Saturdays are always stressful.

Saturdays mean family visits and birthday parties.

Saturdays mean whining, screaming children and their parents coming and going, crowding the gift shop and in the end leaving without buying absolutely anything.

Saturdays mean organized groups stopping by the gift shop as their last stop in the zoo tour.

Saturdays mean Kyungsoo has to constantly use his customer service façade, which always results with sore facial muscles from all the fake smiling.

He still remembers his first day at this job.

 

A beautiful morning on a peaceful Wednesday, only a handful of people visiting the zoo during his shift, while the other cashier – a sweet girl named Wendy – showed him around the gift shop and filled him in on his duties.

He remembers how glad he had been to have gotten such an easy and simple job – all he had to do really was sit around and wait for someone to enter the gift shop. Maybe renew the pamphlets once in a while. If Minseok asked him to, that is.

He remembers how he first met Sehun and Baekhyun – two of the tour guides in the zoo – how they barged into the gift shop, a very loud ‘ NO, MINE’S BIGGER ’, followed by a scoff and a ‘ you wish’.

He remembers how the shorter of the two had turned around, slapping Sehun’s shoulder at the same time.

‘ See, you’re scaring the new kid ,’ he had said, offering his hand for a handshake. ‘ I’m Baekhyun, nice to meet you. And just to clarify, we’re talking about our tour groups, not our .’

True to their profession, the two had slowly (or not so slowly) introduced him to just about everybody else who came and went from the zoo while they were working together.

There was Chanyeol (or Nick, as Baekhyun had first introduced him as. ‘ Unhealthy Zootopia obsession. Don’t ask. ’, had been Sehun’s only input on the situation) – an exceptionally tall man in charge of the reptiles.

And then there was Jongdae who took care of the big cats, someone who always carries himself loudly and with a big smile. He likes talking about the little newborn cubs as if they were his own children, and he likes spending a lot of time in the gift shop. Kyungsoo doesn’t mind.

 

Much.

Suho is a very sweet guy with a knack for bad jokes, responsible for the bears and he is often seen walking around with Yixing, a guy just as sweet, who takes care of the giraffes. He always seems to have hay sticking out of his hair or clothes, but Kyungsoo kind of finds it endearing.

He still recalls meeting them all on his very first day, being greeted and welcomed warmly by everybody. He remembers thinking this was going to be a fun, carefree summer with an easy job that would help him save up some money.

And boy had he been wrong.

Because summer means no school.

 

Summer means visitors all day long.

And Saturdays… Saturdays are the absolute worst.

Kyungsoo can’t help the sigh leaving his lips at the sight of some kid ruining the beautiful stuffed animal pyramid he painstakingly made earlier that morning. He does his best to stare at only the one kid and not turn around to inspect the rest of the shop. He tries not to even think about the other displays currently being destroyed around him.

Not even noon yet and he already has a headache.

He hates Saturdays.

He throws a quick look towards the clock.

 

You can do it, he mentally chants to himself, just ten more minutes until lunch break.

He startles at the sound of something breaking – the unmistakable sound of a cup colliding with the floor, followed by an angry mother’s snarl and the whining of a kid.

Great.

Another day, another broken souvenir. Now he has to clean that up.

Kyungsoo straightens up behind the desk when the mother approaches the counter, dragging the criminal in question by his tiny hand. He can already see her pulling out her wallet with an apologetic glint in her eyes. At least this one’s being nice about it, he thinks to himself as he forces the smile on his face yet again.

Just ten more minutes.

The mother takes the broken cup and luckily drags her child out of the store, scolding them harshly. At least Kyungsoo didn’t have to deal with that too long.

 

He grabs the small broom behind the register and slowly makes his way over to where the cup had fallen. He sweeps up a few shards and tries to straighten up the display as best as he can.

 

Glancing around the store, he sees a few people and their children lingering around, but luckily it’s not too many. His eyes look to the front doors of the store, the bright sunlight filtering in making the sound of impending freedom ring in his ears.

 

Five more minutes.

 

The final countdown.

 

He’s just about to throw away the broken shards in the dustpan, when something outside the gift shop catches his attention.

 

Or rather- someone.

 

There, walking right by the gift shop doors, is a man dressed in a wetsuit with beautifully sunkissed skin. It cut off at the man’s elbows and knees, the black material looking a little damp in the afternoon sun. His honey-brown hair is towel-dried and messy, but he has such a sweet and content smile on his face as he makes his way to where Kyungsoo assumes the food trucks are.

 

Kyungsoo melts, eyes taking in the other man’s silhouette as he walks out of sight.

 

Jongin is probably the closest thing to a four-course meal in human form that Kyungsoo has ever come across. He’s incredibly sweet, having talked to Kyungsoo during their lunch break on his first day taking care of the gift shop and even told him if he ever needed anything to just let him know.

 

Kyungsoo would love to have talked to him more often, but they rarely cross paths these days.

 

Jongin is in charge of taking care of the marine life here at the zoo. He mainly does shows with the dolphins and educates everyone about the wonders of the ocean. Kyungsoo doesn’t really have enough time during his break to even think about walking all the way over to where Jongin works, so seeing him is kind of impossible.

 

There are off chances, like today, where Kyungsoo is able to catch a fleeting glance of the other man in all of his neoprene glory, but it’s rare.

 

Doesn’t keep Kyungsoo from internally drooling at the sight every time. He’ll take what he can get, he supposes.

 

He could probably come on his days off to see one of the shows and maybe talk to Jongin a little more, but he’s not ready to be a stupid stuttering mess in front of the other man.

 

Kyungsoo sighs, turning around and nearly having an outright heart attack when he sees Baekhyun’s smug face right in front of his.

 

“You were totally looking at his .”

 

Kyungsoo grumbles, sidestepping the tour guide and going over to the trash can. Sehun waves at him, leaning against the register.

 

“When did you two even come in here?” Kyungsoo squints. He couldn’t have been staring at Jongin that hard right?

 

Sehun snickers. “When you were drooling over dolphin boy.”

 

Baekhyun grabs a tissue from behind the counter. “Here, wipe your mouth.”

 

Kyungsoo shoves his hand away, shaking his head as he cleans up the register. “Go away. The both of you.”

 

“But who else will scare away all of your customers so you can go to lunch?”

 

Sehun waves at the little kid that walks by him as their mother and father lead them out of the store. “I think Kyungsoo’s death glare right now is enough to scare anyone away.”

 

Kyungsoo glares at Sehun. “I’m not that scary.”

 

“You are when Baekhyun is around.” Baekhyun laughs and Kyungsoo can’t help but to agree.

 

He looks at the time, relieved when he sees it’s time for his break.

 

Baekhyun and Sehun do their best to help him inform customers the gift shop is closing for an hour, most of them leaving right away. It doesn’t take too long, luckily, and Kyungsoo is very much relieved when he flips the ‘OPEN’ sign on the front door to ‘CLOSED’.

 

The three leave out the employee exit, heading over to the designated eating areas for employees.

“So,” Baekhyun bumps Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “You didn’t even try to counter my comment earlier. You were staring at his .”

 

“That’s because I don’t like humoring you.”

 

“Or it’s because there’s really not much of an to stare at.” Baekhyun jesters to Sehun, who is messing around on his phone as they all walk. “Then again, no one can compare to Oh Sehun over here.”

 

Sehun gives a peace sign, not even looking up at them. Kyungsoo sighs for the millionth time today.

 

He tries not to mind the traitorous heat in his cheeks.

~

There are hot dogs and hamburgers on the menu today, just like about every other day.

 

Kyungsoo gets both. Including the dessert that horribly resembles poop in a cup, but according to the sheet hanging on the side of the food truck is chocolate pudding.

 

He’s halfway done with his hotdog, absentmindedly listening to Sehun complaining about some kid that got by a goat in the petting zoo and then wiped its hand on his shorts, when he registers movement with his periphery vision and turns around just in time to see another man sliding on the bench in front of him - tray filled with food and all.

 

It never fails to amaze him just how much Jongdae looks like a cat when he’s smiling like that.

 

“So,” he starts without even a greeting. “Word’s around that you’re in charge of the new pictures for the merch, Kyungsoo.”

 

“Yeah, and?” Kyungsoo cautiously replies.

 

How Jongdae has found out is beyond him, since the only person present while him and Minseok had had this conversation a few days ago had been Sehun. And he knows for a fact that Sehun doesn’t give a single .

 

“And, I have an idea!” Jongdae smiles again, bringing his hands together over the table as if he’s about to present a thesis. “You know our lioness gave birth just a month ago, right?”

 

How could he not. It’s been a month and Jongdae still mentions it every single time they meet.

 

“Right,” he mumbles around a mouthful of hotdog. He already suspects where this conversation is heading.

 

“Well, I was thinking, how amazing would it be to have a picture of a caretaker, me , holding up a little baby lion while standing on the rock over the visitors’ exit?”

 

There. He knew it.

 

“We have had this conversation already, Jongdae…”

 

“Oh, come on, Kyungsoo!” the man in front of him whines loudly - a sound more piercing than the whines of the children he hears all day long down at the gift shop. “Everybody loves a little Disney!”

 

“You are not reenacting The Lion King. You are not Rafiki.”

 

“See? Even you know your Disney!”

 

Kyungsoo just rolls his eyes, listening to Jongdae’s little grumbles from across the table.

 

Finally, he thinks to himself as he finally leans forward to finish the rest of his meal.

 

Jongdae slapping his hands on top of the table with a loud bang make him freeze mid-air, though, as he looks up in exasperation. Now what?

 

“If you won’t put the picture on the T-shirts or cups, then I at least deserve the front page in the new pamphlet!” his tone is almost accusing and there is a daring glint in his eyes. Kyungsoo feels half tempted to refuse again, just to see what Jongdae would come up with but the man beats him. He starts whining again. “Just stop for a moment and think about it! Kids would absolutely love it!”

 

“They won’t even recognize it, though,” Baekhyun mumbles from the side. “Isn’t The Lion King, like, a 20 year old movie?”

 

Jongdae turns to snarl at Baekhyun for not backing him up and Kyungsoo takes this chance to finish his food. Lunch and drama. Amazing.

 

However, those two don’t even try to keep it quiet and, surprisingly, it’s not him who snaps first. It’s Sehun, who looks up from his phone and frowns:

“Won’t you two shut up? It’s just the stupid pamphlet.”

 

“A pamphlet?” another voice joins in on their conversation and Kyungsoo breaths out. Their table is starting to get a little bit crowded as Chanyeol slides in next to him with the Widest Smile Kyungsoo has ever seen. “Are we getting a new pamphlet?”

 

“Apparently.” Sehun deadpans.

 

“We are,” Jongdae pointedly says. “And Kyungsoo is against me bringing some joy into everybody’s life.”

 

Chanyeol turns to Sehun for a clarification. The tour guide shrugs.

 

“He wants to reenact The Lion King.”

 

“Rock scene?”

 

“With a baby lion.”

 

“ Nice !” Chanyeol reaches over the table to high-five Jongdae, only earning himself a distasteful look from Kyungsoo.

 

“See? Chanyeol thinks it’s a good idea!”

 

“Yeah, well Chanyeol thinks Zootopia should have won Movie of the Year and his hobby is petting alligators. His opinion doesn’t count.”

 

It’s Chanyeol’s turn to fight Baekhyun now and Kyungsoo’s headache might be getting even worse than before now that he is surrounded by oversized children. Maybe he should have stayed in the gift shop after all.

 

“Anyways, I was just telling him how he’s about to miss the chance to create the coolest pamphlets in the history of advertisement if he doesn’t put me and my lion cubs on the front page.”

 

“Whoa, whoa, hold up! Front page?” Chanyeol lets out a sound that very much sounds like a scoff. “It is a cool idea, but you can’t expect him to put that on the front page.”

 

Kyungsoo is just about to express his gratitude, when Chanyeol opens his mouth. Again.

 

“Everybody knows the coolest animals are the reptiles. I should be on the front page with a snake or something. Or like, a crocodile!”

 

“What?!” Jongdae sounds positively scandalized. “Snakes and crocodiles? Nobody wants to see slimy predators on the front page!”

 

“Oh, so they want to see the furry ones?”

 

“Hey, lions are the kings of the jungle!”

 

“Yeah? Well, they’re afraid of crocodiles. .”

 

Kyungsoo takes in a deep breath and shakes his head. The hamburger is kind of gross but it acts as a diversion from him thinking about different ways to choke his co-workers.

 

“The front of the pamphlet should be family-friendly. It should be something beautiful and cute, something the kids would like.” Kyungsoo tries reasoning.

 

“Oh, so you mean something like, I don’t know, baby lions?”

 

“Something like dolphins.” Kyungsoo huffs.

 

“Surprise, surprise. He went for the dolphins.” Baekhyun mutters from beside him and Kyungsoo shoves his heel in the other’s shoes. He hopes that hurt. Baekhyun lets out a sound and immediately pushes him away. “What?!”

 

“Dolphins? Really?” Chanyeol frowns. “And how exactly will you take pictures of the dolphins?”

 

“Yeah, can’t exactly hold them up now, can you?” Jongdae adds and Kyungsoo feels cornered. Why are they siding up against him now? What the hell?

 

“I don’t know. I’m not the dolphin expert. I’ll ask Jongin if he can ride them or something and I’ll just take the pictures.”

 

There is a moment of collective silence and Kyungsoo thinks for the briefest of seconds, that he might have actually won this argument. However-

 

“Well, I don’t know about riding them, but you can take pictures during the feeding time.”

 

A little part of Kyungsoo dies at the sound of the honey dipped voice behind him.

 

.

 

It’s almost as if it is in slow motion - the way he turns around and sees Jongin standing there in his full glory - hair now drier than before, messy and sticking out in all directions, neopren still clinging tightly to his perfect body and a little, dazed smile on his beautiful lips.

 

He looks like a surfer, Kyungsoo’s mind unhelpfully supplies. Like a sun-kissed surfer whom everyone at the beach swoons over.

 

Except, they’re in the city zoo. And he’s pretty sure he’s the only idiot swooning over the man right now.

 

His mind is almost too slow to process the fact that Jongin heard them .

 

Jongin heard him suggesting the damn dolphins.

 

“They’re really smart too!” he continues with his beautiful, low voice and Kyungsoo just blinks dumbly. “Just give them fish and they will follow your commands, so I’m pretty sure they would pose for you.”

 

“Uh… uh-huh.”

 

That’s all Kyungsoo can come up with as a response. He sees the way Jongin’s eye twinkle under the sunlight when he smiles brightly.

 

“You can come out and take pictures sometime then. If you want.”

 

“Oh no.” the obnoxiously whiny voice of Jongdae breaks Kyungsoo’s bubble. “No, no, no. My lions take priority over here, Mr. Fish-man. Get in line.”

 

Jongin blinks at Jongdae before turning away from him without even gracing that with a reply and giving Kyungsoo a little smile.

 

“I’ll see you later.”

 

“...yeah.”

 

And then Jongin is walking away to the background noise of Jongdae and Chanyeol’s continued bickering.

 

Kyungsoo feels pathetic when he can’t do anything to peel his eyes off the dolphin trainer’s retreating figure. Not from the way he raises a hand to run his fingers through those messy, brown locks, messing them up even more. From those broad shoulders and the way the fabric is tightly clinging to his skin. His eyes move further down to his lean waist and long, sculpted legs.

 

A Poseidon among ordinary men. Indeed.

 

He is still staring, hamburger and quarrels long forgotten, until he feels someone’s breath on the back of his neck.

 

He almost jumps up in surprise when he turns to face a very smug Baekhyun with a eating grin.

 

“Caught you. You were definitely staring at his this time.”

 

Kyungsoo’s taken off guard this time, irritated at how warm his cheeks suddenly feel. “Shut up.”

 

Baekhyun’s grin turns sly, and Kyungsoo is surprised when the other man actually leaves him alone this time. Kyungsoo figures it’s just fuel Baekhyun will use later to piss him off when he’s stuck in the gift shop, unable to escape the tour guide’s evil clutches.

 

For now, Kyungsoo decides to just stare down at his food. He tries not to bite his lip at the excitement that wells up inside of him at the thought of spending time with Jongin. Especially a possible wetJongin splashing and giggling with his dolphins as Kyungsoo snaps pictures for the pamphlet. Kyungsoo can just picture Jongin’s beaming smile and pretty brown eyes looking up at his camera and it makes his heart skip a beat.

 

He shakes his head.

 

What is wrong with him? He needs to stop daydreaming.

 

~

 

It is a Friday afternoon, about two hours after peak time for visitors at the zoo, and Kyungsoo can’t wait to just get out of the little stuffy gift shop. He kind of feels bad about leaving Wendy alone when he knows all the visitors will flood the place after the last shows, but he also can’t help but to be excited for tonight. Ever since that awkward phone call from the previous weekend with what sounded like a very sleepy and disoriented Jongin, Kyungsoo has had Friday on his mind. Or rather, this Friday, half past five, when the last dolphin show of the day at the lagoon ends.

 

That’s when he has to go over and take pictures for the pamphlets. And that’s in less than half an hour now. He can’t help the jittery feeling spreading through his chest every time he thinks about seeing Jongin again (even though he saw him at lunch less than four hours ago).

 

It’s not that he doesn’t want to see Jongin or his marine life companions. It’s more of that he and Jongin had never actually been alone before. It’s always been the two of them somehow surrounded by the rest of the zoo keepers, so Kyungsoo has been able to somewhat hide behind their playful banters.

 

What will he do without Jongdae telling him about baby lions playing with rubber tires? Or without Chanyeol trying to convince everyone he wrestled a cobra? A cobra that Sehun claimed was a lizard, sparking an entire debate on reptilians in general.

 

Now it’s just going to be just the two of them and Kyungsoo’s going to have to actually interact with Jongin like a normal human. Kyungsoo tries not to think of the awkward small talk that’s about to ensue as he walks aimlessly around the park to kill time.

 

He’s brought out of his gloomy thoughts when he hears the tell tale sign of a school group coming his way. He takes the loud entrance of the group of young students as his cue to leave. He cannot deal with another six year old asking him where they can find the unicorns in the zoo. He simply cannot.

 

Kyungsoo glances at his phone and supposes it’s just about time for him to be making his way to the marine life section of the park anyway. So, before any kid can attempt to snag him and ask some sort of stupid question, he beelines it towards the back of the park.

 

The walk to the dolphin lagoon is definitely strenuous, but Kyungsoo endures. He has to adjust his camera bag multiple times and his feet may or may not be aching by the time he gets there, but finally he arrives. He doesn’t know how Jongin does this every day. Walking back and forth between the lagoon and the entrance of the park where the lunch food trucks are. No wonder he has legs like that.

 

Just in time, it seems, considering all of the visitors exiting the small arena and making their way back into the park.

 

Kyungsoo gulps, standing in the middle of the exiting crowd like some sort of unmoving rock parting a rushing river. He thinks about the fact that the show must have ended about five minutes ago tops. He thinks about the fact that it means Jongin had been in the water five minutes ago. And that would mean a wet Jongin in his neoprene diving suit and little droplets of water falling from the ends of his auburn hair, falling on the lips stretched in a dazzling smile.

 

‘Lord, give me strength’ , he mentally chants to himself, as he adjusts his camera bag one last time and takes a deep breath. He looks up at the painted dolphins on the entrance of the arena. Kyungsoo briefly thinks they’re mocking him, but he snaps himself out of it. He’s going to give himself a meltdown if he doesn’t just get in there already.

 

Slowly, he shuffles in, knowing how awkward he looks as he peeks around the corner and makes his way to the bleachers. He feels like he’s in a horror movie with how quiet it is, but then he hears it. A high pitched whining sound.

 

“I know, princess. You’re still hungry. But we need to wait for our special guest.”

 

Kyungsoo stills down as he finally catches sight of Jongin, sitting at the edge of the raised pool, feet dipped in the water. He can see them through the large glass of the raised tank that lets the audience see under the water, him kicking them leisurely. The neoprene is clinging to his body, and his hair is still wet. And Jesus, it’s so much worse than Kyungsoo imagined. He’s already having trouble breathing.

 

It takes him an embarrassingly long time to realize that there is, in fact, a large, grey animal poking its elongated nose into Jongin’s warmly, outstretched arms. Right. There are dolphins here too. He forgot about them for a second.

 

But there Jongin is, sitting by the pool and playing with one of the dolphins swimming close to where he is sitting, with such a genuine and beautiful smile on his lips that it makes Kyungsoo wish he was a fish too.

 

The loud sound comes again, accompanied by a ticking creak, almost like the dolphin is tutting. Jongin’s laugh is quiet, but Kyungsoo can hear it even from here. It’s warm, and it’s gentle.

 

“Alright then,” Jongin says, reaching out towards the bucket beside him. This seems to get the dolphin excited, because it leaps even closer to Jongin, as close as the border of the pool allows. “Just one more.”

 

Kyungsoo watches Jongin as he pulls out a fish from the bucket and throws it lightly in the air. The dolphin immediately catches it and then, in a manner of celebration or gratitude - Kyungsoo isn’t sure, he isn’t a dolphin - it nuzzles closer to Jongin again, a pleased squeak resounding around the arena.

 

Kyungsoo’s fingers wrap around the camera hanging from his neck tightly then - this is a sight way too pure and way too beautiful to miss out on. The animal genuinely trusts Jongin, it’s obvious, and Jongin apparently loves it just as much. It’s visible in the way he is smiling.

 

A loud click resounds around the empty arena when Kyungsoo takes the picture.

 

A loud click that startles even Kyungsoo himself. One that makes the dolphin let out another tutting sound. One that makes Jongin turn around and look over his shoulder. He seems to be slightly alarmed, until finally realization takes over his features and his parted lips form a beautiful and welcoming smile.

 

“I knew that noise wasn’t any of my dolphins,” the trainer says with a chuckle, and he pulls his legs out of the water then, standing up with a small grunt and fully facing Kyungsoo now. “You’re right on time.”

 

Kyungsoo seems to find it a little hard to speak, especially now that he can see all of Jongin. Especially now that Jongin’s attention is all on him .

 

In the periphery of his vision, he notices the dolphin diving back under the water and he feels his breath hitch a little, eyebrows twitching.

 

“I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo blurts out, hand awkwardly flailing in the direction of the water. “I didn’t mean to scare it.”

“Her.” Jongin corrects almost instinctively, before shrugging his wide shoulders. “And don’t worry. They’re used to cameras. Nothing a nice, big mackerel can’t fix.”

 

“Holy mackerel,” Kyungsoo says without even thinking, his cheeks turning bright red when Jongin just blinks at him. “I mean… where are the mackerel?”

 

Jongin stares for a few seconds longer before he cracks the biggest grin Kyungsoo has ever seen him wear. He’s laughing immediately afterward, loud and high pitched just like his dolphins. Kyungsoo thinks he may have just died and gone to heaven making him laugh like that.

 

“Here,” Jongin says breathlessly, recovering from laughing as he outstretches a hand to Kyungsoo from the top of the pool. “I’ll show you.”

 

Kyungsoo stares at Jongin’s pretty palm entirely too long to be considered normal, but he tries not to think too hard about it. He puts his camera up by Jongin’s feet and takes the other man’s hand, pulling himself up with Jongin’s help.

 

Kyungsoo huffs, catching his breath as he picks up his camera again. “Do you always have to climb up here for the shows?”

 

Jongin grins. “Actually there are stairs at the back.”

 

Kyungsoo tries not to glare, but it’s practically an instinct at this point that has developed ever since he started working in the zoo. Usually, the glare is reserved for Baekhyun or Jongdae, not for Jongin. Definitely not for Jongin, but the marine life trainer just made him climb up wet rocks so he might be a little deserving of at least for now.

 

It’s alright, though, as Kyungsoo tries to talk himself out of complaining. Mostly because Jongin is still holding his hand and mostly because he can’t seem to gather his grammar to form any coherent sentences when the other man is standing so close to him with his cheeky grin.

 

“So how do you wanna do this?” Jongin asks, breaking the awkward silence first and letting go of his hand when he makes sure that Kyungsoo (and his camera) are now safely standing up straight on the biggest rock, overseeing the entire lagoon. “Do you want to take pictures of them jumping, or pictures of them feeding?”

 

“I-...” Kyungsoo looks around the water and the shadows of dolphins he sees underneath the surface. “I’m not really sure. I was kind of hoping you would have suggestions.”

 

Jongin seems to get lost in his own thoughts then, eyes squinting calculatingly at the lagoon. He places his hands on his hips and Kyungsoo has to remind himself that he is here to take pictures of the dolphins, and not the Greek god that Jongin is today.

 

“I can ask them to spin the beach balls on their noses. They’re really cute when they do that.”

 

Kyungsoo nods dumbly. “That would be great.”

 

Jongin nods, looking at the pool in front of him and watching as the dolphin lazily swims around. “First, let’s bring princess here to the back with the others. I think it’ll make a better shot if we have a few of them working together.”

 

Kyungsoo agrees, quietly following behind Jongin as he moves to an area behind the main pool. Looking around, there are other pools as well, a few fins breaching the surface of the water as the dolphins swim around. Kyungsoo is so entranced by them, that he doesn’t even notice Jongin talking to his fellow trainers, them agreeing to bring the one in the arena to the back for him.

 

He taps Kyungsoo’s shoulder, giving him a sweet smile before holding up the most foul smelling bucket of fish Kyungsoo has ever seen.

 

“You’ll need these.”

 

“Wait, me ?”

 

Jongin laughs. “Yes, you. You want them to pose for you right? They’ll probably be extra sweet towards you if you give them their favorite snacks. Now come on. I want to show you something.”

 

Jongin passes the bucket to Kyungsoo and he can only grimace at how slimy the dead fish look. He tries not to sigh too loudly as he follows behind Jongin to one of the bigger pools at the back of the facility.

 

Dolphins immediately zoom over when they see Jongin approaching the edge of the pool, them lifting their heads and making clicking and whining noises at him. Jongin’s small giggle is contagious as Kyungsoo watches them try to get their trainer’s attention.

 

“This is where we train them. Sometimes we do examinations here as well so you’re welcome to get in the water with them if you’d like.” Jongin squats down and Kyungsoo tries not to look directly at his , but it’s entirely too hard and Kyungsoo is a weak man. “They’re usually very sweet when they’re in here because they know they’ll get treats.”

 

Kyungsoo hardly hears Jongin, and he’s only knocked out of his daze when he sees Jongin do a small motion with his hand, a spray of lukewarm water hitting his leg a moment later. Kyungsoo looks down at the dolphin in front of him, offended at the fact his shoes are now soaked, but looks to Jongin a second later.

 

Jongin has a mischievous grin on his face, and it’s then that Kyungsoo realized he caught him staring at his .

 

Great.

 

End him now.

 

Just as he thinks that the shallow pool in front of him looks like a great place to drown himself, Jongin stands. One hand rests on his hip and the other grips his whistle around his neck. He blows it shortly, and Kyungsoo blinks as the dolphins immediately fall into a little sort of formation. It’s also then that another dolphin comes swimming in, and Kyungsoo recognizes her to be the one Jongin was petting when he first arrived.

 

“So, usually before I ask them to do any of the harder tricks, I play with them first. We have exercises we always start with that all of them have been doing since they were babies.” Jongin smiles, raising his hand and waving it.

 

Kyungsoo is about to ask what he’s doing when the three dolphins lean to their sides, noses half way out of the water as they wave their fins back at Jongin. Kyungsoo’s eyes widen and he can’t keep the amazement off his face.

 

“They can wave?”

 

Jongin chuckles, a somewhat fond look in his eyes as he raises an eyebrow at Kyungsoo. He looks back at the dolphins, raising both of his hands and dancing back and forth a little. The dolphins splash their fins in response. “You’ve never been to one of the shows, have you?”

 

Kyungsoo shakes his head, still astonished by the small, but very enthusiastic waves of the dolphins before they dive under the water yet again.

 

“The gift shop gets quite busy, especially before and after your shows.”

 

Jongin smiles a little at that, a heartfelt, lopsided smirk, and Kyungsoo just shrugs.

 

“Okay, your turn,” Jongin scoots over to free the spot next to the border of the pool for Kyungsoo. He points his finger to the water. “Stand over here and just wave your hand.”

 

“But I don’t know-”

 

“What? How to wave?” Jongin one of his perfect eyebrows and Kyungsoo’s world starts spinning a little. “It’s not rocket science.”

 

Kyungsoo is quite reluctant when he steps forward, one hand tightly clutching the camera, the other suddenly feeling the burden of the US marines as he slowly raises it and waves.

To his utter surprise, the dolphins are just as responsive and as enthusiastic to wave back at him just like they did at Jongin.

 

He doesn’t even realize he’s smiling in a daze until the dolphins dive under the water again.

 

“See?” Jongin’s voice is warm and sweet right next to him. “It wasn’t that hard. They like you.”

 

A big grey head pokes out of the water then, and a nose nuzzles Kyungsoo’s ankle and makes him shriek in surprise. The other two dolphins join the first one at the edge of the pool, three sets of black eyes piercing right through him expectantly. Menacingly almost.

 

He stammers over his words as he turns to stare at a very entertained Jongin. The trainer stands there with his still damp hair, hand on his hip, and a playful glint in his pretty eyes.

 

“What? Did you expect them to work for no payment?”

 

Kyungsoo’s eyes flash towards the bucket with the dead fish. Right. Payment.

 

He feels another poke at his ankle, a very insistent one, accompanied by a loud shriek. Great. Now a mob of angry dolphins was after him.

 

“Jongin, I don’t know,” he blinks. “I’m here to take pictures. You should feed them.”

“It’s just fish!”

 

“It’s dead fish.”

 

“So what?” Jongin raises his eyebrows indignantly, like he’s trying to look offended but that teasing glint in his eyes give him away. “You don’t eat your chicken alive, do you?”

 

Kyungsoo makes a face. Not the best analogy, but Jongin does have a point. He raises a hand to remove the strap of the camera from his neck, setting it aside. He can live down the shoes getting soaked, but if he ruins his dad’s camera he’ll be in a lot of trouble and that’s the last thing he wants to deal with. He somehow thinks his old man wouldn’t be very fond if he hears that his camera got wet because a dolphin tried to attack him.

 

When the camera is safely put away, Kyungsoo looks down at the bucket with the fish again. Jongin seems to be trying to hold down his laughter when he watches Kyungsoo rolling up his sleeve with a rather prominent frown on his lips.

 

The fish is slimy in his fingers and Kyungsoo wants to just drop it back in the bucket and go double rinse his hands with soap and a disinfectant. However, Jongin’s respect and smile are on the line here, so he supposes he can get through it this one time.

 

The dolphins seem to get particularly excited when they notice him raising the fish. They start making excited screeching sounds and Kyungsoo looks towards Jongin for confirmation.

 

“Just throw it, they’ll catch it. They have order.”

 

And Kyungsoo is about to - really, he wants to get rid of the fish as much as the dolphins want to eat it - but the sudden shift of the animal in front of him startles him. The dolphin leaps up impatiently, obviously done waiting for him to actually get his together and feed them properly. The problem here is, though, that Kyungsoo is leaning most of his body weight on the particular leg the dolphin decides to nudge.

 

That, combined with the utter shock of the cold, wet nose of the dolphin against his skin (and his lack of basic coordination skills and control over his own limbs that he refuses to admit), has him slipping. His world tilts and the last thing he sees before he’s engulfed in water is Jongin’s shocked expression.

 

Now, Kyungsoo knows dolphins aren’t harmful creatures. They’re not sharks . They’re not going to eat him . But the moment he falls in, the dolphins seem to get excited at their new play mate and swim around him like vultures circling prey. At least, that’s how Kyungsoo’s brain interprets it.

 

They brush up against him and Kyungsoo struggles to get his feet to work right and push him to the surface, letting out the most embarrassing screech as he tries to swim to the edge of the pool.

 

The water is splashing, both from him and the dolphins, but Kyungsoo is able to calm down a little more when he is able to cling to the edge of the pool for dear life. It’s only then when he hears another splash, the dolphins all leaving him alone and swimming away a moment later.

 

Kyungsoo cracks his eyes open and pathetically lifts his head to see where they’ve gone, only to see them circling calmly around Jongin, who is now gently treading water and cooing at them.

 

“There, there. You’re okay. I know, I know , the big scary gift shop worker scared you, huh?”

 

Kyungsoo is about to give an indignant squawk because this is absolute favoritism - the dolphin scared him first, god dammit. But then he sees Jongin’s sly smile, and when the trainer finally looks at him, Kyungsoo can’t help but to smile and laugh at the entire situation.

 

Jongin laughs too, eyes crinkling at the sides and his dimples on his cheeks showing. He makes a shooing motion with his hands and the dolphins slowly move away from him. “Now go tell Kyungsoo you’re sorry.”

 

“No, that’s really alri-”

 

His sentence is cut off in the middle when he feels the nuzzle of a dolphin’s nose against his hand. It’s almost like the animal is urging him to pet it and Kyungsoo just blinks at it.

 

Eventually, he slides his hand down the side of the elongated nose, and the dolphin lets out a high pitched, ticking sound. Almost like laughter.

 

“Well?” Jongin asks and his voice resounds in the hall and Kyungsoo looks towards him. The trainer is sitting at the edge of the pool now, hair dripping from his hair again, feet dipped in the water. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

 

“They’re slimy.”

 

Jongin furrows his eyebrows a little, looking dumbfounded. “They’re not slimy , they’re rubbery. And they live in water, they’re wet. I’m sure your skin doesn’t feel dry as well when you shower.”

 

“Whatever you say, Dr. Dolittle,” Kyungsoo scoffs lightly, mostly to mask the fact that he was suddenly hyper aware of Jongin mentioning his skin while he is showering. Now was not the time for delusions, now was the time to get out of the pool and thank all celestial deities that he made the right decision to set the camera aside. That would have been a disaster. “Can you help me get out of here?”

Jongin springs up immediately like he is on coil. He moves forward and reaches down to grab Kyungsoo’s outstretched arm tightly. He is leaning down and Kyungsoo is almost too grateful for a moment that he had fallen in the pool and made a fool of himself - at least he gets to see Jongin’s face all up close like this. And he gets to hold his hands too, twice now. Maybe he is a winner, after all.

 

Jongin pulls him up until Kyungsoo can perch a knee on the ground and stand up himself. He is all wet now - his clothes are soaked, his hair is wet and he doesn’t even want to think about the squeaky sounds his shoes make when he takes a step forward.

 

“There you go,” Jongin says and Kyungsoo isn’t sure where the trainer produced the towel from, but he takes it regardless with a little appreciative nod.

 

He makes sure to get the fish-water off his face first, before wrapping the towel over his shoulders and backing away from the edge of the pool, as far away as possible. He’s had enough adventures for one day.

 

Besides, he reminds himself as his eyes land on the camera, he still has a job to do.

 

Jongin awkwardly shifts, looking at Kyungsoo worriedly, a hint of remorse shining in his beautiful brown eyes. “Are you okay?”

 

Kyungsoo’s heart clenches at how genuinely concerned the trainer looks, especially when the other man throws a guilty look towards Kyungsoo’s sopping wet shoes. “I am, don’t worry. I’ve been through worse. Chanyeol made me hold his python before. Now that was a disaster.”

 

“His...uhm…” Jongin blinks a few times. “ Which …python?”

 

Kyungsoo open and closes his mouth a few times. “H-His snake! I mean- Not his snake! Yeah. One of the big ones. I-In the Reptilian House . He needed help feeding it and, well. It wanted to eat me instead and Chanyeol that idiot was too busy talking to see it wrapping around me and-”

 

Jongin’s laughter fills the air as Kyungsoo stammers, and Kyungsoo only shuts up when Jongin reaches out and casually presses his hand to Kyungsoo’s arm. “I’m kidding, Kyungsoo. You don’t have to look so panicked around me all the time.”

 

Kyungsoo says a small ‘right’ under his breath, awkwardly holding the towel. He looks down at it in his hands and then to his camera he had put away a few feet from them. He smiles at Jongin a little shyly, handing back the towel to Jongin. “We should finish the pictures. I’m sure the dolphins want a rest after performing all day.”

 

Jongin smiles back and Kyungsoo feels warm when he realizes how close they’re standing. “Yeah. We’ll get you some dry clothes after we finish.” Jongin bites his lip. “For you know, in case you fall in again.”

 

Kyungsoo huffs, about to say something but Jongin is quick to blow his whistle, the trainer’s attention back on the dolphins.

 

The next half an hour is spent with Jongin giving the dolphins instructions and Kyungsoo taking pictures as they pose for him. They seem to be really receptive to Kyungsoo’s presence, even posing prettily for him in more natural shots when Jongin isn’t giving them any sort of instruction.

 

The beach balls make the dolphins look entirely too precious for their own good, but the happy seal-like clapping and the beaming smile from Jongin are the sight that truly makes Kyungsoo’s heart flutter in his chest.

 

The only downside of the whole thing is the beach ball to the face Kyungsoo gets when Jongin shoos them away. He nearly drops his camera in surprise but luckily he catches it in time. He doesn’t hesitate to send a glare to the culprit, though.

 

Jongin chuckles as the dolphin bobs its head, like it’s laughing at Kyungsoo’s misery too.

 

“I think Princess likes you.”

 

“Yeah well,” Kyungsoo starts, giving one last disgruntled look at the feeding bucket before throwing the dolphin a fish. “The feeling isn’t mutual yet...wait, her name is Princess?”

 

“Yeah, why?”

 

“I thought you were just being cringey, like Jongdae when he calls the cubs his children.”

 

Jongin laughs again, not really rebuking Kyungsoo’s accusatory statement, moving to stand next to him as they both watch the dolphins swim around. Kyungsoo can feel Jongin’s neoprene suit against his arm as their shoulders brush. “She’s got an attitude, that’s why I love her. She was a baby when I first came to the zoo, so I was her first trainer.”

 

“So she’s the favorite,” Kyungsoo remarks and Jongin hums. The lagoon is quiet now, the only noise resonating in the air being the small splashes the dolphins make as they move around. The air is warm from the water, a little humid as well but Kyungsoo’s already so wet from being dunked in the pool by a giant fish earlier that he doesn’t mind.

 

He swallows, chancing a look at Jongin who is already looking at him. Jongin’s pretty brown eyes are sparkling under the artificial lights, and he gives Kyungsoo the smallest smile.

 

“Let’s get you some clothes and a nice shower. I’m sure you’re tired of smelling like fish.”

 

“I’m glad I didn’t have to point that out myself.”

 

Jongin smirks a little, grabbing the empty feeding bucket and leading Kyungsoo down a hall. “It’s written all over your face. Not to mention the disgusted look you were throwing at the dead fish every 5 minutes.”

 

Kyungsoo feels guilty for the briefest of moments before Jongin waves his hand.

 

“No worries,” he says happily. “You’ll get used to it.”

 

Kyungsoo hardly has time to process that Jongin is insinuating that Kyungsoo will be back. Or that he wants Kyungsoo to come back.

 

“I just can’t believe you can do this every day,” and that I still think you’re hot. The second part of his sentence he keeps to himself.

 

There are lockers along the wall in the room they enter, and Kyungoo is suddenly reminded of the changing rooms in his high school. Jongin just casually strides through the room, pulling one of the lockers open. WIth an assessing look in his eyes, he reaches to pull out neatly folded clothes.

 

“They might be a little big on you, but I guess it’s better than going home all drenched.”

 

Kyungsoo is pretty sure his brain short circuits in that moment, when Jongin hands him the clean and dry clothes with a soft smile and sparkling eyes hidden underneath unruly and still damp locks of hair.

 

“Are these...yours?”

 

Jongin’s nod is somewhat nonchalant as he reaches out to pull another set of clean clothes from the locker.

 

“Risks of the profession. Always gotta be prepared.”

 

“Right,” Kyungsoo says, looking down at the folded clothes in his hands. “Thank you. I promise I’ll get them back to you soon.”

 

Jongin laughs merrily. “Guess that means I’ll be seeing you again?”

 

If Kyungsoo thought his brain short circuited before, it definitely stopped working now. He’s so caught up in his own mental breakdown that the Poseidon among men wants to see him again that he almost forgets to answer.

 

And when in distress, his mind unhelpfully supplies, sarcasm is the way to go.

 

“We do eat lunch together every day.”

 

Jongin’s eyes are unreadable as he blinks quickly, before finally cracking a little smile.

 

“I mean… I was hoping that I would be able to see some previews of the pamphlets when they’re ready.”

 

Oh.

 

“Pamphlet?” Kyungsoo’s eyes widen when Jongin raises his eyebrow at him. “Right, the pamphlet! Uh- I will see what I can do. I’ll try to drop by soon if I can...”

 

Jongin’s eyebrow twitches as his expression grows amused. “You don’t have to be a stranger. I’m sure Princess would love her swimming buddy to come back and visit. Her trainer would definitely be happy if he did.”

 

Kyungsoo is pretty sure at this point that Jongin is doing this on purpose , but he’s way too far gone to actually mind or care.

 

“I’ll go take a quick shower,” Jongin announces unceremoniously. “I’m getting sponge fingers.”

 

Kyungsoo’s smile is tight and forced and it’s because he is trying his best to not scream out loud. Instead, he watches as Jongin disappears behind the corner. It had always been hard enough to see Jongin in all his neoprene glory, but thinking about the fact that the man was so nonchalant about being in the room next door, showering - now that was a tad bit too much for Kyungsoo’s poor heart. And he’s thought he’d seen it all.

 

He pulls the camera up, trying to distract himself from those lingering inappropriate thoughts, as he scrolls through the pictures. It kind of works.

 

There are a lot of good pictures - splashes of water in the air when he had captured the dolphins’ flips, strong fins peeking over the surface of the pool when the dolphins had waved, Jongin’s smile as he was gently petting and praising Princess, Jongin’s concentrated expression and him holding the whistle in his slender fingers, Jongin-

 

This is about the dolphins!

 

Kyungsoo scrolls through the pictures quickly, noting a few especially good shots. He will try to work on those ones. With some color adjustments, they would be great.

 

“That one is really nice!”

 

Kyungsoo almost jumps out of his skin at the sound of that familiar, warm voice so close . It takes him about a second to realize that Jongin is leaning over his shoulder, looking down at the small preview screen of the camera. It takes him another second to realize that he can actually feel Jongin’s warm breath on his skin and it takes him yet another second to realize that Jongin is smiling that breathtaking smile of his right next to his face. That his hair is now wet again, that he is wearing fresh clothes, a simple T-shirt and jeans and that no other man he has ever laid eyes on has ever looked that good wearing something as simple.

 

Abort mission. Abort ing mission. He is not okay.

 

Kyungsoo tries to blink his shock away, before eventually nodding stiffly. He looks down at the picture of the three dolphins jumping out of the water together.

 

If Jongin likes this picture, then Kyungsoo will try to use it.

 

“I’m excited to see what the pamphlet turns out like.”

 

He sets the camera aside, as he finally stands up, fingers digging into the fresh clothes Jongin gave him. He gives the other man a little smile.

 

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo says a little breathlessly. “Me too.”

 

If Jongin is excited to see the pamphlet, then Kyungsoo will try his damnest to make this the best ing pamphlet this world has ever seen.

 

---

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Sam:  Jongin in wet swim trunks ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Sara: I'm so happy to finally be writing a fic with Sam T^T  We have so many ideas, and this is one we started writing a very long time ago and I'm just so EXCITED to share everything that we have in mind~ Also. Yes. Jongin in wet swim trunks ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

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