Saranghae

Date: February 3, 2018

Jongin is thankful for this Nature Republic fanmeet. Thankful because it means Kyungsoo is in town again. They’re doing a Vlive before the event, and he’s enjoying having his Soo right next to him. His leg gravitates towards Kyungsoo’s, thighs resting against each other and providing a comforting connection.

Soon, it’s show time. (“Showtime!” Baekhyun says to him in a teasing tone, doing the oh-so-extra thumbs up pose from their variety show. Will Jongin ever live down the fact he invented it? As long as Baekhyun has breath, probably not.)

They come on stage to the beautiful sound of EXO-Ls cheering and sing some songs before starting the first of several games. After a series of questions, the MC tells them they need to draw balls to determine teams. Jongin reaches in and pulls out a white ball, noticing shortly thereafter that Kyungsoo has drawn a green one. Boo. He does his best to hide his disappointment and pay attention to the rules about this balance beam game where the members have to sort themselves in a certain order.

Every time he steals a glance over at Kyungsoo on the other side of the stage, he notices him tap dancing subtly on the beam. Cuuuute. He wonders if Kyungsoo even knows that he’s doing it, if it’s a conscious effort to keep up his routines for Swing Kids or if it’s just an adorable habit now. He really hopes it’s the latter; Soo’s working too hard as it is these days. He doesn’t need to be stressing about one job while actively at work at the other.

Jongin tries not to worry about Kyungsoo potentially falling off the beam from all the rapid footwork, visions of him twisting an ankle suddenly looming in the back of his mind. As it turns out, it’s not Soo he should be concerned about: a few minutes later, Chanyeol topples over despite his and Sehun’s best efforts to keep him upright. Oops. Jongin can hear Yixing yelling “B A L A N C E!” at them all the way from China.

They move on to a game of charades. After the green team completes their round, it’s Jongin’s team’s turn. He’s in the chair trying to guess while Sehun mimes the answer. The maknae is gesticulating wildly to something beside him and puffing out his cheek. Something… cheeky? What? Sehun cheats a little, mouthing ‘member.’

“Suho hyung!” he guesses.

His teammates all wince and then start pointing upward. What even… Higher? Maybe they mean someone better? Of greater importance?

“D.O. hyung! D.O. hyung! D.O. hyung!”

Apparently, that’s not what they were going for. Jongdae seems frustrated out of his mind while Yeol and Sehun keep pointing adamantly to the side of Jongin’s chair. But there’s only—Oh. Up, as in higher in age.

“Xiumin hyung.” Okay, yeah. He probably should’ve figured that one out.

Their team loses this game, too, and then it’s time to do a group game. The MC explains the process: Someone starts with “Saranghae,” confessing to someone next to them. The recipient can either reject it with a “Shireo” or accept it with a “Saranghae” and then is ‘it,’ and waiting to hear the rejection or acceptance from the other person. The point is to make others laugh and be the last one standing. Jongdae starts off the first round, harassing Junmyeon with “I love you’s” despite getting rejected several times. Junmyeon eventually turns to Jongin with a “Saranghae.” Jongin almost turns to profess his love to Kyungsoo when he realizes that no, he’s supposed to give Junmyeon an answer.

Well that’s easy. “Shireo.”

Junmyeon tries again, and Jongin cuts him off with another “Shireo.” When the leader turns to Dae, he gets interrupted mid-“Saranghae” and loses his composure, face screwed up with laughter. He admits defeat and removes himself from the lineup.

Jongdae and the MC decide that Kyungsoo should start the next round. The singer dutifully nods and turns to Jongin with a quick, “Shireo.”

Jon