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The transition from high school to college is tough for everyone, something that has been drilled into Kyungsoo’s head since the first day of freshman year. Still, he wants to think he’s a bit more prepared than most.
At the beginning of the process, Kyungsoo had been excited. The thought of graduating high school had been enticing. After four years of being stuck in the same place, with the same people, Kyungsoo had felt ready for the change. Applying for schools and scholarships had been a bit stressful, but entirely worth it in the end when he got into his second choice school and scored a fairly large academic scholarship.
The thrill of it had mostly faded by the time moving began. The fact that he would now be living in a new state, hundreds of miles from his family and everything he’d known, had finally settled in. Change didn’t really scare Kyungsoo, but it did make him nervous. Plus, moving was a daunting task. There wasn’t much he was taking with him, but packing made him nostalgic, and strategically placing (forcing) all the boxes into his small car exhausted him. Kyungsoo was glad he didn’t have to bring any furniture or sheets, as his future roommate had assured him the room would be fully furnished. Trying to fit anything else in his car would surely end badly.
He would have to get a job. There were many horror stories of students trying to juggle college and work, and the prospect terrified him, especially considering the strict scholarship requirements he would need to meet. Add on the fact that the only jobs he ever held were short lived summer jobs, and the fact that he had a fairly short tolerance for people’s bullshit (retail was so not for him), Kyungsoo felt it spelled disaster. He wasn’t a freeloader, though, and was determined to pay his share of the rent himself, (mostly) without his parents help.
So maybe he wasn’t quite yet mentally prepared for holding down a job, or moving hours away. He was, however, quite prepared for his classes, and couldn’t wait for them to start.
Columbus is very different from the small, Michigan town he grew up in. Kyungsoo doesn’t think he’s ever seen so many people, or billboards or fast food places. There’s too much traffic, and the streets are very confusing, but he actually wishes he’d come down a few days earlier, to have some time to explore.
When he’d first gotten the acceptance letter, one of the first things his dad did was find him a roommate. Apparently, one of his work colleges had a son also attending OSU, a junior looking for someone to take up the extra bedroom and help with the bills. Kyungsoo had been skeptical at first, but he’d rather room with someone he kind of knew than a random stranger, so he was quick to accept the offer.
From the few months they’ve been texting, Kyungsoo thinks he’s a nice dude. Jongdae , is his name.
Miraculously, he only gets lost once before he finds the apartment building he’s now going to be living in. It looks like a nice place, despite having very few parking spaces. He leaves his stuff in the car for now and enters the warm, welcoming lobby. The elevator is very tempting, considering the apartment is on the sixth floor, but he takes the stairs, one step at a time, trying to calm his nerves. Sadly, the trip seems all too short, and soon enough he stands before apartment 602. There’s only a moment hesitation before he knocks on the door.
He hears the pounding of feet, a yelled, “Coming!” before the door swings open and he finds himself face to face with his new roommate.
And the two other people behind him, who are staring unabashedly. One is only a bit taller than Kyungsoo, with fluffy silver hair, and the other towers over them all, with curly hair and thick glasses perched on his nose.
Kyungsoo is frozen under the gazes of the men, unable to speak, but luckily Jongdae recognizes him. He smiles brightly, wraps a gentle hand around kyungsoo’s elbow and leads him into the apartment. The two men trail closely behind, rapidly firing off questions and comments that he can’t fully comprehend. Jongdae shoos them off though, and brings Kyungsoo into the kitchen.
“I’m glad you made it safely, Kyungsoo,” Jongdae says, setting a kettle on the stove. “Tea? I bought some of that earl grey you mentioned liking.”
“Yes please, thanks.”
They make small talk while Jongdae prepares the tea, mostly about the city and campus. At some point music starts coming from the living room, the slightly familiar tune of some video game reminding him of the other two people in the apartment.
“Those two,” he starts carefully, “do they also live here?” Kyungsoo doesn’t think he could handle that, not yet.
Jongdae laughs, shaking his head. “No, they’re just visiting. I thought you wouldn’t be here for a few more hours, so I invited them over.”
Letting out a relieved breath, Kyungsoo asks, “Are they also students then?”
“Yeah, the three of us are all in our third year. Baekhyun, the tiny one, is studying theatre. The other one, Chanyeol, is in the musical education program.”
Kyungsoo hums. “Are they always this loud? It’s very...overwhelming.”
"Most of the time, yeah. Don’t worry though, they’re capable of toning it down. I’m sure when you get to know each other they’ll understand if you need them to calm down a bit.” Jongdae pauses, glancing in the direction of the living room. “Baekhyun’s like a puppy, though, so even if you get him to use an inside voice he’ll probably cling to you.” Another pause, a deep laugh coming from the living room. “Chanyeol too. Although much, much bigger. He’s like a fully grown golden retriever trying to be a lapdog. ”
Kyungsoo is absolutely terrified.
Jongdae kicks Chanyeol and Baekhyun out not that long after. The three hug in the doorway, Kyungsoo standing awkwardly at the side. When the two bid goodbye to Kyungsoo, they’re much more restrained than they were upon meeting him. It’s probably because Jongdae, who has now moved to Kyungsoo’s side, a protective arm draped across his shoulders.
(Sometime during the time they’d spent texting each other, Jongdae had decided that Kyungsoo was a “soft baby” and “wanted to protect him at all costs”. Why Jongdae spoke like a teen on stan twitter, Kyungsoo would never understand.)
The rest of the evening is spent getting Kyungsoo settled in. Once they’ve got his room situated, Jongdae orders a pizza and sets up some movie on Netflix. It’s a good way to end the night.
The start of the school year goes relatively fine. Despite only taking basic classes, Kyungsoo finds himself enjoying them. When putting his schedule together, he hadn’t made the dumb mistake of signing up for morning classes, so he doesn’t have to wake up at the ass crack of dawn to get ready. It’s quite nice to actually be able to sleep in for a change, or go for the occasional (very rare) run in the morning.
He gets a job at a diner not far from the apartment. It’s a small, quaint little place, run by a kind old couple who Kyungsoo grows fond of quickly. Jongdae works close by too, at the local grocery store, only a block or two further away from the diner.
Unfortunately, their schedules don’t match up at all. Jongdae happens to be a morning person, taking the earliest classes possible. He’s always gone when Kyungsoo wakes up, leaving the place eerily quiet. Classes make it impossible to get lunch together. Their work hours don’t line up either, Kyungsoo often working til the diner closes and coming home to find Jongdae dead asleep.
It’s kind of lonely. Kyungsoo should be used to it, should be used to spending his nights alone. He’d never had many friends during high school, and the few he did have weren’t keen to go out often or hang out at his house. Returning to the same old routine after spending so much time with Jongdae was throwing Kyungsoo through a loop.
Kyungsoo hasn’t seen much of Chanyeol or Baekhyun since he first moved in. He nevers spots them around campus, which, okay, is understandable. They are a few years above him, after all. However, they’d only been over once or twice since he moved in, and Kyungsoo had the sneaking suspicion that he had something to do with that. The last time they had been over, Kyungsoo certainly hadn’t been the warmest person. Stressed about upcoming tests and tired from the late hours at the diner, he had barely said more than a few words to either of them. Within the first thirty minutes of them being there, Kyungsoo had holed himself up in his room.
It wasn’t his proudest moment. The morning after, Kyungsoo had asked Jongdae to extend his apologies to them, feeling slightly ashamed and guilty. Jongdae had just waved him off, a small smile gracing his face, “Ah, they didn’t mind. In fact, Chanyeol wanted me to tell you he said goodluck. He had Holloway his freshman year too, he knows what that class is like.”
So, it’s been awhile. Baekhyun plopping himself across the table from Kyungsoo during lunch catches him completely off guard. Kyungsoo can’t help but gape in shock as the man just digs into his food, seeming perfectly at home.
“Um, hello?”
Baekhyun just smiles at him, cheeks puffing out. He holds up a finger, finishes chewing his food, then speaks. “Jongdae suggested I join you for lunch! If I’d know we took our lunch at the same time, I would’ve done this sooner.” Baekhyun glances around the cafeteria. “Though, I normally eat off campus. There’s this sushi place not to far away, we should go tomorrow. My treat.”
Kyungsoo just nods, eyes still wide. Baekhyun goes back to his food, satisfied. The rest of lunch passes in relative silence, Kyungsoo lost in his thoughts, Baekhyun very invested in his food.
When they’re done, Baekhyun walks him to his next class. He rambles, mouth running a mile a minute about his classes and work and something silly Jongdae once did in class. Kyungsoo doesn’t say much, and it’s clear that Baekhyun doesn’t expect him too. It’s nice.
They do end up going to the sushi place the next day. Kyungsoo has to hand it to Baekhyun, the food is amazing. It's a fun excursion, and Kyungsoo finds himself enjoying Baekhyun’s company.
Jongdae catches Kyungsoo when he steps out of the shower in the morning, saying “Baekhyun and Chanyeol are coming over later for movie night, if you want to join us.”
There’s no reason not to, Kyungsoo supposes as he gets dressed. It’s one of the few evenings he has off, and the little bit of school work he has can be done later. He’s comfortable with Baekhyun, more than comfortable with Jongdae. The only one he doesn’t know that well is Chanyeol. They haven’t spoken, not counting the times they’ve used Jongdae as messenger. Still, Kyungsoo figures it won’t hurt to join them for a movie.
Fitting the four of them into the tiny living room, Kyungsoo finds, is quite difficult. The small couch and rickety old recliner might’ve seated the three just fine, but adding Kyungsoo to the equation takes some work. Jongdae and Baekhyun are cuddled up in the recliner. Baekhyun looks extremely comfy, curled up in Jongdae’s lap, but Jongdae just looks squished.
(He doesn’t look that uncomfortable, though. His arms are wrapped securely around Baekhyun’s waist. Kyungsoo distantly wonders if there’s something going on there.)
This leaves Kyungsoo on the couch with Chanyeol.
Chanyeol, who apparently likes to spread out. They’ve only exchanged pleasantries since Kyungsoo surfaced from his room, but that hadn’t stopped Chanyeol from tucking his feet right up against Kyungsoo’s leg.
(Kyungsoo doesn’t mind, not that much.)
It was supposed to be Kyungsoo’s pick, as it was his first time joining the, but once Baekhyun had found out he hadn’t seen the recent Thor movie his choice had been made for him. Baekhyun wouldn’t accept no as an answer. The first half hour goes pretty smoothly, but as soon as the Grandmaster appears, chaos erupts in the room.
Kyungsoo never would’ve imagined Jongdae swooning over Jeff Goldblum, off all people.
It doesn’t take long for the noise to become overwhelming. Kyungsoo tenses up in his spot as the three others gradually become even louder, arguing over who’s more attractive between the Grandmaster and Loki.
(What kind of question even is that? Loki, all the way. Tom Hiddleston is a snack, as his cousin would say.)
Kyungsoo glances around, very tempted to go hide in his room again, when he feels eyes on him. Chanyeol's looking at him worriedly, eyebrow raised. Too loud , Kyungsoo mouths.
“C’mon guys, let’s focus on the movie! I’m sure Kyungsoo would like to actually watch it.” Chanyeol’s voice booms. It’s enough to quiet Jongdae and Baekhyun, who look over at them. They see Kyungsoo, who surely looks uncomfortable, face red.
Baekhyun pouts. “Sorry, Kyungsoo.”
The rest of the movie passes fine. Kyungsoo forgets all about the earlier incident, fully engrossed with the movie now that the talking has quieted down. He’d barely noticed when Chanyeol had stretched and repositioned himself, feet now resting on Kyungsoo’s lap.
It’s almost one in the morning before Chanyeol and Baekhyun leave. Kyungsoo is tired, but the other men still seem to be teeming with energy.
“Yeol and I are probably going to go hit up a bar, you guys want to come with?” Baekhyun asks as he slips on his shoes. The four of them are huddled in the doorway, Jongdae supporting most of Kyungsoo’s weight as their guests get ready to leave. He’s this close to falling asleep right where he is.
Jongdae laughs, shakes his head. “Nah, we’ll pass for tonight. I’m pretty sure Kyungsoo’s about to pass out.” He pauses, laughs again, then continues. “Besides, Kyungsoo’s got awhile to go before he can legally drink. He’s not even 19 yet.”
If Kyungsoo had been more awake, paying more attention to what was going on, he would’ve noticed Chanyeol freeze. He would’ve noticed Baekhyun’s look of complete shock.
“Not even 19?”
“Nope. His birthday isn’t until January.”
“..Oh. Damn.”
A couple weeks pass. Kyungsoo still gets lunch with Baekhyun, still mostly works evening shifts at the diner, still tries to focus on his studies.
It’s a bit more difficult now, though. Baekhyun and Chanyeol come over more often, but Kyungsoo can hardly look at or interact with Chanyeol without blushing a fierce red. Not since Baekhyun had, one day over lunch, told him “Yeol thinks you’re, like, the cutest thing ever. He also thinks you have a nice ass.”
Kyungsoo isn’t opposed to the idea of dating Chanyeol. In fact, the few times he lets himself think about it, he quite likes the idea. He likes Chanyeol as a person, even if he can sometimes be really loud. It’s an extra bonus that he’s plenty attractive and talented on top of everything.
But Chanyeol doesn’t act on it. He’s polite, and friendly, but he doesn’t flirt, or get too close to him. Kyungsoo, deep down, wishes he would.
Kyungsoo asks Baekhyun about it at lunch.
“It’s the age gap. He feels like a cradle robber. It’s not even that big of an age gap, considering he’s the second youngest of the group.” Baekhyun looks at him knowingly. “You know, if you want anything to happen, you’ll have to make the first move.”
Kyungsoo thinks about it, turns it over in his head when he should be studying. He’s just not sure how to go about bringing it up.
It’s what he’s thinking about when he’s at the library, on a Thursday afternoon. Finals start next week, and he should be studying, but recently all he’s been able to think about is Chanyeol.
It’s what he’s thinking about when said man turns up out of nowhere, sliding into the seat besides Kyungsoo and scaring him half to death. Chanyeol hands Kyungsoo a wrapped up sandwich and a water bottle, smiling brightly the whole time.
“Jongdae told me you’ve been here quite awhile. I thought I’d bring you something to eat.”
“Thanks, Yeol.” It’s the first time Kyungsoo’s used the nickname out loud. He pretends not to notice the flush creeping up the others neck.
For a bit, the sit side by side in silence. Chanyeol had brought some of his own materials to the library, so Kyungsoo tries to focus on his own studying.
He can’t. He hears Baekhyun in the back of his mind, hears “You’ll have to make the first move.”. This is probably the best chance he’s going to have, if he doesn’t want to wait until finals are over. And he probably should, but he doesn’t want to.
“What’re your plans over break?” He asks.
Chanyeol looks at him, shrugging a bit. “My parents decided to go on some cruise this year, so I’ll be hanging around here. Why?”
Kyungsoo hums. “How does a date sound, then? I hear there’s a nice ice rink in Cincinnati.”
Chanyeol sputters, face flushing even more. “Did Baekhyun tell you?”
Kyungsoo chuckles, nodding. Chanyeol stares off in the distance and pouts for a moment, before he focuses back on Kyungsoo. “Are you being serious?”
“100 percent.”
“Well then. A date sounds lovely.”
Chanyeol leaves the library before Kyungsoo. Once he’s gotten all his stuff packed up, he hesitates for a moment, before leaning down and pressing a quick kiss to the top of Kyungsoo’s head. He then scurries off, trying (and failing) to hide his wide grin. Kyungsoo watches him go, up until he can no longer see him, then sighs to himself.
(No, he does not giggle like a teen. Definitely not.)
Now he can actually focus on his work. Or try to, at least.