{panic(king): changki}

1

I don't have an alarm clock anymore. The frantic buzzing of my phone being flooded with notifications at 7:00 in the morning wakes me up now. The bedside table magnifies the noise and I'm surprised it doesn't wake my roommate. Though his own phone probably will.

honeybee: CHANGKYUN ISTG YOURE GOING TO BE LATE AGAIN GET UP
h0eseok: WERE EATING WITHOUT YOU
minhyukshine: KIHYUN ISNT SAVING A SPOT FOR YOU THIS TIME
honeybee: ???? do you know who you're talking about???? yoo kihyun???? not saving a seat for the favorite son????
kiki: shut up I love all my sons equally
minhyukshine: but changkyun's still your favorite
kiki: nO

why are we screaming so early????
istg you guys are gonna wake hyungwon up and he's not going to be happy

kiki: let him be mad at us
minhyukshine: hoe let him be mad at you
h0esoek: I don't wanna be the one he's mad at

I chuckle and turn off my phone, letting them continue to bicker between each other. Classes start in an hour, and I figure now is as good a time to start getting ready as any.

I walk over to Hyungwon's bed and gently shake his shoulder. "Hyungwon," I say. "You have to get up now." He doesn't respond of course, so I shrug and walk away. Once I'm at the bathroom door, I call out, "Maybe the chemistry exam will be cancelled today."

He shoots up on his bed, his blonde hair disheveled, still half asleep, but rather alert. "No one told me we had a chem exam today!" he complained, rubbing his eyes. "I didn't study or anything!" He gives me an odd look when I start laughing. "We don't have a chem exam today, do we?"

Still laughing, I answer him. "No, you don't have a chemistry exam today. I don't even take chemistry. I'm a year behind you, hyung, remember?" I finally enter the bathroom to brush my teeth once he continues.

"I forget you're a freshman," he says, and even though I can't see him, I can tell he's rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You certainly don't act like one."

I smile at my reflection. "I know." Today is going to be good, I can already tell. I can hear the sound of Hyungwon—a sophomore stuck with a freshman for a roommate—shuffling as he gets dressed for the day. I'm the youngest in our friend group, but I like that I am. It's like having six older brothers that are always ready to take care of me and make sure I don't fail. Hyungwon has tutored me more times than I can count. He's the reason I haven't failed English yet.

I finish brushing my teeth and fixing my hair before switching with Hyungwon to get dressed. A black hoodie and a pair of jeans are what I decide on, and I sit back on my bed and open the group chat again.

kiki: minhyuk you cannot be talking about being ready to go you literally aren't even dressed yet 🙄
minhyukshine: what you don't like seeing me like this? 😏
kiki: no I don't
kiki: so put some clothes on or I'm leaving you here 🥰
hyuhhhhngwon: you guys are INSANE for doing this this early in the morning
minhyukshine: he's awake!
hyuhhhhngwon: only for school don't flatter yourself
minhyukshine: I wasn't— okay
kiki: get off your phone and get dressed or I'm leaving you here and you're cleaning the dorm for the next week
minhyukshine: fine I'm going, geez

I close my phone again and look up to see Hyungwon leaving the bathroom. He runs a hand through his blonde hair as usual and I notice he's wearing his green contacts, something he usually didn't do when it was just the seven of us.

"You're wearing your contacts today?" I ask.

"Why? Are they too much?"

"I just didn't expect them, I guess. You look nice though, hyung," I tell him and he smiles shyly, ducking his head.

"Thanks." We're silent for a few more moments before my phone buzzes in my pocket again. It's not the group chat, like I'm expecting, but Jooheon.

honeybee: changkyun hurry your ass up it's freezing out here 😫

sorry hyung we'll be out in five minutes

With that, I close my phone for a final time this morning and look back at my older roommate. "They're waiting for us outside," I say. "At least Jooheon and Hyunwoo are." He nods, though I can tell he's only half listening to me while he types something on his phone. "Hyung?"

"Yeah, I'm ready to go, Changkyun," he says, slipping his phone into his pocket. His hands join it and the other one goes to the opposite pocket. I settle my hand in the crook of his arm as if I were his girlfriend and we walk like we always do. Some people occasionally shot us odd looks, but no one ever said anything. We aren't together like that but we both are most definitely not straight.

"Finally!" Jooheon exclaims, standing between Hyunwoo and Hoseok, our two senior friends, for warmth. He looks tiny, with his blonde curls, and I can see his breath trail out in front of him when he speaks. "I was starting to wonder if you two would ever show up!" he huffs.

"It's not my fault! I was waiting for Hyungwon to finish fixing his hair. He's so high maintenance." Hyungwon elbows me in the side and I wince.

My younger sophomore best friend glances back toward the door of the dorm building. "Now where are Kihyun and Minhyuk? They do want to go for breakfast before school, right?" Hyungwon and I both follow his gaze, the two older boys trailing after us.

Just then, the glass doors swing open, Kihyun's pink hair appearing as he drags Minhyuk by the arm. The two juniors are the last to show.

"Ow, okay, Kihyun, I get it. Let go of my arm," Minhyuk says, hissing in pain as he rubs his wrist once Kihyun lets go. "You don't need to grab my arm that hard," he says.

"Apparently I do to get you out of there," Kihyun sighs, shaking his head. "I'm younger than you! I shouldn't have to make sure you're getting ready on time." He rolls his eyes and looks away from the boy with the orange hair.

"Is it one of those mornings?" Hoseok asks.

"Don't even get me started." His eyes meet mine and he smiles, making me smile back. "Hi, Changkyun."

"So no good morning kiss?" I ask, letting go of Hyungwon's arm. I hadn't even realized he'd been shaking me off for a moment.

He rolls his eyes, a small laugh escaping his lips. "Go ahead." I grin again, hopping over to where he is and kiss his cheek.

"I hate to interrupt this moment, but we should really get going," Hoseok says, tapping his watch. Jooheon nods in agreement.

"Okay," Kihyun says as I latch onto his arm. "Let's go."

{a/n: I had this idea and completely spontaneously decided to write it, even though it's completely different from my other book. But if you like it, that's great! I don't know how frequently I'll be updating but I'll try to as much as possible. :)}