Chanyeol smirked, feeling Sungmi’s lips on his cheek. One of the best things about dinner was the lack of supervision. Sure, the dorm masters occasionally dropped in, but they spent their meals in the faculty and staff lounge for the most part, meaning that he and whatever girl--Sungmi, in this case--didn’t have to worry about getting in trouble if he wanted to, say, kiss her, which he did. For the sake of his friends, though, he did not.

“So what did the great Byun Baekhyun say about the party?” someone asked.

He turned toward them and grinned. “It looks like we’re making history.” He glanced at the table he had just left, for the first time curious about Baekhyun. They were in different worlds despite living down the hall from one another, and Chanyeol had never cared to know Baekhyun. For some reason, right now, he felt a strange twinge of curiosity toward him.

“Is he bringing Miyoung?”

“I thought he was dating someone else,” Chanyeol murmured, still staring.

“Dude, Miyoung is his cute younger sister. Didn’t you see her over there?”

Thinking back, Chanyeol couldn’t remember what she’d looked like. All he’d thought about was where the was the perfect Byun Baekhyun, which was probably what had piqued his curiosity in the first place. For some reason, he didn’t believe the excuse given. Something was up, and he wanted to know what.

“So are you going to talk to Jongin tonight about booze?”

Feeling Sungmi’s hands on his arm as she clambered for his attention, Chanyeol tore his eyes away from Mr. Perfect and nodded. He unwrapped himself from Sungmi and stood up. “I should probably talk to him now before dinner is over,” he said. “See you all later.”

Chanyeol shoved his hands in his pockets when someone suddenly threw their arms around his back. He froze. “Sungmi, what did I say about clinginess?” he asked, not moving.

“That you don’t like it,” she mumbled, still holding tightly to him. “But I just wanted to say bye.”

“Well, goodbye, Sungmi,” Chanyeol said, removing her from him. “I think our time together is over.” He shrugged her off him, already feeling her shaking. She would start crying any moment now, and if he didn’t want to deal with her now, he definitely didn’t want to deal with her when the floodgates opened. He pawned her off on one of her friends that had come running up before he promptly exited the dining hall. Right now, he needed to find one rebel before he disappeared, and he knew exactly where he was.

Perhaps it's because he dealt so much with him, but Chanyeol always knew exactly where to find Jongin. Even now, when Jongin gets in one of his sulking fits and runs off to be alone, Chanyeol somehow knows where to find him. They have a strange relationship that none of us understand.

“Hey,” Chanyeol said, turning the corner of the boys’ upperclassmen dormitory.

Jongin didn’t look up, just lit the cigarette dangling from his lips. “Party coming up?” He popped open his pack of cigarettes and offered one.

Chanyeol nodded and took it. “Yeah, this weekend,” he said, pulling out his lighter from his pocket. “And actually I wanted to invite you, too.” As the end of the cigarette lit, he inhaled and closed his eyes. When he opened them, Jongin was looking at him strangely, eyes narrowed.

A stream of smoke slithered past his lips. “Why?”

“I’m throwing the biggest party Sooman has ever seen so everyone’s invited. Besides, you always help out but never join in the fun. You should see the fruits of your labors for once,” Chanyeol said, leaning against the wall and looking up at the sky. Twilight was setting in.

“I’ll think about it,” Jongin said, his surprisingly deep voice reverberating. “For now, let’s talk drinks. I take it you want the usual?”

Chanyeol shook his head. “I want more. The soju is great and all, but could you get us some imported stuff? Tequila, rum, vodka, you know?” he asked. “If this is going to be the biggest party in Sooman history, everything about it needs to be epic.”

“Not on campus. It’d be too much to sneak on inconspicuously.”

“It’s not going to be on campus so you don’t have to worry about that,” Chanyeol said.

“Oh?” Jongin looked intrigued. “Where is it going to be?”

“My house,” he said.

“Over in Gangnam, right?”

Chanyeol nodded. His parents were both foreign diplomats that worked abroad. The only times he saw them were on Lunar New Year and at Chuseok. It used to be every year on his birthday as well, but they’d missed the past two years. He didn’t know why he’d never thought to have a party there long before. They really were never home, and it wasn’t like his sister was there either. She was normally the only one, but she was spending this year studying abroad.

“That should work.” Jongin finished off the last of his cigarette and stubbed it out. “I’ll see you then.” He turned the corner and headed toward the underclassmen dormitory, running through a mental checklist of his contacts, when he suddenly ran straight into me.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I mumbled, picking up my books as they toppled to the ground. Before I even finished speaking though, Jongin had brushed past me into the building without a word. I stood there for a moment wondering where I had seen him before. I realized a moment too late that he was my hoobae, but that wasn’t it. I felt like I had seen him outside of Sooman. Before everything happened. Before I’d transferred here.

I shook my head, thinking I’d spent far too much time on my own. I’d skipped dinner today because galbitang was on the menu. So I’d holed up in my room and ate the kimbap that my mom had sent yesterday, but now I had to go to the library for English study hall. I was actually looking forward to it since it really was not my strength. I mean, I made good grades in it, but I had the compulsive drive to do better and better so it only made sense to push myself more.

“Do Kyungsoo, you’re right on time. We were just about to start pairing up for studying. You can work with Byun Miyoung today,” said the dorm master.

I nodded and glanced over at Miyoung. I vaguely knew who she was. We had class together of course, but I didn’t really know anyone since I blocked everyone out. After all, I came to Sooman with one purpose and one alone, and it had nothing to do with making friends.

After everyone was assigned partners, I walked with Miyoung to the corner of the room where the dorm master had indicated we work. “Have you done your homework yet or—”

“Your name’s Kyungsoo, right? Are you going to Park Chanyeol’s party this weekend?” Miyoung asked, cutting me off before I could say anything else. “I heard his parties are the best, but I’ve never actually been to one so I’m really excited.”

“I wasn’t invited,” I said curtly, pulling out my textbook. I’d already done my homework, and clearly Miyoung had no interest in studying so I figured that I could just work on my own.

“Nonsense. Everyone is invited. Chanyeol says he wants to throw the biggest party in school history. You have to go!” Miyoung smiled brightly at me.

“I’m not really a partier,” I said evenly. I had no interest in the party.

She pouted. “Kyungsoo, I know it’s not really your scene. You’re a lot like my brother, always doing stuff for school only, but you have to live a little!” she exclaimed, eyes shining brightly.

For some reason, it was at that moment that it hit me that she was incredibly gorgeous. She looked a lot like someone I’d known a long time ago, and it startled me. So much so, that to this day, I still don’t know what compelled me to say what I said next.

“I suppose one party wouldn’t hurt.”