Being an expert in love, Kyungsoo could always tell which couples were going to happen. He’d noticed Sehun and Luhan the moment he first set eyes on them. He could tell that Baekhyun and Chanyeol were going to become a thing eventually too. And Kris’s crush on Tao was painfully obvious.

                So after the first few weeks of school, it was fairly easy for Kyungsoo to tell that Kai liked him. Kyungsoo was an expert. He could tell the exact moment at which Kai started to notice him. In gym on the first day, Kyungsoo had taken off his shirt to staunch the blood oozing out of Kai's leg after a minor basketball accident. Kai didn't stop staring at Kyungsoo the entire time they were in the health room. Kyungsoo managed the situation so well that the nurse asked him to be the health room assistant and assigned him specifically to check Kai's leg every once in a while to make sure it was healing properly. Kyungsoo noticed that Kai was faking a limp for far longer than the limp should actually have lasted, because they both knew that the longer Kai was limping, the longer Kyungsoo would have to tend to him.

                It wasn't just those two incidents that tipped Kyungsoo off. It was every day at dinner when Kai couldn't stop staring. It was the way Kai shrunk when Kyungsoo scolded him. It was Kai always sitting in the living room in the afternoons waiting for Kyungsoo to come back from the health room.

                To be perfectly honest, Kyungsoo was excited. Nobody had ever liked him before. He'd always been the one mediating situations like the one he had suddenly found himself in. And the mediator half of him (or was he always in mediator mode?) took over. Kai was cute, had a great body, was funny and sweet and just the slightest bit shy. Kyungsoo was already falling for him, so he figured it was about time to make it happen. He pondered about how best to go about that. He had all sorts of strategies. He'd done this forever; matching people up and giving them ways to get together was what he did. But for himself...?

                It would be fun to pretend he didn't know how Kai felt and to egg him on subtly.

                "Kris isn't here," Chen remarked. A few of them stood at the bus stop waiting for the others.

                “I don’t think he’ll come,” Kai shrugged. “I bet he won’t.”

                Prime opportunity! Kyungsoo thought.

                “How much do you bet?” he asked Kai. Kai looked over and looked surprised to see that Kyungsoo was talking to him.

                “W-what?” Kai asked, a light blush appearing on his face.

                “I bet you that Kris will come,” Kyungsoo said.

                “Uh…”

                “If I win, you’ll treat me to ice cream. And if you win, I’ll treat you to ice cream. Deal?”

                “Yeah,” Kai said, a hint of a smile breaking out on his plump lips.

                “Kai, you’re going to lose,” Chen said. “Kris! You came!” He tapped Suho’s shoulder, and they all noticed Kris approaching. Kyungsoo grinned as he recounted his triumph to Kris.

                “I bet Kai that you’d come. He said you wouldn’t. Now that he lost our bet, he had to treat me to ice cream,” Kyungsoo said, glancing at Kai. Kai looked like he’d just won a lottery he didn’t enter: he was pleased and confused at the same time. A happy feeling welled up in Kyungsoo’s heart. To see Kai smiling like that for him…well, it was a new feeling for Kyungsoo. One he could definitely get used to.

                “We can go to this really good ice cream shop that I know of,” Kyungsoo said, sitting down next to Kai on the bus. He loved the expression on Kai’s face, like he couldn’t believe his good luck.

                “Okay,” Kai replied with a smile.

                They went immediately to go get ice cream. Kyungsoo wasn’t sure if Kai realized that they’d be done with the ice cream far earlier than everyone else would be done with shopping, but he was looking forward to spending so much time with Kai.

                “Uh…what do you want?” Kai asked Kyungsoo nervously. “Just choose whatever.”

                “I feel so spoiled,” Kyungsoo laughed. “What are you going to get?”

                “I think…green tea. I don’t really like sweet things that much.”

                “Oh, I like that too! But I can’t decide between that and caramel…”

                “You…you could have a taste of mine,” Kai suggested. Kyungsoo smiled. This feeling was so exciting.

                “Okay, then green tea for you and caramel for me,” Kyungsoo grinned, and Kai couldn’t help but smile back. They got their ice cream cones from the lady behind the counter, and Kai offered his to Kyungsoo first.

                “Oh, if you want a spoon…” Kai said, but Kyungsoo tasted the ice cream anyway.

                “Wow, it’s good!” Kyungsoo grinned. Kai’s hands were shaking as he tasted his own ice cream.

                Well. Kyungsoo had it first.

                “Do you want to taste mine?” Kyungsoo asked, and Kai nodded shyly. Kai took a taste as well.

                “Yours is good too,” Kai said.

                “We made good choices. Thanks for treating me,” Kyungsoo replied. Neither he nor Kai could stop grinning at each other.

                “Well, I kind of owe you anyway,” Kai said, quickly becoming more comfortable with the fact that he was—he was, no matter how you looked at it—on a date with Kyungsoo.

                “Owe me for what?” Kyungsoo wondered.

                “Taking care of me when my leg was injured,” Kai explained. “It was really nice of you.”

                “It was kind of fun, actually,” Kyungsoo admitted. “I liked hanging out with you, just the two of us in the health room every other day during break. The others are nice, but they can get kind of…weird sometimes.”

                “Yeah. Ah, to tell the truth…I kind of hoped that my leg wouldn’t heal so we could keep hanging out,” Kai said.

                Suddenly something curious happened. Kyungsoo felt his face start growing hot at Kai’s words, and his heart rate had suddenly sped up. He’d always seen guys or girls blushing when they were with the people they liked, but never had it happened to him.

                “I think we should keep hanging out,” Kyungsoo said. “It was fun.”

                “Really? You think we should?” Kai asked.

                “Hey, Kai,” Kyungsoo said suddenly.

                “What?”

                “I bet you that you won’t finish your ice cream before I finish mine.”

                “But I’m already done!” Kai laughed. Kyungsoo smiled slyly.

                “If I lose the bet, I have to hang out with you every day at break. If I win, you have to hang out with me every day at break. Deal?”

                “Deal,” Kai chuckled. “Your bets don’t make sense.”

                “They’re well-planned. I get what I want either way,” Kyungsoo said, and Kai blushed again. “You know, Sehun and Luhan always hang out during break too.”

                “Yeah, but they’re a couple,” Kai shrugged.

                “Right,” Kyungsoo said pointedly with a smile on his face. Kai’s eyes widened.

                “Wait…you’re saying…wait, what?” he sputtered, trying to make sure that he hadn’t just made an assumption as to Kyungsoo’s meaning.

                As cool as Kyungsoo was trying to be, and as calm as he was trying to be, this was basically a confession. He’d always told all of his friends not to be nervous when confessing, but he suddenly found it difficult to take his own advice. He felt his face heat up again, and suddenly he was having trouble making eye contact with Kai.

                “I mean…” Kyungsoo began nervously. “We could…we could…if you want, I mean…”

                “Be…a couple?” Kai squeaked. He looked like he was ready to burst with happiness, his face shone so bright. Kyungsoo smiled and nodded. “Really? Wait, are you sure?”

                “Yeah,” Kyungsoo smiled, running his hand through his hair in embarrassment. His friends had always described embarrassment to be a very uncomfortable feeling, but Kyungsoo couldn’t see how this giddy excitement welling up in his chest could possibly be construed as uncomfortable.

                “You and me? Kyungsoo, you don’t know how happy this makes me!” Kai said, wrapping his arms around Kyungsoo’s waist and spinning him around, in the middle of the mall.

                “Kai!” Kyungsoo said, but he didn’t really want Kai to let him go. Kai’s face was happier than he’d ever seen it, the biggest smile absolutely plastered on his bright countenance. Kyungsoo smiled too, as Kai held him close, as if Kai didn’t want to let him go.

                So this was what it was like to feel wanted, to be the object of someone’s affections. Everyone he’d helped had always made it out to be painful and trying, but this seemed easy. And natural. And blissful.

                 “Can I…can I kiss you?” Kai asked timidly. “I understand if you don’t want me to,” he explained quickly, “but I’ve wanted…to…for a while…”

                Kyungsoo wanted to laugh, he felt so good.

                “Sure,” he replied, tilting his head up as his lips met Kai’s. Kai’s lips were warm and soft, and his strong grip on Kyungsoo made him feel safe and at home.

                He hadn’t realized just how much he liked Kai until that moment. And it wasn’t just because Kai liked him.

                It was because Kai was pretty much exactly what he’d been looking for all those years.