After an hour of putting together an outfit and making sure his face looked okay, Sojin admired his work in his bathroom mirror. He had decided to go for a more casual look with a simple white t-shirt under his denim jacket and some plain black jeans. He rarely pushed his bangs out of his face, but since this was a special occasion, he had styled his hair and pushed it back, making him look a bit more mature. He nodded to himself confidently then pumped his fist into the air.

    “I clean up nicely!” he exclaimed, complimenting his image in the mirror. “I bet Sungjin hyung will be surprised by this new image!”

    With that, he pulled on his black NMD’s and headed out the door, following the map towards Sungjin’s apartment to the best of his ability. Now that over a month had passed, the journey across campus was significantly easier and he arrived at the third-year’s place in just under twenty minutes. Glancing at the time, he saw that it was already 10pm. He hadn’t wanted to arrive too early for fear of having to sit awkwardly, but he hoped Sungjin didn’t think he was rude for showing up at this time. Taking a deep breathe, he reached out to knock on the door, but before his fist could make contact with it, it swung open of its own accord. Sojin’s eyes widened, taken aback, as he saw a tall boy standing in the doorway. The other boy jumped back in surprise as well, before breaking out into a cackle.

    “Woah there! You scared me! Are you here for Sungjin’s party?” he asked, giving Sojin a once over.

    “Sorry sorry!” Sojin exclaimed, his own heart still racing. “I am! My name’s Chae Sojin...I’m a first year!”

    The taller boy suddenly swung his arm around Sojin’s shoulders then pulled him into the building, patting him playfully. Sojin was both intimidated by and grateful for this newcomer’s friendliness.

    “Ahh, Sojin! Nice to meet ya, I’m Jae. I didn’t know Sungjin hung out with first years,” the boy replied, letting out another loud laugh as he led Sojin threw the crowd. The apartment was surprisingly large, with an impressive kitchen and a giant common room. The amount of people in it was even more surprising--guys and girls filled the space to the point that Jae was wading through people to get through the crowd, pulling Sojin behind him. Sojin had no idea that Sungjin was this popular and he suddenly felt his nerves escalate. Had he been talking with some campus celebrity this whole time?!

    His thoughts were interrupted as they finally emerged on the other side of the crowd, revealing Sungjin sitting at a small coffee table with another boy. 

    “Sungjin! I was gonna go buy us more soju, but I found your first year friend instead!” Jae exclaimed, patting Sojin’s shoulder proudly. Sojin, completely overwhelmed by this whole scenario, did his best to force a smile as he waved at Sungjin. 

    “Okay, now that that’s taken care of, I’m gonna actually go get the soju,” Jae stated, finally releasing Sojin. The tall boy smacked Sojin on the before heading back towards the front door. “Have fun tonight, kid!”

    Sungjin, easily reading Sojin’s unease, pulled up a chair next to his at the coffee table and beckoned for the younger boy to take a seat. 

    “Sojin! I’m so glad you actually came! You’re the only first year we invited, so you should feel really special,” the black-haired boy stated. Sojin wasn’t sure whether that made him feel happy or just more nervous, but he smiled anyway.

    “Thanks so much for inviting me! This apartment is so nice! And I didn’t know you were so popular....” Sojin replied, his honey eyes scanning over the mob of people in front of them. Sungjin let out a laugh and shook his head profusely. 

    “I’m not, I’m not! Honestly, I probably invited like five people. All of these people are here because of Jae!” he responded. Suddenly, the boy that had been sitting on the other side of the table chimed in.

    “I’m not sure if Jae even knows all these people...that’s just the type of person he is. He probably posted it on Insta or something,” he stated, grinning to himself. 

    “Ah! Sojin! This is Brian,” Sungjin exclaimed, realizing he had forgotten to intro the two. “He and Jae are also third years with me. They’re two of my best friends.”

    Sojin immediately rose from his chair and bowed ninety-degrees to Brian. “It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Chae Sojin! A first year! But it seems like everyone knows that already...”

    Brian let out a laugh, brushing his black bangs to the side. “Wow Sungjin, this kid is so polite. It’s cute!” He turned his attention to Sojin, locking eyes. “It’s nice to meet you. You don’t have to be all formal--a friend of Sungjin’s is a friend of mine.”

    He lifted his glass to his lips to take a sip, but then seemed to realize it was empty. “Oh? I drank it all already? Time to refill! Sojin, come get a drink with me!”

    Sojin’s eyes widened a bit, realizing he’d have to drink with someone he’d just met. Although he didn’t have a problem with drinking, he had a horrifically low tolerance which got him into terrible situations ninety percent of the time. For some reason, he glanced at Sungjin as if to ask for approval. Sungjin simply smiled and nodded, which put Sojin a bit more at ease. 

    “Okay, sure!” Sojin exclaimed, rising from his seat and following Brian towards the kitchen. As they pushed through the crowd, the third-year looked back over his shoulder, making eye contact with Sojin again.

    “You...can drink, right?” he asked, raising an eyebrow, though Sojin could detect no judgement in the question. Sojin nodded, a determined look on his face.

    “I can! I can definitely, totally drink!” he responded. Brian raised both eyebrows, but seemed to accept the answer as he turned back around and entered the kitchen. Sojin followed, squeezing past two girls, one of who drunkenly blew him a kiss. His face flushing in embarrassed horror, the first-year scurried to Brian’s side at the drink making station. 

    “Hmmm, since it’s your first drink of the night, wanna just do a soju shot together?” Brian asked, glancing at the younger boy with a smile. 

    Dammit, shots are a sure-fire way to get me drunk, Sojin thought to himself, cringing at the idea of doing some embarrassing deed while wasted. Still, he didn’t want to seem lame, especially not in front of Sungjin’s friends.

    “Yep, I love shots!” he exclaimed with a nod. Brian grinned, pleased with the answer, then poured out two shots, handing one to Sojin. 

    “Let’s do it love-shot style--to celebrate our first meeting,” he exclaimed with a wink. Sojin felt a sudden hint of anxiety. Was Brian...hitting on him? He remembered the third-year had called him cute earlier, though that was probably just in regards to his mannerisms. He shook the thought, chalking it up to Sungjin’s friends being abnormally friendly.

    “Sure! I’m so glad I got to meet Sungin’s friends tonight!” Sojin responded, instinctively attempting to brush the bangs out of his eyes, even though they were pushed back already. To his surprise, Brian pouted his lip, a disappointed look on his face. 

    “But you’re most glad that you got to meet me, right?” he asked seriously, before breaking into a laugh. 

    What the--he’s definitely flirting with me! Sojin thought to himself, his heart beginning to race. 

    “Of course, of course!” the younger boy responded with a nervous chuckle. Brian seemed to be satisfied with the answer, holding out his shot.

    “Okay, let’s do this!” he exclaimed, intertwining his arm around Sojin’s in typical love-shot fashion. “1, 2, 3!”

    Just as Sojin brought the glass to his lips, he spotted a familiar face out of the corner of his eye. Wonpil stood in the corner of the kitchen, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed as he locked eyes with the first-year.

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