Tangled Hearts

"I will take care of them." Jongdae said in a mocking way observing Baekhyun, who was babbling incoherently under the influence of too many drinks. "You're so drunk, I can't even bring myself to scold you." he sighed, shaking his head.

"C'mon, Dede! I’m still like, totally capable of handling them!" Baekhyun giggled, swaying slightly. "I’m just a teensy-weensy bit tipsy, that’s all! Eheheh!" he tipped back another glass.

"Let the guy drink his worries away." Seulgi chipped in, already feeling a pleasant buzz herself. "It's not like Jongin and Yerim are helpless kids, we’re all here to unwind and celebrate." she raised her glass in a toast. "Cheers, bestie!" Jongdae chuckled and clinked his glass against hers.

"Absolutely, hyung!" Jongdae chimed in, lifting his own glass to show its half-full contents. "I won’t get as drunk as Baek. I still have to walk Yerim to her dorm after this." he smiled.

Jongdae just shrugged and forgot all his worries, like Seulgi said they were there to have fun and relax, while celebrating the end of exams. They were all having fun, Jongin and Yerim brought more drinks to the table while Seulgi and Jongdae were teasing Baekhyun's drunk ass when a familiar person got near them.

"KYUNGSOOOOOO!" Baekhyun exclaimed happily, getting up and hugging his friend. "I'm so happy to see you. I missed you so much my dear friend."

"I was at your grandma's yesterday." Kyungsoo chuckled, glancing at the disheveled Baekhyun. "He is already this drunk?"

"He's drowning his sorrows away." Seulgi said with a laugh. "He had a problem with a important assignment and now is basically failing class."

"I'm not failing." Baekhyun pouted, jabbing his finger toward her. "I will get a second chance from professor Zhang."

Jongdae rolled his eyes, rising to help Kyungsoo escape Baekhyun's enthusiastic embrace. "Just let him be Gi. You know how this assignment was important to him." he helped Baekhyun sit down. "Are you alone?"

"Oh no. I came with my friends." Kyungsoo replied, nodding toward a group making their way over. "But if you don't mind we can all sit here. I want you to meet them."

"Yeah! The mor— YOU!" Baekhyun suddenly shouted, pointing an accusing finger at one of Kyungsoo's friends. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"You know Chanyeol?" Kyungsoo asked, confusion etched on his face. He couldn’t recall ever introducing them.

"As far as I know, this is a public bar and I'm here to drink." Chanyeol replied with a smug on his lips. "Hi grumpy."

Baekhyun leapt to his feet, ready to charge at Chanyeol, but Jongdae caught him just in time. "He's the jerk who ruined my baby."

"I said it was an accident." Chanyeol sighed, exasperated by the insistence as if he had done it on purpose.

"So the guy whose assignment you ruined was Baekhyun's?" Kyungsoo asked, unable to suppress a laugh. "You’re lucky he only gave you a light punch."

"What you mean lightly?" Chanyeol asked shocked. "I still feel achy and my cheek is all red."

"Yeah but still lucky." Seulgi added, taking a sip of her drink. "Baekhyun is a black belt in hapkido, if he wanted he could have broken your cheek bone." she said it so casually that Baekhyun flashed a proud grin.

"Thankfully you got only a punch." Sehun said patting his friend shoulder with a smirk on his face. "Hi guys, I'm Sehun."

Kyungsoo cleared his throat, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. "Oh, right! Let me introduce everyone." he said, gesturing grandly. Once the introductions were complete, the friends sat all together.

Baekhyun shot daggers at Chanyeol, who wore a smug grin, clearly relishing the playful tension. It amused him to see the dramatic reactions of the shorter one.

The night was deep, laughter and chatter echoing around them, but Baekhyun couldn't resist bringing up the infamous incident when Chanyeol had destroyed his model. The conversation erupted into playful banter, much to the delight of the others.

As the night wore on, Baekhyun became increasingly drunk. Before long, Jongdae found himself hoisting the slightly wobbly Baekhyun over his shoulder, setting off toward the dorms, laughter trailing behind them.

🪢

"Good morning, besties!" Seulgi exclaimed as she approached her friends with a bright smile.

"Shhh! Keep it down, will you? I've got a pounding headache." Baekhyun grumbled, adjusting his sunglasses in an attempt to shield his eyes from the bright sun.

"Perhaps if you hadn't drink that much last night, you wouldn't be feeling this way. " Jongdae chimed in with a smirk, handing Baekhyun a bottle of water. "You look a mess."

"I was just having a good time!" Baekhyun replied with a sigh of exasperation. "Maybe I should've taken it easy..." he added, wincing as he squinted against the sunlight. "Why did Professor Zhang make us wait outside? The sun is killing me!"

“I’m not sure.” Seulgi shrugged, glancing around. “The email simply mentioned that it was something important and that we should all gather here. But I’m seeing so many unfamiliar faces. Maybe it’s some new activity?”

"Look, our new friends," someone chimed from behind, prompting them to turn around. Chanyeol, Sehun, and Joohyun were walking toward them. "Hey, guys! What are you doing here?"

"Hey! Our professor asked us to wait here. What about you?" Jongdae replied, giving Sehun a casual high five.

"We were told to come here too." Joohyun responded, slightly perplexed by the sight of students from two different majors mingling together.

Meanwhile, Baekhyun and Chanyeol chose to ignore each other as they caught up with their friends. Just then, their professors arrived together, signaling for everyone’s attention.

"Hello, everyone! For those who don’t know me, I’m Professor Zhang Yixing from the architecture major." he announced with a welcoming smile.

"And I’m Professor Wendy Son from liberal arts." Wendy added. After everyone acknowledged the professors, she continued. "We’ve gathered you all here because we have some exciting news that we believe will benefit all of you."

Yixing took over, his gaze sweeping across the group. "Now that exams are done and we have a few weeks left in the semester..." he paused, chuckling at the puzzled expressions on their faces. "We've decided that students from both majors will collaborate in pairs to create a new project." a murmur of confusion rippled through the crowd.

"Hold on, everyone." Wendy said, raising her hands to quiet the chatter. "We know this might seem unusual, working across two different majors. But you might be surprised at how much you have in common."

"Architecture and liberal arts share a lot of creativity and innovation." Professor Zhang explained enthusiastically. "Pairing students from both disciplines could lead to some spectacular results." he grinned. "And, just to clarify, the pairings were chosen at random. We placed your names in a bag and drew them, so there's no room for complaints or requests to swap partners."

"This will also help you develop teamwork skills, learn to collaborate, and get a taste of the working world." Wendy added, pulling out a notebook from her bag. "Now, let's dive into the pairings." as she began reading the names, anticipation built in the crowd. "First up: Oh Sehun from liberal arts will team with Kang Seulgi from architecture."

"Yes!" they cheered, giving each other enthusiastic high fives.

Yixing smiled, noting their excitement. "I can see that some of you are happy, which is a good sign for a fruitful project.” he continued. “Next, Bae Joohyun from liberal arts will be paired with Kim Jongdae from architecture.” they exchanged thumbs-up in approval.

"And…" Wendy said, her voice rising with suspense. "Park Chanyeol from liberal arts teams up with Byun Baekhyun from architecture."

"WHAT?!" both of them exclaimed in shock, their eyes wide with disbelief as the reality of their new partnership sank in.