For the past weeks, nothing showed any signs of the impending changes, or has been out of the ordinary. Baekhyun still brings leftover pastries from the bakery he works at every night and Chanyeol would never leave their room empty handed. Every morning, Kyungsoo knocks on their door with cups of steaming coffee in hand while he waits for them until they finish preparing for their morning classes. Then at lunch, they would sit with Kris, and Jongdae never fails to squeeze himself next to the taller with Chanyeol on his other side. Kyungsoo would make a comment on how Jongdae’s lack of shame amazes him, and the latter will always return the eye-roll with a grin. In the afternoons, Baekhyun still separates himself with them for his part-time job at the bakery just outside campus and Luhan will spend the rest of it trying his best to decipher what it is that is so special with their room that Chanyeol seems to be so fascinated about that he refuses to leave until Baekhyun comes back (the reason was pretty obvious but Chanyeol has mastered the art of deceiving Luhan with random and unnecessary things to cover his real motive).

 

It was all the same old routine that Luhan grew accustomed of.

 

That is, until yesterday when Jongin started acting out of his character. First, he kidnapped Luhan from his group of friends during lunch and made the victim sit with him and his friends instead. Now, Luhan can’t remember how Jongin managed to get his approval as he crouches down and crawls out of his room at three-forty in the morning. The sun wasn’t even out yet. He gives Baekhyun’s sleeping figure one last look before he closes their door as quietly as possible. Then he searches the poorly lit hallway for any movements and sees a figure looming next to the door five rooms from his, reluctantly, he finds his steps.

 

“Hurry up.” Jongin whisper-shouts after Luhan passes by the third door.

 

Luhan speed-walks through the remaining distance, belatedly realizing that it’s cold and that he had forgotten to grab another layer of clothing to fight through the weather. He tries his best to cover his torso with his own warmth and slaps Jongin’s arm when the gap closes to an arm’s reach, because the latter is wearing a ing sweater and Luhan isn’t.

 

“Tell me what you want now.” He hisses through grinding teeth.

 

“Let’s eat.” Jongin states as if he’s demanding this at lunch time and not in an ungodly hour where people are still dreaming.

 

Luhan’s jaw unhinges a few centimeters but manages to reassemble them back within a second. “What? Now?”

 

Jongin smiles, so bright that Luhan swears it lighted the hallway, as cliché as that. “Yes. Now.”

 

Luhan makes a protest but he’s more stunned to witness Jongin producing a cardigan from out of nowhere and draping them over his shivering body, like a ing gentleman, to even go against the proposal. Luhan, with his pathetic excuse of a way of controlling his inner feelings to explode, pinches Jongin’s side when they make it out of the campus. They stroll down, braving the cold and staying as close as possible. Luhan strongly declares that he’s only staying glued to Jongin’s side for the heat and nothing more. Jongin doesn’t say anything and just reaches his arm around Luhan’s shoulder, pulling the latter against his side.

 

They ended up at the twenty-four seven fast food chain few blocks from the university and across the street. Luhan grimaces at the thought of eating greasy food at such an hour and decides on a hot coffee instead. But Jongin was having none of it and ordered a bucket of fried chicken (Luhan is even more amused that they can produce a bucket at such circumstances within the span of fourteen minutes – he didn’t intend to count but Luhan couldn’t find anything else to keep him from staring right back at Jongin, and boy, does Jongin do stare), shoving one greasy thigh to Luhan’s gaping lips.

 

“I’ve been craving for this.” Jongin says, beaming at the sight in front of him.

 

Luhan pulls the offending part and makes a bad decision in his lips. “Ugh. This is making me sick right now.”

 

Jongin makes a face, placing his palm flat against his chest. He gasps. “You need to say sorry or mother chicken will haunt you in your dreams.”

 

Luhan rolls his eyes and pretends that it doesn’t feel uncomfortable how, aside from the man holding his cup of coffee that seems to be his second with a crumpled burger wrap on his side, they are the only customers and the cashier has been eyeing them. Nor Jongin’s way of eating his beloved chicken feels any different. He gulps down.

 

“Can’t you eat faster?”

 

Jongin shakes his head. “Nah-uh, I need to savor this.”

 

He his lips in a way that made it seem to be in a slow motion and Luhan definitely didn’t stare when he swallows his bite. No, he didn’t. But he’ll admit that Jongin looks sinful while doing so.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Baekhyun’s still sleeping when they came back (much to Jongin’s persistence of staying a little longer for another cup of coffee). Luhan doesn’t even bother to return Jongin’s cardigan. Rather, he goes straight to the bathroom and gives his mouth a quick brush before crawling back to the comforts of his bed.

 

Two hours later, he wakes up to Baekhyun’s voice.

 

“You sneak out, didn’t you?” He accuses more than he questions. “I woke up to piss and you weren’t in your bed. Where’d you go? Who’s with you?”

 

Luhan forces himself out of the warmth and stretches his arms up above his head, face scrunching into one of its ugliness at the morning light. “Jongin wants to eat chicken.”

 

Baekhyun frowns, he steps aside as Luhan stands. “Jongin? That’s so unlike him.”

 

Luhan pads to the bathroom but doesn’t close the door. A few seconds passed, a gargling sound echoes from the inside. Baekhyun sits on his bed. “Tell him that.”

 

“If he isn’t listening to you, what makes you think that he’ll listen to me?”

 

“Hey, can you hand me a towel?” Baekhyun goes through Luhan’s closet and pulls the first fabric he sees. He throws them inside and waits. Luhan comes out not long after, patting his damp cheeks to dry. “I don’t know. He’s acting weird since the other day.”

 

“Oh. He’s up for something.”

 

Luhan eyes him suspiciously but sighs dejectedly after Baekhyun stretches his arms in surrender. “Please, don’t say that.”

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

He worriedly asks his friends around lunch just to have a clue as to why Jongin’s acting as he is after the little incident that had happened when he opened their door to the sight of the latter, beaming a good morning.

 

“What’s weird with that?” Chanyeol asks, stuffing his mouth with more rice at the end of his question. His cheeks puffed out, too full to make any room for another bite and no one’s exaggerating, not even Baekhyun.

 

“Okay.” Luhan sighs. “Maybe it’s not that weird, or weird at all. But he hasn’t done anything remotely close to what he’s doing now before and we’ve known each other for years already. We all have.”

 

Kyungsoo smirks. “Haven’t you thought that maybe it’s just your not so little crush on him that’s talking?”

 

Luhan glares at him. “It has nothing to do with the matter at hand. You, yourself, are a witness of what happened this morning.”

 

“Yeah, I totally saw you blushing.”

 

Baekhyun snorts.

 

Luhan scowls at them. “Why are we friends?”

 

Jongdae sighs, not too loud but audible enough for the friends to notice and be astounded at the rarity of Jongdae not butting in with his snide remarks. Kris has his long arm around his neck and Jongdae seems to be struggling hard. “Luhan, my friend, you’re getting delusional.”

 

Luhan doesn’t wait a heartbeat to throw his chopsticks at Jongdae’s face.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Chanyeol stops in his tracks so abruptly that Luhan bumps his nose in the other’s knife-like shoulder blades. He hisses and rubs his nose, muttering how his whole day caused him everything but luck under his breath. Chanyeol apologizes but nudges him in his sides.

 

“Jongin’s here.” He whispers too loudly because the next thing they knew, Jongin has his hand on Luhan’s elbow and is stirring him back to where they came from.

 

“Have fun, you two!” Chanyeol’s so happy it reflects in his voice (so embarrassingly clear) as he shouts for all the people in the hallway to hear. Luhan wishes he’d have a stomachache.

 

“Where are you taking me again?”

 

“You’ll find out soon.” Jongin looks at him from his shoulder and it seemed like everything felt light at the sight of his smile. Luhan dismisses Jongdae’s voice somewhere not hidden in his head. He also makes a mental note to plan his revenge with Kris as soon as he gets back.

 

“This is harassment, I tell you.” Luhan tries to sound more annoyed than excited. He really does.

 

Jongin laughs and it absolutely did not sound like Christmas bells ringing. “And let me tell you, you already like it. You’re holding my hand just fine.”

 

If only it is possible, Luhan had exploded from embarrassment already. He loosens his grip from Jongin’s hand and is about to retreat them when Jongin holds on tighter. He tries again but fails miserably.

 

“Why aren’t you letting go?” He huffs and looks the other way.

 

“I can’t have you getting lost now.” Jongin isn’t looking at him but Luhan can picture the smugness in the other’s grin. He’d be more than willing to wipe it off with his fist, not lips, although Luhan might’ve dreamt of that far too many times. It’s a secret no one knows (Baekhyun does know though, perks of being his roommate and all, and he’s still waiting for the right time to use it against Luhan) as far as he is concerned.

 

Minutes that felt like hours of struggling to catch up with the other, they finally arrived at the university’s indoor pool. Luhan gawks at the stillness of the water that seems to be elongating the more he crouches down for air.

 

“How… huh– did you… ma-huh-naged?” He pants.

 

Jongin walks to the bench, ten feet away from the pool and takes off his shirt. It was effective enough to get Luhan back on his feet again. “My friend is a varsity. Not that hard to coax him for the keys.”

 

Luhan wasn’t planning on staring as Jongin practically strip himself off the remaining clothes aside from his boxers because that would be rude of him and he cannot have Jongin thinking of him as such, but he’s too immersed that the rational part of his brain shuts down and can only watch intently as the never before seen muscles in Jongin’s glorious body flexes in his every move – oh God, save me. He literally wipes his chin for any signs of drool when the other turns around and groans internally at the picture perfect behind the other possesses.

 

“Why are you still in your clothes?” Jongin gets him out of his growing desire and blushes at the thought of getting caught.

 

“You mean…”

 

Jongin sighs and takes it upon himself to walk towards Luhan and Luhan starts panicking inside because, oh God he’s getting nearer! Oh , is that a six pack? Damn, I can’t have myself getting a now! ! ! ! ! Ooh, nice thighs.

 

“Raise your hands, Luhan.” Jongin’s hands were on his sides with his shirt crumpled in those fists and no, Luhan definitely isn’t feeling hot. He’s too cold actually. Perhaps, a lot paler too, Luhan just hopes he’ll survive this one.

 

He raises his arms just as told and Jongin pushes his shirt above and out of his head, leaving him in his cargo shorts and half . He tries to cover his upper half with his hands as much as it can when Jongin’s lithe fingers reaches for his belt loops. He can feel his buds hardening and it’s all because of the cold, or so Luhan desperately hopes.

 

“I can do this one, thanks.” Jongin looks at him, one eyebrow raised quizzically, but Luhan holds tightly on his belt with that demure smile. Jongin lets go after a while, deciding to dip into the water first.

 

Luhan heaves a sigh of relief, regulates his unnoticed irregular breathing. He walks on the same bench and dumps his shirt next to Jongin’s folded ones. Getting out of his shorts is far harder than he thought it’d be, especially with the vivid image of Jongin’s almost flashing in his very imaginative mind. He shakes them away, braving himself to turn around.

 

Jongin is on the other side of the pool, he’s quite far but Luhan knows he’s watching him. “Get in, quick.”

 

Luhan nods and walks, almost rigidly, towards the water. He shivers at the coldness when he dips his toes and closes his eyes as he jumps inside. It was freezing cold and Luhan might’ve forgotten to tell Jongin that he isn’t a swimmer, nor does he know the basics of surviving under any kind of body of water that reaches past his head (Luhan may or may have panicked a little that he forgot that if he could just let his feet touch the tile, he’ll save his own ). A hand grabs him by the armpit and hauls him out for air. He stumbles on his feet and blushes as he registers his own embarrassment. But the other begs to differ, Jongin’s grinning at him the moment he opens his eyes. Close. They were close enough for discomfort and it reminds Luhan of the other’s hand still around his flesh. Now, he’s definitely feeling the heat– .

 

“Jongin, this is ing cold!”

 

Jongin smiles and Luhan waits for them to turn into laughter, but they didn’t and it gets him confused when they vanished instead. “I know, but they’re perfect enough for this.” Jongin uses the hand still holding Luhan to pull him against his body and wrap the shivering male with his body heat.

 

Luhan’s whole brain mentally shuts down.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

“I ing swear I’m not getting delusional!” He shouts again for the fifth time and shoves Chanyeol off of his bed. He throws the damp towel into his hamper and misses in frustration. “Ugh!”

 

“So you went… skinny dipping?” Baekhyun was careful with his words, even Chanyeol can tell.

 

Luhan groans. “We were in our boxers, Baek. Not .”

 

The other shrugs. “Just making sure.”

 

“Why’d he drag you to the pool though?” Chanyeol muses, fingers aiming for the macaroons. Luhan would’ve made a comment on it but he’s currently having a Jongin crisis (he decided to name his frustration when it comes to the latter) to even think of eating anything sweet.

 

“Exactly!” Luhan makes incoherent gestures with his hands, flailing them animatedly to show his frustration further. “And he said that the cold is just perfect to hug me. I mean, is that even an excuse? Why can’t he just ask for it?”

 

“Well, how will you ask someone for a hug without anything on him aside from briefs?”

 

“Boxers, Baek. We were wearing boxers.”

 

“Okay, boxers. I definitely got that.”

 

Luhan rolls his eyes and turns completely on his side, eyeing his two friends fighting off for the last piece of macaroon. “I’m not getting delusional, right?”

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

All the blood in Luhan’s face drains when he enters his last class with Kyungsoo and Baekhyun the next day. For one, he doesn’t have any classes with Jongin, but the latter is right there before his eyes, smiling at all the attention he has from the girls and boys. Answering questions like they were old friends and such. Secondly, Jongin is there, smiling at all the attention he has from the girls and boys. Fancy.

 

Luhan isn’t jealous. He denies.

 

“Oh! There he is! Luhan, come here.” Jongin sounds excited, he’s even glowing.

 

“What are you doing here?” Luhan questions, coming closer in quick steps he didn’t realize, not until he reached the back of the room in just a blink of an eye when just a few seconds before, he was at the front.

 

“I’ll be sitting-in.” The other declares, grinning.

 

“Don’t you have class?”

 

Jongin nods calmly, he waves at Luhan’s classmates as they disperse. “I ditched.”

 

“What?!”

 

The other was quick to pull Luhan on the empty chair beside him. “Now, now. Don’t start going hysterical. It’s only for today. I made sure Sehun jots down the notes for me.”

 

“But, why? You could get in trouble if the prof recognizes you.” Luhan looks for his friends, silently asking them to back him up and convince the other to leave because Luhan cannot have the living distraction next to him yet without him thinking back on how slick their skins were against each other just yesterday. It gives him feelings he’d rather not have unless he’s inside the comforts of his locked room.

 

He was ignored though.

 

“Well, semestral break is just around the corner and I know for a fact that you’d always make it a point to return home so I guess it wouldn’t hurt to spend more time with you.”

 

Luhan does a double take and maybe a third one as he looks for his friends once again. They still ignore him but Luhan swears their ears are now abnormally inclined towards him and Jongin than they were earlier. s.

 

“We could spend time after classes though.” Luhan tries to school his expression and suppress the building butterflies in his stomach. He’s too manly to have them.

 

“What I meant is that I want all the times I spend with you to be remembered.”

 

Or he could be not manly at all.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

“I got my resources and Jongin definitely likes you.” Baekhyun plops on the empty seat and smiles so proudly of himself for a job well done that Luhan wonders if he should be proud of his friend too.

 

“Who?” Luhan may have sounded excited to cause the widening grin on Baekhyun’s face.

 

“Tao.”

 

“Who’s Tao?”

 

“Jongin’s varsity friend from the swimming team.” Kyungsoo supplies, opening the lid of his side dish. His eyes grew bigger and, wow is that even possible?

 

“Oh.” Luhan blinks. “Wait, how’d you know him?”

 

Baekhyun shrugs nonchalantly, like it’s the easiest question he’s ever faced, his eyes morphing into slits as he continue to grin. “We don’t. We just saw them both walking earlier and cornered the other while Jongin empties his bladder.”

 

“Why are you es talking about Jongin again?” Luhan stiffens at the all too familiar voice of a certain Kim Jongdae.

 

“Stop t–”

 

“Luhan just can’t get hold of the truth yet that Jongin likes him.” Luhan is beyond scandalized to have Kyungsoo, of all people, to cut him while he’s talking, much more to assume such kind of theory – though he’s probably right.

 

“I thought we already know that?” Chanyeol asks, sitting next to Kris for a change. Jongdae stubbornly squeezes himself in between them (“I need bodyguards in case something comes flying to my face, again.”).

 

“You know this also?”

 

Chanyeol nods at Kris and goes on explaining the little adventures of Luhan and Jongin. Jongdae’s all ears and knowing smiles. It irritates the hell out of Luhan.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

It was forty minutes past midnight when someone knocks on their door. Baekhyun, being the one nearest to it, wakes up first. He switches on the little lampshade in between their beds and groggily walks to the door. He fumbles with the knob and successfully unlocks it after his sixth try. The person standing in front of him is a little blurry but Baekhyun is definitely sure that, it is Jongin talking to him.

 

“Sorry for waking you up, but can I sleep here?”

 

Baekhyun doesn’t think, he just nods and allows the other an entrance. He closes the door and goes to his bed, only then realizing that Jongin has no place to sleep.

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll cuddle with Luhan.” Jongin smiles and Baekhyun is a little petrified that the other can shine brighter than his baby lampshade. He didn’t even need money to pay. “Good night, Baekhyun.”

 

The latter nods, still in his little bubble of daze. “Yeah, good night.”

 

Jongin was the one who switches off the light before crawling into Luhan’s bed and successfully slotting himself inside the sheets and holding Luhan against his chest. He inhales the traces left behind by the other’s shampoo and closes his eyes.

 

Luhan pretends he’s still fast asleep until the morning came.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

“What happened to your eyes?” Kris asks the moment he sees them.

 

“Don’t start, I beg you.” Luhan lets his cheek kiss the cold table, quite harshly if the resonating sound is to go by.

 

Kris turns to Baekhyun.

 

“Jongin.”

 

The taller waits for another word but Baekhyun only stares behind him and it took a gasp (a dramatic one) from Jongdae to have his eyes twice the size of Kyungsoo’s.

 

“Oh ! It a–”

 

Luhan has never been thankful for people cutting other people while they’re about to say something.

 

“What are you doing here, Jongin?”

 

But he’s also never been ready enough for Jongin’s unpredictable appearances. He lazily pulls his head off the table and holy mother of all cheese, could Jongin’s collarbones be any more tempting than it already is? Luhan sits up straight and unconsciously plays with the hem of his shirt. He desperately hopes that Jongdae would disappear, or at least he’d go blind for a while, and deaf, definitely has to be deaf.

 

“I’ll be sitting with you guys today, is that okay?” He asks politely but everyone can see that all of his attention is solely on Luhan.

 

Jongdae purposely spreads his legs apart, wider, to make no room. “We’re cramped though.”

 

Jongin smiles, eyes crinkling at the ends and turning into those little crescent moons Luhan loves to get lost at some periods of times, and Baekhyun is once again horrified of its effects. He subtly looks around if anyone’s doing the trick. Luhan sees the action and couldn’t agree more with his friend. “I could adjust to that.”

 

The next movements of limbs happens too fast for a dazed Luhan that it took him two minutes of staring at Jongin (and his collarbones) to actually grasp the reality of him literally sitting on the latter’s lap like a kid. He gasps too late and Jongin took the opportunity to shove his lunch inside the unpleasant sight of Luhan’s unclasped jaw. “You’re too thin, Luhan. Too light.”

 

Said male chokes on the sandwich and was about to protest when Jongin clamps his lips using his fingers, leaving Luhan no other option but to swallow first.

 

“Wow.” Jongdae is amused, to Luhan’s horror. “Bring him the train, daddy.”

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Jongin does a lot of other things as the break comes nearer, Luhan realizes. Some were nice while others are bold. But Luhan doesn’t mind despite the unrelenting heat every time Jongin appears, and Jongdae’s everyday bite. Jongin doesn’t confirm if he really does like Luhan, but Luhan forgets about them when Jongin holds his hand on their way to his class (just one of the bold things he’s done so far, though Chanyeol insists that nothing can beat the swimming pool act).

 

“Are you guys dating now?” Kyungsoo asks, placing the brown paper bag (there’s a stain of grease at the bottom of it that both Luhan and Kyungsoo ignored) on top of Baekhyun’s calculus book.

 

Luhan brushes his hair and shrugs, staring at Kyungsoo through the small mirror Baekhyun hanged on the wall next to the window. “I don’t know.”

 

“Did you kiss yet?”

 

Luhan goes wide eyed. “N-no!” He walks to his closet with no real intention but just to hide from Kyungsoo’s naturally wide eyes. Luhan swears, even with the shield, he could still feel Kyungsoo’s eyes piercing the wood and boring holes on his back. “Why are you questioning me now?”

 

“I was bored and seeing you get flustered with Jongin’s topic every time, fascinates me.”

 

“Again, why are we friends?”

 

Baekhyun laughs from the bathroom, he comes out seconds after, eyelids perfectly lined with kohl. “Kyungsoo, buddy, you should try staying in the afternoons. More fascinating things usually happen around those times, Chanyeol’s one giant witness.”

 

“Really?!” There’s mirth in Kyungsoo’s voice that all Luhan can do is burry his face in his clothes and scream his predicament.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

As expected from someone like Luhan, the latter became hyper aware of how he reacts around anything related or connecting to Jongin, and a lot more sensitive with the other personally. If Jongin notices this, he doesn’t say. He does the opposite, coaxing Luhan to agree to whatever it is that he had said that was left forgotten too easily when he showed that smile.

 

It feels like déjà vu – Luhan secretly notes as he casually pads through the hallways and regulates his breathing once he reached the fifth door from where he came from. He knocks twice and steps back a little to wait. A pale and lanky guy opens the door. He looks naturally bored with his life but somehow, it looks good on him. He’s quite taller than Jongin, if Luhan so admits without feeling any bitterness with regards to his evident lack in that department.

 

“Uhm, is this Jongin’s room?” He ends the question with a small polite smile.

 

The other guy tilts his head to the side and arches a beautiful eyebrow (Luhan wishes he have them the moment he realizes this). “You are?”

 

“Luhan. Jongin asked me to come.”

 

Something flashes in the other’s eyes and it’s too quick but the other guy is now smiling (though a little creepy) down on him. “Oh. Luhan, of course. Jongin’s still in the bathroom, but please do, come in. I’m Sehun by the way.”

 

Their room, much to Luhan’s amusement, is sparkling clean. Not a trace of dirty clothing can be seen lying on the ground, or books stacked upon one corner of the room collecting dust and cobwebs. Everything was neat and in order. Luhan mentally cringes at how it’s the complete opposite of his room’s state. Jongin must’ve been disgusted.

 

“You can just sit anywhere you like.” Sehun says, grabbing his wallet from the study table in haste. “I have to go and meet a friend. It’s nice finally meeting you, Luhan.” Then he’s out of the room.

 

Luhan does make himself comfortable, opting to sit on one of the beds that smells strongly of Jongin. He waits for the other to come out and empties his mind off of Kyungsoo’s voice. He blushes madly a minute later and abruptly stands up like the bed was on fire.

 

“Whoa.”

 

Luhan curses silently when he makes a mistake of looking up, Jongin fresh out of shower with nothing but a towel to shield his jewels from him will definitely be a problem he’ll have to wake from for the next few days. And it’s a little mortifying because while Luhan misses his home, he definitely doesn’t want his mother to hear such lewd noises coming from him.

 

“I’m sorry!” He closes his eyes in reflex and wills away the heat creeping up. “, Jongin why didn’t you tell me th–”

 

“Hey.” Jongin cuts him off. “It’s fine. Don’t worry, I’m okay. You can open your eyes Luhan.”

 

“But you’re not wearing anything.”

 

He hears the footsteps before he feels the touch on his arms and God, it just reminds him so much of the swimming pool incident. “But it’s the perfect timing for you to meet. This is the last thing I need to do before you leave tomorrow.”

 

It’s the curiosity (he tries to reason with the other part of his brain) that had managed to make Luhan unfold the closed lids of his eyes and not the bubbling anticipation. “What are you talking about?”

 

Jongin smiles oh so beautiful it fails Luhan to notice how his fingers made quick movements, until Jongin settles his hand in his bare hip with a proud smile. “I want you to meet, Kai.”

 

Luhan stares at him for a good minute before they trail down to his collarbones and to his chest, down to his abdominal muscles (where a couple of water droplets are snuggled in around the contours waiting to be dry) and slowly, oh so agonizingly slowly, to his– wow.

 

“Did you just named your ?”

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Luhan groans at the offending tone of his alarm clock. He hasn’t really slept much with Kai (Jongin insists that it’s a code he thought of for decency and shall be used freely – whatever he wants to point out with that) cycling inside his head. Even with all the unexpected behaviors of Jongin from the previous days, nothing had prepared Luhan for yesterday. It was definitely the boldest and Luhan would not admit them to anyone, not unless he has a death wish. What Chanyeol doesn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

 

“Hey, get up. We need to catch the train.” Baekhyun has no mercy during breaks. He throws a pillow at Luhan with force and disappears to the bathroom shutting the door harshly. Luhan observes, hearing the flush of the toilet after five minutes and the sound of shower faintly echoing seconds later.

 

He opens his eyes and feels for his phone under his pillow. Jongin’s name was the first thing to greet him and Luhan hesitates for a moment before opening the message. If Luhan is still half awake just seconds earlier, he’s definitely wide awake now. He swallows down his saliva (disgusting be damned) and stares at the picture of Jongin clad in only his briefs that he has sent Luhan. Underneath it were the words, Kai says hi. And upon zooming in the photo, Luhan engraves down the truth in his memory that Kai is indeed, proudly greeting him.

 

He groans. Well, at least Jongin was kind enough to cover up, although Luhan doubts it’ll make a difference. Jongin doesn’t really leave his imaginative mind any room for such privacy. His phone rings just in time, and the latter’s name flashes once again. He waits for Baekhyun to sing and answers the call.

 

“Did you see my message?”

 

Luhan can hear (Jongin didn’t even bother with the morning greetings) a door opening and shutting close. He blushes even at the thought of the picture. “Yeah.”

 

“Well, as much as I’d love for you to get acquainted with Kai. I wish you’d miss me a lot. Miss me more Luhan, and I promise you Kai will be waiting for you. I’ll definitely miss you loads.”

 

Luhan gulps at the innuendo. He briefly buries his face in the pillow Baekhyun threw at him and screams (Luhan will never squeal, it’s against his manly codes). “Well, Kai better be happy when he sees me.”

 

“Believe me, he’ll be oozing with happiness.”

 

Oh God. Luhan can hear the smirk in Jongin’s voice and some other’s voice in the background also.

 

(“You let Luhan meet Kai?!” “Yep.” “Why? I thought Kai is exclusive?!” “Luhan will be exclusive too! Soon.” “But… should I let him meet Pinku-pinku too?” “Sehun, Pinku-pinku will never meet him.” “That’s unfair!” “How is that unfair?!” “You let him meet Kai but you won’t let him meet my Pinku-pinku.” “Sehun, you don’t even like Luhan.” “Oh.” “Yes, oh. Now go, out of my sight.” “Oh ! Did he hear all of that?” “Uh… I guess, I’m still on the phone right?” “, why didn’t you say so?! Luhan, if you’re hearing this, know that I’d really want for you to meet Pinku-pinku but since Jongin insists that it can’t happen then, know that it turns into an angry shade of pink, NOT red, when he’s angry.” “Sehun, GET OUT!”)

 

“So… do I hang-up?”

 

“Yeah, I guess you should.”

 

Luhan waits. Jongin waits. He fiddles with the pillow and stares at everything.

 

“.” Luhan definitely heats up. “I’ve never felt this embarrassed before. I’m sorry, Sehun’s so… Yeah. I’m sorry Luhan.”

 

“N-no.” He places his other palm on top of his chest and breathes in. “Let’s just say that… it’s one of your too many ways to remind me of you.”

 

“You’d do that?”

 

Oh please, Luhan would do anything if he can be Jongin’s exclusively, sooner than soon. “Yeah.”

 

“Ugh. I wish you wouldn’t have to go home. I don’t want you to forget all about me.”

 

“Jongin, it’s only for a few weeks and I’m pretty sure you’ve left more than enough reminders that it’ll be impossible not to think about you.” Another opening and closing door echoes in his ear, but Luhan isn’t quite sure if it came from the other line, it sounded real and near.

 

“You’re right. Well then Luhan, I wish you a safe travel and come back quickly. I definitely have more under my sleeves that would make you go crazy without me. It involves getting used to Kai.”

 

Luhan shivers. Jongin definitely knows how to leave his mark.

 

“Oh God. Luhan stop drooling and get rid of that wood!”

 

One hard reminder.