Morning.

Everything's too bright, too cold, and too noisy for comfort. Kyungsoo wakes up in his bed, a large and  thick pink duvet draped around his body, probably an extra kept by Jongdae for any guests who stay over at their dorm. He pushes away the duvet, getting up to sit at the edge of his bed. Yesterday seems like a bad dream, filled with endless hours of stomach cramp and sour temper. He could vaguely remember sitting in the tub with Jongin, talking about... whatever it is they talked about. Kyungsoo wonders if there's anything more embarassing than what he did last night.

He doesn't have the courage to face Jongin that day. 

"Jongie hyung, can I not go to school today?" He asks, giving his signature puppy pout that works on Jongdae every time.

"Are you alright, little squish? Do you want hyung to stay home and take care of you?"

"No no, I don't want you to get in trouble for skipping school. Anyway, I'll just call the office later and tell them I'm sick."

"Ok then. I'll come back straight away after school, so don't go anywhere."

"I don't feel like stepping out at all. Could you buy me lunch on the way back later too?"

"Sure. Would porridge do?"

"Yeah, thanks hyung."

Kyungsoo spends the day playing with Jongdae's playstation 3. He covers himself up in a blanket, wearing an old sleeveless tank top and a boxer because he's too lazy to get dressed. Thick round glasses is perched on the bridge of his nose because he doesn't wear contacts at home. He rolls around in Jongdae's bed, occasionally getting up only to use the bathroom. His stomach doesn't hurt as bad anymore, and by mid-noon, it starts to grumble.

Where is Jongdae with his food?

Someone knocks on the front door around 2, but Kyungsoo's too busy fighting some higher level boss to hear it. A minute later, he almost loses the boss battle when Jongin suddenly appears before him, holding up a bag of food. "I've got your lunch, Kyungsoo."

"Sweet jesus, Jongin! You scared the living soul out of me. How did you get in?"

"Jongdae hyung gave me a key. He's busy right now so he told me to bring this over for you."

"Wait, he told you? Why did he ask you of all people? Where's Yixing hyung?"

"They're busy I guess." Jongin shrugs, sitting down on the bed next to Kyungsoo. He doesn't comment on how cute Kyungsoo looks all bundled up like that,.Instead, he takes the other controller to sign in as player 2 while Kyungsoo gives him a squinted look. "Are you fighting a boss right now?"

"Yeah, it's being a for making me fight too long." 

"I'll help you then." The both of them spend time sharing a bowl of porridge for lunch and killing monsters until late evening, before Jongin announces that it's time to go back because his mum wants him to come home for dinner. 

Jongin courageously leaves a kiss on Kyungsoo's cheek before leaving, running out like a lovestuck teenage girl right after because he couldn't believe his brain just made him do that. Kyungsoo, on the other hand, looks like he'll combust into flame on the spot, cheeks turning redder than a tomato. He spends the whole night ranting and squealing about this to Jongdae and Yixing.

_______________

The next day at school promises to be better for Kyungsoo. He'll ask Jongin to the prom this time. For sure! No more dilly-dallying. He still can't put a label between Jongin and him - what are they? Friends? Lovers? - but at least they both know that they like each other. Since Jongin kisses his cheek first, obviously the tanned male likes him, right? Kyungsoo has already told Jongin that he likes the guy for who he really is, despite being in a very embarassing position at the time. 

All's well that ends well.

So when he sees Jongin walking through the same hallway to class, Kyungsoo shamelessly calls out for the tanned male, surprising the other students when Jongin turns around to wave back. "Good morning, Jongin." Kyungsoo greets with a smile, ignoring the judgmental looks thrown his way. No one speaks so openly with Kim Jongin like that. He isn't the type to talk to someone like Kyungsoo.

But, much to their surprise again, Jongin returns a big loopy smile, asking Kyungsoo if his stomach is okay this morning.

"Hey, do you mind if I sit next to you today, Soo?"

"Yeah sure. The seat beside me has been empty for like... forever. Since the beginning of our freshmen year actually..."

"Lucky me then. I wonder why I haven't sat there earlier."

"Because you're too cool to be sitting with a nerd like me, I guess." Kyungsoo shrugs. Jongin an eyebrow. "But now that I think about it, I've been wrong all along."

"It's because you found out that I'm not as cool as everyone thinks I am?"

"No, not that. It's because I'm too cool for a nerd like you to be sitting next to me." Kyungsoo says, sticking out a tongue. "I mean, think about it. Only cool kids sit at the back. Those who sit at the front are usually the teachers' pet, and I've seen how some teachers look at you, Jongin."

"Ew, don't even talk about that. I'm no teacher's pet."

"There, there, Jongin. It's okay to be a good boy." He pats Jongin's head in a teasing manner, earning audible gasps from the other students watching them.

"Soo, you're embarassing me."

"I know. It's payback for always being there when I'm doing something embarassing."

Jongin snickers at this. "Oh, you mean what happened at the party last --"

"Don't you dare bring that up, Kim Jongin, or I'll feed you to my dog."

"Fine. Then are you talking about that day at the locker room? Oh, I love the way you --"

"Kim Jongin, I'm warning you."

"Unless you meant to talk about the night when I could have sworn your fart-bombed us ten times while we carried you back home --"

"You can forget about our coffee date." Kyungsoo declares, crossing his arms in a defiant manner before walking away from Jongin. The latter stops moving for a few seconds, registering the words that Kyungsoo just said before it hits him. A date.

Kyungsoo wants to go out on a date with him!

"W-wait, Soo! Hey, slow down a little, won't you?" He chases after the smaller male, who has already entered the class by then. Jongin goes straight the seat beside Kyungsoo. "Did you say date?"

"No, I did not."

"Yes you did. I heard you. So you wanna date me?" Jongin asks excitedly, bouncing in his seat. 

"You're embarassing me right now, Jongin." 

The rest of their classmates look like their eyes are about to bulge out any second now, mouth gaping over the fact that Jongin is acting so unlike his usual self. It's almost as if this Kim Jongin is a completely different person, albeit still as good looking as before. 

"It's payback for staining my gym shirt with your blood."

"Not my fault. Blame the pebble."

"So so so... is it a date then? Could we go out after school? I know the best place to get coffee."

Kyungsoo replies with a small nod, and for the rest of the class, Jongin couldn't rub off the big smile on his face. He's just too happy to care about what people would think of him by then. In his mind, there's only Kyungsoo now.

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