Chapter Text
“So, Kyungsoo, look who is back. I thought since he just came back I would bring him along with me, tonight. So, he could see old friends-”
Sehun's eyes travel to the blonde sitting extremely close to Kyungsoo. He narrows his eyes.
“and new ones.”
Kyungsoo blinks a few times and takes in a few deep breaths to compose himself. He turns to Luhan. Kyungsoo still has his hand on Luhan's thigh, but now, Luhan has moved his hand over Kyungsoo's. That's right. Kyungsoo gives Luhan a small smile as he turns back to face the other two.
“Riiight. Well, Sehun and Jongin, this is Luhan. We just met.”
Kyungsoo is glad his voice doesn't waver and lets everyone in, on how much of a nervous wreck he truly is at the moment. He turns to give Luhan a heart shaped smile and then turns back and locks eyes with Jongin.
“So, Jongin. How've you been?”
Jongin stands on the other side of the table, head down and with hands in his jacket pockets. He looks up to the sudden use of his name. Jongin's eyes widen just a bit as he takes in the sight of Kyungsoo. He briefly glances at the blonde sitting next to Kyungsoo before replying to Kyungsoo's question. Jongin doesn't open his mouth to reply, no, instead he simply nods and offers Kyungsoo a small smile.
“That's good. When did you get back?”
Kyungsoo notices how Jongin's chocolate brown hair is still the same shade as the last time he saw the younger; the same inviting warm brown color as the younger's eyes. Although, the way Jongin has his hair combed back and parted at one side, makes him look older than what he really is. Kyungsoo takes in all of Jongin's presence as he waits for the younger to respond, but Jongin doesn't get a chance to say anything before Sehun interjects.
“Oh, he just got back this morning. I went to go pick him up.”
Besides the new hair-style, Kyungsoo thinks that Jongin hasn't changed one bit. Maybe, Jongin might look a bit more fit, judging by how the younger's clothes hug him perfectly in all the right places, but that's due to all the dancing Jongin has done these past few years. Sehun claps Jongin on the back and motions for him to take a seat on one of the chairs at the table.
“Sit, drink, dance, relax. It would be good for you, Jongin.”
This catches Kyungsoo's attention. He raises an eyebrow at Sehun's comment, but doesn't inquire any further, as he takes one look at Jongin's face. He notices Jongin clench his jaw as Sehun tells him to relax. Kyungsoo knows Jongin well enough to know that when the younger stays unusually quiet, it usually means there is something wrong. The older knows there's something bothering Jongin. He can feel it in his bones. Kyungsoo doesn't ask anything, however, and opts for feigning ignorance. He turns to Luhan, who in return, shoots Kyungsoo a sweet smile.
Sehun starts to eye Luhan carefully when he notices the interaction between the blonde and Kyungsoo. He doesn't like the way the blonde is so close to Kyungsoo at the moment. Sehun turns to glance at Jongin, who is also taking glances at the interaction between the other two across from them. Sehun sighs and decides to interrupt the duo's eye gazing.
“So,Kyungsoo, where is Baek?”
Kyungsoo blinks and turns to face Sehun, still holding hands with Luhan under the table. The only other one who notices that particular interaction, is Jongin, who sits the closest to Kyungsoo's side. Giving him a good view of the hand holding.
“He should be a the bar getting drinks for us.”
Sehun nods once and glances at Luhan. Kyungsoo caught on early, the way Sehun has been eyeing the blonde. He goes to assure Sehun that Luhan is 'okay', but gets beat to the punch by the taller blonde. Kyungsoo hopes Sehun doesn't start a scene right now, and scare of his only distraction from a certain tall, caramel skinned male sitting next to him.
“Luhan, right?”
Luhan shifts his attention from Kyungsoo, to Sehun.
“Yes.”
Sehun motions between Kyungsoo and Luhan.
“I didn't know Soo had a boyfriend.”
Jongin raises his head just a bit and takes in the scene in front of him, at the table. He notices the way Kyungsoo's eyes widen at Sehun's statement and the way his cheeks start to turn a light shade of pink. Jongin smirks. Besides his appearance, it doesn't seem Soo's changed all that much. He sits back into his seat and waits for Kyungsoo to respond.
Kyungsoo almost chokes on his own spit when he hears Sehun's comment. As if he wasn't already having trouble getting oxygen to his brain, thanks to him not being able to breathe probably due to Jongin being in near proximity, Sehun's comment definitely was a hard blow that sucked out all the air in his lungs. Kyungsoo did not need this right now, considering the circumstances, especially from Sehun. He glances at Luhan, who is looking at Kyungsoo for an answer. Does he think, we're going to go out now? Kyungsoo's eyes are almost the size of saucers by now, as he turns to meet Sehun's gaze. He just met Luhan. They danced, albeit very intimately and then sat down. Although, when they did sit down, Kyungsoo, all but shamelessly initiated an almost full on make-out session. A make-out session that Jongin and Sehun would've most likely witnessed had they not let themselves be known. Kyungsoo gets even redder at the thought and sighs. He decides to respond, but before he can even open his mouth, he hears Baekhyun from somewhere in the crowd.
“Hey guys! I'm back with the drinks!”
Everyone at the table turns to look at Baekhyun who is swaying his body to the music in order to move through the crowd of dancing bodies, whilst clutching the drinks in his hands, above his head. Kyungsoo silently thanks the heavens for Baekhyun's impeccably good timing. He sighs in relief at not having to explain about Luhan. Baekhyun reaches the table and sets the drinks down, giving one to Kyungsoo, another to Luhan, and keeping one for himself.
“Here you go. Oh and Lu, can I call you, Lu? Any way I brought you, this, cause I didn't know what you liked. I hope you don't mind.”
Baekhyun gives Luhan an innocent smile before he sits and finally takes a look around the table to notice the presence of two other people.
“Oh Sehun, sorry I didn't get you one. I didn't think you were going to get here so early with-”
Baekhyun cranes his neck to see who the other guest is with Sehun and is extremely surprised to see that it is none other than Kim Jongin. His bright smile dimming down just a bit when he realizes who it is.
“Jongin?”
He nervously looks from Jongin to Kyungsoo; obviously caught up to speed about everything Kyungsoo had been going through and has been trying to move one from. Damn. Jongin just had to show up now, of all times. Baekhyun bites his tongue to refrain from speaking his mind.
“Yeah, he just got back this morning.”
Sehun tells Baekhyun the same thing he had told Kyungsoo with regards to Jongin's arrival. Baekhyun nods in understanding and numbly shoots Jongin a small smile.
No one utters a single word after that. Even though the inside of the club has just gotten even louder, the silence at the table is deafening. Kyungsoo can feel the tension hanging in the air, like it's clinging down to every part of his body. His heart starts beating erratically in his chest, having Jongin there, sitting just a foot away from him. Kyungsoo can't handle the pregnant silence that has descended on the table, nor can he deal with the looks Baekhyun gives both him and Jongin. He completely loses it when he notices Sehun still eyeing Luhan suspiciously. To hell with this. Kyungsoo abruptly rises from his seat, garnering the attention of the other four at the table. He ignores the surprised and questioning stares he gets as he grabs hold of Luhan's hand and drags him back into the middle of the dance floor once again.
Kyungsoo loses himself to the beat of the music and to the heat of Luhan's body radiating so close to him. He clings onto his dance partner almost desperately, afraid that if he doesn't hang on to something, he will shatter into a million pieces. He tries to shrug off the feeling of being watched, but doesn't succeed. Kyungsoo thinks he's just being paranoid, but he can feel the hairs on the back of his neck, stand. He knows it's not due to the way Luhan starts rolling and grinding his body against him. No. From the moment Kyungsoo left the table, he could feel the intense gaze from someone sitting at the table, behind him. He couldn't shake the feeling of being watched for the rest of the night.
***
Kyungsoo hates waking up at four in the morning. Every sane person on the entire planet hates waking up at four in the morning. Especially, after a night of having fun, drinking , having strangers grind up against your body, and, of course, having your first love, that you're trying to move on from, suddenly showing up out of the blue unannounced. It is just common sense to know that a person needs some well deserved rest.
On any other Sunday, Kyungsoo would have slept in and would will his brain to slowly try to make sense of exactly what kinds of twisted turns his tranquil life had taken. On this Sunday, however, Kyungsoo is up at four in the morning helping Junmyeon pack his things for an impromptu vacation to Paris, with Jongdae. Apparently, Jongdae had been planning this surprise vacation for a while, and had decided to let Junmyeon in on the surprise, on the date they had gone on, the evening prior.
Presently, Kyungsoo is in the back seat of Junmyeon's car, nodding off, whilst ignoring the two lovebirds in the front. They had been driving for a little bit over an hour now and the departure time for Paris was rapidly approaching. He manages to find a comfortable position to rest and is almost sound asleep, but Junmyeon decides now to ask about what happened at the club.
“So, Kyungsoo. How was last night?”
Kyungsoo blinks open his eyes slowly, trying to adjust to the sun's rays beginning to creep out over the horizon. He sighs. It is too early to deal with this shit. Kyungsoo still hadn't gotten his eight hours of sleep and he doubts he will be able to give Junmyeon an accurate depiction of what happened last night, when he himself wasn't so sure. He decides to feign ignorance in hopes of being able to get out of this unwanted conversation.
“It was good. I danced a lot.”
He pretends not to notice, but Kyungsoo can clearly see Junmyeon raise an eyebrow at him through the rearview mirror.
“Really? Did nothing eventful happen?”
Kyungsoo sinks into the backseat. He rubs his face, groans at Junmyeon's obvious insinuation. Kyungsoo proceeds to pinch the bridge of his nose in annoyance and the lack of sleep only adds to his irritation.
“Hyung. I know Baek already filled you in, on what happened. Could you please just ask what it is you want to know?”
The male in the back seat is grateful that Jongdae is focusing on driving and making sure to get to the airport on time, instead of giving Kyungsoo the second degree as well. Kyungsoo comes to the conclusion that he very much likes Jongdae.
“Are you ok?”
Am I ok? Any other day Kyungsoo would've lied through his teeth saying that he was ok, but not today. Today, he was sleep deprived. Kyungsoo gives out a sarcastic laugh, that makes Junmyeon turn his head to face the younger.
“Please, Hyung. I'm fine. I'm. Just. PEACHY.”
The younger male sighs and doubles over, resting his elbows on his knees and starts rubbing his temples in a circular motion.
“Soo, I can just cancel this trip. If you need me-”
“No!”
Kyungsoo's sudden outburst makes both Junmyeon and Jongdae jump. He can deal with whatever fate is trying to do with his life, on his own. He doesn't want or need Junmyeon cancelling a trip to Paris, just for him. It wouldn't be fair. Besides, he has moved on from Jongin. I mean it's not like I still like him. Jongin's return just came as a small surprise, no big deal. This is just a small hurdle, that Kyungsoo is sure he can jump over, with ease. Kyungsoo nods in more of a reassurance to himself rather than to his friend. He breathes in and swallows slowly. This time he responds with a much softer and quieter tone.
“I mean, no. This is a gift from Jongdae.”
Kyungsoo glances towards Jongdae through the rearview mirror.
“He planned this for the both of you. Besides, Hyung, you have always wanted to go to Paris. Don't throw away this opportunity just for my sake.”
He hopes that his abilities of persuasion don't fail him now. Kyungsoo would feel really guilty if Junmyeon decides to cancel going to Paris all because he can't seem to move on from his petty crush on his best friend from five years ago. Junmyeon eyes Kyungsoo carefully.
“Are you sure?”
“I am positive, Hyung. That self-therapy Baek suggested really did work. Jongin showing up was just a surprise, that's all. I'm sure I can handle it.”
Kyungsoo gives Junmyeon a sincere smile, because really, he isn't lying. The self therapy that Baekhyun suggested really was working. Jongin showing up really was a surprise, since Kyungsoo hadn't heard from the younger in five years. He had no idea that he would ever see or hear from the younger, again, in the long span of his life.
“Ok, well, as long as you're sure.”
Kyungsoo nods. The car suddenly comes to a halt and Kyungsoo looks out through the windows to see that they've already arrived at the airport. He climbs out from the back seat, moves towards the trunk of the car and helps the couple with their luggage. The couple says their goodbyes to Kyungsoo and promises to bring back souvenirs.
“Make sure you take care of my car, alright.”
Jongdae ruffles Kyungsoo's hair as he leaves his car in the younger's hands.
“Don't worry I won't wreck it or anything.”
Jongdae smirks and starts pushing the luggage. Junmyeon hovers next to Kyungsoo for a few seconds and gives the younger an encouraging smile. For a moment Kyungsoo could swear that he could make out just a tiny bit of doubt in Junmyeon's eyes . Kyungsoo lets out a sigh of relief as he watches Junmyeon turn around and start to follow Jongdae. He watches the couple until he can no longer see their backs, having already disappeared into the building. Kyungsoo sighs for the upteenth time this morning and gets into the driver's seat of Jongdae's car and glances at the clock on the dash. 7 a.m. Better get home and sleep some more.
***
Monday morning doesn't prove to be any better than Sunday's. Nope. Not one bit. Kyungsoo tossed and turned all of Sunday night due to his brain's damned habit of over-analyzing and over-thinking every little thing that goes wrong in his life. Last night's topic, much to Kyungsoo's dismay, had a lot to do with the arrival of Kim Jongin. Kyungsoo tried. He really did. He thought that Jongin's presence wouldn't make any unresolved feelings bubble up to the surface once again. Kyungsoo thought he had his feelings completely and utterly under control. Well, he thought wrong. Kyungsoo's night consisted of endless dreams about Jongin, about the times they had spent together when they were younger, and about the times that Kyungsoo wished they would be more than just friends.
To say that Monday morning, Kyungsoo was just a bit grouchy, was an understatement. It was 6:30 am, so, of course, to any innocent bystanders, looking from the outside in, it would indeed look as if Kyungsoo was just in dire need of some caffeine to get his system up and working on this cold and cloudy morning. In reality, the short man actually had the will of Satan coursing through his veins. Kyungsoo wasn't amused, not one bit, about his recent relapse. He was ready to kill a man.
Kyungsoo groans in disdain as he walks through the doors of the cafe he works at, mentally taking note that although it was his turn to open up the cafe for the day, the front doors were already open. His boss had told him that he wouldn't be able to come in on Monday, so Kyungsoo knew the boss wasn't the one responsible for the unlocked doors. Kyungsoo steps in warily, glancing from side to side, trying to take note of anything out of a place. The short man was already having a bad day, the last thing he wanted to deal with, was a petty thief trying to rob the cafe.
The front of the store appeared safe, since their was no sign of anyone being there. Kyungsoo made sure to check underneath all the tables and then proceeded to check behind the counter. There was nothing. There was no one. Kyungsoo figures whoever opened the front doors are long gone by now, so he pulls out his phone and starts to dial the number for the local police to make a report about a break in. Yes, nothing seemed to be missing, but that didn't excuse the fact that the doors were still unlocked and wide open, when he was the only one with the spare copy of the keys to the establishment.
Just as Kyungsoo is about to press the call button on his phone, he hears a sound coming from the back of the store. He freezes. Kyungsoo turns his head towards the source of the sound. He hears it again. It sounded like someone had dropped something onto the floor with a loud thud. Kyungsoo concludes that it is coming from inside the kitchen in the back and goes to investigate, the phone call long forgotten due to his damn curiosity. He tentatively opens the door to the back kitchen and pops his head in. Kyungsoo examines the kitchen room from wall to wall. Still nothing. Kyungsoo furrows his eyebrows in confusion when he doesn't see anyone there and is about to walk back out to the front, when he hears the sound once more. The short man takes in a deep breath and boldly goes into the kitchen. At a glance, it would be easy to miss the door to the storage room in the back slightly ajar. Kyungsoo has to squint a bit from where he is standing to see that the light is also on in the room. He reaches for the nearest thing he can find as a weapon, a steel pan by the way, and slowly makes his way to the storage room.
He can hear someone moving things in the room, once he is a good two feet away from the door. Kyungsoo clutches the pan in one hand and takes the doorknob of the door in the other. He gently pulls the door open and is grateful that the man inside is facing away from him. Kyungsoo can tell that the stranger is a good foot taller than him which prompts him to hold on to the pan's handle just a bit tighter, whilst his heartbeat picks up speed. With the beginning signs of his body's adrenaline already kicking in, Kyungsoo slowly walks up behind the man,who is too engrossed in pulling stuff off of the shelves, to notice that someone is stalking up behind him with a steel pan raised. Kyungsoo is about to wack the living daylights out of the unsuspecting intruder, when suddenly said intruder turns around and breaks out in a blood curdling scream frightening Kyungsoo into doing the same. The taller of the two stumbles backwards and falls onto the floor, spilling the pack of ground coffee he must've had in his hands, all over him. The fallen giant looks up, trying to blink away the coffee grounds from his eyes and points a finger at Kyungsoo.
“WHO ARE YOU!?”
Kyungsoo's eyes widen in disbelief.
“EXCUSE ME! WHO AM I?! I WORK HERE! WHO ARE YOU?!”
Whatever the fallen giant was going to say next, dies in his throat, because as he takes in a breath and calms his heart rate down, he slowly wipes the coffee out of his eyes and takes a good look at the short pan-wielding man.
“Kyungsoo?”
Now, Kyungsoo's eyes must be the size of planets. He takes in the appearance of the man on the floor, with all the dark ground coffee around him. Kyungsoo notices the black hair and the pointed ears and lowers his weapon. Oh.
The giant, noticing that Kyungsoo, now, has no intention of knocking him out with the steel pan, breaks out into a wide grin. He starts to get up and dusts off as much of the coffee off of himself, as he can.
“How've you been?”
“Uh...fine, but, why are you here, stealing from the storage room?”
Kyungsoo is confused. The last time he saw Chanyeol, was back in high school when he was just finishing his second year and Chanyeol was graduating. They weren't really close friends, but they hung out sometimes. Kyungsoo grimaces when he remembers that the only reason he even met Chanyeol, was because he was also friends with Kim Jongin. The shorter is snapped out of his walk down memory lane when he hears the all too familiar deep laughter coming from the older.
“Soo, I'm not stealing. I guess, the boss didn't tell you.”
The shorter raises an eyebrow questioningly.
“Tell me, what?”
Chanyeol crouches down and grabs a broom and a dust pan to collect all the coffee that was scattered all over the floor. He answers Kyungsoo's question, while he cleans.
“The Boss hired me to work here. My dad happens to be friends with the owner of this place and, due to us being in a sticky financial situation at the moment, my dad asked the guy if I could work here.”
Chanyeol stands up when he has finally gathered everything up off of the floor and beams.
“So, here I am. I'm looking forward to working here, boss.”
Kyungsoo had been nodding in understanding from the beginning of Chanyeol's story. All the way up to the part where the giant called him, boss, that is.
“What? Boss? No, I am not your boss.”
The shorter starts shaking his head rapidly, while Chanyeol drags him put of the storage room , through the kitchen, all the way to the front of the cafe. The giant situates Kyungsoo into one of the booths. Chanyeol sits across from him and places his chin onto the palms of his hands as he observes Kyungsoo who is already internally freaking out. He smiles. This little shit. Always being cute.
“Soo.”
The younger blinks and turns to face Chanyeol.
“The Boss said you were the manager and that you were going to teach me everything I needed to know. He said I was in very capable hands.”
Kyungsoo has his mouth open slightly. Completely surprised by the turn of events. So, apparently, he had now been promoted to the position of manager and was now in charge of showing Chanyeol the ways of the cafe. I mean not that it was a bad idea, hell, the would mean that Kyungsoo would be getting a raise and any extra cash was happily accepted. Besides, Kyungsoo does vaguely remember, The Boss mentioning that there was going to be a new pair of hands joining them some time this week. He just wasn't given the details as to when and who those extra hands were going to be. Kyungsoo nods.
“Well, ok then. I guess, I should start teaching you then.”
Kyungsoo glances at the wall clock above the front doors and notices it is like five minutes before 7, which is the time the cafe is officially open. Customers would be coming in at any moment now.
“So, we should-”
The younger man is slightly startled as Chanyeol slams one his hands down onto the table.
“First, can I know when we get off of work?”
Kyungsoo narrows his eyes at the taller, clearly judging him. He sighs.
“Well, if you're working full time-”
“I am.”
“Then you'll be getting off around 3-ish, just like me.”
“Oh, awesome!”
“Okaaay?”
Kyungsoo gets up from where he is sitting and starts heading towards the counter and takes out two aprons from underneath. He hands one to Chanyeol.
“Here.”
“Thank you. Also, I hope you don't think that I don't want to be here, working and stuff. I only asked when we get off, because I really need to see someone afterwards.”
“Oh, don't worry. I wasn't thinking anything negative or anything.”
Kyungsoo gives the giant a sickeningly sweet smile. If Chanyeol noticed anything off, he didn't say anything. To make up for his judging thoughts, Kyungsoo figures that taking an interest about the person Chanyeol needs to see, might make him feel less of a douche.
“So, who is it that you need to see so urgently? If I may ask.”
“Oh, it's nothing to worry about. It's just...you remember Jongin, from high school?”
Kyungsoo takes a slight pause from wiping down the counter at the mention of Jongin's name, but quickly recovers.
“Y-yeah. I remember. Why? What's wrong with him?”
Curse his damn voice for stuttering and curse his damn innate nature of being so damn caring, even if the person in question is Kim Jongin. It seems that it doesn't matter if it's been five, very long and quiet, years between the two of them. Kyungsoo just can't help but care for Jongin.
Chanyeol catches on, to the concern present in Kyungsoo's voice and suddenly remembers that Jongin and him used to be the best of friends. Of course, he would remember Jongin. He mentally scolds himself for not remembering that sooner.
“Nothing extreme. It's just he's back and he's staying at his parent's house.”
Kyungsoo nods and mentally rolls his eyes, as he remembers the surprise he got Saturday night at the club, with Jongin's arrival. Yeah. He's. Back. I. Get. It.
“And that's bad?”
Kyungsoo is having a hard time trying to figure out why Chanyeol would be concerned. Unless, of course, Chanyeol knows something he doesn't know about Jongin. Which is highly likely.
“Kind of.”
Chanyeol has a pained look on his face as he contemplates whether it is a good idea to tell Kyungsoo the next part. Kyungsoo doesn't have to convince Chanyeol to tell him anything, however, because in the giant's mind, he concludes that since Kyungsoo was best friends with Jongin before, it wouldn't hurt to tell him. Chanyeol breathes in deeply and begins to speak.
“Before, Jongin left to America, he got into an argument with his parents and they haven't been able to solve their differences, since then. It's been bothering Jongin all this time. So, staying with his parents, right now, with how things are, isn't doing much good for him.”
Kyungsoo's brow furrows in worry for Jongin. He doesn't like knowing that the younger is hurting and has been hurting for the majority of the past five years. Kyungsoo tries to dismiss his concern for something akin to just worrying about a friend who didn't pass a class and is now doomed to repeat the same year over again. Kyungsoo tries to convince himself that the aching pain growing in his chest, where his heart is, is just him being a good friend and feeling sympathy for the other. When every fiber of his being is telling him to go find Jongin and talk to him, Kyungsoo tries to convince himself that he would have that same exact thought if he were dealing with one of his other friends, like Baekhyun, Junmyeon, or even Sehun. Kyungsoo wants to fool himself into thinking that the longing to hold and console Jongin in his arms, is just him being a good friend. Just a friend. So, as a friend, Kyungsoo thinks it wouldn't be so out of the ordinary to want to ask what exactly happened between Jongin and his family, because, as a good friend, it would be the right thing to do. Kyungsoo would've asked Chanyeol for the details pertaining to Jongin and his family, but instead bites his tongue when the first of the many customers, for the morning rush, enter through the cafe's front doors.