“Oh my god.”

The innocent game of Marco Polo had descended into something…not quite so innocent. You watch in shock as Kai’s fingers curl against the nape of Jaemi’s neck and he closes the distance between them, droplets of water clinging to their skin. Chanyeol whistles beside you and you simply gape.

Jaemi pushes at Kai’s chest and stares at him, panting as her tongue swipes out to dampen her lips. Kai smiles softly, no trace of his cocky smirk or snide attitude as he keeps his fingers curled loosely around Jaemi’s wrists.

“Kai, what are you doing?” Jaemi presses a hand to her lips and then to her heart as if to steady its frantic beating.

“Yes, Kai, what are you doing?” Suho stares down at them, soft gaze gone stony and sharp as his arms hang limply at his sides and droplets clinging to the ends of his hair. He looks positively furious and Kai stares back at him defiantly.

“Uh oh, Yeollie,” you murmur to Chanyeol, nudging his ribs with your elbow and ignoring the injured pout he gives you. “I think they’re about to go full drama queen on us.”

He snorts in amusement and has to slap a palm over his mouth to contain his chuckles. The two of you watch in quiet (well, not so quiet on Chanyeol’s part, he’s still giggling like a madman), waiting for Suho to burst into a yell and blow up on Kai, but it never comes.

Instead, Suho clenches his fists at his sides before sighing and relaxing, tension dropping from his shoulders and eyes dropping to the rippling water. He turns and heads towards the chairs where you had left all of your belongings and reaches for his towel, draping it over his shoulders before he stalks off.

“Aww, that was so disappointing. I was hoping for some drama,” Kyungsoo whines unhappily.

“Because God knows we need more of that,” Baekhyun grumbles back, cuffing Kyungsoo across the back of his head as the other boy ducks and splashes.

Kai leans close to Jaemi again, clucking his tongue and reaching out to brush wet strands of hair away from where they’ve fallen in her eyes. “You can’t do stupid things like that,” he chides. “You had me so worr-”

“Stop,” Jaemi says firmly, batting his hand away. “I thought I told you to stop messing around with my feelings.” Hurts shines in her eyes and Kai tries to protest but she waves him away, turning to face you instead.

“Yuna? Can you, um, come help me dry off and get some fresh clothes together?”

“Ooh I can help if you want-” Luhan slaps a hand over Sehun’s mouth, grinning as Sehun pouts and tries to bite Luhan’s fingers. You roll your eyes and extend an arm to Jaemi as Kai watches after the two of you, dumbfounded and upset.

“Sure Jaemi, I can help you.” She smiles her thanks as the two of you make your way away from the pool, making sure to avoid the direction Suho had stormed off in.

“I don’t get it,” Kai says, brows furrowed and lower lip stuck out. “If a girl likes you, wouldn’t she like it if you kissed her? Why would she get mad?” He frowns and glances back in the direction where you had disappeared with Jaemi.

Kris snorts and slugs Kai’s shoulder, ignoring the other boy’s wince and glare. “Maybe it’s just because you’re an .”

“I don’t get it! I just…he’s so infuriating!”

You rub Jaemi’s back comfortingly and she groans against your shoulder, anger spilling from between her lips the moment the two of you are out of earshot. “He thinks he can just kiss me whenever he likes and use his stupid appeal to his advantage. But it doesn’t work like that! I’m a human being, damn it.”

You catch your bottom lip between your teeth. “I don’t know, Kai looked pretty genuine out there. I know he doesn’t think about his actions, but he really does care for you. Did you see how worried he looked before he kissed you? I think you actually managed to throw him off track. You might have even given him a heart attack.”

You grin to try and lighten up the mood and she smiles half heartedly. “Good. He deserves that, the stupid idiotic...never mind. I just…it’s not that I hated it. Because, let’s be honest, it’s Kai we’re talking about; that boy knows how to kiss. I just wish he hadn’t done it like that, not in front of Suho.” She groans and drops her head into her hands. “Now Suho probably hates me. Why do I always mess things up with the good guys and fall for the bad guys? Maybe I should just date Sehun after all. I think I’d make a good cougar.”

You giggle and ruffle her hair affectionately. “Now, now, let’s steer away from the hyper and go back to more important matters. You’ve got two great guys pining after you-”

Jaemi raises an eyebrow at you.

“Come on, you have to admit, Kai can be pretty great when he wants to be,” you coax. She nods grudgingly. “So you’ve got these two great guys pining after you, one who has to be an angel lost from heaven because I swear to god no one can be that kind and gentlemanly and still be human…sorry. Off track. Any way, so you have angelic Suho, and then you have Kai, all dark and sultry and basically the complete opposite. But that doesn’t necessarily make him one of the bad guys. I know that he really cares about you, you can see it in his eyes.”

Jaemi worries with her bottom lip and wrings her hands. “You think so? I always feel like he’s just playing around with my feelings or making fun of me. But then he does things that make me question all of that and I…I just don’t know.”

You nod warmly as you think back to the conversation you and Chanyeol had had with Kai about his so called “friend.”  Your smile falters when you glance back up at Jaemi. “But that’s what makes your decision so hard.”

“Who says I even have to choose?” You raise an eyebrow and she holds up her hands in defense. “I kid, I kid. I know. But really, how am I possibly supposed to decide?”

You pat her shoulder softly. “That, my friend, is a very good question.”

After you clean up and make your way home from the pool (consisting of a very awkward goodbye between Jaemi and the other boys and a kiss from Chanyeol), you decide to have another sleepover back at your apartment, this time minus the obscene amounts of soju (despite Baeyoung’s whiny protests.) The three of you curl up on the couch as the clock blinks 3:26 a.m. back at you with a few bowls of popcorn and some of Baeyoung’s romance films playing in the background.

“If I were you,” Baeyoung says through a mouthful of buttered popcorn, voice slurred with food and drowsiness, “I’d definitely go for Kai. Suho is sweet and all, but have you seen that kid’s stare? It’s like he’s undressing you with his eyes whenever he glances at you.”

Jaemi almost chokes on her popcorn and you burst into dizzy laughter, clapping her firmly on the back until she can breathe steadily again. “That,” she stutters, panting and blushing crimson, “is so not the point here. I’m not going to choose him just because he’s…y.” Baeyoung snorts and rolls her eyes playfully, nudging Jaemi’s shoulder with an elbow.

“Why not? It seems like a pretty good reason to me.” She grins and Jaemi smiles back, eyes lighting up as she tries to fight a yawn. She smacks her lips tiredly and sighs.  

“I want to like him just because he’s…Kai.”

You rest your head on her shoulder and take a bite of the popcorn, chewing thoughtfully before you yawn as well. “Who knows?” You drawl sleepily. “Maybe you already do. Maybe there isn’t even a decision to make.”

The only answer you get is a loud snore from the two of them.

When you wake up, blinded by afternoon sun streaming through, there’s a loud buzzing coming from the table in front of you.

“Whatever that is, please make it stop,” Jaemi pleads, burying her face deeper into the couch cushions. You sit up and blindly search for the source of the buzzing, neck stiff from sleeping tucked against Jaemi’s shoulder and hair poking out in all directions. Your fingers curl around your phone and you blearily recognize Chanyeol’s name on the screen.

“Hello?”

“Hey babe! What’s up?”

You glance over at Jaemi with her face smashed against the arm of the couch and then at Baeyoung with pieces of popcorn caught in her hair. “Um…nothing.”

“Good! That means you and Jaemi can come over and hang out!”

Uh oh. Hanging out meant Kai and Suho, and that meant Jaemi being stuck in a sticky situation. “I don’t know Chanyeol, are you sure that would be the best idea?”

Jaemi perks up at the sound of Chanyeol’s name and blinks sleepily at you in question. You shrug as Chanyeol huffs teasingly over the line and you can almost hear the pout in his words. “Come on, everyone is coming over again! And Kai might have sort of begged me to ask you to bring Jaemi over.” His voice falls to a hush. “I think he’s really messed up, ______. I haven’t seen him this distraught since they killed off his favorite character on that drama he watches.”

You purse your lips and toy with the fraying ends of the throw blanket lying on your lap. “Okay, fine, we’ll be there.”

“Great! I’ll see you in a little while, okay? Love you!” You can barely answer him with the same before there’s shouting in the background and the line disconnects.

“Chanyeol?” Jaemi asks, rubbing at her eyes with a fist. You nod and stand, stretching with another yawn.

“He wants us to come over. And before you say anything, he told me that Kai seems really upset and was asking for you. So you’d better go kiss and make up before this kid has another heart attack.”

“But what about Suho? Did Chanyeol say anything about him?” She catches her bottom lip between her teeth as you shake your head in dismissal.

“Nope. I guess we’ll just have to go find out.” You reach out a hand and tug her up from the couch as the two of you go change into fresh clothes and clean up. Baeyoung snores through the entire thing, sprawled out with limbs hanging haphazardly over the edges of the couch. You leave a note for her on the table, not wanting to wake her up, and the two of you slip out the door before starting the walk to the boys’ dorm. Jaemi worries the entire time, wringing her hands and babbling about the possible things that could possibly go wrong.

“Jaemi,” you sigh as the two of you reach the door and knock once. “I love you and all, but if-”

“Hey girls!” Suho greets the two of you with a warm smile and Jaemi flushes. “Chanyeol said you were coming.” He steps aside to let the two of you in before closing the door behind him. Tao waves at you from where he’s flopped down on the couch, poking Baekhyun in the side and on a popsicle.

You’re surprised by a kiss on your cheek when Chanyeol appears beside you, towel looped around his neck and droplets of water clinging to the ends of his hair. “Hey,” he murmurs, grinning. You smile back and link your arms around his neck.

“Hey yourself,” you answer. “Can I get a proper hello kiss?” He complies eagerly and catches your lips with his own, warm hands settling on your waist and dark lashes fluttering against his cheeks.

“Blech,” Kyungsoo says as he steps into the room. “It’s too early for you guys to be cute.” You toll your eyes and pull away from Chanyeol as Kyungsoo glances at Jaemi and jabs his thumb over his shoulder. “Kai is back there, if you’re wondering. He wanted to see you.”

“Actually, I was hoping that I could talk to you, Jaemi-” Suho is cut off as Kai steps into the room, eyes wide and surprised when they land on Jaemi. His eyes trail to where Suho’s hand rests on her shoulder and he frowns.

“I just want to talk to her,” Suho says quietly. “Just give me five minutes so I can-”

“Why should I let you? You never let me talk to her yesterday.” Kai crosses his arms over his chest and narrows his eyes at Suho.

Jaemi shrugs both of them away and frowns. “Who says you guys get to choose who I talk to? Suho, I will talk to you first, and then I’ll talk to Kai.” She reaches out and takes Suho’s hand, tugging him gently out the door and shutting it behind them as Kai splutters in protest.

You let Chanyeol lead you over to the couch and the two of you flop down on the floor in front of it, you on Chanyeol’s lap and his arms anchored around your waist. Xiumin sits down beside the two of you with Chen at his side, the two of them bickering over which movie they thought all of you should watch.

“I really think it should be scary, we never got to finish that one movie last time we came over and it was just getting to the good part!” Chen whines. Tao pales visibly at the world scary.

“Why can’t we just watch a comedy? Or something cute?” Baekhyun shoves at Tao’s chest and laughs.

“Come on Tao, it’s not that bad. Besides we’re all here with you if you get scared.” He grins and Tao swallows hard, fingers curling into the couch cushions. You glance over your shoulder and smile at him before patting his knee.

“Don’t worry Tao, I don’t like scary movies much either.” Tao smiles gratefully at you and seems a bit relieved that he’s not the only one. Chanyeol tightens his hold on you and nuzzles his nose close to your ear as if showing that he was there to keep you safe. You settle into the touch as Xiumin puts in a movie and turns out the lights.

You’re only a few minutes into the movie when Jaemi and Suho step back inside. Suho gives all of you a small wave and a smile before he disappears into the kitchen and Jaemi stands in the middle of the room, seeming a little dumbfounded. “Jaemi?” You ask, tilting your head in curiosity and ignoring the shhhh Kyungsoo gives you from the couch. “You okay?”

“Yeah…” she says, trailing off. “He just told me that…”

Before she can say anything else, Kai is taking her hand and pulling her out of the living room, one of the doors down the hallway clicking shut with a loud bang. “Well, that was rude,” you murmur halfheartedly, turning back to the television when Chanyeol chuckles in your ear. You lose yourself in the movie a few minutes later until Chen stands up, maneuvering his way through the tangle of people and pillows and claiming that he would be back after he went to the bathroom. He disappears for a few moments and a small shriek echoes through the apartment before he’s back, running as if he had seen a ghost.

“I thought you said you had to go to the bathroom?” Baekhyun eyes him in curiosity and Chen flushes dark red.

“It can wait,” he says hurriedly. Baekhyun narrows his eyes but turns back to the movie, giving up when the crimson blush clings to Chen’s cheeks.

Jaemi stumbles into the room a few moments later with Kai by her side, a victorious smirk on his lips. “Chen, I’m really sorry, you can, um, go ahead and use the bathroom now if you’d like.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Kai says airily. “He should know better than to barge in without knocking.”

You stare at the two of them, Jaemi’s mussed hair and red lips and Kai’s satisfied smirk. It clicks for you as Xiumin says, “Wait are you saying he barged in on the two of you-”

He doesn’t even finish his sentence before Kyungsoo bursts into laughter, heaving and slapping his knee as if he’s never heard anything funnier. Even Baekhyun starts giggling until the group of you are bright red with laughter caught in your lungs and Chen is just…red. “It’s not funny!” He whines, burying his face in his hands.

“You’re right, it’s not funny,” Kyungsoo says, grinning. “It’s hilarious.”