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jinkisbelly · 4 years

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Home - 10/?

Jongyu, omegaverse, mpreg, angst-ish, rated m, w/c: 2.8ish k,

Summary: Jonghyun is Jinki’s home. Problem is, Jonghyun doesn’t remember that Jinki is also his anymore.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

Ao3 AFF

Adjusting the sling on his shoulder, Jinki winces as it jostles his arm. Taking a deep breath, the pain subsides, and he manages to toss a blanket over his shoulders before going to find his mate. He finds Jonghyun sitting on the porch, wrapped up a thick quilt his father had sent him a few months prior, a mug steaming in his hands. When the hinges of the front door gently squeak, Jinki is met with a warm smile as soon as his feet touch the porch. “Good morning, Beautiful.”

“Hey,” Jonghyun grins as a kiss is pressed to his cheek. His head is resting against the back of his rocking chair, eyes on Jinki as he takes a seat beside him. “How are you feeling?”

“Cold.” He gripped the edges of his blanket with his left hand, shivering slightly with the brisk wind blowing through the early morning. “I missed you this morning.”

As soon as his mug is placed on the table to his left, both of his hands are moving over his stomach, a little smile on his lips. “They were restless and I couldn’t find sleep. I didn’t want to keep you up.”

“I wouldn’t have minded.” The air is still cold as he moves his left arm from the warmth of his blanket to place his hand over Jonghyun’s. “They’ll be keeping us both up from sleep here soon anyway.”

It still amazes Jinki completely when he feels a foot or hand, their children’s movements captivating him entirely. “Hopefully real soon. I can’t wait to meet them.”

Again, for nowhere near the first time, Jinki pictures Jonghyun holding their child, now children. The image brings warmth into his chest and limbs, where there shouldn’t be in the temperature of the day. He wonders what they’ll look like if they’ll have Jonghyun’s eyes or his temperament. Will they love the winter like their carrier, or enjoy the summer like their sire? Before his mind can spiral into more worrying and darker thoughts, he focuses on Jonghyun curling their fingers together. “Let’s head inside. I have something for you.”

“Oh?”

------

Jonghyun the further along in his pregnancy had started making small nests, but with how close he was getting to deliver he focused on the one in their bedroom. It was the place he felt the safest, in a room that smelled so much like both of them. Jinki’s scent still did wonders to comfort him and ease some of the distress of the whole pregnancy experience. Even though they both knew Jinki was more than welcome in it, for one it is their bed, and two he was his alpha, the man still always asked before entering. Which was why when Jonghyun returned from getting the gift he had hidden in the spare bedroom attached to the boys’ nursery, Jinki was still standing by the edge of the bed, fiddling with the wood of the footboard.

He softly sighed, a fond smile forming on his lips as he gazed at his mate, “What are you doing?”

“Waiting?”

“You can go into my nest.”

Jinki rocked on his feet for a moment, left hand coming up to scratch the back of his neck. “I didn’t want to assume.”

“You’re adorable.” Approaching him, Jonghyun pressed a kiss to his cheek. Then he pushed his gift into the man’s hand. “Happy birthday, Babe.”

It was only a small thing, wrapped up in brown paper Minho had picked up from the store on the main street for him a few weeks prior, but Jinki was staring at it as he had never seen anything like it. When he speaks again, his eyes are still on the gift and his voice is barely a whisper. “I didn’t think you’d remember. Did Minho tell you?”

“No. He didn’t.” He slowly shuffled to the bed, climbing into the warm safety of the pillows and settling against them. He sighed with the tension in his lower back receding, smiling when Jinki’s eyes finally met his. “I’ve been remembering little things. Minho just… reaffirmed what I thought.”

The present still isn’t opened as Jinki gently sits on the edge of the bed. It’s placed beside him, his fingertips brushing the smooth surface of the wrapper. The cool light from the window across the way gives contrast to his profile, the curve of his nose and lips, the furrow of his brow. “What else... What else have you remembered?”

“Little things. Your birthday, the first night you cooked for me. The snow angels we made in the middle of the night that made us get grounded because we snuck out.” He wishes he could remember everything, wishes he could feel Jinki through the bond he knows the man still reaches for out of instinct. “It’s never fully clear, things are blurry around the edges, but when I’m confused Minho helps me with big things. Like confirming your birthday, or talking about how moody I was those weeks we were grounded and I couldn’t see you.”

“I see.” Came the reply, soft as a breath across his lips.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.” Jinki shakes his head, even as he takes a ragged breath. He flashes a smile and pulls the tie on the gift. “Let’s see what ya got me.”

He waits until Jinki has the gift unwrapped, the knitted fingertip-less gloves resting on the brown paper of the wrapping, before he softly asks, “Babe, what’s wrong?”

Jinki wiggles his left hand into one of the gloves, flexing his fingers to see how it fits. He mumbles his thanks before standing and carrying the gloves over onto the dresser. It’s there by the window he stands for a long moment, back toward the bed and Jonghyun, head downcast. “Most of the time it’s alright, you know? I can love you and be excited for our children and I don’t even think about the vacant void of our bond in the back of my head. I just- it hits me sometimes that I used to be able to feel you across the entire pack and now I can’t even feel you across the room. I miss it and I’m so sorry that I do. I don’t want you to feel bad.”

They had made so much important growth to get where they were, but Jonghyun knew when Jinki was reminded things weren’t the way they were supposed to be. When the man would rush through the front door, half ajar just to get to him to remind himself he was there because he couldn’t feel how he was. The times when he woke up from nightmares, the way he avoided leaving Jonghyun home alone with a fire going, and how he would hold him just a little tighter as they sat in their living room by the fireplace to keep warm. “Please c’mere.”

“It’s alright. I’m alright.”

“Jinki.”

Eventually, the man turned and took a few steps to climb into the bed. He almost immediately shifted over to have his nose in Jonghyun’s neck, left hand curled between them so the back of his fingers rubbed against their cubs. “I’m sorry.”

“I want you to tell me when you feel like this, even when you’re worried I’ll feel bad. You don’t have to go through it alone.” He pressed a kiss to Jinki’s hair, closing his eyes and letting himself be comforted by the man’s scent. “You’re always worried about how I feel or will. You matter too and I know this is just as difficult for you. I love you. I don’t want you keeping this all in, alright?”

“I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask.”

-----

In a week, he was able to remove his sling and use his arm for more things around the house. As long as he didn’t raise it higher than his shoulder, most things were fair game. Jinki looked up from the peppers he was chopping when he heard voices coming closer. Jonghyun was laying on the couch, a moment ago complaining about kicking and how ‘you’re never getting me pregnant again’, so Jinki figured the voices belonged to Changmin and Minho even before the two men stepped through the doorway. Minho was in his official uniform as an advisor to the chief, his bag thrown over his shoulder, and in his hands were cream pieces of folded parchment that Jinki could only guess were letters. Since moving into the house officially, Jonghyun asked if they could have Sunday dinner instead of Minho and Changmin. “You two are here early.”

Changmin stepped into the kitchen, quickly washing his hands in the nearby bowl and tying an apron around his waist. As he picked up a knife and assisted in cutting the next vegetable, he hummed. “We received a letter from their father today. Minho couldn’t wait to bring it over.”

“Oh, is it about his retirement?” Changmin softly nodded, sliding the carrots into the bowl. “So he’ll be returning soon. Jonghyun needs a bit of good news.”

-----

Jonghyun barely shifted his head to look at the two men as they entered. He focused on Minho walking towards him with a frown. “If you expect me to sit up, you’re going to have to help.”

“That depends if you can read lying down.”

“Just help me up.” Minho curled his hand around Jonghyun’s wrist, chuckles leaving his lips until the smaller man glared with a hissed, “Don’t you laugh at me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I am SO glad this is amusing for you. I’ll keep that in mind when you’re carrying.” Jonghyun took a deep breath, eyes closed as his hands fell to the bottom of his belly, resting up against the couch cushion before he slowly moved his head to look at Minho. “So, why are you two here so early?”

“Dad sent a letter saying his term up north is complete.”

“That’s great!” Noticing Minho’s expression, Jonghyun sighed as his smile fell. He rubbed his hands over the curve of his belly before resting them under, frowning as he asked, “Why is that not great, Ming?”

“There have been reported robberies between the Northern Tribe and ours. He’s asking for a protective escort.” Minho laid the letter on the couch between them, letting Jonghyun reach over for it to read it when he was ready. “I asked the Chief, but he refused to order people to act as an escort, not in this weather. Only volunteers are allowed and I’ve decided to go.”

-----

Changmin nudging him on his side makes Jinki look up from the rice he’s preparing. In a daze, he finds Minho standing by the counter and follows his head movement toward the living room. “I think I stressed him out.”

“What do you mean?” Jinki placed the tweed bag of rice on the counter and wiped his hands on his apron. He could see the top of Jonghyun’s head against the back of the couch, his arm tossed over his eyes and hand resting on the top cushion. Before Minho could respond, Jinki left the kitchen with a huff. The further along the pregnancy got, the more uncomfortable Jonghyun understandably became. Sitting down carefully, his heart ached a little with how quickly Jonghyun fell against his side. “Hey, Baby what’s wrong?”

“My Dad is coming home, but the chief won’t order a protective escort with the freezing weather. Minho decided to go.” It’s then Jonghyun lifts his gaze to look at him. “And I have a feeling you’ll volunteer to go too.”

“I couldn’t just let Minho and your father brave the cold and the possible bandits alone, Baby.”

“You still can’t shoot a bow. What if you’re attacked and you can’t protect them like you normally would?” Jonghyun takes a deep breath, even as his hands begin to shake. “And if you’re gone and you miss the birth of our cubs? I can’t do this alone Jinki.”

“Oh, shhh.” Jinki pressed his lips against Jonghyun’s forehead, doing his best to get as close to him as he could. “Breathe, Baby. No matter what happens I will be there when you give birth. I wouldn’t miss that.”

“If you leave you can’t control that.”

“Can I read the letter?” Jonghyun untangled his arm to reach over to where the letter had fallen on the couch, handing it over. Jinki rested his head against Jonghyun’s, gently rocking them as he followed the neat words of his father in law. Once finished, he laid it folded up beside his right thigh. “Is the only reason you don’t want me to go is the fear of me missing the birth?”

“I don’t want you doing something stupidly heroic while you’re injured as well. You know you aren’t fully recovered yet.”

“The last doctor's appointment estimated you’d go at the eight-month mark or close to it. I have a little time to go get your father and return. It’s only a four-day trip altogether.” He lifted his head to run his hand over Jonghyun’s belly, to feel their cubs moving within. “I have faith they’ll wait until I return.”

“Do you promise to not doing anything stupid?”

“I don’t-” He pressed his lips together after noticing the look on his mate’s face. “Alright, I promise.”

“And do you promise to go there and come right back?”

“Will spend just enough time in the tribe to toss your Dad on a horse. Scout’s honor.”

“You better return or so help me.” He waggled his finger up at Jinki, trying his best to look menacing even though he knew it was pointless. “If you make me do this alone-”

Jinki deeply kissed him, smiling as Jonghyun returned the gesture quickly. Kissing him again after parting for a moment for a quick breath. He only stopped once he could feel the tension leave Jonghyun’s body, pulling away to press a kiss to his forehead. “I love you. I know you’ll worry less about your Brother and Dad if I’m with them. Even without my ability to shoot a bow, I’m better than both of them combined. Have faith in me, please.”

-----

Jinki coming through the barracks doors wasn’t something Kibum expected for at least another week. While his shoulder was getting better, it couldn’t handle the tension of holding a bow out just yet. That paired with how close Jonghyun was to the expected due date, Kibum had accepted his fate of having someone other than his best friend as his partner. He raised his eyebrows as Jinki approached, the basket in his hands very suspicious. “What are you doing here?”

“I got muffins for you.”

“Muffins.” He repeated in a deadpanned voice.

“Jonghyun and I made them last night.” Sure enough, as the cloth was removed three large muffins sat at the bottom of the basket. From the looks of things, there was some type of fruit speckled over the golden-brown tops. “Also, can’t I just want to see my best friend?”

The smile on the older man’s face made Kibum narrow his eyes. “What’s wrong and what do you need me to do?”

Jinki huffed, placing the basket on the bench between them. “My father in law is due to return from his post, but with the bandits along the road, the chief has stated he won’t order anyone to risk their life. I volunteered to go with Minho and Changmin to escort him back. You know how Changmin is.”

“I do. I was the unfortunate person who was in charge of his mandatory service training.” He laid his bow behind him against his cubby, sighing quietly as he noticed how tense Jinki’s shoulders were. “What’s wrong?”

“I need someone I trust to look after Jonghyun while I’m gone. I know he’s capable of taking care of himself, but he’s very close to his due date and if something were to happen I don’t want him alone. The last time I left him alone the fire happened.” Jinki’s eyes lowered for just a moment before he met Kibum’s gaze once again. “Could you look after him for me until I get back?”

“Of course. I’d have done it without the bribery muffins too.”

Jinki’s ears turn red, his hand coming up to push his fingers through his hair. “Thank you. I’m leaving in two days, in the morning. Should only take four to return.”

“Just come back safely, you nitwit.”

------

#jongyu #onjong #shinee #jonghyun #onew #my fic #home au

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onewfantaesy · 4 years

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Monsters in the Dark (Part 4)

(tw: ed)

They want everyone to go swimming. The kiddies are especially excited, Baekhyun and Jongin seem perfectly happy with it, but Taemin’s heart starts racing at the idea of wearing nothing but swim trunks.

Plus, Taemin’s cold. He’s cold as fuck and no he doesn’t want to go into the swimming pool that’s not heated very much and he doesn’t care if it’s warmer than Los Angeles’ usual October weather. The tips of toes are numb and his fingernails are tinted blue, he doesn’t want to go fucking swimming, he wants to stay in his sweatpants and sweatshirt and sit in the sun.

So Taemin uses the excuse of, “I didn’t bring any swim trunks.”

“I have an extra pair,” Ten says, smiling. Taemin feels his whole body tense.

“They won’t fit,” he tries to reason.

“Just pull the drawstrings really tight!”

That wasn’t the kind of not fitting Taemin meant. But it’s already been decided, Ten is going to let Taemin borrow his extra swim trunks, and Taemin is going to be forced to go swimming. So he sits on his bed, staring at the offending swimwear that he’s so sure won’t pull up past his thighs because God, he’s gotten so fat, and Ten is so tiny, and there’s no way in hell those are going to fit on Taemin’s fat ass.

But he already hears the rest of the them splashing in the pool right outside his room. Can hear them shouting for him to hurry up, so he just shoves off his pants and pulls the trunks over his hips.

They’re too big. They’re falling down, and no matter how tight he ties the drawstring, they’re slipping down his hips.

They must be an enormous size, the voice tells him. You know you’d never fit in Ten’s clothes.

“You’re right,” Taemin whispers to the voice.

And look at your legs, the voice sounds so appalled. Disgusting.

They’re littered with a variety of bruises, some a fading yellow, some bright blue, some green, some a reddish-brown. It is disgusting. It’s horrifying. His knees look especially banged up, not to mention how fat his thighs are.

And your ginormous belly, the voice gasps.

He bites his lip so hard and pokes at his stomach and he can’t handle it. He puts a shirt back on and grabs a big towel and goes back out to sit on a chair, his legs crossed, the towel draped over him.

“Don’t you want to come in?”

Taemin shakes his head at Baekhyun, trying to keep a smile on his face.

“It’s too cold,” he says quietly.

They all look like him like he’s grown a second head again. He’s been getting that look a lot. It makes him miss SHINee; they never looked at him like he was psychotic, no matter how strange they thought he was being.

That makes his mind drift, makes him think of his members, makes him tune out what everyone else is saying. He misses them so much. He doesn’t want to be here, not really. He wants to be back at home, he wants to be with his members, he wants to tell them why he feels like such a psycho lately and he wants them to help him and he wants them to tell him everything will be okay. It makes his chest seize, and he has to consciously suppress the desire to just start crying.

Then he’s being lifted from the chair and his towel is falling and Lucas and Taeyong are lifting hin up to toss him in the pool.

“Hey hey hey!” Taemin shrieks, trying to wriggle away. “Put me down!”

Everyone is laughing, everyone, and Taemin feels like he can’t breathe.

They gonna tell everyone how heavy you are, the voice laughs. This is why you have to start fasting again.

Taemin is tossed into the water, and he stays submerged with his eyes squeezed shut. He’s panicking, he’s panicking, he can’t remember what he’s supposed to do, he can’t remember what was going on, why would they toss him in, what happened?

They were laughing at how fat you are, the voice tells him. They’ll laugh again when you come back up.

For a moment, he contemplates not rising to the surface. He contemplates taking a breath of pool water and just being done with it.

Do it, the voice eggs him on, sounding very nonchalant. No one will miss you anyway.

But then hands are under his armpits and he’s pulled above the water, and he gasps for air when he realizes how much his lungs burned. He’s wiping the water away from his eyes, the chlorine and pool water burning his contacts, and an arm wraps around his chest and doesn’t let go.

“What happened?” Jongin asks from behind him, sounding winded.

Everyone is deadly quiet. No one is splashing. All Taemin can hear are the gasps from his own mouth.

“Nothing,” he chokes. “Nothing, I’m fine.”

“Did you forget how to swim or something?” Baekhyun asks, and Taemin can hear how he’s trying to make a joke of it, trying to lighten the mood.

“I’m fine,” he insists. He feels Jongin’s arm tighten around him.

Jongin pulls him through the water gently, sitting on a pool step with him while the others slowly go back to goofing around. Taemin is shaking and shivering and the skin exposed to the air is chilling quickly.

“I’m just cold,” Taemin says lamely.

“Dude, it’s hot out,” Jongin says carefully. “Are you sure you’re not sick or something?”

“I’m just cold,” Taemin repeats.

He gets out of the water to go back to sitting on his chair, wrapping his towel tightly around him and lying down. He stares off into the distance, his hair dripping around his face. He’s curled up so tight, making sure the towel covers everything it can, and he tries to ignore thenway his body is shaking.

“Hey,” Jongin says softly, and Taemin can hear his wet feet on the ground walking over to him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Taemin?”

Jongin is sitting on the floor next to his chair, making them eye level with each other. His fingers are playing through Taemin’s hair, brushing the wet bangs from his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Jongin repeats.

Taemin sucks in a shuddering breath, and he makes sure his gaze stays just beyond Jongin’s shoulder.

“Miss Jinki,” Taemin says, his voice shaking almost as much as his body. Then he sits up, suddenly very determined. “Gonna call him.”

“Taemin - I don’t - what time is it at home?” Jongin calls after him, but Taemin is already going back inside his bedroom.

Taemin ends up leaving what is probably a very concerning voicemail on Jinki’s phone. Then on Kibum’s. And on Minho’s. He’s gasping and he’s still dripping wet and his contacts are still stinging his eyes, but he just wants to talk to them. Wants to hear their voices.

“I don’t know why I’m doing this,” he admits to all three of them, his voice straining. “I just - I can’t - I’m so tired. I’ve never felt so tired before. I miss you.”

He has a panic attack in the middle of the voicemail he leaves Kibum, his breath coming in little gasps, his whole world spinning, his chest tightening.

“Please call me,” he begs after the panic subsides. “When you can. Please? I’m sorry. I’m sorry, they threw me in the pool - and - why would they - I’m sorry, I’m sorry, bye. I miss you. Call me later please. Bye.”

He has no idea what time it is at home. He doesn’t even know what time it is here. Doesn’t know the day, barely knows the month.

Kibum is the one who calls him back first. He sounds beyond worried, he sounds like he wants to get on the next flight to LA and come rescue him and hold him and tell him everything will be okay.

“I miss you too,” Kibum tells him gently. “It will be okay. Everything will be okay, I promise. tell me what happened, what got you so upset. They threw you in a pool?”

“Yeah,” he whispers, laying on the floor of his room, the towel still wrapped around him. “I didn’t want to swim, I didn’t - I didn’t-”

“It’s okay,” Kibum encourages, “you can tell me.”

“I didn’t want to come back up.”

He hears Kibum’s breath hitch. Hears the way he takes in a shaking breath. Can almost hear the gears in Kibum’s brain scraping together.

“Do you want me to call someone?” Kibum asks, his voice uneven. Heavy. “A manager? Who’s there with you?”

“I’m just tired.”

“Taemin.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. I’m just tired.”

“Taemin,” Kibum says, sounding a bit unsure. “Have you eaten anything today?”

Taemin’s brain feels like it’s fogged over. He can’t remember. Did he eat anything? What time is it anyway?

“Coffee,” Taemin says.

“Can you do me a favor? Taeminnie?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Can you eat something for me?” Kibum asks. “Can you go get in-n-out for me? Take a picture and everything? You know I love in-n-out.”

Taemin can’t find any words.

“You know Minho and Jinki would want it too. Remember how all five of us would go get it? You should send it in our group chat, I think it would make everyone happy. And a nice picture of you eating it, too.”

Kibum is laughing at the last part. It makes Taemin nervous, makes him wonder just how much Kibum knows about him.

“What should I get?” Taemin asks, his voice shaking. “I can’t remember.”

“Just a cheeseburger,” Kibum says offhandedly. “Get the grilled onions. And some fries. Maybe animal fries, if you think you can keep it down. I know traveling that far makes your stomach upset.”

How many times has Taemin used that lie as an excuse?

“I’ll get animal fries,” Taemin insists. “I’ll keep it down. Promise.”

“Good,” Kibum says softly. “Take Jongin with you. And someone who can speak English, so they can order.”

“Okay,” Taemin says, his voice cracking. “Kibum?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

He hears Kibum laugh a little, and it puts a smile on Taemin’s face.

“No problem,” Kibum says gently. “I miss you too. I’ll see you as soon as I can.”

“Okay.”

“You’re going to do so well with SuperM! I’ll be cheering you on!”

“Thank you,” Taemin laughs.

“I’ll preorder so many albums. Only the one with your face on it!”

Taemin just keeps laughing. Kibum always makes him laugh, always makes him feel better. All his members do.

When he asks Jongin to go get in-n-out with him, he easily agrees. They change into normal clothes and ask Ten to come with them so he can order for them. They end up getting burgers and fries for everyone, bringing it back to the dorm.

Minho and Jinki both call him while they’re out getting the food, both of them clearly concerned. Whether Kibum messaged them about the conversation they had, Taemin doesn’t know. They don’t mention it. But Taemin promises them he’s fine now, that he’s going to get something to eat, that he just was tired and not feeling well earlier. He thanks them for calling him, apologizes for worrying them, and asks if they can talk again later. They easily agree. Hey remind him that the group chat is always there as well, or just messaging them individually will always work too. It makes Taemin feel better.

Taemin takes a picture of his cheeseburger, animal fries, and Diet Coke. Then pictures of himself eating the burger and the fries and sending a smug smile and a thumbs up with his cheeks full. Sends all of them to the group chat. Brags about how the other three don’t get to eat it right now, how jealous they must be.

They’re going to think you’re so fat, the voice tells him.

Taemin tries just ignoring it. But the thoughts still swirl in his head. He pushes them down, just for the day. He won’t throw up this time. Not tonight.

#taemin #shinee #kai #superm #key #onew #minho #tw ed #monsters in the dark au #LOL I ACCIDENTALLY HIT POST TOO EARLY AND THOUGHT I DELETED IT SND ALMOST HAD A PANIC ATTACK HAHAAAAAAAAAA kill me

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solecize · 5 years

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REPLY 2009 ⠀ ⠀⠀.⠀⠀.⠀⠀.⠀(OR: 2009, YEAR OF US) — 004.

now playing: y.o.u (year of us) by shinee

summary: ten years ago, we found ourselves at a turning point in pop culture as the decade began to close. this was the year that brought the world obama, the death of michael jackson, and the highest grossing film of all time, avatar. however, in south korea, something big was brewing as well and it started off with infectious lyrics, colourful costumes, and sensational dance moves: kpop. the korean wave that started to build several years ago begins to find its footing in the international limelight in 2009. this was the golden era of kpop. this was the time of sorry, sorry. the debut of quite possibly the most different and groundbreaking girl group in korean entertainment, 2NE1. the rise of shinee, one of the most consistent boy bands of this era and beyond. the throne of bigbang would remain steady with their ventures into japan. and of course. . . snsd's gee that would solidify their place as the nation’s girl group and overtake their male counterparts. nothing can touch this legendary age.meanwhile, in the very city that milled and churned out these stars, eight teenagers were also coming to a certain close in 2009. youth was suddenly running out like grains of a darkened hourglass, as everything and everyone brought tension into their lives. where was the next step on their path? high school is nothing more than a cruel halfway point between childhood and adulthood, but this group of friends made the most out of it. after all, this is the youngest that they'll ever be. this age is the time where hopes rise higher than ever, where love burns the most passionately, and the desire for freedom expands the furthest. in 2009, we follow these teenagers' stories to the background music of the opening chapters of kpop's greatest legacies.but, ten years later at their high school reunion, where do we find them.

or: highschool!got7, dancecrew!got7, coming of age, school reunion angst, reader x ?

PRESENT DAY (08)

“Hey, what song is this?” Bambam was in the middle of drowning a champagne glass as soon as it was offered to him by red bow tied waiters with trays. The stereo system had been blasting the ever iconic ‘Poker Face’ by Lady Gaga before switching abruptly to a much more mellow tune led by a heavy drum and piano. The sound of the song filled the old gymnasium all around and generated many different reactions from attendees, from sighs to cheers.

Faces, both familiar and unfamiliar, began to slowly trickle into Haerin’s varnished gymnasium. Bambam and I remained at our assigned table in the back, but many rushed there, mostly for the attention of the famous actor. Half of these people didn’t even talk to either of us during high school, while the others were faces unrecognizable due to age or plastic. I bit back a smile upon encountering some that used to make my blood boil—I needed to let past prejudice die.

One of those faces happened to be Bae Suji, strutting in with as much poise as she had all those years ago.

I looked away, hoping that she wouldn’t notice me. “Sounds like SHINee. . .?” I said, unsure of myself.

“It’s Year of Us, isn’t it?”

Jinyoung appeared from behind me, settling into a seat at the table. He slid a shimmering CD case across the table towards us. I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering why he went back to the car for it, but then, I took a closer glance at the item. Scribbled with eight different signatures, I realized that it was one of the many mixes that the dance crew used over the course of senior year. I slipped it into my purse for later on, catching the look in his eyes.

Bambam snapped a finger. “Yeah! Hey,” he tilted his head at my brother, “how’d you know that?”

“They played it at our graduation. You guys don’t remember?” he said. The melody felt familiar, but the memory was so fuzzy that I couldn’t place my finger on it. Graduation was a day full of whirlwind experiences that it was hard to even pinpoint a singular one.

At that moment, the lights in the gym began to darken. The party was really about to get started and a round of cheers flared up, as the attendees raised their glasses. I felt a little bit out of place, watching others greet their old friends and exchange pleasantries. Maybe it was the inner hatred I had for other people, but I had yet to go out of my way to say hello to anyone.

Bambam seemed to notice this, as he nudged my side. “Oh, look who’s right there. Call her over!” He was referring to Suji and at that moment, I wanted nothing more than to fling myself into the sun.

“No!”

“Come on!” The Thailand native began to whine.

Jinyoung seemed to agree with him on this one. “Yeah, just this once. It’s not going to hurt.”

I wanted to retort a yes it will, but then she suddenly turned around. Our eyes met and it took a second for her face to contour into what I believed was faux enthusiasm, eyes wide and mouth formed into an ‘O’. I did the same, only my smile was spread thinner. I could hear her heels clicking even through the belting out of Lee Jinki.

It was as if she naturally drew attention like it was nothing. I noticed how people started to squint through the flashing neon lights from above, trying to make out everyone’s favourite Prom Queen. At her side towered a man with fair skin and blonde hair, sunglasses perched upon his face. The material of his all black suit shone under the light and seeing the way Suji dug her long fingernails into his sleeve, he appeared to be her date for the night.

“Suji! I can’t believe it’s really you!” I exclaimed, mustering up as much fervor that my body had.

Looking at her up close, it was evident that she had no ability to age. She still looked the same way she did when I first met her at the end of middle school, minus some baby fat in her cheeks. Suji’s face was fresh and glowing, free of makeup sans a swipe of peach lip gloss, and her light brown hair flowed in a curl to below her shoulders. Gorgeous, as she’d always been.

She squealed my name in response, pulling me in an all-too-tight embrace. “Wow, look at you! Oh. My. Gosh.” Suji started to shrill again and I attempted to echo her. People were beginning to stare.

“You look so much different! Did you lose weight?” Suji took my wrist and raised up my arm. “And your hair! I love the long bob, it’s so chic. You’ve gotten so much prettier since high school!” At the last statement, I was sure that I was going to lose it with her.

I looked around for help from my brother and Bambam, noticing the way Jinyoung was trying to hold in his laugh. “It’s nice to see you again, Suji.”

“Oh!” she said. “Right, it’s so wonderful you see you, too, Jaehyung—”

“—Jinyoung.”

The former cheerleader walked right past him and up to Bambam. Jinyoung and I exchanged looks, as I smirked at him. He polished off a glass of whatever drink he could get his hands on immediately.

“Bambam! Wow!” Suji pulled him into a similar hug, only it seemed like he actually didn’t mind. This was, after all, his senior year crush. “Noah and I absolutely adored you in The Shuttle!”

It took him a second to process that, looking between Suji and the tall man waiting behind her. “Noah?”

She giggled, as if she were waiting for that. “Guys—” she pulled the man closer by the wrist, “—this is Noah! My husband.”

There it was, her gloating point for the night. I couldn’t help but stare at the enormous rock that sat on her left hand, wrapped around the equally enormous bicep of her husband. A princess cut diamond ring with a rose gold band and smaller pink diamonds adorning the sides. No matter what she did, even the slightest bit of movement allowed for a beautiful luminescence.

“Noah. . .are you Noah Ward? The director?” Bambam gaped when the man removed his sunglasses. His face was tight and his body went completely frozen, as he was trying his very hardest to contain his emotions.

The other man nodded in response, a pearly white smile playing on his lips. “That’s me alright.” He held out his hand.

“I’M A HUGE FAN!” Bambam finally sputtered out and immediately took his hand in for a shake—or, several rapid shakes.

Showing no interest in watching him fangirl, I returned to my seat at our table, where Jinyoung already retreated to. He held his cellphone to his ear, appearing to be giving instructions to get through traffic to the person on the other line. I hoped it was who I thought it was, as our table of eight was barely full. As the evening progressed, I found myself growing anxious for the appearance of my old friends.

Suji followed me, sitting across with a glass of wine suddenly appearing at her hand.

“Oh, how adorable are they?” she cooed, looking over at Bambam and her husband talk about their careers.

“Just so sweet,” I murmured, not bothering to look as I rummaged through my purse for my phone. For whatever reason, that elected a gasp out of Suji and she squealed my name. “What? What is it?”

She grabbed my hand and brought it closer to her face for inspection. “How could you not mention it?”

My engagement ring wasn’t as colossal as Suji’s and it didn’t twinkle as easily as hers did, but the light glint couldn’t be missed. Sometimes, I even forgot that I wore it, since I never bothered taking it off when sleeping or showering. I didn’t plan on announcing it to anyone outside of the seven, so I remained nonchalant for the most part.

“Oh, well, yeah. . “ I trailed off. “We’ve been engaged for a while, but none of the wedding plans have really started. Busy lives.” The first part was true, while the latter bit I tried to exaggerate so that she wouldn’t feel bad about not hearing any word about it.

The story was that the two of us got engaged on a whim last summer without any idea of where and when it was going to happen. I explained that carefully to Suji, who thought it was just so cute how I was so spontaenous. It was just like us to do something like that. As of late, people were starting to bug us about the wedding, so we were trying to at least settle on a date. However, things were hard with our careers and especially with the news I was going to deliver tonight.

“Ooh, a ruby ring! It looks so, um, vintage.” She began to inspect my yellow gold ring, highlighted by a not-too-big, not-too-small blood stone.

“It was my fiancee’s mother’s ring.”

“Oh.” Suji cleared her throat at that and clapped her hands together. “Where did you guys meet?”

“Here.”

“Here?!” she exclaimed so loud that even Jinyoung’s eyes cut towards us in curiosity. “Wait! Do I know him? Is he coming tonight?”

Suji was surprisingly excited once hearing of the news, considering how little we got along in high school. I was taken aback by the fact that she even bothered with a conversation longer than a simple greeting, but she seemed genuinely interested in what was currently going on in my life.

A chair screeched and I looked over to see Jinyoung standing up.

“Guess who’s here?” he said.

MARCH 2009 (09)

Dad was almost always working the night patrol, so Jinyoung and I couldn’t see him during the day when he would be catching up on his sleep. This week, his entire shift schedule was temporarily changed, so the family had him during regular hours. We were sitting at our mahogany dining table one day with Infinite Challenge on in the background, while Jinyoung and I did our school work. Our father was tending to our dinner and mother was going through the bills that came in the mail earlier that day.

“Honey, where did you put the soy sauce?” he called out. He never got to make dinner for us and jumped at the chance to do so this week.

My mother replied, eyes fixated on the envelopes, “On the top shelf of the counter above the dish rack!”

With a sudden slam, Jinyoung shut his Korean textbook closed. He started to collect his notes and other books. I looked at my own sprawled out work, then back to him. We both started working at the same time, as soon as we got home, and yet, he managed to finish miles ahead of me.

“You’re done?” I gawked.

Jinyoung responded casually, “Yeah. So?” He noticed that I was still on the second question of my Calculus homework.

“You’re a whole freak of nature with that brain of yours, you know that?” I scoffed at him, not believing that we could possibly be related. Perhaps I should have been used to it by that point, considering his far more pristine report. There was also the fact that he was too many ranks ahead of me in school than I was willing to admit.

He pointed his black pen towards me. “Maybe it has to do with you taking, like, six breaks since we started.” I should’ve been used to it by now, considering in school, Jinyoung was too many ranks ahead of me than I was willing to say out loud.

“Like four, stop exaggerating! I needed to use the bathroom and check up on Facebook,” I quickly riposted and sent him a glare. Dad suddenly seemed to snap out of the trance that was watching his stew cook and poked his head out of the kitchen. I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact.

“I had to use the bathroom!” I countered.

“And check up on Facebook?”

The ruckus captured the attention of my father, pulling him away from his stew. He exited the kitchen, ladle at hand. A groan left my mouth. I could already feel the reprimand coming, something always being nitpicked at by my parents. I learned to tune them out, but it only backfired against me when they would realize that I wasn’t listening.

He narrowed his eyes at the two of us. “What are you two bickering about?” Dad noticed the way my school stuff was still messily spread out. “Are you having trouble with your work?”

“No,” I replied, a little too quickly.

Jinyoung cut in, “She takes a break every time she can’t figure something out to avoid it.”

He wasn’t wrong, but I continued to make sounds of disagreement. I could never figure out calculus no matter what I did. Math was never my strong suit and I knew that, so attempting the work felt extra discouraging because I knew failure was more likely. That, and my fan group on Facebook depended on my activity.

My mother peered at me through her circle glasses from across the table. “Cram school hasn’t ever helped you,” she said, “maybe you need a tutor, sweetheart.”

It took a lot of willpower to not slam my head onto the dining table. My bad, Jinyoung mouthed to me. This sparked a quieted discussion between our parents, while I watched the Ha & Su segment on the television. While it was true that cram school did nothing for my grades—most likely attributed to the fact that I often skipped or flat out didn’t pay attention—the idea of a tutor was not a fun one.

“It’s fine, I don’t need a tutor! I have Jinyoung,” I insisted.

“You’d sooner rake his eyes out than manage to learn something,” Mom scoffed.

Jinyoung and I did get along, as well as any siblings would, especially twins. However, we’d gone through this route before and quickly realized that my attention span was the same size as his patience, which led to arguments and insults galore. We were one in the same, except when it came to school.

Both of our parents looked at me, then at each other, then to Jinyoung as if he held the answers to the universe’s mysteries.

He started, “Well. . .” Jinyoung slumped in his seat and a ran a hand through his immaculate hair. “I know a few people. Hyoseop?”

“Ew.” I scrunched my nose at the name of the school playboy. Sure, he was quite smart, but there was no way I was putting myself in a closed space with just himself and I for any longer than twenty minutes.

“Jihyo?”

“She’s in my calc class and is definitely worse than me!”

Jinyoung didn’t look convinced, but continued on. “What about Yugyeom?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

That made my face curl up in distaste. “Yugyeom? Like, your friend Yugyeom?” I scoffed. “He’s a whole year younger than me!” Asking for help from a second year was nothing less than embarrassing and my pride weighed more than my need to pass my test.

He countered, “Yugyeom is also ranked second in his year! Even I ask him for help sometimes. He’s a genius and he’s a relatively nice guy.” If I hadn’t known better, I would have assumed that Jinyoung was just praising him because they were friends, but I’ve heard the same things said about him from other people.

That seemed to catch the attention of Dad. “Kim Yugyeom, right?” He chuckled. “The really tall kid from the dance academy?”

The memories of the dance academy were so blurry after leaving, but it wasn’t too long ago that it was completely forgotten. Mom heard about the academy from a client and immediately enrolled the two of us in after realizing that neither of us had a gift for the piano. I was convinced that she would do anything to keep us out of her hair.

We were probably around twelve at the time, when I was still taller than Jinyoung and wearing jeans underneath a skirt was considered fashionable.

OCTOBER 2003 (10)

Beyonce repeating over and over again about just how crazy in love she is was getting old. For the most part, I had no trouble keeping up with the choreography, but I didn’t want to be here at all. When the dance teacher called for a five minute break, I let out the biggest sigh of my life. That meant just another thirty minutes after and soon, I could go home.

Jinyoung quickly made friends with other participants in class and I saw how he interacted with one of them so easily in one corner. I made small talk with some other girls, too, but I didn’t particularly care enough to get to know them.

“I get that our class got cancelled and we got put in the beginner’s lessons, but stop looking so grouchy.” My brother tossed me a water bottle when he saw me approaching.

The male beside him flashed his pearly whites. “Hey! You were really great out there.”

It took me a while to search my memory, trying to figuring out if I’d seen this guy before. He was around our age and was taller than Jinyoung, but shorter than me, and wore all Nike on his body. Shaggy hair in the boyish and purposefully messy kind of way, he was cute. Cute enough for me to take note of him if he were in the intermediate dance class with Jinyoung and I, but I couldn’t recognize him at all.

“Thanks. Are you a beginner dancer?” I asked.

That seemed to make my brother burst out loud into laughter, while the other male just awkwardly chuckled.

Jinyoung replied, “Yugyeom’s in the advanced class with the teenagers.” He gave me the are you an idiot face, so I responded swiftly with a punch to the shoulder.

The assistant choreographer, Yeeun, announced from across the room that we had two minutes left to relax and catch our breaths. I took a swig of my water bottle. Yugyeom must’ve been dancing in the back, as I didn’t even notice him during the session.

“Uh, yeah, I am,” he said bashfully and swiped at sweat on his eyebrow. “I just started at the school early.”

“And Kyesang said that I can join the class soon, too,” Jinyoung added with a smug smile on his face.

I furrowed my eyebrows. “He didn’t say anything to me.” Kyesang was the head of the advanced class and constantly praised both Jinyoung and I. There was no way that Jinyoung got the offer to move up in levels before I did.

Yugyeom said, “You’re a great dancer, too. I bet you’d be able to join with a little bit more confidence!”

Before, I was rummaging through my backpack to find my second water bottle. My head slowly moved, my eyes raised to meet his. Did he really just say that? I wasn’t sure what exactly that was supposed to mean, but I saw the smile on his face and it seemed like he wasn’t joking at all.

“What, I don’t dance confidently?” Something about my stare seemed to wipe the grins from both of their expressions.

Yugyeom was beginning to stammer, then finally spit out, “No! I mean, yes! You dance fine!”

“Alright, back to your places everyone!”

Shoes began to squeak, signalling that the others were walking back onto the main floor. I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for further explanation, but Jinyoung just dragged him away. That was Kim Yugyeom at age eleven, happy-go-lucky and playful like he was meant to be. Jinyoung lacked the stress placed upon his shoulders because of school. And, for me? I felt on top of the world, actually being able to be good at something.

MARCH 2009 (11)

Tracking down someone like Yugyeom at school proved to be more difficult than expected. For someone who was said to possess an abundance of brainpower, he was not in the library. He wasn’t normally found with the rest of Jinyoung’s dance crew for whatever reason. I didn’t have any classes with him, so that was out of the question. After needing to use Jinyoung as a middle man to get to the younger male, I figured out that Yugyeom came to school extremely early in the morning and that was the only time before the end of the day that he could be found easily.

I tended to be early myself, since I left home whenever Jinyoung did. However, the fact that Kim Yugyeom arrived an hour earlier than that was mind boggling to me. I didn’t even realize that the school gates opened at such an hour.

Jinyoung came with me, claiming that he needed to check up on some things for the upcoming Spring Festival as apart of his student council duties. That was code for ‘I guess I’ll be a good brother and not let you walk alone in the dark morning.’ He also probably felt bad for me, since he was the one who redirected me to Yugyeom in the first place, knowing full well how difficult it was to locate him.

Entering the school’s main foyer, I took notice of how it looked when it was so empty. The main administrative office was darkened and nobody was inside. There were no loud students blocking off the entrance, no nagging teachers—not counting the two first years off to the side playing on their Ninento DSis. They probably got dropped off by their parents on their way to work. Other than that, the floor was absolutely sparkling and the air felt peaceful without so many bodies.

Each time I ran into a teacher and wished them a good morning, they appeared startled at my appearance.

“Oh my goodness, I thought you were a ghost! Nobody is here this early!” My homeroom teacher exclaimed when I bowed to her out of nowhere.

Yugyeom was sitting cross legged on the floor in between blocks of lockers. I could hear the Chris Brown blasting from his headphones and he was bopping along to the rhythm. There was a chemistry textbook opened up in front of him and on his lap was a notebook that he was scrawling information onto. It seemed awkward having to just suddenly appear in front of him and I didn’t want to scare him like I had with the teachers.

I tentatively called out his name at first, but to no avail. I said it louder at least two more times, before his eyes flickered my way. A small, polite smile formed on his face and he took off his headphones promptly.

“Oh, hey there. Jinyoung said that you’d meet me.” Yugyeom gave a wave.

Approaching him, it felt odd having to talk and look down at him, so I leaned against the wall opposite from him and slid down until my bottom hit the ground. “Does that mean that you’re willing to help me out?” I crossed my fingers behind my back; if he rejected me, that meant I’d have to go to Hyoseop and I really did not want to do that.

“Yeah, of course I would!” That allowed for a relieved sigh. “But, uh, when’s this test?”

“. . . Three days.”

He widened his eyes. “Three days? That’s not a lot of time.”

I responded, “Oh, yeah. I totally understand! I’ll just find someone else—” He cut me off and I’d never felt so happy in my entire life.

“—No, no, no! Don’t worry about it. It’s just a little surprising that’s all.” Yugyeom scratched the back of his nape. “I’m just a little busy this week—but, not that busy. I, I mean not busy enough to help you.”

I nodded slowly, watching him flip through his notebook. He stopped on an empty page and ripped out a piece of the paper. I wondered what he was doing, but then he handed the paper to me after scribbling something down on it.

“Are you free today after school? I can help you out then.”

That was what changed everything.

#—— REPLY 2009.#got7 fanfic #got7 series #got7 #got7 scenarios #got7 imagine #got7 imagines #got7 x reader #got7 x you #got7 fluff #got7 au #kpop fanfic #kpop series

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somaybeimbiased · 5 years

Text

Domestic Taekey | Heartbroken

a/n This takes place right after Kibum cheated on Taemin when they were younger (read about it in Scrapbooks )

We don't want our hearts to break in two

Partying like he had been over the past few months wasn’t apart of Taemin’s plan. Who wanted to spend the end of his senior year either drunk, high, or hungover? But for Taemin, it was his only way to cope. The alcohol made him forget, the weed made him numb, every one night stand and hookup he had made him feel wanted, and being hungover was just a way to distract himself from the pain in his heart. Kibum cheating had left such a large hole in him that he didn’t know if he would ever be happy again. He’d spent a whole month locked up in his room apart from school after that night. He cut off all their mutual friends apart from Jongin and the occasional ranting phone call to Jinki while he was sad drunk.He ignored every call and text he got from Kibum, and he was glad when slowly the calls stopped and the text frequency dwindled. He was content with his new life, because he could have fun and forget everyone who hurt him.

Rule #1: You gotta have fun.

He was hurt.

He was angry.

He was devastated.

He was broken.

One of his favorite people has gone and done something he didn’t know if he could ever forgive.

How could Kibum cheat? And right before Taemin was due to start school at the same university. He accepted the dinky college scholarship for Kibum. What does a 17 year old do when his love ripped his heart out?

He parties, goes out, forgets about the pain.

Life is too short to spend it grieving over a relationship that meant nothing to the other person. Kibum was Taemin’s first real love. Kibum had been who Taemin wanted forever with. He craved to be with Kibum, but if Kibum didn’t want him. Didn’t see him as good enough, who was Taemin to stop him from leaving?

Alcohol and Weed ran through his veins, late night parties at abandoned warehouses, and racing their cars along dirt roads and hiding in the bushes from the cops. This is what his life had become post-Kibum.

Rule #2: Don't get attached to somebody you could lose.

He doesn’t let himself get blackout drunk this often. It was his 18th birthday, he had just graduated, and he was finally free of that shitty school that held so many bittersweet memories.

He stumbled through the warm living room of his best friend’s house, winding around other people to get to the dancefloor. His plastic cup was clutched in one hand and his phone was in the other. He was on his fourth drink, two more than he usually needed to get drunk. He was too small to have a decent alcohol tolerance, so he was already gone for the night.

He was looking for someone to hookup with, someone who wouldn’t mind him leaving before the morning. Some called him a player, others a slut. It all depended on who he was going to hookup with that night.

He spotted a thin guy, probably around his age across the room from him. The guy had sandy brown hair and pale skin and Taemin thought he looked perfect to have for the night.

He made his way over and made eye contact with the boy who grinned devilishly as soon as Taemin drew closer.

“Lee Taemin.” the boy said in an arrogant voice. “Zach, right?” Taemin questioned, sipping his drink. He was hooking up tonight.

Rule #3 Wear your heart on your cheek, but never on your sleeve unless you wanna taste defeat

Being cruel to his old friends wasn’t easy. But he had to hide the hurt, hide everything from them. He would fall into a depression if he didn’t supplement Kibum’s void with temporary happiness, he would lose himself completely. Not telling and now showing people how messy he was on the inside was part of the facade. On the inside he was a young kid who lost the only person he could ever actually see himself loving truly. He was a boy who has gotten his heart ripped out and set on fire. He threw away his hopes of being a famous dancer to he close to the one he loved, so he lost everything at once. He felt so lonely and broken. And the only people who knew were Jongin and Jinki. They were the only ones telling Taemin’s previous friends how he was.

Rule #4 Gotta be lookin’ pure. Kiss him goodbye at the door, and leave him wanting more

He tried dating after a few months of recklessness over his last semester of high school. Maybe going on dates rather than just sleeping with someone could make Taemin release the void that still sat in his heart and weighed on his stomach.

Summer is a great season for dates; bike riding, picnics, movies in the park. But that didn’t help Taemin at all. He realized that more people liked him without the party boy facade, however he also realized that he was leading these boys on when they went on dates. He’d drop them at their house and if they were lucky he’d give them a kiss on the cheek. But he never contacted them after the first date. No one was Kibum, and no one could break the emotional walls he had built after Kibum. A/N I know I haven’t written in a hot minute. But I’m going through a breakup with a horrible guy and I’m really reckless feeling at the moment so I wrote about being reckless instead of being reckless. I hope to write more soon becuase I’ll be moving back home in like 2 weeks~

Read more of my work on my Masterlist

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katrinawritesthings · 5 years

Text

Jonghyun/Jinki; he works from home; R

In front of Jonghyun, on their knees and half hidden by the table, is another human, very clearly sucking his dick.

Oh yeah, Jinki thinks suddenly. He remembers now. He can drop by anytime but watch out because Jonghyun might have one of his sex work appointments.

There’s something Jinki is forgetting as he sticks the spare key Jonghyun gave him into his back door and gently pushes it open. Some extra note that Jonghyun mentioned to him when he gave him the key. Maybe to be careful to not wake his puppy with the noise? But, no, Roo usually stays conked out until someone starts giving her little pets. He puffs up his lips as he thinks and shuts the door behind him. “You can drop by anytime, but,” Jonghyun had said. Hmm.

After a moment, Jinki shrugs. He’ll remember later, probably. Jonghyun should be here anyway to tell him; he came over to get some snuggles and see if he wanted to go out to eat in a little bit. He’ll just go find him. He fluffs the hair on top of his head as he makes his way through Jonghyun’s living room and to the kitchen first to grab a bottle of water. As he nears the doorway, Jonghyun’s voice floats out of it.

“Master, huh? I like the sound of that,” he’s saying, and his voice is low, smooth, suave, and lazy. Jinki hesitates, but his feet don’t pause him before he peeps into the kitchen and finds Jonghyun.

He’s leaning up on his fridge behind the kitchen table, light brown hair styled up very suave, fancy glasses perched on his nose, his silver earrings in his ears and his cleanest, most expensive looking dress shirt and jacket over his shoulders. In front of him, on their knees and half hidden by the table, is another human, very clearly sucking his dick.

Oh yeah, Jinki thinks suddenly. He remembers now. He can drop by anytime but watch out because Jonghyun might have one of his sex work appointments.

As soon as he thinks this, Jonghyun glances up, looks at him, looks back down, and then does a doubletake, eyes wide and surprised. Jinki grins sheepishly and gives him a little wave, holding up the spare key with a shrug. Jonghyun glances down to the babe on his dick and then up again, grinning sheepishly as well, moving his hand to guide them by the top of their head and block his face from their view.

“Hi lovie,” he mouths. Jinki does his best to hold back a snort. He points with his thumb over his shoulder towards the hallway.

“Should I go wait in your office?” he mouths back. Jonghyun shakes his head with a meaningful glance down at his babe.

“Bedroom,” he says. Jinki nods giving him a thumbs up as well, and turns to head to the bedroom and chill for a while. Before he takes a step, he pauses and glances back.

“You fuck people in your office?” he asks. His music sheets are in there. His precious notes. Jonghyun shrugs again with a lazy smirk and a twitch of one eyebrow. Jinki shakes his head fondly and continues on his way silently through the house. As he goes, he hears Jonghyun talking out loud again in that smooth, confident tone of voice.

“You know what? Every morning, after you suck Master’s cock and make me breakfast, you’re gonna climb up on this table, and bend over, and present your pretty little ass for Master’s inspection….”

In the bedroom, Roo snoozes in the center of Jonghyun’s bed. Jinki eases himself as gently as he can on next to her and still winds up murmuring little apologies and petting her gently back to sleep on his tummy. From there, he stares blankly at the ceiling, grins, giggles, and only stops himself from full out laughing because he doesn’t want to wake Roo again.

Instead he reaches up to flick Jonghyun’s dim headboard lamp on and grabs one of his books at random to read. It’s about animals with ocean blue and pumpkin orange and midnight purple fur and he’s instantly invested, holding it above his face as he turns the pages. A few chapters in he hears some rhythmic thumping coming from Jonghyun’s office behind the wall and bites back another laugh. Sounds like he fucks well enough to earn his expensive rates.

Eventually, while the book is starting to get very interesting with giant armies running for shelter in a cave as rainbow colored falcons screech overhead, the sex noises stop, and then it’s silent for a little bit, and then footsteps pass the bedroom door. A few more minutes later Jinki hears Jonghyun’s squeaky shower knobs. He thumbs forward a little in the book to look for the next stopping point. When he finds it, he shrugs and keeps reading. Not too far. Jonghyun usually showers quickly.

Jonghyun comes knocking on the door a little before the stopping point, but that’s okay. Jinki keeps his finger in the book as he closes it and props himself up on one elbow. Jonghyun slips inside, towel around his waist, hair damp, smile bright and giddy.

“You didn’t tell me you were coming over!” he squeaks. He bounces a little as he walks over to press a kissie against Jinki’s cheek. He bends down to press a smoochie to Roo’s soft head as well before smiling back at Jinki and nuzzling his shoulder.

“I wanted to surprise you with me,” Jinki says. He lets his free arm flop lazily over the pillows, presenting himself. He knows Jonghyun loves surprises.

“I love surprises and you,” Jonghyun beams. “I’m gonna nut, thank you.”

“I thought you did just nut,” Jinki grins, raising his brows. Jonghyun snorts into giggles that he muffles behind his hands as he slips to his dresser to get into some clothes. Jinki notes the faint scratch marks on his back with amusement.

“Work nuts don’t count,” Jonghyun says as he wiggles into some sweats sans undies. “I’m perfectly capable of nutting about you being here and lovely right now.”

“Mmhmm,” Jinki says. He watches Jonghyun struggle to pull a hoodie over his head, get stuck for a few seconds, and wave his arms around until he can find the collar and guide it over his head. He pops out of it with a tiny oof, hair mussed over his eyes. Jinki muffles his own giggles at the sight.

“What?” Jonghyun pouts. He flaps his hands once as he says it and his hoodie sleeves flop over them, making Jinki laugh more. He only stops when Roo whines at him for all of his tummy movement.

“Nothing,” he smiles, petting her head gently. “It’s just that, when you said you did full sex work, I didn’t think you meant you were a dom.” He half laughs the word out just saying it. Hearing Jonghyun be all cocky and dominant like that was so wild. Jonghyun shakes his head with his own sheepish laugh, running his fingers through his hair.

“Oh,” he says. “Yeah, it’s just easier to be a dom with clients,” he says. “It’s easier to separate work sex from relationship sex that way, you know? Plus they all expect me to be a dom because I’m buff or whatever. And also, I can’t fucking. Call anyone daddy without catching feelings for them, gosh,” he adds in a mutter. Jinki snorts.

“Is that why you fell so fast for me?” he asks, quirking a brow. “Because I let you call me daddy on the third date?” Jonghyun exhales softly as he eases himself onto the bed next to Jinki and nuzzles his shoulder, one hand shooing Jinki’s away so he can pet Roo instead.

“No, mostly it was because you’re my snuggly warm bubbly bear,” he says. He makes his voice all tiny and cute, wiggling against him and adding a smoochie noise after it, and Jinki rolls his eyes fondly.

“Mostly?” he asks. Jonghyun wiggles again, more insistently this time.

“Yes! Ninety-five percent,” he says. “Ninety-five percent you being lovely and good. And five percent that you let me call you daddy on the third date.” He grins slyly as he says it and Jinki shakes his head again. Of course. He does appreciate the reassurance, though. It’s hard for him to believe that he’s good most of the time but Jonghyun’s honestly makes it a little easier. “Are you liking the book?” Jonghyun asks then. Jinki hums, confused; Jonghyun taps the book that Jinki forgot he had in his hand. “That’s the second one, you know,” he says.

“Is it?” Jinki asks. “Shit.” Jonghyun giggles and presses a kiss to his shoulder.

“It’s fine, it can be read alone,” he says. Jinki hums again. Good, then, because he was too invested to stop. Well, kind of. He stops now, plucking one of Jonghyun’s tissues from his headboard to mark his place and tossing the book further away on the bed.

“Wanna go get something to eat?” He asks, turning just enough that he can nuzzle a kiss to Jonghyun’s mouth without upending Roo off of his tummy. Jonghyun gasps softly, presses seven more quick, tiny kissies to Jinki’s mouth, and nods.

“I’ll pay,” he says, wiggling off the bed. “Cause Master just got some cash fucking money, ayy.” He pumps his fists in the air but dramatically puts absolutely no emphasis whatsoever on the ayy. Jinki pulls one of his spare pillows over to muffle his laughter into. He loves Jonghyun a lot.

#jongyu #jonghyun #jinki #onew #fluff #r #oneshot #they go out to get some food and jinkis like arent ur appointments just like an hour long usually hows he gonna wake up nd suck ur dick #and jongs like shrug emoji they just like hearing elaborate scenarios so they can go home and jerk off about it later #nd i told him if he paid me extra he could come over early so we could do it but only Maybe bc itd be in the guest room and i h8 bed laundry #and jinkis like lmao #jong doesnt fucc in the bedroom bc thats where roo naps and also where he fuccs his real babes #anygay they jong pays and leaves a nice tip and they go home and jinki reads more of the book and jong snuggles in his lap #nd theyre v uwu nd cute #ydw

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alittletournesol · 5 years

Text

Kingdom Of Jinju {MinKey} part 18/33

Slight mention of JongYu’s sex scene at the beginning.

Chapter 18 : Reunited again [M]

The bedroom’s atmosphere was heavy, stifling despite the morning hour. The air was filled with the familiarly fragrance of perspiration and sex combined together, the sheets messily thrown at the foot of the bed. Jonghyun was lying on his back, his naked silhouette’s curves emphasised by the slight shadow made by sunbeams through the curtain. He was lost in his thoughts, one leg bent and an arm behind his head.

He couldn’t realise he was allowed again in the palace, and moreover as a member of the King’s private council.

It was the biggest honour one could have made him, and he was willing to serve his sovereign even more now that he somehow had fully earned his trust. He had found his place in Jinju, in a kingdom that wasn’t his and that he would have never thought about calling home someday. It wasn't like he considered Mongje as his home either. Even though his parents were of the caring kind, he had always been independent, boiling inside when he was forced to do things he didn’t want to do.

He had been extremely angry when his mother had announced him about his new position, the young Lord’s private tutor. However, the idea of being acknowledged as someone serious and knowing enough to teach someone else… with the opportunity to leave his parents’ house to live somewhere else… he couldn’t have missed it. And with the years passing by Kibum and Taemin’s side, he had never regretted his decision once. The beginning of this journey might have been his mother’s will, but it had become his journey.

Living in Jinju was the biggest twist ever, he would have never imagined leaving so far away and even less for a reason such as his student getting married to the most powerful man in all the realm. Yet, here he was.

“You know…” A voice drew him out of his thoughts and he straightened on one elbow, smiling at Jinki who was looking at him. “When I told you to wake me up for breakfast, this was really far from what I meant.”

“Perhaps, but it was much tastier.” The blonde responded with a smile that said a lot about it.

The General let a low laughter escape his throat as his hands were busy buckling his belt around his brown pants. Jonghyun sat up straight, circling his right knee with his arms and staring at his lover. The latter had left the bed a few minutes before to clean himself a bit and get dressed, for he wished to visit the King. He was doing everything slowly, peacefully, although he was late on his self-planned schedule, and the teacher could plead guilty.

He had woken up before Jinki, and even though he wasn’t the kind to wake people up that way, he had gone bored… and horny. Having the naked soldier lying next to him was too much of a temptation for him to just bear with it. Following his instincts, the blonde had leaned on the other man’s body and slowly drawn him out of his sleep with soft, hot kisses going from his ear to his nape. He had been welcomed by a moan, sleepy but not less inviting.

Jonghyun had only needed this approving sound to make his lips go lower on his elder’s body, kissing all along his back until he had reached his firm, rounded butt. There, he had pretended to ignore it to better press his lips against Jinki’s thighs, making the latter hornier by seconds passing. What the General hadn’t expected had been for the young teacher to make his lips slide up between his cheeks.

And even though he had jumped with surprise at first, bending a leg to straighten and look towards Jonghyun with sleepy eyes, the familiar glint in the blonde’s eyes had been enough for him to give a try to whatever he had been about to live. Despite his face reddening with embarrassment, the soldier had let his more experienced lover please him in a way he would have never imagined.

He could still feel the wet warmth along his crack, where a tongue had previously sent him into raptures.

And the way Jonghyun was smirking at him at the moment, shamelessly making him understand that he didn’t regret a single second to have done that… was incredibly and irremediably seducing.

“How do you even know about those things…” He whispered, finally done with his belt and standing bare chest at the foot of the bed, tying his hair without looking away. “It’s not like there was a whole book somewhere telling about all potential sexual things between two dudes.”

“I am nothing but a man of knowledge, General.” The teacher teased before he moved on his knees, going forwards on the mattress until he was facing the other man. “I know you liked it.”

“Oh, did I explicitly say that I did ?”

“No need, I’m perfectly able to read between your lines. Especially those lines.”

“Maybe you should write that book, then.”

Jinki offered a crooked smile to the younger before he turned away, walking to the stool where he had a simple shirt waiting for him. He put it on and, for more decency, he also wore a sleeveless, brown leather jacket, laced at the front. He looked like a soldier off-duty, so exactly what his sovereign expected from him for the next few days. However, Jonghyun wasn’t surprised to see him hanging his sheathed sword to his belt, as well as his wrists’ protections.

Once a soldier, always a soldier.

“What are you going to do ?” The General asked.

“I don’t know, maybe just stay there all day long.” The other replied, supporting his words by lying back, flat on his stomach. “Your bed is comfortable.”

“You remember no one is supposed to find you here ?”

“I do. Then I suppose I will get dressed and wander around. Maybe give a try to the library now that I’m allowed to enter it.”

Saying this, Jonghyun chuckled. It was like a children had received the authorisation to go to their favourite amusement park, and this cute show of happiness made the General smile. He always found curious yet interesting to witness how different the blonde could be in the intimacy of a bedroom, or just when being away from prying eyes. The mature and calm teacher would make space to an ambiguous man, either sweet and enthusiastic about anything, or bold and lustful.

Jinki was fascinated, and although he wouldn’t say it out loud, he found this young man admirable in the way he handled those personalities to perfection. When their eyes met as he was walking to his door, he simply nodded and left. They weren’t the kind of partners to cuddle and have pillow talks, nor did they have anything to say about how the other would spend his day, so it didn’t bother any of them that they separated just like that after soiling the sheets twice in the space of a few hours.

Jonghyun found himself alone in, once again, a room that wasn’t his. Just as usual, he grew bored pretty quickly and got up to take his clothes from the day before ; he would change later, thankfully he hadn’t sweat. He had just finished getting dressed and was tying his hair when a few shy knocks resounded against the door, making him freeze. Who could it be, who wanted to see the General in his quarters ? The blonde decided to ignore, standing still and waiting for the visiter to leave…

“Jonghyun hyung, I know you’re in there.”

It was like his stomach fell in his feet as he recognised Taemin’s voice, his tone firm yet not quite confident. He couldn’t ignore it anymore, and he walked to open the door, meeting the young boy in common clothes, nothing like his apprentice’s uniform. But what surprised the teacher more than his outfit, were the very noticeable dark circles under his friend’s bloodshot eyes.

“By the Gods…” Jonghyun whispered as he opened the door more so the room’s light would light the younger’s face more. “Taemin, did you sleep ?”

“I… I think I need…” The latter replied, his eyes shifty. “I need to talk with someone about something… personal…”

“Please, next time, come to me earlier so you can sleep after we talk. You definitely need some sun and fresh air, what about we have a discussion outside ?”

Taemin slowly nodded and stepped backwards to let his elder leave the bedroom, only staring at his feet. An inviting hand was put on his back and he started walking, the teacher looking at him with concerned eyes but keeping quiet. It didn’t took them a lot of time to reach the gardens, and the sun welcomed them warmly, the young boy frowning but appreciating it on his skin. It was like it helped with his low energy, even though it might be temporary.

Relishing the beauty of the gardens he had somehow missed, Jonghyun led his friend until the huge gazebo. On their way, they noticed the Prince being already busy with the gardener at this morning hour, in his splendid all-white outfit decorated with golden filaments. His long black hair was cascading on his back, let free if it wasn’t for his front bang being held by one of his usual pins.

The elder kept in mind he would salute him later, as he followed Taemin under the structure and sat with him on the bench. An uncomfortable silence fell between the two of them, however, the teacher had always told them that he would never force them to tell their mind with stupid pushing questions. For the past years, he had never been the one starting a dialogue when it was about his students’ troubles.

They remained like this for a few minutes, Jonghyun waiting for his young friend to feel enough at ease by slowly stroking his back. When Taemin straightened up a bit, they both knew it was time.

“I feel…” The youngest started, staring into space, “I feel different. Like… abnormally… different.”

“Nothing is abnormal when it comes to one’s feelings or way to be.” The teacher said. “You heard me say this to Kibum way too many times, right ?”

“Yes… but it’s not the same thing than Kibum hyung…”

“Then let us find out what’s troubling you to that extend. Who do you compare yourself to ?”

“Everyone… I’m not exaggerating, I’m being different from everyone…”

“Everyone you know, Taemin.”

“I don’t think anyone can be like me, hyung, it’s too… too weird, it doesn’t even seem natural compared to anyone else.”

Jonghyun frowned a bit, his friend still not looking at him and swallowing with difficulty. He was about to reply when a silhouette appeared in front of them, making them look up. Standing before the gazebo, Kibum was looking at them with his hands on his waist, unable to keep a poker face.

“So now, you’re meeting without me ?” He pretended to nag. “I’m quite disappointed.”

“Good morning, your Grace.” The teacher answered, laughing at the other’s pout because of the appellation. “I would be glad to hang out with you but Taemin and I are… having an important conversation.”

“Oh… I’m sorry, I haven’t noticed… wait, Taeminnie, what’s happening ?”

The young Prince finally realised the expression on his friend’s face and he climbed the couple of stairs to kneel on the gazebo’s floor. Frowning, he grabbed the tiny hand in his and softly caressed it, looking up with worry in his eyes. Taemin’s eyes were still shifty, but as soon as he had his two closest friends surrounding him, it felt like he couldn’t be harmed anymore, even by his own thoughts. He sniffed.

“Why am I different…?” He asked. “I’m even different from you two when I grew up wanting to be like you…”

“Pumpkin… you know you can tell us everything, right ?” Kibum gently said, looking at their elder who smiled at him, grateful to have him there as well. “And we know quite a few things about differences.”

“I know, but this time… I don’t know if you will understand me.”

“We can always try.” Jonghyun replied. “Sometimes you don’t need understanding but acknowledgment.”

Taemin nodded and sat up straight, his breathing heavy but his mind finding enough strength to confess to his friends. He cleared his throat and took a moment to choose his words, not even sure about how to name his own feelings and sensations. Not moving and staying by his side, his elders were patiently waiting, Kibum never ceasing his soothing stroke on the back of his hand.

“I don’t… feel any desire.” He ended up saying, and it was physically noticeable that saying these words asked him one of the biggest effort ever.

“Desire ?” Jonghyun repeated. “You mean sexual desire ?”

“Yes, but… also, emotional desire ? I don’t know how to say it…”

“Don’t try to put complicated nouns on it, just say it with your own words.” The Prince softy said. “It’s already not easy so don’t make it more complicated for you.”

“I… I don’t want to have a relationship, like… to love someone, to be with someone as a couple, it doesn’t… I just don’t want it ? I’m not interested in it, when everyone else kinda lives to find the love of their life, getting married, having… children…”

“But you’re still young, Taemin, maybe it’s just not the time to think about it.”

Even though they weren’t mean to hurt him, the teacher’s words resounded in the youngest’s mind like a reject of his thoughts. He hated to be told he was too young to know things he perfectly knew, even more when it was about him and only him.

“Being young isn’t the problem !” He almost bursted out, raising his voice and gritting his teeth. “I’m barely two years younger than Kibum and he was even younger than that when he found out about his own difference, why do I have to be too young when he wasn’t ?”

“Alright, my words were terribly chosen.” Jonghyun immediately said, a bit surprised by his friend’s show of anger all of sudden. “I apologise, it’s true that you don’t have to be a certain age to feel things other don’t… or the contrary. I’m sorry, please forget what I said.”

“Please, Taeminnie… don’t compare us.” The raven haired man said, always gentle as he couldn’t imagine being intentionally rude to his companion. “It seems your situation is different from mine so it won’t help to compare them, do you understand ?”

“Hm…” The youngest nodded. “I just don’t want anything, love, relationships… sex.”

“Do you find all of this repulsive ?” The teacher asked.

“No, I mean, I don’t mind it, I don’t even mind people being a couple or having sex, it’s none of my business. It’s just… I’m… indifferent ? Why am I indifferent ?”

“This is a question that only you know the answer to. Perhaps there is no answer and it’s just the way you are ?” Kibum wondered out loud. “Has it been going like this for long ?”

“For… as long as I remember.”

The three men remained quiet for a few seconds after this last confession. Taemin’s issue was indeed a whole new thing to all of them, and it was really making the young boy feel abnormal to the point he was on the verge of tears. His elders looked at each other, concerned and willing to help, but they were afraid to say something that would make their friend angry again.

“You never wanted to be in a relationship ?” The teacher eventually asked.

“Never… I don’t feel like doing it.” Taemin shrugged. “I’m not interested and I don’t want to, I don’t feel the need either…”

“And it goes the same way with sex ?” Kibum asked in his turn. “Have you ever…?”

“No, I’ve never done anything and I don’t want to, it doesn’t interest me and… I don’t feel concerned ? I’ve never felt… sexual desire, towards anyone. But you see, I’m not bothered by you two having sex, I lived with it for years and it never repulsed me. It’s just… me.”

“So you’re not interested in being in a relationship nor having sex because you don’t desire anyone, that’s right ?”

“Yes, yes that’s it. But… it’s not normal, right ? I realised it because… it just came to my mind when both of you…”

At that moment, the boy pursed his lips together, as if he had been about to say something he shouldn’t have, and that he now hesitated to say. However, it had piqued his friends’ curiosity.

“When both of us…?” The Prince encouraged him. “When we had sex ?”

“No, it has nothing to do with you two together…” Taemin replied, his eyes tearing as he kept looking for his words. “I haven’t realised it before when I perfectly knew about you two, but…”

“Breathe, Taemin.” Jonghyun whispered. “When did you realise about your indifference towards all of this ?”

“When… when I witnessed your relationship with the King grow stronger, hyung…” The youngest looked up to look at Kibum. “When you started… leaving your bed to go in his… that’s such a… a big step, right ? And you, hyung…” He then looked at the teacher. “It was when… when I heard you with… with the General…”

Both elders widened their eyes and grew pale, as their respective relationships were exposed just like that. They slowly turned their head towards each other, their eyes meeting and shifting away almost immediately. Yet, they quietly agreed on the fact that their own personal issues didn’t matter at the moment, not when their common friend was in the middle of an identity crisis.

“Please don’t think I’m mad at you…” Taemin ended up saying when he felt the awkwardness, shaking his hands to dissipate any misunderstanding. “It’s just that… I realised how Kibum hyung’s relationship is getting stronger, in a positive way, and that’s what you always wanted, right…? And Jonghyun hyung, it hit me even more because you… you have so much sexual desire and it doesn’t stick to one person…?”

“Everyone is unique, boy…” The eldest said, smiling despite his uneasiness. “It’s true that it’s easier for me to lie with anyone I want to, since I don’t look for a stable and serious relationship. But yes, I have a lot of sexual desires, we can say it like that.”

“I… I have that kind of desires too.” Kibum added. “With the wish for a relationship that Jonghyun hyung doesn’t have. But you don’t have all of those, right ?”

“Yeah… I’m just not interested, could it be with a man or a woman, I don’t have any preference really… I just don’t want to have sex, nor be in a couple, with anyone.”

“And why do you feel abnormal about it ?” Jonghyun asked. “It’s a real question, why should it be normal to want all of this ?”

“Because… because everyone wants at least one of these two things…? It’s impossible to want neither of them, it must be a disease, a curse…”

“By the Gods, I’ve already heard that before.”

The teacher couldn’t help but laugh, the words disease and curse being the exact ones Kibum had told him when he had found out about his sexuality.

“Listen, Taemin.” He said, getting serious again but not less gentle. “There is nothing like normality when it comes to the way you feel and the way you want to live. If you aren’t interested in relationships or sex for the rest of your life, then follow your instincts. You don’t need to have a man or a woman in your life, or to have sex, to be a valid human.”

“Jonghyun hyung is right.” The Prince nodded. “You will always have people advocating a kind of normality that everyone should follow, but that’s bullshit. No one has the right to tell you how to feel and how to live, with who and for how long.”

“But isn’t desire a normal thing…?” Taemin asked, even though both his eyes and lips were starting to smile again.

“Well, why would it?”

“Just be careful, don’t ask yourself the wrong questions.” Jonghyun still warned him. “Don’t wonder why you couldn’t be the normality and everyone else the abnormality. Just erase these two words from your brain and live freely, embrace the way you are. You can live perfectly well without a wife, a husband or weekly sex.”

“So you don’t find me strange…?”

“Boy. I love men.” Kibum laughed.

“And I literally fornicate.” The blonde smiled as well. “With any gender.”

The young apprentice started laughing, all his worries slowly fading away with the help and company of his best friends. He had missed them, so much. Realising the three of them were reunited in a same place, talking like they used to, laughing together… it warmed his heart.

“Are you fine, now ?” Jonghyun asked, stroking his friend’s back. “Or do you have something else to say about all of this ?”

“I’m fine, I think…” Taemin smiled. “It will take me time to feel really… myself ? Like, your words helped me a lot but I think I won’t be all sure and confident once I leave this space.”

“Take your time, don’t rush things.” The Prince said. “Let’s leave this space together, come.”

With these words, the latter stood up and took his friend’s hand, gently pulling him. Both sitting men laughed and joined him, as they left the gazebo together and walked in the gardens. The youngest’s smile was back, although he still looked shy and lacking of self-confidence, but he was so well accompanied that he didn’t feel too uncomfortable. He didn’t regret coming to his former teacher earlier, after a whole night of hesitation and fear of being misunderstood.

At a moment, Jonghyun stopped and looked at him.

“Do you love yourself, Taemin ?” He asked out of the blue, making the other one stutter. “No, I don’t ask you to answer now. But think about it.”

“Yes…” Kibum added. “Take the time you need, and learn to love yourself, whoever you are.”

“How much time can it take…?” The boy wondered out loud.

“Don’t think about it, there isn’t a deadline to that.” The blonde said. “You’re discovering yourself and you’re scared, just listen and acknowledge yourself.”

“Alright… I will do my best but… can you stay with me until I succeed ?”

“We’ll stay with you even after, pumpkin. You’re far from being done with us.”

The Prince smiled and approached his friend, pulling him into a warm embrace. Taemin responded immediately, hugging the other man tight and relishing the sensation of hands stroking his back. The only thing he regretted was the way he had doubted of these two men for a moment, of their reaction to his issue. He should have known that they would help him and not make fun of him, or calling him a freak. Not them.

They were definitely a kind of trio he would have never imagined to witness one day.

When he withdrew, it was to see Jonghyun open an inviting arm, and he came to him to hug him too. It was incredible how his two elders were different even in their way to hug : Kibum was stronger, more into the wish to convey strength, while the teacher was soft and gentle, like an affectionate parent would be. However, receiving their respective embrace one after another worked like a strong medicine for the body and the heart.

“Now that we had such a long discussion I suggest you go back to sleep immediately.” The Prince commanded more than he suggested. “You’re ugly.”

“Trust me, you’re uglier when you don’t sleep.” Taemin retorted, quickly jumping backwards when his friend pretended to kick him. “You started it !”

“I exude royalty and beauty even after three days without sleep, you rotten squash !”

“So I’m not your pumpkin anymore ? Come at me, hold a sword if you can !”

“Kids, enough already.”

Jonghyun shook his head with a smile before he joined his hands together in front of his chest, slowly walking between the two young men. He then pressed his palms against their respective chest and pushed, separating them in a ceremonial way. However, it only made the three of them laugh and both Taemin and Kibum pretended to fight each other again just to make their elder struggle in the middle.

Their laughters resounded in the gardens, until they decided they should make sure the youngest would obey and go to sleep. The latter just asked them for a moment, saying he would grab something to eat in the kitchens before doing whatever they wanted. The elders smiled and let him go, waiting for him.

And once they were alone, they looked at each other.

“So… The General.” Kibum ended up saying.

“Does it bother you ?” Jonghyun asked, even though no answer from his friend would make him change his mind.

“I knew he liked men.”

“I beg your pardon ?”

“He was always so flustered when I complimented him out of the blue, it was hilarious, and his way to eye people was never pretty discreet. But well, I didn’t expect that…”

“You know how I am. But I’m happy about the King and you.”

“We’re not… we’re not something yet. We’re still trying to understand and to know each other.”

“That’s already a good thing. A lot of things happened while I was away, I see… I must catch up.”

The Prince slightly laughed and looked at his friend. When he had heard Taemin revealing about his new lover, he had felt something in his chest. But it had somehow been just at the time, now that he was hearing it from Jonghyun himself… he didn’t feel jealous. The only thing he was sure to feel was maybe the strange sensation to not belong to him anymore, like he used to think he was.

And even though his former teacher was still a gorgeous man, Kibum found himself not wanting him as much as before. There was still something, he couldn’t deny it, something like a memory he wanted to live again, because the blonde had always been the only one to him. But it had changed. He wasn’t the only one anymore.

“I missed you.” He eventually said. “And… even if it feels strange to know about you and someone else… I hope you will be happy like this. I’m sorry for everything I did in the past.”

“You grew up, Kibum.” The elder smiled. “And I’m perfectly certain of one thing : you will find what you look for. I’ve been a first try, but life is made of several tries and obstacles. I hope we won’t lose each other because we change with time.”

“I will never let you go away, I need you by my side. But I believe I’m ready to… let go of you, if that makes sense ? I don’t know…”

“It makes sense. And I will never be too far away, I just want your happiness.”

The Prince shyly smiled and approached his friend, suddenly hesitating. But Jonghyun did it for him, pulling him against him. They shared a long, tight hug, one of those that said goodbye but not completely. It was just about saying goodbye to the past, to better embrace the future as new men, new friends, without any regret nor remorse. And with this quiet agreement, they both felt lighter.

The King straightened up at one of the palace’s countless windows, staring at the scene that was happening in the gardens. The muscle on his jaw was beating as he gritted his teeth, watching his husband hug the man he used to love, a hug that lasted way too long to his taste. In his chest, it was like some hand was having fun by mercilessly pinching his heart, and he felt a combination of too many feelings at once. Anger, disappointment and a sudden fall of self-confidence.

So he had been right.

When he had allowed Kim Jonghyun to come back to the palace, it had of course been a way to thank him for saving his life, it hadn’t been a lie. However, deep inside him, Minho had wanted to use this opportunity to verify his own doubts. And seeing this gorgeous man with long black hair, proudly wearing the pin he had offered him… hugging his former lover with such sweetness, gentleness… it was like a punch in his face, if not a stab in the back.

“Minho ?”

Snapping out of it, the sovereign cleared his throat and turned over to see his childhood friend staring at him with an eyebrow furrowed.

“Is everything alright ?” Jinki asked. “You’re pale.”

“I’m fine, don’t worry.” The other man said, shaking his hand and forcing a smile. “I think my legs are just giving me a hard time, or maybe it’s the opposite.”

“We should get going.”

Saying this, the General approached him and even though Minho tried to step forwards so his friend wouldn’t see what he was looking at… the soldier had obviously a good sense of observation. He looked out of the window and raised his eyebrows with surprise, before he straightened up and gave a look at his king. The latter had his face closed, without any facial expression, but he couldn’t fool someone who had known him for so long.

Without a word at first, Jinki took him by the waist and helped him as they both started to walk again. He had visited him as he had planned to, and found Minho getting dressed and ready to leave somewhere, sitting on his bed. Naturally, they had agreed to walk together, the General helping his friend since the latter’s legs were still struggling to obey their owner. However, he was doing greater day by day and wouldn’t need help anymore in a few days.

As they had left the window and were slowly walking towards the King’s Office, Jinki decided to make the other man talk a bit.

“You’re assuming things, you know ?” He said, making the King tense up.

“This looked pretty clear to me.” The latter replied, his tone a bit sharper than he wanted. “You saw what I saw, didn’t you ?”

“I did. I saw two friends meeting again after months of being separated, and hugging to celebrate.”

“Friends. Don’t try to sugar coat, Jinki, you’re not good at that. It was stupid of me to think he could forget him.”

“The Prince will never forget, no one can forget their first experience. But I think you’re misunderstanding things here, considering how close the two of you are by now…”

“Maybe, but now that he is back here, I’m sure everything will come back to what we were before.”

“That’s impossible, it would be scrapping months of growing trust and affection. Get a grip on yourself, jealousy is something perfectly normal to feel but it doesn’t mean you have to be that pessimistic.”

Minho didn’t answer, not because he thought his friend was right but because he didn’t want to say something out of jealousy that he would regret later. Thankfully, Jinki had never been the kind to force words out of his mouth, he would just leave him be as soon as he would stop talking.

An awkward silence fell on them as they walked, slowly but surely reaching the office. The General opened the door and followed his sovereign inside, watching him taking his seat behind his desk. Over the past days, the amount of scrolls had kept growing on the furniture, since the King had been unable to leave his bed and read everything. It would have been a too difficult task for his husband to fulfill, for he hadn’t been educated to this kind of a kingdom’s matters.

Paperwork was certainly the more boring and tiring thing a ruler had to go through, however it was the only way to keep track of many things as well as communicating with fellows and people. Minho was far from enjoyed to find them again. Without a word and under Jinki’s eyes, who was standing not far from him, he took each scroll and arranged them on the desk according to their topic. He would take the time needed to read everything later, he needed a good organisation before.

After a few minutes, he frowned when taking one that was already unsealed, with an emblem he immediately recognised : it was Mongje’s, the palm of a feminine hand surrounded by a flying untied ribbon. It took only a few seconds for his memory to hit him, and he cursed under his breath, but it didn’t go unnoticed by Jinki.

“Is there a problem ?” The latter asked, watching his sovereign open the scroll and reading it, before pinching the top of his nose. “Minho, what’s wrong ?”

“I fucked up.” The King replied, making the other raise his eyebrows at that language.

“What did you do ? I’m sure it’s repairable.”

“Do you remember the day we held the festival for the people ? When was it ?”

“You mean the day you got hurt… It was ten days ago. Why ?”

“I wanted to keep it for the day after because it could wait, but on that morning, I received a message from the Queen of Maguk. She had been forced to postpone our meeting, because of the loss of her very young child.”

“Yes, I remember that, that’s why you decided to go to Dongjeo instead. Is there something wrong with her Majesty ?”

“Nothing, nothing wrong. But in her message, she was actually replying positively to my very first proposal of meeting. She invites the Prince and I in her kingdom, and she precise that she was preparing our arrival for two weeks following the good reception of this letter.”

The General immediately cursed in his turn, approaching the desk and taking the scroll to read it himself. Indeed, the Queen was accepting a meeting and just doing her role by announcing a date ; since Minho had proposed their encounter in a first place but she had had to refuse, he had replied her message with an official postponing accompanied with a reiterated demand.

This meant they couldn’t refuse, and it was way too late anyway. They only had four days left to be in Maguk, so the journey had to start at the very least two days later. It was beyond impossible.

“You can’t travel.” Jinki said, looking at his friend and quietly hoping the latter wouldn’t even try something that dangerous. “Minho, you can’t. You can barely walk around ten minutes without having to stop, it’s not just about your legs having a temporary after-effect. It’s about your overall health and energy, you can’t risk your life.”

“And what should I do ?” The Kind replied. “It’s too late to refuse and I can’t refuse in a first place, it would be a disrespect towards the Queen. These journeys are made to ensure peace, not to create a political conflict.”

“But you can’t travel !”

“I know !”

Minho had shouted his last sentence and hit the desk with his fist at the same time, making the soldier flinch as the powerful voice resounded against the walls. The veins on his temples were threatening to pop, and his face was red with irritation. He wasn’t angry at Jinki, far from that. It was a whole, the frustration of not being able to move alone combined to that multitude of feelings he had towards his husband and the jealousy that came with it.

Unfortunately, the new issue had been the final straw to what he could handle at a same moment, and it had all been thrown to the General’s face. The latter was standing straight, his face serious and betraying his shock, for he had never seen his childhood friend burst out that way. Never. It was a blessing that Lee Jinki wasn’t one to answer a show of anger with anger, as he remained calm and quiet.

“I… I didn’t mean to yell at you.” The King eventually said, sighing. “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”

“Of course it will happen again.” The soldier said. “You are a king now, you will learn to handle the pressure it means, but it will take time. Shouting is fine, as long as you do it with me and not in the middle of a council.”

“Yes… I’m trapped. I can’t not go, it would be an insult.”

“You couldn’t plan to fall ill and to be in such a physical state… we have to find a solution. If there is one.”

As soon as he said these words, the two men heard laughters coming from outside and slowly coming their way. Minho recognised his husband’s so easily identifiable voice, and didn’t have any difficulty to guess the other two were his friends. The solution was coming to them, and he hadn’t any other choice than to give it a try… He notified his friend about what he wanted him to do, and watched Jinki nod and leave the office before walking towards the three men.

He heard the voices fading until he could only make out a blather being the soldier’s command, and waited. Within a few seconds, the General was back in his office, holding the door for the Prince who entered with furrowed eyebrows at the sight of his King. Following him were his young companion, whose eyes looked horribly tired, and his former teacher with his wise expression as always.

“My King ?” Kibum asked as he was the one to approach the desk. “You seem troubled, more than I’ve ever seen you.”

“I am about to request something from you, something I feel extremely ashamed to ask.” Minho only said, making his husband grow even more worried. “It is my mistake that should be repaired, and I apologise that it has to be on your shoulders.”

“Please do so. If I can do anything to put you out of an embarrassment, I will gladly grant your request.”

The King took a deep breath and looked up to meet the Prince’s eyes, handing him the unsealed scroll.

“On the day I got hurt, I received a message from the Queen Hyoyeon of Maguk.” He explained. “It was an official reply to my previous letter that was presenting my condolences to her family for the loss of their son.”

“I remember, we had to postpone our journey to grant her the right to mourn peacefully.” His husband nodded, taking the paper and quickly reading it.

“Precisely. My letter was also containing a reiterated proposal for an encounter, which she only had to accept and accompany with a date I would yield to.”

“Fourteen days as from the day you will receive this message… which means we only have… four days left ?”

“Yes, but I am afraid I am not in the state to travel, and refusing would be like insulting the Queen and declaring war.”

Kibum widened his eyes ad he looked up, noticing the anger on his husband’s face. Minho was hating himself for forgetting about such an important matter, and even more for the fact he couldn’t do his duty.

“My King…” The raven haired man ended up calling him. “What do you want me to do ?”

“The only solution is for you to travel alone, on our behalf.” The other man said, his teeth gritted. “To fix something I messed up myself.”

“By the Gods, what are you saying… you were shot and poisoned, you cannot blame yourself for not being able to grant a request, from anyone. You were not in the right state to remember about this message nor to warn me about it, and I could have seen it myself if I had taken a look at paperwork during your convalescence. No one is to blame.”

“Still, this is something I am forcing on you.”

“And I will go and represent us like you would have done for me in Dongjeo.”

The King finally looked up, surprised by the determination in his husband’s tone and eyes. Pleasantly surprised, and the lump in his throat slowly reduced.

“Would you…?” He managed to ask.

“Of course I would, and I will.” Kibum affirmed. “Have I not shown myself willing to properly serve you ? I am completely opposed to the simple thought of letting you travel, my biggest wish is for your good recovery.”

“Do you feel ready to meet a ruler alone ? I am beyond certain of your abilities but I want to know if you feel fine about it. Queen Hyoyeon is the most important ruler after myself.”

“I am ready for this, my King. You can put your trust in me, I will encounter her on your behalf with pride.”

Minho pondered the Prince’s words, for a long moment that felt like hours to the other quiet men in the room. If it hadn’t been for the General to clear his throat and draw him out of his thoughts, it could have lasted even longer.

“Then I shall thank you, my Prince, for accepting to fix this mistake of mine.” He announced, straightening up. “I believe you will represent Jinju with all the magnificence our kingdom deserves.”

“I will not disappoint you, my King.” Kibum replied. “When should I expect to leave ?”

“In two days, at dawn. We will do our best to prepare the journey in this short lapse of time, please only focus on your belongings. Who will accompany you ?”

“I will, your Highness.” Jinki stepped forwards, surprising his sovereign. “I will ensure his Grace’s safety during the journey and his stay at Maguk, and will also provide him all the help and advices he will need.”

“Thank you, General.” The Prince smiled. “I will also take my companion with me, and I would like to ask you a favour.”

“A favour ?” Minho raised an eyebrow. “I am all ears.”

“I would like you to accept the presence of Sir Jonghyun as your helper for the time we are away. I definitely do not want you to risk your health and although I am aware that you dislike receiving help… it is actually not a favour but an order from your husband and Prince.”

The King raised both his eyebrows, taken aback by the Prince’s boldness. He wasn’t extremely enchanted by the idea of spending a few days alone with the man who could steal his husband back, but he guessed he had no choice. He reluctantly nodded as a way to agree, and before he could say anything more, Kibum had asked to be dismissed so Taemin could rest and he could start gathering his belongings.

As soon as he left the office, followed by his two friends, Minho looked a Jinki who just offered him a smile, the kind that said “I told you”. The kind he hated. This definitely signed the beginning of a moody period for the King of Jinju.

Kibum was tossing and turning in his bed, unable to find sleep even when the night was so well advanced. His mind was way too busy with thoughts, precisely wonders about what he could have done so wrong lately, for his husband to be so closed and distant. He had spent the last two days running here and there in the palace to make sure everything was getting ready for his journey, that would start a few hours after. However, he had always taken time to visit the King in his quarters, as usual.

Yet, their meetings hadn’t come as well as they used to, Minho being incredibly in a foul mood that made him quite unbearable. He was remaining quiet, giving the impression to not give any attention to what his Prince was saying, and even refusing help. Kibum had frowned more in two days than in his own life, and he had even ended up snapping at the sovereign, leaving him alone for a few hours the day before after telling him he was acting like a spoiled child and it didn’t look like him.

He had immediately regretting his words until the General himself had come to him to reassure him… and say he had done the right thing, because the King had reflected and was waiting for him to apologise. Apologise he did, however he remained moody as hell and the raven haired man couldn’t think of leaving for a few days without knowing what was going in his husband’s mind.

As he sat up straight and looked on the side, he smiled. Lying next to him, Taemin was peacefully sleeping, his hair covering half of his face as he was holding his pillow tight. For the nights following his confession, Kibum had proposed his young friend to sleep with him just like when they were children and teens, since he had a constant need to be reassured because of his identity crisis. It was just sleeping in the presence of someone he trusted, so his sleep wasn’t bothered by his lonely thoughts.

The Prince softly pushed his strands away from his eyes and slid out of bed, carefully putting the sheet on his friend. He adjusted his own shirt on his shoulder and thighs before putting his slippers on, and leaned on his bedside table to light a candle. He then took its metallic stand in his hand and quietly left his quarters, closing the door as discreetly as possible.

Thankfully, everyone was asleep in the palace so he would go unnoticed. Still, he made sure to be extremely silent with his feet grazing the floor, as he walked through the long corridor that was separating his room from the king’s. In no time, he was facing the huge door and he felt his heart beat faster, his stomach tighten. He was anxious, but he couldn’t allow himself to leave without being sure that nothing was wrong between his husband and him.

Gathering his courage, Kibum took a deep breath before he opened the royal quarters’ door, slipping inside and closing the panel just as quietly. Carefully, he approached the bed and made out the silhouette of the King, lying on his side and offering him his back, with the sheet only covering his lower part. He was bare chest, and the Prince distinguished his scar thanks to the candle light before he put the object on the bedside table. Slowly, he leaned on the asleep man and softly put his hand on his shoulder.

What he hadn’t expected was for Minho to immediately grab his wrist with his other hand, and sitting up at a fast clip with a sword threatening his throat. He gasped, his eyes widening with a sudden fear as he made his best effort not to scream. The King frowned when he noticed who the intruder was, and he lowered his blade.

“My Prince ?” He asked. “I could have hurt you ! What are you doing here ?”

“Wh-Why do you have a sword in your bed ?” Kibum only asked in return, still in shock.

“Just… a matter of safety, I always have my sword under the bolster.”

With these words, Minho put his weapon back to from he had taken it, letting go of the other man’s wrist. When he turned towards the latter again, both men stared at each other for a few seconds.

“You should be asleep.” The King eventually spoke. “Your journey starts soon.”

“I can’t sleep, I suppose I will catch up in the chariot.” Kibum replied, sitting at the edge of the bed. “My King… I can’t sleep because of you.”

“Because of me ? Our rooms are countless feet away from each other.”

“See, that’s exactly why I can’t sleep. What did I do to deserve the cold shoulder you’re giving me for two days ?”

“I’m sorry ?”

“You heard me well, don’t think I didn’t notice it. Since the day you asked me to go alone, you’re being extremely cold with me. You reject me. And don’t you dare denying, I wouldn’t be there if it was just a mistake.”

Minho stared at husband, keeping quiet for a few seconds. Obviously he wasn’t used to have someone other than Jinki asking him to explain himself with such a determination. But he couldn’t deny the hurt in Kibum’s eyes any longer, he was suffering from his behaviour and he had all the right to. He knew he had been awful, because of his jealousy and so he could perhaps live better the next few days far from him… with someone he thought as his rival taking care of him.

The King realised thanks to his husband’s eyes that he had gone way too far with his attitude. His heart sunk into a sea of regrets and he slowly sighed.

“You’re right.” He said. “I’ve been distant.”

“Did I do something wrong…?” The Prince asked. “I know I can say things that exceed my thoughts sometimes but I don’t remember saying something that could have hurt you ? Was it because… I didn’t come to see you enough…?”

“No, no, it’s nothing about that.”

“Then what could have made you act that way, I don’t understand…”

“I… I was dying of jealousy. I know, it’s ridiculous.”

Kibum raised his eyebrows. Jealousy ?

“What do you mean, my King…?” He asked, gently taking his husband’s hand in his. “What jealousy are you talking about, did I not show you how… how dear I hold you in my heart…?”

“You showed it so well, that’s why my attitude is beyond stupid.” Minho replied. “I’ve been thinking a lot about us lately and… I don’t know, what if what we’re sharing isn’t what I think it is ?”

“You will have to explain me the depths of your mind, I don’t understand…”

“I mean… What if you’re interested in me because… because I’m the only one around you ? It’s my fault if you were alone in a first place, because I sent the dearest person you had away…”

“Don’t tell me… you’re thinking I’m using you as some kind of… replacement ? Because I don’t have anyone else than you around me for months ?”

“Stupid, right…”

The Prince stayed dumbfounded, his mouth half opened as he could have never imagined that.

“My King… how did it get into your head that I could use you like that…” He ended up sighing, a smile enlightening his features. “I though I had hurt you…”

“I got hurt, in a way, but not by you.” The sovereign replied, lowering his eyes. “I saw you with Sir Jonghyun and I don’t know, it was like we were back to the days following our wedding, I thought…”

“You thought I would go back with him and cheat again ?”

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be… I promise you there is no such thing between us anymore. We talked about it, indeed, but… it was only because we hadn’t seen each other for long. I don’t plan to go back with him, my King, I promise I won’t.”

Minho looked up when he felt fingers under his chin, and his eyes met his husband’s, the latter’s soft smile quickly making him smile in return. Within a few seconds, Kibum climbed on the bed and straddled the other man, sitting on his thighs with his own legs bent. He put both his hands on his cheeks and caressed them with his thumbs.

“I promise you…” He whispered. “The only person I want now… is you…”

“You promise…?” The King asked with the same tone, his arms softly circling the other man’s waist. “That’s a really committing promise…”

“And I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t mean it… Never give me the cold shoulder again, alright…?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to hurt you…”

“It’s fine, I suppose I can forgive you at one condition.”

“Which is…? I hope I can give in to it.”

“Just kiss me.”

“I can.”

The sovereign didn’t wait to be asked twice, his lips drawing a smile before he applied a pressure on his husband’s back to make him come closer. As soon as their face were almost touching each other, he closed the distance by claiming Kibum’s lips with an incredible gentleness. The latter smiled in his turn and circled Minho’s neck, giving in to the kiss with just as much softness, their lips moving against each other slowly, carefully, as if they were made of the most breakable glass.

They were holding onto each other like they always did, as if they were afraid to separate even if only one second. The kiss quickly grew stronger, more passionate, as their lips half opened to let their tongues meet in the middle, then inside one’s mouth. Their bodies were slowly heating up as their breath was going sharper, both men drinking each other’s exhalations. A few seconds later, they weren’t even realising that the Prince was leaning more and more as the King was slowly falling on his back, pulling his husband with him.

When Kibum broke the kiss, he was overhanging his sovereign and offered him a smile before stealing him a quick kiss.

“My journey is soon…” He whispered. “I want to catch up these last tow days before leaving you…”

“Then I shall comply to your desires…” Minho responded, his hand slowly going up the other man’s waist under his night shirt. “We don’t need to do everything, you know, we can just…”

“I know… have you ever…?”

“Nothing… I mean… except lonely things…”

“Then it’s my duty to show you the first steps…”

With a smile, Kibum leaned on his husband and kissed him full on the lips, the other man welcoming him gladly. The latter returned a passionate, hot kiss while his hands were clumsily wandering under the Prince’s shirt, making their way against the warm skin of his waist and back. It was the first time he was touching him that way and although he could feel he wasn’t doing it to perfection, he was adoring it. Feeling the sensation of the smooth milky skin under his fingers was enough to arouse him, and to reduce his previous worry.

Above him, Kibum kissed him in a way that made his head turn, his body asking for more, but he kept quiet and let him do. He certainly knew what he was doing… and the King got his confirmation when he felt the raven haired man move forwards on his thighs, his crotch finding itself against his, since he was already naked under his sheet, and drawing a sigh out of his mouth. Like an instinct, something he didn’t control, his body moved by itself to look for some friction as he felt himself hardening because of the contact.

The Prince slightly laughed, his low voice coming directly from the back of his throat as he straightened up to remove his shirt by making him go over his head. He carelessly threw it on the bed, his hand finding its way on his husband’s cheek as he let the latter observe him. Minho was shamelessly eyeing him, looking at his thin, appealing torso. His collarbones were even more pronounced now that his whole chest was naked, and the King couldn’t love them more. His eyes went lower, detailing the lines and curves of Kibum’s waist and hips, until the body hair on his lower abdomen…

He blushed a bit and looked up, what made the other man laugh and lean on him, pulling him into another kiss. But this time, their moving lips and tongues were accompanied by the Prince hands roaming Minho’s strong torso, caressing his skin and muscles until his their whole bodies were covered with shivers. It was like a real blaze was invading them both, and the only way to appease the fire was to touch each other.

The King moaned when he felt a pressure against his now hardened member, and Kibum sighed in his mouth, proving he had felt it too. Slowly, the man on top slid his hand between their bodies, making its way to their linked crotched until it found what it wanted. Minho gasped when he felt thin, cold fingers closing around his member, closing his eyes and firmly gripping his husband’s hips. He knew what it felt like to have his hand touching himself, but this contact being done by someone else was… beyond fantastic.

The Prince stared at the man under him, smiling at the thought he was the first one carrying him away with only one touch. It was so new for the King that he would certainly reach his highest peak in no time, but he wanted to relish every single second… thus, he slowly made his hand loosen its grip around the thin, long cock of his husband, and made it slide back and forth. He set a steady rhythm up, never ceasing to look at him.

Minho bit his lip and opened his eyes, meeting the other man’s and blushing, yet being immediately reassured by the smile that was offered to him. He somehow felt impressed by the way Kibum knew how to do things, it seemed so easy to him, as if he already knew exactly how to make him feel good. He was just starting to remember that his husband had indeed already done such things with someone else, when a harder stroke on his member shut his thoughts up.

A low moan escaped his throat, that made the Prince bite his lower lip and decide he also needed to feel this same pleasure. Slowly, surprising the other man, he approached their cocks even closer, until they were touching each other and aligned.

“Oh God…” Minho moaned and closed his eyes as he felt Kibum’s hand open a bit to close again, this time around both their cocks at once.

He hadn’t time to think more as the Prince immediately started stroking them, his long and thin fingers having no difficulty to hold them both. The latter kept his eyes open to watch his husband’s features twist with pleasure, sweat forming in his forehead and chest. He hadn’t even looked at his cock but he could feel that it was different from his, admittedly thiner but also longer. However, they were both in the same state, wet with precum, swollen and warm.

The steady rhythm he had set up for a few seconds ended up not being enough, and Kibum fastened his wrist’s gesture as he leaned on to capture Minho’s lips. The latter immediately caught his nape with one of his hand, the other one going from his hip to his back and holding onto it. They kissed shamelessly, not caring about the noise their make, kissing sounds arousing them even more than just the sound of their wet cocks being stroked together.

The royal quarters were filled with sighs and muffled moans, both men living the same raw feeling as their bodies and minds were on the same wavelength. The King suddenly felt his whole body tense up as a familiar yet stronger sensation invaded his crotch, and he held firmly onto his husband’s body, pulling him closer as his sight was going white. In no time, his breathing went sharper, broken, and a stronger stroker made him touch the stars. With his mouth half open against Kibum’s lips, Minho let his pleasure out, his whole body trembling and covered with sweat and shivers.

The Prince never ceased his movement, his own orgasm soon drawn by the sensation of his husband’s ecstasy. They felt their torsos being splattered with something warm, the feeling accompanying it being so delightful that their bodies slowly lost all the strength they had just a moment before. Kibum resisted a few seconds more until his arm didn’t respond anymore, and he let go of their cocks to hold himself on Minho’s body, palm against the mattress.

The sensation of being knocked out was holding them both in the same immaculate space, where the only thing they could see were stars. The raven haired man eventually let his body rest on the other’s, not caring about their cum melting into each other. Silence fell in the room, if it wasn’t for the lovers’ desynchronised breathings.

The King was the first one to open his eyes, staring at the celling where he could still see the remains of stars he had just seen behind his close eyelids. His sight remained blurry for a few seconds, the perfect illustration of his mind at the moment, and once he started snapping out of his orgasm, his grip turned into a soft caress on his husband’s back. Kibum had his face buried in his neck, his breathing still intermittent, and Minho let him take his time to come back from heavens by gently stroking him.

He knew that moment had come when he felt the Prince’s nose brushing against his skin as to look for his warmth and embrace. He let him do as he wanted, only smiling and hugging him tighter. He was too happy to think about anything else than the man lying on top of him, all of his worries disappearing from his mind. His bed had never felt this comfortable.

#minkey #minho #key #kibum #shinee #fanfic #historical #kingdom of jinju #jongyu #jonghyun #onew #jinki #taemin #NC-17

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bbulmeintea · 3 years

Text

All those little stars in your eyes.

Romantic Pairings: Polyam OT5 SHINee.

Platonic Pairings:

Genre: Minimal Plot // Slice of life.

Warnings: 13+ Alludes to tw // Dec 18 due to the mystical aspects.

Contains: Neopronouns, Trans Identities (N-B), Polyamory.

Word Count: 3,906 words (according to A03).

Summary: "Who doesn't hate Mondays?"

A/N: "Disclaimer! This is a fanfiction meaning it is a work of fiction and not intended to be imitated, offensive, or impose danger on anyone, including those involved in the following story. Thank you for reading!"

Alternative: AO3.

Monday. Jonghyun hated Mondays with a passion. He hated the way Roo, his little puppy, liked to clean his face of last night’s booze binge. He hated the way his Taemin collapsed on top of him last night, and he most definitely hated the way Kibum poked him awake with a cup of coffee and a smile.

"Morning bubs.”

"Morning."

"So, are you going to make breakfast with me before Taemin heads off to uni, or gonna pick up food with Jinki?- Oh, wait, are you having brunch with Minho today because-"

"Babe?"

"Yes?"

"I don't know."

Jonghyun glimpsed up, expecting the worst. Why? Because it's sorta his thing to expect the person you'd crush the world for to be crushed by his honesty. Besides, it's happened way too many times before with others. I guess people don't exactly like hearing "I don't know".

“Bubs?”

“Yes?”

"Take your coffee of death. It's burning my hand."

Kibum giggled, watching the way their Jonghyun became. The way his brown eyes sparkled up at theirs. The way his pretty pink lips formed a tiny little 'o' shape like a Cheerio. Lastly, the way his hands clasped the black mug, but not just that, also squeezed their thumb before taking it.

"I can't believe you've been drinking that ‘stuff’ every day-"

"Well, it's my favorite-"

"For 127 years straight.”

“Besides you, babe.”

Jonghyun always had those little smirks too. Like a catty school girl, which surprisingly matched well with his messy brown bed hair, and dark circles.

"No wonder why I keep making it for you every day."

"You're just too cute, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Shameless."

Even with Kibum's laugh that could light a room, he still hated Mondays with a passion. Jonghyun hated the way he got carried away with Kibum talking about absolutely nothing like coffee. Something so dark, deep, and muggy was probably horrible for his health. Still, Jonghyun loved it so much he'd drink it for another 127 years easily. Besides, every eternal creature has at least one bad habit.

Jonghyun took a long sip of his coffee, "Babe?"

"Yes, bubs?" Kibum raised an eyebrow, "if this is about wearing my gray fuzzy sweater again-”

"No," Jonghyun chuckled. He sure did stretch it out last time. "You didn't... Answer my question."

"Which question?" They asked, "because I'm sure you answered mine."

"Which was?"

"About making breakfast, getting breakfast, or having brunch."

"And I answered?"

"You didn't know."

"And?"

Scrunch. Even with the small amounts of light peering in due to Taemin's reckless movements. Jonghyun could make out every little detail, mark, and bruise on kibum's face from their white skin, blue contacts overlapping their natural red eyes, and the scrunch.

"And... What?"

The scrunch, which caused unnecessary wrinkles on their face, but made them present much more… Human-like?

“What do you… What did you think about my answer?”

Sigh. Kibum loved looking into those soft little eyes. Sometimes, it's hard to believe they belong to someone who's no longer human. However, Kibum always seemed to find the humanity in them when things got dark.

"Bubs."

"Yes?"

"I respect your choice, answer, or whatever you want to call it."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Why?"

"Why?" Kibum replied, their words trailing as they got closer. "You and Taem had another one of those active nights would be rude if I ordered you around, now."

"It wouldn't," Jonghyun grumbled.

Kibum planted a kiss onto his forehead, "Those dark circles say another story, bubs"

"Uh."

"Can't sleep again?"

"Nope, not even a little."

"And you thought drinking insane amounts of alcohol yesterday would change it?”

“Yeah.”

"Was it fun to tire the little human out?" Kibum asked, glimpsing at their snoring Taemin. "You know vae's not good with alcohol, Jjong."

He shrugged, "Vae insisted."

"No way!" Their mouth gaped, "Taem can barely handle university, let alone you!”

"Me!?"

"Yes, you."

"What's wrong with me?" Curse Jonghyun for flashing those little innocent eyes. "I can handle my alcohol."

"You can," Kibum rolled their eyes, "way too well."

"Been practicing for 127 years, babe."

"Bet you have."

"That's a risky bet, Kibummie."

"Why? You some kind of gambler, Mx. Kim."

"Maybe..." His eyes trailed down their body, "come to bed and find out."

"With you?" They scoffed, "no way, it's Monday."

Instant eye roll. Another reason why Jonghyun hated Mondays. Sure, he partied like a human on Sunday, but the moment Monday came, he dreaded it all. Perhaps, it came from his parents, who always ate boring dinner and stared out the window because surprise! There were no televisions, radios, or computers. Sadly.

"And you know Monday is organizing day, and I'm not going to let you keep me in bed all day-”

"Like me?"

"Bubs," Kibum sighed, running their fingers through his mess of a hair. "I know sometimes it's hard to get up. I know it's like hell for you, but."

Jonghyun replied, "But I should get up and stop being lazy? Right?"

"But it's okay."

"It's okay..?"

"It's okay if those unbearable days happen. It won't feel great, but I get it. I mean, I understand you've been having a hard time, and since I'm not you, I’ll never understand the lengths of this hard time but-"

"Babe?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

Jonghyun stared into his mug. Somehow, it was almost empty, yet he still didn't feel the kick of it. He never did. Jonghyun usually drank it for the taste and because it's a habit, but that doesn't mean he didn't indulge in other unhealthy things, though.

Kibum titled his head up, "bubs, you know I love talking to you all morning, but I have to get started on breakfast."

"Oh," Kibum noticed Jonghyun's mouth twitch thingy flare up again, "wasn't there an option to… Get something with Jinki?"

"Yes."

"Then ask him to-”

"He only goes if you go, bubs."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because you're a cute thingie-doo, Jjong."

Huff. Jonghyun hated Mondays with a passion, especially if he's in a freezing car leaning against his Jinki in the middle of January. Jonghyun hated the way he could smell every inch of perfection off Jinki. He hated the way the repeating CD played their favorite songs. He most definitely hated wearing Jinki's oversized hoodie that covered him in that same perfection.

"Mm, doll?"

"Yes?”

"Is something wrong?"

"No."

"Well… You know, Kibum says I'm a pretty good listener. Just so you know.”

"Taem's asleep."

"And? You tired vaer out yesterday."

"Vae insisted!"

"Vae only insists for hickeys from Kibum knowing well what it leads to."

"Vampires," Jonghyun groaned, "why couldn’t I date a cute angel?"

Jinki flashed a smile, "Like me?"

"I mean an actual angel, Darling.”

"Can a human not become an angel?"

"No way!”

Jonghyun wouldn't dare trade Jinki with an angel. They talk way too much and are crazy about this whole life purpose thing. That's Another eye roll. Why do angels get so attracted to eternal creatures? Jonghyun's not too different from them. I mean, they both practically live forever. Well, no. Eternal creatures are forever. They might die over and over, but still exist. Angels, huff! They never are alive, have big heavy wings, and are kinda like helpers. Jonghyun's no helper.

“Wait, hey, wait.”

“Yes?”

“Darling, what was I talking about?”

“Something about Taem sleeping.”

“Oh… Right.”

“Vae’s asleep.”

“And? You tired vaer out.”

"They insisted!"

"They’re also human like me, and we both know… That-”

"Humans get tired really quickly, especially if they've been drinking all night and eating fried chicken at 3am.”

"During?"

"During Kibummie’s last hour.”

"When?"

"When Minho is running off the effects of the full moon."

"Lastly?"

"Taem is pretty loud, so we should have done it in the soundproof studio."

"Oh No!" He watched Jinki's eyes widened, and ears flush red. "Jonghyun! Doll! I actually meant-"

Jonghyun twirled his Jinki's hoodie strings, "Am I not right?"

"I get what you mean, but..." Jinki paused. Sometimes, he could be too nice for his own good. "You're not so quiet yourself."

"Me!?" Jonghyun nearly choked. Jinki didn't know eternal creatures could choke like that. "Not quiet? Darling, I've been doing this for-"

Jinki replied, "127 years, I know, I know.”

"Actually," Jonghyun corrected, "111 years. A little late compared to my fellow peers.”

"16?" Jinki shrugged, "actually that's a little young-”

"In the early 1900s though?"

"Oh, right. Fair point."

"Sir, your order is ready."

He's so used to it. Jonghyun hated that his Jinki was used to odd stares and polite whispers because of his complicated existence. It just wasn't fair. I mean, no way in hell would Jonghyun wish to be visible again to outsiders or... Yuck, humans.. However, he'd wish for all the creepy smiles, never-ending stares, and uncomfortable questions to stop. I mean, what's the big deal if Jinki's dating several mythical creatures? Like a werewolf, vampire, and an eternal creature. It's nothing out of the ordinary.

"Doll?" Jonghyun paused his effortless huffs and rambling mind. "I'm going inside to get the food wanna come?"

"No." Of course, he did. Jonghyun loved holding his Jinki's hand in a warm cafe with good music. It's better than freezing in his pearl aqua 2008 Toyota Prius. "You sure?"

"Totally."

"And this has nothing to do with the stares we’d get?"

"It has everything to do with it, Jinki.”

"I know."

"Y-you know..?"

"It makes you uncomfortable and..."

"I feel bad that you're practically talking to air."

"Cute air."

So, maybe Jonghyun didn't have a problem with being Jinki's cute air. I mean, bakeries on a Monday aren't exactly Jonghyun's style. They're crowded with students in masks, businessmen in suits, and freshly baked bread. Okay, the latter is tasty, but it's not Jonghyun's sense if it's not Jinki's. The 28-year-old could be goofy, outgoing, carefree, but in crowded spaces? Ha, no way in hell. Still, Jinki loved vaer enough to get vaer proper breakfast of ice coffee.. And the other important human stuff.

“Sir, your order is 82508, right?” Jonghyun eyed the woman in front of them, no different from other humans. Her outfit was a size too tight, she had metal braces, and a dead cheery smile. “Or am I wrong?”

"Actually, I think you're right," Jinki said, his gaze shifting to Jonghyun. "Right, doll?"

"..."

"Jonghyunnie, is the order correct?"

"Y-You're asking me... In public?"

"Yeah, who else would I be asking?"

“Sir, who are you talking to?”

Jinki, you're talking to yourself or so it seemed from her perspective. At first, she found her eyes wandering to the gorgeous stranger. Sure, he was clearly older, had this little lost lamb look to him, but she didn't mind that or his weird talk to air act. Maybe, cute air?

"Sir, if you really can't remember." Betzy's fingers twirled around her ponytail. Yeah, Betzy. Jonghyun might have seen her nametag earlier. "I'd be glad to help you jog your memory outside of work sometime-”

"No," Jinki declined, "I'm actually waiting for my boyfriend to remind me. You know, horrible memory."

Jonghyun repeated, scoffing, "Horrible memory, yeah, right.”

"Boyfriend?" Jinki nodded as her eyes scanned around, missing Jonghyun completely. "Where?"

He pointed, "right here. You can't miss him. He's handsome with dark brown hair, brown eyes, and-"

Blah, blah, and oh, blah, blah, blah! Jonghyun felt light as pink flushed across his cheeks. Usually, he looked pretty human, you know, breathing or something? However, this public flushing feeling made him seem out of this world as if he was floating towards the sky.

"Jjong?"

"Y...Yes? I mean, Yeah?"

"Do you remember the numbers now?"

"Theonesshesaidyip.”

"Again, doll?"

"You know.”

"I know, cute air."

"Okay- Wait. You do?"

“You’re not so mysterious, Mx. Jonghyun.”

Look away. Jonghyun hated Mondays with a passion, especially when his body refused to do anything more than squeeze into an uncomfortable human chair. Fuck chairs. Like why chairs? Another sigh. Wait, don't get Jonghyun started on forks. Forks, why forks!?

"Why forks?" Taemin raised an eyebrow at vaer Jonghyun's sudden cry.

"King?"

"Yes, Taem?"

"What did the forks do to you?"

What had the forks done? You'd have no idea, Taemin. Besides, being a waste of stainless steel and time. How could humans use these!? Oh, and wait, they did one more sinister thing, reflect the beauty in front of him, Taemin. Vae somehow always looked pretty in the morning. Maybe it's vaer messy blonde hair, hassled together uniform, and overall presence? Something like that.

"Nothing." Jonghyun sighed in relief, relaxing into the cloud of a chair. "Just thinking about it."

"It?" Vaer brown eyes seemed to always shine in the sunlight, "it? Like aliens?"

"Aliens don't exist, Taem." They did. You have no idea.

"Really?" Of course, not. Aliens are just rich beings.

"Then demons, demi-gods, and gnomes?"

Jonghyun loved watching the spark take over in Taemin's eyes when the topic of mythical creatures came up. Somehow, it made him feel special.

"Not all folklore is true, human."

"Oh..." And there goes the spark.

"I mean, like, princesses don't wait... For princes, they date other princesses ‘n stuff.”

"Oh?" And it's back!

"As if."

The brunette would've pouted hadn't it been for the familiar pink puffy perfume in the air, Kibum's scent to be exact. It's a frequently shared fragrance in the household through hugs. However, everyone's at least aware to never get caught spraying it, unless you're asking for an earful.

"Master," Taemin broke into a smile as hands ran through vaer tangled hair. "You smell nice... F-for once."

She leaned down to kiss their forehead, "Thanks, trying."

"Wait." Taemin’s smile came to a halt, vaer eyes immediately locking into Jonghyun's.

Taemin faintly whispered, "It's Minnie?"

"Yes," he nodded without a thought, "it's Minnie."

"It's Minnie."

"Right."

"Why?"

Why was a perfect question! Why would anyone dare to wear Kibum's signature scent straight from the bottle? Who knows, but for now, Jonghyun would enjoy the visual masterpiece reflecting in his fork. Starting from Minnie's navy blue cat sweater and ending with her white mini skirt, then some, of course.

Minho asked, "You like it, pup?"

"What?" Jonghyun mumbled, "I mean... Y-Yeah."

Taemin shrugged, "Wipe the drool, then."

"Taem!"

"What."

"It's Minnie!? Wearing that- I- You know!”

"I know."

"And?"

"Master's gonna kill her."

"With love."

Minnie rolled her eyes at him, “With a long lecture.”

He was right, sadly.

Well, anyways.

Jonghyun hated Mondays with a passion, you know, besides waking up to a wiggling dog- No, not Minnie (this time). He just hated when they all parted. No, he isn't exactly clingy. Okay, maybe a tinzy bit as Jonghyun always ended up in one of their beds eventually. Well, yesterday night, he was thankful to have crashed on his own with his Taemin attracted. Which oddly always made it harder when reality set in. Vae would go to prison.

Taemin replied, snatching their bookbag off the couch, “but it’s not prison.”

“Then how else would you explain doing manual labor?” Jonghyun shrugged, “sounds like prison to me.”

Jinki asked, combing through their hair, “You mean university?”

“Yeah,” Jonghyun shrugged, “that thing.”

“Totally prison with debt,” Jinki replied, “I mean I’m still paying off mines.”

“See.” He pointed. “Waste of money.”

Minho said, “But they’re rich, Jjong.”

“Which… Is why it’s not needed,” Jonghyun stuttered, “I didn’t go.”

“It is a waste of time,” Jinki yawned, dropping the comb on the couch. “I never liked it.”

“I quit,” Minho mumbled, tidying Taem’s uniform. “Wasn’t fun.”

“See!”

“I don’t.”

“Why not?”

“We all know you’re just clingy.”

“I’m not clingy? Me!? Never!”

“Oh, king. You totally are.”

“Taem, shush. You’re the one wasting your money on an institution that does nothing, but hurt the minority.”

Tap. Tap. Tap. The two remained silent, walking. Listening to the sound of their black loafers clicking the ground. Jonghyun's brown eyes lingered on nothing, not the humans passing by or the dogs sniffing out his presence. Dogs are smart. Probably, why Jonghyun adopted a small dog of his own, Roo. Byulroo's a smart girl. She doesn't have to see him to know where he is. Like Taemin doesn't have to look to know Jonghyun's pouting.

Vae didn't look back. "Something wrong?"

"We're fighting, aren't we?" Jonghyun already knows the answer.

Taemin's tongue popped against vaer mouth, "Well, you insulted my education so."

"Insulted?" His eyes widened, "human, I didn't mean it that way."

"Then, how did you?" The blonde's voice like honey. Thin. Fragile. Sweet.

"At 23, I didn't know what I wanted to do."

"I do, though."

"I don't even remember what I was doing then."

"Yeah?”

"Yeah.”

"Your point?"

"My point is." His fingers stretched, reaching for their wrist. "Don't make the same mistake I did. Not knowing, I mean."

Vae grasped his hand, sighing. "I know, it's just..."

"Just?"

"Education is everything to her."

"Her?"

"My mom."

“Right.”

"And I'm everything to my mom, so."

"So, you're doing this to make her happy?"

Taemin shut vaer eyes, ignoring the gaining stares around vaer to take a needed deep breath. Things aren't so simple. Jonghyun understood this and probably more than most due to his eternal situation.

"Education is important, Jjong." Taemin said, "I want to provide for you someday, anyway."

"Provide for me?"

"You, Minnie, Jinki, and Bummie."

"But we're all way older than you, Taem.”

"Yeah, but you're also mythical creatures in the human world."

"Oh.”

Vae turned, "it's my way of showing I care."

"But we know you care." He replied.

Vae bit their lip, masking vaer smile. "You do?"

"We do," Jonghyun nodded, "you're an important piece of Taem without you, is it even worth it?"

Vae questioned, "It?"

"You know," Jonghyun muttered as their fingers overlapped.

Taemin squeezed their hand, "I know."

“Taemin!”

Don't look! So, Jonghyun hated Mondays with a passion. Yet, he didn't hate stepping away as Taemin's only friend, Sara, circled vaer with gossip. Who'd want an eternal creature listening in any way?

Taemin clutched their invisible pearls. "Liberty did what?"

"Yeah," Sara giggled into her wrist, "she got coked up at Jackson's party."

Vae frowned, "Damnit, I missed it."

"Taemin!"

"What? We both know Liberty's a bitch."

"Major one."

"Still upset she called Minnie a..." Sara halted, Taemin's look saying enough, "Nevermind."

"Minnie's not even in uni anymore, Sara!"

"Why did she drop out anyway?”

"You know," Vaer eyes flickered to Jonghyun, "Minnie's not exactly-"

"Bright?"

"But she's-"

Sara nodded, "Super hot."

"Sara!"

"What!" She twirled her hair. "You're dating hot Minnie and anti-social Kibum. It's a major score."

Taemin shrugged, "I suppose."

"How'd you even meet Minnie anyway?" She asked, "because one day you're talking to ghost and the next..."

Vae shrugged, "Long story."

"Long story to hear on our way to uni?"

"Oh yeah, definitely."

Flush. Minnie didn't need to hear Kibum's stomping feet to know all hell would break loose. Well, according to "I lived for 127 years," Jonghyun, hell doesn't exist. However, cuddling on the couch, the two knew the closest thing had to be a mad Kibum.

"Who?" The yellowness in her eyes heightened.

"Why?" He swallowed, now this would be interesting.

"When?" They shook the nearly empty bottle in front of their faces.

"Is anyone hungry?" Minnie stared at the upside-down transparent bottle. "Because-"

"Can it, fireball." Kibum shook the closed cylinder once more. "So, who's explaining why 75% of it is missing."

"Don't you clean on Monday?" Jonghyun stretched in Minnie's hoodie. "Before Taem and Sara get here to ruin it?"

"11:28:05 AM." Her gaze shifted to the ticking analog clock.

"Did you ask darling?"

"Bubs, he's out in the country."

"Out of the blue!? No notice, how self-"

"Grandfather fell down the stairs again."

"Oh."

"His mother would have gone," Kibum replied. "But she's had it with his stories."

Minnie muttered, "Really? Poor Grandfather."

"Exactly, poor him," Jonghyun yawned, "reminds me of that one mermaid I used to date."

"Bubs."

"Yeah?"

"Mermaids don't have legs."

Silence. Dead silence as Minnie and Jonghyun's mouth hung open, their eyes instantly moving from the tv to the blank wall. Better than listening to the morphing fangs appearing in Kibum's mouth.

"Now." The red beating the blue in their eyes, "I just want to know who did it."

Minnie scoffed at her sellout boyfriend. "Who do you think looked pretty today?"

"You're always pretty, Jjong," Kibum said, petting his head.

Jonghyun rolled his eyes at her. "Yeah, you're always pretty, Pup."

"I meant, who looked gorgeous!" His brown eyes expanded, reminiscing earlier. "Like could kill anyone, including me!"

"We get it. You're stunning." Kibum leaned down to kiss his cheek.

He stammered, "No, I meant, that, no, I meant."

"Yeah, Jjong." She smirked, "you're nothing less than stunning."

Jonghyun slapped his hand onto her thigh, "Shush."

"Make me."

"I won't."

"Scared Pup?"

"Of the big bad wolf?" Jonghyun scoffed, "you wish."

Minnie questioned, "That a threat?"

"Oh, I think it is, fireball." Kibum smirked, "we know how "Mx. I lived for 127 years, so huff” gets."

"Guys!?" His head doing that little cute tilt thing. "You're teaming against me!?"

"Get Minho!" He pointed, releasing himself from her snuggle. "She's the one who used all of babe's stuff!"

She corrected, smiling like an idiot. "Minnie and only bad boys get in trouble."

"I'M 127 YEARS OLD!" His voice echoed throughout the apartment.

"Sure you are, bubs."

"I AM!"

"Is that a bet you're willing to make, Mx. Kim?"

Creak. Taemin didn't like the idea of sneaking around in their own home. I mean, it's not like vae would be punished for eternity by some mad witch for it. So, entering the house at the peak of dawn- I mean, 6pm wasn't a big deal.

"No way! Totally not coming over."

"Flirting with Jackson again?"

"Yes, and no. Besides, your datemate’s gonna scold me about not using a coaster again."

"I'll make sure they play nice."

"And chop my head off? No thanks."

“Sara, c’mon.”

“I guess.. If you finally tell me about how you met Minnie.”

“Oh.”

“Oh, right.

Gotta Go.”

Vae sighed, placing their phone back into vaer pocket. While their bookbag instantly hit a familiar spot, the floor. Shoes following soon after, and a detective-like trench coat with a similar fate.

"I'm home!" Their voice echoed throughout the apartment.

"Hello?" Not a sound could be heard, not the usual scuffing of Roo, tapping of Minho's game controller, or the familiar sound of Kibum's vacuum.

“Anyone here?”

Nope. Taemin searched high and low, but no sight of a single head of hair to pet. Sigh. Where the heck are they? Taemin was convinced they disappeared off the face of the earth. Well, until vae searched the soundproof studio and found 3 individuals cuddled up.

A small smile crept onto vaer face as they whispered, "I'll leave you alone."

"Sleep well."

Monday. Jonghyun hated Mondays with a passion. He hated the way, Roo, his little puppy, licked his face clean of last night's booze. He hated the way his Kibum poked him awake with a cup of coffee and a smile. He hated the way his Jinki became used to the constant stares in the café. He hated the way Taemin and him parted in the morning. He hated the way his Minho attempted to frame him for Kibum's perfume bottle. He most definitely hated it all! Of course.

Right.

Totally hated it.

Did I forget to mention, Jonghyun hates Tuesday's too?

#bbulmeintea #shineefic #shinee one shot #little things au

0 notes

jinkisbelly · 6 years

Text

Champion No More 3/?

First Chapter, Second Chapter, Ao3 link

Rating: pg -13 (Talk of Death)

Pairing: Jongyu

w/c:1.8k

Summary: In a neighboring Kingdom where criminals and captives are forced to fight to the death, a Prince finds his past can no longer stay in his distant memories.

21 years prior, age 10

“Your Highness, you are getting a new personal servant.” Jonghyun looked up at his nursemaid he’s known most of his life curiously.

“A personal servant?” He softly questioned.

“Yes, your highness.” She smiled warmly, her grey hair falling in her face as she gestured toward the door. “He’s only to serve you, My Prince.”

Jonghyun looked toward the door when he heard the quiet footsteps against the floor. Coming in was a young boy with messy red tinted, dark hair. His eyes were cast toward the floor as he shuffled in front of his prince and bowed. “My name is Jinki Lee, and I am pleased to be in your service, Your Highness.” His voice was soft and muffled, as if shy and timid.

“It’s grand to meet you, Jinki Lee.” The Prince smiled before looking back up at the older woman behind him. “Can you leave us alone, Miss Cho?”

“Of course, dear.” She curtsied before heading out, “If you need anything, Your Highness, just ring.”

He nodded in her direction, but his eyes never left the boy in front of him. He was taller than he was, but it was obvious how nervous he was with how his eyes hadn’t lifted very high for more than a few seconds when he thought the prince wasn’t looking at him. “Do you know how to play checkers Jinki?”

“I do, sir.”

Jonghyun giggled, startling the servant boy. “My father is sir. You can call me Jonghyun, Jinki. I have a feeling we’re gonna get to know each other a whole lot. Come~”

Jinki was gently smiling as he rose his head and followed his prince over to the table in the middle of the room, climbing up onto the plush seat and setting up the game. It was the first time he didn’t feel as nervous as he had nonstop since he was told he had gotten the prince as an assignment.

-----

Present

“Do you remember when we met?” Jonghyun quietly asked, back against the stone wall, where on the other side Jinki was pressed against it too. With the break between fights being longer to prepare for the final of the season, there were fewer guards walking the halls of the individual cells.

“Of course,” Jinki responded, there was a light laugh in his voice. “I was scared shitless the Prince was going to order my head to be cut off because I didn’t pour his porridge just right.”

“Is that why I always won in checkers?”

After a moment Jinki softly answered, “Maybe.”

Jonghyun looked at his hands, remembering growing up with Jinki as if it was yesterday. So many vivid memories of the skinny boy with red tinted hair who turned into the love of his life. “When they told me I was getting a new servant I picture some old man telling me I was wearing my ceremonial coat wrong. Not a boy 4 months older than myself.”

“Even after everything that happened, I’m glad they put me on Prince duty and not barn duty.”

“You just don’t like horse poop.” Jonghyun mumbled.

“No. I couldn’t imagine a life where I never loved you.”

Jonghyun let out a deep breath, Jinki’s words hitting him straight in his chest, “Don’t say things like that.”

He heard the noise, felt the jarring through the wall, and he figured Jinki had hit his head back against the wall. “There will come a time I won’t be able to say anything to you Jonghyun.”

“Jinki-”

“I know you wish not to do what I ask of you,” Jinki’s deep sigh could be heard, “But it’ll just be like the last thirteen years. You’ll have closure this time. You can move on.”

“I don’t wish to move on from you. I never had.” Jonghyun bites his lower lip so hard he can taste the metallic blood against his tongue. “Ever since that day at the tournament, when your big headed self-got yourself into trouble and we kissed, I never wanted to spend a moment without you. Don’t you remember how that felt?”

“Of course I do Jonghyun. I couldn’t forget.” Jinki laughs quietly to himself. “Believe me. I’ve tried.”

-----

17 years prior, age 14

If Jinki had to hear the insufferable girl giggle one more time he was going to jump into the wild boar pit with a scream. The visiting Princess had spent almost every waking minute hanging onto Jonghyun’s arm and off every word he said. Jinki was tired. Tired of her voice. Tired of the way she smelled. Tired of the way her dress ruffled around as she moved. And tired of how close she was to Jonghyun. They were supposed to be watching the tournament in front of them, not gazing at each other like they had a painting plastered to their face. Before he could stop himself his feet were moving until he was between their chairs, and with a slight tilt, the wine on his tray fell all on the Princess’ dress, staining the light colored fabric a deep red.

To make matters worse, Jonghyun rushes to help pat the wine from the dress, apologizing profusely about his servant’s behavior and how he’s normally not like this, but most of the words were easily ignored with the anger rolling through Jinki’s mind as he glared at the two of them. The Princess rushes off, embarrassed and almost crying, and Jonghyun’s gaze lands on him. He lifts his hand, curling his finger towards him to signal he wishes Jinki to come near. When he does, Jonghyun tightly asks, “Can I speak with you in my tent, Jinki?”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

As soon as the flap of the tent is closed Jonghyun hisses, “What in all hells was that?”

“It slipped.”

“It slipped my royal ass.”

“I made a mistake. I’m SO sorry I ruined one of her million handcrafted dresses.”

Jonghyun is fuming, “She’s a visiting princess, a guest in our Kingdom. You should have apologized Jinki.”

Jinki mumbled, “She’s lucky it didn’t end up in her humongous hair.”

“What was that Jinki?”

“Nothing, My Prince.” Jinki quickly replies, flashing a smile as he raises his gaze to look at him.

Jonghyun sighs, falling back into a chair and he runs a hand over his face.. His elbows are on his knees, his posture completely improper for a prince as he asks. “Jinki, be honest with me. Did you do that on purpose?”

“There’s a high chance that it might have been done on purpose.”

“Uh huh, and why did you spill it on purpose,” Jonghyun rested his chin on his palm, “Hypothetically of course.”

“I didn’t like her.”

“You didn’t like her.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“She seemed to have negative alternative motives.”

“Oh? And you can tell this by standing three feet behind me and over the sound of the crowd?” Jonghyun’s fingers are softly tapping on his chin as he speaks.

“Yes, precisely.”

“And yet, you can’t hear me call your name across an empty ass room.” It wasn’t a question, Jinki knew.

“Hey, those dome ceilings mess with the sound.”

“Jinki,” Jonghyun chided, “You just embarrassed a Princess from a very important Kingdom. I’m going to have to explain this. You’ve never been like this before. What’s gotten into you?”

"I don’t know what you mean. I’ve always looked out for your wellbeing.” Jonghyun just stares at him, not blinking and doesn’t say a word. “What?”

“You’re so full of shit your hair is turning more brown than red.” Jonghyun then leans back into his chair, tapping his fingers on the arms of the chair, and studies him, sadly. “My father, her father, are going to call me to fire you, do you understand?”

Jinki pales, “What?”

“I would do it if it saves the relationship between our Kingdoms.”

“Jonghyun please-”

“Why did you do it?” When Jinki doesn’t answer he asks again. “Give me something to work with Dammit.”

“I love you!” Jinki blurts out, quickly covering his mouth with both his hands.

“Excuse me?”

But then he softens, and his voice is quiet as he looks at his boots. “I love you. I didn’t like how she was flirting with you… so I poured it.”

“Jinki I-”

His head was hung low, eyes closed as he says, “I understand the consequences. I’ll make my leave now your grace.”

He places his tray on the table before turning and heading out of the tent. His fingers are grazing the tent flap when something warm curls around his wrist and pulls him back. Before he can ask what was happening, Jonghyun’s kissing him. It’s sloppy and rough, mostly teeth, but Jinki is frozen as Jonghyun withdraws. Jonghyun is scowling, serious, as he states. “I never dismissed you yet, Jinki. You can’t leave yet.”

Jinki licks his lips, fumbling horribly to find any word to say. He opens his mouth and a jumble of words come out in no particular order. “Jonghyun what kiss that huh?” Then Jonghyun kisses him again, but this time it’s slow, more in control, and softer. No teeth. It seems to reboot Jinki’s mind. “Is this a new way of letting someone go because I don’t know if I could kiss the King.”

“Jinnnnkkkki.” Jonghyun whines. Being the common occurrence as it was to hear that, Jinki grinned.

“Does this mean I’m not fired?”

----

Present

“How did you become a captain, Jinki?”

Jinki picks at the hole in his pants, just above the knee, as he contemplates his answer. “The Captain of the ship at the time, I was 19, he wanted us to kill this entire village of innocent people. Full of women and children, and I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t watch the men I had grown to have a comradery with do such a thing. Such a thing plagues your dreams. I told the Captain no. He took it as Mutiny and charged. I killed him protecting myself.” Jinki ran his tongue over his dry lips, looking through his fringe. “The role of Captain usually falls to the First Mate then, but he was old, wanted to retire to land to die. The crew voted me to be their Captain.”

“You’ve always been meant for leadership,” Jonghyun recalls fondly, a smile on his lips. “How they ever thought you’d be a good servant is beyond me.”

“Hey!” Jinki scoffed, insulted. “I was a damn good servant.”

“You always ate half my breakfast before it got to me.”

“Only the muffins.” Jinki corrected, but his voice was soft, happy, as he remembered. “You never would eat them, always waiting until the very end and being too full to eat them, so I’d take them.”

“I never ate them because I knew you wanted them.”

That gave Jinki pause, “I started eating them when we were twelve.”

“I know.”

“But.”

“Did I just make the great Captain Speechless?” Jonghyun laughed quietly when he heard Jinki’s mumbled shut up. His expression fell as he quietly asked, “Did you ever find someone else? Is.. there someone waiting for you out there?”

“For some time I was sexually involved with my First Mate,” Jinki was staring straight at him, at least from what he could tell with half of his expression seen. “However, it was purely physical and did nothing to help me forget you.”

“Thank you for being honest with me.” Jonghyun softly states, gaze falling to his lap.

“I wish I never had to run away like that.” Jinki sighed. “I wish I could have stayed with you, even just for a little bit longer.”

“That morning when I woke up, I knew something was wrong. I knew deep down you wouldn’t be coming back.”

----

13 years ago, age 17

Jonghyun could sense it was morning by the light falling upon his face from the window across the room. His bed felt colder, but he reached out instinctively to pull Jinki closer. His hand only grabbed freezing bedsheets. Curious, he twisted, softly running his palm over the space. It was too cold to be recently vacated and a feeling of dread descended over him. He had overheard some of the guards during sparring talking about the new bounty over the Prince’s lover’s head. He wondered if his father had figured out it was Jinki and had taken him away.

Surely he’d have woken up if that happened, right? Jinki would have made some type of scene, wouldn’t he? When breakfast, and Jinki, never came, Jonghyun got dressed and went to check his servants quarters. Maybe he had slipped away in the middle of the night and was simply oversleeping. However, as he pushed open the door of the room was in disarray, looking like someone had ransacked it looking for something. Even Teacup was gone, missing from the small makeshift bed she usually slept in. A lump formed in his throat as his knees felt weak, buckling from under him. He wrapped his arms around himself, silent sobs racking his body as he curled into himself. Jinki was gone. Most likely killed for simply falling in love with him.

How could he forgive himself?

----

Present, the night before the final fight

“Tomorrow is the big day.” Jinki softly mumbled. The sun was low, or he assumed so with the low light coming in from the small window in his cell. His back was pressed against the wall he shared with Jonghyun, knowing the man was leaning on the other side. He knew Jonghyun had heard him, because of the sharp intake of breath coming from the man’s cell. “Tomorrow you’ll earn your freedom.”

“What is freedom carrying around your death over my head?”

“Jonghyun.” Jinki warned, voice stern.

“You can’t expect me to do it. I won’t. I refuse.”

Jinki ran a hand over his face, staring at the swinging pendant held by his left hand. Slowly he pushed off the ground, walking to where the bars of the cell and the stone of the wall met. “Jonghyun.. Come to the bars. Hold out your hand.”

Hesitantly, Jonghyun did as he was asked. His fingers brushed Jinki’s for a moment before he felt a braided thread. He grabbed it carefully before pulling his hand back. When he lifted his gaze from the pendant he had carved for Jinki all those years ago, he stumbled back, far enough to be able to see his face. “Jinki.. I-”

“I’ve kept that with me, a connection to you all these years. I’ve always thought it’s protected me somehow from death.” Jinki took a ragged breath, tears visibly falling down his cheeks. “It’s only right that I return my heart to you before it ends. Promise me you’ll keep it.”

“Jinki-”

“Please.”

Finally, Jonghyun relented tears of his own falling. “I promise.”

“Never forget that I love you.” Jinki sniffled hard, falling apart at the seams when finally facing what awaited them when the sun rose again. “Please remember how much I love you. That everything I ever did, the mistakes I made, leaving.. I did them thinking of you, even if they were wrong.”

“I know Jinki.” Jonghyun let a broken sob escape, quickly composing himself more. “I love you.”

“Oh, do I.”

#jongyu #onjong #shinee #onew #jonghyun #jinki #fight arena au #I think that's quite enough updates #sorry for the spam asdijasd #I hope you enjoy

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dropsofletters · 6 years

Text

otoño

Title: otoño Pairing: Lee Jinki/Reader Genre: Idol!Reader/Fan!AU Summary: Jinki thinks she is beautiful in any shape or form, but he thinks she is the most adorable when she is wearing her favorite autumn clothing and she has just sneaked in to visit him. Note: This is a continuation of this scenario. Please read that beforehand.

You are born alone and you die alone. Those were the words that she lived by ever since the first moment that she felt like she didn’t belong. It was when she was a teenager and she got her heart broken for the first time –not because of a love interest, but because she had lost a really good friend of hers…well, good inside her head but bad for her life. For the longest time, her heart ached to be alone and she didn’t believe in anyone, at least, not anymore. She would like to say that she wasted her time in resentful feelings against those who had left her alone in such a harsh road as life was, but those people guided her to the path that she wanted to be in and she was more than thankful for what she had achieved. Not only as an idol, who has really good group members that support her through everything, not only the fans that she has claimed to join in her heart, who were her support for her dream. There was also a person, a certain someone that lived a life much different than hers but made her feel as if she was just another normal person, because she was. That person was her boyfriend, Jinki.

Although, she doesn’t like how people explain love, that it is a constant need for one another…as if you were never complete until you found that certain someone. An easier way to explain the relationship she has with Jinki is by music. Jinki was her harmony, the person that seemed to contrast her voice that was already good on itself; it created a double layer of something different but beautiful, voices that went together hand in hand as if they were meant to be with one another. Which in reality they were because she is always brought back to him, even when she was supposed to be having the longest night of sleep after constant rehearsals and interviews. Truthfully, she didn’t care, which is the exact same reason why she called her chauffer to pick her up and drive her to Jinki’s apartment, where she can bring him delicious food and have a nice night in with him. However, the plans obviously include a face mask to cover half of her face and sunglasses, also the biggest dress with a hood that she could find to cover the rest of her face.

Everything to see Jinki.

Her knuckles meet the wood of his door and once she knocks twice, she hears loud footsteps against the floor and her heart flutters inside her chest when she sees her boyfriend. Jinki’s hair was disheveled –brown and messy because of his constant habit of touching his hair; his eyes turned brighter when his smile widened and he looked at the love of his life in front of him, covering herself almost completely just to see him. Jinki moves a little bit to the side and she enters, taking off her shoes and the rest of her façade to cover her face as Jinki’s hands help pull her hood down. His eyes roam over her body and the way said dress was baggy over her body made him smile, as well as the fact that she didn’t have a drop of makeup over her face and considering she brought a backpack with her, she was totally staying the night. His idol girlfriend steps forward and she wraps her arms around his waist, pulling him close just to feel his hands resting over her body –specifically on the small of her back. Her nose rested over his uncovered collarbone –all thanks to his baggy t-shirt- and she breathed in his scent, pulling away when he took her face in between his big hands and he looked into her eyes.

“Hello,” The world felt like it was only for the two of them when he whispered that word to her. His thumbs traced circles over her cheeks and he licked his plump lips before leaning forward and giving her one of those kisses that left her feeling like all her worries were non-existent. Jinki separated from her to look down at the bag she had on her left hand and he smiled happily when he saw that she brought their favorite. “Oh, you brought food too!”

“I am starving and I figured you wouldn’t have cooked something by now, so…” She trails her voice and then she leans forward, pecking his lips softly as she tries to move towards the kitchen, but his fingers wrap around her wrist to stop her. She turns around to look at Jinki with a frown over her features, wondering what her boyfriend could be hiding. Her head gets filled with ideas until she hears the sound of someone’s feet dragging across the woodened floor and then they come to an abrupt stop. When she turned around, she didn’t see a woman…she saw Jinki’s best friend ever since a few years ago, Choi Minho. She had seen him in pictures and he was extremely handsome with his big eyes and tall body, but she still couldn’t quite stop thinking about Jinki because he was the one who stole her heart. His big eyes widen the moment he looks at her and she bites her bottom lip. They’ve been caught. “O-Oh, that’s why you wouldn’t want me inside the kitchen…” She whispers and Jinki nods his head, tightening his grip on her wrist to keep her closer as her back presses to his chest. Minho lifts up his index finger and he points between the two of them.

“Why are you hugging one of your clients?” Minho’s deep voice asks them and Jinki was about to answer before the tall man clapped his hands together. “By the way, I am a really big fan of yours, I am rooting for you to have a solo album.” Those words make her laugh and she mouths a small thank you before she felt Jinki’s hand ending up over her waist and he is trying to count the minutes until Minho finally realizes that there’s a lot more than just hugging going on between the two. “So…mhm…”

“Minho,” Jinki starts and he guides his girlfriend forward as he stands beside her. His friend nods his head, wondering why the two were even that close to start with. Minho and Jinki were having one of those nights in that Minho liked to have when he was too tired, watching movies with his best friend before going back home. That was the friendship they had, mostly comforting and really laid-back, which is the exact same reason why he said the words that escaped his lips. “This is my girlfriend.” It seemed like one of those nerve wrecking sounds like a glass shattering or a car’s engine, but Minho knew that it was real and strangely enough, the surprise that came with the news soon followed a soft happiness. Jinki was never the type to be open about his alleged relationship –because those big amounts of smiles shared with the phone screen only meant one thing-, but knowing that he was dating an idol was surely…surprising, but cute. “I am sure you know who she is.” Minho rubs the back of his neck and then Jinki says the words that he had been thinking. “You are kinda his...bias, is that the proper term?”

“Well, nice to meet you Minho!” She tells him as she shakes his hand and Minho looks absolutely petrified, his cheeks turning a deep shade of red and his smile widening. “Jinki has told me a lot about you!”

“What has he said?” Minho asks quickly and she pulls away, interlocking her hand with Jinki’s.

“Soccer player, takes care of kids when he needs a little bit of pocket money…and really competitive?”

Minho flicks Jinki’s forehead and the older raises an eyebrow, silently cursing the younger man. “Why didn’t you tell her anything nice?!”

“Because there’s nothing nice about you.” Jinki tells him and the words make her cackle loudly. That was one thing about Jinki, he was funny, like one of those comedies she used to see as she lost herself in time, sitting on her couch as she wondered what love really felt like. Now she knows it feels like Jinki’s arms and how they wrap around her when he is by her side, he is his smile and how he can’t seem to hide it when she is near –even when he has a bad day, he still makes her smile, whatever people hate about her body was perfect to him and he doesn’t want her to be anything extravagant –he just wants her to be his and that’s something she can do perfectly well. Her fingers are wrapped around his arm as he walks towards the kitchen and he opens the bag to serve the food on several plates to share with Minho. The black haired male looks at the couple and then he clears his throat.

“So…Kibum was wrong that one time that he said that Jinki could never get an idol…” A laugh escapes her lips and she looks over at Jinki, seeing his tan skin under the white light of his kitchen made him look that much more beautiful as he tries his best to hide his blush but it’s very noticeable. Minho laughs at that, it seems. “So, why do you like Jinki?” For a moment, she would like to write down the list of things that she loves about him but she simply licks her lips, pulling down at the edge of her loose dress as she thinks of a proper reason, one that puts every feeling and every word of their relationship together.

“Because he’s Jinki,” She tells him and Minho tilts his head to the side in confusion. “A person can’t just not like Jinki. He is…well…not perfect, but absolutely beautiful in the whole sense of the word.” Jinki looks back at her and for a moment, his mouth is agape, but then he smiles so quickly that she feels like she has to fall for him over again. The oldest gives Minho his plate of food and the younger pretends to cry, sniffling in a dramatic manner as he wipes fake tears.

“Relationship goals.”

Jinki snorts out a laugh and then he points at Minho with his chopsticks. “Not a word of this to anyone. Not even to your mom.”

“But my mom also likes her songs-”

“Not a word.”

And Minho might just keep his promise because he’d never want to watch something so beautiful fall down. Because to Jinki, love immediately meant her name and she could only think of love if it was with Jinki, so that’s a whole another way to work in a relationship. Surely, it was unusual but absolutely breathtaking.

#onew scenarios #onew #shinee scenarios #shinee #kpop scenarios #writing #fan!onew #shinee au #shinee fluff #onew fluff

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minhoandthebabes · 7 years

Text

Chapter 1

Today was the worst day of Kibum’s life. Work had been awful, school even worse, and now he was lost in the woods, praying he would get out quickly so he could get started on his homework for the evening.

After work, about an hour before he got lost, Kibum had chosen to blow off some steam by heading to a nearby temple, knowing it would clear his thoughts if only for a moment. On the walk over he tried to think of anything other than the complaining customers who insisted everything had been his fault even though he was only taking orders and not making the mistakes that came with production. Working the register definitely had its downsides when it came to customer service. The sun was low in the sky, warming Kibum through his collared shirt as he ascended the hill up into the mountains where this temple lay. The air was humid and dense, it was clearly the height of the summer and the only thing to break the heat would be the cool breeze and crisp air of winter that was to be enjoyed in later months.

As he was walking around the old structures, he took note of the shockingly paint despite the tattered appearance that only comes with age. However, on these buildings, their age began to show a long time ago between the hot summer sun and the windy winters, the fresh would only last for so long making their hundreds of years look like a million. However, as soon as Kibum stepped inside, he was greeted with untouched, ornate beauty, naturally vibrant compared to its exterior.

How did Kibum get lost? As usual, it was his own doing, his own curiosity that compelled him to leave the temple’s organized campus.

Kibum exited one building, slipping on his shoes that had been hastily left at the entrance. He was disappointed with how they restricted his feet once they were on him. He chose to stay outside, hoping to avoid taking off and putting on his shoes again. The gardens outside the temple were beautiful enough in their untamed beauty. It was as if the garden had been left behind by some knowledgeable gardener that knew the garden could tame itself without him. It was overgrown, but not unnaturally so.

The gardens were illuminated by the setting sun, the golden hour; the last gift the sun gives us before it turns in for the night, its light illuminating the world in a golden glow. As he walked, something caught his eye. Down a seemingly unused path, Kibum saw a glimmer in the distance, something he couldn’t ignore. He stepped forward, willing to brave the leafy trail, attempting to avoid the various bushes and trees that seemed to be trying to conceal the path from prying eyes,

As Kibum walked deeper and deeper into the wood, a bright flash caught his eye which mellowed to a soft blue glow took over the golden pools of light the sun had been forming. The light came from the right of the path, but it didn’t seem to be that far off. After judging the distance, Kibum chose to follow the blue light, his curiosity itching at the back of his mind as he continued forward. The closer he got to the spot he swore he saw the light, he felt the woods themselves attempting to prevent him from getting any further. The vines seemed to wrap around his ankles, holding him back, while thorny bushes surrounded him. When Kibum turned around to see if he could get back to the path easily, he realized he was completely and utterly lost. He couldn’t see the sloping roofs from the temple any longer, he could barely see what was left of the sun as thick trunks and crowded underbrush was working hard to conceal it from view.

Kibum kicked the ground in frustration, annoyed he had let himself get this lost. Thank god it was Friday or else he’d be really pissed. His only interrupted plans were working on homework before the start of the busy weekend. As he peeked behind the trees, he tried to backtrack, following what he could see of the blue coastline. It was difficult to tell where island ended the water began. Kibum was lost in thought when he heard a bang behind him and the voice of someone else.

“I swear to the gods Jinki, you have no idea what you’re doing!!”

The voice, it sounded like a man’s, and it was clearly close to him. Gaining courage, Kibum started to head towards where he had heard the voice. He felt better knowing that someone must have been trapped like him. The closer he got to the source of the voice, the more the forest tried to stop him. His legs were beginning to get cut up and he stumbled over ferns he swore he hadn’t seen until they were underfoot. It was as if the world wanted him to be separated from the other man.

Kibum spotted a clearing in the distance, the only time he had seen less foliage since being near the temple. As he approached it, the world grew dim, the sound of birds chirping disappeared to make way for an eerie silence. Feeling the hair on the back of his neck stand, Kibum trudged forward, trying to fight the strange feeling of doom. The closer he got, Kibum noticed a structure and a man standing in front of it. Assuming he was back at the temple, Kibum grew more eager to get out of the woods. He fought the underbrush, yet one spiny bramble left a deep gash on his shin, cutting through both his pants and his skin.

Standing in the clearing, Kibum could now see that the structure was an old-fashioned house and more importantly, the man he had seen was nowhere to be found, yet a dog was yapping at his feet, growling as threatening as a tiny puppy could.

While the house wasn’t a temple, it surprisingly appeared to be similar in age. The only thing it was missing was an element of upkeep. It looked as if it hadn’t been painted in hundreds of years, and the outside was growing a thick layer of moss in some places.

As he walked around the outside of the tall wall that guarded the house, he was soon greeted with loud, high-pitched barks coming from just beyond the wall. Kibum got on his toes and peered over the wall to find a short white dog that was growling as threateningly as possible at him. The dog didn’t scare him, in fact, it was quite the opposite. The puppy had one ear that stood straight up while the other flopped over and bounced with every bark, endearing Kibum to it. He backed away so he could find an entrance to the yard through the solid wall, walking along the overgrown edge.

He could hear the dog following him on the other side of the wall, sniffing him out as he rounded the next corner. It didn’t help that he started to feel the blood dripping down his leg from the sizable gash. Upon finding the opening, Kibum ran up to it, eager to get help from whoever lived in the large house ahead.

As soon as Kibum set foot in the yard, the dog from earlier began growling. Kibum, who had owned dogs in the past, understood that this dog was just trying to protect his home. In hopes to calm him, Kibum got on his knees and held out his hand for the dog to sniff, trying to show him he wasn’t an intruder.

The dog curiously sniffed the hand and a pink tongue appeared to lick his hand. Kibum chuckled, “Hey little guy..” he said in a cute voice, rubbing the puppy’s head. “Well, you’re not threatening at all, are you?” he added, running his fingers down the back of the small dog to scratch him where his own dog liked to be scratched, just behind its haunches.

The puppy was still relaxed with Kibum, but seemed to growl at his comment, as if he were responding in his own language. Kibum continued to pet the dog, letting the creature into his lap so his pets were more comfortable as he looked at the house above. The building looked as if it were one of those models he would visit on field trips as a kid. It was of the Joseon era, that was obvious, but certain parts were strange. Instead of the dusty yard that he had been so accustomed to seeing, he was met with soft, thick, moss that squished under his sneakers and thick ferns that seemed to conceal certain portions of the house.

There were bits of the house that had lost their plaster, exposing thick logs underneath, and the paper doors had punctures in them. Oddly enough, one look singed, as if a flame had come too close and started to form a dark brown circle where there should have been pristine white paper.

Kibum moved to stand but fell back on his butt from the weight of the dog that didn’t seem to want to leave him. As soon as he fell, one of the doors to the right of them opened, making a loud clattering sound that easily pulled Kibum’s attention towards it.

“What do you think you’re doing?” A deep voice said. To Kibum’s ear, it sounded angry and commanding like he was talking to the dog and not him. Almost on cue, the dog jumped off of his lap and jumped up onto the veranda to stand behind the man who crossed his arms and looked down at the dog with frustration.

Kibum glanced up, not expecting the tone of voice and was, not surprisingly greeted with an annoyed face. The man before him looked like a porcelain doll, his skin had no blemishes, no pores, no nothing, and Kibum found himself staring uncomfortably long. He wanted to ask the man what products he used, or if he was just some natural beauty, but the opportunity was lost as Kibum felt he had been staring far too long to strike up an awkward conversation.

It was only when the man started to move that he looked down and noted his old clothes. The clothing seemed to match the house he was living in. He wore a hanbok that was obviously for just around the house. It was made out of thin cotton and had no defining features besides its blue color.

The man looked at him with curiosity that felt to be scrutinizing. “How did you find this place?”

Glancing up at the man’s face again, Kibum swore he noticed something strange, something that was out of the ordinary that he couldn’t ignore. Ears.. This man had pointed ears. That, and his tall slender frame were both things Kibum found strange, but he couldn’t figure out why. This distraction had Kibum forgetting the question that had been asked of him and instead made him lost in thought.

Before he could make a comment about it, Kibum started to hear an angry buzzing around his ears. He moved his hands around his head, trying to swat away the thing, it was only when the man said “Taem, leave him alone,” that Kibum stopped what he was doing and looked back curiously.

“Yes..? Who’s Taem..?” Kibum asked softly.

It was only then that the man’s demeanor changed from stoic to something different. Kibum only saw the ghost of a blush appear on his cheeks but then quickly fade into nothingness. “Never you mind. Leave this place.” his voice sounded confident and sure, but quivered a little and Kibum sensed his anxiousness. It was too obvious not to. The man sounded like an over confident who had lost his confidence as soon as he stood in front of an audience. He knew what to say and do, but was unsure in his own ability.

Kibum wasn’t sure why the other man could be anxious but wanted to know more about him, and about the building, he was standing in front of. He wondered if the man was an actor of some sort. Kibum was going to approach the man, but the door was closed in front of him. The dog had left with him, and oddly enough, so did the buzzing sound that had been bothering him earlier.

“Wait!” Kibum called out but was greeted with no response. He approached the door that had opened and wondered how rude it would be if he opened it. His thoughts of breaking and entering didn’t last long however when he heard the soft sounds of three different voices conversing on the other side of the door. No matter how close he got, or how hard he listened, he couldn’t hear anything in particular and only got more frustrated.

Kibum’s hand reached up to knock on the door, but he only paused when he heard sudden yelling.

“I got it!” a new voice began, “I got it! I got it!” the voice called out excitedly from one end of the house to the other, pounding footsteps heading towards him that only made Kibum more anxious.

“Jinki, don’t you dare!” the deep voice said, this time loud enough for Kibum to hear, but it was too late. The door in front of Kibum flung open and he was immediately covered in a clear viscous liquid from head to toe.

Kibum froze, his mouth open in shock. He looked down at himself and felt his entire body tighten. The gash on his leg started to sting from the liquid and he would have cried out in pain if he hadn’t felt so tired all of a sudden. His head felt light as if he were floating above the clouds before it seemed to fill with a ton of bricks.

“Who..?” Kibum managed to say before collapsing to the ground, lead by his head and closed eyes. Before blacking out, he heard lots of yelling from the group in front of him, as they ran out to catch him before he fell to the ground. He opened his eyes only briefly to see the 3.. Or was it 4 men carrying him? It was impossible to tell in the dim lighting as the sun had now fully set.

The tall strong man with the deep voice was at his head, mumbling things to the two men on either side of him. A man with a squishy face and goggles on his forehead stood on his right, while a shorter man with a sleeveless shirt was on his left, and.. He swore he saw a small child floating in front of him.. No, he couldn’t have..

That’s when Kibum knew he needed more sleep and closed his eyes again, knowing to the best of his knowledge that this was all some elaborate dream. Eventually, his professor would wake him up, reminding him that class ended in two hours and if he just wanted to sleep he should have stayed at home. For a daydream, it was pretty elaborate. He hadn’t had a dream like this since he was a kid.. It had to be a dream, he knew it had to, he kept reassuring himself as darkness enveloped him.

#shinee #shinee fanfic #ot5 #shinee ot5 #no pairing #magic au

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katrinawritesthings · 6 years

Text

Jinki/Taemin; Easy mac; PG

u kno when the kid you used to babysit just shows up on your doorstep one day like six years later

tw for mentions of trans and homophobia

“Taemin,” he says. Taemin winces, gripping his bag tightly to his chest. He doesn’t take his eyes from the coffee table. “Did you run away?” Jinki asks quietly.

ao3

Jinki’s easy mac rotates slowly in the microwave, the little container wiggling every few seconds as the base catches in the usual spots. Jinki leans sleepily against the opposite counter, tensing and untensing his knees as he waits. The movement makes the rest of him wiggle and his hip bump against the drawer handle next to him, but whatever. It doesn’t hurt yet. He’ll stop before it does to take out his little dinner and–

His doorbell rings suddenly, stopping him early as he winces and then frowns, confused. It’s almost nine. Who the heckie. Leaving his fork on the counter and the microwave still counting down four minutes, he heads out of his kitchen and to his front door. It’s as he’s twisting the doorknob to open it that he takes a moment to really hope that whoever is on the other side isn’t a murderer or something.

It’s not; what it is is something arguably more troubling.

It’s a kid.

Or, well, a teenager, thin and lanky with a longish red hair and a backpack pulled over their shoulder. They look at Jinki with big, dark brown eyes and a thick lip bitten between their teeth. Jinki looks back, extremely confused by the lack of a chocolate catalogue or anything likewise that would make this make at least some sort of sense.

“Hi Jinki,” they say.

Uh.

Oh.

What the fuck.

“Uh, hi,” he says for lack of anything better to say. Who the fuck. He frowns, lifting his hand to rub the back of his neck, but before he can ask, the kid starts talking again.

“Sorry, um, for just showing up like this, I know it’s late and we haven’t seen each other in, like, years, but, I didn’t know who else to come to, and–God, this is weird, I know, but–I just–can I like–stay here, maybe, for–even like, an hour, just–maybe?” They say all of that very quickly with one hand gripping the strap of their bag so tightly their knuckles have turned pale. They’ve also blinked, like, fifty-seven times, and Jinki feels an incredulous realization creeping up on him. What the fuck. No way.

“I–what’s your name?” he asks slowly. The kid’s shaky, hopeful smile falters; their free hand opens and closes at their side and they swallow thickly.

“You,” they say, and shake their head. “You don’t–you don’t remember me.” They take a step back, a step down from Jinki’s tiny porch. Their hand comes up to rub their nose as their cheeks flare up red. Jinki recognizes that look immediately in a rush of memories, but–“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have–I’l just–I’ll go, I’m sorry, sorry.” They turn to leave and Jinki finds himself automatically stepping halfway out of his door and reaching for them.

“No no no, Taemin, Taem, wait,” he says quickly. Taemin stops and looks back at him with those eyes, and fuck, those eyes are so familiar now. Jinki doesn’t know how he didn’t notice immediately. “I remember you,” he says. “I was your babysitter for like. A year and a half when you were young. Er. Younger.” He remembers. Tiny ten year old Taemin with a bowlcut, every weekday during the school year for a few hours each day before Jinki moved away. Teenager Taemin’s face now breaks into a weak smile of relief as he turns fully back around.

“Oh, thank fuck,” he breathes, lifting his hand to run his fingers through his hair. “Hi,” he says again.

“Hi,” Jinki repeats slowly. Even with his memories, he’s still confused. He looks Taemin up and down again in the dim light of his porch lamp; he’s a bundle of nerves, trembling hands and lips bitten puffy with worry. “Are you okay?” he asks quietly. “How–why are you–here?”

“Um,” Taemin says. His deep breath is shaky as he rubs his nose again. “It’s. Complicated, kind of,” he mumbles. “Can I–come in?” he asks again. He gestures weakly at Jinki’s living room behind him. Jinki glances in there, looks back, sucks the insides of his cheeks for thought.

“I mean,” he says. He doesn’t know what’s going on, and letting kids into his home alone isn’t really something a responsible adult should do, he thinks, but. Leaving a kid out on his own in the dark definitely isn’t something he’s going to do. “Sure, yeah,” he says, stepping aside and holding the door open wider. “Take a seat,” he says. Taemin slips inside, twisting slightly as he passes Jinki so as to not brush against him, and shuffles further into the room.

“Thanks,” he breathes as he goes. Jinki closes his front door gently and turns a lamp on as Taemin sinks onto his couch. He shrugs his backpack off of his shoulder and just holds it in his lap instead, little fingers gripping the material as he takes deep breaths. Jinki leans on the arm of the couch further away from him, worriedly watching him worry. He doesn’t know what to say.

“You dyed your hair,” he tries. “It looks nice.” The chestnut red is a good look for him, Jinki thinks, even if the strands are mussed and messy. He got taller, too, but Jinki feels like that would be too cliché of an obvious change to mention. He can’t help but notice Taemin’s long legs sprawled awkwardly out in his skinnies, though, or the new angles and lines of his face. He’s still young, definitely, but no longer a squishy bub made up of baby fat and chubby cheeks. Taemin glances at him, lifts his hand to again push through his hair.

“Um,” he says. “Yeah.” He looks down to his bag again, feet tapping nervously against Jinki’s carpet. Jinki watches him for a moment before he sighs slowly.

“Taemin,” he starts gently. He notes how Taemin winces, but before he can say anything more, there’s a long beep from behind him. He hesitates and turns around, confused for a second, before he remembers. “My easy mac,” he whispers. Shit. “Uh, give me a minute,” he tells Taemin, holding a finger up even as he scuttles to the kitchen. Heck.

As he pops open the door and looks around for the cheese packets, he bites the insides of his cheeks. He hasn’t seen Taemin in… fuck, in he doesn’t know how long. Not since he moved, which was seven ish years ago, he thinks. He didn’t go far; just two cities over, but too far for him to keep his job of looking after Taemin every day. He thought he’d never see the kid again, and to have him return to Jinki’s life like this is far more than surprising. It’s downright unsettling. He doesn’t even know how Taemin knew where to find him.

Instead of just going back to Taemin with one bowl of food just for himself, he separates it into two bowls to share. Then he hovers for a moment looking for something to go with it before he just shrugs and roughly chops an apple into slices. Whatever. Good enough. He gathers up the three bowls and shuffles back to the living room, where Taemin is still hugging his bag to his chest on the couch. He’s tapping out a text on his phone, but looks up when Jinki approaches.

“Here, Taem,” he says quietly, holding out a bowl. Taemin hesitates, but takes it, poking at the food anxiously with the fork.

“You’re a grown ass adult and you’re having easy mac for dinner?” he asks skeptically. His voice is deeper than it used to be. Jinki blinks, then shrugs. Yeah. Pretty much.

“Being an adult means there’s no one around to stop me from eating nothing but easy mac for every meal,” he mumbles. Honestly it’s not working out that great for him. He should really get onto the whole veggie train thing. One day. Maybe. “How old are you again?” he asks to cover his embarrassment. “Sixteen? Seventeen?” Those seem about right.

“Sixteen,” Taemin says quietly. Jinki nods. Yeah, okay. “What about you?” Taemin asks. Jinki coughs into his shoulder. Too old to be living off of easy mac, for one.

“Not forty yet,” is what he says. Taemin snorts at his answer but doesn’t say anything in reply. He just eats, slowly, nibbling one little macaroni at a time. It’s a little awkward to just sit in silence and eat, but Jinki feels like it would be more awkward to try to talk and eat at the same time, so he follows suit.

The more he glances at Taemin out of the corner of his eye, the more fucked up this seems. He’s almost an hour away from his old home and he knows Taemin can’t have driven here. Every few minutes Taemin looks at his phone but Jinki strongly suspects that it’s not his parents that he’s checking in with. He’s too anxious, too quiet, too twitchy in everything he does.

By the time he finishes Taemin is only a little bit through his own bowl and is looking mildly queasy. When he puts his bowl down on the coffee table, Taemin glances at him, back to his own, and copies him. He looks the exact same kind of guilty for not finishing as he used to when he was younger and Jinki doesn’t say anything about it. Taemin grips his hands together, puts them on his knees, taps his fingers nervously against his jeans. After another long, silent, tense moment, he reaches forward and pokes an apple slice in the bowl. He picks it up for a second, grimaces, and puts it back down. Jinki rubs his chin and leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees. There are a few things that Jinki thinks could have happened so he goes with the best case one to start with.

“Taemin,” he says. Taemin winces, gripping his bag tightly to his chest. He doesn’t take his eyes from the coffee table. “Did you run away?” Jinki asks quietly.

Taemin’s eyes scrunch shut tight. That’s enough of a confirmation for Jinki and he sighs, leaning back against the couch. He stays quiet and just waits for Taemin to actually say something. It takes a moment, but eventually, he takes a deep, shaky breath and opens his eyes again. This time, he actually looks at Jinki, fear and guilt and regret written all over his face.

“I almost accidentally came out to them, Jinki,” he says. His voice cracks, almost croaks out of him, and while he takes a moment to swallow and rub his throat Jinki takes a moment to rub his hand over his face. Ahh, shit. “I almost–fucking did it,” Taemin continues. “They were saying some really transphobic just–garbage, and I was trying to explain to them why it was bad, and somehow that led to me almost accidentally telling them I’m–not trans, or, I don’t. Know if I’m–but I almost told them I was–that I’m–I almost said I was–”

He can’t even bring himself to say the word, Jinki realizes. Even to Jinki, he can’t make it come out of his mouth.

“But I–they were pushing about it and I was denying it and I was so fucking–scared so I just picked a fight about something else instead, something stup–no, something ridiculous, and then I just–I packed some shit? And snuck out? Like–just–just to run away for a day, or for the weekend, so maybe–maybe, like, they’d forget about–about me, being–and they’d only be mad about me running away and not–or they’d be so happy that I came back that they don’t, like. But, God, I’m just–” He shakes his head and puts his face into his hands, fingers gripping tightly into his hair.

“Just fucking saying it out loud I realize how fucking fucked up this plan was, God–I fucked up, Jinki, I’m so fucking–fucked, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have–come to you like this, God, it’s just. You’re the only one I know that’s–” He looks up again, to meet Jinki’s eyes. His lips are bitten wet and swollen again already. Jinki can’t think of anything to say, but Taemin hasn’t stopped yet, so he doesn’t have to worry about that yet.

“You’re the only one I know that’s. That’s–that’s–not straight,” Taemin whispers. “Besides–that’s not a school. Friend. Because my parents know my friends and if I’d gone to them then they would–but they’d never think of you, and–this is fucked up, I know, you don’t need me here like this, but.” He swallows thickly. “You were the first person I ever knew, ever, that was–was–like me, and I knew you would–understand, but just. God, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, sorry, sor–fuck, hold on, sorry.” He closes his eyes again, lifting a shaky hand to press against his forehead. His other hand presses lightly against his throat, thumb rubbing up and down as he tries to swallow. “I get–I get dizzy when I’m nervous,” he stammers.

Jinki still doesn’t know what to say, but he does know what to do. Sliding closer to Taemin on the couch, with one hand he rubs the heel of his palm up Taemin’s back, between his shoulderblades, in slow strokes. With his other he gently scratches the back of his head where his neck meets it. When he opens his mouth to sing softly, he finds that he doesn’t remember the words to Frère Jacques at all. He just hums it instead, low and soothing, as Taemin shakes next to him.

It takes three and a half loops of the little song for Taemin to take a deep breath and sit up straight again. Jinki scoots a little bit away to give him space as he fans his face and rubs his eyes.

“Sorry if it wasn’t okay for me to, like, touch you,” he says quietly. He frowns at his hands, only just realizing now that he probably should have asked permission. “It’s just. That’s how I always used to calm you down from panic attacks, so.” He shrugs. At least it still works.

“Panic attacks?” Taemin asks. He looks at Jinki with a confused little frown. Jinki blinks back at him.

“Yeah,” he says. “When you get all hot and your vision goes blurry and your mouth gets all dry and you can’t understand words for a little bit?” He lists all of the things that he remembers tiny Taemin telling him about years ago. He also leaves out the part about suddenly needing to pee because he figures Taemin will ask to use his bathroom if he needs to. “You’ve had them since you were a kid,” he says, lifting his hand to rub where his shoulder meets his neck. Something seems off about the way Taemin only looks eve more confused at this information. “I told your parents about–did they never? Take you to a doctor? For meds or a diagnosis or anything?” he asks. “You had, like, textbook anxiety.”

Taemin continues to just look at him after he says that. Jinki frowns back, and eventually, Taemin sighs, shakes his head, and slouches back against the couch.

“Listen, my dude, if you think gay shit is the only shit my parents are garbage about you would be extremely mistaken,” he mumbles. Jinki snorts. That makes sense, honestly. He considers pressing gently for more about the anxiety, but decides against it. If Taemin never knew about it because his parents dismissed it or whatever then at least he does now. He draws one leg up onto the couch to cross it under himself.

“So it is gay stuff?” he asks curiously. “Or is there a more specific thing you accidentally came out as? If you want to tell me, I mean,” he adds quickly when Taemin glances at him. “You don’t have to,” he says. Asking Taemin for those personal details when they’re half the reason he ran away in the first place probably isn’t the best of ideas. Taemin shrugs, though, and wiggles his shoes off before he brings both feet up on the couch to hug his knees.

“Pan,” he says quietly. “Sexual,” he adds. “And I think. A little bit… aro. Maybe.” He shrugs again, avoiding eye contact. Jinki smiles encouragingly anyway.

“Neat,” he says. “My boyfriend is a little bit aro,” he says. Taemin gasps softly.

“You have a boyfriend?” he asks. He squishes his cheeks with his hands, eyes big and round, lips finally quirked up into the tiniest of smiles. Jinki smiles wide back and nods.

“Mmhmm,” he says. He pulls out his phone and slides open the lock to open up his pictures. “This is him. Jonghyun,” he says, showing Taemin a shot of him and Jonghyun out at the park together, smiling in the sun. Taemin smiles a little more at the picture, looking between the two of them with a fond warmth that Jinki knows he’s feeling in his soul. “He hates the sun, honestly,” Jinki says, taking his phone back. “Sensitive skin and seasonal depression. But he only complained a little bit that day.” He looks at the pictures himself for a few moments, just taking in how gorgeous his babe is, before he slots his phone back into his pocket. “It was fun,” he tells Taemin. “We’re actually in the process of moving him into this house so we can live together finally.”

“That’s so nice,” Taemin sighs wistfully. “I’d always think of you having a cute babe,” he says. He rests his cheek on his knee so it smushes up a little, making his smile a little lopsided. “Whenever I remembered you,” he says. “You were the only, you know, adult that I ever really knew that wasn’t one of the straights. And the first one. So, you know. Representation or whatever.” He shrugs, tightens his arms around his legs. “I always wanted to imagine you just… happily gay. And loving yourself. And everything. I’m glad I was right.” As he speaks his hand drifts towards his phone again. Jinki stays silent while he checks it, first to give him privacy and second to really process the things he just said.

He’s never really seen himself in that way before. As representation. He knew he was super chill and casual about his gayness to Taemin when he was little, but that was just him being an open and honest caretaker for a little nugget child. He never once thought that he was the first–or only–influence in Taemin’s life. All these years, apparently he’s been Taemin’s shining gay of hope and he never even knew it. Honestly, his depressed ass still does have problems loving himself a lot, but if he’d known that he was so important to Taemin he might be a bit better at it.

As it is, he’s pretty sure that they still have a problem here. Taemin bites his lip as he frowns at his phone, thumbs typing out a quick message. Jinki hopes he’s telling a friend where he is just in case. He’s not a murderer or anything but Taemin doesn’t know that. He brings his thumb to his mouth to chew on his nail as he thinks.

“What…,” he says slowly after he sees Taemin close his messages. Taemin looks back to him with questioning eyes and he points a questioning finger at him. “What was your plan?”he asks. “After coming here? Like, what did you want me to do?” he really doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do here at all. He’s not going to call Taemin’s parents; he won’t break Taemin’s trust like that and he doesn’t think he even kept their number in the first place. Taemin’s definitely not going to give it to him.

“Um,” Taemin says. He rubs his phone screen on his thigh and focuses his attention on that instead of on Jinki. “Plan A,” he says, “was to spend the night here, grab a bus back home tomorrow, deal with… everything then,” he says. Jinki frowns. Spend the night here. Some missing kid that isn’t his just. Sleeping on his couch. That’s not dangerously incriminating at all.

“Plan B,” Taemin says, “was to grab another bus to a kind of old friend that moved to this city a few years ago, and see if I can crash with them instead.” He shrugs at that with a little grimace. “Plan C was to find a 24-hour something to spend the night in.”

“You really didn’t think this all through that well, did you?” Jinki hums. He props his chin in his hand and cocks a brow. He’s amused, a little, at the mess of Taemin’s ideas, but mostly he’s stalling for time to think. He can’t just… let Taemin go out on his own again. It’s way too late.

“I was… panicking, I guess,” Taemin mumbles. He sighs and shakes his head. “If I really can’t stay that’s fine, really, you don’t have to be responsible for me just because I showed up unannounced and had a panic attack on your couch,” he says. Jinki snorts. That’s one way of putting it. “You were only plan A because I knew they wouldn’t think of you or know where to find you,” Taemin shrugs.

“Yeah, about that,” Jinki says. He frowns in confusion, tilting his head. “How did you know where to find me?” he asks. Taemin rubs his nose a little embarrassedly.

“When you moved all those years ago you sent me a letter once,” he says. “To say goodbye. And I, uh. Kept it. This whole time.”

“Oh,” Jinki says. “Aw.” He smiles fondly. That’s sweet. Taemin blushes a faint pink, though, embarrassed by his sentiment, and looks away for a quick moment.

“A-anyway,” he says when he looks back.”So, um. Can I? Stay? Please?” His expression is hopeful and his little hands grip nervously in his bag. Jinki sucks the inside of his cheeks, looking back at him searchingly.

“I mean,” he says, and leans back with a sigh. He can’t and won’t call Taemin’s parents, and he can’t let him go out on his own in the dark, and he can't just take him to the police station, and driving a runaway kid somewhere else and leaving him there feels much worse than just letting one crash on his couch for the night. He doesn’t really have a choice. Taemin is lucky that it’s Saturday and he doesn’t have to be at work tomorrow, honestly.

“Yeah, I guess,” he sighs, shrugging and running his hand through his hair. “Just… I’ll see you to the bus stop in the morning,”

“Okay,” Taemin says quickly. “Sure, yeah, fine.” He nods up and down very fast, hands clenched tightly together. “Thank you, Jinki,” he says. It’s a heavy breath of relief out of his mouth and Jinki can’t find himself to be anything but fond.

“No problem,” he says. He’s a good kid. He shouldn’t have to have any more anxiety and stress than he’s already had this night. Jinki just hopes that sending back home tomorrow isn’t going to be worse than letting him stay.

#ontae #onew #jinki #taemin #pg #brotp #oneshot #listen this au started as just... babysitter jinki showing ten year old taem buffy....#and that was supposed to be it #and then i didnt write that or make any mention of it whatsoever lmao #but babysitter jinki showing tiny taemin buffy and taem being so uwu about willow and tara #and jinki stopping it before tara died and taem being grumpy and jinki being like trust me its for ur own good #anyway present day jinki gets taem a blankie and goes to bed bc hes a tired human that needs his rest #and taem curls up on his couch and does some homework and watches some tv and falls asleep #and in the morning jinki gives him some cereal and makes some bacon and they just sit and talk for a lil bit about just stuff #gay things and school things and life things and how taem went and watched the rest of buffy later and felt regret #taem tells jinki that hes not ready to handle the pressure of college at all but hes looking into community colleges anyway #just to get away from the parentals and one of them is a college in jinkis city #and he wiggles like um if i do actually go to that one can i mayb visit u??? sometimes??? maybe???#and jinkis like : ) ye bc he wouldnt mind buying the lil nugget a coffee or something sometime and listening to his problems more #and he drives taem to the bus stop and makes sure he gets on the one going home and gets his email #and taem emails him later to tell him that hes safe at home nd his parents havent even mentioned the gay stuff which is good #and its still weird but its nice

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alittletournesol · 5 years

Text

Kingdom Of Jinju {MinKey} part 21/33

Chapter 21 : If you love him

Minho had put his royal attire on as he left his quarters, leaving his husband still lazily lying, naked on his bed. Offering a last smile to the other man, who had his face turned towards him and his hair falling from the mattress like an ebony waterfall, he closed the huge door and found himself alone in the east wing’s corridor. This part of the castle was always so quiet, compared to every other one that was constantly filled with tons of lively sounds thanks to the employees getting themselves busy.

The King stretched his back before he walked away, adjusting his collar and running a hand through his brown bangs. It was the first time he was wandering in his palace with his hair free, for Kibum had played with it before his leaving. It was falling on his red and golden coat but the Prince had gathered a few strands into a well proportionate bun, high behind his head. Even if his thick front bangs were also free, this so simple hairstyle was embellished with a new kind of crown : a perfectly cut diadem only made of a pure gold band, that was encircling the sovereign’s forehead.

Somehow, a piece of jewellery that wanted itself so delicate and feminine in a first place, found itself particularly masculine, even virile, around Minho’s head. The latter had got quite surprise when he had seen his husband stand up and rummage in the dressing table’s drawers until he had found this. Reluctant at first, the King had ended up admitting it was suiting him more than he could have imagined. It was all proudly that he entered the main wing of the palace, where more than half of the employees was busy preparing the dining room for breakfast.

The young man bowed his head to every single person who interrupted their respective work to properly salute him, and he smiled at the two house girls who bumped into each other when they both noticed him instead of looking where they were going. As he approached them to make sure they were fine, he recognised Yerim, for this young woman was quite clumsy despite her willing. He had seen the face of the second girl before for sure, but he didn’t know her name.

“Good morning, Yerim.” He said with a soft smile, what made both employees blush as they hadn’t expected to be addressed by the King. “Will there be one day without anyone telling you to be careful ? You are going to get hurt, why are you both in such a hurry ?”

“We are sorry, your Highness, we ran late this morning.” The girl replied, forgetting about the etiquette and staring at her sovereign straight in the eyes. “We were about to bring her breakfast to the Queen.”

“Oh, then it is understandable. Please go, do not make her wait for too long. As for you, my dear…?”

“Park Sooyoung, your Highness.” The second employee answered, bowing at the same time with a surprising grace despite her tall stature.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Sooyoung. Would you please let Yerim do this task alone and do something for me ?”

“Your wish is my command, your Highness.”

“Perfect. His Grace is in my quarters at the moment, I summoned him for help earlier and he immediately answered the call, but he must still be over there. Thus, he did not have time to take his morning bath and I do not want him to rush things to be on time for breakfast. Would you please do me a favour and get his bath ready in his own quarters, along with his breakfast ? Then please knock at my door to inform him about it.”

“Bath, breakfast, door. I will do it.”

“Very well, thank you. You may go, just, have you seen the General around ?”

“Yes, your Highness.” Yerim stepped forwards. “He was awake before us and we saw him come back from the village a while ago. He was heading to the yard alone.”

Raising an eyebrow, Minho nodded and thanked the house girls before dismissing them. He couldn’t help but smile when he noticed the shortest one nudging her friend as to congratulate her for talking to the King for the first time. For sure, Yerim had talked to her sovereign a lot, never long conversations but a few apologies and words every time she had been told to be careful, asked if she had hurt herself when stumbling or falling on her knees. She had stopped counting the times she had embarrassingly let him help her to stand up and give her the fallen laundry.

Shaking his head, the King grabbed a pear in the fruits’ basket that was resting on the dining room, and headed outside while biting it. The sweet taste invaded his mouth and it felt so refreshing he felt the need to go back and grab a second one, just out of gluttony. Once he felt content, he walked in the gardens while eating until he reached the yard, and was surprised to not hear any training. No swords hitting each other, no panting breaths from soldiers nor loud commands from the General.

However, the sharp noise of an arrow piercing through the air until it reached its target was beyond recognisable. Minho found himself frowning and raising his hand to his chest, as he slightly rubbed his pectoral above his coat, the space where he had been shot a few weeks before. Even though it wasn’t painful anymore and his veins had come back to normal… he was suddenly hit by the words he had heard from his mother earlier. The spy’s corpse…

Looking up, the King’s eyes had changed : all their softness had made space to determination. He wouldn’t admit it out loud because of his pride, but the Queen had got it right. He hadn’t really thought about that spy despite having been aware that he had been killed and brought to the dungeons to have his body examined. If he was an assassin sent by someone of power, he should present a mark. However, it wasn’t the kind of proof to be found easily, although it was a known fact that a higher authority would mark their spies like oxen.

Minho found it stupid, for the purpose of a spy was to be discreet and not identifiable, but he had thought it was for the best to keep this thought to himself. As he entered the yard, he found Jinki standing at the other end of the space, wearing only his shoes, trousers and baldric, and a quiver’s strap crossing his bare muscular chest. He was stretching a bow without trembling, staring at the target and taking his time to acknowledge the cool breeze before shooting. His arrow didn’t reach the exact center of the circle, yet it was extremely close.

“It’s been a long time since I last saw you practice archery.” The King said, walking towards his friend. “The employees said you were up early.”

“I had some things to tend to.” The soldier replied as he took Minho’s forearm with his hand, the latter doing the same as a fraternally way to salute each other. “And the hunting season is about to begin so I must get back in shape.”

“Do you feel unsure about your precision ? You’re the best archer in Jinju, game fears your only steps.”

“I was the best archer, until you married the God of Hunt himself.”

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re jealous ? Come on hyung, when did my General start growing irritated from not being the best in something ? It’s not like archery is your master skill.”

“I’m not jealous, not at all. But if he decides to accompany us, I don’t want to make an idiot of myself. It’s been ages since I last practiced, I lost my touch.”

“Well you have a whole month to find it again, the first hunt of the year will start after the next moon. This means you can stop for now and come with me somewhere I need you.”

Jinki raised an eyebrow and stopped his movement as he was drawing his bow again, looking up. But at that moment, it was the King who was requesting his presence somewhere, not his childhood friend. Nodding, he didn’t waste any more time and went to remove every arrow that was stuck in the target, before he store the unused ones and the quiver. After he splashed his face with fresh water and put his shirt and coat of mail on, he notified Minho to lead the way and gave the arrows to the sentry, asking him to bring them to the blacksmith to sharpen them again.

As he followed his sovereign around the palace, the General listened to him telling about what he had in mind. And it hit the soldier just as much, for himself hadn’t really found the time either to think about the spy he had himself killed. He had been so busy travelling to find this flower, then looking after Minho and training his soldiers, accompanying the Prince… he had completely forgotten about his own command to bring the corpse to the dungeons for an examination.

A lump grew in his throat as he remembered how guilty he had felt when he had had no choice but to strike the man with his sword. He had said it, it would have been him or the spy, and he couldn’t die and leave the King without his General and friend. It was one of his duties to stay alive, a responsibility for the sake of the kingdom. However, although he had killed before and as soon as he had seen life leave the stranger’s eyes, he had understood his mistake : an enemy spy could still be useful if captured ; a dead spy was worth nothing.

“Don’t blame yourself, he was a danger.” Minho replied after listening to his friend’s apology. “He almost killed me and you were about to be stabbed, I would rather have thousands of spies dead and useless than you murdered for me.”

“Still, it would have been easier to question him.” Jinki sighed as he opened the dungeons’ door to let his sovereign enter first. “What could we learn from a corpse ?”

“Maybe an appartenance or a hint about it. Father once told me that our physician knew exactly how to examine a corpse to find hidden marks.”

“Let’s hope he’ll do better with an already dead body than he did with yours. He could have let you die if I hadn’t imposed Jonghyun’s presence.”

“He’s quite old, let’s put it down to that. Wait, do you call Sir Jonghyun by name now ?”

“I guess we overstepped my past resentment. I had no choice since you made me meet him so often at school.”

“You’re so bad at lying, hyung. Just admit you befriended him thanks to me, I know he’s a nice person.”

Minho laughed heartily but thankfully didn’t notice the red tint on his friend’s face, for the dungeons were quite dark despite the few small windows on top of the walls. They walked by the few prisoners who looked up, some of them willing to stand up to show their bitterness towards the crowned guy. But the General’s stare and his hand on his pommel were enough to reduce them to silence and force them to sit still. After all, these ones had been imprisoned since before the young King’s coronation.

In no time, they reached a closed room with the royal physician waiting for them in front of the door, and Jinki handed a handkerchief to his friend to protect his nose. If there was a corpse resting in there for weeks, the smell wouldn’t be pleasant. The three men covered half of their face before they entered an extremely small room, the only furnitures being a wooden plank on trestles and a pedestal table with some tools resting on it. Lying on the makeshift table, the spy’s body had turned white, a pallid and waxy white if it wasn’t for the open wound on his abdomen that was dark red, even brown.

As expected, the smell was strong and Minho had to catch a grip on himself before approaching. The corpse had been meticulously cleaned and the King noticed a few marks, yet they were way too obvious to be representative of a potential higher authority that would have commanded his assassination. There were countless small cut scars and something that was extremely common among bandits, assassins and other miscreants : symbols inked under the skin. However, although they showed an appartenance to a gang of rascals, there was only one kingdom that used this same method to mark their spies.

“Baemyeong ?” Minho asked the physician, who shook his head.

“No, your Highness, Lady Taeyeon did not lie.” The old man replied. “I examined the body in minute detail and I can affirm you the following things. There is no trace of ink inside any of his ears’ cartilage, so Baemyeong has nothing to do with this scheme. I did not find any scar shaped as a small hook, which means Pugye is in the clear as well.”

“This leaves us with Maguk and Dongjeo…” The General commented.

“I was coming to them, Sir. I examined his teeth and they are all clean, not a single one has been encrusted with a jewel.”

“A jewel in a teeth ?” The King raised his eyebrows. “It is the first time I hear about such a thing.”

“It is the trademark of Maguk, your Highness. The second kingdom is innocent too. As for Dongjeo, I did not find a single brand on the entire corpse.”

“A brand ?”

“Yes, your Highness, Dongjeo did not change their ancestral way to mark their spies and still brands them. It is nothing but a little burn somewhere on a body, generally well hidden but I know where to look and there is nothing like this.”

“This sounds barbaric… But what does it mean ? If this spy does not show any mark, how can we know where he comes from, who sent him to assassinate me ?”

“Unfortunately, I am unable to prove any appartenance. This means he might not be a spy for someone as high as a kingdom’s ruler, or perhaps he did it on his own initiative which I highly doubt.”

Minho nodded but disappointment was clearly noticeable on his features, along with a strange fear. He wasn’t stupid, if he had been told about any kingdom’s mark on this cunt’s body, he would have immediately taken things in hand by travelling over there to have a talk… but with a pretty nice army having his back. However, he was completely lost in this trap he had just fallen in : the spy couldn’t have tried to kill him only on a personal purpose, it had all been way too premeditated.

The choice of poison to kill a man was often attributed to women, for it was a subtle way despite a still lethal nature. The more he thought about it, the more the King understood the real conspirator had tried to put the blame on someone else. The black kiss’ poison could be found only in Baemyeong, a kingdom ruled by a woman… yet, Minho didn’t think Lady Taeyeon had been personally chosen as the one who would be accused and potentially convicted. It had certainly been pure chance.

The schemer had been smart enough to organise the assassination with details that would make Baemyeong’s rulers become first suspects. However, the Lady had been smarter by reacting fast to prove her innocence, and the King knew he could trust her and her kingdom : he now had a recognised proof to do so, and it felt relieving. But this relief was short-lived, as everything remained a mystery.

With a last glance at the corpse, Minho commanded to bring an unused bath tub and to fill it with salt. He had studied the different ways to preserve a dead body, certainly the most strange thing to learn as a future king, but it was eventually useful so he didn’t complain. He was more surprised that no one has thought about it before, and let the spy decompose in a closed room. Yet they might still need to inspect the dead man again, it was pure eventuality.

“Hyung, where did he shoot from ?” The King asked as he headed outside the dungeons with his friend.

“I saw him from the outer wall, he was literally crouching on top of it.” The soldier replied, walking by his side. “I still don’t know how we missed him, we were certainly too focused on the crowd in the yard.”

“Don’t blame yourself, what’s done is done. And you ran after him, right ?”

“Yes, and it was like… how to say it, he was running in the town as if he knew every single street by heart. I don’t want to get carried away but perhaps it’s someone from Jinju, and that could explain the absence of mark. Why would your own spies plot against you ?”

“Why wouldn’t they ? This said, it can also be a spy who lived there under cover for a moment before executing his plan. But no one told me about a newcomer when I visited my people… they would have told me.”

“For sure, you would have known it if someone had installed themselves in your town.”

“We can’t know more for now, I will think harder about how we can confound the culprit… For now, let’s live like we always do, alright ?”

“I can do that. I will go back to practice and I guess I should test our soldiers with their archery skills as well… how many hunters do you plan to need ?”

“A dozen, not more. And what about Taemin ?”

“He’s progressing a lot, his reflexes are quite good and he’s strong-willed. When I can’t train him because I’m busy, I ask him to practice his sequences and some soldiers report to me about it. He’s good. He will be a very skilled soldier, Minho.”

The King smiled and nodded before he kindly pressed his friend’s shoulder and let him go back to his duties. Even though he wasn’t that close to his husband’s companion, he had seen determination in his eyes since the very first day, and it was something he liked. His candidness was so paradoxal with his wish to become a soldier that it was quite amusing, but he had also progressed about it, considerably. What made Minho even happier about this young boy was the way Jinki had taken him under his wing.

The General could have treated him like every other soldier he had to train, and actually that was what he had done at the beginning to avoid any form of favouritism. However, Lee Taemin had something no one else had, and his mentor had noticed it. All of his recruits are skilled, of course, after all they were trained by the most qualified soldier in all the kingdom, if not in all realms combined. But that young boy… he was something else, there was something in his movements and displacements that was very unique.

Minho was curious about him, and he thought he might propose him to duel someday. Or at least, to take part in one of his trainings. He was so lost in his thoughts that he noticed he had reached the east wing of his palace without even realising how fast he had walked. He was about to open his door when he remembered that the Prince must have gone back to his own quarters by now… The King decided he had nothing to do in his bedroom and headed to his husband’s, gently knocking and opening the door when he heard the other man ask who it was.

As he entered the room, Minho smiled when his eyes met Kibum’s, the latter relishing his bath and eating black grape at the same time. After he carefully closed the door, the youngest approached the bath tub and grabbed a stool to bring it behind the naked silhouette. Without wasting time, he removed his coat and sat on the furniture, rolling his shirt’s sleeves up to prevent them from getting wet.

“What are you doing, my King ?” The Prince asked even though he didn’t make a single move to stop his husband.

“Returning a favour, my Prince.” The other man replied as he put his manly hands on the thin shoulders. “May I ?”

“Sure…”

Kibum smiled and used his free hand to catch his long hair and clear his back, before he slightly leaned on to give more access to the King’s desire. He closed his eyes when he felt the latter plunge his hands in the still warm water, only to pour some on his naked skin. Soon, he felt his shoulders being gently squeezed and he couldn’t help but laugh a bit, for it tickled at first. Minho smiled at the beautiful sound and his wish to do better invaded him, just like every time.

With care, he remembered the way he had been told and showed about how to use his thumbs for a good massage, and put theory into practice. Slowly, he pushed against his husband’s muscles and drew circles on them without loosening the pressure. He once again had no idea about the quality of what he was doing, but he perfectly knew what would give him a hint… and it didn’t last long. Kibum started purring and bent his knees to lean on more and rest his head on them.

The King looked at his profile and felt his heart miss a beat because of the beauty he had under his eyes. The Prince’s features always succeeded in surprising him, as if he grew more beautiful day by day when he actually remained the same man. Was it how it felt to fall in love ? If so, Minho found himself praying he would never stop falling.

“Where did you find such magic hands…?” The Prince eventually asked, his voice low and a smile on his pretty lips.

“I think I learned from the best.” Minho answered, slightly laughing as he kept his magic hands busy on his husband’s back. “Am I doing well ?”

“Of course you are. But I can sense I’m far from being the tensed one in this room.”

Opening his eyes, Kibum stared at the King and slowly straightened up, grabbing a bunch of grapes and holding it above his face to carefully pull one hanging small fruit with his lips. He then moved in his bath to kneel, facing the other man and approaching him enough to touch his mouth with the grape. In no time, Minho had opened his own lips and caught the little juicy sphere, stealing his husband a kiss at the same time. With a smile, the Prince withdrew and sat on his heels, water surrounding him until his chest.

“Tell me what’s troubling you, my King.” He said, eating a grape by himself. “You were going to meet the General, did it not come as intended ?”

“I’m afraid not.” The other man sighed. “We went to the dungeons, to listen to the physician’s report about the spy who tried to kill me. I should have done it way sooner.”

“Well, it’s better late than never, at least now it’s done. And if I guess right, this man is a complete stranger.”

“He is, not a single mark on his body nor any hint on his clothes and weapons. I will have to find another way to know who commanded this attack but I have no clue. According to Jinki, he must have studied the town because he knew how to leave him behind. But my people would have told me if there had been someone new in town lately…”

“Well, maybe it’s not a detail they think about when they see you once in a while, they rather ask you about things. Maybe you should investigate for real next time you visit them ?”

“Do you think so ? It could a good idea… but Jinki is quite busy these days, he won’t be able to follow.”

“My King, can you remind me where you were when I came back from Maguk ? Hm ? Last I noticed, the General was with me at that moment and it didn’t prevent you to dive into danger.”

Saying this, Kibum pretended to raise his hand and hit Minho, who laughed and made a move to defend himself. That was true, he hadn’t bothered waiting for his friend and protector’s return to sneak out… he could do it a second time.

“It might sound foolish but… you’re safer among your people than here, if this spy wasn’t working alone.” The Prince commented as he turned over to grab his towel and stood up, draping himself without any prudishness in front of his husband. “Because no one recognises you over there, I still can’t believe it but you really go unnoticed once you’re wearing common clothes and have your face dirty.”

“You’re right, even a spy wouldn’t expect to see me outside the palace, dressed like a man from the people.” The King answered, standing up as well to offer his hand to the other man and help him leaving the tub. “I will follow your advice, as I often do. I should do it quickly, today would be good.”

“May I come with you ? I… I have to meet Jonghyun to tell him something really important and I think… I think it would be useful for you to hear it as well.”

“It sounds serious, is it ?”

“I would say quite serious. I will just dry myself a bit and see you at the stables ? Can you have clothes prepared for me ?”

“I can, take your time.”

With these words, Minho returned the smile his husband was offering him and he leaned on just a bit to kiss him. It was becoming a pleasant thing to do here and then, when no one was looking, just a short kiss that said enough. And at that moment, he relished the taste of grape on Kibum’s lips, while his still had the remaining taste of the pears he had eaten earlier that morning. It was a sweet combination of flavours they struggled to leave behind as they separated, to better reunite later.

Jonghyun was walking between the classroom’s table, glancing at each student’s paper but refraining from leaning too much on… so the kid he was holding on his hip wouldn’t fall nor feel sick. It had been a first time in his young teacher life, a five years old girl coming to school accompanied by her two years old brother because her mother was too sick at home to take care about him. What was even more surprising was that it wasn’t the mother who had sent her youngest child to him, but her eldest who had quite imposed it.

Both to her mom and her teacher. At first, the blonde man had stood gaping, not sure if he could take care of such a young child while teaching. But the puppy eyes he had received from the lovely Naeun had had too much power on his poor soul. What he hadn’t expected however had been for this young boy to be extremely clingy and to feel so comfortable with a stranger like him. Women, men, now very young children ? Sometimes he hated to be charming.

“Taeho, you are not supposed to copy what Sua writes.” He suddenly scolded, yet still as gentle as usual. “Come on, you can do it on your own because you are…?”

“I am smart ?” The boy answered, tilting his head to the side.

“Exactly. So if I see you head turned towards Sua again, I will hit it with the baby. Understood ?”

“Yes !”

The scolded student couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of being hit with a baby, but he obeyed and worked on his own, what warmed Jonghyun’s heart. All children were doing great progress and could almost read without any difficulty compared to their first lessons together. Despite their young age, they were eager to learn and so hard working that the teacher often had to tell them to slow down and allow themselves to rest, taking them outside.

He was thinking more and more about trying to dispense some lessons on the meadow, because he had noticed day by day how some kids were being distracted by the beautiful weather. And if he had the pleasure to welcome Naeun’s little brother again, maybe the baby would play by himself and not trap him all day long by asking for his arms. That was an idea to think about.

But at the moment, time was running and it was already the end of that day’s class. Jonghyun congratulated all students for their hard work and allowed them to pack their things, warmly watching them do so while chatting with each other. He then opened the classroom’s door and gave them his usual instructions to make sure they would return safely, even asking the eldest children to take the youngest home. And curiously, they really love having this kind of responsibilities and the teacher was always smiling as he watched them taking the little ones by their hand and leading them.

When almost every child had left the school, he noticed the two men standing near the meadow and recognised them easily. He smiled at them and made a hand gesture to allow them to approach, as he put the baby down to let him leave with his sister. However, what he hadn’t planned was for the boy to start whining and grab his pants tightly, refusing to let go and raising his little arms to ask to be carried again. Jonghyun felt his cheeks heating since he was quite observed by the King and the Prince at that moment, but also by Naeun who wasn’t smiling anymore as she knew about her brother’s tantrums.

“Hey, little boy.” The teacher ended up crouching. “School is over for today, and you’re already quite early here. You have to go back to mommy now, alright ? And you can come back tomorrow with your sister. What about i— alright, alright, I’m holding you, don’t cry, don’t cry.”

Minho and Kibum couldn’t help but laugh a bit as the baby started whining even louder at the teacher’s words, and the latter stood up by taking him in his arms… what made the boy stop immediately. But the young girl standing next to all those tall men was growing worried.

“Teacher, what do I do ?” She asked with her little voice, shyer than usual.

“I will take you home, alright ?” Jonghyun gently said. “Can you just wait a bit ? I think these gentlemen want to tell me something.”

“Can I do my homework in the classroom then ?”

“Of course ! That’s a brilliant idea. And I will check them before we leave, does it sound good ?”

“Yes !”

With these words, Naeun joyfully entered the classroom again and ran to her appointed desk, taking all her things out of her hessian bag. After he checked on her to make sure she was starting to work — which he didn’t doubt a single second — Jonghyun eventually turned towards the two men who were eyeing him, then the baby, then him again.

“Well, this is part of the job I guess ?” He said, laughing as he made the boy jump a bit on his hip. “I’m the father of a bunch of kids from all ages now.”

“If you ever need vacation, you can just come whining like him at my office.” The King joked.

“I will remember this ! It is a pleasure to have you here again. I am just afraid I won’t be able to talk with you for long, Naeun is pretty fast when it comes to homework and I wouldn’t want her mother to grow worried because her children are not coming home.”

“It’s fine, we’ll be fast too.” Kibum answered. “I just have something to tell you and it’s really important so… can we sit for a moment ?”

“Sure, should we go inside or is it too private for a little girl’s ears ?”

“Way too private, I’m sorry.”

The teacher frowned, for he hadn’t had the opportunity to see his friend so serious often, or at least not when it was about something concerning him. Nodding, he proposed them to move the bench in front of the door so they could sit on it and he could still keep en eye of his student. The husbands agreed and once they were seating, it became quite difficult for the Prince to say what he had to say. It was like his first worry about this issue were coming back strongly, as if an evil little voice was whispering him that if he talked, Jonghyun would leave.

He took a moment to gather his thoughts, and to remember both Jinki and Taemin’s words when he had let them know about the blonde man’s secret lineage. He had to say it, it would be unfair to still hide it and… now that he was here with the concerned one waiting for him, he couldn’t renounce. What he hadn’t expected was for Minho’s hand to suddenly cover his, as the latter whispered that he was trembling, and asked if he was alright. Kibum didn’t know how he didn’t jerk the hand away because they weren’t supposed to show their closeness to anyone…

But it reassured him.

And so, he replied that he was fine and talked. He told everything he had learnt in Maguk, from Queen Hyoyeon’s own mouth. He gave details about the curse, the way to pass it on from mother to child, and the scar that every survivor got. He tried his best to ignore Jonghyun’s face growing paler by seconds passing, and the shocked expression in Minho’s eyes, as he explained what it meant for his friend. He didn't omit anything, he told all the possibilities he had, all potential choices that were only his.

When he was done, it felt like he had taken a weigh off his shoulders but somehow, the lump in his throat was still there. He was fearing the reaction, and even the King’s hand holding his wasn’t enough to calm his racing heart now. Seconds felt like hours, as both royals let Jonghyun digest the news, until the baby on his hip felt the tensed atmosphere and started whining. The teacher cleared his throat and made him jump a bit to calm him, snapping out of it.

“You’re telling me…” He started. “I’m a relative of Maguk’s royal family ?”

“A distant relative, yes, because your common ancestor lived two centuries ago.” The Prince nodded, his voice low and his tone gentle. “You already knew about your disease and how you survived, right ? But I don’t think you knew about the actual disease…”

“My mother has brown hair, she doesn’t have that scar you talked about.”

“My apologies but…” Minho spoke in. “Would you mind telling me if your mother slept with a headscarf ?”

“She… She did, but it was because she took really good care of her hair and… wait a minute. Could it be…?”

“I think she was dying it during the night, Jonghyun, with a special powder from Maguk.” Kibum confirmed. “It’s impossible for her to be brown haired if she passed this disease on you. Or if she really is, she might not be…”

“She might not be my mom… But no, she is. We’re too physically alike to not be mother and son, or from the same family at least.”

“This is… quite an important issue.” The King commented after a moment of silence from the three men. “I guess you need time to digest it, and to think about what you will do with these informations. Of course, the palace’s doors are open as soon as you want to let us know of your decision. Whatever you choose, you will have my support.”

“And mine, too.” The other man nodded despite the pinch in his chest when he said it.

Jonghyun bowed his head as a way to thank them, and he cleared his throat. At that same moment, a tiny voice called for him and he excused himself as he walked to Naeun, verifying her work. When he came back, she was holding his free hand with her little bad hanging on her shoulder, ready to go home.

“I will think carefully about everything.” The teacher said to the royals, who stood up. “And I will let you know about what I decide but… it is quite troubling at the moment.”

“We understand.” Minho said despite his own shock. “Please take as much time as you need. Now take these little sweethearts home.”

Saying this, the King winked at the little girl who smiled and hid behind her teacher, making Kibum roll his eyes. What had he done to hang out with only charming men ? He must be doomed. This little scene made Jonghyun smile and he bid goodbye to his two visitors, wishing them to return safely as well before he left with the two children. As they watched them from behind, Kibum had a smile on his face since he found adorable the way it looks like a family, while Minho grew a bit pale at this same thought.

“Well, now we should question your people about the spy.” The Prince eventually said, turning towards his husband. “We have two good hours before dinner will be served at the palace.”

“Yes… but I would like you to go back home.” The other man replied. “It would look a bit suspicious if I start asking questions about a newcomer, with someone by my side. Moreover, I think it would be for the best if there is one of us at the palace, in case we are demanded.”

“Are you sure ? You know I don’t like the idea of leaving you alone in the streets…”

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine as always. But if you want to protect me, please go home and ask Jinki to join me.”

“Alright but… do you have a weapon ? Also, I don’t want return alone.”

“Then let me escort you. And I have my dagger but I hope it won’t be useful.”

Kibum nodded but the way he was offered a smile reassured him enough to smile in his turn. Both men hit the road again through the town, discussing the places were a man under cover would most likely stay to remain discreet. The Prince advised his husband to question storekeepers, for they were certainly the best placed to observe people, along with elderly persons.

As they reached the outer wall and lounged it until the hidden ladder, Minho promised the other man he would do as fast as possible and that he was heading to the inn first, so Jinki should be sent around here. Kibum asked him to be careful until the soldier would be near him, and to use his dagger if needed.

“Stab the thigh to destabilise, hit the balls to immobilise.” He said, making the King laugh. “It’s serious, it works !”

“You will have to tell me when you had to use that method.” The other answered before he put a black strand behind his husband’s ear. “Now go, and take care of the palace for me.”

“Please, you’ll be back in two hours.”

“Who knows what can happen in two hours ! I’ve been shot in one second.”

“Get out of my sight.”

The Prince pursed his lips together and pushed Minho away, the latter never stopping to laugh as he endured his so compassionate husband’s hits against his back. When it stopped, however, he caught Kibum’s wrists and pushed his annoyance to its paroxysm by stealing him a kiss… before he ran away like a beggar. The raven haired man refrained from yelling and grabbed a branch on the floor to throw it at the running man. Yet, once he was alone, he smiled.

For sure he had fallen for that moron.

“Your Grace, the Queen Mother requires your presence in her private room immediately.”

Kibum looked up from the book he was reading in the Royal Library, to look at his mother-in-law’s notorious first female companion, Joohyun. She was a cold beauty, as he liked to call her, because as beautiful as she was, it was so difficult to make her smile. However, he knew that attitude very well for he had been like her in the past, thus he was aware that she was way much warmer than she looked.

“Of course, my dear.” He answered, closing his book and putting it on the coffee table as he stood up. “Please lead the way.”

Bowing her head, the young woman left the Library and walked through the corridors, never making sure that she was being followed. She knew she was. The Prince thought for a second that if she had royal blood, she would make a powerful princess filled with a seductive self confidence. He had had the opportunity to see her in operation with the other female companions and maids, and she was a born leader as well.

He preferred not to mess with her, and it was much funnier to mess with the General anyway. He followed her without saying a word, until they reached a really quiet space, filled with a relaxed atmosphere. That didn’t look too good. Joohyun softly knocked at a door and opened it before she moved to the side, letting Kibum enter.

The Prince was welcomed in a really beautiful room, small but bright, for it overlooked the gardens and the open windows were letting the cool breeze blow on the thin white curtains. It was indeed a private room with only a couch and an armchair, separated by a coffee table on which was resting a tea set ; against the walls, there was an unique bookcase and a few ancient scrolls hanging in a very symmetrical way. And there, sitting in the armchair with a fuming cup of tea in her hands, was the Queen Mother.

Gorgeous as always, as if age didn’t alternate her perfect skin and complexion, nor the brightness of her long hair tied in an usual complex style. That day, she was wearing a rather simple attire, composed of a long white dress with elegant shoulders’ straps, that draped her body beautifully. To cover a bit her naked arms, she chose a see-through shawl, which golden color showed her royalty. She had the presence of a goddess, and Kibum would never not be amazed by her.

“Good afternoon, your Majesty.” He said as he bowed his head, his mother-in-law returning the gesture.

“Good afternoon, your Grace.” She replied before gesturing her hand towards the couch. “Please have seat. Would you like some tea ?”

“With pleasure.”

Jihwan smiled and poured the hot liquid herself in an empty cup, offering it with both hands to the Prince, who accepted it just as politely. They both sipped once before holding their cup on their thighs, staring at each other.

“It has been a long time since we last shared a moment together.” The woman said, her voice soft and welcoming. “I had the pleasant surprise to find a coffer in my quarters this morning, with splendid clothes. Naturally, I figured out it was a gift from his Grace.”

“Indeed, I thought it would please you to have something brand new to add to your wardrobe.” Kibum smiled. “I hope the colours are fine ? I confess I chose everything myself, I refuse Queen Hyoyeon’s help.”

“Oh, did you ? This shade of blue is actually my favourite, so I am really pleased. Thank you very much for all of this.”

“The pleasure was all mine, your Majesty. I look forwards to see you wear one of these pieces.”

The Queen smiled as she sipped a bit more of her tea. She was feeling uneasy, deep inside, but she was doing her best to hide it. It had taken her a few days to realise that, if she couldn’t reason her own son, perhaps she would be luckier with her son-in-law. With time, she had noticed how stubborn he could be as well, however, it wasn’t the same stubbornness than Minho… dialogue seemed more approachable.

But what she wanted to talk about was already hard with her son, and it was hurting her to have to bring it up with someone so concerned. And since their reconciliation after her birthday’s reception, she felt like she was betraying him. She was afraid that this kind man would think she had pretended to appreciate him, for she knew about his tendencies to lose all confidence in himself. She had said it harshly to the King a few days before, mentioning the Prince’s trust issues, and she regretted it.

If she had one flaw, it was this one. She tended to let extremely hard words out when she felt she was loosing control, words that she didn’t always think. As for these ones, she felt extremely guilty to have supposed that her son-in-law trust issues weren’t worth their attention. But how could she approach such a topic without putting his self confidence at risk ? Even more now that he seemed as fond of her as she was of him ?

“Tell me, your Grace.” She eventually spoke. “How do you feel within us now that it has been a few months since you installed yourself in the palace ?”

“Oh, I feel really… satisfied.” Kibum replied with a smile. “It was difficult during the first weeks, to be honest with her Majesty, but everyone remained so warm and welcoming towards me despite my attitudes… it felt pleasant.”

“No one could blame you back then, after all, you left a home to live in a whole new world. The circumstances were certainly not the most suitable to you either, am I right ?”

“You are. I was feeling awkward, but now I am really appeased. The King showed himself patient with me and I am thankful, because Jinju feels like home now.”

“Oh, does it ?”

“Yes, your Majesty. If I may be completely honest… I never really felt at home in Mongje. I was always trying to find my place, but never succeeded. It is a cold place, and the only warmth was my sister.”

“I see… You do not have to talk about this if it makes you uneasy.”

“Thank you.”

Jihwan looked at the Prince, and she was about to speak again when she realised she wasn’t doing things the right way. Neither her son nor her son-in-law deserved to be manipulated like this, she had suffer a painful failure when she had last talked with the King, and she must learn from this mistake. She wasn’t the monster of ice she had once been labelled as.

“Your Grace, I must confess something as well.” She said, sighing and putting her cup on the coffee table before clearing her throat. “I did not make you come only to have tea together.”

“You are intriguing me, your Majesty.” Kibum answered, frowning as he imitated her. “What is it ?”

“Has my son, perhaps, told you about a conversation we both had recently ? A stormy conversation.”

“No, he has not. I noticed your absence these past few days but I have been told that you were not feeling well so I did not insist.”

“I see… Well, then it is my duty to tell you about it. And I apologise in advance because it will not be pleasant to hear.”

“I am all ears, your Majesty.”

The Queen’s eyes had lost all their confidence and power, what made the Prince worry even more about what he was about to learn. Minho and him had been so honest with each other for the past few weeks, he couldn’t look on the upcoming confession with a favourable eye if his husband had hidden it from him. It seemed so serious, to the extent his mother-in-law looked extremely weakened.

And when she started speaking, he could feel colours leave his face bit by bit. Not once did she sound harsh or agressive. Her voice remained soft, low and her tone motherly. However, the words she was saying harmed like hell.

Kibum listened carefully until the end, and he was beyond surprised to see Jihwan’s eyes water. She wasn't the kind to show weak emotions, and the only time she had seen her cry had been when they had thought Minho would die in their arms. And at that moment, her face showed the same pain, for she was worrying herself sick about her son and the kingdom’s well-being. She was trapped between the two, unable to choose one, and the Prince felt how it was tearing her apart although she tried her best to not show it.

She was a strong woman, and from all his twenty years of age, he understood she didn’t mean to harm him with her words. She was more wishing to have him understanding her point or at least acknowledging it, for she had failed with her own son. The lump in his throat was preventing Kibum from talking, because he was becoming conscious about his biggest fear regarding his marriage, becoming real by days passing. Even though his husband had promised him to never repudiate him, it seemed unavoidable.

“I know it is really difficult to hear.” Jihwan said when she couldn’t wait for an answer any longer. “But I have to think about Jinju, and I wish my son could see my point. He is doing wonderfully well as a sovereign and I am beyond proud of him. But… we cannot leave our kingdom with an heir on an heiress.”

“I understand.” The Prince eventually said, what surprised the Queen to the point she widened her eyes, and a tear escaped. “Your Majesty, I have thought about this from the day I arrived. It was… it was a fear of mine, because of the feeling to be used and thrown away. I hope you acknowledge my feelings on this matter.”

“I do, I really do. And when my son accused me of pretending to appreciate you, I answer that I do not. I tried. I tried to despise you because it would have been easier to send you back, I confess it. But how could I ? I saw your true nature and I cannot hate you, for you are an incredible human being, and I would have loved to call you my son, and see you reign by the King’s side.”

“But it is not possible.”

“It is, but it would mean to face disgrace, for my son would have to create an illegitimate heir. I proposed it to him, this is how desperate I am. It has been done in the past and it was forgiven, forgotten. But he rejected the simple thought of it.”

“Your Majesty, would you really accept an illegitimate grandchild ? And what would the mother become ? It would only be hurtful for everyone.”

“I am conscious of this, your Grace, even though it would be the only way to maintain my son and your marriage.”

“Why do you seem so saddened by the idea of annul our marriage…?”

“Because… Because my son likes you, dear. He confessed to me and… I certainly had the wrong reaction because I was not in my right mind and to be honest, it still… it still bothers me but he is my son. I saw him cancel a man’s execution because he refused to go against someone’s love, and I would not be a good mother if I did not do the same.”

Kibum listened quietly but soon, the only thing he could hear was the sound of his heart beating faster. Although the situation was beyond negative for him, although he understood why he had to step out… knowing that his King had confessed his love for him to his mother, and not to him first… it made him happy. And thus, it hurt even more to have no choice but agree with the Queen.

“Do you like him in return, your Grace ?” The woman eventually asked, and none of them knew for sure is she wanted a positive or a negative answer. “Please, I need your honesty.”

“I… Your Majesty, I…” The Prince stuttered before he lowered his head to give it a second thought, and he looked up. “I do.”

“Then try to reason him, I implore you. If you love him and if he loves you, please talk about this with him… perhaps he will listen to you when he does not listen to his mother anymore.”

Kibum pursed his lips together, as the plea was so hard to hear. He didn’t want to leave Minho, not now that he was the only man he had in mind, from the moment he opened his eyes on the morning to the moment he closed them when night had fallen. Not when they had grown so conniving, teasing each other and laughing together after weeks of coldness from himself. This coldness that had slowly be warmed by the King’s kindness… he didn’t want to feel cold anymore.

But did he have a choice ?

“I-I will…” He said, lowering his head.

Days had passed, and the Prince had never found the bravery to confront his husband. He had suffered the imploring stare of his mother-in-law every single day for a whole week, and he was growing anxious. He knew this conversation with Minho was needed, but he felt so happy with him, every single second spent in his company was making feel more alive than he had never felt. When he was having his non-reciprocal relationship with Jonghyun, he had always suffered from the lack of real happiness.

And he was realising it only know, for he was finally feeling it. It was new, it felt so good, so warm, and the simple thought of letting it go was hurting him just as much as a sharp blade stabbing his heart. He had always thought he had deeply loved his teacher, but he had been wrong all this time. It had been about obsession, driven by lust and trust issues. He didn’t blame him for what had happened, he rather blamed himself for forcing him into such a thing, being aware of how irritating he must have been.

But Minho… it was different. Everything felt stronger, the stares they exchanged, the words they told each other, the touches here and there… everything. He longed for his husband’s simple presence after a few hours without him, he missed his kindness and his smile, but also his annoying habit to provoke him only to be nagged and the way he would sulk like a child to the slightest disagreement. He missed everything of him, and Jinki had warned him about it. With his King, it was love he was feeling. He was so in love that it was so painful to have to look at him in the eyes and tell him they would have to separate sooner or later, and that it must be done early to hurt less.

He had wanted to seek advices from Jonghyun, even Taemin or Jinki. But he hadn’t been able to, not when he had seen them so radiant. His blonde friend was living the best life he could never have imagined, doing what he liked the most and having a lover that wasn’t clingy to him. His best friend, this young boy who was becoming a strong man… he was realising his dream and who couldn’t feel proud of him when he was praised by all his seniors ? And the General, who had slowly but surely opened to him, shown the so warm and attentive man he hid inside.

No, he refused to ruin their newly found happiness because he couldn’t have his own. He was done being selfish. And this was how he found himself knocking at the dining room where he knew the King was, alone with a few things to arrange before a reception with a few couples of nobles. He didn’t wait to be allowed to enter, for the simple wait could make him renounce.

As he entered, he was welcomed by this so warm smile that had so much power on him. He felt his legs fail him but held steady, walking to Minho who immediately pulled him with an arm on his waist.

“Missing me, my Prince ?” He asked, stealing his husband a kiss.

“Deeply, as always, my King.” Kibum sincerely replied despite the horrible feeling of his heart sinking. “I long for you as soon as you leave my side.”

“I will join you soon, I’m almost done here. It’s late already, but you are still dressed ?”

“Yes, because I didn’t want to meet you wearing night clothes, not when what I have to tell you is important.”

“You seem afraid… is everything alright ? Did someone hurt you ? Just tell me a name and I will get rid of that rascal immediately.”

“No, Minho. I’m not hurt yet.”

The King raised his eyebrows when he heard his name being called, realising how serious the situation must be. With his hand, he gestured the Prince to take a seat, and sat himself next to him.

“Pray tell, you’re worrying me.” Minho requested, trying his best not to put too much pressure on his already tensed husband. “I’m listening, you can tell me everything.”

“You have to promise me you won’t be angry, because it would… it would be horrible, so please, don’t get angry.” The other man said, only worrying the youngest more.

“I can’t promise that, Kibum. Just spit it out, you’re really starting to scare me right now.”

“It’s… it’s about us, about what we officially are.”

“You mean… husbands ?”

“Y-Yes. I have to be honest with you, I have a conversation with your mother a few days ago and… and she told she had the same with you while I was away.”

Hearing these words, the King’s jaw tensed and he closed his hands into fists. His eyes immediately darkened and Kibum swallowed with difficulty. He had to keep talking.

“Is it true ? Did you refuse any kind of talk about your future ?” He asked. “Then we have to talk about it, you and I, before it hurts us even more.”

“My future is settled.” Minho firmly said. “It is not only mine but ours, me as the King and you as the Prince. There is nothing more to discuss.”

“Minho, wait !”

As the youngest of the two men was starting to stand up, his wrist was grabbed by his husband and he jerked it. He kept showing his back to the Prince, for he knew he would snap at him he looked at him while hearing such words again, from his mouth. But Kibum had no intention to let him escape the room, although he sat still.

“You are a wonderful King.” The raven haired man said, his voice soft and sincere. “Everyone in the palace appreciates working under your command, only some old bags still resist but what do you want ? It takes all sorts to make a world. Your people ? They love you, they know you’re a good sovereign and they never complained until now. You saw them yourself, they’re living happily and even the poorest don’t blame you, they keep smiling and helping each other.”

“What’s the point of this ?” Minho said, his teeth gritting and not turning over. “I don’t see where you’re going.”

“I mean you are doing well, Minho. You are doing beyond well fo your kingdom, and the only thing you’re doing wrong is not thinking about your future.”

“Don’t say anything more, I warn you.”

“I can’t. Your mother is right, it’s not about you and me but about Jinju, who needs to prosper. Please, you have to listen to me and we will find a solution together, I don’t want to leave you eith—”

“Then stop talking !”

Kibum jumped with surprised on his seat when his husband abruptly turned over, his features torn with anger and his fists falling noisily on the table. They stared at each other for a few seconds, and for the first time ever, the Prince felt the need to stand far away from the King.

“If you want to stay by my side, why are you annoying me with such nonsense ?” Minho said, his voice growing louder word after word. “Is it a joke to you ? What we are living, do you think it’s a game ?”

“When did I even say that ?” The other man frowned. “Alright, I see what your mother meant. Do not twist words, Minho, you are hurting yourself on your own responsibility.”

“Then explain yourself ! Why do you side with her when she wants to separate us ?!”

“Because you have to secure your kingdom ! Please, we are adults now, we can’t only think about ourselves.”

“Can’t we ? Funny, coming from someone who cheated on me almost on the day of our wedding !”

“You… you didn’t say that…”

Kibum slowly stood up, but even the tears in his eyes couldn’t stop Minho’s anger. He was facing a wall, a kind that was way too hard to break without breaking ourselves against it.

“Take it back…” He said, his voice trembling as he stared at the King. “You can’t go against me with that, not after everything we shared…”

“You’re about to ruin everything we shared.” Minho sharply said, not even looking at him anymore and boiling on the spot. “I can’t believe she came to you and took advantage of you to turn you against me…”

“She didn’t, Minho, by the Gods just listen to me !” Kibum walked to him and took his hands in his, only to be rejected. “I know it hurts ! I know how hard it sounds to have to be separated, I know !”

“You don’t seem to know, since you’re maintaining we should separate !”

“Sometimes the most necessary things hurt but they’re not less necessary, we both know it !”

“And what do you want from me ?! To send you back to your shitty home when no one appreciates you for what you’re worth ?! To marry some woman and despise her because the only person I want is and will always be you ?! How dare you ask me such a thing !”

“Because you are a King ! You have to think about your kingdom before me, before yourself !”

“I don’t want to hear anything else.”

“Stop being such a spoiled child and open your eyes !”

“You just opened them ! I thought you might, I don’t know, love me ? Turns out I was so wrong about you !”

This was the final straw for Kibum, who shut his mouth and let hot tears roll down his cheeks. It had never hurt like it was hurting at the moment. Suddenly he didn’t have anymore strength to fight back.

“I leaved everything behind for you.” He just said, his voice low and trembling, broken with sobs. “Oh, at first it wasn’t intentional, I was forced to. But I ended up falling for you, for everything about you. And you…”

“Kibum…” The King said, frowning as he started realising he might have gone too far, but his husband made a step backwards.

“If you can’t understand that I’m doing all of this because I love you… then we are already lost, Minho. I never wanted to leave you. Never. But now… maybe I want.”

“Listen, Kibum—”

“No… just… keep quiet and… stay away from me…”

Without waiting for an answer, the Prince rejected the hand that tried to catch his, and ran away from the room, not holding his sobs back. The door knocked open and he disappeared until his running steps couldn’t be heard anymore.

The King remained alone, and he held himself on a chair’s backrest. He was still dumbfounded about what had just happened, and he felt a wide open hole in his chest. He was lost in his thoughts, his eyes watering as well, when he heard steps entering and he looked up, hoping to see his husband… but it was not him. Jinki was looking at him from afar, not approaching him at all.

His stare was strongly disapproving.

“How much did you hear ?” He asked, not confident at all.

“Enough.” The soldier replied. “And this time… you really fucked up.”

Minho couldn’t have time to answer that his friend had already left, running after the Prince. And it was at that moment the majestic King of the First Kingdom realised he was, this time, completely alone.

#minkey #minho #key #kibum #shinee #fanfic #historical #kingdom of jinju #jongyu #jonghyun #onew #jinki #taemin

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