(for eijihood) How To Forget Something That Never Was
For: eijihood
Title: How To Forget Something That Never Was
Pairings: Kai/D.O.
Rating: G (with minor language)
Word Count: 9,484
Warnings: offscreen violence, major character death
Summary: Kyungsoo thinks he knows a lot, until Jongin proves him wrong.
Author’s Note: never read romeo and juliet, but i hope i captured the gist
Sitting on his desk chair, Kyungsoo stares at the mountainous pile of paper against paper on his desk. He glances at the small alarm clock on his bed's end table and sighs when the red digital lines forms a "1:23 AM". The weight on his eyelids is steadily growing and Kyungsoo raises a hand to his face to rub on his eyes. 'Damn it', Kyungsoo thought. He had more papers to do and he knows if he doesn't finish these now it'll pile up with the new papers coming in the next day(or rather later).
Kyungsoo then finds his eyes back on the papers, his hand's grip on the pen tight as he goes over every detail of the upcoming party the school committee was asked to set up for their Soccer Team. He finds it rather pointless, because the school assumes their team would win and decided to throw the party weeks before the match itself. Now, if it was a Good Luck For The Match kind of party Kyungsoo would accept, but the principal specially stated "Congratulation Party" when he was briefed. Kyungsoo knows better than to question the adults with their decision though, so he does just what he's supposed to do ; all the work.
After a while, he decides he's contented with everything and smiles at the neatly stacked papers on his desk. He glances at the clock; 2:45. Kyungsoo raises his hands up as his mouth opens widely for a yawn, before blindly grabbing his phone.
TIME: 3PM
VENUE: Joonmyun hyung's pizza restaurant ( I already booked it
DATE: THIS SATURDAY
This is it. Confirmed and Set. Have a good night.
He scrolls through his contacts, selecting Byun Baekhyun's name once he finds it. Byun Baekhyun is Kyungsoo's right hand and since Baekhyun confidently says that he is Kyungsoo's best friend, Kyungsoo guesses that makes Baekhyun his best friend too.
To: Prez Soo
From: Baekhyun
"Hyung, 4am"
To: Byun Baekhyun
From: Kyungsoo
"Sleeping. See you tomorrow"
Later that morning, Kyungsoo drowns himself in caffeine and as usual, it works like a charm. He passes by Gong-il, the only other high school in their town on his way to school, his eyes watching as the students enter the premises,carrying evident sloppiness on their backs. A particular boy catches his eyes, but he bets the said boy would catch anyones eye in an instant ; what with his messy black hair, untucked uniform and tall figure. The bus pulls away from the school and Kyungsoo breaks his gaze, staring forward instead.
Today, he's the first person to arrive in their class once again. Kyungsoo glances up at the wall clock and decides to catch up with his reading as he waits for class to start.
"Morning" Yawns Baekhyun as he slides himself to the seat right beside Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo returns the greeting and starts talking about the agenda of their meeting later today. Baekhyun then pushes the bit-on bread in his hand against Kyungsoo's lips to stop the words coming out.
Kyungsoo blinks.
Baekhyun pushes the bread more against the older male's lips.
Kyungsoo opens his mouth and bites a tiny piece from it.
"Good," Baekhyun says, nodding his head "Keep munching and be quiet. It's too early" He added, pulling the bread back to him and biting on it.
When classes ended that day, Kyungsoo makes his way to the room specifically designed for student councillors. He sits on a chair with a desk that has a "President" card written out boldly as it sat on top of the table. He goes through every single detail of the upcoming party once again as he waits for the other members to arrive.
And one by one they do; sitting themselves in their respective seats -- and of course, as Kyungsoo's right hand, Baekhyun literally sits on the chair on Kyungsoo's right ( he refuses the left seat when offered ).
They start their meeting and Kyungsoo jots down everything that he thinks is important. Like the arrangements of everything, the possibility of it failing -- no, Kyungsoo can't have that. He was given this task, hence, it should be prepared perfectly and it should come out perfectly.
"If no one else opposes to the said date and time, then, I'll end this meeting to present this to the principal" Kyungsoo concluded,at which everyone nods their heads.
He dismisses them all at once and Kyungsoo doesn't even see them disappear because his head his bowed down to look at the papers once again.
"Hyung" Baekhyun calls out, looking at the older male.
Kyungsoo looks up.
"Did you get any sleep at all?"
Kyungsoo nods his head and looks down at the papers again.
Baekhyun heaves out a sigh. "You're a lost case, Hyung. I'll see you around"
Kyungsoo hears the shut of the classroom's door and he finally lets himself sink back onto the seat, leaning his back with his head thrown back too. He closes his eyes and brings a hand to massage his face. He is aware he takes much of these things way too seriously ; but the adults trust him and deems him responsible and he can't break their trust.
After a successful meeting with the principal, Kyungsoo makes his way back home. It's a quarter after 7 PM and he's tired, so the moment he gets home and the soft texture of his mattress collides with his skin; Kyungsoo feels the cobwebs of sleep dawning in and this time, he doesn't fight it.
-
Flash forward to that Saturday and Kyungsoo finds himself standing in the middle of the actual form of his plans. He smiles contentedly to himself and when Baekhyun shows up to congratulate him, he takes his best friend's advice for once and loosens his knots, willing himself to enjoy the party like a normal high school boy would.
With a punch in his hand, Kyungsoo nods his head in greeting to those who smiles his way. He sits himself on one of the tall chairs, finally resting the muscles of his mouth because he's been faking a smile for far too long.
"This is kind of -- okay, a lot pointless of a party don't you think?" A voice, one he's never heard before, breaks the silence in his mind. "How can the school already assume the team would win? most of our town's population heard of this small pre-game congratulation party, so imagine how that would affect the school's image if the team doesn't win?"
Kyungsoo could only stare at the boy talking. It's like this stranger was reading his mind ; only difference is, he won't dare say it out like this boy does. Kyungsoo's eyes take their time to familiarize with the male in front of him. He swear he's seen him before but he can't seem to put a finger to it. His hair is evidently dyed blonde which told Kyungsoo that he's no where near a legitimate foreigner.
"Are you even allowed to dye your hair blonde?" Is the first thing that slips pass Kyungsoo's lips. The stranger laughs, to which Kyungsoo furrows his brows at and adds "What's your name? and class?"
"name? is this how you flirt, prez?"
Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. "No, it's how I get to know the students."
"Intros are no fun. It's more interesting making people earn names" The blonde haired stranger retorts.
Kyungsoo isn't taking any of it, though. "Your name and class, please. or I would have to report you for dying your hair."
The boy laughs, way too loud then finally says "I love it when you talk dirty. My name's just Kai. My class is unnecessary. You'll find it out during the soccer game, or maybe soon. I don't know"
Kyungsoo lost count at how many times he's rolled his eyes at him. Kai. What an unusual name, Kyungsoo thinks. He's been the school council president for two years now and he's read the class list more than couple of hundred times but he doesn't remember coming across that name. Must be a new student.
"Okay, Just Kai" Kyungsoo meets his eyes, nodding his head once "The school does not tolerate any kind of coloring chemicals on your hair so you better dye it back to black if you don't want a hundred days of detention. You should've known that! it's in your handbook"
"But I look good with it" Kai retorts once again, running a hand through his hair as he smirks.
"Yes, yes. If you want to keep it transfer to Gong-Il. They tolerate those things like the low lives they are"
"Fine" Kai just lets out a tiny laugh. He sits himself on the chair opposite Kyungsoo before taking out his phone. "So I followed .. following, two of your orders, so to be fair, it's right and just that you follow one of mine too"
Kyungsoo raises a brow. "What?"
"Your phone number" Kai looks at him, sliding his phone towards Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo scoffs. "For scientific purposes" Kai adds.
"For scientific purposes?"
"For scientific purposes."
Kyungsoo jots his actual phone number into Kai's phone. As the president it's his duty to help other students as much as he could, and in this day and age, mobile phones is the most efficient way to do that.
As he finishes, Baekhyun runs up towards their table, panting slightly and hair disheveled. Kyungsoo asks for what happened.
"a group of teenage boys attacked our students who were outside with eggs. One of our student saw one wearing the gong-il uniform"
Kyungsoo's ears perks at the mention of the rivaling school. He stands up from his chair "I thought i specifically asked for our school IDs before letting people in?!"
"outside, hyung" Baekhyun reminds, still trying to catch his breath "They seized us from the outside. they threw eggs at the students from the other side of the fence, trampled the decorations they could reach!"
Kai looks at Kyungsoo and Baekhyun with much amusement.
One might think Baekhyun is exaggerating with his reactions, but there's been this on going war against the two neighborhood schools for as long as Kyungsoo could remember.
And it seems like tonight, their school was at the losing end.
"Keep everyone inside, the soccer players especially. Are there any injuries?"
"No, hyung" Baekhyun reports. "But the outside is pretty badly damage"
"Alright. Keep everyone inside, that includes you, Kai -" Kyungsoo gets cut off when he turns and sees an empty seat, air replacing where Kai once was. He has no time to think of where he must have gone and turns his attention back to Baekhyun. Kyungsoo gives clear instruction and just when Kyungsoo turns around to head for the door, the whole venue's light switches off.
Girls shrieks at every direction and Kyungsoo's eyes takes a bit amount of time to adjust to the darkness. muttering and whimpering could be heard almost everywhere and it's messing with Kyungsoo's head.
He hears glass breaking from the direction of the punch bowl.
Shrieks, after shrieks after shrieks.
then, the light switches back on.
Confusion etches on everyone's face including his own.
"is anyone hurt?!" Kyungsoo yells out. and he could hear Baekhyun's voice asking the same from the other side of the building. When no hurt individuals presents themselves, Kyungsoo sighs in relief.
"please stay away from the broken pieces of glass" Kyungsoo instructs to everyone carefully.
Baekhyun helps escort the students out of the venue. Bad timing to have no actual adults around.
Once there were only him, Baekhyun and a couple of students from the committee who volunteered to stay and clean, Kyungsoo looks around and takes in the casualties.
"hyung, will the school do anything about this?" Baekhyun asks, piling up the trash inside a black bag.
Kyungsoo just shrugs. He doubts it, really. That was the bad thing about their school. Always depending on the student committee.
So the party ended like that. Kyungsoo apologizes a hundred billion times to Joonmyun for wrecking the restaurant. The Senior just shakes his head; "It's not your fault, Kyungsoo. Don't worry about it"
Kyungsoo doesn't listen though and instead promises that he'll do his best to fix what's needed to be fixed.
Baekhyun and Kyungsoo were the last to leave the restaurant. Their houses were on the same way so they walk home together at 7 in the evening.
"Hey, Do you know anyone named Kai in our school?" Kyungsoo asks, hands gripping on each of his bag's strap.
"No, not really." Baekhyun replies "That's a weird name."
It is. Kyungsoo thought. "Do we have a new transfer student?"
Baekhyun thinks for awhile before answering "Not that Im aware of. It's pretty rare to have someone transfer at this time of the year"
Kyungsoo thought so too.
-
The next day Kyungsoo (im)patiently waits for Kai's message to arrive in his phone.
but it never did.
He's worried. Kai just disappeared on him yesterday night without saying anything. Did he get hurt?
He fell asleep with his phone clutched in his hand.
-
Mondays were usually a day Kyungsoo dreaded the most, but this time, he was eager on going to school.
As soon as he did, he went straight into the student's files - he started on the class list for his year, and the year before him, then the last senior year. Kyungsoo thinks Kai looks far too old to be in the classes 3 years below his so he didn't bother.
His search was to no avail.
He sits on the floor of the office. Has he gone crazy? Was the stress finally catching up to him? Was Kai a ghost? He could be a ghost.. he was far too beautiful to be a human.
Kyungsoo pushes himself off of the floor and concludes his search. He reminds himself not to think of Kai again, and does a successful job in it until later that day when he receives a message from an unsaved number.
"Ever read Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murukami?" The message read and it's signed with "Kai" at the bottom and when Kyungsoo reads the name, his eyes double in their size and he replies immediately.
To: Kai
From: Kyungsoo
sent: 4:51PM
What the hell? are you messaging me from the beyond? Are you at school?
and no, it's for girls. that novel.
To: Kyungsoo
From: Kai
sent: 4:52PM
Yes, prez. I'm at school. Oh pity. I'm gay, though, so I read it. You should too. It's a pretty nice novel.
Kyungsoo feels a slight blush at the confession. He wasn't sure if he's actually serious. Kyungsoo leans against the chair, leg crossed on top of the other and he contemplates on how to reply.
To: Kai
From: Kyungsoo
sent: 5:12
good for you. where abouts in the school are you and what's your last name?
To: Kyungsoo
From: Kai
sent: 5:13
cat got your tongue with my confession, huh? last name? seriously, OMG! Stop flirting with me!!
To: Kai
From: Kyungsoo
sent: 5:15
I was simply busy, that's all. And I'm glad for you, you're all set with your orientation. And just as you got my number for scientific purposes, I also require your last name for the same purpose.
Kai refuses to answer the question and he does a good job in stalling Kyungsoo away from it too. Kyungsoo spends the rest of the bus ride home on his phone, exchanging messages with Kai.
-
Tuesday evening when he's on his bed scrolling through his laptop, his phone vibrates. Kai's name flashes on the caller id and he panics a little. Kyungsoo coughs out his voice before answering "What?"
"Stop showing so much enthusiasm in hearing my voice again, gosh" Kai teases, and Kyungsoo could hear the smile on Kai's voice.
"Ha-ha"
"I like you too." Kai says. Kyungsoo could see him grinning and his hands wanted nothing else but to wipe it off his face.
"What do you want?"
"Why do you sound so mean when we're vocally talking but so lovely when we're texting?"
Kyungsoo remains silent before sighing. "Won't answer till you tell me what's your last name. why don't I ever see you in school?"
"do you want to see me that badly?" Kai asks.
"for scientific purposes."
Kai chuckles on the other line and the corner of Kyungsoo's lips curves up into a smile, too.
"The starbucks by Song-il Highschool. this thursday. right after school"
"but I have duties"
"skip it"
"I can't"
"I'll wait for you. Goodnight"
and before Kyungsoo could even say anything else in return, Kai already hung up.
-
As they exchanged messages to and fro the next few days, Kyungsoo finds out more about Kai. Somewhere in the way Kyungsoo gave up on asking for his last name. He still has been keeping his eyes out at school for him, though, but he never does see him.
Thursday morning when he wakes up he sees a couple of new messages in his phone; A few from his friends that Kyungsoo can't really be bothered about and one from Kai.
To: Kyungsoo
From: Kai
Sent: 6:01AM
See you today after school. I'll be waiting.
To: Kai
From: Kyungsoo
Sent: 6:45AM
Okay.
To: Kyungsoo
From: Kai
Sent: 6:51AM
STOP FLIRTING WITH ME, OMFG!
Kyungsoo chuckles as he reads the text. He doesn't reply, though and wills himself to focus on preparing for school.
For the rest of the day spent in school Kyungsoo keeps glancing at the watch, and for the first time in forever when he's called up to answer something, Kyungsoo can't.
Baekhyun glances at him, brows furrowed. "That's new"
Kyungsoo turns his head, tilting it in confusion "What is?"
"What happened just now. are you finally over working yourself?"
"No," Kyungsoo chuckles. "I'm human, too"
Baekhyun is skeptical with the answer he receives.
"Oh yeah, could you lead the meeting after school today? I have something I need to attend to. Please"
Baekhyun is no less than astonished at the request. "Who are you? Unable to answer something and then now, skipping committee work?"
Kyungsoo pouts slightly.
"Fine" Baekhyun sighs.
-
When the last bell of the day finally rings, Kyungsoo is quick to jump out of his seat ( his desk was already fixed prior to the bell ) and rush out of the door. Baekhyun watches him from the window of their classroom as he rushes out of the school premises.
Kyungsoo takes a sharp intake of breath before he steps into the assigned venue for their rendezvous. He scans the room, sighing when he sees no sign of Kai. Was he stupid enough to actually believe he'll meet with him?
Just as he turns around to walk out, he comes face to face with the blonde haired boy. Kai's hands were on his shoulders to stop him from falling. Kyungsoo steps away and tries his best to stop the heating of his cheeks.
"were you going to leave without seeing me?" Kai asks. His voice sounded way better in person than over the phone.
"you took too long" Kyungsoo replies, not even trying to mask the annoyance in his voice.
"The school bell just rang"
Kyungsoo doesn't answer.
Kai chuckles and Kyungsoo really, really tries his best not to blush because Kai's voice sounds so good to his ears.
Kyungsoo then finds himself seated across Kai, coincidentally they ordered the same drink; a caramel frappuccino. Kai teases about it another sign for them to be together and Kyungsoo just rolls his eyes at him.
"Why aren't you wearing the school uniform?" Kyungsoo asks, looking down at the long sleeve shirt the other was wearing.
"because I didn't go to school"
"do you skip school a lot?" It was something Kyungsoo had been wanting to ask him. He threads on the words very carefully though, because he really doesn't appreciate receiving no answers to his questions.
He receives a shrug from the blonde haired boy. Kyungsoo sighs inwardly, keeping quiet instead because he knows better than to question the boy again.
Kyungsoo could see Kai staring at him with a smile on his face through thick lashes of his own. Lifting his head up to stare at him, he smiles back in silence.
The two talk about things, Kyungsoo slowly grows comfortable around the boy and he wishes he could say the same for Kai confidently. There seemed to be something holding Kai back, and Kyungsoo wants to know what it is -- but then again knows better than to pry.
An hour later, Kai decides on walking Kyungsoo back to his house. Half of the walk was silence illuminating the two boys and Kyungsoo sometimes struggles to catch up with Kai's pace.
And Kyungsoo thinks it's a perfect metaphor for his thoughts ; once he thinks he knows Kai well enough, the blonde boy would always take a step away from him.
They arrive in front of Kyungsoo's house an hour later.
Kai smiles at him. "See you"
"At school?" Kyungsoo asks, looking at him with no sign of mirth on his face.
Kai doesn't answer and just smiles. "Go in"
Kyungsoo's about to say something when he hears Baekhyun calling his name. He turns to the direction of the voice and smiles. Kai's head turns too.
Baekhyun stands beside Kyungsoo and looks at Kai. "I know who you are." Baekhyun says, and Kyungsoo looks at him with a puzzled expression. Baekhyun's voice was sharp, a tone that Kyungsoo hasn't heard from him before.
Kai raises a brow at Baekhyun in amusement. Then he looks at Kyungsoo. "See you"
Kyungsoo nods his head and watches Kai's retreating back. He wanted for him to stay a little bit more, but the look on Baekhyun's face tells him that wasn't a wise thing to do.
"Why are you with him?" Baekhyun asks, looking at Kyungsoo with eyes reflecting something Kyungsoo can't quite grasp.
He looks at Kai turning the corner before answering, "I can't have friends of my own?"
"Not with him, you can't -- do you even know him?"
"I know him well enough to know he's a good person"
Baekhyun looks at him in disbelief. "do you really not know?"
Kyungsoo shakes his head. "What is there to know?"
"You'll find out during the soccer game"
Kyungsoo spends the rest of the evening reading through his messages with Kai. Thoughts about who the boy really was bombarded his mind, and no matter how much he tried, his thoughts never seems to fall into place.
-
For a few days after that incident, no messages from kai arrived. Kyungsoo was close to giving up on expecting any ; and he's far too prideful to actually send a text message back himself.
It's at 9:30 in a Saturday evening when his phone rings. It's Kai. Kyungsoo waits for his phone to ring a couple of times before he picks it up. "Hello?"
"Do Kyungsoo" Kai speaks with his low voice and the way he does makes Kyungsoo's heart skip a beat. "Can you meet me by the playground in front of your house?"
Kyungsoo mutters a hesitant sure before he hangs up. It was easy to sneak out of their house, since his parents were heavy sleepers.
The night was cold, so Kyungsoo wraps his small frame in a knitted jacket. When he arrives in the playground, Kai was already there, sitting on the swing with his back hunched. He raises his head and smiles at Kyungsoo.
Kyungsoo smiles back. He suddenly feels all kind of awkward. He hasn't seen Kai in a few days nor has he talked to him.
"So did that Baekhyun boy finally tell you about me?" Kai asked, voice soft and Kyungsoo swears he hears Kai's voice shaking.
Kyungsoo shakes his head. "He told me the same thing you told me. That I'll know during the soccer match -- you're not secretly the new coach are you? 'cause that's going to be really awkward"
"No, no" Kai chuckles and Kyungsoo does too, he's missed that sound so much.
The laughter dies off and a question sits at the tip of Kyungsoo's tongue. He's afraid of asking; afraid of the answer he's going to receive. but it was now or never.
"Is Kai.." A pause to breath. "your real name?"
Kai turns his head to look at him. Kyungsoo meets his eyes. A hint of a smile appears on Kai's lips, and Kyungsoo already somehow got his answer.
"What's your real name?" Kyungsoo's voice shakes, and he's sure it's not because of the chilly air.
"Can i kiss you once?" Kai asks back, and it takes Kyungsoo in surprise.
"Your real name" Kyungsoo reminds, standing his ground. Kai's making his way slowly towards him and he knows he should walk away, but he doesn't want to.
Before he knows it, he feels the warmth of Kai's lips against his own and he welcomes it with much of him. A hand snakes around his waist as Kai slowly puts more passion into their kiss.
They pull away, both breathless and he hears Kai laughing lightly. He raises a fist to thump on the tan boy's chest. "That was uncalled for!" Kyungsoo whines, looking down to try to hide the blush on his cheeks.
"I just had to try that once" Kai mutters in a whisper. Kyungsoo could feel him looking down at him. Garnering what's left of his courage, Kyungsoo looks up too. Their eyes lock, and the soft smile on Kai's face washes all of Kyungsoo's nervousness away.
until the boy speaks again.
"I'm Kim Jongin" Kai confesses, and with every word uttered he takes a small step away from the older male.
Kyungsoo's hand clenches in disbelief. He knows who Kim Jongin is. The name was often mentioned in school council meetings. He really didn't pay much attention to it though. But he knows well that bad records came with the said name. "Gong...il Highschool's Kim Jongin..." Kyungsoo breathes out, slowly. He doesn't know how he should react. Should he be mad? Should he run away? He curses himself mentally. He should run away but his feet refuses to abide his mind's orders, so he stares at him, eyes wider than his norm.
There's a small smile on Jongin's face as he nods his head, and that smile is the mere cause of Kyungsoo's confusion.
"Did you.. were you .." Kyungsoo tries so hard to put words into his mind's thoughts, but it's proving so hard to do so because he felt all kinds of things.
"was I a member of those who sabotaged the party?" Kai asks, putting the words into Kyungsoo's thoughts instead.
Kyungsoo didn't want an answer. But Jongin mutters a 'yes' and Kyungsoo suddenly feels like crying for a reason he can't comprehend. He tries to fight back his tears though. Everything was going so well, with him .. and Kai -- no, Jongin.
But of course, life always just isn't fair.
"you're an asshole!" Kyungsoo finally snaps. He feels the tears falling from his eyes as he charges towards Jongin, hitting his fist on the blonde boy's chest. "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you" Kyungsoo sobs. "you fucking tricked me, you're horrible, you made me think I could actually trust you!"
Jongin just lets him be, flinching every now and then when Kyungsoo hits too hard at certain parts.
After awhile, Kyungsoo's punches dwindles in strength and what's left is a sobbing male with his head bowed down.
Kyungsoo feels the same arms wrap around his waist, pulling him closer to his chest.
"stop," Kyungsoo whispers, his hand clutching on the boy's shirt tightly. Jongin doesn't pull away though. "stop making me fall for you. please." There's a sheer tone in Kyungsoo's voice that swallows Jongin up.
"Fall for me. I'll give my all to catch you"
It's unfair. It's unfair how Kyungsoo didn't see it coming. Jongin was slowly taking over his heart in just a span of days and Kyungsoo was so stupid to not stop it before it got worse. At the words he hears from Jongin, Kyungsoo loosens his grip on the other male's shirt. He could feel his heart beating fast as he finally relaxes his head on the boy's chest.
Kyungsoo and Jongin spends the next few hours under a tree on the same park. He's skin to skin with Jongin, looking up at the starry night. He never really realized just how much stars they were able to see from Seoul until tonight.
He could feel Jongin squeeze his hands and he looks down at their intwined hands before looking at him, tilting his head slightly with a confused expression on his face.
"What's your relationship with Baekhyun?" Jongin asks.
"He's a friend" Kyungsoo answers with a small voice. He stares up at the stars for a little bit more until he feels Jongin's eyes on him and he switches his gaze. A smile stretches across Kyungsoo's face.
"Just a friend?" Jongin confirms, there's a subtle jealousy in his voice that he can't hide. Ever since he left Kyungsoo and Baekhyun that one time he's had this unbelievable gut-wrenching jealousy in his stomach ; ofcourse initially he had denied the fact, but soon it felt too real, especially when he finds the mere thought of Baekhyun and Kyungsoo painful.
Kyungsoo nods. "just a friend" he confirms, the soft smile still on his face as he reaches out to rub at a spot on the corner of Jongin's lips.
Their eyes meet once again and just as Jongin makes a move to lean down in an attempt to press their lips together, Kyungsoo chuckles playfully and moves to bury his head on the other boy's chest.
Time passes quickly when he's with Jongin.
Far too quickly for Kyungsoo's liking.
-
The night before the awaited soccer game between Gongil and Song-il highschool, Kyungsoo stays up late again. He's busy typing on his laptop, spreadsheet spread across his screen. There were a lot more things that needs to be settled for tomorrow and Kyungsoo's just passed the half way mark.
Kyungsoo knows seeing Jongin secretly had taken a toll on his duties. Baekhyun was the first one to notice; the frequent "i have to go somewhere, can you take my spot today?" from Kyungsoo who normally doesn't ask for such things gave the hint. But everytime Kyungsoo's confronted by the said boy, he would make up lies that Baekhyun was far too smart to believe.
Kyungsoo feels more sorry towards Baekhyun than anyone else.
It's at 2:30AM when he finally finishes his work. He stands up from his chair, yawns out a stretch and drops himself to his bed. His eyes were on the verge of closing until the very, very loud ringtone of his phone booms.
It's Jongin.
"hello?"
"Why is your bedroom light still on?"
Kyungsoo shoots up at the question, standing up abruptly and moving towards his window. He rubs his eyes at the view that greeted him ; Jongin's on the other side of the street opposite his house. The younger boy waves and smiles.
"What are you doing there?" Kyungsoo asks. He doesn't know what to do. Should he go down? He's never really had anyone visit him at this hour before.
"Just passing by. Happened to see your light on -- why are you still up?" Jongin's staring at him as he talks, and Kyungsoo's suddenly aware he's in nothing but a wife beater and a pair of boxer shorts. The older male then moves behind his curtains and Jongin chuckles on the other line.
"I was just finished with what I needed for tomorrow" He answers, fatigue evident in his voice. But then he's reminded that it's past midnight and he peeks out of his window again to look at the boy "Jongin, it's thirty minutes past two in the morning, why are you outside?"
There's a small silence on the other line, before he finally hears Jongin speak. "just had to do something. Go to sleep, I'll see you tomorrow during the match"
Kyungsoo wasn't satisfied with the answer. But again, knows better than to ask for more "okay."
Jongin smiles from the other side of the street and Kyungsoo realizes how beautiful he is under the moonlight.
"Okay." Jongin responds.
"Goodnight"
"Goodnight, Do Kyungsoo"
He watches Jongin walk away from his sight and Kyungsoo is feeling too much to fall asleep. There's a slight but obvious limp on Jongin's stance when he walked and Kyungsoo wanted to know the reason why. He tried too hard to not notice the small gash that ran across his cheek, too when Kyungsoo looked at him.
Let me catch up with you, Jongin.
-
Kyungsoo has only had 3 hours of sleep.
He slurps coffee like water, and heads to school, passing by Gong-il highschool on the way and he realizes they must be preparing to go to Kyungsoo's school for the soccer game. He's suddenly so nervous. He wants Jongin's school to win as much as he wanted his own to win.
He slides the door to the student commitee room and sees Baekhyun inside staring at a laptop screen. Baekhyun looks up and greets him with a nod.
"do you think we'd win today, hyung?" Baekhyun asks, looking across the room where Kyungsoo's seated himself at.
"Yeah." Kyungsoo responds softly, flipping through the papers on the desk .
Baekhyun stares silently at the older male before he decides not to ask anymore and just go back to what he was doing.
In just a short amount of time, the stands right beside their school's soccer fields are slowly filling up with spectators ; students and parents from Gong-il and students and parents from Song-il. Loud chattering and horns blowing fills the whole area and Kyungsoo does his best to keep calm. He never was a fan of noises like those. Kyungsoo doesn't really ever pay attention to soccer, but since he actually knows someone who he cares far enough for who's playing, he thinks it's a good excemption.
He stands underneath a small made up roof-tent opposite the stands, eyes squinted every now and then to look for Jongin. He's heard that the soccer team from the opposing school had arrived a couple of minutes ago, but he's not seen a sign of the younger male.
When another committee member asks of Baekhyun's where abouts only did Kyungsoo realize that his 'apprentice', too, was no where to be found.
After a couple of messages sent to Baekhyun with no response, he volunteers on looking for him. Muttering to himself that he'd make him do extra work because of his hiding.The school corridors are empty except for a couple of teachers who've yet to exit the building to head to the stands. He's heading towards their committee room when he turns to a corner and hears a voice inside a classroom.
He then realizes it's Baekhyun. and Jongin.
"Don't fucking kid me, Byun Baekhyun" Jongin hisses.
Kyungsoo leans his back on the wall opposite where the boys were. It wasn't right to eaves drop, but he's looking for Baekhyun and it'd be rude to barge in too.
He hears a scoff and Baekhyun retorts ; "who said i was?"
There's a rattle of the furnitures inside the room and he hears the sound of glass breaking.
He stands up abruptly and opens the door, stopping when he sees Baekhyun on the floor with Jongin standing beside him. There's broken glass scattered just a few metres away from Baekhyun and Kyungsoo realizes it's from a giant picture frame that fell.
Jongin and Baekhyun both turns their heads to the sound of the door opening, Baekhyun groans at the sight of Kyungsoo and Jongin stays still and quiet.
"What are .. you doing?" Kyunsoo asks, voice shaking and soft. His eyes catches Jongin's and he sees the gash on his face clearer now than yesterday night. His lip popped and hands a little bit redder than they should normally be.
but then he sees Baekhyun on the floor. Fresh blood gashing out of his popped lips, a bruise coloring his cheeks. Kyungsoo hesitates slightly before he walks towards them, lowering his head as he passes shoulder to shoulder with Jongin to attend to Baekhyun. There's a constricting feeling in his heart that makes him want to cry when he hears Jongin's footsteps going further and further until he finally hears the door shut close again.
"what happened, baekhyun?" Kyungsoo asks, supporting the boy from his back to a sitting position. Baekhyun groans again when Kyungsoo reaches his hand to wipe the dripping blood from the wound on his lips.
"bastard came in blaming me for something that I didn't do"
Kyungsoo leans back, taking a wiping cloth from his shoulder bag to hand to Baekhyun. "What?"
"It's not important. He's not participating in the soccer match today and that's all that matters"
"What?" Kyungsoo asks again, a little astonishment evident in his voice. He's trying not to sound too interested. He's not sure if he's ready for Baekhyun to know just yet. "What do you mean he won't be playing? And what was that all about?"
Baekhyun forces himself to a standing position and Kyungsoo follows. "Some boys apparently ganged up on him yesterday night. They aimed for his leg, but he's lucky enough to have fought back until the boys gave up" He pauses to cough before continuing; "He came here blaming me for it. Yelled at me because his coach deemed him unfit for the game. Can you believe that guts of that guy? He's horrible"
But Kyungsoo wasn't listening anymore. He's lost in his thoughts again. A small fraction of everything fits into their pieces now. Is that how much of a good player jongin is? For people to gang up on him like that. Is that how much he loved soccer? To hurt so someone compulsively. Kyungsoo realizes there's still so much more he needs to learn about Jongin.
But now's not the right timing.
"i'm sorry, baekhyun I have to leave. Please, get yourself patched up" Kyungsoo says, standing up and before Baekhyun could even gather his thoughts to say something, Kyungsoo's already out of the room.
Slow walks turns to a moderate speed, then to a brisk speed, until he finally finds himself running. The sound of his shoes hitting the concrete floor bounces off the walls of the empty hallway. Kyungsoo needs to see him, he needs to talk to him. But then his mind flashes an image of Jongin's face earlier when Kyungsoo chose to go to Baekhyun's aid and it makes him slow to a stop.
He wants to see and talk to Jongin properly.
But after what he did, does he even have the right to want those things anymore?
He figures not. He closes his eyes for a couple of minutes, places his hand on his beating heart before he heaves out a long and heavy sigh.
When he opens his eyes, Jongin's in front of him. He's further than his arms reach. Jongin's looking at him, one hand inside his jeans' pocket while the other hangs on his side. The sunlight stubbornly passes through the glass windows of the corridor, painting the concrete floor, along with Jongin's face, shadows of straight lines.
This was it. This was how everything would end between them. He let himself fall too hard and too deep in such a short amount of time, and now he's going to pay the price for being naive. Kyungsoo looks at him, mentally bracing himself for the break up that's to come.
But then Jongin cracks a smile and walks closer. He stops infront of Kyungsoo, and Kyungsoo flinches when Jongin raises a hand -- thinking he was probably going to slap him, but no, he moves the stray hairs that stuck on his forehead.
"i'm sorry" Kyungsoo mutters softly, looking down at his shoes.
Jongin takes Kyungsoo in between his arm, pulling him close. "It's okay. You can't be seen with me, i know"
Kyungsoo relaxes at the touch, his arms finding their spot around Jongin's waist.
"I'm sorry you can't play"
"Mhm"
"I'm sorry im too much of a coward"
"It's fine. I can be the brave one"
He doesn't know why, but Jongin's latter words brings a chuckle out of him.
"Hey, how about we ditch this place and go somewhere not a soul can recognise us?"
Kyungsoo steps back and shakes his head "I can't. You know I can't"
"Yes, i know you can't. Hence "ditch". But you see, you have a hundred thousand desciples ready to step in to do your job"
"They'll hate me once school starts again"
"Is that a yes?"
Kyungsoo smiles.
-
When Jongin said "to somewhere not a soul can recognise us" Kyungsoo didn't think he meant literally -- boy was he wrong. Jongin meant literally.
They're in the last compartment of a train on the way to a seaside town an hour and thirty minutes away. The compartment was empty, it was a school day after all.
As the train leaves their town, Kyungsoo grows more and more nervous. Should he text Baekhyun of his whereabouts? But Jongin's got his phone for safe keeping (after he texted his parents that he'll be out after school ends -- ofcourse with a little white lie when the question "where and who with" popped on the screen).
He switches his gaze from the changing view outside the window to Jongin. The younger boy's face is still evidently bruised, but its better than earlier.
"Are you sad because you can't play?" Kyungsoo muses out loud.
Jongin turns his head to look at him, "yeah. But being with you makes up for all of it"
Kyungsoo blinks, but then a small smile stretches on his lips. Even he doesn't know if its real or fake. "Are you inviting me out because you see me as an instrument to help you forget about the soccer match?"
"Do Kyungsoo," Jongin adjusts himself so he's staring back at Kyungsoo. "Why can't you just accept the fact that I like you. And I want to spend time with you. And even if i could play today, I still would have invited you out to somewhere I can hold your hand freely while walking. To somewhere where I can kiss you on the streets without worrying about anyone from your school"
Now Kyungsoo's sure the small-turned-big smile on his face was genuine. He doesn't know how Jongin does it ; the way he words his sentences and how he says it to make it sound romantic. Even if the stupidest combinations of phrases were to be said by Jongin, he was sure he'd still be in awe.
"are you thinking of kissing me?" Jongin asks after a fraction of a minute of silence.
Kyungsoo's cheek evidently reddens at the accusation. He was sure he opened his mouth to protest but instead found himself stuttering a "yes"
Jongin brings a finger up to gently tap the wound on his lips, eye twitching upon contact. "Can't."
But Kyungsoo leans closer anyway to place a soft and gentle, but long kiss on the corner of the good side of Jongin's lips.
-
As they exit the train station, Jongin leads them towards the sea. They're hand in hand, walking side by side. And Kyungsoo makes a vow to himself that he won't be thinking of anything else except for the fact that Jongin is his, and he is Jongin's, for the rest of the day.
Soon enough theyre sat on the grass under a tree, looking over the shore. Jongin bought chips and ice cream and things Kyungsoo liked and unofficially turned this into a not-so-official picnic date.
"When's your birthday?" Jongin asks.
"january twelvth" he answers, "you?"
"Two days after"
Kyungsoo turns to him, eyes widening with the new information. "You're not serious right?"
"I actually am" Jongin chuckles.
"How old are you?"
"17"
Kyungsoo lets out a superior chuckle.
"You're older than me, arent you?"
"A year"
"You're too short to be older than me"
"Hey!" Kyungsoo chides, hitting Jongin's thigh softly.
Jongin groans, hissing as if he's had some serious injury on that area -- but right then Kyungsoo remembers what he saw yesterday night and what Baekhyun told him.
All signs of mirth has disappeared on Kyungsoo's face when he faces Jongin. "What happened to you?"
"You hit me. It hurts. Kind of not a superhuman here" The younger boy says, rubbing on the spot as lightly as he can.
"you know what i'm talking about"
Jongin meets Kyungsoo's eyes and sighs, "some boys, who i recognized as the ones from your school ganged up on me. Long story short -"
"No," Kyungsoo cuts, "I've got the time"
Jongin looks at Kyungsoo without saying a word, as if he's looking for some kind of affirmation of some sort. But he sighs again when he realizes Kyungsoo was serious. He looks forward towards the sea before resuming; "Some boys from your school who i fought with before heard that i'm playing. They said things I didn't really give a fuck about, then aimed for my leg as we fought. those kids weren't scared of killing. i could tell. I was winning, but was also losing -- I managed to run away, though. That's when I decided to take a detour to your street"
Just what kind of person are you? Kyungsoo thinks as he glances at Jongin. "Are you a member of a gang, Jongin?" Kyungsoo was almost as scared of hearing the answer despite knowing well his hunch is probably right.
"Yeah." Jongin answers in a low voice.
Kyungsoo switches his gaze from Jongin to the shore. He then feels Jongin's gaze on him and he can't bring himself to meet his eyes. He's suddenly feeling scared. And he had no idea why. He knew beforehand what he got himself into -- well, atleast he had a hunch of what it was. But now that Kyungsoo knows his hunches were on point, it all seems so much scarier.
"Are you regretting your decision?" Jongin asks, "of choosing to be with me, i mean"
The question takes Kyungsoo offguard and it remains ringing in the walls of his mind as the time ticks. His mind takes a while before he's finally able to find the right answer. It would be a lie if the thought of remorse didn't cross his mind, but he thinks again; Jongin changed small parts of Kyungsoo's life in the short time they were together and to Kyungsoo, those small things and parts means so much. He wants to keep Jongin in his life and aim for forever.
"No." A glance to Jongin and he sees a small smile brought on by his answer. Jongin's lips shook slightly, and Kyungsoo wonders if Jongin knows his answer is genuine.
Kyungsoo brushes the back of his index finger against Jongin's cheek and smiles softly. "I like you. A lot. It's scary" he whispers, hoping it'll provide Jongin some reassurance. He badly wishes the younger male didn't have that stupid lips busted.
Jongin wishes the same.
"Me too, Do Kyungsoo"
-
They spent a couple of hours walking around the town and Kyungsoo learns more about Jongin. And unlike before, he finally feels that theyre walking on the same path, side by side. No one's a step ahead nor a step behind.
He learns that Jongin's dad died a few years ago, which sent his mother in a state of misery -- which ofcourse, took a toll on Jongin and his siblings. His mother remarried a few months after his father's death and the guy she married was a total asshole. It's then when Jongin said he joined the gang. He's been with said gang for so long that fighting just seems so natural for him.
Jongin, too, learns more about Kyungsoo. Their lives were a total opposite ; Kyungsoo had a happy family. They weren't rich, but they weren't exactly poor either. Kyungsoo's the only child, that's why the pressure was big on him when it came to the academic area.
It's when Jongin takes out his phone to check the time did he remember about his very own phone is still with the younger boy.
"Can i have my phone please?" Kyungsoo asks.
Jongin gives it without hesitation and Kyungsoo turns it on upon receiving. The loading screen loads and he's astonished when he sees that it's almost 3pm. They came here close to 10am. It felt like it was just an hour.
A series of notification buzzes soon enough and Kyungsoo freezes on his ground as his eyes read through the words.
It's from Baekhyun.
"I followed you when you left the classroom," The first message read. Kyungsoo hated that one habit of Baekhyun. He'd always send him messages in small sentences. When he confronted him about it, Baekhyun's mere reason was "it's easier to read"
Kyungsoo doesn't want to read the other messages. Jongin must have been looking at him because the younger male snatches the phone from his hands. Kyungsoo yells a "hey!" And attempts to take the phone back, but for someone who's injured, Jongin's grip is pretty strong. Soon enough he gives up and instead watches Jongin's thumb scroll down his phone. He can hear his heart thumping in his ears as he watches Jongin's face contorting into full seriousness.
Kyungsoo then speaks: "He saw us." It wasn't much of a question now, because Kyungsoo knows Baekhyun did.
Jongin nods. But his eyes are still on the screen. "The guy hates me" The younger male laughs, thumb still swiping down slowly "He's babbling on about the downsides of you liking me"
Kyungsoo stares mindlessly on the concrete ground. His mind was in the verge of exploding. Limitless scenarios of what's bound to happen the next time he comes into school flashes before him.
Jongin looks at him and notices that. He sighs, moving behind kyungsoo to open the older male's backpack and shoving his phone inside. He moves around again, and tips Kyungsoo's chin using his finger so he's looking straight at him.
"Is your reputation more important?" Jongin asks. He's half expecting the worse. Knowing Kyungsoo.
When Kyungsoo tilts his head away instead of answering Jongin looks up and heaves out a sigh once again. On the plus side, atleast Kyungsoo's honest.
"Can you take me home?" Kyungsoo asks, voice soft and eyes unable to look straight into Jongin's.
"Fine"
And that were the last words they've spoken to each other in awhile. As they ride the train home, Kyungsoo stares out on to the moving scenaro outside whilst Jongin has his ears filled with ear phones, music blasting ever so loudly to drown his thoughts.
Is your reputation more important? the question resounds in Kyungsoo's mind. He wants to say no. But Kyungsoo knows he can't afford to lose the reputation he's built in that school. not when his parents are watching him.
Fast forward to an hour and 30 minutes later and they're nearing Kyungsoo's house. Jongin stops just by his gate and Kyungsoo doesn't even turn around to smile at him before he hears the slam of his door.
Kyungsoo heads straight to his bedroom, shoes still clinging to his feet and he knows he's going to get so much shit for it later from his mother but who cares now? He's going to get worse shit soon anyway.
He wants to cry, but he doesn't. Instead he just looks at the ceiling, until he hears the beep on his phone. He almost doesn't want to get up, but knows better than not to now.
"Hyung, are you okay?" The text from Baekhyun reads and it brings confusion to Kyungsoo. Shouldn't he be disgusted by now?
"Please answer me, hyung. What did he do to you? Are you okay?" Another message read.
His finger scrolls up, back tracking the messages from earlier and his eyes widen a fraction at the message he -- no, Jongin had sent to Baekhyun earlier.
"Kyungsoo doesn't like me, Baekhyun. I blackmailed him into doing those things you saw. You were a fucker that I wanted to get back at and who's the perfect person to use? Do Kyungsoo. The little love of your life. He'll be back before you know it, but for now, i'll force him to do unimaginable things for me. I'll send you the tape once it comes out"
Baekhyun's next message reads, "Watch your back when you walk home."
No.
No.
This was all so wrong.
His heart races as a cold wind makes the hair on the back of his neck stand. There's a hunch at the front of his mind and Kyungsoo wishes it wouldn't be true.
Baekhyun wouldn't. Baekhyun can't.
He rushes down, tears finally threatening to escape from his eyes but collides with his mother at the door.
"Where are you going?" She asks. "There's a couple of gang kids fighting by the next street's corner. You stay inside."
But Kyungsoo can't. He knows well who those kids were. Without saying anything, he rushes out of the door, ignoring the constant calls of his mother.
No.
No.
His steps hastens to a full run towards the place his mother had said.
By the time he arrives, there was no one and Kyungsoo's eyes desprately searches for him but at the same time wishes he wouldn't find anyone. He's panting hard, and he relaxes when his eyes doesn't find anyone.
Until he sees a foot sticking out of the corner, somewhere not easy to find.
Kyungsoo knees gives up on his weight and he drops to the ground, tears spilling out of his eyes and he whails, wishing things could be different now.
-
When he wakes up he sees a green meadow in front of him. He looks up and realizes he's under a tree. A glance to his left and he smiles when he sees Jongin. His eyes scrutinizes up and down the younger boy's body. Kyungsoo couldn't help the blush that spills on his cheek when he realizes how sexy and attractive Jongin was in that white long-sleeved collared shirt and white pants. And to top it all of, Jongin has his hair down -- he's dyed it back to black. A style he's never seen him in before and Kyungsoo thinks he looks good like that.
Jongin turns and the heat of his palm meets Kyungsoo's cheek. He leans his head closer and whispers his name; "Do Kyungsoo" and it's followed by words that makes Kyungsoo smile "I love you"
He presses his lips against Jongin's and whispers I love you several times.
But then Jongin pulls away, and he takes a few steps further away from him, a smile still on his face before he finally turns on his back and continues to walk.
Kyungsoo starts to panic.
He attempts to move, to go after him, but his feet stood planted on the ground. He tries to scream but no sound comes out. Then he feels the warm tears spilling from his eyes again, and Kyungsoo screams and screams for Jongin, but he wouldn't turn around.
A flash of white wakes him up.
-
Kyungsoo slowly flutters his eyes open, tryimg to get used to the bright lights. He was about to ask of his whereabouts, but the heartbeat monitor on the side of his bed answers his question.
"You're awake" His familiar voice of his mother greets.
"What happened?" kyungsoo asks, forcing himself to sit up. His mother has a look on his face that tells Kyungsoo he didn't do a good thing.
"You fainted. Joonmyun found you by the street next to ours"
Street.
"Jongin.. where's Jongin?" He asks, and the drastic change of expressions in his mother's face threatens to have tears spilling from his eyes again.
"No.. Mom, you're lying. It's not true! " He says, voice raising as if it'll help make a difference.
"He's brain dead, Kyungsoo" His mother confirms. "he was beaten up too hard in his head. The doctors tried to save him. But to no avail"
"Then find better doctors! This town is so small! The doctors in other bigger towns should know better!" Tears are spilling rapidly down his cheeks. There's a constricting pain in his chest that he wants to get ride of but he knows Jongin's the only one who can do that.
He pulls everything that's latched onto his body off it before jumping out of his hospital bed, ofcourse he stumbles to the ground and before he could even stand up straight again, a flood of nurses comes in and takes a hold of him.
He's yelling for Jongin. He's screaming and crying.
But then he feels a sting in his arm and his eyes are closing once again.
-
Patient Name: Kim Jongin
time of death: 05:13PM. August 01 2014.
Reason: No reponse from Brain. No possible recovery
Patient name: Do Kyungsoo
Time of death: 04:34AM August 05, 2014
Reason: Overdose. No possible recovery.
Title: How To Forget Something That Never Was
Pairings: Kai/D.O.
Rating: G (with minor language)
Word Count: 9,484
Warnings: offscreen violence, major character death
Summary: Kyungsoo thinks he knows a lot, until Jongin proves him wrong.
Author’s Note: never read romeo and juliet, but i hope i captured the gist
Sitting on his desk chair, Kyungsoo stares at the mountainous pile of paper against paper on his desk. He glances at the small alarm clock on his bed's end table and sighs when the red digital lines forms a "1:23 AM". The weight on his eyelids is steadily growing and Kyungsoo raises a hand to his face to rub on his eyes. 'Damn it', Kyungsoo thought. He had more papers to do and he knows if he doesn't finish these now it'll pile up with the new papers coming in the next day(or rather later).
Kyungsoo then finds his eyes back on the papers, his hand's grip on the pen tight as he goes over every detail of the upcoming party the school committee was asked to set up for their Soccer Team. He finds it rather pointless, because the school assumes their team would win and decided to throw the party weeks before the match itself. Now, if it was a Good Luck For The Match kind of party Kyungsoo would accept, but the principal specially stated "Congratulation Party" when he was briefed. Kyungsoo knows better than to question the adults with their decision though, so he does just what he's supposed to do ; all the work.
After a while, he decides he's contented with everything and smiles at the neatly stacked papers on his desk. He glances at the clock; 2:45. Kyungsoo raises his hands up as his mouth opens widely for a yawn, before blindly grabbing his phone.
TIME: 3PM
VENUE: Joonmyun hyung's pizza restaurant ( I already booked it
DATE: THIS SATURDAY
This is it. Confirmed and Set. Have a good night.
He scrolls through his contacts, selecting Byun Baekhyun's name once he finds it. Byun Baekhyun is Kyungsoo's right hand and since Baekhyun confidently says that he is Kyungsoo's best friend, Kyungsoo guesses that makes Baekhyun his best friend too.
To: Prez Soo
From: Baekhyun
"Hyung, 4am"
To: Byun Baekhyun
From: Kyungsoo
"Sleeping. See you tomorrow"
Later that morning, Kyungsoo drowns himself in caffeine and as usual, it works like a charm. He passes by Gong-il, the only other high school in their town on his way to school, his eyes watching as the students enter the premises,carrying evident sloppiness on their backs. A particular boy catches his eyes, but he bets the said boy would catch anyones eye in an instant ; what with his messy black hair, untucked uniform and tall figure. The bus pulls away from the school and Kyungsoo breaks his gaze, staring forward instead.
Today, he's the first person to arrive in their class once again. Kyungsoo glances up at the wall clock and decides to catch up with his reading as he waits for class to start.
"Morning" Yawns Baekhyun as he slides himself to the seat right beside Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo returns the greeting and starts talking about the agenda of their meeting later today. Baekhyun then pushes the bit-on bread in his hand against Kyungsoo's lips to stop the words coming out.
Kyungsoo blinks.
Baekhyun pushes the bread more against the older male's lips.
Kyungsoo opens his mouth and bites a tiny piece from it.
"Good," Baekhyun says, nodding his head "Keep munching and be quiet. It's too early" He added, pulling the bread back to him and biting on it.
When classes ended that day, Kyungsoo makes his way to the room specifically designed for student councillors. He sits on a chair with a desk that has a "President" card written out boldly as it sat on top of the table. He goes through every single detail of the upcoming party once again as he waits for the other members to arrive.
And one by one they do; sitting themselves in their respective seats -- and of course, as Kyungsoo's right hand, Baekhyun literally sits on the chair on Kyungsoo's right ( he refuses the left seat when offered ).
They start their meeting and Kyungsoo jots down everything that he thinks is important. Like the arrangements of everything, the possibility of it failing -- no, Kyungsoo can't have that. He was given this task, hence, it should be prepared perfectly and it should come out perfectly.
"If no one else opposes to the said date and time, then, I'll end this meeting to present this to the principal" Kyungsoo concluded,at which everyone nods their heads.
He dismisses them all at once and Kyungsoo doesn't even see them disappear because his head his bowed down to look at the papers once again.
"Hyung" Baekhyun calls out, looking at the older male.
Kyungsoo looks up.
"Did you get any sleep at all?"
Kyungsoo nods his head and looks down at the papers again.
Baekhyun heaves out a sigh. "You're a lost case, Hyung. I'll see you around"
Kyungsoo hears the shut of the classroom's door and he finally lets himself sink back onto the seat, leaning his back with his head thrown back too. He closes his eyes and brings a hand to massage his face. He is aware he takes much of these things way too seriously ; but the adults trust him and deems him responsible and he can't break their trust.
After a successful meeting with the principal, Kyungsoo makes his way back home. It's a quarter after 7 PM and he's tired, so the moment he gets home and the soft texture of his mattress collides with his skin; Kyungsoo feels the cobwebs of sleep dawning in and this time, he doesn't fight it.
-
Flash forward to that Saturday and Kyungsoo finds himself standing in the middle of the actual form of his plans. He smiles contentedly to himself and when Baekhyun shows up to congratulate him, he takes his best friend's advice for once and loosens his knots, willing himself to enjoy the party like a normal high school boy would.
With a punch in his hand, Kyungsoo nods his head in greeting to those who smiles his way. He sits himself on one of the tall chairs, finally resting the muscles of his mouth because he's been faking a smile for far too long.
"This is kind of -- okay, a lot pointless of a party don't you think?" A voice, one he's never heard before, breaks the silence in his mind. "How can the school already assume the team would win? most of our town's population heard of this small pre-game congratulation party, so imagine how that would affect the school's image if the team doesn't win?"
Kyungsoo could only stare at the boy talking. It's like this stranger was reading his mind ; only difference is, he won't dare say it out like this boy does. Kyungsoo's eyes take their time to familiarize with the male in front of him. He swear he's seen him before but he can't seem to put a finger to it. His hair is evidently dyed blonde which told Kyungsoo that he's no where near a legitimate foreigner.
"Are you even allowed to dye your hair blonde?" Is the first thing that slips pass Kyungsoo's lips. The stranger laughs, to which Kyungsoo furrows his brows at and adds "What's your name? and class?"
"name? is this how you flirt, prez?"
Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. "No, it's how I get to know the students."
"Intros are no fun. It's more interesting making people earn names" The blonde haired stranger retorts.
Kyungsoo isn't taking any of it, though. "Your name and class, please. or I would have to report you for dying your hair."
The boy laughs, way too loud then finally says "I love it when you talk dirty. My name's just Kai. My class is unnecessary. You'll find it out during the soccer game, or maybe soon. I don't know"
Kyungsoo lost count at how many times he's rolled his eyes at him. Kai. What an unusual name, Kyungsoo thinks. He's been the school council president for two years now and he's read the class list more than couple of hundred times but he doesn't remember coming across that name. Must be a new student.
"Okay, Just Kai" Kyungsoo meets his eyes, nodding his head once "The school does not tolerate any kind of coloring chemicals on your hair so you better dye it back to black if you don't want a hundred days of detention. You should've known that! it's in your handbook"
"But I look good with it" Kai retorts once again, running a hand through his hair as he smirks.
"Yes, yes. If you want to keep it transfer to Gong-Il. They tolerate those things like the low lives they are"
"Fine" Kai just lets out a tiny laugh. He sits himself on the chair opposite Kyungsoo before taking out his phone. "So I followed .. following, two of your orders, so to be fair, it's right and just that you follow one of mine too"
Kyungsoo raises a brow. "What?"
"Your phone number" Kai looks at him, sliding his phone towards Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo scoffs. "For scientific purposes" Kai adds.
"For scientific purposes?"
"For scientific purposes."
Kyungsoo jots his actual phone number into Kai's phone. As the president it's his duty to help other students as much as he could, and in this day and age, mobile phones is the most efficient way to do that.
As he finishes, Baekhyun runs up towards their table, panting slightly and hair disheveled. Kyungsoo asks for what happened.
"a group of teenage boys attacked our students who were outside with eggs. One of our student saw one wearing the gong-il uniform"
Kyungsoo's ears perks at the mention of the rivaling school. He stands up from his chair "I thought i specifically asked for our school IDs before letting people in?!"
"outside, hyung" Baekhyun reminds, still trying to catch his breath "They seized us from the outside. they threw eggs at the students from the other side of the fence, trampled the decorations they could reach!"
Kai looks at Kyungsoo and Baekhyun with much amusement.
One might think Baekhyun is exaggerating with his reactions, but there's been this on going war against the two neighborhood schools for as long as Kyungsoo could remember.
And it seems like tonight, their school was at the losing end.
"Keep everyone inside, the soccer players especially. Are there any injuries?"
"No, hyung" Baekhyun reports. "But the outside is pretty badly damage"
"Alright. Keep everyone inside, that includes you, Kai -" Kyungsoo gets cut off when he turns and sees an empty seat, air replacing where Kai once was. He has no time to think of where he must have gone and turns his attention back to Baekhyun. Kyungsoo gives clear instruction and just when Kyungsoo turns around to head for the door, the whole venue's light switches off.
Girls shrieks at every direction and Kyungsoo's eyes takes a bit amount of time to adjust to the darkness. muttering and whimpering could be heard almost everywhere and it's messing with Kyungsoo's head.
He hears glass breaking from the direction of the punch bowl.
Shrieks, after shrieks after shrieks.
then, the light switches back on.
Confusion etches on everyone's face including his own.
"is anyone hurt?!" Kyungsoo yells out. and he could hear Baekhyun's voice asking the same from the other side of the building. When no hurt individuals presents themselves, Kyungsoo sighs in relief.
"please stay away from the broken pieces of glass" Kyungsoo instructs to everyone carefully.
Baekhyun helps escort the students out of the venue. Bad timing to have no actual adults around.
Once there were only him, Baekhyun and a couple of students from the committee who volunteered to stay and clean, Kyungsoo looks around and takes in the casualties.
"hyung, will the school do anything about this?" Baekhyun asks, piling up the trash inside a black bag.
Kyungsoo just shrugs. He doubts it, really. That was the bad thing about their school. Always depending on the student committee.
So the party ended like that. Kyungsoo apologizes a hundred billion times to Joonmyun for wrecking the restaurant. The Senior just shakes his head; "It's not your fault, Kyungsoo. Don't worry about it"
Kyungsoo doesn't listen though and instead promises that he'll do his best to fix what's needed to be fixed.
Baekhyun and Kyungsoo were the last to leave the restaurant. Their houses were on the same way so they walk home together at 7 in the evening.
"Hey, Do you know anyone named Kai in our school?" Kyungsoo asks, hands gripping on each of his bag's strap.
"No, not really." Baekhyun replies "That's a weird name."
It is. Kyungsoo thought. "Do we have a new transfer student?"
Baekhyun thinks for awhile before answering "Not that Im aware of. It's pretty rare to have someone transfer at this time of the year"
Kyungsoo thought so too.
-
The next day Kyungsoo (im)patiently waits for Kai's message to arrive in his phone.
but it never did.
He's worried. Kai just disappeared on him yesterday night without saying anything. Did he get hurt?
He fell asleep with his phone clutched in his hand.
-
Mondays were usually a day Kyungsoo dreaded the most, but this time, he was eager on going to school.
As soon as he did, he went straight into the student's files - he started on the class list for his year, and the year before him, then the last senior year. Kyungsoo thinks Kai looks far too old to be in the classes 3 years below his so he didn't bother.
His search was to no avail.
He sits on the floor of the office. Has he gone crazy? Was the stress finally catching up to him? Was Kai a ghost? He could be a ghost.. he was far too beautiful to be a human.
Kyungsoo pushes himself off of the floor and concludes his search. He reminds himself not to think of Kai again, and does a successful job in it until later that day when he receives a message from an unsaved number.
"Ever read Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murukami?" The message read and it's signed with "Kai" at the bottom and when Kyungsoo reads the name, his eyes double in their size and he replies immediately.
To: Kai
From: Kyungsoo
sent: 4:51PM
What the hell? are you messaging me from the beyond? Are you at school?
and no, it's for girls. that novel.
To: Kyungsoo
From: Kai
sent: 4:52PM
Yes, prez. I'm at school. Oh pity. I'm gay, though, so I read it. You should too. It's a pretty nice novel.
Kyungsoo feels a slight blush at the confession. He wasn't sure if he's actually serious. Kyungsoo leans against the chair, leg crossed on top of the other and he contemplates on how to reply.
To: Kai
From: Kyungsoo
sent: 5:12
good for you. where abouts in the school are you and what's your last name?
To: Kyungsoo
From: Kai
sent: 5:13
cat got your tongue with my confession, huh? last name? seriously, OMG! Stop flirting with me!!
To: Kai
From: Kyungsoo
sent: 5:15
I was simply busy, that's all. And I'm glad for you, you're all set with your orientation. And just as you got my number for scientific purposes, I also require your last name for the same purpose.
Kai refuses to answer the question and he does a good job in stalling Kyungsoo away from it too. Kyungsoo spends the rest of the bus ride home on his phone, exchanging messages with Kai.
-
Tuesday evening when he's on his bed scrolling through his laptop, his phone vibrates. Kai's name flashes on the caller id and he panics a little. Kyungsoo coughs out his voice before answering "What?"
"Stop showing so much enthusiasm in hearing my voice again, gosh" Kai teases, and Kyungsoo could hear the smile on Kai's voice.
"Ha-ha"
"I like you too." Kai says. Kyungsoo could see him grinning and his hands wanted nothing else but to wipe it off his face.
"What do you want?"
"Why do you sound so mean when we're vocally talking but so lovely when we're texting?"
Kyungsoo remains silent before sighing. "Won't answer till you tell me what's your last name. why don't I ever see you in school?"
"do you want to see me that badly?" Kai asks.
"for scientific purposes."
Kai chuckles on the other line and the corner of Kyungsoo's lips curves up into a smile, too.
"The starbucks by Song-il Highschool. this thursday. right after school"
"but I have duties"
"skip it"
"I can't"
"I'll wait for you. Goodnight"
and before Kyungsoo could even say anything else in return, Kai already hung up.
-
As they exchanged messages to and fro the next few days, Kyungsoo finds out more about Kai. Somewhere in the way Kyungsoo gave up on asking for his last name. He still has been keeping his eyes out at school for him, though, but he never does see him.
Thursday morning when he wakes up he sees a couple of new messages in his phone; A few from his friends that Kyungsoo can't really be bothered about and one from Kai.
To: Kyungsoo
From: Kai
Sent: 6:01AM
See you today after school. I'll be waiting.
To: Kai
From: Kyungsoo
Sent: 6:45AM
Okay.
To: Kyungsoo
From: Kai
Sent: 6:51AM
STOP FLIRTING WITH ME, OMFG!
Kyungsoo chuckles as he reads the text. He doesn't reply, though and wills himself to focus on preparing for school.
For the rest of the day spent in school Kyungsoo keeps glancing at the watch, and for the first time in forever when he's called up to answer something, Kyungsoo can't.
Baekhyun glances at him, brows furrowed. "That's new"
Kyungsoo turns his head, tilting it in confusion "What is?"
"What happened just now. are you finally over working yourself?"
"No," Kyungsoo chuckles. "I'm human, too"
Baekhyun is skeptical with the answer he receives.
"Oh yeah, could you lead the meeting after school today? I have something I need to attend to. Please"
Baekhyun is no less than astonished at the request. "Who are you? Unable to answer something and then now, skipping committee work?"
Kyungsoo pouts slightly.
"Fine" Baekhyun sighs.
-
When the last bell of the day finally rings, Kyungsoo is quick to jump out of his seat ( his desk was already fixed prior to the bell ) and rush out of the door. Baekhyun watches him from the window of their classroom as he rushes out of the school premises.
Kyungsoo takes a sharp intake of breath before he steps into the assigned venue for their rendezvous. He scans the room, sighing when he sees no sign of Kai. Was he stupid enough to actually believe he'll meet with him?
Just as he turns around to walk out, he comes face to face with the blonde haired boy. Kai's hands were on his shoulders to stop him from falling. Kyungsoo steps away and tries his best to stop the heating of his cheeks.
"were you going to leave without seeing me?" Kai asks. His voice sounded way better in person than over the phone.
"you took too long" Kyungsoo replies, not even trying to mask the annoyance in his voice.
"The school bell just rang"
Kyungsoo doesn't answer.
Kai chuckles and Kyungsoo really, really tries his best not to blush because Kai's voice sounds so good to his ears.
Kyungsoo then finds himself seated across Kai, coincidentally they ordered the same drink; a caramel frappuccino. Kai teases about it another sign for them to be together and Kyungsoo just rolls his eyes at him.
"Why aren't you wearing the school uniform?" Kyungsoo asks, looking down at the long sleeve shirt the other was wearing.
"because I didn't go to school"
"do you skip school a lot?" It was something Kyungsoo had been wanting to ask him. He threads on the words very carefully though, because he really doesn't appreciate receiving no answers to his questions.
He receives a shrug from the blonde haired boy. Kyungsoo sighs inwardly, keeping quiet instead because he knows better than to question the boy again.
Kyungsoo could see Kai staring at him with a smile on his face through thick lashes of his own. Lifting his head up to stare at him, he smiles back in silence.
The two talk about things, Kyungsoo slowly grows comfortable around the boy and he wishes he could say the same for Kai confidently. There seemed to be something holding Kai back, and Kyungsoo wants to know what it is -- but then again knows better than to pry.
An hour later, Kai decides on walking Kyungsoo back to his house. Half of the walk was silence illuminating the two boys and Kyungsoo sometimes struggles to catch up with Kai's pace.
And Kyungsoo thinks it's a perfect metaphor for his thoughts ; once he thinks he knows Kai well enough, the blonde boy would always take a step away from him.
They arrive in front of Kyungsoo's house an hour later.
Kai smiles at him. "See you"
"At school?" Kyungsoo asks, looking at him with no sign of mirth on his face.
Kai doesn't answer and just smiles. "Go in"
Kyungsoo's about to say something when he hears Baekhyun calling his name. He turns to the direction of the voice and smiles. Kai's head turns too.
Baekhyun stands beside Kyungsoo and looks at Kai. "I know who you are." Baekhyun says, and Kyungsoo looks at him with a puzzled expression. Baekhyun's voice was sharp, a tone that Kyungsoo hasn't heard from him before.
Kai raises a brow at Baekhyun in amusement. Then he looks at Kyungsoo. "See you"
Kyungsoo nods his head and watches Kai's retreating back. He wanted for him to stay a little bit more, but the look on Baekhyun's face tells him that wasn't a wise thing to do.
"Why are you with him?" Baekhyun asks, looking at Kyungsoo with eyes reflecting something Kyungsoo can't quite grasp.
He looks at Kai turning the corner before answering, "I can't have friends of my own?"
"Not with him, you can't -- do you even know him?"
"I know him well enough to know he's a good person"
Baekhyun looks at him in disbelief. "do you really not know?"
Kyungsoo shakes his head. "What is there to know?"
"You'll find out during the soccer game"
Kyungsoo spends the rest of the evening reading through his messages with Kai. Thoughts about who the boy really was bombarded his mind, and no matter how much he tried, his thoughts never seems to fall into place.
-
For a few days after that incident, no messages from kai arrived. Kyungsoo was close to giving up on expecting any ; and he's far too prideful to actually send a text message back himself.
It's at 9:30 in a Saturday evening when his phone rings. It's Kai. Kyungsoo waits for his phone to ring a couple of times before he picks it up. "Hello?"
"Do Kyungsoo" Kai speaks with his low voice and the way he does makes Kyungsoo's heart skip a beat. "Can you meet me by the playground in front of your house?"
Kyungsoo mutters a hesitant sure before he hangs up. It was easy to sneak out of their house, since his parents were heavy sleepers.
The night was cold, so Kyungsoo wraps his small frame in a knitted jacket. When he arrives in the playground, Kai was already there, sitting on the swing with his back hunched. He raises his head and smiles at Kyungsoo.
Kyungsoo smiles back. He suddenly feels all kind of awkward. He hasn't seen Kai in a few days nor has he talked to him.
"So did that Baekhyun boy finally tell you about me?" Kai asked, voice soft and Kyungsoo swears he hears Kai's voice shaking.
Kyungsoo shakes his head. "He told me the same thing you told me. That I'll know during the soccer match -- you're not secretly the new coach are you? 'cause that's going to be really awkward"
"No, no" Kai chuckles and Kyungsoo does too, he's missed that sound so much.
The laughter dies off and a question sits at the tip of Kyungsoo's tongue. He's afraid of asking; afraid of the answer he's going to receive. but it was now or never.
"Is Kai.." A pause to breath. "your real name?"
Kai turns his head to look at him. Kyungsoo meets his eyes. A hint of a smile appears on Kai's lips, and Kyungsoo already somehow got his answer.
"What's your real name?" Kyungsoo's voice shakes, and he's sure it's not because of the chilly air.
"Can i kiss you once?" Kai asks back, and it takes Kyungsoo in surprise.
"Your real name" Kyungsoo reminds, standing his ground. Kai's making his way slowly towards him and he knows he should walk away, but he doesn't want to.
Before he knows it, he feels the warmth of Kai's lips against his own and he welcomes it with much of him. A hand snakes around his waist as Kai slowly puts more passion into their kiss.
They pull away, both breathless and he hears Kai laughing lightly. He raises a fist to thump on the tan boy's chest. "That was uncalled for!" Kyungsoo whines, looking down to try to hide the blush on his cheeks.
"I just had to try that once" Kai mutters in a whisper. Kyungsoo could feel him looking down at him. Garnering what's left of his courage, Kyungsoo looks up too. Their eyes lock, and the soft smile on Kai's face washes all of Kyungsoo's nervousness away.
until the boy speaks again.
"I'm Kim Jongin" Kai confesses, and with every word uttered he takes a small step away from the older male.
Kyungsoo's hand clenches in disbelief. He knows who Kim Jongin is. The name was often mentioned in school council meetings. He really didn't pay much attention to it though. But he knows well that bad records came with the said name. "Gong...il Highschool's Kim Jongin..." Kyungsoo breathes out, slowly. He doesn't know how he should react. Should he be mad? Should he run away? He curses himself mentally. He should run away but his feet refuses to abide his mind's orders, so he stares at him, eyes wider than his norm.
There's a small smile on Jongin's face as he nods his head, and that smile is the mere cause of Kyungsoo's confusion.
"Did you.. were you .." Kyungsoo tries so hard to put words into his mind's thoughts, but it's proving so hard to do so because he felt all kinds of things.
"was I a member of those who sabotaged the party?" Kai asks, putting the words into Kyungsoo's thoughts instead.
Kyungsoo didn't want an answer. But Jongin mutters a 'yes' and Kyungsoo suddenly feels like crying for a reason he can't comprehend. He tries to fight back his tears though. Everything was going so well, with him .. and Kai -- no, Jongin.
But of course, life always just isn't fair.
"you're an asshole!" Kyungsoo finally snaps. He feels the tears falling from his eyes as he charges towards Jongin, hitting his fist on the blonde boy's chest. "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you" Kyungsoo sobs. "you fucking tricked me, you're horrible, you made me think I could actually trust you!"
Jongin just lets him be, flinching every now and then when Kyungsoo hits too hard at certain parts.
After awhile, Kyungsoo's punches dwindles in strength and what's left is a sobbing male with his head bowed down.
Kyungsoo feels the same arms wrap around his waist, pulling him closer to his chest.
"stop," Kyungsoo whispers, his hand clutching on the boy's shirt tightly. Jongin doesn't pull away though. "stop making me fall for you. please." There's a sheer tone in Kyungsoo's voice that swallows Jongin up.
"Fall for me. I'll give my all to catch you"
It's unfair. It's unfair how Kyungsoo didn't see it coming. Jongin was slowly taking over his heart in just a span of days and Kyungsoo was so stupid to not stop it before it got worse. At the words he hears from Jongin, Kyungsoo loosens his grip on the other male's shirt. He could feel his heart beating fast as he finally relaxes his head on the boy's chest.
Kyungsoo and Jongin spends the next few hours under a tree on the same park. He's skin to skin with Jongin, looking up at the starry night. He never really realized just how much stars they were able to see from Seoul until tonight.
He could feel Jongin squeeze his hands and he looks down at their intwined hands before looking at him, tilting his head slightly with a confused expression on his face.
"What's your relationship with Baekhyun?" Jongin asks.
"He's a friend" Kyungsoo answers with a small voice. He stares up at the stars for a little bit more until he feels Jongin's eyes on him and he switches his gaze. A smile stretches across Kyungsoo's face.
"Just a friend?" Jongin confirms, there's a subtle jealousy in his voice that he can't hide. Ever since he left Kyungsoo and Baekhyun that one time he's had this unbelievable gut-wrenching jealousy in his stomach ; ofcourse initially he had denied the fact, but soon it felt too real, especially when he finds the mere thought of Baekhyun and Kyungsoo painful.
Kyungsoo nods. "just a friend" he confirms, the soft smile still on his face as he reaches out to rub at a spot on the corner of Jongin's lips.
Their eyes meet once again and just as Jongin makes a move to lean down in an attempt to press their lips together, Kyungsoo chuckles playfully and moves to bury his head on the other boy's chest.
Time passes quickly when he's with Jongin.
Far too quickly for Kyungsoo's liking.
-
The night before the awaited soccer game between Gongil and Song-il highschool, Kyungsoo stays up late again. He's busy typing on his laptop, spreadsheet spread across his screen. There were a lot more things that needs to be settled for tomorrow and Kyungsoo's just passed the half way mark.
Kyungsoo knows seeing Jongin secretly had taken a toll on his duties. Baekhyun was the first one to notice; the frequent "i have to go somewhere, can you take my spot today?" from Kyungsoo who normally doesn't ask for such things gave the hint. But everytime Kyungsoo's confronted by the said boy, he would make up lies that Baekhyun was far too smart to believe.
Kyungsoo feels more sorry towards Baekhyun than anyone else.
It's at 2:30AM when he finally finishes his work. He stands up from his chair, yawns out a stretch and drops himself to his bed. His eyes were on the verge of closing until the very, very loud ringtone of his phone booms.
It's Jongin.
"hello?"
"Why is your bedroom light still on?"
Kyungsoo shoots up at the question, standing up abruptly and moving towards his window. He rubs his eyes at the view that greeted him ; Jongin's on the other side of the street opposite his house. The younger boy waves and smiles.
"What are you doing there?" Kyungsoo asks. He doesn't know what to do. Should he go down? He's never really had anyone visit him at this hour before.
"Just passing by. Happened to see your light on -- why are you still up?" Jongin's staring at him as he talks, and Kyungsoo's suddenly aware he's in nothing but a wife beater and a pair of boxer shorts. The older male then moves behind his curtains and Jongin chuckles on the other line.
"I was just finished with what I needed for tomorrow" He answers, fatigue evident in his voice. But then he's reminded that it's past midnight and he peeks out of his window again to look at the boy "Jongin, it's thirty minutes past two in the morning, why are you outside?"
There's a small silence on the other line, before he finally hears Jongin speak. "just had to do something. Go to sleep, I'll see you tomorrow during the match"
Kyungsoo wasn't satisfied with the answer. But again, knows better than to ask for more "okay."
Jongin smiles from the other side of the street and Kyungsoo realizes how beautiful he is under the moonlight.
"Okay." Jongin responds.
"Goodnight"
"Goodnight, Do Kyungsoo"
He watches Jongin walk away from his sight and Kyungsoo is feeling too much to fall asleep. There's a slight but obvious limp on Jongin's stance when he walked and Kyungsoo wanted to know the reason why. He tried too hard to not notice the small gash that ran across his cheek, too when Kyungsoo looked at him.
Let me catch up with you, Jongin.
-
Kyungsoo has only had 3 hours of sleep.
He slurps coffee like water, and heads to school, passing by Gong-il highschool on the way and he realizes they must be preparing to go to Kyungsoo's school for the soccer game. He's suddenly so nervous. He wants Jongin's school to win as much as he wanted his own to win.
He slides the door to the student commitee room and sees Baekhyun inside staring at a laptop screen. Baekhyun looks up and greets him with a nod.
"do you think we'd win today, hyung?" Baekhyun asks, looking across the room where Kyungsoo's seated himself at.
"Yeah." Kyungsoo responds softly, flipping through the papers on the desk .
Baekhyun stares silently at the older male before he decides not to ask anymore and just go back to what he was doing.
In just a short amount of time, the stands right beside their school's soccer fields are slowly filling up with spectators ; students and parents from Gong-il and students and parents from Song-il. Loud chattering and horns blowing fills the whole area and Kyungsoo does his best to keep calm. He never was a fan of noises like those. Kyungsoo doesn't really ever pay attention to soccer, but since he actually knows someone who he cares far enough for who's playing, he thinks it's a good excemption.
He stands underneath a small made up roof-tent opposite the stands, eyes squinted every now and then to look for Jongin. He's heard that the soccer team from the opposing school had arrived a couple of minutes ago, but he's not seen a sign of the younger male.
When another committee member asks of Baekhyun's where abouts only did Kyungsoo realize that his 'apprentice', too, was no where to be found.
After a couple of messages sent to Baekhyun with no response, he volunteers on looking for him. Muttering to himself that he'd make him do extra work because of his hiding.The school corridors are empty except for a couple of teachers who've yet to exit the building to head to the stands. He's heading towards their committee room when he turns to a corner and hears a voice inside a classroom.
He then realizes it's Baekhyun. and Jongin.
"Don't fucking kid me, Byun Baekhyun" Jongin hisses.
Kyungsoo leans his back on the wall opposite where the boys were. It wasn't right to eaves drop, but he's looking for Baekhyun and it'd be rude to barge in too.
He hears a scoff and Baekhyun retorts ; "who said i was?"
There's a rattle of the furnitures inside the room and he hears the sound of glass breaking.
He stands up abruptly and opens the door, stopping when he sees Baekhyun on the floor with Jongin standing beside him. There's broken glass scattered just a few metres away from Baekhyun and Kyungsoo realizes it's from a giant picture frame that fell.
Jongin and Baekhyun both turns their heads to the sound of the door opening, Baekhyun groans at the sight of Kyungsoo and Jongin stays still and quiet.
"What are .. you doing?" Kyunsoo asks, voice shaking and soft. His eyes catches Jongin's and he sees the gash on his face clearer now than yesterday night. His lip popped and hands a little bit redder than they should normally be.
but then he sees Baekhyun on the floor. Fresh blood gashing out of his popped lips, a bruise coloring his cheeks. Kyungsoo hesitates slightly before he walks towards them, lowering his head as he passes shoulder to shoulder with Jongin to attend to Baekhyun. There's a constricting feeling in his heart that makes him want to cry when he hears Jongin's footsteps going further and further until he finally hears the door shut close again.
"what happened, baekhyun?" Kyungsoo asks, supporting the boy from his back to a sitting position. Baekhyun groans again when Kyungsoo reaches his hand to wipe the dripping blood from the wound on his lips.
"bastard came in blaming me for something that I didn't do"
Kyungsoo leans back, taking a wiping cloth from his shoulder bag to hand to Baekhyun. "What?"
"It's not important. He's not participating in the soccer match today and that's all that matters"
"What?" Kyungsoo asks again, a little astonishment evident in his voice. He's trying not to sound too interested. He's not sure if he's ready for Baekhyun to know just yet. "What do you mean he won't be playing? And what was that all about?"
Baekhyun forces himself to a standing position and Kyungsoo follows. "Some boys apparently ganged up on him yesterday night. They aimed for his leg, but he's lucky enough to have fought back until the boys gave up" He pauses to cough before continuing; "He came here blaming me for it. Yelled at me because his coach deemed him unfit for the game. Can you believe that guts of that guy? He's horrible"
But Kyungsoo wasn't listening anymore. He's lost in his thoughts again. A small fraction of everything fits into their pieces now. Is that how much of a good player jongin is? For people to gang up on him like that. Is that how much he loved soccer? To hurt so someone compulsively. Kyungsoo realizes there's still so much more he needs to learn about Jongin.
But now's not the right timing.
"i'm sorry, baekhyun I have to leave. Please, get yourself patched up" Kyungsoo says, standing up and before Baekhyun could even gather his thoughts to say something, Kyungsoo's already out of the room.
Slow walks turns to a moderate speed, then to a brisk speed, until he finally finds himself running. The sound of his shoes hitting the concrete floor bounces off the walls of the empty hallway. Kyungsoo needs to see him, he needs to talk to him. But then his mind flashes an image of Jongin's face earlier when Kyungsoo chose to go to Baekhyun's aid and it makes him slow to a stop.
He wants to see and talk to Jongin properly.
But after what he did, does he even have the right to want those things anymore?
He figures not. He closes his eyes for a couple of minutes, places his hand on his beating heart before he heaves out a long and heavy sigh.
When he opens his eyes, Jongin's in front of him. He's further than his arms reach. Jongin's looking at him, one hand inside his jeans' pocket while the other hangs on his side. The sunlight stubbornly passes through the glass windows of the corridor, painting the concrete floor, along with Jongin's face, shadows of straight lines.
This was it. This was how everything would end between them. He let himself fall too hard and too deep in such a short amount of time, and now he's going to pay the price for being naive. Kyungsoo looks at him, mentally bracing himself for the break up that's to come.
But then Jongin cracks a smile and walks closer. He stops infront of Kyungsoo, and Kyungsoo flinches when Jongin raises a hand -- thinking he was probably going to slap him, but no, he moves the stray hairs that stuck on his forehead.
"i'm sorry" Kyungsoo mutters softly, looking down at his shoes.
Jongin takes Kyungsoo in between his arm, pulling him close. "It's okay. You can't be seen with me, i know"
Kyungsoo relaxes at the touch, his arms finding their spot around Jongin's waist.
"I'm sorry you can't play"
"Mhm"
"I'm sorry im too much of a coward"
"It's fine. I can be the brave one"
He doesn't know why, but Jongin's latter words brings a chuckle out of him.
"Hey, how about we ditch this place and go somewhere not a soul can recognise us?"
Kyungsoo steps back and shakes his head "I can't. You know I can't"
"Yes, i know you can't. Hence "ditch". But you see, you have a hundred thousand desciples ready to step in to do your job"
"They'll hate me once school starts again"
"Is that a yes?"
Kyungsoo smiles.
-
When Jongin said "to somewhere not a soul can recognise us" Kyungsoo didn't think he meant literally -- boy was he wrong. Jongin meant literally.
They're in the last compartment of a train on the way to a seaside town an hour and thirty minutes away. The compartment was empty, it was a school day after all.
As the train leaves their town, Kyungsoo grows more and more nervous. Should he text Baekhyun of his whereabouts? But Jongin's got his phone for safe keeping (after he texted his parents that he'll be out after school ends -- ofcourse with a little white lie when the question "where and who with" popped on the screen).
He switches his gaze from the changing view outside the window to Jongin. The younger boy's face is still evidently bruised, but its better than earlier.
"Are you sad because you can't play?" Kyungsoo muses out loud.
Jongin turns his head to look at him, "yeah. But being with you makes up for all of it"
Kyungsoo blinks, but then a small smile stretches on his lips. Even he doesn't know if its real or fake. "Are you inviting me out because you see me as an instrument to help you forget about the soccer match?"
"Do Kyungsoo," Jongin adjusts himself so he's staring back at Kyungsoo. "Why can't you just accept the fact that I like you. And I want to spend time with you. And even if i could play today, I still would have invited you out to somewhere I can hold your hand freely while walking. To somewhere where I can kiss you on the streets without worrying about anyone from your school"
Now Kyungsoo's sure the small-turned-big smile on his face was genuine. He doesn't know how Jongin does it ; the way he words his sentences and how he says it to make it sound romantic. Even if the stupidest combinations of phrases were to be said by Jongin, he was sure he'd still be in awe.
"are you thinking of kissing me?" Jongin asks after a fraction of a minute of silence.
Kyungsoo's cheek evidently reddens at the accusation. He was sure he opened his mouth to protest but instead found himself stuttering a "yes"
Jongin brings a finger up to gently tap the wound on his lips, eye twitching upon contact. "Can't."
But Kyungsoo leans closer anyway to place a soft and gentle, but long kiss on the corner of the good side of Jongin's lips.
-
As they exit the train station, Jongin leads them towards the sea. They're hand in hand, walking side by side. And Kyungsoo makes a vow to himself that he won't be thinking of anything else except for the fact that Jongin is his, and he is Jongin's, for the rest of the day.
Soon enough theyre sat on the grass under a tree, looking over the shore. Jongin bought chips and ice cream and things Kyungsoo liked and unofficially turned this into a not-so-official picnic date.
"When's your birthday?" Jongin asks.
"january twelvth" he answers, "you?"
"Two days after"
Kyungsoo turns to him, eyes widening with the new information. "You're not serious right?"
"I actually am" Jongin chuckles.
"How old are you?"
"17"
Kyungsoo lets out a superior chuckle.
"You're older than me, arent you?"
"A year"
"You're too short to be older than me"
"Hey!" Kyungsoo chides, hitting Jongin's thigh softly.
Jongin groans, hissing as if he's had some serious injury on that area -- but right then Kyungsoo remembers what he saw yesterday night and what Baekhyun told him.
All signs of mirth has disappeared on Kyungsoo's face when he faces Jongin. "What happened to you?"
"You hit me. It hurts. Kind of not a superhuman here" The younger boy says, rubbing on the spot as lightly as he can.
"you know what i'm talking about"
Jongin meets Kyungsoo's eyes and sighs, "some boys, who i recognized as the ones from your school ganged up on me. Long story short -"
"No," Kyungsoo cuts, "I've got the time"
Jongin looks at Kyungsoo without saying a word, as if he's looking for some kind of affirmation of some sort. But he sighs again when he realizes Kyungsoo was serious. He looks forward towards the sea before resuming; "Some boys from your school who i fought with before heard that i'm playing. They said things I didn't really give a fuck about, then aimed for my leg as we fought. those kids weren't scared of killing. i could tell. I was winning, but was also losing -- I managed to run away, though. That's when I decided to take a detour to your street"
Just what kind of person are you? Kyungsoo thinks as he glances at Jongin. "Are you a member of a gang, Jongin?" Kyungsoo was almost as scared of hearing the answer despite knowing well his hunch is probably right.
"Yeah." Jongin answers in a low voice.
Kyungsoo switches his gaze from Jongin to the shore. He then feels Jongin's gaze on him and he can't bring himself to meet his eyes. He's suddenly feeling scared. And he had no idea why. He knew beforehand what he got himself into -- well, atleast he had a hunch of what it was. But now that Kyungsoo knows his hunches were on point, it all seems so much scarier.
"Are you regretting your decision?" Jongin asks, "of choosing to be with me, i mean"
The question takes Kyungsoo offguard and it remains ringing in the walls of his mind as the time ticks. His mind takes a while before he's finally able to find the right answer. It would be a lie if the thought of remorse didn't cross his mind, but he thinks again; Jongin changed small parts of Kyungsoo's life in the short time they were together and to Kyungsoo, those small things and parts means so much. He wants to keep Jongin in his life and aim for forever.
"No." A glance to Jongin and he sees a small smile brought on by his answer. Jongin's lips shook slightly, and Kyungsoo wonders if Jongin knows his answer is genuine.
Kyungsoo brushes the back of his index finger against Jongin's cheek and smiles softly. "I like you. A lot. It's scary" he whispers, hoping it'll provide Jongin some reassurance. He badly wishes the younger male didn't have that stupid lips busted.
Jongin wishes the same.
"Me too, Do Kyungsoo"
-
They spent a couple of hours walking around the town and Kyungsoo learns more about Jongin. And unlike before, he finally feels that theyre walking on the same path, side by side. No one's a step ahead nor a step behind.
He learns that Jongin's dad died a few years ago, which sent his mother in a state of misery -- which ofcourse, took a toll on Jongin and his siblings. His mother remarried a few months after his father's death and the guy she married was a total asshole. It's then when Jongin said he joined the gang. He's been with said gang for so long that fighting just seems so natural for him.
Jongin, too, learns more about Kyungsoo. Their lives were a total opposite ; Kyungsoo had a happy family. They weren't rich, but they weren't exactly poor either. Kyungsoo's the only child, that's why the pressure was big on him when it came to the academic area.
It's when Jongin takes out his phone to check the time did he remember about his very own phone is still with the younger boy.
"Can i have my phone please?" Kyungsoo asks.
Jongin gives it without hesitation and Kyungsoo turns it on upon receiving. The loading screen loads and he's astonished when he sees that it's almost 3pm. They came here close to 10am. It felt like it was just an hour.
A series of notification buzzes soon enough and Kyungsoo freezes on his ground as his eyes read through the words.
It's from Baekhyun.
"I followed you when you left the classroom," The first message read. Kyungsoo hated that one habit of Baekhyun. He'd always send him messages in small sentences. When he confronted him about it, Baekhyun's mere reason was "it's easier to read"
Kyungsoo doesn't want to read the other messages. Jongin must have been looking at him because the younger male snatches the phone from his hands. Kyungsoo yells a "hey!" And attempts to take the phone back, but for someone who's injured, Jongin's grip is pretty strong. Soon enough he gives up and instead watches Jongin's thumb scroll down his phone. He can hear his heart thumping in his ears as he watches Jongin's face contorting into full seriousness.
Kyungsoo then speaks: "He saw us." It wasn't much of a question now, because Kyungsoo knows Baekhyun did.
Jongin nods. But his eyes are still on the screen. "The guy hates me" The younger male laughs, thumb still swiping down slowly "He's babbling on about the downsides of you liking me"
Kyungsoo stares mindlessly on the concrete ground. His mind was in the verge of exploding. Limitless scenarios of what's bound to happen the next time he comes into school flashes before him.
Jongin looks at him and notices that. He sighs, moving behind kyungsoo to open the older male's backpack and shoving his phone inside. He moves around again, and tips Kyungsoo's chin using his finger so he's looking straight at him.
"Is your reputation more important?" Jongin asks. He's half expecting the worse. Knowing Kyungsoo.
When Kyungsoo tilts his head away instead of answering Jongin looks up and heaves out a sigh once again. On the plus side, atleast Kyungsoo's honest.
"Can you take me home?" Kyungsoo asks, voice soft and eyes unable to look straight into Jongin's.
"Fine"
And that were the last words they've spoken to each other in awhile. As they ride the train home, Kyungsoo stares out on to the moving scenaro outside whilst Jongin has his ears filled with ear phones, music blasting ever so loudly to drown his thoughts.
Is your reputation more important? the question resounds in Kyungsoo's mind. He wants to say no. But Kyungsoo knows he can't afford to lose the reputation he's built in that school. not when his parents are watching him.
Fast forward to an hour and 30 minutes later and they're nearing Kyungsoo's house. Jongin stops just by his gate and Kyungsoo doesn't even turn around to smile at him before he hears the slam of his door.
Kyungsoo heads straight to his bedroom, shoes still clinging to his feet and he knows he's going to get so much shit for it later from his mother but who cares now? He's going to get worse shit soon anyway.
He wants to cry, but he doesn't. Instead he just looks at the ceiling, until he hears the beep on his phone. He almost doesn't want to get up, but knows better than not to now.
"Hyung, are you okay?" The text from Baekhyun reads and it brings confusion to Kyungsoo. Shouldn't he be disgusted by now?
"Please answer me, hyung. What did he do to you? Are you okay?" Another message read.
His finger scrolls up, back tracking the messages from earlier and his eyes widen a fraction at the message he -- no, Jongin had sent to Baekhyun earlier.
"Kyungsoo doesn't like me, Baekhyun. I blackmailed him into doing those things you saw. You were a fucker that I wanted to get back at and who's the perfect person to use? Do Kyungsoo. The little love of your life. He'll be back before you know it, but for now, i'll force him to do unimaginable things for me. I'll send you the tape once it comes out"
Baekhyun's next message reads, "Watch your back when you walk home."
No.
No.
This was all so wrong.
His heart races as a cold wind makes the hair on the back of his neck stand. There's a hunch at the front of his mind and Kyungsoo wishes it wouldn't be true.
Baekhyun wouldn't. Baekhyun can't.
He rushes down, tears finally threatening to escape from his eyes but collides with his mother at the door.
"Where are you going?" She asks. "There's a couple of gang kids fighting by the next street's corner. You stay inside."
But Kyungsoo can't. He knows well who those kids were. Without saying anything, he rushes out of the door, ignoring the constant calls of his mother.
No.
No.
His steps hastens to a full run towards the place his mother had said.
By the time he arrives, there was no one and Kyungsoo's eyes desprately searches for him but at the same time wishes he wouldn't find anyone. He's panting hard, and he relaxes when his eyes doesn't find anyone.
Until he sees a foot sticking out of the corner, somewhere not easy to find.
Kyungsoo knees gives up on his weight and he drops to the ground, tears spilling out of his eyes and he whails, wishing things could be different now.
-
When he wakes up he sees a green meadow in front of him. He looks up and realizes he's under a tree. A glance to his left and he smiles when he sees Jongin. His eyes scrutinizes up and down the younger boy's body. Kyungsoo couldn't help the blush that spills on his cheek when he realizes how sexy and attractive Jongin was in that white long-sleeved collared shirt and white pants. And to top it all of, Jongin has his hair down -- he's dyed it back to black. A style he's never seen him in before and Kyungsoo thinks he looks good like that.
Jongin turns and the heat of his palm meets Kyungsoo's cheek. He leans his head closer and whispers his name; "Do Kyungsoo" and it's followed by words that makes Kyungsoo smile "I love you"
He presses his lips against Jongin's and whispers I love you several times.
But then Jongin pulls away, and he takes a few steps further away from him, a smile still on his face before he finally turns on his back and continues to walk.
Kyungsoo starts to panic.
He attempts to move, to go after him, but his feet stood planted on the ground. He tries to scream but no sound comes out. Then he feels the warm tears spilling from his eyes again, and Kyungsoo screams and screams for Jongin, but he wouldn't turn around.
A flash of white wakes him up.
-
Kyungsoo slowly flutters his eyes open, tryimg to get used to the bright lights. He was about to ask of his whereabouts, but the heartbeat monitor on the side of his bed answers his question.
"You're awake" His familiar voice of his mother greets.
"What happened?" kyungsoo asks, forcing himself to sit up. His mother has a look on his face that tells Kyungsoo he didn't do a good thing.
"You fainted. Joonmyun found you by the street next to ours"
Street.
"Jongin.. where's Jongin?" He asks, and the drastic change of expressions in his mother's face threatens to have tears spilling from his eyes again.
"No.. Mom, you're lying. It's not true! " He says, voice raising as if it'll help make a difference.
"He's brain dead, Kyungsoo" His mother confirms. "he was beaten up too hard in his head. The doctors tried to save him. But to no avail"
"Then find better doctors! This town is so small! The doctors in other bigger towns should know better!" Tears are spilling rapidly down his cheeks. There's a constricting pain in his chest that he wants to get ride of but he knows Jongin's the only one who can do that.
He pulls everything that's latched onto his body off it before jumping out of his hospital bed, ofcourse he stumbles to the ground and before he could even stand up straight again, a flood of nurses comes in and takes a hold of him.
He's yelling for Jongin. He's screaming and crying.
But then he feels a sting in his arm and his eyes are closing once again.
-
Patient Name: Kim Jongin
time of death: 05:13PM. August 01 2014.
Reason: No reponse from Brain. No possible recovery
Patient name: Do Kyungsoo
Time of death: 04:34AM August 05, 2014
Reason: Overdose. No possible recovery.