Kyungsoo had just finished his History module for the week by half past 10 that evening, amidst chatting with Chanyeol on the phone (via SMS, since Heechul had given him his tutor’s number). He didn’t really want to keep bothering the taller one, who told him that he was helping out in his father’s grocery store (which Kyungsoo thought of visiting perhaps one of these days) and was already closing up.

I’m about to start on Chemistry.

Thank you for your notes earlier.

It makes the periodic table

so much easier for me to memorize.

A minute later, his tutor replied:

You’re welcome.

Shouldn’t you be turning in, though?

I’m not really tired. I’ll

finish what I can tonight so

my tutor and I can have more time to

And Kyungsoo accidentally pressed SEND when his father came in.

Dr. Do couldn’t help the spontaneous smile on his face when he saw his son in bed with his school books opened in front of him. “Doing all right, adul?”

Kyungsoo was a little surprised by this lighthearted greeting, but nonetheless was relieved by it. “De, Abeoji.” He began to set aside all of his books to make some space for his father, who sat down on the bed next to him.

“You’re not getting too stressed, I hope.”

On the contrary, Kyungsoo almost blurted out, thinking about how he spent the last 30 minutes of his study session making out with his tutor. “Heechul-ssi made sure that I could get all my work and studying done efficiently without making my schedule too compact, so the credit goes to him. And Chanyeol-ssi...”

And the memory of Chanyeol getting more and more relaxed with kissing began to overwhelm him.

“He’s been a good tutor to you?” Dr. Do asked lightly, although he already knew the answer.

Kyungsoo blushed unexpectedly, and looked away from his father. “More than good. He’s... I think he’s brilliant and... with a lot of other commendable qualities.”

Dr. Do appeared really pleased. “I am glad. Chanyeol-ssi has also been a stellar intern in the laboratory, as per his mentors’ reports. Even if his daily alloted time for research is cut short because of your study sessions with him, I’ve never once heard him complain, and he still manages to show up on time every day and delivers incredible input consistently.”

Kyungsoo nodded, his chest almost bursting with pride hearing this. Chanyeol was simply intrinsically good, not just in front of him or because of people he needed to impress, but to everyone.

“Well, I just dropped by to ask how your study sessions are going, since your school principal has informed me and your mother that your grades are starting to improve.” Dr. Do gazed at his son tenderly. “So keep up the good work, hmm, Kyungsoo-yah?”

Kyungsoo had to chuckle. “Araseo, Abeoji.”

And he chuckled even more when his father got up, but not before ruffling his hair fondly.

“Goodnight, adul,” Dr. Do bid, turning to smile at him again before he exited the room.

“Goodnight, Abeoji,” Kyungsoo bid in return, with a smile to his father as well.

Kyungsoo then checked his phone and saw about four replies under his last message to Chanyeol.

More time to...?

You mean... you’re considering

what I said earlier...?

About... dating?

Kyungsoo then realized that his previous message had been cut short, which of course would cause confusion—even to a genius like Park Chanyeol. He decided to , though.

Maybe.

I’ll get back to

my period table then.

A minute later, Chanyeol replied:

Chemistry is a fascinating

subject, actually. Maybe

try not to do the module

so late at night, because

your brain could be too

stimulated and

However, Kyungsoo was typing at the same time:

The only Chemistry that would

keep me up at night is

with my tutor.  Good night!

And Kyungsoo tossed his phone away, immediately curling his fingers. When did he get so cheesy?! He wasn’t even like this when he was with Jongin!

For now, he resolved to not mind his phone to at least get a section of his Chemistry module accomplished and let Chanyeol figure out what he was trying to say with that Chemistry pun.

As he got ready for bed about an hour later, he laughed out loud reading Chanyeol’s reply on his text message:

Do you want me to call you now?

Do you want me to tutor you

in Chemistry?

It seemed that Chanyeol was still confused, since Kyungsoo hadn’t replied in the last hour, and the taller one followed up with:

I hope I won’t keep you up all night,

because we both have full schedules

tomorrow. Let me know if you would

like me to make up a sample quiz

for you.  Sleep well!

Kyungsoo replied with a kiss emoji. 

He waited a couple more minutes, but received no answer. He figured Chanyeol was probably asleep then, since it was already past midnight.

He still had a smile on his face as he settled under the covers, all snug and cozy. He thought to post a very short video on Instagram, to document how he was feeling at the moment.

Looking forward to tomorrow.

#Happy #MeNYou #Chemistry

* * *

Chanyeol was in particularly high spirits the next day.  He had woken up to seeing that adorable video of Kyungsoo in bed last night, that had been posted after Chanyeol had fallen asleep.

People had been commenting and tagging pcy_sunbae several times, probably connecting that already viral post to Chanyeol. While the whole dynamics of social media still felt quite surreal to him, Chanyeol comprehended that it was best to simply let Kyungsoo know privately what he thought of the post.

Which he replied a kiss emoji back   to the one that Kyungsoo sent last night.

Never in a million years had Chanyeol imagined to be exchanging cutesy emojis and flirty messages to someone—especially his crush—this frequently and this genuinely before.

At Do Laboratories that morning, he was greeted by commendations from his mentors, and even the Vice President, Mr. Riley, sang him high praises for the comprehensive and innovative report Chanyeol had written on mitochondria and how it processes the release of calcium in the body.

He also received a warm congratulatory email from Dr. Do, who then thanked him for having such a positive effect on Kyungsoo.

Chanyeol worked so hard on tapering his enthusiasm, that him having a positive effect on Kyungsoo was contrary, since for Chanyeol, it was the other way around. However, he understood that he couldn’t tell Dr. Do that, because that would be unprofessional... and might jeopardize his internship in the laboratory.

He felt uncomfortable giving Dr. Do a concise and polite reply, simply saying that it was his pleasure to help Kyungsoo and thanked Dr. Do for taking the time to evaluate his report.

Thankfully, the day whizzed by pretty quickly and the next thing he knew, it was time to head to the Gravity office.

He couldn’t even sit still in the car as Shindong-ssi drove him there. The chauffeur even noticed how fidgety he was and asked if he was all right.

Chanyeol only laughed nervously. “Uh, de, gwaenchanhayo.”