POSTED LOVE

III

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The auditions went by smoothly, and both Sehun and Jongin passed with flying colors.

By the way the crowd was cheering their names, it looked like they would develop a fanbase pretty soon. There were three judges: Eunhyuk, Shindong, and Donghae—all who were in their last year of high school, and last year as the heads of the dance club. The three smiled during Sehun and Jongin’s performances; Donghae even gave both a standing ovation. It was good to know that they would be leaving the school with fine new talent.

Joonmyeon and Minseok treated Sehun and Jongin out to dinner; they went to a popular buffet, not forgetting to invite Yixing, of course. They owe a lot to the guy for his help. When Jongin called his parents up and told them the great news, his eardrums almost burst from his mother’s proud shrieks. His father congratulated him in a much calmer voice, and told him to enjoy dinner with his friends.

As they were now seated on their table, chatter in the wind and plates full of expensive food, Jongin couldn’t help it. He couldn’t help it at all. He couldn’t help thinking about D.O.

He was really happy about passing the auditions and he briefly wondered if he could tell D.O. the great news... Jongin thought that the guy, whoever he was, should know that his advice and words were able to help someone achieve their goal. That thought has been running in his mind the whole day. Jongin was about to go insane.

It would be so cool if he got to meet this “D.O.” and thank him personally.

He would love to be friends with the guy.

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Weeks went by and Jongin’s dancing was getting better and better. He wrote questions to D.O. less now, but still never forgot what help that guy has been. He never thought he’d see the day, but he actually ran out of extra questions. And he doesn’t feel the sudden urge to write some, like he did before. Maybe he’s finally settling into normalcy. But still, his lingering curiosity to figure out who “D.O.” was continued to stay at the back of his head. Maybe he’ll actually act on that, one of these days. He’ll try to find some vacant time to ask people around, or even sneakily wait for the guy to pop up when he collects the ask box.

However, a few days later, something new came into Jongin’s life. Something that caught him off guard, and for a moment, he forgot all about D.O.

On a Tuesday afternoon, a new recruit stepped inside the club room. She had long black hair, looking so glossy and smooth; her skin a dainty white, pink dusting her cheeks. She had a lean build and small face—she could have been a model. And the way she smiled and waved shyly at everyone, it was mesmerizing. Jongin was enchanted.

“This is our new member, Jung Soojung,” Shindong introduced.

She was Jongin’s year, but from a different section; turns out her room was at the far end of the hall, so they never interacted. Jongin can’t believe he almost never knew this beauty existed in his life. And when she looked his way, giving him a bashful but sweet smile, he felt like melting into a puddle.

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Soojung smelled like daisies. Jongin could get drunk in her scent and never want to recover.

From shy greetings at the dance club, to becoming acquaintances, then being friends, Jongin can say that he’s very much on cloud nine, ninety-nine percent of the time. He still hasn’t told Soojung about his crush on her, but that could wait; having her beside him so naturally like this, it was like Heaven on Earth.They were quite different from one another, but that was okay. They enjoyed each other’s company and presence anyway. She’s the closest girl that Jongin had ever befriended (and he discreetly hopes to be more than that). It’s so comfortable to be with her, and one day, maybe she’ll see him in a different light.

He and Soojung hung-out together most often, until she finally became part of the gang. Junmyeon and Minseok welcomed her; Sehun raised a brow, but politely greeted her as well. The maknae already knew her from dance club.

“Don’t mind him, his face is always like that,” Jongin told Soojung. She just laughed cheerfully and mimicked Sehun’s stoic face, leading the others to laugh as well.

All except Sehun.

Somehow he didn’t have a good feeling about that girl. He knows he shouldn’t judge, but Soojung’s sister, Jessica, quite had a reputation for flirting with many boys. Such that she dated five guys at the same time, without ever letting them know. She fooled those boys with her innocent and sweet exterior; who was to say Soojung wouldn’t do the same to Jongin?

Sehun was just being cautious. He’d quietly observe, and talk to Jongin when he sees fit.

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Jongin bit his lip nervously, eyes to the ground and sweat on his brow. He was wearing a suit today, which made him kind of jittery. He hoped he looked well enough.

Soojung had invited him to her cousin’s sweet sixteen, and just choosing the suit took him hours. His mother practically took everything from the rack at the department store and made him try all of it on; you could say it was one of his life’s embarrassing moments. But at least, because of his mother’s meticulousness and his father’s generosity (saying that a man deserves to have the finest suit to impress his lady,even if it’s a little expensive), he was able to find the perfect one. It hugged his lean body the right way, and had a nice shade of black. Thank goodness he was a dancer, or else maybe he wouldn’t have such a nice body. He was definitely going to be a looker and catch Soojung’s attention, he promised himself.

The first thing Soojung mentioned when she saw him that day was that he looked handsome. He blushed and thanked her; not forgetting to complement Soojung as well. She looked beautiful in her short red dress, outlining the curves and small waist she had. Her hair was fixed up, showing off her gorgeous neck and fine shoulders. Her face was radiant, and Jongin’s knees grew weak. He told himself to get a grip.

Something changed with the way Soojung was acting today. Something that may have excited Jongin.

Throughout the duration of the party, Soojung would brush the back of her hand with Jongin’s as they walked and talked. She would casually cling to his arm, and lean her head on his shoulder.

Eventually, as anyone would have expected, the day ended with Jongin spilling his confession to her. Soojung, in turn, smiled brightly as she returned the same sentiment.

They went to the back of the house and discreetly shared their first kiss.

It was one that Jongin would never forget.

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Jongin’s never felt so happy in his life before. He never knew it was possible to feel this way.

When he broke the news that he and Soojung were dating, Junmyeon and Minseok applauded and wished the couple well; hopefully they would become official by the end of the year. Sehun still had his suspicions about her, but since Jongin was this happy, he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. After all, maybe Soojung wasn’t as bad as he initially suspected; maybe she could be Jongin’s girlfriend. If they make it that far, of course; Sehun would interrogate her first before anything got serious.  But for now, he decided to ease up on Soojung and give her his approval, smiling as he congratulated Jongin. It made Jongin glad that things were falling into place. He liked Soojung, very much. So it meant the world to him to know that his friends were alright with her. Maybe… she could possibly be the one Jongin will fall in love with. Just the thought of Soojung being the one… it was still too early to say, but just thinking that he may have found his partner in life... it made his heart beat loudly with joy. Everything was perfect.

However, such happiness was short-lived.

Trouble came unexpectedly two months later, on sunny a Friday.

Trouble by the name of Lee Taemin.

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Taemin was a dancing prodigy, some would say.

Kid genius, born to dance, one of the best.

But also, he was known as danger. And sometimes, danger was exciting.

Taemin stepped into the club room after he was scouted by Eunhyuk. The guy was a new transfer student, and had immediately caught the senior’s eye when he was caught casually doing body waves at the back of the school. He had dark midnight locks, parted in the middle, and intense eyes with a sharp gaze. The girls were all swooning, and the boys, unimpressed. But when he started to dance, everyone was amazed. There was such vigor, such precision; it was like a black hole, you in. He had a glint in his eyes and a smirk on his face. For some strange reason, Jongin felt like he was bad news.

But not wanting to be judgmental, he pushed that thought away as he shook Taemin’s hand, welcoming him.

Soojung welcomed him too. Taemin kissed the back of her hand.

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Taemin would cuss whenever he felt like it, and his nails were painted black. His uniform was always ed on the first two buttons, a tattoo peeking out from his collarbones. He sometimes smelled like alcohol, he rode a motorcycle to school, smoked at the back of it or outside the school gates, and skipped classes. The guidance office was practically his second home.

He was the first to ever do all this in school, the first to act like a bad boy, and to say the student body was shocked would be an understatement. They were having an internal conflict.  Seeing someone do forbidden things, it was tempting. And Taemin was more than willing to offer a cigarette and invite others for a drink (even though they were all still underage). The thought of living life a little rebellious—it brought a rush of excitement; Taemin was offering them a ticket to a whole new kind of fun.

Some students remained the way they were, while others decided to take a dip in the waters.

Soon, Taemin wasn’t the only one smoking.  

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“Soojung, why are you doing this?” Jongin asked, not releasing his firm but gentle grip on her arm. “You know it’s bad for your health.”

Soojung just took a whiff of the nicotine-filled cigar, and blew smoke at Jongin’s face, causing him to cough. “But it feels good, though,” she said nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders. “Relax Jongin. In fact, why don’t you try it yourself?”

Jongin bit his lip; he couldn’t deny the fact that he’s been very curious as to what smoking felt like. They say it brings you a pleasure like no other; not like riding a roller coaster, or scoring great on a test. It was like taking drugs or getting drunk; it was out of this world. It was addictive.

Soojung held out a cigar to Jongin. “Take it. Try it with me.”

Jongin’s hand nervously reached out to the stick. Everyone was doing it, right? No harm in trying…

In the end, he didn’t take it.

“I’m sorry, Soojung. It really isn’t healthy. You could get Emphysema; it’s not good. Please stop this. I’m concerned for you. ”

Soojung just shrugged, and puffed out another breath of smoke.

“Suit yourself, it’s your loss. Just don’t bother me about it. I’ll do what I want.”

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Taemin and Soojung have been hanging out a lot.

Jongin never sees it, but he knows because people talk about it.

It’s been three months already since he and Soojung have been dating, and he’s thought about making them an official thing. But ever since Taemin came into the mix, their relationship became vague. Soojung’s changed. She used to be so sweet and wonderful, but now it seemed like she didn’t care about Jongin at all. It was confusing. So, were they off now? But whenever he walked Soojung home, she would kiss him on the cheek. She still sat with him during breaks, and leaned her head on his shoulders. It felt so nice being that way, almost like reassurance. But was it really? It felt like they were more than friends but less than lovers.

Maybe he should just settle where they stand now.

Maybe it was time to ask her to be his girlfriend.

So the next day, Jongin came to school with a bouquet of flowers and the card that bore all his feelings; all his wishes for them to be together even after high school, and if possible, beyond that. His desire to cherish someone and to be cherished, his desire to have a relationship where she was his and he was hers; where they belonged solely to each other.

The first thing he did in the morning was look for Soojung, but she wasn’t in her classroom. He asked around, and a few said that she went to the back of the school to smoke. Jongin ran there, heart on his sleeve.

He didn’t expect to see Soojung and Taemin making out on the guy's motorcycle.

“How do you mend a broken heart?”- Anonymous

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Author's note:

Hello! Sorry for the Kaistal (;_;) The Kaisoo shall come but patience is needed, huhuhu.

Thanks for reading. How is the story so far? Comments are loved~

Byeee