"Ugh, why does it feel like basically everyone leads a more interesting life than I do?", Kyungsoo complained loudly, plunging down on Chen's bed while said one lounged in front of his computer, cutting a new cover.
"Except for me you mean?" he absently added, clicking away while the obnoxious sounds of chopped bits and pieces of 'I wanna eat sushi' by Orange Range filled the room.

'Finally, finally...  finally, finally - I wanna eat sushi!'

Kyungsoo hummed.
"Yeah, except for you."
Resting on his elbow he flipped through the chat windows on his phone.
"I mean... it's insane. Ridiculous, even. I could just write a script out of this. It would make the best drama ever!"
"Yeah? Who's the main lead?"
Kyungsoo scoffed.
"Well, certainly not me, that much is obvious. I'm just the hopeless second-lead sidekick friend."
"I'm pretty sure I'm also out of the picture-"
"Definitely."
Jongdae sniffed, too lazy to play up his act of being hurt with any other gesture as he kept rearranging the sound tracks.
"Sorry man. But that one guy pining after the hot foreigner and making no progress at all? That's pretty obviously a cliche side plot."
"I feel so encouraged all of a sudden. Maybe I should go downstairs and profess my love to Lay right now." Jongdae blankly stated.
"In your old graduation shirt and ripped track pants?"
"You got a point. The colors kinda clash. Not that Lay would be home at this hour."
"What does he do again?"
 "So who's the lead in your glorious, award-winning series?" Chen finally asked, throwing him a look over his shoulder.
Kyungsoo hummed, contemplating it earnestly.
"Maybe Jongin?"

____________

For the hundredth time that day he checked himself in the mirror.
For the hundredth time he reconsidered.
Combed the hairspray out. Reapplied it.
 Took his worn-out hoodie. Replaced it with the leather jacket. The hoodie again. Leatherjacket. A dress shirt...? Hoodie.
"Argh I don't KNOW!"
"What are you doing?"
Jongin's head whipped around, both hands still tangled in his now messy hair, facing his roommate.
"Uuuh, getting ready?"
His roommate Teppei gave him a skeptical once over.
"For what? A date?"
With a resigned sigh he let his arms sink, his hairspray-induced hair not moving an inch and making him look like someone suffering from a severe electric shock. Or a science genius.
"No. Yes. Uhm. Maybe?"
The petite boy tilted his head, his brows scrunched in confusion.
"A maybe date?" the Japanese exchange student asked, obviously questioning his understanding of the language.
"Is that a thing?"
Jongin groaned, shrugging off his leather jacket.
"It should be!"
Observing his struggle with mild interest he offered him a hairbrush which Jongin gladly took.
"I just can't decide whether to go as Kai or Jongin." he mumbled, combing down his hair for the nth time.
Nodding vaguely, his roommate sipped his iced tea.
There weren't that many people aware of his little... quirk. The thing with Kai and Jongin. But keeping it a secret from his roommate would probably only result in a lot of confusion later on. And it was always more difficult to prove NOT being crazy if the suspicions were already there.
So he told Teppei about it, making him the fourth person to know both Kai and Jongin - the other three being Baekhyun (for obvious reasons), Kyungsoo and Chen.
And lucky for him he took it pretty well, accepting him all the same.
"So... if it's a date you go as Kai. If it's not you go as Jongin." he stated matter-of-factly.
"Well. Yeah." Jongin replied as he tried on a dress shirt, tugging it in before pulling it out of his pants again.
Now Teppei was tapping a finger against his cup, obviously trying to wrap his mind around something.
"But... if it IS a date.... shouldn't you go as Jongin then? You know, so you get to know each other? I guess you're not looking for a hot one night stand-"
"-no!" Jongin fell in, his cheeks already beet red at the mere thought.
Teppei only shrugged as if it was no big deal - which to him it probably wasn't. The Japanese music student did indeed look like the closest any human could get to being a fluffy rabbit with his soft, dusty brown curls, warm brown orbs and an appearance so youthful it bordered on being ridiculous. But even though he wasn't exactly a player Jongin knew that the boy could totally use his natural cute vibe to his advantage, if he wanted to.
"Thought so. So you should probably go as Jongin. And if it won't work out and the girl's not interested-"
"-it's a guy though..." he mumbled, hiding his face while re-tying his shoe laces.
Teppei looked genuinely surprised but not appalled.
"Oh? Really? Huh. But still, if the guy's not interested in a date you two could become friends. And for that you should ALSO go as Jongin, right? Sounds like a simple decision for me."
Jongin shot him a look, desperation supported by the pitiful way his open dress shirt was peeking out from below his hoodie.
He knew Teppei was right. He also knew that the only thing holding him back was his low self-esteem.
A few minutes later he finally left the house in a comfortable hoodie and a pair of simple jeans and sneakers. With a sigh he buried his hands in the generous pockets, feeling fidgety already.
The problem was, Jongin might want to date, but didn't know how.
KAI might know how to, but Kai didn't do dates.
But Kai had never encountered someone like Sehun before, either.
Jongin shook his head to rid himself of this third person thinking. It really did make him sound kinda crazy.
Still, it was a fact that he had never felt that shaken by anyone before while being Kai.
Sehun's whole presence was so demanding, so huge. He was thoroughly impressed by his cool attitude and charmed by his good looks. Completely gone. Swept off his feet. There were many words for it and obviously a fraction of them had made it to his mouth when he had actually agreed to Sehun's proposal to meet again.
It was too good of a chance to let it slip and even though Kai had never ever agreed to see anyone in private before, he was now on his way to meet Sehun.
Baring his completely plain self to the impressive Oh Sehun.
Jongin wished the world would swallow him then and there.
He swore his face was red already, imagining the certain humiliation.
 

____________

Chen hummed skeptically.
"Jongin? Why? Don't you think this bipolar guy would make more of a second lead? Like a love interest or anything?" Jongdae asked and Kyungsoo considered it, rolling onto his stomach absently.
"This way around it could make for some pretty interesting storytelling as well..."

____________

Sehun was a wreck. Alright, he may not look like it, but ever since that awkward moment where he asked out the hot model on that fashion show his anxiety had been piling up. Now that he was already waiting at their destined meeting point he was about ready to combust.
The torturing thoughts were basically all the same, just rotating inside his head to leave him restless (and sleepless).

WHY?
Why did I ask him out?
Who's stupid enough to ask out a hot model?
Where did I even take the courage from?
Does he think it's gonna be a date or a simple meeting?
Hell, not even I know!
Oh god, I bet he only agreed out of pity or something.

Another thought, also very popular in the ranks of his panicky mind was:

If I hate people (and I do), WHY DID I DO THIS TO MYSELF?
What's wrong with me?!

Okay, he had to calm down. Breath in. And out again, he shouldn't forget to breath out.
He'd even made a mental list about all the things wrong with this.
First one being that it was probably really obnoxious to ask out a professional model. A no-go.
Second one that he had heard from Kyungsoo that said hot model had never ever accepted any invitation so far. Maybe he had already been so ridiculous the hot guy thought meeting Sehun was alright since he felt absolutely zero urge to start anything with him.
Or maybe his stupid poker face had told him he was a boring person.
In any case Kai had agreed and now he was about to meet the hottest man he'd ever seen. In person. Just the two of them.
He was going to-
 

____________

"Wait, wait, wait." Chen interrupted him.
"How do you know all this stuff, anyway?"
He offered Kyungsoo a box of cookies and said one performed an amazing stunt involving lots of stretching to reach it without having to leave the comfortable bed.
"Well, I'm friends with Sehun. Kinda. He asked me for advise after the show."
"Ah, and Jongin told you as well?" Chen asked, not even sparing a glance at the cookie crumbs dirtying his sheets.
"Naw. He didn't. But, you know - Baek's a gossip girl."
Nodding in wordless agreement Chen kept clicking away.
"So what happened during their date?"
Kyungsoo a stray choco chip off his lips and continued, in a perfect imitation of a narrator's voice.

____________

"Uh. Hi Sehun." Jongin said with barely concealed trembling, his voice unnaturally high. He gave him a timid wave, watching all the expected emotions subtly flash over the photographer's expression.
Surprise, a once-over, slight confusion. And probably disappointment. Surely there had to be disappointment, it was just that Jongin couldn't interpret his expression that well.
"...Kai?" he quietly asked and the three letters alone almost made him blush. It was just something about Sehun, about his controlled and cool aura that was making him feel bad already. As if he was unworthy, a cheater. A fraud.
Playing it up with a weak grin he offered his hand.
"Jongin. I'm Jongin. Kai is just my alias when modeling."
Sehun seemed slightly taken aback and Jongin could hardly blame him. He still took his hand and if only he would smile a bit, maybe then Jongin wouldn't feel like he was about to get the rejection of his life.
"Well, I'm still Oh Sehun. That was my actual name."
Of course it was, because it was mighty rude to only give out your alias to potential friends slash potentially something-more's, Jongin bitterly thought.
"So... you hungry? We could go for some street food or something?" he mumbled, his eyes constantly flitting between Sehun's and their surroundings as if spontaneously thinking about it. As if he hadn't rehearsed the sentence in his head before.
Sehun nodded numbly and without commenting on the whole reveal of Jongin's sloppy appearance he simply gestured down a street.
"There are a few good ones down there. Let's go."
And Jongin restlessly trailed after him, trying not to be dazzled by his natural confidence. He really didn't think he'd be brave enough to wear rainbow-colored hair in public. Obviously people were staring. And those tight jeans-
 

____________

"Wait a sec. Time out.", Chen threw in, even taking the effort to turn over to Kyungsoo.
"You just said Sehun was just a bundle of nerves and has a stick-like figure.", he protested, "-so what's with all the talk about him being so hot and confident?"
Kyungsoo shook his head at him in pity.
"Oh ChenChen. That's the reason Xiu is not asking about your opinion on his romance stories."
Irked at being belittled he huffed, crossing his arms.
"Excuse you, I'm a total expert at love."
"That's the same thing the trolls in Frozen claimed as well and they had moss growing on their head, just saying." Kyungsoo blankly replied.
"I'm failing to see the point there. So what's true now? WAS Sehun disappointed? And, even more important, is that Sehun-guy hot?"
"I thought you have Lay?"
Chen didn't even have the decency to fake looking abashed.
"Details, details. So is he?"
"You're definitely hanging around Baekhyun too much."
Under the impatient gaze he cleared his throat and continued anyway.
"Well, what Sehun was actually thinking was-"

____________

Does Kai have a twin brother?
Is this really him?
Sehun resisted the urge to stare at the boy too much as he lifted another piece of steaming tteokkbeokki to his lips.
To be completely frank, Jongin looked like an entirely different person. Not only that, he felt different, too. His memory couldn't be that weak. Kai had been bold, mysterious and y. Too alluring to be real with his smoldering gaze, lazy smirk and cat-like grace. Heck, he could still feel his hands on his waist, playfully squeezing. Now that he was facing Jongin it felt like an otherworldly experience in retrospective.

Jongin looked... normal. Like, really normal.
Comfortable clothes, no fancy make up or jewelry, his stance speaking of nothing but an introvert. In fact he was pretty sure most people wouldn't have spared him a second look as they passed by him on the streets. It was throwing him off track.
Are all models that plain in their free time?
Though, to be fair, it wasn't that Jongin was in any way ugly or sloppy to the point of being unappealing.
It was just... very different from what he had expected. Still, he felt like he had to take the lead now that there was no y model throwing himself at him shamelessly. And this is where he got terribly nervous, pressured by unseen expectation. He had to somehow entertain him now, right? After all, this whole maybe-date-thing had been his idea and silently munching on cheap food was probably not the best way to go. The obvious obstacle was that he clearly knew nothing about him - or even less than nothing, considering his current surprise.
If his twinkling brown eyes wouldn't have been so distracting, maybe Sehun would have managed to be a little more eloquent. As things were, however, the question sounded random and awkward, spontaneously thrown into the silence.
"So... what do you do in your free-time?"
 

____________

"Awww, so awkward. Man, I'm feeling the second-hand embarrassment."
"I know right?" Kyungsoo replied, though he was nice enough to feel genuine sympathy unlike Chen, who was currently laughing his off.
"I bet they also talked about the weather. It's even worse that they're both rather quiet. Their date would have probably made for a great silent movie if not for the fact that Sehun's expression is so very misleading.”
"Ah, stories like this make me want to let out my inner matchmaker and help them." Chen sighed, still shaking his head and grinning.
"They'd only get together in order to get rid of you."
"Satisfying results are all that counts. I don't live for the praise, bro."
Kyungsoo rolled his eyes but left it at that. It would be a lie to state that Chen was a bad matchmaker who was painfully obvious or anything. Having someone to lead the conversation and steer it around to avoid sensitive topics could do wonders.
"Still. If you would have been around no one would have forced them to get out of their shell. As things were, they had no other choice and-"

____________

As time went by, it got easier. Talking to Sehun, that is. It was nice how he didn't address his whole boring self. A bit awkward, but nice. He had also not made a single move to subtly get rid of him so far, and they had been together for about two hours already - even politeness wouldn't go that far, right? They kept strolling down the streets, eating a few snacks here and there and at some point Sehun had bought himself a cup of bubble tea which he found strangely adorable. Maybe it was the way his face lit up.
They still weren't talking a whole lot and he was still a nervous wreck but at least there was a conversation going on.
"No, I'll soon be done with my traineeship." Sehun was just saying, taking another sip and Jongin pretended not to notice the slight pop of a chocolate bubble bursting. Because it would pull his attention away from the conversation and to his lips.
"Really? Do you have a final exam or anything?"
"Kinda. It's mostly a folder containing my progress over the years and one task I've got almost a year to finish."
Jongin had had some light small talk with photographers before, but never with a trainee and the whole process was all new to him.
"What's it about?"
"Ah, it's rather vague. Just a photo series dedicated to an emotion I can choose myself." he replied, rubbing his neck absently.
Jongin nodded, looking over at him.
"So did you choose one already?"
The question seemed to fluster Sehun, leaving him to fidget with his straw and send Jongin's thoughts crashing into a garbled mess with the trace of pink dusting his cheeks.
"I'm not sure yet. Probably 'Completion' or 'Fulfillment', I don't know..."
Jongin leaned sideways, completely losing control over himself as he cheekily looked up at him.
"Oh? Is it gonna be a pictorial?"
Sehun choked on one of the choco bubbles.
 

____________

Chen spit out the cookie he was eating, spraying crumbs all over his screen.
"He did not say that."
Biting back his grin, Kyungsoo nodded solemnly.
"He so did."
"Did he also offered himself? Please tell me he did."
Kyungsoo only shrugged.
"I'm not sure, neither Sehun nor Jongin seemed willing to elaborate on this... incidents. I wouldn't even be surprised. You know how Jongin can get when in 'Kai'-mode."
Chen perked up at this, already grabbing for the next cookie, naturally following his motto of repeating his mistakes at least twice, just to make sure.
"You said incidentS. Plural. Did he do that more than once?"
Kyungsoo inhaled deeply.
"Well, you see. The thing is-"

____________

Sehun was confused. And flustered. Awkward. Maybe a bit and self-conscious. But mainly confused, yes.
As soon as he was becoming used to the quiet and reserved Jongin, he'd throw some suggestive statement his way. It never failed to catch him off guard and trip him off. He quickly realized that the more flustered he reacted, the more intense the teasing would become. If he only brushed it off nonchalantly, Jongin quickly became quiet again, changing the topic.
Now that he was looking at his gleeful face, glowing with childlike excitement as he kept cuddling little puppies at a pet store he couldn't contain his befuddlement, shaking his head at the sight.
What is going on with him?!
Is he seriously bipolar?
Is this the same guy who asked me whether I'm good at up the bubbles in my tea a few minutes ago?!
I'm so damn CONFUSED.
"Sehun?" a smooth voice asked, ripping him out of his thoughts. It was Jongin, looking up at him from the floor with worry.
"Are you bored? We didn't have to come here..."
"No!", he quickly reassured, crouching down to be on eye-level and awkwardly petting a puppy.
Sehun wasn't crazy for animals but no one with a heart would dislike fluffy puppies and he had wanted to indulge Jongin. There was no way he'd regret this; not with the way Jongin was currently laughing at one puppy that had taken an obvious liking to Sehun and kept pawing at him, eager to receive his attention.
"That's a shepherd. He'll become really big one day, you can see it in the size of his feet.", he patiently explained, lovingly scratching the clumsy little thing behind the ear, "The bigger their paws are, the taller a dog's gonna get."
Seriously. 180 degrees aren't even doing it anymore.
This is making me dizzy.
He's a completely different person.
"Please don't make a remark about the size of my hands now." Sehun involuntarily said and Jongin blushed furiously, retreating his hand to pet a poodle nestled in his lap in silence.  He didn't say anything else.
Sehun could kick himself for ruining the atmosphere. Figuring there was nothing he could do but to apologize he opened his mouth but was cut off by Jongin before he had the chance.

"Dogs are better than humans, right?" he quietly said with his eyes trained on the poodle happily wagging its tail.
"They're so honest. You can always tell what they're feeling..." he trailed off, shoulders hunched in tension, obviously waiting for a reaction.
Sehun wasn't good with metaphors - playing games and tiptoeing around a topic in an artsy way just wasn't in his repertoire. So he didn't even attempt to.
"I didn't mean to offend you."
Jongin stilled for a moment before returning to caress the fur of the poodle which remained oblivious to the sullen atmosphere. It took a long time and Jongin only spoke up when Sehun had diverted his attention to the shepherd puppy.
"I'm sorry, you know. You probably think I'm crazy." he mumbled.
Sehun didn't agree. Neither did he deny the statement.
Instead he simply asked: "Is there a reason?"
A reason for the way you're behaving? He didn't state it directly but Jongin got the hint, tensing a bit more.
"I... Yes. I mean, it's just...", he stammered, trailing off and Sehun decided to save him from his misery.
"Okay."
Jongin looked up and finally met his eyes again.
"Okay?"
Sehun shrugged.
"Yeah. If there's a reason... that's good enough for me."
Jongin blinked unsurely.
"Okay...?" he repeated and his expression was so genuinely dumbfounded that Sehun had to bite back his grin.
"Yeah. Okay.", he echoed as if talking to a child and handed him a tiny and extremely excited ball of fluff, "-and now you can go all out and tell me exactly what the deal of this little thing is, if it's so easy to see for an expert like you."
 

____________

"Is it true? The thing about the size of a puppy's feet?"
"Is that really all you're interested in?" Kyungsoo gave back blankly and Chen shrugged.
"Well, it could get my hopes up."
"You're a grown man."
"You're only as old as you perceive yourself to be." Chen quipped back.
"So you're a toddler? Besides, where did you get that saying?", Kyungsoo deadpanned but didn't even bother to elaborate any further, "-anyway, it IS correct if you must know."
"Hah."
As if suddenly remembering something much less significant he spoke up again.
"Oh, so did the date end well? Did they kiss or anything?"
Kyungsoo sighed.
"Oh please. Earth to Kim Jongdae, this is reality. Do you really think any of these two would have the balls to kiss at the first date?"

____________

"It's getting late and I still gotta study for the exam tomorrow, so..."
"Of course. I also have to get up early tomorrow. You know. For work and everything."
Jongin smiled though it faltered a bit at the realization of what this meant. They were currently standing at a lesser-used entrance to an underground station and the clock read 7 PM already. Somehow they had spent five hours together doing menial things such as eating, trying games in electronic stores, visiting a pet store and just walking around.
And even though there had been several fiascos Jongin had been completely responsible for, he could genuinely say that he had enjoyed himself. Sehun, who had initially seemed rather quiet and reserved, had significantly opened up with time.
One conflict remained, however - Jongin was still very much interested in him. But since he couldn't flirt and Sehun didn't seem interested at all he had tried to befriend him. Still, whenever the photographer caught him off guard something seemed to snap inside him and he turned to Kai, throwing some nonsense at the hot guy, inevitably ruining his chances for good. He just couldn't help it. He was embarrassed and this was his own way of self-defense. It wasn't fair how good he looked at whatever he did, anyway. It shouldn't be entirely his fault.
"So... Yeah. Thanks for today." he awkwardly mumbled, shifting his weight from one sight to the other.
"Uhm. Thanks for putting up with me." he added and felt like dying right there.
Again, Sehun didn't brush it off like many people would but didn't agree, either.
"Same goes to you. It was nice. I mean good. Great, even."
Jongin sighed at the hesitant voice. Now was the time to be let down.
Instead he was caught by surprise once more.
"Maybe next time we should play some video games at my place. I mean. I don't want to suggest anything. But I don't have a roommate and... This sounds wrong." Sehun said, obviously frustrated with himself.
Jongin stared.
"You want to meet up again?" he asked, stunned.
Sehun his lips absently, shooting him a nervous look.
"You don't? Oh."
He remained rooted to the spot.
Sehun wanted to meet him again.
After getting hit on by Kai and discovering the fraud he was.
Oh Sehun wanted to meet Kim Jongin again. The guy whose hair was all over the place thanks to the cool evening wind. With the loose shoelace and stains of dog saliva at the bottom of his hoodie. The one who had thrown the most awkward pickup lines his way and hid himself behind his sleeves the next.
"Sorry. I just assumed-"
"YES. I mean no, you didn't assume anything wrong. Yes, let's meet again."
 

____________

"Awww, I think I just got cavities."
Kyungsoo hummed.
"Hmm. You see now why they'd make the perfect main leads? You can hardly compare with your awkward attempts at seduction-"
"Lay is just too pure to see behind them, you don't know anything." Chen pouted.
"Maybe your seduction technique just ."
"I don't want to hear that from someone whose idea of flirting consists of small talk, being flighty and, well, not flirting at ALL."
"Psh, I bet I'll find a partner before you do!"
Chen scrambled over to him at this.
"Oh really?"
"Oh yeah." Kyungsoo gave back confidently.
"Let's make a bet. What's in for the winner?"
"Uhm... an ice? From the ice cream parlor downstairs?"
Chen initiated the sealing handshake without a hitch - they never gambled about anything expensive, preferring to make the most random bets every now and then, anyway.
"Hah. Prepare yourself to buy me a huge caramel sundae."
"It's gonna be an orange sundae with strawberries."
"Dream on! The victory is mine!" Chen laughed.

Somewhere in an empty room and an office, both Lay and Chanyeol respectively sneezed.
"Ah, I shouldn't catch a cold now..." Lay mumbled in Chinese, while Chanyeol shook his head, looking like a dog trying to shake off some water.
"Wah, someone must be talking about me."
"Chanyeol? Are you done with the forms?"
"Yes boss!"

I'm back from the dead!
I've been moving houses (yet again, marking this the... 10th time?) and as I've stated before I'm up to my nose in my Exordium fic.
Still, here is the special!
I was planning to include more characters but in order to keep the chaos at bay, it's only SeKai for now - look forward to the others in future chapters!
In case you wondered about Teppei... He's the beautiful person also adorning my profile picture.
I'll spare you with how biased I am regarding him and just leave you with a little gif instead:

Love,
Sugar-and-Salt ♥

P.S.: The song 'Sushi Tabetai(=I wanna eat Sushi)' by Orange Range is hilarious.