“I’ll see you next Thursday. Make sure you do your reading!” came Professor Kim’s voice from the front of the classroom. Sojin let out a sigh of relief, happy that he had made it through another day of college. As he placed his notebook and pen back into his backpack, he noticed Wonpil staring in his direction intently. 

What the...Sojin thought to himself, his heart rate picking up again. What’s he looking over here so intensely for?

As he zipped his backpack up, curiosity got the better of him and he couldn’t resist the urge to look back over at Wonpil. The other boy, who now seemed to be spacing out, snapped back to attention as he realized he was making Sojin uneasy.

“Oh, sorry,” he stated, pointing at the window behind Sojin. “I was just staring at that bird.”

Sojin resisted the urge to slam his palm into his forehead--of course Wonpil hadn’t been looking at him. Instead, he forced a smile and waved his hands in front of him.

“No worries, no worries! Birds are totally...interesting!” he exclaimed, cringing at himself internally. Although he was nervous to speak with the handsome boy, he realized this was his chance and he had to take it. “Er, you’re Kim Wonpil, right?”

Wonpil shook his head, a slight smile spreading across his lips. “Yep, that’s me! And you’re...Sojin? You’re a first year, right? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you on campus.”

The other boy spoke surprisingly softly, choosing his words carefully and giving off a somewhat shy aura. Sojin wondered what he had to be shy for when he looked so amazing. Regardless, he caught sight of the small smile on Wonpil’s face and felt a bit more confident. So far it seemed like the other boy was at least somewhat interested in speaking with him! “Yep, I’m a first year! That’s actually why I was late...I can never find my way around campus. You’re a second year?”

“Mhmm. Don’t worry, when I was a first year I got so lost that I just ended up not going to class for the first week,” Wonpil replied with a genuine smile that pierced Sojin’s heart. So cute! Wonpil brought his finger to his chin, scratching it for a moment in thought, then awkwardly added, “But you should definitely go to class! It’s important!”

Sojin laughed at the piece of advice and nodded his agreement. Wonpil’s personality was completely different than what he had been expecting. He’d watched so many dramas that he had been sure that the boy would be ice cold, but Wonpil was definitely the shy type--maybe even semi-awkward. In all honesty, that just made Sojin like him even more. He had always preferred the nice, nerdy style to the cold, confident type. The sudden buzz of his phone pulled him from his thoughts and he realized that the rest of the class had already cleared out.

Suddenly feeling embarrassed, Sojin rose to his feet and swung his backpack over his shoulder, his light brown eyes glancing from Wonpil to the door.

“Ah, it was super nice to meet you! I should go...I have to meet my friends. But I’ll see you next week!” Sojin exclaimed. Wonpil simply smiled and closed his eyes, waving goodbye cutely as the younger boy exited the classroom. As Sojin made it to the hallway, he let out a sigh of relief. Even if Wonpil was sweet, it was still nerve wracking to be around someone so handsome. With a nod to himself, he resolved to get closer to his crush by talking with him each class from then on. 

In the blink of an eye, three more weeks passed and Sojin found himself feeling more comfortable with college life. He had stuck to his mission and spoke to Wonpil each week, attempting to get closer to the boy. He wasn’t sure if he had been successful, but he could certainly feel his own feelings grow with each encounter. The Friday after his fourth discussion with Wonpil, he felt something less savory than the butterflies in his stomach. As he arrived home to his dorm room, he dropped his backpack to the ground and flopped onto his bed with a groan. Sojin wasn’t particularly patient, so playing this slow game of only talking to Wonpil once per week was weighing on him. He wasn’t even sure if he was making progress or if Wonpil had any interest in him. He tried to shake the thought that Wonpil might not like him back, but was suddenly overtaken by a bout of nausea worse than he had felt since he had food poisoning as a child. 

Sojin pushed himself off the bed, covering his mouth with one hand as he dashed to the bathroom, sure that he was about to throw up. He kneeled by the toilet and though he could feel a stabbing pain in his stomach, nothing came up. As the pain continued, he felt his breathing becoming shallow, the air struggling to get down his windpipe. He remembered his mom always telling him to keep calm in times of panic, so he closed his eyes and focused on making his body calm down. Finally, the feeling subsided and his breathing returned to normal. He could feel a cold sweat form on his skin and as he pushed himself back to his feet, his reflection in the mirror had all the color drained from its face.

“What was that…? I never get sick! Especially not nauseous...and why did I feel like I was suffocating?” Sojin muttered to himself through deep breaths as he lightly slapped his cheeks to bring some color back to his face. He returned to his bedroom to look up the symptoms, but a message from Sungjin on his phone caught his attention first. After their first run-in, Sojin had met up with Sungjin twice for coffee on campus. Both times it seemed like the older boy simply wanted to make sure that he was adjusting to college life well for which Sojin was very thankful. Sungjin was so sweet to go out of his way for a random freshmen--not to mention a random freshmen who had knocked him over. 

“Hey hey! My friends and I are having a party tonight ^^ you should come! It’ll be a good way to meet people!” read the text. Sojin’s eyes widened at the thought of his first college party. It was daunting, but Sungjin was right that he’d be able to meet new people there, and he was in no position to turn the older boy down after all of his kindness. He replied that he’d be there then set to work on putting together his hottest outfit. First impressions were everything, after all!

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