A/N: just a quick authors note before you proceed: the first like, three chapters are pretty short, but the rest get quite long as you continue reading the story so yeah. don't judge straight away pls lmao. also this has recently been edited- 18/07 

The day, at first, appeared like any other before it.

A sharp, startling signal from his phone woke the drowsy Kyungsoo and he laid awake in consuming silence, staring up at the plain ceiling above with blank, vacant eyes. The few minutes he took to collect his thoughts were slow and drawn out and he thought of nothing important, small ideals and fantasies passing behind his eyes, but that's how it always was. His mind was always drowning in possibilities and doubts, even if his outer appearance didn't portray it that well. To most, Kyungsoo just looked numb, his facial features never changing from the impassive mask he permantely wore. There was a lot more to him than the first impression he gave off.

Kyungsoo rose from his bed soon after, stretching and cracking all the sore joints from his slumber and rolled his narrow shoulders to gain feeling. Stiffly, he moved down the small hallway connecting his room and the kitchen, the dim light streaming through the curtain shades his only guidance. He yawned quietly, eyes still droopy with sleep and dragged his tired body across the kitchen to his pantry. The slight ache in his stomach longed for food and he fulfiled that desire, grabbing a bowl of bland cereal before taking his seat at the lone dining table to enjoy his meal.

The food didn't fully satisfy him, but Kyungsoo knew his enjoyment wasn't and couldn't be his main priority. Kyungsoo couldn't afford to spoil himself and he knew that; only buying things for their nescessity value. His pockets were tight and he had to cleverly budget every week that came, but that's the sort of stuff you have to deal with when you're an independent youth. Days were long and exhausting, but no matter how unfair things got, you have to keep going to survive. That's just how it is.

After eating, which was filled with the solitude his lonely apartment supplied, he quickily rinsed his bowl and placed it in the right cupboard, trying to keep his living space as neat as he could. He took a moment to breathe in the calm atmosphere, toes flexing in the soft carpet beneath his feet before shuffling back to his room for a quick shower. The phone made a shrill sound again, signalling he only had a a few minutes to wash the rest of the night away, so he quickened his movements. The shower didn't take long, just a short one to rinse his body. It was harder than he thought, forcing his mind to not wander off and resisting the urge to stay under the soothing spray for eternity. Tempting as it was, his education came before anything else.

With a towel covering his lower half, he laid out his clean and ironed uniform, ruffling his dark hair roughly with another towel to get it dry faster. He in his bottom lip absent-mindingly, trying to wipe away all the cold drops of water travelling down his body in record time. Huffing out an exhausted breath, he threw the towel to the ground in frustration and hurridely pulled on his clothes, ignoring all the damp spots he seemed to miss. Mood soured, he attempted to straighten any disarranged bits of clothing, before giving up, arms hanging loosely at his side in defeat.

His phone gave it's final ring, letting him know it was time to leave and running a hand through his slightly damp hair, Kyungsoo sighed. He swiped his phone from the bed side table on his way out of the room, eyes and mind now focused on the destination he had to hurry to. The homework he'd worked on the previous night rested on the coffoe table in the living room and he swerved towards it, collecting the huge amount in his small arms. Despite being a little off schedule, he took the time to place his bag on the couch and gently pack all of the work away. Calling him a diligent student would be quite the understatement.

Housting the bag over his shoulders, he moved wordlessly over to the front foor and grabbed the key from were it hung. Kyungsoo briefly paused to study himself in the hall mirror, straightening his tie and the few strands of hair that had gone astray from his usual, neat hairstyle. He didn't smile, but there was a satisfied gleam in his eyes and he nodded once, proud of himself.

Once he'd reached the front door, he took a final glance over his shoulder and quickly scanned his little kingdom of solitude. Nothing was out of place; everything looked basically untouched. Feeling pleased about the events of the morning, he swiftly turned the door handle, revealing himself to the cool, brisk morning air. It rushed past him, embracing him and Kyungsoo breathed in, sharing a small, content smile with himself. The atmosphere on the streets was calm, silent and that was the way Kyungsoo appreciated it. Nothing to disturb him. 

Locking the door, his shoulders lifted, mood brightened by the almost bear streets around him. And when he checked his phone, Kyungsoo's joyful mood only continued to grow. The time read 7:50am; he wasn't late at all. With a barely contained skip in his stride, Kyungsoo hopped down the steps and moved onto the public walkway, off on his route to school.

The sun hid behind a layer of dull, grey fog and Kyungsoo breathed in the cool, fresh air, feeling his body calm as it filled his senses. There was hardly any pollution tainting the air and everything seemed so clean, so far away from the littered city centre. Kyungsoo lived in the Seodaemun-gu suburb of Seoul, but wasn't that close to the hustle and bustle that the city offered. The apartments in the area weren't large or luxurious, usually only big enough to accomadate two or three people, but Kyungsoo didn't mind.

It was only him, anyway and as long as Kyungsoo was close enough to travel on foot to the school he was attending, then he didn't find anything wrong with his accomadation.

Kyungsoo brushed all the stress and worries away from his mind and appreciated the sights around him, even if it was fleeting before his eyes. The morning was so peaceful and Kyungsoo hardly ever got to pause and take it all in with how busy he always was. With all the effort and time he'd put into studying and school, he didn't even have time to breathe. Every other morning was filled with panic and rushed schedules. Kyungsoo's life was panic and rushed schedules. That's just how things seemed to be going for Kyungsoo.

Monotonous.

Kyungsoo was in his last year of high school and, as expected by his superiors, would be attending university soon to study medical science. Except, that's not really what Kyungsoo wanted to do, but how could he argue? 

His parents had specially moved him to his own apartment to attend one of the most prestigious schools in Seoul and with all the money they'd invested into his education, there was no way he could back out. It'd just prove to his parents how ungrateful he'd always seemed to them. So, for the sake of his parents and his dignity, he pushed himself and quickly became one of the school's most precious students. 

In other words, he was a giant nerd in the eyes of the student body. That's probably why everyone avoided him, but it wasn't like he minded, anyway. Kyungsoo was so use to the calm solitude provided that he'd probably get annoyed at any one attempting to become familair with him. He was so use to being by himself, that company seemed useless to him now. Besides, he got on fine by himself, anyway.

A particularly strong gust of wind pushed against Kyungsoo's figure and he wrapped his sweater tighter around his torso, the bitter air biting at Kyungsoo's exposed neck. Kyungsoo kept on with his stride, quickening his pace to get out of the icy weather before he became frozen or late to his first class. Everyone else seemed to be up to date with how bitter the weather was getting, Kyungsoo noted upon searching the streets for another human being. Most of the students that would usually be noisily chatting and walking far too slowly in front of him would be hitchhiking a ride today, so the streets were almost abandoned. It was only him and the still air.

Some people would find that unsettling, but not Kyungsoo. In fact, it was far from it. He liked the stillness and quiet morning's like this brought and continued with small, leisured steps on his route to the school building. Everything was so at peace and he forgot about all the stress that was gnawing at the back of his mind. The silence in the air almost brought a content smile to his face and for a second he ignored all the other annoyances in the world.

Like the fact that a few houses down from his current position, a boy and what seemed to be his parents were having an increasingly loud argument out on the side walk. In his way. His quiet, peaceful morning was immediately shattered and Kyungsoo let out a small, agitated sigh, eyeing the scene in front of him. Kyungsoo moved as far away from them as he could on the small, pavement path and tried to avoid any confrontation as he advanced forward. He paid no attention to the words they were yelling at each other, seeing as it wasn't any of his buisness and tried his first attempt to move past the agitated stranger in his way.

With his gaze directed at the floor, he tried to shrink in on himself and get past unnoticed; trying not to figet too hard. If attention was turned to him, he wouldn't know how he'd deal with the situation. Gulping, he moved his hands self conciously in front of him and took careful, small steps. A few more tentative steps forward, however, a vice like grip attached itself to his arm and someone strong dragged him forward. Kyungsoo was too stunned to escape, the sudden feeling of hands on him too startling to process. The shouting around him abruptly ceased.

A voice arose from beside him and Kyungsoo's whole body grew cold at the words that came forth. "Mum, dad, this is the reason I can't marry. Meet my boyfriend, Do Kyungsoo."

Every cell in his body froze in horror at the words that echoed in the silence. Kyungsoo could hardly believe it, paralyzed with shock as his brain struggled to process the full meaning behind them. Who in their right mind-?

This time, Kyungsoo didn't enjoy the silence that followed.  

It stretched on for what seemed like hours and through that time, Kyungsoo cursed whatever karma he was receiving at the moment. Who would be so cruel as to lead him into a situation like this? A situation he had no idea how to deal with or react to. He stared down at the concrete with wide, brown eyes and a jaw that hung so low, it could've hit the floor. What had he done to deserve something so daunting?

Somewhat collecting himself and straightening his posture, Kyungsoo decided it was time to face the situation head on. Mustering up all the courage in his small body, Kyungsoo glanced up to examine the owner of the voice and nearly recoiled at what he saw. The boy- no, the guy was something out of a magazine. He wasn't facing Kyungsoo, so he only got a side view, but Kyungsoo seemed satisfied at the view presented to him.

He had clear, dark bronze skin that gave the illusion it glowed and hair that shone a hundred different shades of brown all at once. He was probably a head taller than Kyungsoo, and seemed quite slim, lean, but still subtly muscular. The strong stature in which he stood suggested arrogance along with confidence and that alone would be enough to scare Kyungsoo away, but with his arm trapped in the guy's slender grip, he couldn't turn and run. And strangely, Kyungsoo didn't know if he had the heart to run away from such an angelic looking human being.

From the look of him, paired with the same uniform as Kyungsoo's, he really should've known who he'd bumped into.

His unwavering gaze must've been a little too scrutinising because the stranger suddenly turned his defiant eyes from his parents and caught Kyungsoo's gaze. The stranger's expression morphed to one of guilt and an almost apologetic look took over his features.  The hold on his arm twisted to a more comfortable position as the stranger shuffled towards Kyungsoo. However, he was too busy admiring the guy's stunning looks to notice his personal space was being invaded and only jolted when a warm hand surrounded his own.

The boy turned back to his bewildered parents and his expression sharpened again, the spark of rebellion in his eyes. Kyungsoo really didn't like where this was going.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but I know how judgemental you two are and wanted to wait until both, Kyungsoo and I were comfortable with coming out. But now you've pushed me and Kyungsoo has to take all the baggage. So, congratulations on making your son stress about something that could've been resolved simpler, but you wouldn't allow." The malice in the stranger's voice was strong and Kyungsoo didn't know whether he was being genuine or not. He just sounded too angry for this to be fake.

"Now, if you don't mind, we've gotta go; we're both late for homeroom now." With a harsh bite in his voice, the guy finalises the conversation and before Kyungsoo can even blink, begins to pull him away. At this point, Kyungsoo couldn't do anything but gawk and stare as his "boyfriend" dragged him along the street, not even pausing to explain himself.

To be honest, even if he did, with the state Kyungsoo was currently in, he wouldn't be able to process it anyway. He was far too lost in the confusion this situation had caused and could barely utter a word of protest. And although Kyungsoo was socially detached and often came across as unapproachable due to his sarcastic nature, he was kind enough to help someone out when they needed it. And this stranger-this charmingly handsome guy, judging from the concerned and pleading looks he kept sending Kyungsoo, definitely needed help.

Kyungsoo just didn't know where exactly he fit into all of this. Because right now, he had no clue why, of all people, it had to be him.