“We have arrived!” Baekhyun yells as they get out of the car, making a few people around them turn their heads. Kyungsoo chuckles.

“I think they know.” Chanyeol shakes his head with a smile. “Not that they would care. Jongin is the star here.”

“They could recognize me, or Sehun.” Baekhyun raises an eyebrow.

“That’s true.” Sehun intervenes.

“I highly doubt it,” Chanyeol says.

“There’s a line out front, so you’ll have to come with me.” Jongin then says. He faces Kyungsoo with a smile, offering a hand which Kyungsoo gladly accepts. “Through the back door.”

They follow him, avoiding the long line. Chanyeol and Junmyeon look the most surprised since they’ve never seen just how popular these events are. Not that Jongin’s band is famous, but they sure have an extensive number of loyal followers. Jongin leads the way through the back door, navigating the employee-only zones until they get to the main room.

The place is some sort of bar, although it’s spacious enough for these events. The instruments are already set and Kyungsoo can see Ravi and Soo-young talking to someone else. Jongin takes off his hoodie.

“I’ll be right back.” He says, squeezing Kyungsoo’s hand slightly before he walks towards his bandmates.

“We should secure a spot in the front,” Baekhyun says. “We should win over the fangirls.”

“Is it that bad?” Chanyeol asks.

“Last time they could barely fit,” Kyungsoo says.

“The whole band is hot. I can’t blame them.” Baekhyun adds, getting a glare from Chanyeol.

“They’re letting people in, so whatever we’re going to do, we better do it soon.” Junmyeon interferes.

Kyungsoo glances over his shoulder and effectively, the doors have opened and they’re letting the people in line get in. It doesn’t take long for the venue to be full. The excited whispers echoed around them.

“Are we sure he’s not secretly an idol or something?” Sehun links his arms with Junmyeon and Kyungsoo.

Baekhyun chuckles. “No company would send an idol on a dating show. I think it’s fine.”

“Looks like they’re starting,” Junmyeon says.

On stage, Jongin and Soo-young walk to their spots. Part of the crowd reacts instantly as soon as they see them. Ravi takes longer, but he walks on stage as well, grabbing his guitar as they all get ready. The anticipation is thick in the air. Kyungsoo can feel it himself as he stares at Jongin. Part of him is just as excited to see him in his element again. Ravi smiles at the crowd, getting closer to the mic.

“Hi, everyone,” He greets, letting the girls in the crowd go wild for a few seconds. “Thank you all for coming. My name is Ravi and we’re EXODUS.” He steps away from the microphone as Jongin starts the counting down and they begin their first song.

The music is loud, and the crowd is even louder in his ear, but Kyungsoo doesn’t care. His eyes sparkle as he watches Jongin perform effortlessly. His heart skips a beat. He didn’t expect it.

His attention is broken when Baekhyun links arms with him. he turns to look at the rest and they all seem to be enjoying themselves just as much. Sehun and Chanyeol have their phones out, recording the performance and the crowd and Junmyeon and Baekhyun are bobbing their heads to the rhythm.

Kyungsoo can’t help the smile that comes to his face.

He feels… proud.

As the night goes by, they interact with the crowd in between songs. Ravi was slightly more than the other two. Jongin smiles from time to time when he hears his name and that’s enough to make the girls go crazy. Even Soo-young has a significant number of fanboys in the crowd. By the time they get to their last song, Jongin is already covered in sweat. Not that it matters because he looks like he’s having fun.

With the last note, the lights go off and they wave at the crowd as they leave the stage. The people stick around, probably waiting for an encore, but they eventually start to head outside.

“Should we wait here?” Baekhyun asks.

Sehun nods. “I think so. We should wait for him.”

Kyungsoo squints his eyes to look through the darkness and see if he can spot Jongin where they disappeared. Eventually, he sees a tall figure walking toward them. He recognizes Jongin’s face when he gets closer. He’s wearing his hoodie again and his smile is wide enough to cover his entire face. He looks for Kyungsoo’s eyes and his smile widens, if even possible when he sees him.

“Hey!” He greets as he stands next to Kyungsoo.

“Jongin! Oh my god! You’re a legend.” Baekhyun says, holding on to Jongin’s arm. “That was so good!”

“So, you guys liked it?” Jongin’s eyes light up.

“Are you kidding?” Chanyeol chuckles. “I didn’t know you were this good.”

“And there were a ton of people. Are you sure you’re not secretly famous?” Sehun asks.

Jongin laughs and shakes his head. “We’re not there yet. I think we enjoy this level of recognition.”

“Well, we have to celebrate! Should we go somewhere?” Junmyeon suggests.

“Ravi and Soo-young are going to stay here to have some drinks, but I thought we could go home to do that.” Jongin shrugs. “It’s our last night together, after all.”

The rest of them stay silent for a moment.

Baekhyun sighs. “Alright then. Let’s get some drinks and food and take advantage of the pool one last time.”

Jongin smiles. “I can get behind that.”

“Then it’s settled,” Kyungsoo says.

That sounds like the best plan ever.

…

Kyungsoo sits in the living room. His hands are fidgeting on his lap, playing with the fabric of his dress shirt, and he’s having a hard time keeping his eyes focused on one thing. He’s nervous, and he’s aware of this when he discovers himself reciting the first three recipes of a recipe book he bought a while ago. He goes over them quite a few times as he waits for the camera crew to be done.

They’re changing stuff about the lighting and other things Kyungsoo is not really paying attention to. However, the weight of him sitting in front of these people is resting on him right now. This is probably the last time he’ll be in this living room, in this house.

He didn’t know what he was expecting from his last day, but it surely wasn’t sitting in front of the camera crew and producers of the show. He’s luckily not the first one and not the last one to do these interviews, although that doesn’t make him any less nervous.

A woman approaches him with a smile. “Alright, Mr. Do… we’re going to start now. We’ll go over a few questions with you, so please answer them as honestly as you can. We should be done soon.”

Kyungsoo simply nods and takes a deep breath as he shifts on the couch slightly.

He’s sure he’s overthinking all of this, but there’s no going back. They finish setting everything up to start recording and someone walks over to quickly touch up his makeup before they start. All he can do is wait for the first question and hope he doesn’t embarrass himself on TV. Would they edit it out if he says something weird? Hopefully, they will.

“Alright, Mr. Do… can you start with your overall thoughts and experience on the show?”

Kyungsoo clears his throat and takes a deep breath. “Ah, well, it was, in a way, unexpected for me.” He tries his best to smile, rubbing his hands over his jeans. “I came here the first day and met a group of people who I didn’t think would affect my life as much as they have, and I’m glad they did.”

“What were your first impressions of your cast members on the first day?”

“Well… I thought they were all interesting and different from one another.” Kyungsoo chuckles.

“Were you certain that you would find love when you saw them?”

Kyungsoo bites his bottom lip. “Uh… I wasn’t certain at all. If anything, I was skeptical coming into the show.”

“What are your thoughts on it now?”

Kyungsoo pauses. He glances at the camera. “I think it’s possible.”

“Does that mean you have someone you want to keep seeing after this?”

Kyungsoo nods. “I do.”

“Can you describe this person?”

Kyungsoo hums. “He’s… different from what I’m used to. There are a lot of things I want to learn about him still. I think he was the one who made me the most curious from the start. He’s sweet and even when he’s not perfect, I think we match each other’s vibe really well.” He nods. “I like his confident side a lot, even when it doesn’t come out too often. I like his shy side too.”

“Do you think this person feels the same way?”

He feels his heart skip a beat. “I sure hope so.”

And he was optimistic about it.

…

Walking into his apartment again felt weirder than Kyungsoo thought it might feel. When he left, he thought he’d miss it. Other than his restaurant, his apartment is his favorite place. He has no problems staying in when he’s not working and overall, just watching TV or reading a book or relaxing after a long night.

However, it looks like he got used to the house a lot more than he anticipated. He’s missing it already.

And he’s missing everyone, too.

He sighs as he drops his suitcase and stuff in the living room. He told his mom he would meet her later that night for dinner, so he had limited time to settle in and relax before he had to give his parents all the details.

Before he meets them, he has somewhere to go too.

Kyungsoo walks around the place, finding everything is just as he left it. Luckily, his mother remembered to water his plants while he was away. They’re all alive and thriving, which he’s thankful for. He turns on the TV as he always does, for white noise, and walks into the bathroom to take a shower.

He can’t help but think how back at the house he didn’t really need the TV with Baekhyun and Sehun running around all day.

He misses them.

Once he’s ready, Kyungsoo heads down the street to his next destination. The place is close to his apartment, so he can easily walk there and take in the daily life happening around him. Something he had been so used to before and while it still feels familiar, it’s odd in a way. He can’t even put it into words for his own brain to comprehend.

The coffee shop is a few blocks away. He walks in and is instantly flooded with the scent of recently made coffee and sweets. He glances around until he finds the person he’s looking for. A smile spreads across his face when he sees the waving arm in his direction. Kyungsoo rushes to the table.

“Were you waiting for too long?” Kyungsoo says as he sits across from him. Jongin smiles and shakes his head, leaning over the table.

“Not at all. I sat down a couple of minutes ago.” He shrugs. “Was this difficult to find?”

Kyungsoo shakes his head. “No… I live a few blocks from here.”

Jongin blinks. “Really? So do I. I guess that’ll make things easier.”

“Easier, huh?” Kyungsoo laughs when Jongin’s cheeks turn bright pink.

“I mean… you know…” Jongin clears his throat. “Yeah.”

Kyungsoo chuckles. “I know what you mean. How was getting back to your place?”

“Weird. I felt the same way when I moved in.” Jongin sighs. “Like it’s a new place.”

“I think I felt the same way. Isn’t it weird how quickly we got used to the house?”

“I guess it’s designed for it to be that way… and the others made it easy, too.”

Kyungsoo smiles. “That’s true.”

They soon order their coffees and talk for a while. Kyungsoo doesn’t know if they can consider this a date, but in his mind it technically is their first date back. Of course, they would still have to adjust to their old schedules and other things, but for some reason, Kyungsoo had the feeling they would be okay.

He felt at peace.

Jongin takes a sip of his coffee, biting on his bottom lip. “So…”

“So?”

“I was thinking, we’re probably going to need this week to settle in and stuff but… would you like to hang out next weekend?”

Kyungsoo smiles. It’s the type of smile that reaches his eyes. “I would like that. What do you have in mind?”

“Should we do the typical dinner and a movie?”

“That sounds fun.”

“And…”

“And?”

“Would it be okay if I text or call during the week?” Jongin’s eyes are glued to his coffee.

Cute.

“That’s fine. I would honestly be offended if you didn’t. I will text and call you too.”

Jongin grins. His happiness is contagious.

They finish their drinks and eventually go their separate ways with the promise of more to come. Kyungsoo’s excited about the possibilities. Whatever it is, whatever they have, has so much potential to grow into something great.

He knows that no matter what, they’ll figure it out.

And they’ll figure it out together.

-….-

Love and Heartache: Love house wraps up its third season.

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13,469 Comments.

1 - [+320 -13] I’ve been following the show since it started. I like this cast a lot. Wishing the best for all of them.

2 – [+209 -10] Haven’t seen it yet. Is it good? I’m excited.

3 – [+165 -8] This season looks less scripted than last season. One of the couples has become my favorite of all seasons so far.

4 – [+118 -5] Why are they all so handsome? Good job for the casting team.