“You should probably stop looking at me like that, or else I’ll start thinking the heavens missed two stars in the night sky.”

Chanyeol literally cringes when he hears those words from the mouth of a five foot something guy, now comfortably conversing with a girl he had no interest of knowing who.  He looks, albeit discreetly, on the two; the girl trying hard to suppress her apparent melting at the still continuing cheese the small guy has to offer, and the guy looking for all the world very serious indeed.   The other guy's hands were in the pockets of his jeans, looking as if he's already done it to a million people a million times— well a bit exaggerated but still true.  It was really unnerving to hear their conversation, much more the apparent smoothness of the small guy that made the girl’s tongue in shambles.  Already outside the university and he is still notorious as heck for being a smooth talker.

Standing at six foot two, Chanyeol casually eavesdrops from where he was—an open book shop just directly in front of the crime scene (if he can actually call it that) and fixes his hair before putting his cap back on, paying to the cashier for the latest issue of the manga he was reading.  He looks outside for a moment, clueless as to where the girl might have gone for she was already missing from crime site, and finds himself staring at the other guy, eyes wide like an owl’s, imploring a question like "what're you looking at?" and head cocked a little bit sideways.  Tall guy feels the plastic bag being placed on his hands and he comes back to the now, bowing to the cashier before going out of the store.  Chanyeol is acknowledged with a slight nod as he walks away, feeling the stare follow him to his dorm, but then maybe that’s just his imagination toying with him. 

Well, everybody basically knows who the other guy is.  Do Kyungsoo, Literature major, the person you least expect to spew out cheese and make a fumbling mess out of yourself.  He stands at five foot something (Chanyeol is sure when he stands beside the guy the latter looks like a midget), eyes with no shortage of white space, lips shaped like a heart whenever he smiles and cheeks that just beg to be pinched.  He looks innocent, but when his mouth opens, eighty percent of the time everyone expects cheese and being smooth.  Not that anybody minds; it’s just that he swings both ways it’s hard to know which side he likes more.  Girls, boys—whoever was new would always have an episode with Kyungsoo one way or another, whether they like it or not.  He is also mysterious:  people have no idea if he had, has, or will have a partner in life, if he just flirts but never continues, and one time there was a rumor that Kyungsoo was a vampire, using cheese to lure his prey.  Basically the last one, without the supernatural aura to it, was the nearest to the truth.  Chanyeol was no exception; that much he knew, more so now that Kyungsoo acknowledged that he was alive.  Now he needs to be prepared for the best—or the worst, if it was possible—encounter with the cheese king.

“Kyungsoo’s a kind guy—just irritatingly smooth, but still kind as heck.”  Chanyeol’s dorm mate, Luhan, says as he picks on their dinner, fried chicken, on his plate, finding the right way to put it in his mouth.  Chanyeol feels utterly bad for the food but keeps his tongue in check, opting to stick to the conversation at hand.

“I know, you’ve said that about a million and one times already, but just as you said, he’s irritatingly smooth, emphasis on irritatingly.”  Chanyeol stuffs the chicken in his mouth and chews, pleased to see the burgundy haired guy in front of him contort his face in disgust.  Gulping the mess in his mouth, he continues talking.  “You’re his friend too so I guess I can’t really rely on your words.”

Chanyeol almost shouts finally, finally as Luhaneats the piece of meat and chews it slowly before glaring at him.  “You ungrateful brat, go figure him out yourself then.”  A swift, sharp kick under the table and the taller immediately regrets his choice of words.  Nevertheless, they continue their conversation about the guy that spews cheese anywhere, everywhere to anyone.

The  next day, Luhan audibly lets out a sigh as the tall guy messes with his hair and then fixes it, then messes it again, irritating his friend out of his mind.  “Literature with Professor Kim is like Physics with Einstein; seriously Chanyeol are you trying to get killed?  Why take this on your sophomore year?  And on second semester, I might add.  This is junior-senior stuff, kid.”  Fellow Literature major says to kill time, looking at the tall guy's schedule.

“Better to get myself killed by a professor than drowning in cheese by someone whose height I can’t take seriously.”  Chanyeol says, fixing his hair one last time before smiling at the mirror.  His ears aren’t that noticeable anymore since he kept his hair longer than usual; when he and Luhan first met he was immediately called Dumbo much to his chagrin.  His eyes, always mismatched when he smiles, are still mismatched as always, and as he puts on his glasses he feels nicer about himself.

They walk the ten-minute trek to their building and separate on their way to their classrooms.  Chanyeol is greeted by noise as he opens the door of his supposed class with the dreaded Professor Kim.  He looks around, desperate to find a seat and someone he knows: until he finds one of the two near the window.  Quickly taking a seat he tries to find a friend or even an acquaintance until it hits him like a ton of bricks as he looks beside, eyes looking at him with curiosity, a smirk slowly spreading into the other’s face.

It’s not the first time he had a class with Kyungsoo, but all of those other times he just keeps watch—what are his antics like in the classroom (a silent child that answers when spoken to), what he does when the teacher turns around (just scribbling something on his paper then passing it to his seatmate, whoever he or she is, who will then redden like ripe apples), and what he does with his readings (scribble weird stuff all over, just like what Chanyeol does).

“I heard there’s a company in New York who lets people pay for hugs.”  Chanyeol barely hears it, but he does.  “I don’t mind doing it as long as the payment is your love.  I think we’ve met before—or is it in my dreams?”

Chanyeol almost does not respond to the sudden, piping hot cheese thrown at his way.  So this is how it feels like.  He hears it from everyone: how he would catch you off guard with his words and leave you speechless, not even remembering your name.  He takes back his numerous height referenced jokes about him; this guy was no joke.

Taking a deep breath, his mind worked on its own and he speaks before he knows it: "I guess it can’t be helped that we’ve met before in my dreams too; I guess we’re destined to be together.”

Introductions are said a while later, with Kyungsoo remembering Chanyeol as the guy who defended the idea that Romeo and Juliet's romance was utter trash.  A smirk becomes a smile, Chanyeol notices, and before long he was looking at a seriously happy Kyungsoo, grinning at him like he was some savior or something.  His huge ears suddenly felt hot and Chanyeol had to rub them discreetly in order to put them to the right color again, because the fleeting thought in his mind is that Kyungsoo looks utterly beautiful when smiling.

“I guess two can play this game; will you take the first move and tell me that you love me?”  The smaller of the two pushes the limits, rendering a Chanyeol twitching his left eye knowing he is almost running out of cheese after that one assault he did to the other.  But as what was said, his mind is already working on its own, his heart pumping much too fast for his liking. 

“I’ll play the game of love with you; but that would be too fast and too easy.  Why don’t we take it slow and let our hearts decide?”  Chanyeol says, praying hard to the heavens above that Kyungsoo doesn’t respond anymore.  Sure enough, he doesn’t because their professor comes in, bearing with him the required reading for the whole semester. 

Kyungsoo scribbles furiously at his notebook, taking down some serious notes on the lecture—at least that’s what Chanyeol thinks, until a note flutters on his desk and he sees a smirking Kyungsoo now listening to the lecture at hand.  He flips the note and sighs in defeat.

“My heart’s decided on you, has your heart decided on me too?”

Chanyeol does not, in any possible way, respond to the cheese; not, at least, until the next day on another sheet of paper.  But he gets to keep it in his wallet as a souvenir.

--

“God that guy is irritatingly smooth.”  Tall, lean guy complains as he stuffs himself a burrito, Myungsoo looking at him weirdly.  Luhan had class from 12-2 pm, a stomach unfriendly hour, but thank goodness Chanyeol’s class resumed after lunch which meant a normal eating time for him.  His other friend and dorm-next-door person Myungsoo accompanies him at these times as the small eyed boy waits for his girlfriend, Soojung, from the Science department.   The two wordlessly eat, Myungsoo looking at his phone time and again while Chanyeol reflects on his life and for the nth time asks why he was destined to be Kyungsoo’s next target. 

One month is quickly passing with pure cheese from Kyungsoo himself and the guy with brown hair and big ears could calmly conclude the irritatingly smooth part.  Myungsoo wrongly asks the question why which makes him listen to a ten minute rant of the other about cheese and how to avoid cheese 101 and “Did you know he looks kind of nice when he smiles?”

Park Chanyeol you did not just say that.

Flower boy next door guy looks at him with a scrutinizing face, then sits back down and tilts his head.  “Did you just say Kyungsoo looks nice when he smiles?”  Chanyeol simply shrugs it off, not wanting the issue to delve any further than what he intended.  But deep inside, the taller knew he just had a Freudian slip and it was a bad one indeed.

He has his next classes all on a roll and wipes the sweat off his hands as he exits the last class he has for the day who made them write a two hundred-word essay on how pick up lines could have existed long ago.  Chanyeol thinks of all the coincidences in his life and he is so sure this is one that will be unforgettable.  Walking towards Luhan’s class which ended the same time as his, he bumps into a smaller figure and turns around to give  him a look of contemptwhen he realizes that: one, it is Kyungsoo; two, he intentionally bumped Chanyeol; and three, Luhan is beside Kyungsoo.  Smiling to Chanyeol the deer eyed boy tugs Kyungsoo’s arm and makes him face the other then speaks.

“I’m guessing you’re classmates, so you two already know each other, right?  Right so—Chanyeol want to eat with us?”

Chanyeol thinks that it is food that makes him come along, sandwiching Luhan in between him and Kyungsoo.  He cannot help but study the small guy laughing at whatever Luhan had to say, his eyes crinkling to slits, his mouth beautifully upturned, and his cheeks that puffed out every time he laughed; even his maroon hair that was so well kept the taller was sure his hands would easily slide against it.  Chanyeol wasn’t sure but he felt something eerily familiar in his chest when the person described turns to him and beckons for him to walk with them, making him realize he was a few steps behind.

As opposed to what most people would say about Kyungsoo, he wasn’t at all that cheesy when he is with people he’s comfortable with.  On the contrary, he becomes bubbly, smiling cheerfully; even cheese was emphemarlly forgotten.  It was almost like it wasn’t Kyungsoo at all, and the taller liked this side so much because it compliments who the smaller is.  On further realization, Chanyeol realizes that he was focused on Kyungsoo so much because he is starting to like this midget.

The realization hits him like ice pouring on his head.  Damn, just one month, and his heart’s like this already?  He dismisses it as a crush or just infatuation caused by the cheese they share every time they meet.  Unfortunately, he grows quite aware that this isn’t any ordinary infatuation when out of nowhere Kyungsoo looks at him, smiling.

“So, what are you eating?”  He asks and Chanyeol fumbles for the words chicken burger before saying them in one piece.

Kyungsoo laughs at the stammering and tells Luhan, "You know, your friend here has quite a cheesy streak too."  Chanyeol feels his cheeks burn out of the compliment, and deer eyes looked at him in both alarm and pleasant surprise.  Owl eyes, however, start crinkling to slits, then the owner got up to order.

"Did you just blush, you retard?"Luhan fiercely whispers to a lost Chanyeol, eyes unconciously drifting to the being that is getting their food.  The other snapped his fingers then on last resort (not so) lightly slapped the taller out of his reverie.

"What the—"Chanyeol says out of surprise and cups his cheek, Luhan laughing.

"Oh shoot you do like him don't you."  Fingers weaved themselves in brown hair, weighing the answer.

Just as he is about to open his mouth, Kyungsoo comes back with a tray full of food and gestures for the fries back at the counter.  Chanyeol stands up and silently gets it, making sure he does not look like a bumbling fool when he puts the tray down and says, "Let's eat!"

For the rest of the meal, Chanyeol did not make a fool out of himself, which is good, but he did engage in a cheese war with Kyungsoo, something they regularly did for the past month.  Luhan looks back and forth at the two, laughing good-naturedly.  The smaller smiles too, an earnest one that made the tall guy's heart flop erratically against the cavity of his chest. 

". . . Chanyeol your turn— or do I win?"  Chanyeol's staring was cut short and he clears his throat.

"You already won my heart, what more do you want?”  He says without batting an eyelash, taking a huge bite of his food.  Kyungsoo turns to Luhan in awe.

"Do you now see what I mean when I say he's a natural?"  Owl eyes glisten in happiness and Luhan chuckles, pulling Kyungsoo closer and slings an arm on his shoulders, ruffling his hair.  The taller, meanwhile, looks at them with a raised brow, mismatched eyes a little wider than usual.  Kyungsoo, who doesn't seem to mind the skinship, finishes his burger, wiping his lips then looking at Luhan, wipes the other's lips too.  To anyone else they'd look like a couple, even to Chanyeol's, but he understands a little more than most.

"Hey, Chanyeol."  Luhan snaps him out once again and he does not know if he should be grateful or not for his friend.  He makes a gesture for Luhan to go on, and the other smiles at him sweetly before looking at Kyungsoo.  A mischievous glint in his eyes surfaces.

"Bond with my Kyungie; I still have a tutorial service to do.  See you!"  He then stands up, much to the horror clearly written on the face of Chanyeol, and waves a goodbye before leaving the two.  Kyungsoo could be a poster boy of calmness, the tall guy thought.  They continue their banter of cheese as around them people noisily chat.  Just then, there is one piercing scream that silences everyone.

"What do you mean you're breaking up with me?"

Chanyeol, sipping the last of his large drink, notices Kyungsoo visibly perk up, his posture straighter and his hands closing to tight fists.  The sobs are heard from the corner boothwhere the scream came from.  The guy, Chanyeol could hear (excluding the fact that he has big ears, he could hear quite clearly) makes excuses to the girl who was sobbing uncontrollably.  He knows; once or twice he had used "I've just fallen out of love" or "I just don't think it'll work out" and once, out of frustration because the girl just can't seem to let go, "Will you just shut up, I'm prettier than you" and sauntered away.

Now Kyungsoo seems affected by the escalating argument on the booth, his lower lip bitten down hard and his eyes closed, trying to take deep breaths.  In, out, in, out; the gesture trying to calm his nerves.  Well, it sure worked to a certain extent before the girl said:

"Who is she?"

The question apparently snaps Kyungsoo's last straw and Chanyeol watches in horror as the smaller approaches the booth and calmly, quickly lands a punch on the guy's face.

"You don't- you ing don't- make girls cry; didn't your father teach you a thing or two about chivalry and gentlemanliness?"  Kyungsoo says, fuming mad.  The girl's mouth turns agape and the guy stands up, clearly agitated.

"Well what the do you care?"  The guy, taller than Kyungsoo (then again, who isn't), wipes his mouth much to the fear of Chanyeol for the smaller's life. 

"We all cared when your ex girlfriend so casually screamed inside this fast food chain, you tard."

Chanyeol could have unmanly screamed when the guy throws a punch at Kyungsoo, but the smaller is quick to dodge the incoming attack, not retaliating.  The other is to throw another punch when Chanyeol, done with the scene he was seeing, throws himself in front of Kyungsoo and stops the punch with a hand outstretched to a stop.

"I'm sorry for my boyfriend," Chanyeol says to the guy,"but you deserved that punch."  The girl stands up with a smile at the two then slaps her now ex boyfriend.

"They'll be infinitely manlier than you will ever be."

With that, the three go out of the fast food chain leaving an agape jerk and clapping customers.

"Hey, miss, you alright?"  Kyungsoo asks after some silent moments drowned theadrenaline away.  Chanyeol walks slightly behind and watches as the smaller guy comforts the girl.

"I— I guess I should have expected this. . ." The girl says, trailing off to release a much needed sob.  "I guess I was an idiot—"

"No he's the idiot for leaving you; that's the worst decision he's made."  Kyungsoo unleashes his cheese again and Chanyeol chuckles lightly at this, making the girl look at him.  Smiling apologetically, she looks at the two of them and nods.

"You two look cute.  Too bad he's your boyfriend; I could've flirted back at him."She says at Chanyeol who laughs the fleeting feeling of happiness at the term 'your boyfriend'.

"He's—"  Kyungsoo starts explaining but Chanyeol effectively cuts this by holding his hand.

"I know; he's very cheesy, yes?"  He says, earning an earnest glare from the other.

The three part ways after a while, Chanyeol holding on to Kyungsoo's hand a little longer than he should have.

"T—thanks for earlier. I- I mean the punch, you know—" Chanyeol hears Kyungsoo stutter and he smiles despite himself, looking at the smaller with eyes that exuded worry.

"It's okay— you're not hurt, are you?"  The brown haired guy asks and Kyungsoo nods.  He realizes he has not released the smaller’s hand yet, and coughing awkwardly does so.  They part ways only when Chanyeol was sure Kyungsoo was okay.   The brown-haired guy also thanks the heavens the fast food chain they went to was quite far from where their university is situated so no students from their university are inside except them.

Days pass like the incident above never happened, save for a recall story for Luhan who claps happily at the two's heroism.  The two smile at each other and eat their food happily, moving on to more interesting topics and liking their newfound deeper friendship.

Chanyeol continues to sit beside Kyungsoo, continues to talk to him and continues to exchange cheese to him, but he knows now that something is different.  While doing the aforementioned things he resists the urge to pinch him in the cheeks or pat his hair (even though he did that once, which resulted to a fuming Kyungsoo at his heels telling him to apologize), or even kiss his plump lips.  The latter fact makes him think he is crazy, but his intuition says otherwise. 

After three months of this set up, Chanyeol knew one day, as he brushes his teeth and stares at the image that stood before him— eyelids on the verge of closing, hair disheveled and mouth slightly parted: the poster boy of stress—he should do something for his sake, something that involves confessing to the only boy that had grabbed his sight since the first day he laid his eyes on him, no rumors involved.

He enters Professor Kim's classroom and finds no Kyungsoo on the seat beside him.  Sighing in relief, he sits down and waits— just to be disappointed when the class ends and there was no sight of the smaller boy.  The taller guy quickly exits the classroom and looks around, his eyes scanning the crowd of people, hoping to find Kyungsoo.  Trudging to his next class, he never felt this disappointed in his life, and he knew Kyungsoo was the only one who can bring him this extreme emotion.

Classes end and there was no Kyungsoo at sight and Chanyeol feels anxiety rush through him as he jogs—no, he practically ran to  Luhan's classroom where he disappoints himself even more when the doe eyed boy emerges without any companion.  Luhan looks apologetic, sad even, Chanyeol could notice as he wheezes his breath away. 

"He—he didn't— class— today?"  Chanyeol says, words failing him this time.  Luhan shakes his head and shows him a text message.

"Princess, I cam'!t make it to clsstofay, pls tell Chsn nit to miss me roomuvh. Sotty typos mu head hurts so much love yaty."

The typos irritated Chanyeol at first but the message was there— Kyungsoo is sick and he needs to go.  Now.

"So is he in his dorm?" Chanyeol asks, worry evident in his voice.  Luhan smiles softly, nods and pats his back.

"Let's take care of him, okay?"

They walk to where Kyungsoo's place is, at least from Luhan's memory.  It was a good twenty minute walk because it was a block away from where the two were staying.  Chanyeol could say that the place was quaint, a three-story dorm and Kyungsoo stays at the top floor.  When they ring the doorbell, a loud and acknowledging grunt makes the taller breathe a sigh of relief.  As Luhan pats around for the key, Chanyeol tells Kyungsoo who they were.  Another grunt of approval and Luhan opens the door to find the smaller lying down on his couch clad in shorts and shorts, an episode of Pororo blaring on the television set.  When Chanyeol makes a move to turn it off, a glare was sent his way.

"Hey, Kyung."  Approaching the person lyingon the sofa, Chanyeol keeps the tone casual but there rests a hint of worry that the one lying down dissipates by a pat on the taller's stomach, making Chanyeol gasp.

"Hey, big guy.  Sorry for making you worry.”  The taller nods as a response then puts a hand over Kyungsoo's open eyes,making them close. 

"Just rest. We've got you covered."  He cannot resist it— Chanyeol runs a hand over the red hair that haunts him in his sweetest dreams.  He rests his hand on Kyungsoo's crown and massages it gently, afraid of hurting the other more.   The brown-haired guy smiles when he hears a contented sigh from the other.  They continue being like this until Luhan quickly shouts from the kitchen: "Chanyeol! Make porridge!"

There is a tinge of red on Kyungsoo's cheeks, Chanyeol thinks on the memory of what happened earlier, as he stirs on the rice, making it extra special for the sick one.  His friend busies himself with taking Kyungsoo’s temperature (“He’s a bit hot.”  Luhan shouts and Chanyeol could clearly hear the innuendo evident), accompanying him as the smaller goes to the bathroom and back to the couch (“He can’t even stand, poor guy.”  Luhan peeks at the thick, bubbling porridge slowly cooking), and watching Pororo with him (“I guess if Jongin sees this he’ll be worried.”  Luhan whispers and shakes his head.)

The last line catches Chanyeol’s attention as he transfers the just-cooked porridge to a Pororo bowl (the nearest he could find), leaving it in the table to cool down for a bit.  The show is still blaring on the living room, the sick guy with his eyes closed closing and opening his fists. 

“What did you just say?”  Chanyeol tries to whisper back but ends up speaking in his normal voice which earns him a threatening “Chanyeol” from Kyungsoo.  He sees Luhan stifle a laugh before answering with a whisper, “Jongin; you don’t know him, but I think you will sometime.  He’s the— how do I put it—the Yin to Kyungsoo’s Yang, something like that.”  The fawn-eyed boy moistens his lips, clearly not wanting to say the fact and the tall guy feels his heart lurch downward, maybe a hundred floors down or more. 

“I have a headache but I’m not deaf, Luhan.”  Kyungsoo says, making the two jump in surprise.  He still has his eyes closed.  “But nice allegory there, I must say.”  He smiles and Chanyeol’s then falling heart hits rock bottom and breaks to pieces as the taller thinks the smile is for Jongin, whoever that guy may be.  Gulping away the bitter taste in his mouth, the tall guy clears his throat and gets the bowl, going near Kyungsoo’s figure.

“You better eat something before taking in your medicine.  Here, I cooked this for you.”  Chanyeol could barely make his voice not tinge coldness; instead it fell flat and Kyungsoo opens his eyes to look at him.

“Thank you, Chan.”  Kyungsoo’s voice became smaller, Chanyeol noticed, as he tries to sit up.  It is with great effort that he does with Luhan helping him and even though the tall guy's heart is still breaking, he needs to do his duty as a good friend.  Sitting beside the smaller he starts feeding him, small spoonfuls, making sure the other eats heartily.  When Kyungsoo croaks out that he needs water, Luhan brings them a glass and hands it to Chanyeol who makes the small guy drink. 

It is in these moments, while the fawn-eyed boy eats his share in the kitchen with permission from the owner, that Chanyeol sees Kyungsoo in a different light.  He was suddenly vulnerable in the taller guy’s eyes, and the latter just wants to keep him safe.  There is a softness that presented itself in Kyungsoo’s features and personality that makes Chanyeol want to be with him and stand by him and just love him.  Who cares who Jongin was; Chanyeol knew there and then he was deeply, irreversibly and madly in love with a cheesy guy named Do Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo falls asleep once again after taking the appropriate medicines; the television now replaced by the smaller’s iPod playing on his speakers.  Chanyeol washes the dishes while Luhan stands beside him, arms crossed.

“You’re pissed, aren’t you?”  The tall guy could only sigh in response as he washes the soap suds out of the Pororo bowl.  The other pats his back and nods before turning back and watching Kyungsoo sleep.

It sure is true that he is pissed.  Chanyeol went to Kyungsoo’s dorm with the intention of finally admitting his feelings to the latter— then he is barraged by the fact that the petite guy had someone, a Yin to his Yang or something.  He is pissed by the fact that he was so sure Kyungsoo might have liked him too but gods, was he so wrong.  He is pissed with the fact that he counted on Kyungsoo to actually like him back and now he is beyond disappointed.

Chanyeol counts the times he has actually been let down and so far this hurts more than it should have.

After some time, Luhan and Chanyeol decides to go home, but both know they cannot leave their friend like this, even after insisting by him that they should go home and live their lives.  In the end, Luhan leaves Chanyeol behind and swears to be back with a bag of clothing.  Brown haired guy stands awkwardly for a moment on the doorway, looking at the being with closed eyes before sighing and sitting down with crossed legs.  If he leans his head behind or turns his head to his right, Kyungsoo’s face would be right there and so far that’s what Chanyeol wants. 

“What’s with the deep sigh?”  Kyungsoo asks.  Chanyeol clutches his chest; he didn’t know the other was awake.

“How’s your head?”  He asks back quickly, ignoring the question altogether.

“My head is bad by my heart is good—hey that’s a quote I saw somewhere.”  Small guy replies after a minute of silence then goes back to his question.  “You didn’t answer my question: what’s with the deep sigh?”

The tall guy wishes the ground could swallow him so that he will not answer the hovering question.  He tries to think of excuses and comes up with one so futile he thinks it was better if he hadn’t answered.

“I’m just sighing because you’re sick, that’s all.”

“Liar.”  Feeling a pair of eyes scrutinizing him, the tall guy looks and finds himself staring at the other.  They stare, one pair questioning and another begging not to.  Soon Chanyeol finds himself leaning in, the pull of the other on his heart so strong he hears it throb on his chest.  He never breaks eye contact, and neither does the other—until Chanyeol’s eyes dart to the other’s lips and thinks, how soft could they be?

A blink was all it took.  Kyungsoo blinks, quite aware of the closing distance and the taller leans in fully, making his corpulent lips touch the other’s plump and pink ones.  The kiss is quick and gentle and everything that Chanyeol expected it to be, which was nice.  Indeed Kyungsoo’s lips are smooth and soft, he thinks, as he pulls away, face heating up. 

“That’s why I’m sighing.”  The tall, brown haired guy says after a heartbeat or two.  Bloood still pools in his face while the other continues blinking in surprise, probably unable to comprehend what just happened—but then that’s Chanyeol’s inference.  Clearing his throat, Chanyeol starts standing up but Kyungsoo's voice made him stop on his tracks.

"Park."

Kyungsoo never calls Chanyeol in last name basis so the latter reckons he sure did something bad.  Turning around, he is greeted by the sight of the smaller guy reddening furiously, gritting his teeth at the sheer effort of sitting up.  He repeats calling the other by last name.

"Park."

Chanyeol finds his tongue and stutters a what.  He finds himself unable to move, unable to speak— transfixed by what happened earlier and what is happening now.  Kyungsoo speaks after a while.  The words haunt the taller as he sleeps on the carpeted floor and as he leaves and walks back to their dorm the next day, what the other meant by "It's not what you think it is."

The next day, Chanyeol enters class to see a sheet of paper in his desk, Kyungsoo softly snoring beside him as he takes a seat.  He looks at it and sighs in relief as it only was a test result and apparently he passed.  Chanyeol feels a pang of pity towards the smaller; he thinks that it was sheer effort to move, much more get to class.  He spies a 97 on Kyungsoo's table and a sheet of paper fluttering under it, the corner visible.  Curiousity perks up in the taller man as he sees the characters of the last part of his name and gently, as to not make the other wake, he takes the paper and opens it.

"Maybe it's just me but I still feel your lips on mine."

Chanyeol in a breath and that small gesture makes his seatmate stir.  When he sees the paper in Chanyeol's hand, he visibly reddens and nods to it, smiling.

The line that Luhan said back in Kyungsoo's dorm emerges just at this time, bringing back the pissed off feeling Chanyeol had put off and he smiles back this unsincere smile of his.  Kyungsoo opens his mouth just as their professor comes in.  Chanyeol decides he should stop.

But he knows he couldn't.

Luhan and him walk Kyungsoo back to his dorm, and when they are about to leave, the smaller calls out, last name basis again.

"Park."

Chanyeol is forced to stay behind, an awkward silence enveloping them.  Kyungsoo sits on the couch, Chanyeol on the floor, then the smaller speaks with his eyes closed.

"Jongin—he isn't who you think he is."  Kyungsoo starts, and the sheer mention of the name makes Chanyeol's heart lurch downward yet again.  "Jongin's my—well for the lack of a better term—  favorite bully target.  Very dense person, I tell you—and a stubborn prick.  But he's just that."  Kyungsoo looks at Chanyeol and the latter could feel the gaze intensify.  It is those moments where you do not, do not say things such as:

"Stop!  This is the police.  You are under arrest for stealing my heart.  Now put your hands in front where I can see them.”

Chanyeol laughs nervously because damn, why does his cheese have to overcome him in these moments?  Kyungsoo, on the other hands, laughs too and jokingly holds out his hands.

“Officer, if I were to be punished, can I keep your heart?  I’ll be keeping it real safe.”  He answers with his trademark cheese that just begs to be answered.  Chanyeol, quick to react, holds Kyungsoo’s hand in his and marvels at the quickness of how these things are happening.

“You’ll be the prisoner of my heart and my mind.  And your punishment?Lifetime imprisonment.”  Kyungsoo laughs, this beautiful one that makes Chanyeol’s heart flutter.  He fakes a gasp then looks at their entwined hands.

“I wouldn’t mind the sentence, officer, as long as I am always inside your prison of love.”  Chanyeol was about to respond when Kyungsoo blurts out, “Although I wouldn’t mind doing another crime so there will be enough sentences to last us forever.”

Chanyeol stops for a minute, weighing how he should answer the cheese.  Damn, he thought, this is hard.

“You’re doing another crime, actually.”   Chanyeol finally says, looking straight in the eyes of Kyungsoo.  “That is being cute.   Now you’re in big trouble, mister.”  Smiling, he pulls the other for a hug, making the other gasp in pleasant surprise.

“Eh?”  Chanyeol hears after a minute.  “I wasn’t—officer, bring me to jail now or try me in the courts because I can’t wait to be in your prison.   Trouble?  What trouble?”  He asks.

The taller of the two lets go of the hug.  “I can’t handle you anymore I—“He was blushing, for goodness sake, and this is so embarrassing for Chanyeol he crawls to the wall on the opposite side and hugs his knees, looking for all the world like a boy who just saw his crush—well yeah that was happening.

Chanyeol could feel a particular set of eyes questioning him and looks back to see Kyungsoo with an arched brow, blinking.  “Park?”  He says.  “You’re madly red.”

This is it, Chanyeol thought.  everything.

He crawls; effectively lessening their distances, then holds Kyungsoo’s face between his hands, cupping it very gently and looking at the other’s eyes.

“It’s your fault, you cute little .”  He cannot help it; the expletive just rushed out of his mouth.  It made the smaller smile, though.

“Park, are you sick?”   Kyungsoo asks, cupping Chanyeol’s face back that sends a thousand sparks and tingling sensations on the skin of the taller, now kneeling.

“I probably am.  Who caused this, though?”  He says, not breaking eye contact with Kyungsoo.

“Dunno; the fact that you’re blushing though—cute.”  Kyungsoo speaks.

“I-It’s not like I’m blushing because of you.  I-it’s not l-like m-my heart’s beating fast for you, stupid.”  Chanyeol stutters.

“It’s okay.  I’m used to red faces.  Now stop this.”  A pat on his cheek was Chanyeol’s last straw, apparently.  He pulls Kyungsoo and kisses him on the mouth, making the smaller smile.   Pulling away after a second, Chanyeol stutters again.

“L-let’s just s-say that’s a small de-declaration. Of love.”

Kyungsoo smiles widely and pulls Chanyeol back for a second kiss, hugging him.  When Kyungsoo pulls away, he sees a wide-eyed boy.  Finding his tongue, the smaller speaks.

“Let’s just say it’s my declaration of love, too.”

“Y—you—“

“Yes, you .  I do like you.”

And thus the birth of what Luhan and Myungsoo coined “ChanSoo.”

Or sometimes, as others would say, "KyungYeol."