Chapter Text
The air has nurtured a mile-thick dread over itself with a piercing silence. It feels as if he is about to be publicly executed due to the not-so-grave yet apparently destructive crime he has just committed. Deep down, he argues fervently that if anyone is the victim here, it’s he himself considering the scalding glare being shot at him by his demise and honestly, he feels hella attacked.
The entirety of the cafeteria, with due respect to being the setting of his doom, has long crossed the limits of stagnancy. They may possibly put even mannequins to shame.
He has always known the universe was out to get him but he didn’t know it regretted his birth to this extent. As a side note, he wonders if this is the reason why he has been so contended recently—just so this emotionless, heartless universe could balance it out with this disastrous event—except the fact, that the good has been far less than the worse and that, is in proportion to the black & white matter ratio. He supposes he might be close if not right because this has been a recurring thought and even though his Astrophysics-major friend hadn’t been amused by his deductions and had told him to stay out of space and inside the earth—he hadn’t denied it either.
Ignoring himself, he puffs in a big fat fraction of air and takes a couple of steps back to bend his upper body into a full—almost precise—90 degrees with the sincerest words he has uttered till date (not really).
“I am sorry, sunbae-nim.”
The words echo in the dead silent cafeteria with a reverberation so gruff that even Jeongguk flinches slightly but he doesn’t fail to notice that the senior doesn’t budge.
Though the senior looks like a harmless, even adorable little cat but one contact with his pupils, Jeongguk knows he’s in deep shit. The said senior scrunches up his nose, glare impassive at the scared shitless freshman in front.
Even the blunder is such that Jeongguk doesn’t know what kind of help he should offer as an act of contrition.
He goes for the transitional path.
“H-how… should I help you…?” He tries flashing a regretful smile at the sunbae but that quite ends up showing his entire existential crisis on his face that makes the listener (& some people around them) scoff out loud.
Why… why you do this to me universe?
“Maybe if you just excuse me right now, I’d be very much pleased,” the senior replies coldly, gaze flickering somewhere behind Jeongguk then back at the younger’s eyes, who quickly shoots it down to the ground.
He guiltily moves a little towards his side to make way for wherever the senior was planning to go in that condition. The senior doesn’t spare him a single more damn as he brushes past the half-(totally)-shaken Jeongguk, standing awkwardly with his hands joined in front.
He glances up one final time to catch the senior’s retreating back going towards the washroom and gulps.
Wow, even his back is intimidating.
Sighing, his eyes scan the café (99% people are still ogling in his direction) to find his brand new first-day-first-friend pressed into a corner (also staring at him), making no attempt to move whatsoever with his hands dramatically covering his mouth and… well, pretty much just frozen in his place.
He strides over to the corner to drag his friend and his own ass out of this WWH Holtan Café (what the bullshit kind of a name is that?), wordlessly and never come back here as long as God doesn’t decide to chuck him out of this world.
(-_-)
The day had been streaming by quite decently for Jeongguk if you ask him. First, he didn’t have to haunt the entire building to find his first class due to his angel of an Astrophysics major roommate, who had guided him like a mother through the labyrinth disguised as a college. Second, he found his first-day’s-first-friend in his deskmate. Third (also the best), this friend of his had offered him a treat for their first day of friendship. Free food for Jeongguk, that is. No variation of Jeongguk in their right mind would say no to that.
The guy had been very persistent on trying this famous cafeteria of their campus (the WWH one) and Jeongguk hadn’t really cared as long as he gets his food so he had let the guy drag him in there only to shoo him away to order while the guy himself had plopped down on a chair and dozed off. All this happened so fast that Jeongguk didn’t have the time to make a head or tail of the 100-0 real quick energy levels of his first-day-first-friend but whatever. The guy is paying so he could at least place an order.
Now that he thinks about it, he still doesn’t know the guy’s name (what the fuck, Jeongguk?); he’ll ask once he wakes up.
The barista (a girl) had winked at him while taking his order, giggling with her coworker extending the 5 seconds needed to write the order into 5 whole minutes. The multiple shoe-sneaker-boot-etc tapping behind him were making it absolutely clear how displeased the queue behind him was.
He should have seen through this chronicle—he should have known this was foreshadowing a very repulsive situation about to occur in his life but alas, he had ignored everything dismissively.
After those 5 awkward minutes of playing dumb to her advances, the order was finally branded on her notepad and he all but sprinted out of the line to lean on a nearby wall and open his Twitter.
After what felt like only seconds of scrolling, his name was called.
He slipped the phone back into his pocket and made his way towards the ( not again ) same barista looking up at him expectantly ( big eyes, pretty smile that infamous wooing shit ). Jeongguk wanted to roll his eyes but he reluctantly held her stare, paid for it ( not his money ), gathered the tray, and twisted around hastily to save himself from her clutches.
Jeongguk had never considered that his habit of closing his eyes, and exhaling a long breath while mentally thanking his fairy godmothers after winning a metaphorical war would place his reason for misery at his iron-man socks clad feet, but then again, universe is a bitch so no surprise there.
He stopped. Heard and felt everything from his tray crash with something in front and didn’t open his eyes till the noise ceased. And with the ‘noise ceased’ he didn’t think he meant the whole cafeteria would go completely soundless but it did anyway.
Cue for him to open his eyes and witness the disaster.
That is, none other than a guy, older by looks but smaller by stature, soaked chest to the abdomen with his macchiatos and his pastry’s chocolate slowing gliding down his chest. Yet the person looked as if he didn’t even recoil at the collision— simply, motionlessly glowering up at the younger.
(Fuck you too, universe.)
(^o^)
“What kind of luck was that bro?”
Okay, it wasn’t necessary to voice that out loud because rude.
He snapped back at his friend who immediately held his hands up in mock surrender.
“No offense.”
That reminds Jeongguk,
“What is your name anyway?”
The friend pinches his brow in confusion and stares blankly at Jeongguk for a second before his eyes proceed to bulge out of their sockets, as he seems to splutter over nothing.
“I’m Kim Yugyeom! Shit, why do I always do this?” the friend says, resignedly.
Jeongguk nods his head in sympathy that could definitely pass as mocking, and maybe it did if the pout and the harsh slap on his arm is anything to go by, which might have been meant in a companionable gesture, except for Jeongguk it wasn’t, and now his arm is stinging. He decides to be the bigger person and keeps his complaints to himself.
“Now that we’ve wasted the money and an all-kill chill area where I don’t think I’ll be able to go back again, where do you think we shall go next, peasant?” Yugyeom flutters his eyelashes at Jeongguk, giving him a blinding smile.
Jeongguk in return, scoffs, turns around and starts walking.
Yugyeom doesn’t seem to have a problem catching up to him.
“Yo Jeongguk, look, you’ve been officially provided with the confirmed position of my 9th eucalyptus tree, and starting today you must maintain the responsibility of your designation and let me hang off from you. It’s a no refund contract so you’re stuck with me,” he smiles another one of his pearly white smiles at him and slings an arm around Jeongguk’s neck.
Jeongguk merely raises a brow, “I don’t remember signing a contract though?” he says, humorlessly.
“Ah… indeed. Not a written one at least but your antisocial and cute little ass would need a functioning human being every once in a while Jeonggukie, trust the koala,” he chuckles.
“I-Ice cream?”
“Ice cream it is then. Flavor, angel?”
“A-anything’s fine. Tthank you Jeong-gukkie,”
“The pleasure is mine, little one.”
“Don’t call me that.”
Jeongguk shrugs off Yugyeom’s hold from his neck.
Yugyeom raises a skeptical brow at him but doesn’t attempt to place his hand back this time.
“What? Jeonggukie?”
He doesn’t fail to notice the swift stiffness the name brings upon Jeongguk.
“I said, don’t call me that. Please,” Jeongguk states, looking at the ground.
Yugyeom gets the hint. “Okay chill bro, I won’t. And before it gets awkward, I won’t ask about it either, so just suck that depressing black body halo around you back inside and let’s go tour the dance building.”
He winds an arm around Jeongguk’s elbow and pulls him forward.
“But—,”
“No buts, little peasant. It’s time to do some socializing. You gotta survive that class you know, and you’ll be surprised but communication is an excellent way to do it,” Yugyeom says with a dramatic flail of his free hand.
“Oh yeah?” Jeongguk deadpans at him.
“Ah, what did I say about trusting the koala, peasant?” He wiggles his eyebrows.
Jeongguk gives him a shake of the head and lets himself be dragged forward.
By the time they reach the building, Jeongguk’s right arm is a breath away to be ripped off. Yugyeom doesn’t seem to mind though. Jeongguk curses himself for not arriving sooner for the inevitable campus tour of a freshman. It’s not like—definitely not like he doesn’t appreciate the effort his friend, actually almost a stranger who is putting in the effort to get acquainted and get him acquainted around… but socializing.
He isn’t antisocial, he is not (no matter what his hyungs say), but it is also not like he can be even 20% of what Yugyeom has been since they met, which should not be more than 3 hours. He had mentally prepared himself in the morning to wallow peacefully in his wallflower existence throughout the day (actually semester) but then he befriended a koala, got his soul sucked by a Dementor and now he’s treading to sacrifice himself in the ritual of verbal mating.
He can give fortune-tellers a run for their money.
The room they’re apparently walking towards seems to be hidden in some deep corner of the palest yellow building he had ever walked into. The twists and turns and stairs and spins he experienced in the last three minutes might as well make him highly eligible for those Shinchan treasure hunts he has grown up seeing (still does, but shh).
Yugyeom doesn’t seem to have a problem determining which corridor to take and which to avoid but Jeongguk can feel the panic he would have to overcome for finding this studio for class tomorrow.
Maybe he’ll just let Yugyeom latch onto him then too. That would work, right?
Before he can devise more ways to remember this route, he bumps into Yugyeom’s back who seems to have frozen for some reason.
Jeongguk furrows his brows at him and glances straight where his eyes are stuck.
He freezes too.
There’s blood. There’s a lot of blood. There’s blood sliding down the edge of the white door, at the entrance and even droplets trailing inside. Jeongguk’s heart stops for a moment then starts at a violent speed and he’s goddamn sure Yugyeom’s not faring any better. There are words stuck in his throat that he doesn’t know how to spill out.
Subconsciously, they both hold onto each other’s hand a tad bit tighter and let out audible gasps. And as they do, the voices shouting inside become discernible.
They both know it’s better if they get the fuck out of here before something happens but they both don’t have it in them to ignore if somebody is really in need. They move towards the door, the voices become coherent now.
“Oh for fuck’s sake!”
A deep chuckle could be heard.
“Literally how many times do I have to—oh god hyung is going to kill you first and then me! Fuck.”
“Hyung I’m pretty sure he won’t kill you, but he sure might punish you.”
A series of groans could be heard from inside and okay, there are more than two people.
“You know what, fuck you, fuck this, fuck him, I’m out, I’m done dealing with this shit. Get out right now.”
“Aw hyung really? This is the amount of love I was able to foster all these years? This is how you care for your sweet little dongsaeng? I’m hurt, hyung. Let me complain to Yoon hyung, just you wait.”
“Oh hello Mr. Tattletale, if anybody’s complaints are going to reach him, it’s mine and about you. I don’t understand why he hasn’t put you on a leash yet.”
“Ew hyung, we’re brothers.”
By now, the duo standing outside considered it pretty safe to enter the room and demand if what they’re seeing in the hallway is just diluted tomato juice because the situation sure as hell doesn’t look tense.
“I swear to god Kim—,”
They both enter the room only for Jeongguk to be pushed back outside harshly by a colliding body rushing out, giggling.
“What the fuck?” he says as he seizes the stranger’s hand and balances himself from falling. He is ready with his trademark glare that might show with the bruising grip he has on the other already and a rant to watch the fucking route you’re going through but then, he looks up.
His heart stops for the second time that day. His hold loosens.
“I-I’m Taetae, n-nice to meet you,”
“Oh? Call me Jeonggukie then.”
The stranger all but throws Jeongguk away from him with a lethal scowl as he lands on the opposite wall of the corridor. The stranger gives him a look that seems grounding yet a little tentative for a reason, and promptly takes off after that.
He can faintly hear Yugyeom rushing up to him along with a few others he doesn’t recognize and their interrogations about him being okay, but he can’t really register any of them. His eyes follow the bruised face he has just seen sprinting down the corner, not turning even once to look at him and yet—yet he knew he wasn’t delusional with the eye contact they shared not a second ago.
But how can they both be the same?
Maybe this guy just exceeded Jeongguk’s expectations.