TAT (5/?)
5
Want an angel to devil? Ask for Krystal
Krystal was naturally very good with secrets. Keeping them, holding them, all of that good stuff. She was a loyal and trustworthy confident. Nobody ever worried when spilling their guts to her because she was just that wonderful. But it was different this time. She’s always been told secrets. She’s never seen one happen. That is, until that day when she went to go check on Kibum.
That locker room, it will never be the same.
She told herself the consequences if she leaked it out. She didn’t want to burden their perfect cul-de-sac with the grave doings of her treasured oppa. She couldn’t be the reason, she just couldn’t. Nobody saw her that day, right? Wrong.
She tried to compose herself. She brushed her hair and looked out her window. It was getting dark and the sun was already setting. It was her favorite part of the day.
Her phone buzzed under her coat.
Meet me at Café Java. We need to talk.
-Oppa.
No smiley face? So he knew.
Café Java was the place for Brookfield students. It was expensive, air conditioned, and totally in. It used to be filled with middle aged women and men who read the newspaper with haughty looks, but, after a few students came they finally left.
Not like the scene would really affect the whole situation as one, nothing could get her out of it.
After watching her phone screen go dim she reached for her pale rose cardigan. She slipped it on and pulled her arms through the almost see-through sleeves. She overlapped the sides and secured it with her right arm-the one that held her phone-and was out the door.
She passed Jessica’s room and wondered if she should tell her she’d be home a little late. She decided against it, knowing that she would ask her questions like an English teacher: who, where, why, how.
She pressed her palm against her phone and slipped her white flats on. Here goes nothing, she sighed.
She walked along the flowery sidewalk and hesitated at the entrance of the café. She stuffed her fists into her tight pockets and took a deep breath. She looked around the street suspiciously; no one except a few seniors from… Roland High School? It didn’t matter anyways; she was going to get an earful.
Krystal made her way through the crowded tables and pair of drinking games when she spotted him. He was sitting at one of the small round tables in the corner and was focused on his newspaper; grandpa.
She sat down and eyed the second mug. “Hi,” her body became weak,” How’s life?”
“Not good, Krys, but let’s skip the small talk.” He bit on the thin coffee stirrer. “Krystal, you still like me, don’t you?”
Krystal gripped the bottom of her chair and every limb on her body tightened. This shouldn’t be his question. This shouldn’t be complicated to say. She’s practiced so many times before that it was stuck to the inside of her head like glue.
But. He was taken, sorta, and she saw it with her own eyes. He was never hers. It wasn’t sixth grade anymore. She couldn’t accept innocent kisses on the cheek when he was leaving for his house. She couldn’t make up alibis for when he snuck into her sister’s room for advice and end-of-the-chapter answers.
She couldn’t be the silent crush that blushed when he passed by. She couldn’t do any of that anymore unless she wanted to think of him; Kim Kibum. Kim Kibum and Kim Jonghyun kissing. Boys, two boys kissing each other. It was so wrong it wasn’t even funny. She couldn’t hide the fact that he was her first love. She couldn’t stop thinking about his perfect face before she went to sleep. All of that is gone and changed because of him.
She hated that she saw them together. She hated it.
She bit her lip, planning to speak, but nothing came out.
“Krystal, I saw you that day. I know you saw us.” His voice was uneasy. “I need you to keep it a secret. Nobody can know. Are you listening to me?”
Krystal nodded, her tear ducts felt heavy, as if God put a monsoon into them.
He sighed and supported his head with a cupped hand. “I need you to be the beautiful, trustworthy dongsaeng I know you to be. I don’t want anything happening to you or your sister because of what we do. I love you guys, alright?”
Krystal had no idea when she opened her mouth,” Do you love him too?” but she regretted it.
“Yes.” She died a little. Jonghyun folded her hand in his. “So will you keep it a secret?”
“Yes oppa, anything for you.” And that was her first real lie. She wanted to scream it to the world so Jonghyun would be her’s and only her’s. She watched him get up. He took one last gulp of his Americano and he kissed her forehead.
And like that he left.
She cracked her knuckles and let out a few wispy breaths. Not bad, not bad at all Krystal, she had finally cracked the shell of innocence, and she liked it.
*
“Seobaby, do you have time right now?” Kibum’s voice was hushed and flowed nicely through the speaker.
“Yeah, just come through the back, I’ll be waiting.”
“Okay, see you in a bit.” He hung up and shoved his keys in his pocket. To be honest, he was confused out of his mind. He had no idea how it came to this. He used to think of his wedding day with Seohyun in a beautiful, flowing, white dress with a broad bouquet of daffodils and daisies; he wasn’t so sure anymore.
He walked past a few houses and turned the corner for the gate. He opened it with the spare key and walked into the back. And there she was, leaning against the door frame. She was wearing a light pink tank top from BCBG, sweat pants from Juicy couture, and her house slippers she got from South Korea in the summer. She was radiant even at night.
“Hey.” She pulled him by his wrists into her heated house and closed the sliding doors shut. “I missed you over there. Smarty pants had to come to school on the first day?”
She led him upstairs to her room and he followed like a helpless baby. He wasn’t feeling good. Once in her bedroom he collapsed on her bed and got comfortable. He loved the smell of her room; strawberry vanilla. But all he could think of was Jonghyun’s scent, Jonghyun. His head hurt.
Seohyun was on the floor with her homework spread out around her. She held a pencil in her mouth and spoke. “So I didn’t get to see you for a month and I don’t get a kiss? Meanie.”
Kibum leaned down and tried to catch her chin to bring her closer but she was playing hard to get. She moved to the side and went closer to the wall. He gathered her blanket and trapped her. Kibum chuckled a little, his voice getting deeper and husky with every passing second with her.
He launched forward and started caressing her neck with small pecks. After a while he got bored and kissed her chapsticked lips until they were a bright red. He wiped them clean with his thumb when he was finished.
“What a gentlemen.” She purred.
Kibum nodded and retreated back to the bed for comfort. He probably scared Jonghyun off. He wanted to be in his bed right now. He could try, couldn’t he?
He took out his apple iPhone and sent a quick text to him asking if he was home. A minute later a text arrived with a muffled vibration.
Are you with her?
He texted back the truth, he was with her, no doubt about that. The reply was quicker this time.
Did you do stuff with her?
And when he means stuff he means boyfriend and girlfriend stuff. He kissed her, if that counted for much in teenage dream world.
I’ll talk to you later.
Studying w/Jung.
Great. He sighed and went to the bathroom. He didn’t have JKG; Just Kissed Glow. He licked his lips, there wasn’t a difference. He pouted and blew air to his cheeks. Would it be weird to leave her?
He pranced around her open house and decided not to go. He couldn’t think of a logical explanation to leave her house and go to his house when he just got there. He went to the miniature library room and flipped through some books to stall time.
Kibum has never really given it any thought, but, he spends more time with Jonghyun than Seohyun, his girlfriend. Not that it really meant anything, I mean, she just came back from Korea, and Jonghyun was his best friend. Actually, it scared him, knowing he’d rather be with Jonghyun right now.
Whatever. Just ask Taemin for ice cream, he thought.
He pulled out his phone and kicked his feet up on the reading table. He dialed his number and waited until the small voice answered.
“Hello?”
“Tae! Do you want to go get some ice cream? My treat.”
“Uhm, y-yeah, okay will you pick me up?”
“Well I don’t expect you to drive. Be at your driveway in ten.” He hung up.
He slid out of the room and jogged to Seohyun. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek,” Going out, talk to you later, Seobaby.”
“Have fun.”
*
He rolled up in the shiny Volvo. He was proud that he got his license early. He watched Taemin get out of his house and walk up. He was wearing black basketball shorts and a loose t shirt that spelled out Hollister.
He looked uncertain when he opened the door. “I don’t think we should. Coach told us to be healthy for the next game, ice cream isn’t going to digest well.”
“You sound like Jonghyun now. Don’t you want to get some sweet stuff with your favorite hyung?” And that was true. Taemin has confessed many times that Kibum was his favorite.
“Yeah, but can’t we get salad? Or like, uhm, fish…”
“No, we are getting ice cream for your tiny body, now, get in the car.”
Taemin entered and buckled his seat belt. He loved ice cream, but with all the healthy stuffed being crammed into his schedule he was scared that he would lose his figure. It didn’t matter though, he was with his hyung and everything was fine.
After a few minutes of driving he parked in a spot. When he got out he stretched his arms and held out a hand for the younger one. He bent down and Taemin got on his back. Kibum hasn’t given his a piggyback ride since freshman year, it was nice.
When they opened the door to the bright diner the bell chimed and a perky girl came out from the kitchen to greet them.
“Hello, I’m Jessica; I will be your waiter for tonight. Any request for a certain table?” her hands were clasped to the notebook and she looked intently on Kibum, like she was reading him.
Kibum looked around. “A booth would be nice, thank you.” He jumped a little and put Taemin farther up.
“Great!” she motioned to the last booth and they sat. “Are you ready to order? May I suggest the new fat-free yogurt from Ben and Jerry’s, they have eleven new flavors.”
Kibum nodded. “Anything that looks good.”
He watched her leave and he turned back to Taemin. He was coloring in the maze with those way-too-waxy-way-too-cheap crayons they gave you for free. Taemin was the perfect son. If he could choose a son right now it would be him.
“So, how’s the Taebaby?” he cleared his throat.
“Fine, but I think that we should talk about Christmas.”
“Oh? What about it?”
“I want to go shopping.”
“Christmas is a month away, Tae.”
“Oh, and I changed my name, its Taeman. I’m not a baby anymore, hyung, I grew a lot over the summer.”
“Okaaaay, Taeman, what do you want for Christmas?”
Taemin put his invisible thinking cap on and gave out a pout. “A big sleepover! We should do it at Minho’s house because he has a lot of props we can play with. It’ll be awesome.”
“We should ask him first.” He checked his clock, 9:29 PM. “Tae, what time do you have to be home?”
“10:00, why?”
“We don’t have a lot of time.”
“You can sleepover my house, is your mom home yet?”
Kibum thought for a little bit,” She’s probably at work. But I can. Let’s get our ice cream to go.”
Taemin got up and took his picture with him. Kibum went up to the counter and took the ice cream from Jessica after paying the bill.
*
“I love weekends!” Taemin chirped.
Kibum smiled as he went into the boy’s room. It smelled like newborn baby long with fresh linen. Innocence does give out its own scent. He scowled at the full laundry hamper.
“Didn’t you do your laundry?” Kibum swung a sweaty shirt around his pointer finger.
“Oops, forgot.”
Kibum picked the laundry up and went downstairs. Taemin followed promptly. The laundry room was spacious and elegant. There was a medium sized French window on one side, a few hampers for organization, a walk in storage room with held all the different softeners and soap, and a few family portraits.
Taemin dumped the clothes on the floor. Kibum pointed to one pile,” We’re doing darks first.”
Taemin threw all the dark clothes in the washing machine and waited for Kibum to put the detergent in. Kibum eyed him.
“Darks, your clothes, too. Off, in, close, let’s go.”
Taemin pulled his shirt off and made it into a ball. He threw it in and did the same with his shorts. Now he was stripped to his briefs and was running upstairs wildly. Kibum closed the lid and ran after him. He jumped on his fluffy bed and slapped Taemin square on the butt.
“Ow, ow, ow, OWW!” Taemin’s face turned red and he hid behind his blanket. Kibum got off and pulled an oversized shirt out of his drawer. He pulled it over Taemin’s head and pulled his arms through.
“If I put makeup on you you’d pass for a girl.” Kibum chided. He yanked the extensions. “When are you going to take these off?”
Taemin sucked on his lower lip and looked at himself cautiously. “When I feel like it!”
“Whoa, at-ti-tudee!”
Kibum crossed his arms and ignored the impulse to scowl at Taemin. But, he heard a small giggle and he was being pushed down onto the bed again. Taemin was clinging to his body; if Kibum was a tree branch then Taemin was the furry koala.
“I love you hyung!” he rubbed his cheek into the crook of Kibum’s neck and giggled some more.
Kibum shifted and pushed the boy off. He couldn’t always get his way because he was simply, cute. It wasn’t fair. Even though this was something really petty he needed to win it.
“Taemin, I’m going home.” He walked to the door, slowly gathering his bags. Taemin sat on his bed, watching him leave. His eyes started watering with success. His lip quivered and his nose became runny almost instantly.
Kibum turned around,” Bye Tae.” But he regretted it. Once he saw the tears running down his reddened cheeks he collapsed. Stupid theatre class.
Well, this is awkward, Kibum put his bags down.
And as if nothing ever happened Kibum sat on Taemin’s bed and stroked his back. Should he really be doing this in high school? Because, crying out of nowhere was so overrated by now. Wait, Kibum cried the same way a few days ago; never mind.
Taemin fell asleep. Kibum fell asleep. And it wasn’t a secret anymore, Kibum loved the boy.