Kim Minseok was already well aware that his fans were extreme when it came to showing their undeniable affections, but this was on an entirely whole new level. Despite the unforeseeable events that had presented itself to the singer, he called for the staff to allow the trespasser to stay, ignoring the protesting Yookyoung. 

“Nun mee-cha suh” She huffed disbelievingly, “Have you gone crazy? You just got attacked by one of these people and now you’re welcoming them in with open arms?”

In his head, Minseok disagreed with her warning. It couldn't hurt to lighten up the mood and it seemed as if Spongebob was more than determined to make him "feel better". He did this by constantly checking his blood pressure monitor to ensure the safety of his idol and even by suddenly grabbing Minseok's shoulders to give him a light massage with his gloved hands. This kind of attention was unlike any other, it felt oddly calming and he found himself relaxing in the stranger's embrace. He could get used to this.

Upon hearing Yookyoung (who decided to ignore Spongebob altogether) complain about the quality of food being presented to Minseok, Spongebob suddenly removed himself from the singer and hobbled out the door, taking his warmth with him. Empty, again.

“Hello again” Spongebob respectfully bowed and hobbled back in merely minutes later with what looked like the head chef flanking after him, fuming. In his hands (or more accurately yellow mits) was a plate filled with what Minseok gleefully realized was Kimchi Miso Soup; his favourite.

“Since this ugly hyung couldn’t make good food for you, I took over the kitchen to make you something special”

“How did you know that this is my favourite food?” Minseok asked more to himself than to the other. The singer was very secretive when it came to personal details and the only person who knew what he liked to eat was the motherly ajumma neighbour back in China.

“Oh that’s easy, because it’s my favourite food too.” Spongebob stated, matter-of-factly. “Since we are soul-mates, of course we would like the same things”

Minseok rose his eyebrow at this bizarre observation. The one who is crazy here is not me, Noona.  “Take your costume off” He ordered. “I want to see you”

There was an ping sound as the fully masked person before him undressed to reveal bare skin. Everyone in the room involuntarily gasped and one flimsy looking nurse dropped to the floor, fainting. He wasn’t wearing anything under there? To distract his eyes from looking down at the boy’s parts, he focused on his face instead.  The boy had dark messy hair, and a permanent mischevious glint and smirk set on his fair-skinned face. A loud beeping sound emitted from the monitor next to him and everything went dark for the strawberry-faced Minseok.

*

“Noona, how do you know when you’re in love?” Kim Jongin asked his sister as they were both sprawled lazily on their rug in the living room, watching T.V.

This question seemed to catch Yuna off guard.

“Aigoo” She pinched her brother’s cheek playfully, “Is my cute Jongin-nie in love?”

“No way” He swatted her hand away, which only further encouraged her to taunt him.

"It's just..." He began, "there's this kid who was a complete dork when he moved to our school but now I guess I don't hate him as much"

She nodded her head thoughtfully, "And why don't you hate him anymore?"

“Because he’s funny, and cute, and innocent and he really tries his best at everything” Jongin rambled on, his eyes lighting up. He wasn’t even paying attention to the characters on the screen anymore and instead was giving his Noona his undivided attention.

Yuna chuckled because her brother was the most innocent person she knew of; he’d barely had any girlfriends in the past and didn’t even know how to kiss. 

“What about you Noona?” Jongin asked suddenly, “That Mina person came over and it kind of looked like you were fighting”

Yuna sighed. She had acted like a complete and the lovely girl probably hated her now. “It’s complicated. Not everyone can be so open with their feelings” She stated simply.

*

“This is so cute” Kyungsoo squealed excitedly after being handed a very furry critter from Chanyeol who had cornered him before school (before Jongin had the chance too)

“It’s for you” The tall red-headed giant made clear.

“Really? Why?” Kyungsoo asked, not taking his gaze off of his new present. It had been a while since he had received a well-thought out gift like this since when it came to giving gifts Jongdae would always casually give Kyungsoo something weird like socks or Kyungsoo’s own possessions back.

“An apology for not sticking up for you on your first days at our school” Chanyeol referred back to the time when Kyungsoo found himself in a fight up against a shirtless Jongin and Chanyeol had just been enjoying the show with a packet of popcorn as if he was in the cinema.

Kyungsoo’s gaze warmed and the corner of his lips turned up into a sincere smile. “Apology accepted” and with that he kissed the teddy on its small, black nose.

‘This is somewhat familiar’ Kyungsoo thought before he remembered yesterday’s events when Jongin had kissed him on the nose and used his secret against him.

Chanyeol had taken the older’s dazed-ness as an opportunity to snake his long hands around Kyungsoo’s soft neck.

“Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo asked, surprised, his eyes widening. What’s he doing?

“Sorry, can we just um stay like this before school starts?” He asked, bringing their bodies closer. This was bad, very bad. Kyungsoo could feel his pants tightening as his curse came into play as it always did when he was shown intimate affection. Please, get off.

“Kyungsoo-yah, there you are!” A smooth yet somehow harsh voice spoke, grabbing Kyungsoo from the back of his collar away from the (now irked) Chanyeol.

The chocolate haired boy found himself – to a certain extent - grateful for Jongin’s intervention. That was until Jongin mirrored Chanyeol’s motion, hugging him tightly.

The sun-kissed boy clenched his teeth challengingly to Chanyeol who just shrugged nonchalantly, slipped his hands in his pocket and walked through the school gates.

“You!” Kyungsoo shouted when Chanyeol was out of hearing-distance. “I can’t trust you anymore, stay away from me” he pushed the kingka away for emphasis, who stumbled on his own feet.

“What? We can’t have you getting hard over someone like Chanyeol!” Jongin retorted, becoming increasingly frustrated. Kyungsoo blushed crimson. I wasn’t hard, you .

“And what’s wrong with Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo challenged. The way Jongin said his name sounded so hateful and Kyungsoo couldn’t see how someone could possibly hate the giraffe. In response Jongin just groaned loudly before stomping off but not before muttering “stupid Kyungsoo” under his breath. Heard that.

*

The other student’s in a certain somebody’s class were clever enough to avoid Kim Jongin for the entire first session. Jongin’s dark aura warned even Mr. Yixing not to pick on Jongin to answer the question “Who won the Korean War?” so instead Mr. Yixing called on Kyungsoo (who was waving his hands madly in the air) to answer the question

“There was no conclusive winner for the war. Instead Korea returned to the way things were before and North and South Korea remained divided. The U.S did succeed in checking Communist expansion; however it did so at a great cost in money and lives” Kyungsoo took a deep breath after his long lecture.

Mr. Yixing beamed at Kyungsoo’s university-grade answer, congratulating him on making him feel like “he wasn’t just teaching a sack of potatoes”, glaring at the rest of the students as he did so. He glared especially long at Kim Junmyeon, who winked seductively in response.

Kim Jongin scorned bitterly, “How can someone be so smart and so dumb at the same time?” How long would it be until Kyungsoo finally understood his feelings?

*

Note: The Xiuchen part of the chapter is loooong to commemorate the one and only Kim Jongdae’s Birthday! He is my bias in EXO-M because he is just so charming, dorky and funny and his clear voice legit gives everyone the chills.

Also, let me ask! Who's your bias in EXO? I'm curious to know.