Never in a million years did Kyungsoo imagine he would be sandwiched between both Baekhyun and Kim ing Jongin in a cringy purikura booth. He definitely never expected Baekhyun to have successfully convinced him to pose in odd trio-esque poses. In conclusion, Kyungsoo never expected or imagined wanting to kill himself more than he did in this moment.

“Smile, Kyungsoo. It won’t kill you.”

“It might kill him.” Jongin wrapped an arm around Kyungsoo shoulders, giving an all too comfortable squeeze before looking down at Kyungsoo’s scrunched up face. Apparently neither of them had heard Kyungsoo mutter a threatening ‘I might kill both of you’ under his breath.

In all honesty, the night hadn’t been so bad. It hadn’t really started yet, but what had commenced wasn’t so terrible. Jongin seemed to be bouncing between trying to keep up his pretense of being an arrogant star, and showing a shred of his actual personality. There were moments when Kyungsoo could see what might be Jongin, like when he’d risked getting his designer jeans dirty just to kneel down on the dirtiest street around to pet a dog that was in almost desperate need for a bath. That shred of the real Jongin was perpetuated even further when he spent an hour and a half complaining about why the dog shouldn’t have been tied up outside. The changes in personality were giving Kyungsoo whiplash.

After thankfully getting to leave the torturous photo booth, Kyungsoo was once again trapped under another arm.

“You don’t still like him, do you?” Kyungsoo expected the question to come from anyone but Chanyeol, but as he looked up at the oafish boy he was met with a curious but polite smile.

He wanted to deny all feeling for Jongin, as it would be the most obvious thing to do. However, the look on Chanyeol’s face told him lying would be for naught.

“I do...but it’s a certain kind of like.”

“Explain.”

“I hate that I still like him, and I feel like I don’t know who I even like anymore. I don’t even like a real person...I like an idea of a person.” Kyungsoo didn’t expect the almost melancholic silence that followed. Chanyeol seemed to be both contemplating what he’d said and hating it at the same time.

“I know exactly what you mean.” The tone of Chanyeol’s voice told him that he probably shouldn’t pry; that there were answers he wasn’t entirely up to finding out.

It didn’t take long for the chatter and somehow continuous laughter to die down once their food arrived. Much to Kyungsoo’s chagrin, Jongin had decided on a restaurant that seemed to be predominantly designed for children. No one complained about his choice, but there were more than a few judging looks sent Jongin’s way when they’d first stepped inside.

Surprisingly enough, the food turned out to be unexpectedly delicious. When asked how he knew about such a hidden gem, Jongin simply replied with ‘I used to come here a lot.’ Kyungsoo tried his best to stop contemplating each bump or touch that Jongin sent his way. He’d been nudged under the table far too many times for it to be considered accidental. The most unsettling part of the entire affair was that he didn’t mind that it was happening. A part of him felt weak, but he decided not to dwell on that very rational part of his rationality. Somehow, between hating Jongin, he’d forgotten that he used to pray for moments like this. Sitting next to Jongin in a booth and having their knees barely touch was ion material in Kyungsoo’s book, or at least it was before his reality was shattered. It took effort to not become sour again, to soil the smiles on the faces around him. He had to remind himself that he was supposed to be giving Jongin a chance, and building up a wall right after he broke one down was not making any progress.

___________________________________________________________________________

One.

Two.

Three.

Okay, bump.

Jongin didn’t really consider himself a scientist or a mathematician in any sense of the word, but he was pretty sure the sheer genius of the algorithm he’d created would allow him to qualify for some kind award.

To be fair, it was more so just counting in increments of three, but that was a lot of threes, and again; he was neither a scientist or mathematician. His game of counting to three and then brushing Kyungsoo’s knee with his own was an accident at first, but as soon as he noticed Kyungsoo’s bright red cheeks and almost undetectable squirming in his seat; it became an experiment. Despite the numerous elbow shoves Kyungsoo sent his way, he refused to stop. Before long, brushing his leg against Kyungsoo’s turned into poking Kyungsoo’s side and pretending to know nothing about it. He expected Kyungsoo to hit him, or do anything other than just blush and playfully poke him back. He’d almost forgotten what he was there for, and he’d almost let out a few laughs. He made sure to pretend each laugh was a cough, and he was sure he’d gotten away with his blatant flirtation until a quick glance at Baekhyun told him he was being very obvious.

“Kyungsoo, if he’s bothering you, just say something.” Baekhyun’s words added an awkward venom to the air. Kyungsoo looked as if he’d been caught in a scandal, his large eyes opened impossibly wider at the comment.

“He wasn’t...I was just-”

“He had a bug on him, and I’m trying to be a gentleman.” Jongin felt Kyungsoo relax a bit at his save, but he was still tensed at his side.

“You tw