Kyungsoo arrived at his school a little later than his usual, hurrying through the halls with fear that he might get late for first period (though there's still 15 minutes left before classes start). He walked as fast as he could without drawing too much attention from calm and unworried students around him, because he is the only one who seemed panicky and worried. There is completely nothing to be worried about when there's still a couple of minutes left before classes starts, but Kyungsoo is just too diligent sometimes.

It was Tuesday and the doe-eyed boy finished his homework last night a little later than his normal, so he basically overslept until the morning and wasn't able to have another quick breakfast tea time. He quickly grabbed a bottle of iced tea from the vending machine instead and started going up to the halls to reach his classroom. Kyungsoo laments at how he settles himself now with just bubbleteas or bottled iced teas in the mornings unlike before.

He quickly reached his classroom and opened the door, panting a little. Then shock crept into him as he saw Jongin already sitting in his desk just behind his own seat, eyes closed and head tilted a little low as if he was sleeping lightly.

Jongin didn't always arrive late in the mornings, but he never came to school earlier than Kyungsoo, so the shorter boy was a little shock to see the other already seated behind his desk.

He then approached his seat slowly and quietly to not wake the other up. Though the room has already a bunch of other students, they're not exactly loud and noisy so Jongin managed to fall asleep on his desk. Kyungsoo noticed that both Joonmyun and Minseok aren't around yet, and Sehun always comes a minute just before the teacher arrives. Kyungsoo's pretty sure that Jongin would use that to his advantage to talk and spend time with Kyungsoo since his two seatmates aren't around yet, so the shorter boy did his best to not wake the other up.

But as he was about to sit on his chair, he accidentally kicked his desk a little and the whole table creaked and wobbled, causing Jongin to mutter a slurred tone and furrow his eyebrows, then eventually open his eyes slowly and sleepily.

Kyungsoo wondered why he has such a terrible luck.

"Oh, Kyungie--I mean Kyungsoo," Jongin said as he spotted said person standing in front of his desk. "Good morning!"

Kyungsoo quickly got a hold of himself and flatly said "Good morning too," as he finally sat on his chair, placing his bag and bottle of iced tea on his desk in a calm and rather cool way. He'd rather not wake Jongin up and start feeling the pressure of his very presence again, but he would like to try out his own plan as well.

If Jongin has a list of steps and guidelines about how he would make Kyungsoo forgive him and eventually fall for him, Kyungsoo made a mental note to himself as well about how he should deal with Jongin and the pressures he bring with him. After convincing himself that there is nothing to be disappointed about when Jongin ditched music club to join swimming club with Sehun, Kyungsoo realized that he should stop acting like an intense awkward turtle around Jongin. He can't be the one to feel the pressure always, he can't be the one always fighting off a blush, he can't always be the one feeling teased by the other, and he can't always be the one who palpitates uncontrollably. He should be confident and cool, too. He already managed to be his normal self even with Jongin hanging around with them, so he should also start being like that whenever he talks and interacts with Jongin himself. He decided not to look too affected and weak in front of him anymore.

Jongin twitched one of his eyebrows at the sudden flat tone Kyungsoo just to spoke him as the other sits in front of him. It's not that he wasn't expecting the doe-eyed boy to talk like that; he himself experienced a few arrogant and irritated remarks from the other 2 weeks ago. What he didn't expect was how Kyungsoo replied to his beaming greeting with an uninterested and plain response, as if he suddenly didn't get affected by anything Jongin-related anymore.

The dark skinned guy crossed his arms in front of him and stared confusingly at the other's back. What's up with that? Is he mad? Is he not in the mood?

"Hey, Kyungsoo," he suddenly said, trying to start a conversation to clarify his own thoughts.

"Hm?" the other hummed in reply without facing his back. Kyungsoo is determined on doing this acting until it finally becomes real and natural and he no longer has to act everything out.

"Hey..." the other said in an adorably pleading way, and Kyungsoo bit his lower lip to prevent himself from facing the other. He can already imagine the cute pout and the puppy eyes the other was currently showing from his back and he's not falling for that anymore.

"What?"

"...I guess you're not in the mood, huh?" Jongin suddenly replied when Kyungsoo still didn't face him. "Sorry for disturbing you, but I just figured that you and the others might want to see our try-outs in the swimming club later after class." he continued while still facing Kyungsoo's back. "I mean, Sehun and I would definitely need some encouragement and stuffs so... if you guys can visit later we would really appreciate it."

Okay, Jongin is lying. He would never need any encouragement and support (except with his love problems) from anyone because he's too confident in everything he does (again, except with his love problems).

Kyungsoo, on the other hand, forced himself to not look at his back as he knows it would only cause him unexplainably complex feelings again. He hates that feeling of confusion whenever he looks closely at Jongin; he hates that mixture of pain and joy, of happiness and anguish, of like and hate.

"I-I'll tell the others later..." he quickly replied while reprimanding himself for stuttering. He wasn't exactly doing a good job of acting cool and confident.

"Okay," the other beamed from his back energetically. "Thanks, Kyungsoo-yah!"

"No worries." he replied back as plainly as he could.

Jongin smirked from his back with half-lidded eyes as he stares at Kyungsoo's back. Somehow, he got a glimpse of what Kyungsoo was thinking and trying to do, and it only made his confidence suddenly rise even higher than it could ever reach.

So you wanna play some little game, Kyungie? He thought while still crossing his arms in front of him. Okay, if this is what Kyungie wants, then this is what Kyungie gets.

-----

"Swimming club isn't like any normal club. It deals with sports and stuffs so of course there's gonna be try-outs for it." Minseok explained as they all walk towards their table in the cafeteria, with trays of food and drinks in their hands. "They just can't let anyone unqualified join their club, right?"

"I guess so," Baekhyun said as they reach their table. "So the two ulzzangs are doing the try-outs later, Soo?"

Kyungsoo was a little surprised at the sudden mention of his nickname, and then said, "Yeah, that's what Jongin told me this morning."

"So Jongdae is with them again right now?" Baekhyun continued.

"Yes. He said he'll accompany the two. They're gonna pass their club application forms now, apparently." Kyungsoo answered as concisely as he could.

Joonmyun just stared at him from his side, then asked the boy something. "When did Jongin and you talk? I didn't see you two talking in class earlier."

"We talked a little before first period starts," Kyungsoo replied casually.

Joonmyun furrowed his eyebrows and shot the other an incredulous look, then just brushed it off.

"Oh but Kyungsoo," Minseok suddenly said as he faces said person. "Please tell Jongin that I couldn't make it. I have practices with my team later so I can't watch their try-out."

Kyungsoo cringed a little from his seat. Why does he have to be the one to tell that to Jongin? Why don't just Baekhyun or Chanyeol or even Joonmyun tell Jongin that? Why should it be him? He hissed countless complaints in his mind but none ever came out of lips. Instead, he only said, "Okay," then resumed on eating his meal.

If Kyungsoo's really willing to change his timid personality around Jongin, he should prepare himself to deal with more stuffs like these. After all, his friends think that he and Jongin are just casual acquaintances hanging out in the same group (except Joonmyun, of course). They're all oblivious about everything that happened between him and Jongin years ago, and while Kyungsoo didn't exactly like hiding something from his friends, he thought it would be best to just keep it a secret since he's doing his best to forget it and get past it anyway.

He knows he's being unfair to his friends for hiding something important like that, but Kyungsoo believes it's a personal issue he really should deal with himself. Maybe he'll them when he's a hundred percent sure he's already okay about it.

"By the way, guys," Joonmyun suddenly said as if he remembered something important. "Our family's opening a new branch of hotel nearby, remember? It's gonna officially open this next Saturday."

"You mean this week's Saturday?" Kyungsoo replied from his side.

"No, I mean the next Saturday after that. Next week's Saturday," he cleared to everyone. "And my parents are probably sending invitations to your parents now as we sit here in lunch. There's gonna be a party and everything."

"Oh, alright," Chanyeol replied casually while enjoying his meal. "Will Jongdae and the others be there too?"

"Yes. Almost half the population of the school's families will be there, actually." he said while suddenly looking down and somewhat annoyed. "Even Jongin and Sehun."

Baekhyun shot him a surprsied look and said, "Whoa, Jongin's family's gonna be there?"

"They're one of our family's biggest partners so... yeah."

"Wait, come to think of it..." Minseok suddenly joined in on the conversation. "Jongin's family supports almost everyone else's companies, right? I mean, our airlines are partners with them."

"Our malls have deep connections with them as well," Chanyeol added to the conversation. "My sister even works as an Executive Producer on one of the late night news show of TBS Channel, remember?"

"Oh, that's right. They sponsor my parents' stage play and orchestra productions too," Baekhyun said in a slightly surprised manner. "Both in Korea and internationally."

Kyungsoo took a sip from his drink then said, "Well that's because they handle telecommunications and media, so everyone basically needs their support for advertising purposes and stuffs. We shouldn't really be too surprised to see that they're connected to almost every single business field."

"Their family's like the top dog." Baekhyun said a little teasingly. "Like, if we are all wolves on a certain pack, Jongin is probably the Alpha or something."

"They're on the top of the food chain." Joonmyun said normally after swallowing a spoonful of his lunch.

"So are they connected with your family's company as well, Soo?" Minseok suddenly asked while facing the doe-eyed boy.

"Well... Yeah, but not really that involved with each other. We are more partners with Joonmyun's family business than with Jongin's."

"Wait, don't tell me all the furniture and dinnerware in their hotels all come from Kyungsoo's family?" Chanyeol asked with wide eyes, shocked at the seemingly new information for him.

"Yeah. Everyone knows that already, Channie." Kyungsoo replied with a little chuckle.

Chanyeol let out an amazed gasp and said, "You must be insanely rich."

"Everyone here's insanely rich," Minseok teased with a silly smile on his face.

"But Jongin's still the richest," Chanyeol replied back with a silly smile of his own. "I bet our parents will probably rejoice knowing that we're being friends with him."

Everyone resumed on eating their foods and drinks after that, but a realization suddenly hit Kyungsoo again and he felt like not eating anymore.

He suddenly remembered how his dad constantly reprimands him to be closer to other families and constituents. If his dad ever found out that he's being close with Jongin again after years of being not friends, God knows he'll do everything to make his son get closer to the heir of Kims to form some sort of unbreakable family and business tie or whatever that is. His parents, like his friends, have no idea about the trauma Jongin caused him when he was still a kid, and Kyungsoo's not sure whether he's ready for that already if ever his dad bugs him to be close to Jongin again.

And this is one more problem with Kyungsoo: he worries himself way too much.

-----

Classes ended and Kyungsoo suddenly found himself at their school's indoor pool where students from the swimming club practices and meets. He was completely calm and collected (all he ever did during classes was prepare himself for facing Jongin later) when they all entered the place, but all of that suddenly faded and evaporated into thin air when he saw Jongin stretching and doing warm ups before diving into the water, with just his swimming trunks on.

Kyungsoo furiously fought off an actual nosebleed from coming.

Jongin's body, to say the least, was gorgeous. His lean and toned muscles perfectly matches his height and his tanned skin, giving him that insanely y aura that girls (and some boys, Kyungsoo noticed) in the swimming club swoon over. The badass look his full lips and expressive eyes omits complements his whole body well, and the guy practically knows how gorgeous he is as he stretches and flexes his arms and legs here and there and everywhere. He must be enjoying the attention.

But that tiny piece of clothing he was wearing was too intense for Kyungsoo. That was the only piece of fabric covering Jongin's body, and the doe-eyed boy literally almost fanned himself with his hand at the magnificent yet breathtaking sight.

Kyungsoo knew ever since he was a kid that he is not like any normal boys. He knows there was something weird in him as he found himself being attracted to the same , but no one strike his teenage hormones this hard yet. He was pretty sure he must be as red as a tomato right now, so he quickly averted his gaze from the other before Jongin could even notice it.

But it was too late. The tanned guy already spotted him gaping and blushing while looking straight at him, and Jongin couldn't fight of a smirk from escaping his lips.

Sehun followed after, exposing his pasty white skin and almost equally lean body. He settled himself at the platform beside Jongin as he started stretching here and there as well.

"Jongin-ah! Sehun-ah! You can do it!" Jongdae energetically shouted to the two as he waves at them.

The two boys waved back and smiled in appreciation, and Jongin noticed how Kyungsoo seemed so unfocused and disoriented as he waves at the other side, completely opposite to their direction.

Baekhyun was the first to notice Kyungsoo waving at a random direction, and laughed like a retard while saying "Kyungsoo-yah! Where the hell are you waving at?! You're so funny!"

The boy snapped from his Jongin (half- Jongin) induced trance and quickly stopped waving at the direction where 3 girls are sitting and awkwardly looking at each other. The girls must be wondering why a random, blank-faced boy was waving at them out of the blue.

Mortified, the shorter boy awkwardly rubbed the back of his head as he let Baekhyun and Chanyeol laugh at him like crazy.

But a sudden loud whistle stopped everyone's activities and they all looked at the direction where the shrill sound came from.

A tall guy (taller than Chanyeol) stands at a platform near the edge of the pool. He was wearing a varsity jacket that has the name and symbol of Shinjae's swimming team and a swimming trunk of his own, exposing his long, toned legs. Everyone knew who he was: Wu Yifan, or Kris, the captain of Shinjae's swimming club and the resident eye candy of the whole female population of the entire school.

"Newbies, get ready." he said in a low, rather menacing tone before bringing up his whistle near his lips again. "At the sound of my whistle."

Jongin and Sehun quickly wore their goggles and their swimming caps, then formed a stance that looked like they were about to dive into the water.

"Ready..." Kris signalled to the two.

"Set..." Kyungsoo could feel his heartbeat racing.

"Go!" and the shrill sound of whistle followed after.

-----

The try-out ended favorably good for both Jongin and Sehun as Kris deemed them qualified to join the club. After Jongdae and the others congratulated them excitedly, the two of them returned inside the lockers to put on proper clothes to call it a day and go home.

They were walking themselves to their school's parking lot when Chanyeol beamed at the boys with hyped expression in his face. "That was intense, man! You two did great!"

Sehun just smiled at him lazily while Jongin laughed a little and said, "Thanks!" as if he knew right from the start that he was amazing and great and perfect and everything. He's one proud bastard.

Kyungoo, on the other hand, was still feeling weak to his knees. He cannot get that image of Jongin away from his mind, and he's been pretty much zoning out again ever since the try-out ended. He reached their family's car (with the help of Joonmyun leading the way since Kyungsoo's going the opposite way again with a blank expression in his face like a freaking zombie) and was about to hop in and lament again how messed up his mind is when Jongin suddenly appeared from his side again.

"Kyungsoo!" the taller guy called out.

The doe-eyed boy gulped hard and oriented himself before facing the other's direction. "Yes?"

"Take care!" Jongin beamed in a childish, smiling way. "Oh, and see you this Saturday!" he quickly added with a little wink (Kyungsoo almost died) then hurried to go to his own limousine.

Kyungsoo furrowed his eyebrows in confusion then hopped inside their car. What does he mean by 'this Saturday'? He thought to himself as his driver started their car's engine. Joonmyun's party was the next Saturday... Maybe he just got confused.

If only Kyungsoo knew how wrong he was, he should've braced himself for this Saturday instead.







 

(NOTE: filler chapter is ugly. I'm sorry for writing such a ty update OTL I hate myself. And I felt like a complete ert describing half Jongin there lol wth. And KYUNGSOO OMG WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING YOU NAUGHT BOY KEKEKEKE.

But I still didn't like how this chapter turned out. I promise I'll make up for the next update. Watch out for the Saturday playful Jongin was talking about! Lolol.

Oh and Kris made his debut into the story! I'll edit the foreword and include him there maybe later or when I update again. I'm actually running out of time and I just posted this to update coz I still have classes later so yeah I have to hurry up lol. I skipped class to update wtf.

But Kris won't be playing a really big role here. He's more like just a supporting character, actually. So if I ever talked to someone here (you know who you are~ xD) about a mystery character from EXO that will appear on the later chapters and will play a big part in the progress of the story, Kris isn't him. That's another clue for ya. xD

Okay I'll stop now. I love your comments guys! Seriously they are fantastic! Keep 'em coming like always! XOXO!)