ONE. she mumbled something (while we got down on the floor, baby)
PG-13. Nichkhun, mentions of Nichkhun/Yoobin.
4,553 w. Nichkhun is a new student at DAEBAK U, gets invited to a partyyyy!
Notes: thank you to freefallskyline for editing! dedicating this to janbabyableprimline (ok, it's 3AM leave me alone on the smush), this is only the beginning of our insane monster love-child ♥
she mumbled something (while we
got down on the floor, baby)
SPOTTED
Yoon Doojoon, the new soccer captain, gathering up the old soccer team for the upcoming tryouts; Kwon Jiyong buying million-dollar shoes in preparation for a new school semester; Park Bom and Lee Hyori having coffee at Starbucks, discussing their hot new curriculum - or maybe their hot new students? - with Dara Park; and... what’s this, a new student transferring into DAEBAK U? Turns out DAEBAK is getting its first Thai Prince - and his name? Nichkhun Horvejkul.
If there’s one thing Nichkhun has learned from moving around so much, it’s that change is a welcome breath of fresh air. Except this kind of change is terrifying and nerve-wracking. He wipes his sweaty palms down the length of his jeans, consulting first his schedule and then the clock plastered to the wall across from him. His schedule tells him that class should have started over fifteen minutes ago, which is odd because he’s the only one in the large lecture hall.
After about five more minutes of drumming his fingers on the plastic desk, Nichkhun packs his things, finally deciding that he should just leave. He pauses when he reaches the exit, hesitant to leave just in case someone shows up. With a shake of his head he pushes the door open; if no one has shown up after half an hour, he doubts that anyone will come in now. Though, he thinks, it’d be just his luck to miss out on an important assembly or something of that sort.
Sighing, he starts off in the direction of his next class, which starts in two hours. He’s hoping he’ll have more luck with this one - perhaps find out if it’s been cancelled as well. Or even better, he could make a new friend! The thought brightens his bad mood slightly, until of course he gets lost. Nichkhun stares blankly at the arrow pointing him towards rooms 220-225 and 228-232. He’s damn sure that the sign is missing his classroom number, but he has no idea where to look.
He glares at the arrow, hoping helplessly that it’ll give him some sort of clue. It doesn’t, which causes Nichkhun to throw his hands up in the air in frustration. He walks around the corner in hopes of finding the missing room numbers, but is once again met with a dead end. It’s just his luck to get lost on the first day. He wants to laugh at himself for having a nonexistent sense of direction.
Nichkhun is startled when he hears loud voices from around the corner. Turning, he sees a few guys walk out of one of the rooms. They’re talking to each other, yelling things that Nichkhun doesn’t really understand since he’s never been one for sports, but he decides it’s his chance to ask about his dilemma.
One of the guys is walking in his direction, so Nichkhun approaches him. “Hi, excuse me?”
The guy looks up at him and in that moment Nichkhun realises just how short this guy is. “Yeah?”
“Can you tell me where rooms 226 and 227 are?” Nichkhun points to the room numbers on his schedule. “I’ve been looking for a while now and I just can’t seem to find them.”
The guy takes Nichkhun’s schedule from him and looks around the hallway. He ends up pointing to the door that he just came out of, a smile on his face as he hands the piece of paper back to Nichkhun. “There you go, man. Are you new here? I haven’t seen you around before.”
“Yes, I am. Can you tell?”
“You stick out,” he tells Nichkhun, eyes wandering over Nichkhun’s face, his clothes. “What year are you in?”
“I’m a junior,” Nichkhun says, and then sticks his hand out. “My name’s Nichkhun.”
“Jaebum, but you can call me Jay,” he says, taking Nichkhun’s hand into his and giving it a soft squeeze before letting go. “Junior? Really? They don't usually let kids transfer in that late.”
“Is it uncommon for people to transfer in halfway through?”
Jaebum shrugs. “Probably not for other universities, but for you to transfer into DAEBAK as a junior, it means one of three things. One, you’re really, really smart; two, your parents are filthy rich; or three, you’re really good-looking.”
“And if you’re here on a scholarship?” Nichkhun asks, genuinely curious, but Jay is looking at him oddly and he can’t help but feel a bit intimidated.
“Then you’re probably smart,” Jay ends up saying with a smile, clapping Nichkhun on the back. “Listen man, I’ve got a meeting to go to, so I’ll see you around, yeah?”
“Sure thing!” Nichkhun replies brightly, fixing the bag that’s slowly sliding off his shoulder. “Thanks for showing me where my class is. I thought I was going to be late.”
“No problem, now you won’t be late for when classes start next week.” Jay turns to walk away, stopping when Nichkhun makes an indescribable noise in his throat.
Classes. Start. Next. Week.
This has to be some kind of joke.
“I, I’m sorry, Jay, I think I misheard you. Did you say next week?”
“Yeah, man,” Jay says, walking backwards away from Nichkhun. “You didn’t think it was today, did you?”
Not wanting to seem like a loser, Nichkhun shakes his head quickly and Jay laughs.
“Good, can you imagine how much your life would suck if you actually thought today was the first day of school?” Jay is laughing and all Nichkhun can do is laugh along half-heartedly.
“Ye-yeah, only a loser would think it’s the first day.” Nichkhun’s laughter dies awkwardly on his lips, sticking in his throat, and suddenly he doesn’t know what to do with himself. His life sucks so much, and yes, he really is a loser.
“I’ll see you around, man!”
Nichkhun waves goodbye, sighing when Jay is finally out of his sight. “Today is such a good day,” he mutters under his breath, walking towards the exit of the school. He should have figured out that there were no classes. The empty classroom alone should have set off warning bells in his head, not to mention that the hallways were bare as well.
And of course, it’d be just his luck to not be looking where he’s going, causing him to bump into a really pretty girl. A really, really, really pretty girl. She’s huffing, swearing under her breath as she bends down to pick up the stuff she dropped.
“Here, let me help you,” Nichkhun says quickly, shifting his bag on his shoulder to make it easier to bend down and gather up the posters scattered on the floor.
“You should watch where you’re walking next time,” she says, frowning, as Nichkhun hands her the posters she dropped.
“I’m sorry,” Nichkhun says automatically. “Uhm, did you need any help with… anything?”
She scoffs at him. “And have you knock the posters out of my hands again? No, I’m good.”
“I, uhm, if you’re sure…”
“I’m absolutely-” she pauses, looking up at him in a way that makes Nichkhun wonder if there’s anything on his face - “positive.”
Nichkhun nods, and is about to pass over the last poster in his hand when he sees the title on it. “Hey, are you recruiting for this?”
“Possibly. Are you interested?”
“Yeah, I am. I need to join a club and all the ones that I’ve tried for are full - except the chess club. And the president said I don’t look smart enough.”
“Consider us full too, then. I don’t want you joining the photography club because it’s the next best thing and you have no other options left.” She snatches the poster out of his hand, which Nichkhun finds a bit rude, but the thought goes over his head because she’s really, really, pretty. “Photography is serious - it’s not about taking pictures of things you find pretty or odd, it’s about creating art, it’s about paying attention to how you’re composing the picture and to the message behind it.”
“Wow,” Nichkhun says after a while, and he figures she must’ve gotten embarrassed, because she’s turned away from him in favour of taping posters to the wall. “Sounds like you’ve given that speech a lot.”
“Sounds like you don’t know the first thing about photography.”
“My knowledge of photography is slightly limited,” Nichkhun admits hesitantly, trying not to flinch at the glare she sends his way, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to learn!”
“When you feel like you know everything there is to know about photography, you can join. Otherwise, don’t even think about it.”
Nichkhun is slightly offended, but that doesn’t stop him from following the very pretty girl down the hallway. He takes a few posters out of her hands, helping her post them along the wall.
“I hope you don’t think that by doing this, I’ll let you join.”
“But I’m willing to learn!” Nichkhun insists, taking the tape from her. “You can teach me!”
“I don’t have time to teach-”
“Why won’t you give me a chance? I mean, c’mon, you don’t even know my name!”
“Don’t care what it is.”
“It’s Nichkhun.”
“Great, you can stop bothering me now, Nichkhun.”
“Don’t you think you’re being awfully rude?” Nichkhun is starting to get upset; he no longer caring just how pretty this girl is, she's starting to get on his nerves. “I’m willing to join your club, and I’m genuinely interested in photography. And, if you’re going around advertising, it means that the photography club isn’t as popular as you make it out to be.”
“The photography club has members!”
“Like?”
“Me,” she says, and then her voice drifts off. She takes the rest of the posters that are placed on the ground and shoves them into Nichkhun’s hands. “And now you.”
If Nichkhun is surprised, he tries not to show it. He just smiles, bright and wide and eager, taking the last bit of tape from her to help put up the remaining posters.
“I don’t know your name,” he says as an afterthought, pressing a bright yellow poster to the wall.
“It’s Yeeun.”
*
Despite finding out that it’s not the first day of school, that he's basically commuted for an hour for nothing, it’s been a good day. He spends the day defacing the school walls with bright yellow and talking with Yeeun. Nichkhun doesn’t need to say much, he’ll say one thing and she’ll follow through with the right words that make him smile, laugh - little things that mean nothing and everything.
Yeeun is a storm, Nichkhun realises after she’s told about five or six freshmen that they can’t join the photography club because they don’t know what aperture means. He has half the mind to tell her that he’s not sure himself, but decides to keep his mouth shut when he sees just how annoyed she is.
“Do you always do that?” he asks, they’re almost done taping up the last of the posters.
“Do what?”
“Reject people who want to join the club.”
“Not always,” she answers, stringing her words out slowly for the first time in hours, “I just get protective of the club.”
“I didn’t notice.” Nichkhun’s lips quirk upwards when she hits his arm.
They fall into a comfortable silence. Yeeun is cutting tape and handing it to him, while Nichkhun sticks posters up on the walls. And they move around the rest of the school like this; sometimes Yeeun strikes up random bouts of conversation and other times Nichkhun enjoys not talking.
Of course, good things always come to an end.
When Nichkhun looks up after taping down the last poster, he sees two very, very pretty girls. One has a stack of cards in her hands, the other is texting on her cell phone, looking up every once in a while to add her input to the conversation. Yeeun looks at him curiously, eyes following his, sighing when she sees who he’s looking at.
“You’re joking,” she grumbles under her breath.
“I’m not staring - it’s not like that-”
But whatever explanation Nichkhun has thought up in his head is gone because these two very, very pretty girls have stopped walking, and now they’re standing in front of him and Yeeun.
The one holding the stack of cards is the first one to say something. “So this is the new kid.”
“Seems like it,” says the one holding her cell phone. “You should’ve brought him out to play, Yeeun, don’t be so selfish, especially since he has such a pretty face.”
Nichkhun feels his face heat up as the two girls continue to exchange words about his face.
“Here, take one and come tonight.” The girl with the stack of cards pushes one into his hand and Nichkhun’s fingers curl around it without hesitation. “I’m Yoobin, by the way.”
“Right, Yoobin. I’m Nichkhun.”
Yoobin smiles, teeth white and perfect, and she walks away with her friend at her heels, leaving behind a very dumbfounded Nichkhun. He stares after them, completely gobsmacked. The card in his hand is an invitation to a party starting at 9PM that night, invitation to be presented at the door, or else no entry allowed.
“Are you going to this?” Nichkhun looks at Yeeun, shaking the card in his hand in her face.
“No,” Yeeun replies, her expression darkening as she eyes the invitation, “I wasn’t invited.”
“Really? One of them seemed to know you, though.”
“You mean Sunye?”
“Er, sure, the one with the cell phone.”
“Yeah, we went to middle school together.” Yeeun starts packing her things, putting away the scissors and gathering up the mess they’ve made. “We never clicked - whatever, it was a long time ago. It doesn’t matter.”
“I see,” Nichkhun says. “Why don’t you come with me then?”
“What?”
“Go with me to this party.” He holds the card in his hand awkwardly, and he’s suddenly nervous. He’s never asked a girl - let alone a really, really pretty one - on a date before, and well, this is a Very Big Deal.
“I’m not wanted there.” Yeeun shakes her head as she slings her bag onto her shoulder. “There’s a reason I wasn’t given an invitation.”
“You said it was a long time ago,” Nichkhun insists, picking his own bag up from the floor and following her as she starts off down the hallway. “Besides, the invitation says I can bring one guest and I want to take you.”
“I’m not going to that stupid party, okay?”
“Yeeun, please come with me.” Nichkhun grabs her wrist to stop her from walking any further. “You’re the only friend I’ve made so far. And look, if this party sucks, we can ditch it and go watch a movie or something.”
“I’m not sure.”
“Please, please, please, please, please? I’ll get on my knees if I have to.”
“Oh fine,” she says, wrenching her wrist out of his grasp. “But we get to see a movie that I want to see.”
“Of course.”
Yeeun rolls her eyes. “Pick me up at the Park Diner at 8:00 p.m., then.”
“Okay, sure,” Nichkhun says, waving. He realises only once Yeeun is out of sight that he doesn't know her phone number, nor does he know where the Park Diner is.
Fuck. His. Life.
*
Where the hell is the Park Diner? Nichkhun looks around the school school, hoping to find someone to ask, but there is no one. Once again, his luck knows no bounds. He kicks at the door to take out his frustrations, but his foot collides with someone’s shin instead of with hard wood.
“Ow! What the hell!”
“Oh my god, I am so sorry,” Nichkhun apologises profusely, “I really meant to kick the door. I’m really - oh, Jay!”
“What was that for?” Jay is holding the door open, bending down to rub at his shin as Nichkhun just looks on, helpless. “God, that hurts.”
"I'm really sorry! I was just really frustrated, so I thought kicking the door was a good idea, but then... well." Nichkhun makes a helpless gesture with his hands. "I'm really sorry."
“Don’t worry about it, man,” Jay says with a wave of his arm, and he opens the door wide enough for Nichkhun to squeeze past him. “What’s up?”
“Nothing, I just - hey! Do you happen to know where the Park Diner is?”
“You really are new around here, aren’t you?” Jay laughs a little, walking down the steps of the school in unison with Nichkhun. “My parents own the Park Diner, it’s just two blocks south of the school.”
“Really? That’s your diner?”
“Yeah, man. Jay Park.” Jay points to himself. “Park Diner, baby.”
“That was really lame.”
“I… shut up,” Jay replies, then motions down the street. “C’mon, kid, I’ll show you where it is.”
*
The Park Diner isn’t big, but it isn’t small either. Nichkhun finds it very homey; he supposes it has to do with the fact that Jay’s mother reminds him of his own, not to mention that the food is fantastic. Jay makes him a sandwich that’s on the Level 1000 Jayness Sandwiches menu. The sandwich is perfect - king-sized mushrooms, grilled pork meat, and other things that Nichkhun doesn't know the names of, but it doesn't matter. It melts in his mouth like heaven, and hours later he can still taste it.
When Nichkhun tells Jay about his date with Yeeun, Jay laughs uncontrollably. He later finds out that Jay and Yeeun are childhood friends, that she works the register at the diner part-time, and that she hasn’t been asked out on a date since middle school. Nichkhun also learns that Jay is going to this Back to School party, that it’s a yearly tradition done by the popular girls at school, and that whether or not you go depends on your reputation.
Nichkhun meets Yeeun at the diner precisely at 8:00 p.m. He can tell she’s surprised with the way her eyes widen, her jaw dropping slightly. She composes herself quickly enough that he wonders if he’s seeing things, but she doesn’t give him a chance to really think about it, because she’s pushing him out the door and into the dark night. They walk in comfortable silence, only exchanging a few words. Nichkhun has his hands in his pockets, unsure if he should put an arm around Yeeun or grab her hand; twine his fingers around hers and just walk in silence. He leaves his hands in his pockets.
They arrive at the party at 8:45 p.m. and head to coat check.
“I thought these things were only for important dinners or something,” Nichkhun mumbles, but he must’ve been loud enough for Yeeun to hear because she laughs behind him.
“Shows how much you know about these things, you’re going to have to get used to it,” she says as she hands her jacket over the counter.
Nichkhun doesn’t reply as he follows Yeeun into the party room. He’s surprised by how many people are there already. The music is loud enough that he feels the beat pushing at his feet through the floor; the lights are spastic enough that he has to blink a couple of times to get used to them. Yeeun is saying something that he can’t hear, after a couple of tries she gives up, grabbing his wrist and leading him to the bar.
“I’m thirsty,” she says into his ear, proceeding to slide onto a barstool.
Nichkhun nods, bobbing his head to the music as a familiar song plays. He looks over at Yeeun when he feels her shake his shoulder.
“I’m going to go back to coat check,” she yells, “I think I left my money in my jacket pocket.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
Yeeun shakes her head, signalling that she’ll be back soon, and rushes out the door. Nichkhun sighs, getting up to follow after her, but stopping when he feels someone grab at his wrist. He turns around to see Yoobin sitting on the barstool that was occupied by Yeeun only a minute ago. Yoobin is leaning against the counter, fingers still gripping tightly onto Nichkhun’s wrist.
She smiles at him, tugging his wrist to bring him closer, whispers into his ear, “Dance with me?”
Nichkhun isn’t given much of a choice as she drags him to the middle of the dance floor, now filled with far more people than before. He doesn’t know why he dances with Yoobin - he should be back at the bar waiting for Yeeun - but Yoobin is really pretty. Her hands are laced behind his neck and his hands are on her waist, his hips trying to move in rhythm with the beat. He’s not all too sure how the dancing becomes more than dancing, how suddenly her thigh is in-between his legs, how she’s practically sitting on him, how her lips are sliding down the length of his neck.
He’s not sure how things progressed so quickly; he's sitting on a couch and Yoobin is straddling his hips. His hands move from her hips to fiddle with the hem of her skirt. Yoobin is kissing him, strong and hard with too much teeth and too little tongue, her fingers looping into his belt hoops. Nichkhun thinks, to hell with it, his hand going up her thigh, but as his hand reaches the edge of her underwear he stops.
He suddenly remembers where he is, remembers who he came to the party with and holy shit, holy shit, what is he doing? Nichkhun quickly takes his hand back and pries Yoobin away from him.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t,” he tells her, getting up from the couch.
“What? What do you mean, you can’t?” She yells over the music. “C’mon, the party’s just getting started.”
Nichkhun shakes his head, pushing Yoobin away when she tries to wrap an arm around his waist. “I can’t, I came here with someone.”
“It’s not about who you brought to the party,” Yoobin whispers into his ear, pressing up against him once more, “it’s about who you’re bringing home.”
“And that’s not you,” Nichkhun says, pushing her away for what he hopes is the last time.
He leaves Yoobin with her jaw hanging open. Nichkhun bolts for the door, not caring that the majority of the people in the room are staring at him, wide-eyed. His eyes quickly scan the bar and he’s not surprised to find that Yeeun isn’t there. The first place he looks is the coat check, asking the guy at the counter about Yeeun. He tells Nichkhun that she left and before he can say anything else, Nichkhun is already out the door.
He’s looking around the area with wide eyes, breathing heavily as his heart beat races. He decides to go to the diner, hoping beyond hope that he’ll find her there. As Nichkhun runs, jay-walking across both packed and empty streets, he berates himself for getting carried away with Yoobin. He is in disbelief that he let her get to him; he’s always been one for self-discipline, self-control - especially over his body. Except Yoobin made him crazy, put thoughts into his head that he entertained because… well, just because.
Nichkhun arrives at the Park Diner to find Yeeun sitting on the curb by herself. He’s careful as he approaches, sitting down next to her when he’s sure that she won’t bite his head off.
“I… I didn’t know you left.”
“Of course not,” she says, turning her head to look at him. “I always knew you weren’t very bright.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Yeeun asks. “For not knowing I left, or for making out, and possibly doing other questionable things, with Yoobin?”
Nichkhun winces. “You saw that.”
“No, just her kissing your neck and you two dry-sexing on the dance floor.”
“It wasn’t like that, Yeeun.”
“It’s okay, it doesn’t matter.” She waves her hand in the air by way of dismissing Nichkhun’s explanation. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”
“No, it does matter - to me, anyway.” Nichkhun sighs, exasperated though he knows he shouldn’t be. “I went to the party with you, I shouldn’t have done those things with Yoobin. I’m sorry, Yeeun, really.”
“You don’t have to look like a kicked puppy,” she says, sighing, throwing her hands up in the air in mock defeat. “Fine, fine, you’re forgiven.”
Nichkhun’s lips curl upwards, teeth showing, and he’s half-tempted to wrap his arms around Yeeun and squeeze tight, tight, tight. He doesn’t, though, just lets his hand hang awkwardly in the air for a minute before bringing it back down to his side. If Yeeun notices, she doesn’t say anything, just stares up at the dark sky with a content smile on her face. They sit in silence - something that’s quickly becoming a habit, Nichkhun notices, not that he's complaining.
They’re interrupted when an empty Coke can lands in front of Yeeun’s outstretched legs.
“Did you guys leave the party too?”
“Jay!” Nichkhun exclaims in surprise. “I thought you were with your soccer friends.”
“Yeah, I was.” Jay shrugs his shoulders as he bends down to sit next to Yeeun. “Parties like those have never been my thing.”
“I know what you mean.” Nichkhun grimaces, he can still feel Yoobin’s lips on his neck, feel her hands all over him.
“So, what are you guys up to?”
“Nothing,” Yeeun answers quickly, leaning back onto her hands. “Just nothing.”
“Nothing sounds cool, can I join?”
“No,” Nichkhun answers, as he furrows his brows, pursing his lips, “you have to be an expert at doing nothing to do nothing.”
“I’m a fast learner.” Jay imitates Yeeun; leans back onto his hand and turns his head to look at Nichkhun and Yeeun, batting his eyelashes. “See?”
The three of them burst out laughing, and that’s how they spend the rest of the night; outside the Park Diner, talking about anything and everything - Yeeun and Jay tell Nichkhun about Gossip Man, they talk about their courses and their jobs, and they avoid the topic of the party altogether.
If there’s one thing about change that Nichkhun likes, it’s meeting new people. It’s sharing old stories and making new memories with these people, and, as he laughs along with Jay and Yeeun, Nichkhun is hoping he can do just that.
...to be continued
Hey guys and gals, Gossip Man here. Tonight was the night that we were all looking forward to: Yoobin and Sunye’s Back to School party, where everyone who matters is carded and everyone who doesn’t crashes. Our new student, rightly dubbed the Thai Prince, has charmed his way into everyone’s hearts, and even into Yoobin’s panties. Too bad the Prince realised that he was making out with the wrong Princess, once again leaving Yoobin by herself. It seems that our Prince's loyalty lies with our resident Lonely Girl, Yeeun. My, my, how the tables have turned. These two might have left the party early, but don’t worry, there’s still plenty of gossip left to go around. After all, the night is still young. While we wait for tomorrow's dawn and the fresh gossip it'll bring, enjoy a Grand Slam Sandwich from the Level 1000 Jayness Menu.
You know you love me,
xo.xo Gossip Man.
4,553 w. Nichkhun is a new student at DAEBAK U, gets invited to a partyyyy!
Notes: thank you to freefallskyline for editing! dedicating this to janbabyableprimline (ok, it's 3AM leave me alone on the smush), this is only the beginning of our insane monster love-child ♥
she mumbled something (while we
got down on the floor, baby)
SPOTTED
Yoon Doojoon, the new soccer captain, gathering up the old soccer team for the upcoming tryouts; Kwon Jiyong buying million-dollar shoes in preparation for a new school semester; Park Bom and Lee Hyori having coffee at Starbucks, discussing their hot new curriculum - or maybe their hot new students? - with Dara Park; and... what’s this, a new student transferring into DAEBAK U? Turns out DAEBAK is getting its first Thai Prince - and his name? Nichkhun Horvejkul.
If there’s one thing Nichkhun has learned from moving around so much, it’s that change is a welcome breath of fresh air. Except this kind of change is terrifying and nerve-wracking. He wipes his sweaty palms down the length of his jeans, consulting first his schedule and then the clock plastered to the wall across from him. His schedule tells him that class should have started over fifteen minutes ago, which is odd because he’s the only one in the large lecture hall.
After about five more minutes of drumming his fingers on the plastic desk, Nichkhun packs his things, finally deciding that he should just leave. He pauses when he reaches the exit, hesitant to leave just in case someone shows up. With a shake of his head he pushes the door open; if no one has shown up after half an hour, he doubts that anyone will come in now. Though, he thinks, it’d be just his luck to miss out on an important assembly or something of that sort.
Sighing, he starts off in the direction of his next class, which starts in two hours. He’s hoping he’ll have more luck with this one - perhaps find out if it’s been cancelled as well. Or even better, he could make a new friend! The thought brightens his bad mood slightly, until of course he gets lost. Nichkhun stares blankly at the arrow pointing him towards rooms 220-225 and 228-232. He’s damn sure that the sign is missing his classroom number, but he has no idea where to look.
He glares at the arrow, hoping helplessly that it’ll give him some sort of clue. It doesn’t, which causes Nichkhun to throw his hands up in the air in frustration. He walks around the corner in hopes of finding the missing room numbers, but is once again met with a dead end. It’s just his luck to get lost on the first day. He wants to laugh at himself for having a nonexistent sense of direction.
Nichkhun is startled when he hears loud voices from around the corner. Turning, he sees a few guys walk out of one of the rooms. They’re talking to each other, yelling things that Nichkhun doesn’t really understand since he’s never been one for sports, but he decides it’s his chance to ask about his dilemma.
One of the guys is walking in his direction, so Nichkhun approaches him. “Hi, excuse me?”
The guy looks up at him and in that moment Nichkhun realises just how short this guy is. “Yeah?”
“Can you tell me where rooms 226 and 227 are?” Nichkhun points to the room numbers on his schedule. “I’ve been looking for a while now and I just can’t seem to find them.”
The guy takes Nichkhun’s schedule from him and looks around the hallway. He ends up pointing to the door that he just came out of, a smile on his face as he hands the piece of paper back to Nichkhun. “There you go, man. Are you new here? I haven’t seen you around before.”
“Yes, I am. Can you tell?”
“You stick out,” he tells Nichkhun, eyes wandering over Nichkhun’s face, his clothes. “What year are you in?”
“I’m a junior,” Nichkhun says, and then sticks his hand out. “My name’s Nichkhun.”
“Jaebum, but you can call me Jay,” he says, taking Nichkhun’s hand into his and giving it a soft squeeze before letting go. “Junior? Really? They don't usually let kids transfer in that late.”
“Is it uncommon for people to transfer in halfway through?”
Jaebum shrugs. “Probably not for other universities, but for you to transfer into DAEBAK as a junior, it means one of three things. One, you’re really, really smart; two, your parents are filthy rich; or three, you’re really good-looking.”
“And if you’re here on a scholarship?” Nichkhun asks, genuinely curious, but Jay is looking at him oddly and he can’t help but feel a bit intimidated.
“Then you’re probably smart,” Jay ends up saying with a smile, clapping Nichkhun on the back. “Listen man, I’ve got a meeting to go to, so I’ll see you around, yeah?”
“Sure thing!” Nichkhun replies brightly, fixing the bag that’s slowly sliding off his shoulder. “Thanks for showing me where my class is. I thought I was going to be late.”
“No problem, now you won’t be late for when classes start next week.” Jay turns to walk away, stopping when Nichkhun makes an indescribable noise in his throat.
Classes. Start. Next. Week.
This has to be some kind of joke.
“I, I’m sorry, Jay, I think I misheard you. Did you say next week?”
“Yeah, man,” Jay says, walking backwards away from Nichkhun. “You didn’t think it was today, did you?”
Not wanting to seem like a loser, Nichkhun shakes his head quickly and Jay laughs.
“Good, can you imagine how much your life would suck if you actually thought today was the first day of school?” Jay is laughing and all Nichkhun can do is laugh along half-heartedly.
“Ye-yeah, only a loser would think it’s the first day.” Nichkhun’s laughter dies awkwardly on his lips, sticking in his throat, and suddenly he doesn’t know what to do with himself. His life sucks so much, and yes, he really is a loser.
“I’ll see you around, man!”
Nichkhun waves goodbye, sighing when Jay is finally out of his sight. “Today is such a good day,” he mutters under his breath, walking towards the exit of the school. He should have figured out that there were no classes. The empty classroom alone should have set off warning bells in his head, not to mention that the hallways were bare as well.
And of course, it’d be just his luck to not be looking where he’s going, causing him to bump into a really pretty girl. A really, really, really pretty girl. She’s huffing, swearing under her breath as she bends down to pick up the stuff she dropped.
“Here, let me help you,” Nichkhun says quickly, shifting his bag on his shoulder to make it easier to bend down and gather up the posters scattered on the floor.
“You should watch where you’re walking next time,” she says, frowning, as Nichkhun hands her the posters she dropped.
“I’m sorry,” Nichkhun says automatically. “Uhm, did you need any help with… anything?”
She scoffs at him. “And have you knock the posters out of my hands again? No, I’m good.”
“I, uhm, if you’re sure…”
“I’m absolutely-” she pauses, looking up at him in a way that makes Nichkhun wonder if there’s anything on his face - “positive.”
Nichkhun nods, and is about to pass over the last poster in his hand when he sees the title on it. “Hey, are you recruiting for this?”
“Possibly. Are you interested?”
“Yeah, I am. I need to join a club and all the ones that I’ve tried for are full - except the chess club. And the president said I don’t look smart enough.”
“Consider us full too, then. I don’t want you joining the photography club because it’s the next best thing and you have no other options left.” She snatches the poster out of his hand, which Nichkhun finds a bit rude, but the thought goes over his head because she’s really, really, pretty. “Photography is serious - it’s not about taking pictures of things you find pretty or odd, it’s about creating art, it’s about paying attention to how you’re composing the picture and to the message behind it.”
“Wow,” Nichkhun says after a while, and he figures she must’ve gotten embarrassed, because she’s turned away from him in favour of taping posters to the wall. “Sounds like you’ve given that speech a lot.”
“Sounds like you don’t know the first thing about photography.”
“My knowledge of photography is slightly limited,” Nichkhun admits hesitantly, trying not to flinch at the glare she sends his way, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to learn!”
“When you feel like you know everything there is to know about photography, you can join. Otherwise, don’t even think about it.”
Nichkhun is slightly offended, but that doesn’t stop him from following the very pretty girl down the hallway. He takes a few posters out of her hands, helping her post them along the wall.
“I hope you don’t think that by doing this, I’ll let you join.”
“But I’m willing to learn!” Nichkhun insists, taking the tape from her. “You can teach me!”
“I don’t have time to teach-”
“Why won’t you give me a chance? I mean, c’mon, you don’t even know my name!”
“Don’t care what it is.”
“It’s Nichkhun.”
“Great, you can stop bothering me now, Nichkhun.”
“Don’t you think you’re being awfully rude?” Nichkhun is starting to get upset; he no longer caring just how pretty this girl is, she's starting to get on his nerves. “I’m willing to join your club, and I’m genuinely interested in photography. And, if you’re going around advertising, it means that the photography club isn’t as popular as you make it out to be.”
“The photography club has members!”
“Like?”
“Me,” she says, and then her voice drifts off. She takes the rest of the posters that are placed on the ground and shoves them into Nichkhun’s hands. “And now you.”
If Nichkhun is surprised, he tries not to show it. He just smiles, bright and wide and eager, taking the last bit of tape from her to help put up the remaining posters.
“I don’t know your name,” he says as an afterthought, pressing a bright yellow poster to the wall.
“It’s Yeeun.”
*
Despite finding out that it’s not the first day of school, that he's basically commuted for an hour for nothing, it’s been a good day. He spends the day defacing the school walls with bright yellow and talking with Yeeun. Nichkhun doesn’t need to say much, he’ll say one thing and she’ll follow through with the right words that make him smile, laugh - little things that mean nothing and everything.
Yeeun is a storm, Nichkhun realises after she’s told about five or six freshmen that they can’t join the photography club because they don’t know what aperture means. He has half the mind to tell her that he’s not sure himself, but decides to keep his mouth shut when he sees just how annoyed she is.
“Do you always do that?” he asks, they’re almost done taping up the last of the posters.
“Do what?”
“Reject people who want to join the club.”
“Not always,” she answers, stringing her words out slowly for the first time in hours, “I just get protective of the club.”
“I didn’t notice.” Nichkhun’s lips quirk upwards when she hits his arm.
They fall into a comfortable silence. Yeeun is cutting tape and handing it to him, while Nichkhun sticks posters up on the walls. And they move around the rest of the school like this; sometimes Yeeun strikes up random bouts of conversation and other times Nichkhun enjoys not talking.
Of course, good things always come to an end.
When Nichkhun looks up after taping down the last poster, he sees two very, very pretty girls. One has a stack of cards in her hands, the other is texting on her cell phone, looking up every once in a while to add her input to the conversation. Yeeun looks at him curiously, eyes following his, sighing when she sees who he’s looking at.
“You’re joking,” she grumbles under her breath.
“I’m not staring - it’s not like that-”
But whatever explanation Nichkhun has thought up in his head is gone because these two very, very pretty girls have stopped walking, and now they’re standing in front of him and Yeeun.
The one holding the stack of cards is the first one to say something. “So this is the new kid.”
“Seems like it,” says the one holding her cell phone. “You should’ve brought him out to play, Yeeun, don’t be so selfish, especially since he has such a pretty face.”
Nichkhun feels his face heat up as the two girls continue to exchange words about his face.
“Here, take one and come tonight.” The girl with the stack of cards pushes one into his hand and Nichkhun’s fingers curl around it without hesitation. “I’m Yoobin, by the way.”
“Right, Yoobin. I’m Nichkhun.”
Yoobin smiles, teeth white and perfect, and she walks away with her friend at her heels, leaving behind a very dumbfounded Nichkhun. He stares after them, completely gobsmacked. The card in his hand is an invitation to a party starting at 9PM that night, invitation to be presented at the door, or else no entry allowed.
“Are you going to this?” Nichkhun looks at Yeeun, shaking the card in his hand in her face.
“No,” Yeeun replies, her expression darkening as she eyes the invitation, “I wasn’t invited.”
“Really? One of them seemed to know you, though.”
“You mean Sunye?”
“Er, sure, the one with the cell phone.”
“Yeah, we went to middle school together.” Yeeun starts packing her things, putting away the scissors and gathering up the mess they’ve made. “We never clicked - whatever, it was a long time ago. It doesn’t matter.”
“I see,” Nichkhun says. “Why don’t you come with me then?”
“What?”
“Go with me to this party.” He holds the card in his hand awkwardly, and he’s suddenly nervous. He’s never asked a girl - let alone a really, really pretty one - on a date before, and well, this is a Very Big Deal.
“I’m not wanted there.” Yeeun shakes her head as she slings her bag onto her shoulder. “There’s a reason I wasn’t given an invitation.”
“You said it was a long time ago,” Nichkhun insists, picking his own bag up from the floor and following her as she starts off down the hallway. “Besides, the invitation says I can bring one guest and I want to take you.”
“I’m not going to that stupid party, okay?”
“Yeeun, please come with me.” Nichkhun grabs her wrist to stop her from walking any further. “You’re the only friend I’ve made so far. And look, if this party sucks, we can ditch it and go watch a movie or something.”
“I’m not sure.”
“Please, please, please, please, please? I’ll get on my knees if I have to.”
“Oh fine,” she says, wrenching her wrist out of his grasp. “But we get to see a movie that I want to see.”
“Of course.”
Yeeun rolls her eyes. “Pick me up at the Park Diner at 8:00 p.m., then.”
“Okay, sure,” Nichkhun says, waving. He realises only once Yeeun is out of sight that he doesn't know her phone number, nor does he know where the Park Diner is.
Fuck. His. Life.
*
Where the hell is the Park Diner? Nichkhun looks around the school school, hoping to find someone to ask, but there is no one. Once again, his luck knows no bounds. He kicks at the door to take out his frustrations, but his foot collides with someone’s shin instead of with hard wood.
“Ow! What the hell!”
“Oh my god, I am so sorry,” Nichkhun apologises profusely, “I really meant to kick the door. I’m really - oh, Jay!”
“What was that for?” Jay is holding the door open, bending down to rub at his shin as Nichkhun just looks on, helpless. “God, that hurts.”
"I'm really sorry! I was just really frustrated, so I thought kicking the door was a good idea, but then... well." Nichkhun makes a helpless gesture with his hands. "I'm really sorry."
“Don’t worry about it, man,” Jay says with a wave of his arm, and he opens the door wide enough for Nichkhun to squeeze past him. “What’s up?”
“Nothing, I just - hey! Do you happen to know where the Park Diner is?”
“You really are new around here, aren’t you?” Jay laughs a little, walking down the steps of the school in unison with Nichkhun. “My parents own the Park Diner, it’s just two blocks south of the school.”
“Really? That’s your diner?”
“Yeah, man. Jay Park.” Jay points to himself. “Park Diner, baby.”
“That was really lame.”
“I… shut up,” Jay replies, then motions down the street. “C’mon, kid, I’ll show you where it is.”
*
The Park Diner isn’t big, but it isn’t small either. Nichkhun finds it very homey; he supposes it has to do with the fact that Jay’s mother reminds him of his own, not to mention that the food is fantastic. Jay makes him a sandwich that’s on the Level 1000 Jayness Sandwiches menu. The sandwich is perfect - king-sized mushrooms, grilled pork meat, and other things that Nichkhun doesn't know the names of, but it doesn't matter. It melts in his mouth like heaven, and hours later he can still taste it.
When Nichkhun tells Jay about his date with Yeeun, Jay laughs uncontrollably. He later finds out that Jay and Yeeun are childhood friends, that she works the register at the diner part-time, and that she hasn’t been asked out on a date since middle school. Nichkhun also learns that Jay is going to this Back to School party, that it’s a yearly tradition done by the popular girls at school, and that whether or not you go depends on your reputation.
Nichkhun meets Yeeun at the diner precisely at 8:00 p.m. He can tell she’s surprised with the way her eyes widen, her jaw dropping slightly. She composes herself quickly enough that he wonders if he’s seeing things, but she doesn’t give him a chance to really think about it, because she’s pushing him out the door and into the dark night. They walk in comfortable silence, only exchanging a few words. Nichkhun has his hands in his pockets, unsure if he should put an arm around Yeeun or grab her hand; twine his fingers around hers and just walk in silence. He leaves his hands in his pockets.
They arrive at the party at 8:45 p.m. and head to coat check.
“I thought these things were only for important dinners or something,” Nichkhun mumbles, but he must’ve been loud enough for Yeeun to hear because she laughs behind him.
“Shows how much you know about these things, you’re going to have to get used to it,” she says as she hands her jacket over the counter.
Nichkhun doesn’t reply as he follows Yeeun into the party room. He’s surprised by how many people are there already. The music is loud enough that he feels the beat pushing at his feet through the floor; the lights are spastic enough that he has to blink a couple of times to get used to them. Yeeun is saying something that he can’t hear, after a couple of tries she gives up, grabbing his wrist and leading him to the bar.
“I’m thirsty,” she says into his ear, proceeding to slide onto a barstool.
Nichkhun nods, bobbing his head to the music as a familiar song plays. He looks over at Yeeun when he feels her shake his shoulder.
“I’m going to go back to coat check,” she yells, “I think I left my money in my jacket pocket.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
Yeeun shakes her head, signalling that she’ll be back soon, and rushes out the door. Nichkhun sighs, getting up to follow after her, but stopping when he feels someone grab at his wrist. He turns around to see Yoobin sitting on the barstool that was occupied by Yeeun only a minute ago. Yoobin is leaning against the counter, fingers still gripping tightly onto Nichkhun’s wrist.
She smiles at him, tugging his wrist to bring him closer, whispers into his ear, “Dance with me?”
Nichkhun isn’t given much of a choice as she drags him to the middle of the dance floor, now filled with far more people than before. He doesn’t know why he dances with Yoobin - he should be back at the bar waiting for Yeeun - but Yoobin is really pretty. Her hands are laced behind his neck and his hands are on her waist, his hips trying to move in rhythm with the beat. He’s not all too sure how the dancing becomes more than dancing, how suddenly her thigh is in-between his legs, how she’s practically sitting on him, how her lips are sliding down the length of his neck.
He’s not sure how things progressed so quickly; he's sitting on a couch and Yoobin is straddling his hips. His hands move from her hips to fiddle with the hem of her skirt. Yoobin is kissing him, strong and hard with too much teeth and too little tongue, her fingers looping into his belt hoops. Nichkhun thinks, to hell with it, his hand going up her thigh, but as his hand reaches the edge of her underwear he stops.
He suddenly remembers where he is, remembers who he came to the party with and holy shit, holy shit, what is he doing? Nichkhun quickly takes his hand back and pries Yoobin away from him.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t,” he tells her, getting up from the couch.
“What? What do you mean, you can’t?” She yells over the music. “C’mon, the party’s just getting started.”
Nichkhun shakes his head, pushing Yoobin away when she tries to wrap an arm around his waist. “I can’t, I came here with someone.”
“It’s not about who you brought to the party,” Yoobin whispers into his ear, pressing up against him once more, “it’s about who you’re bringing home.”
“And that’s not you,” Nichkhun says, pushing her away for what he hopes is the last time.
He leaves Yoobin with her jaw hanging open. Nichkhun bolts for the door, not caring that the majority of the people in the room are staring at him, wide-eyed. His eyes quickly scan the bar and he’s not surprised to find that Yeeun isn’t there. The first place he looks is the coat check, asking the guy at the counter about Yeeun. He tells Nichkhun that she left and before he can say anything else, Nichkhun is already out the door.
He’s looking around the area with wide eyes, breathing heavily as his heart beat races. He decides to go to the diner, hoping beyond hope that he’ll find her there. As Nichkhun runs, jay-walking across both packed and empty streets, he berates himself for getting carried away with Yoobin. He is in disbelief that he let her get to him; he’s always been one for self-discipline, self-control - especially over his body. Except Yoobin made him crazy, put thoughts into his head that he entertained because… well, just because.
Nichkhun arrives at the Park Diner to find Yeeun sitting on the curb by herself. He’s careful as he approaches, sitting down next to her when he’s sure that she won’t bite his head off.
“I… I didn’t know you left.”
“Of course not,” she says, turning her head to look at him. “I always knew you weren’t very bright.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Yeeun asks. “For not knowing I left, or for making out, and possibly doing other questionable things, with Yoobin?”
Nichkhun winces. “You saw that.”
“No, just her kissing your neck and you two dry-sexing on the dance floor.”
“It wasn’t like that, Yeeun.”
“It’s okay, it doesn’t matter.” She waves her hand in the air by way of dismissing Nichkhun’s explanation. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”
“No, it does matter - to me, anyway.” Nichkhun sighs, exasperated though he knows he shouldn’t be. “I went to the party with you, I shouldn’t have done those things with Yoobin. I’m sorry, Yeeun, really.”
“You don’t have to look like a kicked puppy,” she says, sighing, throwing her hands up in the air in mock defeat. “Fine, fine, you’re forgiven.”
Nichkhun’s lips curl upwards, teeth showing, and he’s half-tempted to wrap his arms around Yeeun and squeeze tight, tight, tight. He doesn’t, though, just lets his hand hang awkwardly in the air for a minute before bringing it back down to his side. If Yeeun notices, she doesn’t say anything, just stares up at the dark sky with a content smile on her face. They sit in silence - something that’s quickly becoming a habit, Nichkhun notices, not that he's complaining.
They’re interrupted when an empty Coke can lands in front of Yeeun’s outstretched legs.
“Did you guys leave the party too?”
“Jay!” Nichkhun exclaims in surprise. “I thought you were with your soccer friends.”
“Yeah, I was.” Jay shrugs his shoulders as he bends down to sit next to Yeeun. “Parties like those have never been my thing.”
“I know what you mean.” Nichkhun grimaces, he can still feel Yoobin’s lips on his neck, feel her hands all over him.
“So, what are you guys up to?”
“Nothing,” Yeeun answers quickly, leaning back onto her hands. “Just nothing.”
“Nothing sounds cool, can I join?”
“No,” Nichkhun answers, as he furrows his brows, pursing his lips, “you have to be an expert at doing nothing to do nothing.”
“I’m a fast learner.” Jay imitates Yeeun; leans back onto his hand and turns his head to look at Nichkhun and Yeeun, batting his eyelashes. “See?”
The three of them burst out laughing, and that’s how they spend the rest of the night; outside the Park Diner, talking about anything and everything - Yeeun and Jay tell Nichkhun about Gossip Man, they talk about their courses and their jobs, and they avoid the topic of the party altogether.
If there’s one thing about change that Nichkhun likes, it’s meeting new people. It’s sharing old stories and making new memories with these people, and, as he laughs along with Jay and Yeeun, Nichkhun is hoping he can do just that.
...to be continued
Hey guys and gals, Gossip Man here. Tonight was the night that we were all looking forward to: Yoobin and Sunye’s Back to School party, where everyone who matters is carded and everyone who doesn’t crashes. Our new student, rightly dubbed the Thai Prince, has charmed his way into everyone’s hearts, and even into Yoobin’s panties. Too bad the Prince realised that he was making out with the wrong Princess, once again leaving Yoobin by herself. It seems that our Prince's loyalty lies with our resident Lonely Girl, Yeeun. My, my, how the tables have turned. These two might have left the party early, but don’t worry, there’s still plenty of gossip left to go around. After all, the night is still young. While we wait for tomorrow's dawn and the fresh gossip it'll bring, enjoy a Grand Slam Sandwich from the Level 1000 Jayness Menu.
You know you love me,
xo.xo Gossip Man.