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"Okay, I know we've known each other for a whole-" YangYang checked his watch briefly before continuing, "Three hours, but I was hoping to have lunch with you." His smile was just too radiant to refuse.
"Sure," Renjun chuckled in return, packing his things into his bag from his desk. "Three hours is enough time to make a friend. Besides," he glanced around the room at the other various adults wandering out of the lecture hall and towards whatever spot it was they enjoyed eating at, "I don't particularly like this class group. They're so...."
"Quiet?"
"Yeah. Like, apart from you, nobody has approached me."
"Eh, me neither. I'd say we look foreign and they're assuming we're exchanges just hoping to get this course over and done with."
The older couldn't help but laugh at his reasoning. No, they didn't look that different from the Korean populous. Their class were just unsociable. "Whatever you say. Guess it's just you and me."
"Wouldn't have it any other way," the younger winked as a terrible flirtatious joke, to which Renjun flicked his forehead and pulled his bag up along his arm.
"Let's go eat. My stomach has been slowly concaving all day, and I totally skipped a decent breakfast this morning 'cause I thought I had more time."
"I ate a lot, and I'm still hungry."
Renjun giggled loudly, envisioning this person devouring a meal and not stopping for breath. "Oh no, you're one of those bottomless pits. I'll have to replace my fridge with a bigger one if you come over."
"You can cook?!"
"Well, I try to. I've never been criticised."
"I'm definitely taking you up on that offer someday soon. I could burn water if you left me the right frying pan," the younger joked.
The blonde scoffed at his antics and followed him out towards the direction in which they came hours prior. Thankfully, they didn't have any more classes for the afternoon, and were free to go home.
But Renjun didn't want to go home. He didn't want to face those men just yet.
"I know I sound like a total savage by saying this, but can we get some Chinese cuisine?" YangYang begged as though the older wouldn't let him. "I've been living off Korean barbecue for the past like, two days. Trying new cultures is fun and all, but I need something western or Chinese right now."
"Western?"
"Mmm. Western."
He's so cute, Renjun thought fondly while admiring his animated expressions as he discussed his interests. The entire day had perked up since the dire beginning that morning, and suddenly, the short boy didn't think life here would be so bad. He would only have to spend his evenings at the apartment anyway, and even then, not every evening.
"So where are you staying?" YangYang drew him out of his whirlwind of thoughts. "It was pretty hard finding accommodation, don't you think? Everywhere is either too full, too expensive or dank."
I didn't have any issues. Apparently Mark liked how I looked.... "Yeah, pretty tough. I'm just renting an apartment in this new place a little ways away from here. It's alright, I guess."
"What? Seriously? Man, I have to catch a bus to get here. Are there spare rooms where you are? Maybe we could share."
That would be a wonderful turn of events, but I don't want those brats messing with him this early in our stay. "A-All full, I'm afraid. I had to sell my soul for my room."
YangYang giggled adorably, and Renjun could only refrain from squishing his tanned cheeks. And thus, they had made a friend in each other, and continued on to exit the school and find a local restaurant that sold food close to their hearts.
•
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Renjun stumbled into the building at about nine o'clock in the evening. The night was only starting as it was summer, and people were outside preparing to go clubbing or whatever it was his age-bracket participated in. The Chinese male, however, had spent way too much time with YangYang while eating too much food, and was now at a point of which threatened combustion.
His bag was loosely hanging from his arm as he walked tiredly towards the staircase, barely taking notice of the fact that Taeyong wasn't stationed at the reception desk. His eyes peered into the lit dining room past the banister, making him halt when he saw someone.
It was Mark, if his sight wasn't deceiving him, taking a phone call while casually pacing around the table. His finger dragged along the clean, wooden surface, eyes trained on the ground as he responded with monosyllabic answers here and there.
He seems busy, Renjun thought, somehow standing there in a daze as his gaze scanned the man in curiosity and interest. It wasn't until his bag slipped from his arm and slammed against the ground that he snapped out of it, alerting the victim of his staring.
"I'll call you back," Mark hummed softly before pulling the device away from his ear and chuckling dryly. "Well, well, well. Welcome home, Renjun." He started moving towards the younger carefully.
"Oh, um....hi?"
"How was school, Love?"
What's with the nicknames around here? "It was fine." Why am I not correcting him?!
The older had a knowing smirk etched into his features that somehow suited him. His big, innocent eyes couldn't be fooled with, for they sat on a cunning face. "Make any friends?"
".....Yes."
It was too late to escape by the time Mark made it over, making his movements so subtle that Renjun hadn't even noticed he was pinned until his back touched off the cold banister. "How are you liking it here so far? Hm? Not so bad, is it?"
You lot are my concerns! "It's fine. I just don't want to stay in here for too long. Might lose my mind, y'know?"
"Being crazy can be fun," the ravenette joked with a low chuckle that sent tingles sparking along the smaller's spine. His face was closer than Renjun could recall it being before, but somewhere in the depths of his being refused to let him argue or fight. After all, this man alone had an awful lot of power here.
Fame was a gift as much as it was a burden.
"I'm....I'm gonna' go to my room," he tried, though the older had other intentions and pulled him in close by his neck, speaking quietly against his ear.
"I'd be careful about going up there. Might find something," he took a step back and elicited a rich laughter that could've been made into chocolate it was so smooth, "Unexpected."
"What?"
The older never answered though, instead waving at him suggestively before returning to the dining room and retrieving his phone from his pocket.
Crazy. These people are lunatics. The Chinese boy made a loud scoffing noise so that he would hear, and stomped upwards along the stairs, making his presence known so that anyone lurking in the shadows would just get their stupid hiding games over with. He wasn't in the right mental space to put up with bullshit at this stage.
By the time he reached the third floor, he was pretty surprised that he hadn't been jumped yet. It was actually a source of a bit of nervousness for the newcomer, and so he wrapped his arms around his waist and sucked in a breath cautiously.
But a hundred deep breaths, years of talking about it and dozens of creepy warnings from Mark could not have prepared Huang Renjun for the noises he heard coming from one specific room.
At first the multiple voices made his skin crawl, sending all kinds of shivers up and down his spine before -quite naturally- working towards between his legs. He gasped, covering his mouth with his hand and bolting towards his door in panic.
The congregation of his neighbours was definitely in the apartment opposite his, which was Mark's if he wasn't mistaken. Fumbling with the key and stressing when his bag kept sliding along his arm, Renjun took much longer opening the bloody frame than he should've.
Moans.
Names.
Wet sounds.
Oh my fucking god, someone just get me the hell out of here! The young adult thought in distress before shoving his door open and trying to get inside. He didn't want to admit that his ears were tuning in on the noise, nor that his youthful, male body was reacting at its own will.
As the boy dropped his belongings onto the floor and slammed the door shut behind him, the sounds were still evident, but not as obnoxiously loud.
The key question now was: why were they all in one room doing that together? Had he stumbled upon a weird group with strange interests? Was this as he had originally suspected? A cult? Did cults even dabble in group sex?
Why would Mark think so casually of this?
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Why was there someone at his door?
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