You find yourself incessantly glancing at the clock on the wall and tapping your feet impatiently against polished floorboards. With each second, the trepidation pooling in your stomach grows, and you inhale sharply when the clock's hand reaches the faded two.

Your gaze fixates on the door, and a sigh falls past your lips when seconds later, you hear three sharp knocks against the flimsy wood.

You slide off your chair and rest your hand against the doorknob. Perhaps you can ignore the knocking, but you know, either way, Kyungsoo will find a way to get you to meet this new roommate of yours.

You don't expect anything when you turn the doorknob, but when you swing open the door, the male standing in front of you is everything you would expect from Kyungsoo.

Warm, chocolate eyes and a gentle smile greet you with light-hearted laughter and overflowing happiness. Sun-kissed skin stretched over toned limbs. Slender fingers clutching a poorly packed suitcase.

"Hello," the stranger greets, "my name is Kim Jongin."

He looms over you with a smile on his face, and you watch as he unfolds a crumpled sheet of paper and reads, "I was sent here by a Do Kyungsoo?"

You’re not one for greetings, and you’re definitely not one for conversations. You heave a sigh and grumble, "Come in."

Jongin hauls his bag into your apartment and lugs the teetering suitcase behind him. As you lead the lanky boy to the empty bedroom, you have to bite your bottom lip to not explode at his constant chatter.

"That Kyungsoo guy is your friend, right?"

"He told me your name. It's a very pretty name."

"Are you always this quiet?"

The door hangs ajar as it comes into view. "This," you sigh, interrupting him as he rambles on about how your ceiling could use a new coat of paint and stabbing a finger in the direction of the empty bedroom, "is your room."

Jongin takes long, slow strides into the bedroom and glances around with gleaming eyes, and you wonder how he’s able to find awe in your glum apartment.

"Don't you have any color in your apartment?" he asks. Bare walls and monotonous furniture camouflage well with your indifferent character. "Not even a picture on the wall or a potted plant? I think th-"

"Listen," you interrupt, pressing two fingers to the bridge of your nose, "I’m going to be honest with you. Getting a roommate was not my idea."

The handsome stranger stares at you blankly, and the way he blinks and gazes at you with his lips pursed makes you wonder if he doesn't understand.

"My friend, Kyungsoo- this was all his idea," you confess. "I would very much appreciate it if you wouldn't talk to me and if we could carry on with our individual lives as if we've never met."

You turn your back to the stranger, envisioning the baffled expression on his face.

"But I don't think that's what you want," he says, unshaken by your words.

You're utterly surprised.

You've been used to people pursing their lips and glancing at you with fear swimming in their eyes or walking away, murmuring of how terrible a person you are.

"I think," Jongin continues, "what you really want is not for people to leave you alone. What you really need, is for someone to reach out to you."

His voice nears, and you can feel his warm breath against your ear and his lanky frame hovering over you.

"Your friend told me you might seem a bit cold, but he said you're actually not."

"Whatever my friend told you isn't the truth," you snap. You have to admit- there's a pang of guilt tugging at your heart whenever you act coldly towards someone, but it's better to be alone. "The truth is that I want to be left alone and don't want to associate myself with a roommate."

You slip out the door, and your fingers have the sudden impulse to grab your phone off the kitchen counter and dial Kyungsoo to tell him that the guy he’s sent is absolutely ridiculous and does nothing but jabber, but you’re reminded of the high expenses of college and decide that reduced rent is better than nothing.

You suddenly remember that you have classes, and you murmur, “Shoot.”

Your thoughts wrap around the constant worry of leaving the male alone in your apartment and his bold words. Even when gazing intently at your professor and scribbling things in your notebook for the next hours, the name “Kim Jongin” rests upon your tongue and a warm chocolate gaze flickers in your mind.

It's late evening when the door to your apartment creaks open and you slip inside, surprised at the silence that awaits you.

Yet you roll your eyes when you see the tanned male sprawled out on the couch, eyelids shut and lips slightly parted as a light snore resonates from his lanky frame. He hugs his laptop to his chest, and you perceive from the wife-beater shirt and the sweatpants he's wearing that he's already settled comfortably. Your eyes scan over the papers splayed out against the coffee table, and it's quite evident in the articles and prompts dancing across white pages that this Kim Jongin guy has a flair for writing.

Your attention diverts back to the lanky male when you hear a cough and see out of the corner of your eye as Jongin wraps his arms around his body to collect warmth.

"This idiot's going to get sick wearing nothing but that shirt," you grumble, retrieving a blanket from your closet and robing Jongin in the warmth of the blanket.

Almost instinctively, you begin organizing his papers and pull his laptop from his grasp and set it gently on the coffee table. Remembering that you’re going to be at a meeting for one of your clubs, you even prepare a meal and leave a note on the fridge with the locations of plates and utensils.

As you walk into your room, you let the door shut behind you and fall to the ground, back pressed against the wood. It’s hard enough, chasing people away when you’re living alone, but now you’re afraid.

Afraid that this Jongin guy will change you.

Although he seems to be nothing but bright, you know that first impressions can be quite deceiving.

And you wish with all your heart that you would just stop caring.

February 2, 2014

“So, you’re a business major?”

“Yup.”

It’s already enough trying not to stammer when answering the steady influx of questions he has for you, but you swear that you’re heart is going to explode if Park Chanyeol continues gazing at you with that charming smile on his face. Your eyes focus on the cup of coffee in your hands, and your thoughts only revolve around the hope that Chanyeol hasn’t noticed how red your cheeks are.

“I’m not sure if I’ve told you this, but Kyungsoo always talks about you,” Chanyeol says, before drawing in a breath of fresh air and taking a sip of his bittersweet coffee. “Have the two of you been friends for a long time?”

“We’ve been friends for years,” you tell him, a smile playing on your lips as you recollect memories of your childhood and high school days. “But sometimes I think he finds me ridiculous.”

Chanyeol chuckles, and your heart leaps.

Your feet plod down paved sidewalks, and perhaps you should’ve been paying attention to the road rather than the way the sunlight reflects off the golden strands of Chanyeol’s hair, for your feet stumble over the curb of the sidewalk.

You’re expecting to hit solid concrete, until a strong arm grabs you and Chanyeol’s eyes look at you with concern. “Are you alright?” he asks.

“Yeah,” you mumble. Could anything be more embarrassing than almost falling to the ground in front of your crush?

“You should be more careful,” Chanyeol suggests. “Kyungsoo did say you’re oftentimes clumsy.”

Although you force a smile, you have to remember to smack Kyungsoo.

"But Kyungsoo was right."

You turn to face Chanyeol, who's stopped in his tracks and faces you with a soft expression.

"He said you were kind."

"Me?" you ask stupidly.

"Some say it's not really true, but I believe that first impressions last."

Your first impression of Chanyeol has always been that he's quite the gentleman, but you're clouded by mystery and want to clear the truth.

"Can I ask what your first impression of me was?"

Chanyeol laughs, "When I ran into you at the library, I thought you were very cute. Even after today, I think you're very funny. Not to mention, you seem to be a very caring person."

"Me? Caring?"

"I saw you talking to Kyungsoo the other day. You were scolding him about skipping meals, and trust me, not many friends look after each other like you do."

A smile crawls up the contours of your face.

"Do you want me to drive you back to your apartment?" Chanyeol asks.

Once a gentleman, always a gentleman.

"It's alright, my apartment's not that from here."

Chanyeol's features morph into an expression of dissatisfaction. "I don't think so." He presses a hand against the small of your back and leads you to his car. "Come on, I'm driving you back."

You're almost expecting the look on Kyungsoo's face when you return, eyebrow raised and eyes searching you for an answer, as you collapse onto the couch in his apartment and scream into a pillow.

"Are you alright?" he asks.

"Chanyeol said he wanted to hang out again!" You shout in glee, and you sigh, "Could this have been our first date together?"

"I don't see what the big deal is."

"He said I was cute and funny, and he even drove me back!"

"And... ?"

"He obviously is showing some interest in me," you state in a-matter-of-fact tone.

"What if Chanyeol doesn't turn out to be the perfect guy you think he is," Kyungsoo says. He shrugs, "He seems like any other college student to me."

"Chanyeol is a gentleman," you correct. "He's quite mature and very warm-hearted."

But first impressions can be deceiving.

It's quite evident that you're still not used to the unfamiliar presence in your apartment.

You stumble into the apartment after a long morning of classes, sighing as you slip through the door. But you're absolutely startled when a low voice hums, "I guess I was right about you."

You flinch at the proximity of the low voice and turn around to see Jongin hovering over you. He wears a light blue button down, with the sleeves wrinkled and ed at the top, revealing a tempting sliver of skin. He wears much more reserved clothing than the last time you saw him, and you suspect he's off to classes soon. He holds a cup of steaming coffee in his hands, and his abiding smile ghosts over your features.

You think about ignoring him, until he positions himself in front of you with his towering frame and blocks your path.

"I was right."

"About what?" you ask.

"You aren't really a bad person," he smiles. "Why else would you worry about me like that?"

"I only gave you the blanket and food because I don't want to share a room with a sick person," you state coldly. "I'm too busy to get sick. Also, I don't want you constantly nagging me about where things are."

You're expecting him to recoil at your words, but he only chuckles. "Other people may not see it," he says, "but I know, behind that glower and those sharp words, there's a very kind person."

You waver, your eyes widening and your thoughts racing as you wonder how he's able to see right through you.

"I'm going to make it my mission," he says, "to rid you of that iron mask you wear and find out who you really are."

"You're wasting your time. No one likes me, and you won't be an exception."

"That's because no one has ever tried getting to know you," Jongin says. "And it's my absolute pleasure to be the first."

He takes a sip of his coffee and glances at you with a whimsical expression, before humming, "I believe there's more to you than the way people see you. As they say, first impressions can be deceiving."

Who else would know better about first impressions than you?

~~

Note: I promise the story will get more interesitng as the chapters progress, and I hope it's enjoyable so far! Any kind of feedback is appreciated, so please don't feel afraid to comment! Thank you!