Kyungsoo was dreading the fall semester of his junior year. Not because of his girlfriend. Not because of his friends. Not because of his job. Not even because of Kim Jongin. He dreaded putting more effort into his semester than he was used to. He knew this was an important year that counted when filling out college applications the next fall. He would have to put his in gear for real this time. 

 

The Monday after orientation, he started his school day as normal- his mom woke him up, he showered and got ready, and he picked up his friends at home. Kyungsoo would now be driving every day to school since he was giving Wendy a lift, one of his boyfriendly duties. He would then pick up different sets of friends on different days, depending on Chanyeol’s trusty color wheel. They no longer had the luxury of having two extra drivers since Junmyeon and Minseok went off to a performing arts university two hours away in the big city. They had to figure out how to evenly distribute the responsibility amongst five drivers- Sehun being the only one who couldn’t (legally) drive yet (despite being an excellent driver because he was the designated driver when the rest were too ed up to drive).

 

Kyungsoo’s morning was full of the usual bull- home room, English, and chemistry. It seemed like Ms. Park was the only English teacher in that school, poor thing. But Kyungsoo appreciated seeing a familiar face during the first half of the day. He inevitably had Jongin’s friends in his classes since most were his same age. They nodded when they saw Kyungsoo entering the classroom. They weren’t on bad terms but they weren’t on the best of terms either. Kyungsoo wasn’t sure how much Jongin had told them, if he told them anything at all. He sure as hell didn’t tell his friends about his summer with Jongin. They would drag him through the mud if they knew how much time he spent with him. That information might have ended his friendships with the boys. 

 

Third period was P.E.- by far the least of his favorite classes to begin with. He felt like an old amongst freshman and sophomores, despite only being sixteen. He had hoped Sehun would join him in that class but his friend skipped out in order to take music composition with the others instead. He told Kyungsoo he’d get to it later. 

 

“Maybe when I’m a senior so I can see the incoming fresh meat.” He wiggled his eyebrows toward Kyungsoo. 

 

“You’re disgusting. You have Lisa and you’re already thinking about someone else?”

 

“Oh off, hyung. Like you don’t think of other es when you’re with Seung-wan.”

 

Kyungsoo didn’t say a peep. 

 

“Exactly.”

 

But he didn’t consider Jongin as es…. 

 

His other classes had done introductions and gone over the syllabus and P.E. was no different except they were also distributing uniforms. Kyungsoo felt silly  when he heard his name being called out to get his oversized white t-shirt with the school logo on it and a pair of basketball shorts. Some of the names of other students popped out to him like Jennie Kim and Jung Soojung being that they were friends with Jongin and all, but for the most part he didn’t recognize anyone’s names. He was thankful. Maybe he could blend in with the youngins. 

 

“And lastly, Kim Jongin,” Mr. Kim, the P.E. teacher, yelled. “Come get your . Quickly.”

 

Kyungsoo froze. It could have been another Kim Jongin. It was a popular name. And even if it was “his” Kim Jongin, who cares? 

 

Jongin stood up from the bleachers where he was seated between Jennie and Krystal. He sauntered toward the middle of the gymnasium to pick up his items. He hadn’t so much as looked in Kyungsoo’s direction when he sat back down. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. So that’s how he was playing it this year? Having Jongin in a class would definitely make things interesting. It would help him see the boy in a different light. 

 

“Now remember: the lockers in this building aren’t permanent. They’re only to be used while you’re in this period. You’ll need to provide your own lock… unless you want your things stolen,” Mr. Kim chuckled. “Once the period is over, you need to take all your belongings out to make room for the next period. If you forget a few times, that’s okay. But please don’t make it a habit. I might have to write you up if you do. Aaaand… that’s it. You’re free to go to lunch.”

 

Kyungsoo stuffed the uniform in his backpack and set off to the junior lockers. Wendy was already waiting for him next to his. “I thought since yours was bigger, we could share?”

 

“Yeah, that’s cool. Let me just put this crap in there and you can use it. I’ll ask the other guys if they have room in their lockers for my textbooks.” Kyungsoo shoved his uniform in the locker, barely leaving enough room for Wendy’s stuff to fit in. But… that’s why she had her own locker, right? 

 

“Yay!” The girl clapped. “I know you wanted me to have lunch with you, but I think I’ll be sitting with the girls today. We have a lot to catch up on.”

 

Kyungsoo gave her an expressionless look. “I thought you spent most of the summer hanging out with them? What more could you catch up on?” He had to at least pretend he wasn’t happy she was giving him space to shoot the with his friends. 

 

“Oh, Soo! You’re such a guy! We need to catch up on our weekends.”

 

“What happened over the weekend?”

 

“You know… our date… when you told me that you-“

 

Oh . Had he told her that he loved her? Kyungsoo gulped. 

 

“…might take me off campus for lunch this year.”

 

Kyungsoo grinned. He may have been an , but he wasn’t dumb. “Yes, I did. I said that. And I will. I want to. In the future. For sure. But it’s too soon to go off campus right now so maaaaybe in like… a couple weeks?”

 

She squealed and gave Kyungsoo a kiss on the cheek and took off to sit with her friends. Kyungsoo wiped the kiss off when she wasn’t looking. He was trying to be the boyfriend Seung-wan deserved. Keyword: trying. But there was no chemistry between them. He saw her more as a friend who he’d occasionally go out on dates with and would on the side. A win win win situation all across the board, he tried to tell himself. 

 

Guys in his school would kill to be in his position. Sometimes Kyungsoo wished they’d do him the favor and put him out of his misery so he didn’t have to pretend that everything was hunky dory. The worst part is that he didn’t have anyone he could tell. He was scared of being judged. He could imagine the things his loved ones would say. 

 

“So you messed around behind her back? On a good girl like that? Because you have feelings for a boy… a boy who has a crush on someone else? So you’re part of a love rhombus?”

 

And what would Kyungsoo say back? “Wait- you don’t understand. Let me explain. I was doing him a favor. It was more like community service…”

 

No matter how he put it, it sounded wrong and he had to wonder, he just had to, whether  his friends would judge him less if Jongin was a girl? They’d probably be giving him high fives and calling him the man. They’d bow at his feet. His family couldn’t care less. They’d be relieved to get rid of Seung-wan. But they would be disappointed that Kyungsoo was two-timing, especially because Mrs. Do who was so fond of Jongin. 

 

He muted these thoughts when he arrived at their lunch table in the middle of the quad. 

 

Baekhyun was having a meltdown. “You don’t understand. My main is gone!” He wept. He was playing ‘Marvins Room’ by Drake on his phone. “What am I supposed to do now?”

 

Jongdae patted his back. “It’s gonna be alright. Jujube and Minseok will send you updates about her when they see her around. They’ll make sure she’s not ing with any other dudes.”

 

“I don’t know why you’re crying,” Sehun stated. “Look around you! This school is full of es looking to get laid. And you’re a senior. You’re pretty much a god. You’re not on your king right now, B.”

 

Baekhyun had his head in his hands. Yeah. That couldn’t be Kyungsoo. He didn’t want to look that pathetic. 

 

Chanyeol was more optimistic. He pointed his fork at Baekhyun. “This isn’t a lost cause. You could level up your toxicity. Text her at 11:11. She’ll think it’s a sign that you two are meant to be.”

 

Kyungsoo took a mental note. He didn’t want to waste that useful nugget on Seung-wan. Maybe he could use it… on someone else. 

 

“Jesus. Can we at least listen to something else?” Yixing complained. “The song keeps replaying.”

 

“Yixing,” Jongdae gently said. “Don’t you think you’re being insensitive right now?”

 

Baekhyun wailed. He took Kyungsoo’s hands. “Don’t be like me, Soo! It’s like what Kanye-hyung said: one good girl is worth a thousand es.”

 

Once again, Jongin wasn’t a !!!! 

 

Kyungsoo didn’t think he’d live to see the day that Baek would get soft. He was kinda glad B was breaking down, though. It took the heat away from him. He didn’t want to think about how Jongin was in his physical education class. He was debating whether or not to change P.E. periods when the bell rang. Great. He barely ate any food because he was too busy comforting Baekhyun. Now he’d go to his next class hungry and grumpy. 

 

He didn’t plan on staying in the class for too long, anyway. It was the Home Economics class that Wendy had mentioned before she enrolled in choir. His plan was to give the teacher his slip informing her that he was dropping the class and heading immediately to the guidance counselor to sign up for music composition with his friends. Maybe that would change his schedule and the P.E. issue would naturally resolve itself. It was ingenious of him. 

 

He was practically gliding to the Home Ec. teacher’s desk when he stopped in his tracks. Jongin was sitting at a rectangle table with other students. He was alone, no longer with his friends. He was behaving quite differently than he was earlier. More solemn. He hadn’t noticed Kyungsoo walk in yet. 

 

“May I help you?” Ms. Shin asked Kyungsoo. 

 

“I- um…” Kyungsoo lost his train of thought. What was he supposed to be doing? 

 

“Can you speak up, Mr.- ?”

 

“Do. Do Kyungsoo.”

 

“Can I help you, Mr. Do? Is that slip for me? Were you thinking of dropping the class?”

 

That caught Jongin’s attention. Kyungsoo thought he’d get a chagrined look from Jongin. Contrary to what he had imagined, the boy looked excited to see Kyungsoo. 

 

Kyungsoo didn’t know how to read Jongin. One minute he was crying in his car saying how he couldn’t be with Kyungsoo anymore, and the next he was pleased to see him in one of his classes. (Wait till he found out it was actually two). Kyungsoo was starting to wonder if Jongin was clinically bipolar. 

 

Ms. Shin was tapping her foot on the floor. “Well, Mr. Do. Do you want me to sign the slip or not?”

 

Kyungsoo looked back at her. “No, ma’am. I think I’ll stay.”

 

The only seat available was at a table across from Jongin’s. 

 

Kyungsoo averted his eyes but he could tell Jongin was looking right at him. He focused on Ms. Shin’s every word. 

 

“Hello, class! I’m Ms. Shin and welcome to Home Economics or, as I prefer to call it, Family and Consumer Sciences.” She passed out a syllabus to each student. 

 

Kyungsoo looked through the projected lessons. Fashion Design (made sense, that’s probably why Jongin was there). Interior Design. Family Planning. And Culinary Arts. So maybe it wouldn’t be a complete waste of his time. He happened to look up when he finished reading. Jongin winked at him. He stared back at the whiteboard and jotted down the list of supplies he would need for the class and looked over at Jongin again. He was looking directly at Kyungsoo and obscenely moving his pen in and out of his mouth. Kyungsoo took off his glasses. He had seen enough. 

 

He rushed to his Algebra II class when FACS was over. He didn’t know what Jongin was on, but he wanted no part of it. He was trying to remain faithful, but why was God putting temptation in his way?!?

 

Drama was his last class. The whole crew was in drama with him. He was relieved to see them after such a strange day. Too many emotions were being felt that day. Plus, he was looking forward to this class the most. He knew he and Mr. Cha would get along. He gave off the same vibes as Mr. Zo did. Kyungsoo didn’t know if he could see himself as an actor, but he wanted to get a feel of it.

 

After he dropped off Seung-wan at home, he went to the local diner with his friends to talk about their days. 

 

“I think I’ll be okay,” Baekhyun sniffled. “I found myself a thicker girl. Thick with two c’s. Her name is Ahn Hye-jin. She’s a sophomore. She’s in my music theory class. I’ll tell you, it’s great not having to take so many core classes. I don’t regret taking summer school anymore.” 

 

Chanyeol slapped Kyungsoo on the back. “I’m telling you, Soo. You should have done the same thing. Get all them s out of the way so you can coast on your last year.”

 

“Why? So I can join band and choir and outdo those motherers?”

 

They laughed. They would rather die than be with the choir and band geeks. It was bad enough Kyungsoo was dating one. 

 

“Oh yeah, like drama is any better,” Sehun pointed out.

 

“Hey. It was Ms. Park’s idea, not mine.” 

 

“Since when have you listened to what a teacher has to say?” Jongdae asked. 

 

“You could have had free periods. You could have gone home, get something to eat, or do other things… if you catch my drift.” Chanyeol suggested. 

 

Kyungsoo shot him a look. “Yeah, I got it. I just can’t believe you guys WILLINGLY went to summer school.”

 

“Don’t feel bad for us. We feel bad for you, spending most of your summer working your off.” Chanyeol stood by their decision. “And for what?”

 

“How does it feel swimming in all that money?” Sehun inquired. “Or were you swimming in-“

 

“How can you ask that? I spent my summer with y’all.”

 

Baekhyun scoffed. “Yeah… barely…”

 

“Ight, ight,” Jongdae interrupted before things escalated. “How are we liking our classes? Soo, were you able to drop Home Ec. for music comp.?”

 

“Family and Consumer Sciences, “Kyungsoo clarified. “About that… I think I’m staying. They go over culinary arts.”

 

“They have a whole course on it at the continuing education school. They do all sorts of trade school classes over there. Why don’t you do that instead?” Yixing provided an alternative. 

 

Kyungsoo didn’t want to tell them one of  main reasons he was staying was to be near Jongin. 

 

“Nah, he’s smart. Think of all the ladies surrounding him. Even Ms. Shin is gorgeous,” Baekhyun said. 

 

“I thought she’s dating the gym teacher?” Yixing reminded him. 

 

“Either way, I’m staying. I’ll take music comp. next year.”

 

“And leave me by myself in music theory next year?” Sehun pouted.

 

“I’ll take dance.”

 

“YOU’RE gonna do hip-hop with me?” Sehun, Baekhyun, and Yixing were currently taking the hip-hop class and Sehun was seriously considering taking the advanced course the next year. 

 

“I’m gonna take tap.”

 

“It ain’t the same.”

 

“Dance is dance. What difference will it make?”

 

“What the is wrong with you?” Baekhyun was getting really agitated by Kyungsoo’s defiance. 

 

“Chanyeol and Jongdae aren’t taking dance!”

 

“Yeah, but they’re taking music theory with Yixing and I and music comp. and drama with the rest of us.” Baekhyun interjected. 

 

“Fine. I’ll take core classes in the summer so I can take more classes with Sehun next year. I still have to take another year of P.E. and maybe Sehun can take advanced drama with me.”

 

“I thought you took P.E. freshman year?”

 

“Yeah. I didn’t pass. The guidance counselor called me in today and told me they can only count a certain number of  Ds as passing classes anymore. New laws. I chose to retake P.E. It seemed the easiest to pass if I tried again.”

 

“How do you fail P.E.?” Sehun questioned. 

 

“You don’t show up because you don’t want to sweat!” Jongdae answered. 

 

“And you couldn’t take it over the summer?”

 

“I didn’t know! Plus, there were only so many courses i could take over the summer even when I did both sessions. I had too many to make up.”

 

“It’ll be okay. We’ll have golf together and other ,” Sehun reasoned. 

 

“That reminds me. What clubs or sports should we sign up for?” Out of all of them currently sitting at the table, Chanyeol was probably the most studious. “I think as far as sports, golf definitely. Soccer, basketball, and tennis are backups. And for clubs, maybe we can try film, photography, community service, or student government…”

 

“There’s also Us Against Bullying, D.A.R.E.,  and the LGBTQIA+ clubs.” Jongdae was truly an angel on earth. 

 

“Yeah, yeah, we don’t want to do that ,”  Baekhyun shot him down. 

 

“We want the ones that will look best on our college applications.” Sehun made it sound less heartless. 

 

“What do you think, Soo?” Yixing wanted to find a happy medium that would satisfy everyone. 

 

Kyungsoo wanted to tell them they didn’t have to do everything together. “I was thinking I could join the chess club because I watched ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ on Netflix.” He was only half-kidding. 

 

“That’s a good one, Soo!” They all guffawed.

 

“Anyway, we have plenty of time to worry about it. Just shoot us a text in the group chat,” Chanyeol instructed them.

 

Kyungsoo’s mind was preoccupied about whether or not he wanted to do things that would make him conveniently bump into Jongin. The others were picking Yixing’s brain about music composition since he did an extra credit project for Mr. Zo the previous year. 

 

Kyungsoo settled on things running its course organically. “Guys, I’m heading out. Seung-wan texted me that she wants to talk about her day.” She didn’t. 

 

He spent the rest of the evening contemplating about what he should do for the year. He had syllabuses, sport schedules, and club flyers splayed all over his desk. It was so apparent that he was fighting an inner battle that his mom asked him if there was anything she could do to help. 

 

“Can you plan the rest of my high school career for me?” He said half-heartedly. 

 

“I’m sorry, sweetie. Only you get to decide what your future looks like. Do what feels right to you.” She kissed him on the top of his head and closed the door to his room when she walked out. 

 

But Kyungsoo HAD been doing what felt right to him. That wasn’t working. 

 

The best thing he could do is let his reasoning skills decide for him. 

 

Kyungsoo made lists of pros and cons of things he was interested in and studied the schedules to see if anything would overlap. The last thing he wanted to do was burn himself out by stretching himself out too thin. He still had his loved ones, Seung-wan, and his job to think about. He opened up the group chat and texted first:

 

dks: i feel like we should play soccer in the fall because some of us would practice with minseok-hyung and junmyeon-hyung when they were on the school’s team and we were pretty good at it

 

bbh: obviously 

 

kjd: i’m in! :)

 

pcy: dang, i want to do basketball :(

 

zyx: same 

 

osh: me too. i want to do both 

 

bbh: …

 

Kyungsoo thought about what his mom said and what would be the responsible thing to do…

 

dks: fine. baek, jongdae, and i will do soccer. loey and yixing will play basketball. and if sehun is able to do both, he should do both 

 

bbh: okay…

 

Kyungsoo didn’t know when Baekhyun had assumed the role as the leader in Junmyeon’s absence, but there he was, making executive decisions for everyone.

 

dks: tennis and golf conflict in the spring. i’d rather play golf

 

Everyone liked the message in agreement.

 

dks: as for clubs, I think a philanthropic one would look best on our college applications. community service? 

 

The others gave him thumbs up emojis 

 

dks: and i wanted to join film club 

 

bbh: whoa, whoa, whoa… i think one club is enough for me 

 

osh: likewise… i’m doing THREE sports this year 

 

pcy: i really want to focus on my music for my portfolio this year 

 

zyx: that’s how i feel about my music and dance. sorry, soo :/

 

kjd: …

 

kjd: i’d love to, but unfortunately I don’t think i can. since SOMEONE has become really busy lately, people are coming to ME for singing lessons 

 

Because he had a lot going on in his life both academically and personally, Kyungsoo had to give something up. Sadly, that meant he could no longer provide singing lessons at the moment, but he knew his students would be in perfectly capable hands with Jongdae.

 

dks: that’s okay. i’d still like to join even if y’all leave me hanging ;)

 

bbh: I think this is a good start. we should be spending enough time together before yixing, chanyeol, jongdae, and i graduate :) good job, everyone! See you ers

 

 

 

——————————

 

As a refresher, Kyungsoo’s schedule for the fall semester was as follows:

 

Home room 

1st period: English

2nd period: Chemistry

3rd period: Gym

Lunch

4th period: FACS/Home Ec.

5th period: Algebra 2

6th period: Drama 

 

Kyungsoo spent the next few weeks completely avoiding Jongin as much as possible. During his Family and Consumer Sciences class, he sat the farthest away from Jongin as much as he could. He was grateful the class didn’t have assigned seating so he could move freely, preventing face to face contact. Their first assignments were geared toward family planning starting with a wedding. Kyungsoo had no idea how to plan a wedding let alone figure out the color scheme, what the bride would wear, flower arrangements… He did his poster board the best that he could with the help of his mom. But when it came time to do the class presentation, he was clearly struggling. He had never thought about getting married. He wanted to be a bachelor for the rest of his life. Which is why he didn’t know any of the terminology and tried to remember what his mother had told him about each item. The class gave him pity claps. He didn’t even want to see Jongin’s expression- someone who understood the assignment and gave detailed descriptions of what he chose with his laser pointer. No one else brought a laser pointer. Students admired Jongin for featuring two grooms. They could tell any sort of design was something he was passionate about. It was no surprise to Kyungsoo that he had the highest grade in the class. Kyungsoo was starting to wonder if it was too late to drop the class and do Yixing’s suggestion instead- take the culinary course at the continuation high school. Because, of course, Ms. Shin was waiting till the very end to cover culinary arts. That meant Kyungsoo had to sit in the class all year and be subject to Jongin’s scrutiny. 

 

Kyungsoo mainly enjoyed drama class. He felt like he excelled delivering lines but didn’t mind learning other things like set design and helping with concepts and ideas for their winter production. He gained a favorable repertoire with Mr. Cha, who also led the film club, which was also something Kyungsoo looked forward to every week. Plus, he had his friends in the class to back him up. 

 

The other classes were meh. They were his core classes and all he could hope for was that he did enough to get a decent passing grade.  They weren’t as insufferable as he had made them out to be in the past. 

 

His afternoons were spent working on his homework. His weekends were dedicated to his job, his friends, and his girlfriend. 

 

Most shocking was how easy it was to steer clear of Jongin during gym. Kyungsoo anticipated Jongin to kill it in P.E. and put the other students to shame.

 

That couldn’t have been further from the truth. Jongin convinced Mr. Kim he couldn’t do any sports that required balls flying at his face. When his girl friends were experiencing their period, he too sat back from any physical activity claiming he had cramps. 

 

Mr Kim rolled his eyes. “And what kind of cramps are YOU experiencing, Mr. Kim?”

 

“Muscle cramps,” Jongin said convincingly. “from dancing.”

 

“Fine. You can sit on the bleachers…”

 

During the weekly mile run, Jongin would always come in last, telling his fellow classmates “Someone has to hold it down in the back.” They would giggle. 

 

Jongin’s activities were limited to badminton and aerobics. The few exercises he and Kyungsoo would do together with the rest of the class were swimming and weight training. But even during weight training, Jongin would complain the entire time.

 

“I really don’t want to do this.” 

 

“I’m a dancer, Goddamn it. I shouldn’t have to take this class. This school is a ing prison!” 

 

“I’ve had abs since I was eight. I don’t need to be doing this.”

 

“Whose idea was it to do more reps?”

 

Things of that nature. 

 

Kyungsoo, however, was doing appallingly well. No one expected him to be good at everything since he refused to do much freshman year.

 

Probably the most difficult time for him was their stretches at the beginning of the class. It was hard for Kyungsoo to look away when Jongin was bending down to touch his toes. He had a really good view of Jongin’s . 

 

The day after his horrendous FACS presentation, Mr. Kim was covering volleyball. They’d be doing it inside the gymnasium. There were three nets up. Every time a new game was finished, the students changed sides and positions. Jongin and his friends were sitting on the bleachers. Nothing new.

 

Kyungsoo started the first game with his back toward Jongin. When it was time for the second rotation, he was facing Jongin who was gossiping with Jennie and Soojung. They weren’t paying attention to their surroundings. Kyungsoo was getting the hang of the sport. He was comfortable when it was his turn to be the server. He aimed the ball and hit it as hard as he could. Kyungsoo was feeling extraordinarily proud of himself until he saw where it was headed. The ball was traveling at an exceedingly high velocity, hitting Jongin right in the forehead, making him topple over. 

 

Mr. Kim ran over to Kyungsoo. “Mr. Do, do you have any idea what you’ve done? You’re doing laps around the gymnasium tomorrow, right after your stretches. Now, take Mr. Kim to the nurse’s office.”

 

Jongin was knocked out cold. With the help of his stronger peers, Kyungsoo was able to successfully carry Jongin to the nurse, Ms. Nam. She had Jongin lay down till he woke up. 

 

“You may want to call his mother to take him to urgent care, Mr. Do. It would be wise for him to see a neurologist.”

 

Oh . What had Kyungsoo done? He couldn’t just leave Jongin there by himself while Ms. Nam was handing out tampons and condoms to students who dropped by. He sat right next to Jongin, praying to God that he woke up. 

 

After a few minutes, Jongin stirred in his stupor and opened his eyes. He sensed a presence and smiled when he saw Kyungsoo. He started laughing uncontrollably. “You should see your face right now! You look absolutely MORTIFIED!”

 

Kyungsoo was shook. “I hit you with a volleyball that was going ridiculously fast and now you’re LAUGHING?!? The hit must have really ed up your brain!” 

 

Jongin sat up slowly with Kyungsoo’s assistance. He smiled again. “No, you don’t understand. I’ve been looking for a way to talk to you, but I was never able to. This is the perfect reason to get you to talk to me! Now you owe me!” He winked. 

 

Kyungsoo was beyond words. 

 

Jongin swung his legs over the cot. “Don’t be sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong. This was meant to happen.”

 

“How are you not mad at me?”

 

Jongin mulled over the question. “After that fateful party where I said I didn’t want to speak to you again, I asked the universe to send me a sign if I made the right decision and the universe answered me back when I saw that you were not only in one of my classes, but two! Don’t you see? This is serendipitous! This was meant to happen!”

 

Jongin was definitely someone who read into the 11:11 messages…

 

“What if the universe is telling you that I’m bad news? I hit you, for Christ’s sake.”

 

Jongin chuckled. “Last night, I was getting restless waiting for you to talk to me so I asked the universe again to do something about it and then this happened!”

 

“I really need to take you to urgent care.”

 

“No, no, I’m fine. I’ll call my mom to take me. I don’t want you leaving campus just for me.”

 

“What do you mean? I do it all the time to take a shower after P.E. I hate the showers inside the locker room. I feel like they never clean them.”

 

“Won’t your friends be worried about where you’re at?”

 

“They’ll think I’m eating lunch at home. Let’s go.” Kyungsoo steadied Jongin on the floor. 

 

“But we won’t be back in time for our afternoon classes?“ Jongin was a bit of a scaredy cat when it came to defying school rules. 

 

“Let me text Seung-wan. She helps out the front office sometimes. She’ll sign us out.”

 

Jongin’s eyes widened in fear. “You’re gonna have her forge our parent’s signatures?”

 

Kyungsoo continued texting the girl. “If she loves me, she’ll do it.”

 

Jongin didn’t budge. 

 

“Nini, I won’t get you in trouble. I promise.”

 

Kyungsoo escorted Jongin to his car. Ms. Nam had given him an ice pack for his head.  

 

“Does Seung-wan ever wonder where this bear came from?” Jongin questioned when he got inside Kyungsoo’s car. 

 

“She does. I tell her it’s none of her ing business.”

 

“I’m sure you say it nicely…”

 

“Not when she’s being nosy.”

 

“That’s hard to believe. You’re always so kind to me.”

 

Because hooking up with Jongin while he had a girlfriend waiting for him was the noble thing to do. “Just plug in your phone, Jongin.”

 

The first song Jongin played was ‘So Into You’ by Tamia. It was a 90s R&B kind of day. 

 

Kyungsoo dropped Jongin off in front of the urgent care clinic. 

 

“I’ll call my mom to come pick me up. Thank you for the ride. You can go back to school now,” Jongin said when he got out of the car. He walked through the sliding doors. 

 

No one told Kyungsoo what to do. He parked the car and headed inside. Kyungsoo sat in the waiting area, in front of the urgent care window to wait for Jongin. 

 

About half an hour later, the boy emerged into the waiting room. He was startled to see Kyungsoo waiting for him. 

 

“How’s your head?”

 

“I haven’t gotten any complaints yet.”

 

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. How could Jongin be joking at a time like this? “What did the the doctor say?”

 

“I definitely have a concussion.” Jongin gave him his after visit summary. 

 

Kyungsoo scanned through the packet. “Let me know if you need a ride again if your brain fog doesn’t clear up. Be careful of any light sensitivity, dizziness, or overwhelming feelings in noisy crowds.”

 

Jongin nodded. He accompanied Kyungsoo to his car. Kyungsoo buckled him up once he was inside. “You can’t take me home. My mom will be pissed if she finds out what you did.”

 

“Does she still hate me?”

 

“I told her you’ve been too busy to hang out with me which is sorta true.”

 

“What should we do then?”

 

“I know that I’m hungry and it would be great if you fed me.”

 

“Are you feeling for anything in particular?”

 

“Haemul Pajeon? I can look up good restaurants in the area that serves some?

 

Kyungsoo took Jongin’s phone away. “If you want the best one, I’ll have my mom make it.” He called his mom with his own phone to see if she had time between appointments to make one. She said she did and it would be ready by the time he and Jongin arrived at the Do household.

 

The dish was inside the microwave and was still warm when they got to the house. 

 

“You’ve been calling in a lot of favors for me today.”

 

Kyungsoo set down a homemade iced latte on Jongin’s placemat and grabbed himself a Heineken. Kyungsoo thought Jongin was worth a lot more than a free afternoon and a seafood pancake. But he didn’t want to give Jongin any false hope. “It was more of a favor to me than for you.”

 

“Whatever the case may be, I appreciate it all the same.”

 

“Not a problem. How are you liking my mom’s cooking?”

 

“Yummy as always!” 

 

Kyungsoo looked at his phone. It was only 1:00 p.m. School wasn’t getting out till at least another two and a half hours. “What should we do now?”

 

“I would do my homework, but I left all my stuff in a gym locker.”

 

Kyungsoo was in such panic mode earlier that he ceased to realize they were both still in their P.E uniforms. He hadn’t grabbed his belongings, either. He was lucky he carried his phone and driver’s license at all times. “I can text my boys to get us our .”

 

“I prefer if my friends got my things for me.”

 

“Mmmkay.” Kyungsoo texted the group chat to see if any of his friends could retrieve his change of clothes and backpack from the gym locker. Chanyeol said he’d drop it off later. He didn’t know what excuse he’d come up with for leaving school early, but he was sure he could think of something. “Do you want to watch tv?”

 

“No, thank you,” Jongin seemed bashful. “We haven’t talked since mid-August. We’re now in the beginning of October. I know we have classes together,  but I want to know what you’ve been up to.”

 

Kyungsoo took a swig of his beer. “What’s there to say?” 

 

“Don’t you want to know what I’ve been up to?”

 

“I’m assuming you’ve been doing what sophomores do.” Kyungsoo was trying his best to act cold toward the boy, but he knew Jongin was trying to thaw his icy heart. 

 

“I’ll go first then. I’ve been busy with school. I’m doing well in all my classes, except P.E., but since I’ve never had a D before, I’m not too worried about it. I tried putting together a fashion club, but there weren’t enough sign-ups so I joined the LGBTQIA+ club. I’ve been going on dates with guys and girls and neither have been successful…”

 

Kyungsoo didn’t know if Jongin was attempting to to make him jealous, but it was working.

 

“How about you? Are you passing all your classes? Are you doing any after school activities? Are you still working? How’s your relationship going?”

 

Jongin was very inquisitive. Picking up where they left off. Kyungsoo found it annoying.

 

“I’m passing all my classes. So far drama and P.E. are my favorites. I am doing after school programs. I’m in the film club. I’m part of the philanthropic club. My friends and I are planning on signing up for soccer in November and we’re doing golf in the spring. Yes, i still work, but I had to stop giving singing lessons to make time for everything. Seung-wan and I will celebrate our eight month anniversary on the 14th.”

 

“Did you do anything special for your 6 month one? That’s a landmark moment. Halfway to a year.”

 

“We went to the zoo. I told her she belonged with all the other monkeys.” Kyungsoo laughed, but Jongin just frowned. Kyungsoo didn’t want to delve too much into his relationship. “Hey, I thought I’d see you in film club or the philanthropy club?”

 

“Yeah, I’m not a cinephile like you are. I specifically enjoy campy movies and cult classics. And I don’t need a club to tell me to do good deeds. I do those on my own. I volunteer at a women’s shelter. We’re always looking for new people to help!”

 

“Thanks, but me and the guys are volunteering at the elementary schools in town.“

 

Jongin looked disappointed. “You know you don’t have to do everything together, right?”

 

“We don’t.”

 

“Oh, you don’t, do you? Show it to be true. Come to one of the Gay-Straight alliance meetings. We meet on Tuesdays at lunch.”

 

Kyungsoo didn’t want to promise anything. “Anyway, how many people do you need for the fashion club? Maybe I can join?”

 

“We need at least a dozen. And no offense, but I see how you dress every day. I guess you just keep doing it, don’t you?” Jongin said, mocking the Nike tagline ‘just do it.’

 

Kyungsoo had to admit that was a good one. 

 

“I’ve been meaning to ask you… I know you seem to be having a hard time in Home Ec., do you want me to help you? Maybe? Our next project is child rearing, want to be partners?”

 

“That means having two dads…”

 

“Is there a problem with that?”

 

“No.”

 

“Look, I know you have the worst grade in the class. I’m only trying to help you. It doesn’t have to mean anything. I promise.”

 

“Okay…”

 

Jongin was filled to the brim with joy. “I assume you’ll need help with the interior design project and the fashion project?”

 

Kyungsoo felt better accepting Jongin’s help knowing it didn’t mean anything. “Please. I need all the help I can get.”

 

“Clearly. We can meet after school.”

 

Kyungsoo wanted to return the favor. “Do you want me to help you with sports?”

 

Jongin giggled. “God, no. I’d much rather jump off the nearest bridge. I wasn’t lying to Mr. Kim, though. My waist and knees are hurting from dancing for so long. That’s why I’m trying to look into different career options. I mean, I’d love to teach dancing, but I need a backup.”

 

Kyungsoo nodded.

 

“But I know a way you can make it up to me?”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“You can help me improve my singing…”

 

That was easy enough. Kyungsoo smiled. “I would love to.” He looked at his phone again. Two more hours left to kill. “Do you want to watch a movie?” Kyungsoo checked to see what was on HBOMax. “Does anything stand out to you?”

 

“Hmmm… we can watch ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower.’”

 

Kyungsoo clicked play. He had watched the movie with his mom. He didn’t want things to get awkward. He didn’t want to state the obvious. 

 

Jongin snuggled next to Kyungsoo on the couch. As the movie progressed, Kyungsoo felt calm that the topic wouldn’t be brought up, but unsurprisingly it did.

 

“I can relate to Patrick.” Jongin said. 

 

Kyungsoo knew why, but he pretended to be dumb. “Oh yeah? Why?”

 

“Guys only wanting to be with me on the low. They find me charismatic and pretty, but they wouldn’t dare be seen with me at school. They keep begging me to have with them, telling me filthy things that I’d rather not repeat. It doesn’t make me feel like a person. It makes me feel like . The guys who want me the most push me into lockers and knock down my books. It makes me feel like I’ve done something wrong. Maybe I’ve been giving off the wrong vibe.” He began tearing up. 

 

Kyungsoo hugged him. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong and you’re not doing anything wrong. People are just… ed up. They see something beautiful and want it for themselves. Sometimes not with the best intentions.” Kinda like Kyungsoo himself. 

 

“Do you really mean that? Do you think I’m beautiful?”

 

“Nini, you know you are. You’re beautiful. You’re funny. You’re smart. You’re sweet. There aren’t enough adjectives to describe you.”

 

Jongin removed his head from Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “Why are you so nice to me? You’ve always been respectful. You’ve never asked me to perform any ual acts on you.”

 

Not asking for ual favors didn’t cancel out everything Kyungsoo had put Jongin through. He was no better than the guys pursuing him because no matter what Jongin did, deep down Kyungsoo knew it wouldn’t make Kyungsoo leave his girlfriend for him. Or any other girl for that matter. And Jongin still found it in his heart to forgive him. “I could do better.”

 

“You don’t see yourself the way I do.”

 

Kyungsoo wanted to be the person Jongin saw him as, but he didn’t know if he could step up to the plate. 

 

Kyungsoo drove Jongin home after the movie was over. They made small talk with Jongin asking Kyungsoo if he’d go to homecoming. Kyungsoo completely forgot that homecoming was a couple weeks away. 

 

“I really don’t have a choice. Seung-wan is singing the National anthem. Are you going?”

 

“I also don’t have a choice. The dance class has a float.” He paused. “I thought the drama class did, too.”

 

“They do, but I ain’t doing that .”

 

“Are you going to the dance afterward?”

 

“Depends if Seung-wan wants to go.”

 

“Are your friends going to go to homecoming?”

 

“If they feel like it.”

 

Jongin stayed quiet. “Homecoming will be one year since I first saw my crush…”

 

Kyungsoo gripped the steering wheel tighter. He didn’t know this guy, but he already hated him. “Any progress?”

 

Jongin shook his head. “Every time we take one step forward, we take two steps back.”

 

Kyungsoo could tell Jongin didn’t want to talk too much about it.

 

“Let me play some music.” ‘Drew Barrymore’ by SZA played in the background.

 

Jongin got out of the car when Kyungsoo pulled up to his house. He motioned for Kyungsoo to roll down the window. “Tuesdays at noon. I hope I see you there.”

 

Kyungsoo drove back to his house. Chanyeol was waiting for him on his driveway. 

 

“Hey man, what happened?” He asked when Kyungsoo exited the car.

 

“I took a nap at lunch and overslept.”

 

“Oh man, we were hoping you could tell us what happened in P.E. We heard someone beat the out of that Kim Jongin kid. He draws too much attention to himself, ya know?”

 

Kyungsoo disagreed. They didn’t know Jongin the way he did. “Thank you for my stuff. I gotta get started on my homework. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

“Kay, Soo. I’ll see you later.” Chanyeol threw up his deuces and made his way home. 

 

Kyungsoo was frustrated with himself. He didn’t know which category he fit in: was he part of the problem when it came to Kim Jongin or did Jongin really see something in him that he didn’t see in himself? He hoped he could answer that question now that he and Jongin were on speaking terms again. 

 

—————————-

The next morning Seung-wan asked Kyungsoo why she needed to sign him and Jongin out for the afternoon. He told her the truth. She didn’t ask how he spent the rest of his afternoon, probably assuming that he took advantage of the situation to go off on his own after dropping Jongin off at the clinic. He appreciated Seung-wan wasn’t terribly nosy. She solely needed to know enough information that wouldn’t give her a reason to break up with him. 

 

“When are you taking me off-campus? It’s not like you showering isn’t something I haven’t seen before.”

 

“Because I like coming back to school to catch up with the guys.”

 

“You act like you don’t have them in your last period. It feels like you’re dating them, not me.” She went to her class, huffing. 

 

Kyungsoo knew she’d be over it by lunch.

 

She joined him and his friends for their lunch break, something she did from time to time. They were waiting for him to get back from his shower to ask him what happened to Jongin at gym. 

 

Seung-wan paused her chewing. She also wanted to know how Kyungsoo was going to answer. 

 

Kyungsoo shrugged. “He’s not the best at sports. He didn’t dodge a ball in time and got hit in the face.” He didn’t say the boy had gotten hit by him. 

 

His friends cackled. 

 

Seung-wan grilled him about it later. “Why didn’t you tell them the truth?”

 

“I did. They didn’t need to know the rest of the story. They don’t need to know everything.”

 

She seemed satisfied with what she heard. “I’m glad you don’t have to give them every single detail. You’re not married to them!”

 

The rest of the school blew the story out of proportion. An openly queer person getting beat up by his classmate was more interesting than Jongin getting hit by a volleyball. Kyungsoo didn’t know how Jongin dealt with all these rumors. 

 

————————

 

The following Tuesday, Kyungsoo told his friends he’d be staying at home for lunch and he’d see them during drama. 

 

He went into the front office, though. He stood in front of the counselor’s office. He checked his surroundings to see if it was safe to go inside. He couldn’t find it in himself to knock. He didn’t know if he’d find the bravery to join the Gay Straight Alliance club. He didn’t want people labeling him when he didn’t know what to label himself. 

 

He went home to take a shower and to take a nap. He returned to campus in time for his FACS class. Jongin smiled and waved. He had saved Kyungsoo a seat at his table. Kyungsoo closed his eyes. Sitting at someone’s table didn’t constitute anything. Jongin was a classmate who would help him with his homework. That was it. He took a seat. He saw Jongin fumbling with his phone. It didn’t take a second for Kyungsoo’s phone to vibrate. 

 

You weren’t at the meeting :(

 

My mom wants me to help her carry heavy packages to her salon. She gets them on Tuesdays at noon

 

Oh good. I was starting to think you were scared people would call you gay or sumn

 

They can call me much worse for all I care

 

Jongin giggled. It was a ty excuse. Kyungsoo was a ty person. But neither could stay away from the other. 

 

Ms. Shin turned off the lights and started the class with an instructional video about how to properly care for a child. Jongin snuck his hand underneath the table to hold Kyungsoo’s. ‘,’ Kyungsoo thought. ‘It’s happening again.’

 

The lights when the video was over. Jongin placed his hand back on the table. 

 

Ms. Shin assigned partners for the project. Jongin and Kyungsoo were conveniently paired up. She gave them a baby simulating doll. A girl. 

 

After class, Jongin explained to Kyungsoo that he was Ms. Shin’s teacher’s aide during one of his periods and had told her to pair him up with Kyungsoo. So that’s how he knew Kyungsoo was failing the class. He was most likely the one grading Kyungsoo’s work. 

 

“How should we split up the responsibilities?”

 

Kyungsoo hesitated to answer. 

 

Jongin quietly nodded. “I get it. I’ll keep it during school hours. We can take care it together after school. Can we possibly alternate who she stays with to sleep?”

 

Kyungsoo couldn’t be more grateful for the plan. “That sounds good to me!”

 

“I’ll have my mom drop me off at your house or you can come over to mine. Whichever works.” Jongin smiled widely and his toes to go to his next class.

 

—————————-

 

Kyungsoo was elated. He spent his weekends and afternoons with Jongin caring for the doll. He felt bad Jongin was taking most of the responsibility himself. He decided that they would spend the night with each other to remedy that problem. Some nights he would spoon Jongin from behind. Other nights they’d sleet facing each other. On those nights, Kyungsoo took advantage of the moment to deeply kiss Jongin till he was panting for more. He didn’t want to tell Jongin that he wanted to pin him to the bed and slowly work him open. ing felt wrong. ing to images of Jongin felt wrong. He thought it was best to sleep with an aching instead. 

 

That wasn’t enough for them. Kyungsoo got Jongin into the habit of going over to his house for a shower after P.E. They would shower-separately- and Kyungsoo would fix them lunch. They’d make out if there was enough time. It wasn’t an every day thing. They didn’t want their friends to suspect anything. 

 

Kyungsoo was sitting with his friends for lunch one day. Sehun looked obviously annoyed. 

 

“When are you guys done with that stupid doll project? Jongin is driving us insane with that thing whenever it cries in class! We asked him if he could give it to his partner every once in awhile but he said he doesn’t have one and that he was a single parent on this project.”

 

Kyungsoo knew it was a lie. Some people had decided to do the assignment by themselves. Jongin was not one of them. 

 

Sehun let the conversation fizzle out when Kyungsoo didn’t answer. 

 

That afternoon as they were lying in bed, Kyungsoo asked Jongin why he didn’t tell his class the truth. 

 

“I don’t want people assuming anything, if that’s what you don’t want.”

 

Kyungsoo kissed Jongin even harder. He was lucky to have someone who knew his place and didn’t ask for more than Kyungsoo could provide. 

 

Kyungsoo passed the project with flying colors and it was all thanks to Jongin’s hard work. He didn’t know what he had done to deserve someone like Jongin, but he guessed it might have been something good for karma to reward him this much. 

 

———————-

 

The night of homecoming, Kyungsoo was sitting in the front bleachers so he could get a good look at Seung-wan when she was singing. He felt like a proud boyfriend seeing her do her thing. It was a shame he was doing things behind her back, but he couldn’t stop. 

 

His friends had joined him at the football game, but left after the first quarter. 

 

“You don’t want to see the floats?”

 

“Nah,” Baekhyun bluntly said. “If you and Seung-wan don’t end up going to the dance, you’re welcome at my place. We’re gonna have a kickback. Nothing big. Just something because Taeyeon is in town

 

As his friends left, Kyungsoo wondered when he’d see Junmyeon and Minseok next. They’d given the boys a maybe for Baekhyun’s Halloween party, but a definitely over winter break. 

 

The homecoming parade was the halftime show for the game. Kyungsoo was in awe of the effort the students had put into the float. He felt guilty for not participating in the drama class’s float, but he felt it was pointless if his friends weren’t there with him. Ideally he would have been most impressed by the choir’s float since Seung-wan was the class’s princess. Realistically his favorite float was the dance class’s. While every class and club chose a princess, they chose a prince. Jongin. Who was depicting a ballerino in a music box. His beauty continued to blow Kyungsoo away. 

 

Jongin had gotten off of his float before Seung-wan did. That explained why he was in his regular clothes when he plopped himself next to Kyungsoo while they announced the prince and princess of homecoming. Kyungsoo couldn’t hear who it was because he was too busy focusing on Jongin. 

 

“How did you like our float?”

 

“It was mesmerizing. Especially you.”

 

Jongin giggled. 

 

Seung-wan was pushing through the crowd to find Kyungsoo. 

 

“You have to join your friends.”

 

“What? Why?” Jongin spun his head around and saw Wendy. “Okay. I’ll see you later. I hope you go to the dance.”

 

It wasn’t really Kyungsoo’s decision to make. 

 

The rest of the game was spent with Seung-wan by his side, snuggling next to him. He wanted to turn around and see where Jongin was sitting. By the last quarter, Kyungsoo couldn’t hold it in. He had to see Jongin one last time in case it was the last time he’d be seeing him that evening. He left the bleachers with the pretext of getting him and Seung-wan a warm drink. 

 

“Don’t forget my pretzel,” she yelled out to Kyungsoo. 

 

Kyungsoo didn’t care what the parent manning the concession stand gave him. It could have been hot cider. It could have been hot chocolate. It could have been coffee. That wasn’t the point. The point was to see Jongin.

 

When he went back to sit down, he spotted Jongin sitting with the rest of his dance buddies toward the back of the football fans. He knew Jongin was only staying for the dance in hopes of seeing his crush. 

 

Kyungsoo handed Seung-wan one of the cups.

 

“Mmm. Hot cider. My favorite,” she said as she warmed her hands with the styrofoam cup. “Where’s my pretzel?”

 

“They didn’t have any.”

 

Seung-wan lightly punched Kyungsoo on the arm. “I bet you didn’t ask.” She got up in search of a snack. 

 

Kyungsoo turned around in her absence. Jongin was looking at him. They both gave a weak wave. Kyungsoo wished it was Jongin snuggling next to him. Kyungsoo would have brought seat cushions and a blanket for the both of him. He would have made sure to get Jongin’s order right so he wouldn’t have to get it himself. It was selfish of him, but he wished he could be Jongin’s date to the dance. No, he didn’t only want to be his date. He wanted to be his boyfriend. Was that too much to ask for? 

 

The buzzer went off signaling the end of the game. His school had won. 

 

Seung-wan wanted to make a quick appearance at the dance to hang out with her friends. Kyungsoo could see Jongin guarding his friend’s table and awkwardly declining invitations to dance. Kyungsoo was hoping an opportunity to ask Jongin for one presented itself. And it did. In the form of Seung-wan needing to comfort her friend in a crisis. The girl had drank too much fruit punch that she had spiked with some vodka she smuggled into the school. She had been drinking since the football game. 

 

Kyungsoo went over to Jongin who looked ecstatic to see him. “Wanna dance?”

 

“I told my friends I’d watch their stuff.”

 

As if on cue, the padding squad came back from the dance floor to cool off. 

 

“You sure you don’t want to dance, Nini?” inquired Soojung. 

 

No one acknowledged Kyungsoo’s presence. 

 

“I do now.” Jongin grabbed Kyungsoo’s wrist and led him to the dance floor. 

 

At first a fun hip-hop song was playing then it transitioned to ‘Fade Into You’ by Mazzy Star. A slow song. 

 

“Kyungsoo, we don’t have to…”

 

“I WANT to.” Kyungsoo put his arms around Jongin’s waist. Jongin followed his lead and put his arms around Kyungsoo’s neck. 

 

They swayed back and forth as they stared gently into each other’s eyes. Kyungsoo ignored the buzzing in his pocket. But it didn’t stop. He unhooked himself from Jongin’s embrace to see who it was. It could have been his mom. 

 

But it wasn’t. It was Seung-wan wanting to go home right away to take care of her friend. 

 

“I’m sorry, Nini. I gotta go.”

 

Jongin looked at his feet. “That’s okay. I understand.”

 

Kyungsoo kissed Jongin on the forehead and went in the direction of the exit to get his car. He dared one last glance at Jongin who looked completely dejected in the middle of the gymnasium. He ran off toward the bathrooms. Kyungsoo wanted to follow him, but he needed to pull his car up to the curb to help Seung-wan with her friend. 

 

Kyungsoo assisted Seung-wan with carrying her friend inside her house. 

 

“Soo, I’m so sorry we can’t spend the night together.”

 

“That’s okay. I’ll just hang out with the guys tonight.” Kyungsoo kissed Seung-wan on the cheek and promised to follow up with her the next morning. 

 

Part of him wanted to text his friends to see where the kickback was. Another part of him wanted to go back to the dance to repeatedly dance with Jongin. It would be a token of his gratitude for helping him with his homework yet again. He also wanted to be home alone, though. 

 

Ultimately, he went home. His brain hurt too much.

 

He called it a night early after his mom looked through his phone at the pictures of the floats. She was delighted to see Jongin in most of them.

 

Afterward, his family wished Kyungsoo a good night. 

 

That was an understatement. It was an excellent night. Kyungsoo dreamt of a stunning Jongin dressed in a beautiful leotard, pirouetting in a music box just as he had done at homecoming.G