iii.

Seoul's metro line is uncomfortably crowded today, or at least, even more than usual. Luhan tries to soothe his irritation but he just gets more annoyed when a random stranger shoves by him and messes up his immaculate uniform. He's about to shoot daggers at the aforementioned stranger when his phone rings, startling him.

"Morning," he answers with a yawn.

"You sound really sleepy," Jongin's lazy voice sounds from his phone and Luhan could just tell that the little was grinning. "Where are you?"

"I'm at the station." He replies sleepily, rubbing his eyes as the train reaches his stop. The doors slide open and he steps out, swinging his bag over his shoulder. "I'm at the Jiyougaoka exit."

"Are you at the south exit?"

"Uh... yeah?" He blinks confusedly. He could tell from the phone that Jongin was still smiling, but what for? He neatly sidesteps a bunch of schoolgirls and eyes his surroundings, but he fails to spot Jongin anywhere.

"See you soon," Jongin says easily and hangs up.

The phone call ends up with a sharp click and Luhan stares at his phone incredulously. He's just about to give up and walk off when he sees someone walking over from the north exit, a ridiculously sheepish grin on his handsome face.

A sudden rush of heat floods his face and he quickly looks away, willing the blush in his cheeks to subside down. It shouldn't be normal- the effect that Jongin has on him.

It shouldn't be natural.




Jongin is surrounded by a gaggle of giggling schoolgirls again, and Luhan fights down the annoyance bubbling in his chest. Jongin is always surrounded by admirers, even though he barely tries hard at anything. It's a bit irritating, and unfair, really, how Jongin seemed to excel at everything, without even trying.

But Luhan's pretty sure that he's annoyed at something other than that, anyway. If the clenching in his gut and jealous flares were any indication.

He walks over, and one of the schoolgirls notice him. "Luhan!"

Luhan smiles at her. "Morning."

"So, Jongin, were you waiting for Luhan?" The girl asks, immediately switching her attention back to Jongin. She smiles and brushes a lock of hair behind her ear. "I didn't know that the two of you were that close."

"We are," Jongin cuts in before Luhan could say anything. He glances at Luhan anxiously, and shoots the girl another reassuring smile. "We hang out at archery club practice together."

"I see." The girl nods, and Luhan's just about to interject when Jongin grabs his hand and intertwines their fingers together. "He's also my boyfriend."

"For a week, at least." Luhan says easily, ignoring the tight feeling in his chest. He doesn't know why, but he feels the need to get that out, as if somehow that would solidify something between them. Nothing in his head makes sense anymore.

He doesn't see the way Jongin's jaw clenches at his sudden statement.

















Luhan doesn't know why, but he ends up thinking about Jongin during class later on that day. Jongin is notoriously famous for his "one week" rule in relationships, and he has a steady stream of girls (and guys) lining up to date him, even for that one week opportunity. But even so, he has never heard any bad rumours about Jongin before.

It's not that he never notices, because even though Luhan seemed to be perpetually lost in his own world, he is still remarkably intuitive and sharp when the situation demands it. And after being in a relationship with Jongin for three days, he realizes that even until now, he has never heard a single defamatory remark nor insult directed towards Jongin. It's almost as if Jongin had ended all his relationships on good terms, but that couldn't be possible, right?

He asks Sehun about it when class ends. "Just how far does Jongin go when he dates people?"

Sehun rolls his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean." Luhan snaps back, his face flushing. "Does he... get intimate with other people that easily when he's in a relationship?"

"And how the would I know?"

"You're the biggest gossip I know. Surely you would know."

Sehun gasps and punches Luhan on the shoulder, causing the shorter male to yelp in pain and jump from his seat. "That hurt, you !"

"Thanks. It was supposed to."

Luhan sticks his tongue out in response and they sit for a few minutes in terse silence. After a while, Sehun glances at him contemplatively and murmurs, his voice barely audible in the din of the classroom. "Jongin can be... emotionally distant at times."

Sehun takes another deep breath before adding. "He'll never touch you unless it's absolutely necessary. I've heard of girls who actually tried to force themselves on him, but he's notorious for never doing anything to those girls, though."

Luhan sighs and leans back on his chair. "That's a pity."

Sehun smirks and glances out of the classroom. "Speak of the devil."

Luhan looks up and sees Jongin smiling at him outside. His black locks were adorably mussed up, framing his face perfectly.

Jongin spots Luhan looking at him and his smile widens.














"Are you for real?" Luhan snarks once they're outside. He leans against the steel railings of the school balcony and shoots Jongin a playful smile. "Do you plan on taking up all my free time today?"

Jongin hums thoughtfully and glances out at the vast school field. Summer is fast approaching and the sunlight paints the grass a bright, vibrant green.

"Is it a bother?"

Luhan laughs in response and tilts his head. "Didn't I say that I hate just going along with people?" He fiddles with his tie and smooths out his collar. "If I had hated it, if I had hated this, I would have said so." His voice grows softer with every word, and he trails off in contemplative silence.

Jongin grins and pokes him. "I'm glad."

"Besides," Luhan murmurs, glancing out from the balcony. "I actually like this. Spending time with you, I mean."

He turns and smiles at Jongin. "Remember to come for archery practice today, okay? I'll wait for you, so call me when you're done. But you better hurry up or I might get impatient and leave."

Jongin sniffs and moves closer to Luhan on the balcony. His hand rests only a mere inches away from Luhan's.

"Wait for me," he pouts. "If you do, I'll do my best during practice."

Luhan rolls his eyes. Trust Jongin to negotiate with him like that.

He glares at Jongin, fully intending on reprimanding him but he notices the tiny mole on the corner of Jongin's brow and narrows his eyes. He doesn't know why, but the sight of that mole intrigues him and he stretches his hand out to touch it.

His hand lightly brushes against Jongin's temple, smoothing back the mop of unruly hair there and Jongin jumps like a startled cat. Luhan immediately withdraws his hand and sticks it back into his pocket. He looks up and meets Jongin's curious gaze and he flushes.

"Oh, I just remember! I have class in five minutes." Luhan hastily mumbles as he straightens up and smooths down his school blazer.

Jongin frowns in puzzled bewilderment. "But class doesn't start for another fifteen minu-"

"Got to go, bye!" Luhan interrupts as he quickly walks back to his classroom.

The tip of his ears are still bright red.














Even when the night finally rolls around, Luhan is still stuck in mortification. He thinks that he'll pretty much be in eternal mortification from now on.

He doesn't know what possessed him to reach out and touch Jongin's face, but even until now, he feels his fingertips tingling from the touch, and it took nearly an hour for the flush in his cheeks to finally subside. Sehun had about it, and Luhan was too mortified to even retort.

He forgets about the archery club practice and spends the rest of his evening at the prep room. By the time he exits the school and walks down the empty road, it was nearly nine o'clock and the entire neighbourhood was dark, save for the few street lamps at the corner.

Luhan lets out a loud huff and plops down on a bench. He glances around the street. It was pretty much empty, except for the teenage couple giggling together by the side of the road. Luhan silently watches as the boy shyly reaches out to hold the girl's hand. The girl giggles in response and tucks her hair behind her ear.

Luhan narrows his eyes and looks away. He's pretty sure that everyone is trying to irritate him today.

"Showoffs," he mutters darkly as he shoots another glare at the oblivious teenage couple. "You guys are doing it on purpose, aren't you?"


"Doing what?"

Luhan looks up and sees Jongin walking over to him, his school bag still slung over his shoulder. He sits down next to Luhan on the bench and glances at the shocked blond male beside him.

Luhan flushes and looks away. "Nothing. I was talking to myself."

Jongin smirks. "Only weirdos talk to themselves."

Luhan gasps and narrows his eyes at Jongin. "I'm not a weirdo!"

Jongin sticks his tongue out in retaliation. He stands up and slings his school bag back over his shoulder. "C'mon."

Luhan purses his lips but concedes. They walk down the mostly silent street- the silence punctured only by the sound of several cars driving past. Luhan glances over and spots the aforementioned teenage couple. He narrows his eyes at them again.

"I haven't been to this part of the neighbourhood in a while, but it's still the same." Luhan sighs and brushes his fringe back. "It's the same as usual- with annoying couples everywhere."

Jongin laughs and bumps playfully against Luhan. "Aren't we one too?"

Luhan narrows his eyes at Jongin. "That's what I meant."

Jongin snorts and steps closer to Luhan. He doesn't know why, but he likes seeing Luhan all ruffled up. It was a refreshing change from his usual stoic self. He likes seeing Luhan all irritated, even for irrational reasons.

An irritated Luhan is an adorable Luhan.


Luhan, oblivious to Jongin's inner musings, glances up at the pitch black sky and sighs. "Seoul's too polluted. I can't see any stars."

Jongin looks up.

The moon looks back at him.


"Don't you think," Luhan starts, hesitant. He glances over at Jongin, all bright-eyed. "Don't you think we should come to a place like this at least once a week?"

"You want to come to an empty street in the middle of the night?"

"No!" Luhan flushes, an adorable blush tinging his ears. "That's not what I meant. I mean that we should probably go to a place like this, where we can contemplate and examine our thoughts. A place where we can have peace of mind."

Jongin is silent.

Luhan looks away. "I mean, not everyone likes being left alone with their thoughts, I guess." He fiddles with his tie and pulls it down, exposing a sliver of pale flawless skin.

Jongin swallows. He tries to avert his gaze, but to no avail. He glances back to see the teenage couple already locked in a passionate embrace behind them.

He fidgets nervously and looks at Luhan, only to find the latter already zoned out, lost in his own thoughts. Luhan's eyes are so bright, even under the dim street lights. Jongin tries to force down the fiery ball of want in his chest but all his efforts seemed to be in vain. He takes another step closer and watches as Luhan's eyes widen in realization.

He grins nervously. It's about time he realized.

Luhan stares at him for a few seconds, his brow furrowed in concentration. Jongin frowns and he's just about to ask why when Luhan lets out a loud "AHA!" and nods his head proudly, as if he had just made an important scientific discovery.

"What?" Jongin asks.

Luhan smiles and shyly points at the inconspicuous mole on the side of Jongin's brow. "I knew it was a mole."

Jongin laughs and rolls his eyes. All the nervousness that he had been feeling just a few minutes ago had completely vanished. He wonders if Luhan knows it too.

He takes a deep breath and steps even closer.

Luhan stares at him, unblinking. He sees the hesitation in Jongin's eyes and he wonders, albeit bitterly, over how many girls that had probably faced the same situation that he was currently in. He swallows down the lump in his throat and glances away. He knows that all of this will only be for seven days, but he's unable to stop himself from feeling nervous, from wanting this, from wanting Jongin to kiss him.

Jongin leans in and gently cups the back of Luhan's neck.

Luhan grins. "Am I supposed to close my eyes?"

"If you want to," Jongin murmurs.

He leans in even further and their lips touch.

The kiss is warm, yet surprisingly familiar. Jongin rests his other hand on Luhan's waist and kisses him even deeper, nibbling lightly on Luhan's pale pink lips. Luhan's eyes are wide open, a pretty blush residing on his cheeks and Jongin grins into the kiss. He kisses Luhan like he's on a mission, like they were running out of time and this will be the last thing he'll do.

Luhan reciprocates, however hesitantly, and finally closes his eyes.












"I think you're much more clever than you look."

Jongin looks up in surprise and glances at Luhan. "Me?"

"Yeah," Luhan leans back on the gates of his house. His eyes are oddly bright under the moonlight, and his hair is adorably messed up, sticking up at the ends. His lips are pink and slightly swollen. "You know how to kiss people."

Jongin laughs and rolls his eyes again. "It doesn't take a genius to do that, idiot."

Luhan continues on, ignoring Jongin. "Plus, you've been paying for all my food these past three days."

Jongin shrugs and leans next to Luhan on the gate. "It's nothing really. It should be my treat, since we're dating anyway."

Luhan giggles and straightens up. "It's not like anyone believes we're dating anyway."

Jongin pouts. "That was harsh."


But when he meets Luhan's gaze, who looked absolutely radiant even under the dim street lamps, Jongin forgets his previous statement and just stares.


Jongin still isn't sure what love is, and he still isn't sure what all these feelings coiled up in his chest could mean, but when Luhan yawns and curls up next to him, he realizes that he's pretty damn close.
 

Jongin still isn't quite sure what to think of that.