003

YOU DIDN’T KNOW WHY YOU WERE HERE.

You could have had the whole evening to yourself, transferring pictures to your laptop and editing them, perhaps updating your portfolio for future purposes. But when Jongin told you about this cool event that the football team was about to host in order to fundraise for charity, you couldn’t say no to the puppy-eyes look he gave you as he practically begged you to attend it.

You didn’t have anybody to attend the event with you. But Jongin told you that Sehun’s girlfriend was going to be there as well, and you didn’t mind it as much anymore. 

When you arrived in the school’s amphitheatre, you, at first, honestly did not know what to expect. But, it was decorated so beautifully, you almost thought that it was a formal event. But you still had no clue what was going on exactly, which is why you let out a big sigh of relief when Sehun’s girlfriend waved you over.

“Things are so hectic!” you told her as you took a seat and took off your jacket and then hung it on your chair. “Why are there so many girls? Am I missing something?”

Sehun’s girlfriend giggled and she honestly reminded you of a small fairy. It always brought a small smile to your lips whenever you see her with Sehun because of their height difference—you thought it was very adorable. 

“Jongin didn’t tell you anything, huh?”

You furrowed your brows in confusion. “Was he supposed to tell me anything? He only told me to bring my wallet.”

A gleam of mischievousness appeared in your friend’s eyes. “Ooh, you’re in for a surprise. Honestly, this is by far one of the best fundraisers I have ever organized.”

“You thought of this?” you asked, unsurprised. “Being the student council President sure is tough.”

She shrugged. “It’s not that bad. And besides, I didn’t think of this alone. Sehun helped me out with a few details. The football team is a very important aspect of this fundraiser. Without them, there’s no point to this event.”

“Huh, then I look forward to it.”

“Trust me,” she said with an excited smile. “You’re going to love it.” She then handed you a pink pamphlet. When you opened it, you noticed that it was a list of the whole varsity football team players’ names, listed by their positions in the team. Sehun’s girlfriend smirked. “Check out where your man is.”

You quirked an amused eyebrow at your friend and listened to her. You opened the pamphlet to see that the whole roster was listed, including the team’s spares. There was a whopping total of 53 players who were participating in this event. Your eyes zoomed in on your boyfriend’s name who was listed at the very bottom along with Sehun’s name. 

“Saving the best for last,” your friend then said with a small wink.

The lights dimmed and then the spotlight lit upon a man who seemed to be in his mid-forties, whom you then recognized as the football team’s head coach. You almost didn’t recognize him as he was wearing a formal black suit outfit instead of his usual joggers and hoodie. “Alright, ladies, welcome to the collaborative fundraiser between the student council and the football team. Make tonight a success and we will make this an annual thing.”

Girls around you started cheering out loud (though, there were still some guys who were within the crowd).

“First off, we have player Kim Wonsik also known as Ravi!” the coach then said to the mike as the crowd continued to cheer. “Our team’s center, standing at 1 metre and 83 centimetres! Also an awesome dancer with a nice, deep voice. The bid starts at 20 dollars!”

The said male walked on stage with a casual white chemise on, leaving his chest out, paired up with leather pants and a studded belt. Ravi’s hair was platinum blonde, even though you were sure that his hair was black just a few days ago when you saw him at the football practice. He then smirked at the crowd, walking around as if he was really on a runway.

Your mouth fell agape at the announcement and you turned to your friend who looked like she knew her idea was a complete success.

“An auction?” you almost shouted at her in disbelief.

“Aren’t I a genius?” she replied cheekily and then rolled her eyes as she said, “Sehun wanted to sell calendars. And I told him that they were football players, not firemen. So, I came up with this idea. Pretty cool, huh?”

You honestly didn’t know what to feel. “Woah, wait. This is legal, right?”

“Relax.” Your friend waved your comment aside nonchalantly. “Kyungsoo and I worked out the legalities and everything. Basically, girls bid for the boys to spend a nice day and night with them. Nothing ual, of course, but we’re all adults here so I can’t prevent them from doing anything, you know? And the girls who win a guy need to sign a contract as well to protect both parties’ rights and all. I made sure in the fine print that no trouble will be caused, or else.”

You gave her a look of mixed respect and awe. “You’re made for this President gig.”

She thanked you and returned her attention to the stage where Ravi walked off after being “bought” for 120 dollars. You’ve got to admit, this was a nice idea. The football team was quite popular even outside of your university campus. If each player were able to bring in an average of 120 dollars like Ravi, then the team would be able to raise around 6350 dollars, more or less. And, not to mention that there was a minimum bid of 20 dollars. Yup, you nodded to yourself, your friend was totally made for this.

You would have thought that the crowd would disperse a little bit when almost half of the team were auctioned off, but both girls and guys were still very much present in the amphitheatre. If anything, the crowd was getting wilder. You almost forgot that the two most popular and hottest boys were reserved for the end. It was a nice strategy to keep the audience on their toes and engaged.

“Hey, how much are you going to bid on your boyfriend?” your friend then asked as she rummaged through her wallet.

“Uh, I don’t know? From how Jongin was acting, I guess he probably wants me to win the bid,” you said. “What about you?”

“Oh, I’m not bidding on Sehun,” she replied nonchalantly and laughed when she saw your expression before explaining, “I promised Chanyeol’s girlfriend that I would bid for her since she couldn’t make it. I don’t think I’m going to have enough money for Sehun since he’s the last one to be auctioned off. And besides,” she then had a smug smile on, an expression you rarely saw her with, “I get Sehun to spend time with me for free. Why would I pay for that?”

You laughed at her logic while shaking your head. “For charity, obviously.”

“Right, of course,” she replied with a laugh as well.

Chanyeol was auctioned off for 130 dollars and your friend sighed when she won. “I’m happy that I was able to win, but this means that I only have 20 dollars left if I were to bid on my boyfriend.”

“Hey, you never know,” you then told her with a small shrug.

“Alright!” the coach’s voice then boomed through the amphitheatre once again. “We are now down to our last two boys! First, we have our team’s heartthrob, Kim Jongin!”

You thought that your boyfriend’s fangirls at his dancing shows were amazing. But your university peers were on a completely new level.

“Our Jongin is the team’s quarterback and vice-captain!” the coach said with a tad too much enthusiasm. “Not only is he athletic, but he is also a wonderful dancer and a model! If you were only able to buy his pictures from the dance club, then this is your chance to go out and admire him from up-close!”

The girls and guys cheered once again.

“Wow, he is really good at this,” you muttered as you listened to the coach hype your boyfriend up. 

“A bit too good,” your friend replied and then motioned the people around you. “Look at all of them getting their wallets out. Ooh, I think that girl just ran out to the ATM. She better come back quick.” She then turned to you with an excited gleam in her eyes and then grabbed your hands before clasping them together. “Say, you were the one who took the pictures for the dance club’s fundraising, right?”

She was probably referring to what the coach said earlier. The dance club needed extra money to fund for their competitions, so they hired you to take pictures and then sell them. 

“Yeah, why?”

“Do you remember how much they made? I think I’m getting inspired.”

“I can’t recall but they did make enough to participate in the nationals,” you replied.

You then heard how excited the crowd was getting. You took out your phone instead of your wallet; as if you were going to miss out on the opportunity to take photos of your boyfriend walking down the runway. Jongin had always been good at taking pictures, but he had never done an actual runway before (despite being the perfect model). You had an inkling that he was going to be just fine though. Any time he had to do a public event, he would simply put on his Kai persona and then switch back to Jongin when he was done before cuddling up to you as he whined about how stressful it was.

When Jongin finally came on stage–

Well, you weren’t disappointed, that was for sure.

Jongin’s outfit was as formal as the previous football players, or just a bit more. He wore a nice light blue and white striped shirt along with a maroon vest and a grey houndstooth-patterned jacket paired up with pants that matched with the jacket. His dark brown hair was intentionally messy as you could easily see the light reflect on the gel in his hair. You almost got mad at how much effort he put in his outfit for this event. But you swallowed your feelings in and began to take pictures to show to your boyfriend later on.

“Better start pulling your wallet out~,” your friend teased with a singsong-like tone.

You groaned out loud because you were not planning on spending much money. Being a university student was hard. And working at the school’s newspaper club didn’t exactly pay, either. But nope, your boyfriend—instead of not showering for three days and wearing his pyjamas—decided to look as if his goal was to make everyone in the room swoon over him, including his own coach. 

“Bidding starts at 20 dollars!”

You haven’t opened your mouth yet and somehow the bid had already risen to 60 dollars in less than five seconds. Your jaw dropped at the news. You would have thought that the people would still be conscious of the fact that Jongin was taken and that his girlfriend was you. Your friend laughed at your expression and hugged your side. 

“Oh, honey, what did you expect?” she said. “This is the only time they get to go on a date with Jongin without getting rejected. Of course, they will go all for it.”

You tried not to grimace but she made a very fair point. A few seconds had passed and the bid rose to 150 dollars, which was thirty dollars more than the previous highest bid set by your friend and Chanyeol. You almost gave up but decided to wait a bit more; waiting for people to stop bidding even further, showing that the rest of the participants were unwilling to bid more.

“Going once!” the coach exclaimed.

You caught Jongin’s panicked eyes and snickered in response. It was nice seeing him panic; you could consider it as your small revenge for him not giving you a small warning beforehand. 

“Going twice!”

Jongin’s eyes were now pleading. You stole a glance over at the girl who had the highest bid on your boyfriend. She seemed like a nice gal. You thought to yourself that you wouldn’t have minded letting Jongin spend the rest of the day with her. After all, like your friend said, why would you use your money to spend time with your boyfriend when you usually had him for free?

“155 dollars!” you shouted when you saw that the coach was about to end Jongin’s bidding.

When no one else bid higher, you could tell that Jongin’s shoulders sagged in relief. 

“Sold!”

Jongin almost jumped down from the stage when you won the bid. Within minutes, the said boy ran into you and hugged you tight. You almost fell from the big impact. 

“Hey, Jongin, your girlfriend is not a football player,” you told him as he peppered you with small kisses, making you giggle. “You didn’t have to ram into me, you know?”

He groaned before burying his face into the crook of your neck. “I really thought you were going to let me go on a date with someone other than you.”

“I was going to, honestly,” you replied with a small shrug.

Jongin gasped dramatically as he turned you around. “How could you?!”

You almost slapped his face away (gently, of course, but you would never do that to his pretty face). “What do you mean, how could I? Who was the one who didn’t give me any warning?”

“I told you to bring your wallet!”

“Um, guys, still here?” Sehun’s girlfriend interrupted you guys with an awkward wave.

“Oh, hey!” Jongin bumped his fist with her. “Sehun’s coming up. You’re bidding on him, right?”

“Nah.” She shook her head before giving your boyfriend the same explanation as she gave you earlier. 

“Are you sure?” Jongin asked with a raised brow. “Sehun’s looking forward to your bid, you know?”

“Alright, we’re down to our last boy!” the coach shouted into the mic. “Our football team’s captain and running back! Sehun is a nice, smart and athletic guy with a heart of gold! If you bid on him, he will for sure treat you right for the night!”

“HE DOESN’T HAVE TO TREAT ME RIGHT! HE CAN BE ROUGH WITH ME IF HE WANTS TO!” a girl shouted, causing the guy’s said-girlfriend to whip her head around to try and find the culprit. If she were a cartoon character, she would be the one with the red face and smoke coming out of the ears. But your friend tried to stay cool and exhaled a deep breath.

“It’s fine. I’m okay,” she kept saying to herself.

You believed her for the first ten seconds. At least, until Sehun finally appeared on stage and all hell broke loose. Her jaw dropped incredulously. “What the hell is he wearing?” she shouted to no one in particular.

“More like what the hell is he not wearing?” you commented with a small chortle.

“Hey, hey, stop staring at my best friend when your boyfriend is right here. Hello?!” Jongin said as he tried to cover your eyes, but you knew that you were not interested in Sehun’s body. At least, not in that way. You were only interested in Sehun’s body for purely artistic reasons. 

“Oh, my God, you know what, sweetie?” you said with an exaggerated gasp. “Maybe Sehun could be my model for my next assignment.”

“Ha. Ha. Very funny.”

“Alright, we’ve got 60 dollars!” the coach said out of nowhere.

“Woah, how did we get here?” you said, turning to your friend, but you almost took a step back when you saw the mix of disbelief and anger on her face. You then hid behind your boyfriend. “Jongin, I think I’m scared.”

Jongin cooed and hugged you from behind. He then pressed a kiss on the top of your head as he wrapped his arms around you tight and interlocked his fingers with yours. “You remind me of baby Yoda.”

“Alright, guys, that’s it.” Sehun’s girlfriend huffed and put her hands on her hips. “I’m going to need you to bid on my boyfriend,” she then said to you. “You still have some money left, right?”

You did a double-take. “Um, I don’t–”

“YEAH, MY FRIEND HERE IS BIDDING 80 DOLLARS!” she shouted as she pointed at you, and then turned to you with a serious look in her eyes. “Okay, how much money do you have left?”

You looked into your wallet. “90 dollars...?”

“Okay, bid it.”

“What?”

“Bid on Sehun for me, please!” she pleaded with her hands clasped together.

“Wait, why?”

The girls around you started screaming as if their life depended on it. You were pretty sure you were going to go deaf from the shrieks. Their pitch was so high, you almost thought that it was the mic’s feedback. You then turned to the stage and let out a small ‘ah’, suddenly understanding the situation: Sehun was shirtless.

“To keep him away from them!” she said, eyes wide. You didn’t even have time to retort back when she forced a few bills into your hands. “Here you go, that’s all I have left. Bid everything on him.”

“Why can’t you just bid on him yourself?”

She almost glared at you. “After saying how I wasn’t going to bid on him because I get him for free? Yeah, right. No, I know my boyfriend. He’s only trying to make me jealous. What a baby.”

You leaned back to Jongin who was looking at the scene with an amused smile and mumbled to him, “Is she right, though?”

Jongin chuckled. “Yeah, she is. That was Sehun’s plan from the very beginning.”

You rolled your eyes. You were pretty sure that Jongin’s plan was the same as Sehun’s. Only you gave in because you were not as stubborn as Sehun’s girlfriend. “Fine. I’ve got 110 dollars!”

“115 dollars!”

“Going once!”

Your friend almost cursed as she rummaged through her wallet. “Yah, Kim Jongin. Time to pay up for the favour that you owe me.”

“What favour?” you asked, your eyebrows raised at him.

“She tutored me for free for a while…?”

“Cough it up, pretty boy,” the girl said with her palm open. Jongin grumbled about how he wanted to save the money for the date you were going on later but thought that he really didn’t want to anger the girl responsible for the event. “Alright, we’ve got 160 dollars here!”

“160 dollars!” the coach said and looked around in the crowd. “Going once! Going twice! Sold to the girl who also bought Kim Jongin!”

“Yes!” your friend exclaimed before hugging you, which was weird because Jongin was already hugging you from the back, so you were squished in-between this sandwich hug. “Thank you, thank you!”

“Wait, so how is this going to work?” you then asked.

Jongin shrugged. “Anything, but a–”

“DOUBLE-DATE!” both you and Sehun’s girlfriend exclaimed excitedly at the same time.

“–double-date…”

OUT OF ALL THE PLACES TO GO ON A DOUBLE-DATE, you and Sehun’s girlfriend decided to try out this new haunted house that just opened near your university campus. Jongin wasn’t very keen on the idea but you only needed to make out with him for a while, causing him to be slightly dazed, and then bring him to the haunted house before he caught up with the situation. Sehun’s girlfriend probably did the same to him.

“Hey, I think that ghost is definitely going to appear tonight,” Sehun said to you guys as you four were waiting in line outside the house.

“I don’t really believe in ghosts, to be honest,” his girlfriend replied with a shrug. “But I still wanted to try it out.”

“I’m not scared of ghosts even when I see them at night,” Jongin declared boldly. 

You raised your brows at his declaration but didn’t make a comment. “Anyway, let’s make this even more interesting! The couple who gets out of the house the quickest doesn’t have to pay for dinner tonight!”

“Call!” your female friend agreed. “Let’s play rock-paper-scissors to see who goes in first!”

Five minutes later, you and Jongin were still waiting in line while your friends went in. Jongin started fidgeting nervously when he heard the couple scream a few seconds after they had entered. 

“Sweetheart, do you think this is a good idea?” he then asked you. “What if I get a heart attack or something?”

“Come on, don’t chicken out now. It’ll be fun!” you said as you swung his hand around, trying to act cute (even though you were cringing internally at yourself). “Didn’t you say that you are not scared of ghosts? You’re like my personal knight in shining armour!”

At your words, Jongin softened up. You thought you prepared him both physically and mentally enough to brave the horrors that lied behind the house, but you were hoping for too much. Your boyfriend was too innocent for this activity, you almost felt bad for forcing him to go inside the haunted house. But seeing him all cute and defenceless as he hid behind you was something you thought you would never be able to witness, but you did. So, you were not at all mad about the fact that Jongin had used you as his shield from the beginning until the end of the haunted house course.

“Well, that was refreshing,” you said to him as you wrapped your arms around his waist. “And we also made it out before Sehun and his girl!”

Jongin gave you a look. “Right. I’m pretty sure that the staff will remember us as the couple with the boyfriend that cursed at everybody. I’m surprised they didn’t kick us out for my language, to be honest.”

“Words that would make a sailor blush!” you added teasingly before smiling up at him mischievously. “Say, how about we ditch those two?”

“Ditch them and go where?”

You shrugged nonchalantly. “Anywhere! What do you say?”

“Call!”

And that was how you ended up doing a small road trip to this place that Jongin thought you would absolutely love. When you guys had left the city, it was already late afternoon. So, by the time you two arrived at your destination, the sun was about to set.

“Did you bring your camera?” Jongin asked you as he parked the car.

“Yeah, it’s in the trunk. Why?”

He grinned at you after turning off the car’s engine. “Because you’re going to need it, of course.”

You didn’t question his words and brought out your camera. You were usually more of a digital type of gal, only because you loved using Photoshop, but for some reason, you decided to bring out your film one today, and you were so happy that you went with your instincts this morning.

You had no idea how Jongin found these places he would bring you to, on Instagram. It seemed too surreal—the beautiful landscape and flora surrounding and overwhelming your senses made you think that this must be a place that came out from a fairy tale because it was simply too beautiful for words. It was so pretty that you weren’t even mad about the fact that the local people had transformed the place into this attraction park. 

(You were slightly miffed though when you realized that they had destroyed a bit of nature in order to create this place, but you were just too in awe at first to care that much.)

It was a very long, big and clear glass waterslide that went from the top of the mountain to the bottom. They had small canoes made for couples that were clear as well so you could see through it and enjoy the scenery from every angle possible.

You were at first skeptical but didn’t want it to show through because you thought that Jongin probably planned this date with you in mind, and you didn’t want to ruin his efforts either. But, the experience was completely calm and serene, you could feel the tension and stress that had been building up leave your body.

“Oh, my God, Jongin, this is wonderful!” you exclaimed to him as your head whipped from right to left, not knowing where to look. 

“We haven’t reached the best part, yet,” Jongin said, a proud smile on his face. He then pointed at the front, motioning you to follow his direction. “Look! That’s the best part of this whole thing.”

You immediately turned your body around and gasped softly at the sight. You were about to enter some kind of tunnel with colourful flower arches. Bright pink, purple and red coloured wisterias filled your vision. You naturally lied on your back, your head comfortably on Jongin’s lap, and began to take pictures of the spring flowers.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” Jongin asked you in a soft, expectant voice.

You brought your camera down to your stomach and smiled up at your boyfriend who was looking down at you with a tenderness you had never seen in his eyes before. Or if he did, you had never felt it that strongly until now.

“Did I ever tell you that you’re the best and the sweetest boyfriend?” 

“A reminder would be nice, once in a while,” he said before leaning down and pressed his soft, pouty lips against yours. One of your hands s around his neck and tugged at his hair when Jongin slid his tongue into your mouth. His hands cupped your cheeks and his thumbs rubbed lazy, comforting circles on the apples. You sighed against his lips, not wanting this moment to end.

“Well, you’re the best boyfriend ever,” you said against his lips before recapturing them into another soothing kiss.

“You sweet-talker.”

Rich hues of red, orange and yellow started to blend in the sky. The sunset was finally happening. The sunlight streamed through the flowers and highlighted Jongin’s face, making his tan skin glow even more than usual.

“Hey,” you said a bit of nowhere.

“Mhm?” he hummed in reply, a soft smile on his lips. “Something wrong?”

You shook your head.

“Just… I love you.”

Jongin froze at your words. With good reason, since those were three words you two had never told each other. You always felt something more than just simple “liking” or more than liking him a lot. You could only describe those feelings as love. But you’ve only been with him for less than a year and a half, you were slightly worried that telling him that you love him was going to scare him away. Your heart almost stopped when he still hadn’t replied. You didn’t even need a reply, but a response telling you that he was alive and breathing would be nice too.

“Jong–”

“I love you, too.”

Your mouth dried at his response. Your eyes blinked repeatedly. But no words came out of your mouth. Jongin only had a smirk on and he raised an amused eyebrow at you, before leaning down and gave you another kiss on the lips.

“R-really?” you asked in a meek voice, slightly embarrassed all of a sudden.

Jongin threw his head back as he laughed out loud. “Yes, really, sweetheart. Would I ever lie to you?”

You stuttered, not knowing what to respond to that. Of course, he would never lie to you. But the feeling of happiness threatening to overcome your body was just too much for you to handle, almost sending your brain to an overdrive. 

“I love you,” Jongin repeated. “And I don’t think I will ever stop loving you.”

[author's note]

/SCREAMS/ Hi!!! I promised a chapter of fluff last chapter so I hope that I delivered!!!!!! KIM JONGIN, YOU BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL MAN. I realized that they never said "I love you" to each other and I thought?? Hello?? Chapter idea?? Yus.  The haunted house scene was inspired by EXO's showtime, but they cut ChanKai's scene because apparently, they cussed too much?? Lmao I also hinted in the chapter that Chanyeol will be the next one in the series hehe 

In terms of timeline, this is like I guess their 3rd year of university? So that would be the school year right before Sehun and his girl was in the States during summer. So Jongin and his girl been together for like a year or so, so they've been together since the second half of their second year of uni (did that even make sense??). So a semester after Sehun and his girlfriend got together hehe

STREAM OBSESSION!!!!!! Comment and upvote!! See you soon!! xoxo
P-S: A lot of you came from Sehun's version! And I was thinking of writing a chapter for the bonus chapter (if/when Sehun's version/story reaches 150 upvotes), would you guys be down to read it even if is not my specialty? Lmk!