Chances [Chanyeol EXO]

VII

"Would you please stop smoking?" Chanyeol said.

You couldn't help it. The amount of school work you had this week was unforgiving; it seemed like every professor you had decided to drop heavy requirements just a week after the holiday break. You were so overwhelmed with the workload that you could literally feel your brain and your body tapping out from exhaustion. You needed an outlet, and a pack of cigarettes had always helped you regain your focus.

"I'm sorry," you apologized to Chanyeol. You put the stick out on the already-full ashtray. "I'm just so stressed out. I mean, aren't you? You're a junior."

If you were on the verge of breaking down, you couldn't imagine how Chanyeol was feeling. He was in his third year, and it was the year when he was also taking up most of his major subjects. You would know, as you would come home to Baekhyun working in his music studio, and when you left for school in the morning, he was still there. You wondered if it was like that for Chanyeol too.

"I am," Chanyeol admitted. "But there's no point in complaining about it."

He was focused on his laptop, furiously typing. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration and he didn't look up once while talking.

You were partners for a synthesis paper in your Philosophy class. The two of you had agreed to equally split the labor in writing it. You finished writing the first half of the paper, and Chanyeol was currently working on the other half.

You were working in a coffee shop just a few blocks away from the building where Chanyeol lived, and you've been here for more than four hours. Your table was filled with six coffee cups; you and Chanyeol have had three cups each.

Even though you were done with most of your requirements, you still felt anxious. Every time you were nervous when there was nothing to be tense about, something bad happened. It was like your body telling you to prepare yourself for something.

You hoped that it meant nothing. In order to distract yourself from it, you decided to work on the thousand-word speech you needed to write for your Politics and Governance class.

You finished the speech in just an hour, and by the time you were saving your work, Chanyeol was also done with his.

"I fucking hate philosophy," he exhaled as he stretched his body to relax it from sitting and typing for the past few hours.

"Where do you want to eat?" You asked him. "All we've had for today is coffee."

It was around 8 p.m., but you and Chanyeol haven't had dinner yet.

"Let's just grab something to-go and then eat at my place," he said as he shut off his laptop and shoved it inside his backpack. "I have a shit ton of rendering and arranging to do."

You agreed as you understood how incredibly busy he was. You were in your last term of your sophomore year, and seeing Chanyeol look so tired from his majors was like having a glimpse of what was coming to you next term when you enter your third year of college.

The two of you decided on having pizza and buffalo wings. When you left the restaurant, you ran into someone you never dreamt of running into.

Your instincts never failed you.

You knew that something bad was bound to happen the moment you felt your heart getting anxious for no reason. This was what your body was preparing you for.

Kyungsoo stood there, looking at you and Chanyeol. He had a girl with him, and they were holding hands. You knew who she was; you knew all too well. It was Ji-hyun, the girl he had broken up with you for.

Your body felt numb.

You instinctively grabbed onto Chanyeol's arm. Your stomach was tied up in knots and your heart felt like it was being kneaded like dough. You felt dizzy with a haphazard of emotions: hatred, disgust, pain. You needed to hold onto something. You needed something to anchor you so that you wouldn't fall over yourself again.