False Gods [part ii]
>>> see here for part i<<<
~*~ [PART II]
The next day after school, Kyungsoo anxiously sat on his bed in his room, unable to concentrate on the novel in his hands. On their way home, Jongin had told the older boy that he would go to his own house first to change, and then come over to Kyungsoo's. That had been about half an hour ago, so Jongin could arrive any minute now.
The door bell shrilled and Kyungsoo jumped to his feet as if stung by an adder. He rushed down the stairs, repeating his pre-fabricated words in his head like a mantra, and came to a sliding halt behind the front door. He took one last breath, before he opened the door with a flourish.
“Jongin, we need to talk.”
His best friend, looking a bit like a deer in headlights, gaped at him for a moment, fingers still poised over the phone in his hands; apparently he had been just about to send a text. There was a beat of silence and Kyungsoo took a step back, to indicate that Jongin could come in. The younger boy looked puzzled but nodded slowly. He switched off the screen of his phone and pushed the device into his pocket before he stepped inside the house. He looked at Kyungsoo curiously while he toed off his shoes, but the older boy didn't quite meet his eyes.
When Kyungsoo closed the door of his room behind them, Jongin finally spoke up. “Soo, before I forget to tell you, I-”
“No, let me get this off my chest first, please,” Kyungsoo interrupted him nervously.
Jongin gave another slightly confused look, but waited patiently for Kyungsoo to continue.
“I racked my brain about how to break this to you as gently as possible, but I came up with nothing so I decided to tell you what I think right away,” Kyungsoo said. He took another deep breath and finally looked up again into Jongin's face.
“I think your model friends are not real friends. In fact, I think they're assholes.”
“...Wha- ?” Jongin's dumbfounded expression looked almost comical. “Wait, are you talking about Luhan and the others? But why would you say something like this?”
“I overheard their conversation yesterday,” Kyungsoo explained hesitantly. “And they said some really mean things. About me. Although they don't even know me...” He sighed.
Jongin gave another blank look but then he seemed to remember. “Ahh, you mean in front of the school gates? But they were so nice to you, I don't recall...”
“No, it was before you turned up. I was only able to overhear it because they didn't seem to recognise me... Look, Jongin, I know that you value them a lot and it isn't nice to hear such a thing, but as your best friend who cares about you, I really think you should stop hanging out with them...”
“But I don't... I mean what did they even say?!”
“They made really mean comments about me being a nerd...”
“But I do that all the time, too? I don't get- Don't you know that's just a joke...?”
“They weren't joking!” Kyungsoo said, slightly louder now.
“Why are you so sensitive about this? I'm sure that whatever they said, they didn't mean it in a bad way,” Jongin retorted defensively.
“I know they meant it in a really insulting way!” Kyungsoo said heatedly.
“Kyungsoo, why are you mad now?!” Jongin said, in an equally loud voice now. He shook his head, “I still think this is a misunderstanding.”
“Believe me, I know what I heard, and it wasn't a misunderstanding,” Kyungsoo asserted, trying to keep the hurt out of his tone. He hadn't expected Jongin to react so defensive about the others.
“I don't get why, if you don't like people talking behind other's backs, you are the one who's now bitching about them?!” Jongin retorted, visibly upset.
“Jongin, I'm not bitching about anyone, I'm just trying to warn you-”
“Because they're actually alien monsters with claws and fangs or what?!” Jongin took a step back and crossed his arms. “Kyungsoo, can you imagine how ugly it is to bash the people a friend cares about right in front of him?!”
“Jongin, I am just worried about you!” Involuntarily, Kyungsoo could feel tears of exasperation form in the corners of his eyes and he was almost screaming now. “I'm worried that they will hurt you and talk about you or even right to you the way they talked about me. And I'm sorry about bashing those 'people you care about', but I'm not sorry that I care about you! And you can bloody believe me when I say that I certainly care more about you than they do...”
Jongin was silent for a moment and Kyungsoo used the pause to swiftly wipe over his eyes with the end of his sleeve. When the younger spoke again, his voice was calm again.
“I know I have been a bit distant lately... But you don't need to be jealous, Soo.” Something like a small, endearing smile played on his lips.
Kyungsoo sighed and buried his face in his hands. “No. I'm serious Jongin. I'm not making this up-”
But he got interrupted by a set of arms suddenly closing around his shoulders. The next thing he knew, the older boy found himself wrapped in Jongin's tight embrace. Kyungsoo had to quickly remind himself how to breathe.
“I appreciate your worrying,” Jongin said and Kyungsoo could feel the vibration of his voice through his chest. “But there is really no need for it. I'm fine. Everything's fine.”
Kyungsoo was about to retort something again, but then he changed his mind and just sighed deeply again. Maybe it wasn't so bad. Maybe Jongin was right and there really wasn't any danger of them hurting him because they genuinely liked him. And if so, then so what if they said mean things about Kyungsoo. The only thing which mattered was that they were friendly to Jongin, after all.
Kyungsoo felt his shoulders slowly relax beneath the warmth radiating from Jongin's body. As he was calming down and his own heartbeat decelerated, he could faintly hear a different, fast-drumming sound, but before he could pinpoint it, Jongin's phone vibrated in his pocket. Jongin took a step away from Kyungsoo again and pulled out his phone while the older boy silently wished the hug had lasted a bit longer.
“Shoot, I gotta go,” Jongin said as he looked at the screen.
“What? Why?” Kyungsoo was confused.
“That's right, I had wanted to tell you when I came here, but then I forgot,” Jongin said and gave Kyungsoo an apologetic smile. The older boy had a sudden sense of foreboding.
“I actually can't stay for video games tonight,” Jongin went on and Kyungsoo's heart plummeted. “I'm going out with... the others,” Jongin added hesitantly and cleared his throat a bit sheepishly.
“Going out? But... you're underage,” Kyungsoo said, still puzzled.
“Yeah but... you know, Luhan knows the right people...” Jongin trailed off with a slightly lopsided grin.
Kyungsoo didn't know what to say.
Jongin bent down and grabbed his (ridiculous designer-) bag and took a step back towards Kyungsoo. He raised his free hand and after a split-second of hesitation, ran the backs of his fingers gently over Kyungsoo's cheek. “Don't worry, Soo, I'm fine,” he said reassuringly with a warm voice. Kyungsoo looked up into Jongin's eyes, and what he saw made him almost lightheaded.
And without another word, Jongin turned on his heel and when Kyungsoo finally caught his breath again, his best friend had already left.
~*~
After letting it ring for about a dozen times, Chanyeol finally picked up the phone.
“Kyungsoo? What's up?”
“Hey... not that much,” Kyungsoo replied. “Are you busy? If yes, I don't want to bother you...”
“Are you kidding me? Of course I'm busy being on a romantic date with my sexy six-string in my room.”
Despite his mood, Kyungsoo had to grin at the joke and reflexively played along, “Sounds like a hot Friday night.”
“She really liked the candlelight dinner I prepared,” Chanyeol said and Kyungsoo chuckled. There was a pause before Chanyeol spoke again, tone more serious again. “Hey, is everything alright?”
Kyungsoo sighed deeply. “Actually... no.”
“What did Jongin do now?”
“How do you even know that it's...? Ugh, anyway. You know how I was never a particular fan of his modelling, right?” he began, telling Chanyeol about the events from the day before and from his fight with Jongin earlier this evening. “And can you even believe it?! Right now he's out and about with these people again!” he exclaimed as he finished and let out a frustrated growl.
“Aww, I'm sorry to hear that,” Chanyeol said, genuine empathy in his voice. “But look, Kyungsoo, you shouldn't take it personally. You know as well as me how naïve Jongin is. And if he truly believes in something or someone, you also know that it's practically impossible to break his gullibility. Jongin simply is this kind of nice person,” Chanyeol tried to console him. “I'm afraid that this is an experience which this dork has to make for himself. As much as you'd want to, you can't protect him forever, you know?”
Kyungsoo hung his head but nodded. “Yes... I guess you're right,” he admitted when he realised that Chanyeol couldn't see him. “And thank you, Chanyeol,” he mumbled a bit sheepishly.
But Chanyeol just laughed, “Yo, don't mention it! That's what friends are there for! Ah, which reminds me: I got great news because I'm friends with Baekhyun now!” His audible excitement made his deep voice rise a couple of octaves. “Well, almost, I guess,” Chanyeol added after a beat.
“Eh?! Really? Good boy!” Kyungsoo was indeed happy for him, but he also couldn't resist a bit of teasing. “Did he agree to throw sticks for you in the park?”
However, Chanyeol chose to ignore the comment. “We actually bonded over music the other day! He was sitting next to me in biology - again! - and he started to hum a song under his breath, so I scratched all my courage together and told him what a nice voice he has. And he was like 'Thanks' and smiled and oh my god his smile, but anyway! I then said something lame like 'Do you like music?' but he didn't mind the dumb question at all and said 'Yeah, I love singing, how about you?' and I told him that I play the guitar and then he said we should do a duet sometime!” Chanyeol rattled on and Kyungsoo absently wondered when he took the time to breathe.
“Wow, so you got a date?”
“Well, I mean, no, not yet,” Chanyeol admitted. “But soon! Actually, that's why I was thinking of learning how to play something really difficult, so I could maybe impress him? What do you think?”
“I think it's a good idea, but it probably doesn't have to be something that is particularly hard. Just choose a song that he likes,” Kyungsoo advised.
“What does he like?” Chanyeol asked curiously.
“How should I know?” Kyungsoo laughed. “But isn't this a great excuse to strike up another conversation with him?”
“Oh gosh, you're right! Kyungsoo, you're the best!” Chanyeol exclaimed and Kyungsoo chuckled, glad that he could help his friend.
There was a short pause before Chanyeol spoke again. “Hey, should I come over tonight? I'll bring my guitar and we can look on the internet for tutorials for potential songs to learn,” he suggested. Kyungsoo agreed.
About half an hour later, Chanyeol arrived on his doorstep, and the giant bucket of ice cream in the tall guy's hands confirmed Kyungsoo's suspicion that Chanyeol was still trying to comfort him. He truly appreciated his friend's effort, so he patiently listened to the other's continuous gushing about Baekhyun.
At first, the two diligently searched for guitar cover tutorials of pop songs, of which the sheet music was also available on the internet. However, after a while they got distracted, and before they knew it, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol spent the evening clicking through a wide range of various Youtube videos of 90ies pop hits; sometimes passionately singing along to them together.
~*~
After the weekend, Kyungsoo trudged through the doors of his classroom over to his desk. He flopped down his chair, dropping his backpack along next to it. The murderous expression he was wearing was not only due to the fact that it was Monday morning (though that was a significant part of it), but also that he hadn't talked to Jongin ever since they had their fight two days ago. Kyungsoo had been hoping to accompany him to school, but when the bus had arrived at their bus stop where they usually met up in the mornings, there had been no trace of his best friend. Upon gloomily checking his locker in the hallway, Kyungsoo did not find a note or anything pushed through the slits of his locker's door.
Slumping at his desk, Kyungsoo heaved a sigh and reached down to take out a folder and his pencil case. Bent down on his chair awkwardly like this, something colourful suddenly caught his eye. Surprised, he took a double-take, reaching into the small compartment underneath his desk to take it out. Retrieving his hand, he found himself holding a CD case.
It was the CD Jongin had been raving about; the one Junmyeon had let him listen to. Attached to the case was a sticky note which read in Jongin's messy scrawl: If you're not Do Kyungsoo, put this thing back under the table! If you are him though, please accept this as a conciliation gift. I'm sorry... KJI
Underneath, he had drawn another of his penguin doodles, but this one was wearing big headphones and apparently listening to music, indicated by a few notes scribbled around the animal.
Kyungsoo beamed. Although it was Monday morning, his day was already made.
Later, when he was on his way to the cafeteria for lunch, he passed Chanyeol laughing and talking animatedly with Baekhyun in the hallway. The tall boy was so engrossed in his conversation, that he didn't seem to notice Kyungsoo, but the latter didn't mind, simply smiling to himself.
Kyungsoo was blowing air on his ramyeon to cool them, when Jongin stepped up to his table, his own tray in his hands. He gave the older boy a somewhat shy smile, asking with his eyes for permission to sit down. Kyungsoo responded with an eager nod, and Jongin didn't lose another second before taking a seat across from his best friend.
“Guess who I just found in the hallway, speaking with each other as if they're already friends?!”
Kyungsoo giggled happily. “I know!”
~*~
The shutter sound of the camera clacked through the room as the flash light illuminated the elaborate photography equipment which was arranged professionally around a white, blank photo-backdrop. The light also bathed the scuttling people in the studio in a repetitive split-second of brightness, and Kyungsoo always had to blink a few times afterwards to get rid of the dancing spots behind his eyelids. Breathing in the warm and stuffy air around him and nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other, he wondered for about the hundredth time, why he had agreed to accompany Jongin to his photo shoot this afternoon after school. He was standing in the dark area behind the cameras, leant against the wall, and peered through a tangle of wires and the thin metal poles of various tripods over to the well-lit spot in front of the backdrop where Jongin and his model friends tried out different poses. Not only were they all wearing quite dramatic make-up, but also clothes which Kyungsoo couldn't describe as anything other than ugly. After every third or fourth shot, a couple of make-up artists hurried over to the models to put yet another layer of powder on their faces. This cycle of pose, flash, shutter, powder, repeat had already been going on for at least one hour and Kyungsoo felt ready to die of boredom.
After another ten minutes or so, the photographer announced that they would proceed to do individual photo shoots of the models now and Kyungsoo couldn't suppress a relieved sigh. However, it transformed into an annoyed groan when the photographer declared Jongin to be the first in line. Luhan, Zitao, Kris and Jessica left the illuminated area and disappeared through a door into the adjacent room, where Kyungsoo remembered to be some sort of break room with a few couches.
Kyungsoo sighed again resignedly and watched as Jongin made all kinds of faces and poses at the camera, according to the photographer's short-clipped instructions. Despite the attire, Kyungsoo couldn't deny that his best friend had indeed a talent for moulding his own face into differing powerful expressions within seconds.
“Now do sexy,” ordered the photographer and Kyungsoo swallowed nervously when Jongin's lips parted slightly and his eyes became immediately dark and hooded, while he lifted his chin to seductively expose his neck. Although he was technically not able to see much in the shadows behind the blinding spot lights, Jongin's gaze seemed to somehow unerringly find Kyungsoo's eyes. Still wearing the same expression, Jongin added a confident smirk and the older boy's heart skipped a beat before racing away in his chest. Kyungsoo knew that this face of Jongin was just fake - nothing but a skilful act for the camera - but he still couldn't stop the blood from shooting up to his own cheeks and his breath from faltering. Jongin's eyes slid away from him and Kyungsoo discreetly cleared his throat. He really needed to splash some cold water in his face...
Shortly after arriving at the studio, Jongin had told Kyungsoo that the toilets were to be found in the hallway behind the break room, so Kyungsoo pushed himself off the wall of the corner where he had been hovering, and quickly walked over to the door.
The models were seated on the couch in the break room and Kyungsoo already mentally braced himself against their usual scrutinising looks. However, the four were huddled around the phone in Jessica's hands, so they didn't notice as Kyungsoo hurriedly passed by. He wouldn't complain about this lack of interaction.
A couple of minutes later, Kyungsoo had calmed himself down enough to emerge from the men's toilet, wiggling his hands a bit to shake off the remaining droplets of the tap water.
However, he had only taken a few steps before he stopped dead in his tracks again.
“Oh my god, Kai is such an annoying loser,” Zitao was just saying in a drawling voice.
“Such a tryhard,” Jessica agreed. “Doesn't he even realise how embarrassing he is?”
“And his dark skin is so gross... urgh,” Luhan said, making a sound of disgust.
“He's very helpful with the bills, though,” Kris said and the others laughed coldly.
“True! Let's make him buy some more ugly clothes for himself next time we go shopping,” Luhan said excitedly. “And Zitao can teach him a few more top-secret make-up knacks!” Kyungsoo was still rooted to the spot in the hallway around the corner, but he could practically hear Luhan do the quotation marks in the air with his fingers. Zitao cackled and Kris hooted.
Jessica snorted haughtily. “Remember his dumb face whenever we tell him that this or that thing looks apparently so good on him? Makes me always want to punch it!”
“I honestly hate this loser,” Luhan said with so much contempt in his voice that something snapped inside Kyungsoo.
He darted around the corner and grabbed Luhan's collar forcefully before anyone could even react, yanking him up. “What kind of bloody 'friend' are you even?!” he screamed.
Bewildered, Luhan stared at him for a second, before he furrowed his brows and shoved the shorter boy away from him. “What the hell is wrong with you?!” he spat. However, furious as he was, Kyungsoo quickly regained his footing and threw a fist against the model's jaw with so much force, that it sent him tumbling down onto the couch behind him again. In his rage, Kyungsoo didn't even notice the piercing pain jolting up his arm from his knuckles. Jessica squeaked, horrified, and Zitao jumped up with a gasp. Out of nowhere, Kris appeared behind Kyungsoo and quickly pinned the shorter boy's arms to his back, keeping him from lunging at Luhan once again. Kyungsoo's eyes were still spluttering with fury as he struggled to break free, but Kris held him in a vicelike grip.
“How can you be such assholes, when he adores you so much?!” Kyungsoo yelled at the top of his lungs, venting his anger.
Zitao's eyes flashed with pent-up hatred and he raised his hand to probably slap Kyungsoo across the face, but immediately halted in his action, when suddenly the door burst open, and Jongin spilled into the room, followed by several other crew members of the photo studio. They all wore a mixture of confusion and worry on their faces.
“What in the world is going on here?!” Jongin incredulously took in the scene. From his obviously furious best friend being held back by a stone-faced Kris, to Tao standing between the two and the couch, to Jessica perched on the edge of the couch while looking petrified, and over to Luhan cowering on the couch and holding his cheek, where a big bruise was just beginning to bloom. “What happened?!”
Kyungsoo took a breath to answer, but Luhan was faster: “He randomly lunged at me! Out of nowhere!”
“What?!”
“That's true!” Zitao chimed in, “We were just sitting here, peacefully taking a break, when suddenly this lunatic punched Luhan!”
“What- No! That's not-” Kyungsoo tried to say but Zitao cut him off again.
“He screamed something about 'revenge for our pretty faces', I guess he was just jealous of us being models... but that's not a reason to justify violence!” he cried dramatically. “And now look at Luhan's face! How is he supposed to do a photo shoot later?!” Luhan demonstrated his bruised cheek, making a face like a small, scared and utterly innocent child.
Jongin gaped and turned around to Kyungsoo, visibly shocked, “Did you really attack him?! Kyungsoo, how could you- ?!”
“No, Jongin, let me explain! They started to talk shit about you and-”
“He's lying!” Jessica screeched and jumped to her feet, pointing an accusing finger at Kyungsoo.
“No, I'm not! I swear, they started-”
“Kai, he's trying to make it look like we're the bad guys! That's outrageous!”
Jongin just stood there, helplessly looking from one face to the other, becoming increasingly confused. Finally, his wandering gaze came to rest on Kyungsoo.
“Kyungsoo, I know that you weren't quite a fan of my friends, but you shouldn't have started the fight. That's not okay,” he said reproachfully and the older boy could do nothing but gape at him in return.
Kyungsoo tried and failed to wrap his mind around the fact that Jongin believed them rather than him, his supposedly best friend. The feeling of betrayal rose in his throat like bile, rendering him unable to speak. He struggled once again to get away from Kris, but the tall model kept forcefully clutching his wrists until Jongin told him to let him go. Feeling tears well up in his eyes, Kyungsoo lowered his head and tried with all his might to suppress a sob. Sparing Jongin not even one single glance, he dashed off as fast as he could.
Jongin stared after Kyungsoo, with a somehow lingering sense of guilt. He didn't see the four models exchange winks and smug smirks behind his back.
>>> see here for part iii<<<
~*~ [PART II]
The next day after school, Kyungsoo anxiously sat on his bed in his room, unable to concentrate on the novel in his hands. On their way home, Jongin had told the older boy that he would go to his own house first to change, and then come over to Kyungsoo's. That had been about half an hour ago, so Jongin could arrive any minute now.
The door bell shrilled and Kyungsoo jumped to his feet as if stung by an adder. He rushed down the stairs, repeating his pre-fabricated words in his head like a mantra, and came to a sliding halt behind the front door. He took one last breath, before he opened the door with a flourish.
“Jongin, we need to talk.”
His best friend, looking a bit like a deer in headlights, gaped at him for a moment, fingers still poised over the phone in his hands; apparently he had been just about to send a text. There was a beat of silence and Kyungsoo took a step back, to indicate that Jongin could come in. The younger boy looked puzzled but nodded slowly. He switched off the screen of his phone and pushed the device into his pocket before he stepped inside the house. He looked at Kyungsoo curiously while he toed off his shoes, but the older boy didn't quite meet his eyes.
When Kyungsoo closed the door of his room behind them, Jongin finally spoke up. “Soo, before I forget to tell you, I-”
“No, let me get this off my chest first, please,” Kyungsoo interrupted him nervously.
Jongin gave another slightly confused look, but waited patiently for Kyungsoo to continue.
“I racked my brain about how to break this to you as gently as possible, but I came up with nothing so I decided to tell you what I think right away,” Kyungsoo said. He took another deep breath and finally looked up again into Jongin's face.
“I think your model friends are not real friends. In fact, I think they're assholes.”
“...Wha- ?” Jongin's dumbfounded expression looked almost comical. “Wait, are you talking about Luhan and the others? But why would you say something like this?”
“I overheard their conversation yesterday,” Kyungsoo explained hesitantly. “And they said some really mean things. About me. Although they don't even know me...” He sighed.
Jongin gave another blank look but then he seemed to remember. “Ahh, you mean in front of the school gates? But they were so nice to you, I don't recall...”
“No, it was before you turned up. I was only able to overhear it because they didn't seem to recognise me... Look, Jongin, I know that you value them a lot and it isn't nice to hear such a thing, but as your best friend who cares about you, I really think you should stop hanging out with them...”
“But I don't... I mean what did they even say?!”
“They made really mean comments about me being a nerd...”
“But I do that all the time, too? I don't get- Don't you know that's just a joke...?”
“They weren't joking!” Kyungsoo said, slightly louder now.
“Why are you so sensitive about this? I'm sure that whatever they said, they didn't mean it in a bad way,” Jongin retorted defensively.
“I know they meant it in a really insulting way!” Kyungsoo said heatedly.
“Kyungsoo, why are you mad now?!” Jongin said, in an equally loud voice now. He shook his head, “I still think this is a misunderstanding.”
“Believe me, I know what I heard, and it wasn't a misunderstanding,” Kyungsoo asserted, trying to keep the hurt out of his tone. He hadn't expected Jongin to react so defensive about the others.
“I don't get why, if you don't like people talking behind other's backs, you are the one who's now bitching about them?!” Jongin retorted, visibly upset.
“Jongin, I'm not bitching about anyone, I'm just trying to warn you-”
“Because they're actually alien monsters with claws and fangs or what?!” Jongin took a step back and crossed his arms. “Kyungsoo, can you imagine how ugly it is to bash the people a friend cares about right in front of him?!”
“Jongin, I am just worried about you!” Involuntarily, Kyungsoo could feel tears of exasperation form in the corners of his eyes and he was almost screaming now. “I'm worried that they will hurt you and talk about you or even right to you the way they talked about me. And I'm sorry about bashing those 'people you care about', but I'm not sorry that I care about you! And you can bloody believe me when I say that I certainly care more about you than they do...”
Jongin was silent for a moment and Kyungsoo used the pause to swiftly wipe over his eyes with the end of his sleeve. When the younger spoke again, his voice was calm again.
“I know I have been a bit distant lately... But you don't need to be jealous, Soo.” Something like a small, endearing smile played on his lips.
Kyungsoo sighed and buried his face in his hands. “No. I'm serious Jongin. I'm not making this up-”
But he got interrupted by a set of arms suddenly closing around his shoulders. The next thing he knew, the older boy found himself wrapped in Jongin's tight embrace. Kyungsoo had to quickly remind himself how to breathe.
“I appreciate your worrying,” Jongin said and Kyungsoo could feel the vibration of his voice through his chest. “But there is really no need for it. I'm fine. Everything's fine.”
Kyungsoo was about to retort something again, but then he changed his mind and just sighed deeply again. Maybe it wasn't so bad. Maybe Jongin was right and there really wasn't any danger of them hurting him because they genuinely liked him. And if so, then so what if they said mean things about Kyungsoo. The only thing which mattered was that they were friendly to Jongin, after all.
Kyungsoo felt his shoulders slowly relax beneath the warmth radiating from Jongin's body. As he was calming down and his own heartbeat decelerated, he could faintly hear a different, fast-drumming sound, but before he could pinpoint it, Jongin's phone vibrated in his pocket. Jongin took a step away from Kyungsoo again and pulled out his phone while the older boy silently wished the hug had lasted a bit longer.
“Shoot, I gotta go,” Jongin said as he looked at the screen.
“What? Why?” Kyungsoo was confused.
“That's right, I had wanted to tell you when I came here, but then I forgot,” Jongin said and gave Kyungsoo an apologetic smile. The older boy had a sudden sense of foreboding.
“I actually can't stay for video games tonight,” Jongin went on and Kyungsoo's heart plummeted. “I'm going out with... the others,” Jongin added hesitantly and cleared his throat a bit sheepishly.
“Going out? But... you're underage,” Kyungsoo said, still puzzled.
“Yeah but... you know, Luhan knows the right people...” Jongin trailed off with a slightly lopsided grin.
Kyungsoo didn't know what to say.
Jongin bent down and grabbed his (ridiculous designer-) bag and took a step back towards Kyungsoo. He raised his free hand and after a split-second of hesitation, ran the backs of his fingers gently over Kyungsoo's cheek. “Don't worry, Soo, I'm fine,” he said reassuringly with a warm voice. Kyungsoo looked up into Jongin's eyes, and what he saw made him almost lightheaded.
And without another word, Jongin turned on his heel and when Kyungsoo finally caught his breath again, his best friend had already left.
~*~
After letting it ring for about a dozen times, Chanyeol finally picked up the phone.
“Kyungsoo? What's up?”
“Hey... not that much,” Kyungsoo replied. “Are you busy? If yes, I don't want to bother you...”
“Are you kidding me? Of course I'm busy being on a romantic date with my sexy six-string in my room.”
Despite his mood, Kyungsoo had to grin at the joke and reflexively played along, “Sounds like a hot Friday night.”
“She really liked the candlelight dinner I prepared,” Chanyeol said and Kyungsoo chuckled. There was a pause before Chanyeol spoke again, tone more serious again. “Hey, is everything alright?”
Kyungsoo sighed deeply. “Actually... no.”
“What did Jongin do now?”
“How do you even know that it's...? Ugh, anyway. You know how I was never a particular fan of his modelling, right?” he began, telling Chanyeol about the events from the day before and from his fight with Jongin earlier this evening. “And can you even believe it?! Right now he's out and about with these people again!” he exclaimed as he finished and let out a frustrated growl.
“Aww, I'm sorry to hear that,” Chanyeol said, genuine empathy in his voice. “But look, Kyungsoo, you shouldn't take it personally. You know as well as me how naïve Jongin is. And if he truly believes in something or someone, you also know that it's practically impossible to break his gullibility. Jongin simply is this kind of nice person,” Chanyeol tried to console him. “I'm afraid that this is an experience which this dork has to make for himself. As much as you'd want to, you can't protect him forever, you know?”
Kyungsoo hung his head but nodded. “Yes... I guess you're right,” he admitted when he realised that Chanyeol couldn't see him. “And thank you, Chanyeol,” he mumbled a bit sheepishly.
But Chanyeol just laughed, “Yo, don't mention it! That's what friends are there for! Ah, which reminds me: I got great news because I'm friends with Baekhyun now!” His audible excitement made his deep voice rise a couple of octaves. “Well, almost, I guess,” Chanyeol added after a beat.
“Eh?! Really? Good boy!” Kyungsoo was indeed happy for him, but he also couldn't resist a bit of teasing. “Did he agree to throw sticks for you in the park?”
However, Chanyeol chose to ignore the comment. “We actually bonded over music the other day! He was sitting next to me in biology - again! - and he started to hum a song under his breath, so I scratched all my courage together and told him what a nice voice he has. And he was like 'Thanks' and smiled and oh my god his smile, but anyway! I then said something lame like 'Do you like music?' but he didn't mind the dumb question at all and said 'Yeah, I love singing, how about you?' and I told him that I play the guitar and then he said we should do a duet sometime!” Chanyeol rattled on and Kyungsoo absently wondered when he took the time to breathe.
“Wow, so you got a date?”
“Well, I mean, no, not yet,” Chanyeol admitted. “But soon! Actually, that's why I was thinking of learning how to play something really difficult, so I could maybe impress him? What do you think?”
“I think it's a good idea, but it probably doesn't have to be something that is particularly hard. Just choose a song that he likes,” Kyungsoo advised.
“What does he like?” Chanyeol asked curiously.
“How should I know?” Kyungsoo laughed. “But isn't this a great excuse to strike up another conversation with him?”
“Oh gosh, you're right! Kyungsoo, you're the best!” Chanyeol exclaimed and Kyungsoo chuckled, glad that he could help his friend.
There was a short pause before Chanyeol spoke again. “Hey, should I come over tonight? I'll bring my guitar and we can look on the internet for tutorials for potential songs to learn,” he suggested. Kyungsoo agreed.
About half an hour later, Chanyeol arrived on his doorstep, and the giant bucket of ice cream in the tall guy's hands confirmed Kyungsoo's suspicion that Chanyeol was still trying to comfort him. He truly appreciated his friend's effort, so he patiently listened to the other's continuous gushing about Baekhyun.
At first, the two diligently searched for guitar cover tutorials of pop songs, of which the sheet music was also available on the internet. However, after a while they got distracted, and before they knew it, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol spent the evening clicking through a wide range of various Youtube videos of 90ies pop hits; sometimes passionately singing along to them together.
~*~
After the weekend, Kyungsoo trudged through the doors of his classroom over to his desk. He flopped down his chair, dropping his backpack along next to it. The murderous expression he was wearing was not only due to the fact that it was Monday morning (though that was a significant part of it), but also that he hadn't talked to Jongin ever since they had their fight two days ago. Kyungsoo had been hoping to accompany him to school, but when the bus had arrived at their bus stop where they usually met up in the mornings, there had been no trace of his best friend. Upon gloomily checking his locker in the hallway, Kyungsoo did not find a note or anything pushed through the slits of his locker's door.
Slumping at his desk, Kyungsoo heaved a sigh and reached down to take out a folder and his pencil case. Bent down on his chair awkwardly like this, something colourful suddenly caught his eye. Surprised, he took a double-take, reaching into the small compartment underneath his desk to take it out. Retrieving his hand, he found himself holding a CD case.
It was the CD Jongin had been raving about; the one Junmyeon had let him listen to. Attached to the case was a sticky note which read in Jongin's messy scrawl: If you're not Do Kyungsoo, put this thing back under the table! If you are him though, please accept this as a conciliation gift. I'm sorry... KJI
Underneath, he had drawn another of his penguin doodles, but this one was wearing big headphones and apparently listening to music, indicated by a few notes scribbled around the animal.
Kyungsoo beamed. Although it was Monday morning, his day was already made.
Later, when he was on his way to the cafeteria for lunch, he passed Chanyeol laughing and talking animatedly with Baekhyun in the hallway. The tall boy was so engrossed in his conversation, that he didn't seem to notice Kyungsoo, but the latter didn't mind, simply smiling to himself.
Kyungsoo was blowing air on his ramyeon to cool them, when Jongin stepped up to his table, his own tray in his hands. He gave the older boy a somewhat shy smile, asking with his eyes for permission to sit down. Kyungsoo responded with an eager nod, and Jongin didn't lose another second before taking a seat across from his best friend.
“Guess who I just found in the hallway, speaking with each other as if they're already friends?!”
Kyungsoo giggled happily. “I know!”
~*~
The shutter sound of the camera clacked through the room as the flash light illuminated the elaborate photography equipment which was arranged professionally around a white, blank photo-backdrop. The light also bathed the scuttling people in the studio in a repetitive split-second of brightness, and Kyungsoo always had to blink a few times afterwards to get rid of the dancing spots behind his eyelids. Breathing in the warm and stuffy air around him and nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other, he wondered for about the hundredth time, why he had agreed to accompany Jongin to his photo shoot this afternoon after school. He was standing in the dark area behind the cameras, leant against the wall, and peered through a tangle of wires and the thin metal poles of various tripods over to the well-lit spot in front of the backdrop where Jongin and his model friends tried out different poses. Not only were they all wearing quite dramatic make-up, but also clothes which Kyungsoo couldn't describe as anything other than ugly. After every third or fourth shot, a couple of make-up artists hurried over to the models to put yet another layer of powder on their faces. This cycle of pose, flash, shutter, powder, repeat had already been going on for at least one hour and Kyungsoo felt ready to die of boredom.
After another ten minutes or so, the photographer announced that they would proceed to do individual photo shoots of the models now and Kyungsoo couldn't suppress a relieved sigh. However, it transformed into an annoyed groan when the photographer declared Jongin to be the first in line. Luhan, Zitao, Kris and Jessica left the illuminated area and disappeared through a door into the adjacent room, where Kyungsoo remembered to be some sort of break room with a few couches.
Kyungsoo sighed again resignedly and watched as Jongin made all kinds of faces and poses at the camera, according to the photographer's short-clipped instructions. Despite the attire, Kyungsoo couldn't deny that his best friend had indeed a talent for moulding his own face into differing powerful expressions within seconds.
“Now do sexy,” ordered the photographer and Kyungsoo swallowed nervously when Jongin's lips parted slightly and his eyes became immediately dark and hooded, while he lifted his chin to seductively expose his neck. Although he was technically not able to see much in the shadows behind the blinding spot lights, Jongin's gaze seemed to somehow unerringly find Kyungsoo's eyes. Still wearing the same expression, Jongin added a confident smirk and the older boy's heart skipped a beat before racing away in his chest. Kyungsoo knew that this face of Jongin was just fake - nothing but a skilful act for the camera - but he still couldn't stop the blood from shooting up to his own cheeks and his breath from faltering. Jongin's eyes slid away from him and Kyungsoo discreetly cleared his throat. He really needed to splash some cold water in his face...
Shortly after arriving at the studio, Jongin had told Kyungsoo that the toilets were to be found in the hallway behind the break room, so Kyungsoo pushed himself off the wall of the corner where he had been hovering, and quickly walked over to the door.
The models were seated on the couch in the break room and Kyungsoo already mentally braced himself against their usual scrutinising looks. However, the four were huddled around the phone in Jessica's hands, so they didn't notice as Kyungsoo hurriedly passed by. He wouldn't complain about this lack of interaction.
A couple of minutes later, Kyungsoo had calmed himself down enough to emerge from the men's toilet, wiggling his hands a bit to shake off the remaining droplets of the tap water.
However, he had only taken a few steps before he stopped dead in his tracks again.
“Oh my god, Kai is such an annoying loser,” Zitao was just saying in a drawling voice.
“Such a tryhard,” Jessica agreed. “Doesn't he even realise how embarrassing he is?”
“And his dark skin is so gross... urgh,” Luhan said, making a sound of disgust.
“He's very helpful with the bills, though,” Kris said and the others laughed coldly.
“True! Let's make him buy some more ugly clothes for himself next time we go shopping,” Luhan said excitedly. “And Zitao can teach him a few more top-secret make-up knacks!” Kyungsoo was still rooted to the spot in the hallway around the corner, but he could practically hear Luhan do the quotation marks in the air with his fingers. Zitao cackled and Kris hooted.
Jessica snorted haughtily. “Remember his dumb face whenever we tell him that this or that thing looks apparently so good on him? Makes me always want to punch it!”
“I honestly hate this loser,” Luhan said with so much contempt in his voice that something snapped inside Kyungsoo.
He darted around the corner and grabbed Luhan's collar forcefully before anyone could even react, yanking him up. “What kind of bloody 'friend' are you even?!” he screamed.
Bewildered, Luhan stared at him for a second, before he furrowed his brows and shoved the shorter boy away from him. “What the hell is wrong with you?!” he spat. However, furious as he was, Kyungsoo quickly regained his footing and threw a fist against the model's jaw with so much force, that it sent him tumbling down onto the couch behind him again. In his rage, Kyungsoo didn't even notice the piercing pain jolting up his arm from his knuckles. Jessica squeaked, horrified, and Zitao jumped up with a gasp. Out of nowhere, Kris appeared behind Kyungsoo and quickly pinned the shorter boy's arms to his back, keeping him from lunging at Luhan once again. Kyungsoo's eyes were still spluttering with fury as he struggled to break free, but Kris held him in a vicelike grip.
“How can you be such assholes, when he adores you so much?!” Kyungsoo yelled at the top of his lungs, venting his anger.
Zitao's eyes flashed with pent-up hatred and he raised his hand to probably slap Kyungsoo across the face, but immediately halted in his action, when suddenly the door burst open, and Jongin spilled into the room, followed by several other crew members of the photo studio. They all wore a mixture of confusion and worry on their faces.
“What in the world is going on here?!” Jongin incredulously took in the scene. From his obviously furious best friend being held back by a stone-faced Kris, to Tao standing between the two and the couch, to Jessica perched on the edge of the couch while looking petrified, and over to Luhan cowering on the couch and holding his cheek, where a big bruise was just beginning to bloom. “What happened?!”
Kyungsoo took a breath to answer, but Luhan was faster: “He randomly lunged at me! Out of nowhere!”
“What?!”
“That's true!” Zitao chimed in, “We were just sitting here, peacefully taking a break, when suddenly this lunatic punched Luhan!”
“What- No! That's not-” Kyungsoo tried to say but Zitao cut him off again.
“He screamed something about 'revenge for our pretty faces', I guess he was just jealous of us being models... but that's not a reason to justify violence!” he cried dramatically. “And now look at Luhan's face! How is he supposed to do a photo shoot later?!” Luhan demonstrated his bruised cheek, making a face like a small, scared and utterly innocent child.
Jongin gaped and turned around to Kyungsoo, visibly shocked, “Did you really attack him?! Kyungsoo, how could you- ?!”
“No, Jongin, let me explain! They started to talk shit about you and-”
“He's lying!” Jessica screeched and jumped to her feet, pointing an accusing finger at Kyungsoo.
“No, I'm not! I swear, they started-”
“Kai, he's trying to make it look like we're the bad guys! That's outrageous!”
Jongin just stood there, helplessly looking from one face to the other, becoming increasingly confused. Finally, his wandering gaze came to rest on Kyungsoo.
“Kyungsoo, I know that you weren't quite a fan of my friends, but you shouldn't have started the fight. That's not okay,” he said reproachfully and the older boy could do nothing but gape at him in return.
Kyungsoo tried and failed to wrap his mind around the fact that Jongin believed them rather than him, his supposedly best friend. The feeling of betrayal rose in his throat like bile, rendering him unable to speak. He struggled once again to get away from Kris, but the tall model kept forcefully clutching his wrists until Jongin told him to let him go. Feeling tears well up in his eyes, Kyungsoo lowered his head and tried with all his might to suppress a sob. Sparing Jongin not even one single glance, he dashed off as fast as he could.
Jongin stared after Kyungsoo, with a somehow lingering sense of guilt. He didn't see the four models exchange winks and smug smirks behind his back.
>>> see here for part iii<<<