“Yeoboseyo?”

“Shim gyoh-soo-nim?  This is Kris Wu, one of your students in your Calculus class.”  A deep and rough voice on the other end of the phone replies, and Changmin is spurred into action.  The math professor fixes his glasses and pulls out a class record in a pile of books and papers, causing the said file to crash.

“Ah, yes.  This is Shim Changmin.  What can I do for you?”  He replies as he scans the class record for the specific name.

“Choi gyoh-soo-nim asked me to give him a call this evening to arrange a meeting with him regarding my grades.  He mentioned in the call that Shim gyo-sh-soo-nim was looking for me this afternoon so he gave me your number and told me to call you.”  His student replies, and Changmin fights the urge to call his Siwon hyung and lecture the elder about privacy and personal spaces.

“Yes, I was looking for you.”  Changmin replies as he closes his class record.  “It’s about Kim Minseok, another student of mine and one of your classmates in Calculus.  Apparently, he’s been sick for a few days and I just wanted to ask you to return some of his exercises to him.”

“Kim Minseok?”  Kris replies, and Changmin nods despite knowing that the other can’t see him.  “My housemate just told me this afternoon that his friend has Minseok-ssi’s hand outs and exercises with him.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”  Changmin replies before reclining on his computer chair and removing his glasses.  “I ran into Choi Minho and gave him the papers instead since he lives with Minseok goon.”

“Then… I’m not needed anymore?”  The other asks.

“Yes.”  Changmin replies.  “Siwon hyung was just being an idiot as always.”  He mutters under his breath.

“I’m sorry?”  Kris replies, not quite understanding his professor.

“Ah, it’s nothing.”  Changmin replies, eyes widening at almost being caught.  He hears the sound of the apartment’s front door opening, and the sound of footsteps afterwards.  “I have to go, Kris goon.  I apologize for the inconvenience.”

“It’s alright, Shim gyoh-soo-nim.”  The voice at the other end replies, and Changmin ends the call.  He gets up from his comfortable seat and makes his way to the living room, where he spots a tall, auburn-haired man sitting on their couch, staring at the living room carpet.  He stares at the man for about a minute before clearing his throat, subsequently garnering the man’s attention.

“Can I help you?”  He asks, and the man looks flustered for a second before gaining his composure and standing up to introduce himself.

“Uhm, hello!  I’m Jung Yunho, a colleague of Kyuhyunnie’s.”  The man says before bowing to the other.  Changmin raises an eyebrow at the nickname.  “I’m just waiting for him to finish getting some of his things before we head out.”

“I’m Shim Changmin, Kyuhyun’s housemate.”  Changmin replies, before a thud followed by a few curses are heard from Kyuhyun’s room.

“Will he be alright?”  The man—Yunho—asks, looking worriedly at the direction of the bedrooms.

“Don’t worry, it happens all the time.”  Changmin replies before sitting down on one of their couches and gesturing for the other to do the same.  “You’re also a doctor?”

“Huh?  Uh… yes.  I work in the same hospital as Kyuhyunnie.”  Yunho replies after finding a comfortable position.

“Are you also a General Practitioner?”  Changmin asks, genuinely curious about his housemate-slash-best friend’s colleague. 

“He’s a Cardiologist and I would really appreciate it if you’d stop interrogating my hyung.”  A deep voice from behind Changmin replies, and he whips around to see his best friend in his casual wear carrying what looks like a medical kit.

“I wasn’t interrogating him.”  Changmin replies, raising his arms in mock surrender.  “I was just asking him some questions.”

“Everytime you ask someone questions it sounds like an interrogation.”  Kyuhyun replies before going to sit beside Yunho.  “Hyung, I ran out of gloves.”

“WHAT!  GLOVES?”  Changmin exclaims, causing the other two to look at him as if he’s grown another head.  “ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO ILLEGALLY OPERATE OR WHAT?!”

“Hyung,” Kyuhyun begins after a few minutes of stunned silence, “I don’t know what wrong, but Changmin is not always like this.”

“Okay,” Yunho replies albeit reluctantly, “then how is he normally?”

“A respected professor who graduated with honors.”  Kyuhyun replies, still eyeing his wide-eyed housemate.

“Then, how come…?”  Yunho asks, unsure of what to say.

“YAH!  SHIM CHANGMIN!”  Kyuhyun suddenly shouts, causing the other two occupants of the room to jump in surprise.  “Get your act together!  When was the last time you slept properly?”

“Uh… I… well…” Changmin tries, and fails, to answer.

“He gets like that when he doesn’t get proper sleep.”  Kyuhyun quietly tells Yunho, while watching his housemate discreetly.  “As I was saying, I ran out of gloves.”

“It’s alright, there’s still some at home.”  Yunho replies, smile strained as he catches a glimpse of his dongsaeng’s friend from the corner of his eye.

“Okay, then.  I just have to do something, then we’ll leave.”  Kyuhyun says before disappearing into, what Yunho guesses, the kitchen.  The younger returns after a few minutes, a paper bag in hand.

“Shim Changmin,” Kyuhyun calls and the said person snaps to attention, “go to sleep.  I cannot have you entertaining guests when you’re in that state.  Postpone whatever it is that you have to do and sleep.  I took away your stash so you have no choice.”

Kyuhyun grabs his coat before beckoning for his hyung to follow.  The two exit the apartment after a few minutes, leaving the stunned professor on his own.

“Kyuhyunnie,” Yunho calls, eyes trained carefully on the road despite not being the one driving, “what’s inside the paper bag?”

“Ah, that.”  Kyuhyun replies, tone light and jovial.  He makes a left turn before answering the elder’s question.

“I hope you and the others still like to drink coffee, hyung.”

A lone figure traverses the deserted hallway, carefully checking each door to see if it’s the right practice room.  He continues searching for a few minutes, before stopping and stomping his foot in an almost childish manner once he reaches some sort of intersection.

“Seriously?!”  He exclaims, putting his hands on his hips.  “Why am I doing this again?”

Just then, a door by his right opens, revealing two sweaty boys.  One of them notices the lone figure in the hallway, and points the said figure to his companion.

“Ah, Kibum hyung!”  One of the two boys exclaim, catching the attention of the said figure.

“There you are, Taeminnie!”  The figure—Kibum—exclaims as he catches sight of the two youngsters running towards him.  “I thought I’d never find where you are!”

“Did you wait long, hyung?”  The boy—Taemin—asks once he and his companion reach Kibum.

“I got lost!”  The elder exclaims, surprising the other two.  “You should give me more specific directions next time, Jonginnie.  The ones you gave me a while ago were too vague.”

“But hyung,” Taemin’s companion, Jongin, replies with a pout, “I wasn’t the one who gave you the directions—it was Taemin.”

“What!  It wasn’t me!”  Taemin denies, shaking his head at his hyung.

“Whatever.”  Kibum replies, massaging his forehead.  “Remind me to teach you two how to give proper directions next time we’re free.”  He says before gesturing to the other two to follow him.  They make their way out of the building and start walking to the university’s entrance.

“So, how did it go?”  Kibum asks, side-eyeing the two youngsters.

“It was okay, I guess.”  Jongin replies before shrugging his shoulders.

“Luhan hyung was supposed to practice with us, but he decided to attend soccer practice today.”  Taemin replies, a frown on his forehead.  “He said something about worrying about some guy named Choi Min-Minhyuk? Minsoo?”

“Minho.  He’s probably talking about Choi Minho, one of the university’s more popular soccer players.”  Kibum replies, scanning his memory for anything about the athlete.

“The History major?”  Jongin asks, eyes wide with surprise as he stares at Kibum.

“You know him?”  Kibum asks.

“Not personally, no.”  Jongin begins as he fiddles with the straps of his backpack.  “Sehun mentioned him a few times.  He’s friends with one of Choi Minho sunbaenim’s housemates.”

“Housemates?”  Taemin asks as he stops in his tracks, his frown getting deeper.  “I thought they were siblings.”

“They aren’t but they are?”  Kibum replies, an unsure look on his feline-like face.  “I’m not really sure, I don’t understand it that much.”

“Sehun said that they aren’t siblings, but they live in the same apartment.”  Jongin says after a few minutes of contemplation.

The trio starts walking again, this time in silence.  It is only when they manage to reach the university entrance that Jongin breaks the silence.

“Sehun said that his friend skipped school today.  He was pretty worried about it, too.  Maybe Choi Minho sunbaenim was also worried and Luhan hyung just wanted to help.”

“I never knew Luhan and Choi were close.”  Kibum replies, once again jogging through his memories.  “Hell, I didn’t even know that they knew each other.”

“It’s kinda complicated.”  Jongin replies, now frowning as he stares at his feet.  “From what I understand from Sehun, it has something to do with what happened two—“

Fall Out Boy’s version of “Beat It” suddenly starts to play, prompting Jongin to dig his phone from his pocket.  “Hang on a sec.”  He says, and the other two stop to give time for him to answer the call.

“Yeoboseyo?”

“Yeoboseyo?  Is this Kim Jongin-ssi?”  An unfamiliar voice asks.

“Yes, who is this?” 

“This is Huang Zitao, Sehun’s roommate.”  The voice replies.

Jongin searches his memory for anything about Huang Zitao.  His search leads him to a pair of feline eyes and amazing martial arts skills.

“Ah, yes.  How may I help you?”  He replies, a small smile on his face as he internally cheers for the small victory.

“It’s about Sehun.”  The voice replies, now sounding frantic and worried.

“What about Sehun?”  Jongin replies, voice now also edgy.  His two companions, who were previously talking quietly between themselves, turn to him with worried looks.

“Sehun’s missing.”

A/N: AAAAAH WHAT HAVE I DONE?

Anyway, all of the main players have been introduced!  Just one more chapter before the real story begins and things, hopefully, start to make sense.  Treat the first five chapters as an introduction of sorts--wherein the setting, characters, and primary connections are established, before we delve into the complicated web that will happen pretty soon.

I swear, this story is getting more and more out of track as I write the chapters.  It's pretty clear in my head, but as I write it, it's starting to get more and more complicated.  I just hope I manage to pull it off properly so as not to disappoint anyone. :(

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.  I inteded for it to be a bit light compared to the other three that came before it because I felt that things were getting too heavy when it's only just the beginning (and because I have always wanted to write Changmin like that).

Lastly, a BIG THANKS to all those who commented and subscribed.  I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. :D