4

Baekhyun was the only member of Divide whose personality remained the same both on and off stage. With every lapse in conversation, his hand would stray to his Gibson Les Paul Jr. (“I have small arms!” he had protested upon Jongin’s questioning) to it gently, as if assuring the instrument of his presence. It was cute in a bizarre way.  Chanyeol was tall and laughed a lot at Baekhyun, but the extra energy he produced on stage wasn’t noticeable in the small meeting room. He seemed unsure of himself, like he didn't feel comfortable in his own skin. Several glasses of water were knocked over by his huge hands. He was very clumsy. Jongdae was polite as ever, watching over Sehun and his camera with hawk eyes as if he didn’t quite trust him yet. Either that or he was wondering just how good Sehun was. Jongin found himself quickly put at ease with Yixing’s smooth way of talking and Baekhyun’s little jokes.

In the middle of discussing Jongin’s university project, the door creaked open. 6 pairs of eyes turned to see who it was, and when Kyungsoo strode in, looking bored yet professional, silence fell.

“Soo!” Yixing was the first to greet his leader. “I thought you were swamped with work today.”

“I am.” He replied. His voice was deep and even. “But since the decisions you make in here affect all of us, Manager-hyung suggested I sit in.” He took a spare seat next to Chanyeol and folded his hands on the table. Despite the air of awkwardness now in the room, Jongin’s heart still raced. Kyungsoo was gorgeous. He was wearing a fitted leather jacket and skinny jeans, showing of his delectable legs, the curve of his thighs. Jongin imagined them.

“You’re drooling,” Sehun whispered into his ear. Jongin straightened and wiped his fist across his mouth, mortified. When he checked his sleeve, it was dry. Sehun stifled a laugh at Jongin's glare.

As Yixing replayed their decisions about the teaser photos and Jongin’s university work to Kyungsoo, Jongin watched his face carefully. While he seemed bored, his eyes flashed with the same intensity Jongin had seen the day before. He was listening and he was… interested. Even if his body language didn’t portray it, the sparks in his eyes told a different story. As Jongin pondered his newfound talent of Kyungsoo Reading (as named by Jongin,) his ears registered a new silence in the room. Kyungsoo turned and looked him in the eye, his gaze sharp. He moved his folded hands and propped his chin up on his elbow, gazing right at him. Jongin felt heat rise in his cheeks. Kyungsoo arched an eyebrow, expectantly, as if waiting for Jongin to say something.

“Jongin?” Yixing asked. Jongin had missed the question completely. He still couldn’t tear his eyes away from Kyungsoo’s.

“Kyungsoo.” he answered, stupidly. Baekhyun tried his best to hold in laughter.

A twitch of Kyungsoo’s lips relayed his slight amusement. Sehun, sat next to Jongin, nudged him with his foot. Bro-code for ‘I know your heart has a for this guy, but this is my ing job, . Do something.’

“That would be fine.” Jongin said, dragging his eyes away from Kyungsoo to stare at the table instead. He guessed that Yixing had asked for confirmation about his project. Kyungsoo’s lips twitched again, almost imperceptibly. Jongin missed it, too busy trying to control his racing pulse and wiping his sweaty hands on his jeans.

“Yes, Jongin does enjoy his studies.” Sehun answered for him, sending eye daggers at Jongin.

Baekhyun’s muffled laughter burst out of him, like he could no longer control it. “A fan of Kyungsoo?” he asked, still laughing.

“Um…yeah… something like that.” Jongin said lamely. ‘I have 47 different posters of him on my ceiling.’ He thought.

“As a treat, why don’t you give Jongin a taster of your new solo song for the album?” Jongdae asked, all innocent, unaware of how their impromptu meeting had gone down yesterday. “It is alright if I drop the ssi?” he directed this towards Jongin, who nodded. Baekhyun clapped his hands together in agreement. “That sounds cool! Like… super fan service!”

Kyungsoo’s shoulders stiffened. “You know its band business. It would be unfair if I revealed something to one fan and not the others.”

“He’s working with us, though.”

“No exceptions.” Kyungsoo’s voice was final.

Jongin’s heart was just about to sink when Chanyeol leaned over and whispered something into Kyungsoo’s ear. Whatever he said seemed to loosen up the lead singer, and the look in his eyes changed. Jealousy clawed inside Jongin’s gut. He would kill Chanyeol.

“Fine. 2 minutes.” Kyungsoo amended.

Jongin wanted to kiss Chanyeol.

The recording room was exactly how a recording room should look, which was slightly disappointing, but the atmosphere completely changed when Kyungsoo went inside to sit with his piano. Jongin waited on the other side of the glass with the rest of Divide and Sehun, who had trailed behind looking morose. He wasn't really into Divide, and had wanted to get started on his photography today, but, well, Jongin was radiating a kicked puppy aura. Everyone but Kyungsoo seemed to be weak to kicked-puppy-Jongin.

Chanyeol leaned down to whisper in Jongin’s ear. “He doesn’t really know how to talk to people. Don’t feel down.” He patted Jongin on the back, who felt oddly touched by this gentle giant. Kyungsoo looked up from the piano, giving the group a stare. The phrase ‘if looks could kill’ flew into Jongin’s mind. When they all quietened down, the singer began.

Kyungsoo sang and played with ease, his voice gaining momentum and power as the song switched from bittersweet to something slow and peaceful. His frown lines disappeared as he sang and for the first time since Jongin had seen him in reality, he looked like he was truly enjoying himself. As his fingers lingered on the final chord, Jongin felt his soul unravel.

Kyungsoo had sung for 4 minutes.