Twenty

ღ Chapter Twenty ღ

What were Kris and I now? I wasn’t sure. We definitely were not platonic friends anymore.

I knew exactly what made me kiss Kris on that day. He was yelling at me about who the hell even knows what, and I just wanted to shut him up. What I did not know was why I kept kissing him, over and over again. I didn't know what made me wrap my arms around his neck to pull him closer to me. It was as if my body had broken free from my mind, and craved everything about Kris. 

Yet, we weren’t exactly boyfriend/girlfriend either, even if we had spent a good amount of time making out in the past few days. We still had yet to talk. Seriously talk, I mean. Ambiguity didn’t even begin to describe the currently situation. Surprisingly, it wasn’t even weird or uncomfortable. Nothing had changed with Kris. Nothing ever changes with Kris.

A cold wintry Saturday night, a night best spent indoors and warm, I was in the EXO-M dorm, just due to the lack of other things to do. Half of the members were in, and the other half had schedule. Some of the EXO-K members were visiting as well, and I ran into Chanyeol watching tv sprawled out on the couch, taking up three seats with his long legs. Poor Bacon and Suho were seated on the rug, playing cards.

I opened my mouth, about to chide Chanyeol, by Suho beat me to it. “We’re letting him, Jae-in ah, it’s okay.”

“It’s a lot easier to lay the cards down like this,” Baekhyun explained.

Chanyeol let out his signature grin. “Or I might just be a brat,” he shrugged.

I ventured further into the dorm and found Yixing and Kai harassing Xiumin in his bedroom. Yixing and Kai have always been close despite the fact that they spoke different languages and belonged to different subgroups. They used to dance together during their trainee days, and still spent a fair amount of time practicing together even now.

“Help me,” Xiumin begged when he noticed me standing at the door. I had no idea what they were trying to get him to do, and I didn’t want to know.  

Waving him away, I quickly retreated, and moved on. I found Kris in the kitchen, looking out of place, as usual, with his tall, manly frame.

“Whatcha’ doing?” I asked, sneaking up silently behind him.

Kris didn’t even flinch. “Everyone’s back in a few minutes so I’m making dinner since Kyungsoo isn't here.”

“Chinese noodles?”

He grinned at me, and shook his head. “Ramyun.”

“How can you feed your members Ramyun after a hard day’s work?” I chided.

Kris only shrugged. “Manager hyung really needs to go grocery shopping. Seriously we have no food in the house thanks to Yixing’s constant snacking and Tao’s giant appetite.”

I peaked in the fridge, and had to agree. There were a few apples, some green onions and other random veggies, eggs, and milk. In the cabinets, I found various spices and more packets of ramyun. Nothing you would be able to make a whole dinner from.

“At least make the Ramyun delicious and healthy,” I said, taking out the eggs and the green onions along with some spices. “Move.” I bumped Kris out of my way with my hip, and took over the boiling water.

“You gonna show me how to make good Ramyun?” Kris teased. He walked up behind me, and put his hands on my waist. I felt myself shiver inadvertently at his touch and closeness.

I grinned back at him. “This is how the pros do it,” I replied cheekily.

Kris scoffed, but let me do my thing. I added some spices to make the soup more tasty, and then added in eggs, green onions, as well as some smoked sausages. In no time, a wonderful smell wafted from the pot. 

“I could have done that,” Kris said, leaning against the counter to pout at me. The aegyo looked so out of place, it was adorable. I couldn’t resist reaching up on my tippy toes just to drop a peck on his lips.

Kris’ hands grabbed me as I started to away, and he wrapped his arms around my waist. He drew me back towards him, hugging me to his chest.

“I need to stir the ramyun,” I whined, playfully.

Kris’ voice was husky in reply. “Forget the ramyun.” His head dipped down to kiss me again, and this time, I didn’t fight him.

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We heard the front door open, and Kris and I quickly stepped apart. Running a hand through my slightly messy hair, I immediately started to stir the ramyun again, hoping that I wasn’t blushing too hard.

“Hyung, we’re back,” Chen called, strolling into the kitchen. He was followed by Lu Han, who was carrying a cake, and then Tao, who looked worn out. “We won a cake on the variety show today, so we can have it for desert after dinner.”

“What is for dinner?” Tao asked, taking a satisfied whiff of the air. “Smells good.”

“Apparently, it’s special Jae-style ramyun,” Kris teased, nudging me.

I stuck my tongue out at him before replying to Tao. “Don’t worry, it’s going to knock your socks off.”

Lu Han hadn’t said a single word, and was hovering silently in the kitchen doorway. I gave him a questioning look, trying to figure out what was wrong. Was he just tired? Lu Han did usually get quiet when he was tired.

He just continued to look at me, expression ineffable. Maybe he was just hungry.

“Oh yeah, Jae-in, Yixing says he needs to talk to you in here,” Chen said over his shoulder as he went from the room that he shared with Yixing to the bathroom with a towel in hand. “I’m going to shower first, so save me some food if you guys start without me.”

“Okay,” I called back. Handing the chopsticks and ramyun duties to Kris, I headed towards the room, and stepped inside.

The door closed behind me almost at once and I jumped, a little surprised. Xiumin stood behind me, and gestured for me to take a seat on Chen’s bed across from Yixing, who was sitting on the edge of his own bed.

“…what’s going on guys?” I asked, nervous. It was starting to get a little creepy.

Xiumin sat down next to Yixing, and they both just looked at me.

“What?” I barked, suddenly defensive.

“This is EXO intervention,” Xiumin finally said.

“What?”

It was Yixing who cut straight to the chase. “Do you like Dui Zhang?” he asked.

Were they ganging up on me? Did they know? Well…I guess Kris and I didn’t really try to hide anything. Was this why Yixing and Kai had been harassing Xiumin earlier?

“Yah, is Kai in on this too?” I asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” Yixing replied. That basically meant yes, he was involved, no matter how slight.

“We just want to know if you like Kris.” Xiumin repeated. “We don’t want you leading him on and breaking his heart.”

“I …don’t know,” I answered, slowly.

“What do you mean you don’t know, Noona? Do you like him or not?” Yixing asked, annoyed.

Did I like Kris? Well yeah, of course. He was a great person, and he has always been there for me. But I knew that that was not what they were asking. Did I like Kris? As more than a friend?

“I like….kissing him,” I considered, thinking out loud. I really did like kissing Kris…a lot. Was that because I liked him? Or was it just because Kris was an exceptionally good kisser? Or both?

“Woah TMI, Jae-in, way too much information,” Yixing groaned, wrinkling his nose. Even Xiumin had turned pink in the face.

At that moment, the door to the dorm burst open, and Tao stomped in. He was wearing a pair of black pants that hung low on his waist, and nothing else.

“Hyung! Where is my favorite blue shirt?” he asked, glaring at Xiumin with an evil look. “I left it right next to your jacket a few days ago and now it’s gone and your jacket is gone.”

“I don’t know where your shirt is,” Xiumin replied, defensively. “Yah, maknae, we all know you have nice muscles and all, but is it really necessary for you to flaunt it around the dorm? Oh look, Jae-in’s turning pink.”

I was definitely blushing. Tao’s years of wushu training had left him muscular in all the right places. 

“This conversation is too getting weird,” I decided, standing up quickly. “Thanks guys, but…I’m going to go now.”

I couldn’t escape that room fast enough. New questions were now bubbling in my mind, and my thoughts were running a mile a minute. In the past, I had always been so preoccupied with Lu Han that I hadn’t even considered the possibility that I might like anyone else.

And Kris? Kris was tall, handsome, sweet, and caring. He was polite to my parents, and even to my evil grandmother. He was loyal to his friends, and had a quirky sense of humor. And I really liked kissing him. Suddenly, my head hurt, and I needed to get out of their dorm to get some fresh air.

“I’m leaving guys,” I called, beelining for my purse. “Have dinner without me, but enjoy my special ramyun!”

I heard a few goodbyes called out, but I was already out of the door.

[A/N]: This was a bit fluffy, right? THANK YOU FOR READING AND SUBBING AND COMMENTING <3 I LOVE YOU ALL. Big news: I’ve mentally decided who Jae is going to end up with, and I don’t even care if I piss you all off. It is going to be what it is. Also, I will unveil the title and main characters to my next story soon! My lovely friend is working on the poster now, so look forward to that. 

FAHRENHEIT FANGIRLS UNITE. SERIOUSLY I ADORE THEM. But have you ever tried looking for good Fahrenheit fanfiction? It’s like looking for a needle in the atlantic ocean, especially on AFF (not sure about livejournal). I seriously cannot find a single good one and it sucks. Let me know if you know of any good ones!