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Ten giggles, leaning against the wall as he stumbles. The hallway spins and Ten struggles to keep his footing. He’s pretty sure he can see two times as many doors in this corridor and he slides to the floor. If there’s one thing the foreign kids have on the Korean students in this college, it’s that they throw the absolute best parties. Ten isn’t sure how much alcohol Lucas funneled down his throat, but his stomach feels weird, a nice weird, warm and… and swooshy .
“Hey… Hey you’re not Jonginnn.”
Someone collapses next to him and he turns his head, giggling. “Jongin-hyung is so much taller than me, like… Like a whole building taller than me.”
The man groans and covers his eyes. “You look tall but maybe that’s the hallway jumping up and down.”
“Lucas’ party?”
“What was he feeding us?”
“Cursed Baijiu.” Ten giggles. “It’s for shots. It's like fifty… fifty… fifty something percent of… the magic wooshy liquid. He was giving us entire cups of it.”
The man groans and Ten squints. “Aren’t you my hyung… Tae… Taehyung. Tae-hyung!”
The man stares at him, blinking. “I think there’s a Min in my name.”
“Taemin?”
“That sounds like what I think my name is.”
“Ah, Taemin-hyung, you’re the senior who won that big… big contest!”
“The Continental Contemporary Dance Contest as the representative of Asia!”
“Yeah! Wow, you’re so great, Taeminnie-hyung, you’re so… dancey.”
Taemin laughs. “Thank you, thank you. Is my name Taeminnie?” He stares at the wall, eyes wide, blinking here and there as he tries to… do something. Ten stumbles upright, laughing as he falls over his own feet.
“I need to get to my dorm.”
“So do I.”
“You’re in the wrong building.”
“I am?”
“Lucas is from Hong Kongggg this is the international student dorm house.”
“I’m from… I’m from Korea!”
“We’re in Korea, Taeminnie-hyung.”
“... I am in the wrong dorm house!”
Ten bursts into laughter, kicking the floor. He manages to sit up and looks around, blinking. “Wait, I’m in the wrong dorm.”
“Huh, where are we?"
“We… Is that the swimming pool?”
“Why did you lead me to the sports building?”
“I thought it was my dorm.”
“Lucas’ party was in your dorm!”
“I’m drunk, be nice to me.” Ten pouts, staring up at Taemin as he manages to get up.
Taemin stumbles towards the door of the swimming pool, leaning on the glass to look in. “There’s no one in here.”
“It’s like.. Two… three.. Four…. Very early in the morning.”
“I thought swimmers swam this early.”
Taemin drops to his knees and stares at the lock. He fiddles with it, pulling a pair of chopsticks from his pocket and Ten raises his eyebrows. “What are you doooing, Taeminnie-hyung.”
“My friend, Bae- Baekh… one of my friends taught me how to pick locks with chopsticks.”
“That sounds like a very suspicious friend to have.”
The door clicks open and Taemin falls forward, laughing. Ten watches as he stands and toes off his shoes, pulls his socks off and strips to his underwear. He pauses and puts his shirt back on and then takes a running jump. He yells cannonball and lands in the water.
Ten stares a moment before Taemin bobs up, shrieking and shaking his head. “Oh that cleared my head. Taemin, my name is Taemin. Come on, it’s cold, the shock will help you sober up.”
Ten stumbles to his feet and staggers into the poolroom, only to linger on the side. “We shouldn’t be in hereeee. What if they have CC… CC… cameras-” Ten breaks off with a shriek as Taemin grips his shirt and pulls him in.
Ten screams as he stands in the water, shaking his head and shivering. “It’s freezing oh my god.”
“Told you it’d clear your head.”
Ten shivers in the water but leans back, treading water slightly. “Taeminnie-hyung-”
“Taemin.”
Ten pulls a face. “Taemin-hyung we should go.”
Taemin doesn’t reply, looking up at the glass roof; the full moon shines down through the glass, illuminating the entire room, giving the water an ethereal glow. “Few minutes, come on, it’s pretty cool in here.”
Ten looks around nervously but Taemin is already doing a breaststroke, his head bobbing up and down slowly as he goes to the other side of the pool. Ten bites his lip. “Come on, if we get caught in here I could get sent back to Thailand.”
“It’s fine, I know the administrators.”
“Oh.”
Ten blinks a little, licking his lips. Slowly, he lets himself float on his back, dragging his arms gently through the water. He stares at the stars through the roof; Taemin’s right, this is pretty cool. A tsunami crashes over him and Ten shrieks, dipping below the surface and he shoots upright. “Hey!”
Taemin grins. “I remember you now.”
“Huh?”
“You’re Ten, right? Seventh ranked in dance in college.”
“Yeah, that’s me.” He sluices his hair back, sighing. “I’m ranked 38th in Korea.”
“ Only thirty eight?”
“Alright Mr. Asian Representative.”
“No, I mean seriously? Only thirty-eighth? I’ve seen you dance, you should be ranked way higher than that.”
Ten blushes, resting his arms on the edge of the pool to float in the water again. “Thanks.”
“Was I following you around all night?”
“I think so? I mean… You were following Jongin and Kibum-hyung around a lot and then said something about cute boys and more alcohol and then you started following me around, and Kun-”
“-Who’s Kun?”
“He’s a Chinese student, he’s in the year above most of the international students and he sort of just. Parents us all.”
“Ah."
“Kun kept shooing you off and then I got so drunk I don’t know what was going on.”
“Okay, who’s Kun?”
“You can’t be this drunk.”
“No, I mean what’s he look like?”
“Why?”
“I need to punch him for not letting me make a move on a cute boy.”
Ten flushes, blinking rapidly and looks away. “We should go, I think I just heard someone.”
Taemin doesn’t move for a moment but he hops out the pool, helping Ten get out with his clothes soaking. “Did I say something wrong?”
“Huh? Oh, no, I’m just a bit flustered but I genuinely think I heard someone coming.”
Taemin looks up and they yelp, seeing a flashlight. Taemin scoops up his clothes and Ten grabs his arm, pulling him into one of the changing rooms. Ten scowls, covering Taemin’s mouth as he giggles as Ten peers around the corner. “It’s the janitor .”
Taemin raises his eyebrow and chuckles softly. He shifts them, pushing Ten against the wall and looking around. “He’s so dumb, there’s an entire wet trail following us and he’s not following it.”
“He won’t have to if you keep talking above a bloody whisper!”
Taemin stares at Ten, a soft smile arching across his lips. “Hey, can I get that kiss?”
“Right now? Of all places? Are you seriou-”
Ten jumps as Taemin presses their lips together. He doesn’t move for a moment before he relaxes, letting his arms wrap around Taemin’s waist.
“Alright, break it up.”
They jump apart, Ten shrieking as they stare at the janitor.
“Taemin, again?”
Taemin bends down, pulling his jeans on with a grimace as he struggles to get them over his wet skin. “I honestly don’t know why you just don’t leave the pool unlocked.”
“Because then more idiots like you use it to sober up and it’s unusable by the morning for the actual swimming students.”
Taemin grins and shoves his socks in his pocket, slides his feet half in his shoes and then offers his arm to Ten. “May I?”
Ten scoffs and rolls his eyes, but lets his hand gently curl around Taemin’s arm. He lets himself be led outside, shivering as the cool night air hits him. “You’re a jerk.”
“Huh?”
“You dragged me into a pool at night and it’s freezing .”
Taemin chuckles. “It’s fine you can only lose fingers to frostbite once."
“I should have laid in that hallway drunk and left you."
Taemin chuckles. “Ah, but the water was so cold you’re pretty much sober now, right?”
Ten scoffs and looks away. Taemin is right, he’s mostly sober now.
Taemin wavers, slowing down outside a building and Ten looks up. “Ah, this would be my dorm house.”
“It does say International students on the door. Unless you want to come back to my dorm.”
“Dream on, buckeroo.” Ten manages to key in the code to the door despite his fingers being numb, and pulls it open, hovering as he looks back.
Taemin steps forward, biting his lip a little. “Can I get one more kiss for the road?”
Ten looks Taemin up and down, eyebrow raising. He does look adorable, his eyelashes fluttering underneath his sopping hair. And his lips are plump, and nice against his own. “One, one more.”
Taemin chuckles and steps forward, resting his hand on Ten’s hip as they close the gap. Ten keeps it short, chaste, and pulls back with a wink. Taemin opens his mouth to complain but Ten cuts him off.
“Call me when you’re sober. Tomorrow.”
Taemin grins and waves, heading off down the road. Ten clears his throat. “That’s not the way to the Korean student dorms.”
Taemin scoffs but spins round, an almost perfect pirouette before he starts in the right direction. Ten snorts, shaking his head. “Show off!”
Ten heads inside and manages to get into his dorm, groaning. The pool definitely worked in sobering him up but now he’s got the beginning of a hangover-headache before he’s even slept.
Lucas looks up from the table, grinning where he’s collecting cups. How he doesn’t get as fucked as the rest of them, Ten will never know.
“Where did you go- why are you soaking wet?”
“I tried to go to the dorm forgetting this was my dorm and then my senior broke into the pool, made me swim with him, kissed me twice and now I feel like a stereotypical gay kid in an American college movie.”
Lucas whistles. “Which senior?”
Ten grins as he reaches the door to his room, looking over his shoulder. “Taemin-hyung.”
Lucas’ jaw goes slack and he drops the cups he was holding, mouth hanging open. “THE DANCER YOU’VE HAD A CRUSH ON SINCE YOU WERE LIKE FIFTEEN? TEN GET BACK HERE.”
Ten laughs and grabs his toiletries bag, dodging Lucas’ hands as he heads for the shower.
Maybe Lucas’ cursed Baijiu isn’t so cursed after all.
