JONGIN

“Of course I know you.”

“You remember me?”

“Yeah. Sehun’s friend, right?”

At 5th grade, his world started to rotate differently.

He was waiting for his friend, Sehun, in a park near his house. They promised to play today. Standing beside of swings, his foot digging to the sands while counting seconds and seconds. After a minute, Sehun finally comes with a boy dragged behind of him. The boy laughed with Sehun, his eyes cutely closed, his teeth perfectly showed with a heart shape lips. Jongin never sees any beauty before, never in girls. But when he saw the smile, his chest started to bump around, and his stomach tickled because of butterflies inside. He's the beauty.

It’s the first time he saw that boy. Do Kyungsoo, my brother. Sehun introduce to him. The name he won’t ever forget. Do Kyungsoo.

A year later, he saw him again for the second time. 6th grade, Sehun's mother passed away.

He came to the ceremonial and stayed with Sehun. His friend was terribly in shock and sadness. Kyungsoo was there too, sat down beside of Sehun, his wide white eyes were gloomy. No smile. No laugh. No words come out from the lips.

That day, he terribly wanted to hug the boy. Terribly wanted to cheer him up. He promised; if someday, the boy could be his, he will never make him sad.

7th grade, he finally saw him again.

It was a school camping for 7th and 8th grades. Kyungsoo was his senior, 8th grade, the seniors were in charge to take care of the 7th grades. Luckily, Jongin was in the Kyungsoo's group. He saw his hearty smile again, his wide eyes, and that time, he finally heard his voice. He sang at the campfire, it was beautiful.

His voice is soft and gentle. Jongin wants to hear it again. Jongin wants to hear his voice everyday. Jongin wants him. Badly.

Jongin realize, his feeling is love.

After the 9th grade passed, his father wanted him to engage with his friend's daughter.

Jongin refused.

His father insisted.

Jongin told his father that, I'm in love with a guy. He didn't want to marry a girl. He packed his belongings and ran away from home. His father said that he doesn't want to see him anymore. He stayed at his senior's house, Byun Baekhyun.

Baekhyun is a friend of Do Kyungsoo.

Baekhyun has a single photo on the table with Do Kyungsoo, that warm hearty smile, those wide eyes, that Do Kyungsoo.

Different from Kyungsoo, Byun Baekhyun is not a warm person. He barely smiled, he barely laughed, he barely talked. The house is full of silence everyday, sometimes his neighbor, Luhan will come and have dinner together. Maybe Byun Baekhyun will smile a little; maybe Byun Baekhyun will talk a bit. Jongin joined them, he learns that Luhan is his senior too, passed 12th grade, he's going to a university.

Byun Baekhyun has a friend, Park Chanyeol, he said, he's Kyungsoo's childhood buddy. They're close. So close that he thought they looked like a couple.

Jongin was jealous.

Jongin once came to Sehun's house,

He didn't saw Kyungsoo there. Sehun said, hyung's studying at his room. Maybe at 5 he will come out to cook dinner. Want to eat with us?

Jongin gladly accepted. He terribly wanted to see him. He terribly wanted to try his food. He terribly wanted to be with him.

Do Kyungsoo come out exactly at 5. Stepped down from the woody stairs, casual t-shirt, still with his school's pants, his hair was messy. He walked straight to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, washed the vegetables and chicken, sliced the vegetables, the stove, stood there for a long time, took some plates, the dinner was ready.

He didn't realize that Jongin was looking at him the whole time. But Sehun did.

Now,

Jongin comes to a same school as Kyungsoo's, once again, he's his senior. Kyungsoo is number one at everything, well... except sports. He's the president council and Jongin too. Do Kyungsoo is the smartest student at the school, that's why, he's the number one student.

Jongin is the number two.

Jongin doesn't want to be the number one. He just want Do Kyungsoo to spots him there. The number two.

He's a scholarship student. His father doesn't pay for his school since he ran away from his 'home'. After school, he worked at a cafe. And at the fast food restaurant every weekends. Right there, Do Kyungsoo sometimes dragged to eat by his friend, Park Chanyeol; they really looked like a couple.

Right there,

Kyungsoo saw his existence.