The end of the tournament was fast approaching. It was basketball; the finals in fact, between the two rivalling universities that had been competing for the past two days to reach this moment in time, and here they finally were. There were two minutes left on the clock, possibly one now. The scores were tied with 97 points, with Hanyang University being the one that caught up with Adrien’s own. Adrien’s concept of time was in a state and he didn’t know how many times he’d glanced at the ticking clock, the seconds counting down slowly, no, quickly! Yet it seemed to stretch on.

The cheering voices became faint echoes and in an instant, he was faced with the ball, eye contact being made with the one person he didn’t want to see -- the ace of his own university’s team. No way, he couldn’t. Adrien looked back at the clock. Shit. There were only 30 seconds now. He took a deep breath as he caught the earnest look of the team captain, his hands reacting quickly as they grabbed the ball that was thrown with a determined force. 24 seconds. He wasn’t close enough. 

His feet carried him as quickly as he could, but the distance didn’t seem to be closing. It was as if the hoop got further the more steps he took. The clock was down to 15 remaining seconds. Adrien was fully surrounded at this point and there was no more moving that he could make. He had to make the shot. So he threw, hard. Adrien’s shaking eyes followed the ball as it raged towards the hoop, and as if it was in slow motion, all the heads of the court turned to follow the path of the ball that hit ungracefully against bankboard with a loud bang, before rolling into the rim of the hoop, and into the net. 

He’d scored a three-pointer bank shot, breaking the tie against the time. Sungkyunkwan University were the victors of the basketball tournament.

“Fuck yeah !!”

​. . .

as much as he concealed his fear, one look down the old wooden stairs that led to the basement was enough to send a shiver down his spine. that’s why he would usually get out of laundry duty by simply not coming home for a couple days and leave it for adrien to take care of (bless his naive soul). but this week was full of deadlines that he wouldn’t have been able to meet outside of the dorms thank to their early curfew during the few weeks leading up to exams. adrien had caught him trying to finish a project for his abstract design class and left the basket of laundry beside his desk. alex was on edge as it is and the last thing he needed was a distraction. “adrien i’m busy. can’t you just do it? i’ll pick it up next week?”

HE WASN’T GOING TO TAKE N O AS AN ANSWER THIS WEEK TOO. 

If there was a trait of Alex’s that Adrien could successfully identify, it was the gift of his gab paired with the ability to leave his chores undone for so long that Adrien had no choice to do them for him to save his sanity. This time, Alex was letting his lip service do the work, or at least he  THOUGHT  he was.

“...bro, you can’t be serious !! You’ve said the same thing like five times—yeah, I’ve been                                                                                                          C O U N T I N G !!” 

He’s calling from his own room when he shouts, hoping the annoyed tone in his voice is conveyed, if not just from the volume. He wasn’t one to get agitated, but the piled stress of dealing with an uninvited roommate paired with the housework multiplied by three was beginning to take it’s toll on him physically. He was coming down with a serious fever, and the lack of rest was showing signs of catching up... especially at work. But he wasn’t going to be the one to admit it, even though the job he was doing at hiding it wasn’t exactly the best... The average person could’ve probably already heard the swelling of his tonsils hours ago, being that his voice dropped an octave and sounded like he'd been heavily smoking since age 12. It seemed clinically hoarse. 

the library is one of the least likely places to find krugan in, yet here he is, lessfor enriching his mind, and more to take the nap of a lifetime. his house had suffered a spontaneous fire incident that took out more than half of it, including his bedroom, and none of his friends were kind and understandingenough to allow him to crash on their couches on this fine day.

it’s quiet and peaceful, smelling of old books and some store-brought room freshner that smells no different from being hit in the face with an exotic flower arrangement, so when a man suddenly speaks up from beside him, krugan is scared out of his wits, his balance completely lost as the chair topples backwards and hits the ground with a defeaning sound; frequenting the public library seems to come with a reflex of simulatenous hushing between the members, for it seems everybody in the room turns towards him at the same time, fingers pressed against their lips, disapproving eyes judging him.

krugan’s mind is still spinning, brain matter soaking with confusion, and he answers, belatedly, to the question that got him in this situation, without even taking a second to think about it. ❝ sure thing, go ahead. ❞

There isn’t really an accurate word to describe how Adrien feels when his eyes follow the figure of the individual who’d been merely scared by a question...—though he processes it as amusement when he apologetically lets out a laugh as the chair he’d planned to occupy takes an ungraceful tumble backwards. He instantly feels sorry for scaring the inhabitant and his hand is offered to him without question; after all it is his fault that basically ALL eyes were on them. 

Adrien’s head is bowed repeatedly in the direction of annoyed looks, and he mouths a hushed “sorry!” to the owner’s of judgemental glares before he finally meets the eyes of the man he’d disturbed. He looks tired.

“S H U C K S , sorry dude—...I didn’t realise you were s l e e p i n g .”

The guilt in Adrien’s tone is evident when his wary movements carry the chair to its original position, though he’s especially silent from being subjected to the hateful stares of the library dwellers he knew all too well. He’s speaking in a hushed tone, just loud enough for the other male to hear, before he looks at him again with a sorry smile. His books are on the table with his bag. “...I mean, there’s an empty spot beside me, man, it’s just as good to, uh, nap in.”

He speaks with experience... after all, the only reason it was his favourite spot was the way the afternoon sun shone through the high windows of the dated library... the warmth it provided was the perfect accompaniment to an uneventful midday of no studying, paired with the drowsiness caused by a morning with no coffee. In other words... it really was his third bedroom (the first being home, the second being the odd one night stands he’d sign himself up to every so often). He takes a seat in the chair he’s unfairly earned, eyes looking down at the Snickers bar in his hand, before his glance switches between the man and back to his chocolate bar again.

○ late nights ○ || ( a wickedly meme creation )

“I’d come back to haunt you.”

The laugh that bubbles past Adrien’s lips can be described more accurately as a bark just from the sheer volume of it, and he could sense the quizzical looks from passersby—it doesn’t really bother him though. He’s reading a text from Dylan, something about not being able to tell the difference between shaving cream and hair gel, and having accidentally put shaving cream all over his scalp. It really wasn’t his problem... but it was hilarious.

He’s lying on the grass, using his jacket as pillow while is roommate Alex is beside him, though he wasn’t paying attention to him for the last five texts. The two are in a park, soaking in the first summer warmth of the night after 8 consecutive days of pouring rain... At least they weren’t going to have to worry about a drought for a long way to come. It wasn’t strange, and they weren’t alone; it’d been a while since the sky had cleared up, and apparently, they weren’t the only ones to conjure the bright idea to appreciate the evening with a clear view of the stars. The park was dotted with many more people, coming out to enjoy the serene atmosphere. For Alex and Adrien, going out as a pair wasn’t exactly common, since their schedules almost never aligned, and on weekends, they drank their miseries (usually from assignments and exams) away without a second thought to treasure the night. Going outdoors, however - together - was definitely uncommon.

Adrien’s eyes are conveniently hidden from the bright rays of artificial lighting under the Daimyo Oak they’d situated themselves, though his strategy to avoid it is quickly undone when he looks towards Alex with a mischievous smile. The orange fluorescent beam shines into his eyes, but he looks on without acknowledging it.

“Bro, let’s say...” he stops mid sentence to conjure up the right words. There’s an unreadable expression across his features. “Okay. Imagine I died... in our house. Not my parent’s house, I mean the one we stay at now— what do you think I would do?”

He pauses to let the latter answer.

○ late nights ○ || ( a wickedly meme creation )

“Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Adrien’s voice comes as a mumble in response to the question he let hang for a moment. His fingers had been furiously tapping against the cracked screen of his phone; of course, before he’d slipped the phone back into the pocket of his hoodie to meet the idol’s eyes. Ah. How he could forget, he was in the presence of a celebrity — how could he be so disrespectful? His posture straightened and he sighed, before wearing a wry smile. “...as long as it wasn’t someone scream or something, I think we’re good... I think.”

How they got into this situation was... questionable. Adrien always ‘knew’ his roommate Alex was some big shot with connections, yet didn’t know the extent of the meaning behind the older’s usage of the word “high profile”, but soon enough he had to swallow his speculations when he met SHINee’s Lee Taemin at an informal turnout. They weren’t acquaintances by all means, to Taemin, Adrien assumed he was but a face with a name that rolled off the tongue easily, but he could never be too sure of his own position in Taemin’s mind, with the older’s friendly demeanour. 

Adrien’s mind drifts back to the current situation, where they’re split off from the rest of the group, Alex included, and now its just the two of them alone at the mouth of an abandoned hospital. Urban exploration was something like a hobby, more so something Adrien did with his friend group back in high school, and in a way to try reconnect with his past, he’d invited Alex and a few other friends to come and join him. What he didn’t expect was to be separated so early on, before they’d even began their adventure... and worse, with someone (’a celebrity!’ he internally screamed) he’d barely talked to about his friend’s soundcloud account or something.

Whether the sound was a hallucination or not, he wasn’t sure if he sensed fear but... this was his responsibility. The reason they were here in this moment, was his fault. If anything happened to his partner (that he didn’t willingly sign up for having), he would be in trouble. So he should keep an eye on him. 

“Alex is... uh... not answering but...” He glances back at the phone he put away. There’s nothing. Shit. “...it’s gonna be fine, man! I’ve been here before, its... safe? Haha.”

“ E V E N T S  like this... don’t you find them t i r i n g ?? "

In Adrien’s fingers was a champagne flute; though inside it was void of the bubbling beverage he’d so looked forward to drinking — instead, what replaced it was apple juice. The event planners had made sure to steer alcohol out of his reach, even though he was only a year below the legal drinking age, but he didn’t mind. Usually he would’ve opted for juice a night like this, but spying upon the many bottles he hadn’t seen before, there was suddenly a burning desire to try it... it was fine though. If he so wished, by the end of the night he would slip a sip of the expensive looking bottle standing proud as a centrepiece for rich tycoons to pour - the name on it read Krug Vintage Brut 1988.

It was formal. He’d been invited as Korea’s national male representative of the Ballroom Dance Institute, but for what? He wasn’t exactly sure... yet he came, as he was told to do so; and in the most expensive suit the institute managed to buy. If he was suddenly going to an event he didn’t want to attend, at least he could get something out of it in return, but even that couldn’t wipe the disinterest off of his expression. He leaned back in his chair, eyes looking up to the draped curtains that hung from the ceiling. They were white, dyed a travelling purple from the moving lights. They were dim, as white beams reflected off of the dance floor that a number of people had taken to, arms wrapped around each other’s person while they slowdanced to the tune of Ed Sheeran playing through state of the art speakers. If he dared to look at them, he would dare to nitpick at their technique, and he really wasn’t in the position do so. So he turned to his seat mate who hadn’t answered his question yet. Unusual.

“...I’m Adrien.” He clears his throat before he begins speaking, holding his hand out towards her as he does so. She’s mature, he observes, embellished in an elegant beauty quite like nothing he’d seen before. He isn’t short of breath, yet he might as well be when he lets out an embarrassing hiccup when he looks her in the eye. She’s enchanting. “...I’m the Korean representative for Ballroom Dancing. You might’ve seen me on TV or something... if you’re into lame shows like that.”

Namseon’s eyes widened as he was stopped by the other, hiding the packet of condoms he’d came to buy behind his back as if he was hiding them from his parents. “G-girlfriend? Ugh no, of course not… I was uh - studying! I was studying, late nights and no work so no food… Shame huh?”

Adrien wasn’t usually observant, yet today he spotted the shaky look in Namseon’s eyes - uncertainty. Then there was the suspicious movement of his hands, as if to hide something. It wasn’t the brightest idea, considering Adrien was the only one working that shift so he was going to have scan it regardless, so he didn’t pry. He would eventually figure out what it is, after all.

“Bro, that’s so  l a m e .”

His words come bluntly, but they’re not harsh. He’s laughing as he says so, hands occupied with stock for the fridge. Adrien’s methods aren’t particularly the most efficient, but if he’s any quicker, his shift will be about 15 times more monotonous trying to wait for customers during midday.

“Anyway… come on. I’ll get that scanned for you.” He claps his hands together, kicking the crate full of banana milk towards the fridge as a brisk walk carries him to the front till, and his hands smack against the counter in mock impatience. “Also when are you coming over? My roommate just got Fortnite for our Playstation like last week.”

“Look, noona. I know it looks high, but I promise you, it’s all in your head.” Adrien almost pleaded. The truth was, he was desperate to make it quick but he tried not to make it too evident. 

It was only because he’d only just barely managed to make her agree to such an ‘absurd’ idea the day prior when they had lunch together; which Adrien conveniently remembered moments before doubting the statements he had made in order to convince Yuna to come along with him that night. He’d said something along the lines of “why, what is your aunt going to do? Call the police? They’ll find it weirder that she’s giving a grown adult a curfew”. At the time, it seemed like the right thing to say, especially since she’d agreed - it was a victory! But now, just over 27 hours later, the concept of reality had caught up with him, and the prospect of Yuna’s aunt calling the police suddenly seemed like it was a possibility that would become real at any moment. He really did fear that that was the extent her aunt would go to, to lock her in like a bird in a cage. Adrien didn’t know any better himself, having experienced next to no disciplinary intervention from his parents growing up, so he didn’t truly understand what it meant to have rules like stupid curfews established at all, but Yuna did. And he wasn’t going to let her get caught.

So he tried to be understanding, but he indeed was close to losing his patience, when Yuna was letting what seemed to be her self-doubt and her second guessing herself consume her mind for the last half hour. In reality, she didn’t actually have to jump out from the window, but it must’ve been a personal choice of hers to experience it for real - at least Adrien thought  it was, maybe to inspire her comics later. But he couldn’t know for sure. He just thought it was hilarious that someone with a fear of heights would voluntarily jump out of a window. Yuna was something else. Other than that, they needed to go now, Adrien thought, the idea that Yuna’s aunt would be ready to bust them at any point looming over his head.

“Noona... take a breather. I’ll...” he paused to inhale for a second, before holding out his arms with a reassuring look. “I’ll catch you. Just.. Just aim for me. Okay?”