A/N:

Hey there! Welcome back to the madness, we would first like to give you thanks for the love that you've shown the story thus far! Second we promise Kyungsoo isn't dumb, he just is very poor at noticing or paying attention to small details, so we hope that you do continue to find amusement out of his confusion!

Thank you for joining us for chapter three! We hope you enjoy this and have a lovely rest of your weekend!

Don't forget to leave comments, or subscribe if you feel like it! We appreciate it!

-Arya and Hannah.

***

All of the strange shenanigans surrounding his project partner are pushed to the back of his mind, as a roll of essays, tests, assignments, and assessments seem to fall upon him at once. Kyungsoo found the paper-based things pretty easy, but what had been killing him was the cooking assessment he had in a couple of days.  

He was going to have to cook three dishes from the mock menu that he had turned in just a couple of weeks ago, it was a complete surprise and most of the recipes had been thrown on there out of theory without having even being tested how they would taste in real life. 

He knew that he had more than once gone to one of his exams smelling of oil, spices, or even a dusting of flour covering his cheek. And he would continue to do so until he could lock himself in one of the test kitchens for the weekend to perfect the three dishes he was going to present. So far he was able to take things off of the menu that he knew would take a longer amount of time to either fix or ultimately be thrown away all together. 

On top of that all of the activity meant that neither he nor Jongin had met for the project or even sent a message even discussing the fact, he knew that it needed to happen before he locked himself away for the weekend. 

He whips out his phone as he’s walking, clicking Jongin's contact and shooting him a message asking if he was able to meet for maybe an hour to continue the progress they’ve had. There was no reason to slack off now. He gets a positive response about two minutes later, they agree to meet at the same place, Kyungsoo makes some calculations of how fast he can get some supplies for the weekend before he has to head to the library. If he runs he can possibly make it.

After he has everything, Kyungsoo heads to the library, he’s carrying a bunch of bags that were maybe better off dropped at his dorm before going there. He was already at the library so there was no turning back now. He walks in, dropping his stuff on the nearest table and setting his workspace to wait for Jongin. It is not long until Jongin has approached him, staring at all the things he has with a lifted eyebrow.

“Hey...” Jongin greets, taking his seat in front of Kyungsoo. He was wearing an orange sweater with a picture of a bear on the front, he changed the washed-out jeans for some black ones and he was properly wearing his sneakers now. 

Kyungsoo finished his scan to turn on his computer.

“Sorry about the mess, have a lot going on this weekend.” He says. 

Jongin shrugs diving into their project without saying anything else. They work on this comfortable silence for about an hour, adjusting a few things and researching. Being at the library had its perks since Jongin stood up to get a book for something they had issues finding online. Kyungsoo watched him as he walks to the front desk and talks with the lady for a few minutes, he smiles at her politely before she heads to the back and returns with a book in her hand, she then says something to which Jongin laughed and he grabbed the book. Kyungsoo hadn’t seen many expressions coming from Jongin since he met him.

It was kind of intriguing.

Jongin finally walks back, book in hand and flips through the pages as he looks for the topic they are researching. Kyungsoo has a few questions that he wants to make.

“Here, this is what we’re looking for,” Jongin says as he hands the book over to Kyungsoo. 

He reads through the page and writes down the necessary information. They keep working like this for about another two hours, it was already getting dark outside and Kyungsoo couldn’t help to think that this happened often when he was studying with Jongin. They decide to meet again once the weekend has passed and Kyungsoo struggles to get all of his stuff together. 

“Do you need help?” Jongin asks, but before Kyungsoo can decline Jongin has taken a few bags out of his hands. “I’ll help you with these ones.” He says and Kyungsoo found it hard to say no, especially with how tired he was.

He leads the way to his dorm, his back was killing him, he needed some coffee despite the hour, he was hungry, and he needed a shower. Kyungsoo could not feel less of a human than at this moment.

“Long week?” Jongin asks next to him. Kyungsoo chuckles, that is an understatement.

“A long week would be a piece of cake.” He replies. “If I even survive this semester, I deserve a gold medal.” with the move, his classes and everything he really needed a break. He was wondering if he could trick Jongdae into buying food before heading to the dorms. They finally reach his door and Jongin puts down Kyungsoo’s bags “Thanks for the help.”

“No problem.”

Silence falls between the pair, causing a sort of awkward film to fall between the two.

“Do you…” He starts, he’s not sure if he really wants to do that but he does it anyway “Do you want to come in? I can make some coffee.”

“Oh no that’s fine, I have to go work on other stuff, and I prefer tea anyways.” Jongin raises one shoulder in a half shrug. 

Kyungsoo nods.

“Ok well, I’ll see you next week.” Kyungsoo waves at him and he does the same before leaving. He takes a deep breath before taking his stuff inside. He sets them on a small table and starts the coffee machine, the smell soon filling the room, he was feeling better instantly. 

Kyungsoo wouldn’t strike Jongin for a tea guy, especially since he could’ve sworn he saw him drinking coffee last time he saw him at Starbucks. 

“Honey, I’m home!” The voice accompanying the door brings him out of his thoughts. 

As Jongdae round the corner, he slightly groans. 

“Why’s your face all sour?” The aspiring architect asks, placing his stuff in one of the open chairs. 

“I was going to bribe you into bringing me some food from campus.” He says, pouring himself a cup of the good stuff, his vanilla creamer filtering pleasantly into his nose. “I don’t remember when I’ve actually had something substantial to eat, that wasn’t out of a vending machine.” 

Jongdae slightly laughs, taking in the sulky appearance of his roommate. “Luckily for you, I’m the best roommate ever.” He pulls out a bag full of food from one of the spots on campus. 

Kyungsoo smiles. “I could kiss you.” he moves towards the bag as Jongdae unloads them, the smell drawing a growl from his stomach. 

“Please don’t…” Jongdae laughs, giving him utensils and napkins. “But I will take praise.” 

“I shall indeed name you the best roommate ever.” Kyungsoo sat with his food in hand, his stomach grateful for the first few pieces of food that fall into it as he eats. His mother would surely be upset if she saw his eating habits lately, but it was just for the time being until he could adjust.

“How was your day?” Jongdae asks, joining Kyungsoo as he eats as well.

“Busy, it may seem that I’m drowning in homework but I’m doing fine.” Kyungsoo fills his mouth with some more food. He swallows before speaking again. “Jongin and I also got together to work on the project today.”

“Oh,” Jongdae looked at his friend briefly. “How is it working with him?” Kyungsoo shrugged. It had been an okay experience overall.

“He’s diligent at least but he doesn’t talk much,” Kyungsoo responds.

“Look who’s talking.” Jongdae chuckled, rolling his eyes at the same time. 

Kyungsoo responds with a face as he puts another bite of food into his mouth, the pair enjoy the rest of their meal, talking about their days and various projects. Like Kyungsoo, Jongdae had been spending major studio time on a sketch, making sure that every piece of the blueprint was going to turn out perfect. 

It was stressful for him because the project did hinge on getting to shadow under an architect, there were only limited spots and he was determined to be one of those people. But Kyungsoo had never seen the other student not achieve whatever he had set his mind too, Kyungsoo had no doubt that his friend was one of the top students in his program if not at the top. 

Once they're both stuffed and fighting off the onset food coma, it's that Kyungsoo realizes that he hadn't seen or heard from Baekhyun in a while. 

Both of those things being virtually impossible when it came to the vocal talent, Kyungsoo thinks that he could be a star recording artist, but the other disagreed stating that he only wished to be a vocal teacher, and then he himself one day would maybe raise some stars. 

"Where's Baek?" Kyungsoo asks, disposing of both of their food containers before going over to the counter for another round of coffee. 

"Locked in a studio the last time I talked to him," Jongdae answers pushing himself up from the table, stretching all the while. "Apparently he's about to enter recital hell." 

Kyungsoo hums in acknowledgment, it seems that all of them were going through it. "I hope he's taking care of himself." 

"If we don't hear from him by tomorrow, I vote we storm the music building," Jongdae says pouring himself a cup of water. 

"Agreed." Kyungsoo finishes the last little bit of coffee at the bottom of his cup. "I'm going to take a shower and hopefully feel something other than subhuman." Kyungsoo stretches feeling his spine pop in succession.  

Jongdae smiles. "You do that, I'm going to be right behind you. Hopefully, I get some shower thoughts, that will allow me to continue this project and still get out at least a little sane."

The shower does end up invigorating the both of them and they're both able to go into the following day and the rest of the weekend, at least a little bit clearer than they had been the past couple of weeks. Though that following day they did follow up on their promise of going to find Baekhyun, the pair had to drag the other out of the practice booth, feed him and make sure that he got at least eight hours of rest for his mind and his voice. 

He would thank them later. 

Kyungsoo was beginning to wonder if they were going to have to do the same thing to him in the test kitchen, as he lost time while cooking, it was something that would commonly happen and usually, he was always the last one out of the kitchen in almost any situation. Though he had to admit it was going more smoothly than he originally thought it would. 

Kyungsoo was grateful that his other classmates on the line were willing to test some of the stuff that he made when he was all too aware that his own palate had become accustomed to the taste. Now as he put the final touches on his last dish, he felt that there was nothing else he could do but pray his efforts were enough. 

With slightly bleary eyes, he checked his phone, it was almost seven in the morning, he had literally spent twenty-four hours in the kitchen, if you didn't count the time he put in Friday just going through his plans and making sure that he would have every item he needed to be there, even if it did cost a bit of his own money. 

He rubs his face well aware that he probably got some form of oil or grease on his face along with whatever he had failed to wipe off. With another sigh he forces himself to clean up the kitchen, making sure that everything was properly turned off and locked up before he made his way back to his dorm. 

The early morning light tingeing the sky pink, the air was actually refreshing to his mind and allowed him to stay awake. He knew that it was going to be a long day and that he couldn't afford to fall asleep during the day or he would not sleep at all that night and his already ed up sleep schedule would become even more ed. 

"First a shower, and then coffee." He mutters to himself. 

The walk to his dorm isn't too long and he's grateful once he enters the space, entering quietly in case Jongdae was sleeping or working. And it turns out his caution was warranted as he spotted his beloved roommate dead asleep at the kitchen table, various sketches and pencils scattered across the surface. 

Kyungsoo could see the dark of the graphite smudges against his hand, and he shakes his head fondly covering the other in a blanket they kept lying around. He makes his shower quick and quiet as possible, originally he was going to make coffee there but didn't want to wake Jongdae. 

Besides, at Starbucks he could get two extra pumps of caffeine for his troubles, by the time he made it there it would be his normal time of arrival as if he was going to school. Kyungsoo uses the precious thinking time to contemplate his thoughts. 

Somehow they ended up on the curious case that was his project partner, there was something nagging at the back of his mind about the whole situation. Like, he had just skimmed over a major part of reading. 

He'd always been terrible about details when it came to people and anything else that didn't have to do with food. Especially those outside of his circle, more than once Jongdae and Baekhyun had commented that it would one day either get him killed, he would miss out on something important, or both. 

Finally entering the coffee shop immediately brings a bit more energy to him, the smell of fresh grind, baked goods reaching his nose. And the sounds of the shop entering his ears as he pulled out his earphones to give his order, this time ordering a small lemon cake to go with it as he felt he deserved it for the work over the past week. 

He hoped that the extra sugar wasn’t going to give him a headache later, but he decided that it was worth being able to stay up during the day. 

Out of mild habit, and unadmitted curiosity, his eyes wander around the shop. And sure enough, there he was, Jongin was sitting in his usual place. He gave Kyungsoo a little smirk as they locked eyes across the room, and Kyungsoo waved back offering somewhat of a smile.

Maybe he should pay a bit more attention to the other student this time around.  

“Seems like you’re becoming a regular here yourself,” Kyungsoo comments coming over to the table, both of his items in hand. 

Jongin gives a good-natured laugh, looking at Kyungsoo up and down, the other trying not to fidget under the stare. 

Why does this feel so much different? 

Jongin crossed a leg over the other, taking a sip of his coffee, the smirk never leaving his face. His stare was playful, deep, almost intimate. 

Kyungsoo cleared his throat. 

“I have my reasons,” He finally says, his voice raspier than usual for some reason. Jongin gave him a meaningful look, his lips softly.

 Kyungsoo felt his heart jump inside his chest. 

“The coffee is good.” He lifts the cup before taking another sip. 

Kyungsoo’s gaze went from the cup in his hands to the guy drinking it, his mind running at the speed of light with the million discrepancies he had floating around. 

Jongin leaned over the table to be a little closer, his voice low when he spoke again. “Can I interest you in coffee and a meal sometime?” 

This paralyzed Kyungsoo, his hands on his lap gripping the fabric of his shirt, his stare focused on the untouched coffee and lemon cake in front of him. Did Jongin just ask him out? He tried to put the Jongin he usually worked with and this Jongin together and there was definitely something wrong. There was no way the quiet guy would ask him out just like that. Kyungsoo was chewing on the inside of his cheek as he realized he needed to answer. 

“I thought we were doing that now.” He pointed at his coffee and his cake. 

Jongin laughed again, sitting back, his eyes analyzing Kyungsoo, lifting an eyebrow. 

“You’re right, but I meant something different,” Jongin says. “Something planned maybe, and I don’t have anything against Starbucks, but I would like to take you to a nicer place.”

Kyungsoo was starting to feel nervous. Was Jongin some kind of Superman or Batman with a secret identity? His eyes grew wide at the thought. Would it be possible for Jongin to have an identity disorder? That was the only thing that could explain the change in mood, his different style.

The coffee vs tea dilemma!

For the first time, Kyungsoo felt like things started to make sense, that was the only way Jongin could go from the usual quiet self to this confident human in front of him. His train of thought was suddenly cut off.

“So?” The other asked. He was waiting for an answer still. 

“Can I think about it?” He didn’t want to make him feel bad, but Kyungsoo was overwhelmed. 

Jongin chuckled, taking the last drink of his coffee and putting the cup on the table. The corner of his lips twitching up, he looked at his wristwatch for a split second before standing up.

“Alright, text me once you’ve decided.” He leaned his head to the side slightly, observing Kyungsoo. “I’m not good at waiting though.” He winked at him before leaving the coffee shop.

 Kyungsoo sat there for a moment, processing what had just happened. A soft blush covering his cheeks, he pressed his hand against it like it could somehow make it disappear. He was at least eighty percent sure his theory was correct, that was the only explanation possible for this sudden outburst of confidence in a guy that was usually quiet. The change in clothing style, the fact that he wore glasses sometimes and sometimes didn’t. The difference in personality was so grand Kyungsoo couldn’t even believe it. 

The guy even asked me out! 

His coffee was near to cold now, so he hurried to drink and eat his lemon cake. He wasn’t used to this curious feeling that was consuming him slowly. He rarely ever paid attention to things that didn’t have to do with him directly but at this point, but Kyungsoo wanted to know what the deal was with Jongin.

He needed to know.