the first time kyungsoo and jongin met was inside the dorm on a rainy day, to be exact, january 13. they were the most awkward with each other, they never knew it, but they were always competing with each other, never wanting the other to one up them in a monthly evaluation or even just practice. 

but throughout the years of training and throughout the years of work, they grew closer and closer until they were undeniably the closest in the group. kyungsoo and jongin were the cute kids that the other trainees and artists talked about, the ones always laughing at each other in the hallways of the building or clinging to each other during practices and lessons. 

after debut, it got more intense. they were always caught staring at each other, sometimes they were even caught calling each other pet names. (A/N: JAGIYAA OML JONGIN NO) they gained a fanbase of their own, the "kaisoo" signs were always there, whether or not they chose to acknowledge them or not. 

it got to the point where he agency grew worried, separating them in the company building or during practices, subtly making sure they didn't sit near each other or they weren't being filmed when they were, telling the two that they can't go out together to eat by themselves or to shop by themselves, stuff like that. during those meetings, jongin always laughed it off, kyungsoo always following after with forced smiles and slightly crinkled eyes. jongin said that they were like brothers, they couldn't be separated and they weren't like the couple everyone thought they were. kyungsoo always nodded along and agreed, never saying a word. 

kyungsoo and jongin were that duo, the one that was always together, always laughing and doing stupid stuff. they were two very different peas in a pod, the best of friends. 

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kyungsoo pov: 

my back felt icky and slick as i leaned against the wall after practicing monster, some of the kids went home to shower, but yixing, junmyeon, chanyeol, jongdae, and jongin stayed behind to practice a bit more. jongin sat next to me, sticking his tongue out at how sticky i was and handed me his water bottle. 

"thanks boo" i said, smirking at him and puckering my lips greasily. a shove his hand sends me to the ground as he curses playfully and i giggle. 

"oh come on soo stahp it you're making me blush" jongin pretends to hide his face in his hands, squirming and lightly kicking his legs.  i laugh at how stupid he looks and my eyes pan across the room, lightly skimming over the manager's grim face, staring us two down. i smirk to myself and whisper to jongin. 

"hey lets mess with manager shall we" i say, leaning back to see the smirk grow on jongin's face and the mischievous glint in his eyes shining. he nods slightly and leans in to hear my plan easier. "lets lie on each other and like fiddle with each others hands and just act super cheesy," i say, picking his hand up and fiddling with his fingers, as per plan. i can see jongin faking a loving smile in the corner of my eye, and i peek over to manager who has now taken off his hat and is rubbing his face stressfully. i snicker quietly and grab jongin's hand to help him to stand up and i set him to stand right across from me. i tiptoe to whisper into his ear,

"hey lets play that game where i smack your hands and make you fall. and by the way manager looks super stressed out." i say, giggling and smiling. jongin smiles back and pulls up my hands with his own so that we can play the game. for a couple minutes we do really badly on purpose so that we fall onto each others' chests and giggle. 

"kyungsoo, jongin, come over here." a voice from the front of the room booms. i look over to manager and hold back a laugh and pull jongin's hand to bring him with me. "jongin, go back to the dorm to shower. kyungsoo, stay here and practice your dance more because its not synchronized enough yet. " the manager says, looking up at our hands tiredly. 

"can i stay behind to help him with the moves?" jongin says, clenching my hand harder and you can basically hear the smile in his voice. manager shakes his head and lets out a sigh. 

"just let yixing do it, you should go and rest." jongin nods reluctantly and brings my hand up to his mouth and he kisses the back of it. 

"bye soo, i'll go first. don't be too long, i'll wait." jongin says, winking and blowing me a kiss. he walks out quickly before manager can say anything. i giggle in return and turn back to manager. 

"can i have my phone so i can listen to the music? i don't need yixing, i just need to practice alone." i say, holding out my hand. manager nods his head and sighs again, the bags under his eyes seeming to be much more evident after dealing with me and jongin. he hands me my phone and i thank him before setting my phone on to dance. i ignore the tingling feeling on the back of my hand and hear the familiar melody of monster ring through my ears. 

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promotions for monster started a week after that, and we had a great company party to celebrate it. exo was sitting between shinee and f(x) and me and jongin were right at the edge of f(x). why the managers let us sit together, we don't know, but for now we just enjoyed the company of each other without interruptions. jongin kept getting unfocused while we were talking, always losing track of what he was saying or not fully paying attention to me while i was speaking. irritated, i grabbed his face and moved it so that he was watching me. 

"yah, kim jongin, i'm talking and pay attention." i said, staring him down and holding him firm. jongin suddenly pushed my hands off, shrugging his shoulders and going back to his food. 

"stop it soo people might misunderstand." he said, completely unamused and seemingly bored. offended i scooted my chair farther and turned back to my food, the tension between us two suddenly evident. 

wtf, why is he acting like such a .

i glanced back at him to see him talking to krystal and laughing. a feeling of betrayal and hurt immediately constricted my chest as i turned around and poked at my meat. the fact that jongin was acting normal around her and strange around me was annoying and, for some reason, really painful. i'm his best friend, he should pay more attention to me. i get it that she's a senior but that's just straight up rude. 

i pouted to myself and stuffed my face with pork belly and chugged water until i felt better. i turned to my left to partake in baekhyun and chanyeol's conversation, but was lost in a few seconds. i turned back to my food and rubbed my hands over my knees, feeling more alone than i had ever felt for a long time.