Life in the Do residence had always been, so far, rather peaceful. For a few months, it had been even quieter than the past years, far away from the children's laughter or loud music it once held. Do Minwoo and Do Seoyeon's sons, despite their young age, had already left the family's house to study in Seoul, to their parents' satisfaction upon seeing them succeed. Once or twice a month, they would come back for a couple of days, and they also often sent letters.

 

This morning, excitement had filled the house : their youngest son's letter, carrying the latest news concerning his career, was arriving for sure. The couple of weeks had been tough on him, as they could have guessed from the regular notes he sent them.

 

Seoyeon unwrapped hastily the tick enveloppe after calling out Minwoo to check it together. Her hands were a bit sweaty and her moves a bit rushed, but eventually she managed to tear it open, revealing a neatly folded bunch of paper sheets and a DVD. She couldn't repress a chuckle as she read the 'National embarrassment' scribbled on the disc in her son's girly handwriting and quickly unfolded the letter to see more of it. By the meantime, her husband appeared behind her, glasses hanging low on his nose :

 

"What's that?", he eagerly enquired, pecking her lightly on top of the head.

 

"It's a letter from our Soo! Want me to read it?"

 

"Go ahead. I'm curious to know what he's up to now."

 

Seoyeon beamed as she gestured him to sit across the room before clearing :

 

 

"Typical from our Kyungsoo.", she added in a content sigh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seoyeon set the letter back on the table with a satisfied grin.

"Well then," she suggested, "shall we look at our son's 'National embarrassment', dear?"

 

"We certainly shall."

 

They exchanged an amused glare as Seoyeon slipped the disc into their DVD player, before setting herself right next to her husband. It was quite an excitement to get to see their son's success on TV, to see him being praised and acknowledged in his field ; and quite a pride, too, when Seoyeon could talk about how her sons did good in life. Even if her youngest son left the house a few years earlier than planned, she wasn't sad about it, although a bit melancholic sometimes. However, as the music started playing and a picture of Kyungsoo appeared on the screen along with a flattering account of his achievements at such a young age, she couldn't feel anything else but proud of her baby.

 

At the same time, in his dusty, dark student's flat, Kim Jongin was about to watch the exact same thing on his laptop, curled in his bed. The other day, he had been announced to be assigned to Do Kyungsoo, the campus' youngest scientist, "a precious scientific mind to Korea" as well as the last year's top student. The guy had a Master's degree in physical chemistry and a Bachelor's degree in quantum physics ; in most students' mind, he was either a freaking genius, or just hella nerd. Jongin hadn't decided yet what was his opinion on him, that was why instead of his usual Netflix evening he had searched the replay of that emission talking about his future "boss". 

 

He jumped directly to the part talking about Kyungsoo.

 

"You should've seen him when he was 7", a woman giggled lightly, seated in an armchair in front of a cream-coloured background, "doing experiments in the kitchen. Every time I would walk on him he would keep shushing me and whisper 'close the door!' hastily. One day I had the misfortune of shooing him out of there because I had to cook dinner, he sulked for hours straight, refusing to eat because 'Mom, you ruined the most important theory I was working on. Now Korea's doomed and sentenced to eternal stupidity' whereas all he was doing was mixing up water, bath salts and sometimes food colorants. He was so cute!"

 

"At age of, hm, 10 maybe, he wanted to be an astronaut or a mad scientist.", a man countered, sitting in the same place, "when talking about his future, he would always say 'go big or go home'. When coming home from school, he would lecture us during dinner about what he had learn that day, with his brother they would talk about school-related stuff for ages. You could say he was a bit in his own world."

 

"He has always been a hardworker. Even though smarter than average, he never laid down on that and always worked further. None can say he doesn't deserve his career."

The woman, probably his mom, looked straight to the camera with a fond smile.

"It was tough, I can't deny it. I think it was even more for him. Having for classmates people way older than you, when you are very young... It's not easy.

I remember that one time he nearly gave up ; he spent three days curled up in the couch, watching soaps with his plushie. Muttering about how life was unfair and all, just because he had a C in physics ; what a drama queen he had been!.. But now he's all grown up, working in a real lab instead of our kitchen... I'm so proud of him."

 

The image of his mother faded out to be replaced by a cosy living-room where an interviewer was seated.

Do Kyungsoo appeared on the screen after a split seconds of silence.

"Hello.", he bowed to the camera.

 

"Hello, come and take a seat!", the interviewer replied.

 

Kyungsoo was a shortie boy, slim and thin, with huge owl-eyes and heart-shaped lips ; and skin ten times brighter than Jongin's. His raven hair were neatly done, falling in cute bangs over his huge eyes. His expression was unreadable ; a mix between an adorable baby penguin and Satan ready to one's soul out of his body. Jongin surprised himself by smiling fondly as he studied his features.

 

"How are you feeling, Kyungsoo-sshi?"

 

"Slightly nervous. However, I am nonetheless really happy to be here."

His face wasn't expressing any kind of happiness but obviously the staff decided it'll do anyway.

 

"It's a bit different from conferences, isn't it?"

 

"Oh yes, a lot. But I must admit, that even though there are significantly more people, I am more comfortable doing lectures."

 

The interviewer laughed, even though not seeming to find it even a bit funny.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?"

 

"Oh, my, no, of course not! It is the camera."

 

"I see. Don't mind it, all of this will go well."

 

Kyungsoo nodded, face still lacking emotions.

 

"So, Kyungsoo-sshi... You are one of the youngest mind of our country ; how do you feel about it?"

 

"I will not deny the fact that I am quite proud ; I have worked hard since middle school to achieve my goals. But I do not feel that it is any different for me than for others. People of my age experience everyday plenty of things I did not, as well as I enjoy activities they might never do or even would enjoy. Passion for my work is truly my one and only motivation in this path. I am genuinely happy about all of this."

 

He said it with such a serious face, not even blinking, a little silence lasted at the end of his sentence. Jongin scoffed. So cute.

 

"I see, that's great! Can you tell us a bit more about your school career?"

 

"Yes of course. I graduated from high school when I was 14. In college I was given the opportunity of majoring in both physics and chemistry, I chose to pursue a bachelor's degree in quantum physics while studying chemistry as well ; a few months ago I graduated a master's degree in physical chemistry. I am currently working on a few thesis in the research field."

 

"So much for someone so young! If I'm not mistaking, you are only 22 years old, right?... What are your plans for the future?"

 

"That is right. It is not definite yet, but I may study some more quantum physics and I recently read some articles very interesting in organic chemistry ; I plan on learn as much as I can."

 

"How admirable of yours! There should be more students like you."

 

Kyungsoo kept a straight face, but bowed slightly, blush crepting on his cheeks.

 

"Then, up to today's main topic: your latest thesis! It has been praised by many and you had your first publication in a scientific newspaper ; can you introduce it to us please?"

 

"Yes. It's abou-"

 

"Yah! Jongin-ah!"

Sehun's voice echoed through his closed bedroom's door. Jongin immediatly shut down his laptop, clasping it loudly.

 

"What?"

 

"Your turn to cook dinner.", Sehun stated, head peaking through the cracked door.

 

Jongin grunted.

"Right, I forgot. Gimme a second, I'll catch up with you downstairs."

 

"Hurry, I'm hungry!"

 

"Yeah, yeah."

 

As soon as Sehun closed the door, he let out a sigh. Cooking days had always been such a pain in the for him and his clumsiness, not to mention his lack of skills in the field, but it seemed that Sehun could get along fine with it as long as he got to eat ; however the worst was the shared kitchen situated on the first floor of their student residence's basement, where everyone could witness his total absence of resourcefulness when it came to cooking. He made his way to the kitchen down the basement mubbling, not even bothering to change -he kept his sweatpants and tank top, and before going, grabbed the shiny headband Sehun had offered him as a joke last Christmas to keep his hair lifted.

When he got downstairs, Sehun was waiting, ingredients displayed on the table in front of him, reading some papers that looked like scribbled notes with lots of formulas and schemes.

 

"What do you want to eat, you ?", Jongin asked, dropping himself next to him to examine the food.

 

"Kimchi stew", Sehun said dreamily although not sparing him a glance, too busy reading and writing his 'physics bull' as Jongin always said.

 

Jongin scoffed. Great. Just great.

"Don't go to Junmyeon hyung crying if I mess it up."

 

"Nah, I'll just ask Tao to share his food."

 

"... Then why isn't he the one up to cooking today?"

 

"Because I love to see you struggle."

 

Sometimes Jongin just wanted to smash his bestfriend's skull on the nearest wall.

 

"Did you know who you got assigned to?", Sehun asked after a little while, as Jongin was chopping vegetables not far away.

 

"Yeah ; Do Kyungsoo."

 

"You kidding."

 

"Am not. Junmyeon hyung told me yesterday."

 

Sehun lifted his head from his notes, bewildered. He raised an eyebrow.

"The Do Kyungsoo? He accepted to take you as an assistant?"

 

"Seems like it."

Jongin shrugged, pouring hot water on the browned onions in a hiss.

 

"Minseok sunbaenim told me he turned down every student who asked him ; says he doesn't need anyone."

 

"Junmyeon hyung must have pleaded my cause. I'm the top student after all."

 

"You're just his favourite dongsaeng, that is all.", scoffed Sehun,"That said, you are still Do Kyungsoo's chosen one. Should be honored."

 

"Whatever. How's your assignement going?"

 

"Quite good, I must say. Minseok sunbaenim even let me write the rapport on today's experiments. And he said that we will soon go to the KAERI for 2 months to pursue the other experiments."

 

"Is that so?", Jongin beamed as he plunged the vegetables into the boiling stock, nearly burning himself with splash of hot water, "Finally I can get rid of you for more than 2 days? Where are the champagne and cake?"

 

Sehun hissed.

"I am the one who gets rid of you, you monkey ; besides, I will still be here for another month before going to KAERI, so you just keep your champagne and cake for my great return. I know your life will lost all taste and interest the moment I'll be gone."

 

"Someone's too full of himself down here.", Jongin laughed ironically.

He put a lid upon the pan and sat down to play a bit on his smartphone, whistling lightly. The game he played involved a little penguin, that strangely looked like Do Kyungsoo, with huge round eyes and a small beak, as well as raven feathers and tiny little feet ; he smiled at the thought of the short squishy boy he had seen earlier on his screen before being cut in his contemplations by the same voice he has heard through his speakers.

 

"Excuse me? Your stew is overflowing."

 

He turned around, processing the thought as he faced the boy that had his hand placed on his shoulder ; Do Kyungsoo was beside him, in a casual blue V-neck, an impossibly cute ladybug hair slide pinned on his bangs, talking to him. Then he remarked in the background his soup overflowing and steaming like crazy.

 

"Oh !" he shrieked, mortified.

 

"Wait, I will fix this", Kyungsoo offered with a blank expression, lowering the fire under Jongin's pan, "next time lower the fire before covering your stew. You are also supposed to add the kimchi now."

He put the kimchi in the soup before reporting his calm gaze upon Jongin.

"You might also season it a bit."

 

"I-er.. Um, thank you?.."

 

"You are welcome. Sorry for intruding but I figured you might as well not spoil your dinner."

 

Jongin laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah... I'm not the best cook."

 

"I figured."

 

One certain thing, the guy was straightforward.

 

"But it is alright. You will just have to add the noodles in a few minutes, and in less than ten minutes you will be able to eat.", he instructed in a very serious tone.

 

Jongin simply nodded, eyes not leaving Kyungsoo's mouth as he talked to him. 

 

"I leave it to you", Kyungsoo bowed slightly, "Good luck and bon appétit."

He then left Jongin's side, Ipad under the arm, and as he climbed the stairs, Jongin noticed penguin slippers disappearing behind the wall. 

 

Dinner had never been so well done this evening.

 

 

*

 

 

Kyungsoo arranged neatly all his folders and glassware in the lab, fixed his hair and smoothed out his crinkled smock. He wanted to make a good impression on his very first day with his new assistant. He hadn't much to prove to the younger, he guessed, but he wanted to look good anyway. He checked a last time his watch -7:59AM- nervosity slowly growing. What if the student was a jerk? He could even mess up all his work, ruin his experiments and reputation, putting the shame on him!... 

"Don't worry", Junmyeon had assured him, "the kid's a good lad. Top student in his year ; remind you of anyone?"

"Me...?", he had replied puzzled, not getting where Junmyeon wanted to go with that ; but the older had refused to tell anything else about the student.

 

If he really was like Kyungsoo, he would surely be as serious and meticulous as him, and then the few months they would have to spend together would go smoothly ; he might even like the kid and decide to keep him as a part-time assistant. If not, well, he would certainly make him do little jobs while he would work on more important things.

 

At 8AM straight, he heard footsteps in the corridor ; munching his bottom lip nervously he fixed a last time his bangs and sat down casually on his table. He had thought this through during the entire night: how to greet a 20 years old student in his lab on his first day? He wasn't quite the talkative type, nor was he accustomed to prolonged human contact besides his family ; aside from Junmyeon and the people he met lately, he had only one friend from kindergarten, and the latter although being cheerful and funny -a bit sassy even- wasn't a very representative part of the average young population.

 

He had decided to do things according "his style" -he had watched Wu Yi Fan's latest movie to inspire himself- and not show off ; he had tidied his lab but kept it the same way as everyday: aside from the glassware, chemical products and folders, it was a mess. There were sheets of paper everywhere, with scribbled notes hastily written on it, some pinned on the walls, the most of it displayed on his desk ; his blackboards were covered with formulas and schemes ; even on his windows there were theories enumerated with a marker. Having his own lab in the basement was great, he often recalled, even if he had to go often in the others to do experiments. He looked down at his rough copies leaning on the floor. Maybe he should have done the tidying better.

 

"Good morning!"

 

Kyungsoo shot up his head as soon as he heard the voice to face the student. He didn't expect him to be like this though. When Junmyeon had said that he reminded him of himself, Kyungsoo thought that he would be just like him ; short, pale, with a 'nerdy look', maybe with glasses like Chanyeol. However the young man standing in front of him was all but nerdy ; he was in fact too tall, too tanned and too handsome to be top student without having everybody being desperate with how unfair life would have been. 

 

'It must be a mistake', he thought, but the slighty opened smock and the notebook said otherwise. 

 

"Good morning", he replied calmly, hiding his surprise, "and welcome in the lab ; my name is Do Kyungsoo and you will be working with me for the next few months. Very pleased to meet you."

 

He extended his hand to shake the student's. 

 

"Pleasure is mine", the latter beamed, "Name's Jongin. Kim Jongin."

 

His palm was warm compared to Kyungsoo's ; almost as warm as his smile.

 

"Do you want to get coffee before working?", Kyungsoo offered after a short silence during which Jongin let his eyes wander around the room.

 

"Uh? I mean, er, sure!", Jongin smiled once again, wider, "But I don't want to bother you, if you would like to get to work immediatly that is fine with me!"

 

"No. I insist. As your coworker it is important to create a bond between us in order to work in a good atmosphere, without tension."

Kyungsoo stated with a heavy gaze.

 

Jongin stared at him dumbfounded.

 

"I read it in a book.", he added, as if it shored up perfectly his explanation, before heading first out of the door to show the student the way to their cafeteria. 

 

He didn't see Jongin's fond smile nor heard his genuine laugh hidden in a cough.

 

The walk to the coffee machine was rather quiet. Kyungsoo hadn't much to say but gave a little tour to Jongin who had never been in the laboratory basement before. They crossed the path of a few other fellows scientists, small-talked a little. Everyone seemed charmed by Jongin's presence, and even did a few jokes about them, teasing Kyungsoo. Of course the latter, impervious to humor, glared at them puzzled without saying anything. Soon Jongin realised that in the basement, Kyungsoo wasn't the college's little genius anymore, but the lab's baby scientist. Everyone treated him like a cute baby bird who just learned to fly. He smiled to himself ; what was he nervous for? Kyungsoo was just another human being in his twenties, just like him.

 

"So Jongin," Kyungsoo asked him as they sat with their coffee, "tell me more about you."

 

"Is that a date?", Jongin tried to joke with a light laugh.

 

The other knitted his eyebrows.

"No, we are simply small-talking to get to know each other. That's what people do, don't they?"

 

Jongin's smile faltered a bit and he took a gulp of his cappucino to hide his embarassment.

"Uh, yes. That was just a lame joke, sorry."

 

"Oh...", Kyungsoo's face lit up with comprehension, "I should have guessed... My mistake.", he paused, "But, I am very sorry Jongin, a date here will not be something worth winning my heart."

The corner of his lips turned slightly upwards, and Jongin took it for a smile.

 

"I'll choose better next time."

He winked, making Kyungsoo blush ever-so-slightly.

 

"... You do know it is actually forbidden to date your boss, right?" Kyungsoo asked seriously after a little silence, ensuring that what the latter had said was just a joke.

 

"That's what turns me on.", Jongin replied with a wiggle of his eyebrows ; but as soon as he saw the crumpling of the other's face, he panicked. "Wait wait, uh, I'm still joking! I'm sorry I'll stop now!"

He casted him an apologetic smile.

 

Kyungsoo sighed in relief.

"My, you scared me for a second."

 

"Again, sorry."

 

"So... Do you mind telling me a bit more about you?"

 

"Oh, sure. I'm 21, and I am studying chemistry here. I'm in third year. The best students in my year got assigned to various scientists to prepare a memoire, and so, here I am! We still have classes but since we've already passed it regarding our grades during the year, I'm able to be here everyday from 8AM to 4PM. Then I'll have to go to evening classes.

As for personnal informations... I'm a dancer. Well, I was, but I chose science upon dance after high school. I still practice when I got the time, in a little studio in the sports basement. My other hobbies are... Cinema... Basketball sometimes... My special skills are... Not cooking, that's for sure, but I have a very good memory. And yeah, that's all I guess. What about you ?"

 

Kyungsoo took a sip of his coffee, registering informations he would probably forget anyway, before clearing his throat:

"I am 22, and as you probably know by now I work here in the chemistry ans physics department. You may also have already heard that you are the very first student I aknowledge as an assistant, hence my odd behaviour that I hope didn't bother you. I hope this first time will go smoothly for both of us.

One of the things I love the most is my work ; I can stay for hours straight in my lab if I find something interesting. Besides work, I also happen to enjoy cooking when I get back in the residence ; and I love singing. I even considered dropping school to become a trainee when I graduated. I let you guess which one won between songs and science."

 

Jongin chuckled lightly.

"I figured."

 

There was a little pause, in which Kyungsoo smiled a bit, before continuing.

"It's good that you have a good memory, because I haven't. I already have a hard time recognising people's face when I see them for a short time, it's even worse with experiments. And thoughts, also. I have to write all down, all the time. Hence the mess in my office."

 

"Good to know I'll be helpful."

 

They set into a rather comfortable silence for minutes, sipping on their coffee.

 

"Wait, does that mean...", Jongin trailed off, letting his sentence incomplete. That you don't remember me?

 

Kyungsoo tilted his head to the side, not getting what Jongin just said.

"I'm sorry, what?"

 

"Hm, so you... You wouldn't recognise someone you saw just for a couple minutes, is that it?"

 

"Probably not, unless they would have something that would make their aknowledgement easier I guess."

 

Jongin let out a tiny sigh of relief. At least the first impression his boss had of him wasn't related to his distracted self and ruined dinner. Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow, clearly puzzled by the question, but didn't said anything else about this topic ; instead he emptied his cup in one-go, and checked his wristwatch. 

 

"Time to get started. Finish your coffee and let's get in the lab quickly.", Kyungsoo said rather abruptly, getting on business mode -as Junmyeon called it.

 

Jongin hastily emptied his cup too, wincing at the sudden hot gulp he had to swallow.

"Ready to go.", he coughed.

 

"Ok, I will explain the modalities of today's experiments and show you around a little bit while we walk back ; is that alright?", the older enquired as he get up to throw both of their cups away.

 

"Fine with me.", Jongin smiled.

 

He followed again Kyungsoo through the corridors. Like before, the latter did most of the talking, explaining what he was working on at the moment, and what would Jongin do as an assistant. As expected, he would be in charge of taking note of the results of Kyungsoo's experiments, and would also help him a little ; he would have to keep the files organized -which wasn't going to be an easy task, had assured him Junmyeon when talking about his assignement- and if he did well, Kyungsoo would certainly let him do other things as well. 

 

Kyunsoo stepped in the lab first, and gestured Jongin all the stuff lying on the desk and boards:

"First, we must get rid of all of that ; except for these files over there.", he moved a hand towards a pile of files neatly arranged to the side, "That are the summary of all my works. The rest are only draft. You can throw them away."

 

Jongin nodded, picking up a handful of papersheets.

 

"Can I keep them?", he asked out of the blue after glancing at it for about thirty seconds. "It's brilliant."

 

"If you are interested, I guess you could take a look at it. Only here though. I cannot afford to have you spreading my work unfinished."

 

"Oh, uh, yes sure. That makes sense. But when could I consult it?.. I mean, it's not like I could do it on my shift of work."

 

"Come over in the lab after your classes.", Kyungsoo offered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

 

"After my evening classes?"

 

The older nodded.

"I am here until ten nearly everyday."

 

"Oh then, yes, I will."

 

"Alright then we are done with that. Put all of it in that box so that you will be able to read it later."

He motioned to a carton box lying in the corner of the room.

"Then we can get started. Today's experiment involves a bit of manipulation ; organic chemistry. You can do it with me if you would like, so that I can see what you are up to regarding your abilities in the lab."

 

Jongin beamed.

"Sure! Give me one second."

 

Quickly he gathered all the papersheets displayed in the room and shoved it in the box, then proceeded to clean the blackboards -although not without examining the formulas scribbled on- while Kyungsoo was writing down something in a new file.

 

"Done!", Jongin declared brightly once he finished.

 

"Great. Get ready to manipulate. Gloves and glasses are right there, I will be back in a few."

Kyungsoo disappeared in a room in the back while Jongin closed his smock and slipped on glasses and gloves. He also lifted his hair with his shiny headband, failing at finding anything else this morning.

Kyungsoo came back not long after, bangs kept to the side by the same ladybug hair slide as the day before, unless there were two of them this time.

 

"Ready?", he asked, picking up a pair of gloves and glasses.

 

"Yes.", Jongin nodded.

 

"Then we- Wait a minute.", Kyungsoo trailed off, staring at Jongin's face with furrowed eyebrows and plissed eyes. He stepped closer to take a better look at him, "That headband... Were you by any chance cooking in the shared kitchen yesterday?..."

 

Jongin just stared back with wide eyes, pondering whether he should tell the truth or not. Kyungsoo seemed to take that as a yes.

 

"It was you! My, cooking is not your special skill indeed."

A very small smile flourished on his mouth as he said it, and Jongin found himself shifting slightly his gaze from his eyes to his heart-shaped plumped lips, breath getting caught in his throat. They weren't that close to each other, but Jongin felt extremely flustered anyway as Kyungsoo's eyes scanned his features. "Definitely you.", he whispered, obviously happy with himself because he actually recognised someone he had met for a short amount of time.

 

"Uh, yes.", Jongin managed to breathe, and it made Kyungsoo step back.

 

"What a coincidence.", he stated, slipping on his glasses, "I hope your stew was good enough?"

 

It took Jongin a few seconds to regain his composure.

"Better than when I do the cooking, that's for sure.", he deadpanned with a sigh. "Thank you again for the help. My roommate appreciated to have something good to eat for once."

 

"Glad I could help. Let's get started now."

Kyungsoo grabbed a chalk from his desk. #1, he wrote on the top left corner of the blackboard, standing on his tiptoes to reach it.

"I usually write down my first observations on the board", he explained, "Then I take a wider sight of the thing." He gestured to the seat in the back of the room, inviting Jongin to sit on it. "From here, all things are clearer."

 

Jongin sat. From his seat, he could see the entire room, and above all the three blackboards in full. Kyungsoo stood in the middle, looking at him with that calm expression that made Jongin feel all dizzy and awkward ; he was so short and slim, in his long smock, yet somehow so attractive, Jongin kept looking at him for several seconds before standing up.

"They are.", he nodded.

 

Kyungsoo spared him a tiny smile.

 

"So what am... What am I supposed to do to help?"

 

"Bring me all the glassware I will need to do an hemisynthesis, please.", Kyungsoo ordered, "I am going to get the reactives."

He got out of the room.

 

Jongin eyed his surroundings. He noticed a closet near the desk ; he opened it to see the glassware neatly arranged on shelves, so clean it nearly shone. Someone's a bit of a maniac, he smirked.

Kyungsoo came back as he was pulling two beakers out, with a tray carrying all the reactives, and if he weren't his boss, Jongin would certainly had about how he looked like a butler right now. Instead he just turned back to the closet, grabbing two more beakers, smiling to himself. Little did he know that Kyungsoo had come closer by the meantime, and was looking for the scales on the highest shelf.

 

"Excuse me-", he breathed near Jongin's neck, placing a hand on his shoulder.

 

Jongin nearly jumped out of surprise, but stayed perfectly still, a beaker in hand. This close, he could feel the other's breath tickling his sensitive skin, and smell the faint trace of soap he gave off, and all kind of thoughts went through his dazed mind as Kyungsoo stretched out to grab the scales, chest brushing against his back. The sound of broken glass brought him back to reality.

 

"! Uh- I mean, crap! I mean- I'm so sorry!..."

 

Jongin was mortified. However, behind him, Kyungsoo was just frozen, arm hanging in mid-air to reach the last shelf, eyes as wide as two saucers. They stared at each other for a minute before Jongin plopped down to collect the glass remains on the floor, apologizing endlessly. He was as red as one could be. Kyungsoo blinked several times, regaining composure, then kneeled down to help Jongin gathering the broken pieces.

 

"I'm sorry...", Jongin whispered, not daring to make direct eye-contact with him.

 

"That is... Well, not okay but. We will fix this. However ; you will have to clean all of that and will be assigned to writing duty this week."

Kyungsoo stated with a soothing voice, seeing the blush covering his assistant's face and his obvious discomfort.

 

"Fair enough."

 

The rest of the day consisted in Jongin in cleaning the floor, staying as far away as he could from the glassware, and writing down relevant observations on the blackboard. It wasn't exactly the most thrilling thing to do, but at least it wasn't the most boring. He kept glancing at Kyungsoo the entire time, observing him with fascination: the way his eyes squinted when he thought about something important, his slight frowns or the light tap of his fingers on the table, his weird manners when it came to drink a coffee out of a mug, the pursing of his lips whenever something wouldn't go the way he wanted to. He got out of the basement feeling slightly dizzy, and focused on only half of his evening classes ; nothing could take out of his mind the scrunches of the chalks under his fingers, the formulas inked on the papersheets crumbled in the carton box, the smell of soap and coffee.

 

The entire week was spent like this, observing Kyungsoo and taking notes. To tell the truth, Jongin was more useful doing this than actually manipulating ; not that he was bad, but his natural clumsiness coupled to the trouble he felt whenever Kyungsoo would be standing up close to him kept him from doing anything that would involve glassware or even reactives. For a while they didn't spoke much. Kyungsoo happened to be an awkward penguin when it came to relationships, and Jongin was far too busy preventing himself from crushing on the older he barely talked to him, even on their now ritual morning coffee. He didn't dare either come in the evening to take a look at his notes, leaving Kyungsoo puzzled.

 

"Do you think I am doing something wrong?", he asked Junmyeon on Friday evening, as they were getting dinner together.

 

"What would make you think that? I'm sure the kid likes you. He's really nice and easy-going."

 

"I do not know. I sense something about me is bothering him. Maybe he is upset because I would not let him do the experiments this week? He did not even come to check my drafts even though he seemed so excited about it."

 

Junmyeon hummed, processing the information. Surely, Jongin wouldn't be as silly and childlish as to sulk because he wasn't doing what he wanted to ; however if even Kyungsoo sensed it, it must have been that something was really getting at him.

"I don't have any clue, to be honest. Let me talk to him, it will be fine."

 

"Thank you hyung.", Kyungsoo smiled.

 

Junmyeon spotted later that evening Jongin in the shared kitchen, trying to cook something without much success.

"Jongin-ah, what are you doing, it's already midnight.", he laughed.

 

The younger startled, but relaxed immediatly after seeing him.

"Oh, hey hyung. I-uh, I'm trying to learn how to cook better."

 

Junmyeon raised an eyebrow, amused, circling the table to get closer to Jongin and see what his meal looked like.

 

"That's not very promising, I know...", Jongin mumbled, blushing.

 

"It's fine. Looks good.", Junmyeon stated.

Jongin shot him a knowing glare.

"Okay, fine, it looks terrible. But hey, why don't you ask Kyungsoo to teach you? He's a very good cook!"

 

"I can't...", the younger whispered, looking at the ground.

 

"Why is that?"

 

"I can't tell you, hyung."

 

Junmyeon got taken aback with that sentence.

"B-but why?", he stuttered, getting flustered.

 

"It's too embarassing!"

 

Jongin was by now entirely red and staring so intensely at the ground he could bore holes into. Junmyeon narrowed his eyes. He had already seen his dongsaeng act like that, back in high school.

 

"Jongin-ah... Do you by any chance...", he trailed off, smirk forming slowly in the corner of his mouth.

 

The tip of Jongin's ears reddened immediatly.

 

"I knew it! You fancy him!"

 

"Shhhhh! You're talking too loudly hyung!", Jongin hissed, finally looking him in the eye.

 

But Junmyeon couldn't stop snickering.

"Good luck with him!", he laughed, patting the younger's shoulder as he started to go, heading to his flat upstairs.

 

Jongin made him a face, face still intensely flushed.

 

 

*

 

 

The next month flew by in a bliss.

 

After the beaker incident, Jongin was getting more and more aware of his surroundings, especially concerning Kyungsoo sneaking around like he would always do. If it were for any other person, Jongin would thought it was a way of flirting, but he knew the older was far too oblivious and clueless to do such things, thus he found himself pushing all tose thoughts aside in a corner of his head. Thorough the weeks, the two of them grew closer and closer, enjoying more the other's company ; in addition of their morning coffee, they also shared meals from time to time, and sometimes spent some more time working on weekends. Jongin didn't have to do it, he knew that very well, but he always longed for Kyungsoo's presence that had become an habit by now. However, despite all the time they spent together, the younger hadn't came yet in the evening to check the drafts he had noticed on his first day. He was thrilled by the idea of being alone at night with Kyungsoo in the lab, with no one else in the building. Whenever he would stand behind that closed door, hand in mid-air to knock, he would chicken and run away.

 

On a Friday, he gathered his strenght and decided to man up, going to the lab after his evening classes, only to find the door locked. He found Kyungsoo cooking peacefully in the shared kitchen instead of working.

 

"Hyung!", he called from accross the room as he was pacing towards him.

 

Kyungsoo lifted his head. He smiled as soon as he recognised Jongin.

"Good evening Jongin.", he greeted him when the latter got close enough.

 

Jongin pouted.

"You aren't at the lab!"

 

"Well observed."

 

"I wanted to come by to see your drafts... Hey, that smells good!"

 

"You did? I am sorry. I finished earlier today, so I allowed myself to relax and cook for a bit." He gestured towards the vegetables and meat peacefully roasting in the pan. "Here. I made a bit too much for myself alone to eat. Want to share? Take that as a consolation lot."

 

"Oh I don't know, I might cook for myself some other delicious meal instead..."

 

"Well you-", Kyungsoo started, furrowing his eyebrows, "... That is a joke again, right?"

 

Jongin beamed.

"You're getting better at noticing them, hyung. Kudos."

 

"I am sorry, what?"

 

"Kudos."

He gave the older two thumbs up. Kyungsoo stared at him, puzzled.

 

"What is a- You know what, nevermind. Can you bring me two bowls please?"

 

"Hyung! You're too much!", Jongin laughed, grabbing a bowl, "You really don't know 'kudos'?"

 

Kyungsoo shot him a defiant glare.

"What if I don't?"

 

"Nothing."

Jongin shrugged, still smiling widely. During the month he had learn to control himself and putting aside any thought fancy-related when it came to Kyungsoo and it had so far helped him to get closer to the older. Of course, there was still some awkwardness between them because all in all, it was in Kyungsoo's nature to be awkward, but he had learn to deal with that as well during the last fews weeks.

 

Their fingers brushed as Kyungsoo took the bowl from Jongin's hands, sending a shiver down his spine as a friendly reminder of his crush, but he eventually put it in the back of his mind, along with all the tiny skinship Kyungsoo tended to do often.

 

"I'm starving hyung, give me more!", he whined playfully as the older was serving him.

 

"Am I your mom or what?"

 

Jongin laughed, "You wouldn't want to be."

 

"Indeed. Here, take that and behave."

Kyungsoo gave him his bowl and he went to sit down not far away.

 

Cook!Kyungsoo was not so far from Scientist!Kyungsoo, now that Jongin thought about it, seeing him serving his own meal. He had the same serious expression, eyebrows slightly furrowed and mouth parted, the same ladybug hair slide, and the same sparkly eyes of a excited kid. Jongin sighed. "You do know it is actually forbidden to date your boss, right?" ; Kyungsoo's words looped in his head to prevent him from thinking about how much he started to fancy the older.

 

"Enjoy your meal.", his soft voice broke Jongin's train of thoughts.

 

"Oh, uh, thank you. You too. It looks delicious!"

 

Kyungsoo smiled mischeviously. "Tastes delicious too."

 

They fell into silence as they began eating.

 

"Hey hyung.", Jongin said after finishing his bowl, "Would it be weird for me to ask you for cooking lessons?..."

 

Kyungsoo glanced at him with round eyes, face blank. For a little while, he didn't say anything, probably thinking about it. Jongin started getting nervous.

 

"I guess... We could try it out."

 

"Really?"

 

"Yes, why not? Actually... I wanted to try something."

 

"What?", Jongin enquired, smiling widely.

 

Kyungsoo tapped lightly the tip of his fingers on his bottom lip, like he would always do when wondering about something. Jongin had always a hard time focusing on his eyes rather than his soft plumped lips.

"Well... How do I say that... I wanted to try teaching... Maybe later."

 

"You're kidding."

 

"I am very serious."

 

There was a little silence before Jongin broke into a laugh.

"Does that mean that one day students are going to call you 'Pr. Do'? Oh god, it does actually sound good!"

 

"Watch your words Mr. Kim, I am still technically your boss.", Kyungsoo reminded him, hiding a smirk.

 

Jongin's laugh immediatly faltered.

"Right, excuse me." He paused. "Pr. Do."

 

The rest of the evening found the both of them talking about plenty things, with Jongin joking around and Kyungsoo occasionnally catching up his humor and responding in a half-sassy half-unsure tone that never failed to make the younger laugh ; after a little while, Junmyeon came to them smiling brightly, with that nudge that sent chills of cold sweat in Jongin's back.

"Hello!"

 

Jongin widened his eyes to warn his hyung from saying anything that could be misintepreted, but the latter replied to his signs with a smirk.

 

"Oh, good evening huyng. How are you doing?"

 

"Fine, thank you. So I see you're getting along just fine!"

 

Jongin pursed his lips, shooting Junmyeon a dark glare.

"Yes, quite. Were you doubting me?", Kyungsoo asked innocently.

 

"Not at all. I knew you two would get along just fine." He smirked, eyes trailing off Jongin who was now making him a face. "I'm delighted to see my two favourite dongsaengs together."

 

Kyungsoo knitted his eyebrows, sensing something was off between Jongin and Junmyeon. However, whe he turned his head to watch the younger, he was smiling as genuinely as before, eyes fixed on his hyung. He shook his head, pushing those thoughts aside.

"Since when am I your favourite dongsaeng? Did you even have some sort of ranking?", he asked Junmyeon instead.

 

The latter laughed. "Nah, I'm just flattering you. So, it was nice to see you but I have to go. Yixing asked me to help him with his furnitures ; he just got his room assigned."

 

"Furnitures, huh?", Jongin smirked, not sparing the chance to get back at him.

 

But Junmyeon just played it off and winked playfully. "I'll let you assume whatever you want! See you!"

 

As soon as he was out of sight, Kyungsoo turned to Jongin with wide eyes.

"Is there something I should know about Junmyeon hyung and Yixing?"

 

The latter shrugged it off with a chuckle. "I don't know. I don't even know who is Yixing to be honest. I just wanted to ."

 

Kyungsoo nodded slowly. "I should start doing that."

 

 

Eventually they had to go back to their respective flats upstairs. Jongin's being closer, they bidded their goodbyes right in front of Jongin and Sehun's shared flat's door, talking for a little while before actually leaving each other.

 

"I guess I will see you on monday?", Kyungsoo stated with his usual blank face.

 

"Yeah. And I'll try to come by after my classes."

 

"You better.", the older broke eventually into a smile, "These drafts are starting to get dust."

 

Jongin laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that, Professor."

 

"It is alright, Mr. Kim, as long as you make up for that with your hard work."

 

They exchanged a collusive gaze.

"Goodnight hyung."

 

"Goodnight Jongin."

 

Kyungsoo waved him off and continued his way down the corridor ; Jongin closed the door behind him and let himself fall flat against it, sighing heavily.

 

"Way to go, Casanova.", he heard Sehun's snicker above him.

 

"I should've know you'd be eavesdropping..."

 

"Actually I wasn't. I was going to get you downstairs so that I could get your Netflix password ; turned out you were out of the door with your new target."

 

Jongin cringed. "He's not my target."

 

"Come on, I saw you acting around him. It's so obvious you have the hots for him, I'm even surprised he didn't noticed it yet."

 

"So what if I might have kind of a crush on him?" He knew there were no use in arguing with Sehun, especially when he was right. "It's not like we were going to date or anything. It's not like I would make a move or something."

 

Sehun seemed disappointed with his answer. "What so you're telling me you're just gonna stand there and do nothing?"

 

"I can't do anything.", Jongin groaned.

 

"What's that? Stop being so chicken." Sehun crossed his arms, glaring at him with obvious disapproval. Jongin banged his head on the door, upset.

 

"Leave me alone, will you?"

 

"Fine. Tell me when you're done with being a coward so that I can help you with that crush of yours."

 

Jongin sulked until Sehun was gone to KAERI, but eventually admitted he should do something about his crush, be it make a move or getting over it. Since it had been only a month, the easiest option would have been to get over it, however the more Jongin thought about it, the more he was unsure about his capacity to get over Kyungsoo and his charming face, cute manners and overwhelming squishiness ; so much that on monday evening, when he knocked on Kyungsoo's lab door at nine, his heart was pounding so hard in his chest he thought it could get out of his ribcage at any moment.

 

"Come in.", he heard like in a daze. He entered, feeling all dizzy. The first thing he saw was a mess. Papers were spilled everywhere, blackboards covered with formulas and other notes, large sheets were pinned on the wall, with Kyungsoo's girly handwriting all over it ; in the back of the lab stood the latter, staring intensely at the blackboards, squeezing tightly a foam ball in his small hand. When he saw him, Kyungsoo stopped gazing at the back of the room and flashed him a smile instead. "Jongin. You came."

 

Jongin let out a breathy "Yeah", getting closer.

 

"Come here, I must show you something.", Kyungsoo gestured him to sit in his place. Puzzled, Jongin took place on the seat, facing the main blackboard, covered with writings. "There. See?", He asked excited, but all that Jongin could think of was how his hands were now on his shoulders, him lightly with his thumb. He nodded anyway. "I am so close. We are so close. It is only a matter of time before we could finish this."

 

"Finish... The theory?", Jongin asked in a croaked voice.

 

"Exactly. Just some more weeks...", the older trailed off, letting his fingers brush past the other's back. "Isn't it exciting?"

 

Jongin gulped loudly. "Yeah."

 

Kyungsoo smiled at him with sparkly eyes, looking so endearing, he couldn't help but lean longer in his touch, be it as small as the tip his fingers lingering on his back.

"So... You are here for the drafts. You can sit at my desk if you want."

 

"Yes, I- I'll go over there."

He got up clumsily, making Kyungsoo scoff ever-so-slightly, and made his way to the desk. He grabbed the drafts on his way, starting to read them. However, the more he read, the less he understood, mind too focused on Kyungsoo still standing in the room to process anything science-related. He couldn't bring himself to think of anything else aside the older's face, enlightened with that excited glare, the way he had him, even if it was certainly unconscious. He wanted to turn around and see more of him brainstorming at a crazy speed, eyes sparkling like a kid and lips stretched into a tender smile, he wanted to study every feature, every flaw, every thing he could see on his face and body, to a point where he wouldn't even need a reason to like him.

 

That night, he left the lab feeling all dizzy and overwhelmed.

 

 

*

 

 

Jongin kept coming in the evening, more and more frequently, to spend more time with Kyungsoo. He was fascinated by this side of the older where he would be so into his work he would become completely unaware of everything around him to focus on his objective. Kyungsoo had noticed by now the amount of time Jongin spent glancing at him ; it was so obvious even he couldn't ignore it any longer. Nonetheless, he let the younger doing it without saying anything. He liked the sensation of being wanted, and Jongin didn't let him indifferent. He began to lean in closer to the younger when telling something, letting his fingers linger a little longer whenever he would initiate skinship -which he did more often-, and all these flirty things he haven't even dreamed of doing not long ago. Jongin was really getting at him.

 

They started to cook together every so often, something that would distress Jongin's self-control even more. During those cooking lessons, Kyungsoo would do skinship far more often than necessary. He would help Jongin like would the main male character of a drama help the main female character, placing himself behing him to do it together instead of simply showing him. The roles were completely reversed compared to the beginning of the assignement. It wasn't Kyungsoo getting flustered by Jongin's actions anymore, but Jongin trying his best not to get caught flirting with his boss and dealing with his endless thoughts about kissing the living out of hell of Kyungsoo.

 

"Sehun-ah", whined Jongin on a sunday morning as he was calling his bestfriend on skype, "Kyungsoo will be the death of me."

 

Sehun laughed. "Having a hard time dealing with our pulsions, are we Nini?"

 

"You have absolutely no idea. If only I'd have the hots for you. I could have you so easily.", he sighed, burying his face in his hands.

 

"Tssk. I don't do chemists.", Sehun retorted, faking a puke.

 

Jongin smirked.

"Wasn't what you said about that chinese chemist working with you."

 

"He's the exception confirming the rule. Anyway, don't you think he would be by any chance flirting with you?"

 

"Kyungsoo? That's very unlikely. Have you met the guy? It's like he's coming straight from a cartoon, with his penguin face and all his cute stuff. Even if I was admitting out loud that I fancied him I don't think he would even do anything."

 

Sehun raised an eyebrow, not quite convinced. "See, the problem also is, you worship him. He's 22, Jongin. There's no way on earth he would be that clueless when it comes to relationships."

 

"I'm not worshipping him! I-" Jongin was cut by an incoming call on his phone. "Excuse me, Hun."

 

He retrieved the device lying on his bed. "Hello?"

 

"Jongin-ah? It's Kyungsoo.", a familiar voice replied to him.

 

"Oh, hey hyung. How you doing?"

 

"Fine. No, great actually. Would you be so kind to come down at the lab with me? I need you."

 

Jongin froze. "... You need me?"

He exchanged a glare with Sehun behind the screen ; the latter smiled as if to say "See? Flirting." He made a face.

 

"Yes. I'm about to discover something, I sense it... But something's off. Help me knowing what."

 

"O-okay, I'm on my way!", Jongin replied hastily, flashing an apologizing smile to Sehun who just rolled his eyes and waved him off. He clasped his laptop shut and got up. "Going now!"

 

"Neat. I wait for you."

He hung up.

 

On the other side of the line, Kyungsoo was smiling to himself. Of course, nothing was off and he was this close to actually find the solution, it just required a bit of experimentation, but he hadn't found anything better to lure Jongin into his lab. Over the past few weeks, he had enjoyed the other's company way too much, so much that he didn't stand working alone now. He hummed a little to himself, making coffee for the both of them while Jongin was on his way. Glancing at the calendar pinned above his desk, he noticed that the upcoming week would be the last of Jongin's assignement. He let out a annoyed sigh. If he had knew beforehand he would become so dependant, he wouldn't have said yes to Junmyeon ; but now that harm was done, he should at least take advantage of it.

 

Jongin arrived breathless, hair messed up and obviously dressed up in a haste.

"Hey.", he breathed, breaking into a smile, "What's up Professor?"

 

"Hey. Here, take your mug and sit down." Kyungsoo gestured towards the seat in the back. "Tell me something I do not know."

 

Jongin scoffed. "Something your 200IQ brain doesn't know yet?"

 

"Amaze me.", he nudged him with a playful wink that made Jongin wince.

 

They stayed for hours straight in the lab, staring at the blackboard intensely. Jongin's brain worked at full speed to catch up with Kyungsoo's reasoning, and even more to find out what was bothering the older. He wanted to impress him, and there was nothing more annoying to Jongin than not finding an answer. However, Kyungsoo knew very well Jongin wouldn't succeed. This required far more knowledge than Jongin had learn so far. He just wanted to test the younger abilities (and also wanted to spend some more time with him). Night fell upon them before they noticed.

 

"Jongin-ah, it's ten and a half already... We should leave it to tomorrow."

 

Jongin groaned, eyes lit up with the flame of determination. "Wait, I got this... I'm so frustratingly close!"

 

"That is not even a word."

 

"Doesn't matter. Please hyung let me stay over for a little more while..."

 

Kyungsoo was genuinely surprised by Jongin's will. "I'll get us some dinner. You can stay over tonight. There's a room in the back when I need to sleep here."

 

"So that's where you slept all the time...", the younger mumbled, eyes not leaving the blackboard.

 

Kyungsoo smiled fondly upon seeing him thinking so much, eyebrows knitted and lips pursed. He got out to get something to eat ; actually he just called Junmyeon. Jongin overheard him speaking on the phone.

"Hyung could you bring me some food? I am working with Jongin tonight. Why, yes working. Stop assuming things. You're impossible. Yes. Yes. No. Yes. Thanks hyung."

 

"Here, Junmyeon hyung is going to bring us something to eat.", he flashed Jongin a smile as he was coming back in the room. The latter nodded.

 

Junmyeon arrived fifteen minutes later, carrying a bag with take-out food, wearing an impossibly wide grin on his face.

"Good evening bookworms! Working on a sunday? You're quite motivated! Did Kyungsoo infected you with his hardwork, Jongin-ah?"

 

 "Thanks for the dinner, hyung.", Kyungsoo said, bloking the doorway, "But I can not afford having you disturbing my assistant on a major discovery."

 

Junmyeon faked a pout. "You're no fun Kyungsoo. Anyway, have fun you two! Enjoy your meal!"

 

Kyungsoo started to push him out of the door playfully. "Leave us alone!", he chuckled, "We are working hard in here!"

 

The older's laugh echoed in the empty corridor even after he was out of sight.

 

"Here. Take a break."

 

Jongin took the meal that the other was handing him. "Thanks. I'm wasted."

 

They talked about work while eating ; Kyungsoo listening to the student with high interest. Jongin happened to be very smart, which was actually really unfair, thought the older, because he also happened to be very handsome ; especially like this, hair dishevelled and collar hanging low on his chest, revealing his toned skin. Kyungsoo wondered what it would be like to date someone like him. What it would be like to date anyone, actually.

He kept observing Jongin scribbling down on rough copies, trying to understand what was the trouble. He found himself enjoying the sight of the younger nibbling on his lips while thinking hard, cheek flushed and hand motioning quickly. Around midnight, he noticed his eyelids fluttering, and he decided it was time for him to stop before Jongin would overwork himself over this. He took a deep breath and started acting.

 

"Jongin-ah!", he shouted suddenly, "I found it!"

 

The latter head shot up to glance at Kyungsoo with wide eyes, genuinely surprised. "R-really?", he stuttered.

 

"Yes! Finally. Tomorrow we can start the experiments and by the end of the week it would be over!" Kyungsoo beamed, grabbing Jongin's hands in his own. "Thank you."

 

"No, I-.. I didn't do much..."

 

"What are you saying? You helped a lot! Come here, I will explain it to you. It was quite difficult in my opinion. No wonder you would not find ; you do not learn this stuff in third year." He motioned Jongin to come closer.

 

It took a little hour to Jongin to fully understand what was the point, and by then the two of them were starting to feel very tired. Nonetheless, Jongin couldn't erase the grin now floating on his lips, happy to finally know the answer of all these hours of hard work.

 

"Shall we go to sleep now?", Kyungsoo offered, leading Jongin to the door in the back of the lab. The latter hummed in agreement. He was far too tired to notice the hand that slipped into his.

The room was small compared to the size of the lab ; there was only a sink and a big mattress. On the side were hanging some pajamas and casual clothes. "Sorry, it is not the most comfortable place to sleep..."

 

"It'll do just fine, don't worry.", Jongin yawned, starting to undress himself. He was also far too tired to take care of such trivial things as self-consciousness and his former crush on the older. "Does it bother you if I sleep in boxers?"

 

"... It's fine." Kyungsoo foung himself replying in a strandled voice.

 

"Cool. Man, I'm wasted. Can I?..." Jongin indicated the bed.

 

"Uh? Oh, yes, make yourself comfortable."

 

The younger beamed and let himself fall on the mattress with a contented groan. He rolled under the blankets, humming in delight. "So soft...", he cooed. Kyungsoo watched him with a tender gaze. Maybe he really did like Jongin. He shrugged, pushing those thoughts aside as he was stripping to change into pajamas. He deliberately turned his back on Jongin, somehow hoping that the other would watch him undress himself ; the things he had come to wish since he had started this assignement left him in disbelief. Of course Jongin watched his and thighs, cheeks heating up, but Kyungsoo didn't knew that. Like Schrödinger's cat, the state of Jongin eyes was both closed and looking at him. The idea didn't displeased him.

He plopped down into bed not long after dressing up in pajamas and brushing his teeth. By then, he assumed that Jongin had fell asleep. He lied down next to him, suddenly getting flustered by their proximity and the heat that Jongin's body provided him. He kept track of Jongin's regular breathing to soothe himself to sleep.

 

After a little while, as his eyelids were getting heavier, he felt some movement next to him. He closed his eyes, heart pounding like crazy in his chest. The first contact with Jongin's bare skin sent chills down his spine ; the younger had slipped an arm above his belly while rolling to the side. Kyungsoo gulped loudly. He tried to calm down, but not long after, Jongin buried his head in the crook of his neck with a muffled groan. He was now so close Kyungsoo could feel his breath on his neck, and smell his scent, a faint mix between shampoo and perfume.

 

He was unable to fall asleep for nearly an hour, lying there with his eyes wide open, sensing Jongin's presence with every fiber of his being. Everything was quiet except for the younger's soft snoring, and the loud beating of his own heart, but it was enough to keep him awake and aware.

 

The following morning, Jongin was the first to wake up. He jolted awake as soon as he noticed that he was holding Kyungsoo, nuzzling into his neck ; his cheeks were already starting to heat up. Under him, Kyungsoo groaned, and pulled him in his embrace without opening his eyes, probably mistaking him for a teddybear of something. Jongin didn't dare to move. When the older woke up, he had a hard time processing what was going on.

 

"Hi hyung", Jongin breathed shyly right next to him. "Can I... Can I get up?"

 

"Yes! Yes of course!" Kyungsoo immediatly let go of him, eyes widening. "I'm sorry!"

 

"It's nothing."

 

They both blushed, looking away. The awkwardness was back.

 

 

*

 

 

The last week they spent together was both the weirdest and the greatest. They finished the experiments required by tuesday morning, and so had the other half of the week to themselves, hanging out in the lab, working on some minor things. Jongin liked this chilly atmosphere, with the both of them quietly working with the window open, so that they could hear the birds chirping outside. They happened to touch each other less, but everytime one of them would initiate a contact, it would last slighty longer, too long for it to be completely innocent. 

 

"Jongin.", Kyungsoo called him on thursday evening, as he was about to leave the lab.

 

"Yes hyung?" It was so foreign to him to call him hyung, when he wanted to be able to say his name, he flinched a bit at the end of his sentence.

 

"Tomorrow is your last day, right? Let us make something special."

 

Jongin couldn't help but let out a nervous laugh. "You don't have to... I mean, I know it's not what you-"

 

"No, I want to. When people retire... They get a party, don't they?"

 

"You read it in a book again?"

 

Kyungsoo averted his gaze, blushing slightly. "...Yes.", he admits sheepishly.

 

"Well, I guess we could do something. What have you in mind?", Jongin beamed, happy that the older wanted to do a little something for his last day.

 

"We could not go to work. And hang out. My brother told me you would surely like to hang out since the weather is so nice and that we could buy some ice cream. Then... I am not sure about this...", he trailed off, tapping his fingers on his bottom lip while thinking, "Junmyeon hyung proposed me to go to a pub tonight to celebrate the end of my current researches, along with colleagues... Would you like to come?"

 

"Do you want me to come?"

 

"I do. You are the only one that is around my age. And we get along quite fine ; I am sure not to get bored."

 

"I'm flattered.", Jongin chuckled. "Then, for tomorrow... Coffee at eight?"

 

"Sounds good."

 

 

On friday morning, Jongin dressed casually with a plain white top and tight jeans to hang out with Kyungsoo. It was weird now not to wear his usual smock when stepping into the basement, and even weirder to be greeted by the other man sitting on his desk like the first day, although dressed with everyday fashion. He had dropped the white smock and black trousers for a pale blue v-neck and dark jeans, his hair styled up ; Jongin found him stunning.

 

"Junmyeon-hyung insisted on making my hair.", Kyungsoo explained, slightly embarassed.

 

They spent the day doing absolutely nothing, except eat ice cream and drink lattes sitting in the grass, talking about birds, science, people, and nonsense. A lot of nonsense. Caffeine did its effect and they ended the day racing to their building to get ready for the evening, crashing together in Jongin's flat, panting and chuckling, and it was the first time Jongin witnessed Kyungsoo really laughing to the point where his eyes form two crescent moons on his face, mouth streched in a wide grin. He could get used to the sight, he thought, because seeing the older like this gave him urges to hug him. They faced each other, regaining breath, and time seemed to stop for Jongin. For the very first time, it occured him that he really did want to kiss Kyungsoo, for any reason he could find or even no reason at all ; he wanted to be able to come to him everyday, like this morning, and greet him with a kiss. The realisation dawned upon him like a cold shower.

 

They got ready in no time, just grabbing their coats and something to eat on the way, and got out of the campus as the sky was darkening. Kyungsoo was nervous, because he admitted that it was the very first time he would go to have a drink with friends, and he didn't know how well he would be able to deal with alcoholic beverages. Jongin shrugged, and he wrapped casually an arm aroung the older's shoulder, chuckling at how innocent he was. This felt both familiar and foreign to them, this kind of contact, but neither of them broke it, until they arrived to the pub.

 

The first two hours basically consisted in them talking while sipping on various drinks, with Junmyeon occasionally slipping a shot under Kyungsoo's nose for him to drink. The latter didn't drink the first few, too absorbed into his conversation with Jongin and some other scientist, but eventually as it got late, he took his first shot with Jongin -one chocolate flavoured.

 

"That stuff is good.", he stated, genuinely surprised, as he was still holding onto the tiny glass, already tipsy.

 

"It is, isn't it? Come on, hyung, let's play a little game, you and me. I'm sure you'll like it."

Jongin nudged him, motioning towards a big table.

 

"You and I, Jongin-ah.", Kyungsoo breathed with an eary smile, "You and I."

 

They played a game Kyungsoo hadn't heard of before called "bier-pong", and it was even funnier to them, as their heads were already spinning and they missed a good amount of their shots, laughing it off like crazy. At one am or so, they finally ended on a tie, unable to shoot correctly their ball anymore for they were far too drunk. Junmyeon and the others decided to go home since they still had stuff to do in the morning, but the two of them opted for coming back at Jongin's flat together, to talk some more while sobering up.

 

"You know, Jongin-ah. I'm glad you were my assistant.", Kyungsoo said out of the blue, as they were both sprawled all over the couch.

 

"I'm glad you were my boss.", the younger replied.

 

"And I must admit that... I had so much fun it... Oh it's crazy.", he leaned on Jongin's shoulder, suddenly feeling tired. "Do people of my age have this much fun all the time? That would... That's... Oh, sometimes I wish I could be like them!"

 

Jongin straightened his back, tensing as he felt Kyungsoo nuzzling in the crook of his neck. "Why do you say that hyung?"

 

"I want to be reckless like them, Jongin-ah... I want to...", he trailed off, lifting his head to meet the other's gaze. "Can I kiss you?"

 

Time stopped on his tracks as Kyungsoo studied his features up-close, eyes lidded with a feeling Jongin could mistake for lust, but is far closer to tenderness. His eyes flickered upon the rosy lips, to tempted and too tipsy to correctly process what was happening before leaning in to close the space between their mouths. The kiss was gentle and soft at first, but soon he felt how close and how eager was Kyungsoo, bewildered by all the alcohol currently flowing in his veins. It heated up far too quickly, Kyungsoo feeling him up through the fabric of his shirt, making him shudder as his fingers brushed past his oversensitive s. Jongin pulled back abruptly, face flushed, still panting from the kiss.

 

"What are you doing?", he asked Kyungsoo in a much more raspy and broken voice he would like it to sound.

 

"You.", the latter breathed, trying to reach him and pull him in his enbrace once more.

 

Jongin sighed, passing his hand over his face. "I-I'm not going to have with you hyung. Not tonight."

 

"Then... When?"

 

"... When you'll love me."

 

Kyungsoo seemed to consider the thing for a moment, before drawing himself closer, pecking him on the cheek. "I like you." He pecked him on the corner of his mouth. "A lot." He pecked him on the lips. "What is that worth for?"

 

A few more pecks, and Jongin finally gave in. "Making out."

 

Kyungsoo beamed. "All night?"

 

"All night.", Jongin nodded, throat dry.

They stayed still for a couple more seconds, savouring the wait. Kyungsoo leaned in the first, sealing their lips together just after hearing the younger breathe: "I like you too."

 

They barely slept that night, too busy exploring each other's curves and lips, kissing passionately under the blanket, laughing into each other's ears. When Kyungsoo got up on saturday afternoon, hickeys blossoming on his neck and collarbones, to Jongin humming in the shower, he knew he wouldn't be able to spend his spare-time alone either.

 

The ghost of a promess still dawned upon his lips. When you will love me.