"'Sehun, 20: self-proclaimed nice guy.' You have got to be kidding me."

 

Kyungsoo looks up from his phone screen at the other boy sprawled across his couch.

 

"Sehun, you can't tell me that line actually helped you get a date."

 

"It helped me get more than just a date, if you know what I mean." Sehun winks at the other, who rolls his eyes.

 

"Ugh, please. Spare me the details."

 

"Look at it this way hyung, if even I can get a date off Tinder, you definitely can."

 

Kyungsoo sighs. "What happened to meeting people the old fashion way? Your eyes meeting across the crowded room, the initial contact, the small talk?"

 

"Yeah, cause that worked out so well with-"

 

"Do not. Say his name."

 

"Come on, hyung. What could go wrong?"

 

"The guy ends up being a serial killer. Decides to murder me, and you, and everyone else I actually care about?"

 

Sehun gives Kyungsoo his signature face of annoyance. "Good one. I guess if you want to sit in your apartment every Friday night rewatching documentaries on the samurai of the Tojiwawa period again, that's up to you."

 

As much as Kyungsoo loved the comfort of his apartment, he knew he had to start putting himself out there again. These thoughts he had shared with Sehun just a week prior, explaining the smug look of triumph the blond boy is now wearing. He knows he's won.

 

"Fine," Kyungsoo says finally. "Sign me up."

 

"And it's Tokugawa period."

 

--

 

Cat picture.

 

Swipe left.

 

Actually dressed as a cat.

 

Swipe left.

 

Posing with giant fish.

 

Swipe left.

 

Kim Junmyeon.

 

Swipe left.

 

Posing with giant fish again.

 

Swipe left.

 

Despite agreeing to sign up for Tinder, Kyungsoo has found himself swiping right for a grand total of zero guys. On the rare occasion that the picture that came up was not of a total weirdo, he became too self conscious to accept.

 

What if I swipe right and he swipes left? What if he talks to me but I don't know what to say?

 

He shares his worries with Sehun who was at his apartment studying one night. Well, Kyungsoo was studying, Sehun was laughing hysterically at the lines guys were trying to use on him.

 

"'I could tell you like you dance. You must be a dancer to maintain that hot body.' HAHAHA can you believe this guy, hyung? This 'Zitao, 20' must really want to plank on my D. Unmatch, please."

 

"See. This is exactly what I'm worried about. What if I say something to a guy and he's just laughing at me with his friends?"

 

"Please, hyung. It's not like you're gonna be using these lame lines. You're better than that."

 

"If I was better than that, I wouldn't have let you talk me into this. I knew this was a bad idea."

 

"No, this was a great idea. You need to stop overthinking, hyung. Next time you see a cute guy, just swipe right okay? Don't think about what he's going to say, don't think about him murdering your family. Just, swipe right."

 

"Okay, I'll do it."

 

--

 

But he couldn't do it.

 

Not to that cute guy with the curved mouth who also had a passion for singing.

 

Not to that tall guy with the big ears and the child-like smile.

 

He wasn't like Sehun, he couldn't not over analyze. Swiping right was a commitment, and he was not ready to commit to total strangers.

 

Maybe cute dimpled "visitor from Hunan here to make friends" could have been the perfect match for him, but with one swift finger movement to the left, he dismisses the opportunity to ever find out.

 

--

 

Sehun sprawls across Kyungsoo's couch again, while the latter wonders if he ever goes home.

 

"So, you know SnapBack eyeliner boy? Yeah, we were texting back and forth for a bit, then I found out he was like five foot six, and I literally peaced the hell out."

 

Kyungsoo, at five foot five (and a half), glares at him.

 

"What? I just like being the little spoon, okay? Put those claws away, Wolverine."

 

Kyungsoo scoffs and regrets for the umpteenth time talking to that strange boy in first year English.

 

"Have you had any conversations with substance with any of these people?"

 

"Have you actually swiped right to any of these people?"

 

Touché.

 

Sehun sits up. "Here give me your phone."

 

Kyungsoo hands over the device, suspicion blatantly evident on his face. "What are you doing?"

 

"I'm gonna swipe right to every guy and see who you get matched with."

 

"WHAT. NO. Give that back!" Kyungsoo lunges forward at the other boy, who agilely springs from the couch while continuously swiping right to Kyungsoo's potential matches.

 

--

 

The next day, Kyungsoo spends dealing with the aftermath of his idiot best friend's rash actions.

 

"Hey, you're cute! How old are you?"

 

"Wow, you're like really cute. Wanna come over some time?"

 

"Ur qt. DTF?"

 

Kyungsoo gets it, he's cute. He knows those comments were meant as compliments, but receiving comments about how he resembles a child well into his adulthood has made him cringe internally towards the use of the word. And all these Tinder boys just seemed to interested in his appearance and getting him in bed.

 

"May we please bang?"

 

Who even still uses the word bang? But at least he had manners.

 

I give up. Samurai documentary it is.

 

Kyungsoo intended to spend the rest of the evening relearning facts about his favourite samurai. But somehow he found himself picking up his phone and opening his least favourite app.

 

Maybe he decided he really should have a life outside of pre-modern Japan. Or maybe he just couldn't stand the fact that Sehun succeeded at something he didn't.

 

Sehun would say "I told you so", movies would call it fate, but that's how he stumbled upon the profile of 'Kai, 21'.

 

Kai had two pictures.

 

The first of which he has his soft brown hair sweeping across his forehead. He was laughing at the camera, as if the person behind it had just told the most incredible joke. His smile was contagious. Mesmerizing. Genuine.

 

The second told a completely different story. His hair was an artificial bleach blond and strategically messy. He leaned casually against a wall, staring intensely into the camera lens. Scandalous, rebellious, like the bad boy one fantasized about taming.

 

An innocent childhood first love, and the rebel your mother warns you about. A Sunday morning breakfast in bed, and a passionate Friday night hook up. Kai was the perfect mixture of the two, and Kyungsoo couldn't tell which version he was more attracted to.

 

Against his better judgement, he swipes right, hoping the other reciprocates.

 

--

 

"So, listen."

 

"Ugh, no you listen." Sehun was clearly annoyed. Well, more annoyed than usual.

 

"So you remember the Kris guy right?"

 

"25 year old man who looks like 14 year old girl?"

 

"No," Sehun rolls his eyes into his head. "That's Luhan."

 

"Which one is Kris then? I can't keep track."

 

"Canadian guy, not very bright but super, super hot?"

 

"Ohh, the totem pole. Yeah, go on."

 

"So we were texting, right? And I thought things were going pretty well but then he just unmatched. Literally mid-conversation, mid-sentence, he just left."

 

"Maybe he found out you only want him for his body."

 

"This is Tinder, hyung. Like anyone is surprised."

 

"Well, can we put aside your shallowness for once. There's been something I've been meaning to tell you."

 

"What? That you lied about your height on your driver's license? Cause I already knew that, your shoe lifts aren't fooling anyone."

 

Sehun flinches slightly at the death glare the other gives him.

 

"No, you overgrown toddler. I've met someone. Well, I haven't met him yet, but I've been talking to someone on Tinder."

 

"Oh, my god?? Is he hot? Does he go here? What's his name? Is he hot? Show me pictures." Sehun makes a grab at Kyungsoo's phone, who surrenders it without resistance.

 

"His name is Kai, he's 21. He studies dance at some arts academy, but we've been talking the last couple days and he seems pretty cool. He's really funny too. I told him I liked pizza and he made this hilarious pun about how I should be called Dough Kyungsoo."

 

"Dough Kyungsoo?" Sehun asks, with a quizzical stare.

 

"Cause my last name's Do, so dough-"

 

"No, hyung, I got it. But you fell for that?"

 

"What? It's funny! He says we should meet up for dinner. Do you think he's going to be sketch?"

 

"With a sense of humour like that?" Sehun says with a signature eye roll. "You should be more afraid of him being a huge dweeb than him being an axe murderer."

 

With Sehun's reassurance, Kyungsoo agrees to meet Kai for dinner the next night.

 

--

 

What if he doesn't show up?

 

What if he's turns out to be 40?

 

What if he's actually a e hired by Sehun to mess with me??

 

The two had agreed to meet at a pizza parlour Kai suggested. It was a 40 minute drive for Kyungsoo but apparently the pizza sauce was well worth the distance. Due to his punctual habits, Kyungsoo arrives 20 minutes early. He was directed to a table at the back corner, where he spends the remaining time contemplating his decision to show up. He had already spent all last night mapping out the potential consequences of this date, from the other not liking him to killing him. Kyungsoo wonders if it's too late to back out when a figure entering the restaurant catches his eye.

 

A tanned boy, tall and toned, his faint muscles showing slightly through his fitted shirt. The blue button down neatly tucked in, emphasizing his well-kept physique and tall stature. His brown hair swept up, providing a clear view of his symmetrical face. The boy scans the room until he sees Kyungsoo in the back corner. He smiles, eyes twinkling and lighting up his entire face.

 

Wow. The fluttering in Kyungsoo's stomach increases as he watches the boy approach him.

 

"Hi, I'm Kai." The boy smiles nervously. "Well, you can call me Jongin."

 

Kyungsoo thinks maybe he shouldn't have worried so much.

 

--

 

Kyungsoo comes to consciousness groggy and confused about his surroundings. He was lying on the floor in a dimly lit basement; he doesn't remember getting there. He tries to get up but finds his hands tightly restrained behind his back, and his legs similarity bound together. Fear begins to kick in.

 

The sound of a door creaking open increases  his already rapid heartbeat further. Where was he?

 

A tall, dark shadow approaches him, Kyungsoo squints to try and identify him, while simultaneously attempting to piece together what had happened.

 

The last thing that he could clearly remember was having dinner with-

 

"Jongin?!"

 

"Hello, Kyungsoo." Jongin greets, with a maniacal look in his eyes. "Hasn't anyone warned you about meeting strangers off the Internet?"