The night before their math test aka the-night-Chanyeol-asks-Baekhyun-out-and-kisses-him-twice, Kyungsoo found himself at the jimjilbang with Kim Jongin studying for HIS math quiz rather than his own math test. The wide eyed boy had fully intended to head home after school and avoid interrupting Chanyeol on his…quest to get his new obsession to go on a date. But as he headed to lunch, he found himself yanked into the broom closet. Kyungsoo sputtered as he pushed a dirty mop out of his face and the culprit closed the door.

“What the hell-”

“Chill out, it’s just me,” a familiar voice responded.

With a click, the dim lightbulb lit up and Jongin stood in front of him with his arms crossed.

“Uuuuh why did you pull me into the janitor’s closet?”

“I’m not going to attack you, jeez. I have a math quiz tomorrow…so he just sprung it on us today and I need help.”

“Did you have to pull me into here for this?”

“Well I can’t have people knowing I’m getting tutored,” Jongin shrugged.

“What you’re scared it’ll hurt your reputation?” Kyungsoo mocked.

“Are you going to help or not?”

“For someone asking for help, you sure act like an about it.”

The tanned boy scoffed and ruffled his hair. He took a deep breath and stared Kyungsoo straight in the eye.

“Can you help me with my math quiz? I’m screwed otherwise.”

There was a short silence.

“Please,” Jongin added for extra measure.

“Fine. Do you want to do it in a classroom like last time?” Kyungsoo then added quickly, “not the library though.”

“I don’t want to spend more time at school than necessary…and who knows if someone will walk in like you did last time. Let’s just go to the jimjilbang. Nobody from school will know me there. But we’re going there separately.”

And so when the last school bell rang, Kyungsoo headed to his locker and began packing his backpack as he half-listened to Chanyeol’s nervous rambling. He reassured Chanyeol for the nth time that day and walked off toward one of the school’s exits. On his way, Jongin strode by with Sehun by his side. Kyungsoo waved slightly and received a quiet “hey” from the poker faced blonde in return. Jongin caught Kyungsoo’s eye and held his gaze for a moment before nodding and continuing on his way.

--

“You skipped the step again. Don’t skip it, the teacher’s going to give part marks-”

“ALRIGHT stop nagging!”

“I wouldn’t have to nag if you listened.”

“You’re like a second mother, I swear.”

“You’re the one who asked for help.”

Jongin then harrumphed and moved over the notebook to continue writing. As his arm began surrounding the pages and his hunched body covered the page, Kyungsoo moved in closer to try to inspect his work.

“That does not equal 25 Jongin…”

“Shut up!”

“Basic arithmetic, come on…”

“Give me a calculator then!”

“What is your brain for? I don’t have a calculator on me!”

In reality, Kyungsoo had been lying; of course he had a calculator. He had planned on studying for his own math test, after all. But he figured the other could use his brain for once. The evening ticked on and the tutee slowly but steadily made progress. Admittedly, Kyungsoo was pretty happy with the results so far. Given Jongin’s progress so far, he could land at least a 75% on his quiz. He discovered that when the dancer set his mind to something, it wasn’t too difficult for him to learn. It was always just an issue of carelessness.

They ended up moving in closer as the sky got darker and darker, and by the nth question, they were sitting closely side by side, crossed knees brushing. Tha was when Kyungsoo’s eyes wandered from the messy writing on the page…to Jongin’s face. The look of concentration on his face somehow came as a surprise to Kyungsoo, and like last time, once again he found himself just staring at the other boy. From the slight scowl on his face that made Kyungsoo want to nudge with his thumb, to the lashes of his eyes, down his jawline, and to his plump lips. Without realizing it, he began to hover closer…

“Stop looking while I’m working, I can’t do it properly,” Jongin complained and turned his face toward the other.

Both of them froze then as they found their faces a mere few inches from one another. They stared at one another for a good ten seconds before Kyungsoo quickly scrambled backward, knocking over his sippy cup of sikhye in the process.

Jongin rolled his eyes and looked back down at his page while Kyungsoo grabbed the cup back upright, dabbing at the small spillage with his towel.

He felt his cheeks burning and heart beat irrationally fast.

“I’m…going to get a new towel,” Kyungsoo managed as he stood up and zoomed off before Jongin could answer.

Jongin glanced up to see the guy speedwalking away, his hair slightly messy after removing his towel lamb hat.

What the heck had just happened?

--

“Thanks for the help,” Jongin swung his arms back and forth.

They stood outside the jimjilbang. It was almost midnight and the moon was shining down on them.

“Uh, ya. No problem. I should get going.”

“Ya ya, of course. It’s getting late so you’re probably sleepy.”

“Well I’ll have to get some studying done first…”

“Studying? Wait. What?” Jongin stopped swinging his arms then.

“It’s nothing,” Kyungsoo waved it off.

“You have a test tomorrow.”

“Yes, but it’s fine…”

“You spent all evening helping me instead of studying for your test…”

“It’s not a problem,” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes.

“I seriously shouldn’t have kept you around so long.”

“I studied before this…it was just going to be a review tonight anyway.”

“You helped me until midnight and when you get home you still have to study. You’re going to be so tired tomorrow.”

“Well I won’t be the only one tired nor will it be the first time, so it’s not a big deal,”

“Why are you so nice to me?” Jongin demanded.

There was a short silence then.

“Because I’m a nice person, obviously. I pulled you out of that hole in the wall, remember?” Kyungsoo laughed in response.

“No but really. What do you want out of this?”

Kyungsoo stopped laughing.

“What do you mean, what do I want out of this?”

“I mean, you’re obviously helping me for a reason. Did you want to get more popular? You want me to talk to you more at school so people can see? Or you want me to pay you. Because I know my household is rich but I’m certainly not-”

“I didn’t ask for anything…” Kyungsoo was baffled.

“Ok, it’s a nice front, but really. Just say what you want. Nobody is helpful or nice for no reason.”

“I’m not putting up a front!”

“Okay so if it’s not popularity or money…did you want me?” Jongin raised an eyebrow.

“What.”

"I know I'm attractive but isn't it a bit much?"

"I don't understand what you're saying," Kyungsoo replied as calmly as he could, his voice wobbly.

“Did you want to have with me or something-”

He couldn’t finish his question because the next thing he knew, he was reeling from an impact in his right cheek. Jongin could feel a bruise blossoming there, and he wouldn’t have even believed it was the smaller deer-in-the-headlights boy if he hadn’t seen the furious expression on his face as he nursed his fist.

“What the was that!”

"I'd like to ask you the same goddamn thing!" Kyungsoo spat out furiously.

"What, for exposing the truth?!"

“You know what?! you, Kim Jongin. you, and your ing lack of trust, your ing face, and your ing personality! ! YOU!” Kyungsoo shouted before he stormed off, backpack in hand.

Jongin watched as figure of the smaller boy slowly shrank as he picked up speed down the street. He stood there in silence as he rubbed his cheek. Kyungsoo finally disappeared, but he just continued to stand there, staring at the street as a couple of stray people trampled past. For some reason, his mind felt fuzzy yet oddly empty. When he finally managed to string some thoughts together, all he could hear in his head was...

“Wow. He sure can pack a punch.”

A/N: Hai guys. He. He. He.