ʳᵘˡᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ʷᵒʳˡᵈ﹒

welcome to your life, there's no turning back.

[autarchs]

leon.

leon had begun to make a point of spending as little time visible on campus as possible at the start of his second year. vastly preferring to be seen only when he was READY for the occasion, and fashionably  i n v i s i b l e  during the rest of life’s chore-ridden minutia. there was nothing visually impressive about the way his feet slowed over the course of the path – tired and a little lagging. or the way his fingers GRIPPED too tight at the strap of his shoulder bag as he approached the main building. but he’d had a project to turn in that couldn’t be sent through an e-mail, and so the trek had been regrettably necessary. “ shit. ” he muttered at the screen of his cellphone as he realized i had died in his pocket along the way. today really wasn’t his day. “ excuse me, do you have the time ? ” leon asked the nearest body.

though zhu wasn’t some big-headed popular girl, she’d never been one for blending in. she liked to be in charge, in command, and sometimes that meant being the center of attention. or maybe it was her manipulative grin that attracted so many people to her --- she wasn’t actually friends with any of them anyways. leaving her class that had seemed to drone on for hours, she came to a hault as the other spoke to her. “ mmm, ” she began, a simple noise that sounded nearly uninterested in the other’s words, almost as though she’d turn her head and keep walking despite his question. and then, pulling her phone from her pocket and painting on a honeyed smile, “ it’s almost eleven. if you’re headed to teacher geum’s, that class just got out. he’s probably headed for lunch by now... ” and her soft pout and lowered voice as though she actually cared was all too convincing. 

[autarchs]

nicholas.

          no, nicholas wasn’t proud of how things drove them to this point.    being scared of thunder was a real and valid fear, who cares if he maybe, PERHAPS, kind of held yongchul’s hand the whole night!    he still had dignity in not being a pussy; his most recently used emojis with the triumph face, the 100 symbol, and the fist punch proved his point.    the rise and grind label on his alarm clock really helped set the tone too.    and maybe, just maybe, him working out in the middle of their dorm, his shirt off, sweating glistening across his torso, hair sticking lightly to his forehead was just another way to prove that he wasn’t a pussy.    (  his father’s words hammering into his head like a MANTRA: you’re a man. a man doesn’t act like this. a man doesn’t do this. be a man. be a man. be a man  ).    mindless words coming out of his mouth as he counts the number of pull ups he’s doing, yongchul’s voice breaking him out of it as he lands on the ground with a thud,     “i’m fine, can i not want a nice body and healthy mind, little witch?”     words coming out with confidence, pushing his father’s voice OUT until it was barely audible.     “unlike you, i don’t eat chips for breakfast— speaking of, you really need to quit doing that, you’re gonna end up having clogged arteries that lead to a heart attack and no offense, but i don’t wanna pack up your dead body when i find it lying on our couch with your hand in a bag of doritos.”

in actuality, chul had never thought less of nickey for being afraid of the rain. ( then again, he never thought highly of him to begin with... ) while chul was one of those who loved the rain, could listen to it as his own personal white noise --- he saw no shame in being afraid of it. in being afraid of anything. fear ? fear was natural. chul himself was more abnormal than being scared. of course, he didn’t know of nicholas’ father. he didn’t know about the countless times he was told he wasn’t manly enough. thus here he was, picking on him for showing off his masculinity. “ you can, you have that right. but can’t you want a nice body and a healthy mind at the gym ? ” the nickname was all too familiar by now, didn’t even phase the younger or mute his thoughts. the thing was, chul didn’t actually mind having nickey shirtless in their dorm pumping irons. as much as he hated to admit it, he had the nice body part down to a T. he wouldn’t be saying that out loud anytime soon, however. “ look, i’m naturally beautiful --- i can’t change that. chips for breakfast doesn’t take away my honey-like skin or my amazing facial structure. and as far as i’m concerned ? that sounds like a pretty good way to go. i appreciate you worrying, though. it’s nice to know we’re that close now. ” he finished, and he smiled as though the two were really the best of friends and the other was actually concerned for his health.

[autarchs]

seungjae.

seungjae was known as two different things and those two different things depended on who you were talking to on campus. to the teachers and ‘adults’ he was known as a perfect student, an angel that could do no wrong, someone who was never absent, who aced ever class. but to the rest of the students? he was known as something completely different. the troublemaker that caused chaos whenever he walked down the halls, the jock who thought he was better than everyone else and the guy who hooked up with whoever he could, whenever he could. the contrast between the two was enough to make him laugh, honestly. right now, though? he was grateful there were no teachers in the hall because he currently was being sought out by a one night stand who wasn’t so happy that was their title. after darting around one of the corners, he saw someone familiar and did his best to hide behind them. “listen, whatever you do… don’t fuckin’ move.” he half whispers. “i need you to hide me until the person who’s running through here shrieking my name leaves.” the male continues, peeking over the other’s shoulder for a split second. “i’ll owe you dinner, or alcohol, or whatever the hell you want.. i just do not have time to deal with that mess right now.”

kaito, as compared to seungjae, wasn’t so much of a grey area. he wasn’t two different things, he was one. he was the party boy, the guy who slept around, the guy that ditched class --- he acted no different in front of teachers, put on no show. that’s where he an seungjae really differed. of course, they still had a lot in common. partying, causing some trouble and sleeping around ? a lot in common. kaito had hardly been paying attention, hardly even been awake, when seungjae hid behind him and began to speak. letting out a chuckle, kaito stayed still as he was asked whilst he replied. “ someone’s in trouble. ” was all he said, another chuckle reverberating out of his chest. he continued moments later, a bit after the yelling of the other’s name had died down passed them further into the hall. he spun around to face the other as he spoke again, “ how about you bring some alcohol to my next party and we call it even ? ”

[autarchs]

yvonne.

“ do you listen to the words that come out of your mouth or is it just a long stream of bullshit that your brain can’t filter out before you say it ? ” words and hurled as yvonne tries to focus her eyes on the figure before her. was she drunk ? no. high ? again, no. only severely lacking in the loss of several night’s sleep, the world around her warping as she tries to keep her head up. god, she felt like shit. “ if you’re going to keep talking can you at least keep me from completely toppling over, i think i’m seeing triple. ”

most of zhu and yvonne’s interactions included fake smiles and secret eye rolls --- on occasion, of course, one of them would let out their true feelings towards the other. this seemed to be one of those times. it was noted how aggressive yvonne was, but zhu didn’t particularly care. “ everything i say is very important, actually. it’s all filtered before it leaves my mouth, but i appreciate the sentiment. ” her words aren’t quite harsh, but her tone is more sour than usual. “ if you’re going to keep talking to me like that, i see no issue in letting you topple. ”

[autarchs]

( @lightsbolt​ ) ----- it hadn’t been long that yongchul and nicholas had been anything more than enemies. of course, they’d always been dormmates, but that was the root of their hate. however, things change --- things certainly had changed between them. one stormy night and one lunch and they were somewhere at the beginning of a ( dare chul say it ) friendship. but even now, shared smiles and picking up takeout for each other, didn’t do away with the snarky comments and even light glares they sometimes exchanged. like now ----- “ is it a requirement that you work out and talk about working out twenty-four seven to be on the swim team ? do they force you to do this, nickey ? ” he says, and his words are joking but his tone is full of all that aforementioned snark. “ blink three times if you need help out of this. ”

[autarchs]

weisheng. 

          weisheng ROLLS his eyes, not wanting to even bother with the boy in front of him.    but of course, he had to.     "you’re fucking insufferable,”     he spits, words like venom as they exit his mouth.    a sort of anger coursing through his veins, bubbling up from the pit of his stomach, yet, it wasn’t toward kaito.    toward himself, angry with what he let transpire between the two.    of course, it didn’t mean jack shit. but, the fact that he HAD to live with the thought that the other was inside of him a few days ago didn’t sit well within his bones.    sleeping together at some party while both wasted as hell wasn’t a smart idea, weisheng had known that, even in the middle of it all.    he was just a deprived young man and so what that it happened with his partner for a year long project?    it didn’t matter, he wouldn’t be affected by it … or rather, he thought he wouldn’t be.    he proves himself WRONG as he looks at the other because damn, he was hot and damn, did he fuck him good.    that wasn’t the point though, snapping out of his intrusive thoughts, his eyes close into slits,     “can you focus for two seconds? i know hot blond at five o’clock, but i need a decent grade so i never have to speak to you again and vice versa.”    (  @autarchs  ).

if kaito was anything, he was cocky. self-assured, maybe too much --- so as the words left the smaller boy, he merely smirked. see, he found nothing but joy from knowing he was inside of weisheng just days earlier. in fact, nothing brough him MORE joy. maybe it was because sex was something he was truly good at. business classes ? not his forte. but sex ? that he could do. partying too. so when he’d found his way to an empty room with weisheng at a party ? it wasn’t something he regretted. that was for sure. “ you weren’t saying that on saturday. it was more like --- oh my god, kaito... ” he let out a soft, high-pitched moan before chuckling. then his smirk fades into a light pout, “ i wasn’t looking at hot blond at five o’clock, i was distracted by you. ” and after his pitiful flirty words ( because he definitely was looking at the hot blond at five o’clock ), “ wait... you never wanna talk again after this project ? that’s no fun. i thought we were having a good time. thought we could even be friends. ” and even if he’d been mocking moments before, he really thought the two got on. then again, maybe everyone who slept with him didn’t wanna be friends. it seemed weisheng certainly didn’t. clearing his throat and straightening his back, he looks back down at his papers --- “ okay. i’m focused. ”