One weekend morning, Jongin woke up to the sound of Korean rock music instead of Exo-M. In a bizarre twist of fate, he wonders if someone replaced Kyungsoo with Baekhyun overnight, or if perhaps Jongin wandered somewhere else in his sleep, because... what?

He rolled out of bed, immediately twisting around to find his shirt. But indeed, it was still his room, and that was Kyungsoo hunched over his laptop, eyes intent on the screen Jongin couldn't see, his headphones laying on the desk forgotten.

"Soo?" Jongin whispered against the sound of an electric guitar and singer. He scratched his head, still wondering what had changed. Kyungsoo almost never listened to anything beyond the music of Exo-M.

"Huhh?" Kyungsoo groaned. Then he realized Jongin was awake. "Oh! Sorry! I... forgot..." His voice trailed off while he hastened to mute the speaker and pause whatever he was doing. Jongin didn't dare ask him to finish that statement. Did Kyungsoo forget about the music potentially being too loud to wake him up, or did he forget he had a hot roommate by the name of Jongin? Some things perhaps were better not to know.

"Uhh, you didn't bother me. Just, what are you listening to?"

"A... kind of a rock song?"

"Kind of?" Jongin snorted. "How do you listen to kind of a rock song? And... why?"

He didn't mean to sound offensive, but Kyungsoo sniffed up his nose anyway and contrived to look wounded. It didn't suit his face at all, although it definitely worked to make Jongin guilty.

"It's for... science," Kyungsoo answered a moment later.

"Science...?" Well that made even less sense than before. "Do you mean, for a fic?" Jongin inquired.

Kyungsoo's eyebrows immediately shot upwards. "Yeah!" Then he laughed. "How'd you guess?"

Jongin smiled. A lucky guess? Or maybe the only thing that Kyungsoo did for recreation that was beyond the scope of actual school work and studying and driving Jongin mad from unrequited love.

"What's the plot?" he asked conversationally. In his head he went over all the things he needed to do today. Get some studying done, return a few library books, turn in an assignment to a particularly picky professor, ask Baekhyun if he thought Kyungsoo might have been basing original characters on Jongin and if so, what the hell did that even mean!? If he was a little more brave, he'd ask Kyungsoo himself but, alas, he was not.

"Rock star versus Kpop singer," Kyungsoo said, interrupting Jongin's fretting. "I'm still trying to pick the pairing... so many good options for this, and definitely Luhan needs to be the rocker because, well, because. As for the other one..."

Jongin yawned. Yeah yeah, another fic, another day, another OTP that wasn't Jongsoo. Some part of his frustration, however, magically reached his mouth. "Not gonna insert your favorite new character, Kai? I thought you liked him."

Silence.

Oops.

The words were out before Jongin could take them back. A cold sweat broke out all down his back, his forehead suddenly ice cold. "I mean..." But Jongin didn't know what he meant. Or rather, Jongin hoped Kyungsoo didn't know what meant. That he was having second thoughts (or maybe wishful thoughts) about Kai, but how could he be sure?! The point was, he couldn't be sure, and how could he go and do such a stupid thing as bring him up like this?! He hoped the floor would just open up and take him already. Take him from this world and maybe he'd wake up in alternate universe where there was no fanfiction to trap Jongin into saying stupid stuff like that.

"I..." Kyungsoo seemed even more nervous, if that was possible. "I was thinking... Chen actually. Luchen... Because, I've never written them before..." His voice shook for a half second, and then he composed himself. "And anyways, I've written Kailu before so..."

Right, Jongin remembered. Kyungsoo has already written Kailu before... in the shower. "Well, cool. Sounds like a plan. Hey, I'm gonna head for breakfast. You coming or... not?"

Usually that answer was not. In fact the whole question was rhetorical and Jongin was already slipping his shoes on in the doorway so he could walk to the cafeteria, completely not expecting Kyungsoo to follow him. But the universe was all backwards today, because his roommate shocked him once more by darting out of his chair and crying, "Yeah, actually, wait for me! Haven't... eaten since last night... and I... didn't sleep last night..."

So that settled that.

He waited, and together he and Kyungsoo trudged halfway across the dorm building to find something to eat. A real breakfast date, if he could be allowed to call it that. Now if only they weren't accosted by somebody they knew...

"Hey, Soo! Hey, Jongin! My favorite couple! What's up! Hungry?"

It was Baekhyun of course, Chanyeol just behind him.

Jongin's luck apparently was up. 

Over the course of the meal though it continued to get worse. Recognizing that Jongin was particularly tongue-tied around Kyungsoo with witnesses surrounding them, Baekhyun played it up. They conversation turned endlessly, from the sloppy state of Jongin's shoelaces, to the wrinkles on Kyungsoo all-nighter t-shirt, to the horrid cafeteria food and finally to fanfiction. Because the world was definitely out to get him, and the world - also known as Baekhyun - had a ready-made item to use.

"Luchen, huh?" Baekhyun wagged his eyebrows. "Entertainers make great story lines. I can see it now. What chemistry, what . So, is this one going to be spicy? How 'bout them smooches!" He made the kissy noises to accompany that. Kyungsoo blushed. Jongin turned white. Chanyeol crunched on burnt toast. Joonmyun strolled by with a tray of food, heard the noises and immediately kept on going by. 

Jongin was so immersed in his own embarrassed fantasies that he almost missed Kyungsoo grumbling. So too did Baekhyun, although the guy was merciless in driving out whatever he'd said. And the result was not as Jongin would have liked.

"I... I have... well, trouble writing... kiss scenes..." Kyungsoo confessed after much coaxing. 

Suddenly Jongin was just as interested in his toast as Chanyeol. 

"No way?" Baekhyun put his elbows up on the table, supporting his head between his palms like this was most intriguing thing in the world. "I'd have never guessed. I mean you write them so frequently."

"Yeah, I guess. It's just... hard to visualize them. I write slowly." Kyungsoo looked at his plate, and not at anyone's eyes.

"Huh," Baekhyun stated with a sly smile, and Jongin just dreaded what was coming next. He grimaced. And then it came. "Well, it's not like you wouldn't have a great practice partner if you only asked." 

To everyone's credit, no one assumed Baekhyun meant himself. And that was probably the most mortifying thing of all. Jongin gulped, Kyungsoo blushed even redder, and Chanyeol finally choked on crumbs. Jongin suddenly became very intent on checking the messages on his phone that were in no way new, just a stupid selca from Sehun from the night before, but he clutched onto that picture like a lifeline.

"Really though," Baekhyun continued to dig their graves, "how hard is kissing really. Or writing kissing?" He stood up and dragged up Chanyeol by the collar, the other hand pulling Kyungsoo along as well, and as they happened to be sitting near at a table nearest the wall, he back-stepped Kyungsoo up until the frightened guy was up against it. "Chanyeol, come on. Demonstrate."

"What?!" said the tallest of them all, eyes wide open but not as much as Kyungsoo's. Or Jongin's.

"Yeah. Like you've seen in the dramas. You know, throw your hand up against the wall. Madly. Sensually!" 

Kyungsoo had turned to stone. Chanyeol was a noodle. Baekhyun glared at him once and then he hastened to comply, sloppily throwing one hand out to palm the wall next to Kyungsoo's head and... froze, awkwardly. 

Jongin had stood up as well, although he didn't know what he was supposed to do. Save Kyungsoo like a knight in shining armor? That would have been fic-worthy. If only he'd been Kai, and not plain old Jongin, the roommate with the crush and no balls to do something about that. 

"Oh, come on, Yeolie!" Baekhyun whined. "You're supposed to be helping out here!"

"Helping with what?!" 

Kyungsoo remained frozen, even as Chanyeol chickened out completely and took a step back, Baekhyun adamantly demanding that he act out the role required and kiss Kyungsoo. "You know how it goes! You've read the fics! Plaster your mouth to his, get your lips to ask him for entrance, and then let your tongues battle for dominance!" Baekhyun cried and whined, but Chanyeol was retreating faster than Jongin had ever seen him do so, meanwhile Kyungsoo gasped in fright and happened to catch Jongin's eyes, where they stayed for just a moment too long.

All the blood rushed south, and Jongin almost croaked. Kyungsoo's eyes seemed to dance, and in their peripheral vision, he happened to catch Baekhyun's grin of total mischievousness. 

And then they all looked away.

"I... I don't think that's exactly how it always works, Baekhyun," Kyungsoo said definitely, clearing his throat and rejoining his breakfast plate at the table. Jongin sat down as well and just... breathed. What. What exactly was that?

Bonus Scene "Rockstar"

SootheMan writes:

If there was anyone Jongdae hated more, it was Lu Han. And of course when he said hated, he meant teach that rock singer a well-earned lesson in humility because Lu Han was such an , just to Jongdae. They'd been dancing around each other for five years now. Five years they'd been in show business, and Lu Han with his too pretty face and his raw voice was somehow being hailed in 'some' circles as the rock star of the future. Meanwhile Jongdae had had only one hit song. According to Lu Han, that was a fluke, and privately - definitely not publicly - Jongdae was inclined to agree with him. Among the entertainment sphere, ballads were just not as popular as catchy riffs and guy-liner. It wasn't fair, but then again life wasn't fair, and Jongdae was never going to resort to such gimmicks as Lu Han was always doing, just for a few more fans and popularity.

"I'm a rockstar, baby," Lu Han had told him the last time they met, backstage at a music show when Lu Han's song had won #1 and Jongdae hadn't even been in the ranking. Some girl group called Exa had given Lu Han a run for his money, placing second with a margin of 2,000 points. Even girls could not compete to Lu Han. 

Jongdae had scoffed, then smiled sweetly, rolled his eyes at Lu Han and walked off. "Try again next time, huh?!" Lu Han had called, like the ornery creature he was, still trying to ruffle Jongdae's feathers, although to what purpose Jongdae had no idea. 

That was two weeks ago, and Jongdae was still quietly promoting his songs, recording unplugged versions 'Best Luck' while Lu Han was already done, a collection of 5 winning trophies added to his pile before Exa could finally win one. 

Jongdae admired the trophies up close, hands crossed across his chest as he waited for his manager Zitao to catch up with whatever the guy was bringing up from the car. A party. Of course he'd be obligated to attend a party, at Jongdae's house, with Jongdae's friends. Appearances mattered of course and so what if their companies had been rivals for twenty years longer than Jongdae's and Lu Han's respective careers. There will be some pictures taken here and uploaded to official social media because everyone wanted to see singers pretending to be like each other, smiling blandly cheek to cheek while off screen they hated each other's guts. 

"Jongdae, so good to see you," Lu Han simpered. 

Jongdae immediately turned to greet him, smiling just in case anyone was watching, although to his surprise it was just them in the hallway. Perhaps that accounted for the less than hate-filled expression the rock star was giving him. If official media pictures were supposed to look sweet, in the company of others they were used to keeping up animosity. But when no one was watching, no one at all, not even managers or staff or close friends of either party, there was almost little point in pretending to be better than the other.

That didn't make him like Lu Han anymore though. It just meant he could take his time, really think about some good one-liners and wait to deliver them with all the clarity his professional disdain for Lu Han's craft required. 

"Your trophy case is lovely, Han." He stressed lovely, just in case the rock star was already drunk, and therefore dense to sarcasm. 

"It is, isn't it..." Luhan smirked, and then his lips. Jongdae didn't know why that small movement drew his eyes, but he glanced upwards again before the other could notice. Sometimes he cursed the guy for having such sparkles in his eyes. Just another reason life wasn't fair, because if the rocker looked like an absolute angel, then why didn't he act like one. Why did he always seem to have it out for Jongdae in one way or the other. Unfortunately, between the lips and the eyes, Jongdae felt a tiny bit cornered. Uncomfortable, if he could admit that much to himself. 

Looking around, there was no one else coming to save him either. Just Lu Han, who was continuing to smirk and smile even as he put his hand up against the glass of his trophy case where there five new wins had been added to almost a dozen from previous years. 

"Well, if ever you get lonely, you're welcome to come and visit them. Give you something pretty to look at, since you probably have... what... a few ribbons? For effort?"

Jongdae was known for looking polite. His smile was cute and adorable, catlike even. Everyone said so. Right this moment though he knew it was gone from his face, every bit of sweet that sweet normally sweet temperament. Lu Han always did bring out the worst in him. He also made him want to wipe that smirk from Lu Han's lips. With his lips.

Jongdae blanched, startling even himself, because where did that even come from!

Any retort he might have made was wiped from his mind. He cleared his throat, intent on restarting the evening completely, and for once time was on his side. Zitao arrived back up the stairs shoulder to shoulder to Yifan, Lu Han's beleaguered manager, the two politely arguing as they always did because company policy required it. Jongdae followed the two of them, and then stayed close to either Zitao or some of their other friends for most of the night. 

These parties didn't usually excite him. In fact, he couldn't wait until he could bow out, but appearances had to be kept up and after the homepage worthy picture of the night where Jongdae and Lu Han gave thumbs up at the camera and then separated almost immediately.

Somehow, a few hours into the evening, he found himself back at the trophy case, waiting with foot tapping for Zitao to come out of the bathroom so they could leave already. He didn't see Lu Han coming up until the man was right by his side, and he jolted just a bit for the shock. 

"Back here again, huh? I see you can't possibly tear yourself away."

"Shut it, Han. I'm just waiting for my manager."

"Zitao?" Lu Han laughed. "Well I'm looking for Yifan too, so you can expect it'll be a while."

Jongdae... balked. Well, .

"Anything I do can to help you pass the time?" Lu Han continued. That smirk was back. That smirk that Jongdae wanted so desperately to wipe from his face entirely. 

"Pretty sure there's nothing you can do to help me." Jongdae's line of sight, however, betrayed him, eyes glancing once again at Lu Han's lips, and this time the rockstar definitely caught him looking.

"Is that right?"

"Yeah..."

"Nothing I can do to help you?"

"That's right," Jongdae reiterated. 

"But maybe there's something you can help me with?"

Lu Han took a step forward. Jongdae took a step back, and was that... a reciprocating glance at his mouth?! He tried clearing his throat again but it was pointless. His back was to the glass of the case, his hands down by his side, and he could have so easily put them up to stop Lu Han, but the moment the other stepped in too close, instead of halting him, Jongdae let him come.

The other's hands touched him first, fingers rolling hesitantly across Jongdae's shoulders while Lu Han's mouth came ever closer. Maybe, maybe they could just have this moment and then go back to hating each other's guts? He hadn't kissed anybody in at least four years. Dating hadn't exactly been a priority, and there was nobody who'd taken his fancy. Not even to mess around with. Jongdae knew he was grossly underpracticed. Unskilled even. Still, how hard could it be to just, let go? He closed his eyes, waiting for the press of Lu Han's lips against his, and when it happened, he even wove his arms gently against Lu Han's hips until they wrapped around the small of his back, waiting for the rush of emotions....

Five minutes later he was sitting in the backseat of the nanny van with Zitao driving, arms crossed over his chest and pouting.

"I can't believe I caught you kissing!" His manager continued to rail. "Kissing! And with Lu Han! Of all people! You know it's not allowed! If the CEO found out, he would... he would..."

"Fire you because you were occupied in another room kissing Yifan?" Jongdae dared to fire off in return. He huffed, and Zitao flailed wildly.

"That is not the point, Jongdae! WE are not celebrities. YOU are. And you just... you just can't!"

Jongdae did not argue with him. Not now, not when his emotional manager was already more emotional than usual. They fumed in silence for the rest of the ride while Jongdae recounted in his head everything that had happened. He was not proud of himself. A moment of weakness, and look at what he got. An irate manager, and now he officially has a history with Lu Han. Lu Han, his less than favorite person in the whole wide world. 

It was late when they arrived in the underground garage. Zitao parked the van and hit the engine, and Jongdae jolted awake from whatever snooze he'd put himself into. They neither of them moved for a second though, Zitao checking him out in the rear view mirror to see if he'd actually offended his charge in any way. Zitao was always like that, yelling initially, and then groveling back to make sure there was no real harm done.

"Sorry..." he started to say. Jongdae hummed in response, still not moving. He saw Zitao's mouth open and close, and for a moment he was sure his manager would never get out what he wanted to say. But then, "So... you kissed Lu Han..."

"Yeah? What about it," Jongdae growled.

"I... just... well, how was it?"

Jongdae snorted, rolling his eyes. He unclicked his seatbelt and started for the door, Zitao following suit as Jongdae replied. "Wet. Wet and sloppy. His breath tasted like stale beer, and where the hell do people even put their hands when kissing! Or their tongue! It's weird, okay! It was weird as hell and I can't believe we did that! I just... need practice, apparently. Lu Han even said so... 

He resolutely did not meet Zitao's eyes after that. He'd already suffered enough mortification for one night, thank you very much.

A/N

If anyone can give good kissing advice, comment below. Thanks. Please keep it PG though. My friends do read these fics and I'd like to not give them too many ideas... /sighs. ~Soo

3,360 words (and unbetaed because I'm too lazy and also not patient)

WHAT IS THIS!? AN UPDATE!

I sincerely apologize for how late this is. Forgive me, and check out my other fics lol. I have so many of them now... heh. 

The rock star versus singer AU was given at the suggestion of convincingskills. Thanks dear. :)

ღ Rosie

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