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Donghyuck’s eyes felt heavy as he laid over his side on his bed. He felt ready to go to sleep, the digital clock on his nightstand already marking eleven p.m., but the rapid typing of his roommate prevented him from giving in to the dreamworld. From time to time he also felt furious scribbles of pen against paper, surely trying to figure out a formula or something like that –he wasn’t exactly sure since he had opted out from taking a physics course that year preferring to stick to chemistry, which for some reason he liked a bit more. Still, he kept himself entertained by watching his roommate’s back, shoulders rolled –such a shame, though; Jaemin had a pretty broad back.
His eyelids were droopy, mind filled with thoughts about some paper he had to write about Spinoza when he heard the wheeled chair spinning around to face him. Donghyuck smiled with his eyes closed.
“Finished?” he asked, turning on his back to lay face-up.
“Yeah, fucking finally. I hate gears, I dunno why I’ve to study this,” the black-haired boy complained, stretching his arms over his head. “What time is it? I feel like I’ve been working forever.” He got up and went straight for his part of the closet, picking a white t-shirt.
“Around eleven-thirty. You’ve been working for, like, two hours,” Donghyuck mumbled, yawning right after. He sneaked a peek through his eyelashes, catching a glimpse of his roommate’s back muscles flexing as he threw the shirt on.
“Damn. And you stayed awake?” he inquired as he disappeared behind the bathroom door, probably to wash his face.
“For moral support,” the chocolate-haired boy joked, turning on his side again as he secured a hold on his stuffed bear.
A few minutes had passes before Jaemin came out of the bathroom, pastel pink hairband around his head. A facemask hid his features. “Thanks, felt very supported. Weren’t you supposed to write an essay or something?”
“I was, yes, but I started thinking about it too much and got overwhelmed. I decided it would be better if I just let my thoughts simmer for a bit and then get everything out.”
“That’s the deal with you philosophy students; too much thinking and not much doing.”
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!”
“I’m just teasing you, tiger. Don’t get mad.” Donghyuck felt a hand coming up and patting his head. He opened one eye and stared back at Jaemin, who was smiling at him.
“I just… like to think. A lot. It’s peaceful.” Jaemin’s head lolled to the side, a confused expression painted on his face despite the cloth over it. Donghyuck scooted over as the taller man made to sit on his bed. “Perhaps it’s a bit contradicting since I’m always talking and being loud, but I believe that it’s some sort of façade.”
“What is it about nighttime that makes you introspective?” Jaemin teased as he laid down next to Donghyuck.
“I mean, I am a philosophy student, so I guess that’s a given.” Donghyuck turned his head around to catch Jaemin staring at him, eyes twinkling. His tummy felt like putty.
“What do you have to say about us, physics students?” Jaemin questioned, hand rising up in the air to point at the glow-in-the-dark stars painting the ceiling. His other hand took off the facemask, throwing it to the bin a few meters away.
“I’ve been thinking about it a lot, actually, since you became my roomie.”
“You think about me a lot, then?” Jaemin smirked, to which Donghyuck rolled his eyes.
“Don’t be so conceited. As I was saying, I don’t think that you and I are so different. It’s like, you and I are searching for meaning, in a way, the only difference is that you use maths and I use language.” Donghyuck’s left hand poked Jaemin’s, still in the air.
“What do you mean?”
“Hmm, lemme put it like this: you study the Big Bang, and black holes, and atoms and whatnot, because you want to know how it all works, right? You wanna know how everything came together. I want that, too. But, instead of using science and experiments and all that stuff, I just use my brain and my experiences, perhaps the experiences of others, perhaps not even experiences at all. You and I just want to know. Maybe that’s why we get along so well.” He giggled.
When no immediate response came and the hand came down, Donghyuck turned around once more so that he was fully facing the black-haired man. He had an unreadable expression across his features.
“Most of the time, when you open your mouth, I just want to slap you real hard across the face. You’re so annoying. But when you talk like this, about things you’re so clearly passionate about, I just want to kiss you, real hard.” A hand caressed Donghyuck’s cheek, whose mouth could only gape as he felt his face colouring.
Donghyuck whined. “Then why don’t you?”