Kaisoo One Shots

so tell me (your story)

Author: prettyseoul

Stay away from Kim Jongin, they said.

In the small town Kyungsoo lived in with a population of just over four thousand, it was impossible for everyone not to know everybody else. And everyone knew who Jongin was, especially the students in the local high school. No matter what you thought of him, it was widely acknowledged that he was nothing but trouble.

They met in kindergarten, and Kyungsoo first became aware of the younger boy when he stole Kyungsoo's blue crayon and wouldn't give it back despite the wide-eyed boy's protests that he needed it for the sky. Sick of Kyungsoo's whining, Kim Jongin had merely snapped the wax crayon between his small chubby fists, resulting in Kyungsoo howling loudly for the rest of the day. Jongin had called him a baby, pushed him (harder than he had intended, actually, making Kyungsoo fall) and stomped away.

Kyungsoo had disliked Jongin ever since.

Most people had their personal ill feelings towards him, too. Jongin was rude, blunt, swore loudly and smoked constantly. It drove Kyungsoo nuts to walk out of school every day and see Jongin sitting up on the high wall by the gates, cigarette dangling between his fingers as he ignored the other students' dirty looks. Kyungsoo figured Jongin was too used to it by now in his eighteen years of life, although the boy still occasionally verbally threatened to gouge people's eyes out whenever they looked too long.

More than the irritation Kyungsoo felt, there was always that underlying sense of curiosity whenever he thought about Kim Jongin. The other boy could be successful, if he tried. He was smart, Kyungsoo deciphered that much. He remembered one semester last year where Jongin had received almost full marks on the end of year exam and one kind teacher had praised him in front of the class. Kim Joonmyun had meant well, apparently trying to encourage Jongin to continue to perform highly, but Kyungsoo distinctly remembered Jongin looking furious at the positive scrutiny. The next time they'd had an exam, Jongin had ended up barely passing, much to Joonmyun's disappointment and Jongin's evident satisfaction.

He was also good looking, Kyungsoo had to confess. All the girls practically swooned over him and his bad boy demeanor, his dark eyes and razor sharp jaw line. His hair was a perpetually disheveled mess, due to the habit he had of running his fingers through it over and over absent mindedly (not that Kyungsoo found himself watching sometimes).

Kyungsoo and Jongin barely spoke. Hardly ever, actually. The last time they had exchanged words was when Kyungsoo accidentally bumped into him in the school hallway, and Jongin had gave him a sharp look and muttered a sharp "Watch it".

Their relationship had always been nearly non-existent, until last summer.

Kyungsoo found himself in the public library one afternoon. It was bigger than the one at school, and Kyungsoo had a huge penchant for reading. He usually favored classics, but today he ventured closer towards the Mystery section, relishing in the utter quiet of the place.

What he didn't expect to find was someone else sat down between the bookshelves, back resting against a row of murder novels with a heavy book in their hands. Kyungsoo's mouth dropped open when he recognized the annoyingly handsome side profile almost instantly.

Kim Jongin was sitting there, legs stretched out in front of him, forehead furrowed slightly in concentration as his eyes skimmed back and forth across the pages. He didn't even notice Kyungsoo silently standing just a few feet away, quietly observing him in utter shock. Kyungsoo only snapped out of his mini-stupor when a few strands of Jongin's hair fell in front of his eyes and he blew it up impatiently through the corner of his mouth, looking irritated. He glanced up - and made eye contact with Kyungsoo, who instantly jumped like he'd been shot.