“Do you want to work on the middle section some more?” Taemin offered after an especially grueling group practice. The two of them had gotten extra praise from the teacher, but he could see Taemin was still not satisfied with the level of their performance. He loved that about him, he never quit until they had reached their full potential, and sometimes more.

“Ah, sorry man, I've gotta go... but tomorrow, for sure!” Jongin grinned apologetically.

“Say what? This is the first time ever that you choose something else over practice?” Taemin was in shock, it was written all over his face.

“I'm not choosing anything over practice, I just have plans and it's too late to cancel.” he stuck his tongue out at Taemin.

“Ooooh, another dinner with the hubby? Date night! You've been eating together quite a lot recently, haven't you?” Taemin teased.

“Shut up...” he pouted, stuffing his clothes into his bag. He was just going to wear his training clothes home and take a quick shower there before dinner, to save time.

“Well, you are married...” Taemin shrugged in a provoking manner. “Have you not been attending to your husbandly duties?”.

“He does all the chores before I even have the chance to!!!” he complained, feeling a very faint shimmer of guilt. “And if I do them, he just freaks out cuz I'm doing them wrong or whatever...” he put extra energy into the pout, wanting Taemin to take his side.

“Those are not the duties I was referring to...” Taemin raised one of his eyebrows comically and gave him a flirty wink.

“Oh... if that's what you have to do to be a good husband, you must be the greatest one ever... so when are you and Minho getting married again...?” he chuckled.

“Aren't you late or something?” Taemin spat at him, but he could see he wasn't pissed for real, it was only skin deep. But he wasn't wrong, he was running late.

“Catch ya tomorrow!” he waved him enthusiastically and ran outside.

“I'm home! Shower!” he yelled as he ran inside, threw his bag in the direction of his room and headed to the bathroom. He wasn't wasting any time, he was going to take a lightning flash shower and then he was ready for tonight's feast. Being married to a professional chef had its perks. For the past few weeks he had been working overtime as a Guinea pig while Kyungsoo perfected his recipes. He was sure his restaurant was going to be a big hit. Everything he had tasted so far was incredible, so incredible in fact, that it was hard to give any feedback other than compliments. Kyungsoo had acted like he was a bit frustrated with him, since the point of these exercises was trying to make the dishes better, but every time he the bowl clean with great satisfaction, Kyungsoo looked like he was exploding from happiness. It felt kind of nice, to make him happy.

“Ah!! Can you knock!!”. A wet sponge hit his head. He just stood there, frozen in the doorway, staring at a stark Kyungsoo, who had just stepped out of the shower. He saw everything. Every single detail. Kyungsoo quickly covered himself up with the towel, but the image was burned on the inside of Jongin's head so he could still see it vividly.

He was quite taken aback, actually. Kyungsoo, who was tiny and rather petite, was surprisingly fit and manly. He wasn‘t exactly ripped, with washboard abs like himself, but he had nicely toned and natural muscles, that popped out as he worked the towel around his back, drops of water drawing the outline of his body as they ran down his neck, over his small but defined shoulders, some clinging to his biceps for dear life, watching the other ones fall to their splashy demise. A few took the scenic route, over his clavicle and down the length of his pecs and abs, drawing Jongin's attention. His skin looked really soft. So soft that it made him want to reach out his hand and touch it. Of course he didn't.

“Uh oh... I didn't hear the water... I didn't know...” he mumbled in a daze.

“Why didn't you just lock the door?” he added when his brain started functioning again.

A fire broke out inside Kyungsoo's eyes, it almost felt like he had the power to kill him with his stare alone. With startling speed and precision, Kyungsoo undid his towel and wound it up, flicking Jongin's calf while Jongin was still wondering why he was yet again getting in front of him, this time on purpose. The moment the tip of the towel smacked the side of his calf, he yelped. It felt like getting stung by something big and poisonous. The searing pain only got worse for the next minute or so. He limped out of the bathroom, feeling very sorry for himself. He made it to the living room and let himself fall onto the couch, lifting his jogging pants to assess the damage.

There was a fiery red streak across the side of his calf. He could feel it pulsating. Ouch. It hurt like hell. He couldn't believe how fierce his supposedly shy, introverted husband was. That guy definitely had layers, and apparently some of them were kind of scary.

A few minutes later a fully dressed Kyungsoo came out to check on him. When he saw that he was hurt, he disappeared again. Yeah, he'd better run, Jongin thought, cursing him under his breath.

“Give me your leg.” Kyungsoo said, startling Jongin after soundlessly reappearing on the other end of the sofa.

“So you can mess it up even more!?” Jongin pouted, he was pissed. It wasn't like he had walked in on him showering on purpose. It had been an accident. He didn't deserve this cruel and unusual punishment.

“My legs are my life, without them I have nothing... one day they'll be worth a whole lot of money, when I'm a professional dancer.” he tried to make Kyungsoo feel guilty.

“Just give it here.” Kyungsoo opened a small box he had brought with him and took out a tube of medicinal cream. Without waiting for permission, he scooched up a bit closer and started to apply the cream carefully to the red zone on his leg. It stung, but in a good way, and he could feel Kyungsoo was being extra mindful, touching him so softly he could barely feel it. When he was satisfied that he had covered every square inch of the affected area, Kyungsoo leaned in and gently blew on it. It almost tickled, creating a fluttering sensation in his stomach.

“Okay, fine! Whatever...” Jongin jerked his leg away, rolling the jogging pants back down. He was starting to feel uncomfortable.

“Oh, hey, what do you say to changing the pin code to something more catchy? 1217 is so random, and I never remember whether 2 or 7 comes first.” he ventured, trying to take advantage of the situation. If Kyungsoo was feeling guilty, he was more likely to give in to his idea.

“No.” Kyungsoo simply said, putting everything tidily back into the small box he was holding.

“Okay....” Jongin sighed. That was one hardheaded guy.

Jongin tossed and turned in bed that night. Finally, he gave up on trying to fall asleep, getting up to check on his wound that was keeping him awake, but it was hardly visible anymore. It had almost disappeared, yet he felt like it was still there. He couldn't get the moment out of his head, when Kyungsoo flicked him. He wondered how he had gotten so fit and strong, completely mucking up the idea he had formed in his head of him. He really didn't look like the sporty kind. It had really surprised him to discover all those tiny muscles that had been hiding in plain sight. He wasn't quite sure why he was obsessing about this, but he couldn't stop thinking about it. Maybe because Kyungsoo was an enigma. He was like no person he had ever met before. He couldn't figure him out, he was constantly catching him by surprise. He was definitely a mystery yet to be solved.

Worried about not getting enough sleep for the strenuous day of dance rehearsals ahead, he snuck out of his room to get some water. He was heading to the kitchen when he noticed the TV was on, but he could barely hear any sound coming from it. Had he forgotten to turn it off? No, it must have been Kyungsoo, but it was so unlike him to forget something like that. Then he noticed a tiny, shadowy bundle huddled up in front of the TV. It was Kyungsoo, wrapped up in a blanked, sitting so close to the screen that he was almost like a part of the TV.

“You can turn the sound up if you want, I don't mind.” Jongin said as he dared to come closer. The bundle shook and two startled eyes emerged.

“Uh... I just didn't want to disturb you.” Kyungsoo whispered, even though there was nobody there but the two of them.

“Can't sleep?” he asked softly.

Kyungsoo nodded.

“Want to talk about it?” he asked, since he felt like that was what you were supposed to do, but secretly hoping he wouldn't take him up on the offer. What if he confided some really hard problems to him, and found out just how much of an idiot he was? He had no idea how to solve real life dilemmas.

Thankfully, Kyungsoo shook his head and turned his attention back to the TV.

Jongin was going to fetch the glass of water he came out for, but something made him change his trajectory and he found himself sitting down next to Kyungsoo.

For the longest time, they just sat there in the near silence, watching the screen without really watching the movie that was on.

Then, catching him completely off guard, he felt something on his shoulder. It was Kyungsoo's head. He had fallen asleep at some point and his bobbing head had found his shoulder to lean on. It made him feel really weird. Warm, but very strange. And oddly, he felt kind of proud that he was leaning on him, that he could be there for him, to support him.

Jongin was the kind of person that always had to do well, or at least try his best, else there was no meaning in trying at all. Maybe this was him trying to be the best husband he could be.