It was 3 a.m. when your phone began to ring. You groaned, turning to your side to feel the empty bed before you cracked open an eye and trying to think of who would even have the audacity to call you at this ti—

Oh Sehun.

You sniffed when you saw the caller ID, staring at it for a good long minute. Maybe if you stared at it long enough, Sehun would give up. Maybe time would present him an answer to whatever he’d wanted to ask you or maybe he’d find someone better to call at 3 ing am in the morning Korean time.

But it kept ringing and ringing. You blinked twice, your finger about to unlock the phone when he ended the call and a rush of messages appeared on the top bar of your screen.

You and Sehun had been best friends since university. 2014. It’s been seven years. You had first met him in your Business Law class freshmen year. You were usually a front seater and Sehun… Sehun was always a no-seater. Meant that he hardly came to class and would always tick the professor off with his tardies and his absences.

The first time you met him, you were having a horrible start of the day, rushing around your dorm room to get ready for class. Your roommate, Jennie, had left a sticky note on the refrigerator that she had made a sandwich for you and placed it on the table. You ate it, your mind counting the seconds before your presence would be marked as tardy the moment you rushed through the doors.

Oh, lord. You said a little prayer, shoving everything into your backpack. Huffing and puffing, you made it to class when you realized that there were no more front seats. Well, maybe that was a good thing. Professor Moon had a sharp eye and you slinked down the filled back seat rows before dropping your down to a corner seat by the window.

Hidden by the shadows and Professor Moon’s gaze. You cleared your throat, taking out your textbook before scouting the area and seeing three men behind you. They didn’t seem very interested in the lesson and you wondered why they would even come in the first place.

They were notorious for sleeping through class, puffing their frat boy crests on their uniformed jackets. They called themselves EXO and you cringed, wondering what went through their mind to settle for such a name. You flipped through the book, noticing that the book was not your Introduction to Business Law book but your Consumer Behavior textbook.

There was a sound and an “Ow!”

“Baekhyun hyung!” a voice hissed and your hands tightened into fists. You fought the urge to turn back to give them a glare. “Hyung!”

“Sehun, why—”

“I woke up late.”

“Go sit in front. There are no more seats,” the voice said and your glanced at the seat beside yours that was empty, gingerly pushing your books towards that direction to feign it being occupied. “That girl over there. Go.”

“I—I have to crawl… Ow!” The voice was rough and there was a loud slamming sound making you jump. You knew what was happening. You didn’t have to turn around to stare at them, an aggressive rustling reaching your ears when a hand poked your side.

“No,” you immediately said. The person’s perfume wafted to your nostrils and you knew that it was Oh Sehun, youngest member of the EXO frat boy house. How did you know? That intense smell of Marc Jacobs perfume that he used. It stained the beds of the women he had slept with in your girl dorms.

“I didn’t even say anything,” Sehun said from behind you, under the table of his hyung’s that were snickering at his situation. He had crawled from under their table to reach your row of seats. One more tardy and he’d be dropped from the class. He had to be sneaky.

“Whatever you wanted to say, it’s a no.”

“I need a seat.”

“No.”

“Please?” he asked and you frowned, surprised how easy he had said it. You turned to the side to see him staring straight at you, his lips pressed in a tight smile and his eyes wide with plea. “I’ll buy you coffee?”

“I don’t drink coffee.”

“Tea?” he asked, suggesting another drink as if it would change your mind.

“I don’t—”

“I promise I won’t hit on you,” he finally said and it worked. It worked for you because you didn’t want to get involved with boys. It worked because Sehun kept his promise for years to come and not once would he try to sleep with you.

And when you pushed yourself to him, he knew how to keep his distance.

“Please. I can’t get dropped from this class.”

You finally nod and he hoisted himself up, plopping his down onto the seat. You reached over to grab the books, bringing it towards your side as Sehun buried his head in his arms with relief. You could hear another round of snickers from the men behind you and you turned to shoot them a look, all three of going quiet.

“Pop quiz!” Professor Moon’s projector switched to a different slide, three questions that you were sure you had studied for the night before. You nervously grabbed line paper, Sehun taking out his own piece of crumpled paper from his jacket and a pen.

This guy really doesn’t care, you think to yourself. Sehun smoothed the crumpled paper and flashed you a smirk before twirling the pen between his fingers. He looked relaxed. Too relaxed. You were there sweating and wondering if you’d get it all right and yet Sehun seemed like he got it.

And he did. Oh Sehun was a gifted child. Piano, dancing, art, archery… You name it, Sehun had done it. He had many hobbies but got bored of all them. His father was a professor and his mother ran a small insurance business.

He was loved and he knew it.

You began to jot down the answers, Sehun mirroring your actions with his own. You caught sight of his paper just to see his penmanship. Unlike his black leather jacket and tousled hair that looked like he had been riding a bike, his handwriting was elegant. He wrote in cursive and you noticed that his pen was a fountain pen.

You’ve seen those before on airplane magazines, trying to advertise classic expensive fountain pens to their business class passengers. Sehun did not look like the type to have nice handwriting or the type to even have a fountain pen. Sehun caught you staring and he inched away, narrowing his eyes at you playfully before you were snapped out of your thoughts about his fountain pen.

“Sorry,” you murmured under your breath, turning back to your own paper to finish the quiz. It didn’t take long before the Teacher’s Assistant began to collect the papers, both of you reaching out at the same time, your elbows knocking against each other.

“Sorry,” both you and Sehun said, the male giving you another kind smile.

Sehun knew who you were. You were the one who helped student services with their charity fundraising at the beginning of the school year. He had walked past you trying to convince the head of Student Services that even if you had no experience, you were ready to work your off simply because it would look good on your resume.

To him, you were just another girl trying to get by while he was another guy trying to live university life to the fullest. He had skipped a grade in high school. When they asked him of his age in his frat initiation, he told them and he was now branded as the visual maknae.

Sehun wasn’t going to complain, the title came with many perks.

Girls, for one. Parties, another. Popularity, and more.

“What’s your name?” he asked softly, tilting his head towards your direction. The moment he asked you the question, he wished he hadn’t because you gave him the most intense glare he had ever seen. Sehun blinked, frazzled by the way you were treating him but he offered you his hand anyway. “I’m Oh Sehun.”

You nod at him, refusing to tell him your name.

Sehun knew your name, but the way you were acting was slightly pissing him off. He had been nothing but nice to you but you had a wall that he could not scale. The bell rang and you stood up, leaving Sehun with his hand hovering in the air.

That night you told Jennie all about Oh Sehun and how he had sat next to you. She chuckled, telling you that Sehun was actually a nice guy.

He wasn’t at all that bad.

“And how do you know that?” you snapped.

“They cook girls’ breakfast after screwing them. Did you know that?” she asked and you frowned at her. “When I slept with Kim Jongin, he woke up at 3 a.m. when I was trying to leave and walked me back to my dorm. The other time, Lisa woke up to breakfast in bed. She didn’t even sleep with the dude.”

“Lisa slept with Kim Jongin?” you asked, that being the only information you were trying to process.

“No,” Jennie shook her head. “I don’t know who she stayed back for but according to her, there is this dude named Suho who makes amazing pancakes.”

“How many dudes are there?” you asked, frowning.

“Eleven,” Jennie answered, crossing her legs. “Three are exchange students. They aren’t supposed to stay the full four years but they are good-looking enough to grace the EXO house with their looks. You shouldn’t be so judgmental, you know.”

Were you being judgmental? Maybe you were. You were quick to admit it. You were rude to Sehun but you doubted he would even spare you a thought. He was Oh Sehun. He had other people to think about.

Oh Sehun was thinking about you. He was pacing around his room, fired up and rambling to Kim Jongin who was texting on the phone.

“She just walked away,” Sehun said, crossing his arms across his chest. “Kai!”

Jongin did not look up even to his nickname being called, his best friend grabbing a pillow and throwing it at him. Jongin’s hand automatically swatted it away with his fast reflexes, his eyes still strained on the phone.

“Ahuh,” Jongin murmured, Sehun falling onto the computer seat and glaring at the male. “Why is it bothering you so much? Maybe she heard about you. I don’t blame her.”

“I feel…” Sehun searched for the word, a knock on the door making both of them look up. Suho opened the door, raising an eyebrow. “Ignored.”

“Who’s ignoring you?” Suho asked, the head of the EXO house. He was the reason why people believed smart people could still party. He was handsome, he was hot, and he was well accomplished in his studies and curricular activities.

“Some girl,” Jongin said, still texting. Suho made a face at Sehun as if to say that he had other things to worry about other than a girl ignoring him.

“Dinner’s ready,” Suho said. “Kyungsoo cooked and no. You will not go out for fast food when we can have a perfectly nice meal for us to eat right here in the house—Kim Jongin!”

Suho hated when his brothers did not listen to him. At least Sehun was tentative. Kim Jongin was downright ignoring him. At the sound of his name, Jongin jumped and Sehun nodded with a hand in the air.

“See, hyung? See how it feels like to be ignored?” Sehun asked, trying to get someone on his side. Suho sighed, giving the younger make a high-five before leaving. Dinner was great, other than the fact that Chanyeol kept talking about how he scored four goals in his football practice and demanded everyone to watch the video Baekhyun had recorded.

Sehun played with his food, taking a few bites and listening to his brothers speak in a mixture of Korean and Chinese when Kyungsoo stared at him. Do Kyungsoo’s habit of staring was not unknown to his frat brothers.

People even had conspiracy theories about Kyungsoo.

“What’s with you?” Kyungsoo asked, Sehun taking another bite. Sehun looked up to meet the older male’s eyes almost warning him… daring him to say that his cooking wasn’t good. “Don’t eat then.”

If it was one thing about Kyungsoo, it was that he took pride in his cooking.

“It’s not the food,” Sehun said back, his sentence being cut off by Suho who clapped his hands twice.

An announcement.

“We have an opening party this Friday,” Suho said, everyone nodding. “It will be my third year throwing the biggest party on campus and I need everyone to work with the fundraising group to make sure we earn profit from it.”

Silence. Everyone stared at Suho. Even Do Kyungsoo looked confused and Do Kyungsoo was never confused.

“You want to turn a frat party to a fundraising event?” Luhan asked from the kitchen. “It is my last year until I head back to China to finish my senior year with them—” A nod towards Yixing and Zhitao. “I really don’t want a boring frat party. And what’s with the fundraising committee?”

Luhan made a face. Suho’s shoulders dropped down and he looked defeated.

“We need to make money, too,” Suho said to them. “We need to keep the EXO house running. Parties and alcohol don’t come for free. Especially since Chanyeol wrecked the backyard with that bon-fire last term—”

“I was drunk.”

“We almost died, Yeol,” Suho snapped, the younger male scowling. “I have already talked to student services. They came up with a business proposal. The frat party will have tickets.”

“Tickets?” Baekhyun echoed. “Frat parties are usually a free-for-all event. Now, you want people to buy tickets?”

“What’s wrong with people buying tickets?” Suho asked back.

“Because we’re broke college students, hyung!” Baekhyun shot back. “Some students eat hotdogs for lunch. Hotdogs!”

“What kind?” Kyungsoo asked, mildly.

“That’s not the point,” Baekhyun snapped. “How are we going to handle this?”

“We handle it like every other event. The girls—the sorority next door is down for it. We have a legacy to pass on.” 

Sehun was okay with anything, the male deciding that it was not his place to say anything. He’d just party like he usually did. Now you— you weren’t part of the sorority but you knew deep down that working with Red Velvet was fine. EXO? Not so much.  

“A paid frat party? With student services and both houses in on it?” you asked before furrowing your eyebrows.

Kyungsoo nodded. He was the only person you liked from EXO. He liked to cook and you liked to eat. You both bonded when you went for cooking classes. The conclusion of that class was that you did not know how to cook.

“Don’t cook. You just eat,” Kyungsoo told you one day. You then cancelled your cooking class subscription, got a refund, and the next day Kyungsoo showed up with the best truffle spaghetti you have ever shoved into your mouth.

That was how you both became acquainted. Not friends.

To Kyungsoo, you were his personal food taster.

“Yes,” Kyungsoo nodded, an answer to your question about the frat party.

“Too salty,” you told him and he frowned, taking a bite of his smoky sausage. “What did you put?”

“Salt?” He looked at you like you were stupid.

“I think the whole party thing is good but then, Kyungsoo, who will go to a paid frat party? Everyone eats ramen for dinner.”

“That’s what Baekhyun said, but it was sausages for him. I asked him what kind.” Kyungsoo blinked.

“And?”

“He said it wasn’t the point.”

“Why are you in a frat house again?” you asked, not understanding why Kyungsoo was even hanging out with people who like that. He was smart, and he was an intellect.

“Because free room.”

“Fair enough.”

“We also need to bring someone. A plus one.” Kyungsoo smacked his lips. “You come with me.”

“Why? It’s hardly a match-making event, no?”

“It’s a frat party where people pay for tickets for them and their partner. If you come alone, you still pay for two.”

You scoffed, but you knew that it was a tactic to make money. “Then pay for two.”

“I want you to pay for your own ticket.” Kyungsoo stared at you. “Come with me, we split the ticket package.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because you’re right. I’m broke and I have no choice but to go because Suho can be a ,” Kyungsoo hummed. “And because Johnny Suh is going to be there.”

Blood rushed to your cheeks. Johnny Suh, English and Literature major. The male was tall and towered over you with his dirty brown hair and sweet smile. He was a gentle giant and preferred to mingle with his own group of friends.

You knew you were smitten the moment he had helped you up when you had fallen down by the student crosswalk.

“J-Johnny is going to be there? With who?” you asked, feeling a tinge of envy and curiosity settle in your chest.

“Irene. They aren’t dating. They are just best friends.” Kyungsoo smiled. “What do you think?”

You gulped. “Let me think about it.”

“Don’t think about it, you come with me. I retreat back into my bedroom; you go find Johnny Suh and blow him with your knowledge on poetry.”

“All because you’re scared of Suho,” you grumbled. “Fine.”

“See you. You can have the leftovers.”

“They are salty!” you exclaimed out loud, but Kyungsoo was already walking to his bike to bike away.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You were wearing a mini-skirt and a buttoned-up turtle-neck. Your phone rang and Kyungsoo asked you where you were. Once you told him you were ready, he said he’d pick you up.

He did pick you up.

On his bike.

“Get on,” he called out to you, wearing a casual T-shirt and black pants. “I don’t have a fancy car.”

“Of course, you don’t,” you tell him, laughing softly at how cute he looked in his tee and glasses propped on his nose. You got on the bike, your hand wrapping around Kyungsoo’s waist to steady yourself. He huffed and puffed, telling you that you were heavy.

The house was decorated and the music blasted out of the speakers. Electronic and trap. Kyungsoo finally parked his bike and you hopped off, your phone vibrating when you saw that it was Jennie.

Jennie: With Jongin.
Jennie: What to join?

You texted her a quick “no thanks” and pocketed your phone to see that Kyungsoo was waiting for you.

“Thought you’d leave me by now,” you called out to him and he chuckled.

“Will do so soon. I’ll be a gentleman and wait until we walk through the door,” he answered and you nodded. He did leave you, excused himself to take a nap. How he’d be able to sleep through the noise was beyond you.

You met a few friends. Jeonghan from bioscience, the male already drunk by 6 pm with his date for the night beside him. She too, already had alcohol in her system. You felt comfortable with the crowd since you recognized a few faces when your eyes fell on a tall man in a leather jacket, his lips locked with a girl.

Oh Sehun.

Of course, it was Oh Sehun. He had his hands treaded through the girl’s hair; her face angled upwards, her lips moving against his. You had no idea who the girl was but you did not stay long enough to find out. You found yourself with Lisa, the female hooking her arms through yours to bring you to the open bar.

“Hey!” Joy, the treasurer of Red Velvet waved at you. Her boyfriend, Crush, gave you a smile. “Thanks for coming. I heard you were the one who procured the chairs and pushed up the budget with the SS.”

“Mhm, Sorn was ready to bash me on the head when she saw the numbers.” You laughed softly, filling your cup with alcohol. Sorn from Student Services did have an obsession with budgets.

“Is this your first time at a frat party?”

You nodded in response to Joy’s question. “I’ve been to high school parties before but this is my first in university.”

“More to go,” a voice inserted. Irene, the queen of the university gave you a gentle smile. She was so beautiful; she took your breath away. “Just like Johnny. Johnny, c’mere.”

If you didn’t lose your breath, you did now. You were so busy talking to the girls that you didn’t notice that Johnny was sitting behind them. He was wearing dark blue jeans and a white T-shirt with his sleeves rolled up.

He flashed you a smile and you melted, your arms dropping either side of you.

“Hey,” he greeted. “Oh, I know you.”

He knew you! He knew you. He knew your face! You gulped, fumbling for your words and opting to simply give him a small smile before cursing your lack of response in your head. You were about to introduce yourself one more time when a cup slammed down beside you and you were once again, overcome by that Marc Jacobs perfume.

“Johnny,” Sehun called, motioning to his drink. “Hi, Irene noona.”

Johnny’s attention turned to Sehun, and your hands turned into tight fists before you forced a smile onto your face so you wouldn’t look tense.

“Yo, dude.” Johnny nodded at Sehun, giving him a high-five. “How’re you, man?”

“Drunk.” Sehun sniffed. Sehun looked to the side to notice that you were beside him, the male turning his head to study your side profile. “I know you.”

Funny how the same words came out from Johnny’s mouth but it sounded so different coming from Sehun.

“Oh, Business Law!” he exclaimed and you gave him a stiff nod. “You’re here.”

“I have a name.”

“You’ve never told me your name.”

You didn’t like Sehun. Maybe it was the way he dressed, the way he talked. You simply did not like being around him. So, you did what you did best when you were faced with something you did not like—you ignored him.

You walked past him, not even bothering to give him a polite nod and allowed the alcohol to take over your body. The sounds of the bass echoed and you danced along to strangers you did not know. You caught sight of Jennie and Kai making out, giving her a wink when you decided that it was time to sit down because your heels were killing you.

Sehun had his eyes on you. Not because he was interested, no. Because he could not read you. He wondered what he had done to wrong you. He stood there with his gaze on you, his leather jacker on as he leaned against the wall, watching as your hair tie came lose and the strands of your hair framed your face.

You threw your head back and laughed, your hands going loosely around Kyungsoo’s shoulders… Sehun frowned. Kyungsoo? Didn’t he say that he would take a nap? Kyungsoo was smiling at you, a smile that didn’t normally show on his features.

“Why are you here?” you asked Kyungsoo, the male grunting.

“You’re drunk.” His voice sounded protective but you could have heard it wrong. “Just came down to check on you. I do want to go back and sleep.”

Your arms were sloppily on his shoulders and your weight would have fallen onto him if two strong hands did not reach out and grab you from behind, Kyungsoo looking up to see Sehun behind you. He did not hold you, he simply steadied you so you were not smothering Kyungsoo with your body.

“Everything okay, hyung?” Sehun asked Kyungsoo who could not help but feel irked by the sudden presence of EXO’s maknae. Kyungsoo nodded and you looked up, Sehun looking down at your face. “Hi, Business Law.”

“Hi,” you said, beaming at him. Oh, wow. The power of alcohol.

“Hi,” Sehun answered, looking away to focus on Kyungsoo who was watching both of you. “I got her. I know her, we’re in the same Business Law class.”

“Oh?” Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow, his gaze settling on you. You gave him a smile and a peace sign. “You got her, then?”

Sehun nodded, his hands reaching for your shoulders rather than your waist to move you away from Kyungsoo. You were buzzed. Sehun gave a sigh, his hands tightening around your shoulders and giving way to Kyungsoo when you finally crashed against his chest.

“You’re drunk,” Sehun said the same words as Kyungsoo and all you could do was make a face.

“I know,” you replied. You would tell Sehun after, that he brought out the brat in you. That he spoiled you. That the many years of friendship between both of you were simply made of moments where he would surrender to you.

He let you go and you spun around, your face crunching up with a mischievous look.

“I need to go to the bathroom.”

“Go,” Sehun finally said, crossing his arms and you frowned.

“I will. Where is it?” you asked, a limp arm fighting the force of gravity as you pointed to the direction you remembered as the bathroom. “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye,” Sehun said back, his eyebrows furrowing. It was hilarious how you moved into the crowd and they parted like you were Moses. You hopped to the bathroom, making a sharp turn when you stopped, your eyes stopping at your university crush with his lips on Irene.

They weren’t just kissing kissing.

It was the way he looked at her. The way he cupped her cheeks and pulled away, his eyes filled with so much adoration and love, you knew you were no match for the feelings he felt for her.

And even if you knew that it was not a competition, you found yourself blinking at how much your heart hurt. You had never stood a chance. Johnny Suh was the one person that made you look forward to going to Business English.

Maybe it was envy. Maybe you felt bad that it was wishful thinking.

You ended up by the pool, your feet dipped in the water as you sobered up. You knew full well you shouldn’t feel what you felt but you couldn’t help it. As the effects of alcohol slowly left your body and your head cleared, you found yourself chuckling to yourself.

Sehun had seen you by the pool from where he was at, the male with his arms around a stranger for the night. She whispered sweet-nothings in his ear and he would smile, tightening his grip on her shoulder just to forget what she said.

His phone buzzed and he glanced at his phone just to see a text from Kyungsoo, the male drawing in a breath.

Kyungsoo: did she go home yet?