As time ticks by, the words flows out of Jongin’s mouth much more fluidly, the nervousness wearing off him and allows him to have proper conversations without the excessive stuttering and quivering hands.

            Kyungsoo, on the other hand, has not shown even the slightest hint of any nervousness in him. Jongin envies how he can be so self-possessed, so unperturbed by the nerves that weighs on Jongin when he locks eyes with the latter. Even as the conversation dwindles on, Jongin doesn’t feel the least bit of awkward, because the silent intervals gives him the opportunity to look at Kyungsoo, to admire him.

            There are a number of newly discovered quirks of Kyungsoo that Jongin has finds amusing.

            He learns that Kyungsoo eats painfully slow. By the time that Jongin had finished three-fourths of his plate, Kyungsoo had only managed to eat a little less than half of his. He doesn’t seem to care much for his habit of eating unhurriedly and his sluggish munching, which Jongin respects, but also finds rather irritating since he dislikes seeing the plate of food still half-full even after a period of two hours.

            Kyungsoo also loves watching animated shows, regardless of its' genre, and has taken a deep liking in specifically Japanese sport animes. At some point in their conversation, Kyungsoo jabbers on of his favourite sport animes that he’s watched, but Jongin couldn’t remember many of their names as Kyungsoo was speaking far too hastily for him to memorize their names and make a mental note in his head to binge-watch them once he arrives home. He did catch the word tennis, though. 

            One newly discovered Kyungsoo fact that has stuck with Jongin the most was how Kyungsoo was oddly, highly intent on avoiding talking of his past.

            Quite literally, almost everything related to his past, even the things that Jongin finds trivial, like where he used to live or what his parents’ professions are.

            Jongin concludes that Kyungsoo was the kind of individual who liked to keep to themselves. The metallic barriers set up around him were clearly made to be impenetrable, especially by those who wished for him to uncloak the thick mantle of reticence wrapped tightly around him. Jongin included.

            Jongin just wishes he could find a method of convincing Kyungsoo to allow him into his life and cross such barriers, though he'll admit he was no erudite in the field of effortless socializing and knowing how to make free-flowing conversations. Jongin had a small circle of friends, and at work, he was known for his shy, timid character, when really it was just him having little to no competence in maintaining friendships with other people, let alone forming them in the first place. 

            Something tells Jongin that Kyungsoo is the same, or at least, he suspects that he is. Perhaps that could be one thing they could bond over – their lack of social skills.

            Jongin lets out a chuckle, prompting Kyungsoo to raise his eyes from his plate of food to eye at him. Jongin physically cringes to himself, realizing how absurd he must have looked, chuckling out of nowhere.

            “Uh, sorry, I just remembered something funny Chanyeol did,” Jongin quickly saves himself from another embarrassing situation, though barely.

            “Are you close with him?”

            “You could say that. We live in the same apartment block, but we have very different jobs.”

            “And what do you work as?” Kyungsoo’s intrigued now, his gaze lingering on Jongin.

            “I work for a fashion magazine,” Jongin’s cheeks blushes, because it’s evident on Kyungsoo’s face that a fashion magazine is the last place Kyungsoo would have expected Jongin to work for.

            “As a.. model?”

            Jongin chokes on the spaghetti lodged in his throat, his face reddening both in embarrassment as well as astonishment by Kyungsoo’s question. “No, I could never be one,” his laughs comes out very stiff. “I work as a junior editor. It can be a little tedious sometimes, but working in the fashion world is surprisingly interesting. Plus the pay is good,”

            “Ah, I see. I shouldn’t have made assumptions based on, er, appearance,” Kyungsoo’s eyes tears away from Jongin, hiding his face from him as the heat rises up from his cheeks to the tips of his ears.

            “You think I’d do well as a fashion model, though?” 

            “I.. I’m not answering that question.” 

            Jongin bursts into a sudden fit of laughter and notes in his head, Kyungsoo fact number four: he thinks I’m attractive.

Author's Note: I've thinking of writing another Kaisoo fic. Is anyone up for the idea?