CRRRRRAAAASHHHHH!!!!

Kyungsoo calmly continued pipetting 20mL of Mohr's salt solution while the entire lab, students and staff included, had abandoned their respective duties to stare at the source of the sound. Kyungsoo was used to it now. From the type of noise that was made, he clearly identified that a shelf containing at least thirty round bottom flasks were brought to their unfortunate end.

Yep. He knew even the tiniest of details just by the kind of sound that was made. That's how used he was to the ruckus caused in the Chemistry lab. All the handiwork of one Park Chanyeol, who takes every credit, award and the honourable recognition of being the biggest hazard in a Chemistry lab. 

Kyungsoo loved Chemistry. It was a subject of precise calculations and accurate measurements and weighing and mixing and stirring. He found solace in the smell of ethers and ammmonium salts. He spent hours on end just gazing at the beautiful colours of cobalt nitrate and copper sulphate, trying to recollect those dazzling shades before he went to bed. His friends, Baekhyun and Jongdae, called him a weirdo because of that but he didn't mind. Nothing in this world could change his mind about Chemistry...

Well, not exactly.

In all relationships, as we know, there are always those minor details about a dear one that annoy the hell out of a person. Kyungsoo too found one—just one— in Chemistry. Except it wasn't a minor detail. Park Chanyeol was anything but minor— he was a humongous problem. He was the itch on your back that you just can't seem to reach. 

Initially, Kyungsoo tried to ignore the fact that Chanyeol was an idiot. I mean, you could forgive someone for blowing up half of the lab with nitrogen trichloride. But having to endure something like that every week was too much to handle even for a saint like Literary Club President Joonmyun.

Kyungsoo then avoided Chanyeol like the plague. But wherever he went, Chanyeol and his disasters seemed to follow. Like that time when Chanyeol poured a burette full of potassium permanganate over Kyungsoo's pristine white lab coat, the purple chemical reducing in air and thus giving the coat a dull brown shade. And that other time when Chanyeol smashed Kyungsoo's row of test tubes against the wall because he thought the chemicals in them were going to explode, when in reality, all he saw was just harmless old effervescence. Needless to say, Kyungsoo nearly force fed the idiot an entire bottle of potassium ferrocyanide had it not been for the attendant who was present at the scene of both accidents (and attempted murders).

As a result of the series of mishaps, the teacher banned Chanyeol from doing his practicals in the lab for a few days. Kyungsoo heaved a huge sigh of relief when he saw Chanyeol sitting in the corner of the lab, looking sheepish. But the relief didn't last long. To rid himself of boredom, Chanyeol decided to take it upon himself to label the chemicals but conveniently forgot to write down if they were concentrated or dilute.

He sure made a lot of enemies that day, with Do Kyungsoo being the major one.

'Why don't you just switch to Math and then the three of us can struggle through Mandelborot sets together?' suggested Baekhyun once, as he chewed on a blade of grass with Jongdae and Kyungsoo by his side.

'I can't leave Chemistry because of that klutz!' snapped Kyungsoo to which Baekhyun gave a hurt puppy look.

'Then poison him or something. I'm sure you have cyanide somewhere in that precious lab of yours...' piped in Jongdae.

'This is exactly why I like Baekhyun more than you.'

At that statement, Baekhyun pounced on Kyungsoo and sloppily kissed him on his cheek. Kyungsoo jabbed him in the stomach and slapped him with his free hand, leaving Baekhyun to howl with laughter on the ground. 

'You sure do show your love for him...' mocked Jongdae.

'Take a chill pill, Dae! I was just being sarcastic,' replied Kyungsoo, poking Baekhyun as he began crawling onto Kyungsoo's form to tickle him.

BOOOOOOMMMM!!!!!

Kyungsoo stopped his titration with annoyance written on his face, wondering as to why in God's name he hadn't listened to his friends' suggestion. His hand itched to grab the cyanide flask and pour the whole damn thing into Chanyeol's evening tea. The other students fled for their lives while the attendant tirelessly doused out the green-apple tinged flames. Kyungsoo turned to look at the mess of Barium chloride mixed with methanol splattered on the floor and on the walls. How the hell could anyone screw up qualitative analysis? He then scrutinised the goofy boy flashing an apologetic smile to the poor attendant. The ends of his dark hair were singed and there was smoke emanating from his broad shoulders. 

The stupid giant then turned to look at Kyungsoo and, as though surprised at the sudden eye contact, blushed a light manganese pink. Kyungsoo was taken aback by that reaction and for a second, he thought Chanyeol looked kind of cute. With those huge ears and doe eyes.  Almost immediately, he reminded himself to pour acid into his brain for having thought of something like that. It's not like it's the first time Kyungsoo has seen Chanyeol blush around him. Everytime Kyungsoo happened to look up from his salt analysis paper or logarithmic rough sheet, he always found Chanyeol watching him with a ditzy look on his face. The fool nearly poured a lyophobic colloid into a test tube without passing it through the filter... because he was too busy ogling at Kyungsoo. Hmmm... what if—

'Do Kyungsoo,' came the voice of the Head of the Department of Chemistry through the grey fumes,'There are some mistakes in your record that you need to correct. Please meet me in my office.'

All of Kyungsoo's previous thoughts about the walking chemical hazard were replaced by this new issue he had in line. Maybe it was time for him to break up with Chemistry. 

After painstakingly, finger-numbingly correcting every minor mistake in that perfect record of his, Kyungsoo went back to the lab to get his bag. The place was empty now with the smell of smoke still lingering in the air. His apparatus was still there, just as he had left it. Even the attendant didn't bother about it. He probably has enough stress in dealing with Park Chanyeol anyway. 

Grumbling to no one in particular, Kyungsoo proceeded to wash his burette and clean his table. But underneath his round bottom flask, a folded piece of lined paper was kept carefully. On top, his name was written in a long cursive style. Curious about what was addressed to him, Kyungsoo quickly took the sheet and opened it. The edges were soaked in Mohr's salt solution but it didn't seep into the ink. Kyungsoo furrowed his eyebrows and began reading the lines:

                                                                                   To: Do Kyungsoo,

                                                                                  Anions are negative,

                                                                                  Cations are positive.

                                                                     You are the chlorine to my sodium,

                                                                    Iodine Lutetium Vanadium Uranium.

                                                                                    -Park Chanyeol

        P.S. I know you got it but just in case— It's my take on the usual "Roses are red, Violets are blue" poem 'cuz I know how much you like Chemistry. The symbols of the elements in the last line spell out, "I LuV U" (Heheheh, get it? I love you?). Don't worry, though. It's not like I doubt your intellect in any way. :-))))

        P.P.S If you didn't like it, please don't kill me.

Kyungsoo snorted out loud at how nerdy and silly the whole note seemed to be. But he loved it nevertheless. Carefully folding it and placing it into his pocket, he set off to his dorm. Unfortunately, Baekhyun and Jongdae were seated in his room, watching God knows what on his laptop. 

'Stop using my laptop to download filth, please,' began Kyungsoo, dumping his bag onto the study desk, but his voice didn't come out as harsh as he wanted it to. Jongdae, being the ever-keen nosey parker, pounced on that little give away hint. 

'Something's happened, Baek! Kyungsoo seems different!'

Shutting the laptop at lightning speed, Baekhyun grabbed Kyungsoo's forearm and pulled him down onto a chair. 

'What is it? Someone called you short and you killed them so now you want our help to bury the body?' he blabbered, bouncing in his seat like a five-year old begging for candy. Kyungsoo knew there was no escape now. Sighing in defeat, he took out the note from his pant pocket and passed it to them. They took their own sweet time as they read the little poem with Kyungsoo sitting patiently, waiting for the volcano of excitement to erupt. And a moment of silence later... it did.

'PARK CHANYEOL?! THE GUY YOU TRIED TO KILL ACTUALLY LIKES YOU?!?' barked Jongdae hysterically, jumping up to his feet.

'Things escalated quickly...' commented Baekhyun with a sneer, 'And what is with this poem? Anions and sodium and what the bloody hell is even Lulucium?'

'Lutetium!' snapped Kyungsoo, snatching the poem from them,'Of course, I shouldn't expect a nincompoop like you to even know an element as simple as hydrogen!'

'Whoaaaaaa!!! Someone's getting defensive!'  teased Jongdae, a sly smile plastered on his face.

'I— I just think... it's cute. At least to me. Not a sickly cute though. More like a fluffy cute. You know, like a teddy bear...'

'What is he rambling about?! Don't tell me you like him...' cried Baekhyun.

'What are you gonna do about this, Kyungsoo?' 

'Well, he did confess... I'll wait and see what he comes up with next.'

'Oh! Are we breaking up?' wailed Baekhyun as he pounced on and hugged Kyungsoo till he cut off the poor boy's oxygen supply, 'After all these magical years of romance, you want to leave me now? And that too, in the most insulting way possible? Hmph! Leaving this beautiful angel for some nerdy destruction specialist!'

'Wait till I tell Taeyeon about all this...'

'MOVE IT, BYUN BAEK!' yelled Kyungsoo, pushing the said person from his body but to no avail, 'And Jongdae, if you value your life, none of this idiot's antics will reach Kim Taeyeon's ears.'

Jongdae gave him a thumbs up and a defeated Baekhyun sat fuming in the corner of the room, much to Kyungsoo's dismay. Walking towards his bestfriend, Kyungsoo asked,

'Say, do you have any suggestions for me on what I should do next?'

'Why don't you just ask Park Chanyeol?'

'Stop acting like a brat. You know you're my bestest bestfriend...'

'Okay, considering I'm right here, that was very insulting,' came Jongdae's voice from the background but was nevertheless ignored.

'So you won't let some Park Giant Walking Lamp Post replace me, right?' sniffed Baekhyun, wiping the corners of his eyes.

'You actually think there's someone on this planet that can replace you?' joked Kyungsoo.

Giving Kyungsoo his biggest smile, Baekhyun beamed,

'Then let's call Chanyeol over for coffee tomorrow, alright?'

Kyungsoo didn't know how Baekhyun manages to manipulate him with a pouty whine every single time. Sitting in the booth of the campus coffee shop, with Baekhyun and Jongdae sandwiching him on either side, Kyungsoo writhed his arm about to look at the time. It's nearly five, he thought, wondering where in the world Chanyeol was. Kyungsoo had secretly passed him a note during Chemistry class, asking him to meet up for coffee. Flashing all thirty-two shiny teeth, Chanyeol sent him a note back stating his agreement, with a whole lot of hearts and Rilakkuma caricatures floating around on the paper. He's one weird kid.

But not as weird as Zhang Yixing though. Yixing's a whole new level of weird...

And of course, Kyungsoo never told him that his annoying bestfriends would tag along as well. Because that bit was added just now, courtesy of a whiny Byun breed of species. 

'Where is heeeeee???' chorused Baekhyun and Jongdae, their voices two octaves higher than usual. A few of the other students shot them looks and Kyungsoo wished for the ground to swallow him up. Just then, as if answering all of Kyungsoo's desperate prayers, the door was pushed open. Enter Park Chanyeol.

He stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing Baekhyun and Jongdae but Kyungsoo beckoned him and so he cautiously gingerly took the seat opposite to them. 

'Umm... hi?' squeaked Chanyeol, clearly more of a nervous mess than usual.

'Hi!' chirped Baekhyun and Jongdae, and Kyungsoo simply gave a weak,'This isn't what I wanted.'

'Spit it out then, Soo. Tell everyone in this cafe that you're embarrassed at the thought of having us as your friends!' spat Jongdae.

'I don't think this is the time for your drama...'

'And listen here Mr. Park, if you ever get into a relationship with Kyungsoo here, remember that he was mine first,' stated Baekhyun.

'I thought Kim Taeyeon was your girlfriend...' put in Chanyeol, confused at what the little man was telling him.

'She's just my sidechick.'

'Are you even hearing yourself right now?!' barked Kyungsoo at his insane friend, only to continue in a sombre tone, 'You know what? This was a bad idea. I mean, that's what you get for confessing to a hopeless, miserable, Chemistry-loving freak like me...'

Baekhyun's mouth shut by itself for the first time in forever and Jongdae's look softened. Chanyeol could only stare helplessly.

'... who has two pathetic losers for friends.'

Chanyeol bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing out loud as he watched Baekhyun's and Jongdae's expression turn into something he found to be truly hilarious. Like little old ladies who were rudely denied seats on the bus. Ah, the imagery...

Excusing himself, Kyungsoo stepped over the frozen Jongdae and left the coffee shop silently. Shaking his head at the statue-still duo, Chanyeol got up and followed Kyungsoo's steps. 

'Hey you!' yelled Chanyeol, gaining the attention of his person of interest,'Slow down for a second...'

'What is it? I really don't want to be disturbed now.'

'Take a seat. We need to talk,' said Chanyeol, sitting on one of the nearby benches.

'I hope those two aren't lurking around.'

'Nah. They're still stuck there in limbo. I guess it's time we spoke in private, eh?'

Kyungsoo smiled at that as he took a spot beside Chanyeol. He immediately began,

'Listen. I honestly didn't think that they would tag along. I'm sorry about what happened in there. And just to clarify, Baekhyun and I are not romantically involved in any way.'

'You don't have to worry about that. Taeyeon and I share some classes and I've heard her talk about some really racy things that have transpired between her and her beau.'

'Well, you're lucky you've only heard about it. I've actually walked in on them.'

' to be his roommate, huh?'

'Only when Taeyeon's around.'

'You know, you aren't exactly a hopeless, miserable, Chemistry-loving freak.'

'And those idiots are not pathetic losers as well. I just said that in exasperation,' joked Kyungsoo, observing Chanyeol's callused fingers.

'What I'm trying to say, Kyungsoo, is that you're literally the most amazing person I've ever seen. I mean, how in God's name do you even complete analysing a salt within fifteen minutes?'

'Isn't it supposed to take that long?' 

'I literally take a year to just understand the process!'

'That's because you're too busy obliterating the damn lab!'

Kyungsoo laughed at first but he quietened down after seeing the odd expression on Chanyeol's face. He gently placed his small hand on the lanky boy's forehead and muttered,

'You don't have a fever, do you? You seem red all over...'

Hiding his face within his large hands, Chanyeol wiggled around, much to Kyungsoo's amusement. The sight reminded him of a large ostrich trying to hide from danger by burying its head in the ground. Fat load of good that'll do.

'Promise me you won't laugh if I tell you something,' came Chanyeol's muffled voice disturbing Kyungsoo's thoughts on large, dumb flightless birds.

'Uh... yeah, sure. Go ahead.'

'It's just that... I took up Chemistry because I love it. And then I saw you on the first day and things went downhill.'

'Excuse me?'

'I really like you but I was too shy and also scared of you. When we're in lab, I can't help but stare at you when you work on something. The way you focus your eyes keenly and the furrow of your eyebrows. How you work your bottom lip when you think too much. Your meticulous calculations and procedures... simply everything.'

Kyungsoo felt the heat rising up his face and he was pretty sure that he sported the same look as Chanyeol now.

'I stopped paying attention to my own experiments and that's why they always ended up badly. So in order to stop with the turmoil I cause in lab and the turmoil you cause in my heart once and for all, I decided to confess.'

'With that sappy little poem.'

'Hey! It took me three days to think of that.'

'And I commend your efforts.'

'So you like me too?'

'I never said that. I just wanted to give you a chance.'

'Which your dear friends so graciously disrupted.'

'Fine. You can come to my room tonight and we'll have dinner.'

'But won't they be there as well?'

'Where there's good food, there's always a peaceful solution.'

That evening as Chanyeol made his way to the dorm, he wondered what dinner with those three had in store for him. Knocking on their door, he was immediately greeted by the smiling face of Kim Jongdae. He entered to see Kyungsoo piling the table with lots of food and Baekhyun drooling by his shoulder. 

'Hello there,' greeted Kyungsoo, looking up from the array of dishes,'You're just in time.'

Baekhyun scowled at Chanyeol but after getting a jab in his ribs from Kyungsoo pushing away his possessiveness, he good-naturedly pushed a chair towards him. They sat down to eat and began talking about their different courses. It surprised Chanyeol that someone so undisciplined as Baekhyun took Mathematics. Jongdae or Kyungsoo probably did his sums for him.  

'I'm sorry about the way we interrupted your date. We just wanted to see you after listening to all that Kyungsoo said about you...' said Jongdae. Chanyeol smiled in response.

'All the bad things,' put in Baekhyun snidely after he quickly swallowed a whole mouthful of spaghetti without even chewing it. 

Chanyeol knew that he still had a very long way to go before he could be friends with that tiny mass of spite. Kyungsoo glared at Baekhyun and the latter cowered in fear, keeping his plate of food close to him lest Kyungsoo throw it out and starve him.

'Moving on...' continued Jongdae, 'I wanted to ask you something, Chanyeol.'

'I know what it is!' cried Baekhyun impishly.

'Shut up! As I was saying, Chanyeol, do you know this girl by the name of Park Sunyoung? Light brown wavy hair...'

'Charming smile that shines like a thousand moons...' droned Kyungsoo, rolling his eyes.

'Amaaaaazing body that none can compare...' drawled Baekhyun with a bored expression on his face.

'And a good, caring personality to boot!' hummed Jongdae, with a dreamy expression on his face.

'I cannot believe you're asking him about your imaginary girlfriend!' snapped Kyungsoo.

'More like imaginary crush,' mumbled Baekhyun, earning a glare from Jongdae.

'Actually,' started Chanyeol awkwardly,'there is a Park Sunyoung in my Medieval Poetry class...'

'Medieval Poetry?! You're such a nerd!' interjected Baekhyun.

'...and I think we're talking about the same person,' concluded Chanyeol, ignoring Baekhyun's jibe.

'Well, since my crush isn't so imaginary anymore,' mocked Jongdae, while his two roommates groaned in displeasure,'could you please get me her number?'

'Yes, please do end this torture for us!' teased Kyungsoo and Chanyeol agreed humorously. Obviously, what are fellow nerds for?

After a dinner of getting to talk to his crush, befriending one of his crush's friends and keeping absolutely wary of the other, Chanyeol proceeded to leave to his own room. Kyungsoo let him out and Chanyeol thanked him for the delicious food. 

'You can come here whenever you want,' replied Kyungsoo, smiling brightly.

'So can I take that as your response to my confession?' inquired Chanyeol slyly.

'Nah-ah! This is my answer however...' whispered Kyungsoo and, with a swift yet strong tug at Chanyeol's collar, brought their lips crashing together.  Chanyeol closed his eyes in happiness and they stayed like that for sometime until a book came flying at his head.

'Leave my baby Soo alone!' shrieked Baekhyun like a witch. Jongdae stood by him, not knowing whether to smile and wave or to look grossed out at the sight of his friend doing things with a relatively new friend. Pulling away sheepishly, Chanyeol spoke,

'I guess he wants me to leave now.'

'Don't mind him. He'll come to his senses soon,' told Kyungsoo, absent-mindedly touching his lips.

'I love you.'

'Awww snap! He doesn't love you back! 'Cuz, FYPOSI, he loves me!' came a voice from behind that sounded very much like Byun Baekhyun.

'FYPOSI?!' shot back Kyungsoo, incredulously.

'For your piece of sweet information!'

'Dear Lord! Shoo away, Baekhyun!' grumbled Jongdae, pushing the accused person into the bathroom.

Turning to Chanyeol again, Kyungsoo concluded, 'Now before that lunatic escapes Jongdae's hold, I'd like you to know that I need some time before I can convey the exact same feelings to you.'

'Sure. No problem. Take as long as you need.'

'Bye, then.'

'Goodbye.'

'YOU BETTER NOT KISS HIM AGAIN, YOU GANGLY TOWERING FREAKY MASS OF LIMBS!!!'

BADA-BOOM!!!!!!!

Kyungsoo smiled sweetly at that ear-bursting sound as the rest of the class ran around the lab in panic. From the bluish grey smoke, he could see the tall silhouette of Park Chanyeol coming his way. 

'Been staring too much at me, haven't you?' he teased.

'I should really change my subject...' 

'Yeah. Take up Math. It'd be a joy to have Byun Baekhyun around.'

'I'd rather stick with this. Though I can't understand why he's being such a clingy bestfriend! Why can't he be like Jongdae?'

'He's a brat. Simple as that.'

'You should act the same way when Taeyeon's around...'

'That woman will rip me to pieces if I touch her precious Baekkie.'

'True. She scratched a girl in my class only because she brushed against your pesky pal,' mused Chanyeol, with mild fear on his face.

'Say, before the smoke clears up, would you like a kiss?'

'Even though the lab smells like rotten fish?'

'Fine. If you don't want it...'

'Wait, Kyungsoo-ah! I was kidding!!! I swear!' exclaimed Chanyeol desperately.

Laughing at his childishness, Kyungsoo reached for Chanyeol's neck and kissed him squarely on the lips. As he felt Chanyeol hum against his lips, Kyungsoo decided that it was a good time for him—

'And Kyungsoo? I got you your favourite sandwich and raspberry juice for lunch,' added Chanyeol quickly, before pulling Kyungsoo in for another kiss.

—Definitely a good time for him to break up with Chemistry.