(for streamingvoices) Catch Me If You Can
For: streamingvoices
Title: Catch Me If You Can
Genre: romance
Rating: PG-13
Length: 5,300 words
Summary: Jongin wants to be found, so Kyungsoo's going to find him.
Notes:I’m sorry to my prompter for the gen mess. ; ;
"I wonder...," Jongin murmurs as he gazes out the window. Kyungsoo is still outside with Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Jongdae, enjoying the crisp spring weather before they have to be stuck in the classroom all day.
It's not as if there's anything important left to complete. Entrance exams have been finished and most people are just going to prep classes out of habit now, Kyungsoo included.
Jongin knows that they'll notice his disappearance almost immediately, starting from the moment that Sehun walks to school alone when they've been walking together for the past two years.
Jongin's not worried about that.
No, the question is, will they go after him? Will Kyungsoo chase Jongin down the way that Jongin craves in his bones, has been aching this entire year to find out?
They've only been dating a month, finally, after almost two full years of Jongin stumbling after Kyungsoo in the most public crush the school has ever seen. Honestly, it got to the point where the teachers were starting to give Jongin advice out of pity. They're finally together, after Jongin choked out a confession to the older boy, high on adrenaline from his dance team showcase, but now Jongin's about to lose Kyungsoo all over again.
Graduation is only a week away for the third years, and after years of pining, Jongin's going to lose Kyungsoo to college and the undoubtedly cooler college friends he'll make.
Kyungsoo's going to forget about Jongin, and he can either take that lying down, or....
Jongin traces a tiny outline of Kyungsoo's form and thumbs away the bit of mist covering his face in the window. He's far away but Jongin can tell his boyfriend is smiling , laughing even, at whatever Baekhyun is telling him about, and the sudden wave of affection that overcomes Jongin is as strong as it is unexpected.
He's going to miss Kyungsoo so much. This is why the plan has to be carried out.
"Don't get too mad at me, okay, hyung?" Jongin murmurs at the figure below. "It's just an experiment. Sort of."
.
.
Sehun finds out about it first, and he immediately seeks out Kyungsoo since he's the next person Jongin would go to after Sehun.
He manages to catch Kyungsoo outside his classroom on the third floor just as he's about to walk in, and pulls him aside as the other third years glance suspiciously at his underclassmen uniform. As Sehun explains the situation, Chanyeol and Baekhyun, whose class is right next to Kyungsoo's, pop out of their room to see what's brought Sehun up to their floor, and catch the tail end of his explanation.
"He didn't go home last night?" Chanyeol says, swaying back and forth on his long legs in agitation. "Then where the hell would he go?"
"I don't know, but apparently he told his parents that he was going to stay at my house all week," Sehun says, his brow scrunched up like it gets when he's supremely confused. "It's a good thing I caught his sister when she was leaving for work, otherwise Jongin would be in deep trouble right now." Sehun pauses and amends, "His sister is pretty pissed though."
Sehun's looking at Kyungsoo like he expects Jongin to be bunking with him for some kind of pre-graduation honeymoon that only Jongin would think up, but his face drops when Kyungsoo starts to slowly shake his head.
"I haven't heard anything from Jongin," Kyungsoo says as his hand squeezes convulsively around his cellphone. "I can't believe he's not answering his phone either. That's not like Jongin at all."
"There's only a week till school ends," Baekhyun says. "His timing is amazing, isn't it?"
Baekhyun's words make Kyungsoo stiffen so noticeably that he catches the others' attention.
"You okay? Your face went all white," Baekhyun observes.
Kyungsoo wipes a hand over his face and groans.
"That idiot," Kyungsoo swears loudly, and their little circle draws more glances from the morning crowd of students drifting around them.
They're almost out of time. Behind Kyungsoo the teacher has already started to set up his materials and he taps his watch meaningfully at them from his desk.
At his friends' responding blinks, Kyungsoo sighs, glances at the filling classroom behind them, and says tiredly, "You know what, I'll tell you later. Let's get to class first."
Without waiting for them, he ducks into the classroom first, inwardly reeling. He's hoping that Jongin didn't do what he thinks he did, but he also knows deep in his gut that Jongin most likely has.
In fact, Kyungsoo thinks as he stares out the window, Jongin is probably waiting for them right now.
.
.
Kyungsoo doesn't know much about dance but whatever Jongin was doing on stage looked beautifully complex, and Kyungsoo spent most of the performance watching with his mouth slightly open, until Jongdae started pointing and snickering at him, and he closed his mouth with a snap.
Even now, after the show is finished, Jongin is flushed and glowing with stage charisma so that it's difficult to look straight at him.
He's so beautiful, Kyungsoo thinks to himself, his tone agonized even in his own head. Just a beautiful dancer.
Jongin looks thrilled to see him though, and Kyungsoo immediately gets an exclamation of, "Hyung, you came!" and a hot, sweaty bear hug that practically drowns Kyungsoo's smaller stature.
'What do they feed the kids these days?' Kyungsoo wonders sadly. Between Jongin and Sehun, Kyungsoo never gets any peace. As if he was summoned, Sehun appears behind Jongin, looking just as fierce and striking in his own stage makeup, eyes heavily lined in kohl, and glitter trailing from the sides of his face down to the wide open V of his shirt to kiss his collarbones.
Sehun, the brat, looks knowingly at them with his arms folded, and Kyungsoo suddenly feels a little apprehensive.
Quickly, he wriggles out of Jongin's hold, all the while laughing nervously. "Ew, you're all gross and sweaty, get off me!"
Jongin looks a little confused, but then he's distracted by the others rushing in to congratulate them. Jongdae slaps wildly at their backs until Baekhyun gets him to stop, while Chanyeol throws question after question on the show, like how did they do that twirly move near the end, or who chose the hip hop song in the background because it was awesome.
Even Yixing and Minseok, their dance team seniors, showed up, and as they pass their congratulatory flowers to Sehun and Jongin, Kyungsoo is struck by the realization that this is the last dance show he'll ever see as a high school student. In a month he's going to graduate and then he'll be off to college in Seoul.
He just hopes he can find the time to come back for Jongin's performances, thinks Kyungsoo as he watches Jongin shyly rub his head at Yixing's honest praise.
Then Kyungsoo's breath catches in his throat as Jongin looks up and grins at him, and the next thing he knows, Jongin's dragging him off to who knows where as their friends wave them off.
A few moments later, Kyungsoo finds himself backstage in an area that's been sectioned off by clothes racks, not that there's anyone around in the first place since everyone is still in the front celebrating the end of a successful performance.
Jongin's hand is still wrapped around Kyungsoo's, and he's not uncomfortable but he flexes it curiously.
"Jongin...is there something wrong?"
Jongin turns to him and, if possible, he looks even more red than he did right after the show. Jongin glances down at their joined hands and gulps a little, but then seems to come to an internal decision because he pulls Kyungsoo in so they're only a foot apart.
Now Kyungsoo's starting to redden, and something in the back of his head starts going off like he's subconsciously realized what's going to happen next.
"There is something wrong," Jongin says quietly as he starts to fiddle with Kyungsoo's hand. Jongin's fingers are longer and darker than Kyungsoo's own, warm, with long ragged fingernails that need to be trimmed.
Jongin's dark eyes dart up at Kyungsoo but swiftly move back down, unable to keep eye contact in his nervousness.
"We've known each other―been friends―for two years now, and you're one of the coolest hyungs I've ever had," Jongin says hurriedly. When Kyungsoo opens his mouth to reply Jongin rushes on, afraid of losing steam.
"The thing is―!"
Jongin's fingers tighten around his. "The thing is," Jongin says, in that higher pitch his voice gets into when he's running out of air, "I've liked you for just as long."
Jongin is looking down, but since he's so much taller than Kyungsoo, the older boy has a good view of how pinched his face is from the embarrassment.
It must be because his head has gone light with the surprise of Jongin's confession that Kyungsoo does the first thing that goes through his head.
He reaches up, grabs a handful of Jongin's ridiculously sparkly costume shirt and pulls him down into a kiss.
.
.
The first place Kyungsoo checks is Jongin's older cousin's house.
Joonmyun is a college student who commutes to Seoul on a daily basis. According to Jongin it's because his mother has some kind of illness that forces her to be bedridden, and Joonmyun can't bear to leave her by herself for too long.
Joonmyun gives him an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, he hasn't been here. But you're free to stick around for the night since it's already late. You can head out again in the morning," Joonmyun offers.
It took two different train rides and five hours to get to Joonmyun's place, so Kyungsoo wearily agrees.
That night he texts Jongin again.
I'm at Joonmyun-hyung's house. I spent my entire Sunday riding trains to find you. Will you please tell me where you are now?
When there's no reply, Kyungsoo sends one last message before he turns off the light and rolls himself up in the blankets.
U better be sleeping somewhere warm. It's still chilly outside u brat.
.
.
Kyungsoo is lying on the couch with Jongin watching a movie when the younger boy makes a soft sound of realization.
Kyungsoo raises his head. "What?"
"Nothing," Jongin says, his head propped up by his hand as he stares at the screen through his lashes. "Just...you think that could actually happen in real life?"
Kyungsoo squints up at him, completely lost. "What are you talking about?" Kyungsoo says, glancing between the boy and the television.
"Like knowing someone so well that you could track them down wherever they go?" Jongin takes his eyes off the screen to give Kyungsoo an inscrutable look.
A little confused at how solemn the conversation got, Kyungsoo falters.
"Err, I guess? You just need to know their habits and stuff. How hard could it be?"
Jongin presses, "But what if they're actively trying to hide themselves? Who could find them then?"
"Probably the people that love them the most," Kyungsoo says carefully, and he's not sure what answer Jongin is seeking from him but something in Jongin's face relaxes and the mood instantly lightens.
"I know that if my dad ever ran for it, my mom would be able to track him down in a heartbeat," Kyungsoo deadpans, and Jongin laughs.
.
.
After he leaves Joonmyun's house, Kyungsoo takes the next train out to Seoul where Minseok-hyung opened a coffee shop with his best friend Luhan, a Chinese transfer student that used to go to their high school with them.
He's a little more hopeful that Jongin went to see them since Jongin looked up to Minseok a lot, but he's disappointed once again when Minseok and Luhan exchange looks and shake their heads at Kyungsoo sadly.
Since there's a line of customers waiting, Minseok busies himself with making drinks while Luhan pulls Kyungsoo over to an empty table, tutting softly under his breath. Kyungsoo almost forgets to take off the heavy backpack he's been carrying around since he left home the other day, which Luhan helps him drop into the other chair.
Luhan hisses a little. "Geez, this is heavy. Are you carrying all your belongings in this or what?"
Kyungsoo shrugs a little, embarrassed. "I have some water bottles and food packs, and stuff like flashlights, just in case I get lost and need to stay out for the night."
Luhan looks horrified at his matter-of-fact description.
"What?! Oh no, absolutely not! No way is one of my underclassmen sleeping outside in the cold. You're staying here tonight, you hear me?" Luhan demands, shaking Kyungsoo a little to get the message across, and Kyungsoo laughs.
"Okay, okay, I got it, Luhan-hyung," Kyungsoo says, looking down at the table, and quietly he feels grateful that he has such good hyungs to watch out for him.
Unbeknownst to Kyungsoo, over his head Luhan sends Minseok a guilty look, to which Minseok gives him a helpless shrug in reply.
.
.
Kyungsoo sleeps on Luhan and Minseok's couch for two nights and spends the rest of his time roaming the big noisy city of Seoul for any sign of Jongin. The search is frustrating, and tiring, and graduation is so close that Kyungsoo can feel the weight of it looming over him with every minute that passes.
'Why on earth did he have to pull this stunt now?' Kyungsoo thinks in vain as he flips through the missed calls on his phone.
Even though he left a note his parents have been calling him nonstop and leaving cringeworthy voicemails that Kyungsoo gave up listening to after the first one. He's not used to being the rebellious kid, so this is new to all of them. Mostly his parents just seem confused that Kyungsoo is ditching full days of school when he had a perfect attendance record for the past year.
Kyungsoo isn't sure what to tell them, because the real answer will make sure Jongin is in their blacklist before they even find out they're dating.
He's glumly hoping that his parents don't kill him when he goes back home when Zitao, Luhan's younger brother, drops into the seat across from and steals a sip of the cappuccino Minseok whipped up for him.
Kyungsoo blinks and glares a little. "You little thief," Kyungsoo says as he takes his cappuccino back.
Zitao licks foam off his upper lip, grins and sings, "I'm taller than you, Kyungsoo-hyung~"
"What do you want, Tao? I'm not in the mood," Kyungsoo says, looking back down at his phone.
"You're never in the mood!" Zitao whines, and he kicks his feet like he's six instead of sixteen. Kyungsoo spends the next few minutes ignoring Zitao while the boy tries to get his attention through heavy pouts and poke attacks. Zitao eventually gives up, because Kyungsoo's patience is infinite after being childhood friends with the beagle line trio, and Kyungsoo is actually the most stubborn person on the planet.
"Why are you even wasting your time looking for him anyways?" Zitao finally asks, looking at Kyungsoo sideways with his cheek in his palm. He must be going out later today because he's got his eyeliner done on point, the wingtips looking sharp enough to cut.
"He's going to come back sooner or later," Zitao adds flippantly. "Why go through all this trouble?"
Kyungsoo's tempted to blow Zitao off but the younger boy is blinking innocently at him, honestly curious, and Kyungsoo suddenly feels really tired. Slowly, he slides over his cappuccino again for Zitao to drink while he thinks about his answer.
Because Zitao's got a point. Kyungsoo is expending a lot of time and energy trying to find someone that ran off just for the hell of it. Jongin's not in any danger, and Kyungsoo's risking his own graduation by going after him. And yet....
"Jongin wants to be found," Kyungsoo finally says, "So, I'm going to go find him. Simple as that."
Zitao makes a doubtful face, which looks ridiculous with the foam mustache he has above his mouth.
"Why do you have to be the one to find him though?"
Kyungsoo hesitates before he answers.
"Because I can."
.
.
"Yes! Did you see the way his face changed when I did that triple spin!" Jongin crows, still reeling from the triumph of making the dance team's line up in one shot.
"Amazing! Freaking amazing!" Sehun repeats, looking stunned himself. Then he gets a thoughtful look on his face and contemplates aloud, "Wow, maybe I should try out for the dance team if they're letting just anyone join up."
Jongin makes an affronted noise and shoves him in the arm. "Shut up, loser."
Sehun rubs at his arm and looks at him sideways.
"No, seriously. You think I could make the team too if I tried out?" Sehun asks, his tone carefully nonchalant.
Jongin's a little surprised because Sehun has never showed an interest in dance before, but he immediately gives him a shoulder bump and says, "Of course you could! You're going to have to practice first though, you walking couch potato. They're not going to accept you if you walk in with that jiggly belly." Jongin pokes at his belly with a smirk.
Predictably, Sehun flares and tackles Jongin, causing the other students in the hall around them to hurriedly jump out of their way as they weave around chaotically.
"What belly?!" Sehun growls as Jongin laughs hysterically through the chokehold he's been put in.
"Hahahahahaha!"
"Say uncle!" Sehun demands. "Say it!"
"Uncle, uncle!" Jongin yelps, and when Sehun finally releases him, his tan face is bright red from exertion.
"Dumbass," Sehun scoffs as he walks on ahead, and Jongin looks up with laughter still in his throat and freezes.
In the future, Jongin will cite this as the moment that he first saw Do Kyungsoo, walking sedately down the stairs with his friends, probably on his way out to the local convenience store because the cafeteria ran out of cream breads again. In front, Sehun is rambling about needing to finish his homework before they have to turn it in after lunch and can he copy Jongin's...is Jongin even listening to him? Jongin?
Jongin's face is still hot and he's breathing heavily, but now it's like the world has taken his breath from him completely and he has nothing left to go on.
He's lightheaded, Jongin thinks. He is gorgeous.
Life being as wonderfully random as it is, Jongin tunes in just in time to hear Sehun say, "Oh, it's Chanyeol-hyung. Hey, hyung, over here!"
.
.
With two days left until graduation, Kyungsoo takes Luhan's advice and takes a train up north, only an hour away from their hometown, to see Yixing.
He spends most of the train ride sending Jongin random text messages, peppered with demands to tell Kyungsoo where he is.
I forgot how bad train food is. It's like literally baby mush. They're giving me food for babies.
I hope u know ur a jerk for making me run all over the country for u.
I'm going to laugh at u if u get sick from sleeping out in the cold.
Kyungsoo ends up having to force himself from sending anymore text messages because he's downgraded to elementary-level name-calling in lieu of anything particularly meaningful to say.
His last message reads, Ur such a butthead.
.
.
Kyungsoo knocks on the apartment door but the person who answers the door is not Yixing. The person who answers has a frighteningly chilly dye job and an equally chilly face, like the bleach sucked out all the soul from his features and left his handsome carcass to terrorize the rest of the earthlings.
He peers down at Kyungsoo like he's insulted the boy even knocked on his door. Kyungsoo gulps, too intimidated to even step back.
"I-Is Yixing-hyung here?" Kyungsoo asks tremulously, eyes wide enough to swallow his face. For a moment, as the not-Yixing's face twists, he thinks that he should start running before he gets eaten like Jack from that beanstalk story almost did, but then not-Yixing grunts and yells over his shoulder, "Lay, there's a kid here to see you!"
He abruptly motions Kyungsoo in, giant backpack and all, and stumbles off to another room, scratching his bare stomach and complaining about his beauty sleep constantly being interrupted by Yixing's underclassmen from out of town while Kyungsoo wavers cautiously on the threshold.
It's a small, homey apartment, the kind where the people living in it have more belongings than the walls can contain, but they manage to make it work anyways. Honestly though, after another long day of riding trains, Kyungsoo will take any place that has hot water and food that doesn't come out of a mini tray and smells like kibble.
Yixing must see how tired Kyungsoo is because he immediately sits Kyungsoo down at the dining room table and serves him the best Chinese food he's ever had in his life, no matter how much Yixing waves off his praise with excuses of it being "just leftovers". Kyungsoo swiftly downs his first plate and is carefully verging on his second before he remembers to ask if Jongin came by to see Yixing anytime in the past week.
He should be used to the disappointment by now.
"Maybe he's just having some fun before graduation. A last hoorah," Yixing says with a sympathetic smile.
"Did Luhan-hyung and Minseok-hyung tell you he ran away?" Kyungsoo asks wearily, and because he's rubbing his hand over his face he doesn't see how Yixing's eyes bulge in panic.
"Uhh, yes! They told me all about it, haha. Have some more dumplings," Yixing says, passing him the entire plate.
.
.
What does this even prove? That I don't care enough to know where u would hide?
Of course I care. U aren't the only one that had to deal w/ an unrequited crush Jongin!
Is this worth screwing up your academic record?
Is it worth screwing up mine?
I'm leaving Yixing-hyung's place tomrw morning to get back home by foot.
Stupid as it is it feels like something u would do.
Goodnite.
.
.
By train, Yixing's apartment is only an hour away from his hometown, but true to his word, Kyungsoo sets out on foot almost as soon as the sun rises, knowing it's going to take the entire day if he wants to make it back home by nightfall.
Along the way he hits a couple small towns (or at least smaller than his own), and although he doesn't stop for long, the change in atmosphere is refreshing. It might be because of the lovely blue weather, but everyone that Kyungsoo sees on the trip is infectiously smiley.
Kyungsoo walks industriously, his steps measured, robotic, and his head slightly lowered with the lines of the most recent pop ballad hit under his breath.
He finishes song after song, and gets interrupted by a bunch of kids that nearly bulldoze him down as they fly by in a whirlwind of shrieks and giggles.
Just for the hell of it, Kyungsoo yells after them, "Hey! Have any of you seen a strange older boy about this high? He's kind of mopey looking?"
Most of them just laugh at him, but one of the girls has enough decency to shout back, "Yeah, the dark handsome oppa went by earlier today!"
Dark handsome oppa.
It's too good to be true but Kyungsoo's blood starts racing anyways.
"Wait, what exactly did he look like?" Kyungsoo starts to ask, but before he can even finish the kids are already gone, their short attention span caught by something else.
Kyungsoo droops. "It can't be. It can't be," Kyungsoo chants to himself as he speeds up. Even so there's a jump to his step now, enthusiasm that wasn't there before.
Kyungsoo is closing in on Jongin, and with barely any time to spare.
.
.
Finally, near dawn of Friday morning, next to a tree by the dirt road, Kyungsoo's woken from his shivery sleep by an incoming text that buzzes straight into his hip. He's momentarily disoriented because there's a blanket draped over him and he thought he was in his bed but his mattress was much more firm than it usually was.
He digs out the phone, yawning, and flips it open. Then he double-takes.
Come find me, hyung~ I'm waiting for u.
Kyungsoo nearly throws his phone at the tree.
"Kim Jongin, you giant child!"
.
.
The first dance performance of Jongin's that Kyungsoo ever attends is an illuminating event. He already knows that Jongin is good at dancing; he has seen him and Sehun casually messing around with dance moves during lunch break enough times to get a hint on that part.
No, the illumination happens when Jongin's liner-sharpened gaze turns deadly, when the sweat literally flies off of him because he's dancing so hard, and when, at one point, his lip seems to teardrop with blood from the way he's biting down on it during his routine.
Something inside Kyungsoo twists in confusion, because this isn't his dorky, awkward, too-big-for-his-skin underclassman. This is a different Jongin, one that looks like he could eat fire and spit it back out at his audience with no remorse.
When they finish and the boys come tumbling out to receive their bouquets and congratulations, Kyungsoo hangs back a little, still struggling with the revelation that Jongin isn't a kid anymore.
As if he can sense him, Jongin peers over the top of the crowd to spot Kyungsoo on the edge and spends the next few moments pushing through it to get to him.
"Whew, made it!" Jongin says when he reaches him, and then he grins at him, and he's still glistening, hair like a bush, more than a little B.O. heavy, and Kyungsoo has never wanted anyone more.
"Did you like the show? Hyung? How was it, did you like it?" Jongin asks, looking at Kyungsoo eagerly. He's pushing into Kyungsoo's space and Kyungsoo is suddenly very aware that Jongin's shirt barely covers his chest and oh dear those are some very nice biceps.
"Uhhh," says Kyungsoo, eyes darting everywhere before he gives up and looks off into the distance.
"Hyung? Hyung, are you okay?"
.
.
Kyungsoo takes a risk and heads for the school as soon as he makes it into town. Graduation starts in about two hours, so if he doesn't find Jongin then he at least has enough time to run home, wash up and go finish his high school career properly.
He's exhausted and achy from sleeping on the unforgiving dirt ground, and there's a million other places Jongin could have gone, but the school seems like the most likely choice to his tired brain. He just wants to get this search over with.
Even though he is not a delinquent, Kyungsoo is friends with losers that either constantly oversleep (Chanyeol) or skip school because they get tired of education (Jongdae), so he knows which fence is generally low enough to jump to break in or out of the school.
Kyungsoo is about to head to the rooftop because Jongin is somewhat of a sappy romantic hiding in a teenage boy, but then he realizes what a true romantic would do and redirects his course to the location near the stairs where they first met.
Kyungsoo is taking two steps at a time as he practically sprints down the stairs and he nearly runs smack dab into another person, who side steps to avoid Kyungsoo and has to grab onto his windmilling arms to keep him from falling.
Kyungsoo knows who it is without having to see him.
"Kim Jongin, I'm going to kill you," Kyungsoo says.
"Aww, hyung, don't be mad at me," Jongin says, but he's also laughing, the jerk.
"You made me chase after you for a whole week! My butt is stiff from all the train rides I've taken!" Kyungsoo growls as he tries to pull his arms out of Jongin's grasp, and with his luck he ends up falling further into the other boy because Kyungsoo is a step above on the stairs, and his balance is shaky.
At this angle, Jongin and Kyungsoo are almost eye to eye so it's impossible to avoid the warmth of Jongin's gaze, which melts Kyungsoo's ire like a slushy in summer sun.
"But that's the point, hyung. I didn't make you do anything," Jongin says, looking thrilled at his own words. "You came after me all on your own." The joy then is apparently too much for him to contain because he swallows Kyungsoo up in a giant hug and squeezes him tightly. Kyungsoo’s hands flutter helplessly at Jongin’s sides.
"That's all I wanted," Jongin admits somewhere over Kyungsoo's shoulder. "I just wanted to know if you would chase after me...if you wanted me the way I wanted you."
"Oh," says Kyungsoo, licking his lips. He's not sure of what to say because that's not what he was expecting to hear, at all. He can practically hear Jongin grinding his teeth over his own cheesiness and anxiously wondering if he should have just kept his mouth shut.
That image is actually what gives him the confidence to pull back so he can look Jongin straight in the face. "I do...want you...the same way...," Kyungsoo says and before he can bite his own tongue he rattles out, "Or couldn't you tell by the way I was following your butt all over the countryside?"
"Yeah, I can tell now," Jongin says, eyes curved happily, and then the next moment he's leaning in to kiss Kyungsoo softly, warm fingers wrapping around his hips and pressing into the small of his back so that Kyungsoo jerkily arches forward from the ticklish spot, and Jongin has to catch him all over again.
"Oomph," Kyungsoo says, before Jongin swallows up the rest with his mouth, deeper now, messier.
Kyungsoo gets on his tip-toes even though he's a step above and uses his grip on Jongin's shoulders to balance. He likes this angle honestly, likes that he can see Jongin's face bent up at him through his lashes, likes that Jongin tightens his hold on him like he's afraid Kyungsoo's going to topple over.
When he pulls away, Jongin makes some sort of deep disappointed whiny noise that shouldn't be as cute as it is, but then that's Kyungsoo's whole life in a nutshell.
"Stop that," Kyungsoo says with a roll of his eyes. "Come on, we have to go get ready for class."
"We're not even going to do anything but watch movies all day," Jongin complains, tugging on Kyungsoo's arm for another kiss instead, which Kyungsoo firmly resists.
"Did you forget it's my last day of high school?" Kyungsoo says. "Come on, Jongin!"
"Hyuuung," Jongin whines, but somehow Kyungsoo manages to get the other boy off the stairs, out of the school, and in his house to wash up. Strangely, he finds leaves stuck in Jongin's hair, like he also spent his night sleeping on the roadside.
They have a lot of explaining to do, and Kyungsoo's parents are less than impressed with him. Sehun tries to smother Jongin as soon as he sees him, and Kyungsoo has to break them up before any permanent damage can be inflicted. Then both Kyungsoo and Jongin have to explain to their teachers exactly why they missed the last week of classes.
And yet, as Kyungsoo stands among his class of graduating seniors, he turns his head and sees Jongin bouncing a little on his heels, breaks into a smile when Jongin spots him and starts waving spastically, and feels like, at that moment, everything is just as it should be.
"Are you happy, hyung?" Jongin asks as he pulls off Kyungsoo's graduation cap to sneak a warm moist kiss on his forehead. Kyungsoo smiles so widely his cheeks bunch up under his eyes.
"Yes...I caught you, after all," Kyungsoo says, and Jongin just throws his head back and laughs and laughs.
Title: Catch Me If You Can
Genre: romance
Rating: PG-13
Length: 5,300 words
Summary: Jongin wants to be found, so Kyungsoo's going to find him.
Notes:I’m sorry to my prompter for the gen mess. ; ;
"I wonder...," Jongin murmurs as he gazes out the window. Kyungsoo is still outside with Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Jongdae, enjoying the crisp spring weather before they have to be stuck in the classroom all day.
It's not as if there's anything important left to complete. Entrance exams have been finished and most people are just going to prep classes out of habit now, Kyungsoo included.
Jongin knows that they'll notice his disappearance almost immediately, starting from the moment that Sehun walks to school alone when they've been walking together for the past two years.
Jongin's not worried about that.
No, the question is, will they go after him? Will Kyungsoo chase Jongin down the way that Jongin craves in his bones, has been aching this entire year to find out?
They've only been dating a month, finally, after almost two full years of Jongin stumbling after Kyungsoo in the most public crush the school has ever seen. Honestly, it got to the point where the teachers were starting to give Jongin advice out of pity. They're finally together, after Jongin choked out a confession to the older boy, high on adrenaline from his dance team showcase, but now Jongin's about to lose Kyungsoo all over again.
Graduation is only a week away for the third years, and after years of pining, Jongin's going to lose Kyungsoo to college and the undoubtedly cooler college friends he'll make.
Kyungsoo's going to forget about Jongin, and he can either take that lying down, or....
Jongin traces a tiny outline of Kyungsoo's form and thumbs away the bit of mist covering his face in the window. He's far away but Jongin can tell his boyfriend is smiling , laughing even, at whatever Baekhyun is telling him about, and the sudden wave of affection that overcomes Jongin is as strong as it is unexpected.
He's going to miss Kyungsoo so much. This is why the plan has to be carried out.
"Don't get too mad at me, okay, hyung?" Jongin murmurs at the figure below. "It's just an experiment. Sort of."
.
.
Sehun finds out about it first, and he immediately seeks out Kyungsoo since he's the next person Jongin would go to after Sehun.
He manages to catch Kyungsoo outside his classroom on the third floor just as he's about to walk in, and pulls him aside as the other third years glance suspiciously at his underclassmen uniform. As Sehun explains the situation, Chanyeol and Baekhyun, whose class is right next to Kyungsoo's, pop out of their room to see what's brought Sehun up to their floor, and catch the tail end of his explanation.
"He didn't go home last night?" Chanyeol says, swaying back and forth on his long legs in agitation. "Then where the hell would he go?"
"I don't know, but apparently he told his parents that he was going to stay at my house all week," Sehun says, his brow scrunched up like it gets when he's supremely confused. "It's a good thing I caught his sister when she was leaving for work, otherwise Jongin would be in deep trouble right now." Sehun pauses and amends, "His sister is pretty pissed though."
Sehun's looking at Kyungsoo like he expects Jongin to be bunking with him for some kind of pre-graduation honeymoon that only Jongin would think up, but his face drops when Kyungsoo starts to slowly shake his head.
"I haven't heard anything from Jongin," Kyungsoo says as his hand squeezes convulsively around his cellphone. "I can't believe he's not answering his phone either. That's not like Jongin at all."
"There's only a week till school ends," Baekhyun says. "His timing is amazing, isn't it?"
Baekhyun's words make Kyungsoo stiffen so noticeably that he catches the others' attention.
"You okay? Your face went all white," Baekhyun observes.
Kyungsoo wipes a hand over his face and groans.
"That idiot," Kyungsoo swears loudly, and their little circle draws more glances from the morning crowd of students drifting around them.
They're almost out of time. Behind Kyungsoo the teacher has already started to set up his materials and he taps his watch meaningfully at them from his desk.
At his friends' responding blinks, Kyungsoo sighs, glances at the filling classroom behind them, and says tiredly, "You know what, I'll tell you later. Let's get to class first."
Without waiting for them, he ducks into the classroom first, inwardly reeling. He's hoping that Jongin didn't do what he thinks he did, but he also knows deep in his gut that Jongin most likely has.
In fact, Kyungsoo thinks as he stares out the window, Jongin is probably waiting for them right now.
.
.
Kyungsoo doesn't know much about dance but whatever Jongin was doing on stage looked beautifully complex, and Kyungsoo spent most of the performance watching with his mouth slightly open, until Jongdae started pointing and snickering at him, and he closed his mouth with a snap.
Even now, after the show is finished, Jongin is flushed and glowing with stage charisma so that it's difficult to look straight at him.
He's so beautiful, Kyungsoo thinks to himself, his tone agonized even in his own head. Just a beautiful dancer.
Jongin looks thrilled to see him though, and Kyungsoo immediately gets an exclamation of, "Hyung, you came!" and a hot, sweaty bear hug that practically drowns Kyungsoo's smaller stature.
'What do they feed the kids these days?' Kyungsoo wonders sadly. Between Jongin and Sehun, Kyungsoo never gets any peace. As if he was summoned, Sehun appears behind Jongin, looking just as fierce and striking in his own stage makeup, eyes heavily lined in kohl, and glitter trailing from the sides of his face down to the wide open V of his shirt to kiss his collarbones.
Sehun, the brat, looks knowingly at them with his arms folded, and Kyungsoo suddenly feels a little apprehensive.
Quickly, he wriggles out of Jongin's hold, all the while laughing nervously. "Ew, you're all gross and sweaty, get off me!"
Jongin looks a little confused, but then he's distracted by the others rushing in to congratulate them. Jongdae slaps wildly at their backs until Baekhyun gets him to stop, while Chanyeol throws question after question on the show, like how did they do that twirly move near the end, or who chose the hip hop song in the background because it was awesome.
Even Yixing and Minseok, their dance team seniors, showed up, and as they pass their congratulatory flowers to Sehun and Jongin, Kyungsoo is struck by the realization that this is the last dance show he'll ever see as a high school student. In a month he's going to graduate and then he'll be off to college in Seoul.
He just hopes he can find the time to come back for Jongin's performances, thinks Kyungsoo as he watches Jongin shyly rub his head at Yixing's honest praise.
Then Kyungsoo's breath catches in his throat as Jongin looks up and grins at him, and the next thing he knows, Jongin's dragging him off to who knows where as their friends wave them off.
A few moments later, Kyungsoo finds himself backstage in an area that's been sectioned off by clothes racks, not that there's anyone around in the first place since everyone is still in the front celebrating the end of a successful performance.
Jongin's hand is still wrapped around Kyungsoo's, and he's not uncomfortable but he flexes it curiously.
"Jongin...is there something wrong?"
Jongin turns to him and, if possible, he looks even more red than he did right after the show. Jongin glances down at their joined hands and gulps a little, but then seems to come to an internal decision because he pulls Kyungsoo in so they're only a foot apart.
Now Kyungsoo's starting to redden, and something in the back of his head starts going off like he's subconsciously realized what's going to happen next.
"There is something wrong," Jongin says quietly as he starts to fiddle with Kyungsoo's hand. Jongin's fingers are longer and darker than Kyungsoo's own, warm, with long ragged fingernails that need to be trimmed.
Jongin's dark eyes dart up at Kyungsoo but swiftly move back down, unable to keep eye contact in his nervousness.
"We've known each other―been friends―for two years now, and you're one of the coolest hyungs I've ever had," Jongin says hurriedly. When Kyungsoo opens his mouth to reply Jongin rushes on, afraid of losing steam.
"The thing is―!"
Jongin's fingers tighten around his. "The thing is," Jongin says, in that higher pitch his voice gets into when he's running out of air, "I've liked you for just as long."
Jongin is looking down, but since he's so much taller than Kyungsoo, the older boy has a good view of how pinched his face is from the embarrassment.
It must be because his head has gone light with the surprise of Jongin's confession that Kyungsoo does the first thing that goes through his head.
He reaches up, grabs a handful of Jongin's ridiculously sparkly costume shirt and pulls him down into a kiss.
.
.
The first place Kyungsoo checks is Jongin's older cousin's house.
Joonmyun is a college student who commutes to Seoul on a daily basis. According to Jongin it's because his mother has some kind of illness that forces her to be bedridden, and Joonmyun can't bear to leave her by herself for too long.
Joonmyun gives him an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, he hasn't been here. But you're free to stick around for the night since it's already late. You can head out again in the morning," Joonmyun offers.
It took two different train rides and five hours to get to Joonmyun's place, so Kyungsoo wearily agrees.
That night he texts Jongin again.
I'm at Joonmyun-hyung's house. I spent my entire Sunday riding trains to find you. Will you please tell me where you are now?
When there's no reply, Kyungsoo sends one last message before he turns off the light and rolls himself up in the blankets.
U better be sleeping somewhere warm. It's still chilly outside u brat.
.
.
Kyungsoo is lying on the couch with Jongin watching a movie when the younger boy makes a soft sound of realization.
Kyungsoo raises his head. "What?"
"Nothing," Jongin says, his head propped up by his hand as he stares at the screen through his lashes. "Just...you think that could actually happen in real life?"
Kyungsoo squints up at him, completely lost. "What are you talking about?" Kyungsoo says, glancing between the boy and the television.
"Like knowing someone so well that you could track them down wherever they go?" Jongin takes his eyes off the screen to give Kyungsoo an inscrutable look.
A little confused at how solemn the conversation got, Kyungsoo falters.
"Err, I guess? You just need to know their habits and stuff. How hard could it be?"
Jongin presses, "But what if they're actively trying to hide themselves? Who could find them then?"
"Probably the people that love them the most," Kyungsoo says carefully, and he's not sure what answer Jongin is seeking from him but something in Jongin's face relaxes and the mood instantly lightens.
"I know that if my dad ever ran for it, my mom would be able to track him down in a heartbeat," Kyungsoo deadpans, and Jongin laughs.
.
.
After he leaves Joonmyun's house, Kyungsoo takes the next train out to Seoul where Minseok-hyung opened a coffee shop with his best friend Luhan, a Chinese transfer student that used to go to their high school with them.
He's a little more hopeful that Jongin went to see them since Jongin looked up to Minseok a lot, but he's disappointed once again when Minseok and Luhan exchange looks and shake their heads at Kyungsoo sadly.
Since there's a line of customers waiting, Minseok busies himself with making drinks while Luhan pulls Kyungsoo over to an empty table, tutting softly under his breath. Kyungsoo almost forgets to take off the heavy backpack he's been carrying around since he left home the other day, which Luhan helps him drop into the other chair.
Luhan hisses a little. "Geez, this is heavy. Are you carrying all your belongings in this or what?"
Kyungsoo shrugs a little, embarrassed. "I have some water bottles and food packs, and stuff like flashlights, just in case I get lost and need to stay out for the night."
Luhan looks horrified at his matter-of-fact description.
"What?! Oh no, absolutely not! No way is one of my underclassmen sleeping outside in the cold. You're staying here tonight, you hear me?" Luhan demands, shaking Kyungsoo a little to get the message across, and Kyungsoo laughs.
"Okay, okay, I got it, Luhan-hyung," Kyungsoo says, looking down at the table, and quietly he feels grateful that he has such good hyungs to watch out for him.
Unbeknownst to Kyungsoo, over his head Luhan sends Minseok a guilty look, to which Minseok gives him a helpless shrug in reply.
.
.
Kyungsoo sleeps on Luhan and Minseok's couch for two nights and spends the rest of his time roaming the big noisy city of Seoul for any sign of Jongin. The search is frustrating, and tiring, and graduation is so close that Kyungsoo can feel the weight of it looming over him with every minute that passes.
'Why on earth did he have to pull this stunt now?' Kyungsoo thinks in vain as he flips through the missed calls on his phone.
Even though he left a note his parents have been calling him nonstop and leaving cringeworthy voicemails that Kyungsoo gave up listening to after the first one. He's not used to being the rebellious kid, so this is new to all of them. Mostly his parents just seem confused that Kyungsoo is ditching full days of school when he had a perfect attendance record for the past year.
Kyungsoo isn't sure what to tell them, because the real answer will make sure Jongin is in their blacklist before they even find out they're dating.
He's glumly hoping that his parents don't kill him when he goes back home when Zitao, Luhan's younger brother, drops into the seat across from and steals a sip of the cappuccino Minseok whipped up for him.
Kyungsoo blinks and glares a little. "You little thief," Kyungsoo says as he takes his cappuccino back.
Zitao licks foam off his upper lip, grins and sings, "I'm taller than you, Kyungsoo-hyung~"
"What do you want, Tao? I'm not in the mood," Kyungsoo says, looking back down at his phone.
"You're never in the mood!" Zitao whines, and he kicks his feet like he's six instead of sixteen. Kyungsoo spends the next few minutes ignoring Zitao while the boy tries to get his attention through heavy pouts and poke attacks. Zitao eventually gives up, because Kyungsoo's patience is infinite after being childhood friends with the beagle line trio, and Kyungsoo is actually the most stubborn person on the planet.
"Why are you even wasting your time looking for him anyways?" Zitao finally asks, looking at Kyungsoo sideways with his cheek in his palm. He must be going out later today because he's got his eyeliner done on point, the wingtips looking sharp enough to cut.
"He's going to come back sooner or later," Zitao adds flippantly. "Why go through all this trouble?"
Kyungsoo's tempted to blow Zitao off but the younger boy is blinking innocently at him, honestly curious, and Kyungsoo suddenly feels really tired. Slowly, he slides over his cappuccino again for Zitao to drink while he thinks about his answer.
Because Zitao's got a point. Kyungsoo is expending a lot of time and energy trying to find someone that ran off just for the hell of it. Jongin's not in any danger, and Kyungsoo's risking his own graduation by going after him. And yet....
"Jongin wants to be found," Kyungsoo finally says, "So, I'm going to go find him. Simple as that."
Zitao makes a doubtful face, which looks ridiculous with the foam mustache he has above his mouth.
"Why do you have to be the one to find him though?"
Kyungsoo hesitates before he answers.
"Because I can."
.
.
"Yes! Did you see the way his face changed when I did that triple spin!" Jongin crows, still reeling from the triumph of making the dance team's line up in one shot.
"Amazing! Freaking amazing!" Sehun repeats, looking stunned himself. Then he gets a thoughtful look on his face and contemplates aloud, "Wow, maybe I should try out for the dance team if they're letting just anyone join up."
Jongin makes an affronted noise and shoves him in the arm. "Shut up, loser."
Sehun rubs at his arm and looks at him sideways.
"No, seriously. You think I could make the team too if I tried out?" Sehun asks, his tone carefully nonchalant.
Jongin's a little surprised because Sehun has never showed an interest in dance before, but he immediately gives him a shoulder bump and says, "Of course you could! You're going to have to practice first though, you walking couch potato. They're not going to accept you if you walk in with that jiggly belly." Jongin pokes at his belly with a smirk.
Predictably, Sehun flares and tackles Jongin, causing the other students in the hall around them to hurriedly jump out of their way as they weave around chaotically.
"What belly?!" Sehun growls as Jongin laughs hysterically through the chokehold he's been put in.
"Hahahahahaha!"
"Say uncle!" Sehun demands. "Say it!"
"Uncle, uncle!" Jongin yelps, and when Sehun finally releases him, his tan face is bright red from exertion.
"Dumbass," Sehun scoffs as he walks on ahead, and Jongin looks up with laughter still in his throat and freezes.
In the future, Jongin will cite this as the moment that he first saw Do Kyungsoo, walking sedately down the stairs with his friends, probably on his way out to the local convenience store because the cafeteria ran out of cream breads again. In front, Sehun is rambling about needing to finish his homework before they have to turn it in after lunch and can he copy Jongin's...is Jongin even listening to him? Jongin?
Jongin's face is still hot and he's breathing heavily, but now it's like the world has taken his breath from him completely and he has nothing left to go on.
He's lightheaded, Jongin thinks. He is gorgeous.
Life being as wonderfully random as it is, Jongin tunes in just in time to hear Sehun say, "Oh, it's Chanyeol-hyung. Hey, hyung, over here!"
.
.
With two days left until graduation, Kyungsoo takes Luhan's advice and takes a train up north, only an hour away from their hometown, to see Yixing.
He spends most of the train ride sending Jongin random text messages, peppered with demands to tell Kyungsoo where he is.
I forgot how bad train food is. It's like literally baby mush. They're giving me food for babies.
I hope u know ur a jerk for making me run all over the country for u.
I'm going to laugh at u if u get sick from sleeping out in the cold.
Kyungsoo ends up having to force himself from sending anymore text messages because he's downgraded to elementary-level name-calling in lieu of anything particularly meaningful to say.
His last message reads, Ur such a butthead.
.
.
Kyungsoo knocks on the apartment door but the person who answers the door is not Yixing. The person who answers has a frighteningly chilly dye job and an equally chilly face, like the bleach sucked out all the soul from his features and left his handsome carcass to terrorize the rest of the earthlings.
He peers down at Kyungsoo like he's insulted the boy even knocked on his door. Kyungsoo gulps, too intimidated to even step back.
"I-Is Yixing-hyung here?" Kyungsoo asks tremulously, eyes wide enough to swallow his face. For a moment, as the not-Yixing's face twists, he thinks that he should start running before he gets eaten like Jack from that beanstalk story almost did, but then not-Yixing grunts and yells over his shoulder, "Lay, there's a kid here to see you!"
He abruptly motions Kyungsoo in, giant backpack and all, and stumbles off to another room, scratching his bare stomach and complaining about his beauty sleep constantly being interrupted by Yixing's underclassmen from out of town while Kyungsoo wavers cautiously on the threshold.
It's a small, homey apartment, the kind where the people living in it have more belongings than the walls can contain, but they manage to make it work anyways. Honestly though, after another long day of riding trains, Kyungsoo will take any place that has hot water and food that doesn't come out of a mini tray and smells like kibble.
Yixing must see how tired Kyungsoo is because he immediately sits Kyungsoo down at the dining room table and serves him the best Chinese food he's ever had in his life, no matter how much Yixing waves off his praise with excuses of it being "just leftovers". Kyungsoo swiftly downs his first plate and is carefully verging on his second before he remembers to ask if Jongin came by to see Yixing anytime in the past week.
He should be used to the disappointment by now.
"Maybe he's just having some fun before graduation. A last hoorah," Yixing says with a sympathetic smile.
"Did Luhan-hyung and Minseok-hyung tell you he ran away?" Kyungsoo asks wearily, and because he's rubbing his hand over his face he doesn't see how Yixing's eyes bulge in panic.
"Uhh, yes! They told me all about it, haha. Have some more dumplings," Yixing says, passing him the entire plate.
.
.
What does this even prove? That I don't care enough to know where u would hide?
Of course I care. U aren't the only one that had to deal w/ an unrequited crush Jongin!
Is this worth screwing up your academic record?
Is it worth screwing up mine?
I'm leaving Yixing-hyung's place tomrw morning to get back home by foot.
Stupid as it is it feels like something u would do.
Goodnite.
.
.
By train, Yixing's apartment is only an hour away from his hometown, but true to his word, Kyungsoo sets out on foot almost as soon as the sun rises, knowing it's going to take the entire day if he wants to make it back home by nightfall.
Along the way he hits a couple small towns (or at least smaller than his own), and although he doesn't stop for long, the change in atmosphere is refreshing. It might be because of the lovely blue weather, but everyone that Kyungsoo sees on the trip is infectiously smiley.
Kyungsoo walks industriously, his steps measured, robotic, and his head slightly lowered with the lines of the most recent pop ballad hit under his breath.
He finishes song after song, and gets interrupted by a bunch of kids that nearly bulldoze him down as they fly by in a whirlwind of shrieks and giggles.
Just for the hell of it, Kyungsoo yells after them, "Hey! Have any of you seen a strange older boy about this high? He's kind of mopey looking?"
Most of them just laugh at him, but one of the girls has enough decency to shout back, "Yeah, the dark handsome oppa went by earlier today!"
Dark handsome oppa.
It's too good to be true but Kyungsoo's blood starts racing anyways.
"Wait, what exactly did he look like?" Kyungsoo starts to ask, but before he can even finish the kids are already gone, their short attention span caught by something else.
Kyungsoo droops. "It can't be. It can't be," Kyungsoo chants to himself as he speeds up. Even so there's a jump to his step now, enthusiasm that wasn't there before.
Kyungsoo is closing in on Jongin, and with barely any time to spare.
.
.
Finally, near dawn of Friday morning, next to a tree by the dirt road, Kyungsoo's woken from his shivery sleep by an incoming text that buzzes straight into his hip. He's momentarily disoriented because there's a blanket draped over him and he thought he was in his bed but his mattress was much more firm than it usually was.
He digs out the phone, yawning, and flips it open. Then he double-takes.
Come find me, hyung~ I'm waiting for u.
Kyungsoo nearly throws his phone at the tree.
"Kim Jongin, you giant child!"
.
.
The first dance performance of Jongin's that Kyungsoo ever attends is an illuminating event. He already knows that Jongin is good at dancing; he has seen him and Sehun casually messing around with dance moves during lunch break enough times to get a hint on that part.
No, the illumination happens when Jongin's liner-sharpened gaze turns deadly, when the sweat literally flies off of him because he's dancing so hard, and when, at one point, his lip seems to teardrop with blood from the way he's biting down on it during his routine.
Something inside Kyungsoo twists in confusion, because this isn't his dorky, awkward, too-big-for-his-skin underclassman. This is a different Jongin, one that looks like he could eat fire and spit it back out at his audience with no remorse.
When they finish and the boys come tumbling out to receive their bouquets and congratulations, Kyungsoo hangs back a little, still struggling with the revelation that Jongin isn't a kid anymore.
As if he can sense him, Jongin peers over the top of the crowd to spot Kyungsoo on the edge and spends the next few moments pushing through it to get to him.
"Whew, made it!" Jongin says when he reaches him, and then he grins at him, and he's still glistening, hair like a bush, more than a little B.O. heavy, and Kyungsoo has never wanted anyone more.
"Did you like the show? Hyung? How was it, did you like it?" Jongin asks, looking at Kyungsoo eagerly. He's pushing into Kyungsoo's space and Kyungsoo is suddenly very aware that Jongin's shirt barely covers his chest and oh dear those are some very nice biceps.
"Uhhh," says Kyungsoo, eyes darting everywhere before he gives up and looks off into the distance.
"Hyung? Hyung, are you okay?"
.
.
Kyungsoo takes a risk and heads for the school as soon as he makes it into town. Graduation starts in about two hours, so if he doesn't find Jongin then he at least has enough time to run home, wash up and go finish his high school career properly.
He's exhausted and achy from sleeping on the unforgiving dirt ground, and there's a million other places Jongin could have gone, but the school seems like the most likely choice to his tired brain. He just wants to get this search over with.
Even though he is not a delinquent, Kyungsoo is friends with losers that either constantly oversleep (Chanyeol) or skip school because they get tired of education (Jongdae), so he knows which fence is generally low enough to jump to break in or out of the school.
Kyungsoo is about to head to the rooftop because Jongin is somewhat of a sappy romantic hiding in a teenage boy, but then he realizes what a true romantic would do and redirects his course to the location near the stairs where they first met.
Kyungsoo is taking two steps at a time as he practically sprints down the stairs and he nearly runs smack dab into another person, who side steps to avoid Kyungsoo and has to grab onto his windmilling arms to keep him from falling.
Kyungsoo knows who it is without having to see him.
"Kim Jongin, I'm going to kill you," Kyungsoo says.
"Aww, hyung, don't be mad at me," Jongin says, but he's also laughing, the jerk.
"You made me chase after you for a whole week! My butt is stiff from all the train rides I've taken!" Kyungsoo growls as he tries to pull his arms out of Jongin's grasp, and with his luck he ends up falling further into the other boy because Kyungsoo is a step above on the stairs, and his balance is shaky.
At this angle, Jongin and Kyungsoo are almost eye to eye so it's impossible to avoid the warmth of Jongin's gaze, which melts Kyungsoo's ire like a slushy in summer sun.
"But that's the point, hyung. I didn't make you do anything," Jongin says, looking thrilled at his own words. "You came after me all on your own." The joy then is apparently too much for him to contain because he swallows Kyungsoo up in a giant hug and squeezes him tightly. Kyungsoo’s hands flutter helplessly at Jongin’s sides.
"That's all I wanted," Jongin admits somewhere over Kyungsoo's shoulder. "I just wanted to know if you would chase after me...if you wanted me the way I wanted you."
"Oh," says Kyungsoo, licking his lips. He's not sure of what to say because that's not what he was expecting to hear, at all. He can practically hear Jongin grinding his teeth over his own cheesiness and anxiously wondering if he should have just kept his mouth shut.
That image is actually what gives him the confidence to pull back so he can look Jongin straight in the face. "I do...want you...the same way...," Kyungsoo says and before he can bite his own tongue he rattles out, "Or couldn't you tell by the way I was following your butt all over the countryside?"
"Yeah, I can tell now," Jongin says, eyes curved happily, and then the next moment he's leaning in to kiss Kyungsoo softly, warm fingers wrapping around his hips and pressing into the small of his back so that Kyungsoo jerkily arches forward from the ticklish spot, and Jongin has to catch him all over again.
"Oomph," Kyungsoo says, before Jongin swallows up the rest with his mouth, deeper now, messier.
Kyungsoo gets on his tip-toes even though he's a step above and uses his grip on Jongin's shoulders to balance. He likes this angle honestly, likes that he can see Jongin's face bent up at him through his lashes, likes that Jongin tightens his hold on him like he's afraid Kyungsoo's going to topple over.
When he pulls away, Jongin makes some sort of deep disappointed whiny noise that shouldn't be as cute as it is, but then that's Kyungsoo's whole life in a nutshell.
"Stop that," Kyungsoo says with a roll of his eyes. "Come on, we have to go get ready for class."
"We're not even going to do anything but watch movies all day," Jongin complains, tugging on Kyungsoo's arm for another kiss instead, which Kyungsoo firmly resists.
"Did you forget it's my last day of high school?" Kyungsoo says. "Come on, Jongin!"
"Hyuuung," Jongin whines, but somehow Kyungsoo manages to get the other boy off the stairs, out of the school, and in his house to wash up. Strangely, he finds leaves stuck in Jongin's hair, like he also spent his night sleeping on the roadside.
They have a lot of explaining to do, and Kyungsoo's parents are less than impressed with him. Sehun tries to smother Jongin as soon as he sees him, and Kyungsoo has to break them up before any permanent damage can be inflicted. Then both Kyungsoo and Jongin have to explain to their teachers exactly why they missed the last week of classes.
And yet, as Kyungsoo stands among his class of graduating seniors, he turns his head and sees Jongin bouncing a little on his heels, breaks into a smile when Jongin spots him and starts waving spastically, and feels like, at that moment, everything is just as it should be.
"Are you happy, hyung?" Jongin asks as he pulls off Kyungsoo's graduation cap to sneak a warm moist kiss on his forehead. Kyungsoo smiles so widely his cheeks bunch up under his eyes.
"Yes...I caught you, after all," Kyungsoo says, and Jongin just throws his head back and laughs and laughs.