Chapter Text
Hyungwon was looking forward to the university orientation festivities, but he was unable to keep his eyelids open. A yawn escaped his mouth as he sat in the auditorium of Seocho University. After a few seconds, he gave in to his tiredness and rested his head against Minhyuk’s shoulder. If only he could take a quick nap, then he would be rested enough to stay awake.
Around them, incoming freshman chattered about orientation, the upcoming semester, and their excitement at being accepted to Seocho University. Seocho University was one of many prestigious universities in South Korea. He remembered how excited he was to be accepted. The university had a great literature program and he couldn’t wait to sit down with some good books.
Hyungwon glanced at his cell phone, his head still resting on Minhyuk’s shoulder. “I wish we didn’t have to come so early. Waking up for an 8.am. orientation on a Saturday is the last thing I wanted to do.”
“Well, if we had registered earlier maybe we could have chosen an afternoon time, but we were late,” Minhyuk said.
“At least the chairs are comfortable, I may be able to get in a quick nap,” Hyungwon said.
“You can’t sleep now. What if everything officially begins?” Minhyuk said. “Besides, I told you not to take that shift at the restaurant last night.”
Hyungwon knew his best friend was right. He shouldn’t have taken the shift, but he couldn’t help it. His co-worker, Namsoon, needed a favor so he agreed to working last night even though he had orientation in the morning. Of course, he regretted his decision, but it was all in the past. An older gentleman walked up the three steps on the right side of the stage. He walked toward the middle of the stage and then stopped.
“Welcome, future graduating class of 2023. I am one of the many professors you may meet at this fine institution and I’d like to start off with a small introduction our school.”
Hyungwon tried to pay attention to the professor on the stage, but it was difficult. His eyelids fluttered closed, his head resting heavily on Minhyuk’s shoulder. Perhaps, a super quick nap wouldn’t be a huge problem. His mind drifted away as he fell asleep.
~~
Hyungwon awoke, eyes wide. He sat up, searching his surroundings for the disturbance. He had been sleeping soundly until a distant yell interrupted his dreams. Beside him, Minhyuk snickered, displaying his amusement. He glanced at Minhyuk, frowning.
“Don’t give me that look,” Minhyuk said. “The orientation leaders could appear at any moment. I wonder what group we’ll be placed in.”
“As long as we don’t get separated the group doesn’t matter,” Hyungwon said.
“Agreed. We are a packaged deal.”
Hyungwon laughed as he shook his head. Before he could respond, his eyes drifted toward the stage. Ten individuals wearing bright yellow shirts walked up the small steps. Hyungwon noticed each shirt also had the name of the orientation leader underneath the school name. Some teens in the audience grew quiet while others continued talking with their friends. One of the orientation leaders stepped forward. His eyes zeroed in on the name Hyunwoo on the older student’s shirt.
“Hi, hello,” Hyunwoo greeted. “My name is Son Hyunwoo. I’m a fourth year, RA, and an Economics major. I’ve been an orientation leader for two year now. I’m happy to be back again. After the introductions, you’ll know which leader will be your guide today.”
“Wow, economics,” Minhyuk said.
Hyungwon nodded, equally amazed. Economics wasn’t an easy subject. He learned that the hard way when he almost didn’t take the course seriously in high school. His attention returned to the stage. The other orientation leaders introduced themselves and shared a little bit of information on stage.
After the last orientation leader, a petit sophomore girl, a loud energetic beat filtered from the speakers located at the end of each stage. All the leaders started to cheer and dance in place. Hyungwon glanced at Minhyuk who shrugged his shoulders. One orientation leader, a student by the name of Soo, stepped forward. His dark black hair was shaved off at the sides, a style Hyungwon had never tried before in his life.
“Alright everyone before we get started with the rest of orientation, we’ve prepared something for you all tonight. So, without further ado I want to reintroduce you to Son Hyunwoo aka Nunu. He has a special performance he wants to share with you all!”
Soon all the orientation leaders began to chant Nunu as Hyunwoo laughed, face slightly flushed from the attention. A small smile formed on Hyungwon’s face as he witnessed the display. Hyunwoo stepped forward as the music increased in intensity. As soon as the beat dropped, the lights switched off and a spotlight shined down upon Nunu as he began to dance. Hyungwon was a dancer himself, but he hadn’t seen such skills before. Nunu danced with so much ease. He was beyond impressed.
“Go Nunu!” Soo shouted. “Come on everyone let’s hype him up more!”
The rest of the audience started shouting Nunu as Hyunwoo continued to dance up a storm. Minhyuk on his right had begun to shout louder than the people around them. Hyungwon joined in, chanting Nunu at the top of his lungs, excited by the energy coming from others around him. Soon they were all on their feet, clapping and cheering the talented orientation leader on. Soon a few more lights switched on, shining down upon all the orientation leaders.
After the dancing, the rest of the leaders with the help of Hyunwoo’s guidance performed a choreographed dance as they sang an original song about the university. There had been a few stunning solos from Nunu and a girl named Jessica. Hyungwon didn't know orientation could be this fun. One of the orientation leaders did a spectacular backflip to end the performance.
The lights turned on and the rest of the orientation leaders grabbed bottled waters off stage and took large gulps. While they drank, Nunu stepped forward on the stage and started to talk about the rest of the day’s activities. He mentioned groups being assigned and Minhyuk gave him a knowing look. They had to be in a group together.
Hyunwoo explained the way the groups were chosen. Each orientation leader stepped forward and listed the members of their group. Hyungwon waited in anticipation. The selection process was based on order of orientation registration. Since Min and him registered last, then they would be in the same group, hopefully. Finally, Soo went last, listing their names. Hyungwon looked at Minhyuk. They were both relieved to have been placed in the same group. A few orientation leaders walked off the stage, holding printed images of their names. Some of the leaders remained on stage, waving their name signs in the air.
Hyunwoo looked around holding his own name sign high. “Okay, everyone please find your group.”
“Come on, let’s go,” Minhyuk said, reaching for Hyungwon’s hand.
Hyungwon nodded, following after his best friend. Orientation leader Soo, rested his back against the wall behind him, holding his name sign high. Other incoming freshmen gathered around Soo, chatting.
“Alright, I’m going to take a minute to look at the sheet and make sure everyone’s here. For those of you who haven’t, put your nametags on, okay? Please make sure to have your nametag on at all times, please,” he said, glancing at a paper in his hand and then at them. “ Okay, according to my sheet you are all here. Well we are going to have a lot of fun today, I promise. I know all the logistics and info can be boring, but we want you all to be well informed entering university. So, let’s listen well and it’ll go by fast.”
A teen with curly brown hair, raised a hand above his head. Hyungwon’s eyes fell upon the shorter teen, curious. He thought it was too early for questions, but the other boy must know something he didn’t. Their orientation leader made eye contact with the other freshman, a small smile on his face. A few of the other groups started to leave the auditorium. Hyungwon watched them, wondering when they would be leaving.
“You don’t have to raise your hand here,” Soo said. “I’m not a professor. Everyone feel free to yell your questions at me just try not to talk over each other.”
“Oh, I could never do that,” the teen said.
“Alright, that’s fine,” Soo said. “What is your question?”
“I was looking at the itinerary for the day and I noticed each presentation is about fifteen to twenty minutes long. I’m in the honors college and I have specific questions, but I don’t think I’ll have time to ask them with just fifteen to twenty minutes.”
Soo looked at him, scratching the back of his head. “I assure you there will be time at the end for questions. And plus, your parents will be receiving all the information. The goal of the rest of orientation is to give you time to mingle. We want you to be more comfortable as incoming freshmen.”
“I see, well I would prefer more time for important information. As an incoming freshman I want to make sure I have all the details before school starts.”
“Right, well I’ll do my best to make sure you acquire all the knowledge you need,” he said. “ Thank you for voicing your concerns, Kihyun.”
Kihyun gave the other a firm nod, adjusting his golden glasses. “I’m sure there are many others who wish to have the same questions answered.”
“I agree, so thank you for bringing this to my attention,” Soo said.
Soo gave him a warm smile and then started to give a brief explanation of the plans. Hyungwon turned to Minhyuk, a look on his face. He tried his best not to comment on Kihyun’s words. Personally, he thought short info sessions were better than long ones. He was certain he could get enough information from a ten-minute meeting. He pushed his thoughts aside and started to walk when their group began to move.
After a few minutes, they arrived at the Student Id Card office just as another large group exited. Hyungwon spotted the talented dancer from before. Orientation leader Nunu stopped to chat with Soo. They discussed something in hushed whispers that resulted in Soo letting out an obnoxious laugh. Nunu grinned and started to walk by but before he passed, he waved at Kihyun and then kept walking.
Minhyuk turned to him, a curious expression on his face. “They must know each other.”
Hyungwon shrugged. “I guess.”
“Alright everyone, gather around, come closer,” Soo called, running fingers through his hair. “Now you all are going to get id cards right now. It comes with your fees so no need to bring out your wallets. Who wants to get their special one of a kind student id first? Anyone? Don’t be shy.”
A petite girl in a pink skirt and white shirt stepped forward, entering the office. The office was quite large and was able to fit the rest of them. There was a large waiting area with soft cushiony seats. He sat next to Minhyuk. Once they took a seat, Soo passed out complementary canvas totes with the school logo to all the students. Inside the totes were packets of information about financial aid, the meal plan, housing, and other important details about the university.
From his periphery he spotted, Kihyun seated, hunched over some packet, nibbling at his bottom lip and playing with the string of his baby blue hoodie. He shook his head. He expected the other teen to read all the information in the bag. Hyungwon didn’t plan to look at the information till he was comfortably in his own home. School didn’t start for another month. There was no reason to stress too much. But he guessed some people didn’t think the same which he understood.
Once the line died down, Hyungwon got up and took his photo. After the photo, he followed his friend out the door toward their group where a few freshmen already begun to chat like old friends. Soo texted on his cell phone, scratched his clothed stomach as he smiled. Hyungwon slipped his cell phone out of his pocket and glanced at the time and groaned. It had only been an hour.
“Hey, at the end of orientation there is some kind of mini tournament. The different groups will go against each other. That sounds like fun,” Minhyuk said.
“Do we win something?”
Minhyuk reread the description of the tournament, a frown on his face.
“No prize. Well, that’s boring. But at least the games might be fun.”
Hyungwon nodded. He was curious about the tournament and was interested in the games. He glanced at the itinerary in Minhyuk’s hand, curious about what was next. He frowned at the sight of financial aid. He expected the next stop to be the most boring of them all. His parents didn’t want to take out a loan, so they worked many hours to help him pay his school fees. Hyungwon got his job over the summer to help out with paying. Luckily, he was able to get a small scholarship from a writing competition he won a few months before orientation. A small smile came to his face at the memory. The essay about ‘his hopes for the future’ had been his best work.
“Come on Wonnie, pay attention,” Minhyuk said, poking at his shoulder.
Hyungwon shook his head. “Don’t call me that here.”
Minhyuk pouted, bottom lip jutting out. “What? I can’t call you that anymore?”
Hyungwon sighed, eyes on his friend’s face. “ Okay, forget what I said.”
The financial aid talk was given in the large auditorium from earlier. He saw other freshmen seated and ready for the talk. He guessed it was one of the only presentations that all of them had to attend at the same time. A woman in a soft beige suit stepped on the stage and began to discuss the importance of applying for scholarships throughout their university career. A familiar ping caught his attention. He glanced at Minhyuk.
“Joo sent me a meme,” he stated, turning his phone screen toward him.
Hyungwon laughed at the image of a pouting child holding a sign that said I hate Mondays. Jooheon their younger friend had always been a fan of memes. They were in a year before him so when they graduated Jooheon complained for weeks about his impending loneliness after their graduation. Hyungwon suggested he could hang out with Changkyun his younger brother, but Jooheon refused. He wished his friend and brother would get over their misunderstanding from years ago.
“Excuse me.”
Hyungwon looked up from the phone screen and glanced at a curly haired teen looking at them over his chair. He frowned, realization coming to him. The boy looking at them asked the questions earlier. He gazed at him, confused. Why was he turned around in his chair?
“Could you both please keep your voices low?” he asked. “You may not care about funding your education, but I do. And I can’t hear because you both are laughing.”
“I’m sorry. Our friend sent a meme,” Minhyuk said, showing his screen to the glasses wearing teen.
Kihyun took one look at the screen and then narrowed his eyes at them. “Please stop laughing. I’m trying to take notes.”
“Notes? Are we being quizzed?” Minhyuk asked.
Kihyun glared at each of them and turned back around in his seat. Minhyuk frowned, and then looked at him. Hyungwon didn’t know what to say. No one else had called them out, but this guy thought he needed to. They weren’t even being that loud, their voices were barely above a whisper. He glared at the back of Kihyun’s head, lips pressed into a thin line.
“Huh, I guess he doesn’t like memes.”
Hyungwon snorted at the response. He glanced at his phone and sent his brother a quick text reminding him he’d be home later in the afternoon.
~~
Lunch time came around and he was ready to eat. The dining hall was located several minutes away from the student center, so they all had to get on the bus. The trip to the dining hall was fairly loud. Many of the other freshmen were chatting about all the events coming up on the schedule. There was a large freshmen welcome party the weekend after the first week of classes. Minhyuk turned to him, grinning.
“I’m excited to party. I heard university parties are a lot more fun than high school ones.”
“We didn’t go to many parties in high school. You barely have anything to compare university parties to,” Hyungwon said.
“Still, I’m excited.”
The bus stopped and Soo stood up, announcing they were at the East Han dining hall. Hyungwon’s stomach grumbled right on cue. He flushed at the loud obnoxious noise and got up when it was time for them to leave. As they entered the dining hall, he saw several other students of varying ages eating and chatting amongst themselves. Only a few of the students took a look at their large group.
“Alright you all have a whole hour to eat and converse. I’ll be sitting here eating. Feel free to come chat with me about any concerns. If nothing comes to mind, then have fun getting to know each other. Oh, and start thinking about what you want our group name to be. We are competing against the other groups. I’m totally gonna beat Nunu this year. Like I have to beat him this year!”
Soo smiled and then took a seat at the table, getting back on his phone. Hyungwon followed Minhyuk to the line and grabbed some chicken, rice, and kimchi. He then took a seat at the table with his friend. Memories of the previous moments came to mind as he chewed, savoring the taste of chicken.
“I just don’t get it,” Hyungwon said. “That Kihyun guy has been ‘shhing’ us all day.”
Minhyuk shook his head. “Not all day really. But I will say we weren’t being as loud as he thought we were being. It is getting a little annoying.”
Hyungwon agreed. “I’m so tired of it.”
Minhyuk snickered, resting a hand on Hyungwon’s shoulder. “Well it’s a big university. I don’t think we are going to run into him again.”
“You are right I shouldn’t be worried about him. It is just that he is so—”
“Uptight?”
“If Jooheon was here, he would totally tell him he needs to chill and just vibe, you know?”
Minhyuk snorted, and then sighed.
“I wish Jooheon was here.”
Hyungwon placed his chopsticks on his plate. “Yeah.”
“He needs to hurry up and graduate so we can be the terrific trio again,” Minhyuk said.
“Jooheon has a whole year left.”
Minhyuk shook his head. “That’s no excuse. He needs to hurry up.”
Hyungwon rolled his eyes at the serious expression on Minhyuk’s face. They had met Jooheon when they were juniors. Jooheon had been a nervous, lost freshman in high school. They had invited him to have a seat at lunch. Ever since then they had become close friends. It had been destiny.
“Well, Joo, will be graduating in no time. Besides, he may not even come to this school after he graduates.”
“I highly doubt that, Wonnie. I know our Joo will graduate and apply to this university, “ Minhyuk said. “Anyway, are you up for dessert?”
Hyungwon looked at the dessert table and then nodded, pushing away his barely eaten meal. He would have some dessert and forget about the annoying teen in their orientation group. No, he wouldn’t worry about the other boy. Instead, he would focus on the fun time he was having at orientation with his best friend.
A chocolate chip cookie on a plate called to him so he grabbed it from the dessert table. As he walked back to sit with his friend, he spotted Orientation leader Nunu sitting with Kihyun. It seemed like they were having a serious discussion. Hyungwon turned away, giving them privacy. It wasn’t any of his business. He walked back to his friend and took a seat.
~~
Hyungwon cackled as he ran away from Minhyuk. He glanced over his shoulder at his soaked friend, a small smile on his lips. The tournament had just finished not too long ago. There had been many fun games to participate in. His favorite were the relay and the water bucket passing game. Unfortunately, their team lost the tournament. Soo did his best to seem like he wasn’t disappointed but Hyungwon noticed. Despite the disappointment, Soo was a great sport and congratulated Nunu’s team.
Hyungwon pushed aside his thoughts about the tournament so he could focus on running. He probably shouldn’t have poured a bucket of water on Minhyuk at the end of the games. The student center came into view and he was eager to get away from his impending doom. He pushed the doors open and ran inside. He slowed down once he reached the middle of the cafeteria in the student center.
He turned around, hands raised in defense. “Wait! Min! Wait”
As soon as Min stopped moving, he placed his hands upon his knees, taking a few large gulps of air.
“Okay,” Hyungwon said. “Okay, no more running. I’m tired.”
“How could you?” Min said, annoyed. “I don’t even have another change of clothes. I’m drenched.”
“I’m sorry,” Hyungwon said, shoulders falling. “You are right. I should have thought about that.”
Minhyuk eyed him for a second and then a bright smile fell across his lips. Hyungwon sighed, relieved. He had been friends with Minhyuk too long for them to have any serious friendship ending fights.
“It’s okay, really,” Minhyuk said. “I don’t like being soaked like this but that’s okay. I’m not mad, more annoyed.”
“I am really sorry,” Hyungwon said. “Hey, how about this? I’ll buy you something to change into from the bookstore and I give you permission to get revenge.”
Minhyuk walked toward him, hands stuffed in his pockets, amusement shining from his eyes. “Oh, don’t worry, I will get my revenge.”
“Okay, I trust you won’t do anything too drastic. I think. Anyway, we should probably start going to the bookstore and then home,” Hyungwon said, walking backwards. “We have a long drive.”
Minhyuk nodded. “You are right. And for the record, I don’t need permission to—hey watch out!”
Hyungwon turned around just in time to crash into Kihyun. Instinctively, he reached out grabbing the other’s shoulders, trying to stabilize himself. His eyes widened at the sight of the other wincing from the impact. He should have looked where he was going.
Hyungwon looked at Kihyun, removing his hands from his shoulders. “Hey, I’m sorry about that. I probably should have been looking where I was going. I didn’t see you and—”
The shorter teen narrowed his eyes, arms crossed over his chest. “What do you mean you didn’t see me? Don’t you have eyes? Or is it because I’m so short? I’ll have you know I’m average height. You on the other hand are a giant that should know walking backwards is never a good idea. I mean only an idiot would walk backwards.”
Hyungwon tilted his head, confused. He didn’t remember making a comment about the other boy’s height. He crossed his arms, mirroring the other’s body posture. The other teen seemed too angry about their accidental encounter. Yes, Hyungwon shouldn’t have been walking backwards. But Kihyun didn’t have to be so rude about it.
“Look, I’m sorry once again for running into you. But I never said anything about your height that was you. And also, don’t call me an idiot.”
The sound of a cell phone ringing caught their attention. The shorter teen reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He glared at him and then walked away, answering the call. Hyungwon glanced at Minhyuk, still very confused by what happened.
Minhyuk turned around. “Hey! You are really going to walk away after calling my friend an idiot?”
Kihyun raised a single hand above his head, giving them a small, short barely enthusiastic wave as a response.
“What just happened?” Hyungwon asked.
Minhyuk shrugged. “I don’t know but let’s not worry about it. Come on.”
Hyungwon nodded following after his friend. After a stop at the bookstore and then the bathroom, they walked toward the adjacent parking deck. Once they entered Minhyuk’s car, he began discussing their move in plans. He was excited to have his good friend as a roommate.
“We’re going to have so much fun,” Minhyuk said, eyes sparkling. “You and I are going to have the best first semester of college ever.”
Hyungwon agreed. He couldn’t wait to share this new experience with his best friend. A stray thought passed his mind as they pulled out of the parking lot. He wished he knew why that Kihyun guy was so uptight. He promised he wouldn’t think about it, but it was hard.
“I just,” Hyungwon said, watching the university move further away as Minhyuk drove. “Why is he so uptight, Min?”
Minhyuk sighed, focused on the road.
“I never even mentioned his height.”
Minhyuk chuckled and then spoke. “I don’t know, Wonnie. He was being ridiculous. Perhaps, Kihyun isn’t having a very good day. Maybe he is tired. I mean 8 a.m. is pretty early. Maybe he isn’t a morning person. You get grumpy early in the morning too, you know?”
“No, I don’t I—”
Minhyuk stopped at a red light and then glanced at him.
Hyungwon glanced at his friend. “Okay, I’ve had my moments, but still I don’t get it. And why are you taking his side? You don’t’ know him?”
“Hey, I’m not taking his side. He indirectly called you an idiot and didn’t accept your apology. He is kind of annoying.”
“I mean it was orientation and most people were excited. Most of us were having a good time well he wasn’t. I think I barely even saw that guy smile once. He just seemed so tense the entire time,” Hyungwon said.
Minhyuk hummed in response, pulling onto the highway.
“He must have been nervous or something,” Hyungwon said, thinking out loud. “Yeah, that’s it. I’m just going to say that, so I’ll forget about how rude he was for no reason.”
“Sounds like a good plan,” Minhyuk said, amused. “Can we talk about something else now?”
Hyungwon nodded. “Yeah, sorry.”
“It’s fine. Are you coming over for dinner?” Minhyuk asked.
Hyungwon glanced at his friend and then sent a quick text on his phone. “I’m asking my parents right now.”
“Great.”
A yawn escaped his lips as he turned his attention toward the scenery outside the window. In a month, they would be university students. After years of difficult courses and late-night study sessions they finally made it. As the car traveled at a steady pace down the highway, Hyungwon relaxed in his seat. Minhyuk was right. They were going to have the best time as roommates. And he couldn’t wait.