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The car hummed with the low rumble of the engine as Keeho pulled into the massive parking lot outside the mall. It was one of those lazy Saturday afternoons where the whole group had decided they needed new clothes or snacks or whatever excuse they could grab to get out of the apartment.
Keeho was behind the wheel, Theo riding shotgun and already arguing about which store to hit first. Jiung and Intak were crammed in the middle row, laughing about some dumb video they had seen earlier. Soul and Jongseob sat in the very back, the two of them pressed shoulder to shoulder in the tight space because the SUV was not built for six grown guys.
Soul stared out the window, watching people stream toward the entrance with shopping bags already in hand. He hadn’t really wanted to come in the first place. The crowds always made him feel a little off, and today his head was somewhere else entirely. Somewhere that kept drifting toward the guy sitting right next to him. Jongseob.
They had been circling each other for months now, ever since that night they stayed up talking until sunrise on the balcony. Little things. Jongseob’s hand brushing his when they passed the controller during game nights. Soul catching Jongseob looking at him a second too long across the dinner table.
Neither of them had said anything. It just sat there between them, thick and unspoken, like static in the air before a storm.
Keeho killed the engine and twisted around in his seat. “Alright, we’re here. Theo, Jiung, Intak, you coming with me to grab those hoodies? Soul, you said your stomach was kinda off earlier, right? And Jongseob, you volunteered to keep him company so he doesn’t die of boredom in the car. We’ll be like forty minutes, tops. Don’t let anyone steal the speakers or whatever.”
Jongseob shrugged, easy smile in place like always. “Yeah, no problem. We’ll hold down the fort.”
The others piled out, doors slamming one after another, and then it was just the two of them. The sudden quiet felt heavier than it should have. Soul stayed turned toward the window, fingers resting lightly on the armrest. Jongseob reached forward and flicked the AC on low, cool air brushing over them both.
After a minute Jongseob spoke, voice casual but a little too loud in the empty car. “Man, it’s weird how fast they ditched us. Like we’re the designated babysitters or something.”
Soul gave a small nod, the barest hint of a smile tugging at his mouth. He didn’t say anything back. He just kept watching the parking lot, heart already picking up speed because Jongseob was so close and the car felt smaller every second.
Jongseob connected his phone to the aux anyway. Some quiet playlist started up, the kind with soft beats and lyrics about missing someone you never really had. Soul recognized it immediately. It was the same one Jongseob had played the night they talked for hours, back when the pining had started feeling impossible to ignore. He swallowed hard and kept his eyes on the window.
The minutes stretched. Jongseob kept glancing over, like he wanted to say something but kept swallowing it back.
Soul could feel it, the way the air between them crackled every time their arms brushed on the center console. He had been replaying moments like this in his head for months. The way Jongseob’s laugh got softer when it was just the two of them. How his eyes looked almost gold in the right light. Soul had convinced himself it was one sided, that he was reading too much into it because he had never felt this way about anyone before.
But lately he had caught Jongseob doing the same thing, staring when he thought Soul wasn’t looking.
Jongseob cleared his throat. “Hey, random question. You ever notice how malls smell exactly the same no matter which one you go to? Like pretzels and cleaning stuff mixed together. It’s kinda gross but also weirdly comforting.”
Soul turned his head just enough to meet Jongseob’s eyes for a second, then looked away again. He gave another small nod, lips pressed together.
Jongseob laughed under his breath, the sound easing some of the tension for half a second. Then he went quiet again, staring at the dashboard like it held answers. The playlist switched to something slower, a guy singing about first times and almosts. Jongseob’s fingers stopped drumming. He rubbed the back of his neck, the way he always did when he was nervous but trying not to show it.
“This is gonna sound stupid,” he started, voice dropping lower, “but sitting here like this… it reminds me of those movies where two people are stuck waiting and everything just kinda spills out. You know?”
He paused, eyes flicking to Soul’s face and then away again. “Like, have you ever kissed someone before?”
The question landed between them like a dropped phone. Soul felt his face heat up instantly, bright red creeping from his neck all the way to his ears. He blinked a few times, mouth dry. After a long beat he shook his head once, small and quick.
Jongseob’s eyes widened a fraction.
“Wait, seriously? Never? Not even once?”
Soul shook his head again, still flushed, fingers twisting the hem of his hoodie. He kept his gaze on his lap now.
Jongseob let out a shaky breath that sounded almost like a laugh. “Same, actually. I’ve never… yeah. Not with anyone.” He rubbed his neck again. “Kinda wild we both made it this far without it coming up before. With the group and everything, you’d think one of us would have spilled by now.”
They sat there in silence after that. The playlist kept playing quietly in the background. Soul couldn’t stop looking at Jongseob’s mouth now that the words were out.
The tension that had been building for months wrapped around them tighter, pulling them closer without either of them moving yet. Jongseob shifted in his seat, turning more toward Soul, knee bumping his.
“I keep thinking about it,” Jongseob admitted, voice barely above a whisper. “What it would feel like. With someone who… gets it. Who I actually want to try it with.” His eyes met Soul’s and held. “Someone like you.”
Soul’s breath caught. The red on his cheeks had not faded, but now it felt different, warmer, like anticipation instead of embarrassment. He didn’t speak, couldn’t, just looked back at Jongseob with wide eyes, lips parted slightly.
Jongseob licked his lips, nervous habit. Then he waited, neither of them moved for what felt like forever. The car was quiet except for the soft music and their breathing. Soul’s heart was hammering so loud he was sure Jongseob could hear it.
Slowly, Jongseob lifted a hand, hesitant, and brushed his thumb along Soul’s jaw like he was asking permission. Soul did not pull away. He just swallowed and gave the tiniest nod.
Jongseob leaned in.
The first touch of lips was so soft it was almost nothing, tentative and careful, like they were both afraid of breaking the moment. Soul’s eyes fluttered shut. Jongseob tasted faintly like the mint gum he had been chewing earlier, and his hand stayed gentle on Soul’s face. They stayed like that for a few seconds, just barely pressing, learning the shape of it, the way their mouths fit.
Then Jongseob tilted his head a little more and the kiss deepened, still slow, still unhurried, like they had all the time in the world, even though they didn’t.
Soul’s hand found Jongseob’s shoulder, fingers curling lightly into the fabric of his shirt. He had imagined this so many times, but the real thing was warmer, messier, better.
Their noses bumped once and they both paused for half a second, breathing against each other’s mouths, before Jongseob kissed him again, a little surer this time. Soul answered quietly, lips parting just enough, tongue brushing tentative and then a little braver. It wasn’t rushed. It felt like months of wanting poured out in every soft press and quiet breath.
Soul made a small, almost inaudible sound in the back of his throat, and Jongseob answered with one of his own, the kind that made Soul’s stomach flip.
They kept going, lost in it, the car windows fogging just a little at the edges. Time slipped away. There was only the heat of Jongseob’s mouth, the way his fingers threaded gently into Soul’s hair, the way Soul’s pulse raced under his skin.
A sharp knock on the window jolted them apart.
Keeho’s face was pressed against the glass, grinning like an idiot with shopping bags dangling from his arms. “Yo! We’re back. Open up before we melt out here.”
Soul jerked back so fast his head hit the headrest. His lips felt swollen, cheeks burning hotter than before. Jongseob looked just as wrecked, hair messed up where Soul’s hand had been, eyes wide and panicked. They both scrambled to fix their clothes, wiping mouths quickly like that would hide anything.
Keeho yanked the door open, the others piling in behind him with bags rustling and voices loud. “What took you guys so long? We got everything on the list plus some extra snacks. You two look like you saw a ghost or something. Car too hot?”
Jongseob cleared his throat, voice coming out rough. “Nah. Just… dozed off for a minute. Playlist was boring.”
Soul could not even speak. He stared at his lap, heart still hammering, lips tingling with the memory of Jongseob’s mouth.
The others squeezed back into their seats, Theo tossing a bag into the back that landed between Soul and Jongseob like a barrier.
Keeho started the engine again, chatting about the sale he scored, completely oblivious.