Chapter 21 April Kisses

Almost to the end of April

April brought a string of shy glances and awkward laughters for the new couple, but only when they were in a crowd. There was nothing remotely shy between them when they were alone, especially the little kisses they shared. They were still trying to get used to the idea of being together, and Kyungsoo wanted it to be perfect. After all, the both of them had already ruined the idea of a perfect confession---of flowers decorated around a lush green garden, with a fountain in the middle that probably had a cupid on top to spring an arrow at their asses in case they chickened out last minute---so the least that Kyungsoo could ask for now was a proper date.

He wanted Kai to know him better than Luhan and Baekhyun first before he agrees to go out with the younger male, and Kai somehow felt the same way too.

They were both sitting on the bleachers outside near the soccer field one afternoon because the soccer team had just ended practice a few minutes ago, and Kyungsoo decided to surprise his boyfriend---ooh, the feels---with a homemade meal. He admitted his average skills in cooking, but at least if someone decided to push him into the world with only a pan, some matches and clean water, Kyungsoo could definitely survive a few weeks with proper nutrition.He could skewer fish like nobody's business and even do unimaginable things with lemons (no innuendo intended), and for some reason, his meals would always be edible, no matter how bland.

Kai relished himself with kimbap and fried tempura that day, and it took him exactly three minutes to stuff everything into his mouth, chew them up nice and quick, before swallowing the whole load with a full glass of cold soda. Kyungsoo could only watch in amazement as his boyfriend gobbled up most of the meal before he could even bite into his half-eaten tempura. It was still hovering near his mouth when Kai announced he was done, patting his stomach for good measure.

"That was so good! Oh, are you gonna finish that up?" He asked, pointing at Kyungsoo's tempura.

The boy was happy to see his boyfriend eating so well, and really, he never thought Kai had such an appetite before. He always took his time finishing his meal back then, when they were occasionally eating together at the dorm, so this was a pleasant surprise. He fed the half-eaten tempura into his boyfriend's mouth and felt a swell of pride in his chest when Kai ate it happily. It's like we're married already. I feel like a good wife.

"Are you that hungry?" Kyungsoo asked carefully. But Kai didn't seem to mind his large appetite.

"I always had to control myself in front of you. I didn't want you to think of me as a pig, but really, I tend to hog up all the food at home. Even Chanyeol gets all pissy sometimes cause he has to go grocery shopping again to stock up the fridge."

This was definitely something new to Kyungsoo. "How are you never fat? I always have to take small bites or else I'll grow layers on my tummy."

Kai leaned down to kiss him on the nose then and said, "I'll still think you're cute though, with or without layers. I like you just the way you are, so don't worry about looking good in front of me, Soo."

"But I still want to look good though." Kyungsoo added, turning away. He was always feeling so low when it came to his physical appearance, because being around Kai may do things to his heart that he can't even fathom, but it also made him more aware of the fact that they looked worlds apart. Kai was the bright and popular student with looks to die for, on top of his god-given athletic skill, and above-average academic talent. He was everything Kyungsoo wanted to be, because he had all the three traits that the older male lacked; looks, brains, and brawns.

The doe-eyed male wouldn't consider it as jealousy on his part, since Kai never really bragged about what he has, but he was definitely insecure about himself. He always felt like people were judging him because he could never match up to the kind of person that his boyfriend was, and that made him sad.

"What are you thinking about, Soo?" Kai suddenly asked, breaking his bubble of thoughts.

"Nothing." The older male lied, and Kai instantly knew something was wrong. Kyungsoo couldn't even meet his eyes properly.

"Tell me, Soo. I don't want us to keep secrets from each other." Kai uttered, and his boyfriend finally met his gaze.

"It's nothing, Jongin."

"Soo." Kai urged him a little strongly this time, and Kyungsoo had no choice but to cave in.

"I just get a bit insecure around you." This drew a sharp gasp from the younger male, but Kyungsoo continued before Kai could say anything, "It's not you. It's just how I am, I guess. Being around you makes me feel imperfect, and I notice how people stare at me, how they judge for being near you because they're probably thinking what a nerd like me is doing with a popular kid like you. I was always so afraid of people thinking of me this way that I never got the courage to fess up all this time. And now..."

Kai titled his chin to bring his face up until their eyes were level, and there was nothing but only love in the younger male's eyes. "Soo, please stop thinking that way. I don't care what people think of us because they're not the ones sharing this thing we have between us right now. From now on, I want you to know that your opinion is all that matters to me, and I hope you'd feel the same way too, because to me, you're perfect, Soo."

He released Kyungsoo's chin then and scratched his head nervously as he continued. "I d-don't know how to say this, other than being straight about it. The thing is, when I saw you for the first time a few months, I thought you were too perfect for me. You had the brains, the looks, and the way you swayed your hips...you had no idea what was coming to you. Well, technically, now you do, but if I didn't control myself properly back then, I would have taken you somewhere far away and probably force you to be my boyfriend."

"You wouldn't." Kyungsoo chuckled prettily.

"Yeah, I wouldn't." Kai said, blushing. "But oh gosh, I almost did. You're always so beautiful, Soo. I loved the way you smile, the way you walk, the way you shamelessly hit your friends and sometimes, even the way you'd just fall flat on your face when you didn't see where you were going." Kai , and Kyungsoo felt his face heating him in an instant.

"You ing saw me?!" He gasped, quite dramatically actually.

The latter nodded.
 

"And you did n-nothing?!"

Kai shook his head and a devilish grin spreaded across his face.

"It's official. I'm telling Luhan on you." Kyungsoo pouted, crossing his arms like a five-year-old who had his toy taken away, and Kai thought it was just so damn cute.

"How mature of you. Well, before he rains down any Chinese curses on me, let me smother you with kisses first." Kai then stretched his arms forward and caught his boyfriend into a tight embrace, while the latter squealed in delight, pretending to be escaping his clutches. But in reality, he was glad that Kai had told him all that. He was happy to realize that no one else should matter more to him than this sweaty, smelly, and adorable goofball of a boyfriend he had. It made him feel like he could trust Kai to protect him---even though he was supposed to be the older and responsible one, but meh!---and that made him feel safe, even from his inner turmoils.

"Jongin, we gotta study for the exam. And the others said they'll be joining us in the library later." Kyungsoo said after Kai stopped tickling his neck with kisses, and the younger male simply nodded with a smile.

"Come on. Let's go fry their brains with our awesomeness. We'll always be one hell of a team, Soo."

Kyungsoo realized that no one spoke the truth better than Kai. The both of them were scholarship students after all, and no one else had quite matched up to their IQ until now. It made Kyungsoo feel like he wasn't that different from Kai after all. "Give me the honors to start first."

"Of course, angel." Kai said, kissing Kyungsoo's cheeks one last time before they departed for the library.

The despondent look on their friends' faces before long brought much entertainment to them. It was nice to see Baekhyun and Jongdae fret over things which frustrated them to no ends, and Chanyeol tried to act the more mature partner but he was struggling with his subjects just as badly. Yixing somehow gotten things smoothen out by the end of it, and Jongdae happily claimed him for himself, saying that theirs was a study date exclusively for single bachelors. 

Kris and Joonmyeon were coping really well, and Kyungsoo was surprised that Kris could actually study. He made a grave mistake of jugding the blonde male by appearance. Joonmyeon seemed the most focused out of the two, and every few seconds or so, Kris would glance his way in an admiring sort of way. It was sweet to watch them, really. 

Kai had his eyes on Luhan and Minseok most of the time, not because they were the loudest pair in the whole place, but because Minseok looked so damn annoyed at his boyfriend, who couldn't quite keep his hands to himself. The older male kept on brushing his boyfriend off until he couldn't take it anymore, and he slammed down the book in his hands so loud that it drew everyone's attention. "Can you off, Xi Luhan?!"

Luhan pouted, but he didn't  off like Minseok wanted him to do. Instead, he just leaned back against his seat and stared at his English textbook angrily, but Kai was pretty sure he wasn't even angry at it. The Chinese male just needed something to blame, and it wasn't going to be Minseok or himself. 

Kyungsoo tilted his boyfriend's chin away from the noisy couple for a second, and Kai stared back in a lazy daze. Everyone else seemed to be so engrossed in their notes that no one heeded the lovers any attention, so Kai did what he felt was the right thing to do next, and he leaned down to peck a small kiss on Kyungsoo's lips. The older boy smiled back shyly after that, and someone cleared his throat in the background.

"Don't think I didn't see that." Sehun smirked. He had Tao's hand in his resting on the table, while the other struggled to pen down some notes with his non-writing hand. The look on Tao's face was almost as annoyed as Minseok was with Luhan, Sehun didn't seem to care. He liked having the older male's hand in his and they fitted together perfectly anyway.

"Get back to your books, Sehun." Kai hissed, glaring daggers at the boy.

Kyungsoo simply ignored these two idiots after that and returned to his own books. By nightfall, possibly around dinner time, when everyone's stomach were already grumbling for food, it was time to pack up their bags and return to the dorm. Kyungsoo still had a lot of studying to do anyway, and he planned to finish it off tonight, before he prepared for tomorrow's breakfast. He thought of making fried rice for the boys so it was always best to prepare the ingredients the night before, and now that he had more than three stomachs to feed, there was a lot of things to chop, slice, and dice.

This was his routine now, after being in a relationship with Kai for almost a month. He didn't like the idea of feeding the other knuckleheads in their usual group, but Kai always seemed the happiest when they were all together, and Kyungsoo liked their compliments on his cooking anyway. Exam was about to start soon, and he couldn't wait for it to end.

A disturbing thought had been lingering in his head for a while though. He realized that, even after four weeks into his relationship with the soccer player, Kai had not once mentioned about his identity as a love guru. Kyungsoo wondered if the younger male would ever tell him about it, and he didn't like the idea of keeping secrets from the ones you love. After all, those had been Kai's direct words to him earlier.  

He thought about confronting the boy after exams. For now, he didn't want to cause any unnecessary distress to his boyfriend. He'd just have to it up and wait a little longer. 

A/N:

I see cheese flying.