02: Accustomed

"Byun Baekhyun, where in the actual hell are you?! You're thirty minutes late already!"

Baekhyun cringed as Lu Han's loud voice pierced through his phone and into his eardrums. He couldn't pull it away since he had it wedged between his shoulder and ear, multitasking between talking to a frantic Lu Han and slipping on his jeans. He briefly wondered why all the pants he owned were skinny and tight; they weren't good in the rare times that he was running late. Finally succeeding in pushing his legs into his jeans, he pulled it up and zipped it close, trying to decipher Lu Han's reprimanding words that were a mix of Korean and Mandarin.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I overslept! I'm on my way no--

"Don't you dare lie to me, young man, I can hear your house keys jingling. You're not even out of the house ye-- Chanyeol, stay seated with your group. Your very irresponsible leader will be here in another half hour. Just stay still, you guys."

Baekhyun could hear the audible groan of annoyance from his supposed group. He couldn't blame them, though; today was the day they would be showed around campus by volunteers from the student council and they had all been told to wake up and be at school at around 6:30 in the morning. Baekhyun mentally stabbed himself for staying up late the previous night. He sort of felt sorry for the transferees he would be in charge of.

"Lu, I'm really sorry! And sorry to my group, as well. I really am. I'll apologize properly later. Sorry." Baekhyun ran down the stairs of his apartment building and sprinted to the bus stop. He could hear Lu Han sighing on the other end.

"Okay. I won't tell Prez, but I'm not sure about your kids. They might rat you out."

"I hope not. Well, I really am on my way now. I'm about to get on the bus. See you later, Lu!"

Baekhyun hung up and quickly got on the bus, almost missing it, and he occupied the seat at the back. He couldn't keep still inside, his knees bouncing up and down (the old lady sitting beside him threw him an annoyed glance, and he promptly stopped). After five stops, he was finally at the bus stop near his school. He got off and ran all the way to the university.

It was a Friday, and there were no classes to give the students some rest; it was a Rouge U thing. Baekhyun jogged up to the gates, said his greetings to the guard on duty and once again broke out into a sprint towards the library, the supposed meeting place for the transferees and the volunteers. Upon arriving, he could see Lu Han leading a group of five boys around their age out of the library. Lu Han caught a glimpse of him, and he jerked a thumb toward the library.

"They're inside, Baek! Hurry up!" He called out, and Baekhyun nodded, hurrying and almost running into the door.

He stopped, still heaving from running around. He wasn't exactly the fittest person out there. He slowly opened the door and peeked inside. Five heads turned to his direction, and he grinned sheepishly as he shuffled inside, obviously feeling sorry for his tardiness. He closed the door behind him and walked up the front of the group. He bit his lip nervously, glancing at each face in front of him. He couldn't help but notice the tall boy sitting at the back of the group. He seemed familiar. Baekhyun tore his gaze away from him and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Uh, hi, guys." He started, and one of the shorter boys in the group, the one with the wide eyes who looked like he was frightened, turned up his lips in acknowledgement. Baekhyun pushed on, shifting his weight from one foot to another repeatedly. "I'm really sorry I'm late today. I'll be honest. I was up all night watching the finale of my favourite drama and...you guys feel me?"

The boy with the wide eyes grinned widely, and the tan guy next to him shrugged. The other boy with the dark hair and intimidating face smiled shyly, as if he was afraid to laugh out loud. The tall guy at the back remained motionless, still watching him, and the other pokerfaced boy sitting beside him just yawned.

"Sooo, yeah. Sorry. I'm here now, so...you know what, as, uh, an apology, I'll treat you all to lunch later after the tour. But nothing expensive! I am but a mere student." Baekhyun smiled at them, and he sighed in relief when the tension in the air lifted.

Baekhyun headed towards the door and gestured for his group to follow him. The campus was huge, and despite the fact that Baekhyun would have preferred to stay in on a day off, he was excited to show the boys around the school. They all got out of the library with Baekhyun leading their small group. The boy with the wide eyes shuffled closer to him, as did the pokerfaced one, surprisingly. The rest of the boys walked behind them. They walked along the pathway leading to main buildings, and Baekhyun suddenly whipped around, making the boy with the wide eyes widen his eyes more in worry as Baekhyun walked backwards.

"Let's do some introductions, yeah? You're transferees, so it'll be pretty hard to make friends in the middle of the year. Chances are, you guys will hang out with each other...or with me, since I'll sort of be your mentor from now on...sort of. Sooo, I'm Byun Baekhyun! Sophomore and a member of the student council, obviously since I'm here with you guys." He grinned widely, tilting his head to the side and waiting for somebody else to go after him.

The boy with the wide eyes fidgeted with the hem of his jacket before raising a hand meekly. Well, it only reached up to his cheek due to his shyness, but Baekhyun smiled at him. "I-I'm Do Kyungsoo, and I'm a freshman transferee."

"Nice to meet you, Kyungsoo-ssi!" Baekhyun held out a hand towards Kyungsoo. Suddenly, the pokerfaced boy beside Kyungsoo reached out, grabbing Baekhyun by the arm to stop him from falling back. Baekhyun grinned sheepishly at him, and the boy shrugged. "Thank you, uh...?"

"Sehun. Oh Sehun. I'm a freshman, too." He said, and he had a slight lisp that Baekhyun didn't fail to notice. He smiled adoringly, and Sehun's cheeks suddenly tinted in a light shade of pink. "...yeah, I have a lisp. It's embarrassing."

"Aww, it's not! How about you, guys?" Baekhyun then turned to the other three, and he took more care in walking now, afraid of falling down. The one with the tanned skin quirked an eyebrow before speaking.

"What do you mean? If we have lisps, too?" He asked seriously, and Sehun turned to him scowling.

"Shut up, Jongin, you know that's not what he meant." At this, the boy who seemed to be called Jongin grinned mischievously.

"I know, you little baby~. I'm Kim Jongin, by the way. Freshman, just the like rest of us, I suppose."

Baekhyun stopped in his tracks, causing everyone to stop, too. He looked at Sehun and Jongin back and forth before smiling widely. "Oh, I see! You're friends with each other, already?"

"I've been stuck with him since we were in diapers." Sehun commented offhandedly, and Baekhyun snorted at the image.

"I see. Good for you two. How about the rest?" He grinned at the two tall boys beside Jongin, and the one with the dark eyes shrugged uncomfortably.

"I, uh, I'm Huang Zitao. I moved here from China." He had a slight accent when speaking in Korean, and Baekhyun clapped his hands suddenly, startling Zitao.

"That's awesome! My best friend's Chinese, too, Zitao-ssi. I'll introduce you to him later at lunch, if he's there." Baekhyun grinned, and Zitao could only grimace, not exactly wanting more interaction. Baekhyun then turned to the last boy. "Hi! What's your name?"

The tall boy gave him an analyzing look before shrugging, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Park Chanyeol." He said, voice deep and low. Baekhyun hummed, before scrunching up his nose in deep thought.

"You seem familiar, Chanyeol-ssi..."

"Do I, now?"

"Yeah, you do....Oh! You're that kid from last week! The one at the bus stop!" Baekhyun snapped his fingers as he finally remembered, and he grinned, rather proud of remembering a random event.

Chanyeol let out a small smile and shrugged his shoulders again. Baekhyun smiled back before turning around again, resuming their walk. "Well, nice to meet everyone, then! Feel free to ask me anything. Let's officially start the tour now, shall we? I think I can see Lu Han there in the distance doing some nasty gestures at me...I think we're behind schedule or something."

After the tour, Baekhyun led them to the school cafeteria. It was a day off, so only a few stalls were open for the handful of staff employees who still had work. During the hour long tour, he had gotten surprisingly close and on a buddy-buddy level with his group. Jongin had an arm slung across his shoulder, and Kyungsoo was holding on to the sleeve of his jacket, looking scared and lost (Baekhyun soon learned, after much observing, that it was Kyungsoo's 'default' face). Sehun, Zitao and Chanyeol (dragged by Sehun) went ahead to look for a good seat.

Baekhyun and the others soon found Sehun's group, and they all tried to fit themselves in the cubicle (meant only for four, really). They didn't know why they squished themselves in one cubicle seeing that the entire cafeteria was empty. Baekhyun, wedged in between a complaining Zitao (who had finally opened up to them) and an amused Chanyeol, grinned at his group.

"So, what do you guys think of Rouge U?" He asked, ignoring how Zitao kept on wiggling his around in an attempt to make more space for him.

"Well...it seems okay. The dance studio was pretty awesome, wasn't it, Sehun?" Jongin turned to Sehun slightly, and Kyungsoo let out a scowl when Jongin's elbow hit him on the jaw.

"Oh, are you guys taking up performing arts?" Baekhyun asked curiously, and both Jongin and Sehun nodded.

"Sehun's just copying me." Jongin blurted out, and Sehun pushed him, again causing Jongin's elbow to hit Kyungsoo on the jaw. The latter finally had enough and stood up, mumbling that he was going to go get food.

"As if, I'm better at you in DDR."

"Hmm. What about you, Zitao? Chanyeol? And Kyungsoo, wait! I'm coming with you!" Baekhyun called out, and Kyungsoo stopped in his tracks promptly, staring at Baekhyun.

"I'm taking up international studies with my gege." He said, and Baekhyun quirked an eyebrow.

"Your gege?"

"Uh, hyung in Korean, I guess. He's in the other group with your friend." Zitao smiled slightly,  and Baekhyun nodded before turning to Chanyeol.

Their gazes locked, and Baekhyun felt that familiar feeling again. Their shoulders were squished together, leaving no space between them, and Baekhyun could faintly feel Chanyeol's breath fanning on his face. He wondered, again, why they had adamantly tried to squish six people in a cubicle meant for four. He cleared his throat, and the corner of Chanyeol's lips turned up at the corners in a gentle smile. Baekhyun thought he looked nice.

"How about you, Chanyeol?"

"Hm?"

"What are you taking?"

"You mean food?" Chanyeol asked seriously, and Baekhyun laughed.

"Well, sure, that, too, but I was asking about school. What are you majoring in?"

"...majoring?"

"Uh, like...Jongin and Sehun are in performing arts, I'm in music, and Zitao's in international studies. What about you?" Baekhyun clarified, and Chanyeol looked lost for a moment, his youthful face marred by a slight frown.

"I...uh, don't know...nobody told me anything about majoring, and stuff like that."

Baekhyun looked taken aback, and Jongin erupted into fits of unabashed chuckles across them. "This guy. He's funny."

"I don't get it." Sehun commented, genuinely confused at his best friend's sudden display of mirth.

"Of course, you don't." Jongin deadpanned.

Baekhyun, on the other hand, looked seriously troubled by Chanyeol's revelation. It wasn't weird for a college student in Rouge U to not have any majors yet, especially for a freshman. They were allowed to go one year with just taking minor subjects first, so that they wouldn't be pressured into taking a major they didn't like. What troubled him was the way Chanyeol had answered him. He was so genuinely confused, and Baekhyun didn't miss his choice of words. 'Nobody told me anything'. Baekhyun couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was off. Shrugging it off, he patted Chanyeol's shoulder good-naturedly before gently pushing him off the seat.

"Well, I'm sure you'll decide a major soon enough. For now, I'll treat you all to lunch. Go, go! The stalls aren't open all day." He grinned, and they all stood up from their seats, heading to the available stalls.

As Jongin and the others went ahead and crowded in front of the first nearest stall, Baekhyun was pulled back gently by Chanyeol. Baekhyun whipped around and saw Chanyeol's face scrunched up in concentration at a bulletin board crammed with colourful posters. He stepped closer and peered at whatever had gotten Chanyeol's attention.

"What's this?" Chanyeol asked, turning his head as he pressed his finger on a poster far more monochromatic compared to the others.

Baekhyun started in surprise as Chanyeol turned, their faces uncomfortably close to each other. He straightened up, clearing his throat and shrugging. "That's a sign-up sheet for one of the organizations here. Why, do you want to join?"

"...no, not really. I was just curious by the picture."

"Hmm." Baekhyun nodded his head and watched as Chanyeol smiled at him again before walking off and following Jongin and the others.

Before going back, he glanced at the poster that Chanyeol had been looking at. A silhouette of a wolf's head was enclosed in a diamond, and a spear ran diagonally thru the box, seemingly stabbing the wolf. He shrugged before running to his new friends. He had never been fond of that certain organization in his school.

"How was the tour?"

Baekhyun rolled around on Lu Han's carpet as the older male walked out of the shower, towel draped over his damp blonde hair. He went directly to his refrigerator, taking out two cans of grape soda and throwing the other at Baekhyun. Baekhyun caught it in a flustered manner and sat up, carefully opening the can.

"It was okay."

"Okay?" Lu Han looked at him knowingly, and Baekhyun stuck a tongue out.

"Okay, fiiine. It was awesome. The guys were nice! I made friends with them. One of them was Chinese, and the other's going to be my junior in the music department." Baekhyun took a swig from his soda, and Lu Han hummed in understanding, walking closer and taking a seat next to Baekhyun.

"Anything else?"

"They're all freshmen."

"I see. I only got one sophomore. I think he's taking music, too. The rest are juniors like me, though."

Baekhyun took another swig from his soda, keeping the can pressed to his lips even as he tipped it down, hearing the liquid sloshing around inside. He scrunched his face in concentration as he thought about something, and Lu Han cocked an eyebrow at him. He finally pulled the can down and looked at Lu Han seriously.

"...You know, one of them seemed really familiar. I'm not sure...I think I met him at the bus stop a week ago, but...I don't know, I feel like I've already met him somewhere even before that." Baekhyun mumbled, and at this, Lu Han sat up straight, looking more interested than ever.

"Oh, really now? Tell me about it."

Baekhyun looked at him weirdly. He opened his mouth to voice out how weird Lu Han was acting when somebody rang Lu Han's doorbell. He watched as Lu Han sprang up from his feet and headed to the door. Baekhyun remained seated on the carpet, twirling his can in his hand. He soon heard Lu Han's muffled voice sounding excited, and another deep voice answering back. Baekhyun tilted his head to the side as he heard two pairs of footsteps approaching. And then, Lu Han was back in the living room. To Baekhyun's surprise, Chanyeol was following him.

"Oh, Chanyeol? You know Lu Han?"

^{A/N: The setting for this is kinda like Forks in Twilight....yeah. I'm sorry, I hate character intros, too. Believe me, I wanted to stab someone as I wrote this. OTL}

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