"Woah, this dorm is so cool! We totally lucked out!"

Chanyeol hummed in agreement, fighting to keep his grin at bay.

When he'd heard that he and a few others would inhibit a third dorm, with the first two being too crowded this year... he had honestly been a little worried that they'd be pushed into a cleaned out storage room or something. But this building was beautiful in every way - sure, it was clearly old, and there were more than a few cracks in the stone walls and floor, but the architecture was confident and charming. It honestly reminded him of home in a way.

It also seemed pretty spacious, with a total of 6 rooms on each of the three floors. As of now, they were only three students, so there really was plenty of room for them. Jongin - an excitable boy from the North - was already claiming whichever room had the balcony pointing towards the busy street outside. Chanyeol bit back on an eager response, forcing himself to stay patient and follow their teacher as they were shown around the kitchen and public areas first. Everything had a cozy feeling to it, and it made him feel all the more excited to start this new stage in his life.

They were told that there would be no maid in charge of this dorm and how it was to be expected of them to keep their dorm clean and to prepare their own meals. Chanyeol could only goodnaturedly roll his eyes at that. Like they were some snooty nobles who'd need tending to.
Honestly, Chanyeol was glad that they were so far away from the other two dorms. And by the other two dorms, he was referring to the noble's dorm, really. He'd see enough of these morons prancing around the campus without having them as neighbours. In fact, Chanyeol could wholeheartedly say that if this academy didn't have such a stellar reputation, he would have chosen another school. One that was no breeding ground for privileged airheads-

"Alright kids," the tired-looking teacher said, waving them off dismissively. "I'll leave you to get settled or get to know each other or whatever. Don't cause any trouble and don't forget to get your schedule tomorrow."

There was most definitely judgement hanging in the air, but Mr. Do remained unaffected. As he opened the door, he was met with another small group of students. He told them to get their tour from someone else and left. Just like that. One of the three newcomers threw them a confused look.

Chanyeol shrugged.

"No idea what's up with him. Are you guys gonna stay in this dorm, too?"

"So it seems," the friendly-looking guy smiled, entering the room with the other two in tow. One of them was around his height, scrawny-looking but bright-eyed, exuding an aura of liveliness. The other looked mildly bored at best, eyes wandering around the room but not meeting Chanyeol's curious gaze. The first of the group, however, directly approached Chanyeol, offering him a hand to shake.

"I'm Zhang Yixing, nice to meet you."

His grip was solid, more confident than his appearance let on. He swiftly moved on to Jongin after that and, then greeted the tall, scary-looking boy who hadn't talked at all during their tour. He introduced himself as Yifan - an information Chanyeol mentally stored away as he locked gazes with the friendly-looking blonde guy.

"Luhan," was all the other said, but there was no impoliteness to it. Chanyeol had a feeling that they'd get along well. Chanyeol was pretty good with people in general, actually. The only ones he was currently worried about were the Yifan guy... and that other boy who had yet to introduce himself, opting to instead take in his surroundings with an unreadable expression.

Well, Chanyeol thought, maybe he was shy. It would explain the carefully straight posture and the expensive-looking coat - surely, he'd tried to look his best for this day.

And because Chanyeol was nothing if not welcoming, he took two wide strides and offered the other his hand.

"Hi. I'm Chanyeol."

From this close, the other looked... good. Smooth skin, dark eyes, perfectly brushed, soft-looking hair that mostly covered uniquely angled brows. He didn’t look as gentle or even dainty as Luhan or Yixing, but something about his distinct appearance was really appealing. Chanyeol couldn't put his finger on it.

He saw dark eyes flitting to his hand, an unpleasant shadow flickering over the other's expression, and then they met his for the first time.

"Jongdae."

His voice was pleasant, too, with an underlying, melodic lilt. It would definitely be more pleasant if there weren't a huge mass of reluctance and disinterest pressed into those two syllables though.

Jongdae walked past him, leaving Chanyeol to stand there like an idiot, with his hand still raised. He slowly lowered it, nodded to himself and exchanged a small shrug with Luhan that made him feel much better about this little fiasco.

"So it's only six of us?" Jongin asked brightly, completely ignoring Jongdae's aloof behaviour. "That means one floor will be enough, right? Unless all of you want balconies..."

"Eh, I don't particularly care about that," Chanyeol began, rubbing his neck in an attempt to massage the sore spots he'd gained by sleeping on the train earlier. "Let's all go upstairs and just pick a room-"

The stairs creaked ever so slightly as Jongdae reached the top, not sparing any of them a glance. Jongin hurried after him immediately to secure the room of his dreams, while the remaining four exchanged questioning looks.

"Well, someone's eager to make friends," Luhan muttered lowly, looking entirely unimpressed. Yixing wore a thoughtful expression, and Yifan was probably not going to defend the oher, either, so Chanyeol took it upon himself.

"Maybe he's nervous?"

Luhan looked about as convinced as Chanyeol felt, but there was really nothing to do about it. For the time being, he simply wanted to choose his room, unpack a little and enjoy the euphoria of actually getting to attend the Red Sun Academy. So what if one of his five roommates was a little grumpy? Surely he'd meet plenty of other fun students soon enough.

With his bag slung over his shoulder, Chanyeol made his way to the stairs - only to feel something crack beneath his feet. Bewildered, he picked up a small, shiny emblem of their school. The white, polished metal was blinking in the light, and for the first time that day, Chanyeol's mood truly soured.

"What's this doing here?" he whined, turning the brooch around to frown at the cracked front. These brooches were specifically made for the uniforms of nobles, driving home the fact that some people were apparently better than others.

"Does this belong to any of you?"

It was highly unlikely - a silly question, really - and of course the other three shook their head.

Chanyeol huffed.

"Isn't this our dorm? What kinda business does some prissy noble have here? Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Waltzing around like everything belongs to them is what they do best, after all..." Chanyeol grumbled.

Luhan only shrugged, and he didn't seem all that enthusiastic about his next words.

"Well, what if it belongs to one of the students in this dorm? Someone we haven't met yet?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Chanyeol waved him off. "As if any of these people would stoop down low enough to share space with commoners."

He really should control the anger flaring up, but just thinking of them was so... annoying.

"They'd probably rather have a fourth dorm build for them than set foot into a building with no maids and butlers. I'm actually really glad we don't have to deal with their attitudes- what ?"

Luhan had been making strange faces, and now he was nodding towards the stairs. Slowly following his gaze, Chanyeol was met with the piercing, unimpressed stare of Jongdae, who stood at the top of the stairs... and was now holding out his hand.

Chanyeol looked at the cracked brooch in his hand, and then up at Jongdae.
And then it clicked.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Seeing Chanyeol rooted to the spot, Jongdae took the stairs, only to stop on the second step - putting them on eye level - and he once again held out his hand. Too dumbfounded to react, Chanyeol handled over the brooch. Jongdae gave it a slow, thorough once-over and for three, agonizing seconds, it was completely silent.

"You broke it," he finally hummed, sounding even more blasé than before. Then he slightly pursed his lips and met his gaze head on, voice turning almost saccharine. "Though I guess it's nothing to worry about, since a prissy noble like me can always have a new one made."

Now under normal circumstances, Chanyeol would feel sorry for breaking another persons belongings. He really would. He'd also be mortified over being caught talking behind someone’s back.

These were no ordinary circumstances, though, and Chanyeol couldn't keep the sneer off his face.

"Don't act like you care about that stupid brooch," he countered, crossing his arms. "You didn't even bother breathing in our direction before, but now we're worth your attention? What a noble thing to do, to try and put yourself into a position of power at the first opportunity - you think I'll trip over myself in an attempt to earn your forgiveness?"

He snorted.

"Tough luck, cause I don't care about what you guys think of me."

Jongdae had the gall to stay perfectly calm. He didn’t seem remotely as angry as Chanyeol and for some reason, that was ticking him off even more. No, instead of letting himself be riled up, the other only raised his brows at him, voice calm, but icy.

"Last time I checked I was only a single person. But worry not - your lack of manners can at most tarnish your own reputation, not mine."

With this, he turned around to go upstairs before Chanyeol could even think of a clever comeback.

When he reached the top, Jongdae paused, only to show him a last condescending look, paired with a small smirk.

"By the way, should I ever manage to find a position that's even further above yours than my current one, I'll let you know. Though I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you."

"What's your problem?!" Chanyeol burst out, but the other was already gone.

Just like that, his wonderful mood and excitement had dimmed a little.

Yixing was saying something about calming down but Chanyeol didn't hear any of it. He kept hearing Jongdae's finely chosen words echo around his head instead and it made him ruffle his hair in frustration. This was the worst.

God, he hated nobles.