Hunched over his laptop, eyes glued to the monitor illuminating his soft caramel-toned face, with one hand holding onto a can of root beer and the other typing effortlessly over his laptop’s keyboard, is Jongin’s preferred sitting position during the wee hours of the night until the peak of dawn. There’s a variant of this position too; he’s also fond of the ‘one-hand under-the-chin’ pose during those nights he’s too broke to even buy a soda.

The reason behind Jongin’s attempt at recreating The Thinker’s pose with a laptop is that he’s hooked up on this new fad called “online roleplaying”. A resident netizen, it’s no surprise that Jongin stumbled upon this ‘online activity’ since it has gotten so popular. Though, how he stumbled upon it is another story.

See, Jongin is on his way out of the train ride that is puberty (he’s barely 20) and though this is the case, his hormones are still fully functional. But when you’re recently gay and definitely not ready to come out yet, a man-boy can only do so much to satiate his raging hormones. So he decides one day to look up ‘gay gifs’ on his twitter. His query rewarded him well with a search result’s page full of naughty gifs: bouncing butts, flailing es and quick, jittery movements of sweaty yet unrealistically toned bodies. Jongin is sweating as well and he can feel his senses slowly heightening.

When he’s done disappointing his mother, Jongin decides to stalk one of the accounts that posted gay gifs. As he zeroes in on the account’s display photo, he notices that the man in there seems kind of familiar. He clicks on the profile and reads the bio. “D.O of EXO.Also known as the tiny DiablO. Fried Chicken RP.”

Jongin’s brows furrowed as he read the last part out loud. “Fried Chicken RP — what the hell is a ‘Fried Chicken RP’? Is that some new food joint in Korea I didn’t know about?” He scratches a spot on the side of his neck as he leans back, scrolling over the entirety of the profile. “Ah, so that’s why he looked familiar. He’s part of EXO,” Jongin glances at the profile again. “but no check mark. Plus, the followers are too few for an idol’s standard. Heck, I don’t think any EXO member owns a twitter account. Who is this guy then — a faker? A poser?”

And because Jongin deep down is a know-it-all busy body (with too much time on his hands), he decides to call the poser guy out. He begins typing a tweet.

To @exoDOse: hey you. y r u impersonating an idol? Do ppl actually buy this?

Jongin stands up to get chips after he sent the tweet. When he comes back, there’s a number 2 bubble on his twitter notifications. He sits back down and moves his cursor over to click on it. It’s the poser guy; he tweeted him back.

To @jongoutheslayer: Im not. Hv u even read my bio? I clearly put ‘friedchickenrp’ in there 2 avoid incidents like this.

@exoDOse retweeted your tweet and added: “can u believe this guy”. The tweet gets five hearts.

Jongin inhales sharply, feeling his cheeks heat up as his offended face slides on. He sets his chips down harshly next to him, stray bits flying out and landing on his lap and desk while his hands immediately move to type a reply.

To @exoDOse: well I’m sorry, but I dunno WTH a ‘fried chicken rp’ is. Care 2 xplain?

Jongin munches on a few chips as he waits for the person’s reply and his cheeks to cool down. When he starts to feel idiotic staring at his twitter timeline, obsessively pressing the F5 button like a maniac, he opens a new tab and types in YouTube. He clicks randomly on an old video by Filthy Frank, pauses it so it can buffer faster, and switches back to his twitter tab. He has a private message notification. It’s from @exoDOse.

“It stands for Fried Chicken Roleplay — it’s a roleplaying agency…and roleplaying is like ‘playing’ the ‘role’ of an idol/actor/actress etc. like me, what I do. Think of cosplay, but considerably less mainstream.’’

“I’m guessing you’ve never roleplayed before. Are you interested? We need more people in our agency. ^^”

The ‘^^’ at the end has Jongin’s right eyebrow raising. “So he’s suddenly acting all friendly now, huh,” Jongin murmurs to himself. His smile is all mischief as he types a reply to the D.O faker/roleplay guy, the Filthy Frank video on the YouTube tab momentarily forgotten in favor of something strangely more interesting.

“Alright, ‘less mainstream than cosplay’ caught my attention; sign me up. But you have to carry the responsibility of introducing me to this entire ‘roleplay culture’.”

“CHANYEOL! Look at this-,” Kyungsoo bellows from his spot in the living room, one arm slung loosely over the back of the cheap couch he and his roommate Chanyeol managed to squeeze into their rundown unit.

Chanyeol, having heard his name, immediately runs over to where Kyungsoo is, still holding onto a half-peeled potato as he asks, “what, what is it? Are classes canceled tomorrow?”

Kyungsoo glances at his roommate and clicks his tongue at him. “No, you idiot. Why would they cancel classes tomorrow? It isn’t even Christmas break yet, heck, there isn’t even any snow to block the roads with. This is what I’m referring to.”

He hands his laptop over to Chanyeol and points to something at the center of the monitor.

“Woah, no way. Will you take him up on this?”

Kyungsoo’s grin is smug as he leans back on the couch. “Hell yeah, I am.”

Chanyeol looks flabbergasted. “But he’s virtually a stranger! What if he’s some creepy weirdo-“

“Relax, Yeol. I won’t take a selfie with my , what the . If this gets leaked, no one will even know it’s me. Unless you recognize the flooring on the picture then there’s you…” Kyungsoo jokingly scoots away from Chanyeol and shivers.

Chanyeol puts the laptop down next to Kyungsoo and kicks at his shin, half-annoyed, half-flustered. “Shut up, you. That was one time. Now go flash that thirsty creep. God knows how much he needs his daily .”



Kyungsoo grins slyly as he watches Chanyeol’s lanky frame retreat back to the kitchen. When he’s sure his friend is occupied and not going to barge in on what he’s going to do anytime soon, he scoots back until his is planted firmly on the couch’s’ arm. Then he immediately lifts the laptop onto his lap as well as a part of his shirt up as he taps the mouse pad to take a ‘shirtless selfie’.

Apparently the guy on twitter, whom he met two weeks ago and successfully persuaded into joining his roleplaying haven, was actually a thirsty horndog. Five days into their character roleplay of D.O and Kai of EXO and they’re already in a relationship. Add in a week and 2 days after that and the guy is already after his OOC pants.

Usually, Kyungsoo doesn’t say much about his OOC self — a.k.a Out Of Character self to his internet roleplaying buddies since that’s the exact opposite of roleplaying. But he somehow found himself opening parts of the real him up to this particular stranger who mistook him for an idol faker. (As if he was desperate enough for attention to actually pose as an idol; the accusation made Kyungsoo roll his eyes.) So he decided to humor that stranger in retaliation, to maybe even publicly humiliate him along the way, but here they are now; their characters madly in love.

Kyungsoo checks the slightly blurred selfie, trying not to think too much of what he’s doing sending a half- (sans his face) picture of him to a guy online he’s barely known. He appeases his worrisome thoughts by convincing himself that there’s no harm dabbing in a little fun. This is all the fun he’s going to get anyway if he wants those 3.76s in line. He checks the picture one last time for anything that might trace back to him in real life before clicking send. He then utters a silent prayer to all the gods he’s ever bothered to learn the name of that the person on the other side doesn’t live anywhere near him.

“JESUS CHRIST,” Jongin exclaims as the picture of a pale boy’s stomach comes into view the moment he clicks on @exoDOse’s direct message. He wouldn’t have guessed that the other boy would take his flirty challenge seriously but he obviously thought wrong.

Jongin’s senses are flooded with the image of a boy somewhere with a stomach looking that soft and ivory white that has his mouth responding with unnecessary salivation. Suddenly he’s thinking of bite marks, hickeys and handprints and — 

An angry tap on the wall followed by an equally angry voice of a retired nun is what he gets as a reply for his outburst, effectively bringing him out of his sinful thoughts.

“His Name better be used in prayer, young man!”

Jongin cringes at that but pulls himself together once he glances back at the opened photo on his laptop. The situation is basically screaming reciprocation at his face, and Jongin is more than tempted to follow through.

@exoDOse didn’t know what he had in store for him the moment he sent that photo, Jongin thinks mischievously as he starts ing his white polo.

He’s usually painfully shy when it comes to revealing his body, with his insecurities and all that. But Jongin realizes he doesn’t really mind as long as it’s behind the safety of his screen, and especially not if a hot boy is receiving it on the other side.

He stands in front of his dresser, polo ed but not flapped open all the way, letting slivers of his naturally tanned skin show as he flexes his stomach muscles for a sort-of shirtless selfie as well.

Jongin smirks as he reviews the picture he’s taken. “He has no bloody idea.”



Kyungsoo’s eyes widen, his brows flying up to his hairline and he jerks a bit in surprise, causing him to drop his phone flat on his face.

“Ow! Son of a  — ”

The last syllable on his curse is uttered soft as his attention shifts back to the photo left open on his phone, hurriedly picking the device back up.

“. Mother freaking — .”

Kyungsoo is still in awe as he stares at the photo @jongoutheslayer sent him. It’s a shirtless photo of him as well, and Kyungsoo is rendered speechless. The torso in the picture looks too good to be legit, and, realizing that the other might be catfishing him, decides to call him out.

Right after he wipes his drool.



Jongin’s phone beeps as he receives a twitter notification. It’s a direct message from @exoDOse sent at least two hours ago. He frowns before opening the message, making a mental note to change internet service providers when he has the time.

From @exoDOse: Hah, ok Kai. This isn’t fair — I send you a 101% legitimate photo of me and you send me some cropped Abercrombie model’s body. Haha. I’ve been around long enough to know how catfish operates, yknow. :(



Jongin chuckles as he finishes reading the message and glances down at himself and his tattered sweats. He’s changed into his normal almost-homeless college boy clothes right after he took that selfie, resigned to his fate thinking that he scared the other boy off with his average body and creepy vibe. Might as well look the part, he thought at that time. But now staring @exoDOse’s message, he realizes that his assumption might have been wrong.

“Abercrombie model?” he repeats in disbelief after reading the message a hundredth time, the hidden compliment not fully sinking in. “More like a-broke-zombie noodle.” He chuckles once before typing that phrase down, tiny smile still in place as he acknowledges how funny he is. “Man that was good.”

To @exoDOse: u mean, a-broke-zombie noodle. HAHA. No, srsly tho. What do I have to do to convince u I’m real? I swear on all the lube our characters used that I am though, and you’ve gotta admit that’s a lotta lube.

Jongin holds onto his phone as he stretches from his perch on his bed to grab his copy of The Catcher in the Rye on the lowest shelf of his nightstand. He figures he might as well do something productive while he waits for the other to respond. So he leans back on his headboard once he gets a hold of the book, his phone placed on his lap momentarily as he begins to read.

He probably comes across his fifth ‘phony’ when his phone vibrates against his lap. He puts the book down and opens the message.

From @exoDOse:

Ok then…take another selfie, but this time with a gray shirt. And you have to do a ‘thumbs up’ pose, too. Then send it to me. Ofc you can ask me to do one as well. Deal?

Jongin grins at what @exoDOse was asking him to do. The terms seemed oddly cute to him.

Which gave him the perfect idea for his terms for the other.

“I — what are you doing,” Chanyeol deadpans.

Chanyeol was just a few steps past their front door as he entered their shared apartment when he stopped dead in his tracks. The first thing he notices is Kyungsoo taking pictures of his stuffed toys on display in their crammed up living room, complete with both thumbs up while his phone’s picture timer goes off somewhere opposite him.

“Seriously, what the hell Kyungsoo.” The stuffed toys are all arranged in a semi-circle formation, with Kyungsoo inserting random thumbs up poses as the shutter clicks away behind him. It was equal parts cute and creepy, which to Chanyeol meant distress.

Kyungsoo walks forward to check the pictures on his phone as he answers Chanyeol. “Relax, Yeol. This isn’t some experiment we’re doing for Anthro 150, I promise. This is for him.”

Chanyeol inwardly shudders at the mention of said class. He toes his shoes off and walks past Kyungsoo into their crammed kitchen, already halfway into unloading the dinner he bought for the both of them when the other half of what Kyungsoo said registers.

“Wait, him? What do you mean ‘for him?’ Who’s him?”

Kyungsoo grins cheekily, all chubby cheeks and gummy smiles as he directs a cocky-looking thumbs up in his direction.

“Him — as in roleplay guy him. I’m getting internet D, Yeol.”

Chanyeol rolled his eyes at his friend’s tactless remark. “Getting internet D is basically just like watching , y’know? Nothing special. And which him anyway? You’ve been in so many roleplays I’ve lost count of who you’re ‘dating’.”

Kyungsoo tuts at his party-pooping giant of a friend before looking back down to swipe around on his phone. “Getting internet D is nothing like . It’s a hundred percent more personalized — Aha!” Kyungsoo exclaims before turning his phone over for Chanyeol to see.

“Feast your eyes! But only for a second. I don’t like to share my blessings.”

Chanyeol moved closer and squinted at Kyungsoo’s phone before letting out a low whistle. “Hot damn. Where’d you manage to find him? And I thought that Baekhyun guy you had a brief fling with was hot.”

Kyungsoo chuckled evilly before locking his phone and pocketing it. “He’s the same thirsty horndog guy I was telling you about these past few weeks, by the way. Turns out he had the body to back up the thirst.”

Chanyeol gave his friend a once over, took in his playful smirk and smug look. “So, this…guy. What do you think of him?” He leaned forward conspiratorially, like the answer to his question was something top secret that only the two of them should know.

Kyungsoo stared at his friend, bursting out in laughter not a second later when the latter wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“God, why are you always like this? You’re not my grandma!” But Chanyeol is undeterred, staring him down with his eyeballs of truth until he’s forced to answer.

“Fine. I think he’s hot, he’s nice and he’s fun to talk to. But nothing more. And quit doing that! That’s creepy, Yeol. And you wonder why I never introduced you to any of my internet friends.” Kyungsoo shouldered Chanyeol away good-naturedly while the other continued grinning widely, bordering on psychotic.

“I can tell you fancy this one, Kyungsoo!”

“Shut up, you creep!”



Much, much later that night Kyungsoo finds himself chuckling lowly at something ‘Kai’ tweeted. It wasn’t directed at him, but it appeared on his tlist and it was funny, so his reaction was completely normal (or so he convinces himself).

But Chanyeol, being the night elf that he is, catches on the low chuckle. He gets his phone and taps on the Whip App with a knowing smirk plastered on his face.

Kyungsoo startles at the sound of a whip breaking into his consciousness without warning, looking around in alarm. But he recovers quickly, chucking his mini alarm clock at the infuriating giant he calls his friend once he realizes what the sound had meant.

Jongin checks his phone on the way home from his last class of the day, immediately smiling once he sees that he’s received a direct message from ‘D.O.’

@exoDOse: Have you ever heard of roleplaying on Instagram?

Jongin’s brows furrowed momentarily in confusion at the message; he looked up from his phone briefly to glance both ways before crossing the street to the block where his apartment was located. He was used to the other asking him random questions during the day when they weren’t roleplaying, so this didn’t surprise him. But it did however, pique his interest.

Vaguely intrigued, Jongin tapped in a reply once he reached the inside of his building. You can roleplay on Instagram? How would that even work? he typed. Attention focused solely on his phone, he hadn’t noticed the person carrying boxes come towards him.

The impact wasn’t harsh but it was strong enough to almost topple the top most box over to the ground. Luckily, Jongin’s reflexes were still good despite being allergic to strenuous activity since the 8th grade, and was able to hold onto the top box before it crashed down.

“I’m sorry I didn’t see you — Jongin?” A man’s handsome face appeared from behind the boxes whose features morphed into a warm smile when he recognized Jongin. “How’s it going?”

“Junmyeon-hyung, hey,” Jongin replied softly, sending a quick smile over to the older before fixing the box on top and hurriedly shuffling away, muttering unintelligible excuses made even more undecipherable as he kept bowing swiftly, backpedalling out of the vicinity.

Jongin moved so fast the older one felt disoriented. “Okay, bye I guess. See you around!” Junmyeon calls but Jongin isn’t even around anymore to hear it.

Junmyeon shrugs as much as a person holding semi-heavy boxes could and went on with his errand.

Meanwhile Jongin breathes out a sigh of relief as he sees Junmyeon’s figure grow smaller until it disappears past the building’s doors. When Jongin deems it safe enough to resume walking back to his apartment, he slowly walks away from the wall he was crouched behind and hung his head low, avoiding further eye contact as he trudged up the stairs.

Once he’s stepped foot on the 4th floor landing he lifts his head up and speed walks towards the end of the said floor, hurriedly keying his door open and practically slamming it closed once he’s inside.

Jongin exhaled again, loudly this time and closed his eyes, rolling his shoulders back to release the tension. Talking to other people he wasn’t really close to in person always drained the energy out of him.

Just as he was toeing off his beat-up sneakers and sliding off his wristwatch, he felt his phone vibrate on his leg. He forgot he was having a conversation with @exoDOse and quickly pulled his phone out from his pocket, sat on the nearest un-broken chair and begun reading the message. It was a long one.

From @exoDOse: Basics first. You know Instagram is a photo sharing app right? But people can heart (like), tag, comment and stuff too — and there’s even a direct message on it now! Direct. Message. Sending suspicious pictures have never been this easy (and blatant!) before. So it’s basically a roleplaying haven like twitter, but more…, if you look at it that way.

Anyway the roleplay works like that — it could either be private through the slick DMs, or public as in photo commenting and such. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Are you convinced yet? Try it with me!

Hey!! Where’d you go? Is it a no? :(

Jongin chuckled at the other’s latest message, with the sad face at the end. Though he’s never seen a picture of the guy behind @exoDOse, he could imagine him actually pouting while typing that message out. The image stirred a warm feeling in his chest that Jongin chose to ignore in favor of flatulence and probable heart burn from the extra-fuego taco and burrito he had earlier.

Dropping his backpack lightly next to his feet, he typed in a reply.

From @jongoutheslayer: Ok, sounds interesting. I’m in. When do we start?



Jongin begins questioning, like really questioning his life choices when the first picture he was supposed to ‘post’ on his brand new Instagram account gets cut halfway, showing barely half of his torso — the focus of which being his right . The only spot in his entire body he’s ever truly conscious about.

His left eye twitches as his stares back at him from his timeline in all its blown-up unevenly bumpy glory; and both his nape and forehead get covered in sweat as he desperately tries to adjust (“Can it even do that??”) or delete the photo altogether (“Where the heck is the delete button??”).

Jongin helplessly taps all over his Instagram profile, hoping for some sort-of miracle that his embarrassing first photo gets deleted. But all it does is heart and un-heart his own photo like a sore loser. He even debates on un-following @exoDOse so the other wouldn’t have to see his sorry excuse for a , but ultimately decides on renaming his account as to mislead him. No worries; he’ll just make a new one (and hopefully post a better picture this time.)

He changes his account name from kai boy-88 (username: @jongoutheslayer) to random boy 1111111 (username: @ybotheritznotm3).

Then, satisfied with how he changed the account information, logged out of that account and forced the password out of his memory so he’ll never be able to open it again.

He then began constructing a new one: account name EXOs kai, with the username: itsmekaiiii (the ‘i’ had to be dragged out since too many people already had a similar username). Jongin liked that one and so despite the situation, stubbornly stuck with it. He followed @exoDOse shortly after, under the username @DOremiexo.

This time, Jongin took a picture with the Instagram camera instead, to make sure no more unnecessary nip slips would occur on his part. Remembering what ‘D.O’ had said about Instagram being a kinkier place for roleplaying, he decided to give the other a surprise.

He decided on changing poses right before clicking the shutter, puffing his chest out and doing something more. However he hadn’t expected that his plan unfolded better in his head than executed in the flesh because the selfie took a turn for the worst.

“Maybe this is God’s way of reprimanding me for my sinful actions, gently reminding me that there IS Someone up there watching my every move,” Jongin whined bitterly as he stared at his newly posted photo.

It was him (sans his face as always), chest out — but with a tiny yet obvious drop of spit on his chest near his pectorals.

Jongin planned in his head to show the other that he had a slick, sweaty, y chest — but he only ended up looking gross.

He tapped on the shutter too soon and not knowing that the photo would capture immediately, he didn’t have the time to rub his spit. In his haste to delete the photo he accidentally posted it. Suddenly @ybotheritznotm3’s post didn’t seem too bad after all.

He cringed and inhaled through his teeth in frustration before chucking his phone onto his bed (not the floor or any hard surface for that matter since he can’t afford to actually break it) and crawling over to his nearest hardbound book, immediately knocking his forehead over it repeatedly in agony.

“Dear God, why.”

“Um. This is interesting.” Kyungsoo murmured, low but enough for his seatmate to hear him. His seatmate, being the big-eared Park Chanyeol, managed to catch it no matter how few decibels it actually produced.

Chanyeol didn’t turn his head away from his homework though but murmured back to Kyungsoo. “What is?”

Kyungsoo, eyes wide and temple already sweating hurriedly stood up from his seat next to Chanyeol and grabbed his backpack. “Nothing — I, uh, I’ll be right back.” Is all he says before hightailing it out of the library.

Chanyeol, not even having had lifted his head from his homework, replied with a noncommittal grunt, fingers too busy sketching neurons on his notebook to pick up on the suspiciousness of Kyungsoo’s actions.



At this point, Jongin and Kyungsoo were well past sending each other teasing pictures half , but have now moved on to flat out sending each other pics. It first happened on Instagram, and Kyungsoo initiated it, capping the picture of the top part of his as “Whoops my hand slipped, look who accidentally got caught on cam”. To say the very least, they have both gotten more than a 360 degree view of each other’s courtesy of Instagram.

Kyungsoo’s grandmother was right all along, bless her soul. Money wasn’t the root of all sin — it was social media.



Kyungsoo ran past all the students, his backpack covering his front as he raced to the 2nd floor Anthropology Department’s men’s bathroom (which no one ever really uses since it’s supposed to be haunted but Kyungsoo uses anyway since signal reception was surprisingly strong inside) and sat on the closed toilet seat on the last stall.

Breathing hard, Kyungsoo hung his backpack on the hook on the back of the stall door in front of him before whipping out his phone. The picture was still there, ‘Kai’s’ pic in all its vein-y allure, taken while he was still in class — an outline of a desk was visible above his head — with a caption that read: “Even while studying I’m thinking about you — suddenly Maths is hard for an entirely different reason ;)”.

The caption made Kyungsoo chuckle but the actual picture made him cross his legs, one over the other, and his throat to run dry. He had to get out of the library immediately lest he started touching himself in his seat next to Chanyeol.

There were just some things bestfriend’s didn’t share after all, Kyungsoo mused as he started unbuckling his belt and ping his pants.



“MNGHHH…UNGHH…”



“Son of a — there it is again! I told you this bathroom should have been closed for good!” a nervous looking Luhan complained to an impassive Yixing as they passed by the supposedly haunted 2nd floor bathroom. “I know someone died in there, I just know!”

Yixing, unimpressed, glanced back at his co-teacher, reaching behind his head to scratch there as he talked. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but have you ever been given the talk about ‘the birds and the bees?’”

From @jongoutheslayer: Hey, have you heard about Snapchat??? My best friend uses it and says it’s awesome. He says that it resembles Instagram in a way, but less likely to leak nudes — less permanent. It’s the perfect app for the spur of the moment things — like what we do, mostly. Haha. I already made an account — trying to get a hang of it now!! Add me when you’ve made your account: @jongouttahere (p.s the app is readily available on playstore).



Kyungsoo is skeptic but he gives it a shot, making his account under the username @jesoos. He adds ‘Kai’ immediately after he created his account, and is greeted by the other accepting his request in less than 2 seconds. He smiles, amused at how eager the other seems to be.

He remains staring at his Snapchat account, waiting for the other to make a move — to lead what their conversation here would be. They talk regularly on Twitter, their tweets strictly for roleplay, while their DMs are for anything and everything in between. They use Instagram to spice up their virtual bedroom life, as well as to mess around OOC. So he’s kind of nervous of what ‘Kai’ has in store for him with Snapchat; all there’s left untouched is real life.

Kyungsoo’s tablet beeps, notifying him of his new Snapchat message — and is rewarded with a picture of ‘Kai’s’ real life dogs, poodles of varying shades of gray and brown , which he fondly refers to as Monggu, Janggah, and Janggu.

Kyungsoo smiles, nerves replaced instead with the feeling of his heart expanding as he imagines these dogs all over their owner. Though Kyungsoo has never seen a picture of ‘Kai”, he can almost imagine with alarming clarity what kind of face the other had. He already knew he had a nice body — had seen it up close more than once, knew that he had naturally tanned skin — and had remembered the other once tell him he had dyed his hair chocolate brown.

His throat closed tight at the image, the feeling spreading over his chest the longer he thought about the dog’s owner. Pulling himself together, Kyungsoo cleared his throat (though no one else was there with him) and stood up, walked out of his and Chanyeol’s shared apartment, and took a picture of the plant outside in a poor attempt at distraction.

“This is Prickzilla the Cacti. Chanyeol and I call him Pricilla for short.” Kyungsoo sends the photo over to Jongin with the caption.

He receives a reply in an instant, the photo of ‘Kai’s’ hand in a thumbs down pose. “Boo,” the caption reads. “How is Pricilla short for Prickzilla?”

Kyungsoo laughed, hearty and full as he leaned his back against the wall near Pricilla. He sent the other a snap of his middle finger raised, with the caption: “Shh, you’ll make Pricilla cry. She can hear you.”

‘Kai’ managed to reply a snap of both his thumbs facing downward, sad-faced emojis littering the screen. (In Kyungsoo’s defense, he drew teardrops and eyes on the lone middle finger to make it appear more Cacti-ish instead of crude.)

It’s Friday night and Jongin is sitting on his bed eating Ramyun, his laptop placed in front of him as he scrolls through the Facebook sign up page, creating an account for the first time. There’s too many questions and it’s entirely unhelpful that his laptop is lagging again, not to mention his connection decided to on him too, the reload button on top forever circling. He’s quickly losing his patience.

He’s also waiting for his best friend Sehun to arrive, since the other called him hours ago saying he needs to stop living the hermit life and come party with him. Jongin was adamant on saying no to his invite, but said he was always welcome to come over if he wanted to. Sehun whined nasally but agreed to come over in a few.

Sehun’s ‘in a few’ turned out to be ‘in a few hours’ because when he finally showed up, it was well past midnight. Good thing the building he lived in didn’t have a curfew, or Sehun’s noodle would’ve been left outside in the cold.

“G’day, mate!” Sehun bellowed as a greeting once the door opened, already making his way in without even closing the door.

Jongin grumbled, closing the door after his noisy best friend. “Stop being racist, Sehun. Plus not too loud! I have floormates who are actually Australian, y’know. If they hear you and come knocking at my door, I’m sending you out without a second thought.”

Sehun scoffed and rolled his eyes, plopping down on the edge of Jongin’s bed. “I doubt anyone’s even home right now, to be honest. Everyone’s probably out partying and getting booty while I’m here stuck with you.”

Now it was Jongin’s turn to scoff. “I didn’t force you to come, idiot.” He sat against his headboard, pulling his laptop onto his lap and began typing. “Anyway, if you’re hungry I think I still have a can of beer and a plate of chicken in the fridge. Feel free to eat.” More typing.

Sehun pursed his lips, taking his cap off then pointing it at Jongin. “What are you doing?”

He didn’t even look up, eyes still glued to his monitor when he answered. “Mm?”

“I’ve been here for 5 minutes and you aren’t even paying attention to me. Usually you’re all over me by now.”

Jongin snorted, stretching his foot so he could bop Sehun with it.

Not used to being ignored, Sehun finally made his way around the bed and peered at his laptop. Jongin instinctively moved it away, lowering the monitor a bit. “What are you doing — “

“Facebook. Really? Who even uses that anymore — how old are you, 60?”

Jongin frowns at his friend. “Hey, I have friends who use it. I use it. Facebook is a perfectly fine, perfectly safe social media platform. Now shoo,” he makes shooing motions with his free hand, “go make fun of something else. I’m busy — HEY GIVE ME THAT.”

Sehun snatches it from him mid ramble, immediately looking through his account. “Friends, you have like one friend — and oh here’s a message from him now…oh my god a boyfriend? Is HE YOUR BOYFRIEND? Tell me!”

Ears steaming and cheeks flaming, he roughly takes his laptop back and shuts it closed in one swift move. He glares at Sehun. “He’s not my boyfriend. He’s uh, some friend from the internet…” He trails off, not knowing how to label who ‘D.O’ is in his life.

“A friend who you exchange nudes with?” Sehun presses with a knowing stance.

“No!” he answers a little defensively. “I just — he’s just a friend,” Jongin finishes lamely, to which Sehun narrows his eyes at.

“Hey Jongin,” he begins, sniffing once in the air. “Smell that?”

“Huh?” Distracted by the sudden change of topic, he sniffs the air too. “Smell what?”

Sehun suddenly leans forward, all up in Jongin’s personal bubble as he whispers lowly near his ear. “I smell bull.”



When Kyungsoo wakes up the next morning at 10am, he checks his tablet and sees a snap from ‘Kai’ timed 3:45am. It’s a blurry picture of a tall guy being shoved out of the door. The caption reads: “nm, just took out the trash.”

Since Sehun’s visit, Jongin’s been difficult to talk to, suddenly moody then awkward for absolutely no reason at all. Jongin knows he’s being bratty, he can’t help it; and he can tell @exoDOse has already taken notice.

On the 3^rdday of his mood swings, the other decided to confront him about it on Facebook while they were playing Criminal Investigation against each other.

Jongin was sulkily clicking on a random part of the Crime Scene when the red bubble appeared on his messages and a Pasta Soos chat box opened below. He stopped clicking in favor of reading his message.

Pasta Soos: Okay Kai, enough is enough. Tell me what’s wrong or I won’t talk to you for a week. I’m serious.

Jongin’s eyes widened a bit, surprised that the other would ask him bluntly. Rubbing at a spot under his chin where stubble was starting to grow, he considered his options.

Talking to ‘D.O’ about his confused feelings for him was automatically out of the question, yet he couldn’t just lie for the sake of answering him because he at it. Terribly. And somehow ‘D.O’ could always tell when he lied, so it’s a no on that idea as well. So he settles on blaming Sehun instead.

Kaind Seoul: Alright, alright. I’ll spill, jeez. It’s my best friend, Sehun. He said some…things that hurt my feelings someway. But I’m fine, don’t worry. :D

Pasta Soos: Somehow I’m not convinced. Are you sure you’re okay? I can feel ur moping through your replies — it makes me want to mope too. :/

Kaind Seoul: Haha, really? Then mope with me! I don’t really feel like playing anymore…I just wanna sigh and pretend I’m an emo teenager again.

Pasta Soos: lmao, shut up. I can imagine EXO’s Kai being all emo and I just choked on my nachos. Take responsibility!!

Kaind Seoul: ur rly lame, why are we even friends

Pasta Soos: b cur fond of me, duh.

Kaind Seoul: true, lol. I want my life back pls.

Pasta Soos: sorry, we have a no return, no exchange policy here. Didn’t u read it before joining the roleplay? I’m stuck w/u 4 life

Pasta Soos: its not like I wanted it 2 be that way too pls, get over urself

Kaind Seoul: I didn’t even say anything yet!!! Stop bullying me!!! #stopDOdbully2k16

Pasta Soos: who tf uses hashtags on fb

Pasta Soos: also, feeling better yet? If you aren’t, I can call u and let you hear Chanyeol snore in his sleep

Kaind Seoul: ??????? how would that make me feel better lmao

Pasta Soos: he farts too lol

Jongin ends up laughing loudly, the first time in a few days since his mood became sour, and he couldn’t control it. His laugh turns into a choke-wheeze and he clutches his laptop monitor, eyes shining with happy tears as he rereads the conversation.

He presses a light kiss on top of Pasta Soos’ profile picture of Kimchi Spaghetti.



“Thank you.”

It’s 3 am and Jongin’s eyes are barely open. He’s resting his entire upper body on top of his dinner table/makeshift study desk in an uncomfortable position because even his body has recognized that it is in fact already 3 am. Grains of rice as well as pencil shavings stick to various parts of his face but Jongin doesn’t even notice because he’s too busy flirting with his roleplay boyfriend/internet friend/flirt mate (?) ; schoolwork and the concept of time blending into the background as more important matters for him make themselves known.

A small smile graces Jongin’s tired features as he reads @exoDOse’s n^thattempt at bidding him goodnight. The message says:

Alright, Kai. I think its time for bed now. In fact, I said this hours ago and its probably more accurate to say its time for breakfast now. Hah. But seriously, sleep. Bed.Us. Go.

Jongin’s small smile morphs into a sly smirk as he types in a reply.

R u sure? I thought u were tired.

The reply comes after a minute.

Down boy. Don’t wake up the beast. Aren’t you even a little bit sleepy?

Jongin considers this and opts for an honest reply.

I guess I am sleepy. More than a little, tbh. But b4 we both log off for tonight…I have a proposition for you. Would u hear me out?

The reply becomes sloppy and less immediate as drowsiness manifests itself in physical form.

Ok,.Whattisit?

Jongin yawns, eyes watering and squinting, staying squinted even after that, disregarding the need to type a coherent response.

Do u thnkitsstim 4 skyp?



Both of them lose the battle to the Sandman just as Jongin manages to press send.

“Oh my ing-CHANYEOL!”Kyungsoo bellows from the top bunk.

Chanyeol jerks awake at the sound of his friend and roommates loud voice, body on autopilot and already lifting himself up, only to bump his forehead harshly on a hard wooden surface.

“Oh , what the  — ow!” Chanyeol lies back down, clutching his bruised forehead in agony as he slowly remembers that he’s slept on the floor under his bottom bunk while doing some of his art projects.

“God, are you alright?” Kyungsoo peers from his perch on the top bunk, his messy hair temporarily pointing in one direction as his head sticks out to check on his friend.

Chanyeol angrily slides out from under his bunk and glares at Kyungsoo with one eye open, both hands still clutching his forehead. “Do I look ‘alright’ to you? I feel like a baby chick is about to burst out of my cracked forehead.” Chanyeol grunts lowly and closes the other eye too. “This better be worth bruising me.”



Kyungsoo bites his lip but doesn’t move an inch after that, still staring down at his friend in half-felt sympathy. “I-um, sorry about that Chanyeol. It’s just that this guy I’ve been talking to for months wants to start skyping me soon and I don’t know how to respond but — ooof!”

A pillow comes flying directly onto Kyungsoo’s face unmercifully, cutting off his rant. “For s sake it’s this again — grow a pair and leave me out of this! I haven’t even had coffee yet!”

Chanyeol abruptly stands up in all his gangly sleep-deprived glory and yanks the door open, slamming it just as hard as he leaves.

“Gee, someone has a rather large stick uncomfortably stuck up in their .” Kyungsoo murmurs as the hurricane that is Chanyeol has left.

“I heard that — I’ll deal with you after I’ve had my coffee, Do Kyungsoo. Just you wait.”



Kyungsoo raises both palms up in defeat, eyes wide as he stares at the door.

Kyungsoo sends a snap over to ‘Kai’ of his stuffed toy collection all sprawled out on the floor the minute he walks in. The apartment is a mess and his grumpy roommate is nowhere to be found. Kyungsoo adorns the snapped picture with a lone crying emoji.

The other responds after an hour.

Jongouttahere: awww, they’re like one big leaf pile but more fluffy and beady. What happened?

Kyungsoo rests his chin on his left hand as he types in a reply.

Jesoos: I think I pissed Chanyeol off for real or something. Nothing to worry about tho, he’s sleep deprived. Yknow, college.

Jongouttahere: Ah, college. Tell me about it. Finals are coming for me soon too. Do you know how many classics I have to read to pass?

Kyungsoo grins, imagining a disgruntled person on the other side with books all around him and a phone in his hand.

Jesoos: No, but I bet they aren’t as many as the research papers I have to submit for my Social Sciences class. I swear my professors all draw energy from those research papers or something that’s why they always require those. It’s physically and mentally draining.

Jongouttahere: :P bleh, we’re all in college. We’re ALL dying one way or another. What do you think studying stands for, hm? It’s a combination of Student+ Dying. Studying. I bet college stands for collective genocide or something. Anyway, my body’s reaaaaally craving for a break. Stiff in places and all that. Mind indulging me for a bit? Pretty please with your favorite nachos on top?

Kyungsoo actually scoffs out loud before glancing behind him to check if Chanyeol’s arrived home yet, already considering ‘Kai’s’ request.

He stands up, locks the front door, sits back down and s his pants.

Jesoos: You’re ridiculous.

Jongouttahere: *insert thirsty emoji here* Pft. I know u love me tho <3

Kyungsoo ends up sending him a racy picture anyway.

It’s the end of the week and both him and ‘D.O’ are at the final stages of their college-induced inferno, almost done with all the exams and the school work they had to take and do.

Jongin, wanting a break again suggested the skype call to the other, reasoning that it was the perfect time for a call since they were both so worn out from studying that they’d be equally too tired to feel awkward around one another.

He hadn’t expected the other to readily agree though, sending his mind reeling and his body rigid with anxiety.

Minutes have passed and Jongin is already prepared to tear a part of his hair out.

“Come on you ing wuss, call him already!”

He was frustrated with himself, lower lip worn out and bruised, the tear in his left pant leg growing as he anxiously tugs on it.

His fingers are frozen over the call button, eyes focused on @exoDOse’s lack of profile picture as he goes back and forth in his brain on whether or not he wants to call him.

Questions like “do I really want to hear his voice?”, “Is now really the right time?” and “what if I don’t like what I hear?” arise. Or worse, his overactive imagination kicks in and is suddenly worrying, “what if this guy is a huge catfish despite everything and is actually some 70 year old guy looking for young people to taint in hopes of ‘reliving the good times’?” Jongin shudders at that last one, torn between wanting to hear the guy behind @exoDOse speak and at the same time wanting to keep the anonymity between them which sparked their mutual interest in the first place.

But, Jongin knows deep inside that his hesitation comes from something else entirely. He’s worried that something might go wrong when they finally get to hear each other, and then they’d have to deal with never talking again. Something churned in Jongin’s stomach, making him clutch his phone tighter.

@exoDOse evolved more than just his roleplay boyfriend and flirt buddy over the months. He’s also become Jongin’s closest friend (besides Sehun of course) and most trusted confidant. He was someone Jongin could turn to if things were getting rough and he desperately needed a pick me up. He was also the one he went to in times when he was in literal need; which was as much fun as it was blisteringly hot, but which also gave Jongin emotions for the other he didn’t really know what to do with.

He was a confused mess, minutes away from hearing the voice of the one he most cared about. This moment screamed Do or Die. Did he or did he not want to hear and be heard?

Eventually, realizing that he doesn’t actually have much of a choice left (as his heart had already decided for him) he goes on with the call, prompting his right thumb to move and press down on the call button.

The skype ringtone plays while he waits for @exoDOse to pick up the call.

So far, they’ve told each other about themselves as much as real couples and friends do to one another.

Jongin is aware that @exoDOse likes observing people, that it’s part of his nature and sort-of an acquired behavior as a Social Anthropologist that he enjoys the companionship of humans and knowing of their cultures and lifestyles.

On the other hand, @exoDOse also knew that though not really diagnosed with Social Anxiety, Jongin was pretty damn close to having one — being an introvert all his life, not really coming out of his shell much unless needed, even in college. He knew that Jongin grew nervous around crowds and whenever he was the center of attention of even just one person.

They’ve told each other personal things, such as dreams, aspirations, fears, fantasies, problems and theories they wouldn’t even voice themselves out loud.

But never once revealed the most essential information in getting to truly know the other person: their real names, their birthdays, and their faces.

Basically they withheld divulging information helpful enough to recognize the other person in real life, but had enough insider information on each other’s personality and quirks to ask one another in the event of a zombie apocalypse or cloning to determine who was who; those same quirks engraved in his memory, as familiar to him as the back of his own hand. Knowing things about the other that he knew no one else did made Jongin want to know more about the guy behind @exoDOse so badly.

To risk the strange yet comfortable feeling of eternal limbo they had surrounded themselves with for a shot on something real.

This is what ultimately drove him to suggest the skype call in the first place. He felt that their friendship/relationship/togethership was ready for the next level — it was stable enough to seem to handle the real world.



“Hello?”



Jongin dropped his phone on the floor out of surprise, bringing him out of his reveries, the low, velvety-smooth voice on the other line unlike anything he’s ever heard before. He hurriedly picks his phone up the moment he recovers, muttering a shaky ‘hello?’ as he does so, only to panic as he realizes his phone has shut down.

“ — goddamn it!”

Curses fly out of Jongin’s mouth in low tones as he takes his phone’s battery out before placing it back in, heart pounding erratically and sweat gathering thinly on his forehead as he reassembles his phone in the quickest time possible.

Everything is taking too long to operate and Jongin is beyond agitated as he impatiently clenches and unclenches his left hand while he waits for his phone to function again.

“One job, Jongin.One job. And you manage to this up.”

His phone is fully now, wifi just barely starting to connect again but too many minutes have already passed for someone to be waiting on a call. Jongin kicks the nearest furniture in frustration, the coffee table moving an inch as he glares at his phone and on the Skype app loading.

When it finally loads, there’s a bubble next to @exoDOse’s profile and Jongin can’t tap on his phone fast enough so he can see it. He’s missed one call from him and there’s a message asking him if he’s changed his mind about the call.

Jongin tilts his head up for a moment, hand tightening around his phone as he attempts to calm himself down. He closes his eyes and breathes in and out slowly before typing out a reply, wondering just how much of the embarrassing truth he should tell him. Deciding that being honest is the way to go, he sends @exoDOse a message.

Jongoutheslayer: sorry! I dropped my phone when you finally answered and the battery got lodged out so I had to piece my phone back together again. If you still have time, I’d like to try again?

Kyungsoo’s lips are pursed as he reads jongoutheslayer’s response to him on Skype. He then flits his eyes again towards his left where his dwindling pile of homework lay. He has class in a few hours and about half of that pile was to be submitted in that very class. But then he looks at jongoutheslayer’s message and how he probably has his own homework to worry about but despite that is still online, talking to him. So he decides that another five minutes taken out of his study time wouldn’t hurt.

exoDOse: well, alright. But I don’t have much time. Is five minutes enough?

The reply is almost instantaneous.

Jongoutheslayer: that’s more than enough, tbh. I’ll call now, okay?

The Skype ringtone blares out a few seconds later, Kyungsoo hesitating for a bit like he did a while ago before pressing the answer button.

He remains silent as he waits for the person on the other line to speak.

“He…llo?”

The voice is low, a bit nasally, but the uncertain tone to it makes Kyungsoo smile.

“Hey,”

The other line is silent, until Kyungsoo hears a faint exhale.

“So, um. Yeah. What’s up? I guess?”

Kyungsoo chuckles and runs a hand through his hair, leaning down a bit so his voice is heard louder on the other line when he speaks. “Really, that’s what you want us to call for?”

There’s indignant huffing on the other line, and Kyungsoo arranges some of his papers with a faint smile on his face.

“Hey, cut me some slack! This is my first time calling some stranger on Skype — I haven’t exactly read a manual on this stuff.”

Kyungsoo’s eyebrows raise an inch as he zeroes in on the word ‘stranger’.

“I doubt there is any social media platform that comes with a manual, to be honest.”

Kyungsoo’s voice drips with a sickeningly-sweet tone as he continues talking. “But a stranger, really. I’ve basically seen you . I can accurately predict your size by now. I know you’re into that whole thing after reading — I quote, crap such as Fifty Shades to get it out of your system properly, end of quote. And I also know that Shakespeare’s works make you cry. Am I still really a stranger after all that now, mm?”

There’s an occasional strangled whimper after Kyungsoo whips out dirty secret after dirty secret, leaving ‘Kai’ a boneless, undignified mess. Kyungsoo thinks he even hears tripping and a very faint f-word being cursed after he finished talking.

“Will you please filter your mouth more, god.” Comes the scandalized whisper from the other line. “And that kink was supposed to be a secret between us!”

Kyungsoo chuckles, fingers from his free hand coming up to mime a zipping action on his lips despite the guy on the other line not being able to see him. “Your secret’s safe with me, don’t worry, baby.”

‘Kai’ actually chokes now, coughing and wheezing while Kyungsoo cackles evilly on the other line. When he recovers, it sounds like a cross between an angry hiss and an asthmatic wheeze. “You’re Satan’s incarnate, aren’t you?”

Kyungsoo’s smile is fond as he glances at his unfinished homework. “God, I wish you were here so I could ruffle your hair condescendingly. That would complete the look quite nicely, don’t you think?”

The person on the other line grew quiet, the faint buzzing of bad internet connectivity coloring the background, as Kyungsoo’s words begin to dawn on him. “…” He hears himself mutter before hurriedly bidding ‘Kai’ goodbye.

“Wait!” The other line screams in frustration, and Kyungsoo moves the earpiece away. “I…I never caught your name. Your real name.”

Hesitant, Kyungsoo leaned into the receiver, fingers holding excessively tight onto his table as if that would help anchor him to the ground instead of to the clouds where the other voice on the line was unknowingly taking him.

“M-my name is Kyungsoo. Do…Kyungsoo.”

There was an audible sigh on the other line, the voice much softer than it was before. “Nice to finally know your name, Do Kyungsoo. I’m Jongin — Kim Jongin. Talk to you later, Kyungsoo.”

“Jongin!” two loud knocks. “Jongin, there’s something here for you! I swear to God that mailman mixes up our packages on purpose. We’re both Kim’s but seriously mine starts with a ‘Jun’ and yours ‘Jong’ like seriously. Korean isn’t that hard — ”

The door opens and a disheveled Jongin stands behind it, taking the package out of Junmyeon’s hands with a small smile of gratitude. “Thanks, Hyung.”

They stand there awkwardly for a bit as Junmyeon looks at Jongin curiously. The latter starts to feel uncomfortable and takes a step back inside his apartment. “So, um. yeah have a nice day, thanks again bye — ”

“Wait!”

Jongin startles and freezes, the door halfway through closing as he widens his eyes at Junmyeon. “Y-yeah?”

Junmyeon considers Jongin for a bit longer before reaching behind him to pull a white envelope out of his back pocket.

“Here, if you’re interested. It’s not ’til next week so, think about it.” Junmyeon places the envelope on top of the package. Jongin glances at it and then back to Junmyeon. He then smiles his infamous angelic grin and taps Jongin’s bicep once before closing the door himself.

Jongin eyes the envelope as if it would explode any minute before shrugging it off his package and onto the coffee table. He then gives his full attention to the package at hand.

He was certain it was those paperbacks he was supposed to review for the entire month, 20 books all in all. But he noticed that the package was a little on the light side, lacking the usual weight a box full of books would usually weigh.

Curious, he immediately grabbed the pen he always kept in his pant’s back pocket, clicking it once and then gliding the sharp tip over the tape on top. He flipped the top flaps over and was greeted with a rather unexpected sight. Eyes wide and feeling utterly confused, he began inspecting its contents.

From the likes of it, the contents seemed to have been purchased from an adult store. It was the only logical explanation for having fluffy pink handcuffs, glinting black chains of sorts, and various shapes and sizes of s all in one box.

Jongin thought briefly if Kyungsoo (yes, he was calling him on a first name basis now) was the one who sent him these as a prank, knowing of his -ish tendencies. But then he remembered that he never told the other where he lived, let alone which country he could be found in.

Scratching his head, he carefully lifted the box up, careful not to spill its contents, to check on the package information.

“Kim…” Jongin began. “Jun…myeon?”

Which meant that the other had his books. Wasting no time, he hightailed it out of his stuffy apartment, walked down two floors over to Junmyeon’s room and knocked on his door.

Jongin felt the familiar pit of angry butterflies dance around inside his stomach, making him uneasy and sweaty — basically discomfort personified.

The door opened and revealed Junmyeon’s curious face, along with one other person he didn’t know behind him. A girl; a pretty one at that. Jongin felt his feet sweat under the scrutiny.

“Um, hy-hyung I think you gave me the wrong um, box.”

Junmyeon’s angelic features scrunched in slight disbelief. “Is that so? Wait here, I’ll check the box that I have. I haven’t opened it yet since Wendy came over.” Junmyeon made a move to turn around but remembered his manners and gave Jongin and Wendy hasty introductions.

“Oh um, Jongin this is Wendy, my cousin. She’s the one having a party in the invitation I gave you. Wendy, this is Jongin. He’s a year younger than me, a lit student.”

Jongin and Wendy bowed slightly at each other before flashing the customary smile in situations like this. “Right, I’ll be right back.”

When Junmyeon disappeared back into the apartment, Wendy took a step forward and glanced at the box. “What’s inside it?” She asked in a perfect Aussie accent, face molded into an expression of honest curiosity.

Meanwhile Jongin’s face turned an ugly shade of red, ears burning at the same time feeling the sweat reach the tips of his hair.

“Um,” Jongin mumbled, glancing inside Junmyeon’s slightly ajar door, willing him to hurry the up.

“Just — adult…stuff.” He finished lamely.

“Ooh,” Wendy breathed, peering over at the top of the box. “Like Law books or something?”

He nodded weakly.

Jongin felt like he was seconds away from spontaneously combusting, forced to lie his way through this stranger so he wouldn’t have to explain anything about the box; sometimes the truth was better left unsaid.

To his rescue, Junmyeon came running out the door hurriedly, setting Jongin’s box by his feet and grabbing harshly onto the box in Jongin’s hands. “I am so, SO terribly sorry about that, Jongin.” Junmyeon apologized, eyes going wide at the second ‘so’, ears tinted red at the tips as well.

“Don’t worry about it hyung…” Jongin mumbled, already avoiding eye contact as he bent down to carry his box. “Well I — I better get going. Bye hyung, Wendy. And — ”

He turned around, back facing them. “I might not be able to go to the party, sorry. But thanks for the invite.” He glanced back, smiled at Wendy, avoided Junmyeon’s eyes, and was on his way back to his door.

Wendy chirped up a cheery goodbye and a ‘you’re still invited if you change your mind!’, unaware of the tension emanating between the two people in front of her.

“You would not believe what happened to me today,” the man on the other line breathed, while Kyungsoo tapped around his laptop, listening.

“Let me guess — you gave a public speech today?” There was a lilt in Kyungsoo’s voice, which didn’t come unnoticed by the other party.

“Ha-ha, very funny Kyungsoo.”

“Well you’re fun to tease Jongin. But okay, what’s up?”

Kyungsoo was editing his last research paper for the entire semester while listening to Jongin on Skype via voice call, confident that he would be able to perform both tasks with ease since he was almost done with the former.

“Shut up, Soo. Well anyway — you know this Junmyeon-hyung I’ve been telling you about? The one that keeps saying ‘hi’ to me and attempt small talk whenever we run into each other?”

Kyungsoo hummed in affirmation, right index finger tapping on the backspace key repeatedly as he erased a grammar error. “The one who I’ve told you a million times is a hundred percent into you? Yeah, what about him? Did he finally confess?”

Jongin groaned from the other line. “This again, seriously give it a rest. And no, there was no confessing since there is absolutely nothing to confess about. But our packages did get switched again. He delivered to me his package by mistake, and I was um — I took a look at the contents and wow.”

Kyungsoo’s expression morphed into a mixture of amusement and curiosity. “Switched again? What was inside?”

“Adult toys! Good God,”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened, not believing what he had just heard. “What? Adult toys? As in, horse s?”

There was a guffaw on the other line. “Not horse s, just normal s. But yes. And handcuffs. And chains. I was honestly taken aback. I never pegged Junmyeon-hyung as the type.”

Kyungsoo scoffed. “You know what they say, Saint on the Streets, Devil on the Sheets!”

Jongin groaned, and probably face palmed, Kyungsoo guessed as heard a soft slap. “Do people still even actually say that phrase out loud? How old are you, 40?”

Kyungsoo chuckled. “I’m 22. Not 40. How rude.”

“Woah,” Jongin gasped. “You’re my hyung too, then.”

“Huh? How old are you? I didn’t accidentally take away your innocence, did I? If you’re a minor I swear to god Kim Jongin I will drop this call and block you forever.”

There was an amused laugh on the other end, to which Kyungsoo just raised an eyebrow at. He was half-serious about the threat.

“Relax hyung, I’m turning 21 this January. Totally not a minor.”

“Hey, I’m turning 23 this January too!” Kyungsoo hesitated, but still proceeded on asking him. “When on January, exactly?”

“The 14^th!”

“Woah, my birthday’s on the 12th. High five!” Kyungsoo high-fived his earpiece’s microphone and heard Jongin do the same on the other line.

“So what’re you up to, hyung?” Jongin purposely stressed the honorific out, just to rile Kyungsoo up.

“Feels weird hearing you say that. You know what, this might actually change things. I think I might never see you as anything but my saeng now. No more nudes, okay?” Kyungsoo tried to stifle the chuckle he wanted to let out, covering the microphone as he disguised the chuckle as a cough.

“Hey!” Jongin whined. “That isn’t fair, I’m not a kid.” Kyungsoo could practically hear the pout in his voice.

“Awww, look at how bad Jonginnie wants me. Who’s thirsty for the D, who is?” Kyungsoo cooed, research paper all saved and edited, half his attention now shifted onto the buttons on the Skype screen.

“Stop that, Jesus. And I am not thirsty for the D! I just — I don’t really see you as a hyung, in its most literal sense, okay.”

“Because you saw my ?”

“No! God put a filter on that thing. It’s because I like you! Like literally want-to-go-on-a-proper-date-with-you like you!”

Kyungsoo gasped softly, hunched stature frozen in place as he digested Jongin’s words.

It was a while before he answered; voice hesitant, unsure. He could hear Jongin’s breathing through his earphones like they were right beside each other. “Is…is that a confession?”

There was a loud inhale on the other end, and then Jongin replied. “Yes, yes it is. I like you, Do Kyungsoo. Will you um, formally date me? As myself, and not Kai anymore.”

Kyungsoo tried to make sense of the restless beating of his heart, and realized that yes, this was what he was feeling all along. The foreign sensation of excitement, anxiety and fondness all bubbling up in one emotion. He was in love.

“Jongin…do you have a camera on you? I…want, I want to see you.”

“Have you got the tickets ready?”

“Hell yeah I have! I can’t wait to see you this summer. Only 7 months left!” Kyungsoo laughed at Jongin’s enthusiasm.

“Your fault for being so damn far away. Come home soon!”

“I told you a hundred times I was granted a college scholarship on Perth and it was too good of a deal to pass up on. How many people get to have foreign education for free? Not many right? So there. But don’t worry. I’ll be back in Seoul sooner than you think.”

Kyungsoo flashed him the bird through the webcam, earning him a throaty chuckle from the other. “Stop flaunting your 4.0s in my face, you jerk.” But there was no real venom in his voice when he said that.

“Books are man’s best friend, Soo.” Jongin waved a thick Oxford dictionary in front of the camera.

“I think you meant dogs — ”

The sound of a door knob being twisted caught Kyungsoo’s attention, a worn out Chanyeol trudging into their tiny doorway.

“Oh, Chanyeol’s here. Hey, welcome back!”

Chanyeol glanced at Kyungsoo and then at the laptop in front of him, seeing Jongin’s face on the screen, waving and grinning at him.

Chanyeol felt his mood lift because of the two of them, responding with a low ‘Yo mah dawgs,” before disappearing into the kitchen.

As soon as he disappeared, Jongin leaned in eerily close to the web cam, whispering conspiratorially. “Have you told him yet?”

“Shhhhhhhhh, not so loud! You’ll ruin the surprise.”

Jongin nodded, his face a blurry smudge in the screen as the laptop froze for a second. “Ugh, damn internet connection.”

Kyungsoo spoke into the microphone. “Hang on Jongin, I’ll restart the modem for a bit. I’ll be back.” He blew the other a kiss through the microphone before ending the call with him and displaying his status as offline in Skype.

Then he scrolled through his contacts, stopping at one name.

“Hey Baek. You on your way yet?”

Jongin still had a whole 4 and a half months to finish in Perth before he would be able to come home and be with his Squishy. (Yes, he calls him that now.)

Every video call and chat with Kyungsoo made Jongin’s insides tingle with warmth, anticipation and longing, wanting to drag the days together so he’d be with him sooner.

Not to mention his raging drive — he had a hunch Kyungsoo was good looking, but not that hot. Never in his wildest dreams. Just thinking about his boyfriend’s pouty lips gave him random and unwanted boners, most of which happened when he was away from the internet. It was honestly infuriating.

So to solve this problem, Kyungsoo agreed to try Skype with him. At first, Jongin was thrilled, and apparently his was too, standing at full attention the moment the other said “fine”. Now, the idea just feels stupid. And Jongin feels stupid.

He’s facing his laptop, waiting for Kyungsoo’s call.

The butterflies in his stomach were tripling in number quickly in anticipation — and when the call finally came, he answered it but dashed away, screaming a “wait I have to pee!”

Kyungsoo chuckled, tapping his fingers along the space beside his mouse pad. They were going to attempt Skype , and he did his research.

When Jongin finally emerged from the comfort of his bathroom, Kyungsoo was swiping away on his phone.

“H-hey,” Jongin’s voice was shaky and he hated how it made his nervousness more apparent.

Kyungsoo looked up from his phone and replied with a sweet heart-shaped smile, putting the other gadget away.

“Hey yourself. Ready?”

“Yes?” Jongin squeaked.

Kyungsoo chuckled. “You sound unsure. Do you wanna do this or not?”

Jongin leaned forward eagerly. “I do! It just — I’m nervous.”

Kyungsoo nodded, looking straight at his boyfriend’s eyes through the camera. “I am too. But we’ll be fine. Trust me, okay?”

Jongin looked at him, and saw that he looked unsure of himself too, and oddly enough it calmed him down. “Oh-okay. Let’s do this.”

Kyungsoo grinned and clapped his hands. “Alright! First question though, do you top or do you prefer being a bottom?”



Jongin slammed his laptop closed so fast he heard something crack. “Ah, …”










Epilogue

Jongin just arrived at Incheon International Airport, looking around for a boy with a sign and his name on it. Finding none, he sat himself down on one of the vacant chairs in the waiting area. He took his phone out and began texting the number Kyungsoo gave him before he left Perth.

“Hyung,” he typed. “Where are you?”

He glanced around his surroundings and noticed a rather small guy seated near him. He didn’t want to stare and seem rude, so Jongin looked away.

But he noticed through his peripheries that the guy had a tall nose despite the snapback pulled low over his face. He was pale, and seemed to have long legs. He was his type. But Jongin was here for Kyungsoo, and not for some stranger.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he checked his phone again. Nothing. He frowned and typed another message.

“Hyung, come on and get me already! Or else I’ll flirt with this cute guy near me. I promise.”

He sent the text, and heard a low chuckle somewhere near him right after.

He looked to his side, curious.

Then he was met by the most handsome face his eyes have ever had the luck to look at. His cheeks felt warm, and so did his heart.

The guy had taken off his snapback and was grinning at him.



“Hi, Jongin. Welcome home!”