More than anything, Sungjong wanted to know who that gaze--those eyes--belonged to.

It wasn’t fair how easily even just recalling that gaze made him feel a strange mix of emotions--how it easily influenced his brain to make his body react strangely. He wanted to know who the intense gaze came from, so he could make them take responsibility for feeling strange.

His hand stopped mid-page turn as he sighed. He was too distracted to be able to read properly. Placing the bookmark between the next pages over, he closed the book and pushed it away gently towards the middle of the table. Eyes narrowing, he glared at the book in naught, before pushing his body away from the table and collection of books that sat to the side. Standing, he picked up the stack and carried them over to their previous home, placing them carefully in their rightful slots one by one, despite his frustration.

This was not okay. Not under any circumstances. Nothing should be allowed to interrupt his ability to read.

Returning to the table and his remaining things, he picked up the bookmarked play and his bookbag, deciding it best to check out of the library for the day.

Sungjong checked his watch as he left the library--it read 04:42 PM. He had about fifteen minutes to get to his next class. Considering the size of campus and his current position, as well as the location of his next class, he could make it.

He was distracted most of the walk by the same thing that was on his mind since earlier. It was as if that gaze had left an imprint deep enough on his brain that even the harshest scrubbing couldn’t get rid of. He wanted to throw a tantrum, but he was mindful of those around him. He was upset and frustrated, but he didn’t want to gain a bad reputation with the general public on campus--didn’t want to look bad in front of others--so he kept to pursing his lips as he walked, his grip impossibly tight on the strap of his bag.

“Sungjongie! You’re here!”

As he entered the lecture hall, he paused as he heard a familiar voice. He felt arms wrap about his upper torso, and he felt very tempted to smack the owner of these arms. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate the affection or friendliness (although, his current mood could beg to differ), but right now probably wasn’t the best time to shower Sungjong with any sort of love.

“Woohyun hyung, please let go of me,” he warned quietly, and the male in question did so quickly, so as to avoid any sort of damage to either his body or face.

“What’s the problem with my Jongie today?” Woohyun huffed, pouting as he led the younger to where they would sit for today’s lecture.

“It’s nothing, I’m just not in the best mood right now,” he huffed back, crossing his arms when he was seated. “I wasn’t able to read much today, is all.” He received a petting of his head in response, and he glanced at the other from the corner of his eye, wondering what he was doing, aside from the obvious.

“Poor Jongie~” he pouted, before wrapping his arms around the other and nuzzling him, “I understand, I understand; must’ve been horrible to not be able to read~”

Sungjong stared at the elder, unsure if he was being mocked or sympathized with, and he sighed, resigning to his fate as being a cuddle pillow until the lecture started at the very least. Worst-case scenario had to do with Woohyun bothering him for the rest of the evening, at least until they had no choice but to part ways.

For the most part, his mind was in-tact during the lecture, for which he was thankful. His mind could still discern the difference between priorities--school was above all else, of course. However, Woohyun had yet to release him, despite the lecture being over.

“Woohyun hyung.” He addressed the elder, shifting uncomfortably.

“Yes, Sungjongie?” There was no indication that he would move from neither pose nor position.

“Please let go of me. I need to get to my job.”

He heard a sigh before the arms tightened around him for a moment; then came the physical freedom. At the chance, Sungjong put his things away and stood, smiling a bit at the other as he nudged him playfully. “I’ll see you later then, hyung~” He waved before making a face at the hearts the elder threw at him. “Ugh, you’re 24 already--don’t be doing that. It’s gross!”

“Only you think so~ The ladies seem to really like my hearts~” Sungjong shuddered as he was on the receiving end of blown kisses and sent winks.

And that was his cue to leave as quickly as possible before he got even more grossed out.

It wasn’t as though Sungjong thought that Nam Woohyun was an incredibly disgusting person, but some of his actions could be considered...gross, or greasy, at the very least. It made his skin crawl every time those thrown hearts and blown kisses and not-so-discrete winks were sent his way, even if it was for the purpose of bothering him. He knew that Woohyun cared for him, and he cared for the other as much--it wouldn’t kill him, though, to lay off the greasiness if it was directed towards Sungjong.

A sigh escaped his lips as he started toward his establishment of employment, pausing to check his watch: 06:55 PM. He had about a half an hour before his shift, but it wouldn’t hurt to be early, right? So, off he went. Thankfully, thoughts of that gaze were at the back of his mind and less of an issue than any assignment.

He entered the building--a small family-owned traditional foods sort of restaurant. He was a waiter, and business wasn’t too bad. He greeted the other waitress and the owners with a smile and friendly ‘hello’ for the evening. He headed to the back of the restaurant to drop off his things in his locker and to switch his work clothes--a white dress shirt he usually pulled on over his undershirt and a small apron that had a few pockets for various things, like a pad and pen, a change purse, and any other various things that might need storing, like napkins. Checking his appearance in the small mirror, he fixed his hair to look more presentable and straightened his clothing before stepping out onto the floor to start his shift.

Throughout the evening, all had run smoothly, and there was no resurfacing of that gaze on his mind. The busy dinner rush most likely played a huge part in all of it, though. Busy hands keep the mind on task...or something like that. Something along those lines, right? The customers in general were satisfied with the quick service, and Sungjong was most definitely happy that people were happy with their meals for the most part.

Granted, towards the latter part of the evening, it started to slow down, and there was a customer here or there that came to drink away their sorrows. As long as they paid and didn’t disturb other patrons, it wasn’t much trouble at all.

At the end of his shift, he changed again and picked up his biweekly check, satisfied with the numbers. Of course, he loved working there, because the people were kind enough to let him hold that job, but a very low wage wouldn’t earn him enough to pay for his schooling. He always kept this in mind whenever he figured he was out of one job and needed a new one to make up for what he’d lost.

He said his goodbyes to the owners and left with the waitress--a friendly girl around his age; he offered to walk her home for various reasons: It was late and typically drunkards were out and about, and his mother had always advised him to walk a lady home if presented with the chance; always walk with at least one other person, and people in general tend to feel safer, regardless of if the situation is bad. Plus, it was just gentlemanly to do so. Treat women right at any chance--he could just hear his mother nagging at his twelve-year-old self over and over concerning the same situations. A fond smile made its way across his lips at this.

As they were walking, they chatted about various things. School and work were the primary topics, of course. She mentioned that she and her boyfriend were going to be celebrating their thousandth day together in about a week or so, animatedly talking of how much she loved him. Although he couldn’t really care less about other’s relationships, the fact that she was so much in love and so happy influenced his mood in a positive way. He felt happy for her, and maybe a little jealous, that she could have such a strong, solid relationship.

“Well, assuming that you’re probably going to take that day off from work if you even have a shift, I’ll say ‘congratulations on a thousand days’ in advance; I wish you all the happiness that you deserve with your relationship,” he grinned, stopping as they arrived at her door.

“Thank you very much, Sungjong-ssi; I’ll tell him you said so!” She bowed as she said her farewells, “Have a safe trip home~” She grinned and escaped inside, waving as he left.

Sungjong waved before stepping away from the property, starting on his way back to Dongwoo’s dorm. He stopped as he heard his ringtone, though, and answered after relishing in the bright happy tone. “Hello?”

“Jongie! Are you done with everything? Hurry up and get over here to Dongwoo-yah’s place so we can all have a sleepover~!” That definitely wasn’t the voice Sungjong was expecting, and he paused to come up with a reply.

“...How did you know that I was going over tonight?” he questioned cautiously, starting to walk again.

“I ran into Dongwoo-yah and he told me about it~ Now hurry, hurry~! I made some food, and we can all eat together with his roommate--”

“He made a lot of food, and I’m sure there won’t be any left before you get here! You better hurry if you want some of it!” The voice was familiar, and...very, very loud. Sungjong quickly replied, avoiding raising his voice too much, but it was all he could do to be heard over the immature noise-box that was Lee Sungyeol.

“Yes, yes, I understand, Sungyeol-hyung~! Now stop yelling in my ear. Blowing out my eardrums isn’t going to make me get there faster, you know,” he mocked, hurrying my steps along. Truthfully, he was pretty hungry, so it would probably be a good idea to hurry before the elder three ate everything.

“As long as we’re on the same page~ See you soon, Jongie~!” And then came the click indicating the ending of the call from the other side.

Clicking the lock button, Sungjong hurried along as quickly as he could without overdoing it, avoiding messing up his looks too badly, despite that the only people he would be meeting would be three guys he was comfortable enough to walk around in his underwear with. That was saying a lot, actually.

Sungjong arrived at Dongwoo’s place relatively quickly, and he knocked on the door until a delighted and overly-energized Sungyeol nearly toppled him over in the narrow hallway. “Sungyeol hyung, get off of me!” he pouted, attempting to push the elder off of him.

After a bit of minor torture and struggling, the youngest was freed and given free range to move about the small room, sitting between Sungyeol and Dongwoo, greeted with appetizing smells that made his stomach grumble in protest concerning the lack of food in the extensive period of time since lunch. “I will eat well~!” he called towards Woohyun, who was still cooking up a few things here and there.

Presented in front of his face was a pair of chopsticks holding some cooked meat, and Sungjong graciously ate it, nodding his approval at the taste and giving his thumbs up. “It’s delicious, Woohyun hyung~” he complimented, picking at some of the side dishes with his chopsticks.

“Glad you think so, Jongie~ I put all of my love into making it~”

“Nevermind, I take that back.”

Everyone laughed as Sungjong placed his food back down, following through with the act, before continuing to eat. He laughed along with the others to indicate he was joking, more than anything. And Woohyun ended up laughing as well, although a bit “hurt” at the joke.

It wasn’t until everyone was settled in for sleep that Sungjong’s mind got to working silently again, bringing forth thoughts that weren’t exactly wanted. Primarily thoughts concerning that piercing gaze that seemingly affected him physically. What exactly compelled him to think so much about a pair of eyes? He should rephrase that: What exactly about that pair of eyes compelled him to think so much? His mind grasped for the image through the shelves, and, based on memory, he analyzed the image as thoroughly as his brain would allow him. Was it the dark orbs? Was it the shape of the eyes? Was it the angle at which he was gazing? So many possibilities that could have led to the answer he wanted, but he wasn’t exactly satisfied with any of the questions he came up with in his brain.

He turned over to his side as he continued to think, recalling past experiences and situations that might lead him to his answer.

The first thing that came to mind was his mother. She always seemed to know the answers, regardless if they were completely accurate. He thought back and ran through the countless life lessons she’d lectured him on, making sure he understood and could recite them by heart right back to her. He knew how to be a gentleman, and he knew how to treat others well--to take care of them and how to tell if others are worth the effort. He closed his eyes and dug deeper, into her life lessons concerning emotions.

Frustration and stress were never good to keep bottled up, and, at the very least, exercise to work it out.

Sorrow and loneliness could disperse as time went on, but only if you allowed them to.

Anger can embed itself into your core and make you do regretful things; it’s your responsibility to not allow it to influence your actions in such a negative way, and to be able to handle it is something that takes time and practice.

Love is something that’s often explained through means of endorphins releasing in the brain to make one feel good. However, love is a strong emotion that’s much like a double-edged sword. It can feel good, but it can hurt as well. It’s up to God to determine how your love would affect you, and whether or not He wants to present you with a challenge is completely unknown.

Of course, naturally, Sungjong wasn’t always satisfied with the pathos-like answers a lot of the time, and so, she provided him with a more logos-like, in-depth sort of answer: “Your heart is always the most honest part concerning attraction and love. By your heart, I mean the chemical reaction in your brain that would release endorphins to make you feel good. When you fall in love, you’ll know--all it would take is one look, and those endorphins will make you feel good. That’s the positive side. Sometimes it doesn’t work out that way, though, and sometimes it hurts, and that’s where longing and lovesickness come from. Again, all it takes is one look.”

His whole body tensed as he came to this answer. Was he really in love with someone whom he had met gazes with for not even a moment? It sounded preposterous, and it was incredibly upsetting if it were to hold true. He didn’t want his first love to be with someone in a manner that was probably less-than-pleasant for him.

Then again, what if it really was love? He didn’t want to rule out the idea that it could be love. He’d heard of people falling in love at first sight. Sometimes it lasted a long, long time, and those couples were some of the nicest he had ever met. Not all of them, but a good handful of them. Maybe pining and being in love wasn’t such a bad idea, but then again, what could he do if he couldn’t find out who owned that gaze?

He rolled over again, further elaborating on this possibility, pursing his lips. How would he find out? He wasn’t the best portraitist, so trying to draw it and make it look as he thought would be impossible. Maybe he could hope for the best, and that he would run into the person with that gaze while on campus--they had to be a student here, at the very least. Only attending students were allowed above the second floor of the library.

He checked the time and sighed silently. He was staying up way past his bedtime. 03:15. How had he managed to stay up this late just thinking?

He rolled over again, feeling as if he would look like death the next morning--not the greatest idea, considering how much he valued looking good when going out. He inwardly groaned as he imagined how bad he would look and figured that a little concealer and BB cream never hurt anyone.

a/n: Hallo, hallo again~ So here is the second chapter, and, being a terrible person, it's lacking proofreading/betaing, or whatever you kids wanna call it. All I know is that my body is calling for some sort of exercise, and I shall comply; hopefully I did a good job on this chapter, and I know I'm just farting them out one after the other, I hope that doesn't make me look like any less of an attempt at an author~! I hope that this chapter is satisfactory, and I shall take a short break before going onto the next chapter--hopefully you guys don't mind time skips too badly? Because there's going to be about two weeks to a month's worth of time skips (possibly more?) next chapter. Again, comment/critique/suggestions/etc. are always welcome, and I'll do my best to reply to comments~

Also, is there anyone willing to create some sort of graphic for this little fanfic? I know it's asking a lot, but it would be greatly appreciated, and maybe I can repay you somehow?

Anyway, toodaloo~ at least until next chapter