019
Author's Note: This turned out waaay longer than it was intended to be... Oh and I apologize in advance for OOC-ness ;__;
Title: Campus Couple (for the 100 Infinite Fic Challenge)
Rating: PG
Pairing: Myungsoo/Sungyeol
Genre: Is "Cheese" a genre? Because this fic is as cheesy as mac & cheese OTL
Summary: College!AU - Sungjong had a love emergency for Sungyeol.
Length: 2,740 words
While begrudgingly making his way around the visual arts building, Lee Sungyeol felt himself shudder. He had hoped that after finishing his final for Art History, he'd never have to step foot in this building again (for it was old and hadn't been renovated in a long time, thus making the building have a slightly dark and creepy aura to it - much to Sungyeol's dislike). "Just my luck..." the tall boy mumbled as he continued to slowly walk around.
Luckily for him, before long, he found just the destination he'd been looking for. Inhaling and exhaling a couple times, Sungyeol opened the doors to the university dark room.
---
Sungyeol had woken up that morning to his body being shaken by his roommate.
"Hyung, I need your help~" whined Sungjong, as he continued to shake the older boy.
With some grumbling and muttering ("This better be good, Lee Sungjong..."), Sungyeol rolled over in his futon and peeked an eye open. Scattered rays of the sun were streaming through the windows and a cursory glance at the bedside clock told him it was only six in the morning. "Damn it, Sungjong, what did I tell you about waking me up early this week?"
Sungjong smiled sheepishly before shrugging. "I don't know, something about finals finally being over and-"
"-and to not wake me up unless the world was ending. Lord knows how many hours of sleep I must have missed while cramming for that final." Sungyeol inwardly cringed at the memory. Even after all of his studying, he still felt unsure about the Art History final (he was an acting major after all; the class had simply been a class that he'd been forced to take since some of his other course choices had been full; art was not his specialty).
"But, but, this is an emergency, hyung~" whined the younger boy again, this time adding a pout.
Sungyeol raised an eyebrow before raising his covers over his head. "It doesn't seem like the world is ending, so what emergency could possibly have made you risk your life in waking me up? Because if this isn't worth me waking up at unholy hours in the morning-"
Sungjong hastily interrupted him before he could keep on ranting. "I think I'm in love, hyung!"
---
"Excuse me, but hasn't anyone ever taught you to knock?"
Those were the first words that greeted Sungyeol as he entered the dark room, a room covered from wall-to-wall with enlargers and red lights. "Um, I'm sorry, but what?"
"There should have been a sign outside that clearly stated to knock first before entering." grumbled a quiet voice from the almost-darkness. Sungyeol blinked a few times to allow his eyes to adjust to the lighting of the dark room. As his eyes adjusted, he was able to make out the figure of a young man about his age, hunched over a basin of what appeared to be water. The young man picked a piece of paper from the liquid and moved it into another same-shaped basin before walking over to Sungyeol with slow, even steps. Upon closer inspection, Sungyeol realized there was something about the male before him that looked strikingly familiar (but it was a familiarity that was hard to place). "Hello? Are you blind and hard of hearing?"
"What?" Sungyeol shook his hand. "Wait, no, no I'm not. I have 20/20 vision and I can hear you just fine."
"Well then... I don't see why you couldn't have (a) knocked and (b) responded to my earlier statement." The boy was clad in a plaid shirt and jeans tight enough to hug his legs. His hair looked like the wind had been its stylist and the boy's face was framed by black, lens-less glasses.
"Sorry," Sungyeol puffed his cheeks before blowing at his bangs.
"Sorry wouldn't have cut it if I hadn't already been developing," retorted the boy with a roll of his eyes; all his words were delivered in a subdued manner, but coldly nonetheless. "You're lucky. Anyways, I don't think you're a photography major... What brought you in here?"
---
"Remind me why your love life concerns me?" The tall boy curled into a fetal position underneath the covers, struggling to try and catch even just a second of sleep.
"Because the boy is a second year just like you, hyung!"
"So?"
"Well, I was thinking that you could befriend said boy and then somehow set the two of us up!"
Sungyeol finally peeked his head out from underneath his mess of covers. "I'm sorry, but what?"
"Name - Kim Myungsoo. He's a photography major and spends his free time in the university dark room... Okay? Byehyunggoodluckandhavefun!" With that said, Sungjong ran out of the room just as their other roommate, Kim Sunggyu, was walking in while muttering a string of profanities questioning why they were both up before noon and causing a ruckus.
---
"I was..." Sungyeol frowned. "I was looking for a boy named Kim Myungsoo...?"
"That's me. And allow me to add, I'm shocked that you don't seem to recognize me at all. Lee. Sung. Yeol." The boy in plaid allowed a smirk to dance across his face before bowing slightly.
"Eh? Am I supposed to recognize you from somewhere...?" The taller of the two furrowed his eyebrows as he struggled to place the other boy in his memories (he was sure he'd remember a face like his, an attitude like his).
"Actually, I'm not shocked that you don't recognize me." Myungsoo chuckled. "You're always sleeping in Art History, after all."
"Oh," Sungyeol felt his face heat up as he turned away. "I'm actually an acting major so-"
"I figured you weren't majoring in the visual arts, but anyways, you don't need to explain yourself to me." Myungsoo chuckled again before turning away, returning to his previous work of developing a photograph. "So why were you seeking 'Kim Myungsoo' out?"
"Well," Sungyeol bit his lip. How was he supposed to say, Oh, I was hoping to become best friends with you and then set you up with my dongsaeng, without sounding like a creep? "I, uh, I just was?"
Myungsoo hesitated before bursting out into laughter. "Wow, you're just... Wow."
"What?"
Myungsoo stopped laughing long enough to smile at the other, eyes crinkling upwards into crescent moons. "Nothing, nothing at all. Nice to meet you, Sungyeol-sshi."
The taller boy hesitated before returning, "Nice to meet you too, Myungsoo-sshi," and swallowing other words threatening to spill out (such as "Your smile's kinda nice," - he really needed to stop hanging out with Sunggyu and his boyfriend, Sungyeol duly noted to himself).
---
"So how was your meeting with Myungsoo-hyung?" Sungjong asked Sungyeol as he entered their apartment.
Sungyeol shrugged and commented, "It was fine," before entering his own room and closing its door shut.
---
"I think you should take another visual arts-related class." Myungsoo stated, deadpan. "It'd definitely enrich your overall learning experience and it'd make you more than 'just an actor' - you'd be a well-rounded actor."
Sungyeol let out a wry laugh before staring back at Myungsoo with an expression just as blank. "You're kidding, right?"
The two had begun hanging out more often after their meeting in the dark room. Neither knew how it had happened, but they had grown close - close enough to know each other's favorite colors (black for Myungsoo, pink for Sungyeol), foods (kimchi stew for Myungsoo, tonkatsu for Sungyeol), movies (Myungsoo confessed he enjoyed 200 Pounds Beauty more than he should; Sungyeol admitted that Pixar movies never failed to make him cry), and more (Myungsoo's closet only had plaid and flannel shirts, Sungyeol used to keep a pet parrot).
Now, second semester was fast approaching and Sungyeol had procrastinated on signing up for courses - meaning a few of his first choice courses had been full.
"Hm, let's see... What class should you take..." Myungsoo ignored the taller boy's question, choosing instead to murmur to himself as he grabbed the handbook of courses from the boy's hands.
"Yah, after seeing me in Art History, you seriously want me to take another class like it?" asked the taller boy with a look of disbelief adorning his features. "You must be insane."
"How that correlates with me being insane, I don't quite understand, but... Not all classes relating to the visual arts are boring, Sungyeol-ah." Myungsoo sighed as he continued flipping through the course handbook. Seemingly hit by an idea, Myungsoo suddenly turned towards the taller boy with a smile dancing across his lips. "How about you take an introductory class to photography?"
Sungyeol blushed slightly at the sudden proximity of the other's face. "Photography?"
"Photography, yeah,"
"Photography."
"Photography!"
---
"Meet with Myungsoo-hyung again today?"
Sungyeol glanced up from his position on the floor (he had been reading that month's copy of Shonen Jump while lying down, stomach-first) only to meet eyes with Sungjong. "Ah, yeah... Yeah. Apparently, he wants me to sign up for an introductory course to photography."
"You should do it, you know. To get closer to him." Sungjong looked thoughtful for a moment before he tilted his head to the side and raised one eyebrow. "By the way, is it my imagination, or have you been avoiding me lately?"
"I-It's just your imagination..."
---
It had happened quickly. One moment, he was admiring the way Myungsoo's mouth shaped letters as the boy described the process of developing negatives. The next, he was wondering how Myungsoo's mouth would fit over his own.
"Sungyeol-ah? Sungyeol?"
The tall boy snapped out of his reverie as the other peered curiously at him. "Huh, what is it? What'd I miss?"
"Geez, if you're zoning out when you're with me... I wonder how you'd act in the class itself." Myungsoo lightly laughed as he brought the back of his hand up to cover his mouth.
In that moment, Sungyeol was infinitely thankful that the lights in the dark room were red enough to hide the blush sure to be spreading across his face.
In that moment, he had also finally realized that he had fallen in love with a certain plaid-loving photographer.
---
"So... Second semester starts in a week."
Sungyeol replied to Sungjong's statement with a grunt as he focused on preparing his fried rice dinner.
"You know, about Myungsoo-"
"I've got it all under control. I swear. I'll introduce the two of you within a week."
"Hyung-"
"Is that fried rice that I smell?" Sungjong and Sungyeol both looked at the front door, where Sunggyu had just entered the apartment with his boyfriend - who had been the one to interject. "Yah, Sungyeol, I bet your fried rice doesn't taste as good as mine!"
"Challenge accepted!" Sungyeol's lips contorted themselves into a half-smile as the tall boy returned his focus onto his cooking, grateful that the earlier conversation had stopped in its tracks. Sungyeol wasn't sure whether or not he'd want to hear the rest of what Sungjong was trying to say.
---
"Good news, Sungyeol-ah. I asked Mithra-seonsaengnim and he said I could TA for your class." Myungsoo held up a victory sign as the two met up outside the dark room.
Sungyeol opened and closed his mouth, pondering what to say and how to say it. After a minute (that felt like an hour), he decided to go with, "I don't think I want to sign up for photography anymore."
Myungsoo's eyes, that used to be curving upwards into near-slits, suddenly widened. "What, why?"
The taller boy bit his lip. He couldn't exactly say that, oh it's because I wouldn't be able to focus on anything but you if you were in the classroom, (he really needed to stop hanging out with Sunggyu and his boyfriend) could he?
"Oh, hyung!"
Just as he was struggling with words to say, Sungjong seemed to pop out of nowhere, waving as he walked up to the two of them.
"Fancy meeting you here, hyung!"
Sungyeol darted a glance between his dongsaeng and the boy he loved. He let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "Ah, Kim Myungsoo... Meet Lee Sungjong... Sungjong, Myungsoo... I'll leave you two alone; I have to go see my acting professor..."
---
Sungyeol tried not to think of reasons for why Sungjong didn't come home that night. He also tried not to think of a certain plaid-loving photographer.
He failed in both instances.
---
"Yah, Lee Choding, I got a call from your counselor. You haven't submitted your final course selections yet."
"Yah, Lee Choding, you haven't left your room in almost 24 hours - well, except to go to the bathroom and shower and eat and - anyways, you need to go out."
"Yah, Lee Choding, if you don't open that door this instant, I'm going to break it down myself and drag you to the Guidance building."
---
True to his word, Sunggyu had kicked down Sungyeol's bedroom door and dragged him outside the apartment. The tall boy found himself walking in the direction of the Guidance building as per Sunggyu's instructions ("If you don't physically move yourself and turn in your course selection sheet, I won't let you back in!"). With a sigh, Sungyeol entered the building only to be met face-to-face with a person he had been trying to forget for the past 24 hours.
"Sungyeol-ah,"
Unsure of how else to respond, the taller boy attempted to turn around only to have the other boy block the door from being opened. Sungyeol felt his cheeks heat up as Myungsoo wrapped him in a hug from behind.
"I'm not letting you run away this time, Sungyeol-ah."
"I'm sorry, but what-"
"Just be quiet for a second and listen. I have a confession to make... I made Sungjong set this whole situation up. Everything."
Sungyeol's eyes widened as he finally turned around to face Myungsoo. "What did you just say?"
"You heard me; I made Sungjong set up everything - from asking you to find me in the dark room, to making him pretend to be in love with me. Everything was set up." Now it was Myungsoo's turn to face away.
"I'm sorry, what? But but... Wait... Huh... Um..." Sungyeol's words were tripping over themselves in a hurry to leave his mouth; cursing his inarticulate self, he finally managed out a simple question of "Why?"
"Honestly, it's because I had fallen for you at first sight in our Art History class." The other boy was still turned away, but Sungyeol was able to see a tinge of red coloring his ears (Sungyeol was sure the other's boy blush probably mimicked his own). "But I had no idea how to approach you, so I asked Sungjong for advice."
"Wait, so you've already met Sungjong before?"
"We're in the same English Literature class." Sungyeol did vaguely remember Sungjong mentioning that he'd managed to be placed within a second year literature class (he made a note to himself to pay more attention the next time people spoke about their day, even if only in passing)... "Anyways, I'm really sorry about all the misunderstandings and everything. If possible, I'd like it if we could remain friends."
"Friends?" Sungyeol's throat suddenly felt very, very dry. "But... Do you still like me?"
Finally, Myungsoo turned around to face Sungyeol. His eyes seemed to hesitate before determination seemed to seep through them. "Yes, I do. Even moreso, now that I actually know you. I think... I think I may even love you."
Sungyeol faked a cough (in hopes of distracting Myungsoo from the blush furiously spreading across his face). "Well then, that's a problem."
"H-How so?" The plaid-loving photographer's face fell. "I apologize, this is my fault isn't it? I shouldn't have-"
"It's a problem because I want us to be more than friends." Sungyeol interrupted with a wide smile. "I have a confession to make myself, Kim Myungsoo. I think I love you too."
"Could you repeat that?"
"I love you,"
"Again?"
"I love you,"
"One more time?"
"I'm going to hit you, Myungsoo-yah, if you don't shut up and let me kiss you."
---
Meanwhile, from far away, a certain Lee Sungjong was fist-pumping while holding a pair of binoculars. "Yes! SUCCESS!" Allowing himself the luxury to dance a victory dance, Sungjong proceeded to then clap his hands together as a sinister smirk worked itself across his face. "Now, to set up Woohyun-hyung's friend, Howon, with someone..."