KIM JONGIN

It was out of sheer luck that I ended up being Sehun's roommate. Fate really was on my side with that one. And on top of that, I got to teach him Latin dancing, and I got to dance with him. Sure I lied about having taken classes and about knowing how to dance Latin, but it's not like he was ever going to know. I was excited for our first practice session that day and ended up making it to the studio ten minutes earlier. Sehun had managed to get the keys to one of the private studios for an hour everyday from his Professor who was a good friend of his.

I waited outside the studio while I stared at my feet, anticipating Sehun's arrival.

"Well you're early."

I looked up on hearing Sehun's amused voice. I smiled when I was met with his handsome face. His white, flawless skin never failed to amaze me. 

"So are you."

"Fair enough," Sehun smiled as he unlocked the door to the studio and the two of us walked in. He locked the door behind us before setting his backpack down on the floor and doing a few stretches in front of the mirror. I plugged my cell phone into my speaker, putting on the playlist I had prepared the previous night for our dance session.

"So, what are we gonna start with today, teacher Kim?"

I chuckled at the name, which sounded oddly hot coming from him, "We'll start with the several common handhold types and some basic moves."

I held my hand out for him to take and watched the slight reluctance in his eyes before he took it in his own. I instantly got tingles at the simple contact but maintained a casual facade. I showed him a couple of different handholds, and he was quick to follow along attentively. Things got a little more awkward when we got into the handhold where the contact point was right at the hips, and the fact that we were almost the same height didn't help one bit. Our crotches were basically pressed against each other. Sehun cleared his throat awkwardly and looked anywhere but at me. I found one corner of my lips slightly twitching up at how tense he looked.

"Alright good, now that we know the common handholds, let's get into same basic moves." I said as I stepped away from him so we weren't so uncomfortably close but I didn't let go of his hands, and I could swear I heard him let out a sigh of relief. I then taught him a few basic moves, instructing him as he led me.

"Move your hips a little more," I urged softly, "and your shoulder blades."

"Like this?"

I bit my lip. Sehun just looked so alluring when he moved his body, "Yes. Now place your hand on my waist."

He nodded and did as I asked, and I felt the skin under his fingertips tingling under his touch. We were so close, chests almost touching, faces just inches away from each other. I could see the nervousness in his eyes and how he wouldn't look straight at me. I myself was sweating, but I maintained a straight face, as if I did this everyday and it wasn't affecting me at all. The heat that radiated off his body was so intoxicating and all I wanted to do was fall into his embrace, but I held myself back.

I placed a hand under his chin and lifted his head so he was looking straight me.

"Rule number one of Latin dancing, always maintain eye contact."

He nodded slowly, gulping. I smiled as I taught him a few other basic steps. Sehun's lead was gentle and he was surprisingly way better than I expected. He was very attentive, furrowing his eyes in concentration as he tried to follow my instructions to the T. He accidentally stepped on my foot and let out a small squeak.

"I-I'm sorry..." He stammered. I smiled at him gently and shook my head.

"Don't worry about it, rookie mistake. You're doing good, Sehun."

"Really?" His face lit up and I nodded at him.

An hour passed by relatively quickly as we danced together, the tension around us slowly dissipating as we got into the music.

"I think that's good enough for today," I said, letting him go and stepping away from him, albeit reluctantly, "You're doing great so far."

"You're a good teacher," he said and I slightly blushed at the compliment. "I wanted to ask you something though... What is it that you like about being the follow?"

I paused to think of an answer that sounded convincing. Honestly I just wanted Sehun to hold me and lead me along. On the other hand, it was the only way he could get practice. "The reassurance?"

"What?" Sehun lifted an eyebrow.

"When you allow someone to lead you, you allow them to control your body's movement. You entrust your mind and body to the lead. It's a feeling of reassurance, knowing that there's always someone there to guide you."

Sehun was still frowning at me, as if not understanding. I sighed.

"It's hard to explain it. How about I show you?"

"Show me?"

I held my hand out for him and bowed my head down, "Let me lead you."

Sehun looked hesitant, "Uh..."

"Come on, just give it a try and you'll see what I mean."

He nodded slowly and took my outstretched hand, clearing his throat. "Okay so what do I do?"

"Just follow my lead."

"Okay... but how?"

"Don't think too much, just let your body move naturally with me."

I slowly began to lead him, moving my body along with the music. He tried his best to follow my steps as I began to move faster, leading him with me, spinning and flinging him around before pulling him back against my body. I could tell he was having a little trouble at first and his body was stiff.

"Just relax," I coaxed softly, "Don't hold yourself back. Let go."

He nodded slowly and I felt his muscles slightly relax. We maintained eye contact as Sehun slowly began to let loose and allowed his body to move freely. I smiled at how responsive he was to my lead, our movements gradually morphing together into one, as smooth as water in a stream. I could see the grin forming on his face and knew he was feeling it. Sehun was indeed flexible, what with the way he bent back and lifted his leg all the way up as I held him with my arm.

Soon enough the song ended and the two of us came to halt at a closed handhold, sweaty and panting but nonetheless smiling.

"That was incredible!" Sehun's pupils were blown wide and he seemed ecstatic, "I think... I think I get what you mean now!"

I grinned at him and released him from the handhold, "See? You were hesitant to try it because being the follow is typically the role of a woman. But in the end it all comes down to the fact that whether it's the lead or the follow, it's still dance, and that's what we came here for."

Sehun nodded at me, still smiling widely, "Yeah...you're right."

"So... Same time tomorrow?"

"Same time tomorrow," He confirmed, "And Jongin?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks."

I smiled, "You don't have to thank me."

"I know, but still. I am really thankful. What do you say we grab a drink at the cafe after classes today?"

I tried to hold in my smile.

"Sure."

For the rest of the day, I kept thinking about our dance session. I couldn't wait for classes to end so I could see Sehun again. I kept zoning out in my classes and was called out several times by my Professors for it. A few girls would look my way and giggle, but I really wasn't bothered. When my last class ended, I nearly sprinted out of the studio, unable to wait any longer. I stood right outside the main entrance to the campus, where we'd agreed to meet after classes ended. The weather was amazing that day, not too cold and not too hot, the sun radiating just the right amount of heat and the soft breeze blowing my hair away from my forehead. I watched the students walk in and out of the campus, going about their daily lives. My eyes only searched for Sehun, and when he appeared, a smile automatically made its way into my lips.

"Hey," I greeted as he made his way towards me.

"Hi," He flashed a dazzling smile and I could almost faint right there, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

"So how was your day?"

"So-so. Still trying to adapt to this whole college thing," I said at an attempt on sounding 'normal'. It usually took a while for people to adapt to college after leaving school, but for us travelers it was easy. We adapted fast and we usually didn't get too attached to people. We still made friends and cared for them to a certain extent, but leaving them and going far away was fairly easy. The only people that we actually 'missed' or longed for were our families and the person we fell in love with.

"Yeah, you'll get used to it soon enough. Did you have any friends back in school that you miss right now? Or a lover perhaps?" 

"I had a few good friends yeah. Lover... not really. I... actually never dated anyone before."

Sehun suddenly stopped walking. I turned to look at him, confused, only to see a genuinely shocked expression on his face.

"Never?"

"Uh... yeah," I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly. I wasn't really lying about that. Given the whole 'limited love' thing, us travelers obviously took love very seriously. High school flings almost never worked out so it was strictly recommended we didn't get into any relationships in school, or before going through the machine. "Something wrong with that?"

"No! Not at all. It's just... rare I guess," He said as he began walking again, "Especially for someone as good-looking as you. Surely a lot of girls must have been interested in you."

I blushed at the compliment. He thinks I'm good-looking.

Clearing my throat, I shrugged, "Well yeah but... I don't really like getting into temporary relationships. I guess you could say I'm the commitment type."

"Wow," Sehun breathed, "You are a rare one indeed."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" I asked with an expectant smile.

"Good, of course. That's a really mature train of thought for someone in high school, given the hormones and everything."

I laughed, "I guess you could say so. Call me cheesy but I want to find the one, you know?"

His eyebrows rose. "I see... I'll tell you this, girls are gonna be way more attracted to you when they hear that."

I don't need anyone's attention except yours, Sehun. I simply smiled and stared at the ground. We arrived at the cafe right around then and the two of us walked in and took a table. Soon enough the waiter came to take our order.

"I'll have chocolate bubble tea," Sehun ordered and I mentally took a note of it.

"Mocha Frappuccino."

The waiter jotted down our order before smiling and taking his leave.

"What about you though? Are you dating anyone?" I asked casually while we were still on the topic.

"Not now I'm not. I'm mostly just focusing on my studies... I did date a few girls back in high school but it never worked out I guess."

"I see..." I mentally rejoiced on knowing Sehun was single. That would save me the trouble of having to steal him from someone else. I half-freaked out when I first saw Luna at our dorm room's door, thinking she could be his girlfriend. But seeing the way they acted around each other, they were like siblings, and that put a huge load off my shoulders. Now the question remains whether or not Sehun is actually gay... I thought about that several times before but I really wasn't sure. Why would the machine match me to him if he wasn't? I had to be his ideal type as well for the machine to choose him at all. Maybe he was gay but just didn't know it yet. Whatever it was, I was going to find a way to make him love me. And our Latin dance sessions were a pretty good start if any.

All of a sudden, I felt really sick in the stomach. It was as if my intestines were literally being squeezed and pulled apart. I couldn't help but groan in pain.

"Jongin, are you okay?" Sehun asked, seeming worried.

The feeling passed within seconds and suddenly I was just fine. What the... That was weird...

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry."

I decided to just shrug it off as nothing. I was probably just nervous being with Sehun or something. He still looked unsure and was about to ask something, but the waiter arrived at our table right then with our drinks, cutting him off.

"So, what's your plan after graduating?" I asked quickly, sounding as casual as possible so Sehun would know I was alright and let it go.

"Uh... I wanna become an elite dancer... Traveling all over the world and performing on big stages. Or at least, that's my dream. You?"

I smiled, "Also somewhat along these lines. But I also hope to open my own dance studio someday and teach ballet and jazz."

"Nice. Maybe we could open one together when we're both rich and famous," Sehun stated unknowingly, before making a slightly embarrassed face as if he didn't know why he said that. "U-Unless of course, you prefer to roll alone," he quickly added.

I laughed, "I'd love to open a studio with you," I said honestly.

Sehun smiled somewhat shyly and took a sip of his drink.  he's cute... I just want to kiss him and do so much more...

I mentally smacked myself at my thoughts. It was way too early for all that. First I was going to be his friend, then his best friend, and from there I'd slowly get closer to him and show him my interest. I'd take it slow with him and build our relationship. That was the plan. The physical stuff had to wait, a lot.

"There was something I wanted to tell you," I spoke, remembering what I had wanted to tell Sehun.

"Sure, go ahead."

"About what Tao said yesterday," I started shyly and I could tell he understood what I wanted to talk about, "Just to keep things in the clear. That day, when I first saw you... you were kinda just staring at me in hallway. I  really don't know what got into me but... I just got kinda curious about you. So I followed you. I know it's probably creepy of me but... yeah... I'm sorry about that."

"Well, I guess I also owe you an explanation for staring at you like a creep as well," Sehun said with a nervous laugh, "You just looked really familiar, so I just kept staring at you without realizing it. Why don't we just call it even and put it all behind us?"

I smiled, "Yeah, okay."

Later that day, Sehun had to go practice for an upcoming dance showcase with his dance group. Luckily, Luna visited me at the dorm room to keep me company and we chatted for a good few hours. I figured if I wanted to get close to Sehun, I had to befriend his friends as well. Plus, Luna knew him for a long time so I could get a lot of information about Sehun from her. For example, I got to know that Sehun loved puppies and bubble tea. Apart from that, Luna was actually a really nice girl and was very enjoyable company. She left a little before midnight.

I was laying down on my bed, earphones in my ears, listening to music when my cell phone buzzed. I opened it to see it was my mother calling.

"Hey mom," I greeted as I answered her call.

"Kai, how have you been doing? I miss you so much already."

"I miss you too, ma. And dad too. I'm doing great here though, so don't worry about me."

"That's good to hear," she said happily before pausing, "Have you um, met the boy yet?"

I smiled to myself, "Yeah. He's my roommate actually."

"Ah, I see..."

"Mom... I know what you're gonna say."

"I just," she sighed, "I'm so worried about you getting hurt. Even if you've started falling for him already... It's not too late to turn back now, you know? You can still leave..."

"Please, I have already made my decision with this. I know you're worried and you want what's best for me, but just trust me. I... really like him. And I think he might come to like me back soon."

"Alright. It's your choice. Just... take care of my son, Kai."

Just then, Sehun walked into the room, waving at me lazily. I smiled at him before replying, "Don't worry ma. I'll be just fine."

"Alright, baby. It's late so try to get some sleep soon, okay?"

"Okay, mom. You take care, too, okay? I love you."

"I love you too, Kai. Good night."

"Night, mommy."

With that, I ended the call, only to see Sehun sitting on his bed and staring at me in amusement.

"What?"

"Nothing. I see you're a bit of a mama's boy."

"A little bit, yeah," I said nervously, "Something wrong with that?"

Sehun laughed softly, "No, not at all. It's very admirable actually."

I blushed slightly, putting my phone down and laying down on my bed, "Do you miss your parents?"

"Yeah I do... I miss home too. But I guess I just got used to it," he said, a distant look on his face, "You know, my parents were pretty hesitant on letting me persue dance because of my anemia. But in the end I managed to convince them because it was my dream."

"Well, I see why they'd be worried. Luna told me how irresponsible you tend to get with your body."

Sehun scowled, "What else did that witch tell you about me?"

I pretended to be in deep thought, "She also said you often sleepwalk to other people's beds in the middle of the night and cuddle with them."

Sehun looked scandalized, "That only happened like seven times!"

I laughed softly at his exclamation, "Hey, it's cute if you ask me." The boy blushed and lay down on his bed, throwing the covers over his face while groaning. "I wouldn't mind if you did it to me," I muttered under my breath.

Sehun uncovered himself and frowned at me, his hair all messy and looking extremely cute. "Did you say something?"

I chuckled, "Nope, nothing. We should get some sleep now." I stood up to turn off the lights and made my way back to my bed, "Good night, Sehun."

"Night, Jongin. And... don't tell anyone about the sleepwalking thing. Especially Yixing."

Why Yixing? I thought to myself, but chuckled anyway, "My lips are sealed."