“It’s crooked,” Kyungsoo said decisively, arms crossed over a t-shirt that had at one time belonged to his boyfriend.

Said boyfriend, Jongin, sighed. “Yeobo, I’ve already re-hung this picture about a dozen times.”

“Then obviously we need to invest in a level,” Kyungsoo maintained stubbornly. “I’m not going to have crooked pictures in my living room.”

“We’re in university, yeobo,” Jongin reminded him. “Most people our age don’t have anything other than tacky posters on the walls.”

“Well we’re not just anybody, and I want my pictures straight, dammit.” Kyungsoo stomped his foot childishly.

Jongin couldn’t help but laugh, coming over and planting a soft kiss on the elder’s forehead. “Fine, fine. I’ll go out and buy a level.”

“Now?” Kyungsoo prompted.

Jongin cringed. “Now? I have to go now?”

“I can’t stand having crooked pictures on the walls!” Kyungsoo practically wailed. “It’s bothering me so much I can’t even think straight!”

Jongin rolled his eyes but he smiled in an exasperated sort of way. “Okay, okay. I’ll go now and buy a level. I’ll be back in a bit.” And, with a little peck on his boyfriend’s lips, he left the apartment.

Kyungsoo wanted nothing more than to flop down on the sofa – it was a really nice one, a graduation gift from his parents – and take a little cat nap until Jongin returned, but there was too much to do and Kyungsoo was nothing if not responsible. They had gotten the keys to their brand new apartment the morning before and, with the help of their friends, had moved all their furniture and boxes in. Now, their second day in the apartment, they had been busy rearranging the furniture and unpacking and setting up electronics and – at Kyungsoo’s insistence – hanging pictures on the walls. So, instead of napping like he wanted to, Kyungsoo walked into the kitchen.

The apartment was a tiny one, with only one bedroom, a living room, a dining nook, and a tiny kitchen that had barely enough room for two people. Still, considering that Jongin had been disowned and no longer had access to his family’s bank accounts and that they were paying for the place all by themselves, it was a pretty good place. It was clean and well-insulated, and, since Kyungsoo was there with Jongin, he couldn’t be happier.

There was a stack of boxes in the kitchen filled with the few pots and pans, dishes, and utensils that they had managed to get together. Most of them were mismatched but they had to make do with that they could. At one point in his life, this might have seriously bothered Kyungsoo; as it was, he was pretty okay with it now.

He was in the process of putting mismatched silverware in one of the kitchen drawers – he’d already put down floral-print sticky paper to keep things cleaner – when there was a knock on the door.

It was too soon for Jongin to be back from the hardware store – and he had a key, so it wasn’t like he would knock – so Kyungsoo didn’t know who it was. He closed the silverware drawer – very nearly perfect, in his opinion, despite the fact that nothing matched – and went to the door.

He found Luhan, Yixing, and Seoyun on the other side, all grinning, Yixing bearing a cheap bottle of champagne.

“What are you guys doing here?” Kyungsoo asked, stepping aside so they could come in.

“We came to celebrate you guys moving into your first apartment!” Seoyun cheered, toeing off her shoes and coming into the living room. “A house-warming party, if you will. Where’s Jongin?”

“He went to the store to get a level,” Kyungsoo answered, closing the door as the last of his friends came in.

Luhan cocked his head to the side, confused. “A level?”

“It’s something that helps you hang pictures straight,” Seoyun explained with a roll of her eyes. “You can’t expect a gay guy to know that.”

“Hey, I’m gay and I know that,” Kyungsoo pointed out. “And Jongin too.”

Seoyun thought for a moment, making herself comfortable on the couch. “Maybe it’s because he’s Chinese?”

“I’m Chinese and I know what a level is,” her fiancé pointed out.

“Fine, fine. He doesn’t know because he’s Luhan,” Seoyun gave in, and they all chuckled.

“He should be back from the hardware store soon,” Kyungsoo explained. “Do you guys want anything to drink while we wait?”

Yixing shook the bottle of champagne plaintively.

Kyungsoo laughed and took the bottle. “Okay, okay. I’ll go pour the champagne.”

Seoyun got to her feet right before her fiancé could put his arm around her shoulders. “I’ll help you,” she offered cheekily.

“So how are you and Yixing liking your new place?” Kyungsoo asked while he worked on uncorking the bottle and Seoyun got mismatched glasses out from one of the cabinets. She and Yixing had moved into an apartment a few blocks away right after graduation, since Yixing hadn’t wanted to go back to China and Seoyun had wanted to get away from her parents.

Seoyun grinned, lining the glasses up on the counter. “It’s pretty great. We’ve already broken in every room.”

Kyungsoo made a face, carefully pouring the champagne into the glasses. “I do not need to hear about your life, thank you very much.”

She only laughed. “Well not all of us got to live with our boyfriends back in high school, so excuse me for taking advantage of every opportunity to have .”

“Well, you’ve got a point there,” Kyungsoo agreed, putting the cork back in the champagne bottle and grabbing some of the glasses. “I guess I did luck out that I was living with my boyfriend.”

“This is an entirely new experience for us, so we’re both really excited,” Seoyun said, following him back into the living room.

“Excited for what?” Luhan asked.

Yixing slapped his hand over his face. “Seoyun, you told Kyunggie about that?”

“No!” Seoyun exclaimed quickly, blushing bright crimson. “I only said we were excited to live together!”

Now it was Yixing’s turn to be embarrassed. “Oh. Well then. Forget I said anything.”

But of course everyone’s interest was piqued at that. “Wait, wait. Now you have to elaborate,” Luhan said.

Yixing quickly shook his head. “Nobody needs to know about my life, thank you very much. Not all of us like to share everything like you and Sehun do.”

“Sehun,” Luhan corrected. “I don’t share. Sehun does. Not me.”

“Whatever,” Yixing said impatiently. “The point is, I know more than enough about your life and people can stay the out of mine.”

There was another knock on the door then, saving Yixing from further questioning.

“Now who on earth is that?” Kyungsoo wondered aloud, heading back down the hallway to answer the door.

This time, when he pulled it open, he found himself face-to-face with none other than Baekhyun and Chanyeol, the first friends he’d made at Seonbi. They’d moved into an apartment in the same building a few days before and it surprised Kyungsoo a little bit that they’d managed to stop face long enough to come downstairs.

“What are you guys doing here?” Kyungsoo demanded, genuinely happy to see them.

Baekhyun grinned and shoved a small vase of fresh flowers into his arms. “Welcoming you to the neighborhood. What does it look like?”

“Even though we’re not in high school anymore, we still only live a floor away,” Chanyeol said thoughtfully. “Some things never change, I guess.”

Kyungsoo laughed. “Well come in, then. Yixing and Seoyun and Luhan are in the living room.”

“What’s up?” Baekhyun greeted everyone, allowing Chanyeol to sit in the armchair before promptly taking up residence on his boyfriend’s lap. “Where’s Sehun? I figured you two would be attached at the hip.”

Luhan pulled a face. “It’s orientation at Seonbi, so he’s stuck on campus. I think he’s going to try to come down this weekend, though. He wants to see where I live.”

“Did you get an apartment off campus?” Chanyeol asked curiously. Most of them had decided to live off campus so they could live with their significant others and have a bit more freedom, but since Luhan wasn’t able to live with Sehun, who was still in high school, he had been undecided about his living arrangements up through graduation.

Luhan shook his head, sipping at his champagne. “Nah, I decided to live on campus. It’ll be easier for me to attend classes and rehearsals, and besides, I think Sehun was a little nervous about me living off campus with another guy.”

“But you’re living with another guy on campus, aren’t you?” Baekhyun pointed out, accepting the glass of champagne Kyungsoo handed him.

Luhan laughed. “Yeah, I am,” he admitted. “But the rules are pretty strict in the dorm, so I guess Sehun isn’t as worried. Besides, my roommate already has a boyfriend, so I don’t think Sehun has got much to worry about. Not that he had anything to worry about to begin with.”

“I can’t believe we’re really in university,” Seoyun sighed, resting her head on her fiancé’s shoulder.

“Me either,” Kyungsoo said with a contented little sigh. “And after how exciting senior year at Seonbi was, I’m ready for a nice, quiet university life.”

All of his friends laughed, and Luhan patted him on the shoulder. “Good luck with that, Kyunggie-poo.”

He was about to retort when there was yet another knock on the door. “Oh, for the love of pie!” Kyungsoo exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air. “Who on earth is it now?”

When he pulled open the front door this time, he was met with Junmyeon, Jonghyun, Kibum, and Jinki. Kibum was holding cake – obviously homemade but just as obviously more delicious than anything that could be bought in a store – and they were all grinning.

Of course Kyungsoo couldn’t be annoyed or exasperated, so he accepted the cake and welcomed the four of them into the apartment – which was starting to feel cramped with everyone crammed into the tiny living room. They had run out of furniture after Baekhyun and Chanyeol arrived, so now some people were sitting on the floor as well.

They were discussing their upcoming classes and comparing schedules, trying to see if any of them shared a class or two together, when Jongin came in, loaded down with the level he had bought from the hardware store and a cake in a box from the bakery on the corner.

“Yeobo, I’m home!” he called, but he stopped when he saw all of their friends crammed into their living room. “What, did you plan a party while I was gone or something?”

Kyungsoo gave him a wry smile. “Sort of like they all just showed up,” he admitted.

“And I brought a homemade cake, so you won’t be needing that,” Kibum nodded towards the cake box in Jongin’s hand with a smug sort of smirk.

Kyungsoo smoothly stepped in before anything more could be said about the cake. “You and I can enjoy this more privately,” he promised with a little wink, replacing the cake with a glass of champagne.

Jongin wrinkled his nose playfully at Kibum, taking a sip of champagne. “You’re lucky I like you.”

Kibum only laughed.

After placing the store-bought cake in the kitchen for later enjoyment, Kyungsoo returned to his boyfriend’s side, linking their arms together with a big goofy smile. It was only their second day in their apartment and already he knew he was going to love it. 

Okay, so, first things first: Welcome readers, old and new alike! 

So, at first, when I saw that I had like 1800 subs and over 150 upvotes for a story that was only a forward, I was like

then I was like

So, for those of you who don't know my entire life story yet, let me introduce myself. I'm Ayla, so feel free to call me Ayla, BrandedButterfly, unnie (if I'm older than you) or whatever. I'm American but I currently live in Korea, teaching English. I have a boyfriend who is Chinese (a lot of people think he looks like Yesung from Super Junior). I like to travel around Korea and have fun. Like this past weekend. I went to the Boryeong Mud Festival. 

You'll learn pretty quickly that I share a lot in my author's notes, so expect a lot of pictures from me ^^

Anyway, so welcome to the first chapter of Perfectly Imperfect! This was mostly just an introductory chapter. Anyway, I love you guys! See you soon!