Not long after Jongdae’s attempt to poison Jongin (Baekhyun promised to get back at Jongdae for him, much to Jongin’s delight), Sehun arrived. With Suho.

“Eugh!” Jongin hastily took a few steps back and hid behind Baekhyun, who put his hands back and held Jongin’s hips.

Sehun snorted. “Don’t be mean. He’s sorry!” he said, rubbing the devil’s head. “You’re hurting his feelings, Jongin.”

“HE tried to kill me!” Jongin shot back, feeling particularly brave behind Baekhyun.

“Maybe he just wanted to play with you.” Sehun deadpanned.

The stupid goat wasn’t even listening to any of them. He was just moving its jaw up and down…

“What’s he eating?” Jongin demanded. “A finger? Of all people to befriend, Sehun —”

“He’s eating a carrot,” Sehun said exasperatedly, rolling his eyes. “I was just coming here alone and then he just started walking with me. He even had this around his neck. Look, isn’t it cute?”

Sehun showed a small bag with long strings, full of baby carrots. He was talking about Suho like he was a baby learning to crawl, not a murder machine with dangerous horns.

“Oh yeah, Seulgi made that for Suho last year,” Baekhyun said. “He usually has it around his neck so anyone can put food for him.”

“Then everyone just carries around food for a goat?” Jongin said.

Baekhyun giggled. “He’s a goat, Jongin. He eats grass.”

“Oh,”

“Idiot,” Sehun said, waving Suho bye as the goat (thankfully) walked away. “Did I miss anything?”

“Not much. Some people launched the fireworks way early.”

“Yeah, I heard the sound. Is it all finished? I wanted to watch it.”

“Nah, look,” Baekhyun pointed at Kim Woobin, who was sitting on a chair, guarding the remaining small pile of fireworks. “Besides, I’ll bet you anything Chanyeol sent someone to get more fireworks. He loves them.”

“Whoa, who’s that? Sitting there?”

“Kim Woobin. Apparently he’s a TA.” Jongin answered.

“He looks so cool. Like from a movie, or something.”

“I’ll go get Sehun a beer,” Baekhyun said and got up from their bench. Jongin watched him go, wondering if he was being stupid to hope Baekhyun was jealous.

He heaved a sigh and said, “How are you doing with Yixing?”

Sehun shrugged indifferently. “He’s okay. Usually only comes to the room to sleep at night. I have no idea what he does during the day, apart from going to classes, that is.”

“What’s his major? Don’t you guys talk?”

“Chemistry. We do talk. Like ‘good morning’ or ‘goodnight’ or ‘sorry, did my alarm wake you up?’ stuff like that.”

“That’s not talking.” Jongin grimaced.

Sehun looked at him. “What, you and Baekhyun hyung getting along well?”

Jongin nodded and smiled. “Yeah, he’s awesome. We have lots of things in common. Everything that came up so far, we were on the same page.”

“Maybe he’s just letting you be,” Sehun reasoned. “Because you’re new and young.”

Jongin frowned. He had never thought about it like that. Maybe Sehun had a point.

“He really seems to like you though, maybe that’s why he’s letting you call all the shots, if he’s doing that. Yesterday, when you got up to get more rice, Baekhyun hyung entered the cafeteria. He was with a friend and his friend pointed at you.”

“What? Why? What did hyung say?”

“They were too far for me to hear, . But Baekhyun hyung just nudged his friend in the side. He smiled though.”

“But I didn’t see him! If he was in the cafeteria, why didn’t you tell me?” Jongin whined and then stopped himself. “Why am I acting like a middle schooler?”

“Because,” Sehun breathed in deeply. “you, my dear friend, have a crush. And they left before you came back. I mean, I guess they came to eat but another dude showed and told them something and they all left in a hurry.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this yesterday?”

“I forgot. One of the lunch ladies started hitting a dude with her spoon, remember? Because his target ducked down and that dumpling hit her in the face instead?”

Jongin and Sehun were still laughing about the ear pulling and the scolding when Baekhyun came back with cold beer and steaming hot meat. 

After they ate their fill, Jongin, Sehun and Baekhyun decided to join the game of dodgeball, which had been gradually getting bigger and bigger.

“We claim Baekhyun!” a girl shouted. “And if you two join the other team, we’ll be even.”

Baekhyun winked at Jongin and joined the other side.

It was brutal. Sehun flattened himself on the floor to dodge a ball that was going so fast, it should have been caught on fire. Jongin got hit in the stomach pretty hard but he managed to catch it and throw it back at the girl who threw it at him. She jumped high in the air, nearly doing a perfect split, to save herself. Two people left the field with a bloody nose, waving their fists at their “assaulters”. 

“What the — why are these people taking this so seriously?” Sehun hissed, colliding into Jongin. 

“Dunno, but makes me want to win.” Jongin said, steadying Sehun.

“Ng.”

The feeling was contagious, soon everyone was playing like their lives depended on it. Like an evil dictator king was going to behead the losing team.

Baekhyun was good. He was really really good. He did spectacular moves to save himself and threw himself in every direction possible to save his teammates who were hit. 

Jongdae came to join and was outed immediately by Sehun, who had kicked the ball. Nobody helped Jongdae as he fell on the ground, groaning, but instead were hurriedly dragged out of the game by his teammates. Jongin high-fived Sehun and went back to the game with a newly found surge of energy. 

Jongin knew he was holding back whenever he got the ball and if Baekhyun was in front of him. He just simply chose a new target, but that split second gave the new target a chance to either dodge the ball, or catch it. 

He knew Baekhyun was going easy on him too. Baekhyun single-handedly got rid of three of Jongin’s teammates and assisted with another two. He was extremely agile on his feet and had a good sense of game. Laughing hysterically, Baekhyun was obviously enjoying the game the most. But whenever Sehun and Jongin got on his way, Baekhyun hesitated and threw his ball at someone else.

The girl who claimed Baekhyun for her team was an ace player too. She threw the ball at Jongin, who had to bend himself backwards to avoid it. Someone threw it back at her, but she easily caught the ball and revived a teammate. Sehun got hit on his shoulder and it bounced away, going out of the line. Jongin ran and caught it in the air and threw it back at Sehun before he fell.

“How are you guys so good?” she exclaimed, her eyes on fire. But she was grinning and seemed to be someone who just liked to play their game to the fullest.

“We dance,” Jongin answered from the ground, thankfully accepting the two bottles of water a girl passed at him. It was the same pretty girl who gave him and Baekhyun beer earlier. 

He drank one of the water and then dumped the other one on his head to wash away the sweat. “Come on, Sehun! Get me back in!”

“Treah — trying!” Sehun shouted back, jumping to his left.

Jongin breathed heavily. It was so good to see Sehun in his zone again. He was looking very handsome and charming as he dodged ball after ball, and doing his best to play along with his teammates. Sure enough, people had started to notice Sehun. Jongin was satisfied to see two girls sitting on the ground taking pictures of him. They saw Jongin looking and put the phone down. One of them mouthed sorry . 

“It’s okay,” Jongin said and went back to watching the game.

A few minutes later, Baekhyun sacrificed himself to save the ace girl. He came to sit beside Jongin, and the pretty girl appeared out of nowhere and gave them four bottles of water.

“Thank you, baby,” Baekhyun moaned out and groaned loudly as he kicked his legs out.

Jongin was very thankful for how very sweaty and red he was already, because he knew his cheeks and ear were starting to turn red. He wondered if what he just heard was something similar to Baekhyun’s other kinds of moans.

Baekhyun gulped down a bottle of water and then, like Jongin, used another one to wash his face and hair. He looked quite different with his hair all wet, Jongin thought. He looked like a mouse? More soft and vulnerable. But then Baekhyun started to push his hair back and he turned sharper and ier with each .

“So, you dance?” Baekhyun said, sounding rougher than Jongin ever heard him before. It was hot.

“Y-yes.”

“Hmm, and when were you gonna tell me this?” Baekhyun asked, tilting back and supporting himself with his arms on the ground. 

Jongin held Baekhyun’s gaze for a moment before looking forward again. He ducked his head. “I dunno — just never came out. How are you so good? You were like a ninja.”

“I know he looks like toilet paper, but Baekhyun’s actually pretty badass.” Chanyeol said, joining them on the ground. He was holding a plate full of fully grilled meat and some fresh veggies.

Baekhyun and Jongin both dived in.

“He has a black belt in Haido.”

“Das nod a thin” Baekhyun mumbled through mouthful of food.

“Haikido?”

“You mean Aikido?” Jongin said.

Chanyeol’s eyes lit up. “Yes, that’s it.”

“I never even touched the ‘A’ of Aikido, . They don’t even have black belts.”

“Wait, really?!”

“No, I lied, dip. I do have a black belt in Aikido.”

Jongin low whistled, swallowing heavily. 

“And you definitely have one in Judo and jutsu.”

“You mean Jujutsu? Or Jiu-jitsu?” Jongin said, wondering what was wrong with Chanyeol. 

Chanyeol turned and looked at Jongin, as if it was his first time seeing him. “I’m Park Chanyeol.”

“Yes, you set me on fire yesterday.”

Chanyeol laughed. “Hehehuehuehuehuehue… did I? That was you? You’re Baekhyun’s.”

Baekhyun choked and started pounding his chest. He shook his head furiously at Chanyeol, and was chewing his food rapidly. He looked like a squirrel with his cheeks full.

“Pardon?” Jongin said, rubbing Baekhyun’s back. 

“Baekhyun’s roommate,” Chanyeol said calmly. “He came screaming bloody murder. You’d think I hurt his baby. Or,” Chanyeol winked at Baekhyun. “Did I?”

“ off, Chanyeol. Leave the food.”

Jongin swallowed and his lips. It was his first time hearing Baekhyun swear. It was hot as hell. He wondered if Baekhyun was a casual-curser and was being considerate towards Jongin this whole time. The thought made him feel even warmer.

Chanyeol tutted and got up to his feet, saying how he was going to leave anyway. He opened his mouth to say something else to Jongin, but Baekhyun shut him off with a fierce look. 

All of a sudden, people started shouting and whooping at a newcomer. He was tall and lean. His big eyes were shining.

“Minho hyung! I claim Minho hyung!”

“You can’t claim a person, you dip! We’ll count the members!”

“You’ve been claiming people all night.”

“No fair, you guys got those two hot dancers!”

“I want Minho oppa!”

“Let him choose!”

“Do you guys even know if he wants to play?”

“It’s Choi Minho — he’ll play.”

“He’ll play to the death.”
 

“Hell yeah, I will!” The Minho guy shouted and people cheered. “But let’s start from the beginning. Choose the players fairly.”

Baekhyun got up to his feet and held his hand out for Jongin. “Come on, hot dancer guy.”

This time, Jongin was in the same team as Baekhyun. Sehun was with Minho on the other team. The ace girl from Baekhyun’s previous team was there too. The girl who did split in the air was, thankfully, standing right beside Jongin.

It was a tight match; Minho had distributed the players well. The ball Sehun threw passed so close to Jongin’s head that the whooshing sound rang his ears. One guy took the ball and threw it back with a mighty roar. Minho caught in the air and threw it back. 

Anyone who got hit was back in the game in no time. So after gruelling twenty minutes, everyone was drenched in sweat and were breathing heavily. The pretty Water Angel girl suggested that whoever got hit with the ball would be out of the game for good, so the last standing member would bring victory to their team. Everyone agreed and soon the battlefield had only eleven people left. Six in Minho dude’s team and five in Jongin and Baekhyun’s team.

Jongin watched Sehun pass the ball to Minho, who passed it to the ace girl, who passed it to Sehun, who…

“Make up your — ” the splitter girl started shouting but she yelped and threw herself on the ground as the ball came soaring right at her. Jongin asked her if she was okay and when he looked up again, it was too late. The second ball hit his arm and Jongin sighed in defeat. A small part of him was glad that he was out; he was extremely tired. Baekhyun gently patted him on the back.

Baekhyun took revenge for Jongin and hit the guy, who got Jongin, right on the crotch. Poor guy had to crawl out of the field.

The ace girl got hit as she tried to protect Sehun. Baekhyun’s teammate tried to catch the ball but failed. Sehun tried to dodge a ball but ran into another teammate and got hit on the . Few girls giggled and Sehun grinning sheepishly left the field and joined Jongin.

Then there was only Baekhyun against Minho and another girl, who had barely broken a sweat.

“These people are beasts,” Sehun said, wiping his face with his t-shirt. “I think I just got my weekly workout.”

“I don’t think we played like this since we were, like, ten.” Jongin said, still trying to get his breathing under control.

Baekhyun never stood a chance, but he did hold out for a minute, hopping from left to right before he got hit in the chest and fell on the ground dramatically. 

The Minho dude and the girl cheered and hugged, as their teammates, shouting and yelling, came to lift them up in the air.

 Jongin got up and went to Baekhyun. 

“Hi,” he said, looking down at Baekhyun’s sweaty face. His hair was splattered flat over his forehead so Jongin pushed it back for him. His cheeks were extremely pink and he was panting very heavily. 

“Hi,”

Jongin really wanted to lean down. He just… Baekhyun was right there, underneath him. Sweaty and out of breath. Looking very pretty and thoroughly — 

“Good game.” Jongin croaked out. “You’re amazing.”

“Thanks. I don’t think I can get up though.”

“You have to. Come on, I brought you a towel. Don’t want you to get sick.”

“Awww,” Baekhyun let Jongin pull him up to a sitting position. “Where did you get this towel? It smells new.”

“That Water Angel girl gave me. Whatever I need, she keeps giving it to me.”

Baekhyun chuckled, rubbing his hair dry. “Yeah, she does that.”

They joined Sehun and Minho and a few others on a table nearby. They had ton of pizza. 

“Minho hyung said chicken’s coming,” Sehun said happily.

“Good game, Baek,” The Minho dude said and offered out a can of beer. 

“Thanks, hyung, but I already had my can,” Baekhyun said and took a slice of pizza instead.

“Why can’t you drink another?” Sehun asked.

“Baekhyun can’t hold his liquor.” Jongdae said giddily. How had Jongin not noticed him?

“Like, does he throw up and stuff?”

“Worse,” Chanyeol said and dumped five boxes of chicken on the table. “Joy, Seulgi said she and Irene are going back to get jackets.”

“Okay, thanks,” a girl with blazing red hair — Joy — said, wiping a beer trace from her chin with the back of her hand.

“What do you do?” Jongin whispered at Baekhyun. “What’s worse than throwing up?”

Baekhyun didn’t answer but just shook his head and stuffed a slice of pizza into Jongin’s mouth. 

“I’m gonna miss this old place,” Minho dude said fondly, looking up at the dark building.

“Yeah. I mean I pissed myself the night I woke up in the main hall, but…” Chanyeol said and held his can of beer high. “To the haunted library!”

“TO THE HAUNTED LIBRARY!” they all yelled and drank a toast. Baekhyun and Jongin were drinking cola. 

“Is it really haunted?” Joy asked. “I know lots of pranks were played and I know that anyone who went in there says it’s haunted because they think they earned the right, but — just tell me,” she looked at the Minho dude. “Did you guys really see a girl in a dress?”

“I did! I swear!” the Minho dude answered, leaning towards Joy. He looked serious enough. “I know I was wasted but I definitely saw a girl. She was sitting on a table and watching us!”

“Minho hyung and his friends were dared to spend the night in the library,” Baekhyun explained to Jongin and Sehun. “They didn’t make the night.”

“Because I saw a ghost!”

“What if it was just a girl from our school?”

The Minho dude shook his head. “No — you don’t understand. She was… gone. I know, I know that I saw her once for a second, but she wasn’t there. Do you know what I mean? She didn’t have the light we have in us. She looked faint and… sad? But — and maybe I imagined — but she smiled at me.”

“A huge smile that says she’s going to eat your liver?” Jongdae said.

Joy shivered and shuffled closer to the girl next to her. 

“No… just a sad little awkward smile. Like, the ones you give a stranger you know you’re not gonna see again.”

“Because she’d be eating your liver.”

“What is wrong with you?” A girl shrieked and Jongdae cackled loudly. 

“What? It’s fun. There’s no such thing as ghosts.”

“I think there is,” Jongin said. “How can you just be… gone, when you die? Where will your thoughts and wishes go?”

“Dude,” Joy said. “I’m not drunk enough for talks like that.”

“Okay, smartass.” the Minho dude said to Jongdae. “How about you go in there now and bring us the book? ”

“OooOoooooooooOh!”

“Interesting!” Chanyeol whispered.

Jongdae raised an eyebrow. “What do I get if I come out in one piece?”

“I’ll owe you a favor.” Minho said coolly. “Anytime you need me, wherever you call me to, whatever you want, I’ll do it. But if you see her, I get to train you for a week.”

“OoooOoHoohOoo!”

“ Very interesting!” Chanyeol whispered.

“Deal.”

“Deal.”

The Minho dude shook hands with Jongdae.

Jongdae turned to Jongin. “And you , pretty boy. I dare you and Baekhyun to go in there and get the book before me.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I know Baekhyun will get back at me earlier. If I get it before you guys, Baekhyun will cancel his little revenge. I get to kill two birds with one stone.”

“And if we win? What will we get?” Baekhyun said, already getting up to his feet.

Sehun cast a worried look at Jongin, who tried to smile. He was no good with scary places. He was no good with ghosts or ghouls or any kind of supernatural stuff. He was going to piss his pants and faint. 

“I’ll clean your room for a week. But you guys can’t split in there, won’t be fair since I'm alone.”

“There is a reason you’re always alone,” Chanyeol said quickly and got out of the way before Jongdae could smack him.

“Dare accepted,” Baekhyun said swiftly and shook hands with Jongdae. 

I know I know >< I promised a planted kiss and you guys should get to read about the dare, but this chapter was getting too long so I cut it here. But, on the bright side, since I already wrote half of the next chapter, it shouldn't be long before I put it out ^^

I swear, I have no control whatsoever over any of the characters here — even Suho just came in on his own.