Baekhyun blew a straw towards Junmyeon’s head to which the latter steadfastly blocked with a notebook. He’d been feeling giddy ever since that night. The two of them started talking again and he knows, god does he know, how much this could end badly.

“You’re chipper this morning,” Kyungsoo notes from across the table.

They’re currently in the cafeteria, eating lunch. He worried at first how Kyungsoo would fit in with them, but he walked right into their little circle and made a place for himself there. Junmyeon knew Kyungsoo from Baekhyun’s stories – they met online in their shared love for the idol group IKON and remained in contact when it comes to concerts and fan-meets.

It also came a surprise to him when Kyungsoo had all but transferred to Mokwon.            

“What? I’m always ‘chipper’.” Baekhyun uses air-quotes to which he received an eyeroll from Junmyeon.

“Yeah? You sure this isn’t about that dinner?” Junmyeon asks.

Baekhyun glared at him. Kyungsoo’s eyes glinted and Baekhyun knew there was no escaping from this conversation. Junmyeon and his big mouth, ugh.

“Okay, now you have to tell me about the dinner.” Kyungsoo says to him while Junmyeon kept eating, ignoring Baekhyun who’s currently throwing daggers for eyes at him.

“It’s not a big deal, really.”

“I don’t believe you, spill.” Kyungsoo makes those hand motions that urges Baekhyun to tell.

“Fine. But it really is a small thing,” Baekhyun sighs. “Chanyeol and I went to dinner, gods I feel like we’re gossiping teenagers.”

“Well, we kind of are. And then what happened? Was it like, a date-date? Or just a date-date?”

“I must’ve been out of my mind to have understood that. It’s just a normal dinner kind of thing,” Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow at him. “—okay we held hands. But that was because it was cold.”

Kyungsoo grins at him so wide Baekhyun worried he’d tear his heart-shaped lips.

“Stop that,” Baekhyun whines as Kyungsoo’s grin got bigger.

“Well, well, looks like someone’s love life is fruitful.”

“I don’t know whether I’d be happy about that or not, Chanyeol finally stopped giving me death glares.” Junmyeon pipes up and Baekhyun throws him a confused look. Kyungsoo looked just a tad but curiouser.

“What? No, he doesn’t.”

“He does, when you’re not looking.”

“He’s just probably squinting. He’s got bad eyes.”

Junmyeon and Kyungsoo shared a look that passed by Baekhyun’s head. Chanyeol and Jongdae passed them by and Chanyeol gives Baekhyun a slight nod. Baekhyun smiled at him in return. He missed Junmyeon and Kyungsoo’s judging looks from the table.

Minseok passed them by and Baekhyun had almost forgotten about Jongdae’s favor.

“Well, I got to go. I’ll see you guys in class!” He says to them before following after Minseok.

For such a short guy, Minseok sure knows how to walk fast. Baekhyun finally catches up to Minseok and holds a hand against his shoulder to steady himself. Minseok turns towards him with knitted eyebrows.

“Baekhyun?”

“Hey Minseok,” Baekhyun says, catching his breath. “I need your number.” He grins.

“You’ve already got my number,” Minseok says before realization hits his face, “No. Absolutely not. You’re not going to give him my number.”

In retrospect, Baekhyun probably should’ve asked what prank Jongdae pulled on Minseok before. Baekhyun grins helplessly at him, “Come on, Jongdae knows how mad you were, and he’d really like to make it up to you.”

“How?”

“By giving him your number!”

Minseok shakes his head at Baekhyun and walks up ahead, Baekhyun speed-walked beside the former. He should’ve known this wasn’t a walk in the park.

“Look, if you’re mad at him then a part of you probably likes him, right?” Baekhyun says, actually – he doesn’t know what he’s saying. All he knows is that Jongdae better come good on his deal after this.

Thankfully, Minseok stops on his tracks.

“Tell me what you think about him,” Minseok says, facing him again.

Crap.

“Err, the sugar-coated bit?”

“The honest one,”

                Baekhyun sighs, he racks the inside of his brain for some good things to tell. “Jongdae can be sly but,” Baekhyun emphasizes on the but part, “He means well. He probably pulled that prank to gauge your reaction or something.”

“You don’t know what he did, do you?”

Baekhyun grins sheepishly, “He acts like a tool sometimes but that’s because he approaches things by calculating them. And well, I think your personality would go well with his,”

“Are you setting us up?”

“Do you want me to set you up?” Baekhyun asks and Minseok grins at this. He considers it as a win. “Well, I’m going to give him your number now, with your permission.”

Minseok rolls his eyes at him, “Fine,” He finally says before walking away, probably headed for class. Baekhyun forwards Minseok’s number to Jongdae with a caption of ‘success. U owe me now’.

He’s about to head to the opposite direction when he sees Chanyeol coming up from the corner and waving at him. Baekhyun waved back tentatively as Chanyeol hurriedly jogged towards him.

“There’s a game in tomorrow, it’s the last game of the season,” Chanyeol says,

“Okay?”

“You have to go. I already had Jongdae reserve seats.” Chanyeol grins with that boyishly charm of his. He’s crouching a little, trying to compensate for Baekhyun’s height – Baekhyun had to punch his arm at that.

“You could have just told me back in the dorms,”

Chanyeol clutches his arm in mock hurt, “I wanted an excuse to talk to you.”

Baekhyun froze at the same time Chanyeol did. Chanyeol probably hadn’t meant it, the way he looks like right now, Baekhyun might as well gave him a lemon. Baekhyun chuckles nervously, his eyes darting everywhere but Chanyeol. His hands felt a little colder than they were earlier.

“Ah, I need to get to class.”

“Yeah. Okay. I’ll, uh, see you later.” Chanyeol says, watching him go.

Baekhyun definitely managed to walk straight, his heart hammering against his chest and he feels like he’s going to be sick. What was he thinking? Chanyeol’s a friend. A childhood one at that. Baekhyun needs to get his head straight and stop projecting his own feelings towards the latter.

He walked all the way to his class, stewing about in his own head. If Junmyeon noticed, he thankfully didn’t point it out. Instead he’d given Baekhyun a friendly clasp on the shoulder and that was that. He’s got a better hold of his feelings, usually.

The thing about falling in love is that it’s easy in theory, in practice? Not so much. Sure, he’s got the high of endorphins or what not in their little day-to-day interactions but when it borders onto the real thing, Baekhyun’s petrified. He’d never actually been in a relationship before.

He’s actually pretty fine with how things are right now. Chanyeol’s oblivious to his feelings and Baekhyun might probably never tell him about his stupid little crush, surely not any time soon but maybe in the future where they can laugh about Baekhyun’s stupidity togeth