"Why are you screwing up so much? Was it what Baek said?" It was the next day. Jongin came into the studio early in the morning to avoid confrontation with Kyungsoo. He hadn't been thinking straight since the awkward- on his behalf- kiss they shared.

"I thought you were asleep." Jongin made an attempt to change the subject, but even Chanyeol wasn't dumb enough to fall for it.

"Baekhyun explained how the whole thing went down. Now tell me, is it what he said?" Chanyeol smirked at the dejected look Jongin threw in his direction.

"If you must know," Jongin muttered begrudgingly. "After you and Baekhyun left, Kyungsoo apologized for his behavior and expressed his remorse in a form of a hug. And then he kind of pulled away and cupped my face in his hands; he just stared into my eyes-"

"He kissed you?" Chanyeol asked hopefully, albeit loudly.

"No. He was just staring, so I ended up doing it, but it seemed kind of rushed, so it was really awkward..." Chanyeol's eyes widened comically, and he legitimately squealed.

"It's about time. I know the whole ordeal was strange, but at least it happened. I'm so proud of you. But why are you so down?" He rushed in one breath. Luckily, Jongin had been his friend long enough for him to understand perfectly.

"I don't know where we stand. I love Kyungsoo, I kissed him, and I don't know what is going on with our relationship as a whole. I'm avoiding him because I don't want to be told something I don't want to hear. I think I screwed up." Jongin groaned and ran a hand through his hair. Chanyeol frowned and bit his lip.

"How did he react when you kissed him?"

"He giggled, and he pecked my lips before going to bed-" Chanyeol's hopeful expression returned, but Jongin stopped him before he could speak. "But he could've just been buzzed from the champagne or even tired. He was half asleep when Baekhyun barged into the apartment."

"Jongin, you just said you loved him. You've finally admitted it to me." A grin grew on Chanyeol's face, and Jongin's eyes widened.

"Yeol, you cannot tell Soo what I told you. This conversation never leaves the studio."

"But Jongin-" Chanyeol had attempted to speak up, to no avail. Behind Jongin was Baekhyun and Kyungsoo. They had arrived with food as per usual, and Chanyeol had finally spotted them at the door. And by the looks of it, they heard everything because Kyungsoo was a blushing mess.

"I'm serious, Chanyeol. Not until I'm for sure positive that he feels the same way. Until then, do not bring this up." Chanyeol went ahead and nodded, looking at the two friends almost apologetically.

"Fine. I won't say anything to him. But please talk to the guy. You need to define your relationship, and soon. Otherwise you'd be doomed to live a lonely life." Jongin scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Anyway, Kyungsoo always comes at one to drop off our lunch. That means he'll be here..." Jongin paused his sentence to check his phone. And when he did, the color in his face drained.

1:04

Kyungsoo was here for four minutes.

Kyungsoo heard Jongin's confession.

Kyungsoo was behind him.

Jongin seriously screwed up this time.

Afraid to look, he reluctantly turned around to what can only be described as his biggest fear. If there was one thing Jongin could choose to avoid from the list of things he hates, rejection would definitely be it. Kyungsoo was staring at him, biting his lip, wearing an unreadable expression. Beside him was Baekhyun, who currently had the same look on his face as Chanyeol.

"Go talk to him. It's now or never Jongin. You've already pretended to be a thing; make it happen for real." Jongin could only sit frozen and with a horrified look on his face. When the tan male didn't budge, Chanyeol rolled his eyes impatiently and beckoned Kyungsoo and Baekhyun over. Obediently, the two came by, Baekhyun sat next to Chanyeol, and Kyungsoo set the food on the table.

"Do you really, Jongin-ah? Do you really love me?"  Jongin wanted so desperately to look away, but those large owl eyes staring hopefully at him made his heart swell. Instead, he stood up just so he could be closer to them.

"Soo, you two should talk in the other room. It makes this whole situation more personal-"

"Shut up, Baekhyun." Chanyeol looked at the other, endeared, and pecked his lips to quiet him down. The pair had originally gotten Jongin's attention, so he ended up looking at them rather than Kyungsoo.

"Nini, come back to me, Nini," the shorter almost whispered, gaining Jongin's eyes by cupping his face and pulling him closer. "I love you, too, Jongin."

Kim Jongin was elated. It showed with the ear-to-ear grin on his face. Kyungsoo's plump lips mimicked Jongin's; was coming closer.

"Kiss me, Jong-"

*Get up, loser. We're going shopping.* Chanyeol's voice blared through his phone's speakers. Jongin had no idea why he decided to let Chanyeol pick his alarm- let alone create it. But right now was truly an inconvenient time for the idiot to wake him up.

The tan male groaned and swiped to the right, turning the alarm off. He didn't want to wake up. He didn't want his dream to end. He didn't want his dream to be only that: a dream. He wanted a reality. Maybe one less cliché than his dream, but a reality nonetheless.

Finally getting out of bed, the man exited his room shirtless and with tousled bed hair. Today, he decided to take Kyungsoo's advice and rest on his off day. Absolutely no studio visits.

In retrospect, he should've figured Kyungsoo would be home as well. Because there he was in the kitchen, pantless, sprinkling confectioner's sugar over some sort of food.

"Jongin, Jongin. You have to try these. They're these things called beignets and they're French and super cute. Come here." Excitedly, Kyungsoo held one patiently in the air for Jongin to take.

He trudged into the kitchen and looked at this 'beignet'. It was fried and in the shape of an inflated pillow. The powdered sugar gave it a nice 'soft' look per se. All in all, Jongin opened his mouth expectantly for Kyungsoo to feed him. The shorter boy rolled his eyes and scoffed playfully.

"Jonginnie, so hard-working and hardly working at the same time. You're a walking oxymoron." Kyungsoo giggled, feeding him nevertheless. Jongin chuckled in agreement through the mouthful of pastry before at the taste.

"It's still warm." He commented after he swallowed the bite-sized snack.

"Because they taste better fresh. So what do you think? Should I include them in the bakery?" Just as Jongin was about to answer, the doorbell rang: a strange sense of déjà vu in Jongin's opinion.

"I'll get that," Jongin chuckled to himself and popped another beignet into his mouth on his way towards the door. When he opened it, he was pleasantly surprised to find Mrs. Do standing there with a bright smile. "Oh, hi. You got a visitor, sweetheart." Jongin turned to Kyungsoo, who furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, and cocked his head towards the door.

"Omma! What are you doing here?" He smiled and ran up to his mother with welcoming arms. "Come in, I was just making Nini try the beignets. You still haven't answered my question, love."

"I love how you two use cute little pet names for each other," Mrs. Do cooed, sitting herself down onto one of the chairs. The 'couple' blushed as Kyungsoo grabbed Jongin's hand and lead him into the kitchen. "It's so precious. You know, your father and I did that, and look at us now." She smirked knowingly.

Kyungsoo and Jongin could only laugh as awkwardly as the situation can get. "Oh, how sweet," the older's blush reddened. "Listen, Jongin. We really need to talk about last night."

"And the hushed whispers? So secretive." His mother called from the other room.

"I know that we were both pretty tipsy, but-" Kyungsoo didn't have a chance to continue as his doorbell rang again. Who on earth could that be? Chanyeol and Baekhyun both have keys.

"I'll go ahead and answer that, darling." His mother announced and stood up to open the door.

"I'll tell you later." Kyungsoo whispered, standing onto his tiptoes to peck Jongin's lips. The action may have been meaningless, but Kyungsoo's mother wasn't looking, so Jongin took it to heart.

"Jongin, this handsome young man here says you were supposed to pick up a ring with him?" She positively beamed. Maybe she thought he was going ring shopping for Kyungsoo. Jongin did love the boy, but he's only been living with Kyungsoo for about seven months.

"Oh right. You're proposing tonight. I'll be ready in a sec, just let me get dressed." Jongin told the man at the door. When his friend nodded, Jongin left the kitchen to put on a shirt and some different pants.

"Hello, Kyungsoo-ssi." The man gave a polite bow and a brilliant eye smile.

"Hello, Zitao. How are you?" He attempted making conversation. The man was a friend of Jongin's from a time they both did a collaboration and created a martial arts-themed choreography for Dominic Sandoval- a YouTuber who goes under the alias "D-Trix"- in America.

"To tell you the truth, I'm a nervous wreck. I have this whole thing planned out, but I feel like I'm going to screw something up, you know?" Kyungsoo gave him a sad smile.

"Try to think positive, you'll only jinx it." The elder chuckled. He was pleased to hear an actual response from the man so he could have a decent conversation.

"He's right, you know," Mrs. Do joking the conversation. "How do you plan on proposing?"

"I was going to take him to his favorite restaurant, then um-" Zitao's considerably tanned features turned a bright red and he cleared his throat; the Dos clearly understood what that indicated.

"Ohh," Kyungsoo smirked and finally exited the kitchen. He sat down on the sofa, still pantless. "This just got interesting." He giggled in excitement.

"You know, I really shouldn't tell you how the rest of this plan goes-" he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

That was when he was saved by the bell, or in this case, Jongin. "Hey. I'm ready. Soo, Jjangah is a bit down, so maybe you can invite Baekhyun over since she loves him so much?" He suggested, momentarily forgetting Mrs. Do was there. She didn't seem to hear the name come out of his mouth however as she was in the midst of a conversation with Tao.

"Ok, hon. I'll give him a call," Jongin knelt down beside Kyungsoo; the older pulled him closer. "I love you." The man whispered with pure sincerity. Jongin looked into his eyes as the elder said it, and then he leaned forward, cupping Kyungsoo's face when their lips met more a slow but passionate kiss.

"I love you, too, Do Kyungsoo." The tan male beamed as he pulled away. Kyungsoo was blushing at the statement because he knew now that he and Jongin were no longer 'friends' at that point.

"I'll see you later." He grinned. Jongin could only return the smile and stand up, leaving the mother and son alone in the house. Zitao playfully punched his arm after he closed the door.

"You finally did it, you pathetic loser," it was Tao's way of a congratulation. "The fact that you pretended to be his boyfriend in from of his mother was just sad. But now, you've actually confessed. You both did. It's about time." He huffed.

"How did you know about the- Chanyeol told you, didn't he?" He asked instead when realization struck.

"You know, I've never thought I'd be saying this, but I'm proud of you, son-"

"I'm not that much younger than you." Jongin commented as the Chinaman slung an arm over his shoulder.

"You've found love. You've found it, and now you'll realize that it is the greatest experience you could ever have-"

"I know what love is."

"But now, you can look love right in the eye- that large, owl-like eye-"

"They are precious." He defended with a scoff.

"And hold it, squeeze it, kiss it. Marry it."

"I don't think we're ready for that, yet. I don't even know where we stand in our relationship." Tao stopped in his tracks and frowned.

"You should really talk to him about that, then. Can't live with him with awkward air, you know." Jongin sighed defeatedly.

"I know. I just- how do I ask him what we are without making him uncomfortable?"

Zitao let out a chuckle and smirked at his foolishness. "Silly Nini, you can't do that. You just it up and tell him you want to be with him. Kyungsoo already feels mutual, so what's the worse that can happen?" He could only shrug. Jongin had to admit that his friend was right.

"I guess I could ask him tonight?" His friend nodded in agreement.

"The sooner the better, my friend." Zitao stared longingly into blank space. "The sooner the better."

It's a brand new Thursday, and today was actually a pretty good day- so far. I'm currently at school and it's lunchtime, but I'll keep an open mind. But anyway, this chapter may not have much to do with things now- the Tao wedding thing- but it will in the later future. But other than that, I hope you guys enjoyed the update. I'll try to update next week, around the same time, but I have finals so I can't make any promises. But I will try.

-Chencing_Machine