This is one of the rare days where Baekhyun can’t skip student council meetings, no matter how much he wants to. He’s been manifesting signs of distaste ever since he sat himself at the head of the mahogany table, six other pairs of eyes focused on him. Across the room, at least four teachers are discussing something that Baekhyun honestly has no given s about.

“Okay, so…” Baekhyun leans forward on the desk, almond eyes squinting in the slightest. He can’t entirely put his focus on the task at hand because there’s a huge disturbance standing on the other side of the room. “Our…um…the teachers have decided to, uh…change the destination of our retreat…”

The council’s secretary perks up on her seat. “Really? Where will it be?”

“It’s uh…” Baekhyun’s eyes stray from his secretary to the cluster of teachers nearby. The pensive pull to his lips stretches further and everyone can see the telltale signs of a grim scowl morphing its way to their president’s usually bright face. “They suggested we take a cruise trip this year since we have already done mountain trekking the last time.”

The more his attention lingers on their teachers, the more his temper soars. Baekhyun tries to distract himself by sliding a bunch of papers on the table towards his other officers, his fingers tapping impatiently against the polished wood. “Majority of the teachers voted for Ongjin County since our school hasn't paid a visit there even once. There are three islands for us to choose from. What do you think?”

“Deokjeokdo, Sindo, Yeongheungdo…” The vice president begins to speak in contemplation. “I’ve been to Ongjin County twice since my aunt lives there. I can guarantee you that Yeongheungdo’s the most preferable one out of these three.”

“Okay! It’s decided then,” Baekhyun abruptly rises from his seat, startling his officers. He doesn’t want to stay in this room any longer, it’s too insufferable. Ending the meeting shortly is the only thing he can do to escape this place—or should he say…hell. “We’re going to Yeongheungdo. Vice president—uh, what’s your name again?” he questions testily.

Before the vice president could say his name, however, Baekhyun interrupts him with a dismissive wave of hand. “Whatever—just take care of the paperwork, I’ve already printed them out. Your job is to make sure every teacher in our department approves of this—their signatures, don’t forget, ‘kay? Meeting dismissed!”

And then Baekhyun is off, grabbing his backpack and hightailing it out of the meeting room, bidding his teachers a jaunty ‘bye!’. He doesn’t even wait for his secretary’s status report. Anywhere is better but there.

As he is about to turn into a corner, a sudden hold around his arm makes him stagger back in surprise. He’s ready to bark out a scramming order, thinking that it's just one of his officers, but once his body is fully turned to face the other direction, he internally seizes.

“That was some council meeting you had there.”

Baekhyun doesn’t fail to catch the teasing lilt to the other man’s—Do Kyungsoo’s—voice. He smells illegally good for Baekhyun’s liking and he despises it so much; the sudden swarm of butterflies in his gut at their close proximity.

Baekhyun hasn’t had any trouble with his past meetings until today. Kyungsoo’s dark gaze was just drilling holes into him that he couldn’t help but feel so damn uneasy—something he’s never felt in awhile. He doesn’t like how the other man’s stare is fixed solely on him and if Baekhyun doesn’t know any better, he would’ve thought Kyungsoo is undressing him in his mind.

“Let go,” Baekhyun pastes up one of his nonchalant faces and tugs his arm away from Kyungsoo’s grasp, ignoring the heat spreading across his cheeks and the violent drumming of his heart. , why am I feeling like this?! Stop it, Byun Baekhyun. You hate him. You ing hate him.

“Wait—Baek—”

“Honestly,” He isn’t even a meter away when Baekhyun whirls around with a vehement look on his face. Kyungsoo stills on his ground, unphased by the harshness of the younger’s voice. “Why are you here? Why did come back? Are you trying to prove something, huh?”

Despite the hostility Baekhyun’s giving him, Kyungsoo remains calm—cool, even. Four years, and Baekhyun is still one of the most temperamental persons he’s ever known. The younger boy didn't change much in the attitude department, though he changed loads in the physical matter. He’s matured a lot, there are no remnants at all of the frail looking boy Baekhyun had once been.

Now, he looks very different, outgoing in a sense but benignly detached at best and aloof and unapproachable at worst. Kyungsoo almost didn’t recognize him at first look, earlier at their morning class. If it wasn’t for Jongin smiling at him hours ago, he wouldn’t even realize that Baekhyun’s under his class.

“You wouldn’t even believe me if I say that my being assigned as your teacher is just a big coincidence,” Kyungsoo drawls, arms crossed. He leans sidewards at the cold wall beside him, assessing Baekhyun with those unnerving eyes of his.

Baekhyun’s glare remains, fully directed at the source of his ire. “I don’t and won’t believe anything you say. You lost my trust a long time ago.”

“What if I want to gain it back?” Kyungsoo’s low voice—that oh so familiar baritone—it's making Baekhyun feel a myriad of bizarre things. Despite all the contempt he holds for the older man, he can’t deny deep inside him that he kind of missed Kyungsoo’s presence.

Still, nothing will change the fact that he’s long over him.

“I dare you.” Baekhyun scoffs, slinging his backpack’s strap haphazardly on his shoulder and taking a step back. Kyungsoo can see how high Baekhyun has built his walls. It won’t be easy to break them down, but he is willing to try. After all, before they parted, he did promise the younger that he’d bring their friendship back to how it was once supposed to be. He has never broken any of his promises. “If you’ll excuse me, sir, I don’t think it’s appropriate for students to be with teachers like this after class.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t try to stop Baekhyun from walking away this time.

***

When Chanyeol said that they should go out for dinner, Jongin literally thought they would be dining in some fancy restaurant.

He didn’t really expect that Chanyeol’s offer of ‘dinner’ means hitting the club.

The steady rhythm of bass reverberates through Jongin’s chest as he roams his eyes around the dim place, loaded with customers on various states of sobriety dancing to the beat of the pounding music. Fortunately for him, he’s already been to a place like this three months ago when Zitao and Baekhyun dragged him to a bar downtown in celebration of his eighteenth birthday so in a way, everything he’s seeing tonight isn’t all that overwhelming. His friends said then that it’s about time he did something adults do for fun since he’s finally legal (and more prone to potentially getting his kicked to jail).

Jongin doesn’t really take note of the time but he knows he and Chanyeol has been inside the establishment for some time now. They’ve been eating a lot of appetizers that Jongin doesn’t mind not taking dinner at all. He’s full of these stuff and Chanyeol is just making him eat more and more while they continue catching up with each other.

“I don’t mean to sound like a grandpa but I forbid you from drinking alcohol. You’re still an infant,” Chanyeol raises his voice over the booming techno, almost as though he’s yelling. Jongin can’t make out Chanyeol’s face that clearly due to the dark lighting, but he can tell that the other man is wearing his trademark -eating grin.

“I’m eighteen!” Jongin pouts, taking the small glass of tequila from Chanyeol’s hold. Chanyeol snatched it from his grasp earlier and told him that the drink was too ‘strong’ for him. For a second, Jongin wondered if Chanyeol just didn’t want him to get drunk and was worried for his sake, but then comes his tease and Jongin’s mildly annoyed. “And I won’t drink much anyway, my alcohol tolerance isn’t that high.”

Chanyeol looks highly amused and impressed, at the same time, while he watches Jongin down his shot glass in one go.

“Ack!” Jongin’s face pulls back into a grimace as the bitter taste of the alcohol festers at the back of his tongue, warming his throat and abdomen. He hears Chanyeol let out a bark of laughter.

“Are you sure you’re already eighteen?” Chanyeol shoots Jongin a once over, “It honestly doesn’t look like it.”

Jongin doesn’t really take the tease seriously, though he puts on a mock-offended expression and chucks a strip of chicken skin to Chanyeol’s direction which the other easily dodges. “Do you want me to leave you here?”

“And make me carry Sehun’s drunk ? No way,” Chanyeol exclaims and downs his own glass.

Jongin straightens. Speaking of Sehun, the guy has been AWOL for a while now. He just excused himself to answer a very important phone call. It’s been, what, half an hour? He’s still nowhere to be found. Where could he be?

Chanyeol surprised Jongin earlier when the guy offered him a ride home. Being the star of their school’s track team, Jongin more often than not stuck around the campus a bit later than the other students. He’d always dedicate an hour or two of practice in the running field before going home, so by the time he’d finish, he’d be the only student there, aside from the students in detention and the officers of the student council.

Jongin was relieved that there were no students in their vicinity when he was asked a ride by Chanyeol. Piping down probing questions and dumb rumors about him having an older boyfriend (who’s an alumnus of their school and went by the name of Oh Sehun) proves to be one of the most exasperating tasks ever, and he doesn’t think he can deal with another crap about him and the school’s new substitute doctor. It’d be real awkward between him and his close friend.

When Chanyeol and Sehun met again, for the first time in years, Jongin for a moment felt like he was an outsider, like he was a stranger who shouldn’t even see this special reunion between two best friends. Obviously, they missed each other like hell, and Jongin wondered if he would bear years of not seeing his own best friend too should he and Baekhyun separate in college.

Jongin didn’t really feel out of place, despite not having any idea what on earth the two older guys were talking about. They, Chanyeol most especially, didn’t forget to include him every now and then in his and Sehun’s conversation. Chanyeol was still a blabbermouth and Sehun was still a bit reserved. All these unchanged traits made Jongin feel like the three of them weren’t even separated by a long time.

“I doubt Sehun hyung would allow himself to be drunk tonight. He still has an appointment at Seoul U early tomorrow morning.” Jongin doesn’t pour himself another glass this time, since he’s already feeling a bit fuzzy. Three glasses are enough for him.