a/n: Hello! ramen here~ blue parts will be my parts (Sunggyu) and black (Woohyun) will be Kate :) as mentioned before this is a collaboration to celebrate Chloe's birthday~ we are both quite new to working together with another author, but we hope you guys will like it <3 /waves

“Good morning, Handsome,” Woohyun greeted his reflection as he stretched. His shirt rode up, revealing a bit of his taut stomach. Woohyun grinned and rubbed his belly. “Still have those chocolate abs, I see.” He pulled down his shirt and leaned in closer to the mirror to inspect his skin. “Wah! Do you even have any pores? I don’t see them!”  He gave his skin a few pats before withdrawing. Still smiling at his reflection, he unscrewed the top of a pill bottle. “Today is going to be a good day.” He then looked down and dug some pills from the bottle. “A very good day,” he finished and popped the capsules into his mouth.

After finishing his morning routine, Woohyun walked into the kitchen of his one room apartment. He lived alone, and since he was still just a student, his parents helped pay for the rent, the food in the fridge, the clothes on his back, practically everything. And he could be more grateful for it, but all he could think of right now was his empty stomach and not about why he had fridge stockpiled with dishes his mother had made. His only concern was to stuff as much as he could into his face before he had to leave to catch his bus. He wanted to be on time today, make a good impression. It was the first day of the semester, and first impressions really mattered to him. After all, you only had one chance to make them.

Woohyun left his apartment with time to spare, and as he was approaching the bus-stop, he saw a very familiar figure, which was nearly falling asleep on the bench. Woohyun chuckled to himself and then yelled at the top of his lung, “Myungsoo-ah!” And Woohyun was besides himself as he watched Myungsoo completely startled and snap violently from his nap.

Myungsoo’s head was on a swivel as he looked around. “Hyung!” Myungsoo appeared relieved after catching sight of Woohyun. He slid down the bench to make room for his friend. As Woohyun sat down, Myungsoo turned the other way, rubbing his chest in an effort to calm his heart racing underneath it. “I hate it when you do that,” Myungsoo grumbled.

But Myungsoo’s distress only added to Woohyun’s joy. He ruffled the long, dark hair of his younger friend and saw a small smile creep onto Myungsoo’s face. But then it fled as soon as it appeared. Myungsoo swatted his hands away and attempted to smooth down his hair. “Hyung! I worked hard to get it like that.”

“Why do you think I did that?” Woohyun teased. He was well aware of Myungsoo’s meticulous care to get his hair perfectly straight and to tame the locks that just wanted to curl. His friend used perms, straighteners, a weird thing called Magic to achieve his perfect look. And it just made Woohyun want to mess it up all the more. Woohyun had a little problem with impulse control.

And that lack of control is what sent Woohyun reaching over to the other side of the bench, aiming to mess up Myungsoo’s hair again, but Myungsoo stood up and out of Woohyun’s reach. And Woohyun fell face-forward onto the bench. “You’re a jerk,” Myungsoo snapped back. But Woohyun lifted his head, still laughing even though he almost had a mouthful of bench just seconds earlier. Myungsoo sniffed and faced his friend again. “So how are you feeling?” Myungsoo asked Woohyun cautiously.

Woohyun stood up and joined his friend. The bus was coming down the street, right on time. Woohyun took in a deep breath and felt the warm rays on his skin. Even his mind, for once, seemed clearer than usual, and he could practically feel the endorphins coursing through his veins.

“I’m feeling good, Myung,” Woohyun replied and patted the other on the shoulder. “I’m feeling really good.”

The sound of his alarm clock had Sunggyu groaning and twisting around in bed. He huffed and reached out blindly to stop the irritating sound. He dragged his arm under the blanket again afterwards. It was cold outside of his fluffy blanket. Sunggyu really didn’t want to leave his warm haven. “5 more minutes…” He closed his eyes again and pressed his face deeper into the pillow.

Seeing that scene, one might not believe that he was actually one of the best students of his college. Sunggyu had the image of a very studious and organized student, but the reality wasn’t quite so. Of course he studied a lot and it was his priority, and he really was the best student in his law class, but deep inside Kim Sunggyu was just a man that liked to sleep. He loved to sleep, though he would never do it in class. Sleeping was something you were supposed to do at home.

Another alarm clock started to ring and he finally sat up with a groan. The blanket dropped down and revealed a messy bed-head and eyes that were barely open. Sunggyu turned the alarm off and climbed out of his warm bed. He shivered and ran to the heater to turn it on. He was trying to save money by using it as little as possible. Sunggyu searched for his slippers next (plush hamster slippers, courtesy of Dongwoo) and shuffled to the small kitchen unit to brew some coffee. He didn’t really like the taste of it, but at least it made him wake up faster. Sunggyu couldn’t afford to be sleepy in class and miss something. He had to keep up with the lessons and secure his spot at the top of their class. Not just anybody could become a lawyer. You needed the best grades you could get and Sunggyu was especially depended on those grades, since it was a rule for his scholarship. There was no other way for him to continue his studies at the college. He didn’t have the money to pay the fees, so the scholarship was necessary.

Sunggyu wished he still had parents that would support him through this time. He knew a lot of students had parents that paid their rent or the college fees. He envied them a lot but there was nothing he could do. Sunggyu took a sip of his coffee and walked over to the nightstand next to his bed. He picked up the framed photo and looked at it, trying his best to smile. “Good morning, mother and father. Are you watching me? I’m still giving it my best. Today is the first day of the new semester, so wish me good luck, okay?” Whenever Sunggyu felt lonely or discouraged, he looked at the photograph and reminded himself how proud his parents must be of him.

Kim Sunggyu was all alone in this world. He had lost his parents when he was just 15 years old. He would never be able to forget under which circumstances they left this world. His fingers clenched around the wooden frame of the photograph that showed an old family picture. His parents were smiling and his dad was holding him up in the air. Sunggyu smiled shortly and swiped his thumb over his mother’s face. Their death was the reason why he had decided to study law at this college. He wanted to make sure that no one got cheated like his parents and driven into a corner with nowhere to go. The day his parents were put into their graves, he swore himself to become a lawyer and protect other families from such a fate.

He put the photo down again and went to his closet to change his clothes. Sunggyu put simple jeans, a white shirt and a red cardigan on. Then he finished his coffee and grabbed his bag. He checked the time on his phone and smiled. There was still plenty of time left until his first class would start. Sunggyu always set his alarm extra early, so that he would never be late for class. Not to mention how it gave him time to revise his notes. He headed out after locking his apartment door and walked down the familiar path to the college grounds. He could take the bus too, but Sunggyu liked to walk instead, especially since it saved him money. As he walked, he fished out his notes from the last semester. During the break, Sunggyu had worked through all of his notes and books again to write down the most important facts. He wanted to be at his best from day one. His first class would be English, but that was probably the only subject Sunggyu rarely learned for. He found the language easy and had aced the International Law course without a problem. He had even taught Dongwoo English for a while, since his friend was a really hopeless case.

Talking about Dongwoo…Sunggyu fished out his phone and dialed the dinosaur’s number. It rang and rang and rang. He rolled his eyes as he stopped at a red traffic light. “Answer your phone!” The light turned green and Sunggyu quickly crossed the street. Just when he reached the other side, Dongwoo finally answered his phone. “Hyung, do you know what time it is?” He chuckled. “You were the one who told me to call you every morning starting from the first day of the new semester. You said you wanted your attendance to be better-“ Dongwoo groaned. “I’m pretty sure I was drunk when I proposed that…” Sunggyu smiled. “And I know for a fact that you weren’t, because we were at your home. After your mother scolded you for about an hour on the topic, you begged me to wake you up in time every day without fail. I’ve fulfilled my duty for today, so I’m going to hang up now.” “Ah, hyung, wai-“

Sunggyu hung up on the other. Whatever Dongwoo wanted could wait until they saw each other in class. His friend was supposed to get out of bed and get ready for class anyways. He put his phone away and headed down the street towards the campus. By the time he arrived, other students were entering the building of their college as well. Sunggyu put his notes away and looked at his schedule, before heading over to the classroom.

Upon entering, he saw some people he knew from the last semester and also some new faces. Sunggyu caught people staring at him as he headed to his seat, but they always looked away as soon as he met their gazes. He muttered something under his breath and sat down in the first row. He didn’t especially like sitting there and he certainly didn’t choose it to impress the teachers. Sunggyu had to sit in the first row so that he could read the slides and whatever cryptic messages the professors wrote on the board. His eyesight wasn’t exactly the best, though he was adamant on not using his glasses. People had for that often enough.

He got out his notebook and a pen, plus his English textbook. Sunggyu took out his phone to check for the time. There were still 15 minutes left until the class would start. He saw that Dongwoo had written him several messages and quickly read through them.

> Hyung, do you know where my textbook on macroeconomics is? [7:35 am]

> I think I lost my wallet [7:49 am]

> Nevermind, I found it [7:51 am]

> The textbook, I mean, not my wallet. Hyung, I can’t find it?? [7:51 am]

> Why are you ignoring me? Did you steal it? [8:12 am]

> Aren’t you a law student? How can you steal my wallet, hyung? Meanie ;-( [3 minutes ago]

Sunggyu let out a sigh. He typed a quick reply stating that he definitely did not take Dongwoo’s wallet and instead asked his friend to check the inner pocket of his jacket. It didn’t take long for the dinosaur to answer with another text saying he found it. He smiled shortly and put his phone away. Sunggyu wasn’t sure how it came to be that Dongwoo and he became friends. They are total opposites. Dongwoo is not particularly good at studying, but he’s a bright and cheerful personality. He likes to do sports and has made it his personal mission to make Sunggyu more social. He didn’t really think he was antisocial, though. Sunggyu was not sure why people didn’t like hanging out with him. He really tried hard to make friends in his first semester, but it seemed like he was doing something wrong. Anyways, Dongwoo was determined to find him more friends.

The teacher entered the classroom and Sunggyu quickly put his phone away. “Good morning.” She greeted all the students in English. Sunggyu and some other people gave her the same greeting back and she then announced they’d wait five more minutes for the rest of the class.

Time passed and some more students arrived before the five minutes were over. Then she started with her introduction – Ms. Sandra Lee, a graduate from some college overseas that Sunggyu couldn’t understand, but he was sure it was a fancy one. She explained to them what they were going to do this semester and Sunggyu suppressed a yawn. It sounded like the English class would be pretty boring. They were going to repeat all the basic stuff again. He huffed inwardly when she made them start with self-introductions. “My name is Kim Sunggyu. Nice to meet you.” He spoke up first, since his seat was in the first row and the teacher gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up for his pronunciation.

They were already through with all the students when the door to the classroom opened again. Sunggyu raised a brow. Coming late on the first day of class, seriously? A male student entered the room and everyone’s gazes were fixed on him in an instant. By the way that guy walked in as if he owned the place, Sunggyu doubted he was sorry for coming late. He rolled his eyes shortly. He winced when the guy opened his mouth, only to reveal an awful pronunciation. But where had he seen the brown-haired lad before? Sunggyu narrowed his eyes at him, trying to remember.

Then it clicked inside his head and Sunggyu remembered the incident at the end of last semester…

Sunggyu put the returned books back in their shelves as he hummed to a random song. It was already late and the library would close soon, which meant he would be able to go home. He liked his part-time job in the library of their campus, but during the exam period it was very exhausting to work there until late. Sometimes he brought his notes along and studied at the counter, while he waited for someone to come to him to lend or return a book.

That day, he thought his work shift would end peacefully, but it didn’t. Sunggyu was just done with the staple in his hands when he heard loud noises. There were people laughing and talking loudly, something that was clearly forbidden in the library, especially during the exam period. Students went here to study in peace after all. He puffed his cheeks angrily and walked towards the source of the noise.

It was not hard spotting the noisemakers. Their group was blocking two of the tables between the shelves and they were even sitting on the tables instead of the chairs – to Sunggyu’s anger. They were talking loudly and nudging each other when one of them cracked another joke. He huffed and walked over to their group. “What do you think you’re doing? Sit on the chairs and talk quietly. This is a library and not a club.” Sunggyu spoke and crossed his arms. “Why do you have to be such a spoilsport? We are just having fun.” One of them countered and then they simply went back to talking with each other, ignoring Sunggyu completely. He narrowed his eyes at them. “Do I have to recite the rules of our library that you accepted upon receiving your membership card? §1a: The following are NOT allowed in the library: 1) Engaging in conduct that disrupts or interferes with normal operation of the library, or that disturbs staff or other library visitors. Such conduct includes: harassing or threatening behavior, using obscene or abusive language or gestures or making unreasonable noise, including loud talking on a cell phone or otherwise.” He quoted the first part of the paragraph without a flaw. “§1d: Visitors who do not follow the library’s General Rules and Regulations can be asked to leave and can lose their library privileges. They can also be arrested or be subject to other legal action.”

The stupid guys stared at him with open mouths for a moment and Sunggyu smiled victoriously. “Woah…look at that nerd.” One of them exclaimed. He pursed his lips. “I’m merely reminding you of the rules you seem to have forgotten. I have to ask you to leave if you cannot comply.”

They got down from the table all at once and Sunggyu took a cautious step back. “Tsk, let’s leave, guys.” Their ‘leader’ announced and walked ahead. He brushed his shoulder against Sunggyu’s and the next guy did the same. He stepped aside and opened his mouth for a protest, but someone was pushed into him. Sunggyu felt something wet soaking his shirt and he pushed the other person away. The guys laughed and he looked down at his white shirt, stained by what must’ve been coffee. He glared at the guy that stood in front of him. “Sor-“ “Woohyun, good job!” An arm was thrown around the shoulder of the brown-haired guy and his friends dragged him away.

Sunggyu stared at their backs in disbelief. He slapped his cheeks lightly when he felt tears welling up in his eyes. “Stupid s!”

 

Realization washed over him and he clenched his fingers under the table. He was sure of it – that was the guy from the library that poured his coffee all over him! Sunggyu stared at the clueless looking guy that was apparently unable to speak or comprehend English. The coffee-library incident had been before the break, but Kim Sunggyu was someone to hold a grudge for a very long time. Normally, he would never pick on someone for being weak at a subject, but this was another thing. This was revenge for pouring that stuff over his shirt and then leaving without an apology. Not to mention that the guy had just walked in as if coming late was totally okay. A true rule breaker that thought he could make his own rules, but not with this law student present. Now I’ll embarrass you like you did to me back then…

A little while earlier...

Woohyun was sprinting across the campus as fast as his feet could carry him. He had gotten caught up talking to a friend, and then to another friend, and then another and another. So many that Woohyun was beginning to wonder if he knew the entire student body. And he almost did with the exception of those lonesome nerds who practically established a home in the library, with books and policies in place of family and friends, living there long enough to quote policy verbatim. Okay so that was just one lonesome nerd, and one that Woohyun didn’t want to particularly be friends with or even see again. Call him prejudice, but Woohyun preferred people who saw the sun and knew how to have fun, and actually liked humans. Woohyun’s chest tightened, and he shook his head violently. He shouldn’t even give that guy one more thought, especially since he should be concentrating on getting to class.

“!” Woohyun cursed after looking at his watch. Class had already started. He picked up his pace and threw open the doors to the building. His pounding footsteps filled the silent and empty halls. And with his luck, the class was on the third floor. Also with his horrible luck, Woohyun could feel his good mood slipping through his metaphorical fingers. His mind drifted back to that little pill bottle on his bathroom counter. “Woah!” he yelped as he slipped down the steps, barely gripping the handrail just in time so that he didn’t completely crumble into a heap. Woohyun groaned and lifted himself back up. He needed to get his head on back straight. He still had an impression to make.

Even though he was already ten, almost eleven minutes late, after arriving at the classroom, Woohyun paused for a bit outside of the entrance. He fought to catch his breath, wipe off the sweat from his face, and fixed his hair. And as he was sprucing himself up, Woohyun snuck a peek through the window and into the classroom. His eyes searched for a teacher, and once his eyes fell upon her, he smiled. The teacher appeared to be in her thirties, single (her ringless fingers spoke volumes), but something about the woman, either her trendy outfit or way her eyes lingered on some males in the class, reeked of desperation. Which meant that with a suave smile and a few sweet words, Woohyun’s lateness would be easily forgiven and forgotten. Fixing a last strand of hair and fixing a smile on his face, Woohyun proudly walked into his Business English class.

“Oh hello!” Woohyun hollered in English as soon as he walked into the room. “Sorry!” He bowed towards the professor, and when he pulled himself up he gasped. “Oh! My teacha is...so beauuutiful!” The foreign words laid thickly on his tongue. They felt unnatural, but he tried his best and smiled brighter to make up for it. And it seemed to be working. His professor was giggling and was trying to hide her blush behind her hands.

“Just introduce yourself to the class and then take a seat please,” she commanded in English and gestured to the rest of the class.

Woohyun gulped. He hadn’t expected her to responded in English, especially not on the first day. Wasn’t he supposed to learn English in this class? Why was he being tested on his knowledge so early? And more importantly, why didn’t he listen to what she said to him? He had barely even registered it.

But then he heard a scoff come from his right. Woohyun looked over to the source of the snide sound, only to see the policy-loving nerd, whose rolling eyes you could barely see under his fluffy black bangs. “Introduce yourself,” the man pronounced carefully. “Say your name,” he then translated.

“I knew that,” Woohyun snapped back in Korean, glaring at the other. But then he sniffed and cleared his throat. He lifted up his hand and waved to the class. “Hello, ma name is Nam WOOhyun. It’s nice to  meeet chu!” Some of his classmates waved back and mumbled a standard greeting.

Thoroughly satisfied with a job that he thought was well done, Woohyun searched for an available seat. His face fell. His luck was maintaining its ty streak. The only spot open was the one next to the jerk who felt like correcting everyone was his natural born right. Strict, stringent, stick-up-his-. Woohyun didn’t do well with people like that. He grumbled curses to himself and sulked over to the seat next to the open seat. And to make matters worse, it was a seat in the front of the class, right in the professor’s line of fire. Woohyun gritted his teeth as he slipped into the desk.

“Nice to meeet chu,” the other mocked under his breath right as Woohyun planted his into the chair.

Woohyun stared at him confused. “Nice to meet you too?” he responded in Korean as he pulled out a notebook and pen from his bag. A greeting is the last thing that he had expected from this guy.

“Don’t you know when somebody is making fun of you, WOOhyun?” the nerd leaned over and whispered. A cheeky smile graced his round face.

“What? Like you’re so perfect,” Woohyun retorted and fell back into his chair. He narrowed his glare on the other, who did the same right back. Woohyun could feel the tension building between them, a fighting fervor brewing. The line was drawn, the unspoken challenge set. Woohyun wasn’t sure what this guy’s problem was, but he wasn’t prepared to back down, not to a jerk like this. Not to a guy who already made it clear that he thought that Woohyun was a fool. But I’m not, and I’m going to prove it to this punk, Woohyun thought, gripping a pen tightly in his hand.

The nerd gave in first, turned his face back forward, and leaned back into his own chair. “Well....” he responded and let that drift into the air. He moved the bangs from his eyes with just one finger, and then let that finger drop down to the smile forming on his lips. He looked smug, incredibly smug. And Woohyun would like nothing more than to wipe that cocky smile from his face.

“Could anybody tell me what’s wrong with this sentence?” the professor asked, pointing to a sentence that she had written on the board and drawing Woohyun’s attention back to class.

Woohyun grinned to himself. This was it. His chance to prove himself, if only if he could understand what it was saying. “Wh-where is de coppee…” he was muttering under his breath. He was squinting, having a hard time reading it. He then tilted his head, as if the new angle would help him understand the foreign words better.

Then out of his periphery, he saw a hand shoot up into the air. Damn it, Woohyun had lost. He chewed on his lower lip as the room was filled with a proudly booming voice. “It should be ‘Where is the coffeemaker?’ not ‘Where is the coffeemaker at?’,” his lovely neighbor answered. But Woohyun did have to admit that his accent was nearly flawless, or at least to his novice ear it was. “You don’t end a sentence with a preposition in English.”

“That’s correct,” the professor applauded the correct response. Woohyun grimaced, seeing the professor now favoring his neighbor. The spotlight had been robbed from Woohyun, and it left him in the dark, forgotten. He rubbed out the knot tightening in his chest with careful fingers.

Then his own hand shot into the air before he even realized it. “Yes, Woohyun?” the professor asked. Now the spotlight was on Woohyun again, and he was nervously sweating under its sweltering heat. It was now his turn to perform in the limelight. It was make or break. His chance at a good first impression was on the line.

“What is a preposition?” he stumbled into the question. Woohyun had figured that it was a good question, but the moment the question slipped past his lips, a deriding laughter came from besides him, making Woohyun regret that he’d ever open his mouth. He closed his eyes tightly. Who was this nerd to make him feel this way? What had he done to deserve it?

“Ah, that’s a good question!” the teacher remarked with a forced and slightly worried smile. She then turned back towards the board and began explaining with grammatical terms that were long forgotten by Woohyun. It had been years since he studied English, and apparently it was too long. Was it through or thorough? It didn’t really matter to Woohyun. He’d probably avoid saying both. He hated making the ‘th’ sound, and there was always a way to avoid saying them. There was always a loophole. You just needed to know the right words.

As the teacher was immersed in her explanation, Woohyun’s eyes drifted over to his neighbor and his worst suspicions were confirmed. He was shaking his head and anxiously tapping the side of his notebook with a pen as if they were wasting his precious time. He probably could’ve read two books in this time. Nerd, Woohyun joked to himself. But then something pulled him away from his thoughts: the tap-tap-tapping of the pen. If a pen could mock, this one surely was. Each tap was like a laugh, as equally condescending as its owner. Woohyun shot a quick glance towards the teacher. She was writing something on the board with her back completely turned to the class. Perfect. Woohyun reached over his desk and swatted the nerd’s pen out of his hand, sending it sailing onto the floor.

“Wha-” the nerd began, but then snapped his mouth shut, probably just as determined as Woohyun not let the other unnerve him. His neighbor just groaned and leaned down to pick up his pen, but it was much further than he had thought. He had to get out of his chair in order to reach it, his behind was hovering over the seat.

Woohyun chuckled. Maybe his luck wasn’t completely horrible today. He hooked his foot around the leg of his neighbor’s chair and pulled it back a couple of centimeters. Now all he had to do was wait until the nerd finally grabbed his pen and moved to sit back down and…

CRASH! The nerd crash landed onto the floor, and pain was etched all over his face. And it brought Woohyun so much joy.

“Is there a problem?” the professor asked, her attention focused on the two of them.

Yes, Woohyun had a lot of problems: impulse control, the need to exact vengeance, among other things. But he felt like he was beginning to have one less.

“No we don’t,” Woohyun chirped happily.