[D69] PASSING BY
Prompt Code: D69
Title: Passing By
Rating: PG
Side Pairings (if any): (none)
Warnings: Borderline crack at times
Word Count: 10,835
Summary: Jongin spends too much time in his head and not enough time grounded.
AN: Thank you the lovely person who prompted♡ I hope I didn’t disappoint too much. But seriously, WHAT IS THIS. Just an fyi, I imagined this to be taking place from early/mid October to early December.
Jongin pushes through the heavy glass doors and lets out a sigh of content as the warmth of the familiar building welcomes him. He nods politely at the tall librarian at the front desk who greets him as he enters and moves quickly and quietly to through the building, knowing exactly where he needs to be.
Up the stairs. Through the history section. Left after the children’s section. Right at the fantasy section.
There, sits a painfully familiar lone table accompanied by two chairs.
The tanned boy scoffs at the sight of the other chair, throwing his backpack and jacket atop it and pushing both a little further away from his own seat. For a moment he sits quietly and examines his surroundings.
A large almost floor-to-ceiling window sits behind him but offers very little light. Instead it showcases a miserable scene of winter in Seoul as citizens hurriedly rush up, down, and across streets to get to their destinations as quick as possible and out of the offensive weather. On all other sides he is surrounded by endless rows of books on just about any subject. The wooden bookcases stand tall and proud, lined up around him, a few steps stools are scattered about in different aisles to assist shorter patrons in reaching the top shelves. If he listens hard enough, the sounds of children’s excited whispers can be heard from just a few sections away.
A heavy feeling of nostalgia settles over Jongin. For the briefest second, he feels although a familiar face will be emerging from the wall of bookshelves to greet him soon.
Oh. Right.
He leans back in his seat and lets out a long breath. For a few moments he stares at the ceiling reminiscing pitifully before shaking his head, sitting up straight again, and pulling out some papers from his bag and setting them atop the table.
With yet another heavy sigh, he gets to work.
❄❄❄
Jongin didn’t always used to be that one lonely guy who hangs out by himself in a secluded corner of the local library everyday, oh no.
Well, at least not really.
See, he’s always spent at least some time each day in the library right outside his school since he started at the university two years ago. Something about it was so comforting and he immediately fell in love with the building upon his first tour of the campus. But, Jongin used to have someone who shared that feeling with him and would up with his, somewhat odd, obsession with the wanting to be in the library whenever possible.
Keyphrase here being “used to”.
Taemin wasn’t exactly up to spend endless hours in the building with Jongin since they broke up almost two months ago. While the two were still on good terms -they had been friends long before they started dating- but they spent a significantly less amount of time together since the breakup, mostly for Jongin’s sake.
Jongin has always been passionate about things he likes. Whether that be his studies, dancing, or, in this case, a person, he gives his all and will do whatever he can to succeed. So when it became evident that his relationship with Taemin was becoming increasingly more one sided, it was easy to understand that Jongin was hurt. While he doesn’t hold anything against his no longer boyfriend but still friend, he couldn’t help but feel like he had failed Taemin in some way.
Should he have been more caring? Have taken Taemin out on more dates? Did he not do enough? Did he do too much?
Jongin loathes failing so he continues to sulk about the broken relationship. And that’s exactly what he’s doing now. Sitting in the isolated area he and Taemin found freshman year, making a mental list of everything he did wrong, everything he could have done better, and a strategy plan of how he could have fixed it all.
He’s so caught up in his thoughts he doesn’t hear the approaching footsteps until the person causing those footsteps whacks him on the back of the head with a reasonably sized book pulled from a random shelf.
“God dammit Oh Sehun.” Jongin glares and rubs his hand over his head as the tall blonde smiles cheekily and pulls out the chair across from Jongin to sit down.
“Nice to see you too. Thinking about Taemin again?”
“...There’s a slight chance I might have been.”
Sehun sighs. “You don’t need to try to play it off to me, I know exactly what it means when you get that distant, dopey look on your face.”
“I don’t look dopey!” Jongin shouts, then remembering where he is, gains some of his composure. “I don’t, do I?” He asks quietly, sinking down his seat and looking up at Sehun.
Sehun tries not to coo at and tease the other boy. Who’s the hyung here?
“Nah, you’re fine. I mean, you always look a little stupid but it looks good on you.”
“I’m not sure whether I should be offended or not.”
Sehun just shrugs. “So what totally unreasonable idea have you come up with today for why you two didn’t work?” Sehun has grown well accustomed to this situation and knows if he doesn’t ask, Jongin is just going to let the thought brew in his mind and eat at him until he it breaks him down. And that was not something he wanted to see his best friend go through again. When this started, Jongin had come up with some acceptable theories about why Taemin lost interest in their relationship but as time wore on, his ideas have become more unrealistic.
Jongin shoots up in his seat, leans slightly forward over the desk, and talks quickly “Okay. So you remember the the time we all went rollerskating last summer?”
Sehun sighs, here we go.
“Yes, Jongin. I remember that.”
“Well, the place we were at had only two colors of rollerskates. Blue and red. And there were only two left in the size me and Taemin wear so I took the blue ones and he took the red ones. But red is obviously his favorite color! Think about that Sehun. What if that’s why? What if he slowly started to hate because I deprived him of that What if-”
Sehun holds up his hand to cut off Jongin before he blows a gauge in his head, “Let me stop you there.”
Jongin pouts and sits back in his seat but didn’t complain.
“First of all, Taemin doesn’t hate you. You hung out the other day and were both fine.”
“Well yeah but-”
Sehun holds his hand up again, “Don’t interrupt me when I’m talking.”
“I’m older than you!”
“Well then you should be setting a better example for me, hyung,” Sehun smiles while Jongin grimaces, “Now can I continue?”
Jongin rubs his hand over his face defeatedly, “Yeah, sure.”
“To put this bluntly, you’re losing it Jongin. There’s no reason for you to be so caught up in what happened to you and Taemin. You two weren’t fit to be anything more than friends,” Sehun looks at him thoughtfully while speaking in a softer tone, “and it’s no one’s fault. Nothing you could have done can change the fact that you weren’t made to be together.”
Jongin frowns and looks out the massive window. “That wasn’t what I was hoping to hear,” he mumbles, “and I’m not losing it.”
Sehun gives the other a pointed look, “You were about to go off on another tangent about how trading rollerskates would have made your ex-boyfriend stay with you,” he scoffs and crosses his arms, “that would set off warning signs to any sane person.” The blonde sighs when Jongin remains silent and refuses to meet his eyes. “It’s time to move on Jongin. We both know it.” His expression softens even though the other can’t see it, “I’m here for you if you need anything, don’t forget that.” He gives his friend one more pitiful glance before gathering his bag and leaving Jongin to be.
Jongin waits for the retreating footsteps to be completely out of earshot before averting his gaze from the window and back to the table before him. He allows Sehun’s words to wash over him as he rests his head on the table, staring off with no actual focus.
Maybe Sehun is right.
❄❄❄
Do Kyungsoo is a very busy man.
He is in his final year of university before graduate school as a music composition major. He has 18 units worth of classes this semester. He’s recently added 25 hours a week of work in the city’s library. Midterms are coming up and he knows he needs to do well to maintain his GPA.
Do Kyungsoo has no time for nonsense.
But apparently, the patrons of the library didn’t get this memo. He has already had to clean up three spilled drinks, ask an arguing couple to leave, find a child who got lost playing hide-and-seek, and completely reshelf three whole rows of books that one of his coworkers had shelved incorrectly. All this on top of his normal duties. Only one more hour to go.
Needless to say, Do Kyungsoo is in a very bad mood today.
Which is why he really does not want to deal with the newest situation he’s stumbled upon.
“Hyung, I think someone died on the second floor. What do I do with it?”
Kris looks up from his smartphone to give his coworker a confused look. “Kyungsoo what the hell are you talking about?”
Kyungsoo’s wide eyed look doesn’t waver, “I’m serious hyung, I’ve passed by that area at least six times since my shift started and he hasn’t moved a muscle. I think he might really be dead. This wasn’t part of my training, hyung, what do I do?”
Now Kris can’t help but laugh, much to the shorter’s increasing irritation, “Kyungsoo, there’s no way someone died here… probably.”
Kyungsoo gapes at him, “Probably?” He should have know Kris would be no help. They had been friends since freshman year and he had gotten Kyungsoo this job at the library, bless his soul, but besides that, he’s hardly been of any use to Kyungsoo. And there was no way, if this person was dead, that Kyungsoo was going to deal with this. His minimum wage does not cover managing corpses.
Unfortunately for Kyungsoo, the taller librarian merely gives him another amused look, “They’re probably just sleeping. Why don’t you go check on them and see if they’re alright, yeah?” before dismissing Kyungsoo with a wave of his hand and focusing his attention back on his phone. The shorter boy stalks off to the stairs, muttering curses at the older under his breath as he goes.
Never rely on Wu Yifan for anything.
He makes his way back to where he remembered the seemingly lifeless being sat.
Up the stairs. Through the history section. Left after the children’s section. Right at the fantasy section.
Once reaching the area, Kyungsoo pauses for a second to take in the scene in front of him for the now seventh time today. The boy -Kyungsoo just assumes he is younger than him- is completely limp, hunched over the table in front of him with his head turned away from Kyungsoo as it rests on his crossed arms. A backpack sits near his feet and there are papers scattered around him on both the desk, the floor, and a few on the chair he is seated in. Kyungsoo is startled from his observation when the stranger lets out a distressed whining sound.
At least he’s not dead. The librarian pitties him for a moment, figuring the guy must have thrown himself into some ridiculous assignment with the intent of getting it all done in one day. He debates letting the boy be until said boy begins to repeatedly knock his own head against the table while muttering incoherently.
“Uh… are you alright?” Kyungsoo asks timidly.
He’s honestly somewhat scared of the other at the moment and isn’t sure if how the stranger would react to him intruding on… whatever this was.
Despite the softness of Kyungsoo’s voice, the other boy still jumps at the sound of another person.
“Y-yes? What?” The startled boy stares at the red head with drowsy eyes. He appears to not have caught Kyungsoo’s question due to his focus on his own thoughts.
Kyungsoo presses his lips into a tight line. He does not like having to repeat himself. It has already been a long day and this boy’s mere presence was just testing him. “I asked if you are alright,” he repeats trying to feign as much concern as possible for himself at the moment.
The boy stares at Kyungsoo blankly for a moment before nodding. He then rubs his eyes and turns away from the smaller man dismissively before resuming his previous position.
“What I mean to say is, do you need help with something or are you just going to sit here and mope? You’re scaring the kids.” By “kids”, Kyungsoo meant himself but he was not going admit that when he was more than frustrated with the fact that this guy didn’t even have the decency to answer him with a complete sentence.
This seemed to trigger something in the moping boy as he immediately sat up and looked at Kyungsoo with a ridiculously sad expression, bottom lip jutting out and all. “Am I really scaring kids?” He asked worriedly.
The librarian feigns innocence but immediately feeling back for having lied to the other. Well at least they were at least even now. “Kinda. Some people have complained.. They were worried you were, um, dead.” At least that wasn’t entirely false, but still highly unbelievable considering how isolated their current location was and how infrequently other people actually visited it.
Luckily for Kyungsoo, it didn’t appear that the other boy was able to put that together. Unluckily for Kyungsoo, this only seems to distress the other boy even more.
“Really?” The boy looked incredibly worried, “Who? Should I go apologize? Where are they?” He sounded frantic now. Great.
Taking a deep breath in, Kyungsoo calmly replies, “Sir, if you don’t quiet down, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
The tanned male’s cheeks go pink and he averts his gaze from Kyungsoo. “Right, sorry. I was just...” He clears his throat, “Um you work here?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” He rubs the back of his neck nervously, “I was just wondering because I’ve never seen you around before. I’m Jongin by the way.”
Kyungsoo really does not have the time or patience for small tall right now. “I’m new. Is there anything you actually need help with or can I go back to my job?” Sincerity be damned. Kyungsoo is not in the mood for small talk with strangers.
Jongin is taken aback, that wasn’t at all an answer he was expecting. He was on good terms with all the librarians since he was here so often and they all immediately liked him, so this was different. But then again, all the other librarians did meet Jongin under better circumstances.
Giving his best smile, Jongin proudly proclaims ,“Let’s be friends uh,” he glances at the employee’s name tag, “Kyungsoo.”
“I don’t get paid enough to deal with this.” And with that Kyungsoo turns and stalks off back into the fortress of bookshelves leaving a very confused but determined Jongin behind.
Jongin smiles as he watches Kyungsoo’s retreating figure as he goes. He is generally a very social person and his outgoing personality tends to draw others toward him so Jongin feels oddly intrigued by the smaller man. This was definitely new.
With his previously depressed state temporarily forgotten, Jongin devises his plan to figure out this new employee. He’s always liked a challenge after all.
❄❄❄
To get to know Kyungsoo better, Jongin needed to understand how he worked. He was in no way trying to stalk the other boy, he just has an unreasonable curiosity about Kyungsoo considering they had only met once. Unfortunately for Jongin, Kyungsoo did not work the day after their first encounter or this morning when Jongin stopped by before his 11am class.
“Chanyeol! What do you know about Kyungsoo?” Jongin huffs as he takes a seat diagonally from his friend and stares at him intently. It’s 2pm now and Jongin was lucky enough to stumble upon the other in one of the university cafe’s.
Chanyeol, for some reason despite his obnoxiously loud character, worked part time at the library and was currently Jongin’s best bet at getting to know some more about the other librarian.
“Are you talking about Do Kyungsoo?” Chanyeol asks sounding, understandably, confused.
“I don’t actually know his surname. But he’s got really wide eyes, red hair, kinda small but surprisingly intimidating.”
Chanyeol nods. “That’s definitely him. Why are you asking?”
Shit. He had been hoping Chanyeol would be kind enough not to question him and hadn’t thought of a socially acceptable way to word his motives.
“Just curious, you know. For science reasons.” Brilliant Kim Jongin, that’s not suspicious at all. He hopes Chanyeol isn’t smart enough to see through his weak reasoning.
Chanyeol stares hard at Jongin for a second before realization seems to break across his face.
“Oh no. No no no. That is not a tree you want to bark up, man. Trust me. Kyungsoo is cute and all but he is not your type. If you want I can set you up with this guy in my sociology class. He was asking about you and-”
Jongin almost chokes. “What no! That’s not what I meant!” He rushes out, “I’m not in to him. I just want to get to know him better.”
“Then why don’t you ask him about himself instead of me?”
“It’s not that simple.” Jongin whines, voice sounding higher than usual. “We didn’t exactly leave on great terms when we met. And he didn’t want to be my friend! That’s why I need your help. You work with Kyungsoo, you have to know something about him right?”
This was getting progressively more embarrassing on Jongin’s part and he was beginning to regret his decision of ever coming to Chanyeol for anything.
“I do know him and that is why I am telling you, for your own good, to ask him yourself.”
Jongin groans. This was going to be harder than he originally thought.
Useless Park Chanyeol.
❄❄❄
After rethinking his mishap with Chanyeol, Jongin decided it was in his best interest to listen to his only reliable lead at this point and to get to know Kyungsoo by actually talking to him.
“Ya know, like a normal person would,” was what Sehun had told him after Jongin explained the situation to him the day before.
It was two more days before Jongin saw Kyungsoo again, and thankfully for both of them, the librarian was in a much better mood this day. Kyungsoo had just started his morning shift and, therefore, was in the best mood he could be for the day.
Jongin spotted the other boy while he was working on reshelving a cart of books. Rather than immediately going up to talk to him, Jongin decided to wait a little and observe him for a while by standing at the far end bookshelf adjacent to the one Kyungsoo was restocking and occasionally peering up from the book he had taken off the shelf to look at the other boy. He reasoned that, this way, he might be able to get a feel for the shorter boy and be able to approach him with more success than their original meeting.
Wrong.
Jongin quickly realizes there is very little he can learn about someone by watching them put books on a shelf. The only mental note he is able to take down is how meticulous Kyungsoo is about making sure he’s doing the simple job correctly, often double or triple checking the code on the books’ spines to make sure they were placed correctly.
The tanned boy unconsciously begins to focus on Kyungsoo’s appearance rather than his actions. He has to admit, the librarian is quite good looking. His eyes are dark and wide, giving him a look of innocence and curiosity that oddly intrigues Jongin while his lips are thick and a soft pink color that somehow pair exceedingly well together. He particularly like Kyungsoo’s hair. It’s shaved short on the sides with the top dyed a wine red color that compliments his skin perfectly. His pale skin looks soft and glows prettily under the natural lighting filtering in from the library windows.
Glancing down at his own tanned skin, Jongin thinks about how he would have killed to have skin like that when he was younger. Not now though, while he is aware many people think his skin is too dark and far from the “ideal”, he knows he has his own charm and is proud of it.
“You’re holding your book upside down,” a low voice shakes Jongin out of his thoughts.
He snaps his head up to see Kyungsoo giving him an unimpressed look before resuming his reshelving. “And you’re not exactly being subtle about your staring.”
Jongin quickly fumbles to flip the book right side up before bringing it up to his face so only his eyes are peering out.
“Sorry. I just… I wanted to apologize. For last time.” He manages to say, voice slightly muffled by the book in front of him. The fact that their last meeting had ended so terribly made Jongin incredibly nervous, like he should be far for cautious this time around. “I don’t think I left a great impression on you and I hang out here a lot, so it would be awkward if that’s the only thing you had to know me by.”
“And you decided that blatantly staring at me from behind a bookshelf for 10 minutes would leave a better impression?” Despite the mocking tone in the question, Jongin notes that there is a small smile pulling on Kyungsoo’s lips.
Jongin lowers his book, revealing a shy smile but feeling more confident in himself. “Yes- ah, well no. I didn’t know how to bring that up to you and thought if I waited a while I might figure out a better way to… go about that.”
The redhead lets out a sigh as he places the last book in his cart on the shelf. “Jongin, right?” said boy nods, “Kris-hyung told me not to think too much about that because you’re a, I believe he used the term, “interesting project” to work on, so worry about it.”
Jongin pouts, of course Kris wouldn’t put in a good word for me. “I’m not normally like this, I promise,” Jongin tries to remain calm, “you just caught me at a bad time.”
This momentarily piques an interest in Kyungsoo who had been wondering what happened to the weird kid he found in the library earlier that week, but he bites back his question.
“If you say so.” He moves to push his cart to the back room to retrieve more books. “I guess I’ll see you around then.”
“Ah, wait!” Jongin shrinks back when Kyungsoo gives him a stern look for raising his voice. “Can we be friends now?”
Kyungsoo sighs but figures the other must be sincere since he had actually sought him out just to apologize to him so he might as well humor him. Who knows if he would even see Jongin again, the library was a rather large place.
“Sure. Let’s be friends.”
❄❄❄
“Have you seen Kyungsoo-hyung today?”
Kyungsoo cringes as he hears the familiar voice from where he is arranging some decorations a few aisles away from the front desk. He prays to God that whoever is manning the desk today won’t give him away.
“I think he’s fixing some displays for the holidays over there.” Damn you, Park Chanyeol. He could practically hear the shiteating grin in Chanyeol’s voice.
Ever since he had agreed to befriend Jongin three weeks back, Kyungsoo had been getting visits from the junior two or three times a day while he worked. The younger- they had confirmed Jongin was exactly one year and two days younger than Kyungsoo, prompting him to apologize profusely for not referring to Kyungsoo as “hyung”- would follow the librarian around while he went about his job. Usually stopping by in between his classes or before he went to his section to study and asking Kyungsoo random questions about himself or sharing events about his day.
It’s not that Kyungsoo disliked the other boy, that was far from true. The two had actually found they had similar interests in tv shows and movies, attended the same university in the town, and were both in performing arts- Kyungsoo in music composition and Jongin in dance- so their was never a shortage of topics to talk about.
Kyungsoo also found Jongin’s personality and how he would follow the elder around like a puppy to be oddly endearing. Despite the short time, he felt a certain fondness for the younger.
He did, however, have a problem with how much the tanned boy would distract him from his work. Ever since Jongin had started hanging around him, Kyungsoo had become significantly less productive throughout his shifts. Tasks that would take him a mere half hour to complete now required almost double the amount of time with Jongin around. Thank God his boss, Junmyeon, was so kind hearted or else he’s certain he would be out of a job.
To make matters even worse, his co workers took notice and thought it was the most amusing thing in the world to poke fun at the pair when Jongin wasn’t there and to tease the both of them when Jongin would stick to the smaller’s side like he was glued there.
“Hyung!” Kyungsoo jumps, dropping the one of the plastic snowmen he was supposed to be putting on the table.
“Good morning Jongin.” He greets in return, trying to focus on his work again.
“Good morning. Did you miss me?” Kyungsoo note the younger sounds especially cheerful today. This usually meant he had something exciting to tell him or that there was a dog spotted somewhere during the dancer’s walk to the library.
“Not really,” he muses, “I’m beginning to wonder why you even hang around me so much.”
Jongin freezes. He hadn’t meant to add regularly seeking out Kyungsoo in the library to his everyday life, really, and wasn’t entirely sure if he even knew the answer to the other. He originally thought their friendship wouldn’t be much different from his friendships with the rest of the library’s workers. For most of the workers, that meant they were on a first name basis and would occasionally engage in small talk if they had time. It had only been three weeks but he was now certain he hadn’t talked to anyone that wasn’t Taemin or Sehun this much since he was in high school.
“I guess… because you’re different from all my other friends?” He looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “All of my close friends are loud, less serious, not as sincere, and some aren’t as interesting. You’re not much like them at all, hyung. Not that that’s a bad thing! It’s just different with you. You put up with all my whining and pointless stories without complaining and your humor is dry but you give good advice.” Jongin smiles brightly at Kyungsoo, “I feel really comfortable around you.”
The latter simply hums in response and returns to fixing his decoration. He hadn’t been expecting an answer and isn’t entirely sure what to make of Jongin’s words.
“What? I spill my heart to you and that’s the only response I get?” Jongin dramatically holds his hand over his chest looking absolutely affronted, but the librarian knows he’s not serious. “I take everything back, you’re the worst.”
The redhead rolls his eyes.
“I’m sorry but we don’t allow rude patrons in this facility. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“Hyung!” Jongin pouts, “You don’t really mean that right?”
“.....”
“Right!?”
Kyungsoo tries to hold back his laughter but fails upon seeing Jongin’s shocked expression.
Jongin spends the rest of this visit moping all the while muttering about how he was never going to tell Kyungsoo anything serious ever again and how he had been betrayed.
❄❄❄
Kyungsoo knows he shouldn’t be texting when he’s supposed to working. He knows he should hurry up and finish taking inventory of the supply room before someone catches him. But Kyungsoo also know he would much rather talk to Jongin.
Jongin had taken to texting Kyungsoo throughout the day or whenever he was supposed to be studying in the library. While, their conversations tended to be similar to their in person conversations, Kyungsoo couldn’t help but notice that Jongin tended to become more open about himself through the cell phone barrier.
This ranged from the night he just about sent Kyungsoo an essay about his passion for dancing and why he choose to do what he does to their current conversation of Jongin sending him various screenshots of different “cute” breeds of dogs he had discovered after going through the dog section of an encyclopedia.
Kyungsoo couldn’t help but smile to himself as his phone lit up once again, this time displaying an image of corgi puppy wearing a pair of round glasses like the ones he himself would wear from time to time.
He was in the middle of writing out his response when he heard someone clear their throat from behind him, nearly causing him to drop his phone. Oops.
“Watcha doing?” Kris singsonged, leaning on against the the doorframe.
“Would you believe me if I said I’m doing inventory?”
“From your phone? No.” The taller pushes off from the doorframe and snatches Kyungsoo’s phone from his hands before he can register what is happening.
“Hah! I knew it would be that Jongin kid!” Kris grins but quickly falls as he scrolls through the messages, “Really Kyungsoo? Puppies?”
Kyungsoo frowns as he takes back his phone. “What’s wrong with that? Jongin likes dogs.”
Kris tsk’s at him, “I was expecting something more exciting from the way you were smiling at your phone. I’m a little disappointed in you.”
The redhead rolls his eyes and walks back out into the main lobby of the library. It was almost time for his break anyways.
“Kyungsoo, I was just teasing don’t abandon me,” Kris follows behind him before catching up and throwing an arm around his smaller shoulders and pulling him along to the front desk.
Another eyeroll. Of course Kyungsoo knows he’s kidding. The two’s friendship basically stemmed from and revolved around them teasing each other at any chance they got.
“But seriously, you’ve been in much better moods since that kid started hanging around, good for you,” the taller whispers to avoid disturbing the quiet atmosphere, and pulls Kyungsoo closer to him so that he’s mouth is directly beside his ear. “Aww are you blushing?” Kris coos as he pokes him on the cheek, “You are, how cute!”
Kyungsoo quickly shrugs him off and walks quickly with his head slightly down to the computer to clock out for his break.
“Hyung?”
Kyungsoo snaps his head up to see Jongin standing in front of the counter. He doesn’t miss the questioning look Jongin has as he glances between Kris and himself.
“Hey… I thought you were upstairs.” Kyungsoo manages out, still feeling flustered from Kris’ comments.
“I was but I came to find you,” the younger says slowly, sparing one last glance at Kris who grins back in return.
“Oh? Why what’s up?”
“Want to come over to my apartment tonight? My roommate is coming home really late and I don’t want to be alone.” Jongin still seems hesitant but Kyungsoo can’t tell if it’s due to nerves or if he’s embarrassed about having to ask for company. “We can watch movies or play video games or something.”
Despite having become close during the short amount of time they had been friends, they hadn’t actually spent time together outside of the library much. Up until now, the only time they saw each other away from the library was the rare occasions they would bump into each other on campus or the few times they had gotten coffee together at a university cafe. Or rather, Kyungsoo had gotten coffee while Jongin got a muffin and hot chocolate because “coffee is like poison.”
“Of course. What time should I be there?”
Jongin immediately perks up, “Is 7 okay?”
Kyungsoo nods.
“Great I’ll text you my address.” Jongin smiles happily and Kyungsoo unconsciously returns it.
They stand like that for a few moments, in their own little bubble before Kyungsoo remembers something.
“Jongin, doesn’t your next class start in four minutes?”
Jongin’s eyes widen in horror and he immediately bolts for the door.
“See you tonight, hyung!” he calls, too loudly, as he dashes out the door.
“That was disgustingly cute,” Kris remarks, breaking Kyungsoo from his focus on the door Jongin had disappeared out of. Unbeknownst to Kyungsoo, Kris hadn’t moved from where he had been standing when Jongin had arrived and watched the whole event play out.
“You should just admit you like him and date already, it’s getting painful to watch this,” Kris teases.
Usually this is when Kyungsoo will deny everything and tell Kris he’s being stupid but instead he avoids eye contact and stares into the computer screen in front of him.
“I might feel… something for him,” Kyungsoo says quietly.
“Wait really!? You’re finally going to acknowledge your undying love for him? This is perfect. Invite me to your wedd-”
“Don’t you have a job to be doing?” Kyungsoo snaps. He instantly regrets trying to have a serious conversation or looking for support from the elder.
Kris holds his hands up in surrender and laughs to himself.
“But seriously, you two are great for each other. Good luck,” he claps Kyungsoo on the back and returns to the back room.
❄❄❄
Jongin shuffles through his apartment, double checking to make sure he hadn’t left a mess lying around anywhere Kyungsoo might see. It’s nearing 7pm and he can’t help but feel uncomfortable about his earlier meeting with Kyungsoo.
Not with their actual conversation, no. Rather with what he had seen before Kyungsoo noticed he was there.
The way Kris and Kyungsoo had interacted was so intimate that Jongin felt he was intruding on something personal. He knew the two weren’t dating because Kyungsoo himself had told Jongin that he was single and that he and Kris were good friends, but he couldn’t help wonder if they had something. If so, should he apologize for disrupting a moment? Did he mess something up by asking Kyungsoo to come over while Kris was still there? He had noticed that the tall blonde had been watching over them while they talked but hadn’t known what to make of it at the time.
Kyungsoo had brought up Kris to him a few times, but usually talked about him like he was nuisance rather than someone he had an interest in, and Kris hadn’t looked upset or put out while they were talking, so they couldn’t possible have something going on, right?
Jongin sighs as he paces back into his living room and flops onto the couch. He’s probably just overthinking the whole situation. Sehun did say he had a tendency to do that.
A soft knock echos from the entryway and Jongin quickly stands up and smooths out his clothes before going to answer the door.
The door swings open to reveal a Kyungsoo standing in the brightly lit hallway.
“You wore your glasses today!” Jongin notes cheerfully, deciding to push his previous thoughts away until he can find an appropriate time to bring them up.
Kyungsoo nods and follows Jongin into the apartment. “Need to be able to see when I drive.”
Jongin gives him a small tour of the apartment. The apartment is not very large, there’s a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms, and one bathroom, so they end up back in the living room very quickly.
“Are you okay hyung?” Jongin asks worriedly, “You seem tired. You didn’t have to come over if you don’t feel well.”
Jongin couldn’t help but notice Kyungsoo appeared a bit less put together than usual. While he was still in the required library attire of a white button up and black pants, his shirt was no longer tucked in and slightly askew, his red hair was no longer as nicely styled up as it had been earlier, there was now pieces of hair sticking out in random direction, and his wide eyes seemed duller than usual.
“I’m fine,” Kyungsoo smiles at the younger hoping to reassure him, “Mentally exhausted but I’ll live, I promise.”
Kyungsoo sighs thinking back on all the work he had to cram in to get done before his shift ended after Jongin left the library. With all his slacking during the first part of his day, he essentially had to double his work after his break. It didn’t help that Kris worked the same hours as him today and brought up his plans with Jongin every chance he got. Even now, Kyungsoo could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket and was almost certain it would be a message from Kris asking something along the lines of how his “netflix&chill” date was going.
Jongin hums in response. He can tell by Kyungsoo’s tone that it is not a topic he wants to continue on.
“Are you hungry then? I don’t really cook but I think we have some ramen packs.”
Kyungsoo stares at Jongin unimpressed, but considering he is hungry and in no position to deny free food, he agrees to have the younger make them some cheap ramen.
“So where’s your roommate anyways?” Kyungsoo asks as he sits at the bar stool across from the sink Jongin is using to fill a pot with water.
“Cramming for a test with some classmates,” Jongin shrugs and places the pot on the stove, turning the dial to the highest setting so the water will boil faster.
“Do you usually invite people over when he’s gone?” Kyungsoo had been rather confused by the invitation. He knew from some of their late night text messages that it wasn’t unusual for Sehun to be gone for long hours into the night, but Jongin had never mentioned having other people over during those times.
“Um, no…” Jongin flushes and turns away from the stove and to face Kyungsoo again, “It’s just I… I watched a scary movie the other day when I was home alone and I was too scared to stay home by myself again tonight…”
A beat of silence hangs between them before Kyungsoo’s laughter fills the room.
“Are you serious?” Kyungsoo manages to get out in between his laughter, “You’re almost 22, Jongin.”
Jongin pouts. “If someone comes to kill us, I’m letting them get you first.”
Kyungsoo only smiles at the empty threat. He had been debating earlier if it was in his best interest to come over and is thankful he decided to. Kim Jongin is truly the best stress reliever.
“Promise?” Kyungsoo asks.
Jongin gapes at him and mutters incoherently under his breath. Kyungsoo laughs again.
“How cute.”
“I am not-”
“The pot is burning”
“-cute! ...What.”
Jongin turns back around to see that the pot was, indeed, burning. Apparently the heat from the stove was too much and the cheap appliance wasn’t resilient enough to handle it. Smoke was beginning to rise from the bottom of the pot and Jongin rushes to remove it from the heat and dump it into the sink.
Jongin looks up at Kyungsoo bashfully, “Me and Sehun should really invest in better kitchenware.”
Kyungsoo stares at him blankly before breaking out in laughter again.
“I can’t-t believe you-you managed to burn w-water.” Kyungsoo sounds like he’s wheezing from how hard he’s laughing.
Jongin’s bottom lip juts out but before he can retort, the smoke and smell of the burning pot gets to him and he coughs.
“Maybe we should go outside? It’ll let the room clear out quicker and the air out there is actually breathable.” Kyungsoo suggests, remembering the balcony from the tour of the apartment.
The outdoor balcony isn’t too large, there’s enough space for the small table and two chairs Sehun and Jongin had set out with room to comfortably walk around. Instead of sitting down Kyungsoo chooses to lean onto the railing. Luckily, the weather isn’t so harsh today and is bearable to stand in without jackets. Jongin’s apartment is close to the center of the city and on an upper floor of the building so the balcony provides a nice view of the city lights and cars in the darkening night.
They stand in silence for a short while as Jongin tries to mentally repair his dignity from screwing up ramen.
“Hey Jongin?” Kyungsoo breaks the silence. “Why were you so upset the first time we met?”
Jongin looks over to meet Kyungsoo’s stare and the latter notices his hesitation.
“You don’t have to tell me. It’s just been in the back of my mind since I’ve never seen you act like that again.” Kyungsoo says and rest his chin on his crossed arms on the railing.
He seems sincere, generally interested and not prying like many of the people around Jongin had been when he and Taemin had broken up. Jongin smiles to himself.
“Ah, it’s kinda a long story. I’ll… try to make it as simple as possible,” Jongin begins and Kyungsoo turns his attention back to him, turning his head so his cheek is now resting on his arms.
Kyungsoo nods and smiles encouragingly.
“I had broken up with my boyfriend- er actually he had broken up with me a few weeks before that. We hadn’t been together for too long, almost half a year, but I fell for him to fast. When we were together, I felt like my whole purpose was to make him happy,” he chuckles bitterly at the thought, “It was kinda… ridiculous the lengths I would go to. But I just really loved seeing the person I cared about smile and know that I did that.
“He told me when he broke up with my that he hardly ever saw me as anything more than a friend and that was a huge slap in the face.” He sighs and pauses for a moment. “I was basically a huge mess after that for about a week. I blamed the whole thing on myself and would tell myself I just needed to try harder, do more, and maybe I could convince him to love me. That obviously didn’t work. We’re okay now, I guess. Still friends but I doubt we’ll ever be as close as we used to be.
“The mess you found that day in the library was because I finally decided that I needed to get over him and over beating myself up about it.”
“I should have known you were a hopeless romantic,” is Kyungsoo’s reply. He’s not incredibly gifted in the “comforting people” area.
Jongin glares at him but there’s nothing menacing about it. He was honestly glad Kyungsoo had chosen humor rather than pitying him like his friends had. Kyungsoo chuckles and turns his head again so that his chin once again rests on his arms are he can see the city below.
“Don’t worry Jongin, you’ll find someone one day who’s willing to put up with all your antics. You’re a nice guy, I’m sure it won’t be hard for you to do.”
Jongin hums in response and mimics Kyungsoo’s position. They lapse into a comfortable silence and Jongin looks down out the street lights and passes cars for a while before turning his head to ask Kyungsoo a question.
He instantly forgets his question upon seeing the other boy. Despite admitting to being tired earlier, Kyungsoo looks so calm. He has a slight smile on his face as he looks down from the railing and the light from the moon and the city highlight his face perfectly. The wind had picked up a bit in the time they had been outside and delicately tousles Kyungsoo’s already messy hair.
A light, fluttering feeling consumes Jongin’s chest. He feels stunned, like he can’t look away or else the scene in front of him will fall apart forever. Kyungsoo must feel Jongin staring at him because he turns to face Jongin again. Instead of questioning him, Kyungsoo simply smiles a heart shaped smile and Jongin swears his heart stops.
They hold eye contact again like they had in the library earlier but something about this is different. The atmosphere is different. It is no longer the light, playful feeling that usually surrounds them, this felt much heavier and intimate. Nonetheless, Jongin still felt comfortable, like this was all too right.
It’s not until Jongin gets the sudden urge to reach out and touch Kyungsoo that he breaks himself away from the spell.
“We… We should probably go inside,” Jongin says quietly as he moves back from the railing. Kyungsoo agrees but Jongin doesn’t miss that he takes a moment to himself before trailing after Jongin.
As they re enter the apartment, but the fluttering feeling in Jongin’s chest doesn’t subside. Not when they finally settle down on the couch to watch movies (snacking on popcorn instead of testing their luck with the stove again). Not when Kyungsoo somehow ends up sitting close enough to Jongin that their thighs are touching. Definitely not when Kyungsoo dozes off for a short period of time with his head rested on Jongin’s shoulder.
By the time Kyungsoo decides it’s time for him to leave, it’s just before 2am and that pesky feeling still hasn’t gone away. Jongin walks Kyungsoo down to his car reminding the elder to text him when he gets home so he know he’s okay. He stands out in the cold for a few minutes after the lights of Kyungsoo’s car have disappeared trying to sort out his thoughts and what… this feeling was.
Jongin trudges back up to his empty apartment and sits back down on the couch still trying to understand why his chest felt so light despite the overwhelming heaviness he felt in his mind.
❄❄❄
Sehun returns to the apartment soon after to find a very childish looking Jongin curled up in the fetal position on the couch. He makes a mental note to hire a babysitter the next time he needs to stay out late.
❄❄❄
A few mornings later, Jongin finds himself accompanied to the library by an uncharacteristically eager Sehun who has a certain bounce in his step that Jongin usually doesn’t ever see other than before the former performs on stage.
Their trip is rather quiet but Jongin is hardly paying attention, too caught up in rethinking the night Kyungsoo had come over. He can’t help but feel something isn’t right anymore but can’t for the life of him pinpoint exactly where the strange feeling is coming from. He knows there are no problems with their friendship, the two had continued their regular library meetings everyday since then with no noticeable difference.
Except for that weird feeling. The same one he felt when they had stood out on the balcony with Kyungsoo. Ever since that night, anytime he was around the elder, that same light feeling in his chest would come back more intense each time. Even now, something began to stir in his chest as he replayed the scene of seeing Kyungsoo looking over the lights of the city in his head trying to comprehend the situation.
Before Jongin can elaborate much more on this, Sehun decides to break his silence.
“So where’s your man?” he whispers as he follows closely behind Jongin as they walk into the building.
“What?” Jongin replies, pulled from his daze and feeling utterly lost. In contrast to Sehun’s oddly cheerful mood, the elder is barely awake.
“That Kyungsoo guy you keep talking about. Where is he?” Sehun stops just before the stairs leading to the second floor and sweeps his gaze across the area trying to find someone who matched the description of the guy Jongin had been telling him about.
“Oh, Kyungsoo-hyung.” Jongin mumbles, not thinking much about Sehun’s wording or questions, “I don’t think he starts work for at least another hour.”
The younger of the two pouts but nods and follows Jongin as he leads them to his usual section.
While the original intention of their trip to the library was to study for an upcoming test in one of their shared classes, Jongin can’t help but notice Sehun is becoming less focused and increasingly fidgety as time goes by. He tries to ignore the other boy at first, writing it off as nothing entirely odd for Sehun, but finally snaps when the blonde bounce his leg impatiently and nearly jumps out of his seat every time someone walks anywhere in visible range of their table.
“If you’re not going to study then get the hell out so I can focus.”
Sehun lets out a groan, “Where is he? It’s been almost an hour and a half!”
“Who?” Jongin blinks confusedly. He didn’t know they were supposed to be meeting someone else.
“Kyungsoo!” the younger throws his hands up, “You said he would be here in an hour.”
Had he? Jongin only vaguely remembers Sehun asking about him when they walked in.
“He’s here but he’s working, Sehun. He as stuff to get done,” Jongin pauses, “Why does it matter to you anyways?”
“You talk about him so much, I want to meet him.”
“No,” Jongin replies flatly, “If you really want to, you can wait till he gets off work.”
Jongin can’t fathom why Sehun is so anxious to meet the older boy. Sure, he had brought up Kyungsoo to him on several occasions, but he didn’t think he had shared enough to be this intent on meeting him.
“But you bother him all the time when he’s working! Why can’t I go meet him?” Jongin tries not to roll his eyes as the other begins to whine.
“Because he’s my friend, I don’t want you to scare him away. And I do not bother him.”
In all honesty, Jongin has nothing against Sehun and Kyungsoo meeting. He’s certain the two will get along well, but the uncertain feeling he’s had since they arrived has him wondering if he can even see Kyungsoo right now.
“I’m sure you do- OHMYGOD IS THAT HIM!?” Sehun actually jumps out of his seat this time and points a finger at a very startled Kyungsoo.
Shit.
The librarian’s eyes are almost humorously wide now as he looks back and forth between the stranger who had yelled at him- attracting the attention of half the library in the process- and a now wide awake and very horrified looking Jongin.
Kyungsoo moves cautiously towards them, although he’s trying not to startle an animal by moving too quickly.
“Hi Jongin and…” his eyes move to Sehun who is still standing and smiling happily at him.
“Sehun,” said boy responds and Kyungsoo noticeably relaxes, “Nice to finally meet you. Jongin talks about you all the time.”
At this, Sehun receives a kick to side of his leg from Jongin whose muttered ‘no I don’t’ is covered up by the sound of Sehun whining at the cruel treatment.
“So you’re Sehun. That explains a lot.”
Sehun’s expression immediately falls. “What have you been telling him about me?” he directs at Jongin.
Jongin smiles slightly, his previous worries all but forgotten. “Nothing but the truth.”
The blonde purses his lips. “Some best friend you are,” he mutters. Then turning to face Kyungsoo again. “Anyways, Kyungsoo, are you busy tomorrow night?”
“I’m not,” Kyungsoo replies slowly, going back to being slightly apprehensive.
What the hell? Jongin immediately feels defensive. Why did Sehun need to know what Kyungsoo was doing tomorrow? They just met, there was no reason for him to be asking Kyungsoo anything. And why did Kyungsoo actually answer him? He didn’t even want to be friends with Jongin when they first met.
“Great! We’re having a movie night at our apartment with a few other friends. You should come over too.”
Jongin pales. He loves his friends to death and they are- usually- great people, but he isn’t sure he’s ready to bring Kyungsoo into that mess. Considering the older boy had some serious reservations upon meeting him and now Sehun, throwing him in with those mishaps could end very badly.
“Sehun, I don’t think-”
“Sounds like fun. What time should I be there?” Kyungsoo disregards Jongin’s worries and the latter gapes at him.
“Around 8? I assume you know how to get there.” Sehun gives Jongin a knowing look that he doesn’t quite understand and begins to gather the papers he was pretending to study.
“Wait, where are you going now?” Jongin asks desperately. His previous concerns come slamming back into him and his anxiety rises at the prospect of being completely alone with Kyungsoo.
“My work here is done and I think it would be better if I didn’t hang around this,” he gestures vaguely, “ for much longer. See you two tomorrow.”
And with that Sehun unceremoniously throws his bag over his shoulder and leaves the table.
Jongin waits a moment before turning to Kyungsoo, expecting the worst and ready to apologize for everything he’s already had to put his poor hyung through. To his surprise, Kyungsoo smiles at him. One of those rare smiles Jongin has only seen on a few occasions where his eyes almost disappear and his mouth curves up into a beautiful heart shape.
“You and your friends sure do know how to make a memorable impression.” Kyungsoo laughs lightly.
Jongin looks away, feeling the heat rise in his face. “Sorry about him, I should have know better than to take him out in public. And you don’t have to feel obligated to come over just because Sehun asked you. If you don’t want to go, I can tell them you were busy or something came up.”
The shorter boy laughs again, much to Jongin’s dismay, and moves to sit at the table.
“It’s fine. I have a feeling it’s going to be an interesting night.”
❄❄❄
“Sehun, we need to talk.” Jongin states seriously as he enters their kitchen.
Sehun sets down the glass he was drinking out of. “That phrase never begins a good conversation. Are you breaking up with me?”
Jongin blinks, temporarily distracted from his serious state, “We’re not even dating.”
“Thank God.”
“Is it too much to ask you to be serious for two minutes?” Jongin whines.
Sehun rolls his eyes. “Sure. You got two minutes starting… now. Go.”
“IthinkIlikeKyungsoohyung,” Jongin rushes out.
“In a language I can understand please,” Sehun rubs his temples. So much for being serious.
Jongin takes a deep breath to calm himself.
“I-I think I like Kyungsoo-hyung,” he says with shaky confidence.
Sehun looks unimpressed, “Yeah. I know.”
“What do you mean you know!?”
Jongin had spent the last three hours since his last class ended sitting in room thinking until he finally came to terms that he did have somewhat of a crush on Kyungsoo. To say he had been freaking out about telling his best friend about it was an understatement. He had been pacing around his room anticipating what he would tell Sehun and waiting for him to come back home. Needless to say, with all of that planning, he hadn’t expected Sehun to respond this way.
“It was pretty obvious from the way you would talk about him and how much time you spend with him. I only met him today but it wasn’t hard to notice that even the way you look at him is special,” he pauses for a moment to debate his next sentence, “You didn’t even look at Taemin that way.”
Jongin blushes slightly, “I didn’t feel this way with Taemin… I think I was only in love with the idea of what our relationship could have been.”
This realization had come as a surprise to Jongin earlier. He was well aware that his feelings for Kyungsoo were much different than how he ever felt for Taemin. He was sure he cared about Taemin deeply is some way, probably just as a friend, but it was nothing compared to the intensity he felt around Kyungsoo. He wouldn’t say he was in love with Kyungsoo, it was far too early for anything like that, but he was certain he felt drawn to the older boy and longed to be around him more. He wanted to mean something to Kyungsoo. Badly.
“So you like him, he likes you. What’s the problem here?” Sehun asks.
“I just realized how I feel and now he’s going to be here in,” he checks the clock on his phone, “less than two hours and I’m not at all ready for this.”
“Sure you are!” Sehun encourages although he isn’t actually positive the other will be fine, “Just because you feel a little different doesn’t mean that anything is different. He still the same person, your friendship hasn’t changed, it’ll be just like any other day you two are together.”
Jongin whines in response, not fully convinced.
Sehun pats him on the shoulder as he walks out of the kitchen, “I tried. And your two minutes are up so I suggest you go figure out what you’re going to with yourself before he gets here.”
❄❄❄
Kyungsoo ends up being the last one to show up to Sehun and Jongin’s apartment. By the time he arrives their other friends, Luhan, Tao, and Jongdae, are already situated in the living room and debating over what movies to watch.
Jongin had done a fairly decent job of calming himself before Kyungsoo arrived but as soon as he opens the front door and sees the elder, all his nerves come crashing back down on him. This results in him staring blankly at Kyungsoo for a few moments as he attempts to compose himself before.
“Are you going to let me in?” Kyungsoo chuckles as Jongin continues to stand motionless in the doorway.
“Sorry!” He steps aside to make room for Kyungsoo to enter.
Jongin trails behind Kyungsoo as he makes his way into the living room. He introduces him to the rest of his friends who all give Jongin suggestive looks because Sehun has a loud mouth and ‘there are no secrets in a group of friends’. Although they had all promised to “behave themselves”, Luhan immediately coos at the newcomer and tells him how cute he is. Kyungsoo glares at him but greets them all politely nonetheless.
Kyungsoo ends up sitting between Jongin and Luhan on the couch, at the request of the latter who was still trying to fawn over Kyungsoo with no avail, Jongdae sits in the armchair to the left of the couch, and Tao and Sehun sit cross-legged on the floor to the right of the couch still arguing over two movies.
“Sorry I was late, I had to stay behind to help Kris-hyung with something,” Kyungsoo says.
“It’s fine,” Jongin says but feels himself quickly losing confidence in himself again. How the hell did he forget about the little unresolved issue with Kris?
“Kris? Wasn’t that your roommate last year, Tao?” Jongdae asks Tao, having picked up on Kyungsoo’s apology.
“Yeah,” Tao replies, “So tell me, has Kris worked up the confidence to ask that Junmyeon guy out yet?” he leans slightly towards Kyungsoo in interest.
“No. He keeps pushing it off saying ‘it’s too soon’ or he can’t be sure Junmyeon likes him too,” Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, “It’s incredibly annoying, I swear I’m just going to lock them in the back room one of these days. Damn hypocrite.”
Tao laughs at Kyungsoo’s sudden outburst from his calm facade and Jongin feels an immediate rush of relief that this problem managed to work itself out.
“And what makes him a hypocrite?” Sehun asks innocently.
Kyungsoo’s eyes widen for a split second before he dismisses the question and asks what movie they’re supposed to be watching.
❄❄❄
Tao and Sehun end up deciding on an comedy Jongin had seen before and, therefore, tends to lose focus on as time goes on. Jongdae is throwing in random comments here and there making their friends and even Kyungsoo laugh at times but Jongin doesn’t hear most of it.
Because he is Kim Jongin and Kim Jongin thinks too much for his own good, he is currently wrapped up in his thoughts. Too consumed in the fact that Kyungsoo was here and so close to make much sense of anything else around him.
Before he realizes it, the first movie has ended and Sehun is moving to pop in the action movie Tao had shot down.
“Are you okay?” Kyungsoo whispers with concern laced in his voice and evident in his eyes.
Jongin nods and tries to reassure the older with a smile. “How are you managing?” he whispers back.
“Fine. I think your friend finally took a hint,” Kyungsoo gestures to a very putout looking Luhan and Jongin smiles for real this time.
“Hey! What did I say about no secrets between friends,” Sehun yells and all eyes direct themselves to Kyungsoo and Jongin.
“Would you like to share with the rest of us?” Jongdae asks, attempting to mimic a teacher’s voice.
“I asked him how he was able to survive putting up with you all for this long,” Jongin answers.
“Can we get food?” Tao suddenly asks.
“That sounds like a great idea,” Sehun says, “Why don’t you, me, Jongdae, and Luhan go and Jongin and Kyungsoo can stay here to guard the apartment.”
“Why can’t I stay too?” Luhan whines.
Jongdae shoots him a look that Kyungsoo misses but Jongin reads loud and clear.
“Oh. Ah, never mind I want to go too,” Luhan says quickly.
“Guys I don’t think-” Jongin starts
“Too late. It’s been decided. Let’s go,” Sehun interrupts.
And just like that Jongin and Kyungsoo are left alone in the now eerily quiet apartment.
“That was weird…” Kyungsoo says.
“Not for them,” Jongin replies. He is trying his best to remain calm while mentally cursing out each of his best friends.
Silence engulfs them and Jongin racks his brain for something to talk about to fill the silence without being awkward. Funny how conversation usually flowed so easily between the two but now it felt like there was nothing in the world to bring up. It was uncomfortable. That kind of suffocating silence where you know something is hanging in the air, except Jongin isn’t sure what the hell it is.
This wasn’t like them at all and Jongin decides saying anything is better than staying quiet and letting the silence drone on.
“Hyung-” But the words die on his lips as soon as he looks at Kyungsoo.
Kyungsoo is already staring at him when he turns to him, and by the surprised look in his eyes when their eyes meet, Jongin can tell he had been staring for a while. The former blushes slightly but doesn’t look away, instead locks eye contact with Jongin. The look in Kyungsoo’s eyes is intense but still warm, Jongin feels like he could drown in them if he looks for too long.
He’s not entirely sure where to go from here or what Kyungsoo is trying to tell him with this, but as the fluttering feeling in his chest returns, he figures fuck it. Thinking so much hadn’t gotten him anywhere good anyways.
“Hyung,” He repeats again, sounding more sure of himself.
“Hmm?”
“I like you, hyung. So much,” He takes a deep breath, “So much that I don’t know what to do anymore.”
The corners of Kyungsoo’s mouth lift and before Jongin can register what is happening, warm lips press against his. They’re soft and the kiss is chaste but Jongin can feel the amount of emotion behind it.
They break apart momentarily and Jongin admires how Kyungsoo’s eyes flutter open. Jongin lifts his hand to cup Kyungsoo’s cheek and rubs his thumb across his cheekbone, smiling fondly at the older. He feels overwhelmingly secure here and the fluttering in his chest spreads a warm feeling throughout his body. He should have done this a long time ago.
“I knew this would be an interesting night,” Kyungsoo smiles and leans back in.