A/n: For those who don't know what chubby bunny is, its a game where you stick marshmallows in your mouth and say "chubby bunny" after each one. Whoever gets the most marshmallows in their mouth before they can't say it, wins.

So, admittedly, Kyungsoo had no idea what he was thinking when he decided to confess one of his biggest secrets to a random person one week before the last day of school. It had just been a stupid idea he’d been contemplating (only half-seriously) for literally months, because really, Kyungsoo’s whole high school experience had been so boring and he just wanted to do something – different, exciting. Dangerous.

(Okay, so admitting a secret wasn’t exactly dangerous, but for a practical shut-in like Kyungsoo it seemed pretty significant. Like, even Kyungsoo’s very closest friends had never been able to crack some of the deeper secrets he was withholding – like the fact that he was gay; he had never dated anyone, and naturally his friends noticed and questioned his totally dead dating life, but they hadn’t suspected he was gay. Or his secret Pororo addiction – okay, that one his friends kind of knew about, but he had never actually given them the satisfaction of confirming it. They had only seen his Pororo doll – which wasn’t such a big deal – and found his deeply buried Krong-themed pajamas, and noticed the suspiciously unmarked bookmark on his internet browser that led to every episode of the show, in English and Korean.)

Anyway, it was an idea he’d had for a while now, and he kept thinking about doing it and then chickening out and now it was the Friday before his final week and he would be gone forever after that. On a whim of courage, Kyungsoo finally made himself write out a note on a small piece of paper and stuck it on the board at the front of the school, allowing it to blend in easily with the rest of the announcements there.

“Come to the chemistry lab today (15/06/12) after school to find out my secret.”

Then Kyungsoo ran away, heading for the school’s lab.

The lab was the best place Kyungsoo could ever think of going when he wanted to calm down, or just relax in general. It was not any secret that Kyungsoo loved chemistry. Chemicals, elements, metals and explosions and numbers and… when Kyungsoo could escape into that realm of science, the rest of the world faded and took all his problems with it. So today, after possibly doing the boldest thing he’d ever done (and it wasn’t even done yet; he hadn’t had to face anyone or anything, all he’d done was write down a note that no one might even read), he needed the lab and thoughts of protons and acidity levels to keep his heart levels from going out of control.

When he arrived in the room, he threw his bag onto a desk and paced absently for a minute before heading over to the black board and picking up a piece of chalk. In moments he was filling the blank space with formulas, testing his memory to keep himself distracted.

Ten minutes passed, and he filled one wall (well, from the point he could reach; the top quarter of the board remained empty), but no one showed. Various worries nagged at him; what if no one came? What if someone saw the note and took it without actually coming, and was somewhere laughing at Kyungsoo’s misfortune right now? What if a teacher or janitor read it and came instead? Kyungsoo was torn between just leaving the place and crying at how much of a failure he was. He just moved onto the next wall and began writing more.

After the second board was filled, Kyungsoo was seriously starting to doubt this whole plan – everyone had to have gone home by now. Sighing, he replaced his chalk, leaving all his work on the board in defeat (someone else would just clear it off anyway) and picked up his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder sadly. He would have this kind of luck, after finally being brave enough to get this far. Clearly, his secret was one never meant to be shared.

Just as he was slipping into the hallway, he bumped into someone else, jumping back in surprise. Kyungsoo looked up at the other, recognizing them immediately. It was all he could do not to gape.

Oh, no.

“Sorry – oh, hey,” the boy said, bright but uncertain. “I know you right?”

Wow. It was all Kyungsoo could do not to hide his face and run off in shame. How had he just bumped into him, of all people? Might as well just add to the disappointment of this moment. He doesn’t even know my name. Kyungsoo hated his life; he wished reality was as easy as the formulas he’d just left behind.

“Uh, you’re um, Jongin, right?” Kyungsoo actually knew this, but it wasn’t so far-fetched that he would forget the name of his secret crush of three years when this was as close to the younger as he’d ever been. How, how is he even prettier up close? How does that make sense? And pretty was an understatement.

The boy smiled down at him, eyes meeting Kyungsoo’s through messy black hair that reached for his lashes. Before Kyungsoo could resist, his own eyes glanced Jongin over, immediately regretting his lack of self-control; Jongin in loose, pale blue skinny jeans and a dark tee that clung tightly to his well-formed body was really not something Kyungsoo could handle without serious preparation time. “Yeah,” Jongin flashed his unfairly pretty smile and Kyungsoo was bombarded with equally unfair twisty, fluttery feelings in his stomach. Why are you even that perfect? There is no need for anyone to be that perfect; it only ruins everyone else’s lives.

“I’ll just-”

“Were you just in the chem lab?” Jongin wondered suddenly, before Kyungsoo could dismiss himself and go home to hide forever. Kyungsoo clamped his mouth shut, giving a nod. Jongin’s smile widened into a bright grin, and Kyungsoo had to drop his gaze in fear of being blinded by feels. “Well, I was just waiting to be picked up in the front hall, but then my mom called and said she was gonna be late so I was just waiting around and – anyway.” When Kyungsoo looked up, Jongin looked a tiny bit embarrassed at his rambling, but then he held up his hand – showing Kyungsoo a slip of paper. “I was looking over the announcements and I found this. You didn’t write this, did you?”

It sort of felt like the temperature in the hallway had just spiked a hundred degrees. Oh my gosh. Just kill me. “I – I, uh, um…” Kyungsoo had the feeling even Jongin could feel the heat radiating off his cheeks right now, because this is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me. This is so not what I wanted. Stupid freaking karma. Kyungsoo was going to start his death fast as soon as he got home. Sighing resignedly, he mumbled, “Yeah.”

“Really?” Jongin’s eyes lit up, and Kyungsoo nodded again. “Wow, I must seem really lame for actually following it, huh?” You’re the one who’s lame here? Kyungsoo just stared dumbly. “It wasn’t like a prank, was it?” At this, Kyungsoo was shaking his head.

“Not a prank,” he assured quietly. “Just… me being stupid.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know.” He heaved another sigh; he needed to stop doing that, or Jongin was gonna think he was the most pessimistic person ever. (So far, Jongin didn’t seem to mind, but still… first impressions.) “Some part of me thought it would just be something fun to do, you know, to tell someone one of my secrets and just… let things go from there. I wanted to do something risky before I was gone forever and had nothing really memorable about high school.” Kyungsoo glanced up at Jongin’s eyes to see how much he was judging him, but Jongin was just smiling slightly, eyes warm. Kyungsoo looked away quickly after that. “Dumb, right?”

“Not at all,” Jongin answered softly, and Kyungsoo looked back up at him uncertainly. “It’s your last year, then?” A nod. “That’s cool. I didn’t know you were a senior. I mean, you don’t look like one,” Jongin’s smile became a bit shy, and he reached up to rub the back of his neck – as if trying to torture Kyungsoo. “Anyway, you can tell me your secret. I’d like to know what it is…” He paused, then laughed slightly and added, “I guess I’d like to know your name too.”

Excuse me while I swoon. Kim Jongin was asking for his name, wow, wow, wow. Okay, relax, geez. It’s not like he’s interested in you or something; he just needs to know the name of the person whose secret he’s supposed to be finding out. Except Kyungsoo wasn’t really sure he wanted to tell Jongin his secret; but giving him his name was harmless enough. “I’m Kyungsoo.”

“Okay, Kyungsoo,” Jongin said happily. “I promise I’ll keep your secret safe – unless you want me to tell people? I can do that too if you’d like.”

“I – I don’t care what you do with it,” Kyungsoo replied timidly. “Just… don’t laugh, okay?”

“I won’t,” Jongin promised. “Unless it’s like, something super ridiculous, like you’re a closet mega Pororo fan or something.” He grinned, and Kyungsoo froze. What?! Did he just say… Kill me. Just kill me now. Noticing Kyungsoo’s change, Jongin went on, “Well, that isn’t that bad, but it is pretty funny, right? I promise I won’t laugh, though, really.”

He was totally going to laugh. I shouldn’t have ever gone through with this stupid idea. “I… I sort of… am a fan of – Kris Wu.” Kyungsoo confessed this to the floor, face feeling ready to burst into flames. It only got worse when Jongin went silent in front of him, and Kyungsoo couldn’t even look to see his reaction, knowing it would be really bad.

Finally, Jongin spoke up, and his voice only sounded a little humoured. “Like, dance Kris?” All Kyungsoo could do was bob his head once. “Wow. I – didn’t think he had fans, honestly.”

“Yeah… I like him,” Kyungsoo mumbled. No need to tell Jongin that he was probably Kris’s biggest fan and he was kind of a bit creepy about it. Like, he had pictures in his room of the guy…

Kris Wu was the captain of their school dance club, and probably the worst dancer of all time. He was so bad, it made up for the fact that he couldn’t dance because it was so much more entertaining to watch him. And something about that had drawn Kyungsoo in; he liked watching Kris dance terribly (maybe in part because Kyungsoo also couldn’t dance for the life of him either). Needless to say, Kyungsoo had been going to every dance performance in and outside of the school that their team was involved in, just to get a good laugh. But then he found out that Kris was really cool (and by that, he meant Kris was really not cool but acted like he was and made a fool out of himself just like when he danced, but people liked him anyway) and somehow Kyungsoo had become a fan of the guy a year older than him.

At the time Kyungsoo started at the school, Kris was just a member of the dance team, but after garnering so much attention for himself and becoming the centre of the team (which Kris said was because of his talent; people had long since stopped telling him otherwise by now), someone had jokingly suggested he be their new leader after the previous one graduated. Except the idea went over so well with the rest of the members that the joke somehow became a reality, and Kris was appointed leader the following year. He had graduated last year, but still came back for all the team’s dance practices, and so was still considered their leader this year.

Being such an avid fan of Captain Kris (that was the team’s nickname for him) – or the Dance King, as Kris called himself – meant Kyungsoo became pretty familiar with the dance team. He didn’t know any of them well, only ever watching them and learning their names when they introduced themselves and whatnot. But in tenth grade Kyungsoo attended the club’s auditions for new students (as part of the small audience, not auditioning himself of course), and that was when the dance club took on another meaning for him. All thanks to the boy currently standing in front of him who, for the past three years, hadn’t known he had even existed.

Kim Jongin. The boy who had the most amazing audition that day; he was so impressive Kris had asked him to join immediately. Kyungsoo had been surprised; the boy looked kind of dorky (despite his impressive body), and he had stuttered through introducing himself, but when the music started it was a whole different story. It was like he was two different people. After that, Kyungsoo had been lost. He was front row at every school event, anywhere the club went, attention always torn between the perfection that was Kim Jongin and the other perfection (in a very different way) that was Captain Kris. Kyungsoo had even joined choir, since the vocal room was right across the hallway from the dance hall and the two groups often practiced on the same days. (And the choir tended to perform at events right before the dance club would take the stage, so Kyungsoo got to wait around backstage in close proximity to the two boys of his interest.)

“Wait, do you mean you have a crush on Kris?” Jongin put in curiously. Kyungsoo’s eyes snapped up, shaking his head firmly.

“No, no!” he said hurriedly. I have a crush on you. “It’s not like that. I just – think he’s really cool?”

Jongin snorted, then covered his mouth. “Sorry, I said I wouldn’t laugh. I’m really sorry Kyungsoo.” His eyes widened, genuinely apologetic. Kyungsoo just brushed it off quickly. “Just, you’ve got to be the first person who’s ever said that."

“He has fans…”

“He can’t even dance,” Jongin pointed out teasingly.

“I like his dancing,” Kyungsoo returned weakly, and the younger raised his eyebrows incredulously. This, at least, Kyungsoo could do. Defending Kris Wu. (Not that he ever actually had, out loud. But whenever anyone insulted Kris, Kyungsoo always guarded him internally.) “I mean, it might not be as good as-” He cut himself off quickly, not really wanting to admit that he knew Jongin and liked his dancing (amongst other things). “-some of the team’s, but it’s fun to watch. It’s just nice, okay?”

Jongin held his hands up jokingly. “Okay, okay! I’ll give you that it is fun seeing him try to dance. But name one other member who’s dancing you like, just so I can verify that you have some sense of real dancing.”

You. You, you, you. “I like… Sehun’s pretty good,” Kyungsoo offered. Oh Sehun was Jongin’s age, and had been at the same audition, but had tried out after Jongin. He was good, but Kyungsoo had already been caught up in Jongin by the time he’d seen the other boy, and he really couldn’t compete.

“I’m on the team, you know.” Really? I had no idea. Jongin was only the boy who had the most solos and was always front and centre in the choreography (because no one was dumb enough to put him in the back; that would be a tragedy and a waste). Kyungsoo just made a soft excuse about how he really mostly just watched Kris. “Wow, you really are his fan, aren’t you?” Jongin asked, and his eyes were twinkling in amusement. “Well then… how about this – I’ll set you up to meet him. Next week, promise. You get to meet Kris Wu, maybe tell him how much you love his dancing – not that he really needs to be encouraged – and maybe get a private dance in return?” The younger winked exaggeratedly.

“That – the last part won’t be necessary,” Kyungsoo stammered, blushing hotly. This day was definitely going down in history as the most embarrassing day of his life.

“Okay, but really,” Jongin said. “I’m on the team, I’m Kris’s friend. I’ll plan it all out and make sure you get your time with him, okay? So you can really have a memorable last week in this place.”

“Really?” Kyungsoo knew Jongin was nice but was he serious? Is this real life? Is my crush actually going to help me meet Kris Wu? I either need to wake up now or never.

“Of course,” Jongin replied brightly, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “What’s your number?”

Oh gosh. Swooning too hard! Kim Jongin just asked for his number. Kim Jongin was going to help him out. Too much. Too much!

“Oh my gosh thank you I love you so much you’re the best thank you!”

Kyungsoo clamped his hand over his mouth, far too late. The younger was staring at him, looking kind of shocked. “I – I didn’t mean that like-” Oh gosh please no, did I just out myself like the biggest idiot of all time, no no no no no.

Fortunately, Jongin just let out another snort. (Could snorts be attractive? Kyungsoo hadn’t known they could until now. He’d never been close enough to hear Jongin do this – although he had heard his very, very cute laugh before.) “I know I’m the best,” Jongin grinned, winking again cheesily and then holding out his phone. “But that doesn’t tell me what your number is. Add yourself for me?”

It took actual physical effort not to hyperventilate, just taking the younger’s phone out of his hands casually and adding in his number under “Do Kyungsoo”. It was even worse handing it back, knowing Jongin had his number now. And Jongin might text him or call him sometime in the near future. Dear lord. Have mercy.

This was simultaneously the best and worst day ever.

 

The next morning at about nine-thirty, Kyungsoo was awoken by his phone ringing loudly beside his pillow. At this time of day on a Saturday, I Am the Best was not the best thing to be hearing (otherwise, it was a great song; Kyungsoo might have had a thing for Bom, but then psh, who didn’t? It was still one of the many things his friends liked to about, but at least he had taste – his friends all leaned towards SNSD, like honestly; they had twice as many members yet only half the talent, that didn’t even make sense [Kyungsoo was a little biased]). Kyungsoo only vaguely registered the unknown number as he answered the phone, too asleep to process anything besides the fact that someone was calling him right now.

“Hel-lo?” his voice cracked.

“Kyungsoo?”

“Yes?” Who are you and why are you even awake at this time?

“I didn’t know you liked 2NE1.”

“Better than the alternative,” Kyungsoo grumbled groggily, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes, too sleepy to even be embarrassed.

A chuckle on the other end. “No kidding. CL’s amazing.”

Kyungsoo was about to tell the stranger he could have CL as long as he got Bom when it clicked that he still didn’t know who the heck he was talking to. And as much as he liked talking about his favourite bands, this was kind of weird. So he said instead, “Sorry, but who is this?”

“It’s Jongin.”

That was enough to pull Kyungsoo into full consciousness. To his great shame, he actually dropped his phone, but grabbed it and pressed it back to his ear in under a second again.

“-met yesterday, remember?” he heard Jongin saying.

“Yeah, of course,” Kyungsoo said hurriedly. “Sorry, I was just-“

“Asleep?” Jongin finished for him. “I figured. I’m not usually up this early on weekends-”

“Is anyone?” Kyungsoo put in quietly, suppressing a yawn. Jongin was laughing in his speaker.

“I wasn’t sure if you were a morning person,” he admitted. “And I didn’t know if you had plans today, so I wanted to get you before you went anywhere, if you were going to.”

This would have been funny to Kyungsoo – because ha, him having plans? – but it was Jongin, and the way he said it made it sound like Jongin wanted to make his own plans with Kyungsoo. That wasn’t possible, right? Well, it was, but that – Jongin wouldn’t – it was crazy. Right?

He wasn’t going to ask, just in case he made a fool of himself; he’d already done that enough yesterday. Instead he just said slowly, “I’m not doing anything today.”

“Great!” Jongin said happily. “We should meet up then. I could just interview you over the phone, but that’s no fun. Plus there’s no food. I mean, if we go out we’ll have to pay for food, but oh well – it’s more fun, right?”

Kyungsoo had never known Jongin rambled so much. It was sort of adorable, except he didn’t actually understand what Jongin was saying. They were going somewhere? What was this about an interview? “Sorry, what?”

“Um.” Jongin cleared his throat, sounding distinctly awkward. Oh gosh, I’m ruining things. He had just got a phone call from Kim Jongin – like, for one thing, who called people these days? And also, Kim Jongin of all people – and Kyungsoo was doing a terrible job at – whatever he was supposed to be doing. “Let’s have breakfast together. Or lunch, or brunch. Food, you and me. I want to talk to you about the Kris project.”

Oh. Of course. Why else would he have called? “Okay, sure,” Kyungsoo tried to sound casual. “Where should we meet then?”

“Can I text you an address?” Jongin asked. Kyungsoo hummed in affirmation. “Could you get there in an hour, then?”

“Unless it’s really far, I’ll be okay,” Kyungsoo assured. He would get himself there in five minutes if Jongin asked, to be honest. (Which was kind of sad, since the two were practically strangers – at least as far as Jongin knew. The guy hadn’t even known his name – or probably anything about his existence – until yesterday. A week from now, he’d probably never see or think about Kyungsoo again. What a wonderful life.)

They didn’t say much beyond that, just promising to see one another around ten-thirty at the address Jongin would send. As soon as he hung up, Kyungsoo flew to his bathroom and showered, washing himself vigorously, then brushing his teeth (and maybe putting on a very small amount of cologne, but it was subtle enough that Jongin probably wouldn’t even notice) and hurrying back to his room. Kyungsoo didn’t exactly have a model’s wardrobe, but he pulled together something that he figured was attractive. Not that he really knew what kind of thing Jongin liked (although it was probably not guys, to be honest), but… well, he had said he liked CL.

Kyungsoo laughed at the idea of him trying to be remotely hip hop. He couldn’t pull off baggy clothing to save his life. Should he wear shorts? No, better to avoid that shame if he could. So, channeling his inner CL wasn’t happening – probably because he didn’t have an inner CL. (Or an outer CL. His legs were nowhere near as nice as hers. Also, he didn’t have s. Or shoulders, for that matter. Or blond hair. Basically, he was hopeless.)

In the end, he settled for a pair of breathable skinny jeans and a plain black t-shirt. He had no idea what to do with his hair, so he just left it alone – still wet from his shower, but it would dry soon enough in the sun. Not wanting to be late, he just headed out after that, grabbing his wallet and throwing on a pair of sneakers. He texted his dad to say he was going out and would be back eventually. His dad wouldn’t ask questions; he never did.

It turned out to be a lot cooler than Kyungsoo expected – the weather had been really weird all year, and he really should’ve known better than to assume it would be warm. But by the time it had really sunk in, he was already halfway to wherever he was going – following a GPS on his phone – and he couldn’t turn back then, otherwise he would be late and he couldn’t do that. He just hoped the restaurant would sell tea or something. Still, when he had reached his destination, he was shivering and regretting his lack of planning.

There were several places that might have been the restaurant he was looking for, but he was spared having to find it as he spotted Jongin leaning against the wall casually on the sidewalk. Jongin had at least been smart enough to wear a sweater, halfway zipped up and protecting him from the disloyal weather. He seemed to catch sight of Kyungsoo at the same time Kyungsoo did him, and his face broke into a smile as he pulled away from the wall.

“Am I late?” Kyungsoo wondered, checking his phone quickly. (This was an excuse to not stare, honestly, but he was worried he’d kept the younger waiting.) It was five to ten-thirty. Maybe Jongin just lived nearby or something.

“I got here like, thirty seconds ago,” Jongin told him. “I didn’t see you inside so I thought I’d wait out here for you.” It sort of felt like someone was trying to pull his heart out of his chest. How was he so nice and considerate and cute and perfect? What did I ever do to deserve to be going up against this? Kyungsoo was doomed to lose his battle against his feelings for Jongin. He sighed internally. “Are you cold, or do you just always have goosebumps?”

“I’m actually part chicken,” Kyungsoo replied quietly, drawing a snort out of the younger. Why does he do that and why is it so cute? “That’s another secret of mine, though. I’d appreciate if you didn’t tell people that one.”

Jongin grinned so wide his eyes crinkled and became dark, pretty crescents. How dare you. “Okay, Kyungsoo-ssi,” he said amusedly. Kyungsoo had to restrain himself from cringing. Was that title really necessary? Don’t forget you’re basically nothing to him. “Here, let’s go inside. It’s probably warmer in there.” And with that, Jongin stepped towards the nearest door and held it open for Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo barely got a glance at the sign overhead before he was inside.

According to the sign, the place was a café, but Kyungsoo was a bit surprised by it. Couches and comfortable chairs were littered everywhere, a few booths lining dark stone walls dotted with various pieces of art. The lights were pretty dim, the floors dark like the walls, even the furniture shaded in deeper tones, and it all made Kyungsoo feel a bit like he was in a cave. Jongin stepped ahead of him and led them to the back of the room, far from the front window where the greatest source of light came in, to a small couch (Kyungsoo didn’t want to think of it as a loveseat). He dropped his sweater there but didn’t sit.

“I’ll get us drinks, what did you want?” he asked lightly.

“Anything warm,” Kyungsoo answered automatically, and then Jongin went off, leaving him to sit on the couch and do his best not to touch Jongin’s sweater. (He was really curious what it would smell like, but he had to refrain. That would just be weird and creepy.) A few minutes later Jongin was back with two cups of mystery drinks, and Kyungsoo was grateful because he was really cold by that point. Thinking it was warmer in the café had been very wrong; of course the air conditioner was on and it was even worse.

“Here,” Jongin put the two mugs down on the coffee table in front of the couch and grabbed his sweater, sitting in place of it and, before Kyungsoo was even aware of it, wrapping the sweater around Kyungsoo’s shoulders. “You look freezing. I’m sure your hair isn’t helping anything.”

Kyungsoo wasn’t sure if he was freezing, but he froze at the feeling of the sweater cloaking him. It had happened so quickly and so naturally that Kyungsoo couldn’t even object, and he was too stunned to say anything now. His thought process had blurred into one big oh my goooooooooooooooooosh, and he was going to be a while before he recovered. “Th-thanks,” he managed to say, reaching for one of the cups and taking a sip, not even knowing what he was drinking. Some coffee based, sweet beverage that was surprisingly good.

“I had no idea what you liked,” Jongin confessed. “But you seem like a sweet person, so – I mean, someone who likes sweet things.” He did that cute, shy smile thing Kyungsoo rarely saw, making the older’s heart flutter.

“I do,” Kyungsoo told him. Maybe that’s why I like you.

“Good,” and his smile was practically pure sugar, if they were measuring in sweetness. “I’ll have to write that down. Oh – hold on-” He reached across Kyungsoo quickly, digging into the pocket of his sweater and pulling out its contents – a pen and a wad of paper, apparently. After unfolding the pages, he looked around and grabbed a book off the nearby shelf, using it as a writing surface and scribbling something across the first page. “Okay,” he smiled again when he was done, meeting Kyungsoo’s eyes. “I need to know everything about you.”

“Huh?” Kyungsoo said eloquently. “Sorry, I just – why?”

“For this whole Kris thing,” Jongin explained, picking up his own drink and taking a large gulp of it. “I need to know you, so I know how to plan everything perfectly to suit you and stuff. So tell me everything – all the stuff you like and don’t like, things you’re afraid of, all your secrets, things you’ve done, things you wanna do. I need to know you as well as you know you. Your whole life story. Start from your birth, end at meeting me here today.”

Kyungsoo stared. First of all, he couldn’t remember so much of his life; his memory kind of when it came to stuff like that. Also, how could Jongin just expect him to open up completely to him like that? They barely knew each other, and Jongin was his unattainable, perfect crush. He couldn’t know everything about Kyungsoo; that would just be a terrible, terrible idea.

“I-“

“Where were you born?”

“Um, Kyeonggi-do.”

“Siblings?”

“None.”

“Parents still together?”

“Yes?” Kyungsoo was feeling a bit stressed at the lightning interview. Jongin was writing very quickly (and messily from what Kyungsoo could tell) on his paper. Before Jongin could shoot another question at him, Kyungsoo said, “Um, Jongin? How is this helping you?”

The younger took another sip of his drink, shrugging lightly. “I dunno yet. But I figure I might as well just have all of it, in case I do end up needing it. I’m like – profiling you. I wanna know you inside out.” Kyungsoo could feel how hard he blushed at those words, and even Jongin’s cheeks turned rosy, eyes widening. “Oh, wow, I didn’t mean that inappropriately, sorry. Sorry.” Kyungsoo just grabbed his own drink to spare himself from having to speak. “On that note – are you a ?”

It was a very near thing that Kyungsoo didn’t spit his drink. He did choke on it, but ended up getting it down without causing any real embarrassment. “That’s – that’s a bit personal,” he protested.

“I know, but you’ve gotta remember your dream. It’s all for a good cause, I promise.” Kyungsoo opened his mouth to object further, but then Jongin added, “I still am, if it makes you feel better.”

Oh. Well that did make Kyungsoo feel a tiny bit better. (He was also sort of glad to hear that Jongin was a . Not that it mattered or anything. Just… nice to know.) “I… I don’t know how you’ll ever need to know, but – I am too.”

“Great!” And Jongin’s smile was so bright it was sort of painful. Was he really that happy Kyungsoo had cracked and told him? “And congrats, by the way. For not cracking under the pressure or whatever. Most people don’t make it through high school.”

“No one would sleep with me anyway,” Kyungsoo shrugged, which was true. At least, no one he wanted. Maybe his standards were too high. That didn’t really bother him.

“Sure they would,” Jongin said very casually. It didn’t sound like he was arguing at all, and Kyungsoo couldn’t really defend himself (despite knowing he was right). “How many girlfriends have you had?”

“Zero.”

“Hm.” Jongin’s brow scrunched as he wrote this down, looking very concentrated. “Any boyfriends?”

Throat tightening, Kyungsoo swallowed hard and shook his head. This was as close as anyone had ever gotten to asking if he was gay. No one had ever even suspected it. But Jongin merely uttered, just checking, and continued asking questions like nothing was wrong. Still, Kyungsoo was really starting to think this had been a bad idea. Kim Jongin of all people, knowing everything about him.

The questions became a bit less personal for a while, and when Kyungsoo’s stomach rumbled, Jongin asked, “What’s your favourite kind of sandwich?”, before heading off and coming back a few minutes later with said sandwich.

“Jongin, you can’t keep buying all this for me,” Kyungsoo insisted weakly as the boy went off and came back with two glasses of water as well.

“It’s okay, you can buy us dessert,” Jongin grinned. As they ate, his interview didn’t stop, and Kyungsoo was pretty impressed by the endless amount of questions Jongin had been able to think up. He had already filled a page front and back, and was halfway down a second one when they finished eating. Still, he seemed nowhere close to being done yet. Another page and he took a second break to drag Kyungsoo over to the display, filled with various desserts. After both getting slices of different kinds of cake (Jongin promising to share his if Kyungsoo would do the same), it was straight back to asking question after question. Only on page four – and it was going on one o’clock now – did Jongin finally seem to run out of things to ask.

There was a long moment of silence where Jongin just stared at his pages – and Kyungsoo stared at him – before Jongin nodded and said, “Well, I could make you a profile on eHarmony now.”

Kyungsoo laughed but said, “Please don’t,” and earned himself a grin.

“I won’t,” Jongin reassured him. Then he grew serious. “Anyway, I guess you probably have stuff to do or something, so… I’ll message you if I come up with anything more, okay?”

“Oh, yeah sure,” Kyungsoo said quietly, not really wanting to admit that he wasn’t going to be doing anything. Still, he wished he could make up an excuse or something just to spend more time with the younger. Not wanting to seem too desperate or clingy or pathetic, he didn’t say anything. Instead he just stood up, remembering he was still wearing Jongin’s sweater – and feeling reluctant to take it off because he was just finally starting to feel warm. Before he could, Jongin spoke again.

“Hey, would it be alright if I walked you home?” he wondered softly, getting to his feet as well and folding his papers into his pants pocket. Had he noticed Kyungsoo still had his sweater? Probably. “Just to see your neighbourhood and stuff. It might be useful. Or I might just give Kris your address,” he joked with a grin.

“You can walk with me only if you don’t do that,” Kyungsoo replied, feeling nervous. Kris having his address? Well, what was he going to do with it anyway? But still, Jongin might tell Kris his stalker was living there or something… That couldn’t happen.

“Alright,” Jongin sighed dramatically, before laughing and holding out his pinky. “I promise I won’t give out your address.” It wasn’t really necessary, but Kyungsoo still wrapped his own pinky around Jongin’s (because physical contact, how could he resist that?) and nodded in agreement. He was shocked when Jongin quickly took his hand after that, holding it casually and light enough that it would be easy for Kyungsoo to let go. But he didn’t let go (because he wasn’t that stupid) and instead let himself be led out of the café. “Which way?” Jongin prodded once they were out in the sunshine again, and Kyungsoo was glad to find it wasn’t so cold anymore. He kept the sweater on anyway.

For the rest of the way, he was the one pulling on Jongin’s hand whenever they had to turn, and he blushed every time he did. Jongin didn’t seem to mind at all, chatting easily with the older about whatever came to mind. He asked a couple more questions along the way, but didn’t write them down. Once they reached the edge of downtown, Jongin adjusted his hand, braiding his fingers into Kyungsoo’s as if it were nothing. All Kyungsoo could do was pray his heart wasn’t beating hard enough for Jongin to feel it.

When they were on Kyungsoo’s street, he started slowing down, not ready to part with the younger yet. Soon enough he had to stop, standing out front of his place.

“Is this it?” When Kyungsoo nodded, he felt Jongin withdrawing his hand and couldn’t look up at him, feeling awkward. Did he just say goodbye and go? The younger was pulling out his paper and pen, writing something out – Kyungsoo’s address? Kyungsoo wasn’t sure whether to be worried or not. He promised not to give it to Kris. In a minute the paper was stuffed back in his pocket. “Alright, now I just have to figure out how to get myself home,” Jongin smiled, looking around. “I’ll just go the way we came until I see something familiar.”

“Okay,” Kyungsoo nodded. “Message me if you get lost or – kidnapped or something.”

This made Jongin snort, and Kyungsoo sort of wanted to squish his face for it. “If my kidnapper lets me keep my phone, I’ll make sure to do that. See you at school, Kyungsoo.” And with that, he started off, leaving Kyungsoo to go into his own house. Only inside did Kyungsoo realize that he still had Jongin’s sweater, and when he looked out his living room window, Jongin was already out of sight.

Part of him knew he should message Jongin or something, but he didn’t. Because I’m a jerk. And he felt bad, but he would wait for Jongin to bring it up, pulling the sweater tighter around him even though he was pretty warm by now. Jongin wouldn’t be mad, right? He’d forgotten too (and Kyungsoo himself really had forgotten), and he had seen Kyungsoo wearing it. Kyungsoo would give it to him on Monday.

Whatever. It was worth it.

 

Almost three full days after Kyungsoo had confided his secret in Jongin, he faced a new wave of worry about that bit of information being out in the open. Kyungsoo was always paranoid that people would find things out about him that he never wanted them to know, but when he was walking through the halls Monday morning, he was actually justified in his concern. For the first time, he wasn’t the only one who knew his secrets.

Jongin had texted him all weekend with questions, and one of them had been what Kyungsoo’s favourite show was, to which Kyungsoo had refused to tell him. Insistent on getting the answer, Jongin continued to bother him for a response, until finally around ten o’clock Sunday night Kyungsoo’s phone started ringing.

“You’re not gonna let this go, are you?” Kyungsoo grumbled as soon as he picked up. He heard a soft laugh on the other end.

“No,” and Kyungsoo could hear Jongin’s smile in his voice. “You’ll tell me you’re a but not this?”

Kyungsoo was glad the younger wasn’t there to see him blush. “That’s different. This… is a secret.”

“You already told me your biggest secret,” Jongin noted. “And besides, what’s there to hide? Is it like some series or something that you’re into?” He laughed at himself, and Kyungsoo had to literally pause to hit his head off his pillow. How could Jongin do this to him?

“No, it’s not,” he croaked. “But it’s still a secret.”

“Please tell me?”

“No. I’ll save the remainder of my pride.”

“Hyung.” Jongin’s voice dropped low, stretching out the word huskily, and Kyungsoo’s mind went blank. “This is important. I swear I won’t tell anybody, but I need to know it. Your secrets are an important part of you, it’ll help me know you better.”

What exactly was his Pororo obsession going to tell Jongin about him, other than that he was just a huge child? “My closest friends don’t even know this. I’d like to keep it that way. Which means don’t tell anyone else,” Kyungsoo said firmly, if reluctantly. “Please. This may actually be more shameful than being Kris’s fan. Actually, it is.”

“No one will ever hear it from me,” Jongin promised, voice still deliberately low and tempting.

Even though he couldn’t be seen, Kyungsoo still felt the need to hide his face with his free hand as he mumbled, “Its Pororo.”

There was a very extended silence before Jongin murmured quietly, “That’s not a joke, right?” Kyungsoo just made a weak sound, hoping Jongin would understand. “That’s not so bad.”

“It is to the level I like it,” Kyungsoo mumbled, very certain he wouldn’t be able to face Jongin if he ever saw him again.

Just ten hours after this, Kyungsoo was on his way to his locker when he did indeed see Jongin, and the boy had seen him too, heading his way. An overwhelming sense of shame took over Kyungsoo’s body, and he just ducked his head, not looking up until he reached his locker. Before he even had his lock opened Jongin was there, leaning against the locker beside Kyungsoo’s, eyes burning into the older’s head and easily coaxing out a blush.

“Did you come here to tease me?” Kyungsoo asked under his breath, not really expecting Jongin to hear it.

“About what?” And they both knew what Kyungsoo had been talking about – Jongin practically had a list of things he could tease Kyungsoo for now – but Kyungsoo still appreciated that Jongin said that anyway. “I just came over because – I believe you have something of mine.”

At that Kyungsoo’s eyes widened. Yes he did, and he might have had a problem with it. He swung his bag off his shoulder and opened it, grabbing Jongin’s sweater off the top of his books as he’d packed it. “I didn’t even realize I was wearing it when I went home, and then you were gone and I figured I’d just bring it back today.” Jongin was looking down at him amusedly, and it really wasn’t helping Kyungsoo at all. Kyungsoo just kept his eyes on the other’s sweater. “Anyway, I was going to wash it on Saturday, but then I totally forgot to, so I was gonna last night but then my mom was doing laundry and I didn’t have any time, so I couldn’t clean it… Sorry,” he sighed, feeling like more of a jerk because of it. It had been one thing keeping Jongin’s sweater the whole weekend, but he should have at least washed it, and he had wanted to but that meant basically nothing since he hadn’t.

“I’m not that much of a clean person anyway,” Jongin told him, reaching out and taking his sweater from the smaller. As if to prove his point, he slipped the sweater on and zipped it up, shrugging when Kyungsoo looked up at him. “I mean, I care about hygiene or whatever, but I’m not gonna die from a sweater someone else wore once. And I’m cold,” he added, grinning. “Which is why I was hoping you’d brought this back, because I didn’t bring a sweater with me.”

Before Kyungsoo could comment further, the warning bell rang and Jongin frowned, touching his arm lightly like he was worried Kyungsoo was going to run away. This effectively paralyzed the older, and all Kyungsoo could do was stare.

“How do you feel about skinship?” Jongin asked quietly as people began to hurry around them. They should’ve been joining the crowds, heading to class before they were late, but Jongin of course had to choose now to ask his questions. Kyungsoo stared for a long moment, trying to get past the tightness in his chest – because Jongin was still touching him and it was kind of a lot to take in. I’m kind of pathetic, wow.

“It’s, um, okay?” He hadn’t ever really thought about it much before. Half his friends were touchy-feely, so he was used to it. “I don’t tend to initiate it, but I don’t mind it.” Only when Jongin did it, but then he only half-minded because it made it hard to think and he needed to think, especially around Jongin.

“Good.” Kyungsoo was awarded another smile, and then Jongin dropped his hand. “See you later then.” And he was gone, leaving Kyungsoo wondering what his cryptic response – one of many – meant, and coming up with no results as always. Why did Jongin always have to say that? Good. Why was it good that Kyungsoo didn’t mind skinship? Why was it good that – well, Jongin had said that to so many of Kyungsoo’s responses; why?

He’s like a puppy. Everything makes him happy.

The rest of Kyungsoo’s day went relatively normal, and he didn’t see Jongin between classes or at lunch or anything. Of course, Jongin probably had his own friends to hang out with and Kyungsoo had the same, and their groups rarely crossed one another so it wasn’t much of a surprise anyway.

At the end of the day, Kyungsoo headed for the front doors only to find the whole hall cluttered with students. What were they doing? But as he caught sight of outside, he realized what was going on – rain. Apparently everyone at his school would melt if they went out in the rain, and it was their tradition to all huddle around inside and panic when the weather turned. Sighing, he simply pulled up his hood and pushed his way through the group. Just as he was reaching the doors, someone called him over the chatter and Kyungsoo paused, turning and spotting Jongin waving an umbrella at him at the back of the crowd.

When he caught up to Kyungsoo, Jongin said, “Let’s walk together,” and then took the older’s hand, pulling him outside. He only let go to open his umbrella before he was slipping his hand back into Kyungsoo’s.

They were quiet until they got off the school grounds, at which point Kyungsoo managed to find his voice again. “I guess you like skinship, huh?”

“Mhm,” Jongin agreed cheerily. Kyungsoo didn’t know what to say to that, so he just went quiet again. His heart was sort of racing right now, and he thought it might be better to just not say anything for a while, in case he said something wrong. Fortunately, Jongin was good at filling up silences. “So, Kyungsoo. Do you have any crushes?”

Well, he was good at filling the silence with questions intended to ruin Kyungsoo’s life.

“Uh,” Kyungsoo blanked. “Park Bom?”

“Really?” Jongin said, glancing down at him. “Hm. I don’t know why I’m surprised. You do seem like the Bom type.”

“I do?”

“Yeah. Although I was kind of hoping you would like Minzy more.” Kyungsoo swore Jongin squeezed his hand when he said this.

“Why would I like her more?”

Jongin shrugged. “Anyway, that’s not what I meant. I was talking about at school.”

Yes, and I was trying to avoid that. Of course he couldn’t have things his way. “Oh,” was all he said.

“Oh?” Jongin echoed. “Does that mean there is someone, or no one can compare to Bom for you?”

Cracking a smile at that, Kyungsoo said, “Well, that’s true.” No one could attain her perfection. But… Jongin could be a very close second.

“So no crushes?” Jongin prodded, receiving a shrug in response. “You’re not giving a straight answer, so I’m assuming there is someone.” Kyungsoo kept his eyes on the sidewalk ten feet ahead of them, refusing to let this of all secrets be revealed. No way. He could hold onto it for four more days and then head off to university and forget about Kim Jongin. Naturally though, Jongin had other things in mind, nudging Kyungsoo’s arm with his elbow. “Tell me,” he said, mock-whining.

“I’d rather keep this one to myself.”

“But I-”

“-need to know because it’ll help you with your plan, I know,” Kyungsoo cut him off. “Trust me, this isn’t important or relevant.”

“The people you like say things about you.”

“I like Bom.”

“Kyungsoo,” and Jongin really was whining now. “Please tell me. At least what they’re like.”

Heaving a sigh, Kyungsoo caved. At least he could say a little bit, and get Jongin off his back. “I don’t know. They’re… nice. And funny. And a little bit obnoxious sometimes, from what I know, but not as bad as my friends. And… talented.”

“Talented?” Jongin repeated. “What kind of talent?” Kyungsoo shot him a frown, but Jongin was insistent. “Is it like, twenty-marshmallows-in-chubby-bunny kind of talent, or like… Picasso kind of talent?”

Kyungsoo tried to give him a serious, judging look, but Jongin just stared him down until he cracked and burst into laughter. “How do you come up with that kind of thing?” he laughed.

“It’s a genuine question,” Jongin told him, grinning. “And I need an answer,” he added more sternly.

“Neither, then. But more like the latter. And if they do have the other one, I don’t know.”

“Hm.” Jongin went quiet for a minute, and Kyungsoo assumed he was just buffering for more questions, and didn’t bother saying anything. He’d be forced to speak once the younger thought of more to ask. “I’d like to challenge them, then,” Jongin said finally, and Kyungsoo frowned at him.

“Huh?”

“To a game of chubby bunny,” Jongin explained, raising an eyebrow at Kyungsoo with a tiny smirk. “I bet I could beat them.”

“What are you challenging them for?”

“To win your heart,” Jongin said simply, and Kyungsoo let out a laugh, even though he didn’t find it particularly funny. You have no idea what you’re saying. For one thing, Jongin wanted to challenge himself to this apparently, and for another, Jongin already had won his heart, and he was just joking about it and it kind of hurt to think about so Kyungsoo just didn’t. “I could do twenty marshmallows. I got to nineteen once before I threw up. What’s one more?”

“That’s gross,” Kyungsoo said, crinkling his nose. Even Jongin throwing up couldn’t appeal to him (although Kyungsoo wanted to comfort the younger at the idea of it).

“But would it win you over if I beat your crush?”

“Yes,” Kyungsoo replied sardonically. “That’s exactly what I look for in a soulmate. As long as you’re the best at chubby bunny, I’m yours.”

“Good,” Jongin said quietly, but for once he didn’t sound that enthusiastic. He squeezed Kyungsoo’s hand again before lacing their fingers together, and didn’t say much for the rest of the walk. Only when they reached Kyungsoo’s house – and Jongin walked him all the way to the door so he wouldn’t have to go in the rain – did he speak again.

“I think I have everything planned out,” he told Kyungsoo as they stood on his doorstep. “I’ll just have to get everything in order for Thursday and then hope it all goes well.”

“Thursday?” Kyungsoo echoed. “Not Friday?”

“Kris will be gone Friday. It’ll have to be Thursday.”

“Oh,” he nodded. “Okay.” Jongin was still holding his hand, and Kyungsoo had no idea how to let go. What if he didn’t, and Jongin didn’t, and they just kept holding hands forever? That would be okay with me. Until he had to shower, or go to the bathroom. He wasn’t really comfortable with the idea of being around Jongin.

Jongin seemed to be deep in thought, contemplating something (was it them holding hands? Probably not, but Kyungsoo really hoped he wasn’t waiting for him to let go first, because it wasn’t going to happen and it was going to be really awkward). For a second, he thought Jongin moved closer, but then finally Jongin just released his hand and said something under his breath. It sounded like Thursday. Before Kyungsoo could ask, Jongin was saying, “See you later, hyung,” and making his way down Kyungsoo’s driveway.

Okay, Kyungsoo thought as he watched him go.

 

The next two days were mostly uneventful. Jongin seemed to have disappeared from school, only messaging Kyungsoo a couple times with questions after school was over. Every hour, Kyungsoo felt more and more nervous about whatever Jongin was planning, but he knew he had to go through with it. This was what he had wanted, and besides that, Jongin seemed to be working really hard on this and if Kyungsoo bailed on him it would be totally unfair.

So on Thursday morning, Kyungsoo forced himself out of bed and into a well put-together outfit. Glancing out his window, he was relieved to see all blue skies, but still checked the weather to find it would be warm and sunny all day. Good. It’s June, after all. Taking the nice weather as a good omen, Kyungsoo pulled together his confidence and headed off to school.

He didn’t really know what he was expecting, but when he walked into the school and found everything to be unchanged, he was a little bit surprised. At his locker, things were usual; Jongin didn’t show up, and Kyungsoo went to his class as he usually would. Again, nothing. Had he been tricked?

No. Jongin just said Thursday. He never specified when. Maybe it’ll be after school. Kyungsoo did his best not to panic, but did check his phone several times to make sure that today was Thursday. He was a bit paranoid that maybe his phone was just wrong, but he told himself off for being ridiculous, and just tried to get through class without making a total fool of himself.

At break, he asked his friends, “Is it Thursday?” They just told him it was, but he asked if they were sure, and received odd looks for it, before they said that yes, they were pretty sure what day it was. Kyungsoo shut up at that.

I’m just overthinking. There were still several hours in the day. Why do I have to be so impatient?

His second class dragged by; they weren’t actually learning anything at this point, just watching movies, but it was still slow-going. By the end of the period Kyungsoo had convinced himself to just wait until the end of the day, and he went to his locker to pick up his lunch, wondering if he might see Jongin in the cafeteria (although he hardly ever had before, but maybe he’d be lucky).

When he got to his locker, he sighed. He’d been half-hoping he’d find a note on his locker door or something, any sign that something was happening today. But his locker was just as it always was, and nothing sprung out at him when he opened either. Just wait, he thought through his disappointment.

Kyungsoo grabbed his Pororo lunch bag (which he’d had for ages, and yes, he planned on taking it to university) and closed his locker a bit louder than necessary, before jumping at the sight of Kim Jongin standing on the other side of his door.

“Hey hyung,” Jongin said with a grin, leaning against the locker beside his oh-so-casually. “I’ve come to you.”

Kyungsoo stared for so long that Jongin took the lock out of his hand and closed his locker for him. Then the younger was pulling him away from busy hallways down a familiar and empty corridor – the one leading to the vocal room, and the dance hall.

Oh gosh, I’m not prepared for this. He’d spent the past hour un-preparing himself, thinking he’d be waiting until later, but now – I’m not ready. Oh gosh. Yes, admittedly the past week talking to Jongin and spending time with Jongin probably trumped getting to meet Kris, but still, Kyungsoo needed warnings for things. He was not a spontaneous person.

They reached the dance hall long before Kyungsoo’s thoughts even had the chance to stop whirling around, and Jongin apparently felt the need to pause outside the door and ask, “Are you ready?” All Kyungsoo could do was shake his head, and Jongin grinned mischievously before opening the door and pulling them inside.

The dance hall was… exactly the way it always was. Big, mostly empty but for a few people standing around chatting near the stage. Kyungsoo had been expecting – balloons or a party sign or something, or maybe the room to be pitch black and then the lights to go on onstage. And people wouldn’t all jump out at him suddenly – there was nowhere for anyone to hide, except backstage.

“Uh, Jongin?”

“Yes?”

“Did I – miss something?” He tried not to sound disappointed – he wasn’t, really, just confused more than anything.

“Are you surprised?” Jongin asked, clearly doing his best to hold in a smile.

“I… well, yeah, but not in the way I thought I’d be,” Kyungsoo admitted.

The younger cracked at that, grinning crookedly and tightening his grip around Kyungsoo’s hand briefly. “Well if it was what you’d expected you wouldn’t have been surprised, would you?” Huh. He sort of had a point there. Jongin’s grin widened, and then took Kyungsoo up to the stage where the few other people were.

At the sight of them, one of the other boys cut himself off from whatever he was saying and announced, “Look who it is.” The rest – only about four others – turned at his words. “We’re all waiting on you, you know.”

Jongin stopped as they reached the semi-circle of people – all part of the dance crew, Kyungsoo realized. Three girls, he vaguely recognized to be in Jongin’s grade, another guy, and the one who had just spoken – Oh Sehun.

“I had to get our audience,” Jongin shrugged, releasing Kyungsoo’s hand as he spoke. His smile had faded, and there was a hint of sarcasm in his voice now. Kyungsoo had observed this behaviour before (from a distance) – since Oh Sehun was a little bit… stuck up, Jongin tended to act this way around him. But they were best friends. Right now, Kyungsoo was too busy looking over the girls in the group to really notice it anyway. For some reason, he found himself comparing them to CL, and was only slightly relieved that they weren’t as pretty as she was. Still better-looking than me.

“So this is the guy?” one of them said, and suddenly everyone’s eyes were on him.

“He doesn’t look like a senior,” Sehun muttered, and Kyungsoo felt himself flushing. It’s not my fault.

Jongin took a step closer to him, as if protecting him (which was what Kyungsoo was pretending he was doing). “Yeah well, tomorrow’s his last day. Anyway, let’s go.” Glancing down at Kyungsoo, he smiled again. “We’re gonna go dance, ‘kay? You can watch us.” And then he was gently pushing Kyungsoo towards the middle of the area in front of the stage where a chair was waiting. “You wait here.”

As soon as Kyungsoo took his seat, Jongin was jogging off after the rest of the group who were making their way on stage. Once they were out of sight, the lights in the hall dimmed, only the ones over the stage shining brightly. Heart beating nervously, Kyungsoo crossed his fingers together in his lap and tried not to be too anxious.

Music started, and several dancers took the stage. Neither Jongin nor Kris were there, but Kyungsoo wasn’t too surprised (though a bit let down). This was a familiar format; the best (in Kyungsoo’s opinion) were saved for the second half.

It wasn’t so terrible, once Kyungsoo got into it. Just like watching any of their performances. By the end of the first chorus, he was relaxed and enjoying the show (even if it was a little awkward, being a one-man audience; he assumed they were all just imagining it as a usual practice). Of course, it was then that Jongin made his appearance, and Kris. They started in the back and moved their way forward until they were centre-stage, and Kyungsoo did his best to watch Kris – because this was probably going to be the last time he ever saw Kris; but his eyes were constantly drawn to Jongin anyway. (In his defence, it was probably one of the last times he would ever see Jongin, too.) Once they reached the bridge, Kris had a solo (of terrible, beautiful awkward dancing) and Kyungsoo enjoyed it for the last time. And then Jongin was stepping in and taking over, and Kyungsoo’s heart did a lot of painful things until everyone else was back, and Kyungsoo made himself watch Kris after that.

When it was over, Kyungsoo’s clapping echoed in the hall, and he stopped quickly because it felt really awkward clapping alone. Jongin’s smile onstage really was blinding as all the lights reflected off it, and in seconds the younger was jumping right off the front and landing a few feet from Kyungsoo.

“Hey,” he smiled, and Kyungsoo made a soft sound in response as Jongin kneeled down beside him and rested his chin on Kyungsoo’s thigh, staring up at him. “How were we? Did you even notice anyone but Kris?”

“Um,” Kyungsoo swallowed hard. You. “Vaguely.”

“We’re all just background noise to you, huh,” Jongin laughed. “Are you sure Kris isn’t your crush?”

“Quite sure,” Kyungsoo nodded. “It’s just… kinda like seeing your favourite band.”

“So Kris is your local Bom?” Jongin prodded.

“A little. Except I wouldn’t date him.”

“Hm.” Jongin exhaled loudly out his nose. “I have a question, then.”

“Another one?” Kyungsoo asked, a bit incredulous. “Isn’t it a bit late for that now?” He’d thought all of Jongin’s questions had been going towards planning this whole thing, but Kyungsoo was pretty sure none of the information he’d given had actually been used. (But then, maybe that meant more was going to happen soon. Or maybe Jongin had used it all and put together that Kyungsoo was a simple guy, and excessive, elaborate events weren’t really his thing.)

“This is just a personal interest question,” Jongin replied lightly, lifting his head and placing his hand under his chin, fingers spread too comfortably across Kyungsoo’s leg. “The person you do like, are they in the dance club?”

Kyungsoo’s mind blanked a little. “Why do you want to know that?”

“Because I still have to challenge them, remember?”

That doesn’t mean I can tell you. But… Just because it was someone in the dance club, didn’t mean it was Jongin per se. There was no way he could infer that if Kyungsoo just said yes. Then again, what if Jongin was already suspicious that it was him? He can’t prove it though, unless you say it. And even if Jongin did think Kyungsoo liked him, Kyungsoo was literally leaving the school tomorrow and would never see him again.

“Fine, then yes,” Kyungsoo said with a small sigh. “They are.”

“Okay,” Jongin nodded, and he didn’t look very happy about this answer. “Who are they?” Kyungsoo just shook his head in response, and Jongin pouted. “Can I get a hint?”

“I just gave you one. They’re in your club.”

Kyungsoo didn’t think he was imagining it when he felt Jongin’s grip tighten around his thigh. “One more hint?” the younger asked softly, and the idea of leaning down and kissing him ran through Kyungsoo’s mind. That would be a good hint. But he would never have that much courage if he built it up for a year.

“Maybe,” Kyungsoo posed cautiously. “You can ask one more question about them. And it can’t be like, ‘who are they’ or ‘what’s their name’ or anything like that,” he added with a glare. Jongin half-grinned, then furrowed his forehead in thought. After a moment, he looked up at Kyungsoo, eyes dark and stunningly serious.

“Are they a girl or a guy?”

Kyungsoo gaped. It felt like Jongin could see right through him (which was a terrifying thought, by the way). Was – was Jongin asking if he was gay? But… Jongin knew he liked Bom (although Bom was literally the only girl Kyungsoo had ever liked; she was a special exception). So what did his question mean?

“I – I – what?”

“It’s a valid question. And whatever the answer, it cuts the group in half, which makes things easier for me to guess. Also,” he said slowly. “I have suspicions of who it might be.”

Oh shoot. “Y-you do?” Kyungsoo was extremely embarrassed by the fact that he squeaked slightly.

“Yes, so your answer will be very helpful,” Jongin said firmly. Kyungsoo shook his head. Somehow, Jongin had managed to get nearly every one of his greatest secrets out. He was down to his last two – the biggest two – and Kyungsoo was going to hold onto them with his life. “Please, hyung?”

“No. You don’t need more hints.” He wished he could just hide his face right now, because he could feel how much he was blushing and he didn’t want to deal with Jongin anymore. Fortunately, before Jongin could bother him further, he was being called back to the stage and had to leave. Kyungsoo watched as he went back up, and he swore Jongin’s shoulders were slumped slightly. When he reached the others, Sehun said something to him, smirking, and Jongin hit him in response before going backstage. Everyone took their places and music echoed through the room again.

They finished their second routine and Kyungsoo alternated his gaze between Kris and Jongin as usual. Jongin looked more serious this time around, but he never faltered in his steps. At the end of this dance, Kris went up to the younger, and then the pair of them headed in Kyungsoo’s direction. Kyungsoo scrambled to his feet as he realized they were coming over to them, bowing shyly when they were near enough.

“Hey, I heard you’re my fan,” Kris said when Kyungsoo straightened. Feeling warm, Kyungsoo merely nodded. “You have good taste. Not everyone appreciates my level of talent.”

“I think you’re great,” Kyungsoo replied softly, forcing himself to make eye contact. It lasted about two seconds before he went back to admiring Kris’s shirt.

“Thanks. I’d offer to teach you, but it’s sort of something you’ve gotta be born with.” Beside him, Jongin made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a suppressed snort. When Kyungsoo glanced up at him, Jongin was biting his lip to stop himself from smiling. Kris raised an eyebrow at his fellow dancer before saying to Kyungsoo, “Don’t mind Jongin, he’s never gotten over his jealousy, always being second place.”

At this Jongin couldn’t hold in his laughter, snorting and ducking his head. “Yep,” he said, amusement vibrating through his voice. “That’s why.” Kris patted his head sympathetically, and Kyungsoo wanted to laugh himself. Suddenly he found himself wishing he’d joined the dance team years ago. Simultaneously, Kyungsoo felt like he was part of something but was also on the outside of it, and he hated that he never could be part of it.

“Anyway, should I like, sign your shirt or something?” Kris asked, dragging Kyungsoo out of his internal conflict.

It was a tempting offer but, for one thing, he liked the shirt he was wearing and he wouldn’t be able to wear it again if Kris signed it (for preservation sake). Also, it was kind of weird to get the signature of the school dance team captain. So instead Kyungsoo returned, “Could I get a picture with you instead?”

“Hmm,” Kris looked very pensive for a moment, as if he really had to consider this question. “Well, I guess one picture can’t hurt, since Jongin went all this way for us to meet.”

Kyungsoo chose not to point out that what Jongin had done, Kyungsoo could basically have done on his own – he literally just had to walk into the dance hall one day and sit down, and no one would even say anything (because they got an audience now and then, and didn’t care). Instead, he pulled out his phone, and Kris took it and handed it to Jongin, asking him to take the picture for them. (Jongin looked very slightly annoyed at that, but he didn’t object.) A second later Kris threw his arm over Kyungsoo’s shoulders – reminding Kyungsoo of how short he was but wow, Kris was even taller than he’d expected.

“Smile,” Jongin told them, and Kyungsoo attempted his least awkward smile. “Okay, you’re good.” Then Jongin walked back to the pair, who separated automatically. When Jongin was close enough, he grabbed Kyungsoo by the arm lightly and pulled him to his side, holding up Kyungsoo’s phone in front of them. “My turn,” he said before telling Kyungsoo to smile again and snapping another photo. With that, he handed Kyungsoo his phone back, now containing a photo with Kris and a selca with Jongin.

“Thanks,” Kyungsoo breathed. Jongin just nodded, keeping Kyungsoo at his side and pulling him back towards the stage.

Everyone was sitting around and stretching out on the stage now, and as he and Jongin got up on the stage, Kyungsoo heard Oh Sehun whining, “When’s it getting here?” As if on cue, there was a knock on the door, and Sehun cheered as Kris opened it and what looked like a floating stack of pizza boxes was waiting outside. Kris took them and Kyungsoo caught sight of a delivery guy, who was handed a wad of cash before the door closed again and Kris came back to the stage with at least ten boxes of pizza.

“We ordered lunch,” Jongin told Kyungsoo, sitting down and dragging Kyungsoo with him.

They were sitting awfully far from Oh Sehun, and the other seemed to notice it. “Are you avoiding me Jongin?” he called across the stage.

“Yes,” Jongin shot back. “You’re scary when you eat.” Nothing further could be said because Kris was dropping the boxes in the middle of the group and everyone was scrambling to open them and grab a piece. Jongin joined in the mess, and came out again with two pieces, handing one to Kyungsoo. “Careful, it’s hot.”

Kyungsoo stared down at his slice – his favourite kind, just pepperoni and mushroom – before glancing up at Jongin. “How did you-” He cut himself off. Wait. It had been one of Jongin’s many questions.

“Told you those questions were important,” Jongin grinned, apparently reading Kyungsoo’s mind. “You never know what I might’ve needed.”

Kyungsoo nodded slowly, taking a bite of his pizza and chewing on it, thinking things over. A moment later, someone came in with a cooler of various cans of pop, and Jongin was off to get them both one. When he came back, Kyungsoo asked quietly, “Did you really need to know all that stuff? I mean, I figured you were planning something really big with everything you asked me.”

“Who says I’m not?” Jongin replied, and Kyungsoo didn’t know how to respond to that. Was he? Jongin winked. “Honestly, I don’t have anything else planned. I just figured I’d bring you in here and hang out with you for the day. Since Kris is here and, well, tomorrow’s the last day before you’ll be gone, right?”

Kyungsoo swallowed a mouthful of pizza and followed it with a shot of his drink, but the lump in his throat remained. “Yeah…” He wished it didn’t have to be his last day. He wished today was his first day. Why couldn’t he have left that note out at the beginning of the year? Or in tenth grade? Why did he have to meet Jongin a week before he’d be leaving forever?

He was starting to wallow, and that wasn’t good. For a moment, he zoned out, but he was drawn back by Jongin’s voice saying sharply, “Hyung.”

“Huh?” Kyungsoo’s eyes snapped back to Jongin, and the younger was frowning at him.

“Stop staring at Oh Sehun.”

Had he been? Kyungsoo hadn’t even realized it. Part of him felt the need to say sorry, because Jongin looked – and sounded – annoyed with him for it, but he didn’t understand what he’d done wrong. So instead he just looked down at his pizza and didn’t say anything. When he did this though, Jongin scooted closer to him so they were side by side again, and when Kyungsoo turned and lifted his eyes to the younger’s, he found Jongin to be far closer than he’d expected, and froze.

Without a word, Jongin closed the space between them, and Kyungsoo practically went into shock as he felt the other’s mouth on his. Jongin’s eyes closed, and he pressed softly and needily against Kyungsoo’s lips for a moment before pulling back and smiling slightly. His eyes opened again, and all Kyungsoo could do was blink at him blankly.

“I’m sorry to tell you, but Sehun’s not into you,” Jongin told him breathily. “And I don’t think he’s your type anyway. I, on the other hand, would be a great match. I’m a better dancer, I like you a lot more, and I’m the chubby bunny king. Basically a triple threat.”

Oh my gosh what the heck is going on right now did I just get kissed by Kim Jongin am I dreaming or dead? “You?”

“Yes, me,” Jongin nodded. “I’m probably not gonna see you again after tomorrow, so I figured I might as well tell you. I mean, I wasn’t planning it, but when I found your note and it was you… I just kind of thought I should do it.”

“Do what?” Kyungsoo managed. His brain was sort of fried, and he was pretty sure it was beyond being turned off and back on again. “What’s happening?”

“I guess I’m confessing,” Jongin said, offering a weak smile. He looked nervous for once. “I’ll try not to make this too long. Um… I started seeing you around in ninth grade and sort of liked you, but then in tenth grade, you were in the older half of the school so I barely saw you around anymore but I did sometimes and whenever I did I got those feelings again. But like, I never even knew your name or anything about you except like, you were in choir and you had a really nice voice. I didn’t even know you were a year older than me until you told me, but it makes sense now. Anyway, then this year I saw you around a lot more and I kept thinking I should talk to you, but I never did because I’m dumb and thought it’d be weird and stuff.

“And then I saw your note, and I didn’t know it was yours but I thought it was interesting, and when I found you I got sort of excited ‘cause it was like, my chance had finally come, but you were also leaving in a week so I had to make the most of it. So then I got your number and thought it would be weird if I just started messaging you, like you might not want me to talk to you or something. That’s when I thought I would use your whole secret thing to my advantage, which is why I asked you all those questions. One, I wanted to get to know you and see if you were actually the type of person I would like, and it turns out you are. And two, it was just an excuse to talk to you.

“Anyway,” Jongin went on, taking a short pause to breathe. Kyungsoo’s thoughts were so blurry that he couldn’t even think about how Jongin was rambling and how it was always so cute when he did that. “You said you had a crush on someone and I’m pretty sure it’s Sehun but he only knows you exist because of when I talk about you, and if you weren’t graduating this year I’d ask you out myself because I think you could learn to like me. I mean, we’d be a good match, that’s all. But you’re leaving. And I just wanted to kiss you because I’ve never kissed anyone or wanted to but suddenly I just felt like doing it and yeah. This is probably my only chance to do that or say all this.”

Kyungsoo was speechless. His stomach was flipping over and over and his heart sort of felt like it was going to just burst and then he would be dead. Or maybe it had already burst and he was dead. Which meant this was clearly Heaven, and Kyungsoo should probably applaud himself for managing to get here.

“That’s all,” Jongin told him quietly, and he looked very let down that Kyungsoo apparently had no reaction to everything he had just said.

“You like me?”

“Sort of,” Jongin admitted. “I mean, you’re that guy I see around who’s really cute and I think about more than I should. And now I know you and… I’d pick you over CL, which is a pretty tough choice.”

Wow. Oh gosh, Kyungsoo felt a bit faint at that. It was a miracle that anyone would pick him over CL, but – but Jongin would?

“Really?” he breathed, and Jongin bobbed his head quickly. “You’re wrong about my crush, though.”

“Oh.” Jongin’s shoulders slumped. “It’s one of the girls, right?”

“No. Park Bom is the only girl I’ve ever liked in my life.” At this, Jongin was the one staring, a glint of hope in his eyes. “It’s you.”

“It’s – me?” Jongin echoed slowly. Kyungsoo nodded, finding their situation just as hard to believe as Jongin apparently did. All this time, he could’ve just talked to Jongin and actually had a chance with him. And now it was the end and he’d wasted his whole high school life.

This is the worst way I could end my high school experience memorably. I really should never have bothered sharing that stupid secret.

“That’s terrible.”

Kyungsoo sighed. No kidding. “Mhm…”

His phone went off suddenly, and he pulled it out of his pocket to see a message from one of his friends, wondering where he was. He’d forgotten about his other friends, but messaged back his location and put his phone away again, too busy pitying himself to feel sorry towards them. Not long after – though it felt longer, as he and Jongin sat in a miserable silence – his friends showed up at the door and asked for him, and Kyungsoo didn’t know what else to do but go with them, so he offered Jongin a sad goodbye and went.

He probably wouldn’t ever see Jongin again.

His friends pulled him out across the hall to the vocal room, asking what he’d been doing and whatnot, but he just shrugged and they didn’t question him much beyond it.

“We have a present for you,” they told him. “A very awesome graduation present that none of us like. We worked hard for this, so you better appreciate it.”

“What is it?” Kyungsoo asked, a little curious but mostly feeling very, very sad. It was like his body was suddenly made of stone; his limbs felt like they were a hundred pounds heavier.

One of his friends flourished two strips of paper, and Kyungsoo took them, seeing they were covered in writing. “You are welcome,” his friend said. Kyungsoo held the paper closer to his face and realized what he was looking at.

“Concert tickets?”

“Yep.”

“For – 2NE1’s concert?”

“Front row. We had to fight off many other fans to get those for you. It was bloody.”

“I – wow.”

“We’re amazing, we know.”

Kyungsoo was speechless again, and then abruptly he felt miserable because he had two tickets, and he knew exactly who he would like to take with him, but…

“Kyungsoo!”

Kyungsoo whipped his head around and saw Jongin standing there in the doorway – with his Pororo lunch bag in hand.

“You left this,” Jongin mumbled. Kyungsoo had never seen him as sad as he was right now. He knew exactly how the boy was feeling, too. Turning to his friends, he asked if he could talk to Jongin alone for a moment. They glanced the other over before clearing out of the room, leaving Kyungsoo alone with Jongin.

“I guess we say goodbye now, huh?” the younger sighed.

“I guess…” Kyungsoo agreed, taking a step forward. “Or not.”

“Or not?” Jongin wondered, brow furrowing in confusion. Kyungsoo held up his recently presented gift, and Jongin squinted at them for a moment before his eyes widened.

“Are you busy on-” Kyungsoo flipped the tickets around and glanced over them quickly. “-July sixth? Because if not, I have an extra ticket to some concert for this band you might’ve heard of.” He shot Jongin a grin, and the boy sort of looked ready to cry.

“Are you asking me on a date, Kyungsoo?” His arm moved around Kyungsoo’s waist slowly, and Kyungsoo felt a bit light-headed.

“That’d be – our third,” Kyungsoo noted weakly. Jongin raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation. “Saturday, today. Actually – come to my grad with me? I don’t have a date.”

Instead of answering, Jongin simply leaned in and kissed him again, and Kyungsoo had to grab onto his shoulders because his knees gave out, and that was sort of embarrassing but Jongin just backed him up against the wall and kissed him until Kyungsoo was ready to faint, before pulling away and nodding slowly. “I could do that,” he breathed, voice low and seductive. It was all Kyungsoo could do to suppress a whimper in his throat. “You won’t forget about me when you see Park Bom though, will you?”

Kyungsoo’s ears were ringing slightly, and he had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to forget about Jongin – kissing him, being confessed to by him, just everything about him – for a long, long time. “She’s my crush, not my boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend, huh?” Jongin smirked. “Who is this mystery guy I have to fight off now?”

His eyes were burning into Kyungsoo’s, far too sensual for the playful grin on his lips. “Oh, just this guy I’ve liked since I first saw him and never talked to for three years and then met in the weirdest way. Who officially knows all my secrets, by the way.”

“Hm.” Jongin pressed his lips to Kyungsoo’s again, but pulled away quickly, saying, “One last question, before I kiss you senseless?”

“O-kay?”

“Do you like him a lot?”

For once, Kyungsoo didn’t have to hesitate at all. “Very, very much.” And then Jongin was grinning, grabbing Kyungsoo’s hand and winding their fingers tightly together.

“Good.”