[exo] wishbone (3/6)
Wishbone (3/6)
Jongin/Kyungsoo
3111 words
Jongin wakes up to a world of EXO without a Do Kyungsoo. (Band-verse with a twist.)
For @dokyungsoo, the biggest KaiSoo enabler I know.
wishbone (3/6)
As a peace offering to Tao, Kyungsoo proposes to cook lunch that somehow turns into dinner with all the distractions that they keep getting into.
(Chanyeol and Baekhyun suggest a Playstation competition against Kyungsoo. It’s two against one, so Jongin is forced to play to even out the odds.
It turns out that Kyungsoo is an even better player than all of them combined. Pretty soon, an innocent game turns into a full-on battle of pride with the others trying to beat him several times. Jongin has long since given up on them.
They only stop when Sehun manages to win over Kyungsoo. What they don’t need to know is that Kyungsoo purposefully lost.)
Kyungsoo has assigned Jongin as his right hand man in preparing the dishes. It feels oddly nostalgic, and Jongin can’t stop the slight twinge in his chest.
“Huh,” Luhan mutters.
“What?” Kai asks.
“Nothing,” Luhan says, looking at how Kyungsoo assembles their food with flourish. “It’s just that he seems to know where everything is.”
Jongin tries to shrug the comment off as casually as possible, but his voice ends up being stiff instead. “He’s intuitive like that.”
“Intuitive,” Luhan says, eyes following Kyungsoo. “Well as long as he cooks a mean meal then I’m all for him.”
Jongin smirks. “He’s definitely better than you.”
The comment earns him a slap in the arm.
---
By half past ten in the evening, they’re all lying boneless by the living room, hands and feet propped everywhere and moaning in satisfaction.
“That was good,” Minseok says from where he’s lying on the floor.
“Better than good,” Jongdae sighs. He’s in a fetal position beside the couch with a hand on his stomach.
“I’m dyiiing,” Tao groans. “My stomach’s gonna burst.” He turns around and flops on his belly instead. He has somehow managed to occupy a full couch for himself without anyone kicking him out. Kyungsoo thinks Tao’s lucky like that, but Jongin thinks he’s really just a brat.
“Hyung,” Tao looks at Kyungsoo, “are you really trying to kill me?”
“What?” Kyungsoo sputters. “I wasn’t-“
“Relax,” Yixing says, and puts his hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “He’s just teasing.”
“Your kimchi spaghetti’s so good,” Tao mumbles. “Make it again next time.”
“I second that,” Sehun says.
“Third.” Baekhyun raises his hand.
“Fourth,” Moonkyu says and raises a leg.
“Let’s go and get some dessert,” Chanyeol says, and turns to Kyungsoo. “You’ll stay here for dessert, right?”
“I- ” Kyungsoo stutters.
“Children,” Kris says. “You’re overwhelming him.”
(“What’s he smoking now?” Luhan whispers to Minseok. “We’re older than him.”)
“It’d be great if you could stay so we can treat you to dessert,” Junmyeon says. “Unless you have school tomorrow?”
Kyungsoo falters for a moment then says, weakly, “I have school tomorrow.”
“You do?” Jongin asks. Later, Kyungsoo mouths at him.
“I had a really awesome day though,” Kyungsoo says as he moves to stand up. “The best, actually.”
“Aww man,” Chanyeol complains. “I was hoping we could get some bubble tea and play another round.”
“Come on guys,” Kris says, clapping his hands. “Let’s not hold him prisoner.”
As Kyungsoo makes a quick round of goodbyes, Jongin waits by the door. Watching Kyungsoo say goodbye to his former members feels too invasive and personal, almost like reading someone’s diary. Kyungsoo’s face morphs into different expressions as he goes through them one by one before Junmyeon and Kris accompany Kyungsoo to the door.
“Thanks for the great dinner.” Junmyeon smiles at Kyungsoo, the kind of genuine smile he reserves for personal use. “You’re welcome to come back any time.”
“Yea,” Kris says as he holds the door open. “No one’s ever managed to singlehandedly shut them up except for you and your cooking.”
“Thank you for having me.” Kyungsoo beams at them, the tips of his ears looking decidedly pink. He looks like he wants to say something more, mouth opening and closing, but decides against it.
“I’ll walk him down,” Jongin tells his hyungs. “Don’t wait for me.”
The door of their apartment closes and Kyungsoo’s back to being silent again, Jongin notes. All quiet and subdued, steps slow and deliberate as they walk down the hallway.
“Hyung,” Jongin pokes at Kyungsoo’s cheek once they’re inside the elevator. “Are you okay?”
“Mmm,” Kyungsoo mumbles after a while, “better than I’ve ever been in the past three days.”
“I was expecting you to stay back there when they offered,” Jongin says.
“I would have a couple of days ago,” Kyungsoo says. “But it’s probably best not to get too attached.”
Jongin's gut clenches and twists, but he tries to clamp the feeling down. He takes Kyungsoo’s hand in his instead and leads him out of the elevator.
“We’ll find out how to get things back,” Jongin says, mustering all the courage he can and putting them into words. “We will.”
Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything, just grips Jongin’s hand tighter.
“Did you know,” Jongin says as they wait for the taxi at the lobby, “I searched for you in Naver.”
Kyungsoo gawks at him. “What?”
“After I saw you in Ilsan, I tried calling your old cellphone number but someone else picked up so I searched for you in Naver instead,” Jongin says sheepishly, remembering how urgent things had felt back then.
“That’s really creepy,” Kyungsoo says and breaks out into a smile. “But sweet.”
“It was the only way I could find you,” Jongin says defensively.
“I guess that’s less creepy compared to when I read sasaeng blogs to find out about your schedule,” Kyungsoo says, cheeks turning light pink.
“They could be pretty useful sometimes.” Jongin laughs. “And you didn’t tell me you’re in school now.”
“Oops,” Kyungsoo says. “I forgot?”
“So tell me about that.”
“Apparently, if I hadn’t gotten into SM Entertainment I would be in culinary school,” Kyungsoo says. “At least that’s what happened to me.”
“Makes sense,” Jongin says. “You’ve always wanted to be a chef.”
“Mhmm,” Kyungsoo mumbles, teeth biting on his lower lip. “Except now I just want to be D.O. of EXO.”
---
The next time they see each other, Jongin’s picking Kyungsoo up from his school. It’s not so much as him picking up Kyungsoo in a car, but more like them meeting up at a nearby café before going to the train station.
Kyungsoo’s unusually silent during the whole trip back to Kyungsoo’s house. When they reach his place, it’s empty save for the two of them.
“What’s wrong?” Jongin closes the door to Kyungsoo’s bedroom.
“I auditioned for SM Entertainment,” Kyungsoo replies, and swallows thickly. “They said I was above the age limit.”
Kyungsoo lies on the bed, facing away from Jongin. The small curve of Kyungsoo’s back quivers slightly. Jongin wishes he’d never asked.
“I’m so tired, Jongin-ah.”
“We’ll try a different agency.” Jongin sits down beside Kyungsoo. It’s not like him to give up this easily.
“It won’t be the same,” Kyungsoo says, voice muffled by the pillow against his face. “I won’t be in EXO, and I won’t be in SM Entertainment.”
“Others have debuted before and joined a different group afterwards,” Jongin says, trying to push down the remorse bubbling inside him.
“But that was their decision,” Kyungsoo says, voice soft and low in defeat. “I never asked for this.”
I’m sorry, Jongin wants to say, I’m so sorry. Except he seals his mouth shut because he feels like he’s going to vomit with all the guilt he’s been carrying.
---
Later that night, when he gets back to his room, he takes out the silver wishbone out of his closet and searches Sehun's school materials for a glue gun.
“Come on,” Jongin says, hands shaking as he glues the two pieces together. “I take it back. Just let things go back to how it used to be.”
The next day, Jongin wakes up and nothing’s changed from yesterday. The wishbone is missing though, and no matter how hard he looks he can’t find it anywhere.
It’s fine, Jongin thinks, trying to calm himself because of the missing necklace, things can’t be more fucked up now the way it is.
---
They meet as often as Jongin’s schedule allows them to and, on some days, Jongin spends the night at Kyungsoo’s house. Kyungsoo’s parents are nice and hospitable, and they don’t seem to know that he’s Kai. It’s a welcome change.
Kyungsoo starts to become livelier now. Whenever they talk on the phone after Kyungsoo gets off school, he tells Jongin about the latest recipes that they’ve made and the new mixes that he can do, voice lilting up.
“I’ve made some improvements on my kimchi spaghetti,” Kyungsoo says as they make their familiar trek back home. “I’ll try it out this Monday and bring it to the dorm.”
“I’ll let the others know,” Jongin says.
“Don’t,” Kyungsoo tugs on his arm, smiling. “I want to surprise them.”
“Ahh,” Jongin hums, and impulsively brushes the hair out of Kyungsoo’s face. “Always so thoughtful.”
“Come on.” Kyungsoo ducks his head, and lets go of Jongin’s arm. “Race you to the room!”
Jongin doesn’t know if the fast beating of his heart is because of the way he’s running or because of something else.
---
Summer is turning slowly into autumn, and Jongin can feel it in the cold air circulating in Kyungsoo’s room. They have just finished eating their dinner and Kyungsoo’s doing his homework while Jongin browses funny YouTube videos of cats and dogs.
He’s on his fifth lolcat video when Kyungsoo’s phone rings.
“Hello?”
Judging by the way Kyungsoo’s face lights up, Jongin could tell that it could only be Hyunsik on the end of the line. Kyungsoo makes a signal at him then goes out of the room.
Jongin can already feel his mood turning sour. Lim Hyunsik almost always ruins their time together. Isn’t that guy busy with BtoB’s ongoing promotions, anyway?
When Kyungsoo comes back, Jongin blurts out, “Do you like him?”
“Don’t be dumb,” Kyungsoo says hotly, blood rushing to his cheeks. “Of course I don’t like him that way.”
“Then why are you blushing?” Jongin is really starting to get peeved with this Hyunsik guy.
“Because you’re asking stupid questions.” Kyungsoo looks at him incredulously.
Jongin tries hard not to pout, but fails. “Hyuuung,” Jongin sulks, “you’re with me now so stop talking to other people.”
Kyungsoo lets out a long breathe before sitting down next to him. “He’s my bestfriend, Jongin. What do you expect me to do?”
“I thought I was your bestfriend,” is at the tip of Jongin’s tongue, but he holds it back and says, petulantly, “Just stay with me.”
“You’re so silly.” Kyungsoo smiles and takes Jongin’s hand in his and pockets it in his jacket. “We’re always together.”
No, we’re not, Jongin thinks, frowning. You and Hyunsik have always been together. He knows the You that I’ve never met before.
But Kyungsoo is smiling at him, eyes disappearing into crescents and face glowing under the fluorescent light. It’s hard to keep up his frown when Kyungsoo’s like this, and he feels his bitterness dissolve under a layer of happiness.
---
From the night that the wishbone disappeared, Jongin has turned his efforts to other wish granting outlets.
Kyungsoo’s the first to go to sleep, too tired from his classes that start way too early to be decent.
(“It’s because the school has a restaurant that serves breakfast,” Kyungsoo tells him. “We have to be up early because the Special of the Day changes depending on what we learned the previous day.”)
He sits on the bed he’s sharing with Kyungsoo -
(“Come on, your butt’s gonna freeze if you sleep on the floor,” Kyungsoo says, and Jongin lets him tuck them together on the bed.)
- and looks out the window. It’s a cloudless night, and the stars are brilliant against the midnight darkness. He waits for something out in the distance. Sometimes it takes hours before it happens, but tonight there’s a lone shooting star that drops in early.
“Please,” Jongin wishes as he cards his fingers through Kyungsoo’s hair, “turn everything back to the way it was.”
A cold draft passes through the crack on the window and Jongin feels Kyungsoo shiver under his touch.
---
The only sanctuary that Jongin has in a place with eleven other boys is his bedroom - or at least it used to be when Kyungsoo was still his roommate. His thoughts get interrupted when the door opens and Moonkyu plops on the bed next to his.
“Jongiiin~,” Moonkyu whines. “How come you’re never here anymoreee~?”
“Stop that,” Jongin says. Moonkyu whining is usually a bad sign according to Jongin’s previous experiences. “You sound like a whiny girlfriend.”
“What if I am a whiny girlfriend?” Moonkyu pouts at him, lower lip sticking out comically. “What would you do?”
“You’re gross,” Jongin snorts.
“And you’re mean,” Moonkyu says in a high-pitched tone, making a horrible impersonation of a female voice. “Anyway, what were you thinking about so seriously now?”
“What makes you say I’m thinking of something?”
“You’re on your thinking position.” Moonkyu points at the way Jongin’s sitting on the bed, all cross-legged with a pillow on his lap and face propped on his hands.
“Stuff.” Jongin waves his hand.
“Oooh,” Moonkyu whispers, and wiggles his eyebrows and fingers in coordination. “What kind of stuff?”
“YAH,” Jongin throws a pillow at Moonkyu’s face. “Get your head out of the gutter!”
Moonkyu grabs the pillow and hugs it before releasing a long sigh. “You never tell me stuff anymore.”
It’s true. Jongin’s been too preoccupied spending his time with Kyungsoo while the other half consists of EXO’s official activities that he’s somewhat relegated shorter time with his other friends. It’s not that he’s doing it consciously; it’s just that he can’t stand seeing Kyungsoo going through this alone when he's the cause of everything in the first place.
Jongin moves to Moonkyu’s bed, shoulders bumping.
“Sorry,” Jongin says. It’s not Moonkyu’s fault that he replaced Kyungsoo in this world, he reasons out. “I’ve just been busy lately.”
“Hmph,” Moonkyu grunts. “I’m going to accept this only if you tell me what’s been bugging you lately.”
Jongin eyes him suspiciously. “You’re not going to give this up, are you?”
“Nope,” Moonkyu says, a little too gleefully. “Is this going to be good? Should I get some popcorn?”
“Don’t bother,” Jongin moans, and slumps on the bed. “Okay, let’s say, hypothetically, you spend so much time with this one person and you start having weird thoughts about that person. Is that…normal?”
“Weird thoughts,” Moonkyu echoes. “Is this someone from EXO?”
“No,” Jongin quickly replies. “Just answer my question.”
Moonkyu turns to look at Jongin and whispers mockingly, “Is this about me?”
“Shut up,” Jongin says and shakes his head. “Forget that I even asked.”
“Jongin-ah,” Moonkyu grins at him. “This is why you shouldn’t take those rabid shippers seriously.”
“And this is why I never tell you anything anymore,” Jongin retorts. “Cause you’re an idiot.”
“Touché.” Moonkyu nods his head and drapes his arm on Jongin’s shoulder. “So who’s this about?”
Jongin blows a puff of air and tries to shrug Moonkyu’s arm off. “None of your business.”
“It is when my boyfriend’s having ‘weird thoughts’ of someone else,” Moonkyu jokes.
“As if I’d tap that,” Jongin says and pushes Moonkyu off the bed, laughing. “And it’s not that kind of weird thoughts!”
Or at least that’s what Jongin tells himself. But sometimes, late at night, he dreams of Kyungsoo’s full lips hovering slightly above him and soft, warm hands on his abdomen. He always wakes up before anything happens.
---
Jongin’s next line of defense is Taemin and he calls the other for some friendly advice. He’s less of an idiot than Moonkyu, and Taemin will definitely give him a decent answer. Right?
He relays the same message to Taemin and there’s a long pause before he hears a sharp intake of breath, and then Taemin asks, “Is this about Moonkyu?”
“WHAT?” Jongin yelps. “No!”
“You’re denying it a little too hard for it not to be the truth,” Taemin says at the other end, and Jongin can hear him trying to muffle down his laughter. That bastard. He doesn’t know why the whole world is against him today.
“Taemin,” Jongin deadpans, the way he does when he’s trying to straighten the other one out. “It’s not about Moonkyu.”
“Okaaay,” Taemin replies, sounding unconvinced. “Then who is it then?”
Jongin wants to say it’s Kyungsoo, but he’s not even sure about what he feels. “Someone,” Jongin finally says, solemnly. “Someone I know.”
---
In the end, Jongin decides to ask someone who wouldn’t make fun of him. They’re practicing their latest choreography for a commercial when the choreographer gives them an hour break.
Yixing’s slumped in a corner, completely unmoving. Jongin would have thought that SME has finally managed to kill one of them from exhaustion if it wasn’t for the slow, barely noticeable rise and fall of Yixing’s chest.
Jongin drops on the ground beside him. “Hyung.”
Yixing cracks an eye open. “Hmm?”
“Can I ask you a hypothetical question?”
“Hmm,” Yixing replies and closes his eye again. Jongin takes that as a yes.
“When you’re with someone all the time, is it possible to…I don’t know,” Jongin frowns, “end up having weird feelings for them?”
Yixing has his eyes open now, both trained on Jongin. “Define weird.”
“Like,” Jongin begins, trying to find the simplest Korean words to explain what he means. It’s pretty hard when he’s not entirely sure himself.
“It’s like, you feel overprotective of the person, and you just want to be together all the time, and even when you’re together all the time you get annoyed when that person’s attention isn’t on you. And when the person laughs, you feel happy, too. It’s infectious. It’s like having an extension of your self. And you want to give it your all because it’s all or nothing with them - but not really. Because it would really suck if it is nothing.”
Jongin stops, noticing how he’s started to ramble like a hormonal teenage girl. “Did you catch all of that?” He asks weakly.
Yixing’s looking far away now, brows set in a steady line when he’s thinking about something seriously. “I think,” he starts slowly, “when you’re with someone all the time you start to maybe fall in love with that person.”
“Oh,” Jongin breathes out. He traces the line of Yixing’s vision. On the opposite end of the room, Luhan’s laughing like a mad man over something Tao said.
“Oh,” Jongin repeats. Love, huh.
( chapter 4)
Notes: FIRST OFF, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO THOSE WHO CELEBRATE IT! \o/ This is Lim Hyunsik. He’s a member of BtoB (Born to Beat) and a close friend of Kyungsoo since pre-debut. They went to the same high school, and also had voice lessons together (I think). They’re kind of like @dokyungsoo’s predebut OTP (like MoonKai & TaeKai) so this fic is purely indulgent to her whims lol. Sorry for the late update orz. My original plan was to post an update once a week on a Saturday/Sunday, but real life got rrreally busy. :( (Had to go for an emergency trip last weekend. Literally just packed my luggage in the morning and flew back to Asia that same night.) But to make up for it, this chapter is longer. :D THANK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR SUPPORT. ILU. ♥
Jongin/Kyungsoo
3111 words
Jongin wakes up to a world of EXO without a Do Kyungsoo. (Band-verse with a twist.)
For @dokyungsoo, the biggest KaiSoo enabler I know.
wishbone (3/6)
As a peace offering to Tao, Kyungsoo proposes to cook lunch that somehow turns into dinner with all the distractions that they keep getting into.
(Chanyeol and Baekhyun suggest a Playstation competition against Kyungsoo. It’s two against one, so Jongin is forced to play to even out the odds.
It turns out that Kyungsoo is an even better player than all of them combined. Pretty soon, an innocent game turns into a full-on battle of pride with the others trying to beat him several times. Jongin has long since given up on them.
They only stop when Sehun manages to win over Kyungsoo. What they don’t need to know is that Kyungsoo purposefully lost.)
Kyungsoo has assigned Jongin as his right hand man in preparing the dishes. It feels oddly nostalgic, and Jongin can’t stop the slight twinge in his chest.
“Huh,” Luhan mutters.
“What?” Kai asks.
“Nothing,” Luhan says, looking at how Kyungsoo assembles their food with flourish. “It’s just that he seems to know where everything is.”
Jongin tries to shrug the comment off as casually as possible, but his voice ends up being stiff instead. “He’s intuitive like that.”
“Intuitive,” Luhan says, eyes following Kyungsoo. “Well as long as he cooks a mean meal then I’m all for him.”
Jongin smirks. “He’s definitely better than you.”
The comment earns him a slap in the arm.
---
By half past ten in the evening, they’re all lying boneless by the living room, hands and feet propped everywhere and moaning in satisfaction.
“That was good,” Minseok says from where he’s lying on the floor.
“Better than good,” Jongdae sighs. He’s in a fetal position beside the couch with a hand on his stomach.
“I’m dyiiing,” Tao groans. “My stomach’s gonna burst.” He turns around and flops on his belly instead. He has somehow managed to occupy a full couch for himself without anyone kicking him out. Kyungsoo thinks Tao’s lucky like that, but Jongin thinks he’s really just a brat.
“Hyung,” Tao looks at Kyungsoo, “are you really trying to kill me?”
“What?” Kyungsoo sputters. “I wasn’t-“
“Relax,” Yixing says, and puts his hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “He’s just teasing.”
“Your kimchi spaghetti’s so good,” Tao mumbles. “Make it again next time.”
“I second that,” Sehun says.
“Third.” Baekhyun raises his hand.
“Fourth,” Moonkyu says and raises a leg.
“Let’s go and get some dessert,” Chanyeol says, and turns to Kyungsoo. “You’ll stay here for dessert, right?”
“I- ” Kyungsoo stutters.
“Children,” Kris says. “You’re overwhelming him.”
(“What’s he smoking now?” Luhan whispers to Minseok. “We’re older than him.”)
“It’d be great if you could stay so we can treat you to dessert,” Junmyeon says. “Unless you have school tomorrow?”
Kyungsoo falters for a moment then says, weakly, “I have school tomorrow.”
“You do?” Jongin asks. Later, Kyungsoo mouths at him.
“I had a really awesome day though,” Kyungsoo says as he moves to stand up. “The best, actually.”
“Aww man,” Chanyeol complains. “I was hoping we could get some bubble tea and play another round.”
“Come on guys,” Kris says, clapping his hands. “Let’s not hold him prisoner.”
As Kyungsoo makes a quick round of goodbyes, Jongin waits by the door. Watching Kyungsoo say goodbye to his former members feels too invasive and personal, almost like reading someone’s diary. Kyungsoo’s face morphs into different expressions as he goes through them one by one before Junmyeon and Kris accompany Kyungsoo to the door.
“Thanks for the great dinner.” Junmyeon smiles at Kyungsoo, the kind of genuine smile he reserves for personal use. “You’re welcome to come back any time.”
“Yea,” Kris says as he holds the door open. “No one’s ever managed to singlehandedly shut them up except for you and your cooking.”
“Thank you for having me.” Kyungsoo beams at them, the tips of his ears looking decidedly pink. He looks like he wants to say something more, mouth opening and closing, but decides against it.
“I’ll walk him down,” Jongin tells his hyungs. “Don’t wait for me.”
The door of their apartment closes and Kyungsoo’s back to being silent again, Jongin notes. All quiet and subdued, steps slow and deliberate as they walk down the hallway.
“Hyung,” Jongin pokes at Kyungsoo’s cheek once they’re inside the elevator. “Are you okay?”
“Mmm,” Kyungsoo mumbles after a while, “better than I’ve ever been in the past three days.”
“I was expecting you to stay back there when they offered,” Jongin says.
“I would have a couple of days ago,” Kyungsoo says. “But it’s probably best not to get too attached.”
Jongin's gut clenches and twists, but he tries to clamp the feeling down. He takes Kyungsoo’s hand in his instead and leads him out of the elevator.
“We’ll find out how to get things back,” Jongin says, mustering all the courage he can and putting them into words. “We will.”
Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything, just grips Jongin’s hand tighter.
“Did you know,” Jongin says as they wait for the taxi at the lobby, “I searched for you in Naver.”
Kyungsoo gawks at him. “What?”
“After I saw you in Ilsan, I tried calling your old cellphone number but someone else picked up so I searched for you in Naver instead,” Jongin says sheepishly, remembering how urgent things had felt back then.
“That’s really creepy,” Kyungsoo says and breaks out into a smile. “But sweet.”
“It was the only way I could find you,” Jongin says defensively.
“I guess that’s less creepy compared to when I read sasaeng blogs to find out about your schedule,” Kyungsoo says, cheeks turning light pink.
“They could be pretty useful sometimes.” Jongin laughs. “And you didn’t tell me you’re in school now.”
“Oops,” Kyungsoo says. “I forgot?”
“So tell me about that.”
“Apparently, if I hadn’t gotten into SM Entertainment I would be in culinary school,” Kyungsoo says. “At least that’s what happened to me.”
“Makes sense,” Jongin says. “You’ve always wanted to be a chef.”
“Mhmm,” Kyungsoo mumbles, teeth biting on his lower lip. “Except now I just want to be D.O. of EXO.”
---
The next time they see each other, Jongin’s picking Kyungsoo up from his school. It’s not so much as him picking up Kyungsoo in a car, but more like them meeting up at a nearby café before going to the train station.
Kyungsoo’s unusually silent during the whole trip back to Kyungsoo’s house. When they reach his place, it’s empty save for the two of them.
“What’s wrong?” Jongin closes the door to Kyungsoo’s bedroom.
“I auditioned for SM Entertainment,” Kyungsoo replies, and swallows thickly. “They said I was above the age limit.”
Kyungsoo lies on the bed, facing away from Jongin. The small curve of Kyungsoo’s back quivers slightly. Jongin wishes he’d never asked.
“I’m so tired, Jongin-ah.”
“We’ll try a different agency.” Jongin sits down beside Kyungsoo. It’s not like him to give up this easily.
“It won’t be the same,” Kyungsoo says, voice muffled by the pillow against his face. “I won’t be in EXO, and I won’t be in SM Entertainment.”
“Others have debuted before and joined a different group afterwards,” Jongin says, trying to push down the remorse bubbling inside him.
“But that was their decision,” Kyungsoo says, voice soft and low in defeat. “I never asked for this.”
I’m sorry, Jongin wants to say, I’m so sorry. Except he seals his mouth shut because he feels like he’s going to vomit with all the guilt he’s been carrying.
---
Later that night, when he gets back to his room, he takes out the silver wishbone out of his closet and searches Sehun's school materials for a glue gun.
“Come on,” Jongin says, hands shaking as he glues the two pieces together. “I take it back. Just let things go back to how it used to be.”
The next day, Jongin wakes up and nothing’s changed from yesterday. The wishbone is missing though, and no matter how hard he looks he can’t find it anywhere.
It’s fine, Jongin thinks, trying to calm himself because of the missing necklace, things can’t be more fucked up now the way it is.
---
They meet as often as Jongin’s schedule allows them to and, on some days, Jongin spends the night at Kyungsoo’s house. Kyungsoo’s parents are nice and hospitable, and they don’t seem to know that he’s Kai. It’s a welcome change.
Kyungsoo starts to become livelier now. Whenever they talk on the phone after Kyungsoo gets off school, he tells Jongin about the latest recipes that they’ve made and the new mixes that he can do, voice lilting up.
“I’ve made some improvements on my kimchi spaghetti,” Kyungsoo says as they make their familiar trek back home. “I’ll try it out this Monday and bring it to the dorm.”
“I’ll let the others know,” Jongin says.
“Don’t,” Kyungsoo tugs on his arm, smiling. “I want to surprise them.”
“Ahh,” Jongin hums, and impulsively brushes the hair out of Kyungsoo’s face. “Always so thoughtful.”
“Come on.” Kyungsoo ducks his head, and lets go of Jongin’s arm. “Race you to the room!”
Jongin doesn’t know if the fast beating of his heart is because of the way he’s running or because of something else.
---
Summer is turning slowly into autumn, and Jongin can feel it in the cold air circulating in Kyungsoo’s room. They have just finished eating their dinner and Kyungsoo’s doing his homework while Jongin browses funny YouTube videos of cats and dogs.
He’s on his fifth lolcat video when Kyungsoo’s phone rings.
“Hello?”
Judging by the way Kyungsoo’s face lights up, Jongin could tell that it could only be Hyunsik on the end of the line. Kyungsoo makes a signal at him then goes out of the room.
Jongin can already feel his mood turning sour. Lim Hyunsik almost always ruins their time together. Isn’t that guy busy with BtoB’s ongoing promotions, anyway?
When Kyungsoo comes back, Jongin blurts out, “Do you like him?”
“Don’t be dumb,” Kyungsoo says hotly, blood rushing to his cheeks. “Of course I don’t like him that way.”
“Then why are you blushing?” Jongin is really starting to get peeved with this Hyunsik guy.
“Because you’re asking stupid questions.” Kyungsoo looks at him incredulously.
Jongin tries hard not to pout, but fails. “Hyuuung,” Jongin sulks, “you’re with me now so stop talking to other people.”
Kyungsoo lets out a long breathe before sitting down next to him. “He’s my bestfriend, Jongin. What do you expect me to do?”
“I thought I was your bestfriend,” is at the tip of Jongin’s tongue, but he holds it back and says, petulantly, “Just stay with me.”
“You’re so silly.” Kyungsoo smiles and takes Jongin’s hand in his and pockets it in his jacket. “We’re always together.”
No, we’re not, Jongin thinks, frowning. You and Hyunsik have always been together. He knows the You that I’ve never met before.
But Kyungsoo is smiling at him, eyes disappearing into crescents and face glowing under the fluorescent light. It’s hard to keep up his frown when Kyungsoo’s like this, and he feels his bitterness dissolve under a layer of happiness.
---
From the night that the wishbone disappeared, Jongin has turned his efforts to other wish granting outlets.
Kyungsoo’s the first to go to sleep, too tired from his classes that start way too early to be decent.
(“It’s because the school has a restaurant that serves breakfast,” Kyungsoo tells him. “We have to be up early because the Special of the Day changes depending on what we learned the previous day.”)
He sits on the bed he’s sharing with Kyungsoo -
(“Come on, your butt’s gonna freeze if you sleep on the floor,” Kyungsoo says, and Jongin lets him tuck them together on the bed.)
- and looks out the window. It’s a cloudless night, and the stars are brilliant against the midnight darkness. He waits for something out in the distance. Sometimes it takes hours before it happens, but tonight there’s a lone shooting star that drops in early.
“Please,” Jongin wishes as he cards his fingers through Kyungsoo’s hair, “turn everything back to the way it was.”
A cold draft passes through the crack on the window and Jongin feels Kyungsoo shiver under his touch.
---
The only sanctuary that Jongin has in a place with eleven other boys is his bedroom - or at least it used to be when Kyungsoo was still his roommate. His thoughts get interrupted when the door opens and Moonkyu plops on the bed next to his.
“Jongiiin~,” Moonkyu whines. “How come you’re never here anymoreee~?”
“Stop that,” Jongin says. Moonkyu whining is usually a bad sign according to Jongin’s previous experiences. “You sound like a whiny girlfriend.”
“What if I am a whiny girlfriend?” Moonkyu pouts at him, lower lip sticking out comically. “What would you do?”
“You’re gross,” Jongin snorts.
“And you’re mean,” Moonkyu says in a high-pitched tone, making a horrible impersonation of a female voice. “Anyway, what were you thinking about so seriously now?”
“What makes you say I’m thinking of something?”
“You’re on your thinking position.” Moonkyu points at the way Jongin’s sitting on the bed, all cross-legged with a pillow on his lap and face propped on his hands.
“Stuff.” Jongin waves his hand.
“Oooh,” Moonkyu whispers, and wiggles his eyebrows and fingers in coordination. “What kind of stuff?”
“YAH,” Jongin throws a pillow at Moonkyu’s face. “Get your head out of the gutter!”
Moonkyu grabs the pillow and hugs it before releasing a long sigh. “You never tell me stuff anymore.”
It’s true. Jongin’s been too preoccupied spending his time with Kyungsoo while the other half consists of EXO’s official activities that he’s somewhat relegated shorter time with his other friends. It’s not that he’s doing it consciously; it’s just that he can’t stand seeing Kyungsoo going through this alone when he's the cause of everything in the first place.
Jongin moves to Moonkyu’s bed, shoulders bumping.
“Sorry,” Jongin says. It’s not Moonkyu’s fault that he replaced Kyungsoo in this world, he reasons out. “I’ve just been busy lately.”
“Hmph,” Moonkyu grunts. “I’m going to accept this only if you tell me what’s been bugging you lately.”
Jongin eyes him suspiciously. “You’re not going to give this up, are you?”
“Nope,” Moonkyu says, a little too gleefully. “Is this going to be good? Should I get some popcorn?”
“Don’t bother,” Jongin moans, and slumps on the bed. “Okay, let’s say, hypothetically, you spend so much time with this one person and you start having weird thoughts about that person. Is that…normal?”
“Weird thoughts,” Moonkyu echoes. “Is this someone from EXO?”
“No,” Jongin quickly replies. “Just answer my question.”
Moonkyu turns to look at Jongin and whispers mockingly, “Is this about me?”
“Shut up,” Jongin says and shakes his head. “Forget that I even asked.”
“Jongin-ah,” Moonkyu grins at him. “This is why you shouldn’t take those rabid shippers seriously.”
“And this is why I never tell you anything anymore,” Jongin retorts. “Cause you’re an idiot.”
“Touché.” Moonkyu nods his head and drapes his arm on Jongin’s shoulder. “So who’s this about?”
Jongin blows a puff of air and tries to shrug Moonkyu’s arm off. “None of your business.”
“It is when my boyfriend’s having ‘weird thoughts’ of someone else,” Moonkyu jokes.
“As if I’d tap that,” Jongin says and pushes Moonkyu off the bed, laughing. “And it’s not that kind of weird thoughts!”
Or at least that’s what Jongin tells himself. But sometimes, late at night, he dreams of Kyungsoo’s full lips hovering slightly above him and soft, warm hands on his abdomen. He always wakes up before anything happens.
---
Jongin’s next line of defense is Taemin and he calls the other for some friendly advice. He’s less of an idiot than Moonkyu, and Taemin will definitely give him a decent answer. Right?
He relays the same message to Taemin and there’s a long pause before he hears a sharp intake of breath, and then Taemin asks, “Is this about Moonkyu?”
“WHAT?” Jongin yelps. “No!”
“You’re denying it a little too hard for it not to be the truth,” Taemin says at the other end, and Jongin can hear him trying to muffle down his laughter. That bastard. He doesn’t know why the whole world is against him today.
“Taemin,” Jongin deadpans, the way he does when he’s trying to straighten the other one out. “It’s not about Moonkyu.”
“Okaaay,” Taemin replies, sounding unconvinced. “Then who is it then?”
Jongin wants to say it’s Kyungsoo, but he’s not even sure about what he feels. “Someone,” Jongin finally says, solemnly. “Someone I know.”
---
In the end, Jongin decides to ask someone who wouldn’t make fun of him. They’re practicing their latest choreography for a commercial when the choreographer gives them an hour break.
Yixing’s slumped in a corner, completely unmoving. Jongin would have thought that SME has finally managed to kill one of them from exhaustion if it wasn’t for the slow, barely noticeable rise and fall of Yixing’s chest.
Jongin drops on the ground beside him. “Hyung.”
Yixing cracks an eye open. “Hmm?”
“Can I ask you a hypothetical question?”
“Hmm,” Yixing replies and closes his eye again. Jongin takes that as a yes.
“When you’re with someone all the time, is it possible to…I don’t know,” Jongin frowns, “end up having weird feelings for them?”
Yixing has his eyes open now, both trained on Jongin. “Define weird.”
“Like,” Jongin begins, trying to find the simplest Korean words to explain what he means. It’s pretty hard when he’s not entirely sure himself.
“It’s like, you feel overprotective of the person, and you just want to be together all the time, and even when you’re together all the time you get annoyed when that person’s attention isn’t on you. And when the person laughs, you feel happy, too. It’s infectious. It’s like having an extension of your self. And you want to give it your all because it’s all or nothing with them - but not really. Because it would really suck if it is nothing.”
Jongin stops, noticing how he’s started to ramble like a hormonal teenage girl. “Did you catch all of that?” He asks weakly.
Yixing’s looking far away now, brows set in a steady line when he’s thinking about something seriously. “I think,” he starts slowly, “when you’re with someone all the time you start to maybe fall in love with that person.”
“Oh,” Jongin breathes out. He traces the line of Yixing’s vision. On the opposite end of the room, Luhan’s laughing like a mad man over something Tao said.
“Oh,” Jongin repeats. Love, huh.
( chapter 4)
Notes: FIRST OFF, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO THOSE WHO CELEBRATE IT! \o/ This is Lim Hyunsik. He’s a member of BtoB (Born to Beat) and a close friend of Kyungsoo since pre-debut. They went to the same high school, and also had voice lessons together (I think). They’re kind of like @dokyungsoo’s predebut OTP (like MoonKai & TaeKai) so this fic is purely indulgent to her whims lol. Sorry for the late update orz. My original plan was to post an update once a week on a Saturday/Sunday, but real life got rrreally busy. :( (Had to go for an emergency trip last weekend. Literally just packed my luggage in the morning and flew back to Asia that same night.) But to make up for it, this chapter is longer. :D THANK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR SUPPORT. ILU. ♥
