Things were different now. Minseok knew that things were different, because he had come to the realization of who he had been in his previous lives. It was a lot to process, but he was coming to grips with this new reality.

Reality was that Kim Minseok went by many names, but no matter what name he held, he always loved Byun Baekhyun. What was more, Baekhyun also loved him in return; no matter the name or his status.

However, for the next 7 weeks, Baekhyun wasn’t just going to be his former lover, but also his professor of vampire studies. The mere idea that he had to remain apart from Baekhyun was excruciating, but when had life for Minseok ever been easy? Almost never.

Minseok chuckled to himself at the thought; they’d been through far worse, they could get through this. Besides, in university, seven weeks fly by. And, in the grand scheme of things, this short blip of time was absolutely nothing. It was like the batting of an eyelash or the flap of a butterfly wing in terms of time. Things would be fine, even if they felt like forever right now.

A buzz vibrated his phone on his dorm room desk. Minseok stole a quick glance at the screen to see that it was time for a trip to get some coffee. He smiled to himself as he grabbed his coat and a scarf before he paused for a brief moment.

Luhan’s bed was empty and his side of the room was oddly clean. Come to think of it, Minseok had not seen Luhan since yesterday, when he left the dorm for classes.

Then it hit him.

What of his relationship with Luhan?

Minseok’s phone buzzed again and he shook his head from his reverie. This dilemma would have to wait for another time.

***

Baekhyun rocked on his heels almost nervously. He folded his hands behind his back as he waited, staring mindlessly at the board behind the head of the barista.

Sehun sighed, “Baek, can I get you anything or not?”

Jongin elbowed him in the side, hard.

“Ow!”

“Shut up, Sehun.” Jongin grumbled, “Have some patience.”

Behind Baekhyun, the door to the coffee shop creaked open, jingling the little bell above the frame. From the corner of his eye, Baekhyun could see who stood there.

“Jongdae, Junmyeon,” he greeted without turning around, “Right on time.”

“Of course,” Jongdae chuckled while smoothing down his shirt, “Is it weird that I’m feeling nervous?”

Baekhyun turned around to look him in the eye, “No. It’ll be your first time seeing him since he remembered who he was.”

“If he remembers you now, do you think he’ll finally recognize me?” Jongdae asked, a shy smile on his face.

“Only one way to find out,” Junmyeon grinned, putting his hand on the small of Jongdae’s back to guide him towards a table.

Baekhyun paced slightly in front of the counter. It was odd for him to feel nervous, but thinking about Minseok walking through the door made him tremble.

“Sit down,” Junmyeon beckoned, “You’re going to leave a hole in the floor if you keep pacing like that.” Jongdae snorted at that and cuddled into Junmyeon’s side.

Before Baekhyun could respond, the door of the cafe creaked again and that little bell jingled overhead. Neither patron needed to turn to know who was there; they could smell his blood and knew his scent. Out of common courtesy to humans, they looked anyway to greet him.

“Minseok,” Baekhyun smiled, “It’s good to see you again.”

He hated to keep things formal, but considering Minseok was his student, this was how it had to be. For now.

“Baekhyun,” Minseok greeted before shifting to peer over at the table. His eyes widened and a grin grew on his face incredibly wide, “Jongdae!”

Jongdae jumped from his seat to reconnect with his old best friend, nearly tripping over Junmyeon’s legs as he rushed to him. For the first time in decades, the two friends embraced, laughing like idiots.

“Jongdae, what the hell?” Minseok grinned as he pulled away from their hug, “You haven’t changed a bit!”

“You don’t say,” Jongdae laughed, “Haven’t you seen these?” he asked jokingly as he flashed his fangs for Minseok to see, “It took me forever to get used to them.”

“He bit himself a lot in the first few years,” Junmyeon chimed in and that’s when Minseok finally glanced in his direction.

“Junmyeon-ssi.” Minseok smiled, “I don’t know how to address you now.” he shook his head with a laugh, “I’m still amazed by your patience with this one.” he joked as he playfully punched Jongdae in the arm.

“Hey now,” Jongdae snickered, “What about my patience with him?”

The two friends burst into laughter and for the first time in a very long time, Minseok felt like things were normal again. He felt the weight of a thousand worries slowly begin to dissipate from the recesses of his mind. This wasn’t too different after all…

Baekhyun cleared his throat and smiled when Minseok looked back at him with a toothy grin.