Sehun lifts his head up just in time for Baekhyun’s hot girl, 6 o’clock. Why is Jongin’s arm around her? This really gets his attention now because his best friend doesn’t do that to just anyone and he’s never mentioned getting a girlfriend before. Also, the girl is pretty and he wanted another look at her face. 

Sehun (and his friends, but mostly just Sehun), all too suddenly, becomes aware of how often he sees Jongin with that girl. Sometimes they’re affectionate, arms wrapped around each other with smiles that seem to brighten up the room; sometimes they’re more platonic, caught up with books rather than each other. He even sees Jongdae, Jongin’s older brother, speaking to her with extreme fondness like he’s proud that Jongin is dating her. And Sehun is jealous mostly because Jongdae pats her head and gives her high fives while he ignores the younger male. It’s really upsetting because Sehun has been Jongin’s best friend since their first year of intermediate school (they’re in their second year of university now) and Jongdae’s never acted like that with him. 

___


What are you doing in my house is the first thing Sehun hears after the click of the front door. He looks up from his game they’re all playing in Joonmyun’s living room after Jongin does and feels his face start to burn up. Sehun feels embarrassed even though he’s sure the question wasn’t directed entirely at him. 

“Wow, you’re a welcoming host,” Jongin states as he surfaces from the group. He puts his arm around the girl Sehun keeps seeing him around at school. 
She pushes his arm off her shoulder, “stop playing guest. You don’t even count as a guest anymore since you’re here all time. Where’s my brother?” 
“Wow, feisty much? He’s getting something from his room with my brother. Should be down soon,” Jongin returns to his seat. Wait, brother. Did Sehun just hear them talking about brothers? “Hey, do you still have any fattening snacks around?”

Before Jongin even finishes his question, she’s already running up the stairs. The house is filed with Hey! Answer me at least! and No, you ate them all, fatass! And he hears giggles from Jongdae and Joonmyun at the bottom of the stairs before Joonmyun’s expression turns serious.

“Stop looking at my sister like that you little ,” Joonmyun looks really serious now. Sehun turns his head faster than lightning and everyone except Jongin and Jongdae genuinely scared. “I’m going to kick you out, Byun Baekhyun.” 

It’s quiet for a moment while everyone digests the fact that the girl is Joonmyun’s sister AKA Jongdae’s cousin AKA Jongin’s cousin AKA not Jongin’s girlfriend (AKA Sehun has a chance). And it makes sense why Jongdae acts the way he does with her now. Sehun wants to slap himself in the face because why hadn’t he seen it before. He reasons that it was hard to because he never really got to look at her up from close or for a long period of time. But he did know that she didn’t look like Joonmyun, but then again Jongdae didn’t look like Jongin,

The seriousness ends when Joonmyun sits next to Baekhyun, who’s busy rubbing his arm from Jongin’s punch as he curls up to hisJoonmyunnie hyung with an apology. They’re all back to playing their games and eating the food Kyungsoo brought with him (but it’s really just Jongin now because the only thing left was kimchi spaghetti). The room fills with even more noise now that Baekhyun loses focus on Joonmyun and joins Chanyeol. 

Not even five minutes later, Joonmyun stands up from his seat and makes his way to the staircase. Sehun sees legs coming down the staircase. It’s Joonmyun’s sister in running shoes, a track jacket, and hot pants. Her hair is in a bun—WOW because Sehun really likes it when girls have their hair up in a nice bun. And before he can get a good look at her face, she’s running out of the door. He should really find out her name. But ow and Sehun looks over but it’s not Baekhyun who gets hit. It’s Kris, Tao, Chanyeol, and (surprisingly) Kyungsoo who get hit by the three Kim cousins.

“I’m really confused,” Yixing says ten minutes later. “She’s Jongin’s cousin, not his girlfriend?” 

Sehun doesn’t see her again before he leaves.

___


After never formally meeting Joonmyun’s younger sister and whining about it, Jongdae convinces his older cousin to have the girl around more often. Jongin starts making it a habit to bring her around their group as often as he can.

The first time Jongin brings her around, Sehun confirms that she definitely doesn’t look like Joonmyun; instead, they share similarities like the sparkling smile and double lids their cousins have. Jongin introduces her as Joonhee and Sehun looks up and sees a smile on her face. It’s so dazzling that his brain goes haywire and Luhan had to push him to make sure he got to class on time. Her smile outshines Joonmyun’s, Jongdae’s, and Jongin’s combined. 

The second time she comes around, it’s Joonmyun that’s by her side. He walks into the room only a few seconds after the ‘Joon’ siblings walk in and notices that she’s actually quiet tall if he considers how tiny he thinks her brother is and that her nose actually reaches his collarbone. She greets him with a smile and his heart skips a beat.

Sehun stops counting after that and doesn’t recall what happened each and every time she’s around. He just remembered that either her brother or one of her cousin (usually Jongin) accompanies her. He wishes she would come around by herself because he’s eager to learn more about her and he likes the butterflies he gets when she’s around. 

Sehun finds out from Luhan, who found out form Kyungsoo, who found out from Chanyeol, who found out from Baekhyun that Jongin and Joonhee are attached at the hip. Sehun wants to confirm it himself, but Baekhyun follows Joonmyun around like a little puppy (and the older boy finds its cute), so it must be true. Sehun thinks he can use this to his advantage, but his best friend never tells him anything about his cousin, so he’s stuck finding everything out on his own. It’s actually really hard because Sehun’s scared to talk to her and Joonhee shares that I’ll-watch-you-talk trait with Jongin. He ends up waiting for Baekhyun to tell him everything. 

Sometimes it scares Sehun how similar she is to Jongin. She’s more like her younger cousin than her own brother—they’re the same age, started ballet together, have tan skin, playful, and share almost every other trait. It makes him feel like he’s falling for his best friend and not his cousin. But he also wonders if their parents didn’t switch children because he knows from Baekhyun that Joonmyun and Jongdae are more like each other than their younger siblings. 

Sometimes Luhan catches him staring at Jongin when they’re supposed to be studying. Other times it’s Kyungsoo who catches him staring at Joonhee when she’s listening to the conversation. He’s pretty sure he’s falling for one of the younger Kim siblings. 

___


“My cousin said you two are getting closer,” Jongin says when he’s starting at his econ book like there’s no tomorrow.
Sehun doesn’t remove his eyes from his, “huh, oh, yeah. Joonmyun hyung’s been around a lot more lately.” 

Sehun thinks he hears Jongin mutter huh, wonder why but doesn’t say anything in response. He knows that tone; it’s the one Jongin uses when he wants to be sarcastic. He smiles to himself because Joonmyun’s been the one taking Joonhee around with them and Joonmyun has doubled his attendance to their out of school outings to eighty percent. Score! because he’s been getting the courage to talk to Joonhee. 

___


Sehun really gets to know Joonhee when he agrees to go out with Baekhyun. He wants to think something is fishy because when does Baekhyun go out on his own without Chanyeol? But he disregards it through the promises of bubble tea. He should have held onto the feeling. He wants to both kiss and strangle Byun Baekhyun because he’s sitting across from Joonhee while he and Joonmyun go into their own little world at the bubble tea shop. 

He learns so much about her—favorite everything, why she does ballet, her life in the past, what she wants in the future—and finds that a lot of their interest match. And he disconnects her from Jongin because not even he and Jongin are this compatible. They’re in their own little world of shy smiles and giggles. 

He notices more little things about her, like the way she bites her lip before she reaches down for her straw and takes a sip from her drink or the way she covers when she laughs an actual laugh and not just a giggle. And that she gives such good hugs and her shampoo smells really nice. She’s so cute that he understands why Joonmyun, Jongdae, and Jongin are protective over her. 

When he and Baekhyun part from the Joon siblings, he doesn’t want to strangle Baekhyun anymore, even after he confesses he had plans to meet with Joonmyunnie hyung. He just gives him the tightest hug in the world and runs off to his house.

___


“Do you want to go out on a date,” Sehun lifts his head from his book with an alarmed look on his face. Jongin laughs. “Not with me. I meant a double, dipwad. I know about your little crush on my cousin and her friend is cute.” 
“Oh, yeah that sounds good, Oh,” Sehun looks terrified. “oh. Nonononono. If you know, then she knows. How obvious was I?”  
“So you don’t want to go,” Jongin questions. “So you like me then? I’m sorry, man. I’m not willing to try because Joonhee’s friend is really cute.” 
“I’m being ing serious,” Sehun stands up. “I’m going to go in hiding now.” 

Jongin doesn’t do anything but laugh at Sehun’s panic. 

They never end up going on that double date because Jongin decided to ask Joonhee’s cute friend out on his own. Wow, she must be really cute because Jongin’s actually just a scared little puppy Luhan says when he finds out. Chanyeol directs a when are you making your move, lover boy at him immediately after. Sehun wants to crawl in a hole because he must have been incredibly obvious. 

___


“Oh Sehun,” the boy turns around and is glad he didn’t wear his earphones while walking to class because he didn’t miss Joonhee calling out his name. Now they’re walking together and Sehun thinks he’s turning really red. She’s rummaging through her bag and pulls out a piece of paper. “Hey, has my brother mentioned anything about my ballet thing? Because he said he’d invite all of you on my behalf.” Sehun shakes his head and takes the ticket. “In case you wanted to sit with Jongin or something. Oppa said he wants to sit with Baekhyun, but Jongin won’t give up his seat. See you later?” 

He keeps nodding even after she’s out of his sight. Now he wants to skip class and look for Baekhyun and maybe even give him a kiss because Joonhee just talked to him! But then he gets a text from Tao and oh ! He’s about to be late for the exam!

Just when he thinks his day can’t get any better, he sees the cutest thing ever. He’s left standing next to Jongdae watching Joonmyun wake up his sister and pulling her off Jongin’s shoulder. He can’t think straight for what feels like a full minute because she’s rubbing her eyes and pouting. It’s so cute and he’s so mesmerized that Jongdae has to push his jaw up before Joonmyun hyung hurts you. He blinks and she’s gone, but the memory of how cute she is when she wakes up isn’t. Really, Jongin waking up is cute, but Joonhee waking up is so much cuter. He turns around to face his friends and everyone except Jongin is laughing at him for being such a lovesick puppy. Jongin just pats him on the back with a smile and follows after his cousins.

“So,” Jongdae wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, “you and my cousin, huh.”
“Hyung,” Sehun whines. “It’s not like that.”
“Uh, huh,” the older boy continues to . “Whatever you say, Sehun. Whatever you say.” 

Then he’s taken aback because this is Jongdae, the person who never pays attention to him, joking around with him. Yeah, this is a really good day. 

He wishes he never wished to see her wake up again. All Sehun sees Joonhee do these days is nap. He admits that it was cute for the first week or so, but he wants to be able to talk to her. At school, she’s always napping on Jongin’s shoulder. (Alright, it might not be so bad if she napped on Sehun’s shoulder once in a while, but she doesn’t, so he’s upset.) And she’s stopped hanging out with them outside of university even when her brother is with them. 

I’m just sad now because I can’t even greet her ): he texts Luhan. 
Joonhee’s busy, asshat. She doesn’t have the time to watch you make googley eyes at her Luhan replies, but it’s not really Luhan because he gets That was Jongin. He said to stop being a girl and text her. He’s sure he saw your number on her phone. 

That’s exactly what Sehun doesn’t do. And for the next few weeks he goes from seeing Joonhee take naps on her cousin’s shoulder to barely seeing her to not seeing her at all. And occasionally he gets a knowing smile from his best friend or a there, there pat from Jongdae. In between those gestures, he’s sure their other friends mimic those gestures just to make fun of him and his stupid feelings. 

___


Sehun thinks it’s really cute how much Jongin supports his cousin. He’s watching the ballet with such focused eyes, following every movement the dancers of stage make. It’s really fun watching Jongin watch the ballet too because his eyes start to sparkle every time his cousin steps on the stage. He starts to smile like a proud father. Then Sehun turns to the stage and follows the movements of the girl he likes. And his heart starts to beat a little bit faster because it’s so pretty. She’s so pretty. And it’s the first time he really admits to himself that he really likes her. 

Now he and his friends are standing at the foyer of the theater, dressed up and waiting. Joonmyun, Jongdae, and Jongin are smiling a thousand times brighter than they did before. Joonmyun even looks a little bit relieved. 

He feels stupid because there’s nothing to do but take note of who’s wearing what type of shirt. And he only knows that Joonmyun is wearing a dress shirt, Jongdae, Jongin, and Kyungsoo are wearing button-downs, and everyone else is wearing a button-up because Chanyeol was stupid enough to ask Joonhee the differences between each one. At least he expanded his knowledge in clothing from looking nice in that shirt and not jeans pants? 

He’s really glad he took his time getting ready so that his hair is nice and his clothes are wrinkle-free because he just shook Joonhee’s dad’s hand. The Kim family has some really nice ing genes. He tries really hard not to hit Luhan when he whispers father-in-law in his ear. But really, he was thinking the same thing. They thank the group of coming and make their way out of the theater. 

A group of girls that aren’t ballerinas are making their way out from backstage. Joonmyun’s eyes flicker of recognition and makes his way to them with thanks for coming and get home safely. And the group dissipates and all that’s left is a smiling Joonhee with large bouquets of flowers. All Sehun can do is watch as Jongdae follows his older cousin and grabs the flowers because the ballerina is so pretty. 

He snaps out of his reverie by Jongdae, “Sehunnie will help Joonhee get the rest of her stuff, hyung. Let’s get the car and wait for them out front.” 

He barely sees Jongin’s wink before they group turns their backs away from him. 

“Sorry to bother you. I don’t actually have that much stuff,” Joonhee says as they head backstage. “Jongdae oppa just doesn’t like me carrying things after a show. Actually, I don’t think he wants me to come back here alone since I’m usually the last one to leave.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind,” Sehun can feel himself starting to blush at the thought of them being alone. “You were great, by the way. I definitely want to watch again.” 

He watches her as she moves around to grab her things. She’s in a dress, her hair is in a bun, and her makeup looks so natural. So attractive.

“I’m sorry,” she turns around, “I didn’t quite catch that. Can you repeat it, Sehun?”
“Huh,” he panics. Did he really say that out loud? “Nothing. I was just talking to myself.” 

And he wants to regret leaning against a wall, but he doesn’t because she’s in his space now, almost pressed against him with her hands on either side of his body. He’s looking at her now, faces close, and he sees her biting her lip with a blush on her face. He’s letting out a soft laugh now because Luhan telling him that Jongin is a puppy and Chanyeol telling him to make a move enters his mind. This is such a Jongin move. And he remembers that they’re similar. Therefore, she’s a puppy too. He knows how scared Jongin was to ask, so she must be too. Wow, he should really do something about that. 

Sehun flips the tables from right under her nose. He moves so that they’ve switched positions. She’s against the wall now, an even more noticeable blush on her face. He thinks about what it would be like to kiss her right now because he lip gloss isn’t making it any easier to resist. She looks up at him and they both start laughing. 

He takes a step back and rubs his nape, “so, do you, uh, I don’t know, want to go out on, uh, you know, date…. sometime?”
She gives him a dazzling smile, “I’d really like that. Uh, we should go, you know, before my brother comes looking for me.” 

___


For their first date, Sehun takes her out for dinner. He holds her hand during their post-meal stroll and takes her to get bubble tea for dessert. He gets a kiss on the cheek after their third date. And after the tenth date, he thinks it’s okay to ask her to be his girlfriend. 

When he gets home, he realizes the amount of text messages Jongin has sent him. 

Heard you made a move.
Actually, I saw it. 
Good job, dipwad. 
Joonmyun hyung saw it too.
Don’t hurt our princess
Be ready for Monday. Joonmyun hyung’s been itching to interrogate you.
This is some serious business. 
Just know that I’m not going to protect you from Joonmyun hyung if you hurt her
Neither is Jongdae hyung.
I’m serious.
Joonmyun hyung is scary when you mess with his sister.
He’s going to rip you to shreds if you do. 
Hey, asshat, respond to my threats.