Yixing stared up at the modernly designed building. The building that would host his very first class in Seoul. He smiled to himself, enjoying the long, leisurely pause, and reflected on the luck that had allowed him to enter college in Korea. Born and raised in a Chinese city, Yixing had long wanted to experience other cultures and was given his chance in the form of a scholarship to Seoul University. The scholarship ensured that he wouldn’t have to pay a cent for school, which was the only way his father and grandmother had consented for him to go. He wouldn’t be a burden on them in Korea, they had said, and that was good enough. It wasn’t as if he had ever been of use to them, so the least he could do was not cost them anything.  The smile slipped off the boy’s lips and his face transformed into a blank mask. Someone knocked into him behind, forcing him to lunge forward. A strong hand wrapped around his bicep, keeping him from falling.

“Sorry,” A deep, cheerful voice rumbled behind him. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.” Yixing stabilized himself and turned around with a friendly smile on his face.

“That’s okay. I was...” He struggled to remember the right Korean word. “...thinking too much.” Before him stood a very tall boy, all long arms and legs, with a bright grin and big ears. His hair was a mess, like he’d just woken up, and a bag was slung carelessly over one shoulder. Everything about him screamed good-natured fun and laziness.

“Oh, are you from China?” The boy asked, seeming genuinely interested.

“Yes. I am here for college. My first class starts in,” Yixing checked his watch, “two minutes.”

“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have organic chemistry at nine, would you?”

“Yes,” Yixing began, intending to elaborate, but a long arm was suddenly wrapped around his shoulders, tugging him towards the building’s entrance.

“Awesome! We’re in the same class! Your Korean is very good, by the way. My name’s Park Chanyeol, what’s yours?” He rattled off with enthusiasm. Yixing was a little stunned by the young man’s practically tangible energy, but struggled to reply anyway as he was tugged through the door and down a hallway.

“My name is Zhang Yixing.”

“Alright, Zhang Yixing, let’s be good friends!” Chanyeol announced as he flung open the door to a classroom labeled: Hwa Young Lecture Hall 102. Inside, a number of students shuffled about at their desks, obviously waiting for the professor to turn up. Yixing looked at his watch. One minute to go. He made a small bow to Chanyeol, giving him another sweet smile, and started to go find a seat, but he didn’t get very far.

“No! Sit with me!” Chanyeol announced happily, pulling him up the raked room to sit in one of the higher rows. Chanyeol plopped himself down in an aisle seat and patted the desk next to him with a grin. Yixing sat down next to him hesitantly.

I wonder why he’s being so nice to me. We only just met, he doesn’t even know anything about me.

Their professor appeared through the door and Yixing turned to focus on the class, boxing away his curiosity about Chanyeol for later.

An hour and a half of lecturing later, Yixing was listening to Chanyeol talk a mile a minute and desperately trying to make sure he wasn’t losing any words in translation.

“So, have you settled into Korea okay?” Chanyeol finally took a breath, giving the Chinese boy the chance to speak.

“Yes. I have a small apartment, and have scheduled all of my classes for the year, but I’ll need to find a part-time job.” Something about Chanyeol’s expression made Yixing elaborate. “My grandmother and father won’t be sending me any money while I’m over here.”

“Oh...” Chanyeol drawled, as if thinking. His grin suddenly widened, and Yixing became absently worried about him splitting his face in half. “Wait! I have an idea! I have an part-time internship at SM Entertainment, and I know for a fact that they’re hiring! The pay’s pretty good, just like working at a restaurant, and we only have to work on evenings and Saturdays.” He paused, practically bouncing with delight. “You should definitely apply!”

“A-Alright.” Yixing said slowly. He really needed a job, and Chanyeol seemed unusually nice, it would be wrong to say no. “I’ll apply.” He said more firmly.

“Yay! They’re doing interviews at three today!” Chanyeol snatched Yixing’s hand from his side and pulled a pen out from behind his ear, not noticing the flinch that shook the Chinese boy’s small frame for a brief second at the contact. He scribbled a number on Yixing’s palm, tongue halfway out of his mouth with concentration. “Call me later if you’re free and I’ll take you there! Okay?” He grinned again and bounded away like an enormous puppy. Yixing blinked, dazed.

“C-call. Yes. Call.” He mumbled unintelligibly under his breath. Yixing had another class in thirty minutes and began to slowly make his way across campus, mulling Chanyeol over. He hadn’t expected to meet anyone like that in Korea. As he shuffled along through the cool, early fall air, he yawned widely. He hadn’t slept much last night, but he never really slept much. He was used to it now, making up for lost rest with his usually sleepy demeanor and careful efficiency of movement. It was hard for Yixing to sleep with all of the nightmares. He shuddered at the thought and pushed it firmly out of his mind.

No. I’m in a different place now. Things will be different here. I won’t mess up anymore. He told himself reassuringly. I will finally be okay.

Another class down, Yixing took the short bus-ride back to his apartment to rest for an hour or two before giving Chanyeol a call. The apartment was tiny; one medium-sized room containing a bed, a tiny desk and a kitchenette, and a little bathroom of to the side. A few suitcases still sat, unopened, on the floor. A few more were in various stages of being unpacked in front of the shelves that lined one wall. It was unpainted, unadorned, unfamiliar and all-in-all, Yixing had never felt safer in all his life. At least here he couldn’t disappoint anyone. He collapsed onto his bed with a sigh and closed his eyes.

He slept for maybe half an hour before he was jolted awake by bad dreams. He took deep breaths to calm his racing heart and knew that he wouldn’t be getting any more sleep before night-fall. Swinging legs over the edge of the bed and resting his elbows on his knees, he ruffled his hair with his fingers and tried to decide what suitcase to unpack first.

An hour later, he had dialed Chanyeol’s number into his brand-new cell phone. It was the first he’d ever owned and he’d bought it yesterday. It was a lot cheaper than he’d expected. The price tag had made it look like he couldn’t afford it, but the nice woman who was helping him gave it to him for half-price.

“Yo!” Chanyeol’s deep voice resonated over the line.

“Hello, Chanyeol, this is Yixing.”

“Oh, hey! So, can you come today?”

“Yes. I ca-”

“Awesome! You know the coffee shop on campus called ‘Spoons’? The one across from the Hwa Young center? I’ll meet you there at two and we’ll go over to the SM building together. See you then!” Chanyeol rumbled happily and the line went dead. Yixing pulled the phone slightly away from his face and stared at it. He placed it carefully on the table and checked his watch. He had half an hour to unpack before he had to leave.

Spoons was a large, sunny space. Plush, worn armchairs circled low tables everywhere, and a few cheerful baristas were always buzzing about behind the counter. Large windows illuminated the crowd of college students studying, chatting, or dating while immersed in the scent of fresh coffee. Yixing was standing by the door, trying to stay out of everyone’s way and looking out for Chanyeol. He was beginning to get worried. Had he heard Chanyeol wrong? Did he miss something in the mental translation from Korean to Mandarin? Just when he was thinking about calling Chanyeol again, he caught sight of a Cheshire-cat grin bobbing above a small pack of students passing by the door. He spotted Yixing and waved, ducking into the cafe.

“Ready?” He asked the shorter boy, hardly waiting for an answer before ducking back outside and walking off. Yixing hurried after him, struggling to keep up with Chanyeol’s combination of long legs and natural enthusiasm. Chanyeol never stopped talking the whole way to the bus stop.

“You’ll love all the other interns. They’re all really cool. Some of them are even Chinese, like you. Let me think...Tao and Luhan are both Chinese! That’s why they were hired, so that they could be translators for the brand-new SM trainees from China! You’ll probably be hired for the same reason.”

They boarded a bus.

“Well, that and the fact that you seem really smart and nice. You even looked like you understood our whole organic chemistry lecture, and it wasn’t even in your native language!’

They got off the bus.

“They always need a lot of interns, and Seoul University kids or the relatives of people in the company almost always get the job. It’s hard work, but they write awesome recommendation letters for later jobs, and almost everyone is really nice.”

They walked for three blocks and turned a corner.

“Anyway, if you get the job that would be super cool, cause we could do our homework together!”

They arrived in front of a tall, elegant skyscraper.

“Hey, we’re here!” Chanyeol led the way inside and gave the receptionist, a pretty woman in her thirties, a little wave and she gestured them through the security gates with a blush. The inside of the building was just as impressive as the outside. It was massive and very minimalistic. Everything was clean lines and unsmudged glass.

Chanyeol half-herded him into an elevator and up to the twenty-third floor. Before Yixing could even process his surroundings, he found himself sitting in a small waiting area and filling out an application in vaguely uncertain Korean.

“Next applicant, Zhang Yixing, please follow me.” A warm voice floated to his ears across the room. Yixing raised his eyes to meet those of the man who had just called his name. He was wearing a slim-fitting white button-up shirt and charcoal gray pants, also slim-fitting. The top button of his shirt was undone, revealing a smooth triangle of golden skin. Brown hair swooped off of his forehead with a perfectly undone wave. His eyes were searching the room, narrowed slightly. His lips twitched slightly in confused irritation, but Yixing thought he had never seen anything prettier. Plush, pink lips pressed together, inviting Yixing to monitor their every move.

“Zhang Yixing?” The man repeated.

“Ah. Yes. I’m here.” Yixing finally responded, blushing furiously in embarrassment as he got to his feet, clutching the clipboard, to which his application was attached, to his chest.

“My name is Jongin.” The man explained as he led Yixing down a hallway. “I’m essentially in charge of the interns. I’ll be doing your interview today, if that’s alright.” Yixing nodded furiously, still embarrassed at his lack of focus earlier. Jongin led him into an office and gestured for Yixing to sit in a plush chair, while he went to sit opposite him behind the desk. There was a long moment of silence as Jongin reviewed his application.

“Well.” He said at last. “Are you ready to be interviewed?”

An hour later, Yixing was released, shaking, from the interview. It had been a nerve-wracking process. Jongin had showed no mercy, firing off questions almost faster than Yixing could answer them. Chanyeol was waiting for him outside the room.

“How’d it go?” He asked pleasantly.

“I’m not sure. He’s scary.”

“Oh, he’s not like that all of the time. He’s kind of strict, but he’s actually really funny.” Yixing and Chanyeol began to head towards the elevators.

“He’ll probably call you in a few days. It always takes him a long time to decide on a new intern.” Chanyeol informed Yixing, reaching out a long arm to press the button for the elevator. Just then, Jongin appeared from the waiting area.

“Hey, um, Yixing? I was hoping I’d catch you.” He cleared his throat and stuck one hand in his pocket. “You got the job. You can start tomorrow if you like. Business-casual dress is preferred but not required. I’ll see you then.” And just like that, he spun on the heel of his shiny black shoes and disappeared.

“Whoa.” Chanyeol commented. “That’s unusual. He must really like you!”

I think I really like him too. Yixing thought as the doors of the elevator dinged open.