It’s five in the afternoon and Kyungsoo walks out the door to greet the puppy bounding up to him from the apartment three doors down from his.

“Jjangah.” he coos, squatting down and welcoming the pup who quickly raises his front legs to Kyungsoo’s thighs, barking a few times before a stripe up his cheek.

Kyungsoo giggles, opening one palm and presenting the treat in front of the puppy who quickly laps it up happily. 

The giggle turns into a laugh quickly when Jjangah continues his palm, his legs giving out as he finally lets his fall back on the floor.

“There you are.” a voice speaks up and Kyungsoo lets the laughter die down softly, cheeks flushed as he looks up at Jongin.

“Where else would she be?” he answers, pulling his hand away only to scratch the side of her neck when she starts whining.

Jongin smiles in amusement, walking closer and squatting in front of Kyungsoo to pet his dog as well. 

The image brings a new set of red to bloom on Kyungsoo’s cheeks, trying hard not to imagine how they look so much like a couple playing with their puppy.

“Your pants will get dirty.” Jongin points out and Kyungsoo looks down, finally noticing the white color of his pants and the way his is still snug against the floor.

“Nah.” he shrugs, making a kissy face at Jjangah and grinning. “I don’t have anywhere to go anyways so might as well get down and dirty with this little girl here.”

Kyungsoo looks up just in time to see the bright smile on Jongin’s face and he immediately ducks down and pushes his face against Jjangah’s fur, effectively muffling the dying sound he emits at the back of his throat.

God, why is Jongin so cute?

The two stays seated in front of Kyungsoo’s apartment, Jongin finally sprawling on his as well after his legs starts to get numb from the same position. They talk about random things; about the new recipe Kyungsoo’s learning or how the old lady living next door to Jongin takes home a different guy every other night.

“What?” Kyungsoo laughs out loud, hand absentmindedly petting Jjangah who has her head tucked snugly against his lap. “What I mean- How? How?”

Jongin guffaws and it’s an absolutely awful sight but Kyungsoo could only swoon internally, wanting to live at the dimples on the other’s cheeks everytime he laughs.

“I thought they were his grandsons!” Jongin counters after his laughing fit, eyes bright and smile breathtaking. “Then I realized no one ever went in twice. I figured she couldn’t have that much grandsons, right?”

Kyungsoo nods, more than content with how things are going right now even if his is starting to get numb from the cold floor.

They both jolt in surprise when Jjangah bark in a high pitched tone, head raising as she bares her cute little front teeth, eyes looking past Kyungsoo.

“Jonginnie?” 

The last traces of laughter on Jongin’s face fades away when he looks up, Kyungsoo following his gaze to meet Hekyeong’s stare.

“Hey.” Jongin greets, quickly standing up and dusting his pants as he grabs the plastic bag from the girl’s fingers. 

Kyungsoo looks away, holding Jjangah against him tighter and cooing at him, trying to suppress the little growls escaping her and at the same time ignore the prickling sensation inside his chest.

He hears footsteps coming near before Jongin’s face appears again, looking apologetic as he pats Jjangan with his free hand.

“I’ll leave Jjangah to you for the meantime, okay?” Jongin says softly, straightening up and flashing a weak smile at him before he leads Hekyeong towards his apartment, the door shutting softly behind them.

Kyungsoo sighs, picking up the white furred puppy and standing up. He winces slightly at the numbness on his lower body, a sigh escaping his lips at the same time as he nuzzles Jjangah’s fur.

“So it’s just you and me again, huh?”

Jjangah only stares at him, unblinking. Kyungsoo sighs again and opens the door to his own apartment, fully prepared for a whole afternoon with the puppy.

Only the two of them and no one else.

 

 

It’s a routine. Jongin’s girlfriend - or Kyungsoo assumes she’s his girlfriend - visits; he’ll take in Jjangah for the meantime and then Jongin would knock at his door before dark and thank him for taking care of the puppy.

Kyungsoo sighs, lazing around at his couch and watching Jjangah play with the new chew toy he bought a few days ago. He looks around at Jjangah’s makeshift bed; at the pack of dog treats and toys lining up the floor and groans. Tilting his head back, he starts thinking how ridiculous his life is when he has all this dog stuffs and yet, he doesn’t even have one.

“You’re not even mine.” he pouts, watching as Jjangah perks her ears up and pausing at murdering the chew toy to stare at him.

Still pouting, he thinks back to when they started this kind of arrangement. 

Kyungsoo remembers harboring a long time crush at his not-so-next-door neighbor before they even became friends. They would occasionally bump with each other on the way to throw out trash or to go to their separate universities (Kyungsoo just knows, okay), but never exchanged more than a few pleasantries as both unit owners.

Then one day, Kyungsoo opens the door, blearily rubbing at his eyes and trying to find what the racket is that woke him up at a goddamn early hour for a weekend.

“Jjangah!” he hears a familiar voice and he quickly whips his head around, watching as Jongin tries to hold a squirming pup on his hands while a girl stands stricken a few feet away. “Stay still.”

Kyungsoo remains standing, watching the scene in confusion and blinking in surprise when the dog jumps down from Jongin’s arm and starts barking frantically, the male shouting and trying to stumble after the animal.

He takes a step back when the girl starts running towards him, the white ball of fur running after her. Kyungsoo looks back and forth at Jongin and the girl who looks scared to death before taking a step out and dumbly facing the angry dog.

His eyes are close, fully prepared to have his bony leg be bitten but when nothing comes, he slowly peeks at the view in front of him. Jongin is standing a short distance away, eyes wide and staring at something on the floor in front of Kyungsoo. He follows his gaze, watching in utter dumbness as the puppy wags its tails in front of him, tongue lolling out and circling before staring up at him again.

He looks up and meets Jongin’s questioning gaze with a similar one before he cautiously kneels down and presents his hand, taken aback when the dog just yelps and bounds up to him, sniffing at his hand before it.

“Wow.”

Jongin’s smile was blinding.

And that was how they met.

Shaking his head, he stands up and heads to his room, changing to a plain black shirt and shorts before he crawls towards Jjangah and starts playing with her. Laughing, he momentarily forgets his sadness as he rolls around the floor, Jjangah yelping merrily after him.

He forgets Jongin and his silly crush for a while.

It’s when the sun’s glow have gone out, replaced by the artificial light from the street lamp outside that Kyungsoo finally stands up from the floor, smiling fondly at the dog now nestled comfortably on his couch.

Normally, Jongin would have picked up Jjangah already but today seems to be different. There’s a small, nagging feeling at the back of his head and the thought is more than enough for his heart to feel a stab of pain.

“Kyungsoo, you stupid head of a mushroom.” he scolds softly, slapping his cheeks and turning the lights on the living room and kitchen, intending to start dinner.

He’s in the middle of frying strips of meat when Jjangah starts barking frantically just before a knock echoes from the living room. Kyungsoo quickly lowers the fire and pads towards the door, not surprised when Jongin’s sheepish smile greets him.

“Sorry.” he starts, kneeling down to grab Jjangah who’s currently on her hind legs, jumping and obviously wanting her owner to pick her up. 

“It’s okay.” he answers softly, making a face at Jjangah and completely staying oblivious at how Jongin’s eyes rake over his form.

They stand there in silence, awkwardly not knowing what to say to each other before Jjangah yelps again and Kyungsoo remembers the meat sizzling on his kitchen.

“Oh .” he stutters, quickly padding back to the kitchen and sighing in relief when he sees nothing has burned yet.

“Kyungsoo?”

Kyungsoo’s heart trips with how fast he turns around, eyeing Jongin who’s standing in the middle of the room with Jjangah in his arms.

“I’m sorry I just sort of came in and followed you since you left the door opened and…” Jongin trails off, looking at the floor. Kyungsoo couldn’t help but notice the tips of the other’s ear go red.

“No, no. It’s okay.” he answers a little bit breathless, mind finally catching up to how he must look right now. “Let me just… let me just go change, okay?”

Jongin nods, stepping aside as Kyungsoo stiffly walks past him towards his bedroom.

Inside, he leans his back on the door and internally panics because he’s got Jongin on his living room. 

“Calm down, calm down, calm down.” he repeats as he struggles to fit his legs on his sweatpants with shaking hands, mind racing and body uncoordinated making him stumble on the floor a few times.

When he finally comes out, it’s to Jongin’s concerned gaze.

“Is something wrong?” the taller asks, taking note of how Kyungsoo looks flushed. “I heard some thumps inside. Are you okay?”

“Yes!” he answers enthusiastically, flashing a thumbs up at Jongin’s way before resuming his cooking, mind now busy thinking of ways on how to invite the younger over for dinner.

“Kyungsoo?” Jongin asks, peeking at the male from his place at the couch. “Do you want me to go? I don’t want to impose-”

“No!” Kyungsoo stammers, the hand holding the spatula raised up in protest. He puts it down in embarrassment and shakes his head once more. “Stay- Stay for dinner. I mean, please stay for dinner?”

Jongin stares at him in silence and Kyungsoo feels like eating his stove at his awkwardness, though it doesn’t last long when Jongin smiles that blinding smile again and Kyungsoo feels everything turn alright in place.

 

 

One awkward dinner turns into regular night hangouts with them. Jongin would sometimes drop by with a plastic at hand and Jjangah safely cradled on his other arm, complaining that he needs real food now that he’s finally tasted some.

Kyungsoo would bat his compliment away, finally learning to relax around the younger but not more than a few notches lest he suddenly blurt out how he wants Jongin for dinner every. single. night.

His room has turned into an even bigger mess, his sudden closeness with Jongin fueling him to buy more and more stuff for Jjangah. Jongin would scold him softly but Kyungsoo would only end up ignoring him, smiling like a proud parent when Jjangah would sniff at the new toy before biting his tiny teeth into them and happily tearing it apart.

When nightime comes, Kyungsoo would smush his face against his pillow and scream in frustration, wondering why he’s doing all of these things.

“It makes me feel like Jjangah’s parent which means it makes me feel like Jongin’s boyfriend since Jongin is literally Jjangah’s father.” he whines at Baekhyun one afternoon, legs splayed out in front of him as Zootopia plays on the tv.

“Well, that is true.” Baekhyun answers, effectively getting a piece of popcorn on his face. “What?”

“I’m marking this day as the day I remove you from my list of friends.” Kyungsoo mutters distastefully, flicking his gaze towards the television.

“Excuse you, I’m not even on your friend list from the start.” Baekhyun counters before cheekily grinning at Kyungsoo. “I’m the only one on your bestest friend list.”

Kyungsoo debates whether to throw the whole bowl of popcorn on Baekyun’s face but decides against it, not wanting food to go to waste.

“But what do I do, Baekhyun?” he mumbles out of the blue, eyes staring at the moving cartoons on the television but Baekhyun sees his gaze unfocused. “My heart feels like bursting from all these emotions; I might explode.”

Baekhyun munches on a piece of popcorn and pats Kyungsoo’s thigh sympathetically.  “Then let it out before you do explode."

 

 

Jjangah still stays over and it’s becoming more frequent than before. Kyungsoo’s living room is now filled with her stuff you’ll think he owns her. He’s nothing but glad to have the little furball with him but alongside Jjangah’s frequent visit comes Jongin.

Kyungsoo is happy but at the same time confused. He hasn’t seen Hekyeong for a few weeks now and it makes him wonder why Jongin would still ask him to take care of Jjangah even when she’s not there. His heart stutters every time he thinks of the possibilities but he stops himself in time, not wanting to assume and hurt himself even more.

Jongin visits his apartment - a lot. It’s becoming so frequent that Baekhyun finally ends up meeting Jongin one evening when the latter decides to pop in unannounced for dinner.

“Hi?” Jongin says slowly when a stranger opens the door and not Kyungsoo. “Is Kyungsoo in there?”

“And you are?” Baekhyun counters instead, shamelessly letting his eyes drag from Jongin’s face down to his shoes.

“I’m Jongin, Kyungsoo’s neighb-”

“Oh, come in!” Baekhyun cheerfully ushers the confused male, wincing slightly when a yelp is heard from the bundle on Jongin’s arms. 

Jongin smiles sheepishly as Jjangah’s head pokes out from the blanket around her, eyes gazing intently at Baekhyun before yelping again.

Kyungsoo appears from the kitchen, blinking in surprise when he sees Jongin and Baekhyun who keeps rubbing at his cheek while Jjangah barks at him.

“Calm down, girl.” Jongin tries to shush Jjangah who reduces her yelping into soft whining.

“I better go then.” Baekhyun chirps, padding towards Kyungsoo and whispering something to him.

Jongin watches the exchange and shakes his head when Baekhyun faces him. “No, you don’t have to.”

Baekyun only waves him off and grins, already opening the door. “No, I insist.” Quickly glancing at Kyungsoo, Baekhyun waves once more. “I’ll see you Tuesday, Soo!”

Jongin and Kyungsoo watches the door close, turning to meet each other’s gaze at the same time and both quickly pretending to look elsewhere.

“I’m sorry. My best friend tends to be… weird.” Kyungsoo grimaces, fingers wiping at his shirt and grinning awkwardly after. “Dinner?”

Jongin nods and flashes Kyungsoo a shy smile before letting Jjangah down and watching her fondly bound up to Kyungsoo.

They sit in silence while they eat, Kyungsoo whipping up a quick dinner for the both of them while Jjangah munches happily from her place at the corner of the kitchen. It’s different tonight when usually both of them would chatter the time away; now it’s just silent.

“Baekhyun seems fun.” Jongin breaks the silence and Kyungsoo tries hard not to choke on his rice.

“He’s more of an idiot.” he corrects the other, flushing when Jongin laughs; and just like that, the tension ebbs away as Jongin starts to tell him about his day.

“Are you free tomorrow?” Jongin asks out of the blue, eyes and hands focused on toweling the dishes dry. Kyungsoo almost drops the plate on his hand but he saves himself from further shame.

“W-Why?”

“I wanted to try that new patbingsu place that opened outside the university.” Jongin answers softly, grabbing the plate from Kyungsoo’s hand and starting to dry it. “I was wondering if you’d like to come.”

Are you asking me out on a date? “Just us?”

Jongin pauses for a second before nodding. “Just us.”

Kyungsoo looks down at the sink, swallowing in nervousness.

“Unless you want to tag Baekhyun along?”

“Absolutely not.” he answers straightaway making Jongin laugh loudly.

“It’s a date then.”

 

 

Kyungsoo fidgets for the nth time, eyes watching every single person walking past him. He waves to a few students he knows, watching them go inside the warm halls of the university while he waits outside the gates for Jongin.

He’s so immersed in watching other people he failed to see the person already walking towards him, a hand raised as he softly taps Kyungsoo’s cheek.

“I’m sorry I took so long. My professor was nagging at me for the future program at uni.” Jongin says apologetically, cheeks tinge with pink from the cold or from rushing Kyungsoo’s not sure.

Kyungsoo stays quiet, eyes wide as he takes in sweet Jongin wearing a simple black coat over a grey sweater and jeans. He looks absolutely nothing short of perfect in Kyungsoo’s eyes.

“Um,” he starts dumbly, wringing his hands in front of him and finally shaking his head. “It’s a-alright. I was not waiting long, anyway.”

Jongin huffs and flashes him a smile before urging him forward to start walking. 

Kyungsoo pretends not to notice how close they’re walking alongside each other; how the back of their hands keep bumping against each other from the proximity and how Jongin’s smile never left his face all throughout.

They ended up trying different flavors of Bingsu, comparing tastes and letting their spoons travel from one bowl to the next. Jongin laughs out loud when Kyungsoo accidentally bops his nose with his spoon, making him wince at the cold temperature and Kyungsoo retaliates by grabbing Jongin’s and pressing it hard on his cheek.

They stayed all afternoon, only deciding to leave with regret when dark settles in and the server apologetically informs them that they’re closing soon.

“Man, that was so good.” Jongin sighs as they walk back to their apartment. 

Kyungsoo nods, making a pained sound as he clutches both hands on his stomach. “I ate so much I think I’m going to explode.”

Jongin snorts, playfully flicking at Kyungsoo’s nose who’s quick to open his mouth and threatens to bite the taller’s finger off.

“We should do this again.” Jongin mutters when they’re standing outside Kyungsoo’s door.

Kyungsoo nods, smiling shyly, holding his keys on his hand and not knowing what to do with it. He looks up, intending to say goodnight but the words die before it comes out at Jongin’s stare.

Jongin’s gazing at him silently, eyes boring into Kyungsoo’s and he could feel the air thinning as they start to breathe in the same space.

And then a bark echoes loudly on the otherwise silent hallway.

“J-Jjangah.” Kyungsoo mumbles, looking down and away from Jongin’s eyes. He feels the puff of air Jongin lets out before pulling away, a hand rubbing at his hair hair in frustration.

“I guess I gotta feed her.” Jongin mumbles, kicking awkwardly at the floor and sighing once more. “I’ll see you dinner tomorrow?”

Kyungsoo bites back a smile and meets Jongin’s unsure gaze.

“I’ll see you dinner tomorrow.”

 

 

Kyungsoo groans loudly, not wanting to wake up from his wonderful dream of eating out with Jongin. He mumbles in contentment before a lazy thought crosses his mind.

One of Jongin and him having dinner.

“Oh my God.” he scrambles up, hands against his chest as he replays last night. He feels his heart thrum wildly at the image of Jongin breathing against his cheek; of how hard he screamed at Baekhyun over the phone and how late he slept after not finding peace with his emotions.

He spends the day thinking of what to cook for dinner even though Jongin would always come eat at his place nowadays. He feels every bit special, not being able to stop himself from thinking that Jongin might actually really like him as well.

A soft, instrumental music echoes across the apartment as Kyungsoo cleans, going about nothing and everything when a knock is heard.

He stops in confusion, knowing it’s too early for Jongin to drop by for dinner. Figuring it was someone else, he opens the door only to be met with Jongin’s weak smile and Jjangan tucked in his arms.

“I was wondering if you could take care of her for a while?” Jongin says unsurely and Kyungsoo’s eyes unconsciously drifts towards the girl standing a bit farther behind Jongin.

Something large lodges up his throat but he swallows it down, silently taking Jjangah in his arms and closing the door softly before Jongin could utter another word.

All thoughts of making something special for dinner disappears as he sets Jjangah down on the floor. The dog doesn’t run inside as usual, as if sending Kyungsoo’s sadness, turns back at him and paws at his leg.

“What’s up, girl?” Kyungsoo mumbles, kneeling down and scratching behind her ear. “Something bothering you?”

Jjangah only whines, staring unblinkingly at him and Kyungsoo sighs.

“Something bothering me.”

 

 

It’s already dark when Jongin knows again at Kyungsoo’s door, Jjangah’s barking echoing first before the door opens to reveal Kyungsoo.

“I only ordered pizza, I’m sorry.” Kyungsoo begins in monotone, leaving the door for Jongin who has his eyebrows raised. Kyungsoo dislikes eating take aways.

Jongin follows him towards the kitchen, two boxes of plain cheese pizza sitting on the middle of the table. Kyungsoo opens one box and grabs a slice before padding back towards the living room and turning the television on.

“Someone’s upset.” Jongin whispers to Jjangah, taking a slice for himself and following Kyungsoo out to the living room. He shouldn’t be smiling but if he guesses right then he has all the right reasons to smile for.

“What’s eating you out?” Jongin asks casually, taking a seat at the opposite side of the couch where Kyungsoo is. 

Kyungsoo grumbles something, absentmindedly flicking channel after channel while stuffing his mouth with pizza. Jongin stifles a laugh, content with watching how cute Kyungsoo is sulking.

“Hey.” Jongin starts once more but Kyungsoo doesn’t even spare him a glance.

“Kyungsoo.” 

“Soo.”

“Listen to me.”

Kyungsoo grunts and Jongin smiles.

“I like you.”

Kyungsoo stiffens at that, cheeks pausing at his munching and Jongin internally whoops in glee.

Swallowing down the food in his mouth, Kyungsoo turns around wide-eyed at Jongin. “What?”

“I like you.” Jongin repeats, setting his half eaten pizza on the small table and scooting closer to Kyungsoo, reaching out and wiping the cheese on the corner of the latter’s mouth. “I really like you.”

Kyungsoo is unsure whether he heard right, the pounding of his heart against his chest loud and drowning everything else. He only settles for staring at Jongin who looks at him in amusement, mouth moving and soundless words coming out.

“Do Kyungsoo.” the taller male calls out once more and it snaps Kyungsoo out from his trance.

Kyungsoo bites his lower lip, the surfacing happiness put on hold as Hekyeong’s image forms in his mind. “What about your girlfriend?”

Jongin blinks, the amusement on his face fading away into confusion. 

“Hekyeong…” Kyungsoo trails off, expression going somber as he feels the beginning of something bitter inside his mouth. “I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to be your secret. I don’t want to even like you knowing you have a girlfriend. I’m not going to settle for this and I know she doesn’t deserve-”

Jongin huffs loudly, effectively making Kyungsoo stop his blabbering. The taller male closes his eyes tightly for a quick two seconds before sitting up straight and looking at Kyungsoo.

“Hey, look at me.” Jongin pleads softly, trying to catch Kyungsoo’s eyes who keeps averting from him. “Please.”

Forcing the giddiness of the confession mixed inside Kyungsoo’s misunderstanding, Jongin sighs in relief when Kyungsoo finally meets his gaze with unsure ones.

“Hekyeong… she’s not my girlfriend.” Jongin says slowly, watching Kyungsoo for any reaction. “She’s my cousin and her boyfriend happens to be my best friend.” he continues, lowering his eyes and bravely reaching out to hold Kyungsoo’s hand on his lap. “She’s been having problems with him and since I was closest to her boyfriend, she started coming over to talk about him with me. It’s just… Jjangah doesn’t really like her for a reason we both don’t know.”

Jongin chances a glance at Kyungsoo and purses his lips to stop the smile from coming out when he sees the other’s cheek turn a pretty shade of pink.

“It was totally unexpected when Jjangah warmed up to you and I… I couldn’t resist the opportunity to get close to you.” Jongin confesses, pressing his thumb against the back of Kyungsoo’s hand and letting it linger. “I could have let her stay in my bedroom…or told her to stay in place but I didn’t, mostly because I’ll have no excuse to talk to you anymore._”

The hand on his twitches before shy fingers returns the touch and Jongin couldn’t help the smile from coming up, slowly looking up to meet Kyungsoo’s shy gaze. He loosens his hold on them and allows his fingers to slide in between the gaps of Kyungsoo’s own.

It remains silent after that, Jongin pressing their laced fingers on his lap and waiting for Kyungsoo to say something - anything.

“I was so dumb, right?” Kyungsoo finally says, voice so small it makes Jongin’s inside twist with want. “I kept on assuming things and just.. sorry.”

“You told me you like me, that more than makes up for it.” Jongin answers cheekily, loving the darker shade of red on the other’s skin. “And for the record, it was my fault for not telling you she’s was my cousin in the first place.”

Kyungsoo laughs awkwardly at his, making to pull his hand away only for Jongin to pull it right back, dragging Kyungsoo against him as well.

“You’re not trying to run away from me, are you?” Jongin teases, heart drumming crazy against his chest as he feels Kyungsoo’s breathy sigh against his cheek.

Kyungsoo shakes his head slowly and swallows back another awkward laugh when he feels Jongin press his nose against his once, twice.

This is it, Kyungsoo thinks, as he feels Jongin come even closer. He feels his palms get sweaty and he knows Jongin must be feeling it too but he doesn’t want to pull away. He wants this.

Except Jjangah probably thinks it’s for some other time when she starts yelping, jumping up towards the couch in between them.

 

 

Kyungsoo hasn’t tasted pizza this delicious as he allows Jongin to feed him a slice, the television flickering lights from whatever it is that is playing.

They slowly start to slide back to their usual self except Kyungsoo’s cheeks are perpetually red, Jongin keeps feeding him and one of his hand is eternally locked with Jongin’s.

Jjangah bounds up in the middle of the couch again, sniffing her way up to Kyungsoo’s cheek where she starts at the stray cheese. Kyungsoo starts laughing, swatting the furry animal away.

“Jjangah, stop.” he half giggles, finally able to push the dog away and turning his head to look at Jongin only for soft lips to press fully against his.

Jongin pulls back, chuckling at the dazed look on Kyungsoo’s face. He picks up Jjangah and nuzzles his nose against hers.

“Who’s my good little girl?”