~~~

3:32 PM

(3:32 PM) Byun Baekhyun created the group 'KEWL SQUAD 2K17'

(3:33 PM) Byun Baekhyun added Kim Junmyeon, Kim Jongdae, Park Chanyeol, Oh Sehun and Kim Jongin to the group

(3:33 PM) Byun Baekhyun

HEY GUYS

(3:33 PM) Byun Baekhyun

(3:35 PM) Byun Baekhyun

GUYS???????????????

(3:36 PM) Byun Baekhyun

DAE I CAN SEE YOU READING THIS JSYK

(3:37 PM) Kim Jongdae

Damn it

(3:37 PM) Kim Jongdae

Hey

(3:38 PM) Byun Baekhyun

HIIIIIIIIII 😘😘😘😘

(3:39 PM) Kim Jongdae

Ew dont send me kissy faces

(3:40 PM) Kim Jongdae

And Im literally right next to you

(3:40 PM) Kim Jongdae

What do you want

(3:40 PM) Kim Jongdae

And whyd you add junmyeon and sehun and chanyeol and jongin???

(3:41 PM) Byun Baekhyun

Cause we're all friends here ❤

(3:41 PM) Byun Baekhyun

(3:42 PM) Kim Jongdae

Baek I worry about you sometimes

(3:43 PM) Park Chanyeol

Woah whats this

(3:43 PM) Park Chanyeol

Whats going on dafuq

(3:44 PM) Byun Baekhyun

HI CHANYEOL

(3:45 PM) Kim Jongdae

Dude what the heck is that

(3:46 PM) Park Chanyeol

HEY

(3:47 PM) Park Chanyeol

WHATS GOING ON TELL ME

(3:48 PM) Kim Jongdae

Idk Baek just created this group convo out of the blue

(3:48 PM) Kim Jongdae

And decided to name it 'KEWL SQUAD 2K17'

(3:49 PM) Kim Junmyeon

Nice name lmfao

(3:50 PM) Byun Baekhyun

HI JOONIE

(3:52 PM) Kim Jongdae

Damn it Baek stop being so weird

(3:53 PM) Kim Junmyeon

Hey 

(3:55 PM) Park Chanyeol

KSJDDJSKFFDJJHEGDJGHSJFJSJHRFJSDKFHREJGHREGHERJGHRJHGREJT

(3:55 PM) Park Chanyeol

WHAT THE F

(3:56 PM) Kim Junmyeon

Are you on crack again Yeol

(3:57 PM) Kim Jongdae

What the heck????

(3:57 PM) Kim Jongdae 

He probably is

(3:57 PM) Byun Baekhyun

THATS SO CUTE THANKS JOONIE <3333

(3:58 PM) Park Chanyeol

OH MY GOD MYEON IS THAT YOUR FIRST TIME USING A STICKER

(3:58 PM) Park Chanyeol

GO YOU

(4:00 PM) Kim Junmyeon

Shut the up you lowlife

(4:01 PM) Kim Jongdae

Don't you guys have practice atm?????

(4:03 PM) Park Chanyeol

On break ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

(4:03 PM) Park Chanyeol

(4:04 PM) Byun Baekhyun

WHERE'S JONGIN??????

(4:04 PM) Byun Baekhyun

JONGIN I CAN SEE YOU READING ALL THIS TOO JSYKKKKKK

(4:04 PM) Byun Baekhyun

When his phone buzzes for what feels like the three billionth time, Jongin sighs, promptly putting his search for an appropriate attire for tonight on hold before standing up, walking away from his closet and sitting down on his bed, on which his phone is lying.

(Just now) Kim Jongin

Im looking for my suit

Sighing, Jongin tosses his phone back on the bed before resuming his neverending search. If he remembers correctly, his navy blue, checkered suit jacket should be hanging somewhere in the bottomless pit that is his closet. He’s been looking for it since nine in the morning, ever since Sehun left his house a little less than three hours ago, and Jongin is honestly starting to contemplate getting a new suit because honestly, he’s at least 99% sure it won’t turn up no matter how much he turns his closet upside down, not to mention if he does end up finding it, it would be practically unwearable anyway, given that his closet is 50% clothes and 50% dumpster.

With another sigh, Jongin stands up and walks over to his bed, bending down and picking up the comic book he happened to drop yesterday while waiting for Sehun. More specifically, after the latter had stormed out of the bathroom and practically tackled the brunet on the bed without a warning, after which they spent the rest of the night (or that’s at least all Jongin remembers before waking up this morning) in each other’s arms. Jongin replays the memory in his head over and over as he puts the comic book on his desk.

Even though Jongin isn’t having any luck finding his suit jacket (or pants, for that matter), he isn’t feeling all that frustrated or stressed out (which he definitely should be, since he knows Jongdae and Baekhyun are in the midst of getting their suits tailored right this moment), and Jongin blames it on the fact that the scent of Sehun’s perfume is lingering in the air and following him everywhere he goes, with each step he takes, which isn’t a surprise, given that the brunet is wearing Sehun’s gray hoodie; a result of five minutes of begging by the brunet for the taller not to leave, to which Sehun eventually gave in and solved by offering Jongin his hoodie, something that practically made the latter jump for joy. Jongin unconsciously plays with one of the strings to the garment, which is a tad bit too big (not that he minds, at all), because as much as he’d rather have a piece of Sehun with him at all times while the latter is away, he won’t deny that it’s nothing compared to actually having Sehun here with him. Jongin has to keep his gaze fixated on his Biology textbook, which is and has been lying neglected on the floor since yesterday.

As he walks back to his closet and kneels down in front of it, Jongin hears his phone buzz with a call and he grabs it off the bed, trying to answer it whilst simultaneously rummaging through a pile of what he hopes is clean shirts, and since he’s focused on making sure his fingers aren’t grazing against some unidentified stain, he doesn’t look at the caller ID. “Hello?”

“Studying hard, I imagine?” Sehun says on the other end of the line, the wind blowing in the background, closely followed by the sound of slurping.

“Sehun,” Jongin exclaims excitedly, a little too excitedly, and he subsequently smacks himself in the face before promptly letting go of the shirt in his hand. “And uh, not really,” he says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck as he inspects the mess of garments strewn all across the room. “How’re you doing? Where are you?”

“Of course you aren’t,” Sehun chuckles. “It’s just that you sounded distracted, so I hoped for the best,” he adds and Jongin hears the sound of murmuring in the background. “I’m doing good, I guess, I’m on the bleachers with the rest of the guys, we’re on break. Hopefully you’re taking good care of my sweatshirt, by the way.”

Hands coming up to fidget with the strings again, Jongin nods, only to curse under his breath when he remembers Sehun can’t see it. “Don’t worry, it’s in good hands.” It’s true, though, because he’s been doing his absolute best to avoid getting it dirty or stained, which has been hard, but he’s managed, somehow. “I miss you,” he blurts out a few moments later and, for once, he’s awfully glad he didn’t say said words to Sehun in the flesh, because if he did, he knows for a fact that Sehun would for how red his face is. Damn it.

Sehun is silent for a minute and Jongin would be lying if he said he wasn’t internally panicking. “I miss you like hell, too,” he finally says in a different tone than usual. “Geez, you have no idea how much I’d rather be there with you than here,” he adds in an agonized tone which makes the brunet laugh a little. “Hey, since you don’t have any lessons, why not come over here? We could use some company.”

Jongin ponders it for a while before he bites his lip. “I’d love to, but-” He turns around and takes one look at the mess on the floor. “I’m kinda busy right now,” he says, his heart trembling a little at the words because truthfully, he’d put on his shoes and rush down to the field in a heartbeat if only it wasn’t for his godforsaken suit, which seems to have vanished without a trace. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, as long as you’re being productive,” Sehun says cheerfully, although he sounds rather disappointed. “Anyway, what’re you so caught up with, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I’m trying to find my suit jacket from like, three years ago,” Jongin mutters, running a hand through his hair. “Can’t find it anywhere, though, which ,” he adds with a huff. Picking up a random piece of clothing from the pile, he quickly tosses it aside with a disgusted yelp when he notices a strawberry Pop Tart stuck to the back. He doesn’t even want to know how it got there.

“You mean in your closet? Good freaking luck with that,” Sehun says before bursting into laughter. “Jeez, Myeon just gave me the evil eye. Anyway, that’s a shame, I’m sure you’ll find it in no time, though,” he adds encouragingly. “Although I take it that you’re excited, hm?”

Jongin smiles a little, although it quickly morphs into a grimace when he tosses another (dirty) shirt aside. “You bet! Although I’m not that keen on getting attacked by your fans if they find out who I am, but yeah,” he says sarcastically, shivering a little at the thought. The idea of being trapped in a bathroom cubicle with dozens of pissed off girls outside, ready and waiting to pounce on him and tear him apart for stealing Sehun from them makes his skin crawl. On the other end, Sehun is silent for a long time, to the point that the brunet questions if the connection has been broken. “Hello? Se-”

“We don’t have to go if you don’t feel comfortable with it,” Sehun says lowly, as if he doesn’t want Chanyeol or Junmyeon (or anybody else) to hear. “I mean, we could always do something else instead if you’re worried about-”

“No, I wanna do this,” Jongin blurts out, slapping a hand on his forehead in embarrassment seconds later. “I mean-” He clears his throat. “I was sorta kidding, like I said before, I doubt they’ll give a ,” he says, biting his lip, because you can never really be sure. “But what about you? You’re excited, aren’t you?”

Sehun chuckles. “Yeah, as a matter of fact, I am,” he says. “Seriously, it’s all Yeol has been babbling about for the past two hours, even on the field, and believe it or not, even Myeon seems pretty wound up about it. I mean, he hasn’t talked on and on about it, but he’s certainly intrigued by the whole thing, which is cool,” he adds. “Jesus, it’s so hot out. Anyway, I just overheard Yeol saying that you’ll get to pick and choose what songs you want the DJ to play, isn’t that cool?”

Jongin blinks before he lets out a chuckle. “Not ‘I Kissed A Girl’, I swear to ing God-”

“Come on, why not,” Sehun squawks as if Jongin just unveiled one of his deepest, darkest secrets. “It’s a good song! I bet you’ve never even listened to it,” he grumbles, the brunet chuckling a little. “Anyway, I doubt I’ll choose one, since my taste in music isn’t very broad, so to say, but yeah.”

“No, it’s just,” Jongin babbles, flailing his hands in all directions, “that song isn’t very...prom-y?” He shakes his head at his own foolishness and focuses on trying not to touch the strange, yellow stain on the checkered blouse he’s holding up in front of his face. “Anyway, you know what you’re gonna wear, right?”

“Yup, it’s all set,” Sehun laughs. “Can’t say the same for you, though, but hey, you’ll work it out,” he chuckles before the sound of a water bottle being opened is heard. “I mean, not to be cheesy as hell, but I couldn’t really care less about what music they play and what foods they serve, I just wanna be there with you.”

Jongin presses his lips together. As much as he appreciates Sehun trying to cheer him up, he’d be lying if he said his heart isn’t feeling like it’s dangerously close to shattering in longing, and he sort of wishes Sehun would cut it out. “Me too,” he says after a while, cursing under his breath when he finds himself grabbing the air, as if he’s searching for Sehun’s hand. “I mean hell, just letting you know, if they end up playing Katy ing Perry, I’m outta there in a heartbeat,” he adds, mainly to ease the pain in his chest.

“Then you can bet your that I’ll be forcing you to stay,” Sehun laughs. “Actually, speaking of which, I’m actually kinda glad you chose not to come, since Coach is forcing us to train until 5:30, which means you’d probably end up sleeping through most of it, anyway,” he says and cackles when Jongin emits an inhuman squawk. “I kid, I kid. But seriously, since we haven’t agreed on a method of transportation yet, which Yeol and Myeon are busy bickering about over here, I honestly don’t know if we’ll arrive together.” He sighs. “As in, all six or seven of us, not just me and you.”

With a contemplative sigh, Jongin furrows his eyebrows. “We’ll figure something out, don’t worry,” he says lowly. “Hey, if you think of something, could you write it in the group chat?” he adds, shoving the pile aside and crawling towards another, only to not find his suit jacket anywhere. Where is the damned thing.

Sehun emits a confused noise. “Group chat?”

“Yeah,” Jongin says, equally confused. “Baek made one like, twenty minutes ago, Chanyeol and Junmyeon already contributed to it,” he chuckles.

“So that’s what those two are busy doing on their phones,” Sehun mumbles before clearing his throat. “I haven’t checked my phone since break started, but I’ll take a look at it if I have time,” he says, only for his coach to blow his whistle less than three seconds later. “Damn it, I gotta go, but I’ll check it out soon, alright?” With a hurried, yet sincere, ‘Love you’, he hangs up.

Jongin listens to the dial tone for a minute before he puts his phone next to him, only for the group chat to appear on the screen, and he blinks in surprise when the words ‘20 Unread Messages’ greet him.

(4:14 PM) Byun Baekhyun

OUR SUITS ARE DONE!!!!!!!!

(4:16 PM) Kim Jongdae

The lady behind the counter was such a aha

(4:18 PM) Park Chanyeol

Can’t wait to see it on you tonight, Dae :*

(4:19 PM) Byun Baekhyun

GROSS

(4:19 PM) Byun Baekhyun

WTF

(4:20 PM) Byun Baekhyun

GET A ROOM

(4:20 PM) Byun Baekhyun

(4:21 PM) Kim Junmyeon

Yeol you’re such a nuthead it’s unreal

(4:22 PM) Kim Junmyeon

And why isn’t Sehun saying anything?

(4:23 PM) Park Chanyeol

Yeah lmao he’s literally six feet away on his phone

(4:23 PM) Park Chanyeol

Wonder who he’s talking to :))))))))

(4:23 PM) Park Chanyeol

(4:23 PM) Park Chanyeol

(4:23 PM) Byun Baekhyun

He’s talking to his princess, let him be guys jeez

(4:23 PM) Byun Baekhyun

(4:24 PM) Kim Jongdae

Lmao you should’ve seen how red Jongin turned when we called him Sehun’s princess last week it was A-MAY-ZING

(4:25 PM) Byun Baekhyun

He’s so smitten

(4:25 PM) Byun Baekhyun

It’s kinda cute tho

(4:26 PM) Byun Baekhyun

Like, normally, he looks pretty mature for his age (not), but whenever Sehun’s around he looks and acts like a sixth grader with a massive crush

(4:27 PM) Kim Jongdae

Dude, he DOES have a massive crush

(4:27 PM) Kim Jongdae

On you know who

(4:28 PM) Kim Junmyeon

I think it’s just the haircut

(Just now) Kim Jongin

Guys, I’m still here, you know

What’s wrong with my hair, for God’s sake? Jongin rolls his eyes and he’s about to turn his phone off and resume looking for his suit jacket (even though he knows he’s beating a dead horse at this point, since the contents of his closet are on the outside) when it buzzes again.

(4:30 PM) Byun Baekhyun

HI JONGIN WE MISSED YOU WHERE WERE YOU

(4:30 PM) Kim Jongin

What’s wrong with my hair?!?!?!?!?!!?

(4:31 PM) Kim Jongin

Nice cat sticker btw junmyeon

(4:31 PM) Kim Jongdae

Why aren't they writing anything??? T T

(4:31 PM) Kim Jongdae

(4:32 PM) Byun Baekhyun

YEOL AND JOONIE COME BACK HERE AND LOVE US

(4:32 PM) Byun Baekhyun

(4:33 PM) Kim Jongin

I just got off the phone with Sehun, their break just ended

(4:34 PM) Kim Jongdae

Aha ic

With a sigh, Jongin tosses his phone on the bed, figuring it’s basically useless now that Sehun’s back on the field, and he’s about to stand up and scream in frustration over not being able to find his suit jacket when he hears a knock on his door, nearly causing him to jump out of his own skin.

“Hey, I was looking for my ballet slippers in my wardrobe when I stumbled upon this,” Jungah says, peeking her head through the door, before holding up a clothes hanger, on which two very, very familiar pieces of clothing are hanging. “I think it’s yours, but it looks old as hell so I’m thinking about throwing it away-” she barely even gets a chance to utter another word before the brunet grabs it out of her hand. “Hey-”

“Thanks, I’ve been looking for this for goddamn ages,” Jongin says hurriedly, cradling his suit jacket, which looks the same as it did two years ago, thank God, in his arms like it’s a newborn baby. It’s not until Jungah sends him a funny look that it suddenly hits him that he hasn’t told her about this at all, and he swallows. “Uh. Right.”

Jungah raises an eyebrow. “Since when did you care about fanciness?”

“I’m uh...I’m.” Jongin scratches the back of his head, not knowing what to say, or how to say it. “I’m going to the senior prom with Sehun tonight.” When Jungah doesn’t say anything, he clears his throat awkwardly. “...Yeah.” Well then.

Jungah looks at him for a minute. “Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Jongin says dumbly, fidgeting with the hook. “Look, I know I should've told you earlier, and I know you don’t like him very much, but-”

“Go for it,” Jungah says, cutting Jongin off as she sends him a nod. “And what the hell, man, I used to hate him, but now-” She chuckles a little and cards her lean fingers through one of her pigtails and the brunet squawks. “Hey now, don’t get me wrong, I still ing hate him for what he did to you, but...yeah.”

Jongin blinks. Did his love for Katy frickin' Perry change your mind, or what? He’d honestly expected a two hour long lecture from her, or at least something like it, so to say that he’s surprised would be an understatement. He doesn’t know if she’s trying to guilt trip him into anything, so he decides to add to it just in case. “Yeah, okay, but like, I really think you should know that, uh, well, Sehun-” He clears his throat, unsure if he should tell her everything or simply water it down for simplicity’s sake. He chooses the latter. “He apologized,” he says firmly, still avoiding Jungah’s eyes. “It’s just- I just want you to give him another chance, that’s all.”

“Of course he did,” Jungah says in a tone Jongin doesn’t know if he should interpret as sarcastic or dead serious. “I mean, I sorta figured, you know, when he called you the love of his life and dragged you into his lap, anyone would’ve guessed,” she adds and pretends not to notice the blush spreading across the brunet’s face. “I mean , he went from treating you like the bubonic plague to the only guy in the world, that’s pretty impressive, isn’t it? For God’s sake, wipe that confused look off your face!”

Closing his mouth (and hoping he hasn’t drooled all over the floor), Jongin turns around and puts his suit jacket on the bed. It doesn’t look too dirty, maybe a little dusty, but he figures a few swipes with a clothes roller will do the trick. His pants look almost brand new, much to his relief, and he figures a simple pair of dress shoes will compliment the rest of his outfit quite well. At least that’s out of the way, he thinks before turning to face Jungah, ready to thank her a second time (and kindly ask her to vacate his room so he can clean up and get ready) when she speaks.

“When do you need to leave the house?” Jungah asks, checking her phone.

Jongin blinks. He’s pretty sure he’s overheard a group of people saying that the event is to commence at roughly 7 PM, and he hopes they’re right. “It starts at seven, so, I don’t know, six, I guess?” he mumbles, running a hand through his hair. “What are you even doing home? I thought you had early ballet.”

“Our instructor's sick,” Jungah says. “And well, it’s almost five now, so you’ve got plenty of time to get ready, and clean up,” she adds, gesturing at the mess of garments on the floor. “Seriously, is that a pizza box in there? Is there still pizza in it?” She cranes her neck to get a better view.

Standing in front of her, effectively blocking her view, Jongin rolls his eyes. “Nevermind that,” he mutters, figuring he’s got a lot more important things to deal with at the moment than pizza from God knows what year. “Look, either you help me clean up this mess or get out, you choose.”

“Wow, what an attitude.” Jungah shakes her head in disbelief before her eyebrows furrow. “Wait, how’ll you be getting there?” she asks and her eyes suddenly flash. “Oh wait, is Sehun coming to pick you up later? Oh my God, wait, picture him in his suit, holding a bouquet of roses while he walks up to the porch, isn’t that great?” She suddenly seems more excited than Jongin.

Jongin clears his throat because he can definitely picture that, and to say that the idea is enough to set fireworks off in every crevice of his body would be an understatement. As much as he wants it to happen, he honestly doubts it, mainly because Sehun simply doesn’t seem like the type to do something like that and also because it’s so cheesy (almost like it’s pulled straight out of a corny 90s romcom) he can’t help but find it a tad bit off-putting. “That’s...cool, I guess, and I actually don’t know, we haven’t decided on-”

“And is that his sweatshirt?” Jungah suddenly asks, her eyes widening as she points to the gray garment Jongin is wearing. “Jeez, don’t ever let this guy go,” she says dramatically. “Hey, wait a minute, ask them to play Katy Perry tonight, okay?”

With a surprised squawk, Jongin throws his hands in the air. “No way,” he exclaims a little louder than necessary before he walks over to his closet and begins shoving his clothes back inside, hoping Jungah will get the hint, which she obviously doesn’t.

“Want me to help you with your makeup later?” Jungah asks, skipping in the door, and grimacing when she sees the mess on the floor. “You slob,” she mutters before opening the bathroom door. “Hey, have you been using my hairspray?!”

“You just noticed?!” Jongin retorts, tossing a pair of socks in his closet. He honestly doesn’t know how Jungah hasn’t noticed considering the fact that he, at least according to Sehun, apparently reeks of strawberry shortcake everywhere he goes. “And what the ? Who said I was gonna wear makeup? What’s wrong with you?” He picks up a pair of shorts and carelessly tosses them into his closet.

From the bathroom, a clinking sound, presumably that of a can coming in contact with something solid, is heard. “I bet Sehun liked it last time I did your makeup, so who says he won’t this time?” she hums. “And next time, ask before you use my hairspray, alright? This things costs a ton, and jeez, I bought it last month and it’s nearly empty!” she squawks before storming out of the bathroom and grabbing Jongin’s hand without a warning, subsequently dragging him towards the bathroom.

As soon as his bottom hits the cold tiled floor, Jongin snatches his hand out of Jungah’s grip and quickly gets to his feet. The first thing that greets him is his own reflection and, if he’s going to be honest, he doesn’t look all that bad, maybe his hair is a tad bit messy, but other than that, he looks much more decent than he thought he would, and Jongin runs a quick hand through his locks in a meek attempt to fix them. When a sense of pain spreads through his rear end, he looks at Jungah and Jongin is just about to scold her when he spots her rummaging through her makeup bag and he exhales in agony. Oh, . "Jungah-"

"Do you prefer gold eyeshadow over silver?" Jungah asks, retrieving her eyeshadow palette from her bag. "Scratch that, do you think Sehun would prefer gold over silver?" She puts her eyebrow pencil, eyeliner, blush, bronzer, BB and CC cream and something else Jongin can’t identify on the sink before sending the latter a look. “Well? I mean, I think he’d flip for gold, but that’s just me.”

It takes Jongin a few moments to even bring himself to utter a word and, when he does, he only chokes out a barely audible ‘I don’t in’ know’ before he runs a hand through his hair in exasperation. All he can think of right now is how messy it got last time he wore shimmery eyeshadow and that’s something he’d much rather not experience again (come to think of it, he still thinks he can see some of the silver dust in the sink from two weeks ago). “Jungah, I’m not going to-”

“This is your shade, wear this,” Jungah cuts him off as she hands Jongin what the latter assumes is a foundation bottle, which he reluctantly accepts. “This is gonna take some time, so you might as well get comfortable,” she adds and it’s not until she retrieves a tube of lip gloss from her bag that Jongin takes a step back. “What’s the problem?”

“I’m not wearing that,” Jongin exclaims and he suddenly feels a lot like a five year old throwing a hissy fit (it’s not like he can blame himself, though). He fights the urge to simply drag her out of his room (and bathroom) so he can have some peace and quiet and get ready in silence, which apparently turns out to be too much to ask for when Jungah puts her hands on her hips in protest.

“First of all, it’s not pigmented, it’s clear,” Jungah retorts before turning around and pulling out a long, thin, pink-ish colored pencil. “And second of all, wear this instead, it’s tinted lip balm,” she adds, pointing to Jongin’s mouth. “Your lips are all chapped, Sehun isn’t gonna wanna kiss you looking like that,” she says as a matter-of-factly and Jongin mentally smacks himself when he subsequently nods in agreement. She runs the raspberry flavored stick across his lips and he smacks his lips together.

Realizing he has passed the point of escape, Jongin puts his hands up in defense (he honestly doesn’t know what made him give in; the fact that Jungah is staring at him like she’s going to kill him if he dares walk out or the fact that he clearly remembers Sehun telling him how ‘Gorgeous’ he looked in his silver eye makeup two weeks ago. He figures it’s most likely the latter). “Can I go get my phone, at least?” he asks, biting his lip. If he’s going to be stuck in here getting his face abused with only God knows what kind of chemicals for one and a half hours straight, he might as well occupy himself for a bit.

Jungah stares at him for a while. “I can’t have you looking down at your phone when I’m applying your eyeliner, you nuthead,” she chuckles before nodding a little. “Fine, fine, if that’s all that’ll keep you from falling asleep, then sure, but be back in two seconds or I’ll hide my hairspray from you so you’ll never be able to find it.”

Putting his hands up, Jongin mumbles a low ‘Okay’ before exiting the room and walking towards his bed. He picks up his phone before walking back to the bathroom at lightning speed (the idea of Jungah hiding her hairspray is enough to make him obey her anytime). However, it’s not until he scans his surroundings that he instantly regrets not bringing a chair or anything like it with him (save for his desk chair, which is far too wide to fit in the door) and he mentally braces himself for the hours upon hours of facial abuse as well as lecturing he’s subsequently going to have to endure, but on the other hand, as much as Jongin hates the idea of sitting (or in this case, standing) still for a long time while getting creams and powders slathered across his skin, he can’t help but feel mildly excited about it when he thinks about whether (or not) Sehun is going to compliment him in the same manner as before, and the thought alone is enough to make Jongin walk over to the sink. He’s careful to avoid bumping into the many, many products lining the edge of the sink as he slowly leans against it.

“I can’t believe Sehun actually asked you to prom,” Jungah says in astonishment as she unscrews the cap to a bottle with the word ‘Primer’ written on it. “Seriously, that was awfully bold of him,” she adds before proceeding to squeeze an appropriate amount of it onto her hand.

Jongin shrugs. “It wasn’t actually, uh, him,” he says sheepishly, nearly jumping out of his own skin when an ice cold, gel-like substance suddenly touches his face, and a shiver travels down his spine when Jungah subsequently, and quickly, spreads it across the left side of his face with her fingertips, which are surprisingly warm. “Jesus, not so much of this stuff, it smells like Grandma’s house!” he groans, waving his hand in front of his face as he tries to get rid of the flowery scent.

“It’ll help refine your pores and fine lines, so hold still,” Jungah mumbles, ignoring Jongin’s squawk of ‘My skin isn’t that bad!’ as she moves her fingers upwards until she’s working the product into the skin on his forehead. “You know, now that I think about it, prom is supposed to be super fancy, so gold eyeshadow will definitely do the trick,” she adds, putting more product on her finger. “Move your hair out of the way. Thank God it doesn’t need cleaning, by the way.”

Running a hand through his hair, and keeping it in place, Jongin squeezes his eyes shut during the entire process and doesn’t open them until he’s sure that Jungah is finished, which she is. His entire face feels surprisingly soft, a giant contrast to the uncomfortable, fiery hot sensation he thought he would be feeling afterwards, and he fights the urge to reach up and caress his cheeks, just for the fun of it (he decides not to, though, since Jungah would definitely kill him). Jongin checks the time on his phone and sighs when he realizes Sehun’s second break probably hasn’t begun yet, and he nearly jumps five feet in the air, nearly causing him to knock over the foundation bottle with his elbow when his phone suddenly rings in his hand.

Scrambling to turn his phone around in his hand, and press the ‘Answer’ button (while not checking the caller ID, as usual), Jongin makes sure he’s holding the phone on the right side of his face as to not interrupt the foundation application process taking place on his left. “Hello?”

“Heya,” Jongdae practically yells into the receiver, nearly making Jongin jump again. “Whatcha doing?”

“Why haven’t you been answering in the group chat?” Jongin hears Baekhyun’s voice say in the background. So they’re still with each other.

“Uh,” Jongin mumbles, scratching the back of his ear. The edge of the sink is seriously starting to hurt his back and he winces. “I’m a little tied up at the moment, but I’ll check it later, sorry. Why’re you calling?”

“Well, we just got our suits tailored and have ‘em with us right now, and we’re like, on the bus right now and like, one stop away from your house, so we figured we could come over and try ‘em on and show you what they look like in the process!” Jongdae says and now that Jongin thinks about it, the latter definitely hears the sound of an engine rumbling in the background and he wonders how on Earth he managed to miss it. “How about it?”

Jongin bites his lip. As much as he wants to say yes, he’d rather Baekhyun nor Jongdae didn’t walk in on his little session right now for multiple reasons, not to mention he knows how messy they can get, and the brunet figures his room is messy enough without Jongdae and Baekhyun stampeding through it like a hoard of hyperactive bison. “Um, I don’t think that’s a good i-”

“Who are you talking to?” Jungah asks before she motions for Jongin to turn his face so she can apply the foundation on the left side of his face. When he does, she pumps out some of the light brown product onto her hand. “It sounds like-”

“Nevermind that,” Jongin says lowly, not wanting Jungah to get any ideas. If it wasn’t for the fact that he isn’t really in a position to walk out of the room at the moment, he would do so in a heartbeat. “Why can’t you just-”

“Who’s that?” Jongdae asks before his tone changes drastically. “Oh my God, is that your sister?” he exclaims, closely followed by Baekhyun’s incoherent, excited babbling in the background. “We’re coming over!”

Pressing his lips together, Jongin curses his, Baekhyun and Jongdae’s entire existence before sighing. “Look, could you wait like, two ho-”

“Is it Jongdae and Baekhyun?” Jungah asks, sliding her fingertip down the bridge of Jongin’s nose before spreading it out at the tip. The brunet subsequently shakes his head, giving it away, though, and she beams before picking up the foundation bottle. “Come right over!” she says loud enough for Jongdae and Baekhyun to hear, ignoring the brunet’s protests.

“Great!” Jongdae says, even louder this time, presumably so Jungah will hear. “Man, it’s so cool to finally see her again,” he adds, promptly reminding Jongin about the fact that Baekhyun and Jongdae have only met Jungah once when the three of them were in the eighth grade. “We’ll be there in two!” he yells before he hangs up.

. Jongin puts his phone by the sink and pouts a little. The foundation, which smells like vanilla, feels awfully lightweight on his face, thank God, and he watches (or rather, feels) as Jungah blends it into his jawline before applying some onto his neck. “So uh, yeah, you heard,” he mumbles.

“Yeah! Jeez, I wonder if they’ve changed since they were here last, this feels so cool,” Jungah babbles as she puts the lid to the foundation bottle back on and puts it back in her makeup bag. “Are they still as bumbly and clumsy as before?” she laughs, picking up an elongated tube labeled ‘Concealer’ and when she brings it to the brunet’s eyes, the latter subconsciously leans away. “It’s for your under eyes, not your eyeballs, calm down.”

With a small shiver of discomfort, Jongin tries his best to stand still as he feels the cold liquid being spread across the area underneath his eyes (in his defense, the wand was awfully long and thin and looked perfect for stabbing someone eyeballs out). “Definitely, if not worse,” he mutters, mentally cursing because he really doesn’t want Jongdae or Baekhyun to walk in on this, not right now. “Jungah, this smells freaking weird, get it away from my face!”

“Just a little more,” Jungah mutters after blending the product into the brunet’s skin. “Jesus, your eye bags are awful, Sehun should come over more often and put an end to this weird sleep deprivation of yours.” She dots a bit of the product across Jongin’s face before blending it and putting the tube back in her bag. “When did Jongdae and Baekhyun say they were co-” Her sentence is abruptly cut short by the sound of the doorbell ringing downstairs. With an excited squee, she grins and gestures at Jongin’s phone. “I still need to blend it, so text them to come in since the door’s unlocked.”

Fighting the urge to scream, Jongin sighs before picking up his phone and texting Jongdae to ‘Come on in’, and he doesn’t even know if he should feel surprised when the door opens less than a fraction of a second later, closely followed by it slamming shut, and Jongin closes his eyes in exasperation (seriously, Jongdae and Baekhyun are barely even inside the house and he’s already feeling exhausted) when he hears the sound of the two rushing up the stairs, although it sounds more like a herd of drunk buffalo. Damn fu-

“Hi!” Jongdae exclaims as he enters the bathroom, only to let out a cough when the smell of at least 20 different products hit him. “Jeez, what is this, a meth lab? Jongin, you been doing drugs lately? My, oh my,” he mutters, waving a hand in front of his face. It’s not until he looks up and takes in the sight before him that a grin spreads across his entire face. “Baek, look at this!”

“Hang on, I gotta put my suit away,” Baekhyun hollers before he’s inside the bathroom less than one second later, and he slaps a hand over his mouth. “Jesus Christ-” He cuts himself off and lets out a squawk when he sees Jungah and he nearly tackles her to the floor when he envelopes her in a bone crushing hug. “How’re ya doing? Gee, it’s been what, three years? You’ve grown so tall!” he says all at once and Jongin comes awfully close to prying him off of her.

Jungah pats Baekhyun on the back and runs a hand through his bright red locks after he lets go. “Your hair’s redder than I remember,” she chuckles before walking over and giving Jongdae a hug as well. “Anyway, as you can see, we’re in the middle of getting Jongin ready for tonight,” she adds, gesturing at Jongin, who nods dumbly. “What’re you guys doing here, by the way?”

“We came to try on our suits,” Jongdae says before his eyes flash. “But hey, now that we’re here--” He looks at Baekhyun, who only nods in agreement.

Jongin blinks before his eyes widen. “You are not getting your frickin’ makeup done here, I swear to God.”

“Hey, come on, that’s unfair, we also have men we need to impress,” Baekhyun retorts in false hurt, nearly making Jongdae choke on his own spit laughing. “No seriously, if you can make yourself look extra good for prom, so can we, it’s only fair, right?” he adds, turning to face Jungah and sending her a hopeful look.

Jungah chuckles a little before she nods and Jongin nearly cries. “Sure, I guess, I mean-” She takes one look at her makeup bag and then at her products. “I should have enough product for the three of you.” She sends Jongdae and Baekhyun a thumbs up before she raises an eyebrow. “And what do you mean by...wait, are you, do you-”

“What, you think Jongin’s the only one around here who can get himself a man?” Jongdae tuts and Jongin doesn’t know if he should take it as a compliment or an insult. “Puh-lease. Anyway, so that’s a yes?” He sends her his trademark feline smile.

“Of course, it’s actually a good thing you came so early, since I'll get to practice my makeup skills,” Jungah says before she retrieves a brush from her bag and some compact powder. “Lemme just finish doing Jongin’s before I get to you, okay?” she chuckles before pressing the tip of the brush into the powder and bringing it to the brunet’s face. “Stop leaning away so much, Jongin, jeez!”

Jongin huffs before regaining his composure. He suddenly feels awfully restless and he doesn’t know if it’s because he hasn’t moved an inch in twenty minutes or because Baekhyun and Jongdae are gawking at him like a zoo animal. He opens his mouth to tell them to occupy themselves with something else while they wait for Jungah to finish, because the bathroom is awfully small, and the last thing Jongin wants is for something to fly off the shelves and shatter into a million pieces (which is bound to happen and which has happened thanks to the two), but he doesn’t get a chance to when he feels the bristles of the brush tickle the inside of his mouth, making him sputter and cough. “.”

“You know what they say, beauty hurts,” Jongdae chuckles before he watches Jungah move the brush in circular motions across Jongin’s whole face. “And don’t worry, dude, you look awfully good,” he adds, shooting Jongin a thumbs up when the latter sends him a look of ‘The hell are you staring at?’. “Gee, I wish I had a sister as cool as yours,” he grumbles.

Baekhyun nods, clearly impressed. “Sehun’s gonna flip when he sees you tonight, just saying,” he says, at which Jongdae nods in agreement. “Hey, who knows, maybe you’ll end up getting some, as well?” he adds and bursts into a series of loud guffaws when Jongin pales to the point where it’s visible underneath the makeup. “It’s true, though! It’s true!”

If Jongin wasn’t in the midst of getting his face attacked by a brush right now, he wouldn’t even hesitate before walking right over and socking Baekhyun in the jaw (in a friendly manner, of course) and the urge to do so only grows when Jungah chuckles a little, and it’s times like this that Jongin is ultimately reminded of the fact that Jungah is more than four years younger than both Jongdae and Baekhyun, which anybody would doubt if they were to walk in on them right now. Given the situation, Jongin can only clench his jaw in irritation and regret even picking up the phone to begin with.

“Jeez, your face is red,” Baekhyun cackles, poking Jongin’s face, only removing his finger after Jungah tells him not to do so since it could ruin the makeup. “You can’t blame me for stating facts, can you?”

“She’s fourteen,” Jongin exclaims, fighting the urge to drag a hand down his face. He seriously hopes getting his face abused with chemicals will be worth it in the end, especially given Jongade’s stares. “Sheesh, can’t you go do something else while we-”

“Hey, to save time, we could do our own makeup,” Jongdae suggests before turning to face Jungah. “Any suggestions?”

Jungah furrows her eyebrows. “Take this,” she says, picking up the same foundation bottle she used for Jongin and handing it to Jongdae. “I’ve only got one, so you need to share it, and please don’t empty it all out since I need some for myself,” she chuckles before putting a hand in the air when Jongdae and Baekhyun turn to leave. “Hold on, I want you to do it in here so I can see, especially since I don’t trust you with the eyeshadow,” she adds and both she and Jongin emit a string of chuckles when both Jongdae and Baekhyun go silent.

Jongdae looks at Baekhyun before looking back at Jungah. “Wait, what?” He scratches the back of his head.

Meet my sister, Jongin thinks before nodding. “She’s an eyeshadow expert, you can’t escape her grasp now that you’re in it,” he laughs and instantly thanks himself for choosing to pick up the phone since seeing Jongdae and Baekhyun in gold or silver eyeshadow is definitely a sight he wouldn’t want to miss for the world. Ever. Jesus Christ, what a show that’ll be.

“A touch of shimmery eyeshadow always completes a look,” Jungah says as a matter-of-factly before resuming dusting Jongin’s face with powder before putting the brush away. “Hey, by the way, who are these men of yours?” she asks before picking up a liquid eyeliner.

“Mine’s Chanyeol,” Jongdae says, watching and trying not to laugh at how much Jongin is fighting the urge to squirm as Jungah traces the outer parts and corners of his eye. “Why do you-”

“What’s he like?” Jungah asks, not taking her eyes off Jongin’s face as she concentrates on not smudging the product everywhere. On a side note, the brunet has to applaud her for how steady her hands are, which in turn saves him from crying black tears later on.

Jongdae puts two fingers under his chin, apparently deep in thought. “He’s the gentle type, one time, he volunteered to sit and eat his lunch on the floor in the cafeteria ‘cause there wasn’t enough space for both of us on the chair,” he says and Jongin nearly laughs out loud. “Shut it, you imbecile. Anyway, he’s also really kind and funny and a bit of a fool,” he adds and beams. “Why do you ask, thou-” His sentence ends with a noise of surprise when Jungah waves a pot of gold eyeshadow in front of his face. “Um-”

“Then this is for you,” Jungah says confidently before putting the pot back on the sink. “And what about yours?” she asks, turning to face Baekhyun, and furrows her eyebrows when Jongdae and Jongin emit stifled laughs. “What?”

“Shut the up, guys,” Baekhyun groans before he beams at Jungah. “So, my man’s name is Junmyeon, although I call him Joonie for short, although he practically slaps my face off every time I use it, but I call him that every time I see him. He smokes way too much, wears a ton of leather and denim and like, his hair is like, super gelled and he’s really, really cool!” He nods, ignoring Jongin and Jongdae’s cackles from all around him.

“You also forgot to mention that he tends to blow smoke in people’s faces to wake them up,” adds Jongdae, shivering slightly at the memory.

“Not to mention he’s got a sailor’s mouth, as well,” Jongin interjects, blinking profusely when Jungah accidentally stabs his tear duct with the liner. “Ah, damn -”

Jungah picks up the pot with the silver eyeshadow and shows it to Baekhyun. “This’ll be your look for the night,” she simply says before turning her attention back to Jongin and moving on to the latter’s second eye. “Ever heard of the saying ‘Opposites attract’?” she hums absentmindedly when she spots Jongdae and Baekhyun’s confused gazes to her left.

Baekhyun blinks. “Yeah, but…”

“So like,” Jongdae starts, looking equally as confused as the redhead. “Wait. What?”

“Junmyeon’s a bad boy, so he secretly wants you to be bedazzled with a bunch of silver since silver is a color that radiates beauty and gentleness,” Jungah says with a pointed look at Baekhyun, who still looks like a question mark. “And Chanyeol’s a good guy, which means he secretly wants you to be covered in gold since, you know, gold is the color of sharpness, boldness, confidence and, of course, iness,” she hums, pointing to Jongdae, who blinks. “Opposites attract. See how simple that is?” She chuckles a little. “Close your eyes, Jongin.”

Before he closes his eyes, mentally preparing himself to be showered in gold eyeshadow (he won’t lie, after hearing Jungah’s description of said color he’s more than excited to try it out himself, not that he believes her words, but still), Jongin sends Baekhyun and Jongdae a look that can only be described as an ‘I dunno, it’s a girl thing, just nod your head and play along’ and he presses his lips together when darkness engulfs him. Suddenly feeling awfully vulnerable, he listens as Jungah removes the lid to the eyeshadow pot, and next to him, Jongin hears a grunting sound which only leads him to believe that Jongdae and Baekhyun are struggling to open the foundation bottle. Now that Jongin thinks about it, he seriously wishes he didn’t simply tell Jongdae and Baekhyun to do their makeup in the downstairs bathroom, because if this ends the way Jongin thinks it will, he’ll have a lot to clean up afterwards.

“Don’t worry, it’s cream, so you don’t need to worry about it getting in your eyes, which you basically cried about last time,” Jungah says absentmindedly, ignoring Jongdae’s loud, triumphant noise to her left after the latter successfully manages to remove the lid (again, Jongin applauds Jungah’s steady hands because if their roles were reversed, he would have flinched so hard he would have stabbed her in the eyeball with the eyeshadow wand). “What’s the time, by the way?” she asks without tearing her eyes off the brunet’s face.

“Man, you’re looking sharp, Jongin, Sehun’s balls are gonna fall clean off when he lays his eyes on you,” Baekhyun says in awe before emitting a cat-like sound, closely followed by him pawing at the air with his hand and if Jongin didn’t have his eyes closed and was able to move, he would have launched the redhead all the way to the moon. “And it’s twenty past five,” he adds after checking his phone.

Jongdae eyes the foundation bottle in his hands like it’s an alien from outer space. “I guess I’ll start,” he says, handing the bottle to Baekhyun, who graciously accepts it. “Don’t get any of it in my eyes or mouth or I’ll kill you,” he adds before brushing his hair out of the way. “I swear, if you this up I’ll tell Junmyeon, just saying.”

“You won’t need to tell him, he’ll see it for himself,” Jongin chuckles, trying his best to sit still, which is awfully difficult considering the fact that he hasn’t moved so much as an inch since he got his face slathered with foundation earlier, and he’s honestly starting to feel a little restless (on the other hand, he won’t deny that the feeling of Jungah’s circular motions with her fingertip against his eyelid is strangely relaxing). He nearly jumps (which he’s awfully glad he doesn’t do) when his phone rings by the sink and he curses under his breath when his hand blindly searches for it with no success.

“You should probably get that,” Jungah says, gently tapping her finger against Jongin’s eyelid. “Hang on, I’ll stop.” She’s about to take a step back and tell Jongin to open his eyes when all of a sudden, Jongdae swoops in and grabs Jongin’s phone without a warning. “That works too, I guess.”

Jongdae puts the phone by his ear, ignoring Jongin’s deadly glare. “Hello, Mr. Kim?” he says boldly, only for his features to morph into a look of pure mischief a second later. “Oh, well hello there, Sehun, how are you this fine evening? You ready for the big night?” He dips one of his fingers into the foundation bottle and proceeds to spread it across Baekhyun’s cheek, ignoring the brunet’s whine of protest. “Oh, he’s right here, but he can’t talk to you right now, I’m afraid, or else he’ll up his eyeliner and his sister will kill him, so you’ll have the privilege of talking to your good old friend Jongdae for now,” he hums, blending the product into Baekhyun’s skin with so much force that the latter nearly loses his balance.

“Give it to me,” Jongin hisses, trying to grab his phone without moving out of place, praying he doesn’t whack Jungah in the process, to no avail and he clenches his jaw whilst he listens to Jongdae rant on and on about how much he thinks Sehun would ‘Love to see his baby Jongin all dolled up’ just for him. However, before he knows it, Jungah is finished with his second eye and he mutters a quick thanks under his breath before opening his eyes and snatching his phone out of Jongdae’s hand. “Thanks, I’ll be outside,” he mumbles before exiting the bathroom.

Listening to Jongdae and Baekhyun bicker about who Jungah should ‘Doll up’ first, Jongin exhales, trying to recollect his thoughts before he sits down on his bed. On the other end of the line, he hears mumbling and the sound of wind and he hopes Sehun is still there. “Hello?”

“Well well, if it isn’t the one and only,” Sehun laughs and it’s not until Baekhyun’s cry of ‘You got it in my eye!’ rings through the air that he clears his throat. “Uh, any point in asking what the hell’s going on?”

We’re getting 'Dolled up', that’s what. “Uh, we’re uh, playing a video game,” he mutters, contemplating if he should go inside and help Jungah out when he hears the sound of a bottle smashing against the floor. Jesus.

“You are?” Sehun asks, clearly confused. “But Jongdae just said-”

“You know how he is,” Jongin blurts out before running a hand through his hair. He gently pats his face and blinks when he feels how soft and plump it is, nearly like a baby’s skin. Now that he thinks about it, his eyelids feel a little sticky, but he figures that as long as he doesn’t end up with gold dust all over his face later tonight, it should be fine. He crosses his legs and fidgets with the string on Sehun’s hoodie, and it’s not until he does so that he realizes that he’s been wearing it this whole time, which in turn makes him exhale in relief upon seeing that he somehow, miraculously, managed to keep it clean (he doesn’t know what Sehun would do to him if he returned it with foundation and concealer stains, as well as shimmery eyeshadow, all over it, but something tells Jongin he doesn’t want to know).

“I suppose,” is all Sehun says before he lets out a relaxed hum and Jongin assumes he’s sitting on the bleachers with his face pointed up at the sun. “God, I can’t wait to see you soon, you have no idea how many messages I’ve deleted these past few hours, good God,” he adds sheepishly. “And you know, I’m kinda glad I don’t have any lessons today since I’m at least a hundred percent sure I’d end up getting killed, I’m not even kidding.”

Jongin chuckles. “I can imagine.” Gaze fixated on the upside down Batman comic lying on his desk, he sighs a little bit, a longing feeling settling in his chest. He checks his watch and bites his lip when he, after some quick math, deduces that there’s more than an hour left until he, Baekhyun and Jongdae are supposed to leave the house (if the former end up staying, that is, which the brunet low key hopes they don’t for obvious reasons). “And God, don’t say things like that, you’ll- Wait, hang on--” He briefly looks up and puts one finger over the speaker after he hears Baekhyun exclaim something along the lines of ‘Argh, you got it in my eyes, sinister fiend!’. “Is everything okay in there?!”

“Everything’s fine,” Jungah hollers even though her tone says otherwise (now that Jongin thinks about it, he wonders which one of them will make it out of the bathroom alive and in one piece afterwards, and he figures it definitely won’t be either Jongdae or Baekhyun).

It’s not until Jungah’s exclaim of ‘Jongdae, stop moving so much, sit still, for God’s sake!’ fills the air that Jongin mentally curses and puts the phone by his ear again. “Anyway,” he mumbles, not even bothering to conceal the irritation in his voice. “You’re done now, right?” He feels his chest coil in happiness when Sehun emits a relaxed ‘M-hmm’. “But why don’t I hear any walking in the background? Where are you?”

“On the bleachers,” Sehun says, seemingly still enjoying the sun. “Come on, dude, you can’t just sprint to the changing rooms right after wrapping things up, there’s a little something called a cool down, I expected you of all people to know that,” he tuts when Jongin whines impatiently. “Calm down, Princess, I’ll go change in a minute, I’m just waiting for Myeon to finish his cigarette,” he adds absentmindedly and he laughs a little when Jongin groans.

“You really need to tell him to stop,” Jongin mutters under his breath. “Seriously, that isn’t good for him.” He shakes his head in disbelief and blinks when he realizes that the bathroom is surprisingly silent, and he inwardly screams. “Hey, what’ll you be wearing, by the way?” he asks, fiddling with the string on the garment.

Sehun chuckles. “Black suit, ‘cause I’m fancy like that,” he says sassily before his voice sounds contemplative. “What do you think; tie or bowtie?”

Jongin swallows. He’s seen Sehun in casual clothing, he’s seen Sehun in his football gear, he’s seen Sehun shirtless (which he thought couldn’t be topped), but not once has he seen Sehun in a suit and, being a fan of all things elegant and formal (regardless of what Jungah might say), to say that the mental image that pops up in Jongin’s head causes his gut to do a complete 360 degree turn-a-round would be an enormous understatement. In fact, Jongin doesn’t even realize he’s been zoning out until Sehun says his name for the sixth time, and he promptly snaps out of his trance before smacking his lips together in fear of them possibly having dried out during his...distraction.

“Sorry, uh,” Jongin says dumbly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Um, I’d say tie,” he mutters. He can picture Sehun in a black suit with matching shoes, a white dress shirt and a black tie draped around his neck and the thought makes his heart race in anticipation. He almost wishes he could make the time go faster just to get to experience it sooner. In the background, he hears snickering and he furrows his eyebrows. “What’s going on back there?”

“Oh, nothing,” Sehun laughs after a moment. “Yeol and Myeon are busy making a list to send to the DJ later, you know, with all the songs they’ve requested. And , there’s a lot of ‘em,” he says before his voice turns smug. “And yes, before you ask, my baby’s on there.”

Jongin emits an inhuman screech. “Not Katy Perry!” he hollers, causing Sehun to burst into a fit of laughter. “Damn it, Sehun, I hate you,” he mumbles under his breath before flopping down on his back and staring up at the star stickers on the ceiling. “Man, why do only seniors get to choose the music, it’s not fair, I’d totally pick something way cooler than frickin’ Perry,” he adds, running a hand through his hair, careful to avoid smudging his makeup.

“Hey now,” Sehun says sternly. “Yeol picked ‘Barbie Girl’, so it’s safe to say I’m not the worst one.” He laughs a little. “Anyway, would my darling be so kind to give me a brief description of his attire for tonight?”

Jongin blinks before he sighs. “So cheesy, Sehun, God,” he groans before he turns his head to look at his suit jacket and pants, which are still lying in the same place on the bed a few feet away. “And uh, this checkered, navy blue suit with um, black pants and black shoes and...yeah, that’s it,” he says dumbly. “I swear, it’s not as weird as it sounds-”

“Can’t wait to see it later,” Sehun says calmly, but his voice is practically dripping with eagerness. “And come on, you know for a fact that I’d love you to bits even if you were to show up wearing a fedora and a pink feather boa,” he adds, definitely not causing Jongin to blush to the point that the latter has to walk over to the window and pull it open to prevent his face from exploding from the heat that spreads across his cheeks. “Man, I’m actually really pumped for this now, believe it or not!”

“But how will we get there?” Jongin asks, suddenly feeling a little bad about disregarding Sehun’s compliment (although Jongin uses that term very loosely), but he doesn’t get a chance to feel bad for much longer when the latter speaks up.

“We’ll think of something, don’t worry,” Sehun simply says. “And since I’ve got less than two hours to change, go home and get ready it’s safe to say I should probably hang up now,” he adds with a chuckle and, now that Jongin thinks about it, he seriously wonders how (and if) on Earth he’s going to have time to do all that in such a short amount of time. “So I’ll see you later, hm?”

Jongin nods a little, tugging on the string in his hand (it sort of pains him to know he has to take off Sehun’s hoodie in a few minutes). “Yeah, you better hurry your up,” he chuckles, trying not to sound too much like a puppy missing its owner before he hangs up.

When he stands up, Jongin stretches his long limbs and turns to face the bathroom door, and a feeling of dread washes over him when he realizes that he hasn’t heard a single peep from either Jongdae, Baekhyun and, even worse, Jungah, in what must be five minutes and he contemplates calling the police to report a double infanticide when the door handle suddenly moves, and Jongin bites the inside of his cheek. He fully braces himself for the absolute disaster that momentarily awaits him, only for his words to die in his throat when Baekhyun and Jongdae suddenly step out.

To say that Jongin had expected Jongdae and Baekhyun to look downright awful would be an understatement (in fact, the brunet briefly worried that they would end up looking so terrible that Jungah would have to reapply their makeup and thus cause them to run late), Jongin had expected to see a few scratch marks, bruises and maybe even broken bones as a result of being crammed in a small bathroom for thirty minutes straight, so to say that he’s shocked when he looks up and lays his eyes on a set of perfectly contoured faces (Jongin didn’t even know Jongdae’s cheekbones were that high until now), flawlessly lined eyes with no smudges whatsoever as well as two pairs of eyelids sporting a heavy tone of gold and silver that nearly makes them glow instead, would be an understatement. In fact, it takes Jongin two whole minutes to realize he’s been gawking at Baekhyun and Jongdae, something he thought he’d never do in his life, and when he does, he clears his throat and averts his gaze. On that note, he seriously admires Jungah for not only her makeup skills, which seem to have turned his best friends into a pair of ethereal looking fairies, but for being able to handle taking care of two bumbling idiots for such a long period of time without strangling them after ten minutes (Jongin seriously wonders how she did it).

Now knowing what to say, Jongin bites his lip before nodding slowly. “You look really good,” is all he manages to say, because he’d rather not break out into a ten minute rant about how beautiful and gorgeous he thinks Baekhyun and Jongdae look. Next to the latter, Jungah chuckles a little.

“Same to you, hot stuff,” Baekhyun says with a wink in Jongin’s direction as he eyes the latter from head to toe (even though none of them have even gotten to the stage of actually putting their suits on). The thick, black line around his eyes frames them perfectly and Jongin can’t help but stare in awe. “And what does that say?” he asks, squinting and leaning in to get a better look at Jongin’s shirt.

“It says ‘STARDIUM’,” Jongin says lowly, pointing to the print on his chest. Not wanting to elaborate any further, he clears his throat before gesturing to his suit, which is lying on the bed, as well as what he assumes to be Baekhyun and Jongdae’s suits, which are spread out across the floor. He doesn’t see any ties or bowties anywhere and exhales in relief. At least I’m not the only one who doesn’t want to wear anything around my neck. “Jesus, this is gonna take a while,” he mutters (especially since he knows how slowy and messy Jongdae and Baekhyun can be sometimes, no, all the time).

Jungah laughs before she puts her hands on her hips and points to Baekhyun and Jongdae. “Just so you know, they sat perfectly still the whole time,” she says with a bright smile, ignoring the redhead’s groan. “Like two little lambs,” she coos, reaching up and pinching Jongdae’s cheek, much to the latter’s distaste.

“That’s only because you threatened to shove the concealer brush up our asses if we didn’t,” Jongdae deadpans.

“And drown us in the shower,” adds Baekhyun, shivering a little.

“Because you ‘accidentally’ dropped and broke one of my eyebrow palettes,” Jungah retorts, shaking her head in disbelief, making Jongin giggle. “Anyway, since it’s-” She retrieves her phone from her pocket. “-Quarter to six, I’ll help you put your on. Don’t want to keep your men waiting outside the house.” She jumps a little when Baekhyun and Jongdae suddenly stand up and emit triumphant noises.

Jongin scratches the back of his head. “We haven’t decided on how we’ll get t-” His sentence ends with a shriek of surprise when Baekhyun suddenly fist pumps the air along with a loud ‘Wohoo!’. “Jesus Christ-”

“Look at this!” Baekhyun exclaims, practically shoving his phone in Jongdae’s face before doing the same thing to Jongin, who has to lean away slightly at the close proximity.

(5:42 PM) Park Chanyeol

IT’S SETTLED!!!! YIFAN’S DRIVING US!!!!!!!!!!! WHOOOOOOOO  🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

(5:42 PM) Park Chanyeol

(5:42 PM) Park Chanyeol

(5:42 PM) Park Chanyeol

(5:42 PM) Park Chanyeol

(5:42 PM) Park Chanyeol

That's gonna be us later

(5:43 PM) Kim Junmyeon

Remember, be nice to him or else he might very well crash us into the nearest ditch

(5:44 PM) Kim Junmyeon

Jesus , it took goddamn forever to convince him

Jongin nods slowly. He honestly doesn’t know how to feel about Yifan driving them to prom, since it honestly feels a little strange, but if he’s going to be honest, he’s more than willing to accept it if that’s the only option they’ve got. Not to mention he’d always thought getting Yifan to say yes was a distant dream and they might as well forget about it, and Jongin is about to open his mouth and say something when his own phone suddenly buzzes and he scrambles to retrieve it.

(Just now) Oh Sehun

I just finished talking to Yifan and with the help from Myeon and Yeol we finally managed to convince him to drive us there! We’ll be at your place soon, can’t wait to see you ❤

Typing out a quick ‘Great!! See you soon ❤❤’, Jongin quickly tosses his phone onto the bed and presses his lips together as he tries to block out the sounds of Baekhyun and Jongdae’s cheering in front of him, as if it was thanks to them that Yifan finally caved in. “We should probably start trying them on now since Yifan will be here in a little less than an hour, so we should be 100% ready to go by then, since I’m assuming he’s stopping by right outside,” he says, eyes trailing over Jongdae and Baekhyun’s suits. He barely gets the chance to say something else when Baekhyun and Jongdae simultaneously exclaim something along the lines of ‘Roger that’ before they both rush towards their suits.

6:49 PM

“Dae, is my suit too tight?”

“Baek, for the hundredth time, it looks fine!”

“No seriously, take a look, or wait, is it too baggy? I think it’s too baggy, damn it, did they it up-”

“It looks fine, you pinhead! Jesus Christ, it smells like a strawberry bomb went off in here!”

“Jungah, this eyeliner’s waterproof, isn’t it? You know, in case I get too emotional tonight and start bawling my eyes out.”

“Yes, Baekhyun, it’s waterproof.”

“Why would you cry?! It’s not like Junmyeon’s gonna get down on one knee and propose in the middle of the dance floor, you know.”

“Shut up, Dae, you never know!”

Jongin sighs as he runs his hair through his hair for the nth time in the past twenty minutes (the strands are a bit course as a result of him spraying them to oblivion). He had no idea fixing his hair would end up taking fifteen minutes and he’s already made a mental note to stop by a store tomorrow and pick up a new can of strawberry scented hairspray since he used up Jungah’s in less than ten minutes, much to her dismay, and no matter how much he cards his hair through it, it always ends up looking like a matted mess atop of his head, and Jongin sighs in defeat before walking into the bathroom, standing in front of the mirror and admiring his reflection.

He doesn’t look all that bad considering the fact that his suit jacket is considerably old and doesn’t match the rest of his outfit; it sits snugly over his shoulders and is neither too long nor too short, his undershirt isn’t too tight or loose and as he fixes his cuffs, Jongin gets a whiff of his own hair which really does reek of strawberry shortcake, but he doesn’t care how much Jongdae hates it as long as Sehun likes it, which Jongin knows the former does and will. The only downside to his outfit would be his pants, which are a tad bit too tight, almost to the point that he can barely take a large step forward without worrying about his pants ripping down his thigh (at least Jongin figures he’ll have an excuse not to get down on the floor later tonight). In all honesty, if it were socially acceptable to wear suits every day, Jongin would definitely do so because he’s never realized how much a navy blue suit jacket and black suit, combined with his dark brown hair, accentuate his jawline and bring out the color of his eyes. All in all, he’s forgotten how good he actually looks in a suit and how comfortable he feels in one, as well.

On the shelf to his right, Jongin spots Jungah’s brush and he picks it up before running it through his chestnut locks in a meek attempt to set them straight. Surprisingly enough, it works, and after a few minutes, he ends up giving himself a fancy looking quiff and Jongin hurries to spray his hair with the little product still left in the can to get the style to sit before putting the can back on the shelf (why he doesn’t throw it in the trash can he honestly doesn’t know, but he blames it on the fact that his nerves are starting to buzz a little). As he runs his hair through his hair carefully, Jongin figures that if Sehun’s fangirls are going to kill him tonight, he might as well go out in style.

Jungah was definitely right about the eyeliner being waterproof, because, a few times, Jongin somehow ended up spraying himself in the face with the hairspray, after which the eyeliner didn’t even run, much to his relief (and pain), as well as his eyeshadow, which has stayed perfectly intact since Jungah first applied it onto his eyelids. Jongin gently pats his face and, upon closer inspection, he sees that his foundation hasn’t started to oxidize either, which he most certainly hopes it won’t do considering the fact that, if his assumptions are correct about places with large dance floors, neon lights and a ton of people getting awfully hot after a (short) while, the last thing he wants is to end up looking like a sweating train wreck. Jongin figures that would definitely send Sehun running off in the opposite direction.

With a slow exhale, Jongin checks his phone. They’ve got a little less than fifteen minutes before Yifan is to arrive and Jongin bites the inside of his cheek. He’s seen a ton of crappy high school movies in his life in which there a few prom scenes, which always turn out to be cliché and awful, but it’s honestly the closest thing Jongin has come to knowing anything about prom in general, and he hopes it’s nothing like the movies, no matter how romantic the movies make it seem to be. Even if he’s got plenty of assumptions, Jongin simply decides to see how it all unfolds because he’s both awfully excited and downright terrified, and Baekhyun and Jongdae’s panicked bickering about their makeup and how tight and weird their suits (don’t) look (and if Chanyeol and or Junmyeon might find it off-putting for whatever reasons) definitely isn’t helping matters.

“Isn’t this weird,” Jongdae hums absentmindedly as he sits on Jongin’s bed, even though the latter didn’t say he could. “That like...I mean...a little more than two weeks ago, we barely even knew their names, and now-” He cuts himself off with a low chuckle as he shakes his head in astonishment. “It’s just...Jesus.”

Jongin bites his lip. You have no goddamn idea. “Yeah.”

“If I’d known Joonie smoked so frikkin’ much before, I would’ve put a stop to it,” Baekhyun adds with a huff.

Jongdae rolls his eyes. “You don’t just go up to a smoker and tell ‘em to stop smoking, it doesn’t work that way, I thought you would’ve figured that by now. And quit calling him that, it sounds weird!"

“Don’t you guys want anything to eat before you head out?” Jungah asks, helping Baekhyun with his collar after the nearly cried about it possibly choking him to death.

Jongdae shakes his head. “Don’t think we’ll have time,” he says apologetically as he runs a hand through his neatly styled hair (Jongin doesn’t think he’s ever seen it look so good). “But now that you think about it, I’m starving,” he adds with a groan.

“Should’ve stopped for McDonald’s like I did,” Baekhyun says in a smug tone, rightfully earning him a slap in the arm from Jongdae.

“What about you, though?” Jungah asks, turning to face Jongin. “You only ate a piece of toast for lunch,” she says in a surprisingly concerned tone as she walks forward and brushes a piece of dirt from the brunet’s shoulder. “Jeez, if I had time, I’d fetch a clothes roller,” she mumbles, reaching up and adjusting Jongin’s collar. “Don’t touch your face, you don’t wanna smudge it and end up getting gold all over your face.”

Jongin shrugs. It’s true, he hasn’t had a lot to eat, but he blames it on the fact that he had to leave the table and start looking for his suit (which turned out to be a waste given it wasn’t even in his room in the first place), but now that he thinks about it, and especially since Baekhyun mentioned fast food, he’s starving, too, and he hopes his stomach doesn’t rumble. “I’ll be fine, I’ll stop for some fast food or pizza on my way home,” he simply says and nearly jumps out of his suit when he hears a car honking outside. His phone buzzes thrice in a row and he scrambles to retrieve it from his pocket.

Messenger

(Just now) Park Chanyeol to KEWL SQUAD 2K17: WERE HERE GUYS

(Just now) Park Chanyeol sent a sticker to KEWL SQUAD 2K17

(Just now) Kim Junmyeon to KEWL SQUAD 2K17: Get out here you slowpokes!!!

(Just now) Oh Sehun: We’re outside now, come on out so we can see you ❤

Feeling his nerves buzz, Jongin checks his reflection in the bathroom mirror one last time before joining Baekhyun, Jongdae and Jungah in the hallway. Jongin watches them put their shoes on and he’s about to do the same thing himself when something hits him, and he turns to face Jungah with an apologetic look on his face.

“Sorry about them,” Jongin mumbles, gesturing to Jongdae and Baekhyun, who are fighting over the shoe horn behind him. “Jesus, that’s gonna take so long to clean up, I wish I could help, I didn’t know they’d actually end up breaking something- Oomph!” He barely even registers Jungah nearly crushing him to death in one of her usual bearhugs until the scent of her sweet perfume hits him, and he gives her frail torso a gentle squeeze before slowly letting go.

“Don’t mention it, I’m actually surprised they didn’t end up burning the whole house down,” Jungah says and Jongin doesn’t even think she’s joking. “Anyway, leave it to me, I wouldn’t want you to be late.” She sends Jongin a thumbs up before trailing her eyes up and down his frame. “Gee, the eyeshadow and the suit look so good together, black and gold really do complement each other,” she adds with a laugh. “Seriously, if Sehun doesn’t flip for this, I’m gonna smack him.”

Jongin presses his lips together. He hadn’t even thought about that (the color thing, that is). “I guess,” he says sheepishly, nearly jumping five feet in the air when Yifan honks the horn a second time and he scrambles to put on his shoes, which he does in less than ten seconds (which is really surprising, since he hasn’t worn his dress shoes in a year), and he quickly stands up and sends Jungah a smile. “Thanks again, I’ll see you later.”

“Don’t come home too late,” Jungah says sternly. “And in one piece!” she adds for good measure before bending down, grabbing the shoe horn and placing it on the shoe rack.

“I won’t, don’t worry,” Jongin says, suddenly feeling awfully bad for leaving her at home to take care of Jongdae and Baekhyun’s mess when he notices the excited glint in her eyes. Oh well, she’s get to experience this all over again in roughly four years, anyway, he thinks before walking towards the door, where Baekhyun and Jongdae already are, and they both look like they’re going to explode from excitement.

“Bye! And thanks!” Baekhyun hollers way too loudly as he waves in Jungah’s direction. “Remind me to do your makeup someday, I’ll try my best to make it look as good as this!” he adds, pointing to his own face. “Hey, don’t you wanna come outside and meet our men?”

Jungah laughs. “No thanks, it’s way too cold outside,” she says before shrugging. “And I have a feeling I’ll be meeting them quite often from now on, anyway,” she adds and Jongin can’t help but chuckle in agreement.

“And sorry for breaking your, uh...thing,” Jongdae says sheepishly, running a hand through his hair even though it looks perfectly fine, at least to Jongin.

Jungah shrugs. “I’ve got plenty more, no need to worry,” she says and sends them all an expectant look when Yifan honks the horn a third time. “You better get out there, he sounds impatient,” she laughs. “Hopefully you’ll find your way to the gate since it’s getting dark out fast.”

Jongin nods, nearly toppling over when Baekhyun and Jongdae throw the door open and rush out into the night. With another sincere ‘Thank you’, he follows after them and closes the door behind them.

~

It takes Jongin, Jongdae and Baekhyun a while to navigate through the darkness, with the brunet nearly tripping and falling flat on his face on a rock a few times (which would ultimately result in his suit getting ruined from top to bottom), and when they finally do, Baekhyun throws the gate open to the point that the hinges creak before rushing over to the familiar (at least to Jongin) black vehicle parked a few feet away. The temperature has dropped significantly and Jongin regrets not bringing his coat or jacket with him because he knows for a fact that it’s only going to get colder as the night progresses, but he doesn’t turn around and head back inside the house in fear of looking like a fool, so he decides to bite his lip and roll with the punches before approaching Yifan’s car.

Jongin sure is thankful that Yifan’s car happens to be a seven-seater car because otherwise, he figures Yifan would make Baekhyun or Jongdae sit in his lap, and Jongin would rather let Yifan run him over with the car than let either of them sit on him for twenty minutes straight. It’s so dark he can barely even see the inside of the vehicle, but upon closer examination, after he bends down and squints, Jongin can just barely make out four silhouettes inside the car, and he feels his heart skip a beat when he spots Sehun in the way back, but it’s too dark for Jongin to see anything else besides the former’s hair and side profile. Jongin throws the door open when an ice cold gust of wind passes and scrambles to get inside the car.

“Heyo,” Junmyeon says after all three of them climb inside the vehicle and even in the darkness, Jongin can see him leaning in and planting a kiss on Baekhyun’s forehead and, again, even in the darkness, the brunet can see the redhead blushing profusely. “Yifan, turn the goddamn light on already,” he mumbles when Jongdae accidentally closes the door on his finger.

“Don’t boss me around in my own car,” Yifan grumbles before pressing a button near the dashboard and everyone, except him, hisses loudly when the entire car is illuminated by a bright, white glow. “Happy now?” he mutters, tugging on the gear shift and turning on the left blinker after entering the address in the GPS.

Normally, Jongin would turn around in his seat, in which he’s awfully crammed and also sitting on his left leg, and wave goodbye to Jungah, who he assumes is standing by the window, except this time, he doesn’t, and he fully blames it on the fact that he can’t. For before him, Sehun is sitting with his seatbelt strapped across his torso, smiling at him, and Jongin would be lying if he said he literally didn’t just feel his heart skip a beat when his eyes travel down because good Lord does Sehun look good in a suit and tie. The latter’s hair is flawlessly styled, as always, and the fact that it matches the color of his suit and tie only makes Jongin swallow. In fact, Jongin is seconds away from asking Yifan to roll down the windows in fear of his airways closing up, but he decides to avert his gaze and focus on trying to sit upright in his seat instead. On another note, however, Jongin seriously wonders how Sehun, Junmyeon and Chanyeol could possibly have managed to get ready in such little time. He’s actually about to ask Sehun about it when the latter suddenly speaks.

“Oh my God, your-” Sehun’s eyes twinkle with what Jongin can only hope is adoration. “Your- , you’re so pretty, oh my God.” He continues to stare Jongin square in the eye for another minute until the latter clears his throat in embarrassment. "Wait, are your lips pink? My, how pretty."

It takes Jongin a full minute to realize what Sehun is talking about and, when he does, he fights the urge to touch his face and eyes to make sure his makeup hasn’t smudged. Forming a coherent sentence is awfully difficult with Sehun beating him with his stare so Jongin can do nothing but scramble to fasten his seatbelt and keep his eyes on the dimly lit road ahead. He’s pretty sure the entire car smells like strawberry by now and Jongin is thankful that nobody has chosen to comment on it yet. On a side note, he hopes he doesn’t break out in a sweat as a result of Sehun ogling him in the corner of his eye because, if he remembers correctly, his face makeup isn’t waterproof.

Suddenly, a sweet scent, along with the sound of crinkling, fills the air and Jongin blinks when he thinks he smells something...flowery??? So he whirls around in his seat and nearly gets the air knocked out of him when he comes face to face with the biggest and brightest bouquet of pink roses he’s ever seen in his life, so big that Sehun is barely even visible behind the flowers, and it takes Jongin an embarrassingly long time to process what’s happening (not that he blames himself). When he does, though, he clears his throat before slowly reaching out and grabbing the bouquet, which he prays doesn’t fall apart in his hands, and placing it in his lap. The clean, sweet smell of freshly picked roses fills his nose and the warmth coursing through his veins briefly distracts him from the fact that the pinkness of his face is probably not that different from the pinkness in his lap. Momentarily, Yifan swiftly turns a corner and the brunet nearly falls out of his seat.

“It’s no fancy limo or anything, but hopefully it’s just as good,” Sehun chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck.

Despite not wanting to compare his own, very real, life to those of characters in crappy soap operas or teenage romcoms from the 90s, Jongin would be lying if he said he didn’t feel at least a little bit (or to be precise, a lot) like any of said characters and he runs his thumb across the smooth, light brown paper whilst keeping his eyes on the rather beautiful flowers in his lap. However, it’s not until Jongin snaps out of his trance that he realizes he should probably say something so, while ignoring the fluttering in his chest, he lifts his head and opens his mouth to say something along the lines of ‘Thank you, they’re beautiful’, only for his mind to go blank and for him to blurt out the words ‘Thank you, you’re beautiful’ instead when Sehun sends him a heartwarming smile. It’s safe to say that if Jongin felt like he was doing to die of embarrassment a few seconds ago, it’s nothing compared to how he feels right now, especially given that Baekhyun, Jongdae and Chanyeol (and even Junmyeon, who chuckles low in his throat) subsequently erupt into Earth shattering guffaws. Oh, motherfuc-

“Smitten,” Baekhyun sing-songs, practically grabbing onto the door handle for support. “See, Sehun? We call him 'Mr. Lovestruck' for a reason, he can’t even say thank you without reminding you how good you look, isn’t that just peachy?”

“He’s as pink as the roses, look!” Jongdae adds, turning around in his seat to look behind him. The golden shimmer on his eyelids is practically glowing and Jongin fights the urge to reach across and smear it all over his face. “You’re lucky, though, I also want flowers,” he adds with a pout before slouching in his seat.

Chanyeol squawks in surprise. “Who said I had to buy you frickin’ flowers?” he exclaims, whacking Jongdae on the arm. “Maybe I’d like some too, what do you know?” He blinks upon catching a whiff of the air. “And it smells like a bakery in here, a strawberry bakery, Jesus Christ.”

“Hopefully there’s a smoking area at that place,” Junmyeon says under his breath and nearly chokes on his own spit when Baekhyun suddenly whacks him upside the head. “What the hell was that fo-”

“If I catch you with those things, I’m gonna hide them so well you’ll never find them,” Baekhyun says sternly as he reaches out and adjusts Junmyeon’s bowtie.

Sehun chuckles from his position at the way back of the car. “Anyhow, you’re welcome, and you look gorgeous,” he simply says before leaning in and planting a loving kiss on the brunet’s lips without a warning. “Hey now, don’t be feisty or I might take ‘em back,” he adds jokingly when Jongin tries to hide his face in the bouquet.

“Baek took a picture,” Jongin mumbles before lifting his head, after condemning the redhead (back) to Hell. God damn it. His lips tingle like they’re on fire and he uses his right hand to hold the bottom of the bouquet while grabbing Sehun’s hand with his left and interlocking their fingers. He moves a little closer, as much as the restraint of the seatbelt will allow him to, and rests his head on Sehun’s shoulder, praying to God his makeup won’t stain the latter’s suit jacket. The taller smells the same as he always does and Jongin absolutely adores it.

“I hope they start off by playing my song,” Chanyeol says and he nearly crushes Jongdae’s hand to smithereens when he bounces up and down in excitement.

“We are not dancing to ‘I’m A Barbie Girl’, you moron,” Junmyeon groans, dragging a hand down his face.

“It’s not like ‘The Ballad Of Mona Lisa’ or ‘Mr. Brightside’ is any better, you nuthead,” Chanyeol retorts and for once, Jongin thinks he might have something in common with the taller after all.

Baekhyun squawks. “Lady Aqua is so much better than Panic At The...Whatever, and The Killers,” he exclaims and Junmyeon has to place a hand on his shoulder so he won’t smack Chanyeol in the face when the latter shakes his head.

“You think my song choices ? At least I didn’t pick ‘I Kissed a frikkin’ Girl’,” Chanyeol huffs, turning around with a pointed look at Sehun, who only puts his free hand up in defense. “Seriously? Kim Perry? all, I’d rather jam out to Barbie Girl throughout the entire night,” he adds, resting his head on Jongdae’s shoulder.

“First of all, it’s 'Katy',” Sehun corrects Chanyeol, making the latter groan and Jongin, Baekhyun and Jongdae (and Junmyeon, a tiny bit) giggle, “and second of all, I’ll bet you twenty bucks you’ll be dancing on the table tops shirtless to my song after two drinks.” He sends Chanyeol a look to which the latter responds with a shrug.

“You’ll never catch me dancing my off to any of those songs, especially 'Barbie Girl',” Junmyeon growls. “Unless you get me faced, that is, then perhaps I might," he adds with a small chuckle.

Jongdae’s mouth falls open. “Really? You’ll do it, then?”

“No,” Junmyeon huffs, “I was ki-”

“Actually, now that I think about it,” Jongdae starts, pointing to Sehun, Chanyeol and Junmyeon, “all three of you look like heavy drinkers, y’know, the types to get piss drunk as long as you’re handed a drink and the music is good, don’t even try to prove me wrong.” He cackles when Chanyeol only sighs in defeat. “Told you!”

“Man, do I wanna see that,” Baekhyun chuckles, looking out the window, and Jongin can’t help but hum in agreement (not because the idea of Sehun being piss drunk whilst dancing on table tops is awfully intriguing, which it definitely is). “Hell, I might as well join you later on,” he adds before he looks at Yifan, who hasn’t said a word since they started driving. “Won’t it be scary to drive all the way back home by yourself?”

Yifan clears his throat. “No,” he says after a while before stopping at a red light.

Jongdae blinks. “Whaddya mean-”

“I’m going with Kyungsoo, now shut up,” Yifan says lowly before slamming on the gas, nearly making Jongin fly out of his seat. “As friends, that is, we’re going as friends,” he adds for good measure when Baekhyun and Jongdae emit mutual squeals of excitement. “Shut it or I'll open the doors and throw you out and onto the road!

“Sure you are,” Baekhyun says smugly before he exhales slowly. “Man, this’ll be fun,” he hums, closing his eyes, only to flinch when Junmyeon ruffles his hair. “Don’t, you’ll ruin my makeup!”

Chanyeol blinks. “Yeah, now that I think about it, why’re you even wearing makeup in the first place?” he asks in confusion and ducks when Jongdae’s palm comes flying towards his face. “It looks good! Don’t get me wrong, it looks really good, but still, I mean- Nevermind.” He scratches the back of his head. “Did you do it yourself, or what?”

“Jongin’s sister did it,” Baekhyun says, pointing to Jongin. “She should aspire to be a makeup artist in the future, tell her that!”

Jongin nods before lifting his head and lightly kissing Sehun’s jaw. “Sure,” he mutters after a while, making a mental note to do the exact opposite. He plays with Sehun’s watch for a while, careful not to let set it to Tokyo time. 6:34 PM. His stomach grumbles and he hopes they’ll arrive before they put away the refreshments table.

“Well, I think it looks beautiful,” Sehun says before pecking the tip of the brunet’s nose, ignoring Baekhyun’s squee. “It really brings out the color of your eyes.”

Chanyeol sighs. “Yifan, could you be our bodyguard later? Y’know, keep those crazy es away from us while we’re there?” he asks, running a hand through his hair. “I’ll pay you for your service, don’tcha worry.”

“You idiot, they’ll come after me too, you know that damn good and well,” Yifan says before he puts his foot on the brake. “And could you all shut your traps back there for a second? I can’t even hear myself think,” he adds, turning on the right blinker.

When the car momentarily goes silent (Jongin figures you don’t mess with the person who’s driving you to prom), Jongin slowly exhales before giving Sehun’s hand a squeeze. His hand is starting to hurt from holding onto the bouquet and Jongin is about to loosen his grip when he suddenly realizes something. “What am I gonna do with these?”

Sehun raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” he asks, running his hand through Jongin’s hair.

“You know, these,” Jongin says dumbly, gesturing at the flowers in his lap. “I mean, they’ve lovely and all, but...I can’t really-” His sentence ends with a squawk of surprise when Sehun grabs one of the roses from the bouquet and tucks it behind his ear. “Wait, what-”

“There we go, now you’ll have a small part of the bouquet with you during the entire night,” Sehun chuckles, reaching out and tucking a lock of hair behind Jongin’s ear in order to keep the rose in place. “Jeez, you look so pretty. And we’ll leave them in here since we’ll be coming back later,” he adds before kissing Jongin’s forehead, much to the latter’s embarrassment.

Hearing Jongin’s noise of embarrassment, Baekhyun blinks before whirling around in his seat, only to smile impossibly wide when he sees the pink rose behind the brunet’s ear. “Just so you know, you don’t need to worry about being quiet in the bathrooms since nobody’ll hear you over the music, anyway,” he cackles and nearly chokes on his own spit when Jongin subsequently kicks his chair.

“One of you s better pay me real en good for this,” Yifan grumbles before slamming on the gas after the light turns green.

~~~