CHAPTER 05

T h a t   P u n k

KyungSoo aimlessly wanders around the mall, not caring what direction he takes. As long as he keeps his mind busy with other stuff, he knows he’ll get by. He stops in front of Nature Republic and decides to purchase that facial mask he’s been meaning to buy.

He chirps happily as he forgets that he had more pressing matters in mind. He likes taking care of himself more than anything. He ensures that he at least spends 1 hour a day pampering the natural youthfulness of his skin.

He was looking at the package he had in his left hand when suddenly, someone inadvertently trips him. He falls face first and the box that he’s holding scatters its contents on the floor. A sharp pain shoots from his nose to the back of his head as he feebly attempts to stand up. He hears the gasps and dubious uproar from the people who saw him fall flat. He didn’t know what to address first, his pain or his embarrassment.

Teary-eyed, he starts to scramble for his stuff only to find them already neatly set in front of him. He notices a pair of brown shoes just beside it and silently thanks this person who helped him in his mind.

“Thank you for picking up m—“ he stops mid-sentence. He’s now looking straight into the eyes of the good Samaritan, “YOU!”

“Me?”

KyungSoo forcefully grabs the box and hastily retreats. He’s not minding the small bruise on his nose that was throbbing like hell. All he knows is that he needed to get away. Far, far away as possible.

“Yah! Hey kid, wait up!”

If it’s even possible, he quickly shuffles and turns to his left to descend down the stairs of this familiar mall. He freezes in disbelief. How can this mall betray him? Printed on the make-shift wall that stopped him on his tracks, a sign saying:

This part of the mall is closed for construction. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Inconvenience? He wordlessly shouts all types of curses he can think of and stomps both of his feet as if he were a 5-yr old kid denied of his toy. He prays hard that when he turns his back, he still has time to run away.

“There you are, why didja run away like that?” His assailant cockily smirks and approaches him.

“Stay where you are or I swear to god I’ll scream.” KyungSoo’s eyes tenses as his lips begin to quiver. He’s not scared, he’s angry. The corner they found themselves in was secluded so no one really passes through it, much to his dismay.

“Woah there nelly, I’m not here to assault you. I just wanted to check how you were.”

“Just step back. Step back or I really swear to god I’ll scream.”

The guy in front of him quickly changes from a defensive stance, to a haughty one. His left brow up and he taints his lips with that familiar smirk, “I dare you.”

KyungSoo was taken aback. “I will, so help me god. So you better step aside JongIn!”

The guy seems to have been startled by the mention of his name. He now dons a confused look and that was more than enough signal for KyungSoo to make a run for it. Unfortunately, JongIn’s a little swifter. He catches the pale boy by his wrist and forces him to face him as their bodies’ crash into one another.

They lock gaze for what seemed like forever. KyungSoo didn’t have a choice but to scrutinize the darker boy’s face. He had a strong jaw and a very manly scent. His eyes were meek, yet there’s something ferocious about them. KyungSoo rasps as if submitting defeat.

JongIn on the other hand, surveys the shorter boys’ expression. His eyes looked like they were ready to pop out from its sockets. He had a very feminine glow coupled with a sweet strawberry scent. And his lips. Oh, JongIn thought to himself, those lips were just inviting him to press his own on it. They were plump, red, and juicy.

Juicy.

What a weird word to describe lips. Something yanks JongIn back to the situation, it was KyungSoo’s violent squirming. He’s trying to break free from the grip that the taller boy has on him.

“Lemme go! Dang it, let me go!”

JongIn notices a faint blush on KyungSoo’s cheek. Could it be? He doesn’t care if it’s because he was flustered or angry, but he likes it. He immediately embraces him, effectively silencing the protests. How can someone be aggressive yet be so adorable?

KyungSoo’s emotions shoots from left to right. He doesn’t know what to do. His mind tells him to punch the punk right smack in the middle of his nose and make a run for it, but his body tells him otherwise. He’s never been hugged like this before, much more coming from a guy. He inhales as his nostrils bathes in the virile musk. So, manly. So, dare he say it, y.

He’s in a trance when JongIn decides to expand the space between them. He grips both of KyungSoo’s shoulders and looks him in the eye. The shorter boy’s gaze was one who’s still in shock.

“Let me do this properly. Hi, my name is Kim JongIn,” he carefully studies KyungSoo’s expression, “what’s yours?”

“D-Do—Do Kyung—Soo.”

What a perfect name for such a cute kid, JongIn tells himself.

“Do KyungSoo, I know our first encounter was anything but pleasant,” KyungSoo nods almost inanimately and absent-mindedly to let JongIn know that he’s listening, “so is it okay if we start fresh?”

KyungSoo bobs his head up, and cautiously brings it back down. He seems to have been pulled into a dimension he’s scared of even looking at, let alone speak. His mind is a scramble of olive oil bottles and a dark guy cussing him. Can this be the same person who persistently demanded him to surrender the bottle he took from the grocery shelf?

“KyungSoo?”

Can he be the same person who annoyed him to death and left him cursing for the first week of his Busan vacation?

“Yah, KyungSoo, are you okay?”

He stares straight realizing that pain, confusion, excitement and anger were mixing from the pit of his stomach. Is it normal for a person to feel all these at once?

JongIn once more closes the gap between their bodies and does the unexpected. It was like a curve ball thrown to a batter when everyone was expecting a screwball. A sudden plot twist to an otherwise, predictable story. It was a gentle kiss, planted on a bruised nose.

KyungSoo can tell he was dreaming. He closes his eyes and holds his breath. He expects to wake up any second now. He’s going to hear his mother call out to him. He’s going to toss around his bed and forget this weird dream he’s in. Any time now. Yep, anytime now.

He slowly opens his eyes. Light floods his vision, this could very well be the morning he wished for just a while ago. But instead, he sees JongIn, flashing a smile he has never received from anyone before. It slowly engulfs him and causes his knees to buckle.

“Now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”