Kyungsoo lied motionlessly on his twin-sized bed, his face smeared deep in his pillow. Muffled breathing filled the spacious room, making it the only noise notable. The sun’s rays gleamed through the aluminum shades, causing the darkness that had settled in to become mobile. The Junior was consumed in silence; not even the early rising birds managed to make a sound.

Yet, the peace and quietude soon dissolved as a flashing electronic device commenced to ring. Soon enough, a repetitive tune engulfed the bedchamber, filling the ears of the sleeping male. A groan escaped Kyungsoo’s lips as he flipped onto his back. He closed his eyes briefly and let out a yawn, not wanting to arise from his slumber. After much struggling with his comforter, Kyungsoo was able to reach out for his cellphone and pick it up without looking at the caller I.D.

 “Hello?” Kyungsoo groggily answered.

There was a slight pause on the other line. “Hello? Hyung this is Sehun. Are you awake?”

Kyungsoo looked over at his alarm clock to his right, and groaned once again when he saw the time displayed. “Sehun-ah, it’s six o’ clock in the morning. What could you possibly want at this time?”

“It’s supposed to pour later,” notified Sehun, “so Tao and I decided that it’d be best to got to the basketball court now. Get everything ready and meet us there as fast as you can. Bye hyung!”

“Wait, you expect us to wa—”

Before the Junior was able to complete his question, Sehun hung up the phone. Muttering ‘rude maknae’, Kyungsoo unwillingly got himself into a sitting position. Once he finished stretching, the male got up and headed towards the dresser that was conveniently placed a few feet in front of his bunk. Kyungsoo’s mind was in a complete daze as he walked; his brain not able to comprehend why anyone would wake up at six in the morning to play basketball.

Digging through the heaps of clothing neatly folded in his bureau, he picked out a pair of navy blue basketball shorts and a gray v-line shirt. Kyungsoo knew temperature was going to be humid, so he didn’t put on anything that would cling onto him. After taking care of his morning duties and gathering everything that he needed, Kyungsoo made his way out of his bedroom.

The Junior walked down the hall leading to his mother’s room. Every time he decided to leave the house, he always informed his mom before departing. Being an only child and the only person living with her, Kyungsoo felt obliged to tell her when he was going out and where. He didn’t like to see his mom worry so much; especially if he was the cause of it.

Reaching his mother’s door, the male knocked. “Ma, I’m going to hang out with Sehun and some friends today. I’ll see you later.”

Kyungsoo waited in front of the door as usual. Noises emitted from the room before it opened, revealing a woman in her early thirties. “You’re leaving now? Why so early?”

“It’s supposed to rain later on,” Kyungsoo informed.

His mom nodded in comprehension. “Ah, ok. Do you need any money?”

Kyungsoo shook his head. “I’m alright; bye, ma.”

With a kiss on the cheek from his mom, Kyungsoo turned to his left and glided down the flight of stairs. Glancing around the house one last time to make sure everything was in place; Kyungsoo exited the house and shut the door behind him.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Tao was a bucket of sweat; metaphorically speaking, of course. It was a little after six thirty in the morning, and he and Sehun had already started battling it out. Being the only two people on the court, they decided to play one on one until the invited Juniors arrived. The weather was indeed very humid, and it didn’t help that Tao was wearing black shorts and a black T-shirt. But the Sophomore was having a good time, so everything balanced out.

“Tao hyung!” Sehun called out as he jogged towards him. “Kyungsoo hyung should be here soon. Do you want to play one more game?”

Said boy nodded, and in one swift movement he snatched the basketball from Sehun’s grasp. Dashing to his left, Tao ran as fast as he could while dribbling the ball. Sweat continued to accumulate as his hair stuck to his forehead. Tao was extremely close to the hoop, but Sehun quickly made his way in front of the other. The Chinese male proceeded to run backwards, but soon bumped into something hard.

The Chinese Sophomore turned around, only to face none other than Kris. Tao backed up at a safe distance and expressed his apology with a bow. “Sorry.”

Kris took the ball from the younger and smirked. “I’ll accept your apology if you and your friend beat me at a one on two game.”

As soon as those words left his lips, Kris dribbled the ball all the way towards the basketball hoop. Once he was a few feet away, Kris threw the ball, but Tao jumped up and grabbed it before it made it through. Kris leaped in the direction of Tao to grab the ball, but ended up with his arms wrapped around the other sideways as the later rapidly threw the ball at Sehun. The Korean grabbed the ball and had it in the hoop instantaneously.

In Kris’s honest opinion, he didn’t want to let go of Tao. The younger emitted a warmth that attracted Kris; one that urged the older to hold onto him longer. It was an eccentric feeling that Kris had never sensed before. Something about the boy made Kris feel protective over him; like a younger sibling or something to that extent.

“Uh, Kris-ssi,” Tao began as he tensed up in said male’s arms. “Can you let go, please?”

Kris, snapping out of his train of thought, immediately let go of the Sophomore. “Oh, sorry.”

Both males stood side by side in an awkward silence. Sehun shot them a questioning glance as he messed around with the basketball, but the other two did not budge. Tao did not know how to react to the recent incident, and Kris, on the other hand, was embarrassed by his actions. However, when the young Chinese male saw Kyungsoo appear, an idea quickly entered his mind.

“If you and Kyungsoo hyung beat me and Sehun-ah in a two on two game,” started Tao as he turned to look up at the Junior, “I’ll accept your apology.”

A smirk reappeared on the other’s face. “Bring it on.”

Tao and Kris headed towards Sehun and Kyungsoo seconds later. Once they were all in one spot, each of the expressed their greetings. A few conversations sprung up, as Kris was still a newcomer to the other three. Soon enough, they were much more comfortable with each other and ready to play a few rounds of basketball.

“So it’s me and Kris hyung versus Tao and Sehun?” Kyungsoo asked in order to remember the information just given to him.

Sehun nodded at his hyung while he and Tao made their way to the opposite side of the two Juniors. Giving the young ones a head start, Kyungsoo and Kris let the Sophomores get a hold of the ball first. Tao took this opportunity to grasp the ball and flung it towards the hoop, but Kyungsoo plunged up and dribbled the ball elsewhere. The match seemed to last for an eternity, with each player producing close shots.

Sometime during the game, Tao was trying his best to corner Kris and gain control of the basketball. Kris, ball in hand, jogged as fast as he could and let the ball fly out in a parabola-like motion. Tao tried to maneuver in front of Kris so that he could stop the ball from making it through. However, the young Sophomore lost his footing and ended up colliding on the floor; his knees scrapping against the pavement like sandpaper.

Tao let out a cry of pain as he clutched his knees and rolled onto his side. Almost simultaneously the basketball traveled in the hoop, and the other three players rushed to the injured one’s side. Kyungsoo took the initiative and turned Tao so that he was facing up. Taking a look at the bloody scrapes, Kyungsoo grabbed a stray T-shirt from his gym bag and gently dabbed it on the cuts.

“Does it hurt badly?” Sehun asked as he kneeled next to the Chinese.

The boy addressed merely shook his head, but the tear that escaped his eye when Kyungsoo pressed down on his injury said otherwise. Kris, who was just watching the scene in front of him, placed one arm under Tao’s back and the other under his knees before carefully lifting the boy up. Reaching a nearby bench, Kris placed Tao down and let him get situated.

“Thank you,” Tao hissed out as Kyungsoo cleaned out his wounds with ointment he had luckily packed. “And… apology accepted.”

Kris tried his utmost best not to smile, but a small one still appeared on his face. When Kyungsoo finished what he was doing, he and Sehun continued playing basketball with Kris while Tao cheered them on individually. After their third game, Sehun decided to play a one on two game with him and Kris playing against Kyungsoo. The latter boasted that he would win, yet, in the end, he had lost miserably.

“Who was the one that said he could kick our ?” Sehun questioned sarcastically with a grin.

Kyungsoo stuck out his tongue playfully at the both of them. “Oh Shut up.”

Sehun laughed and went to go talk to Tao, while Kris proceeded to play. Alone, Kyungsoo took out his cellphone to acquire the time. Pressing the home button on his phone, the Junior froze when the time suddenly flashed before his eyes. It was as if the time was laughing at him; mocking him for not realizing the unread message, and the passing of the time.

It was 10: 21 a.m.

He was late.

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened as they glued themselves onto his cellphone. Jongin had told him to meet him at eight, yet here he was at the park. Panicking, the Junior stuffed his phone back in his pocket and shouted his farewells to his friends, who were currently wondering where he was rushing off to, before he jetted out the park.


 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Kyungsoo stood in front of the café with a worry stricken face. Biting his lip, the Junior took small anxious steps towards the entrance. He didn’t know why he felt the way he did. Was it because he felt guilty? Or was it because of something else? Either way, Kyungsoo still had a feeling that this day was not going to have a great or positive outcome.

With a deep sigh, Kyungsoo entered the spacious café. Glancing around, the café almost seemed empty, but there was still that one person sitting alone at one of the back tables. Walking further in, Kyungsoo identified the person as none other than Jongin, who was staring into space with his head leaning against his left hand. Taking a dramatic breath, Kyungsoo continued to stroll towards the other.

“You’re late,” were the only words that left Jongin’s lips when his eyes met Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo sheepishly rubbed his arm before he guilty took a seat across from him. “I’m sorry, I lost track of time and… yeah.”

Irritated, Jongin sat up straight. “What could’ve been more important than meeting me on time?”

“I promised Sehun-ah that I’d play basket ball with him and Tao,” responded Kyungsoo.

“Basketball?” Jongin interrogated in disbelief. “I ask you to meet me at eight, and you ditch me for basketball?”

“I came didn’t I?” Kyungsoo semi-shouted at the male in front of him. “If you want to talk, then talk already!”

Jongin simply scoffed. “How can I? Every time I want to talk to you, you run away!”

“Run away?” exclaimed Kyungsoo before he pointed at himself. “I run away? Maybe there’s just nothing for us to talk about!”

“Bull!” Jongin shouted as he stood up abruptly. “That’s bull! There’s something… there’s something you’ve been hiding from me for a whole year!”

He had enough; Jongin had enough. He was tired of Kyungsoo lying to his face and not being truthful. He wanted the truth out of him, but the older was too stubborn to say anything. Pain, it pained him to know that his hyung was keeping something like this away from him; he deserved to know. It angered Jongin too much, and he tried his best to keep his cool. But he couldn’t determine if it’d work, or if it would be him shouting out the truth.

“What could I possibly be hiding?” Kyungsoo asked, not wanting to give up his small façade.

A serious look took over Jongin’s face. “The fact that you have a crush one me.”

“Crush?” Kyungsoo laughed out, nervousness dripping out of the word, “what makes you think I have a crush on you?"

Kyungsoo didn’t want Jongin to find out the truth; not now, not ever. Friends, that’s what they were. He felt that if he were to tell Jongin how he felt, then the latter would just flat out reject him. Although he didn’t fear rejection, he did fear getting played and being humiliated. The small bit of pride he had left after his infatuation with Jongin had to stay intact, for Kyungsoo’s sake.

But Jongin had enough. Slamming his hands on the table, he narrowed his eyes at Kyungsoo. “Stop lying! Can’t you take this seriously? Stop treating this like a joke!”

“You should be the last one to talk about taking things seriously!” the other male retaliated, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard you take anything seriously!”

“Well you never let me talk!” Jongin told him.

Kyungsoo threw his arms up in exasperation. “You’re talking right now!”

“Uh… are you two ok?”

Both males averted their attention to the owner of the voice, only to face Minseok. The Senior was standing at the entrance with an eyebrow raised. Instead of speaking calmly, the Juniors both shouted, “We’re fine!”

Minseok shook his head and headed for the counter so that he could get back to work. “Teenagers these days.”

Kyungsoo sighed and got up from his seat. He wanted to tell Jongin, he really did, but he was too scared. If he told, things would drastically change, and not for the better. With a shake of his head, Kyungsoo strolled towards the exit, but three words had made him pause in his tracks and caused his emotions to go on a rollercoaster ride.

“I like you,” breathed out Jongin before the other could leave his sight.

Kyungsoo’s heart was pounding like a gavel, and he felt as though his emotions were going to burst. “Stop joking.”

“I’m not joking, hyung,” Jongin tried to reason out, “I really li—”

“I told you to stop!” Kyungsoo screamed. He finally lost it, he couldn’t hold it in anymore. His heart was about to explode and it was seriously suffocating him. Kyungsoo choked out, “I like you. There, I said it. I like you and you know that already. But that doesn’t give you the right to mess with my feelings, Jongin! So go ahead, laugh at my face! Tell me it will never happen and that you—”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened and his body visibly stiffened. Everything in him just shut down; he couldn’t react to anything. Jongin had his thumb under the other’s chin, his hand behind his hyung’s head, and his lips pressed firmly against his friend’s. It was soft; it held emotion. Kyungsoo felt himself crumble, his tears leaving a trail down his cheeks. He wanted to shove Jongin away and tell him to stop playing around, but he was already falling deep. And in the mist of his pessimistic thoughts…

 … he kissed him back.


 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


A/N: Taoris ♥  And, uh, Kaisoo! I guess... Ahem, anyways, chapter four is in the house! I was supposed to update Friday, but I got distracted and... yeah. I kind of enjoyed writing this chapter, especially Kaisoo's part. It was so... dramatic? Yeah, that works. And poor Minseok had to deal with all the screams and feels. But it's ok, he'll get his moment next chapter!

Speaking of 'next chapter', I suggest you guys brace and prepare yourselves. No... seriously. It'll probably be something all of you guys have been waiting for, and the reason why half of you guys subscribed, rlab. Shall I give you guys a hint?
 

S _ _ T
 

Can you guys fill in the blanks? :P Haha, hope the chapter was to your liking. Until next update (around Tuesday or Wednesday) ♥