Little White Lies

Kyungsoo's studio apartment was neat, no surprise there. Jongin's eyes made a cursory examination of his surroundings. The furnishings were quite spartan. A coffee table here, a goldfish bowl there, an armchair here, a simple navy blue couch there, a small dining table with two chairs. The pine flooring was clean and Jongin had helped himself to a pair of hunter green house slippers, leaving his Chucks neatly in the corner near the door - right next to Kyungsoo's own black Adidas leather sneakers. Their shoes were touching and Jongin liked the way they looked together.

The fresh air and the walk had made Kyungsoo feel much better and he'd asked Jongin to wait outside while he went to his room to wash his face (and brush the taste of ddukbokki out of his mouth but he didn't tell Jongin that). They'd spoken almost the whole way home, Jongin's arm comfortably slung over his shoulder the whole time - even when Kyungsoo had told him he felt perfectly fine. On the one hand, Kyungsoo had a sense that Jongin seemed to be interested in him but what about Ga In who seemed to share a home with him and whom he obviously spent a lot of time with. Kyungsoo shook his head in frustration and resumed brushing his teeth almost viciously. Never again would ddukbokki pass his lips - never ever. Ever.

------

Jongin was reading the spines of the books on Kyungsoo's shelf - he had sci fi as well as literary novels and the odd thriller. He couldn't help grinning when he saw one of his favorites: Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. As he was making his way through the second tier of the shelf, he heard a series of muffled beeps before the front door swung open with a whoosh.

"Kyungsoo-ah!" a wiry young man was leaning against the door jamb, stooped over as he removed his shoes. He was more than a little startled when he straightened up to see Jongin standing in front of the bookshelf.

"Who are you?!" he asked sharply, eyes narrowed and hostile.

"I'm Jongin. And you must be one of Kyungsoo's close friends since you know the passcode to his apartment?"

"I'm Baekhyun," the guy answered brusquely and then visibly relaxed when Kyungsoo came strolling out of his bedroom - clearly unharmed and all limbs intact. Kyungsoo was reading a text on his phone as he asked, "Do you want some coffee, Jongin? I only have instant though."

"I wouldn't mind some coffee." Baekhyun said sarcastically and Kyungsoo's head snapped up, his eyes wide and just a little hunted.  "Can I have mine black? One sugar, please." Kyungsoo groaned inwardly as he realized with growing dread that Baekhyun was going to be difficult. And that he was totally going to embarrass him in front of Jongin. He also knew if he didn't give Baekhyun his cup of flat black, one sugar, he was never going to hear the end of it.

"I'll help you with the coffee, hyung." Jongin made a move to follow Kyungsoo into the kitchen, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Hyung?" Baekhyun watched the two of them with growing interest. He cleared his throat and repeated his question, directing it loudly at his longtime friend, who was looking a little hot behind the ears, "Excuse me, but HYUNG?"

"Shut up, Baekhyun, he's a year younger than me."

"I'm a year older than you and you have never once called me 'hyung' ... ?" he let the words trail off, dripping with God only knows what form of innuendo, and Kyungsoo gave him the most powerful death glare he could muster. Blatant mischief was written all over Baekhyun's face as he asked Jongin how they knew each other.

"Don't you have to be somewhere? Why are you even here? You should go," Kyungsoo wasn't even trying to be diplomatic at this point. Naturally, Baekhyun ignored him completely.

Eight minutes later, Kyungsoo was pouring piping hot water into three plain white mugs from a racy little red kettle which brought a splash of color to the otherwise somber apartment. Apparently Kyungsoo had a thing for the color red - Jongin filed that away under the growing list of things he found fascinating about Do Kyungsoo.

As he helped Kyungsoo to stir sugar into the coffee, he leaned over the steaming cups so his mouth was right next to the shell of Kyungsoo's ear, and said rather huskily, "He doesn't look like me," Jongin's warm breath tickled his ear and he had to place his hand on the kitchen counter for support as pleasurable sensations coursed along his neck and ear and his groin grew taut. If Jongin was aware of his physical turmoil he didn't show it and Kyungsoo was grateful for his reticence.

"Are you guys making out or something? I'm right, aren't I? You're totally making out! I want that coffee while it's still hot, ok?!"  Baekhyun bellowed from the other room, being his usual irascible self.

"Jongin, can you bring out the coffee? I need to um ..." Kyungsoo struggled for an explanation but Jongin just nodded and took the three cups out without waiting for one. Relieved, Kyungsoo willed his body to calm itself down ...

-----

They were awkwardly sipping their individual cups of coffee as Baekhyun  interrogated Jongin about his association with Kyungsoo. Where and how did they meet? Had they known each other long? He was in the midst of asking them, quite invasively Kyungsoo thought, whether they were doing anything for dinner when the theme from Pororo suddenly started playing. It was Jongin's phone, of course. His mouth turned up at the corners as he answered it and Kyungsoo clearly heard a small, feminine voice greeting excitedly, "OPPA!"

Kyungsoo sighed dejectedly as his stomach abruptly recalled it had been sick to its core just half an hour ago.

"Hi Ga In! How was dance class? ... No, I won't be able to get any Hello Kitty waffles today ... No, no ddukbokki either, sorryyyy ... I'm not sure what time I'll be home so don't wait up, ok? Yes, I'll be careful on the train ...  I'll see you in the morning. Bye!"

"Girlfriend?" Thankfully, Baekhyun asked the question Kyungsoo hadn't the heart to ask.

Jongin's amused chuckle echoed loudly through the sparsely furnished apartment, "Ga In? My girlfriend? Nooooo, she's my dongsaeng! She's only 12." and then his expression grew grave as he added, "I don't have a girlfriend - never have had one, to be honest."

There was a brief, awkward silence as Kyungsoo's insides stopped their violent motion and started feeling funny in an altogether different way.

"Right, so I'm just going to borrow that Calculus textbook I needed, Kyungsoo, and I'll see you in Advanced Physics at 10am. Nice meeting you, Jongin," Baekhyun's voice rang with a kind of loud phony cheerfulness and he practically left a cloud of dust in his haste to exit the apartment. His retreat surprised Kyungsoo as Baekhyun usually had the temerity of a pit bull when he decided he was going to get to the bottom of things.

Jongin's gaze was intense as he said, "So why did you say you mistook me for Baekhyun? Apart from the obvious fact that he's three inches shorter than me, he doesn't look anything like me."

"I ... I didn't want you to know I remembered you from before. You know, in case you thought I was a creeper or something. I actually only saw you for the first time on Monday but ... I guess you made quite an impression because I can't seem to stop thinking about you."

"I never saw you before today," Jongin lifted his left hand slowly and let it rest on Kyungsoo's right cheek. His touch was so light it was like butterfly wings - like he was worried Kyungsoo would be spooked if he moved too suddenly, "I can't imagine how I didn't notice you before. And now that I've seen you, I can't imagine not seeing you again."

This time it was Kyungsoo who moved his right hand, and placed it over Jongin's - pressing it firmly into his cheek. Then with his other hand, he reached up and cupped the back of Jongin's neck. Kyungsoo had dated casually over the years so he knew a little of such things. Slowly, very slowly, Jongin bent his head down and met him halfway. The kiss they exchanged was tentative and sweet at first, but it soon deepened into a desperate meeting of tongues and breathy moans.

"I ... hyung, I," Jongin had pulled away from their kiss and panting slightly, he'd rested his forehead on Kyungsoo's. Their faces were so close together that their noses touched.

"Hyung, I have a confession. I hate ddukbokki. I mean I really really really hate ddukbokki. I never eat the stuff - it's my little sister who loves it. I only suggested it because I wanted to spend more time with you and it's the first thing I thought of. I was supposed to pick up Ga In from dance class - I do that twice a week. But my mom texted me to say she'd picked her up already. I planned to ask you to join the two of us after I got her from the studio. I didn't think you'd go for the Hello Kitty Cafe idea so I always planned to ask you to join us for ddukbokki. Anyway,  you seemed to love it so ... yeah, I'm sorry I pretended I loved it."

Everything came out in a confusing, uneasy rush and Kyungsoo couldn't help but laugh at the irony, "Well, while we're confessing, I HATE ddukbokki too. I mean really hate it. I lied and said I love it because I wanted to spend more time with you too. I really wish you'd asked me for patbingsu instead! For future reference, I like the one at Caffe Bene best." Kyungsoo smiled widely and Jongin just loved the way his smile reached his eyes. It was sweet ... and y.

They embraced, laughing. "Caffe Bene patbingsu it is." Jongin said, before covering Kyungsoo's lips with his own ...

----

Later that night, they had some instant kimchi ramyun as neither felt like venturing out in search of food. Although both claimed to be the worst cooks ever, the ramyun wasn't burnt and they chatted about Ender's Game as they slurped down their noodles.

After dinner, Jongin had suggested enjoying the open air out on Kyungsoo's small balcony so they now sat on the floor, holding hands and huddling close together against the cold night air. Kyungsoo had dug out his tartan camping blanket earlier and it was now cosily wrapped around them as they gazed at the countless stars illuminating the midnight blue canvas stretched above them.

"Jongin, you know those stars on your shoes ... I've been wanting to know the story behind those stars since the first time I saw you on the train."

"The stars? But why?" Jongin sounded curious even though Kyungsoo had been the one to ask the question.

"That's what interested me most about you - when I didn't actually know you, I mean. Your clothes, your hair, everything about you was kind of ... you know, safe? Like you wanted to blend in and not stand out. But then there were these silver and gold stars on your shoes. It was so unexpected and it just bugged me for days. I kept looking for you on the train after that."

Jongin squeezed Kyungsoo's hand and leaned his head against his shoulder, "Ga In ... she's always loved stars, you know? But there was a time she couldn't dance for a long time. We made a pact when she first got hurt - every step she made towards dancing again, we would stick a star on my shoes, for hope. They were navy blue, you see, so they were the perfect night sky - that's what Ga In said. Well, she started dancing again a year ago so there haven't been any new stars since. And now she says I should stop wearing them cos don't I feel silly anyway, going around Seoul with stars on my shoes? I just ignore her though. She still complains every now and then that her oppa is silly but I think that deep down, those stars still give her strength - so I'll keep wearing them as long as I can."

"That's really ... sweet." Kyungsoo both felt and looked a little shaken.

"I don't know about sweet, but I'm definitely the type who sticks around. I guess you could say I'm the loyal sort." Jongin gazed up at the twinkling blanket of stars for a minute or two, and then he asked so quietly Kyungsoo almost missed it, "Is it ok with you if I stick around for a while, hyung?"

"Yes, it is. I ... I'm really glad you're here," Kyungsoo interlocked his fingers with Jongin's.

"I'm glad too, hyung," Jongin brought their linked hands to his mouth and placed his lips on the back of Kyungsoo's hand. Kyungsoo could feel the younger man smile and he snuggled closer to his heat.

"So when are we going to Caffe Bene for some patbingsu?" Jongin grinned and Kyungsoo shook his head, chuckling in delight as he kissed the young man in front of him - the young man who was no longer the tall stranger on the train with the star-spangled Chucks ... 

Sequel: There's Always Time for Patbingsu

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And thus ends this fluffy tale of Kaisoo meeting on a train. I wrote this chapter in little over a day so sorry if it's kinda majorly messed up - but I still hope someone out there will like it! A huge hug to my gorgeous beta Maya, whom I tortured incessantly yesterday in my insane rush to get this chapter out. Sorry for all the "anxiousness", Maya, lol! 

I would really really love to hear what you guys think of the story - tell me how I can improve cos I'm totally new to the game! Only read my first fic 3 months ago so I've got a lot of catching up to do :).

I realized while writing this that it's really tough to write about the OTP you ship because they're too close to your heart, you know? So my next fic - if there is one lol - probably won't be a kaisoo. Or ... It may be a kaisoo cos I just love them too damn much orz.

Anyway, thanks so much for reading and I love getting comments, hint hint!

Hugs XOXO,

LotusK