University has been a breeze so far for Park Chanyeol. It’s been a blast if you count out all the times he’s embarrassed himself and other people. Sometimes he’ll know how to act like a decent human being in public, but human is exactly the word to describe him. He is so undeniably human, that it was precious (although it was more painful than precious to his peers).

“Junmyeon,” Chanyeol shouts, sprinting over to the man. Coffee has been spilt all over the lid of his pristine Starbucks cup, staining it with brown hues. “Jongdae was wondering when he could get those DVDs back.”

Junmyeon’s classmates stare at the lanky second-year student, unaware of the Chanyeol effect. Junmyeon, however, is well aware of what kind of person Chanyeol is and his lack of filter and is very sure that this conversation was not going where he wanted it to go. The oversized child had a certain bounce in him that looked a lot like fidgeting. This was how you could tell Chanyeol was in a good mood.

“Chanyeol,” Junmyeon laughs uneasily. “What videos are you talking about?” he asks, trying to avoid the subject. A glare is sent towards him and Junmyeon says a silent prayer that today would be a day that Chanyeol understands subtext.

“Oh!” Chanyeol’s eyes widen. “No, he’s not talking about the . I think he just wants his Jump Street discs back. He said you could keep those.”

There is an obvious look of disgust and discomfort in Junmyeon’s classmates’ faces. Today was not one of Chanyeol’s days. At this point, it’s definitely not one of Junmyeon’s now either.

“Hey dude, we’ve got to go now,” one peer says, patting Junmyeon’s shoulder. “We’ve… got another class this afternoon to prepare for. We’ll see you tomorrow.” To say that they walked away would be a lie considering how quickly they moved.

The number one crime that Chanyeol was guilty of was embarrassment. His second being embarrassment by association. His first victim of the day just so happened to be Kim Junmyeon; third year sweetheart known for being nothing short of a university professor’s perfect, pure son.

“Chanyeol,” Junmyeon says his name, almost sounding like a curse, as he drops to his knees in mortification.

“Yeah hyung?” Chanyeol says, tilting his head. “Sorry but I have class really soon. I’ve got to go or I’ll be late. Tell me later, okay?”

The gangly boy becomes a running figure in the distance as Junmyeon remains planted to the ground, trying to collect the pieces of his (slightly) shattered image.

What excuse did Junmyeon have to make up this time to take back the damage that had been done?

--

The cup of coffee in Chanyeol’s hand has gone cold and tastes substantially worse than it did in the beginning. Chanyeol grumbles to himself and turns the corner into his dorm hall, his back ready to be relieved of the weight of his backpack. It had only been a few days since the university opened its doors again but he couldn’t help but want time to pass by quicker.

Chanyeol twirls his keys around his fingers and quickly jams them into the doorknob. When Chanyeol throws his knapsack to the corner of the room, a cute brunette catches his eye and he can’t help but yelp at the sight of him. He isn’t sure if it was out of fear of having a complete random in his room or excitement because said stranger is really attractive.

“Oh hello,” the boy laughs a bit and greets Chanyeol, nervously scratching the back of his head. “Sorry, I just kind of made myself at home here. I’m Byun Baekhyun, I’m your new roommate.”

Chanyeol covers his mouth with his hand in hopes that it’ll hide his quickly reddening face. He definitely yelped because of the latter.

“I’m Chanyeol,” he clears his throat, extending his hand out with a smile. Baekhyun firmly grasps his hand and shakes it and Chanyeol can’t help but bite back a smile comparing how little his roommate’s hand looks beside his.

“I don’t believe I’ve seen you around here before,” Chanyeol says as he pulls away his now clammy hands.

“Ah yeah, it’s because I was away the first year on an exchange student program,” Baekhyun replies, taking a seat on his bed.

As Baekhyun begins to talk more about his travels, his hobbies and his life, Chanyeol unconsciously begins to make a list in his head of things he likes about the cute boy in front of him. He makes a mental note every time Baekhyun mentions something he likes and dislikes for future reference and it isn’t long until Chanyeol realizes that he’s mildly infatuated with this boy.

“How about you?” Baekhyun asks, breaking Chanyeol’s train of thought. “I’ve been droning on about myself for almost an hour now. Tell me about you,” he laughs.

Chanyeol was never one for words and this moment confirmed his lack of social skills. He could have talked about his love for business or the fact that he collected pens that famous people have used but he didn’t.

 “MY BOYFRIEND’S DEAD,” Chanyeol shouts, surprising himself. “Rest in peace, Kris,” he says with a peculiar sombreness. “Damn that car that ran over him…”

Baekhyun is startled and opens his mouth but quickly closes it, because what can you say to that? To say that he was slightly weirded out was an understatement but he nods his head in sympathy anyway. “I’m… so sorry for your loss?” Baekhyun says, almost questioningly.

The conversation dies and they sit in an uncomfortable silence until someone raps on the door. A muffled voice is heard from the other side and they can only make out the words “Chanyeol” and “tacos” before the reason for the noise barges into the room.

“Oh the door was unlocked,” the boy says as he walks over to a shocked Chanyeol with another following behind him. “Let’s go for tacos, dweeb.”

“Wait Jongdae, who’s this kid?” the (ironically) youngest looking one asks, pointing a thumb at Baekhyun.

“I’m Baekhyun,” he replies, shifting in his seat. “I’m Chanyeol’s roommate.”

“Cool, I’m Luhan,” he nods. “That monkey looking dude is Jongdae. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Jongdae glares at Luhan, before shifting his gaze to Baekhyun. “Hey you,” he calls out, pointing at the boy. “Want crispy shells filled with lettuce and meat?”

“Sounds good to me,” he stands up, shoving his wallet into his pocket.

“Awesome,” Luhan grins, throwing an arm around the boy. “You can meat our other friends there too.”

Jongdae gags at the pun before following the two out the door. “Chanyeol hurry up. You have long legs. Use them.”

Everything happened too quickly for Chanyeol to completely understand what was going on, but he supposes if he doesn’t want his friends to whisk away Baekhyun and make him a part of their cult, he’d better chase after them.

--

Days have passed since Baekhyun met the rest of Chanyeol’s friends and in his opinion, he practically belonged with them.

“The guys want to go for Chipotle tonight,” Baekhyun speaks up, rolling around on his bed. “They’re on their way over to carpool.”

“The guys as in who?” Chanyeol questions, rapidly typing up notes he took in class earlier that day.

“Jongdae, Yixing, Junmyeon, Minseok…” Baekhyun lists the names. “Luhan, Kyungsoo, Jongin, Sehun. The entire squad basically.”

Chanyeol hums in response and continues typing as they wait in silence for their friends to arrive. Within minutes, a steady knocking is heard from the door. Baekhyun lazily rolls off of bed and shuffles over to open the door. “Let me get my keys,” he mutters without looking up.

“Hey is Chanyeol in there?” a deep voice asks.

Baekhyun spins around in surprise and immediately fixes his posture. “Uh yeah,” he stutters a little. “And you are…?”

“Sorry,” he laughs and holds out a hand. “My name’s Kris. Nice to meet you.”

Baekhyun furrows his brow and looks at Chanyeol confusedly before turning back around. “Wait aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

“…Kris you’re dead?” a tall young man says, finding a place to stand beside Kris.

Kris raises a brow and puts two fingers on his wrist. “According to my pulse, I don’t think so?”

“Hey who’s there?” Chanyeol calls out to Baekhyun cheerily, walking towards the three. Upon seeing Kris, Chanyeol heart immediately stops and he can feel the colour draining from his face. “Nope, never mind, bye.”

Chanyeol awkwardly moonwalks out the door before preparing himself to sprint out the dorm halls. As luck would have it, Chanyeol is stopped by a noisy group of boys he knows as his friends walking towards him.

“WHO’S READY FOR SOME FAKE MEXICAN FOOD?” Jongdae shouts from the top of his lungs.

“Hi guys,” Kris waves at the crowd. “I’d love some fake Mexican food!”

Everyone stops and stares at the visibly alive and well Kris until exchanging looks with Chanyeol, who looks like a deer in the headlights.

Jongdae whistles and nervously laughs to himself. “…Awkward.”