Pairing: Het!Jonghyun/Key, side Les!Minkey
Rating: PG-13 for language
Word Count: 2,505
Summary: Junghee is crushed over a recent breakup when she meets Kibum. While neither of them have the best first impression, they realize they can learn from one another.
A/N: Things are finally starting to happen :)
We all have our vices.
“Junghee?” She closed her eyes and smiled at the familiar voice, her head spinning from her fall. Suddenly a hand was shaking her, and the voice was yelling.
“Junghee, what the hell, are you alright? Wake up!” Junghee frowned. The familiar voice was stressing her out. She brought a finger lazily to her lips, telling the voice to shush. It didn’t listen though, the hands only shaking her harder. “Jesus, Junghee! For fuck’s sake wake up! Look at me, come on!”
Reluctantly she listened to the voice, hoping it would be quiet if she did. Her eyes slid open blearily, taking far longer than usual to focus. When they finally did, she found herself face to face with a very worried-looking Kibum. Had she been in her right mind, Junghee would have noticed the concern scrunching his feline eyes, or the anxious set of his mouth, but as it was she only took in short brown hair and thick black-framed glasses before launching herself at him, squealing happily
“Kibummie! You’re here! I was looking for you but Taemin...” her face crumpled into a frown, struggling to remember their conversation, “Taemin was mean! He said you weren’t here,” she pouted. Kibum looked torn between incredulity and concern.
“Taemin was...mean,” he said slowly, expressionless.
“Yeah! He was mean!” Junghee giggled. “But then he gave me and Minjung-ah lots of free drinks so I’m not mad at him anymore.”
“Free drinks?” Kibum repeated, apparently having trouble processing the information. Junghee giggled again.
“Yep! He- whoa!” Kibum had her by the arm and was hauling her up with him as he stood suddenly. He marched her inside, dragging her over to the bar with him. Junghee was confused and looked around for Minjung. She was still sitting in the same spot as before with her phone in her hands. Junghee turned back to Kibum to complain loudly about his too-tight grip on her arm, but he was yelling at Taemin.
“What the fuck, Tae?” he asked, shaking Junghee’s shoulder a little in his indignation, “Junghee’s falling over! She can barely stand by herself. Why the fuck didn’t you cut her off?” Taemin looked shocked.
“She didn’t even have that much, hyung! I didn’t think it would be a big deal!” Kibum’s voice got increasingly high-pitched as his fury grew.
“You didn’t think it would be a big deal? Look at her! She’s barely conscious!” Junghee was upset. Kibum sounded really angry, even through the buzzing in her ears. She tried to tell him she was fine, really, but he wasn’t listening to her.
“Whatever, Tae,” he was saying curtly, “I’m going to call her and her friend a cab, alright? Cover me and try to do your job right for once, okay?” Kibum stepped away from the bar, ignoring Taemin’s sulky
“Screw you, hyung! I’ve been doing fine all night.”
Turning to her again, Kibum asked her to find Minjung. After locating her and coaxing her away from the table, Kibum steered them toward the front door.
Once outside, Minjung sat down on the curb, once again consumed with texting, leaving Junghee to hover anxiously by Kibum who was talking to someone she didn’t know on the phone. When he hung up, he turned to her tiredly, hair disheveled from running his hands through it in frustration. He pushed up his glasses to pinch at the bridge of his nose. A nameless worry filled her stomach and Junghee stepped forward to clutch at the hem of Kibum’s shirt. Her voice was tiny when she spoke, her eyes filling with tears.
“Are you mad at me, Kibummie?” She clutched at him tighter. “Please don’t be mad. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Just don’t leave.” The tears were falling steadily from her eyes again, sobs already threatening to wrack her small frame. She fought through them, and said weakly, “You can’t leave me too. Please. Please stay. Don’t leave again.”
“Hey, what are you talking about?” Kibum hesitated, then wrapped his arms securely around her, holding her tears at bay. “I’m not going to leave.” He held her like that for a while, until she stopped shaking. When she had calmed down, he pushed her back a little, hands resting on her shoulders. “Hey,” he said again softly, “Don’t you remember what I told you about crying so easily?” He brought his hands up to wipe the tear tracks off her face. Junghee nodded, one last hiccup of a sob escaping from her throat.
She stared at him unashamedly, the alcohol doing wonders for her inhibitions. The moonlight fell across Kibum’s face beautifully, highlighting his sharp cheekbones and sculpted lips. Junghee wished her head would stop spinning long enough to get a good look at him.
She found herself leaning closer and closer, hands fisting in Kibum’s shirt. Her eyes fluttered closed, abandoning their attempt to see him clearly. Junghee’s arms snaked up around Kibum’s neck and leaned in on the tips of her toes to press her lips against his.
At the last second Kibum pulled away, gently extricating himself from her clutches. Chuckling at her pout, Kibum patted her head fondly.
“I don’t think so,” he said softly to her, a smile in his voice, “I don’t kiss silly drunk girls with tears and snot all over their faces.”
Junghee self-consciously brought a hand up to hide her face, muttering rebelliously
“Well at least I don’t smell like cigarette ash. You probably taste like it too.” Kibum pushed her hand away, a mocking smile stretching his mouth.
“What was that? I’m sorry I didn’t quite catch what you said.” She stuck her tongue out at him, making him laugh again. “Oh very mature. Are you sure you’re older than me?”
Junghee’s retort was cut off by the arrival of the cab Kibum had called. He held the door open for her as she followed Minjung into the back seat. Fishing around in his pockets for a moment, he pulled out several bills and handed them to the driver.
“I’d appreciate it if you could get these girls safely home to...” Kibum turned to Junghee. “Where do you live?” Junghee’s eyebrows scrunched together as she thought.
“Uh,” she said unhelpfully, “I know this, I swear. I live...” Without looking up from her phone, Minjung rattled off their address perfectly. Kibum looked a little surprised and looked at Junghee for conformation. When she nodded, Kibum held out his hand. Confused, Junghee took it, vaguely wondering why Kibum would choose then of all times to hold her hand. Shaking his head at her, he said,
“Give me your keys. I’ll drive your car back to your house when I get off work, okay?” Junghee rummaged in her purse for her keys, handing them over to him carefully. Sticking her head out of the window to get closer, she whispered
“Thank you. I’m sorry I...” he cut her off, winking.
“Don’t worry about it.” Ducking his head into the passenger window, he spoke to the driver again. “I’m going to write down your cab number, so don’t let anything happen to them, alright?” The man gulped and nodded fervently, waiting for Kibum to step back before starting the engine and pulling away.
Closing her eyes and leaning back against the seat, Junghee sighed happily. Turning to Minjung she said abruptly,
“See, Minjung-ah? I told you he’s really nice. Don’t be mean to him anymore, okay?” She looked over in time to see the taller girl give a curt nod in her direction before her screen lit up again. As Minjung read the message, a flush stained her cheeks and she tugged at her full bottom lip with her teeth. As an afterthought, Junghee said to her friend, “Tell Gwiboonie I say hi.” Minjung’s smile was blinding.
“No way. We’re busy.”
-
The next day Junghee woke up to a throbbing pain in her knee. When she sat up to examine it, the room spun nauseatingly. Forcing herself not to throw up, she looked at it cautiously. Her knee was a scraped up mess, dried blood and scabs covering nearly all of her kneecap. Touching it gingerly, she moaned in pain.
Junghee hobbled out of bed, reviewing the previous night’s events to figure out how she had injured her knee. Fighting back another wave of nausea, she eventually made it to the bathroom where she washed off all the dried blood and grit that was clinging to the wound.
Her eyebrows drew together in pain and concentration as she dabbed at her knee, trying to remember when she had fallen. She had been with Minjung for a while, then she had gotten up to dance, maybe then? But no, she had danced with that Jungshin guy or whoever, and didn’t remember falling. After that she had left the dance floor and went to go talk to Taemin, and after a quick stop in the bathroom she... Junghee’s face went dead-white as she finally remembered.
Kibum. She’d been a drunk mess in front of Kibum, of all people. As the realization hit, her nausea came back in full force, leaving her just enough time to position herself over the toilet before she threw up.
After emptying the contents of her stomach, Junghee rinsed out her mouth and brushed her teeth thoroughly. She also took a quick shower, the remnants of her body glitter spiraling down the drain in shimmering rivulets. Making sure that her face was clear of any hints of the makeup she had worn last night, Junghee stepped out of the shower and began to towel her hair dry.
Dragging her feet sluggishly, Junghee walked to the doorway of Minjung’s room, passing a window onto the street. Glancing outside, she saw her car parked neatly in front of her building, and remembered Kibum’s promise to drive it over when he was done working. She screwed up her face against the onslaught of embarrassment that washed over her at the memory. She pushed open Minjung’s door, seeing nothing of the tall girl but her long legs poking out from the bottom of her quilt. Unwilling to get too close in case Minjung was suffering from nausea too, she called from the doorway,
“Minjung-ah! Are you okay over there?” The younger girl didn’t stir. Making her way cautiously over to the bed and snagging Minjung’s trash can as she passed, Junghee sat down on the side of the bed, peeling the covers away from where she assumed Minjung’s head would be.
“Minjung-ah,” she said again, shaking the younger girl’s shoulder. Minjung groaned and turned her head to face Junghee, saying grumpily,
“Unnie, I’m sleeping. Go away.” Not giving up, Junghee threw the covers off the bed.
“Minjung-ah...,” she said reluctantly, “Minjung-ah I think...I think I tried to kiss Kibum last night.”
The tall girl sat bolt upright at her words, her usually flawless hair sticking up at all angles.
“You what?!” Junghee winced at the sharp tone. Minjung had leapt up from the bed and was striding around the room agitatedly.
“Uh...Minjung? Are you okay?” Minjung whipped around to look at her, throwing her hands up exasperatedly.
“I’m fine. I’m just trying to figure out why I didn’t stop my best friend from making a drunken move on the guy on whom she’s got a crush of titanic proportions!” Junghee frowned and folded her arms over her chest.
“Okay first of all, I object to the use of the word titanic. It makes it all sound too...foreboding. Second of all, this ‘crush’ of mine, as you call it, is hardly titanic. If anything, I’d say it’s normal-sized. Maybe a little smaller than average, even. Third and most importantly, it isn’t your job to stop me from making an ass of myself, alright Minjung-ah? I took you out to celebrate your commercial and to have fun, not to babysit me, so don’t go blaming yourself.” Minjung smiled at her gratefully and grabbed her hand, squeezing it briefly before dropping it again.
“Thanks, unnie. I really did have a good time. Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Junghee waved off her concern with an airy hand, smiling brightly.
“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine,” she said cheerfully, still beaming at Minjung as she backed out of the room. “I’ll just let you get changed and then we can go to brunch, how does that sound?” Junghee closed the door behind her after seeing Minjung’s enthusiastic approval of her plan to go eat. Slumping against the wall just outside the door however, her smile wilted.
All she had to do was find Kibum on Friday and apologize. That, and hope he didn’t think too badly of her after what she’d done, or tried to do. She sighed. Hopefully it wouldn’t go too badly.
When Minjung emerged from her room half an hour later, Junghee was waiting by the door, ready to go and a fresh smile plastered on her face.
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