Chapter 5
A Controlled Life
*edited 1/15/2021
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The end of the school year was quickly approaching. That meant half assed projects, piles upon piles of essays, all night study sessions, and finals. For most people, those academic factors were pushed into the back of their minds. Once seniors finished their graduation ceremony, they would be forced to go home and move all of their things into their new homes. After all the moving, the graduates would spend their first night in their house, and the next day there would be a graduation party somewhere. Kyungsoo obviously had no plans on attending the party.
Sighing in relief as he placed his pencil down, Kyungsoo had finished his last final of the year. Graduation was tomorrow, and Kyungsoo wanted nothing more than to disappear from the face of the earth. He knew that Jongin had agreed to ignore him, but he couldn't believe that for some reason. He had a feeling Jongin would continue to torment him.
The final bell rang, and students around him screamed in joy as they shot out the door. Kyungsoo placed his belongings in his bag and walked out the door to meet Luhan, Baekhyun, and Chanyeol. When their meeting spot came into view, his friends quickly spotted him, and they ran excitedly towards him. "Kyungie, school is over!" Chanyeol hooted, ruffling Kyungsoo's hair.
The shorter smiled slightly as he rearranged his hair. "Yes, Chanyeol, I know because I heard the bell."
Chanyeol rolled his eyes and hooked his arm around Kyungsoo's neck. "Let's go get ice cream already." Luhan said. Kyungsoo gave Baekhyun a side glance. The look of disapproval clearly etched onto his face. Kyungsoo tried to quickly get Chanyeol's arm off of him, but he just wouldn't budge. Then, he proceeded to jab Chanyeol's side to shoo him off.
After 10 minutes of walking, they finally reached the ice cream parlor. They got their ice cream and sat in a booth big enough to fit all of them. his vanilla ice cream, Kyungsoo was the first one to speak up, "Do you think we'd be able to see each other after graduation?"
Baekhyun, who was sitting next to him, responded first,"Well yeah of course! The graduation party! And don't you dare think you can get out of going to it. We're forcing you to, okay."
Kyungsoo sighed, "Yeah, I figured that out already, but that's not what I mean. I mean... as adults, you know? When we're living with our matches."
"I think we'll be able to. We're all connected to each other somehow. Sehun and Jongin are best friends," Luhan paused, speaking softer, "A-And Baekhyun and Chanyeol are living together..."
The two mentioned tensed up. There was an uncomfortable silence. Baekhyun cleared his throat first to break the silence. "We've only been talking about our matches. What about your jobs? Oh, and our houses aren't that far from each other. I googled our addresses and they're walking distance."
Luhan spoke up immediately. He was more than excited about the job they assigned him. "I'm gonna be a journalist!" He continued to ramble about his assignments.
Baekhyun was going to be a kindergarten teacher. Chanyeol had something in the musical profession. He could either become a music artist, a music teacher, or a music shop owner. All of his friends seemed so happy with what they got. He knew that they all had an interest in the things they got assigned to, but he just couldn't imagine himself being so passionate in something. He was just so... monotone and dull. Sure, human anatomy is interesting, but becoming a doctor is going to be hard.
Kyungsoo was snapped out of his thoughts by Baekhyun shaking him. "Kyung! You okay? We asked you something." He laughed.
Kyungsoo nodded and grabbed some napkins to wipe up his ice cream which had started dripping. "Sorry, what is it?"
"We said we should dye your hair!"
Frowning, he threw his cone into the garbage, "Why exactly would I want to do that?"
Luhan whined, "Come on! It'll be fun! Chanyeol is gonna get a tattoo, Baek wants a tongue piercing, and I'm gonna get my ear pierced! We finished high school, we're leaving our parents! What do we have to lose?"
Kyungsoo bit his lip, thinking about what his father would think about him having outrageously dyed hair. He had been wanting to dye his hair for a while. Maybe his father would be too busy to even send him off tomorrow. He barely comes home anyway. " it. Okay let's do it."
The first thing they did was walk a few more blocks to the tattoo and piercings shop. Chanyeol's eagerness was easily visible. He practically skipped the entire time to the shop, the paper with his tattoo design gripped tightly in his hands. "Hey, Yeol? Is it okay if Lu and I can get our piercings while you get that done?" Baekhyun questioned.
Chanyeol bit his lip, his hand grasping the door handle. "A-Actually, Baek? Could you be in the room with me while they do it?"
Baekhyun was surprised. It was unexpected of Chanyeol to ask him that, considering their assignment situation. He smiled sweetly nonetheless, "Of course."
The two walked into the shop while Luhan dragged Kyungsoo into the other one. Luhan squeezed Kyungsoo's hand rather tight as he talked to the employee. He was looking through the selections when he muttered softly, "Kyung, I'm kind of scared."
Kyungsoo was never good at comforting people. "Oh, shush. It's just like a shot. Except its completely impaling you."
Luhan furrowed his eyebrows, "You ."
A few minutes later, Luhan was teary eyed and leaning onto Kyungsoo's shoulder. "It really hurt!" He wiped his eyes repeatedly as they walked out of the store and into the tattoo parler.
The first thing they heard when the opened the door was a loud and deep, "OW ."
After Chanyeol got his tattoo and Baekhyun got his piercing (which both hurt like a ), they walked to the nearest beauty supply store to get bleach and hair dye for Kyungsoo. "What color do you want?" His friends asked repeatedly as he was dragged through the aisles. Kyungsoo shrugged each time, repeatedly saying that this was their idea, not his.
Eventually, they found a brand of hair dye that didn't need bleach. "It's l'xxxal, and there's only different shades of red and blond. Choose Kyungie!" Baekhyun nearly shouted as he shoved each of the boxes in his face.
"Fine, red. I don't want a bright bright color though."
A worker from behind them replied, "Then use magenta. It comes out as a darker red."
His friends nodded and quickly bought 2 boxes and one bottle of developer before running to Chanyeol's house (it was the nearest).
When they got to the house, Luhan started rambling about how Kyungsoo should also cut his hair. Go hard or go home. Kyungsoo, of course, denied many times, but his friends were persistent. Baekhyun ended up t Kyungsoo's bangs and shaving the sides. "Trust me, Kyung! You're going to be so hot after this."
Kyungsoo sighed, letting his friends do whatever the hell they wanted on his hair. Over an hour later, his ear and neck were red, but he had to admit he was pretty hot.
Graduation was today. If you looked at the sea of seniors, you could see pure dread. Most of them hated the life they were assigned. Kyungsoo, however, was more focused on the embarassment and regret he felt in regards to his hair. Everyone could see him more easily. He tried not to let it bother him, but how can you when everyone is staring at you?
When it was time for them to get into their seats, Kyungsoo could feel a pair of eyes boring into his head. He tried to look behind him without making it obvious. He eventually figured out that it was Jongin who was staring at him intensely. Nibbling on his lip, he looked anywhere but the stage as the ceremony went on.
After the ceremony, Kyungsoo got into his mother's car, and they drove as fast as they could to their house. The government workers said Kyungsoo was the one who would be picked up first, so they didn't want to be late.
As the government workers continued to load the boxes in the moving truck, Kyungsoo hugged his mother for the longest time. He didn't want to leave her. Who else would comfort her after the future abuse? His arms wrapped around her more tightly as she ran her fingers through his hair. "I-I don't want to leave you..."
She kissed his cheek and looked at him with teary eyes, "I know, honey. I know." Kyungsoo's bottom lip quivered as he put a paper with his new address in her shaky hand. "Just in case." He burrowed his head into the crook of her neck to hide his tears.
The workers announced that it was time to leave, but Kyungsoo only tightened his grip on his mom. "I'll try to visit, I promise."
She nodded and kissed Kyungsoo's forehead. "You... You have to go now."
He nodded and wiped his eyes, taking a step back from her. "I love you."
His mom could only nod with one hand over her chest and the other over . More tears spilled out of her eyes, and Kyungsoo walked away quickly to prevent more tears from pouring out.
The drive to Jongin's house seemed short. When he saw Jongin walking towards the car, he quickly wiped his tears and snot away. There were no workers in the car with them since they were still busy packing Jongin's things.
Jongin saw Kyungsoo's obvious distress and gave him some time in silence. When he saw the workers close to finishing, he finally spoke up and whispered, "When we get to the apartment we'll have to act close, okay?" There was nothing but silence. "We'll also have to kiss on camera to officiate the relationship." Jongin mumbled as he stared out the window.
Oh . Kyungsoo forgot about that.
Kyungsoo fell asleep on the drive to their apartment. Jongin glanced at Kyungsoo for a moment. Is... Is that? Yeah, it's tears. Kyungsoo was crying in his sleep. One of the workers in the front passed Jongin a box, and told him to wipe his soon-to-be husband's tears. Jongin carefully wiped Kyungsoo's tears away as gently as he could since he didn't know if Kyungsoo was wearing concealer again to cover up any bruises.
10 minutes later, they reached the apartment. Kyungsoo automatically woke up, and he and Jongin offered to bring the boxes inside. However, they were shooed away and given the keys to their apartment. Jongin walked ahead and held the elevator open for Kyungsoo and the workers.
They reached their apartment and opened the door. To their surprised, there was already some furniture. Kyungsoo wandered around, opening the first bedroom. It had an attached bathroom, which lead back into the hallway. The other bedroom was much bigger and had an attached bathroom as well. This must be the master bathroom.
He traveled back into the living room, sitting down on the couch across from where Jongin was sitting. "So, about the kiss--" Kyungsoo started, staring blankly at Jongin.
"Don't worry about it. I won't make fun of you if you have bad breath or anything like that." Jongin snapped.
Kyungsoo pursed his lips, "I was going to say I've never kissed anyone before, but okay, ." Kyungsoo stood up and walked to the kitchen, inspecting the stove. Then, he opened the door to the balcony and sat in one of the chairs, admiring the skyline he never got to see in his parents' house.
20 minutes later, he was called back into the living room by one of the workers. The other worker was holding a camera. Kyungsoo stood next to Jongin, trying to hold in his sighs and dreadful groans. The worker without the camera held a thick book, reciting some part of the law. It resembled what a priest would say at a marriage ceremony back before the Placement Tests existed. Children in elementary school were forced to memorize what they said at this part, but Kyungsoo had long forgotten it.
"Please kiss to make your assignment official." The other worker held the camera up. Kyungsoo, who was spacing out at this point, was surprised by what Jongin did next. Jongin grabbed Kyungsoo's waist to pull him closer. Before Kyungsoo could even think, Jongin placed his lips on Kyungsoo's. Kyungsoo's arms hung by his side, not knowing what to do with them. He didn't know if he should close his eyes either. Jongin's eyes were closed, so maybe he should too to make it more believable. Kyungsoo quickly closed his eyes shut, maybe a little too hard, and rested his right arm on Jongin's wrist. Is that believable enough? He hoped so.
Unfortunately, the kiss lasted an eternity because the worker with the camera truly didn't know how to use the camera. First, he didn't realize the lens cap was on. Then, he couldn't get the camera to focus and zoom out. After 10 more seconds, Jongin pulled away to help him. "Ah, I see! Thank you."
Jongin grumbled a you're welcome before forcefully pulling Kyungsoo back into his reach. On instinct, Kyungsoo wrapped his arms around Jongin as well when their lips met. He quickly closed his eyes before they could take the picture. Kyungsoo's heart was a ticking bomb, getting ready to explode. The beating of his heart blocked out the noises around him. He didn't even hear the camera go off. Of course, Kyungsoo had no attraction towards Jongin (even if he has called him attractive before). This was his first, no, second kiss. So this was definitely why his heart felt like it was going to come hurtling out of his throat.
The absence of another pair of lips against his is what snapped him out of it. He put his arms down, but Jongin's arm was still wound around Kyungsoo's hips. A blush quickly appeared on Kyungsoo's cheeks and the tips of his ears. The workers said a few more words before they bid their goodbyes and left. Once the door closed completely, Jongin ripped his arm from Kyungsoo.
He smirked as he picked up one of his boxes, turning to face Kyungsoo. "Aw, did I get you all flustered?" He glided towards the master bedroom to place his belongings there.
Muttering curses under his breath, Kyungsoo began to do the same. Except he placed all of his things in the other bedroom. Jongin leaned against the doorway of Kyungsoo's new room. "Aw, we're not going to sleep together, lover?" He teased, laughing his out as he went out to grab more of his boxes.
Kyungsoo glared at Jongin, blocking him in the hallway. "What did we agree on? No teasing, bullying, or harassing. Stop being an ." He grumbled more things, too quiet for Jongin to hear. He made sure he had his phone and wallet before going out to buy groceries.
Kyungsoo returned with bags and bags of groceries, which were extremely difficult to bring home. When he opened the door to the apartment, Jongin was plopped in front of the TV in a white shirt and sweatpants. Kyungsoo ran to the kitchen to dump all of the bags on the ground. He laid out the stuff he was going to cook for dinner and put everything else where they needed to go. He bit his lip as he looked at the other sitting on the couch, wondering if he should cook enough for two. He noticed the side glances Jongin was giving him.
He started walking towards Jongin, "Do you want pasta?" His gaze was anywhere but on the blond.
Jongin immediately looked up, "Yeah. Thanks." Kyungsoo nodded and grabbed another box of pasta.
A while later, Kyungsoo was done cooking and he set the table for both of them. Jongin quickly sat down at the table, his lips at the sight of the spaghetti. "Thanks." He said as he started putting some on his plate.
"No problem." Kyungsoo replied softly. They ate in silence with the TV playing in the background.
Jongin finally spoke up, "Give me your phone."
Kyungsoo looked up at him in confusion, the sauce off his lips. "Why?"
"Just give it." Kyungsoo reached into his pocket and gave his phone to the other. Jongin unlocked his phone and gave it to Kyungsoo. "Put your number in. In case something happens." They exchanged numbers and awkwardly ate the rest of their food.
Jongin stared at Kyungsoo, specifically in his lip area. Kyungsoo stared right back with tired eyes, "What now?" Without a word, Jongin leaned over the table and gently swiped the other's top lip. "You had sauce." He mumbled, placing the thumb with the sauce in his mouth to it clean.
Kyungsoo scrunched his face, making a sound to express his disgust. "Gross bleh, don't do that! Just tell me next time." He quickly finished his food and stood up to get a glass of water.
"I'll wash the dishes." Jongin said as he collected the dirty plates. Kyungsoo gulped the water down and placed it in the sink, almost running into his room.
The next day, Kyungsoo and Jongin ate cereal together. Thankfully, Luhan had called Kyungsoo in the middle of it, so he didn't have to suffer through the awkward silence. Luhan, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Sehun were going to come drop by before the party. Kyungsoo's friends knew he needed all the help in the world to get ready for a party. And Sehun was just coming for Jongin.
Two hours later, the doorbell rang. His obnoxious friends appeared in the video screen, and he rang them in. Kyungsoo groaned when they burst through the door. They grabbed his arms and dragged him to the bedroom. "Well hey it's nice to see you guys too. Wait no--" He tried to stop them from dragging him into the wrong bedroom, but it was too late. The first thing he saw was Jongin about to take off his underwear.
Jongin turned around and laughed, "Damn, we only got official yesterday and you're already this eager?"
Kyungsoo slapped all three of his friends and dragged them out. "Sorry." He apologized before closing Jongin's door. "You ing idiots." He sighed as he entered his bedroom.
The next two hours were spent fixing Kyungsoo up for the party. Baekhyun styled Kyungsoo's hair up with probably ten cans of hair spray. Luhan and Chanyeol picked out a pair of ridiculously tight black skinny jeans, and a white long sleeved shirt he would later roll up to his elbows.
"You guys are ridiculous. If I wear those pants my thighs will rip them wide open." Kyungsoo complained.
Chanyeol replied, "But, Kyung! Use that to your advantage! These would look so good and you know it. Imagine you're dancing on the dance floor, and some dude comes up to you because your thighs and are just mesmerizing!"
The red head scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, sure like that would ever happen."
"Hey, you know Jongin will definitely bring a girl home tonight. So why shouldn't you?"
That was a good point.
Hey thanks for reading this chapter! I'm so sorry it was probably boring because theres just filler stuff and then development and blah blah but i really wanted to update today!
This story has reached over 100 subscribers and I want to thank all of you for that! It means so much to me I love you all so much!
On the poll i posted on the last chapter, the results have always been tied between yes no and separate stories. So I may make separate stories for each ship because why not lol
Thank you for reading i hope you enjoyed! ^^
Comments, upvotes, and subscriptions would be greatly appreciated!
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