Hello, hello welcome to chapter six, we're glad you could join us this lovely Saturday! Also announcement, I was supposed to do this last week, but forgot. Updates will now be every other Saturday, because we both have real life stuff and other engagements to attend to! But as always, thank you for reading, and all of the lovely comments, we really appreciate it. We'll see you in the next one!

Thank you!

-Arya and Hannah.

***

A week or so had passed since Kyungsoo had invited the twins to the event, Jongin’s eyes fluttered open and a yawn escaped his lips. He had a couple of classes that day and hoped he and Kyungsoo could get together to work on their project once again. Jongin had come to anticipate their study sessions with every day that went by, he grew nervous whenever they were about to meet.

At first, he thought it was just a temporary thing, but with each time they met he felt the feeling inside his stomach just grow exponentially, and then Kyungsoo invited them to his friend’s event and he just couldn’t shake the feeling of them maybe becoming… friends. 

He didn’t know why, but the thought of being friends with Kyungsoo was exciting to him. He got out of bed, stretching on his way to the bathroom, it was early, and he still had some time before his brother woke up. 

His morning continues the way that it always did, washing his face and his teeth to garner some type of wakefulness through his body before he heads out to the kitchen to fix himself a cup of tea. It’s a slightly blurry-eyed journey as he hadn’t put his contacts in yet, the cold of the floor seeping through the bottoms of his feet. 

Workers in the house greeting him as he goes by, in return he gives them a sleepy smile and a soft good morning. By the time he’s picked out his tea, and it sitting steaming in his mug, he hears his brother's familiar footsteps heading towards the kitchen. 

“Morning,” Jongin smiles. 

The other twin gives his brother a smile in return, stretching his arms as he prepared for his morning run. “Morning.” 

It was in the mornings that Jongin would even say that they actually looked the most similar, despite the athletic wear that the other had on for the moment. His hair left un-styled, with the exception of the highlighted streaks that ran through his hair. 

“Do you want me to make your coffee before you come back, or are you going out again?” He questions, taking another sip of his own beverage. 

The other shakes his head. “I’m going out again.” He replies, putting one headphone into his ear. “I’ll see you later.” 

Jongin nods. “Be safe.” 

His brother leaves the house with one last nod, leaving Jongin to continue the rest of his morning routine before he finally heads off to his first class of the day. Perhaps a bit of excitement coursing through his veins at the thought of seeing Kyungsoo in the morning. He had been talking himself up all morning to ask what he wanted to. 

Entering the classroom he immediately spots Kyungsoo sitting at his usual spot coffee in hand, looking through his phone with a disgruntled look on his face. That made him a little apprehensive, but they were becoming friends so it wouldn’t be too far off for him to ask if anything was the matter. 

He taps him on the shoulder with just enough pressure to capture attention, it works as Kyungsoo’s furrowed brow soon relaxed as he sees who it is, a smile forming on his lips as he pulls out his earbuds. 

“Hey, Jongin.” 

“Hey,” He offers a smile, as usual, he falls silent, knowing what he wanted to say just on the tip of his tongue. 

“Is there something you needed?” The other waits patiently, something he’s grateful for, as sometimes his shyness did take hold of him in social situations. 

Kyungsoo’s big eyes are looking at him and he just feels the words stuck in his throat.

“I just…” His fingers are playing with the edge of his sweater. His eyes instinctively go to the floor and he has to force them to come back up. “Would you…?”

“Yeah?” Kyungsoo is always friendly with him, he must remind himself that before proceeding.

“Can you come over to my house?” He asks, then quickly continues talking. “For our project.”

“Oh,” The other thinks about it for a brief moment before offering another smile. “Sure, that sounds fun.”

“Cool,” He feels relief wash over him, happiness creeping up his system as well. 

He’s going to have a friend over.

“Should we get together after class and go there together?”

Kyungsoo nods. “Yeah, I’ll text you when I’m done with my last class.” 

He feels relief fill him again, out of the corner of his eye He can see someone else approach the table looking up he finds that it's one of Kyungsoo's friends, Jongdae if he remembered correctly. From what he remembered of the other man's personality, it was electric, he was a natural socialite it seemed and everyone one was drawn to him. 

He thinks that Jongdae would do very well in his circle of life. 

"Oh, morning, Jongin!" The other greets him with a bright smile, this only accentuated the curl of his lip at the corner. 

"Morning..." He greets back with an easier smile before his eyes divert back to Kyungsoo. "Great, I'll see you then." 

Kyungsoo nods in agreement as Jongin walks to his own seat, he can hear the pair of them beginning to talk, more than likely why he had been at the table again in the first place. The rest of the day is filled with mounting anxiety, as he realized that the time to take Kyungsoo to his house was fast approaching. 

It's not that he had never had people he had considered friends over before, he had and they always knew who he was. He had always had a problem making genuine friends outside of the ones that he had grown up with like Sehun, and the ones that could be considered more older brothers than anything.  

So far Kyungsoo had proved to be different, and he prayed that his judgment continued to be correct. 

So as he stood outside the school waiting, having just received a text message from Kyungsoo about ten minutes before, he still felt that anticipation that maybe this could be a good friendship. 

Part of him had wanted to seek Kai's advice, as his brother had always been good at situations like this and never failed to calm him down. 

But this was something he needed to be able to do by himself, especially if he was going to make it in the business world, there would be a lot tougher things to talk about rather than just a school project.  

"Jongin!" 

He hears the familiar deep tone of voice coming from beside him, he turns his head to see the familiar short figure approaching, clothed in simple black jeans, and a matching color turtleneck, a lighter jacket lying over that adding a pop of color, simple tennis shoes completing the outfit. 

It popped in his mind that one of his pieces of clothing probably cost more than his own outfit, the thought didn't come in a malicious way. Just out of an appreciation of how simple the outfit was, but it still looked as good to him as anything he would wear on a regular day. 

Kyungsoo huffs a little as he reaches Jongin, he notes the slight red flush that had risen to his cheeks. "Sorry about making you wait, I was talking to my professor after class." 

Jongin shakes his head. "It's not a problem, I wasn't waiting that long." He was grateful for the extra time, it had given him time to settle his nerves. "Ready to go?" 

Kyungsoo adjusts the grip on his book bag. "Yeah," 

"So you just wanna follow behind me?" 

Wide eyes once again pierce him, before they're the ones looking down and away, he could be imagining it the way Kyungsoo's face seems to flush more read. 

"I... uh don't have a car." Kyungsoo's feet shuffle awkwardly, on the sidewalk, his gaze shifting anywhere else but at him, before he's looking up at Jongin through his lashes.

Jongin blinks, trying not to panic at the sudden shift in demeanor of the other. "Oh, that's not a problem, you can just ride with me." 

Why didn't you think of that, Jongin? Think before you speak... He scolds himself. 

"I'm sorry to bother you with something like that, thank you." Kyungsoo finally looks back up at him.  

"It's no problem," He smiles. "lets go." 

His heart slightly soars as Kyungsoo's face breaks into a smile as they walk over to his ride, the motorcycle glinting in the evening light, packing away his bag and pulling out the extra helmet that he kept under the seat. He turns around to find Kyungsoo a few steps away staring with his brow furrowed as if he was trying to figure something out.  

Jongin gazes between him and then back at his motorcycle. "Are you scared to ride?"  

Kyungsoo's gaze breaks from the vehicle and up to him, lips opening as he shakes his head. "No... I'm just..." His words trail off, as once again his flicker between him and the bike. "It’s not important." He comes and takes the helmet from Jongin's hands. 

Jongin then takes the culinary students bag, placing it carefully into the compartment that his was in. "Hold on tight." He instructs before they pull off. 

Kyungsoo gives a simple nod before Jongin pulls off and they're roaring down the street, it was a feeling that Jongin would never get over being able to feel. one of the few times that he felt confidence flow through him. 

A few times during the ride he smiles slightly at the way Kyungsoo's arms tighten around his midsection as they took a turn to two, though it didn't seem too panicked, he had done well for what he would assume is a first-time rider. 

They pull into the gates of the Kim residence, they swing open with the punch of numbers into the keypad, pulling almost immediately into the garage. 

Jongin pulls off his helmet as he stabilized the bike and cut off the engine. 

"That wasn't so bad." 

Kyungsoo's remark has the other looking back at him, still removing his helmet, running a hand through his short cropped hair as he held the helmet between his body and his arm. 

"First time riding?" 

Kyungsoo nods. 

"I'm glad it was pleasant then," Jongin climbs off of the bike, taking the other helmet from Kyungsoo as he did the same, collecting their bags before they headed into the house. 

Jongin tries not to think too much about what Kyungsoo would think about the house, it was only natural that he would look around an unfamiliar space even more so an abnormally large space. 

"Welcome to our humble abode," Jongin says, kicking off his shoes at the door Kyungsoo following as he leads him into the kitchen, greeting the various workers who stopped to greet the pair as they worked their way through the halls into the kitchen. 

"Do you want a snack or anything?" Jongin goes over to the fridge, the cool air of the fridge hitting his face. 

Kyungsoo turns his attention from looking around at the kitchen, honestly something of a dream for him that he wanted in his own home one day. "Just water would be fine, thank you." 

He nods pulling a bottle out and sliding it against the granite of the island between them, twisting the cap of his own sparkling water before he takes a sip. 

"Jongin, is that you dear?" He turns his head down the hall, smiling as his mom enters the kitchen. 

"Mom," He smiles giving her a hug.

Her attention turns from him to Kyungsoo standing at the counter, looking a little awkward. "Who's this dear?" 

"Oh, this is Kyungsoo, he's my project partner." Jongin answers. 

“Nice to meet you Mrs. Kim," He bows politely. "You have a lovely home."

His mother's face is impassive for a moment, looking Kyungsoo up and down for a moment before it breaks into another smile. "Nice to meet you, Kyungsoo. Please feel free to make yourself comfortable." 

"Thank you," Kyungsoo bows again with a smile. 

"How about you two go upstairs and get started, and I'll bring some snacks or something up?" She lightly rests her hand on Jongin's arm. 

Jongin smiles. "That would be great, thanks mom." 

She shoos the pair upstairs to the second floor, Jongin felt the palms of his hands begin to get sweaty again as he had to come to terms with the thought that he was going to have to show Kyungsoo his room. He begins giving his potential friend a mini tour of sorts to calm his nerves. 

"This is my mother and father's room," He says, looking back at the shorter student to see him looking around at the picture filled walls. Their mother was nothing if a sentimental woman, she documented almost everything that her sons had done over the years.

"Just down there, that's my brother's room." He directs, looking back he sees Kyungsoo nod looking intently at the way Jongin was pointing, as if to memorize it. 

"And this is my room," He takes a deep breath before pushing open the door, revealing the sunlit interior, decorated in light colors, white, grey, and blue. Bookshelves lining the two larger walls in the room, a desk facing another wall, Kyungsoo could certainly say that the room was probably as big as two dorm rooms back on campus. 

Jongin watched as the other took in the room, and other such small details, such as a pile of books and the blanket that he had lying around from his reading. He rushes over quickly to straighten up as best as he could. "I'm sorry about the mess," 

Kyungsoo looks at him, from where he had noticed the bear shaped clock sitting on his desk. "No, it's fine, if you think that this is messy then I must be a total disaster," He smiles. "Besides its nice, homey." 

Jongin feels the tension release from his shoulders again as he smiles. "Shall we get started?" He pulls out the floor desk that he kept for such occasions that he didn't feel like working at his desk or on his bed.

Kyungsoo nods dropping his book bag to the rug covered floor, praying that he in some way didn't mark up anything in the room. 

About half an hour into their session, Jongin hears the familiar roar of his brother's car pull into the residence, Kyungsoo looks up from his work briefly at the sound. 

"My brothers home." He explains. 

Large dark eyes look at him, and then he simply nods returning to his work once again with a small sigh. 

"I'm home!" Kai announces as he removes his shoes at the door, briefly acknowledging the housekeepers that were at the entrance. 

"How was your day?" His mother asks looking up from cutting up some fruit as he enters the kitchen. 

It was an unusual sight, his mother didn't often do something like this personally unless they had family over or an important guest. 

"Do we have company, over?" He hadn't noticed any other cars in the driveway when he pulled in. 

"Jongin has a friend over," she smiles. 

Kai moves towards the fridge, also taking out sparkling water. "I see." 

The matter was really of no importance to him, though he was going to keep an eye on this so-called friend. They'd been through things like this in the past, though he trusted Jongin to be able to make the distinction between genuine and people who just wanted to advance themselves. 

At least at this age. 

Though he did keep an ear out on the ones who might sneak in. 

"I left some fruit in the fridge if you also want some," His mother says as she passes him to go up the stairs. 

He nods, watching her ascend, as he let some of the tension of the day leave him, putting back the one strand of hair that had fallen out of its gelled place as he leaned against the counter. He guesses that this was the chance to see had been invited into the household, the sound of his feet hitting the wood of the stairs. 

He slows his walking speed once he can start hearing voices talking, more so his mother’s as he sees her disappear into Jongin's room with the tray, he sneaks a bit closer to his brother's room, freezing upon hearing a familiar voice. 

Kyungsoo. 

But he doesn't dare to reveal himself just yet, caught up in his thoughts he slightly jumps at her reappearance. "Who's in there with Jongin?" 

"Oh, that's Kyungsoo, they’re working on a project together." She replies. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

His mother blinks, letting out a little laugh. “I didn’t think it was important…” 

He sighs, running a hand through his hair, he could feel his anticipation rising, he enjoyed this game that he seemed to have with the other. 

“Don’t you bother them too much, they’re working.” His mother says, possibly catching that mischievous glint in his eyes. 

“Sure mom,” He says, his mother gives him a final look before heading to the kitchen again. Kai looks into the room and finds them both studying. He stands there thinking about how he should approach them, not being the type to build a plan he just steps into the room. “Hey guys, do you need anything?”

Kyungsoo briefly looks at him before going back to his research. Jongin stops writing and looks at his brother.

“We’re good, mom brought snacks” He says, pointing at the plate filled with fruit. Kyungsoo grabs a piece and pops it into his mouth. Kai nodded, his brain working fast to make another excuse to stay.

“Water maybe?” He hears Jongin sigh as he lifts the untouched bottles their mother just brought up. Kai bites his bottom lip, completely out of ideas. He decides to retreat and work his way back later.

Kyungsoo and Jongin work for a couple more hours, he stretches looking at the progress they had made, his eyes glancing out the window to notice it has been getting darker. It was becoming a habit of them of working until late. Jongin is still researching, looking for something in his computer, he looks back and forth between his book and the screen, writing down some notes occasionally.

His eyes are burning a little from all the time he has been looking at the computer screen, he looks up and finds Kyungsoo looking back at him. Kyungsoo’s eyes widen and he looks away quickly. There is a soft knock on the door before Mrs. Kim walks in.

“Hey Kyungsoo, you’re staying for dinner, right?” Her smile is warm. 

Kyungsoo returns it. “It would be lovely, but I should probably get going before it gets too dark.” The lack of sunlight out the window seems to be worrying him.

“Oh, don’t be silly. Jongin can take you later,” She waves him off. “You’re staying for dinner.” She leaves before Kyungsoo can answer and he just looks at Jongin who had been silent this whole time.

“Sorry about her,” He offers a smile, Kyungsoo shakes his head, he wouldn’t dare to complain when someone was being so kind to him.

“It’s ok, she’s really nice.” 

Kyungsoo stretches the pair had literally been working for hours on end. “I guess this would be the perfect chance to stretch our legs…” He remarks as he stands up. “Where’s your bathroom?” 

Jongin points to the door right behind him. “Right there.” 

Kyungsoo disappears into the ensuite bathroom, Jongin himself standing up and stretching, feeling the blood return to the extremities. It had become somewhat normal for him to lose a sense of time when he was working with Kyungsoo, the silence and time passing like somewhat of a lullaby. 

He didn't feel the need to watch the clock with him, since the beginning their interactions had been nothing but comfortable. 

"Boys, dinner is ready!" His mother's voice filters from downstairs right as Kyungsoo exits the bathroom. 

"I'll be right behind you," He mentions as he goes into the bathroom to wash his own hands, making sure that all of the work had done was saved as wasn't going to suddenly disappear into the air, never to be seen again. 

By the time he's gone downstairs, everyone is getting seated, his brother already having taken the seat next to Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo didn't seem to bothered by it as he was too busy talking with his mom.

"Is dad joining us?" Jongin settles into the seat across from Kyungsoo instead. 

"I'm afraid not, dear." She places down utensils and other cups with the help of one of their housekeepers. "Apparently the deal he's trying to push through is not going exactly to plan." 

He nods. 

Their mother finally joins them at the table calling for dinner to be brought out, the plates are hot and steaming and Jongin doesn't miss the way Kyungsoo's eyes widen and sparkle as the dishes are sat in front of them. 

"I hope this is to your liking, Kyungsoo. I had them surprise us this evening." His mother states, placing her napkin on her lap.

"This is fantastic," Kyungsoo smiles, and it almost shocks Jongin to see how lively and excited the other seemed, and all of it was over the plate of food. 

His mother smiles satisfactorily as they all begin to dig in, Jongin takes notice of how Kyungsoo smells the food before eating it, chewing slowly as if he was analyzing the taste and subsequently his eyes lighting up like a small child on a toy store. He tried to suppress a smile, he could only guess that food was his thing, while others had sports or dance or any other thing for Do Kyungsoo it was definitely the food.

Jongin wanted to invite him for dinner more frequently.

“This is really good,” He says again, his cheeks covering a pretty shade of pink. “Props to the chef.”

“You should come over for dinner more often,” Kai mentions, he had also taken note of how much Kyungsoo was enjoying himself, having him over again would mean he had more chances of seeing him. 

Jongin was upset Kai got to mention it before he could.

“Oh, I don’t want to intrude.” He quickly says, cleaning the corner of his lips with a napkin.

“You’re not, we would love to have you back,” Mrs. Kim smiles warmly, turning to Jongin. “Right Jongin sweetie?” Suddenly all eyes are on Jongin, he paralyzes with his glass of water halfway to his mouth. He clears his throat and takes a sip before answering.

“I— yeah, that would be nice.” He feels his ears burning while Kyungsoo looks at him with so much attention.

“If it doesn’t bother you then I will gladly be back,” He smiles and Jongin feels excited already.

“Kyungsoo is on the culinary program at school mom.” Jongin mentions. 

Kyungsoo’s eyes widen, taking him off guard by this. 

Mrs. Kim claps delighted. “That’s wonderful, maybe you and I could make something together.” 

Jongin and Kai both seem dumbfounded by their mother’s sudden proposition. It wasn’t often that Mrs. Kim invited people into her kitchen. Kyungsoo felt the heat rush over to his cheeks once again.

“That would be great,” He says just to be polite. 

Everything was happening so quickly that he didn’t know how to feel about it. He went there to study and was leaving with an invitation to dinner and to cook. Although Kyungsoo had to admit it was a dream to cook in that kitchen.

They finished dinner and Mrs. Kim insists on having some tea/coffee on the terrace. She doesn’t miss the fact that Kai who usually never joins her for tea is now sitting on one of the benches with a cup of coffee on his hands. They chatted for quite a while until Kyungsoo decides it’s time to head home.

“I can take you,” Kai stands up with his car keys in hands. Mrs. Kim raises an eyebrow.

“Kai sweetie, actually I need help with something,” She smiles sweetly at him before looking at her other son. “Jongin, why don’t you take him? Please be safe.”

“Sure mom,” He leans in to kiss his mother’s cheek and exits the terrace with Kyungsoo following right behind. They soon reach the garage and Jongin takes his keys from a key panel on the left wall.

“Are we using your bike again?” Kyungsoo didn’t want to go back with Kai, however, he wasn’t so sure about a bike ride this late.

Jongin smiles. “It’s kind of late, so I hope you don’t mind me taking my car” He unlocks the car and Kyungsoo smiles back feeling relieved. The car isn’t a sports car like Kai’s but it’s a modern model. It’s black on the outside and Jongin had the interior changed to white and gray to match his room’s colors.

It also smells of vanilla.

“Ready?” He asks and Kyungsoo nods. “Remember your seatbelt.” Jongin starts the engine and immediately the garage door starts opening. Kyungsoo can’t help but notice the difference between being in a car with Kai and being in a car with Jongin. Meanwhile, Jongin was feeling extra happy, he had a friend in his car, riding with him.

A real friend, or so he hoped.

He drives comfortably through the streets until they reach the campus’ dorm. Jongin kills the engine again in the parking lot, getting out of the car with Kyungsoo and walking him to the door of the dorm building.

“Thanks for everything, I’ll see you later,” Kyungsoo says, he waves at him and Jongin does the same.

“Tomorrow?” He notices he sounds a little too excited about it. “For the project I mean.” 

Kyungsoo nods, bringing another smile to Jongin’s face, Kyungsoo for some reason imitates him, a low giggle escaping him as well. Jongin waves once again before returning to his car. He sighs as he reflects on his day, deciding it was a good one.

It was a really good day.