Love Complicates Everything; Minho/Key
Choi Minho is on an exchange programme in London and ends up with Kim Kibum as his roommate... and they become something more than that. Not just friends but friends with benefits... and the situation gets sticky.
Author's Note: A one shot set in the alternate universe Minho and Key see themselves in if they weren't in SHINee (Minho as an ordinary college student, Key studying abroad). First posted in 4 parts on AFF but combined here on lj! :)
Choi Minho was Mr Perfect. And no, that was not an overstatement. He represented every girl's prince charming and knight in shining armour, every boy's best buddy, every parent's pride and joy, and every teacher's favourite student. Yes, he was that perfect, at least in the eyes of every person who knows him whether personally or not. Ironically, he himself never believed in perfection. He knew he was the object of everyone's affection but he honestly couldn't care less about his popularity. All he wanted was to be simple and live a quiet or at least normal life without the attention from everyone.
Minho was always proud of his strong sense of competitiveness but it was this very reason that "shot him to stardom" as he not only excelled academically with an impressive GPA but also became the star striker of his school's football team. It was difficult being well known in any university (his university itself had over twenty five thousand students!) but in Minho's case, it was easy peasy lemon squeezy. Why? Because even if you were to forgo his academic achievements and sporting abilities, Minho still had his looks to rise his popularity. He practically looked like a model straight out of a magazine cover! As if god wanted to create a perfect person, he was, simply put, good looking, attractive and handsome, all of this came with his hardworking nature. If you didn't believe that a person could be this perfect, you just hadn't met Choi Minho yet.
Then again, it was precisely because of everything that came with his popularity that caused Minho to decide he wanted to escape from this place that saw him as the epitome of perfection. And so, as soon as the opportunity to escape to a foreign place presented itself to him, Minho immediately signed up for the 6 months long exchange programme to London where he could, in a way, start a new life as a nobody. Oddly enough, he was even happy to know that he was going to be part of the minority group because this only meant that his chances of being ignored were higher. It may seem strange, weird or crazy but this was exactly what he wanted, to be able to seem non-existent for a while.
True enough, when he finally arrived in London, he broke free from the image of a popular and perfect Choi Minho. Instead, he was simply just yet another foreign exchange student who was at most only noticed for his height. Even his outstanding looks in Korea were only seen as pleasant looking in the eyes of the majority in his new university. Minho smiled with satisfaction as he arrived at the door of his assigned dorm without even turning any heads of the people he passed by. He could not have felt more carefree at this moment. And he was savouring this moment so much so that he remained standing at the door, smiling like an idiot, with no intention of entering his dorm. That was until he was startled out of his reverie when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Minho instantly turned around and was struck by a pair of feline eyes that looked at him with annoyance.
"Excuse me, this is my room you're blocking." The owner of the feline eyes said in perfect English (with more of an American accent) without even trying to hide his unfriendliness.
Minho’s command of English wasn’t fantastic but he understood the language and could carry out simple conversations so he knew what he just heard. But more importantly, he realised that the person speaking to him was his dorm mate. And from the looks of it, his dorm mate was definitely Korean like him. His features on his face were more than enough to let him in on that fact. The only thing not Korean about him was perhaps his striking blonde hair. But whatever it is, finding out that his roommate was Korean came of a pleasant surprise to Minho.
Minho quickly took a step aside and with an apologetic smile on his face, bowed 45 degrees and apologised purposely in Korean, "Mianhae."
“You’re Korean?” The other looked at him with amusement, slightly startled by the Korean coming out of Minho’s mouth but now choosing to switch to speaking in Korean.
“100%.” Minho smiled and then introduced himself. “I’m Choi Minho, your new roommate but only for 6 months.”
“Another foreign exchange student? Hmm. I knew I was getting a new roommate but what the hell, is the school racist? I bet the admin staff saw you were Korean and decided to put you together with me.” His roommate thought out loud, obviously not afraid of offending anyone. Besides, even if anyone did hear him, they wouldn’t understand. Ah, the benefit of speaking a foreign language!
His roommate rolled his eyes and then shrugged his shoulders in defeat. “Oh well. I’m Kibum by the way… but i’m known as Key here because the people here can’t pronounce Kibum accurately for nuts. Welcome to London.”
“Thanks. And I’ll call you Kibum.” Minho laughed, amused with Key’s straightforwardness. He was honestly happy to be able to catch a glimpse of Key’s character by talking to him.
Key, who was about to open the door to their room, paused and turned back to look at Minho with a mixed expression on his face. He was neither delighted nor unhappy with his new roommate’s decision but when he heard Minho say his name, Key felt his heart skip a beat. And never in his twenty years of life has his heart skip a beat. But Key had no interest whatsoever in troubling himself to explain why his heart did what it did so he simply pushed the matter aside, pretending it never happened and gave a slight smile to Minho.
“Well then, I’m honestly not the easiest person to be around so hope we’ll be able to survive each other for 6 months. and you can then enjoy your stay in London and have no regrets in flying halfway around the world to be here.”
As Key smirked and headed straight into the room, leaving Minho to settle down himself, Minho smiled to himself and said in a low voice only he could hear, “I’m sure i would have no regrets at all.”
**
Minho almost couldn't catch his breath as he flipped his body and collapsed flat on one half of the mattress where the bed sheets were now completely messed up. His breathing was ragged and that was saying a lot since he saw himself as an athlete with a stamina that would make others envious. Except now, he wasn't the only one who seemed like they had just run a marathon. Lying directly next to him, so near that their bare arms were touching and they could feel every slight movement of each other's body, was Key. Not only were they both trying to even out their breathing, they were both also completely stripped off all clothing, with only a blanket covering the lower halves of their bodies. Simply put, it was a scene that could make anyone get a nosebleed.
How they ended up like this, they blamed it on the needs of their bodies and all the time they had alone with each other in their shared dorm room. Plus come on, Minho was obviously attractive, Key was too in his own unique way, and they were just there for each other in the confined space of their room so you couldn’t blame them for giving into temptation! Yet, this wasn't the first time it had happened between them. In fact, they had already lost count! The first time it ever did happen though was roughly 2 weeks after their first meeting outside the door of their shared dorm. And as cliché as this would sound, alcohol was to blame for their first time together when both of them had gotten completely wasted at a party Key had brought them to. And well, obviously, things happened.
But when the second, third, fourth and the following times happened, they were absolutely clearheaded, brains functioning fully well, and in this moment, wide awake in broad daylight so there was no excuse to explain why they ended up in bed together (the existence of the other bed entirely forgotten ever since they started sleeping together). Mind you, they actually tried putting the blame on caffeine in their blood stream once (considering you can get high on that too) but realised how stupid that sounded. Whatever it was, it became a silent agreement and worse, a habit that they could satisfy their sexual needs with each other. Everything became fuzzy from then onwards, the lines of their relationship began to blur but neither of them saw the need to address their situation. After all, Minho was happy, Key was satisfied, neither of them were complaining so what was there to talk about?
One thing was certain in their minds today though - they just had the best mind-blowing sex ever. Both Key and Minho kept their eyes fixed on the cracked ceiling of their room as silence surrounded them. After both of them had finally come down from their orgasm and stabled their breaths, Key took the initiative to fill the silence by letting out a whistle.
"Woah. Really. Like Wow."
"I know." A low laugh escaped Minho's mouth.
Key laughed along and then suddenly stopped short. In the blink of an eye, he was frowning. The blonde ran his fingers through his damped hair and sighed. "Honestly Minho, what the hell are we doing?"
Minho eyed the magazine that was lying on the bedside table and pondered out loud. "Being friends with benefits?"
Key knew Minho got his answer from the magazine whose cover story was on Justin Timberlake together with Mila Kunis and their highly discussed movie. But unlike Minho and his intention to crack a joke, Key wasn’t finding this one bit funny or interesting. Instead, the blonde widened his eyes in horror (yes, in horror!) as he shot upright and punched Minho in his well-defined chest.
"Shit shit shit, this cannot be happening Choi Minho!"
Minho hissed in pain, catching hold of Key’s hand and shot him a stare. “What Key? What can’t be happening?”
“I don’t want our relationship, or in this regard, my life, to turn out as a movie!” Key whined. “It’s ridiculous!”
Minho froze. It was then he could finally understand how words could hurt so much. And it was also directly after that moment when he realised he wanted a happy ending with Key. Not exactly an ending, but more of a beginning. He wanted their relationship to be more than just sex or for that matter, friendship, just like how the movie Friends with Benefits ended. He wanted there to be love between Key and himself because well, surprise surprise, Minho suddenly realised he had unknowingly fallen in love with his roommate as time went by. It came clear to him all at once to why he always chose to head back to the dorm after class or football practice, or why he had Key constantly on his mind, or why every little thing Key did could affect his feelings whether good or bad and most importantly, why he never ever had second thoughts of sleeping with Key. His body had obviously betrayed his mind even before he knew it.
Yet, what help did that do since Key apparently showed no intention of being more than friends with benefits. In fact, the blonde showed that he was undoubtedly very much terrified of his life ending up the same way as the movie. And didn’t that basically mean he had little or no feelings for Minho at all? That, of course, didn’t work too well with Minho as it was now his turn to look horrified... horrified that his life was seriously not so perfect after all. Things, for the first time, weren’t going his way.
“Oww oww oww, Minho!” Key’s cry out loud brought Minho back to reality as the taller boy realised he had unconsciously tightened his grip on Key’s hand. Minho instantly released Key’s hand and muttered, “Sorry.”
“What got into you?” Key gave him an odd look as he soothed his hand.
Minho’s first instinct was to shout out that it was him, it was Key that had gotten into him! He wanted so badly to grab Key, pull him into a bone-crushing hug and announce out loud that he was bloody hell in love with him! Yet, his rationality got the better of him and Minho instead took in a deep breath and shook his head, trying his best to look a picture of calm.
“Nothing…” Minho mumbled.
“Minho?” Concern and worry now filled Key’s voice.
“What time is it?” Minho chose to ignore Key’s concern. “I better get ready for class. Let me shower first.”
And without even waiting for Key’s reply, he reached out for his boxers, pulled it on before disappearing into the bathroom, and for the first time in a very long time, actually locking the door, an action and sound that Key did not fail to notice.
Key frowned and dropped back into bed, mumbling to himself, “I guess that means no bathroom sex too.”
**
Little did Key know that after that morning, bathroom sex wasn’t the only thing he wasn’t going to get because Minho had started to avoid him like the plague. Suddenly, the exchange student was leaving the room early and coming back late almost every day. Key could barely even talk to Minho since Minho left before he woke up and came back when he was asleep. And let’s not forget, there were times when Key left early, came back late or even stayed overnight outside as well. Even on the weekends, Minho seemed to disappear into thin air. When Key asked on a day he managed to catch Minho in their room when he came back to get something, the taller boy simply explained that he was caught up with the ever growing school workload and football training. There was no reason to doubt him since Key himself understood the life of a university student. Even he had his classes and dance activities to attend as well! Still, Key couldn’t help but wonder why the change was so drastic and abrupt.
It wasn’t that Key did not see Minho at all (he still did since they were roommates after all) but Minho was either asleep or more importantly, no longer showed interest to do it anymore. And it wasn’t like Key to keep initiating or persisting they do it because he wasn’t one to force another and knew when he was not wanted. He also didn’t want to face the embarrassment of being rejected, once was more than enough, but that he did not want to admit. Key couldn’t deny that he felt a little hurt and upset but he merely just shrugged it off. If Minho wanted things to be this way, Key was fine with it. What’s more, the fact that Minho was only here for what’s left of the 6 months made Key see no need in straightening things out (if there even was a need) since Minho would leave sooner or later. So things went back to like before, where they were purely just roommates and friends (or maybe even not).
So the situation stayed the same until the day the reality that he had barely under two months left in his exchange programme hit Minho hard. Two months left and Minho would be back in Korea, far far away from the boy he was in love with. All of a sudden, Minho found himself so stupid to have allowed so much time to be wasted and things to turn out this way with Key. That they were nothing more than two people that shared a room. With this realisation, he decided to head back to their dorm straight after his class ended for the first time ever since that fateful morning. Minho unlocked the door to his room with a smile but the smile disappeared in a second when he saw the back view of a stranger who had his arms wrapped around Key’s shoulders from the back, locking Key in his embrace.
This was the first time Minho saw Key with someone else. Although they were sleeping with each other before, it was a silent agreement that Minho and Key never intervened with each other’s lives. Their warped relationship was like a business deal. They got to know each other but were never quite familiar with each other’s lives outside of their shared room. That explains why Minho never knew what kind of friends Key hung out with and who they were, let alone knew about Key’s love life or in that matter, if he had someone else other than him.
With those thoughts in his mind, Minho tightened his fists in anger and couldn’t stop himself from glaring at the sight in front of him. And he even continued doing so as Key turned around, about to place his arms around the other’s neck but stopped when his eyes met Minho’s.
“Wow, you’re back early!“ Surprise was written all over Key’s face.
Minho simply nodded and then darted his eyes to the stranger who had now revealed his face as he turned around as well. Minho gave the stranger a once over. As much as he hated to admit it, he found the stranger (unfortunately) quite good looking with nice sharp features and overall looking like a foreigner. But he was proved wrong when who Minho thought was a foreigner began speaking in fluent Korean.
“Are you the roommate that Key says is rarely around?” The stranger asked in spite of Minho’s intimidating glare. Minho had no intention to respond so he let an awkward silence hang in the air.
“Dongwoon, shush, he didn’t need to know that.” Key squeezed Dongwoon’s shoulder and mumbled in a volume that only the two of them could hear.
Under Minho’s watchful eyes, Dongwoon smiled mischievously and swung an arm around Key’s shoulder, pulling him even closer. “Since we’re not alone anymore, we’ll do it another time. Perhaps it’ll be a better idea to do it in my room instead. Text me Key, I’ll always be available for you.”
And with that, Dongwoon winked at a dazed Key and left the room like a gust of wind, only dropping a “Nice to meet you” to Minho as he slid his way past him.
Once the door closed behind him, Minho finally broke his silence.
“You could have told me if you were going to have someone over. Then I wouldn’t have come back so soon.” Minho said in a tone that was so cold it could make anyone’s hair stand in fear, just not Key since the blonde was never afraid of Minho to begin with.
“What is your problem?” Key glared back and unknowingly raised his voice. “No, wait, in fact, what has been your problem ever since that morning? The last time we had sex? Cause honestly Minho, I didn’t want to say anything but you’ve been such a bastard lately. I mean, you’re obviously angry but what exactly are you so angry about?!”
Minho gritted his teeth in a bid to hold back his anger and started pacing up and down the length of the room. He knew there was truth in Key’s words so he had nothing to argue about. The only thing he could do was explain himself but that would only mean he had to tell Key he loved him! But now was not the time to confess his feelings, it wasn’t the atmosphere Minho wanted and so, he (once again) chose to avoid answering the question. However, what he said next did not make things any better one bit.
“Is that guy your new sex buddy? Or had he always been around even when I was with you?”
Both Key and Minho froze as the words hung in the air like a choking thick smoke. Even without the hurt look on Key’s face, Minho was already drowning in regret. He wished so hard that he could turn back time and take back his words. But he obviously couldn’t and the only thing he could do was apologise.
“Key, I’m sor-”
“Save it, Minho.” Key grabbed his jacket and stormed towards the door, nudging Minho so hard in the side as he passed by him, sparing him a glare. “Dongwoon and I only dance together so unfortunately, the only idiot I’ve slept with is you.”
Key’s words were like a slap across his cheek that hurt so bad. If only it was just a slap, then Minho would merely feel the physical pain but it wasn’t. It was worse. As Key’s words replayed in his mind, Minho could feel his heart squeeze with pain. He knew he deserved it. He shouldn’t have let his anger get the better of him. Minho clenched his fist in exasperation and before he could wallow in regret, ran after Key.
Thankfully, Key had only gotten as far as the lifts. Without saying a word, Minho swiftly grabbed Key by his arm and pulled him back into their room amidst Key’s persistent struggle and loud protests that made a couple of doors along the corridor open with curious faces peeking out of them. It took Minho less than 15 seconds to reach the lift but almost 3 minutes to shut Key and himself back into the privacy of their room. That’s how tough a fight Key had put up! And he wasn’t going to make it any easier for Minho anytime soon…
“I am this close to demanding a switch of room.” Key fumed and then snarled. “Let me go. Now!”
“I wish I could… but I can’t. Key, it’s driving me insane!” Minho explained desperately yet only sounding incoherent to the blonde.
“You’re driving me insane!” Key exploded as he pushed Minho hard on his chest with his free hand. “It’s the sex isn’t it? We really shouldn’t have crossed that line.”
Key let out a sigh as Minho stared at him in disbelief. He could hear the regret in Key’s voice and that honestly just killed him. Even if Key didn’t return his feelings, Minho could accept that but what he couldn’t accept was knowing that Key regretted ever sleeping with him.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that? Am I not right?” Key questioned intimidatingly.
Giving up was never in Minho’s dictionary. He had always been competitive and right now, he was going to fight for his love. And so, Minho shook his head and finally released Key’s hand. “Can we just… can we just calm down?”
“I will if you will.” Key crossed his arms and raised his chin at Minho.
“I’m calm, trust me.” Minho lifted his hands in a surrender position. “I just think we should talk.”
“Oh? So you’re finally ready to talk?”
“Key…”
“Alright, fine.” Key moved to sit comfortably on the edge of his bed and looked up towards an uneasy Minho who was still standing. “So? What did you want to talk about? I’m listening.”
Minho took in a deep breath and finally admitted out loud, “I just think you should know that I like you.”
“I thought we already established that when we started sleeping with each other?” Key threw his head back and laughed. “Besides, what’s there not to like about me?”
Minho sighed out loud and walked towards Key so that he was now standing directly in front of the puzzled blonde. Bending down, Minho placed his hands firmly on Key’s shoulders and pushed the blonde back onto the bed so that he was now trapped in between Minho and the mattress. At the same time, he closed the distance between their lips and kissed Key like never before. Key was caught off-guard but it didn’t take him long to respond to Minho’s fierce kiss. It was almost like an instinct to him and perhaps more of a habit considering the previous amount of times they had slept with each other. Once Minho felt Key return his kiss, he forced himself to break the kiss as he cupped the other’s cheek and searched his eyes for answer.
“Do you get it?” Minho asked breathily.
“Get what?” Key was still trying to recover from Minho’s sudden kiss. And to Key’s defence, it also wasn’t easy for a mind to function properly if you had a hot attractive guy directly on top of you!
The dazed expression on Key’s face was too adorable in Minho’s eyes. He smiled, leaned his forehead against Key’s, rubbing their noses together and then laying a soft kiss on the blonde’s pouted lips. “I don’t just like you Key… I love you.”
Key widened his eyes and said the first thing that came into his mind. “You have got to be kidding me.”
Minho sort of expected this to happen so he managed to stay calm and collected. Carefully, he moved himself off Key and lay next to him instead, hesitating for a while before saying, “If it makes you want to switch rooms, then you can take it that I’m kidding with you.”
Key whipped his head to look at Minho. “What are you saying?!”
“I’m saying I don’t want to lose you as a friend or a roommate just because I have feelings for you.” Minho kept his eyes on the ceiling even though he could feel Key’s eyes burning a hole into the side of his face. “I know you don’t like me that way, Key.”
“That’s true.” Key nodded and chose not to deny that fact. He had always been a straightforward person, never knowing how to lie even if it was a white lie, and this was something Minho knew right from day one. Although it was disappointing to hear Key confirm his thoughts, Minho was thankful for his honesty. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why he had taken a liking to Key from the beginning…
Key took Minho’s hand and gave him a little squeeze. “Minho, it’s funny how you never asked me why I left Korea to come all the way to London and study.”
Upon hearing Key’s words, Minho turned his head and looked at Key with expectant eyes. “Why did you leave Korea then?”
“I knew I was different… that I like boys. And you know how it is in Korea, it’s not something acceptable at all.” Key sighed. “Of course, that wasn’t the only reason why I came here to study. I just felt restricted back home, like there weren’t many opportunities for me to achieve my dream to be a fashion designer so i thought coming here would be best for me.”
Minho nodded to show Key that he was listening. Truth is, he enjoyed hearing Key talk about himself. It was like Key was letting him into his heart.
“And it was… I never felt so free in my life.” Key continued with a smile. “Nobody to judge me, nobody to put me down, I could just be open about myself and express myself in whatever way I want…”
There was no better person to understand what Key was saying but Minho. After all, weren’t Key’s words exactly what Minho set out to achieve when he left Korea? The taller boy couldn’t help but laugh at how similar they were.
“What’s so funny?” Key pushed Minho on his chest.
“You never did ask me either why I chose to come to London.” Minho smiled and lifted Key’s hand to lay a light kiss on the back of his hand. “If you did, you would have found out that like you, I wanted to be somewhere I could be myself too.”
“You did? Why?” Key questioned as he turned to lie on his side and face Minho.
“Long story but what’s more important is that… it really feels good to be the minority now.”
Key nodded, pleasantly surprised because Minho’s words told him that he understood exactly where he was coming from.
The blonde smirked and commented. “I think the sex was too distracting.”
Minho was about to nod along but hesitated and shook his head instead. “Not enough to make me realise I’m in love with you.”
“About that, Minho… even if I did have feelings for you, you’re only here for like what…”
“Two months.” Minho interrupted.
“Yeah, two months… wait a second, two months?!” Key exclaimed as his eyes widened in disbelief.
“Yeah.” Minho smiled sadly. “Less than two months actually.”
“Two months…” Key repeated. “Two months and you’re out of here… and that’s exactly why we can’t be anything more. It won’t work out even if I had feelings for you. Even if we did have a relationship, we won't be able to keep it. and definitely not in Korea.”
“No, the point is, Key, you don’t like me the way I like you.” Minho said, his voice filled with so much disappointment. “You don’t have to find excuses to make me feel better.”
Key watched as Minho got up from the bed and adjusted his clothes, getting ready to leave the room. “I need some time alone… I’ll see you later.”
“You can’t always choose to avoid when i-“ Key raised his voice as he watched Minho walk out of the room and close the door shut before he could finish his sentence.
Key fell back onto the bed and let out a breath. Now what did this make of him and Minho? The whole conversation got their relationship nowhere. Why oh why did love have to come in the equation? Key ran his hand through his hair as a frown appeared on his face. He wasn’t even the one in love and yet, here he was, still being troubled by love.
“I am so going to get Minho for this…” Key promised to himself as he grabbed his jacket again and left the room in a huff.
**
It was past 1am when Key finally got back to the dorm after a night out at a club downtown with Dongwoon and his other friends from dance. He had a few drinks but was still clear minded enough to know he wanted to settle things with Minho. Hearing that Minho was only going to be around for less than 2 months had affected him more than he wanted to admit. If he was going to be honest with himself, he did feel sad knowing that Minho’s foreign exchange programme was about to end. Pushing the whole issue of being friends with benefits aside, Key honestly liked having Minho as a roommate. Minho reminded him of home - home being Korea. After day after day of being surrounded with all things British (especially the constant sounds of the English language), it was nice coming back to his room (which of course had Minho) where he felt as if he was transported back to Korea. Having someone to talk to in his native language, someone who shared the same culture and values, someone who understood and someone who simply just felt like home was what Key missed so very much although he had no regrets of choosing to study abroad.
Yet, having this certain someone fall in love with him was more than what Key could handle. The thing is, even though Key had his fair share of relationships, he never did understand what love was. That explained why his relationships never lasted. Love actually was something entirely foreign to him. How was he supposed to know if he loved somebody (apart from his family where love came naturally)? He was Key, the almighty Key. And it would just be a joke if the almighty Key asked others what love was. So Key remained clueless in his twenty years of life. Perhaps it was because he didn’t know what love was that made Minho assume he had no feelings for him at all. Key liked Minho. Key was attracted to Minho. These were facts. Or else why would he even sleep with Minho in the first place? And being friends with benefits made Key realise that Minho meant something to him, that he wasn’t just a sex partner that he could reuse and recycle. Yet now, with love added in the equation all thanks to the not so foreign (to Key) exchange student, everything became too complicated for the blonde to deal with. Key didn’t want to be troubled by this anymore. He didn’t want to leave the problem hanging so it was time to straighten things out… even if it was past 1am and said foreign exchange student was already fast asleep on his bed.
“Choi Minho!” Key turned on the lights and slammed the door shut, not caring at all about his manners because he was bent on disturbing Minho’s sleep. The only reply he got though was a movement on the bed as the tall boy kicked his blanket off and let out a groan. Key narrowed his eyes, stormed up to Minho’s bed and did the first thing that came into his mind. Without holding back one bit, he jumped onto Minho’s sleeping form and (as if that wasn’t enough to wake Minho up) clutched his shoulders to rattle him awake.
Minho let out a low ‘oomph’ and widened his eyes at Key, all trace of sleepiness gone. Key’s sudden weight on his stomach had certainly knocked the wind out of him!
“Key, what are you doing?!” Minho grumbled in his low husky voice and grabbed Key on the waist to stop him from shaking him.
“Glad you’re awake.” Key smirked. “Now, let’s talk.”
Minho turned his head towards the bedside table and caught a glimpse of the time on his watch. “It’s almost 1.30 in the morning Key!”
“I don’t care.” Key snapped like a spoiled child. “We need to talk. And I mean now. I’m going to ask you something and all you have to do is answer. Clear?”
Minho, now a little amused with the situation, shifted his body into a more comfortable position with Key and nodded obediently like a good student. “Yeah, go ahead. Ask.”
With Minho looking straight into his eyes, Key momentarily lost a bit of his courage and almost wanted to back out! But knowing he had gone too far to give up, he braced himself up and cleared his throat.
“Alright, so…” Key began as his hands settled on Minho’s chest, feeling his steady heartbeat. “How… how do you know you love me?”
Key’s question had definitely caught Minho off guard. He kept his gaze focused on the blonde, trying to figure out why he had asked this question. However, Key began to feel awkward with Minho looking at him this way and so he avoided the taller boy’s gaze and looked elsewhere while he waited for the silence to be broken.
“Key…” Minho let out a breath and reached out to turn Key’s face back to him. “I can’t explain it… but I just know.”
“You might as well not answer my question at all.” Key mumbled.
“It’s not as if I can put it into words.” Minho explained. “I mean, love has never been logical… it’s not that I can stop myself from falling in love with you. It just happens.”
“That really doesn’t help me one bit.” Key pouted.
Although Minho found Key so adorable at that moment, the troubled expression on Key’s face kept him focused on the current situation. “Tell me, what exactly do you need help in?”
“Forget it.” Key muttered, feeling so defeated by the topic of love, “You can go back to sleep.”
Just when Key was about to push himself off him, Minho tightened his hug on Key’s waist and flipped both himself and Key over so that he was now on top of Key, only holding his upper body up with his hands.
“Hey, Kibum?” Minho lowered his head so that their noses were touching, looking deep into Key’s eyes.
“Yeah?” Key gulped and that’s all he did because he didn’t dare to move the slightest bit. He wasn’t dumb, he knew where this was heading to (especially because Minho had switched to call him Kibum) but not even one of his brain cells was telling him to avoid whatever was about to happen next.
With Key trapped below him like a prey about to be attacked, Minho closed the distance and captured Key’s lips in soft, tantalising kisses, slowly opening Key’s mouth to allow their tongues to meet in a deep kiss. Key slid his hand around Minho’s neck and pulled Minho even closer to him. Soon enough, as their kisses grew more desperate, desire growing between them, Key’s other hand naturally travelled to the end of the taller boy’s shirt, sneaking its way underneath to touch a set of chocolate abs that always gave him a cheap thrill. Minho smiled against Key’s lips and began a trail of kisses down the blonde’s neck all the way to his collar bone. Upon leaving a rather noticeable hickey just above his collar bone, Minho chose to stop, hastily pulling off his shirt before pressing his body against Key to show how much he needed him.
“You really shouldn’t have allowed me to get this far.” Minho breathed out. “I can't stop myself now…”
Minho traced the outline of Key’s slightly swollen lips with his thumb and at the same time, rolled his hips against Key’s to show him exactly what he wasn’t going to stop himself from doing. Key couldn’t resist a moan upon feeling the friction of Minho against him. That only left him wanting more. After all, it’s been way too long since his needs (Minho’s too) had been satisfied. What’s more, Minho obviously knew they had gone too far to end it right now.
“Fuck Minho, stop wasting time.” Key groaned, his hand already tugging at the waistband of Minho’s boxers (he, unlike Key, was already in his sleepwear).
Minho grinned teasingly as his own hand snaked its way to undo the button and zip of Key’s jeans. “Sure baby. Just save your vulgarities for later.”
With that, Minho took Key’s words literally, his mouth working from where he left off, his hands getting rid of all unnecessary clothing, exploring Key’s body as if it was his first time. Well, in actual fact, it was. It wasn’t just sex now. To Minho, it was something so much more. And how he wished Key felt the same too...
**
Minho opened his eyes to the sound of his alarm next to his ear. He looked at the time and realised that he had only been asleep for less than two hours. The athlete was feeling drained out after the night with Key and yet, his first thought wasn’t how tired he was or how he wanted to just head back to sleep. His mind could only relive the images and emotions of his night with Key. For Minho, the sex from the night before was different yet better in all ways. Solely because of the fact that he was in love with Key this time round. And just being in love with the blonde completely changed how it made Minho feel as he truly made love to Key. He wasn’t just satisfying his need anymore, he was able to actually show Key how much he loved him, also feeling connected both physically and emotionally to the blonde. Yet, as Minho turned to lie on his side to admire how beautiful the sleeping boy next to him was, he could only let out a sigh knowing that it was all only on his part. To Minho, what they did last night was making love. But for Key, it was just a plain old fuck. Now, something in Minho was telling him that the night before was a wrong decision and he utterly hated this feeling of regret.
Minho wiped the sleepiness off his face, then slapping himself multiple times and at the same time, groaning to himself. What the hell did he think he was doing? Sleeping with a guy who he had feelings for but did not return his feelings nonetheless still willing to do it with him? How fucked up could the situation get? Minho really felt like strangling Key at that moment. How could Key, knowing clearly that Minho loved him, still sleep with him? Did that even make sense? So where on earth did their relationship stand now? Minho stared at said boy who was still asleep as if he could find the answers to all his questions. At that exact moment, without warning, Key suddenly opened his eyes. It was as if he hadn’t been sleeping at all.
“I’m screwed!” The blonde gasped out loud.
Key waking up so suddenly certainly gave Minho a fright in more than one way. Opening his eyes alone like the dead coming alive was scary enough. What startled him more was that it was as if Key was giving him the answer, as if he actually felt Minho’s stare and/or hear his thoughts. Yet, whatever he was about to hear next from the boy was going to top it all off.
“I’m in love with you.” Key announced as if he was speaking about the weather, turning to face Minho to look him in the eyes.
Minho froze, his body, his brain, his heart (okay, exaggerating a little here but he really couldn’t feel his heartbeat for 3 seconds!). Was his ears playing tricks on him or was he in a dream? Or was this some kind of joke Key was playing? Perhaps he simply just had not woken up yet… maybe that was why Key had his hands on his arms shaking him violently.
“Choi Minho!” Key’s voice was filled with frustration. “Wake up!”
Minho laughed sadly. See, he was right. He was indeed dreaming.
“Yah!” Key raised his voice and gave Minho a hard push. “I said I love you and you’re laughing like that?!”
Minho could only blink. He actually felt pain from the push Key gave him! Didn’t that mean…
“You love me?” Minho gulped as he choked out the all-important question.
Key rolled his eyes. “Yes you idiot! Don’t make me take back my words.”
“Wait, did you just sleep and wake up knowing you love me?” Minho asked incredulously.
“I was fucking awake the whole time because I was too troubled by you.” Key rolled his eyes again, this time even slapping Minho on his chest. “How do you expect me to sleep when the image of that look in your eyes when we had sex kept haunting me?!”
“What look?” Minho asked in all innocence.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know, Choi Minho.” Key warned. “It was as if you had the letters L-O-V-E tattooed in your eyeballs!”
“I can’t help it, Kibum.” Minho laughed heartily. “I really do-“
“Yeah yeah.” Key interrupted. “I do too.”
And as he said that, Key changed his attitude completely and added a smile along with his simple declaration. Obviously, simple was enough to make Minho beyond overjoyed. He couldn’t even find the words to describe how fantastic he felt. Sex wasn’t that bad after all. Look where it got him and Key. At least, even though their process was wrong, sex eventually made them both develop feelings for each other.
“So how do you know you love me then?” The tables had turned, now Minho was curious.
Key could almost see the mischief in Minho’s eyes. He could just tell that a part of Minho was trying to (in a way) get back at him for asking the same question the night before.
“Alright alright, I get it.” Key chose to surrender. “I really can’t explain it in one sentence... but I guess if you want to know, it’s how you can affect me so much which made me realise that I, you know, love you.”
The widest grin appeared on Minho’s face. This was certainly a moment to remember. He pulled Key towards him, clashing their bodies together, his lips instantly finding Key’s and pressing down hungrily, both of them kissing with more passion than they had felt before.
“Minho.” Key said in between kisses. “We’re… both scr- screwed.”
Key’s words instantly caused Minho to pull away and stare at the blonde in confusion.
“Because we’re in love?”
“That…” Key nodded, breathing in to steady himself. “And because this means that in less than two months, we’re going to have to tackle a long distance relationship.”
Minho paused, getting lost in his thoughts for a moment until it seemed like an idea had struck him. True enough, Key listened as Minho voiced out his suggestion.
“Maybe this time round, we can follow Going the Distance?”
“What? You mean the movie starring Drew Barrymore and Justin Long?” Key was knowledgeable enough to catch Minho’s point. But that wasn’t his main concern.
“You actually watched that?” Key asked incredulously.
“Yeah, Drew Barrymore’s hot.” Minho smirked. “Plus look, we can learn from the movie in one way or another since we’re going to be in that situation anyway.”
Key almost felt like smacking his head but decided instead to smack Minho. “Damn it, Minho, it’s all your fault my life is turning out as a movie!”
“Hey! Let’s look on the bright side… we can have a go at cyber AND phone sex.” Minho wiggled his eyebrows teasingly.
Key could only stare at Minho with disgust. Oh someone please remind him again why he was in love with this guy who he obviously didn’t know everything about? As if being able to read Key’s mind, Minho certainly did just that. He pulled Key on top of him and smiled.
“Don’t worry Kibum, it’s all part of the relationship process. We’ll get to know each other better along the way until we know everything about each other.” Minho tightened his hug around Key’s waist. “I promise you, no matter the distance between us, I won’t stop loving you. And we’ll be together, always. Mark my words.”
And as Minho looked at him with so much sincerity, devotion and above all, love, Key knew why he was in love with the foreign exchange student. It was going to be challenging, maintaining a long distance relationship (he still had at least 2 more years to achieve his Bachelor in Fashion Design in London), but somehow, Key could already see his future with Minho. And that made everything less complicated.