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Baekhyun likes to think that it’s not his fault that things ended up this way. Key words: likes to. But he’s not naïve enough to think he hadn’t played a part in the grand scheme of all things leading up to his Imminent Death™ by the hand of one, Doh Kyungsoo. Because if truth be told, he had probably brought it upon himself, all 173 cm of focused fury glaring at him as if Kyungsoo really believes he can melt Baekhyun down into a puddle on the spot if he stares hard enough. Alas, if Baekhyun does die by Kyungsoo’s hand, he will have next to no regrets, except for perhaps not getting the chance to watch Chanyeol make a bumbling fool out of himself in front of Jongin. At least death might mean he’ll have a good excuse not to take his next Biology exam.
But he’s getting ahead of himself.
He never imagined he would be threatened with Imminent Death™ after only a few short weeks of meeting his new roommate.
D-26 from Imminent Death™
“I hate you.” Baekhyun glares at his best friend who is currently trying not to look overly pleased with himself, attempting to keep a visage of contriteness on his face but not quite succeeding. Chanyeol finally lets the small smile slip, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards slightly at the corners. “I’m so sorry, Baekhyun.”
He tries to keep the sternness in his voice, muster up the energy to be angry with Chanyeol from across the table, but it doesn’t take him but a minute or two to give up, collapsing dramatically on to the table in a huff, his head in his arms, the whine of pitifulness escaping his lips. “Why did you have to be late signing up for housing? We were supposed to room together.”
Baekhyun peeks up from his arms, throwing out the words accusingly. “It’s all your fault.” He groans at Chanyeol, who takes a long noisy slurp from his drink, the last of his smoothie coming up through the straw, seemingly unaffected. “Even worse, you don’t seem the least bit sorry about it.”
“I am sorry.” Baekhyun cocks an eyebrow at him in disbelief, and Chanyeol finally relents, breaking out into a huge smile. “Okay, I would be more sorry if I hadn’t met my roommate this morning. His name is Jongin, and I swear, he’s the cutest guy I’ve seen in a while. He was wearing this oversized t-shirt with jeans, and I helped him carry some of his stuff up to the apartment, but more importantly-“ A dreamy look crosses Chanyeol’s face, letting out a sigh. “-it’s way too hot out, and the AC in our place is broken right now, so he took off his shirt too…”
Baekhyun snaps his fingers in front of his friend’s face, startling Chanyeol back to the present. “Shouldn’t you be a bit more concerned that your AC is broken, and it’ll be blazing hot for at least another couple of weeks?”
Chanyeol gives him a look. “Already called. Someone’s coming around to fix the AC in the next few days.” He shrugs. “But don’t blame me for hoping that the guy walks around shirtless for a few more days.” A pause, a bite into a muffin. “Who knows? It might not be so bad. Maybe you’ll end up getting along really well with your new roommate.”
Baekhyun groans.
When he gets back to his newly minted apartment, there’s still no sign of his assigned roommate for the year. The only thing in the place are his own belongings, painstakingly carried up to the third floor alone, an assortment of unpacked boxes, his desk, half-assembled, two large suitcases, his backpack, and a few bags packed with homemade food from home. Both bedrooms are similarly sized, a shared bathroom in the hall, and a moderate kitchenette with a bit of cleared space, only really big enough to squeeze in a small table, and a bit of a living room area, maybe with some room for a couch.
Baekhyun really hopes that whoever his roommate is has the foresight to bring more furniture because he hadn’t, besides his favorite beanbag chair, which he promptly rolls over to an appropriate space, flicking on the switch for the overhead fan, turning on the AC for good measure.
He had somewhat expected whoever-it-is to be around by the time he returned from an afternoon out with Chanyeol after spending the entire morning moving in. True, classes didn’t start for a couple days, but most students tried their best to move-in early to prevent the headache of rushing at the last moment and avoiding potential fuck-ups. Oh well, it’s none of Baekhyun’s concern.
Still somewhat early. Baekhyun stares unappealingly at everything he still has yet to move to his room.
Dinner it is.
A three-minute microwaveable later, movie loaded on to his laptop, and Baekhyun settles into his beanbag chair for some light laughter before tackling unpacking.
“Mm.” Baekhyun can feel Chanyeol being annoying in his half sleep-induced haze, the tapping on his shoulder growing more insistent as he ignores it, mumbling. “Stop it Chanyeol, just ten more minutes.”
But then the poking turns to shaking his shoulder, and Baekhyun finally can’t ignore it any longer, his eyes snapping open, fully ready to unleash a barrage of complaints against Chanyeol. And comes face-to-face with someone who definitely isn’t Chanyeol, the eyes looming over him in the darkened room the only thing he can see somewhat clearly.
He really doesn’t mean to do it.
It’s pure instinct, and Baekhyun doesn’t think he could have stopped himself anyways. Maybe if his head hadn’t been still half-clouded with sleep. But he supposes that it’s really not a good impression for his new roommate that Baekhyun punches him in the face the first time they meet.
Even if it is an accident.
Baekhyun stares at the boy who’s currently leaning back against the counter, holding a pack of frozen veggies in a makeshift ice pack to his face, looking none to happy with Baekhyun. He doesn’t really blame the other boy. Baekhyun starts off hesitantly, sticking out his hand in a peace offering for a handshake. “Hi, I’m Baekhyun. I’m really sorry again for punching you. In the dark, you looked a bit scary.”
The other boy lets out a snort of laughter before taking his hand, a firm grip. “I suppose it could have been worse. I wouldn’t exactly call it a punch. You mostly just clipped me lightly with your flailing. Kyungsoo.”
Kyungsoo opens and closes his jaw gingerly. “Though I really wasn’t expecting that on my first day back.”
It turns out Kyungsoo is an art history major with a focus in Renaissance era works, a whole other alien language as far as Baekhyun is concerned being a Biology major. Baekhyun studies the other boy’s face as they talk, Kyungsoo’s mop of dark brownish hair a bit messy and what Baekhyun can only assume is wet from the pouring rain outside. Kyungsoo’s not much shorter than him, but he is in fact shorter to Baekhyun’s delight. (After spending years hanging around Chanyeol, it’s a nice change of pace.) The set of dark thick circular framed glasses are half fogging up and perched high on the other boy’s nose, and as Kyungsoo keeps talking, Baekhyun finds himself staring at Kyungsoo’s lips.
“-so would that be okay with you?”
“Huh?” Baekhyun finds Kyungsoo staring at him expectantly, head tilted questioningly. “What did you say?”
“I said, maybe tomorrow we can talk about our schedules and what we’d like to do for a chore rotation?”
“A chore rotation?” Baekhyun echoes back dumbly, blinking rapidly in confusion. “I’ve never had a chore rotation.”
Kyungsoo stares at him long and hard, and Baekhyun can feel the weight of the world settling heavily over him as the other boy just responds with only two words.
“I see.”
D-24 from Imminent Death™
“He literally hates my guts, Chanyeol. I am sure. of. it.”
“You only just met two days ago? How bad could it be?”
Baekhyun stares at Chanyeol, unyielding. “I punched him in the face the first night.”
Chanyeol winces. “Oh, that bad?” His friend reaches over him to grab the guac, crunching on his last tortilla chip after dipping. “I mean, did he seem pissed afterwards?”
Baekhyun swats Chanyeol’s hand away from his own half-filled bowl of chips before responding. “I mean, no? But what are you supposed to even say to your new roommate after that?” Baekhyun groans. “Get up off your ass if you want more chips. Besides, he seemed much more upset about me not knowing what a chore rotation is.”
Chanyeol sticks out his tongue at him, grumbling, but padding over to the kitchen nevertheless, bringing back the rest of the bag. “This is my place, and you’re eating my food and won’t even let me have a chip.”
He swoops up some guac, chewing furiously as he thinks. “I mean, I know what a chore rotation is, it’s just that we never really had one last year. Didn’t we both just clean up after ourselves anyways?”
“Mmm.” Chanyeol looks at him thoughtfully. “I mean, wasn’t it more like we didn’t really clean?” A pause. “Or we tried our best not to and then did it when it got really bad.”
“Well, Kyungsoo wants us to clean every week.” Baekhyun whines. “I don’t even clean that often at home.”
“I guess you better start then.”
Chanyeol lets out a shriek as Baekhyun throws a handful of chips at him. “Hey, hey. Don’t take your anger out on me and my couch.”
“At least you have a couch.” Baekhun laments. “Our place has next to nothing for furniture. I didn’t really bring any and neither did Kyungsoo.”
“I mean, I didn’t either.” Chanyeol laughs lightly. “This all came from Jongin.”
“Oh yeah, Jongin.” Baekhyun looks at Chanyeol interestedly, watching as his friend’s face reddens slightly. “How’s that going?”
“No clue what you mean.”
Baekhyun wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. “Last time you said something about him walking around shirtless and-“ And suddenly Chanyeol is making panicked faces at him, eyes growing large as saucers, looking like they’re about to bug out of his head.
“Hmm, who’s shirtless?”
Baekhyun falls off the couch from whipping around so quickly, the sound of the voice right next to his head surprising him, and he rubs at his knee ruefully—its unfortunate meeting with the coffee table edge—while sitting back up. Chanyeol sounds amused, to which Baekhyun glares back in response. “Baekhyun, Jongin. Jongin, Baekhyun.”
“So who are we talking about?” The boy in question takes a seat on the coffee table, leaning back on his hands, tilted head, and staring at him with a bright curiosity.
And very, shirtless.
“I- ummm- well-“ Baekhyun flounders, half-wondering if Chanyeol plans on jumping in and saving him any time soon.
“This character in a movie we wanted to watch.” Chanyeol waves a chip in front of Jongin’s face, holding out the bag for the other boy. “Want some?”
Baekhyun raises an eyebrow as Jongin forgoes the bag and instead eats the chip Chanyeol is holding between his fingers, his best friend seemingly unphased. “Sounds like a fun show. Maybe I could join and watch it with you guys sometime?”
“Uhh, yeah.” Chanyeol gives him a look, and Baekhyun wonders whether it’s wise to continue the empty ruse. “Of course you can. Maybe next weekend or something?”
“Sounds good.” Jongin lets out a yawn, eyes scrunching closed, mouth opening wide. “Heard you two talking and was wondering who it was. If there’s nothing going on, I’m going to head back to bed.” Jongin gives him a smile, quite dazzling for someone who claims to want more sleep, and Baekhyun tries not to let his gaze slide down from the other boy’s face. “Nice to meet you, Baekhyun.”
“Jongin, it’s like noon already.” But the other boy is already walking away, ignoring Chanyeol.
“So you weren’t lying when you said he was hot.”
“Yeah, yeah. Shut it.”
D-23 from Imminent Death™
Baekhyun comes home from his first day of classes fully prepared to collapse on his bed out of exhaustion and ignore any responsibilities for the rest of the night. Good plan in theory. Until he opens the front door to the apartment and sees all the disassembled (furniture, don’t worry) parts lying on the ground, Kyungsoo sitting in the middle of the room, cross-legged, a small frown on his face as he stares at the instructions.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Hmm?” Kyungsoo peers up at him. “Yeah, the desk and table I ordered got here today, and I was just trying to figure out how to put it together. Give me a hand?”
The prospect of taking a nap dissipates in a flash, and Baekhyun inwardly groans. But Kyungsoo had been kind enough to handle everything with searching for their furniture pieces, only asking Baekhyun to pay his half-share, so really, the least Baekhyun can do is help put it together. “Yeah, lemme go get changed first.”
Forty-five minutes later, and it’s apparent that Baekhyun shouldn’t have been the one to read the instructions. They had built up what Baekhyun thought was a good pace, him reading off the steps while handing parts to Kyungsoo to continue building Kyungsoo’s desk. But now, looking at it-
“It’s clearly wrong.” Kyungsoo doesn’t try to soften the blow, scowling slightly, his arms crossed over his chest.
Baekhyun has to admit the other boy is right.
The desk clearly has all of its parts sticking together, but it’s not quite…level. Even on its side, that much is obvious, one side somehow longer than the other, but Baekhyun swears he followed the instructions to the letter. “Can I see?” He lets Kyungsoo take the packet from him. It takes his roommate less than ten minutes to figure out the problem, the screws not aligned properly to the correct holes and another hour to undo everything from their first try and get everything right.
Or at least it takes Kyungsoo that much time, the other boy letting out a sigh before telling him to take a seat and watch, Baekhyun grabbing a bag of chips before settling. He’s supposed to be “checking” to make sure there are no more slip-ups, but he finds himself staring at Kyungsoo instead, his roommate progressing through a range of emotions as he works, from scowling to puzzled to delight as he fixes the final piece. It’s an amusing show, and Baekhyun feels the relaxation slipping over him as Kyungsoo starts on the table next.
“Do you want help with that?”
Kyungsoo spares him a glance, tsk-ing as he catches sight of Baekhyun. “Use a bowl please. You’re going to get crumbs over the carpet.” A pause. “And the answer is no. Feel free to just sit there.”
Baekhyun pouts, getting up to get ahold of a bowl. “I can’t tell whether you’re being sarcastic or not.”
“No, I’m being quite serious.” Kyungsoo makes a face at him. “If I let you help, we’re liable to be here all night redoing it.”
“Hey, not nice.”
“It’s the truth.”
Another half hour later, and they finally have a place to sit at for dinner, Kyungsoo looking at his work with a pleased expression. “Okay, time for dinner now. You eating?” Baekhyun shakes the bag of chips, laughing at the look of chagrin on Kyungsoo’s face. “Here, dinner.”
“That is, quite frankly, unacceptable.”
D-20 from Imminent Death™
“So, when do I get to meet your roommate?” Baekhyun groans as Chanyeol’s talking distracts him at the exact wrong moment, his character on the screen in the middle of respawning. “You’re always over here, and I haven’t gotten to meet Kyungsoo yet.”
“He’s been a bit busy. I’ve barely seen him around lately.” Baekhyun frowns as the controller refuses to obey his fingers, his character finding it difficult to jump on top of some boxes. “And besides, you two will be at each other’s throats in an instant. I told you he’s an art history major.”
“So?”
“The last time you were in an art museum, you fell asleep.” Baekhyun pauses. “On one of the art pieces.”
“Hey-“ Chanyeol responds defensively. “It looked like a place for sitting. And it was damn comfy. How was I supposed to know it was some modern art piece.”
Baekhyun sighs.
“Besides, I don’t know if I’ve exactly endeared myself to him.” Baekhyun raises his legs up onto the couch, pulling his knees to his chest and hugging tightly. “Why would he want to meet my friends if he hates me?”
“You’re starting to sound ridiculously dramatic each time you say that he hates you, and I’m prepared to bet that he doesn’t.”
“You haven’t met him, Chanyeol. I swear he just looks at me as if I’m this insignificant little bug that must be squished and disposed of.”
“Okay, now I know you’re being dramatic.”
“Is he always like this?” Jongin plops himself down at the other end of the couch, setting the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table, Baekhyun not missing the way Chanyeol starts blushing as Jongin slings his legs over Chanyeol’s lap, making himself comfortable.
“No.” Baekhyun says, the same time Chanyeol echoes an emphatic yes.
“Like what?” Chanyeol grins. “Hopelessly dramatic whenever he develops even the tiniest crush? If so, yes.”
“What? It’s not a crush.” Baekhyun balks. “Have you been listening to me at all? I’ve literally been telling you the last half hour about how he doesn’t like me. Why would I have a crush on him?”
“Trust me. This is Baekhyun’s 5 stages of Falling for Someone New™.” Chanyeol nods sagely to Baekhyun’s chagrin, Jongin playing along. “Step One, denial.” His best friend wags a finger at him. “Don’t worry, you’re as predictable as clockwork. I’m betting it’ll take less than three weeks before I get to say I told you so.”
“Not on your life.”
Baekhyun scowls at Chanyeol as his friend just laughs.
There’s a certain satisfaction an hour or so later seeing Chanyeol’s face growing more and more flushed, his friend clearly having not read the synopsis for the movie before picking a random one with some shirtless guys in the thumbnail. Which is why Baekhyun now has the pleasure of watching Jongin give Chanyeol a tipsy lapdance, emulating the dancing on the screen. Chanyeol shoots him a helpless pleading look, which Baekhyun promptly mouths back all you while shrugging. It’s definitely not Baekhyun’s fault that Chanyeol picks a movie about strippers.
“I am so not drunk enough for this.” Chanyeol mutters underneath his breath, only Baekhyun catching the words, Jongin too busy switching from grinding into Chanyeol’s lap to belting out It’s raining men at the top of his lungs.
“Oh, don’t worry.” Baekhyun grins. “I’m not drunk at all and thankful. I want to remember this tomorrow.”
“Shut up, Baekhyun.”
“Hey, at least he’s good at this.”
“Oh?” Jongin turns to look at him, collapsing on to the spot next to him, throwing his arms around Baekhyun’s neck. “Would you like a dance too?” Baekhyun shakes his head at Jongin’s wide doe eyes. “No, thanks though. You should practice on Chanyeol instead. He doesn’t mind.”
Baekhyun laughs again as Chanyeol shoots him another glare before his face disappears from Baekhyun’s view, hidden by Jongin doing his best Magic Mike imitation.
D-19 from Imminent Death™
Baekhyun wakes up with a splitting headache, groaning as he climbs out of bed, silencing his phone alarm before making his way to the kitchen, blinking blearily at the glorious sight. He’s two bites into the omelet before he realizes that 1) he did not make an omelet, 2) this is probably not his omelet, and 3) that means it belongs to…
Baekhyun gulps nervously, putting down the fork, staring down at the very evident bite marks. He can fix this. Okay, maybe he can’t fix it. Baekhyun turns around nervously as he sees Kyungsoo walk in, attempting to hide the plate on the table behind him. “Good morning, Kyungsoo!” Baekhyun inwardly winces as his voice comes out chirpy, an octave higher than it should, Kyungsoo giving him a weird look as he grabs the milk out of the fridge.
“Good morning?”
He watches as Kyungwoo pours himself a glass of milk, and he can’t stop himself from blurting it out, kicking himself as soon as he does. “Did you eat breakfast yet?”
“Yeah, already ate.”
“Oh, then lunch?”
Baekhyun really wishes he would stop talking.
Kyungsoo gives him another look. “You’re acting funny. What gives?”
Time to come clean.
Baekhyun steps away from the table, holding out the plate apologetically, voice nervous. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to eat your food, just kind of took a bite without thinking.” Instead of being angry like Baekhyun suspects Kyungsoo will be (after all, the other boy hates him), Kyungsoo’s face clears, a smile sliding on to his face. “Oh yeah, that’s for you.”
“For me?” Baekhyun echoes back, pointing at himself to double-check.
“Yeah.” Kyungsoo shrugs. “I cut up too many veggies this morning, so I just made a second one-” A pause. “-and you got back pretty late last night, so I figured you might want a good hangover breakfast.” The corners of Kyungsoo’s mouth lift up slightly. “I also made a drink to help your hangover, something I usually make for myself the morning after.” Baekhyun lets the other boy hand him the semi-bright green drink, voice cheerful. “Don’t worry, it’s better than it looks.”
And Kyungsoo turns away from him, continuing on with his day as if he hasn’t just made Baekhyun’s whole morning.
But Chanyeol is still wrong. Just because Kyungsoo made him breakfast and whipped up a special concoction to help his hangover doesn’t mean anything. Kyungsoo can make him the most delicious omelet he’s ever had and still hate him at the same time.
Baekhyun is sure of it.
D-16 from Imminent Death™
Baekhyun does not spend two hours pretending to write an essay on the couch (stupid thing had almost flattened Baekhyun when they had carried it up the single flight of stairs) while instead watching Kyungsoo clean the entire kitchen and admiring the other boy’s butt.
No, he swears he doesn’t.
D-15 from Imminent Death™
Kyungsoo asks him today whether he’s cleaned the bathroom yet as per the chore rotation that they had previously decided on, and Baekhyun literally freezes, the spoonful of ice cream halfway to his mouth as Kyungsoo stares at him pointedly. (The answer is no, of course.)
“I was going to get to it.” He says meekly, wilting under the weight of Kyungsoo’s gaze.
“Chop, chop, Baekhyun.”
Kyungsoo thankfully takes pity on him when he realizes that Baekhyun has been in the bathroom cleaning for a good forty minutes (admittedly about half the time wasted in figuring out exactly the best way to tackle the problem), grabbing the Swiffer from him to start on the floor as Baekhyun works on the tub.
They finish much quicker together, and Kyungsoo gives him a satisfied nod after a quick once-over of the tub, and Baekhyun nearly preens on a job well-done.
The fact that Kyungsoo’s approval leaves him with a happy glow for the rest of the afternoon doesn’t mean anything at all.
D-12 from Imminent Death™
Park Chanyeol
So, ready to admit you have a crush?
Byun Baekhyun
Screw you.
Baekhyun most assuredly does not have a crush on Kyungsoo. Never mind that they’ve somehow settled into a much more amicable routine, Kyungsoo helpfully coming in to shake Baekhyun awake if he misses his alarms, the other boy seemingly superhuman, routinely waking up on time like clockwork.
Not to mention, Kyungsoo’s cooking, even the thought of it making Baekhyun salivate. Last year with Chanyeol, good homecooked food was far and in-between, neither of them managing to make anything more complicated than ramen without setting off the fire alarm (their RA was not pleased in the slightest).
But now, if Baekhyun comes back to the apartment near dinnertime and manages to catch Kyungsoo at the right time, there’s a second portion for him. To be fair, Baekhyun hadn’t explicitly asked Kyungsoo to make him food, but the other boy had wordlessly given him a plate one night while he was studying at the kitchen table telling him to Eat. And Baekhyun hadn’t questioned it, not willing to risk losing a yummy meal.
Park Chanyeol
Admit it.
Byun Baekhyun
Over my dead body.
D-7 from Imminent Death™
“Fine, I admit it.” Baekhyun glares at Chanyeol who’s looking back at him delightedly. “Maybe I have the teensiest crush on Kyungsoo.”
“Mm.” Chanyeol has already turned back to his game, focusing on trying to kick Kirby off the stage, the pink ball of cuteness floating just out of his reach each time he gets close enough. “Sounds good, Baekhyun.”
“I thought you’d be more excited about hearing this.” Baekhyun pouts.
Chanyeol groans as Kirby kills off his character. “This isn’t exactly new information. Didn’t I already say this a week ago?”
“It wasn’t true a week ago.”
“Mhm, okay.”
Chanyeol tosses him the game controller. “Anyways here. You play for a second. I need to use the bathroom.”
Baekhyun isn’t even finished picking a character, debating whether to go with Jigglypuff or Princess Peach, when Chanyeol comes back. “Hey, who do you think I should go with-“ He stops, noticing his friend’s face, Chanyeol looking dazed, his face a bright ruddy red. “-uhh, you okay?”
Chanyeol doesn’t respond, sitting down next to him as if he doesn’t hear Baekhyun, only noticing when Baekhyun waves his hand in front of Chanyeol’s face. “Oh, what?”
“Are you okay?”
“Uhhh-“ Chanyeol mumbles. “-define okay.”
But before Baekhyun can say anything further, he sees Jongin appear from around the corner, wearing nothing but a towel knotted around his waist, head ducked down, drying off his wet hair before glancing up. “Hey, Chanyeol. You okay? You just sorta ran out of the bathroom.” Baekhyun watches as Chanyeol attempts to look anywhere but directly at Jongin, and Baekhyun gets the distinct feeling that his friend wants to hide away in a very, very deep hole.
“I’m okay, why does everyone keep asking that?” Baekhyun resists the urge to laugh at Chanyeol’s voice, coming out shrill and slightly more high-pitched than usual, and his friend follows it up with nervous unnatural chuckling. “I’m perfectly fine.”
“Are you sure?”
Jongin leans down to peer worriedly at Chanyeol, studying his face, and Baekhyun swears that it isn’t humanly possible, the way Chanyeol moves to twist away as fast as he can from Jongin getting too close, scrabbling back and ducking so quickly that he ends up on the floor, sliding off the couch. “I’m fine.” Chanyeol squeaks, face still buried into the carpet on the floor, and now Baekhyun can’t hold back his laughter anymore, breaking into a fit of giggles, his cheeks and sides hurting.
“Okay, if you say so.” Jongin says dubiously, giving Baekhyun a look and raising an eyebrow as if to silently say make sure he’s alright before leaving the room.
A few moments pass before Baekhyun hears Chanyeol’s voice again. “Is he gone?”
“Yeah, you can come out now.”
Chanyeol’s head pops back up.
“So-“ Baekhyun glances at his friend interestedly. “-how much did you see?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
D-6 from Imminent Death™
Park Chanyeol
Everything.
Byun Baekhyun
Oh, shit.
D-4 from Imminent Death™
Baekhyun groans, digging through the last drawer of his dresser, hoping to come up with something wearable with no luck. “Goddamnit.”
“What’s wrong?” He looks up to see Kyungsoo’s head at his door. “Did you lose something?”
“No, just that I can’t find anything to wear.” Baekhyun gives his hamper full of dirty laundry a sad glance, sighing. “It’s raining and cold outside, and the only hoodie I have hasn’t been washed yet.”
“You only have one hoodie?” Kyungsoo stares at him in disbelief. “How do you even get by?”
Baekhyun can feel his cheeks warming as Kyungsoo shakes his head at him. “I didn’t think I’d need all my winter clothes yet. It’s practically still summer.” The excuses flow out of him. “I was going to grab the rest of my clothes from home later.”
Kyungsoo is quiet for a moment, biting his lower lip in thought, Baekhyun’s gaze drawn to the other boy’s mouth. Kissable, very kissable. “Oh, well if you need something to wear, you can borrow one of mine.” Kyungsoo squints at him. “We’re about the same size, right?”
He feels the back of his throat dry up somewhat, voice scratchy and half croaking. “Yeah, I think so.”
Kyungsoo eyes his the mess that is Baekhyun’s room, gaze roaming over the clothes all pulled out from his drawers and closet, half on the bed, half on the floor, the half-eaten bag of chips on his desk, bed unmade, the covers still in a messy state from Baekhyun waking up only half an hour ago even though it’s already one in the afternoon.
There’s a deep sigh behind the words. “Maybe you should do laundry too.”
Baekhyun pauses, feeling small, face burning. “I don’t have laundry detergent.”
Ten minutes later, and Baekhyun is dragging his hamper full of dirty clothes with him, Kyungsoo leading the way to the laundry room, laundry detergent in one hand, laundry card and dryer sheets in the other.
“Take a seat.” Baekhyun hops up on the dryer next to Kyungsoo, swinging his legs, his heels tapping lightly against the machine as he does, waiting patiently as Kyungsoo starts emptying out the load of clothes in the dryer, pulling them out a few at a time, dropping the clothes into his own hamper.
“Here, this should fit you.” Kyungsoo holds out a hoodie for him to take, a dark forest green, and Baekhyun takes it gratefully, pulling it over his head, getting his arms into the proper holes, Kyungsoo’s amused smile coming into view as his head pops back up. “Good enough, it’s a bit big, but that’s just because I got it one size up by accident.”
Big is putting it mildly, Baekhyun feeling as if he’s drowning in it after putting it on, the hoodie reaching to the tops of his thighs when he hops off the dryer to check, the sleeves large and floppy, reaching past his fingers. But it’s still warm, and Baekhyun wraps his arms around himself, basking in the feeling of a comforting hug, relishing in the scent of lavender, the happiness of freshly done laundry. “It’s okay, I like it.”
Baekhyun looks down at the sleeve, catching notice of the white lettered Doh on the arm, surprised. “Oh, it has your name on it?”
Kyungsoo glances at him, pausing. “Oh, I forgot about that. I swam in high school.” Baekhyun tries not to look away as Kyungsoo pins him with an open stare, always frank and to the point, hesitant. “If it bothers you, I can give you another one instead.”
“No-” Baekhyun hopes he doesn’t stutter, the embarrassment pricking his cheeks. “-it doesn’t, it’s fine.”
Actually, more than fine.
He’s thankful that Kyungsoo stays and helps him with his laundry, his own laundry card having not enough left on it from last semester to cover it all. And Baekhyun spends the entire rest of the night wearing Kyungsoo’s hoodie, too distracted to get any work done.
D-3 from Imminent Death™
Byun Baekhyun
I hate this.
Park Chanyeol
??
What’s wrong?
Byun Baekhyun
His hoodie smells like him.
Park Chanyeol
…
Duh?
Idgi
Byun Baekhyun
I don’t want to give it back.
Do you think he’d notice if I just kept it?
Park Chanyeol
…yes.
Stop being a creep.
Baekhyun doesn’t give it back.
D-2 from Imminent Death™
He realizes that all his clothes now smell like Kyungsoo’s after borrowing his roommate’s detergent. Baekhyun can’t say he’s upset by this revelation.
D-1 from Imminent Death™
Baekhyun is fucked, like royally screwed.
He really doesn’t know how his first exam had snuck up on him so quickly and silently, coming to bite him in the proverbial ass, but the panic is starting to set in around seven when he realizes he still has four, yes four, chapters to still go through before his exam at nine.
There is a moment, rather five seconds, of screaming.
His head is still on the desk, nose pressed into the pages of his textbook in despair, when he hears the soft knock on his bedroom door, Kyungsoo’s quiet voice. “Baekhyun, are you okay?”
Baekhyun lifts up his head miserably. “I didn’t realize I had so much to read still.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Not much, unless you know of some way to osmosis all the information in my textbook into my brain instantaneously.” Baekhyun replies ruefully. “It’s my own fault anyways, I’m just going to have to pull an all-nighter.” The thought makes him groan.
Kyungsoo looks worried, and it makes Baekhyun feel warm on the inside, even though he should definitely be more concerned about his dire exam situation rather than swooning over Kyungsoo being worried about him. The feeling only intensifies as Kyungsoo continues talking. “Have you eaten yet?”
“No.” He admits, perking up a bit, sensing what might be coming next.
“I’ll go make you some food.”
The thought of Kyungsoo making him something to eat gives him a bit of energy, spurring him to tackle his chapter again, the numerous markers scattered over his desk, and Baekhyun works on filling out his study guide as efficiently as possible, highlighting all the key concepts in different colors. He’s so busy concentrating on his textbook that he doesn’t notice the smell of food, not until Kyungsoo is right in front of him, setting down a bowl of fried rice, topped with meat.
“Here, Baekhyun. Please eat.”
His mouth waters at the sight, moaning in satisfaction at the first bite, the food nice and warm, the meat tender. “I didn’t know we had any meat in the fridge.”
“I went grocery shopping this afternoon.” Kyungsoo takes a seat on his bed, cross-legged. “By the way, you owe me fifty bucks.”
Baekhyun nods, mouth still half-full as he talks. “Sure thing. I’ll pay you back tomorrow.”
Kyungsoo gives him an uncertain look, tilting his head to the side. “Do you want company? I don’t have classes till a bit later tomorrow. I can stay with you while you study-“ He pauses. “-if you want.”
The swooning feeling in his chest increases.
“I’d like that.”
Kyungsoo comes back with his laptop, glasses askew on his face, settling comfortably onto Baekhyun’s bed without a word, and Baekhyun spares his roommate a sneaking glance, the fluttering in his chest as he sees Kyungsoo’s face, brow furrowed in deep concentration.
“What are you working on?”
“Just looking over some paintings. I have an art critique presentation next week, so I’m trying to get a headstart on my slides.” Kyungsoo sticks out his tongue. “But don’t worry about what I’m doing. Just focus on studying.” A pause. “You only have thirteen hours left.”
Oh, right.
Baekhyun only realizes Kyungsoo has fallen asleep on his bed when he looks up from his study guides at half past two in the morning, taking off his headphones as he stretches, the yawn coming out. Kyungsoo’s laptop is shoved to the side, his presentation slides still opened up on his screen, forgotten. And Kyungsoo is half slouched, half propped up against Baekhyun’s pillows, head turned to the side, mouth hanging open slightly, glasses sliding off his nose. The sight makes Baekhyun smile, and he carefully takes Kyungsoo’s glasses off, making sure not to wake him, moving Kyungsoo’s laptop to a safer place before covering him with a blanket.
Kyungsoo is still asleep when he leaves for his exam, Baekhyun wearily trying to stuff the last remaining bits and pieces of knowledge into his head before packing his bag to head out.
It goes better than expected, Baekhyun finding to his surprise that he can answer about seventy percent of the questions fairly confidently, the remainder a cobbled together assortment of stray thoughts and educated guessing. All in all, not the worst he could have done.
When he gets back to the apartment, he makes a beeline for his room, hoping that Kyungsoo has already gotten up, realizing on his way home that 1) he never set an alarm for Kyungsoo, 2) Kyungsoo has a class that starts in thirty minutes, and 3) somehow he has Kyungsoo’s class schedule memorized. Baekhyun almost regrets having to shake Kyungsoo awake, his roommate looking peaceful and adorable in his slumbering state.
“Wake up.” Kyungsoo rubs at his eyes groggily. “You have class in twenty minutes.”
That gets Kyungsoo up like a shot and moving.
“How was your exam?” Baekhyun watches from the kitchen as Kyungsoo zooms around their apartment gathering his things, waiting for his bag of popcorn popping away in their microwave. “It went well, I think.”
“That’s great.” Kyungsoo stops in his tracks for a moment, pausing. “You’re making popcorn?”
“Yup.” Baekhyun can already hear the couch calling his name, the prospect of watching movies for the rest of the day very appealing.
Kyungsoo frowns at him. “Eat some real food.”
Baekhyun only pouts in return.
“Ah, shit, shit.” Kyungsoo swears, looking down at his phone, slinging his backpack on. “I gotta run.” And Baekhyun startles as Kyungsoo comes up to him, the kiss against his cheek so light he might have imagined it if not for Kyungsoo backing up quickly the blush painting his face, the realization dawning in his eyes, mumbling. “I- uhhh- I’ll see you later.”
Kyungsoo doesn’t wait for a response before running out the door.
Byun Baekhyun
KYUNGSOO KISSED ME.
Park Chanyeol
ARE YOU SERIOUS?
Byun Baekhyun
I THINK SO?
I’m a bit sleep-deprived though.
So maybe I just dreamed the whole thing.
Park Chanyeol
…
Baekhyun settles on to the couch, sinking into his spot, bowl filled to the brim with buttery popcorn, hoping that Kyungsoo doesn’t mind him stealing the blanket from his room, the cute cartoon frogs making him smile. Time to rot the inside of his brain with terrible mindless romcoms. Baekhyun doesn’t remember falling asleep, but he must have because when he opens his eyes, it’s dark outside, the only light in the room coming from his laptop screen.
He nearly screams when he sees the large shadow looming over him, his mind registering that it’s Kyungsoo just in time, scream dying down to more of a loud squeak. Kyungsoo. His sleep-muddled brain gives him a spark, and Baekhyun is reminded of earlier, of the fact that Kyungsoo had kissed him. The butterflies flutter in his stomach, and Baekhyun is just about to get up and maybe throw himself into Kyungsoo’s arms in a bad parody of the romcoms he’s been binging as well as just confirm that the kiss had not been a figment of his imagination when Kyungsoo speaks.
“Is that all you’ve eaten today?” His roommate sounds aghast.
“Uhhh-“ Baekhyun looks down at his fairly empty second serving bowl of popcorn and back up at Kyungsoo, his roommates’ eyebrows drawn together quite severely, eyes in a pointed stare. “-yes?”
“Just popcorn?”
Baekhyun pouts, wanting to talk about the kiss instead, not understanding why Kyungsoo doesn’t want to talk about the kiss, and maybe, just maybe, do the kiss again, except this time, on the lips, not the cheek-
“Yeah, yeah. But it’s okay, I’m not hungry or anything.” Baekhyun protests quickly, aiming to soothe Kyungsoo’s glare. “I had two.”
It takes Baekhyun’s brain a few moments to realize that this is the exact wrong thing to say and perhaps Kyungsoo looks to be tipping over more to the murderous side rather than soothed.
“Byun Baekhyun, get up and get dressed.”
Kyungsoo sounds angry, and in his sleep-deprived state, Baekhyun wonders if he’s finally staring Imminent Death™ in the face, but he slowly gets up, still hanging on to Kyungsoo’s blanket, yelping as Kyungsoo grabs his hand, practically dragging him to his room. Baekhyun obediently takes a seat as Kyungsoo motions to the bed. “Get dressed. I’m giving you ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes? Where are we going?” Baekhyun responds confusedly.
Kyungsoo full-on scowls at him, his expression softening somewhat into a look of exasperation instead after a few beats. “I can’t believe you haven’t had any real food all day. And there’s nothing left in the fridge, and I’m too tired to make food right now anyways. So we’re going out.” A pause. “To dinner.”
“Dinner?”
“Ten minutes.” Kyungsoo disappears from his room, presumably to get changed, and it takes Baekhyun a minute or two to realize that he should probably get moving too.
It isn’t until Kyungsoo is back, looking dressed and nice, that it clicks, his cheeks heating up in embarrassment as he looks down at his own outfit, a hoodie thrown over a pair of ripped jeans, an unintentional yet fashionable looking hole over his right knee. Looking very I-just-woke-up, which, well, Baekhyun had, technically. “Wait, is this supposed to be a date?”
Kyungsoo groans at him.
Blunt, and straight to the point per usual.
“Do you not want it to be a date?”
“No- I mean, yes-“ Baekhyun hurriedly corrects himself as he sees Kyungsoo’s smile falling. “I mean, yes, I want it to be-“
“Wait, is that my hoodie?”
“Uhh-“ He inexplicably feels the need to defend himself. “-yes, but there’s a good reason why I didn’t return it. A very good reason.”
“Really.” Kyungsoo’s expression turns into one of amusement.
“Yes.”
“You have five minutes.”
“What?”
“Get changed, Baekhyun.” Kyungsoo turns to leave. “If you’re not ready in five minutes, I’m leaving without you on our maybe-a-date. I’m hungry.”
“Wait-“ Baekhyun yells down the hall at Kyungsoo’s back. “Did you kiss me this morning or did I make that up in my head?”
3 days post Imminent Death™
Park Chanyeol
So, are you two together?
Byun Baekhyun
I think so.
…
Wait, but does it count?
If he never “officially” asked me out?
Does this mean we’re not dating?
Are we not boyfriends?
MAYBE I ALREADY SCARED HIM AWAY?
Park Chanyeol
…
7 days post Imminent Death™
“Would it be weird if I asked Kyungsoo whether we’re dating or not?” Baekhyun frowns, sipping his drink, elbows on the counter, staring at Chanyeol who’s on the couch, attempting to button mash his way to a win.
“How is it possible that you don’t know whether you’re dating or not?” Chanyeol laughs. “Shouldn’t it be obvious?” His friend looks at him after losing, throwing the controller to the side in annoyance. “Has anything changed since you went on a date?”
“I mean-“ Baekhyun bites his lower lip, thoughtful. “-not really?”
“Well, have you two been doing anything couple-y lately?”
“Kyungsoo cooks for me and lets me wear his clothes, I guess.” Baekhyun offers. “But I did that before anyways.”
Chanyeol looks at him, dumbfounded.
Baekhyun sighs. “Nevermind, how’s it going with Jongin?”
His friend groans. “It’s going nowhere. I haven’t been able to find a good way to figure out if he’s interested.” Chanyeol makes a face at him. “Or found the right time to ask him on a date. And besides-”
Bzz.
Doh Kyungsoo
Come home.
I have a surprise for you.
Oh. Oh.
Baekhyun feels the excitement welling up, the thoughts of what-it-could-be running through his head at a mile a minute.
“-are you even listening, Baekhyun?”
Baekhyun is.
Barely.
“Where are you going? Hey- Baekhyun.”
“Leaving so soon?” Jongin gives him a surprised look, returning from his room. “Weren’t we going to watch something together later?”
“Can’t, Kyungsoo has a surprise for me. Need to go.” Baekhyun can hardly contain his enthusiasm, quickly grabbing his shoes so that he can put them on and leave. “Besides, Chanyeol has the biggest crush on you, so he’s probably happy that I’m leaving so you two can watch a movie alone. It’ll be like a date. Or something.”
Baekhyun doesn’t wait for the aftermath, ignoring Chanyeol’s panicked yelling as he rushes out the door.
The surprise isn’t exactly what he expects.
“We’re making dinner together.” Kyungsoo chirps happily, handing Baekhyun the knife as soon as he walks in, a pot of water already boiling away. “Can you chop the veggies?”
“Is this- the surprise?” Baekhyun tries to keep the disappointment out of his voice, staring forlornly at the cutting board, the pile of work awaiting him.
“What, you don’t want to make dinner together?”
“No, no. I do, but-“ He pauses. “-I was hoping for something else. We make dinner together all the time anyways.”
“Correction, I usually make us dinner, and you eat it.” Kyungsoo drops the apron over his head, and Baekhyun feels Kyungsoo knotting the back for him. “We’re making dinner together because your cooking skills are a disgrace.” Kyungsoo looks at him matter-of-fact, letting out a snort. “And what are you going to if I’m not here? I don’t want to have to worry all the time that my boyfriend is going to starve or something because he can’t even boil a pot of water.”
“Boyfriend?”
“Yes?” Kyungsoo looks at him as if he has three heads, complaining of needing air as Baekhyun wraps him up in a huge hug, squeezing tight.
Day 1 of Being Kyungsoo’s Boyfriend