“Do Kyungsoo!” Jongin burst into the teahouse, startling a number of customers and bringing a very confused Luhan out from behind the counter.

“What are you doing here?”

“Is Kyungsoo okay?”

“Of course he’s okay,” Luhan shot him a weird look, “He’s changing out of his uniform right now-”

Jongin rushed past the Employees Only door, ignoring the manager’s shouts of “hey you’re not allowed back there!”

He came to see Kyungsoo’s pale toward him as the smaller boy pulled his uniform shirt over his head.

“Kyungsoo!”

“What the !” The other boy turned and yelped, immediately covering his torso with the uniform shirt, “What the hell are you doing here?!”

“I came as soon as I could! Are you okay?” Jongin moved closer and the other’s eyes grew wider as he backed himself against the cold metal locker.

“Ooookay buster, stop right there. I am fine. I don’t know what you’re doing here but can you please turn around for a second?”

“What, why?”

“I’m changing!” he shouted.

“Oh, ya, whoops,” Jongin turned around and stared at the door, fidgeting quietly, “You don’t feel too terrible then?”

“Jongin, I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s nothing wrong with me,” Kyungsoo replied, muffled as he pulled on thick knit sweater.

“But Sehun said Luhan told you to leave after this shift.”

“Luhan did tell me to leave. The storm is supposed to get really bad this evening, and I live sort of far. He’s going to close up in an hour or two.”

“Not because you’re sick?!” Jongin whirled around and Kyungsoo yelped again; his jeans were half on.

The younger took a second too long of a look at other’s pale legs and thighs, leading to a uniform shirt being thrown at his head.

“LOOK AT THE DOOR KIM JONGIN!”

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry!”

“I should’ve kicked you out of here. You’re not even supposed to be allowed in here,” he grumbled in response.

“You’re not sick?” Jongin repeated.

“No, I’m not.”

“Oh Sehun you little -”

“You came because you thought I was sick?” Kyungsoo tapped him on the shoulder.

Jongin turned around to face a (finally) fully dressed Kyungsoo, and he shrugged, now feeling a bit self-conscious. He handed him back the shirt to distract himself from the feeling. He wasn’t used to feeling self-conscious.

“The little said you were practically dead with a hundred degree fever, so Luhan ordered you to go home.”

“So you rushed over here and barged into the employee room while I was changing.”

“Uh. Ya…?”

“You know…”a faint pink blush appeared on Kyungsoo’s cheeks and Jongin thought he would die, “That’s sort of cute. In a weird way.”

“You shouldn’t get my hopes up.”

“Well I said weird.”

“Too late. So will you go on a date with me?” he held his breath.

“No,” Kyungsoo laughed, “But it was sweet of you to come.”

“Could I…walk you home?”

“What, so you know where to stalk me?”

“No! I wouldn’t…I don’t do stalking. I’m not…Sehun.”

“Hm…you did start to suddenly tag along with Sehun all the time…and we both know he was coming for Luhan. I highly doubt you were coming for the tea. Unless you also came to gawk at Luhan?”

“Okay, so maybe I did start coming to see you,” Jongin admitted.

Kyungsoo smiled and placed his uniform into his locker, shutting it closed before pulling on his coat.

“You sure you want to walk me home? I live far,” he asked as he wrapped a long thick scarf around his neck until it covered his mouth.

“Yes. That’s fine,” Jongin replied immediately, grinning as he looked at the other all wrapped up like an adorable penguin, big eyes looking at him.

Kyungsoo studied him for a moment, eyes scanning his face before saying a simple “okay”. Jongin bounced out of the room after him to meet an amused Luhan. His arms were crossed as he looked at them with a smirk.

“Looks like Jongin will be one happy camper.”

“Shut up,” Kyungsoo punched Luhan lightly and the other laughed.

“Safe trip home, guys. Kyungsoo, I’ll see you tomorrow if the storm doesn’t snow us in, ya?”

“Thanks for letting me into the room Luhan. By the way? Sehun won’t stop giggling at that photo you sent him so please take him. Just take him. Preferably away from me.”

A look of surprise appeared on the elder’s face before it faded into a small smile.

“Bye Jongin.”

Kyungsoo wasn’t lying when he said he lived far. The two stood side by side on the bus feeling like animals being transported as the number of people on board grew. Everyone was struggling to cram themselves onto the bus to get home before worst of the storm hit. When they finally got off at Kyungsoo’s stop, Jongin felt like he could finally breathe again.

“It felt like a sauna in there. A terrible sauna,” Jongin stretched his arms.

“And now it feels like a freezer! Come on, let’s go before the storm gets worse. You still have to head home!” Kyungsoo shoved his gloved hands into his pockets and began walking.

The two walked in silence for a while as the snow drifted slowly to the ground, white and fluffy.

“You didn’t come back to Te for a while,” Kyungsoo broke the ice.

“Ya. Finals.”

“I thought you were avoiding me.”

“I sort of was, I guess.”

“You came today though, when you thought I was really sick.”

“Ya…I did. I guess…I don’t know. You have a bigger effect on me than I thought you would?”

“Why though?” Kyungsoo stopped and turned to face him.

“I…I don’t know. I don’t know how to explain it. All I know is that when I first saw you at Te, I immediately felt something. Not the same way I feel now…not as strong. But there was something.”

“What, like love at first sight?” Kyungsoo laughed.

“I don’t dare say it was love. It was just a feeling. Something I can’t describe,” Jongin replied, staring straight back into those wide eyes.

They stared at one another for a little while until a strong gust of wind blew past, causing chills to run down their spine. Kyungsoo broke the eye contact first, looking down at his feet.

“Maybe you should head home. It’s getting colder and the wind is getting stronger.”

“No. It’s okay,” Jongin shook his head, “Let’s just keep going. Is your place much farther?”

“Just one more block.”

They continued the rest of the way in silence with only the sound of snow crunching under their feet as snowflakes fell thicker. They arrived at the green metal gates of Kyungsoo’s home, and he stopped to glance at Jongin.

“Thanks for walking me home.”

Jongin couldn’t see the other’s mouth under his scarf, but he could tell by his voice that Kyungsoo was smiling.

“No problem. You better go inside. The storm’s getting worse.”

He waved and the elder waved back before opening the gate. Jongin turned and began to walk back to the bus stop, but then he heard his name. He turned back around to see Kyungsoo still standing at the gate, one hand on the door.

“Do you…do you want to come in?”

Jongin beamed and began to jog back. In his haste, he stepped on snow with slippery ice underfoot and ended up landing on his .

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Kyungsoo walked over and helped him up.

“Ya,” Jongin winced a bit and brushed the snow off his while the elder clung onto his arm.

They headed indoors carefully, Kyungsoo’s hands holding tightly onto his arm, and Jongin thought he’d like to get used to this. They stepped into the house and the elder quickly closed the door before unraveling his scarf. Jongin brushed off all the excess snow and pulled off his beanie before moving past the entrance.

The house was small but comfortable, with a small living area where cushions lay on the floor next to a table, directly in front of a television. There was an open kitchen and he could envision Kyungsoo cooking there, humming to himself as he did so. Off to the side were three doors, presumably one being a bathroom and the two others  being bedrooms.

“Sorry it’s kind of small. And messy. I didn’t clean up because I didn’t expect anyone over,” Kyungsoo pushed past softly and picked up some dishes and a cup from the table, setting them into the sink.

“It’s not messy at all. Neater than my place. Do you mind if I sit?”

“Oh ya, go ahead. Do you want something to drink?”

“Hot water would be nice.”

Kyungsoo grabbed a kettle and filled it with water before setting it down to boil. Rolling up his sleeves, he began to wash the dishes in his sink and Jongin couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You don’t have to clean right now, you know. I’m fine with it being dirty. And well, this is nowhere near dirty under my standards.”

“Habit,” Kyungsoo replied, scrubbing a cup with a sud-covered sponge.

Jongin scanned the room in silence, the sound of water and clinking of dishes being the only disruptions. He spotted several photos sitting on a dresser and he made his way there, bending over to look at them closely. One was clearly Kyungsoo as a child. He was a cute, slightly chubby kid smiling upward brightly; not unlike the Kyungsoo now. Another looked like it was a photo of his mother; he had inherited her lips and eyes. She was an attractive lady, easy on the eyes and she looked like she would’ve been a friendly and lovely woman. The third was a family portrait, where Kyungsoo looked a bit older than in the first photo but nonetheless, still a child. He stared at the father, remembering what Sehun had said.

His dad doesn’t give a . He’s in prison.

It didn’t look like it in the photo. They all looked happy and blissful, with Kyungsoo sitting contentedly on his lap. But he supposed the death of his wife took a toll on him.

“I was eight.”

Jongin stood back up to see the shorter staring at the photo, his sleeves back down. There was a look of sadness mingled with reminiscence on his face.

“Sehun mentioned…your mom’s gone?”

“Ya. She died only a couple of months after this photo, actually.”

“And your dad?”

“Prison,” Kyungsoo turned and walked over to the kettle, staring at the steam rising.

“If you don’t mind me prying, could you tell me why?”

He didn’t respond for a moment, and Jongin thought he had crossed a line. He was about to apologize when Kyungsoo answered.

“Pyromaniac.”

“You live alone then?”

“For a long time now, really. It just got progressively worse after my mom died. He was in and out of the police station all the time. Can’t count the number of times I had to go bail him out. Then…a few years ago he really ed up.”

The kettle began to whistle then, and he quickly set it aside before taking a jug of cold water from the fridge.

“He set fire to a playhouse. It was a child’s toy house. You know, those big ones where they can go inside and play,” Kyungsoo swallowed, “But he didn’t realize there was a child in there. The child was taking a nap in there and he almost died. He would’ve if they didn’t find him in time. It wasn’t so much the fire, but the smoke and fumes from the materials. But he fell into a coma.”

He paused. “He’s still in a coma.”

“,” Jongin breathed.

“Ya, ,” Kyungsoo laughed hollowly, and he mixed the boiling water with some cold water into a cup before handing it to Jongin.

“He came home shaken up after he found out there was a child in there. The thing with pyromaniacs is that they like to watch their work. He relishes when firefighters struggle with his fires. So he hid and watched. And when the firefighters pulled the child out of the house, he freaked. But not for long. He just got pissed drunk and passed out. So I called the police.”

Jongin’s eyes widened and he stared at Kyungsoo, “You…called the cops on your dad?”

“Yes. I did. I don’t regret it. He deserves jail. He just let his pyromania go to hell after my mom died. He left everything to me. He would’ve let me rot and he wouldn’t have known. He probably doesn’t know now either. The I’ve had to clean up after him. At least if he’s in prison…he’s one less thing for me to worry about,” Kyungsoo replied bitterly.

“You’re tough. Tough as nails. And I mean well when I say this.”

“I guess,” Kyungsoo shrugged, “Not really a choice, you know? All our money went to compensating for his ery and I had to drop out. Have to for us to pay for the monthly hospital fees.”

“The court ruled it?”

“No. The hospital fees…I agreed to it. It’s the least I could do for the child. For the family. It didn’t take much persuading. They were furious at him, but they were at least reasonably polite with me. To the best of their ability, anyway.”

“That was brave of you…and extremely kind. You didn’t have to do that. To think I complain about my family all the time? I’m pretty lucky…I guess…I shouldn’t complain so much,” Jongin commented quietly.

Kyungsoo sighed.

“I try my best not to hate him. Because he’s still-you know-he’s my dad. But it’s so hard. I just wonder. Why would he feel as if he has the right to let loose and everything up? Was I not suffering also? She was my mom as much as she was his wife. I was just a kid,” Tears slowly began to well up in his eyes and Jongin felt panic run through his veins.

“Hey hey hey. It’s okay. You’re doing great on your own now,” he gently brushed his palm against the other’s cheek, “Come. Sit down. You must be tired from standing all day.”

He carefully led the elder to a cushion, guiding him down. It was so odd to see him so vulnerable, because every other time, he always seemed so independent and sassy. He always had such a beautiful smile and Jongin figured the heart shape was as representative of Kyungsoo himself as the fleur de lis was of France. But now? He looked like he could crumble and break into pieces if someone didn’t hold him together.

“I just feel tired and alone all the time. I’m always stuck on my own, coping alone and forcing myself to believe everything will be fine,” Kyungsoo sniffed and a single tear slid down.

Jongin cupped the boy’s face with both his hands, staring straight into his eyes.

“Everything will be fine. You’ve been amazing and you did the right thing. How many people could step into your shoes and do just as well? I certainly couldn’t.”

“Did I really? I’m so tired. It’s never going to end. I want to go back to school and I want to tell the family I can’t keep this up. I wish they could pay for half of it- no-just any of it-sometimes I feel like such a terrible person because I think, it’d be so much easier if the child just died in the first place,” Kyungsoo choked then, “Then I can’t believe such a thought would even cross my mind and I just-”

Jongin pulled the other into his arms, wrapping him in a warm embrace.

“We all have our moments. It doesn’t make you a terrible person. Nobody’s perfect. And you’ve been stressing for so long. We all have breaking points.”

“I don’t even know why I’m telling you all this. Maybe it’s just because you bothered to ask, and it has been so long since anyone bothered,” Kyungsoo said very quietly, two more tears leaking down from his eyes and landing on Jongin’s shoulder.

Kyungsoo slowly began to lean against the younger, crying silently while Jongin gently patted his back in a rhythmic pattern. He didn’t know how long he sat there with the smaller in his arms, hoping to comfort him, but he decided even as Kyungsoo fell asleep from exhaustion, that he wouldn’t mind doing it again.

Jongin was awoken by the movement in his arms as Kyungsoo stirred awake and carefully tried to extract himself from the younger. He pretended to sleep and snuck peeks at the smaller, almost laughing at how flustered he looked from realizing he had fallen asleep in Jongin’s arms.

Jongin opened his eyes and kept his arms locked as he smiled and said a simple “hey”. Kyungsoo stopped and turned to stare at him with wide eyes as pink tinted his face. He managed to splutter a “hi” back before pushing away and standing up. He glanced at the clock on the wall before pushing aside the curtains to scan the outdoors. It was 3am and snow had piled up, obscuring most of his vision. He looked surprised; he had definitely not expected to have fallen asleep for so many hours. Kyungsoo cleared his throat and fiddled with his fingers.

“Um. It’ll be another two hours or so before the buses start running again. So you can just stay here for now until then.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

Jongin’s stomach decided to rumble very loudly then, and he winced apologetically as Kyungsoo laughed.

“Do you want something to eat?”

“That’d be great.”

Kyungsoo poured out Jongin’s now cold water and replaced with some lukewarm water from the kettle, handing it back to him. Then he began to rummage inside his fridge.

“Do you need help? I can help.”

“Can you cook? Wait, no, let me correct that. Do you know how to cook food that is more than just edible?” Kyungsoo turned, two eggs in hand, “Aside from ramyun.”

“Sort…of?”

“Just sit down,” he chortled and pulled out a few Tupperware containers, setting them on the counter.

There was a bit of comfortable silence as Kyungsoo began preparing their meal with Jongin sipping his water, watching the elder cook. He looked just as Jongin had imagined when he saw the kitchen.

“You feel okay now?”

“What? Oh. Ya. I’m fine,” Kyungsoo responded as he filled a pot with water.

“But um…do you think you could keep what I told you to yourself? I just…I’m not comfortable with others knowing…”

“Of course. I know what should and shouldn’t be said. I definitely won’t tell the little either.”

Kyungsoo paused and smiled at him gratefully, “Thanks Jongin…thanks a lot for tonight also. I’m really sorry you had to witness that.”

Jongin stood up and took the pot out of the other’s hands, setting it on the stove for him. Then he looked straight at him and set his hands on his shoulders.

“It’s fine, hyung. I don’t mind. In fact, if you ever feel like you need a good shoulder to lean on, you can call me,” he smiled and patted his own shoulder, “I have nice wide ones. Especially since you have such small shoulders-”

Kyungsoo shoved him and Jongin laughed as the other turned back to the stove, lowering kimchi and blocks of tofu into the pot. It wasn’t long before a scrumptious kimchi stew was ready. The two boys ate happily, spoons and chopsticks clinking against bowls, everything scraped clean into empty stomachs. And when they sat back against their chairs in content, Jongin smiled at the elder, eyes crinkling into crescent moons, Kyungsoo couldn’t help but smile back.

As Jongin made his way through the snow covered streets to the bus stop, he decided this had to be only the beginning of something more.

When he got home and shut the door behind him, he was met with an armful of hyperactive Sehun and loud shouting into his ear.

“What the - get off me!”

“I don’t know what you did Kim Jongin but you’re a ing genius!”

“Can you stop-” Jongin struggled to detach the other’s limbs from his, “Get off!”

Sehun finally let go and moved back, face contorted into a giant goofy grin. Jongin scoffed and picked his beanie up from the floor which had fallen off thanks to his “altercation” with Sehun.

“What happened,” Jongin brushed the dust off the hat.

“Luhan called me. He called me. Yesterday night. To go out!”

“Congratulations.”

“He said after some contemplation of your words he figured it’d be good to call me. And that he’d be available to meet me and give any advice I needed!”

“Great, great,” Jongin hung up his jacket and headed for the washroom, wondering how Sehun had managed to attract Luhan whilst being such a bumbling idiot.

“I’m meeting him tonight after he’s done work. We’re going for dinner and drinks,” Sehun bounced in after him.

“You’re not planning to take him to that hipster bar, aren’t you?”

“Maybe. It’s a nice place!”

“Don’t. He’s not a kid, dude. Just let him decide where to go. He’s the one who asked you anyway,” Jongin pulled his shirt over his head.

He was about to pull down his jeans, when he stopped and stared at Sehun still there, looking at him cheerily in his grey tee and light blue duck pajamas, mop of pink hair flying everywhere. If only Luhan could see him now.

“Do you mind? I’m sort of trying to take a shower here.”

“Oh right!” Sehun began to walk out, but then he stopped at the door, “Wait…you didn’t come home yesterday night.”

“Nice of you to be aware of that only now.”

“Oh no, I was aware. But Luhan is my priority first, you know. You’re second.”

“Nice to know that my best friend of 15 years shafted me for an orange haired .”

“Like you were thinking about me last night,” Sehun sniggered, “How was Kyungsoo?”

“We didn’t do anything, if that’s what you’re implying.”

“What. Are you serious?” Sehun’s jaw dropped and he grabbed onto Jongin’s bare shoulders, his slightly cold fingers causing a chill to go down the other’s spine, “You were out all night. But did nothing?”

“I’m not as thirsty or as erted as you,” Jongin pushed Sehun’s arms off.

“So what exactly did you guys do? Did you kiss him? Don’t tell me you wasted all my efforts.”

“You just reminded me that you messed around with me. Very sick with a hundred degree fever?”

“Hey, I did you a favour.”

“I guess,” Jongin shrugged.

“So what’d you guys do?”

“I walked him home. He invited me in and we just talked. He got really emotional, ended up tearing up-”

“Seriously? You made him cry?” Sehun interjected.

“-about his family. He was really stressed and let it all out. So he ended up falling asleep in my arms,” Jongin continued, ignoring Sehun.

“Huh,” Sehun folded his arms and stared at Jongin.

“What?”

“I thought you didn’t like people crying and all that emotional .”

“I don’t.”

“And you don’t know how to comfort people.”

“I don’t.”

“And you think people are sissies for crying.”

“Eh.”

“But not with Kyungsoo.”

Jongin hesitated for a moment before nodding, “Not with Kyungsoo.”

That evening, Jongin tagged along with Sehun to head out to Te. It took Sehun a good hour to prepare to leave the house as he fretted about everything. He nearly wanted to shove Sehun into the dumpster outside when the younger wanted to change his mind again about the socks he was wearing. He managed to yank the pink haired boy in the opposite direction of their apartment and onto the bus, opting to listen to his music rather than the other’s incessant chattering.

As soon as they entered the teahouse, Luhan had zoomed straight toward them and grasped onto Sehun’s arm, quickly waving to Jongin before exiting with Sehun trailing behind him. Jongin snickered before heading over to the counter and greeting Kyungsoo.

“Luhan was sure enthusiastic.”

“Got back at him. I made fun of him all day about Sehun,” Kyungsoo laughed, “He just wanted to get away from me. He is technically not finished for today.”

“Got back at him?”

“Ya, since he wouldn’t stop making fun of me about –” Kyungsoo stopped.

“About?”

“About you,” Kyungsoo finished quietly but warmly.

Jongin felt his own face heat up and heart flutter at the words. Kyungsoo cleared his throat and leaned slightly forward.

“So…how about those drinks after my shift?”

Jongin looked back at the elder’s face in surprise. He hadn’t been expecting that. The other’s face was calm and cool. But then he spotted Kyungsoo’s hand holding onto a piece of cloth, index finger tapping nervously on the counter top. He was nervous. Even though he knew Jongin had been earnestly trailing behind him like a puppy. Even though he knew Jongin was definitely interested. He was nervous.

“Yes. Definitely yes,” Jongin blurted.

A smile appeared on Kyungsoo’s face as he scrunched up the cloth inside his palm, “Great. I pick where to go this time though.”

“That’s fine.”

“I have another hour to go though. Sorry that you have to wait for me,” Kyungsoo said apologetically, “I’ll get you a chai latte on the house?”

“Actually…just get me something that you would drink.”

“Something I’d drink? I don’t know if you would like it though.”

“Don’t worry about it. I want to try,” Jongin replied. I want to know more about you.

Kyungsoo came back with two teapots and a cup on a tray, which he set down. He carefully picked up the larger teapot and began pouring boiling water over the small clay teapot, the hot water trailing down its sides. Jongin sat there staring at the pot and puddle of water, unsure what to do as Kyungsoo walked off.

“It helps maintain the temperature of the tea,” Kyungsoo said when he returned a few minutes later, picking up the teapot and pouring some tea into the cup before handing it to Jongin.

“Let me know if you like it.”

Jongin cautiously sniffed at the tea before taking a sip. His face lit up from the subtly sweet fragrance and its light delicate flavour.

“It’s jasmine green tea. Do you know how they make it? They leave out the green tea leaves with fresh jasmine flowers underneath to scent them. There isn’t even jasmine in the tea. Even though it’s not there, it’s what makes the green tea better. And we’ll always taste its presence.”

Kyungsoo began to look distracted, and Jongin felt as if the words meant more than just tea.