Hair? Check.

Shoes? Check.

Outfit? Kyungsoo surveys the black skinny jeans and white button up in the mirror, turning his leg to get the best view. It’s pretty basic so he contemplates throwing on a cardigan for color as well as warmth since it’s also a bit chilly. As soon as he pulls it from the hanger in his closet, memories of Baekhyun calling him Mr. Rogers and singing his own rendition of “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” echo in the back of his mind. He sighs, putting the sweater back and instead finding a black turtleneck a few hangers down. The last time he had worn it, Irene told him he looked chic and y, which made Baekhyun laugh until he cried and was wheezing out ‘Since when was Steve Jobs y?’ between gasps of air. But Irene had smacked Baekhyun and told Kyungsoo not to worry because he looked good. At least Steve Jobs was ier than Mr. Roger’s in Kyungsoo’s humble opinion. Outfit? It’ll have to do.

Breath? Kyungsoo does his best to blow into his hands to check. Maybe it was a mistake to get extra grilled onions on his sandwich at lunch. He pops a few breath mints just to be safe. Anyway, check.

Kyungsoo closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, jumping a little as he exhales. “This will be good and not at all a disaster. This will be—“ Kyungsoo’s eyes widen as he stops his pep talk midway through. He forgot one really important detail. Although the guy seems cool from his messages, Kyungsoo is still going on a blind date with someone from the internet. He has to have a plan in case the guy is a creepy murderer or something.

Oh no…what if he’s ugly?

Kyungsoo grabs his phone from the bed and opens the first message to text Baekhyun.

Kyungsoo

Ok, so I’m going on that blind date soon (his name is Jongin) if I don’t call you in 3 hours I’m either dead or have been kidnapped and sold into the trade

He presses send and then as an afterthought adds,

If I do call you he’s probably ugly and boring so save me anyway pls

To Kyungsoo’s surprise, his phone is dinging right away with a reply. It’s not like Baekhyun to be so prompt, taking anywhere from several minutes to several hours to reply. Which makes Kyungsoo question why he is even trusting Baekhyun with this in the first place since it is potentially his life on the line. But Baekhyun is his best friend and he won’t let anything happen to Kyungsoo.

The message he received is not, however, from Baekhyun. Kyungsoo stares in mortification, hoping the pixelated words will change and—no this can’t be happening, this is a dream.

Hot Date

uhhh…this is jongin actually. i’ll see you in 10 minutes and i promise i won’t try to sell you or kill you haha :/

Kyungsoo is such an idiot, why didn’t he check if it was really Baekhyun? Is it too late to pack up, change his name, and move to Peru? He only has 10 minutes so he’ll just have to take the essentials. And he won’t get to say goodbye to anyone. That’s too bad, he’ll miss Irene and well, maybe Baekhyun. Ok, fine, he’ll definitely miss Baekhyun.

Kyungsoo

Oh my god I’m sooooo sorry this is so embarrassing. If you want to cancel I totally understand.

Kyungsoo wants to throw his phone as soon as he sends his reply but it’s almost instantly buzzing again.

Hot Date

it’s ok, this’ll just make for interesting dinner conversation

Kyungsoo sighs in relief, although it isn’t any less embarrassing; at least Jongin is still willing to give him a chance, and Kyungsoo doesn’t have to move to Peru anymore. Which is good because he doesn’t even know Spanish.

He’s still nervous about the date though, so this time he actually does text Baekhyun his warning. A minute later, Jongin is knocking on his door.

Kyungsoo gives himself one more, “You got this!” Followed by a deep breath and a couple of smacks on his own cheeks before answering the door and—holy hell, Jongin is hot. He’s tall, taller than Kyungsoo, with tan skin, plush lips, and a mop of soft brown hair. He’s wearing a grey pea coat, and he looks like he walked straight off the runway to Kyungsoo’s apartment. How has this guy had to resort to online dating.

“Hi, I’m Jongin! It’s nice to meet you.” He holds out his hand for Kyungsoo to shake, but the latter is still stuck at the door. Kyungsoo must have been staring too long because Jongin lets his hand fall, and looks around himself nervously like he might have gotten the wrong apartment number. “You are Kyungsoo, right?”

“Oh, uh yeah.” Kyungsoo says, belatedly sticking his hand out. Jongin beams, eagerly reciprocating.

“Don’t worry, I left my knife at home.” Jongin chuckles with an awkward attempt to diffuse the tension. Kyungsoo drops Jongin’s hand, color flooding his cheeks at the other’s words.  

Kyungsoo huffs a nervous laugh, “Yeah..”

An awkward silence ensues for several beats before Jongin is suddenly switching gears. “Hey, I hope you like Italian! I made reservations at this great place downtown.”

The ride to the restaurant is spent in somewhat uncomfortable silence. Kyungsoo is not the best judge since he himself is praying for death. Jongin seems more composed; the only hint of nerves is a fidgety leg and constant tapping on the steering wheel.

They make it to the restaurant in good time, thankfully avoiding any traffic that would have prolonged the silence between them. They get situated at their table and order some drinks. Kyungsoo is a nervous drinker, and practically chugs the complimentary glass of water within minutes of sitting down.

Jongin makes a few attempts at small talk, all failing because Kyungsoo can’t seem to get it together. What Kyungsoo needs is a break to calm himself down so he excuses himself and heads to the bathroom. Plus, he really needs to pee.

Once he’s washed his hands, he splashes some cold water on his face, willing himself to get it together. They haven’t even gotten their food yet, he can still turn it around. Jongin seems to be trying at least.

He winks at himself a couple of times in the mirror, throwing in a few finger guns for confidence. He freezes, still posing, when the door swings open, and a middle aged man stares at him with an eyebrow raised.  Kyungsoo apologizes awkwardly as he leaves, hoping  that he’s hit his quota of embarrassment for the day.

Their food arrived while Kyungsoo was gone. Jongin sits at the table, cheek cradled in his hand, pushing his pasta around his plate glumly. He’s pouting ever so slightly, and Kyungsoo would be lying if he said it wasn’t adorable. When he retakes his seat opposite Jongin, the latter looks up, smiling sadly.

“Was that the ‘he’s boring and ugly’ call to your friend?” Jongin swallows hard, attempting to play it off with a laugh. “You don’t have to make up an excuse if you want to go.”

Kyungsoo feels like he’s been punched in the gut. “What?” He feels like an idiot all over again. “You’re not ugly.”

“Just boring, then?”

“Jongin, I am so sorry. That text was meant for my friend, and I was so nervous that I didn’t look at who I was sending it to. It was a joke…mostly. I mean, you are just some guy I met on the internet, and this is the first time I’ve ever done this.” Jongin perks up at this; his sad smile replaced by something hopeful. “This is the first time I’ve been on a date in a while, actually.” Kyungsoo finishes nervously, scratching the back of his neck.

“Me too!” Jongin nearly shouts. He slinks down in his seat a bit, when his outburst catches the attention of the nearby tables.

Kyungsoo can’t help himself, he actually giggles. Jongin watches, a tiny smile of his own growing wider the longer Kyungsoo laughs.

“What?” Kyungsoo says when his giggles have faded, and Jongin is still smiling at him.

“Your smile is pretty. Your real one.” Kyungsoo flushes, and Jongin continues. “It’s like a heart.”

Conversation comes easy after that, and they quickly learn that they have lots in common with each other. Kyungsoo also learns that Jongin dances in his free time. He has to keep himself calm when Jongin shows him one of his performance videos on his phone because the boy can body-roll like a champ. Jongin even has the audacity to giggle nervously when the video is finished playing. How dare he be hot and cute.

He learns that Jongin has the weirdest sense of humor that has even Kyungsoo—King of Awkward and Weird— confused at some of his thought processes. Jongin always laughs at his own jokes which, in turn, makes Kyungsoo laugh along in confused harmony.

At the end of the night Jongin insists on walking Kyungsoo to his door because of course he’s a gentleman, too. Kyungsoo doesn’t think he can get anymore starry eyed. He thanks him, and apologizes again for the texting mishap. Jongin laughs it off and tells him it’s okay. Despite the initial awkwardness, the date went really well. For one, Kyungsoo didn’t get murdered or kidnapped. Jongin definitely wasn’t ugly so that’s a plus.

As soon as the door shuts with promises to text, Kyungsoo begins crafting another message to Baekhyun.

Kyungsoo

Oh my God Baek I’m back from my date, it went well and he’s so hot jfc. He showed me a video of him dancing and I had to restrain myself from jumping him right there in the restaurant.

Kyungsoo

Anyway I’m not dead, I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow.

He clicks send, and throws his phone on the bed, peeling the sweater off his body so he can change into his pajamas. Baekhyun will probably make fun of him but that’s what friends are for.

Once he’s dressed for bed, he checks his phone. He is surprised to see two texts waiting for him. One from Baekhyun, and the other from Jongin. He checks Baekhyun’s first to get rid of the notification, he’ll deal with him properly later.

The awaiting message manages to make him do a double-take.

don’t answer

r u dead

Kyungsoo is pretty sure he made it clear that he is alive and well which can only mean—.

.

Nervously, he clicks on Jongin’s message.

Hot Date

does this mean you’ll say yes if i ask for a second date ;)

Kyungsoo thinks he might actually have to move to Peru this time if it weren’t for the promise of seeing Jongin’s smile again.