By the time Jongdae tried to wedge himself out of his grasp, Chanyeol was already awake.

Well, mostly awake.

Because unlike Jongdae, Chanyeol had never truly fallen asleep.

Turned out that whereas sharing a bed with Jongdae had been aggravating, but doable before, it was now a different challenge entirely.

And after spending hours (that felt like days) lying in bed with Jongdae, actually touching him and being enveloped both by his warmth and scent... Chanyeol was incredibly grateful for every minute he spent dozing. Using his sleep-riddled brain to assess his feelings from every angle possible was both tiring and useless - almost as useless as keeping his arousal in check whenever the other did shift in his hold.

So by the time Chanyeol was finally starting to drift off for real, the sky was already brightening, with dew clinging to every surface, judging by the smell of fresh, cool air wafting in through the open window.

In other words, he was not ready to get up yet. At all.

So when Jongdae's breathing became very quiet, followed by him subtly shifting around, Chanyeol only pressed him closer with a small groan.

"Go back to sleep," he rasped out, voice gravelly and dry even to his own ears.

Jongdae stilled immediately, no doubt caught red-handed. Sadly, a couple seconds of blissful, sleepy silence were all Chanyeol got.

"I don't know what time it is."

Surprisingly enough, Jongdae didn't sound quite awake himself. Chanyeol made a sound between a grumble and a hum.

"Early."

Jongdae huffed.

"Irresponsible as ever."

"'m tired."

It was when he halfheartedly dragged him closer and Jongdae stiffened in his hold that Chanyeol finally began to regain his senses. Immediately, he let go, backing away far enough to bump his head on the wall. It hurt, but not as much as the sudden jolt of embarrassment that served as an unpleasant call to reality. Holding someone who was having a breakdown was one thing, but morning cuddles were taking things a little far.

The mere memory of Jongdae's state was enough to distract him from these childish worries.

Right.

Jongdae was the next Duke Kim.

Which meant that he'd just accidentally pressed his morning wood against acting Duke Kim. And had found it pleasant, too.

With a groan, Chanyeol rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, demanding his brain to wake up and get a grip. By the time he was blinking against the thankfully merciful morning light, Jongdae was facing him, albeit not meeting his eyes. There was a faint cushion mark on his cheek and his hair looked mussed up, though not nearly as wild as the disaster on Chanyeol's head probably did. With him lying a little lower (at the perfect height to fit against him, his inner voice helpfully added), the blanket was covering him up to his collarbones, which peeked out from under the silken dress shirt Chanyeol had retrieved from his room the night before.

There was an unusual gentleness to him, one that was all but demanding Chanyeol to reach out and draw him into another hug, just to check if he was as warm and soft as he looked. Chanyeol had enough willpower and self respect to ignore said urge.

Jongdae was looking at some point on the blanket between them, wetting his lips and somehow managing to rub his eyes in a dignified way. It would be hilarious if Chanyeol wasn't so desperately booking on him being far away enough to not hear the way his heart was hammering in his chest.

He'd be less worried if it wasn't so terribly silent. In fact, even the birds seemed too lazy to lovingly scream at each other, and the cluttering from downstairs was so faint that it seemed to soak up all the things they weren't saying right now. And the longer the silence stretched on, the less Chanyeol knew how to fill it.

There was no denying that he was talkative to a fault, but there was no bickering back if Jongdae didn't start it - and Chanyeol had clearly lost the opportunity to start something himself.

In the end, Jongdae did act first... by burying his face in his palms with a small groan.

"What, now you wanna go back to sleep?" Chanyeol asked blankly.

"Shut up," Jongdae said, voice barely above a whisper. There was no real anger to it but Chanyeol was impressed, anyway.

"Wow, crude. Didn't know you had it in you."

This seemed to only add to the others stress - a fact Chanyeol regretted - and then Jongdae clearly gave up. With a light shake of his head, he drew away, about to roll out of bed when a polite knock had them both freeze in place.

"Excuse me?"

Chanyeol acted just in the nick of time, tossing the blanket over Jongdae the moment the door opened, revealing none other than Jongdae's butler. He'd forgotten his name again but certainly not his face. Right now, he looked suspiciously awake despite the dark rings under his eyes trying to make a different statement. Upon seeing Chanyeol in bed still, his eyes widened.

"My apologies. The young master wasn't in his room."

"Well," Chanyeol began awkwardly, "he sure isn't here."

Jongdae was moving in his grasp, leading him to fidget a little himself, trying to mask it.

The butler's eyes flickered to the blanket. When he looked up, his expression had gone blank, making him look just a tad bit scarier.

"Of course. Again, my apologies."

With that, he quietly closed the door. For a few seconds, they listened to his footsteps distancing themselves, fading as he took the stairs. Then, with surprising strength, Jongdae wrestled Chanyeol's arm away and surfaced from the blankets to draw in a deep breath.

"Can you not do something so unnecessary?" he demanded, though his hissy attitude suffered from his flushed face and messed up hair. "What a way to give a weird impression!"

"Sorry for valuing my own life. And for trying to save your reputation," Chanyeol blurted out, feeling quite embarrassed himself.

"If you want to apologize, apologize for sabotaging it," Jongdae snapped, but before Chanyeol had time to feel actual hurt, Jongdae was curling in on himself again with a sigh. It may be nothing more but an accident, but his forehead was lightly resting against Chanyeol's chest like this.

He could barely make out the words he mumbled to himself, aside from a faint "...most humiliating moment of my life."

"You say that a lot," Chanyeol provided, staying very still.

"That's because knowing you apparently demands me to re-define said moment on a weekly basis," Jongdae retorted in what could only be described as a grumble.

"I'm sorry," Chanyeol sighed, aiming for exasperation. Judging by the way Jongdae's fingers were clutching the front of his shirt, he'd failed.

"Don't apologize. It only drives home my point."

Despite the way he was holding on to him, Chanyeol had no intention of going anywhere, or even of taking this conversation to any particular place. For a brief moment, whatever was happening between them took a backseat - a sensation both calming and sobering.

For a few, long seconds, he simply let Jongdae be, allowing him to stay half-hidden against his chest as he took in long, measured breaths.

There was no telling how many thoughts were running through his head right now, and Chanyeol realized that he wouldn't mind keeping him right there until the world stopped being so ridiculously demanding. Until they could go back to the way things were just a day ago.

But while he was ready to offer just that, it wasn't what Jongdae needed, and probably not even what he wanted. And this was about him.

So he waited until Jongdae exhaled with certain determination, drawing away from him.

He could see his lips move around a near soundless "alright," and when he opened his eyes, his gaze was clear and determined.

In one fluent move, he sat up, leaving Chanyeol to awkwardly follow his example, the blanket somewhat tangled around them.

"I take it you're not waiting for an apology," Jongdae stated rather than asked.

"The fact that you're on to that gives me hope," he replied flatly.

"Hope for what?"

For you to just accept my kindness and trust me.

Chanyeol stared at him, thoughts coming to a screeching halt. Right now, it felt like Jongdae had reversed their situation from the day before, pulling the rug out from right under him.

Sure, he could go for the easy way out and simply continue their bickering, but that didn't change the fact that they’d be on thin ice again right away - which would be stressful enough even without the precarious timing.

His concerns must have shown all-too well, because Jongdae lightly shook his head.

"Never mind," he said quietly, paused, and then looked up at him. Chanyeol swore he was blinking more than usual, and that his gaze was flitting to his lips. He swore Jongdae was leaning towards him, too-

And then the moment passed and Jongdae slipped out of bed, stretching his arms over his head.

"I'll leave first," he announced, his back turned to him. "Don't follow me right away."

With that, he walked to the door, both opening and closing it particularly quietly, and without ever looking back towards Chanyeol. Who had zero inclinations of following him, seeing as he was still busy processing what had just happened. If something had happened, really. It felt like one of those moments he'd easily label a swerve of his imagination if left unattended and uncommitted to. Jongdae had definitely meant to say something just now. And maybe- no, this was getting out of hand. Chanyeol shook his head, patting his own cheeks for good measure.

"Snap out of it," he muttered. "This is not the right time."

Which was correct. As much as his hormone-driven brain disagreed, this was about alleviating at least a little of the pressure dragging Jongdae down.

And as he slipped into a fresh dress shirt, buttoning it up, he couldn't help having flashbacks to the sight of Jongdae sitting on the cold tiles of the bathroom floor with this vacant look.

He'd rather not see him like this again. Ever, preferably.

Luckily, he seemed to have calmed down somewhat - by the time Chanyeol trudged into the kitchen area, Jongdae looked all around relaxed and like the last day had never even taken place.

Chanyeol would have liked to pretend that was the case - if only for a moment - but the presence of Jongdae's butler served as a quick reminder.

For once, Yixing was actually sitting while said butler (if only Chanyeol could remember his name) was placing plates before Jongdae and now him.

"Tea or coffee?" he asked Chanyeol, who blinked.

"Uhm. I'm fine, thanks," he said awkwardly, reaching for the carafe of water. With a small sigh, Yixing dragged back his chair.

"Let me just get the juice-"

"The orange juice? Of course," the butler cut him off, already returning to the fridge.

Luhan snorted.

"Distressing, isn't it?" he asked teasingly. "When someone does all the work for you?"

"It's just a matter of habit," Yixing muttered, embarrassed.

At first glance, everything seemed normal enough (aside from them being served by a person roughly their age who looked like he could need the food more than them).

Still, the fact that everyone looked so suspiciously awake was what gave it away. Sure, ever since Jongin had found the confidence to pursue his morning exercises, he tended to be awake by the time breakfast rolled around, but Yifan and Luhan? Yeah, they were definitely worried about Jongdae's state. For no reason, apparently, because just like them, Jongdae was watching his butler bustle around with mild curiosity.

"He put Yixing out of his job," Luhan commented quietly. Evidently, it took Jongdae a second or two to process that but when he did, he stared at the bowl in his hands.

"You cooked this?"

"Of course I did," the butler replied as he slid into the chair at the other end of the table.

Jongdae's eyes flitted back down to his bowl and his subtle display of wariness and fear was hilarious.

Chanyeol snorted, and the butler looked equal parts flustered and offended.

"It should be edible," he muttered. "You could at least try it."

"I think it's really good," Jongin said right away, with the signature brilliant smile he had for anyone willing to feed him.

Jongdae remained sceptical, but a single spoonful of sautéd vegetables on rice convinced him otherwise.

"Oh. This turned out well."

"Could you sound a little less surprised, please?" the man sighed. "It's not like I sat idle the past few months."

To Chanyeol, there was something odd about their relationship - though he had to admit that he'd never seen a noble interact with his personal maid or butler in a private space. The idea of a butler being bad at cooking had never crossed his mind, but of course nobody was born a perfect chef. Or diplomat. Or whatever it was that a butler had to do.

"I'm sure I speak for everyone when I thank you for the good food, Mr. Bang," Yixing smiled.

"Please, no need to address me by my last name," the butler assured him right away. "That would be a little out of line for someone of my rank. Yongguk is fine. You're the son of the Zhangs?"

Yixing seemed surprised to hear that.

"Indeed. I didn't think you'd recognize me."

"Well, the young master told me about you."

"Oh? What did he say?" Luhan asked, suddenly very invested in the conversation while Jongdae feigned interest in his food.

"Nothing but praise," came the swift, elegant reply.

"You're exaggerating," Jongdae sighed. "And there's no need to call me young master among these people. Is there any news on how we're going to proceed after this?"

Yongguk looked mildly taken aback by the direct question, though it took Chanyeol a moment to understand why.

"It's alright," Jongdae added, immediately smoothing over the awkwardness. "They can be trusted."

The surprise remained on his servant's face, and before anyone could call him out on it, the door was opened rather forcefully and none other than Zitao waltzed in.

Just like that, he walked around the table to (elegantly) drop into his seat next to Chanyeol, eyes finding Jongin immediately.

"Pardon my delay. Club activities held me back this morning," he informed him, before turning to Yixing to add, "I hope the food didn't grow cold."

"I'm retracting my earlier statement," Jongdae deadpanned while Luhan looked about ready to pop a vessel.

"Will you ever learn not to treat Yixing like your personal maid?"

Zitao had the audacity to shoot him an accusatory look.

"Well, good morning to you, too."

"You can't invite yourself in and then act like we owe you something," Chanyeol groaned, but moved one of the unused glasses to him, anyway. "Besides, you know where the bowls are. If you want one, get it yourself."

"Your hospitality hits a new low every day," Zitao complained as he pushed his chair back again.

"You're not a guest," Luhan said, rolling his eyes. "Bring some more juice while you're at it."

"I will most certainly not-"

"I'll show you where it is," Jongin offered, kind and patient (and comically effective).

"I know where you store it," Zitao insisted, and Chanyeol could hear him blush in angry embarrassment.

"I also pressed some fresh apple juice yesterday. Feel free to help yourself if you want to," Yixing added helpfully, and Zitao made a sound very fitting for a petulant toddler. Only then did Chanyeol notice Yongguk staring at them. A jolt of worry went through him. They were probably not supposed to treat someone like Zitao the way they did - that is, they absolutely should treat him this way because he deserved it, but would it get Jongdae in trouble?

Luckily, Jongdae seemed to sense his butler's distress right away.

"Don't mind him," he said easily. "I suppose you could call him an addition to the dorm."

Yongguk nodded. Slowly.

Zitao gave him a curt nod as he sat down, entirely blasé and unwilling to dispose of the fact that he had purely stopped by out of worry for Jongdae. Of course Chanyeol could tell, anyway - he didn't usually bother them when he had morning club activities, and he wasn't usually so ready to let other people talk the way he did that morning.

He wondered whether Jongdae noticed that, too. Or whether he saw the small smile ghosting across his servant's face throughout their meal.

___________________

"So, about your butler..."

Jongdae didn't even look up from the bag he was currently packing.

"Yongguk? What about him?"

From the doorframe, Chanyeol watched him sift through his notes, eventually choosing a green folder to slip into his bag. Chanyeol had only barely stopped himself from asking about clothes - of course Jongdae would have plenty of clothes. It was his home, after all. And unlike Chanyeol, he probably had too many clothes to even have a favourite shirt or something.

He would likely have to dress much more formally, too, in the following days.

"Are all butlers like him?"

Jongdae huffed, but there was no anger to it.

"Are all commoners like you?"

"That's not what I meant."

"It's what you said," Jongdae said evenly, a verbal equivalent of a shrug. "You could at least close the door."

Chanyeol followed suit, acting more nonchalant than he felt about this; about voluntarily stepping into Jongdae's room for no particular reason. And because standing in the doorway would be awkward like this, he walked over to his desk, watching him sort books and notes. Most of them were related to their studies, but he did also pick up on some written notes that seemed of a private nature.

"I'm just saying he seems different," he added, mostly to keep up the conversation.

"And your frame of reference is what?" Jongdae asked, shuffling through their Military Finance notes. "Are you doubting his competence? I'm surprised you're not giving me a speech on how immoral it is to enslave poor commoners to have them serve us."

Chanyeol huffed.

"Please. If he's serving you, he's probably basically a noble himself."

The small smile on Jongdae's face didn't seem amused or joyful in the slightest.

"You're not wrong."

When he hesitated, Chanyeol fished out the small exercise book. Jongdae took it without a word, adding it to the bag.

"His family has served the Kims for generations."

Chanyeol made a small sound to indicate he was listening but didn't interrupt.

"He's always felt like a bit of an odd one out," Jongdae explained, sounding slightly nostalgic. "Housekeeping never came easy to him, large groups of people make him nervous, and he prefers to avoid confrontations. Moreover, he's a bleeding heart to a fault, meaning that he's sensitive to oppression and prefers an honest approach above anything else. Not exactly ideal traits to have in the waters we'll be moving in."

Chanyeol grimaced. Sure, he'd been surprised by how sickish the guy had looked, but he had seemed strict and somewhat distant. Apparently, he wasn't all that different from Chanyeol himself though. It made him wonder what he'd be doing in his place.

What would his life be like, being born into a family traditionally serving one of the great Houses? Would he have turned out like this man, who had apparently found some form of peace, at least? Would he have grown to blindly love and support the Nobility? And if not, would he have fallen into despair at this point? It was impossible to tell, really.

"I never regretted having him be my personal assistant, mind you," Jongdae added calmly, stacking his leftover books and notes to return them to their respective shelves. "He's intelligent, hard-working, grounded, and, above all, loyal."

He paused to meet Chanyeol's eyes, giving him a glimpse of calm determination.

"As a Kim, I have to trust my servant above everyone else, including my family," he explained. "I need to be able to trust him with my life. And I do."

The little pang of jealousy Chanyeol felt was entirely uncalled for, so he didn't mind it.

"So you two are a perfect match," he said with a smile, and meant it. Of course he'd like to be every bit as trustworthy, and of course he wondered whether Jongdae would ever say the same about him. But this was simply another difference between their lives.

The smile Jongdae reacted with was thin, but genuine.

"We do our best to make it work," he only said, placing his bag on the desk to check its contents one last time. "Anyway. I told you this to let you know that he's trustworthy. There's no need to watch your mouth around him. Not like you'd be particularly good at it."

"Wow, how gracious of you," Chanyeol grumbled, only to remember their earlier situation, with the very man catching the two of them sharing a bed.

Oh. So that was what this was about.

He leaned against the wall, watching Jongdae pack his stuff. For the first time in a while, it was hard to guess what he was currently thinking.

"You think he'd mind?"

Jongdae glanced at him, no doubt considering whether or not to slip back into their current habit of responding to a question with another question.

In the end, however, he settled on a simple, "whether you're referring to yourself, your rank - or lack thereof - or your gender, the answer will always be no. He's not allowed to mind and frankly, I know he wouldn't be inclined to, anyway. I told you he's trustworthy."

Chanyeol hummed. Hearing it like that really drove home just how many factors there were to consider for Jongdae. And how bad of an idea it would be for him to be involved with Chanyeol in any way.

Not that they were... but they could be. Right? At this point, the lack of metaphorical space between them was almost nauseatingly small but neither of them made a move to take that final step. It wasn't a situation Chanyeol had ever been in, and while a part of him felt silly, another had to admit that this was complicated.

Chanyeol lightly shook his head. Not the time, he reminded himself yet again.

Quite ironic how he himself had assured Jongdae that this was not the end of the world and that there would be plenty of opportunities in store for him - for them, if they wanted to - and now he was feeling antsy himself. What a hypocrite he could be.

The thought made him chuckle.

"What now?" Jongdae asked dubiously. If he didn't know any better, he'd call him out on being flustered.

Chanyeol waved him off.

"Nothing."

I'll miss you.

Completely lost, Jongdae narrowed his eyes at him.

"You were the one making a fuss this morning, trying to hide me from him," he stated, a thin layer of accusation bleeding through as he removed his sword from the socket over his bed.

"It's not about that," Chanyeol assured him right away. "So, how long are you gonna stay?"

Luckily, Jongdae accepted the change in topic without a hitch.

"However long it's going to take to come to a decision," he said, inspecting his sword. Chanyeol could tell even from afar that it was perfectly maintained, and Jongdae seemed to come to the same conclusion.

"And then you'll come back, right?"

Jongdae let out a small huff.

"Did you see the size of that bag? I doubt I can fit my entire room in there."

"Not funny."

"Says the one laughing at the Instructor's jokes."

"That's because he's funny as heck."

"I think the word you're looking for would be jaded."

"I said what I said," Chanyeol insisted, crossing his arms. "So? You'll come back when you're done, right?"

Jongdae halted in his movements, staring down at his sword.

"We'll... see how things turn out."

"Hey, that doesn't sound very-"

"I would like to," Jongdae cut him off, sharper than intended, judging by the way he wet his lips, eyes lowering again.

"But it's not a promise I can make," he added, softer. This is about much more than my personal wishes. And I have to do right by the people depending on me."

Chanyeol nodded, feeling a pang of guilt. He should have known better. After all, the story about his butler had served as a perfect reminder that Jongdae may not be one for social games, but he did respect the tasks put before him. Clearly, he appreciated the nature of his butler because it worked well with his own morals seeing as he, too, cared for the well-being of the people living in his province. All the people.

So who was Chanyeol to ask him to prioritize himself instead?

"I know," he admitted. "Sorry. That was just a selfish thing to demand."

Jongdae showed no offense.

"Oh, I am very selfish myself," he assured him, allowing a hue of bitterness to shine through. "I'm simply in no position to act on it. But for what it's worth, I'd like to continue my studies. Here."

"It's worth something," Chanyeol said in faux generosity. "But yeah, you better come back. If you make me take notes for nothing, I'll come find you."

Jongdae looked up to meet his gaze head on.

"Would you now?"

There was something ambiguous about the way he said it, like a myriad of different tones fitting together into one mesmerizing kaleidoscope.

All Chanyeol could do was hold his gaze and remember how to breathe.

"You better don't underestimate me," he said quietly, a weak attempt at something, something that failed.

Or maybe it didn't because Jongdae broke eye contact first.

"I expect you to save your beloved Instructor's reputation while I'm gone."

Chanyeol gladly mirrored his casual demeanour.

"No worries. We'll make sure our beloved Instructor gets rid of the rumors."

"I'll hold you to it."

"You better-"

"To all of it."

Chanyeol blinked.

Jongdae didn't elaborate after that, but he didn't have to.

By the time Yongguk arrived to him to the station, their banter had long since recovered, perfectly obscuring every trace of their previous conversation.

__________________

Shortly after that, Jongdae left. Chanyeol bid him farewell with the others, trying not to stand out and to ignore the curious glances his butler would throw him.

Jongdae himself seemed much more calm and collected than before, imploring them all once more to take care of the rumors surrounding their Instructor. He couldn't help but wonder whether it was his way of telling them not to worry - by keeping them busy. Either way, they promised to do just that, and when Jongdae did leave, it was with a determined expression and a smile that may be small and tight, but genuine.

The rest of the day went by in a sleepy haze, with the others asking around and gathering information while Chanyeol tried to avoid falling asleep during his lessons. Thankfully, the others let him rest without asking too many questions. Whether they thought he'd been too worried to sleep or had actually noticed Jongdae staying in his room, he didn't know. All he did know was that he needed a good night's rest, which was why he decided to tuck in early. Maybe he'd been a bit too indulgent, judging by the fact that his brain clearly had enough energy to give him another questionable dream involving Jongdae, but Chanyeol was not upstanding enough to complain about it.

It was hard to feel guilty over a fantasy that nobody harmed, after all. It wasn't like Jongdae knew or was influenced by it in any way if Chanyeol dreamt of lying on top of him-

"Chanyeol? What do you think?"

He blinked.

"Right. Uhm. What?"

Luhan shot him a look.

"I see. Thanks for your valuable input."

"I'm sorry," Chanyeol winced, sitting up straight. The others were all looking his way now, with Luhan displaying exasperation while Yixing and Jongin looked worried.

"You always space out when things get important, don't you?" Luhan complained. "Are you blushing now? Do I even want to ask?"

"Luhan just suggested we start by trying to narrow down our target," Yixing explained, ever so mercifully. Chanyeol nodded, forcing himself to focus.

"Right. Considering the notes appeared in both dorms and at various clubhouses over night, it's likely more than one person's work."

"Yeah, that's kinda what I just said but okay."

Chanyeol gave him a sheepish shrug.

"It's also likely the person is a noble," Yixing added, leaning back in his seat, "considering that their dorm is tended to at all times and a commoner waltzing in at night would raise eyebrows, for sure."

"If they'd get in at all," Yifan added. "Maybe they snuck inside but..."

"But that's a theory for later," Luhan brushed him off. "First off, we should sum up all the information we currently have and see how many suspects we end up with. First off, we got all the known locations where the notes appeared."

Chanyeol leaned forward to get a better look at the piece of paper where Yixing had listed a total of 7 places, including the two dorms, the noble salon, each of the six doors on the second floor of the club house, the blackboard in the school's entrance area, the one in town, and the desk of student council president Kim Junmyeon.

Chanyeol frowned.

"The last one is so weird."

Luhan hummed.

"Right? Why would you want to rub it in the student council's face like that? To frame them? ‘Cause that seems like a weak attempt."

"It definitely stands out among the rest," Yifan agreed, head tilted as he squinted at the list. "But all in all, it's not that many."

"And yet it spread like wildfire," Yixing commented. "The spots were well-chosen for maximum effect."

"No, what I mean is that they're pretty close to one another," Yifan elaborated. Jongin's face lit up in understanding.

"You're right! If you plan your route well, it shouldn't take all that long to cover all these. After all, most of them are inside the student union building. And most of them were only taped to the doors in the first place."

"So maybe it's just one perpetrator, after all," Luhan sighed. "Great."

Chanyeol picked up the wrinkled note. The printed letters stared back at him almost mockingly. He frowned.

Where did you come from?

"Anyway. They have been spread out sometime between midnight and five in the morning - since that's roughly the time when people start filing into the student union building."

"Why midnight?" he heard Jongin ask, and Luhan replied that Junmyeon had left roughly around that time.

"Wait."

They all paused, looking at Chanyeol, who turned the note towards them.

"Shouldn't we think about where this note came from?"

Luhan rolled his eyes.

"Wow. How are you not top of the year yet-"

"No, he 's right," Yixing cut him off, quickly catching on. "There aren't a lot of typewriters around the academy."

Chanyeol nodded.

"Except that this right here has been properly printed."

He placed the note on the table and tapped some of the letters.

"See how none of the letters are smudged in the slightest? No matter how much money you put on the table, no typewriter would be this clean. At the same time, these letters are not the standard font for mass-produced texts. It’s a classic typewriter font. Someone typed this on a typewriter and then copied it with a high quality press."

“Why do you know so much about typewriters?” Luhan asked dubiously, and he shrugged.

“Repaired one or two of them before.”

"So you're saying they used the school's private printing press?" Yifan asked, taking the conversation back to the topic at hand. Chanyeol looked up at Jongin, who stared back at him, mouth forming a small o.

"The general store!" he exclaimed, and Chanyeol pointed at him.

"Exactly."

Luhan blinked at them, but caught on quickly and with a drawn-out "Oh."

Yixing and Yifan couldn't say the same.

"What about the store?" Yixing asked, gaze flickering between them.

"The general store is where the newspapers are printed for the area," Chanyeol explained. "Though they also allow certain clubs to use it - namely the literature and photography clubs."

"I see," Yifan said. "So it's able to print copies. If it can print newspapers."

"Exactly. Pretty new model, too, if I remember correctly."

"So it would be possible to type up a note and then copy it with this device?" Yixing asked, clearly out of his element.

Luhan nodded, eyes already on Jongin.

"The photography club and you guys both have a key to the store, right?"

Jongin nodded.

"We're allowed in there as long as we don't disturb the business."

"So if we follow the trail of the key, we might find our culprit," Luhan muttered, fingers drumming against the table. Jongin grimaced.

"That... I don't know how the photography club handles it, but in our club, the key is stored inside the clubroom. Anyone who has been around for a while is allowed to use it."

"Oh. And could anyone go in there and take it?

“Only if they knew where to find it,” Jongin replied. “Which shouldn’t be easy. Apparently, they choose a new spot every year.”

Luhan hummed. 

“Okay, and do you know who's been at the club around Sunday?"

"I can try to narrow down the number of people, but no promises."

He nodded, slapping his hands on his thighs.

"Alright. How about this? Jongin takes a look at the literature club, Yixing and I do the same for the photography one. And you two," he ended, gesturing towards Chanyeol and Yifan, "take a look at the crime scene."

"Crime scene," Yifan echoed blankly.

"Shut up," Luhan snapped, clearly embarrassed. "What else am I supposed to call it?"

"Wouldn't it be smarter to have Jongin check out the store?" Chanyeol asked. "Since he has a key and everything."

Luhan just waved him off.

"Just explain the situation to them, it'll be fine. Besides, as much of a smart cookie as Jongin is, maybe we should leave the machinery stuff to you two."

He had a point. They exchanged a look.

"Sounds reasonable," Chanyeol then offered. "We'll check it out after class?"

Yifan shrugged.

"Fine by me."

Getting into the backroom of the store was surprisingly easy. One mention of them being Jongin's roommates did the trick, really - and when the owner's wife arrived not too long after, she even went out of her way to bring them juice and sweets, courtesy of recognizing Chanyeol as 'the nice delivery boy from the engineering club' .

"That is a pretty impressive printer," Yifan commented the moment they were alone. "Never seen one of these up close."

"Yeah," Chanyeol hummed, stepping beside him to take a look at the large machine taking up a good chunk of the room. "It's not on the level of a mass production press, but still leagues above anything a casual person would own. You can tell it can handle much more complex stuff than the one back at the academy."

"Never seen that one, but I believe it," Yifan shrugged, leaning in to inspect one of the cylinders. "You can tell it's been used a lot over the years, but it's well-maintained."

"Yeah..." Chanyeol trailed off, only to shake his head. "Okay, enough geeking out here. We're here to search for clues."

"Not quite sure what Luhan expects us to find though," Yifan admitted. "We're no detectives or anything."

"I think to him, anything mechanical is a miraculous blackbox and we're the magicians," Chanyeol sighed. "Which is flattering, but yeah. Seconding your concerns. We could ask if they remember anyone stopping by but..."

Yifan hummed, still inspecting the printer as if it was a mystery within plain sight.

"They used such a little amount of ink and paper that there's no way to draw any conclusions from that," he muttered, more to himself than anything.

Chanyeol let him be, choosing to look around the room instead. It was obviously a storage room, with the scent of paper and ink drenching everything. There were shelves stocked with stacks and stacks of blank paper and despite the overall sense of clutter, the room was very clean and dust-free. After a while, he found the respective stacks for the Academy clubs, each labeled with a yellow sticky note. He crouched down to take a closer look. It was obvious that the culprit hadn't used the glossy paper used for photographs, but that didn't really say anything either. For all they knew, they could have used any kind of paper on purpose. Behind him, Yifan was still quietly talking to himself when Chanyeol noticed something out of the corner of his vision.

"Unless they maintained the thing yesterday, nothing has been left askew. It doesn’t look like it’s been used today, either. We should ask about that..."

It's then that he saw it peeking out from under the shelf. A small piece of metal. Confused, Chanyeol plucked it off the otherwise clean floorboards. It took him a moment to realize what was throwing him off about this but then it struck him. This was no part of the machinery around them - it was part of an Arcus. A school-issued one.

He reached for his own unit to confirm his suspicions. It was indeed part of the outer frame, probably snapped off by accidental force. There were also conducting pieces attached to it, used to keep  the various sensors connected. Without it, the Arcus would be barely functioning. He looked around but none of the ragged shelves showed any sign of fresh dents and scratches - which should be the case after an impact this rough. But if someone had bumped into the press instead, there would be no evidence, right?

Chanyeol sighed.

There was always the chance that this thing had been lying around here for a while and had nothing to do with the incident. Though the room did look pretty clean. Maybe he should (politely) ask the store owners about this.

"There's nothing," Yifan said, a little louder and more certain. "Which actually means that whoever made these notes knew exactly how to operate the printer. Unless someone else cleaned up after them, which the owners would have mentioned, I guess. It's not much, but it might exclude people who rarely use it?"

"That," Chanyeol began, getting back to his feet, "is a good point, actually. I also found a little something."

They had another quick chat with the store owners before making their way back when Chanyeol stumbled upon another piece of information by sheer coincidence; it came in the form of two kids sitting on the ground behind the store, playing with a rudimentary remote-controlled car that crashed into Yifan by accident. Chanyeol took a couple minutes to fix the wonky controller while the little girl talked non-stop and Yifan pretended to listen intently.

"You're so much nicer than the other students," she was currently blabbering, putting on a childish imitation of an annoyed adult, preening under Yifan's attention. "Yesterday, I wanted to go to sleep but they were sooo loud downstairs!"

"That wasn't even yesterday," her brother quipped right away, just as eager to impress Yifan (who did his absolute best to be just that). "That was, like, before that."

"Still, they were super loud and just knocked everything over," the girl insisted. "They were talking way too loud, too. No manners."

The boy rolled his eyes, oblivious of the look Yifan and Chanyeol exchanged.

"You just worried they'd wake up grandpa and he'd catch you reading a book."

The girl went very red at that.

"Not true!" I was asleep already."

"Yeah, sure..."

"How many people did you hear?" Yifan asked casually, and the girl made a show of thinking about it.

"Hm... two! A girl and a boy."

"And did you hear what they were talking about?"

A small pout.

"No. They were just giggling and gaggling."

"That's not a word," the boy complained, and the girl stuck out her tongue.

"Yes, it is!"

"Isn't."

Chanyeol shared another look with Yifan, giving him a subtle shrug.

They probably wouldn't get much more out of them, but it was better than nothing.

They were the last to return to the dorm, with Luhan impatiently waving them over to sit.

"We found out quite a few scraps of information here and there," he began right away, tapping a pen over the paper he had scribbled a list of names on.

"For one, we have a list of the members of the photography and literature club who were on campus that night and not out of town."

He pointed at a row of small, red crosses preceding some of them.

"As far as we know, these few have been nagged a lot by our Instructor recently."

"Ah," Chanyeol piped up. "You forgot your own name on that list."

The half-hearted glare he received in response was well-worth it.

"Out of the members of these two clubs," Luhan reiterated flatly. "Anyway. Jongin said there's no telling who took the key that night."

"Yeah... it happened Sunday night, but on Monday morning, the key was back where it's supposed to be," Jongin said almost apologetically. "Yesterday, some of our club members were out on a field trip but today I asked everyone what they were doing on Sunday. Nobody said anything particularly suspicious though."

"I'm afraid I haven't found much information of interest, either," Yixing admitted. "Since the last wave of exams just passed, everyone was spending their time however they saw fit. Most of the people I talked to spent the entire Sunday with friends or fellow club members. Some nobles apparently had a get together in the evening, too."

"Oh?" Luhan echoed suspiciously, while Jongin nodded in understanding.

"They do that a lot. Tao told me it's a thing over there, to meet up in the upper year's rooms, like an extra-exclusive party. Apparently, first years aren't allowed but Tao only complained about them being loud and drunk, anyway."

"Alcohol on campus, huh?" Chanyeol echoed, unimpressed. It wasn't like he was a completely unrealistic prude - of course nobody could stop a bunch of twenty year olds from drinking. Still, the fact that a couple nobles could so openly break the rules without facing repercussions was annoying him regardless.

"So we're looking for two upper class nobles, presumably one male and one female," Yifan concluded. The others looked at him in confusion, flinching when Chanyeol all but jumped in his seat.

"You're right! The kids said they were making a ruckus - they were drunk! That makes sense. And it’s probably not a freshman cause they wouldn’t be able to operate the press so cleanly!"

The others looked confused, prompting Chanyeol to quickly lay down their findings.

"I would have never guessed this was part of an Arcus unit," Yixing hummed, turning the little piece of metal in his hands. "As expected, it was a good idea to send you."

Chanyeol chuckled awkwardly.

"I've seen a few at the club is all."

"That actually cuts down on suspects by a lot," Luhan muttered, scratching names off the list one by one. "Assuming nobody else got wasted that day. If the room last got cleaned on Sunday morning, we can safely assume the part got lost in the act. And only upper class students own Arcus units and are familiar with the press..."

Chanyeol found it rather impressive how Luhan seemed able to easily tell not only nobles from commoners by their names alone, but also freshmen from upperclassmen.

He scrapped more and more names until they were looking at a total of three names. Only one of them had a red cross before it - Jang Jiheung.

"Oh," Yixing said softly. "He's the son of the Jangs, who have a barony near the Western coast. A third year who's apparently rather hotheaded but otherwise unobtrusive. He's also-"

"- a member of the literature club," Jongin finishes, tilting his head. "That's strange. He seemed nice enough."

Chanyeol didn't have the heart to tell him that he also deemed Zitao nice and sweet, making his perception questionable, at the very least.

"So..." Luhan began, looking around the room as he pieced everything together. "Our man likely got wasted with his uppity friends, and he - or all of them - came up with the great idea of typing this ty note, and they were so convinced of this idea that they ventured out into town to get it copied and distributed. Is that even realistic? Doing all this while drunk, I mean?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised at the stuff completely drunk people can manage," Yifan grumbled. They wordlessly agreed on not prying any further, and Luhan shrugged.

"Okay. Sure. That just leaves the question of how we're gonna prove any of this. It does all fit together neatly, but that's not exactly hard evidence. And I doubt the nobles are gonna admit to playing beer pong or whatever if we ask nicely."

"What's beer pong?" Jongin asked.

"I've never heard of it either," Yixing admitted, looking equally curious. Yifan groaned.

"Don't ask."

Meanwhile Chanyeol looked at the little scrap of metal in his hands, turning it over with a frown.

"You know what? I think I might have an idea..."

They'd had it all planned out. After their lessons were over, they were supposed to wait in front of Jang's classroom to confront him in the presence of others, making him answer to their accusations.

Things took a turn, however, when student council president Kim Junmyeon stepped up during lunch, taking a spot before a dozen packed cafeteria tables. His smile was small and strained, and vanished the moment the crowd calmed down enough to listen to him.

"I won't take up much of your time. I'm sure you have heard of the accusations regarding Instructor Do. I am here today to clear them up. Well, some of them."

Chanyeol looked at the others. Only Yixing and Yifan were with him right now but they both seemed equally confused.

In the front, Junmyeon continued, voice easily carrying over the relative silence.

"Involvement with a student is an unforgivable abuse of power. And Instructor Do is an honourable man through and through."

He looked around the room, visibly gathering himself.

"It was me. I made an indecent proposal towards Instructor Do."

The noise picked up after that, growing into a barely contained buzz.

Next to Chanyeol, Yixing looked puzzled while Luhan was downright shocked.

"And he turned me down right away," Junmyeon added, eyes darting around, unwilling to meet anyone's eyes in particular. "Not- unkindly. But. He doesn't deserve these accusations thrown at him. That's all for now. Thanks for listening."

The last part was quiet, almost mumbled, really, and with a fleeting duck of his head, Junmyeon turned towards the stairs, no doubt returning to the student council office.

The noise level rose immediately, and people in the near vicinity turned to Luhan.

"Is that true?"

"Did you know about that?"

"Is he gonna step down now?"

Luhan shook his head, clearly overwhelmed.

"I... don't know. It's not really my place to say anything about this-"

Chanyeol could only watch, feeling Yixing's gaze on him. He knew he was supposed to stay calm now, but... this was upsetting. It wasn't right. He had no idea whether Junmyeon had told the truth or not but he shouldn't have been pressured into saying this in the first place. Of course Kyungsoo himself wasn't present, but even if he was, he could hardly say anything to improve the situation. He could deny it and make things worse for both of them, or agree to it and get Junmyeon in trouble.

Chanyeol glanced over at one of the tables by the window, where the actual culprit was sitting among his noble friends, with none of them seeming all-too shocked about the turn of events.

He slammed his palms on the table and jumped to his feet.

"Chanyeol," Yixing began softly, and he could feel people looking at him, but he kept his eyes on Jang Jiheung as he stalked towards the table. The guy appeared unfazed, wearing a perfect poker face that Chanyeol was itching to punch. Instead, he pulled out a little plastic box and held it up for anyone near them to see.

"Jang Jiheung? I think you lost this."

The flash of recognition was brief, but it didn't go past him. Jang was quick to put on a neutral expression though, complete with mild disdain.

"Who are you again?" he inquired, crossing his arms.

Chanyeol didn't take the bait.

"Does it matter? Care to tell everyone here what you were doing at the General Store in town, in the middle of the night? Sunday night, to be exact?"

Jang shook his head.

"What are you talking about?"

If Chanyeol wasn't perfectly sure of himself, he might have bought it. As things were, however, he didn't waver, keeping his voice loud and clear.

"I'm saying that you and some other guys got wasted on Sunday, thought it was a great idea to defame the Instructor who failed you in Combat Tactics, typed up a message, decided to go out and print it and then spread it all over the school."

Another flash of panic flickered over his face. He had hit close to home.

"And why on earth would you think I did that? I have never even seen your face before."

"You're the only person who has access to a typewriter, the General Store, the noble dorm, got drunk at the weekend and holds a grudge against the Instructor," Chanyeol rattled down. By now, almost the entire cafeteria was watching them. Jang scowled.

"That is the most outlandish thing I have heard in a while," he stated, tense and angry. "I assume you have solid proof to back up this ridiculous story?"

He was getting defensive already - another good sign that he was on the right track.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Chanyeol insisted, shaking the little plastic box. "Recognize this? It's a piece of your Arcus. Found it in the backroom of the store."

"And?"

"We heard from the people living above the store that you caused quite a ruckus. The press may not be all that loud if you wanna print such a small number of copies, but you guys sure were. Hence, I'm assuming you were drunk. You probably bumped into something and chipped it, didn't you?"

Jang blinked.

"How do you know I broke it that exact night?" he asked, clearly implying Chanyeol to be ludicrous.

He only shrugged.

"The back room is cleaned out thoroughly every Sunday morning."

"And you know this is mine how exactly?"

Chanyeol threw his hands up.

"I don't know, maybe because you handed your Arcus to the Engineering club for repairs? Because this exact piece was missing?"

Jang froze at that. It was obvious that he hadn't thought any of the club members would remember his specific request. Well, unluckily for him, Minseok was a very thorough person and required them to document any request they fulfilled.

"There's not a lot of places in the area that can repair an Arcus unit," Chanyeol continued. "Aside from the tiny factory in town, there's really just the club to turn to."

"I didn't break it that night!" Jang insisted, growing red as his voice rose. "I didn't even leave the dorm! I broke it, sure, but that's not proving anything! That happened days ago!"

Chanyeol pretended to think.

"Days ago? Let's see. You handed it in for repairs on Monday morning, spent the entirety of Monday on a field trip and retrieved the fixed unit this morning. Do you want us to ask your classmates whether or not you had a functioning Arcus during your field trip? Or the classes before that? We can totally do that, I'm sure."

Jang stared at him, and while his mind was clearly racing, no words came out. Chanyeol narrowed his eyes at him.

"Or," he began slowly, "you can just admit to doing it already. Spare us all the trouble. Did it feel good, acting like a petty child and harming people because you were hurt in your big, noble pride?"

Around them, people were still staring, clearly waiting for Jang to say something. At the table, the other nobles weren't looking his way, clearly refusing to be dragged into this even as Jang looked into the round. The only one even meeting his eyes was Byun Baekhyun, who wore an expression of pity and distaste.

If the act itself hadn't been so despicable, Chanyeol might have shared the sentiment. As things were, however, he didn't budge.

"Even if you hadn't been dumb enough to mess up your Arcus, people would have found out eventually. Everything was pointing towards you."

Eventually, Jang just shook his head.

"I didn't... do that," he said weakly. "That's no real proof."

Chanyeol didn't say anything to that, and it was evident that the others didn't believe him either.

"I didn't even write the thing about the student."

Chanyeol backed off when he felt a hand on his shoulder and Yixing gently tugged him along, leaving Jang Jiheung to deal with the consequences of his actions.

It should have felt like a victory, and in a way, it did. Everyone around campus now knew that the notes really had been a petty revenge scheme. It didn't answer anything regarding Junmyeon's confession, but that was another issue entirely.

Still, the fact that Jang had taken the entire blame while none of his friends had stood up for him left a sour aftertaste in his mouth.

It appeared that after all these months, he still despised the nobility.

Only that he was gaining a more and more nuanced view on why exactly.

Back at the dorm, he flopped down on his bed, his own Arcus in hand.

They could be used to call people.

Jongdae had probably received one, too, by now, for that very reason.

He turned to his back, sinking into the plush mattress.

It would be nice if he could give him a call. Tell him about the entire story behind the notes, and get his view on things. Maybe ask him how he's doing back at his mansion, how the negotiations are going, if he'd already met up with his brother...

With a groan, he flopped back to his stomach, tangling himself in his blanket.

He hadn't realized how much he valued the other's input. Or the way he refused to budge under Chanyeol's quippy comments (until he did).

Or the sight of him at the breakfast table.

He buried his face in his cushion to suppress the annoyed sound in the back of his throat.

He'd be back. There was no way things would end just like that.

And in the end, Chanyeol had been the one to insist on them having time. So regretting it now would be absolutely embarrassing. He fidgeted until his burning cheek found a cool spot on the blanket.

At least no one was around to for it.

It was a Monday afternoon, exactly one week after Jongdae's departure, that Chanyeol was lounging on the sofa at the entrance to their dorms, half-heartedly going over his history notes, waiting for Jongin to return so they could prepare dinner together.

He was kinda late, so when the door opened, Chanyeol was quick to look playfully exacerbated.

"Did you get lost in a book again-"

The words got stuck in his throat when his eyes met Jongdae's, who was standing in the door frame, wearing his fancy coat and a surprised expression. It was the same coat he had worn on their first day.

For a moment, Chanyeol was struck by a sense of deja-vu, but even a mere glance told him that this was not the same boy who had glared at them upon arriving here first.

This time, Jongdae wasn't looking around with quiet disinterest. He was looking right at him... and then he smiled.

"I'm back. I get to stay."

It came out unusually unrestrained, even slightly breathless. A careful kind of excitement by Chanyeol's standards, but a completely new expression on Jongdae's face. Of course he immediately bit his lip, trying to keep himself in order while Chanyeol tossed aside his notes and up to his feet.

Whatever defense Jongdae had ready, it was pressed right out of him by sheer force when Chanyeol drew him into a hug without warning. The momentum almost had them tumble into a wall, but Chanyeol didn't let go, ignoring the way the expensive fabric got wrinkled under his tight grip.

It was obvious that Jongdae was fresh out of witty comments but Chanyeol didn't mind. They'd have plenty of time to exchange quips later.

For now, he'd hold him as tightly as he dared to, face buried in his neck. He was warm and his pulse was noticeably racing.

"Hi," he hummed against his skin, feeling a barely there touch on his hips.

Jongdae still wasn't saying anything and maybe that, too, was part of the excited rush. That he just stood there, not only allowing this to happen but even going as far as carefully tightening his grip on him.

The expensive cologne clinging to him was almost nauseating, but the fingers squeezing him through his thin shirt felt even more intense. Chanyeol blamed all of it for the way he subtly dragged his lips over the slightly salty skin, touch so light it could pass for an accident.

Jongdae's breath hitched, fingers squeezing tightly on instinct, and then he suddenly pushed him away.

With a startled grunt, Chanyeol tried to catch himself, an apology already on his lips when his eyes met that of Jongdae's butler.

Who was standing in the doorframe, giving him a very intense look.

He quietly wished for the ground to swallow him up then and there.

"Uh," he began, awkwardly flipping between a grimace and a sheepish smile. "Hello."

Jongdae pointedly stared at the floor, blinking a little more than usual.

"He'll stay with us more often now. As a link between me and the advisors. I'll also spend most of my weekends at the estate. Those are the conditions we agreed to."

Chanyeol nodded weakly, trying to make himself appropriately small under the probing look of the stoic man.

For a terrifying moment, he feared the worst.

Then the other's features relaxed into something gentler.

"Thank you for having me."

Chanyeol blinked, giving him a dumbfounded nod.

As he carried their belongings upstairs, Jongdae and him were left behind, both somewhat flustered and awkward. Not that it showed on Jongdae's face in anything other than a faint hue of pink tinting the tips of his ears.

"You really do know how to embarass me," he muttered, but he didn't sound particularly angry.

Chanyeol shrugged helplessly.

"Whoops?"

Jongdae sighed.

"Well, it appears that's what I have signed up for."

"It's good to have you back," Chanyeol burst out, watching that barely noticeable spark of wonder in his eyes that he might just get addicted to, as the naturally curled lips tug into a small smile.

"You're surprisingly sappy."

"You're surprisingly into that," Chanyeol replied without missing a beat, gaining great satisfaction from the way Jongdae mentally tripped over that, shooting him a look that was both embarrassed and mildly scandalized.

Chanyeol took a step back, hands raised in defense even as he was grinning. Not only was he getting better at shutting up Kim Jongdae, he was also starting to enjoy it.

Hello!
It's been a while, right?
If I'm being honest, when I saw that my last update was 55 days ago, I felt almost too guilty to update at all (which is silly, of course)
Let's just say work has been rather rough on me, leaving me a little down... but from now on, things should be looking up!
This chapter probably feels a little pointless, but, uhm. It's not. Promise.
I'll see you soon(er than last time) and wish you all the absolute best ♡