Chapter 22 Love, Love, Love

First week of June

Hearteu~ hearteu~ I'm drawing hearteu all over my exam paper.

There was a giggle somewhere in the back of the classroom, and Kyungsoo almost let his pencil fly when he recognized who it was. Stupid Baekhyun...what the hell was he doing now?!

They were having their first paper that morning, and not surprisingly, it was English first. Kyungsoo knew he'd do well in this paper, but Baekhyun on the other hand couldn't write anything in English even if his life depended on it. There were days when Kyungsoo felt like slamming a textbook against his best friend's face---oh wait, he did---and he wondered how a person could not even say a word of English after spending three years learning it on a daily basis.

Other than the typical yes or no answer, there was nothing else Baekhyun could say except, "Yeah, I'm ready" and that was thanks to Chanyeol, who suggested making out on Kyungsoo's bed one night.

Horrible, horrible memory it was.

Another giggle broke out, and Kyungsoo literally threw his pencil this time, painfully hitting Baekhyun's forehead a second later. He grinned in satisfaction when the latter groaned in pain, garnering the teacher's attention instantly. "Is something the matter, Mr Byun?"

"Kyung threw a ing pencil at me!" Baekhyun accused, glaring at his best friend. Someone sitting three seats behind him coughed suddenly, and Kyungsoo immediately recognized Chanyeol's y voice. The lanky male must have shocked to hear Baekhyun's voice all the sudden.

The rest of their classmates simply groaned at Baekhyun's childish accusation, and when the teacher turned to Kyungsoo after that, the boy simply shrugged back a blank look. How could anyone blame Kyungsoo for misconduct? He was just too perfect in everyone's eyes, so Baekhyun was obviously annoyed about this.

"Mr Byun, see me in my office later."

Baekhyun groaned again, not in pain this time, but irritation. A normal teacher could have dismissed him without so much as a shrug, but their English teacher happened to be the school's principal too, so Baekhyun was pretty pissed about his morning so far.

He picked up the abomination directed towards him earlier and threw it back at Kyungsoo when the principal wasn't looking. It bounced against Kyungsoo's head and landed on Jongdae's table behind him. The latter shot Baekhyun a piercing glare for the interruption, and unfortunately, this was witnessed by the teacher.

"Mr Kim, I'll be seeing you in my office later too. One more hour, everyone. Chop chop!"

A chorus of groans echoed through the moderate-sized auditorium hall as all the second year students picked up their pace. Kyungsoo was just glad it'll be over soon. He couldn't wait to see Kai after this.

In a separate hall upstairs, the first years were having the same problem with Sehun. The boy couldn't sit still, and two hours was apparently too long for his . He kept fidgeting in his seat, glancing at Kai while the latter shot him an occasional glare for being such a distraction. They were sitting an arm's length away from each other, so Kai could see everything Sehun did.

And it was just too damn annoying.

"Stop fidgeting." He hissed.

"I can't. My 's numb. I had with Tao last night."

Kai wished he didn't hear that, because now his face was all flushed, and his head couldn't stop thinking about Kyungsoo. They never tried anything below second base yet, and that was just once. Kai had a hard time trying to convince Kyungsoo to calm down, but the older male was still too insecure about showing off his body yet---especially that thing below his waistband---so they stopped at second base.

" you, Sehun. I didn't need to hear that."

Sehun smirked, obviously enjoying his little torment on Kai. "What a . You're just frustrated cause Kyungsoo won't you."

"I don't need to hear this right now."

"Yes, you do. You want to him."

They weren't really whispering anymore, and the teacher was standing directly behind them before he cleared his throat, almost scaring the life out of the boys. "S-sir...were you there the whole time?" Kai paled, staring up at the teacher in horror.

Sehun's face had also gone all white.

"I'll be seeing the both of you in the principal's office later."

Both boys furiously nodded in return, and they could have sworn the whole thing just took ten years off their lives. Five seats away, Tao was trying very hard not to blush. He could feel eyes judging him, no thanks to Sehun for blurting out what they did last night. He'll have to kill his boyfriend later, but for now, he still had General Accounting to pass.

The thirds years were forced to occupy the gymnasium throughout their exam period because theirs were the largest in terms of student numbers, and the school needed a place big enough to fit everyone. Minseok and Luhan were separated by a long stretch; one sitting all the way at the front, while the other had to endure earsplitting snoring sounds, and whiny students.

Luhan wasn't happy.

A few tables away were the golden couple; Joonmyeon and Kris. The blonde was a little annoyed for being placed next to his all-time stalker, but twenty minutes into the exam later, he thanked whatever high and holy for placing him there, and worshiped the grounds that Joonmyeon walked when the latter agreed to swtich their papers after he finished with his first.

Kris didn't even have to lay a single finger on his paper. He may have studied like a mad dog for this paper last night, but everyone knew that Joonmyeon was the smartest kid amongst the third years, so he naturally assumed this was his reward for treating Joonmyeon well all these while. Not that he felt it was chore to do so. He'd been softening up to the class rep lately.

A little further up front from them was Yixing, who appeared to have created a small bonfire for himself after writing so much. His pen must have really caught fire or something, because there was a small black smoke rising up above his head.

Maybe it was just hallucination after being stuck in the same place for the last three hours.

Evidently, all the boys seemed like they were doing fine, except for Luhan maybe. He was just too damn annoyed to think anymore, and he missed Minseok already.

Right after the first paper ended, Kai and Sehun trudged silently to the principal's office, and was surprised to find Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Jongdae and Kyungsoo there. Kai wrapped an arm around Kyungsoo, and the older male smiled back warmly.

The principal told them off for making too much noise during the exam, and Kyungsoo defended them by saying it was just stress. Baekhyun couldn't really stay angry at him for long. All six of them returned to their dorms after that, and studied together for a while. The exam period was a dull and long week, filled with stressful days and sleepess nights, and after the last paper, Kyungsoo made plans to stay over at Kai's dorm that night.

The two of them cuddled up on his bed, blankets snuggly tugged around their waist as Kyungsoo laid his head on the younger's chest. It was nice to be free of exams finally. The end-of-the-year exam  was scheduled to be in October, so there was still plenty of time in between.

"What are you thinking about, baby?" Kai asked his boyfriend.

"Nothing. Just breathing in the moment. It's not everyday I get to do this with you."

"It's been a month, you know."

Kyungsoo smiled. "Yeah, we could finally go out on a date without worrying about exams."

Kai breathed in the scent of Kyungsoo's lavender body wash and sighed contentedly. He'd been yearning to go on an official date with Kyungsoo for a while now, that didn't involve the school compound, and it felt like a dream come true to finally be able to do that. There was still something he'd been meaning to tell the older male, and he didn't want to stall it any longer.

"Tomorrow. After school. I'll take you to my favourite cafe."

"The one you go to after soccer practice sometimes?"

Kai raised an eyebrow at him. "How the hell did you know that? I don't remember telling you."

He didn't, because he only told Kyungsoo about soccer practice and dance lessons so far. He couldn't even remember the last time he frequented Genie Cafe, the only cafe that served Americano the way he likes it.

"I stalked you, Jongin. I know everything."

"Tell me then." Kai urged, genuinely curious now.

"Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings, you have soccer practice.  On Thursdays you have dance lessons, and on Tuesdays you attend extra classes for Geography and Science because those two are your weakest subjects." The words flowed smoothly from his tongue, as if he had them memorized.  "On weekends sometimes, maybe once or twice in a month, you'd return home to Daegu to visit your parents."

"How the hell did you find out about that?" They hadn't talked about their families yet. so Kai was shocked to hear this.

"I hack the school's system."

". That's creepy."

"Yes I am. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, your classes on Mondays end around 1pm, while on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thurdays, they end around 2pm. You'll go for dance lessons or soccer practice after that, and by the time you're done, you'd either go back to the dorm, or hang out with your friends. Sometimes I'd find you in Genie Cafe---mostly because I followed you everywhere---and you'll be sitting there sipping a cup of Americano while reading a book you've borrowed from the library.  I find that a fresh change from your usual popular self in school."

Kai was rendered speechless for once in his life. He didn't think a person would go this far to learn about him. And it was making him fall deeper for Kyungsoo. Yeah, the whole thing crept him out a little, but Kyungsoo only had eyes for him the whole time, so that was consolation enough.

"I think...I'm falling in love with you, Do Kyungsoo." Kai suddenly said, surprising the older male.

Those three words certainly brought tears in Kyungsoo's eyes. His feels had literally just exploded all over the place, and now he was gonna ing cry his eyes out because he simply couldn't hold it back anymore. Those were the words that he'd been dying to hear for a year now, and it all, I can't stop my ugly sobbing any longer.

He cried for a long time that night---not giving a damn about how bad he looked---and Kai held him tight, soothing him with more words that drew out more ugly sobbing from him. It even brought tears to the younger's eyes eventually, and right before Kyungsoo drifted off to sleep on Kai's chest, he placed a wobbly kiss on Kai's lips, and uttered four simple words into the latter's ear.

"I love you too."

And then he passed out like a light, the sound of Kai's heartbeat luring him to sleep.

A/N:

Puke rainbows, lovelies!