Part 2
Kyungsoo

I watched the confident boy in front of me. He appeared to have the Mask on, that glint in his eyes but the way he was acting was so off. There was no possible way he could’ve been Masked. It just wasn’t possible in this situation.

He must’ve been wearing contacts. And his hands were freezing but I looked at his pockets and they seemed to be full even though his hands weren’t in them anymore. They were probably filled with ice….I assumed.

And his skin was tan. Normally Masked people don’t have tanned skin. It happens sometimes but not a lot. He was risking a lot, showing off his skin, which was why I assumed that it was the reason for him to wear sweat pants and a long sleeve shirt, to cover up.

He was looking at me intently and yes, I did feel frightened. But I wasn’t so scared anymore when I realized that there was no way he could’ve been wearing a Mask.

Finally, a corner of his lip curved into a slight smile that more closely resembled a smirk. One of those I-know-something-that-you-don’t smirks.

“Come with me,” He quickly said.

This boy, that I’d never met, grabbed my wrist and tugged me to the front of the store. I hastily paid for my few groceries and broke free of his grip while I followed.

“You’ve got your Mask running around the city,” he rapidly spoke.

I had a feeling he was going to say that. I was lucky enough to get it off of me before it totally took over. I felt that my weak self was becoming too arrogant. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to get stronger; it was just that I felt like a completely different person.

“I’m assuming you met him,” I bitterly stated as we walked through the brisk, spring air that hadn’t quite gotten warm yet.

“Yes,” the stranger answered me. “I obviously met Do Kyungsoo’s Mask.”

I thought it was a little odd that a person I had never seen in my life happened to know my name. I was actually internally freaking out because I thought that he figured out I wasn’t Masked and was going to take me away. It was such a risk having me go out without contacts

“Where are you taking me?” I weakly asked, wondering why I was still following him through the dark streets of Seoul. However, it wasn’t like I could’ve gotten free if I wanted to anyway. He’d catch me immediately.

“Do you realize that your Mask can be doing something with your image?” the stranger demanded. He seemed annoyed but amused at the same time.

I rolled my eyes.

“I think I’ve come to terms with that,” I answered. “Why, what about yours?”

He stopped in the middle of the street, whipping around to face me.

“I didn’t have this problem,” He hissed at me. “I didn’t let it feed off of me that long.”

I looked down avoiding eye contact. I knew I was a feeble person. I was just happy that I got rid of my Mask once and for all. Kind of. Now he was apparently running around, doing things with my face.

“You are definitely not like the thing that I met at the café,” he said, continuing to walk again. “The name is Kim Jongin, by the way,” he informed me.

I wrinkled my nose.

“What do you mean not like?” I repeated.

“You’ve got no confidence, kid,” Jongin plainly explained.

I furrowed my brows, annoyed by the fact that he was the one pulling me to wherever and insulting me while doing so.

“Yah!” I hissed. “When were you born?!”

“1994,” He answered.

I halted in my steps.

“Ha!” I triumphantly cried. “I was born in 1993; therefore I’m older than you are!”

Jongin didn’t respond but he turned a corner and stopped to wait for me as if I was a child. I scoffed. I was actually his hyung.

Maybe if he didn’t have such a cold, indifferent personality, he could be considered attractive. His dark eyes were captivating along with his strangely tanned skin.

“Alright we’re here,” Jongin announced, walking in the apartment complex.

“Hyung,” I corrected.

Jongin gave me a what-the- look.

“I’m older than you,” I explained, hiding a smirk.

His eyes rolled again and he led me to a staircase. I was wondering what was wrong with me. This was so suspicious but I knew I had some kind of leverage. We were both Unmasked. If he wanted to kill me or kidnap me I might’ve been screwed though.

“So where are we going?” I questioned, climbing up the steps after him.

“Well,” Jongin started. “There are some people I want you to meet.”

We strolled down a seemingly abandoned hallway, neglected of the normal brightness that the rest of the hotel possessed and got to a room…apartment number 335.

Jongin pulled out some keys and unlocked the door. It easily swung open, in contrast to my prediction of it creepily squeaking.

“Yah!” Jongin shouted as he strutted in, his sudden loudness causing me to jump. “You two better not be making out!”

“We’re making food!”  A happy, baby faced boy strolled around the corner, his hand on a taller, poker faced male.

“Yeah, I don’t trust you with cooking supplies,” Jongin said with a frown and a questioning eyebrow raise.

“It’s not like you cook either,” the boy retorted, knitting his eyebrows together. “I’m trying…”

Jongin held up a grocery bag.

“Well here’s the beef you wanted for,” he paused and attempted to look at the contraption that the other boy had created on the stove. “Whatever the hell that is,” he concluded.

The other male who looked like he cared about nothing in the world still said nothing; he just stole glances at the other two.

“Um…” I started.

“Oh!” the boy who failed at cooking jumped. “Who is this?”

He peered around the corner, spotting me and acknowledging my presence. His eyes widened and I knew it was because he didn’t catch the “glint”.

“Do Kyungsoo,” Jongin spoke for me. “And this is Sehun and Luhan. As you can obviously see, they are going out.”

I did notice that their arms were latched together.

Luhan and Sehun both stuck out their hands at the same time and then looked back at each other, laughing at the gesture while Luhan took my hand first. I shook it, trying to look enthusiastic but I was just intrigued that there were more Unmasked people than I thought.

I stepped inside, removing my shoes and taking a look around. It was a pretty shabby, small apartment that didn’t seem to have much breathing room. The kitchen was crammed into a tiny corner while the couch and TV were far too close to each other for comfort.

There were two tiny bedrooms and I assumed that Sehun and Luhan probably shared one.

“Now if you excuse me,” Luhan declared. “I need to focus on making something edible while simultaneously not burning down this apartment complex.”

I blinked. So Jongin was Unmasked along with his two friends here. I wondered what the purpose of this little venture was.  It was just a meeting? I wondered what Jongin’s motive was.

In the background, while I stepped further into the tiny apartment, I heard Luhan shriek as a bit of hot water splashed onto his hand.

Jongin pinched the bridge of his nose and looked up at some invisible god, which must’ve resided in the ceiling, and prayed.

“I can cook,” I finally piped up, wondering why in the world I was about to make food for some strangers.

“Really now?” Jongin mocked. “Without singeing your hand like our friend here?”

He pointed to a frustrated Luhan, who was currently nursing his hand while Sehun stood around and looked confused, unable to figure out how to provide any form of comfort for his distraught boyfriend.

“Well…yeah,” I replied, unable to help a smirk that played across my lips.

I walked over into the squished kitchen and observed the beef chunks that Luhan had sloppily chopped and then the boiling water. I raised an eyebrow as I set my own groceries on the counter.

“Were you going to boil that?” I inquired, not knowing if I was supposed to laugh because it was hilarious or cry because it was ing sad.

 “Um…” Luhan looked at the pot. “Well I was going to mix it with some salt and sau- yeah.”

I was now the one praying to some invisible god in the ceiling.

“Gotta frying pan?” I asked, looking around the crammed counters.

“I think we have one of those,” Sehun spoke up and I noticed a heavily apparent lisp.

He bent over and reached into a tiny cupboard, retrieving a small, rustic frying pan that looked like it was used back in the 1800’s and was decaying in a graveyard for the rest of the 200 years.

I took it from him and set it on the stove.

“Oil?” I continued to ask while they gave me the ingredients I needed. I ended up using some of the ones that I had bought too.

The three boys stood over me and watched in fascination as I cooked the meat in the frying pan. It was one of those moments where you just want to laugh. Here I was, cooking for these strangers, in a dystopia society when there were many more things to worry about than learning to cook beef.

*

“Mother of god…” Jongin breathed and everyone held their breath.

I awkwardly sat at their squished table, watching their highly entertaining expressions.

“Luhan…” Jongin continued. “You are ing fired.”

Sehun burst out laughing and I had to stifle a smaller giggle. These people might’ve not been that bad. Luhan didn’t seem as amused but he seemed to be enjoying the food that I prepared.

“Where do you live?” Jongin asked. “Because you don’t live there anymore.”

My mouth went slightly open and my eyes widened.

“Yah!” I scolded. “You can’t just decide these things on your own.”

“Fine,” a smirk was on his lips again. “Then you’re coming here every night to cook dinner.”

I resisted the urge to hit myself.

“Seriously…” I muttered, rolling my eyes for probably the tenth time in the last hour.

I noticed that the three boys were all still staring at me. It made me realize that I hadn’t answered Jongin’s question and considered if he was serious about asking me where I lived and if I was actually going to live here.

I in a breath.

“I don’t even know you guys,” I answered with a sigh.

Jongin folded his arms and stared at me.

“Yes, but aren’t we the first people you’ve seen Unmasked in a while?” he challenged, staring me down without even blinking.

I glared back, making sure my eyes were wider than normal. I thought it would’ve freaked him out but he remained unfazed.

“Yes,” I admitted. “My apartment is full of people who are all Masked. And I haven’t been to my job in weeks…because my Mask is there.”

“What’s your job?” Luhan butted in while chewing a mouthful of beef.

“I’m a newspaper editor,” I explained. “Or at least was.”

Jongin gave me a confused look.

“Your Mask…I saw it reading the newspaper…” he trailed off, seemingly in thought.

I stared at the table for a while, thinking about this. I was pretty sure my Mask didn’t need to read a newspaper that it edited. I knew that I wouldn’t read a newspaper that I made.

“Did he buy it?” I wondered, staring at Jongin’s dark eyes.

“N…No…” Jongin was thinking about this as hard as I was.

It wasn’t something that should’ve been taken seriously at all. But it was just so…eerie. All of this felt wrong and I knew something had to be down about my Mask...but why…why was it reading the newspaper…? Unless…

“I think,” I spoke up after about a minute of silence. “That my Mask is trying to see if I’m still alive maybe…”

Jongin’s eyes met mine again and Luhan and Sehun both looked up in perfect sync.

“You don’t possibly mean…” Sehun’s eyebrows were closely pressed together.

“Yeah,” I quickly remarked. “My Mask wants me eliminated.”

It wasn’t the fact that the Mask was reading the newspaper. It was everything and I was just in too much denial to deal with it. My Mask had been meeting people and taking over my job. It definitely wanted to become human. It was willing to kill me.

“Mind staying with us now?” Jongin suggested.

I sat and watched them. What if they were hired by my Mask and …no…I refused to believe that. The Mask would’ve killed them if it had realized that they were free.

“I don’t know…” I mumbled. “I have to move out of my apartment-“

“Please do it,” Luhan begged. “I at cooking.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. This was honestly his argument. I stared at the three boys in question. How was this even going to work in this tiny apartment that was basically ¼ the size of mine?

“I don’t know…” I groaned, leaning back. “This is pretty sketchy.”

I picked up a dirty sock that had been lying on the grimy floor.

“Yah!” Luhan cried at Jongin, who slightly jumped in surprise. “What did I say about your laundry? I’m not your maid!”

I stood, getting up, causing everyone else to shift.

“A-Are you going to?” Luhan asked me.

“Going to what?” I blinked, wide eyed, half standing and half bending over.

“Stay over…” he finished.

“I’m going back to my apartment,” I informed him, fully rising.

“Oh…” They all looked down.

“To get my stuff…” I completed with a quick breath.

Luhan jumped up in excitement, his eyes going from big to nonexistent. He started to giggle and pat me on the back, receiving a few glares from his boyfriend, who remained sitting on the ground with a poker face.

I couldn’t resist the urge to look over at Jongin. He seemed indifferent but I could tell he was happy.

“Look, just stay here,” Luhan insisted. “It’s already so late.”

I raised one of my eyebrows and looked around the shabby apartment. There was hardly any room. I didn’t know where I was supposed to sleep.

The excited boy read my mind.

“You can sleep with Jongin!” he cheered loudly.

“Yah!” Jongin scolded. “Speak for yourself Lu!”

I face palmed myself, wondering what I had gotten myself into.

“I’m fine with the couch,” I offered.

“But look at that thing,” Sehun pointed out. “It’s nasty.”

Jongin was pinching the bridge of his nose again.

“Ugh fine. He can sleep on the floor in my room then!” he snapped.

I awkwardly stood there, feeling highly uncomfortable.

“That’s not very nice,” Luhan pointed out as he stood up and began to put dishes in the sink, not bothering to even wash them.

Avoiding the conversation, I waltzed into the kitchen and started to wash the dishes.

The three boys batted their eyes, watching me.

“Alright,” Jongin said. “If he does all the dishes, I’ll let him sleep on my bed.”

I didn’t argue and I continued to wash the dishes. I had to admit, I had been craving social attention. It was hard to get your daily dose of conversations when you were practically talking to machines. Suddenly, the idea of living with other people- real people, was appealing.

I finished washing all of the dishes and wiped my hands on my pants, walking into the living room.

Suddenly I was hit in the face by something soft.

Jongin had passed me a pair of sweats and a gray T-shirt.

“Nothing’s going to fit your because your so damn short, but this is good enough,” he muttered, uncomfortably.

I made a face at the boy.

“Thanks for informing me,” I remarked. “I’ll make sure to keep my height in mind while I sleep in your bed.”

“Well, you cook,” Jongin replied, crinkling his nose while he walked around, making sure that Sehun and Luhan were in their room.

“Way to make yourself feel better,” I muttered, walking into his bedroom and staring at his queen size bed.

It was actually bigger than I expected.

“Oh…it’s huge…” I stated. “We could both fit on it.”

Jongin looked up in surprise.

“Yah…Kyungsoo I’m not sleeping in the same bed with another man, let alone someone I just met,” he quickly answered.

I chuckled at his insecurities.

“Alright,” I replied with a smirk. “Have fun on the floor!”

Late that night, Jongin and I were both squished on opposite sides of the bed, his head by the end of the bed and mine on the complete other side.

“Floor too hard?” I mocked him.

He roughly kicked my knee.

I thought this was going to be the most awkward thing I’d ever experienced but it was surprisingly easy. We both ended up talking about our lives and by the time we fell asleep, I felt like I knew him better than I knew myself.

For once, it was so nice to talk to another Unmasked person.

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A/N: Omg…I was supposed to finish this but I couldn’t. There’s one more part. So this is technically going to be a three shot…hahaha…sorry…it got less angsty than I thought but it’s going to get…intense O_O yeah…basically.