It’s Thursday and his fourth day on the island and as luck would have it, his parents wanted to dine at the restaurant. Something Kyungsoo wouldn’t have had a problem with any other time, but after his grab-the-key-and-dash-out-the-door ordeal the other day he’s not too thrilled. And it shows because he has his face buried in the menu as a way to both hide and distract himself.
 

“He’s ing gorgeous.” His sister moans from her place on the other side of the table and Kyungsoo doesn’t have to look behind him to understand who she’s staring at. He just knows and it’s making him uncomfortable, more so than he wants to admit because he can't get the way Jongin’s arm brushed against his own out of his head.
 

It’s stupid. Like really stupid and he feels ridicilous about the way he behaved.
 

“I thought you liked Sehun?” His mother asks all the while Kyungsoo re-reads the menu for the unpteenth time in a way to not ignore Jongin He’s doing good, too good almost since his father gives him the have-you-decided-yet-or-what kind of glance at which he closes the booklet and instead opts to stare at the table, his fingers gently drumming against his thigh.
 

“It was a summer fling mom, I’m already over him.”
 

Not wanting to hear any details of his sister’s so-called summerfling with one of his friends, he decides to head for the restroom to escape and to wash his hands. It serves several purposes since he gets to evade Jongin for a while too. Unfortunately for him and much more to his sister’s obvious joy, the male is by their table when he makes his way over again. It feels like a terrible joke and he contemplates whether he could lock himself in the restroom for the rest of the evening, only to realize that they’re supposed to be on the island another three weeks and Kyungsoo can’t possibly get around without bumping into Jongin one day or another.
 

Besides. It’s not like he’s done anything wrong and thus he ignores the ever increasing thumps of his heart as he takes a seat.
 

“There you are Kyungsoo. We were wondering what was taking so long. Here, this is the new head-chef…,” His mother stops mid-sentence, it’s no surprise really since she’s bad at remembering names. Not that it matters. He knows of Jongin already and doesn’t need an introduction. But the rest of his family has no idea of course and so he keeps quiet whilst his mom tries again, this time getting it right.
 

What was Jongin doing out there in the first place? Wasn’t he supposed to be in the kitchen helping the rest of the staff?
 

To further heighten his uneasiness his sister spends the next-coming minute firing all kinds of questions at Jongin. Asking him how long he’s going to stay on the island, how old he is, does he perhaps have a girlfriend, and could she maybe have his number. It comes to a point where their mother has to intervene and stop the interrogation, which is kind of hilarious since both their parents would freak out if she brought Jongin home. He’s after all the epitome of what they wouldn’t want as their daughter’s boyfriend. Tattoos and smoking don't exactly go well with their ideals.
 

“Let Jongin do his job now and stop disturbing him.” His father adds and Kyungsoo shoots the man an appreciative glance, glad to finally have this, whatever one would call it, conversation, introduction over. His sister doesn’t share the same enthusiasm however, the scowl on her face is enough to express what she thinks when Jongin takes his leave.
 

There’s no peace and quiet though for his mother breaks the silence as soon as Jongin is out of earshot, “You will stay clear of him, you hear me?”
 

“Mom.”
 

“No. You know what your father and I think of people like him. He’s not worthy of your time and you can kiss your phone and computer goodbye if either of us as much as see you together with him.”
 

His sister spends the remainder of dinner in a bad mood. A feat their parents completely ignore. Most likely because they think she’s being childish and sure, Kyungsoo could agree to a certain extent. But at the same time he can’t help but wonder why it matters so much, why his parents think certain people are beneath them and why neither he or his sister can choose whoever they want in their lives. Do they think a person like Jongin is unworthy of love?
 

Besides. It’s quite hypocritical of them when they themselves have no problems drinking copious amounts of alcohol. Something that becomes strikingly obvious come Saturday when his parents host a party for friends and nearby neighbours. There’s enough food to feed a football team and enough alcohol to satisfy any alcoholics wet dream. The quantities of beer, wine and spirits aren’t too surprising. His parents get-togethers are a yearly occurrence during the summer. But every year it feels like it’s getting a little more out of control, it’s as if they think they have to up their game further. Or maybe he’s just beginning to realize how awful the said parties are.
 

He’s never been much of a social butterfly, opting to stay at home and paint or do school assignments instead. Maybe that’s why he hides in his bedroom as the commotion downstairs grows and it’s not long before a mixture of music, laughter and loud voices fill the air. The sounds work against each other as if they’re competing and Kyungsoo flops down on his bed and plugs his earphones in place in a desperate attempt to drown out the noise.
 

A quick glance at the clock on the nightstand informs him that there’s still half an hour left until Sehun and Chanyeol would show. They would arrive as soon as they’d finished cleaning the restaurant. Half an hour wasn’t long and he shouldn’t complain but , being stuck in there for more time than nessescary was already messing with his head.
 

So much in fact that not even ten minutes later and after having spent said time staring at the ceiling, he shoot up from his bed and pull a sweatshirt on, it’s still a bit chilly in the evenings, before he heads down the staircase and into the chaos. Wine glasses and beer bottles stood on various flat surfaces, some empty, some half full and it irked him to no end that no one seemed to care. Especially his parents whom he found sitting outside in the lounge area along with people he knew and recognized, and people he couldn’t remember ever seeing.
 

“Are you going somewhere Soo?” His mother asks between sips, the wine glass in her hand is almost empty and he can tell both his parents are quite tipsy. Not flatout drunk and oblivious to the world around, but enough to have that glassy look in their eyes.
 

He shakes his head, “No. I’m waiting for Sehun and Chanyeol. They should be here soon.”
 

Hopefully that is, because his annoyance is climbing towards unhealthy levels and would it not have been for his friends, Kyungsoo would’ve left the house a long time ago to do something else.
 

“That’s good, that’s good. There’s plenty more wine and beer inside so don’t worry.”
 

Kyungsoo frowns at the words. The only thing he’s worrying about is the fact that Sehun and Chanyeol might drink themselves half to death. A feat that isn’t unreasonable for several reasons, the biggest being their complete lack of self restraint.
 

“Try and keep an eye on your sister so she doesn’t do anything stupid or reckless. Okay.”
 

His only response is a sigh. Having to babysit his eighteen year old sister isn’t exactly the epitome of a fun task and he’s a little irritated when he steps inside again only to find her on the couch. Not only has she been drinking but a boy he doesn’t know sits by her side, hand on her thigh and lips tugged in a smirk the other male works said hand upwards and that’s enough for Kyungsoo to lose it and he lashes out.
 

“Get the out you asshat.” He points at the door without a care in the world, he’s so angry he doesn’t give a whether people around them are staring because no, no boy was going to take advantage of his baby sister.
 

“I’d probably listen and do as he says before he beats the out of you.” Sehun joined in out of the blue and he shot his friend a glance, mildly amused by his input on the matter. Still. He makes no effort to correct Sehun’s statement, opting rather to let the stranger believe he would go ballistic if he didn’t get the hell out of there.
 

“Awh come on SooSoo, I’m trying to have some fun here.” His sister whines.
 

“The only fun you’ll be having tonight is the trip up those stairs because that’s where you’re going.” Kyungsoo shifts his gaze from his sister to the unknown male who still hadn’t moved at all, “And you, get the out.”
 

“Stop it Soo, I’m not even drunk.”
 

Drunk or not, Kyungsoo wouldn’t let her spend the night with some stranger he didn’t know and with one smoldering glare the stranger scrambles to his feet and disappears in the crowd of people. Their parents would agree as well, and thus he grabs a hold of his sister’s hand and pulls so she’s standing up before he eyes Sehun, only to notice that Chanyeol’s not there.


“Where is Chanyeol?” He asks, surprise evident in his voice as he tugs at his sister’s hand to make her move. The outcome is not what he expects however, she refuses to move an inch and instead Kyungsoo is left flabbergasted when she peels herself from his hold only to latch onto Sehun who seems equally taken aback for a second.
 

“Chanyeol couldn’t come, said his parents needed him to get home, but…” His sister interrupts Sehun before he’s able to finish, lightly tugging at his hand as she speaks, “Let’s go, I want to show you something in my bedroom.”
 

Kyungsoo pulls a face at the information, surely he doesn’t need to know what his sister has in mind. Luckily for him there’s a sudden commotion outside that catches his attention and his eyebrows furrow when he sees his father on the lounge table, dancing and making a fool out of himself. Much to the joy of the other party goers of course. But it only fuels the embarrassment for Kyungsoo who’s finally had enough of the silliness. He doesn’t mind his parents having fun, it’s not that. It’s more the hypocrisy of it all that rubs him the wrong way and so he shifts his attention back to Sehun, urging the other male to take care of his sister for a while.
 

“What? Where are you going?”
 

“Out.”
 

He really doesn’t want to leave but he needs to clear his head, he needs some peace and quiet and it’s obvious there won’t be any if he remains at home. It’s unfortunate since he was looking forward to spending time with his friends, and sure, he would have had no problems if Sehun and Chanyeol drank some beers. But this was just ridiculous. Said and done, Kyungsoo leaves the house with the promise of returning in half an hour or so. In the meantime Sehun is left with his sister. The former only shrugged his shoulders when asked if he could stay behind and keep an eye on her as if it was no big deal.

Kyungsoo realizes far too late that he’s heading straight for disaster and can therefore not avoid the run-in with Jongin. This was the problem with the island, there was only one road he could take unless he wanted to hike through the woods, and the said road took him by the restaurant. But since it was past midnight, Kyungsoo was sure Jongin would be asleep or at least inside. But fate had other ideas since the other male was right in front of him, a cigarette situated between his lips as he met Kyungsoo’s eyes.
 

“Midnight stroll?”
 

He breaths out a low yes. His stomach churn at the smile gracing the other’s lips. All other thoughts vanish through thin air at the sight, evaporating like the smoke that escapes Jongin’s mouth when he exhales. It leaves Kyungsoo staring, his fingers digging into his sweatshirt as he clutches onto the soft fabric. It’s as if he has to ground himself in order to not drown in Jongin’s heated gaze.
 

“Are you still trying to avoid me or would it be alright to ask you to come upstairs?”
 

Kyungsoo isn’t sure what he’s supposed to say, his mind is in disarray and so is his heart. His hesitance has an immediate reaction however, because the smile on Jongin’s lips drop and turn into a frown, which in turn only makes him feel bad.
 

What is it with Jongin that has him acting so different? That has him questioning every little thing when the other male has been nothing but friendly and outgoing, shown him his apartment and not to mention helped him home when he was too drunk to manage it himself. He’d spent the previous days doing everything and anything to avoid running into Jongin despite not having a valid reason for his actions. In fact, the more he thinks about it the more he realizes he’s the problem and not the male before him.
 

He’s the one weirding himself out and for whatever reason he’s pushing the blame on Jongin like he’s the one at fault.
 

“O-okay.” He stutters. At least he can try to be more outgoing, that’s what he thinks as he trails after Jongin up the staircase and into the warmth of the small apartment. And if it didn’t work out he could always hide away again. It’s not like they would see each other ever again after this summer so in all honesty, Kyungsoo could embarrass himself as much as he wanted without fearing future humiliation.
 

Not knowing what to do with himself and with the memories of the previous time he was there still fresh in mind, Kyungsoo chews on his bottom lip, his gaze falling on the tv and the show that’s running. It’s a nature program and his heart leaps in his chest when a cheetah darts out from its hiding place only to attack a vulnerable baby gazelle. The scene that follows is so disturbing he flinches, hands fumbling with the hem of his sweatshirt again as he looks over at Jongin like he’s in need of emotional support.
 

“That’s nature Soo. The strong preys on the weak and vulnerable. On the unsuspecting until…” Kyungsoo shudders but stays rooted to the spot, the furious beats of his heart pulsating in his ears when Jongin circles around him till he feels the other’s breath ghost across his nape, “They sink their teeth into you.” The fright only height