It all started with a look.

 

Kim Jongin was hooked from day one, a single look in his direction, big doe eyes met soft puppy ones. He remembered the day like it was the most important day of his life and to him, it felt like it was. To Jongin, that day felt like the first day his heart began to work for the first time, to him the colours in the world around him had new meaning. He had sat there with his dog close by, a large mutt named Jupiter and he remembers the smell of the crisp winter air and how the smell of coffee and cinnamon pierced the air. How he had sat down on the damp bench that soaked his pants right through, but he was too stubborn to get up. He remembered how he started the day, thinking it was going to snow but it had cleared up tremendously by midday and the sky was a cool blue that just seemed to make the day more bitter and cold.

 

But that look had warmed him right to the core.

 

He was an aspiring artist at the time, the cliché type to carry a couple of pencils and a drawing pad with him everywhere. He had never been gladder to have been like that than that day when that young man who hadn’t even given him a second glance had captured his attention and his heart. The small man was perfection to Kim Jongin, there was no other way to describe this human. Jongin struggled with the concept that his whole day, from the moment he woke up to the moment he went to sleep, could be captured by one person. Jongin captured everything about that man, from his posture to the way his clothes sat on his small frame, the way his eyebrows furrowed together as the bitter cold bit at his pale cheeks and reddening button nose, to the heart-shape of his plump lips. The one thing Jongin struggled with and could never seemed to capture was the man’s eyes. He had pages, upon pages of his book filled with his muse only to have the eyes scratched out or blocked in some way or even completely blank.

 

To him, that one look, the one glint of the man’s eyes said so much.

 

The eyes were the windows to the soul, it gave everything away in a person. But it seemed this small man’s eyes said so much, that Jongin craved to know him, to listen to him say a word to him. He couldn’t possibly capture the immense and deep thought this man held within by just a glance. He berated himself every afternoon when he watched the man walk passed, only to stay in his stiffly cold seat, drawing pad on his lap. Not once did he get up to talk, not once did he attempt to raise a hand or the slightest quiver of his voice. The tan man was stuck forever in the metal seat at the park, waiting for a miracle, something that would encourage him to raise his voice to gain the attention of the man.

 

But how could a simple man like Jongin talk to a god such as this man?

 

That question was answered for him during the spring time, the snow had only just begun to melt and the flowers began to bloom once more. It felt like forever since he had seen green and vibrant colours as such. It was so gradual, the whites, greys, and browns had slowly started to fade into the background as the colours came out once more. And it seemed with the rise of spring was the rise of other things. Now only wearing lighter jackets, his heart beat nervously as he waited to see the small man come around the corner, he was something Jongin looked forward to every afternoon. The tan man looked down and kept working on my drawing again, only to gasp and let out a harsh command when Jupiter launched forward and sharply pulled wrist forward.

 

Only after a few moments was he met with the look that had captured him again.

 

The harshness towards Jupiter died in his throat as the dog wagged his tail hard, sniffing at the dog that was held on a short leash by the man of his dreams. Jongin slowly stood up and cleared his throat, the words now caught in the poor man’s throat and suddenly he fell mute. He blinked a few times as the man just stared up at him, he looked so young due to his fair skin but his eyes screamed age and knowledge, and annoyance at the moment. The smaller had almost tripped due to Jupiter’s long lead and how suddenly he had blocked the path.

 

“Well?” He asked shortly, maybe even shorter than he was. But Jongin would remember this, his heart fluttered at the sound of the voice he had longed to hear for so long even though his head was screaming at him how much of an idiot he was, that I had messed this up and how this man he had dreamt about would always remember him as annoying. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

 

As someone who was studying art, the art of language was failing him at that moment. He opened and closed his mouth dumbly much like a fish, and he watched as the doe-eyed man just stared up at him expectantly and with growing annoyance. “I...” Jongin was coaching himself on his head, trying to encourage himself to say more than that. “I’m sorry.” The words were sticky, barely snapping off the caverns from within his throat.

 

There was a tense silence that followed, like the shorter expected more from the taller, and the taller expected some sort of response from the shorter. But they were both wrong.

 

“That’s it?”

 

The tan man’s face drained of colour as his brain failed to come up with any sort of coherent form of sentence structure that would be suitable enough for this high-class and gorgeous human being who could easily walk among the gods. “W-“

 

“Do you even know how to speak?”

 

His voice was gorgeous and harsh, but Jongin was somehow falling for it. The man scoffed and shook his head, Jongin was so captivated by the way his soft and thick hair that hid away the shorter’s forehead shined in the faint afternoon sunlight that he didn’t notice the man turn on his heel and start to walk away. It was only until one... two... three... four steps that Jongin realised he was losing his chance, slipping through his fingers like fine sand. “Wait!” A strong word finally boomed from his throat, the stick from within melted away.

 

The small man turned and looked back, his face stoic and unimpressed, it left Jongi shaking a little but he was determined to at least put a name to the face that found its way to the puppy man’s dreams more than once. Jongin was frozen for a long moment before he stepped forward, twisting Jupiter’s leash around his hand a few times to pull the large mutt back to his side. “I’m very sorry about my dog, I’m not entirely sure what has gotten into him.” The words were flowing so much easier now, even Jongin was amazed with himself. Where had this sudden confidence come from?

 

There was another moment of silence like the smaller was evaluating the situation, the man in front of him, even the other dog. “What’s his name?”

 

A small grin spread over the man’s lips and he glanced down. “Ah, well, this is Jupiter and my name is Jongin.” He bowed politely, he seemed to radiate some confidence now but deep, down he was terrified. If only the little man knew that he held Jongin’s heart in hands.

 

“Do Kyungsoo.”

 

That name, oh, Jongin would remember it until the end of his days. If someone ever asked him if he believed in love at first sight, he would say no. Infatuation? Yes. But he was pretty damn convinced he was already in love with this cute man right in front of him, and now he finally had a name to go with the face. Do Kyungsoo. It wasn’t what he expected, but it suited him so well.

 

“Do you come here often, Kyungsoo?” He asked the question just to be able to test the name on his tongue and it rolled off perfectly if you asked Jongin.

 

“I do,” He answered easily. “Every day, in fact, I see you here all the time, have you never noticed me before?”

 

It felt like Jongin’s entire world came to a halt. This small and wonderful man had noticed his existence? All this time he thought he had blended into the background, unnoticed by such a person like Do Kyungsoo who had places to be and people to see. Kim Jongin was an aspiring artist that was most likely to fail and live his life out bitterly, how did he even begin to deserve a second glance from such a person?

 

“I...” He wasn’t sure if it’d be okay to lie, but it would be embarrassing to admit he had asked the question just because he wanted the opportunity to say the small man’s name. “I get pretty invested in my drawings, I don’t notice much.” That wasn’t too far from a lie, besides Kyungsoo and his art book he didn’t notice much else that went on in the park. Kyungsoo looked to the art book in Jongin’s spare hand and the internal war of panic that was happening inside of the tall man’s head and chest as he battled to stay calm was astounding.

 

“May I have a look a-?“

 

Jongin’s panic won out in the end and he hid the book away, cutting Kyungsoo off sharply. “Absolutely not!” It was harsh and his voice was deep, slightly terrifying but it didn’t seem to phase Kyungsoo in the slightest. The only one who got upset was his large Rottweiler by his side as she bared her teeth and her stance became broader. Kyungsoo gave a quiet command to the large girl and she backed off immediately. Jupiter made small noises at her and her face multiple times, he visibly softened and gave the dogs grin as he watched. “I think my dog is in love with your dog.”

 

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

 

His heart fell and he just became more and more nervous about Kyungsoo, he was a lot harsher and up front than he had ever imagined. His outside was so cute and squishy, but maybe under the outward appearance, he was hard as a rock? Jongin enjoyed soft people and he felt betrayed already that his first impression of the small man had let him down.

 

“They need to at least have a play date before any of that can be established.” As soon as Kyungsoo uttered those words from his heart-shaped lips, Jongin’s demeanour changed and he was a lot happier. So perhaps this man was softer than he had begun to think!

 

“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” He complimented easily, nodding in agreement and he looked so much lighter and less stressed about the exchange now that a conversation was flowing freely between them.

 

Kyungsoo watched Jongin like he just knew that this man was a nervous wreck, that he was only now beginning to build some confidence. “Is your afternoon free?”

 

And from a look to a sentence, Jongin’s whole world changed.

 

It started with these small little dates for their dogs, every afternoon they’d meet up at Jongin’s usual metal seat at the park and then they would head to a clearing where they’d let their dogs off their leashes to run free. This went on until they were well into spring and the conversation between them depended on the day, but more often than not these exchanges were just talking about each other’s days. Then the further they went into spring, the deeper the conversations got. Somehow the conversation would drift to their lives, their families, their aspirations for life which they came to understand that they shared many similar goals which did not help Jongin and his awkward, boyish crush. It encouraged him and over the past couple of weeks he had desperately been trying to work up the courage to ask Kyungsoo for a date, it was the one thing he was determined to ask for first. Kyungsoo asked for his phone number and all the other important tidbits of information that put Jongin out a little, but he was eager to ask this pretty boy on a date.

 

Today was that day.

 

It was slowly fading from spring to summer and Jongin was already sweating, but he had really put in the effort that day. He dressed well, styled his hair, had spent two weeks on a skin routine only to apply some light foundation and powder on the day. He just really wanted to impress Kyungsoo, because he felt at the moment there was nothing entirely impressive about him. He didn’t have a great job, great smarts, or great style. His only luck was his handsomeness, and he was hoping that would win out.

 

So, he sat nervously at the seat, waiting as usual until Kyungsoo showed up the only alert to Kyungsoo’s approach was Jupiter’s tail wagging just that bit harder and then the soft comment that followed. “Well, you’re looking all nice today.”

 

He looked up immediately and stood, giving the best grin he could – as handsome and charming as he could muster. “Oh, this? I just wanted to try something new.”

 

Kyungsoo had this knowing smile on his face but just smiled, agreed and they moved off to their usual spot under the tree before they let their dogs go. The silence sat between them, but for Kyungsoo it was comfortable, Jongin? Having a heart attack. He was a sweating and sticky throat mess, but he was determined. Kyungsoo gave a soft sigh and it scared the crap out of Jongin.

 

“Do you want to go on a date with me?” Jongin choked out in the startled fear Kyungsoo pulled out of him unintentionally, but Kyungsoo didn’t seem surprised by the request at all.

 

“Yes.”

 

Jongin blubbered out excuses why dating him wouldn’t be half bad and would treat Kyungsoo really well until it clicked, giving Kyungsoo this look like he had grown a second head. “What?” He asked dumbly and a laugh bubbled its way up from Kyungsoo’s tummy and slipped from his lips.

 

“I said yes, I would love to go on a date with you.”

 

Jongin stared at Kyungsoo in shock but then Kyungsoo turned his head from the dogs to Jongin. It was wonderful, in that moment, that Jongin was brought back to where it all began. He stared right into Kyungsoo’s eyes and there was a playfulness to them but also a sense of how wise he was, that he knew things others didn’t. For a moment, Jongin thought about the age that would eventually come and wrinkle around the eyes but those eyes... they’d always stay the same. He could fall in love with those eyes quite easily. He had fallen in love with the idea of those eyes, but now... he was ready to fall in love with them.

 

And it all started with a look.