It had been four weeks since Kyungsoo and Jongin had started dating, and they both couldn’t have been happier. They would meet up almost every day after their afterschool activities and would either study together or go on dates. Spending so much time together helped them overcome the shyness and awkwardness that they originally felt. The two were fast becoming a power couple and the whole school were talking about Kai (Jongin’s new nickname) and Kyungsoo and how cute they were. Jongin’s popularity increased exponentially after joining the dance club as word of his talent had spread throughout the school. Being class president, Kyungsoo was already popular and everyone knew her as the school genius. But she would be lying if she said that she wasn’t enjoying also being known as the girlfriend of the most sought after boy in school.

Kris had been busy these past few weeks and had very little time to spend with his best friend. So Jongin found himself hanging out with Taemin and Sehun and he was surprised to find that he actually really enjoyed their company. Despite being incredibly wealthy, both boys were very down to earth and even gave free dance classes at a local centre for young kids from poor backgrounds. While Jongin was enjoying the popularity, he had to admit that he missed his best friend and really wanted to spend time with him. As he made his way to the dance studio he considered messaging Kris but then immediately rejected the idea, remembering that his best friend had been completely off the grid for a whole week. Lost in thought Jongin didn’t notice Yixing quietly approaching him from behind. She shouted “BOO” directly into his ear making him jump ten feet off the ground. Yixing fell to the floor in fits of laughter enjoying the reaction she got.

Yixing noticed the pout on Jongin’s face and asked “What’s got you down sunshine?” and Jongin replied sadly “Your boyfriend”. Yixing looked at him perplexed and asked “What did he do? He didn’t mention anything to me…” Jongin looked at her incredulously and shouted “YOU’VE SPOKEN TO HIM!” Yixing was taken aback and responded timidly “Y-y-yes.” Sensing that she had just gotten her boyfriend into trouble she continued “Bu- but not for long. He’s really busy and he hasn’t come to school in a while. I’ve barely had a chance to see him.” Jongin’s eyes widened further at this “YOU MET UP WITH HIM TOO!” Jongin closed his eyes briefly to collect himself. It wasn’t Yixing’s fault that his so called best friend was such a douche bag. He pulled out his phone and dialled Kris’ number but he only got his voicemail. He tried once more and again no answer. Trying to control his rage, Jongin stared at Yixing and held his hand out in front of her. Understanding immediately what her dance partner wanted, Yixing hesitantly pulled out her phone and dialled Kris’ number and handed Jongin the phone. Kris answered after the third ring causing Jongin to roll his eyes, which only aggravated him further.

“Hey Baby. How’s it going? I missed you today. Are you coming over tonight?” Kris asked sounding hopeful for some y time with his girlfriend. Jongin decided to play with his best friend as he seductively spoke into the phone “Sure as long as you don’t mind being the bottom. You know I like it rough.” Kris nearly dropped his phone, shocked at hearing Jongin’s voice and by the lewd comment he made. Kris’ face reddened and he shouted “YAH KKAMJONG! How dare you talk to your beloved Hyung like that! And why do you have my girlfriend’s phone?! What have you done to her?” Jongin had to hold the phone away from his ear because Kris was shouting so loud he could wake the hounds of hell. He collected himself and put the phone back to his ear and replied “Beloved Hyung? WHO? YOU? If you answered my calls and messages I wouldn’t have to resort to using your precious girlfriends phone to talk to you. I thought you were too busy to talk but you answered Yixing’s call straight away. I can’t believe you would abandon me like this.” The line went quiet for a while and Jongin shouted “WHAT HAPPENED TO BROS BEFORE HOES?!”

Both Kris and Yixing gasped at his words. Slowly the weight of what Jongin had said settled in and his eyes widened as he saw Yixing’s face reddening in anger and her eyes darkening. Kris whispered over the line “Run” which triggered Jongin to immediately dart off in the direction of the dance studio yelling back “SORRY YIXING. BLAME YOUR USELESS BOYFRIEND. I DIDN’T MEAN IT. I’M SORRY.” She was faster than he expected and nearly caught up to him before he reached the practice room. As he burst through the doors he spotted Taemin and used him as a human shield. Yixing walked up to them, still livid and softly said “You can’t hide from me Kkamjong.” Jongin straightened at hearing the nickname feeling slightly hurt that she knew Kris’ nickname for him and he thought “Just how close are they? Is she replacing me as Kris’ best friend and now he no longer needs me? She’s even better than me, she’s cool and she has s. Of course Kris would like her better. s are always better” Jongin began pouting. Taemin noticed and intervened in the partners quarrel “Ok, enough. Warm up! You two are up first. We don’t have time for bickering so close to the competition.” At his words, all animosity between the pair was gone and replaced with an air of professionalism. They both knew that dance came first and everything else could wait.

After warming up, both dancers stood on opposite sides of the room as the music began to play. It was initially a soft orchestral piece to which they both swayed their arms absentmindedly almost completely ignoring each other. The tempo then picked up as the music changed to a hip hop style beat. Their movements became sharper and fast as both dancers turned to look at each other. They rapidly approached each other, Yixing falling into Kai’s arms as if she became weak from his charms. He spun her around and then released her. They then began dancing the same choreography perfectly in sync. While the moves were the same, Kai’s moves were fluid, he moved with such grace and confidence while Yixing’s actions were more feminine and poised; both unique dances that complimented each other so well. Kai focused on nothing but the beat and the sound of his own breathing. As the tempo slowed and softened, both dancers once again gravitated toward each other making eye contact. Yixing placed a hand suggestively on Kai’s shoulder and he spun her around so her back was to his chest and held her hand. The music stopped and the lights were dimmed. The rest of the members stared in disbelief, they knew that Yixing was good but when she danced with Kai she was a different person. The performance was flawless. From the back Sehun began to clap triggering everyone to join in. Taemin was beaming and he looked Kai in the eyes and they both silently nodded, knowing that they were going to win the competition with this dance.

After practice Jongin parted ways from the rest of the team and headed home, Kyungsoo had messaged him earlier that she wasn’t well and just wanted to go straight home after school. Jongin pulled out his phone and rang his girlfriend. “Hey Soo, how ya feeling?” Kyungsoo groaned through the phone and responded “I have a headache Nini. I think it’s getting worse.” Jongin could hear her pout and this made him chuckle from her adorableness. “Aw baby, do you want me to kiss it better for you?” She sniffled and whispered a “Yes” and Jongin knew that she was blushing on the other side of the phone causing him to coo. “OK well I’ll come over now then. Message me your address and I’ll bring some soup and DVDs.” There was a long pause before Kyungsoo replied “Uhhhh that’s really sweet Jongin but…but I- I- I think it might be contagious annnnnnnnnnd I don’t want you to catch it.” Jongin recognised the hesitation in her voice but was confused as to why she was so flustered. So he pressed further “But I thought it was just a headache.” There was another long pause before Kyungsoo answered “Yeah but it’s probably because I’m congested from having a cold.” She then coughed rather unconvincingly and continued “I don’t want you to get ill before your competition. Taemin would kill me. Sorry Nini, maybe next time. Besides you should rest. I bet dance practice was hard. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Jongin confusedly responded “OK then. See you tomorrow. Have a good rest baby.” “Night Nini” Kyungsoo answered and then hung up abruptly.

Jongin put his phone away and continued walking through the school grounds. He wondered why his Squishy had clammed up as soon as he offered to come to her house. It then dawned upon him that maybe she thought he wanted to go so that he could try to sleep with her. Sensing that there was a terrible misubderstanding he quickly whipped out his phone and messaged her.

To Squishy Soo:

Hey babe! I really only wanted to come by and make sure you were OK. I hope you don’t think I wanted to force you to do anything you don’t want to do. I would never do that…

Kyungsoo looked at her phone the moment she received the message. After reading it she was overwhelmed with love like for her wonderful boyfriend. At the same time she felt incredibly guilty, there was no way she could invite Jongin home. Her parents would kill her and she couldn’t jeopardise her plans just yet, although Jongin had already thrown a spanner into the works. She sighed and began typing a response:

To: Nini Bear:

I know you weren’t thinking about THAT. Don’t worry. I really am just tired and if I see you I will be too tired to give you enough attention. Please don’t be mad. We should have lunch tomorrow, just me and you J

Jongin read the message and smiled so wide that he thought his cheeks would break. He kissed the screen, grateful that his girlfriend wasn’t angry at him and quickly typed

To: Squishy Soo:

It’s a date ;). Feel better baby.

With that Kyungsoo sighed and closed her eyes to sleep. Her life was becoming more complicated the more she became involved with Jongin and while that scared her, she knew that she was falling hard for him. She fell asleep smiling, thinking about their date tomorrow.

Jongin carried on walking with a big grin plastered on his face. As he exited the school gates he saw Kris leaning against his motorcycle and begrudgingly approached him. Pouting he looked at his best friend and asked “What are you doing here?” Kris looked at him momentarily before wordlessly throwing keys at him. Jongin looked at the keys confusedly and then his eyes widened with recognition. Kris pointed a finger at him and said warningly “You scratch her and I will end you.” He then raised himself off the bike and handed the excited Jongin a helmet. Jongin quickly put it on and sat on the motorcycle rubbing his hands on the leather and the chrome handle bar. He loved this bike but Kris would never let him ride it as it was his pride and joy. He started the engine and gestured for Kris to get on. Kris complied and sat behind Jongin, placing his hands on his best friend’s shoulders. Jongin sped off down the road and onto the highway. They drove for nearly 2 hours before stopping by a Cliffside.

As they removed their helmets, Kris asked hesitantly “So am I forgiven?” to which Jongin just leaned over and hugged him. They hugged each other tightly for a bit longer than a standard bro hug but Kris allowed it sensing that his friend really missed him. As they separated, Kris ruffled Jongin’s hair who replied with a big smile. “Thanks Bro. That was so much fun! Can I drive it back?” He looked at Kris expectantly with his big puppy eyes and Kris rolled his in return “Sure dufus. How about you drive it to my place and you can stay the night? Hey, we can have a bromber party (bro + slumber party = bromber party, Kris is so lame)!!!!” Jongin looked at him baffled at that poor joke but humoured his hyung because it meant that they could spend some time together. He played it cool and punched him on the arm “Sure….dufus.” They grinned at each other before sitting down on the grass. He really did have the best, best friend ever.

Jongin stared at Kris for a while before asking “So you and Yixing are getting pretty close? I mean you answered her call before mine. Do I need to be worried?” Kris guffawed “Don’t worry sweetheart. You are still my number one hoe.” They both laughed and Kris continued “But seriously man I wasn’t trying to ignore you. S**t just got real with the old man and I have to do a lot more company work. I just didn’t want to worry you. And Yixing is great. She really helps…just being with her helps. I can’t explain it.” He didn’t have to. Jongin could see the look of love and admiration in his best friend’s eyes and knew this was the real deal and he couldn’t be happier for Kris. “I also feel guilty towards her Jong. So I can’t ignore her.” Jongin looked at Kris confusedly before prying further “Guilty about what bro? You treat her so well and I know you haven’t cheated on her.” Kris sighed looking down and then back up at him. “Jong, I didn’t know how to tell you this but you’re my best friend and I can’t keep it a secret anymore….” He paused taking a deep breath before he continued “Bro I’m engaged to someone else.” Jongin stared at Kris in disbelief at what he had just heard. Kris was cheating on Yixing, his dance partner…and friend.

He glared at Kris ready to shout when Kris raised his hands in the air and continued “But it’s not what you think! Our parents decided it years ago, when we were just kids. I barely know her and I haven’t seen her in years. Just at random company gatherings but we barely talk. I love Yixing, I know it hasn’t been long but Jong…I know it. I love her and I don’t want anyone else.” Jongin calmed down, still reeling from his friends confession and took a minute to process the information. “So what are you going to do? Are you going to break off the engagement?” Kris looked at his feet and responded "It’s not that…simple Jongin. You wouldn’t understand.” Jongin was fuming at this point “What? Because I’m not rich like you, I can’t understand your upper class problems where you have to date two women at the same time.” Kris looked at Jongin and tried to deny it but he knew that he couldn’t. He had cheated on girls in the past but when he met Xing he changed. “Jongin listen, that’s not what I meant but I need her…for now. Just until the old man gives me the company and then after that we will break it off. She doesn’t want to marry me either. It will work out, don’t worry I won’t ever hurt Yixing. I just wanted to tell you because I don’t want there to be secrets between us. OK?” Jongin nodded reluctantly. Kris put him in a headlock and squeezed his head tightly until Jongin complained for Kris to let him go. Kris released his friend and they smiled at each other, although Jongin’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. But he decided to trust Kris, after all his hyung was always there to help him fix his problems. So undoubtedly he would find a way to fix this one as well, hopefully without Yixing getting hurt.