"Good morning my dearest Kyungsoo- Oh MY, you look like ."
"Thanks, Am. Thank you so very much." Kyungsoo moodily grumbled back in English while he rightened the angle of his laptop's screen where a mop of wild blond hair occupied his sight.
The difference between their hairstyles being that Amber's blond hair was purposefully messy while Kyungsoo's was just... Well, messy.
The full cliche sticking in all directions-kind of messy, perfectly supported by the dark circles under his eyes and the rugged pajama shirt he wore(was that a nutella stain from his breakfast earlier?).

"Can't you just appreciate the fact that I got up to talk to you at freaking 6 AM in the morning?"
Amber immediately switched back to Korean and leaned back a little to show her completely dark room.
"Ah, don't cry. You know I always appreciate natural looks."
"Well, excuse me for not trying to impress you. Let me remind you, just in case - I'm gay."
Amber's laugh was hearty and usually a pleasant experience, though it was obviously too early for this .
"What, really? I didn't even notice! And here I was thinking your amount of Super Junior posters had no deeper meaning."
Kyungsoo glared at her - that's what he did best, his glares were not to underestimate.
They could silence noisy kids and teenagers alike. A well-aimed stare could have wondrous effects like people slowly backing out of your personal space, putting down your things(and putting you down, depending on the situation).

"Liking a male idol band has nothing to do with-"
"-...Aaaand not to forget your bookmarked gay fanfiction of Super Junior."
His hand immediately grabbed his phone protectively.
"W-what?! I haven't bookmarked any-"
He interrupted himself upon seeing her winning grin. Such an easy trap and he fell for it. Damn it.
"Urgh. You're gonna be the death of me. Anyway. How are things going in Amsterdam?"
His best friend ruffled her hair a little and rubbed her neck.
"Pretty good, actually. I just came home from a little get-together-"
"Are you still clean?"
She impatiently clicked her tongue though she kept grinning.
"Do Kyungsoo, re-think your image of the Netherlands! It's not all about weed here!"
"I'm just saying..."
"Anyway, we went out to eat -not smoke- and it was pretty fun. Work's going well, too. I think the designer really likes me since I did all those stupid tasks over the last weeks efficiently and without complaining.
So today I ran some errands with her. It was pretty cool."
"Haaah... Of course she'd like you, I bet you seduced her with your tomboy-magic."
"Don't be so bitter and just try to be happy for me instead?"
Kyungsoo sighed and reached for a comb to try and tame the mess on his head.
"You know I'm kidding. I'm a little envious, even. I'm wondering how things are gonna turn out when I'm abroad."
Their school had an obligatory abroad semester where you needed to find work and live abroad for at least 4 months, at most 7. Soon it would be his time as well.
"Don't worry about it, your English is fine, isn't it? It won't even be a-"
"Oh my god, WHAT THE ACTUAL-"

And with this Kyungsoo jumped up and out of her vision, leaving her to stare at the image of his messy room while he kept cursing in the background.
"Uhm. Oookay. Okay, then."
"CHEN you er!"
"Language, Soo~" Amber mumbled more to herself than anything, clearly not keen on being heard.
She heard a cackling in the distance and a far-too-awake Chen passed by the open room-door only to spot Amber on screen and approach her with a cheery wave.

"Wassup Am? You already tried the good stuff?"
"Sure, high as a kite everyday, like you wouldn't even know. Just this morning my coffee began talking to me." she replied with sarcasm dripping from her happy voice.
"Oh yeah, what did it say?"
"It actually whispered 'Don't do druuuugs, it's killing youuu...'"
"Wow, what a no-fun coffee."
"Yeah, such a hypocrite."
"Isn't caffeine also considered a drug, in a way?"
"Totally."

"I can't wash it out, what the is your problem Chen?!"

"Kyungsoo's so rude, don't you think?" Chen conversationally continued while swinging back and forth on his chair. After a short consideration he called back:
"IFTB, Soo!"
"WHAT?"
"Uhm. What did you do?" Amber carefully asked since Kyungsoo really did sound rather agitated.
The last time she heard him this angry was when one particular Sherlock episode ruined his homoual ship("It clearly wants me to ship Sherlock and Watson, okay?! Let a man dream!!").
"Weeell, I might have dipped the comb's base in oil. Just some of our old olive oil. I really wanted to get the bottle empty, since, you know. Sunflower oil seems like a much better choice. Less intense taste."
"Yeah, you're right about that but... Why?"
Chen shrugged.
"Oh, just following my new-found life mission."
"Life mission?"
"Yeah, I found my meaning in life, so to say. It came upon me while skyping with Xiu yesterday."
Amber shot him a careful look, pondering whether this was a reason to worry or congratulate. Or maybe both.
"Care to enlighten me about how your meaning in life is linked to the oil in Soo's hair?
By the way, KYUNGSOO! TRY THE DISH LIQUID!"

Kyungsoo's voice was whiny when he called back how he didn't want to smell like cheap citrus extracts(He tried it anyway).

"Okay, pay attention!", Chen began with a dramatic inhale, "You know the concept of guardian angels? Those shiny pretty creatures that work hard all day long to prevent any harm from happening to all those ungrateful spoilt brats?"
"Yeah, sure. Who wouldn't know them."
"Well, I call it bull. I mean, think about it. If your poor guardian angel works it's off to protect you from anything and everything you turn into a complete wuss! Like, you never make your own experiences to grow on! And any tiny bump in the road's gonna cause you to flip and crash and finally explode like in-"
"Okay, okay, got it. So what?"
"What, 'so what'? Isn't it obvious? Instead of a guardian angel you need something else.
Like... like a Harming Angel! Doesn't that sound much better?"
"I don't know whether this would still be considered an angel-"
"Aaah, blah blah. Of course it is. I'm gonna steel my peers and prepare them for the harsh future!"

For some reason Amber wasn't fully convinced. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that an agitated Kyungsoo would probably teach Chen a much more... memorable lesson instead.
And if the approaching shadow in the background was any indication, she was really glad to be at the other side of the globe.
"This sounds like a really flimsy excuse to annoy the hell out of anyone around you."
Chen held his heart in dramatic offense.
"How dare you doubt my love for all of you? One day you'll understand.
IFTB, Am. It's For The Better. Or, no - It's For The BEST."
The shadow was now looming over him which went totally disregarded by the thoughful boy.
"You mean as in TML? 'Thank Me Later'?" Amber nervously asked.
"Yeaaah, something like that. But I had to think of something more original, you see?
Maybe I can put a trademark on it one da- Oh, -"
And with this, the connection was severed by a flailing Chen who tried to loosen the white towel Kyungsoo was strangling him with and the laptop was closed.
Amber sighed.
Well, things seemed to be fine over there. Though she really had been interested in Kyungsoo's supposed crush.
Well, she could wait.

"Hey Soo. Fancy hat you're wearing."
"Thanks..." Kyungsoo replied without really feeling it as he let his upper body collapse on the table with an exhausted sigh.
Raising a brow at his reaction, Minzy shrugged and reached into her bag for another bar of chocolate to offer it to her obviously tired friend.
Kyungsoo accepted it with a grateful sigh and after slowly peeling it out of the wrapping he showed it no mercy.
Sorry, buddy. I should appreciate you more, but this is neither the time nor place.
Okay, I'm talking to a piece of chocolate. That I already ate. No big deal. I guess I need friends.
Or another bar.
"You wanna talk about it?"
He only made an indescribable noise of protest, muffled against the desk. Minzy tilted her head in question at the sight of his exposed and slightly wet-looking hair.
"I see. Your hair looks a little off. Why...?"
With another grunt he squished the side of his face against the table in order to slowly answer in a monotone voice as if reciting something.
"Because I should always get up early enough to deal with sudden inconveniences. Also to buy more expensive dish liquid and less expensive oil."
"Oh? So did you deal with your 'sudden inconveniences'?"
"At least with one of them, yes. I dealt with it just. Fine." Kyungsoo said with a grim smile at the thought of a spluttering Chen with a mouthful of a towel drenched in dish liquid.
"Alright then, not unsettling at all." she hummed light-heartedly as she took out a pen to do some sketches and leave him to his misery.

Unlike Chaerin, who popped her head inside the classroom and called out for him.
"Hey Soo, we're going to the super market, wanna tag along?"
Yesyesyes. More chocolate, one voice in his head said.
Hell no, stay inside. You look horrible, the other one replied sharply.
But... Chocolate.
...Will only make you more ugly.
"Don't wannaaa...."
I think I'm uglyyy, the voice in his head hummed.
"Stop whining, I'm not gonna carry anything for you this time. Are you coming or not?"
One last look at the wrapping paper made Kyungsoo shoot up and re-arrange his hat with determination.
"Screw it! Got7 said I'm pretty anyway, alright?!"
Chaerin didn't even question it.
"Yeeeah, whatever. Let's go, pretty boy."

With his bag stuffed with milky ways and a bottle of orange juice Kyungsoo hummed happily on their way back, not actually following Chaerin's and Bom's discussion over which Spiderman movie they liked most.
"Just stay the way you are, are, are, are, are-"
"Ooh, look at these hotties~" Bom suddenly squealed and Kyungsoo almost froze in his tracks, the song stuck in the back of his throat. It seemed like a few employees of the craftsman firm next door were on a smoke break. Without thinking he instinctively checked for the tall figure of- of course he was there.
Of-ing-course.
"Can we talk to them?" Bom hopefully threw in and they automatically walked more slowly to discuss the matter.
"Nah, I don't know. Isn't that kinda rude? Although... Kyungsoo, don't you know them?"
"NO, no, actually... No."
Just that moment Chanyeol looked up and began to wave like an idiot. As if the two had been best friends for years.
"Heeey, Kyungsoo! What's up?"
Damn. Paint markings, strawhats, dresses and now this. I'm not even demanding to look especially good, but... Can't I just not look like an idiot for ing once?
"Haha, hey... Yeah, I'm fine, though my break's gonna be over soon. Talk to you late-"
"Oh what are you saying Soo? Silly, you already forgot about our free period? You're such a scatterbrain~" Bom totally unhelpfully provided while Chaerin flashed the guys a charming grin, already introducing herself.
Great.

Chanyeol only nodded politely at the girl's introduction and looked back to Kyungsoo, whoms heart may have stopped for a split-second at the attention just to fall back into the frantic somersaults at, well. The attention.

Besides, these were Chanyeol's working colleagues. They shouldn't be seeing Kyungsoo in such a... state.
State meaning the badly covered up dark circles under his eyes(from watching certain Youtube videos all night) and the black hat that might have looked stylish on anyone who wasn't Kyungsoo's size.
He felt, quite frankly, like an oddly-shaped mushroom.
And wasn't it a well-known fact that you also had to appeal to your crush's friends?
You should try appealing to him first. You still have a long way to go, just saying.

Not to forget that these colleagues looked mostly rather scary. In fact Chanyeol looked like a lost puppy between them.
Kyungsoo sighed as he tried to hide the fact that his bag was almost bursting with pure sugar.
A grown man(No grandma, I'm not gonna grow into this XXL sweater anymore. Not now, not ever, please just give up already) eating nothing but sweets. Well, and orange juice.
With 50% water and, yepp, more sugar.
"Yeah guys, this is Kyungsoo from the fashion school next door. And these are my colleagues-", Chanyeol happily began while pointing around, "Yongguk, Zico, Jongup and P.O."

Kyungsoo tried very hard not to be intimidated but especially that Yongguk and the Zico guy looked kinda frightening with rough facial features and one of them even having dreads. They looked exactly like the stereotype bullies who would shake poor Kyungsoo's backpack back in school and take whatever they deemed interesting.
Out of instinct he tightened his hold on it.
Not my milky ways, nooo. Over my dead body. I'll protect you, my babies.
Jongup was by far the shortest of the group, standing out a little not quite unlike Chanyeol with his wide and good-natured but slightly loony grin. Last but not least his gaze followed Chanyeol's pointing hands to said P.O who was a huge guy with shockingly red hair and an innocent-looking face.
"What does P.O stand for?" Kyungsoo asked before he could help it.

Blinking a little, they grew silent and looked at the tall male.
Chanyeol scrunched his brows together in confusion.
"That's a good question, I never thought about it. What does it stand for?"
Looking highly offended the guy flailed with his hands and claimed in a voice rough enough to saw through wood(what's with all these smooth faces and deep voices? Why?):
"It stands for my name obviously, guys! My NAME!"
More blinking, especially by a confused-looking Jongup.
"You know. Pyo kinda sounds like P.O in English? It's such a cool nickname! Wait... You guys DO know my name, right?"
More silence followed with Chanyeol making a very thoughtful face(cue biting the lip and tilting his head from side to side) and Zico finding a sudden interest in the shabby wall they leaned on, until Jongup's face suddenly lit up.
"Yeah, sure! You just said it, Pyo!
Pyo, pyo, pyo..." he sing-songed with a gun-fireing motion.
P.O threw his hands up in surrender.
"I can't believe it! I've been working here for more than a YEAR! And you don't even know my name?! What's wrong with you guys?!"

"Pyo Jihoon you useless brat! Come over here. Now." a strict voice shouted from inside the building and the poor boy flinched and immediately rushed inside, not before looking back accusingly one more time.
"HE knows my name."
"Pyo, pyo~"
"Urgh, whatever guys!"
Looking after him Kyungsoo felt like this was a very good opportunity to leave, but both Bom and Chaerin had already engaged themselves into conversations(with a not very fazed Yongguk and a distracted Zico who was clearly more interested in Chaerin's curves than whatever she was talking about).
"That's a pretty stylish hat, Kyungsoo! Ah, fashion students always wear nice clothes, don't they?" Chanyeol said animatedly.
For a second he forgot about the whole crush-thing and sent him a highly incredulous look.
If he now had Chen beside him he would have probably translated it into something along the lines of

'Are you freaking kidding me I have like the most boring style ever and one of the three times you saw me I wore a dress; besides, that's not even my hat but the one of my dear friend Kim Jongdae who had pity with me this morning and who, fun fact, always lends me my clothes whenever I don't look like a complete loser. Oops, I shouldn't have added this? Well, IFTB, Soo.'
...Yeah right. Good thing that Chen wasn't there.

"Uhm. Not really. I just kinda ruined my hair this morning, well it WAS ruined, and then I had to result to this ugly old hat."
He could practically see Chen mimicking a highly offended woman and it gave him a certain satisfaction.
Chanyeol seemed to disagree though.
"What? Ugly? I don't think it's ugly, it looks so cool! Can I try it on?"
He had already reached out for it before Kyungsoo could even consider doing some very dramatic slow-motion escapes attempts and the hat was plucked off his head. Panicking, he tried grab for the hat but it was too late.
"N-No-"
And Chanyeol stared at his hair, freezing in the moment. Kyungsoo's eyes flitted to the floor. Chanyeol inched a little closer to get a better look.
The floor. Wonderful floor. Please eat me. Like I ate that chocolate bar earlier, okay? Show no mercy.
"That's..." he began, looking conflicted and taking a step back again.
'Please eat me.', like that cake from Alice in Wonderland. I want that cake. I wanna be taller.
Oh, but not now. Now I'd like to be an ant. Tomorrow maybe.
"This... Looks really good on you!"
"...W-WHAT?"
Chanyeol only laughed heartily.
"No, I mean it! It's kinda serious with all the gel but it's pretty neat as well. Makes you look more mature. Doesn't it get ruined by the hat though?"
Kyungsoo blinked dumbly.
Yes, he had tried to do his best to keep the damage down but the last time he checked he had looked like Chen's cat when it had fallen into the cold pot of frying oil - Pitiful, to sum it up.
"Uhm. Actually not."
"Really? That's amazing. Wah, doesn't this hat make me look super-suave?" he excitedly babbled while playfully posing for the shorter.
Bam, another heart attack.
"Y-you can keep it." he offered spontaneously.
Immediately the redhead held up his hands in a denying manner.
"What? No, no, it's alright, I can't accept that. It must mean a lot to you-"
"No really. Please, uhm. You can keep it. It suits you better anyway."
"Really? I mean. You sure?"
Kyungsoo nodded dumbly and the bright smile he got was more than worth it.
"Awesome! Then let's take a selfie together to celebrate the new hatttt~"
Ohmygod, a selfie. With Chanyeol. Yes. Finally a new phone background, desktop wallpaper, maybe wallscroll-wait.
My hair. No. Noooo...
"I-I don't think we need to-"
"Okay, ready, c'mere! Three, two, one - Cheese!"

20:39
From: ChenChen
Hey Xiuuu~ :D :D
You already back from work?
 
20:40
No?
Nah, I'll just spam you anyway
Don't forget to properly lock the stoooore!
Or else your precious coffee machine thingies are gonna be stolen *kkk*

20:41
By the way
The mission totally failed and backfired Dx
No idea how Soo could NOT get it but today he bought a whole new bottle of olive oil
Even BIGGER than the last one
Like, what's wrong with him?
20:42
I definitely need to step up my game
For him, I mean
I only have his future on my mind
Being the good, worried friend I am

21:02
NEVERMIND
Scratch everything I just wrote
He gave away my HAT!
My precious hattttt
My precioussss....

21:03
I really liked that one!
It was my only one, too
Can't buy it anymore, I bought it in London back then...

21:14
The only reason why I'm NOT printing out that stupid selfie of Soo and his crush wearing MY hat and put it up all over the place as a revenge is that I don't wanna see that guy with my hat! Q_Q
I don't care that he's kind of a celeb if he doesn't even know it's from me

21:15
What am I gonna do? I always wore it on first dates and now I'm gonna stay single FOREVE-
 

"Are you STILL whining over that hat?"
"SHUT UP Kyungsoo! You don't know anything!"
Kyungsoo only shrugged and went to his room closing the door, when a new chatroom appeared on Chen's screen.

21:15
From: soO.O

IFTB.

Enter... More people to interfere with Soo's love general life.
Yess, I dunno why so many people are still stuck with the stereotype of the Netherlands and their drugs. Still, Amsterdam is such an awesome city, like it fell right out of a fairytale book c:
This chapter's song is Got7's 'Just Right' because you'll never get rid of the catchy melody~
And yes, our cat happened to fall into the (cold) frying oil and it was hilarious.
(It's a miracle she didn't turn fat from trying to it all off.)

Remember, if you wanna see someone specifically, feel free to tell me~ ♥

Mini Fashion Dictionary Entry 4:
The designer Amber's interning at is pretty well-known for experimental and almost surreal clothing, designed in cooperation with architects and often with the help of 3D printing.
Don't even think about wearing it. It's not meant to be worn by mortals like us.
And these crazy pieces are mostly created byyy... The hard-working hands of unpaid interns who are stuck with the tedious work for MONTHS. Not kidding. Well, the fashion world is cruel, right?
Anyway, the garments end up pretty impressive.
The pic I used is the famous water dress, but there are many more amazing outfits made of bone imitations, thousands of leather strips and whatnot.

Love,
Sugar-and-Salt ♥