at night we come out to play

CHAPTER ONE

‘Look for Park Chanyeol,’ was the first and last thing Kyungsoo heard the lady from the reception desk at the College Administration Office say. He did not want to ask any further; she had barely a smile on her face and bothered not to spare Kyungsoo even a glance. He might as well just find whoever this Park Chanyeol is instead, if he could find him. He had waited in his room all night and fell asleep waiting; he assumed Park Chanyeol was not the type of person to come back to his dorm room, because well, whoever he was, he did not come back to his room at all, and Kyungsoo did not see him this morning either.

‘He’s in class 3A-1, but during lunch he likes to be in the library with his friends, top floor at near the study rooms. If you see someone tall with elf ears and a Students’ Council badge, that’s him.’ His classmate’s description had sounded useful enough, and Kyungsoo immediately went to find him. It took him a while to find the library, but for his first day, taking ten minutes was not half as bad.

The library was situated in a separate building, adjoined to the class building by a bridge on the second and fourth floor. It consisted of three storeys, which did not help. When Kyungsoo saw it, he considered waiting after class ended instead. But he had walked all the way here, it would be a waste if he left now, so he followed his classmate’s advice. Top floor, next to the study rooms, tall, elf ears, badge-

He kept repeating to himself over and over again.

He reached the area soon enough, and began craning his neck and examining the students who were there. There

were not that many, which made it easier for him, but the sheleves made it a little difficult for him to scan the space.

And then Kyungsoo saw them.

They were sitting by the window, in a rather secluded space besides a room that read Study Room 1. There was a large circular table, three boys and two girls who were doing different things, yet they fit the scene like a perfect piece of a puzzle. A boy with blonde hair seemed to be looking at his own reflection with his phone, changing the angle of his face from time to time. A girl with short lilac-toned hair was painting her nails black and carefully placing small looking diamonds on it. Another girl with long black hair, looked the most relaxed, and was reading a book next to a boy who seemed a bit too grown up to be sitting on such a small chair. The last boy was standing, talking to someone else behind the shelf.

There was a weird air about them, although they seemed peaceful and without trouble.

Kyungsoo must have stood there a little too long because someone called him then. ‘Kyungsoo?’ he turned to see that it was the guy who was standing. ‘Are you Do Kyungsoo?’

‘Er-‘ he stuttered. ‘-yeah.’

The boy walked towards him. ‘I’m your roommate,’ he placed a hand on his chest to indicate himself. ‘Park Chanyeol,’ he looked rather bright. Kyungsoo checked him; tall, elf ears, badge. He fit the bill.

‘Pleased to meet you,’ Kyungsoo smiled back and shook his hand.

The rest of the table looked, but casually enough that they seemed rather unbothered with Kyungsoo’s presence, and Kyungsoo was not sure whether to feel comfortable or not . ‘Ms Kwon wasn’t much of a help was she?’ he gestured Kyungsoo to sit down with him, kindly pulling a chair and sitting down himself.

‘Who?’

‘The lady at the admins’ counter,’

‘Ah,’ Kyungsoo had not bothered finding out her name. ‘Not that much,’

‘Sorry, I forgot.’ He turned to his friends. ‘Baekhyun-‘ he pointed to the blonde boy. ‘Soojung-‘ the redhead girl ‘-Rei-‘ the black haired girl. ‘-Sehun’ and the other tall boy. ‘This is Kyungsoo. He’s my roommate,’

‘A new roommate?’ Baekhyun looked excited, a contrast to his expression just minutes ago.

‘Nice to meet you,’ Rei looked friendly enough. Soojung merely raised a hand as a form of greeting, not smiling at all but her gesture made him feel welcomed. Sehun merely nodded.

‘So, a senior?’ Chanyeol asked.

‘Second year,’ Kyungsoo answered.

‘Oh, like Rei and Sehun.’ He pointed to the pair. ‘Have you registered for your classes yet?’

Kyungsoo shook his head.

‘Great. I’ll see you in the room at 11? And then if you’d like you can join us out for dinner,’

‘That’d be great,’ Kyungsoo could not contain his excitement, although diner after 11 sounded a little odd. He did not expect to have gotten along yet with anyone on his first day. Heck, even his neighbours haven’t spoken to him or his family yet.

‘So are you new in town?’ Chanyeol continued. Soojung eyed them both suspiciously, particularly at the new tanned boy.

‘Yeah, I just moved in like last week.’

‘What class are you in?’ Sehun spoke up.

‘2B-1,’

‘Arts,’ Sehun stated.

‘Yeah,’

Rei got up from her seat. ‘I’m going back to class,’ she closed her book. ‘See you around, Kyungsoo.’ She grinned slightly. Sehun looked down at his watch.

‘What’s the hurry, there’s still ten minutes left.’ Soojung sounded annoyed.

‘She has a presentation today.’ Sehun leaned back in his seat. ‘So what kind of arts do you do?’

‘I draw,’ Kyungsoo answered hesitantly.

‘Nudes?’

‘I-‘

‘I’m kidding,’ Sehun cut him off. ‘That’s cool. Maybe if you’re good the they’ll let you exhibit your work in a gallery,’

Kyungsoo felt his phone vibrate from inside of his coat pockets and fished it out. ‘I gotta take this,’ he excused himself. ‘Thanks,’ he glanced at Chanyeol. ‘I’ll see you guys later,’

Baekhyun happily waved him goodbye as they watched him disappear elsewhere. ‘He’s cute,’ Baekhyun leaned his chin on his fist. Chanyeol threw him a weird look.

‘He checked out Rei,’ Soojung announced bluntly. It was pretty hard not to notice how he had stared at her for several seconds before he sat down. Soojung wouldn’t question it too much; she did look like a statue sitting next to her, looking all focused and static.

‘Straight? Bummer,’ Baekhyun twitched his lips. Sehun cleared his throat. Chanyeol stifled a laugh.

‘We better go, especially you.’ Chanyeol pointed at Baekhyun. ‘I don’t think you want to be late for Calculus.’

‘ Calculus,’ Baekhyun snorted as he got up. ‘That class is .’

‘Failed your quiz again?’ Soojung asked.

‘I didn’t come, and Jeong wouldn’t even let me resit for it.’ He recalled rather bitterly. ‘Said if I really care about my grades, I wouldn’t be busy trying to be the next top model or some .’

‘Tragic,’ Sehun was glad they got a new professor for Calculus. Jeong wasn’t the nicest person around; he was a grouchy old man. He remembered being so bitter not even Rei could impress him. In fact, Rei having skipped a grade had triggered some kind of hatred within him. He always tried to find a way to flaw her, but Rei was far too smart.

Sehun could barely focus in class. He took down notes during the first half hour, and then completely drifted away mentally. The teacher was introducing a new topic on hormones, something Sehun was sure he could read alone and still score. As he was leaning his head on the table at the back, he saw Rei sliding a thick-cover A5 notebook onto his table. ‘Thanks,’ was all she said. He took a glance; it was her reminder notebook where she jot down her assignments and meetings. Swiftly he pulled it towards him and was careful to open it so that only he could see.

There was a small rectangular shape cut out like a hole through the pages. Sehun slipped a hand into his pocket and fished out a small looking box wrapped in shiny red paper. He placed it into the rectangular hole of the book before he passed it back discreetly to Rei. Y There was a boy who sat to her left; he wasn’t there earlier in class, Sehun noticed. He watched them from the corner of his eye.

Such dangerous business always seemed to trigger a form of excitement within him. He  looked as if he was asking her a question and Rei wrote down something on his book; but with her left hand. Rei was right-handed. Within the gaps, Sehun could see Rei sliding her hands almost a little to swiftly and unhesitantly into the boy’s right pocket. It happened within the split of a second.

Minutes later the boy raised his hand asking to be excused to the restroom. It was ‘peak’ time for them. Since the term was just beginning, the school disciplinary board had been on their close watch for the first two weeks. Students were on their guard as well; they had to come to school clean. Bringing anything illegal would be risky on their behalf. But the teachers and wardens were cooling down. They had their seniors to worry about now; exams were coming up and they could not afford to drop in national rankings.

Sehun had been precise with stocking up yesterday, it was fortunate for the students; or at least for those who smoked. Especially those on the verge of addiction like the one who had secretly slid next to Rei. He had been cursing on the inside when he found out Rei was presenting a topic today and Rei had noticed his uneasiness throughout class. He had been so desperate he paid double their normal rate.

It was no wonder Sehun loved it when school reopened every single year.

*

Kyungsoo was not expecting to have sneaked out of the school building on the second night of his stay. Chanyeol seemed pretty casual about it, which frankly didn’t ease him of any fear that a patrolling guard would catch them both, but Chanyeol was a member of the Students’ Council. Who else to trust than the most respected student in the school?

He led Kyungsoo to a restaurant a few blocks away from the school. It was situated in a two-sided street filled with shops, with lights running from one building to the other, which gave it a nice ambience despite the dimness.

‘We hang out here all the time,’ he held the door open for Kyungsoo. ‘Beats the boring food at the cafeteria,’

‘Thanks,’ Kyungsoo muttered before entering. He spotted a table at the corner; it was rather obvious – a group of students while the other customers looked like adults who just got off work late at night and were enjoying drinks with each other. Chanyeol strode towards them and Kyungsoo followed behind him. This time the mood was lighter. They were talking and laughing quietly among themselves, a far cry from how they were in the library.

Rei wasn’t there though; Kyungsoo frowned a little and wanted to ask. Luckily, Chanyeol did it before he could wonder. ‘Where’s Rei?’ he pulled a seat and sat down.

‘Working,’ Sehun was swinging in his seat.

‘Baekhyun?’

‘Taking a puff,’ Soojung replied.

‘He smokes?’ Chanyeol lifted one eyebrow. ‘Since when?’ his tone of voice rose noticeably. Sehun shrugged. Chanyeol stood up again, his smile seemed to have faded from his face. He did not want to believe Soojung but he knew she had no reason to lie, and he had to see it for himself. He exited into the back alley through the kitchen door.

Baekhyun was standing not too far from there, kicking the ground aimlessly. He had his leather jacket over his school shirt and a cigarette in between his right fingers. Wisps of smoke seemed to float around in the air above his head. Chanyeol heard him cough in echoes.

‘Is something wrong?’ Chanyeol startled Baekhyun.

‘No,’ he said, bearing an expression as if he was baffled that Chanyeol asked.

‘You didn’t tell me you smoked,’

‘It’s my first time,’ Baekyun sniffed the cold air, letting out another cough. Chanyeol walked over to him. He looked as if he had tears in his eyes.

‘What happened?’

‘What happened?’ Baekhyun repeated in a more clueless tone.

‘Why are you suddenly smoking?’ Chanyeol rephrased. ‘Everybody knows you can’t stand it,’

‘Maybe I’m curious,’ Baekhyun merely replied. He tried his best not to look at Chanyeol in the eyes; it was bad enough he had to squint his eyes. The smoke had contracted tears and Baekhyun had not wanted anyone to see it; least of all Chanyeol. Chanyeol questioned him no further. He wasn’t in a place to; although it was rather odd of Baekhyun.

‘Come in when you’re done.’ He patted Baekhyun on his arm. ‘It’s cold out,’

Baekhyun sighed when he heard the door close shut and he shut his eyes for several seconds. It was stinging a little too much. But he had to do this. Sacrifices are necessary, he kept telling himself. He’s going to ask.

So what?

What do I tell him?

The usual.

Chanyeol came back into the restaurant to find Kyungsoo getting along in a hearty conversation with Sehun and Soojung.

‘-see, nobody gives two s about you if you’re good on paper.’ Sehun was explaining.

‘Why not? I thought teachers like ratting us out on every petty thing,’ Kyungsoo was rather intrigued.

‘Rankings,’ Soojung explained.

‘They can’t stay on top if they keep giving demerits to good students. It’ll ruin their reputation.’ Sehun shrugged.

‘Which is why Chanyeol gets away with everything,’ Soojung lifted her brows in a cheeky manner.

‘What are we talking about?’ Chanyeol sat down next to Kyungsoo.

‘Chanyeol gets to go out without signing his name and nobody gives a where he goes.’

‘That’s a lie,’ Chanyeol protested. ‘They do ask,’

‘And then you lie saying you’re out to buy some wrapping paper for a class event and they believe you,’ Soojung said.

‘So who’s buying this Friday?’ Chanyeol asked to avert their attention from him. He asserted a stern tone in his voice, and it was then Kyungsoo saw that he really was a Students’ Council member. The contrast between his smiling face and serious expression was hard to put side by side.

‘Rei and I got eight people, so far.’ Sehun answered.

‘Five,’ Soojung added. Chanyeol made a mental note to himself. Kyungsoo was curious, but held his tongue. Buying what? He wanted to know. What were they selling?

‘We’re going cash in a lot,’ Chanyeol shook his head, a wide grin on his lips as if he was pondering over a guilty pleasure. He looked impressed, and at the same time, slightly sinister.

‘It’s the only chance they’re going to get before they have to focus on classes,’ Soojung twirled some of her red hair around her finger. ‘I bet Sehun’s doing well too,’ she turned to the brown-haired boy. He didn’t respond, only had a pleased look on his face.

‘Why? What are you guys selling?’ Kyungsoo blurted out at last. Soojung and Chanyeol exchanged looks before raising curious eyebrows at each other.

‘Do you want to tag along next Friday?’ Chanyeol invited.

‘Where to?’

‘Somewhere we like to play at night,’