Humming, Tao kicked open the door to his dorm. He held two bubble tea plastic containers in his hands.

            A truly pitiful sight greeted him. His roommate was curled up in a fetal position in the corner of his bed. A black cloud of gloom was hanging over his head.

            “Myungsoo, this should cheer you up a little. It’s the usual,” Tao said, ing the vomit-colored bubble tea at Myungsoo. Myungsoo looked up, and made grabby hands toward the tea. He clutched it close to his chest, drinking from the straw as if he was trying to drink it all in one gulp.

            “It’s about Sungyeol again, isn’t it,” Tao said. He stated that matter-of-factly in a resigned tone. Myungsoo bobbed his head dejectedly in a nod.

            “This crush is becoming rather obsessive,” Tao observed, settling down on the bed across from Myungsoo’s. He, in a deliberately dignified manner, took a sip from his own bubble tea. “What is it this time?”

            “… I didn’t get to see Sungyeol the whole day today,” Myungsoo said sadly.

            Tao resisted the urge to throw his hands up in the air in exasperation, mostly because the drink was kind of occupying his hands.

            “That’s it?” Tao sardonically raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? You guys aren’t even dating.”

            Myungsoo frowned at him. “I feel like my day is black without his presence.”

            “Please do tone this melodrama down. You’re starting to sound like Bella Swan.”

            “Fine.” Myungsoo sniffed and then gave him a little smirk. Because Myungsoo did not do smiles, unless a certain person whose name started with an S was in the vicinity. “But, haven’t you ever missed someone that your life felt incomplete? It was utterly horrible today because Sungyeol was off doing some lab work instead of attending class.”

            Tao shrugged. “No, not really. I’m kind of independent, I guess.”

            “It’s weird though,” Myungsoo said offhandedly, in an attempt to bring up this topic casually. “You never get nervous around your crushes or past boyfriends. I always start tripping on air whenever Sungyeol is five feet within my radar.”

            “So?”

            “You always say you’re satisfied with your relationships, but I never saw you looking truly happy.”

            “What are you, my personal psychiatrist?” A tone of annoyance crept into Tao’s voice. Myungsoo stuck his green-ified tongue out at him.

            “No. But.” Myungsoo paused. “Nevermind.”

            “What?”

            “Nothing.” Myungsoo pried the cover off his bubble tea and tipped the container back to swallow the remaining liquid.

            Navigating a relationship came easily to Tao. He prided himself on being an expert on what to say, how to look, and when to kiss on a date. Even simpler was asking someone he found attractive out. He didn’t get why people made such a big deal out of these things. Myungsoo’s inability to gather enough courage to ask Sungyeol out to even one date was puzzling and irritating to Tao. He thought that maybe one day he would have to start meddling and play match-maker between the two of them or something.

            The point was. He didn’t really understand what his friends meant whenever they described the pure elation or the plunge into depression as they struggled with emotions that shook and gripped the heart. He dismissed the fireworks and fiery passion in romance novels as made-up drivel.

            The repetitive cycle of his past dating experience was like this: He usually asked for someone’s phone number or sometimes the other way around, they go out for a date, they kiss, they go out for another date, they confess their love after 2 months and 3 weeks, and then they break up after another 6 weeks.

            Tao believed that love was pretty simple. Other people just liked to make it all complicated and convoluted for some craycray reason.

            So after going through so many relationships, Tao had never experienced the hand-sweating first date nerves, the crazy butterflies, or the need to be near someone 24/7. He never really fell in love.

            Until he met Kris.

            Tao shook his head like a wet dog after reaching the shelter of his college building. He didn’t have his umbrella and he dearly wanted to strangle Myungsoo for stealing it on this day where there was practically a hurricane storming outside.

            Staggering into class late wasn’t exactly a good idea, considering how strict his professor was. However, apparently he was excused today as Mr. Lee took one look at his soaked form and promptly ignored him. Tao’s shoes squished against his feet uncomfortably as he walked to an empty seat, leaving a trail of water in his path.

            A tall, good-looking guy was on the seat to his right. Tao squinted at him. He was pretty sure that he had never seen him before in this class. This student probably just transferred in. Tao inwardly dismissed his new seatmate from his mind. He kind of looked like a cold, unfeeling bastard.

            Yeah, Tao was pretty quick at judging people.

            It turned out that his flash-second impression was proven to be horribly incorrect.

            When Mr. Lee’s back was turned to the class as he put some illegible notes on the board, Tao’s seatmate turned to him with a limp napkin in his hand.

            “Here,” he said. Tao stared at it, not really sure what he should do with it.

            “Huh?” Tao said intelligently.

            “You’re still dripping with rain water,” this strangely helpful guy said.

            Tao blinked. “Oh. Thanks.” He took the offered, small piece of white napkin and wiped his face with it. He was so running back to the dorm as soon as this class ended.

            “I’m Kris.”

            Tao stared. Kris had smiled at him, his whole features beautifully transformed with a quirk of his lips. It took Tao a few seconds to realize that Kris was waiting for him to say his name.

            “Oh, uh, T-Tao.” Tao quickly averted his eyes in the guise that he was actually paying attention to the professor. He inwardly cursed himself. Since when was he this ineloquent?

            “Nice to meet you,” Kris said to him quietly after the professor dismissed them. Tao nodded, and promptly race-walked away.

            He was afraid that Kris would get strange ideas from the blush creeping up his cheeks.

            “You’re strangely chipper today,” Myungsoo commented.

            “Don’t think I still haven’t forgiven you for stealing my umbrella last week,” Tao said. He reclined on his bed, reading.

            “I promised to bake cookies for you! What more do you want?” Myungsoo mock-wailed.

            Tao grinned in a shark-like manner. “Be my slave for a whole week.”

            “No sane person would do that.” Myungsoo sent him a deadpan look. “You would force me to buy millions of Gucci bags. That would put me in permanent debt.”

            “As long as it’s for the Greater Good of Gucci, what does it matter if you go into debt?” Tao let out a small giggle and rolled so that his body was resting sideways on his comfortable mattress.

            “Okay.” Myungsoo stared at his roommate in a freaked out manner. “Are you high off of sugar or drugs?”

            “No.” Tao’s lips curved in an amused manner.

            “This is extremely strange, abnormal behavior coming from you. Are you really Tao?”

            “No, I am actually an alien who’s pretending to look like him.”

            “I knew it!” Myungsoo yelped and dived under the covers of his bed. Tao burst out laughing.

            “But seriously. What is with you today?” Myungsoo asked as his head poked out of the covers.

            “Why don’t you worry about asking Sungyeol for a coffee date next weekend?” Tao successfully distracted Myungsoo judging by the stricken look on his face.

            “I’m so freakin’ scared. What if he says no? What if he says something like, are you kidding me, why would I ever go out with you you’re so ugly?!” Myungsoo kept on ranting and mumbling.

            Tao ignored him, his smile still firmly fixed on his face.

            Kris had laughed at a joke Tao said today and that was all he really cared about. Tao bet he could wax poetry off of the unrestrained joy in Kris’ laughter and the way he looked then.

            Well, except for the fact that he was kind of failing his English class (Mr. Lee was y with his harsh grading and Kris was kind of distracting, okay), so Tao just stuck with replaying the memory over and over in his head instead.

            Mr. Lee was absent a lot, Tao noted. He didn’t really mind, though. No, he was practically bouncing off the walls at the prospect at spending more quality time with Kris.

            Kris turned out to be a warm and caring person underneath his cold exterior. Tao learned that he was also a complete wimp when faced with insects. His Chinese name was Wu Yifan. He loved his sandwiches with mayonnaise but hated ketchup. He had a bad habit of chewing on his pen caps. His mouth tended to lift more on the left side when he smiled. Tao could list out a million other little details that made up the unique identity of Kris Wu.

            Everyday, Tao walked into the classroom with his fingers clenched tightly around a piece of paper with his phone number on it. Today, he always told himself, he would give this to Kris. And then ask him for a short coffee date.

            However, he always found some kind of excuse for not following along with the plan. They had a test that day, or Kris walked away too quickly after class, or something completely unrelated like Mr. Lee’s eyeliner looked too crazy that day for him to ask Kris out. Tao, at least, started to feel sympathy for Myungsoo struggling through the same process that he was.

            Today would be the day, Tao said to himself again as he plopped down on his seat. The teacher assistant was flipping through a magazine, having long ago given up on actually teaching without the professor there (who always turned up the next day with mysterious hickey marks on his neck).

            A colorful bouquet of flowers lying on the floor next to Kris’ seat caught Tao’s eye.

            “What’s that for?” Tao inclined his head towards the flowers.

            Kris spun a pencil in his hand, even though they didn’t need it because there were no notes to take today.

            “They’re for my girlfriend. It’s our six month anniversary,” Kris said, a soft look on his face.

            Tao automatically smiled. “Oh, that’s so sweet.”

            He turned back to the front of board. He stared blankly at it until the information fully sank into his brain.

            Kris had a girlfriend.

            Of course.

            Tao could’ve laughed at himself for his stupidity if Kris wasn’t still sitting right next to him, looking so unfairly gorgeous.

            Of course Kris would already have someone. Someone that good-looking and warm and amazing would be snatched off the market in less than a millisecond.

            Tao drew in a slow, shuddering breath. He had temporarily forgotten how to breathe as his vision almost turned white from shock and crushing disappointment.

            Huh, he thought absentmindedly as glass shards sliced deeply into his chest. So this was what heartbreak felt like.