Kyungsoo looked away when his eyes met Suho’s.

 

“Umm…” he started, wiping his clammy palms on his jeans before starting to pick on his nails.

 

He knew this was a mistake even before he sent that email, but $300 would be a much-needed help for him to buy the materials for his upcoming design project.

 

Bloody architecture course. Why did it have to be so expensive?

 

He was regretting not leaving when he had the chance, but money. The hole in his wallet was screaming a lot louder than his conscience. Not to mention that he didn’t want to attract everybody’s attention by being the only one leaving.

 

“I have trouble with…” he gestured at the circle, eyes locked on the floor.

 

“Speaking in public?” Suho prompted.

 

“More than that.” He shifted in his seat, feeling like a sweaty miserable mess.

 

“Being among people?” Suho tried again.

 

“No, just…” he gestured wildly before realizing what he was doing. ‘Oh god, now they’ll think I’m weird.’ He blushed, which made him feel even more self-conscious.

 

“Being in my presence?” one of the participants called out.

 

Suho frowned. “I’m pretty sure that’s not it,” he squinted at the other’s nametag. “Luhan.”

 

Luhan smiled smugly. “I’m pretty sure it is. I mean, who wouldn’t be nervous around me?”

 

“I think I know what’s wrong with him,” Kris whispered.

 

“We appreciate it if you don’t interrupt while somebody else is speaking. That goes for all of you,” Suho said sternly.

 

“I wasn’t interrupting, I was contributing,” Luhan protested.

 

Suho ignored him, turning back to Kyungsoo. “Is it strangers?”

 

Kyungsoo nodded.

 

“Tell me more.” 

 

“Umm…” he said again, fidgeting as he felt everybody’s attention turning to him again.

 

“I fake being sick when I have presentations,” he finally said meekly.

 

“Who doesn’t?” the person next to Kris said, laughing.

 

Suho eyed him wearily, looking at his nametag. Sehun.

 

“Why?” he asked Kyungsoo.

 

“I feel like they’ll laugh at me. I know it’s stupid, but knowing me I’ll probably start sweating and fidgeting and just embarrass myself,” he mumbled.

 

Suho nodded, scribbling ‘social anxiety disorder’ on his pad.

 

“How long has this been going on for?”

 

Kyungsoo frowned. “I don’t know, since primary school?”

 

“What about in other situations? For example, a party?”

 

Kyungsoo looked at him blankly. “I don’t go to parties.”

 

“Okay, what about when you’re with your friends?”

 

His blank expression remained. “I don’t have friends.”

 

Luhan sniggered.

 

Kyungsoo blushed furiously, immediately regretting exposing too much.

 

Suho shot Luhan a disapproving look. “Okay, let’s move on.” He turned to look at the person beside Kyungsoo, reading his nametag. “Jongin?”

 

“Right,” Jongin said, mulling things over. “I think I’m a maniac.” He casually placed a hand on Kyungsoo’s thigh and turned to look at him. “I mean, I just think about all the time,” he said suggestively.

 

Kyungsoo squeaked in terror, feeling like a cornered rat. He shifted his chair a bit further than Jongin’s. Jongin squeezed his thigh and winked at him before letting go.

 

Suho frowned. “One, leave poor Kyungsoo alone. Two, being a maniac makes you female.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I think satyr is the word you’re looking for.”

 

“Isn’t that what Jesus was?”

 

Suho sighed, inwardly facepalming himself.

 

“Why do you think that it’s a problem?” he asked.

 

“I have fantasies about banging the grandma next door.”

 

“Ew, tmi?” Luhan said.

 

“I’m fantasizing about banging him for god’s sake,” Jongin said, pointing at Luhan.

 

“Well, you can’t really help that.” Luhan shrugged.

 

Sehun stood up. “Brag about your ugly mug one more time, I swear to god I’ll wring your neck.”

 

Kris pulled him back into his seat.

 

“Whoa, anger management problem much?” Luhan rolled his eyes. “And your envy’s showing. You might want to learn how to hide that. You’re ugly enough to begin with,” he said haughtily.

 

Sehun tried to stand back up but Kris held him down.

 

Suho ignored the commotion. “What else?” he asked Jongin.

 

Jongin tried to come up with something else to say. What would make his story more convincing?

 

“I can’t focus in class because I keep thinking about how much better it would be if I was at a giant instead.”

 

Suho nodded. “And?”

 

“None of my relationships lasted because monogamy .”

 

Suho looked at him. “Do you actually sleep around?”

 

Jongin blinked. “Yeah?”

 

Suho raised his eyebrows at the other’s uncertainty.

 

Jongin cleared his throat. “Yes, I do. All the time. Just ask my classmates. I’ve tried them all at least once.”

 

Suho nodded. “How long have you had these urges?”

 

“Since high school.”

 

“Hmm.” Suho scribbled ‘ual disorder NOS (hyperuality)’ on his pad. “Okay, let’s move on.”

 

Luhan groaned. “Can we take a break? I don't think this guy’s even listening.” He pointed at the person to his right, who seemed to be in a daze.

 

Suho squinted at his nametag, cursing his bad eyesight. “Yixing?” he called.

 

There was no response. Luhan smacked him on the shoulder.

 

“Mmm?” Yixing said, turning to look at Luhan.

 

Luhan rolled his eyes. “Focus.”

 

“Okay.”

 

There was a knock on the door. Suho looked at his watch. “Oh, it’s lunchtime. We’ll take a half an hour break then.”

 

Kris went to answer the door and came back with a box of sandwiches. “Who’s hungry?”

 

The sandwiches were passed around.

 

“Feel free to talk amongst yourselves,” Suho said. “I wish I was getting paid to do this. That would make it slightly more tolerable,” he whispered to Kris.

 

“That makes two of us,” Kris whispered back.

 

Suho sighed, turning back to the participants. He noticed that the person sitting on Luhan’s left wasn’t eating.

 

“You’re not eating that,” he looked at the person’s nametag. “Minseok?”

 

“No, I’m alright. I’m still full from breakfast,” Minseok replied, smiling.

 

“If you don’t want that, can you give it to me?” the person next to him said. His nametag read Baekhyun.

 

“Sure,” Minseok said, handing the wrapped sandwich over.

 

Baekhyun put it in his bag, along with the empty wrapper for his sandwich.

 

 

 

Jongin noticed that the person to his left was staring at him. Thoroughly creeped out, he turned to look at Kyungsoo, who was nibbling on his sandwich.

 

Kyungsoo hated eating in public. He felt like people would notice how he didn’t chew enough before swallowing, how he made a mess when eating anything with sauce, how he held his utensils funny. He was probably thinking too much, but he hated embarrassing himself, and he did that often enough.

 

 Which was why there were knots forming in his stomach when he noticed somebody looking at him. Did he get mayonnaise on his face-

 

“You have mayonnaise on your face.”

 

Eep!

 

Jongin brushed it with his thumb and it off, smiling at him.

 

EEP!

 

Kyungsoo blushed furiously, torn between feeling embarrassed and violated.

 

 

 

“Okay, time’s up,” Suho said. “Let’s get the ball rolling.” He turned to the person next to Jongin. “So what’s wrong with you, Chanyeol?”