"Chu-Chu-Chu-Chu-Chewing gum!"
Kyungsoo good-naturedly shook his head at his best friend. Chen was in full hyper mode, spurred on by sugar, energy drinks and nervous anticipation. Chanyeol drummed his fingers along the steering wheel as they were waiting for a traffic light to turn green, merrily providing the background 'Chu's for him. It was hard to tell whether Chanyeol was any more hyped than usual - he sure as hell hadn't denied the energy drink offered by Chen earlier- but while Kyungsoo was not in the mood to sing along, he didn't mind the noise for once. Next to him, Minseok hummed along casually, and Kyungsoo leaned against the back of Chen's seat, watching the way his boyfriend's long fingers danced along the wheel with the grace of a drummer, dull taps over the pitter patter of rain hitting the glass. It was a grey and overall gloomy day, which made the atmosphere inside the car even more precious.

They were on the way to a charity event, organized by a bunch of various youtubers, and as it was, both Chanyeol and Chen were invited. As the number of non-youtubers was to be kept to a minimum, they could only take one person along, much to the chagrin of Baekhyun (who wanted to finally get the fame he deserved, according to him). Kyungsoo was just nervous he might disappoint Chanyeol in any way, though the other had firmly reassured that he wouldn't have to be in front of the camera if that made him uncomfortable. Still, Kyungsoo was no fool and had tried to look a little less dead inside than usual, by applying what he hoped to be a discreet amount of concealer, wearing a dress shirt that informally flopped over his dark jeans - he preferred it to be tucked in, but he also knew people considered this a nerd look (which was greatly unfair since on tall people, they called it a boyfriend look, but whatever). He wasn't deluding himself in any way about where his nervousness came from. He was that one little gay fashion student; the embodiment of cliche, so to say. Expressing yourself freely around like-minded, or familiar people was pretty easy, he had to admit now. But the prospect of meeting a bunch of strangers whom Chanyeol was likely trying to impress... oh, the nightmare. And he'd thought meeting Chanyeol's friends was hard, but back then, he hadn't even been together with Chanyeol.

There was nothing to do but dearly hope that the smile on his face looked mechanic and stiff, instead of psychopathic. It wouldn't be the first time someone misinterpreted his facial expressions as such. Certain people namely Baekhyun seemed to have trouble telling the two apart, blissfully overlooking the actually threatening smile Kyungsoo showed more than once, shortly before attempting to harm him.

They pulled up in the spacious parking lot of the venue, and Kyungsoo tried to look relaxed. It was a familiar location, seeing as he'd organized one or two shootings in the Southern garden already. The main reason for that - besides the lush plants giving a pretty background - was that the whole garden was sheltered under a metal construct and lots of glass, protecting the garden from the harsh moods the weather tended to. It was freezing outside, but when Kyungsoo stepped out of the big car Chanyeol had rented from his work place, the air was warm, with faint sweetness and moisture filling his senses. At least he wouldn't be cramped up from the biting cold, he comforted himself in a monotone voice that didn't even try to be convincing.

Chen handled their shared nervousness in his usual way; by being overly chatty as they unloaded their food equipment, engaging Kyungsoo in a busy conversation about the latest Anime they had seen.
"So..." Kyungsoo spoke up at some point, interrupting the mindless chatter to get some last minute reassurance, "we're just going there, set up a little picnic, you guys do your thing and I'll chill with Minseok, yeah?"
He flinched at an enthusiastic pat to his shoulder, shooting Chanyeol a weak glare.
"It'll be alright, Soo!" the tall boy announced with a level of confidence Kyungsoo hoped to acquire in any area of his life. If they'd talk to an alien and Kyungsoo were to tell it the sky was blue, followed by Chanyeol stating it was green... he was pretty sure whom the alien would believe. Not him.
He shook his head. This was not the time for weird, probably sleepy thoughts. He had to be presentable today.

It started out quite promising, to his surprise. This was less of an awkward party you were invited to, and more of a small convention. What a nice comparison, Kyungsoo thought as he settled on the blanket they'd brought while Chen fumbled with the settings of his camera. Little groups of people were spread out over the generous area the park had restricted for them, all doing their thing, creating a low, but constant buzz. There were a few vaguely familiar faces and he tried not to stare, but yes, this was like a convention. Conventions were familiar, and safe.

At least that's what he was trying to tell himself, when people started yelling their greetings at them, and everything got busy. In a flash, greetings were thrown around and a girl quickly moved her own equipment over to sit together with them. Kyungsoo vaguely remembered her as a Japanese Youtuber called Reina, who occasionally collaborated with Chen on a variety of Vocaloid or Anime-related songs. She brought two friends, one of which was apparently another cover artist and another being a friend. Neither of them spared a second glance at Kyungsoo, as they immediately squished themselves beside Chen in an obvious effort to gain his attention by mindlessly praising his voice. Kyungsoo was surrounded by girls during all of his studies - he knew the signs. He was also every bit aware of the change in temperature, as Minseok's smile got icier by the minute, attempting to match the frosty temperature beyond the glass roof.

With a poorly concealed grimace, Kyungsoo scooted a little closer to Chanyeol, who was tuning his guitar. No one seemed to recognize him yet, but that hardly came as a surprise, considering he didn't reveal his face in his videos. Kyungsoo secretly wondered whether anyone would recognize them at all. There were a lot of different youtubers, all dedicated to various branches of entertainment. Maybe people weren't overly interested in music covers? Chanyeol himself didn't seem disappointed so far though, and that was the only thing that mattered. Kyungsoo leaned into his side as much as he could without disturbing the process, and Chanyeol not only accepted the gesture, but leaned back.

"I was thinking maybe you'd want to film a little?" he hummed, eyes still trained on a point in the distance as he listened to the sound a particular string made, though a vague smile tugged at his lips. Kyungsoo shuffled a little restlessly, a little bedazzled by the amount of calm patience and concentration Chanyeol immediately showed when it came to his guitar. Quite frankly? It was pretty hot.
"Only if you want to," Chanyeol added, with a side glance over at Kyungsoo, who berated himself for spacing out yet again.
"I mean, sure, I could do that... if I'm suited?" he asked helplessly. He'd held a camera before, sure, but was he up to Chanyeol's standards? This would be live, too. As if reading his thoughts, Chanyeol lightly nudged his side.
"Just film whatever you want to - wouldn't it be nice to have a behind-the-scenes video?"

This is how Kyungsoo found himself a little later, with a hand-held camera loosely trained on Chanyeol, as a bunch of guys approached them, curiously asking for his Youtube ID, capturing the positively surprised look on their faces when some recognized him and they shared a friendly hug. It was fun, watching things unfold through a camera lense, feeling like a completely unrelated person. At some point, Chanyeol got up to wander around to greet people he knew, and Kyungsoo didn't think twice about following him. It was interesting to note how obviously aware of cameras most of the people around them were. Always waving and smiling and greeting. His head was starting to spin from the amount of people Chanyeol hugged and greeted or introduced himself to with that blinding and ridiculously charming smile of his. Kyungsoo tried not to linger on his boyfriend's face for too long (or imagine what else he could be filming them for, because brain, please, not now), and before he knew it, they were sitting on a rather crowded blanket, and the vibrancy of reality took over when Chanyeol casually pushed his camera down.

"You can just put it down for a bit, why don't you have a snack?" Chanyeol asked lightly, and Kyungsoo felt his face heat up at the sudden attention on him. He attempted to smile, a small 'sure' on his lips as he took an offered baked good from a basket, nibbling on it, to prolong the time he could busy himself with anything but social interaction. It was no good though, as people seemed interested in the new face that had appeared from behind the camera.
"You're a friend of pcy?" some guy asked, and Kyungsoo froze.
The million dollar question.
He was about to stammer something stupid and vague like 'we get along well', when Chanyeol nonchalantly placed an arm around his shoulder to pull him in close.
"He's my boyfriend!" he announced with the same bright and unabashed smile.
And all hell broke loose.
Well, maybe not hell, maybe Kyungsoo was being dramatic, but you try coming out to a group of strangers as the fresh boyfriend of a somewhat online celebrity.
"Wow, okay. I never guessed you to swing that way," one guy exclaimed, while one girl cooed over how 'cute' that was. Calling gays 'cute' might be mildly silly, but it was sure less bothersome than the clear look of disappointment in the other girl's eyes.
"Oh, I didn't know it either, until recently," Chanyeol replied merrily, as if this really wasn't that big of a deal.
The guys seemed torn between being nonchalant or trying not to look as awkward as they low-key felt. Kyungsoo himself? His face was burning, and he stared at the ground, shoulders drawn up tightly, waiting for the questions to come in. They didn't come, however, and someone quickly spun the topic to the individual plans they all had today, discussing spontaneous collaborations. Kyungsoo just silently watched, being fully aware that while he felt very small and on display, his ever-so-blank and stoic expression would never abandon him. He probably looked like the usual satanic villain, as his friends lovingly named it. Still, the arm around his shoulders was extremely tethering and comforting.

He tuned out of the ongoing discussion and looked around the area, eyes lingering on a group of four people who were about to film something nearby. The guy looked... promiscuous, to say the least. Definitely part of a scene, if one were to go by the costume. It was all black and grungy with net sleeves, big earrings, messy blonde hair and smudged makeup. He looked... extreme. And those three tentative dots were Kyungsoo trying to figure out what the politically correct description would be. Less cultivated people than him might have called the guy a cheap, gay e.
He watched the scene with mild interest, wondering what kind of a channel this guy might have, when they turned up a vaguely familiar, Western song, and it became obvious - he danced. With his two background dancers, he moved in the most female and provocative manner imaginable, and Kyungsoo was enraptured. This was pretty cool, seeing a man execute all these moves associated with women

and strip poles. He confidently made his way over to a few other people sitting nearby, flirting with them unabashedly, and Kyungsoo wished he could see the reactions on their faces. He tried a little too hard to pinpoint them, apparently, because dancing guy met his eyes, and grinned almost wolfishly.
Oh my god. Please don't.
But of course his prayers were late, way too late, and the music got louder as the boy and the person holding the camera came closer. In a matter of seconds, the dancer had crouched down in an almost illegally lewd way, and was all up in Kyungsoo's face. He saw big, bright circle lenses, smudged red lipstick and a tongue peeking out as the boy hummed the lyrics so quietly, he barely heard them over the music. His smile was lethal though, and with a purposeful move, he got up in a way that had Kyungsoo both facing his crotch and for a second, before he sashayed off with a wink, clearly telling him that he wished he could have that.

"What just happened."
Kyungsoo barely reacted as he was tugged into Chanyeol's side, expression completely frozen.
The other people around them just shrugged, with various shades of politely veiled dislike to honest respect.
"It's MaryKiko," someone said, turning to Kyungsoo. "Don't feel harassed or anything, it's just their style," he finished, wisely avoiding the mention of a gender.
Kyungsoo blinked, attempting to shake off his befuddlement.
"It's okay. It was a really cool performance," he mumbled, ignoring the way the arm tightened around him, as his attention was still on the dancer that had wandered off to dance provocatively elsewhere. He noticed that the guy wasn't touching anyone though, so even though this really was something, Kyungsoo genuinely didn't feel harassed. Stranger things had happened on conventions.
"Okay, I'll just get the drums, then," Chanyeol suddenly said in a final tone that caught Kyungsoo's attention. Or maybe it was the fact that the other had gotten to his feet and Kyungsoo had followed without really thinking into it, and now he was feeling a little dizzy from standing up so quickly. He really needed more sleep.

"Let's go, Soo."
"Sure," he said, waiting until they had taken a few steps out of hearing range, before asking the long overdue question. "What are we doing right now, exactly?"
"Getting the drums and the keyboard, they wanna have a little improv session - you really didn't pay attention, did you?" Chanyeol asked lightly, with no malice to detect. He still had the decency for a sheepish grimace. They passed by Chen, who was currently ignoring all his duties of making connections in favour of mooching off of some food youtuber, the two girls still attached to both his sides, with an unhappy Minseok across them who subtly, but aggressively tried to eat the frustration away. Oh man. Maybe he should try to get Chen out of there, before Minseok decided that eating the girls would lessen their problems.

The two made their way to the entrance of the park rather silently. Unusually silent on Chanyeol's part. A side glance only showed him Chanyeol's usual, bubbly expression though. Suspicious.
They walked towards their rented van, opening the back to be greeted with dust and a few forgotten components. The car was usually used to move parts and even furniture, so it looked almost empty with the few cables and lone keyboard fastened in a corner.

"There it is," Kyungsoo mumbled, and unglamorously crawled inside the back to get a hold of it. It took a while to free it, but when he was successfully crawling back (because why stand up for two meters, really?), Chanyeol had already found and placed the set of small drums aside, looking at him strangely. He was blocking the light from where he stood, and for a silly little moment, Kyungsoo got an irrational wave of summer vibes. Warm, bright days you spent outside inhaling the smell of freshly grilled meat and salty water, listening to rustling leaves. Freedom.
Kyungsoo smiled at him, just a little, and as he swung his legs over the edge to hop out, two hands landed on his shoulder, decisively keeping him in place.
A shadow fell over Chanyeol's warm orbs as he gazed down at him, and Kyungsoo felt like a fool for feeling so fluttery.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, quietly, not daring to break whatever was going on right now. Chanyeol's eyes flickered down, before meeting his again.
"Are you into cross-dressing?"
"What?" Kyungsoo laughed, clearly surprised by the sudden question, but Chanyeol remained dead serious.
"This guy. You thought he was hot?"
He scrunched his brows together as he looked up at the other unsurely. Was he jealous?
"Why are you like this? Are you jealous of some random guy joking around?" he asked, straight forward as he was, though he made an effort to sound lightly, "I really don't think he was hitting on me-"
The sentence was cut off by a warm press of lips against his. Warm, and insistent. He closed his eyes instantly, feeling the tension and worry dissipate like a flame blown out.
"He better not," Chanyeol mumbled against his lips, leaning in to meet his, again and again. He wasn't usually this forceful, never mixed a tinge of aggression into their make out sessions, and Kyungsoo wished it was at least a little less hot, because this was ridiculous. The world shifted, flickers of light were exchanged for shadows as Chanyeol pushed him down against the cool ground. His whole upper body was pressed flush against Kyungsoo's, who vaguely realized that this was not the best idea.

"We should- go back- they're waiting-" he muttered in between kisses, one hand already buried in the silvery hair in Chanyeol's nape.
"You didn't answer my question though."
He closed his eyes, concentrating on the feel of plush lips trailing down his jaw to nip at his throat. It was dizzying.
"Which question?"
"Did you think this guy was hot?" Chanyeol repeated strangely patiently. "You got really flustered back there, I could tell."
Kyungsoo slapped his shoulder, but it was a weak attempt.
"Any person suddenly putting their to my face could fluster me, Baekhyun aside," he argued, squirming a little to avoid pressing against him in more sensitive areas. "And I don't have any particular likes or dislikes regarding cross-dressing. If you wanna try that-"
"I wanna make you flustered, too," Chanyeol breathed against his skin, where he was just nosing around his collar. Kyungsoo laughed breathily.
"You do, don't worry."
"More. Way more than that," he hummed, trailing off in a way that was too deep and intimate, considering their current situation - with a hand wriggled in between them, Kyungsoo pushed the other away just enough to sit up on his side, ready to tell this off when distant voices made him freeze.
"I know right? It's awful!"
Oh .

"Like, they're not even here to do something good - they're just here for the fame! Disgusting."
He was about to jump up, up and away from Chanyeol, whom he had been making out with in public, basically; but before he knew it, he was pushed back down and suppressed an 'oomph' when Chanyeol's whole weight pinned him down, stomach first.
"Shh," it tickled against the shell of his ear, and Kyungsoo squirmed. This was a terrible idea. Even with both of them fully hidden in the back of the van, the doors were still half-open. The two girls just had to take a couple steps (and why wouldn't they, if not out of worry for someone leaving their car open?), and they'd find the two tangled together, in a more than suggestive position. Like. Really suggestive. It would be difficult to claim innocence with the way Chanyeol was flatout grinding against him in this slow, small, but quite hard motions. Kyungsoo bit his lips, concentrating on the cool, dusty surface his cheek was mashed against. Think about the disgusting, terrible germs, he told himself. Think about the silly commercials with the animated germs shooting each other. And the graphics that just show a random curve. Curves-no, think about anything that will stop you from pushing back-
He pressed his eyes closed. It just felt so amazing, and the fact that the voices weren't even that far made the experience both exhilarating and terrifying. Yes, this was a terrible idea indeed, and if Chanyeol wouldn't stop breathing into his hear or running his hand down his side any time soon-

"Look, someone left their car open."

You know that feeling when you realize you overslept? When you hear the exam had a second page you missed? When you're already on the train, realizing you forgot your cosplay boots? Yeah, Kyungsoo felt like that, right then. There was nothing but a continuous string of curses running through his head as even Chanyeol stilled his movements, though his lips still restlessly nipped at his earlobe. What had gotten into his silly boyfriend? Why now?
"Yeah... you know whose car it is? Should we note the license plate?"
NO!
"Nah, it's the only van and a company car, on top of that. Let's just ask them about it later. Better to not even touch it - we wouldn't wanna get into trouble, would we?"
Kyungsoo tried hard not to sigh or cry in relief as he blessed the unknown girl with all the limited blessings a rumored satanic had to offer.

Soon after, the steps got quiet, and he counted to twenty in his head, before all but pushing Chanyeol off, who gracelessly landed on his side.
"Aw, come on-" he began, but Kyungsoo resolutely slapped his fingers on the other's lips.
"Nope," he said, sitting up to stretch and get rid of the last remnants of tingling in his stomach. "Chanyeol, please. We're in public, in the back of your company's van, with the prospect of people coming to check on us any minute. I shouldn't have to mention that this is not an option."

When he turned to look at the pouty, overgrown puppy leaning against the wall of the van, he finally understood the situation and couldn't keep the strict facade up any longer. With a sigh, he crawled closer to cup his face in both hands.
"This is an important day for you, right?" he asked, purposefully gentle. "We can make out later - for now, you should go out there and wow all these people and be that ball of sunshine that people will fall for, okay?"
Chanyeol bumped their noses together, rubbing them in a way that made Kyungsoo bite his lips in frustration over the amount of cuteness. He'd get whiplash from the sudden changes if this went on any longer.
"Even you?" he asked quietly, and Kyungsoo huffed.
"You already got me, what more do you want? Give poor me a break," he said jokingly, ruffling through the other's hair before reaching for the keyboard.

"And now let's go, before they sent ChenChen and his admirers to check up on us. Minseok might kill them, after all, as soon as they're out of the public eye."

 

"I don't know, what if an accident happens-"
"It won't," Kyungsoo cut his whiny boyfriend off. "Minseok is an excellent driver, and he'll drive, and you'll sit in the back with me. End of discussion."

And it surely was a sign that Chanyeol gave in this easily, because in less than five minutes, he was dozing off, head nestled into Kyungsoo narrow shoulders - that he managed to do so without slipping off was something to credit for sure.
Kyungsoo was pretty sure he'd done Minseok and his best friend a favour - like this, Minseok could concentrate on driving, and the silence was justified. He subtly watched the heavily lined eyes in the back mirror (some makeup youtuber had obviously had their fun experimenting on Minseok, and he looked like quite the idol now), torn between attempting awkward small talk and pretending to sleep to flee the situation. He decided against either of the options, instead observing the way the passing street lights cast fleeting, ghostly shadows on Chanyeol's pale fingers. The tension was thick and suffocating.

With the way Kyungsoo had been bustling around all day, it had been a sheer coincidence that he was around when his best friend suddenly shook the girls off to loop an arm around Minseok, declaring him his boyfriend. It had caused a little commotion Chen handled easily, but the look on Minseok's face, that short glimpse of surprise, followed by something looking like pain before he snapped into it to play along... boy, Kyungsoo really didn't wanna be in his friend's position now. And to think they'd played it so well, too.

No, Kyungsoo was just Kyungsoo, the friend in the backseat, the minor character in their story, filling up the background. His main lead, however, was currently breathing against his neck, and required his full attention. He made sure that Chanyeol sat comfortable, even if it caused his right side to turn numb.
He also made sure to invite himself over, though he didn't forget to shoot a worried glance over at the other two, who had announced to walk the distance from Chanyeol's house to Minseok's.
Chanyeol protested a little, but it took more than a little whining to get rid of stubborn Kyungsoo
.
As expected, he had to basically drag him to bed and away from his phone where he was texting his new contacts.
As expected, he swatted at the roaming hands later, consoling the low complaints guy by a few light kisses across his cheek and finally lips.
"I know you're tired, you don't owe me anything," Kyungsoo mumbled into the darkness, blindly shifting around.
"I promised though... you sure?" Chanyeol slurred, but melted into Kyungsoo's embrace with a sigh, being the little spoon for once.

He should have noticed it sooner, really, but the reason Chanyeol had been this strange (and ) today, was that he was simply tired. Exhausted, probably. Driven by nothing but artificial energy out of a can, for how many days? He'd barely slept after his shift at the Karaoke bar, and he'd barely sleep now, seeing that the alarm for his next shift would ring in less hours than his hand had fingers. Add the 40 hours he made at the shop throughout the last week, the time he spent with Kyungsoo, with Sohee, the time spent on preparing for this event... when did his boyfriend even sleep?
With a small sigh, Kyungsoo tugged him closer, one arm firmly placed on his chest as he nuzzled his nose into messy hair.

You need to rest more, he muttered before his eyes dropped close, caught by exhaustion himself. It's worrying me.
He got no other reply than deep, steady breathing. It was good enough for now.

You thought I'm dead? Well, I'm not :D
The truth is, I can't write this story if I'm not in a happy mood. Past weeks were a little rough, but here I am~
I got a little announcement - this story will have my topmost priority from now on - y'all waited long enough, for sure!

This chapter was inspired by me liking Youtube vids, and the latest choreo Topp Dogg's Hansol made, under his alternative stage name MaryKiko:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTZo6zC0dPU
...because how amazing is this. Just having the guts to do this deserves all the Kudos.

The chapter was a little serious, but life isn't always fun and rainbows :<
(is this me still recovering? Maybe)

Love,
Sugar-and-Salt ♥