This is really cheesy and awful and the failed summary. Kill me already sobs.

 

 

 

 

 

Every relationship had its own story.

Jongin and Kyungsoo’s was no different.

It was funny to think that Jongin had blatantly confessed even though he hardly knew Kyungsoo. All he knew was that his heart would beat faster than a race car at the sight of the older male. At his adorable, gentle smile. At his shy gaze. At his perfect milky white skin. His heartbeat would erratically quicken because everything about Kyungsoo was so perfect and intoxicating. Fortunately, Jongin was still able to control himself (even though all he wanted to do was just to shove Kyungsoo up on the wall and kiss him).

Do Kyungsoo was driving him crazy.

The first time he saw Kyungsoo was at Sehun’s birthday party. Jongin had a second thought of coming that night because he was exhausted from the shift at the hospital earlier, but Sehun was his best friend and the latter would just kill him if he didn’t show up. So reluctantly, he did. Jongin was determined to just congratulate Sehun, had a few drinks and excused himself to go home because he needed a rest after the long day. It would take around fifteen minutes—half and hour max.

Which vanished instantly to God knew where the moment he spotted Kyungsoo in the corner, who was engrossed in a quiet chat with Junmyeon.

Jongin found himself staring. And staring. And he was still staring, clearly unable to take his eyes off even after fifteen minutes.

He had always liked Junmyeon because the older male had the smile of an angel, but at that moment, Jongin wanted to just step in between them and break them apart. But of course he couldn’t—because Yifan would definitely send him flying through the window if he would even try to lean a finger on his boyfriend. Jongin was too stunned at how beautiful Kyungsoo was, with that brunette hair and gorgeous big eyes of his. Even though they were only a few steps apart, Jongin couldn’t move his legs to walk over and join the chat.

It took him less than a minute to know that it was love at first sight.

His plan of ‘to congratulate Sehun, have a few drinks and go home’ was obviously forgotten.

In the end, he went home after Kyungsoo did and it was around two hours later.

 

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

 

They met again on Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s anniversary party.

Jongin’s heart stuttered because Kyungsoo looked even more stunning in long sleeves shirt and a pair of dark jeans. The pretty male sat alone in the corner (it seemed to be his favorite spot in every room in every occassion) with a drink in his hand. Kyungsoo looked lonely and now that Jongin thought about it, the male hadn’t really talked to anyone except Junmyeon and he only gave the others a slight nod and a polite smile—as if to prevent anyone to know him better.

The tanned skin male scanned the room only to find Junmyeon was in a lip locking session with Kris. The dragon had definitely tainted the angel. He rolled his eyes at the thought before deadpanning.

Kyungsoo is alone.

A faint hope bloomed in Jongin’s heart.

Junmyeon was busy making out with Kris—Jongin threw another look over his shoulder to make sure—so it should be a golden chance for him to walk over there and start something decent. Kyungsoo got no one to talk to at the moment and it was a perfect opportunity for Jongin. It was a perfect plan and Jongin rose from his seat with determination.

I will talk to you, Kyungsoo-yah. I will talk to you, you will talk to me, we will talk to each other—

Only to find out that he chickened out when Kyungsoo shifted his eyes to him. Jongin automatically spun around and pretended that he was aiming for the bathroom. He groaned in distaste and felt like clawing himself because he had just wasted a very good opportunity.

Jongin finally came out of the bathroom when Chanyeol bang loudly on the door.

It was around half an hour later.

 

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

 

Jongin made a promise to kill himself if he still hadn’t talked to Kyungsoo the next time they met.

Unfortunately, their third meeting took place in a disco club, where everyone was dancing to the loud music.

Jongin hung his head dejectedly because Kyungsoo was there by the bar with his arms crossed tightly on his chest. It seemed improper for him to start a conversation in such place—why wasn’t he brave enough last time? Apparently the male didn’t feel comfortable with the place and Jongin made a mental note that if they would ever date, he would never allow Kyungsoo to go to the club anymore. He was still thinking about the best way to establish a conversation with the pretty male when he saw two men walked to the love of his life on purpose.

Jongin pursed his lips in dislike because it was obvious that they were trying to hit on Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo seemed terribly uncomfortable as he shifted on the stool and his expression became worried. Jongin could only keep on staring and unconsciously fisted his hands.

Say no, Kyungsoo. Say no.

But Kyungsoo didn’t seem like he was able to speak. The male seemed to glue his back against the counter, unable to do anything.

And then it happened.

Kyungsoo’s eyes suddenly caught his.

Their gazes met and Kyungsoo gave him a longing stare—as if he was asking for help—and it gave Jongin all the strength he needed. He stalked forward through the sea of people to reach Kyungsoo and casually put an arm on him before leaning forward to the counter to order two glasses of wine.

The bartender shot him a weird look but obeying anyway when Jongin threw him a few bills.

Kyungsoo’s eyes dropped to Jongin’s protective arm—or was it possessive?—on him before slightly leaning closer, deciding to play along. The bold gesture showed that Kyungsoo wasn’t available and both of the men shrugged before moving on to anyone else they could hit for the night. Kyungsoo sighed gratefully and shyly stared at the male who had just literally saved him.

“Jongin...ah?”

Jongin had to close his eyes for a moment because it was the first time for Kyungsoo to say his name. He knew my name? He had never thought his name sounded so beautiful and mentally thanked his parents for it. Kyungsoo was still sitting on his chair and Jongin was still standing protectively beside him, but their height was perfect even in such condition. Jongin made a mistake by looking down and found out that Kyungsoo’s face was very close to his.

He gulped.

It was now or never.

Jongin took a deep breath as he snatched the glasses from the bartender and held them in front of Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo tilted his head to a side as he eyed the glasses questioningly. Jongin opened his mouth to say something but decided to just lean forward to Kyungsoo’s ear because the place was too damn loud.

“Please go out with me.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes snapped even wider as he clasped a hand over his mouth.

Jongin couldn’t bring himself to look at Kyungsoo in the eye, so he continued. “I know it’s probably too soon because we barely know each other, but...please understand that this isn’t a joke—or worse, a dare. I’m doing this because I really want to and you’ve been on my mind for...only God knows how long.” He pulled away slightly, gesturing the glasses in his hands. It was then that Kyungsoo realized the glasses contained different color of wine.

“J—Jongin-ah?”

Jongin felt like he never wanted Kyungsoo to stop saying his name. “How about I give you options? The red one is for yes, and the white one is for no.”

Kyungsoo turned several shades of red as he palmed his mouth for the second time. He seemed panicked. Jongin found himself panicking too because what the hell was he doing, confessing in a place like that. His hands started to feel numb because he was getting tired of cradling the glasses. As much as he wanted Kyungsoo to choose red, the possibility of him choosing the white one was greater. He had a feeling that he would definitely get the white...

Jongin grimly pressed his lips into a thin line.             

At least you tried, Jongin. Instead of moping and just doing nothing.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the doe eyed male finally raised his hand to touch one of the glasses and Jongin found himself squeaking in a not so manly way. “Red is for yes!”

Kyungsoo flinched his hand back hesitantly and looked up at Jongin.

“I’m—I’m sorry,” Jongin stammered breathlessly. “Red—red is for yes, and white is for no.”

A shy smile tugged on Kyungsoo’s lips before he moved his hand again to the same glass he was about to reach, certainly this time.

It was a yes.

Jongin accidentally dropped the other glass onto the floor.

 

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

 

It didn’t take long for their friends to find out about their relationship.

Especially Junmyeon, being the closest one to Kyungsoo. He had a feeling the angelic male was going to be the first person Kyungsoo tell and he honestly didn’t mind.

Jongin was caught up with his work that he didn’t have the time to hang out with his friends anymore. It was Sehun—followed by Kyungsoo’s text of ‘Baby, are you coming?’—who texted him about him and the others had planned to go to the movie tonight and he had agreed of tagging along (because Kyungsoo was definitely going to be there and he wanted to meet him the most instead of the others).

They didn’t meet often for dates because of their schedules. Kyungsoo was working as a marketing representative in a well known company from nine to five and Jongin, who was still an intern in one of the biggest hospitals had different shifts everyday.

He had arrived sooner than Kyungsoo and casually had a chat with the others. The movie was about to start when Kyungsoo finally showed up and the latter dashed straight into Jongin’s arms. The scene caused the others to turn their heads to them. Jongin threw a quick glance at his friends—Luhan’s jaw was slightly dropped. Junmyeon commented nothing but to give Jongin an unreadable look. It was a glare, to be exact. Jongin felt himself swallowing the lump down his throat because Junmyeon had never glared to anyone. Chanyeol just shot him an odd stare and Sehun looked a bit lost before grinning. The rest of the group decided to wave it off.

“I miss you,” Kyungsoo sighed as he buried his head on Jongin’s chest.

Jongin slowly pressed his lips against Kyungsoo’s forehead because the latter was definitely exhausted and yet he still forced himself to come. He could’ve just said no, they could meet another time. And his friends’ behavior at their embrace told him that something was off.

But Jongin felt his life became complete after Kyungsoo’s presence in his.

And oh God, Kyungsoo had the nicest laugh. He was also the kindest person Jongin had ever met. It awed him that such person did exist. For Jongin, Kyungsoo was the epitome of perfection. He had the most beautiful smile, had the most beautiful eyes, the most beautiful, delicate hands, the most beautiful skin... Jongin ran out of words just how to describe how perfect the male was. Everything about Kyungsoo was flawless in his eyes.

Their first kiss happened when Jongin walked Kyungsoo home to his apartment that night with their hands entwining all the way. Jongin wanted to wait for another date (especially when it was just the two of them and not with the bunch of others), but the moment just seemed perfect and thankfully, Kyungsoo didn’t shy away when he leaned forward for a kiss. Their first kiss was tender and naive. None of them wanted to deepen the kiss at the time because it was just perfect that way.

He slowly broke into a sheepish grin because Kyungsoo’s lips were soft and tasted wonderful.

He couldn’t ask more for a perfect life.

Kim Jongin was completely head over heels for Do Kyungsoo.

 

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

 

It was one of the rare mornings where Jongin stumbled upon Baekhyun without Chanyeol by his side. Of course, Chanyeol was probably working and Baekhyun, being the heir of the family’s company just liked to skip around. Jongin envied his luck for being born in one of the richest family in the city.

“So how’s work?” Baekhyun asked casually as he took another sip of his coffee.

Jongin brought the cup closer to his face, relishing the wonderful smell before shrugging. “Same old, I guess.”

Baekhyun tapped a finger on his cheek. “That reminds me... You’re applying to that other hospital, right? How did it go?”

“Ah,” Jongin winced at how the warm liquid went down his throat. “Great...I think? A few weeks ago, they had called me for an interview but I’m not really sure how it turned out.”

“That’s wonderful!” Baekhyun beamed. “I mean...well, just be prepared. If you’re accepted, you’re gonna have to move to another town, right?”

Jongin nodded absently. “Yeah...I haven’t told Kyungsoo about it yet—“

“Kyungsoo?”

There was a hint of surprise in the older male’s tone that it made Jongin to turn to him. “Yeah.”

“Do Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun said again to make sure and earned a nod. “Chanyeol wasn’t joking about that? I mean, you’re really dating Kyungsoo? Junmyeon’s friend? The one who can’t say no to anyone?”

His last sentence got Jongin to deadpan. “What?”

Baekhyun seemed to realize what he had just said and quickly shook his head. “I—I mean... I didn’t mean... I...”, the male hesitantly pulled away. “You—you didn’t know? Seriously? It’s just a bad habit and everyone knows it so...”

“What?” Jongin’s voice sounded a bit dangerous this time.

“I—I gotta go,” Baekhyun hastily gathered his things in a record time and threw him a wry grin. “See you, Jongin-ah.”

 

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

 

You’re really dating Kyungsoo? The one who can’t say no to anyone?

Ever since their last encounter at the coffee shop, Baekhyun’s words kept on replaying like a broken record.

Jongin didn’t believe it at first (more like he refused to believe).

But as their relationship progressed from weeks to months, he came to realize that what Baekhyun said was probably true (because it was also Baekhyun and he never messed with people). There were times where Kyungsoo was supposed to be home already and gave him a call, but it turned out that he was still working—Jongin would gawk because really, at such ungodly hour? What kind of work was that?

There were also times when Kyungsoo stood him up and his reasons were always ‘something came up at work and it couldn’t be helped’. Jongin didn’t really mind, but when it happened for the fourth time, he thought he would just really appreciate it if Kyungsoo would just say ‘no, I’m busy’ instead of ‘yes, I’ll try and see you later’.

Maybe what Baekhyun said was right.

Kyungsoo was really the type that couldn’t say no.

He flashed to the night of his confession, to the scene where two men were hitting on him and Kyungsoo didn’t seem to be able to reject them. Jongin also recalled Baekhyun saying something that it was a bad habit and everyone knew it. It probably meant that it was Kyungsoo’s weakness for being the nicest person so everyone was taking advantages of him. Fortunately, it didn’t affect much to their relationship because at least twice a week, they would still be able to meet—although Jongin was kind of worried for Kyungsoo’s health because the latter looked so damn tired and exhausted at every meeting.

But Kyungsoo had never protested.

Instead, he would always smile and kiss Jongin longingly whenever they met.

Jongin tried not to think and ask Kyungsoo about it even though it bothered him too much.

He had just finished taking a shower that night when Kyungsoo showed up in his apartment, looking weary and drained. It was pretty late and judging by the time, Kyungsoo should’ve gone home by then. The taller of the two seemed shocked at his appearance and was about to ask what happened when all of a sudden, Kyungsoo just collapsed into his arms. The male started sobbing almost hysterically as he buried his head on Jongin’s chest.

Jongin felt a terrible pang in his heart to see his boyfriend in such condition. He carefully dragged Kyungsoo to the couch and tried to listen, maybe Kyungsoo tried to say something between his tears, but the male did nothing other than crying and gasping for air. Jongin only sighed as he waited patiently for Kyungsoo to calm down. He rapidly pressed a chaste kiss on Kyungsoo’s forehead to let him know that he was going to be alright. When his boyfriend finally stopped crying after quite a while, he rubbed his eyes weakly and snuggled closer to Jongin.

“I’m sorry, Jongin-ah,” he muttered bashfully.

It got him to smile and instead of asking him what was wrong, Jongin quietly replied,

“Mind telling me?”

Kyungsoo obviously hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. “It’s nothing...I...I just feel like crying for no reason...”

Jongin decided to drop the subject as he felt Kyungsoo’s warm breath on his neck. The male clearly needed to rest—it was probably a bad day for him. They stayed like that and when Kyungsoo had fallen asleep on his arms, Jongin gently carried him to the bedroom. He pulled a blanket over Kyungsoo’s slender figure and laid down beside him.

Why are you holding back, Kyungsoo?

Within minutes, he followed Kyungsoo to the dreamland.

Morning finally came and Jongin was the first one between them to wake up. His back hurt and his hands were numb because something heavy was on them. Jongin let out a soft grunt and cracked his eyes open.

It was definitely the best view he had ever witnessed.

Kyungsoo was there by his side with his eyes closed. His chest was moving up and down steadily with his fingers curled loosely on Jongin’s. Never in his life before that he had seen such a perfect view. Jongin thought he wouldn’t mind if his hands went numb forever as long as Kyungsoo was in his arms and nothing else mattered. It was definitely worth it.

Jongin couldn’t resist the urge to kiss Kyungsoo softly on the lips.

You are so perfect, Do Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo stirred in his sleep from the subtle touch. He fluttered his eyes open and groggily stared at Jongin. “Hm,” he hummed sleepily and snuggled closer to his boyfriend. “Morning, Jongin-ah.”

“Morning,” Jongin poked Kyungsoo’s nose fondly. “What time do you need to work?”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened in surprise as he sprang into a sitting position, startling the younger male. “What time is it? I—I need to arrive early today because Kyuhyun-hyung said he couldn’t make it this morning and he asked me to cover him...”

Jongin pursed his lips grimly at the fact that his boyfriend had to cover for someone else’s work. “Relax, baby. It’s still seven in the morning. You can still rest for a while.”

Kyungsoo nervously crawled off of the bed. “I—I need to be at the office by eight...”

Jongin narrowed his eyes before sighing in defeat. “How about you take a shower and I’ll fix you breakfast?”

“Shower...”, Kyungsoo trailed off as he gazed down at himself. “Maybe I should go home first. I didn’t bring any change of clothes...”

“Is that even a problem?” Jongin rolled his eyes as he walked to his wardrobe to search for something. His hands were put on his hips as he observed the choice of clothes. Jongin grabbed something out of the wardrobe and threw it to Kyungsoo’s direction. “You can wear one of my shirts. I’m sure it’ll fit you. And if you don’t like what I picked for you, you can just pick by yourself.”

Kyungsoo caught the thrown clothes with a slight blush. He slowly brought Jongin’s shirt to his face, his lips pressed slightly against the layers of fabric. “I—I can wear this?”

“Of course,” Jongin blinked. “Unless...you don’t want to?”

“I—I want to!” Kyungsoo hastily replied and before Jongin could say anything else, he ran toward the bathroom, clutching Jongin’s shirt dearly in his arms.

Jongin was done making sandwiches for their breakfast when Kyungsoo shyly peeked from the doorway. He raised his eyebrows questioningly and his boyfriend slowly took a step forward to reveal himself. The shirt looked a bit too big on Kyungsoo because even though Jongin was thinner, he had a habit to buy the clothes a size bigger (and he was glad he did because now it came in handy).

Kyungsoo smiled shyly as he extended his arms, expecting a comment or two from Jongin.

“Wow,” Jongin breathed in awe. “It fits you.”

“It’s not that,” Kyungsoo pouted slightly. “I’m wearing your shirt.”

Jongin faked a frown. “Yeah...?”

Kyungsoo frowned back before crossing his arms on his chest. “Aren’t you happy with that? I’m wearing my boyfriend’s shirt. It...it feels nice.”

Jongin chuckled and motioned Kyungsoo to come closer. “I know,” he pulled his boyfriend into a tight embrace and gave him a fond stare. “I feel so damn proud of it.”

They kissed sweetly in the middle of the room, with Jongin’s arm wrapped possessively across his back, pressing Kyungsoo’s smaller feature against his. Their kisses were different this time. It was much deeper than the last time because Jongin’s tongue asked for permission to enter Kyungsoo’s mouth and the latter parted his lips slightly to grant the access. Kyungsoo let out a small moan as their tongues danced in a slow pace and Jongin linked their fingers together.

The happiness was overwhelming.

It made Jongin to think of something and he knew he was never going to regret it.

“Kyungsoo-yah.”

“Hm?”

“Move in with me,” Jongin whispered between their kisses. “Please.”

Kyungsoo froze the moment those words were said and abruptly pulled away. Their hands kept on linking, but his eyes showed genuine fear while Jongin’s showed confusion. “M—move in?”

“I know it’s too fast,” Jongin quickly explained and he felt Kyungsoo loosening their grip. “But...that way, if you ever feel like crying again, all you have to do is just go home.”

Jongin tightened their grip stubbornly. He would never let go.

“To me.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes were full of emotions. “To go home...to you?”

“Yes.”

“...is it...okay?”

“Silly,” Jongin playfully jabbed Kyungsoo’s side. “Of course it’s okay. Or would you like to go home to someone else?” He meant it as a joke, but from the other’s worried expression, it definitely came out differently. Kyungsoo pressed his lips into a thin line before shaking his head and leaned forward to nuzzle Jongin’s neck.

Please don’t say such mean things.

“I only want to go home to you, Jongin-ah...”

 

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

 

It was like a dream came true.

Kyungsoo accepted his confession, Kyungsoo was in a relationship with him, Kyungsoo agreed to move in with him...

Something churned at the bottom of Jongin’s stomach and he didn’t know why he felt uncomfortable with his own feeling. The male spaced out momentarily before realizing that the person on the other line had picked up. “H—hi, hyung.”

“Jongin-ah,” Junmyeon responded flatly.

“U—um,” Jongin gulped nervously. “Are you busy at the moment?”

“No, not really.”

“Oh...” Jongin trailed off and scratched his head. Maybe Junmyeon wasn’t in the mood to chat. “Uh...”

“Is there anything you want to ask?”

Jongin deadpanned. “As a matter of fact, I do. I... I feel like you’re the closest one to Kyungsoo and—“

“Oh my God. Did you regret it?”

“What?”

“Did you regret about Kyungsoo?”

“I regret nothing!!” Jongin sputtered and facepalmed. “It’s just...it’s just that the other day, Baekhyun-hyung told me something about him...not being able to say no...?”

Junmyeon took a long pause to answer. “Yeah.”

“I...I see.”

“...is that all?”

“Y—yeah. I just feel like asking.”

“Okay.”

There was a moment of awkward silence and Jongin heard Junmyeon shifting and closing something. “...hyung, is there any chance that—“

“I don’t think so.”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”

“He just didn’t, okay?” Junmyeon audibly sighed. “It was purely his choice to choose the glass. It wasn’t forced or anything.”

“...seriously, hyung?”

“Yes. I just—don’t hurt him, okay? He’s like a brother to me.”

“I—I won’t.”

“Promise me.”

“I promise you, hyung. I won’t.”

 

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

 

If Jongin thought by living together it would make things better, he was wrong.

It became worse.

He was starting to witness the negative sides of Kyungsoo, of his disability to say no. It was never that obvious when they lived in different places, but after they did live together, slowly, but surely, things were revealed. Jongin had a lot of morning shifts that month, so he was the one who got home first almost everyday—only to find that Kyungsoo wasn’t home yet.

Kyungsoo was starting to get home late—sometimes very late that Jongin didn’t even realize when did he come home. Whenever Kyungsoo arrived, he would do his best to not wake Jongin. But no matter how hard he tried to be quiet whenever he climbed into the bed, Jongin would always, always snap awake and consciously pulled Kyungsoo to his chest. He would never ask why Kyungsoo got home so late because he didn’t want to hear lies like ‘it was nothing’ or ‘he was alright’ and stuffs. It was work, and work , and work sometimes killed people, and so Jongin decided to ask nothing. He would just wrap an arm protectively around Kyungsoo, telling him to go to sleep and have a nice dream, because it was just what Kyungsoo needed—instead of endless questions.

Sometimes Kyungsoo couldn’t even make it to their bed and he passed out on the couch—which caused Jongin to be extremely panicked when he jolted up awake in the morning, because he thought his boyfriend didn’t come home. The sight of Kyungsoo shivering slightly and hugging himself on the couch pained him. Jongin would just sigh in exasperation, grateful that at least his boyfriend managed to make it home safely and carefully brought Kyungsoo to their warm bedroom.

Days turned to weeks, but nothing had changed.

Jongin never asked and Kyungsoo never told him.

Kyungsoo would smile at Jongin and Jongin would smile back, because their relationship was alright even like that. It was a big lie that Jongin kept on telling himself because no, their relationship wasn’t alright at all. Jongin wanted Kyungsoo to tell him everything, to share what was on his mind because at least it would make him feel a bit better instead of keeping everything inside. Jongin would never ask but everytime he heard painful sobbing in the bathroom—no matter how discreet Kyungsoo tried by turning on the shower, he knew that Kyungsoo was hurting.

And he hated himself for not being able to do anything about it.

 

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

 

Kyungsoo looked paler and paler each day but he still managed to put on a sincere smile everytime he got home.

Jongin wondered where he got the ability to put on such a perfect fake smile—he definitely hang out too long with Junmyeon.

But his patience was running thin when Kyungsoo came home with a fever that night.

The taller of the two was about to leave for his midnight shift when Kyungsoo almost collapsed and would definitely hit the floor if Jongin hadn’t caught him on time. Kyungsoo was burning. Jongin found himself gritting his teeth in great dislike as he rummaged his drawer for a thermometer. It really irritated him to no end. Just how much longer would his colleagues continue to burden him? Didn’t they know that Kyungsoo was a human with no super power?

Kyungsoo feebly coughed as Jongin put a washed cloth on his forehead. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled quietly as he curled himself into a ball. “I’m gonna be alright, Jongin-ah. You should go, I don’t want you to be late for work.”

“And you should take a day off,” Jongin reprimanded almost roughly and Kyungsoo’s shoulders flinched. “I’ll try going home sooner but I don’t think I can make it. I’ll probably go home around afternoon. And I want you to stay home and rest tomorrow.”

“But th—there’s an important meeting tomorrow,” Kyungsoo sniffled.

Jongin stared at him in disbelief. “And it’s your job to attend?”

Kyungsoo hesitated. “...not this one, actually, but Jinki-hyung said he—“

, Kyungsoo.

“Call them and tell them you can’t make it.”

“But...”

“Kyungsoo,” Jongin said warningly. “Listen to me. You can’t make it with this fever.”

Kyungsoo immediately shut his eyes at Jongin’s tone. He decided not to argue with his boyfriend anymore. “I’ll—I’ll call them tomorrow...”

Jongin sighed in desperation and leaned down to kissed Kyungsoo’s warm cheek. His lips were burning from the other male’s pale skin. He ran a hair through Kyungsoo’s hair as he whispered, “I’ll get going now. Be good and listen, alright? Get well soon, baby.”

Jongin didn’t leave until he was sure Kyungsoo had drank his medicine. Kyungsoo being sick just made him wanted to also take a day off because he wanted to take care of him. Realizing his boyfriend had fallen asleep from the effect of the pills he drank, Jongin was finally able to leave.

But really, he just had a bad feeling Kyungsoo wouldn’t listen.

 

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

 

Jongin came home to an empty apartment and a note.

Kyungsoo had left for work because—Jongin angrily shredded the note because whatever the reason was, his boyfriend needed to rest and that was final. He carelessly threw his bag onto the carpeted floor and tried reaching Kyungsoo, but his calls went straight to the voicemail. The next thing he knew, he was speeding to Kyungsoo’s office only to find out he was already leaving for the club—the secretary said something about them celebrating and it enraged him even more. Them. It meant that Kyungsoo wasn’t alone. Why the hell couldn’t his boyfriend say no? If the meeting was already over, he could just excuse himself to go home and rest. Why didn’t Kyungsoo realize his health was more important than anything?

Dammit, Kyungsoo.

Jongin raced to the said club and it was a miracle for him to arrive still in one piece. The tanned skin male frantically looked around and it didn’t take him long enough to spot his boyfriend by the bar. Kyungsoo looked like he was having trouble breathing. His breath was ragged and even with a single glance, anyone would know that the male wasn’t fit. He also looked like he was about to faint any minute—his face was utterly pale. Kyungsoo looked so small in the crowds—his delicate feature was almost squished against the counter as he helplessly tried to ignore two men shoving drinks to his face.

“Have a drink with us.”

“Please,” Kyungsoo shook his head weakly. “Please just leave me alone.”

“But you look like you need—“

“Hey,” Jongin intercepted coldly and Kyungsoo’s eyes widened at his sudden appearance. “He said, leave him alone.”

“Who are you to say?” One of the men looked at him challengingly.

“I’m going to claw your eyes out if you don’t get the away right now,” Jongin seethed and the two men quickly took a step back with their hands held up in the air. Fortunately they took a wise choise by retreating or else Jongin would be more than happy to punch them in the face.

“J—Jongin-ah?”

Jongin glowered at the people who were watching for a brief second before turning to Kyungsoo. “Let’s go home, Kyungsoo-yah.”

“B—but—“

“What??” Jongin snapped. “You can’t go home because your colleagues are here and you can’t say no to them even though they didn’t give a about your health??”

Kyungsoo blanched and lowered his gaze. Either it was because Jongin’s anger or because Jongin had never cursed before. Or it was both.

“I told you to stay home, right?? And yet you still—“

“Excuse me,” a pretty young male interrupted them with a frown. “I noticed that you’ve been screaming at my employee...in a public place. Kyungsoo-yah, are you alright?”

He was about to grab Kyungsoo from Jongin but his hand was slapped away by the latter.

“I’m your employee’s boyfriend,” he wrathly responded. “And if you ever care about your employee at all, Kyungsoo is sick and he needs to rest and for ’s sake, stop asking him anything just because he can’t decline!!!”

“Jongin, please,” Kyungsoo cried as he grabbed his boyfriend’s hand. “I’ll go home with you. Let’s go home. Please, just don’t—don’t hurt anyone...”

Jongin didn’t waste anymore time as he tugged Kyungsoo’s wrist and pushed him to walk in front of him. Kyungsoo threw his boss an apologetic look before letting himself be dragged by Jongin.

The boss could only stare dumbly in shock as the couple walked away to exit the loud place.

 

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

 

Kyungsoo cried in fear as he was thrown onto the bed.

Jongin’s hands on him were rough as he stripped Kyungsoo out of his clothes. The latter’s body was still burning—it seemed like the fever was even increasing—and Jongin’s cold hands made him shivered.

“So if they ask you to do their work, you would oblige??”

Kyungsoo whimpered.

“So if they told you to seduce a new client, you would do as told??”

Jongin tugged his pants down.

“So if they ask you to strip, you would just start ing your shirt??”

Kyungsoo sobbed as Jongin harshly pulled the tank top over his head. The latter threw him an oversized tee offhandedly and Kyungsoo obediently put it on with trembling hands.

“I’m—I’m sorry—“

“Stop apologizing!” Jongin admonished with a frustrated sigh. “Can’t you see that it’s not for me? Look at you, Kyungsoo-yah. For God’s sake, what if something bad happens to you just because you can’t decline everything? What do you think would have happened if I wasn’t there? You could’ve fainted and your friends would probably wouldn’t give a damn—“

He stopped talking as he dragged a hand down his face, covering his eyes. Jongin took a deep breath to calm down. It didn’t work. He took another breath and after the fifth attempt, it was finally working. Jongin grimaced.

“Is it that hard to say no?”

Kyungsoo slowly looked up to Jongin and the latter noticed the obvious bags under his eyes. Jongin stared at him blankly, obviously expecting an answer and Kyungsoo almost couldn’t bring himself to answer.

“I—“, Kyungsoo swallowed with difficulties. “I feel sorry—“

“Oh,” Jongin mockingly said. “You can’t say no because you pity them.”

Kyungsoo opened his mouth to say something to counter but Jongin beat him to it first.

“So you only say yes because you feel sorry for them?” Jongin’s expression darkened. “Just like you accepted me because you feel sorry if you didn’t?”

Kyungsoo gasped and his expression morphed into horror as he tried to take Jongin’s hand. The taller of the two slapped his hand away by instinct and Kyungsoo froze. He felt a terrible pang, knowing that his boyfriend had just rejected him.

“I understand,” Jongin grimly said. “You know what? I’ll just sleep on the couch tonight—“

“No,” Kyungsoo whispered quickly and Jongin narrowed his eyes.

“What did you say?”

“No,” Kyungsoo repeated desperately, a bit louder this time. “No, Jongin-ah, no, don’t...please don’t...” He started crying into his hands. Kyungsoo was sweating and his face was red from his fever.

Jongin felt his heart clenching tightly but did nothing to soothe his boyfriend. He still felt a bit angry.

“Don’t say such mean things...”, Kyungsoo pleaded sadly. “You know I need you...”

“I don’t know,” Jongin honestly replied and dropped his eyes to the blanket. “I don’t know anymore, Kyungsoo-yah. Maybe you don’t.”

“Would I pick the glass with the red wine if I only feel sorry for you? Would I let you kiss me? Would I agree to move in?” Hurt was splashed across Kyungsoo’s face as the tears streamed down his face. “Would  I stay...?”

Jongin shook his head in doubt. He was about to turn around and walk away, but was stopped by Kyungsoo’s touch.

“No, Jongin-ah, no...please don’t leave me...,” Kyungsoo hugged Jongin desperately from behind, his arms wrapped tightly on the latter’s waist. His nose was pressed against Jongin’s back and the taller male felt his back burning from the touch. “Please, I promise you, I will try to change...so please...”

Jongin felt his heart ached badly at the words and he slowly turned around to face Kyungsoo. He wiped Kyungsoo’s tears away with the back of his hand and the pretty male fluttered his eyes at the kind touch. Kyungsoo’s body was burning badly and Jongin felt guilty. He carelessly his dry lips and sighed. “Let’s just go to sleep.”

Kyungsoo weakly nodded and waited for his boyfriend to climb to the bed. The pretty male was still sobbing quietly when both of them lie down. They were face to face now and Kyungsoo wanted to snuggle and hug his boyfriend until morning, but he wasn’t sure if he was even allowed to touch Jongin. His boyfriend still seemed upset from what happened earlier. Kyungsoo sniffled sadly and did nothing.

Jongin solemnly stared at him before speaking. “It will always be your weakness.”

Kyungsoo looked confused. “What is...?”

“Saying no. It’ll be the hardest thing for you to do.”

Kyungsoo momentarily stayed quiet. He braved himself to grab a fistful of Jongin’s shirt and pressed his face against his boyfriend’s chest.

“No,” he firmly whispered. “The hardest thing for me would be to live without you, Jongin-ah...”

Jongin let Kyungsoo held him tightly all night.

 

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

 

Jongin turned off the alarm right on time before Kyungsoo woke up. He also took the liberty to turn Kyungsoo’s phone off because he decided that none of them would go to work that day. He pressed his palm on Kyungsoo’s forehead and breathed in relief when he realized the fever was gone.

Kyungsoo looked so tired and yet so peaceful in his arms. Jongin felt guilt crept to him once again. For the first time in the months of their relationship, the pretty male finally said no. Jongin pondered. If only he was able to say no that sternly to his work friends... He caressed Kyungsoo’s milky cheek caringly and the subtle touch seemed to wake the other male.

“Baby...?”

“Good morning,” Jongin whispered and gently kissed him on the cheek.

“Hm,” Kyungsoo’s lips curved upward into a simple smile. “What time is it?”

Jongin groaned. “Don’t even think about it. You’re not going anywhere today.”

“Okay,” Kyungsoo chuckled lightly and snuggled even closer. They stayed like that for a while until Kyungsoo opened his mouth to speak again. “Jongin-ah?”

“Hm?”

“I’m—I’m sorry...”

“It’s alright. And besides, it’s me who’s supposed to be sorry.”

“But...it’s my fault,” Kyungsoo whispered as he trailed his fingers on Jongin’s collarbone and he felt the other male shuddered slightly from the touch.

“You just happened to be the nicest person on earth,” Jongin sighed. “I’m sorry if I shouted at your boss last night. Oh my God, I should apologize. Wouldn’t want you to get fired.”

“It’s okay,” Kyungsoo shook his head. “I don’t really mind getting fired. They’re all being mean to me.”

“...on second thought, yeah.”

Kyungsoo giggled cutely and made a face at Jongin.

It had been a while since they had a moment like this and Jongin thought it was the perfect time to tell Kyungsoo about the job offer at the other hospital. Because if he did got accepted, they were going to have to move to another town and he wondered if Kyungsoo was alright with it. Jongin was in deep thought about the best way to say it when Kyungsoo accidentally nudged him on his crotch. Kyungsoo turned horrified at his expression and profusedly apologized in panic. Jongin stared at him in amusement—he was just faking the pain—and touched Kyungsoo’s crotch gently as a payback. The beautiful male gasped at the touch and sent Jongin a bashful stare before shutting his eyes.

Their lips met halfway and Kyungsoo softly moaned.

Jongin felt grateful at the moment that Kyungsoo wasn’t the type to say no as he started to his boyfriend’s length.

Within minutes, both were stripped out of their clothes.

 

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

 

It turned out that his boss didn’t fire him, but Kyungsoo resigned anyway.

Now that he didn’t work, Kyungsoo cooked a lot for Jongin. It amazed him that his boyfriend was actually such an amazing cook—and the irony to know it just after he quit. They couldn’t be separated anymore, not even when they hang out with Sehun and the others—Kyungsoo would attach himself to Jongin like there was no tomorrow (and Jongin felt glad at Junmyeon’s kind smile at them now).

They were happy and it all that mattered.

Jongin got home earlier than usual and was greeted with the smell of something nice. Kyungsoo had promised to cook something Italian for dinner that day—so it must be pasta. The male was about to sprint to the kitchen to kiss his boyfriend and couldn’t wait to get a cheeky smile in return, but he paused as his eyes drifted to the untouched mails on the table. He absentmindedly took one of the envelopes and froze.

It was a letter from the hospital he was applying.

Jongin tore the mail impatiently and started reading. He held his breath in fear—he could either got rejected or accepted.

“Jongin-ah?” Kyungsoo called out as he peeked from the doorway. “Hey, you’re home. I thought I heard someone coming in.” Jongin didn’t move an inch from his spot and he tilted his head sideways. “Jongin-ah?”

“Kyungsoo,” Jongin choked and shot him a blank stare. The letter was almost crushed in his hand.

“Y—yes?” Kyungsoo looked confused.

“I’m going to be a full time doctor.”

“Really?” Kyungsoo’s face brightened and showed a perfect row of white teeth. “Wow, that is wonderful! Congratulations, baby!”

“When I become one,” Jongin continued without preamble. “Will you marry me?”

The question came as a shock to Kyungsoo because the male looked stunned on his track. The ladle he was holding stopped in mid air.

Jongin mentally berated himself because those words just flew out of his mouth. Kyungsoo seemed really surprised and Jongin bit his lip nervously. He wondered if it was a good idea to ask Kyungsoo that with the same way he had asked him out—blunt and unplanned.

Kyungsoo inhaled deeply before sternly shaking his head.

“No...”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

End.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The silence was deafening and Jongin had to clear his throat to fracture the calm between them.

“...no?”

Was what Jongin only managed to utter as his face turned horror.

“No, Jongin-ah.”

Kyungsoo broke into a sheepish smile.

“No, I won’t decline...”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I SHALL GO ON HIATUS SOBS