sometimes life gives you dark chocolate
life doesn’t always give you lemons. sometimes it gives you chocolate. dark chocolate, actually.
do kyungsoo isn’t a fan of dark chocolate.
yet somehow, he finds that he loved- still loves- a certain man named kim jongin- or kai to his friends.
they actually first meet at a dance studio. not surprising, seeing as kai is a dancer. kyungsoo, however, is not. he’s only there because his bratty neighbour se hun has forgotten his lunch box for the fucking millionth time, and kyungsoo swears that if he has to bring se hun’s lunch one more time he’s going to do something terrible... like spit it in. or put hot chili flakes in. oh, he doesn’t know! something evil like that.
“oh se hun!” kyungsoo yells, slamming open the door to the studio. he is ready to beat the little... but that isn’t se hun dancing on the floor. that isn’t se hun pulling those slick, sensual moves, eyes half-lidded in deep concentration. but that is oh se hun looking over from the other side of the room, butt sinking into the floor.
“hyung! what brings you here?” se hun has the nerve to smile when he asks.
that snaps kyungsoo out of his... whatever that was. he turns on the younger boy, shoving the sack lunch in an offending manner. “you! stop forgetting your lunch! i have finals coming up, and i don’t want your mother finding it okay to interrupt me every single day to deliver your lunch. remember to bring it yourself next time, okay?” he doesn’t know how the conversation ended in such a nice reminder, but he supposes that just how he is. kyungsoo leans in a little closer to se hun and whispers, “by the way, who’s chocolate abs over there?”
se hun gives him a knowing look. “that’s...” kyungsoo waits for a reply. “you’ll have to find out for yourself, hyung.” he runs away before kyungsoo can beat the information out of that little butthole.
kyungsoo takes a deep breath and turns around, ready to leave. but when he spins, he realizes that chocolate abs is looking curiously at him.
“hi,” he says, mentally facepalming when his voice wavers. he is a singer, for freak’s sake, why is his voice cracking. “do kyungsoo, se hun’s overly nice neighbour. nice to meet you.”
“kim jongin,” chocolate abs replies coolly, “but my friends call me kai.”
“and you’re expecting me to...?”
“call me kai, kyungsoo,” kai smiles, eyes crinkling slightly.
“hyung,” kyungsoo chirps, “kyungsoo hyung.”
“whatever you say, hyung,” he shrugs.
and that’s the story of how they meet. it’s nothing special, really. even the story of how they first start dating isn’t spectacular. kai makes the first move, not as slick as he would’ve liked when he shows up at kyungsoo’s door with flowers and chocolate in hand. turns out kyungsoo’s family owns a flower shop [ironically, the one where he bought the flowers] and kyungsoo hates chocolate, but it’s the thought that counts. kai ends up eating his gift while kyungsoo tries finding a vase for the flowers. he eventually settles on a glass, because all the vases are either too big or too small. the flowers are already cut anyway, it’s not like they’ll survive. for a while, they’re a decent couple. average, to be honest, and worst of all, it’s awkward. really awkward. kai has a reputation of being a playboy, and kyungsoo isn’t willing to give up his heart that easily. holding hands isn’t enough for the two of them though. they want more than the good night kisses they give each other. they want something more than just this.
but kyungsoo’s afraid, and kai might be too.
their relationship ends before it even starts.
what the both of them don’t realize is though, they let the potential of true love slip through their fingers. a few months pass, and kyungsoo has gone through at least two shitty relationships. horny bastards who think he’s an easy whore. he’s not, and he’s hit for it. well fuck them, because kyungsoo doesn’t need this anymore.
kai finds kyungsoo crying in the park one night. he’s only out because he’s out of milk.
“hey, hyung,” kai calls, a little breathless from running to the store. he freezes when he sees kyungsoo’s tear stricken face. “oh, gosh. what happened?”
“kai, i’m not an easy whore,” kyungsoo states, not sure if it’s to himself or not. “do i look like an easy whore?”
“of course not!” kai says, a little stronger than necessary. “why would you even think that?” it’s when the silence hits him that he looks a little closer. there’s a faint dark bruise under kyungsoo’s eye that’s surely to get worse in the morning. “someone hit you.” it’s not a question, it’s a statement. someone hit kyungsoo.
someone. hit. kyungsoo. kai sees red and only red.
“who did it?” kai demands to know. when kyungsoo doesn’t reply, he starts yanking at his hair. “do kyungsoo! tell me who did it!”
“it doesn’t-”
“don’t you dare tell me it doesn’t matter,” kai spits, fury laced in his voice. “because it fucking does matter. tell me his name, hyung.” when kyungsoo just shakes his head sadly, kai decides to take matters into his own hands. “watch over my milk.”
he’s running out of the park now, phone dialing se hun as quickly as he can.
“hello?”
“oh se hun, you better fucking tell me who the fucking bastard is,” kai growls.
“oh, man. did kyungsoo-”
“his name, se hun!”
“youngbae. dong youngbae.”
kai runs around in his little circle of friends before pinpointing this so-called youngbae person. turns out kai knows him. turns out youngbae- better known as taeyang- knows kai. and it also turns out that neither of them like each other. kai beating taeyang out for a girl that should’ve been his, and taeyang beating on kyungsoo. they’re both itching for a fight with each other. and boy, do they get one.
when kai returns in the morning with a busted lip but a satisfied face, kyungsoo can’t help but smile at the guy.
“your milk is in the fridge,” kyungsoo says, letting kai into his house.
“i beat up youngbae. he was a bastard.” kai ignores kyungsoo, preferring to flop onto the man’s couch.
“where’s your parents?”
“opening up the shop. it’s valentine’s day, you know,” kyungsoo says pointedly, “and yeah, youngbae was a bastard.”
“then why’d you date him?” kai asks, turning over on his stomach so he could face kyungsoo. he winces at the black mark on the other man’s face. it isn’t as bad as he thought it’d be, but it shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
“he asked me out.”
“yeah, so?”
“so i said yes. what’s so hard to understand?” kyungsoo grumbles.
“youngbae has a bad reputation. you know, as taeyang and all that,” kai shrugs.
“you, kim jongin, have a bad reputation as kai. i still dated you,” kyungsoo comments offhandedly.
“i should’ve never let you go,” kai mumbles. kyungsoo is silent. “i said i-”
“i know. i heard you the first time.” kyungsoo’s voice is softer now, quieter. “but what happened, happened. there’s no going back, kai. not to mention, we weren’t the star couple anyway.”
“we can’t go back, but maybe we can start again,” kai says. “we didn’t break up ‘cause of relationship problems.”
“yes we did,” kyungsoo argues. “we were boring.”
“so what? we were happy, happy enough, at least,” kai replies. “you must admit though, i’m better than those bastards you’ve been dating recently.”
“you think you can judge me after one ruined relationship? you said it yourself, kai, youngbae was a bastard,” kyungsoo frowns, a little irritated.
“what about the guy you had before him?”
“fine. two ruined relationships.”
“two too many.” kai closes his eyes. “how about it, kyungsoo?”
“how about what?” kyungsoo backs up a bit as kai gets off the couch and steps towards him. kai smiles easily at him. kyungsoo’s heart flutters, just like it first did when he first met kai.
“will you be my boyfriend again?”
kai and kyungsoo restart their relationship. kyungsoo is a little willing to give more, and kai is a more than willing to love kyungsoo. he isn’t going to let the older man slip away this time. he’s going to love him with everything he has.
except kai isn’t perfect, and kyungsoo has never expected him to be. kai wants to be perfect for kyungsoo though, but it’s really just too hard. as kyungsoo has said before, kai’s reputation isn’t the greatest, and he’s caught up in things he isn’t proud of. kai likes both girls and boys. he may not like them as much as he loves kyungsoo, but the temptation is sometimes hard to resist. kai supposes that his everything just isn’t enough, as kyungsoo runs out after catching kai in a heated make out session with jessica, a senior in the school. he knows that sorry isn’t enough this time, it never will be.
kai doesn’t cry over lost loves, but jongin does.
and just like this, kai and kyungsoo’s second chance is ripped apart. kai thinks he deserves the black eye se hun gives him when he finds out.
it takes a few months, and kyungsoo is still not over kai’s betrayal, but he wants to try again. even though kai breaks promises, even though kai is the bastard he promises to never be, even though kai has hurt him deeply, he wants to try again. he’s willing to try again. kyungsoo wants to do this because he feels that whatever he had- has- with kai is good enough for one last try. one last chance, kyungsoo tells himself.
when kyungsoo arrives at kai’s apartment, he nearly expects it to be empty. after all, it’s one in the afternoon, and most people are extremely busy at this time. when he rings the doorbell, no one answers, but there’s a gut feeling that kyungsoo has. a feeling that tells him to try again. so he does. kai opens the door hesitantly and his eyes are wide in surprise.
“kyungsoo?” kai whispers. “what, what are you doing here?”
“you’re a mess, kai,” kyungsoo winces, taking a full look into kai’s apartment. it reeks with the scent of dirty laundry and unwashed dishes. he doesn’t know if it’s because of him or not, but judging from the pained look in kai’s eyes, kyungsoo can say it is. “i’ll help you clean.”
“please don’t tell me you came all the way here to just clean,” kai says as kyungsoo throws his clothes into the washing basin.
“let’s try again, kai,” kyungsoo breathes out, opening a window. “damn it, when was the last time you cleaned around here?”
“what do you mean try again?”
kyungsoo feels the irony of this situation funny, but he doesn’t comment on it. “will you be my boyfriend again?” kyungsoo isn’t prepared for the tears kai brings out. he isn’t prepared for when the younger man comes lunging at him, holding him like there’s no tomorrow.
“this isn’t some type of sick joke, is it?” kai cries. it’s out of character for him, but right now he thinks it’s just fine. “how is this possible? how can you take me back? i’m a bastard, kyungsoo. i’m sorry. i know it’ll never be enough, but-”
“it’s enough, kai,” kyungsoo murmurs. “kai, jongin, whatever. it’s enough that you’re apologetic. i’d say not to do it again, but i don’t know. i really don’t know how it’s going to work. all i know is that while our relationship wasn’t romeo and juliet, it was enough to make me happy. it was enough to let me know that i loved you, that i still love you.”
“kyungsoo, i-i have a bad reputation for a reason,” kai admits. “i’m a playboy, i really am. i can’t change that easily-”
“i don’t expect you to.”
“-but i want you to know that whatever we have, whatever we can call this, i want it. i want it forever. i want you.”
kai doesn’t cheat again. kai appreciates kyungsoo for everything he has done for him. he lets the older man know of his love, even if it’s kinda embarrassing for both of them. he understands the difficulty of their relationship, but he figures he’ll make it work. the first try sucks, the second try is ruined, but hey, third time’s the charm, right?
sometimes life doesn’t give lemons. instead, life sweeps kim jongin- or kai to his friends- into do kyungsoo’s life. life gives dark chocolate, and a taste of something new, something challenging, something better.