o n e

“Yui,” Kira laughed, waving a frantic arm to her friend. “Yui, look! Come here!” Her best friend and roommate left her desk, pushing Kira to the side as they watched the scene in front of them. At the door across them, a certain blond haired boy danced in his room, completely unaware of his audience. He bopped his head to the beat, pausing for a full second, before unleashing his wrath as he aggressively shook his head.

Kira’s chortles got louder, while Yui scrunched her nose. “What the hell is that?”

“It’s that kid Byun Baekhyun again.”

“He’s one odd person.”

“He’s hilarious. Only from afar, though,” she shivered at a few certain...unpleasant memories. “The guy gives me second hand embarrassment.”

“Was he the one who came to class late because he couldn’t fix his zipper?”

“The one and only.”

Yui hummed, their gazes still focused on him. The music seemed to be playing from a speaker since he wasn’t wearing any earphones, but Baekhyun never stopped grooving to the beat. He swayed side to side, his dark thick-rimmed glasses falling off his smooth nose. Yui tilted her head to the side, “He’s kind of cute though, don’t you think?”

Kira pulled a ‘what?’ face. “Dude, aren’t you a lesbian?”

“It doesn’t mean I can’t find men attractive.”

“Still, him, really?”

“He’s not that bad.”

Kira crossed her arms on her chest, eyes narrowed at the unsuspecting boy. They shared a few classes, but never really got to talked. Somehow, even if Kira didn’t want to notice him particularly, Baekhyun still managed to be at the centre of everyone’s attention. And it wasn’t in a good way. He was either stumbling over his words, or stumbling on his feet. Not a single day passed that Baekhyun humiliated himself. 

At this point, Kira wondered how the boy managed to still have a thick enough face to come to class every day as if his reputation was not tarnished enough. She supposed, however, maybe he was cute. He wasn’t as tall as the campus heartthrobs like Oh Sehun (gosh, how Kira absolutely turned red in his presence – the man was simply too fine) or Park Chanyeol, who she assumed would be great in bed. 

How did Kira come to this assumption? She may or may not have watched his campus gigs, audibly gulping at the way his fingers strummed and plucked the strings of his guitar with ease. 

Baekhyun, on the other hand... Well, he had fair skin and round cheeks, perfectly complimenting his naive aura. He wasn’t her type. Boys like Baekhyun were out of her level of comprehension since everything he did simply didn’t make sense. But Yui wouldn’t stop listing off the reasons to prove he wasn’t that bad, so Kira shrugged. “Fine,” she relented, “Whatever you say.”

Absolutely not, she thought, I’d never like someone like him.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

A week later, Yui was shamelessly snoring in class. Kira didn’t want to attract attention to them, especially since their professor was someone who got irritated by every little thing. If your eyes weren’t on her, she’d kick you out her class. If she caught you chewing gum, she’d make you do community service. If she caught Yui sleeping, only to see that Kira made no attempt to wake the girl sitting next to her, she’d be involved in the crime.

She wouldn’t wake Yui though. The poor girl spent all night long cramming her essays. Kira nearly had a heart attack when she woke up in the middle of the night, a red-eyed Yui chugging a Monster like it was water. Her voice was hoarse, almost demonic.

To see her friend in such a sleep deprived state, minutes away from resembling her sleep paralysis demon, Kira was kind – and traumatized – enough to not disturb her. 

She merely opened her laptop and set it across Yui to hide her face. Kira scribbled down on her notebooks, making sure to make eye contact with the beastly professor to make it look like she was interested. Truth be told, History was the last thing Kira wanted to learn about. Her parents were history enthusiasts that their bedtime stories were myths from all parts of the world. 

Kira didn’t come all the way to Seoul just to learn about the past all over again. She didn’t care about it. She was excited for the future, the life that would await her. One day, she’d be a recognized lawyer, but for some unknown reason, History was a good class to get good credits.
She sighed. It wasn’t that History was entirely awful, but her professor made it worse. Her nasally, irritated voice rang across the hall.

She always sounded like she woke up on the wrong side of the bed and it was eight in the fricking morning. Kira began to hate her class ever since.

She was a morning person, completely in love with sunlight and the chirping of birds, so to have an old, cranky woman ruin it for her made her irritable.

“Mr. Byun,” Professor Mikes suddenly announced, “Mr. Byun?”

Kira stopped writing. Like everyone else in the room, their heads turned around to the boy who was caught red-handed. He was incessantly tapping on his phone. Baekhyun was so focused on his phone that he didn’t realize Professor Mikes was fuming. He boy who sat next to him nudged him, and Baekhyun stood up in a flash, hands pressed flatly to his hips. “Yes, Ma’am?”

“Can you please answer my question?”

“Uhm, what was the question?” his cheeks turned red. From afar, Kira could see the boy sitting next to him moving his lips with his head ducked down. Baekhyun lit up, proudly raising a finger. “Oh, 32, Ma’am!” he exclaimed, his excited voice booming through the hall. When his voice echoed back to him, he flushed darker, clearing his throat as he repeated, “32.”

The whole class held back a snicker.

Kira pursed her lips. Professor Mikes tapped her foot on the ground, a sign she was holding back from something. Beside her, Yui stirred awake, gasping when she saw a flustered Baekhyun. “Are you sure about that Mr. Byun?”

“Definitely.”

“Did you calculate that on the top of your head?”

“Most definitely, Ma’am.”

One, two, three, Kira counted with anticipation. Just then, Professor Mikes pointed to the door. “Get out, Mr. Byun. And next time, remember we’re in History Class and not wherever your silly little head is wrapped in.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened. “Y-yes, Ma’am,” he packed up his things, shuffling out the door. Kira frowned when she realized he wore the same clothes he always did – a turquoise sweater paired with white joggers. She had to admit, she felt a little bad that Baekhyun was humiliated like that, but Kim Jongdae was known to be a bully. 

If only Kira’s dislike for Jongdae was a lot stronger than her aversion to Baekhyun, she might’ve asked the poor boy to sit with them next time. Kira cringed at the thought. Baekhyun would probably bring unnecessary attention to them, damaging Kira’s squeaky clean record. 
She wouldn’t risk it. 

Yui elbowed her, gesturing to where he sat. “Hey, he left his phone.”

“I’m not returning it.”

“You’re so mean,” Yui huffed, “What did Baekhyun ever do to you?”

“Nothing!” she whisper-yelled, hiding her face through her hair. “The guy’s just weird. I can’t understand what goes on in his mind at all.”

“Well, dear friend, whatever goes on in someone’s mind is none of our business,” Yui stated, making Kira snort. Out of the two of them, Yui had always been the nicest of the pair. Even when they were little, everyone flocked to Yui for her kindness and friendliness, but no one ever stayed long enough. Kira knew she was the reason why. People made her uncomfortable, and her sour mood made them uncomfortable. Until now, she wondered why Yui chose to stay by her side.

Once class ended, Yui dashed to Baekhyun’s seat. Thankfully, Kim Jongdae and his annoyingly handsome face had left the room. Yui swiped Baekhyun’s phone, smiling as she raised it for Kira to see. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I shall be a decent human being and return his phone.”
Kira’s eyes nearly bulged out of her skull when she saw the device. “Who has a flip phone in the 21st century?”

“Byun Baekhyun, apparently,” she skipped out of class, walking and turning at every possible corner to look for the boy. They both had another class to attend to, but if Yui was going to be late, then Kira would be too. Wordlessly, she followed her friend around. A few minutes later, they saw a tuft of blond hair on the swings at the campus garden, his feet kicking the ground as he soared high up in the air.

“Hey! Baekhyun, was it? You left your phone behind in class.”

Baekhyun stopped swinging, his feet firmly planted on the ground. His gaze fell down on the silver device at Yui’s stretched palm, and Kira swore she’d never seen someone that happy. The boy brightened as he leapt of the swings, clutching the phone to his chest. “For real? No wonder I couldn’t find Derby!” he gushed, doing a little twirl with the phone still in his arms. Both Kira and Yui watched him with unmasked confusion. “Oh, my sweet sweet Derby, I thought I lost you!” he opened his eyes, bowing to Yui. “Thank you for bringing him back to me. What is your name?”

“Kurosawa Yui,” she answered, brows knitted at his formality. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“That’s a very beautiful name,” he grinned, showcasing a set of perfect, white teeth. Huh. His eyes gleamed with interest, and with a smile like that, Kira had a slight change of mind. So he was cute – but still undeniably weird. As if he couldn’t get any weirder, he took Yui’s palm, pink lips pressing to her skin. “Yui.” 

“Oh!” her friend tittered, “Isn’t that very kind of you?”

Baekhyun waved off her words, mistaking it for flattery. Kira stood behind them in amusement, biting her lips as she watched the exchange. Baekhyun crowded Yui’s personal space, eyes travelling her form up and down. “You look familiar. Do we perhaps share the same class?”
“Yeah, we do, although we mostly sit in the front so you probably never saw us.”

“More like never noticed anything in his surroundings,” Kira muttered under her breath.

His eyes – brown and opaque – darted to Kira. She didn’t know why, but something about having the person you always watched have their eyes on you made her feel nervous. “Oh, I didn’t see you there,” he remarked, bowing again. “You must be a close friend of Ms. Yui.”

“Yeah, sure,” she deadpanned. His actions seemed so...untimely. The more time she spent with him, the more uncomfortable she felt. Kira tapped Yui on the shoulder, in her cheeks as she pointedly ignored the boy. “Can we go now? I’m hungry.”

She hoped Yui would understand its translation to we should go now, he’s really weird. 

Before Yui could speak, Baekhyun chuckled softly. “I am feeling quite famished, as well,” he fell into step beside them. “Thank you for the invitation.”

“I wasn’t—”

“So everyone’s hungry! What are we waiting for then? Let’s go,” she smiled at Baekhyun, who had happily skipped away in the direction of the cafeteria. Once he was out of earshot, Yui tugged at Kira’s elbow. She looked angry. “You are so mean. Do you know how rude you were?”

Kira rolled her eyes. Baekhyun now crouched on the grass fields to caress a flower. “That’s Byun Baekhyun – campus weirdo! I don’t want to sit with him and listen to his nasally voice.”

“Oh, hush, he seems like a sweet boy.”

“You think everyone is a nice person.”

“And I think you’re a little too negative,” she snapped, catching Kira off guard. Usually, Yui was a very patient person and rarely lost her cool. Seeing her friend fired up, affected over Byun Baekhyun out of all people stunned her. Kira stood there silently, and Yui sighed in defeat. “Loosen up. It doesn’t cost a penny to be nice.”

Kira wanted to argue that she was nice, but Yui was right. She was a little too rude sometimes. Sure, she had a good reason for it, though that never gave her the right to take her frustration out on others. Sighing, Kira followed her friend chat along with Baekhyun as if they’ve been best friends since forever.

Class was long forgotten. Kira played with her food while Yui and Baekhyun laughed to themselves. She couldn’t be bothered enough to pay attention to what they talked about, only interested in the way Baekhyun leaned towards Yui. 

He smiled at everything she said, laughed when she told a funny story, and ducked his head down shyly after Yui complimented his smile. Across them, Kira crossed her legs. A grape dangled between her teeth as she watched heat creep up along Baekhyun’s slender neck. His laughter was nervous, slim and pale fingers scratching the back of his head. 

When Baekhyun turned to Yui, looking at her under his lashes with a puppy gaze, Kira crushed the grape. Its sweet and sour taste exploded in , but she knew there and then – Baekhyun’s feelings blossomed for her friend.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

There was no mistaking it. Kira was 100% sure Byun Baekhyun liked Yui. In class, he’d look around the room as if waiting for someone, and when she and Yui arrived, he’d wave to them. Yui, being the sweet girl she was, waved back. The sudden attention from an eccentric boy made her feel embarrassed, especially since people began talking about them. She’d duck her head down, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before making their way back to their seats.

It didn’t stop there. Baekhyun would pass notes all the way to their seat. He sat at the back of the class, with the sleep deprived and the delinquents. He went out of his way to wake the stoners up all so he could pass Yui a letter. It happened enough times Kira had to buy a small box to keep his letters to her.

If Yui was aware of his feelings (although it would be kind of impossible if she had no idea) she didn’t comment on it. Kira was sure Yui equally enjoyed his presence. There were times Yui ended up sitting with Baekhyun, and her giggles could be heard even from the front seat.

Kira never got to know what his letters contained. She was more confused – albeit impressed – that Baekhyun was old school. Although she’d never say it, Kira would also like to receive handwritten letters. She never asked about it though. After all, she made it clear Byun Baekhyun was not in her taste, and Yui would be defensive if Kira dared to ask about it.

The next day, Baekhyun came to class later than they did. As usual, he waved to Yui, Yui waved back – end of scene. Or at least it was supposed to be. This time, he hopped up the stairs, standing next to Kira. Yui sat beside the wall, the seat next to Kira’s the only one left open. She hoped Baekhyun wouldn’t sit down because having someone else that near in her comfort zone irked her enough. 

It felt suffocating.

“Good morning, my ladies,” Baekhyun greeted in Japanese. He moved to sit down next to Kira until he tripped, his face nearly planting on the table. Out of instinct, Kira pushed his shoulder up to prevent his fall, and Baekhyun chuckled. With trembling hands, he planted himself behind her. “Not my finest moment, apparently.”

“Good morning, Baekhyun,” Yui smiled, although Kira didn’t miss the way her friend sent her a shocked glance. “I didn’t know you spoke Japanese.”

Kira learned that Baekhyun didn’t know what subtlety meant. When he was happy, he showed it. When he was embarrassed, he didn’t bother hiding it. And in times like this when Yui initiated conversation with him, he expressed full interest. His upper torso rotated to face Yui, which felt wrong since Kira was between them. “I studied it when I was young. I grew fond of literature before I knew how to write, and I was extremely disappointed knowing there was a plethora of literary work out there I could not understand due to language barriers,” he said proudly, “Now I can read everything I want.”

“You speak more than two languages or something?” Kira interjected, spinning her pen to avoid Yui’s approving gaze. She didn’t know why she tried butting in the conversation, but feeling like a third-wheel was so awkward she just had to do something about