Chapter Text
Euijoo awoke from the worst sleep of his life, his back aching from the stiff-as-a-board airplane seats. After his flight had landed at 2:00 AM, he had barely made it to his host family’s house before passing out. Now, it was already 6:45 AM, and he had an hour to catch his bus.
5 minutes slipped past before he emerged from his dull, lifeless room with its simple wooden floors, empty white desk, and boring yet comfortable bed in the center of the small room. The plainness of the room made Euijoo feel uneasy. As a maximalist, he was unused to such an environment, making him feel out of place and miss the comfort of his cluttered home.
Euijoo pulls on a clean white shirt, tucking it into light blue jeans he has painted with cute Ponyos and other Studio Ghibli designs. It wasn't totally basic, but compared to what he normally wore, it was.
He walked downstairs to the cafe, where he found his host mom, an older lady in her late 60s, who still had her rollers in her short gray hair. She was frying what Euijoo guessed was doriyaki.
"Euijoo, take some doriyaki before you leave. You must eat well if you want to grow big," Her voice soft and calming. Euijoo smiled. He was already 186 cm; he really didn’t need to grow any bigger.
"Thank you," Euijoo replied, nodding. His host mom wrapped the pastry in a thick layer of plastic wrap, adding a cute sticker of a bunny holding a carrot— a detail Euijoo loved–Before handing it to him.
Euijoo left the cafe a few minutes later to catch the bus. The path to the bus stop was quiet as he walked along the empty streets.headphones on, he completely drowned out the sounds of birds and wind brushing against the trees.
When the bus arrived, it was packed with university students, sitting in near-total silence aside from a few whispered conversations.
His first class of the day was a two-hour lecture on literary theories. Because he had been totally confused while picking his classes, he ended up with the worst possible schedule.
The bus screeched to a stop, signaling his arrival at the campus. As he stepped off, a gust of wind hit him. This was his first day of college in a different country. The air smelled different—fresher. Students were everywhere; some were running to classes, while others lounged on the grass. The campus was filled with the sound of students talking and laughing.
He entered the building, navigating through the crowd of students shuffling in and out of classes. The sound of shoes squeaking and heels clacking echoed through the halls.
When he finally found his class, he was greeted by a massive lecture hall. Most students were already seated, filling the back seats and part of the front. Up at the podium stood his professor, seeming to have a permanent resting mean face. He sat down, stuck in the second row.
The classroom was filled with the sounds of pencils scratching and the tick of the clock on the wall. Euijoo found himself dozing off, as he listened to the old, intimidating professor lecture in a language he was still learning.
To fight the sleep threatening to take over, he spent the entire two hours scribbling poems, silently praying the professor wouldn't call on him or assign homework. When the lecture finally ended, he had a two-hour gap before his next class, and with no plans, he decided to explore the campus alone.
wandering around with no clue where he was going, peeking through windows into classes. He walked into an improv theater class and couldn't tell what was happening because they were all standing in a circle saying the same things in different tones.
Euijoos' eyes landed on a blond-haired man who seemed thrilled to be there, a smile plastered across his face.
Once someone got on the ground crying out words, Euijoo turned around, leaving to explore the rest of the campus.
He somehow found his way to the dance department on the first floor. Faint sounds of the music coming from each room, guessing they were just practicing random dances since there were no teachers in sight. Each room held a small group of two to five students, perfecting K-pop dances and some hip-hop. Some were in sync, and others were still learning the dances, laughing during parts.
Euijoo peeked through all the windows as he passed them. Some blasted loud hip-hop with heavy basses, while others were upbeat, cute girl-group songs that he recognized instantly. Some students were warming up while others were wiping sweat off their faces.
He got to the last practice room; he just expected to see some upbeat dance because he could hear the sound of muffled female vocals.
Euijoo came closer to the window, peeking through it. The sight made Euiijoo stumble backwards, tripping over his own feet, his entire face turning bright red.
The room had two men who looked about Euijoos's age; from what he saw, both men were on their knees, thrusting the floor to the beat.
Once Euijoo processed what he saw, he slowly went back to the window for another peek, checking to make sure he saw it right.
But when he looked back through the glass, both guys were turned towards the door, looking right at him. One guy had the face of a model; his brown hair fell just past his ears, longer than most guys. He was dressed in a simple white tank top and light blue jeans.
The other guy stood out more to Euiijoo. He had sharp features and light pink dyed hair with messy layers. He wasn't wearing a shirt at all, completely unfazed by who might see him.
Euijoo bolted to the end of the hall, his shoes squeaking as he turned the corner. He pressed his back against the wall, his breath heavy, his face hot. A single thought racing through his mind: Who was that shirtless guy… and why did looking at him affect me so much?
He could hear from around the corner the click of the studio door opening and the sounds of the two dancers. One of them said something Euijoo couldn't make out.
Euijoo slips away before anyone else could see him, his cheeks flushed red. You could hear his footsteps as he ran down the hall. The two guys turned towards the sound, the noise had already faded, leaving behind nothing but an empty hallway.
Once he thought he was far enough away, Euijoo turned his head back to check if anyone was following him, breathing loudly in the silent hall. Luckily, no one was. Euijoo was in the clear—at least for now.
By the time his shift at his host family’s café started later that afternoon, Euijoo had almost convinced himself the whole thing hadn’t affected him at all, like those men never existed.
The cafe was slow, with a few customers here and there. Most were regulars who would only speak to his host mom; they did not talk much to Euijoo besides the greetings and simple nods, and what they wanted to order.
Euijoo always liked the smell of cafes; the air was filled with coffee and freshly baked goods. It made him relax his shoulders; his body no longer felt as stiff.
Because he spent most of his time alone in the cafe, he started to make his own playlist, humming along to all the songs, wiping counters, cleaning cups, and plates.
Euijoo heard the soft chime of the cafe door while he was in the back making sure the espresso machine was working properly.
He hadn't even seen the customers' faces, and he was already greeting them.
"Hi, welcome in. Please give me a moment; I'll be out there in a second," he said automatically. His tone was soft and polite.
Euijoo had grabbed a rag, rushing to wipe off all the coffee grounds that had stuck to his hands while he was checking the espresso machine.
He tossed the rug aside, approaching the counter with a practiced smile even before he looked up.
"Welcome—" Euijoo froze.
He was face-to-face with the two men again. The one with the model face was engrossed in his phone, and the one who was shirtless was looking Euijoo directly in the eyes.
Euijoo could feel his face heating up again just by the sight of the man.
The guy with a model's face looked up from his phone to look at Euijoo.
"You’re the kid from the hallway earlier.”
Great Euijoo was now known as the "hallway kid." Euijoo had drifted his attention to the model-looking dude, but the shirtless guy was still staring this time, not in a mean way, just… watching.