By the time JongHyun had finished all his errands the sun had disappeared behind the tall buildings of the city. He carried a bag with boxes of chicken in them as a thank-you gift for Onew (apparently he loved chicken).

            JongHyun couldn`t remember the last time he’d felt so carefree and happy. Everything that had been crushing down on his shoulders was lifted and blown away with the wind. Well, everything except that minor issue with his family. But no even that could dampen his mood at the moment.

            There had been a time when JongHyun had hated seeing that pink and white sign suspended above those massive windows. Now, though, as he approached the pale coloured building there was only anticipation running through his body. He glanced up at the windows above the store, loving that he could call the rooms beyond it his new home.

            The store was dark save for one light above the checkout counter. It was somewhat eerie, but JongHyun brushed it off and headed for the stairs leading up to the apartment. The lights were all on up here at least. The sudden brightness temporarily blinded JongHyun. Thankfully, Onew met him halfway and helped him out so he wouldn’t run into the feng shui furniture.

            “I was beginning to think you’d run away,” Onew joked, relieving his dongsaeng of the bags he held.

            “Sorry, TaeMin’s sick again and EunJi noona was getting all emotional and I wanted to buy you chicken,” JongHyun explained.

            “It’s fine. TaeMin’s sick again?”

            “Yeah, he got too hot while taking a walk with MinHo.”

            “MinHo?”

            “His… Boyfriend, I think? I’m not sure; I’ll have to ask.”

            “TaeMin’s gay?”

            “I would appear that way, yes.”

            “Huh.”

            The conversation fell flat as they pulled out the items they would need for their late meal. They set out plates and glasses (who needed utensils when you were eating chicken?) before finally laying out the poultry.

            They started off by eating quietly. Or it was more like JongHyun worked on the few pieces he’d managed to nab and Onew devoured the rest in a few dinosaur sized bites. Who knew he liked chicken so much? And who knew that his jaw became elastics when inhaling the meat?

            “When do you start school?” Onew asked, once they’d finished their meal.

            “In about a week,” JongHyun answered. He gathered up their dirty dishes to bring to the sink. Onew came up behind him, prepared to dry the plates and cups after JongHyun washed them.

            “Are you going to be okay? I mean, money wise?” Onew asked.

            “I should be… I mean, I paid the fee already and I got most of my books with the money I got over the summer.

            “You don’t need any help? Because I have some money stashed away…”

            JongHyun paused mid-scrub so he could look at him. “Hyung, I’m fine… I think I’m actually catching up on all the money I owe,” he assured.

            It was clear that Onew was worrying up a storm in his head, but he bit his tongue. He ended up nudging JongHyun playfully and mumbling something about continuing the dishes.

            The two laughed and worked together to clean the mess they’d made. Jokes were cracked her and there and soon bubbles were flying all over the place as a dish soap war was initiated.

            The lively atmosphere brought the evening to a perfect close in the two’s opinion.

            JongHyun really couldn’t feel any happier than how he was now. He was still in disbelief about how easy things seemed to be… Something was bound to happen, but in the mean time he wouldn’t waste his time worrying about it.

~

            Fall rolled in and brought with it the beginning of the school year. For JongHyun it would be his third year in university and for TaeMin it would be his last year in high school. And if you were Key it would be your first year of university… Even if he was technically in the third year.

            “Come on! We’re going to be late!” Key yelled for the hundredth time.

            “I’m coming!” JongHyun screamed right back. He took a last look at his new hair cut in the mirror, making sure every strand was perfectly placed before rushing off to meet Key in the store.

            “It’s about time!” Key exclaimed. In his head he was squealing over how good JongHyun looked, though. He knew that he had wanted a new look for the school year, but this was just too much… His brown hair had grown a shade lighter and was coifed so that it was spiking up rather than hanging in his face. The new styled made it so that his eyes were twice as big and brown which was just the cherry on top for Key.

            “Sorry, I was fixing my hair,” JongHyun apologized.

            “I bet you were. How much gel did you use?” Key patted the palm of his hand on top of the spikes to follow up his sarcastic comment, grinning as he did so.

            “I barely used any,” JongHyun mumbled, blushing ever so slightly. “Come on, we’ll be late if we keep dawdling…” He rushed out of the store feeling his deflated ego trail after him like a used parachute.

            “Did you just say dawdle?” Key asked once it had fully set in his head. He chased after JongHyun, realizing he was already out the door and had – most likely – not heard him.

            They walked together silently for the first few minutes. They watched the scenery pass by, listening to the cars zipping by while mulling over their own thoughts.

            When Key got fed up of the silence (since he wasn’t naturally a quiet person), he asked, “Do you think this year will be hard?”

            “You’re talking as if you’ve been there for a few years already. But in answer to your question, it shouldn’t be that hard… As long as you study you shouldn’t have any problems.”

            “Will you help me if I need it?”

“Of course! I helped you get in, didn’t I? That means I absolutely can’t let you flunk out.” JongHyun ruffled his dongsaeng’s hair, laughing when he got attacked with a couple girlish slaps.

            The conversation was cut short when the large building of the university drew up ahead. A pit resting in Key’s stomach stirred. The nervousness he’d felt earlier in the morning returned so that Key stopped dead in his tracks.

            “Hyung…” he squeaked, grabbing on to his wrist.

            “What? What’s wrong?” JongHyun asked.

            “Do you think I can do this? I mean, go to school? I never liked school… Why am I doing this?”

            “Hey… What’s with this random worrying? You sound like a bride right before her wedding… You’ll be fine. You know everything already and you’re a quick learner… Don’t worry,” JongHyun reassured. He flashed the younger a cheeky grin and slung an arm around his shoulders, leading him away slowly to their first class.

            Despite having nerves still rattling behind the bars of his ribs, the arm around Key’s shoulders calmed him down a bit. Actually, he felt downright giddy. With JongHyun he could do this!

            If only he could do more with him, though…