CHINGUX 2014: a dude worth fighting for (1/1) for canadaphile
Title: A Dude Worth Fighting For
Author: kojafras
Recipient: canadaphile
Pairing/Focus: Chanyeol/Kyungsoo, side!Baekhyun/Jongdae
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Length: 3210
Summary: Beauty is only skin deep. Chanyeol knows that, but Baekhyun and Jongdae disagree. Luckily, there’s someone there to back him up.
“Are you excited?” Jongdae is practically on top of him, leaning all of his weight onto the taller man without care.
“I don’t know. I can’t feel my neck,” Chanyeol mumbles into the desk, standing as soon as Jongdae sits up. He exaggerates his stretch and groans as the joints in his shoulders pop. Jongdae rolls his eyes. “Remind me again why you’re coming along,” Chanyeol grunts, looking over his shoulder as he exits the room.
He runs right into another student and apologizes profusely, scooping up her books for her and offering them back with an apologetic grin. She huffs and snatches the textbooks back, not sparing him another look. Chanyeol frowns and adjusts his glasses atop his nose. It’s not uncommon for him to get that response, but he’s still a little hurt each time he’s snubbed or looked down upon-which is hard, considering he’s one of the tallest students in the school. Another student he hadn’t noticed catches his gaze and hurriedly hides his face behind a huge textbook and runs away when Chanyeol offers him a grin. He turns back to face Jongdae and catches the pitying look before it morphs into indifference.
“It’s the braces,” his friend insists, pointing to his own spotless set of pearly-whites. Chanyeol stares at his feet and brings a hand up to poke at the metal brackets on his front teeth forlornly. Jongdae slaps him on the back. “Won’t be a problem much longer.”
Chanyeol leads the way to his beat up minivan and spares one last look for the classroom on the third floor before starting the engine.
“You’re still worried,” Jongdae observes.
Chanyeol sighs. “I’ve never missed a practice.”
“You’re off the hook, you have a doctor’s note,” Jongdae reminds him, a little impatiently. “Now let’s go or we’ll be late!”
He can’t believe he’s doing this. Chanyeol’s had his braces since sophomore year in high school and they had stuck with him through hard and trying times, most notably Senior Prom where he had tried to make out with his date and she had politely asked for him to drive her home after her tongue had gotten caught in his wires. His glasses he’s had even longer than that; the frames perched on his nose are ones he had picked out in middle school after he’d told his parents that the writing on the whiteboard was always blurry. They were huge at the time, had made him the butt of quite a few jokes, but now they fit. Sort of. They’re broken and taped but whatever. Chanyeol likes them.
“I need pictures as soon as they come off,” Jongdae says, making himself comfortable in the seat beside Chanyeol. “Yura and your parents asked me for before and after pictures so smile!”
Chanyeol blinks as the flash blinds him and the orthodontist silently fumes at his side, opening her mouth to offer to lead Jongdae to the waiting room. Again. As if Jongdae would let that happen. He’s too excited, squirming in his seat as he promises to keep silent. “You won’t even notice I’m here,” he says. Chanyeol highly doubts that, but he can’t say anything around the utensils in his mouth, so he waits patiently as the woman turns back to him and gets to work.
An hour later, Chanyeol’s mouth is metal-free. He hastily thanks the orthodontist for her work and drags Jongdae out of the building before he can get on the bad side of every single person that works there.
They climb back into the minivan and Jongdae shouts, “SMILE!” before snapping a picture of Chanyeol and sending it off to everyone on his contacts list. Chanyeol spares a moment to run his tongue over smooth teeth, marveling at the slippery surface, before starting the van and driving over to the next destination.
Laser eye surgery is a whole lot more frightening than Chanyeol thought it would be. Knowing something’s going to cut into his eye and actually seeing said something is a whole different ballpark, and Chanyeol nearly squeezes the life out of Jongdae when they enter the smaller room.
The practitioner is nice though, a young dark-haired man fresh from college, and he thinks Jongdae is funny for some reason, so the process itself isn’t really that bad. When Chanyeol opens his eyes, he can see with clarity even better than what his glasses offered, and he sadly tucks the obsolete spectacles into his pocket.
The man wishes them off cheerfully, handing Chanyeol eye drops and caretaking instructions, suggests that he should probably come back every few years so that they can run a check up and decide whether he needs another surgery or not. Then he turns to Jongdae and hands him his number to which Jongdae thanks him with a lecherous grin and this time Chanyeol has to literally drag him out of the building.
Waiting outside for them is a familiar face.
“Get in the car or we’re going to be late,” Baekhyun hisses without bite, claiming shotgun as soon as Chanyeol unlocks the doors.
“What are we going to be late for?” Chanyeol asks, eyes narrowing at both of his friends. “Where are we going? Wait, how’d you even find out about today?” Chanyeol getting his braces off and the long-awaited laser eye surgery was supposed to be a family secret, until Yura messed up and called Jongdae. Chanyeol groans as Baekhyun and Jongdae share a look and really, he should’ve known.
“A little birdie told me,” Baekhyun says in a singsong tone, reaching back to pat Jongdae on the head. “I don’t like anything half done. You’re getting a full makeover a la Baekhyun. I’m going to do everything short of buying you a new car, even though I really, really want to because this thing is awful I can’t even believe I’m sitting in it.” He ignores Chanyeol’s offended gasp. “So, let’s go. The salon won’t take you if you miss your appointment, which I so kindly made just for you. Because I love and care about you.”
Chanyeol scoffs but follows the directions on his phone after Baekhyun gives him the address, and tries to ignore his friends. It’s hard though, especially when Jongdae shows Baekhyun the paper with the numbers hastily scrawled on it.
“Was he hot?” Baekhyun prompts, face serious.
“Extremely,” Jongdae sighs wistfully. “But he could never look as good in a dress as you do, babe.”
Chanyeol purposefully slams on the brakes at the red light and relishes the cries of pain as Jongdae and Baekhyun knock heads. But then they go ahead and make out anyway and Chanyeol wishes he had eject buttons.
“Park in the front row,” Baekhyun orders, pointing to a reserved space.
Chanyeol does so and informs his friend of the spit around his lips before climbing out of the car. Jongdae and Baekhyun do a quick clean up-they’ve had a lot of practice-before throwing the doors to the salon open and greeting absolutely everyone that works there.
Chanyeol ends up in the back, a busty woman standing behind him with an apron in hand, and Baekhyun and Jongdae sprawled in the empty seats on either side of him. Chanyeol can’t believe they come here this often but Baekhyun gives him a look and informs him that roots are a bitch to do alone, gesturing to his ashy blond hair. Jongdae nods in agreement.
They end up compromising. Jongdae desperately wants Chanyeol to just bleach all of hair because, “that would be neat.” Baekhyun briefly contemplates neon red before settling on a nice, light brown and Chanyeol jumps at the relatively tame suggestion and the hairdresser behind him agrees that it would nice on him before fetching the dye. Baekhyun also wants Chanyeol to get a perm, but Jongdae disagrees, thinks they should just trim his floppy hair and style it. Chanyeol wastes no time in agreeing and the hairdresser appears behind him in mere seconds with an excited smile and scissors in hand.
It’s quite possibly the most time-consuming experience of Chanyeol’s day, but it just might be worth it when he sees his hair dyed a chestnut brown and styled up, out of his face. It feels a little odd without his bangs hiding his forehead and falling into his eyes, but he thinks he likes it. He genuinely thanks the hairdresser and agrees when she asks for a picture.
Baekhyun and Jongdae snicker behind him as they leave and Chanyeol waits until they’re in the car before demanding what’s so funny.
Jongdae schools his expression and stares at Chanyeol. “Your hair looks sexy pushed back.”
Baekhyun erupts into laughter and Chanyeol sighs.
But that isn’t the end of it.
Baekhyun demands to go to the mall and Chanyeol tries to ask Jongdae to reel in his boyfriend through a series of eye signals sent through the rearview mirror, but Jongdae just smiles and Chanyeol sighs in defeat. He bemoans all the missed homework he’ll have to do tomorrow and Baekhyun brushes him off because this is far more important, he argues.
They buy expensive hair gel that Baekhyun states is necessary and then a whole new wardrobe for Chanyeol that consists of skinny jeans, white tees, and a leather jacket because Jongdae and Baekhyun beg for him to buy it after he tries it on, and it’s the only way to get them off the floor after they throw themselves at his feet.
Chanyeol draws the line at make up. Baekhyun pouts and Jongdae pats his back, whispering that, “tomorrow is another day.”
Chanyeol is exhausted once he finally gets back to his apartment after dropping his friends off at their shared home. He drops his bags of clothing and hair product at the door and flops onto his bed, still dressed in the hoodie and ripped pants Baekhyun had deemed inadequate. He checks his phone for missed calls and regrets it because it’s only a minute of Yura screaming because of how cute he’d looked in the pictures Jongdae had sent her.
-
Baekhyun’s fist is raised to knock on the door when Chanyeol opens it, ready to head out.
“I was worried it was all a dream,” Baekhyun says, voice just above a whisper as he reaches up to touch Chanyeol’s hair, but pulls his hands back last second before he can ruin it. “Wait. Did you shower?”
Chanyeol nods.
“So, wait,” Jongdae speaks up from behind Baekhyun, “you styled it?”
Chanyeol shrugs. “I watched a youtube video.”
Jongdae cheers. Baekhyun wipes away an imaginary tear and says, “My baby’s all grown up.”
Rolling his eyes, Chanyeol shuffles past the both of them and shoves his hands in his pockets, not even blinking when the two join him on either side, threading their arms through his.
The three of them have been friends since elementary school, back when Chanyeol was a chubby little kid who was allergic to everything and Baekhyun and Jongdae were standoffish brats who relied on Chanyeol for alibis. Nothing’s really changed since then. Even when Baekhyun and Jongdae started dating, their dynamics remained the same-other than the spit swapping they do in front of Chanyeol. He could live without that-and they’re really his only friends. Chanyeol’s never been talked to about anything other than homework. The braces-glasses combo along with a backpack full of extra credit was usually enough to scare most people off.
So when Chanyeol steps on campus, he’s not prepared for the attention. He switches his gaze to the ground and he thinks he can hear, “Wait. Is that Park Chanyeol?”
Baekhyun practically glows under the attention to his much taller friend, proudly holding his arm like they’re walking down the red carpet. He even stops to wave and Jongdae muffles his laughter in Chanyeol’s shoulder.
They leave him at the math building, where his first class is. Baekhyun worries over him, telling him to sit straight and not to fiddle, and Jongdae picks invisible lint off his shoulders before they head off to the music building.
But no amount of fancy clothing or hair product can change his klutziness, which is just a part of who he is. So when he turns to walk to class, he runs straight into someone and all her books fall to the floor. Chanyeol apologizes profusely, bending down to pick up all the fallen books and offer them to the blonde girl with a small smile.
“Oh, it’s no problem,” she assures him, taking her books back with an equally bright smile and Chanyeol gapes. This is different. She hands him a piece of paper and then rushes away, hiding her face with her hand.
Chanyeol looks down at the paper. It’s her phone number.
-
If he thought that was going to be it, Chanyeol was sorely mistaken. The rest of the week was filled with lingering glances and numbers slipped in handshakes, along with weird compliments about his ass.
“It’s the jeans,” Baekhyun decided upon hearing about it. “They work wonders, considering you have a really flat butt. Now, Jongdae, on the other hand-”
Chanyeol had shut the conversation down right there. Contrary to what Jongdae and Baekhyun think, Chanyeol doesn’t really like the new attention garnered from his change in appearance. While he likes waking up with the ability to actually see where he’s going-though he still walks into walls regardless-and find it fun to style his hair, he knows that if he looked the way he did just a couple weeks ago, these people wouldn’t pay him another glance. Even his fellow mathletes had given him a second glance, thinking him to be a new member before he’d opened his mouth and realization and disappointment flash across their features.
The library offers no solace, because he’s had people walking up to chat with him while he tries to work, so he tries somewhere else. It’s the end of the week and he just wants to be alone for a bit. He heads to the second floor of the library, where the study rooms are, and ducks into the first unlocked door, sagging against the wall.
“Um…”
Chanyeol’s eyes flash open and he catches inquisitive eyes peeking at him over the top of a textbook. He flails, pulling himself to his feet. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even see you there. I’ll go now. I’m really sorry.” He turns to the door and reaches for the handle.
“No, it’s okay. You can stay.”
Chanyeol looks over his shoulder and sees that the boy has already gone back to his book. “Thanks,” he whispers because it is a study room, after all, and pulls out a chair across from the other student and sits down. He reaches into his backpack and pulls out his favorite hoodie. He tugs it on, even though it’s starting to get warmer, and breathes in the comforting smell of his apartment and cheap laundry detergent. On the glass surface of the table, he catches his reflection peripherally and frowns. That isn’t the Park Chanyeol he remembers from the Math Honor Society in high school or the regional mathlete competition last year. He sighs and sings, “When will my reflection show,” he pets mirror image Park Chanyeol’s face affectionately and whispers, “who I am inside?”
“Hey, uh, Chanyeol, are you okay?”
Chanyeol snaps to attention and sits straight, pointing an accusing finger at textbook-boy. “You know who I am.” He narrows his eyes. “But I don’t know you.”
The boy adverts his eyes. “We had freshman English together last year. I’m in your chem lab.”
Chanyeol blinks. Then he beams as he recognizes the face. “Oh, you’re the one who sits in the back! Do Kyungsoo, right?”
“Yeah,” the boy answers with a shy smile. “You know my name,” he marvels, voice soft.
“‘Course I do, man,” Chanyeol brags, relaxing and leaning back to rest his feet on the chair next to Do Kyungsoo. “I know everyone.”
The boy pushes his textbook to the side and gives Chanyeol his full attention. “So… what’s wrong? Why are you singing Mulan songs?”
“You know the song!” Chanyeol beams. “And, um, I don’t know. I guess I’m just a little down about my teeth. And eyes. And hair.”
Do Kyungsoo bites his lip and makes a confused sound that is utterly adorable how had Chanyeol never noticed this boy. “You don’t like them?”
“No, no, I do. I just,” Chanyeol hums in thought, “people are treating me differently. That’s what I don’t like. A lot of people are talking to me now and it’s a lot to take in and I can’t help feeling it’s all on false pretenses.”
“I would have talked to you!”
Chanyeol blinks at the sudden outburst.
“I mean, um, I would have. I just. I was going to, but you always seemed busy? And then you got a lot hotter and I didn’t think you would want to talk to me so…” Do Kyungsoo seems to realize that he’s babbling because he stops and takes a deep breath. “I liked you when you had braces. I especially liked your glasses.”
“You have a glasses kink?”
Do Kyungsoo gasps in outrage. “I do not!”
Chanyeol laughs. “Relax. Kidding.” He scratches his arm absentmindedly. “So, um, you were saying something about how you had a crush on me?”
“I wasn-um. Maybe.”
Chanyeol beams. “You’re cute. So, let’s say you summed up the courage to actually talk to me. What would you have said?”
“It wasn’t a problem with courage,” the boy snaps. “And, well, I probably would have asked you if you wanted to go out on a date with me. But that’s before I found out how dumb you are, so I take it all back.”
Chanyeol holds a hand to his chest in mock hurt. He notices Do Kyungsoo’s smile and feels his chest get all warm. “Let’s say I said yes. What then?”
“I probably would have asked you what night you were free.” Chanyeol opens his mouth but the boy continues speaking, “but now, I’m going to ask you if you want to do dinner tonight.”
“I’d love to,” Chanyeol says sincerely, because wow. This guy is cute. He hastily scrawls his number on a piece of ripped notebook paper and passes it across the table, grinning when the boy whips out his phone and not long after, a cheerful ring sounds from Chanyeol’s own phone.
“I’ll, um, see you tonight then, Chanyeol?”
“Wouldn’t miss it, Do Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol returns cheerfully. He picks up his things and heads for the door.
“Oh,” Kyungsoo speaks up, voice muffled behind his textbook, “if you’re missing your glasses you could try lensless ones?” He suggests softly, and then even quieter, he adds, “You would look cute in them.”
Chanyeol nods and practically skips out the door, taking out his phone as soon as he leaves the library. He adds Kyungsoo in as cute textbook boy and quickly sends off a text to Jongdae and Baekhyun asking them where to find cheap but sturdy lensless glasses. One of them is bound to know and Chanyeol feels like he’ll be wearing them very often.
Author: kojafras
Recipient: canadaphile
Pairing/Focus: Chanyeol/Kyungsoo, side!Baekhyun/Jongdae
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Length: 3210
Summary: Beauty is only skin deep. Chanyeol knows that, but Baekhyun and Jongdae disagree. Luckily, there’s someone there to back him up.
“Are you excited?” Jongdae is practically on top of him, leaning all of his weight onto the taller man without care.
“I don’t know. I can’t feel my neck,” Chanyeol mumbles into the desk, standing as soon as Jongdae sits up. He exaggerates his stretch and groans as the joints in his shoulders pop. Jongdae rolls his eyes. “Remind me again why you’re coming along,” Chanyeol grunts, looking over his shoulder as he exits the room.
He runs right into another student and apologizes profusely, scooping up her books for her and offering them back with an apologetic grin. She huffs and snatches the textbooks back, not sparing him another look. Chanyeol frowns and adjusts his glasses atop his nose. It’s not uncommon for him to get that response, but he’s still a little hurt each time he’s snubbed or looked down upon-which is hard, considering he’s one of the tallest students in the school. Another student he hadn’t noticed catches his gaze and hurriedly hides his face behind a huge textbook and runs away when Chanyeol offers him a grin. He turns back to face Jongdae and catches the pitying look before it morphs into indifference.
“It’s the braces,” his friend insists, pointing to his own spotless set of pearly-whites. Chanyeol stares at his feet and brings a hand up to poke at the metal brackets on his front teeth forlornly. Jongdae slaps him on the back. “Won’t be a problem much longer.”
Chanyeol leads the way to his beat up minivan and spares one last look for the classroom on the third floor before starting the engine.
“You’re still worried,” Jongdae observes.
Chanyeol sighs. “I’ve never missed a practice.”
“You’re off the hook, you have a doctor’s note,” Jongdae reminds him, a little impatiently. “Now let’s go or we’ll be late!”
He can’t believe he’s doing this. Chanyeol’s had his braces since sophomore year in high school and they had stuck with him through hard and trying times, most notably Senior Prom where he had tried to make out with his date and she had politely asked for him to drive her home after her tongue had gotten caught in his wires. His glasses he’s had even longer than that; the frames perched on his nose are ones he had picked out in middle school after he’d told his parents that the writing on the whiteboard was always blurry. They were huge at the time, had made him the butt of quite a few jokes, but now they fit. Sort of. They’re broken and taped but whatever. Chanyeol likes them.
“I need pictures as soon as they come off,” Jongdae says, making himself comfortable in the seat beside Chanyeol. “Yura and your parents asked me for before and after pictures so smile!”
Chanyeol blinks as the flash blinds him and the orthodontist silently fumes at his side, opening her mouth to offer to lead Jongdae to the waiting room. Again. As if Jongdae would let that happen. He’s too excited, squirming in his seat as he promises to keep silent. “You won’t even notice I’m here,” he says. Chanyeol highly doubts that, but he can’t say anything around the utensils in his mouth, so he waits patiently as the woman turns back to him and gets to work.
An hour later, Chanyeol’s mouth is metal-free. He hastily thanks the orthodontist for her work and drags Jongdae out of the building before he can get on the bad side of every single person that works there.
They climb back into the minivan and Jongdae shouts, “SMILE!” before snapping a picture of Chanyeol and sending it off to everyone on his contacts list. Chanyeol spares a moment to run his tongue over smooth teeth, marveling at the slippery surface, before starting the van and driving over to the next destination.
Laser eye surgery is a whole lot more frightening than Chanyeol thought it would be. Knowing something’s going to cut into his eye and actually seeing said something is a whole different ballpark, and Chanyeol nearly squeezes the life out of Jongdae when they enter the smaller room.
The practitioner is nice though, a young dark-haired man fresh from college, and he thinks Jongdae is funny for some reason, so the process itself isn’t really that bad. When Chanyeol opens his eyes, he can see with clarity even better than what his glasses offered, and he sadly tucks the obsolete spectacles into his pocket.
The man wishes them off cheerfully, handing Chanyeol eye drops and caretaking instructions, suggests that he should probably come back every few years so that they can run a check up and decide whether he needs another surgery or not. Then he turns to Jongdae and hands him his number to which Jongdae thanks him with a lecherous grin and this time Chanyeol has to literally drag him out of the building.
Waiting outside for them is a familiar face.
“Get in the car or we’re going to be late,” Baekhyun hisses without bite, claiming shotgun as soon as Chanyeol unlocks the doors.
“What are we going to be late for?” Chanyeol asks, eyes narrowing at both of his friends. “Where are we going? Wait, how’d you even find out about today?” Chanyeol getting his braces off and the long-awaited laser eye surgery was supposed to be a family secret, until Yura messed up and called Jongdae. Chanyeol groans as Baekhyun and Jongdae share a look and really, he should’ve known.
“A little birdie told me,” Baekhyun says in a singsong tone, reaching back to pat Jongdae on the head. “I don’t like anything half done. You’re getting a full makeover a la Baekhyun. I’m going to do everything short of buying you a new car, even though I really, really want to because this thing is awful I can’t even believe I’m sitting in it.” He ignores Chanyeol’s offended gasp. “So, let’s go. The salon won’t take you if you miss your appointment, which I so kindly made just for you. Because I love and care about you.”
Chanyeol scoffs but follows the directions on his phone after Baekhyun gives him the address, and tries to ignore his friends. It’s hard though, especially when Jongdae shows Baekhyun the paper with the numbers hastily scrawled on it.
“Was he hot?” Baekhyun prompts, face serious.
“Extremely,” Jongdae sighs wistfully. “But he could never look as good in a dress as you do, babe.”
Chanyeol purposefully slams on the brakes at the red light and relishes the cries of pain as Jongdae and Baekhyun knock heads. But then they go ahead and make out anyway and Chanyeol wishes he had eject buttons.
“Park in the front row,” Baekhyun orders, pointing to a reserved space.
Chanyeol does so and informs his friend of the spit around his lips before climbing out of the car. Jongdae and Baekhyun do a quick clean up-they’ve had a lot of practice-before throwing the doors to the salon open and greeting absolutely everyone that works there.
Chanyeol ends up in the back, a busty woman standing behind him with an apron in hand, and Baekhyun and Jongdae sprawled in the empty seats on either side of him. Chanyeol can’t believe they come here this often but Baekhyun gives him a look and informs him that roots are a bitch to do alone, gesturing to his ashy blond hair. Jongdae nods in agreement.
They end up compromising. Jongdae desperately wants Chanyeol to just bleach all of hair because, “that would be neat.” Baekhyun briefly contemplates neon red before settling on a nice, light brown and Chanyeol jumps at the relatively tame suggestion and the hairdresser behind him agrees that it would nice on him before fetching the dye. Baekhyun also wants Chanyeol to get a perm, but Jongdae disagrees, thinks they should just trim his floppy hair and style it. Chanyeol wastes no time in agreeing and the hairdresser appears behind him in mere seconds with an excited smile and scissors in hand.
It’s quite possibly the most time-consuming experience of Chanyeol’s day, but it just might be worth it when he sees his hair dyed a chestnut brown and styled up, out of his face. It feels a little odd without his bangs hiding his forehead and falling into his eyes, but he thinks he likes it. He genuinely thanks the hairdresser and agrees when she asks for a picture.
Baekhyun and Jongdae snicker behind him as they leave and Chanyeol waits until they’re in the car before demanding what’s so funny.
Jongdae schools his expression and stares at Chanyeol. “Your hair looks sexy pushed back.”
Baekhyun erupts into laughter and Chanyeol sighs.
But that isn’t the end of it.
Baekhyun demands to go to the mall and Chanyeol tries to ask Jongdae to reel in his boyfriend through a series of eye signals sent through the rearview mirror, but Jongdae just smiles and Chanyeol sighs in defeat. He bemoans all the missed homework he’ll have to do tomorrow and Baekhyun brushes him off because this is far more important, he argues.
They buy expensive hair gel that Baekhyun states is necessary and then a whole new wardrobe for Chanyeol that consists of skinny jeans, white tees, and a leather jacket because Jongdae and Baekhyun beg for him to buy it after he tries it on, and it’s the only way to get them off the floor after they throw themselves at his feet.
Chanyeol draws the line at make up. Baekhyun pouts and Jongdae pats his back, whispering that, “tomorrow is another day.”
Chanyeol is exhausted once he finally gets back to his apartment after dropping his friends off at their shared home. He drops his bags of clothing and hair product at the door and flops onto his bed, still dressed in the hoodie and ripped pants Baekhyun had deemed inadequate. He checks his phone for missed calls and regrets it because it’s only a minute of Yura screaming because of how cute he’d looked in the pictures Jongdae had sent her.
-
Baekhyun’s fist is raised to knock on the door when Chanyeol opens it, ready to head out.
“I was worried it was all a dream,” Baekhyun says, voice just above a whisper as he reaches up to touch Chanyeol’s hair, but pulls his hands back last second before he can ruin it. “Wait. Did you shower?”
Chanyeol nods.
“So, wait,” Jongdae speaks up from behind Baekhyun, “you styled it?”
Chanyeol shrugs. “I watched a youtube video.”
Jongdae cheers. Baekhyun wipes away an imaginary tear and says, “My baby’s all grown up.”
Rolling his eyes, Chanyeol shuffles past the both of them and shoves his hands in his pockets, not even blinking when the two join him on either side, threading their arms through his.
The three of them have been friends since elementary school, back when Chanyeol was a chubby little kid who was allergic to everything and Baekhyun and Jongdae were standoffish brats who relied on Chanyeol for alibis. Nothing’s really changed since then. Even when Baekhyun and Jongdae started dating, their dynamics remained the same-other than the spit swapping they do in front of Chanyeol. He could live without that-and they’re really his only friends. Chanyeol’s never been talked to about anything other than homework. The braces-glasses combo along with a backpack full of extra credit was usually enough to scare most people off.
So when Chanyeol steps on campus, he’s not prepared for the attention. He switches his gaze to the ground and he thinks he can hear, “Wait. Is that Park Chanyeol?”
Baekhyun practically glows under the attention to his much taller friend, proudly holding his arm like they’re walking down the red carpet. He even stops to wave and Jongdae muffles his laughter in Chanyeol’s shoulder.
They leave him at the math building, where his first class is. Baekhyun worries over him, telling him to sit straight and not to fiddle, and Jongdae picks invisible lint off his shoulders before they head off to the music building.
But no amount of fancy clothing or hair product can change his klutziness, which is just a part of who he is. So when he turns to walk to class, he runs straight into someone and all her books fall to the floor. Chanyeol apologizes profusely, bending down to pick up all the fallen books and offer them to the blonde girl with a small smile.
“Oh, it’s no problem,” she assures him, taking her books back with an equally bright smile and Chanyeol gapes. This is different. She hands him a piece of paper and then rushes away, hiding her face with her hand.
Chanyeol looks down at the paper. It’s her phone number.
-
If he thought that was going to be it, Chanyeol was sorely mistaken. The rest of the week was filled with lingering glances and numbers slipped in handshakes, along with weird compliments about his ass.
“It’s the jeans,” Baekhyun decided upon hearing about it. “They work wonders, considering you have a really flat butt. Now, Jongdae, on the other hand-”
Chanyeol had shut the conversation down right there. Contrary to what Jongdae and Baekhyun think, Chanyeol doesn’t really like the new attention garnered from his change in appearance. While he likes waking up with the ability to actually see where he’s going-though he still walks into walls regardless-and find it fun to style his hair, he knows that if he looked the way he did just a couple weeks ago, these people wouldn’t pay him another glance. Even his fellow mathletes had given him a second glance, thinking him to be a new member before he’d opened his mouth and realization and disappointment flash across their features.
The library offers no solace, because he’s had people walking up to chat with him while he tries to work, so he tries somewhere else. It’s the end of the week and he just wants to be alone for a bit. He heads to the second floor of the library, where the study rooms are, and ducks into the first unlocked door, sagging against the wall.
“Um…”
Chanyeol’s eyes flash open and he catches inquisitive eyes peeking at him over the top of a textbook. He flails, pulling himself to his feet. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even see you there. I’ll go now. I’m really sorry.” He turns to the door and reaches for the handle.
“No, it’s okay. You can stay.”
Chanyeol looks over his shoulder and sees that the boy has already gone back to his book. “Thanks,” he whispers because it is a study room, after all, and pulls out a chair across from the other student and sits down. He reaches into his backpack and pulls out his favorite hoodie. He tugs it on, even though it’s starting to get warmer, and breathes in the comforting smell of his apartment and cheap laundry detergent. On the glass surface of the table, he catches his reflection peripherally and frowns. That isn’t the Park Chanyeol he remembers from the Math Honor Society in high school or the regional mathlete competition last year. He sighs and sings, “When will my reflection show,” he pets mirror image Park Chanyeol’s face affectionately and whispers, “who I am inside?”
“Hey, uh, Chanyeol, are you okay?”
Chanyeol snaps to attention and sits straight, pointing an accusing finger at textbook-boy. “You know who I am.” He narrows his eyes. “But I don’t know you.”
The boy adverts his eyes. “We had freshman English together last year. I’m in your chem lab.”
Chanyeol blinks. Then he beams as he recognizes the face. “Oh, you’re the one who sits in the back! Do Kyungsoo, right?”
“Yeah,” the boy answers with a shy smile. “You know my name,” he marvels, voice soft.
“‘Course I do, man,” Chanyeol brags, relaxing and leaning back to rest his feet on the chair next to Do Kyungsoo. “I know everyone.”
The boy pushes his textbook to the side and gives Chanyeol his full attention. “So… what’s wrong? Why are you singing Mulan songs?”
“You know the song!” Chanyeol beams. “And, um, I don’t know. I guess I’m just a little down about my teeth. And eyes. And hair.”
Do Kyungsoo bites his lip and makes a confused sound that is utterly adorable how had Chanyeol never noticed this boy. “You don’t like them?”
“No, no, I do. I just,” Chanyeol hums in thought, “people are treating me differently. That’s what I don’t like. A lot of people are talking to me now and it’s a lot to take in and I can’t help feeling it’s all on false pretenses.”
“I would have talked to you!”
Chanyeol blinks at the sudden outburst.
“I mean, um, I would have. I just. I was going to, but you always seemed busy? And then you got a lot hotter and I didn’t think you would want to talk to me so…” Do Kyungsoo seems to realize that he’s babbling because he stops and takes a deep breath. “I liked you when you had braces. I especially liked your glasses.”
“You have a glasses kink?”
Do Kyungsoo gasps in outrage. “I do not!”
Chanyeol laughs. “Relax. Kidding.” He scratches his arm absentmindedly. “So, um, you were saying something about how you had a crush on me?”
“I wasn-um. Maybe.”
Chanyeol beams. “You’re cute. So, let’s say you summed up the courage to actually talk to me. What would you have said?”
“It wasn’t a problem with courage,” the boy snaps. “And, well, I probably would have asked you if you wanted to go out on a date with me. But that’s before I found out how dumb you are, so I take it all back.”
Chanyeol holds a hand to his chest in mock hurt. He notices Do Kyungsoo’s smile and feels his chest get all warm. “Let’s say I said yes. What then?”
“I probably would have asked you what night you were free.” Chanyeol opens his mouth but the boy continues speaking, “but now, I’m going to ask you if you want to do dinner tonight.”
“I’d love to,” Chanyeol says sincerely, because wow. This guy is cute. He hastily scrawls his number on a piece of ripped notebook paper and passes it across the table, grinning when the boy whips out his phone and not long after, a cheerful ring sounds from Chanyeol’s own phone.
“I’ll, um, see you tonight then, Chanyeol?”
“Wouldn’t miss it, Do Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol returns cheerfully. He picks up his things and heads for the door.
“Oh,” Kyungsoo speaks up, voice muffled behind his textbook, “if you’re missing your glasses you could try lensless ones?” He suggests softly, and then even quieter, he adds, “You would look cute in them.”
Chanyeol nods and practically skips out the door, taking out his phone as soon as he leaves the library. He adds Kyungsoo in as cute textbook boy and quickly sends off a text to Jongdae and Baekhyun asking them where to find cheap but sturdy lensless glasses. One of them is bound to know and Chanyeol feels like he’ll be wearing them very often.