Just as Yixing has predicted, preparation for suneung gets the better of them.

They absolutely do not have the time to try anymore methods to swap their bodies back, not when every day they’re swamped with endless homework, drowned in practice papers, and bombarded with surprise quizzes. The teachers are, in Baekhyun’s words, ing heartless I tell you! And it’s bad, because Kyungsoo absolutely agrees with Baekhyun. (This is how severe the problem is because, mind you, Kyungsoo does not agree with Baekhyun 99.9% of the time.)

Also, the situation is that bad. For both Chanyeol and Kyungsoo, as well as Yixing and Baekhyun, are so busy at school that they do not have the time to travel to their respective homes for their tutoring sessions. Yet, Kyungsoo still insists on having them, and despite not knowing the reason for Kyungsoo’s insistence, Chanyeol agrees, too. It’s then does Yixing suggest letting the rest of their friends in, much to Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s huge surprise (complete with identical expressions of gaping mouths and blown eyes), and Kyungsoo seconds his best friend.

“For the umpteenth time, we’re not letting them know of the body swap,” Kyungsoo groans, fingers pinching the ridge of his nose when Chanyeol and Baekhyun exchange looks for the twelfth time in the four minutes after Yixing has brought up the suggestion. “We’re just letting them into our sessions because, honestly, I think we could all do with more help. And everyone here knows how brilliant Dae is at chem and Kris at world history. Not to mention,”—Kyungsoo points a pencil at Baekhyun—“I’m pretty sure you could use some help for your Korean history. Heck, we could all use Sehun’s help for that.”

“Soo’s right,” Yixing pipes up, swinging an arm across Kyungsoo’s—Chanyeol’s—shoulders. He leans into Kyungsoo naturally, just as Kyungsoo does, too, and Chanyeol finds himself smiling for he never gets tired of seeing himself—his body, technically—in such intimate proximity with Yixing. He’s always wondered how Kyungsoo feels about seeing his body with Baekhyun, though if Chanyeol can hazard a guess, the answer is obvious—Kyungsoo dislikes it, if his expressionless Chanyeol face whenever Chanyeol hugs Baekhyun in greeting is any indication.

Baekhyun hums, supposedly in agreement (because he always sides with Yixing; except if Yixing is getting anything with cucumbers in it), and that was that. Lu Han and Jongdae, and Kris and Sehun will be joining in on their tutoring sessions with effect from that very same week. Chanyeol doesn’t know how that’s going to work out, but he hopes it’ll be okay. If anything, he’s pretty certain that he’ll be glad to be able to spend time with both Sehun and Kris again (even though he’s still physically Do Kyungsoo). Likewise, Chanyeol supposes that Kyungsoo would appreciate being around Lu Han and Jongdae again (even if he’s still physically Chanyeol).

And above all, Chanyeol’s still spending time with Kyungsoo (and that’s all that matters).

---

In hindsight, now that Chanyeol, who is currently sitting between Baekhyun (who had just now all but shoved Chanyeol aside when he made a move to want to sit next to Yixing) and Sehun, is having his first tutoring session with his friends and Kyungsoo’s, he finds that his initial worry is unfounded. The session is actually pretty okay. Nice. Fun, even.

Guaranteed, there was awkwardness at the start. For Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, Yixing, and Baekhyun, who have been seeing one another often, there was none of that. But for the rest of the boys who’ve only seen one another in passing, and in silent when the two groups of boys met at the door of Yixing’s classroom after school, with the situation made even more awkward by the curious stares and pointing fingers of students passing by them in the hallway. After a round of introductions (obviously started by Baekhyun), they entered the classroom. Of course, the boys just have to show how polite and courteous they are by (figuratively) pushing one another to enter the classroom first. It took three minutes of pointless bowing and hand gestures for Baekhyun to groan and herd his group of friends through the door (Kyungsoo included). There, entering the classroom settled. Sehun and Kris’ case, Kyungsoo whenever Chanyeol bullied him, the word ‘awkward’ was an understatement. It was literally

The other problem came in the form of where should everyone sit? And as the eight of them stared at the tables and chairs, kindly put together by Yixing the angel, and exchanged looks of uncertainty and unsubtle awkwardness with one another, Chanyeol knew that it was going to be a long day. Fortunately, the seating arrangement didn’t take too long to be settled, for Kyungsoo stepped up and suggested that they sit according to the subjects that they needed help in or could provide help for. And that was how everyone finally settled down and the tutoring session commenced.

“Why are you not getting it!” Sehun’s wail comes from Chanyeol’s right, and he glances in that direction to see Sehun’s face buried in his hands while Jongdae looks downright sheepish. Having spent almost twelfth weeks with Jongdae, Chanyeol knows how much trouble Jongdae has with Korean history, despite him always seeking help from the teacher and diligently listening in class; his textbook is also the most ‘used’ among the four of them, with Lu Han’s textbook looking as though it’s never been touched.