-^-

Kyungsoo glanced at the clock warily before letting out a loud sigh. He slumped against the plastic seat outside the large movie theatres, crossing his ankles. His heart was thumping as he clutched the bags of popcorn he had purchased earlier on. Earlier on meaning about half an hour ago.

Where was Jongin?

He tried to remember if they had agreed on a later time, or even a different day, but kyungsoo came up with no other plausible reason as to why Jongin hadn't arrived. What if he forgot? His heart started thumping loudly at the thought of Jongin forgetting about their date.

Jongin and Kyungsoo had been dating for a whole year already, and it had been no short of amazing for about nine months of it. Though they were attending different universities, they always made time for each other to go on dates and hangout. Kyungsoo was truly in love with his tall, tan boyfriend. With his infamous smirk, chocolatey eyes, and windswept hair. But these last few months have been, well, strange. He almost felt…neglected. 

It started out with Jongin not replying to all his texts. Kyungsoo would send good morning/goodnight texts every night, and aside from that he would occasionally text him to ask him what he was up to. He would answer with vague replies and now it had become as awful as not even replying. 

It had then escalated to Jongin, cancelling a lot of their hangouts, which disheartened the elder. He never got to see Jongin that much because of school and all, but even their allotted dates? It was hard to go by days without speaking to Jongin and so finally Kyungsoo insisted they meet up and catch a movie. Jongin agreed (although Kyungsoo noticed he wasn't as excited as he was to see him) and they decided to meet up at the Pavillion Theatres. 

Kyungsoo shuddered, holding back tears as he placed the bags of popcorn on the seat next to him, but jumped up surprised when he heard a voice chuckle next to him.

"Am I that invisible? This punk put his stuff on me as if he didn't see me." The owner of the voice scoffed to himself. Kyungsoo's eyes widened at his deep voice.

Baffled, Kyungsoo peered at the tall -extremely tall- individual sitting next to him. 

When did this stranger arrive?

He had cropped black hair, and a handsome face. As he smiled at kyungsoo, he could see the faint lining of a dimple in his cheek. 

"Did you really not notice me sit beside you?" he questioned, leaning towards kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo leaned back, annoyed that they didn't even know each others names, and this giant was already being way too up close and personal.

Clearing his throat, he looked straight ahead before answering. "I didn't."

"Well geez, you must be really caught up in something aren't you? for you to not notice somebody sit right beside you. It's dangerous I tell you."

Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes at the unwelcome intruder. He didn't reply however, opting to ignore the weirdo in turn for silence. 

That, however, didn't last long.

"Ooh you bought popcorn? Why did you buy two? Were you meeting someone? Or do you really like popcorn so you bought two? I wouldn't blame you though, I LOVE POPCORN!" He was a mile a minute, not even pausing to let kyungsoo answer or take a breath. 

Kyungsoo groaned internally, cursing his luck before turning to eye him warily."Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"Nope. Since I'm here though, why don't you tell me whats bothering you." he said, before grabbing one of the popcorn bags."You going to eat this?"

"Uhm, no." Kyungsoo said resignedly."Listen…." he waited for the stranger in front of him to finish his sentence 

"Chanyeol! My name's Chanyeol."he said grinning brightly before stuffing his face with buttered popcorn. Kyungsoo was momentarily stunned, as his smile took up literally all of his face, and his eye twitched. Kyungsoo didn't know how he felt about it.

"Okay Chanyeol, I'm not having that great of a day, so I would really like to be alone for awhile. Thanks for the concern though." He mustered up a large, fake smile at him, hoping he would catch his drift and leave.

"Aish, what a fake smile, even I could see through that."Chanyeol tutted at him, before turning strangely serious. Serious didn't seem to suit his face."You can tell me things, if you want. I mean, though I may not seem like it, I actually am a good listener!"

"Well-" Kyungsoo was about to finish his sentence but was cut off with someone clearing their throat in front of them. He looked up to find a sweaty Jongin, in his usual dance practice attire which consisted of sweatpants and a tank top. Jongin's expression was unreadable, but his mouth was set in a tight line. 

"Who's this?"Jongin flicked his chin towards Chanyeol. Chanyeol's demeanour physically changed into a more tense one, trying to keep his grin on his face. 

"I assume this is who you were waiting for." Chanyeol gently smiled towards Kyungsoo. Jongin notices it, scowling, before walking towards Kyungsoo. He takes his hand in his own pulls him up from the seat. 

"Thanks for keeping him company."He gruffly says before tugging Kyungsoo away from him. Kyungsoo, trying to keep up with him, looks back once to see Chanyeol waving at him with a sad smile on his face. He suddenly felt too choked up to even breathe. 

Why did he look at him as if he knew exactly what was going on?

----


Kyungsoo was about to smash the printer at the library and throw it out the window. It was nearing closing time, the sky a dark cobalt, and he still wasn't able to print out his english report. He sighed in frustration, about to pull his hair out. Why were things always going wrong, he thought sullenly. People snuck peeks at him, confused as to why he looked like he was about to burst into tears over a printer. But it was much more than that. It was his whole week in general.

After the whole movie escapade, Jongin begrudgingly walked with him to their shared apartment and barely talked to him. He didn't even give him a goodnight kiss as usual. Kyungsoo was too wrapped up in what he had done wrong, but came up with nothing. Wasn't he the one who showed up late to their movie date? 

Kyungsoo's confusion turned into anger, and he was about to karate chop the printer before he heard a deep chuckle next to him. Why did this voice seem familiar? He whipped his head to the side and saw the owner of the voice.

Of course it just had to be him. Kyungsoo had almost forgotten about him. The tall giant, who he remembered was named Chanyeol, grinned down at him, his dimple forming. He had his hands in his jeans pocket as he looked down at Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo vaguely thought he looked quite endearing like that. 

"Having trouble? It seems like you're always having trouble." Chanyeol teased, before walking up towards the printer. Kyungsoo wordlessly stared at him, his eyes watching his every move as Chanyeol maneuvered around the machine. He opened up the printer, and sighed looking into it. He looked up again apologetically, scratching the back of his head."I'm afraid it's out of ink."

Kyungsoo groaned out loud, about to bang his head on the printer. He saw people start to get up, and the librarian telling people it was time to leave. This time he did bang his head, but was stopped before his head touched the printer. 

"Woah, there little guy, I don't want to have to carry you to the hospital because of a concussion!" Chanyeol gripped his shoulder. His face brightened for a fraction of a second, before he smiled shyly at Kyungsoo, Chanyeol mumbled something in a small, inaudible voice. 

"What?" Kyungsoo craned his head towards the giant.

"Uh, well, my apartment is nearby, and I, uh, usually print my coursework at home so I have a printer there. If you'd like you could maybe come over and print it there? I know it sounds weird, and maybe a little creepy, but I swear to god I won't do anything." By now, Chanyeol was out of breath looking at Kyungsoo with red in his cheeks.

Kyungsoo regarded him, pondering over the pros and cons of agreeing. The only thing he knew about this stranger was his name, and going over to his house was not exactly the safest choice. Though he didn't exactly look like it, he could easily be a murderer. But on the plus side, he could hand in his english report on time and save himself an earful from his professor. He decided to take his chances.

Pursing his lips, he nodded once."If that's okay with you. Thanks."

Chanyeol was momentarily shocked before he smiled widely at him. He then proceeded to wrap his arm around Kyungsoo and lead the way. Kyungsoo bewilderedly stared at the arm around him, "Ahem."

Chanyeol glanced at him confusedly, following his gaze to his arm wrapped around Kyungsoo. "Oh! Oops, sorry there, I guess I'm a little touchy for my own good." He unwrapped his arms from around Kyungsoo before staring at the ground like a kicked puppy. Kyungsoo smiled a little, before chuckling quietly. "It's okay. I'm not mad." he looked straight ahead. but his mouth was still set in it's small smile.

Kyungsoo didn't notice Chanyeol smiling fondly while staring longingly at him. They disappeared around the corner toward his apartment in amiable comfortable silence. 

-^-


When they arrived at his apartment, Kyungsoo was struck with how personalized it was. The living room was small but comfy, consisting of a long couch, a TV set and a table. Chanyeol led him to his bedroom, shyly pointing at different things along the way. his room was painted a boring beige, but the posters of different bands and basketball players made up for it. 

"I assume you really like basketball and music." Kyungsoo quietly guessed, looking at the walls. 

Chanyeol laughed, his eyes doing that 'twitchy' thing again, that caused an indescribable feeling to bubble up inside him. He dismissed it quickly, when Chanyeol decided to speak up.

"How'd you guess? But yes, I actually used to be part of a band back in high school and the basketball team."

Kyungsoo nodded appreciatively, "I can see you being a basketball player." He pointedly looked chanyeol up and down hinting at his height.

He caught on, and guffawed loudly, clutching his stomach. Kyungsoo's heart warmed at the sight but he pulled back in shock at the sensations he was feeling. He was not supposed to be feeling this way. And not to a stranger no less. 

Chanyeol wandered over to the corner of his room, where his computer was seated, and sure enough his printer was hooked up. He bent over, turning his computer on and waving Kyungsoo over, who was rooted at the door. Kyungsoo hesitantly walked over, and paused next to him.

"Do have your USB?" Chanyeol asked, his eyes locked onto the screen. Kyungsoo pulled it out from his pocket and handed it over to him. Chanyeol smiled at him again, before turning back again to the screen.

"Is this your english report? Wow, Kyungsoo you're really good! Professor Choi will be proud." Chanyeol said in awe as he opened up the file. Kyungsoo did a double take, how did he know that? And when did he tell Chanyeol his name?

"Wait, how-"He sputtered, baffled. This guy must be a stalker.

"Yah, relax I'm not a stalker. It seems, however, that you are seriously not in tune with your surroundings, I'm actually in your class." Chanyeol said amused at the number of emotions flitting across his face. Kyungsoo was an open book, and he loved it. 

"What?" He wasn't understanding anything at the moment. How could he not have noticed Chanyeol before?

"I sit behind you. Like in the back row." He said, his voice distant.

"Oh. So we go to the same university?"

"I'm not going to answer that. What do you think, you punk? Yah, this really hurts my pride Kyungsoo." Snapping out of his trance, he clutched his chest in mock hurt and pretended to wipe a tear. 

He laughed nervously,"I guess I don't really look anywhere except in front of me." He sighed, a large weight being lifted off his shoulders. "That's a relief, I thought you were some crazy stalker." 

He looked at Kyungsoo even more offended than before."If it wasn't bad enough that this guy didn't even know I exist.." he muttered to himself. 

He clicked the 'print sign' and as they waited for his pages to be printed, they made small talk about their majors and programs. It seemed that Chanyeol was a Psychology major, while Kyungsoo was in the Literature program. He was a few months younger than Kyungsoo so he decided to call him Hyung. Kyungsoo felt a sharp pain in his stomach, as he remembered all the times Jongin used to call him Hyung. He quickly forgot about Jongin, when Chanyeol asked him how he liked his teachers.

Kyungsoo vaguely noticed that it was almost midnight, but he was actually enjoying himself. Chanyeol was a friendly and playful person, and it was easy keeping a conversation with him. He had a very easygoing demeanour about him, unconsciously making Kyungsoo feel relaxed. Kyungsoo decided he liked him. 

When they separated at Chanyeol's door, he gave him one more cheeky grin, calling out a "See you in class tomorrow, hyung!" 

And for the first time in a week, Kyungsoo flashed his famous 'heart-shaped' smile at him, before turning and continuing down the street. He didn't notice Chanyeol's dazed face, as he watched Kyungsoo walk away.

Chanyeol wistfully thought to himself, when does Kyungsoo ever notice anything?

-^-

When Kyungsoo arrives home to his apartment he shares with Jongin, he feels a sense of dread building up in the pit of his stomach. For some reason, he feels apprehensive, like something bad is about to happen. He can't tell what it is, however. He takes out his key, and unlocks the door, tentatively looking around for his boyfriend. Well, if you could still call him that. 

Around the last few months of their relationship, Jongin was usually never around the apartment, sometimes even opting to not return home. Whenever Kyungsoo asks of his whereabouts, he tells him that he stays at the dance studio, and practices overnight with his best friend and dance partner Sehun. Kyungsoo hasn't even met Sehun, but he can't help but feel distaste towards the other. Though Kyungsoo was his actual boyfriend, he felt as though Sehun saw Jongin more than he did. 

He flicked on the lights to find the living room empty, but heard the bass of music playing in Jongin's room. He slowly walked towards the door, though he felt like bolting in the other direction and knocked loudly. He heard the music being paused, and a sweaty Jongin appeared, with his bangs stuck to his forehead. He must have been practicing late at night. 

"Oh, Hyung. You're home late." He said disinterestedly. Instead of feeling the butterflies fluttering in his stomach, he felt a painful sting. It wasn't the same kind of 'hyung' he was used to.

"Yeah, did you want me to cook anything for you? I was thinking of making some kimchi spaghetti."

"None for me thanks. I already ate earlier with Sehun." he grinned, his white teeth a stark comparison to his golden skin. 

"Oh. Well okay then, good night." Kyungsoo smiled half-heartedly at him feeling a bitter aftertaste in his mouth before turning towards the kitchen. He heard the muffled slam of the door as he neared the end of the hallway, and sighed brokenly. He felt like crying. So he did. 

And that's how the night went, kyungsoo crying his heart out at the misfortunes of his love life, while Jongin continued to dance, to live, without a care in the world. He tasted the salt of his tears mixed with the spaghetti, trying to breath properly and quiet down his painful sobbing. But what was the point? Jongin couldn't hear. His music was too loud.

One last tremor wracked through his body before he gave up on his food, and went to sleep. He wiped his tears and simply went to sleep, wondering whether this relationship was going anywhere.

-^-

After his sob fest that night, he started to feel a little more better. Although he wasn't the type to avoid things, it started to become painful and uncomfortable for Kyungsoo to stay at their apartment, so he gradually lessened his time there, instead choosing to venture the outdoors, and come home at night to sleep. If Jongin noticed, he didn't say anything, because they didn't even text anymore.

He gradually felt himself getting more detached from Jongin. He remembered a phrase he analyzed back in high school for an english assignment, "Out of sight, out of mind". He couldn't help but relate to it. Their relationship obviously wasn't like how it used to. Kyungsoo thought to himself that maybe it was time he should move on. No, he needed to move on. This was just dragging on.

While drinking black coffee at a nearby caffe, he briefly thought of how to bring it up, when he saw chanyeol bound up to his table. "Hi hyung!" He smiled brightly, effectively cutting off his thoughts.

"Oh, hey Chanyeol." Kyungsoo could feel a genuine smile form on his lips. He hadn't seen the younger much, but they greeted each other throughout the week and talked to each other for five minutes before class usually started. He was genuinely happy to see him. But Kyungsoo was also being very careful around Chanyeol. To be honest, he was starting to feel certain things.

'Things' would entail that the times he spent talking or hanging out with the younger were quite enjoyable. It was almost as though he felt drained from whatever he was going through, whether it be coursework or over thinking his Jongin issue but whenever he would speak to or see chanyeol, with his bright smile and twitchy eyes he felt charged. As if he had this new energy, that caused him to feel a little bit more better about his life. Maybe he could get through this, he thought, if Chanyeol was there to recharge him.

Now, Kyungsoo wasn't the type of person to rush into relationships, nor was he the type to completely shun a new relationship because his was currently bad. But he wasn't even sure about his own feelings for the giant, how could he know if he felt the same?

"Kyungsoo?Yah!" Chanyeol snapped his long fingers in front of his face, causing him to blink rapidly. 

"Oh, sorry there Chanyeol. I was preoccupied with some stuff. What brings you here?" Kyungsoo implored, sipping his dark coffee. He then proceeded to stack his homework papers into a neat pile.

Chanyeol leaned back on his chair, stretching his arms out before putting them behind his head. "I saw you sitting here alone, and thought 'why not grace Kyungsoo with my presence?'" He smirked haughtily. 

"Really now? How nice of you."he replied dryly. Trust Chanyeol to be charming this early in the morning. 

Chanyeol snorted, suddenly leaning forward."You do your homework here?" 

He shrugged nonchalantly."Sometimes." And it was true. He would change up his homework/study area all the time. He favourite place to frequent was the caffe however, it was a really calm place to just relax and focus. 

"I should start joining you! Then maybe you could help me in english since you're so good at it. And since professor Choi hates me." he muttered embarrassedly. 

Kyungsoo laughed heartily, his eyes squinting into crescents. "Sure. Why not."

-^-



They then started a routine, after classes they would meet up and do english work together. It was filled with laughter and jokes, along with extensive tutoring on Kyungsoo's part. They would even bring in their work from classes other than english, talking to each other in between writing and drinking coffee. Kyungsoo started to notice the little things about Chanyeol. He noticed how his ears were large in a cute way and pointed upwards similar to an elf. he noticed that Chanyeol was quite the clumsy individual, his long lanky limbs flailing everywhere, especially when he was excited.


It was one day, when Kyungsoo arrived home earlier than usual that things with Jongin actually hit him. He carelessly pushed the door open, with his hands full of folders, not expecting to see or hear Jongin, and who only could be Sehun.

He watched with wide eyes Jongin and the other as they made-out on the couch in the living room, a movie playing in the background. He wondered bitterly why they hadn't even tried to be inconspicuous about it, because technically they were still dating. But there they were, lip-locked, in the middle of the damn living room. 

Kyungsoo did see the inevitable ending of their relationship, but in all honesty he didn't expect it to end like this. They didn't seem to notice him standing there about to break down into tears. He shakily closed the door quietly, and leaned against it looking up helplessly. The first hot tear ran down his face, and soon he was full blown sobbing. 

He walked out of the apartment complex, all the while crying, and garnered some unneeded attention from passer-by's. He sat on a bench nearby, before letting it all out. He cried brokenly, his shoulders shuddering. He gasped, feeling his heart clench inside of him. He used his sleeve to wipe away his tears but they were immediately replaced with new ones. 

"K-kyungsoo?" He heard a low voice whisper. Before he could turn around, he was enveloped in long arms and a cushion of warmth. 

"W-what? Who…" He heard a deep chuckle in reply and knew. He knew exactly who it was. 

"Chanyeol." he breathed, his face wet with tears. 

"The one and only. What's wrong hyung?" He rubbed Kyungsoo's shoulder for comfort, his mouth smothered by Kyungsoo's dark hair. 

At the sudden reminder as to why he was crying, he started crying again, this time louder than before. Chanyeol only held him tighter, burying his face deeper into kyungsoo's hair. 

"I'm here, hyung. Okay?" he murmured.

Kyungsoo cried and cried and cried. 

-^-



After crying for what seemed like hours, he finally sat up. His eyes were puffy from crying enough tears to drown the whole city of seoul. He looked to his side to see Chanyeol closely watching him concernedly. They were still sitting outside his apartment complex.

"Are you okay?" He asked tentatively. 

Kyungsoo stared at him blankly, before realizing he had asked him a question.

"Erm, yes." his voice came out hoarse and weak, to which chanyeol flinched. "I'm sorry about that."

Chanyeol wordlessly gazed at him, before leaning backwards on his arms. "Hyung, do you remember when I approached you that day, while you were waiting for your boyfriend at the movies?" 

Kyungsoo curiously stared at him, what brought that up? Still, he nodded slowly.

"I always thought that you were an open book, ever since I saw you in class on the first day on Uni. I could see every emotion on your face, whether you were enlightened, or frustrated. It just came naturally to me, I suppose." he closed his eyes, his chest rising and lowering with every breath he took. "But when I saw you sitting there on the bench that night, holding those two bags of popcorn and waiting expectantly for someone, I couldn't help but think that whoever you were waiting for, truly didn't know your worth. They didn't appreciate you, you with your beautiful wide eyes that could tell a million stories. Then your boyfriend came, not even in presentable attire, and had the nerve to be jealous." 

He laughed suddenly, but it sounded wrong, strangled with unspoken feelings.

"I got so angry, and frustrated. I couldn't help but think that I would never do those kinds of things to you." he smiled, looking down at his hands that were currently clasped together."Isn't it funny, hyung? How people go through lives experiencing love in such different ways. Some painful, others exceedingly happy. " 

Kyungsoo felt something stuck in his throat, as he listened to Chanyeol speak. 

"But as I watched you walk away, and even when we would hang out at the cafe, and you'd check your phone regularly, I thought that your love was neither, painful nor happy. It was…fruitless. There was nothing there, nothing to be happy or sad about. But we tend to cry, when things that we are used to, routines, get cut off abruptly."

Chanyeol turned fully in his seat ,facing Kyungsoo head on. Kyungsoo gulped, his eyes starting to glisten. The way Chanyeol looked right now, bathed in the lamp light, he looked mature, and well, beautiful.

"Kyungsoo."

Kyungsoo held his breath, as Chanyeol clasped their hands together. 

"Let me take you out of your misery."

*-^-*


"Don't forget to take your laptop with you, hyung!" Jongin called from the living room. 

Kyungsoo was hurriedly gathering his papers in his bedroom. He was supposed to meet Chanyeol in less than 10 minutes. He double-checked he had everything, before bustling out of his room. 

"Yah, clean up this mess! You're dead meat if I come back to the apartment in this state." Kyungsoo warned, his OCD kicking in as he looked around the room. 

"Yeah, yeah. Tell Chanyeol hyung I said hi!" he was about to fly out the door, with his shoes half on, when Jongin yelled again.

"I SAID YOU FORGOT YOUR LAPTOP!" Kyungsoo slammed the door back open, and grabbed his laptop before running back out. 

"Thanks jongin! Don't forget to clean, okay? OKAY?!" he heard Jongin faintly mumble something under his breath, before he was out the apartment and down the hall. 

The cold air smacked him right in the face, as he briskly walked down the street and around the corner. He smiled to himself as he walked, recounting his eventful year.

He was glad that he could maintain normalcy with Jongin after they broke up almost half a year ago. Mind you, it was hard bringing up what Kyungsoo had witnessed and there were a lot of tears, but they knew that it was for the best. After all, even if they weren't dating, they were still close friends, and decided to continue being roommates. He liked this type of relationship with Jongin way better. 

He pushed the caffe door open, and the bell had rung, signalling that somebody had entered the store. Chanyeol, immediately looked up and grinned a full-blown grin, when he saw that Kyungsoo had finally arrived. He was wearing large specs, and his black hair was styled up. 

"I hope you feel guilty for making me wait." 

Kyungsoo looked at his watch, before scowling at him."Yah! I'm only two minutes late." 

"Still late." he tsked, before laughing. 

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and was about to sit in the sit in front of him before he stopped him.

"Wait!" His arm was outstretched in front of Kyungsoo.

"What now?" Kyungsoo groaned. He hadn't even sat down yet and the younger was already annoying him.

He patted the seat next to him. "I wan't you to sit here. ❤" he gagged at the way he cooed at him.

"Why? I always sit here?" Kyungsoo sometimes genuinely didn't understand the other.

"Because I wan't to sit next to my SooSoo." Before Kyungsoo could sputter at the ridiculous nickname, Chanyeol had already pulled him down to the seat next to him.

"Seriously, what am I supposed to do with you…"Kyungsoo muttered to himself before pulling out his folders and papers sluggishly, his mouth forming a half frown, half pout.

"Don't do that."

"Do what-"

"That facial expression. Don't do it. Or else I'll kiss you."

His eyes widened almost comically, as he sat there stock still. He felt pleasurable tingles travel up his spine, and his cheeks were a shade pinker.

"Y-yah, what's w-wrong with you, saying things like that out of the bl-"he was cut off when he felt lips on his own. Before he even had a chance to respond, Chanyeol pulled away. He sat there bewildered, wondering what just happened. Chanyeol chuckled fondly at his reaction.

"Ahh, so cute. My little SooSoo." He clasped his hands together beside his face. He then turned serious again, picking up his pen. "Now, time to get down to business!" 

As Kyungsoo watched him focusing on his paper, his eyes trained on the words before him as he mumbled things under his breath, he felt his mouth turn up at the corners.

He could get used to this.

-^-