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Jongin's well aware that collaborations are a big thing in the YouTube community, and it’s not like he’s a complete stranger to them, either. Over the last three years he’s made friends with a lot of other YouTubers through in-person events (which is definitely a more recent thing) and interactions online — he’s featured on other people’s channels, but he’s also invited people on or featured them in his vlogs. It’s always been easier for Jongin to sit in front of a camera and make content even if he knows that it’s going to seen by hundreds of thousands of people than to actually interact with someone on screen.
That’s why he’s so apprehensive about . . . this.
Byun Baekhyun is one of the people Jongin has collaborated with on more than one occasion and they’ve featured in each other’s vlogs countless times considering that they share a friend group. If there’s one thing he’s learnt it’s that Baekhyun is completely unpredictable. Jongin knows this, but he’s still caught entirely off guard when Baekhyun sends both him and his manager, Kyungsoo, a blurry video taken somewhere, maybe someone’s apartment, with the caption: please collab w him and end my suffering I beg of u.
“So,” a man Jongin isn’t familiar with starts with a deviously innocent tone, “anyone special, hyung?
The one on the right, also unfamiliar, smiles — an endearing, gummy smile that squishes his cheeks — and it’s such a jarring contrast to the way his biceps are literally straining against the sleeves of his shirt. “Dae—”
“I’m just curious! You’re not getting any younger, you know,” he pouts. It’s a quite convincing pout. They both look like they’ve had a few drinks if the empty shot glasses on the table are anything to go by and their cheeks are pink; whoever’s filming must be tipsy, too, because the camera keeps getting jerked around. “Either answer the question or take another shot.”
“Kim Kai,” the man sighs dreamily, propping his chin on one hand. Someone whoops from behind the camera — Baekhyun — and the other one, Dae(?) wheezes, almost choking on his drink. “He’s so handsome and his voice is so pretty,” he gushes without any shame whatsoever, “did you know he also models?”
“Yes,” a long-suffering voice huffs from behind the camera, “you’ve told me about a hundred times this week.”
“Wait, you’re dating Kim Kai?”
“No,” Baekhyun quickly corrects, “he’s not. But he wishes he was, don’t you, hyung?”
The pretty man doesn’t even flinch at the teasing, just continues on his tangent. “Did you see his last video? He looked like an angel, Dae, a literal angel, I’ve never seen someone so beautiful in my life—“
“Okay, Casanova,” Baekhyun snorts, “we get it.”
“But he—“
“Kim Jongin,” a deep voice interrupts right by his shoulder and Jongin startles, fumbling to turn his phone off before looking over his shoulder to where his lifelong-friend-slash-manager is standing, watching him disapprovingly. “Stop. You’re going to stress yourself out.”
For the last two weeks, Jongin's been a nervous wreck — that’s how long it’s been since everything was finalised and it was confirmed that he’s going to be shooting a video with his mystery admirer. Well, he’s much of a mystery now considering that Baekhyun also sent his Instagram the morning after the video with a winky face.
Kim Minseok. He’s sort of a big deal, honestly, just not in the sort of circles that Jongin follows, though he has heard the name in passing a few times from Baekhyun. A longtime friend that also happens to be a professional soccer player, albeit one who’s been on hiatus for over a year because of a knee injury.
He’s not just a soccer player, though. He’s done modelling for brands. Advertisements. Ever since his injury he’s been more active online and almost eight months ago he opened a YouTube account that’s quickly amassed over a million subscribers due to his charismatic personality, quality content, and probably also his handsome face.
Jongin's never even met the guy and he already knows what he looks like in his underwear, as well as what he looks like when he wakes up in the morning from his weekly xiuvlogs and his regular Instagram lives. Jongin knows that the man he sees in the videos seems kind and exciting and ridiculously funny, and . . . Jongin is more than a little infatuated. He’s also terrified by the fact that Minseok is going to be in the studio in mere minutes to film with him.
“What if it’s awkward? What if we don’t get along? I don’t actually know him and I have to sit here on camera and—“
“If you’re really uncomfortable, we can call it off.” A hand settles on his shoulder. “I’m your friend before I’m your manager. I’m always in your corner. It’s your call.”
Jongin is so fucking nervous, but . . . Kyungsoo is right. Worst come to worst, they can always finish early. Besides, the man from the videos is an absolute sweetheart and, even if Jongin doesn’t know him personally yet — because he knows how someone is on camera isn’t always an accurate representation of what they’re like off-camera — he doubts that this will be a horrible encounter.
Just embarrassing, maybe.
“No, I want to do it. Don’t let me chicken out.”
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣ ⋅ .
See, Jongin is always nervous when it comes to meeting new people, but he’s not usually intimidated by people, or the prospect of collaborating. Maybe intimidated isn’t even the word for this — it’s more cautious, more concerned, because the fact of the matter is their content, save for vlogs, could not be more different, and the sort of fanbase that he’s inadvertently going to be exposing himself to is a far cry from his own.
It’s not that he thinks everyone who pops a boner over sports is going to inherently be an asshole about the fact he’s queer, nor that a lot of his content is beauty and fashion related, and honestly they don’t even have a right to talk anyway because Jongin has never seen anything more questionable than sweaty men tackling and groping each other on the field (okay, maybe that's football, same thing), but it’s . . . well, it’s still something that creeps into the back of his mind. He’s dealt with plenty of people like that and it typically doesn’t bother him much, but an influx of negativity is difficult to ignore.
“He’s a really good friend,” Baekhyun reassures over the phone, “and he’s a really good guy, too. Promise.”
“It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just . . .”
“Look, honestly, Min doesn’t even know that you’ve seen that video, he just thinks that Jongdae finally managed to get your manager to agree. Even without the fact he’s meeting you, he’s been really eager to branch out into other things for a while— he’d never purposefully make you uncomfortable.”
With nothing but reassurances and sparkling character references, Jongin knows that he doesn’t have anything to worry about, but he’s still woefully unprepared for the reality of meeting Minseok.
For one, he’s even more handsome in real life. He’s literally just in jeans and a grey t-shirt that’s stretched over his shoulders but he makes it work and now Jongin feels both woefully overdressed and underdressed at the same time: a soft beige sweater just short enough that reaching up would reveal a small section of his mid-drift and denim jeans cinched at his waist with a belt.
“Hi,” Minseok starts with as they shake hands and— wow, that’s a firm grip, but it’s nice. Not overbearing, just . . . there. “It’s nice to meet you.” The thing is, Jongin believes him; he sounds so incredibly earnest and there’s a warmth in his eyes that he’s seen on camera, of course, but he’s never been subjected to it in person and it’s sort of making him melt. “Thanks again for making time for me.” Humble, too.
“Of course,” Jongin replies, a genuine smile curling at his lips, “I’m looking forward to working with you.” Genuinely.
Minseok exceeds expectations and, to a degree, he’s just like the guy that Jongin’s been watching obsessively lately, but at the same time he’s also nothing like Jongin expected. He buys the whole team lunch as they set up and covers it, even though Jongin offers multiple times to split the bill; he shows a genuine interest in everything as they get ready and helps without getting in the way, asking questions here and there even though he’s not obligated to do any of this until they’re filming. And when the cameras turn on, nothing changes.
Jongin quickly opens up the video with his usual spiel, plugging his socials without acknowledging the empty seat beside him, and then he glances past the camera and smiles, motioning for Minseok to join him. “We have a very special guest today,” he declares. “Why don’t you tell everyone why you’re here?”
“Kai has so graciously agreed to film with me,” Minseok drawls, pulling up a blush on his cheeks, “so he’s going to make me look pretty and we’re going to answer some questions.” As if Jongin could make him any more beautiful than he already is.
“Don’t worry,” Jongin chuckles, “I won’t go too crazy, just something subtle.”
It’s something he’s used to saying because people see the more intricate looks on his social medias and panic, but much to his surprise Minseok shakes his head. “Go for it. I’m serious,” he insists. “I put myself in your very capable hands — you can go as crazy as you’d like.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
This was not part of the plan, but— it’s exciting. Minseok has such a beautiful face and Jongin has so many ideas and, hell, if he has permission then he’s sure as hell not going to waste the chance. “You might regret that,” he warns playfully, eyes sparkling, and Minseok just winks.
“I doubt it.”
It’s always a little bit awkward to do someone else’s makeup, mostly because there’s no way around touching, which is especially awkward when he doesn’t know someone well, but awkward really isn’t the word for what Jongin is feeling as he shuffles his chair closer, kit beside him, and starts working. His hands have been sanitised already so he gently taps the moisturiser into Minseok’s skin with his fingers, then the primer, talking to the camera the entire time and explaining what he’s doing. All the while Baekhyun is asking them fan questions.
“Minseok, why’d you start your channel?”
“I needed something to keep me busy while I was recovering and when you started including me in your vlogs I thought, hey, maybe this could be fun.”
Talking is sort of the only thing keeping him sane because without his constant play-by-play of his process there’d be nothing to distract him from the fact that Minseok is really close and smells absolutely heavenly and— oh, yeah, he keeps staring at him. It doesn’t make him uncomfortable, even if he’s struggling not to squirm under his gaze, and it’s not unwelcome, either. He’s not leering, he’s just . . . watching. Intense, but still respectful.
“Kai — what’s been your favourite video to date?”
“This one?” He finds himself saying before he can help it, only half-joking, and ignores the gleam in Baekhyun’s eyes. “Or the charity gala we did. That one was really special.”
Honestly, Jongin isn’t so sure he’s ever been so flustered on camera before. The light layer of foundation he applies to Minseok’s skin goes on without a hitch, as does the small amount of concealer (this man and his perfect skin — what about him isn’t perfect?) and the powder that follows, but after that it’s time for eyes, and that means getting even closer. It’s really awkward hovering as he applies the primer to Minseok’s lids, trying not to touch him unecessarily, but by the time he’s started blending a dark blue into Minseok’s crease there’s a cramp forming in his side and he just barely manages to pull the brush away from Minseok’s face before he’s wobbling forward dangerously.
A firm hand on his waist steadies him, scorching skin pressed against his own where his sweater has ridden up. Jongin’s free hand instinctively rests on Minseok’s shoulder. They stare at each other for a moment, Jongin’s cheeks growing warmer and warmer, until he forces himself to pull back. “Make sure you’re comfortable,” Minseok murmurs, just loud enough for Jongin to hear, and that . . . it does things to his heart he can’t explain. Slowly, he returns his hand to Minseok’s shoulder, using it to balance properly so that there won’t be a repeat, all the while feeling like his heart is about to beat out of his chest.
“Minseok, what’s your ideal type?”
Oh.
Minseok lets out a low hum that reverberates in his chest, something Jongin can literally feel, and glances to the camera for half a second before looking up as instructed so that Jongin can smudge the liner out on his lower lash line. “I don’t think I have an ideal type,” he says honestly, “but . . . tall. Pretty. I think I have a thing for sweater paws, now.”
“Tall?” Jongin repeats as he carefully applies mascara. “I guess heels must be a no for your future partner, then.” Minseok isn’t small, but he’s not overly tall, either, definitely shorter than Jongin and, in his experience, most (not all) men seem to prefer shorter partners or those similar of a height.
“He can wear heels if he wants.” Somehow, Minseok’s voice drops lower, and it’s not just his tone that sends shivers down his spine. He . . . oh. Oh. It isn’t that he’s been assuming Minseok is straight, not after that video (though who knows), more so that there’s never been a mention of the other’s sexuality on his channel or in the media, so Jongin didn’t expect that.
Jongin gives up on trying to hide the colour creeping to his cheeks but he powers through it, carefully applying lashes when Minseok agrees and adding a few diamonds to the corners of Minseok’s eyes before tapping on a lip tint. He looks— stunning. Amazing.
“It’s not really my thing,” Minseok admits to the camera when they finish up, turning his head to catch the light, “but I think it’s gorgeous. You really do have magic hands.”
Jongin feels like a tomato as they film the outro, Minseok’s hand on his back.
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣ ⋅ .
Their video goes viral — number one trending viral. The comments are filled with people gushing about the video, namely the supposed tension between him and Minseok. There are whole Twitter threads of screencaps dedicated to them flirting.
Get you a man that looks at you the way Minseok looks at Kim Kai, one says, accompanied by a picture of Minseok staring intently at him as he explains why he chose creme blush.
It makes Jongin nervous, as most things do, but also giddy to know that maybe he wasn’t imagining it.
Two days after the video is uploaded, Jongin gathers his courage and messages Minseok.
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣ ⋅ .
“Hi,” Minseok chirps, readjusting his grip on his phone as he meanders around the kitchen, comments running across the screen in rapid-fire. “I did just wake up,” he admits, replying to a comment, and rakes a hand back through his very obvious bed hair to try — it’s a constant in his morning lives, though this one is later than usual.
“Was I up late?” His lips twitch ever so slightly. “Yeah, you could say that. I know that I usually come on earlier but I slept in.” Minseok tries to balance between grabbing eggs from the fridge and holding the phone but quickly pauses to set his phone on the counter instead, propped against something, and switches between working and leaning over to read comments.
All of a sudden Minseok smiles, lips pulling into a wide, shameless grin as he leans against the counter, whisk in hand. “I am very happy this morning,” he confesses cheerily without elaborating on it, just barely glancing past the phone to something off-screen.
Another figure suddenly comes into the frame, sleepy-eyed and smiling, draped in an oversized jersey with Minseok’s name on the back and a pair of shorts that only just reach mid-thigh. The sleeves partially cover his hands. Minseok positively lights up, setting the whisk down completely and standing up straighter.
“Hi, baby,” Minseok murmurs, holding his arms out and wrapping them around the other man as soon as he’s close enough. The mysterious man snuggles against him without hesitating, face hidden against Minseok’s throat, though it’s been clearly visible to the camera until now. “What’re you doing up?”
“Missed you,” the camera barely picks up. The comments explode even more.
“I won’t be long, Jongin— I’ll bring you breakfast, how does that sound?” A nod, then a whisper. “Yes, and me."
Jongin clings to him for a few more moments before pulling back just enough to look at him, big eyes staring at him before Minseok leans in and kisses him right on the lips; he rubs a hand over Jongin hip before giving it a soft pat. Minseok watches him go off-screen with a dopey smile still on his lips but then his eyes grow sharper, darker, a smirk curling at his lips as he tracks the other's movements. The viewers, of course, are completely blind to whatever he's seeing.
Finally, Minseok’s attention returns to his phone and laughter bubbles from his throat as he observes the way the chat has gone crazy. “He’s so cute, isn’t he?” Minseok muses as he reaches for the whisk again, still reading comments. “Yes, you saw right.”
Minseok leans in closer as though something catches his attention and then he snickers, eyes flashing mischievously. “Was that a hickey?” He reads innocently. “I’ll leave that to your imagination.” Minseok winks and then goes back to whisking eggs like nothing happened.