❝ various (jongyu, minkey, yunjae) ❞
Various fics/WIPs written for kpopficsmeme's fic challenges, a.k.a. WIPs that will never be finished :(
Vote of confidence
Onew/Jonghyun; 479 words; Jinki has doubts. Jonghyun has answers. *
"I wonder sometimes," Jinki says, pausing for a while for a sharp intake of breath, "if I try too hard."
Jonghyun quickly glances to his side, the empty space between them, the distance enough for five people to fit in. The other members have decided to continue with the promotions despite the lead singers going down with the flu. Jinki's been sick for the past two weeks, and Lord knows Jonghyun will be sick for a far longer time. Jonghyun inches a bit closer, casually cocks his head to Jinki's direction and says, "Mhmm, go on."
"I never get things right on the first try. I always need a second chance." Jinki clenches his fists, the little frustrations bottling up and slipping from his lips, the edges of his eyes welling up with tiny teardrops that roll down his cheeks. "I never do things right, and it's just so tiring being in the wrong. I can't afford these mistakes. I can't afford to make them. I'm the leader. I should be your role model. I should be great, not good enough." The rise and fall of Jinki's chest becomes steadier as his voice drifts off and his hands fall to his side.
Jonghyun faces Jinki for the first time. "Who said you weren't?"
"I-"
The glimmer in Jinki's eyes is a mix of tears and surprise, with maybe a tinge of realization thrown in somewhere along the way. "You do try too hard. You're a natural shocker. Don't force it." Jonghyun takes a deep breath before finally saying, "You're great. Don't even deny it. You know you are."
Jinki laughs lightly. "Maybe I am." He teeters a little in his seat and repeats, this time with more laughter, "Maybe I really am."
There is pride in the undertone of Jinki's voice that Jonghyun loves hearing, so he falls silent, presses his lips tightly against each other and smiles just softly, watching as a realization breaks across Jinki's features. "I... am." Jinki says, slowly and almost amazed, and Jonghyun nods.
And leans in quickly for a kiss on the cheek.
They sit in silence until the sound of Kibum's voice breaks from the front door, until Taemin's happy greeting reaches their ears. Minho's got two bags' worth of dinner and stories. Jonghyun sits opposite Jinki and marvels at the newfound confidence worn brightly on his sleeve and thinks, yes, Jinki is amazing.
Dress rehearsal
Minho/Key; 283 words; Kibum and Minho are not men who easily surrender. *
It takes thirty seconds for them to admit that they need each other tonight, and another thirty to resolve that they should do something about it. Kibum is hesitant at first because, "This isn't what bandmates do," but Minho makes Kibum forget this when he kisses him full on the lips, his tongue pressing against Kibum's in a fight for dominance. Minho presses Kibum against the wall, presses his body against Kibum's, flush and rigid and tense, and they kiss until neither of them can breathe.
Kibum takes a few quick breaths and they're back to kissing.
Minho slips his hand inside Kibum's pants, moving, groping, stroking whatever needs attention, and Kibum fastens his fingers on Minho's hair, pulling at the strands hard with every pulse sent throughout his body. He buries Minho's face in his neck when he comes, because Minho is noisy and he knows better than to get themselves caught like this, silly teenagers in the comfort room, half-naked and flush against each other.
Minho rests his head on Kibum's shoulder for a while, then pulls away. They flatten the creases on their shirts, careful not to touch each other because, "This can't happen again," as Kibum flatly puts it. Minho nods, then gives Kibum a pat on the back, and turns on his heel. They're always like this after a quickie - silent, awkward, yet in full understanding of each other.
Minho goes first. Kibum follows ten seconds after. Then they shuffle back into their predetermined positions in the line, falling back into character as they run their lines and choreography (the hitch in Minho's breathing in between raps, the snap in Kibum's movements when he dances) in their head.
Peace talks
Peace talks; 283 words; Yunho takes a wide leap of faith, and Jaejoong asks, "Is it worth it?" *
"We need to talk."
It's been a while since Jaejoong has last heard this from anyone, moreso from Yunho. The very few times Yunho has said this has had him end up rolling on the floor, laughing - the first was for a drama, when Yunho supposedly 'broke' his camera, the second one was when Yunho accidentally shrunk his favorite shirt when he had to do the laundry, and the third one was when Yunho Shift+Delete-ed his entire Selca folder.
"Can you just help me restore those photos?" he remembers Yunho saying, exasperation evident in his tone. He just laughs at Yunho and asks Changmin to do the restoring for him. It's not as if he knows what to do, anyway.
But then the look on Yunho's face is different this time - there's no trace of remorse on his features, no apologetic look in his eyes. Yunho's lips as pressed tightly as if trying to hold back the tears threatening to fall from his now-red eyes. "We… need to talk," Yunho repeats, this time more slowly, and Jaejoong just nods.
"Okay. Go. Shoot."
"They're breaking us up," Yunho starts, then quickly explains when Jaejoong furrows his eyebrows. "I mean the contract, it's not good for us anymore. Sure, yeah, we signed them, agreed to do stuff for them, but it's just… unfair."
Jaejoong takes a deep breath. "You do know that the management will look like bad guys if we do this, right?" Yunho nods. Jaejoong looks away from the entire scene; this something he can't bear to see, but there's some truth to what Yunho is saying. "So, what's the plan?"
Jaejoong watches as Yunho fiddles with the hem of his shirt. "We'll run away, disappear from the world or something!"
"Sounds exciting, but that's breach of contract."
"How about a lawsuit?"
"That's…" Totally barbaric, he wants to say, but the occasion doesn't call for something straight from a movie. Jaejoong takes another deep breath. "Wrong. Awful. We won't win. Yunho, we can't do this."
"Yes, we can!" Yunho says indignantly. "We have every right to complain about everything. We're not their toys, after all!"
Jaejoong frowns and looks right into Yunho's eyes, saying flatly, "But we signed that contract."
There's silence for a few minutes before Yunho turns his heel to leave. "Fine. If you're not with me, I might as well do this alone." Yunho marches off, and Jaejoong just walks as Yunho holds his head high despite that blatant rejection and thinks, did he really do the right thing?
He glances at the picture to his right - there they are, a mess of five boys sobbing and hugging each other in celebration of winning their first Mutizen. Jaejoong nods slowly, almost in appreciation of his decision.
Yes, he did. And just standing here, waiting for Yunho to return, is the right thing to do, too.