You Slow Down (Then You Speed Up) [3/3]

[thebakaberry]

"Thanks for bringing me here," Kyungsoo finally says after they've finished, Jongin pulling out a wad of bills to pay for the check. "It's been awhile since I've had some real Korean food. I miss it."

Jongin looks up from the money that he's currently counting. He squints. "You are aware that Korea Town is literally just five minutes away. Why don't you go there?"

Kyungsoo shrugs, "It's a little lonely to go to restaurants alone. And plus, Zitao's in charge of the car so we always end up strolling around in Chinatown."

"Well," Jongin says as he puts the money onto the bill and pushes it to the side of the table for the waitress to pick up. "If you want, I can be your buddy."

Kyungsoo only deadpans, "I thought teachers were supposed to strive for a strictly professional relationship with their clients."

And suddenly, Jongin's reaching over to squeeze Kyungsoo's hand. "I think we're far past that point." He says solemnly, giving Kyungsoo a meaningful look. His seriousness is gone as soon as it had come, though, as Jongin bounds up onto his feet with a grin. "Oh I think we're supposed to take the bill up to the front to actually pay. I'll take care of it, you just go back to the car." With that, he's off and Kyungsoo's left with a quickly reddening face.

Kyungsoo drives them back to the dance studio because Jongin says that he had left something there but after that, it’s back to the apartment.

It’s exactly when they pull up to Jongin’s apartment that Zitao calls. “You’re not going to get that?” Jongin asks as he turns off the engine and unbuckles.

“It’s Zitao.” Kyungsoo shrugs, “If it’s anything really important, he’ll call again.”

They’re on their way into the building when Zitao calls a second time and they’re walking up the stairs when he calls a third. It’s only when they’ve made it to Jongin’s floor that Kyungsoo actually picks up. “What do you want?” He asks as soon as the line connects.

“Thanks for not picking up the first two times.” Zitao greets back and Kyungsoo shrugs before realizing that Zitao’s not able to actually see his silent reply.

“You know that that’s my method to filter through any of your unnecessary phone calls.” Kyungsoo answers. He almost trips on an uneven step but Jongin catches him from the side before he manages to fall onto his face.

“Be careful,” He whispers out, an arm snaking around Kyungsoo’s waist to steady him. Kyungsoo’s pressed close to his side and he can’t help but revel in the warmth. “Can’t have my cash cow dying on me.”

“Then you should do a better job at protecting Zitao,” Kyungsoo replies, heart thudding quickly from the near death experience. He feels Jongin’s arm slacken before pulling away completely.

“...Are you even listening to me?” Zitao whines from the line and it’s only then does Kyungsoo even remember that he’s on the phone.

“No?”

There’s an audible sigh from Zitao as he’s forced to repeat his words. “You know that conference? The one in San Francisco?”

“The one that you’re going to tomorrow?”

“About that…” Zitao drawls and there’s an obvious twist that’s about to come. “Turns out it’s not tomorrow. I mean it is tomorrow, but it starts tomorrow. I have to leave tonight.”

“I don’t see why this matters. Just come pick me up or let Jongin drive me back, you just have to pay him.” Jongin glances back at him with the mention of his name.

“Did I say tonight? I meant today. Right now.” There’s something in Zitao’s tone that sounds off. It raises a bit of suspicion but Kyungsoo passes it off as stress. Zitao is always stressed about flying.

“Okay, just leave money at the apartment.” Kyungsoo suggests. “Jongin will drop me off and I can pay him.”

“Like hell I’d trust you with my money.” Zitao rushes out and Kyungsoo should have know. “Look. Don’t you have a night lesson tomorrow?”

“It’s had to be canceled so--”

“Perfect. Have it tonight then.”

“I don’t even know if he’s free tonight!” Kyungsoo insists. Jongin tugs Kyungsoo’s free arm right as he’s about to ascend up the next flight of stairs.

“It’s this floor.” Jongin explains, opening the stairwell door. Kyungsoo bows slightly in thanks and he walks into the hallway.

“When is he never not free for you?” Zitao asks and it seems like he’s trying to allude to something but Zitao’s stupid and Kyungsoo just chooses to ignore it. “Spend the night too. I’ll send Sehun with the money tomorrow.”

“Zitao, you’re being irrational.” Kyungsoo groans as he follows Jongin down the hallway to the apartment. “Just leave me the money.” He hears Zitao already making a voice of protests so he changes his words. “Okay. Don’t leave me the money. We can just pay him the amount next time.”

There’s a beat of silence and Kyungsoo almost thinks that Zitao’s hung up on him. “I have to go. Stay the night.” Zitao breathes out and with that he hangs up.

“What the hell?” Kyungsoo says, shaking his head.

“What’s up?” Jongin asks before he stops in front of his apartment door. As he’s fishing the keys out of his pockets, he raises a brow at Kyungsoo. “What did Zitao want?”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. “He wants me to spend the night here.”

Jongin coughs. “What do you mean?”

“He has to fly out earlier than expected so he’s not going to be home. He’s being all stupid about his money and refuses to either leave me money to pay you with or wait to pay you. He’s just so irrational and someone really needs to just pull that stick out of his--”

“Do you want to spend the night?” Jongin interrupts, an earnest look in his eyes.

Now it’s Kyungsoo’s turn to cough awkwardly. “What do you mean?”

“I mean we’re friends, aren’t we?” Jongin shrugs. He tries to pass this off as nonchalance. “What’s wrong with a friend staying overnight?”

Kyungsoo hesitates, thinking over what to say in his mind. “Is it…” He starts out slowly, “Would that be okay?”

“It’s not a problem.” Jongin grins.

The time goes by quickly. Since there’s really not much to do in the apartment, they end up just lounging around on the sofa, Jongin working on a paper that’s due next week and Kyungsoo watching the TV on mute with subtitles so that he doesn’t disturb the other. Around 6 is when Jongin shuts his laptop and slides it onto the coffee table with a sigh. “I’m such a terrible host.” He announces as he crawls to the corner of the couch that Kyungsoo’s cuddled into.

“You’re not a bad host.” Kyungsoo says, glancing to his side to see Jongin approaching. He wants to unmute the show since Jongin’s no longer working but he decides against it; that’d be rude. “I mean I’m intruding, this wasn’t planned and I don’t want to keep you from doing anything that you need to do. Plus. Modern Family is on and I’m perfectly happy with just watching.”

“New episode?” Jongin asks as he settles right next to Kyungsoo. Oddly close so that they’re pressed up against each other and Kyungsoo can feel the warmth bleeding from the other.

He tries his best to hunch closer to the couch’s arm, to get some semblance of personal space but Jongin is just so close.“It’s not new but I haven’t watched it. It’s almost done anyways.”

Jongin makes a sounds of affirmation and, to Kyungsoo’s relief, he stands up. “How about some dinner?”

Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow. “You’re going to pay for two meals in a day? That’s a bit pricey.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of cooking.”

Kyungsoo’s even more skeptical. “You can cook?”

“Better than Jongdae.” Jongin winks and he’s moving towards the kitchen. Kyungsoo feels the need to get up as well and follow him.

“That’s not saying much.” He comments as soon as he rejoins Jongin.

“But that’s saying enough.” Jongin answers. He’s digging through the cabinet, obviously looking for something as he pokes through the contents. “What kind of food do you like?”

“Baked Alaska.”

“Well, that’s not happening. How about spaghetti?” Jongin asks as he pulls out a slim box of dried pasta. Kyungsoo nods and watches as Jongin flits around the kitchen, picking up a pot, filling it with water, and then grabbing a can of spaghetti sauce from the pantry.

“You need some help?” Kyungsoo asks. His question is badly timed, posed just as Jongin had begun to pour the spaghetti into the pot. Jongin takes just a second to glance back at his guest, but that second is enough and before either of them realize it, the entirety of the pasta in the box has fallen into the pot. Jongin nods sheepishly.

They end up with enough spaghetti to serve an army. Even after they both have a serving or two, they still haven’t put so much as a dent in their seemingly infinite supply of pasta.

“Hey so,” Kyungsoo begins as he rises to collect the dirtied dishes and relocate them to the sink. “Do you think you have time for night driving lesson?”

“To make up for tomorrow's?” Jongin asks and he also comes to the kitchen to help out with cleaning up. “Yeah sure. We can go right after this?”

They finish up cleaning early (or at least finish up about half the cleaning. The rest, Jongin insists on leaving as a fun surprise for Jongdae) and go out for a little drive. As usual, Kyungsoo’s far calmer when driving at night when there’s no one else around and it’s all pretty unexciting. Jongin actually lets him play one of his mixtapes this time around and he’s lucky enough to pick one with a track that he actually knows the words to. He sings along softly as he rounds a corner and there’s a small smile playing at Jongin’s mouth.

After another two hours, they’re back at the apartment, Jongin goes back to working on school work, studying for that Econ test, and Kyungsoo resumes his TV show. The only thing that’s different from before is that Jongin’s now leaning up against Kyungsoo, legs slung over the couch so that he lies perpendicular to Kyungsoo’s side. Every now and then he’ll glance up to see whatever Kyungsoo’s watching despite Kyungsoo’s blatant protests about how that’s “not a good study habit” and Jongin’s “totally going to fail his test.” Jongin just laughs it off.

When Kyungsoo begins to nod off, he’s shaken awake by Jongin. “Time to sleep?” He asks with a chuckle and Kyungsoo can only blearily nod as he’s hoisted onto his feet. Jongin leads him quickly to his bedroom. “Here,” He starts, bringing Kyungsoo to his bed. “Sorry that there's no extra bed. You can take mine.” Jongin says as he grabs a blanket and a pillow off of his bed. “I’ll go take the couch.”

“I can’t just take your bed. What about Jongdae’s bed?” Kyungsoo asks but he realizes that that’s obviously a stupid question to ask when Jongin grimaces.

“I don’t think you want to go anywhere near Jongdae’s bed.” Jongin seems to shudder at the thought before shaking his head and patting on the bed. “Please, take the bed. I insist.” He gives Kyungsoo an encouraging push toward the bed.

Slowly, reluctantly, Kyungsoo climbs into it but he keeps an eye on Jongin. It’s only when he’s pulled the blankets over himself does he gets the brilliant idea of asking, “What if we just sleep together?”

Jongin chokes.

While he’s pounding on his chest, trying to suck in sufficient oxygen, Kyungsoo feels the need to explain. “It only makes sense. I mean it’s your bed. I don’t want to be the one kicking you out of your own bed. Plus we’re friends. Isn’t that what friends do?”

“I think your definition of friends is a bit different than most. I mean, isn’t that a bit...” Jongin’s making cryptic eye movements as if that’s enough to convey his message. “Y’know…”

“I mean if you’re uncomfortable with it, I understand,” Kyungsoo shrugs and he can’t say that he’s not even the slightest bit disappointed. “But we’ve done it before so I figured you wouldn’t mind.” He tries to sound nonchalant but there’s no denying that the lilt in his voice is trying to coax him in.

Jongin worries his bottom lip between his teeth but he looks like he’s actually considering. “Come on,” Kyungsoo urges and he moves to pull the blanket out of Jongin’s arms. “This way will be warmer.”

His reasoning is shoddy at best. It’s nearing May, the weather’s warm. There’s no reason why Kyungsoo’s words should be enough to actually persuade someone into bed but it works. Jongin is putting the pillow back on the bed and throwing his blanket on top of Kyungsoo. “Okay.” He breathes out, “Let me just go get changed and brush my teeth.”

Kyungsoo nods. And he waits. Waits for Jongin to returns until he eventually grows bored. He climbs out of the bed and approaches the bedroom’s bathroom. The doors not locked and it somehow slips his mind to actually knock; he opens the door to the sight of a half-naked Jongin.

Jongin freezes, only staring back at Kyungsoo with widened eyes as his hand hovers over the shirt he was about to put on. It’s only when Kyungsoo makes a sound that he thinks to be a small squeak does Jongin finally grab his shirt, hurriedly pulling it over his chest. “Yes?” He asks, looking a bit flustered.

“Sorry,” Kyungsoo apologizes when he finds his voice, “I just wanted to ask if you had an extra toothbrush.”

Jongin only blinks at him before slightly nodding and opening up the bathroom cabinet. “Here.” He says, handing Kyungsoo a toothbrush that’s still in its package.

“Thanks.” Kyungsoo says, taking the offered the toothbrush and then ripping it out of its container. He immediately moves to the sink to brush his teeth and Jongin goes to join him, picking up the toothbrush in the cup next to the faucet. Kyungsoo finishes earlier and he leaves to go back to the bed while Jongin’s still brushing, adamant on going for the full doctor-recommended three minutes. He crawls under the covers, taking the liberty of claiming the right side of the bed as his.

Jongin pops his head out of the bathroom to offer him pajamas, but Kyungsoo refuses, says that he’ll be comfortable enough in his own clothing. He waits in bed as Jongin finishes up in the bathroom. As Jongin walks over, he turns off the lights; the only source of the room’s light comes from the bedside lamp that Kyungsoo didn’t even notice was on.

“Weren’t you saying earlier that we’re supposed to keep a strictly professional relationship? Jongin cracks a nervous smile as he lifts the blankets to crawl in. “Isn’t this pushing it?”

“I think we’re far past that point.”

And Kyungsoo’s just repeating what Jongin had said earlier, parroting back the exact same phrase and yet Jongin is flushing a deep red in the dim lamp’s light. Jongin’s the one whose cheeks heat up, whose heart is beating at an uncomfortably rate, and who practically throws himself onto the bed, turning around to face the other side because too embarrassed to meet Kyungsoo’s eyes. Kyungsoo also turns toward the opposite side as Jongin turns off the light.

It’s quiet for a while, only the sounds of their breathing filling in for silence. And it’s nice enough, the blanket spread loosely over the two of them, and their backs just an inch apart. They’re not actually touching, but they're close enough to be hyper aware of each other’s presence. It’s after about ten minutes of Kyungsoo trying to wiggle around, to get comfortable, but after a while, he just comes out and says it. “I’m going to take my pants off.” He announces and it’s supposed to be a question, a request for permission, but it certainly doesn’t come out like that.

Jongin launches into a fit of coughing; as Kyungsoo sits up, he sees the way that Jongin is still beet red. “Okay.” Jongin says quietly and he still refuses to look over at the older.

Kyungsoo stands up, quickly removing his pants. Before he climbs under the covers again, he feels the need to say, “I just really don’t like sleeping with pants on.” He only hopes it doesn’t sound as weird as he thinks it does.

“Understandable.” Jongin murmurs, “I usually don’t sleep with a shirt on so I get it.”

“Do you want to take it off?” Kyungsoo asks, lifting the covers so that he can slither in and Jongin coughs again.

“No, that’d be weird.” He says quickly.

“I mean I already have my pants off.” Kyungsoo shrugs as he pulls the blanket back over himself. “You might as well?’

“I’m okay.” Jongin answers and he doesn’t say much else.

“Well, good night.” Kyungsoo whispers out and Jongin only offers a small sound of affirmation in response.

Jongin falls asleep first. He’s out within ten minutes and Kyungsoo knows by the slowly shallowing breaths from the younger and the soft snore. Kyungsoo takes a bit more time to settle into slumber and it’s only when Jongin sleepily, subconsciously turns around, wraps himself around the ball that Kyungsoo’s curled himself into does Kyungsoo finally go to sleep.

He wakes up alone in the morning, no sign of Jongin and no sounds coming from any other parts of the house. He doesn’t really know what to think as he sits up. There’s a window in Jongin’s room and the sunlight is angled in such away that Kyungsoo has to raise his hand to his eyes, blocking the light. He rises to his feet and trudges out of the bedroom. He’s just about out the door before he remembers to turn back and put some pants on.

As soon as he does exit the room, though, as he’s rounding the corner to walk toward the living room, there’s a figure that pops out of nowhere and Kyungsoo’s tripping backwards, falling back onto his butt as he lets out a shrill scream.

“What are you doing?!” Kyungsoo shrieks, scrambling to his feet. Jongin looks a bit spooked but he tries his best to help the older back onto his feet.

“I’m so sorry!” Jongin rushes out, “I just finished cooking breakfast and I was going to wake you. I didn’t hear you get up. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Kyungsoo perks up at the idea of food. “You made breakfast?”

A comfortable smile settles onto Jongin’s face. He nods and then proceeds to lead Kyungsoo into the kitchen.

It’s really nothing particularly extravagant, just a couple of scrambled eggs paired with a couple pieces of bacon but it smells so good and Kyungsoo just so hungry and there may or may not be a a couple of tears in his eyes. His eyes are always dry in the morning. At least that’s the excuse he gives Jongin when he begins to rub at his eye.

Jongin’s nice enough to usher Kyungsoo toward the table, pushing out a chair for him to settle on as he goes around to the other side to sit. His expression turns more expectant as he gestures for Kyungsoo to take a bite and his smile only widens when Kyungsoo compliments his cooking,

“It’s good.” Kyungsoo says as he goes to mirror Jongin’s blinding smile. It’s not a lie, either. The eggs are surprisingly okay and Kyungsoo certainly wasn’t expecting that.

“Jongdae always complains that they’re not salty enough,” Jongin comments as he picks up his own fork. Jongdae’s right, it could use a little salt but Kyungsoo’s not going to admit that.

“Jongdae’s wrong.” He says instead, “I think they’re fine.”

“I like to put ketchup on them though.” Jongin shrugs, conjuring up an enormous bottle of ketchup from god knows where.

“You’re disgusting.” Kyungsoo whispers as he watches Jongin add an unprecedented amount of ketchup onto his eggs.

“You don’t know what you’re missing,” Jongin shrugs and the way he’s mixing the blobs of red into the eggs is kind of making Kyungsoo lose his appetite.

“So Sehun’s at the house,” Kyungsoo says after a while when he’s eaten about half of his food. “Zitao has sent him to pay you.”

Jongin’s currently chewing but as soon as he swallows, he asks, “He’s not going with him to the conference thing?”

Kyungsoo just shrugs. “I guess there are things that Sehun can’t sleep into his way after all.” Kyungsoo pauses, pursing his lips, “Speaking of Sehun, isn’t he your age? Isn’t he supposed to still be in college? He a dropout or something?”

“He’s a dropout, yes,” And with the way Jongin’s drawing out the words, Kyungsoo knows that there’s an impending ‘but’ about to be said. He’s proved right. “But he dropped out when his startup made it big.”

“Is that why he’s with Zitao?” asks Kyungsoo. “For business connections?”

“I don’t know. I can’t help but feel that Sehun just hangs around him because he likes him.” Jongin stops before adding, “And they’re not really together, they’re just friends.”

“Yep. Just friends who hang out with each other 24/7 and happen to sleep in the same bed.” Kyungsoo says, his voice dripping with sarcasm that apparently Jongin doesn’t pick up.

“We sleep in the same bed.” Jongin shrugs, “What’s that got to do with anything?”

Kyungsoo sputters, “That was one time!” He feels his face heating up and that’s not good. Jongin’s supposed to be the one that’s always blushing; Kyungsoo’s supposed to be the one who gets pleasure out of making Jongin blush. He tries his best to cool himself down. “That was one time,” He repeats, a lot less flustered than before.

“That was two times.”

“That was two times,” Kyungsoo amends, mumbling as he goes back to eating his breakfast.

When Jongin drops Kyungsoo back at his apartment, Sehun’s already there waiting for them. He’s standing in the shade and only braves the infernal rays of the sun when he notices them pulling up. “Yo.” He greets, moving to the car.

“How long have you been waiting out here?” Jongin asks, eyeing the black hoodie Sehun’s wearing. He himself is only wearing a cotton t-shirt and he already feels like he’s wearing too much. Kyungsoo asks the more important question of “Do you have the money?”, though, and that’s the one that Sehun decides to reply to.

Sehun nod, pulling out a couple of bills from his pocket. “How much? $250?”

Jongin lets out an unmanly squeak at the price. “I only did two two-hour sessions!” Even as Sehun begins to shove the money at him, he tries his best to push Sehun’s hands away. “There’s no way I deserve that much!”

“I did spend a lot of time over at your house.” Kyungsoo points out, glancing down at the money in Sehun’s hands to make sure Sehun’s not cheating him out of the money. “Zitao’s responsible for paying for that too.”

“Plus, isn’t the Kyungsoo-babysitting rate $10?” Sehun pipes in, thrusting the money once more at the unwilling instructor. “He spent like 17 hours with you so it’s not like I’m overpaying. Or underpaying, mind you.” The last part is directed toward Kyungsoo.

“I just don’t think it’s right for me to be--”

“Accept it.” Kyungsoo cuts in, his tone resolute before he twist his mouth into an odd smile. “Aren’t we friends?”

Frowning, Jongin finally accepts the money, swiping it out of Sehun’s extended hands. He pouts, “I don’t think you know what friendship is.”

“I don’t think you understand how great of a friend I am.” Kyungsoo snorts as Jongin goes back into his car. “Now go study so you can ace your test.” Jongin nods and Kyungsoo waves as he watches the car zoom away. He turns back to see Sehun staring at him.

“So you slept with Jongin.” He says, a smile stretches out across his face and it’s unnerving. “It’s about time he made a move.”

“I didn’t sleep with Jongin. I slept at Jongin’s.” Kyungsoo corrects and he makes his way back into the apartment complex.

“You slept in Jongin.” Sehun says and Kyungsoo runs straight into the glass door.

He clutches at his face, silently mouthing out profanities as he hunches over onto his knees. “Why are you following me?” Kyungsoo spits out with the intent of changing topics. “Go home.”

"I was instructed by Tao to make sure you get home safely." Sehun shrugs. He's hauling Kyungsoo up to his feet and then opening the door for him, ushering him through.

“I think I am perfectly capable of getting into an elevator and going to my apartment.” Kyungsoo insists but Sehun’s already pushing him into the elevator and the door shuts before Kyungsoo has the chance to throw Sehun out. Looks like he’s stuck with him for the entirety of the elevator ride.

“You also thought that you were capable of driving and we know that was a lie.” Sehun shrugs and his words are enough to warrant a punch that has him slumping over onto the side of the elevator wall, rubbing his injured arm. “Jesus,” He breathes out, somehow looking a lot paler than his usual milky white tone. “How does Jongin put up with you?”

“Jongin doesn’t say stupid things,” Kyungsoo answers, adamant at looking at the elevator door so he doesn’t have to sympathize with Sehun’s pained face. “So Jongin doesn’t get punched.”

There’s a beat of silence and Kyungsoo stupidly believes that maybe Oh Sehun is actually going to shut up. He’s proven wrong when Sehun decides to pipe in with, “I’m proud of you guys, by the way. I was totally rooting for you.”

Sehun doesn’t stop there though. Apparently, Sehun thinks that he and Kyungsoo have somehow progressed into friends and he just doesn’t shut up. “You know, Tao totally wasn’t, He thought that you deserved better than him but I knew that Jongin was the best. I mean he’s really sweet, patient, and is some serious eye candy so I thought he was the perfect match for you. Tao though. He seemed to think that this other guy was better but I guess he’s kind of come around. Still not as much of a supporter as me but I--”

“I used to think you were quiet, you know. Quiet Sehun was so much better.” Kyungsoo grumbles before he gives up on his attempted (failed) tactic of ignoring the other, He adds in, “It’s just a driver instructor. Why were you guys debating so much on who to put me with.”

And it’s like a miracle because Sehun actually shuts up. It’s only for a moment but Kyungsoo will take what he can get. “What are you talking about?” He asks, his expression morphing into one of confusion.

“What are you talking about?”

“Jongin.”

“Yes. Jongin. My driving instructor.”

“Yes. Jongin. Your--” Sehun cuts himself off. “Wait, aren’t you guys dating now?”

Kyungsoo sputters, “What?! No.” He’s choking now and he knows his face is starting to heat up. From the lack of oxygen. At least he thinks so. “Why would we be dating?”

“Why wouldn’t you be dating?” Sehun throws back, “I mean today was the day Jongin was supposed to--” He cuts himself off again, narrowing his gaze into a squint. “You guys slept together though.”

“We slept in the same bed. That’s it. He likes someone else too.”

The last sentence of Kyungsoo’s words seem to be effectively ignored as Sehun replies back with “But you slept over in general. You didn’t leave. Why would you do that?” Sehun looks so scandalized and that’s an expression Kyungsoo’s never seen on him before.

“Because Zitao’s in San Francisco. He couldn’t drive me back.”

“Jongin could have dropped you off here, though!”

“I don’t have money. I need Zitao to pay him. Or you, apparently.”

“I could’ve come to pay him then!”

"You could’ve but--” Kyungsoo stops. “Wait a minute. you could’ve driven me back. Why did you not just do that?!”

Sehun only blinks at him and then proceeds to change topics. “Jongin didn’t ask you anything… weird yesterday, did he?”

“He asked me some more questions about his crush but directly to me, he didn’t ask--” Before Kyungsoo can even finish his thought, Sehun cuts in with a particularly loud groan. He stabs at the elevator button for the floor they’re just about to pass and darts out as soon as the door opens. Kyungsoo’s finally left with the peace and quiet he’s been wanting.

/ / /

For their next session, they go out again at night. It’s around the same neighbourhood as before, this time around, and true to his words, Jongin does bring them somewhere else for a change of scenery.

“A playground?” Kyungsoo asks as he’s told to park. “What are you, two?”

“Come on.” Jongin says giddily. He’s already unbuckled and opening the door before Kyungsoo’s even turned the engine off. “It’ll be fun.”

“Or.” Kyungsoo calls out as he begrudgingly gets out of his seat, “Or you could drop me back at my apartment. We could watch a movie, maybe eat some popcorn. Find some way to fill in that mandatory hangout period you seem to think is necessary to our friendship.”

“Or you could learn to have fun.” Jongin suggests as he’s circling around the car to reach Kyungsoo. He grips his hand around one of Kyungsoo’s wrist and proceeds to drag him to the playground. Kyungsoo only barely remembers to actually lock the car.

“Your definition of fun is a little skewed.”

Jongin has fun, that much is true, but it’d be a lie to say that Kyungsoo’s bored. It’s not the classic definition of fun but it’s rather an interest, a slowly building smile, and a warmth in his heart that settles in as he takes a seat on a swing and just watches Jongin as he flits around on the playground excitedly. Jongin stops not too long after when he realizes that Kyungsoo has no intention of joining him in the play area built for those who are 11 or younger. Instead, he comes to join Kyungsoo.

“You’re already out of energy?” Kyungsoo deadpans and Jongin rolls his eyes.

“It’s not as fun when you’re by yourself.” Jongin answers and his voice seems a bit more solemn than what Kyungsoo had expected from his reply. “Mind if I join you?” He asks, already moving toward the swing beside him.

“Be my guest.” Kyungsoo gestures.

When they’ve settled side by side, Jongin’s the only one actually swinging; Kyungsoo’s more just rocking back and forth, his eyes trailing Jongin as he swings up and down. It’s then when words jump from Kyungsoo’s mouth. “So how’s your crush going?”

The question seems to take Jongin by surprise.“My crush?” Jongin echos and for a second, Kyungsoo swears that he glances back at him. He swings extra high this time around. “I’m thinking of giving that up.”

And he says it so casually, so nonchalant as if he hasn’t been hung up over this guy for over a month. It’s weird, though. Kyungsoo feels almost relieved at Jongin’s words. “You are?” He says and he hopes it doesn’t sound as hopeful as he thinks it does.

“Yeah,” Jongin says. He lowers his feet, dragging them across the ground to slow himself down. Only now can Kyungsoo see the rueful smile that’s marred Jongin’s face. “I mean, like you said, it’s useless. There’s no good time to say it and I just.” He turns to Kyungsoo, gaze boring into Kyungsoo’s own. “I really don’t want to mess this up.”

“It’s for the best,” Kyungsoo nods and he feels so selfish to be discouraging Jongin from following his heart. It’s just what his own heart wants. “I mean there’s other people out there. There’s no point in pouring all of your effort into this one guy who doesn’t seem to reciprocate. What’s so good about him anyways?” There’s an inherent bitterness laced in those words that Kyungsoo can’t seem to filter out.

“He’s nice.” Jongin begins as he starts to swing again, “He’s cute. He’s thoughtful. He’s funny, in a really weird way, but still funny. He’s not very good at things. But he tries his best, always tries to present himself as perfect even though he’s clearly not. But that’s okay because his flaws are what make him so much cuter. He’s sweet. But he tries not to be. He doesn’t seem the most approachable but when you actually get to know him, it’s worth all of the effort to befriend him. I kind of just want to hug, engulf him in my arms and pull him close. Cuddle him into my body and just let him know that he doesn’t have to be perfect. He compliments me, brings out my best -- though I think I bring out his worse -- and I just...” He continues on and Kyungsoo grows silent.

It’s a bit painful to hear Jongin speak. To know that these compliments are about another man who's caught Jongin’s eye. To know that there’s someone else out there who’s just so perfect for Jongin.

Kyungsoo’s confused. He’s so confused. He doesn’t know what Jongin’s feelings are, what his own feelings are, but he does know that Jongin looks beautiful in the pale light of the streets.

/ / /

The first time they get stuck in serious traffic, it’s really nothing serious. It’s more because they’ve chosen to go driving at a bad time, rush hour, rather than an actual accident. It’s inconvenient, to say the least.

“This sucks,” Kyungsoo groans as he shifts the gear to park. It looks like they won’t be going anywhere any time soon.

“I have something good to pass the time,” Jongin smirks and he reaches toward the radio. Kyungsoo fends his reaching hand off.

“I don’t know what you’re going to do but no.” He frowns, giving Jongin a little shove, “I’m driving. I get control over the radio.”

“Trust me. This will be good.”

“Tell me what it is.” demands Kyungsoo, “I’m not going to change it if you don’t at least tell me what it is.”

“It’s a radio station.” Jongin says and he’s quick to make another attempt to change the channel. Kyungsoo’s too slow to stop him and the attempt is successful. As a familiar voice flows from the speaker, Jongin’s mouth curls into a smile. “It’s Sehun’s radio station.”

Kyungsoo breathes out incredulously, “No way. Why does he even have one?”

“He started it in college.” Jongin snorts out a laugh, “Thought it would be cool to host something like this. Even after college, I guess he’s too attached to his loyal fanbase to let this sweet gig go.”

“He has a fanbase?” Kyungsoo whispers out.

“Why yes.” Jongin grins, “He has a very lovely selection of a handful of college freshmen and a devoted following of prepubescent girls. He even came up with an alias to hide his identity and everything.”

“No.” Kyungsoo gasps exaggeratedly, “What is i--”

“Richard.” Jongin says and Kyungsoo’s been trying to keep a straight face this whole time but this. This is too much. He leans over the steering wheel, careful not to hit the car’s horn as he shakes with laughter. “He calls himself Richard. It’s his brother’s American name.” Jongin informs him and Kyungsoo thinks he’s about to cry.

“His own American name is Robert.” Jongin adds in and Kyungsoo is slowly dying. Seeing Kyungsoo collapsed into a hunch, spasming with laughter, Jongin grins, moving to turn up the volume.

The wait for traffic to clear up is significantly shorter as they listen to Sehun’s monotone and shit taste in music.

Looking back, though, the traffic wasn’t that bad. It’s nothing compared to what they get stuck in during their second to last session.

“Oh my god,” Kyungsoo’s tempted to slam his hand against the car horn but he knows it won’t do anything. “The traffic’s backed up for miles.”

“It must be pretty serious for it to be this bad,” Jongin comments offhandedly, straining his neck to see if he can see the actual accident. “We’re probably going to be here for a while…”

“You wanna listen to Sehun’s station?” Kyungsoo throws out and Jongin smiles.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

This time, when they tune in, Sehun seems to be in the middle of some sort of session. “Hey guys. Richard here--” Kyungsoo spirals into an uncontrollable fit of laughter at the name. “And I want to ask you guys something. It’s something important.”

Jongin fakes a gasp, holding up an exasperated hand to his chest.

It’s not actually important, though. At least not at first. At first, Sehun’s just going off about a bunch of random things, voicing a couple of his mundane concerns, and then asking his fans for advice. Surprisingly, he does happen to have some fans and they actually call in, much to Kyungsoo’s amazement, with some sort of advice. It’s all very stupid, but Kyungsoo can’t help but leave the station on, taking some kind of odd amusement in listening to Sehun consult teenage girls for the answer to all his life’s problems.

It’s only after about twenty minutes that Sehun finally gets to something that sounds at least vaguely interesting. “So I have two friends,”

“Sehun actually has two friends?” Kyungsoo asks and Jongin snorts.

“Let’s name one of them Kai...”

“The bastard’s naming his “friend” after my car.” Jongin grumbles and Kyungsoo flashes him a look of concern.

“You name your car?”

Jongin blinks before he reaches toward the volume to turn it up. He does not confirm nor deny Kyungsoo’s question.

“...should be Soo… San. Susan.”

“His naming skills are on point.” Kyungsoo comments but Jongin seems to freeze at Sehun’s words. His reaction is odd: widened eyes with a clenched fist that is pressed to his mouth. “Jongin?” Kyungsoo calls out quietly, moving to rest a hand on the other’s thigh but Jongin seems to be put off by the action. His hand is quickly brushed away.

“So one of them, Susan, is learning to do something and Kai is like hi-- her mentor. So they started out when I put them together but I think as time went on, they grew to become friends.”

“Is he…” Kyungsoo starts out uncertainly, “Is he talking about us?” When Jongin doesn’t respond, Kyungsoo turns to look at him. He’s surprised to find Jongin insistently staring out the window, cheeks tinged with the slight semblance of a blush. Kyungsoo really doesn’t know what he has to be embarrassed about.

“I think I did a fairly good job at putting them together, I mean I was the one who recommended Kai to Kyu-- Susan. I’m such a matchmaker, right?” Sehun laughs, obviously proud of what he’s done. He rattles on for a bit longer, digressing into a series of terribly concealed self-indulgent compliments. It takes a while for him to actually return back to his original topic. “But anyways, the whole mentoring things requires them be around each other for a long amount of time, during both daytime and nighttime. They really weren’t all that friendly and open to each other at the beginning but nowadays, they go out a lot. Like after every little teaching session, they always either eating out afterward or doing, I don’t know, something..”

“I think this is about us,” Kyungsoo laughs but Jongin doesn’t reply. He glances back to Jongin and this time he finds the male on his phone, furiously typing something. Seconds later, there’s the sound of Sehun’s stupid ringtone going off.

“Sorry guys. That’s just my stupid friend texting me. It’s nothing important, he’s just being stupid. So on with the story,” Jongin seems to freeze at the words and now he’s dialing as Sehun continues on. “They’ve even they slept together! I mean, not really. But they slept together in a bed. Twice. The Kai guy always asks hi-- her for like relationship advice but I don’t think he-- she really knows who the advice is about.”

“Jongin,” Kyungsoo tries again for Jongin’s attention. “I’m pretty sure this is about us.”
Jongin’s purposefully ignoring him, clicking the call button on his phone.

Sehun’s phone goes off once again and this time, instead of just apologizing for it, he announces as he turns it off. “I am so sorry. I’m turning it off now. No more distractions.”

Jongin practically throws his phone into his lap. He covers his mouth with his hand and just turns back to the window, avoiding eye contact with Kyungsoo.

“Jongi--” Kyungsoo begins to say but he stops at what Sehun says next.

“He’s literally asking hi-- her how he should go about pursuing him -- her and this girl just doesn’t realize that. I know this Kai guy likes Kyungs-- Susan. He’s told me a couple of times. Many times. Tells me all about how he wants to hug the gu-- the girl. Kiss hi-- her until h-- she’s left breathless. But he’s too shy to act upon his feelings.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t finish his word. Instead, his words trail off as his mouth falls open. He chances another glance at Jongin but the younger is still insistent on looking out the window. “Is what Sehun said true?” He asks softly, tapping Jongin on shoulder. Jongin doesn’t move so he repeats it again.

“You’re supposed to keep your eye on the road,” Jongin mutters, still looking away.

“We aren’t moving. We aren’t going to be moving for a while. Look at me,” Kyungsoo insists and he reaches over to physically turn Jongin’s face towards him. “Is what Sehun said true?” Jongin just avoids his eyes even when Kyungsoo has his hand gripping at his chin, forcefully facing Jongin to him. “Why didn’t you just confess?” He asks.

“You’re the one who said I shouldn’t confess!” Jongin rushes out, his eyes finally looking straight at Kyungsoo. He jerks his face away from Kyungsoo’s hand. “You said that you weren’t dense but you noticed and you just didn’t want to address the problem!”

“I didn’t say anything about myself! I said that the hypothetical person might not like the hypothetical person back!”

“You knew that the hypothetical situation was about me,” Jongin mumbles out, looking significantly more red than he had a second ago.

“Yes but I didn’t know that the other person in the was me though.”

“How could you not?” Jongin says exasperatedly, “I was so obvious! Even Jongdae caught on nearly a second after meeting you!”

“Oh my god!” Kyungsoo exclaims, throwing up his hands to add effect, "In what way were you obvious?"

“I was so obvious! I mean I--”

And before Jongin can finish what he’s saying, they’re interrupted by the sound of a bunch of cars honking at them. Kyungsoo glances back toward the road to see that somehow, while they weren’t looking, the traffic has miraculously cleared. They’re the last car still stopped and now they’re the ones blocking traffic. “Let’s not talk about this now.” Kyungsoo says as he shifts the gears back into drive. “You know a place where we can talk?”

“The park we went to before, that’s near here.” Jongin says quietly, his voice almost drowned out by the rev of the engine. “Get off at the next exit and then take a left. Keep going straight and it shouldn’t be too far.”

They drive in mostly silence, only the soft drone of Sehun’s voice fills the air. He’s moved onto another topic by now, now just mindlessly going off about how much he wants to buy some new jeans. When they finally pull up to the park, Jongin’s quick to escape the suffocating atmosphere of the car. He’s quick to get out and rush out of sight. It’s only when Kyungsoo’s gotten out that he finds him sitting on the swings. Kyungsoo goes to join him. This time, neither of them are really swinging.

“So you like me?” Kyungsoo asks softly and he glances over at Jongin but the younger’s adamant on avoiding contact, instead keeping his gaze trained in front of him. If the quickly reddening face is any indication, though, Kyungsoo knows that Jongin can feel him staring.

“I might.” Jongin precariously answers before he finally offers something far more definitive, “I do. I really do and I’m so sorry if you don’t feel the same way, I don’t mind if you don’t feel the same way. I mean, I guess I do… a little… maybe a bit more than a little... but I understand! And I don’t want this to get in the way of our friendship or, more importantly, your learning to drive.” It’s only after he’s hurried through the words in one great breath that he turns to look at Kyungsoo.

It’s not even a look of anticipation or expectation, but rather one of apology, of defeat and submission, and Kyungsoo doesn’t know what to say to that face. “I’m sorry,” Jongin starts again when Kyungsoo doesn’t reply. “I’m so sorry. Can we… Can we just go back to the way things were? We can just act like friends again and--”

“I don’t want to go back to how things were before.” Kyungsoo says quietly and Jongin freezes.

“You don’t have to pretend,” Jongin’s quick to dismiss Kyungsoo’s words, “I don’t want to force you into something you’re not comfortable with. I’m not going to force you into this. Just--”

“I’m not forcing myself to say this.” Kyungsoo cuts in. Jongin looks like he’s about to open his mouth and protests but Kyungsoo doesn’t stop. “I’m not saying this to make you feel better and if you’d just listen to me, then you’d understand.”

Jongin seems a bit skeptical but he keeps his mouth shut. Kyungsoo continues, forcing it all out before he can hold himself back. “I like you. I like your smile. I like your face. I like how you’re patient. I like how nice you are. I like how sweet you are, how passionate you are, how you light up when you talk about dance. I like how you make stupid mixtapes, how you get emotional over a stupid squirrel. I like how you act like you can cook. I like how you put ketchup all over your stupid eggs, how you blush so easily, how you can eat enough to feed a four person family, how you always accomodate for me, how you cuddle in your sleep, how you end up cuddling me in your sleep. And, I don’t know, I just… I like you. I like you a lot and damn it, I’m not comfortable with just laying this all out there and it would have been so much easier if you were just the one to do this, to confess and ask me out--”

“I wanted to,” Jongin cuts in, “You told me not to.” Kyungsoo’s glare is enough to shut him up.

“I told you not to because I thought you were talking about someone else and now that I know who you were really talking about, I changed my mind. I want you to confess. I really want you to confess.”

Jongin’s speechless, wordlessly blinking at Kyungsoo. “Half of your own confession was an insult.” He whispers out and it’s just barely loud enough for Kyungsoo to hear. “I hope you know that.”

“And the entirety of your returning confession is still nonexistent.” Kyungsoo says, “I hope you know that.”

Jongin laughs, “I think you’ve said enough for both of us.” He holds his hand out to Kyungsoo, palm-up and expectant.

“This is such a cop-out.” Kyungsoo rolls his eyes but he fits his hand onto Jongin’s anyways.

/ / /

“I can’t believe you!” Zitao exclaims when Kyungsoo tells him. He’s a bit angry -- more than a bit, very angry. Very very angry -- and he doesn’t really speak much to Kyungsoo on the way to Jongin’s apartment. Instead, he seems more focused on muttering Chinese expletives beneath his breath. At one point, Kyungsoo swears he hears Zitao call him a “floppy cucumber” in Mandarin and he doesn’t really know what all of that is about.

By the time they pulls up to apartment complex, Zitao seems to have calmed down a bit. “You know,” Zitao starts out and it’s the first words he’s said in a while that’s in English and actually directed to Kyungsoo. “I could always just not pay for more lessons. It’ll be like punishment for wasting all my damned money.”

“Yes. Yes, you could.” Kyungsoo considers as he unbuckles his seatbelt. He has his door about halfway open when he finally finishes with, “But then what would Sehun think?”

“Fuck Sehun.” Zitao hisses and Kyungsoo laughs.

“That’s your plan, isn’t it?”

Zitao glares and Kyungsoo takes that as cue to get out of the car. As soon as he’s out of the car, Zitao’s driving away, flipping Kyungsoo off as he goes. Kyungsoo snorts at the action before entering the apartment.

The walk up is slow and uneventful save for when he notices Jongdae walking down. “Hey!” Jongdae greets, rushing over to hug Kyungsoo. “It’s Jongin’s boyfriend.”

His smile is wide, eyes brights and Kyungsoo just nods slowly,

“Well, I have to go.” Jongdae says when he realizes that Kyungsoo doesn’t plan on adding more to their conversation. “Jongin’s waiting for you up there.” And then he leaves, but not before he squeezes Kyungsoo in his arms and then pats Kyungsoo on the butt. Kyungsoo can’t help but feel as if they aren’t close enough to be like this around each other but he shrugs it off.

When he finally gets up to Jongin’s apartment, as soon as he knocks on the door, Jongin opens it. “How’d it go?” Jongin asks as soon as immediately, foregoing any kind of polite greeting. He’s much too excited, seemingly bouncing up and down on his toes as he waits for Kyungsoo’s reply; he had been even more nervous for this test than Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo takes a deep breath, and from the noticeable change in his demeanor, Jongin’s face falls. Now, he’s looking up at Kyungsoo with worried eyes, disappointment thinly concealed by concern. “I failed.” Kyungsoo says quietly and Jongin grimaces.

“It’s okay,” Jongin says after a while, shifting his weight to one leg, “I mean there’s always next time. You’re not a bad driver, you must have just made some simple mistakes, something that’s fairly easy fix. I mean what did you even do wrong?”

Kyungsoo decides not to tell him about the red light he had blatantly ran. Red lights actually. Or that he had refused to use the turn signal. Or how he had randomly slammed on his brakes for the hell of it. Or the fact that he was going at about 20 mph above the speed limit for the entirety of his test. Something’s are better left unspoken. Instead, Kyungsoo holds his arms out and puts on the best puppy face he can manage. “I don’t want to talk about it.” He keeps his voice purposefully soft, even throws in a slight voice crack to tug at Jongin’s heartstrings. “Just… can you just give me a hug?”

Jongin nods, stepping closer so that he can wrap his arms around Kyungsoo’s waist and pull him in against himself. “I’m sorry,” Jongin whispers his apology into Kyungsoo’s ear, “I sorry that I didn’t prepare you well enough. I guess we could just go out on a couple more sessions, polish up your skills a bit more before you try again.”

"Yeah I mean, on the bright side," Kyungsoo starts out slowly, as he leans back, putting a little distance between them. His gaze trails up to Jongin's as he breaks into a sly smile. "We get to spend more time together."

Jongin's arms slackens. "You did not. No no. Please tell me you did not purposefully fail your test."

There's a pause as Jongin's eyebrows furrow, but Kyungsoo's eyes dance with amusement. Instead of answering, he tilts his head up and presses his lips against Jongin's. He pulls away, Jongin's gaze boring into his own. "No promises." He whispers.