“Ladies and gentlemen,” the DJ bellowed into his microphone, “Let’s all stand for the newly-weds, Choi Siwon and Sooyoung!” The reception cheered and hollered as the couple walked hand-in-hand waving to everyone. There was excitement in their eyes as they enjoyed waving to the rambunctious crowd. Eventually, the cheering calmed down as the couple made their way to the center of the dance floor to begin their first dance. Everyone was standing up and busy taking photos and videos of the two. Kyungsoo had a big grin on his face as he watched his noona dance with the man she had loved for a few years now. She was never specific as to when they first met because she believe that the amount of years didn’t matter when it came to love. 

 

The boy couldn’t help but chuckle when Siwon’s hand tried to go lower than her back. Sooyoung immediately batted the curious hand away, but the sparkle in her eyes meant that there was just more to come later at night. Soon other couple began to join the newly-weds on the dance floor, and Kyungsoo couldn’t help but notice Jongin and the pretty girl with pink hair making their way to the dance floor. He tried not to frown as Jongin held her close to his chest. And he tried not to wince as she rested her head on his shoulder. 

 

Kyungsoo’s heart grew heavy as he sat back down. Joonmyun looked at him funny, but he just shrugged it off. He watched as Yixing shyly offered Joonmyun to dance with him. And to Kyungsoo’s shock, his brother immediately said yes. The two of them walked timidly hand-in-hand to the dance floor. As much as Kyungsoo wanted to be happy for his brother, he couldn’t fight back the unsettling feeling in his stomach.

 

“Don’t be jealous,” someone whispered into his ear, “I can assure they’re just friends.”

 

Kyungsoo whipped to his side to see Jessica smiling mischievously, “I-I wasn’t-”

 

“You are,” she nudged him and eyed his stomach, “I can see it.”

 

He shook his head furiously and placed his hands on his lap instead, “I really wasn’t-”

 

“She’s my sister, Krystal,” she explained, “Jongin and she are friends from his old  dance school. They hadn’t seen each other since then.”

 

“O-Oh-”

 

“Besides,” Jessica continued with a smile, “Krystal has a girlfriend.”

 

“W-What?”

 

Jessica pointed over to where Jongin and Krystal were standing near the dance floor. He noticed a girl dressed up nicely in a tuxedo with her hair short hair slicked back. He let his jaw drop when Krystal immediately let go of Jongin’s arm and ran towards her girlfriend who picked her up and spun her around. Jongin laughed along with the two girls when they kissed each other on the lips.

 

Jessica chuckled, “Stop staring. It’s rude.”

 

Kyungsoo’s cheek flamed, “S-Sorry.”

 

“Is he your boyfriend?” Jessica asked.

 

“No!” Kyungsoo squealed in embarrassment.

 

“Are you sure,” Jessica teased, “Because you two would look really cute together.”

 

“We’re not...” Kyungsoo denied.

 

“Not yet,” Jessica giggled, “Not just yet.” She stood up and tugged Kyungsoo’s hands. “Come dance with me for a bit?”

 

“Um, but your boyfriend-”

 

Jessica rolled her eyes and pointed over to the bar. He noticed Taecyeon and five other boys having a grand old time with the bartender, “He apparently needs to drink before he has fun.” She huffed. “Boys.” Without further hesitation, she grabbed Kyungsoo’s hand and headed for the dance floor.

 

By now, the DJ was already beginning to play some upbeat music, and the dance floor was crowding with other people. Jessica brought him to the center and intertwined their fingers together. Kyungsoo felt himself blush; even though he was never attracter to girls per say, he couldn’t deny how beautiful she was. Jessica brought him in closer so they were dancing chest to chest now.

 

Suddenly, Jessica squealed and let go of Kyungsoo’s hands. Kyungsoo looked up to see an awfully smiley Taecyeon holding her by the waist. “You started dancing without me already?”

 

Jessica shrugged him off and went back to holding Kyungsoo’s hands, “Well yeah, you were too busy getting buzzed anyway.”

 

Kyungsoo found it amazing how they could hear each other perfectly in the reception hall; it was awfully rowdy.

 

“But you know I can’t dance without a drink or two.” Taecyeon whined as his hands found their way to his girlfriend’s hips.

 

Jessica was about to reply but was cut off when a “Kyunggie” was screeched, and the said boy was immediately sandwiched in a hug. Kyungsoo inwardly sighed as he knew it would be.

 

“We were looking all over for you,” Baekhyun exclaimed, “We thought you’d be sitting down!”

 

“And then here you are dancing with a pretty girl,” Chanyeol grinned, “At least it’s better than you dancing with-”

 

“Kyungsoo,” an all too familiar voice called out to him, “Hey!”

 

Suddenly, Kyungsoo felt something flutter in his stomach. They hadn’t eaten dinner yet though. His knees started to buckle when he noticed Jongin coming closer. Jongin was just wearing a crisp white dress shirt adorned with a skinny black tie, black trousers, and a studded belt with a skull on it. There was nothing magnificent about the outfit, but Kyungsoo suddenly felt extremely self-conscious as to how he looked. Was Jongin always this good-looking? Jongin’s hair was slicked back rather than its normal self. Kyungsoo mentally decided that Jongin looked really y with his hair pushed back. Kyungsoo felt himself blush at the thought.

 

“Hey, is the little tyke okay,” Taecyeon murmured into Jessica’s ear as he pulled her in closer to him, “He seems a bit... Frozen?

 

“Kyungsoo,” Jessica softly said as she touched his shoulder, “Are you alright?”

 

Kyungsoo didn’t pay attention to them. Kyungsoo couldn’t pay attention to them. Not when Jongin was only a few feet and people away from him. He quickly brought the back of his hand to his face and averted his eyes downwards. It was starting to become a bad habit, Kyungsoo noticed, especially when Jongin was involved.

 

“Kyungsoo,” Jongin smiled as he was in earshot, “Hey-”

 

Before Jongin could finish his sentence, the nerves hit him, and Kyungsoo sprinted towards the bathroom. His mind was a jumbled mess. He kept thinking over and over about how handsome Jongin looked in simple dress attire. His hair looked so, so y pushed back. Just thinking about it made Kyungsoo blush harder. Why did this always happen?

 

He pushed the bathroom doors open and headed straight for the handicap stall. He looked the door and plopped himself on the toilet seat. Kyungsoo didn’t even need to go to the bathroom; he just needed to calm himself down. He tried to steady his heartbeat but with no prevail. His mind kept wandering back to the images of Jongin looking so perfect and- Oh, no. Kyungsoo buried his head in his hands. He shouldn’t be thinking of Jongin that much. He’s just a friend. He’s only a friend. He’s-

 

“Kyungsoo?” 

 

The boy’s head whipped up as a response to the voice calling him. “Kyungsoo, baby? Are you here?”

 

Kyungsoo sighed, “I-I’m here, Baekhyun-hyung.” He stood up from his seat on the toilet to unlock the handicap stall.

 

“Kyunggie, baby,” Baekhyun cooed as he entered the stall and locked it, “What’s wrong?”

 

Kyungsoo tried to think of what was wrong, but he couldn’t. He didn’t want to say anything about Jongin, and how much the latter keeps making his own heart do funny things. Or even why his face becomes flushed or how he himself becomes flustered.

 

“You’re thinking again.” Baekhyun smiled as he rubbed Kyungsoo’s hand. He motioned the younger to sit back down on the toilet. Baekhyun resorted to squatting down next to him. “What are you thinking about?”

 

“I-I don’t know.” Kyungsoo mumbled.

 

Baekhyun stayed quiet for a bit before continuing, “It’s Jongin, isn’t it?” Kyungsoo gasped to himself so Baekhyun went on. “It was a little obvious.”

 

“I don’t like him.” Kyungsoo groaned as he buried his head in his hands again.

 

“I never said you did,” Baekhyun replied. He took on of Kyungsoo’s hands and rubbed it gently, “But I think you do.”

 

“I don’t.” Kyungsoo retorted.

 

“But you get butterflies every time you see him,” Baekhyun began coolly, “And I can’t help but notice that twinkle in your eyes or that pink in your cheeks every time you talk to him.”

 

Kyungsoo just wanted the toilet to swallow him up now.

 

“I think it’s safe to say you like him, Kyungsoo-yah.” Baekhyun concluded.

 

Kyungsoo shook his head frantically, “I-I can’t- I can’t like him.”

 

The boy couldn’t see Baekhyun frown, “I don't see the problem with liking someone.”

 

“Because Baek-hyung,” Kyungsoo sighed, “He’s so- Well, you know- I- I just can’t like him.”

 

“Why?” Baekhyun was patient.

 

“Because,” Kyungsoo wailed, “Because he’s the literal definition of perfection. H-He can get anyone he wants, whenever he wants, and I’m just so, so not-”

 

“Kyung-”

 

“I’m just so ugly,” Kyungsoo cried, “I’m just so worthless and pathetic when I’m next to him. I don’t even know why he’s friends with me!”

 

“Kyungsoo, baby,” Baekhyun hushed, “Don’t say-”

 

“No, you don’t get it,” Kyungsoo hissed with tears running down his face, “You don’t understand t-the anxiety I get when it’s just me and J-Jongin. And it’s not even because i-it’s him. It’s because I-I get so anxious when people start to stare because he’s so good-looking while I’m so-”

 

“You two look perfect together. I don’t understand why you can’t like him more than a friend,” Baekhyun interrupted before Kyungsoo could let another sob escape, “I don’t know what’s so wrong about liking him.”

 

“He’s out of my league.”

 

“You two are inseparable. I highly doubt that.” Baekhyun pointed out.

 

“I-I’m pretty sure he doesn’t like-”

 

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, “Kyungsoo. Do I need to remind you he kissed you?”

 

“It was just practice-”

 

“He wanted to you two to come as dates here,” Baekhyun added, “And must I say, you’re not being a very good one.”

 

“Well, he, he was just teasing-”

 

Baekhyun sighed deeply, “Kyungsoo, why do you deny yourself happiness?”

 

Kyungsoo gulped, “I don’t know.”

 

“Kyungsoo...”

 

He bit his lip. “Because I’m scared,” Kyungsoo mumbled, “Every time I’m happy, something bad happens.” He exhaled sharply. “I-I’m scared I’m going to lose Jongin.”

 

“I don’t think that will happen, Kyunggie,” Baekhyun smiled gently at the younger, pushing away some stray hairs, “I really don’t think that will-”

 

“Kyungsoo?” Another voice asked quietly in the bathroom.

 

Baekhyun only kissed the top of Kyungsoo’s forehead before motioning he was leaving. Before Kyungsoo could react, Baekhyun had already opened the stall door, “Kyungsoo was just feeling a little nauseous with all that was going on in the reception.”

 

He heard Baekhyun whisper to the other person. He wanted to know what the older was saying, but he decided rooted to his seat. Kyungsoo listened to the bathroom door open and close. It was quiet for a few minutes before he heard a shuffling of feet move towards the handicap stall.

 

“Kyungsoo?” The boy looked up to see a worried Jongin. “Are you alright?”

 

Kyungsoo’s face flushed as Jongin walked closer to him, “I-I’m alright.”

 

“Baekhyun said you weren’t feeling well?” Jongin raised an eyebrow.

 

Kyungsoo shrugged, “I don’t know.” He really didn’t.

 

Jongin smiled, and Kyungsoo melted a little bit inside, “Are you feeling better?”

 

Kyungsoo’s heart skipped a beat, “I-I think so.”

 

“Perfect,” Jongin grabbed Kyungsoo’s hand to make the latter stand up, “We don’t want to miss the party. Sooyoung will be disappointed if she doesn’t see you out there.”

 

Kyungsoo giggled, “I guess.” 

 

Jongin intertwined their fingers together, and Kyungsoo prayed Jongin couldn’t feel his heartbeating, or the fact that his hands were starting to get a little clammy. Jongin brought him to sinks and started to dab a paper towel with water. Kyungsoo was confused until he brought the wet towel to Kyungsoo’s face and dabbed underneath his eyes.

 

“You don’t want your eyes to be swollen,” Jongin murmured, “You’re too cute for that.”

 

Kyungsoo’s breath hitched when he realized Jongin was so close. He could feel the latter breath right on his lips, and he could count the wrinkles on the latter’s concentrated forehead. Kyungsoo just prayed his cheeks weren’t bright pink right now.

 

Jongin smiled when he was finished, and Kyungsoo found it a little easier to breathe now. The younger fished through his pocket and pulled out some mints. He took one out of the case and held it up to Kyungsoo’s lips. Hesitantly, the older opened his mouth as Jongin popped the candy inside with his finger.

 

“Mints help with the nerves,” Jongin said, “Ready to go?”

 

Kyungsoo took a deep breath and nodded, “I think so.”

 

“Good,” Jongin beamed and laced their hands again, “I was worried that my date would ditch me.”

 

Kyungsoo didn’t reply. Instead he found himself miserably heating up at the word “date.” Jongin took notice of the other’s face but decided against teasing the boy. He just squeezed Kyungsoo’s hand a little tighter, and Kyungsoo knew everything was going to be okay.

 

I-I think I like you, Kim Jongin.

 

---

 

Jongin lead Kyungsoo back to the dance floor where the pretty girl with pink hair and her girlfriend were standing.

 

“Jongin,” the girl with pink hair exclaimed, “Where were you?”

 

The boy smiled and tugged Kyungsoo closer to him, “Looking for my date. Guys, this is Kyungsoo.”

 

Before Kyungsoo could even say hello, the two girl squealed excitedly and began pinching Kyungsoo’s cheeks and peppering his face with kisses. Kyungsoo could hear Jongin groan behind him, but he couldn’t turn around because he was still being prodded with affection. 

 

“Oh, Jongin, he is so cute,” the girl with pink hair giggled, “He’s so much cuter in real life than that picture you sent me.”

 

Kyungsoo’s eyes grew wide. What picture?

 

Jongin chuckled awkwardly before pulling Kyungsoo away from their clutches, “Let’s not talk about that, Krystal.”

 

“Oh, right,” Krystal’s eyes brightened, “I’m Krystal by the way. And this is my girlfriend Amber.” 

 

Amber offered a hand, and Kyungsoo took it, “Nice to meet you, Kyungsoo.”

 

“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Krystal explained happily, “Jongin literally does not shut up about you!”

 

Jongin doesn’t stop talking about him?

 

The younger’s grip tightened around Kyungsoo’s waist. “Krystal...”

 

“He literally becomes a teenage girl when he talks about you,” Krystal went on, “Our conversations are basically about you and how-”

 

“That’s enough Krystal.” Jongin warned. Kyungsoo felt shivers down his spine. Jongin sounded y angry.

 

Krystal only rolled her eyes and twirled her hair, “Whatever.” She looked to her partner and grabbed her hand. “Let’s dance!”

 

---

 

Jongdae was sitting down awkwardly on the side. He looked to see his sister and her boyfriend grinding the night away. He tried not to gag at the sight. His eyes wandered to where his cousin and his cute date and two other girls were dancing. Jongin had managed to grind behind Kyungsoo, but the latter immediately got embarrassed and pushed the younger away with a red face. Everything was fine until his eyes landed on that one person he didn’t want to see.

 

Joonmyun and Yixing were dancing together. Somehow, Joonmyun seemed to notice Jongdae and immediately waved to him. Jongdae gulped and averted his gaze. He wouldn’t be to handle seeing Joonmyun right now. He couldn’t handle seeing-

 

“Jongdae!” A voice called out.

 

The said boy looked up to see Joonmyun happily walking towards him with Yixing right behind him. Great.

 

“H-Hey, Joonmyun,” Jongdae swallowed his disappointment away, “How are you?”

 

“Pretty good.” Joonmyun smiled. Jongdae died a bit because he missed that angelic smile so much. “Do you remember Yixing? He was Lay in the club.”

 

“Of course,” Jongdae choked, “Hey Yixing.”

 

The boy just smiled and bowed politely.

 

Joonmyun smiled fondly at Yixing, and Jongdae pretended it was towards him, “How come you aren’t dancing?”

 

Jongdae scratched the back of his neck. I wanted to dance with you. “I’m not feeling it right now.”

 

Joonmyun pouted, and Jongdae tried his best not to crumble to that face, “Please? For me?” 

 

Jongdae fought back his tearing eyes, “I-”

 

“You’re in charge of this reception right?” Someone from behind them asked.

 

They all turned around to see a waiter with big eyes and chubby cheeks holding some plates. “You were in charge of this, right?” The waiter repeated.

 

“Y-Yeah...?” Jongdae hesitantly answered.

 

“Oh, good,” the waiter said with relief, “There seems to be a problem with the cake in the back. Do you think you can come back to see the damage?”

 

Jongdae gasped. Hyoyeon would be furious if something went wrong with the cake, “Of course.” He turned to Joonmyun and Yixing. “I have to go...”

 

Joonmyun just nodded and pulled Jongdae in for a hug. Jongdae forced himself not to hug back, “We’ll see you later Jongdae!” Yixing nodded, and the two departed.

 

Jongdae followed the waiter with heavy feet. He wasn’t really paying attention to where they were going until he realize they were outside.

 

“Why-”

 

“You looked like you were about to cry,” the waiter shrugged, “I figured I could at least help.”

 

“O-Oh,” Jongdae’s voice faltered, “Was it that obvious?”

 

The waiter thought for a minute, “Not really. I’m just good at reading people. Your friend seems very oblivious to everything though.”

 

Jongdae chuckled lightly, “He is.”

 

“The Chinese boy had a vibe that something was up but didn’t know exactly what it was,” the waiter continued, “If you were curious.”

 

“Thanks.” Jongdae murmured.

 

“I’m Minseok by the way,” the waiter said, “Can I have your phone?”

 

“Uh,” Jongdae gave him his phone anyway, “Sure?”

 

Minseok chuckled as he grabbed the phone, “You’re not very good with this whole flirting thing, huh?”

 

Jongdae’s cheeks heated up, “What?”

 

“My number’s in there, and I texted myself,” Minseok replied instead and gave Jongdae his phone back, “I’m going in first.”

 

Jongdae stared at the new contact in shock. Minseok only chuckled, “Close your mouth. Bugs might fly in.”

 

Jongdae smiled at the comment. Minseok sighed, “Smile more often. It suits you.”

 

The waiter turned around too soon to see the light blush on Jongdae’s cheeks.

 

---

 

 

It was some time around two in the morning; the wedding had ended some time around midnight. Jongdae and Jongin were relaxing in Jongin’s room. The older decided to sleep over Jongin’s house. Hyoyeon and the other bridesmaids had decided to stay a night in the hotel where the reception was held. 

 

The two of them were lying down on Jongin’s bed, staring aimlessly at the ceiling. Jongin took notice of his cousin’s surprising silence throughout the car ride home and getting ready for bed, but he eventually broke it.

 

“So how’d you think of the reception?” Jongdae asked.

 

Jongin shrugged, “It was alright.”

 

“Alright,” Jongdae gasped as he sat up, “Uh, what are you on? That was absolutely fabulous! Do you know how hard it was to book Jay Park as the DJ and-”

 

“I was kidding, geez,” Jongin laughed, “It was a lot of fun.”

 

“A lot of fun or a lot of fun?” Jongdae suggested with a mischievous grin.

 

Jongin pushed his cousin’s face away, “A lot of fun.”

 

Jongdae snuggled back underneath the blankets, “Ooh, tell me.”

 

“Nothing really happened,” Jongin recalled, “We just spent the night together.”

 

“I know, I saw,” Jongdae retched, “Kyungsoo’s face was basically the color scheme of the wedding.”

 

Jongin chuckled as he reminisced about the night. They basically did everything together. He remembered when he introduced Kyungsoo to Krystal and Amber and the two mercilessly attacked the poor boy with pokes and pinches of affection, ogling how cute and adorable he was. He and Kyungsoo ended up dancing for most of the night (Jongin even got to grind with Kyungsoo for half of song before Kyungsoo got really embarrassed). During dessert, Jongin took the liberty of smearing cake frosting on Kyungsoo’s lips. The temptation of the icing away was there, but he didn’t want to mortify Kyungsoo in front of all the people. But in the end, he ended up settling for kissing Kyungsoo on the forehead and cheek before they both left. He couldn’t even say a proper good night because Kyungsoo was already scrambling away, but Jongin saw the happiness in the boy’s eyes (he ended up texting Kyungsoo good night).

 

Jongin smiled, “I know. Wasn’t he just so cute?”

 

“Just ask him out already,” Jongdae groaned, “It’s so gross.”

 

Jongin hummer but decided not to answer, “So how was the wedding for you?”

 

“It was alright.” Jongdae mumbled.

 

Oh. “Jongdae-hyung-”

 

“They’re really good together, you know,” Jongdae continued, “Like I can really see the chemistry between them and-”

 

“Hyung, it’s okay-”

 

“Jongin, I-” Jongdae hiccuped and to his reluctance, he felt small tears drip from his eyes.

 

“Hyung, it’s okay,” Jongin murmured as he brought his older cousin in for a hug, “You don’t need to say anything.”

 

“But-”

 

Jongin kissed his cousin atop the latter’s head, “Just go to sleep, okay?” Jongdae didn’t respond but moved in closer to Jongin. The two heard a vibration on the bed drawer. Jongin sighed and looked to see who it was.

 

“Hyung?” 

 

Jongdae hummed in his cousin’s chest as a reply. 

 

“Someone named Minseok texted you?”

 

Jongdae gasped and reached for his phone.

 

from: Minseok

 

Don’t you be moping over him now. Sleep well.

 

Jongdae bit his lip and put his phone back on the drawer. He didn’t feel the need to reply. Jongin didn’t ask either. He just let his hyung rest on his chest as the slept the night away. No tears were shed that night.

 

---

*{author's note}*