Title: Third Wheel
Characters: Kim Jongin (Kai), Oh Hayoung, Oh Sehun [ SeKaiYoung / KaiYoungHun ]
Written: August 3-August 4th, 2013
Words: 2,505
Requested by: Champions27
Author's Note: Third batch has begun! Summer is ending for me in two days (technically one day since it's past mindnight now). I go back to school on Wednesday ;_; I made this one shot long in case I can't update as much anymore orz However, holy smoke...XOXO is literally amazing! Also, watch out for WGM next week because we can maybe finally see exopink interactions ouo -shot- I hope you enjoy it and I'm sorry if it's a fail OTL

☁☁☁

College: a place where young adults finally escape their prison (home) and venture out into the real world. Adults call it the best four years of their lives. However, college can also be a confusing place mostly due to the fact of the students’ hearts and mindset.

A couple walks through campus with their hands intertwined, the male’s thumb over the female’s to show who leads the relationship. “So you finally have a free day, huh?” She whispers as she looks down at her gentle footsteps matching his.

“Yeah. The dance showcase will be huge compared to last year,” He announces as he slides his free hand through his black hair, letting out a sigh. “I’m sure it’ll be amazing as always,” She smiles lightly and looks up at him, receiving a nervous smile on the male’s lips. “Probably. There are still flaws in my dancing,” He chuckles softly and sighs softly.

She squeezes his hand softly and continues to look at him, “C’mon, you’re Kim Jongin! You’re an amazing dancer, trust me.” Jongin grins sheepishly as he swings their hands gently, “I’ll trust you on that then.”

They soon arrive at Jongin’s apartment. Being a fourth year had its advantages as he’s able to garner his own apartment near the campus. He opens the door to reveal a clean surrounding, a smile appearing on the girl’s lips. She’s a second year and also has her own apartment, but they both did have plans on sharing the same apartment soon. They both slip their shoes off and Jongin releases her hand, settling his backpack down on the floor.

The female does the same and starts walking towards the couch, stretching her arms up towards the ceiling with her eyes softly closed. A small tug on the corner of Jongin’s lips shows as he sneaks behind her, trapping her waist with his arms, “Hayoung-ah.” He closes his eyes and starts waddling forward, Hayoung doing the same.

She drops her hands to his arms and smiles brightly, a light pink appearing on her cheeks. “Yes, Jongin?” She happily replies as they make their way towards the couch, both of them dropping side by side. He unwraps his arms from her waist and slings an arm around her shoulders, the female soon placing her head on his shoulder.

“Thank you for my being my muse,” He grins and lays his lips on top of her head, closing his eyes. She laughs quietly and places her hand in his, “You’re very cheesy right now…I like it.” Someone that only looks at her—Jongin definitely fits her ideal type.

The two exchanges sweet words to each other, soft laughs echoing in the room. Suddenly, the door opens revealing another male who looks exhausted. He walks inside dragging his feet, soon being welcomed by his two friends cuddling on the couch. He groans softly and closes the door behind him, “For some reason…I don’t mind being the third wheel again…”

“Yo, Sehun,” Jongin grins as he lifts his free hand up, his head tilting up slightly as a greeting. Hayoung waves brightly as she stays close to Jongin. The single male grins and walks towards the single chair, plopping down, “Hey. Let me guess, Jongin is reenergizing, huh?” The male nods proudly and sighs in content, “Sehun, I can get you someone if you want. Having that girl who’s supportive and sweet definitely makes your day.”

Sehun shakes his head slowly and leans his head back on the chair, “I’m fine…” Jongin laughs and glares at him, “If you don’t find a girl soon, I’m going to take my spare key away from you and make you go outside.” Sehun shoots a stare at the other, raising an eyebrow, “I’ll go to Hayoung’s apartment instead.”

“No you don’t! If you dare go to her apartment, I’ll hunt you down,” Jongin states as a sound of silence rushes through the room. Soon, all three people are laughing brightly, taking away any of the stress from college.

“By the way, I’ll be busy the whole week until the showcase is over,” Jongin announces as Hayoung nods in understanding. She pats his chest gently with her hand and smiles, “You’ll do great!” She reaches out to kiss his cheek and Sehun stares at them. It’s honestly weird to witness couples while you’re the third-wheel; however, this has happened ever since the beginning of Hayoung’s first year. Sehun grew accustomed to the fact of how this couple works: lovey-dovey, fluffiness, sweetness—any cheesy word a person can think of.

Throughout the days, Hayoung and Jongin never saw each other a lot. They’d pass by each other on campus, but he had to head straight to practice. Even though Sehun is also on the dance team, he doesn’t have a lot of pressure unlike Jongin.

“Hayoung, let’s get bubble tea,” Sehun grins as he grabs her wrist, pulling her towards the exit of campus. Hayoung nods and smiles, trailing behind the older one. She considers Sehun one of her best male friends as the rest are just acquaintances. She’s quite thankful for Naeun’s boyfriend, Taemin, for introducing her to Sehun and Jongin because if she never met them, she wouldn’t know what to do without them.

“Which flavor?” Sehun asks as they arrive to the counter, already ordering his favorite flavor: chocolate. “Strawberry,” Hayoung replies as the cashier nods, putting their orders down.

After receiving their drinks, they sit across from each other, talking about their day. “Jongin’s working really hard this year because he really wants to impress you—well, that’s what people are saying in the team,” Sehun laughs quietly as he takes a sip, leaning back in his chair. Hayoung smiles lightly as she uses the straw to stir the drink around, “I’m sure he’ll do great.”

“His showcase is the first year anniversary of you two, right?” He asks as she nods in response, a tint of pink shading across her slightly tanned face. He laughs and reaches out to tousle her lightly blonde hair, “What do you plan on doing?”

Hayoung purses her lips and bites on her bottom lip, “I’m going to need your help actually…” She starts whispering the plan to him and here to there, Sehun would raise his eyebrow and laugh at how cute her plan is. Soon, Sehun was on board on the plan to help her out.

Jongin’s performance was fantastic as always when the showcase was presented. Cheers escalated quickly the first step he took on stage. Girls were losing their voices, boys were completely envious, and many were impressed. Hayoung sat in the front row and she could feel his passion and determination on dancing. From the girls screaming his name, she could feel how lucky she is to have Jongin as a boyfriend.

Soon, night came with a full moon showing. Hayoung texted him in the afternoon that she’d be late due to studying for an upcoming exam. However within the three hour period she and Sehun have been preparing the cake and presents.

“Ready?” Sehun asks as he holds the tray holding the chocolate cake. She takes a deep breath as they stand outside Jongin’s apartment, whispering lowly. She receives the cake and nods, “I’m ready…” Sehun inserts the spare key and opens the door quietly, the lights off.

Hayoung furrows her eyebrows and hums quietly. That’s weird…I thought he was home… She walks inside and reaches out towards the switch, turning on the light. She freezes on the spot, dropping open with her eyes wanting to pop out of its sockets.

She swore time stopped the moment her eyes landed on him.

Is it something cheesy, sweet, and romantic?

Unfortunately, it’s the complete opposite. Jongin is sitting on the couch, his body slightly leaning against another female’s body as their lips are attached. Both of their eyes were closed so they were probably oblivious to the fact that the lights were on and that a figure was in the room.

Hayoung stays there for a few good seconds before gripping the tray tighter, “Kim Jongin…” The familiar gentle voice echoes in the still night as Jongin’s eyes pop open. He pulls away and places his fingers on his lips, gulping down the huge lump in his throat.

“Who’s that Jongin?” The female asks as she crosses her arms, staring at Hayoung, “Your sister?” Hayoung blinks and gulps, staring at both of them in disbelief.

“Hayoung,” He stands up and starts walking over to her. “Don’t…” She orders softly as Jongin stops in his tracks. “Can you…explain…” She tries to hold in the tears as her heart breaks slowly at each breath she takes.

Jongin rubs the back of his neck and hangs his head down, “That was my sunbae before you entered school…she graduated already…and um…” He closes his eyes and breathes, “We used to have feelings for each other.”

“Used to?” She stares at him and lets out a small dry laugh, “Nice word choice.” She walks towards the kitchen and places the tray on the counter, “Here you go. Have a cake as a celebration on your new sparked relationship.” He glances over to the cake and looks at the words in frosting saying: Happy One Year Anniversary!

Jongin breaks her command and strides over to Hayoung, “Wait…” She starts walking towards the door, but he grabs her wrist. She quickly retreats and snaps her wrist away, “Don’t…touch me.” She closes her eyes as tears start to drop down her cheeks.

“Hayoung, please,” He snakes his arms around her waist and closes his eyes tight, feeling her trying to wiggle out of his grasp. “Stop it! Let me go!” She screams as tears continue to roll down her cheeks. The voice travels to outside and Sehun leans against the railing, staring at the night.

The screams alert him and he quickly walks inside, seeing Hayoung crying and trying to get away from Jongin. He raises an eyebrow and looks more, seeing a familiar girl sitting on the couch. “No way…” He whispers as he stomps over to Jongin, separating Hayoung and him. “What the hell, hyung?! I thought you lost feelings for her,” Sehun shouts as stands in front of Hayoung, facing Jongin.

“I’m sorry…” He hangs his head down and uses both of his hands to scratch his head, “I don’t know what got into me. We saw each other backstage and…we started talking again. We spilled out our feelings and we just lead here…”

The girl stands up and smirks, walking towards the three while placing her hand lightly on Jongin’s shoulder. “I think we’re much more compatible than that—child,” She smirks and raises an eyebrow at Hayoung. She wipes her tears and looks at the floor, shaking her head.

“Can you stop it?” Jongin raises his voice at the girl as he stares coldly at her. Sehun’s lips tug into a smirk, “You know, hyung, Hayoung spent the whole last week planning this for you. I can’t believe you’d choose this lady over your own girlfriend.”

Jongin’s jaw clenches as he walks closer to the younger one, “I did not choose Yuna over Hayoung!”

“Then explain why you were kissing her,” Hayoung blurts out as she repeats that scene in her mind, the tears dropping down again. Jongin was about to reach out to wipe her tears, but Sehun slaps his hand away, glaring at his friend.

“It just happened alright,” Jongin whispers as he his lips, mixed emotions draping over him.

“Jongin—you are the best thing that happened to me. I gave you my trust, loyalty, love, affection, kindness, and most of all my honesty to you. I thought you did the same, but—I think that was all just broken in a matter of seconds,” She gulps as she tries to continue on, but the tears keep coming out of her eyes. Sehun stares at her and rubs her back soothingly, hiding his lips.

Hayoung hangs her head down and lets out a weak smile, breaking Jongin’s heart slowly. “I gave you everything,” She covers as her hair covers the sides of stays like that for a few seconds before lifting her head up, staring at him. “I trusted you,” She reaches into her bag and takes out a letter. “This had all my feelings on it…but I guess they mean nothing,” She starts ripping the letter in pieces, dropping them on the floor.

Sehun’s and Jongin’s eyes widen as they stare at her in disbelief. Hayoung was one to not express her feelings that much, but this feeling triggered her so much. The feeling of dishonesty, hurt, pain, and remorse took over her whole body that she could feel herself shaking.

Hayoung looks at him, bowing formally afterwards, “We’re over, Jongin.” She turns around and takes a deep breath, starting to leave. Sehun glares at his friend and shakes his head, “I don’t know you anymore, hyung…” He places a hand on Hayoung’s middle and leads her out of the apartment.

They start walking towards the next set of stairs and Sehun stops her, pulling her into a hug, “I’m so sorry, Hayoung…” Hayoung closes her eyes shut and cries out loud, burying her face in his chest as her arms wrap tightly around his waist, “Please tell me this is all a dream…please.”

Sehun bites on his bottom lip, “I wish I could…” He rests his forehead on top of her head and lets out a dissatisfied sigh.

Jongin kneels down and picks up all the pieces, trying to place them back together on the floor. Yuna was about to stop him by grabbing the pieces, but he grabs her wrist firmly, “Get out.” Her eyes widen as she laughs dryly, “I can’t believe you…” She exits the apartment and soon, Jongin let out his real feelings. He sets himself down on the floor and stares at the solved letter.

Jongin-ah! My sweet boyfriend!

Happy one year anniversary! I remember every single moment we had and if I had to write them all down, it’d be a never ending story. You know why it’d be continuous? It’s because our story will go on forever. There’ll always be a blank page wanting to be filled for another moment.

I can’t thank you enough of how grateful I am to have you as a boyfriend. You’re an amazing person, Jongin. You have qualities like no other and you’ve given me courage.

[…]

I love you so much, Kim Jongin. No matter what happens, I’ll always love you.

-          Your Jasmine, Hayoung.

Jongin grits his teeth together and closes his eyes, frustration taking over. “I don’t think you’ll love me after tonight…” He covers his eyes with one of his hands and lets out a sigh. After moments of silence, Jongin thinks back to the situation earlier. Sehun—if anything happens to her, I’m holding you responsible for it…She’ll always have a special place in my heart.