{Minho is studying at the library and a distraction gets out of hand.} | 1035w

 After a long day of dealing with dull lectures, obnoxious classmates, crowded computer labs, and endless lines at the dining commons, Minho would've loved nothing more than to head to his dorm, fall onto his bed, and go to sleep. However, things hardly seemed to go his way lately and sadly, he'd grown accustomed to the fact.

With a stunning sunset at Minho's back (for which he'd stopped briefly to photograph), he made his way to the library, well aware that his evening was barely starting.

Dead week (finals week) was only a few days away and despite some of his friends' incessant pleas to attend a frat party that Friday night in order to "enjoy yourself before getting your kicked," he kindly refused.

He'd been invited to such parties in the past, and honestly, watching friends and strangers get faced at some poor student's place was not his idea of a good time. "Sounds tempting, but I can't," Minho said when he'd declined his fellow third-years' offer for the last time.

That was how Minho ended up in the library. How he ended up in an unfamiliar place was different. Put simply, there was already a group of students occupying his preferred table at the main study area. Sighing, he backed out of the room and climbed the stairs that led to the second floor.

Once there, he scanned the cubicles and rooms beyond the stacks for a desk that he might find suitable. Most were unoccupied, but they were either too exposed or nowhere near an outlet. He spent several minutes searching the floor, weaving in and out of walls of aging books, until arriving at a secluded row of empty cubicles along the tall east windows.

“Perfect,” Minho whispered when he spotted two outlets per seat. He padded to a desk a short distance from the corner and quietly unpacked his bag and laid out his books, notes, worksheets, laptop, charger, index cards, pens, highlighters, and snacks. Those he left in the paper bag, but set them on the shelf above his table for when he'd need a boost in morale, and for when he got hungry of course.

The absolute silence and absence of human activity made it easy for Minho to dive into studying. He was completely immersed in his work for hours, took a short bathroom break somewhere down the line, then was back at it again. Minho wouldn't have checked the time if he hadn't begun to yawn so much.

“Damn,” he managed mid-yawn. The clock on his laptop indicated that it was past midnight. Minho put down his utensil and stretched, extending his arms above his head and curving his spine forward, sighing in satisfaction when it cracked.

“Guess it's time for another break.” He pushed his chair away from the clutter only he would know how to sort through, stood up, and headed to the restroom.

When he returned, he scarfed down some food and began to study again. All went on as it had been until Minho caught himself rereading the same line from his textbook without being able to grasp the meaning behind any of the words.

He stopped to rub his eyes, trying to refocus. Then came muffled sounds. Minho froze, furrowing his brow, thinking at first that he must be experiencing some symptom of sleep deprivation. He remained still, straining his ears to make sure that what he was hearing was real. Steady, rhythmic noises became clearer, and he figured that the source was actually not very far.

Motivation to wrap up his studying trumped his curiosity, so Minho decided that there had to be a student nearby and forgot about it. That's what he would've liked to do anyway. It wasn't long before other pesky sounds joined the chorus of distraction. Minho knew he hadn't been totally silent himself, so he was willing to forgive what he assumed to be music blaring through earphones, the ping and zipping of a backpack, the quick crunch of paper being unwrapped from... something, but the 'pop' that came after was inexcusable.

It made Minho flinch the first time. Every other noise for the past five or so hours had been hushed. They were in the library past regular hours, after all.

Another 'pop!' filled the air and it was followed by three quick smacks.

Minho his teeth loudly enough to match the sounds. Maybe the person would hear that and get the message.

'Pop!'

Minho set his jaw and pushed himself away from the desk, letting the legs of his chair drag harshly across the old carpet.

'Pop!' And then another round of smacks.

“What on Earth...?!” Minho's patience was gone. He sighed in frustration as he left his seat, going over what he was going to say to this punk. Minho followed the noises to the end of the bookshelf his back had been facing.

“Excuse me,” he started as he rounded the corner and it was as far as he got.

Minho's sudden appearance startled the young student sitting before him. He jolted in his seat as if an electric current had shot through him, and the huge pink bubble that stemmed from his mouth burst with the loudest pop yet.

Minho's eyes widened in horror as the sticky substance tore apart and clung to the student's face and russet shoulder-length hair.

The boy stiffened and gasped with what air he could get, for his nostrils were also covered by a transparent layer of bubblegum. He blinked in a panic, grateful that his eyes had been spared, and stared between Minho and his own hands.

“MMMGGHHFFF?!” the boy said. Groaned...? He certainly didn't look happy.

He pulled his lips apart and stuck his tongue out, removing as much gum from his lips as he could without getting his fingers involved.

“What the hell?!” the boy shrieked, yanking his earbuds out.

Minho found himself stuttering an apology. He looked at the places where the gum still stuck and pressed his lips into a thin line. He was really sorry. For the boy and for himself because he knew the night was far from over.

A/N: Looks like Minho's on cleaning duty (¬ w ¬)