Final
Imperfections
Kyungsoo gets up from bed, his wide eyes slowly becoming accustomed to the darkness of the bedroom.
Luhan and Sehun are fast asleep, of course squished together on Luhan's twin sized mattress. The two would always sleep separately in the beginning of the night, but one would always find their way to the other by midnight.
Kyungsoo is not tired anymore. It is one in the morning, but he can not bring himself to fall asleep again. So he gets out of bed, finding his way out of the room in the dark. Everyone seems to be sleeping, but Kyungsoo knows better than that.
He peeks into one of the rooms, his eyes scanning the area intently. Yes, Suho and Chen are fast asleep in their own beds, Chen snoring lightly while Suho is almost abnormally still and quiet. In their debut days, the members sometimes joked that the leader had died in his sleep. They would then proceed to poke him a bit nervously, confirming that their playful theory was incorrect.
But where is Jongin? His bed is empty, the bedsheets still neatly made from the previous morning. Jongin had not come home at all. Kyungsoo hates when he does this. He often wishes that the manager had assigned him to be in the same room as the younger boy, so that he could take care of him a little better.
Sighing to himself, he shuts the door lightly and slowly walks towards the front door, grabbing his coat on the way. Sliding it on, he leaves the dorm silently and walks down the empty streets of Seoul, off to bring the boy home.
___________________________________
Kai has been dancing all night.
There is no one in the SM building besides himself and a few late night workers, but only Kai takes over the practice rooms at this late hour. His legs hurt, his eyes burn, and his muscles are sore, but the boy can not stop. Kai is perfection, and perfection can not be reached without hard work and endurance.
He takes a swig of water, his head tilted back and his Adam's apple barely bobbing as he gulps the liquid down. After placing the bottle back, he stretches his long, bare arms readying himself for the next few hours. His tank top is covered in sweat, his hair is all over the place, and he looks slightly delirious. He knows his managers will murder him for practicing so late and not taking good care of himself, but he has already had years of his life to sleep and take care of himself.
Kim Jongin takes care of himself. Jongin sleeps healthily, never less than the recommended eight hours. Jongin does not overwork himself but instead paces himself out. Jongin is alright with being equal with his peers. Jongin does not obsess over things, and he is not viciously competitive.
Kai needs to be perfect. Kai needs to do whatever it takes to become perfect. He will starve, he will stay up late, he will dance until he needs to be hospitalized. As long as he perfects the talent he was given, Kai does not care about anything else.
He is about to turn on the music again when he sees the door open through his view in the mirror. His heart barely jumps in surprise as he turns around, not having expected a late night visitor.
Kyungsoo appears, his owl like eyes staring straight at the boy.
No, not at Kai.
Kyungsoo is staring straight at Kim Jongin.
Only Kyungsoo can see Jongin at times like these. Only Kyungsoo can calm Kai's restless mind. Only Kyungsoo brings out the shy Jongin hiding inside the powerful Kai.
"What are you doing here?" Kai asks, his shoulders relaxing seeing that the mystery visitor is only his friend.
"I'm here to get you," Kyungsoo replies softly, however, his voice is stern. He is not going to take no for an answer, and both Kai and Jongin know this from experience.
"I'm busy," Kai simply replies anyways, turning back to face the mirror. His eyes look fierce and his body is tense once more; the small hints of Jongin have temporarily disappeared.
"Jongin," Kyungsoo calls, in an attempt to bring the boy back. "You've been here all night. If you don't sleep now, your eyes will be bloodshot during our schedules tomorrow and you'll be regretting that you stayed up so late."
"I won't regret anything," Kai responds firmly, remaining in the same posture.
"Why are you like this?"
"I need to be."
"Why?"
"Because I just need to, okay, Kyungsoo?!"
Kyungsoo starts to laugh to himself. Kai is also very childish, yet his immaturity is what makes him even more appealing. He does not understand the value of things, nor does he attempt to understand them. Kai's world revolves around himself, but it is in the least selfish way possible.
"Stop it," Kai demands, seeing the man behind him smiling. "Nothing about this should be amusing to you, Kyungsoo."
"It is, though," Kyungsoo replies calmly. "Seeing that you exert yourself to this extent when it won't bring anything beneficial to you."
"What did you just say?" The dancer is angry, his fists clenching and his complete attention on his supposed friend. He wants to get back to dancing. He needs to continue practicing. He needs to get rid of his tiny mistakes, the flaws that people could easily see if they look hard enough.
"You heard what I said, Jongin."
"Are you saying I can't ever become better?"
"How can you become better at something you've already perfected?"
Kai groans in frustration, whirling around to face the shorter man. "I haven't perfected it yet, though. That's why I'm still here. And I'm staying here until I do perfect it."
Kyungsoo sighs, shaking his head to himself.
Kai does not listen well. Kai is quick to act, but not to think. He sees only what is obvious to him, just like a child. He can not read people very well and he can not accept their feelings. Kai trusts no one but himself.
Somehow, Kyungsoo has learned to love Kai and his childish behavior. Only Kyungsoo can handle Kai when he acts like this. Kyungsoo is the only person the stubborn Kai eventually listens to.
"Jongin. When will you understand that it is your imperfections that make you perfect?" Kyungsoo looks at the sweating boy with his strong gaze, watching for the reaction.
"That doesn't even make sense," the boy huffs, his fearless eyes staring straight into Kyungsoo's.
Kyungsoo walks over to the boy and grabs his shoulders, his eyes staring right into Jongin's. The latter immediately looks a bit startled, the private bubble of Kai now shattered. The once fierce eyes are now dimming, the lower lip that had been barely sticking out is now curling downwards.
"I.. I'm sorry," Jongin replies, although he does not even know why he is apologizing. The disappointment and upset in Kyungsoo's face is making him wish he could understand what the elder is trying to say, but the stubbornness of Kai is not allowing that.
"No one can be truly perfect. No one can have absolutely no flaws. Everyone has something wrong with them. I do, you do, we all do. It's natural, Jongin. You need to embrace that."
"What's your flaw?" Jongin asks, his heart beating a little faster. He only sees Kyungsoo, he can only think about Kyungsoo. Dancing is the last thing on the boy's mind.
"My flaw?" Kyungsoo laughs at Jongin's oblivious nature, slowly releasing his grip on the boy's shoulders. "My flaw is that I fall for others too hard. And now, I'm in love with two people."
"Two?" Jongin repeats in shock, his voice soft and deep. He runs a hand through his fluffy, blonde hair, wondering why he feels so hurt. No, he knows why. Unlike Kai, Jongin can admit the truth to himself, no matter how much it may hurt him.
"Who are they?" he finally asks, forcing his voice to remain stable.
Kyungsoo chuckles, his eyes wandering around the room as he thought of a response. "One of them is very stubborn," he explained, his expression somewhat distant. "He doesn't care for company very much and only thinks about his own opinions. Yet somehow, he is one of the most selfless people I know."
"And what's the other one like?" Jongin asks, frowning slightly.
"Ah, he's my favorite, to be honest," Kyungsoo replies slowly, taking his time. "He's kindhearted and puts others before him. He has strong ambitions and hopes and dreams for the future, and I know he'll accomplish them." Kyungsoo smiles, his eyes suddenly returning to Jongin's. "He simply wants to be happy. That's all."
Jongin's eyes were now downcast, refusing to look up into the eyes of the man he has such strong feelings for. "I see," he answers a bit weakly, his head suddenly hurting.
Kyungsoo resists the urge to laugh again. Like Kai, Jongin is also oblivious to certain things. Unlike Kai, Jongin does not argue them. Jongin accepts what is told, whether he is comfortable with it or not.
Which is exactly why he needs Kyungsoo to help him out.
"I love you, Jongin." Kyungsoo clarifies, tilting the younger's chin up with his finger. "And I also love you, Kai, although I'm not quite sure why," he chuckles again, but looks deeply into the other's eyes.
Jongin widens his eyes in surprise, frozen for a few seconds before slowly smiling at the man in front of him, unable to believe his ears.
"Do you really mean that?" Jongin asks, his cautious heart and overthinking brain needing to clarify the confession he had been waiting to hear forever.
"I do," Kyungsoo replies seriously, his eyes suddenly trailing down to the boy's plump lips. Before Jongin can reply, Kyungsoo's warm lips are pressed against his own. Jongin almost forgets to kiss back; he has dreamed of this moment forever, ever since the day he met Kyungsoo back when the two were simply trainees. But Kyungsoo soon feels the younger respond to his kiss, making his heart leap in ecstasy. His arms slowly find their way around the boy's waist, pulling him in as close as possible. Jongin's cheeks are bright red, but he does not dare pull away; this is too good to be true.
When they finally break the kiss, Kyungsoo slowly the boy's flushed cheeks.
"Come home, Jongin," he whispers breathlessly, keeping his other hand on his waist. "You're done here."
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