The 5th guy (er… girl) purposefully swerved to avoid Chanyeol bumping into him on the runway, as the taller one still had his eyes closed from being blinded by the spotlight.

Chanyeol did catch a glimpse of the loose black blouse that looked very familiar… like the blouse that Yoora noona was wearing just now…

Just then, Chanyeol heard his older sister’s voice rising above the audience, cheering wildly…

… for the 5th contender, who was wearing a long, black wig that was secured by a delicate flower crown.

Where had Yoora been hiding all this time? Chanyeol had not seen her near the runway when it was his turn!

And when had his noona changed into a male student’s gray blazer, along with the white polo shirt and tie? His noona was not qualified to enter the dating auction as she was no longer studying here!

Much to his shock, the crowd began to unanimously chant his best friend’s name. “DO KYUNGSOO! DO KYUNGSOO! DO KYUNGSOO!”

Wait, what?

Still glaring at the spotlight, Chanyeol could only perceive the petite silhouette of Kyungsoo turned feminine from the back as his best friend waved at the audience awkwardly and even threw an air kiss…

… to no one in particular…

… but a very long arm reached up to catch the said air kiss from the back of the auditorium, gaining hoots from the rest of the basketball team and gasps from the cheerleaders when the owner of the arm happened to be none other than basketball varsity team captain, Kris Wu.

Kris hyung was tall, even taller than Chanyeol. Definitely one of the coolest—if not already the coolest—guys on campus. He could be a little cold and snobbish, but actually quite a nice hyung, once you get to talk to him. They knew each other, as they were part of a rap group that sometimes performed during assemblies and school activities. Other than that, Chanyeol didn’t really hang out with Kris socially.

And right now, a wide, gummy smile cracked Kris’s handsome face, amidst the ribbing he received from his teammates and then waved back at Kyungsoo, yelling, “You’re gorgeous!”

Kyungsoo, not knowing what to do, bowed 90 degrees and whispered “Kamsa-hamnida” to everyone, and not just Kris.

With that, Kyungsoo turned about face, nearly running back to the stage, an absurd blush on his squishy, cherubic face. His big, big eyes met Chanyeol’s.

And he giggled.

Kyungsoo… was giggling.

Chanyeol didn’t know what hit him.

Kyungsoo, as a girl, was beautiful.  He had never seen anything or anyone like him... her...

Words, adjectives, descriptions, superlatives... they all escaped him.   

But this was Kyungsoo! 

Do Kyungsoo, his closest friend since they were 14!  They had farted, burped, swore, stumbled, sweated, picked noses, picked ears in front of each other more times than Chanyeol could count or remember.  Kyungsoo... was in the running for one of the grossest human beings he had ever come across (probably just second to himself, though).

But this... ethereal, pristine, pure presence couldn’t be farther from that impression.  

His tiny best friend rushed next to him, keeping his small fists to his sides to keep from covering his face. He nudged Chanyeol on the ribs, and the taller one felt a slight electric shock run through him, making him a just little too jumpy.

Chanyeol braved to turn his gaze back to Kyungsoo, his mouth going dry.  Why couldn’t he take his eyes off of him?

The long locks of Kyungsoo’s wig flowed dreamily as he incessantly laughed. The smaller one had the habit of doing this whenever he found something surprisingly funny or he was extremely shy and uncomfortable. Right now, it was definitely the latter, like he didn’t know what to do with himself.

And all Chanyeol could think about was how adorable and squishy he was, as if all he wanted to do was hug him close and take him home and...

“I feel so weird!” Kyungsoo whispered.

That was exactly how Chanyeol was feeling right now, too, but for an entirely different reason, and he had no means to express it, at least in a way that would make sense to him...

Kyungsoo reached to hold Chanyeol’s hand. He found Kyungsoo’s too icy and clammy to the touch, yet Chanyeol gripped it hard in his much larger one in an instant, interlacing their fingers.

They had held hands before, many, many times, and Chanyeol did not think too much of it. This time, though… something was different… like…

Kyungsoo’s smile gradually faded as Chanyeol was not smiling back, just observing him and probably making all sorts of judgment—although he hadn’t known his best friend to presume the worst in him. But he might very well have been after Kyungsoo had laughed in his face about being chosen to participate in this auction.  Was Chanyeol mad that he had become Baekhyun’s unforeseen replacement?

“Yah…” Kyungsoo began soft