Kyungsoo was just stowing the last of his packing cubes into his luggage when he heard a series of knocks on the door of his dorm room.
 

“Coming!” His roommate, Kwangsoo, hollered, springing up from his bed and unlatching the door in record time. On the other side of it stood Jongin, bundled in a thick winter jacket, an MIT sweatshirt showing beneath it and his signature bear hat perched on his head. He left his suitcase out in the hallway, curtly nodding at Kwangsoo before latching himself onto Kyungsoo’s side, his long arms snaking around Kyungsoo’s waist and pulling him away from where he was organizing his toiletry bag.

“Missed you too,” Kyungsoo murmured, turning his head to press a kiss onto Jongin’s full lips. “Ready to go?”

Jongin nodded against Kyungsoo’s fluffy sweater, grinning when he caught sight of the adorable bear stitched on front. “You wore it,” he said happily. Kyungsoo merely shrugged, a smile on his face, mumbling something along the lines of “it’s yours, of course I’d wear it.”

Kyungsoo removed himself from Jongin’s clutches to make one last pass of his part of the dorm room, ensuring that his belongings were all put away, and tucking a mechanical pencil into his carry-on bag out of habit. He was sure that Baekhyun would be proud if he could see him now.

His boyfriend helped him into his long padded jacket, wrapped his penguin scarf around his neck, and pulled the new penguin beanie that Junmyeon had sent him in the mail onto his head. Kyungsoo was pretty sure that he looked like a terrifying penguin caterpillar creature, but his distaste was staunched by Jongin regarding him with his ever loving gaze.

“My caterpillar Soo,” Jongin said, with his stupidly adorable seal laughter, causing Kyungsoo to playfully jab his side.

Kyungsoo rolled his luggage out into the hallway, hugging Kwangsoo goodbye— the lanky, rather giraffe-like boy was heading home for winter break, too, but was departing sometime later in the day. The poor boy looked nervous when Jongin pulled him in for a terse handshake, nodding towards him appreciatively before following Kyungsoo towards the elevators.

“I still don’t know why you had to intimidate Kwangsoo so much when you first met,” Kyungsoo said, his voice overlapping with the mechanical whir of the elevator. “He’s really nice, kind of reminds me of Chanyeol sometimes.”

Jongin’s free hand found Kyungsoo’s, and he turned to attack Kyungsoo with a killer pout. “You know that I had to do it, Soo! He had to know that you were off limits. And I’m trying to be nicer now.”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes at that, shivering when they stepped out of the lobby into the cold. Snowflakes drifted across the campus, and Kyungsoo immediately pulled his hood up, nuzzling into it to find respite from the biting chill.

“Sehun said he already got in an Uber and that he’ll be here in a few minutes,” Jongin said, looking at his phone. “Our flight’s departing in three hours, so we probably won’t have time to get food before getting on the plane.”

“The bibimbap on Korean Air is the best anyways,” Kyungsoo shrugged, leaning against Jongin’s side. “And I thought that we agreed to save our stomach space for all the Korean food that we’ve been deprived of.”

“Hey, sappy power couple!”

Sehun stepped out of an Uber, cheeks flushed as he enveloped Kyungsoo and Jongin in giant bear hugs despite the fact that they had just seen each other the previous day for the end of semester Holiday party. The ride to the airport was boisterous as usual, and Kyungsoo contentedly let himself bask in the warm air blasting from the car’s air vents and the comfortable lull of Jongin and Sehun bickering over which of their pet dogs had missed them more.

The first semester of college hadn’t been easy, especially starting up anew in a new country— his English had always been good, but his first professor for intro to computer science spoke so quickly that he had had to improve his proficiency, stat. With lots and lots of hard work, Kyungsoo had managed to come out of the semester at the top of his class, and he was particularly proud that he hadn’t given in to the vice of toxic bean juice to do so.

But despite how much he enjoyed the whirlwind that was university life, watching Jongin perform at dance showcases and making new friends at his university’s cooking club, he was eager to return home, to his family and friends and the familiarity that he had left behind.

When he was settled into his window seat on the airplane, watching the twinkle of runway lights against the smooth tarmac below, he let his head loll onto Jongin’s broad shoulder. Jongin looked down at him, his warm brown eyes seeming to glitter in the dim cabin, and Kyungsoo found that he couldn’t quite bring himself to look away.

“Love you,” Kyungsoo said quietly, and Jongin’s face blossomed into a delighted smile, as if the words that had just fallen from his lips were what he had been searching for all along.

“Love you, too.”

Group chat “koolest kids XD”: 💪YIFAN, 😌Yixing🐑, uwu Chanyeol💩, Jongin 🧸🐶💞, Kim Junmyeon🐰, 😎MANhan⚽, HIS HIGHNESS ✨👑🙇, 💕vivi’s dad💕, Kyungsoo🐧

Jongin 🧸🐶 💞

we’re boarding now! excited 2 c u guys soon!!

HIS HIGHNESS ✨👑🙇

yESSS CHILDREN COME BACK TO THE MOTHERLAND

😌Yixing🐑

I’m flying back tonight too, should be back in Korea tomorrow!

💪YIFAN

I’m on the plane rn there’s wifi hehe

😎MANhan⚽

wtf did you pay for it??

I paid for wifi just to watch the manchester united game live and it was sO EXPENSIVE

Kim Junmyeon🐰

I don’t know that was the smartest choice economically

But everyone is still free to meet on the 23rd right?

uwu Chanyeol💩

yaaaas ski trip!!!

💪YIFAN

Please never say that again

Kyungsoo🐧

We’re taking off soon! The McDonald’s squad desperately needs Korean food

😎MANhan⚽

If I have to eat fish and chips one more time I will throttle someone

Preferably Jongin

>:)

💕vivi’s dad💕

Oh my GOD guys

[IMG Attached]

Jongin and Kyungsoo are making out making out someone pls save me

Can I sue them for money to bleach my eyes????

HIS HIGHNESS ✨👑🙇

If that was possible I would have sued you and Luhan a long time ago

Kim Junmyeon🐰

Baekhyun if that was possible you and Chanyeol would be bankrupt…

HIS HIGHNESS ✨👑🙇

Goodbye it was nice knowing you guys :’(

Jongin 🧸🐶 💞

hehe no regrets

<3

Kyungsoo🐧

…

<3

HIS HIGHNESS ✨👑🙇

*throws up on Meokmul and Huchu*