Jongin woke up drenched in sweat, his entire body feeling overheated. His cheeks felt as if he was standing in front of an open oven and his boxers were tight, straining across his hips. A glance down at his lap told him what he suspected.

He had fallen asleep at his desk, and had a wet dream about his small, wide eyed neighbour.

It wasn't that he had never had a wet dream before, just not one about somebody he didn't technically know at all and had only met twice. He didn't even know how he had managed to since there was no way for him to elicit any friction in his sleep while he was sitting in a chair. But it had happened. And it had seemed so real too.

There had been a knock at his door and Kyungsoo had come in with tears in his eyes, telling him everything. About his boyfriend being married, having a kid, living on the other side of the city, how he had no intention of setting someone as first priority when he himself wasn't one.

Then Jongin had confessed his feelings—feelings he didn't exactly know were there—and Kyungsoo had been quick, quicker than Sehun, at kissing him.

Sehun!

Guilt surged within him. He and Sehun weren't anything, really. Not yet anyways, but he was already thinking about someone else. If there had been no feelings before for Kyungsoo, they were definitely there now. All because he seemed to have reverted back to a middle schooler.

Or, he recognized them, better now. Everything he had been feeling since meeting Kyungsoo and henceforth thinking about him started reminding him of how he had started feeling about Sehun. Only, his feelings for Sehun had come gradually. His attraction to Kyungsoo seemed to be prevalent, as if they had always been there, just waiting for them to meet to be able to surface. But that was impossible. He didn't know how else to describe how he felt about hearing Kyungsoo's situation through the walls before meeting him and still feeling such an intense amount of emotion towards him.

There was nothing that Jongin could do about these feelings he was developing, but there was something he could do about the ones he already had. For Sehun that is. A stupid dream wasn't going to ruin anything for him. He would do his best to put it behind him.

----

He had no classes Tuesday. He usually took a day shift on Tuesdays, if one was available. He could always use the extra money.

Yifan, however, was not happy with him turning up looking the way he did. Not angry, but not happy.

“You're on the fourth floor aren't you?” Yifan asked him, sighing.

“Uh, yeah.”

“When Jongdae told me he punched some kid on his floor I didn't think he meant you, Jongin.”

Jongin smiled sheepishly, he wasn't surprised that Yifan would know Jongdae and Minseok. He had told Jongin, when he was still apartment hunting, that he had been living in that building for a long time. Which reminded him, he still had to clear things up with Yixing, who probably still thought he was homophobic. “It was a misunder—”

“Misunderstanding, yes, I heard. Try to be more careful would you?”

Jongin nodded. He wondered if Yifan knew Kyungsoo too. The couple on his left seemed much more outgoing than what he'd witnessed of Kyungsoo's reserved demeanor. It was possible he kept to himself enough for Yifan to not know him personally.

Tao walked in ten minutes late, peeking at Jongin over sunglasses, despite the cloudy sky outside.

“You know, as much as I prefer working in the back, I think today I'll let you do it.”

Jongin frowned. “Really?”

“Yeah, that ugly mug of yours will scare away all of the customers.”

I'm not one to fight , he reminded himself with fists balled up tightly as Tao walked past him, high pitched laugh ringing through the empty cafe, as he went to change into his uniform.

“He's right. You should work in the back for now.”

Jongin shot Yifan an incredulous look.

“Uh, not because you're ugly, Jongin. It’s just that you look really unprofessional right now. Besides, you hate working front.”

Jongin grumbled but went back into the kitchen and started up the ovens for the day and unloaded the coffee pots from the dishwasher, leaving them all at the wrong thermals with the wrong lids on just to make Tao’s morning a little bit more difficult than it would have been otherwise.

----

Sehun met him at the cafe near the end of his shift and they walked to the dance studio that Jongin had told him about before. He had booked a studio in advance so there would be no issues when they got there.

There was more talking about choreography, and Sehun demonstrating some moves, than actual practice since Jongin was exhausted from being on his feet all day.

Their dancing styles were admittedly different, but that didn't mean they didn't mix well together. Jongin decided that he could watch Sehun dance forever. He didn't need anything else.

Sehun walked him back to his apartment before catching a bus to his uncle's house. Jongin entered in a daze, tired but content. He didn't particularly hear anything when he got inside his flat, but after his shower, when he was drying his hair with a towel, he heard the sobs come through again. Instantly, the crippling sadness and anxiety from Thursday night, the last time he had heard Kyungsoo cry through the walls like this, came back, hitting him like bag of bricks.

He hurriedly dressed himself and opened his apartment door. Standing in front of Kyungsoo's door again, his arm out, knuckles poised right before the wood, he didn't know why, but he knew he shouldn't. Just like a few days before. But this time, he did.

It took a while, but he heard someone shuffle up to the door. But it didn't open.

“Kyungsoo… are you okay?” he called out softly, hoping the other would hear it properly.

“Go away Jongin,” Kyungsoo replied, just as softly.

“If there's anything I can do—”

“Just leave! Please, please leave me alone!”

Jongin was taken aback by the outburst.

“Kyungsoo…” he started.

“Don't get involved. Please don't get involved.” Kyungsoo started crying again and Jongin was heartbroken by the fact there wasn't anything he could do to immediately remedy it.

So he did what Kyungsoo asked. He went back into his flat, and left Kyungsoo alone.

He didn't get involved.

----

Jongin knew that Baekhyun liked wearing makeup. He had to be good at it too, because he had never seen Baekhyun looking bad.

He remembered how Kyungsoo told him he had used makeup to cover up his bruises and so he thought he'd ask someone who probably knew what they were doing. He couldn't really ask Kyungsoo, considering their interaction through the door the night before, and that Jongin didn't really know him like that— dream aside.

Though he wasn't really one to put too much conscious effort into his appearance, he really couldn't stand all the stares he was getting everywhere he'd go and his bruise wasn't looking like it was going away any time soon.

So when he met up with the inseparable duo during his break for lunch, he asked Baekhyun if he could help with his problem and Baekhyun actually seemed quite delighted at being asked. However, Chanyeol whispered something into his ear, making him frown, before he went back to eating his burrito as if nothing had happened.

Baekhyun held his gaze and cleared his throat. “I'll help you. On one condition.”

“What is it?” he asked, hesitantly, glancing towards Sehun who was eating next to him, seemingly not paying attention to the conversation. But Jongin knew he was, because he was sitting up straight and leaning slightly forward rather than slouching like he usually did when he was eating.

“Tell us what the actually happened.”

That was when Jongin realized he'd only vaguely explained the situation to his two best friends and then left them hanging. He nodded and swallowed thickly before diving into the story. He started from the very beginning.

“So one of my neighbours, he's kinda being treated really badly by his boyfriend, and I can kinda hear everything through the walls so I was getting worried…”

He told them about meeting Kyungsoo on the balcony and being told not to do anything like call the police and how he'd still gone to Yixing about the situation. He explained that he hadn't felt comfortable saying the situation out loud and communicated poorly with his landlord and and somehow convinced Yixing that he was talking about his other neighbours and that he was homophobic.

Chanyeol laughed loudly at that, earning a firm kick under the table from Jongin before he continued. He told them how Jongdae and Minseok got the wrong idea because he hadn't been able to properly convey his message to Yixing and Jongdae and punched him in the face.

“Wow,” Chanyeol said. “You really need to learn how to talk to people.”

“Leave me alone,” he looked to Baekhyun. “Will you help me?”

Before he could do anything, Baekhyun leaned over and grabbed Jongin's face, pinching the skin harshly. Jongin was a little frightened. Baekhyun sat back and took out his phone. He played around with something before holding it up and snapping a picture of a wide eyed Jongin. Even Sehun looked up, to see why he had heard a camera shutter go off, taking his attention off eating his food like an animal for only a second before going right back to it.

“Yeah I'll help.”

Jongin wondered why everyone around him was hell bent on making him feel as confused as possible.

----

Later that day, while they were heading out of their lab and towards one of the studios they'd booked off for dance practice, they passed by Professor Kim, who recognized him immediately when he and Sehun stopped to say hello.

“You never came by the department office, Jongin. I'm a little disappointed.”

Jongin looked down. “I'm sorry professor, I just haven't had the time. Between school and work and—”

Professor Kim cut him off with a laugh. “Don't worry about it. Just drop by anytime.”

Jongin nodded, thinking that would be the end of the conversation, he almost turned back to Sehun, who had been quiet this entire time, but Professor Kim grabbed his chin in one hand and stopped him.

“If you don't mind me asking…” Professor Kim moved his hand from Jongin's chin to lightly press his fingers to the slant of Jongin's nose. “What happened to your face?”

Sehun's hand shot out and grabbed Professor Kim’s wrist.

“He minds,” Sehun said, his voice sounding deeper, gruffer than usual.

Professor Kim turned his gaze towards Sehun for the first time, eyes surprised as if he hadn't noticed Sehun standing there before. But he only chuckled and pulled his wrist out of Sehun's grip.

“Well, I'm off. Take care of yourself Jongin.” He gave Jongin a warm smile, leaving with an expression directed towards Sehun that Jongin wouldn't consider friendly in any way.

When he was out of sight, Jongin smacked Sehun on the arm.

“Ow!” Sehun nudged Jongin in the ribs. “What the hell was that for?”

“Are you crazy? Talking to him like that?”

“Who? Professor Kim? He's a tool.”

“He is also the head of the criminology department. The guy who gets final say in whether you get your degree or not.”

“I doubt he’ll be around that long. Not if he keeps flirting with students the way he does. He's gonna get caught doing something worse one day.”

“Oh, what do you know?” It was rhetorical, but Sehun answered anyways.

“Plenty. You may not keep up with the latest gossip but I do and trust me Jongin, he's bad news.”

“Are you trying to say that when he says to come by the department office to discuss what kind of opportunities there are for me, he's really just talking about the opportunity to his ?”

“Hey, you said it, not me.”

“You literally just said it. Just with different words.”

“But I didn't use those words so you can't say that I said it.”

Jongin rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I'm not interested in for grades or internships or whatever he's offering.”

“Oh so now you're going to believe school gossip?”

“Sehun.” Why was he like this? Not that Jongin could complain, considering he was grinning at Sehun's teasing.

“Yes?”

“You just said—”

“I said nothing.”

“Fine. I won't believe the rumours. I'll just go and see what kind of opportunities he's offering me for myself and just take what I can get. What's a if I get what I want right?”

Sehun stopped walking. They had just reached the studio and Sehun grimaced at him before opening the door, pulling him in harshly and shutting the door loudly. He locked it before pushing Jongin up against it and planting his hands firmly on either side of Jongin's shoulders.

“Can we please not talk about you giving s to other people?” Sehun said as his nose nudged Jongin's cheek slightly, the breath from his words hitting Jongin's parted lips. His tongue darted out to wet them as his mouth suddenly felt dry at their proximity. Before Sehun could close the distance between them, as Jongin assumed he would, he dropped down on his knees in front of Sehun and started tugging at his belt buckle.

I just want to thank everyone who has read, commented, subscribed etc.

It really means a lot since this is my first EXO fic, and first fic on aff (I still honestly don't know how this website works tbh), and I'm trying to come out of huge writers block, and because I was extremely hesitant to post this story, not knowing what kind of reaction it would get.

I have pretty much the entire story planned out already and about half of it written in drafts and I was kind of nervous about the big game changer in the story (around chapter 11 12 or 13) before I posted but now I'm actually excited to get to that point because of the positive feedback!!

Sorry for the rambling authors note but I just want to let you all know that you're extremely appreciated <3