pairing: ChenLay
length: 3399 words

He was finally here.

In China.

He’d been waiting for this study abroad opportunity for so long. It had almost driven him crazy, constantly checking his email and his dorm mailbox for any news on whether he had been accepted to the program. Only ten applicants out of one thousand were chosen every year. He had poured his heart and soul into his essays, hoping that his love for Chinese literature had shown through the sentences he had meticulously crafted together.

He had spent hours upon hours poring across texts and references without rest. Every moment he had, he was doggedly typing away on his laptop, rearranging paragraphs and deleting unnecessary details. He had been the first to appear at his professors’ office hours, when they analyzed the dog-eared books that he brought and revised his essays hundreds of times. A small desk on the far right side of the basement of the library had become his spot; everyone else knew that the small, skinny kid who always wore turtlenecks and large, black-framed glasses would always be there, stacks of papers and books surrounding him as he stared unblinkingly at his laptop screen while his fingers flew over the keyboard.

When he had come home for the weekends, his mother would notice the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes and his hollow, sunken cheeks. He had holed up in his room, appearing only during mealtimes and even then, he had barely eaten. One afternoon, she had cried as she begged her son to stop obsessing over this study abroad program and take some time to relax.

But he couldn’t. Not when this was such an important opportunity towards reaching his dream.

So he had just hugged her, wiped her tears, and gave her a small kiss on the cheek before moving to his bedroom to continue working.

Weeks had passed after he finally submitted his application. He had been fidgety and could barely sit still during lectures, escaping as soon as class ended so he could sit in his dorm room and mash the refresh button on his laptop, awaiting any news on the program. When the email had finally arrived, and the physical letter a few days later, he felt like he could perfectly perform an entire musical by himself. He was actually going to China for a year!

And now, there he stood in the Beijing Capital International Airport with his backpack on his shoulders and his large black suitcase in hand. He hummed softly to the music he was listening to through his iPhone as he navigated his way to the shuttle station that the school he would be studying at partnered with.

As he looked out the window, he could feel energy flowing through his body as he took in the sights of the bustling city that he would be calling home for the next twelve months. It still felt so surreal. He just wanted to jump out of the bus and get lost as he explored what this place had to offer.

--

Sitting in his first literature lecture finally made the whole ordeal real. After the professor stated that the class would be focusing on the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, he couldn’t believe his luck. He had been enamored with these texts for years, especially after reading Journey to the West which he had picked up one afternoon after reminiscing over a cartoon he had watched in his childhood called Journey to the West – Legends of the Monkey King. Even though their first paper on Water Margin wasn’t due for another six weeks, his fingers were already itching to begin typing an analysis on the outlaws’ actions against the corrupt government.

He stopped by his dorm after the lecture ended to pick up his worn-out copy of Water Margin, having decided to sit in a small café nearby and do some reading since it had been several months since he had last read the novel. As he was still unfamiliar with the city, he didn’t want to stray too far from the school so he opted to go to the first café he saw.

After ordering a caramel frappe, he comfortably settled into an empty booth and flipped open the book. He became so lost in the adventures of Song Jiang and his dozens of bandit companions that he hadn’t realized that night had fallen until a waiter had politely informed him that the café was closing up for the evening.

He folded down the corner of the page he had been reading before shouldering his backpack and smiling to the waiter as he left. The air was slightly muggy, but he didn’t mind. The café was only a ten minute walk from his dorm and he was still giddy with excitement that his new life was already more than he had ever imagined.

As he crossed the street to reach the building where his dorm room was located, he spotted a group of several males hooting and hollering as they skateboarded towards him. He deftly stepped away to avoid them, but the last boy accidentally bumped shoulders with him.

“Sorry, kid!”

“Don’t worry about it.”

The skater smiled, a dimple appearing on his right cheek, as he saluted the literature student before hopping back onto his board and joining his friends.

--

He entered the library, hoping he could find some good reference articles to use in his Water Margin essay. Although the deadline was still three weeks away, he knew it was never too early to start doing research. He leisurely browsed the shelves with his copy of Water Margin in hand. He had been studying in restaurants and coffee shops for the past few weeks, so it was a nice change of pace to be in an environment where other students were focused on studying as well.

There were no empty tables nearby, but he didn’t want to stray too far in case he needed to find some other reference books in the same section, so he opted to join a guy who was flipping through textbooks while taking notes.

“Um, excuse me? Is it okay if I sit here with you?”

The male looked up and smiled sweetly, saying, “Sure. Let me move my things so you have more space.”

He immediately recognized that dimpled smile, even if he had only seen it once. It was the skater he had bumped into that first week. He didn’t know if he should say something, since he seemed so different sitting in the library without his skateboard. So he didn’t, only answering with a polite “Thank you,” before setting his books on the table and sitting down.

A few minutes of silence passed before the skater’s light voice caused him to look up. “Is that your copy of Water Margin?”

He was a little taken aback by the skater’s forwardness and only nodded as his voice seemed to have left him.

“Sorry for being nosy. I couldn’t help but notice it since it looks like it’s been read so many times. Are you a literature major?”

He nodded again, still slightly stunned.

The skater smiled again as he gestured to his own textbooks. “I’m a history major with an emphasis on classical literature. I’ve only read Water Margin once, but it’s probably one of my favorite pre-modern fiction texts.”

“Really? I’ve never met anyone my age who’s read any of the Four Great Classical Novels, so I’d be interested to hear your thoughts, especially from a more historical perspective.”

Soon, he was into a lengthy conversation as the two of them chatted about key points of the novel and the significance it held in Chinese history. Time passed quickly and he couldn’t believe how refreshing it was to have such an intellectual conversation with a peer. Most of the time, he would have these kinds of talks with professors, so it was nice to speak about something he felt so passionately about with someone his age.

The dimpled skater’s phone softly buzzed and he glanced at the message before saying, “I’ve got to meet up with some friends now, but it was really great talking to you. By the way, I never got your name.”

“Jongdae. Kim Jongdae.”

“Oh, you’re not Chinese? You could’ve fooled me. Your Mandarin is great. Well, I’m Yixing. Zhang Yixing. I’ll see you around, Jongdae!” Yixing hoisted his backpack onto his shoulders and was about to step away when he smiled before grabbing Jongdae’s phone that was laying on top of the table. He punched in a few numbers before tossing the phone back to the startled male, who clumsily caught it in his hands. “My number is in there now. Let me know when you’re free to hang out. We can talk some more if you’re down.”

Jongdae’s lips slightly curved upwards unknowingly as he responded, “Yeah, that’d be nice.” Once the skater disappeared, the literature student stared at the new contact in his phone as the name Yixing repeated over and over in his head.

--

The friendship between the two males evolved quickly. Yixing brought Jongdae to all of the hot spots that he knew in Beijing, even if he wasn’t a Beijing native himself. They would often study together and eat out, although Jongdae sometimes felt as if he were imposing on the older male’s time. The skater still hung out with his main crew, but always tried to find time to spend with Jongdae since he knew the literature student was an introvert.

One week into their friendship, Jongdae had been busily adding to his essay on Water Margin when Yixing paused reading a poem from the New Songs from the Jade Terrace anthology.

“Jongdae, you need a nickname.”

The literature student shifted his vision from his laptop screen to the skater with a puzzled look on his face. “What are you talking about?”

“Jongdae is a little difficult to say and since you’re staying here for a year, it’d be cool for you to have a Chinese nickname of some sort for you to use when you meet new people.”

“I mean, I guess…”

“So what do you have in mind?”

“Uh, I don’t really know. You just sprung this on me.”

“C’mon, I’m sure you’ve thought about it once or twice. You love Chinese culture and literature so much. I’d be surprised if you haven’t given thought to a nickname at least once.”

Jongdae’s eyebrows furrowed as he contemplated what name he should go by. Even though Yixing wouldn’t believe him, the younger male really hadn’t thought about having a Chinese name before. He had been too busy thinking about other things to waste on something so trivial as a nickname.

“What’s your favorite dynasty?”

“I’m not the history buff. You are.”

“Just answer the question,” Yixing pestered as he brushed off Jongdae’s comment.

“I guess I've always liked the Chen dynasty. No one ever really talks about it since it’s one of the shorter dynasties and it ended right before the more well-known Sui dynasty. But I’ve always liked how the rulers managed to build it up to a respectable empire that held its own for a good amount of time, even if their last leader was horrible and ended up ruining everything.”

“Okay then.” Yixing bobbed his head up and down in approval. “From now on, I am calling you Chen.”

“What?!” Jongdae looked incredulously at the skater whose grin stretched widely, making his dimple even more prominent than it usually was. “That isn’t how nicknames work!”

“Too late.” Yixing held up his phone and pointed to the screen. “I’ve already changed your name to Chen on here, so it’s official. Besides, it’s a nice name and easy for the locals to say.”

And that was how Jongdae ended up being introduced as Chen to all of Yixing’s skater friends one afternoon. He couldn’t say that he hated the name since Yixing gave it to him, but it was still weird having to respond to a name that he wasn’t used to yet. He still preferred going by Jongdae, but Yixing and his professors were the only ones who knew him by his birth name, and the skater initially refused to use it.

“You need to get used to people calling you Chen. If I keep calling you Jongdae, it’ll be harder to make the switch,” the skater reasoned as they sat at a café, sipping fruit smoothies.

“It’s weird. That’s not who I am,” Jongdae answered defensively.

“How about a compromise? When we’re outside, you’re Chen, but when it’s just us two, you’re Jongdae,” Yixing proposed, noting that the younger male was getting a little uncomfortable with the nickname situation.

“I guess that’s okay.”

“Perfect!” Yixing clapped his hands and beamed happily. “You just need to let loose a little more. I love studying literature just as much as you do, but it’s also nice to go out and do something different.”

Jongdae wasn’t too keen on picking up a new hobby. Basking in his books was enough for him. But he did try to step out of his comfort zone by willingly agreeing with whatever new and crazy idea that Yixing came up with, as long as it wouldn’t affect his studying.

--

“You’re free tonight, right?”

Jongdae nodded. He could’ve been working on his analytical essay on Journey to the West instead, which was due in two weeks, but he decided he could afford to take a break for one night.

“Great! We’re going clubbing tonight and the guys wanted you to come.”

A panicked expression appeared on Jongdae’s face. He’d never really partied before, much less gone to a club. “Do I have to?”

“It’ll be fun! I promise!” Yixing reassured him. “It’s for Zhou Mi’s birthday and he’ll be stoked that you’re coming.”

“Do I need to get him a gift?”

Yixing shook his head, answering, “Nah. We don’t really care about any of the materialistic stuff that comes with birthdays. We just make sure we have a good time. I’ll pick you up at around ten tonight and we’ll meet the rest of the guys at the club. Sound good?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

--

Jongdae stared at his reflection in the mirror, trying to decide how he should do his hair. He knew the middle part was trending right now, but when he tried it out, he just felt stupid. After failing multiple times to change up his hairstyle, Jongdae opted to just brush it and leave it as it usually was. He slowly took off his glasses and picked up the small container holding his contacts that he only wore on special occasions. It had been a long time since he’d last worn them, so he struggled for several minutes with putting them on. He blinked several times, letting them naturally fit over the curvature of his eyes.

After slipping into a pair of dark gray jeans and pulling on a navy blue dress shirt, Jongdae checked the mirror once more and deemed himself presentable. He certainly looked different from how he usually looked, but he kind of liked this new change. When Yixing arrived at his dorm room half an hour later, the older male complimented his new look before whisking the literature student to the club.

“Thanks for coming, Chen!” Zhou Mi was the first to greet the pair and warmly hugged the shorter boy. “I really appreciate you joining us tonight.”

“Thanks for inviting me. And happy birthday!”

“Go ahead and order whatever you want from the bar. It’s all on me,” Zhou Mi informed the two.

“Want anything, Chen?” Yixing asked.

Jongdae shook his head, replying, “I’m good. Go ahead and get something for yourself.”

“Alright. I’ll be on the dance floor if you need me.” Yixing waved before disappearing into the throng of people.

Jongdae found himself sitting with Zhou Mi, Han Geng, Lu Han, and several girls that he never met before. They introduced themselves as Song Qian, Wang Feifei, and Meng Jia. The six of them talked for a long time before the girls decided they wanted to go dance as well. Soon after they left the table, two boys came back while dragging a drunk Yixing with them.

“He had too many drinks,” the taller boy, Yifan, explained as he unceremoniously dumped the drunk skater next to Jongdae.

The other boy, Zitao, exclaimed, “You should’ve seen him earlier! It was crazy! Yifan and I had to get him out of there before security found him and kicked him out first.”

Lu Han looked at Yixing, who was giggling uncontrollably, and said, “I think he needs to go home. He won’t be sobering up any time soon.”

“I can take him back,” Jongdae offered. He slung one of Yixing’s arms around his shoulders and slowly stood up, making sure that the skater was leaning securely against him. “I didn’t drink anything, so I can drive him back to his dorm.”

“Are you sure, Chen? One of us can go with you,” Han Geng suggested with a worried expression on his face. “It’s pretty late and Yixing can be a handful when he’s drunk.”

“I’ll be okay. Sorry for leaving early.”

“Sorry that this idiot doesn’t know his alcohol limit. It was great having you here, Chen,” Zhou Mi thanked Jongdae.

The others said their goodbyes and waved to the pair as they left the club. Jongdae quickly fished Yixing’s car keys out of his pants pocket and unlocked the car that was waiting in the parking lot. After strapping Yixing into the passenger’s seat, Jongdae revved up the engine and began driving back to the skater’s dorm.

Once they arrived at Yixing’s dorm, Jongdae hauled the drunk male into bed, making sure the blankets were tucked securely around him. Just as he was about to leave, a hand s around his wrist and pulled the younger male closer to the bed.

“You have beautiful eyes, Jongdae.”

“Excuse me?”

“Why have I never noticed them before? You should wear contacts more often. Your glasses mask your eyes’ true beauty.”

Jongdae didn’t know how to respond and was about to tug his hand out of Yixing’s grasp, but wasn’t fast enough. He suddenly felt a pair of soft, velvety lips on his and felt his cheeks begin to burn up. When the kiss ended, Jongdae felt his heartbeat accelerate like there was no tomorrow and stayed rooted where he was, paralyzed by this weird feeling.

Yixing let go of Jongdae’s wrist and propped himself up on his elbows. “Was that too forward?”

“I—uh—um,” Jongdae couldn’t say anything.

Running his fingers through his hair, Yixing took a deep breath and locked eyes with the stricken male. “I’m more sober now, but I don’t regret my action earlier. Sure, it was powered by my drunkenness, but it would’ve happened one day, drunk or not.”

“W-what are you talking a-about?” Jongdae stammered as his eyes nervously darted everywhere, trying to focus on anything but Yixing and his lips.

“I like you. A lot,” Yixing stated without a moment of hesitation.

“W-well, friends are supposed to l-like each other, r-right?”

“Romantically. I like you romantically.”

“O-oh, is that s-so?”

Frustrated by how Jongdae was acting, Yixing grabbed hold of the literature student’s shoulders and leaned in again, capturing the startled boy’s lips once more. After separating again, the older male murmured, “Remember what I said about letting loose? You don’t have to be so embarrassed by me kissing you.”

Jongdae tried to calm his beating heart, but the feeling on Yixing’s lips on his distracted him to no end. He never realized that he felt this way about the other boy, but now that they had kissed a second time, he was becoming more aware that he liked Yixing romantically as well. Seeing the serious look on the skater’s face, Jongdae felt his heart flutter even more and he shyly pecked Yixing’s cheek.

The older male grinned saucily, showcasing the dimple that Jongdae was fascinated with. That demure little kiss bolstered his confidence ten-fold and he said cheekily, “You can do better than that.”

So Jongdae obliged and boldly went for Yixing’s lips, kissing him ardently. Maybe it wasn’t so bad, taking chances and doing things out of the norm. Especially with Yixing.

♈♈♈