Wednesday
Seven Days
Please stay clear of the closing doors. Do not push your way onto the cars. The mechanical voice of the announcement system cuts through the early morning noise of people on their way to school and work in the bright subway station. Kai lets out a sigh as he slings his bag over his shoulder and shuffles to the exit, his shoes sliding and skidding on the cement. His rigorous schedule makes it so that he has to commute to the university during the morning rush and curses the registrar for a moment for giving him such an early schedule. Vibrations skitter and skip up and down his leg signalling an incoming call.
“Hm, Kyungsoo? Morning.”
“Oh? You sound really sleepy. Where are you right now?” Kyungsoo’s bright and clear voice cracks through his grogginess and revives his half-lifeless body a bit.
“Hmmm? The station. What are you thinking of?” Kai lets out a wide yawn that stretches his face into wrinkles and lines as he stumbles down the station’s corridor, trying his best to avoid the bustling people in his zombie-like state.
“Are you heading towards the north entrance?”
“Mm, I’m taking a shortcut right now.”
“Alright. I thought so. I’ll see you in a bit.” A click shoots through the receiver as Kyungsoo hangs up and the overly loud dial tone persists into his ears. Confused, Kai returns his phone to his jean pocket as he arrives at the north entrance. He stops in his tracks and he’s suddenly wide-awake as he spots who is there... and with his fan girls crowding and cooing around him like ants over a fallen piece of candy.
Woah, he’s actually here, Kai thinks as he inspects his boyfriend’s face, edging closer reluctantly. After a few uneasy steps, Kyungsoo spots Kai and, as they make eye contact, he smiles brilliantly, his face radiating joy like it always does. It seems that the fangirls also notice Kai’s arrival and they blush a little at the burst of good luck from seeing two hot guys so early in the morning.
“What? So Kyungsoo-sshi is waiting for Kai-sshi?” one of the fan girls exclaims playfully.
“Morning!” Kai whips out his patented emotional mask and unleashes his usual fake smile at them, hands in his pockets as he trots over. He looks over at his boyfriend and they nod ‘good morning’ to each other shyly. There are so many girls after him and it’s only mid-week. I wonder what will happen on Monday...
As if on the same wavelength as him, the fan girls turn to Kyungsoo and they ask the long-awaited question that they always ask every week. “Come to think of it... Kyungsoo-sshi, who’s your girlfriend this week?”
Unsure how to answer because he doesn’t usually date guys, Kyungsoo’s mind runs into a clog and he stutters as the answer gets lost somewhere in his stream of thought. “A-ah, well--”
“Oh! That would be me,” Kai replies, pointing to himself and smiling. He’s incredibly satisfied with himself at being able to capture Kyungsoo before anyone asked him out and he’s proud to display their new relationship to them but it doesn’t exactly elicit the response he was expecting as a silence settles upon them for a moment in the loud station.
“Pfft, oh geez! You’re so funny!” the fan girls remark, laughing and finally breaking the awkward atmosphere. Kai laughs along with them, not caring enough to remedy their misunderstanding, and Kyungsoo smiles a shy smile quietly, glancing at Kai through his eyelashes.
❁❁❁
Kai’s drowning out the drone of the professor as usual as he tallies up the things that Kyungsoo’s been doing for him since they started dating on his fingers. A good morning text, a good night text, eating together, shopping together, watching a movie together, walking to school together... when his interest wanders over to Kyungsoo’s ex-partners.
What do people do when they date? How far does Kyungsoo go when he dates people?
He’s fumbling through the question, making scribbles and doodles into the light blue lines on his notebook with his inky black pen. He tires of that quickly and drops the writing utensil with a sigh, leaning back and glancing around the room. His gaze wanders over to the friend next to him who is paying close attention to the professor. That’s it!!
The students aren’t even halfway out of their seats after the professor dismisses the class when Kai takes the opportunity and unleashes his eager question onto Baekhyun.
“WHAT?!” Baekhyun shouts, horrified and appalled. His face twists into one dripping of disgust.
“What I’m trying to ask is if you’ve done it with-- OW!” Kai’s used to the violent book that always strikes him on the head but it never fails to coax a strong reaction out of him. He rubs the tender spot, the hair getting tangled and messy under his fingertips.
“Don’t you feel like you’re a waste of a pretty face?!” Baekhyun exclaims. “Why would you ask that in the first place?!”
Kai looks up at his friend from his desk sheepishly, “Er, it’s just... lately I’ve been getting along with him pretty well so I was just wondering...” And in that moment his mind passes over the vital piece of information that he forgot to inform his friends about and that is the fact that he’s now dating Kyungsoo. Somehow, he feels a wash of embarrassment coloring his cheeks and he wonders why he’s never felt so bashful talking about his girlfriends before.
Baekhyun eyes him suspiciously with a pout, unhappy and annoyed with Kai who always seems to find girls raining from the sky but never being committed enough to keep them. He then relents, having a soft spot for his friend, and answers, “Whether it’s just putting his arm around you or holding your hand, he won’t touch you unless it’s absolutely necessary.” He inspects Kai’s face to gauge his reaction and, after finding nothing, continues, “I’ve heard of some girls who have tried forcing themselves on him but he’s notorious for never doing anything to them.”
“Hm... that’s a pity,” Kai finally responds, thinking about Kyungsoo’s smooth, unblemished skin and his lean physique.
“Speak of the devil, look who’s here for you again.” Baekhyun motions towards the doorway with a flick of his eyes to where Kyungsoo is waiting quietly for Kai. “Are you two really just good friends? If so, why would he come to get you everyday after class?”
Kai swiftly brushes it off with a laugh and offhanded voice as he gathers his belongings. “He’s a strange guy!”
❁❁❁
“Are you really going to dominate all of my free time today? Is that it?” Kai asks playfully as they’re leaning on one of the open-air walkways of the school overlooking the lush courtyard with its autumn flowers and mystical colors. He can feel the cold stone through his long sleeve shirt chilling his forearms as he loudly on the straw of his empty juice box, trying to coax the last remnants of the liquid onto his tongue.
“Is it a bother?” Kyungsoo asks gently, grinning at Kai’s whimsical tone.
Kai turns to him swiftly and responds, “Didn’t I say that I hate it when people just go along with others? If I thought it was a bother, I’d say so.” Kyungsoo laughs cheerfully at the remark that he half-expected. “I feel like you’ve been spending too much time with me though. Your fan girls will get upset.” They look down below them at the flow of people passing by and Kai has no doubt that Kyungsoo’s admirers are among them.
Kyungsoo, misunderstanding Kai’s tone and implications in his words, asks, “You don’t like girls?”
Kai lets out a tired sigh as he deliberates over his feelings concerning girls and he’s sure of his answer. He’s sure of the reason why he doesn’t seem to like girls as much as he did in the past and he’s kind of embarrassed and upset to recall the broken memories.
“It’s not that I don’t like them. It’s like... If there was even one person among them who could love everything about me... I think that would be enough.”
Kyungsoo is quiet for a moment as he takes this in. His experience with girls is different from Kai’s but also the same. He’s always accepted them as they came but the lingering attachment for them just isn’t there. He contemplates Kai’s situation and words though and comes to the conclusion that, “I think there should be a lot of people like that.”
An abrupt smile blossoms on Kai’s miserable face and it’s so sudden that he can’t keep it contained. So he’s grinning ear-to-ear, displaying his pearly white teeth as he chuckles a bit. “Haha! That’s rich, coming from you.”
The mid-autumn wind rushes by them and, on its way, it ruffles their dark hair and makes the strands dance and float with it. For some reason Kyungsoo feels so much at ease here by Kai’s side and he’s not sure why he’s feeling this way but the emotions are surging through him dully and he breathes, “Hey, Kai, today after school...”
“Go to swim practice,” Kai deadpans. Kyungsoo sighs at the failed attempt at an invitation and it’s like his emotions were sprinting down a field but a formidable barrier stopped them in their tracks and clotheslined them. Kai, realizing his crude way of rejecting his boyfriend, adds, “I’ll wait for you. So call me when you’re done.”
Surprised, he looks over at Kai and his heart is racing a bit from the excitement and the enthusiasm. Kyungsoo receives a smirk in response, a motion that curls Kai’s perfect lips and makes his sculpted face even more handsome. “Well, if I get impatient I might leave first.”
“Please wait for me. If you do, I’ll do my best at practice,” Kyungsoo replies, the glimmers of a smile seeping into his youthful face. Kyungsoo averts his attention back to the people down below them and Kai notices that there’s a speck of dust hovering and floating inside of Kyungsoo’s hair, near the corner of his eye. He reaches out slowly towards it but. just as his fingertips lightly sweep the hair, he feels a shock through his fingers.
And the shock is so intense and paralyzing that he loses his sense of time and self in that moment-- that quick moment of contact. His fingertips are tingling with the emotion and his heart is surging through the torrents of the infinite emotions. His face flushes with cherries and color, betraying his sizzling blood.
“Hm?” Kyungsoo turns to look at him as the school bell rings, the bell loud and booming in the backdrop of their moment. And Kai can’t take the emotional strain anymore so he does what he always does and flees from the scene of the crime.
“Uh, I gotta run! I left my stuff in my last class!”
Halfway across the walkway, he can see Suho smiling at him from the doorway to the interior of the building. He spots his book bag and jacket in his friend’s arms and the rush of the moment passes away as he shifts to new feelings of relief and gratitude. “Wow! Thanks Suho! I love you!”
“Kai, that’s cheating, you know.”
They both turn to look at Kyungsoo who is still standing in the walkway, the wind caressing his now slightly annoyed face.
“Cheating?” Suho asks, confused at the situation.
In an attempt to remedy the situation, Kai replies cheerfully, “Oh. I guess you’re right. Cheating’s no good!” He successfully slides the conversation away from their relationship as he tugs on Suho’s sleeve and pulls him towards their next class before glancing back and mouthing a ‘bye’ to his boyfriend.
Kyungsoo watches them go for a bit as the upset feelings wash away and he wonders why he said that. No, no. We’re dating right now. He shouldn’t be saying those types of things to other people. He breathes out heavily through his nose and inhales the cool air to try to calm his head, running through his few memories with Kai again. He reaches his fingertips up slowly to fondle the hair strands by his temple in wonder, trying to figure out what his boyfriend was doing earlier as a blush creeps up into his face.
❁❁❁
The air has chilled now and it rushes around Kai like opening a refrigerator. The deepening sky, speckled with fluffs of light and wispy clouds is darkening and the streetlights look like they’re going to come on soon. Above him, the evening reflects the shimmering pinks, purples, and reds in a sunset cocktail. The wooden bench is hard and rough against his body as he leans back on it, waiting for Kyungsoo to finish practice... and trying ignore the lovey dovey couples all around him.
, get a room! He mentally screams at a particularly daring couple. I’m such an idiot for choosing to wait for him in a place like this. His senses pick up a presence and he turns his head as he hears gravel crunching nearby. “Yo, good work,” Kai greets as his boyfriend approaches.
“Yeah, thanks for waiting for me,” Kyungsoo replies, grinning and rubbing his damp hair. “It feels kind of weird being at practice again.” Kai brushes himself off as he gets up from the bench and the smell of floral shampoo wafts through the air as he draws closer to Kyungsoo.
“That’s because you don’t take it seriously!” As they walk through the park, wind blowing through their hair steadily and easily, Kai grimaces at the numerous, scattered couples caressing each other. “I haven’t been here in a while but it’s the same as usual, with annoying couples everywhere... Oh! We’re one too...” he says, realizing the situation. A slight blush creeps onto his cheekbones and he’s glad that the darkness is falling so he thanks the sunset for kissing him with its glow.
Kyungsoo nods his head in agreement and chuckles a bit. “That’s right.” He’s feeling a bit tired today from the physical strain from swim practice but he can feel himself recharging with energy from being with Kai. They arrive at a high bridge overlooking a calm river flowing underneath and the sun’s like a good friend waving goodbye in the distance, its fingertips melting into the horizon.
Noticing the silence again and feeling uneasy from it, Kai tries to make conversation as he admires the scenery before him. “Don’t you think... you should go somewhere like this at least once a week?”
Kyungsoo looks into the lovely distance, melancholy at the remark, and is quiet. He’s not sure if next week will come for them so he doesn’t want to make promises that he can’t keep-- he doesn’t want to fall into anything too deeply but also wishing that someone will yank him inside. Kai realizes his tactless words and feels guilt wash through him as he turns his gaze to the rushing torrents underneath. He sneaks another glance at his boyfriend and sees a couple embracing and giving each other butterfly kisses just passed Kyungsoo’s shoulder.
I wanna do it too... As much as Kai is disgusted to death by the overly-gooey couples situated all around them like landmines, he still envies them for being able to transit their love for each other so easily and openly. Under normal circumstances, with this kind of atmosphere... we would kiss, right?
“Whether it’s just putting his arm around you or holding your hand, he won’t touch you unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
And he suddenly wants to test it; he wants to prove Baekhyun wrong and see what’s inside of Kyungsoo’s complicated and shielded heart. So he leans his elbows against the railing bridge and scans every facet of the older boy’s face. Ah, so it was a speck of dust...
Kyungsoo, feeling eyes on him, turns to look at Kai with curious eyes. Two people, in a place like this... he feels it too, right?
Curiosity and impulsiveness overcome Kai again as he closes his eyes. His heart is starting to beat quickly, sending wild palpitations through his chest and into his ears to echo through his head.
And... what will his response be?
Kyungsoo can feel it too. He can feel the mist of delicate and fumbling emotions swirling in the air and he’s not thinking correctly-- unsure of what he should do but also firm with his decision. So he lets his impulsive side take over for just a moment and ghosts his fingertips over Kai’s jaw line. He can feel body heat seeping out and Kai opens his eyes in surprise by the touch, feeling his heart beat oh so rapidly. He clenches his eyes shut as Kyungsoo closes in and their warm lips gently envelope each other’s as the night air breezes pass their bodies, ruffling their hair.
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