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No one remembers how they came to be the group of friends that they are now. Maybe because Jongdae, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo are on the same course, maybe because Sehun, Junmyun and Kyungsoo all live on the same floor, maybe because Sehun and Jongin knew each other before university, maybe because Yixing is the only Chinese in their dorm and Minseok took Introductory Chinese as an elective on his first year, maybe because everyone already knew Chanyeol one way or another. The point is, they all live together in the same dorm and ended up being a very close group of friends.
As is customary for all first years, everyone is pining after someone else. As wide-eyed not-quite-teenagers-anymore straight out of high school, being dumped into a brand new environment, meeting new and exciting people every day, there’s one that’s bound to catch your attention. Baekhyun worships Minseok but thinks the other hates him, Jongdae is mesmerized by Yixing but the latter is too oblivious to notice, Sehun and Jongin both think the other is too good to ever settle for themselves, but at the same time think they're too young to be in a relationship at all. Junmyun miraculously doesn’t have relationship problems, but is plagued by problems within his family in regards to his future.
Kyungsoo and Chanyeol know all of this because all their friends won’t stop telling them about it. As the couple that got together the quickest, they’ve become the de facto mediator slash counsellor for all their friends’ problems. Kyungsoo wishes they would all just shut the fuck up and leave them in peace, but he obviously also doesn’t think that because he’s not an arsehole and he does want to help his friends out. But if their friends can just try asking for their help in a less annoying way, that would be great.
Kyungsoo and Chanyeol got together on the third month of their first year, about two months after their group started hanging out together on the regular. It was just a normal night where they all went out drinking, and the two of them were predictably the only ones left standing at the end of the night. They were tasked with the inescapable responsibility of piling everyone into two taxis and making sure all of them got back to their dorm safe.
Still slightly drunk and very exhausted from carrying everyone back into their respective rooms all over the dorm, they headed back to their own rooms. But Chanyeol had followed Kyungsoo to his door. When Kyungsoo turned around to ask if he still wanted to come in and hang out, Chanyeol shook his head and said I just wanted to walk you back.
As groups of friends go, their group is definitely unusually large. They eat breakfast and dinner in the dorm canteen everyday together, they hang out during weekends together, they go practically everywhere together. But even though they are constantly in a group of nine, Chanyeol never strays too far away from Kyungsoo, nor does Kyungsoo from Chanyeol. It’s just the two of them at that moment in front of Kyungsoo’s door, just like how it always felt like even when Kyungsoo is in the company of eight other people.
Chanyeol’s eyes were slightly unfocused, mind probably still hazy from the alcohol, but the smile he offered Kyungsoo was so so sweet, just like how it always is, when it’s just the two of them. Chanyeol bid him goodnight and was about to walk away when Kyungsoo yanked him down by the front of his hoodie and crushed their mouths together. Chanyeol’s hand came up to cradle the back of his head as he pushed Kyungsoo up the door, and that was that.
Everyone groaned when they found out about it the next day. They all said it was too easy, that it wasn’t fair. No one even knew they liked each other before all of this. Where’s the pining? Where’s the longing stares and getting close to someone else to make each other jealous? It wasn’t even a drunken confession. You guys were only slightly drunk and decided to just make out and start a relationship? That’s just not how things are supposed to go.
When Baekhyun had finally shut up, Kyungsoo was annoyed to see how everyone seemed to be nodding along. He hadn’t even wanted to tell them since it’s none of their business. But Chanyeol said that it was better to get it over with as soon as possible, rather than having to endure months of ‘we can’t believe you never told us how long did you say you’ve been dating again???’ and Kyungsoo had to begrudgingly concede.
Sehun leaned back with his arms behind his head and said I give it a month. Chanyeol let out an undignified squawk to express exactly how offensive that was, but then the group had descended into competitive betting and charts were being drawn. Chanyeol thumped his forehead onto the table repeatedly and Kyungsoo could only rub comforting circles on his back.
The longest bet was two years, courtesy of Minseok. Chanyeol made happy noises and ran up to him for a hug, which was returned with a very sympathetic pat on the back. Kyungsoo was only irritated. The shortest bet was from Baekhyun for three weeks. He’s fairly sure he did it just to outdo Sehun. But seriously, give him a little credit. Kyungsoo was not the type to get into relationships he didn’t think would last. Although it did put a smile on his face to know that Chanyeol wanted this to last as much as he did.
Even though one of them is the locus of irritability and a continuous provider of casual violence, and the other is a magnet for all happiness, pranks and hyperactivity, both of them are fairly good listeners and advice givers. And despite their friends’ various bets on how long they think Kyungsoo and Chanyeol will be able to stay together, they all seem to have an unspoken assumption that they are the ‘stable couple’ of their group, and would constantly gravitate towards them whenever trouble calls. This manifests itself in the form of people barging into their rooms for stress relief or advice seeking on a distressingly regular basis, at distressingly inconvenient times.
One time, Chanyeol was taking a nap with his head on Kyungsoo’s lap and Kyungsoo was running his hand through his hair periodically as he read his assigned reading for the next day’s lecture, when Sehun burst through the doors. He looked stricken for a second when he saw the two of them in bed, but then deflated with a hand over his chest in relief. “Oh thank god, I thought he was sucking your dick.”
Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow but otherwise kept a deadpan that rivaled Sehun’s and looked pointedly at the door. “He could have been.”
By now, Chanyeol was fully awake and curling into a ball under Kyungsoo’s blanket, facing the wall and as far away from Kyungsoo’s crotch as possible.
“I went to Chanyeol’s room, but he wasn’t there, so I assumed he’d be here.”
“What do you want?” Chanyeol yelled from underneath the blanket.
Sehun took that as an invitation to come into the room, which it really wasn’t. He closed the door behind himself, sat at Kyungsoo’s chair and began to tell them all about this girl Jongin had been seen with all around campus lately and how that’s extremely uncool because they had just hooked up three days ago. Kyungsoo sighed and pulled the covers down from Chanyeol’s face before he suffocated himself.
-
When Kyungsoo and Chanyeol are up to something worth locking their doors for, however, they usually do. Not that doing so makes any real difference in the grand scheme of things. For example, once when they were making out on Chanyeol’s bed, Kyungsoo was tracing a hand up Chanyeol’s inner thigh, making his breath hitch, when someone started yanking at the door knob, followed by a series of loud banging on the door. Chanyeol groaned in frustration and Kyungsoo simply wanted to murder something.
“Chanyeol, I know you’re in there! I don’t care if you’re jerking it to hardcore gay porn right now, I need to talk to you!”
Chanyeol shoved Kyungsoo off him with enough force to push the air out of his lungs and flew towards the door. “Shut the fuck up! Oh my god!”
Baekhyun gave him an unimpressed look and pushed him aside to let himself in. He stops abruptly once he spotted Kyungsoo sitting up on Chanyeol’s bed, giving him an even more unimpressed look. “Oh,” Baekhyun looked between them.
Chanyeol was still standing beside the door, probably thanking the gods that they haven’t taken any of their clothes off yet. Baekhyun seemed to have the same idea. “It could have been worse.”
The glare Kyungsoo gave him suggested he could have been pushed off a cliff.
“What do you want to talk to me about?” Chanyeol pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and scrunched up his face in defeat. It’s not like he and Kyungsoo could get back to what they were doing even if Baekhyun miraculously grew enough last minute social conscience to leave them alone.
Standing in the middle of the room, Baekhyun took a deep breath. “Minseok– ”
Chanyeol slammed the door shut so hard Kyungsoo was sure they were going to get complaints from Chanyeol’s very studious neighbour again. And they were getting so good at keeping everything quiet.
-
When their group claims the dorm’s movie room for themselves during weekend evenings where everyone’s too lazy to venture out into the city lights, Kyungsoo often finds himself in the odd position of being one of only two people comfortably cuddling up to the person they want to be close to. The other person obviously being the overgrown puppy currently lying between his legs whining about the lack of caramelized popcorn in tonight’s snack selection. Since Kyungsoo arrived earlier, he was able to claim one of the beanbag chairs in the corner for himself. Chanyeol, who was only trailing three steps behind him, practically ran towards him the moment he entered the room. However, just like sharks can smell blood, little shits can smell an opportunity to be dicks, Sehun and Baekhyun immediately threw themselves bodily onto the beanbags next to Kyungsoo. Chanyeol pouted as all the remaining beanbags got filled, and Kyungsoo had patted the space between his legs.
Kyungsoo gently takes a pocky stick from its plastic packaging and shoves it unceremoniously into Chanyeol’s mouth to shut him up as Minseok connects his laptop to the giant TV screen at the front of the room. Chanyeol sputters a bit before letting his head fall back against Kyungsoo’s belly and wiggles the pocky in the air with his teeth. Kyungsoo smirks and leans down to take the other end of the snack into his mouth, his hand coming up to cradle Chanyeol’s jaw tilting up towards him. He slowly breaks the pocky with his teeth bit by bit before his lips eventually presses against Chanyeol’s and the boy makes a triumphant noise beneath him. Kyungsoo waits for the usual chorus of gross’s and get a room’s, but strangely, none was forthcoming this time. He looks up and finds everyone too busy staring at their crush longingly or staring into space.
He isn’t used to this, being in a relationship while everyone else flounders to be closer to their respective crush. All through high school, most of his friends had been in at least one relationship, and Kyungsoo was frequently left feeling like he’s missing something, something he couldn’t fully comprehend. He used to see it in his friends’ eyes, when they look at their boyfriends or girlfriends. Now he sees it when Chanyeol tells him the dumbest joke or the most inconsequential fact, in the way his eyes crinkle when Kyungsoo either hits him or shoves him away, in the way his mouth is pulled into a barely suppressed smile when Kyungsoo pulls him back in to rub at where he has hit him. He hopes he hasn’t misidentified that look. He also hopes that Chanyeol can see the same look in his eyes, otherwise it would be too unfair. But he doesn’t think he has that look. People tell him he looks so serious all the time.
In front of him, Jongdae and Yixing are sharing a beanbag, with Jongdae being hyperaware of how close Yixing is and obviously indecisive about where he should put his limbs. Baekhyun is similarly trying to inch closer towards Minseok, and completely failing at not being creepy. Minseok throws one look behind his shoulder and Baekhyun slumps back into his beanbag so fast the sequent squeaking noise of the plastic is so loud, people groaned when they missed a crucial part of the dialogue. Junmyun seems to be the only person fully concentrating on the movie and not having holes burned into him. Although that’s still not technically true, because Sehun has decided to drape himself across Junmyun, making him the unwitting target of Jongin’s death glares from across the room.
Kyungsoo feels like the Unresolved Sexual Tension in this room is sexually frustrating him, even though he knows for a fact that he and Chanyeol are the only two people in his sad group of friends with a healthy sex life. He looks down at the top of Chanyeol’s head and gently rubs his side, Chanyeol’s body heat seeping through the thin fabric of his t-shirt, making Kyungsoo’s fingertips feel warm and pleasant. Chanyeol immediately looks up with his wide brown eyes and purrs when Kyungsoo simply smiles down at him. As his thumb slowly strokes at Chanyeol’s waist, Kyungsoo thinks dimly that, yeah, maybe they do have it quite easy.
-
Sometimes, when their friends run out of annoying things to do, they try to sabotage Kyungsoo and Chanyeol’s relationship so they can win the bet. Sehun had tried to convince Jongin to get intimately close to Kyungsoo to exploit Chanyeol’s insecurities about the close friendship shared between Jongin and Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo knows this because Jongin is a nice boy and had told him all about it. Kyungsoo had wanted to find Sehun immediately and strangle him for trying to hit Chanyeol where it hurts most, but Jongin had said that Sehun didn’t mean any harm, he probably didn’t even realize how Chanyeol wasn’t that confident in their relationship yet, since at the time, they had barely been dating for a month. Chanyeol, thankfully, remains oblivious to this botched ploy to this day.
A ploy that was unfortunately carried out however, despite still being incredibly stupid and ineffective, was the one where Jongdae tried to make out with Chanyeol while Baekhyun made sure Kyungsoo saw it. Jongdae was honestly the wrong person to send to make out with Chanyeol, Kyungsoo thought.
Kyungsoo hears a loud yelp from across the common room where everyone is hanging out one Wednesday evening, and sees Jongdae pinning Chanyeol down onto the couch, his puckered lips straining towards Chanyeol’s face. Chanyeol flails in confusion and horror as he tries to struggle free. Baekhyun runs towards Kyungsoo excitedly and grabs his shoulder. “Are you seeing this? Your boyfriend is cheating on you! Are you guys breaking up?”
Kyungsoo swats his hand aside and tries to give Baekhyun his most impressive unimpressed stare as he says to the room in general “Will someone please remove Jongdae from Chanyeol before he accidentally gets punched in the face.”
Baekhyun makes a face at the flurry of panicked movements on the couch and tsk’ed. “Jongdae, you suck! I’ll do it!” he yells and proceeds to trip on Kyungsoo’s foot and falls face first onto the floor.
“Don’t you fucking dare,” Kyungsoo leans forward from the couch to make sure Baekhyun hears him from his position on the floor. “I don’t trust you.”
Baekhyun groans and rubs his nose as he slowly sits up. “And you trust Jongdae to make out with Chanyeol?”
“No,” Kyungsoo says with a severity that he knows is uncalled for, but he simply can’t help himself. “I trust him to fail at making out with Chanyeol,” he looks back up to make sure blood has not been shed on the other side of the room. “Don’t you touch him.”
Baekhyun rolls his eyes and looks up. “That was ages ago. My crush on Chanyeol lasted like, two weeks before I saw the light and realized Minseok is the real deal. If I had known you liked Chanyeol, I would have never said anything.”
Kyungsoo sighs. As much of a little shit Baekhyun is, he’s also harmless. Kyungsoo is being stupid for caring so much. He stands up and ruffles Baekhyun’s hair as he steps over him. “You’re stupid.”
“Hey! But I just said something nice!” Baekhyun calls behind him.
Kyungsoo flings his hand in the air to acknowledge Baekhyun’s point before leaning down to scoop Chanyeol up from under Jongdae. When he settles both of them on the couch only occupied by Yixing, a safe territory, Chanyeol leans into him and whimpers. Probably still confused as to what the hell just happened.
-
The reason why Kyungsoo knows both Jongdae and Baekhyun are truly harmless, is because they’re both useless pathetic whiney puppies when it comes to Yixing and Minseok. Jongdae is the first to ask them, and Kyungsoo still thinks it is a huge mistake to ever have agreed to any of it.
Jongdae brings up the idea of a double date one night when they’re all having dinner at the dorm canteen. Yixing is sitting at the other end of the long table, chatting with Minseok, oblivious to Jongdae’s plotting.
“We can go out for lunch or something, just the four of us. Please.”
Chanyeol turns to look at Kyungsoo and Kyungsoo can tell just from his eyes that they’re going to agree. Kyungsoo had plans to bring Chanyeol to this new music shop in Sinchon that he’s read about on some forum. Chanyeol always talks about how he never gets a chance to play the piano ever since he moved away from home, and this was going to be his big surprise for Chanyeol this weekend, to let him play the instrument to his heart’s content at a place where people like him are welcomed. He hasn’t vocalized those plans out loud to Chanyeol, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have any plans for them this weekend.
Sensing Kyungsoo’s reluctance, Chanyeol tips his head towards Kyungsoo and says “I’ll try to finish my essay early, so we can hang out in your room all day Sunday.”
Kyungsoo turns towards him, his lips brushing past Chanyeol’s on their way to his ear. The music shop will still be there next week. This sounds like a far better plan. “With the door locked,” he says quietly, with his voice pitched low, the way he knows makes Chanyeol shiver when they’re alone with the lights turned off.
Chanyeol chuckles and captures his lips for a kiss. Kyungsoo makes sure to lick into Chanyeol’s mouth extra obviously when Jongdae groans and Baekhyun makes gagging noises next to him.
Their Saturday goes up in smoke as Jongdae continues to not be in a relationship with Yixing, and Chanyeol and Kyungsoo almost have a joint aneurysm over how spectacularly terrible Jongdae is at showing Yixing that maybe he’s after something more than just friendship. But Jongdae declares the double date a success anyway because it was the first time he managed to spend so much time together with Yixing.
Upon hearing Jongdae’s success story, Baekhyun finds his way to Kyungsoo’s room to ask for a repeat performance, but this time with him and Minseok. Kyungsoo immediately rejects his proposal.
“I would like to actually go on a date with my boyfriend,” Baekhyun opens his mouth, “alone.”
Baekhyun pouts and gives him the kicked puppydog look that he should know by now has no effect on Kyungsoo.
“I’m the wrong person to ask for a double date. Go away.”
Baekhyun ruminates on this. “Does this mean if Chanyeol agrees, you’d do it?”
Kyungsoo curses himself internally and shoots him an annoyed glare. There’s someone else’s puppydog look he’s definitely not immune to. The music shop will still be there on Sunday. Kyungsoo pushes Baekhyun out of his room and closes the door in his face. He can’t very well admit out loud that he can’t say no to Chanyeol, in front of Baekhyun no less.
Another Saturday goes up in smoke as Baekhyun stays firmly and pitifully single. At least this time, Kyungsoo gets to have a good time watching Minseok intimidate and beat Baekhyun up in all the ways that he deserves to be intimidated and beaten up in. Chanyeol flinches on Baekhyun’s behalf and spends the day watching Kyungsoo warily as if Kyungsoo is suddenly going to want to hit him too. Chanyeol is so cute sometimes.
(
At dinner one day, Yixing tries to get Kyungsoo’s attention by calling his name repeatedly to no avail. Just when he’s about to raise his voice, next to him, Jongin stops him with a hand in the air, then points at Kyungsoo with an amused smile on his face. “It’s not going to work. Not when he gets like this.”
Confused, Yixing turns back to Kyungsoo again. But Kyungsoo is simply looking at Chanyeol talking animatedly to Sehun.
“Wow,” Yixing sits back.
“Yeah,” Jongin nods in agreement. “Now let me show you how it’s done.”
Yixing looks on curiously as Jongin says in a normal tone of voice “Chanyeol.”
Both Yixing and Jongin dissolve into a giggling fit when Chanyeol and Kyungsoo turn towards them at the same time.
)
Junmyun stops hanging out with their group for a period time, when his academic and family pressure got a bit too much and he becomes a loner for a while. Chanyeol begins to worry when he stops coming down for meals and instead heats up microwavable ones and eats in his room while he works. When Chanyeol goes to personally invite him to come hang out with them and relax a bit, Junmyun initially declines but after much coaxing from Chanyeol, he yields but admits that he isn’t really in the mood to hang out with a big group right now.
“How about just the two of us? A quiet pub? Dinner at a restaurant? Just somewhere to get you out of,” Chanyeol looks around Junmyun’s room, eyes lingering on the laundry piling up in the basket in the corner and the stacks of books on his bedside table, "this, for a while.”
Junmyun smiles and ignores the state of his room. “That would be nice,” he taps his pen on the calendar pinned up against the wall above his desk. “I’m only free this Saturday afternoon though, is that okay?”
“Of course!” Chanyeol beams.
Chanyeol manages to drag Junmyun down to the canteen for a proper cooked meal two days later when he bumps into the elder in the corridor on his way down for dinner.
When Chanyeol leaves the table to queue for seconds with Sehun and Jongin half an hour later, Junmyun pushes the empty plastic jelly cup around with his spoon and takes the opportunity to catch up with Kyungsoo.
“How did your surprise for Chanyeol go? Did he like it?”
“He loved it,” Kyungsoo sits up. “I wish I had recorded the squeal he let out when he found out he was allowed to play the pianos as much as he wanted,” his lips stretch into a big smile as he recalls the delight on Chanyeol’s face that afternoon.
“Aw, that’s nice,” Junmyun gets this look like he does when there are baby cheeks begging to be pinched in his vicinity. Kyungsoo leans back.
“Are you guys planning on going back?”
“Yeah, I actually found out that they have a soundproof room at the back of the store with a drum set in it, for people to take lessons and stuff. Chanyeol might love that even more than the piano.”
“He’s definitely going to love it! Are you bringing him there this weekend?”
“Yes, but– ” Kyungsoo catches himself and looks past Junmyun’s shoulder. “Um, something came up, so we’re going next weekend instead.”
Junmyun frowns at the abrupt pause before realization dawns on him and his shoulders slump. “Please don’t tell me you’re postponing because Chanyeol is taking me out for lunch this Saturday.”
“No, it’s fine! I’m happy you guys are hanging out. I agree with Yeol, you need some down time.”
“Are you sure? I know your dates get interrupted by Jongdae and Baekhyun all the time. I don’t want to interfere with your plans too.”
“No, Junmyun. Honestly,” Kyungsoo holds out a placating hand and sighs, “I’d murder them if they ever ask me and Chanyeol to supervise them on their non-dates again, because that’s what those double dates are. But you’re different. You’re not an interference.”
“Ok…” Junmyun looks unconvinced. “Maybe you can join us? It would be nice to hang out with you too!”
Kyungsoo takes a second to contemplate this but shakes his head. “But this is you and Chanyeol’s thing, I don’t want to interrupt.”
“Why wouldn’t I want you there? It would be nice to hang out with just the three of us. I would love to properly catch up with you too.”
When Junmyun smiles that smile, lifts his shoulders and tips his head, Kyungsoo doesn’t say no.
Chanyeol returns to his seat next to Kyungsoo soon after that, with his plate piled high with grilled chicken, vegetables, rice and gravy. He places a small cup of yogurt in front of Kyungsoo as he sits down. “I risked my life for this, the lady behind the counter actually yelled at me when she saw me taking both the jelly and the yogurt. Please show some appreciation.”
Kyungsoo chuckles as he peals the lid off the cup and leans in to kiss Chanyeol’s temple. “Thank you.”
Chanyeol gives him a small private smile before turning his attention back to his food.
“Your boyfriend is coming with us on Saturday,” Junmyun says a moment later, after Chanyeol successfully fends off Sehun’s attempts to steal his chicken.
“Really?” Chanyeol turns towards Kyungsoo and grins. “That’s awesome!”
“Do you have a place in mind? I’m flexible, anything you pick will probably be great compared to the things I’ve been eating lately.”
“Sushi?” Chanyeol says between chews. “I haven’t had sushi in a while,” he remembers to cover his mouth as he speaks and looks to Kyungsoo for input.
“Sure, we’ll find a sushi place.”
Chanyeol’s eyes crinkle when he smiles.
“Oh, wait,” Kyungsoo swallows the spoonful of yogurt he just took and turns to Junmyun. “Are you okay with sushi? Sorry.”
Junmyun looks between the two of them and gives Kyungsoo that smile as if he knows something Kyungsoo doesn’t. “Sushi sounds wonderful.”
(
“If Chanyeol didn’t become a spoiled brat from being the baby of his family, he definitely will after dating Kyungsoo.”
“Oh my god, Junmyun,” Minseok laughs.
)
After much begging from Jongdae, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol finally corner Yixing one night in the common room while everyone else plays a game of extreme charades that includes a liver-quivering amount of alcohol in the background. Kyungsoo, tired of all the dancing around that he’s seen for the past months, cuts off all the excess bullshit and opens with “So, do you like Jongdae?”
Yixing chokes on his water and Chanyeol gives Kyungsoo a look that says Well handled. Kyungsoo shrugs.
When Yixing recovers, he looks between his two friends sitting on either side of him, then searches the room before saying quietly “Am I that obvious?”
Kyungsoo’s nostrils flare as he storms out of the room.
Panicked at Kyungsoo’s sudden reaction, Yixing looks back at Chanyeol with a frown. “What? Did I say something wrong?”
Chanyeol pulls his lips into a flat smile and shakes his head, not trusting himself to say anything right at that moment either.
In the corridor just outside the common room, Jongdae’s screams can be heard echoing through the walls. Kyungsoo has probably caught him on his way back from the bathroom.
Chanyeol pushes him back down into his seat when Yixing gets up instinctively to go check what happened. Chanyeol pats his back as Yixing looks between him and the common room entrance. “Don’t worry,” he shakes his head and tries to speak over Jongdae’s What did I do??? still resounding from the corridor, “you weren’t obvious.”
Yixing frowns and tilts his head to the side.
“At all.”
(
Baekhyun catches up to Jongdae and Yixing as their group slowly ambles back to the dorm after a night of drinking. He catches Jongdae’s jacket by the elbow, looking around as he says “Where the fuck is Chanyeol and Kyungsoo?”
Jongdae follows his gaze and looks around their group as well. “No idea. Probably off somewhere making out. They’ll catch up.”
“Last time I saw them, they were at the back harmonizing to some song,” Yixing supplies. Jongdae whips his head around and throws him a questioning look.
“Like, Chanyeol was humming to the tune of the guitar and Kyungsoo was singing to it.”
Jongdae looks back at Baekhyun and shrugs. “Either way, Kyungsoo will probably kill you if you interrupt them. Why? What do you need?”
Baekhyun swallows and slightly hides behind the couple, peering through their shoulders. “I kind of asked Minseok if he’d like to hang out again, like the time we did with Chanyeol and Kyungsoo, except, you know,” he pouts miserably, “without Chanyeol and Kyungsoo.”
“And what did he say?”
“He kind of stared at me like I was crazy and laughed?”
“I’m sure he didn’t actually stare at you like you were crazy.” Yixing reassures softly.
“He totally did though?”
“But what did you do?” Jongdae interjects.
“I said I was joking and that Chanyeol and Kyungsoo are actually also going to be there?”
Jongdae facepalms so hard the loud smack can be heard by everyone. “So you now need Chanyeol and Kyungsoo to go on a double date with you guys again.”
Baekhyun nods vehemently.
Jongdae sighs, now extra grateful that he finally got together with Yixing.
“Just text Chanyeol.”
)
Kyungsoo would have absolutely refused to go on a double date with Baekhyun again, but Chanyeol is soft and weak so he goes on one anyway. An estimated zero percent of progress was made that day as Baekhyun continues to dance around Minseok like a scared but lovesick puppy, and Chanyeol tries to steer Kyungsoo away whenever the double date gets too close to becoming a Minseok-Kyungsoo bonding session. Kyungsoo doesn’t mean for it to happen, but he and Minseok share similar personalities, and the same goes for Baekhyun and Chanyeol, therefore the unsuspecting Minseok naturally groups himself with Kyungsoo more, much to the constant disappointment of Baekhyun.
By the end of the night, Kyungsoo decides it’s probably that time of the year where he exhibits outstanding benevolence and asks when Baekhyun has gone to the bathroom “What are your thoughts on the possibility of dating Baekhyun?”
Minseok takes the question better than Yixing and Kyungsoo isn’t at the receiving end of one of Chanyeol’s looks. Except that Chanyeol is the one choking on his drink this time and Kyungsoo has to hand him a napkin.
“This is a bit sudden,” Minseok looks towards the direction of the bathroom contemplatively. “I’ve never really thought about it, but I guess it wouldn’t be so bad.”
Beside him, Chanyeol makes a surprised happy noise and claps his hands. Kyungsoo smiles as well.
“But why are you so mean to him all the time? Like giving him threatening looks and beating him up?” The way Chanyeol is concerned for his friends is very endearing.
Minseok laughs and says with a smile “Because he’s cute when he’s scared.”
Kyungsoo nods as if he agrees. Because he does, with Chanyeol.
-
The last remaining pair in their group suffers from the opposite problem Jongdae and Baekhyun had. They’re content with just whining at Chanyeol and Kyungsoo respectively, sometimes at both of them at the same time. Kyungsoo finally puts his foot down one day when the frequency to which Sehun barges into their rooms keeps increasing and Jongin becomes too mopey for his good conscience to ignore.
He and Chanyeol stage an intervention when they manage to get them both in the same room. The two youngest members of their group both look like they know exactly what’s coming for them but are still in denial about it.
“You two have to communicate with each other, not through me and Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol crosses his arms, looking down at the two sulking boys sitting on his bed.
Beside him, Kyungsoo sits on his desk chair with his legs crossed. “You two both like each other, want yourself to be special to the other, but at the same time want the freedom to sleep with other people if you wish to.”
“You’re on the same page with each other, except you’re both handling everything very poorly. So me and Kyungsoo are here to suggest something to you,” Chanyeol glances at Kyungsoo, who nods at him, before continuing, “you two should be in an open relationship.”
“What?” Sehun and Jongin blurt out in unison, surprise evident in their voices.
“This way, you will both be special to each other in the way you want, but still be able to experiment with other people as you wish. This arrangement doesn’t have to last forever, you can always commit to something more serious as the relationship progresses,” Kyungsoo explains.
The two boys stay silent for a long while before eventually, Jongin turns to Sehun and very quietly asks “Do you want to do that?”
Equally quietly, Sehun replies “Yeah.”
Chanyeol smiles and holds out his hand to card through Kyungsoo’s hair. He pulls Kyungsoo’s head towards him gently so it rests against his hip, as Sehun apologizes to Jongin lowly about something harsh he apparently said to the other a few days ago.
-
“I want to move in with Kyungsoo next year once we’re out of dorms,” Chanyeol says without preamble one day when Sehun comes to hang out with him in his room. “I’m planning on asking Jongdae and Junmyun too, so it’s more like a flatshare and not really moving in together. But it still kind of is, you know?”
Sehun gives him a disgusted look and gestures at the expanse of his torso.
“I thought about asking you, obviously. But I think Kyungsoo might go stir crazy being trapped in a flat with me, you and Jongdae. I thought about Baekhyun too, but he’s eliminated from the list for the same reason. Kyungsoo can handle Jongdae better than he can handle either you or Baekhyun, plus he needs someone like Junmyun to give him some peace and quiet.”
“Fine, point taken. But this doesn’t mean I’m not still super upset with you,” Sehun crosses his arms and looks away petulantly.
“Aww,” Chanyeol pulls Sehun into a hug and nuzzles his head against Sehun’s. “I love you too.”
Chanyeol leans away a moment later and his face turns serious. “Anyway, do you think Soo would agree? Do you think he’s going to think it’s too soon or something?”
Sehun’s lips is pressed flat and his eyes narrow in a way that can only express one thought and one thought only. Are you serious. But that expression soon melts away when he notices the worry in Chanyeol’s face. Sehun sighs.
“In case you haven't noticed, your boyfriend is fucking whipped. I'm pretty sure if you ask him to move in with you, his answer is going to be Where do I sign the contract.”
Chanyeol hits his arm but clearly cannot help the shy smile that settles firmly onto his lips. “Stop it! Don't raise my expectations. I don't want to assume anything.”
“Well, if you can stop with that creepy smile, maybe I'll stop.”
“My smile is not creepy! For your information, Soo loves my smile.”
“Kyungsoo likes creepy things, I’m not disputing that.”
Chanyeol hits him again.
-
Coda.
Kyungsoo loves Chanyeol. Really, really loves him. He’s worried that Chanyeol might not realise that he loves Chanyeol as much as Chanyeol loves him. He will say it, if the need arises and the words come up to the roof of his mouth, desperate to be let out, to be conveyed to the person sitting quietly next to him. But saying it doesn't seem enough, not when Chanyeol shines with it. Chanyeol carries his love everywhere he goes, it's light in his steps as he gravitates towards Kyungsoo, it's warm and gentle whenever they’re in the same room, when he moves closer and closer as if tugged by the invisible string anchored deep inside Kyungsoo's heart. It’s soft in his voice when he talks about Kyungsoo, when Kyungsoo is accidentally within earshot and hears the smile in his words.
Chanyeol’s love is open and obvious in the way that he stands close to Kyungsoo, hand tugging on his arm, lips angled slightly, loudly demanding to be kissed without having to say a single word. It’s so disconcertingly conspicuous when he tucks Kyungsoo’s head under his chin, hands easily finding Kyungsoo’s, lips pressing thoughtlessly onto Kyungsoo’s hair regardless of whether there are people watching. Chanyeol talks about him, about them even when he is around. Loudly declaring his love to anyone who would listen. Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo, I love you. I love you. I love Kyungsoo. His love is so deafening. There is no subtlety involved, everyone knows. Kyungsoo gets embarrassed by all of these, but what is truly embarrassing is how much he craves Chanyeol’s obtrusively garish affections. A love so grandiose, so unlike Kyungsoo to want.
Kyungsoo sees and feels so much of Chanyeol’s love but doesn't know how to reciprocate it. He really tries but doesn't know if it's coming across. He keeps Chanyeol close to him, arm across his waist, hand grasping onto Chanyeol's even in public, sometimes running it down the curve of Chanyeol's back when he whispers something into Chanyeol's ears that makes him smile. His fingertips hot and unyielding when they press against the back of Chanyeol's neck to pull his lips down.
Kyungsoo doesn't think he will ever be able to express his love the way Chanyeol does. He sincerely hopes that he isn't doing Chanyeol any injustice, prays that Chanyeol feels loved and feels like he's getting everything he deserves from Kyungsoo because he does, he deserves everything Kyungsoo can give him for all the love that he lets Kyungsoo feel. For all the affection and warmth he so selflessly gives to Kyungsoo every day, every waking moment. In the quiet moments when Chanyeol is falling asleep next to him, his arm heavy across Kyungsoo's chest as it rises and falls with his every breath, Kyungsoo thinks about these things. He never shakes Chanyeol awake, but he always wants to ask, once and for all, do you know that I love you? Because it's important. It seems like the most important thing in his 20 short years of existence. Do you know that I love you as much as you love me?
But when the next day comes, when he sees his friends asking Chanyeol for favours that they actually want from him, because they've figured out that he can't say no to Chanyeol, or when they stop trying to break down their locked door during weekends because they say they're afraid Kyungsoo will finally snap and murder them. Or when they tell him that he's gross when he, in those rare moments, could not stop himself but pull Chanyeol into a kiss, or when they snap their fingers in front of him to get his attention and beside him, Chanyeol laughs and laughs and laughs. Chanyeol would nuzzle into the tuff of hair just above his ear and say for the millionth time, I love you, and kiss him.
In those moments, he thinks maybe Chanyeol can see his love in everything he says and does too.