The professor had been speaking about the qualities of a good team manager for the past hour, and it would be a lie to say that Jongin was paying attention.

No. He had completely zoned off after the first ten minutes when he had realized that the professor wasn’t even trying to say something that was different from the word vomit in the textbook. It was the same. Word for word. He wasn’t even sure why he had to sit through all of this when he could simply read it by himself at home. Alas, he needed the attendance to pass.

No matter how hard he tried to listen, his mind kept drifting to other topics – topics that seemed much more entertaining than the five main points of showing leadership. Like the presentation he had to finish until the end of the week. Or the new barista in the café that would start working with them from tomorrow. He wondered how long it would take to train the kid. He was thinking about the weather too, when he caught a glimpse of the sun shining up in the clear skies. It was a pity. Those were the last few days of the year with good weather before the cold winds would start gushing and winter would arrive with its unforgivable chill. And he was stuck in this classroom.

Most importantly, however, his mind kept skipping to Yixing. He could not wait for the end of the lecture, so he could meet him and then go back home together. He kept checking his phone every few minutes, slowly getting irritated that time would not pass quick enough. But the closer the arrows pointed to 5, the slower they seemed to become.

Jongin almost heaved a sigh. What he would give to just skip the next hour, cuddle up to his boyfriend and waste the entire evening binging a show on Netflix. He honestly believed that if he heard the word ‘autonomous’ one more time, he’d lose it.

He spent the rest of the class doodling at the corner of his notes, occasionally sending a sympathetic and understanding glance to the other side of the room where Chanyeol seemed like someone was out the soul out of his body. He only perked up towards the end where the professor started listing down the assignments they had to finish by next week. The hatred for this class was building up inside him by the second.

“That was tedious,” Chanyeol whined first thing after they were dismissed, and Jongin would have worried that the professor might have heard that but he was so far and beyond over that class that all he could do was nod eagerly as he walked along with his friend. “And we have three more months of it.”

“Don’t remind me,” Jongin sighed, before straightening. Finally, a little smile made its way to his lips as he clasped a hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder. “Oh, right! Are you free next Friday?”

“Why?” Chanyeol asked, suspicion lacing his voice.

“Yixing’s getting a package from his mom so he wanted to cook Chinese food for the guys,” Jongin smirked, knowing that with that sentence alone Chanyeol was sold. “Baekhyun said he’ll bring the new game for the Xbox, too. We can make an evening out of it.”

“Food and video games? Count me in.”

Knew it, Jongin was rather jolly as he walked across the campus. Around him were students, some tragically dragging themselves to their next lecture, others – the lucky ones, like him – heading straight for the main gate and getting as far away as possible. Until tomorrow anyways.

Chanyeol was excitedly talking about some movie he had just seen and how sick it was. Jongin was only vaguely listening, mind back to fantasizing about cuddles and Netflix. And maybe a large pizza too.

He felt numbed excitement bubbling in his chest at the sight of the small group of people waiting by the gate.

“Hey!” Chanyeol’s voice was booming and resounded loud and clear around the gate.

“What took you so long?!” Kyungsoo’s upper lip curled in annoyance.

“The professor’s a fascist,” Chanyeol sniffed, maybe expecting some compassion. He only got a scoff, and a rather dramatic sigh from his boyfriend.

Jongin looked away when Baekhyun latched himself on Chanyeol and started complaining about going to miss some drama.

Instead, he walked straight into the open arms of the man leaning against the fence.

Yixing had been on campus the entire day – classes in the morning, work in the afternoon. He had been waiting for him for at least half an hour, yet the smile on his face was so kind and energetic, it filled Jongin up with energy as he kissed it away.

He felt his boyfriend’s arms wrapping around him loosely, his lips soft as they brushed against his own, breath hot when it tickled his skin.

“Hey,” Yixing said quietly when they parted after the brief kiss, and he smiled again. Jongin’s hand brushed down the side of his face, the tip of his finger dipping into his boyfriend’s dimple. Yixing scrunched his nose and Jongin just let out a quiet chuckle.

“Hi.”

Yixing smiled again, and his arms travelled down Jongin’s sides and slid down his arms, catching his hands in his. Their fingers laced together loosely, as he finally pushed himself off the fence.

“Oh, look,” Baekhyun remarked. “They’re back to reality.”

“That’s rich coming from you,” Jongin bit back. “You’re climbing Chanyeol like a koala.”

Baekhyun dismissed the banter with a quick roll of his eyes.

“Anyways, are you still up for tomorrow?”

“What’s tomorrow?”

“Oh, come on! You’ll play League with us…right?!”

“Get a life, will you?” Kyungsoo mumbled somewhere off to the side, but before Baekhyun could turn to bicker with him, Jongin hurried to shut him up.

“I can’t. Gotta train some new kid down at the café.” Jongin leaned into Yixing when his boyfriend’s grip on his arm tightened for a second. He seemed confused, and Jongin just shook his head. “My boss called me this morning.”

Baekhyun then started complaining, and he made skipping one game seem like the end of the world. Kyungsoo, his saviour, was there to remind him how pathetic he was only to get facts thrown in his face with exact instances of just how many times he had also played with them.

That’s enough for today, Jongin figured, as he pulled Yixing’s arm closer, hugging it with his free one.

“Let’s go home?” he asked. He was not tired yet, but he really wanted to go home. Yixing seemed to read that on his face, because he smiled again, and the dimple appeared on his cheek.

“Too much?” his boyfriend asked, eyes shooting towards their friends. Jongin’s eyes widened momentarily, and Yixing laughed at his expression.

“I just need some peace and quiet and a Stranger Things binge.”

“Didn’t we watch that last week?”

“I said what I said,” Jongin’s gaze was supposedly daring and challenging, but Yixing just leaned down to steal another quick kiss.

The moment their lips brushed again, Jongin’s insides melted, and he barely contained the smile.

“Okay,” Yixing mumbled against his lips. “Let’s go.”

“Oh, and we’re getting a pizza too.”

Yixing’s chuckle was bubbly and lively when he laughed quietly. He only held his hand tighter, and Jongin smiled.

This was all he needed.

Byun Baekhyun was the loudest person he knew.

He screamed when they played videogames together, he kept commenting on movies when they watched them, even when speaking he was loud. He always had a very clear opinion, and sometimes very unconventional views. He was outgoing and friendly, sometimes way too friendly. Everything Jongin was not.

Baekhyun was, of course, his best friend. For as long as Jongin could remember himself.

They went to the same school when they were younger. They went to the same university now, even if their majors were different. They even lived in the same neighbourhood.

Baekhyun was the person who had introduced him and Yixing some years ago. For that alone, Jongin would forever be grateful. If he hadn’t, they wouldn’t be where they were now.

That did not, however, change the fact that Baekhyun was loud, and always knew all the hot gossip that was going around the campus.

“Did you hear about that new transfer student?” Baekhyun asked on that sunny day as they were all sitting on the grass, mouth full with a half-chewed sandwich.

Jongin wasn’t interested enough to press on, but he also didn’t mind the topic enough to tell his best friend to shut up. He simply shook his head, too invested in scrolling through his feed. He was sprawled out on the grass, head resting in Yixing’s lap. His boyfriend’s fingers would occasionally run through his hair and Jongin would have to resist the urge to purr like a cat.  

“A transfer student?” Yixing asked from right above him. He sounded a little confused. “You mean an exchange student?”

“No, I mean a transfer student.”

“Everybody’s been talking about him all morning,” Kyungsoo begrudgingly confirmed. “It’s weird, isn’t it? To transfer in the middle of the term out of nowhere.”

“People say he studied abroad, but just returned to Korea now,” Chanyeol nodded matter-of-factly. “I heard someone say he studied in King’s College in London.”

“No way. I heard he studied in the States,” Baekhyun shook his head.

“That’s all great,” Jongin let out a breath. “But why does it matter?”

Baekhyun shrugged, before taking another bite from his sandwich.

“He must be rich,” he commented out of nowhere. A beat of silence followed by a smirk. “In that case, I want to be his friend.”

“Leech.”

Jongin just rolled his eyes, pulling his phone back up. This was not worth his attention.

“I don’t understand this ,” Jongin’s voice was rather distraught and the reason Yixing looked up from his music sheets immediately. The other man was lounging on the couch, laptop open in his lap and notes scattered all over the coffee table.

He set the guitar aside, before standing up. He rounded the couch and leaned over Jongin’s shoulder, his messy brown hair tickling him when he rested his chin on him.

“Can I help?”

“With math?” Jongin chuckled lightly and reached up with his arm, blindly burying it in his hair. Yixing closed his eyes when Jongin’s fingers tickled him when he pulled him closer. He turned his pretty face to the side, lips so close to his. “I don’t think so.”

“You’re probably right,” Yixing chuckled lightly. Jongin smelled like shampoo and strawberries. He breathed in deeply, before placing a kiss on his boyfriend’s cheek. “Do you want a tea?”

“I want a magic pen that can do this assignment for me,” Jongin whined again, and something tugged at Yixing’s heartstrings. He could not resist the other when he was so obliviously cute. He reached down to mess his hair up, and Jongin just sighed. “A tea sounds great.”

He nodded once, before straightening up. He headed for the kitchen, stretching his arms over his head as he moved. He’d been sitting for too long today, his arms tired after the hours of playing the guitar.

He put the water to boil, as he reached up to grab the tea bags from the cupboard.

Jongin was leaning against the kitchen counter when he turned around. He looked somewhat guilty, lips pursed tightly and big, beautiful eyes shining.

“I’ve been complaining all evening,” he declared. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Yixing nodded. He placed Jongin’s cup in front of him. “You’re stressed out. It’s normal to feel tired. It’s better to let it all out anyways.”

Jongin smiled down at the cup when he dropped one sugar cube in it. No more, no less. Just one. Just the way he liked it.

He then looked up to him again through the strands of hair falling over his eyes.

“How’s your song coming along?”

Yixing breathed in sharply. His mind drifted to all the hours he had spent today in front of the empty music sheets that were practically mocking him with their emptiness. It was difficult, but there was progress.

Slow one, but progress, nonetheless.

“I’m getting there,” he replied eventually, but Jongin could see right through him.

The younger rested his arms on the counter just as Yixing picked up the water. He watched as he poured the water into the two cups, steam spiralling up into the air and disappearing in front of their eyes.

“Can I help?”

Yixing blinked up to Jongin, and the corner of his lip tugged up into a crooked smile.

His sweet, sweet Jongin.

He leaned over the steaming cups to kiss him. Their lips blended together into a languid kiss that out all the exhaustion from both of them. Jongin’s lips were always sweet and soft, and his eyelashes brushing against his cheeks when his eyes fluttered closed were tickling him.

Yixing savoured the moment, the sweet scent of strawberries, the soft push of an eager kiss and the warm steam from the tea. He smiled into the kiss, pressing his forehead against Jongin’s.

“You already are.”

He felt like he could write a thousand songs.

Jongin was heading for his next class when someone suddenly jumped him from behind. Two strong arms found their ways around him, and he almost lost his balance.

“What are you doing?!” he uttered through fits of laughter with Yixing still clinging to him. His bag almost fell because of the sudden collision.

“Just saying hi,” his boyfriend smiled, and just like that, Jongin’s day was all perfect again. Yixing caught grip of his hand and Jongin shook his head with a little smirk.

“Hi.”

They continued walking through the campus together, hand in hand, and Jongin enjoyed those few minutes he could spend with his boyfriend in silence.

Jongin had to take psychology this semester. Yixing, being the good boyfriend that he was, had decided to take it as an elective, even if it had absolutely nothing to do with his major. It gave them two hours of hushed whispers and exchanged notes and small touches at the desk they shared at the very back of the room. It was Jongin’s favourite class.

“Oh,” Yixing said, tugging at his arm lightly. “Baekhyun wasn’t lying about the transfer student, by the way.”

“Hm?”

“There really is one,” Yixing shrugged. “We had history together this morning.”

“Yeah?” Jongin smiled at the feeling of Yixing’s fingers rubbing random patterns into his skin as he held his hand. “What’s he like?”

His boyfriend just shrugged.

“Who knows...I didn’t stay behind to chat with him much,” the smile that lit his boyfriend’s face was bright and cheeky, the dimple blooming on his cheek. “I mean, I had to come see you. Didn’t want you to miss me too much.”

Jongin let out a little scoff, but his grip on Yixing’s hand tightened. He couldn’t help the smile that completely gave him away.

“You’re so full of .”

“You love it.”

Jongin just leaned closer to his boyfriend as they kept walking together.

He really did.

“This is so good,” Chanyeol had a blissed-out expression as he swallowed yet another dumpling. There was a solemn look in his eyes when he placed a hand on Yixing’s shoulder. “Tell your mother I love her.”

Jongin smirked at Yixing’s pleased expression.

It was Friday night, and as promised, Yixing had prepared a bunch of snacks, including the dumplings that his mom had sent him all the way from China. Chanyeol and Minseok had fulfilled their duty in bringing the booze – about two dozen of canned beer and a few other, darker bottles, that Jongin did not yet have the opportunity to identify. He was too busy eating dumplings before Chanyeol would finish them all.

“It’s quiet,” Kyungsoo remarked from the couch. His eyes narrowed. “Where’s Baekhyun?”

“Oh, he’s coming. He’s bringing a friend.”

“Friend?” Jongin perked up at that. He shot a look towards Chanyeol. “What friend?”

Chanyeol shrugged, not interested enough, at the same time Yixing rounded the table with another plate filled with dumplings. Chanyeol’s eyes were shining, and Yixing just smiled.

“He actually asked me if he can bring someone along,” he said, eyes shooting towards Jongin. “I told him it’s cool. Sorry. I forgot to tell you.”

Jongin simply shrugged. He didn’t mind.

“Will you two stop fighting for the food?” Minseok sighed when he caught Jongin and Chanyeol staring each other down before both of them dove down towards the dumplings. “There’s enough for everybody.”

“Why do you even bother,” Kyungsoo sighed, taking a sip from his beer. “Nothing gets past those thick skulls of theirs.”

That was followed by a few short moments of bickering before Kyungsoo stared all of them down. Yixing ended up chuckling and just pulling Jongin closer on the couch. Successfully distracted.

They started talking about other things. About Kyungsoo’s absolute disdain when it came to social media and Chanyeol’s pathetic whining that he “at least had to make an Instagram, so he could like his posts”. About Minseok’s cat and about Yixing’s new projects. Jongin had a lot of inputs about those, bragging about his boyfriend’s music instead of him. He was proud of him.

The doorbell rang then, rather loudly, interrupting Minseok in the middle of a rather passionate monologue about how much he didn’t want to study for some quiz. Jongin, who was not really interested in said quiz, volunteered to get the door.

“You’re late,” he announced before the door was even completely open.

Baekhyun just shone him a wide, dumb smile, before pushing past him into the apartment.

Only then did Jongin take note of the guy standing behind him.

He was about as tall as Baekhyun, with a round face and dark hair falling like a wavy curtain framing his face. The edge of his nose was soft, his smile was little and seemingly slightly awkward, and his eyes were big, as they met his.

“Oh, right, Chanyeol said you’re bringing a friend,” Jongin’s smile was just as awkward as he opened the door wider. “Come on in.”

“Thanks,” the guy said, and Jongin saw him pursing his lips in another awkward smile. “I’m Junmyeon.”

“Jongin,” he closed the door and threw one curious glance towards Baekhyun who was too busy kicking his shoes off to notice him. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” the boy – Junmyeon – said. He was wearing a large sweater that went over his thighs. His fingers were fidgeting, restlessly playing with the edges of his sleeves. He blinked quickly, as if trying to search for a topic before the conversation would die out. “Uh, thanks by the way! For letting me join. I don’t know a lot of people around here, so it’s really…uh…it’s really nice.”

Jongin’s smile was a little less awkward now. He could see the other man was seemingly nervous about talking to a complete stranger. He decided to leave out the part that it was Yixing who actually invited him.

Baekhyun, however, as per usual, was after his neck. He clasps a hand on Junmyeon’s shoulder and scoffs.

“It’s his boyfriend who invited you, this one’s about as antisocial as a brick.”

“Get out of my apartment, Byun,” Jongin scoffed, and reached to kick Baekhyun. His best friend dodged swiftly, and Junmyeon’s smile was slightly confused. Jongin turned to give him a pointy look. “Don’t listen to him. He’s a menace.”

Jongin breathed in, then clapped his hands together.

“There’s food and drinks in the living room. The others are waiting for the game.”

“Oh, -“ Baekhyun exclaimed loudly. “I forgot it!”

Jongin clicked his tongue. That was a first, Baekhyun forgetting a video game.

“Minseok’s gonna murder you. He came all the way here for it.”

“Minseok can kiss my , he still owes me twenty bucks.”

Jongin’s eyes followed Baekhyun as he kept muttering under his breath and disappeared into the living room. He shook his head fondly, before turning back to Junmyeon. He looked awkward standing there, and Jongin decided that it was time to prove Baekhyun wrong.

He tried his best to not be a reflection of that awkwardness, and smiled.

“So, how’d you meet Baekhyun?”

“Oh, he just showed up out of nowhere before one of my classes,” Junmyeon let out a dumbfounded chuckle and Jongin just hummed. That did sound like Baekhyun. “He said he heard about me transferring so he wanted to show me around campus.”

“Ah,” Jongin’s eyebrows shot up for a moment and his smile stretched. “So you’re the infamous transfer student everybody keeps talking about.”

The boy’s expression changed then, and he scrunched his nose in some sort of admitted defeat. He ended up nodding, and Jongin’s lips curled in another crooked smile.

“Well, come on in. I’m sure everybody will be excited to meet you!”

“Funny,” Junmyeon laughed quietly. “Baekhyun said the exact same thing.”

“So you don’t come from America?”

“No.”

“And you didn’t study in London? No King’s College?”

“Nope.”

Kyungsoo turned to look at Baekhyun with a raised eyebrow.

“You need better sources. Your gossip .”

Jongin had to duck to dodge the fry that came flying in Kyungsoo’s direction at the same time Yixing protested that he had just cleaned up. Baekhyun mumbled out an apology, snuggling into Chanyeol’s embrace.

“So where did you transfer from?” Minseok asked, sounding genuinely interested.

“Just another school in Seoul,” Junmyeon shrugged. He seemed a little shy that everyone’s attention was on him. “I liked the curriculum here better. It’s really not an interesting story.”

“So it seems,” Kyungsoo said bluntly. Jongin turned to look at him wide-eyed, and Chanyeol mumbled out a low ‘dude’.

Junmyeon, however, laughed quietly, dismissing everything with a wave of his hand. His smile was wide and not so reserved after downing half of the beer can in the past half an hour with all of them.

“What are we going to do now?” Kyungsoo continued when no one else said anything. He shot a glare in Baekhyun’s direction. “He had one job, and it was to bring the game, but since he didn’t…”

“We can watch a movie?” Yixing suggested quickly, before the guys could start attacking each other again. They’d gone through this at least three times in the last twenty minutes.

“Yeah,” Jongin hurried to agree. Yixing was already picking up his laptop and opening Netflix. There were no immediate protests, so Jongin took that as his cue to nod and stand up. “Good. I think we still have some popcorn, I’ll go make that.”

He reached to gather the empty plates from the dumplings. Yixing was too busy loading Netflix on his laptop, and the rest of his friends were just unreliable leeches.

Junmyeon was the only one who sprung up at once, reaching down to help him gather the dishes. Jongin threw a little smile in his direction.

The man followed after him into the kitchen, setting the dishes in the sink.

“You must think everybody’s a little weird,” Jongin laughed as he reached up to grab the popcorn packages from the cupboard.

“Not weird,” Junmyeon said from somewhere behind him. “You all actually seem pretty close.”

Jongin was just about to confirm that when he heard the water running from the sink, and he turned around just in time to see Junmyeon rolling up the sleeves of his large sweater. He was just about to reach to grab the dishwashing soap, when Jongin hurried to speak up.

“No, no! Leave that. Please. You’re our guest.”

“But-“

“It’s really alright,” Jongin smiled, throwing the packages in the microwave and setting it up for three minutes. He turned around when the lens started spinning.  Junmyeon was hovering around the sink, unsure whether to go back to the living room or wait here with him.

Jongin smiled.

“So,” he started. “How are you liking our school so far?”

Junmyeon let out a chuckle, and maybe it was at the absurdity of his obvious attempt to break the ice. Either way, he leaned against the counter, the long sleeves of his top falling over his fingers again. Jongin smirked at the sweater paws.

“It’s alright so far,” he ended up replying. “I like the wider offer of electives and lab programs for biology majors. It’s cool that I get to choose from more options. That’s why I transferred.”

“I see,” Jongin nodded. “Well, if you ever need any help, let us know.”

Junmyeon’s smile was small and rather genuine, when he nodded.

“What about you…your major-“

“Oh, it’s business,” Jongin rolled his eyes. “Not as fascinating, I suppose.”

It was evident in Junmyeon’s eyes and the way they widened that he had the intent to deny that. Jongin just chuckled with a shake of his head.

“Yixing’s the one with the fascinating major,” he said – bragged, really. “He studies music.”

“Yeah, I know!” Jongin blinked up at Junmyeon’s quick reply. The man just nodded absentmindedly, before he gave him another awkward smile. “We have some classes together. He told me.”

“Right.”

Jongin turned around when the microwave stopped with a loud, resounding sound. He grabbed two bowls from the cupboard and brought out the now expanded bag of popcorn. He winced at how hot it felt against his fingers.

“I hope you’re up for a Marvel movie, by the way,” he said, briefly looking over his shoulder where Junmyeon had started fidgeting with his sleeves again. He smiled at the man’s confused glance. “We let them choose the movie and when you have Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Minseok in the same room, chances are it’s either gonna be Iron Man or The Avengers.”

“I don’t mind Marvel,” Junmyeon said, and took one of the bowls from Jongin’s hands.

He wasn’t so sure the man would still have that same opinion in an hour, after realizing the movie watching with his friends, especially when it came down to Marvel movies, usually meant heated discussions throughout the whole thing about who was the strongest avenger. Complete with argumentation and all.

Jongin shrugged as he threw one last look towards his guest – with the oversized sweater and his faded jeans, he looked kind of little. His eyes were big and wide, on a face so innocent looking, he almost reminded him of a bunny. He just seemed so pure and cute.

He just let out a breathy chuckle, not really thinking much of it. That boy was definitely in for a surprise.

“Suit yourself.”

“I heard there’s a party this month,” Baekhyun announced. “Joy is throwing it cause she’s graduating.”

“She’s graduating? Isn’t she two years younger than me?” Jongin mumbled to no one in particular. He let out a heavy sigh. “I seriously need to get my together.”

Yixing’s arm tightened around him for a brief second in a reassuring manner, and Junmyeon shone him a little smile from across the table. Chanyeol guffawed. What an idiot.

Jongin looked back to his notes. They were sitting in the café with the intent to study anyways. He should have known that ‘studying’ in a big group of people that included Byun Baekhyun would not end well. He could barely concentrate on his assignment because he kept talking about parties and about songs, about some kids who were fighting on campus the other day, and God knows what else. Jongin eventually tuned him out.

Yixing was working on his assignment for his history paper, and he’d occasionally ask Junmyeon for his notes. He seemed to get more confused the more he wrote for his paper, and it was Jongin’s turn to tighten his fingers around his boyfriend’s knee.

“We can take a break, if you want,” he mumbled, but Yixing sighed.

“No. Junmyeon has some plans later so I need to use his notes while he’s still here.”

“Sorry,” said boy scrunched his nose from across the table. He seemed almost guilty as he shrugged in his large sweater. “I’d lend them to you, but I haven’t even started and I seriously need to do that tonight. I have lab this week, so I’ll barely have time.”

“It’s alright,” Yixing shone him a smile and Jongin almost got lost in that dimple he loved so much. He raised his eyebrows when Yixing looked at him suddenly, a playful yet somehow desperate expression taking over his face. “What do you think? Will half an hour of work be worthy of at least a C?”

Jongin laughed lowly, pushing the papers back towards Yixing.

“Let’s aim a little higher,” he leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. “You can do it. Come on.”

Jongin went back to his work. Even Baekhyun and Chanyeol had stopped talking at some point, the academic pressure that came with unfinished assignments and preparations for quizzes somehow successfully shutting them up.

He appreciated the silence, because he could actually get something done now at least.

He’s occasionally lean back to think, and his eyes would meet Junmyeon’s briefly. They’d exchange fast smiles, before going back to their respective work.

Jongin liked Junmyeon. When they first met him over a month ago he had gotten the impression that he was just a shy and relatively quiet person.

But Baekhyun had taken it upon himself to invite Junmyeon whenever they met up. Possibly one of the nicer things he had done, and Jongin was grateful – after hanging out with them more, Junmyeon had relaxed, and now that they actually knew him, Jongin could tell that his first impression of the man had been completely wrong.

Junmyeon was a rather bright person. He liked talking, and unlike Baekhyun – his inputs were useful and usually made sense. He was talkative, but it was nice. He was always ready to lend a helping hand, to assist Yixing with his history elective assignments, or lend his phone charger to Jongin because he always seemed to forget or lose his own.

He could be dorky sometimes – he had an odd sense of humour that took some getting used to, but Jongin ultimately just ended up thinking it was cute how Junmyeon would crack one of his jokes and the reaction from everyone else would be delayed as they took a few seconds to assess everything. He thought it was cute how Junmyeon’s entire face lit up with a bright smile as he cackled mostly to himself.

He did like hanging out with Junmyeon, and he was glad that they all had met him. He was nice, he was kind.

“Oh,” the man said at some point, and everybody looked towards him at the sudden exclamation on the mostly quiet table. “I have to go. My friend’s here!”

Jongin straightened a little, when Junmyeon started gathering his stuff. He closed his laptop, and threw yet another apologetic glance towards Yixing when he handed his notes back.

“I can send you some pictures of the stuff you need later?”

“It’s okay,” Yixing grinned, leaning back in the chair. “I think I got most of it down already.”

“Oh, good,” Junmyeon seemed a little breathless as he threw everything hastily inside his bag. “Text me if you need anything.”

“Sure,” Yixing reached to grab his coffee. He took a sip from it, hand stretching out to rest on Jongin’s shoulders.

He looked up from his work to watch Junmyeon slipping his jacket on and waving them all goodbye. He smiled at him when he walked away.

His eyes lingered on his back until he reached the door of the café, where a tall guy was standing. When Junmyeon approached him, his face lit up and he smiled. He was handsome. He reached forward and bumped his shoulder against Junmyeon’s in a friendly and familial matter.

“You’re staring.”

Jongin snapped out of his daze when Baekhyun spoke up. He looked away from Junmyeon and his friend when they got out and disappeared from his sight.

“I thought Jun doesn’t know a lot of people around here,” he remarked after clearing his throat, and Baekhyun’s gaze was sharp on him for a few seconds, before he shrugged eventually.

“That’s Oh Sehun,” he said, as if that was supposed to mean something to Jongin. “He studies in the biology department too. They probably have classes together or something.”

Jongin’s eyes shot towards the door briefly, before he shook his head.

It didn’t really matter, but there was a certain feeling of discomfort in his chest. He frowned, mostly to himself, before shaking his head.

Yixing’s fingers slid off his shoulders, and Jongin blinked quickly as he watched his boyfriend stretching and throwing a miserable look towards his assignment, and then towards Baekhyun.

“How is it that you know everybody on campus?”

Baekhyun’s grin stretched slowly on his lips, and he seemed rather smug as he rested his chin on his arm.

“It’s a talent.”

“Being nosy?” Jongin raised an eyebrow at him, and Baekhyun’s grin only widened as he winked at him.

Jongin just rolled his eyes, before gripping his pen tighter.

He had an assignment to finish, and he had no time to waste on stalking his friends or arguing with Baekhyun.

Junmyeon had found out from Yixing what café Jongin worked at. That’s what he had told him anyways.

Jongin hadn’t been expecting to see his friend at the counter with his kind smile and almond eyes blinking up at him. He ordered a white mocha, and waited at a small table in the corner of the place for Jongin’s shift to end.

“Yixing needs these,” Junmyeon said finally when Jongin joined him once he was free. He was a little confused, but he just went along with it when the man pulled out two notebooks from his backpack and handed them to him. “My history notes.”

“Again?” Jongin blinked quickly, but pulled his bag to place them inside along with his textbooks. He let out a small chuckle. “What is he even doing in that class? Doesn’t he take notes himself?”

“I think he’s always too busy texting you,” Junmyeon quipped and Jongin just raised an eyebrow. He knew Junmyeon didn’t mean it, at least judging by his little smirk.

“I suppose I need to feel guilty, but I really don’t,” he let out a breath, fingers tightening around his plastic cup of tea. “You want to sit here or should we go?”

Junmyeon shrugged, grabbing his backpack and throwing it over his shoulder. Jongin smiled as they both stood up. His back was hurting after spending hours standing behind the counter at work. He wanted to get back home and dive in bed as soon as possible.

“I should call Yixing,” he thought out aloud, speaking mostly to himself. “I am craving pizza.”

“I feel like you’re craving pizza every day.”

“And what’s wrong with that?”

Junmyeon just laughed, as Jongin proceeded to pull his phone out and text his boyfriend quickly. Asking him if he could grab pizza on his way back home tonight. Accompanied by the pleading face emoji with the googly eyes.

Junmyeon was looking at him when he put his phone back in his pocket, and Jongin blinked quickly at the blank face of his friends, before a little smile pulled on the corner of his lip.

“You guys have been together for a long time, haven’t you?”

“Not that long, actually,” Jongin tilted his head in thought. “A little over an year? Why?”

Junmyeon shrugged. He took a sip of his mocha.

“Just curious, I guess. You’re like, so whipped,” he said, and Jongin could tell there was affection in his voice. “You’re always smiling when he’s around, or even when he’s just mentioned. It’s cute.”

Jongin was too busy after Junmyeon’s meaningful jug of his chin towards him to contain that smile that had unconsciously bloomed on his face to focus on his friend’s comments.

He ended up hiding his face behind his cup.

“I can’t help it,” he ended up sighing out. If anything, Baekhyun was nowhere in sight so there was no danger of anyone making fun of him for getting sappy in public. “Yixing’s great. We click well together. I love him.”

“I can tell,” Junmyeon smiled again with raised eyebrows, and Jongin tried not to blush. Instead, he watched his friend throwing his head back with a whine. “Ah, I’m jealous. I wish I had a boyfriend.”

Jongin involuntarily let out a breath at how cute Junmyeon seemed just now, with a slightly scrunched up nose and knitted eyebrows. His lower lip was pushing forward a bit, in an almost invisible to the eye pout. His cheeks and the tip of his nose were a rosy pink because of the cold wind, and when he sniffed, Jongin blinked quickly.

He forced himself to look away, as he cleared his throat.

“Wait,” he blinked. “I thought Sehun-….”

“Sehun?!” Junmyeon let out a laugh, and he seemed equal parts surprised and entertained. He looked at Jongin like he was insane.

“What?!” it was Jongin’s turn to laugh. “You guys are always together. Can’t blame me for assuming.”

Junmyeon made a face, and there was amusement shining in his eyes.

“Sehun is a great friend, but no. I mean, he’s like a younger brother,” Junmyeon sniffed again. He shook his head. “No.”

Jongin didn’t know what to reply.

He also didn’t know why that one sentence had made him feel lighter on his feet. He threw a quick look towards Junmyeon and watched him take yet another sip from his coffee. There was foam on his lip when he pulled the cup down, and his tongue darted out to it off his lips.

He hadn’t realized he was smiling fondly until he startled when Junmyeon turned to look at him suddenly, eyes meeting his. He felt a chill running down his spine, like he’d been caught doing something wrong. His heart skipped a beat.

“I’m sure you’ll find someone,” he said in a rush. “Maybe at Joy’s party? There’ll be a lot of people there.”

“I don’t think so,” Junmyeon laughed, and he sounded even more entertained now. Like Jongin was speaking about something ridiculous. Maybe he was. He didn’t know.

Jongin shifted his weight when their pace slowed down as they approached the bus stop. His eyes shot up to the board. Junmyeon’s bus would be here in two minutes.

He took another sip of his tea, the warmth spreading through his body in the chilly day.

“Worst case scenario,” he ended up saying, not really thinking. “Kyungsoo’s single.”

Junmyeon looked at him, a surprised twitch to his eyebrows, before he smiled widely. There was a teasing glint in his eyes when he spoke up again.

“Are you trying to set us up?”

The question alone had something recoiling inside Jongin. No. Absolutely not.

In fact, the thought that he had even suggested something so outrageous had him mentally beating himself up.

He looked towards Junmyeon quickly, towards his black hair framing his face with that kind and joking smile, with a red scarf covering his chin.

“You’re right,” he ended up nodding. “It probably wouldn’t work out.”

Junmyeon’s smile became smaller then, and he chuckled against his cup. His breath came out as mist in the cold weather.

“Probably not.”

Jongin looked away when he heard the screeching sound of tires stopping. He turned to see the bus that was stopping behind him.

“That’s me,” Junmyeon announced, as he downed the rest of his coffee. He threw the cup in the trash behind him, before raising his eyebrows. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

It took Jongin a few milliseconds to snap out of it and realize what Junmyeon was talking about.

“Right! Right….Of course,” he nodded. He seemed to be unable to look at Junmyeon, as he forced an awkward smile on his face. “Uh, and thanks. For the notes. I’ll give them to Yixing.”

Junmyeon just raised a h