✽ in • cip • i • ent [in-sip-ee-uh nt] (adj.)

"the inevitable start of something new"

2

For the nth time that day, Kyungsoo released a deep sigh as he adjusted his position on the ground. He was currently sitting under the shade of a large cherry blossom tree, his lunch placed precariously on top of his knees as he ate in silence. Class had proceeded quite normally after the class officer elections. Oh Sehun and Kim Jongin were assigned to be the president and vice-president respectively, and he somehow managed to become the secretary of the class, too. Which meant that he'd have to mingle with the other officers. The idea alone was enough to make him sigh again.

It's not that he wasn't confident that he couldn't do a good job about it. In fact, he was happy that he became a class officer. It was a plus for him when the time comes that he'd have to make a resume. What worried him was the idea of social interaction. Ten or so years of having no friends and getting ignored by the rest of humanity had really taken a toll on his social skills. If some teenagers liked to call themselves 'socially awkward' just to sound unique despite having friends, well then, Kyungsoo was happy for them that they didn't really know the meaning of 'socially awkward'.

Kyungsoo let his gaze fall on his schoolmates playing football in the field. He could see Sehun and Jongin playing, too, and Kyungsoo could probably stay there all day, watching such pretty creatures play under the sun and laugh like there was no tomorrow. He briefly wondered how it felt like, being happy, until his thoughts were cut off when a hand clapped down on his shoulder. He jolted in surprise, his lunch box falling on the ground as he got on his knees, ready to run, as he looked up at the person who had intruded on his alone time. It was the short, pretty boy with the pretty hands from his class, the one who had volunteered Jongin as president.

"Hey, Secretary, Kris wants to see you. He's in the facult--

Kyungsoo didn't even let him finish. He grabbed his lunch box in a hurry and bowed deeply before running off, leaving the boy staring questioningly at his figure. This is why he hated social interaction. He never really knew what to say.

~ ✽ ~

"Y-you, uh, you wanted to see me, s-sir...?"

He knocked timidly on the door, and Kris looked up from whatever he was busy with on his laptop. Kyungsoo was sure that it was definitely not related to school because of the bright colours flashing across his teacher's face. The taller male beckoned him to come closer, and Kyungsoo stepped in quietly, closing the door behind him and walking forward.

"So, Do, here is a set self-introduction forms that your class needs to fill up and submit tomorrow. I kind of forgot to distribute this earlier, so make sure that each and every one of your loser classmates get one, alright?" Kris proceeded to dump a thick wad of long bond papers in front of Kyungsoo.

"But...isn't this the president's job, or something...?" Kyungsoo tried, because he was pretty sure that a class secretary's job was to keep track of the tiny trivial things in rooms, not things like handouts.

"Aish, those idiotic jocks are playing football right now. I don't want to go out there into the field and call them or something. Not my style." Kris waved his hand dismissively, and Kyungsoo frowned deeper.

"B-but you had somebody call me..."

"Well, Baekhyun thinks you're slightly adorable. I don't know what's up what with that boy, really. Now, just go and distribute that, will you?" Kris asked again, sounding desperate.

Kyungsoo nodded his head unsurely before taking the papers carefully. He hugged it close to his chest and bowed slightly to the teachers in the faculty before stepping out. It was currently lunch time, so no students were loitering in the hallways. Their room was on the second floor, so with the thick and heavy papers in his arms, he couldn't quite see where he was going. He just focused on his steps, which was a mistake.

A student was running down the steps, and just as Kyungsoo was turning to go up the other half, the kid collided into him, sending the papers flying into the air. Kyungsoo also lost his balance, and he started tipping backwards. It was only four steps, really, but to Kyungsoo, it felt like he was going to die. His heart stopped beating for a moment, and he closed his eyes, already bracing himself for impact.

What he didn't expect was falling into something that wasn't so hard. It felt like human flesh, even. His backside hit the floor alright, and it stung, but majority of his body hit something else. He supposed that he must have been dizzy or something because floors weren't supposed to feel soft and warm. Also, floors weren't supposed to have hands holding him by the shoulders and keeping him from falling any further.

"Ow, shi-- oh. Uh, are you okay?"

Kyungsoo whipped his head around and felt the wind get knocked out of him. Jongin's face was inches away from his, and they were currently on the floor, his back pressed flush against Jongin's chest. His small figure was enclosed in Jongin's hold, the taller male's legs spread apart slightly to accommodate Kyungsoo. The papers were still flying all around them, and Kyungsoo didn't really know what to make of the situation, except for the fact that he was probably blushing from so much embarrassment.

"Aish, this creep! Watch where you're going!" The student who had bumped into Kyungsoo was already a few feet away from them, and he was sneering at Kyungsoo in disdain.

Kyungsoo didn't even bother with the comment, but he was surprised when Jongin suddenly turned away from him, glaring at the other kid.

"Yah, what the hell did you say?! Come back he-- yah!!"

Kyungsoo cleared his throat awkwardly, and that got Jongin's attention back on him. Kyungsoo started moving away, and Jongin, realizing their position, also scrambled away. Kyungsoo chanced a glimpse at his face, and he was pretty sure that Jongin's cheeks were turning pink, but he wasn't sure.

"I-I'm sorry...for, uhm...falling." Kyungsoo started, bowing low before bending down and starting to gather the papers again. Some of them had footprints now because of the student who bumped into him. The kid must have stepped all over them as he walked away.

"It's okay, uhm...K-Kyungsoo, right?" Jongin also knelt down to pick up the papers, but Kyungsoo suddenly grabbed them from him, shaking his head furiously.

"No! I-I mean...you don't have to pick them up. J-just...please go back to your game. Your friends might be waiting." Kyungsoo mentally commended himself for not stuttering with his last few words. This 'social interaction' thing really wasn't working out well for him.

"It's okay! Kris gave these to you, didn't he? He should've called me since this is my job, not yours..." Kyungsoo watched as Jongin didn't relent in picking up the papers.

Kyungsoo chose to remain quiet, and they stayed silent for a while, picking up papers from the floor until from the other end of the hallway, two of their classmates came approaching them.

"Jongin! Come on, we need you back in the game! Baekhyun's kicking our !" Kyungsoo recognized him as Sehun, their president and also the maknae of the class.

"Not now, guys. Can't you see I'm busy?" Jongin replied, handing Kyungsoo a handful of papers. Kyungsoo took them gingerly and placed them in his own stack.

"You're picking up papers with the creepy kid...?"

"Hey, don't be rude, Ohdult." The other boy, the tall and lanky one, elbowed Sehun in the ribs.

"Ouch, Chanyeol, stop that."

"Aish, these guys. Will you just help us? And stop calling him 'the creepy kid'. He has a name." Jongin defended, and Kyungsoo felt his face heat up. It was the first time that someone defended him. It felt weird, really.

Kyungsoo kept his eyes glued on the papers he was picking up, but he soon registered the sound of oncoming footsteps and a groan coming from Sehun. Soon enough, two more pairs of hands came into Kyungsoo's view, also picking up papers and handing them to Jongin. It sort of felt nice, Kyungsoo thought, when people got together and did something even if it was something as mundane as picking up fallen papers.

"Here. That's everything, Kyungsoo." Jongin handed him the last stack of papers that they managed to pick up, and Kyungsoo gladly took them back, unaware that a smile was blossoming on his face.

"Thank you so much." He said softly, and he could only stare in pure confusion as Sehun and Chanyeol exchanged baffled looks. Jongin was just staring at Kyungsoo's face, his mouth hanging open in what seemed to be like shock.

Kyungsoo quickly returned his gaze to the floor, hugging the papers close to his chest and bowing as he took his leave. He ran up the stairs in a hurry, totally embarrassed and feeling like he had crossed a huge line by feeling chummy with those boys. As he ran up the stairs, he didn't hear Sehun's whisper of awe as he nudged Jongin into life.

"Dude, did you see him smile?"

~ ✽ ~

As soon as lunch ended, they were all back in their classroom, Kyungsoo had taken the last ten minutes of lunch period to place the self-introduction forms on each of his classmates' tables. He had tried to remove the footprints on some of them, but a rubber eraser could only do so much. He remained quiet in his seat, ignoring the complaints of some his classmates about the dirty forms. Kris soon came into their room, about to explain the paper, but he was overpowered by the complaints.

"Saem¹! My paper has a freaking footprint on it!"

"At least yours only has one. I have two. What the hell. Who distributed these, anyway?"

Kris turned to look at Kyungsoo, and everyone followed his gaze. He could only cower lower in his seat, silently wishing for his chair to just swallow him up. Before anybody could process it, a balled up piece of paper came flying at his direction. It didn't hit him, but it grazed his shoulder, and he jolted in alarm. This was new.

Physical bullying was new to him.

Jongin and Kris were the first to react.

"Hey! No throwing of in my class!" Kris hollered, his eyes scanning the room for the culprit.

"Who the hell threw that?! That's not nice!" Jongin added, but nobody really owned up to the act.

"That piece of stupid paper aside, the creepy kid's not only creepy, but he's also useless. Surprise, surprise." A girl sitting in the corner of the class mumbled these words loudly enough for the class to hear, and Kris gave her a disapproving look.

"You there. Raise your hand if you want to talk. There will be no gum chewing in my class, and keep your dirty shoes off the table. You're wearing a skirt, for God's sake. Sit properly."

Kyungsoo felt like crying. This really wasn't going according to his plan. He had just wanted to stay invisible. That would have been the best. But now, not only was he being labelled and ridiculed as creepy, he was now also the subject of his classmates' irritation and possible bullying. He kept his head bowed down, feeling the tears b his eyes until Jongin stomped his foot in annoyance.

"Tsk. It wasn't Kyungsoo who distributed those damn forms. It was me, okay? I tripped in the hallways and kinda stepped on them while collecting them." Jongin huffed before settling back in his seat, arms folded across his chest. He tipped his cap over his face and leaned back, deciding not to mingle with the class anymore.

What surprised Kyungsoo was his classmates' reaction at Jongin's words. A few moments ago, when they thought that it was Kyungsoo at fault, they were pissed off and annoyed, but with Jongin, they remained passive. Some of them just shrugged and took out their erasers, trying to erase the footprints on their forms. Kyungsoo could feel the difference between him and Jongin. He was an eyesore to them, but Jongin was loved. He kind of felt envious, but also in awe at the same time.

Wiping the tears that had found their way onto the edges of Kyunsoo's eyes, he ripped a small square piece of paper and wrote something down on it. As soon as class had ended for the day, he watched as Jongin momentarily got pulled away to the back of the room by Baekhyun and their other friends, Sehun, Chanyeol and another pretty boy with cotton-candy pink hair. Kyungsoo still didn't catch his name.

As he stood up to leave, he inched closer to Jongin's table and carefully placed his note on Jongin's table, making sure that something was partially on top of it so it wouldn't get blown away. As soon as he was done, he hurried out of the classroom, not exactly sure if he wanted to see Jongin's reaction at his note.

Thank you :)

_{¹saem : kinda like an informal way of saying 'teacher' or 'sonsaengnim'.}

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^{can you guess which KimiNiTodoke characters the exo members reprised? ;p of course kaisoo are pretty obvious, but what about the others? ;p}

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