Pepero Kiss 5/5 + Epilogue
Title: Pepero Kiss
Pairing: Kaisoo
Genre: Romance, humor, gen
Word Count: 6.2+ / 23.1K
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Popular actor Do Kyungsoo and super-idol Kai are the newest couple on We Got Married. Korea won't know what hit it.
AN: DONE. FINALLY.
AN2: Cross-posted on tumblr.
Previous
'Well he is an idol' are the only words that beloved blogger and ulzzang Oh Sehun gives on the issue.
Netizens go to war over the meaning of his comment.
The obvious is that he's referring to the susceptibility of idols to scandals, making anyone who didn't see this coming a fool.
Some netizens argue loudly that Sehun might be aiming for deeper meaning, as he's prone to do. What if, they propose, he's pointing the blame at others for causing a scandal about something potentially trivial?
One user predictably flares at this theory, calling all netizens that believe this naive and simple-minded for blindly trusting Kai.
Another user counterattacks viciously, branding the former user as a gossip-monger that wants to damn poor idols like Kai just because she can.
A third user joins the discussion midway as it starts to get uglier, siding with the first user and renouncing all ties to Kai as his fan, prompting a fourth and fifth to appear instantaneously in Kai's defense.
The discussion thread is only one of many, but it is the most savage. Death threats fly like greetings, and more than once a user has to withdraw herself to recover from the intensity of the online battling.
This thread sits on Oh Sehun's original comment, and the blogger himself stays conspicuously silent for the next few weeks.
.
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When the interviewer asks Kyungsoo how he feels about Kai's dating allegations, the actor looks tired and resigned and just a touch annoyed.
"Didn't Jongin's agency already make a statement that he wasn't dating anyone?" Kyungsoo bites out, and then his eyebrows jump with surprise at his own nerve.
Kyungsoo closes his eyes briefly. It's just a second, but enough for everyone to see that he is far from unaffected.
"No comment," Kyungsoo says.
.
.
The second to last episode was supposed to be filmed just a couple days after the scandal broke out, but it was canceled for fear of endangering the couple if they actually went outside to film their snow fight. Anti-fans from Jongin's scandal were seemingly everywhere, and Jongin especially had to be careful of being seen in public.
Kyungsoo should have known not to trust Yixing though. Not even fifteen minutes into his recording of his movie OST he sees a familiar swatch of platinum blond out of the corner of his eye, and turns his head to the left just in time to see Jongin walk into the small recording studio with a cameraman behind him.
It's Kyungsoo's professionalism that keeps him continuing the song, albeit a single shaky moment where his tongue fumbles over a line. Kyungsoo will have to sing the part again, but the recording artist in charge seems more preoccupied with the newly arrived idol.
Yixing and Kyungsoo match gazes through the glass separating the recording room from the control room, and the actor wishes he could hear what they're saying. As expected, Yixing doesn't look surprised at all.
Kyungsoo glares, You knew he was coming.
Yixing smiles contently and waggles his fingers, Yoo hoo~
Jongin doesn't waste any time, just walks straight into the recording room and closes the door behind him. The WGM cameraman that followed him into the studio looks startled to be locked out of the recording room and lingers awkwardly around the door.
Kyungsoo pulls off his headphones so the faint sound of piano bars taint the room.
"Hi, hyung," Jongin says with a strained excuse for a smile. There are rings under his eyes and a cloud of gloom over his head. As Jongin settles near the opposite wall, the deja vu of the moment hits Kyungsoo all of a sudden.
A little over a month ago, he must have looked just like this, Kyungsoo realizes. Hopeless, like a lost person who has given up on finding his way out of hell.
"You look terrible," Kyungsoo blurts, not realizing the lack of tact until it's out of his mouth.
Jongin stops and then huffs in humor, shaking his head a little.
"How do you always do that," Jongin says.
"What?"
"Make me laugh." The fleeting glimpse of a grin Jongin gives him is more genuine this time. "You're not even that funny."
"That's because I'm not trying to be," Kyungsoo deadpans.
The idol's snorts lightly and then silence falls. Kyungsoo didn't notice they had turned off the music.
Jongin opens his mouth to say something, but before he can Kyungsoo asks, "How are you?"
Jongin goggles. "Huh?"
"Are you okay?" Kyungsoo says, a little impatience creeping into his voice. "I mean, you only texted me once and then you didn't answer after that so I was worried you were going to drown yourself in the Han river or something."
Neither of them notice Yixing facepalm in the other room.
"I'm...fine," Jongin says hesitantly. He awkwardly shifts his weight to his other foot and wavers a little, adding to the fragile air around him.
He looks like a walking pepero stick with eyebags, Kyungsoo thinks with dismay.
"You don't look like you've been eating though. Or sleeping. Have you had any sleep in the past couple days? No, huh?" Kyungsoo clicks his tongue. "I can probably bring you by some food if you need it."
"...Sure."
"You'll have to text me your address though," says Kyungsoo, undeterred by Jongin's lack of enthusiasm. "Your company is seriously good at keeping it secret. Unless you're staying at the dorms. Though I figured you wouldn't be since...." Kyungsoo trails off as he notices something, and through the glass, the WGM camera left outside zooms in to catch his horrified reaction.
"Jongin, are you crying?"
"No...," Jongin sniffs loudly.
"Dear lord." Kyungsoo digs around for a tissue. "Jongin--don't be gross. Stop wiping your nose on your sleeve."
.
.
"First time we see each other after the incident and the only thing he asks me is how I am," Kai says with a self-deprecating snort. "He doesn't ask if I actually did it or not...and even after I explained everything to him, he never questioned me, or doubted me."
Dead silence. The audience holds its breath as the camera pans around to catch Kai's somberness from different angles. The cut of his cheekbones and his classically chocolate skin tone hasn't changed, but there's a heaviness to his features that wasn't there before. His lips have lost their devil-may-care curve.
"He trusts me even though I've screwed everything up." Kai's hands clench and open helplessly in his lap. "I don't know how to make things up to him."
.
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"It's not blind trust. There's nothing blind about it," Kyungsoo says when he's asked about it. "I'm neither a fan nor a faceless stranger, so I have an advantage over those that only have the internet and the media to trust. Not that I'm saying blind trust isn't bad," Kyungsoo adds hastily.
"Blind trust is just as dangerous as thinking people should be thrown away as soon as they make a mistake." The words fall almost carelessly from his mouth, and the interviewer's face must have gone strange because Kyungsoo blinks and says defensively, "Well it is, isn't it?"
The actor bites his lip, and then fixes his gaze on the camera. "Everyone is speculating and making conclusions from a few pictures, so does it even matter what's said anymore? The public will believe what it wants to believe. I said how I feel about all this, and these are my true feelings. I just hope--I hope everyone can accept them."
The look on Kyungsoo's face is not unlike that of the day he was attacked on-site, when his attacker stood above him and the actor had nothing to defend himself with but his bare hands.
It is a queer look, at once both vulnerable and bulletproof.
.
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"The cameras stay outside. I agreed to film today so that my manager would let me come by to see Kyungsoo-hyung, but I don't want them listening in right now."
Kyungsoo looks three parts exasperated and one part fond. "Jongin, this is a recording studio. They can hear everything we're saying in the control booth."
Jongin looks at the windows and Yixing waves cheerily.
"Shit," says Jongin.
"Language," rebukes Kyungsoo.
"They're going to edit it out anyways...," whines the idol, drawing Kyungsoo in to pinch him in the side.
It takes longer to record the OST with Jongin around, but it's definitely more interesting, and to Kyungsoo's relief, the idol seems to brighten up the longer he stays.
"I forgot how well you can sing," Jongin says when he finishes the song on the fourth run-through. He has a tendency to hum along, and it's a little distracting but the actor doesn't mention it.
Jongin has a rich, silky texture to his low voice that reminds Kyungsoo of dark chocolate melting over the tongue. It's one of the first things the actor noticed and admired about him when they first met.
"I've had practice," Kyungsoo says, fiddling with his earphones. "I've been singing since I was a kid."
"I know. I saw the videos of it online."
"...You didn't download that ringtone of me singing did you?"
Jongin looks like he's about to answer, but then his expression changes and he asks instead, "What do you think?"
He's not exactly smiling, but there's a familiar spark of humor dancing in his eyes, and instead of feeling annoyed, Kyungsoo is oddly relieved.
"I think if you really did download that ringtone I'm going to have to divorce you," Kyungsoo replies promptly, before he realizes what he just said and goes wide eyed.
It's too soon for this kind of joke, but instead of looking hurt, Jongin automatically snorts a laugh and then looks briefly stunned at his own reaction.
His sudden slack-jawed expression draws a giggle from Kyungsoo, which Jongin can't help smiling at and then it's like the bubble of tension over them has finally popped. Both boys start laughing, slowly at first and then wilder, heady with the release of stiffness that constrained them.
They either don't notice or care about the audience on the other side of the glass watching them. They're in their own world.
.
.
"I'm happy Jongin came by to see me, but I really wish he hadn't come in the middle of the recording," Kyungsoo says with an annoyed sigh. "He kept distracting me and getting me in trouble with the recording artists. And then he wouldn't let the WGM cameras in so the director told us we would have to get film more after the OST-making because we didn't have enough material for the next episode. It was such a pain."
Someone must say something off to the side because suddenly Kyungsoo raises his head with a slight frown.
"Me complaining about Jongin is not going to get him any more anti-fans than he already has," says Kyungsoo dismissively, and there's a soft moaning noise from beyond the camera that Kyungsoo easily ignores.
"Anyways, the OST song took an extra hour to finish with him around, so we didn't get out until late that afternoon." The actor gives a delicate pause, and then continues with, "Of course neither of us actually managed to get home until the next morning."
.
.
For lack of any other places to go to film, the director sends the Kaisoo couple to their WGM apartment. Thanks to Jongin's manager, who has years of experience avoiding sasaeng fans under his belt, they manage to get into the apartment without any major event.
Getting out though, is another question.
Barely minutes after Jongin's manager leaves them to their filming, a loud fight breaks out in front of the apartment amongst a bunch of high school girls--clearly sasaeng fans by the heavy-duty DSLR cameras many of them carry.
Kyungsoo shivers when he witnesses one fan brutally yank one of the pigtails of another and drag her down to the sidewalk ground so they can scratch and spit at each other like angry cats.
"Oh my god," says Jongin, eyes locked on a couple teenagers ganging up on a third before being jumped from behind by two of her comrades in schoolgirl skirts. "Since when have we been having World War III in front of our apartment?"
"I don't know," Kyungsoo says faintly. "They couldn't have been fighting for long though. School let out at 5pm."
"Don't these kids have hagwon to go to? My mom made me go everyday," Jongin says, making a face.
"They should...although I don't know how anyone could show up to prep classes looking like a war refugee." Kyungsoo looks pale. "They might stay out here, fighting, all night."
"Don't jinx it, hyung!"
To their dismay though, the sasaeng battle continues on through the night as more and more students show up to replenish their tired numbers. It looks like some drama scene where all the top high school gangs in Seoul show up to wage war against each other. The only difference with this scene is that the main combatants are teenage girls, decked out in bows, bb cream, knee-low skirts.
This version is somehow a hundred times more frightening than the proposed drama scene could ever be.
.
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"We kind of figured it out already, but when we checked the news, it said that the fight was between some well-known Kaisoo fans and anti-fans," Kyungsoo relays and then shivers at the memory.
"It was the scariest thing I've ever seen. I've never witnessed anything like it. All those girls...just tearing each other apart. Jongin said that he saw something similar happen in an airport in China." Kyungsoo shakes his head in disbelief. "The life of an idol I guess.
"Up till now I've had mostly ahjumma fans," Kyungsoo discloses, "So this is all really new to me. I didn't realize that I've been lucky to have fans that are usually older and less prone to...battling."
.
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The fighting finally ends around 10pm when the police show up four hours late from three calls of 'neighborhood disturbance' and one call of 'packs of wild girls are killing each other--do something'. In their defense, Seoul is a big city and this sasaeng incident is one of hundreds that the police deal with, albeit the uniqueness of its size and intensity.
Now that the fighting has ended, the WGM staff can safely leave the apartment, though Jongin and Kyungsoo will stay behind.
Since the sasaeng battle was too distracting to get any real work done--the war cries of the girls kept interrupting the filming--the Kaisoo couple have been directed to stay behind and film their own sleepover material with the apartment's CCTV cameras.
To Kyungsoo's consternation, he finds one of the cameras in the bathroom, and Jongin walks in to find the actor diligently covering the camera above the sink with a towel.
"Here, let me," Jongin says quietly, stepping in behind Kyungsoo to help pull up the towel.
Kyungsoo goes still in front of him, and when Jongin is done fixing the towel so it's neatly tucked in underneath the camera, he asks, "Hyung? You okay?"
"Mmh...." Kyungsoo glances at him. "I just realized this is the first time we're together without anyone around, or any cameras."
Jongin taps the wrapped camera above them. "There's this one, and it's probably recording everything we say."
"Oh, right," Kyungsoo realizes, and when he turns around he looks a little disappointed.
Jongin gives him a soft look. "Come on, hyung. Let's wash up and go to bed."
They can't go to sleep right away of course. Majority of the episode will probably take from their conversations before sleeping and after waking, so Kyungsoo and Jongin spend a good hour or so chatting idly, careful to avoid sensitive topics.
"Favorite color?"
"Black."
"Oh, same here."
"Isn't your favorite color red?"
"Ehh? How did you know that? I like both red and black."
"...I checked your online profile."
"Wow, hyung. I'm so touched."
"Shut up." The blankets rustle.
"No, seriously, hyung. Don't hide under the covers."
A chuckle, and then the blankets rustle again.
"Favorite genre?"
"R&B and Hip Hop. Yours?"
"Pop."
"Siblings?"
"Just one, a hyung."
"Mmm, does he look like you?"
"I guess so...."
"I have two sisters, they don't look much like me so they joke that I'm adopted all the time."
"Are you the youngest?"
"How did you know that?"
"...Lucky guess."
"Favorite weather?"
"Light drizzle."
"Why?"
A long pause. "...I like how everything looks when it's damp."
"You're such a romantic, Kyungsoo-hyung."
"I can tell you're making fun of me again."
"No, I'm not, I swear!"
"Hmph. What about you?"
"Hmm?"
A sigh. "Your favorite weather?"
"I think dusk, when the air starts getting crisp."
"Now who's the romantic?"
A laugh.
"That isn't weather though. That's a time of day."
"Same difference." The blankets shift with a shrug in the dark.
Kyungsoo makes a scoffing sound but doesn't answer, and for a few moments they just breathe as they try to think up another question.
Kyungsoo is very warm swaddled in the heavy winter blankets the staff have prepared for them. He can hear the soft sound of Jongin's breaths, and slowly but surely the rhythm of it coaxes him into sleep.
When Jongin speaks again, Kyungsoo misses it and makes a drowsy questioning noise in reply.
"You're falling asleep?" Jongin asks, his voice very soft.
Kyungsoo grunts lightly in affirmation.
"Oh....Goodnight then, hyung."
Kyungsoo grunts again and in another minute is fast asleep. He doesn't feel Jongin reaching out in the dark and brushing back his hair, nor the small kiss he presses into Kyungsoo's forehead.
.
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Kai balks when he hears that the forehead kiss he gave Kyungosoo aired in the newest episode.
"I was really hoping that it wouldn't air, or that it would come out in the BTS video if it was going to," Kai admits, with a small sheepish grin reminiscent of his usual self.
When the interviewer asks him why, Kai tells him, "Because Kyungsoo-hyung wouldn't care enough to watch the BTS clips. Now he's going to get annoyed with me again...."
.
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Just as they did with Kyungsoo's incident, the producers of WGM unofficially choose a side to ride out Jongin's scandal. This time, it's their own.
There is no helpful editing this time around, and when the second to last episode of the year airs, the Kaisoo section is strikingly emptier than the other couples' sections. The heavy post-scandal tone of it is also impossible to ignore, and even though the ratings for the episode are almost the highest the show has ever recieved, a few days later comes the announcement that the Kaisoo couple will be removed from WGM.
The Christmas special is scheduled to be their last episode before the couple is unceremoniously kicked off the show.
It's hard to tell if this makes things better or worse with the public. Either way the uproar is earsplitting.
This is probably the only reason why the Kaisoo couple's last episode gets its proper editing.
.
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"The morning after the news came out, four different people stopped me on the way to the corner mini-mart. But the weird thing was that only two of them were anti-fans. The third just pointed at me and gaped, and I walked away really quickly before she could say anything and the last...."
Kai's expression twists in a peculiar way as the camera zooms in for a close up.
"It was a high school kid that told me he was really disappointed that I wasn't going to be part of WGM anymore. And then he asked me to give his condolences to Kyungsoo-hyung," Kai's voice goes hushed as he gives the camera a confused look, his face warily hopeful, the way a wounded dog's would be when suddenly treated with a kind hand.
Pink glitter starts to fill the air around Kai as he continues, "A lot of people have been coming up to tell me things like this since WGM announced hyung and I would be leaving after the Christmas special. I thought...well, I thought no one would miss me being on the show...."
He trails off and the scene blacks out on this meaningful silence.
.
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"Wait, hyung, hold on!" Jongin grabs Kyungsoo by the hood of his coat and tugs him back before he can leave the store, making him choke a little and give Jongin an accusing stare. Outside, in front of the store, a group of girls are huddled over their phones, but thankfully none of them noticed the couple.
"One of those girls has my group's fan keychain," Jongin explains belatedly, letting go of him, and Kyungsoo's eyes grow large as he realizes how close he was to hitting disaster.
"Right," Kyungsoo says, stepping further away from the doors with wary eyes.
Jongin grins, gives him a brief side hug and pulls him over to look at the couple phone cases while they wait for the group to leave.
The dating options are limited if you're a popular celebrity as famous (or infamous) as Kyungsoo or Kai.
The couple was originally supposed to have a late night date in the downtown shopping district before Kai gave his husband a seemingly impromptu dance performance, making him swoon into Kai's arms for a very public first kiss in front of all the awed spectators.
The scandal forced the directors to scrap this plan, which Kyungsoo is intensely grateful for because there is no universe where he can imagine himself swooning into anyone's arms.
They still have the night date though, because the darkness and crowds will help hide their anonymity. The two mostly stick to small shops and cafes where people won't immediately notice the staff members following them with cameras.
Even so, a few people inevitably do notice and the couple have a time of it trying to hide or escape before they get caught.
"Here," the actor says before he throws the first hat he sees at Jongin. "I can't believe you walked out without anything to cover up your hair. Anyone could tell you were Kim Kai from a mile off."
"My jacket has a hood though," Jongin says plaintively, but obediently puts on the hat to cover the eye-catching blond strands. To Kyungsoo's surprise, the random hat he picked up turns out to be a black fedora.
"What do you think?" Jongin lowers the fedora so only a peek of his glittering gaze can be seen and smirks. "Does it make me look dashing?"
Kyungsoo sputters and throws a beanie at him in reply. Jongin's yelp startles the shop's employee from his nap at the front register and both boys duck before they can be spotted. The WGM staff member with them lowers his camera and nods genially at the employee, who warily returns to his nap.
Behind the hat display, Kyungsoo slaps at Jongin's arm. "Don't be so loud!"
"But you think I look cool, huh, hyung?" Jongin adjusts the fedora and then neatly lifts up the brim with one finger. "I could get used to wearing these if they're your style."
"Please don't," Kyungsoo mutters.
.
.
"That one episode where we did a little clothes-shopping was similar, but this was more like a real date," Kyungsoo reveals, "We spent most of our time in Myeongdong visiting the small shops and street venders. We got useless stuff like couple phone cases and couple keychains, and shared tteokbokki and odeng sticks from a food cart."
Kyungsoo's ears turn pink as he confesses, "It was a lot of fun. I'm happy...even though this is going to be our last episode together."
The actor's next words are repeated in the captions to further emphasize them.
"I want to end our WGM experience on a fun note." The edges of his lips quirk up in a barely-there smile as he adds, "With no regrets."
.
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They're lingering beside the giant Christmas tree in the busiest part of the shopping district while the staff get ready to film the climax of the special: the kiss scene.
It's crowded, so no one has noticed them yet, but Kyungsoo still feels open and exposed, and he bounces on the balls of his feet to let loose some of the nervous energy.
Jongin passes him a steaming styrofoam cup of hot chocolate the staff picked up for them. He sips his own as he eyes Kyungsoo, and then asks over the edge of his cup, "Nervous, hyung?"
"...No," Kyungsoo lies. "Why, are you?"
"A little," is the quiet reply and Kyungsoo immediately feels guilty for fibbing about his own nervousness. He reaches out to grab the idol's hand with his free one.
"I could tell them to call them off the kiss scene. I mean, at this point, they can't really make us do anything," Kyungsoo whispers, careful not to let the staff hear. There's only one cameraman on them now, standing a few feet off so he's not too obvious.
"No, I can do it," Jongin says, although he gives him a grateful look. Then one side of his mouth hooks up impishly.
"After all I've already kissed you three times now."
Kyungsoo flushes red beneath his hood. "Those don't count!"
The actor's vehement reply makes Jongin pout defensively.
"Of course they do."
Kyungsoo avoids Jongin's eye, remembering the last episode where he kissed him on the forehead after Kyungsoo fell asleep.
"I guess a kiss scene is no big deal to you then." Kyungsoo can't help feeling a little disgruntled, and as if he can tell, Jongin gives him an amused glance.
"You're an actor, hyung. Haven't you had any kiss scenes?" He raises his cup to take another sip as Kyungsoo's response comes slow and sullen.
"...No."
Kyungsoo jumps when Jongin chokes loudly on his hot chocolate.
.
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"Kyungsoo-hyung hasn't had a single kiss scene yet, and when I asked him if he's ever kissed anyone, he wouldn't answer me. It can't be that...this is his first kiss?"
Kai looks both shocked and delighted by the idea, and when the interviewer (redundantly) asks him how he feels about it, Kai laughs freely for the first time since his scandal erupted.
"How do you think I feel?" Kai jokes, bangs falling into his curved eyes, and the screen drowns in sparkles.
Kai might be his husband's very first kiss!! claim the captions beneath his glowing face.
.
.
There are four different cameras on them, with the director himself standing at the edge of a growing crowd of people that have caught on that there's some kind of event going on. The interest is good for the episode, but it means that they have very little time to film the kiss and leave before the spectators potentially become violent.
Kyungsoo understands why the precaution is necessary after the fan battle he saw just last week. He knows now how dangerous even sweet-looking teens can be for them.
In the background, the song has changed to one that Kyungsoo immediately recognizes, and he clues Jongin in by singing along with his own intro part.
He's not singing loudly, but Jongin is close enough to hear the low, soulful notes and the blond blinks as he pushes back his hood so he can hear Kyungsoo's voice more clearly.
"Hyung, is this your song?" Jongin questions just as Jongdae's higher pitch breaks through with crystal clarity.
"Jongdae-hyung...and Baekhyun-hyung...," Jongin recognizes. "When did you guys even make this?"
"A while ago, after we had that karaoke session," Kyungsoo says, tucking his hands into his pockets shyly.
Jongin jaw-drops as he pulls his hood back on. "That long ago?"
"Yeah. Your manager caught me afterwards and asked if I wanted to do a song project with your group's main vocals."
"Amazing," Jongin enthuses. "I knew you could become an artist, no problem. With your skills, you could probably join Immortal Song 3 and win it."
The praise makes Kyungsoo duck his head so the lower half his face is hidden in the fluffy edge of his coat, but then he sees Jongin step closer and raises his eyes.
"Hyung, the director's signaling for us to do it now," Jongin says softly, which makes Kyungsoo glance reflexively at the black eye of the camera over his shoulder.
"They're going to have to cut that part out. This is supposed to be spontaneous, remember?" Kyungsoo fights the instinct to step back as Jongin moves closer, leaning down to match Kyungsoo's height.
"They're going to have to cut that part too," Jongin says, flashing white teeth in the dim light and Kyungsoo's breath stops at having someone so achingly handsome be only inches away.
The actor closes his eyes and opens them, and Jongin is still there, gaze half-masted, locked on Kyungsoo's mouth before he drags his eyes up.
"Hyung, there's just one thing I need to tell you first," says Jongin, and instead of kissing him, drops over Kyungsoo in a sudden bear hug that makes actor go oof.
Kyungsoo's back bends a little under the weight of him, and he's astonished to feel his heart going a mile a minute, before he realizes that the rapid rabbit beat he feels is actually Jongin's heart pounding against his chest. Carefully, Kyungsoo reaches around to hug him back, exhaling in a long white flow over Jongin's shoulder like cigarette smoke.
Suddenly, Kyungsoo feels Jongin's nose nudge against his ear, and shivers when he hears a whisper that the cameras won't catch. It's only one sentence, but it makes Kyungsoo choke on a gasp once it registers.
His eyes start filling against his will.
"I would have wanted to kiss you even without the show."
When Jongin finally kisses him, lips shaky but firm, in front of this crowd of people and the nation, there are tears running down Do Kyungsoo's face.
Their first kiss is an NG, because the fluffy coat hoods hide their faces from view. In the background, the director yells that they need to lower their hoods but his voice is drowned out by the increasingly excited murmurs of the crowd, where numerous camera phones have been raised to film the scene.
Their second kiss occurs merely moments after the first, when the couple separate just long enough for the actor to wipe his tears on his laughing husband's shirt before he pulls him down into another kiss, knocking back both their hoods as he digs his fingers into the idol's hair.
The third and fourth kiss don't air, but fancams of it posted online will prove their existence.
.
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The WGM Christmas episode goes through the roof in ratings, and it easily becomes the most popular episode the show has had in years, matching the popularity of the Adam couple's Christmas special from Season 2.
The clip of Kaisoo's hoodie kiss, with the sea of glittering camera phones in the background, and the actor pulling the idol down for a second with wet cheeks, goes viral moments after the episode airs, and no one can talk about anything but the Kaisoo kiss until well into the new year.
It should have come as no surprise then that at the end of January, after they had been nominated and voted best couple of the year for three separate TV award shows, Kyungsoo is woken up by Yixing bursting into his room blathering about a new season and reinstallment and Kyungsoo get up--get up right now we have a contract to sign!!
.
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"So we're back, just in time to make a Valentine's Day special," Do Kyungsoo says a little dryly. "Somehow, I don't believe that's a coincidence." He shoots an accusatory stare at someone beyond the camera, who snickers loudly in response.
"Jongin told me that he's expecting me to bake cookies for him. Specifically the chocolate cookies I mentioned in a previous episode, which I haven't made in years," Kyungsoo says with a longsuffering look when asked about his plans for the holiday. "I know I can do it, but it's going to be a hassle having to make so many, because Jongin's group will also want some and they eat like starved animals."
Then Kyungsoo's eyebrows draw together as something comes to mind.
"Now that I think about it, if I'm the one giving him the sweets...does that...make me the girl?" Audience laughter meets his question and below the actor's confused face, the captions merrily roll out in dazzling pink.
Welcome back, Kaisoo couple~
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Epilogue:
Even after the end of their time on WGM, popular actor Do Kyungsoo and idol group member Kai are still often mentioned as a duo--as Kaisoo.
Kai's scandal earned the idol hundreds of anti-fans, but their overwhelming popularity as a WGM couple somehow managed to override most of the negative impacts of this. As many anti-fans as there were, for every one there seemed to be five or six more Kaisoo supporters.
Any more anti-fan incidents both Kai and Kyungsoo faced, (protests at Kyungsoo's newest movie, eggs thrown at Kai on his way to work, etc.), boosted public sympathy and inspired many a fan outcry in their name.
WGM made the pairing popular, but how it stayed popular is due to the couple's own mystique. To this day, neither the actor nor the idol admit or deny dating each other, and 'No comment' is their main response when asked.
Kaisoo fans aren't discouraged though, not when there's a staggering amount of fan-taken video clips and pictures of the two together online, holding hands and grinning at each other, looking like any pair of lovers out on a date.
.
.
Kyungsoo is working on his newest song project with Jongdae and Baekhyun when he feels his pocket vibrate and reaches for his cell. It's a text message from Jongin, and Kyungsoo's eye twitches when he reads it.
HYUNG THEY STOLE OUR CONCEPT
Baekhyun reads his expression and guesses, "Jongin?"
"Yes," the actor sighs, standing up from the table. "Sorry, give me a second."
"Take two, it's not like we're going anywhere," Jongdae says as he wads up the piece of paper he was scribbling lyrics on and throws it at the back of Chanyeol's head where he's watching TV on the couch. The guitarist turns around, squints at Jongdae and then promptly launches himself over the back of the couch to tackle him.
Baekhyun helpfully starts pea-shooting paper balls at the two while they wrestle on the floor, as Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and turns his attention back on his phone.
He texts back, I thought i told u to stop using all caps in msgs. it's annoying!
But hyuuuuuuunng!! D: They stole our freaking concept an now they're gonna ruin our wgm legacy aRNT U WORRIED??!!!
Kyungsoo frowns. What on earth are u talking about?
Tao and that blogger Oh Sehun! THEYRE JOINING WGM!!!! >:((
Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow and carefully asks, Like with other female partners?
Jongin's reply comes instantaneously. NO. WITH EACH OTHER!! DX
Well, that's interesting. Kyungsoo didn't even know Tao was into men, although it explains a lot about the way he would stare at Wufan when he thought they didn't notice. Kyungsoo always figured Tao was just envious of his band member's impressive physique.
Then Kyungsoo suddenly realizes what Jongin is talking about and sighs in frustration before furiously typing, Jongin we don't own the male couple concept!
Behind the actor, Baekhyun stills as an idea pops into his head and he calls to Kyungsoo, "Hey, about that Mando-pop group you know?"
Kyungsoo turns his head. "Yeah?"
"Anyone in the group sing well enough to do Open Arms with us?"
Kyungsoo thinks of a certain doe-eyed idol from Beijing and swivels around. "Yes, actually. He'll have to fly over from China though."
Baekhyun shrugs. "It's fine with us if he's fine with it. Just ask him if he wants to do a collaboration with us and we can talk it over with manager-hyung."
"Ooh, a chance to practice my Mandarin!" exclaims Jongdae from where he's sitting on Chanyeol's legs and suffocating him with a sofa cushion, which absorbs any comment Chanyeol might make.
In Kyungsoo's hand, his phone vibrates with more incoming messages, most likely from Jongin complaining about being ignored, and then, predictably, Jongin gives up and calls Kyungsoo before he can answer.
Kyungsoo carefully raises the phone to his ear, but to his relief, Jongin doesn't launch into another rant about Tao and Oh Sehun's new WGM status.
"Hey, hyung, when do you get home today?" His voice is tired but affectionate, and turns Kyungsoo's insides promptly to mush.
"At seven," Kyungsoo says with a quick look at his watch.
"Can you make me dinner?" Jongin begs, "I haven't had anything to eat all day and I'm sick of Chanyeol-hyung's ramen."
In the background, Kyungsoo can hear Ha Ha-sunbae crowing about punishment for the losers of a game and imagines the radio show doing well even without the beagle line there.
"It's going to be late though," warns Kyungsoo, though he warms at knowing Jongin wants his cooking. "Are you sleeping over this time?" On instinct, the actor glances around for anyone listening, and Baekhyun winks at him from the table.
Jongin's voice turns thick with amusement. "Sure. I can't get caught leaving your apartment that late, can I? The netizens might combust from the Kaisoo overload."
Kyungsoo snorts at the image. "See you there?" Kyungsoo asks and smiles when he hears Jongin laugh, low and intimate in his ear.
"Promise," Jongin says cheekily.
the end~
A/N: Huge thanks to the awesome Stef and Meli for their help reading through this monstrosity and telling me to go to bed when I was dying.
A/N2: Special thanks to the rest of you for reading my baby and not sending me hate mail for lack of updates. You guys are stars. ;)
Pairing: Kaisoo
Genre: Romance, humor, gen
Word Count: 6.2+ / 23.1K
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Popular actor Do Kyungsoo and super-idol Kai are the newest couple on We Got Married. Korea won't know what hit it.
AN: DONE. FINALLY.
AN2: Cross-posted on tumblr.
Previous
'Well he is an idol' are the only words that beloved blogger and ulzzang Oh Sehun gives on the issue.
Netizens go to war over the meaning of his comment.
The obvious is that he's referring to the susceptibility of idols to scandals, making anyone who didn't see this coming a fool.
Some netizens argue loudly that Sehun might be aiming for deeper meaning, as he's prone to do. What if, they propose, he's pointing the blame at others for causing a scandal about something potentially trivial?
One user predictably flares at this theory, calling all netizens that believe this naive and simple-minded for blindly trusting Kai.
Another user counterattacks viciously, branding the former user as a gossip-monger that wants to damn poor idols like Kai just because she can.
A third user joins the discussion midway as it starts to get uglier, siding with the first user and renouncing all ties to Kai as his fan, prompting a fourth and fifth to appear instantaneously in Kai's defense.
The discussion thread is only one of many, but it is the most savage. Death threats fly like greetings, and more than once a user has to withdraw herself to recover from the intensity of the online battling.
This thread sits on Oh Sehun's original comment, and the blogger himself stays conspicuously silent for the next few weeks.
.
.
When the interviewer asks Kyungsoo how he feels about Kai's dating allegations, the actor looks tired and resigned and just a touch annoyed.
"Didn't Jongin's agency already make a statement that he wasn't dating anyone?" Kyungsoo bites out, and then his eyebrows jump with surprise at his own nerve.
Kyungsoo closes his eyes briefly. It's just a second, but enough for everyone to see that he is far from unaffected.
"No comment," Kyungsoo says.
.
.
The second to last episode was supposed to be filmed just a couple days after the scandal broke out, but it was canceled for fear of endangering the couple if they actually went outside to film their snow fight. Anti-fans from Jongin's scandal were seemingly everywhere, and Jongin especially had to be careful of being seen in public.
Kyungsoo should have known not to trust Yixing though. Not even fifteen minutes into his recording of his movie OST he sees a familiar swatch of platinum blond out of the corner of his eye, and turns his head to the left just in time to see Jongin walk into the small recording studio with a cameraman behind him.
It's Kyungsoo's professionalism that keeps him continuing the song, albeit a single shaky moment where his tongue fumbles over a line. Kyungsoo will have to sing the part again, but the recording artist in charge seems more preoccupied with the newly arrived idol.
Yixing and Kyungsoo match gazes through the glass separating the recording room from the control room, and the actor wishes he could hear what they're saying. As expected, Yixing doesn't look surprised at all.
Kyungsoo glares, You knew he was coming.
Yixing smiles contently and waggles his fingers, Yoo hoo~
Jongin doesn't waste any time, just walks straight into the recording room and closes the door behind him. The WGM cameraman that followed him into the studio looks startled to be locked out of the recording room and lingers awkwardly around the door.
Kyungsoo pulls off his headphones so the faint sound of piano bars taint the room.
"Hi, hyung," Jongin says with a strained excuse for a smile. There are rings under his eyes and a cloud of gloom over his head. As Jongin settles near the opposite wall, the deja vu of the moment hits Kyungsoo all of a sudden.
A little over a month ago, he must have looked just like this, Kyungsoo realizes. Hopeless, like a lost person who has given up on finding his way out of hell.
"You look terrible," Kyungsoo blurts, not realizing the lack of tact until it's out of his mouth.
Jongin stops and then huffs in humor, shaking his head a little.
"How do you always do that," Jongin says.
"What?"
"Make me laugh." The fleeting glimpse of a grin Jongin gives him is more genuine this time. "You're not even that funny."
"That's because I'm not trying to be," Kyungsoo deadpans.
The idol's snorts lightly and then silence falls. Kyungsoo didn't notice they had turned off the music.
Jongin opens his mouth to say something, but before he can Kyungsoo asks, "How are you?"
Jongin goggles. "Huh?"
"Are you okay?" Kyungsoo says, a little impatience creeping into his voice. "I mean, you only texted me once and then you didn't answer after that so I was worried you were going to drown yourself in the Han river or something."
Neither of them notice Yixing facepalm in the other room.
"I'm...fine," Jongin says hesitantly. He awkwardly shifts his weight to his other foot and wavers a little, adding to the fragile air around him.
He looks like a walking pepero stick with eyebags, Kyungsoo thinks with dismay.
"You don't look like you've been eating though. Or sleeping. Have you had any sleep in the past couple days? No, huh?" Kyungsoo clicks his tongue. "I can probably bring you by some food if you need it."
"...Sure."
"You'll have to text me your address though," says Kyungsoo, undeterred by Jongin's lack of enthusiasm. "Your company is seriously good at keeping it secret. Unless you're staying at the dorms. Though I figured you wouldn't be since...." Kyungsoo trails off as he notices something, and through the glass, the WGM camera left outside zooms in to catch his horrified reaction.
"Jongin, are you crying?"
"No...," Jongin sniffs loudly.
"Dear lord." Kyungsoo digs around for a tissue. "Jongin--don't be gross. Stop wiping your nose on your sleeve."
.
.
"First time we see each other after the incident and the only thing he asks me is how I am," Kai says with a self-deprecating snort. "He doesn't ask if I actually did it or not...and even after I explained everything to him, he never questioned me, or doubted me."
Dead silence. The audience holds its breath as the camera pans around to catch Kai's somberness from different angles. The cut of his cheekbones and his classically chocolate skin tone hasn't changed, but there's a heaviness to his features that wasn't there before. His lips have lost their devil-may-care curve.
"He trusts me even though I've screwed everything up." Kai's hands clench and open helplessly in his lap. "I don't know how to make things up to him."
.
.
"It's not blind trust. There's nothing blind about it," Kyungsoo says when he's asked about it. "I'm neither a fan nor a faceless stranger, so I have an advantage over those that only have the internet and the media to trust. Not that I'm saying blind trust isn't bad," Kyungsoo adds hastily.
"Blind trust is just as dangerous as thinking people should be thrown away as soon as they make a mistake." The words fall almost carelessly from his mouth, and the interviewer's face must have gone strange because Kyungsoo blinks and says defensively, "Well it is, isn't it?"
The actor bites his lip, and then fixes his gaze on the camera. "Everyone is speculating and making conclusions from a few pictures, so does it even matter what's said anymore? The public will believe what it wants to believe. I said how I feel about all this, and these are my true feelings. I just hope--I hope everyone can accept them."
The look on Kyungsoo's face is not unlike that of the day he was attacked on-site, when his attacker stood above him and the actor had nothing to defend himself with but his bare hands.
It is a queer look, at once both vulnerable and bulletproof.
.
.
"The cameras stay outside. I agreed to film today so that my manager would let me come by to see Kyungsoo-hyung, but I don't want them listening in right now."
Kyungsoo looks three parts exasperated and one part fond. "Jongin, this is a recording studio. They can hear everything we're saying in the control booth."
Jongin looks at the windows and Yixing waves cheerily.
"Shit," says Jongin.
"Language," rebukes Kyungsoo.
"They're going to edit it out anyways...," whines the idol, drawing Kyungsoo in to pinch him in the side.
It takes longer to record the OST with Jongin around, but it's definitely more interesting, and to Kyungsoo's relief, the idol seems to brighten up the longer he stays.
"I forgot how well you can sing," Jongin says when he finishes the song on the fourth run-through. He has a tendency to hum along, and it's a little distracting but the actor doesn't mention it.
Jongin has a rich, silky texture to his low voice that reminds Kyungsoo of dark chocolate melting over the tongue. It's one of the first things the actor noticed and admired about him when they first met.
"I've had practice," Kyungsoo says, fiddling with his earphones. "I've been singing since I was a kid."
"I know. I saw the videos of it online."
"...You didn't download that ringtone of me singing did you?"
Jongin looks like he's about to answer, but then his expression changes and he asks instead, "What do you think?"
He's not exactly smiling, but there's a familiar spark of humor dancing in his eyes, and instead of feeling annoyed, Kyungsoo is oddly relieved.
"I think if you really did download that ringtone I'm going to have to divorce you," Kyungsoo replies promptly, before he realizes what he just said and goes wide eyed.
It's too soon for this kind of joke, but instead of looking hurt, Jongin automatically snorts a laugh and then looks briefly stunned at his own reaction.
His sudden slack-jawed expression draws a giggle from Kyungsoo, which Jongin can't help smiling at and then it's like the bubble of tension over them has finally popped. Both boys start laughing, slowly at first and then wilder, heady with the release of stiffness that constrained them.
They either don't notice or care about the audience on the other side of the glass watching them. They're in their own world.
.
.
"I'm happy Jongin came by to see me, but I really wish he hadn't come in the middle of the recording," Kyungsoo says with an annoyed sigh. "He kept distracting me and getting me in trouble with the recording artists. And then he wouldn't let the WGM cameras in so the director told us we would have to get film more after the OST-making because we didn't have enough material for the next episode. It was such a pain."
Someone must say something off to the side because suddenly Kyungsoo raises his head with a slight frown.
"Me complaining about Jongin is not going to get him any more anti-fans than he already has," says Kyungsoo dismissively, and there's a soft moaning noise from beyond the camera that Kyungsoo easily ignores.
"Anyways, the OST song took an extra hour to finish with him around, so we didn't get out until late that afternoon." The actor gives a delicate pause, and then continues with, "Of course neither of us actually managed to get home until the next morning."
.
.
For lack of any other places to go to film, the director sends the Kaisoo couple to their WGM apartment. Thanks to Jongin's manager, who has years of experience avoiding sasaeng fans under his belt, they manage to get into the apartment without any major event.
Getting out though, is another question.
Barely minutes after Jongin's manager leaves them to their filming, a loud fight breaks out in front of the apartment amongst a bunch of high school girls--clearly sasaeng fans by the heavy-duty DSLR cameras many of them carry.
Kyungsoo shivers when he witnesses one fan brutally yank one of the pigtails of another and drag her down to the sidewalk ground so they can scratch and spit at each other like angry cats.
"Oh my god," says Jongin, eyes locked on a couple teenagers ganging up on a third before being jumped from behind by two of her comrades in schoolgirl skirts. "Since when have we been having World War III in front of our apartment?"
"I don't know," Kyungsoo says faintly. "They couldn't have been fighting for long though. School let out at 5pm."
"Don't these kids have hagwon to go to? My mom made me go everyday," Jongin says, making a face.
"They should...although I don't know how anyone could show up to prep classes looking like a war refugee." Kyungsoo looks pale. "They might stay out here, fighting, all night."
"Don't jinx it, hyung!"
To their dismay though, the sasaeng battle continues on through the night as more and more students show up to replenish their tired numbers. It looks like some drama scene where all the top high school gangs in Seoul show up to wage war against each other. The only difference with this scene is that the main combatants are teenage girls, decked out in bows, bb cream, knee-low skirts.
This version is somehow a hundred times more frightening than the proposed drama scene could ever be.
.
.
"We kind of figured it out already, but when we checked the news, it said that the fight was between some well-known Kaisoo fans and anti-fans," Kyungsoo relays and then shivers at the memory.
"It was the scariest thing I've ever seen. I've never witnessed anything like it. All those girls...just tearing each other apart. Jongin said that he saw something similar happen in an airport in China." Kyungsoo shakes his head in disbelief. "The life of an idol I guess.
"Up till now I've had mostly ahjumma fans," Kyungsoo discloses, "So this is all really new to me. I didn't realize that I've been lucky to have fans that are usually older and less prone to...battling."
.
.
The fighting finally ends around 10pm when the police show up four hours late from three calls of 'neighborhood disturbance' and one call of 'packs of wild girls are killing each other--do something'. In their defense, Seoul is a big city and this sasaeng incident is one of hundreds that the police deal with, albeit the uniqueness of its size and intensity.
Now that the fighting has ended, the WGM staff can safely leave the apartment, though Jongin and Kyungsoo will stay behind.
Since the sasaeng battle was too distracting to get any real work done--the war cries of the girls kept interrupting the filming--the Kaisoo couple have been directed to stay behind and film their own sleepover material with the apartment's CCTV cameras.
To Kyungsoo's consternation, he finds one of the cameras in the bathroom, and Jongin walks in to find the actor diligently covering the camera above the sink with a towel.
"Here, let me," Jongin says quietly, stepping in behind Kyungsoo to help pull up the towel.
Kyungsoo goes still in front of him, and when Jongin is done fixing the towel so it's neatly tucked in underneath the camera, he asks, "Hyung? You okay?"
"Mmh...." Kyungsoo glances at him. "I just realized this is the first time we're together without anyone around, or any cameras."
Jongin taps the wrapped camera above them. "There's this one, and it's probably recording everything we say."
"Oh, right," Kyungsoo realizes, and when he turns around he looks a little disappointed.
Jongin gives him a soft look. "Come on, hyung. Let's wash up and go to bed."
They can't go to sleep right away of course. Majority of the episode will probably take from their conversations before sleeping and after waking, so Kyungsoo and Jongin spend a good hour or so chatting idly, careful to avoid sensitive topics.
"Favorite color?"
"Black."
"Oh, same here."
"Isn't your favorite color red?"
"Ehh? How did you know that? I like both red and black."
"...I checked your online profile."
"Wow, hyung. I'm so touched."
"Shut up." The blankets rustle.
"No, seriously, hyung. Don't hide under the covers."
A chuckle, and then the blankets rustle again.
"Favorite genre?"
"R&B and Hip Hop. Yours?"
"Pop."
"Siblings?"
"Just one, a hyung."
"Mmm, does he look like you?"
"I guess so...."
"I have two sisters, they don't look much like me so they joke that I'm adopted all the time."
"Are you the youngest?"
"How did you know that?"
"...Lucky guess."
"Favorite weather?"
"Light drizzle."
"Why?"
A long pause. "...I like how everything looks when it's damp."
"You're such a romantic, Kyungsoo-hyung."
"I can tell you're making fun of me again."
"No, I'm not, I swear!"
"Hmph. What about you?"
"Hmm?"
A sigh. "Your favorite weather?"
"I think dusk, when the air starts getting crisp."
"Now who's the romantic?"
A laugh.
"That isn't weather though. That's a time of day."
"Same difference." The blankets shift with a shrug in the dark.
Kyungsoo makes a scoffing sound but doesn't answer, and for a few moments they just breathe as they try to think up another question.
Kyungsoo is very warm swaddled in the heavy winter blankets the staff have prepared for them. He can hear the soft sound of Jongin's breaths, and slowly but surely the rhythm of it coaxes him into sleep.
When Jongin speaks again, Kyungsoo misses it and makes a drowsy questioning noise in reply.
"You're falling asleep?" Jongin asks, his voice very soft.
Kyungsoo grunts lightly in affirmation.
"Oh....Goodnight then, hyung."
Kyungsoo grunts again and in another minute is fast asleep. He doesn't feel Jongin reaching out in the dark and brushing back his hair, nor the small kiss he presses into Kyungsoo's forehead.
.
.
Kai balks when he hears that the forehead kiss he gave Kyungosoo aired in the newest episode.
"I was really hoping that it wouldn't air, or that it would come out in the BTS video if it was going to," Kai admits, with a small sheepish grin reminiscent of his usual self.
When the interviewer asks him why, Kai tells him, "Because Kyungsoo-hyung wouldn't care enough to watch the BTS clips. Now he's going to get annoyed with me again...."
.
.
Just as they did with Kyungsoo's incident, the producers of WGM unofficially choose a side to ride out Jongin's scandal. This time, it's their own.
There is no helpful editing this time around, and when the second to last episode of the year airs, the Kaisoo section is strikingly emptier than the other couples' sections. The heavy post-scandal tone of it is also impossible to ignore, and even though the ratings for the episode are almost the highest the show has ever recieved, a few days later comes the announcement that the Kaisoo couple will be removed from WGM.
The Christmas special is scheduled to be their last episode before the couple is unceremoniously kicked off the show.
It's hard to tell if this makes things better or worse with the public. Either way the uproar is earsplitting.
This is probably the only reason why the Kaisoo couple's last episode gets its proper editing.
.
.
"The morning after the news came out, four different people stopped me on the way to the corner mini-mart. But the weird thing was that only two of them were anti-fans. The third just pointed at me and gaped, and I walked away really quickly before she could say anything and the last...."
Kai's expression twists in a peculiar way as the camera zooms in for a close up.
"It was a high school kid that told me he was really disappointed that I wasn't going to be part of WGM anymore. And then he asked me to give his condolences to Kyungsoo-hyung," Kai's voice goes hushed as he gives the camera a confused look, his face warily hopeful, the way a wounded dog's would be when suddenly treated with a kind hand.
Pink glitter starts to fill the air around Kai as he continues, "A lot of people have been coming up to tell me things like this since WGM announced hyung and I would be leaving after the Christmas special. I thought...well, I thought no one would miss me being on the show...."
He trails off and the scene blacks out on this meaningful silence.
.
.
"Wait, hyung, hold on!" Jongin grabs Kyungsoo by the hood of his coat and tugs him back before he can leave the store, making him choke a little and give Jongin an accusing stare. Outside, in front of the store, a group of girls are huddled over their phones, but thankfully none of them noticed the couple.
"One of those girls has my group's fan keychain," Jongin explains belatedly, letting go of him, and Kyungsoo's eyes grow large as he realizes how close he was to hitting disaster.
"Right," Kyungsoo says, stepping further away from the doors with wary eyes.
Jongin grins, gives him a brief side hug and pulls him over to look at the couple phone cases while they wait for the group to leave.
The dating options are limited if you're a popular celebrity as famous (or infamous) as Kyungsoo or Kai.
The couple was originally supposed to have a late night date in the downtown shopping district before Kai gave his husband a seemingly impromptu dance performance, making him swoon into Kai's arms for a very public first kiss in front of all the awed spectators.
The scandal forced the directors to scrap this plan, which Kyungsoo is intensely grateful for because there is no universe where he can imagine himself swooning into anyone's arms.
They still have the night date though, because the darkness and crowds will help hide their anonymity. The two mostly stick to small shops and cafes where people won't immediately notice the staff members following them with cameras.
Even so, a few people inevitably do notice and the couple have a time of it trying to hide or escape before they get caught.
"Here," the actor says before he throws the first hat he sees at Jongin. "I can't believe you walked out without anything to cover up your hair. Anyone could tell you were Kim Kai from a mile off."
"My jacket has a hood though," Jongin says plaintively, but obediently puts on the hat to cover the eye-catching blond strands. To Kyungsoo's surprise, the random hat he picked up turns out to be a black fedora.
"What do you think?" Jongin lowers the fedora so only a peek of his glittering gaze can be seen and smirks. "Does it make me look dashing?"
Kyungsoo sputters and throws a beanie at him in reply. Jongin's yelp startles the shop's employee from his nap at the front register and both boys duck before they can be spotted. The WGM staff member with them lowers his camera and nods genially at the employee, who warily returns to his nap.
Behind the hat display, Kyungsoo slaps at Jongin's arm. "Don't be so loud!"
"But you think I look cool, huh, hyung?" Jongin adjusts the fedora and then neatly lifts up the brim with one finger. "I could get used to wearing these if they're your style."
"Please don't," Kyungsoo mutters.
.
.
"That one episode where we did a little clothes-shopping was similar, but this was more like a real date," Kyungsoo reveals, "We spent most of our time in Myeongdong visiting the small shops and street venders. We got useless stuff like couple phone cases and couple keychains, and shared tteokbokki and odeng sticks from a food cart."
Kyungsoo's ears turn pink as he confesses, "It was a lot of fun. I'm happy...even though this is going to be our last episode together."
The actor's next words are repeated in the captions to further emphasize them.
"I want to end our WGM experience on a fun note." The edges of his lips quirk up in a barely-there smile as he adds, "With no regrets."
.
.
They're lingering beside the giant Christmas tree in the busiest part of the shopping district while the staff get ready to film the climax of the special: the kiss scene.
It's crowded, so no one has noticed them yet, but Kyungsoo still feels open and exposed, and he bounces on the balls of his feet to let loose some of the nervous energy.
Jongin passes him a steaming styrofoam cup of hot chocolate the staff picked up for them. He sips his own as he eyes Kyungsoo, and then asks over the edge of his cup, "Nervous, hyung?"
"...No," Kyungsoo lies. "Why, are you?"
"A little," is the quiet reply and Kyungsoo immediately feels guilty for fibbing about his own nervousness. He reaches out to grab the idol's hand with his free one.
"I could tell them to call them off the kiss scene. I mean, at this point, they can't really make us do anything," Kyungsoo whispers, careful not to let the staff hear. There's only one cameraman on them now, standing a few feet off so he's not too obvious.
"No, I can do it," Jongin says, although he gives him a grateful look. Then one side of his mouth hooks up impishly.
"After all I've already kissed you three times now."
Kyungsoo flushes red beneath his hood. "Those don't count!"
The actor's vehement reply makes Jongin pout defensively.
"Of course they do."
Kyungsoo avoids Jongin's eye, remembering the last episode where he kissed him on the forehead after Kyungsoo fell asleep.
"I guess a kiss scene is no big deal to you then." Kyungsoo can't help feeling a little disgruntled, and as if he can tell, Jongin gives him an amused glance.
"You're an actor, hyung. Haven't you had any kiss scenes?" He raises his cup to take another sip as Kyungsoo's response comes slow and sullen.
"...No."
Kyungsoo jumps when Jongin chokes loudly on his hot chocolate.
.
.
"Kyungsoo-hyung hasn't had a single kiss scene yet, and when I asked him if he's ever kissed anyone, he wouldn't answer me. It can't be that...this is his first kiss?"
Kai looks both shocked and delighted by the idea, and when the interviewer (redundantly) asks him how he feels about it, Kai laughs freely for the first time since his scandal erupted.
"How do you think I feel?" Kai jokes, bangs falling into his curved eyes, and the screen drowns in sparkles.
Kai might be his husband's very first kiss!! claim the captions beneath his glowing face.
.
.
There are four different cameras on them, with the director himself standing at the edge of a growing crowd of people that have caught on that there's some kind of event going on. The interest is good for the episode, but it means that they have very little time to film the kiss and leave before the spectators potentially become violent.
Kyungsoo understands why the precaution is necessary after the fan battle he saw just last week. He knows now how dangerous even sweet-looking teens can be for them.
In the background, the song has changed to one that Kyungsoo immediately recognizes, and he clues Jongin in by singing along with his own intro part.
He's not singing loudly, but Jongin is close enough to hear the low, soulful notes and the blond blinks as he pushes back his hood so he can hear Kyungsoo's voice more clearly.
"Hyung, is this your song?" Jongin questions just as Jongdae's higher pitch breaks through with crystal clarity.
"Jongdae-hyung...and Baekhyun-hyung...," Jongin recognizes. "When did you guys even make this?"
"A while ago, after we had that karaoke session," Kyungsoo says, tucking his hands into his pockets shyly.
Jongin jaw-drops as he pulls his hood back on. "That long ago?"
"Yeah. Your manager caught me afterwards and asked if I wanted to do a song project with your group's main vocals."
"Amazing," Jongin enthuses. "I knew you could become an artist, no problem. With your skills, you could probably join Immortal Song 3 and win it."
The praise makes Kyungsoo duck his head so the lower half his face is hidden in the fluffy edge of his coat, but then he sees Jongin step closer and raises his eyes.
"Hyung, the director's signaling for us to do it now," Jongin says softly, which makes Kyungsoo glance reflexively at the black eye of the camera over his shoulder.
"They're going to have to cut that part out. This is supposed to be spontaneous, remember?" Kyungsoo fights the instinct to step back as Jongin moves closer, leaning down to match Kyungsoo's height.
"They're going to have to cut that part too," Jongin says, flashing white teeth in the dim light and Kyungsoo's breath stops at having someone so achingly handsome be only inches away.
The actor closes his eyes and opens them, and Jongin is still there, gaze half-masted, locked on Kyungsoo's mouth before he drags his eyes up.
"Hyung, there's just one thing I need to tell you first," says Jongin, and instead of kissing him, drops over Kyungsoo in a sudden bear hug that makes actor go oof.
Kyungsoo's back bends a little under the weight of him, and he's astonished to feel his heart going a mile a minute, before he realizes that the rapid rabbit beat he feels is actually Jongin's heart pounding against his chest. Carefully, Kyungsoo reaches around to hug him back, exhaling in a long white flow over Jongin's shoulder like cigarette smoke.
Suddenly, Kyungsoo feels Jongin's nose nudge against his ear, and shivers when he hears a whisper that the cameras won't catch. It's only one sentence, but it makes Kyungsoo choke on a gasp once it registers.
His eyes start filling against his will.
"I would have wanted to kiss you even without the show."
When Jongin finally kisses him, lips shaky but firm, in front of this crowd of people and the nation, there are tears running down Do Kyungsoo's face.
Their first kiss is an NG, because the fluffy coat hoods hide their faces from view. In the background, the director yells that they need to lower their hoods but his voice is drowned out by the increasingly excited murmurs of the crowd, where numerous camera phones have been raised to film the scene.
Their second kiss occurs merely moments after the first, when the couple separate just long enough for the actor to wipe his tears on his laughing husband's shirt before he pulls him down into another kiss, knocking back both their hoods as he digs his fingers into the idol's hair.
The third and fourth kiss don't air, but fancams of it posted online will prove their existence.
.
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The WGM Christmas episode goes through the roof in ratings, and it easily becomes the most popular episode the show has had in years, matching the popularity of the Adam couple's Christmas special from Season 2.
The clip of Kaisoo's hoodie kiss, with the sea of glittering camera phones in the background, and the actor pulling the idol down for a second with wet cheeks, goes viral moments after the episode airs, and no one can talk about anything but the Kaisoo kiss until well into the new year.
It should have come as no surprise then that at the end of January, after they had been nominated and voted best couple of the year for three separate TV award shows, Kyungsoo is woken up by Yixing bursting into his room blathering about a new season and reinstallment and Kyungsoo get up--get up right now we have a contract to sign!!
.
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"So we're back, just in time to make a Valentine's Day special," Do Kyungsoo says a little dryly. "Somehow, I don't believe that's a coincidence." He shoots an accusatory stare at someone beyond the camera, who snickers loudly in response.
"Jongin told me that he's expecting me to bake cookies for him. Specifically the chocolate cookies I mentioned in a previous episode, which I haven't made in years," Kyungsoo says with a longsuffering look when asked about his plans for the holiday. "I know I can do it, but it's going to be a hassle having to make so many, because Jongin's group will also want some and they eat like starved animals."
Then Kyungsoo's eyebrows draw together as something comes to mind.
"Now that I think about it, if I'm the one giving him the sweets...does that...make me the girl?" Audience laughter meets his question and below the actor's confused face, the captions merrily roll out in dazzling pink.
Welcome back, Kaisoo couple~
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Epilogue:
Even after the end of their time on WGM, popular actor Do Kyungsoo and idol group member Kai are still often mentioned as a duo--as Kaisoo.
Kai's scandal earned the idol hundreds of anti-fans, but their overwhelming popularity as a WGM couple somehow managed to override most of the negative impacts of this. As many anti-fans as there were, for every one there seemed to be five or six more Kaisoo supporters.
Any more anti-fan incidents both Kai and Kyungsoo faced, (protests at Kyungsoo's newest movie, eggs thrown at Kai on his way to work, etc.), boosted public sympathy and inspired many a fan outcry in their name.
WGM made the pairing popular, but how it stayed popular is due to the couple's own mystique. To this day, neither the actor nor the idol admit or deny dating each other, and 'No comment' is their main response when asked.
Kaisoo fans aren't discouraged though, not when there's a staggering amount of fan-taken video clips and pictures of the two together online, holding hands and grinning at each other, looking like any pair of lovers out on a date.
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Kyungsoo is working on his newest song project with Jongdae and Baekhyun when he feels his pocket vibrate and reaches for his cell. It's a text message from Jongin, and Kyungsoo's eye twitches when he reads it.
HYUNG THEY STOLE OUR CONCEPT
Baekhyun reads his expression and guesses, "Jongin?"
"Yes," the actor sighs, standing up from the table. "Sorry, give me a second."
"Take two, it's not like we're going anywhere," Jongdae says as he wads up the piece of paper he was scribbling lyrics on and throws it at the back of Chanyeol's head where he's watching TV on the couch. The guitarist turns around, squints at Jongdae and then promptly launches himself over the back of the couch to tackle him.
Baekhyun helpfully starts pea-shooting paper balls at the two while they wrestle on the floor, as Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and turns his attention back on his phone.
He texts back, I thought i told u to stop using all caps in msgs. it's annoying!
But hyuuuuuuunng!! D: They stole our freaking concept an now they're gonna ruin our wgm legacy aRNT U WORRIED??!!!
Kyungsoo frowns. What on earth are u talking about?
Tao and that blogger Oh Sehun! THEYRE JOINING WGM!!!! >:((
Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow and carefully asks, Like with other female partners?
Jongin's reply comes instantaneously. NO. WITH EACH OTHER!! DX
Well, that's interesting. Kyungsoo didn't even know Tao was into men, although it explains a lot about the way he would stare at Wufan when he thought they didn't notice. Kyungsoo always figured Tao was just envious of his band member's impressive physique.
Then Kyungsoo suddenly realizes what Jongin is talking about and sighs in frustration before furiously typing, Jongin we don't own the male couple concept!
Behind the actor, Baekhyun stills as an idea pops into his head and he calls to Kyungsoo, "Hey, about that Mando-pop group you know?"
Kyungsoo turns his head. "Yeah?"
"Anyone in the group sing well enough to do Open Arms with us?"
Kyungsoo thinks of a certain doe-eyed idol from Beijing and swivels around. "Yes, actually. He'll have to fly over from China though."
Baekhyun shrugs. "It's fine with us if he's fine with it. Just ask him if he wants to do a collaboration with us and we can talk it over with manager-hyung."
"Ooh, a chance to practice my Mandarin!" exclaims Jongdae from where he's sitting on Chanyeol's legs and suffocating him with a sofa cushion, which absorbs any comment Chanyeol might make.
In Kyungsoo's hand, his phone vibrates with more incoming messages, most likely from Jongin complaining about being ignored, and then, predictably, Jongin gives up and calls Kyungsoo before he can answer.
Kyungsoo carefully raises the phone to his ear, but to his relief, Jongin doesn't launch into another rant about Tao and Oh Sehun's new WGM status.
"Hey, hyung, when do you get home today?" His voice is tired but affectionate, and turns Kyungsoo's insides promptly to mush.
"At seven," Kyungsoo says with a quick look at his watch.
"Can you make me dinner?" Jongin begs, "I haven't had anything to eat all day and I'm sick of Chanyeol-hyung's ramen."
In the background, Kyungsoo can hear Ha Ha-sunbae crowing about punishment for the losers of a game and imagines the radio show doing well even without the beagle line there.
"It's going to be late though," warns Kyungsoo, though he warms at knowing Jongin wants his cooking. "Are you sleeping over this time?" On instinct, the actor glances around for anyone listening, and Baekhyun winks at him from the table.
Jongin's voice turns thick with amusement. "Sure. I can't get caught leaving your apartment that late, can I? The netizens might combust from the Kaisoo overload."
Kyungsoo snorts at the image. "See you there?" Kyungsoo asks and smiles when he hears Jongin laugh, low and intimate in his ear.
"Promise," Jongin says cheekily.
the end~
A/N: Huge thanks to the awesome Stef and Meli for their help reading through this monstrosity and telling me to go to bed when I was dying.
A/N2: Special thanks to the rest of you for reading my baby and not sending me hate mail for lack of updates. You guys are stars. ;)