"Can't you make the writing a little more... happy?"
"What on earth does a happy writing look like?" Kyungsoo gave back with a roll of his eyes and Chanyeol shrugged, roughly swirling a pen over a piece of paper.
"I don't know, just more... roundish, you know?"
"You draw like . And to your information, I'm no designer. Let's just flip through the fonts and you tell me which one suits your fancy."
He sounded snarky but Jongin could tell that it was all playfulness and no bite. To say that the whole exchange irked him was an understatement. The two had been sitting together for awhile now, planning a few layouts of signs they intended to print for their "Art is the Handwriting of your Soul" project that was scheduled in two weeks. While Jongin was stuck correcting the written content Chanyeol had drawn up.
He was so frustrated.
Just like he'd predicted, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were getting closer and closer every day, no matter what he did. He had tried his best, had been especially nice to Kyungsoo, had tried not to snap that much at Chanyeol (when people were around to witness), had hung around the other two in a civil manner when Kyungsoo was sick but it was just no good. The gap between them just grew every day and no matter how stupid it was, Jongin felt seriously depressed about it. It made him even more moody and while he wished the tall idiot would run into some closed door just for his satisfaction every day, he couldn't even wholeheartedly wish him this level of misfortune, since Kyungsoo would be the first to jump to his feet and check up on him.
Jongin sighed.
I'm third-wheeling in a platonic team.
It sounded silly, but for Jongin this was a big deal. A really big one. Trying your best to be someone acceptable and getting brushed aside...
"Jongin? You coming? Mr. Zhang has called for us."
His head whipped up to see Chanyeol smiling at him. He felt honestly too depressed to even loathe his smile, so he just quietly got up and followed the other two.

"There's a problem."
His stomach dropped and he could see in the tense posture of Kyungsoo and the twitching smile of Chanyeol that they felt the same.
"Wow, no one hopes for a talk to start this way. Did we mess something up?" Chanyeol easily gave back, the never ending smile on his lips attempting to loosen the tense atmosphere.
To his relief, Mr. Zhang shook his head with a small smile.
"No, it's really not your fault. Still, it is a big problem. We just got a mail by JYP, telling us that they won't send us their idols."
"What? Why?!" Chanyeol exclaimed in shock and now Jongin really felt sick.
Damn. The project is due in two weeks.
"They claimed that GOT7 was booked elsewhere already, offering to send you Jackson only."
"What? How does that make sense? If they're booked elsewhere, why would one person be available?" Chanyeol asked in exasperation while Kyungsoo had gone slightly pale.
There's no way we can re-schedule. All the setting up has been taken care of already. Postponing it would make us look like a joke and give a huge blow to our not yet existing credibility.
"I can't tell you that, I'm sorry. All I can say is that the message has been sent to me directly, which makes me assume that the company didn't take you as seriously as you surely deserve. It's not fair, but sometimes the world isn't." Mr. Zhang said not unkindly.
"Can we postpone it?" Chanyeol asked, obviously reaching for straws.
"This guy sees us as a joke. We shouldn't crawl after him if he isn't serious." Kyungsoo threw in, a mix of anger and frustration on his face.
I know Jackson is an excellent person for this job. But one person is not enough.
Even if all three of us participate, it won't create enough of an impact.
"But- that's our only option, right?" Chanyeol muttered.
Think, Jongin urged himself on, think outside the box.
"I have no solution ready. If you cannot handle this situation, the whole CARE organization could jump in. We have a bunch of connections but I doubt it would have the effect you desired-"
"Seventeen." Jongin suddenly said with firm determination.
"Chanyeol, you get Seventeen to do it instead."
Chanyeol regarded him with wide eyes while Kyungsoo looked confused.
"That new rookie group? You sure they'd travel all the way here on such short notice?" the Northener threw in skeptically.
"They're not actively promoting at the moment." Jongin gave back insistingly.
"If it's Chanyeol calling, I bet they'll come. They can need the promotion. It's gonna be a refreshing set up and the combination of Jackson and a recently hot rookie group is gonna give some good example of idol interaction."
Two heavy hands landed on his shoulder and he flinched, looking into the awed face of Chanyeol.
"That's it. Why didn't I think of this? You're a genius!"
"No, you're probably just exceptionally dumb." Jongin gave back out of pure instinct and blushed a deep red when he noticed he'd actually voiced this thought out loud.
Mr. Zhang only smiled and Kyungsoo seemed wary but hopeful, not minding the amount of attention Chanyeol always had for him. Jongin admired his blasé attitude. If only he could be this calm.

"Bottoms up!"
Glasses clinked and Jongin took a deep gulp from his coke. He wasn't the only one not drinking alcohol, he tried to tell himself. Even though the only other sober people were two working colleagues who had been declared drivers. Jongin had no license and no car. Still, he knew he and alcohol didn't go too well together and deemed it wise to just stay sober.
They occupied several long tables and there were so many employees he'd never even seen before as well as a few he'd have preferred to see even less. The number one obviously going to Chanyeol, who was laughing so loud next to him, he subtly covered an ear with his hand. The Southener had openly admitted to his low alcohol tolerance and somehow still let himself be coaxed into drinking a beer, which apparently was enough to get him more than a little tipsy. Currently he was slapping his thigh, laughing at some joke Jongin hadn't even heard the punchline of, being to distracted by being annoyed at Chanyeol's general Chanyeol-ness. He still had a sweet, shy smile plastered on his face in order not to attract any attention and leave him plenty of time to wonder how on earth he'd ended up on one of the after work parties. Oh, right, he wouldn't have been able to stand it, knowing Chanyeol and Kyungsoo went there alone, bonding even more. Jongin was torn between hating himself and... no, he was pretty sure he was hating himself. One look over to Kyungsoo told him that the latter wasn't keen on socializing (when was he ever?) but entertained enough by Chanyeol's antics as he sipped on some hard liquor.
He wondered whether Kyungsoo would also get drunk easily. The image of a drunk Kyungsoo tumbling and seeking support on Jongin's arm was a nice one. He wondered how many shots it would take for Kyungsoo to forget he didn't actually like him, he asked himself quite bitterly.
The time ticked by with meaningless chatter, a few annoying coos sent his way and way too much alcohol for Chanyeol. In the end it was Kyungsoo proposing they should go home and Jongin wanted to kiss him for that. It was around half past two in the morning and he really had enough of this whole party thing. Thank god he lived nearby. The only thing he wanted right now was to bury himself in his blankets and sleep.
They left the restaurant and Jongin sighed at the refreshing cool night air hitting his face. Kyungsoo shuddered openly, his eyes looking kinda glassy as he pulled his jacket tighter. Chanyeol was still mindlessly talking about god knew what, occasionally trying to cling onto Jongin's arm and retreat with a pout, whenever he slapped him away only to eventually tumble into a lamp post.
"Completely wasted." Kyungsoo voiced out what Jongin was thinking and he nodded with a roll of his eyes.
"Hahaha, I think you guys might be right!" Chanyeol agreed happily, now hugging the lamp post for support, "wait, I think I gotta go take a piss before we leave. You'll wait for me, right? Right?"
"Just go, goddammit." Jongin muttered. The tall idiot had barely stumbled back inside when Kyungsoo spoke up, clearing his throat.
"Will you take him home with you?"
"What. Why would I do that? He can take a taxi, I'm not his baby sitter." Jongin gave back instantly. He liked Kyungsoo but that was pushing it.
"Look," Kyungsoo began, scrunching his brows together in concentration, "he lives away the farthest from here, taxis are expensive and in his current condition I bet he'd do something really retarded like setting his kitchen on fire or anything. I'd take him home with me but you live closer, he's more comfortable around you and I'm pretty drunk and on top of that unable to drag his heavy anywhere because I'm ing short, if that fact escaped your mind." Kyungsoo listed as if he'd thoroughly thought this through, which he probably had. Jongin chewed on his lip. He didn't want to. But Kyungsoo seemed to mean it and if he kept disagreeing, they might leave together after all and who knew what would happen then, with both of them being drunk...
The taxi they'd called arrived and Kyungsoo turned towards it, asking the driver to give him a second. If Jongin didn't know him, he would have barely noticed Kyungsoo being drunk in any way. The shorter one turned towards him, an eyebrow raised in question. Jongin groaned.
"Fine. I'll make sure he doesn't choke on his vomit or anything." he gave back, making a show of being unhappy about it. Kyungsoo probably wouldn't remember him being rude the next day, anyway. The Northener nodded, more to himself than anything and turned around before thinking better of it and addressing Jongin once more, his voice strangely vulnerable.
"Just for today. I would have taken him home, but I can't. Just. I'll let you have him, just for today."

Kyungsoo's words were still echoing through his head while he half-dragged Chanyeol down the streets, ignoring his whining about Kyungsoo abandoning them.
What was that supposed to mean? Alright, so it obviously meant Kyungsoo wanted Chanyeol to himself. That shouldn't be anything new and therefore wasn't supposed to sting like this.
"You're so nice though, letting me crash at your place!" Chanyeol slurred enthusiastically, sending them tumbling and Jongin cursed under his breath.
"It's not like I actually wanted it, okay? I'm just doing it because Kyungsoo asked me to." he snapped back. No reason to hold back if no one was around and Chanyeol was dead drunk.
"Oooh, that makes sense! Because you don't actually like me." Chanyeol stated as if it was a common fact, which, to be fair, it absolutely was.
"It's okay, I still like you."
" you." Jongin gave back in a monotone voice, reaching for his keys, thoroughly pissed at the whole situation in general. So much for him having his peace and cuddling with his blankets.
"It's actually pretty funny, you know? Cause just recently Kyungsoo said there was nothing to make me like him and I think there's nothing I can do to make you like me, too. So funny, right?"
"Right." Jongin drawled out emotionlessly, heaving Chanyeol's wobbly frame on his couch and padding off into his kitchenette, grabbing a bottle of water.
"Can't you just accept the fact that I'm quite content remaining the only person in the world not to drool all over you?" he snapped, placing the bottle on the table and went to get some blankets for his unwanted guest. He'll definitely not get his nice one, nope. He'd probably have to burn it afterwards.
"That's not true though! Not everybody likes me. No one is liked by everyone!" Chanyeol called after him, toeing off his socks as he tried to get comfortable on the couch while craning his neck to follow Jongin with his eyes.
"Like, like Chaerin and Dara for example. You know them? They sat across us, and they totally hate my guts. You just don't see that because they're playing it off so well. Almost as good as you."
Jongin didn't know whether to be offended or not but he definitely knew Chaerin and Dara and Chanyeol had been so damn nice to them today; just like he was towards anyone.
"Why do you even bother crawling up their asses if they hate you?" he remarked instead and Chanyeol hummed, swaying a bit even in his sitting position. Jongin decided to get a bucket in case the guy would suddenly puke all over the place.
"Well..." Chanyeol began, trailing off until Jongin stopped in front of him, one eyebrow lifted in expectation. For once the taller guy averted his gaze, swaying back and forth in a horrible attempt to seem casual.
"It's normal, right? Even if you give a lot of love, there's no guarantee you'll receive love in return. You know, there are soooo many people hating me," he stated, making a grand gesture with his hands, "but it's okay as long as there are also people I make happy. Don't you think it's an amazing achievement to have a positive impact on someone's life, even if you might not realize it?" he ended with earnestly sparkling eyes. Jongin sighed. This way of living resembled walking on needles all the time. With bare feet.
"That's utterly stupid, if you ask me." he replied and maybe it was this particular topic, but he found himself reaching for a half-finished bottle of orange juice on the table and sinking into a cross-legged position on the floor across him.
"It's like you're asking people to walk all over you."
"Wohoo, I'm stupid~" Chanyeol hummed, his smile coming out a bit strained towards the end, which was a rare occurrence. With a sigh, he leaned back into the couch.
"I kinda miss Baekhyun... he made it look so easy to be better than that. To not let any hate get to you, ya know what I mean?"
It was Jongin's turn to avoid eye contact, refusing to answer. Of course he knew what he meant. He knew it all-too well.
"I mean, don't get me wrong! I still like you most of all people who hate me, you know? And more than many people who like me, too!" Chanyeol rambled on and in response to Jongin's exasperated shake of his head at his dumbness, he only spoke up more insistingly.
"I mean it! Look, I'm a liiittle tipsy so now you should believe me, right? I actually like how you hate me."
"Oookay. If you are about to say anything gross-"
"NO-"
"God, can you keep down the volume?!" Jongin snapped back, throwing a pillow at him. Chanyeol winced pathetically, being the overly dramatic hoe Jongin knew he was, before continuing.
"Nooo. Look, you wouldn't have thrown this thing at anyone else who annoys you, right? That means you're comfortable with me. This side you show me... you show it to no one else. That's kinda cool, don't you think? I think it's cool." he ended, sounding completely convinced.
Jongin stilled, the bottle raised midway to his lips. This kind of insight wasn't what he'd expected from Chanyeol. Jongin was someone who was very aware of his inner workings but this felt like Chanyeol shedding light on something even Jongin himself had only vaguely been aware about.
"That's..." he began but the words escaped him.
Not true, he wanted to say.
Except it was.
"You're just bringing out the worst in me." he eventually said, fiddling with the bottle to busy himself.
"Buuut I'm bringing out something!" Chanyeol added almost proudly and Jongin definitely had enough of this. This was out of his comfort zone in every way. So he got up and rightened his sweater.
"You're ing wasted, there's no point in talking to you. Scratch that, there never is. You should drink this before you puke all over my couch." he ordered resolutely, pushing the water bottle towards Chanyeol. Said one only pushed it away from him, whining loudly.
"I don't wanna drink anymooore..." he slurred and Jongin repeated the gesture just to get the bottle shoved back at him.
"Just drink it!"
"Don't wanna!"
"Oh my god, you're talking like a toddler-"
"Toddlers don't ta-AH, no!" Chanyeol yelped as Jongin mercilessly pinned him down by sitting on his lap with his thighs on each side, opening the water bottle.
"Drink it. It's ing water."
"Maybe I don't LIKE water-"
Jongin groaned, and fruitlessly tried to force the bottle to his lips which prove itself to be a difficult challenge with Chanyeol flailing around wildly.
Chanyeol was such an idiot, he thought.
"Stoooop, I don't want to-"
"Do I look like I care? You think I'll brew a fresh coffee, just for you?"
The fact that he now knew he seriously meant all of the smiles he gave out so easily, made him look even dumber. Jongin had always assumed he was calculating, when in reality he was just genuinely stupid.
"I don't like coffee, anyway!"
"Yeah, sure, just like you don't like water. Now stop- Doing this-"
Displaying your true self on a silver platter for people to judge. Jongin would never be able to do that. It was the most scary thing in the world. Then again, Chanyeol was different from him. If Jongin would run around being his actual true self, he wouldn't find as much acceptance as Chanyeol or even Kyungsoo. Because Jongin was nothing but a pessimistic, snarky and unfriendly person. There was nothing for people to like about him.
Jongin huffed and placed the water bottle on the table behind him to grab both of Chanyeol's hands, prying them down so they could look at each other.
"Fine. So you won't drink it." Jongin said in a challenging tone and Chanyeol pouted defiantly. Jongin hesitated, wetting his lips before trying another approach.
"Even if I'm telling you I'd really like it if you drank it? Because I want you to be less hungover tomorrow?" he asked in an unusually soft voice and Chanyeol blinked. Hesitated. For awhile, they both looked each other in the eyes silently. Finally losing the fight, Chanyeol huffed and reached behind Jongin, for the bottle.
"Fiiiine." he mumbled, already taking the first gulp and Jongin sighed, moving back to his own feet.
Why do you have to like me that much?
The question was burning on his tongue and Jongin was itching to voice it out loud. But it wouldn't lead to an answer anyway, and so he didn't.
I could keep kicking him all day long and he'd still try to please me.
And why? Because he's ing brave, unlike me.
The realization stung and he threw a long look at Chanyeol, who had already buried himself face-first in his blankets, an empty water bottle still slightly moving on the table before it finally fell to the floor with a dull thud.

"Woah, you've made breakfast!"
"For you? Are you brain-dead? I bought it at the coffee shop around the corner."
"But you still bought some for me as well!" Chanyeol added brightly and on top of being the most annoying drunk ever, of course he wouldn't even graze Jongin with being hungover.
"I regret it severely if that's any consolation."
Chanyeol only laughed dumbly before sinking his teeth into a bagel. Instead of buying just the cheapest thing he could find, he'd bought the one with bacon. Because he knew Chanyeol ate stuff like that and he was just in the mood of not giving him a hard time. It was an exception, because he assumed the guy might be hungover.
Jongin wanted to faceplant into his own breakfast.
He just couldn't lie to himself.

Finally I had some time to update this!
Yes, actually Soo's PoV is kinda overdue but I've decided to shift it all a bit - I'll make sure everyone had an equal amount of chapters in the end~
Next to the obvious Chankai development (and the Chansoo, too?), I wanted to show how Jongin is valuable for the team. If you read carefully, you'll see that he's picking up on the same things as Chan and Soo all on his own -and much quicker on top of that- and able to find an effective solution.

Yesss, Jongin is the most difficult out of all three, but give him some time, he's a good guy~

Love,
Sugar-and-Salt c: