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Women’s intuition. It was a truly mysterious and astounding feat and definitely something you shouldn’t mess with. One Kai Kamal Huening has learned that the hard way.
… Many, many times.
Growing up with two sisters really helps foster (read; beat) some core lessons into a guy. There are simple, more obvious lessons. Lessons like don’t allow douchey assholes to take advantage and mistreat your sister and don’t hog the bathroom with the best natural light in the morning or you will be sorry.
Kai loves his sisters, he does. And he’s thankful for all the knowledge that they have bestowed upon him throughout the years. How to properly apply sunscreen. How to French braid. How to serve when doing girl group dance challenges for their TikTok accounts.
He’s learned that women, his sisters Lea and Hiyyih in particular, were correct more times than not. And usually that was a good thing. They were right about growing his hair out. They were right about throwing out those old adidas pants he loved (though he wished they hadn’t been). Somehow they were even right about the weather, always prepared with their umbrellas at the ready when the bright blue skies hadn’t even hinted at rain!
Kai would smile to himself. It almost felt like his sisters were superheroes. They were his guardian angels watching over him, making sure he was on the correct path. And most of the time Kai was happy to go with the flow of his sisters’ current, not pushing against their better judgement.
If there was one thing he wished his sisters wouldn’t always be so painstakingly correct at reading it was men.
Specifically, Kai’s taste in men.
“Look, I have no idea how those pics got on my phone! Come on, babe! You believe me, don’t ya? Huh?” The guy pouts and pleads. He keeps on rambling as Kai silently backs him down the hallway and towards the front door. “Okay- look, it’s not cheating if I didn’t hook up with them, yea? All I did was look at some photos, watch a video here and there, that’s all! No harm, no foul, babe!”
Wha- was this guy forreal?
Kai blinks at him. “Jay. You paid some guy two-hundred bucks to make a video of him eating cream cheese straight out of the tub and then send you photos of him sucking said cream cheese off of a zucchini. I know we haven’t been seeing each other long, but how is this appro-”
Jay interrupts him, babbling nonsensical nothings loudly as if that automatically negates what he’s done. “Hey! You call it cheating, I call it… endorsing the arts!” He shrugs as if what he was really doing was a good deed. “I’m merely helping out a young entrepreneur-”
“Yeah, okay, just- get the heck out, there you go-” Kai pushes the guy out, tossing his shoes out behind him, and sighs as he closes the door shut on the other man’s stupid face, not wanting to further continue this joyous conversation. “Goodbye and good riddance,” he mutters to himself as he trudges back into the depths of his apartment.
“So looong, sucker!”
“Amen to that!”
“Meow!”
Kai stops at the entrance to his living room and stares blankly at his sisters sitting on his couch while their family kitten Aqua plays between them.
Kai sighs. “Et tu, Aqua?”
His younger sister Hiyyih laughs softly. “What can we say? Aqua can spot an asshole a mile away. Isn’t that right, baby?” She picks the kitten up and peppers her little face with kisses and baby talk. “Too bad oppa can’t do the same, huh?”
That earns a laugh from their older sister, Lea. “You gotta admit, we really saved you from that one.”
“Oh, that was all Aqua!” Hiyyih chimes in. “Baby clocked that guy from the moment he walked in and he refused to pet her… pft, idiot. Doesn’t deserve to pet this angel anyway.”
Kai chuckles as he sits down in the lounge chair across from his sisters. They were right… again. Even his friend Taehyun, who was allergic to cats, loved petting Aqua. She was a certified cutie pie!
“Even if we hadn’t brought Aqua we still wouldn’t have liked him.” Lea comments as she pets the sweet kitten's head. “Aside from being an animal hater, he wasn’t even smart enough to not open those types of messages in public. He didn’t even look to see if anyone was around, just opened it up like it was a text from his mother!” She scoffs. “You dodged a cannonball.”
“Yeah…” Kai agrees wistfully. They stayed quiet for a bit, the only noise being the soft hum of music quietly playing in the background. He feels something gently rub up against his leg. He smiles when he sees Aqua attempting to comfort him. He picks the kitten up, plopping her down on his chest as he reclines back.
“Sorry, little brother.” Lea sounds genuine as always. “We didn’t mean-“
“It’s okay,” He chuckles humorlessly. “To be honest I was gonna stop seeing him anyway. I knew from the start that this one was more hookup material than actual dating material.”
Hiyyih shakes her head and purses her lips. “Mm, could’ve been worse. Remember Fido?”
Kai feels a rush of heat crawl up his neck as his sisters start cackling like maniacs. He clears his throat, suddenly feeling the need to defend his choices in men. “H-Hey! That’s not fair, Yunho was super hot! Do you know how hard it is to find a guy taller than me? Hmm?? And don’t get me started on his hands-”
“Kai,” Lea interrupts his reminiscing. Her expression turned serious, but Kai could see the hint of a smile on her lips. “He wanted you guys to wear matching wolf ears and for you to call him daddy alpha in bed.”
He blushes furiously. “And when we were growing up you were in love with a carton lion! We shouldn’t judge!”
Hiyyih laughs harder and a faint blush creeps up Lea’s features. “That- that doesn’t count! You’d have to be blind to not have a crush on Kovu!”
Hiyyih continues to giggle as the two oldest throw each other's embarrassing childhood crushes in the other's face. Eventually when they calm down, she interjects. “But you gotta admit, oppa, you don’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to guys.”
Kai shifts in his seat. He knows they’re right. They know they’re right. Even the precious ball of fur quietly purring on his chest knows they’re right.
“We're just looking out for you. You know that right?” Lea says in all seriousness.
“No, I know. And I appreciate it, I do.” He sighs. “I… I just wish…” he trails off, not even fully knowing what he wanted to say.
“Just wish you didn’t have a penchant for the beautiful and the damned?” Hiyyih supplies helpfully.
Kai snorts. “That’s definitely one way to put it.”
Ever since they could remember Kai had always been a sucker for a pretty face.
In primary school their parents would have to buy Kai extra crayon boxes because he’d always end up sharing with this pretty boy in his class and, more often than not, he’d end up not getting them back.
Throughout the years Kai would get older but not necessarily wiser. When it came to cute boys with pretty mouths, Kai had a knack for ignoring red flags in order to stare at (and eventually make out with) said pretty face.
Some of the guys’ concerning traits were more obvious than others. Like the guy that would never stop talking about his pet. Which, as an animal lover, you’d think Kai would understand and applaud such loyalty… not when said pet was a rock.
“Rocks are just soooo underrated, you know?”
“Mhmm, totally,” Kai would hum in agreement between kisses, trying to slip his tongue down Jeonghan’s throat so that he’d take a hint and stop talking about the damn rock. He’d thought it was cute at first. Even considered getting one of his own. Sounded fun and low maintenance.
Then Jeonghan continued talking.
“Oh! You should come over so we can have a play date! You play piano right? He has a piano in his room!” The rock has a ROOM?? The older guy squealed with excitement. “And he’s got the perfect outfit, I just got him the cuuuutest straw hat! Wait- I think I have a picture!”
He and this other guy, Changmin, had bonded over their love of collecting plushies. It wasn’t until they were heavily making out on Changmin’s couch one day when the boy suddenly stopped and gasped mid-kiss. “Shit- sorry. I forgot- I have to check on my roommate, he’s been cooped up all day! I’ll just be a moment!”
He excused himself and rushed down the hall towards the bedroom. Kai lay sprawled out on the couch, trying to catch his breath and wondering to himself… Changmin had a roommate?
Kai looked around the small apartment. It wasn’t much. It looked like a single bedroom apartment. Did they share? Kai wasn’t judging! His apartment wasn’t anything extraordinary either, but at least he and his best friend and roommate Beomgyu were fortunate enough to have their own bedrooms.
“He’s gonna sit in the kitchen for a while to get some air, hope you don’t mind!”
Kai stared at the boy's figure emerging from the hallway… and he was not ready for what came out with him.
Chucky.
It was a Chucky doll.
This guy actually had one of those demonic, serial killer possessed Chucky dolls… and he referred to it as his roommate.
Changmin set his “roommate” on a chair at the dining table. He made sure he was sitting up properly and even called it cute before happily moseying back out to the living area where Kai was suddenly sitting up straight, sweating nervously.
He tried to ignore it, he did. Changmin was so friggin cute and tiny and pliable beneath him… but Kai couldn’t shake the sensation of someone- something- staring at them. At one point during their hookup he caught the doll in his peripheral vision, he could’ve sworn he saw the things head turn towards them, silently judging Kai’s stroke game.
Kai had never finished that fast before in his life.
And yet he still hooked up with Changmin a few more times before completely cutting ties with him. What could he say? He wasn’t gonna let a demonic doll get in the way of him having a good time.
His sisters had had a field day with that one.
There was another guy who, after all of three dates, was absolutely and undeniably convinced that he and Kai were soulmates and should tie the knot immediately because of their shared love for anime and pineapple on pizza. Granted Kai was glad that finally someone wasn’t shitting on him for enjoying pineapple on pizza but… really? That was this guy's baseline for eternal, everlasting love??
He felt pretty dumb after that one. When he told his sisters about him they immediately knew he was a love bomber. How was Kai supposed to know that a guy buying you a meal, two new plushies, a bouquet of a dozen daisies AND texting “goodnight, i luv you” on the first date was a red flag? Kai just thought he was being nice!
So yeah. There were many guys with various different red flags… all of which his sisters used as ammunition to tease Kai relentlessly once it eventually and inevitably blew up in his face. He supposed that’s what he got for giving in to pretty boys in an attempt to get his dick wet.
As you can see, Kai definitely had a plethora of funny anecdotes about the guys he had dated and hooked up with. Unfortunately not all of his encounters ended up being as entertaining as others.
Kai always chose to see the best in people. That didn’t change when it came to the guys he dated. Sadly for him it always backfired. Every time he met a cute guy who seemed nice and normal, every time he thought he had finally got it right, that he found someone his sisters would approve of, his sisters would rip off his pink tinted glasses and force him to see the light. And his sisters were always painfully correct about the guys.
Like Hwanwoong.
Kai didn’t necessarily have a preference when it came to things like body type, height, or hair color. He just wanted someone kind and pretty, who he got along with. If they had a cute butt, well that was certainly a bonus.
And Hwanwoong was all of those things.
They’d met through a mutual friend and hit it off immediately. The issue came when they had been going out for nearly two months and Kai had decided it was time for Hwanwoong to meet his sisters.
Kai didn’t make every guy he hung out with meet his sisters (usually he’d just go out with them for a couple dates and tell the girls about it), but he did like for them to meet if he thought there was a possibility of taking things more seriously with them. And his sisters took their jobs very seriously. Kai was pretty sure they got some kind of sick twisted pleasure out of grilling the hell outta his potential boyfriends. Hell hath no fury like a Huening woman unimpressed, or however the saying goes.
“What are you studying? You're working while going to school, right?”
“What’s your stance on our current political climate?”
“Rapid fire question! What goes first; milk or cereal?”
Hwanwoong had started off strong, answering their questions pleasantly, but Kai got the sense that something was up. His smile wasn’t reaching his eyes, his posture was stiff, and although he smiled the whole time, Kai watched as his eyes gradually hardened as they continued to poke and prod.
Perhaps he shouldn’t have introduced them just yet. Maybe he had bombarded him too hard too quickly. He knew they meant well, but he also understood that his sisters could certainly be a handful, not to mention the strong first impression they left with their initial interrogation.
He’d thought that Hwanwoong was doing well holding his own against the Huening sisters. At one point he left to use the restroom and Kai took the opportunity to whisper to his sisters and ask what they thought of him. They had shared a concerned look. Kai sighed. He knew that look. They didn’t believe he was a match for him.
Before he could ask them to elaborate, Hwanwoong had returned.
Kai tried to play it off cool but the tension in the room was clearly palpable. A couple hours later it was finally time for the night to come to a close. They had enjoyed some good food, a mostly friendly interrogation, and played some board games, the last of which had helped Hwanwoong relax to some extent now that the spotlight was off him and on Kai’s shitty Monopoly skills. All things considered, Kai thought they’d had a pretty good time. Even his sisters seemed a bit less uptight. Maybe things would turn around!
He had spoken too soon.
Hwanwoong had gotten up from where he was seated on a cushion on the ground, preparing to head out. Kai, as the nice potential boyfriend that he is, had gotten up as well to escort him out, when suddenly Hiyyih gasped.
“Oh my God!” She giggled happily as her gaze flicked between the two men. “I didn’t notice how huge the height difference between you too was! Ohhhh that’s just too cute!”
Suddenly something in Hwanwoong snapped. He went off, his voice steadily rising as he told her he was sick of them analyzing him all night and how dare she bring that up. That it was incredibly rude of her to point that out and did she have no qualms about being so insensitive to his brothers’ guest!
Of course Kai stood up for his little sister. No way in hell was he gonna allow some guy to come into his home and raise his voice to his sister! Especially for something she honestly hadn’t even meant any harm by. Lea made sure the man got a piece of her mind as well. “If anyone’s gonna raise their voice to my sister, it’ll be me!”
And of course it goes without saying that Kai immediately ended things with him. Anyone that insecure about something as trivial as height wasn’t someone Kai wanted to associate with.
There was also this guy, Sicheng, who somehow managed to always accidentally forget his wallet at home whenever they went out on dates. Kai was naive, kind, and happy to pay. It made him feel needed and chivalrous. And well, if Sicheng ended up thanking Kai later in other ways, what was the harm? Sicheng was hot, Kai had money. It was a win-win situation.
It wasn’t until Lea angrily pointed out just how much money Kai had been spending on this guy that Kai really opened his eyes and realized that the other boy was simply using him.
Kai had liked those guys, but at the end of the day they were just guys. The one that had hurt the most so far had been the latest.
Felix.
Kai had fallen head over heels almost immediately over the pretty blond. He was a bit shorter than Kai. Cute, very cute. Slim and doll-like. Kai had always been a sucker for a pretty face. And Felix’s was exquisite.
They met in the university’s library. Kai had seen the other boy around university a few times, but every time he found the nerve to go up to him and ask him out, it never seemed to be the right time. Felix would suddenly leave the library in a rush or would obviously be busy studying, eyebrows furrowed (cutely) in concentration.
Taehyun needed a textbook for class but didn’t have time to go searching for it. So, being the intelligent and clever man he was, he’d enlisted Kai’s help (ie; bribed him with the promise of egg tarts). Kai would’ve done it for free, he was a good friend like that… but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the idea of getting free egg tarts. So he agreed.
The next day he set his sights on the library. He figured he’d spend some time looking for Taehyun’s book and once it was secure he’d simply stay and study some before going home, and if he happened to stumble across a certain cute blond while there then even better! He was busy browsing around the medical textbooks, silently praying that he’d easily find what Taehyun desired so that Kai could have what he desired (those glorious free egg tarts), when suddenly a deep timbre startled him from behind.
“Need help finding something?”
“Huh?” Kai had been in the process of placing a textbook back into its place on a high shelf when the voice interrupted him, causing him to look back in surprise. That’s when he put a face to the voice, realizing who it was. The pretty blond he’d been wanting to ask out was smiling up at him. Kai promptly lost control, allowing the book to slip from his fingers and land straight onto his head. “Gah!”
The textbook landed hard on the carpeted ground with a loud thump! as Kai’s hands flew to soothe the bump that would surely be forming on his head.
The blond gasped, eyes widening. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you.”
When Kai looks up at the other he can’t help the embarrassed flush he can feel overtaking his face. He knows he probably looks like a ridiculous clutz right about now... but ain’t no time like the present. “It’s okay,” Kai starts, clearing his throat. “I forgive you… As long as you let me take you out in return.”
Kai thought Felix was perfect. He was a sweet, funny, and unbearably cute nursing student. He had it all! He was definitely the best guy that he’d dated... Well, ever! His sisters were sure to approve!
“Kai, you have to break up with him.”
World stop.
“What?” Kai blinks over at his older sister.
They were at Kai’s apartment. Beomgyu was spending the night at Taehyun’s place so Kai figured he’d use this opportunity to have his sisters and Felix over so they could get to know each other. They’d only been going out for a little over a month, but Kai felt good about this one! There were none of the usual red flags his sisters had taught him to look for. He and Felix got along super well. They had common interests. Felix loved animals and plushies! It was all gravy! He was sure his sisters would like him!
They had ordered takeout and as usual his sisters had grilled Felix about school, work, and everything else under the sun, and Felix had answered with flying colors! He’d even brought them brownies he’d made from scratch. Hiyyih was definitely impressed if her eating three whole brownies was any indication. They were smiling, actually smiling! Yeah, okay, sure maybe their smiles weren’t reaching their eyes and they kept glancing at each other worriedly and shooting glances at Felix’s phone pinging constantly… but that could be overlooked.
“We do like him! I swear!” Hiyyih insisted quietly, not wanting Felix, who was currently in the living room shuffling playing cards while the siblings went to get snacks in the kitchen, to overhear. “He seems like a really good guy.”
“Yeah,” Lea agrees. “He’s just…” she sighs, her eyes downcast. “There’s something off, Kai-ah.”
“He’s just not for you,” Hiyyih finishes. “Trust us.”
And he should’ve.
It went downhill fast after that.
His sisters told Kai that although Felix looked great on paper, there was just something they couldn’t shake about him. Hiyyih said that he was too eager to date Kai. Which of course Kai immediately took offense to.
TOO EAGER?? I’M A CATCH, WHY WOULDN’T SOMEONE BE EAGER TO BE WITH ME? LOOK AT THIS ASS! THIS WAS AN ASS WORTHY OF BEING EAGER FOR!
Lea had explained further that it felt like Felix was hiding something. That there was something further beneath the sweet surface that Kai didn’t know about. Kai thought that was obvious. Of course he didn’t know everything about the guy! They had only been dating for like six weeks, having secrets was normal!
He hadn’t wanted to trust them on this one. He hated that now whenever Felix texted him that he was running late for their dates he questioned where he actually was. He hated how he wondered what secrets lay behind that smile and those bright eyes. Things had been going so well for once, why did his sisters have to fill his head with doubts? He didn’t want to listen to that nagging voice in the back of his mind saying that maybe it was going too well.
It happened a few weeks later.
Beomgyu had invited them to a party, saying it was about time they went out on a double date. Usually Kai would sit parties out, only going when he knew the host personally, but Felix had been so excited to go. Gives me a chance to show off my hot new boyfriend, he’d giggled. So Kai agreed.
All was going well. They danced, chatted, drank. Kai was actually having a pretty good time, what with the fruity drinks fogging up his mind and hushing the voices telling him that something was definitely off about Felix tonight.
When they first started hanging out Kai had quickly learned that Felix was a touchy person. He liked hugging and holding hands and just being close. And he did all those things frequently. Even now he was clinging onto Kai as they danced together.
But something was wrong. Kai could feel it.
Although Felix was curled up into him, his arms tossed over his shoulders, their chests pressed against one another’s, his face buried in the crook of Kai’s neck… Kai could feel the difference. It was evident. He was stiff, almost like he was on edge. He could feel how Felix was attempting to will the tension to leave his body, but to no avail.
Kai couldn’t help but notice how Felix kept looking around, as if he were looking for someone. But who would he be looking for? Beomgyu? Taehyun? Another friend entirely?
It hadn’t taken long for Kai to spot him. A guy leaning against a far wall, clearly staring at them. More precisely, staring at Felix. The guy was shorter than Kai with dark hair falling over his face and a very muscular build. At that moment Kai couldn’t help but remember how Felix always liked complimenting his dark hair and biceps. He felt his jaw lock. Seemed like Felix had a type.
They broke up soon after. Felix had admitted to still being in love with ex-boyfriend Changbin and apologized for leading Kai on when he knew he harbored feelings for another. Kai was grateful that it was one of his more tamer breakups. Maybe they could be friends one day. He still thought Felix was a good guy. He just… wasn’t for him. Kai understood. It sucked major fucking balls… but he understood.
At least Felix left him with some really good fudgy brownies to help him numb the loneliness.
So here we are. Months later. Kai was sitting at the counter of this little coffee shop off campus, working on his laptop (i.e. looking at potential plushy purchases). He'd been coming to this place for over a month now. He often came with a friend or two but lately he liked coming in by himself. He found that he enjoyed the human noise that surrounded him, hearing people chatter softly, the hum of the espresso machine, even the clatter of plates was soothing to his soul.
Usually he grabbed his medium hot chocolate with extra chocolate drizzle, extra whip, a sprinkle of cinnamon with exactly five mini marshmallows to go, only staying long enough to inhale his egg tart, but today felt different. So he grabbed his drink, two egg tarts, and a seat at the counter.
One super chocolatey hot chocolate and three egg tarts later he felt a sense of peace overtake him. His belly was warm and full, he’d found the cutest penguin plush to add to his collection, and a cute barista had just started his shift.
Kai can’t help but stare. He’s pretty sure this is the first time he’s seeing this particular barista. He definitely would’ve noticed him before. He was tall, maybe even taller than Kai. Slim but muscular. Pale skin, dark hair. The other barista on duty must’ve said something funny because the cute barista laughs suddenly, and man oh man… When the cute barista laughs it sounds like rainbows and sunshine. His entire face lights up when he smiles at the other barista and Kai can feel his heart stutter when he catches sight of the sweetest pair of dimples.
The cute barista suddenly turns towards him and Kai scrambles to try and casually look back down at his laptop. He can feel warmth rise to the apples of his cheeks, knowing he just got caught staring.
Fuck. Fuuuuuuuuuck. Okay, act cool.
He starts typing nonsense into the internet search engine, silently hoping (praying really) that the cute barista doesn’t notice how flushed he must be. He tries to be as nonchalant as he can, tries his best to come off calm and collected. But in reality he is all too aware that the cute barista is already making his way towards him.
He panics internally. Would it be too obvious if Kai shuts his laptop closed and books it for the front door? Should he feign sick and faint right here right now? Maybe he can pretend he’s a foreigner- he thinks he knows enough Spanish to get him out of this. Comment allez-vous- wait, fuck that’s French! Okay, what if he-
“Hello, I see you’ve finished your drink and pastry. Is there anything else I can get for you?”
Kai’s mouth goes dry.
Wow… this guy was even more gorgeous up close.
Pretty brown eyes currently shaped like crescents, pink, pouty lips, soft looking cheeks… and those damned dimples on full display. The guy even smelled delectable! The sweet scent of raspberry and vanilla wafted off of him.
“I- uh… um. I…” Kai trails off like an idiot.
The cute barista chuckles. He leans forward and peeks at the contents of Kai’s cup. “Hm. Looks to me like you’ve overdosed on sugar. How about some water?”
Well… Kai was definitely thirsty for something. And a tall glass of water like this guy was just what the doctor ordered. But of course, instead of saying anything even remotely smooth, Kai simply responded with a shaky okay.
Cute barista giggles and if Kai hadn’t been too stunned to move he probably would’ve been doing a flip right about now. He takes a few steps back from the counter and turns around to grab a plastic cup. Of course Kai’s eyes are glued to the other man, and thank God they are because when the cute barista bends over to fill the cup with ice Kai is rewarded with the most heavenly sight of his backside.
”Holy shi-“ The sound that involuntarily escapes Kai’s mouth is somewhere between a whine and a groan. And unfortunately for him the noise just so happens to be at the correct decibel to be heard by the object of his desire.
“What was that?” The cute barista turns around just enough to face Kai.
He gulps and it takes every fiber of Kai’s being to look away from the plump, round bottom and at the cute barista's face. “…huh?”
“I thought I heard you say something,” the barista says matter of factly.
“Oh.”
Oh shit.
“I-uh…”
What was Kai supposed to say?! I’m sorry I was just admiring your ass- by the way, can I get that water light ice please?!
He clears his throat. Well. He’d already made a fool of himself. Might as well give it a shot. “I was just- enjoying the view?” He mentally kicks himself for making it sound like a question rather than a statement, but if the cute barista notices, he doesn’t comment on it. In fact the guy actually chuckles!
“Is that so?” The pretty barista smirks as he stands up straight. He does a quick scan around the cafe, humoring Kai. “Not much to look at in here.”
“Trust me,” Kai starts, somehow already out of breath. “There’s definitely something worthwhile here.”
The barista scoffs, but it doesn’t hide the pink tinge slowly spreading over his lovely features. Finally it’s the cute barista’s turn to look away blushing and Kai feels a victorious smile pull at the corner of his lips at being the one to do so. “I’m Kai. What’s your name?”
Still blushing, the cute barista slides the ice water across the counter towards him. “Soobin.”
Kai smiles, taking the water, and smiles harder when he sees what’s scribbled on the side.
call me XXX-XXX-XXXX
Kai has made out with a lot of boys in his day, but he’s never felt more alive than he does right here, right now in this moment with Soobin.
Beomgyu is off at Taehyun’s for the weekend, and for the first time in the two months since they’ve started dating do Kai and Soobin finally have proper alone time. They’re currently laying atop of Kai’s bed, their limbs tangling together, making it nearly impossible to know where one ends and the other begins. Kai has some music softly playing in the background but it’s drowned out by the noises the two young men are making. Kai doesn’t know if he’s ever heard a sound quite as lovely as the breathy moans that Soobin elicits when Kai kisses and touches him a certain way.
Kai bites down gently on Soobin’s earlobe and the way Soobin’s grip on his shoulders tightens almost painfully has Kai seeing stars. He feels like his entire being is on fire and he’s loving every second of it.
“You sure you wanna do this?” Kai asks out of breath.
“Yes,” Soobin pants out. “We’ve waited long enough.”
Kai chuckles at Soobin’s eagerness. They’d been dating for just under two months and hadn’t yet slept together, but it wasn’t from lack of trying. Every time they made plans something came up. Whether it be a family emergency, work asking if they could pick up an extra shift, or a forgotten essay that needed to be completed before midnight. But finally, finally they were alone. And Kai was prepared to make the most of it.
He grabbed Soobin by the waist and turned him around so that he was now laying beneath him on his front, giving Kai the most perfect view of Soobin’s ass in his grey sweats. The guttural sound that came out of Kai’s mouth leaves even him surprised.
He stays there, admiring the attractive curve of Soobin’s backside in his sweats. He doesn’t realize that he’s gone silent until Soobin peeks back at him curiously. “W-What? Is something wrong?”
Kai looks up and notices the older man’s worried expression. “Huh? Oh. No! Nothing’s wrong, it’s just-” Kai glances back down. He can’t help but groan when his eyes land on pale, supple skin. In the process of flipping him around, Soobin’s shirt had ridden up, exposing his lovely waist. Kai was pretty sure he was going to go insane. “God, hyung. Your pretty little waist looks like it’ll be perfect for holding onto while I ram my-”
They both visibly startle as the doorbell suddenly starts ringing incessantly.
Soobin props himself up. “Am I on glue or did we order food and forget?”
The doorbell rings again.
“I… don’t think so.” Kai scratches his head. They had ordered food before and gotten carried away making out, surprised when the food arrived so quickly, but this was not one of those times. Could it be Beomgyu? No… even if he did forget his key, Taehyun had a spare. And there was no way Beomgyu would come back home early, not when he had the whole weekend with his boyfriend to look forward to. Not when Kai specifically told him not to come back early! “Just ignore it. They’ll go away.” He leans down, kissing up the side of Soobin’s neck.
Soobin is just starting to relax and moan into the pillow when the ringing starts up again. He groans in frustration. “Kai-ah, they’re not leaving. Just go check real quick so we can get on with it. Please.”
Now is Kai’s turn to groan. “Fine.” He reluctantly lets go of Soobin’s waist and peels himself away from him and up from the bed. “I’ll get rid of them.”
Thankfully they were still fully clothed so he doesn’t need to rush to get dressed. Though he does toss an oversized hoodie on over his t-shirt in order to help hide his hard on. The ringing continues as he makes his way down the hall and towards the front door.
Oh, I’m coming, I’m coming! Jeez. Whoever is ringing this goddamn bell is about to get a piece of my mind-
He opens the door and blinks down at the visitors.
This cannot be happening. Not now!
“Are you friggin serious right now?”
“Well, hello to you too, little brother,” Lea says humorlessly.
Hiyyih simply invites herself in, kissing Kai’s cheek in lieu of saying hello and shoving a bag full of food into his arms as she walks past him. “You know, you should really work on your greetings.” Lea hums in agreement as she follows Hiyyih inside, also shoving a bag of food into Kai’s arms.
Kai shuts the door behind them. “And you two should really work on calling before you come over.”
“I saw your insta story!” Hiyyih says it like that explains everything.
Kai rushes to set the bags of food down on the dining room table. He runs his hands over his face as he tries to remember what exactly it was that he posted that caused his sisters to invite themselves over. He thinks it was something about being free from the clutches of his roommate all weekend. He chuckled tiredly. He feels his heart swell. He had to admit, it may have been bad timing, but it was incredibly sweet of them to think of him.
Lea starts rummaging through one of the bags on the table. “We figured lonely boy might want some great food and greater company-”
And that was the exact moment when Soobin decided to emerge from Kai’s bedroom, thankfully still fully clothed. “Honey, who was it- oh!” Soobin trails off as he takes in the two girls standing near the dining table.
It only takes a moment for it to sink in that the girls have accidentally interrupted their brother. They don’t seem embarrassed nor surprised at having done so. If anything they look rather pleased with themselves. There’s this awkward few moments where the four of them don’t do anything other than stare at one another, not knowing how to further navigate the situation.
Eventually Hiyyih clears her throat. “Well. It looks like oppa found some company all on his own.”
“Are you sure you don’t need me to leave?” Soobin asks again for the third time in just as many minutes. “It's okay, really! I wouldn’t want to impose on your family time.”
Kai scoffs and holds onto Soobin’s hands tighter. They’re standing in the hallway, just outside the kitchen where Kai’s sisters are busy arranging the spread they’ve brought. “Hyung, of course not. It’s fine, I promise. It’s time you’ve met them and there’s plenty of food to go around. If anything they’re the ones that should leave.”
“We heard that!” Lea screeches.
“You were meant to,” Kai calls back in a sing-song tone.
Soobin giggles and rolls his eyes playfully at their banter. “Okay, if you’re sure.” He leans in closer to Kai, his nose rubbing against the younger's cheek. “Um… I’m a little nervous,” he whispers.
“Don’t be,” Kai snakes an arm around his waist. He squeezes reassuringly and kisses Soobin’s temple. “It’ll be fine.”
“So,” Lea clears her throat. “What do you do for a living?”
Kai whines. “Mom.”
Lea doesn’t look at him. “Hush, dear, let him answer.”
“It’s fine, hun,” Soobin rests his hand atop Kai's. They’re currently sitting at the dining room table, enjoying all the food Kai’s sisters brought.
The restaurant from where they got the food from was a staple in the Huening household. Delicious braised short ribs, marinated pork belly, crispy fried chicken, both black bean noodles and glass noodles, and of course a wide variety of incredible side dishes littered the dining table. They had even splurged and ordered some of the restaurant's yakgwa cookies. God, Kai loved those cookies. The delicious honey soaked biscuits were one of the few desserts he loved more than egg tarts. And that was saying a lot coming from Kai Kamal Huening. By the way Soobin’s plate had food piled a mile high, he must also be enjoying the meal.
“I’m currently studying to become a primary school teacher. I just love kids,” Soobin exclaims cheerily. “I used to help my uncle with his little restaurant growing up, but that’s more of an occasional thing now. I work as a barista at this coffee shop off campus. That’s actually where Kai and I met!”
“Oh that’s a nice meet cute!” Hiyyih exclaims. “Way cuter than when oppa met some guy while taking out the trash at his job at the hot dog stand.”
Everyone except for one person at the table finds this story hilarious.
“Ha, ha,” Kai laughs sarcastically. “How about we don’t talk about my abysmal love life right now, okay?”
“Oh but it’s so entertaining!” Lea chimes in. “Like that time you were head over heels in love with that kid from your art class because he looked like an anime character.”
Kai tsks. “Oh, come on! He had pink hair and glasses, he looked just like Kusuo Saiki. I’m just supposed to not think he’s cool as heck??”
Soobin giggles. He leans in closer to Kai and gently caresses Kai’s dyed locks. “Now that you mention it, when I first saw you at the coffee shop all I could think of was how hot it was that you looked like Gojo.”
Kai blushes, quietly thanking the older man for the compliment while his sisters teased him and call their “dorky anime love” adorable.
Soobin giggles shyly at the attention being on them as he polishes off the last bit of japchae on his plate with a loud and satisfied slurp. Almost immediately he claps a hand over his mouth in embarrassment. “Oops- sorry.”
Kai chuckles, his hand settling on Soobin’s thigh, squeezing lightly. “It’s all good. It just means you’re enjoying yourself, right? I can give you the address if you want. Or… we could go together sometime?” Kai can feel himself smiling. He really likes the idea of taking Soobin out and sharing this incredible restaurant that his family loves with him.
“Oh, if you like this you’re gonna love the rest of their menu. Not a bad item on the menu,” Lea confirms while Hiyyih nods her approval.
“Um, about that,” Soobin fiddles with his soda can, not meeting the others' gazes. “…In a way we kinda already did?”
The siblings exchange confused looks before their eyes once again settle on Soobin. Kai arches an eyebrow. “What d’you mean?” He asks slowly.
“You know how I said that growing up sometimes I’d help my uncle at his little restaurant?” The siblings nod. Soobin gestures towards the food in front of them, lightly tapping the bright pink sticker on the box with the restaurant’s logo on it. “Meokda is my uncle's restaurant.”
The siblings simply stare at him, realization sinking in.
“You-” Lea starts. “Your family owns Meokda?”
Soobin nods. “Yes.”
“Your family owns our family’s favorite restaurant?” Hiyyih clarifies.
He nods again. “I would seem so, yes.”
Kai stares at the container of cookies. “Your family owns our family’s favorite restaurant with the glorious yakgwa cookies?”
This time Soobin giggles after nodding. “You know, sometimes I help make them.”
Hiyyih’s hand suddenly shoots across the table to hold Kai’s hand. Her voice is deadly serious when she speaks. “Kai, oppa, my dear sweet brother… If you don’t marry this man so that I can be gifted yakgwa cookies for my birthday each year, I swear to god I will kidnap all of your favorite plushies one by one.”
Soobin laughs aloud. “Wow! Never thought my uncle's restaurant would earn me a potential marriage proposal!”
Kai blushes furiously. “I- uh…”
Soobin knocks their shoulders together. “Don’t worry, hun, there’s no rush. We can wait and have a summer wedding next year.” He jokes and leaves a small peck on Kai’s cheek, causing his blush to further extend down the younger man’s neck.
Out of the corner of his eye Kai can see his sisters smile with approval. He knows they must be thinking about the horrible guy who refused to show even an ounce of affection towards Kai when someone else was around. Wouldn’t even hold Kai’s hand in his own apartment because his roommate was home.
“We continue,” Lea clears her throat. “Besides his good looks, what do you like about my little brother?”
“What’s not to like?” Soobin says as if it were obvious. “He’s always so sweet and kind. Such a gentleman. You two raised him right.” He giggles.
Lea smiles. “Flattery, I like it.”
“To be honest,” Soobin sounds shyer than he did a moment ago. “My favorite thing about him is probably how family oriented he is.” Soobin smiles and wraps a hand around Kai’s bicep. “He’s always telling me about you two and your parents and how you make time for each other. I’ll catch him texting you guys just to ask how you’re doing and if you need anything. It’s really quite wholesome and I think it speaks volumes to his character.” He scoffs. “Wanna talk about abysmal love life? One guy I briefly dated didn’t even want to tell his mother he loved her in front of me? How dumb is that? It’s your mom!”
“I really admire how close you three are,” Soobin continues. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my siblings! But both my brother and sister are significantly older. As much as I love and appreciate them, we didn’t grow up as close as you guys so clearly did. It’s really nice to see.” Soobin smiles, and when Soobin smiles Kai’s heart lurches.
They run through some more important interrogation questions.
“How do you feel about animals?”
“Oh, I love them! Wanna see pictures of my beloved hedgehog Odi?”
“Kai loves doing girl group TikTok challenges with us, do you have a fragile masculinity that makes you feel uncomfortable at the thought of our brother serving cunt?”
“Oh, Kai showed me some already! You guys are really impressive! D’you think I could join sometime?”
“How do you feel about mint chocolate chip ice cream?”
“Next question.”
Kai’s cheeks were beginning to ache from how wide he was smiling. Soobin was saying all the right things. There had been plenty of guys that feigned the part well, but over the years Kai had mastered knowing what his sisters thought without needing them to say it outright. He could see it in their eyes, in their pursed lips and tight smiles. He knew that all those times before, his sisters hadn’t truly believed in their answers. They saw straight through those other guys’ crap.
But Soobin was different. He was genuine! He wore his heart on his sleeve and didn’t mind looking like a fool when he didn’t know something.
“Oh! I didn’t know you could do that! Can you show me it again?”
After a long interrogation, Soobin excuses himself to use the restroom. He gets up to leave, but not before kissing Kai’s cheek again. Kai watches with heart eyes as Soobin slinks away, sighing wistfully once he’s out of sight.
Lea lets out a low whistle. “Wow.”
“What?” Kai asks without looking her way.
“It’s just crazy that he’s even cute walking away.”
Kai immediately turns toward his sister. “Lea!”
“What? Like you weren’t thinking it?”
Hiyyih talks around a bite of cookie. “He could toootally model women’s underwear if he wanted to.”
Kai starts to say something but stops… actually, he wouldn’t mind seeing that.
“You know,” Lea smiles over at Kai. “I think for the first time in forever, you’ve actually picked a good one.”
Hiyyih giggles. “I agree. There’s something very homey about him. I’m glad we ruined your alone time.”
The siblings share a laugh and suddenly something just sorta clicks into place. Being here with Soobin and his sisters, seeing how calm and peaceful this experience has been despite his sisters laying into him, made Kai realize just how shitty his other encounters had been.
They were always too stuffy, too polite, too rude, too insecure.
But Soobin was just Soobin. Genuinely and unapologetically himself.
By the time his sisters leave hours later, Kai was exhausted but happy. The girls had continued to question Soobin, and Soobin had continued to play along perfectly. With every answer Kai could feel himself falling deeper and deeper for this guy. When Soobin promised to give their family a discount at his uncle's restaurant, he feared Hiyyih would try and propose to Soobin herself. And when he asked for Lea’s social media, he was over the moon with how his sister lit up, never before having a guy Kai was seeing be interested in her fashion and dance videos.
Kai leaves to take the trash out while Soobin finishes putting the leftovers away in the fridge. There’s something so perfect and domestic about coming back to his apartment and seeing Soobin standing in front of his open refrigerator. It’s simple, but perfect. As though Soobin were made to just leisurely stand around in Kai’s apartment, like he belongs there.
The only noise in the apartment is the music still softly humming in the background. It’s a new song, one that Kai has been enjoying a lot lately. And suddenly it has him walking towards Soobin.
He comes up behind Soobin and wraps his arms around the older boy's pretty waist. Soobin giggles as he turns around in Kai’s hold so that they’re looking at one another. “What’re you doing, hun?”
Kai nestles his face in the crook of Soobin’s neck, breathing in his sweet, lovely scent. “I’m just… really happy right now.” He leans back and looks Soobin in the eyes. “We should dance.”
The older boy giggles sheepishly, his eyebrows rising in pleasant surprise. “Dance? Right now?”
“Of course!” Kai exclaims like it’s the obvious thing to do. He holds onto Soobin’s waist and begins to sway to the music, listing off things he’d like to do. “I wanna dance with you, hold hands with you, entrust my heart and soul to you. Do other things to you…” Kai’s voice sounds deeper, more sensual, with the last part, leaving Soobin blushing.
“Oh? Is that so?” Soobin giggles and God does Kai just want to kiss those lovely lips over and over and over again. Thankfully he doesn’t need to wait as Soobin initiates a kiss almost immediately, tossing his arms over Kai’s shoulders and bringing him in close. “Then let’s dance.”