“Hey hyung, where are you going?”

“Didn’t I tell you I’m not walking back with you today? I’ve got some errands to do for my mom,” Kyungsoo says, slowing down his steps so Jongin can catch his breath.

“But it’s Friday! It’s game night with the guys!” Jongin is pouting and Kyungsoo has the sudden urge to kiss those lips but he bites his own instead in hoping that if Jongin did know him well, he’ll think that he’s just feeling guilty, which he is but just not the main reason.

“I know, I know. I’ll still come but just a bit later than usual,” he mutters, continuing to walk towards the school gate, glancing sideways to make sure the other is following, “I promised Baekhyun that I’ll bake something and then I’ll come by okay?”

“And you’ll sleep over right? My parents are away for the weekend.”

“What, are we ten?” Kyungsoo snickers, nudging his best friend gently and when Jongin pouts again, he gives in, “Okay fine. I’ll sleep over.”

Jongin whoops, almost tripping on a rock but even when embarrassed, there’s still that smile on his face.

“Why do you always insist I sleep over? It’s not like we don’t see each other everyday,” Kyungsoo remarks.

He asks the same question every time Jongin invites him for a sleepover and each time the answer is the same. But Kyungsoo still hopes that it will be different someday.

“Because you’re my best friend!”

Still the same.

Kyungsoo smiles but doesn’t meet Jongin’s gaze. For an oblivious boy, somehow Jongin can tell what’s on his mind just by looking and right now Kyungsoo doesn’t really want Jongin to see or know for that matter that he’s disappointed. That will just lead to him asking more questions which he won’t be able to answer. If Kyungsoo isn’t such a bad liar, he won’t mind as much but sadly, he is.

Besides he doesn’t have the time to talk at the moment. He really does need to go to the store and if he wants to have more than enough time to bake, he needs to leave soon.

He looks at his watch and with a dramatic gasp, fixes the straps of his backpack before waving goodbye at Jongin, who just stares open mouthed as his best friend runs in the opposite direction.

---

His mom had asked him over breakfast that morning to go buy flour because they’re running out and his dad insist they eat pancakes everyday nowadays. She also gave him cash just before he left for school, the amount way more than the price for a bag of flour. Like the good child he is, he told her this but she only waved him off telling him to buy anything he wants.

So that’s how he finds himself strolling through the convenience store carrying a basket with a bag of flour in it and some baking ingredients for later. And because he’s a good child and he likes to do what his parents ask him to do, in this case buy anything he wants, there’re also a few bags of crisps, a couple bars of chocolates and some energy drinks.

He leaves the store happy with only a few coins in his pocket.

His smile however doesn’t last long because now he realises that he’s going to have to walk back to his house carrying all those things and they’re heavy and his arms are definitely going to hurt and just- He almost cries on the spot but then he remembers the short cut from the store to his house. He doesn’t usually go that way because apparently it’s creepy and there’re some weird rumours about it.

He stops to think for a few seconds and when he looks down to the heavy bags in his hands, he sighs. Desperate times call for desperate measures people say.

It is as creepy as he thought it would be, he discovers as soon as he turns the first corner. He almost regrets buying the extra can of Red Bull now. He starts to increase his pace, purposely walking under the dim street lights for obvious reasons.

Five minutes later, he’s almost there, his house is only a few blocks away and in no time he’ll be hom-

“Hello young man!”

As loud as the sudden greeting, Kyungsoo shrieks, eyes wide as he looks around for the source. Instinctively, he tightens his grip on the plastic bags as if to prepare himself for what’s to come. His heart is still beating erratically when the same voice can be heard again but this time, an old woman appears along with it right in front of him.

Again, Kyungsoo makes a very unmanly sound, which gets the woman laughing open mouthed, missing teeth and what not. Kyungsoo would’ve find it funny but he’s still in shock.

“If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought you’re a girl dressed up as a boy, Kyungsoo.”

He scrunches his face, feeling slightly offended by the statement but then when his mind catches up to him he opens his mouth in horror, “How do you know my name?”

The woman chuckles again and honestly Kyungsoo is getting pretty annoyed but he refrains from brushing her off and just walk away with his pride intact because he still wants to know how she knows his name. (And because he’s a boy with manners.)

“That’s not important my dear,” she finally says, voice weak, “What’s important is that I need to give you this.”

Just then, a small bottle is shoved to his face and he has to step back a little to keep his nose as pretty as it is. He scrutinizes the content and the woman lets him, keeping her arm outstretched. The bottle is full, the liquid inside looks thick and the red matches well with the cap. It actually kind of reminds him of- “Blood? Why are you giving me blood?”

He’s surprised by how calm he sounded because being given blood in a small bottle at such a creepy place is not an ordinary occurrence. Add to the fact that the person giving it to him is an old woman whom he’s never met before but knows his name makes it even more disturbing.

“Silly boy. It’s not blood,” she rolls her eyes at him, finally letting her arm fall slowly, “This small thing here will help you with your relationship problem.”

“I don’t have a relationship problem!” Kyungsoo counters defensively. He would flail his arms around for emphasis if it weren’t for the heavy bags.

“Yes you do.”

Kyungsoo was about to repeat his previous statement, saying it twice will convince the woman perhaps, but she stops him before he can even open his mouth, “What about Kim Jongin then?”

He knows his eyes must have widen comically again because the woman looks like she’s stifling a laugh. She probably have guessed that he’s almost had it with her laugh, just like how she knows his name and his so called relationship problem with Jongin.

“Before you ask how I know about your crush on Kim Jongin, just save your breath,” she orders, looking quite serious now, “I hope that fact will convince you that I’m not bluffing.”

She holds up the bottle again to his face, except not as close as before, “This little thing here is a love potion. If you can get that boy Jongin to drink this, he will instantly like you back. Trust me.”

She then pushes the bottle into his left hand, the one that’s not still gripping tightly on the plastic bags, “There. Remember, all you need to do is make sure he drinks this and he’ll be all yours. There’s one downside however,” she continues solemnly, “It won’t work if he already likes someone else. You cannot force love Kyungsoo.” How ironic.

She gives him one last smile, a genuine one this time although Kyungsoo still kind of want to laugh because of the missing front teeth, before she disappears.

For a few seconds, Kyungsoo stays still, staring blankly at where the woman used to stand, clasping the bottle in his hand. He doesn’t know if he can trust the woman. He knows he shouldn’t. So what if she knows his name. She’s probably done her research. His crush on Jongin isn’t necessarily a secret either, a few of his close friends know.

That’s probably it, he thinks. One of them (or probably more) decides it’ll be funny to prank Kyungsoo and get back to him for all the time he spends hitting and punishing them. Kyungsoo smirks, placing his bet on Chanyeol and Baekhyun. Nothing else makes sense really.

Feeling slightly relieved and less alarmed now that he thinks he’s got everything in the bag, Kyungsoo heads back home. Despite walking past a few trash cans along the way, he still holds the bottle tight however.

---

When he arrives home, he hadn’t expected to see Baekhyun lounging alone on the living room couch. He can hear his mom singing from the kitchen so she was probably the one who opened the door for him.

“What are you doing here?”

Baekhyun opens his eyes at the sound. It’s a sign of how close they are that Baekhyun can shamelessly take a nap even when he’s not there and his mom is just in the next room.

“You’re back!”

“Yes I am,” Kyungsoo deadpans. If he only suspected Baekhyun of being the mastermind of the prank involving the woman and the ‘love potion’ a few minutes ago, now he’s pretty sure of it, “Why are you here?”

“You promised me you’re going to bake,” Baekhyun reminds him, smiling mischievously, “So I’m here to help. Speed up the process you know.”

Kyungsoo groans, he actually had forgotten about it. If Baekhyun wasn’t there to remind him, he’ll probably go to Jongin’s house empty handed and Baekhyun will probably throw a fit. Although now he thinks that’s probably ideal. How dare he try to prank him.

But Baekhyun is giving him sad looks now, as if sensing his reluctance so before he can stop it, he finds himself asking, “Red velvet cupcakes?”

Everything becomes a blur afterwards with Baekhyun excitedly pulling him towards the kitchen, his mom coincidentally leaving and tells the boys to have fun baking. Kyungsoo orders Baekhyun to look up for the recipe for red velvet cupcakes on the internet while he goes through the cabinets to find the ingredients they’ll need.

They work quietly after that except for when Baekhyun reads out the instructions for Kyungsoo and Kyungsoo barking orders at Baekhyun. They have butter and sugar beating well in a bowl already when Kyungsoo suddenly has the urge to pee. It may have something to do with the whole can of Red Bull that he refused to share with Baekhyun earlier.

“Just follow what it says on the recipe okay,” he instructs to a confused looking Baekhyun, before running towards the bathroom at the end of the hall.

A few minutes later and feeling much more comfortable now that he emptied his bladder, Kyungsoo comes back to a thankfully still intact kitchen and a proud looking Baekhyun who immediately tells him that all that’s left to do is to divide the batter into the twelve cases already prepared and then put them in the oven.

“And we need to make the icing and then obviously ice them and ugh why is there so many things to do?” Baekhyun whines pitifully, plodding towards Kyungsoo and wrapping his arms around his waist.

“Don’t complain, you’re the one who wanted to help,” Kyungsoo laughs, struggling to release himself from Baekhyun surprisingly tight hold on him. Once successful, he hovers over the bowl and he has to admit, they look delicious. If he wasn’t so averse to dipping his finger in to have a taste, he would. He suspects Baekhyun did that though.

He diligently fills in all the cases with the batter, all the while with Baekhyun staring at him. Once the tray is safe in the oven, he goes straight to working on the icing. It’s slightly unnerving and Kyungsoo can’t help but notice that Baekhyun has been suspiciously quiet for the past few minutes. The staring doesn’t help either.

“Are you okay?” he asks as he waits for the icing to mix properly.

“Hmm? Oh I’m great,” Baekhyun says, smiling sweetly at him, “Has anyone ever told you that you look handsome when you bake Soo?”

Kyungsoo almost chokes in response. Under normal circumstances, Baekhyun would have laughed at the reaction but apparently, today isn't a normal day. Instead, he jumps off the stool and rushes towards him, rubbing his back gently.

“There, there,” Baekhyun whispers in his ears, “All better.”

Kyungsoo is thankfully saved by the ding of the oven so he quickly steps away from Baekhyun to take out the tray.

“Um we’ll have to leave it to cool first before we can ice it,” he says after placing the tray on the counter, eyeing Baekhyun suspiciously, “So while waiting I’m going to go change first okay?”

He doesn’t wait for Baekhyun to say anything before he rushes towards his room, glancing back once and feeling relieved to see Baekhyun hadn’t decided to follow him. He takes his time changing and then packing extra clothes for the sleepover at Jongin’s.

By the time he’s done, he actually feels a tad bit silly for running away from Baekhyun like that. They’re best friends after all so Baekhyun complimenting him and being worried over him is definitely a normal thing to do.

When he comes back to the kitchen, a slightly dazed looking Baekhyun just looks up at him disinterestedly before looking back at his phone. Kyungsoo sighs in relief, he was just being silly.

---

They leave the house half an hour later, Baekhyun honoured with the task of carrying the container with the cupcakes with Kyungsoo happily skipping next to him. By the time they arrive at Jongin’s house, everyone else was there already.

At the sight of the cupcakes, loud cheers erupted in the living room, everyone save for Jongin and Zitao who’s playing on the PlayStation run towards Baekhyun.

“Hey, hey guys. Chill out. There’s enough cupcakes for everyone,” Baekhyun screams, alarmed at the sight of eight boys surrounding him with hungry eyes.

As soon as Baekhyun places the container on the table, multiple hands reach out for it and one by one the cupcakes are gone, leaving only three remaining.

“Aren’t you going to take one?” Baekhyun asks Kyungsoo, who’s still amazed by the rate of the disappearance of the cupcakes.

“Later,” he murmurs, staring thoughtfully at his other best friend who’s still concentrating on the game.

“Whatever suits you,” Baekhyun shrugs, walking towards one of the couches with a cupcake in one hand.

Knowing the house like the back of his hand, thanks to past numerous sleepovers, Kyungsoo makes his way easily towards Jongin’s room to drop his backpack. He plops himself down on Jongin’s bed knowing he wouldn’t mind. Kyungsoo hasn’t had any time to take a breather since school’s over earlier, what’s with him shopping, getting accosted by the old woman aka person sent by Baekhyun and probably Chanyeol too to prank him and lastly baking the cupcakes.

He’s about to fall asleep when the door suddenly opens and in comes Sehun, who looks mildly frantic. He closes the door behind him and in two big steps, strides towards the bed where Kyungsoo sits.

“Hyung!” he whimpers, pulling Kyungsoo in a hug, “I missed you.”

Sehun buries his face deeper in Kyungsoo’s neck and is he sniffing him? “Err Sehun ah, what are you doing?”

There is no reply for a few moments before at last Sehun lets out a sigh, “Hmm you smell like cupcakes hyung. I love cupcakes. I love you.”

Kyungsoo laughs and decides to indulge Sehun for once. It’s certainly not rare for Sehun to be clingy but it’s usually not towards him because in his words ‘that’s Jongin’s job, not mine.’

“You don’t have to up to me Sehun ah,” he says softly, patting the younger’s back, “I can make cupcakes anytime if you want. You just have to ask. And pay for the ingredients.”

Sehun mumbles something in his neck but the sound doesn’t reach Kyungsoo’s ears.

“What did you say?”

“I’m not up to you,” Sehun slowly lifts his head so he’s facing Kyungsoo, “I mean it hyung. I love you.”

“I-“

The bedroom door opens again with a bang, cutting him off. Both Kyungsoo and Sehun look up to see the intruder. Kyungsoo is kind of glad of the interruption because he doesn’t actually know what to say to Sehun, who on the other hand however looks furious, “What are you doing here Zitao?”

The two supposedly best friends are now sending glares at each other. Zitao’s usually scary expression looks even worse now as he expertly closes the door behind him using a foot before walking towards them.

“Hey guys what’s going on?” Kyungsoo wonders aloud, suddenly concerned. He never imagines in his life seeing Sehun and Zitao fighting or having a quarrel for that matter because they’re always joking and playing around like kids but now it looks like someone killed the other’s mother.

“Get your hands off of Kyungsoo hyung.”

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll-“

“Whoa, whoa, whoa guys,” Kyungsoo cuts off, secretly terrified as to what Zitao was going to say, “Sit down.”

By the stern look on Kyungsoo’s face, Zitao does as ordered, hurrying to fill in the space on Kyungsoo’s other side.

“Now would anyone tell me what’s going on?”

Sehun and Zitao glare at each other once more before the latter huffs and fold his arms across his chest, “I don’t like that he’s touching you hyung. You’re mine!”

“Who says so?” Sehun snaps, “Kyungsoo hyung was about to accept my love before you barged in!”

“You’re probably imagining things. Why would someone as cute as Kyungsoo hyung like someone like you?”

“Better me than you.”

They go back and forth with their insults for the next few minutes whilst Kyungsoo remains frozen in the middle, unable to comprehend why they would like him, let alone fight over him. 

"I've liked Kyungsoo hyung longer!" Zitao claims, chest puffed out as if trying to intimidate Sehun.

"Well since when?" 

Not expecting the question, Zitao pauses before stammering, "I- since ten minutes ago."

"Hah!” Sehun shouts triumphantly, “I like him since fifteen minutes ago!”

"Five minutes don't make a difference! I like him more!"

Kyungsoo tunes them out once more when he feels the hair on the back of his neck rise, which definitely has nothing to do with the way Sehun is playing with his nape whatsoever. He never wants to be wrong so much in his life but the signs are there and he thinks his suspicion is spot on.

"Um guys," he finally croaks out, getting both Sehun and Zitao's full attention easily, "You two stay here and decide who likes me best and I'll make my choice later. Just promise me you won't kill each other okay?"

They nod frantically, obviously eager to please Kyungsoo, who smiles wistfully before leaving the room. As he descends down the stairs, he's slightly anxious to what's waiting for him. He's thankful the stairs don't lead him directly to the living room so he's able to hide himself and take a peek first. Yifan and Joonmyun are awkwardly sitting side by side on one of the couches, watching as Chanyeol and Jongdae battle each other out on the game. A lone cupcake remains in the container.

Kyungsoo then hears voices from the kitchen, one of which belongs to the person he's looking for. Slowly he tip toes there and once more, he takes a peek first. He cheers mentally when he spots Baekhyun. Minseok and Luhan are with him but they definitely won’t be a problem.

"Hello," he greets casually.

Three pairs of eyes look up at him, Baekhyun's shine brighter than the two and as expected, he runs towards Kyungsoo and proceed to hug the daylights out of him.

“Soo! Where have you been? I missed you!”

Both Minseok and Luhan raise their eyebrows as they look back and forth between each other and at the bear hug fest while Kyungsoo looks at them helplessly over Baekhyun’s shoulder. Gently, he pries off Baekhyun’s arms from around him and when the latter whines childishly, he lets one of them linger around his waist.

“I was upstairs earlier,” he announces to the room and Baekhyun mumbles something about being upset that Kyungsoo didn’t bring him along, much to Minseok and Luhan’s amusement, made obvious by the smirk on their faces.

“Anyway,” Kyungsoo begins again because there’s still something he needs to clarify, “Do you remember what you put in the batter?”

“Um.. flour, eggs, the vanilla liquid thingy, colouring, -“

“Where did you get the colouring from?”

Baekhyun pouts when he’s cut off but go on to answer nonetheless, “There’s a small cute bottle on the counter next to your groceries. And oh, I stole one of your chocolates by the way, please don’t hate me because I love you.”

Minseok and Luhan don’t bother hiding their laughter now and Kyungsoo fights the urge to apply one of his infamous punishments to them. But then if he does that to Minseok, Luhan will probably kill him. So that option is out of the window. He won’t be able to do it on Luhan either because he’ll surely hide behind his boyfriend and then Minseok will use the eldest hyung card on him. Not fair.

He feels dread slowly settling at the bottom of his stomach. The love potion really is in the cupcakes and it seems everyone has had it except for him. And even worse - it works.

“Anything wrong Kyungsoo?” Minseok finally says when he sees the terror on Kyungsoo’s face.

Kyungsoo shakes his head immediately, they may think him crazy if he tells them the truth so he forces a smile, “Nothing hyung. I just think we put too much sugar in it.”

“No you didn’t,” Baekhyun assures him, chin resting on his shoulder, “It tastes marvelous.”

Both Minseok and Luhan nod in agreement but of course, Kyungsoo is still unhappy. That’s not actually the problem after all.

“What’s going on here?”

At the sound of the voice, Kyungsoo panics, unsure of  how to react other than to dramatically turn around towards the door, Baekhyun still clinging tightly to him like a koala bear.

“Jongin ah!” Baekhyun calls out happily, “Don’t you think Kyungsoo and I look good together?”

Jongin regards them silently, pretending to be thinking before he snickers, “Your height matches well.”

“I know right. We’re so cute!”

Jongin laughs along, walking towards them. When he sees the look on Kyungsoo’s face though, he explains, “I’m just kidding hyung.”

“Hah, nice one Jongin.”

He meets Jongin’s gaze, prepared for the confession that surely will come. Jongin will declare his love for him and then based on his experience with Sehun and Zitao, there might also be some squabbling between Jongin and Baekhyun which may or may not involve the pulling of his limbs.

But today is just full of surprises. Instead, Jongin just casually walks past and sits himself on one of the chairs to stare up at Kyungsoo, “So what was going on before I came in?”

“Nothing.”

If Jongin finds it odd that his reply came so quickly, he doesn’t show it, instead he eyes Baekhyun, “Why are you clinging to Kyungsoo hyung?”

“Because I love him,” Baekhyun confidently declares, smiling contently before squinting his eyes at something, “You have icing on your mouth Jongin.”

Embarrassed, Jongin quickly takes a napkin, “Thanks.”

Curiosity getting the better of him and because he needs to make sure, Kyungsoo asks, “Did you eat the cupcake Jongin?”

“Yes I did. It’s good,” Jongin comments, rubbing the back of his neck before standing up abruptly, detaching Baekhyun off Kyungsoo, “Let’s go hyung. I haven’t played against you yet.”

Baekhyun complains loudly but allows himself to be dragged out of the kitchen nonetheless, leaving Kyungsoo alone with Minseok and Luhan who’s been in their own world in the past few minutes, whispering to each other like they always do.

In the silence, save for the cheers from the living room, the old woman’s words ring through his mind, It won’t work if he already likes someone else.

Well damn.

---

Kyungsoo would have preferred staying longer in the kitchen to be honest because it’s safe there and he won’t be getting anymore love confessions or in one case, be reminded that he won’t get any at all because stupid Jongin already likes someone else.

But Luhan is invading Minseok’s personal space even more if that is even possible and the latter just can’t find it in him to push away the guy so now Kyungsoo is torn between hightailing away from there or staying and bear the consequences of being dubbed a voyeur if he continues to stare longer.

Deciding that he still wants to keep his innocence, Kyungsoo chooses the first option. Thankfully, the hallway is deserted. He can hear people talking in the living room so it’s not really somewhere he wants to be. He still hasn’t encountered some people and even though he doesn’t know for sure, he still needs to stay away from there for now. Better safe than sorry.

Jongin’s room is also not an option, neither do the other bedrooms in the house even though they’re most likely empty. He’s not that comfortable there. So what’s left is only one other alternative. If he has to stay in the bathroom until he can sort things out then so be it.

To his surprise, the door is locked. He starts to panic when he hears the sound of water splashing and soon enough the door opens. His mouth falls open when he sees who it is. He braces himself for the hug, knowing this one will probably hurt. Those giant hands and big body can do some damage to his fragile body.

“Oh,” Yifan mutters indifferently instead, “Hi there little guy.”

Surprised is an understatement as to what Kyungsoo is feeling right now. Of all the single people in their group, he wouldn’t have expected Yifan to be the one not affected by the love potion at all. Yifan is capable of liking someone? The cold urban guy who always claim nothing is his style Yifan?

“Did you eat the cupcake?” Kyungsoo cautiously asks, barely succeeding to mask his surprise.

“Yes I did. It was good as always Soo,” praises Yifan, large hand slapping his back and Kyungsoo scrunches his face, “Anyway, let’s go. I believe you’re the only person who hasn’t played yet.”

Before he can protest or make up an excuse, the same hand is now pushing him along towards the living room. His complaints come too late and by that time, all eyes are on the pair already.

“KYUNGSOOOOOO!”

Yifan steps away just in time, leaving Kyungsoo defenseless as both Chanyeol and Jongdae advance towards him. There is no time to react because there is an impact and then somehow he finds himself lying flat on his back on the floor, body aching and is his lung punctured because he can’t breathe.

He opens his eyes in panic, only to come face to face with a grinning Chanyeol.

“Hey you’re crushing him!” He can hear someone screaming and he hopes that person goes to heaven because now Chanyeol isn’t lying on top of him anymore and oh, hello air.

“I’m so sorry Kyungsoo. Are you okay?”

“I’m fi-ne Chanyeol,” he breathes heavily. He’s still kind of stunned, everyone’s faces hovering over him doesn’t help take away the dizziness.

“Give him room to breathe guys,” his savior says again, “Jongdae hyung, will you stop groping him!” So that wasn’t Jjanggu nuzzling his thighs was it?

One by one, the faces disappear from his view leaving only one very concerned and very worried looking Jongin.

“Hyung, are you okay?” his savior whispers softly. Ah so it’s Jongin.

Kyungsoo tries to sit up and Jongin naturally tries to stop him but Kyungsoo can be stubborn when he wants to. Try as he might though, he fails to keep the pain showing on his face.

“Where does it hurt hyung? There slowly. Here, use this as a cushion.”

Despite everything, Kyungsoo finds himself chuckling, “Relax Jongin, I’m fine.”

Chanyeol and Jongdae who have been sitting silently nearby let out an audible sigh at Kyungsoo’s reassurance before scooting closer towards him, ignoring Jongin’s glare.

“I’m really, really sorry Soo,” Chanyeol apologizes again, taking one of Kyungsoo’s hand in his.

Not one to be upstaged, Jongdae takes his other hand and scoffs, “That’s really stupid Chanyeol. Can’t you control your own body?”

“Look who’s talking, Mr. y Hands.”

“I’m not the one holding Kyungsoo’s hand very close to my crotch now am I?”

Their voices are loud next to his ears and Kyungsoo can sense a headache coming again not long after the previous one is gone. Thankfully Jongin, after being with friends with him for almost ten years now, is able to read his expression pretty easily.

“What the hell are you two doing?” Jongin hisses, removing Kyungsoo’s hands from the other two’s holds, “Now go away. Give him some space, he’s still hurt.”

Taken aback by the usually calm Jongin’s outburst, Chanyeol and Jongdae pout, making puppy noises while looking at Kyungsoo as if asking him to punish Jongin for them. Kyungsoo just glares incredulously at them and makes a shooing motion.

Thankfully they’re feeling guilty enough to not push it so they leave him there sitting down on the floor and leaning against the wall with the still worried looking Jongin by his side.

“They’re acting kind of weird aren’t they?”

When Kyungsoo coughs all of the sudden Jongin panics but Kyungsoo insists that he’s fine before Jongin can run to the kitchen to get water for him, “I’m fine.”

“Sure?”

Kyungsoo nods slowly. Jongin’s previous question still catches him by surprise and he’s not really sure how to explain it so he feigns ignorance, “What do you mean by acting weird?”

For a second Jongin seems embarrassed, thinking that he was probably imagining things but as Kyungsoo looks at him with those wide eyes he has no choice but to elaborate, “Well Sehun and Zitao were going crazy trying to look for you earlier. And then Baekhyun hyung was clinging on to you for no reason. And just now, I’m pretty sure Chanyeol and Jongdae hyung aren’t usually that excited to see you.”

Kyungsoo hums thoughtfully. He feels the same dread settling again in the pit of his stomach. He was hoping no one would notice what’s going on but of all the days Jongin can be observant, today had to be it.

“This might sound stupid but I actually thought there’s something in your cupcakes hyung,” Jongin chuckles sheepishly, looking intently at the patterns on the carpet, “But then Minseok and Luhan hyung seem fine. Yifan and Joonmyun hyung too.”

Joonmyun? Puzzled, Kyungsoo looks around the living room and there he is, sitting closely next to Yifan in silence. Their cheeks are pink for some reason.

Oh.

“Oh,” Kyungsoo mutters under his breath.

“What?”

Broken from his own thoughts, Kyungsoo takes his eyes off the people on the couch and turn to face Jongin again.

“Ah nothing,” he smiles, rubbing his neck awkwardly, “And what are you talking about? There’s nothing in the cupcakes!”

He laughs stiffly and thankfully Jongin laughs along too, “No of course not. It’s a stupid theory. Our friends are just being weird as usual.”

“Yes they are,” Kyungsoo laughs awkwardly.

---

Jongin accompanies him on the floor for next few minutes. They don’t exchange any more words, Kyungsoo content with hearing Jongin’s steady breaths. He seems to be thinking hard, fingers twitching on his lap.

Just then, Baekhyun walks in the living room, followed closely by Sehun and Zitao. Kyungsoo curses under his breath but then his eyes land on Sehun’s arm wrapped around Zitao’s shoulder, the latter laughing at what Sehun is saying to him.

“Where have you been?” Joonmyun asks them.

Baekhyun seems confused for a moment, looking around the room as if to familiarize himself with his surrounding. He sees Kyungsoo and Jongin on the floor by the door and to Kyungsoo’s relief, he only raises an eyebrow.

“I went to look for these two and found them in Jongin’s room debating on who can satisfy Kyungsoo best for some reason,” he explains, both Sehun and Zitao cough loudly behind him, “And then somehow the three of us got into a dance battle to determine who’s more superior.”

“Dance battle? In my room? What the hell guys!”

Sehun laughs happily, enjoying the horror on Jongin’s face, “For the record, it wasn’t me who broke your night lamp Jongin.”

“It’s Baekhyun hyung’s fault,” Zitao adds helpfully.

Both boys manage to dodge Baekhyun’s punch before they join Yifan and Joonmyun on the couch, who look just as confused as Kyungsoo. Chanyeol and Jongdae are still deciding on a game and when Kyungsoo looks in their direction, he’s pleased to note that neither of them are staring at him like they want to ravish him anymore.

“You’re lucky I’m thirsty or else I’m going to chop your balls off,” Baekhyun snaps viciously before he dramatically turns on his heels towards the door, “Oh hey, where have you been?”

Yixing had suddenly appear at the door, looking slightly flushed as if he was running, “I went back home.”

A chorus of whats and whys echoes through the room. Kyungsoo too is curious to be honest. With all the chaos that is happening, he didn’t realise that he hasn’t come across Yixing at all, although from the dazed look on his face, he looks like he just recovered from the effect of the potion too.

“I had a sudden urge to compose a love song so I went to get my guitar,” he finally answers, pointing behind him where said guitar is strapped to his back.

“Is the song finished then?” Jongdae asks as he walks towards the empty couch, numerous stacks of games ignored on the floor. Chanyeol also doesn’t seem to be planning on playing something anytime soon as he follows Jongdae’s lead.

“No, I threw the sheet away,” Yixing shrugs, placing the guitar gently on the floor, “It’s too cheesy.”

Kyungsoo almost wails loudly before he catches himself. He doesn't need anymore attention than he had been getting. He just thinks it’s a shame that he’ll never get to hear the song because for sure it was about him.

As if the past hour or so didn’t happen, the guys begin to chatter amongst themselves. Yixing accepts Jongdae’s challenge in a round of FIFA just when Minseok and Luhan finally show themselves once more in the living room.

At last, their game night goes back to normal. Jongin has gently helped Kyungsoo stand up and is now guiding him to the couch. Kyungsoo isn’t actually feeling any more pain but hey, he’ll take what he can get. The ache in his chest is still there at least.

He doesn’t know whether he should thank or kill the old woman if he sees her again. If not for the potion, he wouldn’t have find out that his crush is simply one sided and worse, Jongin likes someone else. It kind of hurt too because aren’t best friends supposed to tell each other things? Granted, he doesn’t actually want to hear Jongin talking about his crush because that’ll hurt even more.

For the remainder of the night, Kyungsoo forces himself to act normal, even succumbing to Sehun’s whining to play with him on a racing game. It’s a good distraction from his angsty thoughts. When midnight approaches, everyone slowly start to excuse themselves, Kyungsoo staying back don’t even raise an eyebrow anymore. As he waits in the living room while Jongin waves goodbye to the last of them, Kyungsoo feels the nerves suddenly catch up to him.

“Hyung!” Jongin calls out from the door, grinning like a child, “Let’s go up to my room.”

He doesn’t wait for Kyungsoo, knowing the older doesn’t need any direction. Kyungsoo takes his time but sadly Jongin’s room isn’t on the other side of the world so he gets there less than a minute later. Jongin is inspecting the damage to the room, presumably from the dance battle earlier.

“Did they break something else?”

Jongin shakes his head, “Just the night lamp. It’s okay, I don’t actually use it anyway.”

Kyungsoo hums in acknowledgement, not really sure what else to say. They aren’t always talkative when together but somehow this time Kyungsoo finds it uncomfortable.

“I’m going to go change now,” he tells Jongin unnecessarily instead, stepping carefully around Jongin to grab his backpack before leaving hastily towards the bathroom.

When he returns, Jongin has already changed and is lying on the bed, looking at something on his phone. He grins when Kyungsoo approaches slowly, patting the empty space next to him. Multiple scenarios cross Kyungsoo’s mind and of course, not all of them are innocent.

“Hyung,” Jongin whispers once Kyungsoo lay next to him, there’s an edge to his voice that immediately tells him that Jongin is nervous. He turns his head to face Jongin but he keeps his gaze on the ceiling.

“Yes?”

Jongin clears his throat, hesitating to continue but when Kyungsoo nudges him, he sighs, “Is there something going on between you and Baekhyun hyung?”

It was a scoff at first, followed by a low chuckle and then Kyungsoo just couldn’t hold it any longer before he starts to laugh hysterically, tears pooling in his eyes and stomach staring to hurt. Jongin stares at him incredulously, wondering what’s gotten into his hyung.

“Oh my,” Kyungsoo breathes at last, wiping the corners of his eyes, “Of course not Jongin. Hell will have to freeze over before I start to date him.”

He’s still slightly shaking, barely able to contain the laughter. It really isn’t all that funny and Jongin is right to look so baffled. But Kyungsoo just thinks he needed the laugh, still pretty upset about everything Jongin.

On the other side of the bed, Jongin laughs bashfully, “Ah that’s cool. I thought you weren’t telling me something.”

The second Jongin finishes his sentence, Kyungsoo snaps his head round so fast he thinks he tears a ligament but that’s not important. Did Jongin really just think that he’s someone to keep a secret from his best friend? Something as big as that?

“Are you kidding me?” he blurts, voice harsher than intended.

Alarmed at his tone, Jongin turns to him at last, “What, I’m not hyung.”

Kyungsoo sighs and looks back up at the ceiling. There’s a few glow in the dark stars stuck randomly, a gift from him for Jongin’s thirteenth birthday. He’d said Kyungsoo was silly for giving him such things, he’s a teenager now! he said proudly. They didn't talk for a few days after that before Jongin finally came to his house looking very apologetic and then dragged Kyungsoo to his house to show his now space inspired bedroom. It had apparently took him two days to convince his parents to get him a new bed sheet that has stars on it, as well as some miniature rockets that until now is still decorating his desk. It’s safe to say their friendship only got stronger after that.

“I’ll never keep a secret from you Jongin,” he confesses, softer this time, the scared look on Jongin’s face earlier had tugged at his heartstrings.

“I know hyung. I’m sorry for doubting you.”

Kyungsoo hums, knowing fully well Jongin means it. He desperately wants to forgive and forget and just go to sleep but if not now, he doesn’t know if he’ll get another chance or even the courage to say it.

“Jongin ah, you’re not hiding anything from me are you?”

“Of course not hyung!” Jongin denies quickly, too quickly in fact.

“Liar.”

Jongin sits up abruptly so that he’s looking down at Kyungsoo, who’s surprised by his action, “Did Zitao say anything to you?”

Kyungsoo gapes at him, confused as to why he’s bringing Zitao in their conversation. His breath hitches slightly when he realises what it means. Zitao knows about Jongin’s crush. He’s about to open his mouth to curse Jongin out because how dare he tell someone else but not him when Jongin goes on, “I’m sorry hyung. I’m just not a big fan of cupcakes but I love the icing so that’s why I only ate the top and give Zitao the rest.”

Kyungsoo repeats Jongin’s words a few times in his head but nothing makes sense to him. It must have been obvious from his expression because Jongin starts to elaborate, “I’m sorry I lied to you hyung. You asked me if I ate the cupcake and I said yes even though I didn’t. Well not really.”

Just like Jongin earlier, Kyungsoo sits up suddenly, eyes wide, “So you didn’t eat the red bits?”

Jongin shakes his head, looking pointedly down on his lap, afraid to see the look of disappointment on Kyungsoo’s face. He shouldn’t have to though because Kyungsoo is grinning so widely that he thinks his face is going to break if his lips stretch any further.

Jongin however still refuses to look at him so Kyungsoo, gaining a bout of courage all of the sudden, envelops him in a hug and squeezing tightly, “I’m so glad! I thought you like someone else.”

It’s too late when he realises what he said and from the way he can feel Jongin stiffen a little bit, he knows Jongin heard it.

“What do you mean hyung?”

Kyungsoo lets him go slowly, rubbing the back of his neck as he thinks of an excuse but comes up with nothing, “Forget it. I don’t know why I said it.”

“No hyung, tell me.”

Frustrated, Kyungsoo runs his fingers through his hair. He curses himself for speaking without thinking and now it seems there’s no way out. Jongin can be persistent when he wants to and right now, with his eyes locked with Kyungsoo, he knows he doesn’t have another choice.

“For some reason, I thought you like someone,” he starts, purposely leaving out the word else, “And you didn’t tell me.”

Seeing the blush creeping on his face, Jongin smiles sweetly, “So you were upset?”

“Ye-, well no. I mean, yes.”

“Why?”

“Because you didn’t tell me!” he almost screams, praying Jongin won’t be able to see through his lie.

Jongin scoots closer, taking up most of the space on Kyungsoo’s side who’s already on the edge of the bed, “Is it really because of that?”

When Kyungsoo nods, he whispers again, “Are you sure it’s not because you’re jealous hyung?”

“No!” Kyungsoo squawks, face even redder now and Jongin’s breath on his face is absolutely not helping at all.

Chuckling, Jongin leans back and Kyungsoo already starts to miss the proximity, “That’s a shame because I definitely would have been jealous if you like someone else hyung.”

Kyungsoo gawks at him, he knows he must look like a character from an anime right now but then he doesn’t care. Jongin isn’t laughing anymore, instead he keeps his eyes on Kyungsoo, waiting for a proper response.

“You like me?” he says at last, mind a jumble of thoughts, emotion a mixture of disbelief and joy. When Jongin nods confidently, the latter takes over and then his body is acting on his own as he places both hands on Jongin’s cheek and then pulling him in for a closed mouth kiss.

When he lets go, Jongin is smiling again. It takes a lot of effort for him to not repeat his actions and keep their lips touch longer because there is still something he needs to say.

“I like you too.”

“Good,” Jongin mutters before leaning in once more.

 

Note: Comments would be nice! ^^