"Excuse me, is the jazz dance class through there?"

 

"Yes, just down the hall and the last practise room on the left. You're the photographer, right?" 

 

Sehun replied with a nod, offering a gentle smile to the pretty receptionist, Luna, the name tag read, before walking down the hallway to where he was directed. He was confident, as usual. His assignment was to capture movement and explain why the photo did just that. What better way, than dance?

 

He strode up to the door and turned the handle, peeking around the corner to make sure he wasn't interrupting anything before walking inside and shutting the door behind him. 

 

"Ah, you must be Sehun. The photography major?"

 

The voice rang out in silence, as Sehun could only nod in response, captivated by the vaguely tan male stretching in front of the wall-spanning mirror. 

 

Bending over backwards until his fingertips touched the floor behind him, the male looked up to the brunette other, who was still hiding himself in the corner of the room by the door, a professional camera around his neck. 

 

"I'm Jongin. Feel free to move around, I do." A chuckle surpassed his lips at his own joke, as he sat back up, leaning forward and using his fingers to effortlessly pull himself forward until his chest was against the ground and his fingertips grazed the mirror in front of his, his legs laying outwards in a sort of widened 'V' shape. 

 

After a few moments of silent staring, Sehun looked down and began to fiddle with camera settings. His mind raced with different factors, taking into account the light, the space, the subject. He finished setting up the camera and changed the shutter speed to a slow one, moving around the room quietly as he did so, cutting out the distraction of Jongin's stretching as he looked for the perfect vantage point. He settled for crouching against the mirror, facing the opposite wall. His voice seemed to be disappearing, so he cleared his throat before he spoke. 

 

"Would you mind if you could be over there somewhere when you start?" Pale fingers outstretched to the centre of the room, before wrapping around the camera again, Sehun's eye was fixed through the viewfinder. 

 

Jongin jumped up and wandered over to the speakers, picking up his phone and pressing play before going to where he'd been requested to go. The song was a fast, R&B sort of track.

 

He watched Sehun fiddling around with the camera for a bit, tilting his head simultaneously. 

 

"I thought fancy big-shot cameras like that had screens to look through."

 

"Don't trust the screen, trust your instincts." His voice was a murmur just surpassing the volume of the music. Jongin raised one eyebrow before nodding, a smirk of intrigue appearing on his lips, making a few experimental moves before starting to dance once the song reached it's first chorus. 

 

The camera slipped from Sehun's grasp, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he thanked every known deity for camera straps, but the rest of him was in frozen awe at Kim Jongin's movements. His jaw slacked, eyes widened, and he almost fell from his crouching position to a face-on-floor position. 

 

Jongin was lost in the music, as always. He took the song and gave it meaning even with the lyrics. ('It was like he took the meaning out of the lyrics and put it into his dance.' Was how Sehun described it later to himself, writing it down on black cardboard before erasing it.) He had a large presence in the room and for a moment, he forgot Sehun was there. When he remembered, he slowed down his movements a bit, still in time with the music, an attempt to make it easier to take photos. The room was but a blur in the eyes of Jongin, and when he did remain facing one direction, he saw the mirror and himself, rather than Sehun, who mouth was still agape with shock. 

 

The song came to an end, along with Jongin's dance. A classical piece came up on the shuffle of his music list. He looked over to see the currently rather still edition of Sehun: Photographer, and tilted his head, walking over and leaning over him. 

 

"Are you alright?"

 

Sehun snapped back into reality, and realised he had never once pressed the shutter button. 

 

"Oh no..."

 

"Is something wrong?" A frown appeared on Jongin's previously calm expression. 

 

"I didn't.. Take any photos I-..."

 

"Well... We've got the better part of the day left. How about this. I teach my 12:30 class, and you come back at 2, and we can take better shots without a time limit. Sound good?"

 

Jongin was now crouching to be face level with Sehun, who up until the question, had been looking quite worried. 'I thought I'd only need a minute or two' ran through his mind briefly. 

 

"Good.." He managed to nod, noticing out of the corner of his eye that students were beginning to arrive ten minutes earlier than the class's start time. 

 

Jongin jumped back to standing, holding his hand down to help Sehun get up aswell. He managed a small thankyou, his voice was still threatening to disappear completely. Sehun bowed politely and turned off his camera, grabbing his phone from his back pocket whilst he made his way to the door. He took a longing glance over at the dance teacher, who was now flicking through the song list on his own phone, hips tilted and lips pursed with decision. Sehun made a quick minute choice and hastily flicked the camera back on, fingers instantly changing the shutter speed back to normal and focusing as he peeked through the viewfinder. He held his breath, like he did with every photo, and pressed the shutter button. 

 

----------------

 

"Excuse me, what time is it?"

 

"Only 10 minutes until the class is finished." Luna laughed softly, her manicured fingertips resuming to tap on the keyboard in front of her. Sehun had asked every five minutes for the past twenty, how much time he had left. 

 

He was trying to mentally prepare himself. He had gone back to his apartment in the time he had and had leant against the bench in front of the jug he had flicked on moments after enveloping himself back into the warm, familiar, vanilla-like scent of his home. He slid the camera off from around his neck and placed it on the bench beside him before resting his elbows on the counter and moving his hands to lock his fingers behind his neck. 'Four years of studying photography and this one dance, all you needed, stunned you so bad you couldn't keep bloody hold of your stupid camera? Oh Sehun, what's wrong with you?' He screamed internally at himself, and found the memory of Kim Jongin's dance playing on repeat inside his head. He did it with such ease, no trace of effort needed. And captured not only Sehun's eyes but his breath and probably his heart-beat along with it. 

 

Three cups of tea later, Sehun dumped the tall mug into the kitchen sink and checked the time. 12:55. 'Its been... 15 minutes since I got home..' He kicked the fridge in his irritation, frowning and letting out an apology, then wondering why he apologised to the fridge as he wandered to the bedroom, camera in hand again though not quite remembering ever picking it back up. 

 

He flopped into the chair in the corner, welcomed by it's circular shape and the pillows accompanying it. His head hit the wall behind him as he groaned. How long was an hour and a bit, really?

 

This was answered when he read two (albeit, short) novels, downloaded 30 songs and did his daily 40 minutes of jogging. 

 

An hour and a bit was a really, really long time. Experimentally, he sat in the spare room, plucking at strings of a guitar and scribbling down notes, both musical and anecdotal, onto sheets of paper. He hummed and tapped and sung and sulked and whined, looking amongst his collection of cameras and film and SD cards and hard drives. He picked up one of the spare hard drives and tugged off a strip of masking tape from the tape dispenser he had close by, pressing it onto the 1terabyte hard drive and scribbling 'Distraction' onto it with a felt-tip marker. 

He then tore off the tape and tried again, writing 'Jongin' this time. 

Again, he tore it off. In the end he placed the label-less hard drive back on the shelf and groaned, making his way to the kitchen and noticing it was 1:20. He nodded to himself and grabbed his camera, a different one from before, one he used for things closer to his interest, and made his way back to the dance studio. 

 

And then he waited. Whilst there, he fiddled with the camera again, looking up to realise Luna's gaze was upon him every few minutes. He then realised he had been frowning for the better part of the last 23 minutes. 

 

He looked up and parted his lips to ask for the time once again, but the students filing out of the studio answered his query. He waited, swallowing audibly and tapping his fingers onto the glass of the water he'd been given so graciously by the kind receptionist earlier, purposely waiting until every student had been gone for at least a minute before getting up and swallowing the last of the now room-temperature liquid and placing the cup onto Luna's desk with a hushed 'thankyou'. He waited for the small smile in response before turning down the hallway, taking a deep breath and pushing open the door of the practise room, not quite closed from when it had last been opened. 

 

The room had a taste of salt within the air inside, making Sehun's nose scrunch slightly. Sweat. Worse, teenage sweat. 

'I'm a teenager, why am I thinking like this-' he thought to himself, eyes oh-so-very focused on the space between his feet as he shut the door behind him. 

 

"Hello, mister photographer. I hope you weren't waiting long."

 

In truth, Sehun had been waiting since he left. He shook his head and willed himself to look up at Kim Jongin, who was now a metre in front of him, a wide grin on his face as a white towel hung on the end of his fingers and dabbed at sweat that dripped from his hair. 

 

"I'm sorry if I look a mess.. I'm saying so because you look a bit shocked. We can wait and I can dry myself off properly if you'd like..?" Jongin tilted his head. Sehun only then realised he was staring. 

 

"No no, it's quite fine, really. In fact, it might give me an even better angle to bull my reasoning." The last bit he mumbled, smiling to himself at the thought of words like 'liquid determination'. 

 

A light chuckle slipped from Jongin's lips, having heard and understood the sentence immediately. He wiped his face and nodded, walking, no, practically gliding over to the speaker set up in the corner. 

"Same dance?"

 

Sehun remembered the captivating movements from earlier. "It's up to you."

 

He made his way over to the mirror, facing away from it and bringing the viewfinder up to his eye and peering through, again seeing the world through that different light he always did. He walked around quietly, seemingly rather attached to this new part of him. The camera he held now was one he was most comfortable with. The grip was worn away from use, the strap frayed, but the lense clear and well taken care of. There were marks that told you which settings he used most, and his fingers slipped onto familiar notches onto the focusing slide of the camera lense. Jongin had moved into the middle of the room, after drinking some cold water and reached down to touch his toes. He'd been dancing for collectively an hour, but always made sure he stretched, even if just a tiny bit. Once he'd stretched for a little while, he watched in curiosity as Sehun walked slowly, camera practically attached to his face as he did so. A small smile found it's way to Jongin's lips and he tilted his head in a questioning manner before mumbling softly, his voice lilting as he seemed slightly distracted. 

 

"Could you please press play?"

 

Sehun halted from his movements, like he'd been brought from a dream and nodded, reaching over and tapping the screen of Jongin's phone before resuming his concentration on the view finder. 

 

Regrettably, he was not mentally prepared enough. 

 

Jongin had chosen a song in the style of jazz, probably due to having taught it for the last hour and a half. The song was full of sleazy brass and a lump rose in Sehun's throat, as his muscles froze slightly before watching intently, his finger tapping the shutter button every few seconds. The camera made no sound above the music, and 37 photos later, he was satisfied and let it hang around his neck, watching the dancer with awe. 

 

Jongin was lost again, a new bout of sweat threatening to come around as he dancing wholly, effortlessly, determined. The dance he had picked was specifically one choreographed to gain attraction and attention, and it was doing just that. Sehun found himself in front of the mirror once again, leaning back against the cool surface and swallowing dryly underneath the music. After what seemed like an eternity, the song came to an end and Jongin was on the ground, smirk playing upon his lips as sweet, classical tones now came from the speakers, hanging in the air like a lie, a cover-up in comparison to what had just happened in this, this closed room. 

 

"Did you manage to take any photos this time?"

 

Sehun cleared his throat and nodded.

 

"Give me about five minutes and maybe we can go get some food? I'm starving, and my next class isn't until 4:45." 

 

Sehun's stomach growled at the mere mention as Jongin walked into a back room. Sehun caught a glimpse before the door shut behind him, of Jongin peeling off the drenched, black shirt from his skin. 

 

'I haven't eaten all day. Wait-?.. No I don't think that toast at 11 last night counted..' Sehun turned off his camera and spun around to look in the mirror. Noticing the dark circles under his eyes, he rubbed his face gently and cleared his throat, running his fingers through his hair and stretching his back a little, the crack echoing throughout the room as it occurred within the change between songs. The music still played, now a gentle guitar strummed in the background. Sehun thought of his own guitar, of how he could have played this better. He raised one eyebrow judgementally, then mentally scolded himself for thinking so rudely.

 

Sehun was messing about with his hair when Jongin reappeared. 

 

"Do you have any food preferences?"

 

He was now wearing ripped skinny jeans and a loose, white, long-sleeved shirt, accompanied with a pair of converse. 'Painfully simplistic' ran across Sehun's mind. 

 

"Sushi." He managed, noticing that familiar smirk had now reappeared onto Jongin's lips as he unhooked his phone from the speakers, slipped it into his pocket and slung onto one of his shoulders a backpack, that had come with him from the back room. 

 

"Hm, alright. Sushi it is. And also, feel free to call me Kai."

 

"Kai?"

 

"A nickname." He nodded a little, walking over and holding the door open. "After you, mister photographer."

 

-----------------

 

Ten plates of sushi later, each, Jongin, now Kai, and Sehun were sitting in the restaurant with satisfied smiles. 

 

"What now, camera-boy?" Jongin murmured against the glass lip of his cup. He'd just finished the lemonade he'd ordered. 

 

"Um... I go pay, that's what." Sehun nodded and jumped up, ignoring a halted protest from the dance teacher as he half-jogged to the counter, paying quickly and then returning. 

 

"Okay, well, would you um... Well do you-... Ah..." Jongin squinted slightly and seemed unable to link words. 

 

"Do you want to see some of the photos I've taken before?" Sehun blurted out. He internally made a note to smack himself later. 

A bright smile appeared on Jongin's lips as he jumped up from his chair. 

 

"I'd love too! I-if you're okay with it.. That is.."

 

About 20 minutes later, Sehun was holding open the door for Kai at his apartment, watching him with intent curiosity to try and figure out what he thought of the place. After closing the door behind him, Sehun led Jongin to the spare room, placing the camera amongst the tens of others on a table and opening the blue laptop on the desk. 

 

"Do you play?" 

 

Sehun flicked his hair from his eyes as he looked over, seeing Jongin's fingers running over the neck of his guitar. 

 

"Ah... A little.. I guess.."

 

He pulled up some files on his laptop, and Jongin found himself peering out of the window. 

 

"How much did this view cost you, huh?" He chuckled lightly. Sehun brushed off the question with a shrug, gesturing to the screen. 

 

"Here, this was one of my assignments from... Two? Two years ago.. We had to photograph um... Well, public displays of affection."

 

Jongin flashed Sehun a sweet smile as he walked past, leaning over the desk and admiring the handiwork in front of him. 

 

"Wow."

 

"Wow good or wow bad-?" Sehun winced. 

 

"Wow oh my god wow." Kai nodded in approval. "I hope the photos you took today look as amazing as this. 

 

"Oh!" Sehun practically lept onto the camera he'd used today, snatching the SD card and almost jamming it into the slot on the laptop. Jongin blinked and took a step back, watching with an expression of both intrigue and confusion. 

 

Sehun tapped away when some options appeared, waiting for a bit as the photos saved before bringing them up on the screen. Images of sweaty, concentrating Kim Jongin appeared and the dancer leant over the photographers shoulders, peering with a sense of adoration for these shots. 

 

"Again.. Wow, I- how long have you been doing this?"

 

"Taking photos of dancers or taking photos?"

 

"Both."

 

"Professionally speaking, 4 years."

 

Jongin scratched the back of his neck, a low chuckle coming from his throat, mixed with both admiration and slight awe. 

 

"Kai.. Would you like some tea, or, uh, really crap instant coffee or something?" Sehun stood up straight, realising he'd been staring at off-screen Jongin for too long. 

 

Kai chuckled brightly, nodding. "Tea sounds good. Not much of a coffee person are you?"

 

"Coffee and insomniacs tend not to mix." Sehun shrugged and rubbed his eyes as he made his way to the kitchen, refilling the jug before turning it on and grabbing out two clean mugs from the overhead cupboard. 

 

--

 

In the spare room, Jongin continued for a little while to admire the photos of himself. After realising how vain this action was, he gently closed the laptop and took another look around, tilting his head as he did so. 

 

'How many hobbies do you have, mister photographer?' He thought to himself as he dragged his fingers over the scattered sheet music. He'd now noticed the treadmill and towering bookshelf that was filled with hundreds of genres. He tugged out a book titled 'A Million Ways to Fall Asleep' and flicked open to a random page. It was describing how music could sometimes aid sleeping, but also sometimes keep it at bay. 'Coffee and insomniacs tend not to mix.' Sehun's voice rattled inside Jongin's mind before he put the book back, making his way to the kitchen to notice Sehun was leaning on the bench with his face buried into his hands. Kai furrowed his eyebrows and was planning to stay silent when a tiny groan came from the others direction. 

 

The dance teacher walked over and slipped his arms around the photographer's shoulders, tugging him gently. The action was one of old friends, one not pertaining to them but seemed needed. 

 

"Are you alright?" 

 

Sehun hadn't noticed Kai's presence until he'd felt his arms around him. He nodded and rubbed his eyes again, noticing the jug was boiling. He went to grab it when Kai grabbed his hands and shook his head. "I'll do that."

 

Sehun looked down at the space between his feet, the frown on his lips bordering on a pout as Jongin gently and silently persuaded the blonde male to move to the side. Helplessly watching as Jongin poured the hot water into the two mugs, Sehun leant back against the opposite kitchen counter, yawning and scrunching up his face a little as he did so. 

 

"When was the last time you slept?" Jongin finally spoke after what seemed like forever, holding one of the mugs out towards him. 

Sehun ignored the question. 

 

"How long have you been making tea for strangers?" He cracked a smile, laughing softly. Jongin shook his head and rolled his eyes. 

 

"I only make tea for cute strangers." 

 

Sehun felt his face turn red as he looked down at the hot mug in his hands. He didn't know what to say so he mumbled bashfully. "You think I'm cute?"

 

Jongin puffed up his cheeks and changed the topic as fast as he could, as seeing Sehun's flushed cheeks had made him worry that his skin was the same shade of red. 

 

"Do you wanna watch a movie or tv or something?"

 

Sehun regained his composure and nodded, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he lead Kai to the lounge. He sipped the hot beverage before placing the cup on the coffee table and searching for the remote, finding it soon by the tv itself before gesturing to the large couch. Jongin nodded and sat down quietly, his face showing a slight hint of concern. Sehun made his way back to the couch and flopped down gently, turning on the television and pulling up the guide. "Any requests?"

 

Jongin reached out to take the remote in a polite way, and once he'd gotten it, put on a channel that played comedy shows. Sehun grabbed his tea from the coffee table, slipping off his shoes onto the floor in front of him and bringing his knees to his chest, eyes concentrating on the large screen ahead. 

 

Jongin switched his gaze every so often from The 70's Show to Oh Sehun. He'd been this confident teenager when they were in the dance studio. Somewhat confident, anyway. But as soon as they got to his apartment it was like he was seeing the real version. Patient Zero, so to speak. 

 

After an hour of silence between them, they finished their drinks and their cups were side by side of the small table. Making sure that the other wasn't paying attention, Kai grabbed his phone from his pocket and texted a cancellation to the other dance teacher signed to his studio before turning on the 'Do not Disturb' setting. 

 

Then he looked up at the 19-year-old who was hugging his legs to his chest, his chin resting on his knees. His eyes were faltering with every passing minute. 

 

Three more tv shows passed, the jokes eliciting no more than amused smiles from Sehun. Jongin reached over and slid his arm around the boys shoulders, tugging him to lay down into his lap gently. Sehun looked up at the other, confused but too tired to argue. The dreaded question left Jongin's lips again. 

 

"When was the last time you slept, Sehun?"

 

All the younger one could do was shrug. Kai's fingers brushed away the stray strands of blonde hair from Sehun's eyes. 

 

"I may be overstepping some boundaries, but if you'll let me, may I stay, to make sure you sleep?"

 

Sehun pursed his lips, looking up sheepishly to this older male who seemed so concerned. 

 

"I'm just some random dance teacher, I know. But-"

 

Sehun slipped his arms to lock fingers behind Kai's neck, tugging him down and pressing his lips to the others. 

 

There was silence. 

 

Silence and quiet chattering from the tv. 

 

Silence and quiet chattering from the tv and quickened heartbeats.

 

So many heartbeats that Sehun stopped counting until Kai's own fingers slid to grip the younger ones hair loosely. Their eyes had fluttered shut moments ago. 

 

They parted hesitantly and Sehun looked up with an apologetic glint in his eye. 

'Say something. I can't breathe right now.' Sehun thought, his chest tight with nerves. He'd never kissed anyone before. 

 

"Why?" Jongin moved his free hand to his fingers along Sehun's jawline gently. 

 

'Because the minute I dropped my camera, I dropped my heart along with it and you picked up one of them with the swift movements you've obviously known for years? Because you're gorgeous? Because I-'

Sehun's thoughts were cut off by his own, outwardly spoken words. 

 

"Because I've never dropped my camera before. Not for 19 years. I- I'm sorry I-"

 

Sehun tried to apologise, stammering uselessly until Jongin pressed their lips together briefly. 

 

"Shh."

 

Three sweet kisses later, Sehun fell asleep, and Jongin played with his hair until he was lulled into unconsciousness aswell. They dreamed of everything and nothing, of no one and of each other. And not a day passed since then that Sehun didn't take photos of Kai, whether it was on their stupid dates that made no sense, on the holidays they took together, or when Sehun joined in Kai's jazz dance classes as an observer. 

 

And not a moment passed when he didn't thank every known deity for camera straps.