His breath catches, lodging itself in Chanyeol’s throat, nearly causing him to convulse and run into the fifteen people in front of him. 

Park Chanyeol has mousy brown hair that sticks up at awkward angles and bulky black glasses that are always perched on his nose. Sehun says he looks like a dork; Baekhyun finds him woefully enduring.

He meets her in his philosophy class and practically falls out of his seat when she taps him on the shoulder, warm brown eyes meeting his own as she whispers something about not having something to write with. Chanyeol numbly nods his head, passing over the pen in his hand. He mentally curses afterwards when he realizes he doesn’t have anything else to write with.

At the end of the class their professor dismisses them, Chanyeol standing up and stretching his gangly limbs. He tries to not pay so much attention to the lovely girl seated next to him. She stands up and Chanyeol tries not to drown in emotions; she’s tiny compared to him. 

She smiles at him, sweeping long strands of hair behind one shoulder as she hands him back his pen. “Thanks….?” Her voice trails off.

He blunders for a bit, brain short-circuiting and making a gurgling sort of noise before spitting out “Chanyeol. Park Chanyeol.”

A bright grin is sent his way and Chanyeol feels his legs turn to jelly, hand instinctively reaching out to clutch the back of his seat.

“I’m Kim Taeyeon. I hope to see you more in the future, Chanyeol,” Taeyeon says with a sparkle in her eyes.

His eyes widen slightly, mouth parted open as he stares at her retreating back; it takes Chanyeol a few minutes to collect his bearings. By now the lecture hall is completely deserted, swearing under his breathe when he realizes he’s going to be late for his calculus class. With seconds to spare, he shoves his pen and notebook into his backpack and makes a mad dash across campus to the math and science building.

Kyungsoo side eyes him periodically throughout the entire lesson but nothing seems to deter him from his good mood, goofy smile forever plastered to his too-large mouth.



Joonmyun stares at him incredulously as Chanyeol begins murmuring to himself after searching up Taeyeon on facebook. He’s now faced with the dilemma of adding her but “wouldn’t that be too forward? Strange? I mean I just met her today!” before burying his face into his arms, an odd noise escaping his hunched form. 

Jongdae looks at him pitifully before pelting him with paper balls. Sehun snickers from his seat a few feet away.

Chanyeol hates his friends sometimes.



After four days of moping about his “predicament” Jongin gets fed up with all this shenanigans. It’s him who pushes the send button while Wufan and Tao hold an irate Chanyeol down as he shrieks“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” with Luhan cackling in the background.

Later that night, after an intense video game marathon at Yixing’s apartment Chanyeol barely manages to make it back to his dorm room. He throws himself onto rumpled sheets before moving to drag his laptop from underneath his pillow, opening it and turning it on. A soft blue glow lights up the dark room and the small wiring noise filters through the air. Baekhyun’s still not back from his study date Chanyeol dully notes.

It takes his laptop a few moments to warm up, connecting to the school’s wifi; he has two notifications on facebook.


Kim Taeyeon 6:39PM
Park Chanyeol, from philosophy? :)

Kim Taeyeon 8:14PM
I know this is a bit out of the blue, but would you mind if we could get together some time? I don’t really understand some of the stuff Professor Cho was talking about :)

Chanyeol grins stupidly at his computer. His hands shake as he attempts to reply. Even her smileys are cute.

Park Chanyeol 2:26AM
Sure! When and where? XD

Kim Taeyeon 9:43AM
How about right after class, at the library? :)

Chanyeol hates himself when he has to wake up at six in the morning for his 8:30am philosophy class, regretting not signing up for the afternoon class (aka the one all his friends took.) But even at the crack of dawn Taeyeon looks adorable in a messy bun and purple sweat pants; Baekhyun says he’s completely whipped. 




It becomes routine for Chanyeol and Taeyeon to meet at the library after class to review the course material in their attempts to understand and study. It’s a futile effort that results in the two of them casting aside the text books and curling up on one of the couches in the study room watching some show on Chanyeol’s laptop. 

Within the first few weeks Chanyeol learns that Taeyeon is a skinship kind of person; especially after their sad attempt at studying she likes to link their arms together and rest her chin on his shoulder, eyes forever glued to the laptop screen. Chanyeol attempts to put up with it, freezing up every time she adjusts herself before wheezing out a sigh of relief.

Except this time he regrets telling his friends when and where these “study sessions” take place before there’s an obnoxious knock on the door. Before either of them can react Jongdae and Sehun barge in; Sehun has a knowing smirk on his face while Jongdae sports a -eating grin.

Chanyeol splutters for a viable excuse but comes up short, resulting in him gaping like a gold fish. Taeyeon watches with disinterest, burrowing herself further into Chanyeol’s side.

“Oh, Chanyeol! We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Jongdae practically purrs, seating himself on the study table. Chanyeol wants to punch him in the perfectly chiseled face. 

Out of the corner of his eye Chanyeol watches as Sehun takes a photo, a Cheshire grin taking over his entire face as he snickers to himself. No doubt that photo is going to be all over facebook.

Chanyeol’s phone starts vibrating with alerts.

On second thought, Chanyeol hates all of his friends. Every single one of them.

Jongdae continues prattling about how much of a failure Chanyeol is before excusing himself with a glint in his eyes. Chanyeol kind of wants to sink into the floor and disappear for all of eternity.

Taeyeon shifts on the sofa again, the old piece of furniture creaking under the changing weight.

“I like them. Your friends I mean.” There’s a gleam in her eyes. Chanyeol audibly gulps.
She continues, squeezing Chanyeol’s arm, “I think I’ll like them. I think my friends will like them too.” Taeyeon leans in close, warm breathe ghosting across the shell of his ear, “But I like you the best.”

Chanyeol chokes on air.

With himself a spluttering mess and Taeyeon rubbing soothing circles on his back, Chanyeol takes a few moments to praise God, or gods and goddesses, for blessing him with such good fortune.

He’ll never hear the end of it from Jongdae though, that bastard.