Three days had gone by without a trace of the boy. It was Friday, the end of the week. Monday was the first and last time Jongin had seen him, and he was desperate to find him.

"Jongin, you've been acting weird all week," Chanyeol pointed out during lunch.

Baekhyun cracked up and added, "You've been distant this whole time, and you keep looking around like you're trying to find someone. Ooh, does Jongin have a little crush? Whose the lucky girl? Or boy." Baekhyun remembered to include both genders, especially since he was in a relationship with Chanyeol. They started out as enemies but eventually realized that those feelings of hostility were actually feelings of passion. It was a lucky coincidence that both of them had mutual feelings for each other. 

Sehun snickered beside Baekhyun, but his complexion turned slightly rosy. He almost seemed nervous.

But Jongin was too preoccupied by the whirlwind of thoughts churning in his head to notice half of what happened in the last 15 seconds. He simply nodded and concentrated on the black jjajangmyun that laid in front him. 

Sehun turned an ever deeper shade of pink. "You do like someone? W-who is it?" he stammered.

Jongin snapped out of his trance, confused. "What are you talking about, Hunnie?"

The couple on the side whispered to each other and knowingly glanced at their younger friend Sehun. Sehun furiously shook his head at Jongin and stared at the ground. "Nothing," he mumbled back.

Jongin sighed, "Sorry guys, I've been really out of it. You know, projects and stuff." Although 'projects and stuff' wasn't the reason why Jongin was so stressed, he felt that explaining the real cause to his friends would complicate things even more.

"Don't worry," Chanyeol replied, "Tomorrow's Saturday and My Lady 3 is coming out." 

Despite Chanyeol's mocking tone, Jongin laughed. He was right; tomorrow would be a good day. My Lady was Jongin's favorite comic book series, but his friends always made fun of him because it was under the genre of romance. According to them, boys were supposed to play violent video games and revel in the gore. They said that romance was for girls. Jongin really didn't mind though, because no matter how much they , he knew that it was still going to be his favorite book.

_______________

At last, the day was finally here. Jongin's house was only about one block away from the comic book store, and he could easily get there on his bike. Jongin knew that he was already late; he slept through his alarm. He knew that he had to hurry before all the books were gone. The series was actually quite popular, among girls. And girls were crazy. They would do anything to get the books. After all, the protagonist, Lay, was literally the prince in shining armor that all girls dreamed of. He was charismatic, funny, romantic, and had the most charming smile ever drawn. Every time Lay appeared in the book, Jongin could hear the internal screaming of the fangirls from miles away. 

Jongin himself didn't know why he liked the book, but he guessed it was because of the romance. Jongin was a romantic, and a hopeless one at that. All he could do was fantasize about all the perfect relationship. Flowers, late night movies, and showers of kisses. Then there was the cuddling. Cuddling was Jongin's favorite part of a relationship, idealistically. He had never been in a relationship before, aside from the few online dating sims he tried. None of them were up to parr with his idea of a relationship though, so he decided to leave it up to his imagination.

On the way to the store, Jongin envisioned how My Lady 3 would play out. Perhaps a love triangle with many sore hearts involved. Maybe a marriage between Lay and the girl protagonist, Hani. Either way, Jongin knew he would enjoy the usual romance.

Only five minutes had passed since he left the house, and now the bright red sign that hung in front of him read Huang's Comic Book Store. Jongin parked his bike to the side just as the door swung open with a swarm of plaid skirts and excited giggles. Each and every high school girl that walked out held a copy of My Lady 3. This reminded Jongin that he needed to hurry up before all the copies were sold out. He rushed into the store, clutching his wallet with hope. 

"Jongin, a bit late today, are we?" the shopkeeer chuckled. 

Jongin sighed, "Hey Mr. Huang. Yeah, I woke up late today. I'll be right back, I need to grab my own copy of the new book!"

He practically ran to the back corner of the store, where the My Lady series were located. By now, Jongin could walk there blindfolded. He knew every inch of the store. After all, it was his usual relaxation spot: after school, on weekends, or whenever he wanted time alone. The comic books would bring him to another world where he could forget about all his troubles and be stress free. 

Jongin was in luck. The lone copy of the book stood on the shelf, waiting to be picked up. But as Jongin reached out to take the book, soft hands met his touch instead of the smooth paper binding he expected. He quickly retracted his hand, surprised. When Jongin looked up, he saw none other than the boy. It was the boy he had been looking for for the past week. 

Sometimes, fate brings two people together in the most unexpected ways, at the most unexpected times. Sometimes, searching is useless.

As Jongin watched, the boy's eyes widened in panic. He stumbled backwards and stuttered, "S-stop following me!"

Jongin was taken aback. What did he mean? He hadn't been following the boy, and this sudden meeting at the comic book store was definitely a coincidence. But there was no time to think; Jongin could not lose this perfect opportunity. "I'm not following you, really," he explained,"But I want to be friends." 

"Why?" the boy questioned him with an intrigued expression.

Jongin hesitated for a moment and didn't know how to answer. He weakly responded, "You seem like a nice person."

The boy looked more confused than ever but accepted the reason. "Okay, I guess we can be friends..." After some deliberation, he spoke again, but this time with a firm statement, "Okay." 

What happened next was something that Jongin never would have expected. The boy smiled. A genuine smile broke out as his heart shaped lips curved upwards. It was a shy and pure smile. This was the first time Jongin saw his smile, and he thought it was beautiful.

"I'm Kim Jongin."

"I'm Do Kyungsoo."

 

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When I was typing Baekhyun I accidentally put Baekyeol at first... WHEN YOU'RE IN TOO DEEP 

DOES ANYONE LIKE HOW I USED THE EXO SONG AS THE BOOK :D

Why did I put Hani as the girl? o_o WHO IS LAY SHIPPED WITH?

Kyungsoo has such a cute smile but in reality he's satan lol.

Have fun with this chapter!