Chapter 2 - A Typical Student Life 1

Wonho stares at his computer screen again. His blueprint is completed but there is still something missing. Every line is there, every circle accurate, every length and dimension written down, but something feels wrong.

He looks back down at his project - the old building near his hometown which used to be a fortress, turned storage, turned hotel. He received the interior description and the copy of the latest blueprint from the owner, but the original blueprint was gone with time. Of course, he can always just redraw the ones he got but that is not how Wonho does things. He takes it one step further and searches for the history of the building, retracing it back and imagining the original design, taking notes of the renewal process, and draws what remains. That is how he does things.

And that was what earned him his scholarship and his lecturer's support and love – his passion.

He feels something cold near his left cheeks and grabs it, putting it near his mouth. Eyes still glued to the screen, he takes a sip of the soda and puts it down, continuing to review his work.

'Hey, it's late.' He hears his friend calling him in a hoarse voice. Wonho only replies with a quiet 'yeah'. He is tired and unable focus, but he just cannot take his mind of this project just yet.

'Wono, you still have two weeks. Come and sleep.' Junjie, his best friend since childhood coerces, he can hear the man shuffling on his bed. Even though they had broken up, they still remain close, so this has never been a problem for them. It had been their habit to sleep on the same bed whenever they spend time together since little, so they just continue doing it despite already being college students.

'I won't be able to wake up if I sleep now…' Wonho replies softly, sighing in the process.

'I'll wake you up.' Junjie states gently and pats the space beside him. Wonho rolls his eyes and rubs his face. He makes his way to the toilet to wash his face and proceeds to position himself beside Junjie, facing himself towards the wall. He feels the Chinese man's hand on his waist but pays no attention. It does not mean anything anyways, Junjie just love to show affection towards his friends, and Wonho does not mind it either, having gotten used to having another person sleeping with him. Sighing, he closes his eyes, focusing on the heartbeat behind him which lullabies him to sleep.

Feeling a gentle rub on his face, Wonho opens his eyes to the scorching summer sun. He squints his eyes to look at the clock - 45 minutes to his first class. He cursed inside, hoping for more so he can get another five minutes of sleep.

'Yaah, you won't be able to wake up like that.' The familiar voice calls.

'Shut up.'

'Get up or I'll carry you to the bathroom'

'pffft…' And he feels himself being lifted. Struggling to get himself free, Wonho's eyes opens wide as he screamed, 'YAAAAH!'

'Get up.' Junjie lets him down after laughing his heart out, and walks himself towards the exit, stopping right before the door. Wonho is now opening the tap, 'Ryuu-hyung 1wants to grab lunch together. You free?'

'Dunno yet. I'll get to you later aight?' He replies casually while trying to brush his teeth. He hears the door close and continues to get ready, minding the time as to not be late. Once done, he Wonho takes a sip from his bottled water before noticing a post-it on one of his reference book which he is sure was not there yesterday. He never leaves post-it notes in his books.

Opening the page, he realizes what is missing from his blueprint - an entry from the diary of a merchant detailing the renovation done on the building 60 years ago. Junjie marked it along with a note. He remembers talking about this detail while they were eating some time ago, he wonders why he didn't recall it. He must have been so tired last night.

Wonho smiles from the thought of his best friend, always remembering the smallest details even though he never looks like he listens. He made a mental note to buy Junjie a beer later. Scratch that, the man loves soju.

Dressing up in a simple polo shirt and shorts, the architecture student grabs his backpack and takes his bicycle to his department for his morning lecture. A few more weeks and he will be done with morning classes, finally able to spend his days sleeping in. Just a few more torturous weeks and it's summer holidays!

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'Wono-hyung! Here!' Chansol, his junior of a year, signals to the seat next to him. Giving the younger male a brief smile, Wonho grabs the seat and takes out his laptop to prepare for lecture while Chansol is already resting his head for a nap.

'You done your report?'

'Unhh… Just one more paragraph…' Chansol mumbles, already drifting away. Not a minute later, he is awoken by Wonho when the lecturer comes in. For some reason, the lecture hall is almost empty today so unlike all the other days when they are able to sleep unnoticed, doing so today will be obvious, and rude. And that would be suicidal, not in Prof. Kim's class.

'Well since we have so many students today, I'm feeling grateful.' The professor states sarcastically, eyeing the empty seats. Wonho can tell the man is holding his irritation, 'I'll be taking attendance, and to those present today, ten marks for you.'

Wonho stares at Chansol who does the same. Ten marks for Prof. Kim's class is huge. Ten marks can be a fail or a pass, and most students fail this class. Giving a knuckle to his junior, he quickly signs his name and student ID on the piece of paper before passing it towards the latter.

'Owh and since I'm feeling generous, to those present, you can bring an A4 note during the exam. Only eight of you are allowed, so be honored.' The professor continues, earning a cheer from his students. Wonho and Chansol bows three times, making it obvious which earns them a laugh from the old man.

#####

After an hour and a half of detailed physical calculations, the two young students are finally relieved from the class. Already exhausted, they head towards the nearest cafeteria to join Sangcheol - an alpha senior who is a year older than Wonho, Junjie, and Mengyao, a freshman beta.

Sangcheol was Wonho's facilitator during orientation, as well as Junjie's course senior which was why they became friends in the first place. Then came Mengyao whom Junjie took under his wings to help with translating and overall tutor as they are both engineering students despite being from different course. And Wonho found himself tutoring Chansol, a half-Caucasian alpha who has trouble concentrating.

Though Wonho never fancies concept of a pack as he is a beta, and anything associated with the second gender seems stupid to him, he does not mind being with his own two alpha friends Because they are not like the typical proud, egoistic alphas who prioritize hierarchies like some outdated species.

Chansol quickly finds himself a spot next to Sangcheol, the younger being fond of the older, while he takes a seat opposite Junjie, who is already munching on his fried rice. Wonho bought himself a piece of sausage bun and an instant ramen, which earns him a glare from Junjie; the man always asking Wonho to eat real food. Returning the glare with a sharper one, Wonho smirks and begins eating his lunch.

'When're you guys finishing your exams?' Sangcheol asks after finishing his food. Junjie and Mengyao immediately takes out their phones to check their schedule.

'In three weeks, last one's on Tuesday.' Wonho replies first without checking. He knows it by heart as he already has plan for that night - going out with Jinyoung, his adorable omega crush, for dinner at a nearby cafe. He has been looking forward for this day.

'Mine's Thursday.' Junjie replies followed by Mengyao, 'Same.'

'Awww, mine's on Tuesday the next week!!' Chansol drops his head on the table, stressed. All of them cannot help but laugh at the youngest's adorable gesture while the oldest pats his head. 'No worries! We'll celebrate on Tuesday then!'

'At Kingsmen?' Wonho inquires. He always enjoys hanging out at the bar with the billiards, darts and other games but it is at the bad part of town, so they only go there when there are at least three of them, just in case. And the only reason why they even go there in the first place is because the bar belongs to Sangcheol's cousin, and the man provides them with a special room - the VIP room whenever the students want to hang out there which is why they need to make plans earlier to ensure the room is available.

'We can go somewhere else if you wa-'

'KINGSMEN!' All four interject in unison.