Kim Jongin must AVOID Wu Yifan at all cost.

It’s getting bad, getting really, really bad.

He must have gone really crazy because he could not, for the life of him, shake off Wu Yifan’s glory. He had found himself onetime doodling it on his notebook, sneak past his train of thoughts when he was busy listening to his professor. Heck, it was the last thing on his mind before he sleeps and the very first thing that pops up when he wakes up.

And it gets worse when he sometimes caught a glimpse of Wu Yifan walking down the hallway, down the library. And instead of the man walking with clothes, Jongin always, always, sees him without it. And Wu Yifan, the damned man, always caught him staring and smirking in return as if saying, satisfied braw?, and Jongin had to blush again and again. God knows how many times he had prayed for the floor to swallow him whole.

And why, for the love of God, must he always come across him anyway? They do not dwell on the same floor, their majors far different from each other. Is this his punishment?

“Maybe its fate” Baekhyun shrugged.

Jonging squealed like a dying whale “NO. How can you call something as—as—impure as this, fate? I basically see him on his birthday suit everytime and even when I don’t see him—“

“EWW. Please refrain from revealing your ual fantasies. That’s gross.”

Jongin reached out and strangled Sehun.

After hours and hours of wasted time, Jongin had finally come up with a solution. OPERATION KIM JONGIN MUST AVOID WU YIFAN AT ALL COST.

And so Jongin keyed in to google and typed “how to avoid someone”. There were various results, and Jongin wrote everything down on his notebook, outlining those that are applicable in his current situation, because most of the entries were related to loving or liking someone and he does not love, nor like Wu Yifan. No No No.

When he was done, his eyes gleamed in satisfaction and laughed maniacally.

OPERATION KIM JONGIN MUST AVOID WU YIFAN AT ALL COST.

1.Stay away from the places he frequents.

Kim Jongin received a text from his dumb bestfriend Oh Sehun.

From: grumpySehun

4:45 pm

Hey freak. I forgot my spare shirt in your bag.

Can you come to the gym and hand it down to me please.

I need it.

Jongin pulled his bag open and found Sehun’s shirt. He was about to cross the lawn when he remembered that NO. The gym is an absolute NO for his operation ‘avoid Wu Yifan at all cost.”

To: grumpySehun

4:58pm

Don’t try to sabotage my operation Kim Jongin must

Avoid Wu Yifan at all cost Oh Sehun. No No No. your evil

Plans won’t work against me. :P

From: grumpySehun

5:00pm

Give me my shirt stupid. Or else, I won’t buy that snapback

You’ve been eyeing for months now. And I will also cut off

Your weekly supply of fried chicken.

To: grumpySehun

5:01pm

T.T you’re Lucifer’s son. I hate you.

T.T  T.T

From: grumpySehun

5:02pm

I hate you more. You don’t know how much.

And besides, the man of your dreams isn’t here.

He left a few minutes ago so stop acting like a

Girl on PMS.

Jongin had no choice but to go. He had wanted that snapback in his collection and Sehun had promised to buy it for him on his birthday and he does not like his fried chicken to be taken away. Besides, Sehun might be a sarcastic piece of—anything—but he is not a liar.

He found Sehun on the court shirtless, alone, shooting and dribbling until he spotted Jongin. His focused expression turned to a scowl. “After 48 years. Finally. The princess has arrived.”

 Jongin balled his shirt in revenge and braced himself, taking aim at Sehun’s face. He pushed his arm forward and—

“Oh, Sehun? Why are you still here?”

--let Sehun’s t-shirt fall from his grasp to the floor, much to Sehun’s chagrin. Jongin stood rigid, knowing full well who the voice belongs to. A blush automatically crept up to his face. He eyed Sehun wearily, sending an I-will-hang-you-upside-down message.

Sehun replied with an I-didn’t-know-he-was-gonna-be-back-stupid look.

“Oh, is that Jongin?” Wu Yifan asked from behind Jongin. He could feel the amusement at the man’s voice again, tormenting him as he slowly edged towards Jongin and reached out to maybe pat his shoulder.

At the contact, Jongin felt the sudden rush of adrenaline and bolted right out of the spot, the same way he did when he saw Wu Yifan on the locker room, minus the scream.

2.Do not make eye contact with this person

One would think, when they chance a look at Kim Jongin that the boy was diligently reading the program handed to him by the organizers. It was partly true, yes, that he was in fact reading—if looking at the same group of words for the last 20 minutes can be considered as reading.

Kim Jongin is cursing the heaven’s—no, not cursing, because cursing is a vile act and Kim Jongin does not do vile acts—questioning the heavens why, when the school have 20 other college degree, do they have to share the auditorium with the students from which THE Wu Yifan belongs to.

With head still buried on the program, Jongin asked Baekhyun frantically “Where is he, where is he, where is he?”

Baekhyun sighed, sending daggers at Jongin’s direction before squinting through the crowd. “Two rows behind, 5 o’clock.”

Jongin sighed in obvious relief. He just has to look forward and everything shall be easy—

“and he’s staring at you.”

Jongin choked, and maybe sputtered a few of his saliva.

“Oh my God. You are so gross.” Sehun whined, wiping off a few drops of saliva from his arm.

Jongin ignored him. He does not like the news Baekhyun provided because he knows that it will only make him conscious and restless from wanting to look around and see if THE Wu Yifan is really staring at him and in doing so, he will surely meet his eyes, which is a big NO NO because he does not want to see a , smirking Wu Yifan sitting on a lush cushion inside his head—

--and yes—no—it will ruin his whole “Operation Kim Jongin must avoid Wu Yifan at all cost.” Yes. Yes. That is what concerns him most. Yes.

One sharp glance and Sehun knew his stupid bestfriend is at it again “Oh God. please Kim Jongin don’t start--”

“Don’t interrupt me Oh Sehun. I am gearing for battle.” Eyes set in a deep frown, dark eyes intense; Kim Jongin summoned his inner Goku, wore his imaginary armor and set his eyes forward.

Kim Jongin will not succumb to the torment that is Wu Yifan. No, not this time.

An hour later, Baekhyun and Sehun stared incredulously at Jongin, Sehun giving him his most unimpressed look because who on earth would sit as straight as a stick in a cushioned chair, eyes unblinking, gaze focused straight ahead, hands clenching in tight fists, veins protruding on his skin, sweat racing down his slightly trembling body in a fully air-conditioned room. Only stupid people would do that—

Sehun face-palmed himself. How did he forget?

“Kim Jongin. your inability to act human had reached a whole new level. If there was a pageant called Mr. Stupidity you would easily bag the trophy—“

“Shut up. Oh Sehun. Your opinion is invalid.” Jongin fired back without looking at him.

“Jongin. you’re sweating a lot—“

“neither is your opinion Byun Baekhyun.”

“I swear I will not only strangle you, I will kill myself and live in your house as a ghost and give you nightmares every night—“

Sehun was interrupted with boom of polite applause. “thank you for the time. I hope everyone enjoyed the session and we hope we could see each other again next year.” And the students were starting to leave the auditorium.

Baekhyun looked around before nudging Jongin “He’s leaving, you can relax now.”

Before anything registers to Sehun, Jongin broke into a girly shriek and crushed him in his arms. Sehun tried to fend him off “YOU ARE GROSS. YOU ARE FULL OF GRIME KEEP YOUR DISTANCE.“

Jongin ignored Sehun’s arms shoving him away, because right now he felt so accomplished and happy and he will shower Oh Sehun with love forever. “I won! I did not look at THE Wu Yifan even one second!”

And Jongin hugged Sehun again before standing up, leaving a sweat infested Sehun and laughing Baekhyun.

Jongin hummed in happiness, smiling and skipping on the carpeted floor of the auditorium before walking past the glass doors. He stopped for a bit, eyeing his surrounding, finding no one threatening; he skipped around, grinning and humming. Nothing can dampen his mood, not even someone who had unceremoniously bumped into him, not even something as rude as catcalls from extremely hormonal teenagers,

And definitely not something as dangerous as him falling backwards, amidst panicked screams, when his foot slid through a puddle of water, because hey, he’s Kim Jongin and he had conquered THE Wu Yifan, and he is happy and could maybe fly and gracefully land into---

---a strong pair of arms, and a warm chest pressed into his back.

Before he could do anything, an arm ghost around his waist to steady him. Unmindful of the close proximity- because hey, he’s really in a very good mood—he turned around and met a pair of dark, worried eyes.

Jongin’s eyes widened in shock.

“are you alright?” his savior—THE Wu Yifan—asked.

Jongin just stared him, gaping and making ugly sounds because his imagination is swiftly taking form again. And he knows that he was blushing and Wu Yifan was smirking and he was too close. Too close.

An ear-splitting shriek came out from his mouth before pushing and running away from him.

3.When you see the person, turn your back on them

Jongin feels so tired, he wanted to just flop down on the cement floor and sleep like a log.

It has been a long day, with professors giving them new set of projects amidst groan of protests from the students, a few major exams and surprise quizzes. However, it wasn’t the projects that made him feel like his legs had weighed a ton, and certainly not the exams that made him sweat and out-of-breath from exhaustion (because he is Kim Jongin and he aces the tests without much difficulty, much to Sehun and Baekhyun’s displeasure)

He had been running and hiding, ducking behind thick walls and turning 180 degrees all day long, because why, of all the time and places, does he always, always, almost run into THE Wu Yifan. He couldn’t count the number of times he had turned away after a mere sight of the man’s hair, or shoes, or shoulders, asking the gods when are they going to forego these punishments.

Sehun huffed in annoyance when Jongin asked (stupidly, Sehun might add) why this is happening. “because, stupid, you are, inevitably, hopelessly, obsess with his di—“

“Oh No.” and Jongin gaped and bolted like lightning again because he had spotted The Wu Yifan in the distance.

Now, Jongin felt like his body might collapse from the constant bolting and running, supporting himself by leaning on the wall every now and then. He cried out a muffled groan when he rounded a corner, trudging slowly, wishing he could teleport himself into his room and maybe French kiss his bed.

He sauntered on another empty hallway, subconsciously hating his school because why the heck would they make long passages especially designed to torture dead-tired students like him? He closed his eyes---

“Jongin?”

--and snapped them open instantly. Almost as a reflex, he did a 180 degree turn because he knew who that was and the last thing he wants to do was to face someone he had spent his energy avoiding all day, but still managed to find him like the man had planted a tracking device in his body. The circumstances does not amuse him at all, and he may be innocent and all sorts of positive things, and maybe, admittedly, stupid, but he is still human and the house of Kim and its teachings does not prevent him from getting angry. At what? He doesn’t know, to whom? He does not actually know.

Jongin used his remaining energy and forced his legs to run. He heard THE Wu Yifan calling him, but when he didn’t stop, the man moved his legs as well and chased him. Jongin was horrified and speed up, ignoring his aching bones and labored breathing.

They somehow turned the empty building into a playground, with Wu Yifan still chasing him and calling out his name, asking him “WHY THE HELL ARE YOU RUNNING AWAY?”

“WHY ARE YOU CHASING ME?” Jongin fired back.

“BECAUSE YOU’RE RUNNING AWAY”

“THAT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL--!”

“YOU DON’T MAKE SENSE—HEY! WATCH OUT!“

 Before the warning registered to Jongin, he already stepped into a puddle of water (again?) and lost his balance. He tried to anchor himself with his other foot, but the strain was too much that he instead twisted it. He felt himself land on the concrete floor, first.

Jongin whimpered in pain and exhaustion, closed his eyes and willed himself to not cry out of frustration.

“what’s with you and water?” he heard Wu Yifan say as the man stepped closer.

“GO AWAY. GO AWAY AND LET ME BE! GO! GO AWAY!”

Jongin heard the man stop. And for a moment, everything went silent. He bit his lip hard, because he knew that his behavior was uncalled for and rude, to throw it to someone a few years his senior.

He heard him walking again, and Jongin can almost imagine him backing away and leaving, until a slight touch on his twisted foot made him open his eyes. “does it hurt?” Wu Yifan asked gently.

Jongin stared at Wu Yifan, the latter’s forehead creasing into a frown, eyes worried and searching. Then he looked up, and his eyes are so gentle Jongin has to gulp down his saliva because he does not understand why his stomach is twisting and why his heart is pumping liters of blood every second. Or millisecond. Or the second in between millisecond.

“Jong—“

“Yes..I mean No...No it doesn’t—WHAT THE HELL WU YIFAN?” and Jongin bit his lower lip at the sudden rush of pain when the older has unceremoniously poked his injured foot.

The older raised his brow in surprise, and then chuckled. Jongin was about to ask what he was laughing about when he felt himself rise from the floor, his body supported by a strong something on his back, while another on his legs. He is pressed with a warm something too. Jongin dumbly looked up, mouth gaping open, and met two amused eyes.  That something was Wu Yifan’s arms and body, and he effortlessly carries him princess like, and it shouldn’t feel like he fit and belonged there because he certainly is not a princess even though Wu Yifan looked like a prince with his immaculate robes and he smells nice and he’s warm--and Jongin screamed. He squirmed and repeatedly chanted “Put me down” at the top of his lungs because he does not understand why his thoughts are going awry. Or why his stomach is twisting again and his heart beating rapidly.

“IF YOU WON’T STOP MOVING, I SWEAR I WILL DROP YOU.” Wu Yifan threatened.

Jongin did not listen and continued to squirm. “I DON’T CARE—“ and he felt himself (and his nerves) plummet a few inches. He blames it on his sharp reflexes when his arms flew and took hold on Wu Yifan’s neck, hugging the older close.

“am I understood?” Wu Yifann asked, his lips forming a tiny smile and eyes bright with amusement.

Jongin settles on glaring at him, face heating up when he realizes where his arms has taken refuge. He immediately loosened his grip from Wu Yifan, when the man looked at him again, “Keep your arms in place, Jongin. It’s easier carrying you without your arms flailing around.”

So Jongin kept his arms folded just around the man’s neck, a wordless response from a request, his voice has somehow lost in the midst of suppressing the inner turmoil that is his twisting stomach and erratic chest from the way Wu Yifan had tighten his grip on Jongin. The warmth seeping from Wu Yifan is not helping at all.

Minutes tick by with Jongin’s gaze flickering unintentionally from Wu Yifan’s side profile and away. The latter was chiseled with the right amount of angles, lashes black framing his eyes, nose sharp and lips—Jongin internally groaned. Why do his thoughts wander around THE Wu Yifan’s face? Isn’t it enough that whenever he sees him his mind automatically plasters him —

--jongin gasped.

“What?” Wu Yifan asked, his voice laced with concern. “are you hurt anywhere?”

“NO-no-“ It’s just that it unnerves me how close you are right now yet I don’t see you in my mind . “It’s just that it unnerves me how close you are right now yet I don’t see you in my mind ”

“What?”

Jongin’s eyes grew as large as saucers “Oh my God. Did I say that out loud?”

“Ummm..if It’s just that it unnerves me how close you are right now yet I don’t see you in my mind is correct, then I did” Wu Yifan’s smirk is back, along with something in his eyes that Jongin could only name as something.

Jongin can feel his cheeks heat up with embarrassment and mortification. He closed his eyes and wished for something, anything to swallow him and transport him into a realm where his idiocy can’t follow. He could feel the mirth in Wu Yifan’s body struggling to come out. “please don’t hold your laughter. It is quite laughable, I am laughable. Stupid Jongin and Stupid word filter.”

Wu Yifan laughed out loud then, much to Jongin’s annoyance. “Not so loud you—you—whatever—“

“Sorry.” Wu Yifan settled for a smile then, making Jongin’s heart thump for the nth time. “But I just—well—I thought you hated me or something. You keep on avoiding me you know.” The man teased, his smile faltering a bit, like it did really bother him and made him the tiniest bit sad.

“I..I don’t hate you. We’re not friends and I don’t know you in a deep spiritual level so I can’t hate you. That’s being unreasonable, it’s just that…just…” Jongin can’t fathom as to WHY he’s actually explaining himself.

Wu Yifan glanced at him, expectant. Brows curved upwards, smirking just a little bit.

Jongin sighed, cursing his Word Filter in eternal damnation.