Unlike most people, Kris prefers dressing up before eating his breakfast.

He heads to the kitchen & grabs a black porcelain bowl from the white wooden cupboard & a box of his favorite cereal. He then shifts to his refrigerator to take out a carton of milk & pours an ample amount in the bowl & let the cereals submerge the white swirl before taking a spoonful.

Kris doesn’t like coming home with a sink full of unwashed dishes which is why he immediately washes his bowl after eating & drinks a glass of water.

He then proceeds to go to his bathroom to brush his glowing white teeth for the second time & straightaway, he grabs his coat & all of his things, & heads to the door.

✺ ✺ ✺ 

“BenBen, say ‘aaahh’” Tao held out his chopsticks with jajangmyeon to Kris whose cheeks have become tomato red because of the nickname Tao had given him.

“Ah, I’m so embarrassed!” he whined while covering his face with both hands.

“Just hurry up & eat this before it gets cold!”

Kris was ready to eat his favorite, when an almost unfamiliar figure rudely blocked him from the jajangmyeon he’s been craving.

“Hhmm.. that was good, thanks!” of course it was Lay. His part time job used to be stealing everyone’s food.

“Krissy, say ‘aaahh’” Baekhyun followed, mimicking Tao with gestures & random facial expressions.

“Hey! That was mine!” Kris was enraged— he has been craving for jajangmyeon for a week— but Lay didn’t care. 

“Yo yo yo guys” Luhan, along with Sehun beside him, greeted them with an amiable smile while walking towards them.

Their relationship went well. They started hanging around Sehun & Luhan— who became even closer that the last time they were together— Baekhyun who recently entered the dean’s list— everyone wondered how he entered the list— & Lay who seemed to have become more serious about his studies than ever before which was weird, in everyone’s opinion because Lay was never that type of person.

“Damn we just had a surprise quiz in Mr. Nichkhun’s class & he told me I scored the highest out of all those ers.” Lay exclaimed, giving off an arrogant smile while lighting a cigarette with his expensive-looking metallic lighter.

“Wow smartass. I bet you cheated” Baekhyun uttered.

“No I didn’t! off Baekhyun”

“Isn’t Mr. Nichk dating Ms. Stephanie from the fashion department?” Sehun asked, grabbing the lighter from Lay to light his own cigarette.

“I don’t know, who cares. Hey where do you guys wanna go later after class?”

“Sorry Lay, Sehun & I have plans tonight. Maybe next time we could go to a karaoke?” Luhan suggested, giving off an apologetic look, especially to Lay.

The six of them would always hang out during their frequent breaks & whenever they had free time. Sometimes Sehun, Luhan, Tao & Kris would even go on double dates & the troublemakers, Baekhyun & Lay would either just hang out in an arcade shop, or they would intrude into random people’s rooms. The unfortunate people who were often victimized by their mischiefs, however, were Jongin & Minseok, that’s because they were the impotent ones. They probably got used to it too.

Jongin & Minseok were both quiet & did not speak much. Not because they were shy or disliked each other, but rather, they both liked peace & serenity & were often engrossed in their own world. They would always be seen holding a book as if books were clothes for their hands. Their room was pretty quiet too, & would always smell like the tantalizing aroma of fresh coffee because Minseok was also a part time barista in a nearby cafe & Jongin liked coffee, so he would always brew coffee for the both of them. 

The silence was not deafening, however. In fact, it gave off a relaxing vibe like that of a coffee shop.

Sometimes they would hear Baekhyun & Lay from the other block ready to kill their peace & Jongin & Minseok would give each other the “here-they-go-again” look & if they’re lucky, they would successfully sneak out of the room hastily to avoid nuisance.

“Hey Lay, I don’t see anyone here. Where are they?”

“Dunno. Let’s just go to the next room”

Their daily routine was pretty much like that & it went on for months until a new transfer student joined their circle— Kim Junmyeon— & that was when everything veered.