A/n: *points you all to my amazing poster again* This chapter is not edited yet. edited.

Jongin was surprised to see Do Kyungsoo at school the next morning sporting two black eyes. He looked – just, bad; really bad. Not like ugly bad, but like, how had he come to school looking like he’d gotten his kicked? (And he had gotten his kicked, in one punch.) Seriously, he had to have an ego issue or something, his pride was through the roof. He didn’t even lower his eyes as people blatantly stared at him. Even when Jongin walked by – alone, on his way to class – Kyungsoo just glanced his way and kept walking unaffected.

Obviously, he didn’t want to be pitied. So Jongin gave him no sympathy.

At lunch though, Jongin couldn’t stop his eyes from being drawn his way. Kyungsoo looked as indifferent as usual, but his eyes flicked towards them a couple times. He didn’t look scared, not even a bit nervous; it was almost like he couldn’t help himself either, just knowing that it was their fault and being unable to ignore that fact.

When he and Tao walked into math class that afternoon, Jongin couldn’t stop himself from pointing out how Kyungsoo looked like a panda bear. It made the rest of the class laugh, but he sort of regretted it as he watched Kyungsoo sitting there quietly, beginning to draw on his page and ignoring them all. Geez, why did he have to be so damn impassive? He looked so lonely, but it was like it didn’t bother him at all. And that sent a ghost of… something through Jongin; something he didn’t want to think about, because he didn’t want to keep thinking about Kyungsoo. But he felt sorry, just a little. Because Kyungsoo was just so friendless and hopeless and it was pathetic, and Jongin couldn’t help feeling bad for that. The closet artist, nerd with two friends total (how did he even deal with that?), and now two black eyes from one hit.

I’d be an not to feel a bit sorry, Jongin told himself, and he wasn’t really sure why he was trying to comfort himself.

After math he was off to another class alone, and he had to walk by Kyungsoo’s locker. He happened a glance at the number of the door Kyungsoo was taking his books out of, and then his eyes slid over Kyungsoo’s figure – slightly slumped, thin shoulders, head bent as he searched for something in his bag. Jongin couldn’t stand it if the boy turned around right now and he had to see those purple-circled, ink blot eyes. Maybe he was going soft.

He found himself cursing the book that had cursed him as he made his way through the halls. By the time he got to class, the jinx was winning. He sat down and found himself writing out another note, and once the bell had rang he excused himself to go to the washroom, doubling back to Kyungsoo’s locker – E12 – and slipping the bit of paper through the crack in the door. Then he was almost-running again, trying to get far from the note so no one would ever see him anywhere near Do Kyungsoo’s area.

Class went by slowly, but Jongin barely remembered anything they’d been taught. His mind wandered over the note, dark bruises, beautiful drawings… Only the bell dragged him out of his daydreaming, and he hurried to his locker, feeling greatly embarrassed. He was waiting for Kris when he saw Kyungsoo go to his own locker and discover the note inside. After a moment Kyungsoo looked around, frown furrowing deeply in his brow before he gave his head a tiny shake and stuck the paper in his pocket. Jongin felt his face grow warm, feeling like an idiot for having done it. It didn’t even seem like Kyungsoo appreciated it, but then, he could’ve just thrown it away so maybe that meant something. The note was definitely a secret Jongin was taking to the grave regardless. He needed to block Kyungsoo out of his life, before he did anything else.

“Hey Jongin.” He turned to see Yixing approaching, and Kris with Tao not far off. Why couldn’t they have arrived thirty seconds sooner? “Are you okay?” Yixing asked genuinely. “You look… warm.”

“I – I do?” Jongin wasn’t really surprised, but he felt his blush growing for stammering; he shrugged, playing it off. “I feel alright.”

“Maybe it’s nothing,” Yixing replied lightly, and they didn’t say anything more on the subject. Another few minutes and the heat had settled in his stomach, and Jongin all but forgot about it once more.

“

“Hey Taemin, do you ever think about other guys?”

“No. There’s only you, Jong.”

“Shut up, that’s not what I meant.”

Taemin laughed on the screen and Jongin rolled his eyes. He’d been working up the nerve to ask that question for half their conversation now, but he should’ve known his best friend would make a joke out of it. They were video-chatting, Jongin lounging on his bed lazily in his boxers – having just showered – and Taemin in his super cool Pororo pajamas – which Jongin had got for him a few years ago as a joke, intentionally oversized so he could grow into them and have no excuse to get rid of them ever. Just to spite Jongin, his best friend kept the clothes and flaunted them proudly (which Jongin kind of admired him for, honestly).

Jongin must’ve started staring, because Taemin added, “You’re the only guy I could ever get wearing these.” Jongin just snorted.

“You wish,” he shot back.

“I’ve never wanted a guy,” Taemin shrugged. “Romantically or ually. I’m straight,” he shrugged again. “Why, did you fall in love with one?”

Shaking his head quickly, Jongin rebutted, “No!” And then he flushed pink. He had… experimented before, and his best friend knew about it; and Taemin didn’t ever judge him about it, so he didn’t know why he was feeling so ashamed right now. Besides, he hadn’t fallen in love with any guy, so what was there to even be ashamed of? “I – I had a dream about…”

Taemin raised his eyebrow. “Wet dream about another guy?” Ugh. Why are you always so forward? “Not me right? This isn’t why you wanted to talk to me, was it?”

“It wasn’t you,” Jongin grumbled, blushing further. “You’re gross; I would never.” On screen, Taemin stuck his tongue out and grinned again. “It wasn’t anyone. Just – they weren’t a girl…”

“Maybe your subconscious is trying to tell you something,” Taemin teased. “Like that you’re thirsty for di-”

“Shut up! I am not!”

His sister banged on the wall, and Taemin was cackling as Jongin hid his burning face. So much embarrassment right now over a freaking dream.

Another dream. He’d had a second last night, which had prompted him to ask his best friend if they could call each other that night after Taemin got off work. Two dreams about guy-on-guy things was enough to ask for advice. Not that he really expected much from the other, but he couldn’t handle this issue alone anymore, and Taemin was the only person he trusted with this kind of stuff.

“Is there like, a new hot guy at your school who’s indirectly causing this?”

“No.”

“Do you have any idea why, then?”

Jongin looked away, glancing towards his nightstand. Because I’ve been cursed. He just mumbled “No,” again. Taemin waited expectantly, looking less than convinced. “There’s this kid, and I don’t like him at all, but I think he’s a witch and put some spell on me to mess with my head.”

“If it’s a guy, he’s a wizard,” Taemin noted.

“Shush. I’m being serious.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure you aren’t under a gay spell,” Taemin went on. “Is this just an, I think I’m falling in love with him but I won’t admit it kinda thing?” Jongin shook his head quickly. “Okay… so why do you think it’s got to do with him then? Unless he told you he bewitched you or something.”

Shame crept into him again, for a different reason this time. He didn’t talk to Taemin about what he and his school friends got up to. Taemin knew he was popular; he wasn’t so aware that Jongin… well, that he was as in control as he was, and maybe was a bit too controlling sometimes. He liked to keep Taemin’s Jongin and Kris’ Jongin separate.

Taemin was still waiting. “I… I was looking through his sketchbook, but it turns out he doesn’t like people looking at it and ever since I’ve been a disaster.”

“Are gay dreams really that bad? I know you’re flexible, Jong.”

“It hasn’t just been the dreams. I – wrote him notes, and… he came to school this week with two black eyes, and I keep thinking about him even when I don’t want to…”

“You’re sure you don’t like him?” Taemin asked, sounding doubtful. “There’s nothing wrong with liking another guy-”

“I don’t like him!”

“Shut up Jongin!” he heard in the next room. He probably shouldn’t have been having this conversation so late. Maybe Taemin should stop saying I like Do freaking Kyungsoo.

“Chill, Jong,” Taemin said quietly, and Jongin glared at him. “If you don’t like him, that’s fine…”

“I don’t,” Jongin mumbled, wishing Kyungsoo would fall off the face of the earth so this would all just be over.  He didn’t like Kyungsoo; he didn’t know why he had to keep thinking about the stupid guy, just because he was mysterious and a good artist and his friends hated him. “I don’t like him…”

He didn’t like the sympathetic look Taemin offered him either.

“

Monday morning Jongin felt about as cheerful as one could on a Monday morning. He woke up that morning feeling good, like for once not all was wrong in the world. A much needed good day finally seemed to have arrived for him and he latched onto this, not letting any thoughts come along and ruin it.

Things went well for a while; he didn’t see Do Kyungsoo, even in the cafeteria at lunch (which made Jongin think that maybe Kyungsoo had fallen off the face of the earth, thank God). He was there when Jongin showed up in math class, but he and Tao sat two seats ahead of the boy as usual, so Jongin didn’t have to think about him then either. So maybe things were back to their usual selves; maybe talking to Taemin had broken the curse at last.

Maybe not.

They had their first project of the year in math class, and were being forced to work in pairs – not even getting to choose their own partners. Jongin hoped he’d still get paired with Tao, but of course that couldn’t happen. Tao was put with someone else, and then Jongin waited for his name to be called.

“Kang Sohyun and Jin Hobin; Kim Jongin and Do Kyungsoo-”

“What?!” Jongin cried. The teacher glanced up at him, eyebrows raised. “No, no way, not with him. Mrs. Jung, don’t put me with him. I’ll be with anyone but that loser, but not him.”

“Jongin-”

“He won’t do any of the work,” Kyungsoo put in, in agreement. “I’d rather do it alone.”

She shook her head. “You two will work together,” she told them firmly. “I’m not rearranging the pairs for your convenience. Kim Jongin, you help out or take a zero.”

“But-”

“That’s final,” she said, and then went back to her list. Jongin put his head in his hands. Just kill me now.

So much for his good day. So much for escaping Do Kyungsoo.

Mrs. Jung sent them all off to the library, and Jongin was all but clinging to Tao as they went. He stayed by Tao, hoping to not draw attention to himself, but she spotted him anyway, snapping at him and ordering him to go work with Kyungsoo or she’d fail him. Geez. Did she have no idea what she was forcing him to do?

She must be in on the whole curse thing, he thought miserably as he slunk over in the direction Kyungsoo had gone. Where was he anyway? Jongin wandered until he found Kyungsoo between the bookshelves, skimming the pages of a book. What the heck was he even doing? Couldn’t he sit at a table?

He stood in front of Kyungsoo, staring down at him and receiving absolutely no acknowledgement. Jongin wouldn’t mind if they stayed that way, but they needed to communicate to work on this project. It was just two weeks. But when he asked Kyungsoo why he was sitting there, he was still given no response.

“If we’re going to work together, you have to talk to me,” Jongin noted quietly to no avail. Well, since he couldn’t even get the boy to speak, he doubted he’d be able to encourage him to move somewhere else, so he took a sit across from him. It was probably better this way; at least he was hidden from people’s judgemental eyes (as if he’d chosen to work with Kyungsoo). He pulled his knees up to his chest, folding himself up tight so he could keep his distance, and watched Kyungsoo for a moment.

The boy’s eyes were scanning the pages quickly, flipping through in search of something. From here Jongin could make out pictures of airplanes – what they needed to make for their project – and he was a bit grateful Kyungsoo had managed to find a book that would help them before someone else got it. That was one benefit of working with a nerdy, academic-focused kid. Around Kyungsoo’s eyes wasn’t purple anymore, which came as a relief. (Jongin didn’t want that guilt staring him in the face, even if Kyungsoo never did look at him.) The boy’s eyes were squinted at the page, clearly in need of his glasses. Jongin wondered why he didn’t have them on; was he afraid Jongin would make fun of him?

Realizing he was doing it again – thinking too much – he made one final attempt to get Kyungsoo to talk to him; asking him to talk to him about the project, for the sake of their grade. It was enough, and Jongin found Kyungsoo’s eyes on him, looking him over for a second before holding out the book and suggesting they model the plane on the page, eyes meeting Jongin’s with an unimpressed scowl. When Kyungsoo’s gaze connected with his, Jongin was suddenly struck by their situation. This was his first time being – well, this close to Do Kyungsoo, alone, looking him in the eye and having to treat him as… well, not a friend, but not an enemy for once. And right then he realized that Kyungsoo wasn’t a bad person; Jongin only hated him out of obligation. And he didn’t want to hate him anymore.

He was staring, not hearing what Kyungsoo had said, but he dropped his eyes to the book and nodded along anyway, mumbling in agreement. Then Kyungsoo was taking the book back, standing up and heading off to go sign it out before returning and reading over the pages they would be using thoroughly. Eventually he tossed the book aside, pulling another from his binder and beginning to read it instead. Jongin had figured Kyungsoo would want to start working right away, but apparently not. Not knowing what to do, but knowing he couldn’t just sit there and stare, he took out homework for another class and began working on it instead. A moment after he finished it, the bell rang, and the teacher announced as they left that there wouldn’t be any more class time to work on these projects.

Jongin looked to Kyungsoo, whose face had gone blank; he resisted the urge to ask Your place or mine? to break the awkwardness. Kyungsoo probably wouldn’t appreciate the humour anyway. Instead he hurried to catch up to Tao, groaning about having to work with Do Kyungsoo and saying he definitely wouldn’t be spending any extra time with him outside of class, screw that.

That was the first lie he told his friends about Do Kyungsoo. It would not be the last.

“

Jongin took the bus to Kyungsoo’s house every day that week, sitting with Yixing, getting off with Kyungsoo. A couple kids saw but never said anything, and he was glad.

Kyungsoo’s house was really nice. He was an only child, Jongin learned. His parents were sweet, especially his mom who always brought them snacks and greeted Jongin kindly when she saw him. Meanwhile, Kyungsoo was as cold as ever; but Jongin treated Kyungsoo the way he would a friend – or maybe a friend of a friend, since they were too awkward to be friends – and he thought Kyungsoo slipped up sometimes. Like the time Jongin had been working on a part for the plane and showed the other, and Kyungsoo had complimented him quietly; or when he passed Jongin his pen when Jongin was looking for one; or when he went out to the kitchen and asked if Jongin wanted anything, and his voice was almost shy. Kyungsoo was still trying to act like he hated him, Jongin knew, but they weren’t enemies anymore.

It wasn’t until Jongin came over late Sunday morning that he realized. When he showed up and Kyungsoo wasn’t scowling, instead looking a bit disappointed and explaining that their project had accidentally been crushed, hardly able to meet Jongin’s eyes. For the most part, Kyungsoo returned to his grumpy self as they spent the day together – seriously, Jongin was there all day – remaking the plane, but Jongin had realized then. Whether it was some magic spell or those sad, still-healing eyes, or the way those eyes met his and dropped to the floor as he explained about the broken plane, or the way his hands worked to shape and handle the pieces of wood… Somehow Kyungsoo had worked his way into meaning something to him.

And when Jongin went home that night, his mind lingered over those hands he had memorized in the past several hours, imagining what they would feel like, how they would feel on him. Jongin was ashamed at how fast he finished jerking himself off, thinking about and staring into those eyes. And the dream came back to him once more, but this time it was Kyungsoo and he woke up with his boxers coated again, even after having changed them from dirtying them before.

He hated Taemin for having known before even he did. He hadn’t liked Kyungsoo. But God, he wanted him now.

The next day he wrote Kyungsoo a note again, and was amazed when he walked by later to see another one in response stuck to Kyungsoo’s locker. Who are you? Jongin couldn’t answer when he first saw it, surrounded by people, but he left his class later to go write a reply, only to realize he didn’t know what to write. He couldn’t say Jongin; that would be stupid. But he didn’t want to write someone else’s name. Ultimately, he decided to go with a fake name that he pulled out of thin air more or less, one that bore no resemblance to his own.

He would tell Kyungsoo one day, once he won him over. But he needed to win him over first.

A/n: Jongin didn't take long to start having feelings for Kyungsoo as you can see. Also, hello Taemin o/ he'll be around more in the rewrite I think. And gosh Jongin's . I don't know if all guys are that (clearly Kyungsoo isn't; he doesn't watch and doesn't think or dream about [he does though, but not much]) but Jongin has a lot of hormones, clearly. Bonus points if you can tell me why Taemin calling Kyungsoo a wizard is relevant~