01. chaos theory (sungyeol/woohyun)
they say hurricanes begin in Africa.
“Did you know hurricanes begin in Africa?”
His name is Nam Woohyun and he majors in some wordy degree that sounds impressive but he’ll be working at a café after he graduates, serving newer students (who will study the same thing he did) artisan coffee and cupcakes with delicate vanilla icing.
Of course, Sungyeol doesn’t know all this until later and now he’s just this nameless boy sitting two seats away from him, sharing facts from a magazine in a library like it’s the most ordinary thing ever.
Sungyeol doesn’t know how to answer and the boy goes back to his magazine because the librarian is glaring at them and Sungyeol can’t concentrate on his book about John Locke and the foundations of democracy when hurricanes and random boys with nice smiles are running through his head.
“Did you know?” the boy asks again, and Sungyeol looks up quickly at him.
He shakes his head and the boy smiles. “I did but just a few seconds before you. It’s fascinating the amount of things we’re just not aware of.”
Sungyeol takes a piece of paper from his folder and scribbles, Stop talking the librarian keeps staring before sliding it towards the boy. He adds a smiley face at the end to keep things looking friendly even though his boy is kinda really annoying. Good looking, but annoying.
He scrawls something, tosses it back in return and Sungyeol unfolds the paper to read, No she’s looking at me. Or you ^___^
Sungyeol rolls his eyes at him and feels like he’s eight again but it’s satisfying and goes back to his book.
Things are quiet and peaceful for the next half hour and Sungyeol can almost understand enough to start his essay when the boy drops a piece of paper in front of him as he walks out of the library, his satchel bumping against Sungyeol's shoulder.
What are you, eight?
There’s a series of numbers scrawled at the bottom and Sungyeol can only stare at the sentence after that, dumbfounded: I’m minoring in political science too if you need an excuse to call~
His name is Nam Woohyun and he has a nice voice, deep and smooth, that sends shivers down Sungyeol’s spine for all the right reasons.
“It’s only because I really need your help,” Sungyeol says into the phone after he tells him his name and Woohyun chuckles.
“Yeah, right.”
"Just like how you share random facts with strangers in the library all the time with no ulterior motive.”
A beat. “…I’ll let you buy me a drink.”
“I like my coffee black, extra sweet,” Sungyeol says without hesitation. This is fun.
The line dies and before Sungyeol can click redial, there’s a new message in his inbox and it’s the name of a café that serves the best black coffee on campus.
His name is Nam Woohyun and he lives in a small apartment with a roommate who’s in an indie band that plays in venues Woohyun takes Sungyeol to when they have time and the sheets on his bed are like silk under Sungyeol’s back and he can cook kimchi jjigae almost as well as Sungyeol’s mother. Nam Woohyun can sing and Nam Woohyun sounds better when it’s Sungyeol’s name on his lips but Sungyeol only knows this later - not much much later, but later.
“You’re late,” Woohyun says as a greeting and he’s wearing a ridiculous leopard print tee and faded jeans. His eyes are bright and there's a smile playing at his lips and Sungyeol has butterflies in his stomach; he’s heard something about how a butterfly flapping its wings in South America can cause a storm halfway around the world.
Sungyeol holds his gaze and he wants to laugh because he can’t believe this guy. “You’re just early.”
Maybe hurricanes can begin in Seoul, too.
“Did you know hurricanes begin in Africa?”
His name is Nam Woohyun and he majors in some wordy degree that sounds impressive but he’ll be working at a café after he graduates, serving newer students (who will study the same thing he did) artisan coffee and cupcakes with delicate vanilla icing.
Of course, Sungyeol doesn’t know all this until later and now he’s just this nameless boy sitting two seats away from him, sharing facts from a magazine in a library like it’s the most ordinary thing ever.
Sungyeol doesn’t know how to answer and the boy goes back to his magazine because the librarian is glaring at them and Sungyeol can’t concentrate on his book about John Locke and the foundations of democracy when hurricanes and random boys with nice smiles are running through his head.
“Did you know?” the boy asks again, and Sungyeol looks up quickly at him.
He shakes his head and the boy smiles. “I did but just a few seconds before you. It’s fascinating the amount of things we’re just not aware of.”
Sungyeol takes a piece of paper from his folder and scribbles, Stop talking the librarian keeps staring before sliding it towards the boy. He adds a smiley face at the end to keep things looking friendly even though his boy is kinda really annoying. Good looking, but annoying.
He scrawls something, tosses it back in return and Sungyeol unfolds the paper to read, No she’s looking at me. Or you ^___^
Sungyeol rolls his eyes at him and feels like he’s eight again but it’s satisfying and goes back to his book.
Things are quiet and peaceful for the next half hour and Sungyeol can almost understand enough to start his essay when the boy drops a piece of paper in front of him as he walks out of the library, his satchel bumping against Sungyeol's shoulder.
What are you, eight?
There’s a series of numbers scrawled at the bottom and Sungyeol can only stare at the sentence after that, dumbfounded: I’m minoring in political science too if you need an excuse to call~
His name is Nam Woohyun and he has a nice voice, deep and smooth, that sends shivers down Sungyeol’s spine for all the right reasons.
“It’s only because I really need your help,” Sungyeol says into the phone after he tells him his name and Woohyun chuckles.
“Yeah, right.”
"Just like how you share random facts with strangers in the library all the time with no ulterior motive.”
A beat. “…I’ll let you buy me a drink.”
“I like my coffee black, extra sweet,” Sungyeol says without hesitation. This is fun.
The line dies and before Sungyeol can click redial, there’s a new message in his inbox and it’s the name of a café that serves the best black coffee on campus.
His name is Nam Woohyun and he lives in a small apartment with a roommate who’s in an indie band that plays in venues Woohyun takes Sungyeol to when they have time and the sheets on his bed are like silk under Sungyeol’s back and he can cook kimchi jjigae almost as well as Sungyeol’s mother. Nam Woohyun can sing and Nam Woohyun sounds better when it’s Sungyeol’s name on his lips but Sungyeol only knows this later - not much much later, but later.
“You’re late,” Woohyun says as a greeting and he’s wearing a ridiculous leopard print tee and faded jeans. His eyes are bright and there's a smile playing at his lips and Sungyeol has butterflies in his stomach; he’s heard something about how a butterfly flapping its wings in South America can cause a storm halfway around the world.
Sungyeol holds his gaze and he wants to laugh because he can’t believe this guy. “You’re just early.”
Maybe hurricanes can begin in Seoul, too.