(for everyone) Apricity
For: everybody
Title: Apricity
Genre: fluff, romance
Rating: PG
Side-Pairing: slight!layhan
Length: 7,500 words
Summary: Jongin is a storm that wrecks Kyungsoo, who is all too willing, really.
Notes: i really hope you guys like this!
Everything that could go wrong that morning does, basically.
Jongin wakes up half an hour past his alarm (that's not a surprise anymore, really), stumbles into the kitchen with remnants of sleep stubbornly clinging onto his eyelids, only to find his roommate Luhan finishing the last packet of his mandatory morning coffee. He still has the audacity to down the last sip right in front of him, savoring it and letting out a loud sigh of satisfaction. Jongin has never felt an urge so strong to strangle Luhan.
(Actually, maybe he has. Many times, really, handling Luhan requires a great deal of self-control.)
He finds expired orange juice in the fridge and ends up spilling it all over his last pristine white shirt that isn't in the laundry. Then he accidentally sits on a wet puddle on the floor while putting on his shoes, and ends up having to make his way to the bus stop with a suspicious dark patch on the back of his pants, before realizing that he had already missed the last bus that could take him to school on time. He curses and runs.
The bell mocks him just before he reaches the gate, and its ring has never sounded so much like caustic laughter.
He prepares to launch into a long speech to convince the prefect on duty to not record his name, only to stop himself when he realizes who it is.
Do Kyungsoo. The absolute paragon of a model student, prim and impeccable uniform, neat and slicked back hair. The well-known choir boy and president of the student council whom Jongin has never liked. He seems so boring, so proper, - too proper - the kind that stays confined within daily routines and lives to please everyone. Kyungsoo is so likable that Jongin dislikes him, however unreasonable it sounds. Jongin is not one to follow the norm, anyway, and habitually rolls his eyes.
Way to have his morning further ruined.
"You're late," Kyungsoo remarks and pens the name 'Kim Jongin' down on his notepad.
"Obviously," Jongin grumbles.
Kyungsoo adjusts his tie, as if it's not already perfect, and Jongin looks down at his own haphazardly worn uniform and mismatched socks, then at Kyungsoo's attire. He rolls his eyes again and tugs at his unruly hair.
"This is going to be one hell of a bad day," Jongin mutters under his breath.
(Which is sadly true.)
-
Jongin is tumultuous.
He is a walking storm, moulded against society's careful rules and regulations. He likes the unconventional. He likes the unorthodox. Rebellion - how it feels like to not be restricted, to be careless, irrational, doing whatever his heart tells him to, without any inhibitions. He lives by his own rules. And over the years, he's come to like how it makes him stand out, how motley it makes him look to people and how he is automatically judged to be casted aside. It only brings out how superficial people are and Jongin takes no interest in mixing with them. Luhan is possibly the only tolerable person he has as a permanent fixture in his life, outside of his family. They've grown up together since young.
He thrives under the petty judgements people have of him upon first impressions, and how good it feels to prove them wrong. He actually does well in school because it is rebellion in itself, he thinks. To do the opposite of what people stereotype him to; Jongin derives satisfaction from exactly that. He isn't problematic as much as he is radical.
But he was still late in the morning, and for that he has to pay a price - detention, and by that it really means he has to be a temporary cleaner for an afternoon. He drags himself into the classroom that is assigned for late-comers to clean up, murmuring about how unlucky he has been the entire day. He's the only one required to serve detention that day, meaning he has to clean the room alone, and what the fuck just how unlucky can I get Jongin thinks.
After three torturous hours of cleaning alone (or lazing around with a cloth in his hand), Jongin stretches, when Mr Kim walks in to survey the area before granting him dismissal.
Jongin walks out to the room and decides to wait by the concourse stairs for Luhan, who agreed in the morning to pick him up, although Jongin bets that Luhan has completely forgotten about it. He dials Luhan's number impatiently, tapping his fingers on the steps, and lazily slumps back against the wall, willing Luhan to quickly pick up.
Then, oh, how could God let Jongin off without ruining his mood further when the day hasn't even ended? Yeah, God couldn't! Jongin contemplates whether or not to leave as Kyungsoo descends the stairs, but decides against it because he's honestly tired. Kyungsoo plops down beside him, to his surprise, and starts. "Did I even do anything to you?"
Nobody really tries to approach him in school, and he's already shocked that Kyungsoo is willing to voluntarily go into close proximity with him, let alone talk. And his question completely throws Jongin off-guard.
"Um. Huh?" Jongin replies intelligently.
"Why do you always look like you're so unhappy with me? I'm not blind, you know."
"I-I.." Jongin stutters. He never thought that it would matter. He has an annoyed look plastered on perpetually. "It's just my face?"
"But you keep rolling your eyes at me!" Kyungsoo actually sounds indignant, and looks pretty disgruntled as well.
Saying that Jongin is purely shocked would be an extreme understatement, and his impulsive nature forces the words to tumble out of his mouth before he's even conscious of it. "I'm not obliged to like you just because you are on everyone's good books."
He looks at Kyungsoo in the eye and sees a flash of something flicker across it, and is compelled to say something, - he doesn't know what but anything, really - that can make his words sound less harsh because he somehow just wants to take them back. But before he has any chance to, Kyungsoo is picking up his backpack, slinging it onto one shoulder and walking towards a car that is driving through the gates. Jongin watches as Kyungsoo slams the car door shut, and watches as the size of the vehicle diminish as it drives out of school and into the distance.
Jongin doesn't know why it bothers him so much that he wasn't able to explain himself, but it just does, and the weight of it stays tangible in his stomach for the entire day.
-
It's been a day.
It's been approximately 27 hours since his conversation with Kyungsoo, and Jongin can't seem to let it go. He figures he has to tell someone. Luhan is out of the question for sure, and Jongin judges him through squinted eyes as Luhan prances around the house, half-shouting and half-squealing about how his lunch date with Yixing went, and how he thinks they're ready to level up the base. Yeah, Jongin decides, definitely out.
Jongin fishes out his phone and messages his best option online. Jongin thanks God for online chatting, or else he would never have found the only other friend in his life that's never been scared off by how intimidating Jongin looks. Well, essentially he can't, as this friend has never seen how Jongin looks like, seeing that they met over the Internet. That's possibly the only reason that allows Jongin to open up. The chasm of the Internet offers a mask of translucency that he's able to hide behind.
> pupsnchicken: heyyy r u thr
< dopororo: Yes??
> pupsnchicken: how was ur day haha
< dopororo: Kind of shitty :(
> pupsnchicken: oh gr8, me too!!!!! can i ask u smth
< dopororo: You can't ^^
> pupsnchicken: hahaha ya right anyways i think i offended someone today i don't rly know him but i kind of insinuated that i dislike him but i actually don't he just kind of annoys me but ya i rly don't mean it and now i'm sad what do u think i shud do :(((
< dopororo: Apologise to him, of course! I know how your friend (or not) might feel, and let me tell you that it feels horrible
> pupsnchicken: oh i see.. thanks bro and oh u said u know how that person might feel?? did someone make u feel disliked bc lemme tell u that u're the best bro ily thx for helpin
< dopororo: Yeah sort of.. Ok thanks for cheering me up! Ily too pupsnchicken
> pupsnchicken: welcome and bye hehe gotta go feed monggu
> pupsandchicken: [logged off]
-
Damn it, Jongin thinks, Why is this even so hard like half the school is scared of me oh my god I need to get a grip.
His attempts at placating himself almost work until he rounds a corner and there he is, the subject of Jongin's anguish. Kyungsoo is locking the council room's door, unassuming as ever, and Jongin realises he doesn't even understand why he used to be so unhappy with Kyungsoo previously.
"Are you looking for someone?"
Jongin gulps as he wonders if Kyungsoo has teleportation skills to be right in front of him when he was sure that Kyungsoo was just at the exact opposite end of the corridor ten seconds ago.
"Oh. Hi," Jongin starts intelligently.
"Yes?" Kyungsoo replies, eyes narrowed up at Jongin.
Jongin almost shudders at how condescending Kyungsoo looks. "Erm..." Jongin continues unsteadily.
"Erm?"
"I just..."
"Are you going to apologise or not?"
"What?" Jongin blurts, mouth agape. "Oh. Yeah. Sorry?" He manages, still startled by how Kyungsoo had discerned his intention. Kyungsoo seems to always have the ability to throw Jongin off his feet.
"Hmm?" Kyungsoo is looking down but Jongin can just make out how pleased Kyungsoo is through his voice. "I can't hear you... I don't have much time you know..."
"I'm sorry! I actually thought about it and realised that something must be wrong with me and there is no reason for me to answer you as harshly as I did yesterday so I am sorry and I could barely sleep yesterday because I felt like I said something so horrible and oh my god shit," Jongin babbles, fingers clutching at the hem of his shirt, eyes somewhere on the ground.
"You could barely sleep yesterday?"
Jongin gulps. Then nods.
"Hmm... Okay," Kyungsoo says.
"Is that an acceptance for my apology or-"
"Damn it, that's just an okay," Kyungsoo insists, but Jongin sees the smile that Kyungsoo is trying to keep from slipping onto his face, and feels lightened up all of a sudden. "Not everyone is obliged to accept apologies, you know. So it's just okay."
And Jongin feels the light dim.
But Kyungsoo forgives him, of course, he did immediately when he saw him showing up outside the council room, face two shades too warm, fingers nervously plucking at loose threads of his shirt. He was cute, how he stumbled through his words, attempting to rectify what he said to Kyungsoo the previous day. He sees his face fall, and it sort of pleases him to know that he managed that on the almighty Kim Jongin, whom so many people are afraid of.
After his encounters with Jongin though, he can't really figure out what is exactly so intimidating about Kim Jongin. He watches Jongin's initial hopeful demeanor crumble, and thinks that he looks really, really cute, a little lost and a little sad, bottom lip a little jutting.
Kyungsoo forgives him, but Jongin doesn't have to know that.
-
Jongin kicks at a pebble on the pavement, then winces at the pain that shoots through his toes. It's an uneventful day, and the sun rays sear into his skin. He's too aware of the sweat skimming over his skin, pressing against his uniform. The ground radiates heat against his sole.
He's about to turn left, and reaching his apartment soon. The weather is scorching, and Jongin is exhausted, limbs feeling like chained on weights. He can't wait to be home, but he hears a cry.
He's about to turn left, but swivels back and hesitantly continues forward in the direction of the cry. His eyes widen as he sees Kyungsoo on the ground, and they blow open further when he spots the gash on Kyungsoo's knee. That's when he notices how he is lying in a haphazard manner on the pavement, near his bicycle, face scrunched up, pain apparent as his brow furrows further. The lines across his forehead stretch as he tries to hold the pain in. Jongin is about to walk across and render help, when Kyungsoo grits his teeth and stands up, giving the brightest smile he can muster towards a girl Jongin had not noticed. The girl looks shocked, wide eyes glistening along with the tears stains on her cheeks.
Jongin is creeping behind a bush near where they are and he wonders why he is even doing this. He's sure he looks like a maniacal stalker, and the leaves prick uncomfortably at him, uniform sticking onto him like a second skin. Perspiration is like the glue he can't rub off.
But there is no way out now, since standing up and leaving will undoubtedly expose himself and he absolutely does not want to explain himself. He doesn't know how to, anyway. He is glad he chose this hiding spot though, when he catches on to the conversation between Kyungsoo and the little girl. He is just within ear-shot, and curiously laps on to bits of conversation while peeking through the small gaps among the green.
"Don't worry, I will help you to retrieve your balloon, okay?" Kyungsoo smiles down to the girl, who must be around 4 years old, 5 years at most.
The girl beams, but points to Kyungsoo's knee and mumbles, worried. "Doesn't it hurt?"
Kyungsoo grimaces but hides it with another smile. "Not at all!"
Kyungsoo then climbs up a tree situated near where they are. He flings his leg up onto the nearest and most stable branch he can find, and steps up another with his unscathed leg. The gash evidently splits as he bends his wounded leg, and crimson dribbles down as he climbs up to the next branch. He reaches his hand up, and the girl's balloon is just there, the string flitting gingerly out of his fingertips every time he attempts to wrap his hand around it. Kyungsoo curses to himself.
Jongin dashes across from the bush to the tree and orders the struggling Kyungsoo to come down. Kyungsoo stares at Jongin for a few seconds, looking appalled for an interminable one, and the next thing he knows, he is falling, falling, falling... on Jongin.
And they crash in a heap on the ground, Jongin unwittingly cushioning Kyungsoo's fall. Jongin hastily pushes Kyungsoo aside and makes his way up the tree like it is the easiest thing possible. In a minute, he nimbly jumps down from a branch and hands the balloon over to the girl who says thanks to both Jongin and Kyungsoo ecstatically before making her way back to the playground nearby.
"How did you fall from your bicycle?" Jongin's tongue is thick with nerves. Kyungsoo has this inexplicably effect on him, and Jongin sweats from reasons other than the blazing sun.
"I saw how the girl's face fell when she lost her balloon, so I turned around. The path was too narrow. Yeah."
Awkward silence ensues, and Jongin can feel the thin sheen of perspiration on his palm. He clenches and unclenches his fist. There is no reason for him to be this nervous.
"Pft, the school council president can't even climb a tree. How incompetent," Jongin manages to scoff.
"How is leading the student body even remotely related to climbing a tree?"
"It just is!"
Kyungsoo stares at Jongin, speechless, silent, the unrelenting sunlight gracing their features, occasional breeze on his nape, and Jongin just stares back. Kyungsoo's eyelashes flutter slightly in the wind, and Jongin notices. Jongin doesn't know what this is, but he feels something foreign in his chest that makes him look away. They both cough awkwardly, simultaneously, then turn to leave in different directions, not knowing why they feel unsaid words lodged in their throats.
-
There is a fine line between the kind of world that is Do Kyungsoo's, and it's entirely not the kind that is Kim Jongin's. But they seem to cross it, line a little fuzzed out since they stood facing each other on a seemingly ordinary sunny afternoon.
Maybe that is why Jongin finds himself lurking outside the council room, fidgety and nervous, unsure of the point of his visit. But Jongin's always been like this, doing whatever his heart deems right, no second thoughts, only instincts.
Kyungsoo steps out of the room, frustration evident in the way his brow knits and lips tilt slant, not in the right way where corners of his lips are pulled upwards into a pretty curve, bright and genuine. Jongin finds that he likes it when Kyungsoo does that. Smiles.
Kyungsoo turns to his left and notices Jongin, and he halts his steps.
"What are you doing here?" Kyungsoo hisses, eyes akin to slits. "If you are here to annoy me, know that now is not the right time.
Jongin stays silent, because he himself has no idea what is the answer to Kyungsoo's question. It was one mere impulse that brought him there, and Jongin always follows his impulses. He trusts them. And as he looks blankly back at Kyungsoo, mind an empty canvas, no loose words to thread into a remotely coherent reply, he finds that all he wants then is to do something. Something that feels right, something like reaching out to smoothen the tensed creases on Kyungsoo's face, making the strained lines go away.
"Let's go have fun!" Jongin shouts, sounding somewhat like a lost kid that didn't get to go to the playground the previous day.
"What?" Kyungsoo asks, eyes imploring, mottled with hints of both bewilderment and suspicion. A little unsure if he had heard Jongin wrong.
It's either that very instant, or nothing at all.
So Jongin curls his hand around Kyungsoo's arm. And they run.
-
His mind is a mess, a fuse of blinding and vivacious colours, iridescent and all adrenaline. He feels free, racing against the wind, like he's broken free of everything that might be tying him down. He's bent on painting Kyungsoo's mind this way as well, carefree and unrestricted, shrugging off any sort of unease and anxiety, feeling a soaring kind of escape. It's what he does best; leave things behind, unravel until his mind is clear and nothing but simple dazzling hues, clean, unfiltered, and he can listen to his heart again.
Slowly his thoughts catch up with his limbs and something sets into his stomach when he realises that he has no idea whether he could even be doing this, whether Kyungsoo is feeling the way he does, whether Kyungsoo's even supposed to leave the school compound, because Jongin has no idea if he has any extra curriculum activities holding him back. Council presidency is a huge responsibility, after all. He has no idea, and pressure is setting into the pit of his stomach, and Jongin has never felt this way, nervous and apprehensive. He's never been affected by feelings like this, hindered by what the impact of consequences might bring. This is a first.
His grip on Kyungsoo suddenly feels out of place, numb and cold, like it shouldn't have even been there. Shit, Jongin thinks, and the sound of the wind racing pass his ears doesn't sound half as pleasant anymore, until he hears a light tinkle. It grows into a full-blown laughter, and oh, Jongin realises, oh.
Kyungsoo is laughing. And his laughter sounds like a spectrum of colours, a plethora of things, like the first ray of daybreak and the glimmer of moonlight. It's light-hearted and so genuine. And he laughs, and Jongin is smiling so hard that before he knows it he's laughing along with him, so bright and so, so spirited.
Their muscles are aching, their laughter like a rush of freedom straight into their lungs, and they are sprinting and chortling, sun beating down on their backs. Eventually they slow down, breathless and a little light-headed, back bent over their knees. They aren't that far from school though, at a small park just down the road.
They plop down on an empty field, sinking from their high, and a comfortable quiet sits between them. For a while, nothing breaks the silence, birds fly overhead and a blanket of peacefulness coalesces in the air.
"Thank you," Kyungsoo speaks after the silence thickens a little, and Jongin is surprised by how shy Kyungsoo actually sounds. Subdued and bashful. There it goes again, Kyungsoo is so unpredictable and Jongin is always shocked. This time, Jongin wonders aloud.
"Why?"
A pause later, Kyungsoo replies. "I don't know. For nothing, or for everything, I guess," Jongin hums a little in the silence that follows, and Kyungsoo continues. "For apologising, for helping the little girl, for making me feel better. It's funny, we've only ever talked for like, thrice, yet I have so many things to thank you for."
His eyes dart up to Jongin, and the ends of his lips flow the right way again. It's angled upwards into a smile, and Jongin feels accomplished for inexplicable reasons.
-
> pupsandchicken: hey friend
< dopororo: Yes?? I'm a bit busy
> pupsandchicken: u are always so busy mannnb
> pupsandchicken: so inundated with things, u gotta let urself relax sometimes u know
> pupsandchicken: anyway i have smth to ask u
< dopororo: I know, someone helped me to realise it today too.... >< I will rest soon. And yes? You can just ask, you know you can trust me
> pupsandchicken: do u think it's possible for two people that are totally different from each other to bcome friends?
< dopororo: Wow. This is the first time you're asking me a question that doesn't make me feel like questioning your intellect
> pupsandchicken: omg.. thanks :"(
< dopororo: Anyway, if you asked me a few days back, I would've said no... But now I say yes.
> pupsandchicken: rly????? is the stress getting into ur head?? I TOLD U THAT U NEEDED TO REST SOMETIMES. LOOk now u've gone BONKERS
> pupsandchicken: omggggg noooo
< dopororo: Why am I even friends with you
< dopororo: That was a serious answer btw. Maybe, maybe, the difference is what will draw the two parties together. Hahaha. And please, I do relax okay! I watch pororo and sing, dumbo
> pupsandchicken: OMG U SING? WHY DIDN'T I KNOW THIS? I THOUGHT I WAS UR FRIEND ok u better send me an audio clip of ur singing like rigHT NOW
< dopororo: Please. No.
> pupsandchicken: [attachment: pororo_crying.jpg]
< dopororo: ...
< dopororo: You are such a horrible friend. [attachment: my_lady_cover.mp3]
> pupsandchicken: HOLY FUCK
> pupsandchicken: WHEN IS UR ALBUM COMING OUT PLS HYUNG I AM UR NUMBER 1 frIEND AND FAN ALR WHAT THW FUC KAR E U SECRETLY AN IDOL
< dopororo: WILL U PLS CHILL AND turn off your caps lock
< dopororo: Ha. Ha. Singing is just a casual hobby
> pupsandchicken: but ur voice is soooo good omg
< dopororo: Nah >_> but thank you! I'm going off soon, got a project to complete
> pupsandchicken: bye :((
< dopororo: [logged off]
-
The ceiling looks interesting.
Jongin's lying down on his bed, staring up at the black of his ceiling. He should've been asleep awhile ago, but whenever his eyes shut he can't erase the memory of that afternoon out of his mind, and he swears he can feel the breeze sifting through his hair again, the phantom warmth of Kyungsoo's presence radiating like how it did when they were in the park. It had felt so oddly warm, and so unreasonably comfortable, like they had connected in an unknown way under the shade of the giant fig tree.
He still doesn't know why he did that, or why he is thinking of this, but he is, and he can't stop.
He flops over to his other side, and tries to relax his limbs and cleanse his mind in order to drift off to sleep. His conversation with his pororo friend has been lashing itself across the walls of his minds. Maybe, just maybe, it's really their differences that are causing him the weird fluttery things in his chest.
Kyungsoo is so proper, decorous and so right, the utter juxtaposition to how and what Jongin is. But light and dark can't exist without each other; so entwined, and perhaps that's the beauty that comes with sunrises and sunsets. When the two collide and meld into one another, darkness morphing into the light and light filtering through the dark, it is the most magnificent.
Kyungsoo is so right, and it feels like he has carefully tucked himself and fitted snug into Jongin's thoughts.
As he forces himself into slumber that night, he falls asleep with Kyungsoo embedded onto the back of his lids and seared right into his subconscious, and as he struggles afloat somewhere in his fitful sleep, Kyungsoo is there in between solid conscious and aqueous dreams.
-
It's as though the paths have been mapped out long beforehand, and Jongin and Kyungsoo find themselves constantly meeting each other's eyes in the school's hallways, and shying away during classes. Jongin doesn't think it's an accidental habit that he's taken to walking the longer route to class and passing by the council room on the way.
Kyungsoo is often there. Sometimes he notices Jongin, but more often not. Jongin convinces himself that he's merely taking casual glances, but the way his heart plummets into his toes when he walks by and Kyungsoo isn't there disproves that.
There always comes a time when light and dark blend and complement. The light faints and dims into a pretty sunset, and this happens when Kyungsoo sits down opposite Jongin in the library one day, setting down his bag and laying out his work, like it was planned that he was supposed to be there.
Jongin feels something lighten in his chest, and he ponders if Kyungsoo feels it too, if he's the only one who feels something silent and awaiting in between them, dormant and waiting to be triggered.
Kyungsoo talks to Jongin casually, like light-hearted banter between two friends that have known each other for way longer than Kyungsoo and Jongin have. Jongin is initially shocked (again, if he might add), but slowly eases into effortless repartee and conversation with Kyungsoo as well. And things flow, numbers are exchanged, gazes remain unspoken of, and unbeknownst to each other, both of them return home that day with a skip in their steps.
-
They are aware of the buzzing that follows their meetings, the way speculative looks are thrown their way and whispers about them circulate. They are like the two ends of a line, held together yet facing entirely different directions, until fate decides to tie the two ends together into a knot.
The sunset paints the sky in pastel resplendence, and they are walking home, close enough for hearts to pulsate a tad aggressively.
"Hey, I gotta go," Jongin says as they reach the bus stop, somewhere before where they usually part ways.
"Why?" Kyungsoo questions, pointing down the road. "You usually only turn when you reach the split there."
Jongin's cheeks flush hot for a moment. "I'm going to the club with Luhan." He doesn't know why he feels uncomfortable, like he's doing something wrong.
"Oh," Kyungsoo mumbles, and his eyes cast downwards.
Jongin steps away, almost turning to leave.
"Don't," Kyungsoo murmurs, voice so soft and tender Jongin wouldn't have caught it if he weren't so perceptive when it came to Kyungsoo.
"Why?"
"It's... It's not good. Unhealthy. The drinks. The stench of sin and debauchery." Kyungsoo still isn't meeting Jongin's eyes. "Don't go there."
Jongin's not a stranger when it comes to clubbing. He used to go weekly last time, when he and Luhan were younger and more curious, always living on the edge and throwing caution to the wind. But the way Kyungsoo spoke, it makes him feel bad for all the times he had even stepped into a club.
Jongin is stunned into silence, panicking a little and fumbling for words. But Kyungsoo beats him to it, voice a little too masked and pitched to be genuinely happy. "Sorry, I don't know what came over me, just ignore what I said. Of course you should go, you already promised your friend and everyone goes there! It's totally okay and have fun and enjoy yourself and I'm just going to leave now..."
Kyungsoo forces a laughter and walks away, leaving Jongin with stray words he can't seem to grasp.
The sunset turns dull, is a little too grey today, dark encapsulating the sky in a malevolent shade.
-
The ceiling looks interesting.
Kyungsoo analyses the cracks on his room's ceiling, sits up and pulls at his hair. He doesn't understand why he is doing this, why he is feeling this way, unable to pick apart the millions of whys stacked upon whys in his mind. They all revolve around Kim Jongin.
Kyungsoo huffs at how his thoughts have automatically gravitated to Jongin again. It's late, he should be all washed up and getting ready for bed, not pulling at loose threads of his blanket and wondering why he can't pack the mess of thoughts about Jongin up into something, categorize and square him up into something he understands, something he can fathom and handle. Something he is familiar with.
But that is just not what Jongin is; even if you manage to fit him into the box of your understanding, there will still be bits spilling over the edges, over and out. Jongin just keeps drifting between his fingertips and Kyungsoo doesn't understand.
There is a soft rapping at his window and he frowns, thinking that he had misheard before the gentle knocking comes again with a silent hiss from the outside. Kyungsoo's heart pounds in his chest, because it's impossible, it's just downright incredulous. No.
He unlocks the latches, pushes the window open, and there squats Kim Jongin on a branch outside the window, like he materialized out of nowhere. Kyungsoo stares, and wonders if Jongin's burrowed himself a space that sits in his lungs because his breath seems to have caught.
Jongin grins, and Kyungsoo catches the gleam of his teeth the moon's gentle glow. "Hi."
"Care to explain?"
"Let's go to the beach!"
"Let me get this straight. At 9pm you appear outside of my bedroom window out of nowhere at all for me to go to the beach with you? Please tell me you aren't serious."
Jongin only smiles wider. "But I am."
"There's school tomorrow..." Kyungsoo trails off. He knows there's nothing he can say to change Jongin's mind. "Fine."
Jongin beams.
-
There's a quiet shrill that resounds in the chilly air, thickened with the scent and weight of the sea. Jongin and Kyungsoo sit on the sand, and truth to be told, it's been a while since Kyungsoo has last felt this light hearted, and he doesn't know whether or not he should feel thankful about this.
He tilts his head to his right and Jongin's facial profile comes into view. The sky is an expanse of peaceful velvet and Kyungsoo's mind is simmering with questions. He shouldn't be here, sitting right where they are, near the sea with the saltiness of the night breeze infiltrating his senses, Jongin's presence comforting beside him. He doesn't do this. Do Kyungsoo does routines, and Kim Jongin does not. Kim Jongin is reckless, treading spontaneity like familiar territory that Kyungsoo should be staying far away from. For the first time of Kyungsoo's life, he feels like he's losing control.
And he likes it.
He would reflect about it, debunk this entire thing that is so un-Kyungsoo, but he isn't even sure what is this thing that he has with Jongin. Jongin is good looking, sharp contours against the backdrop of the moon-lit sky, and Kyungsoo doesn't even realise that he's staring until Jongin meets his eye.
Kyungsoo flushes and grapples at something to say to divert the weight of what he was doing, and it hits him. "You didn't meet Luhan?"
"Yeah. He went alone."
"Why?" His chest tightens and his ears burn, waiting for Jongin's answer.
"I don't know. You said I shouldn't."
Kyungsoo doesn't question him, just lets his acknowledgement settle nicely in the quiet between them, lets the rhythm of the waves lull him, getting the knots and tightened tendons in his body undone, small smile playing on his lips.
"How do you feel right now?" Jongin asks.
"Good. Relaxed."
"That's great, you seem way too tensed all the damn time-"
"Do not! Why do so many people say that?" Kyungsoo frowns. "I'm not so uptight. I cook. I sing. It helps cope with the stress."
"You sing?" Jongin questions. Kyungsoo blushes, nods, and Jongin continues. "You know I'm going to ask you to sing for me right now."
Kyungsoo blushes, and the sanguine lingers all the way on the tip of his ears. He scrunches up his face, eyes tightly shut, and with a deep inhale, he sings.
He sings, and he takes Jongin's breath away.
It's enchanting - Kyungsoo singing is all warm melted butter sweetly sizzling on a pan. It is the warmth of the fireplace on a cold winter night, the comfort from the familiar pair of gloves that has moulded into the shape of your hands. The moon shines behind him, and he sings, plush lips and languid tongue rolling around husky and beautiful notes, and he is so beautiful. This must be the quintessence of beauty, and he feels like his soul has found comfort in the smooth rises and dips of Kyungsoo's voice, so homely and so, so weirdly familiar.
Jongin almost stops breathing altogether. It can't be, he thinks. Fuck.
The soft light is dusting the outline of Kyungsoo's face, breaking through the gaps of his fringe, and Jongin thinks that, if every single moment of his life that he has ever experienced, was pieced together to lead up to this very moment, Jongin thinks that he wouldn't mind.
Kyungsoo's song ends, and Jongin claps and smiles and tries his best to tell Kyungsoo how good his voice is. And in the most casually concealed tone, he asks naturally. "When's your birthday?"
"12 January. You asked me once."
"Favourite cartoon?"
"Pororo."
Shit. Shit.
-
Jongin had left in a hurry, and Kyungsoo worries if he had said or done anything wrong. He's lying on his bed, back to staring at the cracks on his ceiling, again. He grabs his phone.
> dopororo: Hey
< pupsandchicken: yes
> dopororo: Have you ever felt something really familiar yet foreign at the same time?
> dopororo: Like your thoughts don't stop encircling someone... And you feel heavy things in your chest. And time spent together feels nice, and knowing that the other party is going to somewhere surrounded by so many other people feels uncomfortable and prickly to the heart
> dopororo: Shit, I think I understand now
< pupsandchicken: what?
< pupsandchicken: do u like that.. someone?
> dopororo: I think so >< What should I do...
< pupsandchicken: shit i gotta leave now sorry. bye.
< pupsandchicken: [logged off]
His virtual best friend has never acted like this, so elusive and quick to end the conversation. But he figures there's nothing he can do about it anyway, as long as he is offline, there is no other way to go about contacting him. And so, Kyungsoo falls asleep that night, restless and perplexed.
-
It's driving Jongin crazy.
The possibility of Kyungsoo liking him wrecks him, crashes like a massive meteor into the surfaces of his mind. He knows now. He understands why Kyungsoo feels like a cocoon of comfort, why Jongin feels so lost and unguarded and different with Kyungsoo, why, at times, he just wants to lay down and count the stars orbiting in Kyungsoo's eyes.
He likes him.
And he's not sure what to do now he's put a finger what he feels for him.
It's Thursday tomorrow, which means both him and Kyungsoo will stay behind in school for dance and council duties respectively. He doesn't know anymore, if he can handle Kyungsoo waiting outside the dance studio for him, hands on his laps and eyes a swirl of pretty brown, so they can walk home together afterwards.
He had escaped, because he doesn't know what else he can do. Whenever something feels like it's pulling him down, spinning him into a whirlwind of negativity, plaguing him with things he doesn't want to face... He runs. It's ingrained into him, like a conditioned reflex, to just run away and away and away until he's a little fleck in the horizon and things right themselves again.
Fate works in a funny way, he muses, how Kyungsoo and him are jagged and smooth in all the different ways, yet brought together to fit, like puzzles pieces in place side by side. How Kyungsoo is all about methodical plans and doing the right things, and Jongin is all about moments and intuitions and danger.
He taught Kyungsoo how to run, and he thinks along the way, Kyungsoo had inadvertently taught him how to stay, as well.
-
Luhan picks up his bag and shouts across the room to Yixing. "Quick, the movie starts at 7!"
"It's only 5.30 now-"
"We have to travel and eat and spend quality time together," Luhan insists, and there are almost throbbing red hearts in his eyes. "I've been waiting for this forever."
Yixing sighs with a resigned smile, but rushes to pack up and leave the room. Before he exits, he turns to Jongin. "Not leaving yet?"
"Nope, gonna practise a little more."
"Nah, he's just waiting for his favourite head prefect," Luhan butts in obnoxiously, in a sickly saccharine voice, and adds on suggestively. "So they can go home together."
"Shut up. Leave now or you'll miss your dumb movie," Jongin flushes.
Luhan and Yixing say bye before shutting the door. Jongin sits and catches bits of their voices through it before they fade away entirely, and smiles at how they seem to be good for each other, Luhan's loud and chatty nature with Yixing's mild and gently affable one. In a way, they complete each other, bringing out the other's positive traits and making up for their inferior ones.
He shakes the thoughts out of his head, picks himself up and continues practising.
The music deafens, and it courses through Jongin's limbs, letting them play out into moves on their own, a second fluid, a second concrete. It's almost an art of its own, the way the movements flow so poetically and firmly together, concurrently. Jongin is lost to his own world, all he feels is the way his body shifts, whether it's sharp enough or soft enough, the way he transitions from poise to poise. The door opens, and he is unaware.
The last notes plays and the song dies, and he splays himself across the studio floor, empowered from the high yet limp from lethargy. He dabs his towel on his forehead, panting. The door is ajar.
"Who's there?"
Kyungsoo slips in with a guilty smile, softly closing the door. "We finished up quicker than expected, so I came a little earlier than usual."
"Oh..." Jongin trails off, inundated with thoughts left and lost from yesterday. He can't think.
Jongin is so wholly visceral and tired, he can't think of anything else, other than the fact that Kyungsoo is there, biting down on his lips and looking so small. He stirs awkwardly, and resists the urge to bring Kyungsoo into his arms. But Kyungsoo is right there in his reach, and Jongin is confused and unable to think, so he lets his feelings go unrestricted and prompt him to say things.
"Do you like me?"
The impact of his words hit him as he watches Kyungsoo's face morph into a variety of expressions. Blank, confused, lost, shocked, disbelieving. Then he straightens his back and takes a deep breath. Jongin's heart is pounding so hard he can feel it in his toes, and there is a nervous tingling throughout his body. His hands clench around his towel.
"Yes. Or at least... I think so," Kyungsoo's voice shakes a little, and crumples into a more diffident posture. "You make me so confused and I've never felt like this, not ever."
The regret and fear cloud over Kyungsoo's face, and he turns away, face red and warm.
"But... Me too," Jongin whispers.
The way the weight seems to lift off Kyungsoo's shoulders makes Jongin feel liberated as well. Picking up his backpack in a swift movement, he approaches Kyungsoo in nervous increments.
"Let's go?"
"Okay. Yes. Sure." Kyungsoo rushes in one breath, and his shade of crimson intensifies. Jongin laughs and switches off the lights.
The walk home has never felt so pleasant, with Kyungsoo's hand in his and butterflies in his stomach. Jongin thinks nothing has ever felt this right.
-
That night, Jongin devises a plan.
> pupsandchicken: hey friend
> pupsandchicken: u know we've known each other for so long and gotten along so well.. do u think it's time to meet
< dopororo: Oh.. I guess it's okay
> pupsandchicken: saturday at café kaisoo, 1pm?
< dopororo: Yes, okay.. See you!
Jongin feels like a genius as he logs off, and proceeds to thumb a text to Kyungsoo.
Jongin (9.49pm)
first date!! saturday!!
Kyungsoo (9.52pm)
Oh, I just made plans with someone though..
Jongin (9.52pm)
don't worry, things will work out just fine ehehe
Kyungsoo (9.54pm)
Are you planning something weird
Kyungsoo (9.55pm)
Jongin
Kyungsoo (10.39pm)
?????
Kyungsoo (11.19pm)
KIM JONGINNNNNN
Jongin (11.20pm)
hehe shh
Kyungsoo (11.23pm)
>_>
Jongin (11.23pm)
<3
-
Saturday arrives not with a soft tick of the clock, but with the spasmodic drumming of Kyungsoo's heart. It's the first time he's going to meet his virtual best friend, and doubts and nerves flood his mind.
Jongin still hasn't mentioned anything about his plans for their 'date' today so he assumes it isn't happening after all. It borderline saddens Kyungsoo how lightly Jongin seems to be taking this - it's been a long time since Kyungsoo has actually liked someone, let alone blurt out his feelings the way he had. But he is doubly mad at how unhappy he's feeling. They didn't define what they are, anyway, they could be just friends with feelings that are more than platonic, and there is no reason for him to be feeling like that. Kyungsoo huffs.
1pm is approaching, and it brings Kyungsoo mind away from the frustrating topic that is Kim Jongin. He's a small part nervous, but more parts excited, and he smiles lightly when he recalls pupsandchicken's message yesterday.
> pupsandchicken: u'll be so happy to see me i swear
He refused to give Kyungsoo his number, insisting on maintaining his air of "mysteriousness". It's paradoxical how Kyungsoo doesn't even know his number, or real name (since they've always just addressed each other by stupid names like friend or brother or simply pups/pororo), but at the same time he feels like he knows everything about him, like they've already met and formed an abstruse connection already.
He walks to the café, footsteps capering and light. It's a nice and quaint place, tucked away down the street, quiet and not frequented, but not entirely secluded as well. He likes the ambience, and it makes him happy thinking that his friend probably picked this place knowing he would like it.
Kyungsoo orders a drink and sits down by himself somewhere near the back, right by the window. He immerses in the quietude and observe. The café is small, nothing extravagant, but it smells of peace and love and positivity. Outside, a couple pass by, arms linked and pace identical, and everything looks pretty under the grace of sunshine. And then, someone sits down in front of him.
His breath stills somewhere in his throat, and he turns.
And frowns.
"Kim Jongin, what are you doing here-"
"Seeing you. Meeting you. Having a date with you," Jongin grins.
"I told you I have plans!"
"Me too. With you."
"No, I'm meeting this guy called-"
The epiphany dawns like a storm cloud on Kyungsoo's face. His expression darkens, furious, but happiness threatens to spill over. Then he kind of wants to laugh, because what is the actual probability of this happening? He's torn between anger and joy, and chooses disbelief.
"Wow?"
"We were meant to get together long before we knew it," Jongin's smile is so genuine, cheeky mirth stretching his eyes into crescents, and Kyungsoo can't find any nuance of anger inside him anymore. Then, Jongin puts out his hand. "Hi, I'm pupsandchicken. I have three dogs and if I could I would make chicken everyone's staple food. More importantly, I like you. Let's be boyfriends?"
"I like the sound of that." Kyungsoo replies bashfully, heart swelling up like a helium balloon. When you are with the right person, everything gets complete, and it feels like the last puzzle piece has slipped into place.
Title: Apricity
Genre: fluff, romance
Rating: PG
Side-Pairing: slight!layhan
Length: 7,500 words
Summary: Jongin is a storm that wrecks Kyungsoo, who is all too willing, really.
Notes: i really hope you guys like this!
Everything that could go wrong that morning does, basically.
Jongin wakes up half an hour past his alarm (that's not a surprise anymore, really), stumbles into the kitchen with remnants of sleep stubbornly clinging onto his eyelids, only to find his roommate Luhan finishing the last packet of his mandatory morning coffee. He still has the audacity to down the last sip right in front of him, savoring it and letting out a loud sigh of satisfaction. Jongin has never felt an urge so strong to strangle Luhan.
(Actually, maybe he has. Many times, really, handling Luhan requires a great deal of self-control.)
He finds expired orange juice in the fridge and ends up spilling it all over his last pristine white shirt that isn't in the laundry. Then he accidentally sits on a wet puddle on the floor while putting on his shoes, and ends up having to make his way to the bus stop with a suspicious dark patch on the back of his pants, before realizing that he had already missed the last bus that could take him to school on time. He curses and runs.
The bell mocks him just before he reaches the gate, and its ring has never sounded so much like caustic laughter.
He prepares to launch into a long speech to convince the prefect on duty to not record his name, only to stop himself when he realizes who it is.
Do Kyungsoo. The absolute paragon of a model student, prim and impeccable uniform, neat and slicked back hair. The well-known choir boy and president of the student council whom Jongin has never liked. He seems so boring, so proper, - too proper - the kind that stays confined within daily routines and lives to please everyone. Kyungsoo is so likable that Jongin dislikes him, however unreasonable it sounds. Jongin is not one to follow the norm, anyway, and habitually rolls his eyes.
Way to have his morning further ruined.
"You're late," Kyungsoo remarks and pens the name 'Kim Jongin' down on his notepad.
"Obviously," Jongin grumbles.
Kyungsoo adjusts his tie, as if it's not already perfect, and Jongin looks down at his own haphazardly worn uniform and mismatched socks, then at Kyungsoo's attire. He rolls his eyes again and tugs at his unruly hair.
"This is going to be one hell of a bad day," Jongin mutters under his breath.
(Which is sadly true.)
-
Jongin is tumultuous.
He is a walking storm, moulded against society's careful rules and regulations. He likes the unconventional. He likes the unorthodox. Rebellion - how it feels like to not be restricted, to be careless, irrational, doing whatever his heart tells him to, without any inhibitions. He lives by his own rules. And over the years, he's come to like how it makes him stand out, how motley it makes him look to people and how he is automatically judged to be casted aside. It only brings out how superficial people are and Jongin takes no interest in mixing with them. Luhan is possibly the only tolerable person he has as a permanent fixture in his life, outside of his family. They've grown up together since young.
He thrives under the petty judgements people have of him upon first impressions, and how good it feels to prove them wrong. He actually does well in school because it is rebellion in itself, he thinks. To do the opposite of what people stereotype him to; Jongin derives satisfaction from exactly that. He isn't problematic as much as he is radical.
But he was still late in the morning, and for that he has to pay a price - detention, and by that it really means he has to be a temporary cleaner for an afternoon. He drags himself into the classroom that is assigned for late-comers to clean up, murmuring about how unlucky he has been the entire day. He's the only one required to serve detention that day, meaning he has to clean the room alone, and what the fuck just how unlucky can I get Jongin thinks.
After three torturous hours of cleaning alone (or lazing around with a cloth in his hand), Jongin stretches, when Mr Kim walks in to survey the area before granting him dismissal.
Jongin walks out to the room and decides to wait by the concourse stairs for Luhan, who agreed in the morning to pick him up, although Jongin bets that Luhan has completely forgotten about it. He dials Luhan's number impatiently, tapping his fingers on the steps, and lazily slumps back against the wall, willing Luhan to quickly pick up.
Then, oh, how could God let Jongin off without ruining his mood further when the day hasn't even ended? Yeah, God couldn't! Jongin contemplates whether or not to leave as Kyungsoo descends the stairs, but decides against it because he's honestly tired. Kyungsoo plops down beside him, to his surprise, and starts. "Did I even do anything to you?"
Nobody really tries to approach him in school, and he's already shocked that Kyungsoo is willing to voluntarily go into close proximity with him, let alone talk. And his question completely throws Jongin off-guard.
"Um. Huh?" Jongin replies intelligently.
"Why do you always look like you're so unhappy with me? I'm not blind, you know."
"I-I.." Jongin stutters. He never thought that it would matter. He has an annoyed look plastered on perpetually. "It's just my face?"
"But you keep rolling your eyes at me!" Kyungsoo actually sounds indignant, and looks pretty disgruntled as well.
Saying that Jongin is purely shocked would be an extreme understatement, and his impulsive nature forces the words to tumble out of his mouth before he's even conscious of it. "I'm not obliged to like you just because you are on everyone's good books."
He looks at Kyungsoo in the eye and sees a flash of something flicker across it, and is compelled to say something, - he doesn't know what but anything, really - that can make his words sound less harsh because he somehow just wants to take them back. But before he has any chance to, Kyungsoo is picking up his backpack, slinging it onto one shoulder and walking towards a car that is driving through the gates. Jongin watches as Kyungsoo slams the car door shut, and watches as the size of the vehicle diminish as it drives out of school and into the distance.
Jongin doesn't know why it bothers him so much that he wasn't able to explain himself, but it just does, and the weight of it stays tangible in his stomach for the entire day.
-
It's been a day.
It's been approximately 27 hours since his conversation with Kyungsoo, and Jongin can't seem to let it go. He figures he has to tell someone. Luhan is out of the question for sure, and Jongin judges him through squinted eyes as Luhan prances around the house, half-shouting and half-squealing about how his lunch date with Yixing went, and how he thinks they're ready to level up the base. Yeah, Jongin decides, definitely out.
Jongin fishes out his phone and messages his best option online. Jongin thanks God for online chatting, or else he would never have found the only other friend in his life that's never been scared off by how intimidating Jongin looks. Well, essentially he can't, as this friend has never seen how Jongin looks like, seeing that they met over the Internet. That's possibly the only reason that allows Jongin to open up. The chasm of the Internet offers a mask of translucency that he's able to hide behind.
> pupsnchicken: heyyy r u thr
< dopororo: Yes??
> pupsnchicken: how was ur day haha
< dopororo: Kind of shitty :(
> pupsnchicken: oh gr8, me too!!!!! can i ask u smth
< dopororo: You can't ^^
> pupsnchicken: hahaha ya right anyways i think i offended someone today i don't rly know him but i kind of insinuated that i dislike him but i actually don't he just kind of annoys me but ya i rly don't mean it and now i'm sad what do u think i shud do :(((
< dopororo: Apologise to him, of course! I know how your friend (or not) might feel, and let me tell you that it feels horrible
> pupsnchicken: oh i see.. thanks bro and oh u said u know how that person might feel?? did someone make u feel disliked bc lemme tell u that u're the best bro ily thx for helpin
< dopororo: Yeah sort of.. Ok thanks for cheering me up! Ily too pupsnchicken
> pupsnchicken: welcome and bye hehe gotta go feed monggu
> pupsandchicken: [logged off]
-
Damn it, Jongin thinks, Why is this even so hard like half the school is scared of me oh my god I need to get a grip.
His attempts at placating himself almost work until he rounds a corner and there he is, the subject of Jongin's anguish. Kyungsoo is locking the council room's door, unassuming as ever, and Jongin realises he doesn't even understand why he used to be so unhappy with Kyungsoo previously.
"Are you looking for someone?"
Jongin gulps as he wonders if Kyungsoo has teleportation skills to be right in front of him when he was sure that Kyungsoo was just at the exact opposite end of the corridor ten seconds ago.
"Oh. Hi," Jongin starts intelligently.
"Yes?" Kyungsoo replies, eyes narrowed up at Jongin.
Jongin almost shudders at how condescending Kyungsoo looks. "Erm..." Jongin continues unsteadily.
"Erm?"
"I just..."
"Are you going to apologise or not?"
"What?" Jongin blurts, mouth agape. "Oh. Yeah. Sorry?" He manages, still startled by how Kyungsoo had discerned his intention. Kyungsoo seems to always have the ability to throw Jongin off his feet.
"Hmm?" Kyungsoo is looking down but Jongin can just make out how pleased Kyungsoo is through his voice. "I can't hear you... I don't have much time you know..."
"I'm sorry! I actually thought about it and realised that something must be wrong with me and there is no reason for me to answer you as harshly as I did yesterday so I am sorry and I could barely sleep yesterday because I felt like I said something so horrible and oh my god shit," Jongin babbles, fingers clutching at the hem of his shirt, eyes somewhere on the ground.
"You could barely sleep yesterday?"
Jongin gulps. Then nods.
"Hmm... Okay," Kyungsoo says.
"Is that an acceptance for my apology or-"
"Damn it, that's just an okay," Kyungsoo insists, but Jongin sees the smile that Kyungsoo is trying to keep from slipping onto his face, and feels lightened up all of a sudden. "Not everyone is obliged to accept apologies, you know. So it's just okay."
And Jongin feels the light dim.
But Kyungsoo forgives him, of course, he did immediately when he saw him showing up outside the council room, face two shades too warm, fingers nervously plucking at loose threads of his shirt. He was cute, how he stumbled through his words, attempting to rectify what he said to Kyungsoo the previous day. He sees his face fall, and it sort of pleases him to know that he managed that on the almighty Kim Jongin, whom so many people are afraid of.
After his encounters with Jongin though, he can't really figure out what is exactly so intimidating about Kim Jongin. He watches Jongin's initial hopeful demeanor crumble, and thinks that he looks really, really cute, a little lost and a little sad, bottom lip a little jutting.
Kyungsoo forgives him, but Jongin doesn't have to know that.
-
Jongin kicks at a pebble on the pavement, then winces at the pain that shoots through his toes. It's an uneventful day, and the sun rays sear into his skin. He's too aware of the sweat skimming over his skin, pressing against his uniform. The ground radiates heat against his sole.
He's about to turn left, and reaching his apartment soon. The weather is scorching, and Jongin is exhausted, limbs feeling like chained on weights. He can't wait to be home, but he hears a cry.
He's about to turn left, but swivels back and hesitantly continues forward in the direction of the cry. His eyes widen as he sees Kyungsoo on the ground, and they blow open further when he spots the gash on Kyungsoo's knee. That's when he notices how he is lying in a haphazard manner on the pavement, near his bicycle, face scrunched up, pain apparent as his brow furrows further. The lines across his forehead stretch as he tries to hold the pain in. Jongin is about to walk across and render help, when Kyungsoo grits his teeth and stands up, giving the brightest smile he can muster towards a girl Jongin had not noticed. The girl looks shocked, wide eyes glistening along with the tears stains on her cheeks.
Jongin is creeping behind a bush near where they are and he wonders why he is even doing this. He's sure he looks like a maniacal stalker, and the leaves prick uncomfortably at him, uniform sticking onto him like a second skin. Perspiration is like the glue he can't rub off.
But there is no way out now, since standing up and leaving will undoubtedly expose himself and he absolutely does not want to explain himself. He doesn't know how to, anyway. He is glad he chose this hiding spot though, when he catches on to the conversation between Kyungsoo and the little girl. He is just within ear-shot, and curiously laps on to bits of conversation while peeking through the small gaps among the green.
"Don't worry, I will help you to retrieve your balloon, okay?" Kyungsoo smiles down to the girl, who must be around 4 years old, 5 years at most.
The girl beams, but points to Kyungsoo's knee and mumbles, worried. "Doesn't it hurt?"
Kyungsoo grimaces but hides it with another smile. "Not at all!"
Kyungsoo then climbs up a tree situated near where they are. He flings his leg up onto the nearest and most stable branch he can find, and steps up another with his unscathed leg. The gash evidently splits as he bends his wounded leg, and crimson dribbles down as he climbs up to the next branch. He reaches his hand up, and the girl's balloon is just there, the string flitting gingerly out of his fingertips every time he attempts to wrap his hand around it. Kyungsoo curses to himself.
Jongin dashes across from the bush to the tree and orders the struggling Kyungsoo to come down. Kyungsoo stares at Jongin for a few seconds, looking appalled for an interminable one, and the next thing he knows, he is falling, falling, falling... on Jongin.
And they crash in a heap on the ground, Jongin unwittingly cushioning Kyungsoo's fall. Jongin hastily pushes Kyungsoo aside and makes his way up the tree like it is the easiest thing possible. In a minute, he nimbly jumps down from a branch and hands the balloon over to the girl who says thanks to both Jongin and Kyungsoo ecstatically before making her way back to the playground nearby.
"How did you fall from your bicycle?" Jongin's tongue is thick with nerves. Kyungsoo has this inexplicably effect on him, and Jongin sweats from reasons other than the blazing sun.
"I saw how the girl's face fell when she lost her balloon, so I turned around. The path was too narrow. Yeah."
Awkward silence ensues, and Jongin can feel the thin sheen of perspiration on his palm. He clenches and unclenches his fist. There is no reason for him to be this nervous.
"Pft, the school council president can't even climb a tree. How incompetent," Jongin manages to scoff.
"How is leading the student body even remotely related to climbing a tree?"
"It just is!"
Kyungsoo stares at Jongin, speechless, silent, the unrelenting sunlight gracing their features, occasional breeze on his nape, and Jongin just stares back. Kyungsoo's eyelashes flutter slightly in the wind, and Jongin notices. Jongin doesn't know what this is, but he feels something foreign in his chest that makes him look away. They both cough awkwardly, simultaneously, then turn to leave in different directions, not knowing why they feel unsaid words lodged in their throats.
-
There is a fine line between the kind of world that is Do Kyungsoo's, and it's entirely not the kind that is Kim Jongin's. But they seem to cross it, line a little fuzzed out since they stood facing each other on a seemingly ordinary sunny afternoon.
Maybe that is why Jongin finds himself lurking outside the council room, fidgety and nervous, unsure of the point of his visit. But Jongin's always been like this, doing whatever his heart deems right, no second thoughts, only instincts.
Kyungsoo steps out of the room, frustration evident in the way his brow knits and lips tilt slant, not in the right way where corners of his lips are pulled upwards into a pretty curve, bright and genuine. Jongin finds that he likes it when Kyungsoo does that. Smiles.
Kyungsoo turns to his left and notices Jongin, and he halts his steps.
"What are you doing here?" Kyungsoo hisses, eyes akin to slits. "If you are here to annoy me, know that now is not the right time.
Jongin stays silent, because he himself has no idea what is the answer to Kyungsoo's question. It was one mere impulse that brought him there, and Jongin always follows his impulses. He trusts them. And as he looks blankly back at Kyungsoo, mind an empty canvas, no loose words to thread into a remotely coherent reply, he finds that all he wants then is to do something. Something that feels right, something like reaching out to smoothen the tensed creases on Kyungsoo's face, making the strained lines go away.
"Let's go have fun!" Jongin shouts, sounding somewhat like a lost kid that didn't get to go to the playground the previous day.
"What?" Kyungsoo asks, eyes imploring, mottled with hints of both bewilderment and suspicion. A little unsure if he had heard Jongin wrong.
It's either that very instant, or nothing at all.
So Jongin curls his hand around Kyungsoo's arm. And they run.
-
His mind is a mess, a fuse of blinding and vivacious colours, iridescent and all adrenaline. He feels free, racing against the wind, like he's broken free of everything that might be tying him down. He's bent on painting Kyungsoo's mind this way as well, carefree and unrestricted, shrugging off any sort of unease and anxiety, feeling a soaring kind of escape. It's what he does best; leave things behind, unravel until his mind is clear and nothing but simple dazzling hues, clean, unfiltered, and he can listen to his heart again.
Slowly his thoughts catch up with his limbs and something sets into his stomach when he realises that he has no idea whether he could even be doing this, whether Kyungsoo is feeling the way he does, whether Kyungsoo's even supposed to leave the school compound, because Jongin has no idea if he has any extra curriculum activities holding him back. Council presidency is a huge responsibility, after all. He has no idea, and pressure is setting into the pit of his stomach, and Jongin has never felt this way, nervous and apprehensive. He's never been affected by feelings like this, hindered by what the impact of consequences might bring. This is a first.
His grip on Kyungsoo suddenly feels out of place, numb and cold, like it shouldn't have even been there. Shit, Jongin thinks, and the sound of the wind racing pass his ears doesn't sound half as pleasant anymore, until he hears a light tinkle. It grows into a full-blown laughter, and oh, Jongin realises, oh.
Kyungsoo is laughing. And his laughter sounds like a spectrum of colours, a plethora of things, like the first ray of daybreak and the glimmer of moonlight. It's light-hearted and so genuine. And he laughs, and Jongin is smiling so hard that before he knows it he's laughing along with him, so bright and so, so spirited.
Their muscles are aching, their laughter like a rush of freedom straight into their lungs, and they are sprinting and chortling, sun beating down on their backs. Eventually they slow down, breathless and a little light-headed, back bent over their knees. They aren't that far from school though, at a small park just down the road.
They plop down on an empty field, sinking from their high, and a comfortable quiet sits between them. For a while, nothing breaks the silence, birds fly overhead and a blanket of peacefulness coalesces in the air.
"Thank you," Kyungsoo speaks after the silence thickens a little, and Jongin is surprised by how shy Kyungsoo actually sounds. Subdued and bashful. There it goes again, Kyungsoo is so unpredictable and Jongin is always shocked. This time, Jongin wonders aloud.
"Why?"
A pause later, Kyungsoo replies. "I don't know. For nothing, or for everything, I guess," Jongin hums a little in the silence that follows, and Kyungsoo continues. "For apologising, for helping the little girl, for making me feel better. It's funny, we've only ever talked for like, thrice, yet I have so many things to thank you for."
His eyes dart up to Jongin, and the ends of his lips flow the right way again. It's angled upwards into a smile, and Jongin feels accomplished for inexplicable reasons.
-
> pupsandchicken: hey friend
< dopororo: Yes?? I'm a bit busy
> pupsandchicken: u are always so busy mannnb
> pupsandchicken: so inundated with things, u gotta let urself relax sometimes u know
> pupsandchicken: anyway i have smth to ask u
< dopororo: I know, someone helped me to realise it today too.... >< I will rest soon. And yes? You can just ask, you know you can trust me
> pupsandchicken: do u think it's possible for two people that are totally different from each other to bcome friends?
< dopororo: Wow. This is the first time you're asking me a question that doesn't make me feel like questioning your intellect
> pupsandchicken: omg.. thanks :"(
< dopororo: Anyway, if you asked me a few days back, I would've said no... But now I say yes.
> pupsandchicken: rly????? is the stress getting into ur head?? I TOLD U THAT U NEEDED TO REST SOMETIMES. LOOk now u've gone BONKERS
> pupsandchicken: omggggg noooo
< dopororo: Why am I even friends with you
< dopororo: That was a serious answer btw. Maybe, maybe, the difference is what will draw the two parties together. Hahaha. And please, I do relax okay! I watch pororo and sing, dumbo
> pupsandchicken: OMG U SING? WHY DIDN'T I KNOW THIS? I THOUGHT I WAS UR FRIEND ok u better send me an audio clip of ur singing like rigHT NOW
< dopororo: Please. No.
> pupsandchicken: [attachment: pororo_crying.jpg]
< dopororo: ...
< dopororo: You are such a horrible friend. [attachment: my_lady_cover.mp3]
> pupsandchicken: HOLY FUCK
> pupsandchicken: WHEN IS UR ALBUM COMING OUT PLS HYUNG I AM UR NUMBER 1 frIEND AND FAN ALR WHAT THW FUC KAR E U SECRETLY AN IDOL
< dopororo: WILL U PLS CHILL AND turn off your caps lock
< dopororo: Ha. Ha. Singing is just a casual hobby
> pupsandchicken: but ur voice is soooo good omg
< dopororo: Nah >_> but thank you! I'm going off soon, got a project to complete
> pupsandchicken: bye :((
< dopororo: [logged off]
-
The ceiling looks interesting.
Jongin's lying down on his bed, staring up at the black of his ceiling. He should've been asleep awhile ago, but whenever his eyes shut he can't erase the memory of that afternoon out of his mind, and he swears he can feel the breeze sifting through his hair again, the phantom warmth of Kyungsoo's presence radiating like how it did when they were in the park. It had felt so oddly warm, and so unreasonably comfortable, like they had connected in an unknown way under the shade of the giant fig tree.
He still doesn't know why he did that, or why he is thinking of this, but he is, and he can't stop.
He flops over to his other side, and tries to relax his limbs and cleanse his mind in order to drift off to sleep. His conversation with his pororo friend has been lashing itself across the walls of his minds. Maybe, just maybe, it's really their differences that are causing him the weird fluttery things in his chest.
Kyungsoo is so proper, decorous and so right, the utter juxtaposition to how and what Jongin is. But light and dark can't exist without each other; so entwined, and perhaps that's the beauty that comes with sunrises and sunsets. When the two collide and meld into one another, darkness morphing into the light and light filtering through the dark, it is the most magnificent.
Kyungsoo is so right, and it feels like he has carefully tucked himself and fitted snug into Jongin's thoughts.
As he forces himself into slumber that night, he falls asleep with Kyungsoo embedded onto the back of his lids and seared right into his subconscious, and as he struggles afloat somewhere in his fitful sleep, Kyungsoo is there in between solid conscious and aqueous dreams.
-
It's as though the paths have been mapped out long beforehand, and Jongin and Kyungsoo find themselves constantly meeting each other's eyes in the school's hallways, and shying away during classes. Jongin doesn't think it's an accidental habit that he's taken to walking the longer route to class and passing by the council room on the way.
Kyungsoo is often there. Sometimes he notices Jongin, but more often not. Jongin convinces himself that he's merely taking casual glances, but the way his heart plummets into his toes when he walks by and Kyungsoo isn't there disproves that.
There always comes a time when light and dark blend and complement. The light faints and dims into a pretty sunset, and this happens when Kyungsoo sits down opposite Jongin in the library one day, setting down his bag and laying out his work, like it was planned that he was supposed to be there.
Jongin feels something lighten in his chest, and he ponders if Kyungsoo feels it too, if he's the only one who feels something silent and awaiting in between them, dormant and waiting to be triggered.
Kyungsoo talks to Jongin casually, like light-hearted banter between two friends that have known each other for way longer than Kyungsoo and Jongin have. Jongin is initially shocked (again, if he might add), but slowly eases into effortless repartee and conversation with Kyungsoo as well. And things flow, numbers are exchanged, gazes remain unspoken of, and unbeknownst to each other, both of them return home that day with a skip in their steps.
-
They are aware of the buzzing that follows their meetings, the way speculative looks are thrown their way and whispers about them circulate. They are like the two ends of a line, held together yet facing entirely different directions, until fate decides to tie the two ends together into a knot.
The sunset paints the sky in pastel resplendence, and they are walking home, close enough for hearts to pulsate a tad aggressively.
"Hey, I gotta go," Jongin says as they reach the bus stop, somewhere before where they usually part ways.
"Why?" Kyungsoo questions, pointing down the road. "You usually only turn when you reach the split there."
Jongin's cheeks flush hot for a moment. "I'm going to the club with Luhan." He doesn't know why he feels uncomfortable, like he's doing something wrong.
"Oh," Kyungsoo mumbles, and his eyes cast downwards.
Jongin steps away, almost turning to leave.
"Don't," Kyungsoo murmurs, voice so soft and tender Jongin wouldn't have caught it if he weren't so perceptive when it came to Kyungsoo.
"Why?"
"It's... It's not good. Unhealthy. The drinks. The stench of sin and debauchery." Kyungsoo still isn't meeting Jongin's eyes. "Don't go there."
Jongin's not a stranger when it comes to clubbing. He used to go weekly last time, when he and Luhan were younger and more curious, always living on the edge and throwing caution to the wind. But the way Kyungsoo spoke, it makes him feel bad for all the times he had even stepped into a club.
Jongin is stunned into silence, panicking a little and fumbling for words. But Kyungsoo beats him to it, voice a little too masked and pitched to be genuinely happy. "Sorry, I don't know what came over me, just ignore what I said. Of course you should go, you already promised your friend and everyone goes there! It's totally okay and have fun and enjoy yourself and I'm just going to leave now..."
Kyungsoo forces a laughter and walks away, leaving Jongin with stray words he can't seem to grasp.
The sunset turns dull, is a little too grey today, dark encapsulating the sky in a malevolent shade.
-
The ceiling looks interesting.
Kyungsoo analyses the cracks on his room's ceiling, sits up and pulls at his hair. He doesn't understand why he is doing this, why he is feeling this way, unable to pick apart the millions of whys stacked upon whys in his mind. They all revolve around Kim Jongin.
Kyungsoo huffs at how his thoughts have automatically gravitated to Jongin again. It's late, he should be all washed up and getting ready for bed, not pulling at loose threads of his blanket and wondering why he can't pack the mess of thoughts about Jongin up into something, categorize and square him up into something he understands, something he can fathom and handle. Something he is familiar with.
But that is just not what Jongin is; even if you manage to fit him into the box of your understanding, there will still be bits spilling over the edges, over and out. Jongin just keeps drifting between his fingertips and Kyungsoo doesn't understand.
There is a soft rapping at his window and he frowns, thinking that he had misheard before the gentle knocking comes again with a silent hiss from the outside. Kyungsoo's heart pounds in his chest, because it's impossible, it's just downright incredulous. No.
He unlocks the latches, pushes the window open, and there squats Kim Jongin on a branch outside the window, like he materialized out of nowhere. Kyungsoo stares, and wonders if Jongin's burrowed himself a space that sits in his lungs because his breath seems to have caught.
Jongin grins, and Kyungsoo catches the gleam of his teeth the moon's gentle glow. "Hi."
"Care to explain?"
"Let's go to the beach!"
"Let me get this straight. At 9pm you appear outside of my bedroom window out of nowhere at all for me to go to the beach with you? Please tell me you aren't serious."
Jongin only smiles wider. "But I am."
"There's school tomorrow..." Kyungsoo trails off. He knows there's nothing he can say to change Jongin's mind. "Fine."
Jongin beams.
-
There's a quiet shrill that resounds in the chilly air, thickened with the scent and weight of the sea. Jongin and Kyungsoo sit on the sand, and truth to be told, it's been a while since Kyungsoo has last felt this light hearted, and he doesn't know whether or not he should feel thankful about this.
He tilts his head to his right and Jongin's facial profile comes into view. The sky is an expanse of peaceful velvet and Kyungsoo's mind is simmering with questions. He shouldn't be here, sitting right where they are, near the sea with the saltiness of the night breeze infiltrating his senses, Jongin's presence comforting beside him. He doesn't do this. Do Kyungsoo does routines, and Kim Jongin does not. Kim Jongin is reckless, treading spontaneity like familiar territory that Kyungsoo should be staying far away from. For the first time of Kyungsoo's life, he feels like he's losing control.
And he likes it.
He would reflect about it, debunk this entire thing that is so un-Kyungsoo, but he isn't even sure what is this thing that he has with Jongin. Jongin is good looking, sharp contours against the backdrop of the moon-lit sky, and Kyungsoo doesn't even realise that he's staring until Jongin meets his eye.
Kyungsoo flushes and grapples at something to say to divert the weight of what he was doing, and it hits him. "You didn't meet Luhan?"
"Yeah. He went alone."
"Why?" His chest tightens and his ears burn, waiting for Jongin's answer.
"I don't know. You said I shouldn't."
Kyungsoo doesn't question him, just lets his acknowledgement settle nicely in the quiet between them, lets the rhythm of the waves lull him, getting the knots and tightened tendons in his body undone, small smile playing on his lips.
"How do you feel right now?" Jongin asks.
"Good. Relaxed."
"That's great, you seem way too tensed all the damn time-"
"Do not! Why do so many people say that?" Kyungsoo frowns. "I'm not so uptight. I cook. I sing. It helps cope with the stress."
"You sing?" Jongin questions. Kyungsoo blushes, nods, and Jongin continues. "You know I'm going to ask you to sing for me right now."
Kyungsoo blushes, and the sanguine lingers all the way on the tip of his ears. He scrunches up his face, eyes tightly shut, and with a deep inhale, he sings.
He sings, and he takes Jongin's breath away.
It's enchanting - Kyungsoo singing is all warm melted butter sweetly sizzling on a pan. It is the warmth of the fireplace on a cold winter night, the comfort from the familiar pair of gloves that has moulded into the shape of your hands. The moon shines behind him, and he sings, plush lips and languid tongue rolling around husky and beautiful notes, and he is so beautiful. This must be the quintessence of beauty, and he feels like his soul has found comfort in the smooth rises and dips of Kyungsoo's voice, so homely and so, so weirdly familiar.
Jongin almost stops breathing altogether. It can't be, he thinks. Fuck.
The soft light is dusting the outline of Kyungsoo's face, breaking through the gaps of his fringe, and Jongin thinks that, if every single moment of his life that he has ever experienced, was pieced together to lead up to this very moment, Jongin thinks that he wouldn't mind.
Kyungsoo's song ends, and Jongin claps and smiles and tries his best to tell Kyungsoo how good his voice is. And in the most casually concealed tone, he asks naturally. "When's your birthday?"
"12 January. You asked me once."
"Favourite cartoon?"
"Pororo."
Shit. Shit.
-
Jongin had left in a hurry, and Kyungsoo worries if he had said or done anything wrong. He's lying on his bed, back to staring at the cracks on his ceiling, again. He grabs his phone.
> dopororo: Hey
< pupsandchicken: yes
> dopororo: Have you ever felt something really familiar yet foreign at the same time?
> dopororo: Like your thoughts don't stop encircling someone... And you feel heavy things in your chest. And time spent together feels nice, and knowing that the other party is going to somewhere surrounded by so many other people feels uncomfortable and prickly to the heart
> dopororo: Shit, I think I understand now
< pupsandchicken: what?
< pupsandchicken: do u like that.. someone?
> dopororo: I think so >< What should I do...
< pupsandchicken: shit i gotta leave now sorry. bye.
< pupsandchicken: [logged off]
His virtual best friend has never acted like this, so elusive and quick to end the conversation. But he figures there's nothing he can do about it anyway, as long as he is offline, there is no other way to go about contacting him. And so, Kyungsoo falls asleep that night, restless and perplexed.
-
It's driving Jongin crazy.
The possibility of Kyungsoo liking him wrecks him, crashes like a massive meteor into the surfaces of his mind. He knows now. He understands why Kyungsoo feels like a cocoon of comfort, why Jongin feels so lost and unguarded and different with Kyungsoo, why, at times, he just wants to lay down and count the stars orbiting in Kyungsoo's eyes.
He likes him.
And he's not sure what to do now he's put a finger what he feels for him.
It's Thursday tomorrow, which means both him and Kyungsoo will stay behind in school for dance and council duties respectively. He doesn't know anymore, if he can handle Kyungsoo waiting outside the dance studio for him, hands on his laps and eyes a swirl of pretty brown, so they can walk home together afterwards.
He had escaped, because he doesn't know what else he can do. Whenever something feels like it's pulling him down, spinning him into a whirlwind of negativity, plaguing him with things he doesn't want to face... He runs. It's ingrained into him, like a conditioned reflex, to just run away and away and away until he's a little fleck in the horizon and things right themselves again.
Fate works in a funny way, he muses, how Kyungsoo and him are jagged and smooth in all the different ways, yet brought together to fit, like puzzles pieces in place side by side. How Kyungsoo is all about methodical plans and doing the right things, and Jongin is all about moments and intuitions and danger.
He taught Kyungsoo how to run, and he thinks along the way, Kyungsoo had inadvertently taught him how to stay, as well.
-
Luhan picks up his bag and shouts across the room to Yixing. "Quick, the movie starts at 7!"
"It's only 5.30 now-"
"We have to travel and eat and spend quality time together," Luhan insists, and there are almost throbbing red hearts in his eyes. "I've been waiting for this forever."
Yixing sighs with a resigned smile, but rushes to pack up and leave the room. Before he exits, he turns to Jongin. "Not leaving yet?"
"Nope, gonna practise a little more."
"Nah, he's just waiting for his favourite head prefect," Luhan butts in obnoxiously, in a sickly saccharine voice, and adds on suggestively. "So they can go home together."
"Shut up. Leave now or you'll miss your dumb movie," Jongin flushes.
Luhan and Yixing say bye before shutting the door. Jongin sits and catches bits of their voices through it before they fade away entirely, and smiles at how they seem to be good for each other, Luhan's loud and chatty nature with Yixing's mild and gently affable one. In a way, they complete each other, bringing out the other's positive traits and making up for their inferior ones.
He shakes the thoughts out of his head, picks himself up and continues practising.
The music deafens, and it courses through Jongin's limbs, letting them play out into moves on their own, a second fluid, a second concrete. It's almost an art of its own, the way the movements flow so poetically and firmly together, concurrently. Jongin is lost to his own world, all he feels is the way his body shifts, whether it's sharp enough or soft enough, the way he transitions from poise to poise. The door opens, and he is unaware.
The last notes plays and the song dies, and he splays himself across the studio floor, empowered from the high yet limp from lethargy. He dabs his towel on his forehead, panting. The door is ajar.
"Who's there?"
Kyungsoo slips in with a guilty smile, softly closing the door. "We finished up quicker than expected, so I came a little earlier than usual."
"Oh..." Jongin trails off, inundated with thoughts left and lost from yesterday. He can't think.
Jongin is so wholly visceral and tired, he can't think of anything else, other than the fact that Kyungsoo is there, biting down on his lips and looking so small. He stirs awkwardly, and resists the urge to bring Kyungsoo into his arms. But Kyungsoo is right there in his reach, and Jongin is confused and unable to think, so he lets his feelings go unrestricted and prompt him to say things.
"Do you like me?"
The impact of his words hit him as he watches Kyungsoo's face morph into a variety of expressions. Blank, confused, lost, shocked, disbelieving. Then he straightens his back and takes a deep breath. Jongin's heart is pounding so hard he can feel it in his toes, and there is a nervous tingling throughout his body. His hands clench around his towel.
"Yes. Or at least... I think so," Kyungsoo's voice shakes a little, and crumples into a more diffident posture. "You make me so confused and I've never felt like this, not ever."
The regret and fear cloud over Kyungsoo's face, and he turns away, face red and warm.
"But... Me too," Jongin whispers.
The way the weight seems to lift off Kyungsoo's shoulders makes Jongin feel liberated as well. Picking up his backpack in a swift movement, he approaches Kyungsoo in nervous increments.
"Let's go?"
"Okay. Yes. Sure." Kyungsoo rushes in one breath, and his shade of crimson intensifies. Jongin laughs and switches off the lights.
The walk home has never felt so pleasant, with Kyungsoo's hand in his and butterflies in his stomach. Jongin thinks nothing has ever felt this right.
-
That night, Jongin devises a plan.
> pupsandchicken: hey friend
> pupsandchicken: u know we've known each other for so long and gotten along so well.. do u think it's time to meet
< dopororo: Oh.. I guess it's okay
> pupsandchicken: saturday at café kaisoo, 1pm?
< dopororo: Yes, okay.. See you!
Jongin feels like a genius as he logs off, and proceeds to thumb a text to Kyungsoo.
Jongin (9.49pm)
first date!! saturday!!
Kyungsoo (9.52pm)
Oh, I just made plans with someone though..
Jongin (9.52pm)
don't worry, things will work out just fine ehehe
Kyungsoo (9.54pm)
Are you planning something weird
Kyungsoo (9.55pm)
Jongin
Kyungsoo (10.39pm)
?????
Kyungsoo (11.19pm)
KIM JONGINNNNNN
Jongin (11.20pm)
hehe shh
Kyungsoo (11.23pm)
>_>
Jongin (11.23pm)
<3
-
Saturday arrives not with a soft tick of the clock, but with the spasmodic drumming of Kyungsoo's heart. It's the first time he's going to meet his virtual best friend, and doubts and nerves flood his mind.
Jongin still hasn't mentioned anything about his plans for their 'date' today so he assumes it isn't happening after all. It borderline saddens Kyungsoo how lightly Jongin seems to be taking this - it's been a long time since Kyungsoo has actually liked someone, let alone blurt out his feelings the way he had. But he is doubly mad at how unhappy he's feeling. They didn't define what they are, anyway, they could be just friends with feelings that are more than platonic, and there is no reason for him to be feeling like that. Kyungsoo huffs.
1pm is approaching, and it brings Kyungsoo mind away from the frustrating topic that is Kim Jongin. He's a small part nervous, but more parts excited, and he smiles lightly when he recalls pupsandchicken's message yesterday.
> pupsandchicken: u'll be so happy to see me i swear
He refused to give Kyungsoo his number, insisting on maintaining his air of "mysteriousness". It's paradoxical how Kyungsoo doesn't even know his number, or real name (since they've always just addressed each other by stupid names like friend or brother or simply pups/pororo), but at the same time he feels like he knows everything about him, like they've already met and formed an abstruse connection already.
He walks to the café, footsteps capering and light. It's a nice and quaint place, tucked away down the street, quiet and not frequented, but not entirely secluded as well. He likes the ambience, and it makes him happy thinking that his friend probably picked this place knowing he would like it.
Kyungsoo orders a drink and sits down by himself somewhere near the back, right by the window. He immerses in the quietude and observe. The café is small, nothing extravagant, but it smells of peace and love and positivity. Outside, a couple pass by, arms linked and pace identical, and everything looks pretty under the grace of sunshine. And then, someone sits down in front of him.
His breath stills somewhere in his throat, and he turns.
And frowns.
"Kim Jongin, what are you doing here-"
"Seeing you. Meeting you. Having a date with you," Jongin grins.
"I told you I have plans!"
"Me too. With you."
"No, I'm meeting this guy called-"
The epiphany dawns like a storm cloud on Kyungsoo's face. His expression darkens, furious, but happiness threatens to spill over. Then he kind of wants to laugh, because what is the actual probability of this happening? He's torn between anger and joy, and chooses disbelief.
"Wow?"
"We were meant to get together long before we knew it," Jongin's smile is so genuine, cheeky mirth stretching his eyes into crescents, and Kyungsoo can't find any nuance of anger inside him anymore. Then, Jongin puts out his hand. "Hi, I'm pupsandchicken. I have three dogs and if I could I would make chicken everyone's staple food. More importantly, I like you. Let's be boyfriends?"
"I like the sound of that." Kyungsoo replies bashfully, heart swelling up like a helium balloon. When you are with the right person, everything gets complete, and it feels like the last puzzle piece has slipped into place.