Warning: This scenario contans some explicit language!

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 6,771

Note: 1/12 of my first summer one shot series.

The very first member is Kai! I wanted to kick off this series by portraying Exo as rowdy high school boys who like to diss each other and Kai as the grumpy kid who hates everyhting. The things the characters say do not actually reflect my opinions on Exo.

~~

Jongin’s eyelids flitter open, head resting against the window of the rickety bus.

He can tell from the hindering of the engine’s low rumbling and the gradually increasing noise of the students’ murmurs that they have presumably arrived at their destination. His body shifts uncomfortably against the worn-out leather when his fellow seniors lean toward the left side of the bus, faces pressing against glass and breaths forming condensation on already dirty windows to observe the scenery of the beach, as the bus is set askew on an incline.

An elbow prods him in the ribs before the familiar, nasally voice of his best friend, Oh Sehun, queries, “You awake, Kim Jongin?”

Responding with a low grunt, Jongin lumbers from the flumped position he rests in, sleep still lingering heavily behind his eyes.

“Students, please stay seated,” the teacher reprimands as she stands up from her seat, voice booming against the thin walls of the bus. “Before we assign you to your rooms, we have a few rules to go over!”

As his teacher drones on about water safety and curfews, Jongin’s vision groggily heaves over to the students, clustered together in pairs, until it settles on two familiar figures, seated a row away from the teacher. Though he can only get a glimpse of dark hair and prominent shoulder blades slightly protruding from a loose t-shirt, it’s obvious that the one seated on the left is Kris, for he towers a few inches above all the other students. If the lofty figure on the left is Kris, then there’s no doubt that the petite figure seated on the right is-

You.

Jongin observes how your swells of chocolaty hair cascade over your back in a mesmerizing waterfall. He wants you to turn around- to meet your glittering eyes and get a glimpse of your plush lips when they curve up into a smile. Though Jongin spends each minute of each day thinking of you, he’s never able to make you his. Especially when you’re dating only the most popular student in the entire school, Kris Wu.

It’s very simple, really.

Jongin is good-looking; Kris is even better looking.

Jongin is tall; Kris is even taller.

But jealousy is pushed aside when the teacher eyes the troublemakers at the back of the bus and warns that there’ll be severe consequences if rules are broken, before announcing that the students can get off the bus without running. Of course, no one listens, and a flock of rowdy students bolts off the bus and charges into the golden sand.

Jongin is kicking sand and trying to remember the last time he's visited the beach, when, of course, the teacher calls him and a few other boys to help unload the luggage from the bus. With a final kick that sends a lump of wet sand flying ten feet, Jongin lumbers to the bus to unload the endless amounts of suitcases, chuckling bitterly as he and Sehun joke around how the girls and Tao have brought enough bags to immigrate to China.

Things are already as bad as they can get, for Jongin has no choice but to watch you and Kris interact quite intimately and envy Kris over his pathetic self, but he breathes a sigh of relief when the teacher hands him an envelope with Sehun's and Chanyeol's name scribbled on it.

"The three of you will be sharing a room," the teacher says. "Two key cards are inside, and I suggest you do not trust Chanyeol with either one."

A dark red settles across Chanyeol's cheeks, and he chuckles embarrassingly, not even attempting to deny his own clumsiness.

Perhaps Chanyeol is clumsy and always losing things, but at least Jongin doesn't have to room with Kris. A shudder is sent down his spine at the mere thought of Kris staying up till midnight and speaking disgustingly flirtatious words to you over the phone.

Jongin wants to take his time hauling his bag into the hotel- which seems more like an inn- but Sehun's eager and so is Chanyeol, so Jongin ends up being dragged across the hall and to their room. After Sehun jams the key recklessly into the lock, the door swings open, revealing a pristine room with two large beds. Jongin simply strolls around and peeks out the window to see if they have a nice view, all while Sehun and Chanyeol are arguing over who gets to sleep alone.

In the end, Chanyeol flops onto a bed in victory after winning a round of rock, paper, scissors and shouts in glee. Sehun rolls his eyes as Chanyeol insists that he should get the bed because he's the tallest and that Sehun should have no problem sharing a bed with Jongin since they're best friends, after all.

"At least there aren't four of us in this room," Chanyeol says, in attempts to cheer up Sehun. "Imagine having Tao in here."

"Oh gosh," Sehun responds, collapsing onto a bed. "I don't think I would be able to stand him blabbering about those stupid Gucci bags all day."

Chanyeol laughs obnoxiously loud.

"If I don't get a bed of my own, I will wushu your asses out of this room!" Sehun mocks Tao in a ridiculous, strident voice.

Chanyeol rolls off the bed in laughter, and a small chuckle escapes Jongin.

"More like, 'Show me a bug and I'll wushu my own out of this room,'" Jongin retorts.

"Haven't heard you speak all day," Chanyeol exclaims, standing up and slapping a hand onto Jongin's back. "Glad to see you aren't depressed."

Jongin smirks, and he begins to think this trip isn't all that bad.

"Do you know who's even worse than Tao?" Sehun groans. "Kris."

Chanyeol and Jongin nod in utter agreement.

"Let me spend an hour in the bathroom just to make my goddamn hair perfect," Sehun mimics, this time speaking in a low, stupid voice.

The three boys laugh, and Jongin is genuinely happy, until Chanyeol makes an unnecessary comment.

"Can you imagine Kris staying up all night to text his girlfriend?" Chanyeol asks.

"Imagine Kris calling her and trying to flirt," Sehun spits. "You looked really good in that swimsuit today. I totally don't want to get into your pants."

Sehun and Chanyeol make kissy faces at each other and joke around about the couple, but Jongin feels a knot coiling in his stomach. Sehun shuts his mouth when he sees the wince on Jongin's face.

Chanyeol chuckles, before mocking, "You're so beautiful, let me hold you with my big- han-"

Sehun elbows Chanyeol in the stomach a little too hard, and the male lets out a low grunt.

"What was that for?" Chanyeol queries, until he sees the gloom upon Jongin's features. "Oh."

"You can't be like this the entire trip," Sehun says. "The whole point is to not give a crap about what teachers say and to have fun."

Chanyeol brings an arm around Jongin and pulls him into a mock chokehold. He ruffles Jongin's hair, while exclaiming, "Cheer up, Kim! Sehun and I will make sure you have fun on this trip and forget about stupid Kris and his girlfriend. Do you hear me? We will all have fun together."

Sehun nods in agreement. "If any girl is insane enough to date an idiot like Kris, then she isn't worth your time."

"Let's go," Chanyeol says.

"To where?" Jongin asks.

"Joking around in the hotel room is fun and all," Chanyeol exclaims as a low grumble is heard from his stomach, "but I'm up for some food."

The lobby bustles with students as they spill out of the elevator and into the dining area. Jongin follows the stream of heavy chatter and giggles to the buffet, where he picks up a warm plate and stands in line. Only after sniffing the heavy scent of meat wafting through the air does he realize how hungry he is. After scooping what seems to be mashed potatoes and some sort of seafood pasta onto his plate, Jongin catches sight of Chanyeol and Sehun squeezing through swarms of students to leave.

"Where are you going?" Jongin shouts over the crowd.

"This one," Sehun says, jabbing his thumb in Chanyeol's direction, "suddenly said he wants to buy snacks from store in the lobby, so he's dragging me to the hotel room to get his wallet."

"Shoot," Chanyeol shouts. "I don't have the room key!"

The two males bicker, prodding each other forcefully with their elbows as they exit the dining hall, and Jongin uselessly shouts, "Are you just going to leave?"

Of course, there's no response, except the echoes of "How could you be so stupid?", and Jongin grumbles, "So much for having fun together."

After squinting through the faint lighting, his feet carry him to a table where a familiar male with curled locks of brown hair and sparkling eyes sits across from the infamous class clown. “Hey, Jongin,” Luhan greets, gesturing for the male to plop down in the seat next to his.

Luhan sits across from Jongin in calculus, and though he flirts with girls a little more than he should, they're friends, and Jongin doesn't have anywhere else to sit.

“Where did Chanyeol and Sehun go?” Luhan asks, before shoving a forkful of potatoes into his mouth.

“I don’t even know,” Jongin grumbles.

“You’re lucky you got Sehun and Chanyeol as roommates,” Baekhyun sneers.

Luhan lets out a laugh and whispers to Jongin, “Baekhyun has to share a room with Tao and Kris.”

Jongin almost chokes on his pasta from chuckling, and a small pout forms on Baekhyun’s contours. He snaps out of his laughing trance when a finger pokes him in the arm, and he tilts his head upward, squinting through the dim lighting to recognize the silhouetted figure hovering over him.

“Can we sit with you?” an all too familiar voice asks. Only then does Jongin realize that it’s you hovering over him, and fluster is quick to appear on his face in the form of a deep red blush. Although he’s wearing a tank top and shorts, he begins sweating and a warm feeling bubbles up in his stomach.

“S-sure,” Jongin stutters, frowning slightly at the sight of Kris.

Baekhyun wiggles his eyebrows at Jongin and makes suggestive gestures with his fork, so Jongin flicks a pea on his plate at Baekhyun’s face. Having a crush on you is hard enough, so it’s no help when Baekhyun and the rest of the boys in the class know.

Kris slides into the seat next to Baekhyun, and you slide into the seat across from Jongin. You flash Jongin a smile, and Jongin weakly smiles back, keeping down the anxious butterflies in his stomach.

“!”

Jongin hisses a mouthful of curses when he realizes that he’s been too busy staring at your face to notice that he’s dropped his spoon of potatoes onto his shorts. He's trying to smear it off with his napkin in frustration, but your voice calls his name and he looks up.

"Take this," you say, holding out a clean napkin.

"Thanks," Jongin murmurs, taking the napkin from between your fingers and mentally slapping himself for making an idiot out of himself in front of the girl he's trying to impress.

Your attention is quickly diverted back to Kris, and Jongin watches how Kris wraps an arm around your petite frame and wishes it was him holding you like that. Though Jongin looks away when your fingers rest on Kris's chest to feel the rhythm of his heart, Luhan notices how Jongin's gaze lingers a little too long on the couple.

"It's alright," Luhan assures, slapping a reassuring hand into Jongin's back. "There are plenty more fish in the sea."

But Jongin doesn't want anyone else.

~~

"Hey, Kim, are you still mad?"

Chanyeol nudges Jongin's elbow, voice slightly muffled by the mouthful of food he's chewing as he annoyingly repeats the question for literally the hundredth time.

"What do you think?" Jongin's grumbles, stabbing at the meat on his plate with a dull fork.

"What's the big deal?" Chanyeol asks. "We just came back to the hotel room a little late."

"A little late?" Jongin scoffs. "You and Sehun came back to the room at two in the morning."

"What's so bad about that?" Chanyeol queries.

"The teachers came to check up on us at ten, and I saved your asses by insisting the three of us were half- and couldn't open the door."

"And she didn't get suspicious?" Sehun asks. His interest is suddenly piqued by Jongin's misfortune, and the fact that he was sneaking around the hotel is buried under amusement and gleaming eyes.

"Of course she did," Jongin grumbles. "I had to imitate Chanyeol's deep- voice and your nasally voice to trick the old lady."

"Dude, how'd you impersonate me?" Chanyeol asks, quite interested in the trivial matters rather than Jongin's irritation. Sehun and Chanyeol press in closer with excited eyes, and they're probably not feeling any guilt at all towards their pitiful friend.

Jongin still holds a grudge from the evening before, when his two friends insisted that they were going to stop by the pantry in the lobby. Of course, as expected, they had attempted to trick the clerk into selling them alcohol, before running away and hiding in the bathrooms with a fuming paunch man in a condescending suit trailing after them. But Chanyeol and Sehun are reckless, and it was only fitting that they would sneak around the hotel and hang out at the pool at midnight.

"Tonight, how about all three of us sneak out of the room to the pool?" Sehun suggests.

"That's not going to be possible because we have the bonfire tonight," Jongin blurts, and Sehun's face pulls into a scowl.

"What are we doing after lunch?" Chanyeol asks. His voice is muffled by a mouthful of bread, and Jongin and Sehun gaze at him through narrowed eyes filled with confusion until he repeats the question several times and they understand.

"We're probably going to running around the beach all day," Sehun shrugs. "It's not like our teachers actually have anything planned for us."

"If you were actually listening this morning, which you probably never do because you’re always busy thinking about girls, you would’ve heard that we’re going to some stupid museum after lunch,” Jongin grumbles.

“Well, if you were actually listening to the teacher, which you probably never do because you’re so goddamn sleepy all the time, you would’ve heard on the way back from the aquarium that we are not going to the museum because it’s closed for renovation or something,” Sehun says. There’s a smug smirk on his face that oozes satisfaction because for once, he knows something that Jongin doesn’t.

“No one wonder everyone’s so impatient to leave,” Chanyeol says.

After waking up early in the morning and being forced to wolf down a plate of salty scrambled eggs and sausages, Jongin suffered from a lack of sleep while Sehun and Chanyeol incessantly chattered beside him as they were led to a nearby aquarium to learn about marine biology and fish and feed some manta rays. Jongin has had to deal with Sehun and Chanyeol immaturely pointing at whales and muffling their laughter all morning and can only roll his eyes as he recalls them murmuring to each other, “Look, they’re going to the bathroom!” He remembers leaving his immature friends to straggle behind the group and walking by himself as he trailed behind you and Kris. His fists clenched and he drew in a sharp breath watching as Kris’s fingers danced along your arm until they glided over your wrists and intertwined with your own fingers. It was absolutely disgusting, watching as Kris nuzzled his nose into your hair and whispered into your ear, and Jongin remembers grumbling hypocritically out of pure jealousy, “That hormonal idiot should be paying attention to what these people are teaching us,” when he himself doesn’t remember half the things that were said.

Jongin’s vision hauls over the students, glancing warily at the door and feet tapping impatiently against the hard wooden floors. Although the dining hall resonates with the sound of teachers scolding the boys, who wrestle each other in line for seconds, he catches low murmurs of “I can’t wait to hang out at the beach!” and groans of “When the hell are we getting out of here?”

The dining hall becomes an uproar when the teachers announce that they’re going to the beach, and Jongin decides to hang back and trail the group once the students have stampeded out the door as to not get run over by giants like Kris and Chanyeol.

Loud shouts resonate over the crash of waves and Chanyeol shouts, "Come on, Kim!"

The tall male gestures to his friend, who's sitting in the sand with his knees against his chest. It took Sehun prodding at Jongin’s ribs for ten minutes for the grumpy male to change into his swim trunks, and Sehun is sure it’s going to take much more than just Chanyeol to get Jongin to actually get in the water.

A clear blue spills over the sky like paint, and the sun creates a golden screen of light that washes over the waves and reflects into Jongin’s eyes as bright glares. His tousled hair hangs in unkempt, dark locks over his eyes, and wet sand wedges uncomfortably between his toes.

Over the tumult of the waves and Chanyeol's deep shouting, he hears a soft voice call, "Jogin, don't you want to hang out in the water with us?"

He looks up, and almost immediately, a deep shade of red splotches his cheeks and the flustered skin of his bare torso. His eyes trace the silhouette of flowing hair and supple limbs, before resting upon your smile. Blood rushes to his cheeks and he feels giddy in the head when your hands glide down his arm and your fingers wrap around his wrist. You tug at his arm, until he decides to stand up on his feet and tower over you with a silly smile on his lips.

It’s not like Jongin has never been this close to a girl before- he remembers kissing the girl he thought he liked in eighth grade and holding her hand.

And it’s not like Jongin has never been this close to you, either.

He’s known you for years, and he’s had his share of moments with you- your body pressing close against his in the confinement of the school bus, your hand gripping tightly to his as he props you up when you’ve fallen and scraped your knees.

Perhaps you would’ve been Jongin’s if Kris hadn’t asked to be your boyfriend in Junior year and if Jongin just had the courage to confess his feelings for you.

“Jongin?” you repeat, and the fazed male is pulled back to reality from his sea of memories. “Let’s go,” you insist, leading him away from his desolate position against the sand and into the waves.

Chanyeol cheers when Jongin steps into the water, and Sehun sends his friend a smirk, but all Jongin can think about is your smile. He reluctantly draws back his arm from your grasp and hangs it awkwardly at his side when he feels a pair of dark eyes boring into him and realizes that it’s Kris glaring at him from a distance. Jongin doesn't understand why you're dating Kris, when all he does is stand in the water in an archetypal model pose and fix his hair every thirty seconds.

Once again, he’s feeling jealousy pulling him down and dejection tugging at his feet, planting his body in its position and making him want to be alone. Yet the feeling disappears as quickly as it arrives when Jongin feels a splash of cold water against his cheek. Jongin’s head jerks toward Sehun, who’s slapping his thigh and laughing as he points a finger at Jongin.

A smirk tugs at the corner of Jongin's lips. “It’s on,” he growls, before dipping his arms into the water and ing cold, salty water into Sehun’s face.

Jongin laughs when Sehun rubs the water out of his eyes and his mouth hangs agape as he chokes, his expression resembling that of a goldfish. Sehun pouts and glares at Jongin through the mop of wet hair hanging over his eyes, and it’s only within mere seconds that the two males are busy kicking water into each others’ faces. The other boys join in, and soon enough, Luhan, Chanyeol, and Sehun, are suddenly working together to drench Jongin in salty sea water.

Jongin's surprised to even admit it himself, but he's actually having fun.

He’s currently laughing because Luhan has somehow managed to get water and a strand of stringy kelp on Tao, who’s lounging on the sand and shrieking how his shirt is ruined. However, the deep laughter that resonates from his chest is soon replaced with a choked retching when a mouthful of sea water is thrown into his mouth and runs from the tips of his dark locks down his bare torso. He whips his head in the direction of silvery laughter, and a silly smile plays on his lips when he sees you chuckling and pointing a finger at the wince on his face and the water dripping from his tangle of brown locks.

"Did you just drench me with salt water?" Jongin asks.

"Maybe," you hum.

"Don't think you can get away with this," he says.

You see the a playful yet menacing spark light up in his eyes, and a feeling of nostalgia and memories of you and Jongin chasing each other around in a grass field flicker as he charges toward you and kicks water at you. Cold water drenches you, and you shiver from the pearly beads of water that run down your skin.

Jongin’s about to tackle you into the water, until he feels Kris’s glare boring into the back of his head once more. He begrudgingly faces the tall male and swallows the lump of nervousness forming in his throat when the thought of Kris punching him in the face flickers in his mind. But a chuckle escapes from his pursed lips when Sehun and Chanyeol dump a bucket from who knows where filled with what is hopefully water over Kris's head.

Jongin exchanges a look of amusement with you, as both of you watch Sehun and Chanyeol clutching each other and toppling over each others' feet in laughter when they see Kris storm out of the water and grumble curses under his breath because they've messed up his perfectly gelled hair. You break out into uncontrollable laughter along with Jongin as you watch Kris run into the bathroom and brush his fingers through his hair.

"Kris and his hair," you sigh, rolling your eyes and chuckling at your boyfriend.

Sehun and Chanyeol flash Jongin suggestive looks and wiggle their eyebrows at him, and he can almost feel their hands slapping him on the back and their voices chanting, "It's your chance to make a move, Kim!" No matter how much his friends insist on forgetting about on you, he knows Sehun and Chanyeol would never miss the chance to mess up Kris’s hair and help Jongin make a move on the girl he’s been silently crushing on for who knows how long?

The laughter subsides, and Jongin glances down at you. “Where were we?” he asks. His lip tugs into a smirk, and says, “Oh, I remember, now.”

Despite the water that pools around your calves and drags your feet down, you attempt to run away from Jongin, but you don’t make it too far when Luhan joins Jongin and the two males are quick to catch up. You shriek in protest when Jongin grabs you by the arms and Luhan grabs you by the ankles.

“I’m sorry for splashing you with water!”

You shout at Jongin, but he simply chuckles, “It’s too late for apologies.”

The two males lift you out of the water and swing you through the air once before letting go. You feel yourself being plunged into water and salty liquid stinging your nose. You lift yourself out of the waves and let out shaky breaths because the water dripping from your hair and wrapping your body in a blanket is cold.

Jongin enjoys himself because Kris is nowhere to be seen for the next few hours and the smile that stretches across your cheeks and forms adorable creases at the ends of your eyes is meant for him.

~~

Jongin’s hair is still damp as he steps through the lobby and into the dining hall. Calloused fingers run through damp locks and tired, half-lidded eyes squint through the dim gloom of the dining hall as they search for a table with familiar faces. Jongin recognizes Chanyeol and Luhan as they whisper in a somewhat serious and concerned manner among themselves and plods over to the empty seat beside them.

Luhan’s in the middle of telling Chanyeol something and turns to look at Jongin with a baffled expression when Chanyeol urgently points behind Luhan’s back and Jongin suddenly greets, “Hey.”

“J-Jongin,” Luhan stammers, diverting his gaze to the plate of cold food in front of him and eating a mouthful of salad. “What took you so long?”

“Stupid Sehun took forty minutes in the shower,” Jongin grumbles. “I didn’t even have time to dry my hair.”

Although reluctant, Jongin and the rest of his classmates were yelled at by the teachers to get out of the water after a few hours of splashing each other and take showers before meeting up in the dining hall for dinner. Some, like Chanyeol, still smell bitter like the salty sea, as a result of lying about showering.

“You should’ve showered, dude,” Luhan tells Chanyeol, scrunching his nose cutely at the smell and attracting a few giggles from the girls sitting at a nearby table.

“I was hungry,” Chanyeol defends.

A towering figure with gelled hair passes Jongin’s table, and both Chanyeol and Luhan become tense. They exchange nervous glances with each other and bite their lips, before forcing smiles at Jongin. Jongin finds their actions quite strange, and his gaze follows Kris to a table tucked away in the corner of the dining hall, where Tao and a few other girls are sitting.

But something’s wrong.

You aren’t sitting with Kris.

In fact, you’re nowhere to be seen at all.

Jongin knows, something is definitely wrong.

Jongin glances over at Luhan. “Something happened,” he says, his expression hardening and the once cool and fluid look in his eyes has solidified into a fiery rage. “Tell me.”

Luhan gulps nervously, before muttering, “They b-broke up.”

Jongin stands up abruptly from his seat, and the shrill screech of his chair against the polished floors attracts a few glares from the girls. “What?” he shouts.

“Kris dumped her, to be more exact.”

Jongin clenches his teeth and growls, "Where is she?"

Chanyeol shrugs, "We haven't seen her around for a bit."

Ignoring Luhan’s hushed protests, a glower settles upon the contours of Jongin’s face as the male angrily strides between the tables and swarms of chattering students. He makes sure to pass the table where Kris is at, scoffing at the tall male as he tells a joke and flashes his smile at the girl twirling her hair beside him. Jongin’s about to grab Kris by the collar and deliver a blow to his sharp jaw, until he decides to settle with innocently “stepping” on Kris’s foot as he walks by.

Jongin’s heel rams into Kris’s toes, and Jongin finds satisfaction in the hissed “” that leaves between Kris’s clenched teeth and the pain that morphs Kris’s features into a wince. Jongin glares coldly at Kris and says, “Oh, I’m very sorry about that.”

Jongin can tell Kris is befuddled by his sudden actions and can sense the sarcasm in his voice by the way Kris furrows his eyebrows and glances at Jongin with an expression that reads, “What the ?”

A wall of tension quickly builds between the two males, but Jongin slides out the dining hall without catching the attention of the teachers, who are busy chattering to themselves. He’s not sure exactly where you are, but thinking of the days when you were picked on by the boys in the class and always ended up sitting alone behind the bleachers on the playground leads Jongin outside of the hotel and to the beach.

As expected, Jongin finds you seated on a mound of fine sand, your hands feeling around the ground until your fingers wrap around pastel shells. He feels an arrow of pain pierce his chest when he watches you bring your knees to your chest and examine the shell between your fingers. You look so lonely and all Jongin wants to do is hug your loneliness away.

Instead, he decides to settle beside you on the sand, despite the discomfort coming from the dull rock jutting out of the sand and poking his inner thigh. You tilt your head towards him, the fuming expression marring your features softening when you recognize the face beside you as Jongin.

"Jongin," you breathe. He watches as you turn away to dab at the tears in your eyes with the sleeve of your sweater.

Jongin hesitates, before placing a hand on your shoulder and lowering his head to meet your eyes. “Are you alright?” he asks.

You press two fingers to the bridge of your nose and you sigh, “Yeah, I’m just… frustrated.”

“I’m sorry about what happened,” Jongin murmurs, “but you know, in all honesty, Kris has always been pretty dumb.”

You let out a chuckle.

It takes courage for Jongin to ask, “Is it alright if I ask what happened?”

Jongin watches as you suddenly stand up and begin pacing back and forth, rambling on about how Kris is an idiot while leaving shallow footprints in the sand.

“We were all having fun in the water, but once we were called to take showers and have dinner, he said that he wanted to talk to me privately. I thought that was really odd and unlike him, and he told me that we should break up. He doesn't even give me a reason- he just shrugs and tells me that he's moved on with our childish dating! I don’t know why he suddenly asked to break up,” you sigh, throwing your arms down to your sides in frustration. “Everything was going well and he’s never once complained about us. After dating for months, he suddenly says that we’re just not working out and decides to dump me?”

It may seem like "just a break up" to others, but Jongin knows, at his school, "just a break up" causes a stir among the students and false rumors to spread rapidly through the hallways like wildfires. Especially when the couple that's broken up is only the most popular couple in the entire school.

Jongin doesn't understand how Kris even has the nerve to suddenly dump you like that.

He gazes at you intently and wonders if you still haven’t understood his feelings for you.

With each passing moment, another string of "I can't believe him!" and "Why the hell would he do that?" leaves your lips, and Jongin's head falls lower until the flames of jealousy flickering in his eyes are concealed behind a mat of hair.

“You know, I don’t need Kris,” you suddenly announce. “I have other great people surrounding me. Like you.”

Jongin’s gaze suddenly snaps toward you, and his eyes suddenly gleam. There’s a mischievous twinkle in his eye as he stands up from the ground and brushes off the wet stand plastered against his shorts. You’re running a hand exasperatingly through your hair when you feel the cold water lap at your ankles.

You flinch and jump at the sudden coldness against your skin. “What was that for?” you shriek, glancing at Jongin.

He chuckles, “I thought we were having a water fight?”

Jongin finds the pout on your face so adorable, but his jaw drops open when you kick a wave of water that splashes him across his waist.

“No fair, I only got your ankles wet,” he shouts.

“What are you going to do about it?” you ask. A toothy grin replaces your once somber frown, and Jongin feels smug that he’s able to clear your mind from being dumped by Kris.

“Are you sure you want to find out?”

You’re not quite sure what he means, until he begins charging through the sand at an incredible speed. You run as fast as your feet can carry you, but it’s no use since Jongin is faster. You feel his arms wrap around your waist, and you pound your fists onto his back when he hoists you over his shoulder. He spins you around, and you shriek, “Jongin, stop!”

Laughter resonates from his chest, and even when he sets you down, your arms wrap tightly around his neck. Jongin’s arms hold you tightly, and you press your forehead against his. A sudden warmth spreads from your toes to your fingertips, and you feel a flurry of emotions stirring a hurricane in your heart. Jongin suddenly looks dashing against the orange hues of the sunset, and buried emotions quickly surface.

“You’re beautiful,” Jongin murmurs, his chocolate gaze resting upon the features of your face. “Kris was an idiot for breaking up with you. I don’t know why you dated him in the first place.”

“I’m not sure either,” you sigh.

His breath fans over your features, until his lips ghost over yours. Soon, they’re pressed against yours, and your hands run through his damp locks. His hands reach to cup your cheeks, and you feel blood rushing when his thumbs brush over your cool skin.

Jongin pulls away slowly, breathless. He murmurs, “I’ve always wanted to kiss you.”

“Why didn’t you?” you ask.

Because I’m a coward, Jongin thinks.

“I never had the courage,” Jongin murmurs against your lips. “How could I, when Kris asked you out? Kris was always taller, better-looking, and more popular. I could never compete with him.”

“But I’ve known you longer, Jongin,” you tell him. “I thought after all those years, sitting on the bus together and walking home together, you would finally confess. I was a bit disappointed when you didn’t.”

“Is it too late to tell you now?”

There’s a prolonged silence and Jongin holds his breath, until you say, “No.”

“I love you,” Jongin says, before capturing your lips in another kiss.

~~

“We’re going to get into so much trouble for this.”

“Trust me,” Jongin says.

Your hand is held tightly within his, and you glance around cautiously as he pokes his head around the corner of the building and examines the area for any security guards.

“There’s no one, come on,” he says, tugging lightly at your arm.

“What if the teachers get suspicious?” you whisper. “We weren’t even there for dinner.”

“Sehun and Chanyeol were hanging out here at midnight,” Jongin tells you. “If those idiots can hang out without getting caught, then we can too.”

It’s after much of Jongin’s suggestive eyebrow wiggling and light kisses planted on each of your fingers that you find yourself laughing at Jongin’s jokes and smacking him on the shoulder when he teases as you rest on the ledge of the pool with your legs in the water.

Ripples of water in the pool reflect the dimly glowing moon and fragment pieces of its light into what seems like shattered glass. Your fingers drum against Jongin’s chest, and you can smell his sharp citrus scent and feel his warm breath against your neck when he leans in to whisper against your ear.

Jongin whispers words of “I love you” and “You’re beautiful” in your ear, and you hum stories of your middle school days when Jongin would sit beside you behind the bleachers silently and make you smile with his flustered blabbering. You feel a smile playing on your lips when you recall the many times where Jongin would try talking to you and end up with burning cheeks and his tongue tied in a knot.

Jongin’s calloused fingers gingerly tuck a strand of hair behind your ear, and the deep chuckles that escape from between his lips are harmonious. His lips descend over yours, and you love the way his lips move lovingly against yours. Jongin smiles into the kiss, and the light feather touches of your eyelashes tickle his skin and leave him feeling light-headed.

When he pulls away, he asks, “Why did you date Kris?”

“I wanted to give him a chance,” you tell him. “People always said he was the popular one with no brains, but when he asked me out, he seemed so sincere. I could tell he really had feelings for me, and I admired that he had the courage to ask me out. So I said yes.”

Jongin’s eyes fixate on you, and you know he wants to hear more.

“And I did love dating Kris,” you continue. “He’s funny, and oftentimes he can be a big dork, but he’s sweet.”

“And he broke up with you for no reason?”

“Well,” you hesitate, “he did give me somewhat of a reason.” You glance up towards the moon and the stars that pepper the velvety blue sky as you let out a sigh. “He said that I didn’t seem interested in the relationship, and he said it always as if I liked someone else.”

Jongin gazes at you with curiosity gleaming in his eyes. “Is it true, then, that you like someone else?”

“You know that better than I do.”

Jongin’s fingers gently weave between yours. “Does this mean we’re officially together?” he asks.

A familiar toothy grin appears on your features, and Jongin can’t help but smile when you ask, “Does it?”

“Yes, it does,” he laughs.

Jongin’s thoughts drift off into a fantasy, somewhere between reality and imagination, that makes him wonder whether he’s dream. But he snaps back to reality when you say, “Do you think we’ll be able to make it to the bonfire in time?”

“,” Jongin hisses.

He had forgotten about the bonfire.

But Jongin’s swift, and with your hand grasped tightly in his and his great memory of the hotel hallways, the two of you arrive outside on the shore just as the other students spill out of the hotel lobby. Jongin slips into the crowd with you at his side, and Sehun’s eyes widen when he recognizes the figure beside him.

“Where the hell were you?” Sehun hisses.

“Somewhere,” Jongin shrugs, nonchalantly.

“You’re lucky the teachers haven’t noticed.”

Sehun’s about to make a snarky comment, until he sees that Jongin’s holding hands with a girl. And not just any girl. He’s holding hands with you, the girl he’s been hopelessly crushing on for years.

“What happened in the last two hours?” Sehun asks.

“It’s a long story,” Jongin says, sending his best friend a playful smirk.

“I never thought you’d do it,” Sehun admits, holding out his hand. “But you actually did it. You got the girl.” Jongin slaps his hand against Sehun’s in a victory high-five.

Students surround the blazing fire and rest against stiff wooden logs, eager arms reaching for the snacks being passed around. Somewhere, a guitar is being played, and hands clap to Baekhyun’s voice as he sings an oddly familiar tune.

A blanket is wrapped around both your shoulders as you lean your head against Jongin’s shoulder. A few of the female students whisper and point to Jongin, and Jongin tries to ignore Sehun and Chanyeol, who are sitting on the log across from him and making kissy faces and hearts with their hands.

Jongin feels a sense of victory when he glances over at Kris, who’s glaring coldly at Jongin with anger and jealousy seething from his almond eyes. Jongin feels absolutely triumphant, for he’s finally won you over that idiot Kris.

Sehun and Chanyeol begin silently chanting “Kim Jongin, Kim Jongin!” repeatedly, so Jongin grabs the bag of marshmallows and flicks a few of them at his friends.

But Jongin knows, he’s probably going to snap at Sehun and Chanyeol for bothering him with their cheesy comments and impersonations and incessantly saying that "This is all just another cheesy love story” on the bus.

But- they’re right.

It's just another love story.