“And then? What happened next?” Baekhyun was tempted to shake Kai’s shoulders when no reply was heard. “Kai? What the hell happened?”

“I told him ‘of course not’,” came the broken voice answering.

“You idiot!” Baekhyun would’ve smacked Kai if he didn’t look so pitiful. Instead, he sighed heavily before poking Kai’s shoulders. “Yah, get yourself together.” Kai groaned, trying to pull away from Baekhyun’s bony finger. “Kai, look at me when I’m talking to you!” Kai opened a bleary eye and stared at Baekhyun. “What?”

“Do you like him? Really, really like him?” “I-I…” Kai faltered, did he truly like him?

Flashback:

It was awkward, but still nice, the way Sehun looked discomfited as they entered the movie theater. Jongin was so used to looking at the cold mask of Oh Sehun that to see him act so…human, it gave him comfort. It wasn’t that he was a sadist to find joy in seeing Sehun so uncomfortable, it was just that the raw emotions on Sehun’s face was so beautiful to witness. Every day, for the past three months he stared at the facade Sehun wore, the frigid mask that hid everything. From time to time he could glimpse flashes of emotions behind the veil, and it entranced him each time, the raw emotions he saw devoid of all pretense, as fleeting as they were. Jongin wanted to see more, hungered for more. And now he had it, never had he seen Sehun display more emotions. And it was….beautiful.

In the dark movie theater, Jongin was watching Sehun more so than the movie itself, observing with half-lidded eyes, the way Sehun tried to keep a lid on his emotions, the way he bit his lips. And later, they had gone for ice cream, as cheesy as it sounds. As he stared at Sehun with his mint ice cream, he noticed the smudge on his lips. Instinctively, without much thought, he leant towards Sehun. Lifting his hand near his face, he could see Sehun’s eyes widen, pupils dilating, as he swiped the smudge off with his thumb, a gentle caress on his lips, though brief it was. There was something tugging at his chest, he stared into Sehun’s eyes as they both flushed. Sehun averted his eyes while Jongin continued staring at him. And their ice creams started to melt, though they didn’t notice it.

“Yes, I do.” Jongin said weakly, coming to his conclusion. In a stronger voice, he repeated, “I like him. I like Oh Sehun.”

Baekhyun clapped him on his back. “Well then, man up dude.” He continued, “If you like him, pursue him. Show him you really have feelings for him.”

“What if…what if it doesn’t work out then?”

Baekhyun smiled mysteriously before answering, “What if it does?”

“I don’t want to see you regretting the chances you didn’t take, Jongin, to be haunted by all the what ifs and maybes that you missed.” Baekhyun paused, “If you think he is worth it, then try your best to get him, okay?”

“I-I understand.”

Baekhyun ruffled his hair, “You’d better understand. Do you have any idea how worried we were when you locked yourself away for almost two days?”

Kai flashed Baekhyun a smile, “Thanks, hyung.” No more words were needed to be exchanged. Their bond was deep, something they had since they were kids. And Kai was thankful for that.

Kai mused on what Baekhyun had said, he was right. Some things are just worth pursuing even though there’s no guarantee of a safety net should you choose to jump. And Sehun to Kai was one of those things.

Love,

Is treacherous,

Magical,

Reckless.

What if it doesn’t last?