A pretty uneventful week had gone by, without the reoccurrence of either of them walking in on the other when having just come out of the bathroom, and Chanyeol couldn’t figure out why Kyungsoo had been giving him the cold shoulder the entire time.  If Kyungsoo noticed the water heater in the shower that was courtesy of Chanyeol, he didn’t mention it.

Kyungsoo was fine when Baekhyun, Sehun or Junmyeon or other people were around. But when they were alone, it was a different story. Their total exchange of words would amount to a little over a dozen.

Some days, Chanyeol resorted to partying and having over at Geom Square.  Only the Dean found out he was still being allowed in and put firm restrictions to suspend anyone who would condone Chanyeol being there, when he was supposed to be in Nanugi.

So that Friday night, Park Chanyeol—The Aqua Man—was staying in his dorm room after class, replacing his bedside lamp, with a more modern, brighter one.  With nothing to do—even all the documentaries on Netflix seemed boring—he groaned at the mountain of schoolwork he had to catch up on and had no choice but to spend time cracking on it, one by one.

After a couple of hours, he decided to stop overworking his brain.  Kyungsoo was on the other side, doing the same thing.  Chanyeol appreciated such a quiet, neat roommate, because he actually got some real studying time in, not like when Yixing hyung would compose beats from night till dawn, with his make-shift studio in their dorm room…

As Chanyeol emerged from the bathroom in his pajamas, ready to sleep, he passed by Kyungsoo and said, “G’night.”

“G’night,” Kyungsoo echoed from across the room.

Chanyeol had to grin. That was like the fifteenth word the beta had said to him all week, g’night being a contraction. “Kyungsoo-ssi?”

He glanced up from his book and saw Chanyeol looking at him.

“Do you read all the time?”

“What’s that question supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to know if you do other things than get cooped up inside our room every night after school and read.”

“Is there anything wrong with that?” Kyungsoo asked him, exasperated. He rubbed his temples and tried to settle more comfortably on the bed, returning to reading.

Chanyeol frowned. “Well, instead of asking me questions back, would you just give me a straight answer?”

“I see movies. I watch TV. I go online. I call my family. Are you happy?”

Chanyeol got out of bed, never really knowing why his roommate’s curt manner had gotten under his skin so quickly. Kyungsoo stood up to put his book back on his desk and look over his notes as Chanyeol came over to his side of the room.

“What is your problem, anyway?” He confronted.

“MY problem?” Kyungsoo turned around, flashing his large eyes at him.

“Yes, you’ve got this chip on your shoulder since I moved in.” He stepped closer until there were only a couple of inches between them. “Do you hate me?”

Kyungsoo held his breath, swallowing discreetly. The nerve of this alpha!  He knew Park Chanyeol would be conceited, but to be in his face about it? “No… I don’t hate you.”

He turned away from him with as much grace as he had. “Chanyeol-ssi, I have a big test tomorrow. Please… let’s not do this now.”

The smaller one’s tone was imploring.  Chanyeol knew he had to back down. “Fine. If you’re worried because I’m much bigger than you, then I’d be the first to say that I’m harmless.”

Kyungsoo’s conscience immediately gnawed at him. “Chanyeol-ssi… it’s not…”

Chanyeol’s fault he didn’t think before uttering, “I wish you wouldn’t be so serious and uptight. If you enjoyed life more, you’d be happy.”

A pained expression came across Kyungsoo’s face. “What makes you say I’m unhappy?”

It was then Chanyeol regretted saying anything at all. But for some reason, he couldn’t seem to stop. “It’s in your eyes.”