So this chapter is the last and the longest (because I don't want to make another chapter) so enjoy and tell me what you think

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After a year, Kyungsoo decides it’s high time that he told his family he was gay and dating someone.

 

Although, when he decided this it was at a dinner where the whole family was miraculously together and he blurted it out.

 

In his defense, they started talking about the things he hated. You know, the profession he’s doing, school and they added a new one, a girlfriend.

 

“Kyungsoo is doing so well in school but how come he doesn’t have a girlfriend?” Kyungsoo’s brother’s girlfriend, (her name was forgotten in the midst of hugging and the fact she assumed Kyungsoo knew her name.), from across the table.

 

Kyungsoo’s brother laughs. “That’s because he doesn’t have any friends. He scowls at them before they can even get the courage to look at him.” Laughter erupted from the table. To appease them, Kyungsoo smiles. He’s well aware of his social ability as well as the people around him.

 

For someone to be his friend, they would have to be willing to learn about the real him and not someone they presume. Which is why Kyungsoo considers Chanyeol a friend. He cracks jokes and makes Kyungsoo inclusive of everything. At this point, he might as well consider Baekhyun his friend as well after talking to him so much.

 

Sehun is still not Kyungsoo’s friend, fyi. That little nearly ratted him out several times and actually tried blackmailing him. It was at that moment he felt like giving him a taste of blackmail (he may or may not have some embarrassing moments of Sehun).

 

“I have a boyfriend!” Kyungsoo shouts. The whole table goes silent. The bowl of mashed potatoes being passed freezes mid-pass. Everyone had paused mid action when they heard Kyungsoo’s confession.

 

“Wh-what?” was all his mother could bring out. The bowl nearly toppled on the table if his mother wasn’t careful enough. Kyungsoo sat there with his eyes wide. “Oh did I just say that?”

 

“Kyungsoo?” his mother calls. Kyungsoo closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before opening his eyes.

 

“I have a boyfriend and I’ve been dating him for the past year.” Jaws drop faster than a DJ could drop an insane beat. I mean who wouldn’t. Kyungsoo notices the silence and decides to go further.

 

“He’s sweet, he’s kind, he’s stupid and adorable and he makes me really happy and makes me feel like myself for once and I really, really like him” Kyungsoo leaves out the fact that he’s incredibly hot and he feels his cheeks burn up whenever Jongin talks about him or looks at him with those brown eyes or even when he smiles. He probably won’t admit that to Jongin just yet.

 

“Kyungsoo, why didn’t you tell us anything?” his mother asks. His father isn’t saying a word still. He’s rather shocked and is still trying to process everything.

 

“Because he’s not from a ‘respectable profession’ and he would ‘ruin the family image’” his parents keep quiet, painfully aware of where those words came from.

 

“You want me to be this perfect son with all your expectations on me and I can’t take all your restrictions anymore!” Kyungsoo bursts. He may have also banged a fist on the table but he’s on a roll.

 

“I’m in my 20’s and everyone my age has done so many things that you wouldn’t even allow me to try because you’re so scared that I would deviate from your path of me on becoming a doctor like you guys.”

 

“But Kyungsoo, you’re the top of your class. Any-”

 

“Being the top of my class doesn’t mean a damn thing if I don’t even know how to live!” he might have said that a little too loudly.

 

“I want to try things in life! I want to explore! I have so many things  to do and I have the time! How am I supposed to be good in anything if I don’t try things out?”

 

“Then why haven’t you asked us about this Kyungsoo?” his father asks calmly, hopefully trying to gain some control back into the conversation.

 

“Because you would shoot me down before I could even try. You don’t listen and you’re doctors! You don’t even care about what I want.” Kyungsoo says. He can feel tears building up inside him and he can’t breathe.

 

He’s well aware of the impact he had just caused. “I’m sorry I ruined your dinner but I have to get out of here” He takes long strides to the door and makes sure he takes his coat and phone with him. As soon as he’s out of the door, he starts running to the only place that would make him feel safe.

 

Jongin was phoning up the pizza place when he realised that he actually didn’t have food in the house. Kyungsoo has been telling him to do grocery shopping for a while now but he hasn’t gotten the time to do it just yet.

 

The tattoo parlour was closed that day which was great for him and Chanyeol because they work 6 days a week they need the break. Not so great for him as well because he owns the parlour and a piece of the ceiling fell and now the parlour is closed til it gets fixed.

 

In a way, it is an excuse to not do grocery shopping but that would never work on Kyungsoo.

 

Jongin receives a phone call 30 minutes later and picks it up thinking the pizza delivery guy got lost.

 

“Hello?” he says uninterestedly.

 

“Jongin?” Kyungsoo’s voice resonated through the speaker and Jongin realised his mistake. Eyes wide and nearly dropping his phone. “Kyungsoo??”

 

He knows his boyfriend is currently having dinner with his family but why does his voice sound less clear than it usually is?

 

“Kyungsoo I am so sorry. I thought you were the pizza guy that got lost and he’s calling me to tell me he can’t find me and I’m going to get my food late I didn’t know that you would-” he stops himself before he continues to ramble on. “Kyungsoo why are you calling me? I thought you were with your family?”

 

A hiccup was heard as well as a sniffle. Now that’s getting Jongin worried. “Are you in your apartment right now?” Kyungsoo’s voice seems small.

 

“Uh.. yeah. Kyungsoo wh-”

 

“Open the door”

 

Jongin rushes to the door to find Kyungsoo holding two pizza boxes in his hand and his eyes full of tears. It takes a sniffle for Jongin to pull Kyungsoo into his apartment, place the pizza boxes on the table and hold his boyfriend.

 

Jongin has seen Kyungsoo cry once and it was about his family. He knows to just hold Kyungsoo tight and wait till he says something. Kyungsoo usually releases the flood whenever Jongin holds him. Only Jongin can see him cry and no one else.

 

Jongin slowly brings them to the sofa where they can sit and he can bring his boyfriend closer. He rubs soothing circles on Kyungsoo’s back and runs his hand through his hair. He’s pretty much forgotten the fact that he hasn’t eaten yet but his boyfriend is more important.

 

After a while, Kyungsoo calms down. “You haven’t eaten yet?”. Kyungsoo’s eyes dart over at the pizza boxes on the table. Jongin looks up from him. “No, not yet”

 

“You should. I don't want my boyfriend to be admitted to the hospital because of me.” Kyungsoo uttered. That was an exaggeration. Jongin could always eat later but Kyungsoo wants him to eat.

 

After a petty banter (or, according to Jongin, nagging), Kyungsoo eventually managed to get his boyfriend to eat (not without stealing bites and a few pecks on the lips).

 

Once the pizza has been completely devoured, they cuddle on the sofa in silence until Kyungsoo breaks the silence “Can I stay here for the night?”

 

“Sure, but” Jongin shifts so that he faces Kyungsoo “You have to tell me exactly what happened this time”

 

Kyungsoo grumbles but he complies. He knows he can’t keep running away from his problems and he most definitely shouldn’t keep it all from Jongin any longer. If he kept it any longer, it would strain their relationship and eventually it’ll fall apart.

And how often does Kyungsoo meet someone and is not immediately annoyed at them? Not very often.

 

He starts off with the whole family history up to how he was raised and the fabulous, very recent family dinner. When he finishes, he looks at Jongin’s face for any kind of reaction such as shock or something but instead he gets a rather neutral look.

 

For Jongin, he’s not that much surprised about his whole family background. He’s heard Kyungsoo tell him stories from time to time so it’s not that much of a shocker.

 

“Well,” he begins “I think you should talk to your family, see if they’ll still accept you as their child. If they don’t, I’ll let you stay with me”

 

“For how long?” Kyungsoo inquires

 

“Forever?” Jongin smiles

 

Kyungsoo laughs and then gives Jongin a kiss. “Sounds great”

 

The next day, Jongin drops Kyungsoo off at his house before going to work (because he still needs to see to the repairs and make sure the equipment is still in tact). He watches Kyungsoo go in before going off. Kyungsoo Is still nervous but he goes in anyway.

 

The house is empty, because everyone went to work already. He looks around the house and then his bedroom. All of his things are still intact, which means they haven’t disowned him just yet.

 

It’s quite early in the afternoon but he doesn’t have any classes that day. Plus, he had already finished all his assignments two days prior. He decides to do the one thing he does when he’s bored, draw.

 

He takes out his sketchbook from under the bed (it’s such a cliche hiding place but the sketchbook is miraculously still there) and starts drawing. He isn’t so sure what he was drawing but his hands seem to know what they’re doing.

 

Somehow, he falls asleep along the way and wakes up to looking at a stunning drawing of Jongin, it’s not perfect but it’s definitely better than all the other things he has drawn.

 

He blushes and then ultimately decides to go out for a walk. He grabs some food on the way back to his house because he’s so used to cooking for himself.

 

He comes back home to find that the house is still empty as usual. The routine is all too familiar as he goes into the kitchen to make his dinner. He cooks and then he sits down to eat alone. He’s used to it really but ever since he started dating Jongin, it’s a bit lonelier than usual.

 

Before the last mouthfuls of his meal, he gets a text from Jongin complaining about the repairs in the shop and how he misses him.

 

At that very moment, his parents walk in. If the silence wasn’t silent enough, it just did. His father clears his throat before telling Kyungsoo they need to talk.

 

His parents sit down on the couch while Kyungsoo sits opposite them.

 

“So,” they begin “After what happened yesterday we thought it was time we saw  Dr. Choi. You know, the psychiatrist in the hospital?” Kyungsoo knows who he is very well. In fact, he was the first one to realise that making Kyungsoo go into the medical field like them would be very stressful and actually advised his parents to give Kyungsoo freedom to do what he wants for his mental health.

 

Of course, they didn’t listen and here they are now.

 

Kyungsoo just nods and his parents continue. “Well, we paid him a visit today and we asked him for advice. About you dating a man.”

 

They took a deep breath. “It was a rather lengthy talk but at the end of it, there is no reason to hate you for what you are.”

 

Kyungsoo looks at them with his eyes wide. “Really?” was all he could say

 

His parents nod “It will take a while for us to get used to as well as meeting your boyfriend but we’re sorry. It wasn’t right for us to force you into the path of a doctor and it certainly was not right for us to repress anything that would interest you. I hope you can forgive us.”

 

Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything as tears fall down his face. “I do. I do forgive you”

 

6 months later (I am not doing another chapter of this), Kyungsoo is walking down the street with a very nervous Jongin in hand. His father decided to tell him 2 weeks before about another family dinner and asked if he could meet Jongin.

 

Jongin was very happy to hear that and quickly became distressed over what to wear. He decided that it was best to wear a sweater to cover up his tattoos.  The weather was cold anyway and he could’ve worn a turtleneck sweater but Kyungsoo wanted him to wear a sweater without the turtleneck to at least see the tattoos on his neck.

 

Jongin just really hoped he wouldn’t make a fool out of himself during the dinner. Kyungsoo said it was just a simple dinner so there was nothing fancy about it. Yet, he’s finding it hard to calm down as the house gets closer.

 

Kyungsoo notices this and squeezes his boyfriend’s hand. Jongin looks down at Kyungsoo with worried eyes. “It’s going to be fine. I promise.” Kyungsoo reassures.

 

They arrive at the house and Jongin was getting more nervous. Kyungsoo has been calming him down during the walk and it was helping but then they got to the house and Jongin went back to being a nervous wreck.

 

They walk into living room of the house to find it empty, much to Jongin’s relief. They shrug off their coats and shoes as Kyungsoo calls for his family.

 

“We’re in the dining room!” a voice calls out. Kyungsoo guides Jongin into the room and the whole family turns their heads into their direction.

 

The judgemental stares Kyungsoo is all too familiar with is seen on his family’s eyes. He knows it’s a normal response for some people especially his family but he can’t help but feel annoyed.

 

“Ah, Kyungsoo you’re here!” his mother exclaims, the judging look in the eyes doesn’t change but the face breaks out into a smile. She then turns to look at Jongin “And you are?”

 

Kyungsoo forgot that he didn’t tell his family the name of the man he’s dating.

 

“I’m Kim Jongin and it’s nice to meet you all.” Jongin says politely. Kyungsoo’s father doesn’t utter a word while his brother stares Jongin down. His mother on the other hand was being the more polite one.

 

“Hello there Jongin. It’s nice to meet you as well.” she says as she gets up from her seat to shake his hand. “Do sit down and we can start dinner!”

 

Jongin smiles as he moves to sit on the chair opposite Kyungsoo’s brother. However, Kyungsoo moves him to sit next to his father and now he’s more nervous. Kyungsoo gives him a small smile and a slight nod, giving Jongin reassurances that everything would be alright.

 

“Shall we start dinner now?”

 

The dinner starts off quiet. Food is just being passed around and the only sounds heard are the scraping of utensils on the plates. A couple of questions were asked here and there about Jongin which he answers with a small smile.

 

“So Jongin,” Kyungsoo’s father speaks “What do you do for a living?”

 

Kyungsoo freezes. He already knew that question was to come up eventually but he really, really hoped his parents wouldn’t freak out about it.

 

“I work as a tattoo artist at the Immortals Tattoo Parlour. The work is challenging especially with the customers but I do enjoy it.” Jongin responds like it’s nothing.

 

“Tattoo artist?” Kyungsoo’s mother exclaims. Kyungsoo really hopes she doesn’t say anything degrading about it. “My, you must have steady hands then. Tattoos are permanent after all.”

 

“Yes, well coffee does help” Jongin replies. Kyungsoo’s father sets down his cutlery on the plate and everyone stops eating. He looks straight to Jongin. “You would fit right in. This whole family practically runs on coffee”

 

Everyone giggles because he’s right. Kyungsoo’s whole family are doctors so coffee is basically their fuel.

 

They converse for a while, with topics that ranged from coffee to the tattoo parlour. It wasn’t until they caught Kyungsoo’s brother, who practically had a list of questions for Jongin.

 

“Have you finished high school? I’m not letting my little brother date anyway who has at least finished high school. How many tattoos do you have? Do you have any piercings? How many people have you slept with?” his brother was on a roll.

 

Kyungsoo can’t help but feel embarrassed over his brother. The last one may have been a step too far.

 

“Yes, I have finished high school. I even have a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts. I honestly can’t remember how many tattoos I have. I stopped counting after number 5. The only piercings I have are my ears and I’ve actually never slept with anyone.” Jongin answers nonchalantly.

 

“That’s surprising” Kyungsoo’s brother says. Even for Kyungsoo it is. I mean have you seen his boyfriend?  Jongin just smiles “Believe it or not, no one really caught my eye except Kyungsoo”

 

Aside from Kyungsoo being embarrassed, the whole evening runs smoothly. Jongin makes conversation with Kyungsoo’s parents and he cracks jokes with his brother. Kyungsoo smiles at the fact that his family got along with his boyfriend so well.

 

When it’s time to leave, Kyungsoo sees Jongin off. It wouldn’t be wise if Jongin stayed over and it was a definite no for Kyungsoo to go with Jongin.

 

“Your family is nice” Jongin says as he puts on his coat.

 

“Yeah, and it’s not the fake nice either which is really good.” Kyungsoo replies.

 

Jongin puts on his shoes “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

 

Kyungsoo gives him a kiss on the lips before replying “Tomorrow. And don’t be late.”

 

Jongin chuckles “I won’t”

 

A month later, Jongin is back in the house but this time he’s in Kyungsoo’s room. He’s been dating this guy for months and he’s just staring at every inch of the room because it just screams Kyungsoo.

 

His eyes land on a sketchbook on the table and he flips through it.

 

Kyungsoo comes in with a plate of cookies when Jongin flips to a sketch of himself. Jongin smiles at it before turning to look at Kyungsoo with adoration.

 

“This is amazing Kyungsoo. Why don’t you take art classes? Unless, you take them in secret?” Jongin asks. “Well, it never really came to my mind because I didn’t feel I should” Kyungsoo replies. Jongin knows better. He didn’t want to go so people wouldn’t catch him and ask him a bunch of questions and it would all lead to his family finding out.

 

“Well, maybe you should. I mean your whole family likes me. It wouldn’t hurt to try.”  Jongin uttered as he wrapped his arms around Kyungsoo’s waist. He leans down to give Kyungsoo a deep, passionate kiss.

 

When he breaks the kiss, he sees Kyungsoo smiling. “Besides” Jongin added “If anyone looked down on the arts just remember, in the olden days you were considered highly cultured with a high position in society if you knew about arts of any kind.”