Archive of Our Own

“Do you have any recommendations?” Jongin is sure the customer continues talking, but there's a foot on his counter and he's trying his Very Best not to scream, cry and throw up. In that order. Jongin sees a lot of disgusting things, working in a pharmacy, but the surprising amount of regular customers coming in with toenail fungus has to be at the top of the list.

“Well?” The woman continues, wiggling her toes in Jongin’s direction. He can hear the pharmacists laughing from the dispensary. Sehun, the other pharmacy intern that works with Jongin, snickers quietly as he scurries past, armed with medication for his own customer.

Jongin tries not to look at her feet. The fungal infection has caused swelling, a disgusting buildup of yellow gunk to form on top of the nail. The skin around the edges is purple and most likely filled with pus. Jongin wants to scream, cry and throw up. Again, in that order.

“Here,” Jongin hands the customer the strongest antifungal formula they stock, gesturing for her to take her foot off the counter, and progress to the register, “If this doesn't work, you'll need to see a podiatrist.”

“What do you mean if ,” The woman, probably in her mid-forties, looks downright livid. A lot of people come into Jongin’s workplace seeking an instant cure, and when told that it may take time--- or in this case, the consultation of a specialist--- they tend to get a little angry.

“You have a severe infection, ma’am,” Jongin has his best customer service voice on, “You may need some sort of extraction.”

“You can't do that here?” Inhale. Exhale. Don't sass the customers.

“This is a pharmacy,” Jongin deadpans, “All we can do is supply medication.”

The woman continues to grumble as Jongin processes her purchase. Jongin continues with his calming breathing techniques even as she hobbles from the store, movements hindered by the fungal buildup on her toenails.

Finally, she leaves, and Jongin is able to release the full-bodied shudder he's been holding in since she first placed her rotting feet onto the counter.

“That was gross,” Sehun comments, moments after handing one of their regular customers her blood pressure medication, “But it was hilarious.”

“You're gross,” Jongin retorts, already reaching for the disinfectant spray and roll of paper towels. He pauses and decides that maybe a pair of disposable gloves might be useful, too. Can't be too careful.

“You have a foot phobia, yet everyone comes to you with their foot fungus,” Sehun doesn't help Jongin disinfect the bench. He just stands, watching, and laughing quietly to himself, “Apparently you give out a vibe that says I love feet, please show me your toenails.”

Jongin tries not to scream.

“Stop mocking other people's pain,” Junmyeon, the head pharmacist, says from behind the dispensary wall. He's too short to see over it, but he's got this kind of creepy, supersonic hearing that allows him to hear, rather than see, when the staff aren't working.

“But it's so much fun,” Sehun whines. Jongin can hear the pout in his voice.

“You know what else is fun?” Junmyeon says, the wall still obscuring his face. Judging by his tone, the pharmacist is wearing a smug grin, and whatever he's about to say probably won't bode well for Sehun, “Sorting scripts.”

Sehun groans out loud, and it's Jongin’s turn to laugh. He inhales a fair amount of disinfectant spray but whatever, it's worth it. Sehun hates sorting scripts as much as Jongin hates feet. It's not revenge but it sorta feels like it, so Jongin feels accomplished none the less.

“I keep shitting myself,” Jongin hasn't finished scrubbing the counter before the next customer arrives, an elderly man who speaks gruffly, staring pointedly at Jongin, “What can you do for me?”

Jongin sighs, abandoning his cleaning in order to help the new customer.

All in all, it's just another day in pharmacy.

------

Jongin receives a staff discount at his work, but they don't stock his favourite brand of body wash, so he has to shop elsewhere for his body cleansing needs.

After the events of the day--- toenail fungus, incontinence, a small child throwing up on the carpet--- Jongin is overwhelmed with the need to take an hour long shower and metaphorically scrub the events of the day from his skin.

There's only one bottle of his preferred body wash left, a minty gel that fills the shower with a delightful, calming scent. He takes it promptly, adding it to his basket, already filled the brim with snacks and comfort food.

“You get me hooked on that shit, then take the last one,” Someone says from behind him, “Rude.”

Byun Baekhyun stands behind him, eyebrow raised and grinning widely. Honestly, Jongin never thought he'd see that expression, nor the man attached to it, ever again.

“Hey,” Jongin croaks. It's such a nostalgia trip, seeing Baekhyun like this, talking so casually with him. They were friends, once upon a time. But things happened and contact was lost, old friendships lost along the path to adulthood, “Long time no see.”

“No kidding,” Baekhyun just shrugs, nonchalant as always. He takes another bottle of body wash from the shelf, this one flavoured with pomegranate and raspberry, and adds it to his own basket, “Never thought I'd see you again, to be honest.”

Most people don't know that World War III was fought not on a remote battlefield, but in a small inner city apartment. Chanyeol, Jongin’s best friend of countless years, endured quite the messy breakup. Things were thrown, harsh words were said, and five years later Jongin still doesn't know what caused it. All he knows is that Chanyeol flinches whenever someone says a word that rhymes with either ‘Kyung’ or ‘Soo’, and that their conjoined friend group split as the couple did.

Baekhyun, as Kyungsoo’s best friend, understandably took Kyungsoo’s side on the breakup. Jongin hasn’t seen, nor heard from him in years.

“You're looking good,” Jongin doesn't quite know what to say, personal jokes of old dying on his tongue. They're practically strangers, now, so their old banter feels foreign, wrong. He's not lying, though. Baekhyun’s always had this kind of glow about him; a warmth and air of friendliness that draws people in. He's a lot like Chanyeol in that way, the sort of person you'll meet once and instantly become friends with.

Out of all of Kyungsoo’s friends, Baekhyun was by far his favourite.

“You look,” Baekhyun pauses thoughtfully, taking the time to choose his words, “Tired. You look tired.”

“I'm working a lot,” Jongin gestures to the stark white of his pharmacy uniform. Sometimes it makes him feel important, wearing something so obviously medical. But other times it just reminds him of his job, and how much of a burden it can be, “Long hours, you know.”

Baekhyun just hums in reply. He's that sort of person; always humming, using various sounds and non-verbal tics to portray emotion. He procures a business card out of seemingly nowhere and hands it to Jongin with a bright grin.

“I'm running a spa at the moment,” Baekhyun was studying beauty therapy, back when he and Jongin were close. It's no surprise to see that he's made it so far in such little time; Baekhyun is nothing if not ambitious, “If you need relaxation day, just give me a call.”

“Sure,” Jongin replies, but he has no real intention of taking Baekhyun up on his offer. He regularly works six-day weeks, and his rare moments of spare time are spent as horizontal and unconscious as physically possible.

“I know that tone,” Baekhyun chides, “You’re not going to visit me at work, are you?”

“You got me,” Jongin runs a hand through the back of his hair sheepishly, a habit he picked up during high school, where he and Chanyeol spent more time watching anime than either of them are willing to admit, “I'm too dead after work for anything other than sleep.”

“Give me your number,” Baekhyun holds his phone out expectantly, “I'll keep texting you until you do.”

Jongin laughs, but takes the offered phone wordlessly. He watches as Baekhyun saves his details, adding a cute heart at the end of his name before finalizing the new contact. It spurs another sudden rush of nostalgia; back when they were friends, Baekhyun made sure there were hearts beside the names of his closest friends as they were listed in his contacts.

Lives change, people change, but there's always an undercurrent of familiarity; no matter who Baekhyun has become, there are still things so quintessentially him that remain the same. Hearts beside contact details, using the same brand of body wash as Jongin because back in the day, he liked the way Jongin smelt. It's all too much.

“When was the last time you exfoliated?” There are hands on his face, Baekhyun inspecting his skin under the harsh lights of the supermarket, eyes trained on the imperfections marring Jongin’s cheeks and jawline, the dullness of his skin.

“When did Chanyeol and Kyungsoo break up?” Baekhyun’s influence includes a lot of things, and adopting a proper skincare routine is one of them. After their loss of contact, Jongin abandoned his regime, no longer fearing Baekhyun’s retribution over a skipped toner or drugstore cleanser purchase.

Baekhyun tsks disapprovingly. The grease from Jongin’s T-Zone accumulates on his fingers, and he wipes it away on his pants with a disgusted curl of his lips.

“Yeah, you definitely need to come see me at work,” He says, “You're in dire need of a facial.”

An inappropriate retort lies on the tip of Jongin’s tongue, something about another kind of facial, the kind of joke that Chanyeol would laugh at, Baekhyun would hit him for but laugh anyway, something Kyungsoo would find below his sense of humour but would hide a grin behind his hands none the less.

Old memories.

“Book me in,” Jongin relents. People change but Baekhyun hasn't, and Jongin would rather get the whole ordeal over and done with. Baekhyun is demanding and won't rest until the idea in his head comes to fruition. It's one of his best, yet arguably worst traits, “I'm free on Monday.”

“2pm on Monday,” Baekhyun confirms, and it's so like him to have his schedule memorised, “And don't worry, I have special discounts for old friends.”

He winks. Jongin tries to smile, but the whole situation is too surreal. It looks forced. Baekhyun pretends not to notice.

“Thanks,” Jongin replies, “I'm looking forward to it.”

He's really not. He was looking forward to sleeping the entire day. He’s also hoping that Chanyeol never finds out what he's got planned for his day off; Chanyeol and Baekhyun got along famously, but any connection to Kyungsoo is a dangerous one, and Jongin, being the good friend he is, doesn't want Chanyeol to feel betrayed in any way.

“No you're not,” Baekhyun laughs, bright and cheery, full of memories, “But that's okay.”

Conversation dies off. Jongin shuffles his feet awkwardly. They ache, even with work appropriate shoes, standing and walking for nine hours make them throb through padded soles.

“I better be off,” Baekhyun points to his basket. Jongin finally notices the contents; a single bottle of raspberry and pomegranate body wash, numerous boxes of condoms, “Kyungsoo’s in a bit of a dry spell, I'm trying to help him out.”

“Kyungsoo will try and force feed you those,” Jongin points out, “He's not going to use them.”

“He's still hurting,” Baekhyun says quietly, “It's been years .”

“Chanyeol too,” Jongin replies, “I still don't know what happened.”

“Neither do I,” Baekhyun shrugs, “But maybe finding twenty boxes of condoms on his bed will make Kyungsoo laugh, you know?”

Jongin doubts it but admires Baekhyun for trying, none the less.

“Good seeing you, Jongin,” Baekhyun says with finality.

“You too,” Once upon a time they had their own greetings, nicknames and in-jokes and awkwardness was something unfamiliar.

Everything about the situation feels wrong.

Jongin watches as Baekhyun walks away. Somehow, he feels like it's just another prolonged goodbye. They've lost their old friendship, and after Jongin’s appointment, the contact in Baekhyun’s phone will collect metaphorical dust; there but never used.

Until all contact is lost and forgotten, just like it was before.

------

“I ran into Jongdae the other day,” Chanyeol shovels a handful of chips into his mouth. He's on a bit of a health kick, so they're rice based and not made from potato. Jongin wants to point out that there's just as much sodium in Chanyeol’s new comfort food as there was in his old ones, but it's not the time.

“Oh?” In every battle, there's collateral damage, and in the great war of Chanyeol vs Kyungsoo, Jongdae is the person who dealt with most of the fallout. As the mutual friend that introduced the two of them, he cut ties with everyone as the dust settled and the friendship group split. He has new friends now, a new life. A pretty girlfriend, too, if Facebook is to be believed. Jongin’s pretty sure that Jongdae is the sole person who knows what happened from both sides of the breakup. Jongin really doesn't blame him for abandoning ship, “How’d that go?”

“He ignored me,” Another fist full of snacks make their way into Chanyeol’s mouth. He's always been an emotional eater, “He saw me, turned around and walked away.”

“Ouch,” Jongin is bad at feelings. He's never been one to offer emotional support past monosyllabic answers to show he's still listening.

“Yeah, ouch,” Chanyeol sighs, because of the Jongdae situation or because his bag of snacks is empty, Jongin doesn't know.

------

The spa Baekhyun runs is clinically white, decorated with fake plants and pictures of obviously photoshopped models. It smells like hand sanitizer and cleaning spray, and Jongin pointedly avoids the giant poster of feet on the wall.

Apparently advertising the pedicure services offered at the establishment, they're clean and well-maintained feet, but they're feet none the less and Jongin feels even more uncomfortable than he did before.

Baekhyun enters the waiting room, his savior in a white coat. His uniform looks similar to Jongin’s; high-collared and bleached white, shining silver buttons and name tag pinned on the left side of his chest.

He smiles warmly, and Jongin forgets about the giant feet and his simmering anxiety.

“Jongin?” He questions, acting like Jongin is a first-time customer and not an old friend, “Follow me, please.”

Baekhyun guides him through sterilized hallways, sporadic benches with more fake flowers, small doorways and more white . It's like a rabbit's warren, with more twists and turns than Jongin can remember, a labyrinth; he's lost and out of his depth, but Baekhyun is there, white coat a subtly different shade to the walls, his pink hair bouncing with every step.

Here, Jongin is all but pushed through a door, not unlike the others he's passed, but there seems to be some importance to it,. There's something about this room that Baekhyun favours.

Jongin works with his fare share of medical equipment, but he doesn't recognize any of the machinery lying innocently on the benches around his facial room. The beauty industry is certainly a whole new world, and Jongin, for all his knowledge of the human body and how it reacts, still knows next to nothing about skin, save for the basics he’s learnt in class. Jongin can tell a customer what effect a particular topical cream will have on their skin, but has no idea what’s about to happen to his face. He can recite the chemical makeup of countless medications, but doesn’t understand the poster on the wall of the facial room preaching the benefits of oxygen treatment.

“Shoes off,” Baekhyun motions for Jongin to take his place on the bed within the center of the room, pulling back the covers and patting the mattress, “And don’t worry about falling asleep, I won’t be offended.”

The lights are dim but Baekhyun’s smile is bright, humming to himself as he always does, slowly uncapping a bottle of oil and depositing a few drops into one of the contraptions. Within seconds the room fills with a pleasant scent, something rose-based, but Jongin has never been good at identifying smells. It reminds him of Baekhyun’s old apartment, always filled with different scents depending on the day and his mood. In fact, the mist wafting through the facial room is so familiar, Jongin’s sure he’s smelt this exact concoction of essential oils at some point at his life.

Another wave of nostalgia.

“It’s not what I usually use for facials,” Baekhyun says, pulling the blanket up to Jongin’s chin, almost fondly; like a mother tucking in her child, “But I remember you liked this one.”

“What?” Jongin is already feeling tired, the comfortable bed, the perfect temperature of the room, the soothing scent. He has no idea what Baekhyun’s talking about.

“The aromatherapy oil,” Baekhyun laughs, washing his hands at a small basin, “It’s meant for romance not relaxation.”

It doesn’t smell romantic. It smells like flowers. Jongin is still learning.

“I've always wanted to give you a facial,” Baekhyun says with a wiggle of his eyebrows. He towels the water from his hands and that's it, the awkward tension is broken, familiarity washing over him in a rush before settling--- it's like they haven't been apart for years--- Jongin can imagine Baekhyun cracking that kind of joke in front of their friends, he can almost hear Chanyeol’s echoing laughter.

“Way to make it sound sexual,” Jongin grumbles. He smiles, none the less.

“Well, I did set the mood for romance,” Baekhyun wiggles his hips suggestively, grins wolfishly.

“Facials aren't romantic,” Jongin offers in rebuttal, and the rest of his words are lost on the tip of his tongue as Baekhyun’s fingers slide across his face in a caress. He's probably checking for damage, seeing what the combined effects of work stress and binge eating have done to his skin, but it’s soothing, comforting. Baekhyun has always had gentle hands.

“I'm about to smear some warm goop on your face,” Baekhyun says. Jongin snorts in a repressed giggle.

“Professional,”

“Always,” Baekhyun feigns innocence as he begins the consultation.

Jongin is lost and out of his depth, drowning in the sensation of Baekhyun’s hands and fingers. He's overwhelmed with each new product, each cream and mask pushed into his skin but Baekhyun is there, softly humming, gentle hands always guiding him back above the surface.

“Feels good?” Baekhyun asks softly, testing the levels of Jongin’s comfort. There's a sort of intimacy to the whole thing; be it from the romantic oils, the soft touches or the rekindled fondness. The feeling settles in Jongin’s stomach like lead, as he's never associated Baekhyun with intimacy until now, never thought of those hands as anything but an extension of his old friend.

“Yeah,” He's talking about the facial but it feels like something else; their reconnection, maybe, or other things entirely.

The ordeal lasts for a good hour, Baekhyun leaving periodically to allow Jongin privacy as his masks sink into his skin, leaving Jongin alone with nothing but his thoughts, and the relaxation music Baekhyun must have started at some point. It’s pleasant background noise, often drowned out by Baekhyun’s humming or the splashing of water, the rustling of fabric when excess moisture is toweled from Jongin’s face.

He'll give Baekhyun credit; while not necessarily his thing, taking a day for a little self-care has been more relaxing than an eighteen-hour nap ever could. Jongin’s still exhausted, however, and he finds himself drifting in and out of sleep, awaking to Baekhyun’s soft chuckles or the cool sensation of lotions as they're smoothed across his forehead.

“And we’re done,” Baekhyun announces, concluding the experience with one last sweep of his fingertips, tracing a figure eight pattern along Jongin’s cheeks and forehead, sliding down his nose, thumb dragging along Jongin’s lower lip in finality.

“Thanks,” Jongin replies, the ghost of Baekhyun’s touch still lingering. His skin feels far less heavy, more refreshed-- even though it tingles slightly. He goes to touch his cheek but Baekhyun slaps his hand away, wordlessly. He's under the assumption that Jongin remembers his preaching of old, telling Jongin (or anyone who would listen) not to touch their face with dirty hands. He assumes, and his assumptions are correct. Jongin drops his curious fingertips.

“First consultations are free,” Baekhyun says as he leads Jongin back through the labyrinth and out to the waiting room. Jongin pointedly ignores the feet on the wall, but their image lingers, and he can't repress the shudder.

“Seriously?” It can't bring too much business if they're offering services for free, even if they're basic consultations like the one Jongin had.

“Yeah,” Baekhyun winks. He looks around the empty reception, before dropping his voice to a whisper, “But only for old friends.”

Jongin immediately pulls out his wallet.

“Baek,” The old nickname slips out. Neither he nor Baekhyun acknowledges it, “I insist.”

“Sorry, I don't make the rules,” Baekhyun says, pushing Jongin’s credit card back into his hands.

“Yes you do,” Jongin tries with cash, this time. It's a meager amount, compared to what the facial usually costs, but he feels bad. His attempts are met in the same fashion as before; Baekhyun taking the offered cash before folding it and slipping it into the front pocket of Jongin’s jacket.

“True,” Baekhyun replies with a laugh, “But I'm still not taking your money.”

“Let me make it up to you, then,” Jongin, who usually speaks with careful consideration, has no idea what he's saying. The words are out of his mouth before he can even think. Honestly, he had no intention of keeping in contact with Baekhyun past casual text messages. But this, this is something new entirely, “Lunch?”

“You still into those weird hipster cafés?” Baekhyun asks, taking initiative as always, “Because I've got a list of ones I wanna visit, but no one to go with.”

“I-- sure,” Jongin knows already that their café visits will become a regular thing, especially if Baekhyun already has a list, “That sounds good.”

“I'll call you?” Baekhyun words his statement like a question, testing the boundaries.

“Yeah,” Jongin finds it difficult to swallow. He doesn’t look at Baekhyun, “Yeah, sounds good.”

------

Sehun’s hands don't feel as good on his face as Baekhyun’s did. Jongin hates himself for his train of thought.

“Woah,” Sehun is in awe. Jongin doesn't think he looks all that different post-facial, but Sehun has obviously noticed some difference. Either that, or he looks worse than usual and Sehun’s just being an ass. It could go either way, “What happened to your face?”

“I had a facial,” Jongin says, inspecting his face in the small mirror one of the female members of staff set up in the break room, he still looks the same. Tired, worn out. “I don't think it did much.”

“Are you kidding?” Sehun grasps Jongin’s cheeks with his palms, pushing his face around, undoubtedly contorting his features into unflattering expressions, “You're, like, glowing.”

He supposes that Sehun is somewhat correct, something Baekhyun did has revived some of the dullness, reduced a few blemishes here and there. Nothing too major, and nothing warranting Sehun’s levels of awe.

Sehun’s skin is flawless, Jongin can barely see his pores. He's not a greasy mess by the end of the day, either. But Jongin is the one who refills his Isotretinoin prescription, so he knows Sehun’s flawless complexion is hard earned.

“I wish someone would give me a facial,” Sehun whines, dropping his hands and releasing Jongin’s face from his grip.

Minseok, one of their senior pharmacists, and Yixing from their admin department, choose the correct moment to enter the break room. They laugh, catching the end of a conversation that in hindsight, sounds far too suggestive for the workplace.

“Not like that!” Sehun scrambles to fix this misunderstanding, “I want a skincare facial, not, you know…”

Jongin feels for Sehun, he really does. Minseok is somewhat of his idol; a trusted, competent pharmacist who deals with even the most difficult of customers with ease. Yixing is more of his workplace crush, though he hasn't necessarily told Jongin as such; but Sehun is the first person to volunteer to help Yixing in his daily tasks. Jongin isn't sure if Sehun wants to be off the floor and away from customers, or in the tiny, cramped back room with Yixing for hours on end.

“We get it,” Yixing replies, smiling warmly, “Don't stress, Sehun.”

“We don't kinkshame,” Minseok replies. He's great with customers but sassy with staff. Jongin really likes him.

Sehun groans loudly, eliciting another round of laughter.

Jongin’s phone vibrates in his pocket;

From: Baekhyun

Have a good day at work ♡

“No phones on the floor,” Minseok scolds, interrupting Jongin before he can reply to his text, “And don't forget to sign in before your shift.”

Jongin has approximately two minutes to sign in and arrive on the floor. He shares a momentary look with Sehun, before unceremoniously throwing his phone into his locker and making a run for the door, Sehun hot on his heels.

He'll reply later.

------

“How was work?” Chanyeol doesn't look up from his phone as Jongin enters their shared apartment. The periodic swiping of his thumb across the screen leads Jongin to believe he's re-installed Tinder. Again.

Jongin groans, falling face first into the couch. Chanyeol doesn't cease in his judgmental left swiping, but uses his free hand to pat Jongin’s head in consolation. He appreciates the gesture.

“That bad, huh?” He sounds uninterested, but Jongin knows that Chanyeol isn’t really capable of doing two things at once. He's genuinely offering to be an outlet for Jongin to vent to, but he's also swept up in his superiority complex as he rejects yet another potential match on the dating app.

“A kid dropped a bottle of perfume on his foot,” Jongin starts, “I had to deal a screaming, crying child as I put a bandaid on his toe.”

“Screaming kids and feet,” Chanyeol was listening, after all, “Sounds like hell on earth for you.”

Chanyeol likes kids. Jongin does not. They're loud and obnoxious, and he can feel his paternal instinct withering away into nothingness with each and every mayhem inducing toddler that enters his store.

“No kidding,” Jongin says. He's got more to vent about, like how the phones never stopped ringing, and how the customers kept complaining about the long waits for their medication, but he's tired, too tired to even complain.

Chanyeol hums in interest, someone on Tinder finally catching his attention.

“Look,” Jongin squints at the brightness of the screen, taking in the profile of the girl Chanyeol will undoubtedly swipe right on, “She's cute, right?”

She looks like Kyungsoo. Jongin doesn't point it out.

“Super cute,” Jongin deadpans.

Chanyeol swipes right.

Jongin’s phone buzzes.

He sits up, reaching into his pocket and pulling the device out. It's probably just Sehun, mocking him over the events of the day. Or it could be Yixing, tagging him in some sort of work-related Facebook meme.

It's Baekhyun.

So, I've decided on our first café…

Jongin smiles despite himself. He forgot to reply to Baekhyun’s earlier text, Jongin’s lunch break was spent eating as many fries as physically possible, but Baekhyun doesn't seem to care. He probably understands that Jongin is busy, and he's most likely busy himself.

He angles his phone away from Chanyeol in order to tap out his reply. It's a little redundant, Chanyeol is immersed in his left swiping and paying no attention to Jongin and his text messages.

To: Baekhyun

Just tell me where and when

He presses send, and Chanyeol cheers, startling him.

“We matched!” Chanyeol’s phone is pushed under Jongin’s nose once more, the screen displaying that Chanyeol and the Kyungsoo lookalike had indeed swiped right on each other's profiles.

“Congrats bro,” Jongin says. He still doesn't point out her resemblance to Chanyeol’s ex.

“Maybe you should download Tinder,” Chanyeol says, “Judge dumb profiles with me.”

“I'll pass,” Jongin shrugs. He's never been interested in dating apps, and never has the time to date. He's making time to see Baekhyun, however, and he doesn't want to stop and think of the implications.

“Hey,” Jongin pauses for a moment, trying to word his next question carefully, “You remember Baekhyun?”

Chanyeol’s reaction is immediate; he stiffens, pausing his movements. His eyes remain on his phone, reading and rereading the profile of a person that Jongin knows he's going to swipe left on.

“Yeah,” Chanyeol swallows, “I remember him. Why?”

He's so morose. Jongin automatically feels guilty for bringing the topic up. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo were almost inseparable, and bringing up the former undoubtedly reopened some of the wounds caused by the latter.

“I just---” Jongin sighs, “I saw something today that reminded me of him.”

“Why’d you have to bring it up?” Chanyeol’s phone auto locks due to inactivity. He keeps staring at the screen, “You know I--”

“Yeah I know,” Jongin replies, wrapping an arm around Chanyeol’s shoulder in an attempt to offer some form of comfort. It was stupid for Jongin to talk about Baekhyun, “Sorry.”

“I thought I'd be over him by now,” Honestly, so did Jongin. Five years is a long time to pine over your ex, but Chanyeol hasn't exactly tried to move on. He'll hook up with people he meets on Tinder, on occasion, but ultimately, no one ever sticks around, “Why can't I get over him?”

“Maybe Tinder Cutie will help?” Jongin prompts, trying to change the subject, “Why don't you send her a message?”

“Good idea,” Chanyeol’s smile is small and sad, but it's a smile none the less.

As Chanyeol unlocks his phone and begins his conversation with the Tinder girl, Jongin has time to think.

If he meets up with Baekhyun, and continues to do so, Chanyeol will be ridiculously hurt and betrayed if he ever finds out. He should cancel their café date, should delete Baekhyun’s number and never see him again.

But Baekhyun’s got puppy dog eyes and Jongin is weak; just imagining the crestfallen look on his face if Jongin were to cancel last minute has him reconsidering his doubts.

It's all going to blow up in his face, eventually. Jongin just hopes that Chanyeol finally gets over Kyungsoo before that point, it might make the reveal a little easier, the betrayal a little less harsh.

Jongin hopes, but he's not holding his breath.

------

“So,” Jongin starts, quite unsure what to say. He and Baekhyun have a cozy seat in a cute cafe, pastel colour scheme and mismatched furniture, handwritten menus and covered in trinkets. Jongin loves it already, and they haven't even ordered, “This place is--”

“Cute,” Baekhyun has his elbows resting on the table, chin propped up on his hands. His eyes scan the café’s interior, before landing on Jongin, “This place is cute.”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun’s hair blends into the pastel pink wall behind him, “It's cute.”

“I've heard they make a great Ruben,” He suggests, motioning towards the menu lying in front of them, “But I'm wondering if they can make this a little less awkward.”

“Sorry,” Jongin replies sheepishly, “I'm making things weird, aren't I?”

“A little,” Baekhyun smiles, all teeth. He seems more amused by the awkward tension rather than annoyed by it, he nudges Jongin’s ankle under the table with the tip of his sneaker. He remembers that Jongin doesn't like having his feet touched, even through shoes, something even Chanyeol forgets on occasion, “But that's okay.”

“I don't think Chanyeol would approve of,” Jongin gestures between them, “This.”

“Chanyeol can suck my dick,” Baekhyun deadpans. He nudges Jongin’s ankle again, a little softer this time, more of a caress. Byun Baekhyun is playing footsie with him under the table at a pastel themed café. Jongin isn't sure what to think, but he doesn't hate it.

“He'd rather suck--” Jongin stops himself. He was tempted to mention Kyungsoo, but their tumultuous relationship is hardly an appropriate punchline. Besides, he doesn't want to talk about them, doesn't want his nice day off spent talking about how his friend can't or won't move on.

“I say we go the Ruben,” Baekhyun knows what Jongin nearly said, understands why he stopped himself, “And I'm not sure about you, but I'm thinking a milkshake.”

Baekhyun eases the awkward situation into free-flowing conversation, he talks about his work, asks about Jongin’s. He laughs when Jongin tells him about his misadventures with Sehun in the pharmacy, offers sympathetic hums when prompted, and is otherwise the best company Jongin’s had in a long time.

He looks adorable as he eats his sandwich, squirming excitedly as the cheese stretches to the length of his arm and longer, before finally snapping and coming to rest on his chin.

Jongin’s face hurts from smiling.

------

One café becomes many, and Jongin finds himself spending his lunch breaks searching for new establishments to try, excitedly texting Baekhyun with the shortlisted candidates.

Baekhyun replies with emojis and selfies; he's had to turn auto display off, there's been too many close calls where Baekhyun will send him a good night message, complete with a silly photo of himself going through his nightly routine--- brushing his teeth, using a face mask, or just snuggled under his blankets--- close calls where Jongin’s phone lies within reach of Chanyeol, and Baekhyun’s smiling face has appeared on the screen.

Jongin starts sending his own in reply, they're a little more boring, but Baekhyun seems to appreciate the gesture. He even sets a selfie Jongin takes in the breakroom at his work as his phone’s wallpaper. It's hardly a spectacular photo; Jongin’s pouting at the camera grumpily-- probably because of customers, possibly Sehun--- he doesn't remember why. He's just flattered that Baekhyun found the photo appealing enough to display on his phone, that his face is something that Baekhyun wants to see when he unlocks the device, or checks the time.

Jongin would return the favour, but he can't. Not while he's still living with Chanyeol. Baekhyun understands.

They explore the city like true foodies, finding hidden restaurants, renowned food trucks and hipster cafés; anything that comes with a recommendation, really.

It's less about the food, and more about the adventure; finding something new, finding something together. Jongin barely remembers the places they visit, the interiors all melding together in his memory, but he can vividly recall Baekhyun at each and every place. Jongin can't recall the flavour of his cheesecake at the fourth café, but he knows what Baekhyun looked like when he took a bite of his own; pleasantly surprised, excited. Eyes lighting up as the adventurous option of a vegan cheesecake turned out to be a good idea.

They're not so much outings as they are dates.

Baekhyun is beautiful, charming, a whole plethora of adjectives that Jongin interchanges at whim. They link ankles under tables, hide smiles behind coffee cups, allow heated gazes to linger on exposed collarbones.

Jongin knows he's in too deep when he takes the initiative to hold Baekhyun’s hand on top of their shared table, running his thumb over Baekhyun’s knuckles and playing with his fingers. Baekhyun's hands are as beautiful as the rest of him.

“You have nice hands,” Jongin says, brain to mouth filter temporarily removed, “I mean, all of you is nice, but I like your hands.”

“I'm good with my hands,” Baekhyun replies, dragging two fingertips along Jongin’s thumb. His words, his motions, they're almost suggestive. Baekhyun sinks his teeth into his lower lip and regards Jongin curiously; he's testing the waters, again. Seeing what Jongin is comfortable with. It's almost as if---

“I mean, you were on the receiving end of one of my signature facials,” Baekhyun winks obnoxiously, destroying the mood. He withdraws his hand from where Jongin holds it, fingers drumming nervous patterns on wood, “So you would know.”

“Yeah,” Jongin’s hand feels cold, empty. He’d like nothing more than to reach across the table and take his hand again. He doesn't know why, Jongin doesn’t feel uncomfortable, or out of his depth, but he craves the kind of comfort and intimacy that Baekhyun provides.

He's not the most physically affectionate person, not by any means. He doesn't cling like Chanyeol and Sehun; two undoubtedly tactile people, unable to keep their hands to themselves, even innocently.

But thoughts of Baekhyun become thoughts and urges, to touch and to hold, to be with him constantly. It's terrifying and overwhelming, and Jongin is drowning again.

Baekhyun launches into a rant about the spa, his customers, the beauty therapists who work for him. He's animated and lively, each anecdote commanding Jongin’s full attention. Baekhyun distracts him, pulls him to the surface with his words, keeps his head above the proverbial water.

Jongin allows himself the distraction. He's not quite ready to dwell on his thoughts or their implications.

Not yet.

------

“I'm looking for some advice on vitamins,” Jongin is obsessively disinfecting the counter when the customer approaches him. He groans internally, a child kept sneezing on the counter as her mother purchased cold and flu medication; Jongin has seen the latest strain of the illness and it doesn't look like a fun time. He hopes he's killed enough germs to avoid infection, “Of course, if you're able to help me?”

“Of course,” Jongin echoes, he hasn't looked at the customer, yet. He stashes the paper towels and disinfectant spray in the drawer beneath the cash register, “What were you looking---”

Chanyeol once described Jongdae’s smile as “curly”. It's only now that Jongin sees what he means, as he observes the way Jongdae’s lips curl into a smile. Jongin himself must look like the human embodiment of the shocked-face emoji, because suddenly Jongdae is laughing at him. It catches Sehun’s attention, and he shoots Jongin a questioning glance.

“Long time no see,” Jongin’s been running into a lot of old friends recently. He's not exactly running from the past, not like Chanyeol, but it keeps catching up with him none the less.

“No kidding,” Jongdae is all smiles, and from Jongin’s experience, it's never a good thing.

“Why are you here?” If Facebook is to be believed, Jongdae lives in a nice apartment on the other side of the city. There's dozens of pharmacies in between his house and Jongin’s work, so there should be no reason for Jongdae to spontaneously arrive at Jongin’s workplace. And as much as it pains him to admit, Jongin’s pharmacy is hardly the best; there's bigger, cheaper establishments, and a lot of them closer to Jongdae.

“I was in the area,” Jongdae shrugs, “Saw Baekhyun, and remembered that I was out of vitamins.”

Baekhyun. Of course.

“He recommended this place, actually,” Jongdae continues. Sehun tries to look inconspicuous as he starts rearranging the shelves behind Jongin’s register. He fails miserably, but neither Jongin nor Jongdae points it out, “Said the customer service is excellent.”

“Did he, now?” Baekhyun hasn't been into Jongin’s work, at least, not while Jongin’s on shift. And considering Jongin’s on shift for most of the opening hours, it would have been hard to miss him.

“I think I understand, now,” Jongdae says. He was never this cryptic, not when he and Jongin were close. Time changes some people, after all, “What Baekhyun was talking about.”

“I haven't served you, yet,” Jongin replies, puzzled. They're still standing at the counter, speaking in riddles as Sehun tries to eavesdrop.

“You're seeing Baekhyun, aren't you,” It's not a question. Jongin is missing something.

“Yeah, once a week?” Jongin rounds the counter, leading Jongdae to the wall of vitamins lining the edge of the store. Something to keep him from fidgeting, to keep their conversation from curious ears, “We get food and talk. It’s pretty great.”

“Does Chanyeol know?” Jongdae prompts. He doesn't ask for Jongin’s opinion on his vitamins, grabbing a few select jars from the wall. He didn't need help, he knows exactly what he's getting; down to the brand, dosage, added benefits.

“No,” Jongin says after a moment, “No he doesn't.”

“Do you know?” Jongdae pushes again, more riddles.

“Do I know what?” Jongin is utterly puzzled, “I know I'm seeing Baekhyun.”

“Are you sure?” Jongdae leads them this time, evidently happy with his items, he prompts Jongin to finalize the sale. Sehun is still “rearranging” the shelves.

“Yes?” Jongin’s hands work on autopilot, entering his staff code, scanning Jongdae’s vitamins. His mind is elsewhere, preoccupied with more questions than answers.

“Here,” Jongdae hands a business card to Jongin as well as his credit card. It's for a fancy real estate agency, a household name. The kind of place that can afford high budget television advertising. Jongdae still looks the same, but in a sense he's unrecognizable; becoming a real estate agent is a far cry from the teacher Jongdae wanted to be, back when they were friends. Jongin pockets the card wordlessly, “Don't be a stranger.”

Jongin doesn't reply, but Jongdae’s smile doesn't falter. He leaves the store after a cheery thank you and a wave.

“So,” Sehun stops pretending to clean shelves in order to confront Jongin, waiting an appropriate length of time before starting the conversation, “He was cute.”

“Straight,” Jongin sighs, thumbing nervously at the card in his pocket, “You've got more of a chance with Yixing, if I'm honest.”

“You think?” Sehun replies excitedly, before collecting himself, “I mean, why do you say that, has he said---”

“You've got no chance with Jongdae,” He says, biting back a smile, “But you've got next to no chance with Yixing.”

“Goddamn it, Jongin!” Sehun growls, throwing a scrunched up ball of paper towels in his direction. They're covered in disinfectant and dust, so Jongin ducks out of the way accordingly.

“Boys,” Junmyeon’s voice echoes from behind the dispensary wall, “No fighting on the floor.”

“Sorry,” They mumble, returning to their tasks. Jongin picks up Sehun’s discarded roll of paper towels, determined to claim the job before he's designated a worse task, like sorting scripts.

“Sehun,” Junmyeon continues, “If you can work with Yixing without flirting, then you're welcome to help him. He'd appreciate a hand.”

“He said hand, not handjob,” Minseok supplies, walking into the dispensary from the back room, arms piled high with Webster Packs.

“I hate you all,” Sehun mutters, but he practically runs to the storeroom, tripping over his feet in his haste.

“Don't tell Sehun I said this,” Minseok whispers, “But Yixing would totally appreciate a hand job.”

Jongin laughs.

He tries not to think of Baekhyun’s hands.

------

“I feel like I haven't seen you in forever,” Chanyeol’s statement holds underlying tones of accusation. Jongin’s been out with Baekhyun more and more as of late, and despite the fact that they're housemates, they haven't really seen each other in weeks, “Help me drink my sorrows away?”

Chanyeol is drinking wine from a coffee mug.

“Sure,” Jongin replies. He's got a shift tomorrow, but he's capable of working hungover. If Chanyeol has foregone the delicate wine glasses sitting in their cupboard and straight for the oversized novelty mug, he needs a drinking buddy, “What are we drinking?”

“Moët,” Chanyeol’s tone makes it sound like they're drinking bottom shelf liquor, not a luxury champagne. He gestures to the half empty bottle on the table, “It's all I've got.”

Of course it is. Chanyeol works for Moët, and he's in no short supply of his brand's product. It was silly of Jongin to even ask, and Chanyeol shoots him a look to confirm it.

“I take it things didn't work out with Tinder Cutie,” Jongin accepts Chanyeol’s mug as it's offered, watching as his best friend reaches for the bottle instead.

“Best sex I've had in a while, but also the worst conversations,” Chanyeol takes a swig of his wine, “And I realised that she looks like Kyungsoo mid-blowjob.”

“I knew that the second I saw her picture,” Jongin sighs, reaching for the wine and topping up his mug, “But yeah, how did that turn out?”

“Spent the whole time pretending it was him, and then bailed before she'd finished swallowing,” Chanyeol replies, staring at the bottle in his hands, “She hasn't messaged me since.”

“Ouch,” Jongin doesn't know how to reply, but knows he needs to fill the silence with something. He's no stranger to Chanyeol’s sex life, the line between acceptable amounts of detail and too much information blurred by years of friendship. But this latest endeavor seems to have hit Chanyeol harder than usual, and Jongin doesn't doubt for a second that it's directly related to the Tinder Girl’s resemblance to his ex-boyfriend.

“I'll never find anyone else like him,” Chanyeol says, draining the bottle of the last of its contents, “And I don't think I want to.”

“It's been--”

“Years, I know,” Chanyeol cuts Jongin off, finishes his sentence for him. They've had this conversation before, “But I was young and stupid, and now I'm old and filled with regret.”

“Twenty Six isn't old,” Jongin points out. Chanyeol is very successful, holding such a high position within an admirable company at such a young age. But he understands; at twenty-four he feels just as jaded; he’s barely started his career and he’s already sick of it.

“I feel old,” Chanyeol sighs, “I’m drinking alone on a Tuesday night.”

“You’re not alone,” Jongin replies, pouting. He purses his lips cutely and looks straight at Chanyeol--- his attempts at being cute are usually enough to draw a smile, but this time there’s nothing. Chanyeol’s lips don’t even twitch in recognition.

“I don’t want to kiss you,” Chanyeol considers his empty bottle of champagne, as if his intense stare will somehow refill it, “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life waking up and seeing your face.”

Jongin remains silent. It hurts a little, that he’s not enough for Chanyeol. But then again, he doesn’t want to kiss Chanyeol either, and he’s always imagined the rest of his life with someone else, too. Usually a nameless person, a blur of features, someone so unrealistically ideal that it's hard to imagine a real person in their place. Recently, Jongin’s imaginary life partner has started resembling Baekhyun, and it's terrifying. It's terrifying but wonderful at the same time; Jongin’s never been one to dream of happily ever afters but maybe he's found one, anyway.

“I'm not in love with you, Jongin,” Chanyeol says, and it takes a moment for Jongin to realise that his friend is trying to hold back tears, “And I haven't fucked up our relationship beyond repair.”

“I'm sure you didn't fuck up as badly as you think,” Jongin soothes. He's guessing blindly, because as much as Chanyeol talks about Kyungsoo, he hasn't spoken a word of their break up. Jongin still has Jongdae’s number in his pocket, and he's willing to bet that Jongdae is still in contact with Kyungsoo. He could pull some strings, stage an intervention, help them to bury the hatchet---

“We would argue for fun because the makeup sex was great,” Chanyeol starts. This Jongin knows, Kyungsoo always had a sharp tongue and Chanyeol was always quick to retort. There was never any malice in their play fighting, just jokes in place of flirting or foreplay, “It started getting nasty by the end of it.”

Or so Jongin thought.

“I accused him of cheating, just to see how he'd react,” Chanyeol buries his face in his hands, “He didn't take it too well.”

“No kidding,” Jongin breaks the silence with more meaningless words.

“I told him,” Chanyeol swallows audibly, blinking rapidly to clear away the tears. He looks so ugly when he cries, but the sight is so pathetic that Jongin’s heart breaks for him, anyway, “That he was too close to Baekhyun, and that maybe they should date instead.”

Jongin now understands why Baekhyun’s name caused such a reaction. It wasn't his proximity to Kyungsoo, it's the fact that he, even unknowingly, was a major catalyst in their breakup. Jongin feels awful, not only for bringing him up, but for seeing Baekhyun, for continuing the contact.

“He told me to suck your dick,” Chanyeol laughs bitterly, “Not what I was expecting, honestly.”

“Jesus, Yeol,” Jongin groans, “What were you expecting?”

“For him to ride me while telling me I'm the only one he wants?” Chanyeol runs a hand through his hair in frustration, “I didn't want him to walk out on me.”

“You're an idiot,” Jongin replies, but he pulls Chanyeol into a hug none the less.

“Young and stupid,” Chanyeol whispers into the crook of Jongin’s neck, “What did I tell you?”

Jongin hums, playing with Chanyeol’s hair in an attempt to calm him down.

“I wonder if he and Baekhyun ever ended up together,” Chanyeol continues, masochistic for even considering the option. The idea of Kyungsoo and Baekhyun together must hurt, but Jongin is shocked by the agony that rips through his chest as he imagines it. Kyungsoo kissing Baekhyun, holding his hand; it's wrong, so wrong, it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth, pulls his lips into a frown. It should be him ---

Jongin finally acknowledges his feelings.

He's fallen for Baekhyun, but it does nothing to ease the guilt. Jongin wants to date the person whose very existence caused his best friend's heartbreak. It's betrayal on the highest level, but the idea of someone else, Kyungsoo--- anyone--- holding Baekhyun’s hand, kissing him, it's too much for Jongin to bear.

“They’re just friends,” Jongin finally manages to reply, “They've always been just friends.”

“I know,” Chanyeol replies solemnly, “I know.”

Jongin untangles himself from Chanyeol’s embrace. Something tells him they're going to need more wine.

“You haven't been around much,” Chanyeol says offhandedly as Jongin refills his mug, “I've missed you.”

There's an underlying question that Jongin refuses to acknowledge.

“I've missed you, too.”

------

It’s one of those days where it’s too hot for a jacket, but still too cold to leave the house without one, just in case.

Jongin brings a jacket. Baekhyun does not. Jongin ends up as Baekhyun’s personal heater as they wander through the streets, playfully bickering about the next stop on their food crawl. They take their time, perusing menus and silently judging the interiors of restaurants as they pass by.

“I want pancakes,” Baekhyun whines, cuddling into Jongin’s side. Their hands are linked, and Baekhyun curls himself around Jongin’s arm, using him for both warmth and as a human windbreak. Jongin’s heart beats in his throat at the proximity.

“We had pancakes last week,” Jongin taps Baekhyun’s nose with his finger. Baekhyun’s face scrunches up as he laughs, sticking his tongue out and tries to lick the palm of Jongin’s hand. He’s been ranting and raving about pancakes for days, after their recent trip to yet another cute cafe with apparently famous pancakes. The reputation is well earnt; the food was utterly delicious, both Jongin and Baekhyun shuffling out the door with full stomachs and syrup smeared faces.

“Okay but,” Baekhyun drags him through a park, abandoned as dusk falls, the few lamps hidden between trees flickering to life as they walk past. It’s probably a shortcut to the place with the famous pancakes, and Baekhyun’s way of convincing him to eat at the same cafe for the second week in a row. He’ll probably emerge from the other side of the park, fake a surprised expression before claiming fate or something equally as ridiculous. Baekhyun’s plans are probably very convoluted, because he hasn’t quite figured out that it’s impossible for Jongin to deny him anything and that he only teases because Baekhyun looks adorable when he pouts, “Cookies and cream pancakes, think about it.”

Baekhyun’s voice drops to a whisper, and suddenly they’re not talking about pancakes. He pauses in front of Jongin, standing impossibly close, unlinking their fingers only to rest both of his hands on Jongin’s shoulders. He’s got a small smile on his face, and he looks beautiful, stunning-- a whole plethora of adjectives that Jongin can interchange at whim-- practically glowing under the streetlights and the soft light of the sunset. They’re completely alone, and Jongin is glad, because he’s the only one who gets to see Baekhyun like this.

Jongin has acknowledged his feelings, but he’s still consumed with guilt. Friendship with Baekhyun? That would hurt Chanyeol, no doubt. But he’d get over it, eventually. Liking Baekhyun, dating him? That’s like rubbing salt into a wound-- it’s an insult to their friendship for Jongin to even consider chasing his happily ever after with Baekhyun and flaunting their relationship in wake of Chanyeol’s failed one is probably the worst thing Jongin could ever do as a best friend.

But, Jongin, decides, he deserves this. He can’t walk on eggshells around Chanyeol forever, can’t deny his own happiness just because Chanyeol bitterly refuses to move on.

He’s plagued by thoughts of Baekhyun, and what it might be like to kiss him. Jongin is nothing if not weak, because Baekhyun licks his lips and all Jongin can think about is what it might be like to lick them for him.

Dropping his hands to Baekhyun’s waist, Jongin leans forward wordlessly, almost on instinct. Baekhyun’s fingers clutch at the fabric of his jacket; Jongin acts first, but Baekhyun is given an inch and takes a mile. Their lips meet halfway, Baekhyun rising to stand on his toes while pulling Jongin forward the rest of the way. They lose their balance slightly, and Jongin tightens his grip on Baekhyun’s hips in an attempt to stay upright.

It’s a clumsy kiss, but once they regain their balance it evens out; their lips meet softly, gently. It’s sweet and almost innocent, shy and cautious; Jongin lets Baekhyun lead, goes with his pace, tries not to be too demanding. But Baekhyun sighs into his mouth and Jongin takes the initiative, tentatively adding a little tongue, trying to ease the kiss into something a little more passionate, romantic.

Jongin slides his hands a little lower on Baekhyun’s hips, almost grasping at his ass but not quite, pulling them closer together as he kisses Baekhyun harder, trying to show that this is okay and that he wants this, God he wants this, probably more than Baekhyun does.

Happy with his non-verbal go ahead, Baekhyun turns downright handsy. Jongin is thankful for the abandoned park and the cover of foliage, as Baekhyun’s hands slide into his hair, pushing their hips together and sucking on his tongue. Jongin isn’t sure where to touch or to hold, the only thing he knows is that it’s not enough, and he wants more

He sucks a mark into the skin of Baekhyun’s neck as the separate for air, hands roaming up his back before down to his ass once more, his firm grip causing Baekhyun to whine loudly, sounds no longer muffled by Jongin’s lips and tongue.

“Wow,” Baekhyun pants, the end of his exclamation extending into a whine as Jongin grinds his crotch against Baekhyun’s. He smirks into Baekhyun’s neck, hands palming his ass through jeans.

“As much as I’m loving this,” Baekhyun takes one of Jongin’s hands and presses it to his crotch. He’s hard, and Jongin takes the invitation to drag his palm across the bulge, “And I mean, I am all about this--”

Jongin cuts him off with another kiss, pressing his hand against Baekhyun’s crotch and swallowing his moans.

“We should stop,” Baekhyun pulls away, but makes no move to detach Jongin’s hand; instead he thrusts into Jongin’s palm, eyes fluttering closed as his hips gently rock, “We’re in public.”

“That’s true,” Jongin replies, leaving one last kiss on Baekhyun’s puffy lips and withdrawing his hand, “I could do that all night, though.”

“Me too,” Baekhyun breathes, “But I’m about ten seconds away from sucking you off in a park, so I feel like we should, I don’t know, wait?”

Jongin chokes.

“So, uh,” It takes Jongin a moment to recover, “Pancakes?”

“Give me a minute to calm down,” Baekhyun gestures towards his crotch, the way his cock strains against his zipper, “Then we can get pancakes.”

“Can we make out more afterward?” Jongin asks, giddy and over excited, eager to have his hands on Baekhyun once more.

“I’d be offended if we didn’t,” Baekhyun smiles, linking hands with Jongin and dragging him in what he assumes to be the direction of the cafe, “But first, pancakes.”

Baekhyun smiles and Jongin returns it. He's overwhelmed, breathless, and completely in love.

Jongin doesn't regret a thing.

------

“When’s your break?” Jongdae all but drapes himself over Jongin’s meticulously clean counter. Sehun tries not to check out Jongdae’s ass as he does so, but fails miserably. Yixing pretends not to notice Sehun attempting to get a look at Jongdae’s butt in tight dress pants, but also fails miserably. Basically, the store is filled with miserable failures and if Jongdae could leave, like, now that would be nice.

“Just finished it,” Jongin mumbles, trying to remove Jongdae from the counter so he can re-clean it.

“Don't let him lie to you,” Minseok, the traitor, decides to inform him, “He's due for lunch in about twenty minutes.”

“What a coincidence,” Jongdae purrs, lips widening into a Cheshire Cat grin. He looks nothing like the swanky, upmarket real estate agent he is and more like the sassy education student he was, “I'm meeting up with someone for lunch, and I bet he'd be happy to see you.”

“Don't let me keep you,” Jongin replies, swatting at Jongdae’s curious hands as they rummage through the bargain bin at the front counter. It’s filled with a variety of multicoloured nail polishes, and Jongdae hums as he inspects each bottle in turn, “I’m sure he doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

Jongin knows who he’s talking about, it’s one of the reasons why he’s so adamant in spending his break in the staff room, and not out in the food court with Jongdae. He knows for a fact that it’s Kyungsoo who sits at a sticky table just outside the pharmacy door, waiting patiently for Jongdae to turn up. Jongin would like his lunch break to be stress and interrogation free; he gets enough of both during his shift, customers always asking if he’s really a pharmacist, and asking to see his graduation certificate. Breaks are supposed to be just that, a break from the things he does during the day. He really, really doesn’t want to deal with Kyungsoo’s death glares. Not just yet.

“He’s fine with waiting for old friends,” Jongdae says softly, “Kyungsoo isn’t the angry little gremlin you’re lead to believe.”

“I wasn’t lead to believe anything,” Jongin hisses. He knows that was a stab at Chanyeol, and he leaps at the chance to defend him. No matter what happens with Baekhyun, Chanyeol is still his oldest, and best friend. He’s loyal to a fault, and won't stand to hear slander about the only constant in his life.

“Chill,” Jongdae raises his hands in surrender, “I didn’t mean to trigger your guard dog mode.”

Somewhere behind him, Sehun snickers. He’s not the only one eavesdropping, judging by the questioning looks Yixing is throwing his way, and the expression on Junmyeon’s face that says I really want to kick this person out of my store, but I’m being physically restrained by Minseok.

“I don’t want to see Kyungsoo,” Jongin says with finality, “I don’t think I’m the one he needs to talk to.”

“Believe me,” Jongdae says with a frown, “I’ve told him that a thousand times.”

There’s silence. Jongin scrubs at the bench with a paper towel to stop his hands from shaking.

“If you meet up with him today, I’ll give him Chanyeol’s phone number,” Jongdae bargains, grasping at Jongin’s wrist to initiate eye contact, “I promise.”

“You have Chanyeol’s phone number?” He questions, falling for Jongdae’s rouse and his subsequent puppy dog eyes.

“Nope,” Jongdae knows he’s won, if the shit eating grin is any indication, “But you do.”

“Goddamn it,” Jongin sighs, admitting defeat, “I only have half an hour, will that be enough time?”

“Plenty,” Jongdae purrs, sliding off the bench and stretching. He looks like some sort of spoiled cat, the way he lounges on furniture and bullies people into giving him his way, “I’ll meet you outside in twenty minutes?”

“Fifteen,” Minseok adds helpfully, pointing to his watch, “Now, please leave. Our head pharmacist is about to have an aneurism.”

“I got it,” Jongdae sways through the store, waving as he goes, “See you soon, Jongin.”

“It’s a long story,” Jongin says as Jongdae leaves, cutting off the curious questions thrown his way by both Sehun and Minseok, “And I really don’t wanna talk about it.”

“And I don’t want you wasting any more time,” Junmyeon tuts, “You’ve got fifteen minutes, please try and do something productive in that time.”

“Yes, sir!” Jongin barks, reaching for the paper towels and disinfectant spray. Usually, his work day drags on like nobody's business. He hopes that the remaining fifteen minutes before his break follow the same pattern, that they feel more like an hour, giving Jongin enough time to prepare himself.

They don’t.

Minseok pats him on the back what feels like seconds later, removing the cleaning products from his hands and passing them to a pouting Sehun.

“Break time,” He grins, pushing Jongin towards the staff computer so he can log his break accordingly, “Have fun!”

Jongin sighs. It’s just lunch, he tells himself. It’s just lunch.

------

People change but Kyungsoo hasn’t. Well, of course he has, he looks older, more mature. He’s got muscles where there used to be none, and his hair is far shorter than Jongin remembers. But his aura is still the same, and he still favours herbal tea over coffee. Jongin sips at his overly complicated, chocolate-filled, triple shot mocha frappe and wonders if Kyungsoo notices the changes in him as they stare at each other across the table.

“Baekhyun likes those, too,” He says softly. It’s the first thing he’s said to Jongin. Not even a greeting, “I see he’s rubbing off on you.”

“You know about us?” Jongin chokes out, surprised. He still hasn’t told Chanyeol about Baekhyun; not a word about their dates, the way he feels, the way Baekhyun pushed him into an alley by the subway station and kissed him breathless before they parted ways, “I didn’t think he told you.”

“Why?” Kyungsoo’s eyebrows furrow in concern, “You haven’t told Chanyeol?”

“No,” Jongin replies. He doesn’t extrapolate on his answer, doesn’t mention the way Chanyeol flinches, eyes dimming just a little bit every time Kyungsoo is mentioned.

“That’s a shame,” Kyungsoo hums, “I think he’d be excited to find out that his master plan worked.”

“Although five years too late,” Jongdae adds. He’s been surprisingly quiet, too absorbed by his green tea latte to add his input to the conversation.

“What are you talking about?” Jongin asks, nervously sipping at his frappe. He’s still got four hours of work, and he’s hoping that the extra shots of coffee give him enough of a boost for the afternoon rush, “What master plan?”

“He wanted to get you and Baekhyun together, back in the day,” Kyungsoo says. He imparts the information like it’s nothing, “He used to plan out double dates for us to go on, kept talking about how cute it would be if my best friend dated his.”

Speaking with Kyungsoo about the past is completely different to his conversations with Chanyeol. Baekhyun has mentioned that Kyungsoo is still hurting, but the way he speaks with fondness, not bitterness, shows Jongin that he’s moved on. His heart aches for Chanyeol, knowing now that there’s no way for them to repair their damaged relationship. It’s a shame, really, because even though they fought constantly, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo made the cutest couple.

“This is news to me,” Jongin says, “Is it news to Baekhyun?”

“He found out last week,” Kyungsoo says quickly, as if reading Jongin’s thoughts. He knows that Jongin feels a little used, doubts swimming in his mind. What if Baekhyun only likes him because of peer pressure, what if--- “So don’t panic.”

“We’re here to do the standard Best Friends thing,” Jongdae drawls, “Hurt him and I’ll have your balls, look after him, make sure your sex life is safe, yet abundant and all that.”

Kyungsoo nods in agreement.

“So you’re okay with this?” Jongin questions, unsurely, “You’re not here to tell me to leave him alone?”

“If we threatened you, would you keep your distance?” Kyungsoo enquires, eyes wide and searching, “Would you break up with Baekhyun?”

“No,” Jongin replies. He and Baekhyun haven’t really discussed their relationship status as of yet, but if Kyungsoo thinks they’re dating it’s because Baekhyun shares the same sentiments. Jongin is more than happy with this turn of events, so he doesn’t argue, “I don’t plan on breaking up with him.”

“Good,” Jongdae hums, finishing the last of his latte, “I’m liking your answers, so far.”

“Don’t make the same mistake I did,” Kyungsoo covers Jongin’s hand with his own. It’s a comforting gesture, friendly, almost brotherly, “Don’t let a good one go.”

“He’s still in love with you,” Jongin blurts out, unable to help himself. Kyungsoo seems remorseful about the breakup, almost as much as Chanyeol. There’s an element of yearning to his voice when he speaks, and if Jongin can do anything to help the situation, he will, “He hasn’t moved on.”

“It’s been years, Jongin,” Kyungsoo sighs, pulling his hand away, “We’re different people now.”

“Better people,” Jongin interjects, “It could work out if you wanted it to.”

“If you say so,” Kyungsoo’s reply is solemn, like he doesn’t believe what Jongin is saying, like he sincerely believes that Jongin is lying to him just to gain his favour. It makes him want to scream, to call Chanyeol and put him on speaker, listen to him proclaim his love again and again through the low-quality speakers.

“You should tell Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo continues, changing the subject, “About you and Baekhyun. He deserves to know.”

“He’s going to react badly,” Jongin sighs, “I’ll get around to it, eventually.”

“I loved, no, I love him,” Kyungsoo says, tone stern. He inhales, exhales, steels himself before he continues, “More than you’d know, and definitely more than he knows.”

“So?” Jongin swallows. He wishes he had the foresight to record the conversation. It’s a terrible invasion of privacy, but he could show Chanyeol, convince him to call the number that Jongdae will inevitably send him, “What’s that got to do with---”

“So,” Kyungsoo continues, “It means I know him better than he knows himself. He’ll be far more offended if don’t tell him.”

“I agree with Kyungsoo,” Jongdae says, “It’ll mean far less secrecy and stress if you tell him now.”

“I’ll tell him about Baekhyun if you tell him you’re still in love with him,” Jongin bargains, desperately hoping that Kyungsoo will agree, “They’re my conditions.”

“Loyal to a fault,” Kyungsoo smiles warmly, “You haven’t changed at all.”

Jongin’s phone chimes with a cheerful tune, it’s the alarm he’s set to make sure he’s back in the store on time. Originally, he set it as an emergency escape mechanism, something to cut off what he thought would be an awkward, confrontational conversation. But now he just curses the alarm, he’d rather be late back from his break than leave in the middle of convincing Kyungsoo to confess, again.

“You better go,” Jongdae says with a smirk, “Wouldn’t want you to be late.”

“I’ll be seeing you, Jongin,” Kyungsoo says.

“Will you?” Jongin replies, packing his things away and finishing the last of his frappe with a slurp.

“I live with Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo laughs, “So yes, I’ll be seeing you.”

“Hopefully not how Baekhyun wants to be seeing you,” Jongdae wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, “If you know what I mean.”

“I know Baekhyun is a little demanding,” Kyungsoo says with a frown, “But I will cut off your dick if you fuck on the couch.”

And there’s the Kyungsoo he remembers. It’s like nothing has changed at all.

Jongin smiles, and waves goodbye as he hurries back into the store, ignoring the imploring glances from his coworkers. He has enough time to send Jongdae a quick text message before his shift, so he taps the words out quickly, shoving his phone back into his locker before sprinting back onto the floor.

To: Jongdae
What’s Kyungsoo’s phone number?

From: Jongdae
Kyungsoo says not to give his details to Chanyeol, but I’m only giving you his number in hopes that you do.

From: Jongdae
[ATTACHED: 1 CONTACT]

------

The first time Jongin visits Kyungsoo and Baekhyun’s joint apartment, Kyungsoo isn’t home.

“He’s at work,” Baekhyun shrugs when Jongin asks. They haven’t discussed the break Jongin spent with both Kyungsoo and Jongdae, but considering the nature of their friendship, Jongin also assumes he doesn’t have to, “Split shift.”

“Ouch,” Jongin mutters, taking a seat on Baekhyun’s couch. It’s the same one they had years ago, and Jongin has a lot of fond memories of it. It’s funny how Kyungsoo warned him off having sex on the couch, when Jongin’s walked in on Kyungsoo and Chanyeol in various states of undress on the very same piece of furniture.

“Why do you think I invited you over?” Baekhyun straddles him, looping his arms around Jongin’s neck and pressing a kiss to Jongin’s jawline, “It's because he's at work.”

“Ah,” Jongin hums, equally in understanding and equally because Baekhyun’s found the sensitive spot just under his ear, and is focusing the attention of his lips and tongue on just the right spot, “I thought it was because you were sick of cake.”

“A little,” Baekhyun admits, voice a little breathy, “Though I did have other plans for us tonight.”

“I hope not,” Jongin runs his hands along Baekhyun’s thighs. He's wearing a pair of tiny shorts, probably for working out, but most likely to sleep in. They're nice and loose, so Jongin’s hands slide under the fabric and along skin with ease, “Because I've got this beautiful boy on my lap, and I kind want to kiss him.”

“Correction,” Baekhyun grips the hair at the back of Jongin’s head, and grinds their crotches together with a slow roll of his hips, “You've got a beautiful boyfriend on your lap.”

“Mmm, true,” Jongin tries to kiss him, but Baekhyun pulls away at the last minute, teasing smile on his lips. Jongin’s hands make their way to Baekhyun’s ass in retaliation, hoping to tease him over the cotton of his underwear. To Jongin’s surprise, he's met with skin, Baekhyun having foregone underwear completely.

“Fuck,” Jongin hisses, he grabs a handful of Baekhyun’s ass, pulling him into a steady rhythm as he rubs their cocks together. If he wasn't hard before he would be now, Baekhyun’s breathy moans as they grind against one another are the hottest thing Jongin’s ever heard.

“My plans for us tonight are up for negotiation,” Baekhyun whispers in Jongin’s ear, before gently nipping at the lobe, “I was planning on riding you, but if you have any other ideas---”

“No,” Jongin cuts him off with a groan, “That sounds perfect.”

“You want me to ride you?” Baekhyun rolls his hips a little harder.

“I mean, it's on my list,” Jongin replies. He slips his hands a little further down, tips of his fingers lightly teasing around Baekhyun’s hole, “I have a lot of things I'd like to do to you, if I'm honest.”

“We'll talk about your list later,” Baekhyun scrambles off him, grabbing Jongin by the hand and dragging them through the apartment, “Because I am very horny right now, and if you mention one of my kinks I may come before you even touch me.”

“Can I eat you out?” Jongin manages to get out before he runs straight into Baekhyun’s stationary form, hand paused mid air right over the handle to what Jongin can only assume to be his bedroom.

“Honestly, I'd be offended if you didn't,” Baekhyun turns his head to kiss Jongin over his shoulder. The angle is a little awkward, and it's less of a kiss than Baekhyun curling his tongue around Jongin’s. It's borderline obscene, but then again, they're going to Baekhyun’s bedroom to have sex. Jongin is almost giddy with excitement, “I have a great ass.”

“Oh, I know,” Jongin replies, groping at Baekhyun’s cheeks over his shorts while sucking marks into his neck, “I've definitely noticed.”

Baekhyun wrenches the door open with almost unnecessary force, pulling Jongin through the threshold before all but throwing him onto the bed. Jongin doesn't have an opportunity to inspect Baekhyun’s room and how he's decorated it, because his lap is once again filled with boyfriend, and his attention is otherwise occupied.

Hands pull at his shirt, and Jongin regretfully detaches his mouth from Baekhyun’s neck so that it can be pulled off and haphazardly thrown to the floor. Baekhyun’s shirt joins his, Jongin barely has his fingertips at the hem before Baekhyun rips it over his head and flings it across the room.

The pace picks up from a slow build to reckless desperation; Baekhyun’s hands are at the button of Jongin’s jeans, whining as Jongin curls a tongue around his nipple and sucks. He's never felt this desperate before, never been so consumed with the urge to touch someone, never been so out of his mind with lust.

“Holy shit,” Baekhyun cries out as Jongin bites down on his nipple. Hard enough to cause a small amount of pain, but still soft enough that it won’t truly hurt, “Please do that again.”

Jongin switches sides, bites down a little harder this time, enjoying the way Baekhyun squirms and pants in his lap.

“Off,” Baekhyun pulls at the waistband of Jongin’s jeans, “Off, off, off.”

Jongin wants to tease him for his desperation, but he feels more or less the same, pulling off his remaining clothes with clumsy hands, watching with a dry mouth as Baekhyun does the same.

Fully naked, Baekhyun settles on top of him again and the pace slows drastically; it's still hot and rushed and desperate, like they can't get enough of each other. And it's true; Jongin doesn't want to stop, doesn't want to take his hands or his mouth off Baekhyun, not even for a moment. But it's far more calculated, controlled. Baekhyun rolls his hips to tease, and Jongin retaliates by biting down on his collarbones.

“Do you want to finger me?” Baekhyun asks as Jongin’s fingers start to tease at his hole, “Or do you want to watch?”

“Both,” Jongin replies. On one hand, he'd love to make Baekhyun come undone on his fingers alone, but Baekhyun’s got pretty hands and they'd look just as pretty stretching Baekhyun open, “Either way I am more than okay with this.”

“You can do it this time,” Baekhyun hands him a bottle of lube. Jongin, too distracted by the idea of his boyfriend fingering himself, hadn't noticed Baekhyun retrieving lube and a condom from the bedside table, “I'll make a show of it for round two.”

“You're already thinking about round two?” Jongin replies, slicking his fingers and pushing one, two inside, “We've barely started round one.”

“Yeah well,” Baekhyun hiccups as Jongin adds a third finger, stretching him out. Baekhyun rocks back on Jongin’s hand, rotating his hips and riding his fingers, “You've got a list, I've got a list. I kinda want to start ticking them off.”

Jongin pushes his fingers into Baekhyun’s prostate at the same time he bites down on his nipple. Baekhyun almost screams, cock twitching against Jongin’s stomach. He'd be almost proud if he wasn't so unbelievably turned on.

“I haven't given you that blowjob I promised,” Baekhyun continues as he catches his breath, “That's pretty high on my list.”

Jongin pulls his fingers free, trying his best not to get distracted by Baekhyun’s tongue as it trails up his neck. He scrambles, sticky fingers, to open the condom wrapper and slides it over his cock. Baekhyun whispers filth in his ear, a combination of confessions and fantasies, things he wants Jongin to do to him with his hands, his tongue, his cock.

“You're perfect,” Is all Jongin can offer in reply, and he knows that his featureless life partner now resembles Baekhyun in every way shape and form, down to the way he smiles with his eyes, his soft laughter, and the way he groans as he sinks down on Jongin’s cock.

Baekhyun rolls his hips almost frantically, the plush cheeks of his ass hitting Jongin’s thighs as he rides him. Jongin digs his fingers into Baekhyun’s thighs, thrusting upwards on occasion, just to hear Baekhyun moan, feel Baekhyun clench around him. Otherwise he's happy to lie back and let Baekhyun do the work; the view is incredible, head thrown back, sweat dripping down the column of his exposed neck and along the marks Jongin has left on his skin.

“Please,” Baekhyun collapses forward, arms braced next to Jongin’s head, he bounces on Jongin’s cock, joining their lips in a desperate, messy kiss, “I need to come.”

Jongin takes the cue to brace his feet on the mattress, pushing his cock deeper and taking control of the pace. He holds Baekhyun by the hip and back, trapping him in place and allowing his cock to rub against their stomachs.

He has a moaning, writhing boyfriend on top of him, babbling nonsense into his ear, begging for release. It doesn't take long for Jongin to come, releasing inside the condom as Baekhyun’s walls clench around him. He's doing it on purpose, prolonging Jongin’s orgasm, making sure he enjoys every minute.

Jongin has no idea what he's done to deserve someone so wonderful, so fantastic; both in bed and out.

He makes sure to show his appreciation with his fingers and tongue, pushing two digits inside Baekhyun once more and swallowing around his cock, bobbing his head and running his fingertips over Baekhyun’s prostate until he comes with a whine, hands clutched tightly in Jongin’s hair.

Jongin makes sure to maintain eye contact with Baekhyun as he swallows, licking his lips and grinning at the look of disbelief on his boyfriend's face.

“That was hot,” Baekhyun doesn't seem to mind the way his come lingers on Jongin’s tongue, not with the way he's kissing him, “You're hot, and I am literally the luckiest person alive right now.”

“I couldn't have said it better myself,” Jongin is winded, exhausted, so he uses the last of his energy to dispose of the condom and pull Baekhyun into his embrace for some much-needed cuddles.

Baekhyun hums sleepily into the crook of his neck, and Jongin finds himself thinking. He's not sure if it's love, not quite yet, but he's scarily close. All he knows is that he doesn't want to let Baekhyun go, at least, not anytime soon.

------

“You look like you've had fun,” Chanyeol says as Jongin walks through the door. He's not wrong, rounds two (and three) were as enjoyable, if not more as the first time. Jongin left Baekhyun’s apartment, not because he wanted to, but because they both have work in the morning.

“Yeah, you could say that,” Jongin replies. He knows Chanyeol is talking about the very obvious set of hickies on his neck. He knows they're about to have a serious conversation.

“You never told me you're seeing someone,” Chanyeol sounds almost hurt. Almost. His tone is mostly accusing, however. Jongin suddenly wants to be alone, in his room.

“Yeah, it's a pretty recent development,” Jongin tries to skirt around the topic, “Sorry it never came up.”

“You and Baekhyun have been in development for years,” Chanyeol says, and Jongin is shocked still, “So miss me with this recent development bullshit.”

“How did you---”

“You mentioned him a while ago,” Chanyeol says, beginning to tick reasons off on his fingers, “Then you started to spend less time at home, without telling me why.”

“Chanyeol,” Jongin starts.

“I originally thought it was Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol continues, “Because you got so guilty every time he was brought up.”

“I'd never do that to you,” Jongin says, truthfully. He's never been interested in Kyungsoo, never thought of him as anything other than a friend, as Chanyeol’s boyfriend, “C’mon ‘Yeol, you know that.”

“I know,” Chanyeol’s eyes soften slightly, but he's still so angry, betrayed, “And Jongdae is straight. So it couldn't be him.”

“I have met up with both Jongdae and Kyungsoo,” Jongin admits. Chanyeol flinches, “But you're right. I'm dating Baekhyun.”

“So, you've picked a side, then?” Chanyeol sneers.

“No,” Jongin says, adamantly. He walks towards where Chanyeol is seated on the couch, willing him to look at Jongin, “I'm on your side, I just--- I just happened to fall for your ex-boyfriend’s best friend.”

“I know it's not your intention,” Chanyeol says calmly, “But I feel like you're rubbing this in my face.”

“What?” Jongin asks in surprise. He's kept his feelings a secret, denying them even to himself, just to save Chanyeol’s feelings.

“It's not--” Chanyeol runs his hand through his hair, “Just, any relationship you have feels like you're rubbing it in my face.”

“What?” Jongin repeats, again.

“Like, you're smart and hot and everyone you date is head over heels for you,” Chanyeol says sadly, “And I'm just the fuckup who couldn't make the love of his life stay.”

“My relationships have nothing to do with you,” Jongin hisses, “I'm not dating Baekhyun to rub it in your face, I'm dating him because I want to.”

“I know,” Chanyeol says, “It's just---”

“Not everything is about you,” Jongin says, and Chanyeol visibly shrinks back in shock, “I finally found someone I want to be with for a long time, maybe forever.”

“Jesus, Jongin, that's---”

“A little soon?” Jongin finishes for him, “You were the one telling me that our relationship has been a long time coming.”

“I'm sorry,” Chanyeol says, “I'm happy for you, really.”

“Are you?” Jongin questions, “Because the way you were accusing me earlier---”

“Can we stop fighting?” Chanyeol looks so small like this, so helpless and defeated, “I lost Kyungsoo, and I don't want to lose you, too.”

Jongin almost berates Chanyeol for bringing up Kyungsoo, for turning the conversation back to him. But Chanyeol is his best friend, and attacking his insecurities like that would be the absolute worst thing for him to do.

“I'm not going anywhere,” Jongin soothes, “I'm gonna be the best man at your wedding, remember?”

“I hate to sound like a broken record,” Chanyeol says, “But Kyungsoo--”

“Kyungsoo what?” Jongin prompts with a smile.

“Kyungsoo said something, didn't he?” Chanyeol’s face is buried in Jongin’s neck, but he can still feel him smiling.

“Kyungsok said a lot of things,” Jongin replies, trying to sound mysterious. He's not sure how well he manages, but he's tried his best. He leaves it at that, because Kyungsoo’s secrets aren't his to tell, “Maybe you should ask him about it?”

“You've got his number, don't you?” Chanyeol replies with a groan, “You've totally got his number.”

“I do,” Jongin grins. He's saved the contact into his phone, with a few messages exchanged here and there, “You want it?”

“Yes,” Chanyeol says. Jongin shouldn't have bothered asking, “As long as he's okay with it.”

“I wouldn’t offer if he wasn’t” Jongin shrugs. Chanyeol remains silent.

“I mean it, you know,” Chanyeol says after a moment, “About you and Baekhyun. I’m happy for you.”

“Me too,” Jongin replies, “I’m really happy.”

It’s too early to assume, but Jongin thinks he’s going to be happy for a really long time.

------

“I lied, I’m not ready,” Chanyeol says, turning tail and walking in the opposite direction. He’s caught by Sehun and Yixing, who have joined for moral support. Mostly for Jongin’s sake. He loves Chanyeol like a brother, but his stressing is a lot easier to handle when there’s more people to share the burden. It’s the first time that both Sehun and Yixing have met Jongin’s housemate, but they have enough backstory to understand why it’s Such a Big Deal for him to be here.

Here, of course being Baekhyun and Kyungsoo’s shared apartment. They’re having a little get-together, organized by Jongin and Baekhyun, as a thinly veiled attempt to have Kyungsoo and Chanyeol meet face to face for the first time in nearly six years.

They’ve been texting for months, and it’s gone well enough that they’re Facebook friends once again, with Kyungsoo thirst liking nearly every selfie Chanyeol posts.

“You’re ready,” Jongin assures him, raising a hand and knocking on the front door. He doesn’t need to-- Baekhyun had a key cut for him after only a month of dating-- but he figures the few moments between the knock and subsequent answering of the door might be enough for Chanyeol to calm down and stop hyperventilating.

“He looks like he’s about to pass out,” Sehun notes, jerking his head in Chanyeol’s direction.

“I am about to pass out,” Chanyeol hisses, pressing the palm of his hand to his forehead, “I’m coming down with something, I better head---”

“Long time no see,” Jongdae answers the door. He sees Sehun and Yixing and raises his eyebrows in interest. Jongin still isn’t sure what’s going on between the two of them, but Yixing takes one look at Jongdae before stepping closer to Sehun, almost possessively. Interesting, “You brought your co-workers?”

“Moral support,” Sehun supplies, pushing past Jongdae and into the threshold, “Jongin can’t carry the giant man baby on his own.”

“I resent that,” Chanyeol sniffs, following after.

“Same,” Jongin says, utterly offended by how blasé Sehun has gotten with his insults, “Honestly, I invite you somewhere and you repay me by teasing?”

“It’s Sehun,” Yixing deadpans, following through as well, “He teases to show he cares.”

“He doesn’t tease you,” Jongin retorts. He can hear Baekhyun’s chattering from the living room, and his heart swells in affection.

“He does,” Yixing replies with a wink, “Just not in the same way he teases you.”

That’s all the confirmation Jongin needs. He processes the information for a moment, face twisting in disgust. He loves Sehun, he really does, but he hasn’t reached Chanyeol levels of friendship, and therefore Jongin wants to know absolutely nothing about his sex life. Actually, he doesn’t want to know about Chanyeol’s sex life, either, but they’ve been friends long enough that he can let it slide.

“Gross,” Jongin mumbles, ignoring Yixing’s stifled laughter.

Chanyeol tries to escape through the open door, but Jongin catches him just in time, pulling him back by the hem of his hoodie, but making sure he doesn't lose his balance and fall. If nothing, Jongin is a good friend. The best. Chanyeol doesn't deserve him.

“Don't make him wait,” Jongin whispers, “He's just as nervous as you are.”

Chanyeol nods, before clumsily removing his shoes and making his way towards the growing noise of the living room.

Jongin takes a moment to stop and collect his thoughts; it's funny how everything has reverted back to how they used to be--- everyone spending their days off at Kyungsoo and Baekhyun’s apartment, Jongin having to pep talk Chanyeol into a failed attempt at flirting.

Baekhyun’s still filling the house with the scent of aromatherapy oils, something rose based, but Jongin’s never been good at identifying smells.

It's romance, the same scent Baekhyun used in the facial that started it all; he's probably trying to set the mood, give Kyungsoo and Chanyeol a little push in the right direction.

After all, it worked for them, why can't it work for two people already head over heels for one another?

“Hey,” Baekhyun has snuck out of the living room to find him, he looks as beautiful as always, a whole plethora of adjectives that Jongin can interchange at whim, for the rest of his life, maybe. If only Baekhyun will let him.

“Hey yourself,” Jongin kisses him, soft and tender like he always does. Baekhyun’s hands wind up in his hair, and he knows he's going to join the others with a seriously disheveled appearance. But that's okay, because Baekhyun’s in a similar state, and there's absolutely no question what they do away from prying eyes.

“You ready?” Baekhyun asks, like it's Jongin’s big moment and not Chanyeol's.

“Yeah,” Baekhyun could mean anything by that and Jongin’s answer would remain the same. It's hard for him to say no, especially to the man he loves.

He'll tell Baekhyun one day, bare his soul and brace for consequences. He'll probably receive a smile in return, soft and small, a secret just between them. Baekhyun will probably reply with an I know , followed by a gentle kiss that affirms he feels the same.

But that's a confession for another time.

Jongin links his hand with Baekhyun’s, and together they walk into the living room and are met with cheers; wolf whistles and loud hooting. Baekhyun flushes bright red.

Only, it's not their relationship being cheered, Jongin notices, watching with a smile as Kyungsoo pulls a very shocked, yet very pleased Chanyeol into another kiss.

It's just like old times.

People change, but on some intrinsic level, they remain the same. It's been so many years, and yet, the whole scene is so familiar, nostalgic. Sure, some people have come and gone; Yixing and Sehun sitting now where old friends once were, and Kyungsoo’s new apartment is far nicer than his old one. But he still blushes when he realises he's shown affection in public.

Baekhyun squeezes his hand, turning his attention away from Kyungsoo and Chanyeol’s rather enthusiastic reunion.

“I have a secret to tell you,” He says, standing on his toes to whisper in Jongin’s ear.

“Mmm?” Jongin hums in reply, prompting Baekhyun to continue.

“I think I'm in love with you,” He says simply, kissing Jongin on the cheek like his admission was nothing.

“Is that so?” Jongin replies, catching Baekhyun’s chin with his fingertips, tilting his face back towards him.

“Yep,” Baekhyun says against his lips.

“What a coincidence,” Jongin kisses him again, a little harder this time, right in front of their friends. A second round of wolf whistles rings out, and Jongin is sure that Chanyeol yells for them to get a room, but Jongin hardly notices, “I think I'm in love with you, too.”

Baekhyun smiles.

People don't really change. Jongin’s hoping that Baekhyun stays the same; constant, stable and hopelessly in love with Jongin, for a long time.

Hopefully forever.