6:42 PM

Fastening his seatbelt, Jongin makes sure to avoid looking out the window at Taemin as he watches Baekhyun and Sehun take their seats up front. The irritated buzzing in his veins automatically makes Jongin tune Baekhyun out when the latter proceeds to say something to Sehun, who simply hums something in response. Now that Krystal and Taemin are no longer threatening to squeeze him up against the door, Jongin spreads himself out across the backseat, only to scramble into a decent sitting position when Sehun sends him a brief look through the rear view mirror. Jongin figures that he would hate it if somebody made themselves at home at the back of his car, so he sits up straight despite his sore muscles screaming at him to just lie down. A part of Jongin sort of wants to apologize on Taemin's behalf, given that neither Sehun nor Baekhyun seem keen on speaking, but Jongin opts to keep his mouth clamped and stare at the trees and rocks passing by.

Baekhyun opens his mouth seconds before Jongin worries he might suffer a meltdown, to the latter's relief. "There's this new movie," he hums, crossing his legs. He rolls the window down ever so slightly, which causes a cold breeze to mess up his hair. "I forget what it's called, but they say it's horrifying," he adds whilst flicking through the radio stations, and Jongin only blinks when Sehun subsequently tells Baekhyun to 'please just settle for a station already'. "Fine, only if you stop being so goddamn-"

"I hate horror movies," Jongin blurts out, mentally slapping himself as he stares at his lap, just in time to miss the way Sehun sends Baekhyun an irritated look. He presses his lips together when Baekhyun goes on to scold Sehun for constantly being in a bad mood. Jongin awkwardly scratches the back of his head, wondering if he should just keep quiet when Sehun lowly tells Baekhyun to cut it out, but he ends up opening his mouth, anyway. "Like, I can watch them, but it's--" It's not until Jongin looks up and sees Baekhyun grumbling to himself that he feels his neck heating up. "You don't need to-- If it's too much trouble, I can walk from-"

"It's no problem," Sehun says and sends Jongin a reassuring look through the rear view mirror (which has Jongin wanting to open the window before he can die of heatstroke). He briefly apologizes for forgetting Jongin's adress (Jongin doesn't blame him, though, given that it's been months since he told Sehun where he lived), to which Jongin responds by muttering something he ends up forgetting seconds later. They sit in silence for a brief moment until Sehun opens his mouth to continue, only to turn his attention back on the road when Baekhyun speaks.

"You always say that, yet you always end up sitting through the whole thing anyway," Baekhyun snickers, scrolling on his phone. He looks up and grins. "There'll be snacks and everything, so you don't need to think about that," he adds with a twinkle in his eyes. "And I assume she ended up taking back her promise?" He sends Jongin a mischievous smirk.

Jongin bites the inside of his cheek when the mental image of his math teacher pops into his head. Since he knows that Baekhyun knows the answer, he simply shrugs, to which Baekhyun responds with a knowing smirk. Jongin decides against reminding Baekhyun, for the four millionth time, that it's not his fault that Taemin ended up being born with a copy of Einstein's brain, unlike him, and he leans back against the soft seats as he hears Sehun humming to himself. Fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, Jongin feels his cheeks sting in irritation when he recalls Taemin pulling him aside just now. The mere thought is enough to make Jongin's gut coil, and he sort of regrets not decking his roommate upside the head for embarrassing him like that, especially considering Taemin's sourness seems to have rubbed off on Sehun and Baekhyun as the two sit in complete silence up front. Jongin sort of hates the empty feeling that bubbles in his chest when he suddenly feels awfully tiny in the backseat, and he makes a mental note to launch Taemin into outer space the second he gets home. In fact, it's not until Baekhyun tells Sehun off for going too hard on the brakes (which Jongin would be lying if he said he noticed) that Jongin clears his throat.

"I-- I don't want any trouble," Jongin mumbles (even though he should be blaming this whole thing on Taemin if anything) as he chews on his bottom lip. He turns his head and blinks when he sees a rumpled sweatshirt, which he recognizes as the one Sehun wore to school a week ago (which Baekhyun also told him was his favorite sweater belonging to Sehun), neglected and tucked away underneath Baekhyun's seat. A part of Jongin wants to reach out, grab it and place it on the the seat next to him, but he ends up restraining himself (even though he knows that Sehun isn't anything like Taemin, who wouldn't mind decking anybody in the face for touching his guitar).

Sehun stops at a red light after he approaches the intersection leading to Jongin's house. "It's alright, you know that," he chuckles, patiently waiting for a little girl to cross on her bike before he hits the accelerator again. "Is this it?" he hums whilst gesturing at the familiar, white building. Sehun swiftly pulls over after Jongin nods in response, hair blowing in the wind after he puts the parking brake on and steps out of the car.

"I'll be staying in here," Baekhyun chuckles, gesturing out the window as he makes a comment about not wanting die of hypothermia. "But I'll see you tomorrow, right???" He pats Jongin's shoulder when Jongin vigorously nods his head in response. 

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Sehun watches as Jongin tries to free his jacket, which conveniently managed to get caught in the door on his way out. "Hitting the books now, I presume?"

Jongin successfully manages to free himself before he walks around the car, barely managing to avoid tripping over his undone shoelaces in the process. He figures that he must have gotten a little too caught up just now, because he nearly suffers a heart attack when he looks up and sees Sehun staring right at him from his spot on the sidewalk. Ignoring the tugging in his gut when Sehun sends him a smile, it takes Jongin nearly a full minute to remember what Sehun just said. In fact, he figures he probably would have ended up glued to the pavement forever if it wasn't for Sehun clearing his throat. "Sorry, I didn't-- I mean, I guess so," Jongin croak-garbles and internally screams when a gust of wind nearly knocks him off his feet. "Thanks for coming earlier, it meant a lot." He scratches the back of his neck, hoping neither Sehun nor Baekhyun notice the way his face feels like it's about to explode.

"No problem," Sehun says, pulling his sleeves down when a gust of wind cold enough to make Jongin's ears freeze over passes (which only has Jongin feeling sort of bad for essentially forcing Sehun to step outside). "Like I said, you did amazing," he adds and turns his head to look at Baekhyun, who is waving at them from inside the car.

Jongin is glad, because the loud rumbling of the cars zooming by effecively masks his grateful squee (which Taemin would have used as blackmail, for sure), and he meekly waves at Baekhyun before he bounces on the balls of his feet. Even though Jongin knows he's (hopefully) just imagining things, he can't help but feel a pang of guilt for forcing Sehun to stand outside in the cold when another breeze passes. In fact, Jongin has to restrain himself from ushering Sehun inside the car when he clears his throat. "I think Krystal's trying to get us to perform somewhere else," he blurts out, but he doesn't bother taking it back when Sehun raises a curious brow. "I mean, that sounds fun-- I mean, only if I get to pick the outfits this time." It takes Jongin a minute to process what he just said, and he's halfway through launching himself into outer space when Sehun emits a hearty laugh. The melodic sound echoes in Jongin's head for a full minute, and there's something about the way Sehun's hair falls in his face when he covers his mouth that has Jongin wanting to scream. "I didn't-- Sorry--"

Sehun briefly excuses himself before he clears his throat and chuckles under his breath. "Don't be," he says and stills, seemingly contemplating what to say next. "I think she's quite the stylist," he adds after a few seconds and Jongin has to focus on the dogs barking in the distance when Sehun smirks. 

"She wants to be a makeup artist for Broadway celebrities when she's older, so it makes sense," Jongin mutters for reasons he can't explain, not even caring about the fact that he's probably sweating bullets, despite it being zero degrees outside, as he bounces on the balls of his feet. An elderly couple walk by with a pomeranian on a leash, and Jongin immediately takes back the high-pitched squee of adoration that escapes his lips when he sees the look on Sehun's face. "Damn it-- Sorry, I don't know what that-"

"It's fine," Sehun laughs and he's about to open his mouth to speak when Baekhyun impatiently knocks on the window. Sehun sends Baekhyun a smile before he turns to face Jongin again. He's silent as he shoves his hands in his pockets, and Jongin misses the way his eyes flash. It disappears as quickly as it came, though. "I was actually wondering, you know, since we're--" Sehun clears his throat. "Maybe I could get your number in case-- You know, in case you can't find your way tomorrow." Pulling his sleeves down, he continues to stare at Jongin until he turns his face away to complain about the biting cold.

Jongin isn't sure if he's got the soreness in his body or the weather, which is threatening to make the tips of his ears freeze over, to blame, considering he ends up opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish, shoes bolted to the pavement as he chews on his bottom lip. His eyes automatically flicker to Baekhyun, who is busy taking selfies in the passenger seat, and Jongin snaps out of his trance when he accidentally bites down on his lip to the point of drawing blood. The next thing he knows, he's choking out a barely coherent 'Sure' as he accepts Sehun's phone, praying he doesn't end up dropping it as his fingers scurry across the keypad. Jongin hands it back, after typing out the wrong number four times, before he shoves his hands in his coat pockets. He wants to rip his jacket right off, though, when he realizes just how hot his entire body is, but he restrains himself in fear of making a fool of himself again.

Thankfully, Sehun doesn't seem to notice, and he simply hums in contentment before he puts his phone away. Jongin sort of hates how fast his heart is racing, since the deafening noise promptly drowns out whatever Sehun says next (but it's not like he's going to embarrass himself by asking Sehun to repeat himself). "So I'll see you tomorrow?" Sehun asks after a minute of silence, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he's removing every last ounce of product in his hair when he runs a hand through it. His black locks fall in his face when they're reduced to a soft mop atop his head, and Jongin hates how long he ends up staring as it blows in the wind.

"You will," Jongin blurts out and if it wasn't for the fact that his hands are literally frozen solid at this point, he figures he would have slapped them over his mouth. Hoping Sehun didn't hear, Jongin finds his eyes roaming around until they land on the small window, his bedroom window, and he mentally curses when he realizes he must have forgotten to turn his light off in his hurry to get to the studio this morning. A thought suddenly hits him, which has him burying his hands in his pockets. "It's-- I mean, are you sure? About that, that is?" he asks, eyes wide as he stares at Sehun.

Sehun raises a perfectly groomed brow. "Sure about what?" he asks, briefly moving aside to make way for a couple approaching with a stroller. 

"No, it's just--" Jongin rubs the back of his neck, which is so hot that he nearly recoils. "You know, don't you like-- I mean, I don't wanna be in the way, y'know? On your-- I mean, on your anniversary and all--" He mentally slaps himself when he realizes how much he sounds like Krystal, but he can't bring himself to keep his mouth closed. "I don't wanna be a burden on your special day." Jongin awkwardly shifts when he feels his foot falling asleep, and he looks up so fast that he nearly gives himself whiplash when Sehun clears his throat.

For a second, Sehun doesn't say anything, and Jongin is about to dig a hole in the ground and crawl inside of it when he finally speaks. "You won't be, trust me," he says with a gentle smile. 

Jongin is about to open his mouth to speak when the sound of Baekhyun impatiently pounding on the car window nearly has him jumping out of his own skin. The next thing he knows, Sehun is walking towards him and subsequently embracing him with such gentleness that Jongin's knees nearly give in. It's abrupt, but Jongin ends up feeling like his chest is on fire, even after Sehun takes a step back and walks back to Baekhyun. Jongin barely even registers waving goodbye while he watches the shiny, black car silently drive off, before it goes on to blend in with the darkening horizon and become a speck in the distance. It's not until a little girl accidentally runs into him that Jongin forces himself to turn on his heel and walk towards the front door.

7:32 PM

Stumbling across the threshold, Jongin chucks his shoes off, worrying he might topple over if he bends down and places them next to Taemin's boots, all whilst he runs his hand across the wall in search of the lightswitch. Despite promising himself that he'd never eat again after leaving the shop (which made him realize that he severely underestimated the fullness factor of a single cup of bubble tea), Jongin practically flies into the kitchen when his stomach growls. Figuring Taemin must be asleep, since he doesn't hear any loud strumming, Jongin figures he might be able to get away with swiping some of Taemin's instant ramen, even though he knows that Taemin may or may not murder him for it. Jongin ends up doing just that, though, and the next thing he knows, he's inhaling a mixture of chicken scented steam and Sehun's strong cologne as he leans against the stove. Despite being in desperate need of a shower (and a nap), Jongin can't even bring himself to lift a toe off the floor when he feels his chest flutter.

The sound of footsteps coming down the staircase nearly has Jongin jumping clear through the ceiling in surprise, and he doesn't know if he should feel relieved or flat out annoyed when he turns aroun and sees Taemin wordlessly leaning against the doorway. Jongin doesn't even have the energy to speak, so he resumes stirring the small pot on the stove as he feels Taemin's eyes burning holes in his back. It's not until Taemin speaks after a whole minute of silence that Jongin internally sighs. "What do you-"

"You know, most people ask," Taemin hums, mostly to himself, as he inspects his scarred fingertips. "You're actually doing this," he mumbles, mostly to himself, before Jongin has a chance to reply (not that the latter was going to, anyway). A lock of hair falls in his eyes when he retrieves an old plectrum from his pocket and tosses it up and down in his hands. "Jongin, you know better than-"

"I don't need your approval," Jongin groans, stomach rumbling as he turns the stove off. A thick cloud of steam hits him in the face, causing him to sputter and cough. "Besides, what do you know about him, anyway? You literally met him less than two hours ago," he adds whilst fetching a bowl from the cupboard. 

Taemin is silent for a minute, eyebrows furrowed whilst he follows Jongin's every movement with tired eyes. "I know enough about him to know that you'll definitely end up doing something earth-shatteringly stupid in the near future," he says, far too casually, with a pointed look at Jongin, who only scoffs. "I mean, hello, do I need to remind you that you were this close to crying like a little girl when he saw you nearly fall and break your neck earlier?" He sighs in exasperation when Jongin simply sits down at the table, and it's not until the latter makes it clear that he has zero intention of listening by retrieving his earphones, that Taemin crosses his arms. "Don't act like you don't know what you're getting yourself into-"

"Don't you have practice to tend to?" Jongin mumbles with a mouthful of noodles, to which Taemin responds with a grimace. "What business is of yours, anyway?" He's lucky, because the fluttering in his chest, which never seems to disappear, is the only thing keeping him from getting out of his chair, walking up to Taemin and closing the door in the latter's face. Jongin blows on his noodles as he puts his earphones in with his free hand, only rolling his eyes when Taemin seemingly stares at his food. "First of all, you owe me for embarrassing me in front of my goddamn friends, and secondly, you're not my father-"

"Doesn't mean I can't give a about you," Taemin replies, eyeing the night sky outside. His bright red leather jacket glows in the darkening room like a beacon in the ceiling light, which fades when he shifts ever so slightly. "And you know damn good and well nobody else would otherwise," he adds whilst carding a hand through his hair. Taemin watches as Jongin pretends not to hear whilst fiddling with his phone, which has him throwing his hands in the air. "So you're actually doing this? Like, you're serious?"

Jongin chews on his bottom lip, fingers hovering above the screen as his eyes flicker back and forth between the keyboard and the blank text message conversation between him and Sehun. Even though Jongin is entirely against the idea of waiting for the other person to text first, he finds himself utterly unable to even press a single button when the fluttering in his gut makes him grip his phone until his knuckles turn white. A part of him doesn't even know why he even chose to text Sehun to begin with just now, and Jongin can't help but pout when he realizes that he'll most likely never be able to talk to Sehun without Baekhyun around, which Jongin ended up learning the hard way when Baekhyun briefly left him and Sehun alone at the library last month. To say that Jongin came dangerously close to bursting into tears when he soon found himself unable to utter a single word, which resulted in him and Sehun awkwardly pretending to focus on their homework in total silence until Baekhyun returned from the restroom five minutes later, would be a vast understatement.

Nevertheless, Jongin ends up scrapping the idea after nearly suffering a minor meltdown, and it's not until he picks up his chopsticks that Taemin's words suddenly hit him. Jongin makes a mental note to never, ever talk to his roommate when he's hungry, since he sort of regrets the sigh of frustration that leaves his lips. "About what?"

"About you casually tagging along to your crush's anniversary hangout-meet-up-thingymajig despite him already having a boyfriend, lunkhead," Taemin groans as he keeps his eyes fixated on Jongin, who is in the midst of stuffing his face with ramen. Taemin only sighs in exasperation when Jongin shrugs. "Sheesh, yesterday I didn't even know what the guy looked like and now--" He cuts himself off and shakes his head. "Isn't this a little-- Are you honestly telling me you don't see anything weird with all this? Think about it-"

"What," Jongin chuckles, a few strings of noodles hanging from his lips as he sends Taemin a look, "so you're jealous-"

"No, as a matter of fact, I'm not," Taemin scoffs with an eyeroll, before he reaches into his pocket and retrieves a perfectly sharpened kohl liner. He's silent for a minute as he carefully reapplies his eyeliner (which Jongin figures was heavy enough to begin with). "There's nothing wrong with teaching a friend all about the wonders of living a mature adult life, now is th--" He cuts himself off when Jongin nearly chokes on his food from laughing so hard. "The 's wrong with you--"

It takes Jongin five whole minutes to recover, and he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand as he feels his head clouding over. "Really?" He sends Taemin an exasperated, almost pleading look. "You're really-- You're really gonna come in here and belittle me, for the second time, about Sehun? What business is it of yours, anyway?" He scoffs, not knowing if he should laugh or cry when Taemin only rolls his eyes. "And don't lecture me about maturity and whatnot when you're clearly just leading Krystal on for s and giggles," he says and clenches his jaw when he recalls Krystal's glittering eyes whilst she listened to Taemin speak earlier. "Since you know damn well she's chasing something she'll never have-"

"Speak for your goddamned self," Taemin scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest. "And I know you've told her-"

"Yeah, well, she doesn't believe me," Jongin mutters, irritatedly stabbing his noodles with one of the chopsticks. "She never does, anyway." He sends Taemin a look and fights the urge to slam the kitchen door right in his face when Taemin still doesn't get the hint to leave him alone, since all Jongin wants right now is to eat his noodles (and perhaps text Sehun) in peace (especially since his post dance cramps are starting to kick in). "I don't need your counselling, don't you understand that? Can't you just leave-"

"I'm just trying to look out for you," Taemin sighs, running a hand through his hair. He opens his mouth to speak, only to close it again. "It's just--" He puts the scarred plectrum back in his pocket before he walks over to the fridge, grabs a slice of chocolate pudding and sits down at the table across from Jongin. "Don't this up, 'kay?" He unwraps his snack before he asks Jongin to fetch him a spoon. Inevitably, Jongin doesn't even budge, and Taemin makes sure to flick his roommate's forehead when he gets up. "I know I haven't mentioned it, but you should totally, one hundred percent tell Baekhyun," he says, words partially muffled when he shamelessly stuffs half of it in his mouth. 

Jongin looks up from his bowl to glare at Taemin, who sort of looks like a cross between a hamster and a hungry puppy as he chews, which Jongin figures he would have found drop dead adorable if it wasn't for the circumstances. A cloud of confusion fills his head (which has him wondering if Taemin secretely poisoned the last packet of ramen and left it solely for him). "Tell him what?"

"Are you for real?" Taemin asks, genuine surprise lacing his words as he stares at Jongin with wide, black rimmed eyes. "Y'know, that you're crushing hard on his goddamned boyfriend and have been for like, half a year now???" he sighs when Jongin only blinks. A few chocolate crumbs fall from Taemin's mouth and onto the table when he leans back in his chair and chuckles to himself. "See, this if exactly what I keep telling you--" He gestures at Jongin. "You're so smitten that you can't even--" He cuts himself off when his phone rings, and Jongin nearly cries in relief when Taemin mutters something under his breath and subsequently walks out of the kitchen.

Jongin finishes the remainder of his soup, which is now stone cold, before he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. He hears the faint sound of Taemin chatting with somebody, presumably one of his band mates, on the phone by the staircase. Figuring he'd rather jump out the window than engage in their conversation, Jongin gets up and puts his bowl in the sink. It's not until he looks up and out the window that he realizes just how dark it is outside, and Jongin sort of wishes that he and Taemin weren't in the middle of an argument right now, because he has to bite back a whine of protest when Taemin re-enters the room to inform him that he'll be rehearsing at his band mate's house for the rest of the evening. Jongin figures he's lucky, because his sore muscles and fluttering chest must be stopping him from running over and latching onto Taemin's leg whilst begging him to stay, so he simply nods, grabs his phone and heads upstairs.

Nearly stumbling on the first step, Jongin has to grab onto the railing for dear life before he can fall backwards and break his neck, and he opts to ascending the steps one by one. In his concentrated state, Jongin feels his head clearing up ever so slightly, and he figures he might be able to fall asleep in no time flat if he's lucky. However, luck doesn't seem to be on his side, and Jongin nearly screams when he throws his bedroom door open, only for his brain to feel like it's being weighed down by a ton of bricks. On the other hand, Jongin figures that he's sort of obligated to feel like a walking dead after performing in front of two thousand people on five hours of sleep, so he dismisses the thought as he runs a hand through his hair.

It's not until his fingers end up tangled in the matted locks that Jongin realizes he should probably shower, which he figures he'll be able to squeeze in before Taemin leaves the house. However, Jongin sort of wishes he'd just gone straight to bed instead, because the thought of his roommate only makes him want to flip his desk across the room, which he comes dangerously close to doing when Taemin's words fill his head to the point of it nearly combusting. On any normal occasion, Jongin would usually tune Taemin out whilst he rambled on and on about something (usually music related, which Jongin would be lying if he said he found interesting). Despite that, Jongin doesn't know how long he's wholeheartedly despised himself for never having it in him to tell Taemin not to lecture him about his nonexistent love life every chance he gets. Come to think of it, Jongin honestly has no idea how he's even been able to put up with it for half a year, which makes him regret ever telling Taemin about 'the new attractive transfer student in their class' every time (despite for one rare occasion when Taemin had a one month break from rehearsals, during which he listened intently).

One thought quickly leads to another, and Jongin feels the warmth in his chest being replaced with an agitated buzzing when Taemin's words pop into his head, because how dare Taemin lecture him like some kind of therapist less than an hour after belittling him right in front of his friends???? With his heart racing, Jongin opts to think about tomorrow's movie night with Baekhyun and Sehun as he eyes his backpack in the furthest corner of the room. Jongin wants to bash his head against the wall, because Taemin's God-given (academic) intelligence is the only thing restraining him from smothering his roommate with a pillow on a daily basis at this point.

Jongin figures he should probably call Krystal and congratulate her, but he dismisses the thought when he realizes he probably smells like a barn, so he wastes no time in sliding his shirt over his head before chucking his jeans across the room. Jongin blames his roommate for once again screwing with his brain, because all he can think of when he feels the cold air hit his bare chest is Sehun's exposed pectorals, which he managed to (accidentally) catch a glimpse of whilst they got dressed in the changing room following an overly intense football game during Phys Ed. Not only does Jongin vividly recall the tingling heat that exploded and spread through his entire body, but also how he subsequently managed to slip on a single puddle of water whilst heading for the exit, which in turn resulted in him spending the rest of the day in the nurse's office. The mere thought makes his spine tingle, and Jongin mentally smacks himself when he recalls arriving home that day after (unfortunately) choosing to tell Taemin about it. However, Jongin still figures that he shouldn't have expected a logical response when Taemin went on to question his decision 'not to play dead so that Sehun could give him mouth-to-mouth'. Now, Jongin isn't sure if it's simply his head messing with him, but instead of fighting another urge to break Taemin's guitar, he finds himself blushing like a madman at the idea. In fact, Jongin doesn't even realize that he's been standing in the middle of his room, in nothing but boxers, until he turns his head and scrambles for the curtains.

After essentially ripping them off their rods in his hurry to draw them, it takes Jongin a minute to even remember what he got undressed for to begin with, and his legs seem to move of their own accord as he leaves his room and inches towards the bathroom. He doesn't hear any sign of Taemin anywhere, but Jongin finds himself locking the bathroom door, anyway, just in case Taemin decides to pull one of his godforsaken pranks again (which usually consist of scaring Jongin out of his wits mid shower, which in turn always result in him getting a faceful of water). Once inside, Jongin figures that he doesn't even need to look in the mirror to know that his face is probably the same shade of red as the shower curtain, which certainly isn't helping matters as he steps inside the shower. Despite the water being ice cold at first, Jongin feels like his entire body is on fire as he feels his sore muscles relax.

As he eyes the water droplets racing each other down the tile wall, Jongin finds himself reminiscing their fourth gym class of the year, which just so happened to be a week after he saw Sehun's shirtless body for the very first time. Frankly, Jongin doesn't even know why and how his brain even decided to cling to the memory in the first place, considering he forced himself to look away less than a second later (not to mention he has no idea how many times Baekhyun would go on to describe Sehun's body two months into their relationship), but the warm water running down his back has him dismissing the thought. 

Despite the hot water doing wonders for Jongin's churning muscles, it isn't doing anything to halt the spinning in his head, which becomes clear when Jongin's eyes trail over to the shelf containing his (but mostly Taemin's) styling products. Specifically, the bottom shelf, and Jongin feels himself swallowing when he clearly makes out the outline of the small, black box amongst bottles upon bottles of hairspray. Jongin doesn't even notice his neck heating up when he recalls his surprised squawk, courtesy of Baekhyun gifting him said box less than a week after he came out of the closet, and despite knowing that Taemin had seen his fair share of adult toys and whatnot, Jongin ended up stashing it away in the bottom drawer, after solemnly swearing he'd never use it. Come to think of it, Jongin's lie of there being entire family of spiders in the bottom drawer must have worked, considering Taemin went on to avoid said drawer to the fullest afterwards.

Despite his unspoken promise, Jongin soon finds himself slowly sliding the drawer open, and he only stares at the water droplets sliding off the edge of the unopened box as he grips it tightly. All four walls seem close in on him while he twists and turns it in his hands, which has Jongin both cursing and thanking Taemin for messing with his head earlier, since the fogginess in his brain makes him unable to process what he's doing as warm water droplets continue to trickle down his back. Jongin briefly wonders if Taemin did end up drugging his food on purpose, because he swears he catches a whiff of Sehun's strong cologne the moment he wraps his hand around the solid, purple object. The deafening sound of his pulse in his ears has Jongin wanting to bolt out of the bathroom, but he ends up dismissing it when the continuous stream of water subsequently envelopes every square inch of his body in a burning blanket of heat.

---

Hoping his towel won't slip off his waist as he makes his way back to his room, Jongin fights the urge to collapse face first onto his bed upon walking in the door, despite his head feeling clearer than it has been in what feels like forever. If anything, Jongin is just thankful that his muscles no longer feel like cardboard, and he finds himself turning on his heel and heading downstairs when he feels his stomach growl. Since Taemin is two whole miles away from him, Jongin figures he's entitled to walking around the house looking the way he does. At least somewhat, he figures, as he makes his way down the laminated stairs one step a minute.

Jongin ignores the way the cold tiles penetrate the soles of his feet as he rubs his palm across the wall in search of the light switch, all whilst he makes sure to avoid looking at the pitch black windows. Even though he would never even think to walk around the house at this hour, whilst clad in nothing but a towel, even with every single pair of curtains drawn, the heat in his chest (which hasn't disappeared since he got out of the shower) has Jongin's head relaxing as the lights flicker on. Momentarily blinded, it takes Jongin a painfully long time to realize that the kitchen light is on, too, and he's about to curse himself for forgetting to turn it off earlier when he peeks his head in the door.

Looking up, Taemin sends Jongin a look from his spot at the kitchen table, before he takes a drag of the half smoked cigarette resting between his fingers.  Upon closer inspection, Jongin notices that he's wearing his red jacket and boots, which has him blinking again. They fall into silence, the only audible sound being Taemin subsequently exhaling, and it's not until Jongin remembers what he's wearing that he clears his throat. "Uh, I thought--" He rubs the back of his neck, which is still boiling hot. "What are you doing here?" 

Taemin takes another drag, which seems to go on forever, and he nearly knocks over the bottle on the table as he props his feet up on the tabletop. He doesn't even bother putting out his cigarette as he chucks it into the bottle, which contains over a year's worth of cigarette butts, all of which seem to be drowning in an ocean of black ash. He fixes his eyeliner before he runs a tobacco stained hand through his hair. "You took your time," he says, reaching out to tie his laces.

Trying not to wrinkle his nose at the overwhelming smell of tobacco, which he has no idea how he didn't notice just now, Jongin shrugs. He's lucky, because the dim kitchen light effectively masks his reddening face and neck, and he almost turns his face away when Taemin raises a questioning eyebrow. "It's...I got caught up," he mumbles and mentally slaps himself in the face. As if on cue, a dull sensation shoots up his lower back when he shifts and leans against the door frame, which Jongin tries his best to ignore as he chews on his bottom lip. "I thought you were going out-- I mean, why're you still here?"

Shoving the bottle aside, Taemin casually shrugs. "I was worried about you," he replies as he gathers a few pieces of ash on the table. He promptly crushes the small, black pile with his finger when they fall into silence again.

Jongin blinks and he has no idea if he's got Taemin's unnervingly calm demeanor, or the pain in his lower back, to blame, but he finds himself sighing when his stomach coils in frustration. "You don't-- Damn it--" Jongin fights the urge to smack the puzzled look off Taemin's face when the numbing heat in his chest promptly disappears, almost as if the temperature in the house has dropped by a hundred degrees. "I keep telling you, you don't need to-- I can handle Sehun on my own, damn it, you're not my goddamn ing father," he says with perhaps a little more bite that he'd intended. Thankfully, his hair is no longer dripping and thus in no risk of freezing over, which Jongin is thankful for as he glares at Taemin.

Taemin is silent for a minute, a glint of genuine confusion flashing in his eyes as he reaches into his pocket and retrieves his cigarette pack. "I meant, as in, I thought you'd slipped and cracked your head open or something," he chuckles, twirling the red box in his hand. He shrugs when Jongin blinks. "You had the water running for half a goddamn hour, I thought you died, can you blame me?" His black eyeliner is briefly tinted a bright orange when he lights another cigarette. A thick cloud of smoke fills the air when he inhales. "But now that we're on the topic of Sehun, you should really tell Baekhyun," he mumbles, words muffled by the stick between his lips. "It's only fair, don't you think?"

Opening and closing his mouth like a confused goldfish, Jongin absently adjusts the towel around his waist as he processes Taemin's words. Despite not knowing what to say, he ends up opening his mouth, anyway. "I wasn't-- You didn't need to stay behind for that," he lowly says, running a hand through his hair, all whilst he peddles back and forth between thanking and slapping his roommate silly. He ends up doing neither, and Jongin avoids Taemin's eyes whilst he makes his way towards the fridge. It's not until he's grabbed the very last chocolate pudding that Taemin's words finally sink in, making him clench his jaw in irritation. "Haven't I already told you that that's none of your-"

"So you're honestly telling me that, given how smitten you were around him earlier, I'm expected to believe you won't somehow screw this up when you're alone for once?" Taemin deadpans between puffs. He puts his hands up in defense when Jongin sends him a glare. "Hey, you know I wouldn't be a good boy in that situation either, so quit giving me that look--" He pretends to burn Jongin's arm with his cigarette, making the latter flinch. "Forgive me for caring about the baby of the household," he mutters, only to curse when Jongin flicks a piece of pudding at him. "How about you go put something on instead of prancing around like a-"

"You know you like it," Jongin snickers, to which Taemin responds with a defeated shrug. He watches as Taemin brushes himself off before he sighs out loud. "And we're not alone if Baek's there-"

"You know what I mean," Taemin says before he slides the half empty, red box across the table. He only mutters a muffled 'Suit yourself' when Jongin reluctantly shakes his head. "Four months is nothing to brag about," he mumbles, propping his feet up on the table. "Look, you might and all, both figuratively and literally, but I do give a about you," he says after a minute and there's something about the sudden change of his tone that makes Jongin blink. A car comes to a screeching halt outside before it honks its horn, and it takes every fiber in Jongin's being not to burst out laughing when Taemin nearly chokes on his cigarette at the sudden noise.

Jongin fumbles with the plastic packaging before he rips it off and bites into the gooey, chocolatey dessert. Its sweetness has him feeling slightly better, but he still finds himself rolling his eyes. "Speak for yourself," he mutters, hoping he won't choke on his pudding as he scarfs the rest of it down. "To what extent, exactly-"

"To the extent that I'd rather you didn't mope around the house all day after getting your heart broken," Taemin says, twirling the white stick around with nifty fingers. "I mean, the least you could do is be a loyal best friend and tell Baekhyun, you don't want to be the one picking up the pieces of his heart if this goes to , because you know you'll have to-"

"Could you shut your goddamn mouth for a minute and say something nice for a change?" Jongin exclaims in exasperation, hoping his towel won't slip off his hips when he throws his hands in the air. "Not to mention you ing at being poetic, just saying." Frankly, Jongin hasn't really stopped to contemplate telling Baekhyun, but then again, he figures that would be downright useless, considering he's figured that the latter has known about the whole thing since day one. Nevertheless, there's something about Taemin lecturing him about his own best friend that has Jongin wanting to punch the nearest wall. "Listen to yourself-- Don't act like you know anything about-- Who the hell are you to--" Jongin finds himself unable to finish his sentence when he worries that the little he ate might come back up, so he clamps his mouth shut as he listens to Taemin puffing smoke a few feet away.

Staring out the pitch black window, Jongin eyes his reflection as he scratches the back of his head. No matter what Taemin tries telling him, Jongin knows for a fact that knowing Baekhyun for six whole years grants him every single right to assume that whatever may happen, he and Baekhyun will eventually find a way to resolve it, just like they've done with every other issue they've been faced with throughout their friendship. The sound of cars flying down the road outside is the only thing Jongin hears as he continues to stare at the dimly lit street outside. A young couple passes whilst walking their puppy, which skips behind them, as happily as ever. Jongin sort of wants to cry, because the more he stares out the window, the more he wishes Taemin chose to leave for his godforsaken rehearsal instead, since the entire house is ice cold, and all Jongin wants is to feel the usual warmth (which was promptly drained from him the second Taemin opened his mouth) again.

However, Jongin doesn't get a chance to ponder the thought when the sound of the doorbell ringing has him emitting a not so manly squeal. Ignoring Taemin's indiscreet snickering, Jongin does his best to clear his head as he makes his way towards the front door. The buzzing in his veins makes him oblivious of his visual state, which Jongin immediately regrets upon unlocking and opening the door. For a full minute, he finds himself nailed to the threshold, and Jongin fights the urge to hide upstairs when he clears his throat. The sound momentarily echoes in the dead silent night. "Uh, hey???"

Sehun sends Jongin a gentle smile, which Jongin swears could light up the whole neighborhood. "Hey again," he says, seemingly (or rather, suspiciously) unbothered by Jongin's lack of clothing as he shoves a hand in his pocket. His black locks blow in the wind, which leads Jongin to believe that he hasn't restyled it since this morning. They fall into brief silence, the only audible sounds being dogs barking in the distance, until Sehun opens his mouth to speak. "Sorry, am I interrupting?" he asks when the sound of Taemin scraping his chair against the floor fills the air, before he scratches the back of his head. "I could-"

"No, it's fine," Jongin blurts out, but he doesn't get a chance to apologize for practically yelling in Sehun's face when something soft suddenly hits him square in the face. He doesn't even need to ask to know that it's one of Taemin's shirts (if the faint smell of tobacco is anything to go by), and Jongin honestly doesn't know if he should thank or slap his roommate as he stares at the black garment in his hand. However, he scrambles to hide it behind his back when he sees the (amused, albeit questioning) look on Sehun's face. "Sorry, that wasn't-- What are you, uh...doing here?" he mutters, fighting the urge to grab onto his towel in fear of it possibly slipping down his thighs mid sentence.

Sehun turns up his collar when a gust of wind passes. "I was actually just stopping by to drop this off," he says and Jongin only blinks when he goes on to hold up his duffel bag with a low chuckle. "Sorry for driving off with your prize, I guess." Sehun sheepishly rubs the back of his neck after Jongin accepts it. "I was going to text you about coming over, but I didn't know if you'd reply--" He clears his throat whilst gesturing at Jongin, who fights the urge to bang his head against the doorframe. "Guess I should've after all-"

"It'smyfaultsorry," Jongin croak-garbles (even though he has no idea what he's apologizing for), only to immediately take it back when Sehun sends him a funny look. Over the defeaning sound of his pulse in his ears, Jongin swears he hears Taemin groaning somewhere in the house, which has him wanting to excuse himself, run upstairs and smother his roommate with a pillow. "Do you...I mean-- You probably-- I mean, do you want to come in?" Jongin half-assedly gestures behind him, hoping the darkness is doing a decent job at masking his reddening cheeks. "Since it's cold and all."

Sehun chuckles before he shrugs apologetically. "I'd love to, but I don't want to bother--" He cuts himself off when Jongin vigorously shakes his head, which is closely followed by footsteps descending the stairs. Sehun politely nods at Taemin when the latter comes into view, and it's not until Taemin walks up behind Jongin that Sehun clears his throat. "Sorry, I didn't know-"

"It's fine," Jongin blurts out, seriously hoping Taemin will get the hint when he discreetly jabs the latter's ribs. It doesn't work, and Jongin is seconds away from kicking his roommate head first out the door when Sehun apologetically gestures at his car, which is parked a few feet away. Jongin finds himself nodding, and he's unable to open his mouth when Sehun goes on to mention something about how much he's looking forward to seeing him tomorrow, before he turns around, descends the single patio step and walks off towards his car.

Even though Sehun is clad in all black, he seems to shine with a certain glow, which lingers even after he enters his car. Jongin figures he must have been staring at the black vehicle for perhaps a little longer than necessary, because it's not until a jogger stops to send him a strange look that he realizes he's been standing on the patio, shirtless and wearing nothing but a towel, for five whole minutes. Jongin nearly forgets his duffel bag on the threshold when he scrambles back inside, practically slamming the door shut as he tosses his duffel bag on the floor (it emits a dull thud on impact, which has him praying that his and Krystal's trophy is still in one piece). His entire chest feels like it's engulfed in flames, a feeling that Jongin not only prays Sehun didn't sense, but that he also doesn't bother trying to squash during his short walk towards the staircase. The soft strumming of Taemin's guitar fills the air, but Jongin doesn't bother asking Taemin to keep it down as he passes the latter's bedroom.

Instead, Jongin kicks his bedroom door open after he reaches the top step, head feeling like it's being stuffed with cotton as he throws himself onto the soft mattress. He's out like a light, to the faint melodic strumming downstairs, before his head even hits the pillow.