Chapter Text
Taeyong was always an optimistic sort of person, despite his life experiences. It was due to his life circumstances, that he rarely played at his friend's houses in middle school; obligated to come home early to help his mother with housework. Due to his life circumstances, he wasn't able to focus on his studies properly during high school; paying more attention to his part-time job than even thinking of going to a cram school. And it was due to his life circumstances that he carried a huge burden, a secret that enabled him to overcome these circumstances. To tell anyone that secret, would be to reopen the house that he had kept locked up for so long. And just like that, the secret would spill out through the doors and windows with no form at all.
Today was a fresh start and that was daunting for Taeyong. He had too many times let his optimism get the better of him. A fragment in his mind refused to let him think that things would be different this year when they so often weren't. But despite all the uncertainty, Taeyong was takin the plunge. After all, he was given this opportunity by a past client. While everyone else in his dorm had their parents helping them move in, Taeyong struggled two boxes at a time; even after being asked by an eager girl and her mother if he needed help. The light-haired boy had finished shuffling in with his final box of books, before collapsing onto one of the two beds provided in the basic twin room. Taeyong was mostly relieved to find out that his roommate hadn't moved in yet, and let out a sigh, looking up at the ceiling blankly. Was it the right move to go to university when his mother was still struggling to make ends meet? What if he couldn't find a job after he graduated with the money he was given? What if he couldn't graduate let alone find a job? These were all questions that spiralled through his mind.
"You're here, Taeyong...you made the first step," he chided to himself.
That evening Taeyong made a light dinner of japchae. The setting he found himself in - the communal kitchen with people he didn't know unnerved him.
"Can I borrow some salt?" a tall boy with a bright smile asked.
"Sure," Taeyong said handing over the shaker.
"What's your name by the way?" the boy asked, sprinkling the salt in a manner which resembled the popular 'salt bae' meme. Taeyong laughed a little despite himself.
"I'm Lee Tae Yong, and you?"
"Johnny," he said, mixing a tiny bowl of a side dish dubiously.
Taeyong cocked his head to one side "Are you Korean-American?"
The tall boy nodded in response, "You can call me Yeong Ho if you want though."
"No no, Johnny suits you!"
Johnny leaned against the kitchen counter, hands inside his large joggers' pockets, "So how do you like your roommate?"
Taeyong scratched the back of his neck "Actually he hasn't arrived yet."
Johnny raised his eyebrows, "Well I'll introduce you to the rest of the people on this floor so you don't feel out of place. Follow me!"
Johnny beckoned Taeyong into the communal area where a handful of people were sat on swivel chairs, chatting and drinking beer.
"This is Lee Tae Yong", Johnny declared vivaciously, making sure to pronounce every syllable and practically kneel to display a startled Taeyong.
Johnny pointed at a long-legged girl with short hair, "This is Minhee."
Taeyong smiled and said hello despite finding it hard to maintain eye contact.
"The girl sitting next to her is Esther- she's also Korean-American, and that's WinWin and Ten- they're international students."
Taeyong made an effort at smiling and bowing at each flatmate individually and they all mirrored, offering him a beer in return.
"No thanks, I've got to unpack but maybe tomorrow," he politely declined, before going to the kitchen to clean his bowl.
In the middle of the night, Taeyong was disturbed in his sleep by a faint sound off in the distance of his foggy consciousness. Although he was a light sleeper, the noise only woke him in a start after some minutes had passed. It was a quiet and repetitive knock that unsettled him. He clicked a button on his phone, the screen reading "3:30 A.M." Was a flatmate drunk and trying to get into his room? Was it Johnny? Questions raced through his mind one after another as they usually did. But as Taeyong was now out of his sleep, he realised that a drunk student probably wouldn't knock continually on his door. It must be his roommate, he thought. Stumbling out of his bed, he opened the door an inch.
There in the dark hallway stood a tall dark-haired boy. Though Taeyong couldn't make out his face, he wore a backpack and was holding an additional box.
"Sorry for waking you up this early, I was a little late moving in," the tall boy whispered.
"No no, it's fine, come in," Taeyong murmured, rubbing his eyes a little before letting him in.
The boy collapsed on his bed putting his backpack down by his desk.
"Do you mind if I turn the lamp on just for half an hour to unpack my clothes? I have an early start so I won't really have time tomorrow?" he whispered at Taeyong who was back under the covers at this point.
Taeyong let out a polite 'it's fine', despite his slight annoyance.
A few moments later, Taeyong stirred from his sleep, opening his eyes and welcomed by the warm lamplight. He realised he had not got a proper look at his new roommate and his breathing hitched as he took in the appearance of the boy before him. He resembled someone Taeyong once knew, but he thought it a stupid idea and turned onto his other side. Despite him brushing off his afterthoughts, he made sure to keep his face hidden by his blanket for the rest of the early morning.
Jaehyun walked into the lecture hall, a slight smile on his face. Though he made a late start moving into his dormitory, he anticipated this academic year in the university he got into, with a scholarship on a late admission. He was about to make his way up to find a seat when the professor, a slight woman of about forty, stopped him. Her glasses balanced tenaciously on her nose.
"Jung Jae Hyun...nice to meet you, I'm Ms Kang your literature theory lecturer for this semester. Let's do well!" She said abruptly, looking through her framed glasses.
Jaehyun bowed confusedly, he had never met such an enthusiastic teacher in all his life. But this was a university, where education supposedly came first and he was excited about this prospect.
He found a seat near towards the front, knowing that sitting at the back would do no good for his grades but only aid as a nice sleeping spot.
Within the last half an hour of the lecture, a boy shuffled in, bowing almost immediately at Ms Kang, his large eyes apologetic. Ms Kang continued with her speech, as though he wasn't there. Jaehyun chewed on the end of his pen and squinted his eyes, he was sure he knew that boy.
"Let's end here, shall we? Lee Tae Yong, see me after this please," Ms Kang announced.
As the lecture ended, everyone got up from their seats and started spilling out of the hall. Lee Taeyong? Jaehyun swore he knew that name and as he was the last to pack away his notebook and pens, that thought was confirmed. Taeyong was the large-eyed boy who came in late. He was also the boy who worked with Jaehyun in a host bar less than a year ago.