Thursday P.M.
Seven Days
Hours after their heated conversation at lunch, Kyungsoo has just finished with swim practice, having been coerced into attending by his demanding boyfriend. Some members are cheerfully chatting with each other as everyone’s toweling themselves dry and heading over to the locker rooms to change. Kyungsoo coughs a little, unsure whether or not Kai will come to see him today after their encounter but, as he’s pulling his goggles off, he hears a soothing voice coming from his side.
“Good job.”
He grins a bit too widely, his lips forming a heart-shape as his eyes crinkle from the sight of the man in front of him. “Wasn’t it?”
“You idiot. What are you getting all cocky about?” Kai snarkily reprimands. “You’re supposed to show up to practice. That’s how it’s done.”
They head to the locker room together but by now almost everyone has finished changing and rinsing off. Kyungsoo steps into one of the shower stalls and peels off his swim trunks as Kai sits on a nearby bench, the plastic slightly damp from the humidity. His fingers find themselves on the zipper of his jacket as his lips pout from embarrassment.
“I’m sorry about what happened... at lunch,” Kai mumbles, just loud enough for the other to hear him above the sounds of the water hitting the tiled floor. “Now that I’ve thought about it, did I really need to throw a tantrum? Even I don’t get it. I mean, what was I mad about?”
The knob makes a small squeak as he twists it, halting the flow of liquid from the metal showerhead and grabbing his clean towel off the hook. “I don’t think you need to apologize.” Kyungsoo stalks over to where his boyfriend is sitting and leans down to whisper in his ear with the beads of water lingering on his milky skin and a mischievous smirk on his lips. “I’m the type that likes being tied down, I think.”
The door to the locker room swings open as a couple of stray swim team members enter, surprised to see the two talking because they’re rarely together. “What are you two whispering to each other about?” they ask, curious.
Kai, impulsiveness bleeding out of every pore in his body with a hint of revenge, glances at Kyungsoo and replies calmly, “He’s a masochist.”
The color drains from everyone’s faces as they take in what Kai just said.
❁❁❁
Luhan, still sulking over his phone call with Kyungsoo, rests his head on the cold, glass table with the sunlight spilling in through the greenhouse’s translucent walls and peeking through the vibrant leaves to warm his skin. He replays the conversation again in his head down to the last detail.
“Yeah. I love you too. But, Luhan, I’m not going to answer your calls anymore. Just like how you always put Sehun first, I also have someone more important to me than you are...”
Luhan’s ears twitch as he hears the door to the greenhouse open and footsteps soon after. He looks up hopefully to see the one person who has always held his heart captive in his grip.
“Sehun...”
“...someone I love from the depths of my heart.”
❁❁❁
“What am I going to do if weird rumors start because of what you said?” Kyungsoo makes an annoyed face and his plush lips form Kai’s favorite pout as they’re walking home together, the sun making the air around them glitter with light.
“It’s okay. There’s probably already a lot of weird rumors,” Kai replies nonchalantly, obviously uncaring about what kind of rumors might be running rampant about him. As they’re passing by a house with pristine rose bushes lining the front, he takes notice of them and halts his footsteps completely as he recalls something Suho had once told him.
You can tell if someone is a sadist or a masochist by the rose color they prefer. If they like red roses more then they’re a sadist and if they like white roses more then they’re a masochist.
He had thought that it was a load of nonsense when he had first been informed but after hearing Kyungsoo’s not-so-innocent confession today in the locker room, he’s not so sure. There’s no harm in checking though, so he tries to test it. “Hey!” he calls.
“What?”
“I have a theoretical question. So there are ten red roses and ten white roses. If you were to make a bouquet of ten roses, how many of each color would you use?”
Kyungsoo widens his eyes at the question, confused as to what the motive behind it could possibly be. He quickly glances at the rose bushes. Does he want one? “Ten? Ten white roses of course!” He smiles radiantly as he plucks a single white rose from the well-kept bush and hands it to the other boy.
Kai doubles over, trying to stifle his laughter. Turns out Suho isn’t full of nonsensical gossip after all.
❁❁❁
Steam wafting through the air and fogging up mirrors, lingering on tiled surfaces and prickling exposed pores. Kai closes his eyes and sinks deeper into the tub, feeling the water relax his muscles as he makes playful splashes with his hands.
“Kai!” he hears from outside of the bathroom door. “Someone from the swim team is on the phone for you!”
Oh, it’s probably Kyungsoo. He probably couldn’t get through to my cell phone. “Bring the receiver in here!” he shouts back to Xiumin, his roommate.
Xiumin gasps loudly and the color drains from his round face as he grips the receiver tighter in his hands. “No way! What do you want me to look at?! You ert!”
Kyungsoo, listening from the other line, tries to piece together the situation from the shouting but to no avail. He hears a door open and an incredibly loud shriek from the receiver before a muffled, “You stupid ert!”
What the heck?! Kyungsoo thinks, rubbing his ear from the intense bashing it took from the high-pitched screaming.
After a long second, Kai’s voice is emitted through the phone. “Hello? Kyungsoo?”
“Ah... erm... that was...?”
“Oh, my roommate. To actually call me a ert...”
“Eh?”
“Yeah, I was bathing and when I asked him to bring in the receiver he actually said, ‘what do you want me to look at?’ What’s the big deal anyway? What could he possibly see? We're both guys, right?” Kyungsoo’s face is petrified as he lets his imagination get the better of him and this causes his voice to be trapped in his throat. “...Kyungsoo? Hello?”
“So- so--”
“So?”
“Sorry!” he finally manages to blurt before stabbing the end button with his finger.
“Wait! Hello? Hello?” Kai repeats into the dead receiver, the dial tone blaring at him. “What the heck?”
Kyungsoo’s drowning himself in self-deprecation now, his brain digging far back into its memories to Kai’s wet body from the time when he was still on the swim team... that body dripping wet... droplets running down his toned muscles... Kai in the bath, touching himself every which way...
ert. ert! ert! Kyungsoo’s mind yells, chanting the dirty word over and over in a hopeless attempt to wash himself clean. I’m such a ert! He buries his burning face in his hands in order to hide the rushing thoughts but they keep coming back and making his blood pool in his pants. He takes a few deep breaths to gather himself and, after he’s moderately calm, his mind jerks itself back to the present situation. What do I do? I hung up on him! He must think I’m weird! Tomorrow... how do I face him tomorrow?
He groans and tumbles around on his bed sheets, clamping his legs together in an effort to relieve himself of this building sensation. He rolls to a stop and looks up at the high ceiling, clasping his hands together and bringing them up to his face as he closes his eyes. I want to see him soon.
Meanwhile...
“What was that apology for? Was it for earlier today?” Kai mutters, a bewildered look on his face as he blows bubbles into the water.
Comments