoo thinks. He had it easy because he did everything he wanted to do and fulfilled all of his dreams. He was good at school (although that’s probably the only field Kyungsoo can say he’s slightly better than him), graduated from business school being second best in his class, enrolled into the army, started working in their father’s company and got married by the age he turned 29. Now he’s expecting a son and he couldn’t be happier.
But unlike him, Seungsoo enjoyed business school and enjoys working hard and preparing himself to take over the company when needed. He married his high school sweetheart, a nice sweet girl that adores Kyungsoo and always sends him home made food whenever she’s free.
Kyungsoo couldn’t care less for business or their company. He wants to sing. He’s pretty damn good at it (if Chanyeol’s constant praise is anything to go by) and it makes him feel happy when he does it. He might not be the best out there and he still needs to work a lot if he wants to do it professionally some day, but he’s willing to learn. It’s been his dream since he was six and now at eighteen, that dream is only bigger and harder to make true that it used to be.
As his high school graduation approaches and his father’s constant pressuring speeches about living up to the family name get longer, it looks like that dream of standing on a stage in front of thousands of people is getting further away from him, slipping through the gaps in between his fingers and slowly vanishing into thin air.
But he’s willing to try and make it happen, despite what his father might do to him. He might cut him off and never speak to him again, but it’s not like Kyungsoo cares that much about money anyway. Besides, he can’t remember the last time he had a proper conversation with his father that wasn’t about school or work. They ran out of things to talk about years ago and Kyungsoo isn’t so sure he wants to stay and try to make things work between them.
✩
The party at the school is boring and drags on for hours, just like every year. The music is way too loud (not to mention awful) and there are people dancing all around Kyungsoo, the room a blur of fancy ball gowns and black tuxedos; the whole scene like a flashback to the night of the Welcome Freshmen party.
Except, this time, Kyungsoo spends the night huddled up in a corner with Sehun while Baekhyun and Jongdae bicker over who gets to drink first from the flask with smuggled alcohol. Chanyeol is somewhere with his girlfriend, Kyungsoo assumes. It's not like he cares, really.
Sehun has to leave early and on their way back to Sehun's room to grab his suitcases, Sehun spots Chanyeol and Jinah making out in the dark corner in the hallway, far away from the crowd. He points over Kyungsoo’s shoulder, giggling out a “hey isn’t that your friend and his girlfriend over there? I thought he wasn’t coming to the party.”
Kyungsoo turns around and his stomach sinks when he sees Chanyeol and Jinah making out, their lips locked in a deep kiss. Chanyeol has Jinah backed up against a wall and one of her legs is slightly hooked around his waist with Chanyeol’s hand gripping on her thigh to keep her in place, the two of them slowly rutting against each other.
“That makes two of us,” Kyungsoo huffs, not even bothering to correct Sehun and tell him Chanyeol said they wouldn't be coming to the afterparty.
He feels like throwing up, and it’s not just because of the gross punch he drank earlier. He leaves when he sees Chanyeol slip his hand underneath Jinah’s skirt, squeezing on her ass to pull her even closer. He grabs Sehun’s hand to tug him over to the direction of the elevators, walking side by side in silence.
"Is everything alright?" Sehun asks curiously once they're in the elevator, Kyungsoo tapping impatiently with his foot against the floor. The elevators in this place have always been too damn slow; they should've taken the stairs instead.
He feels weird. His heart won't stop hammering against his chest and his palms are starting to sweat. He feels like he's going to suffocate.
"Dyo, are you okay?" Sehun grabs his hand and tugs on it, successfully grabbing his attention.
"Huh? Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about it." Kyungsoo squeezes on Sehun's hand reassuringly and takes a deep breath. He feels so restless all of a sudden, like he's in someone else's skin. It's weird.
"Can I ask you something?" Sehun speaks up after they're (finally!) out of the elevator and heading towards his room. Kyungsoo nods, muttering out a sure, go ahead and Sehun stops to fiddle with his key card, biting on his lower lip before he speaks. "Are you in love with Chanyeol?"
"What?" Kyungsoo scoffs. What's up with everyone lately? Why does everyone think he loves Chanyeol? "No I'm not."
"Are you sure?" Sehun speaks over his shoulder as he opens the door and Kyungsoo follows him inside, closing the door behind him harder than intended. "Because you seem to be very angry after seeing Chanyeol and his girlfriend humping each other like wild bunnies down there. I know it's none of my business, and don't think I'm asking because I'm jealous or anything. I was just curious."
"I'm not angry," Kyungsoo protests and sits on the edge of Sehun's bed as he waits for him to change. "I'm fine. I don't love Chanyeol. And I know you're not jealous, though it does kind of hurt to hear you say that out loud."
"Oh, really?" Sehun smiles at him as he takes his jacket off, working on getting rid of his bow tie next. "I thought that's what you wanted?"
Kyungsoo's mouth goes dry when Sehun takes his shirt off, not even bothering to turn around or go change in the bathroom. They've fooled around before, agreeing to take it slow so it wouldn't get complicated, since Sehun will be leaving for China next year and Kyungsoo will be busy with college, but he's never seen Sehun without a shirt on before. He's surprised Sehun isn't blushing like he usually does.
"Well, I want a lot of things," he starts, getting off the bed to help Sehun out of his pants, his hands joining Sehun's to unbuckle his belt.
"Like what?" Sehun asks, sounding a little breathless.
This time, when Kyungsoo's knuckles teasingly graze along the zipper, Sehun does blush. He also doesn't stop Kyungsoo when he unbuttons his pants and pulls the zipper down, stepping closer to Sehun as the pants slide down his legs and pool by his ankles. "Like you, for example." He speaks against Sehun's lips before he kisses him, tangling his fingers in Sehun's hair as they walk backwards until his knees bump against the edge of the bed.
"I have to leave in ten minutes." Sehun gasps when Kyungsoo sucks on his neck, sneaking a hand in between their bodies to slide it inside of his briefs.
"Then we better be quick."
After making Sehun come and dropping him off at the gates, Kyungsoo calls a cab and joins Baekhyun and Jongdae at the afterparty. He doesn't bother to change his clothes before he leaves, even though he feels gross and sticky all over, and immediately accepts the drink Baekhyun hands him as soon as he spots him entering the house.
"Rough night?" Baekhyun asks after Kyungsoo drinks almost half of his vodka raspberry, lifting an eyebrow pointedly.
"I saw Chanyeol and Jinah earlier," Kyungsoo winces at the bitter aftertaste in his mouth. He takes another sip to wash it down, even though it only makes it even worse. "They were all over each other in the hallway. It was very..." He trails off and shudders; the thought of Chanyeol and Jinah together like that making him feel restless all over again. Jealous and angry, in a way.
Baekhyun just pats him on the shoulder and drags him towards the kitchen, opening all of the cabinets in search of as many shot glasses as he could possibly find. "So you finally admit it then, huh?" Baekhyun's voice comes as an echo from where he has his head inside one of the cabinets under the sink. "Don't worry. Your best friend Baekhyunnie knows the best way to make you forget about it." He winks cheekily at Kyungsoo and starts to line up the glasses along the countertop.
Kyungsoo would've asked him what he meant by that, but he knows exactly what he's referring to. He doesn't argue with Baekhyun because of it, like he normally would, and waits until he finishes pouring a bunch of different types of alcohol in the glasses, tapping against the marble surface impatiently.
"Cheers." Baekhyun hands him a glass and clinks them together.
The shots taste absolutely awful, but Kyungsoo accepts another one, keeps accepting them until his throat burns and his eyes sting. His head is swimming and all he could think about is Chanyeol and her, the sight of the two of them together like that keeps flashing through his mind every time he closes his eyes.
"I think you're right," he starts, holding onto the edge of the counter for support. He feels like throwing up. His knees feel weak all of a sudden, too. "I think I'm in love with Chanyeol."
→ PART 4