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8:30 AM

It's the sunlight seeping through the curtains of the tall windows in the room that wakes Jongin up. With a groan, he sits up and yawns as he stretches his body. Sitting up, he blinks the sleep out of his eyes before scanning his surroundings. The doors to the giant walk-in closet in front of him are illuminated and shine a bright silver, same with the chandelier in the ceiling. His mind feels clear and his body feels relinquished. He hasn't felt this well-rested in weeks.

With a yawn, Jongin scratches his stomach and looks down, and blinks in confusion when he doesn't see his usual baby blue pyjama shirt. Upon closer inspection, he notices isn't even wearing any pants. What the . He sits on the giant bed for a minute or so, dwelling in confusion when it hits him, and he forces himself to lie back down on the mattress so he doesn't pass out from all the emotions that are threatening to make his head (and heart) explode. Closing his eyes, he thinks back to yesterday's events.

Walk-in closet, Rolexes, bubble tea, six kitchens, alone, gold, silver, Vivi, shirtless Sehun -

Jongin's eyes snap open and he's sitting up less than a fraction of a second later.

Sehun.

Whipping his head to the right, Jongin feels a sense of dread wash over him as he stares wide-eyed at the empty space next to him on the bed. Sehun's side is neatly made; blanket neatly folded without a crease or wrinkle in sight, pillows fluffed and sheets neatly smoothed. For a brief moment, the cloud that had been covering the sun a few minutes ago shifts, and the sunlight pouring onto the empty space next to Jongin makes the other half of the bed glow with such brightness Jongin fights the urge to cover his eyes. 

Inwardly panicking, Jongin throws the covers off of him before he (half-assedly) stumbles out of bed, nearly tripping on the three or so steps at his feet, and momentarily halts to wear off the throbbing headrush. In the corner of his eye, he spots his black jeans lazily slung over the gigantic black leather armchair placed in the corner to his left, but Jongin pays it little to no mind as he bolts for the door that's slightly ajar, mind racing a thousand miles per minute.

Jongin attempts to control the intense spinning of his head as he races down the hallway (nearly losing his balance more than once and barely avoiding crashing into the walls in the process). He doesn't really know where he's going, but he doesn't care. Approaching the large stone fountain, Jongin leans against the edge while he attempts to catch his breath. Running a hand through his tousled hair, he bites his lip in worry before jogging down a random (unfamiliar) corridor. The entire house is so excruciatingly silent, and Jongin swears he hears his heartbeat echo in his ears as he makes his way down the carpeted hallway. He contemplates calling out for Sehun but quickly decides against it for reasons he doesn't know. He blames it on the fatigue.

As he continues down the hallway, Jongin listens intently for any signs of Sehun only to hear nothing; and it does absolutely nothing to calm the spazzing of his nerves. He shivers as the cold wind hits his bare legs and for once, he curses the shirt for being too short. Running past an unfamiliar room, he takes a quick peek inside only to see nothing; no one; no signs of human life anywhere. With a frustrated (and sad) huff, Jongin mumbles a '' before hurrying down the corridor. Upon closer inspection, he notices he's nearly reached the end of the corridor, the only room he hasn't checked yet being a small one with a closed door. Jongin desperately wants to skip it and turn around and head in the opposide direction, down another hallway, but there's a nagging feeling at the back of his head that tells him he should at least open the door. 

Walking towards the closed door, Jongin puts his ear against it only to hear nothing. Half of him wants to walk away since he's wasting his time, but the other half of him wants to open the door and check just in case. The next thing Jongin knows, he's extending his hand and grabbing hold of the golden doorknob, and turning it. Before he knows it, the door has swung open all the way and he stands in the doorway, looking in.

The first thing that hits him is the smell of something cooking. Or to be exact, something frying; Jongin can't really tell. Ignoring the way his mouth waters at the scent, Jongin's eyes roam around the room and he nearly collapses with relief when his gaze lands on -

"Sehun!" Jongin exclaims perhaps a little too excitedly before running over, into the room, and nearly tackling Sehun - who is standing at the oven (fully clad in his prestigious-as-hell uniform) - in a giant bearhug.  

Prying Jongin off, Sehun raises an eyebrow in confusion. "Good morning to you too, sleepyhead. What's with all the excitement?" he asks, amusement lacing his words.

Adrenaline (finally) wearing off, Jongin blinks before he awkwardly clears his throat. "Good morning," he says, voice nearly a squeak. "Uh, you weren't lying next to me when I woke up, so..."

"Oh, yeah," Sehun hums before turning his attention to the stove, where he's got at least six different pans going at once. "Sorry for not waking you. It's just that you looked so peaceful while you slept, I didn't have the heart to wake you." After adjusting the temperature to the pan in the top right corner, he leans in and kisses Jongin's forehead. "My first lecture starts at half past nine and I promised Yeol I'd pick him up at twenty past since I owe him for accidentally making his Physics textbook end up in the ocean."

Jongin blinks. "Uh. What."

"In June, we were playing beach volley somewhere near the Equator and for some odd reason, he brought his textbook with him, and I may or may not have snuck up behind him and 'accidentally' pushed him into the water at one point," Sehun chuckles shamelessly before reaching above him and fetching a jar of salt. Jongin tries his best to ignore how Sehun's shirt rides up as the latter stretches. "You can hardly blame me, though - how on Earth was I supposed to know he was busy reading about the rectangular components of a goddamn vector?!"

"I'm more interested in why he chose to bring his school stuff to the goddamn beach," Jongin groans as his gaze lands on the stove. One pan with bacon, one with omelets, one with a weird-looking purple vegetable Jongin doesn't recogize, one with sausages, one with scrambled eggs, and one (a pot, specifically) with hard boiled eggs all sit peacefully on the surface. Turning around, Jongin's jaw nearly hits the floor when he sees the large, elongated jade dining table in the middle of the room, with a humungous, diamond-encrusted chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Seriously, is there a chandelier in every single frickin' room? Jongin thinks in awe and mild irritation.

Sehun shrugs. "Beats me. He's a straight-A student, just like me and Baekhyun, so it's no surprise, really." Turning the stove off, he shoots Jongin a warm smile. "Could you fetch two plates from the cabinet to your left, please?"

"He's a straight-A student?" Jongin mumbles while walking towards said cabinet and opening it up. "Who would've known." Retreiving two gold-rimmed plates from the bottom shelf, he gently sets them on the table, one on either side; careful not to break either them or the table. 

"And two glasses, please," Sehun hums while giving the scrambled eggs a quick stir. "The cabinet next to the one you just opened."

Retreiving said glasses, Jongin holds one in each hand before gently placing them on the table, close to the plates. Brushing his hands together, he walks up behind Sehun and wraps his arms around the latter's waist. He bites his lip to stop himself from cursing when he accidentally scratches his arm on Sehun's brooch. "Don't you look fancy."

"It's just my uniform," Sehun chuckles before switching off the light above the stove and whirling around, nearly hitting Jongin in the face. "But thanks, darling. Can't say the same for you, though," he adds with a dry chuckle. 

Jongin rolls his eyes before running a hand through his uncombed hair. Looking down, he sighs when he sees what he thinks is a dried up puddle of drool on his collar. ing damn it. His embarrassment soon subsides, much to his relief, when he processes Sehun's words. "What'd you just call me?"

Sehun laughs. "I called you 'darling'," he says shamelessly before tucking a lock of Jongin's hair behind the latter's ear. "Again, is that a crime?"

Thankful that he managed to stop the blush in his neck from spreading any further (more importantly, to his face), Jongin scoffs. "Of course not," he whines. "Why would it be?"

"Nothing," Sehun sing-songs. "You just looked so...godsmacked, that's all. Anyway, I hope you're hungry," he adds with a kiss on Jongin's cheek before grabbing a pan in each hand. "Help me carry these to the table, will ya?"

"Of course I'm in' gobsmacked, or whatever the hell'ya call it," Jongin groans while picking up two pans and setting them on the table. "You've never called me that before. Your jaw would've hit the floor as well, don't you dare lie to me, Oh Sehun."

"I suppose it would," Sehun chuckles, shrugging. "Anyway, let's eat; my lecture starts in an hour and Yeol's usually early as hell." Setting the pans in the middle of the table, he slides the one with the bacon towards Jongin. "Help yourself."

Jongin just stares at the massive amount of food before him. He's about to say something along the lines of 'you first' when the smell of the food effectively shuts him up (along with a deep rumbling in his stomach), and the next thing he knows, he's piling meat, eggs and vegetables on his plate, with Sehun watching in amusement. 

"You've got quite an appetite," Sehun chuckles, doing his best to stifle a laugh as he watches Jongin proceed to stuff his face. "No it's fine," he says when Jongin shoots him a look, "I like it, really."

Watching Sehun walk towards one of his many fridges, Jongin stuffs an omelet in his mouth when Sehun opens one. He's momentarily taken aback because holy , is Sehun a good; no - incredible cook. The warm egg travels down his throat and Jongin quickly stabs his fork into a sausage before shoving it in his mouth. 

"Which flavor would you like?" Sehun asks and turns around. It isn't until he moves to the right, so he's not blocking the contents of the fridge, that Jongin's mouth falls open. "Gross, Jongin, you think I wanna see that?" Sehun exclaims in disgust, turning his face away when the contents of Jongin's mouth fall out and onto the plate beneath him.

Blinking, Jongin scrambles for a napkin and hastily wipes his mouth. Murmuring a string of (incoherent) apologies, he clears his throat. "Uh. Strawberry, please."

"Just like the old times," Sehun chuckles before grabbing a large, pink-colored bubble tea cup and placing it in front of Jongin. "Here ya go; enjoy."

Jongin's hands scramble for the cup, practically tears the lid off, before wrapping his lips around the bright pink straw. Taking a long sip, he feels his heart flutter slightly when the cold, sweet liquid hits the back of his mouth. Memories instantly wash over him and for a second he stops drinking in order to pull himself together.

Grabbing a brown-colored cup of the same size, Sehun sits down at the table and lets out a loud laugh when he sees Jongin's wide eyes and distant look. "Like I said, good ol' times," he chuckles before taking a sip, practically about how good it is. "God, I could drink this for the rest of my life."

"I bet," Jongin mumbles before taking another sip. Shoving the spat-out food to the side of his plate, he shoves four pieces of bacon into his mouth. "Seeing as you've got your fridges stocked with literally nothing but that."

Sehun hums something in reply while putting some food on his plate and arranging it according to type. "I've got some orange juice if you'd like," he says absentmindedly.

"No, it's fine," Jongin says as he quickly downs the rest of his tea. "Jesus, you're such a good cook."

"Really?" Sehun asks, face and eyes lightening up a little. "You think?"

Jongin nods confidently. "Seriously. You should open a restauraunt and serve nothing except these eggs; in France for instance, you'd get visitors from all over the goddamn world, trust me," he says in the same tone, biting into a sausage. A bit of oil dribbles down his chin and he curses under his breath. 

"Jeez, thank you," Sehun says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm glad you like it, really. I never really cook, so that was nice to hear."

Jongin blinks. "You mean you don't eat this everyday?" he asks and furrows his eyebrows when Sehun shakes his head. "Why not?"

"It's not necessary," Sehun says with a nonchalant shrug. "Not to mention I'm not a morning person so I kinda have to de-glamorize my breakfasts, don't you think?" he adds with a small wink.

"I...guess?" Jongin exclaims before flailing his hands and arms around, the half-eaten sausage nearly flying off his fork. "But like, come on! If I were you, I'd make a million of these eggs and store them away somewhere! I'd have nothing but eggs for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seriously."

This time it's Sehun's turn to blush. Turning his face away, he clears his throat before nodding in appreciation. "Thank you, really."

"Don't mention it," Jongin says. "Anyway, what do you eat for breakfast, then? Since you're not a morning person and all."

Sehun scratches the back of his head, careful not to mess up his neatly styled hair. "Coffee."

Jongin's fork falls out of his hand and it emits a soft clinking noise as it bumps against the plate. Eyebrows furrowing, he stares at Sehun with a puzzled look. "...And?"

"Eh, that's it," Sehun says slowly and nearly falls out of his chair when Jongin suddenly jumps out of his chair before he reaches across the table and begins piling food onto his plate. "...Jongin, what are you-"

"Eat!" Jongin commands in a stern tone. "You've only got a measly two sausages and a single piece of bacon on your plate! Honestly, I don't get how you're on top of every single class when you don't even eat anything in the mornings," he huffs, putting sausage after sausage and omelet after omelet onto Sehun's plate, ignoring the latter's pleas for him to stop. He doesn't stop until Sehun's got at least ten sausages, twenty pieces of bacon, four omelets and the weird vegetable on his plate. Rubbing his hands together, Jongin smiles triumphantly. "Now eat up!"

"Jongin," Sehun sighs after a minute, eyeing the mountain of food in front of him, "I'm not-"

"You'll fall asleep in the middle of your lecture," Jongin says before stealing a piece of bacon from Sehun and quickly popping it in his mouth. "And I don't want you to do that. So eat up, no questions! Good gracious, what'll Chanyeol say if you end up falling asleep behind the wheel? Well, I mean, he most like won't be able to say anything since he'll be de-"

"Okay," Sehun interrupts Jongin, with a hand in the air. "Fine," he chuckles before shoving an omelet in his mouth. Jongin erupts into an ear-to-ear grin when Sehun's face instantly lights up as soon as he puts the food in his mouth.

"Either you need to get up earlier and eat your goddamn breakfast," Jongin says, crossing his arms with a pout, "or I'll come over to your place and force feed you before you drive off to uni every single morning."

"Come over?" Sehun echoes and quickly goes silent. Ignoring Jongin's puzzled expression, he waves him off. "Nothing, forget it. Anyway, you're so goddamn cute, you know that?"

With a (all-too) dramatic shrug, Jongin smiles. "What can I say, it comes naturally."

"When you're with me, yes," Sehun adds with a sly grin before yelping. "Hey, watch it, I don't want grease stains all over my uniform!"

"Then watch your mouth, pretty boy," Jongin retorts with a smirk. "And finish your food."

Shoving the last remaining sausage into his mouth, Sehun shoves his plate aside before leaning onto the table. "Who're you calling pretty boy?" he asks (although it comes out sounding more like a statement), crossing his arms.

"Don't get all serious." Jongin rolls his eyes but swallows anyway (he blames it on Sehun's piercing stare). "I mean it." He turns his face away when Sehun only raises an eyebrow. "You're supposed to pick up Chanyeol in less than ten minutes, get off your already," he adds with a (genuine) groan.

Sehun continues to stare at Jongin with an unreadable expression on his face before he nods and stands up. "Get dressed, will you?"

With a confused shake of his head, Jongin raises an eyebrow. "Why should I?"

"Duh," Sehun says as a matter-of-factly before picking up his and Jongin's plates and placing them in the dishwasher. "I want my passengers to wear pants in my car, regardless of how y they are."

Jongin blinks. "What." His entire face quickly heats up when Sehun's words sink in and he runs a hand down his face. "God, shut up. And I don't have any spare clothes with me, you know that!"

"What? Don't blame me," Sehun says absentmindedly while placing the empty pans in the sink. "You are y, it's not my fault. Oh, and feel free to wear anything from my closet."

"One more word," Jongin growls in irritation, "and I swear I'll dunk that entire goddamn uniform of yours in bacon fat."

"I'd like to see you try," Sehun says, sticking out his tongue. "No but seriously, my uni would pay for a new one right off the bat, so go right ahead."

"Damn rich kids," Jongin mutters under his breath before standing up and blinking when he realizes how full he feels. "I...think I ate a tad bit too much."

"Good thing you dumped the rest of it on me to finish, then," Sehun says sarcastically before checking one of his watches. "No seriously, get dressed if you want a ride, I'm running late."

Tutting, Jongin walks (he would jog but that's proven to be extremely difficult given all the food he just ate) over to Sehun and embraces him, ignoring the fact that he may be wrinkling the latter's suit jacket under his touch. "Thanks for the food, you're the best."

With a (semi embarrassed) chuckle, Sehun pats Jongin's shoulder before gently prying the latter off. "Come on now, I'll count to sixty, and if you're not back by then I'm gonna start up the car and drive off without you."

"Bastard," Jongin gasps. "It takes at least five minutes to reach the goddamn bedroom," he adds with a slap to Sehun's shoulder. "Not to mention I need to rummage through all your six trillion shirts, so."

"Fine," Sehun chuckles, putting both hands up in defense. "I'll count to 500. Does that sound good?" He suddenly smirks. "Do you know how many minutes that is?"

Jongin inwardly curses at the mention of math and he bites his lip in frustration. "Uh...15?"

"It's eight, but close enough," Sehun cackles, laughing even harder when Jongin shakes his head in unamusement. "Man, remind me to tutor you next time you visit, alright?"

"Shut up, or I'll walk to school on my goddamn own," Jongin mumbles under his breath, although he can't help but smile. "I mean it."

"Hurry," Sehun moans, checking his watches again, "you've got 7 minutes on you, by the way. Better run."

And with that being said, Jongin darts out of the kitchen at hyper speed, leaving Sehun on the floor in a fit of cackles.

~~~

9:26 AM

"Why do I need to sit in the back?"

Sehun sighs. "Because, Yeol's my best friend," he says, motioning for Jongin to get in the backseat. "Now hop in."

"But I'm your boyfriend," Jongin huffs in annoyance, a pout on his delicate features. "I'm far more special than him."

"Yeah, you are, definitely," Sehun says in mild irritation, "but I was supposed to give him a ride, so please, sit in the back just this once, alright?"

Jongin shakes his head. "I don't wanna," he says before pointing to the passenger seat. He fights the urge to giggle when Sehun bites his lip in annoyance.

"We've been standing here for over five minutes, why can't you be a good sport and just get in the back," Sehun mumbles under his breath, running a hand through his black hair. "I promise I'll let you ride up front on the way back from school."

"You're picking me up?" Jongin asks, eyes glittering. 

"Well, yeah, that's what I had planned," Sehun nods before his features suddenly turn serious, almost cold. "But if you don't get in the back right this instant, someone's walking home in a few hours, and it won't be me."

With those words, Jongin eagerly climbs into the backseat and buckles his seatbelt. He hears Sehun emit an audible sigh of relief (much to Jongin's own amusement). He watches the latter open the door to the front before getting in himself. Jongin catches a whiff of Sehun's strong perfume when the latter closes the door shut with a dull slam, instantly making his heart beat a tad bit faster. 

"When did you get up, even?" Jongin asks after a few minutes of silence. He watches as Sehun turns the right blinker on before turning the same direction.

"At around 8-ish, so about half an hour before you threw open the door to one of my kitchens," Sehun replies with a loud chuckle. "Seriously, your eyes were as wide as dinner plates, you looked like you'd seen a ghost or something; what was up with that?"

"I was freaking the out, mind you," Jongin mumbles as he taps his fingers on the leather armrest next to him.

"Freaking out? Over what?" Sehun asks, looking in the rear view mirror to look at Jongin.

Fighing the urge to say 'I thought you left for uni', Jongin reaches up and fixes his middle parting. "I don't know your house that well yet. Seriously, ever think about installing a map or something? Would've saved me minutes of panicked searching, just saying."

Chuckling, Sehun shrugs. "I'll think about it," he says simply before driving down an unfamiliar (to Jongin) dirt road. Jongin's jaw nearly hits the floor when they slowly approach a fancy-looking mansion - equally as fancy as Sehun's - painted white and gold. The garden goes on for what looks like miles and a heavy black gate looms above them, marked 'PCY'. Sehun is seconds away from honking the horn when the front door suddenly opens and Chanyeol steps out, clad in a navy blue uniform, just like Sehun, cane in his right hand. Jongin rolls his eyes and he fights the urge to ask Sehun why Chanyeol even uses (or to be exact, needs) a cane in the first place but doesn't get the chance to. A half minute later, Chanyeol is two feet away from the car, and he puts his briefcase on the seat next to Sehun's before wordlessly opening the door. Jongin half expects Chanyeol not to pay him any mind, or even a glance, which is why he's (surprisingly, but in a good way) shocked when Chanyeol shoots him a small nod as well as a (somewhat) friendly 'good morning' when he turns around to fasten his seatbelt. Jongin opts to politely nod before putting his hands in his lap when Sehun and Chanyeol exchange greetings. What the heck.

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