“Hey.”

One eyebrow rises in confusion as Sehun looks at the younger boy sitting in front of him, legs sprawled out on the shiny tiled floor still damp with dishwashing bubbles caused by their little scuffle just moments ago. And upon closer inspection, Sehun notices the spaced-out expression on Jongin’s face; figures since he’s been staring off into the distance for a whole minute now.

“Kid, you there?”

“Wha…” Still looking out of it, Jongin travels his eyes from the gigantic refrigerator doors, to Sehun who's crouching in front of him with a little hint of confusion swirling in his dark eyes. That’s when Jongin realizes that the older has been waving his hand in front of his face—for how long, he isn’t sure. As the reality dawns on him, he quickly snaps out of his trance, Sehun’s address slipping away from his mind in less than three seconds. “Y-Yes?!”

“What’s wrong with you? You just suddenly spaced out for a full minute,” Sehun shoots him a funny look. The embarrassed warmth on Jongin’s cheeks spreads like a wildfire the moment his brain comes to terms with the fact that Sehun did not kiss him at all and that all sceneries that passed by earlier were, in fact, just a figment of his little desperate imagination.

He just daydreamed. In the middle of their fight. If that isn’t weird (and creepy) then Jongin doesn’t know what is.

But can anyone blame him, though? Sehun is just there, in front of him, still as handsome as ever even with clumps of dish washing bubbles on his hair. How can one whose dress shirt is damp with water still look so aesthetically pleasing—for God’s sake, Jongin. Pull yourself together.

“I—I was just—” Comes Jongin’s unattractive stammering as he clumsily rises to his full height, nearly toppling off-balance because of the slippery floor. Sehun stands up as well, sure-footed unlike the uncoordinated lad in front of him and a tad bit amused at the vivid blush covering Jongin’s face and ears. His shame is rolling off in waves that it’s nearly tangible. “I’m just—I was thinking about my homework! B-Because you know, teachers tend to dump heavy workload on their students…”

Jongin can feel the weight of Sehun’s dark gaze on him and it does nothing to ease his embarrassment. He fidgets uneasily, not even bothering to meet his fiancé’s eyes as he is sure that doing so will just make his heartbeat race even faster than it already is. Scratching the back of his head and trying to regulate his breathing, he says, “Um…you know what, I’ll just clean the mess up so we can call it a day. It’s getting late, anyway.”

Teeth gnashing on bottom lip, Jongin spins around, a bit more cautious this time, and opens the water tap to finish the remaining work in the sink. Afterward, he grabs the mop from the closet meant for cleaning tools and goes on to clean the soapy mess caused by their playful tussle moments ago. Sehun leans against the wall, opting to watch the younger’s movements instead of offering help (since Jongin insisted on doing the cleaning on his own, anyway.) and while observing Jongin, Sehun’s features unconsciously softened. The small pout on his lips and the focused look on Jongin’s face while he diligently mops the floor is quite nice to look at.

Jongin gets a little funny sometimes. He acts brave half of the time but blushes a lot for no apparent reason. What makes it all the more amusing is the fact that his stuttering most definitely didn’t fully disappear, as are the signs of demurity in his expression and demeanour. He appears unfazed on most occasions, though one closer look and anyone with good observation skills can tell that he doesn’t even know half of the things he’s doing. Despite that, he can still charm everyone around him with his effervescence and infectious laughter.

Weird. Sehun shakes his head and nearly releases a bark of laughter at the sound of Jongin's startled yelp. He almost slips on the floor but manages to grab onto the corner of the marble kitchen countertop to prevent his from hitting the ground. And with a posture so rigid, Jongin stands up slowly like a newborn calf and returns to mopping the floor with his back turned to his fiance in hopes of salvaging any of the frail dignity he has left. He doesn’t even dare look back to confirm the amused smirk present on Sehun’s face.

Now that Sehun thinks about it…when had Kim Jongin gotten this cute?

***

The skies are cloudy today and it’s quite windy, just the kind of weather that Jongin likes. He’s just had thirteen laps and he’s in the middle of his break, watching his other track mates do their own laps from across the oval field.

“Kim, you still have to do a five-minute mile, alright? Start right ahead after your break’s over,” His coach bellows over to the other side of the bleachers. Jongin sends a nod toward his direction, releasing a big sigh.

A month from now and the regionals will finally take place. Everyone in the track team is undergoing rigorous training, especially Jongin since he will be competing in a lot of racing events that he was supposed to take the former year, but passed up the opportunity. He doesn’t regret ever giving the chance to his other teammate since he was sure last year wasn’t his to own, anyway.

In the midst of giving his body a short rest, his eyes catch sight of a familiar white robe standing just several distances away from the vicinity, sharing a lighthearted conversation with another man who seems to be the football team’s coach.

Isn’t that Chanyeol…? Jongin tilts his head to the side, squinting his eyes to see if his suspicions are correct. And it is proven to be true the moment the tall man in the white lab coat booms in laughter—a deep, rich sound that Jongin knows only belongs to one person. It is him!

“It’s still a pleasant surprise to see you here, son. You’ve become such a different person—in a good way, of course,” Chanyeol listens to the older man’s words in front of him, his lips pulled up into a charming, pleased grin.

“Thanks, coach. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d meet you here again since the clinic is miles away from the field, but I guess the more your players get injured, the more we’ll have to meet,” Chanyeol says with a good-natured laugh.

A few more words are exchanged between them until it’s time for Chanyeol’s former football coach to return to his post, seeing as the football practice is still on-going. Chanyeol embraces the older man (who he used to treat as his second father on campus) and firmly pats the other’s back, watching the man walk back to the middle of the grassy field, where a cluster of teenagers in their football uniform are performing their warm-ups.

Jongin walks as stealthily as he can towards Chanyeol, a little smile creeping up on his lips. Chanyeol is too engrossed in watching the football practice—and perhaps reminiscing the good old days—to notice that there is another body approaching him close from behind.

He’s always been a little playful especially when it comes to his other friends, but Jongin surprises even himself when his body automatically moves forward to tiptoe behind the taller guy, almost latching onto Chanyeol’s wide back to cover his eyes in time to say, “Guess who!”

That seems to startle Chanyeol in the slightest as Jongin felt him jump a little, though the older guy makes no move to turn around and peel him off of him. “Hm. Are you really going to play this with me, Jongin?”

“What? Aw,” Jongin immediately releases Chanyeol and distances himself a little bit from the older. Chanyeol turns around in time to see the tiny, disappointed pout Jongin’s lips are bearing and he smiles. “I changed my voice a little bit, how could you still guess that it was me?”

“Because,” Chanyeol takes a step forward and pokes Jongin’s nose, chuckling when the younger boy gently bats his hand away. “no student but you have the guts to do that to the strictest doctor on campus.”

“Strictest?” Jongin makes a face and the sight of it widens Chanyeol's smile. “Yeah, right. I’m the only one who has the guts to jump onto your back because only I know that you’re anything but strict.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Kim. That is no way to talk to a school personnel.” Chanyeol puts up mock-reprimanding expression and, after doing a discreet once over behind the younger boy, takes Jongin’s wrist and tugs him forward. “I think you need to be disciplined.”

“Uh, wait—” The playfulness in Jongin’s eyes fades to make way for panic as he stares up at Chanyeol with a wide-eyed look. Chanyeol is just kidding, right? “Disciplined? Are you serious? Wait, wait—where are you taking me?”

“To the principal’s office, of course.” Chanyeol hides a smirk at the evident confusion in the younger’s eyes. Jongin is so easy to scare. He tugs him again, leading him to the empty campus hallway (since it’s nearly six o’clock in the early evening and most students have gone home hours ago.)

“B-But I was just joking!” Jongin starts pulling his wrist out of Chanyeol’s grasp, trying to escape. Yet the older guy is unyielding, and Jongin finds himself grabbing the taller’s bicep, shaking his arm in hopes of convincing him to change his mind. “Come on, Chan-hyung! I just thought—oh my God you’re really serious—okay, alright, it won’t happen again, I swear! Just don’t take me to the principal’s office, please?”

Jongin is too caught up in bumbling incoherent pleads to notice the grin forming on Chanyeol’s lips. Only when he stops pulling his wrist and is pinching viciously at the younger’s cheeks while cooing at him delight does Jongin realize that he just got played by Chanyeol.

“Look at you, you were about to kneel and beg just so I wouldn’t take you to the principal!” Chanyeol finds it especially entertaining to see the huge shift to Jongin’s expression. If he was confused and scared just seconds ago, now he looks utterly indignant. His glaring eyes bring in the same amount of threat as a newborn puppy.

“Chanyeol, you—!” Jongin bats Chanyeol’s hands away and keeps his glare focused on the other, even though he knows that with his shorter height and smaller frame, it won’t intimidate him. It takes so much more than a glare to scare such a tall man like Park Chanyeol.

“Wait, what happened to ‘hyung’?” Chanyeol teases even more, though honestly speaking, to hear Jongin address him without any honorifics is far more pleasant to the ears. “Your disrespectfulness is really over the top, Jongin.”

“I’m out of here,” Jongin huffs, turning around to return to the bleachers. He doesn’t know why he even bothered to come to Chanyeol; he’s supposed to be resting, damn it.

“Hey, wait,” Chanyeol calls after the younger boy, chuckling. “Can’t you take a joke? Jesus.”

“Go back to your clinic, Dr. Park,” Jongin nearly rolls his eyes. His cheeks are ruddy pink with embarrassment and frustration, and it just intensifies in color when Chanyeol stops him by the arm and turns him around, looking at him with his usual lopsided grin.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” A hand darts out to ruffle his brown hair and Jongin’s gaze flickers up to meet Chanyeol’s amused ones. “You’re still so easy to frustrate, you know? , you’re so cute.”

A chuckle soon follows after Chanyeol drops his remark, but Jongin can’t find it in himself to laugh with him. For some reason, staring up at Chanyeol’s bright expression with the taller’s words echoing incessantly in the back of his mind fills Jongin with the most inexplicable warmth. Like what he reads in books, everything seems to slow down and the only thing he can hear is the beating of his heart.

What is this…? Jongin’s eyes widen and he spins around so fast he almost stumbles. He rests his hand on his chest and he falls deathly silent, staring at the ground, feeling the insane drumming of his heartbeat against his palm. What…

Chanyeol’s amused expression falters and with a growing worry, he steps around to face Jongin. “Hey, are you upset? I said I was sorry,” he scratches the back of his head, feeling a little guilty for teasing the younger boy. For the most part, Jongin just brushes his teases off, so Chanyeol didn't think twice from doing it again. Maybe he went too far this time?

“Jongin?” Chanyeol bends a little bit and holds Jongin by the shoulders, gazing at him searchingly. His perfume hits Jongin and the scent renders him lightheaded. Chanyeol may be unaware of the close proximity between their faces, but Jongin completely is and it’s making all the blood rush up to his cheeks. “You okay?”

Stop…why is it so fast…Jongin’s hand closes into a fist, for a second fearing that Chanyeol might feel how fast his heartbeat is—maybe even hear how loud it is, despite the high-pitched yells echoing across the field from a few of the cheer leading squad members.

“Jo—”

“Y-Yeah, I am!” Jongin smiles up at Chanyeol for a short second, the concerned streak in his irises rousing the millions of butterflies in Jongin’s stomach back to life. “I’m okay, don’t worry.” He chooses to look at his track mates from afar as a scapegoat distraction.

“Oh. So…we’re okay, then? You’re not mad at me?” Chanyeol straightens up, his warm hands separating from Jongin’s shoulders. Somehow, the lone action causes disappointment to simmer low in Jongin's gut and he doesn’t get why he’s feeling this way all of a sudden.

Actually, no. It’s not all of a sudden. Ever since they went out to eat nearly a week ago, things have been a little…different. For Jongin, that is. He doesn’t know what’s causing him to act like this around Chanyeol. They’ve been friends for so long and have known each other quite well, so there is absolutely no reason to feel lightheaded and nervous around the older guy. He does, however, and it makes Jongin question himself.

Whenever Chanyeol smiles or laughs, Jongin finds himself staring. Even worse, every time the other touches him, he finds himself struggling to breathe properly because his heart is galloping a hundred miles per hour and he finds it harder to fight his shyness or control the blush on his face. Just Chanyeol setting those warm eyes on him does wonders to Jongin’s mind and heart. Whatever he is beginning to feel towards Park Chanyeol is confusing him so much that it makes him space out at times.

“We’re okay,” Jongin nods shyly, his nerves catching up with him. “I’m not mad at you.”

“Great! You made me nervous there for a second. I can’t have my most favorite dongsaeng getting mad at me, you know?” Chanyeol winks at him, and Jongin almost stops breathing. Without fully processing his actions, Jongin’s hand darts out to slap Chanyeol on the arm. And Chanyeol being the over exaggerated person that he is, winces in pain even though he knows a mosquito bite would hurt him more than Jongin’s little smack.

“Ow! What was that for?” Chanyeol blinks. The dark glare Jongin shoots him is threatening enough, but paired with the darkening blush on his cheeks, Chanyeol can’t ever take him seriously. It’s fascinating to watch how fast and often he flushes up to the tips of his ears. Jongin has this charm about him that makes people want to coo at him for hours on end.

“You deserve it,” Jongin mumbles, looking at his running shoes like it’s the most interesting piece of footwear he’s ever seen. He didn’t need Chanyeol to wink at him like that, ing honestly. The guy is already doing serious damage to him, Jongin need not another reason to pile on top of his already tall tower of baffled feelings.

“Why were you so scared of going to the principal’s office, anyway? It’s not like you’re a problematic student,” Chanyeol moves a little closer under the shade of the nearest plum tree, leaning against the trunk. He arcs a brow to Jongin’s direction. “Or are you?”

“I’m not!” Jongin denies, a little more relieved at the new distance setting him and Chanyeol apart. He was beginning to think that he'd die from suffocation. “I’ve never been in there.”

“Never?”

“I mean, once, but that’s it.”

“Once?” Chanyeol questions. “It was never followed?”

“Well, why would I be in there in the first place? I’m not an honor student, nor am I a problematic one. Plus, after meeting the assistant principal…” Jongin trails off, a look of discomfort crossing his features.

Chanyeol is quick to notice it. “After meeting them?” he probes slightly.

Jongin scratches his arm and plays with the dried, fallen leaves on the ground with the tip of his shoe. “Let’s just say he didn’t like me much.”

“What’s there to dislike about you?” Chanyeol looks offended in Jongin’s stead, and his reaction is making heat gather in Jongin’s face yet again before it even fully abates. “You’re very bright, nice, optimistic and friendly. You might be a little bit shy at first but after I met you, I realized you were anything but. I guess not everyone has to like you because not everyone has taste.”

They are both left to comfortable silence. For some reason, Jongin feels a little lighter, as if someone has removed the weight of a heavy-duty truck off him. Although his thoughts are intrusive as ever, he manages to tame them down and enjoy the little bit of peace surrounding his and Chanyeol’s area. The older may be a teasing jerk most of the times, but Jongin cant deny that he knows how to make him feel heaps better. Chanyeol is good with words and Jongin enjoys his company a lot. more than he thinks he should.

“I…guess I’ll go. I don’t want coach to give me a life-long sermon,” It’s not long before Jongin hears the shrill whistle of the track team’s coach, most probably calling for him and the others. He smiles shyly, taking a step back. Chanyeol straightens up himself and brushes his sleeves off to rid it of any dirt from the tree.

“Yeah, I have to get back to the clinic anyway. So, we’ll meet after six?” Chanyeol takes a short glance at his wristwatch to note the time. It’s still his job to take Jongin home, after all.

“After six,” Jongin confirms with a nod. He contemplates for a few more seconds before saying, “By the way, thank you.”

“For what?” Chanyeol looks confused. Jongin just shakes his head and smiles at him.

“Nothing. See you later!”

Chanyeol watches as Jongin turns around and takes his leave. For some reason, it feels like he is itching to say something before Jongin fully departs.

And so he does. “Jongin!” Chanyeol calls, not missing how fast Jongin turns around just to answer him. He throws the younger boy a thumbs up before grinning handsomely, “For the record, you’re crazy and I like crazy.”

Jongin almost trips on the way back to the running track.

***

The mansion’s atmosphere feels a little different the moment Jongin steps into the living room. Usually, he just shouts, ‘I’m home!’ right after arriving before going straight to his room, but at the sight of a few luxury luggages sitting by the corner of the living room, Jongin’s plans go on hold.

I wonder whose luggages are these, Jongin tilts his head to the side, eyeing one of the tags in a closer inspection.

Mr. Oh Luhan

101 N.5th Street #2D

Brooklyn, N.Y 11249

Luhan? A furrow digs between Jongin’s brows. Where have I heard that name before…?

“Great! Somebody’s home, finally.”

It turns out that Jongin doesn’t need to do much thinking after al