A week later, Kyungsoo and Joonhee were queuing up at the Exo fanmeet. They were almost at the front of the queue and couldn't believe their luck. They were both physically within reach from their idols and in a few minutes, would be face to face.

Joonhee had bought a poster with all of their faces on it and was looking forward to getting it signed by all the members, especially her favourite member, Park Chanyeol, who she was ogling unabashedly right now.

Kyungsoo on the other hand, had bought their most recent album and his heart was beating erratically. It felt like it was going to fall out of his chest with the pressure it was under. Unfortunately for them, a red haired girl who looked about fourteen pushed Joonhee with an aggressive force that caused her to tumble back.

She was wearing a bright pink mini skirt and tank top coupled with, out of place ridiculously high, high heels. The girl then proceeded to overtake them in the line causing his mood to flare up. Rudely overtaking when they had all waited for a long time was one thing, hurting his friend was another.

He cleared his throat, narrowing his eyes and she turned around with a mock confused expression.

"Move, now," he growled, attracting the attention of a few other fans near them. The redhead raised an eyebrow defiantly.

"No."

She turned back around, flicking her hair. At this point, people were whispering and making a general ruckus that caused a security guard to look at them with a glare.

"You pushed in the line while everyone else in this queue has been waiting their turn fairly. The fact that you think you deserve special privileges and that you're above waiting in line is absolutely disgusting. What's worse is, instead of admitting your mistakes and returning to your original space, here you are bothering me with your hideous hair and even uglier attitude. So, I'm going to give you three seconds to get out of my sight and right back to where you originally came from. Three...two..." he counted down in a flat, unimpressed voice and her eyes widened fearfully and she started backing away until he couldn't see her anymore.

The girls behind him started cheering and one of them loudly stated, "Thanks man, she pushed in front of everyone from the back of the line but no one said anything."

"It was nothing, I personally can't stand people like that and what she was doing was morally wrong," he smiled back awkwardly, not used to dealing with praise and gratitude.

"Thanks Kyungsoo," Joonhee bashfully thanked him, nibbling on her lower lip.

"Don't worry about it," he mumbled and before he knew it he was at the front of the line with Joonhee right behind him. The person at the front of the line was Chen which brought a smile to his face.

His cheekbones were much more prominent in real life then they were on camera, he noticed as he smiled at the singer. Chen gave him a wide, cheery grin that reached eyes and waved even though he was stood right in front of him.

Kyungsoo internally sighed, he'd been a bit worried that they'd be a lot more celebrity-like and unfriendly in real life. It was like a weight was lifted off his shoulders and now he felt guilty for ever assuming that they would be any different. He squeezed down the urge to scream in his face and instead bought out his CD and placed it on the table.

"So, who's your bias?"

Chen asked cheekily, and Kyungsoo didn't know whether the other was joking or genuinly curious so he settled for a shy, "You..." and avoided eye contact.

He was glad he looked up after a few seconds though because the idol looked like he'd been told that he'd just won a free holiday for his entire family to Hawaii.

"That's so cool! I rarely get male fans," he pouted childishly but didn't look overly upset, "they all get hoarded by Chanyeol. But this is good because it means I won't forget you. Say... what's your name?"

His eyes zeroed in on the raven's face, as if memorising his features and taking his promise seriously. His heart was thumping so hard, adrenaline was coursing through his body at a crazy rate. This was his bias. His bias had just told him that he wouldn't forget him. If this was all an evil dream and he'd wake up in his box room he wouldn't know what to do. It seemed real at least. Chen's kindness was one of the reasons he stanned him so hard, the 'Chendrella' stories were all one-hundred percent true, the man was a living angel who needed to be protected.

"Do Kyungsoo," he responded softly.

"Kyungsoo? Well it was nice to meet you Kyungsoo, I hope we see each other again soon," he gave him one more impish grin and handed him his album back with a wink.

"Me too...I really like your voice. You're really talented and you work hard,," he mumbled, walking away and smiling for the first time since speaking to the friendly idol.

Honestly, meeting the other members was quite a blur but they were all so polite and sincere that Kyungsoo was slightly lost for words the entire time. Baekhyun was still just as funny, making almost everyone who spoke to him relax and smile.

Tao's Korean was too adorable for words. It was definitely understandable that was for sure but his unaware and innocent, face coupled with his breathy voice and panda eyes made it almost cruel to chuckle at.

Kris was definitely a handsome man that was for sure. Cameras, photos, videos, it seemed like nothing did him justice. Even sat down you could tell he was much taller than most of the others and unlike Chanyeol who looked lanky, he had a regal air about him. Something in the way he carried himself that made him stand out tremendously and the six foot frame fit him perfectly rather than looking off.

Even while greeting him, there was a grace that he was obviously born with and developed over the years and Kyungsoo hoped that one day, he too would hold himself with such confidence as well.

Lay and Suho were incredibly polite to all the fans who greeted them and their polite yet open smiles didn't disappear for a moment.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol were sat next to each other and were cracking jokes left right and centre. The two didn't have a a single serious moment with any of their fans but Kyungsoo liked that, they made the environment comfortable.

As a perpetually awkward person sometimes, their sense of humour removed any nervous pauses. One of the funniest moments was seeing Chanyeol's face when Kyungsoo told him that his bias was Chen and not him. Even a few of the fans around him started laughing.

Sehun and Xiumin were less talkative than everyone but he still managed to strike up a conversation with them. There were times he wanted to pinch himself repeatedly because this all seemed too good to be real.

After what seemed like ages, he parked himself in front of Kim Jongin which was a lot more nerve wracking than he thought. If he thought Kris was handsome, Jongin was perfect.

His blond hair was windswept along his forehead and covered his eyebrows. They were promoting 'Monster' and the hair colour was really agreeing with him. He had a jawline that quite possibly, cut through glass and every other hard material out there. It was so defined for someone his age, that it made him look older than Kyungsoo when he wasn't. The raven checked (read: stalked) and was surprised to find out that the popular idol was a year younger than him. His beautifully tanned skin and plump lips were almost sinful, especially when he them every few seconds and Kyungsoo found it difficult break eye contact. 

The two didn't say anything for a few seconds and just stared until Jongin broke the eye contact by pointing out, "Hey, you're that guy on Instagram!" he looked pleased at his deduction if the wide smile was anything to go by.

"Um, yeah," Kyungsoo responded blandly, cursing his nonexistent social skills mentally. He had two modes, moody or awkward. There was no inbetween.

"That's really cool, I mean, your captions are quite funny. I can't believe I saw you online and now you're here," Jongin continued, raising  his eyebrows as if he too was surprised at the odds of that happening.

Kyungsoo opened his mouth for the first time to say something more than two words  "Well...I like a lot of your older stuff, don't give up on singing no matter what anyone says alright?" He advised, looking at the dancer seriously. He knew that although Jongin was well known for his dancing, not many people seemed to praise him for his vocal abilities and that was a shame.

"You really think so? Thanks D.O!" Jongin's cheeks were turning noticeably pink and so Kyungsoo almost missed the nickname that he'd been assigned. Almost.

"D.O?" He questioned, eyebrows raised curiously.

"Your Instagram name is D.O and I dunno, it suits you I guess,"

Jongin fumbled for words making Kyungsoo realise, much to his pleasure, that the idol was just as socially awkward as him. He would pump the air in joy if he could.

"Really? No one's called me that before..." he trailed off, not really knowing what to say. The younger of the two seemed to remember where they were, almost jolting out of his seat.

"So you're a fan huh?" There was a brief pause, "Well..let me sign your album, instead of wasting your time then," the blond boy sheepishly grinned, taking the Exo album out of the older boy's limp grasp and scrawling his autograph over his face.

The smoothness at which he signed his name and the soft grin he adopted while holding the pen prevented Kyungsoo from looking away the whole time. It was almost as if his eyes temporarily disconnected from his brain and he couldn't think of anything to say. He had almost unhuman qualities about him. If there was such thing as a genetic lottery, Kim Jongin had hit it. No wonder so many people were entranced by the dancer. Was this how all fans felt after meeting a famous person face to face? But the dancer really was breathtaking, and that tan...he could write poetry about how ethereal he looked and Kyungsoo wasn't a poet so that was saying something.

"Thank you for signing my album," he said politely when the Exo member handed him his item and walked away before the other could reply.

Great, now that the other boy realised how boring he actually was in real life - he'd probably never speak to him again. Why oh why did he go to this meet? Maybe online he had a chance to seem cool, but all of that was incredibly lacking when it came to his face to face persona. What if Jongin thought he was interesting based on his posts and now that illusion was shattered?

If he had looked back he would have seen Jongin's penetrating stare focused on him even when he was talking to other fans.

If Kyungsoo didn't have as much pride as he did, he'd act like how he did at home but he didn't want any of the members or Joonhee being aware of his real feelings so he kept his distance. All it would take was one word from her and he'd be the of all the jokes that their friends would no doubt think hilarious. Did that seem enjoyable? Not in the slightest. Therefore, conceal don't feel would be his mantra until his was in the privacy of his room

His university life wasn't shaping up to be great. Honestly the only person he could truly be himself around was Myungsoo and admitting that saddened him. The more he know someone and the more comfortable he felt around them, the less polite he was and the more blunt and rude he was. But other than Myungsoo, no one else had that kind of real friendship with him and before that it had been no one.

--

The bus ride home wasn't the most pleasant for Kyungsoo. Joonhee wouldn't stop rambling about the fansign and honestly, he didn't have the patience to fake interest. Instead, he settled for staring out of the window while she continued, oblivious to the fact that he wasn't listening to a word that was coming out of .

"And then Chanyeol oppa held my hand lovingly and told me that I was really pretty. I almost died Kyungsoo. He's just so sweet, I knew he'd be but still. Afterwards he wrote me a message but I won't read it out because I want it to be special. You understand, don't you?" She said in one breath, tugging on his arm when he wouldn't answer her question.

"Er..yeah," he responded slowly, praying that it was the right thing to say. Usually when he wasn't listening to someone and they asked him a question, he learnt that saying 'yes' was more often the correct answer.

"You didn't really seem into them," she pointed out sharply, as if making an offensive statement. Which he kinda agreed it was, who in their right mind wouldn't like Exo?

Instead he settled for, "No, I like some of their songs and they seem like all right guys," in calm voice that even he was surprised didn't falter once.

"All right?" She scoffed.

"God, you're so unemotional Soo. You remind me of a human robot sometimes I swear."

The object of her jibe didn't even turn around from the spot he wasn't looking for. They were on the bus journey home and it was one that was shaping up to be quite long. He sighed as they passed another fried chicken shop and his stomach growled quite loudly, causing his brown haired friend to turn around mid rant.

"Er..sorry," he felt compelled to apologise for his beastly body and planned to get something to eat after getting home. One thing that it definitely wouldn't be tonight was ramyun. Any other night it would be fine but tonight, after seeing so many chicken pictures there was only one thing in his mind.

"It's fine. You hungry?"

"No," he lied through his teeth, not that it was unbelievable. He was a great liar, too good in fact and in another world he'd be an actor but that would be a whole other life. He'd had to be though, from lies about how he got bruised up daily during his childhood and reasons for coming home late during his teen years. When he wanted to convince someone about something he would and it was a skill that no one had ever commented on. She was convinced and just nodded, resuming with her earlier rant and taking a mile a minute. Women, his mind reminded, were very different from men.

As a gentleman should, he walked her to her dorm. The one she shared with a bratty rich girl called Jung Krystal with a hidden heart of gold that she only displayed to her long term girlfriend - a popular third year called Amber. She was extremely beautiful but anyone who even dare approach her was gifted with a fist to the face and public humiliation. Not exactly pretty things.

Apparently the girl was constantly inviting people over and throwing parties that kept her awake at unreasonable hours. Krystal was rarely home but when she was, it was difficult for Joonhee.

The only reason he didn't feel more sorry for her was because he knew that she herself wasn't exactly an angel to live with. With her talkative ways and controlling nature, clearly they were meant for each other. He got lucky with Myungsoo; whenever he heard some people's horrible experiences with roommates he became more and more grateful for his friend.

After dropping off the chatty brown haired girl, he walked the short walk back to his dorm only to be greeted with the sight of his best friend sprawled across the couch and in just boxers. Tight white boxers and a scrawny body he could have lived a great life without ever seeing.

"Arhh! My eyes," he exclaimed loudly, covering his eyeballs dramatically. It was as if it was the first time he was seeing this but it wasn't. Each time was just equally horrifying. 

"You know Soo, there comes times in a man's short life when he feels as if though clothes are a hassle. Right now, this is my moment," Myungsoo stated conversationally and almost eagerly, as if he wasn't almost .

"I have absolutely no desire to see your pale body. I don't think you realise but clothes are necessary and socially expected," he snarked, half growling as he eyed his roommate's smug smirk.

"Not even a little? You hurt me Soo. You're making me out to look like some sort of monster. I'm not that bad to look at!" Myungsoo shrieked, voice taking on a higher octave that made the raven realise he'd hit a soft spot.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Sungyeol doesn't think you're an eyesore," he rolled his eyes at the other boy's dramatic sigh of relief.

"You really think so? Well I guess I can put some clothes on," he strolled casually in the direction of his cupboard. "But only if you keep the compliments rolling Kyunggie," and stopped right after opening the door and looked over at Kyungsoo expectantly, waiting for something.

"I'm going to buy takeaway, if you want to eat some you better be dressed like a civilised human being by the time I come back," the short boy threatened, knowing that Myungsoo was weak when it came to anything unhealthy. The handsome boy's eyes widened and he began scrambling for clothes at an alarming yet amusing rate. The first thing was a long sleeved shirt that he appeared to be physically fighting with. He ended up looking like one big mess trying to force his long arms through each hole at record speed, which unfortunately wasn't working out so well.

"Take your time, loser. The food isn't going to teleport here right this second," he laughed at the funny picture Myungsoo painted before walking out an taking the keys with him.

It was getting quite dark and the air was slightly chilly, luckily he was wearing a baggy hoodie and some black skinny jeans, not that he owned jeans in any other colour. The walk to 'Chicken Galore' was not a long one but he preferred going out to ordering in. Not to mention, going out at night time was his favourite time because one, it meant that there were less people out and two, it meant that there were less people out. The streets were practically empty of all living souls and the only thing he could hear was the music blasting from his earphones. The serenity was marvellous.

Right now, it was on shuffle but Zion T's Yanghwa Bridge was putting him in a decidedly good mood.

He approached the heavy door of the shop and pulled it open. The owner, a kind old man who was familiar with Kyungsoo, greeted him brightly.

"Kyungsoo! Where have you been the last few weeks? Sit down son, do you want your usual order?" He asked rapidly, getting ready to fry the poultry in front of him when he nodded in reply. The takeaway place was family owned and Kyungsoo had been going there for a while now, hence the familiarity. But the owner was this friendly to most of his customers and remembered them all since the store wasn't a very popular one.

This was one of the reasons he regularly frequented the place though. It was quite homey with soft leather brown seats and dark red walls with dragon designs on the wallpaper. There were only two customers in the shop with him; one of them was a lady who was given a bag containing her food, the other was a man a few tables away who appeared to be stuffing his face with chicken at an alarming rate. The doe eyed boy had never seen anyone eat like that in his life.

The man, like him, was wearing a dark hoodie coupled with a cap that covered half of his face from view as his practically inhaled his food. It wasn't as repulsive as you would think however, as he made it look somehow normal. Human even, a feat that deserved a medal.

He couldn't take his eyes off of him, as if he was under some sort of spell. No this wasn't mere curiosity, this was something else. Just as he was about to look away however, the other man whose rough age he guessed to be somewhere in his mid twenties, looked up.

They both froze, maintaining eye contact for a few seconds and it seems that was all Kyungsoo needed to realise one thing.

Sitting a few metres in front of him was the superstar Kim Jongin.

A superstar who was looking at him with the same dumbfounded expression that he was no doubt mirroring.