NOTE TO SELF: Move on
Superiority Complex
"Class, please welcome our new student from China. His name's Lay."
I look up.
Well, that was unexpected.
"His Korean isn't perfect. Tao, you're from China. Please be Lay's guide."
I nod.
Lay gives a small bow and sits down in the spare chair next to mine.
"Hi," he blushes.
"Hi," I nod back.
He's cute. Really cute.
He's relatively tall with an angular jaw.
His eyes are warm, his skin pale.
I already think we're going to be good friends.
"Can I look at your timetable?" I ask.
He hands it to me, and I grin.
He's shy, just like me. I have a feeling we have a lot in common.
"Looks like you share most of my classes," I tell him with a small nod.
"Do you know what room you're in?"
He doesn't seem to understand, so I repeat myself in Chinese.
He hands me a number.
"My room?"
Come to think of it, there was a rolled up mat somewhere on top of the cupboard.
"Well it looks like we're bunking together," I tell him with a smile.
For the afternoon me and my friends help Lay move all his stuff into the room and unpack.
He's very polite, and bows frequently.
He has enough Korean to understand most of our conversations, but he struggles with responding.
He's really, really cute.
I hear through the walls Kai and Kyungsoo laughing at each other once I switch the light off.
I'd taken the sleeping mat down and spread it in the space between our beds.
"Goodnight," Lay calls up.
"Goodnight!" Chanyeol responds.
"Night."
About halfway through the night, I awaken to the sound of shivering.
I glance across the room.
As usual, Chanyeol's sleeping like a log.
I look down, and notice Lay is curled up in a foetal position on the floor, his face pale.
He's got the blanket pulled very close to his chest, but its thin and not warm enough.
"Cold?" I ask.
He seems to jump.
My voice is gravelly, and I notice steam come out of my mouth as I breathe.
"Come up here," I pat the bed next to me.
"It should be warmer."
Lay gives me an apologetic look.
"I don't want to be an inconvenience," he tells me.
I shake my head at him.
"You're not an inconvenience! Now get up here before you catch a cold."
Lay gives me a small smile and jumps into my bed.
It's a tight fit, but it's warm and comfortable.
"Goodnight," I say.
"Goodnight. And thank you."
Lay pecks me on the cheek, and my stomach fills with butterflies.
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