It only lasted for a split second. One second there was Kyungsoo leaning in, the next their lips touched. Chanyeol flinched back, his head met the wall with a dull thud and he yelped. Kyungsoo only stared at his lips unhappily, as if he was ready to dive back in for a second attempt. Quickly, but carefully, Chanyeol placed both palms against his shoulders, pushing him away.
"Woah. What are you doing?" he asked and what should have probably sounded exasperated, came out more like a helpless whimper. The dark orbs teared itself from his lips to meet his. The odd determination vanished from his expression, leaving behind a blank mask. Now he looked a little speechless himself, as if he was just as surprised as Chanyeol himself.
It must be looking ridiculous, Chanyeol thought. Two boys staring at each other with wide eyes. The truth slowly began to trickle into his brain.
Kyungsoo had tried to kiss him. That meant he was interested in him. Romantically interested. A wave of guilt instantly crashed down on him. He was about to open his mouth when Kyungsoo panicked, all but smacking his palm over Chanyeol's mouth.
"Don't." he muttered urgently. His fingers were clammy. A sign of nervousness. There was also a faint red dusting his cheeks, spreading quickly. Now that he thought about it, the extremely composed Do Kyungsoo didn't look all that put together anymore.
"Just don't... say anything."
Chanyeol just blinked, half-surprised, half genuinely scared for his life. He could just as well imagine Kyungsoo being the one to kill him for humiliating him. Clear the evidence. Then again, he was the one who got assaulted here!
Before he could decide on what to do, Kyungsoo seemed to realize that his fingers probably shouldn't touch his lips like that and he withdrew them mechanically, blinked a few times, took a step back and finally left the room with quick steps. Chanyeol only gaped after him, unconsciously smacking his lips.
Only Kyungsoo, he thought.

Only Do Kyungsoo would run up to him, kiss him, smack his mouth, get all angry because Chanyeol evidently flustered him and then run away.
What in the world.
With a frustrated groan, Chanyeol threw himself back into his couch, both the opened laptop, the running TV and the iced tea forgotten. They had been flimsy attempts to gloss over the problem at hand, anyway. Unfortunately, the daily blog entry he was about to write reminded him instantly. What was he supposed to do? He'd had to reject Kyungsoo and that would ruin their team even further. Oh god, it would be so awkward. Not that Chanyeol was averse to the idea of being with a man. In the South, the tolerance towards people liking those of their own gender was pretty high, even higher than in the North, were Kyungsoo was from. Chanyeol had grown up with this idea being displayed neutrally and he'd seen a lot of guys he'd admit to being attractive. Attractive enough to fluster him and make him stumble across his own words, too. Though the last time that had happened was with... Jongin.

Chanyeol thought back to the day he'd first met Jongin, at their press conference. With his smooth features and the silent spark in his eyes, Chanyeol was inevitably drawn to the way his subtle, but definitely trained muscles flexed into a stance of purposeful bashfulness. A quiet, strong force performing beautifully.
Yes. Jongin was more handsome than Kyungsoo.
Chanyeol made a pathetic mewling noise, burying himself in the cushion. He couldn't compare them, he was such an . And it wasn't like the Northener was in any way ugly. He was shorter, yes. But he had very balanced features with a deceivingly petite built to match his soft face, round and imploring eyes and plush lips. Plush lips he'd gotten a taste of himself...
"Ah... what am I gonna do..." he whined, pouting towards the ceiling as if it should have an answer ready for him.
At first, he'd been so annoyed by Kyungsoo. So ticked off at everything he did - for ruining everyone's day, for being negative, harsh and overall inconsiderate. But Kyungsoo had changed. Or maybe they both had.
Now, whenever Kyungsoo entered the office in the morning, Chanyeol greeted him with a genuine smile and received one in return. Come to think of it, Kyungsoo's smiles were always very sincere. He didn't smile to get sarcastic or to spite anyone but himself. He only smiled when he meant it, and he mostly smiled for him. He should have noticed the signs sooner.
Actually, much sooner.

It wasn't easy to put it into words, but around Kyungsoo, Chanyeol always felt a little... weird. Because the peculiar, anti-social guy had always looked up to him. With his owlish eyes intently following his every move, he had never even tried to make a secret out of his admiration. He didn't flat out flaunt it, but he also didn't hesitate to admit it. And maybe it was due to the attentive way he looked at him, but Kyungsoo had always known. He really, truly got Chanyeol like no one ever had in such a short amount of time.
You only truly care for few, but still keep trying to genuinely appease to everyone.
That's what he had written about him. Kyungsoo knew. And there was this other occasion, during their first month, where Kyungsoo had finally snapped back at him after countless jabs and asked him why he was so afraid not to laugh.
He knew that Chanyeol was scared, had always known.
Because where Kyungsoo's biggest fear revolved around not being true to himself, Chanyeol was scared to be a burden. To be bothersome, to be not good enough. To be too loud and too energetic and too cheery. He felt like if people around him already had to endure the obnoxiousness that was him, he had somehow lost the right to take up even more of their time by complaining, needing help or causing other difficulties.
No, he always strived to make everything work out and earn his place among people.
It rarely felt like putting up an act, and yet the pair of dark orbs following him around made him acutely aware that this fear was a weakness. An ugly, little weakness that should be ridiculous and incomprehensible to someone like Kyungsoo, who had unyielding confidence in himself.
And yet he chose to kiss him.
Chanyeol felt like crying out of sheer desperation. What was he going to do? Tomorrow, at work, how was he going to greet him? He owed him an answer. His answer should be a no, right? It should be. Not that he was disgusted by their lips touching, he really wasn't. But he didn't like him that way.

"Morning." Kyungsoo casually mumbled, placing his bag on the desk on the following Monday morning.
"Uh. Hey. Good morning." Chanyeol stammered, internally facepalming already at the suspicious glance of Jongin. If Kyungsoo noticed his awkwardness -and he probably did, given that Kyungsoo noticed everything- he didn't show it. He only shot him a small, fleeting smile and it looked a little dejected. Was he expecting Chanyeol to jump to his feet and give him an answer right then at there? The nerves made him all tingly, but his body was barely awake and no, he certainly wouldn't talk this out in front of Jongin. Again, Kyungsoo remained poker-faced and simply sat behind his desk, starting up the computer and arranging his notes. Chanyeol fidgeted. Jongin stared between him and Kyungsoo, light confusion edged into his smooth features. He'd probably strangle Chanyeol later for flustering Kyungsoo.
That made two against one, Chanyeol thought in exasperation - he was the victim here, for god's sake!
But Jongin was protective over Kyungsoo. In fact, Jongin barely talked at all, but when he did, it was usually either to snap at him or to defend Kyungsoo. Just like back then, when they were playing video games and Jongin had stated that Kyungsoo wasn't purposefully anti-social and just scared of people. To be quite honest, Chanyeol didn't truly understand this statement up to this day. His eyes wandered over to Jongin, who moodily swirled a pen in his hands, eyes repeatedly flitting over to Kyungsoo.
Yes, maybe Jongin could actually help him.

"Why are you even telling me this?" Jongin blankly said, fiddling with the straw of his milkshake cause apparently, if Chanyeol dared taking up his time after work, he owed him at least a treat.
"Do I look like I give a ? You wanna brag? Wanna have my consent?"
Wow, Jongin was even moodier than usual. Not that it was entirely unpredictable - after all, he was pretty fond of Kyungsoo and it probably annoyed him to see someone he cherished liking someone he tried to avoid at all costs.
Chanyeol just shook his head, messing up his silver hair even further.
"No! I mean, we both know you wouldn't even gimme consent for a cookie. I just... I don't know what to do and I don't really get Kyungsoo and you do, so..." he trailed off, his fingers thrumming against the edge of the table.
"So what?" Jongin only gave back, fidgeting in his seat, looking highly unimpressed.
"It's not difficult. You wanna date him or not? What's there to get?"
The movements of his fingers got quicker and Chanyeol made a very unmanly, whiny sound.
"But... I gotta reject him! How do I even do that?"
"So you don't..." Jongin began, cutting himself off to give Chanyeol's fingers a very meaningful stare until the latter sheepishly stopped the motion, "...like him?"
"I don't dislike him! But I don't like him like that-"
"You barely even know him." Jongin threw in.
"Exactly!"
"So how can you be so ing sure?"
Chanyeol stilled. Thought about it.
"Well-"
But Jongin wouldn't have it, leaning forward on his elbows and pointing the end of his straw at Chanyeol, spilling stray drops of chocolate milk in his face.
"How do you think couples get together? By looking into each other's eyes, feeling the spark and wordlessly falling into each others arms, sticking their tongues down each other's throat? Just like that, no questions asked?"
Chanyeol flinched back in his seat with warm cheeks. Jongin's bluntness never failed to catch him off guard.
"You think that just cause you're not walking into a door because you're so smitten the first time you see someone, there are no feelings meant to be, ever? Sounds stupid, huh?"
Jongin leaned in even closer, lowering his voice and plastering a sarcastic smile on his face.
"Lemme tell you why. Because it is stupid. Stupid. Like. You."
He backed off, slumping down his chair to take a long sip of his milkshake.
"If you dare rejecting Kyungsoo on a whim just to change your mind later when you realize what you're missing out on, I'll make your life a living hell."
"You're saying I should... give it a try?" Chanyeol asked carefully, observing Jongin's features, unable to interpret his expression. Trying to have a relationship. It made him feel a little uneasy and pressured. What if they'd try and he had to let him down later, anyway?
He'd cause so much trouble for Kyungsoo.
"No, I'm simply saying I'll kill you if it up."
Alright, Chanyeol nodded to himself, blissfully ignoring the empty threats. Trying. Kyungsoo was the type to speak and act out his mind, so maybe, if Chanyeol was just honest, Kyungsoo would be able to accept that, too.
Still, there was something else...
"But what about you?"
Jongin blinked, the milk in his straw sinking as he temporarily forgot to drink.
"Huh? What about me?"
Chanyeol hesitated.
"I thought. Just... would you be okay with that? I mean, you and Kyungsoo..."
"God, Park Chanyeol. Get the out and set things straight. Out of my sight. You're really pushing my limits today." Jongin hissed and Chanyeol jumped to his feet like kid receiving a scolding.
"Yes, sir. I'm gone. Thanks for helping me out! Have a nice day, Jongin." Chanyeol offered hastily, leaving the café with his coffee clutched in one hand before Jongin could throw some of the decoration after him.

- Yeah, sure. See you there -

Chanyeol looked down at the simple message anxiously. It was probably the first time he and Kyungsoo were meeting up outside their self-proclaimed bonding sessions. He had texted him the moment he'd left the shop, asking whether he was free. To his surprise, Kyungsoo's reply came quickly. He didn't know why he'd expected the other to avoid him for a second - he should know by now, that Kyungsoo was the type to confront his problems. Well, expect for that time a few days ago, when he'd run from Chanyeol.
The Southener shifted his weight from one foot to another before deciding to finally take a seat on one of the park benches. The area was deserted; Kyungsoo had yet to appear. Maybe he shouldn't have chugged that coffee. Anxiety and caffeine weren't a good combination, he though with a look to his jittery legs. It didn't help that Chanyeol wasn't the type to carefully decide his choice of words beforehand. Not that he didn't try.
Hey Kyungsoo, so I thought about your proposal and-
"Hey."
Chanyeol almost fell off the bench, head whipping around to see Kyungsoo standing behind him, grinning weakly. Carefully.
"Oh. I didn't expect you to come from this direction. You live there? Sorry, I've never stalked your address before, it wasn't too far, was it?" Chanyeol rambled, jumping to his feet. Kyungsoo only shook his head, stepped around the bench and made a gesture of touching Chanyeol's upper arm, gesturing him to sit down again. It remained a gesture, seeing as Kyungsoo stopped himself before he could actually touch him. Chanyeol followed awkwardly and they both sat down, a polite distance between them.
Great. His mind was completely wiped blank. How to breach the subject?
Kyungsoo met him halfway, his eyes fixed on the little stones and dust he was absently kicking.
"It's alright. I know you're not interested. Don't trouble yourself too much."
Don't trouble yourself too much.
But I'm the one about to trouble you.
Chanyeol stared ahead, progressing this. Suddenly he snorted.
There they were, both trying not to trouble each other. It was silly how different and yet similar they were.
"If you're so damn sure, then why did you try to kiss me in the first place?" he replied almost playfully, high on caffeine and hormones, reminded of Jongin's exasperation.
Kyungsoo turned to meet his gaze, looking a little hesitant, but not necessarily bashful.
"Well. This way I got at least one kiss. You know. You can get away with a proposal kiss, one time."
Now Chanyeol couldn't help it, a grin spreading across his face.
"Really? And you thought I'd just freeze in place or reciprocate when someone kisses me out of the blue? Do you watch that many dramas, Do Kyungsoo?"
Kyungsoo avoided his gaze and bit his lips. He was positive he heard him mumble something about animes, not dramas. He got himself together with a low groan.
"Do you really have to make fun of me? Aren't you supposed to let me down gently? I didn't think you'd still dislike me to this extent..." Kyungsoo complained, his feet shuffling restlessly. Chanyeol's mouth formed a silent 'o' and he placed a hand on the other's shoulder, coaxing him to look at him. Which he readily did, looking embarrassed, but also defiant.
"No! No, no, I don't wanna make fun of you. That's. No. It's the opposite-"
He cut himself off, but the other only looked at him questioningly.
Chanyeol inhaled deeply.
"I'm not in love with you!" he blurted out and Kyungsoo looked more startled than outright hurt.
He wanted to facepalm internally.
"That is, I barely even know you, so how could I love you? I mean, I do think you're attractive, even though you're kinda short, but I don't mind, but this is not a drama and we're not exactly fated or something to fall into each other's arms and I think I'm messing up the metaphors right now-"
"Park Chanyeol. What are you trying to tell me right now?" Kyungsoo fell in, looking slightly alarmed, curious, scared-
"Let's try."
Kyungsoo blinked.
"What?"
"A... a relationship. Let's try." he stammered, beet-red and anxious by now.
"I can't promise you anything but, yeah. We can try. I'd like to."
Utter, genuine disbelief was displayed on Kyungsoo's face. Once again, he caught a glimpse of something Jongin might have been aware of all along. A glimpse of tiny, vulnerable Kyungsoo.
"Is this... your way of saying: 'Date me first'?" he asked and now he really did look hopeful, though the amused smile tugging at his lips was undeniable.
This time, Chanyeol actually facepalmed.
"Of course! That's how you say it. Ugh, you always make everything sound so easy. God, I'm such an idiot-"
"Are you free on Friday?"
"What?"
"Friday. Are you busy?" Kyungsoo repeated patiently. Chanyeol shook his head.
"Great. Let's meet for dinner?"
"Dinner." Chanyeol repeated and he must have sounded more squeaky than his deep voice should possibly allow, and Kyungsoo's shoulders drew up in silent laughter.
"Nothing formal, just hanging out. We can stay in or go out. Just no McDonalds, please."
Chanyeol nodded dumbly and this time, he actually froze in place when Kyungsoo's slim fingers ghosted down his lower arm.
"Thanks for letting me try to take you out." he all but whispered, deep, dark orbs fixed on him. He didn't know what made him so light-headed. Maybe the fact that he hadn't inhaled in a while.
Again, he could do nothing but nod awkwardly.
"No. Thanks for wanting to."

Thanks for helping me out!
Have a nice day, Jongin.
" you..." Jongin muttered to himself, aggressively poking the straw into his drink, trying to dissolve the bubbles.
Wishing him a nice day after Jongin cursed him out and actually meaning it.
you, Park Chanyeol. You and your mental debility that makes you like me.
Jongin huffed joylessly.
Wishing him a nice day after ruining his entire week. Or month. Or year.
His eyes had been burning for awhile, and now that the annoying cause of his misery had finally left, Jongin could afford roughly rubbing his sleeves over his eyes. It wasn't surprising, it really wasn't. He'd seen it coming.
Kyungsoo would devote himself to Chanyeol for reasons he'd never understand and Chanyeol would play along, even though he didn't feel the same. Whether or not those two would play out, Jongin didn't know. He could imagine them working out. And he hated it. But most of all, he hated himself.
With a harsh breath, he dropped his head to bury it in his arms, shield it from the near deserted café.
Why did he have to be like this?
Why couldn't he be different?
For even if Chanyeol had flatout rejected the Northener, no, even if Chanyeol didn't even exist...
Jongin would never have the right to even try and pursue Kyungsoo.
He felt hot tears smearing across his arms and just prayed that Chanyeol wouldn't come back for him.
He didn't.

My love for this fic is much higher than my reason, and so I'm back already!
Chanyeol really has trouble reading Kyungsoo...
Oh, and although he is such a social butterfly, he isn't all that smart when it's about him.
What could be Jongin's deal~?
(Don't lose faith in the poor boy)

Love,
Sugar-and-Salt