Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“Alright class, that’s a wrap for today!” the smooth, honey-toned voice of none other than Zhang Yixing, lecturer-in-charge of Creative Computing, rang about in the rather small, 80-seater lecture hall. He patiently watched as his students scrambled to get their laptops back in their cases and the freshly printed notes stuffed into their folders, trying to etch each face he glances at into his memory.

After all, they were going to be the same faces that he will be seeing for the rest of the semester; bright, aspiring musicians brimming with potential to become the next biggest musical sensation in South Korea, and possibly the globe. He watched as their young, youthful faces, although lightly marred with traces of excitement and intimidation topped with a dollop of anxiety, nervously returned the eye contact, with some even returning the welcoming smile with a small one of their own.

It was understandable as to why the students were so nervous, what with having one of the most famous music producers in the country as their professor , of all things. Zhang Yixing was well-aware of his reputation in the music industry, but had returned to teaching just two years ago, after spending a decade of his life producing hit after hit and topping charts with every one of his released singles and albums that he partook in. He hoped that the students wouldn’t let their intimidation, or perhaps admiration, consume them, to the point where it would be counter-productive to their studies.

Most importantly, these people are students, and they are here to learn. Zhang Yixing is a teacher, and he is here to teach. Within the walls of Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea, Zhang Yixing is no longer the ‘Nation’s Producer’, and neither is he ‘LAY’, but he is the (extra)ordinary Professor Zhang, who has a burning passion for music and teaching, and an even softer heart for his students.

The sound of papers ruffling about broke Yixing out of his reverie, and turned immediately towards the desk behind him, and could only watch fondly as his Teaching Assistant’s (TA) face burned bright red as he stared at the mess of the lecture’s notes that were surrounding his feet. A whole array of music sheets, lecture notes, and personal Moleskine notebooks littered the area around the short (although not much shorter than Yixing himself, but short nonetheless) TA, and Yixing couldn’t help the chuckle that left his mouth when the TA immediately crouched down to quickly pick up his items.

Yixing instinctively began to walk towards the small man and crouched to help him pick up his papers. He watched as his TA froze for a second, when Yixing knew that he was within extremely close vicinity of the TA, and how the ears sticking out of the soft mop of brown started to adopt a reddish hue.

He’s adorable.

Yixing efficiently gathered up the papers that were pooling about the two of them, seeing as how his TA seemed frozen and had started to crawl back into his shell, if the way he drew back his arms and knees were any indication, and proceeded to hand them back to their rightful owner.

The TA quietly reached out to the neatly arranged papers and murmured a small, “Thank you, Professor Zhang.”

Yixing couldn’t help the small smile that stretched across his lips, internally cooing at how adorably nervous his assistant was being, and he also couldn’t help it when his hand reached out to pat the soft locks resting neatly atop the other man’s head as he replied with an “It’s no problem at all, Baekhyunnie, and don’t be so nervous! I don’t bite!”

The teaching assistant, Byun Baekhyun, slowly looked up as soon as Yixing’s reassuring words processed themselves in his muddled, nervous-wreck of a brain, and he subconsciously returned the gentle smile that he saw plastered on Yixing’s face.

“Thank you again, I’ll be more careful next time.” Baekhyun gripped the pile of papers tightly as he proceeded to stand up, following Yixing’s lead as the man pushed himself off of the floor and dusted the knees of his pants off of non-existent dust and lint.

“Please do! And remember to not hurt yourself, because I’m definitely going to be needing you in my classes,” Yixing replied, a hint of amusement ghosting over his features as a blush immediately blossomed across the cheeks of his assistant.

Yixing watched as Baekhyun gave a small bow and let out a sound of affirmation, in response to having heard what Yixing had to say, and Yixing realised that this was probably where they parted.

“Alright, I don’t have any more classes for today, and as far as I know, Jongdae, Professor Kim for you, doesn’t have classes after mine today either, so you’re—”

A loud cry of “ Hyung! ” echoed about the walls of the lecture hall, the smooth yet gritty, deep-baritone’s impact ringing about the hall, cutting Yixing’s sentence off. The cry had not only interrupted the conversation between the two men, but had startled both of them as well as the remaining students that were quietly packing their things into their bags. All remaining pairs of eyes in the theatre turned towards the source of the noise, but the man responsible didn’t seem to notice, much less care, about how he was the centre of attention of about 20 people.

The man, sporting a bright, wide grin stretching from ear to ear, immediately rushed towards Yixing, who had turned his body around instinctively towards the source of the sound, and was greeted with none other than a bone crushing hug by someone who seemed way too tall to be just human.

The laugh that reverberated out of Yixing’s chest at the tangle of limbs that were wrapped around his body was joyous and heart-warming, and it pulled out smiles from the group of startled students littered about the hall, those who were leaving and those who were just entering.

However, only one person was left sporting an expression that didn’t seem to be affected by the happiness that was radiating about the room from the two men.

He’s so… handsome.

His long body was wrapped impeccably in flattering cloths that hugged his limbs and torso oh so perfectly, emphasising the firm lines of muscles tracing and winding about his arms and legs. The blue-striped button down shirt was folded up along his elbows, and with how tight those arms were wrapped around Yixing, it further glorified the already firm muscles, which were now held taut around the broad back of the legendary lecturer. The shirt was also visibly clinging to the broad, thick shoulders, the horizontal stripes further stressing the wide width of those shoulders.

The sleek, black slacks, which were probably unimpressive on anyone else, somehow looked extremely good wrapped around the man’s long legs, accentuating the length of the limbs and making the man look much longer than he probably was.

Not that, what, six feet…? is short or anything.

But… God, the man’s body was nothing compared to his face. The way his wide eyes had initially been set beneath furrowed brows before lighting up in complete, pure unadulterated happiness as soon as those brown orbs landed on Yixing. The way his nose looked so perfectly sculpted, with a prominent nose bridge that sloped elegantly to a sharp point that was so damn attractive . The way those plump, pale-pink lips curved around a set of white, perfect teeth, and how can a plain, normal, everyday chin even be remotely labelled as attractive ?

But having all of that framed with deep brown locks stylishly combed back, with a lock hanging above his eyebrows, forming a comma on the left side of his forehead…

Byun Baekhyun was a goner.

He’s so handsome oh my god.

Baekhyun could feel his face flushing, the redness creeping up and blooming across his cheeks at a pace faster than one he had ever experienced before, and the urge to just hide from the perfect man, model, Adonis, God himself (fuck it, Baekhyun doesn’t know), was so strong because he’s so damn attractive what the fuck…!

The initial bunch of To-Do lists that Baekhyun had in his head, the one with his agenda for the day, another one regarding the arrangement of the papers he was holding in his hands then, as well as another one for his schedule for the week, immediately burned themselves right then and there. There was suddenly zero processing going on in Byun Baekhyun Headquarters, replaced instead by blaring red letters reading:

HARD DRIVE MALFUNCTION. SYSTEM SHUTDOWN.

Baekhyun could feel his hands start to perspire, beads of perspiration seeping through his pores and forming a slick barrier between his loosening palms and the sheets of paper that he was holding in his hands. Before he knew it (because he couldn’t process anything, "system shut down", remember?), the papers all slipped past his fingers and dispersed about the floor again.

The sound of scattering paper and fluttering sheets, as well as the lack of a heavy weight within his palms broke Baekhyun out of his attractive-man-induced haze, and he broke his gaze away from the devilishly handsome man towards the mess that was around his feet yet again . Quietly cursing under his breath at the mess (that was caused by his own clumsiness, no less), Baekhyun once again squatted down to begin collecting and collating the pile of papers.

In the midst of the whole mess, Byun Baekhyun HQ had started to somehow recover itself, but it was still a rather chaotic mess in there; everything and nothing at all was processing at the same time, because I am such an idiot it’s literally my first day why am I such a mess CALM DOWN and also he’s so attractive he’s so attractive he’s so attractive what do I do what do I do WHAT DO I DO.

Which is why Baekhyun couldn’t have possibly noticed the audible exchange of "goodbyes" that were shared by the two men, much less the pair of fresh, newly-bought leather dress shoes approaching him. He did notice, however, the sudden shadow that appeared in front of himself, which had dulled the colours of the papers on the floor, and he immediately pause.

Baekhyun could see when a thick, sinewy forearm reached out to grab the paper that was within closest vicinity, and Baekhyun couldn’t help how his eyes trailed upwards along the limb, from the thick fingers (on which there was a tattoo, “LOEY”, stamped on the left side of the middle finger), to the thick forearm, to the thick, bulging biceps, to the broad, thick shoulder, up a smooth, thick neck adorned with a prominent Adam’s apple, and up to the possibly most handsome face that Baekhyun has ever come across.

Possibly the most handsome face whose eyes were staring directly at Baekhyun.

“First day?” a deep, low murmur escaped the plump lips of the man and reverberated about Baekhyun’s ears, and Baekhyun immediately shook his head because is he really talking to me?

However, the man took that as a negative affirmation to his question, and couldn’t help furrowing his eyebrows in slight confusion. For as long as he was a teacher (which was going on five years), first-day teaching assistants usually behaved similarly to how the small man who was currently crouching in front of him was, and he didn't think twice about voicing his opinion out.

Baekhyun finally registered the question and the following statement, and he couldn’t help the light chuckle that escaped him, voice wavering slightly due to nervousness. “Ah, it is my first day, sorry,” he scratched the back of his neck, a reflexive act to being put in a spot whenever his muddle-headedness was highlighted. “I’m just nervous, so I couldn’t process your question at first.”

At his response, the man released a light laugh that couldn't but help but escape, and the blinding smile that seemingly lit up the rest of his face, which further emphasised his perfect, God-like features reminded Baekhyun yet again of exactly how handsome this man was.

Cue the blushing.

Quickly breaking the gaze that the man had him locked in, Baekhyun brought his gaze down towards the pile of papers in his lap, as well as the remaining papers littered around him. He quickly proceeded to collect the remaining papers, until the man’s previous statement ran through his head again, and a certain part caught his attention.

Immediately shooting his head up to meet the gaze of the man, Baekhyun questioned, “Wait, how did you know that I’m a TA?”

The man seemed startled, and he paused in his own collecting of the papers to meet the curiously confused gaze of the small man before him. He proceeded to furrow his brows before indicating with his free hand towards the bright red lanyard draped over the other’s neck, stamped with “HANYANG UNIVERSITY” over it, and down towards the card holder at the base of it. The card within the holder had the picture and details of the individual teaching assistant listed out, all under the bright, blocked red header stating “TEACHING ASSISTANT”.

Baekhyun cautiously glanced down, and he couldn’t help the bright flush creeping up his neck in embarrassment, as well as the dire need to have the floor open itself up and swallow him whole as he listened on to what the other man was saying.

“I mean, you were behaving like all the TAs I’ve had in the past on their first days,” he explains, “and all TA’s wear the red lanyard, and your University ID itself states it too… So…”

Baekhyun couldn’t help but face palm, although he did it with the papers that he was holding in his hands rather than with his palms itself. The low whisper of I’m such an idiot did not escape the ears of the other man, and he couldn’t help the breathy laugh that rumbled out of his chest at that.

“It’s alright, everyone’s like that on their first day,” the man said as he pushed himself off of the floor after handing the remaining papers to their rightful owner. “Anyway, welcome to Hanyang!” The man ended off with a small grin, and Baekhyun felt the effects of the bright grin immediately, if the butterflies wreaking havoc about his tummy were any indication.

He’s really so handsome.

Baekhyun couldn’t maintain the eye contact (his heart couldn’t, his stomach couldn’t, and neither could his brain. A whole second system shutdown was on its way to completion and Baekhyun would like to avoid that as much as possible thank you very much), so he flashed a quick, grateful smile and bowed his thanks.

“It’s no problem at all!” The man said as Baekhyun scrambled to quickly shove the papers into his bag and zipped it up. “I guess I’ll see you around?”

Baekhyun briefly glanced up to give a quick nod and a small smile, before he grabbed his swollen bag and his laptop. He murmured a low “bye!” before speeding out of the classroom, unaware of the small, fond smile gracing the lips of the handsome man as he watched the smaller scurry out of the lecture hall.

Cute.

Focusing entirely on getting one foot in front of the other steadily and with a reasonable distance between the two, Baekhyun was clearly not paying attention to what was in front of him. He only stared at his feet and noticed, fleetingly, how the soft maroon carpet of the lecture hall immediately cut off to bleed into wooden panels and how his body was welcomed by a striking (although not worryingly so) difference in temperature.

Baekhyun slowly let out a sigh of relief, because he was finally out of the freezing lecture hall and was in the main hallway of the lecture halls in the Faculty of Music's main building.

He can't see me now.

Letting out a much needed sigh, Baekhyun slowly leaned against the nearest wall of the corridor and let gravity do its job of pulling his bottom down to the ground. With each inch that he slid down the wall, Baekhyun could feel his lungs slowly start expanding again, muscles growing more relaxed, and Byun Baekhyun HQ finally getting its shit together.

A sudden rumble of "Alright, I'm Professor Park Chanyeol, your professor for Sight Singing & Ear Training. But let's wait a while before we start, we're still pretty early—" rang through the hallways, and it got Baekhyun pausing in his ministrations.

God, even his voice is sooooo perfect??

Baekhyun slowly but steadily felt little hints of heat creeping up his neck, staining his slightly tanned skin a pale hue of red as memories of a devilishly stupidly handsome man keep flashing in his head, from his hot stupid swept back hair to his charismatic idiotic smiles and grins and his perfect ridiculous body that was wrapped in amazing stupid clothes and—

" AHHH !" A shrill scream echoed about the emptying hallways of the building, and Baekhyun fleetingly realised that some of his own students were still littered about the hall, as well as some other faces he hadn't seen before. However, all of that faded into the background as Baekhyun sluggishly lifted his head out of the makeshift headrest that his sweater-clad arms temporary provided.

" Why are you so damn handsome?! " Baekhyun lowly hissed into the crook of his elbow before he once again felt his cheeks heating up and—

"Would you stop blushing for once, oh my god!" Baekhyun cried, exasperation lacing each growing syllable. When he didn't feel the heat cooling down, but instead intensifying as he momentarily flickered his gaze over to the closed doors of the lecture hall from which he just left, Baekhyun quickly buried his burning face in his hands and proceeded to let out another, albeit muffled, scream into his palms.

Breathing quickly through his nose and harshly letting out his breath through his lips, eyes hidden beneath frustrated and frowning brows, Baekhyun quickly picked himself up off the floor and resolutely decided, then and there, to leave the premises.

Only God knows how much longer he could survive if he was within vicinity of the man, much less constantly being reminded that he was literally only a few metres away from the perfectly sculpted human himself.

However, in his haste to get away from possibly the Most Handsome Man Alive In Like Ever™, Baekhyun failed, once again, to really focus on exactly where he was headed and what, or more importantly, who was in front of him.

As soon as Baekhyun made the sharp corner of the hallway that led to the main entrance/exit of the university, head still down and filled with nothing but " get away get away get away ", a hard chin made contact with the top of his head, followed by the rest of his body colliding with something just as hard. Before Baekhyun could realise it, he was being pulled back and was stumbling down to the ground, his bum landing harshly on the hard flooring of the hallway.

The first thought that ran through Baekhyun's head was, of course, fucking ow much? , but the second thought was his laptop which he had placed in his backpack, the same one that was on his back when he collided with whoever he had collided with, and a surge of panic immediately shot through his veins. Baekhyun's eyes widened, anxiety bleeding into his eyes and he swiftly reached around for his bag and pulled his laptop out.

It was literally the first day , he couldn't afford the laptop he blew $5000 on to have any scratches or marks, but much less have any damage to its internal components because it cost me my 6-month salary from that shitty waiter job to buy this thing.

After diligently and meticulously checking all parts of his laptop; from inspecting every single nook and cranny for possible scratches or marks to turning on his laptop to see whether it was still functioning (at least, enough to start up and shut down, in the very least), Baekhyun immediately let out a sigh of relief, eyes closing as he sent a silent grateful prayer up to the Man, because thank you Lord for not letting my day get any shittier than it has been already.

Baekhyun's charade of sending a prayer up to God was interrupted by a deadly cold, borderline irritated voice cutting through the silence of the hallway.

"You know, it's only polite to apologise for knocking into someone, right?"

The speed in which Baekhyun had whipped his head up to face the other party, the one with whom he collided and had (ashamedly) forgotten about in place of his worry for his laptop, posed as a momentary concern for the other person.

The other person, a male who was dressed impeccably in a red-and-black checkered, collared shirt under an open blue blazer, with deep brown, long hair partly shadowing the fresh undercut hiding beneath the brown-tinted deep red locks.

Stylish , Baekhyun subconsciously noted.

However, Baekhyun couldn't help the flinch that his body reflexively released as soon as he made eye contact with the man; wide, round eyes set underneath strong, thick, but most importantly, frustration-induced furrowed eyebrows. Plump, almost heart-shaped lips set into an unamused, straight line, the little hints of frustration tugging the ends of his lips down just barely.

The intimidating aura radiating from the man thoroughly made up for his petite stature, making him seem much bigger than he actually was, and this time, the bright red letters spelling out " SCARY " imprinted themselves on the front of his mind, the word very clear and very prominent.

Sputters of stammered apologies started to fly out of his mouth and Baekhyun scrambled to pick himself off of the ground, trying to multi-task by shoving his laptop back into its laptop case whilst making a grab for his unzipped bag as well. As soon as Baekhyun had his laptop haphazardly stuffed into its case, with it not even zipped up, and had his bag hooked on the crook of his elbow, the contents of it tilted at a dangerously precarious position, he reached out his free arm towards the other man who was still on the ground.

"I-I—," Baekhyun sucked in a breath, trying his hardest to calm down his frazzled mind, which seemed to affect his motor system and senses. After holding his breath for a good three seconds, Baekhyun slowly opened his eyes as he just as slowly released his breath, whole form relaxing and posture a lot less rigid, a bit more composed.

"I'm sorry for that," Baekhyun reached out his hand again, and sighed under his breath when the man accepted his hand, short fingers gripping tight around Baekhyun's longer, more slender ones, and pushed himself off the floor.

As soon as he was standing back to his full height, Baekhyun immediately began to rattle off his apologies.

"I'm really sorry about that, I'm just really nervous and I wasn't really looking at where I was going and I really hope I didn't hurt you and that you're okay?" Baekhyun sucked in a breath immediately after his short rant, lungs beginning to protest because all of that was said in one single breath.

The man, who was in the middle of dusting his khakis off of imaginary dust and lint, slowly brought his gaze up from his pants towards Baekhyun, eyes tracing over every single inch of Baekhyun's form as his eyes trailed from Baekhyun's shoes, all the way towards his face, a single brow raised.

Baekhyun gulped, beads of perspiration starting to dot his forehead, dampening his bangs, as he continued to hold the eye contact with the similar-statured man. However, seeing as how the man hasn't, and probably wasn't willing to reply, and with how much more intense his gaze got with each passing second, the gaze became too much for Baekhyun soon enough and he immediately brought his eyes down to his shoes.

"...I'm sorry," Baekhyun murmured again, a last attempt at being polite and because he truly indeed was sorry, before making an attempt to escape the man and run back home to hide under his covers because today just could not get worse .

However, Baekhyun's attempt at an escape was proven futile when he felt a hand grip the nook of his elbow, and Baekhyun instantly seized up, almost afraid of what the other man would attempt to do, or worse, say .

Yet, Baekhyun ended up being surprised by the words that spilled out of the man's lips, as they greatly contradicted the hundreds of possible sentences that Baekhyun thought could have slipped out from his lips.

"Your case is still unzipped, and your papers are going to drop out if you continue on like that," came the deep, rich voice, and Baekhyun couldn't help but be surprised by it because a voice as deep as that was not something that Baekhyun would have ever expected coming out from a man who was similar to him in build, maybe even slightly smaller .

An unintelligent "...what?" left Baekhyun's parted lips, mind not able to really process that this small man had a voice that was similar in tone to what Baekhyun thinks is the devil, because that is just not natural .

The man just sighed, breaking the sharp gaze he had set on Baekhyun and landing his gaze on his own shoes, not unlike what Baekhyun had done just a few second ago, before sighing and meeting Baekhyun's confused gaze again.

"Your bag," the man pointedly gestured to Baekhyun's unzipped bag, with the contents just a wind's blow away from slipping past the sad excuse of a barricade that the cloth of the bag was acting as. "Also, your laptop's case is yet to be zipped too."

Baekhyun blankly brought his gaze down to his bag hanging limply on the crook of his elbow, as well as to his laptop that was carelessly shoved into its bag, and now that he was paying attention, it seemed more like the laptop case packing itself into the case rather than the laptop.

Baekhyun couldn't help flushing in light embarrassment as he let out a low "ah...", before trying to discreetly release his trapped arm from the man's firm grip in an attempt to pull out his laptop and re-pack it. His efforts were rendered successful, as the grip on his elbow loosened completely and the other man had let him go.

However, he certainly wasn’t expecting the other man to continue the conversation, and hence it honestly wasn’t surprising when Baekhyun himself got startled at hearing the man’s voice, much less what he had to say.

"Listen," Baekhyun blinked, "I'm sorry if I scared you."

A pair of black Converse sneakers steadily creeped into the edges of his vision, and Baekhyun slowly brought his gaze up to trace along the entire silhouette of the man, until a hand in the middle of nowhere halted his study of the man's stature.

It took a while for Baekhyun to process just exactly what was happening, because his mind was really in no better state than his entire physical state right now (plus the fact that he experienced multiple system shutdowns barely minutes ago because a certain stupid someone couldn't stop being so damn handsome). Unzipped backpack hanging loosely off of the crook of his elbow, laptop hanging precariously out of its case, and mind muddled... and with how scary this man he bumped into was, it really didn't help his brain processes at all.

"I know my gaze can be a little intimidating," the now familiar deep baritone echoed softly about the corridor, and Baekhyun cautiously brought his eyes towards the source. "I have astigmatism, and I forgot to bring my glasses with me today." And Baekhyun noticed that, the longer that the other man was talking, the more... soothing his voice became. Considering the fact that the man was simply talking, with no hints of irritation or anger lacing its undertones, it was pretty nice to listen to.

"I'm sorry for that again, and," with this, the man took a deeper breath in, before slowly releasing it out in one quick huff, "I'm Do Kyungsoo, TA for Sight Singing & Ear Training, and Chorus." The hand that was thrusted out seemingly in the middle of nowhere (at least, in Baekhyun's perspective), once again reappeared, however looking much more welcoming and well, purposeful as compared to before.

Baekhyun looked up towards the man again, and was very much pleasantly surprised at how cherubic he looked, wide eyes looking bashfully hopeful, and a warm, friendly smile plastered on his lips. The slight tilts of the corners of his lips caused his cheeks to balloon up, and Baekhyun was taken aback at how much softer the man looked right now as compared to literally just three minutes ago.

However, the smile started to droop a little at the edges the longer Baekhyun stayed silent, and Baekhyun could feel the little slivers of confusion slowly seeping back into his mind as the hand that was outstretched started retreating.

"Hey," whipping his head up from the hand to the man's face, Baekhyun's eyes blew wide open because he was introducing himself you dimwit he was being friendly and now you've come off like an asshole!

"Are you oka—" Before the man, Kyungsoo , could finish, Baekhyun immediately stuck out his hand and, with a frantic shake of his head, he quickly reached out for Kyungsoo's previously outstretched hand and began rattling off his end of the introduction.

"Hi! Yes, I'm Byun Baekhyun, TA for Creative Computing and Chorus!" Giving the hand encased between his own a firm shake, Baekhyun remembered to flash his signature grin (the one which everyone back in college and before fell for), causing his cheeks to bloom and his eyes to turn into tiny little crescents.

A look of shock veiled Kyungsoo's features at Baekhyun's sudden outburst, before it was washed away barely seconds later by relief. Shoulders sagging, lips tilting up into a content, relieved smile, Kyungsoo enveloped their hands with his unoccupied one.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Baekhyun, and..." Kyungsoo thought back to what Baekhyun had said earlier, "You said you're a TA for Chorus too?"

Baekhyun brightened at that, and he let go of their clasped hands the same time that Kyungsoo did.

"Ah, yeah," Baekhyun shuffled a little with the load he had in his arms, "I'm Professor Kim Jongdae's TA!” Baekhyun exclaimed, a wide smile on his face. “And since he doesn't have class today, and I just finished my Creative Computing class with the Zhang Yixing, I'm free to go home now!"

Immediately noticing the way Baekhyun was subtly struggling with the mess of things he had in his arms, Kyungsoo quickly gestured for Baekhyun to settle his things down on the ground, allowing him some ease in packing his things properly.

"Wow, Professor Zhang, really?" Kyungsoo questioned, to which Baekhyun nodded his head rapidly, smile much too bright and happy for a Monday. "Damn, that's cool."

Baekhyun only laughed slightly, pulling his backpack from the nook of his elbow to place it in front of his kneeling knees. "Yeah, I'm pretty excited to see how the rest of this semester pans out." He ended off, a tiny smile pulling one the right corner of his lips up.

"... And you mentioned about having Chorus with Professor Kim?" Kyungsoo voiced, looking expectantly at Baekhyun with a little twinkle glittering his eyes, something that Baekhyun couldn't really decipher.

"Yup, why?" he questioned, head tilting a little to the right as he began working through the bundle of papers that were supposed to be neatly arranged in the sleek white folder he bought the day before.

"Well," a tiny smile graced Kyungsoo's lips, "I guess we'll be seeing each other more often, then."

Baekhyun grew perplexed, because huh?

"Wait, you're in Professor Kim’s class?" he asked, to which Kyungsoo laughed and nodded his head yes, neatly zipping up Baekhyun's laptop back into its case before proceeding to hand it back to its original owner. "Woah, I never thought I'd meet one of his students toda—" Carefully yet gratefully taking back his zipped up laptop case from Kyungsoo, Baekhyun traced his stature yet again, although this time from the torso up, because he wasn't able to do so previou—

"You're a TA?!" Baekhyun gasped, eyes wide and mouth agape, eyes trained on the red lanyard draped over Kyungsoo's neck, the same one draped around Baekhyun's own.

Kyungsoo could only stare at Baekhyun, a hint of confusion and amusement tracing the frown lines on his face. "Uh, yeah," Kyungsoo started, hesitantly, "I said it a while ago, didn't I?"

At Kyungsoo's pretty much dumbfounded stare, Baekhyun couldn't help the way his palm instinctively reached up to smack his forehead. Kyungsoo did introduce himself just now, and probably stated just what his role in the University was. Baekhyun was just too chicken-headed to hear, much less process, any of it at that time.

Sighing, Baekhyun brought his hand back down only to gaze apologetically at Kyungsoo. "I'm really sorry, I probably didn't catch anything apart from your name," Baekhyun stated, "I was much too frazzled to really process anything just now."

Kyungsoo let out an amused chuckle, shaking his head as he explained that it was alright, before introducing himself once more. Kyungsoo reached out his hand again, and Baekhyun shook it, both understanding that this introduction was their proper, official one.

Kyungsoo watched as Baekhyun finally got all of his items packed neatly and properly placed on him; backpack secure on his two shoulders, zipped up laptop case sitting on his forearm and pressed to his chest. Giving Baekhyun a once over one last time, Kyungsoo deemed him no longer a safety hazard and stood up to his feet, offering a hand for Baekhyun to take to pull up him too, one which the latter took gratefully.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, Baekhyun!" Kyungsoo smiled, dusting off his pants once both of them were back on their two feet, "I'm actually running a little late for Professor Park's class, so catch you later!" He said, before politely bowing. Once Kyungsoo saw Baekhyun reciprocate the bow, he allowed himself to leave the presence of the other man and quickly scurried down the corridor towards his next class.

Baekhyun kept his eyes trained on Kyungsoo's back, watching the blazer part open and flare about his sides at the rapid speed he was brisk walking, and that was when whatever Kyungsoo said finally processed.

... TA for Sight Singing & Ear Training!

... I'm Professor Park Chanyeol, your lecturer for Sight Singing & Ear Training...

... I'm actually running a little late for Professor Park's Class...

... Professor Park Chanyeol.

... Park... Chanyeol...

... Chanyeol...

…

…

…

"STOP BLUSHING GOD DAMN IT!"

"Hey," Kyungsoo called, walking over to where Baekhyun was crouched on the floor, sheets of papers sprawled in an organised mess in front of him, "Sorry, SSET ran a little late."

Baekhyun looked up from the neatly arranged chaos; an entire stack of papers were handed to him just minutes ago by Professor Kim, the Kim Jongdae, if Baekhyun might add.

Similar to Professor Zhang, or Lay , as he was more commonly known as, Professor Kim had made his mark in the music industry, his most remarkable talent being that of his voice. Having been dubbed one of the Globe's Most Versatile, Talented, Vocalists (if Baekhyun remembers correctly), the mere utterance of the legend's name immediately brings forth to one's mind tons of significant accolades and legendary breakthroughs in the Korean music industry. "Kim Jongdae" was a household name in South Korea back when he was promoting as an artist.

The Nation's Vocalist, indeed.

And, unsurprisingly, Kim Jongdae's an alumni of Hanyang, having graduated a year after Zhang Yixing. On the day of his announcement of his retirement as an artist, Kim Jongdae had stated that he would be going back to his school to teach the students there, and although that was all that was said, the underlying humility and loyalty that was so clearly showcased had managed to warm and soothe the hurt hearts of his fans then.

Having shown that he wanted to give back to the very school that, and I quote, "made me who I am today", Kim Jongdae had spread warmth in the citizens' hearts yet again.

Now, back in Hanyang, Jongdae's skills as a talented vocalist were slowly being passed down from student after student, all of which had grown to be successful in their own right and area of expertise, from intense, crazy rock to heartbreaking ballads, his students' growth and talent clearly spoke for themselves and Kim Jongdae.

... And here, now, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo would be able to witness the man in his very own domain.

But before that, both of them have to get the class' shit together.

"Hey," Baekhyun greeted back, scooting a little backwards to make space for Kyungsoo, who quickly knelt down across the other man, "it's alright, I'm mostly done anyway."

Kyungsoo eyed the papers in front of them, counting the number of separated piles, and glanced back to the thicker stack in Baekhyun's hands. Quickly deducing that they needed to arrange and separate the class notes for each student, Kyungsoo asked Baekhyun for a stapler.

Swiftly handing over the stapler, Baekhyun got back to separating each set of notes from the larger pile, while Kyungsoo got to work on stapling each arranged set together.

The two worked in companionable, although still hinted with a little awkwardness, silence. Having known each other for less than a day, it was pretty understandable why there was still an air of awkwardness around them. However, Baekhyun has never liked awkwardness, neither does he like formality, which was why it didn't take him long to break the silence with a question of his own.

"Kyungsoo," Baekhyun called, looking up from the papers in his hands, and meeting gazes with the said man sitting across of him, "What took the class so long? It's only the second day, isn't it?"

Baekhyun could see the way Kyungsoo's shoulders relax a little more from their slightly stiff position, and how his face slowly melted from its rigidity and into an appreciative smile.

"Yeah, but Professor Park's really passionate about this module, it spills into the way he teaches," Kyungsoo replied, proceeding to look back down at the papers in his hands, stapling them together and setting them atop the rest of the stapled notes set.

At the mention of the Man Who Can't Shall Not Be Named Because Byun Baekhyun Can't Control His Damn Feelings, Baekhyun slowly but steadily felt the little tendrils of heat creeping up his neck, obvious signs of yet another blush marring his cheeks at the mere mention of the professor.

Vivid images from his memory capturing the one and only Professor Park from the day before started presenting themselves as a slideshow in panic mode; image after image and it was almost like a stop-motion film playing (and only that Park Chanyeol Perfection Presentation slideshow) in BBH HQ.

Gritting his teeth in frustration at how much of an inexperienced adolescent he was behaving like, Baekhyun immediately buried his chin into his hoodie, yanking the collar up to the bridge of his nose in hopes of hiding his flaming, scarlet cheeks from any and all eyes, curious or not.

However, Baekhyun completely forgot that Kyungsoo was there with him, and was probably waiting for a response, and the sudden deep timbre asking whether Baekhyun was fine had startled the blushing man.

Jolting up from where he had half of his face buried in his hoodie, slightly wincing from the sharp snagging of the collar on his cheeks, Baekhyun quickly nodded his affirmation, blatantly refusing to keep eye contact with Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo, being the ever observant man that he was, immediately noticed Baekhyun's sudden... absurd(?) behaviour; it was very much a completely different Baekhyun than the one he had conversed with the day before, and it got Kyungsoo a little confused.

"You sure you're okay?" Kyungsoo questioned, thick brows furrowed and gathering at the centre of his forehead; the confusions and slight apprehension visible in the faint frown lines marring the skin of his face.

Kyungsoo sounded genuinely concerned, and Baekhyun couldn't help but internally laugh at the irony of it all; an acquaintance of his was worried over how he couldn't help his feelings over a hot teacher he saw just a day ago.

Which was not only utterly ridiculous, but completely redundant. Because as thankful as Baekhyun was for Kyungsoo's gentle and minute fussing over him, Kyungsoo honestly had nothing to worry about.

Nodding his head "yes", Baekhyun brushed off Kyungsoo's much-appreciated concern with a simple "Yeah, probably the weather, I guess."

... Which only succeeded in making Kyungsoo even more confused because as far as he knows, the weather had been pretty stable and tame the past few days...

But to each their own , he guesses, before shrugging his shoulders and proceeding to focus back on the unstapled stacks around him.

A silent sigh of utter relief escapes Baekhyun, before he slowly goes back to splitting the last two sets of notes and lays them out before Kyungsoo, who, being extremely efficient, as Baekhyun had noticed, was done with all the paper stacks asides from the two freshly laid ones. Swiftly picking up the stacks and neatly arranging them such that all papers were aligned and in order, Kyungsoo quickly stapled them and placed them on top of the other stapled sets.

"I guess we're done now," Baekhyun said, getting up from his crouched position and offered a hand out to Kyungsoo once he was securely back on his two feet.

"Yeah, let's go join Profess—"

"Alright everyone, gather around!" a loud voice boomed about the auditorium, and all eyes zeroed in on the man cladded in all black making his way to the centre of the stage. Donning a sleeveless top, skin-tight black jeans, and a pair of boots on his feet, Kim Jongdae was definitely a sight one wouldn't expect to see on the first lesson, like, ever .

Although, the fact that he was the most eccentrically-casually dressed person in the room didn't seem to bother him in the slightest.

Well, he was the professor, after all.

All the students quickly scrambled up from their littered positions about the auditorium, and proceeded to climb up the steps to the stage, where Jongdae was.

Glancing at each other, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo quickly made to walk over to the centre of the stage, just a little outside of their circle and a couple of steps behind the last student, standing diagonally across from Jongdae.

The said man had his eyes focused on the sheet of paper in his hands, a black pen hooked around his forefinger and a pencil elegantly placed behind his ear.

... And how the hell does one even manage to pull off a pencil-behind-the-ear in the 21st century , is what Baekhyun had running through his mind as he gave Kim Jongdae ( Kim Jongdae!!! ) a once-over, taking in the exuberant fashion sense (at least, within the walls of one of the most prestigious colleges in South Korea) and finally, the aura that he was radiating.

The years of hard work, talent, and confidence had clearly showcased themselves through the poise and grace in which Kim Jongdae was holding himself up with; and it got everyone in the hall captivated. Complete and utter silence, driven only by awe and disbelief, enveloped the entire 2,000 seater auditorium. Some students even had their lips parted slightly in awe, simply taking in the ethereal being that was Professor Kim.

The man himself still had his gaze focused on the papers in his hand, eyes flitting over the ink printed on the pristine, white sheets. Once his eyes scanned through the last line of the paper, Kim Jongdae immediately set the papers aside and glanced up, finally meeting the awed expressions of all those seated in front of him.

Understanding the state that they were in, after all, he was Kim Jongdae.

Keyword: was.

Because right now, within the walls of this auditorium and within the perimeters of the University, "Kim Jongdae" was no longer, and only Professor Kim exists, because that's what and who he really was.

Clapping his hands together once, Jongdae flashed his signature cheshire grin, scanning the persons seated in front of him and making sure to make eye contact with each and every student of his. The warmth glowing in his eyes was more than enough to soothe the slight anxiety that hung in the air, and the ambience of the auditorium quickly became much more welcoming.

Slowly, but steadily, each student returned the same warm smile that Jongdae had given each and every one of them, and the effect on their entire being was immediate; shoulders relaxing, spine loosening and making way for a straighter, more confident posture, and lungs slowly expanding, welcoming the air back into them.

Jongdae grinned once he felt the calmness radiate from his students, and gave a firm nod before introducing himself.

"Hello, I'm Professor Kim Jongdae," Jongdae started, hands locked behind his back as he scanned through the crowd once more, "You can address me as Professor Kim, and I'll be your lecturer for Chorus." Jongdae paused in his introduction as his students greeted him back. "Anyway, before all of that, let's give a round of applause to all of you for getting into Hanyang!"

A round of applause and a few whoops and hollers echoed about the hall as the students cheered on, Jongdae even joining in on the hollering. "It wasn't easy, right?" he questioned, to which he received a chorus of fervent nods from the youth seated in front of him. Jongdae let out a laugh at that, because he himself knew just how hard one had to work to break free from the insane competition in the South Korean education system, and how much harder they had to work in order to get into Hanyang, the , if not one of the most prestigious universities in the whole of South Korea.

"Congratulations, everyone, and welcome to Hanyang!" Jongdae exclaimed, hands flying upwards as he gave a round of applause for his students, which was eagerly followed.

As soon as the applause died down, Jongdae carried on. "Alright, so before we go into introductions and our first lesson, let's set some ground rules first, alright?" Jongdae said, and after receiving a series of nods did he continued.

"So, first things first; in this classroom and in this University, I am Professor Kim, and not the Vocalist Kim Jongdae. Hence, view me as your professor and advisor, and not the artist." A note of seriousness laced his tone, and the cheerful atmosphere turned down a notch as each person in the room paid close attention to what Jongdae was saying. "Also, make as many mistakes as you can. Within these walls is where you fall, fail, and cry. But it is also within these walls do you grow, develop, and blossom. It is within these walls where you become what you can and are supposed to be. So fall, stumble, and land face first, because I am here to catch you, to teach you, and to nurture you.

"And because of that, I feel very strongly for developing a learning environment that is free of judgement and only filled with kindness, sincerity, and humility. You will all go through the same things for the next four years, so there will be no need for discrimination or segregation. Yes, we all come from different backgrounds, but our goals are the same. So be there for each other, and don't forget that I will also be there for you too." Jongdae finished.

A slow but steady round of applause built up, before the students were once again cheering, the meaningful speech etching itself into the minds and hearts of the students.

Jongdae let out a light giggle at that, before quickly calming his students down and urging them to settle down. "Alright, now let's get on to introductions!" Jongdae exclaimed, "I'll call up your names at random from the attendance list here—" Jongdae immediately pulling out and waving the white sheet that he previously was glancing through— "and you will tell me your name, and demonstrate something that you are good at, or a little quirk that you have!" Jongdae elaborated. "From singing, to maybe having moles at unexpected places, anything is welcomed!"

The explanation resulted in the pool of students nervously glancing about the auditorium, wrecking their brains about what they should demonstrate because there was this underlying pressure to stand out , and be remembered .

And Jongdae, quickly noticing the increasingly tense atmosphere, jumped into a few details which he had yet to disclose to the class.

"But before that", Jongdae paused, waiting for his students to calm down and focus back on him again, "We'll have two TAs to help conduct our classes." Jongdae glanced over at the two persons seated just slightly away from the main circle of students, flashing them a quick smile because, whilst he was seemingly interacting with the students and the students alone, he definitely did not forget about the two TAs, the two persons he would be working closely together with for the next semester.

"They will be my proxys, and in the event where I am not available, you can turn to them for any help or question that you have." Jongdae gestured over to both Baekhyun and Kyungsoo, and beckoned for them to stand beside himself and be visible to the rest of the class.

Swiftly getting up from their cross-legged positions of the floor, both Baekhyun and Kyungsoo quickly strode over to where Jongdae was standing, and finally faced the group of students they would be working with for the next semester, and possibly more.

Baekhyun could feel his hands getting clammy and perspiration beading across his forehead, and Kyungsoo was definitely not doing much better than he was, if the slight notes of anxiety radiating off the man were of any indication.

Jongdae let out a smooth chuckle at the sight of the two TAs, finding their adorably nervous states amusing, before soothingly telling them to not worry, and if they were even paying attention to what Jongdae was saying earlier. "There will be no discrimination and segregation within these four walls, remember?" Jongdae cheekily grinned, meeting gazes with the two TAs, and patiently waited for small smiles to grace their features before he nodded, seemingly satisfied, and turned back to face the class.

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo both were visibly much more relaxed, and, albeit still slightly nervous, could confidently meet the welcoming, soft gazes of the students. With each warm gaze they met, both TAs felt the grip that anxiety previously held onto their hearts and frame steadily loosen and ebb away, to the point where it was nearly non-existent.

"Alright, so let's have our TAs introduce themselves, shall we?" Jongdae grinned, meeting the surprised gazes of his TAs, and he immediately got the message. "What, you thought the introduction section applied only to the students?" he laughed, before he nudged the two of them and quickly bounced over to the back of the circle, taking the same spot which both TAs had previously taken.

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo took a nervous glance at each other, almost at a loss for what to do, before Kyungsoo quickly mouthed " You go first! "

A look of complete shock veiled Baekhyun's face, surprised that Kyungsoo was saying that. He could only stare in shock as a slight hint of mischievousness swirled about in the large orbs of the other TA, and how he took subtle steps back, making it such that Baekhyun was the main focus on the stage.

And Baekhyun felt... betrayed , for some reason.

He knew he was being childish, but he couldn't help it!

"Alright, let's go! A round of applause, everyone!" Jongdae exclaimed, breaking Baekhyun from his state of shock and disbelief because wow Kyungsoo who knew omg .

Quickly glancing up to face the expectant faces of the crowd, Baekhyun quickly took a deep breath in, before slowly letting it out, allowing all tendrils of shock, of betrayal , as well as nervousness leave his very being. Once Baekhyun felt his usual confidence seep into his very bones, because I am Byun Baekhyun, thank you very much , Baekhyun started off his introduction.

"Hello, I'm Byun Baekhyun, and you can call me Baekhyun," quickly flashing a cute smile (if the TA could say so himself), which had garnered a few smaller, yet equally as welcoming smiles in return, Baekhyun continued. "And, I guess my talent is singing!"

Baekhyun noticed how the students' eyes grew wider in expectation, and how Jongdae's stance had grown more relaxed, although his gaze was definitely expectant and of course, encouraging.

Flashing an even cuter grin, Baekhyun once more took a few deep, calming breaths, before belting out the infamous high note verse from EXO's "El Dorado".

Now we’re here

수많은 시간들이 우릴 스치고

더 펼쳐진 날들이

난 더욱 기대가 돼

날 믿어 준 그들에게 옳았다고

증명해 보일 거야

Finally reaching the end of the verse, Baekhyun hadn't realised that he had unconsciously closed his eyes, and quickly fluttered them open to face the crowd once again, not knowing what to expect.

However, a soon as Baekhyun met gazes with the rest of the class, he couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised at the sheer awe and surprise that laced the rims of the widened eyes and lines of smiles and gaped lips.

Letting out a shy chuckle, Baekhyun quickly shied away from the unexpected attention that everyone in the room had solely focused on him, shoulders quickly hunching up towards his ears as his fingers fiddled with themselves at the small of his back. With his chin lowered and ears slowly but surely staining themselves a faint hue of red, Baekhyun quickly gave a quiet thanks and an ever grateful and deep bow, before stepping back.

At the sudden movements of Baekhyun, everyone in the room immediately burst into applause; the sounds of clapping, hollering, and whooping ringing about the walls of the auditorium. Jongdae himself was hosting a pleased, pleasantly surprised smile on his lips as he applauded his TA along with the rest of the students.

Baekhyun couldn't help the satisfied grin from blossoming on his face as he scurried over to where Kyungsoo was standing (the latter in a state of pleasant shock as well, hands moving unconsciously in claps), giving one more deep bow before nudging for Kyungsoo to take his place and introduce himself.

Baekhyun had a surprising amount of strength when he got all shy and embarrassed, because before Kyungsoo knew it, he was stumbling forwards towards the crowd, the buzz of excitement and surprise still very much apparent. However, as soon as the students noticed that the second TA had come forward, the applause quietened down, and the same previous atmosphere that welcomed Baekhyun had returned, only this time, it was definitely heightened.

Kyungsoo glanced over to where Baekhyun was, and upon noticing that the other TA was giving him two thumbs-up, along with his adorable grin, Kyungsoo couldn't help but chuckle. And it was with that chuckle did the remaining traces of anxiety leave his body, and Kyungsoo too took in a few deep breaths to soothe his rather frazzled nerves.

Deciding on the English rendition of EXO's "For Life", Kyungsoo's voice soon flooded the auditorium.

The storms may come

And winds may blow

I'll be your shelter for life

This love, this love

I mean it till the day I die

Oh, never gonna let you go

Giving you my heart and soul

I'll be right here with you for life

The last note that left the lips of the younger TA echoed about the auditorium, and Kyungsoo opened his eyes to meet those of everyone else in the hall.

The reaction that Kyungsoo got was not unlike Baekhyun's at all, Jongdae's reaction included, and it wasn't long before exclamations of " Damn, both of them are so good?! " and " Holy shit just how talented is everyone here? " coupled along with a few others started filling up the silence. Kyungsoo  himself couldn't help but feel slightly overwhelmed at the sheer amount of praise that each student and Jongdae himself was giving to him, and started to shy away, in a manner very much similar to Baekhyun, thanking his audience gratefully before scurrying away to where Baekhyun was.

Baekhyun let out a deep laugh at Kyungsoo's embarrassed scurrying, knowing that that was how he had looked like just a few minutes earlier. Patting Kyungsoo's shoulder as a recognition for a job well done, Baekhyun smiled warmly at Kyungsoo, which the latter reciprocated before both of them turned back to face Jongdae, who was making his way to the front of the circle once more.

"Wow!", Jongdae exclaimed, hands already poised to clap as he took large strides around the circumference of the circle of students, "Another round of applause for our TAs, everyone!"

An encore of applause followed, which got both TAs laughing shyly and giving their thanks and gratitude towards their audience. Jongdae flashed them a friendly smile as he gestured to them that they could return to their "self-assigned floor seats", which both TAs got and speedily walked across the stage to where they were previously seated.

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo's jaws hung open in awe as they stared at the sheer grace and elegance that the current student was exhibiting; he took the phrase most associated with dance, "your floor is the canvas, and your body the brush" quite literally. Every step, spin, dip, and jump was executed with pure perfection, and literally everyone else was left agape in admiration.

Kim Jongin, that was his name.

As the final note of the soft pop song tapered off into nothingness, Kim Jongin finally graced his audience with his gaze. Smouldering deep brown orbs ignited with sheer determination and flaming passion greeted each student as soon as Jongin's gaze landed on them. His entire frame, although clear in its post-intense-dance state; chest moving up and down rapidly, lips parted, warmly welcoming the oxygen into his lungs, was still very much poised and seemingly ready to break into another gob-smacking routine.

However, as soon as the first clap broke the silence of the room, the intimidating aura surrounding Jongin then, which spoke of pure confidence, experience, and passion, slowly started to ebb away with each clap joining the applause.

To Baekhyun, it was similar to watching a renowned renaissance era sculptor turning a very intricate, exquisite, one of a kind stature of a powerful demon, slowly knocking into and turning it into...

... a cute, tiny cub.

Frame immediately loosening from its Dance God stance; feet drawing closer together and arms clapping themselves against his sides, shoulders unconsciously rising to shell his ears from the very much well-deserved praise as his chin dug into his chest. Although, that method of hiding his face was definitely a poor attempt at hiding the blossoming grin stretching across his face.

Eyes scrunching up adorably, Jongin quickly hid his face behind his palms, before giving one more final, grateful bow and hurried away.

... And Baekhyun was left in shock, because...

What the hell was that?

Because, let's face it, how could you even go from some demonic power beast who literally had everyone wrapped around his fingers, to something so... cute , in barely five seconds?

Eyes flitting over to where Jongin currently was; hiding his face in this other student's neck, an Oh Sehun , if Baekhyun remembered correctly.

Now thinking back to it, them being friends didn't really surprise Baekhyun. Both of them were extremely talented dancers, and, if Baekhyun were to say so himself, but more... advanced , per say, as compared to the other students.

Sehun had gone up a few students before Jongin did, and although their dance styles were different, Sehun had still managed to nail his routine almost effortlessly.

A much more laid back, street style routine was what greeted the reflective platform of the stage of the auditorium.  The pops, locks, and waves were supported and emphasised by the self-composed song playing in the background, a track titled "Go" that was pieced together by none other than the student himself.

The vocals accompanying the track did surprise Baekhyun, but it definitely did suit the student, he realised. The notes were nothing Mariah Carey like, but their subdued tones and pacing probably would be able to sell just as well.

Music isn't all about high notes and dolphin squeaks, you know.

Also, Baekhyun was now very aware that this certain Oh Sehun was definitely one of the more, say, prepared ones, remembering having seen him amongst the crowd of 80 students or so in Yixing's Computer Music class yesterday. If anyone had prior experience regarding mixing and creating music from scratch through digital music softwares, they probably wouldn't experience that much difficulty with Yixing's class.

But much more than that, Baekhyun was definitely impressed with what Sehun had showcased, and the brimming excitement at the possible future prospects of being able to work with Sehun and see what else he had to offer definitely played a part in the sudden rush of adrenaline in his veins.

But the main cause was...

"Jongdae!" a deep, rough voice exclaimed, and not just any deep, rough, voice, but the deep, rough voice. The same one that had been plaguing Baekhyun's daydreams (which were honestly one too many, considering how he literally only met the man yesterday), unspoken and definitely will-never-be-spoken-of dreams of having that same gritty voice wrap about the syllables of Baekhyun's own name.

The harsh beating of his heart against his ribcage echoed loudly in his ears, the substantial ruckus the students were causing fading into bleak nothingness in the background. Baekhyun could feel his blood rushing through his veins up his cheeks, staining the slightly tanned skin a soft, pink hue.

Although the same couldn't be said for his ears though...

His infamous dumbo ears were bright red .

Immediately pulling his knees closer to his chest, Baekhyun subtly buried his face into them, shoulders hunching up around his ears in hopes of hiding his embarrassingly red ears from the rest of the crowd, most especially, from Park Chanyeol .

"Whaddaya want?" Baekhyun heard Jongdae shout back, although his voice was much less louder and echo-y as compared to Chanyeol's... which could only mean that he was getting closer.

Cue Armadillo Baekhyun.

"... I haven't seen you in three months and this is how you greet me?" Chanyeol said, hints of disbelief and faint traces of amusement lining his words, which managed to pull out a few good-natured chuckles from the students and a good laugh from Jongdae.

A loud clapping sound rang about the auditorium which drew Baekhyun out of his foetal position, curious yet shy eyes peeking from behind his bangs as he rested his chin on his knees, gaze fixed on the two professors who were currently the center of attention.

Jongdae had pulled Chanyeol in for the typical bro hug; hands clasped together in-between their chests as the other arm wraps around the back of their partner, but the bright grins on their faces, as well as the soft murmurs of "It's good to see you"s, and "It's been a while"s exchanged between the two spoke volumes about how much they were really glad to see the other.

The genuineness radiating from the short exchange definitely had caused a shift in the auditorium's air; whilst previously it was electric with fun and elation, it had now been infiltrated by little wisps of contentment and fondness.

Peeking out from under his fringe a little (because he was curious, duh , totally not because the Adonis that was Park Chanyeol was there, totally not ), a soft smile lifted the corners of Baekhyun's lips as he watched the scene play out in front of him, and he could tell that the simple exchange had the same effect on everyone else in the auditorium as it did on him. The same smile that was on his own face was reflected in those of the other students, even on Kyungsoo.

Diverting his attention back to the two professors, Baekhyun watched as the two of them broke from their bro-hug, and his eyes couldn't help but trail his eyes down the entire stature of his, well... eye candy.

Because nope, Byun Baekhyun was not crushing on Park Chanyeol.

... But honestly, Baekhyun knew that it was futile arguing against what was literally carved in stone. As much as he loathe to admit, the way his heart fluttered and cheeks burnt at the mere sight and, god forbid, mention of the professor, it was definitely not the effect a simple eye candy would have.

And Baekhyun was never one to hide away from his feelings; he took them for what it is.

... But he literally saw this man one day ago , how the hell did he manage to develop a crush on him already?

Feeling his cheeks burn at the label that his mind had put on Chanyeol, a freaking Professor at the school he was TA-ing at, for goodness' sake , Baekhyun took in the way the deep olive green jacket hung on his shoulders, remaining unzipped and showing off the plain white tee under it. His mile-long legs were wrapped in plain black skinny jeans, and the outfit was pulled together with a pair of plain black high cut sneakers.

Baekhyun couldn't help but take a double-take internally, comparing the Chanyeol he met the day before the and current Chanyeol, because wow, did his dress style take a complete 180.

... But he still looked so good.

Gritting his teeth in annoyance at the heat that he could feel racing up his neck and blossoming on his cheeks yet again , Baekhyun dug his face in his knees once more and let out a muffled scream, throwing all grace and care for the other persons present around him out of the window.

... And why , of all hair styles, did he have to have his hair pushed up and away from his forehead???

With his head filled with nothing but thoughts centring around the straight-out-of-a-photoshoot man himself, along with a few exasperated self-reprimands, Baekhyun had failed to notice the direction in which the conversation between the two men were heading towards, and it wasn't until Kyungsoo's sudden gasp and quiet "Ah!" did Baekhyun shake out of his little Park Chanyeol Bubble™.

Confused, Baekhyun could only stare with furrowed brows at how Kyungsoo swiftly turned around and dug around the pile of haphazardly placed bags for his own; the two TAs were seated towards the back, very close to where the students had dumped their bags (hence why Kyungsoo hadn't had to move much).

Wondering why Kyungsoo was suddenly looking for something, Baekhyun had parted his lips open in hopes of asking, but a certain, deep timbre had cut him off before he could even begin.

"Ah, Kyungsoo," Chanyeol began, and that definitely caught Baekhyun's attention.

Slowly, almost disbelievingly so, Baekhyun turned his head towards the source of the voice, almost not wanting to believe that Park Chanyeol was standing in front of him.

But alas, as he caught sight of the black sneakers and black jeans creeping into the edges of his vision, Baekhyun could only inwardly groan. Luck was definitely not on his side, today.

Tilting his chin up ( honestly, don't even ask where he got the courage from, because trust me, even Baekhyun himself doesn't know ), eyes slowly but steadily making their upwards trek up the six-foot stature of the professor, Baekhyun finally rested his gaze on Chanyeol's wide eyes.

Which were, thankfully, not focused on him but rather on Kyungsoo instead.

... At least the teacher wouldn't be greeted with a completely speechless, burning red Baekhyun yet again .

It saves some of the dignity Baekhyun thinks knows that he has left.

"I'm sorry, but please do give me a moment," Kyungsoo's mellow voice broke through Baekhyun's Park Chanyeol Reverie, and it had him turning his head to face his fellow TA once more.

Kyungsoo had apparently found his bag, and had pulled out his sleek black folder and was rifling through the pages upon pages of various music sheets, notes, and lecture slides that, Baekhyun noticed, were actually pretty neatly arranged.

With his eyebrows raising slightly and his lips pursing into an impressed little pout (with the corners dipping downwards and lower lip jutting out), Baekhyun continued observing Kyungsoo searching through, what he could safely presume, were the entire Semester's worth of TA notes.

"It's no worry," Chanyeol lightly chuckled, and Baekhyun noticed that the voice sounded much more closer than before, "take your time!"

Sneakily (at least, to Baekhyun, that is), Baekhyun chanced a glance to where Chanyeol was initially standing, only to be welcomed with the professor's face much more closer than it was supposed to be.

Because the Park Chanyeol was, in fact, crouching, in front of the two TAs, barely two feet away from them.

... And God , was he even more handsome up close.

What Baekhyun had deemed modern-day Adonis just a day ago was definitely still present, however today, they were definitely veiled by traces of a certain boyish charm.

... And damn , did that do things to Baekhyun's palpitating heart.

It was certainly the clothes, Baekhyun noted, because the Chanyeol from yesterday was a head-to-toe model cross man-who-knew-his-shit-and-had-everything, what with the formal attire and folded sleeves. This Chanyeol, on the other hand, was much more... relaxed , in the sense where he seemed much more younger and, for the lack of a better, much fitting word, boyish .

Or basically, Chanyeol literally went from Daddy to Perfect Boyfriend.

And the ease in which the man had managed to pull both ends of the spectrum off so effortlessly well definitely bumped the man a few more notches up Baekhyun's little Heart Ladder.

... Not that there was anyone above him to begin with, but whatever.

Baekhyun could only continue observing the man, and although his features really did not change at all from yesterday (and neither from Baekhyun's memories of the man), Baekhyun really couldn't help himself in taking in the, honestly, feast that a certain Park Chanyeol was presenting.

... However, being too caught up in someone's pure perfection definitely has its consequences, because what happens when you stare at someone for too long?

Right, they start to notice you staring.

And what happens when they realise that you've been staring?

Right , they stare back .

Which was why it really shouldn't have come as a surprise to Baekhyun when Chanyeol had shifted his gaze from Kyungsoo to Baekhyun himself.

However, the startle that shook through his body definitely spoke the opposite, and as soon as Baekhyun realised that his reaction was the cause for the light chuckle that escaped the lips of Chanyeol, he couldn't have helped the flushing of his cheeks out of sheer embarrassment.

Burrowing his face in his knees once more, Baekhyun wrapped his arms a little tighter around his knees as he pulled his legs a little closer towards his torso, in dire hopes of curling into himself tight enough to disappear because damn, this is embarrassing .

Thankfully, Baekhyun didn't have to wait long for his saving grace, because Kyungsoo eventually found what he was looking for, quickly pulling out the stack of paper and handing them to Chanyeol with a quiet "Here you go, Professor Park."

Chanyeol had swiftly turned his focus back to Kyungsoo, eyes glancing down at the substantially thick stack of paper that had his own little scribbles in various shades of reds, blues, and greens littered about in his own handwriting.

With a relieved, thankful smile stretching across his lips, Chanyeol voiced his gratitude before proceeding to take the papers out of his TA's hands. Kyungsoo had simply replied with an "It's no problem at all, Professor," and flashed his own small smile before nodding his head slightly.

Not being able to hold himself back, Chanyeol shifted the papers to one hand and then proceeded to ruffle Kyungsoo's long locks with his free hand, only managing to elicit a frown as well as a well-concealed glare from the TA.

Chanyeol knew that Kyungsoo didn't particularly like having his hair ruffled (after having done that to him twice yesterday, once when the TA had entered the lecture hall just barely late and was already apologising so profusely, and once more as he was packing to leave).

But Chanyeol really couldn't help himself, not when the glare he received was particularly adorable.

Laughing to himself, Chanyeol finally pulled his hand away from Kyungsoo's (now) mess of subdued red locks, apologising (although both of them knew that he wasn't that sorry, but it was all in good fun) before expressing his thanks once more.

"It's really no problem at all, Professor Park," Kyungsoo replied, a small smile spreading across his lips in response to the bright grin that stretched across the face of the professor, initial frown melting away. "It's partially my fault too, for not remembering to hand them back to you, so let's both not forget the next time!"

Chanyeol could only respond with a breathy laugh, which was contagious enough to let a few chuckles slip from Kyungsoo himself, before he gave a quick nod in agreement.

"Alright, I better get going now," Chanyeol said a beat after silence enveloped the trio, taking note of the time on the Rolex wrapped around his wrist, noticing that he indeed was running late already.

This was a little unfortunate, because, as Chanyeol turned his gaze to meet with that of the other TA (which was futile, because the man still had his face buried in his knees), he realised that he had yet to formally meet him.

Thinking that their introduction would have to wait for another time, Chanyeol only chuckled at the adorable sight before proceeding to ruffle the soft mop of brown that greeted him, not unlike the manner in which he ruffled Kyungsoo's own hair.

"You're cute, you know that?" Chanyeol had murmured, almost unconsciously so, before he retracted his hand and stood back up on his feet.

... And honestly, the ease in which Park Chanyeol had literally just.. up and walked away without (probably) realising what he just said and how that impacted the TAs was downright crUEL.

Kyungsoo was definitely in a state of shock, thick brows raised so high up his forehead they nearly brushed his hairline, and wide eyes replicating the shape of his rounded mouth as he could only stare in disbelief at Baekhyun, clearly needing time to process what exactly had just transpired between the two of them.

... Because wow , do Professors really call TAs cute in the first times of meeting them?

Directing his focus back to Baekhyun, Kyungsoo noticed how he was still curled up in the little ball, with his face buried in his knees and arms wrapped tight around his legs, pulling them as close to his torso as possible.

However, the one thing that significantly stood out (at least, the most , because Baekhyun's posture stood out enough ), were the blazing red ears that stuck out from the head of brown hair.

"...That was a first," Kyungsoo murmured, warily glancing at the other TA, who, unsurprisingly (at least, to us ), had his head still buried in his knees.

Kyungsoo was only responded with a high-pitched squeak, which only resulted in a deeper furrow of his own brows as he scooted closer towards Baekhyun, curiosity (and maybe a hint of worry) fuelling his movements. As soon as Kyungsoo was close enough, he bent a little closer to the little ball of burning red in hopes of catching a glance of his face.

"Hey, Baekhyun," placing a comforting hand on the man's shoulder, Kyungsoo gently expressed his worry. "You doing okay?"

A quick, although visibly restrained nod of the head was what followed Kyungsoo's question, as well as a slight tightening of the arms around the bent knees.

Getting more and more confused by the minute, and noticing the way in which the red dying Baekhyun's ears was rapidly growing brighter and brighter by the second, Kyungsoo couldn't help the next sentence from slipping past his lips.

"You're blushing like a teenage school girl in love with her professor or something," and although Kyungsoo really didn't put in any thought whatsoever into his sentence (it honestly just slipped), this was the only one that elicited a legitimate response from Baekhyun.

Immediately whipping his head up to face the other TA, Baekhyun scoffed out an "I'm not a teenage school girl!" before facing the front once again, chin hooking over the makeshift pillow of his arms and huffing.

... But in doing so, Baekhyun clearly didn't factor in the state of his face in that moment, and the fact that it was now out in broad daylight for all to see, because the bright red was definitely still very much present.

A fact that Kyungsoo definitely noticed.

"... Holy shit are you red," the words slipped right out of Kyungsoo's lips, eyes staring back in shock at the literal red hue staining the once slightly tanned skin of Baekhyun's face.

With his own eyes mirroring that of the other TA's, Baekhyun's hands quickly flew up to his cheeks, before hissing slightly at the amount of heat he could feel radiating off of his skin.

Damn, still?

Groaning, both at the realisation that his stupid, idiotic, annoying crush had resulted in yet another moment of pure embarrassment, as well as the fact that Kyungsoo's seen it already (hence, there is no point in trying to hide it anymore), Baekhyun threw his head back and proceeded to stretch his legs out, entire frame completely going lax in what you would identify as pure, unadulterated defeat .

"... You have a crush on Professor Park or something?" the seemingly innocent (and mildly amusing) question echoed between the two TAs, and even though Kyungsoo was expecting nothing short of a vehement (yet convincing ), resounding denial, the reaction that Baekhyun gave took him by surprise.

... Because the only thing that Baekhyun did in response was groan even more , and it was more drawn out too, on top of the minute flailing of his legs as he turned his face away from Kyungsoo.

Reaaaaaaaally unlike a toddler throwing a tantrum, Christ.

And that was when everything clicked for Kyungsoo, and he really couldn't help but state the obvious.

"You have a crush on Professor Park Chanyeol."

...which drew an immediate response from the other , almost-dying TA.

"God, you don't have to shout it out!" Baekhyun hissed, head tilted to face Kyungsoo yet body still retaining its earlier position.

Taking note of exactly how the situation had caused Baekhyun to lose his cool completely , and just how flustered he was, Kyungsoo really couldn't help but find the image amusing.

Brown hair messed up and sticking up all over, eyebrows deeply set and furrowed, and lips pulled up into an embarrassedly annoyed grimace, Kyungsoo immediately burst out in a fit of chuckles.

"Hey!" Baekhyun whisper-yelled, "Stop laughing at me!" he continued, flailing his legs this way and that in hopes of reaching Kyungsoo, desperately wanting him to stop before he attracts any more attention.

Noticing just how hard Baekhyun was trying to get him to stop, Kyungsoo quickly tried to stifle his laughter, even bringing his palm up to veil his lips, hoping to stopper anymore from slipping.

"Alright, alright," Kyungsoo laughed, "I'll stop."

Watching as how Kyungsoo took in deep breaths to calm himself down, Baekhyun slowly but steadily brought his feet back down, and his legs closer to himself. However, he couldn't help the slight resentment still running through his veins at how Kyungsoo found his state of misery amusing (like, honestly, how r00d ?), and just huffed and faced away from the other TA.

And even though his posture pretty much screamed "go away, I hate you", the message probably went over Kyungsoo's head, because before Baekhyun knew it, the other TA was already getting up in his face.

And God, was the amusement lacing every single muscle on the cherubic face annoying.

Steering his face away from Kyungsoo (and his prying eyes), Baekhyun turned away to face the rest of the class, noticing that they were still in the midst of the introduction session that was so rudely interrupted by a certain Park Ch—

"Oh my God, you're getting redder, are you thinking about him again?"

Kyungsoo's annoying voice broke through Baekhyun's thoughts (fortunately, because Baekhyun does NOT want to subject himself to more embarrassment, much less in front of Kyungsoo , of all people), and had him immediately retaliating with a strong, yet shaky (because who was Baekhyun kidding, he was mere seconds from thinking about the man), "NO!"

Which only resulted in Kyungsoo responding with a "Pfft, stop lying to yourself, Baekhyun."

Rolling his eyes at the annoying response, and also internally crying at the fact that he would probably never win with Kyungsoo, Baekhyun only let out a few inaudible mumbles before curling in on himself once more, wanting to hide away from Kyungsoo.

Scoffing, Kyungsoo placed a hand on Baekhyun's shoulder before gently guiding him to face himself.

"Relax, would you," Kyungsoo assured (although it was clear that Baekhyun didn't bite that bone, if the way in which he rolled his eyes was any indication), "I'm not judging you or anything, I'm not like that."

It was the way in which Kyungsoo had murmured the last sentence that undid him; it sounded genuinely sincere, with no traces of mockery or disgust lacing his tone, and Baekhyun felt a little bit more safer.

Slowly peeking up from under his bangs, Baekhyun looked up to face Kyungsoo once more, and everything that was found in his tone was reflected on his face and in his eyes, and Baekhyun quickly let out a sigh of relief.

“But that doesn’t mean that I don’t wanna know a few things though,” Kyungsoo sneakily slipped, which immediately had Baekhyun groaning because of course Kyungsoo would want to know.

Sighing in resignation (because Baekhyun had long ago (meaning, like, five minutes) accepted that he would never win with Kyungsoo), Baekhyun could only surrender and subject himself to the round of Twenty Questions.

“So, you’ve met him like a day ago and interacted with him for like 2 minutes and you’re already practically in love with him?”

The glare that Kyungsoo received for his basic, yet shockingly concise summary of his rendition of Baekhyun’s situation was definitely called for, if you asked Baekhyun himself.

... because Kyungsoo’s phrasing made him look like, well, a teenage high school girl in love with her professor.

Which he was sooooo not.

And Baekhyun would fight anyone who says otherwise.

Shoving Kyungsoo lightly in the shoulder, and internally smirking when the man had in fact stumbled a little from his cross-legged position, Baekhyun scoffed and retaliated against the comment.

“I am not in love with him,” Baekhyun started, and the single raised eyebrow and hooded eyes that graced Kyungsoo’s features spoke for themselves, and only served to fuel Baekhyun’s tirade of denial defence. “I just, well, have a suuuuuuuper tiny crush on him, that’s all,” he ended lamely, face slowly losing its hard set glare and softening to its neutral, albeit unsure state.

Kyungsoo only stared at the other TA, noticing the slightly somber mood slowly but steadily enveloping the two of them, and the little pout dancing over Baekhyun’s lips acted as a warning sign enough.

Parting his mouth in hopes of saying something that’ll help dispel the sudden almost-dour atmosphere, Kyungsoo was unfortunately (or not, because we all know sometimes he lets things slip, things that really shouldn’t have been let slip) cut off by the man himself.

“But like, what’s the point, you know?” Baekhyun began, and Kyungsoo couldn’t help but feel somewhat startled and confused at the sudden, well, self-doubt that Baekhyun was expressing. “He’s clearly out of my league, with him being whole damn daddy and here I am looking like some underdeveloped foetus.”

The last sentence took Kyungsoo by surprise, Baekhyun’s little angry rant swerving into a much different lane than what he had thought it would have ended in, and Kyungsoo couldn’t help the laugh from bubbling out and past his lips.

Resting a comforting, and friendly hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder, Kyungsoo simply responded with, “well, if you’re into that kinda relationship, then by all means go ahead.”

...which of course resulted in a fuming Baekhyun retaliating with nothing else but “I am not a baby !”

A slight pause.

“And I do not have a daddy kink !”

Kyungsoo could only rub soothing circles over Baekhyun’s shoulder and back, softly murmuring a “Whatever you say, Baekhyun, whatever you say.”

... Which of course, Baekhyun heard, so the resultant stronger shove shouldn’t have come as much of  a surprise to Kyungsoo as it did, not at all.