Kyungsoo wasn’t a believer in true love or soul mates till he met Jongin. He didn’t know when it started but it must have been somewhere between coffee dates and movie nights. He didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late to go back to life before Kim Jongin.

“Did I fall asleep again?” Jongin asked, rubbing his eyes and pouting in disbelief.

“Yes. It’s good to know my movie choices bore you,” Kyungsoosaid teasingly as he poked Jongin in the stomach.

Jongin rolled over on to his side, watching Kyungsoo get up off the bed to turn off the tv. “No, that’s not it! I must be tired from performing. I’m sorry, hyung. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

Kyungsoo chuckled. “It’s no big deal. We got to spend time together. That’s all that matters to me,” he said with a sincere smile.

A smile that (unbeknownst to him) made Jongin melt into a puddle of goo. 

“Besides,” Kyungsoo started. “It’s almost your birthday, isn’t it? What would you like to do? You probably want to spend it with Jennie. We can do something later.” Kyungsoo tried to be mindful of Jongin’s budding relationship. He didn’t want to get in the way despite his and Jongin’s tradition of celebrating their birthdays together.

“I don’t want to break tradition.” Jongin tried pulling Kyungsooback into the bed by tugging on Kyungsoo’s arm. 

“I need to read this script!” Kyungsoo giggled. “You’re distracting me!”

“Well if it’s okay with you…” Jongin yawned. “I’m gonna stay here till you kick me out.”

“Ugh, why?”

“I want to spend every last second of your birthday with you. Being in your atmosphere is more than enough for me.”

The feeling was mutual to Kyungsoo, but of course he would never admit it. Not out loud. Sometimes Jongin said things that gave Kyungsoo a strange feeling in his gut. Jongin was the sun and the closer Kyungsoo got, the warmer he felt. It felt good, despite the possibility of getting burnt. They were just friends, after all.

“My birthday is already over,” Kyungsoo reminded Jongin. “It’s after midnight, silly.”

“Still. I want to be here with you.”

“Okay, but no more distractions. I really do need to let these people know if I’m gonna do this drama or not.”

But Jongin didn’t say anything in response. He had already begun dreaming.

Kyungsoo took a seat on his desk and began reading the script. From what he gathered, it was another romance drama. But every few seconds he had to go back to the first page to start reading all over again. He kept getting distracted by how pretty Jongin looked while he was asleep. Lips parted, quietly snoring, hair a bit disheveled… what Kyungsoo would do to be running his fingers through Jongin’s hair in that moment. After half an hour of getting nowhere in his reading, he finally caved in and removed his glasses. He crept into his bed and snuggled next to Jongin, spooning him from behind. Jongin always preferred when Kyungsoo was the bigger spoon despite being the taller of the two. Kyungsoo placed a small kiss on Jongin’s temple before drifting to sleep with a satisfied smile on his face. Another birthday well-spent.

“That was a good birthday, hyung. Thank you for the cake.”

Kyungsoo had surprised Jongin with a cake in his bedroom after his birthday party with fans. Moonkyu and Ravi had also been invited, but only Moonkyu was able to join them for dinner. Chanyeol showed up last minute to the festivities. But now it was just them two alone on the couch feeding each other cake, setting aside the gingerbread men because Jongin thought they were “cute.”

“What did you wish for?” Kyungsoo asked.

“If I tell you, it won’t come true.”

It won’t come true, regardless, Kyungsoo thought. Kyungsoodidn’t believe in birthday wishes and fate nearly as much as Jongin did. Jongin swore he and Kyungsoo were destined to meet since their birthdays were only two days apart. By that logic, Jongin was also destined to meet his current girlfriend.Kyungsoo had mixed feelings about it.

“C’mon. You can tell me. Is it another purse?”

Jongin shook his head.

“A solo album?”

“Of course, always that, but no. Not this time.”

“Well, what is it? Now you got me curious!”

“If I tell you, you can’t laugh.”

Was it really that serious? “I promise I won’t laugh.”

Jongin placed his plate down and let out a deep sigh. “I’m in love.”

“Already? It’s only been 3 months, Mr. Casanova,” Kyungsoosaid jokingly.

Jongin shot an angry look at Kyungsoo. “No, not her. It’s someone else.”

Holy . This was serious.

Kyungsoo gulped. If it wasn’t Jennie, then who could it be? He didn’t know why, but his heart began skipping a beat in hopes that it could be… never mind.

“It’s a friend,” Jongin continued after a moment of silence. “I’ve always known, but lately it’s been really hard holding it in.”

“How long has it been?”

“Ten years. Maybe more,” Jongin said staring into Kyungsoo’seyes pleadingly. “I want to tell them, but they’re so clueless. And I’m scared of losing him as a friend.”

“Him?”

Jongin nodded. His eyes welling up with tears. “And he’s so perfect,” Jongin began sniffling. “And he doesn’t even know it. I tried dropping hints, but it’s like he doesn’t even care. I think he only sees me as a friend. It could never work. I don’t even know if I’m his type.” Jongin couldn’t hold it in any longer. He started sobbing uncontrollably.

Kyungsoo shook his head in disbelief. “If he can’t see how hard you’re trying, maybe he doesn’t deserve you as anything. And he’d be crazy not to reciprocate your feelings. You’re literally the most beautiful person alive.” Kyungsoo reached out to Jongin’s face and began wiping away the tears with his thumbs.

“Thanks,” Jongin smiled sheepishly. “But, you see, I haven’t been entirely honest with him. I’ve purposely been deceitful.”

Kyungsoo was confused. “How so?”

“I make up excuses so I can spend time with him. At first it started as me getting to know him, then I started developing feelings and I couldn’t stop. The more time I spent with him, the harder I fell and the more I wanted from him. It’s never enough,” Jongin gave a pitiful laugh.

Kyungsoo was pensive. “Is it someone I know?”

“Yes, very well.”

Kyungsoo wanted to narrow it down. “Is it someone in our inner circle?”

“Yes.”

“Who is it?”

“Does it matter? He doesn’t feel the same way!” 

“Maybe I can help you?”

Jongin scoffed. “Believe me, if he hasn’t gotten it by now, he’s never gonna get it. Ever.”

“I’m gonna list names and you just say yes or no…”

“Please Kyungsoo…”

“You already hit rock bottom, Jongin. You can only go up from here. “

“Don’t make me say it.” Jongin was getting angrier by the second. 

“Is it Taemin? Ravi? Moonkyu?”

“Oh, that’s rich. We’ve been friends for all these years and you don’t even know my type?” 

“How can I know your type when you’ve dated Soo Jung and Jennie and now apparently you’re into dudes?”

“You’re so stupid.”  Wait- were they really fighting about this?“If you want to know so bad, look in the ing mirror!”

Kyungsoo was too stunned to speak. What was Jonginimplying? “Are you saying that I’m-“

“Yes, it’s you. It’s always been you.  In my world, there will only be you, Kyungsoo. Other people can hit on me or compliment me, but it means nothing to me unless it’s coming from you.” 

“How? I mean… why?”

“What do you mean ‘Why?’?  Look at you.”

“I do. Every single day. And I am nothing to write home about.”

“You don’t see yourself through my eyes,” Jongin’s voice softened. Kyungsoo’s reaction wasn’t what he expected. He decided to let his guard down. “You’re so incredibly talented, Kyungsoo, and cute in a dreamy way. I’ve been absolutely smitten with you since the moment I heard your velvety voice.”

“That’s not true. You thought I was mean.”

“That doesn’t count. I’m talking about since the first time I formally met you and actually spoke to you. If I was any smarter, I would have taken up Chanyeol’s invitation to have a meal with you the first day I saw you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“And risk losing you as a friend? It wasn’t worth it to me. I’d rather be with you as a friend than not at all. Listen, I know you don’t feel the same way-“

“You don’t know that.”

“Please don’t give me false hope, hyung. I know you only see me as your little brother. But believe it or not, I do know how to cook for myself and I know how to order my own coffee the way I like it. I only let you do it because I like you doing stuff for me. It’s my way of getting closer to you.”

“I do it because I enjoy it,” Kyungsoo responded. He had started brushing Jongin’s hair out of his eyes. “You didn’t make me do anything I didn’t want to do in the first place.”

“Anyway, I get it if you’re upset with me. I’ve lied to you. We can stay just as members, if that’s more comfortable for you. I’ll take back my things if you want.  Is it okay if I keep your stuff? I know it sounds creepy but I like your hoodies because they smell like you. I haven’t washed them since you gave them to me…”

And now Jongin was over-explaining himself and telling Kyungsoo how he was going to break up with Jennie, but everything was muted. Jongin’s lips were moving but Kyungsoostopped listening after Jongin confessed his crush to him. Jongincould have been talking about the weather for all Kyungsoocared, he just wanted to shut him up.

“And I’m really, really sorry, again. And I know you’re not into dating, especially not coworkers-“

Kyungsoo had heard enough. He bridged the gap between himself and Jongin by smacking his lips together with the other boy’s. The kiss deepened when Jongin finally started reciprocating. They kissed for what felt like minutes until they had to pull away for air.

Jongin’s brain was malfunctioning. “What is happening?” 

“Dummy, who’s the clueless one here?” Kyungsoo smirked. “How could you not know I shared the same feelings for you? I would do anything for you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner, hyung? You let me suffer in silence for a decade!”

“I guess I tried suppressing my feelings because I never once believed someone as ethereal as you would have feelings for someone like me. I convinced myself I was happy being alone, surrounded by friends and work.”

“How could you ever think that when I’ve had nothing but feelings for you, hyung? I’ve told you countless times how I love you the most but I guess you weren’t listening.”

“ I’m really boo boo the fool for not connecting the dots,” Kyungsoo chuckled, disappointed by his own inner-saboteur that convinced himself he wasn’t good enough for someone like Kim Jongin. “What do we do now?”

“Well, you owe me, like, ten years’ worth of couple things- dates, favors, outfits… maybe not dates and favors... wait, have we been acting like a couple all this time?”

“I guess so, huh? Wow, I never thought of it that way. I just thought you were my only exception.”

“To what, hyung?”

Kyungsoo leaned in for an eskimo kiss. “To everything.”

“You’re so cheesy, hyung!” Jongin laid a peck on Kyungsoo’sheart-shaped lips. “But I like cheesy.”