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#kim jonghyun be face palming
daegall · 3 years
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End of a day
pairing: Na Jaemin x reader
Genre: fluff, angst (?)
🎶: End of a day by Kim Jonghyun
Word count: 2.3k words (more than i planned jgsjjf)
Warnings: umm lots of fluff?? And sad jaemin :((
Network/s: @neoturtles
A/n: JFNSJFBJWBF UGHHHHH TUMBLR 😩😩😩😩 STOP BEING A BITCH PLS 😭😭😭😭😭 THIS IS HE SECOND TIME IM POSTING THIS 😃 enjoy it tho :)) it’s better than all my other works tbh so dint be too disappointed if you check the others :’)
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Thousands of people work every day, tired and upset, and yet they get up the next day to do the exact same thing. That’s how life is. It seems like nobody has a problem with that, maybe it’s because they’ve become so accustomed to it, or maybe they don’t want to come out pathetic and weaker to others, but they just keep going. It’s amazing, really, the way the mind works. Some people want to come off as strong and hard to read, and others just want to make friends and have fun.
Perhaps you were both, but today, you were none. All you felt was tiredness and stress. All you wanted to do was rip off these painfully uncomfortable clothes and curl into bed next to Jaemin.
At last, you reach your home you share with Jaemin, opening the door as he texted you he would leave it unlocked for you. Sluggishly and with no care in the world, you fling your shoes somewhere around the shoe rack, launching your bag to the couch, “I’m home!” no reply. With a huff, you make a beeline towards your shared room, emotions getting worse with every step you take. You twist the knob to your room, pushing it open, “Jaemin, you in he-”
Reach out and cover my neck
Please massage my shoulder a little further down
All your moodiness fades away when you spot your tired boyfriend quietly sniffling into his palms, seating looking too uncomfortable, even the sight of it throws your clothes into despair. “Jaemin...” you slowly inch towards him, heart shattering when he lets out a sob. He’s still in his work suit, something you loved on him, but now it just looked like it was suffering him. “Jaemin, baby,” you gently place your hand on his messy hair, cooing and running your fingers through his delicate strands when he leans into your touch.
“Come on, let’s go change. You feel uncomfortable, don’t you?” You beckon him softly, picking his face up and swiping a thumb over his wet cheek. He gives you a tight nod, squeezing the last few tears out before standing up, enveloping your hand around his. This is what he came home for. Your comfort and reassurance.
Even if the sun has already risen at the end of a tiring day
Now that I close my eyes
Just when you unbutton the last button of his jacket and throw it somewhere behind you, Jaemin can’t help but lean down to place his lips softly onto yours with care. His lips are salty from his tears, but you really don’t mind when his kisses are so soft, unlike all the other teasing and a bit rough ones he gives in the day. You pull away slowly, grinning up at him. He finally feels what he’s been longing the whole day, relaxation and tranquility. It feels so perfect and so… you.
Within 5 minutes, all uncomfortable work clothes are long forgotten, only soft big tees that envelop you and lul you slowly to sleep. That’s what you plan to do, right after Jaemin’s done in the bathroom and is next to you.
By the time your eyes are drooping close, the bathroom door is open, and you spot Jaemin shaking his hands dry and wiping them on his shirt. He instantly climbs in next to you, rushing into burying his face into your neck snugly.
On my day when I close the door later than others
Playfully tickling the earlobe
Even if we've been in a different world all day
Because we are always together at the end of the day
“Hard day?” You mumble into his forehead, chuckling lightly when he nods his head aggressively. “Do you want to talk about it?” Jaemin sighs, “Not really. It’s just the usual, given more work than the others. It’s just frustrating me,” You let out a thoughtful hum, nodding and threading your fingers into his messy hair, “So it all finally got to you?” He nods once again, this time a bit softer as he pulls you closer to his body.
“That’s good to hear, that you didn’t suppress your feelings, I mean. It’s been so long since you’ve actually relaxed.” Jaemin grins, you can read him so well, it’s amazing how you can determine how he’s feeling just by how he eats his breakfast or how affectionate he’s been.
Your little shoulders, your two little hands
At the end of my tiring day, it becomes a cozy blanket
Good job, you worked really hard
It makes him guilty, how you know every single part of him, and yet he doesn’t even try to know your small habits and actions you do. But then, he knows about your slow steps in the evening when you come back home, and the way your frown turns up quickly, almost too quickly, too fake. ‘Oh my god, you haven’t been good either,’ he thinks, as he squeezes you to him, as if trying to get rid of all the guilt he felt.
“Have you been okay?”
You are alarmed at the sudden question, tilting your head down to give him a confused look, “What?” Jaemin places his hand on your face, this time it’s him who’s stroking your tear away. You didn’t even realize you were crying until you felt the moisture spreading on your cheek.
“You’re not having such a good day either, huh?” Quickly, you try to scoot away from your boyfriend and wipe harshly at your tears, but the second you wipe one aggressively, Jaemin stops you, instead sitting up and wiping them himself, “You’re suppressing it too much.”
A scoff falls from your lips, before you playfully shove him away, “Don’t copy me!” There is a moment of laughter, before the atmosphere falls quiet. Not even a few seconds later, Jaemin is scooping you up to his side, enveloping you into his chest, “I’m sorry I didn’t notice sooner.” Instead of replying, you soften to his embrace, letting the last few tears finally release.
To you, my two hands with my blunt shoulders
I hope it will be a warm comfort at the end of your tiring day
I want to breathe with you naturally
Now you feel it, what Jaemin was yearning for when he came home, serene and pure ease. One of Jaemin’s hands tangles into your hair, fingers prodding soothingly on your scalp, his other hand venturing underneath your shirt to caress your bare skin with care. He was wrong. He did know every part of you, he knew perfectly what you wanted and when to give it. You inch closer to Jaemin, craving more of his warmth and touch.
He only coos at your eagerness, happily letting you cling onto him and bury your form into his hold. He places a tender kiss on your forehead, as if a silent reminder that he loves you. You shift in his hold, “Thank you,” your whisper felt soft, almost soothing against Jaemin’s skin, and he continues pressing quick, loving pecks all over your face, just as much until you giggle out at the lingering sensation when he finally stops.
You finally have the strength to look back up into Jaemin’s eyes, and you find nothing but clarified love and affection, no doubt you have those as well in your own.
Like the water in the bathtub that tightly embraces you
Warmly and completely
At the end of my embarrassing day full of clumsy mistakes
Are you waiting for me to be proud of you
The ambiance is everything soft, it feels comforting and like home, it feels like Christmas night, the ones where you just finally calm down from the buzzing day from before. For a second there, you almost forget about the hectic day you had previously, but honestly, all you want to do is thank it, without it you wouldn’t be here, you would most likely be still working.
Work is a bitch, you conclude, because even when you’re done with it for the day and want to take a break from it, you can’t, you can’t help but worry and think about the next time you encounter it, you want to finish it, but where is the end of it? Work will always be there to bring you back to the reality that you can’t slack off, you’ll get off track.
Now your thoughts were just getting out of hand, and you really hate work now.
“Baby, you’re overthinking, I can tell.” you shake your head, getting rid of the thoughts, “Sorry,” Jaemin chuckles lightly, caressing your cheek dearly, “No, I kind of am too.”
The conversation ends there, it’s like you don’t want to ruin the peaceful little aura you’ve created, opting to keep it as long as you can. Jaemin decides to revive the conversation, sliding down to relax and lay down on the bed, bringing you with him, “Tell me,” His eyes catch yours, almost pleading you to tell him, “Tell me what you were thinking about,”
“Well,” You start, “Work is just so inevitable, and honestly? It’s full of shit.” Jaemin chortles slightly at your choice of words, “Tell me about it.” You give him a mischievous look, “Like, no matter how much you hate it and don’t want it, you’re still gonna have to do it anyway, you basically can’t live without work.”
The small sigh doesn’t go unnoticed by Jaemin, as he pats your back comfortingly. “And whenever you want to just get over with it, you can’t. It’s still gonna be there again the next day or two. I don’t like it at all. Not one bit.”
Your boyfriend almost agrees, but stops. He should encourage you instead, he thinks.
“But hey, a the end if you work hard there will be a present waiting at home for you.” You roll your eyes, thinking it one of his corny jokes, but he continues, “At least that’s what I tell myself to get throughout the day, I get to see you again, that’s practically magical. Coming back home and tumbling into your hugs and kisses are literally soo perfect, it’s surreal, almost.”
Your little shoulders, your two little hands
At the end of my tiring day, it becomes a cozy blanket
Good job, you worked really hard
A big smile spreads across your lips, and you turn your head to look at Jaemin. He smiles at you, affirming his words, softly running his hands through your hair, “I know it’s really cheesy, but it works for me.”
Your perspective might change completely because of that, imagine just a hard ass day of work kicking your ass, tiring, and most likely emotional and full of breakdowns, and in return for dealing with all the shit, you get to relax and spend some time with Jaemin without any work interrupting you two, you might just want that every day.
You give him a bigger, more satisfied smile, “Okay, I’ll do that.”
To you, my two hands with my blunt shoulders
I hope it will be a warm comfort at the end of your tiring day
I want to breathe with you naturally
Jaemin is another breed, because who on earth would come up with that idea? Na Jaemin did. While others, and most likely you, think of all the bad things that happened throughout the day, Jaemin thought of the future, what’s happened has happened, if it was shit then so be it. But time with you could never be shit for him, he can’t find a single bit of it boring.
Despite being with him for so long, you can’t help but always be so mesmerized by him, he’s absolutely fascinating. The way he sees life is honestly on another level, a level that you want to reach and a level he will happily help you reach.
From now on, you decide, you will find the goods at the end of the day, you will work hard, maybe even extra hard, just to be happy at the end of the day when you meet Jaemin once again.
I can't cry as much as I want and I can't laugh as much as I want
At the end of a tiring day, if it’s next to you
You scream like a child and laugh like you pass your breath
I meet myself, who has become awkward too
So when the next day arrives, you work super duper hard, staying an extra hour to help Mark with his own work he struggles with (he’s not that good with technology) and even doing extra small tasks your coworkers ask you to do, which they found funny because usually, you reply with an excuse or simply turning it down, this was definitely a good thing.
And when you go back home, this time you’re about 3 times more exhausted, and 10 times more excited to finally meet Jaemin after a long day.
You bust the door open harshly, throwing your shoes messily at the shoe rack with a bright smile on your face.
“I’m home!”
Jaemin’s soft mop of hair peeks out from the kitchen, “Oh? Baby? How was-”
Suddenly, the air in his lungs gets knocked out from force, the force of you rushing into his arms. You feel it. The happiness. Jaemin was right, this feels victorious. You feel like you’ve won in life, you feel so accomplished.
Jaemin sighs, wrapping his arms around you and leaning his forehead on the top of your head, “I’m so proud of you.”
Good job, you worked really ahrd
You are my pride
170 notes · View notes
taeminyourmind · 3 years
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The Photograph (A)
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Genre: Angst (Hurt/Comfort), Non-idol!AU
Summary: Growing up, Minhee has spent her life believing Taemin was her biological father. But when she discovers a photograph hidden away, she questions everything she once knew and comes to understand that not all family comes from blood.
Characters: Reader, Taemin, Jonghyun, and Minhee & Mincheol (OCs)
Word Count: 3.2k+
A/N: This is story is purely fiction and do not represent any of the parties involved. Story mainly revolves around you and Taemin’s daughter, Minhee.
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The aroma of freshly baked pancakes and bacon wafts throughout the house. While you and your husband, Taemin, busily prepare breakfast, your daughter, Minhee, is surrounded by boxes that contain forgotten photographs.
Minhee carefully goes through each box, taking each photograph into consideration before choosing the ones she wants to use to make a special collage for the family. Carefully, she places the box back in your closet. She almost closes the door when a white box with flower delicate flower decals catches her eye. Her head turns towards the door to make sure the coast is clear before reaching up and pulling the box down along with its thin blanket of dust.
With a sneeze, the box slips from her hands and lands on the floor with a thud. The contents spill across the floor, revealing forgotten photographs and handwritten letters. She curses to herself and drops to her knees and hurriedly places everything back in the box. Though her hands move faster than her mind, she stops herself from placing a picture back into the box.
Minhee brings the photo closer to her face, her eyes concentrating on the glossy paper. She gently holds the photograph in her hands and sits back on her knees. The photograph shows a young boy sitting in the sun with a juice box wedged tightly between his small hands. He smiles bright enough to challenge the sun as blotches of red juice stains paint his shirt. 
She smiles back at the young boy. The more she stares back at the young boy, the more her smile fades. Her brows reflect her deep thought as she searches her stack of kept photographs. Her fingers move quickly through the pile. The sting of paper cuts doesn’t hinder her pace as she finds the photograph.
Minhee’s heart pounds with confusion and anxiousness as she slowly brings the photograph from the pile and the one of the young boy side by side. The eyes, cheekbones, smile, and mannerisms are too similar to ignore. She dares herself to turn the photograph of the young boy around to see “Kim Jonghyun - 1994” written on the back, its lettering faded.
The name Jonghyun bounces throughout her mind like a pinball. She remembers stories you, her father, and your friends told of your dear friend. Her eyes scan the photographs once more. The more she stares, the more she begins to see the same face twice.
“Minhee!” Taemin calls from the bottom of the stairs. “Come eat! And hurry up cause we’re starving!”
“O-Okay!” She yells, her eyes never leaving the photographs.
She looks around the room and stares at a picture of her and Taemin when she was younger - both smiling brightly while she sits on his shoulders. The memory causes her to smile before turning back to Jonghyun’s photograph. Her heart pings at the realization that she looks more related to Jonghyun than her father.
The choice to confront her parents or not makes her heart beat faster as she remains still, paralyzed with the weight of each decision. If she confronts you, there’ll be a risk of you lying or scolding her for going through your belongings. If she doesn’t confront you, she risks her questions consuming her until she snaps.
The sound of her name being called again snaps her alert as she quickly places the rest of the photographs into the box and places it back into the closet. She grabs her photographs, placing them in the back of her pocket, and hurries downstairs where the fragrance of blueberry pancakes become more prominent.
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Jonghyun’s photograph burns in Minhee’s pocket as she tries her best to ignore it and participate in her parents’ conversation. Her troubled mind takes away her appetite. Lazily, she pushes her food around the plate as her cheek rests against her propped hand.
“Minnie?” Taemin places a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay? You aren’t eating. Are you sick?”
Taemin presses the back of his hand to her forehead. The familiarity of his touch makes her softly smile and shake her head. His eyebrows furrow with worry when he notices the distant look in her eyes.
“Is something bothering you?” He gently presses in a whisper.
Unable to contain her burning question, Minhee loudly groans while pressing her face in her palms. Her frustration pulls you and Taemin to exchange a look before rushing to her side. You begin to instinctively rub a nurturing circle on her back. The shudders of her breaths vibrate against your palm. A moment passes before she lifts her head. Pieces of her hair latch to the trail of tears on her face until Taemin brushes them back.
“What’s going on, Minhee?” You ask.
“I was going through the photo albums and found this.” Minhee reaches in her pocket. Her fingers slightly tremble as she places the photographs of her and Jonghyun on the table. “We look so much alike. He and I.”
Your eyes fall on the photographs. “Minhee,” you whisper, your voice slightly cracking. “Where did you find this?”
“The photo box in the back of your closet.” She looks between you and Taemin with curious eyes. “It’s probably just a coincidence, right?”
Taemin remains silent. He looks from Minhee to you, who’s gazing down at the photographs, your eyes darting back and forth. He calls your name softly and regains your attention.
“Will someone tell me what’s going on?” Minhee raises her voice. Tears well in her eyes as she desperately looks between you for an answer. 
“Jong,” you clear your throat. Taemin stops you mid-sentence and asks if you’re sure. With a soft smile, you nod and return your attention to Minhee. “Jonghyun is your father.”
Your forwardness causes Minhee to tilt her head in confusion. She looks to Taemin to break the tension with a “haha, we got you!”, but nothing comes. Instead, he gazes past her and nods for you to continue as he places a comforting hand on her back.
“We wanted to wait until the right time to tell you.”
“When was I going to know?” Minhee loudly asks. “When I died?” She stands from the table, pushing her chair back with a scrrrt.
“Minhee, it’s more complicated than that.”
“How hard is it to say ‘Hey, the man you’ve known all your life isn’t really your father’?”
Taemin’s face contorts in pain at Minhee’s question. His saddened eyes gaze up at his little girl and feel helplessness wash over him at the fact that he didn’t know how to comfort her. How can you help mend a newly broken hurt?
You stand to your feet and clench your jaw. “Taemin is your father, Minhee. How can you say such a thing?”
The tears that have been welling in her eyes finally fall when she blinks. Your expression softens at the pain written on her face.
“How can you keep this from me? The stories I’ve heard of ‘Uncle Jonghyun’ were really stories of my father. Someone you robbed me from knowing.”
Tears sting your eyes as Minhee snatches the pictures from the table and storms upstairs. The sound of the door slamming makes you jump. Defeated, you sink back into your chair with your face in your palms. A pillar of warmth appears at your side as Taemin moves closer to you and takes you in his arms.
“I messed up,” you struggle to say through a sob. “I messed up.”
“You didn’t mess up,” he whispers in your ear. His arms press you closer to his body. “You were waiting for the right time to tell her and Mincheol.”
“I should’ve told her sooner.”
“You could’ve,” he sighs. “But would you have been ready?”
The peaceful beats of Taemin’s heart make you snuggle more into his chest until it gently beats against your face. Your fingers grip onto his as his scent calms you. Scenarios of ways you could have told Minhee the truth plays in your mind while Taemin slowly rocks you and presses a kiss on the top of your head.
“Everything will be okay.”
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The soft patter of rain splashes against the window. The overcast sky paints her bedroom with a gray filter. With a sigh, she stares at the ceiling while tears slowly travel to her ears where she wipes them away. Too many thoughts cloud her mind making it difficult to cling to one and ponder on it. 
Her eyes squeeze shut in an attempt to focus on the rain so she can drown out the world and herself. It’s been days since Minhee’s last spoken more than a few sentences to her parents and the guilt has been consuming her as she stays locked in her room. Suddenly, her door swings open to reveal a young man dressed in sweats and a backward baseball cap.
“Big sis!”
The familiar booming voice makes Minhee shoot her eyes open. Before she can brace herself, the young man jumps on top of her. Her face contorts in discomfort while he places a sloppy kiss on her cheek before rolling to lay beside her.
“Hi, Mincheol.” She gasps.
“You would not believe the weekend I had!” Mincheol exclaims and rolls on his side to face Minhee. He goes on to give a recount of the weekend he had with his friends, stopping halfway to tell another story before getting back to the first one. His hands move quickly along with his words, painting an imaginary scenery.
Mincheol is eerily similar to his father. He and Taemin both have a natural gift of dancing, the desire to be challenged and seek an adventure and their mannerisms are almost the same, especially when their lips poke out a little while they talk and use their hands to exaggerate a story. To see Mincheol is to see Taemin as they have the same lips, smile, nose, and facial structure. Minhee begins to wonder why she never noticed she and Taemin’s lack of similarities compared to him and Mincheol.
But in himself, Mincheol is his own person; extremely reserved until he feels comfortable around you, kind-hearted, wise, attentive, like his father, and hates being stuck in one thing and place for long. That’s the downside of his adventurous nature, he was always looking for the next adventure instead of fully enjoying the one he’s currently on.
“You’re not even listening to me,” he whines.
Playfully, he taps her with his foot. His pout disappears when he notices the distant look on his sister’s face. “Hey, what’s wrong?” He asks. “C’mon, you’re scaring me.”
Minhee lets out an exasperated sigh. She reaches over to grab the two photographs from her nightstand, where they’ve been for the past few days and hands them to Mincheol. He takes them into his hands and stares back and forth between them, bringing them closer to his face as if he couldn’t see them clearly.
“I know,” Minhee says. “Turns out he’s my father.”
“Who is he? What do you mean he’s,” he shakes Jonghyun’s photo in his hand for extra measure “your father?”
Minhee reaches over and turns the photograph around to reveal the writing on the back. Mincheol’s jaw drops as he fails to stammer a complete sentence.
“I asked mom and dad about it. Turns out they were “waiting” for the right time.” She scoffs. “I’ve been lied to my whole life. I thought dad was my dad -”
“He is your dad, Minnie,” Mincheol interrupts and puts the photograph down. “He doesn’t have to be your biological dad to be one.”
“But -”
“Dad has done and still does his job as a father. Not once have you felt you weren’t his, have you?”
Minhee shakes her head.
“So, you could say he succeeded at being your dad.”
“But why didn’t anyone tell me?” Minhee groans and sits up. “This whole time “Uncle Jonghyun” has been my father. And mom never cared to tell me.”
“Have you ever thought that mom is still devastated over his death?” He softly begins and sits up beside her. “It’s clear they loved each other and I’m sure she would’ve wanted you to know, especially if Uncle Jonghyun was a great person.” He holds his hand up to stop Minhee’s upcoming rebuttal. “I implore you to talk to mom and dad and listen to them.”
Minhee sighs. “You’re right.”
The sound of soft taps on Minhee’s door frame grabs their attention. She and Mincheol look up to see you and Taemin in the doorway, the white photo box with floral decals rests in your hands, clean of dust.
“May we come in?” Taemin asks.
“I think that’s my cue to leave,” Mincheol says and begins to shift off the bed.
“Please stay, Cheol.” You say as you and Taemin sit on the space in front of them and set the box in the middle. “You deserve to hear this too.”
Mincheol settles back on the bed. Taemin reaches forward and rustles his son’s hair while giving him a low “Welcome home.”
You give Minhee a soft smile before opening the box and handing her a series of photographs of you and Jonghyun.
“Your father and I met at a dog park. His dog, Roo, had gotten loose and ran up to me. He was so apologetic and offered to buy me a coffee as an “I’m sorry.” We talked for hours and he felt like a friend I’ve known since childhood, you get that from him, that and his way of using your words for comfort.
Years go by and we’ve grown to fall for one another, or so we thought. We tried to be in a relationship, but it never worked out. Then, I found out I was pregnant. Actually,” you turn to Taemin and exchange a small smile. “Tae was the first person I told and he came with me to tell your father. We met through Jonghyun at a game night at his house.”
“Was he happy?” Minhee asks, leaning forward with wide eyes.
“We were both scared, but we became excited when we went to our first appointment. When he found out you were a girl,” you pause and chuckle at the memory. “He bought everything pink because he wanted to make sure his princess had everything she needed and more.”
You give Minhee a series of photographs showing Jonghyun cuddling with your growing stomach and building the nursery. Tears brim your eyes as Minhee stares at them in awe.
“He loved you deeply, and I know he would have shown you the world and spoiled you more than your dad.” You playfully nudge Taemin’s shoulder.
“Your mother would never have allowed it anyway.”
“Did you love him?” Mincheol quietly asks.
“I will always love him, but I’m not in love with him. He was my friend that gave me a precious gift of life.” Your eyes softly gaze at your daughter. “When he passed away, Tae was there to help me with you, and we gradually fell for each other. We wed after Mincheol’s birth and now, here we are.”
“Your father was more than a friend, he was my brother. When he died, I gave him a silent promise to always take care of you.”
Overcome with emotion, Minhee leans forward and holds onto you and Taemin, pulling you close. Her shoulders shudder while she uncontrollably sobs. Apologies fall from her lips as her grip tightens.
“I’m so sorry for saying you weren’t my father, dad. And I’m sorry for being so hard on you, mom.”
You, Taemin, and Mincheol wrap your arms around Minhee. Sniffles fill the room while you apologize for not telling her sooner, but also giving her words of comfort that you never kept him hidden from her by telling stories of Jonghyun.
“Can you tell me more about my father?” Minhee asks as she lets you go and wipes her tears away.
You give a joyous smile to Taemin and nod at him, urging him to go first.
“Let me tell you the story of how I met your father.
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Minhee sits alone on a bench in the park near her house. Its location provides just enough sunshine to warm her skin as she takes a sip of Chai tea from the butterfly mug Mincheol bought for her from Tokyo.
A gentle breeze rustles the leaves overhead, providing a relaxing ambiance while the birds cheerfully chirp from their perches. A soft sigh puffs past her lips at the beauty of the field of flowers in front of her.
“Excuse me,” a soothing voice stammers. “May I sit here?”
Minhee averts her eyes to the stranger standing in front of her. She holds her hand to her face to shield her eyes from the sun’s rays. She squints to make out the figure. Immediately, she recognizes the stranger’s face and stammers over her words.
The stranger chuckles at her reaction and slowly sits beside her. “Hello, Minhee.”
“Unc...father?”
Jonghyun smiles and nods. His eyes sparkle at his daughter as she drops her mug and lurches forward to wrap her arms around his body. Her eyes close in the presence of his warmth and relax in his arms as her fingers grip his shirt, taking note of its cashmere fabric. She inhales deeply, taking in his woodsy scent and makes a mental note of how it feels to be here with him, promising herself to never let this moment go.
Jonghyun tightly wraps his arms around her, bringing her closer to his body. He gently rests his hand on the back of her head and softly hums a lullaby.
Moments go by before Minhee slowly peels herself from Jonghyun’s tight embrace. Her fingers gently touch his cheekbones and notice their warmth.
“Daddy,” she whispers, allowing herself to be a child again and confirm that he’s in front of her.
Jonghyun nods. “It’s me, sweetheart.”
His confirmation makes tears spill from both of your eyes. Words get lost in Minhee’s sea of thoughts as she searches for something to say. Jonghyun feels her fluster and softly chuckles.
“I’m so happy to see you,” he smiles while wiping her tears away. “You’ve grown up so much.”
“You’ve been watching me?”
“Of course!” Jonghyun exclaims. “You’re my princess!”
As the sun gradually sets, Minhee and Jonghyun stroll through the park, talking about everything from their childhoods to what’s been happening lately, their interests, worries, and dreams.
“I always knew your mother and Taemin belonged together,” Jonghyun says while his hands pull on the lush grass underneath of him.
“But isn’t that weird?” Minhee asks while her face scrunching in confusion. “He’s your friend. Weren’t you hurt?”
Jonghyun shakes his head. “We knew we weren’t compatible. I wanted and still want nothing but happiness for her, and I knew it was Taemin that could add more of that to her life.” He takes her hand in his and gently squeezes it. “Don’t be too hard on them. They were just trying their best to raise you and your brother while coping with my death.”
The word ‘death’ strikes Minhee’s heart as she draws herself closer to Jonghyun. He welcomes her with open arms and presses her closer to his chest, allowing her to hear the soft beating of his heart as the sun nears the horizon.
“This is a dream, isn’t it?” Minhee asks with tears welling in her eyes.
“Yes,” Jonghyun soothingly answers. “But I’ll visit you whenever I can.”
His arms tightly hold onto his daughter while the sky grows dark enough to display the twinkling stars above.
“I love you, Minhee, and I’m so proud of the young lady you’re growing up to be,” Jonghyun whispers, trying his best to hold back his tears. “Whenever you feel alone, remember that I’m here with you. I will always be with you.”
26 notes · View notes
ecoamerica · 23 days
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dibidibifiction · 3 years
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Summer To Fall
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Paring: Kim Jonghyun x Lee Taemin (Jongtae)
Category: soft romance; fluff
Word count: 1.7k
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction made for personal entertainment of readers. The writer does not ever intend to offend her readers nor does she aim to spread false information about anyone as to pay any disrespect to the real-life persons whom the characters are based on. She also does not claim ownership to any of the images that are being used.
masterlist
. . .
I don’t know why I’m still nervous now even when Jonghyun Hyung visited me earlier today during my performance broadcast to surprise me for celebrating my comeback. I am now at home, waiting for him to arrive from his parents house to announce his official discharge from the military. Even though we’ve known each other for more than a decade, I can’t help but worry that things might turn awkward for us. 
I didn’t know how to react when Jonghyun Hyung surprise-visited me today, still in his uniform. I knew that I was extremely happy to see him but with all those people surrounding us and since I’m still new to this, I’m afraid they might suspect us. I hugged him properly and tightly only when we were finally left alone in my waiting room. Knowing him, he’d cry, which I always find endearing. I asked him why. 
“I just missed you so much and you were amazing out there. I’m so proud of you,” he explained, his voice slightly faint and nasal from crying too much.
I looked into his puffy eyes and smiled goofily for seeing his face again after one long year.
“Okay, I have to save some tears for my family,” he joked, sniffling.
Jonghyun Hyung and I had been texting back and forth during his year of service. Almost every night, he would call me on video chat before he had to turn in his phone. 
Around four months ago, it was a normal day for the both of us. However, he was acting strangely. He seemed extra jumpy and he talked so fast that I could barely understand what he was saying. 
“What is wrong with you today?” I asked. He always told me whenever something was bothering him, but apparently, not this time.
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re acting weird.”
He paused for a while there. He aimed the camera away from his face for me to see only his shoulder. 
“Hyung?” I called for him but he didn’t respond right away. We stayed like this for a whole five minutes, just me getting dizzy from watching my screen going round and round.
“Taemin, there’s something that I’ve been putting off telling you,” he started once the camera stopped spinning and I can see his face again. “You know how we’ve been spending time like this lately, and I must tell you, I’ve been very happy. Like, really very happy. I’ve been thinking about this a lot,” his voice sounded breathy.
I just continued to listen to him, quite confused, waiting for further information. 
“I’ve been thinking about this a lot and...” he repeated, seeming fidgety. “I like you, Taemin.”
There was long silence. I had no idea what to say.
Next thing I know is that he said “Okay, good night!” and hung up. But he followed it by a text message saying, It’s okay, you don’t have to give an answer right now. Just tell me whenever you’re ready. Sleep well.~
We didn’t talk for a while after that, but we still texted. I began preparing for my comeback, weeks of practicing vocals and choreographies, plus video shootings. I became so busy that I almost didn’t think about what he told me. 
After over two months of nonstop working, I finally caught days of break. I got to relax, thought about everything. My feelings for Jonghyun Hyung were always there but I guess I never really thought of it deeply since I didn’t think it was a big deal. When I heard it directly from him, although shocked and a little confused, I felt so happy as if my heart wanted to jump out of my body and run to him.
Talking to him by the end of every day is the moment I always looked forward to. I got unreasonably worried when I hadn’t heard from him all day. I was disappointed some nights that he’s too exhausted to talk and he had to go to bed early. 
I had to tell him, too, how I felt so I decided to finally call him.
I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that he left to serve the military simply as Jonghyun Hyung and came back as my Jonghyun Hyung. It’s insane to think about. I don’t think I felt this blissful in my life. Talk about timing. I feel like running and jumping and screaming!
As I’m just sitting on my couch, still waiting for him to arrive, I feel restless, fidgeting my knees. My heart drops when I hear a knock on the door.
A gorgeous man appears before me holding a bouquet of flowers. “Congratulations, Taemin!” Jonghyun Hyung greets me with a sing-song voice. 
I giggle at his cuteness of a smile. I gesture him to step inside as I took the bouquet from his hands. “Thank you, Hyung!” I say, trying not to sound too happy while I hug him.
After I offer him something to drink, we settle down on my couch. I inform him of my promotion process since he asked how I was doing first. Then I just watch him tell me all about his experience in the military. Eventually, his laugh is the only sound I’m hearing, and his smile is the only thing I’m seeing. It’s the most beautiful thing.
We talk for hours. Time passes by so quickly tonight that we lost track.
“By the way, where is your uniform?” I ask him.
“At home, why? Did you like how it looked on me?” he says, reading my mind.
I laugh. I’m too shy to admit that he did look hot in that military uniform. “Yeah, I think you looked taller in that,” I tease him instead.
“Hey!” he shouts, then punches me on my arm playfully.
I change the topic after we finish laughing. “It’s getting late, do you want me to drive you home?”
“Well...” He pauses for a moment, probably thinking how he should put what he’s about to say. “I was hoping I could stay here?”
“Huh?” Just like that I feel uneasy again. “Here?” My eyes eventually widen at him even when I don’t mean to. I don’t remember the last time I blinked.
“Forget it.” He’s laughing but I can hear the frustration in his voice. “I’ll just go.” He stands up from the couch and is about to head to the front door.
“Hyung!” I didn’t mean to yell. “I want you to stay,” I say gutlessly. He turns around to face me again.
“Why?” He reveals his frown this time.
“Day after tomorrow,” I try, but stuttering. “I will be busy again for the rest of the week so I might not be able to see you again for a while. So…”
“Taemin, obviously, you’re still not comfortable with this. It’s okay. I understand that this will take time. I’m still adjusting myself.” It’s true what he just said but I do want him to stay. I want…
Him. 
My mind is out of control as my built-up desires take over. I run to him and clash my lips against his, drawing him even closer to me by his hips. I pull away after a moment. “But if you really want to go—”
He hushes me by clashing our lips together again even before I can catch my breath, this time it’s more tender but lustful. 
His hands are now grasping my face and mine are starting to slide down at the top of his butt cheeks. Our bodies are colliding naturally, making me feel his hard-on against mine as our tongues taste each other.
He pulls away after a few minutes, already breathless. He looks in my eyes fiercely, biting his own lip. “I’m going to wash up,” he says, without changing his expression. He then goes running to my bathroom and slamming the door shut.
I’m finally able to breathe and just realizing that my heart is beating harder and faster. I can’t help but giggle at myself and fall back to the couch while I feel my face burning with my palms where he just touched me. “Hyung, what are you doing to me?”
. . .
I slowly open my eyes awake, feeling Hyung’s warm embrace wrapped around me from behind. I can also feel his breath against my ear. My heart is already full even when my day literally has just started. This has been the best sleep I’ve had in as long as I can remember.
“Taemin,” I hear him moan. He must’ve felt me waking up. 
I carefully roll my whole body around to face him, then watch his precious skin shine along the morning light.
“How did you sleep?” he asks, his voice raspy.
“Perfect,” I say, smiling widely already. 
I get out of bed to go to the toilet and let him linger on my bare ass.  
I hear him sigh and chuckle, making me smile even wider.
I went back to the bedroom with a question in mind. “Hyung,” I call for him, rejoining him in bed. I hesitate.
“What is it?” He stares at me waiting to hear something else.
I look down for a second to think. “When did you start liking me?”
“Well,” he starts immediately, not breaking eye contact which makes my cheeks feel hot. “I asked myself that question a lot, too, way before I confessed to you. Of course it was confusing at first but it was no use fighting it. I have no idea when I started to like you, just like how no one knows when exactly the weather turns from spring to summer or from summer to fall. Eventually, I just started feeling differently towards you. A feeling that is hard to explain through words.”
I just nod lightly, looking down at his bare muscled chest. Once again, not knowing how to respond. He pretty much spelled out my answer to that question too.
He scoots closer to me and touches my nose with his, his forehead on mine. “I’m just lucky enough that you like me too,” he says, tears shape up in his eyes.
“Oh, Hyung,” I empathize, putting my arm around him. “I can’t wait to tell the guys.”
“Really? You want to tell them right away?”
“Yes, they’re our best friends. I’m sure they’ll be happy for us.”
“Okay, let’s tell them together then.”
After we have our little conversation, we just stay nose to nose and embrace each other’s blissful presence for a while. Then once again, our mouths touch, as well as our naked bodies, and experience the taste of pleasure we have for each other. 
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0nho · 3 years
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raw wip I started last year. tried working on it some more. it actually got really long. university fluff mostly. a dilemma where everyone is a bottom (or are they?), minho pov. very rare occasion I try to use all 5 in a story...
---
Kim Kibum is now the co-president of the university's one and only pride club, actually. Kibum and Jonghyun get along quite well; similar interests and tastes from fashion to men. They do a good job of keeping the club running despite its opposition. 
"Eat ass.." Minho mumbles, not in the mood at all for Kibum banter yet. 
"Gladly," Kibum smiles, flicking his dyed brown and blond highlight haircut that looks like a mullet, "I actually get laid."
Minho can't stand Kibum's fox-like grin, and never has. It mocks him. "I see the westerner's '80s fashion threw up on your big head."
Kibum's full attention is drawn away from his phone. "What did you just say, alien-bug-looking-face, receding-hairline-big-ass-forehead-looking-prick!" 
Minho uses his palm to brush his short fringe forward, brows furrowed, feeling that exchange was below the belt. No need to go after each other's complexes. 
"Kibum says he got dicked in the military.." Jonghyun says, changing the subject back to dicks, naturally, proud of the younger man regardless of the risks involved with that sort of engagement. 
Minho looks dumbfounded, shocked anyone would walk that line considering at worst a prison cell awaits. "You didn't!" 
Kibum's expression, like some cheshire cat, doesn't give away if he's lying or not. 
"I did," Jonghyun raises his hand, always proud of his exploits, at least the ones he tells. "The risk was worth the reward. He was a cute virgin," the man remenses. "My weakness for cute faces will be my undoing.."
Minho looks with horror at both men. His own personal crush was a superior officer with a little chub padding well built muscly arms, height making Minho feel almost short, voice a deep growl yelling at the soldiers to keep up and do better. Whenever the officer told Minho he was doing good and leading by example, Minho pushed to be even better, as if he could have certainly climbed any mountain weighed down by heavy gear or swim the ocean from Korea to China for that superior officer if it meant he could be held in those strong, bulky arms for a moment without judgment. Filthy, dirty wet dreams had visited some nights, making those early morning rises worse than just having to get up early as a non-morning person. But he had never considered pursuing relations in the military. 
"You guys are crazy."
Jonghyun sounds too proudly cheeky. "You'd be surprised how many gay men are in the military at one time. Or the curious and missing a lady's touch. Way too much morning wood in those barracks." 
"I was skeptical about Jonghyun sunbae's experience because he's a known liar.." Kibum side-eyes Jonghyun, "But once I was there.. well, things happened."
Minho went to an alternate reality military, clearly. Maybe his division branch had been that different after all. 
"Maybe if you were a power bottom you would attract more attention and offers," Jonghyun gives advice. ".. I'll teach you, no charge."
Minho leans back in his seat, arms crossed and eyes rolled. "No thanks.." he's not interested in the structure of a power bottom or the ideal and expectations it carries. Minho's a simple, kind of vanilla, bottom into being softly dominated and doted on and eager to please a partner's desires. Maybe a little rougher now and then, with someone he is comfortable with. 
"He's so plain and boring.." Kibum sighs, taking out his phone to browse. "I see why it's hard to find a partner."
Minho's face falls, not amused at all. 
"He has a unique type.. it's difficult to find."
Kibum rests his chin in hand, looking bored, gaze still on his cellphone. "You mean his ideal type is basically himself but a top."
Jonghyun tries to stifle a laugh. "It is.. but I didn't want to say it."
Minho's frown depends. He's is in no mood to be mocked, so he leaves the table for the couch at the far end of the room, practically huffing, hands through his short hair he hopes grows back faster so he looks cuter and to attract potential tops. 
"You made him sulk," Jonghyun scolds Kibum. 
"When is he not? And why do you keep bothering him anyway, he's not into you."
"Or you.."
"Shut up. He's the worst type of bottom.."
"And you're a slutty, bossy bottom."
"Sunbae! You wanna die?!" 
Kibum grows grouchy while Jonghyun smiles, looking towards the door repeatedly, as if waiting for someone still. While there are other members, attendance is infrequent and many show up once and then withdraw. There's a lot of social factors that keep the pride club on a blacklist and on the brink of shutdown. 
As the club door swings open, Minho passing by it, he freezes, spooked by a familiar, and notable pretty, face. 
"Oh.. that sunbae is here too?" 
"Taeminnie…" Jonghyun coos, urging the new face to the club, in Minho's case due to recent absence, over to the table. 
"You know Minho?" Kibum asks, suddenly very curious. 
The young student closes the door behind himself, shrugging off a backpack and tucking lengthy hair behind an ear, a dangling earring suiting the young man's pretty face and slender figure. He doesn't really smile with his reply, side glancing at Minho looking at the youth dumbfounded. ".. not really. We just bumped into each other earlier."
Taemin's explanation is very simplified. 
Minho had been adjusting to being back at school, and in an environment that being outed wouldn't lead right to prison, that when a new face on campus, surely a freshman, kept popping up around him and glancing at him, he had become certain the young man was a bottom on the prowl. It was a sense, an uneasy one. 
When Taemin approached Minho in the hallway, after a demoralizing discussion with a professor urging Minho to keep his head in the game and study to improve his grades from before time off for conscription, a man who knows Minho's father no less, Minho had flushed with insensible panic. 
Taemin had stood nearly as tall as Minho, but with a face and figure right out of a boys' love comic drawn by female artists; an impressive sight to be honest. "Excuse me, sunbae.. could I talk to you about something?" 
Minho took a breath, hands on his unsightly hair that's still simply too short and probably made him look like a masculine top ready for booty action. "I'm not a pitcher! I'm a catcher, okay! I can't help you!" 
Taemin had looked bewildered to say the least, as if another language had just been thrown on him. 
Minho had hurried past the young man as other students filled the hallway. Minho decided he needed to go to the pride club room and see his friends, even if they don't understand him that well either. He had come to miss them a lot and they had become more of a security than he ever thought they could. 
In looking back, that moment had been quite embarrassing on his part. It is too soon to run into the young man again. Some days Minho has the worst luck. 
Jonghyun calls Taemin to sit beside him at the table, practically clinging to the younger man. Taemin carries a small smile, a bit bashful. He pets Jonghyun's head playfully. 
"Taemin, don't trust that sunbae so easily," Kibum warns of Jonghyun. 
"Why do you try to sabotage my happiness? Do you hate me, Kibum?" Jonghyun pouts, snuggling Taemin's shoulder. 
"Sunbae, who could hate you?" Kibum flashes a wide, fake smile. "This club has dwindled enough in members lately. Don't scare more away."
"I'm okay…" Taemin speaks up, voice a little small. 
"Taeminnie…" Jonghyun calls out, joyful and receiving more pats on the head. 
"Sunbae, you're his dog."
"It's great." Jonghyun exclaims. 
Taemin sinks into his seat, embarrassed where the conversation could lead. He changes the mood, "I was wanting to ask Minho sunbae something but now I forgot what it was…" he laughs. "But he's like you guys said. I was shocked he almost made a scene."
"He thought you a bottom hitting on him?" Kibum has a hardy laugh. 
"I.." Taemin's voice gets smaller, like he doesn't want to make anyone feel bad, especially a senior. "I guess so.."
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quagmireisadora · 4 years
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Hey!!! Could you please write Jongyu soulmate au? Something like Jonghyun is abused by his previous partner and comes to the hospital for treatment. Jinki is the one treating him. Though it's first meeting, they find out they are soulmates. Ending is upto you but I would prefer happier one!!! 🖤🖤🖤 Thank you in advance!! 🤗🤗
A/N: “I would prefer happier one” Wow, Rach, what shade! (I love you).
T/W: mentions of physical abuse. Also, I am not a professional therapist, so please regard this as fiction only.
——
“And… what do you do for a living?”
The man continued to grin like his life depended on it. Jinki supposed it was a charming expression when its owner wasn’t in a cast that kept his arm stretched out to his side. Like an inordinately large bird caught mid-flap.
When he got no response, he pursed his lips and sat back in his chair. “OK,” he decided. “What would you like to talk about?”
More grinning. More silence. More ogling at the bookshelves and framed certificates. A scratch of the cheek, but nothing beyond that.
This wasn’t going to be easy. But it never was, if Jinki were honest with himself. When a patient was too heavily medicated for their pain, they could barely pay attention to their surroundings, much less interact. All the information Jinki had gleaned so far was from the man’s medical file, handed to him by the nurse who accompanied the patient. Kim Jonghyun, it said, was thirty years of age and living with his partner who he had a physical altercation with three weeks ago–an altercation so violent it ended with him in the hospital.
“Well, if you don’t feel like talking, that’s fine,” Jinki decided, folding his arms across his chest. “Is there anything else you’d like to do instead?” He waited knowing he wasn’t going to receive any kind of acknowledgement. When a minute of expected silence passed between them, he nodded his understanding. “OK. That’s fine,” he said, then searched through his drawers to bring out a small basket of stress balls. He offered it with a nod of encouragement. “Go on. For the good hand. It’s actually a great way to exercise when you’re recovering.”
A slip in the grin, a tentative look between basket and back. A small shake of the head, easily missed if Jinki had blinked.
He nodded again as he withdrew his offer. “OK, then. We can spend your sixty minutes just… sitting here and doing nothing? How does that sound?” he suggested in a friendly tone.
A few blinks that looked like guilt.
“Jonghyun ssi,” Jinki raised his palms between them in a placating gesture. “We are all here to help you. If that help is sitting here and doing nothing, I’m more than happy to give that to you. But,” he conditioned. “In my experience, talking about it is always a little bit better.”
Silence continued its reign between them while one waited patiently and the other shifted in his seat like it’d suddenly grown painful spikes. A small hint of fatigue stole onto the man’s face now, like sitting here was taking a toll on his existence. Like it demanded far too much of his strength.
Jinki glanced at the time for a moment. Forty-eight minutes to go. He smiled again with reassurance. “Actually. Maybe we should cut this session short. The weather’s nice today, isn’t it?” he motioned to the window behind his seat. “I’m sure you’re wanting to sit in the sun instead of this stuffy office?” he gestured to the door. “Please. One of the nurses will help you.”
The guy hobbled to the door like he couldn’t wait to get away. But he did turn and give one last look; a look somewhere between a grimace and that same empty-eyed grin. And then he was gone.
——
“Broken rib,” Gwiboon pointed at the x-rays and shrugged. “Dislocated shoulder. Lesions… when they brought him in last month, I thought this guy went through a shredder,” she snorted without humor. “We patched him up but he’s got a long way to go–as you’ve seen,” she motioned to Jinki.
He hummed. When Jonghyun hadn’t shown up for their appointment that day, he decided to speak with his doctor. Just so he could build some context to work with. “How long was he with this guy, did you say?” he asked.
Gwiboon shrugged again. “Police records said four years. Yeah,” she agreed when she saw the shock on Jinki’s face. “He was really convinced this… asshole was the one. Same story as always.”
He touched his forehead, horrified. “That’s… that’s terrible.”
“Mm hmm,” Gwiboon showed him other charts with bloodwork. “He’s healing really fast, but I’m not sure he’s all there. Something like this… it always makes them lose some parts of themselves, you know?”
“What, the matching symbols thing again?” he raised his eyebrows.
“As usual,” she sighed.
He shook his head in exasperation. “Unbelievable.” He’d seen these kinds of cases before: people who clearly didn’t belong together but had tried to nonetheless. People who weren’t soulmates but had pretended they were, because it was easier than searching for their other half. It was easier than giving up the search. He’d seen people who’d tried to force two mismatched pieces of a puzzle together, only for it all to end in unnecessary violence and pain. 
Gwiboon went around her table and slumped into her chair. She looked as exhausted as Jinki felt.
“Did you…?” he tried after a few minutes of silence. “Have you seen what he had? The symbol on his hands?” he asked.
She made an incredulous face at him. “Of course not! That’s so personal!” she chided. “Come on, man. That’s not something we should be fixing.”
He nodded, apologizing repeatedly. “You’re right. I’m just–it’s stupid how common this stuff is. People are… just settling for the wrong choices. Even when they can see those choices are hurting them. I mean, four years is such a long time to take this sort of… abuse. Without wondering: am I really supposed to be living like this? Is this what my life is going to be from now on?”
Gwiboon shook her head at him. “You should be the last person I have to say this to–” she began. “But some people just… accept that’s as good as it gets for them,” she explained. “Some people accept what little they can find. Even if it’s hurting them, even if it’s clearly not good for them. Even then, they live with what they have. It’s a self-worth thing,” she added. “You have to pull him out of that kind of thinking, there’s only so much I can heal with bandages.”
Jinki wondered about that for a while as he read through Jonghyun’s charts. Broken-spirited, it translated to. Brokenhearted. He pondered on that for a long while that day, trying to think of a way to move forward.
On his subway ride home that night, he thought back to the man’s demeanor, to his strange out-of-place grin. Four years, he shook his head with disbelief. Four years was an excruciatingly long time, maybe Dr. Kim was right:the man had lost something along the way. Maybe it’d be something hard to retrieve. Maybe it wouldn’t make its absence known immediately, maybe it would take four more years to discover the place it had once resided in. 
Jinki hung off the safety straps as the train wound through a tunnel, and wondered where he could start.
——
The answer to that made itself known two weeks later, when Jonghyun decided to attend his therapy session of his own accord. He opened the door carefully, peeked in like a timid and lost puppy. And when the nurse opened the door wider for him, he stood in place with some indecision.
Jinki smiled at the man, doing nothing to hurry him along. He didn’t say a word, wanting to leave all the talking to the other. 
Curious eyes roved over the room again, this time with more cognizance than Jinki had realized the man’s gaze could hold. There were no drugs in these eyes, he noted. This was as conscious a patient as he could expect. He followed with his own interest. 
The cast on Jonghyun’s arm was still in place, but somehow looked less awkward than before. The vest attached to the cast was covered by a woolen sweater–white, with a small dot of spilled food. He wasn’t grinning, he wasn’t afraid this time, but he appeared to stall at the most insignificant of details–a joint in the wall linings, a tiny dent on the corner of a shelf, a frame hung not quite straight. He neither made a move to correct the aberrations, nor shared his thoughts. He simply watched, simply blinked for several moments and moved on to the next irregularity.
When he finally took a seat, Jinki leaned back in his own. Again, he waited.
Maybe Jonghyun wanted to wait too, the idea occurred when he maintained his quietness. This time, there was nothing in his expressions to say he was disturbed, nothing to reveal that he was troubled. There was nothing that pointed to him needing help, much less wanting it.
If this was a competition over who could last the longest with nothing but tranquility around them, Jinki was willing to play. If this was indecision on where to begin, Jinki was willing to wait. If this was no more than stubborn silence, Jinki was willing to allow that too. This treatment couldn’t begin until Jonghyun willed it to.
The second hand continued to glide along its path while they watched each other. 
From his place, Jinki discovered several tattoos on his patient. They weren’t large, which told him they weren’t meant to be on display. Even so, he could tell they had a meaning to them, each one of them. He noticed the man’s hair was mostly dark with some stray shocks of auburn hidden in the mass, like they’d been deliberately combed over to hide the color. A pair of simple black ear studs, and several piercing holes that currently sat empty. Maybe stowed away for when he was ready to leave, maybe lost on the way to the hospital. Jonghyun didn’t seem to be the kind of man who wanted to make a statement with his presence–at least, not a loud or blunt one. There were several latencies in him. Several portions of him were implicit, detected only in hints, when he moved a specific way or turned his head to face a specific direction. 
Jinki read him, read his peace, and found a heavy turbulence under the still water.
When the man’s hazel eyes traveled to Jinki’s notepad, they betrayed some curiosity in them. But it was never given a voice. Nothing was ever spoken between them. Jonghyun utilized every single second of their sixty minutes together as he liked, as he wanted to. 
Jinki smiled when his patient stopped at the door and turned, but he respected the sanctity of that silence, too. He never breached it.
——
Another week went by and Jonghyun returned, no longer limping or sporting bruises on himself. Save for his broken shoulder, he looked healthy enough to walk out of the hospital whenever he liked.
That was, until he opened his mouth to speak. 
“Why do I have to keep coming here?” he asked. His voice was low, but it had a lightness to it. Like he’s been crying just before he’d been brought here, or been yelling at the top of his lungs until someone had restrained him and forced him to this wing of the building, to the psychiatrists. 
The query wasn’t entirely unexpected. His wounds were healing, his bandages were coming off one by one. It could well be that in Jonghyun’s eyes, there was nothing else that needed to be fixed.
Jinki took a long, calm breath in before replying. “Dr. Kim Gwiboon,” he nodded. “She… suggested you’d like to talk to someone–you know, the kind doctor who’s been looking after you all this time,” he reminded, gesturing to the chair across from him. 
“Does she think there’s something wrong with me?” Jonghyun remained standing in his place, but there was uncertainty in his speech. “With–with my head?”
“Do you think there’s something wrong with you?” Jinki tilted his head curiously. He didn’t wait for a reply and continued. “You seem fine,” he observed. “But if you want to stay a while, maybe we can have a chat?”
Jonghyun blinked. “A chat,” he mumbled. “What about?”
“Hmm,” Jinki crossed his arms thoughtfully. “Anything you like, really,” he shrugged. “This can just be a friendly conversation, if that’s all you want.”
“No,” Jonghyun refused. “No, not a friendly conversation. You want to talk about just one thing… all of you want to talk about just one thing,” he spat and touched his forehead in distress. 
“And what would that be?”
“Don’t fuck with me,” Jonghyun warned.
“I’m sorry,” Jinki continued patiently. “But I really don’t know. Do you–maybe want to tell me what this one thing is? So I can avoid bringing it up?”
“I’m not a child you can trick into–”
“I–” Jinki shook his head. “I don’t think you’re a child, Jonghyun ssi. Far from it. I think you are an intelligent adult man, who is more than capable of taking care of himself. Now,” he paused and put his notepad away. “We’ve done our duty of physically rehabilitating you. What you’d like to do from this point onward is entirely your choice.”
There was a clear struggle in Jonghyun’s face. He wanted to stay, he wanted to talk. But he also didn’t want that–because of what it signified, because of what it would mean if he asked for help, verbalized it. This was a war between his ego and his rationality. 
It took him a good fifteen minutes of shifting on his feet, pacing around the space, making it halfway to the door of the office, before he relented and finally. Finally took a seat.
He looked at Jinki with apprehension. “You… really mean it? We can talk about anything?”
Jinki gave him an amicable smile. “Of course.”
——
“I… I don’t know where to begin,” Jonghyun admitted with a shake of the head. 
They’d decided to move outside on Jinki’s suggestion. There were no other patients about, but the sun was bright and the wind was quiet. The sprinklers had passed over the grass some time ago, and the scent of wet mud hung around them. They walked along a paved path for a while before taking a seat on a bench. 
“Tell me about yourself,” Jinki prompted. “About your family life.”
The patient blinked, looking around them, seeming clueless. “I… I have a mother. And a noona. I–I like to think I’m close to them.”
“Why do you say it like that?” Jinki interrupted. “Do you sometimes get the feeling that you aren’t close to them?”
Jonghyun sighed. “No, I–I don’t mean that…” he shook his head, played with loose strings on the hem of his hospital-issued shirt. The motion flashed a glimpse of the dark symbols on his fingertips, but Jinki decided not to pay attention to them. 
“I mean… I want to believe that the amount of love I have for them is the amount of love they have for me.”
Jinki simply nodded, continuing to listen.
“I… I used to go to an art school, as a child. It–I remember liking it. I remember liking what they taught there. It felt like a place where I could fit in. But… but I had to leave it for normal school. Because of difficulties,” Jonghyun explained.
“You mean financially,” Jinki asked for clarification and received a nod. “Was it because of something in particular?”
“My father,” Jonghyun replied. “He left us.”
Jinki made a mental note to come back to that, but stayed quiet for the time-being.
“So… after that. I just went through school like everyone else, went through the classes they taught. Tried to keep my head down and study. Tried to be. A good kid and. And I guess… I guess that’s all.”
“OK,” Jinki shifted to face the other. “What was your experience at normal school like, in comparison to your art school days?”
“It…” Jonghyun paused to think about it for a while. “It wasn’t–I suppose it also has to do with growing up and mood swings and all that. But I didn’t feel like I belonged, not as much as I used to,” he nodded. “I… maybe that was because I no longer had the friends I used to have. Maybe it was because nothing was interesting to me. Maybe–I don’t know,” he shook his head again. “I didn’t like it. So I dropped out.”
“How old were you when you decided to drop out?” Jinki inquired.
“Sometime… in the middle of first year. Vocational school.”
“So tell me what your interests were at this time,” Jinki cued. “Because it sounds like the school was doing a poor job identifying what you wanted to learn. So what was it that you wanted to pursue by dropping out?”
Jonghyun looked embarrassed for a moment, but it wasn’t an uneasy embarrassment. There was a hint of pride in his expression, like he didn’t regret this part of his past. “I used to be in a band,” he revealed. “I… I played bass guitar. Some friends and I would get together and. And I was a big fan of Seo Taiji,” he smiled a little at that. 
Jinki smiled with him. “Tell me more about that time,” he encouraged. 
“There–” Jonghyun frowned with some confusion. “There isn’t much to tell, really.”
“Are you sure?” Jinki asked. 
“Well… yes?”
“Because when you talked about you being in a band, when you talked about the music you liked,” he noted. “Your face… I don’t even know what that was–but your face lit up. It was like a light went on inside you and you found. Some kind of happiness. That’s what it looked like from the outside,” he related. “Is that what it felt like?”
Jonghyun worried his lip. “I… yes,” he ventured, then grew more confident. “Yeah. I think those years, quitting school and making music with my friends. My mother hated that, and. And she thought I had no future, that I was throwing everything away but. That was the best time of my life. I think I was the happiest in those years.”
“I completely agree,” Jinki reinforced. “Just watching you talk about those memories is enough to tell me that.” He shifted in his seat. “So you wanted to go on and be a professional musician?”
Jonghyun started to nod, but stopped. “I… no, I think I just wanted to keep making music. I didn’t–it never occurred to me that it could be something to do. For a living. We just. Hung out, all us friends. We spent time together. We enjoyed what we did. And then we went home.”
Jinki listened patiently. “Do you still meet up with your friends? For these jam sessions?”
“No…” Jonghyun sighed. “No. They–all the others found jobs. Some of them went back to school. Some of them… just moved on. And I was left,” he shrugged. “I guess I was just. Left behind.”
“OK, let’s look at that for a moment. How did you feel about that?” Jinki inquired.
“How… how do you mean?” 
“So you said–” Jinki gestured. “Music gave you happiness. Or, making music gave you happiness. When your friends stopped hanging out with you, you could still make music on your own, couldn’t you?” he pointed out. “You could play your guitar and sing by yourself, you could still do that, even without them.”
“Ye-yeah… I guess,” Jonghyun shrugged. 
“So why is it that you sound so… I don’t know, do I sense disappointment when you talk about your friends going their separate ways?” Jinki prodded. “Why do you sound like that? Why is it that it affected you so much, when you could still make music on your own? When you could still be happy on your own?”
“Well…” Jonghyun looked like the answer was obvious to anyone and he didn’t need to spell it out. “Because they left.”
“So what?” 
“They left me.”
Jinki smiled. “So how did you feel about that?”
“I…” Jonghyun looked down at his lap. “I don’t know. I felt… betrayed?”
“Absolutely,” Jinki agreed. “You felt betrayed. I think that you’d finally found your place again, you’d finally found somewhere you could fit into again. You’d finally found a way to be happy, and share that happiness. And now that was gone. And that made you feel betrayed. Because it wasn’t just about making music, it was about–” he motioned for the other to go on.
“About… about hanging out, I guess,” Jonghyun looked up at the doctor and tried. There was a sadness in his voice. ‘It was about being together. All of us.”
Jinki leaned back and smiled. “Let’s take a few minutes here,” he encouraged.
——
“Is something making you nervous?” Jinki asked before they started their second session, only a few days later. 
Jonghyun hadn’t had much else to share on the park bench. He’d related other stories from his past and talked about times when he’d felt let down or when he’d found some semblance of hope for a future. He’d opened up, not by much, but still. It was something, and Jinki was grateful to have that something to work with.
When they’d ended the session, he requested they meet again before the full week was up. It was an indicator that he’d been comfortable sharing his thoughts with someone else, that he wanted someone to listen to what he had to say. But when Jonghyun had shown up, he’d idled around the room for a while before asking for a glass of water.
“Do–do you think I’m a burden?” he asked out of the blue, having gulped down three whole glasses one of the other. Some of the water had spilled onto his clothes in the rush and his breath raced a little when he dabbed at it. He didn’t seem like he wanted to be there, in those short moments. He didn’t seem sure about this.
“What do you mean by a burden?” Jinki asked back. 
“I…” Jonghyun struggled. “I don’t want to keep coming back if I’m. If this is a hassle to you.”
Jinki took a deep breath. “Why do you feel the need to leave a good impression on me?” he inquired, but didn’t wait for a response. “I think you should sit down and catch your breath first,” he offered.
The other did as he was told, but kept his silence. He looked around the room, glancing once or twice at the doctor, but never long enough to hold the man’s gaze. When he reached for a fourth glass, he was stopped.
“You don’t need to be nervous about anything,” Jinki assured. “Like I said, we’re just having a conversation.”
He still looked unsettled, and Jinki didn’t try anything further to convince him. He decided once again to bide his time and let Jonghyun take the lead.
“I… I don’t feel good,” he began after some time, then added in clarification. “About myself.”
“Can you explain that to me?” Jinki requested. “What does that mean. What specifically do you not feel good about?”
“I don’t know–” Jonghyun hesitated. “I… when I see the people around me. My friends. My noona. They’re happy. They seem to be doing well for themselves. But. But here I am,” he motioned to the room. “In a hospital.”
Jinki considered him for a minute. “You say that like it’s your fault you’re in a hospital.”
“Well, yeah–”
“Lets,” Jinki motioned for the other to stop. “Let’s put a pin in that and come back to it later. Talk to me about… give me some more examples why you feel like you’re not doing well but others are.”
“I… they have good jobs. They’re making money. They have great relationships. They’re,” he nodded. “They’re living good lives. They’re living happy lives.”
Jinki nodded. “Are you saying that you’re unhappy?” he asked.
“I…” Jonghyun sighed. “I guess it should’ve been obvious to me that I wouldn’t be as happy as them. I don’t have a GED, I didn’t go to college, I don’t have a stable job. I’m–yeah,” he slumped back in his chair. “I’m not as good as them.”
“Do you think you hold yourself to an unrealistic standard?” Jinki asked him after a while.
“No,” the answer was immediate. “No, society has standards that we all need to meet. To survive. And if we can’t, then. It’s our fault,” Jonghyun nodded. “The people I know meet that standard–I don’t. Because I didn’t live the way I should have. So… yeah.” He scratched his head. “I don’t feel good about myself.”
“How do you think other people feel about you?” Jinki tried. “Your friends and noona and all those people who you say are doing well for themselves. How do they see you?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“Do you think they like you?”
Jonghyun ran his good hand over a thigh as if wiping the sweat off of it. He huffed out a slow exhale. “I… I think some people like me.” He shifted in his seat like it was sharp and uncomfortable again. “I try to be good, I try to be. Polite. I try to be a decent human being. I mean, I can’t give to charities but I try to volunteer for things when I can. So. I think people like me.”
“You think people like you,’ Jinki repeated. “Has anyone ever said as much to you?”
“I… not in so many words, but the way they behave around me,” he nodded. “I think they like me.”
“OK,” Jinki accepted. “So let me summarize what I’ve heard you say so far,” he began. “You’re an intelligent man who can draw rational conclusions from his observations. You can clearly provide reasons for the statements you make. You’ve said that the people in your life like you because of their behavior towards you, you’ve said your friends and your noona are good to you,” he listed. “Is that correct so far?”
“Y-yeah…”
“But then you say you’re not as good as them,” Jinki pointed out. “You say these people like you despite the fact that they–as you put it–meet society’s standards, while you don’t. What does that tell you?”
Jonghyun blinked at him for a while, unable to give any form of response.
“Does it maybe say to you that these people don’t care about society’s standards, or–let me put it this way,” Jinki held his palms up between them. “Do you think that the people who like you, do so despite the fact that you aren’t doing as well as them and that you don’t meet society’s standards?”
“I… I don’t know if I could go as far as saying that–”
“Why not?”
“I mean,” Jonghyun began, but didn’t have an argument to back himself. He fumbled for more words but nothing came to him as a solid justification. 
“You aren’t holding them to gunpoint to like you,” Jinki offered. “And they’re not obligated to like you. So why do you think they like you?” he continued on that line of questioning. “Why do you think these people, who are doing better than you, still like you? Why do they keep hanging out with you, why are they still close to you, despite their lives being so perfect and happy, as you put it?” 
“M-maybe…” Jonghyun murmured, his voice shaky. “Maybe they just…”
“Don’t you think there must be something special about you?!” Jinki proposed loudly. “Don’t you think that–these people who are leading happy and wonderful lives, and living to a much higher standard than you. Don’t you think that, instead of being content among themselves, they like you. So they must be drawn to you because there is something brilliant and wonderful inside you that attracts them to you?”
“N-no…” Jonghyun sniffled, wiping under his nose. “No, I don’t think there’s anything I have to offer–”
“Don’t you think that’s possible?” Jinki spoke over him. “Because that’s what I’m hearing. That despite not meeting this so-called standard, you must have something absolutely exceptional within you, that everyone can see, but for some reason–” he held his hands up in question. “And I really don’t know what this reason is. You can’t see that in you.”
The other shook his head as his eyes watered. “No…”
“Let’s pause here for a bit,” Jinki spoke in a softer tone, backing off. “How are you feeling?”
But Jonghyun couldn’t answer. All he could manage was a broken sob.
——
When Jinki arrived at the ward, Jonghyun’s vest was gone and the shoulder cast was being taken off. 
Gwiboon stood grinning at the man, looking more pleased with herself than with his recovery. “There you go!” she exclaimed. “How do you feel?” she asked, checking his elbow. There was a diamond tattooed on the outside of his newly exposed wrist, and Jinki caught a dog on the side of his ribcage when the man pulled his hospital clothes back on. 
“Any discomfort?”
Jonghyun slowly moved his arm pack and forth. “It feels a little… different,” he murmured, nodding. “But it doesn’t hurt.”
“I’ll give you some exercises you can do. No arm-wrestling for a while though!” Gwiboon joked and they chuckled. “Right, I’ll leave you to rest. We can talk about physiotherapy later tonight. Hmm?” she nodded and patted Jinki’s shoulder as she left.
“You must feel freer now?” Jinki asked their patient. “I remember when I’d had a fracture as a kid. Don’t think I’ve ever been so bored in my life,” he chuckled.
Jonghyun smiled. “You’ve both been so kind to me,” he said to his lap, fumbling with his hands. “I can’t thank you both enough.”
“It’s our job,” Jinki easily replied and shrugged the issue aside. Instead, he motioned at the other’s palms with a nudge of his chin. “You’re quite the tattoo enthusiast?” he asked of the symbols on Jonghyun’s fingertips, knowing full well that’s not what they were, but unable to bring himself to be brazen about it.
“Ah… no,” ten fingers were spread out for him to study, the thumbs marked with identical circles and the rest with varying sizes of crescents. Phases of the moon, the cypher that Jonghyun would’ve used to search for his soulmate. “It’s my mark,” he needlessly clarified.
Jinki kept his own clammy palms hidden in the pockets of his white coat. There was an odd intimacy in sharing one’s symbol. It was a private thing, something not so carelessly flashed to strangers. One would need to have a lot of confidence, or simply be past caring, to be so open and ready to share them as Jonghyun was in that instant. 
“He… he had stars,” the murmur came, a thumb rubbing against a wrist. “On the backs of his hands. He had stars. And I thought–how perfect. We must really be made for each other,” he looked away at that. “I really believed it, right until the end. Maybe… maybe some of me still does.”
“We’ll talk about that later,” Jinki stopped him, then gave the man’s ankle a squeeze. “Right now, focus on getting better. Dr. Kim was showing me x-rays of your ribs. It’s looking very good,” he gave an encouraging smile. “And your noona was here too, wasn’t she? I could tell she was related to you, you have the same eyes,” he chuckled.
Jonghyun grinned. “She brought me side dishes she made herself. Hospital food isn’t so bad but… sometimes I really miss eomma’s cooking.” 
“You’ll be eating her cooking in no time,” Jinki promised and waved. “I’ll see you around.”
He went back to his office, but he couldn’t concentrate on work. All he could think of was ten moons, held only a few inches from his face and radiating a warmth unrivaled by even the sun.
——
“I want to talk about something you mentioned last time we met,” Jinki started their third session. 
The heat had been raised, the blinds drawn. The windows were thick triple-glazed panes but even then the sound of rain pattering against them carried in. Jonghyun looked more relaxed and more at ease than he had ever seemed in their time working together. Perhaps the cast coming off had made more than a physical difference. Perhaps the man was simply settling into these sessions as if they were a welcome routine.
“I want to talk about fault,” Jinki continued. “You implied that your landing in the hospital was somehow your fault. And I really want to understand the logic behind this thinking because–” he shook his head. ‘You are a healthy person. You didn’t starve yourself, you didn’t overwork, you didn’t strain yourself in any way. This wasn’t you drunk driving and then having an accident. Right?”
Jonghyun nodded slowly. “R-right. But–”
“But you still blame yourself, I know. I know you’re going to come up with evidence to support your theory–” Jinki interrupted him. “I know because like I said, you’re a very intelligent person. And the smarter you are, the easier it gets to beat yourself up. I know this, because I’ve seen this before. Lots and lots of times. So,” he clapped his hands together. “Let’s do something else. Lets look at where this blame is coming from, because I think that would be more helpful,” he suggested. “Is that alright with you?”
“Yes…” Jonghyun hesitated, then said with some more certainly. “Yes. I think you’re right”
“OK, great,” Jinki said. “So. Let’s go back to–” he flipped through his notes. “Let’s go back to what you were saying the other day about how your father left your family and then years later your friends did–something similar, they left you behind, and you felt betrayed.” He looked up at his patient. “Do you think betrayal is common in relationships?”
“I… I’m not sure about betrayal,” Jonghyun replied.
“OK, what about getting hurt?”
He nodded at that. “Yeah, I think people get hurt in relationships.”
“Can you give me an example, a general situation in a relationship where someone gets hurt?” Jinki asked. “Just off the top of your head.”
“I would say… I would say cheating on someone,” he answered. “Yeah, cheating. Or lying about something. Or being–not being a good person.”
“OK, stop there,” Jinki held up a finger. “What do you mean by not being a good person? What does that mean?”
“A… I guess a criminal?” Jonghyun replied. “Someone… someone with bad intentions?”
“Yes,” Jinki nodded. “Yes, you’re right. Someone with bad intentions, someone who isn’t a good person. If you get into a relationship with someone like that, it can hurt you. Right?”
“Yeah,” Jonghyun accepted. 
“Do you think you have bad intentions in your relationships, Jonghyun ssi?” Jinki countered. 
“I don’t–I don’t think so?” 
“You don’t think so or you know so?” Jinki cornered. “Because there’s a big difference between: I don’t think I have bad intentions and I know I don’t have bad intentions, right?” he raised his eyebrows. 
“Right.”
“So which is it?” 
Jonghyun sighed. “I… I try to be a good person. I try to be–I try not to do things that would hurt someone.”
“So someone who tries to be good,” Jinki put his hands side by side. “And someone with bad intentions. Do you think they are one and the same person?”
Jonghyun opened his mouth to make a rationalization, to debate over the subject, but then shook his head. 
“No, you’re absolutely right there, they are not the same person.” Jinki smiled at the other. “So is it safe to say then, that Jonghyun ssi, you are someone who doesn’t try to hurt people in relationships? That you try to be good, and you try to be loving, you try to give it your all and be the best you can be for the person you’re with?”
“I… I wouldn’t say it like that, but–” the other nodded after another moment’s uncertainty. “Yes. I try to give as much as I can.”
Jinki took a long and thoughtful breath in. “OK,” he said. “So talk to me about–this guy you were living with. This man you thought was your soulmate.”
“What’s there to say…”
“I would think there’s a lot!” Jinki chuckled. 
“He was… he was loud and happy and. And he liked to go clubbing. He liked parties. He liked to cook for us, and he ate a lot. He liked watching winter sports. He enjoyed… he was a very intimate person,” he blushed. “And he… he liked to hang out with his friends. He liked to–”
“You’re telling me all these things he liked,” Jinki stopped him. “But you don’t count yourself in that list,” he shook his head and frowned. “Do you mean to tell me that this guy, who you lived with for four years, liked all of those things more than he liked you?”
“I…” Jonghyun wavered. “I mean, we were in a relationship so obviously–”
Jinki waited, eyebrows raised. 
“Obviously…” the other mumbled. “Obviously he had some affection for me…”
“OK,” the doctor sat back. “Fine. So I’m going to jump to another subject for a minute here, if that’s alright. Have you had any other relationships before this one?”
“N-no… I wanted to wait to find my soulmate,” Jonghyun answered.
“And do you think you found your soulmate when you found the man you were with?” Jinki posed. “Or, no let me ask you something more important than that: what do you think a soulmate is?”
“Someone… someone who matches well with you,” Jonghyun nodded with confidence. “Someone who cares for you, gives you love and respects you and. Someone who you spend your life with because you are. Because it feels like you’re destined to be together.”
“So you said some really interesting things there,” Jinki smiled wide. “Some very profoundly great things. But lets focus on the first thing. What do you mean by someone who matches well with you?”
“The symbols, of course,” Jonghyun put his hands out to prove his point.
“So… if you can find a match for the symbols on your hands, you think you’ll have found your soulmate. Is that correct?” 
“Isn’t—isn’t that how it works?” Jonghyun asked, frowning.
Jinki gave half a smile. “Why don’t we go back to what you said right after: someone who loves you and respects you. Do you think that matching symbols is… is a guarantee of that? That the person will love and respect you?”
“I…!” Jonghyun’s eyes widened. “Yes, of course, it is–”
“So you think that if you match symbols with someone, they would never hurt you?”
“Yeah, of course they wouldn’t!” 
“So then why do you think you’re in this hospital, Jonghyun ssi?” Jinki asked frowning and motioning to his office. “Why, if you found your match, are you sitting here in my boring office and talking to me about these miserable things?”
Jonghyun opened and shut his mouth a few times. “Because… because it’s my fault–”
“But I thought you said you try your best to be a good person in your relationships,“ Jinki shook his head. “Are you saying you didn’t try to be good this time? Are you saying you tried to be hurtful and mean and that’s what caused the fight? That’s why you landed in the hospital?”
“N-no, I’m saying that…” Jonghyun took a deep breath, but he looked flustered. “I’m saying that I–I did what I could to save our relationship. But. But I failed at that and now… and now I have to live with that failure!”
“Was it your failure, though?” Jinki asked. “Was it because of your shortcomings that this happened to you?”
“Yes,” the answer was immediate. “I should’ve done more. I should’ve been better. I should’ve been a better boyfriend, a better soulmate, I should’ve–”
Jinki sighed. “What kind of failure hurts you like this?” he asked in a soft voice. “Two broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, black eyes, broken nose, internal bleeding–” he looked at the other with bewilderment. “What justifies a punishment like that?”
Jonghyun shook his head and looked away. “You don’t understand.”
“Then make me understand,” Jinki readily replied, his tone still kind. “Make me understand, what you did so wrong that you blame yourself for everything that hurts you in your life. Tell me what your fault was to be beaten to within an inch of your life. Tell me what your fault was for your friends to grow out of playing music as a band. Tell me what your fault was for your father to leave the family like that.” He tilted his head in sympathy. “Tell me so I can understand, because I really don’t.”
——
Jinki fixed his hair before he rang the doorbell, fussing over the bouquet in his hold and waiting on the steps. The house was beautiful, with plastered walls and a porch held up on dark stone posts. It sat in the hills, just on the outskirts of Seoul. A set of stone stairs led up to the garden, where several neatly trimmed bushes and carefully pruned plants lined the property boundaries. In the setting sun, the blue roof tiles shimmered like sapphires.
A tall man swung the door open and grinned. “Hyung!” Minho said and held his arms out for a hug. “You made it, haha!” 
“He’d killed me if I missed this,” Jinki joked and they laughed until Jonghyun walked into view with two glasses of wine. He looked healthier and, somewhat happier than he had twelve months ago, when he’d been discharged from the hospital. 
As soon as their eyes met, he grinned too. “Hyung,” he said in a warm voice. “You’re here.”
“Of course,” Jinki smiled. 
They ushered him in where other guests sat chatting and laughing. There was a table overflowing with gifts and bouquets and other offerings of congratulations. There was music in the background and food was offered to him wherever he turned. On a wall in the dining room hung an expensive-looking guitar, surrounded by framed photos of a very happy couple–a grinning Minho and an adoring Jonghyun. 
“So I heard your flight was delayed?” Minho asked him, holding out a plate of cut fruit.
Jinki picked a few into his bowl and mumbled a thanks. “Yeah, the weather hasn’t been too great so they pushed it to tomorrow. It’ll be a bit of a hassle when I get there, but as long as I make it in time for my own presentation slot,” he shrugged. 
Minho hissed in wonder. “Yah… a conference in the south of Greece. Doctors sure know how to party, eh?” he laughed. “Anyway. It’s good you could come. Jonghyunnie hyung was so anxious–”
“How’s he been, by the way?” Jinki asked in a low tone. It had been several months since they had put a halt to their sessions. Jinki had seen the full spectrum of Jonghyun’s growth until then, and he’d deemed it time to consider letting the man venture out into the world on his own.
“He’s been good,” Minho nodded. “Some stress with the new album coming out, but. He’s doing well. Says it energizes him to work under pressure.” He looked across the room at his soulmate and the sheer amount of love in his eyes was undeniable. When Jonghyun turned to him and smiled, he blushed.
“You’ve been good for him,” Jinki complimented, patting his arm. “You give him a lot of happiness. That’s what he always needed.”
Minho blushed some more, but shot him a salute. “As you ordered, sir!” he joked, and in the action Jinki noted the now-familiar, perfect cherry blossom in the center of the man’s palm–his symbol. His cypher. Holding no more meaning than the fact that it existed like a random mark on the man’s skin. Jinki grinned and nodded when the other excused himself.
Inside his own fists, snug within the pockets of his heavy coat, a pair of suns flared loud and bright.
23 notes · View notes
baekhyunbitz · 4 years
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Okay @changbinniez-princess are you ready? Lol you have 3 posts coming your way answering your ask.
Kim Woosung (Sammy) - The Rose
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Not My Type | Alright | Cute | Adorable | Pretty | Gorgeous | LORD MERCY
MY CALI BOY!!!! you hit a bias right here and also my favorite group that plays instruments. Sammy is so soft and pure. He has an angelic voice that sets my mind and soul at ease. I also hope The Rose can get better management... those poor guys.
Xiao Dejun (Xiaojun) - WayV
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Not My Type | Alright | Cute | Adorable | Pretty | Gorgeous | LORD MERCY
ANOTHER BIAS!! YOU CAN'T TELL ME THAT WHEN YPU LOOK AT THIS MAN, THAT YOU DON'T JUST MELT. HE IS BREATHTAKING 🌸☺️💖🌸 WayV is also one of my bias groups. My favorite NCT unit, their sound is so pleasing to me. They fit the nct sound but have their own style.
Bae Hoyoung - Verivery
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Not My Type | Alright | Cute | Adorable | Pretty | Gorgeous | LORD MERCY
Another bias hehe. Hoyoung has a very cute puppy like face. He is also a good rapper. Verivery needs more love, I'll say it once again and many times more!!!!
Lee Geumhyuk (St. Van) VAV
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Not My Type | Alright | Cute | Adorable | Pretty | Gorgeous | LORD MERCY
He is a whole package, this man. His tattoos are to die for in my opinion. He has a killer smile, gorgeous face. Beautiful voice and an absolute sweetheart. VAV deserves more love as well!!!!!!
Cho Chanhyuk (Chan) - TOO
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Not My Type | Alright | Cute | Adorable | Pretty | Gorgeous | LORD MERCY
Hey guess what? Here's another bias lol did you go through my bias list?😂
This part in the video exactly is what sold me instantly. Ofcourse everything else just filed in immediately after. TOO is still very new but very good! Please go check them out if you haven't guys!
Choi Yeonjun - TXT (TOMORROWXTOGETHER)
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Not My Type | Alright | Cute | Adorable | Pretty | Gorgeous | LORD MERCY
Okay, but like did you go through my list😂 he is another bias of mine.
When BigHit started revealing the members and the first one was Yeonjun. Instant connection. I love his energy and he is a good rapper as well. This comeback hit me in the feels. Can You See Me is a edgy vibe for them and it worked so well.
Han Jisung - Stray Kids
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Not My Type | Alright | Cute | Adorable | Pretty | Gorgeous | LORD MERCY
I LOVE THIS DORK SO MUCH!!
another bias He is one of my favorite rappers honestly, like top 5. He is an absolute cuddly bug. Energetic chipmunk 💖 This guys right here has my heart in the palm of his hands.
Choi Minho - SHINee
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Not My Type | Alright | Cute | Adorable | Pretty | Gorgeous | LORD MERCY
Fun fact: minho is the first of the group I knew of but I didnt know he was in a group yet. I first saw him while watching Hwarang. He was really entertaining to watch and I love his character. SHINee is such a powerful group. They are god tier kpop level. (R.I.P Jonghyun)
Lee Chan (Dino) - Seventeen
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Not My Type | Alright | Cute | Adorable | Pretty | Gorgeous | LORD MERCY
He was my first bias for this group. The first Seventeen video I watched was Lilili Yabbay. I was sold on his dancing and performance. Fantastic dancer and great singer/rapper. Absolute cutie with a dark side.
Lee Giwook (Cya) - ONEWE
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Not My Type | Alright | Cute | Adorable | Pretty | Gorgeous | LORD MERCY
😍😍😍😍
I love him and just recently listened to their medleys and fell in love with them again. ONEWE needs more love!!!
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alittletournesol · 5 years
Text
[M] Dinner {JongHo}
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Sequel: Dinner.
(Prequel here)
That Sunday had gone smoothly after their teasing encounter in the kitchen and the ride in the dining room ; to an athletic morning had followed a peaceful day spent in town. As proposed, Minho had brought his boyfriend to one of his favourite cafe that opened until noon for brunch and turned into a quiet bar once evening came. To make for the wasted kimchi fried rice, the entire meal had been on the grey haired man, who loved to spend money as long as if it was for that short, hungry, forever young boy he was dating.
Since it was a day of rest for almost everyone, the town had been quite lively and although Jonghyun wasn’t one to enjoy it, he had accepted to go for some shopping at the biggest mall around. Once inside, the air conditioning had been enough for him to bear with everything else. He had even taken a lot of pleasure in helping his man finding new clothes, for the latter kept wanting more and more jackets and shoes. Seeing Minho, already so tall, looking so good in trench coats perfectly suitable for the upcoming fall… it had been worth every annoying screaming kid and every crowded shop.
They had spent almost the entire afternoon in shops, especially in the immense library where the older man had completely lost track of time. He was lucky enough to have a partner who was into books as well, maybe not as much as him but still enough to go around every shelve and display unit. After more than an hour reading back covers, though, Minho had had to pick a sitting Jonghyun up, surrounded by books and nose burying in a old-looking copy of an English volume of poetry, before the security guard would have come to him.
They had followed their improvised date by heading to their habitual coffee shop, not far from their flat, taking a well deserved break and relieving their arms from all those bags. Just as the taller man had expected it, his boyfriend hadn’t been patient enough and had been sipping his drink while starting one of his new books — the fourth volume of a series of essays by his favourite author. Smiling, Minho had let him have his quiet moment, himself drinking his coffee while checking on his family through texts and calls.
They were both home for a good hour by now, Jonghyun lazily lying on the couch with his sweater’s hood on his head, big glasses replacing his lenses as he couldn’t stop reading. He was so focused that he had sent his man on a mission : walking his — now their — dog before dinner. Grumbling at first, Minho had eventually gave up after receiving countless kisses and pouts, still calling the other man a lazy ass and a bad father out loud when talking to Roo in the hallway.
But he knew deep inside that nothing could draw Kim Jonghyun out of his beloved books, and although it had been very frustrating in the past, he could now deal with it. As soon as he had come back home, he’d given the dog her dinner and gone straight to the shower, noticing the top of a head sticking out of the couch while walking by the living room. His sport swatch beeped to announce it was seven in the evening right when he was leaving the bathroom, only wearing sweatpants and still drying his grey hair with a towel.
When he let himself fall on the L-shaped couch, in the corner so he could stretch his legs on the long seat, his boyfriend gasped. The sudden movement had made him jump with surprise and let go of his page… and he hadn’t time to memorise its number. He slowly turned his head towards the other man, who just grabbed the remote and turned the tv on, zapping until he came across the latest sports news. Jonghyun rolled his eyes and found himself praying for this evening not to be another one with a soccer match to watch.
“You made me lose my page.” He mumbled, taking his book again and struggling to find where he was. “Why can’t you sit gently.”
“You’ve dragged me around the mall for three hours, it’s tiring and my body couldn’t keep up with standing.” Minho answered, his eyes not leaving the screen. “Why can’t you sit properly in a first place.”
“Do you really want me to answer that question ?”
“Only if you’re not going to bring some joke about your sexual orientation having an impact on the way you’re sitting, just like those you read on that bird app.”
“You’re not funny. And so old.”
“Sure, hyung.”
“Ugh, don’t call me that.”
As a reply, the grey haired man just laughed and grabbed his boyfriend’s hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss it. Smiling, Jonghyun decided his book could wait as he moved on the couch, bringing himself closer and climbing on top of the other man. This was so much of an habit by now that Minho just opened his arms and lied still, waiting to have a shorter body completely lying on him, face pressed against his torso. That was at that moment he realised his lover had got rid of his pants and socks, only wearing his hoodie and boxers.
Softly snorting, he just closed one arm on the body resting on him, caressing the clothed back while changing channels. Maybe that was the annoying thing about Sundays : tv programmes were lame, even the available movies on their paid platform weren’t new. And as if it wasn’t enough of bad news…
“Tonight’s game is cancelled.” Minho said, despair noticeable in the dramatic sigh he let out. “Weather issues.”
“That’s too bad.” Jonghyun answered, his words muffled by his position but his sarcastic tone clearly evident. “I was so looking forward to watch it.”
“Why can I sense you’re clowning me ?”
“Because I’m dating the most perspicacious man in the world, that’s why.”
As he said this, the black haired man raised his head and pecked his boyfriend’s pouty lips. But the latter pretended to resist, not reacting and certainly not returning the kiss ; Jonghyun giggled and tried again, and again, until he felt a smile and heard the tv being turned off before a second hand was put on his back. Both men were now fully ready to give each other attention, and Minho gently took time to remove the other man’s glasses and hood to hold his cheeks and kiss him properly.
Wet lips moved against each other as the black haired men held himself on his palms, stretching his arms to push his lover’s head against the backrest. He took control of the kiss, being the one sliding his tongue in the taller man’s mouth and dancing with his, lazily, lasciviously. It was the kind of kiss they both preferred : slow at first, as if testing the waters, and progressively going warmer and passionate, their lips abusing each other until they took a red tint and swelled, making them even more appealing.
That was how Jonghyun liked Minho’s upper lip, which seemed to double its already considerable size and only made him want to kiss it more, nibble it, licking it. And so did he, never missing the opportunity and even less when he was on top, with the other man at his mercy. The latter gasped a bit as he hadn’t had time to properly breathe between their kisses before he was prisoner of lips sucking at his, teeth teasing… but he let the shorter man do, feeling the growing warmth of his body, trapped in that bothering hoodie.
As he was making a move to slide his hands under it, Jonghyun stopped his little game and straightened up to catch the hems of the sweater, passing it above his head and throwing it away before leaning on again, resuming his kissing. Minho laughed a bit, placing his hands on his boyfriend’s waist and giving what he wanted ; the older man soon got tired of lips and attacked the jaw, then the neck, while his hand was roaming down the muscular torso until the loose sweatpants… whose lace was already untied.
Cocking a knowing eyebrow, he looked down at it and smirked, making his fingers pass through the elastic band and pulling it upwards to peek into the pants. So his man hadn’t considered useful to wear underwear, huh… the shadow of his pubic hair wasn’t hiding the way something was slowly but surely responding Jonghyun’s little attentions, and it made the latter remember a little revenge he had to take.
“It’s not too early for dinner, is it ?” He asked while looking up at his boyfriend, whose eyes were darkened by a way too familiar expression. “What do you say ?”
“I say dinner can wait.” The grey haired man smiled. “Or should we call this dinner the way we called that breakfast, this morning ?”
“I like your sense of poetry… my turn to taste a piece of that ass tonight. Take that off.”
Saying this, Jonghyun offered his boyfriend his sexiest smirk while standing up, the kind that would make Minho do everything he wanted. As the latter obeyed and lifted his hips to make his pants slide down, the other man went to their bedroom for a quick second and when he came back, he had got rid of his boxers and was proudly walking, all naked and his cock hardening, a bottle of lube in hand. He was in a way different mood than on the morning, and it was deeply arousing… he wanted to be in charge, and his partner was all in for it.
As soon as Jonghyun kneeled at the end of the couch, Minho spread his now naked legs to welcome him wherever he wanted to go. The older man moved forwards between them and let his hands graze the firm THIGHS, caressing then pressing them for his own pleasure, in a way to tease in his turn, to test his boyfriend to the limit of his patience. The latter smiled at the touching and bit his lower lip while looking at his elder leaning on to press his hot mouth against his skin.
It felt like a slow, almost painful treasure hunt, as the black haired man kissed all along the thigh, teeth nibbling here and there… until his lips reached the most sensitive area, his lover’s member already reacting to simple kisses around it. It lasted for long seconds, but never did Jonghyun touch Minho’s demanding cock, to the latter’s surprise. It wasn’t in his habits to ignore it, it was usually quite the opposite.
“Aren’t you going to blow me ?” He bluntly asked, and the light gleaming in the other man’s eyes when he looked up startled him. “What’s with those eyes…”
“I came untouched this morning, right ?” Jonghyun asked in return, his voice deep and silky, this simple sound making his boyfriend’s member twitch, aroused. “Let me return the favour.”
“Now that sounds interesting.”
And with these so naive words, the tall, handsome boy didn’t realise what he had just agreed to. Concealing his real desire behind a cocky smirk, his elder just kept the trick going by moving his lips up the toned body, lingering on the line of hair just under Minho’s navel, which he found way too sexy to be ignored. Under him, the latter’s skin got soon covered with shivers and kept heating up until his mouth was finally captured in one of those smooth, lascivious kisses they both loved so much.
Jonghyun was like hovering above his boyfriend, making so sure their crotches wouldn’t touch each other that his back was deliciously arching, the curve making his ass look even more rounded, tempting… and soon prisoner of Minho’s big hands, roaming it and playing with the cheeks, their owner letting a moan out in the other man’s mouth. But this time, he wouldn’t let himself being won over, not when he had his revenge planned.
Without warning, he broke their kiss and straightened up, walking backwards on his knees until his own feet almost exceeded the edge of the couch. While he sat on his own heels, his next movement was fast and instinctive : he slid his hands under his lover’s lower back and pulled, making him fall lying on the noisy leather as he brought his ass on his lap. Once his surprise faded, Minho seemed to get his elder’s idea and used his abdominal muscles to straighten up, just enough to grab his knees and pull them back when lying down again.
Now, his ass was raised in a perfect angle for his puckering hole to be right within Jonghyun’s every kind of reach. He didn’t waste any more time and grabbed the bottle of lube to quote his fingers, not even caring about the few drops who fell on the couch. That didn’t go unnoticed by his boyfriend, who snorted.
“I thought we couldn’t have sex on the couch because you didn’t want to dirty it.” He commented. “What’s with this sudden turnaround ?”
“I guess the mere thought of pounding you deep into this black leather eventually made me forget about that promise I once made.” The other man replied with a knowing smile. “Kibum won’t be mad.”
“He doesn’t have to know.”
“He will, next time he visits. That guy can sense it when you have sex anywhere on or near something he offers you.”
“Then I suggest we do it good enough for him to lose his senses.”
“You’ll be the first one to go senseless tonight, trust me…”
Minho’s gaze darkened and as an answer, he pulled his knees even more to open his ass, inviting his boyfriend to please him. Facing such involvement, Jonghyun couldn’t do anything but accept. As he held the strong body in place with one hand on the hip, he brought his lubed fingers close enough for the other man to only feel the coolness of the gel. Ignoring the latter’s first needy whine, he took his time to cover the whole length of his rim, earning a quiet gasp at the sudden cold feeling on such a sensitive part of one’s body.
But his little game was far from being over ; the older man took the bottle again to coat his fingers again. Still, he was surprised by his boyfriend’s patience, as he was eagerly waiting for his hole to be filled already. This was somehow a way for both men to complete each other in sex : while Jonghyun was one to fall for being eaten out and giving head, Minho liked the real thing more and could bring himself to beg for his lover’s cock up his ass. A promising duo in the sheets, we could say.
Though this time, the taller man felt his partner wanted to do things slowly. Maybe a bit too slowly to his taste but it was only the beginning, so he had to be gentle. He loved his considerate boyfriend… When he felt the entrance of his hole being massaged by the tip of a finger, he bit his lip and cursed under his breath ; finally, it was starting. Jonghyun pushed a finger in, the sensation weird despite the slippery help, but Minho was so eager for it that he expressed it gladly.
“You’re being gentle.” He said, his tone implying he was no pussy.
With a smirk, the black haired man worked his finger in and out of the hungry hole that was puckering as to swallow it. A second digit joined and it stung for a short moment, the lying man gritting his teeth and his grip on his knees tightening. But it didn’t last long, the never-ending sliding movement soon feeling deliciously good, the burning sensation making space to something he couldn’t describe. His lips parted and he sighed more, Jonghyun’s fingers digging deeper inside by seconds passing and the feeling only getting better.
The latter enjoyed the view, his eyes not leaving Minho’s pleasured and pleasurable features with his grey hair already sticking to his forehead from the previous making-out session. It was turning him on so much he wondered for a second if he would be able to resist to the temptation he would create himself.
“Ah, Jjong…” The younger man moaned when the two fingers inside him seemed to graze a sensitive spot.
When he moaned, Minho’s voice was even deeper than usual, as if coming directly from the back of his throat. It sounded like a bestial growl, what had an incredible power on Jonghyun’s arousal, the latter immediately feeling his own cock twitching. As by instinct, he made his fingers go faster, working his boyfriend’s ass open and willing to plunge as deep as possible, for he knew where to go to make the other man lose it.
After a few seconds, he added a third finger and took enough time to let Minho adjust to the stinging pain, the latter involuntarily contracting all his muscles to the intrusion. His face got distort for a few seconds until he breathed in and out, relaxing his body and his walls to welcome the pleasurable sensation he could beg for. His sighs were growing louder as the wet noise of Jonghyun’s lubed fingers only added to both their arousal, the elder man’s body growing hotter and hotter.
Minho’s chest was raising fast as he ran short of breath, while his whole being was shaken by waves of pleasure going crescendo. He could feel himself close already, with only three fingers approaching so fast from his prostate, and he suddenly realized this foreplay was lasting for longer than usual. Opening his eyes, he let go of one of his legs and called for all his muscles to keep it in the air, holding himself on his elbow to straighten a bit up. He was definitely not prepared for the view of his boyfriend kneeling between his legs, working his raised ass open, would make him lose all his words…
“J-Jonghyun…” He called, having a hard time gathering his thoughts whenever he felt his insides swallowing the fingers and bringing them closer to his awaiting pleasure spot. “Jjong, I think it’s… ah, fuck it’s… it’s enough…”
“What is enough, baby ?” The older man replied, his lust shining in his eyes as they met Minho’s, the latter frowning and being prevented to answer by a moan. “You seem to enjoy it…”
“Y-Yes, I do…! But I think I’m prepared now, ugh…”
“Oh, you certainly are. But you won’t have my dick so easily. You’ll have to deserve it, baby.”
“What are you— oh, fuck…!”
Before he could protest the sudden idea, Jonghyun hit it. It was immediate, Minho’s words stayed stuck in his throat as he closed his eyes shut, the veins of his thick neck standing out as to express the pleasure silencing him. It only needed a second thrust of his boyfriend’s singer, right on the same spot, for him to finally let out the moan he didn’t want to hold back. Staring at him, at this strong body contorting itself like the couch wasn’t large enough to contain his enjoyment, the older man was filled with a feeling that was rather compromising his plan.
He hadn’t even touched himself yet, but this simple sight, the sensation of his fingers being engulfed whenever he reached this precious point, the face of the other man showing him how good it felt… he was turned on, and not just a bit. His cock twitched, almost painful as it asked to be pleased as well, and all of this started becoming difficult to handle. He wanted to put it in, to fuck Minho senseless and to give him what he liked ; at the same time, he needed his revenge to go on, as childish as it could sound.
He could hold it in a bit longer, he knew it. He just needed to focus his own need elsewhere… as if guided by some carnal instinct, Jonghyun made the most of his lover’s leg not being held anymore, grabbing it to throw it on his shoulder. The new position allowed him to bring his body closer and dig his fingers deeper, for Minho’s eternally grateful pleasure, but that wasn’t what the black haired man had it mind in a first place. The long, muscled thigh was now at his mouth’s reach and he didn’t need to be asked twice — not even once — to catch the thick, tanned skin between his teeth.
With his now free hand, the pleasured man brought his closed fist to his mouth and bit into it, his eyebrows furrowed and his closed eyes tearing up at the sudden pinching pain on his thigh. Though he wasn’t really suffering, the unceasing sliding in and out of his ass making the biting feel even more wonderful. The combination of these two raw sensations just made him forget who and where he was. Jonghyun kept nibbling, certainly leaving marks of his teeth on his skin while his fingers were hitting home whenever they entered him again.
At some point, it became too much for Minho who felt like he was going to implode, and he tried in a desperate attempt to move on the couch. He didn’t really know what he was doing nor why, but he found himself stuck in the corner ; damn that L-shaped sofa ! All he managed to do was to tense his back’s muscles when his head hit the backrest rougher than he had expected.
“And where are you going like that ?” Jonghyun asked with that silky voice of his, though broken by his erratic breath as he was resisting his own desire. “We’re just… starting…”
“It’s too much, it’s too much…!” His boyfriend whined, interrupted by a loud moan he silenced with a hand on his mouth. “Please, please Jjong…!”
“Please what, Minho ? You must use words if you want me to understand your request.”
“C-Can’t handle it any… anymore…”
“And what do you want me to do, then ?”
“Take me, t-touch me…!”
“I’m not hearing ?”
“I fucking beg you ! Please, please take me, please-ah…!”
“Why should I ? Did you take me this morning when I asked you to ? I’m not sure I can, Minho…”
Jonghyun didn’t know where this new skill came from, talking to his lover that way while he was dying inside from his denied pleasure. It was like a blaze coming out from all of his pores, it was panful but his stubborn self needed more than begging…
“Don’t you like what I give you ?” He asked, his voice now deeper and betraying his lust, his need for more. “Don’t you ?”
“I do…!” Minho cried out, his back arching and his body stiffening. “I’m sorry, okay ?! N-Next time I’ll fuck you right away…! Please…!”
“That’s all I needed to hear.”
The black haired man’s eyes were lit by a glint that said it all before they seem to darken, and he removed his fingers, causing his boyfriend’s to whine in a needy way. He had what he wanted. At light speed, Jonghyun caught the bottle of lube and squeezed it directly above his cock, roughly coating it with a couple of strokes. Within seconds, he slightly moved backwards to guide himself to the abused entrance, grabbing the thigh against his torso to pull it, pushing in at the same time.
Minho cried out, the ripping pain admittedly reduced by the long foreplay but still perceptible ; but the strength of his partner’s thrust added to the way his body was pulled had created a incredible sensation he couldn’t put words on. Only moans were enough of a language to convey the way he felt to Jonghyun, the latter gasping loudly after waiting for so long. It was instantaneous, both of them getting hit by pleasure twice more intensely than if they had got down to business sooner.
Somehow, in the heat of the action, none of them regretted this little revenge that had left them needy, feverish, longing for something they couldn’t have the way they wanted it. Thus, they didn’t hesitate anymore. Jonghyun’s hips started moving fiercely, only needing a few seconds before Minho’s ass met his pelvis with each thrust, the slapping sound of one’s balls against the other’s ass cheeks echoing in the living room.
The older man was standing straight on his knees, only his hips moving back and forth in a cadenced rhythm, as he held firmly onto his lover’s leg resting upright against his upper body. Gathering all the strength he could while his senses were leaving him, Minho was still pulling his knee as much as possible, opening his ass while his other arm had grabbed the backrest, veins threatening to pop just like the ones on his forehead and neck.
It was fast, it was raw, it was rough. The perfect conclusion of a long and torturous foreplay that had left both men even more sensitive. No words could be exchanged, only broken sighs and loud moans giving each other the tempo ; and the last chorus was close. As he felt the walls around his cock tightening more and more by seconds passing, his boyfriend’s breathing growing short, Jonghyun closed his fingers around the latter’s throbbing member. In one last desperate effort, Minho let go of his leg to put his hand around his lover’s, jacking hims off together.
A few strokes were enough for the grey haired man to be sent to seventh heaven, all of him being over-sensitive from the previous game. A simple touch made him see the stars and his back arched, his elder growling as his cock was squeezed in Minho’s orgasm, cum splattering his stomach. Jonghyun shut his eyes closed and he leaned on to catch the skin of his lover’s thigh again with his teeth ; his body was trembling, shaken by tremendous waves of one of the most intense kinds of pleasure he’d been given to feel.
His mind went white and his long-awaited release hit him, ecstasy flowing out to fill the other man. His own thighs quivering because of the effort, Jonghyun gave his last thrusts, cum oozing from Minho’s still stuffed hole, the latter’s short breath cut with low moans. The older man eventually let go of his boyfriend’s thigh, pressing his sweaty forehead against it instead, his hot breath certainly tickling as he heard a giggle. He smiled, his lips still parted to allow him to catch his breath, and looked up to find the other man running his hands through his wet grey hair to free his face.
Minho had always been the most beautiful man when sweating, whether this sweat came from exercising or having sex… it wasn’t disgusting nor gross, it was making him gleam as if his body was bathed in sunlight. He looked like an angel in this seventh heaven they had got transported to.
“Come here.” The younger man whispered, lazily grabbing his shirt on the floor to quickly wipe his stomach.
Smiling, Jonghyun slowly moved backwards to prevent the discomfort of his member leaving his lover’s body. As he leaned on to lie on the still hot skin under him, he hissed when their pelvises brushed each other in a not so agreeable way, their rough encounter leaving them way much more sensitive to after sex touches than usual. Once their faces were closer to each other, the older man gently pressed his lips against Minho’s, who returned the kiss with as much softness.
As was his habit, the black haired man buried his face in the crook of his boyfriend’s neck, finding his comfort when he felt arms closing on his body. He relished the sensation of a hand caressing his back while fingers were slowly running through his hair, this gesture particularly making him happy, at ease. When he let a comfortable hum out, Minho quietly giggled and closed his eyes for a minute, both of them enjoying afterglow.
“You tricked me.” The latter eventually commented, though his tone wasn’t suggesting that he was offended about it. “Have you planned it since this morning ?”
“Sort of, yes…” Jonghyun giggled before raising his head to look at the other man. “I was a bit upset that you teased me so much.”
“You’re really something. Though I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it.”
“An eye for an eye.”
“I will remember that.”
Winking at his boyfriend, Minho slightly pushed on his head to bring him closer, kissing him in a way he could convey all the love he had for him. And heavens knew there was a lot, hence the long minutes they spent with their lips locked, almost forgetting any notion of time… until a gurgling interrupted them. Breaking the kiss, Jonghyun cocked an eyebrow and was answered with a defiant face.
“What ?” The taller man said. “You made us skip dinner.”
“As if it was disturbing you earlier. Should we order something tonight ?” His boyfriend asked, pouting. “I don’t want to cook and pizza sounds so good… you know, to celebrate the end of the weekend.”
“I don’t know, Jjong, it’ll be late by the time they’re here. Didn’t you say you were on a diet ?”
“What diet ? I never said that, someone else told you that, are you seeing someone else ? Are you cheating on me ? Who is it ?”
“Oh God, alright, go for a pizza !”
“Yes !”
Suddenly getting all his strength back, Jonghyun pecked the other man’s lips and stood up, trotting around in the living room to find his phone and call their favourite pizzeria. Looking at him from the couch, Minho couldn’t prevent the wide smile drawing on his lips ; a tiny bit and this man was the happiest kid. Sometimes it was surprising that he was the oldest of them… but that was somehow what they loved about each other.
The grey haired man sighed with comfort as he rested his head on a pillow, staring at the ceiling. He loved Sundays.
.
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jinkisbelly · 5 years
Text
Eventide 9/?
Chapter 9 of skyrim au~  Previous parts can be found here [x] can be read on aff and Ao3 as well
Pairing: Jongyu
Rating: lemony... for the beginning.
w/c:3.3k
Summary: Slow burn heats up???
          Jinki’s lips were a lot softer and sweeter than he thought they’d be as the man pressed closer. His fingers were in Jonghyun’s hair, tugging a little as he kissed him again. When he parted he smiled sweetly and whispered. “I love you, Jonghyun Kim. I’m in love with you.”
          He could tell by the look in Jinki’s eyes that he was telling the truth and he felt it in the softness of the caress against his cheek. It was like time stopped between them, months of pinning feelings and weeks of sexual tension snapping into place like a pulled taunt band let go.
          He tugged Jinki closer to the edge, hands firm on his hips as their lips meet again. The kisses were rushed and hot. He never thought Jinki’s hair would be so soft to the touch or that he would make small pleased sounds when the kisses were a bit rougher in nature. It surprised him, however, that Jinki hadn’t taken the lead, instead opting to follow. They only parted when Jonghyun’s fingers curled around the ends of Jinki’s shirt and lifted it over his head, causing him to laugh as his hair flew everywhere. Jonghyun discarded his quickly, returning to kiss him as if it was what he needed to be able to breathe. At the moment, it felt as if that was true.
------
          Jinki had his hands held above his head, hands clasped as he kissed and nibbled on Jonghyun’s neck. He lifted his head, pressing a long kiss to his lips before gently asking, “How far?”
          Jonghyun laughed, amused. Here they were naked with their cocks brushing, having had the other’s cock deep in their mouth, and Jinki thought now was the time to ask how far he wanted it. “Bluntly? Fuck me.”
          Jinki flushed, but he smiled widely, “As you wish.”
-----
          His cock hadn’t been touched since Jinki had fingered him open in preparation and stroked him during it, but he felt so close to cumming nonetheless. He had his legs wrapped around Jinki, fingers curled in the sheets of the bed under him, and his head pressed back against the pillows. It had been some time since he had taken a lover at all and longer still since he felt as pleased as he did then. His entire body was buzzing as he moved his blunt nails over Jinki’s flexing back, cursing as Jinki growled softly against the curve of his ear.
          “I’m close.”
          Jinki’s voice was so breathless and deep as he kissed his lips and then nuzzled into his neck. Being kissed reminded Jonghyun of the way Jinki’s lips thinned as he sucked on his cock, and then he was thinking of the way Jinki’s cock felt and tasted when he had done the same to him. But it was the words that came out of Jinki’s mouth, hot breath against his neck, that did him in. “Then finish for me.”
          For once, he did as Jinki told him. Jinki wrapped his arms tight around him, hand pushed up into his hair on the back of his head, keeping him close as he came between them. Jinki followed close behind, thrusting slowly before stopping as far as he could, cumming almost silently. Feeling the rush of warmth within him Jonghyun tightened his hold on him, pressing his face into the side of Jinki, mouth open against his cheek.
          The last thing he remembers is Jinki whispering I love you into the back of his neck and himself barely mumbling I love you too before sleep pulled him under.
----
          The late morning sun was filtering through the single window above the bed as Jonghyun slowly came to. He nuzzled against his pillow, cheek squished a little, but his eyes snapped open, heart pounding when his pillow moved slightly. Then he saw the hand laying on the bed, palm up, relaxed and he realized his pillow was instead an arm. There were soft movements behind him, and a moment later an arm was thrown over his waist, a nose was pressed into his hair and he felt, soft warm breaths against the back of his neck. Jinki’s voice was slow, deep and full of sleep as he mumbled, “Good Morning Jingles.”
          He turns to face him slowly, and even then Jinki's eyes aren't open yet. He smiles though, knowing Jonghyun's looking at him. "Whatever you are about to say, if it's not a good morning, or let's go back to sleep, please let it wait. I'm warm."
          Jonghyun begins "Jinki I-"
          Jinki opens his eyes just barely, squinting at him, finger pressed to Jonghyun’s lips for just a moment before he returns his arm back to rest on his waist, "Ah ah. Don't ruin the moment just yet with serious talk Jonghyun."
          Jonghyun lifts his hand to softly run his fingers over Jinki's features. A little nervous, he whispers, "I love you."
          Jinki's eyes fully open then, and they're so deep. "Jonghyun..”
          "I don't know what last night meant to you, but I know what it meant to me. I love you. It took me a while to figure that out, but I do." Jonghyun's thumb runs over his bottom lip gently. "I know you have business to attend to. You told me you loved me last night Jinki. Please tell me it wasn't just to get me into bed or worse.. The alcohol.”
          "Do you believe I'm that type of person, Jonghyun?"
          Jonghyun lowers his gaze, the heat in Jinki's making him shy. "I don't want to be one of the hearts you break Jinki."
          "Oh, Jonghyun." Jinki taps the bottom of his chin softly, making him lift his gaze. "I quite think you have some image of me in your head where I bed random strangers and then leave in the morning as if nothing happened. I'm not, and I don't plan on doing that with you. I meant what I said last night. I love you. I don’t do much without thinking it through first. I’ve lost too much to risk losing more because of a rash decision on my part. You’re more than just a lover, someone to warm my bed, to me."
          “Really?”
          With a sweet smile, Jinki returns his hand to his waist, fingers moving in soft circles on his skin. “I have taken lovers before, ones that I haven’t had much contact with after the night if over, but I’m almost thirty-one. I want… to be happy. To settle down I guess.”
          “So.. a life partner?”
          “Yeah.. I guess that would be what it’d be called.” Jinki’s eyes closed for a moment, tongue moving over his lips,before they opened again as he spoke. “I would like to work towards that with you if you could see me as that, if you want that.”
          Gazing at him softly, Jonghyun thought about what he wanted in his life, his future. Most of his destiny was unknown, but he knew quickly he didn’t want to approach whatever life threw at him alone. He wanted Jinki beside him. Fear flashed over Jinki’s features, his smile falling around his eyes at the extended silence. “Honestly, I haven’t thought about what I want in my future,” The smile lessened even more, but then Jonghyun pushed forward to kiss him sweetly. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to go about figuring that out with you.”
          “Whether you decide to leave in a different direction than me or come along, that's up to you." He pushed his hair from his face quickly, “But know if you chose to return to your mother it won’t be the end of our story together.”
          "You'd.. want me along?" Jonghyun whispers, unsure if he understood correctly.
          "I don't want to be a part from you." Jinki confesses. "But your mother is expecting you, and I cannot push off going to Mzulft."
          "It's College business. Surely it's improper to have me along."
          "That's the thing, Jingles. As Archmage, I can do whatever the fuck I want." When Jonghyun looks away before rolling onto his back, Jinki frowns, removing his arm from under Jonghyun’s head and pushing up on his elbow. "You don't have to come if you don't want to Jonghyun. I really have no idea what's awaiting me at Mzulft. Two of my best mages have gone silent. I don't wish to be a part from you, but I don't want to be the reason you never return home."
          Jonghyun sighs, before turning his head to look at him. He's almost scowling. "And you think I'm just going to let your soft ass go into the unknown without me?"
          "I can take care of myself Jonghyun."
          Jonghyun hums, staring up at the ceiling again. "I know this, but I also know that if I head toward Whiterun and my mother, that the only thing on my mind will be if I will ever see you again." Then he looks at him. "You're almost cocky. Headstrong. You don't know when to admit you need help. And you're soft. I'm coming with you. You can’t offer me the opportunity for a life partner and then go and get yourself killed."
          Jinki laughs softly as he falls back onto the bed, gazing up at the ceiling. “You know, I like that.”
          “Like what exactly?”
          “You calling me life partner,” Jinki waved his hand in the air, eyes closed for a moment, “Even in the hypothetical sense.”
          “You deserve to be happy Jinki.”
          He laid his head to the right to look at him, cheek against the pillow. His gaze is soft, and Jonghyun is sure he’s never seen the man be so content and relaxed. “I’m starting to feel so again.”
          The look in his eyes makes impossible for Jonghyun to misunderstand the meaning of the words.
-----
          A trip into Windhelm for them both, a run in with bandits, and almost two months of traveling, they finally arrived at the base of the mountain that led up to Mzulft. Jonghyun huffed heavily as he squinted up at the amount of stairs they still had to make it through before they reached the door. “Why did you chose this place of all to send mages?”
          Jinki, a few dozen steps ahead of him, turned back with a big grin. “Is Jingles tired?”
          “Jingles is covered from head to toe in heavy metal armor and my ass is sore.”
          That caused Jinki’s cheeks to rouge lightly as he smiled, bashful. “I apologize.”
          “No, you aren’t.” Jonghyun was smiling though, even as his breathing was quick and heavy from trying to catch up to him. He stopped along the side of Jinki and nudged him with an elbow. “You’re enjoying this.”
          “You seemed to rather enjoy it last night if I recall correctly.” After a moment, Jinki relented, shrugging, “Besides, maybe my ego is stroked a little.”
          “Uh huh. Try a lot.”
          “Come on, just about a hundred left to go.” Enthusiastically, he bound up the steps, pausing a ways up to smile teasingly. “Aren’t you coming Jingles?”
          “Shut up Magey.” He heard Jonghyun grumble. He only smiled more. Jonghyun sure was cute when he was grumpy.
------
          As the large doors were pushed open Jinki quickly noticed the body against the wall. Jonghyun looked up when he heard the quick intake of breath, hands already curling around his ax, before he relaxed just slightly. He glanced around the room for possible causes, but inched closer to Jinki as he knelt by the body. “Is he one of yours?”
          Jinki’s voice was soft and pained as he reached down to close the man’s eyes. “Taeyang. He… he volunteered for this. Was about to be named Master.”
          “I’m so sorry Jinki.”
          With a shuddered breath, he took the time to look over the scene, finding a journal clasped in the young man’s hand, covered in blood. Gingerly, he peeled it away, flipping through it hesitantly after glancing quickly around the room. He didn’t sense anything, but mechanicals always proved difficult to pinpoint compared to warm, living creatures. The last entry was messy and almost illedable, but somehow Jinki decoded it. “We have to find the Oculory.”
          "The fuck is that?”
          Jinki carefully closed the book, noticing the rough map a few pages prior, and wrapped it in a bit of extra cloth he ripped from his thin cloak. Once he straightened he pulled out a key from the small pouch on his hip, “I have no clue, but if the others are there, alive, I have to find them. I have to find out who did this to him.”
          “Jinki-”
          “I sent them here Jonghyun.” Jinki almost growled, closing his eyes to keep himself from looking at the boy he helped train, that he saw grow from such a young boy. “He’s dead because of me. I will have justice.”
          “Of course, Babe. Let’s go kick some Oculory ass.”
          That made Jinki’s lips twitch up into a little smile. “Thanks for the spirit.”
-----
          As the old stone gave way to dirt, Jonghyun whispered. “It’s official. This place gives me the creeps.”
          “Completely. Something is off here.”
          Jonghyun glanced at him momentarily, “No witty comeback?”
          “I feel like we just stepped into something we never should have begun to fiddle with in the first place. So,” He couldn’t see Jinki’s face as the man began to walk again, but he heard the gentle sigh. “No, Love, there isn’t this time.”
          Jinki had a magelight hovering just before them, his staff in his left hand and lightning sparking around his right. It wasn’t long before they reached a small opening in the path, a circular cavern with obvious signs of being inhabited fairly recently. There were wooden structures built, a fire in the middle of the cavern, bed rolls up on the top of the wooden structure to the right. There were bags of food and supplies to the left against the wall, a few burned out lanterns. Jinki turned to the right and walked up the small ramp to the top of the structure. There was a knocked over lantern, on the platform before the top, the glass shattered and cracked, as if stepped on after being knocked over. Jinki’s lips were pressed in a thin, grim line, “They made camp here before venturing further, but something must have run them off. I don’t understand. There were two full Master’s and 3 other researchers with them fully capable of protecting themselves. What could have overpowered them all so easily?”
          “Are you sure you want to continue?”
          Jinki whipped around so quickly he felt a sharp pain flash in his neck for a moment. “I will find out what happened here. You do not need to come if you don’t want to Jonghyun. I’ll understand.”
          “Yeah, not gonna happen hot stuff.”
          As he came back down to the ground he flicked his eyes over to Jonghyun. “Afraid I’ll get myself into trouble?”
          Without hesitation, Jonghyun replied, “Yes, guaranteed.”
          Jinki stepped closer, hand on his lower back as he pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. “I love you too.”
          He rummaged through the bags of supplies along the left side of the cavern, finding few things of interest. There were the last letters he had sent to the research party, the map that brought them here, and quite a few empty potion bottles, a little left over liquid swirling in the bottom as he picked them. He popped one cork and smelled it, grimacing. “I sent them with enough potions to last them six months in this place. There’s not a single one left.”
          “I don’t like the sound of this conclusion you’re coming to.”
          As he straightened, he hummed quietly. “Neither do I. Let’s get going. You better go first.”
          “Ah yes, must protect the lightweight, Babe.” Jonghyun was smiling softly as he kissed Jinki’s cheek before gripping his ax and moving toward the other cavern entrance. He heard noises coming from further up, clicking and rummaging, and a grin pulled at his lips. “I hear something.”
          He was rushing through the opening before Jinki could say anything. He cursed, lightning forming on his fingers again as he rushed after him. He hissed, “Jonghyun! Wait!”
          He spotted the back of him as he rushed through the opening at the end of the hall. He heard the distant taunting, the sass of his lover, but before he could go and assist he heard rumbling from his right. The sound of his cursing was masked by the roaring of the tumbling rocks. He quickly stopped them from crashing into him with Telekinesis, tossing his staff toward the opening and Jonghyun. His teeth clenched as he focused on keeping the rocks up.
          It was as his hands trembled, the magic beginning to fail, his eyes widened. His attempt to side step and let them go was ruined as his energy was gone and they came crashing into him.
----
          Jonghyun wiped the gross black sludge from the blade of his ax before turning back around. “Thanks for the help there, Babe.” When Jinki didn’t come into the room, his brows furrowed. He stopped rubbing the blade and started to walk toward where he had last seen him. “Jinki? Come on this is not the time for jokes.”
          But the light, teasing tone of his voice shattered as he walked into the small passageway. First ,he saw Jinki’s staff discarded and then the fallen rocks. It took him just a second to notice the pale cream hair in the middle of the dark, grey rocks, but it felt like an eternity as his heart seemingly stopped in his chest. “Jinki!”
          The rocks had to be heavy, but Jonghyun didn’t notice as he pulled and pushed them from on top of him. Jinki groaned, eyes fluttered a little as he tried to focus on his surroundings. Once Jonghyun had touched his face and brought his attention to him, he grimaced before forcing a smile. “A trap… couldn’t hold it any longer.”
          “You have to heal yourself, I-” Jonghyun cursed the tears forming on his eyes, the shakiness of his voice. “I don’t know how bad the damage is and and I don’t-”
          “Take… a breath.” Ironic in a way with how Jinki was struggling to do so himself. He twisted his hand just enough so his palm was up, fingers splayed. There was a soft golden light before it vanished as Jinki squeezed his eyes shut with a moan of pain from the movement. “I can’t. I’m magically exhausted. I’ve tried.”
          “Don’t you have any potions?”
          Jinki made a noise Jonghyun could take a guess was supposed to be a laugh, but there the action caused him great pain. “Bandits stole most. Rest...Used ‘em.”
          “I swear to all the Gods Jinki Lee, if you leave me-”
          “You’ll kill me?” Jonghyun glared darkly at him, jaw clenched. Jinki winced. “Sorry.”
          “I gotta get you somewhere flat.. safe.. Where I can protect you better.”
          “Rest... all I need to heal ...later." Each word was painful for him to say, by the way his eyes still hadn’t opened and the rigidness of his jaw.
          Jonghyun pulled off his bag, rummaging for a moment before finding one of the emergency potions Jinki had made him before they left the college. He popped the cork with some difficulty and lifted it to Jinki’s lips. “Drink. It’ll help me be able to move you without so much pain.”
          Slowly, he swallowed. Jonghyun pressed his lips together and looked up, trying to keep his emotions in check for just a moment. He couldn’t let his fear overpower him right now. “Alright, Babe, brace yourself. This’ll hurt.”
-----
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rkjei · 6 years
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It’s a small, unassuming paper bag. At the top, a neatly tied ribbon keeps the bag closed. On the outside of the bag, a messily scrawled, ‘To Jei noona’ addresses the ‘care package’. Inside, there’s several items, each with a label attached; crammed writing on it containing a short (sometimes long) note about each gift. This past week hasn’t been easy for Jei, especially after the most recent round of eliminations. Still unsure of who might be on his team the following week, Hyunjin decides it’s best to stop by and give her (read: her doorman) the bag now in case he’s unable to do so in person. Besides, most of these items were meant to comfort - there’s no reason to withhold that.
˟ ▀  &. @rkxhyunjin
First, a small plush keychain in the shape of a rabbit. It’s roughly the size of one’s hand. To squeeze when you get anxious! I like hugging things when I get worried, so maybe this will help you too. It’s nice and small so you can take him anywhere - optimal squeezing potential! Make sure to tell me what name you give him (or her) ♡ I have a matching pink one too since it was buy one get one… I hope that’s okay? I ended up giving you the white one because I feel like you can take care of it more than I can. If I had the white one he would get dirty very quickly. ( white, pink, both ).
Second, a bundle of daffodils. Some of the petals stick out from the top of the bag. I was told that these flowers are the best for people who have allergies. I don’t know if you’re allergic to flowers, but I wanted to be safe just in case. Runny noses are no fun. Plus, they’re a nice pretty yellow. Hopefully they can help brighten up your day a little.
Third, a portable bluetooth speaker - small enough to fit in the palm of one’s hand, mildly worn. I volunteer at a school for the deaf, and we use speakers like these when we dance. The speakers aren’t the best of quality, but that’s on purpose. For some reason the lower quality speakers vibrate more with the music, and it helps the kids feel the beat (since they can’t hear it as well). Feeling the beat of a song can be particularly relaxing - regardless of whether or not you can actually hear the song or not. Try playing something relaxing on the speaker while holding it in your hand. It might help ground you when you need it.
Fourth, a dog sweater. I saw this the other day. Please give it to Wrinkles and send him my best regards.
Fifth, chocolate (milk). Eating chocolate is nice when you’re feeling a little blue isn’t it? Two years ago I did particularly bad on a mock exam and ate three whole bars of chocolate afterwards. So maybe I got a little sick after that… but while I was eating it, it made me feel a bit better. So relax and enjoy some chocolate, you deserve it.
From, your dongsaeng, Hwang Hyunjin
P.S. I left this with your door man - I hope he gives it to you. If not, to whomever may be enjoying this bag instead, please enjoy it well and make sure not to eat all of the chocolate in one sitting. It’ll give you a stomach ache. 
she isn’t expecting anyone from the front lobby to stop her on her way out the door, but she’s grateful for it.  if jei’s honest, she doesn’t even want to drag herself out of her apartment today, let alone to go back to nova for the second week in a row only to face more disappointment and the realization that she’s going at this alone now.  there isn’t much of anyone left in the competition that she’s grown close to in the time that she’s been on it .. practically all the eliminations last round, although none of them came from her group, stuck her like a knife to the belly.
if jei didn’t want to do this before, she definitely doesn’t want to do it now.  all night long on the friday after jei left the episode filming, the names ran through her head like a bad ache.  junhoe.   daniel.  jaewon.  sungwoon.  yoongi.  donghyun.  guanlin.  kim hyuna.  almost every name called, nine out of ten eliminated contestants - if she was anyone else, she would have been crying.  instead, jei’s blood ran cold, colder; it froze into ice.  she wonders if she looked visibly pale, or as bad as she felt.  she must have.
otherwise, jonghyun wouldn’t have stopped her reeling on the way off the stage just to pull her aside and hug her.  to whisper in her ear that they would want her to be strong.  she doesn’t lift her arms to hug him back, because she can’t.  her body feels far too heavy to bother trying.
jei doesn’t want to be strong anymore.  she just wants to let it go.
back to the present.  she’s eyeing the bag that he places on the counter for her to take, oddly suspicious of it because she’s never seen something given to her in a brown paper bag like this one before.  but upon seeing the handwriting and recognizing it as hyunjin’s after watching him do his homework enough times during practice or late at nights when he crashed at her place, she snatches it up.  it’s surprising, that he would just leave something for her like this.  she almost wonders why he didn’t just stop by to drop it off himself.
maybe it’s just because he wanted to get to practice.  this is the semifinal after all .. and she is competition, as much as she hates this show and this idea that all of her friends didn’t have the talent -
she stops, before she gets ahead of herself and tears up in the front lobby of her building.  it’s a good thing that jei hadn’t eaten this morning, because the stress of forcing herself to keep the feelings down upsets her stomach to the point she wants to be sick.  
to distract herself, she opens the bag quietly, at a table out of the way so that no one who passes by will bother her or she, them.  the first thing she sees are the bouquet of daffodils, and the note that comes attached to them.  she’s always thought of daffodils as something like the sun, grown on earth and maybe, it seems, hyunjin did, too.  he’s always been a thoughtful boy - too caring for his own good.  jei’s always worried that it’ll get him into trouble for caring too much.
the bouquet is carefully placed down on the counter next to her as she begins to pull out the other gifts - the dog sweater, then the stuffed rabbit, the speaker, and finally, the chocolate.  she reads through the notes of each one, growing ever closer to the tears she doesn’t want to shed.  maybe jei should have opened this in the apartment, because there’s a thick, hot stone forming in the back of her throat and hyunjin is just too good for her.
he must have seen how she reacted the night before.  why else would he pack a gift so lovingly assembled in an attempt to make her relax? it doesn’t quite sit right with her, that her face so openly showed the distress that roiled within her - not just last night, but for weeks now.
but even though jei feels like she’s alone, she knows she isn’t.  and though the package is kind in its intent, it’s still not a cure all.  still, though - it’s something.  and that’s something that jei can hang onto.
at least for just a few more days.
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bubltae · 6 years
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oof guess who felt like writing?? here’s a lil somethin somethin
so jonghyun has picked his new piece for his high school choir to sing and he’s sososo excited to show them uwu he wouldn’t shut up about it when jinki was driving them all to work.
he chose yesterday by the beatles because why tf not??? it’s a good song and it reminds him of his mom and his sister and roo and home uwuwuwuwu.
so the bell rings and everyone’s seated in their seats in their respective sections (soprano, alto, tenor and base). jonghyun’s practically jumping with excitement at his desk and one of his sopranos, wendy???? is whispering to her friend about it.
jonghyun stands up, holding the huge stack of music sheets. the students now know their teacher has new music so that’s why he’s acting like a grade schooler.
“ok class i have chosen our new song for the seoul festival in two months. it’s very special to me so while you take one and pass it down i’ll explain it.”
“but mr. kim-“
“N OT long ago because i am young, i was a hormonal teen just like you guys. but I RESPECTED MY MOM AND SISTER jk i know every family is different. anyway, my mom used to play this song all the time when i was around fourteen and it just stuck with me forever.”
“but mr. kim, you’re not even from the beatles generation.”
“and y’all weren’t born in the hip nineties but here we are.”
the student stops talking and jonghyun continues. “ANYway, i really hope you feel this song like i do. it’s...” he pauses.
it takes about ten seconds for the class of 30+ students to know what is going to happen. a collective sigh emits from their mouths as jonghyun starts to c r y.
“what the hell do we do?”
“fuck i don’t know.”
one of the tenors, jimin, pops out of his seat and takes the hallpass as the students try to console jonghyun from their seats. no one wants to get up, minus jimin.
so jimin walks to one of the nearby classrooms, mr. lee taemin, and opens it. he’s lecturing about the french revolution, jimin can tell. taemin stops teaching for moment, recognizing the teen as a student from one of his later classes.
“park jimin? shouldn’t you be in class?”
jimin sighs. “mr. kim, teacher jonghyun, is crying about his songs again. can you come help? i don’t know what to do.”
taemin is mentally face palming himself. this isn’t a frequent occurrence but it’s definitely not the first time. and taemin hates leaving his class. they’re not bad kids but he’s afraid one of them will die if he’s gone.
“jimin, come with me.” he turns to the class. “kids, if i hear that anything happened, i’m moving our unit test to this week and i’m sending those who cause the disruption to detention for a month.” the students nod obediently.
so taemin takes off with jimin back to the choir room. jonghyun looks better. taemin still goes over to him.
“hyung. i’m teaching a lecture. what happened?” taem hisses. he crouches down to meet jonghyun leaning down on his chair.
“yesterdaaay,” jonghyun moans. his mouth is muffled from his clothes. his sleeves are a bit damp from his tears.
taemin takes the music sheet from jonghyun’s loose hand and groans. he knows this song and he knows jonghyun loves it to a point that he would cry in front of his class over it. “hyung. why would you make them sing this? i can’t keep coming back to your class because you’re crying every god damned day.”
jonghyun nods and sits up to hug taemin. “i know taeminnie.” he stands back up and whispers something in taemin’s ear, causing the younger to slap his shoulder, hissing at his hyung to PLEASE NOT. his face his red and the students are yelling at jonghyun to just CONTINUE WITH THE SONG.
i mean, everyone knows mr. lee and mr. kim have a thing for each other.
half of taemin’s students are asleep by the time he gets back but he reassures everyone that it won’t happen again when they’re all awake and alive.
it does happen maybe once or twice again until the end of the school year but taem’s students know the drill so they either sleep or read or listen to music. it’s cool. it’s not like taemin doesn’t teach. he’s really good and they’re actually ahead of the other history classes.
jjong’s just constantly emotional, mostly outside of class but when he does tear up during school, someone always knows to get mr. lee.
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dibidibifiction · 4 years
Text
Criminal In My Mind: Chapter 15
Warning: angst; foul language
Pairings: Choi Minho x Reader; Kim Jonghyun x Kim Kibum (side) Word count: 1.4k
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction made for personal entertainment of readers. The writer does not ever intend to offend her readers nor does she aim to spread false information about anyone as to pay any disrespect to the real-life persons whom the characters are based on. She also does not claim ownership to any of the images that are being used.
masterlist Chapter 14 
Y/N
“Welcome to our humble abode!” Jonghyun Oppa happily welcomes us as he opens the door to their apartment. “We’re not doing anything, come on in,” he says, catching his breath.
As Minho and I are about to walk inside, I notice that Jonghyun Oppa is only wearing a robe and showing off his bottom half.
“Uh, Hyung,” Minho notices too, now looking away.
“Oh, shit, sorry,” he immediately ties his robe tighter and runs back to their bedroom. “Kibum! Y/n and Minho are here!”
“What the hell are you guys doing?” I say loudly for the entire house to hear, scolding the couple as a little one comes running to me so I pick him up. “And with the boys home? Shame on you!” I kiss him hello.
“Relax,” Kibum shows up, also wearing a robe. “We hired sitters.”
“Where’s the other one?” I ask just as soon as another little boy comes out of his bedroom holding a tablet playing some kiddie videogame. 
“Hey! Say hello to Auntie Y/n,” Kibum orders his child who completely ignores everything around him. Then Kibum turns to me and Minho, “Ignore that one. He usually wants to be quiet and alone. That’s why he likes Taemin the most.”
I put down the little one who I was holding in my arms. “Go on and play with your brother,” I say. 
To my pleasant surprise, he proceeds to Minho instead. 
“Hello!” Minho says in a cute baby voice as he kneels down to meet the kid’s eyes, and soon enough, the other little one rushes to him too. He continues to baby talk.
Kibum and I share a look, giggling quietly. I had no idea Minho connects with kids so easily. Even though I’m not really fond of kids—except for Kibum’s of course—I think of them differently when they’re with Minho. I’m falling in love with him all over again. They’re so cute that my heart may stop beating at any moment.
. . .
It is now later on in the afternoon, and the sun begins to hide. While Jonghyun Oppa and Minho are at the dining table talking about wedding photos, Kibum and I are in the living room discussing guests, flower arrangements, and interior decorations.
“So, Y/n, as my Maid of Honor, you-”
“Wait, wait. I’m your Maid of Honor? Thanks for notifying me at your earliest convenience,” I say sarcastically.
“Why, do you not want to be? I have a lot of replacements,” Kibum says sassily as if questioning my existence.
“Of course, I do. It’s just, you never bothered to ask me,” I complain.
“Honey, we’ve been talking about this since high school. I don’t need your permission now!”
As we keep on laughing and attacking wits at each other, the guys at the dining area unexpectedly brisk walk towards the front door with panic in their eyes.
“Babe, what’s going on?” Kibum asks his fiancé worriedly.
“Minho’s mother is rushed to the hospital. Come on, we gotta go. We’re driving them. I already told the sitters.” 
The four of us hurry to Jonghyun Oppa’s car and he promptly reverses to the driveway even before all the doors are completely shut. He then speeds up to the highway.
I glance at Minho next to me in the backseat, who is obviously terrified, his hands are balled into tight fists. “I’m not leaving you, okay?” I say, holding his hand before his nails dig into his palm.
“I think I know who might have done this,” he says.
I think for a second to remember who he’s talking about. I hold his hand tightly in comfort.
When the car screeches to a halt in front of the emergency room, Minho gets off and runs so rapidly that I can barely keep up.
I follow behind him as Kibum is at my tail.
Because of how fast he’s going, I can’t figure out which way Minho has gone to.
“There!” Kibum points in Minho’s direction by the elevators, but then we watch him run towards the stairs and we follow.
As we reach the right floor, I concentrate my sight on Minho’s bouncing hair from a distance as I run after him, my legs starting to weaken. I might’ve lost Kibum since he’s always been a slowpoke.
After I turn a couple of corners, I stop. I finally spot him talking to a nurse. He throws his hands slap his head as he starts to stress out. 
“What happened?” I ask him while I step closer towards him, catching my breath.
“They’re still operating on her, they just started,” Minho tells me, his voice cracking. “Mom got shot while she was about to enter her house,” he starts bawling as he slides down the wall behind him and lets himself fall on his bottom.
“Oh, Minho,” I mumble as I start crying as well, keeling down, reaching for him to lead his head on my chest. “I’m here. I’m not going to leave you,” I reassure him.
. . .
Five hours have passed, Minho has already fallen asleep on my lap. I told Kibum and Jonghyun Oppa to head on home as they assured me to call them if we need anything.
Minho is shaken awake when somebody approaches us. “Any news about my mother?” he talks to the doctor.
“We found two bullets in your mother’s body. One near her abdomen and one on her thigh. This will take a few more hours,” he nods for he’s finished talking.
“Thank you, doctor,” I say.
“Shit, this is all my fault, this is all my fault,” Minho cries while he paces around, rubbing his hands on his face. “What if she doesn’t make it? I should’ve fixed everything between us when I had the chance.”
“Minho, no. There’s no way this is your fault,” I say to him, trying to calm him down. I reach out to him but he pulls away.
. . .
We wait for another six hours, and doctors have come and gone thrice to give us updates. I’ve also gone downstairs and back twice to buy us something to eat. Minho and I are now sitting side by side on a steel bench, my head rests on his shoulder so I try to get some sleep, but how could I? How could I ever sleep when he is in pain like this? I have never seen him this fragile. I want to snuggle him so much. I wish I could do something to take this pain away from him, even if I had to be the one who suffers.
“Why are you still here?” Minho breaks the silence but doesn’t face me.
“What do you mean? I-”
“Don’t you have better things to do? You should go home, Y/n,” he says, his voice cold.
“Minho, I love you. I will be here for you even at hard times. I wish there was a way that I can take away your pain,” I tell him, trying not to sound hurt as my vision starts to blur with tears.
“I don’t need your fucking pity. Wanna do something for me? Leave.” His voice is soft but shaking with anger.
“Look, I know this is a dif-”
“Just go, goddamnit!” he finally yells, cutting me off once again, making me flinch.
I stare at him in shock as tears fall to my cheek and lips. I shake my head at him in confusion even though he doesn’t look at me. 
I have to go but I can’t seem to do so. I don’t have the heart to leave him like this. 
But I have to. 
I stand up from my seat, my legs trembling. I turn my back to him and start walking slowly. When I get to a corner, out of his sight, I can’t help but burst out crying, burying my face into my hands. My throat is starting to hurt from trying to be as silent as possible.
I start running towards the exit when I get to the lobby. As I am running, I get startled by bumping into someone.
“Y/n?” It’s Kibum, confused and surprised, carrying a bag of food takeaway on his shoulder.
Now, I’m weeping even more.
Without saying anything else, he sighs and just pulls me into his arms, stroking my back tenderly.
Chapter 16 
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quagmireisadora · 5 years
Text
[Jonghyun / Minho] Wait for the Moon that Hasn't Risen Yet
A/N: title is from the poem 달 by Kim Yeongnang.
If you look around you'll see a lot of love for Jjong today. @katrinawritesthings made some of it possible ♡♡♡♡♡
------
Jonghyun accosted Minho in the bathroom.
"Wuh!" the younger jumped in fright. Clutching his front he turned around from reflection to apparation, swatting at Jonghyun's shoulder. "You scared me!"
The elder chuckled, reaching up to rub his palm on the tall man's shaved head. "What a terrible look. Now I know why they gave you wigs."
Minho pouted. "That's not what you say to someone about to serve his nation!"
Jonghyun chortled some more, his haze adoring. "Do you like it so much?" he asked in a cozy voice, reminding one of soft blankets and skeins of wool.
The other nodded once, his smile childish. "Appa said I'm the first one in the family to be accepted in the navy. And," his smile widened. "Since hyung is here, I should put up a brave front."
It was easy to be drawn to Minho. He had the sweetness of milk, but his thoughts were just as opaque. They swirled their secrets in cupfuls of breath, in delicate glasses that lived on high shelves. And when someone reached out for a sip he would hold it out a moment before pouring it all down the drain, not quite keeping it from others but also not really keeping it to himself. It tugged people closer to him. It made them want to look inside his mind. It made them want to start a fight with him just to catch him unawares. Just to hear him reveal something by accident.
But what brought Jonghyun to Minho was the love that surrounded the man. He was well-accepted and heavily doted on by everyone in his life: family, friends, co-workers. Even celebrities. It was the sort of love Jonghyun had always wanted. And when Minho readily offered it, he readily absorbed it into his skin.
"Anyway," the new recruit began, fixing his trainee uniform and smoothing a hand over his head. "We're all joined up, hyung. You should too! Then we can all come together two years later and compare muscles."
"This isn't one of those anime shows you like to watch," Jonghyun would've said it in his usual teasing tone, but today he murmured it like repeating a story from a long time ago.
Minho's smile shortened. His face lost some of its brightness, no longer a usually boyish visage but something in between youthful and ancient. Something not quite clear nor permanent, like a veil that only revealed a part of its far side. It reminded Jonghyun of how they had grown. Grown up, grown older, and to some extent grown tired. It reminded him that he was no longer standing in front of Minho, but a strange man had been placed before him--dragged low as if by invisible weights, spirit crouched in a deep enough bow to kiss Jonghyun's feet.
With a shaky voice and shaky sight Minho clutched the other's sleeve and asked, "You'll come again?"
"Every time you call."
"But..." the younger shook his head a little. "If we all call you together. Who will you go to first?"
Jonghyun didn't reply. He didn't have to.
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wannawrite · 6 years
Text
bite
who?: Wanna One’s Lai Guanlin 
genre: 🌸 
type: scenario 
word count: 2.9K
TW: blood the ‘W1’ clan 
BJY | HMH 
blog navigator.
vamp! AU 
Guanlin was dead even before you met him but maybe you brought him to life 
resurrecting this series so yAY! long after Halloween but I wrote this before Halloween and it’s still Autumn so…..technically…. thank you for requesting this anon! 💖
- Admin L
“Are you sure you really, REALLY, can’t come? Please?” You begged, perching on the edge of your best friend’s bed, all dressed up in your Halloween costume. It was unusual for you to be so adamant about something, especially when it compromised on your friends’ health. Your actions sickened you to your stomach but the desperation was overpowering it. Yoo Seonho brushed his ruffed up hair out of his eyes, he was wrapped up in about twenty blankets yet he was still shivering - the fever was really eating him alive. His tired eyes met your own and you knew your answer. “I’m sorry Y/N. I’ll have to miss,” he croaked, throat sore from all the coughing. You nodded understandingly, sighing at your own stupidity. Seonho was already so sick yet you were being so insistent. The guilt washed over you like the way models washed their faces in facial cleansing commercials. “I’m sorry,” you apologised with sincerity. “I shouldn’t have pressured you so much.” Luckily, your best friend was a kind and forgiving type of guy. He brushed it off with a wave of his weak arm while muttering, “I know I know. You must feel outcasted now. I’m sorry about that. Never worry, my sickness will clear in a few days.” “How did you even get sick? I thought the supernatural never succumb to ‘minor illnesses you mortals suffer from’?” You teased, clasping his hand and running your thumb over it calmingly. Seonho was a vampire. A young vampire to be more specific. He was part of the 101, and a vampire who held a high rank and command despite being a juvenile - it scared some elders at times, really. Growing up with him, you had no qualms hanging out with a supernatural. In fact, you enjoyed basking in his presence more than some other humans. He kept you safe, cared for you and always made you feel warm. There were bound to be times when his powers were much more prominent. Like when a couple of families went on a ‘neighbourhood trip’ to the beach and he was the only kid sweating in his hoodie. At the time, he was too young to take potions of any sort, unlike his family who blended in like any other mortal. Regardless, you loved your best friend to death and beyond. Back to the present, you glanced at the clock and groaned when it read 6.26pm, it was nearly time for you to go. “Hey,” Seonho said, forcing a smile and showing off his gleaming fangs. “I guess some of us vampires do get affected but I’m sure this is something more -“ he paused to let out coughs. You quickly brought a glass of warm water sitting on his bedside table to his lips. “Thanks. Don’t worry bestie, I’ll be fine but I have to miss W1’s party, I’m sorry. You go have fun, okay? I’ll make sure my hyungs take good care of you.” Inhaling deeply, you let go of Seonho’s hand and stepped away from his bed. “Oh! By the way, I left your care pack over here.” You gestured to the bag that was packed with a pot of homemade soup, a bunch of cute sticky-notes which you hand wrote cute messages and you could never forget the packs of plasma juice in there. You did attempt to head to The Middleman - a popular blood bank among 101 members - but it was just too nauseating for a mere human, even if you grew up surrounded by vampires. Your ears picked up the sounds of the doorbell and the voice of a few people, mellow and low. “I’ll see you soon, Y/N. That must be Kenta hyung and Sanggyun hyung. My chick costume can wait another year,” Seonho whispered before his eyes fluttered shut. “Rest well. I’ll be back.” 
Takada Kenta and Kim Sanggyun seemed to be cheerful, lively friends of Seonho. You learned were in a subunit of 101 called JBJ, comprising of six members, the seventh was in discussion. “So, Y/N, what’s your costume for tonight?” Sanggyun asked, giving you a once over. He seemed to be dressed as…well, a stereotypical vampire, the kind you would see in movies Completed with a necktie and even dyed hair, your look for the night was inspired by BTS’ V from ‘Boy In Luv’. It was not the most obvious look though. Donghan scoffed teasingly. “Can’t you see. I’m sure it’s BTS Boy In Luv music video concept kind of thing,” he said, fanboy instincts kicking in. Donghan seemed to be rocking a half-face themed costume, there was a part of his face made up to look like muscular tissues. Hyunbin, who was seated in the front seat of the car looked up from his phone sulkily. “Donghan stole my costume idea.” “Yeah, you’re dressed as Joker and Taehyun hyung is Batman, be grateful. Uh, Yongguk is…a cat,” Kenta spoke up. “I guess I’m back to Teentop’s fanboy.” Kim Yongguk rearranged his cat ears hairband, frowning slightly. “Hyung, you never changed.” “Yah, guys, did you hear? Lai Guanlin flew in from Taiwan just for this party. I’m excited to see him again,” Noh Taehyun mentioned, turning the car around a corner and stopping outside a huge house. Correction: a mansion. 101 headquarters were no joke, you gaped in awe of the building that was filling up with guests and bursting with life. “Wanna One, the highest ranked members and pretty much the ones that get our shit together live here,” Hyunbin stated, sipping from a box of plasma fruit juice. “Take care of Y/N, guys. We need to look out for them.” “Lai Guanlin’s back, I’m sure everyone must be rejoicing. I need to get my Supreme hoodie back from him,” Sanggyun piped up, tossing his plasma juice box into the trash can as the seven of you stepped into the driveway. Lai Guanlin? “Oh! Y/N, Guanlin performed Boy In Luv at his high school showcase in Taiwan. He would know your costume for sure.” Yongguk led the way to the main door, pushing it open. You gulped, feeling the beads of sweat already starting to form in eagerness to meet whoever your new friends were talking about, partially the anxiety of entering your first Halloween party without Seonho. 
Lai Guanlin was not someone to blend into the crowd and his own party was no exception. He stuck out from the sea of faces like a model, like a handsome prince among common folk. He was the youngest of the Wanna One clique, however, he was definitely not one you would want to overlook. Guanlin looked menacing, eyes burning with flames deep within but in reality, he was probably one of the nicest vampires to ever live. Also one of the most powerful. It radiated from him, he was surrounded by an aura that made you want to hang your head, it was just too domineering. You tried to smile as you greeted him, just like the JBJ vamps, but they were his friends and you were a complete stranger. Better still, there was no vampire genetics coursing through your veins. Great, you thought anxiously. I stick out like a sore thumb. “Guanlin, please introduce yourself to new guests too,” Jisung instructed in a caring, motherly tone. His costume looked like an official Superman outfit he probably spent an arm and leg on. Guanlin held out a hand for you to shake, showing off his polished fangs and blood-red lips. “Hello, I’m Guanlin.” The deepness of his raspy voice sent shivers down your spine. Despite how scary he seemed, the fire that lined his eyes was one that only aimed to provide warmth on a cold day. You wanted to hold onto his soft palms forever even if they read a temperature much lower than your own - though, you had gotten used to the colder skin after the many years of clinging onto Seonho - and even if his longer, sharper nails did dig into your thin skin a little. Speaking of thin skin, Guanlin’s heightened sense of smell plucked out your scent from the hundreds of different fragrances, meaning he could also identify the sweet blood of yours. It was a real pain to prevent his eyes from glowing lucid red. “Here,” Jihoon hissed, slipping him a packet of plasma fruit. “Control yourself.” Guanlin nodded, although it was hard to take his hyung seriously when Jihoon was dressed in a pink sausage costume. He was the one who decided the duo needed to take their friendship to the next level. Guanlin was unsure as to whether Woojin and Jihoon were strengthening their bond or tearing it apart. “We’ll see you guys around. I think I see Jonghyun hyung over there.” Hyunbin started in the direction of the older boy whom he was very fond of. The rest of his friends began to head the same way, spotting some of their friends. “Hey V,” Guanlin called out just before you followed your group. “I like your costume.” His lips curved into a smirk as he brought the straw of the juice box closer to them. They seemed plush and velvety, almost beckoning for you to kiss them. But under it’s welcoming exterior disguised a set of lethal fangs you knew you needed to watch out for. 
Illuminated jack-o-lanterns lined the edge of the deserted balcony in a more quiet area of the Wanna One mansion. Chirps of crickets filled the silence, it sounded like a melody to you, to keep you in check, to make sure you were not drunk on soda. The whole evening, you had felt like extra baggage accompanying the boys, like an unneeded third-wheel. You introduced yourself to a handful of their friends but it was awkward being one of the only humans in that space. A human with few supernatural connections, unlike the rest. Sure, Kim Chungha and Choi Yoojung did their best to make you feel more welcomed but the fish out of the water feeling stuck to you like glue. So, finding the most believable excuse you could muster, you slipped off to the balcony to enjoy the night view peacefully, sipping ‘eyeball punch’ from your solo cup. Guess tonight really is a solo night. It’s so different without Seonho around. I hope he’s feeling better. Seonho was not the only person who plagued your mind in that moment, a Wanna One vampire by the name of Guanlin also occupied a significant amount of your thoughts. He was just so handsome, so charming, so intriguing. You desired to learn more about the mysterious vampire yet you were too afraid. Oh goodness, cue eye roll at your ridiculous thoughts. You were just sharing drinks with I.O.I vampires and you’re worried about others? Get yourself together, they’re all the same, no one can harm you. Autumn winds brushed by your sensitive skin, the cold cutting through even the fabric of your long sleeved button down. Yes, you were shuddering slightly but it was not enough to blow you back to the party scene. “The moon’s out tonight.” whatagoodconversationstarter A husky voice muttered, it’s owner moving to stand beside you, pressing his hands on the railings. Your heart began to beat faster, pumping more blood around your circulatory system - probably a bad idea around supernatural creatures. However, Guanlin was more in control than you thought, he had an array of powers mastered. “Um, yeah. It is,” your reply was barely audible to human ears but Guanlin heard your words crystal clear.  [ stan CLC you will never regret ] “You’re friends with Yoo Seonho, aren’t you?” He shifted in his spot, still looking up to the pitch black night sky. “Yeah, best friends.” You fought hard to keep your cool, ignoring the redness that filtered to your face and the irregular thumping of your heart. Guanlin let out a chuckle, bringing his cup to his lips for a sip of whatever his choice drink was. “Ahh, his heart is like a reed but we have a blood brother bond.” A smile appeared on your face just thinking about Seonho’s hobby of collecting hyungs. “I heard he’s targeting Hwang Minhyun now. He clings to me in school but right after, I know he’s bugging Minhyun,” you tell Guanlin and the two of you have a good laugh over it. After, a comforting silence fills the gap between both your figures. “Here,” Guanlin says as he shrugs off his suit jacket and drapes it over your shoulders. When you meet his eyes, mouth agape, he flushes pink. “I uh, noticed you were shivering quite a bit.” It was true. You could not tell if your face was coloured from the cold or if it was just you acting up around him. “No! Wouldn’t you be freezing?” You blurt out without giving it much thought. Your words elicit an amused laugh from the supernaturally handsome boy. “You’re so cute you know.” Ah yes, my embarrassment must be pretty freaking adorable. “Don’t worry about me. I thrive in the cold, it’s fine,” Guanlin assured, taking a step closer to you. “What’s your costume anyway?” His outfit was one that posed difficulty to decipher. It looked like he lived in suits, he should, he carried them well. “I’m dressed as Wooseok hyung from Pentagon,” he declared proudly, beaming like a true fanboy. “Why are you out here? The party is downstairs.” “Needed some air. It isn’t easy being one of the few without supernatural traits down there,” you revealed the simple reason. “Oh.” He took a step away from you, exhaling sharply while squeezing his eyes shut. “Sorry then.” “No! I-It’s fine! I’m okay!” You added urgently, a dreadful feeling bubbling in the pit of your stomach. “That’s not what I meant! I-I-“ To your surprise, the vampire just laughed and slipped closer, elbows nearly brushing. “I know, I know. It isn’t easy being around us but if you can put up with Seonho, I’m sure you can deal with me,” he joked, pointing out Seonho’s unquenchable thirst. “Oh come on, give him a break he’s just a child. But, he does finish an entire carton comprising of 24 boxes of plasma fruit juice whenever I’m around.” It was fun teasing your best friend with his blood bonded brother when he was absent. You just prayed he would not find out. Guanlin nearly doubled over in laughter, it was clearly his first time of hearing the extent of Seonho’s habits, they probably came as a shock as one box of plasma fruit juice was enough to keep a vampire full for at least a few hours “I don’t blame him though,” he mused, almost cautiously. You reached to tuck a stray lock of your hair behind your ear, exposing more of your prominent collarbones - again, probably a terrible idea in front of a creature that feasted on the substance flowing under your paper-thin skin. You did not realise Guanlin’s eyes starting to tint red, how he gripped the railing until his knuckles paled, or how he swallowed hard and tried not to allow his gaze to linger on your neck. He cleared his throat and took another swig of his drink. To him, you were a gift delivered right to his doorstep, especially with his jacket on you. You were sweet, funny and accepting, he was really drawn to you, as a person and not just because you had something he depended on for survival. Guanlin’s tongue swiped over his bottom lip, he was sick of plasma fruit juice but he would never drink from his friends. Besides, he liked the colour coordinated straws that blood bags from The Middleman came with. “Oh? Why don’t you?” Your honey-coated voice drew him out of whatever trance he was in. He hummed in response, changing his posture to lean his back against the railing such that your eyes had to lock. The vivid supernatural glow that bore into your eyes caused your breath to catch in your throat. “Because, sweetheart.” Every syllable that fell from his lips made butterflies roar to life inside of you. Sweetheart - such a loving term - was no exception. Additionally, there was no escaping his alluring scrutiny, redness underlying his orbs but you knew he had himself in check. “You,” he paused to draw closer, such that only your ears could hear his whispers. “are absolutely delicious.” With a smug smile tugging at his lips, Guanlin spun away, raising his glass for a toast before slipping back into the room. You were stunned that he left you so abruptly and so flustered, the feeling of his mouth pressed to your earlobes still very fresh. His pointy fangs hardly caressed them but they were very real, and very close to you indeed. It annoyed you that Guanlin had just disappeared like that but unbeknownst to you, if he stayed just a couple of seconds longer, you would have become his next snack. After that ‘incident’, that particular Pentagon fan was on your mind. You also really had to return his suit jacket, the material most likely cost your entire life savings. He wouldn’t have really bit me? Would he? Thoughts like those raced through your mind as you scoured the mansion for Guanlin. There was no way you were leaving the party without knowing if he would. You figured like any other vampire, instinct would probably overpower them and they would dip their fingers to have a taste, a nibble. Rumour has it that he has a lethal pair of fangs, one of the keenest. What if he actually did feed on me? Would it sting like hell? No worries though, if it was you, Guanlin would not hesitate if he got consent. He would bite, but for you, very gently, painless like a minuscule needle prick.
117 notes · View notes
alittletournesol · 5 years
Text
Kingdom Of Jinju {MinKey} part 14/33
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Chapter 14 : The black kiss
It was pure chaos in the front yard, people screaming and crawling to find their relatives. In the middle of the mess, a soldier was holding the unconscious King underneath, while Kibum was staring at the long arrow stuck in his chest. It was like no sound could reach his ears, he only made out a continuous muffled hubbub as his hands were supporting his husband’s head. 
It took him a few seconds before he snapped out of it to notice that the soldier close to him was hurriedly asking for his orders. The Prince realized that, just like in Minho’s supposed absence, he was the one to obey to, the one people relied on. And at the moment, he was desperately needed at too many places at once. He felt overwhelmed. The General had disappeared, there was no face familiar enough to reassure him…
“Hyung !” Taemin shouted as he fell on his knees next to him, taking his face between his hands to make him look at him. “You have to do something !”
“Kibum, it will be fine.” He recognized Jonghyun’s voice as he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Focus on the King, I will help with the people. Just allow your soldiers to rely on me for a moment.”
No sooner said than done, the Prince turned his head towards the few soldiers who were protecting them by surrounding their bodies. He nodded only once, and the teacher stood up, giving a simple order before he directed his stare towards the crowd. His clear voice, usually so low, escaped his throat louder than ever. When he asked for calm once, then twice, the yard eventually stopped this unbearable noise and everyone looked at the blonde man.
This show of authority was enough for Kibum to get a grip on himself, and he carefully put his husband’s head on the soldier’s thighs before he stood up. As soon as they saw their ruler next to the teacher, the people stared at him, their eyes filled with fear and the need to be reassured. The Prince took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself to take the control for the first time.
“Bring the King to his quarters and make sure to call the physician.” He told the few soldiers behind him before turning toward the people, doing his best to ignore the movement behind his back. “People of Jinju, I know you are all scared at the moment I am talking, but I will need all of you to stay calm. Our King has just been hurt and we will immediately take him inside the palace so his Highness will receive care. What just happened… might be an assassination attempt, thus, as long as General Lee does not return with the culprit, you are all disallowed to leave the yard.”
A loud whisper raised from the crowd, combined with fear and worry. Kibum was too overwhelmed himself to use his authority as much as he was able to, and he just raised his arm to ask for focusing. Surprisingly, everyone went quiet.
“Please, we have to avoid any show of panic.” He said louder, slowly gaining confidence as his two friends stood next to him. “Our strength against any kind of attack will always be our cohesion, his Highness and myself need your cooperation. Our deepest wish is to keep you safe, I feel beyond apologetic that this event in your honor has to be interrupted in such an abrupt way. My place now is beside the King, I will excuse myself and leave you in the good hands of Sir Kim Jonghyun, who you entrust so much with your children’s education. Please find your wife, husband, siblings and children. Stay together, do not fear our soldiers who will stay here and protect you. Blankets will be brought to keep you warm when the night gets colder, I will personally ask for more food supplies. Now… I ask you to trust me, and to trust your King. Please pray for him.”
With these last words, Kibum took a precious time to deeply bow to the people, going down on his knees and pushing his upper body against the ground. It only lasted a second but when he stood up and started running towards the palace, no one dared to throw themselves into panic. Just as they were told to, they immediately gathered with their families and friends, following Jonghyun’s instructions who was also giving a few gentle orders to the remaining soldiers.
The Prince’s fast steps on the floor were resounding against the walls, his breathing broken as he made his way through corridors and staircases with Taemin following him. In his chest, his heart was beating to the point it threatened to explode, his ribcage with it ; fear made him feel a lump in his throat, and he found himself quietly praying for some gods he never believed in.
Within a few seconds, he reached the east wing and noticed the King’s quarters’ door wide open. He made out noise and voices coming from inside and rushed in without wasting time with being announced and all this formal stuff. His entrance made everyone raise their head : standing around the huge bed, were the Queen Mother with tears in her eyes that she was trying to hold proudly, the royal physician and two soldiers offering their help.
“How is he ?” Kibum asked, walking forwards as the soldiers shifted to make space for him. “Please tell me he will be fine.”
“Your Grace, you arrive at the right time.” The physician replied, walking to him and taking his hand in both of his with respect. “I am afraid this arrow is stuck deeply, but we need to remove it to provide a treatment.”
“Will it not be dangerous ? I mean, will he not bleed out ?”
“No, your Grace, it missed the heart. It is just above, a few inches I would say. Call it luck or bad mastery from the assassin, but our King will live.”
“What a relief… How can I offer my help, please tell me.”
With these words, the Prince removed his coat and hat, tossing them on the couch before approaching the bed and rolling up his shirt’s sleeves. The sight broke his heart. Lying on the mattress, Minho was still unconscious, his head tilting on the side and supported by his mother’s hand. He was pale, even though he seemed at peace. How come an arrow could put him in such a worrying state, when he wasn’t a weak man at all in a first place ?
After he put his hand for a few seconds on his mother-in-law’s shoulder to reassure her, Kibum followed the physician’s instructions and climbed on the bed to kneel beside his husband. He was handed fabric scissors and with an extremely careful gentleness, he started cutting the coat around the arrow’s shaft. When he felt it slightly move, a drop of sweat formed on his forehead and he asked Taemin to approach and hold the base of the projectile under the King’s clothes, to keep it in place.
The purpose wasn’t to hurt Minho even more than he already was. After a few seconds of slow work, the coat could be removed and the same ordeal started again with his shirt. Both items of clothing were cut open on the sovereign’s chest, their tails resting on the mattress. The Prince refrained himself from gasping when he saw the head of the arrow, indeed deep under the skin. It was stained with blood, dry red lines running down from the wound to the King’s torso and sides.
With each of his weak inhalations, a bit more blood was flowing out of the wound, still obstructed. Kibum swallowed with difficulty and looked away for a second as he felt tears forming in the corners of his eyes. It wasn’t the right time to cry, not when Minho needed him more than ever, this time not only for papers and royal stuff. The sudden weakness making his knees quiver faded away and he was filled with a new strength. 
“Your Grace, I will now remove the arrow.” The physician said and asked anyone but the Prince to step backwards to give him more space. “The pain can be really harsh, so the King might wake up because of it. However, it will be quick, but you will have to prevent him from straightening up.”
“I will do everything I can, Sir.” Kibum nodded.
“Please hold him, and be prepared. Do not flinch, your Grace.”
“I will not.”
The Prince positioned himself on his knees, closer to his husband’s body, and he leaned on to put his hand on his torso, near the wound. He ignored the blood staining his fingers and the sensation of Minho’s muscled pectoral under his palm, as he applied a slight pressure to be sure he would be able to keep him lying down. As if his instinct told him to, he didn’t think and used his other hand to hold onto the king’s, taking his fingers in a firm grip.
Somehow, it brought him comfort and reassured him enough to focus on the unconscious face, pale but still so beautiful. The physician eventually approached on the other side of the bed and put his hand opposite his on the King’s chest, grabbing hold of the arrow’s shaft with the other one. And he pulled it out.
The pain Minho felt when the iron point left his body was so atrocious that it indeed drew him out of his unconsciousness. He widely opened his eyes and a sore cry escaped his dry throat as his torso jolted forwards despite him. But Kibum was quick to react and he pushed him back on the mattress, gently hushing him as he pressed his hand in his.
“Shh, shh…” He whispered, dropping formalities. “It’s out, it won’t hurt you anymore… Shh, breathe…”
The King’s breathing was broken and his eyes searched for the origin of the voice he loved so much. He turned his head and saw the Prince’s face above his, staring at him, his eyes filled with a combination of fear and relief. That’s when the latter let go of his chest to put his hand on his cheek to reassure him, the other one still holding firmly onto his. Minho eventually noticed it, and he squeezed his husband’s fingers when the physician pressed a cloth on his wound to stop the slight bleeding. 
Kibum never cared about what the other man was doing since he wasn’t asking him anything, he only focused on Minho’s eyes that refused to leave his. With his thumb, he softly caressed the pale cheekbone in an attempt to soothe him enough to help him regulating his breathing. These few seconds felt like hours, both of them looking at each other without saying anything, and it was more than enough to make them feel less troubled.
Then, without notice, the King blinked a few times before his eyes closed and his head fell on the side, cheek against the Prince’s palm. Unconsciousness swallowed him once again, worrying Kibum who turned towards the physician.
“What is happening ?!” He asked, unable to hide his sudden scare.
“Your Grace, the wound is not… normal.” The other said, frowning as he inspected the cut and the stained cloth. “His Highness’ blood seems infected with something I do know nothing about.”
“I-I beg your pardon ?”
Instead of talking, the old man lifted the cloth covering Minho’s chest and Kibum got staggered by what he saw. If there were still dark red drops escaping the wound, they were definitely stained with black. It was like a strange mixture of blood and ink.
“What is this…?” He asked, his voice trembling as the Queen immediately approached, letting a muffled cry out. “Why is the King’s blood like this ?!”
“I do not know, your Grace, it is the first time I see this.” The physician said, sponging down his forehead. “There is only one way for blood to appear different than it should usually be… poison.”
“Poison ? Did you just say poison ?”
“I am afraid yes… but never have I seen a poison with this effect, your Grace, I… I do not know what to think.”
The King’s mother couldn’t hold it back anymore and she excused herself before she ran away from the room with a sob. The Prince didn’t move an inch, still kneeling on the mattress and holding onto his husband’s hand. It couldn’t be possible. Not only had Minho been shot by an arrow in the middle of a public event, but the aforesaid arrow was poisoned !
Before he could formulate anything else, they heard running steps coming from the corridor, and when they raised their head, it was to see the General rushing in. His chin and neck were splattered with blood and Kibum widened his eyes, his own face losing all its colors.
“J-Jinki…” He stuttered, not able to remember using his title. “The blood…”
“It’s not mine, I’m fine.” The soldier cut him off, himself also forgetting about formal speech as he came closer to the bed to look at his old friend. “How is he ?”
“Bad… he’s been poisoned…”
“Poisoned ?”
“The arrow… none of us knows what kind of poison it is but it… it’s killing him…”
His words were interrupted by a sob he couldn’t hold back, and he turned away to cough and get a grip on himself, wiping his tears away. When he looked back, Jinki was frowning while looking at the black stains.
“It can’t be anything else than poison, yes…” He muttered for himself.
“Have you ever seen this ?” The Prince asked, hope lighting his eyes up.
“No, I never saw something like that. But any poison is made with plants, inoffensive as dangerous ones.”
“Sir, I have studied enough plants during my life to assure you none creates this.” The physician interrupted him. “Unless a new kind of vegetation grew lately, which I think is—”
“Plants…” Jinki thought, searching in his memory before he raised his head and turned towards Taemin. “I want you to run as fast as possible downstairs. Bring me Jonghyun.”
The young boy frowned but didn’t wait to be asked twice : he left the room running. Although Kibum tried to make the General talk his mind, the latter remained quiet, driving him crazy. He was about to grab some pillow to throw it at the other man’s face when steps were heard, and soon Taemin came back with the teacher following him.
They all looked at him and the blonde man approached, not sure about the reason of his presence. Jinki shifted to make space for him near the bed.
“What is it ?” Jonghyun asked. “How is the King, can I help with anything ?”
“I saw your scrolls the other night.” The soldier said, ignoring his questions and surprising everyone. “There were drawings of countless plants and flowers, and I’m sure you were making a record of all their medicinal properties.”
“This… This is right, but why do you say it now ?”
“Look at this. The King was poisoned and it can only be because of a plant, but we don’t know any that can do that. You might know.”
The teacher nodded and leaned on Minho’s body to inspect it, the black stains extremely noticeable in the red blood. He frowned and put the back of his hand on the King’s forehead, noticing a fever and sweat, along with his broken breath. 
“He never woke up ?” He asked.
“He did, when we removed the arrow…” Kibum replied, the lump in his throat growing bigger and his eyes watering. “He looked at me for a moment and he fell unconscious again…”
“It’s poison for sure… but not a known one.”
“Sir, with all due respect, there is no plant in all the realm causing this.” The old man repeated without hiding his irritation to be shadowed by a young teacher for children. “My latest researches date back to before the ice age, and winter’s characteristic is to not let anything grow.”
“And there you are wrong, Sir.” Jonghyun straightened up. “The ice age was actually so uncommonly long that nature started adapting, just like it is meant to do. Did you pursue your researches during winter ?”
“Of course not !”
“I did. And I think I know which plant is the cause of this. Black stains… There is a flower growing on dead trunks, with unusual dark blue, almost black petals. Its stem is part of the tree, like a very thin trunk, and so, it creates sap. Black sap, that poisoned the tree to kill it. It absorbs its sap and nourishes from it to live.”
“Could it be…?” Kibum asked.
“It can’t be anything else. There are only three new plants I noticed during this winter. And the two other are bright and colorful, not showing any form of poisoning.”
“Tell me you studied this black sap flower.”
“I did. And I know how to counter it.”
The Prince put his husband’s head on the pillow with gentleness, and he left the bed to walk to Jonghyun. Both men face each other, and somehow, one second was enough for each of them to notice everything that changed in the other. But at the moment, it wasn’t them who mattered.
“Please, save him.” Kibum asked, his voice low and his eyes staring at his former lover’s. “I want to help.”
“You can’t.” The teacher simply said. “To counter this plant’s poison, we need its own flower’s petals. And there is only one place where it grows.”
“Where ?”
“In Baemyeong.”
“Then what are we waiting for ? General, prepare my horse and my—”
“Kibum, I said you can’t, you’re not coming with me. Your place is here, with the King if he wakes up.”
The black haired man froze, Jonghyun’s stare having way too much power on him. He looked away, his eyes falling on his husband’s body. His chest was raising abruptly with each breath in, lowering sporadically when breathing out. He was in pain, even though he might not actually feel it thanks to unconsciousness. This detail somehow relieved Kibum, who slowly sat on the bed’s edge.
He remained quiet for a few seconds, understanding that his friend was right. He couldn’t leave the Minho’s side, and he didn’t want to either. All of sudden, he didn’t trust this physician anymore and wished to be the only one allowed near his husband — along with his mother, obviously.
“General.” He called, raising his head when he noticed the soldier making a step forwards. “You will go with Jonghyun, if this journey’s purpose is to find a cure for the King, I want our best man to ensure his safety.”
“Yes, your Grace.” Jinki nodded. 
“Did you capture the assassin ?”
“I did, but… unfortunately, he went in for a fight. He lost.”
“Is he dead ?”
“I’m afraid yes. I couldn’t do anything else, it was him or me.”
“You did well, we need you here. But we can’t interrogate him anymore… we will never know why he tried to kill the King.”
“We brought his corpse, it will be examined to find any suspicious detail that could let us know about his identity and the people he works for.”
Kibum nodded and looked at Jonghyun, who was still staring at him.
“How many days…?” The Prince asked. “Will he make it until you come back ?”
“I saw the poison’s effect on trees only, never on men.” The teacher explained, his tone serious and apologetic at the same time. “But there is one thing that reduces the pain and delay the effect of any poison. I will bring it immediately.”
“I’m coming with you.” 
Without waiting for an answer to his words, Jinki grabbed his friend’s wrist and led him outside. Kibum watched them leaving together, and he tried not to focus on this uncomfortable feeling invading his mind. Instead, he asked Taemin to leave too and warn the Queen about the potential remedy to her son’s wound. He also dismissed the physician and the two soldiers, assuming he wouldn’t need them anymore.
Once he was alone, he turned his head towards Minho. Although his face was deprived of colors, the only proof of his pain was the way his eyebrows were furrowed. His forehead was wet with sweat, along with his temples and neck. Without thinking, the Prince stood up and went to the dressing table to grab a white cloth. Fortunately, the bucket of water that was used to clean the King’s wound was still at the foot of the bed, so he took it and brought it closer.
With care, he soaked the cloth and wrung it, before folding it. He then climbed on the bed and sat close to his husband and gently wiped his face down, starting from his forehead and pursuing with his temples. He followed the line of his jaw until he was brushing his neck, getting his skin rid of any sweat and hoping the cold water would help to reduce the growing fever. 
He was about to let himself go even lower on the wounded torso, when he heard the sound of heels and refrained himself from going further. Within a second, the Queen was in the room and leaned onto her son, caressing her cheek and promising him he would be fine. Looking at her, Kibum tried to hold his own tears, as if seeing someone’s sorrow was bringing his own back. He softly explained what was happening, and warned her about the imminent leaving of the General and Sir Jonghyun to Baemyeong.
She didn’t dare to protest, only nodding, and she expressed her gratitude towards the Prince who chose to stay. The latter smiled and asked his mother-in-law not to praise him too much for something that seemed completely normal. He promised her he would remain by the King’s side when he wasn’t called somewhere else during the time he would have to take the helm of the kingdom.
She was in the middle of telling him she would help him with everything related to the kingdom’s matters during her son’s convalescence, when the teacher and the soldier came back to the quarters. Without waiting, they came closer to the bed and while Jinki helped the Queen to stand, Jonghyun handed a small rounded box, made of glass that was letting people know of its content’s color : a really fair yellow.
“This is a powerful balm made with the heart of a flower that grows at the foot of the Gods’ Mountain.” He explained as he opened the container. “Applied directly on the wound, it enters the body and has the property to slowing down any kind of poison.”
“How many times a day ?” Kibum asked.
“Every single time the poison’s effects come back. With the balm, he will certainly wake up but it can only last a few hours before he feels hit again. Be generous.”
“I got it, I will take care of it. Jonghyun… you have to be fast, I beg you… I… I know I’m asking you too much since you know me but —”
“You’re not asking too much, and I will do as fast as possible. Baemyeong is three days away from here, we won’t stay more than a day and will come back as soon as we get the antidote.”
“Your Grace, you have to be strong.” Jinki interrupted them. “While I can’t have my eyes on my King, all my hopes for his recovery rest on you. Please, don’t think about us being away, don’t count the days before our return, only care about helping him. Can you do this ?”
“I can. Protect my friend, General, and… protect yourself, too. I don’t want to see you again with a single scratch.”
“For the time I’m away from the palace, I will name two soldiers as your bodyguards. If there was one assassination attempt, there can be another one, and now that the King is wounded…”
“Don’t say it. Now, I want both of you to leave as soon as possible, don’t bother yourself with a cart and take the bare minimum for the journey. Tie your supplies to your saddle, take my and the King’s horses, they’re the strongest and fastest.”
Both men nodded and after they stared a last time at Minho, they left the quarters. Taemin was called by his mentor, who certainly wanted to give him a few advices and instructions before leaving, so the young boy followed the adults. Only remained in the room the Prince and the Queen Mother, but the woman decided to get some tea prepared for his son’s awakening, along with something to eat. 
Kibum was left alone, standing still near the bed with the open glass box in the hands. When the huge door closed before his eyes, he couldn’t help but let his overwhelming take control over him. He lowered his head and let his tears spreading all over his cheeks, his body shaken with sobs as he was letting his fear out. The night had completely fallen and he put the balm on the bedside table to light some candles. 
Once the quarters were illuminated enough, he leaned on the dressing table and breathed as deeply as possible to get a grip on himself. He needed to be strong, the King wouldn’t heal by himself and he had to be cured. If this balm could reduce his pain and wake him up, even for a few hours, it was his husband’s role to ensure it. Once his tears stopped falling, he sniffed and wiped his face with a clean cloth before he walked towards the bed. Sitting on the mattress, as close as possible to Minho’s body, he carefully slid his hand under his back to push his back up. Once his ripped clothes were free, he grabbed them and gently pulled them to let the King rest directly on the mattress.
He then grabbed the balm and and stared at it for a few seconds, wondering how much of it he must apply. Be generous, he had been told. Nodding for himself, he looked at Minho and put the container on the mattress to have both his hands free ; putting one of his palm against the strong torso, he took the cloth with his other hand and carefully removed it. Blood had stopped running and the wound was dry, but the outside wasn’t reflecting the disaster occurring inside.
Biting his lower lip to support the sight, Kibum grabbed the cloth he had used to wipe sweat off his husband’s face, and soaked it once again to clean a bit the dry blood and the edges of the cut. He had seen his father’s physician do it so many times when their hunters came back with wounds made by the game they were tracking down, that he knew exactly what to do.
Once he felt like he couldn’t make it cleaner, he whispered a few encouraging words to himself and took a good amount of balm on his forefinger and middle finger, joined together. 
“I’m so sorry if it stings or burns or… whatever it does, I’m sorry if it hurts, my King…”
It felt like the hardest move he had to do ever, and it took him a few seconds to eventually push himself to apply the balm. His fingers touched the wounded skin, feeling the damaged edge around the cut. He hissed for himself as he started circling it with the balm, but he remembered Jonghyun had said to put some everywhere… so he also rubbed on the skinless hole, only making sure not to open it even more. Fortunately, his gesture was gentle and didn’t make it worse.
Soon, Minho’s skin was gleaming with the greasy balm on his pectoral, and Kibum stood up to store the box and wipe his fingers. Without waiting more, he immediately went back to kneel on the mattress, and he took his husband’s hand in his while the other one was put on the pale cheek. The Prince’s eyes were staring at the King’s face, moving from one eyelid to the other, like he waited for one of them to start blinking.
“Come on… come on… wake up, my King, I did everything I was asked to, you can’t not wake up…”
A few minutes flew by without any movement, any shiver. The room was completely silent, and Kibum eventually noticed he had stopped breathing when his sight started blurring. He blinked and inhaled deeply, before his shoulders lowered by themselves. Nothing was happening, the balm had no effect at all on this whole new poison. There was no way to know how many days his husband had left, if he was going to wake up like he had a few minutes before…
Countless worries and fears attacked the Prince’s mind at once, and it was too much to handle. The lump in his throat grew bigger and he felt like giving up, sitting on his own heels. A new sob shook his body and this time, he didn’t hold it back, letting go of Minho’s cheek to cover his mouth and muffle his cries. Closing his eyes, he tried to get himself together, but it was like his body had taken control over his brain, he didn’t control anything.
“Stop crying…” He sobbed. “Kibum-ah, stop crying for f-fuck’s sake… h-how can you be crying like a child when your husband needs you to be strong ?! Stop crying, stop crying…”
As he was trying to convince himself, forcing a steady breath by inhaling with his nose and exhaling with his mouth behind his hand, he felt a pressure on his left hand. He immediately went quiet and opened his eyes to lower his head : the King’s hand was squeezing his. Kibum gasped and held it tight before he looked up to Minho’s face. It was less pale than before, even though it wasn’t all colorful yet. His eyebrows were moving, furrowing stronger than they used to, and the wounded man took a slow, deep breath.
His eyelids blinked extremely slowly before he opened his eyes. His sight was blurry and he made out a silhouette above him, with dark long hair and a white shirt, sleeves rolled up. By seconds passing, he distinguished a few other things as he slowly but surely turned his head : he recognized his quarters’ walls, the color of his sheets… and a young man staring at him with his hand holding his on the mattress.
Minho’s lips parted, and he was about to say something but his voice stayed stuck in his throat as he frowned and hissed, feeling a throbbing pain in his chest.
“Shh… easy, don’t move too fast…” A voice he could have never forgotten whispered, and he didn’t raise the absence of formal speech. “It’s fine, my King, it’s fine…”
The sovereign exhaled deeply until the pain reduced, and he opened his eyes again to look at the face above his. A tiny smile raised the corners of his lips when he eventually recognized his husband, but it disappeared when he noticed the red eyes and the wet cheeks, contrasting with the smile lightening his face.
“My Prince…? Why are you crying…?” He asked. “D-Did the festival not go as expected…?”
Kibum replied with a sob combined to a relieved laughter, and he wiped his tears away with his free hand. He then moved the King’s bangs away from his face and held his cheek just like he did earlier, making Minho widen his eyes for a second before his stare softened. 
“How dare you…” The Prince sniffed, his smile dying on his lips. “How dare you…”
“What…? I don’t understand…” His husband frowned before he was surprised by the hand on his cheek going down to extremely gently hit his uninjured shoulder, more caressing it than anything.
“How dare you scare me like you did ! Do you think you can fall unconscious like that and not waking up when I do everything for it ? Did I allow you to make me think you were going to die ? Answer to your Prince, it’s an order !”
Under the King’s dumbfounded eyes, Kibum let all his fear out through words, and Minho took a moment to actually understand what was happening. The only thing he knew was that he was being scolded by his husband, who was still holding his hand and ranting at the same time. He was about to cut him off without the will to be aggressive, when his wound stabbed at him to the point it was breathtaking, making him whimper and tighten his grip on the Prince’s fingers.
He immediately heard the latter apologize and putting his hand on his chest, where he felt the shooting pain. Even though it didn’t make it disappear, the sudden cold contact against his warm skin somehow helped him to catch his breath. 
“There, there…” Kibum said with his low voice, devoid of any anger. “Don’t listen to my blather, just breathe… You’ve been injured, my King…”
“I just remember the pain and… when you took it off…” Minho said when he could talk again. “What was it, what happened ?”
“You got shot by an arrow, during the festival… We removed it and you woke up but only for a few seconds and… there is p-poison…”
“Poison…?”
“Yes but we’re going to heal you, I promise. The General and Jonghyun already left, we know what it is and we know how to counter it, they will be back really soon with the antidote and you will be fine. I promise you, please don’t panic, it might hurt sometimes but I have a balm and I will apply it on your wound, did it hurt by the way ? Not the arrow, the balm, did—”
“Slow down, my Prince, slow down.”
“Ah, I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be. I can feel the pain reducing a bit…” The King smiled. “This will have had a advantage.”
“An… advantage, my King ?”
“Yes… you’re speaking informally to me, and I enjoy it.”
The Prince remained speechless for a few seconds before he felt the warmth on his cheeks, and he smiled as he looked away. He realized he was still kneeling so close to his husband, but he didn’t feel uncomfortable for anything in the world. When he looked up, he found the King looking at him with gentle eyes, filled with gratefulness.
“So… you took care of me ?” The latter asked. “I didn’t want to scare you.”
“Forget what I said, of course you didn’t scare me on purpose.” Kibum smiled. “Does it hurt…?”
“It stopped, but I suppose it will come back ? I will make the most of this moment, then.”
“If talking tires you, I can leave you, your mother—”
“No, I want you to stay. I… I like your presence.”
The Prince raised his eyebrows, surprised by the confession that had nothing to do with pure professionalism. Minho wasn’t appreciating his help or his smart thoughts… no, he was liking the fact he was there, next to him. And his eyes couldn’t lie, he was beyond grateful to have him by his side at the moment ; he had never let go of his hand, and was somehow holding on to it as if he feared that Kibum would go away.
The black haired man ended up smiling, his cheekbones tinted with a soft and warm pink color as he softened his gaze. The hand he had on the King’s chest slowly moved to his cheek, holding it like before. They both looked at each other for a few seconds, Kibum ignoring the fight that was occurring inside him ; his reason and his heart were preventing him from doing anything, letting him frozen where he was.
This, until he decided to shut both of them up. The fear he had felt had made him realize how dear he was holding his husband in his heart, and despite he hadn’t been able to ask anything to Jinki about what one calls love… it could wait. His eyes stared at Minho’s before they lowered to glance at his lips, those lips he had always found appealing. He didn’t notice his own body leaning on until his face was way much closer to the other man’s.
“My Prince…?”
The questioning tone didn’t stop Kibum, who chose to ignore it just like he ignored the King’s furrowed eyebrows as he closed the distance between their lips. With one of his hands holding Minho’s, the other one cupping his cheek, he carefully avoided his torso and kissed his lips in the most gentle way.
Him, who had always been passionate, was now showing himself as sweet as honey. Under him, his husband wasn’t moving and he couldn’t even make out his breath as he had taken it away. He didn’t want to hurt him, thus he was moving his lips so softly against his, his heart exploding in his chest. Minho’s lips used to be dry, but it wasn’t the case anymore and Kibum loved their taste. 
If he had listened to himself, he would have kept going, but his instinct told him to slow down. He broke this brief kiss and opened his eyes, moving his head backwards to look at the King. When he saw his widened eyes, he realized what he had just done and gasped, covering his mouth with his hand and letting go of his husband’s, as he backed up on the mattress until his back hit one of the bed’s spots. 
What had he done ?
The horses’ hooves were hitting the ground, launched at full tilt and galloping under the dark night sky. The road was illuminated by the moon and stars, the sky being fortunately clear, as the two cavaliers were making the most of their mounts’ high stamina. Jinki and Jonghyun had left Jinju one hour ago, after they had gathered a few food supplies in a hessian bag and deciding to carry a lot by themselves to not overload their animals.
Thus, the teacher was holding the supplies bag on his back while the soldier had the clothes on on his. He had tied two rolled up makeshift mattresses to his saddle, horizontally to not disturb his stallion. They had brought nothing more, counting on the land itself to provide them water and some wood to lit a fire when they would stop to sleep. They were riding next to each other, Jonghyun’s having the wind in his blonde hair since his ribbon hadn’t remained. 
Soon, they felt their horses’ muscles grow weaker and their breathing sounding more like panting. Even though they hadn’t covered a lot of road, they decided to not risk anything and slow the animals down, letting them walk until they were close to a river. There, they put their feet on the ground and stretched, before they freed the equids from their snaffle and let them enjoy the grass at the foot of a tree. To be sure they wouldn’t run away during the night — even though Jinki assured they wouldn’t — they attached them to the aforesaid tree, without squeezing their neck.
The first things the two men did was to splash their face with the fresh water, before they set camp. In no time, Jinki had gathered a few stones and twigs to form an improvised fireplace, and he was busy trying to light a fire with two stones while Jonghyun was rolling the mattresses out, keeping them flat with stones at the corners. He made the most of the General struggling with his technique to have a short midnight dip in the river.
The water was cold as hell and he regretted this decision during the first seconds, but he eventually moved enough to warm himself up, as he washed his body. He sat with his body immersed until his waist, and used the single soap they had brought to create enough foam in his hands for his upper body. When he heard some noise, he raised his head to see the soldier, leaning against the trunk of a tree at the very edge of the river, arms crossed on his chest and looking at him.
“Enjoying the view ?” The teacher teased, not bothered for all that as he kept washing himself.
“I was wondering how you managed to study such plants when you were busy teaching the Prince.” Jinki replied, avoiding the question. “When did you find time ?”
“I was in a mission. That was when Kibum’s sister fell ill and their father commanded me to travel to Baemyeong and bring more of their purple flower  with a particular scent that would be even stronger if you infuse the petals. It was to give some inhalations to the young Lady so she would somehow… dreaming, so forgetting the pain she was feeling.”
“I see… Were you her physician ?”
“By the Gods, no. I wasn’t qualified at all, but they couldn’t send the actual physician away. Since I knew a bit of plants and was even studying them for my own pleasure, they thought I was the right guy. I’ve been told it worked for a moment, but you know what happened.”
“I’m really sorry, were you close to her ?”
“I was closer to Kibum, since the beginning. She was sweet but knew how to speak up for herself, just like him. We were almost the same age, since I’m four years older than her brother and she was two years older. She kinda… liked me, you know, before she was betrothed to the King.”
“Excuse me, does everyone who looks at you instantly fall in love ? First, the Prince, now you tell me his sister too ?”
“I can’t do anything if I’m handsome.”
“Gross.”
Jinki rolled his eyes and looked away, making his friend laugh. He eventually smiled himself and directed his gaze back towards the teacher. Every time he watched him, he regretted all these bad thoughts he had had about him when there had been this scandal with the Prince. Of course, he had judged a man without knowing with the few informations he had had at the moment, and had only seen Jonghyun as the man the King had been cheated on with.
He knew for a long time that men could have affairs together, and curiously it was even less rare within soldiers. He couldn’t say how many times he had witnessed his father’s recruits or his own during some make out session in the showers or the dormitories. He didn’t really care about it, he hadn’t any problem with that. Thus, seeing the Prince sleeping with a man had not been the hugest shock of his life.
But now that he was thinking about it, Kibum was unconsciously showing some hints about his attraction to the male sex. Jonghyun ? Not at all. It should have troubled him but the General was just curious about it. The only thing he knew thanks to this small talk he had heard between the teacher and the King in the jail, was that this blonde haired man didn’t believe in love and enhanced lust. Once again, he couldn’t have guessed it if he hadn’t caught him in the act.
Thinking about it at that moment, when he actually was looking at Jonghyun’s naked silhouette… took his breath away at the sudden image appearing in his mind. He cleared his throat, drawing the other’s attention.
“Something’s wrong ?” The latter asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Was just pondering some things, nothing important.” Jinki was so quick to reply that it felt anything but innocent, and of course the teacher didn’t believe him. “Don’t ask.”
“Of course I ask.”
“I won’t say anything.”
“You’re no fun.”
With these words, Jonghyun stood up. He had no shame, walking in the water in all his glory and wringing his hair as he stared at the General. The latter swallowed with difficulty and fought the sudden will to scrutinize the teacher’s body from head to toe, holding his gaze. He made out a smirk on the blonde’s lips when he passed by him and walked back to the camp, catching a towel and drying himself. He was offering his back to Jinki, and the soldier had a hard time looking away from the two rounded butt cheeks he had just before his eyes.
He was on a mission, god damnit ! His King was dying on his bed because of a spy he hadn’t been able to catch alive and here he was, going all aroused by his only friend outside the palace. Discreetly, he hit his own forehead to get rid of any dirty thoughts that were trying to invade his mind, and to show how unbothered he was — or pretended to be — he joined Jonghyun and sat on his mattress, starting to take some food out of the hessian bag.
The teacher cocked an eyebrow and smiled, obviously noticing how hard his friend was trying to show himself completely fine. It was an amusing show, because himself knew one thing : if the soldier was to ask him, he would completely confess that he would like to get in his pants. But Jonghyun wasn’t the kind to make a first step, he preferred to play a bit until he would be asked about what he really wanted.
So he let go, enjoying the meat the General had just cooked above the fire and discussing this plant they were looking for. He explained that, just like the black kiss, as he called the flower, was infecting a tree’s sap to somehow aspire life out of it, this gained life was making its petals beautiful. The poison that was killing the King found his antidote in its own consequence : the petals.
Jinki nodded to everything he was told, and they talked about how they would travel as fast as possible while respecting their horses’ stamina and needs. After a few minutes, they both decided they needed to sleep before the sun would wake them up and mark the beginning of their second day of journey. They lied on their mattress and covered themselves with the thin sheets they had brought, the General keeping an eye on the fire and waiting for sleep.
He almost choked when Jonghyun whispered the following words before turning around.
“Next time, try to be less obvious when you check me out.”
next
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jinkisbelly · 5 years
Text
Last Chance
This is about 6 years after Calm, but before Fine and U&I in my star wars au, about Jinki getting Kibum as his first Padawan about a year and a half after his knighthood.
Pairing: Au overall, Jongyu, this mostly bro Onkey 
Rating: pg
W/c: 1k
Jonghyun swiped his finger on his datapad before returning his chin on his palm. He didn’t look up as he sensed Jinki’s calm, familiar force presence enter the room. “What has you so giddy?”
Jinki frowned deeply as he carefully lowered to the floor, crossing his legs, before shaking his head. He knew from experience to never ask him how he did things. “I may have propositioned the proper authorities to get a padawan. Possibly.”
That got his attention. Jonghyun’s head whipped up, eyebrow raised. A soft yellow was filtering through the dark brown of his eyes before it disappeared after he got his eyes under control once again. “You did what?”
“You know, a padawan, a student. Someone we take under our wing and-”
“Yes Jinki, I know what a Padawan is. If you forgot,” He flicked Jinki’s forehead softly. “We just were one last year.”
As he rubbed his forehead with a frown, Jinki continued. “Yes yes I know but there was a young boy that was about to be aged out and I, I felt some type of connection watching him spar with some of the younger padawans.” He sighed, leaning his head on his palm, cheek squishing a little. “I can’t explain it. I felt like I was meant to train him, Jonghyun.”
The protest fell before he smiled as he straightened his back fully. “Alright, if you feel this strongly about them, tell me more. What’s their name?”
“Kibum Kim.” Jonghyun could feel the bright, strong presence of Jinki in the force as he continued. Talking about the potential of the boy’s forms, how he had been almost tugged toward the training rooms, and asking his own Master about the young boy.
“If you feel this is the right path for you, I fully support you, Jinki.”
Jinki let out a deep breath before a breathtaking smile spread across his face. “Thank you.”
------
He hadn’t felt this nervous since he had sat in this very same chamber to be given the title of Jedi Knight. He knew there were a lot of things against him being allowed to take a padawan. The biggest was how young he was and how soon it had been since his knighthood, but he hoped he was granted permission. He had a few doubts about how well he would be able to teach and care for a padawan, but he trusted the force and felt this was the best choice for him to follow. Kibum had gone up into the room a while ago, to be asked a few questions. He presumed it was about his thoughts and feelings about the apprenticeship being held out to him. This could be the start of a decade or longer relationship between them. It mattered if he felt this was the right path too.
Carefully he got down into his his position to meditate, eyes closing as he began to breathe in and out deeply, trying to find solace in the force to calm his overworking thoughts.
------
“Old Padawan of Mine?”
Jinki peeked his eye open, smiling as he noticed his Master standing there. He quickly took the offered hand to stand, bowing slightly. “Master Jung.”
“It seems my student has become the teacher.” Jinki followed Yunho’s arm, finding Kibum being softly tugged forward. “Meet your new Padawan, Kibum Kim.”
Kibum immediately bowed, “Thank you for giving me this chance, Master.”
“I look forward to taking on this journey with you, Young one.”
Yunho smiled before clasping both of them on their shoulders firmly. “I’ll leave you to get more acquainted.”
Once the Master Jedi had left, Jinki focused on Kibum. He was tall for his age, but his hands were twisting slightly in the sleeves of his robe and his eyes were cast down. Timid, scared. “Kibum?”
His head whipped up, eyes focused. “Yes, Master?”
“Want to go for a swim?”
“A swim?”
“Yes.”
Kibum’s mouth open and closed before he smiled softly. “I would like that a lot, Master.”
As they headed toward the room of a Thousand Fountains, Jinki quietly struck up a conversation. “I know having such a young Master must be strange for you.”
“Not strange, just,” Kibum bit his bottom lip for a moment, eyes cast to the floor. “I hope you don’t take offense Master, but you’re my last hope to become a Jedi.”
“I was not looking for a padawan, Kibum. I am a fresh knight and I have a lot of learning to do myself.” Jinki smiled warmly as he crossed his arms before him. “The main thing my Master taught me was trusting in the force and trusting the way it felt flowing through me. I believe that I was meant to see you that day in the training room. I hope to gain your confidence, Kibum.” It took him far too long to notice Kibum had stopped walking beside him. When he looked back the boy was standing ten paces back, head hung low and hands curled into fists. “Kibum?”
When he lifted his face, there were tears beginning to fall from his eyes. He quickly wiped them with his fists before mumbling. “You aren’t going to give up on me too, are you?”
“Why would I do that?”
“I’m too emotional.”
“My best friend happens to be very emotional.” Jinki smiled sweetly, “He happens to be one of the best force healers I know.”
Kibum wiped his nose with the back of his hand before clenching his teeth for a moment. “I’m sorry for my outburst, Master.”
“First lesson, Padawan.” Jinki felt a bit of pride with how quickly Kibum focused on him. “Emotions are only bad if you linger on them for too long and let them fester. We are human, not droids.”
“But the code-”
“The code is important and I’m not telling you to not follow it,” Jinki cleared his throat before continuing. “That being said, if you have doubts or fears as now, talk to me. Fear can lead to the darkside, but only if you allow it to overpower you.”
Kibum finally managed a small smile. “Thank you, Master.”
“Now please take a deep breath for me.” Once finished Jinki asked, “Still want to swim?”
“Yeah.”
Jinki grinned. “Good.”
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