[I01] OVERTAKEN (1/2)
Prompt Code: I01
Title: Overtaken
Rating: NC-17
Side Pairings (if any): baekyeol, hunhan
Warnings: mentions of sex, language, (slight) angst
Word Count: 12, 422
Summary: I know you stole my parking spot and you should pay for that but holy shit-you’re one fine specimen. -Do Kyungsoo, 2016
AN: this ended up longer than expected. first, to my prompter, whoever you are, I hope I gave justice to your prompt. thank you, it has been a pleasure writing this. second, to my beta, M, who has been there since day 1. i love you to pieces b. third, to 53, my no.1 fan. and fourth, to all of you who decides to spend their time reading this, i hope you enjoy this rollercoaster.
From: DO NOT ANSWER
where the fuc r u? if I have to deal with mr. lee’s rants about tardiness again, I swear to god-
The shrill ringing of a phone subsequently fills the tiny car until a hand decides to reach for it to decline the call. The phone is then carelessly thrown back into the confines of a bag, its edges fraying from use, before a ping notifies him of a new message.
From: DO NOT ANSWER
anSWERRR UR PHONE DAMN IT
From: DO NOT ANSWER
PLEASE SOO HAVE MERCY ON ME. IF UR LATE MR. LEE’S GONNA ASK ME WHERE U R.
From: DO NOT ANSWER
HE’S GONNA THINK I’M RUBBING OFF ON YOU
From: DO NOT ANSWER
I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS
Kyungsoo lets the messages go unread, hand gripping the steering wheel and thick eyebrows set in determination. He peers up at the traffic light and drums his fingers against the stick shift while trying to stretch his patience, mentally berating himself for allowing this to happen.
Do Kyungsoo is by no means a tardy person. In fact, compared to his bestfriend, Byun Baekhyun; he is the epitome of on time and orderliness. Kyungsoo never fails to wake up on the dot at the ungodly hour of five-thirty for a class that starts at seven-thirty. Nor does he forget to brush his teeth and take a shower before sleeping at sharply nine-o’clock.
It’s just that, sometimes, life takes a turn and decides to go against him.
If he were to recount the events that led up to this unfortunate event in an orderly manner, Kyungsoo imagines himself as a tour guide in a science fair.
Here we have Exhibit A where our main protagonist Do Kyungsoo somehow contracted a cold after being forced into a night out by his best-now ex-friend Byun Baekhyun. As a result, poor Kyungsoo had to stay at home for several days, switching off his phone’s alarm clock so that he can sleep in peace and rejuvenate his health.
Exhibit B. Deeming himself fit to go back to school the next day, Kyungsoo suddenly has the bright idea to do that three-thousand word essay on Music Theory at roughly eight-thirty! Yay for productivity! He consumes approximately two bottles of to-go coffee and writes away into the night, filling pages upon pages with words that offer praises to the masters, the geniuses, the maestros of classical music.
On to Exhibit C, Kyungsoo finishes his paper at three-thirty. Great! He has two more hours to sleep. He’s a college student, he can do that. But because he still feels jittery and the coffee’s effects show no signs of going away, our hero tosses and turns on his bed, trying to get comfortable and fall into the ever-loving embrace of sleep. He tries to tire himself out by checking his social networking accounts, and when that doesn’t work, he ends up watching cat videos on Youtube as his last resort.
Kyungsoo finally falls asleep a few minutes before four-thirty, waking up with a shrill scream when he looks up at his wall clock to find that he only has less than thirty minutes to get to school before the formidable Mr. Lee marks him late. He foregoes breakfast and frantically juggles between brushing his teeth and putting on clothes, thinking that everyone in college has experienced skipping shower time at least once, before he grabs his bag, his essay, his keys and runs to his car.
“Stupid.” Kyungsoo mutters to himself, shaking his head and glaring at the traffic light as the seconds tick by. He leans forward when it switches to yellow and steps on the gas when it turns green.
Kyungsoo careens through the highway at a speed that might earn him a ticket if police were around, tires screeching when he takes a sharp left and drives into his University. He hurriedly shoves his ID in front of the security guard’s face, not bothering for permission as he stomps on the gas pedal, driving to his department.
He sighs in relief when he gets to the parking lot adjacent to the Performing Arts Building, knowing that he could still make a run for it as soon as he gets to his spot-
--which is now occupied by a white Range Rover.
What the hell?
Kyungsoo has half a mind to get out of his beat up Toyota to scratch some paint off the offensive SUV but the ringing of his phone reminds him that he got no time for that. He instead, wastes another minute going around the cramped parking lot looking for a spot-the only available spot being the one farthest from the building entrance.
He gets his things out in record time, locking his car and running towards his building while cursing his legs for being so damn short. When he does arrive underneath the arched foyer, Kyungsoo tries to catch his breath, shooting the Rover one last glare before running up the staircase to his classroom.
I’m going to look for the asshat who stole my spot. Kyungsoo promises himself, not knowing what he’s in for.
♥
It happens again. Once, twice and then more that it becomes ridiculous. Kyungsoo isn’t even coming to school late anymore, having gotten back to his routine of waking up early and arriving fifteen minutes before his first class. However, despite trying to reach his school earlier than who he now proclaims his enemy at his level best, he’s always welcomed with the front of the Range Rover staring back at his tiny Toyota.
Kyungsoo has had enough.
It was during the second time around that he’s almost marked late that he decides to acknowledge the fact that his short legs simply weren’t made for running across the parking lot and up three flights of stairs.
He decides to do something about it the next day, picking up Baekhyun (because he needs moral support) and happily bringing with him a fresh pack of sticky notes.
“Are you sure you’re going to do this?” Baekhyun asks him on the way to his rightful spot, scrolling through his phone with an uninterested expression. He’d been a little adamant about Kyungsoo’s plan to give his parking spot thief a piece of his mind but, who cares about Byun Baekhyun? Kyungsoo wanted his parking spot and he was going to get it back.
“Yes I am.” Kyungsoo mutters, eyes set on the Rover as he steers the wheel and parks in front of it. Kyungsoo grabs the sticky notes and brandishes it threateningly as he nears the car, Baekhyun closely following behind and looking like he’s ready to bolt in case someone sees them and decides to report them to security.
He hatches his plan, peeling off sticky notes from the pack and arranging them on top of the hood so that it forms a dick along with the words ‘Fuck you’ meticulously organized just below it. When he’s done, he bends over the hood, using it as a makeshift table as he fishes out his pen out of his pocket and begins to write his carefully worded message, tongue sticking out and eyes so focused on his writing that he fails to notice the crunch of gravel under sneakers and the presence of a newcomer.
“Ugh…Soo, you might wanna-“
“There!” Kyungsoo straightens up with a satisfied smile, rereading his message before walking around the hood and tucking the note underneath the windshield wipers. “That’ll teach him.” he smiles and turns to Baekhyun, only to come face to face with a gift from the gods.
Kyungsoo sizes up the fine specimen in front of him, from his pinkish hair to his dark eyes, to the gentle slope of his nose and sensual lips. He even goes so far as shamelessly raking his eyes down the stranger’s toned chest, mouth going dry when he sees obvious signs of muscle definition underneath his thin turtleneck. And those legs. Who has legs as long as that?
This guy, was the very definition of tall, dark and handsome and was every bit Kyungsoo’s type.
He faintly registers Baekhyun’s laughter in the background, clapping his hands together like a seal as Kyungsoo tries to gather his senses and form a coherent greeting.
“Ugh…hi-“ but before he could finish, Mr. Handsome is suddenly reaching over and taking his note from underneath his wipers.
“Listen here you motherfucker. I don’t know about you but you gotta observe parking hierarchy around here. Just because you drive a Range Rover doesn’t mean you can park anywhere. Stop stealing my parking spot or else….” Mr. Handsome looks up from his colorfully worded note, an amused smile on his lips as he gives Kyungsoo a once over. “Was this from you?”
Kyungsoo almost passes the blame on to Baekhyun but he realizes that it’s no use. He’s already been caught anyway. He chokes between an affirmation and denial, the blood rushing to his cheeks and ears as he sputters. Just kill me now. “Ugh, this is my spot,” is all he can say as Mr. Handsome inspects Kyungsoo’s masterpiece with a chuckle under his breath.
“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t know everyone had fixed parking spots around here.” He looks around them and turns back to Kyungsoo with a smile, which has the latter’s face feel like its melting off. This guy…was too damn handsome for his own good. “I just transferred here. I’m from the Dance Department, Kim Jongin.” he holds out his hand.
Kyungsoo timidly shakes it, taking note of how calloused Jongin’s hand is before he drops his own to his side and looks away, too embarrassed to meet the taller’s eyes. “Kyungsoo, I’m a Music Major.”
An awkward silence fills the air after that and it makes him want to claw his eyes out and wish for a sinkhole to magically appear beneath him and just collapse. Jongin is the first to break it, speaking with an apologetic smile. “I’m really sorry, I can find another parking spot right now.”
Kyungsoo’s brain to mouth filter fails and he says it before he could think about it. “No, it’s okay. Your classes start earlier, right?” he purses his lips after that. The guy already offered to give back your parking spot, what is wrong with you Do Kyungsoo?
“No, I just come here earlier to practice. It’s alright really, I don’t want to cause you any trouble.” Jongin walks around his car and climbs up the driver’s seat, starting the engine before he rolls open the window, one hand on the steering wheel. “Ugh…your car…”
“Oh right, yeah.” Kyungsoo blinks, a little dazed at the sight of Jongin driving his Rover. How can someone look so hot driving a car, he thinks, as he climbs up his Toyota and gives way to Jongin. Baekhyun is nowhere in sight.
Jongin drives to the parking spot Kyungsoo has been occupying for the past few weeks, the one farthest from their building, before peeling off the sticky notes and easily walking across the parking lot in a matter of minutes, even catching Kyungsoo as he’s on his way to the entrance.
“See you around?” Jongin raises his eyebrows and Kyungsoo can only nod, giddy at the prospect of seeing Jongin again, before starting the trek up his first class.
♥
“Wait, so tell me again. What you did to embarrass yourself?” Jongdae asks him as they settle their lunch trays on their table.
Kyungsoo sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose as Baekhyun combusts into giggles, clumsily clambering unto the cafeteria bench. “I told you already. He caught me in the act of tainting his Range Rover with my lousy post-it letter. Damn it.” he groans, forehead meeting the table’s surface as he relives what was, perhaps, the most embarrassing moment of his life.
“Jeez, and to think it was Kim Jongin you messed with.”
Kyungsoo immediately shoots up, eyes wide in surprise. “Wait, you know him?”
“Who doesn’t?” Baekhyun interjects from beside him, picking out the broccoli from his lunch with his chopsticks. “He’s like, a frickin’ ballet slash hip-hop child prodigy.” Kyungsoo stares at him, mouth agape. “Nobody knows why he went back here when he could be touring the world, dancing with Beyonce or something.”
“Everybody was talking about it for a week when he came. Didn’t you know?” Jongdae questions, shooting Baekhyun a glare when the latter throws his broccoli at his poodle hair.
Kyungsoo’s pretty much a hermit, who barely goes out unless his friends somehow manage to convince him otherwise, much less care about the gossip circulating in their university. Jongdae should already know this by now. “Ugh….no?”
“Well, now you know. So the next time you see him,” Baekhyun pauses for added effect, a shit-eating grin on his face. “Jump him.”
Kyungsoo really needs new friends.
♥
He doesn’t see Jongin until after two weeks later.
Baekhyun and Jongdae slog him to a party he wasn’t invited to despite his protests, dragging him to Kim Junmyeon’s overly large abode with giggles and cackles, having been rendered a little tipsy from their short visit to the Soju House right across their school.
When they arrive, the party is already underway, the foyer clogged up by their fellow latecomers and people high off the weed being generously passed around. Kyungsoo stands between his bestfriends as they examine the mass of bodies grinding against each other in the middle of the living room, feeling awkward and out of place as people he doesn’t know greet the other two.
He graciously takes the cup of beer proffered to him by someone with eyes the size of golf balls, rolling his own when he sees the tall guy give Baekhyun a not-so-subtle eye fuck. Baekhyun flashes all of them a smirk before he disappears into the throng with what Kyungsoo assumes to be his date for the night, and he decides that he’ll avoid getting drunk, not for his sake, but for the sake of his bestfriends.
“Will you be fine if I…” Jongdae inquires, leaving the question hanging. Kyungsoo nods and gives him a long-suffering sigh. “As if I’m not used to it.” The former only gives him a sheepish smile before walking off to somewhere else.
Left with nothing for company but his beer cup, Kyungsoo scours the room for a safe place to sit back and be one with the wallpaper. He internally claps his hands in glee when he spots the sliding doors left open to give him a peek of the small sitting area outside and hurriedly walks over.
The air outside is cold and a little biting when he gets to the balcony. There are a few people around, their own drinks in hand as they converse and talk in soft tones. Kyungsoo looks for a vacant area, heart stopping when he spots a tall figure hunched against a column with his ankles crossed and a cigarette slowly burning between thin fingers.
There’s no mistaking the pink hair peeking out from under his cap. It’s him, it’s Kim Jongin, and just as he’s about to turn around and make a beeline for the safety of the dancing throng inside, Jongin looks up and meets his eyes.
“Hi…” is all Kyungsoo can say, his cheeks warm and the tips of his ears uncannily rosy.
Jongin straightens up and as if he’d forgotten the cigarette in his hand, drops it to the ground and stomps on it with a foot. He looks at Kyungsoo with something the latter can quite pinpoint-almost like he’s cautious. “Hey..” Jongin starts and his eyes crinkles when he gives the Music Major a smile. “Long time no see.”
Kyungsoo walks closer to Jongin with his head bowed. He’s still embarrassed over the sticky note incident even though it has been weeks and the taller has assured him that no harm had been done. “Yeah, it’s been awhile.” he says, before a long uncomfortable silence ensues between the two of them.
Kyungsoo is conscious of the domineering stare trained on him by Jongin, and because his brain fails to function around the dancer’s presence, he decides to chug down the rest of his beer and consequently slip the other a glance.
He chokes.
Jongin bursts out laughing as Kyungsoo coughs and tries to get rid of the burning sensation around his nose and chest, failing miserably when Jongin tacks on a “You’re so cute.” Kyungsoo blushes even more at that bends down to get his bearings, hyperaware of the hand that settles on his back to rub soothing circles.
When he straightens up and abandons the cup-throwing it into the black plastic bag hastily placed against the railings, Jongin has an amused smile that makes his heart thump a million miles per second. “Ugh, sorry.” He awkwardly says.
Jongin shakes his head. “Don’t be.” He drops his hands from Kyungsoo’s back but his soft smile remains trained on the shorter. “So…you’re here alone?”
“Nah..” Kyungsoo points behind him with his thumb. “My friends are inside, probably having the time of their lives.”
Jongin raises his eyebrows and purses his lips. “And yet you’re here.”
He shrugs. “It’s not really my thing. I’d rather be at home watching a movie over this.” Jongin presses his lips together and hums in understanding. Kyungsoo throws back the question. “And you? I thought you were a transferee.” It’s impossible to have friends when you’re a newcomer, but then again, it’s Kim Jongin.
“Junmyeon is my cousin.” Jongin gives him an abashed smile. “And my friends are probably in there dancing with your friends.”
“And why aren’t you with them?”
The taller pins him with a look and his smile morphs into something shy and soft. “Maybe I’m just like you,” there is a delicate pause, “…maybe that’s not my thing too.”
As predicted, Jongdae and Baekhyun end up too wasted to function. Kyungsoo flinches as Baekhyun sits on the gutter and laughs at nothing in particular. His tall date is nowhere in sight but he looks disheveled, as if he’d gone through hell and back.
“Baekhyun, stand up.” Kyungsoo tries to get his friend up to no avail. “You’re drunk.”
Baekhyun laughs and then proceeds to raise his arms sideward (Kyungsoo, to his mortification, recognizes it as an imitation of the ‘dab’) before saying “I am not drunk.” in a plastered tone.
Kyungsoo rubs face with his hands before turning around when he sees Jongdae cackling while pointing at Jongin. “You’re Kyungsoo’s parking thief!”
This couldn’t get any worse.
Jongin is only laughing along. His friends have come out of Junmyeon’s house, one Oh Sehun, who has blonde hair and the aura of a snob, and a pixie-looking boy named Luhan, who looks like he eats rainbows for meals and poops butterflies.
“I’m sorry about him.” Kyungsoo sighs out of embarrassment, flushing when he meets Jongin’s shining eyes.
“Can we get going now?” Oh Sehun grunts behind Jongin. He’s hunched over, lips pressed together as he tries to stay upright, piggybacking Luhan. “Luhan needs to get home.”
“Alright, alright.” Jongin tells the younger to placate him before he turns to Kyungsoo and fishes his phone out of his pocket. “Your number…?”
Blood floods Kyungsoo face as he bites the inside of his cheek to stop himself from smiling too much. He grabs the phone, careful not to look overeager as he types in his number, and gives it back to the taller with a shy smile.
"Kyungsoo has a date!" Jongdae blearily says beside him and if it were possible, he flushes even harder. Jongin didn’t seem to hear his bestfriend’s outburst, or if he did, he pretends not to notice. “We’ll be going.” he bids goodbye.
Jongin raises a hand gives him a small wave as Kyungsoo lightly kicks Baekhyun to make him stand up and head home.
That night, after doing a victory dance in his underwear and getting ready for bed, Kyungsoo settles down amidst his pillows and blankets and stares at his phone, waiting for the text message that never comes.
♥
Kyungsoo bends down and peers at his car engine, wondering why his car comes to a stutter when he tries to let it start. He frowns, uncaps the radiator and frowns even harder when he sees that nothing is wrong.
“Need any help?”
Kyungsoo stiffens at the voice and looks around to find Jongin smiling from behind him. God, he’s so tall he thinks, as he looks up at the dancer and realizes that they are at very, very close proximity. This close, Kyungsoo can practically see each and every one of Jongin’s eyelashes, can feel the dancer’s breath gently ruffle his hair. He hasn’t seen Jongin in almost a week, so the sight sends his heart fluttering and the butterflies in his stomach going wild.
“Ugh…” he begins, and proceeds to fail finishing his sentence when Jongin hunches forward and puts a hand against the lip of his hood, examining his car engine and effectively trapping Kyungsoo on the spot.
“I don’t think it’s the radiator you have to worry about.” Jongin says and warmth spreads through Kyungsoo’s cheeks as he cranes his neck to look Jongin in the eye. The feeling of the taller against him has goosebumps dotting his flesh and his forehead breaking into a sweat. He gulps. “I think it’s the batteries. Did you leave your lights on?”
Kyungsoo can’t remember, not with the face crafted by the gods so close to his own. He just can’t think straight. “I don’t think so?”
“Hmmm…” Jongin frowns and looks contemplative for a moment before he withdraws and raises his eyebrows. “Well, do you have your battery cables with you?”
Kyungsoo looks down, feeling ashamed for not being diligent in keeping his tools in his trunk, before shaking his head. “No I don’t.”
A pause. Kyungsoo begins to sweat at the awkwardness.
“Well, do you wanna ride me?”
Kyungsoo looks up in a millisecond, eyes wide with shock as Jongin realizes what he just said and flounders. “I-I meant, do you wanna ride with me?” His neck and face are red as hell and Kyungsoo can’t help thinking that it’s cute.
He chews on his lip as he thinks about it and the action catches Jongin’s eye. Pink tinging his cheeks, Kyungsoo shyly looks up at the taller. “Would it be fine with you?”
“Of course.” Jongin nods and they hold each other’s gaze for one long moment before the former backs away and gives Kyungsoo some space. “Let’s get going.”
Kyungsoo finds out during the car ride that Jongin isn’t that chatty despite his initial friendliness. He has to be asked questions, like ‘What places have you been to?’ or ‘Which one was the best for you?’. At first, Jongin answers in clipped or short sentences, but when Kyungsoo asks him about dancing, he starts answering in full paragraphs.
“At what age did you start dancing?”
“I think I was six when I first started doing ballet. My grandparents forced my parents to enroll me in piano lessons and stuff like that because they thought it was elegant and fitting for a Kim.”
“Forced?” Kyungsoo says in a curious tone. “So you didn’t like ballet right away?”
“Nah,” Jongin shakes his head and glances at the navigator’s screen before taking a right to the main highway. “I hated it at first. My cousins Junmyeon and Sehun, the guy you met at the party, took equestrian and archery. They were made to learn cool stuff while I was stuck with a girly dance. Of course this changed over time.”
They both chuckle and Kyungsoo scrambles for another question to keep the conversation going. He wants to know more about Jongin, and also wants to avoid the stifling silence that occasionally befalls them. “Why the change? What made you like it eventually?” he asks, feeling like a TV show host with the way he drills Jongin with questions.
“You just…learn to love it, I guess.” Jongin looks at him when the traffic light goes red and he has to put the car to a stop. “And I had a very good teacher. He was very passionate and pushed me to my limit in the right ways.”
“And for how long did you learn ballet?” Kyungsoo blinks. Jongin’s eyes are intense but he doesn’t look away like he would have.
“Six years and then I started taking an interest in hip-hop and learning it.”
They fall silent as they turn to Kyungsoo’s small neighborhood. It’s a quiet one with apartment buildings and quaint cafes. He’s glad he’d settled here because it stands in stark contrast with the bustling city. “This is me here.” he smiles and unbuckles his seatbelt.
Jongin is looking at him with intent eyes for what seems like an eternity and Kyungsoo squirms when it gets too uncomfortable.
As if he’d been snapped out of his thoughts all of a sudden, Jongin blinks and gives a wan smile. “Alright. See you whenever I see you then.”
“Thanks.” Kyungsoo says before climbing out of the car and standing on the sidewalk, seeing Jongin drive out of his neighborhood and berating himself for not asking Jongin for his number instead.
♥
Kyungsoo’s car only need new batteries, but Lay, whose special skill has always been being charming and convincing, somehow scams him into a new paint job and fixing his banged up sound system. Meaning, his car has to stay in the shop for about a week and a half and Kyungsoo should be showing up to school and taking the train on the way home, but that is not the case.
Because a particular white Range Rover chances upon him walking to the station during his first day. Jongin offers him another ride, and when he learns about the absence of Kyungsoo’s car, he takes it upon himself to give Kyungsoo a ride home every day until his car is fixed.
It is during these times that Kyungsoo learns more about the friendly and yet still aloof dancer. When they drop by his favorite ramyun shop on Tuesday, they talk about Jongin’s family. On Wednesday, they visit Jongin’s sister’s café. The former fills him in about stories from his trips all over Europe, how it feels to be rubbing elbows with the likes of Justin Timberlake and the difference between rumors and what actually goes on behind celebrities closed doors as he listens with a lot of eagerness. Thursday, Kyungsoo treats the younger to bubble tea and asks him about the dodgier issues, like his perception of Korean society, politics and the wars.
“I think he likes you.” Baekhyun bangs his empty water bottle against the table like it’s a gavel with a convinced look. Kyungsoo sports wide eyes and a clueless gaze, listening to his friends trying to convince him about Jongin’s supposed ‘feelings’ for him. “I talked to Chanyeol and he told me that your boy toy is a pretty cold person and hardly opens up to anyone.”
“Who is Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo frowns.
“Remember that guy I danced with in Junmyeon’s party?” Baekhyun takes on an uncharacteristic dreamy smile. “That one.”
“The one with the big ears and bow legs?” Baekhyun gives him a foul stare before giving Jongdae a look.
“That’s beside the point. Back to the topic now. Chanyeol tells Baekhyun that Kim Jongin is hard to open up, but what does he do around you? Exactly.” Jongdae nods and keeps jamming his finger against the table, as if trying to make a point. “He opens up.”
Kyungsoo considers this and decides that his friends should be sent to an asylum ASAP because they’re going mental. Jongin opens up to him because he asks questions. However, the hopeful part of him remembers small things, small things that might make Jongdae and Baekhyun’s assumptions possible.
Kyungsoo is painfully aware of the look Jongin gives him when he thinks he isn’t looking. The younger holds open doors for him, as if he can’t do it for himself and his eyes always stray to Kyungsoo’s lips when he’s talking. These acts could be easily be misinterpreted though and he tells himself that it’s safer not to assume anything rather than hurt himself over expecting something out of nothing.
“What about your parents, what do they do?” Kyungsoo asks one day. They are in one of the more expensive restaurants, the ones where the bill exceeds his weekly allowance. Not that he has to worry about that-Jongin insisted on paying.
Jongin hums, twirling his spaghetti around his fork with no intention of eating it. “Mother is an interior designer so you might see some of her furniture pieces in magazines or TV shows.”
“And your dad?” Kyungsoo presses as he wipes off his mouth with the napkin.
“My dad’s a surgeon. But he’s based in Britain so I don’t see him that much.” Jongin’s smile is a little strained as he puts down his fork and stares out of the window. The landscaping outside the restaurant is a feat to behold after all.
“You guys must not see each other so much, you must miss them.” Kyungsoo offhandedly says.
“I do see them, but never together.” Jongin returns to looking at him, one eye shut close due to the glare outside. He scratches a phantom itch near his brow. “They’re divorced.”
“Oh...” Kyungsoo leans back and purses his lips together. He now understands why Jongin’s smile seems strained at the mention of his parents. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“It’s alright.” Jongin laughs, but it sounds like patched up cry to Kyungsoo’s ears. “It was a long time ago, back when I was still eight.”
Kyungsoo never understood why people felt guilty when they asks questions and unintentionally bring up sensitive topics. Questions are just questions, there is never a motive to hurt someone unless the person who asks already knows that the answer brings up a painful memory. But as he watches Jongin pour the both of them some wine, eyes downcast and mouth pulled down now that he’s more relaxed, he finally understands.
Questions should be well thought of and careful, because making someone relive a painful moment is almost as good as putting a dagger through their heart.
It’s his last day carpooling with Jongin so Kyungsoo insists on bringing the younger to one of the finer restaurants in Hongdae despite the latter’s protests. “Really hyung, there’s no need for this.”
Kyungsoo only shoots Jongin a look before the two of them leave the car and walk into the restaurant. There aren’t many people around, only a few couples and girls sitting on the imported Italian chairs, the soft tunes of Bossa Nova complementing the whole atmosphere.
They sit by the window-they always do, and wait in silence for their order to arrive. Kyungsoo likes to think that they’ve gone far. Unlike before, where the silence is uncomfortable and suffocating, they now find comfort in it. Their companionship is now of the quiet and knowing. Knowing when to talk, knowing that conversations should always be sincere, just knowing.
“What will you do after you finish college?” Kyungsoo asks when there’s nothing left of their pasta, he looks at Jongin, who averts his gaze from Kyungsoo to the street outside in a millisecond. The Music Major has already caught him though, and it makes Kyungsoo a little smug to know that the dancer has been staring.
Jongin purses his lips together as he thinks before looking back at Kyungsoo. “I’ll probably travel again but I really want to start a Dance Academy, or something of that sort.”
“That’s so cool. Are you going to teach yourself or just hire people to do it for you?” Kyungsoo’s eyes widen in amazement, as it always does when Jongin shares these little tidbits about him.
Jongin smiles. “I think so. I like kids and there’s nothing like building up someone to become a great dancer, you know?”
“You’d make a great dad.” Kyungsoo pauses and feels heat rush to his cheeks and ears. “I mean-not that I’ve been thinking of you that way-“ when Jongin gives him an amused look, he looks at the road outside and mentally curses his failing brain-to-mouth filter. “I’ll just shut up now.”
Jongin’s laugh rings clear and Kyungsoo gets more embarrassed. He resolutely looks at the table when he feels the tip of a thumb rubbing at the edge of his mouth. “You got something there.”
Kyungsoo’s heart gallops a million miles per second and feels like it’s going to jump right out of his chest when he looks up at Jongin, who has a skewed smile on his lips and twinkle behind his eyes. Everything stops to a standstill and Kyungsoo can practically see the line they’re toeing…but just when he’s about to lean forward and give Jongin a peck on the lips, the dancer draws back, as if snapping out of a trance.
“We’d better get going, Soo.”
Kyungsoo nods, face still flushed, as he signals for the bill.
♥
Instead of rejoicing when his car is finally fixed and gets back from Yixing’s shop, Kyungsoo sinks into an indistinguishable sensation. The thought that he won’t be spending time with Jongin anymore somehow pulls at something in his chest. It shouldn’t bother him so much. His little crush on Jongin had been satiated and quenched by satisfied curiosity during the time they spent together, and yet, it is Jongin’s car he first looks for when he arrives in his school’s parking lot.
It is Jongin he first thinks of in the morning and his last thought before he goes to sleep. He wants to know more about Jongin, wants to know the stories behind the times when his eyes turn guarded and sad. The reason why he remains aloof despite Kyungsoo already hearing tons of stories from him.
He misses Jongin already.
It doesn’t help that the younger doesn’t even try to contact him or send him a text message. They haven’t seen each other for days already, and Kyungsoo’s lips go dry, his throat parched, his skin cracks-obviously and exaggeration. If life was a garden and he was a flower, it is as if he’d been neglected and his owner had forgotten to water him.
♥
It is only the week after pre-finals that Kyungsoo first sees Jongin again. Baekhyun and Jongdae insist on dragging him to another club, this newly opened one in the most high end part of Hongdae.
It’s not like Kyungsoo wants to-there’s only so much secondhand embarrassment he can endure from watching his friends awkwardly dance, but he agrees to it when Baekhyun slyly lets slip that a certain dancer will be there.
Kyungsoo wrinkles his nose as a group of minors pass by smelling of cigarettes and alcohol. He glances at his companions, who are paired up in twos and leaving him as an awkward fifth wheel.
Baekhyun and Chanyeol are disgustingly touchy. Chanyeol sits on the hood of his car with Baekhyun between his thighs. Baekhyun, meanwhile, keeps on stroking Chanyeol’s chest with his delicate hands-Kyungsoo swears to keep them out of his sight when they get in.
Jongdae and Junmyeon (who Kyungsoo just met) are hunched over the latter’s phone, talking about horsepower and handling which most probably pertains to the shiny and new CR-Z parked illegally behind them.
He keeps his hands in his pockets, standing there awkwardly with jeans twice as tight and sweating through his black polo shirt. This is one of those occasions where he allows Baekhyun and Jongdae to style his hair up and apply a little bit of smoky eyeshadow around his ‘sultry eyes’.
“Hey!” He looks up at the voice. The outburst comes from Luhan, who has Sehun lagging behind him. The two of them look like fraternal twins, almost alike but different. Luhan looks like a cherub personified while Sehun looks like Abaddon fresh from hell.
Kyungsoo eyes immediately look for the much darker head of pink hair and his insides turn to mush when he sees Jongin walking up to them.
Life is so unfair Kyungsoo mentally wails as Jongin joins their little party, drinking in what he’d missed for what felt like years. His hair is slicked back flat on his head and he wears a pale turtleneck that accentuates the muscles on his chest and firmness of his abdomen and shoulders. The inner fourteen year old girl in Kyungsoo squeals, his mature and composed manly self however, grapples for any sort of self-control. Jongin looks so freaking delicious he should be illegal.
“Should we go in?” Jongin says, and it should be directed to everyone but his eyes rake over Kyungsoo’s skinny jeans and his made up face with a heated gaze. Kyungsoo feels fire light up his insides and as the bouncer waves them past the entrance, he thinks that he’s never been more excited to enter a club.
They’re herded into the VIP section to the side of the main dancefloor and the frontstage. Kyungsoo catches a glimpse of a few personalities he often sees on TV and chaebols overflowing the other booths. Junmyeon, who made the reservations, lead them to the most secluded booth and orders the first round of drinks.
As expected Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Jongdae are the first to join the dance floor after they empty their glasses. Kyungsoo only watches with cheeks red from the alcohol and his empty glass perched neatly on his knee.
There’s a burning feeling on the side of his face and it is only then that he realizes that Jongin is staring.
It might be his sixth drink giving him liquid courage but Kyungsoo manages to lock eyes with Jongin. It’s a staring contest of sorts, with something growing heavy between them and pulling them together. It’s magnetic and it makes him clench his thighs together in anticipation.
Jongin raises his glass before he chugs down its contents. He stands up and heads for the dance floor, giving Kyungsoo the opportunity to appreciate the sight of his ass straining against those sinfully tight jeans. His breath hitches when the younger starts dancing. Kyungsoo had never seen Jongin dance before but he’s heard a lot about his skillfulness. The dancer certainly matches up to the raves about him, what with the way his movements cut sharp in the air and transition easily into body waves and slow, sensual, hip thrusts.
Kyungsoo starts to sweat.
“Are you alright?” Jongin’s cousin, Junmyeon, puts a hand over his shoulder, his eyebrows creased with worry but his lips pulled into a somewhat knowing smile. He’d offered to stay back and watch over their belongings, ever the kind and considerate person Jongin had always described him to be. “You don’t look too well.”
Well, yeah. No thanks to your cousin. Kyungsoo wryly thinks before shaking his head and giving the Business Major a grateful smile. He returns his attention to the dance floor but Jongin is already walking back to them, swiping his hair back with a hand. The action is so casual but it looks like he’s doing it for some invisible camera.
Jongin stops in front of him and gives him a small smile. “Dance with me?”
And who is Kyungsoo, a hopeless romantic and thirsty hoe, to say no? He nods and stands up, placing his glass on the table before he allows himself to be led to the dancefloor by Jongin.
He is no talented dancer, but his skills are somewhat on par with Baekhyun. Meaning, he at least, knows how to grind and throw his arms up in the air like he doesn’t care. Whatever he’s doing seems to work though as Jongin can’t seem to take his eyes off him, not even when the DJ announces that he’s playing one of his newer mixes, a sensual track that sounds hypnotic.
The room dims and the strobe lights switch from green to red. The air grows thick with something else and the lust that permeates it is palpable. Kyungsoo turns to face the stage and stops himself from gasping when a hand immediately takes hold of his waist, dropping to splay at his hip. Jongin lines up to him, Kyungsoo’s back against his front, warm breath dancing against Kyungsoo’s ear.
“I missed you.” Jongin proclaims, his words slurred. He must be drunk, Kyungsoo thinks, as he turns to face the dancer, whose eyes are hazy and unfocused.
“Then why didn’t you call me?” Kyungsoo asks, his voice a little dejected. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, not when he’s drunk-but whether it’s because of the vodka in his system or the way Jongin’s large hands slide up his back, he doesn’t know. He wraps his arms around the taller’s broad shoulders and presses himself close, inhaling Jongin’s scent.
They are both ignorant of the anticipating eyes trained their way.
Jongin only answers by swaying them together, like they were dancing to jazz instead of the heavy thrum of bass from the speakers and Kyungsoo doesn’t ask anymore. There is heavy tension between them that dulls all rational thinking and heightens the senses in the most delicious way. He wants to stay like this forever. What was the point of pretending what he isn’t? He likes Jongin.
The dancer dips his head to whisper against Kyungsoo’s ear. “Do you want to get away from here?”
Kyungsoo smiles and nods and it doesn’t take long before they’re bidding Junmyeon goodbye and stepping out of the club.
♥
By some miracle, despite Jongin’s sloppy driving and Kyungsoo pressing insistent kisses against his neck, they arrive safely in the latter’s apartment.
Kyungsoo’s knows where this is going and the repercussions that is to come whispers caution from the back of his head. This is too fast, he’s jumping in too soon, but when Jongin presses him against the elevator’s cool walls and captures his lips in a kiss he’s waited ages for, all these hesitations simply vanish.
Once they’re in his apartment, their kisses turn desperate. Jongin is fast, getting Kyungsoo out of his clothes under a minute and pressing him against the countertop as he squeezes the elder’s ass.
Jongin moans when Kyungsoo swipes his tongue against the ceiling of his mouth, just behind his teeth, and it has the smaller man’s libido spiking up. He tugs at Jongin’s turtleneck and gasps for air during the second that Jongin has to withdraw in order to get himself out of his clothes. Kyungsoo’s eyes rove greedily over the dips of his abs, the promising V on his hips and the cut of his biceps.
He makes sure to touch everything he can as soon as the younger finishes undressing.
“Bedroom?” Jongin asks as he hitches Kyungsoo up. The latter locks his arms and legs around the other and nods.
Everything is a blur after that. Jongin throws him to his bed and climbs over him like a panther creeping on its prey. There are lots of kisses and groping before he is flipped to his stomach. Small pecks suddenly trace his spine, down to his tailbone and when he feels the tongue lapping against his entrance, he gasps and contorts, head thrown back and neck straining as he tries to watch Jongin.
When dancer enters Kyungsoo’s tight warmth, his cock twitches and Kyungsoo whimpers, because it’s been so long since he last had sex and Jongin fills him up like no other, stretching him open in more ways than one. Jongin bites his neck and fondles his nipples, his thrusts are precise, unforgiving, as his fingertips slide down Kyungsoo’s stomach, that has grown taut from their position and the sensual sensation, sweat beading their foreheads.
The finish is slow, as Jongin sloppily thrusts into him, trying to milk what’s left of their orgasms, before pulling out and kissing the crook of Kyungsoo’s neck, falling asleep right on top of him.
Kyungsoo wakes up with a splitting headache the next morning, his body aching from head to toe as he blinks repeatedly before deciding that his brain is just not having any of it and closing it shut. He regrets not getting thicker and darker curtains instead, because the morning sunlight is still bright behind his eyelids and the thrum in his head feels worse than the migraines he gets during his term projects.
As he returns to his senses, his brain doesn’t miss the cue to flood him with thoughts of Jongin and his smiles, and his kindness and his-
Jongin.
Kyungsoo’s eyes slam open and he stares at his ceiling for a good three minutes before he rolls over to see the havoc that his bed has become. He remembers little of the night before, but he knows by the way his limbs ache from exertion and the hickeys painting his pale skin purple and red that he’d fucked up big time.
The space beside him is empty.
Part 2