Kyungsoo was standing still, completely aware of every eye around him, observing him, not totally believing what was going on. He opened his mouth slightly to say something, but his brain found no words to say so he closed it again. His heart was pounding, and his hands were trembling under the table. He couldn’t stop thinking about how in the world did this happen.

Kyungsoo’s eyes traveled to the person standing in front of him and figured maybe he should stand up as well. He gulped as he looked around to confirm that every single student was staring at them, and how could they not, it was lunchtime, and almost everyone was at the campus cafeteria eating their lunch peacefully when suddenly this guy walks up to him and…

Confesses.

Kyungsoo has never received a confession in his entire life. He was usually the one who confessed and got either an excited yes or a disappointing no. He didn’t know how to react to this, especially with all these people looking. Should he say no and embarrass this guy? Or should he say yes and start dating someone he barely knows?

Cause he barely knows Kim Jongin.

In all honesty, Jongin is very popular. He is taller than Kyungsoo, his caramel hair covering his head, the most charming smile that got him his own Fanclub on campus. Incredibly handsome, he has a lot of charisma, and a football player. To top it all he was also nice to everybody. Kyungsoo knew a lot of things about him but did not know him on a personal level. He was surprised, to say the least when Jongin confessed to him, out of all people. They didn’t know each other; they didn’t even share any classes together.

Why does Jongin even like him?

It didn’t matter anyway, what mattered now was that he was standing there, waiting for a response from Kyungsoo and it had been a solid five minutes and Kyungsoo hadn’t said a word. Sweat was starting to pour out despite the blasting of the cafeteria air conditioning. Jongin tilted his head to the side, lips curving up slightly, his body leaning forward, and staring eagerly as he waited. Casanova mode on full force, maybe trusting Kyungsoo would say yes.

Because, how could he with all those people staring at him? How could he reject the campus golden boy in front of everybody? He would be chased out with pitchforks if he did that.

“Kyungsoo?” Jongin seemed to be asking for his attention. His voice was deep and a bit raspy, his eyes seemed to be sparkling as he waited, the corner of his mouth lifting slowly with a confidence Kyungsoo didn’t have.

“Hmm?” This was bad.

“Did you hear what I said?” Jongin was tapping the floor slightly, his lips now kind of tightly pressed, and he kept looking around, which told Kyungsoo that even when he wanted to make it seem like he was in full control he was nervous. Nervous to hear what Kyungsoo would say. He surely did not think this through.

“I did.”

“And what do you think?” Kyungsoo was blinking at the speed of light. Jongin’s words were circling around his head. I like you, let´s date. Kyungsoo tried to fill his lungs with much-needed air, he felt the heat rush to his cheeks as he thought about it, his brain working like a clock inside his head.

“I—Yeah?” All Kyungsoo could think of was that a hundred pairs of eyes were on him, judging his every decision in life. Jongin stood there for a while, not processing what the guy in front of him had just said.

“Huh?” Kyungsoo took a deep breath.

“I said yeah, sure,” He shrugged “Why not?” Jongin stood there for a couple of seconds, until his face broke into a full-on, brighter than the sun, huge smile that almost broke his face in half. He took a step towards Kyungsoo, about to say something when his name was called above the crowd.

“Jongin!” A guy taller than him, head filled with black curls and glasses walked over to them, either oblivious or ignoring the scene created around them. “I’ve been looking for you, we’re going to be late,” He put an arm around his friend, dragging him to the nearest exit. Jongin sighed heavily, glaring at Chanyeol for taking such an opportunity away from him, he kept glancing back at Kyungsoo, trying to break from his friend’s grip but being unable to. He still had so much to say. Meanwhile, one of Kyungsoo’s friends hauled him back down to his seat, Jongdae looked at him laughing in disbelief while Baekhyun in front of them just kept shaking his head to keep himself from grinning.

“Did you just agree to date Kim Jongin?” Jongdae pushed Kyungsoo’s shoulder, he honestly thought his friend would say no, considering he hasn’t seen him on a single date since they started college about two years ago. Baekhyun reached over the table to put his hand over Kyungsoo’s forehead.

“He doesn’t have a fever. Should we call a doctor?” He was looking through his phone to call Minseok the group’s friend and soon to be medical student.

“He’s ok!” Jongdae exclaimed, “He just has a boyfriend now.”

“If it was just any boyfriend, I wouldn’t be worried,” Baekhyun shot back, putting the phone to his ear “have you guys talked before? Why is he confessing now?” Kyungsoo was still speechless. Jongdae messed his copper black hair to try to get a reaction from him, but he got nothing but silence. “I think he seriously needs a doctor.”

“Is Min picking up?” Jongdae asked.

“No.”

“This is amazing!”

“This is serious Jongdae!”

“How serious can it be? Worst case scenario is that Kyungsoo starts going out with our golden boy,” Jongdae shrugged. Kyungsoo was listening to everything but not really registering anything in his head. His brain was still processing what had just happened and the fact that he said yes, he needed to clear everything with Jongin before it got too far.

“I have to go,” He suddenly said, grabbing his things and running out of the cafeteria.

“Should I still call Minseok?”

“I guess not.”

(…)

Jongin finished dressing and getting his bag as soon as practice was over. He was incredibly anxious to get back to Kyungsoo and finish the talk they had pending after Chanyeol just dragged him out. He could still hear Kyungsoo’s deep and sweet voice in his head agreeing to go out with him. To be honest, he never thought Kyungsoo would agree, he found it hard to believe considering they barely knew each other.

However, despite not really knowing each other, Jongin knew him well, so well he could almost write a book about Kyungsoo. He couldn’t help the smile that came to his face when he was finally out of the locker room, thinking of all the possible places Kyungsoo could be at this hour. Maybe the library, his dorm, in class, or that nice café outside of campus. The first thing he needed to do when he saw Kyungsoo again was to get his number. Right when he decided his next step, he felt an arm wrap around his shoulders.

“Where are you going? We are having dinner together?” Chanyeol tried to pull him again along with the rest of the group, but Jongin managed to wrestle his way out of his grip.

“Sorry, I have something to do,” He informed, waving at the team.

“And that is?” Chanyeol asked. In the distance, the rest of the boys were playfully bickering and laughing. Junmyeon moved from the group towards them, having heard their little conversation, Jongin had a bad feeling from the stupid smirk on his brother’s face.

“He’s going to see his new little boyfriend,” The rest of the group approached them as they heard this. Chanyeol’s eyes widened comically at this statement. They gathered around Jongin, poking him and messing with him, also asking questions all at once.

“We are not totally official since someone decided to drag me away just when I was confessing,” He glared at Chanyeol who still looked clueless about the whole thing.

“He is so tiny,” Junmyeon laughed “All you can do with him is put him in your pocket and show him off.”

“Because you are sooooo tall bro,” Jongin ruffled Jun’s hair, who just rolled his eyes and pushed his hand away. Junmyeon was older, but Jongin kept treating him like it was the other way around.

“Who are we talking about?” Yixing wrapped his arms around Junmyeon and Chanyeol simultaneously.

“It’s Do Kyungsoo, you know that small guy that studies literature,” Junmyeon was the one to explain, making Jongin glare at him as well.

“Again… you’re not even the tallest one here so you’re not the one to talk,” Jongin shot back, his brother stuck out his tongue. “Either way, I’m going to see if I can find him, see you guys after dinner,” He waved at his teammates and ran off before they could ask more questions. This was something only Junmyeon knew, it was technically a secret, one that he still couldn’t totally understand yet, but he had a dream a while ago and Kyungsoo was in it.

A dream that could potentially change their lives.

But before that, he had to find Kyungsoo.

…

Jongin had failed on his quest to locate Kyungsoo, he had looked around campus for him without any luck. He ultimately decided to get some food and go back to his dorm. He had his pasta in one hand and his backpack in the other when he noticed a very familiar figure standing in front of his door. A smile spreading across his face as he got closer and closer. He then stood there, watching how Kyungsoo nervously looked down at his shoes, running a hand through his black hair, waiting for Jongin.

Waiting for him.

He couldn’t avoid feeling excited to see him, a fluttering feeling in his stomach threatening to fill the rest of his body, his heart skipping beats inside of his chest. It was so weird to feel this way.

He hasn’t even touched him.

Jongin broke out of his trance and walked the final steps to the front of his dorm. He saw when Kyungsoo finally noticed him, facing him, fidgeting with the end of his jacket and biting on his bottom lip. He was nervous. Jongin could work with nervous. He smiled as soon as he was standing in front of Kyungsoo, close enough to see all his facial expressions well, but not so close to make him uncomfortable. They stood there silently at first.

“Hi, Kyungsoo,” He greeted, not able to hide his happiness.

“Hey, Jongin right?” The other seemed hesitant. As Junmyeon said he was indeed smaller than Jongin, but that just made everything perfect. To Jongin he was the perfect height.

“Yeah,” He put his backpack on the floor. Giving Kyungsoo his undivided attention.

“Listen about today—”

“I know what you’re going to say” Jongin interrupted. He would be a fool if he didn’t say anything about it. Jongin understood the circumstances, they barely knew each other, and he had a feeling Kyungsoo gave in because of the pressure of people watching him, which he was kind of thankful for in a way. “I know how you feel.”

“You do?” The boy looked confused and relieved equally.

“Yeah, I don’t want you to be pressured,” Jongin shrugged “Don’t take it as official dating yet.”

“Yet?”

“Yes,” Kyungsoo looked so distressed that Jongin found it quite amusing. “Give me time, I’ll change your mind I promise,” Jongin wanted to reach out and touch him so bad, but he refrained from doing so. Whatever was going to happen, he wanted to be sure Kyungsoo liked him for him. “I’ll walk you to class tomorrow, we can even have breakfast together, it’ll be fun” He grabbed his backpack again and walked to the door, opening it. He stopped before going in “Is that ok?”

Somehow the fact that he asked made Kyungsoo just a little soft.

“Ok, sure” He responded, watching as Jongin gave him a wide grin before walking into his dorm and closing the door behind him. Kyungsoo let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. His eyes staring at the closed door.

Did he just agree to have breakfast with Kim Jongin?

…

Jongin fulfilled his promise, as he waited for Kyungsoo first thing in the morning in front of his dorm. He prevented himself from knocking on the door, waiting for Kyungsoo to make his way out of it. His stomach is filled with a bubbly feeling he can’t shake off.

Kyungsoo finally makes his way out, dressed for class, with his bag hanging from one shoulder. Jongin greeted him with a smile as he handed him a cup of still-warm coffee, that he took with a nervous smile.

“Ready?” Jongin asked. Kyungsoo nodded slightly, not sure about how this was going to go, he was afraid he would make things awkward for him when Jongin appeared to be so excited. “Do you prefer to have breakfast in the cafeteria, or can I convince you to go somewhere else?”

“I don’t mind,” Kyungsoo replied, noticing the way Jongin’s smile widened, his good mood was in a way contagious. He led Kyungsoo to a place near campus, it was quite nice, and the food smelled good. They sat at a table, across from each other, Kyungsoo appreciated the space, then a friendly waitress took their order. Jongin was not taking his eyes off Kyungsoo, and it was starting to feel weird.

“I swear I’m not a creep,” Jongin said, noticing Kyungsoo’s discomfort. “I’m just excited.”

Why would he be so excited about having breakfast together? To Kyungsoo it made no sense since they didn’t know each other. Kyungsoo wasn’t popular or known for anything, he was just another guy.

“Excited?” He was trying to understand him. Jongin shrugged, his smile not fading one bit. Kyungsoo cleared his throat.

“It’s like the feeling of getting Christmas presents… you don’t know what they are yet, but you’re still excited about it,” The way Jongin held his stare made a fluttery feeling float around Kyungsoo’s stomach. He distracted himself with the zipper of his bag, not being able to bear the weight of Jongin’s eyes on his any longer.

Jongin proved to be a sweet guy, asking Kyungsoo some questions to know him better and giving information about himself. Kyungsoo asked to pay for his half of the meal but Jongin didn’t allow it, saying it was his idea, and he was the one inviting him. Later he walked Kyungsoo to his first class of the day, standing in front of the entrance as other students made it in, not without glancing at them a few times.

“Can I get your number?” Jongin asked, lifting his phone. “I promise I won’t call you at midnight or give it to other people.” His smile was so easy, so catchy. Kyungsoo sighed as he extended his hand. Jongin put the phone on it very carefully and waited until Kyungsoo was done saving his number. He dialed Kyungsoo instantly and the latter pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“Making sure it was the right one?” He asked, saving Jongin’s number as well.

“Making sure you also have mine,” Jongin shrugged. “You should know who’s calling in case you want to decline.” This took Kyungsoo by surprise, definitely not the typical response. Jongin kept smiling, waving goodbye as he walked down the hall, Kyungsoo didn’t take his eyes off him until he had disappeared around the corner.

What had just happened?

He made his way into the classroom, meeting with Baekhyun and Jongdae. They wouldn’t usually meet during class, but since they had general classes, they made sure to be able to do them together. They both leaned over their chairs as Kyungsoo occupied his usual spot.

“So, how did it go?” Baekhyun asked, he saw Kyungsoo leave the dorm very early to have breakfast with the tall golden boy. Kyungsoo let out a sigh.

“It was ok, he was nice I guess,” He replied, Jongdae next to him scoffed.

“I’m sure there has to be more than that,” He knew his friends were thirsty for information but there was no way he could provide any when he wasn’t sure of anything either.

“I’ll tell you more when I figure it out,” Kyungsoo said. He needed some time to process and think. Right off the bat, Jongin didn’t seem like a bad guy or anything, but for how long could he just keep this up because he couldn’t reject him in public?

He wasn’t sure.

A few weeks went by and without knowing it Jongin had become something like a friend. If Kyungsoo had learned anything about him it was that Jongin was persistent, it was precisely that which made them hang out a lot more, Jongin introduced him to his friends and Kyungsoo kind of did the same. He was slowly inserting himself into Kyungsoo’s life and even when it wasn’t what Kyungsoo thought would happen, he didn’t dislike it.

Not even one bit.

Jongin was waiting for him at the end of his Friday afternoon class, just like he did from time to time, maybe to have dinner together or watch a movie at any of their dorms, sometimes they would just take a walk and talk. Regardless of what they did, their time together was always nice.

Jongdae noticed the golden boy standing there as well, patting Kyungsoo’s back a little before disappearing with the rest of the students. Kyungsoo walked over to him with a tiny smile hanging from his lips, no match of course for the huge smile Jongin was wearing. He always looked so happy to see Kyungsoo, so excited to spend time with him and Kyungsoo soon discovered that he liked it, the notoriously warm feeling of being with someone that was this enthusiastic whenever they met.

“Hi,” Kyungsoo greeted, not missing the spark in Jongin’s eyes, and the way his own heart jumped slightly when he giggled in response.

“Hey, are you ready?” He asks, extending his glove covered hand for Kyungsoo to take. He had been doing this often, getting some kind of contact without getting any real, skin to skin, contact. As always Kyungsoo hesitated a little but still grabbed it, letting Jongin lead him to whatever adventure they would have for the rest of the day. Kyungsoo would never ask questions, he would just follow him and see what he had to show him.

This time he found himself inside an independent ballet studio, looking around at the mirrored walls and shiny wooden floors Kyungsoo couldn’t feel more confused. He turned to Jongin with a frown on his face and the obvious question mark in his eyes. Jongin scanned the place as well, the smile never leaving his lips.

“This is my part-time job,” He informed, observing the way Kyungsoo’s eyebrows almost touched the beginning of his hair, and a small o formed in his lips. “I give dancing lessons to kids at least three times a week, maybe four if any of the other teachers need my help.”

Jongin took off his shoes, setting them to the side, walking over to a lonely radio, sitting on a table to the right and switching it on. His piercing eyes studied Kyungsoo as he made his way back to him, offering both of his hands this time.

“May I have this dance?” He asked. Kyungsoo blinked a few times, looking down at his hands and then back at him as a soft waltz played in the background. Was he really expecting for Kyungsoo to dance with him?

“Here?” He looked around nervously, Kyungsoo wasn’t even sure if they were supposed to be there at all.

“Where else? This place is meant for dancing,” He reached out, grabbing Kyungsoo’s hands.

“We’re not going to pull a high school musical scene here, are we?” Jongin pulled Kyungsoo closer, a choked laugh escaping him, shaking his head as he wrapped an arm around him, and held one of Kyungsoo’s hands in his. Jongin guided them around the room, easy and light steps as they twirled around like they had been destined to be dance partners from the beginning of time.

Kyungsoo was shocked, he wasn’t really a dancer, but with Jongin it felt so easy like his feet were moving on their own. Like he knew what he was doing.

They were dancing when the music stopped and were still dancing after that, maybe because they didn’t want to stop dancing, maybe because they were too focused on each other’s eyes to realize that the music had stopped, or maybe because they had music inside their souls instead.

This is when Jongin realized that he wanted to kiss him, he wanted to kiss him really bad, but he needed to know what Kyungsoo felt for him.

Finally ending their dance, Jongin let out a sigh, not fully letting go of him and their eyes locked in a stare. “Kyungsoo?” His voice came out breathlessly, perhaps due to the continuous exercise or maybe because of the way the other was looking back at him. Kyungsoo hummed, his mind distracted. “What do you think of me now?”

The question brought Kyungsoo back to reality, he pulled away a little, putting some distance between them so he could breathe and think, because it felt like Jongin was stealing those capabilities from him with just a touch.

“What do you mean?” He knew exactly what Jongin meant, but he needed time to think his answer.

“What do you think of me? Do you like me?” Jongin never knew how to beat around the bushes when he wanted to know something, he was always direct and precise.

“I…,” This felt like his confession again, only this time, no one was around. He wasn’t pressured by a bunch of eyes judging him or watching him, yet the two eyes that were looking at him had the same intensity as a hundred. Kyungsoo felt the air getting caught up in his throat. “I don’t know.”

Did he like Jongin? Yes, he had grown to like him over the past few weeks, the more he knew Jongin, the more he liked him.

Did he like Jongin the way Jongin wanted? That Kyungsoo didn’t have an answer to.

He could clearly see the disappointment in Jongin’s eyes the moment the words left his mouth, his heart shrunk a little because he didn’t want to make him feel bad, but he also couldn’t give him the answer he wanted just yet.

“I see,” Jongin looked down at his feet, quickly replacing the hurt in his eyes with a smile, the one he would give everyone. “That’s fine, let’s have something to eat instead.”

Kyungsoo wanted to say something else, but instead of dragging the subject he just went along.

“You brought food?”

“Of course, I did,”

They moved to a bench where Jongin had left his bag earlier, taking out of it a smaller bag where he had packed some sandwiches for both of them. His eyes went back and forth between them for a second.

“Do you like tuna or peanut butter and jelly?” He asked, he wasn’t a master chef, so he made something easy for them. “I’m not that great of a cook,” Jongin shrugged, making Kyungsoo laugh.

“It’s ok,” He replied with a smile. “I’ll take tuna.”

They unwrapped their sandwiches, Jongin also pulled out some bottles of water, both eating in comfortable silence. Kyungsoo could still tell that Jongin was a bit down, so his mind worked quickly to get something to say that could cheer him up a little.

“And this part-time job, do you like it?” He asked. It seemed to work for a moment, Jongin smiled a little, looking around at the mirrored walls with a warm sparkle in his eyes. Kyungsoo didn’t really need an answer to know that in fact, Jongin did enjoy it.

“I do, I did ballet when I was younger and there was something about it that really made me feel peace,” He shrugged slightly. “So, I thought, if I get to deliver that in some way it would be nice.”

Kyungsoo nodded, he knew in a way how Jongin felt.

“I don’t get to do it anymore, but when I had time, I used to help some friends from the theater club, we used to do musicals on the weekends, we would sing and dance a little… it made me feel good.” He turned to find Jongin staring at him, any hint of sadness now gone and replaced with curiosity mixed with something else, something Kyungsoo couldn’t identify.

“You sing?” Jongin asked making Kyungsoo giggle a little.

“After all I said, that’s what you picked up?” Jongin raised his eyebrows, still looking at Kyungsoo intently.

“I guess… can you sing something?”

Of course, Kyungsoo should’ve seen that coming.

“I’m not that great but I guess I can,” His eyes wandered around as his brain searched for a song to sing. Jongin didn’t say anything else, as Kyungsoo decided to just sing his favorite song, a ballad that spoke about true love. Kyungsoo’s voice filled the room, echoing around them and reaching Jongin in a way that made his heart skip a beat. It was only a verse and the first chorus, but it was enough to make Jongin’s happy smile come back full force. He just then discovered how much he liked to see Jongin smile.

After they were done, they made their way out of the ballet studio, and Jongin would walk Kyungsoo back to his dorm, just to make sure he made it there safely and then he would go back to his own dorm. Just when the campus was in sight, Jongin heard his name being called, he turned around, finding his friends walking behind them.

“Hey lovebirds, where are you heading?” Junmyeon asked once they got closer. Jongin glared at him, glancing at Kyungsoo to make sure he didn’t take it the wrong way.

“We were going back to the dorms,” Jongin replied.

“We’re meeting with the team at this bar to have some drinks,” Chanyeol said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose softly. “Want to join?”

“Sure, let me drop Kyungsoo off and I’ll be there.”

“Wouldn’t Kyungsoo want to come?” Junmyeon’s eyes went from his brother to the small guy next to him. Kyungsoo hadn’t said a word or done anything other than the polite smile he had when he saw them. He seemed a little taken aback by this, looking up at Jongin, maybe for some kind of approval.

“Do you want to go?” Jongin murmured down to him. Kyungsoo seemed to think about it for a moment.

“I don’t mind,” He murmured back. The other three exploded in cheers, Chanyeol walking over and wrapping an arm around them as he dragged them to the new destination. The bar wasn’t that far away, and it was close enough to campus so Jongin could take Kyungsoo home later. They looked for the rest of the team, sitting down on a far end table. Kyungsoo sitting between Jongin and Chanyeol.

The waitress walked over and got their orders. There are cheers and laughs, and stories being told, Kyungsoo can only smile and laugh as they make stories about Jongin during the games, parties, and classes. Seeing Jongin interact with the rest of his team also was something new.

The drinks just made the boys louder, yet somehow that didn’t annoy Kyungsoo, it was quite nice to see them interacting and laughing, Jongin even seemed so relaxed. The guys ordered another round, Kyungsoo still holding on to his first glass and noticing Jongin was doing the same.

“Isn’t that Oh Sehun?” Chanyeol asked, his loud voice echoing around the establishment. Luckily no one else seemed to mind. “Oh Sehun!” The guy in question was sitting at the bar, he turned around to the sound of his name and smiled the moment he recognized the group. He grabbed his glass, running a hand through his black hair as he made his way over.

“How are you doing guys?” He asked he looked at everyone on the table, delaying a little on Jongin’s figure before he spoke again. “Having fun, it seems.”

“Pull a chair and sit down,” Junmyeon called from the other side of the table. Sehun did as requested, putting the chair right next to Jongin, easily joining the conversation. The guy kept asking Jongin a ton of questions, asking for his attention repeatedly. Kyungsoo’s stomach began to burn, his chest feeling tight as he watched them talk. It wasn’t the fact that they were talking, the issue here was that this Sehun guy just kept touching Jongin’s arm in a non-friendly way, his tone of voice and his body language, everything indicated that he was openly flirting with him.

And Kyungsoo didn’t like it.

Another teammate called Sehun’s name, derailing his attention from Jongin a few seconds. Kyungsoo took a sip of his beer, trying to be as calm as he could since Jongin seemed to not notice a thing.

“Do you have something to do later?” Sehun asked Jongin, who hesitated to answer. Kyungsoo didn’t even notice it, but his hand held on to Jongin’s sleeve, the grip tightening when Sehun spoke again. “We can chill back at my dorm if you want.” Jongin smiled, his hand covering Kyungsoo’s gently.

“I actually do, but maybe some other time.”

Relief washed over Kyungsoo, swallowing down feelings he didn’t know how to address. They stayed a little longer, talking and laughing, Sehun kept continuously flirting and Jongin kept politely rejecting his advances, while still holding on to Kyungsoo’s hand. It was already getting late when Jongin finally stood up, pulling Kyungsoo with him.

“Guys, I’m going to take Kyungsoo back, I’ll see you all tomorrow at practice and you better not be hungover,” He smiled at the groans and complains he received, not sparing another glance for Sehun as he walked out of the bar with Kyungsoo following right behind, their arms linked. They walked in comfortable silence, to Kyungsoo this was perfect since he had to think a lot about what had just happened.

He had to be realistic and admit he was obviously feeling jealous of someone else getting Jongin’s attention. He thought he wasn’t clear on where his feelings were, but now they were clearer than water. Jongin was looking at the sky as they walked, a clear night sky that showed a thousand stars sparkling together. Suddenly Kyungsoo felt the need to tell him.

Especially after making him so sad earlier.

They finally reached Kyungsoo’s dorm, Jongin waited until the door was opened to say anything.

“Thanks for today,” He smiled, keeping his distance and his eyes looking down at his feet. “I really enjoyed it.” Jongin’s gaze finally met Kyungsoo’s and the latter knew that if he didn’t say this now then he wouldn’t get any courage to say anything later.

“Jongin…,” He hesitated a little, feeling a little pressured under Jongin’s penetrating stare. “I like you… I like you a lot.”

Jongin didn’t react for what felt like forever, however, a few seconds later his face broke into one of the brightest smiles Kyungsoo had seen on him to date. He felt satisfied with his decision.

“I hoped you would say that,” Jongin bit down on his bottom lip, looking around, maybe making sure there weren’t other people around. Jongin then proceeded to take off one of his gloves, stretching his arm as he offered his hand to Kyungsoo. The gesture seemed odd because Kyungsoo couldn’t remember actually touching Jongin’s skin so far, he thought maybe Jongin had an issue with touching people directly, but if he was offering now then maybe it wasn’t the case.

Either way, Kyungsoo couldn’t leave him hanging.

He grabbed his hand, immediately feeling his own skin tingling with electricity, goosebumps flooding his arms, as the wondrous feeling kept rising. Waves and waves of static running through him, it didn’t feel bad, in a way it felt like a nice tickling feeling on his skin, it was warm and pleasant. However, the longer it went by the weirder it was, the feeling was accompanied by flashes, clouding his sight, just several images of him and Jongin, things that hadn’t happened yet felt so real and right.

Meant to be.

Kyungsoo felt the air being knocked out of his lungs, image after image, it all showed him and Jongin as a couple, being madly in love with the other and happy. How could he be imagining things like that in a moment like this?

Then the electric waves stopped, bringing Kyungsoo back to reality, his face heating up and his eyes focusing back on Jongin in front of him, who seemed just as affected as he was. The words he wanted to say never came out, all of them stuck in his throat as his brain tried to process the situation. What had just happened?

“I can explain everything,” Jongin said. Did that mean he felt it too? How could he explain something that should technically only happen in his own head? “But if you need space and need to be alone, I can just leave too.”

Kyungsoo frowned, the hand that was still holding Jongin’s tightening its grip, his breathing accelerating at the thought of Jongin leaving him now for some reason. He shook his head. “Don’t leave, please just… stay.”

Jongin smiled at him as if trying to comfort him, his free hand covering Kyungsoo’s. “It’s ok, I can stay too. Do you want to go inside?”

He received a breathless yes.

Once inside the dorm, Kyungsoo led them towards the small couch next to his desk, Baekhyun thankfully was nowhere to be found. He was still holding on to Jongin’s hand, incapable of actually letting go. They sat down; their eyes locked in a stare.

“This, what you’re feeling is normal,” Jongin started, his voice barely above a whisper, but Kyungsoo could hear him perfectly. “It’s something that happens in my family every generation, it’s something similar to imprinting. When we touch the right person, it’s like our souls become one.”

“You mean like that vampire movie?” Kyungsoo asks, just in the same tone, making Jongin laugh, his free hand now caressing Kyungsoo’s cheek gently.

“Something like that,” He confirmed.

“So, are we like… soulmates?” That’s the only way Kyungsoo could possibly understand something like this.

“Yeah, something like that,” Jongin said again. He moved a little to get something from his bag, without having to let go of Kyungsoo. The first twenty-four hours are crucial and constant contact is recommended, if not their connection will just cause both of them a lot of anxiety and stress and Jongin didn’t want that for Kyungsoo. “I think this can explain it better,” he pulled out a letter from his bag, giving it to Kyungsoo, he had made it a while ago just waiting for this moment.

Kyungsoo looked at him for a long moment before opening his letter and reading it, all with one hand. Jongin waited patiently, watching Kyungsoo’s reaction as he read through the words Jongin had written. He tried to remember everything he had put in the letter he wrote just after he had confessed. It seemed like such a long time ago when in reality it wasn’t. He watched as Kyungsoo finished reading it, a small smile on his lips and his eyes shining as he looked back at him.

“Yes,” Kyungsoo said, making Jongin’s smile widen.

“Yes?”

“Yes.”

“Ok,” Jongin brought Kyungsoo’s hand to his lips, kissing it softly, his eyes never leaving Kyungsoo’s. “You won’t regret it.”

“I know.”

(…)

Dear Kyungsoo,

This is the weirdest letter I’ve written in my entire life. I think you would probably agree, but by the time you read this, I think you will understand. I never really thought what it would be like to confess to a person a second time, but here I am again. Confessing.

I hope you’re not freaked out or anything, I promise there’s nothing wrong with what happened, but I feel like I need to explain why I confessed to you in the first place. You see, I had a dream and you were in it. I had never seen you before, but there you were, your face was so clear that I just knew that you were the one. That is usually how it starts, we dream about our soulmate, and then we’re supposed to find that person, or life will lead us to them.

You looked so cute, laughing with me and sitting on a table with my friends, I needed to know your name.

I was very curious, so I looked around campus like crazy until I found you with your friends getting out of class, I hope you don’t think I’m some sort of creep, I swear I’m not. I was just really curious and excited. After seeing you for the first time, it felt like we kept running into each other, at the cafeteria, in the library, around campus, walking to our dorms. I was now seeing you everywhere and I loved it. Watching you interact with your friends and smile so sweetly would always make me happy.

So today, I decided I couldn’t take it anymore and approached you, my initial idea was to ask you out casually, get to know each other a little before I seriously ask you out, but then I ended up confessing and you looked so confused, I bet you were because we had never talked before, so imagine my surprise when you said yes.

I was ecstatic!

Maybe it was just destiny that you did, however, I am determined to not let our imprint happen before you get to know me. I don’t want to make you feel like I am taking any options away from you, so I am going to look for you and ask you out properly. In any case, when you finally get to read this letter I just want to say.

I like you.

Would you go out with me?

Like for real this time.

Jongin.