Colour My Monochrome Life; Onew/Taemin
Lee Jinki's life as an architect was dull. With his hectic work schedules, all he did was complete one project after another but that didn't mean he wasn't happy. He was, but when a certain Lee Taemin stepped into his life, he realised he could be so much happier.
Author's Note: A one shot set in the alternate universe Onew and Taemin see themselves in if they weren't in SHINee. Final part of my 'The Alternate Universe' series. This story is linked to "If Not For Lee Jinki". Enjoy!
{prologue}
“Kim Jonghyun, your boyfriend’s flight has landed and you’re nowhere to be seen, even I am here earlier than you! Exactly how late are you going to be?” Lee Jinki looked up at the arrival board in Incheon Airport and questioned his best friend over the phone.
“Hyung, I got so nervous I took the wrong exit! But anyway, I’m looking for a parking lot right now! Help me look out for Kibum in the time being. I’ll be there soon, see you!” Jonghyun explained in one breath and hung up the call without giving Jinki a chance to say something.
Jinki shook his head, letting out a breath as he stuffed his phone back into his pocket and walked towards the gate where Kibum would be arriving. Two months Jonghyun had been waiting for this day to arrive and yet he was as late as can be. If Kibum were to arrive and not see Jonghyun outside to welcome him, Jinki knew he was going to be on the receiving end of Kibum’s bitch fit. He shivered at that thought and explored the option of hiding somewhere first so Kibum wouldn’t notice him. But Jinki knew better than to let the scene of Kibum arriving to no one welcoming him home happen instead. It was definitely a safer bet if he was there rather than no one at all! So he stood at a somewhat noticeable area and focused on what Jonghyun had instructed him to do - keep a look out for Kibum.
He was doing such a good job, almost getting hypnotised by the opening and closing of the automatic sliding doors, until his attention was caught by a voice not too far away from him.
“KE 16… KE 16… which gate is that?” The voice mumbled.
Jinki turned to the source of the voice and saw a boy with striking blonde hair clad in a light blue denim shirt tucked into black skinny jeans. For someone who looked that stylish, Jinki did not expect him to look so lost and clueless. And before Jinki could mind his own business, he cleared his throat to gain the boy’s attention.
“It’s here, Gate B.” Jinki said and pointed at the gate as the boy stopped in his footsteps and turned towards him. “I’m actually waiting for someone who’s arriving on that flight too.”
“Oh! Kamsahamnida!” The boy nodded gratefully at him and presented a smile that, in Jinki’s opinion, could brighten anyone’s day.
Jinki returned a smile almost matching the stranger’s one and nodded back in politeness. Without saying anything else, they ended up standing beside each other, both of their attention back to the arrival gate, keeping an alert for Kibum (in Jinki’s case) and whoever the boy was waiting to welcome back. As a new crowd of passengers emerged from the arrival gate, the blonde suddenly stood upright and waved his hands eagerly in the air.
“Umma!” The boy shouted in glee, breaking into a broader smile.
Jinki looked amusedly at the excited boy and thought to himself, “Oh, so he’s waiting for his mum…”
Curiously, Jinki looked towards the direction of the boy’s eyes and instead of seeing a mother figure, was pleasantly surprised to see Kibum walking briskly towards him, waving happily with one hand, and the other pushing his trolley load of luggage at the same time. Jinki’s eyes lighted up with a smile. It was really good seeing his best friend after so long! He was about to step forward to receive Kibum but someone had beaten him to it. And as he watched this certain someone rush up to hug Kibum, Jinki could not stop his jaw from falling. Because, no, it wasn’t Kim Jonghyun who had arrived and intercepted him, it was the blonde boy who did!
“Key Umma, it’s been so long!” The blonde boy exclaimed.
Jinki was at a complete loss for words.
“Taemin! What are you doing here? I told you not to come!” The person who replied in equal excitement was none other than Kim Kibum (aka Key Umma), said best friend, himself.
Jinki stared at the two blondes in front of him in disbelief. What kind of scene was this? A reuniting of a mother and child? Jinki could not be more confused than he was now. How could he describe Kibum as his best friend when he knew nothing about the other boy and the obvious mother-child relationship they shared? Jinki frowned in puzzlement at the scene he was watching intently until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He instantly turned his head and was greeted with Jonghyun who was trying to catch his breath, having ran all the way from the car park to the arrival gate.
“Thank god Taemin’s here!” Jonghyun panted in a voice that only Jinki could hear. “If not, I would have gotten hell from Kibum once he noticed I was late.”
“You know that guy?” Jinki raised an eyebrow and asked in an equally low volume.
“I haven’t met him personally but Kibum did tell me about him and showed me the photos they took together before.” Jonghyun nodded, “Taemin and Kibum know each other from dance club when he was still studying in Korea.”
“And how on earth do I not know this? Kibum and I studied in the same school!” Jinki unknowingly raised his volume, feeling a little upset that he was left out, not knowing about this piece of information. In a way, it reflected poorly on his position as Kibum’s best friend.
Obviously, he caught the attention of the two blondes who were originally so engrossed in catching up with each other. Jinki couldn’t help but gulp as three pairs of eyes were now fully focused on him.
“Er… Hi Kibum. Welcome back!” Jinki laughed nervously and gave an awkward wave.
Kibum smiled and took a few steps forward to give his awkward best friend a hug.
“It’s good seeing you Hyung!” Kibum released Jinki and went on to punching his hyung lightly on the chest, “And FYI, you had already graduated by the time Taemin got admitted to our school. Plus after that, your life only revolved around your love for architecture so I had no reason to mention him to you, am I right? Now does this explain it for you?”
Jinki nodded dumbly as Kibum rolled his eyes at him while Taemin stood there uneasily since he was their topic of discussion. Jinki then watched Kibum change his expression completely as he finally took notice of Jonghyun.
“Jjong!” Kibum squealed like a fan girl, completely ignoring the presence of Jinki and Taemin, abandoning his trolley of belongings as he practically leaped into his boyfriend’s open arms.
“I missed you so much!” Kibum kissed Jonghyun right on his lips and tightened his arms around Jonghyun’s shoulders. At the same time, Jinki’s and Taemin’s eyes met and that moment was the epitome of awkward. They quickly looked away after exchanging an uncomfortable smile with each other. If Jinki had looked closely, he would have noticed the slight blush on Taemin’s cheeks.
It didn’t help that Jonghyun had returned the kiss. This kiss would have gotten out of hand if Jonghyun hadn’t forced himself to pull away and release Kibum since he was still rational enough to remember they were in a public place. Of course, he didn’t do that before whispering, “Let’s leave the airport now so we can carry on someplace private. My home?”
With Jonghyun’s arm protectively around him, Kibum smiled and nodded (even blushing a little) at his boyfriend’s suggestive request. “Sure, just give me a minute.”
Kibum then turned to Jinki and Taemin who were still trapped in an awkward atmosphere.
“Taemin, thanks for coming, I really appreciate it but… can I catch up with you another time?” Kibum pointed (not so) discreetly to Jonghyun in hope that Taemin would get his hint.
Taemin grinned like the good son he was. “No worries Hyung, I understand!”
Kibum had to resist the urge to hug Taemin since he was being such an adorable kid but he knew he still had one other person to settle.
“Jinki Hyung, could you send Taemin back home then?” Although it was a question, Kibum’s tone made it clear that there was no room for Jinki to say no.
“No no no, it’s okay Hyung!” Taemin interrupted, “I can-“
“No Taemin, Jinki hyung will send you back.” Kibum stated, his tone again leaving no room for argument.
“Yeah, it’s no trouble at all. I’ll send you back.” Jinki quickly said before Kibum could glare at him. And anyway, even if Kibum didn’t arrange anything, it would be in Jinki’s helpful nature to offer Taemin a ride.
To Kibum’s delight and Jinki’s relief, Taemin nodded albeit hesitantly.
“Fantastic!” Kibum clapped his hands. “Jjong and I will make a move first then! Thanks for coming again guys! I’ll catch up with the two of you as soon as I catch up with this guy.”
Kibum pointed at Jonghyun and laughed while Jonghyun took control of the trolley.
“We’ll see you guys around!”
Both Jonghyun and Kibum waved their goodbyes and quickly disappeared towards the direction of the car park. In the blink of an eye, it was only Jinki and Taemin left. They exchanged a look with each other and smiled in politeness. Jinki then shook his head and laughed.
“We’re actually heading to the same car park and they just happily left without us. They must really miss each other a whole lot.” Jinki voiced out his thoughts although Taemin was considerably still a stranger to him.
“I guess it’s understandable, Key Umma really loves Jonghyun Hyung a lot.” Taemin said, still keeping a polite smile on his face.
“Key Umma... why exactly do you call Kibum that?” Jinki asked like a curious kid.
“Oh, it’s because he never fails to nag at me when we were in dance together.” Taemin revealed with a laugh. “He took really good care of me both in and outside of school.”
“Ahh, I see I see. “ Jinki nodded, putting an end to the conversation. “It’s Kibum after all…”
And there it came, the awkward silence.
“So shall we-“
“Actually, you don’t have to-”
Speaking at the same time. Could things get more awkward and embarrassing? Jinki certainly did not want to find out if it could. Being the older one, he decided to put an end to this. He really couldn’t bear to see how much more awkward they could get (especially since he himself was already an awkward being)!
“Taemin, I think… we should really stop being so awkward with each other.” Jinki confessed honestly and rubbed the back of his neck a little nervously. “I mean, since you’re close to Kibum and I’m best friends with that kid, we should be able to be comfortable with each other too... right?”
“Right.” was Taemin’s simple reply.
“Yeah… so don’t be so polite with me, I’m your hyung but you can just be like Kibum and forget about the formalities. That kid practically has no respect for me as his hyung at all.” Jinki explained but it sounded so much more like a complaint.
Taemin snickered. “That’s Kibum hyung for you…”
“Exactly.” Jinki agreed. “So, my point is, we should be friends… even though I’m already a working adult and you’re still a school kid... omo, you’re still schooling, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I’m sitting for my college entrance exam this November.” Taemin admitted.
Jinki’s eyes widened. “Wow, that seemed so long ago for me!”
“You’re not that old, hyung.” Taemin said innocently but he pretty much sounded like he was consoling Jinki. “In fact, you still look very young.”
Jinki didn’t know if he should be happy with what Taemin had said to him. This kid was 4 years younger than him. 4 years was more than enough to make a huge difference between the two of them. And somehow, this little fact bothered Jinki in ways he could not comprehend. In the little time he had before replying Taemin, Jinki reasoned that he was worried he and Taemin would not click as friends… so it was important that he lightened up the atmosphere.
“No wonder Kibum and Jonghyun keeps treating me like a kid. They literally push me around!” Jinki joked and thankfully, Taemin laughed.
“But this kid here has a car and knows how to drive!” Jinki pointed proudly at himself and laughed, “Shall we make a move then?”
“Thanks Hyung.”
With a nod from Taemin, the two new friends walked towards the car park, using the journey of the entire car ride back to Taemin’s home bridging the age gap between them which actually did not really exist in the first place.
After Jinki dropped Taemin off at his place and watched as the younger waved and disappeared behind the door, he didn’t leave immediately. Jinki chuckled to himself, his eyes still looking at where Taemin had turned back to smile at him.
Perhaps this friendship with Taemin would keep him current and up-to-date especially since his job, particularly when he had projects to handle (not that he was complaining), made him too occupied to truly live his life.
Perhaps Taemin would be key to making him feel young all over again… allowing him to enjoy what life could bring.
With these thoughts in mind, Jinki was already anticipating the next time he would meet the boy… and he wished it would be soon.
*
At a very young age of 22, Lee Jinki had managed to pursue his passion in architecture and kick-start a promising career at a well-known architecture firm in South Korea. And boy was this no easy task at all! What normal people did in 8 years, Jinki took half of the time to graduate with his master’s degree. After which, he even obtained his professional license in record time! It was a truly impossible task… but that was before Jinki came along. It was like he had a knack for architecture. Or maybe it was just god’s gift to him to make up for his natural clumsy self. Jinki simply was talented and blessed with such specialised skills (thankfully, he was never clumsy when it came to architecture). And that was precisely why he managed to secure a job at his current architecture firm. He never did bother to go into details of his career as an architect or his journey to fulfilling his dream because only those in the same line of business would understand.
This he understood after two painful experiences of trying to explain his choice of passion and career to both Kibum and Jonghyun individually, only to get a similar sorry-hyung-but-i-have-no-freaking-clue-what-you’re-talking-about expression from his two best friends in separate occasions (Jonghyun at least had the decency to try to look like he understood). If even his best friends couldn’t get him (this was why it was painful), Jinki knew he should just keep it simple and stick with merely saying he was an architect, period. Besides, he didn’t have much chance for conversations with others outside his line of business since being an architect meant hectic work schedules as long as there were projects to be done. Especially since Jinki was a fresh graduate and still trying to make his mark in the world of architecture, he devoted all his time to his job and missed out on living the average life of a 22 year old. Yet, he says this with no regrets. He may have missed out on doing what normal 22 year olds should do (like having a proper crazy university life) but he was thoroughly enjoying immersing himself into all things to do with planning, designing and overseeing the construction of buildings for people.
Call it a sick obsession but there was nothing in the world that could beat the feeling of completing a project successfully to Jinki! That and the feeling of being recognised for his work made his life revolve around seeking to achieve this very sense of satisfaction. And all this boiled down to his passion towards architecture. So when projects came along, it would seem like he disappeared from the face of the earth because once inspiration struck, he would be fully devoted to designing his architectural plan and keeping himself void of all possible distractions. This happened often because there were always endless projects to be done which the firm was handling and Jinki of course, being the budding star in the architecture business, was trusted upon a couple of them.
For this very reason, Lee Taemin was now fiddling with his phone and staring at his message inbox on a very boring Saturday afternoon. Or to be more precise, he was staring at a message sent by a contact he had saved as Jinki hyung dated over a week ago that said “See you soon!”. Taemin frowned as he scrolled through the following messages that he had sent to Jinki after (on separate dates, mind you), all of which had gone unreplied. He had tried calling about three times before he gave up since the line was either busy or dead. Just over a week ago, they were spending quite a bit of time with each other ever since their first awkward meeting at the airport. Jinki had took the initiative first by arranging to meet Taemin after his school to have a meal together, and with the first meeting came more meetings to follow. Besides having meals together, they even managed to catch a movie together once. At times, Taemin would approach Jinki for help in maths too and their dates would turn into tutoring sessions. It didn’t mean they had to physically be with each other to spend time with the other (since it was quite difficult to arrange dates considering Taemin’s school and Jinki’s work schedules), talking on the phone, texting each other or chatting online also meant spending time together. Taemin had gotten so use to having Jinki around that when Jinki suddenly went uncontactable, it bothered him to no end.
Taemin did understand that Jinki was working but he couldn’t understand how he suddenly seemed to disappear into thin air. He thought Jinki would contact him sooner or later but now that it was almost approaching two weeks since the last time they contacted each other, he couldn’t sit back and wait no more. And so, Taemin made a decision and found himself calling his Key Umma to find out exactly where Jinki lived. As soon as he got the address from Kibum (this wasn’t without much questioning from Kibum with Taemin eventually lying that he needed the address to send a Christmas card to Jinki which was surprisingly enough to convince Kibum), Taemin grabbed his jacket and made his way to Jinki’s apartment. He was now waiting impatiently for Jinki to open the door for him after buzzing the doorbell.
“Taemin! What are you doing here?” Jinki’s surprised tone was expected as the door opened and their eyes met.
“Checking if you’re alive hyung!” Taemin said exasperatedly.
“Oh.” Jinki let out a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. “I disappeared on you, didn’t I?”
“Yeah…” Taemin nodded and then shifted awkwardly on his feet. “I was a little worried… so I got your address from Key umma and that’s why I’m here. Am i… bothering you?”
“Not at all!” Jinki smiled with pride. “I actually just completed the last of my sketches, was thinking of calling Mexicana Chicken for lunch, you interested in joining me?”
“You haven’t had lunch?!” Taemin brought his watch directly in front of Jinki’s face and showed him the time. “But it’s almost 4pm!”
“I tend to forget the time when I get too involved with my work.” Jinki laughed guiltily as he brought Taemin’s hand away. “And everything else for that matter… eating at proper times, sleeping or actually not sleeping at all and-”
“Your phone?” Taemin offered his opinion.
“Right! Now where exactly did I put my phone…” Jinki snapped his fingers and droned off, turning around and walking back into his living room.
“Hyung, I have to warn you… I did call and message you a couple of times…” Taemin admitted as he followed Jinki into his apartment, closing the door behind him. He then made himself comfortable on the sofa, although it was his first time in Jinki’s place, and watched as Jinki flipped through the stuff on his very messy desk to find his phone.
“I’m guessing you’re not the only one who… found it!” Jinki raised his phone up in the air and waved it with delight. Taemin returned an amused smile.
“But…” Jinki looked at his phone and then laughed. “The battery died.”
Upon hearing this, Taemin had no courtesy to stop himself from face palming in front of his hyung.
“Seriously hyung, you can’t let work consume you like that!” Taemin advised in all the seriousness he could muster, his eyes never leaving Jinki as the elder joined him on the sofa.
“I can’t help it…” Jinki admitted. “Both Kibum and Jonghyun had actually tried this on me before so Taemin, you might as well not start. My work is my life. There’s nothing you can do to change me.”
“And you’re happy like that? Missing out on what life can offer?” Taemin was determined to get an answer from Jinki even though he knew he was in no position to poke his nose in his hyung’s business.
Jinki rubbed the temples of his head, closing his eyes for a bit and letting out a breath. “Why are you doing this Taemin? Asking me all these questions?”
“Because I care hyung…” came Taemin’s soft reply before he quickly added, “Because you’re my friend, and I’m your dongsaeng, and that’s why I care.”
Jinki turned and looked at Taemin straight in the eyes. Taemin gulped but didn’t avoid the eye contact. Instead, he went on being the little voice in Jinki’s head that was always there questioning but pushed aside and forced to be forgotten once work said hello.
“You can do it once, but what if you have projects after projects to complete? Does that mean you’ll never eat or sleep properly anymore, or even have any contact with the outside world? Do you really want to carry on like this? You may love the work you do but should you let it control your entire life? Don’t the little things matter too?”
Before Taemin could ask more questions, Jinki raised his hand and stopped the younger from talking.
“Alright alright, I get it.” Jinki smiled weakly, utterly defeated by a boy that was 4 years younger than him. “But before you enlighten me on how I should change the way my life is now, can we order some chicken? I’m starving!”
Taemin laughed and reached out for the cordless home phone that he had spotted hidden under a cushion.
“Here you go!” Taemin threw the phone lightly into Jinki’s lap. “Hurry and call, we have stuff to do. I have a plan in mind! We can talk over… dinner?”
“Breakfast actually. First meal of the day for me.” Jinki replied a little guiltily as he punched in a number (Mexicana chicken delivery number) he would never forget.
Taemin’s you-see-what-I-mean face said it all and Jinki really had no reason to resist anymore. Besides, the fact that he sort of had a weakness for all things Taemin ever since that fateful day at the airport made it easier for the younger to break through him. If Kibum or Jonghyun found out about this, he knew he was never going to hear the end of it. Maybe he should consider telling Taemin to keep it their little secret… or would that make it more suspicious? As Taemin went on and on enthusiastically about how he was going to spice up Jinki’s life, Jinki could only look at said enthusiastic boy and wonder why on earth he felt so defenceless against him…
*
“Hyung! You should get some rest.”
Upon feeling a tight grip on his wrist and hearing the words that accompanied the action, Jinki jerked up from the unfinished sketch he was frowning at and dropped his pencil in a bit of a shock.
“Taemin? You’re still here? I thought I told you to go home. What time is it?” Jinki questioned as he searched for his abandoned watch that irritated him a while ago when he was working on his architectural drawing for his latest project.
“It’s almost 2am hyung…” Taemin let out a yawn on cue. “And I’m still here because it’s my job to stop you from working overnight.”
That part was true. This so called job that Taemin took on his own behalf. Ever since a few days ago, the younger had promised over a bucket of deep fried chicken to change Jinki’s way of life which Jinki soon came to realise that Taemin was indeed a determined little fella! And it didn’t help that Taemin coincidentally was on his year-end holidays and completely free of school. So not only did Taemin help open his eyes to what youths (or people their age) did nowadays (which ranged from simple daytime activities like exploring new cafés and shops to the exciting nightlife like parties, clubs and what nots), he also spent a lot of time in Jinki’s apartment once he got wind that Jinki had a project to handle - which was exactly what was happening now.
Jinki rubbed his face and then took in a deep breath. “You’re tired. Go get some sleep.”
“And so are you, you look like… shit.” Taemin honestly had no better choice of words.
“Thanks Taemin, thanks.” Sarcasm was evident in Jinki’s voice.
“Hyung, seriously, stop. You’ll be more productive after getting some sleep.” Taemin shook Jinki’s hand, still in his grip and tried to tug the architect off his seat. “Do we seriously have to go through this again? How many times do I have to-”
“Okay, I know I know.” Jinki got off his seat abruptly and squeezed Taemin’s cheeks. “You’re so cute, Tae, being so persistent about changing my life and all…”
“Do you know how dull your life was before i came along?" Taemin pouted, pulling Jinki’s fingers off his face. "I just… I just want you to see what life can offer… besides your passion for architecture.”
“And what is that? Shopping, watching movies, indulging in food, partying, clubbing? Living the life of a normal 22 year old? If that’s it, Taemin, you did it. I sure do feel much younger ever since you came into my life!” Jinki laughed.
Contrastingly, Taemin was a picture of seriousness with no hint of a smile at all. In fact, he even looked troubled as he shook his head and let out a sigh. “No hyung, that’s not all… you don’t get it do you?”
“Get what?” Jinki scrunched his eyebrows in confusion.
“What life can offer to you… it’s not just about doing what people our age should do.”
“So what exactly can life bring to me Tae?”
With Jinki’s eyes focused on him, Taemin took a deep breath and pointed at himself. “Me.”
“What?” Jinki’s frown grew deeper.
“Me.” This time, Taemin said it loud and clear.
“What did you-“
“You heard me, hyung.” Taemin took a step towards Jinki. “You’re not that daft. You know exactly what I mean…”
“Taemin… it’s 2 in the morning, who confesses at a time like this?! Especially when I look like… shit.” Jinki looked down at himself and pulled at his worn out faded grey t-shirt that he paired with his favourite pair of black sweats. Alright, maybe his outfit wasn’t that bad but Jinki knew that if he looked in the mirror, he himself would be turned off by his own face where dark eye rings and a growing stubble should be present. And Jinki didn’t even want to think about his hair… that may or may not resemble a bird’s nest.
Jinki exchanged a look with Taemin and suddenly, the both of them were bursting out in laughter.
“Are you sure you didn’t get the wrong person?” Jinki asked in between laughing.
Taemin smiled, the very same smile that would brighten anyone’s day. “Hyung, I like you the way you are. Actually, it’s your awkwardness that I like so much…”
“Really? Cause then you will really like me now…” Jinki laughed nervously. He was nothing short of awkward right at this exact moment.
Taemin smiled and reached out to hold Jinki’s hand. “Come on hyung, we should head to sleep.”
Jinki stared at their interlocked hands as Taemin led him into his own bedroom. It was not until he felt himself get pushed onto the bed by the younger that his eyes widened in panic.
“Wait wait wait, we’re going way too fast Taemin!” Jinki exclaimed the first thought that came into his mind.
Taemin froze at Jinki’s words and instantly blushed a bright red when images started forming in his mind. He shook his head in an attempt to remove the unwanted images and looked up at the ceiling exasperatedly. “Oh god hyung, i’m not even thinking about sleeping on the same bed as you let alone… that!”
“What? You’re not sleeping with me on my bed?” Jinki asked, unable to hide his disappointment.
Taemin shook his head as he fought back a smile knowing Jinki was disappointed. “I was actually just bringing you to your room. I’ll sleep on the sofa… like I always do.”
“Oh. I see. Alright.” Jinki paused and cleared his throat. “Err… can I just ask a quick question before you go?”
“Sure hyung, what is it?” Taemin tilted his head to the side, looking so innocent and adorable that Jinki almost wanted to pounce on him. Almost.
Clutching the edge of the bed with slightly sweaty palms, Jinki had to swallow a couple of times before he could get his question out. “Why aren’t you asking if I feel the same about you?”
“Because I already got my answer, haven’t i?” Taemin’s reply (accompanied with a mischievous smile) came in an instant.
“How’d you know?” Jinki gasped, not at all denying his feelings for the younger boy. Said younger boy was of course more than happy with the reaction he got from his hyung.
“Hyung… you may not know it but you’re an open book.” Taemin could almost see visible question marks appearing above Jinki’s head and so he tried to explain it in the simplest way. “Let’s put it this way, you’re a simple person, easy to read, and for a person like me who’s interested in you, you turn out to be painfully obvious. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m not complaining.”
Jinki blinked once, then twice and one more time before he chuckled. “You’re a rollercoaster ride to me, you know that Tae?”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Taemin beamed like a satisfied child.
“Of course it is.” Jinki presented his signature eye smile in return.
“So now that we’re clear… can we go to sleep?” Taemin rubbed his eye and yawned.
“Sure… but-“ Jinki couldn’t even complete his question as Taemin made his move.
“Alright hyung.” Taemin jumped into bed and somewhat tackled Jinki to lie down before placing himself comfortably under covers beside the older, occupying the other half of the bed.
“How did you know that I wanted to-” Jinki turned towards Taemin, stopping himself from completing his question when he saw Taemin’s do-you-really-have-to-ask expression. “Right. Why did I even bother to ask?”
Taemin grinned, slowly closing his eyes. “Good night hyung…”
Jinki searched for Taemin’s hand under the blanket and upon feeling his fingers, grabbed the younger’s hand in a tight hold. “Good night Taemin… and don’t worry about me getting too consumed with my work… I have something, no actually, someone to love now.”
And although Taemin was on the verge of falling asleep, he didn’t miss a single word Jinki said, snuggling closer to the architect and hugging him like a bolster. He also didn't miss the feeling of Jinki's lips on his forehead. It was going to be a sweet dream all right.
They may be different but just like puzzle pieces, they fit each other perfectly. And both Jinki and Taemin weren’t letting go of each other anytime soon…