There is no denying it, Do Kyungsoo's legs are not long. They are perfectly proportional to the rest of his body (thankyouverymuch), but compared to many other males in his office, he is more...compact. It is because of this physical limitation that he is absolutely, with 100% certainty, sure that it is not his fault that he keeps kicking the feet of the new hire who sits across from him in the cubicles.

"I swear to God, Yeol," Kyungsoo complains to his work BFF at lunch one day. "He has to be a freakin’ Amazon or something for his legs to be constantly in my space. It’s been three weeks and he still can’t figure out how to keep his feet to himself all day!"

Chanyeol pauses mid-chew and corrects him, "Well, technically the Amazon tribe was all female, so I think the term you are looking for is—"

"You know what I meant, that's not the point!" Kyungsoo cuts him off. "His feet are constantly in my space and kicking me, and it has got to stop. I need you to help me brainstorm ideas to get him to back off."

Chanyeol leans forward in his chair and rests his chin on his hand, pondering, "Hmmm...well, I think you should start off with something subtle to mark the boundaries of your territory."

"Gross," Kyungsoo interjects. "I am not going to pee a circle around my desk to mark my territory. That isn't subtle at all!"

Chanyeol shrugs, "Hey, don’t knock it ‘til you try it. I thought you wanted an idea that would work, but...I guess if you aren't willing to do what it takes..." He laughs when he sees the deadpan stare that the short male gives him. "Ok, ok, maybe not peeing," he concedes, "but you should really do something that will help him realize on his own that he is infringing on your space, because maybe he just really honestly doesn't realize that he is doing it. Maybe he thinks you are the one who is invading his space."

Kyungsoo thinks on that for a moment and his anger simmers a bit with the new perspective that ok, maybe the stranger doesn't realize he is in the wrong. "Ok, so...what do you suggest?" he asks.

Chanyeol taps his finger against his nose thoughtfully until his face lights up. "Ooooh ok, I got it, I got it! So, I just got my new external monitor delivered to the office—you know the box is decently tall and pretty wide? I'll bring it to your desk, but basically you should set it up as a fence between your foot space and his foot space. After he kicks it a few times, he'll get the message and keep his feet under his own desk. You follow?"

Kyungsoo nods, "That could work. Makes a statement but still not blatantly rude. Can you bring the box by after lunch and I'll give it a shot?"

When Kyungsoo gets back to his desk with the box, Mr. Long-Legs is nowhere to be seen. How is it possible that he hasn't seen this guy's face even once since the guy started working here? The other guy keeps his external monitors raised super high and then slouches super low in his chair, so the most Kyungsoo has ever seen of the guy is the top of his well-coifed hair. Kyungsoo squats under his desk to set the box perfectly in between their cubes, making sure it accurately divides the space in half. Satisfied with his handiwork, Kyungsoo settles back into his chair and starts typing away, keeping one ear open for when the other male returns.

As expected, Kyungsoo is made aware of the guy's presence when a loud thud sounds in their area and the cardboard box is tipped in his direction. He tries his best to hide his snort as he gently toes the box back into an upright position. Immediately, he opens up his messenger window with Chanyeol and gives him an update on the situation. "I think it was a success!" Kyungsoo tells him. "He kicked it over, so he definitely should be aware that he is in my space. I think I am going to get a victory coffee from the break room, be right back."

Kyungsoo is feeling pretty good about life as he waits for his cup to fill up. Alas, he can finally have some peace and personal space at his desk. When he gets back to his area, he has to consciously stop himself from giving the guy a smug look before he sits down. His arrogance his short-lived, though, when he rolls his chair closer to his desk and once again finds himself running into the rookie's feet.

It takes Kyungsoo by surprise, drawing a quiet squawk from him, and he swears he hears a chuckle come from the other side of the cube wall. Dismayed, he peeks his head under his desk and confirms that the cardboard box is, in fact, gone. It is not even moved to the side; it is simply gone.

"YEOL," Kyungsoo frantically types to his friend, "This guy is NOT playin'! He threw away the box!!" He can practically hear the tall giant's booming laughter through the all caps response and emojis that he receives. "Plan B, time to activate Plan B!"

Chanyeol's Plan B, as he explains it to Kyungsoo at lunch the next day, is to take a roll of masking tape and draw a border on the ground to divide Kyungsoo's space from the rando's. "You're kidding me, right?" Kyungsoo scoffs at his friend's latest idea. "The guy kicked over a physical cardboard box and then threw it away—you think he is going to respect a line in the sand?"

"You never know, maybe he is weird like that," Chanyeol shrugs. "Don't knock it 'til you try it."

Kyungsoo narrows his eyes and threatens, "I swear, if you say that phrase to me one more time, I'm going to—" He doesn't get to finish his sentence because a loud, obnoxious laugh erupts from the center of the cafeteria. Both Kyungsoo and Chanyeol swivel their heads in that direction and see a group of employees sitting around a large, round table. "Who are they and why the heck do they sound like they are having so much fun at work?" Kyungsoo clucks his tongue in annoyance. "So loud."

"Those guys are all on Baek's team," Chanyeol concludes after he spots his boyfriend in the crowd. "You know, his team shares the cube area with us?" Both friends continue to stare at the rowdy group. "Looks like they are all roasting the new hire." He points at the sandy-haired boy who is in the process of standing up from his chair.

Kyungsoo tries not to stare at the new hire's backside as he stands, but he can't help but to notice just how long the guy's legs are. It's hard not to notice when his dress pants cling to his slim legs like it's nobody's business and Kyungsoo literally chokes on his yakult when the guy bends over slightly to straighten out the creases at his knees before straightening up. Chanyeol quickly starts slapping Kyungsoo on the back until the shorter male assures his friend he isn't dying. "I'm fine, I'm fine, drink just went down the wrong pipe."

Unfortunately for Kyungsoo, his violent coughing has drawn the attention of the group at Baekhyun's table. Chanyeol gives a quick wave to them and flashes a thumbs up to let them know all is well, but Kyungsoo immediately starts coughing again when the new hire looks his way. That hair. Kyungsoo would recognize that hair anywhere. Everyone is starting to stare at him so he does the only thing he can think of at the moment: he jumps up from his seat, folds into a 90-degree bow, coughs out an apology to the room, and runs off.

It only takes about 12 seconds at the water fountain for Kyungsoo to compose himself, but he hides away for the rest of the lunch period lest he have to face anyone who saw him embarrass himself in the cafeteria. Everyone is back at their cubes by the time he sneaks back into the work area, and he is thankful that nobody notices him or asks if he is alright.

Upon sitting down in his office chair and spinning towards his computer to log in, Kyungsoo very nearly knocks over the bottle of yakult that is sitting in front of his keyboard. He smiles to himself and messages Chanyeol first thing upon logging in. "Hey man, thanks for the yakult, you didn't have to."

"Ummm yeah, that wasn't from me," Chanyeol tells him. "But sounds like you got yourself a secret admirer after making a fool of yourself in front of everyone! If keep that up, maybe you'll land yourself a boyfriend!" Kyungsoo wishes that the giant was the one sitting across from him so that he could kick his shin.

Kyungsoo's love life (or lack thereof) is a regular talking point amongst Kyungsoo and Chanyeol's friend group. It's not even like the rest of them are all coupled up and Kyungsoo is the only single one left! It's just that between his (initially) shy disposition and high standards, few are brave enough to approach him, and those who do are quickly (albeit politely) turned down. His friends have tried and failed to set him up numerous times, and it has gotten to the point that they have stopped trying.

Admittedly, it does make Kyungsoo's heart flutter a little to think that somebody is concerned enough about his coughing fit to buy him a drink, but he struggles to wrap his around who could possibly know his drink of choice besides Chanyeol. Nobody else eats lunch with them. "Say, Yeol," Kyungsoo messages his friend, "You wouldn't have happened to mention to anyone that I like yakult, did you?"

He watches as his friend's chat bubble goes from typing to not, typing to not, typing to not, before receiving a simple, "IDK." Kyungsoo snorts because clearly his friend is lying. Why else would he have to type and revise a three-letter message multiple times?

"Yeah, ok," he replies, humoring his friend. If Chanyeol is withholding information he probably has a good reason, so Kyungsoo isn't going to push him on it. "So...did I miss anything exciting in the cafeteria after I left?" he asks instead.

"Ahahahahaha yes, actually you did," Chanyeol tells him. "Check your phone, I'm sending you a video. You'll need headphones."

Kyungsoo discretely plugs his earbuds into his phone and clicks on the video. Luckily, he sits in a far corner of the floor that people rarely walk by, so no one will notice if he takes a 30-second break. He has no idea what to expect, but what he sees is far beyond any expectations he ever could have had. The video is of the (no longer faceless) new hire that sits across from him. It opens with Baekhyun loudly introducing the new hire as Kim Jongin, graduate of Kyungsoo's own alma mater. Weird, Kyungsoo thinks to himself. Surely I would have noticed a tall, attractive guy like Jongin hanging around the business building, wouldn't I? Wait. No. What is he thinking. Kim Jongin is not attractive. He is the enemy. The obnoxious new hire who thinks he owns the under-desk foot space. Has he ever heard of the DMZ? Because there should be a nice-sized neutral zone between their cubes. Their feet should never even come close to touching.

When Kyungsoo zones back in, Baekhyun is explaining that as part of Jongin's "onboarding" (hazing is more like it, Kyungsoo snorts), Jongin is going to put on a performance for everyone. Baekhyun fumbles with his phone for a second before the very familiar melody of "The Three Bears" blasts from a Bluetooth speaker. And then Jongin starts dancing. In the middle of the cafeteria. And worst of all, Kyungsoo finds it to be freakin' adorable. He has to consciously stop himself from cooing out loud at how cutely Jongin does the movements, the embarrassed flush that spreads across his cheeks and the bashful smile on his lips. At the end of the "performance", Kyungsoo actually uwus and has to cover it with a loud cough when Jongin covers his face with his hands and sinks back into his lunch chair.

"So...did you watch it?" Chanyeol messages him a couple minutes later.

"I did," Kyungsoo replies curtly.

"So...what did you think?" Chanyeol asks, and Kyungsoo imagines the smirk that must accompany it.

"I think I am glad I didn't see it in person." Not because he wouldn't have wanted to see it in person (he actually would have very much liked to see it live), but because he is embarrassed of what he might have done if he had been there (like sent the boy flying hearts or run up to him and hugged him).

"HA right. I'll let you live in your delusional world where you don't think that the new hire is cute af. He's totally your type. Don’t worry, I’ll put in a good word with Baek and we’ll set something up ;-)."

"I do NOT think he is cute!" Kyungsoo lies, but who is he kidding. Now that he has a name and a face to put with the feet that kick him from the other side of the cube wall, he can't help but to want to see the guy again.

Maybe that will be his new MO. Next time Kim Jongin kicks him, he is going to stand up and say something to his face. Yes, this seems like a foolproof idea.

Kyungsoo isn't anticipating how soon the confrontation will occur. He hasn't had any time to prepare between when he makes the decision and when his precious feet are being stepped on yet again. Before he even realizes what he is doing, he has jumped out of his seat and stomped over to the unsuspecting new hire's side of the wall. Well, his version of stomping, anyway. Apparently, his stomping is not very loud, because the young man does not even notice that Kyungsoo is standing by the end of his desk until he clears his throat.

The senior immediately regrets catching Jongin's attention, though, because if he thought the younger boy was handsome from afar before, that is nothing compared to his beauty up close. And to have the boy's attention focused solely on him flusters Kyungsoo much more than it should. Jongin looks up from his computer and Kyungsoo swears he gasps out loud. They stay there, silently looking at each other for a while before Jongin speaks up, "Um...sunbae?"

The smoothness of his voice jolts Kyungsoo out of his trance and he straightens up before stuttering, "Ah, right, yes, sorry." He mentally cringes at how awkward he sounds. "So, um, my name is—" he starts to introduce himself, but he is interrupted by the other male.

"Do Kyungsoo sunbae," Jongin supplies.

Kyungsoo is floored. Jongin knows him?! "Um...yes," is all he manages to say. His heart stutters as badly as his voice did when the corner of Jongin's mouth lifts into a playful smirk.

"Are you not sure?" the younger male teases.

"...Of what?" Kyungsoo asks dumbly.

"Your name," Jongin explains. "You hesitated."

Kyungsoo may be able to tolerate being teased, but he will not put up with being called dumb. "Wha—of course I know my name, kid, I'm not daft. I just don't how you know it," he retorts. His face is already bordering on pink, but it turns positively red when the seated male reaches out and flicks the photo name badge that is hanging around Kyungsoo's neck, which has a yellow stripe to indicate his level. Right. His badge. Kyungsoo wishes the floor would swallow him up.

"But also," Jongin adds nonchalantly, "Baekhyun sunbae mentioned your name after you ran out of the cafeteria earlier." All of the previous color in Kyungsoo's face quickly drains to a sick pallor. And now he really wants to die.

"Ah, I see," he manages to squeak out. How did Jongin manage to turn the tables on him like this? He was supposed to have the upper hand, to be the intimidating senior at the company who would scold the new hire for going around hogging foot space like he owns the place. But instead, the tall, tanned male has managed to completely fluster the senior and turn him into an awkward turtle.

Jongin's eyes suddenly brighten and he asks, "Oh! So was there something you needed to talk to me about?" Apparently, Kyungsoo had been so disarmed by Jongin's presence that he completely forgot what he came over to discuss.

"Ah, right, so I sit in the cube across from you," Kyungsoo explains as he points at his desk. Jongin nods as if he already knows that fact. "And, uh," Kyungsoo continues awkwardly, "your legs are really long."

At the mention of his limbs, Jongin rolls his chair away from his desk and stretches them out in front him. He gives his legs a once over before turning his gaze back to Kyungsoo. Chuckling, he quips, "You noticed?"

Groaning outwardly, Kyungsoo finally finds his courage and his words. "Only because you kick my feet under the desk all day long!" he huffs. "Do you know I have to buff my shoes almost daily since you started working here? It has literally become part of my nightly routine: work, go home, eat dinner, shower, buff my shoes. Rinse and repeat."

"I've become part of your nightly routine, huh?" Jongin asks, as he props his chin on one hand and bats his eyes at the male standing before him.

Lord, help me. Kyungsoo thinks to himself as his heart betrays him, racing. He regains his composure and covers it with an eye roll and a scoff. “Please, don’t flatter yourself. Just—can you please just try to keep your legs under your own desk? It’s distracting.”

Kyungsoo should have known that the sassy, eager rookie would take that in the absolute wrong way. “I’m sorry I am such a distraction for you, sunbae,” Jongin apologizes, a twinkle in his eye. “Will you let me make it up to you?”

“No,” is the older boy’s immediate response. Even though they work on different teams, they are still colleagues. It wouldn’t be appropriate. But there is still a voice in Kyungsoo’s head that wants to say yes. The louder, more negative voice in his head, though, says, No. You are barely surviving this conversation. Do you really think you will be able to handle spending enough time with him for him to ‘make it up to you’? “Just…no,” Kyungsoo reiterates. He almost changes his mind when he sees the expression on Jongin’s face fall, but he must be strong and stick to his guns. “I-I’m just going to go back to my desk now…” he trails off, gesturing towards his cube with his thumb. Jongin nods but avoids eye contact with him, opting to silently turn back towards his computer.

Back at his desk, Kyungsoo tries to ignore the guilty feeling that is starting to bubble in the pit of his chest. He can’t help but to feel that the way he had rejected Jongin was a bit…harsh. But he has to set boundaries upfront and let the kid know that he can’t just blatantly flirt with people at work! Jongin is still fresh from college and someone needs to teach him the rules. It is with those reassuring thoughts that Kyungsoo is finally able to silence the voices in his head and get back to work.

Kyungsoo doesn’t mention his conversation with Jongin to Chanyeol, so of course the overly-friendly giant is unaware of any kind of lingering tension between the two. Which explains why Chanyeol doesn’t give it a second thought before inviting Baekhyun and Jongin to sit with them at lunch the next day.

“Kyungsoo, hi!” Baekhyun greets him brightly as he sets down his tray of bulgogi. “Have you met Kim Jongin? He’s the new hire on my team. Chanyeol invited us to sit with you today, I hope you don’t mind. We can make this our own little lunch group!” Baekhyun doesn’t see (or chooses to overlook) the nervous expression on Kyungsoo’s face.

“Hi Baekhyun sunbae,” Kyungsoo replies. “Yeah, Jongin-ssi and I have met; we actually sit across from each other in the cubes.” Jongin nods along as he stuffs his mouth with a spoonful of rice, opting to stay silent.

Oddly, Baekhyun does not seem shocked or surprised by this tidbit of information, which leads Kyungsoo to suspect that Chanyeol has already mentioned something to him about it. He makes a mental note to ask the big friendly giant about it later. “Oh, that’s great! Maybe you can help me take care of our little Jonginnie, then.” Jongin shoves kimchi into his mouth and glares daggers at the food in front of him. “Also,” Baekhyun adds playfully, “haven’t I told you to speak comfortably with me? Any friend of Chanyeol’s is a friend of mine, and I daresay we have all hung out enough times outside of work that we don’t need these formalities anymore.”

“Yeah, but we’re still at work right now,” Kyungsoo mumbles, starting to feel uncomfortable with how uncomfortable Jongin seems to be feeling.

Chanyeol shrugs and agrees with his boyfriend, “Friends are friends no matter where we are. But anyway, Jongin, what university did you go to?” Kyungsoo looks at his friend and raises an eyebrow because Chanyeol already knows where Jongin went to school. Baekhyun announced it during his introduction before Jongin’s performance at lunch the day prior. What is he trying to do? Of course, as soon as Jongin answers him, he exclaims, “What a coincidence! That’s where our Kyungsoo went to school too! Wow, this must be fate for the two of you to meet like this. Did you ever run into each other on campus?”

Kyungsoo is about four/five seconds from throwing his yakult in his friend’s face. Chanyeol and Baekhyun are clearly trying to set him and Jongin up, and although Kyungsoo does think the other male is quite attractive, he does not want his friends to meddle in his business. He is too busy ruminating to realize that Chanyeol is busily typing a message on his phone, and just a second later, Baekhyun receives a notification on his. “Sorry kids, but we are being summoned by the higher-ups…we have to go but don’t let that stop you two from enjoying the rest of your lunch and getting to know each other! Ta ta for now!” Baekhyun sends them a wave before walking away with Chanyeol.

Jongin spares a glance at Kyungsoo’s face and notices that the older male is staring after his friends. “Do I make you feel that uncomfortable after what I said yesterday?” he asks. “I’m sorry about that…I’ll finish up quickly and then leave.” His eyes drop back to his food and he starts to shovel it into his mouth again.

“So…we went to the same Uni, huh?” Kyungsoo suddenly speaks up, surprising the new hire. Jongin was expecting the two of them to suffer through the rest of their meal in an awkward silence before parting ways, never to speak to each other again.

“Ah, yeah,” Jongin manages to reply after swallowing his mouthful of food. He isn’t really sure what to say next.

Fortunately for him, Kyungsoo has another question lined up already. “Do you remember all the random cats that roam around campus?”

“Yeah!” Jongin’s face lights up at the mention of the furry animals. “The Campus Kitties!”

Kyungsoo laughs, “You know, my friends and I were the ones who came up with the name Campus Kitties our Freshman year.”

“No way, seriously?!” Jongin’s goofy guffaw joins Kyungsoo’s deep chuckle. “That name is legendary now! Did you know that one of the campus kitties attacked me once?” Jongin’s heart swells at the sight of Kyungsoo’s eyes widening. “It was Freshman year and even though I am a dog person, I felt bad for the cats always roaming around looking for food, you know? So I went and bought a can of tuna from the convenience store down the street and opened it, and literally as I am squatting down to put the can on the ground in front of one of those cat houses someone set up, this cat comes out of nowhere and starts swatting his paws at my hand until I drop the can and run away!” Kyungsoo’s eyes are watering from laughing so hard. “I’m serious, sunbae! I have a scar from that jerk, look!” Indeed, there is a faint scar line on the back of Jongin’s right hand. “I have never felt so disrespected in my life,” Jongin pouts, and suddenly Kyungsoo can’t remember why he ever felt uncomfortable around this young man.

“Speaking of being disrespected by wild animals…” Kyungsoo chimes in. “A bird pooped on my head and I nearly got a black eye from one of those evil campus squirrels on the same day.” Jongin’s gasp is perfectly timed, encouraging Kyungsoo to continue animatedly with his story. “It was the end of my Freshman year too, and my family had just attended my older brother’s graduation ceremony. As we were walking back to the car to go home, I saw this giant shadow flying over me and next thing I knew, something plopped onto my head! I wanted to wipe it off immediately, but I didn’t want to touch it, so I just stood there yelling in the middle of the sidewalk for five minutes while my mom freaked out looking for napkins.” Kyungsoo can’t believe that handsome Jongin is laughing so hard that his head is resting on the table because of him. He also can’t believe that just 24 hours ago, he was cursing this young man and ready to send him to his grave.

“And what about the squirrel?” Jongin asks. “I know you’re a shorty, but did you get into a boxing match with him?” The second question earns him a punch on the arm.

“For business club we had to do some dumb scavenger hunt to celebrate the first day of vacation,” Kyungsoo starts to explain. “After the bird pooped on me, I rushed to the student union to meet my team. One of the items we needed to fetch had been lodged up in some tree branches, so as the ‘shorty’,” he pauses here to give Jongin a look, “I got boosted up on my teammates’ shoulders to get the darn thing. Well, turns out this thing was placed a little too closely to this squirrel’s secret hiding place, and the little guy thought I was trying to steal from his stash. Next thing I know, he starts throwing freakin’ acorns at my eye! So here I am, trying to balance on my teammates’ shoulders, screaming bloody Mary because I am getting my eye demolished by a freakin’ squirrel, and our entire team ends up on our backs on the ground beneath this tree.” Jongin dissolves into a fit of giggles again and Kyungsoo thinks he could watch and listen to this for the rest of the day. But alas, duty calls. “Anyway, that’s the story—I’m glad my misery is so entertaining for you,” he complains, but Jongin knows he isn’t serious.

“I’m glad that squirrel didn’t damage your beautiful eyes,” Jongin says, and Kyungsoo blushes even though he knows (thinks) that the younger male is just teasing.

“Ha, thanks,” he laughs awkwardly. “Well, it’s probably time for us to go back…” he stands and picks up his tray, noticing that Jongin mirrors his movements. “I’m glad we were able to get to know each other better, Jongin-ssi; I feel like we probably got off on the wrong…foot. Literally.”

Jongin laughs at the joke and agrees, “I really enjoyed having lunch together too, sunbae. But can you please just call me Jongin? It would make me feel more comfortable.”

“Sure”, Kyungsoo allows it. “But in return, you have to stop calling me sunbae.” It would make Kyungsoo feel more comfortable too, if Jongin would call him by name instead of drawing this line between them by using titles.

“Ok, hyung!” Jongin easily agrees, and Kyungsoo’s breath catches in his throat. He wasn’t thinking that Jongin would call him that. “Uh, hyung?” Jongin asks when he realizes Kyungsoo has stopped walking. Shaking his head, Kyungsoo forces himself to fall into step beside Jongin, as naturally as possible. They part when they get back to their cubes, both young men feeling giddy about their newly-formed friendship.

The lunch hour has put Kyungsoo in such a good mood that Chanyeol’s teasing can’t even get him down. “So…are you BFFs with that Kim Jongin now?” Chanyeol messages him later that afternoon.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo replies. “I’m thinking about permanently replacing you. ALSO, I know you and Baekhyun didn’t get called into some random meeting earlier. Nice try though.” Chanyeol just laughs and assures him that he will thank him later.

From that day forward, it quickly becomes something of a routine for Baekhyun and Jongin to join Chanyeol and Kyungsoo for lunch, not that Kyungsoo is complaining. Sometimes Chanyeol and Baekhyun will suddenly ditch the two youngest members of their group for an “emergency meeting”, but Kyungsoo knows better. They are still trying to get Kyungsoo and Jongin together, and quite honestly, Kyungsoo isn’t complaining about that anymore either.

It would be useless for Kyungsoo to try to deny his ever-growing feelings for the new hire across the cube wall. Although he was very annoyed by the man before he actually met him, now that he has had the opportunity to get to know him more and more, little by little each day, he has to admit that he truly does enjoy the younger man’s presence. In a drama-like plot-twist, Kyungsoo has discovered that Jongin is actually very nice. And funny. And enthusiastic.

Take, for example, the way he is currently telling the lunch table a story about his beloved niece’s strength. “She really has extraordinary muscles,” he boasts proudly. “She’s only like three, but her abs and her arm muscles are insane! She is probably stronger than I am,” he laughs loudly while slapping one of his hands on the table. Great. The part of the conversation that Kyungsoo’s brain latches on to is “Jongin” and “abs”. He really needed that visual today. “I bet by next year she’ll be going to the gym with me!” Jongin declares, and Kyungsoo manages to laugh along with the rest of the table. He really needs to get it together before Jongin starts noticing and asking questions about his weird behavior. Lost in his own thoughts yet again, he doesn’t notice that Jongin is already looking at him with a worried expression.

After Baekhyun and Chanyeol excuse themselves first to attend a legitimate post-lunch meeting, Jongin pulls Kyungsoo to the side of the elevator bank in the lobby. “Jongin, is everything alright?” Kyungsoo asks, confused.

Jongin wants to say that he should be asking that question to the older male, but instead he just asks, “Do you want to have a coffee with me after work?”

Kyungsoo freezes and his eyes widen. He means to say yes, but what comes out of his mouth is, “But…you don’t like coffee…”

Jongin can’t help but to smile and offer an alternative, “How about a hot chocolate, then?” Kyungsoo only nods in response because his heart has officially leapt into his throat and he doesn’t trust himself to actually say anything without embarrassing himself. The blinding grin and eye smile that Jongin flashes him makes him feel light headed and dazed to the point that the younger male has to guide him into the elevator and back upstairs to their desks.

The rest of the work day passes much quicker than Kyungsoo would have liked, as he feels he is nowhere near mentally and emotionally prepared enough by the time the end of the day rolls around. Jongin has already packed up his briefcase and is currently standing at the end of Kyungsoo’s desk while he waits for the senior to pack up. Kyungsoo seems to be taking his sweet, sweet time with the task, which leads Jongin to say, “Hyung, if you didn’t want to go with me, you could have just said no.” The statement is accompanied by a downcast gaze and toes digging into the carpet.

“Wha-I-I want to go!” Kyungsoo assures him. “I just…just give me a minute, ok?” Jongin nods and starts to watch Kyungsoo pack up, which makes him even more nervous than before. Finally, though, he can’t delay any longer and he loops his shoulder bag over one arm. “Alright, let’s go.”

Jongin leads the way to a café a few blocks down the road, going as far as to hold the door open for Kyungsoo like a true gentleman. The gesture makes Kyungsoo’s heart rate speed up as he ducks under Jongin’s arm. After they have ordered and despite Jongin’s protests that he was the one who extended the invitation, Kyungsoo pays for their steaming mugs of hot chocolate.

They duo have been alone in each other’s company countless times during lunches before, but there is something about the current date-like atmosphere that turns the both of them shy. Jongin is the first to muster up the courage to speak. “So…I have a confession to make…” Jongin hesitates before he admits, “I knew the whole time that I was touching your feet.”

Kyungsoo stops and stares, sure that he must have misheard the boy. “I’m sorry, what was that?” Jongin looks even more embarrassed when he repeats it. “Ok, two things,” Kyungsoo holds up two fingers. “One, I wouldn’t call it touching as much as it was kicking. And two, if you knew all along that you were kicking my feet, why did you keep doing it?”

Any other day, Kyungsoo would have cooed at the sight of Jongin further tucking his chin into his chest, but he does his best to tamp down those feelings because they are trying to have a serious conversation here, gosh darn it. He’s so caught up in his own thoughts that he once again misses Jongin’s words. In his defense, the boy tends to mumble around him. “What?” he asks dumbly.

Jongin doesn’t like being ignored. “Hyung!” he complains as he puts on an exaggerated pout. “You are here with me but your mind is somewhere else. What do I have to do to hold your attention?” Well, if Kyungsoo wasn’t paying attention before, those words definitely get his attention.

Kyungsoo busies himself with taking a sip of his beverage to stall, but to his dismay, the drink is still pretty hot, so that ruse lasts all of three seconds. He looks up and notices that Jongin is looking at him expectantly, clearly waiting for Kyungsoo to actually grace him with a response as to why the senior is looking everywhere except for the man sitting across from him. “I…am paying attention,” he lies. He didn’t think it was possible, but Jongin’s lower lip juts out even farther than before.

“No, you’re not,” Jongin accuses.

“Yes, I am,” Kyungsoo retorts.

“Are not!” “Am too!” “Then what did I just say?” “I don’t know, you mumbled.” “You just weren’t listening.” “Yes, I was!” “Just admit that you weren’t paying attention to me, hyung.” “That’s impossible because I am always paying attention to you.”

A sharp intake of breath. Silence.

Kyungsoo’s eyes almost pop out of his skull when he realizes what he just said out loud. The look of shock on his face is exactly mirrored on the features of the boy sitting across from him. Neither of them says a word until Kyungsoo starts to say, “I’m sorr—” but he doesn’t get the chance to finish because he gets cut off with a whispered, “Don’t.”

He doesn’t feel the same way as I do, Kyungsoo realizes, as his gaze drops to his hands that are clasped in his lap. Jongin must be so taken aback that he doesn’t even want to hear Kyungsoo’s apology. He starts fiddling with the end of his tie, repeatedly rolling it up and then letting it unroll while he tries to quickly figure out what to do next. Does he just get up and leave? Does he wait politely for Jongin to finish his drink before they awkwardly leave together? Is Jongin going to leave first?

He is brought out of his thoughts by two taps on his feet. At first, he thinks he is imaging them, so he continues to frown until he feels the taps again. Surprised, Kyungsoo looks up and locks eyes with a smiling Jongin, who has regained that spark of warmth in his gaze. “I don’t want you to apologize for always thinking of me,” Jongin explains. “Because I am always thinking of you too.” Stunned by the sudden confession, Kyungsoo’s is only able to gape like a goldfish, words escaping him. At least he still has enough control over his body to place one of his hands snuggly in the warmth of the other boy’s on top of the table when it is offered to him.

“What I said before,” Jongin continues, “is that I wasn’t kicking you. I consider them to be more akin to…toe kisses.” Toe kisses? Kyungsoo thinks to himself. What the heck are toe kisses?

The confusion must have made its way onto his face, because Jongin laughs nervously and scratches the back of his head with his free hand. “It sounds so dumb when I say it out loud like that…but like, I just wanted to give you periodic reminders that I was there. That I was waiting for you to notice me.” Kyungsoo still has not given a proper reaction, so Jongin just keeps rambling.

“We went to the same university, right,” he says, but that isn’t news to Kyungsoo. They’ve talked it before. “You helped to proctor my first business law exam my Sophomore year. It was held in the big lecture hall, 201, and you were proctoring to get extra credit points for business club.” Kyungsoo tries to dig through his college memories to remember the day Jongin is referring to. “One of the other volunteers was going down the rows passing out exams from the front to the back of the lecture hall. I was sitting in the second to last row, and you came up to me to tell me to remove my snapback—”

“—Because you could have had the answers written on the underside of the brim,” Kyungsoo finishes for him, “And any attempts to cheat will result in an automatic zero with no chance to re-take it.” He remembers well the script that the proctor volunteers were required to memorize and regurgitate at the start of each exam. Has Jongin known and liked him since back then?

Jongin seems happy that Kyungsoo is starting to remember. “I ended up failing that test anyway,” he chuckles. “I didn’t get kicked out for trying to cheat, but you can’t really expect to do well when you fill the scantron in with all C’s 2 minutes before the end of the exam because you were too busy watching one of the proctors as he paces around the room.” Kyungsoo starts to smile, imagining a younger-looking Jongin staring at him instead taking his test. He doesn’t say anything, though, so Jongin plows ahead with the rest of his confession, “After that day, it seemed like I kept seeing you everywhere around campus, like I was being given all of these chances to approach you, to introduce myself, but I never had the courage to.” He suddenly chuckles, “Gosh, this is so embarrassing…I sound like such a stalker.”

Kyungsoo squeezes Jongin’s hand on the table and apologizes, “I’m sorry that I seemed so unapproachable. It must have been hard for you.”

Jongin squeezes back and assures him, “I’m not upset or blaming you, hyung. I just want you to understand that I am not just a new hire looking for a random sunbae to flirt with to pass the time. I have had a long while to think about what you mean to me, and what I want to mean to you one day, too, if you’ll let me.” The underlying sentiment of I am being sincere about us is one that doesn’t need to be said out loud, because Kyungsoo clearly understands it.

“When you first started sitting across from me and toe kissing me every day, I was convinced that I would always hate you, no matter what,” Kyungsoo unconventionally starts a confession of his own. Jongin turns pink and mumbles an apology. “But the second that I saw your face I knew that I couldn’t hate you.” The younger man looks up at that. “That day that I choked on my yakult and had to run out of the cafeteria? It’s because I finally got to see your face and I knew my plans to loath you forever were never going to work out. Then Chanyeol sent me that video of your ‘Three Bears’ dance that I missed and I thought that you were the most precious person to ever be put on this planet. I thought I was going to die when you started eating lunch with us every day. I knew that the more time I spent with you, the more that I got to know you, the more likely I would be to fall for your charms.”

“So, did it work?” Jongin asks slyly. “Did you fall for my charms?”

Kyungsoo knows the boy is fishing for it, but he obliges him anyway. “Well, I’m here, aren’t I?”

Jongin is positively beaming now and he tries his luck once more, asking, “Can I charm you into going to dinner with me right now too?” And how can Kyungsoo say no to that?

The two spend the next several hours together, eating, talking, and laughing. And at the end of the night, Kyungsoo walks the younger man to his apartment. Although he was perfectly confident and outgoing all night, Jongin is now nervously leaning his back against the door, eyes on the floor, as he is unsure of how to end the night that he has waited literally years for. He doesn’t get much time to think about it, though, when Kyungsoo’s shoes come into his line of vision, toe-to-toe with his own feet.

“Hey,” Kyungsoo whispers, reaching out to grasp one of Jongin’s hands. “Thank you for tonight...I’d like to think that I would have eventually asked you out on my own, but you certainly made things easier for me by making the first move.” Jongin fidgets in embarrassment at that. He barely notices that Kyungsoo’s other hand has come up to cradle his face, angling his chin up to make eye contact. “Would it be alright if I finally reciprocated your toe kisses with a kiss of my own?” Jongin feels a slight pressure against his toes as Kyungsoo shifts onto his tiptoes before he feels a different kind of pressure on his lips. Jongin decides right then and there that he has found his new favorite type of kiss.

*~*~*~*~*

The next morning at work, there is another bottle of yakult waiting for Kyungsoo at his desk, this time accompanied by a post-it with a heart on it. Smiling to himself, he takes his laptop out of his shoulder bag and sets up his work station before settling into his chair and wheeling himself up to his desk. As a new step in his morning routine, he stretches his legs out and lands a couple of taps on the shoes of the man who sits across from him. Good morning, the taps say. I’m happy you are here today. Kyungsoo immediately receives a series of taps back that say, Good morning to you, too. I hope today is your best day ever. And somehow, Kyungsoo knows that it will be.