Archive of Our Own ^beta

When Doyoung comes home from an evening of cramming in the library, all he wants is to see his brothers decked out in front of the television (and maybe a snack). He gets exactly that, except it’s a disaster, because not only are Taeyong, Johnny and Jaehyun all nestled into their usual corners of the sofa, there’s also Baekhyun.

Byun Baekhyun.

Doyoung’s arch-enemy, the nemesis, the Byun Baekhyun.

Baekhyun is sitting in his spot and waves happily at Doyoung, much like his brothers do, and yet -

They have people over all the time. They all have friends, fuck buddies and things in between, and that’s completely valid (stipulated somewhere in the mile long Chi-Beta contract you sign upon entering), Doyoung does not mind. Even when he lies awake at cock o’clock in the morning listening to the sound of Jaehyun banging someone, he is fine, it’s part of the silent bro understanding they all (more or less) agree on. None of them are perfect, but brotherhood ain’t about that.

Yet something Doyoung can not get onboard with is Baekhyun. He’s from another frat house, but Taeyong had met him during one of his summer classes. With the house half empty during summer break, Taeyong had invited Baekhyun and some of his friends over to spend lazy days off playing video games or pregaming on nights out, and that was fine. They had people over quite frequently and it was a big house. Too big for it to be just Taeyong and Johnny all summer.It must have gotten quite empty so bringing members from other fraternities over wasn’t a crime exactly.

It had become a habit for any of the Chi-Epsilon brothers to crash at their house after Friday night pub crawls (since they lived closer to on campus bars), and now apparently become a thing where they spent casual weekday evenings watching their reality TV shows.

And whilst Doyoung had nothing against Chi-Epsilon, it was Baekhyun that really managed to draw the blood from under his fingernails. He was arrogant, nosy and way too loud. He effortlessly drew all the attention of everyone in the room to him (given, the man was good looking, but nothing could compensate for all the noise he made) and was the definition of a social butterfly, but Doyoung saw right through him.

Byun Baekhyun is a thief.

Where Taeyong and Doyoung had declared life-long friendship and an unbreakable bond going far beyond brotherhood, Taeyong suddenly seemed more interested in spending time with Baekhyun than his supposed best friend Doyoung. It became painfully clear this evening, watching Baekhyun sit next to Taeyong on their sofa, sitting in Doyoung’s spot, stealing Doyoung’s friend. The soft yellow duvet Taeyong had gifted him on his birthday was draped over Baekhyun’s lap.

And of course they all scoot over to create room for him to sit, and Taeyong even fusses over him about how he shouldn’t eat too much junk and that there’s leftovers in the fridge that he can heat up, but Doyoung is not in the mood for anything but the bag of crisps he’s angrily chomping down. As soon as he finishes that he gets up from his spot, suddenly not even in the mood for any of these people and especially not Byun Baekhyun’s obnoxious laughter, so he excuses himself and retreats to his room.

Laying on his back in his bed, Doyoung mindlessly scrolls through his instagram feed. He can hear the television that’s on downstairs, but it’s not as much a bother as it is a pleasant background noise.

Except for when he hears Baekhyun laugh (the noisiest, of course), then it’s suddenly making him very aware of how all his brothers are in the living room enjoying TLC and Doyoung is not, because Baekhyun is a not only a best-friend thief, but seems keen to take Doyoung’s entire fraternity away from him.

He opens up the search bar, types in Baekhyun’s name and finds the guy almost immediately. They have a lot of people in common, Taeyong’s handle blinking back at him angrily from Baekhyun’s profile.

Most of the pictures are food or blurry selfies that get too many likes for what they’re worth. Doyoung grimaces at exactly all of them, hating to see Baekhyun’s stupid face. He’s not even sure what he is doing on the guy’s account (it wasn’t like he could dislike pictures) until he sees a photo of Baekhyun and someone else.

It’s a vaguely familiar face, one that Drunk-Doyoung had probably seen around at parties. The person is tagged in the photo as well, their handle popping up as his thumb hovers over him. There’s an abundance of likes and comments, and Doyoung exits with a sigh, going back through Baekhyun’s feed.

As he’s scrolling he realises that the friend Baekhyun is with is a familiar face, every photo that’s not food or Baekhyun’s selfies, is a selfie with said friend. The face pops up more and more as he scrolls, and Doyoung opens yet another selfie, clicking through to the tagged account.

The friend is Park Chanyeol. Now that Doyoung knows the name, the face is kind of familiar. He goes through the guy’s account, a mix of selfies, not-quite-screenshots of a soundcloud account and various aesthetic pictures of what appear to be music.

Vaguely interested (and admittedly bored out of his mind) he clicks through to the LOEYs soundcloud account and opens one of the first tracks. It’s a smooth guitar strumming, combined with a soft synth. It’s not half as bad until someone starts singing.

Byun Baekhyun. Apparently Doyoung cannot have nice things, for they must all be ruined by one person in particular, currently stretched out on his spot on the sofa.

And of course Baekhyun can sing. His voice is soothing and Doyoung doesn’t hate listening to it, actually finding the mix of music and vocals a pleasant combination - yet he cannot overcome the anger he holds for the owner of the voice.

He goes through some other stuff on LOEYs soundcloud, finding most of it not half bad. If it wasn’t for Baekhyun’s voice, Doyoung would probably like it.

He returns to Chanyeol Instagram page, scrolling further down. Baekhyun appears in many photos, one of them a group photo with what Doyoung assumes is the Chi-Epsilon house at syllabus week last year. They’ve all got the same cat whiskers drawn on their face and the same stupid white t-shirts with paw prints.

Doyoung learns that Chanyeol is not just Baekhyun’s friend, but Baekhyun’s fraternity brother. He doesn’t know many members from Chi-Epsilon but Johnny is fairly close with one of the members, hence why their fraternities often muddled together at parties even before Taeyong had met Baekhyun.

From what Doyoung can gather, Chanyeol seems to be the Doyoung equivalent for Baekhyun. Even prior to their university years (Doyoung has scrolled way too far back, he’ll admit that) they seem to be attached at the hip, even standing together with their high school diplomas. They’re best friends that go way back - just like Taeyong and Doyoung.

The innate jealousy Doyoung had been feeling suddenly flares up as he hears Baekhyun and Taeyong laugh in the living room. It’s a slip-up on his part as well, because before he knows what he’s doing he’s clicking on the DM button and typing out a quick “hey” hitting send without further thinking.

If Baekhyun’s set on taking Taeyong away - he will not go down without a fight. Going after Baekhyun’s best friend seems to be the way to go.

++

Apparently going after Baekhyun’s best friend is not the way to go. When he wakes up the next morning and scrubs his face to try and wash the shame away, he realises that last night was a mistake and that DMing Chanyeol a dumb ‘hey’ (with an amount of y’s that make him look way too eager) was a mistake.

Especially as he returns to the chat and sees to his horror that the message has been read and that’s all.

He was left on read.

Doyoung wants to disappear and takes out his anger on their coffee machine, stuffing more powder in it than necessary as he glares at the timer.

“Rough morning?” Johnny offers as he enters the kitchen. He’s just back from a morning jog, all sweaty and gross and Doyoung grimaces at the sight.

“You know Sehun, right?” Doyoung asks instead, hoping to continue his plan with a little help from a friend.

“Yes, why?”

Succes.

“He's an Epsilon-Chi right, like Baekhyun?” Johnny nods, brow furrowing in confusion. “So do you know Chanyeol?”

“You mean Baekhyun’s brother Chanyeol?” Johnny clarifies, and Doyoung hums. The coffee machine jolts to life and he gives it a hit back in hopes of it working faster. “I mean, I’ve seen him around - I’m not really close with him or any of Sehun’s frat, save for Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun. Doyoung really needs that coffee, it’s too early to be hearing that name.

“Do you have his number?” Doyoung asks. He’s a man on a mission and his brothers have seen him decked out on the front porch with a mouth full of grass, there’s no dignity left to lose.

“No, why?” Johnny asks, now putting down his phone as the conversation is interesting enough to warrant his full attention.

“Just asking,” Doyoung says casually, and then snaps, “he left me on read in his DMs.”

Johnny laughs, loud, throwing his head back as he does so. “You’re trying to hit on him.” He states in disbelief after the initial glee quiets down. Doyoung would be embarrassed if he wasn’t so desperate.

“Can you ask Sehun for his number?” Doyoung urges on. Johnny is still laughing, the idea of Doyoung pursuing someone seemingly the joke of the day.

“Only if you tell me what the fuck this is about.”

Fat chance. Doyoung is not telling him about his friend-stealing plan.

“I think he’s cute.” Doyoung admits. Johnny snorts.

“Cute? He’s like two meters tall. You like things small and needy, and Chanyeol is neither of those things.”

Doyoung chews on his bottom lip. Johnny has a point, and this is starting to sound more ridiculous than he’d anticipated. Maybe he should just let this die. Mistakes he makes when he’s jealous and tired should probably stay just that.

“Tell you what, I’m going to a game with Sehun tomorrow. I’m sure Chanyeol will be there as well, they’ve got a few brothers on the team. Why don’t you come too?”

Gross. Doyoung hates sports.

“Fine.” He says, finally taking his coffee that’s ready to go. “Text me the details.”

++

Doyoung digs through the pits of hell (his closet) to find his university jacket and eventually plucks out the garment with KIM DOYOUNG written on its back. He’s used it exactly once, but knows Johnny frequently wears it to games and figures it might be easier to blend in if he brings some school spirit.

Johnny drives them to the game where they meet up with Sehun, who is standing outside below the bleachers. He’s just putting out a cigarette when Johnny and Doyoung approach him, and he waves them in cheerfully.

“Hey man, haven’t seen you in a while.” Sehun offers Johnny before he pulls him in for a hug. Doyoung rocks back and forth on his heels, hands in the pockets of his jacket as he looks away awkwardly. He’s sure there’s some history between Sehun and Johnny that’s far more than friendly and too explicit for a school game, but he’s also here out of desperation so he lets Johnny live.

“You’re Doyoung, right?” Sehun asks when he’s done with Johnny.

“Yes, I think we’ve met before.” Doyoung offers. He hasn’t exactly met Sehun officially, but he’s seen him around their house or overheard a phone call when he’s playing fifa with Johnny, so they’re a little familiar.

“The rest is already inside, so let’s get going. Do you want anything to drink?”

They get some red cups of beer that they awkwardly hold up as they maneuver through the rows of seats, until they strike down next to the rest of the Chi-Epsilon frat.

Sehun briefly introduces him to his brothers, as they all seem familiar with Johnny. Jongdae is there, a music student that Doyoung has heard in one of Taeils recitals. He sits next to Junmyeon who is their leader, but also a very kind and welcoming man that Doyoung instantly feels comfortable around. Last is Doyoung’s target, Park Chanyeol, who is terrifyingly much taller in real life.

As he stands up, it seems his legs just never end. Doyoung is by no means short but when he has to look up to meet Chanyeol’s eyes to greet him, he realises that he’s way out of his depth.

Normally he has a pretty good way of luring people in. He knows he’s pretty and can be intimidating when he wants to, drawing in those that want to be intimidated - but when he sees this man standing in front of him, he doesn’t think he’s very keen on being lured in.

Fuck.

As luck has it (or Johnny’s reasoning that he wants to sit next to Sehun so they can catch up), Doyoung sits down in the chair next to Chanyeol.

“Do you like football?” Chanyeol asks out of the blue. Doyoung takes a moment to think about that question because why the fuck would he be asking that, that has got to be the worst opening line ever, until he realises they’re at a game and that it’s quite appropriate and that he really needs to get his shit together if he wants this to work.

“Not really.” Doyoung admits. “Johnny asked me to come, I guess he got tired of being the only Beta-Chi around here.”

Chanyeol chuckles. His voice is deep, deeper than Doyoung’s but still pleasantly smooth, much like he’d remembered from Chanyeol’s soundcloud.

“Yeah - I hate sports, but you know, Jongin and Minseok have been talking about this game non stop so Junmyeon guilt tripped us all into coming.”

It’s probably an important game, Doyoung can tell by how packed the stadium is and how loud the crowd gets.

Doyoung is not sure how to proceed from here. Normally he’s good at getting close to people, striking up a conversation - and normally he’s not forcing it like this, but lets people come to him. Now, he’s talking to a guy that’s bigger than him, with an alluring presence and a deep voice reminiscing of honey; god, Doyoung’s clueless.

The game is about to start when he hears a (loud, annoying) familiar voice calling. It turns out it’s Baekhyun, returning with a tray of filled cups. He happily greets Doyoung and Johnny, like he didn’t just see them around the house this morning after he spent the night in Taeyong’s bed. Doyoung keeps the grimace to himself and downs his drink just to take another one from Baekhyun.

Once the players get out on the field, all conversation falters and they’re focused on the game. Jongin and Minseok are both playing in the initial line up, and the whole fraternity is incredibly loud about it, yelling various phrases of encouragement at their two star players.

Doyoung is so thankful Jaehyun took up rowing instead of a team sport, because sitting by the waterside yelling encouraging things is a whole lot easier than this.

When Minseok manages to snatch the ball and drill himself through the defense to score a point, the whole frat gets to their feet to scream about it, and Doyoung has no choice but to join in - after all, it’s kind of hard not to in the atmosphere of the stadium.

Despite the head start, the game isn’t over yet and the other team almost sets things right with another two goals. It’s just two minutes before break when Jongin finally manages to take the opportunity and make it 12 - 6. The frat goes wild and yells for him, the three behind Doyoung screaming the absolute loudest.

When Doyoung looks over his shoulder to watch them, he comes face to face with the horrifying sight of Baekhyun’s very exposed nipples. Across his chest he has Jongin’s name written, and it would be funny if it wasn't so gross and if Doyoung wasn’t absolutely appalled by the angry red love bite Taeyong had sucked onto Baekhyun's hip that morning.

Luckily halftime follows suit and Doyoung excuses himself to go get more beer. He doesn’t realise Chanyeol is following after him until he catches up with him behind the bleachers.

“Hey,” he greets as his jog comes to a halt, now casually walking next to Doyoung. “Are you okay man? You looked a little out of it there.”

Doyoung frowns. He’s not used to people asking him this, much less the ones he plans to hit on later. He prefers to be the observant, caring type - not the other way around.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Doyoung brushes off. “Just wanted to get some air.”

“Alright, I’ll join you.” And whilst that wasn’t part of the plan, he figured he’ll take any chance he gets.

They stop outside of the venue under one of the street lamps, Doyoung huddling in the university jacket he brought that’s suddenly a little too thin.

“I really don’t like sports,” Chanyeol admits sheepishly. Doyoung chuckles. “I've just missed hanging out with Baekhyun.”

And okay, yeah, Doyoung was not ready for that kind of confession. Usually he is the bold one, and he prefers it that way - it makes him feel like he is in control. Chanyeol however, seems to have other plans.

“He’s been over at our house a lot lately,” Doyoung admits.

“Yeah, he gets like that, really obsessed with people when he’s in love.”

In love. Doyoung shivers at that. Whatever Baekhyun and Taeyong have going on is cute but it’s not love. They barely know each other. He doesn’t know Taeyong the way Doyoung does, not even close.

“He gets better with time.” Chanyeol adds, probably sensing Doyoung’s awkwardness. “And until then I have Jongdae to record vocals for me.”

“Yeah I heard your stuff,” Doyoung admits. “It’s really good man, you’ve got lots of potential.”

Chanyeol visibly perks up at the compliment, eyes twinkling in the low streetlight.

“Thanks,” Chanyeol says, smiling brightly. “That means a lot man, a lot of people don’t know I make music so really, thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Answer my DM is what the bold part of Doyoung wants to say now that he’s got the upper hand again. “We should head back inside, the second half is starting soon,” he says instead.

When Doyoung gets home that night he checks his phone to find out he has one new Instagram notification:

LOEY___93 reacted to your message with “❤️”

++

After that one Instagram notification it’s back to radio silence. For the coming few days Doyoung nearly forgets that he’s a man on a mission as he’s overwhelmed by coursework. It’s not until Johnny casually asks him if he wants to come to a party at the Epsilon-Chi house that he realises what he was doing.

Usually he’s not one for parties at other frats. They’re always kind of gross, too much alcohol and too little room to preserve personal hygiene or any kind of dignity. But, Doyoung won’t let that stop him - it’s been a week full of Baekhyun this and Baekhyun that coming out of Taeyong’s mouth so the motivation is right back where it should be.

In fact, the motivation is stronger than ever - or so it seems when Doyoung stops by Taeyong’s room to get one of his shirts back. He knocks on the door and expects to hear a “come in” right away, but instead hears some murmuring before footsteps come to the door to open it.

“Hey,” Taeyong says awkwardly. He’s half naked and the warm human smell that comes through the crack in the door makes Doyoung reconsider every decision he’s made that led him up to this point.

“I need my black button-up back,” Doyoung grits out, foregoing any greetings. Taeyong looks guilty as charged as he leaves the door slanted to go back into his room. Doyoung knows better than to open it further, knowing he’ll probably get to see a very naked Byun Baekhyun.

Taeyong returns with the shirt but looks half mortified as he hands it over.

“You might want to wash it first,” Taeyong says shyly, and Doyoung frowns, using both hands to hold out the shirt in front of him. There’s a very obvious white clear stain running down the side of it.

Doyoung’s going to puke.

“You used my shirt as a cumrag?” he yells, throwing the offending piece of fabric back at his friend.

“I’m sorry.” Taeyong starts to apologise, but Doyoung can hear laughter coming from inside, and he’s done.

He doesn’t say anything as he simply walks away, retreating to his own room and slamming the door shut. He’s so angry he fears steam might come out of his ears - and yet instead of angrily punching the wall, he decides that he’s got a lot of work to do tonight.

++

Somehow Doyoung manages to dress up half decent even without the black shirt. He’s in skinny jeans and a white button down tucked into the top of his jeans, showing off his slim waist. He knows he looks good, but rarely makes an effort to showcase it - except tonight he has an ulterior motive, so he’s definitely putting in the effort.

“You look good,” Johnny comments off-handedly as they wait for their uber to take them over to the Epsilon-Chi house. The newfound confidence has him thinking about the very one-sided instagram conversation he has with someone very special that he hopes to see tonight.

The party is already in full roar, noise heard the moment they pull up to the street of the fraternity house. There’s people out on the lawn smoking various substances, but Doyoung had made himself a very clear promise in the car: he was going to stay sober, because he was not here for fun but for purely business related reasons.

Once inside they quickly locate the kitchen where the counter is lined up with punch and a whole collection of other liquors. Like anticipated, the hosts - or some of them - are standing right behind the kitchen island, Jongin pouring a copious amount of vodka into one of the bowls.

“Hey Doyoung!” he greets cheerfully, putting down the bottle in his excitement. He doesn’t look sober anymore, but Doyoung hadn’t expected that - they did arrive quite late.

“You need to stir through the vodka Jongin, here, let me do it,” Junmyeon mutters, snatching the bowl away from Jongin. “And welcome Doyoung, Chanyeol mentioned you were coming.”

For someone that’s currently having their house ravaged by a hoard of people, Junmyeon seems very controlled and most of all, sober. “Do you want anything?” Junmyeon asks, pointing at the bowl and some other bottles.

“No thanks.” Doyoung declines politely, but Johnny soon takes Junmyeon up on the offer and gets himself a cup poured.

Johnny and Doyoung make their way through the rest of the house, saying hi to acquaintances, but Doyoung’s not here to make uncomfortable small talk, he’s here for someone else.

Said person is sitting out in the garden on one of the lawnchairs, red cup in hand as he has a conversation with someone else. Sehun is sprawled out in the hammock, empty cup resting next to him. He recognises Johnny immediately, waving him in excitedly.

“Hey!” Sehun greets, getting up to give Johnny a hug. “Good to see you man, I didn’t think you’d make it.”

The two somehow squeeze into the hammock together, leaving Doyoung no choice but to sit next to Chanyeol on the lounge chair. It’s big enough for two people to sit comfortably, yet he still feels a little out of place.

All the oozing confidence he’d felt before is suddenly replaced by apprehension. He has to remind himself of why he’s here, thinking back to the awkward encounter he had with Taeyong before,

He grimaces and shakes his head, and Chanyeol chuckles - apparently he’d been watching him. “What’s up?” he asks.

“Nothing,” Doyoung says. A blush strikes his cheeks and he lowers his head in embarrassment. “Ahh,” he runs a hand through his hair and licks his lips, a nervous habit, “I had an encounter with Taeyong and Baekhyun before I left.”

Chanyeol laughs, the sound pleasant to his ears. “Let me guess, you caught them fucking.”

Doyoung frowns. “Not that bad,” he assures. “They used my shirt as a cumrag.” Chanyeol and Sehun both laugh as he mentions that.

“That’s nothing, the other day I found a buttplug under my pillow,” Chanyeol says, and they all laugh.

“Are you sure that’s not yours?” Sehun taunts. Chanyeol makes a face at him, before brushing him off.

“Really, they fucked on your bed?” Doyoung asks. Perhaps his life isn’t that bad. He should keep this incident for reference. Things could be worse.

“I room with Baekhyun,” Chanyeol explains, shrugging. Doyoung can’t help but laugh, the sound stirring Chanyeol on to do the same.

It also supplies Doyoung with a perfect leeway into Baekhyun’s personal space and his mission to annoy him even more. If Doyoung can just befriend Chanyeol enough to spend time at his place, he can annoy Baekhyun with his presence - give him a taste of his own medicine, and then maybe Baekhyun will realise just how imposing he can be, and then maybe just maybe he’ll lay off.

No, it’s not a foolproof plan, but it’s all Doyoung’s got right now. Besides, it’s not exactly a chore to spend time with Chanyeol. They’ve got more in common than he thought, both liking music and obscure Netflix shows. Chanyeol is a biochemistry major (“I know I don’t look smart, but you know, I’m kind of a genius”) and Doyoung believes him in a heartbeat, the sheepishly humble way he says it with a hint of alcohol on his breath enough to convince him. Doyoung doesn’t know much about biochemistry, but he can go on for hours about music, something Chanyeol seems equally interested in.

And Chanyeol is cute, like Doyoung had bluntly lied to Johnny over breakfast a couple of days ago. He’s the furthest thing from Doyoung’s type, because cute as he may be he’s not easily flustered or seems like the type that likes to be taken care of. He’s bold and casual in his friendships, an open book that Doyoung feels overwhelmed to decipher. While he might not be Doyoung’s type, he's definitely interesting in a genuine way that he never runs out of things to say. They’ve been talking for hours and Doyoung feels like they could go on for many more.

It’s just that the party has started to die down, noise drifting off to a pleasant hum in the background. He can hear the cicadas and taste the humid summer air, red sunlight bleeding in from the oncoming sunrise.

When Doyoung checks his phone in a moment of silence, he sees that it’s 5 AM. It’s strange to be sitting there completely sober, with someone else that’s not completely unintoxicated (but over time has definitely sobered up), in the middle of a conversation; and that time has gone by so fast it’s almost morning.

He looks over his shoulder to find Sehun and Johnny both passed out in the hammock. At some point the two had gone silent and likely fallen asleep.

“I should get going.” Doyoung then excuses himself, rising to his feet. His joints are a little stiff from how he’s been sitting all night. A plastic cup creaks under his step as he walks over it, gently poking a passed out Johnny in the hammock.

As Johnny slowly comes back to life, Doyoung turns back to Chanyeol who is standing up too, hands in his pocket. His hair is frizzy and slightly dented from where he’d been resting his head against the chair.

“It was nice seeing you again tonight,” Chanyeol offers. Doyoung feels a little bit awkward as he returns the sentiment. “I guess I’ll answer your DMs from now on then.”

++

Chanyeol does answer his DM, a short message that same morning asking if he got home safely. Doyoung leaves that on read (take that) at first but soon succumbs and goes back to the conversation.

In between the cute cat photos and food porn, they have small conversations about their day to day lives and other sweet nothings. It’s not like they’re sharing deep secrets about their lives, but Doyoung does feel like he’s getting to know Chanyeol a bit better.

One Friday afternoon when Doyoung is buried so far in his books he might sink into them, he receives an audio file.

hey what do u think

Attached: draft_1[.mp3]

Doyoung’s interest peaks up, opening the message quickly, books long forgotten.

It’s a new song (Doyoung had listened to most of Chanyeol’s soundcloud work on repeat, a gentle background music the last week) and Doyoung’s captivated by it instantly. There is a soft melody going over a mellow beat, and are those strings Doyoung hears in the background?

The vocals are different this time, not Baekhyun but also definitely not Chanyeol. Doyoung had learned that Chanyeol does sing his own tracks sometimes but that his voice doesn’t suit most of the music he writes. Instead it’s a different voice, still vaguely familiar from his other music.

It sounds good, the singer clearly talented and yet Doyoung can't help but feel like it’s a little too high, a little too nasal, and should be a little deeper rather than so high pitched, especially on the slower parts of the song.

Doyoung tries out some of the words, listening to the clip a few times to warm up his vocals and find the timing of the song, and before he knows it he’s singing along.

He doesn’t like to boast about his own voice, but really finds it a better fit than the recording artist, so he throws all caution to the wind. If sending a voice recording to a friend is the most reckless thing Doyoung does on a Friday evening, he can live with that.

It takes a couple tries to get the recording right, so long that Chanyeol adds a ??? in their conversation, but then Doyoung sends his own voice clip.

I think this sounds better

Attached: [draft_1_1.mp3]

It’s quiet for a while, but eventually the little check marks next to the message turn blue and three little dots appear in a bubble.

Fuck man that’s amazing what the fuck

I didn’t know you could sing like that

Holy fuck Doyoung why didn’t you tell me

Lol thanks

I don’t really do it much anymore

Seriously that’s amazing would you want to record it for me?

Doyoung’s a little taken aback by the offer, gnawing on his bottom lip. On one side, he would love to help Chanyeol out whilst simultaneously sneaking his way into Baekhyun’s footprints, but on the other hand his voice is one of the few things he’s very insecure about and recording it like that is kind of bold.

No pressure of course it’s totally fine if you don’t want to

Noo id like to

Just didn’t think you’d want me to haha

Are you kidding you sound fucking great

Jongdae’s gonna be pissed he did all that work for nothing but

When he hears you I’m sure he’ll understand lol

And so they decide that Doyoung should come over tomorrow (success!) to record the song, and maybe grab something to eat - it all sounds good to him because it means he’s slowly but surely working his way into Baekhyun’s best friend’s life. It’s all going according to plan.

++

“So you’re going over to his place to fuck?” Johnny concludes after Doyoung (regrettably) tells his brother about his plans for the night.

Doyoung grimaces when he takes a cup from the cupboard.

“Such crude language,” he mumbles, shaking his head. “We’re just hanging out, he wanted to work on some music with me.”

Johnny looks anything but convinced. “I haven’t heard that booty call excuse before.”

“Not everything is about sex. Sometimes it’s just about friendship. Get on my level.”

“Don’t ask such treacherous things of me. I’d have to get on the ground and it’s too early for that.”

Doyoung sticks out his tongue at him, because he’s five years old, and then shoves a cup of coffee over the counter in Johnny’s direction. The black liquid sloshes over the cup, but Johnny grabs it nonetheless, wiping his coffee stained hands on his sweatpants.

Jaehyun chooses that moment to enter the kitchen. “Sometimes it is about sex, you know, and not about friendship,” he adds to the conversation, clearly having overhead most of it.

Doyoung rolls his eyes.

“Freshman year is never easy,” Johnny supplies.

“Don’t listen to him, nothing is easy when you need two cups of pure caffeine to get some life into you,” Doyoung counters. Jaehyun laughs sheepishly. Doyoung and Johnny pretend they did not see someone bolt through the living room and out the door this morning.

“Dude, go take a shower - you reek,” Johnny says as Jaehyun leans over to grab the milk carton standing next to Johnny’s coffee.

“Just let me have some food first, I’m starving,” he whines, reaching for the carton of cereal as well.

“Eat in the bathroom, this kitchen is a clean zone,” Doyoung instructs him.

“Taeyong and Baekhyun fucked on the counter last night,” Johnny says nonchalantly.

Doyoung nearly throws his coffee cup as he steps away from touching said counter.

“That’s gross,” Doyoung exclaims with utmost distaste.

“Don’t act like you haven’t done it,” Johnny says, seemingly unbothered by the possible bio hazard this counter poses as he grabs an apple from the fruit bowl. “Don’t get all high and mighty about it just because you don’t like Baekhyun.”

Jaehyun's eyes peek up in interest, but he says nothing, looking away as he purses his lips.

“I don’t…. like Baekhyun,” Doyoung says, fucking up that sentence royally. “I mean that I don’t don’t like him.”

“Doyoung stop, it’s too early for your big brain with this double negative,” Jaehyun complains with a mouthful of cereal. “Anyone can see that you don’t like him.”

“You never like any of the people Taeyong dates,” Johnny adds. “So it’s probably nothing personal, besides, if anyone can deal with being openly disliked then it’s him.”

Doyoung bites his tongue. It’s definitely personal with this one, but Johnny’s low caffeinated brain probably isn’t able to come up with that reasoning. Jaehyun's never been a big thinker. He was Doyoung’s least favourite rushee.

“So you won’t be here for dinner tonight? I’ll let Taeyong know,” Johnny says, before sliding off the barstool and leaving the kitchen.

++

In all his meticulous planning it slipped Doyoung’s mind that the universe hates him. He’s just pulling on an ugly yellow parka (that belongs to Jaehyun, the shoulders sit a little too snug but Doyoung would like to arrive dry) when the front door opens.

It’s Taeyong, but in tow he has his boyfriend. The two are holding hands, Taeyong (unsuccessfully) trying to fold in an umbrella with his spare hand. They cram into the tiny hallway, making sure to take up as much of Doyoung’s personal space as possible.

“Oh, hey,” Taeyong greets as Baekhyun shuts the door behind him and steps into Doyoung’s personal space as well. They smell like Axe deodorant but Doyoung rises above (although his heart aches with the lack of that faint fabric softener Taeyong always smells like).

“I’m heading out,” Doyoung states.

“Do you want me to put away some dinner for you?” Taeyong offers as he helps Baekhyun out of his jacket (gross). Yes, normal-Doyoung thinks, practically salivating at the thought of a Taeyong home cooked meal.

“No,” says Doyoung the masochist, as he bids the couple goodbye and heads outside.

His steps are loud and determined as he shoves his hands into his pockets, head bowed down in determination to get to Chanyeol’s house dry. He even put effort into styling his hair this morning, because he wanted to look good whilst also getting on Baekhyun’s nerves.

Something he apparently would not be doing, because Baekhyun wouldn’t even be there. In all his foolproof planning that small detail had completely slipped his mind. But it wasn’t like he could cancel the plans because “Baekhyun isn’t there”, and he didn’t want to cancel either. He’d told himself he was just excited for a night off from his books - but he’s also longing to get away from his brothers for a little while.

The Chi-Epsilon house is loud when he climbs the stairs to the front porch. Voices and music are coming through the open living room window when Doyoung raps his knuckles on the front door.

It takes a moment, but someone turns the music down and comes to open the door. “Ah, Doyoung!” Junmyeon greets him cheerfully, opening the door further to allow him inside.

Much like his own house, there’s a line of shoes by the front door which he expertly steps over as he goes inside. Chanyeol appears behind Junmyeon, towering over him with his hands in the pockets of his sweats.

“Hey,” he greets sheepishly. Junmyeon excuses himself to return to the living room (where the noise is coming from), and Doyoung toes off his own shoes.

The room Chanyeol shares with Baekhyun is on the top floor of the house, and Doyoung has to fight his way up two flights of stairs before he enters. It’s a larger bedroom than his own, probably due to the fact that they’re sharing. A room divider separates the two sides of the room to create a hint of privacy.

“I don’t mind sharing a room,” Chanyeol explains as they sit down by his desk. “I know most people hate it but, Baekhyun and I have been friends for so long, I figured if someone had to share it should be us.”

Doyoung had tried sharing a room with Taeyong in his first year and had ended up hating it so much that they didn’t talk for two weeks. It’s not for everyone.

“It’s basically a single at this point since Baekhyun spends so much time at our house,” Doyoung says a little too snappy to be casual.

Chanyeol snorts. “Right, yes.” He hums as he logs onto his computer.

From there on, Doyoung’s not nervous anymore. Initially he’d been a little unsure about hanging out with Chanyeol like this; because suddenly their friendship wasn’t a scheme Doyoung had thought up to get revenge, but it was real. He was afraid it would be awkward, but given how much they had in common and how easy it was to talk about music, recording equipment and other technicalities, he really wasn’t sure why he’d worried so much.

The recording booth is not much but some isolated walls (covered in bed sheets) and a microphone set up, but it’s cosy and it works, Doyoung waving at Chanyeol from where he's standing behind the mic.

He can hear Chanyeol’s voice through the headphones, giving him instructions and small compliments on his signing. It brings a blush to his cheeks, which he hides behind the microphone - yet he can’t hide the flustered giggle he makes when Chanyeol excitedly talks about his voice.

When they’re done recording Doyoung can’t deny that he’s starving when Chanyeol asks. He takes it as his cue to leave and goes to grab his sweater, but instead Chanyeol simply offers to cook for him.

Doyoung hesitates because he doesn’t want to impose (or risk it being awkward as fuck), but a Chanyeol insists and soon they’re heading downstairs.

The living room is still rowdy over what looks like a game of Mario Party, but they retreat to the kitchen. “Do you like fried rice?” Chanyeol asks as he opens the fridge. He has to bend down to look into it (Doyoung can’t not take note of how tall he is).

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Doyoung answers, and Chanyeol starts getting stuff out from the fridge.

“Good, cause I can’t cook a lot else,” he offers, and Doyoung giggles.

Doyoung offers to help and ends up cutting some of the vegetables from where he’s seated, as Chanyeol rambles on about how no one ever cleans up in this house and that the kitchen is nothing but chaos.

“You’re cooking?” Junmyeon asks surprised when he returns from the living room. Chanyeol pouts at him before going back to work.

“Should I be worried?” Doyoung asks, and Junmyeon just laughs, shaking his head.

“Chanyeol is cooking?” he hears someone yell from the living room.

“Shut up Jongin!” Chanyeol retorts. Soon Jongin’s bare feet pad into the kitchen and he sits himself down next to Doyoung.

“He never cooks.” Jongin is clearly not sober, Doyoung can tell that much by the way he gets out his words. Doyoung doesn’t judge, it’s not like he never day drinks.

“I cook sometimes,” Chanyeol argues, and Jongin giggles.

“You only cook when you really like someone,” Jongin points out. Doyoung definitely doesn’t blush. “You’ve never cooked for me.”

“Jongin you put your bare feet on the table,” Junmyeon points out. “That’s why no one wants to cook for you”.

“Socks are a prison!” Jongin exclaims with a balled fist. “You’re just so used to having your feet in isolation, but once you-”

“Shut up Jongin no one cares about your bare feet propaganda,” Junmyeon hushes, patting Jongin’s shoulder comfortably.

Doyoung snorts. Jongin seems offended for a hot moment before he grabs the salt and starts playing with it.

“For the record, I do cook sometimes,” Chanyeol supplies as he bats the spatula on the edge of the pan.

“Only when there is adult supervision around,” Junmyeon assures, also patting Chanyeol's shoulder as he gets a wine glass from the shelf.

“Thanks,” Chanyeol grits out.

It turns out Chanyeol can actually cook, because the fried rice is delicious. They sit outside while the weather still allows it, just the two of them by a small table on the porch. The sun’s setting but the early autumn air is still hot. They can still hear the chattering going on inside, but Doyoung likes the small privacy outside.

“So your major is literature?” Chanyeol asks. Doyoung is in the middle of a mouthful of rice, so he takes a moment to answer.

“I do a double major, linguistics and literature,” Doyoung offers. He normally hates correcting people on this as he doesn’t want to come off bragging, but he figures he can use it to his advantage here.

“A double major, that’s impressive.”

“Suicidal you mean?” Doyoung offers. Chanyeol laughs, that bright and loud toothy grin that Doyoung has grown to like so much.

“Baekhyun does a double major too, I know it’s possible.” Right. Of course. Doyoung really couldn’t win if everything is held up to the Baekhyun standard.

“Of course he does,” Doyoung says bitterly. Chanyeol chuckles, shaking his head.

“What did he do now?” He asks after chewing down a mouthful.

Leave this house unplanned, Doyoung wants to say, but bites his tongue. “Nothing, he is just around a lot. I can’t believe he juggles a double major, a frat and a relationship.”

“You can’t do all three?” Chanyeol asks. Doyoung falls shy, looking down at his lap. He’s not used to getting asked forward questions like these and frankly finds himself flustered under them.

“I mean…” It shouldn’t be such a loaded question, Doyoung’s dating history isn’t even bad, quite the opposite - it’s rather tame. And empty. “Not really,” he admits, shrugging. It’s whatever, he doesn’t miss the lack of company that much either.

“You’re single?” Chanyeol asks, sounding genuinely surprised.

Doyoung confirms with a nod. “What made you think anything else?”

“Ah, when Johnny brought you to that game, I just thought…” he ends that sentence in a laugh, shaking his head to himself.

Doyoung grimaces. “Oh no.” He starts laughing too. “Really no, that’s not… I wouldn’t date someone from my own frat, that’s like… incest.”

They both laugh at this, Chanyeol leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on the chair next to him. “So you’ve never been with anyone in your frat?”

“Well, I have but not like, romantically,” Doyoung says in search for better words. The few times he’s casually hooked up with Taeyong weren’t exactly great, it was a necessity more than anything.

“Right, yeah, makes sense,” Chanyeol admits.

“I don’t think it works when you break up, you know, the whole brothers but also exes that live together-thing,” Doyoung explains.

Chanyeol shrugs. “I mean, I’m fine.”

“You’ve dated someone from your frat?” Doyoung asks in bewilderment, going over the Chi-Epsilon members in his head and trying to picture them with Chanyeol.

“Baekhyun and I used to date,” Chanyeol admits casually. Doyoung nearly drops his utensils, telling himself to close his mouth. “It was a long time ago, before he joined the same frat, so I guess it doesn’t count technically.”

Doyoung vaguely remembers some of the photos he saw on Chanyeol’s instagram, the two of them after graduation, and can kind of pierce it together and maybe see them dating.

“I know it’s weird,” Chanyeol says. “I mean, Baekhyun is not the type of person I usually date, but back then it was different.” He scratches his head, ruffling his hair. “I wasn’t even sure if I liked boys.”

The way he giggles when he says it is so stupidly innocent yet charming in a way. “Oh god, I’m unpacking way too much.”

“You’re fine.” Doyoung brushes him off. The low, red sunlight catches in Chanyeol’s eyes when he looks away. It’s ever so captivating, the way his pale skin lights up in a beautiful red hue. Doyoung can’t look away.

“Do you want anything else to drink?” Chanyeol picks up their plates although Doyoung offers to help, and he can’t help but feel a bit shy about it - he’s not used to having someone take care of him like this.

Chanyeol returns with two bottles of coke that he cracks open using his teeth, handing one to Doyoung before retreating back to his chair. They sit and talk watching the sunset, and it’s so very easy and comfortable to slip into this friendship with Chanyeol. He’s an open book, but at the turn of each page Doyoung is thrilled to see what’s next. Mostly they talk about obscure bands or tv shows they’ve seen and every time it’s a new surprise when Chanyeol is just as obsessed with this old spanish drama that Doyoung’s currently watching on Netflix. The more they get into that, the more Doyoung wonders why he felt the need to befriend Chanyeol as some sort of revenge plan, when he was getting just as much out of it right now.

“Hey, we’re about to watch a movie, you guys wanna join?” Junmyeon comes out after an undecided amount of time has gone by to ask. Chanyeol looks at him, giving him the opportunity to say no, but Doyoung figures why not, so he picks up what’s left of his drink and heads inside.

The living room is quite packed, the Chi-Epsilon fraternity running a few more years than Doyoung’s. Minseok and Jongin are sharing an armchair (how, Doyoung is not sure, but he counts four legs and four arms on it). Jongdae is stretched out with his feet on the coffee table, an unfolded blanket on the spot next to him evidence of it being Junmyeon’s seat. There’s two more seats on the sofa, and Chanyeol takes the liberty of sitting down on the one with a footrest shoved up against it, stretching out his legs that seem to never end.

“We bought that especially for him.” Jongin notes at Chanyeol.

“Jongin’s just jealous that my legs are longer than his.” Doyoung can’t help but chuckle, not really able to argue - Chanyeol’s legs seem abnormally long, Doyoung is yet again confronted with this fact. “Come on, sit.” Chanyeol pats the spot next to him, and Doyoung figures that is enough of an invitation.

He’s glad he decided against those skin tight pants, because like this he can still sit comfortably, pulling his knees up to his chest as he nestles back into the cushions.

“You’re lucky Baekhyun isn’t here,” Junmyeon points out as he sets down two bowls of popcorn on the coffee table, along with a tray of chilled beer. “He’s very picky about his spot.”

Well, they’ve got that in common, Doyoung thinks. There’s a small thump of victory in his chest thinking that he is right where he was planning on going, except Baekhyun isn’t there to be annoyed by it yet. It’s a dress rehearsal if anything.

He scoots over to make room for Junmyeon, who seems insistent on getting folded up like a burrito in his blanket before sitting down. Doyoung accidentally bumps into Chanyeol’s side, who seems a little startled as he sits upright by it.

“Sorry,” Doyoung apologises as he looks away, a small blush tainting his cheeks.

“Don’t worry, I’m just uh... really ticklish,” Chanyeol says sheepishly as he gets comfortable again. Doyoung can’t help but smile at that, the trait so very Chanyeol that he believes him right away (mercifully, without a testrun).

At some point during the movie Doyoung’s legs start to hurt from how he’s sitting so he moves them to stretch out in front of him on the floor, trying out a few different sitting positions to get comfortable. Chanyeol notices from the corner of his eye, scooting over his legs on the futon and gesturing for Doyoung to join him. It’s a bit awkward, the thing definitely not meant to fit two people as their knees bump together. When Doyoung leans back again and looks to the side to check his phone, he realises that it’s Chanyeol’s hand that’s resting on the cushion behind him.

Doyoung has got to give him credits for that, because it was so smooth that it went completely unnoticed to him. Jongin and Minseok seem to take notice, whispering to each other and obviously gesturing at Chanyeol and Doyoung. Doyoung decides he doesn’t care - as much as he hates this kind of attention normally it’s exactly what he’s here for right now.

++

“I heard you got cozy with Chanyeol last night.” Johnny drops casually over a mouthful of honeycombs. Jaehyun’s ears peak up in interest, eyes looking up from his phone.

“How do you know? Who told you?” Doyoung asks, stopping midway in making his coffee.

“So it’s true,” Johnny confirms. Doyoung hates him. “Sehun texted me last night, said you were watching a movie with them.”

Sehun’s a rat. Doyoung should have known he couldn’t trust any of the Chi-Epsilon members. Brotherhood was a lie.

“So?” Johnny urges. Doyoung pouts. He’s not getting out of this conversation without being humiliated. In this frat house there are no values. Public humiliation before 9 AM on the regular.

“Yes, I was there,” he admits begrudgingly.

“And?”

“And what? Chanyeol’s a friend,” Doyoung insists, because he is. At this point, Chanyeol really feels like a friend - more than anything else, friend feels like the right word for it.

When Doyoung returned home last night, still a little tingly from the way Chanyeol had hugged him goodbye and ruffled his hair, he’d really thought about it a lot. Chanyeol is a friend, even if he really wasn’t supposed to be one. The more Doyoung dwells on it the more he thinks that Chanyeol isn’t just a friend, or rather, Doyoung wishes he weren’t.

He really shot himself in the foot with that one, going out of his way to get close to someone just to annoy Baekhyun, only to come to realise that Baekhyun wasn’t annoyed and he actually ended up liking Chanyeol more than he should. He hadn’t seen that one coming, someone so painfully not his type suddenly exactly what we wanted.

This is why Doyoung can’t have nice things.

“A friend,” Jaehyun rephrases. He makes one of those judging faces, and Doyoung wants coffee only a little bit more than he wants to punch his rushee.

Neither of his brothers seem convinced. Luckily Taeyong is a welcome distraction when he comes into the kitchen, fortunately this time without Baekhyun, who is probably still somewhere in this house, unfortunately.

“Good morning,” he greets. He’s dressed and showered, two things that aren’t a given nowadays. Everyone returns the greeting and seems to forget Doyoung’s adventure last night.

“Doyoung, are you going to that bonfire haze tomorrow?” Taeyong asks.

“I’ve been a member for almost a year,” Jaehyun complains. No one cares, because Doyoung and Taeyong both seem equally interested.

“It’s a reunion for your year.” Taeyong gestures at Jaehyun. “Baekhyun is going, and Chanyeol asked him if you were going too.”

Doyoung does not look at Johnny, because it’s too early to see someone waggle their eyebrows so seductively. Still, even in the early morning, Chanyeol asking Baekhyun about him - that’s definitely a victory. It calls for celebration.

“Sure,” Doyoung says.

“Shouldn’t you ask me first?” Jaehyun asks, which nobody answers.

“Great, I’ll put your sweater in the laundry as well.” And oh god, Doyoung hadn’t even thought that far. Fraternity rituals meant they had to wear their ugly patchwork frat sweaters. In hindsight, perhaps this wasn’t a good idea.

It seems too late for that conclusion, as Johnny and Taeyong are already discussing what they are doing for pre-drinks, and Jaehyun is still entirely unconvinced to even go at all. Doyoung consoles him with the fact that out of all fraternities, their handmade sweaters are by far not the worst.

++

Dressed in an ugly patchwork sweater (that they had to make themselves, while drunk, as part of the hazing ritual), black jeans and converse, Doyoung sets off that next Friday night. After some convincing he got Jaehyun dressed in a similar sweater and walking behind him (they did in fact need one recent rushee in order to attend this event) as they enter the field behind the stadium where a large bonfire is cracking up.

Traditionally the rushees celebrate their anniversary by throwing things they want to leave in the first year into the bonfire, but like all other fraternity traditions it has mostly become an excuse to drink.

“So, are you excited for tonight?” Doyoung asks his kid, patting Jaehyun on the back. Jaehyun looks anything but impressed to be here, yet he still manages to smile. Knowing Jaehyun, that’s likely the best he’ll do tonight, so Doyoung takes it as a yes.

They soon melt into the rest of the crowd, standing at a comfortable distance from the bonfire. The air is chilly, but the heat from the fire resembles a smothering summer heat, the combination a perfect fit.

The Chi-Epsilon members aren’t dressed in a particular way, but then Doyoung remembers what their fraternity element is and nearly doubles over in laughter when he spots Chanyeol with a set of black cat whiskers drawn on his cheeks, round black circle on his nose. When Chanyeol finally notices him, he waves Doyoung in excitedly.

“Right, patchwork,” Chanyeol notes, gesturing down at the sad excuse of a sweater Doyoung has on. He’ll defend the raggy piece of clothing with his life, because he spent blood sweat and tears making it, and the patches were all sewn together by all of the members. It’s the definition of brotherhood.

Jaehyun seems less proud of it, still awkwardly standing behind Doyoung as he pulls on the hems of his sweater, like it will make the monstrosity less noticeable.

“Yes! Sewn in blood sweat and tears,” Doyoung exclaims proudly. Jaehyun rolls his eyes, and Doyoung elbows him in the ribs. “You can at least pretend you’re happy to be here as my rushee,” Doyoung grits out.

“Ah, don’t worry - I lost Sehun long ago. They’re old enough to be on their own now,” Chanyeol praises, pretending to search the crowd for Sehun but really keeping his eyes on Doyoung.

“You hear that?” Doyoun asks, looking at Jaehyun. The younger whines in embarrassment, and Doyoung reaches over to ruffle his hair before giving him a gentle push, encouraging his freedom.

“I’m glad you came tonight.” Well you asked, bold Doyoung wants to say. Instead he chooses to be flattered by that compliment, nervously running a hand through his hair.

“Jaehyun wasn’t thrilled. I think he wants to throw away his whole year as a brother in that fire,” Doyoung says, gesturing over at the bonfire. “We only had two rushees last year, but Jungwoo’s been on an internship abroad for the last weeks or so.”

“Well at least you’ve got one so you don’t have to miss all this.” Chanyeol gestures around the place anti-climatically, and Doyoung laughs. “Come on, let’s get some drinks.”

They leave their group of friends behind and start walking over the field, maneuvering through the crowd of people. There are some rushees actually reading letters out and throwing them into the fire, but most are spectators with red cups in hand.

When they get to the bar (a couple of stacked kegs and two overworked teens attending it) the queue is long, and they wait while making comfortable smalltalk. Chanyeol’s had a busy week with uni (which he’d complained graciously over through text), but Doyoung enjoys the real life experience that much more.

With one beer and something stronger in hand they make their way through the crowd until they eventually reach the stadium. The doors are open, voices coming from inside, but it’s half empty. Some of the bleachers are filled with fraternities still preparing their costumes, but they find an empty spot and sit down on a bench, facing one another.

“So, tell me what the brotherhood is behind the whiskers,” Doyoung asks.

Chanyeol scrunches his nose as if to demonstrate. “It’s not really about the whiskers. It’s all about the ritual,” he explains.

“The ritual?” Doyoung asks. Chanyeol frowns.

“Confidential, I can’t tell you,” he insists, and Doyoung’s a little taken aback. Some fraternities take their things more seriously than Doyoung’s does (they do wash these god awful patchwork sweaters). “Joking!” He puts his hands up in defense and laughs.

“For initiation, you let every member draw a whisker on you. Junmyeon does the nose,” Chanyeol says, pointing at the lines on his face. “It’s ridiculous, I know, I think our founder just really likes cats.”

“And for nights like these?” Doyoung asks after they’ve laughed it out.

“I can show you,” Chanyeol offers. Doyoung frowns, a little hesitant but agreeing nonetheless as curiosity gets the best of him. “Alright, lie down for me then.”

“Here?” Doyoung asks, looking down at the wooden bench beneath them. Chanyeol nods and stands up, leaving enough space for Doyoung to lie down on his back.

Completely unannounced, Chanyeol takes the liberty of straddling him, sitting his thighs down against Doyoung’s hip bones. Doyoung yelps in surprise, but Chanyeol just laughs, like he does this all the time.

Well, if this is part of their pre gaming on nights out, then he supposes he does.

He comfortably fits himself over Doyoung, planting one hand next to Doyoung’s head to be able to tower over him easily, their faces aligned now that Chanyeol’s leaning over. Doyoung’s heart is racing in his chest, the sudden touch and the close proximity making his head spin.

Chanyeol reaches for his jeans pocket, his hand just barely grazing Doyoung’s side on the way there but Doyoung is suddenly so aware of how close they are that he’s startled nonetheless. The patchwork sweater is half falling off, the cool air caressing his skin with goosebumps.

“Alright,” Chanyeol says, grabbing what appears to be a black sharpie. Doyoung has no idea where he suddenly got that from, but doesn’t have much time to dwell on that because then Chanyeol is grabbing his hands and gathering them over his head, using just one of his very large hands to encircle his wrists.

They’re pinned down above his head when Chanyeol leans down closer. “Close your eyes,” he says, a little too close for comfort. Doyoung can’t decide if he’s turned on, terrified, or a mixture of both - but he does as he’s told nonetheless, eyelids slipping shut.

He can feel his heartbeat in his ears as Chanyeol’s leaning down over him, the alcohol on his breath tainting the air. It’s sweet and intoxicating, and Doyoung tells himself to lay still because this is a very compromising position already. Even when Chanyeol releases his hands he keeps them there, he’s even trying to breathe as slowly as possible, completely frozen in the moment.

When the cool tip of the sharpie strokes his cheek he twitches, but then wills himself to stay still again. There’s heat radiating off the body above him and he yearns for more of it with his back pressed against the cool wooden bench yet he can’t fuck up now or he’ll have a whole drabble on his face rather than feline features.

He breathes through it, only giggling slightly when Chanyeol twirls the tip of the sharpie in a circle on his nose. He finishes it with a final dot before Doyoung can feel him sitting back up, the warmth suddenly gone.

Doyoung opens his eyes, and Chanyeol is still sitting on top of him. He scrunches his nose, as if he could feel the ink - but much to his disappointment, there’s nothing there to feel. Chanyeol giggles at this, reaching for his phone from his back pocket. Leaning forward to find a good angle, he snaps a photo of Doyoung in a very compromised position but Doyoung’s not too privy about it, instead asking to see the photo.

It’s not weird - they do this all the time in Chanyeol’s frat, and really, fraternities sometimes exchange gimmicks so this is nothing new. Doyoung does not feel weird when he takes the phone to admire his picture, giggling at the way he looks with the cat whiskers and nose. It’s not weird, not until he hands the phone back to Chanyeol.

“You like it?” Chanyeol asks in a small giggle. Doyoung nods stupidly, not sure why but definitely liking very much whatever they’re doing, his tummy still in knots about it. “I think I forgot something.”

Doyoung frowns, but that soon falls away when Chanyeol leans back down, again placing his hand next to Doyoung’s head. Their faces are close, closer than they were before and Doyoung feels the sudden need to hold his breath - any wrong move might throw Chanyeol off.

Chanyeol studies Doyoung’s face intently and he flushes a little under the attention. It’s suddenly a lot more upclose and a lot less about his face being a canvas, and instead about something else. The look in Chanyeol’s eyes is something he can’t decipher, suddenly more focused than he’s ever seen him.

“Yeah, definitely forgot something,” Chanyeol says, pausing his words delicately as he leans even closer, now resting on his elbow instead. Doyoung can feel the heat of Chanyeol’s chest practically pressing up against his. “Close your eyes.” It’s a mere whisper but Doyoung has never been quicker to comply, hands curling into fists in anticipation.

The next thing he knows he feels soft lips pressing against his. In retrospect he should have seen that coming, but in the heat of the moment he’s startled by it. It’s so innocent yet he feels like he’s caught on fire, but Chanyeol really isn’t doing much, just that, like he’s testing the waters, gently teasing him by the smallest of movements.

Doyoung’s certain he wants to drown in this, completely abandoning all caution as he pushes back against Chanyeol. His hands grasp the shirt Chanyeol’s wearing (if only to keep his balance) and he surges forward to kiss him back. It’s Chanyeol’s turn to be surprised by that, letting out an eager breath as Doyoung’s lips find his, again and again until Doyoung’s head is positively spinning.

Chanyeol takes the invitation eagerly and licks into Doyoung’s mouth, using his free hand to brush hair away from Doyoung’s face. It’s intimate and soft, contradicting the way he kisses, so eager and enthusiastic. Doyoung hadn’t expected anything else (and he definitely had not been thinking about this before) and easily finds himself comfortable with it, gasping into Chanyeol’s mouth as his hair is pulled on.

Just as his back is starting to ache from digging into the bench, they’re interrupted by the loud ringing of Chanyeol’s phone that had fallen to the ground by now. Chanyeol stays exactly where he is, trapping Doyoung between the bench and himself as he reaches over on the ground to slide the receiver over.

“Where the fuck are you? Sehun’s about to throw his things into the fire! You need to be here and hold his hand.” Junmyeon is barking into the phone so loudly it can be heard without speaker on. Doyoung can’t help but laugh, the distress of the sudden interruption quickly fading away as Chanyeol laughs too.

Chanyeol gets to his feet quickly, straightening out the shirt he has on. “I’ve got to go,” he says apologetically, and Doyong definitely gets it, has his own rushee to throw into the fire later this evening - he can’t blame Chanyeol.

“I’ll uh, see you later?” Chanyeol offers, and Doyoung just nods, gesturing for him to leave because he can’t just leave his poor child by the bonfire alone. It’s embarrassing enough to have to be here, let alone be here without your parent present.

Doyoung sits for a while to just stare ahead, trying to process what just happened. Out of the corner of his eye he locates the black sharpie Chanyeol had used to draw on him earlier, and he chuckles to himself as he picks it up and pockets it before returning to the fire.

++

Johnny and Jaehyun are standing clustered not too far away from the fire, listening in on the speeches from the various rushees. Doyoung returns with his empty cup in hand, so he can at least pretend like they were really just getting something to drink.

His friends are surprised to see him, if the open mouthed stare is anything to go by. Usually that means he did something wrong, and a precautionary uncomfortable chill goes down his spine.

“You let him draw whiskers on you?” Johnny asks in confusion. “So you two are like, exclusive now?”

“Exclusive?” Doyoung poses jokingly.

“The whiskers are a thing, man,” Jaehyun says under his breath, trying to be discreet.

Doyoung looks over to see Taeyong standing by Baekhyun, his best friend printed in the very same fashion - lopsided whispers on either side of his nose with a cute black button. Taeyong notices him, waves excitedly and then frowns. He starts making his way over and Doyoung feels guilty as charged.

“What the fuck?” Taeyong demands, grabbing Doyoung’s hair to tilt his chin up and inspect the damage.

“What’s the big deal?” Doyoung says, trying to laugh casually and brush it off. None of his friends seem convinced by that, looking back and forth between Taeyong and Doyoung.

“They do it for partners as well, as a sign of loyalty,” Taeyong explains, but his stern expression doesn’t fade.

Johnny laughs loudly. “He means they do it after they fuck you.”

Doyoung chokes on his breath, eyes widening. That is so not what he expected, and apparently he is not alone on that. Taeyong looks at him in something like shock or disgust, like he’s not sure if he wants to yell or cry.

“Doyoung,” he says, but it’s loaded and heavy and Doyoung feels the guilt seeping into his system. It cracks the smile he has painted on and he feels his heart break with the way Taeyong is glaring at him. “You-“ Taeyong starts, but Doyoung doesn’t want to get into this here, not when Taeyong has his boyfriend in tow that’s very much also glaring holes into him.

“I’m going home,” Doyoung declares before this can erupt into something it really shouldn’t become.

“Doyoung!” Taeyong calls after him as he walks away, but Doyoung keeps walking and doesn’t look back. It’s the most attention he’s gotten from his best friend in weeks but at this point any attention is too much. The stupid whiskers are stuck on his face as he determinedly walks away.

++

Doyoung wakes the next morning painstakingly sober. It’s painful because he knows exactly what happened last night and he has no headache or nausea to hide behind.

He’s up early but it’s not early enough, Taeyong already sat by their kitchen island with a steaming cup of tea. The absence of Baekhyun is obvious, the house mysteriously quiet. It would be enjoyable if every step he takes towards the kitchen didn’t feel so dreadful, if he didn’t feel partially responsible for most of the tension.

“Good morning,” Doyoung greets as he goes to get his coffee. Johnny must already be up and somewhere in the house, as the coffee is ready and steaming hot for once.

“Hi,” Taeyong says awkwardly. He’s never been very good at hiding things. “About last night,” he says, voicing exactly what’s bothering him.

“Look, I’m sorry,” Doyoung says after he burns his tongue on his drink.

“What are you sorry for?” Taeyong asks, and Doyoung whines - why can’t Taeyong just let him off the hook easy? Apologise (for what he’s not sure) and go, that’s how they usually solve things.

“I should have told you about Chanyeol and I,” Doyoung concludes.

“What exactly is there to tell,” his brother pries. Doyoung’s trying to absorb caffeine at an inhuman speed because he can’t deal with this conversation so early and uncaffeinated.

“Yes, Doyoung.” It’s Johnny who walks into the kitchen. “What is there to tell.”

“There was nothing to tell,” Doyoung defends, but he knows it’s a lie. There’s definitely something but he has no idea how to put it into words. A crush seems too simple for the way he’s carved himself into this situation. He likes Chanyeol, something he spent ages trying to deny last night. Yet the way they kissed and the way Doyoung felt after that is kind of obvious. Doyoung is not that stupid, and he’s also not about to deny himself on the bright side of this mess.

The way he went about getting here was, perhaps, not his brightest moment.

“Really?” Taeyong snaps. “Because it looks like you slept with him, which is fine - but you could at least give me a heads up if you’re going to fuck my boyfriend’s best friend.” Doyoung supposes that's in the fraternity etiquette somewhere. Partners are a no-go, so there’s probably a ‘proceed with utmost caution for partners’ friends’. Or a partner’s ex-partners.

Taeyong doesn’t have to know that. Or he does, and he’s choosing to be an adult about it. Doyoung can’t tell with his best friend anymore.

“Calm down Taeyong, it’s not like he fucked your boyfriend,” Johnny shushes him, patting Taeyong’s shoulder comfortingly. Taeyong shoves him off in protest.

“How did that even happen - you two don’t even know each other!” Taeyong urges, putting his hands down on the table defensively.

“Yes Doyoung, how did that happen?” Johnny adds the fuel to the fire nonchalantly, like he hasn’t figured the situation out yet.

“So now I’m not allowed to talk to whoever I want?” Doyoung tries defensively. If it were just Taeyong he might’ve been able to get out of this conversation but now it’s the two of them against him, it’s a losing battle, he’s just trying to buy himself some time.

“Out of everyone you could possibly seek out to date it had to be Taeyong’s boyfriend’s best friend?”

Taeyong blinks, letting Johnny’s words settle in the air between them.

“Fine,” Doyoung says, sighing. “I was bitter and jealous about Baekhyun being everywhere in this house, all the time. It’s like Taeyong completely forgot any of us existed the moment he entered this house.”

“That is not true,” Taeyong claims, but Johnny looks at him knowingly.

“Well you let him sit on my spot, let him drink my wine, so sorry if I felt like I was being replaced as a friend.”

“I could never replace someone as annoying as you,” Taeyong bites out under his breath. “So you did what? You went after Baekhyun’s friend? Like some kind of revenge?”

Doyoung gnaws on his bottom lip.

“That’s fucked up,” Johnny says, looking at Doyoung as if to see if he’s not joking. “Chanyeol’s a nice guy, he doesn’t deserve that.”

“I know that!” Doyoung nearly yells, slamming his hand down on the counter. “I feel like shit because I actually do really like him but he doesn’t know why I approached him and he’s gonna hate me when he finds out,” Doyoung says in one breath, tears now brimming his lashes.

“You should've thought about that before acting like a jealous high schooler,” Taeyong jabs before Johnny can quiet him.

“Fuck you,” Doyoung barks before he slams his cup down on the counter and storms out of the kitchen.

++

There’s a knock on Doyoung’s bedroom door later that afternoon when he’s in bed trying to hibernate and forget what he’s done.

“Go away,” he yells, but the door opens nonetheless. Jaehyun is standing in the doorway awkwardly, searching for Doyoung in the darkness of the room.

“Hey,” Jaehyun says. He’s holding what looks like a pretzel and Doyoung hadn’t eaten all day since the kitchen disaster, so primitive Doyoung has to invite him in.

“Fine,” Doyoung sighs in defeat, taking the pretzel from Jaehyun and taking a bite. “What else do you want?” Doyoung mutters out with his mouthful.

“Nothing, just wanted to check up on you,” Jaehyun offers in a soft voice, brushing his hand over Doyoung’s shoulder. “Johnny said you had a fight with Taeyong.”

“Right,” Doyoung confirms. “Kind of, I guess I’m more fighting with myself and my bad decisions.”

Jaehyun laughs. “You don’t have to act all big brother, you can just say that you fucked up and Taeyong called you out for it.” He puts a hand on Doyoung’s knee, patting it awkwardly.

“Fine. I fucked up.” Doyoung throws his hands up in defense, the pretzel now finished. He wonders if it would be bad to ask Jaehyun for another one.

“No.” Jaehyun answers that for him, shaking his head to himself. “I talked to Chanyeol last night after my pledge,” Jaehyun says. “We talked about you actually, or he did. More like couldn’t stop talking about you.”

Doyoung can’t help the spark of hope that he feels upon hearing that. He looks at Jaehyun intrigued, suddenly forgetting all about the pretzel - he has something else to go after now.

“What did he say?”

Jaehyun snorts. “Yeah right, your ego is bad enough as it is.” He removes the awkward comforting hand and instead clasps them in his lap. “I’m just saying you should talk to him.”

“Right.” Doyoung purses his lips. “I don’t think I will.”

“Doyoung,” Jaehyun whines. “Don’t be so stubborn, I promise it’s not as bad as you think.” He tries to assure, but Doyoung’s not convinced, still sceptically glancing at his rushee. “Just go to their house and talk to him, I think you can figure it out.”

“Fine,” Doyoung grunts. “But if it goes south I’m blaming it on you,” he says, already on his way to grab his jacket hanging on the chair by his desk.

Jaehyun chuckles. “Okay, but before you leave, let me help you wash those stupid whiskers off.” Doyoung’s never been more thankful for his least favourite rushee.

++

“Hey.” It’s Junmyeon who opens the door. He’s in his pyjamas and looks worn out, probably had a longer night than Doyoung did - probably didn’t end up getting kissed and abandoned like Doyoung.

“Hi,” he breathes awkwardly, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“I don’t think you are here for me,” Junmyeon offers, cracking the door open. His face is stern, but ever so diplomatic.

“Is Chanyeol…” Doyoung starts, but Junmyeon fills it in for him.

“He’s home, yes. He’s awake - also yes.” Junmyeon pulls on the sleeves of his jacket. “I’m not sure if you should be here right now.”

Doyoung bites his tongue. Maybe Junmyeon is right, coming here to set things right might be a mistake - since when has Jaehyun ever had any good ideas?

Never, so one of them is bound to be the first. “Please,” is all Doyoung says, and Junmyeon sighs but let’s the door fall open. He can live with the judging glare he gets as he passes Chanyeol’s older brother.

He makes his way up the stairs slowly, each step feeling heavier than the previous one. When he does reach the door to their room, he waits a moment, contemplates running back down and never returning to the Chi-Epsilon house.

Except that he’s already knocked on the door and running away now is probably the only thing worse than actually waiting it out and facing him. If Chanyeol opens the door just to see Doyoung’s back disappearing down the stairs then that’s -

“Hi.” It's Baekhyun who answers the door, his face surprisingly neutral when he sees Doyoung. “I’ll get going,” he announces, pocketing his phone and making his way down the stairs, leaving Doyoung in the doorway to look at Chanyeol.

“Hello,” Chanyeol greets him, his face unreadable. “Come in,” he invites, and Doyoung stops hovering in the door.

Doyoung does as he is told, now hovering in front of Chanyeol’s bed instead. Chanyeol laughs, shaking his head to himself as he pats the end of the bed. Doyoung follows like a lapdog, sitting down across from Chanyeol.

“We need to talk,” Doyoung says. Chanyeol hums, but agrees, leaving the space for Doyoung to take. “Well, um, last night…” Doyoung starts awkwardly.

“Last night,” Chanyeol repeats. They both know exactly what he means, yet it’s tense and silent between them for a moment too long.

“Look, I…” Doyoung puts his hands down on his knees, taking a deep breath to collect himself. Right. Adulting. “I really like you.”

Even Chanyeol seems taken aback by that, his face going blank as he stares right at Doyoung. Doyoung feels embarrassed if anything, actively stifling the need to run out of the door again. He’s never seen the elder look so clueless, always so easy-going and casual and in control. It seems even he can be surprised, and Doyoung’s succeeded in doing just that if the awkward silence is anything to go by. Fantastic.

“I know,” Chanyeol resolutes after moments that feel like forever. “I kind of like you too.”

And dear god Doyoung’s heart is about to burst out of his chest. There he is again, the Chanyeol that’s so casual, saying this so easily, so confidently - it has Doyoung’s tummy knotted with pure adoration for it. It’s so brave and bold, Doyoung could never, his cheeks gleaming hot just by hearing this.

Then Doyoung remembers exactly why he’s here and he’s filled with dread again, washing over him like a cold shower. “But I need to tell you something.”

“Alright, spit it out,” Chanyeol says, and Doyoung’s throat constricts around any possible sentence he can form, the words suddenly so difficult to find. He’s never this nervous about boys he likes, then again his heart never feels quite this heavy when he’s talking to them.

“I haven’t been completely honest with you,” Doyoung stammers, playing with his finger nails nervously. He’s too ashamed (and maybe afraid) to look Chanyeol in the eyes.

“I know,” Chanyeol agrees. Doyoung frowns and looks up. His face is unreadable again, and it frustrates him to no end.

“What do you mean you know?” Doyoung asks, looking at him in confusion.

“I mean that I’m not stupid, Doyoung,” Chanyeol says, chuckling. “I know you didn’t just happen to message me, or show up to a football game when you hate sports - and then when you started complaining about Baekhyun and showing up everywhere it was kind of a given.”

Doyoung falls silent and pouts. He feels like a kid that just got caught, whilst also feeling his heart break at the thought that Chanyeol had known all along, and probably played along with it as well, meaning none of this had been genuine - had it? Chanyeol had known.

“I gave you the whiskers last night because I thought you could use that to your advantage,” Chanyeol hints, laughing lightly again.

“But…” Doyoung trails off. He thinks back to last night, the bonfire, the smell of sharpie and the kiss. “You kissed me.”

“Right.” At this, Chanyeol’s voice softens. “You were there, I like you - I thought I might as well.”

At this Doyoung can’t help but look up at Chanyeol. It’s the most ridiculously logical reasoning, and it’s so typically Chanyeol that he laughs.

“You might as well?” Doyoung rephrases through his laughter. The two of them sit together, laughing at the absurdity of the situation until they fall silent. “Look, I’m sorry about… this. I was being stupid and jealous over Baekhyun and Taeyong, so I searched you out hoping to bully Baekhyun back.” Chanyeol snorts. “Except that you know, Baekhyun couldn't care less, and now I feel bad because you think that I used you, when it turns out I kind of like you.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of a dick move,” Chanyeol agrees, Doyoung wincing as he does so. Perhaps walking in here thinking he could solve everything just like that was a bit too far fetched. Jaehyun had made it sound so easy. Jaehyun never has any good ideas.

Doyoung gets to his feet, brushing down his sweater awkwardly. “I should go-” Doyoung starts.

“Doyoung” Chanyeol cuts him off. “Don’t be stupid again, sit back down.” And Doyoung complies easily, falling back down where he’d been sitting. “Look, I let you do all those things, because I really like you too,” Chanyeol confesses. A faint pink crossing his cheeks and Doyoung can’t help but find it endearing. “And I kind of feel like I took advantage of you, so maybe we both did some bad things. Maybe that evens it out.”

“That’s the dumbest thing you’ve said so far,” Doyoung claims, but it’s lighthearted and giggly and his heart is fluttering.

“Okay fine, maybe it doesn’t work like that but, I really like you and uh… if you’re serious about this, can I take you out on a date?”

Chanyeol’s blushing up to his ears now. He’s suddenly so vulnerable and so much and Doyoung’s not sure what to do with all of it. He’s not used to the overwhelming affection or being offered anything he wants, but he does want a date and Chanyeol is offering so he’ll gladly take it.

“Yes, silly,” he answers, because after all the embarrassing stuff he’d said it should be obvious by now that he really wouldn’t mind that date. “I might as well,” he adds with a shrug. Chanyeol throws a pillow at him, and if that pillow fight leaves him in Chanyeol’s lap, lazily kissing him, then he might as well.