"Everyone, settle down, please." The professor's voice boomed from where he stood on the platform right in front, eyes scanning the murmuring crowd until everyone had their eyes on him. "Ok, we have a transfer student today from Canada. Come here. This is Kris. Everyone please be nice to him. Is there any empty seats around?"

Kris just gave his best non-awkward smile despite the annoying giggles coming from the girls seated right in front of where he stood. Instead of paying any attention to any of them, he looked at all the random faces in the lecture theatre, looking at no one in particular. When the professor motioned for him to seat beside a guy named Kyungsoo, he furrowed his eyebrow at the sudden shift of mood. Everyone was giving him that pity look. What the hell?

He made his way to the empty seat beside Kyungsoo and found the guy staring at him, like it would bore a hole through him. The guy had very dark black hair that looked almost like a shade of intense navy blue. His jaw was set firmly as though he was grinding his teeth in silence. The wide set of eyes was what caught his attention the most. Never had he met a Korean guy with eyes that big. Kris wondered if he was wearing contacts to make them looked bigger. But on a closer inspection, it looked perfectly natural, unlike those girls he knew that wore the kind of contacts that would make the blackness of their eyes eat up most of its whiteness. Kyungsoo stared at him for a couple of seconds longer before looking away whilst tapping his pen constantly against the opened ring-binded notebook.

"Hi, I'm Kris. Nice to meet you, Kyungsoo." He held out his hand for a handshake but Kyungsoo just gave a quick glance at his palm and looked away.

What the heck was that all about? Did he just gave him the cold shoulder?

✎✎✎

Lunch in the school's air-conditioned cafeteria was a noisy occasions. Students dressed in all kinds of fashion sense graced the benches and chairs available. Fortunately, he found an empty seat outside in the open air area, but it was occupied by a group of students whom he recognised some of them as the guys in his lecture earlier.

"Hey, Kris." The equally tall guy with dark cropped hair waved at him. He had his arms wrapped around a guy with slightly feminine features with eyeliner drawn around his eyes, making the guy looked drop dead gorgeous. But his mannerism was a far cry from anything remotely feminine, if the way he was snapping the disposable chopsticks were of any indication. 

Kris wondered if the two of them were a couple since the pretty boy was glaring at him like he was stealing his favourite... food. Which, for the record, he wasn't at all. He took the empty seat and picked a straw from his tray.

"Hi." Kris nodded. "Your friends?"

"Yeah, let me introduce you. This is Yixing, Jongin and Joonmyun. While this guy here, is my lovely Baekhyun."

"Nice to meet you guys. I'm glad you don't mind me joining in." Kris shook each of their hands before taking a big bite of his grilled sandwich. 

Chanyeol waited for him to swallow his first bite before he asked. "I'm really sorry that you had to seat beside him."

"You mean Kyungsoo?"

"Yep, that's the one and only."

"What's wrong with him? I mean I get this vibe that not everyone likes him."

"You see, I think he's not right up here." He pointed to his own temple. "I'm not trying to be rude. But I really do sincerely think he's crazy. There were rumours going on that he repeatedly flush in the toilet. It kind of freaked out whoever who heard it. Personally, I haven't witnessed it but it's scaring the out of me he he suddenly goes berserk or something."

A soft angelic voice interrupted. Kris realised it was Baekhyun. "You're  thinking too much. Maybe he's not that bad, you know."

"Who wouldn't freak out, you tell me?" Chanyeol pinched the tip of his boyfriend's nose before continuing. "Besides that, occasionally, he'd stand up suddenly during lecture, looked around and then dash out of the lecture to jog. No one really knows what the heck is wrong with him but the lecturers seemed not to be bothered by it."

The guy with a cap over his head, dressed in just jeans and polo shirt, spoke up for the first time. If Kris remembered correctly, his name was Jongin. 

"And he would scream his head off when you accidentally touch his table or even any of his stuff. It happened to me once and shocked the life out of me." 

Kris tried to absorb all these information from his new friends to ponder later on. There was something disconcerting about all these. How could such a sweet looking guy be that... weird. But then he had to remind himself that he was on the receiving end of the deadly stare earlier this morning. He shuddered. No matter what the rumours said, this Kyungsoo guy was peaking his interest. In the oddest way possible.

Who is Do Kyungsoo, really?

✎✎✎

When the last class was over, Kris headed over to where Kyungsoo was. The rest of the students was filtered out, including their professor. Now, it was just left with him and the guy who seemed to be looking at him with wariness.

"I know, you'd probably think I'm weird." Kris scratched the back of his head. "But I'd like to properly introduce myself since I'll be sitting beside you during lectures."

Kyungsoo heaved the back pack over his shoulder but seemed to change his mind as he stared back and fro, between Kris' hand to his face. As though making up his mind, Kyungsoo searched his bag for something which Kris himself was curious to find out.

What he came up with puzzled Kris. He just watched with bewildered eyes as Kyungsoo slipped his right hand into a clear plastic glove and took Kris' hand. His grasp was firm yet gentle. Then the other guy disposed off the gloves and poured a generous amount of hand sanitizer over both palms, rubbing them together. Then, when it had dried up, he repeated it twice.

"Hi, Kris." The other guy, whose head reached only around his shoulder, murmured softly with eyes downcast. Almost inaudibly. But Kris caught every single word of it.

Something about this guy was bringing out his inner guardian. Kris furrowed his eyebrows, glancing over at his palms to the retreating back, and back to his palms. But, what's wrong with him?

✎✎✎

Thank you for the kind comments. I hope you've enjoyed chp2! Please look forward to more!