Rock My World (Chapter 8)
Pairing: JongKey
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Rock musical!AU, Romance & Drama
Disclaimer: I wish.
Summary: When Onew leaves the Korean production of RoA, Jonghyun is promoted to lead singer in his place and a new actor is also hired. Sparks fly, drama ensues - Rock & Roll.
Rock and roll, hey
Don't you know, baby, we're all alone now
Give me something to sing about.
- Paramore, Crushcrushcrush
Prologue || 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7 || 8 || 9 || 10 || 11 || 12 || Epilogue
__________________
Rock My World - Chapter 8
They had a performance the next day and the crowd was a bit more quiet than usual, but Jonghyun blamed it on the fact that it was a Monday evening. Key wasn’t as brilliant as usual, too, because he was still a bit sore. The blond overheard a few members of the cast ask him if he was okay and Jonghyun could only chuckle to himself, earning himself a glare from an annoyed Kibum.
The next few weeks went by quickly, or so it seemed - the production was putting on five shows every week on average now that summer was approaching. The work was gruelling and definitely tested Jonghyun’s vocal chords, but it was always just as rewarding to see the crowd stand up in applause at the end of every show as it was the first time. When Jonghyun bowed for the curtain call, standing next to his fellow singers and dancers, his smile was genuine. For Kim Jonghyun, life was good.
For Kim Kibum, it was a bit of a different story. He was noticing more and more how other cast members were sending looks that weren’t exactly friendly his way. Mostly it was just Jessica and Jino, but it did happen that other people would stare at him as though... as though something, but what exactly Kibum didn’t know, and that bothered him. But nothing happened - apart from these strange looks, no one was being openly disrespectful to him. So he shrugged it off. He had to admit he was used to it, anyway.
When the members of the production were granted a two and a half day break - the first in a long while - Jonghyun spent half of the first day sleeping (with Roo curled up in the comforter). He had planned on lazing around for part of afternoon as well but as much as he tried to stay in bed, he couldn’t stop himself from getting onto his feet to reach for his phone and text a certain boy. Said boy texted back almost immediately.
They met an hour later at the bus station - Key’s choice - because they didn’t know where they wanted to go yet. They ended up in a sushi shop even though it was almost three in the afternoon. It wasn’t the same as the one they had visited for their first “date”, but it was similar enough to have them smiling like kids on vacation at the memory and stealing lingering glances at each other. Jonghyun offered to pay because his mother (and sister) had raised him well and Kibum didn’t protest.
They had a playful argument over who could hold their liquor better - neither of them had quite forgotten the night of Jonghyun’s birthday because how could they? - and Kibum threatened to have a rematch right then and there with sake.
“You passed out first,” Jonghyun said through a mouthful of sashimi.
“Did not,” Key answered back without missing a beat, waving his chopsticks in front of him. “And how do you know? You were so wasted you couldn’t even remember how old you’d turned,” he added, arching an eyebrow below his fringe. “You did remember my name, though,” he mumbled afterwards, only so Jonghyun could barely hear from across the table.
The blond shot him a look only to see Key smile innocently at him and bat his eyelashes a few times.
“Besides,” the younger boy continued, still looking as innocent as ever, “you’re shorter.”
“How is that even-”
“Body mass, Jonghyun.” The black-haired boy rolled his eyes, but it was all in good humour. “You’re smaller, you can’t handle as much.”
“I’m not small,” Jonghyun said, stabbing at some fish with his chopsticks, on the verge of being offended.
“You’re right,” Kibum admitted, but his smirk suggested otherwise, “you’re tiny.”
“Yah!”
The youngest didn’t allow the blond to say any more because he leaned in to kiss him. It was the most effective way of silencing Jonghyun, he had learned. The elder relaxed at the contact and when Kibum noticed he wasn’t putting up any resistance, he opened an eye and stole a sushi roll from Jonghyun’s plate. He broke the kiss to stuff it into his mouth, trying to chew despite his large grin.
“You-”
Jonghyun never got to finish his sentence because the pile of green wasabi on a corner of his plate caught his eye; he swiped a finger through it and spread the green condiment on Kibum’s pretty cheekbone. The boy made a disgusted face and wiped it off as much as he could but it was getting harder and harder because his eyes were beginning to water as the hot vapours reached them. Jonghyun chuckled heartily and took his time to choose a roll from Kibum’s plate in turn.
“I hate you, it really stings,” the boy pouted, dabbing at his eyes and cheek with a tissue.
The elder answered him with a wide white smile before leaning forwards, resting his elbow on the table as he grabbed Kibum’s chin to pull him forward. Right when the younger boy had his eyes closed, expecting a peck on the lips Jonghyun turned his head to the side and licked his cheek clean. Key gave a small yelp of surprise and pushed the laughing blond away.
They finished eating their food and Jonghyun had caught Kibum (un)subtly trying to smear wasabi on him no less than three times. The owner of the restaurant seemed a bit relieved when the rowdy pair of boys finally stepped out.
It was raining a slight drizzle outside - not enough to dampen their mood, though. Jonghyun grabbed the slim, taller boy by his waist and pulled him closer to kiss him, properly this time, simply because he could.
Key made to part, but Jonghyun held him still for a while longer. When they did part, the blond had a lazy grin plastered on his face which the other eyed fondly.
“I’ve always wanted to do that,” the elder confessed, hands unmoving from the taller one’s waist.
“Do what?”
“Kiss in the rain.”
“Oh my god, you’re a big ball of cheese. You know that right?”
“Big?” Jonghyun spoke with faked confusion. “I thought I was tiny.”
Kibum rolled his eyes and grabbed his hand to drag him onto the streets.
(Jonghyun kept pulling the other to himself to kiss him all afternoon. Key refused at first, uttering a shy “People will see” - the idea of a shy Key greatly amused Jonghyun. “It’s okay,” he answered back, “they’ll probably think you’re a girl.” Key looked at him, not entirely convinced and a bit flustered. “A tall girl,” Jonghyun added and surely enough the younger boy smiled, letting Jonghyun kiss him whenever and wherever after that.)
They had been walking for a while already when the rain began coming down harder, truly soaking their clothes. They were in a part of the city Jonghyun had never been to before and he was pretty sure Key was just as lost as he was. They were forced to run for shelter when the rain suddenly started pouring from the sky.
They stumbled into the first store they saw, almost completely drenched. Jonghyun leaned back on the door to catch his breath, half-panting and half-laughing at Kibum who was trying to fix his flat hair.
The store looked empty, which wasn’t a surprise given the terrible weather. There was a wall to the far right entirely covered with guitars - some electric, acoustic and classical. A few amplifiers on display littered the floor below them. There were shelves after shelves of what looked like sheet music at the back and the center of the room was occupied by a black grand piano. Other instruments (winds, percussions and more strings) took up the left side of the store - which was a music shop, apparently. Jonghyun’s eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning.
He quickly scanned the wall of guitars, noticing that there were a few basses at the end of a rack. He smiled to himself when his eyes fell on a particular model - the first instrument he had bought on his own. Unfortunately, he had had to sell it before moving into his apartment for some extra cash.
He slowly walked towards it, aware that Key’s eyes were on him as he unhooked the bass from the wall and settled onto the stool right beside him with the instrument in his lap. So many memories rushed back to him at all once - it was a good thing he was already seated. He stared at the neck (he remembered it bigger, thicker) and ran his thumb across the strings once. Twice. He felt a bit silly because it wasn’t plugged in and sounded like a toy and the younger boy’s curious gaze on him surely didn’t help, but it was nice to be brought back to his childhood. It was nice to be brought back to a time when rent and bills didn’t exist, when his only contracts had been showing up at school every day and showing up for band practice (when he felt like it).
He turned around on the stool then and met Kibum’s eyes. Really, he couldn’t regret leaving all that to the past.
“Having fun?” the black-haired boy asked with a hand on his hip, eyeing Jonghyun with an amused expression. He was growing more and more convinced that the other was in fact a kid trapped in a twenty-one year old’s body.
A small smile crept onto the elder’s lips as he nodded his head once. He carefully placed the bass back on its rack before grabbing a still dripping Kibum by the wrist and twirling him into his lap.
“Can I kiss you?” Jonghyun asked, blond wet fringe falling into his face and sticking to his temples.
Key simply rolled his eyes - since when did he ask? - yet he was the one to lean in and press his lips to Jonghyun’s.
Nope, Jonghyun regretted nothing.
The kiss quickly grew more heated, fuelled by the fact that their soaked clothes stuck to their bodies like a second skin. Kibum let his hand wander lower than it should have and the blond was biting back a groan when they heard the sound of someone coughing behind them.
The boys both froze at once.
“Excuse me - er - Sir, but you’re dripping onto the amp,” a voice spoke. Jonghyun was sure he had heard it somewhere before.
Kibum sprung to his feet before he could fully comprehend the situation, but quickly enough he turned around and stood up too, ready to bow in apology (well, that and to hide his blush).
He never got to bow, though, because what - who he saw left him standing stock still next to an equally still Kibum.
Dongwoon seemed just as surprised to see their faces, if not more.
Jonghyun suddenly liked Dongwoon a lot less.
A few long, silent seconds ticked by during which none of them moved. Jonghyun kept his mouth tightly shut and was determined to keep it that way until someone else broke the tension.
Beyond all odds, a small smile crept onto Dongwoon’s surprised face.
“You’re still dripping on the amp.”
Kibum quickly stepped aside, as though jolted back to reality by the other’s voice, and pushed Jonghyun along with him. Needless to say it was so, so awkward.
“So,” the tall red-orange-haired boy said, eyes darting back and forth between the couple, “you two...”
“Yeah,” Kibum cut him off in a throaty, slightly high-pitched voice. Jonghyun remained mute.
“That’s... great,” Dongwoon spoke again, nodding to himself, still not too sure if he should be surprised or pleased for them - or both.
Jonghyun could feel Kibum become less tense beside him once he realized the other wasn’t going to freak out or react badly.
“Do you work here?” the black-haired boy asked, and Jonghyun could have kissed him again right then and there for changing the subject so smoothly.
“Yeah,” the other said, seemingly almost back to normal and it baffled Jonghyun. “Pretty nice, no?”
“Yeah,” Key agreed, stretching his neck a bit to peek over the tall guy’s shoulder. “Are you alone in the store?”
Dongwoon laughed a bit before answering and Jonghyun felt the remaining tension in his body ease a little.
“Yup, no worries.”
For someone who had just witnessed them making out on a stool, Dongwoon was taking this with surprising ease.
There were another few seconds of silence - still awkward but less tense - before the tall boy seemed to suddenly remember something.
“You never called me back,” he said, glancing shyly towards Key.
“I’m sorry,” the other answered with slightly puffed out cheeks, “I thought I still had your number but I didn’t.”
“It’s no problem,” the red-head waved the apology off with a hand, “just give me your cell - if it isn’t too soaked.”
Kibum fumbled in his pockets to find his pink cell phone and it dawned on Jonghyun that he hadn’t said a word yet. Dongwoon was looking at him with some curiosity in his gaze.
Once Kibum had found the device he punched in Dongwoon’s number as he said it and saved it.
“It’s nice to see you again,” the tall boy said to Jonghyun with a small smile that was still a bit (a lot) awkward.
Jonghyun bowed his head slightly before muttering a “You too”.
“Take good care of Kibum. He deserves it.”
“I will,” Jonghyun said brightly, though he was frowning a bit. Kibum smiled and squeezed his arm.
“Of course he will,” the black-haired boy said before tugging gently on Jonghyun’s arm. “I think we should head back, it’s not raining as hard now.”
Dongwoon bowed politely and bid them farewell with a smile and a wave, which the two other boys returned, a bit stiffly. They set foot outside - it was still raining rather hard, but not as much as before.
“That was so awkward,” Kibum whined, still clutching at the blond’s arm and hiding his face in his shoulder.
Jonghyun hummed vaguely in agreement since his mind was elsewhere. He couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was odd - a thought was nagging at his mind and he doubted Kibum would lie or had lied about it, but he wanted to make sure.
“Hey Key,” he asked, tone questioning, “did you ever, you know, date Dongwoon?”
Kibum stopped in his tracks to look at Jonghyun. The black-haired boy was frowning, searching Jonghyun’s brown eyes trying to figure out what the other was thinking.
“No,” he spoke and the blond believed him at once, “we were just friends.”
When the blond didn’t move, Kibum turned to stand in front of him and took both his hands in his, clasping them tightly.
“I swear, Jjong.”
Jonghyun smiled.
“Okay.”
They walked in the rain again and whatever piece of clothing had managed to dry off while they were inside got wet once more. Key was looking down, eyes on his feet. Compared to earlier that afternoon, their mood had really dampened (literally).
“So,” Jonghyun said to strike up a conversation, “are you going to invite Dongwoon to the show?”
“I don’t know,” was Kibum’s answer and it puzzled Jonghyun.
“Why not?”
“It’s just...” Kibum glanced at the shorter boy, gaze locking with his big, curious round eyes and he bit his bottom lip, previous thoughts suddenly a mess. “Alright.”
“You don’t seem to -” Jonghyun paused mid phrase, searching his words before carrying on, “well, seems like you’re avoiding him or something.”
“Dongwoon’s fine. A bit clingy, though.”
That made the blond chuckle for some reason. He didn’t miss the way Kibum looked at him warmly.
“If you think he’s clingy, then what am I? A leech?” the blond said, laughter fresh in his tone.
“Do you see me complaining?” and the smile Kibum shot him was breathtaking.
“No?”
The younger boy leaned in to place a quick peck on his plump lips.
“Exactly,” he said, even though it was already very clear.
Previous || Next
__________________
A/N: This will have 12 chapters. I know I'm abusing the fluffiness of this story, but I just couldn't help it xD
The plot WILL pick up in the next chapter. Thanks for reading!
This is adorbs :3
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Rock musical!AU, Romance & Drama
Disclaimer: I wish.
Summary: When Onew leaves the Korean production of RoA, Jonghyun is promoted to lead singer in his place and a new actor is also hired. Sparks fly, drama ensues - Rock & Roll.
Rock and roll, hey
Don't you know, baby, we're all alone now
Give me something to sing about.
- Paramore, Crushcrushcrush
Prologue || 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7 || 8 || 9 || 10 || 11 || 12 || Epilogue
__________________
Rock My World - Chapter 8
They had a performance the next day and the crowd was a bit more quiet than usual, but Jonghyun blamed it on the fact that it was a Monday evening. Key wasn’t as brilliant as usual, too, because he was still a bit sore. The blond overheard a few members of the cast ask him if he was okay and Jonghyun could only chuckle to himself, earning himself a glare from an annoyed Kibum.
The next few weeks went by quickly, or so it seemed - the production was putting on five shows every week on average now that summer was approaching. The work was gruelling and definitely tested Jonghyun’s vocal chords, but it was always just as rewarding to see the crowd stand up in applause at the end of every show as it was the first time. When Jonghyun bowed for the curtain call, standing next to his fellow singers and dancers, his smile was genuine. For Kim Jonghyun, life was good.
For Kim Kibum, it was a bit of a different story. He was noticing more and more how other cast members were sending looks that weren’t exactly friendly his way. Mostly it was just Jessica and Jino, but it did happen that other people would stare at him as though... as though something, but what exactly Kibum didn’t know, and that bothered him. But nothing happened - apart from these strange looks, no one was being openly disrespectful to him. So he shrugged it off. He had to admit he was used to it, anyway.
When the members of the production were granted a two and a half day break - the first in a long while - Jonghyun spent half of the first day sleeping (with Roo curled up in the comforter). He had planned on lazing around for part of afternoon as well but as much as he tried to stay in bed, he couldn’t stop himself from getting onto his feet to reach for his phone and text a certain boy. Said boy texted back almost immediately.
They met an hour later at the bus station - Key’s choice - because they didn’t know where they wanted to go yet. They ended up in a sushi shop even though it was almost three in the afternoon. It wasn’t the same as the one they had visited for their first “date”, but it was similar enough to have them smiling like kids on vacation at the memory and stealing lingering glances at each other. Jonghyun offered to pay because his mother (and sister) had raised him well and Kibum didn’t protest.
They had a playful argument over who could hold their liquor better - neither of them had quite forgotten the night of Jonghyun’s birthday because how could they? - and Kibum threatened to have a rematch right then and there with sake.
“You passed out first,” Jonghyun said through a mouthful of sashimi.
“Did not,” Key answered back without missing a beat, waving his chopsticks in front of him. “And how do you know? You were so wasted you couldn’t even remember how old you’d turned,” he added, arching an eyebrow below his fringe. “You did remember my name, though,” he mumbled afterwards, only so Jonghyun could barely hear from across the table.
The blond shot him a look only to see Key smile innocently at him and bat his eyelashes a few times.
“Besides,” the younger boy continued, still looking as innocent as ever, “you’re shorter.”
“How is that even-”
“Body mass, Jonghyun.” The black-haired boy rolled his eyes, but it was all in good humour. “You’re smaller, you can’t handle as much.”
“I’m not small,” Jonghyun said, stabbing at some fish with his chopsticks, on the verge of being offended.
“You’re right,” Kibum admitted, but his smirk suggested otherwise, “you’re tiny.”
“Yah!”
The youngest didn’t allow the blond to say any more because he leaned in to kiss him. It was the most effective way of silencing Jonghyun, he had learned. The elder relaxed at the contact and when Kibum noticed he wasn’t putting up any resistance, he opened an eye and stole a sushi roll from Jonghyun’s plate. He broke the kiss to stuff it into his mouth, trying to chew despite his large grin.
“You-”
Jonghyun never got to finish his sentence because the pile of green wasabi on a corner of his plate caught his eye; he swiped a finger through it and spread the green condiment on Kibum’s pretty cheekbone. The boy made a disgusted face and wiped it off as much as he could but it was getting harder and harder because his eyes were beginning to water as the hot vapours reached them. Jonghyun chuckled heartily and took his time to choose a roll from Kibum’s plate in turn.
“I hate you, it really stings,” the boy pouted, dabbing at his eyes and cheek with a tissue.
The elder answered him with a wide white smile before leaning forwards, resting his elbow on the table as he grabbed Kibum’s chin to pull him forward. Right when the younger boy had his eyes closed, expecting a peck on the lips Jonghyun turned his head to the side and licked his cheek clean. Key gave a small yelp of surprise and pushed the laughing blond away.
They finished eating their food and Jonghyun had caught Kibum (un)subtly trying to smear wasabi on him no less than three times. The owner of the restaurant seemed a bit relieved when the rowdy pair of boys finally stepped out.
It was raining a slight drizzle outside - not enough to dampen their mood, though. Jonghyun grabbed the slim, taller boy by his waist and pulled him closer to kiss him, properly this time, simply because he could.
Key made to part, but Jonghyun held him still for a while longer. When they did part, the blond had a lazy grin plastered on his face which the other eyed fondly.
“I’ve always wanted to do that,” the elder confessed, hands unmoving from the taller one’s waist.
“Do what?”
“Kiss in the rain.”
“Oh my god, you’re a big ball of cheese. You know that right?”
“Big?” Jonghyun spoke with faked confusion. “I thought I was tiny.”
Kibum rolled his eyes and grabbed his hand to drag him onto the streets.
(Jonghyun kept pulling the other to himself to kiss him all afternoon. Key refused at first, uttering a shy “People will see” - the idea of a shy Key greatly amused Jonghyun. “It’s okay,” he answered back, “they’ll probably think you’re a girl.” Key looked at him, not entirely convinced and a bit flustered. “A tall girl,” Jonghyun added and surely enough the younger boy smiled, letting Jonghyun kiss him whenever and wherever after that.)
They had been walking for a while already when the rain began coming down harder, truly soaking their clothes. They were in a part of the city Jonghyun had never been to before and he was pretty sure Key was just as lost as he was. They were forced to run for shelter when the rain suddenly started pouring from the sky.
They stumbled into the first store they saw, almost completely drenched. Jonghyun leaned back on the door to catch his breath, half-panting and half-laughing at Kibum who was trying to fix his flat hair.
The store looked empty, which wasn’t a surprise given the terrible weather. There was a wall to the far right entirely covered with guitars - some electric, acoustic and classical. A few amplifiers on display littered the floor below them. There were shelves after shelves of what looked like sheet music at the back and the center of the room was occupied by a black grand piano. Other instruments (winds, percussions and more strings) took up the left side of the store - which was a music shop, apparently. Jonghyun’s eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning.
He quickly scanned the wall of guitars, noticing that there were a few basses at the end of a rack. He smiled to himself when his eyes fell on a particular model - the first instrument he had bought on his own. Unfortunately, he had had to sell it before moving into his apartment for some extra cash.
He slowly walked towards it, aware that Key’s eyes were on him as he unhooked the bass from the wall and settled onto the stool right beside him with the instrument in his lap. So many memories rushed back to him at all once - it was a good thing he was already seated. He stared at the neck (he remembered it bigger, thicker) and ran his thumb across the strings once. Twice. He felt a bit silly because it wasn’t plugged in and sounded like a toy and the younger boy’s curious gaze on him surely didn’t help, but it was nice to be brought back to his childhood. It was nice to be brought back to a time when rent and bills didn’t exist, when his only contracts had been showing up at school every day and showing up for band practice (when he felt like it).
He turned around on the stool then and met Kibum’s eyes. Really, he couldn’t regret leaving all that to the past.
“Having fun?” the black-haired boy asked with a hand on his hip, eyeing Jonghyun with an amused expression. He was growing more and more convinced that the other was in fact a kid trapped in a twenty-one year old’s body.
A small smile crept onto the elder’s lips as he nodded his head once. He carefully placed the bass back on its rack before grabbing a still dripping Kibum by the wrist and twirling him into his lap.
“Can I kiss you?” Jonghyun asked, blond wet fringe falling into his face and sticking to his temples.
Key simply rolled his eyes - since when did he ask? - yet he was the one to lean in and press his lips to Jonghyun’s.
Nope, Jonghyun regretted nothing.
The kiss quickly grew more heated, fuelled by the fact that their soaked clothes stuck to their bodies like a second skin. Kibum let his hand wander lower than it should have and the blond was biting back a groan when they heard the sound of someone coughing behind them.
The boys both froze at once.
“Excuse me - er - Sir, but you’re dripping onto the amp,” a voice spoke. Jonghyun was sure he had heard it somewhere before.
Kibum sprung to his feet before he could fully comprehend the situation, but quickly enough he turned around and stood up too, ready to bow in apology (well, that and to hide his blush).
He never got to bow, though, because what - who he saw left him standing stock still next to an equally still Kibum.
Dongwoon seemed just as surprised to see their faces, if not more.
Jonghyun suddenly liked Dongwoon a lot less.
A few long, silent seconds ticked by during which none of them moved. Jonghyun kept his mouth tightly shut and was determined to keep it that way until someone else broke the tension.
Beyond all odds, a small smile crept onto Dongwoon’s surprised face.
“You’re still dripping on the amp.”
Kibum quickly stepped aside, as though jolted back to reality by the other’s voice, and pushed Jonghyun along with him. Needless to say it was so, so awkward.
“So,” the tall red-orange-haired boy said, eyes darting back and forth between the couple, “you two...”
“Yeah,” Kibum cut him off in a throaty, slightly high-pitched voice. Jonghyun remained mute.
“That’s... great,” Dongwoon spoke again, nodding to himself, still not too sure if he should be surprised or pleased for them - or both.
Jonghyun could feel Kibum become less tense beside him once he realized the other wasn’t going to freak out or react badly.
“Do you work here?” the black-haired boy asked, and Jonghyun could have kissed him again right then and there for changing the subject so smoothly.
“Yeah,” the other said, seemingly almost back to normal and it baffled Jonghyun. “Pretty nice, no?”
“Yeah,” Key agreed, stretching his neck a bit to peek over the tall guy’s shoulder. “Are you alone in the store?”
Dongwoon laughed a bit before answering and Jonghyun felt the remaining tension in his body ease a little.
“Yup, no worries.”
For someone who had just witnessed them making out on a stool, Dongwoon was taking this with surprising ease.
There were another few seconds of silence - still awkward but less tense - before the tall boy seemed to suddenly remember something.
“You never called me back,” he said, glancing shyly towards Key.
“I’m sorry,” the other answered with slightly puffed out cheeks, “I thought I still had your number but I didn’t.”
“It’s no problem,” the red-head waved the apology off with a hand, “just give me your cell - if it isn’t too soaked.”
Kibum fumbled in his pockets to find his pink cell phone and it dawned on Jonghyun that he hadn’t said a word yet. Dongwoon was looking at him with some curiosity in his gaze.
Once Kibum had found the device he punched in Dongwoon’s number as he said it and saved it.
“It’s nice to see you again,” the tall boy said to Jonghyun with a small smile that was still a bit (a lot) awkward.
Jonghyun bowed his head slightly before muttering a “You too”.
“Take good care of Kibum. He deserves it.”
“I will,” Jonghyun said brightly, though he was frowning a bit. Kibum smiled and squeezed his arm.
“Of course he will,” the black-haired boy said before tugging gently on Jonghyun’s arm. “I think we should head back, it’s not raining as hard now.”
Dongwoon bowed politely and bid them farewell with a smile and a wave, which the two other boys returned, a bit stiffly. They set foot outside - it was still raining rather hard, but not as much as before.
“That was so awkward,” Kibum whined, still clutching at the blond’s arm and hiding his face in his shoulder.
Jonghyun hummed vaguely in agreement since his mind was elsewhere. He couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was odd - a thought was nagging at his mind and he doubted Kibum would lie or had lied about it, but he wanted to make sure.
“Hey Key,” he asked, tone questioning, “did you ever, you know, date Dongwoon?”
Kibum stopped in his tracks to look at Jonghyun. The black-haired boy was frowning, searching Jonghyun’s brown eyes trying to figure out what the other was thinking.
“No,” he spoke and the blond believed him at once, “we were just friends.”
When the blond didn’t move, Kibum turned to stand in front of him and took both his hands in his, clasping them tightly.
“I swear, Jjong.”
Jonghyun smiled.
“Okay.”
They walked in the rain again and whatever piece of clothing had managed to dry off while they were inside got wet once more. Key was looking down, eyes on his feet. Compared to earlier that afternoon, their mood had really dampened (literally).
“So,” Jonghyun said to strike up a conversation, “are you going to invite Dongwoon to the show?”
“I don’t know,” was Kibum’s answer and it puzzled Jonghyun.
“Why not?”
“It’s just...” Kibum glanced at the shorter boy, gaze locking with his big, curious round eyes and he bit his bottom lip, previous thoughts suddenly a mess. “Alright.”
“You don’t seem to -” Jonghyun paused mid phrase, searching his words before carrying on, “well, seems like you’re avoiding him or something.”
“Dongwoon’s fine. A bit clingy, though.”
That made the blond chuckle for some reason. He didn’t miss the way Kibum looked at him warmly.
“If you think he’s clingy, then what am I? A leech?” the blond said, laughter fresh in his tone.
“Do you see me complaining?” and the smile Kibum shot him was breathtaking.
“No?”
The younger boy leaned in to place a quick peck on his plump lips.
“Exactly,” he said, even though it was already very clear.
Previous || Next
__________________
A/N: This will have 12 chapters. I know I'm abusing the fluffiness of this story, but I just couldn't help it xD
The plot WILL pick up in the next chapter. Thanks for reading!
This is adorbs :3