TRIPLE UPDATE - please read from chapter 19 onwards

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Yixing dropped Jongin at his house before going home to get ready for the dance. She pulled a dress out from her closet, she decided on wearing something comfortable as she knew that they would be dancing for most of the night, trying to forget all of their relationship drama. She sifted through all of her formal dresses and came across a little black dress, she smiled at herself knowing that it was perfect for the occasion. As she had gained some weight recently she felt that the black would be slimming. Once she had shimmied into the dress, she smiled at herself in the mirror knowing that she would drive Kris wild looking like this, not that that was her intention. She then applied makeup, placing some dark eye shadow on her eyes to create the smoky eye effect. She knew that she looked mysterious and irresistible as the dark colour contrasted beautifully with her pale skin. She looked in the mirror one last time satisfied with the end product. She picked up her silver Prada bag and matching sparkly shoes and exited the house. She entered the car and told the driver the directions to Jongins house where they had dropped him off a few hours earlier.

Pulling up outside his house Yixing whipped out her phone and messaged him that they were outside. He exited the house almost immediately not wanting to keep her waiting. As he approached the car Yixing’s jaw dropped, Jongin was beyond handsome. He was wearing a shirt that was slightly too large for him, the buttons on the cuff undone and the top three buttons open. Despite being loose, his toned chest and abs were visible under the thin material and the beige colour contrasted nicely with his tanned skin. He was also wearing tight skinny jeans that showed off his legs. Yixing bit her lip, she knew Jongin was hot but she couldn’t help feeling flustered when he smirked at her playfully as he climbed into the car.

She gulped as he sat close to her and she didn’t know how she could make this less awkward. Luckily Jongin spoke first saving her the embarrassment “Lay-ah, you look awesome! Seriously, seriously good. What do you think? I clean up well right?! You have to stop me from eating too much. My mom promised me some homemade fried chicken when I get back home because I’m so handsome so I can’t eat too much.” He smiled widely as he spoke, looking proud as he boasted that his mom thought he was handsome. She snorted trying to resist laughing out loud but failing miserably. She burst out laughing, silently thanking Jongin because just when she thought that she wasn’t going to be able to resist his charm when he was dressed like THAT he opened his mouth and spoke. She was reminded why they were the best of friends and nothing more. She ruffled his hair and smiled at him like a big sister “You look great Kai-ah. Eat as much as you want. I’m sure you’ll have space for fried chicken.” He beamed at her brightly before saying “You look really pretty. Kris is going to get so jealous. And before you say that isn’t your plan, remember that I know you pretty well and I know you didn’t dress like that for me.” He smiled teasingly at her forcing her to retaliate “I’m sure you didn’t dress like that for me either Kkamjong!” He leaned back and looked down at himself and blushed lightly “Do you think she’ll notice me?” Yixing cooed at him because he was just so adorable “She won’t be able to keep her eyes off you. Neither will anyone else but that’s beside the point” she whispered the last bit not wanting to inflate his ego.

The ride was mostly filled with laughter and talk about dance rehearsals as well as the gossip about other members in the dance club. Jongin couldn’t believe that Sehun and Taemin were taking Tao and Mino from the school choir to the dance “Those degenerates never told me that they were interested in those two from the choir. They kept that quiet!” He smiled to himself feeling happy for his friends. They were enjoying themselves but it was obvious that they were avoiding talking about the giant elephant in the room car. Before they knew it they had arrived at the school and Jongin waved off the driver as he exited the car and went around to help Yixing get out. The driver smiled to himself, Jongin was like a breath of fresh air, the type of guy you couldn’t help but like. They entered the school gym and Jongin was amazed by the decoration, it was a world apart from his old school dances. The decorations were amazing, there were crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling and the tables were lined with beautiful centrepieces. There were faux crystals scattered along each table to add to the bling that was already on display. They walked in arm in arm and all eyes turned to them as they walked to the middle of the room. Yixing smiled to herself, even she had to admit they looked good, like really good. Everyone was clearly jealous.

“Let me get some drinks. Wait here and then we’ll go and find our friends” Jongin instructed. Yixing nodded and smiled at him as he left her stood by one of the tables at the side of the room. She looked around impressed at the hall, the dance committee had really outdone themselves this time. As she scanned the room her eyes landed on a tall blonde haired figure that was undoubtedly her boyfriend. “I guess he made his decision” she whispered to herself, a solemn expression gracing her lovely features. Jongin approached her “What’s with the long face?” he inquired handing her the oddly coloured punch. She gestured to the other side of the room where he then spotted his best friend and girlfriend talking with Baekhyun and Chanyeol along with some of the other athletes at the school. They all looked great together like they were having a good time and Jongin couldn’t help the pang that he felt in his heart. He turned around quickly noticing how many of the girls in the room were staring at him with lust-filled eyes instead of their own dates and began to feel very uncomfortable under their scrutiny. He shook his head and turned to Yixing “Let’s dance. Forget about them. We knew that they would come so it shouldn’t be a huge surprise. We’re here to have a good time remember. Come on.” He took her hand and led her to the dance floor where the live band was singing a cover of Marvin Gaye by Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor.

They started dancing to the beat slowly at first and then as the song picked up Jongin slid his hands to Yixings waist and she placed her hands around his neck and they swayed to the beat. He spun her around and then bought her closer and they both laughed enjoying dancing so carefree. It had been so long, usually when they danced it was so serious as they were practicing routines and constantly improving their routine. But they were both shocked at how well they were dancing together, their movements were so fluid and they looked professional despite not being practiced. They were clearly attuned to the others body from hours of practice and neither of them could deny that they also had great chemistry. They were so absorbed in the dancing that they had no idea that everyone was staring at them, people had even stopped dancing to watch them. The two people in the room, whose attention that they really wanted, were also looking on longingly with sadness in their eyes. At this point though Jongin and Yixing had completely forgotten about making their partners jealous as they were enjoying each other’s company and smiling genuinely at each other.

Kris scoffed and stormed out of the room and Kyungsoo stood stock still watching her lover enjoying himself with another woman. He looked beautiful, dancing and smiling. She hadn’t seen him smile like that in so long and while she felt jealous, she was also grateful to Yixing for bringing him happiness. She hugged herself tightly as she watched on. The song changed to Thinking out Loud by Ed Sheeran and Jongin smiled wider knowing that he and Yixing had previously practiced this routine. Without exchanging words, they both began performing the routine perfectly, everyone around watching with their jaws dropped. Eventually the crowd dispersed and they went back to socialising and dancing, not that either of the dancers cared. They were still just enjoying themselves. After two or three more songs, they had honestly lost count, they stopped and went back to their drinks. They laughed as they approached the table and Yixing was starting to feel dizzy as she gripped onto Jongin’s arm “Lay! Are you ok?” Jongin asked out of concern that they had overdone it. “I’m fine. I just need to sit for a bit. I suddenly feel really warm that’s all. All of the lying has really stressed me out. I can’t eat or sleep and I’ve been vomiting, like a lot. I didn’t want to worry anyone but it was really hurting me. I’m so glad that you called it quits, it really gave me the strength to stop knowing that I wasn’t all alone. You really are a good friend Jongin.” She caressed his arm lovingly as she smiled up at him.

When she regained herself Yixing stood up noticing that Kris and Kyungsoo were both staring at them while they were supposed to be talking to their new group of friends. Yixing pursed her lips together before turning to Jongin “Hey, one more dance Sir?” She held out her hand and Jongin laughed as he accepted it. They walked to the dance floor “Tell me if you feel dizzy.” Yixing gulped knowing that she honestly wasn’t well enough to dance but she needed to dispel the awkwardness that she was feeling from the gaze of her boyfriend. They began to dance and before she knew it she was back in the rhythm of dancing and couldn’t feel anything around her anymore.

They danced for a while longer when the music quietened down and the principle walked onto the stage and took the microphone. “OK, I’m glad that everyone seems to be enjoying the dance. It is now time to announce the King and Queen of the school. Now unlike the usual voting system we tried something different this time. Everyone wrote down the name of the couples that they thought were worthy of this honour and we checked each one and have counted each one. The winners are the couple that have been named the most times. So, in third place, drum roll please, Byun Baekhyun and Park Chanyeol!” There was some loud cheering and Baekhyun leaned into Chanyeol as he kissed her forehead. “In second place…Zhang Yixing and Kim Jongin.” The entire hall cheered loudly and both Jongin and Yixing looked at each other in disbelief. Jongin rubbed his neck feeling embarrassed and Yixing looked down stepping a bit further from Jongin. They thought that moving away from each other would make people think that they aren’t that close but everyone cooed thinking that they were just shy and that made them even more endearing. Their other halves looked on feeling the bile rise in their throats as they hated the idea of people thinking that they were such a good couple.

“Congratulations to both couples. Now for your King and Queen chosen by you our students” the Principle said pausing for effect. “Do Kyungsoo and Wu Yi Fan!” There was a long pause as everyone processed the information and then loud cheering was heard. Kris’ new friends loudly cheered and made wolf whistles as Kyungsoo and Kris looked at each other in total shock. Their friends gently pushed them towards the stage and before they knew it crowns were being placed on their heads. Jongin’s jaw tightened as he watched the scene, unable to do anything. His girlfriend was handed flowers and all of the girls whispered about how jealous they were and how good the couple looked together and Jongin couldn’t take it anymore. He looked up at the stage and he locked eyes with his girlfriend who looked at him helplessly, she was I shock and didn’t know what she should do. Jongin clenched his fist and scoffed as he stormed out of the hall. Yixing shouted out to him to stop but he had already gone and she was starting to feel dizzy from the shock. She looked back at the stage at her boyfriend and his poorly concealed fake smile. The principle continued “Now! As it is customary for the King and Queen, please kiss.” Kyungsoo’s eyes widened in shock as she searched wildly for her boyfriend in the crowd. She started to panic not knowing how to get out of this situation but before she knew the Principle had turned her around so she was facing Kris and she began to hyperventilate. They stared at each other helplessly, not moving from their positions. In the crowd Yixing was distraught, she regretted ever coming to the stupid dance as she watched her boyfriend who was just voted best couple with another girl, getting ready to kiss her. She felt her chest tighten and the room began to spin. She suddenly collapsed drawing the attention of several of the students around her.

One of her friends ran toward her shouting “Yixing!” Kris instinctively turned to look into the crowd but the lights on the stage were blinding him due to his height. Worried for his girlfriend he descended the platform quickly and made his way towards the centre of the crowd that had gathered. As he pushed passed several students he eventually saw Yixing collapsed in her friend’s arms and his heart sank to the floor. He ran as fast as he could and picked her up and ran out of the gym as fast as he could.

Kris frantically ran towards his car not noticing the crowd of people, including Kyungsoo who looked completely devastated, that had followed behind him. He placed her into the car and instructed his driver to take them to the hospital. Kris lay Yixing down and placed her head gently in his lap as he frantically kissed her face, gently moving her hair out of the way. Tears streamed down his eyes as he regretted so many of his choices over the past few months. He whispered broken “I’m sorry’s” and “I love you’s” in between kisses as he felt like the worst person in the whole world. He noticed that Yixing wasn’t looking well but instead of stopping to see if she was OK and checking that she was coping with the situation, he chose to ignore it hoping that she would get over it. He never thought that it would take such a toll on her and now he wished he had never schemed like this. As he stared down at her, visions of his sister-in-law after they had found her body flashed through his mind. He clung to her tighter, hating himself more and more. All he wanted was to protect her but he was starting to realise that he was the one that causing her pain.

When they reached the hospital, she was placed on a gurney and taken away by a nurse as he informed the doctors of what happened. He begged them to take care of her and that money was not a concern and as they left he fell to the ground clutching the ring around his neck. What had he done?

Jongin’s phone kept buzzing and he finally took it from his pocket to see that he had 37 missed calls from Kyungsoo and 14 messages. He turned it off and carried on walking. He felt bad for leaving Yixing there alone but he knew that her driver was there to take her home and for him not to worry. As he reached his house he walked through the door and was greeted by his smiling parents “Hey baby, you’re back early! Couldn’t wait for that fried chicken huh?” his mom teased. He smiled at her but it never reached his eyes as he said “I’m not that hungry. I think that I’m just going to head off to sleep.” He turned around and walked up the stairs and disappeared into his room. He collapsed on his bed feeling exhausted from the emotional turmoil as sleep quickly overtook him. Kyungsoo parked outside his house and prayed to God that he would hear her out as she gathered up the courage to knock on the door. Jongin’s father answered the door, a solemn look on his face. “H-h-hi Mr Kim. Can I please speak to Jongin?” He could see her tear stained cheek and the broken smile she was bravely trying to show him and he sighed “I…don’t think that’s such a good idea Kyungsoo. He isn’t in the best mood at the moment and I don’t want to upset my boy any further.” “But-“ she wanted to plead with him but he raised his hand to stop her “I know. I know that it feels urgent and that its life or death but sometimes it’s better to let the dust settle. I don’t want either of you to say something in the heat of the moment that you may regret. He’s my son…I love him. I don’t want to see him more hurt than he looked tonight. I think it’s best you go home.” He gently closed the door while she was still stood there, fresh tears leaving her eyes as she turned around and walked back to the car.

Jongin’s father sighed as he watched the car drive away and his wife approached him from behind hugging him comfortingly “That was hard. But I don’t want to see him hurt anymore.” She nodded as she hugged him tighter “Let’s go to bed dear. Jongin will need us in the morning. Everything will look better in the morning.” As they went to their room they opened Jongin’s door and found him fast asleep hugging a penguin plushie toy and his mom placed a blanket over him kissing his head. She said a silent prayer hoping that whatever was troubling her son, and the others would resolve itself soon.