Everything had started out as it should have: Sungjong was attending K University on an educational scholarship partially, and partially due to holding a few jobs that spanned out during the week. He was a typical college student, give or take a bit above average academically (hence the partially-paid tuition). His major thus far was that of undecided territory--he hadn’t exactly explored his interests to the fullest extent, but he figured he may as well figure out and decide quickly so his tuition money could be well-spent, rather than wasted on his indecisiveness (wasted money was a personal pet peeve of his). 

So far, he’d come across a few fields of interest--English literature, dance, education, and psychology. A wide field of interests, but now it was the matter of narrowing it down between the four.

Staring at the paper in his lap, his eyes darted between the four circled choices, and his mind got to tousling the choices in possible combinations that would lead to the most satisfactory end. He knew that majors were always best to have one of, and that one could hold many minors; however, as a student accumulated more and more classes to take, also came with the accumulation of more financial burden. 

With what he had now--concerning the classes under his undecided major--he had some money left over after tuition and every other expense had been paid off. There was also the later-in-life he had to consider as well--several questions that would be needed to be addressed in this aspect:

Which would be the best to pursue in order to work off his debt the quickest?

Which major would be the easiest to get a job with after he graduates?

Would he feel fulfilled in his life after college, or would he end up being a joyless, overworked adult, much like the majority of Korean workers?

Would he be able to eventually settle down and have a family he could proudly take care of?

He paused in his thoughts and tapping (he hadn’t even realized that he’d been tapping his pencil against the paper as he thought) as he came to the last question in his head. 

Family had been a big part of his life--Sungjong’s mother was a stay-at-home mother, much like other families, and his father was a big influence in his development as a human being. His father was a culinary professor, so he always encouraged creativity and individuality, as well as being allowed to spread one’s wings to pursue passions. Sungjong never had to worry about either of his parents stifling any interests that seemed unorthodox by the general population, and for that he was thankful. Even when his younger brother Sungkyu had become part of the family, Sungjong was still very much a part of the family--helping to raise the younger, rather than being singled apart because a new, younger child “needed more attention”, and Sungjong was “old enough to take care of himself”. No, his family loved him and his brother thoroughly enough to allow the Lee children to become wonderful people.

“But I digress,” he muttered, amused with how his mind had wandered.

“Miss*? Miss what, Jongie?”

The vocal intrusion made his body jerk from surprise, obviously unprepared for the newcomer. The newcomer that made him drop his pencil to the ground. The newcomer that was much deserving of a slap to his arm--which was given justly.

“Dongwoo hyung! Don’t come out of nowhere like that!” In the back of his mind, behind the innocent slight pouting of lips, Sungjong was secretly satisfied that he had managed to slap his hyung hard enough to cause pain.

“Aish! You slap hard like a girl! It’s not my fault you weren’t listening!” He continued to nurse his “injury” by rubbing the affected area, probably in hopes of calming the pain.

“Whatever,” Sungjong rolled his eyes, “And I said digress, not miss. I knew your Korean skills weren’t that grand, but I didn’t expect them to be this bad.” He was teasing, of course, and the biting of the bottom lip to stifle a grin was indicative of it.

Dongwoo whined at the younger, poking at his arm, “It’s not my fault they sound the same! If you had some context, it would have made more sense~.” He paused, seemingly allowing something to process in his brain. “Oh ye-!” 

“What are you even doing here? Don’t you have work or classes to attend on the other side of campus?” Sungjong stared at the other curiously. It wasn’t like he disliked his hyung, but he didn’t like taking up his time if he was busy.

“I was gonna tell you why I came over, but you so rudely interrupted me~” A over-exaggerated pout quickly shifted into a grin as Dongwoo quickly addressed the questions, “Ehe, nope--I’m totally free today! I don’t have classes until tomorrow, and my shift was cancelled today--they said they were training a new guy, and that I would probably make him wanna leave before he even started”--he pouted at this--”but that means that I can spend your free time with you today, Jongie!” He grinned widely, holding up a peace sign, and Sungjong couldn’t help but to smile as well. 

Dongwoo checked his watch before looking around campus for a moment, “If you’re free, let’s go to lunch--my treat!”

Sungjong paused to think if he had any classes or shifts within the next couple hours. Luckily, he didn’t, and he nodded, gathering his things together in his bag and pulling the straps over his shoulders. “I’ll make sure to get something expensive~,” he teased, grinning as the other draped an arm over his shoulders.

“Nothing too expensive, I hope--remember that I’m a college student too!” The two laughed as they left the bench and immediate area.

Lunch was delicious--delicious enough to leave the two in a minor food coma afterwards. Of course, Dongwoo didn’t cope as well as Sungjong, considering that, on the bus ride back to campus, he’d passed out as soon as he sat comfortably (He was notorious for being able to sleep deeply anywhere amongst their small group of friends). Unable to really do anything except arrange his blanket comfortably over the other, Sungjong waited out the ride back to campus, planning out his afternoon from the moment when he would say farewell to his good friend--at least until tomorrow, unless something came up.

First things first: Go to the library and read some literature. After eating such a delicious meal, he liked to settle down and read comfortably--especially since it wasn’t a luxury he typically partook in. He pursed his lips as he thought about what he could read. Maybe Shakespeare? It was easy enough on the mind, especially when he didn’t want to think too hard.

He glanced out the bus window, catching glimpses of the people on the sidewalks as they passed, as well as those on bicycles and motorized scooters and those in their cars--a whole array of people. Thankfully, this distraction was enough to keep Sungjong from bothering his hyung until they were close to the campus.

Gently, he nudged Dongwoo, quietly murmuring into his ear for him to wake up. He knew that this wouldn’t really work, and that this case really needed more coercion in order to get a real response, but he was keeping quiet and discrete for the sake of the elders on the bus as well. So when they were coming to a stop at campus, he more or less pushed the other out of his seat to wake him up and dragged the sleepy body through the bus and out onto the street after briefly apologizing to the elders for causing a “ruckus”. Not exactly discrete, but the stop gave him an excuse to apply a bit more force into his effort.

“Jongie~” Dongwoo proceeded to drape his body over the other sleepily, a lazy grin gracing his lips.

“What is it?” Sungjong had to at least humor his hyung until they parted ways, right?

“Come sleep over at my room tonight~ I wanna hug my favorite body pillow before I have to be busy again~”

A sigh escaped Sungjong’s lips before a small grin graced them, “Alright. Just know that if I leave in the middle of the night, it’ll be because you were hugging too tight.”

Dongwoo squeezed slightly before pulling away and ruffling Sungjong’s hair, pulling an adamant pout and huff from the younger. “Alright, see you later Jongie~!” he called, waving as he left Sungjong to take out his phone and carefully reconstruct his hair to what it was prior.

Sungjong waved as the other left--naturally after he fixed his hair--and stretched his arms above his head in something similar to a cat-like stretch, exposing something of his lower stomach. He heel and started toward the library on campus. Back to his original objective.

He paused as he glanced around to find his destination, spotting the familiarly large building that held so much knowledge and literature to his left. He stepped towards it and up the relatively large staircase, pausing halfway up to take a moment to look around and take in the scenery.

Students were sparsely scattered about campus, the occasional other-sort-of wildlife wandering here and there in his field of vision; a few buildings sat in the background, as well as the mountains scattered about to surround various parts of Korea. The slight breeze gently ruffled the branches and leaves of trees, and a smile graced his lips as he enjoyed the view as a whole. The sights of everyday happenings that continued even if he wasn’t present; the sounds of voices from humans and wildlife alike, as well as the background ruffling of nature; the scent of wind carrying tiny pieces of everything and everyone and sharing them--dispersing them--almost in an attempt to create some sort of unity amongst everything (It was probably not the case, but Sungjong liked to be a romanticist about these sorts of things--after being an analyst, of course).

He wanted to be able to capture this whole scene--from the blue sky to the gray pavements, to the students clothed in autumn wear (It was getting to that point in the year--when students needed to start bundling up in preparation for the cold winter of Seoul, himself included), to the changing colors of the leaves and grass on campus, to the seemingly unchanging colors of the buildings on campus--but he had no camera. He knew he wouldn’t use it as much as others would, and, in the end, it would end up going to waste in a box somewhere.

He sighed and proceeded onward toward the doors of the library, grasping the strap of his backpack as he moved forward. Maybe the words of Shakespeare could take him out of reality and to somewhere much easier to deal with. 

Literature was pretty straightforward--complete with a beginning, middle, and end. If the reader wanted to further complicate and interpret, then that was their choice, but Sungjong preferred to enjoy it for what it was in its simplest form; if he picked up on any nuances, symbolism, or anything of the sort, then that was a bonus, but it wasn’t his main reason why he liked reading.

Quickly moving across the floor of the library and up the staircase, his tongue darted out to wet his lips as he became slightly excited to grasp a book and relax--without distraction, hopefully. 

As he made his way up the staircase--meeting the second and then the third floor with his eyes--he stepped onto the carpet of the third floor library, his eyes seeking out the English literature section. Finding it, he maneuvered his body through the aisles quietly in order to find a comfortable spot to read in peace--and find it, he did. 

A sole love seat sitting beside the wall and under a window. Feeling slightly selfish, Sungjong figured he could use one seat to place his books of choice while he sat on the other to read. He nodded to himself as he moved over to drop his backpack on the seat of choice, hoping to God that nobody would take it upon themselves to touch his things in order to do as he himself was planning to do. 

Returning to the shelves, he began to scan through the ‘S’ section, his fingers running along the spines of each bound title, gently tapping against one he found of interest--‘The Tempest’--before gingerly pulling it from its spot. He repeated this pattern as he continued to scan through the various titles, amassing a small collection in his arms that he held onto as securely as he would a child. Anything written by another human being was precious, unless it was written for the sake of hurting others, and even then. Sungjong just had an immensely soft spot for literature, he mused.

“Who wouldn’t, though?” A soft chuckle escaped as a fond smile rested upon his lips, his eyes scanning the shelves for more titles that caught his interest.

However, his body stopped completely as his eyes met those of a stranger while scanning the spines. More or less, he hadn’t expected it. The deep, intense gaze that Sungjong could only reciprocate was something that seemingly froze him in his spot, his arms unconsciously tightening around the bound titles in an unknown feeling--anticipation? Excitement? He felt his heartbeat raise its rhythm to that of an unfamiliar rate, aside from a few other circumstances, and it confused him; how could meeting a stranger’s eyes do this to him?

He couldn’t do anything. It felt as if the gaze had spellbound his body and he couldn’t move. Why was this happening? There had to be a logical explanation. However, as his mind fished for answers, he could find none at the moment. It wasn’t until the other turned away to most likely continue what business they had that Sungjong could physically do anything other than stand there and stare--breathing and moving were seemingly out of the question.

He quietly caught his breath, avoiding causing a scene, and leaned against the shelf gently, closing his eyes to reconstruct his previously-erratic thoughts. He felt weak and nauseous, and very dehydrated--anxious and restless. He felt exhausted, and his whole being seemed to be trembling. Returning to the love seat, he placed the books on the seat beside him before sitting carefully on his seat of choice, sitting back and resting his forearm across his eyes to hopefully calm everything he was feeling.

Who was that, and why did his gaze have such a strong effect on Sungjong?

a/n: Hi hi~! Like I said in the foreword, this is my first attempt at fanfiction (not exactly my first attempt at story-writing, but nobody speaks of it)~. I just wanna say thank you already to people who have liked the foreword thus far, and hopefully this chapter doesn't disappoint too much! If you haven't noticed already, or if you can't tell yet, a couple things I can notice about my writing are as such: I'm a very introspective person, but not super descriptive in the sense that describing things like scenes are not my forte, so if anything seems awkward in that sense, you know why; also, if Jongie seems a bit distanced from everything, I would like to say it's fully intentional, but I think that just might be my writing style. I can defend it all I want by saying that I perceive Jongie to be a rather thoughtful person, but different people have different perceptions of people, and, since this is the first chapter, I still have time to grow and develop his personality, especially after he meets the owner of those oh-so-affecting eyes~ (Although you can probably already guess~) Again, comments/critiques/anything like that is always welcome~~ Come talk to me too~