[002/ILC] Death Threats and the Likes
Title: Death Threats and the Likes
IL/Pairing Assigner: kendayawind & shadowcrawler12
Rating: G
Genre: AU/Romance
Length: One-Shot
Pairing: Kimin
Challenge: Initial Line Challenge
Disclaimer: I have no authority or possession over any of the artists used in this fiction. Their names are merely borrowed and this fic, in no way, represents them in real life. The plot belongs to me.
Summary: His death threat came real sudden. Well, so does everything else in life. That's why they call life a game, right?
“All you have to do is ignore him and pretend that he isn’t throwing daggers in your direction and that he didn't threaten you the other day; easy enough right?”
Kibum fumbled with his chopsticks, trying to pick some meat out of his plate, as he kept his head lowered and his eyes out of sight. “Easier said then done,” he muttered under his breath, “You're not the one he's glaring holes through.”
Siwon pursed his lips. “It's just as easy said and done,” he insisted. “Plus, Sungmin-sshi looks like a sweet guy and you're probably just paranoid because, honestly, I don't see him looking. Even if he does look, it's not likely a glare, it's more like... a hard stare.”
“Same difference,” Kibum groaned, still feeling the said man's eyes piercing through his very skull, “he knows kungfu, hyung, he can mess me up bad.”
“And he told you he would,” Siwon laughed, “I doubt he will though.”
Kibum sighed, stuffing a slice of meat in his mouth. “I don't get it,” he said in between chews, “I don't know what I could have possibly done to him. I mean, I didn't even know he existed until he just jumped out of the blue and threatened my life.”
“Maybe that's the problem?” Siwon suggested, “That you've been too ignorant and arrogant and that ticked him off?”
“I'm not arrogant!” Kibum defended as if he had been insulted, “I'm simply introverted and well reserved, that's all.”
Siwon rolled his eyes. “So says the guy who gets praised sky high for his amazing grades but heeds no attention to his many admirers that are being crushed under his merciless feet every minute of the day. Really though, what do you think could have turned him off so much he resorted to threatening you?”
Kibum shrugged dejectedly. “If only I knew.”
-
Sungmin woke up in the midst of a nap, the sun shining over him through gaps between branches and leaves from the tree he was settled under. The grass was soft, the wind was warm, and the breeze smelled like sweet cotton candy-
Wait. Cotton candy?
“You're up?” A voice whispered to him, like the wind against his ears.
Sungmin twitched slightly, lifting a hand to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He groaned as he pulled himself into sitting position, lifting a brow at the man sitting beside him. “What are you doing here?” He asked, his words smothered through his lips.
Kibum flinched, slightly startled by Sungmin's low growl. “I-I was just passing by and saw you sitting here,” Kibum started to explain, “and I thought I'd have a talk with you but you were asleep.”
“What do you want?” Sungmin clapped his hands together before briskly running his fingers through his hair.
It was quite an admirable sight; the sun beaming off of Sungmin's smooth, pale skin and Sungmin's shoulder length raven black hair brushing behind his ears, sliding off the surface of his cheeks like thin strands of silk.
Kibum felt his breath catch in his throat. “I was w-wondering,” Kibum coughed, “What have I ever done to you that made you threaten me?”
“That's a ridiculous question,” Sungmin glowered, “but the answer's simple: nothing. It was just a game.”
Something told Kibum that the reply wasn't honest but probing Sungmin further for an answer probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, and Kibum never did anything stupid. Kibum noticed how Sungmin eyed the cotton candy in his hands casually, which brought a smile to his face.
“Would you like some?” Kibum asked kindly, “I made it myself.”
“You made it?” Sungmin rose a brow“Why?”
Kibum shrugged. “Just because.”
Sungmin pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on his knees. He was still tired; sleepy from staying up late the night prior and exhausted from martial arts and dance practice earlier that afternoon.
“Don't you like cotton candy?” Kibum asked, attempting to spark another conversation.
Consequently, Sungmin tilted his head and flashed Kibum a brief glare. Suddenly at a loss of what to do, the younger of the two simply sat in silence and stared at the cotton candy in his own hands. Sungmin chuckled to himself, amazed by Kibum's cluelessness.
Suddenly it struck him. Why hadn't Sungmin ever made to leave, especially if he disliked Kibum enough to threaten his life?
“Do you..” Kibum trailed off, his voice getting softer with every syllable, “would you happen to... l-like me?”
It would be a lie to say that what occurred next was entirely unexpected. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Kibum knew he was asking for it: a punch in the face. Fortunately, it wasn't one that would leave a bruise, but it hurt. Actually, it didn't just hurt, it stung.
Kibum immediately clasped a hand around his eye, rubbing it warily as he watched Sungmin get to his feet and give him a look of disgust and displease before stomping off.
“Great,” Kibum sighed to himself as Sungmin's retreating figure distanced from him, “he probably hates me even more than ever now.”
-
Kibum felt bothered for the next few weeks. He searched around for some trace of Sungmin, but the man was absolutely impossible to trace. Siwon would have been one of Kibum's resolutions for aid, but that hyung was always making his own crazy assumptions and he really didn't need that.
For whatever reason, Sungmin wouldn't leave him alone. Mentally, that is.
“Sungmin oppa got into another fight!”
Kibum stilled at the name but his mind was running at a mile a minute. Sungmin? He repeated in his head, in a fight?
Half of Kibum wanted to follow behind the girls to wherever it was they were going but the other half of him refused to obey, he had class to attend.
Screw it, Kibum gritted through his teeth, class can wait.
“He already said he didn't touch your damn woman!”
The voice was familiar to Kibum's ears; it was Donghae hyung, the kid everyone knew to stay away from not because he wasn't friendly, but because he - well, he had his moments; crazy moments.
Apparently, that rule didn't apply to Lee Sungmin because there he was, perched in Donghae's arms, wiping blood off the corner of his lips.
“Seriously, what's your problem, man? Your ears are still attached to your big head, are they just not linked to your brain properly?” Donghae spat out, his expression mocking the other man standing perpendicular to them.
The crowd grew larger by the second and, soon enough, Sungmin spotted Kibum gaping at him from a corner in the mass of people.
Sungmin pulled himself out of Donghae's hold. “Just ignore him, Donghae, I don't have time for trash like him. I haven't been in school for weeks, least I could do is save the deans the trouble of picking up another veggie after a fight.”
“You're not going anywhere,” the other boy grounded out, pulling Sungmin by the wrist, “not until this is settled. You don't just lay someone else's girl and walk away without a good scratch.”
Being absent for so long, Sungmin really wasn't in the mood for this. He yanked his wrist out of the others hold and shoved the other guy effortlessly, the other boy stumbled over his own legs and fell to the ground. “I'm really not in a good mood today,” Sungmin raked his fingers through his hair, the way Kibum remembered so distinctly, “I don't want to play.”
“Let's go,” Donghae shook his head, pulling Sungmin away.
The boy stood his ground and sprinted towards Sungmin. Kibum called out, making his way to Sungmin's side and pulling him out of the boys path. Sungmin immediately turned, took the boy by the neck, and dunked him to the ground in one sharp push.
“I told you I'm not in the mood,” Sungmin growled, leaning over and grabbing the boy by the hair in one large handful, “Gosh, I know people like you are stupid but do you not even take a hint?”
To say Kibum was startled by Sungmin's attitude and actions was a clear understatement, he was absolutely terrified.
Donghae sighed and pulled Sungmin to his feet.
Sungmin turned on his heel to face Kibum. “Thanks,” he muttered before Donghae led him away from the crowd. Kibum watched them leave, dumbstruck, and waited for the crowd to disperse.
When the deans came around, the boy was still on the floor. There was blood, probably from the impact of his head pounding into the floor, but Kibum hardly noticed it before the deans pointed it out to him.
“What happened?” The dean asked while helping the nurse drag the kid to his feet.
Kibum shrugged, “I'm not sure. I was just passing by and-”
“Get to class, kid,” the dean shook his head.
Kibum, for the first time in his life, forgot class was waiting for him.
-
Like a piece of gum in his hair - it was an odd way to put it but it worked in Kibum's mind - Sungmin just wouldn't get out of his head. It took a whole week longer for him to realize that he needed to talk things out with the older man, otherwise, he would never be at peace.
The day Kibum was able to gather up all the courage he had to approach Sungmin at his lunch table, with all of his friends, Kibum really wished he actually thought the whole thing through thoroughly before acting on impulse.
“So, you've been ignoring me,” were the first words to escape Kibum's lips.
Sungmin set his chopsticks in his plate and looked up at Kibum with astonishment. Was this kid on crack?
“Excuse me?” Sungmin laughed.
Kibum swallowed. Hard.
“I've been meaning to ask you about the threat but you've obviously been avoiding me-”
“Didn't I tell you it was just a game?” Sungmin interjected before Kibum could finish his sentence.
Donghae propped his chin in his palms as he watched the two in amusement, Eunhyuk joining him soon after. “So that was his target?” Eunhyuk asked, throwing Donghae a brief glance.
Donghae nodded. “Top in his classes, model student, typical popular guy,” Donghae listed out as Kibum shuffled his feet nervously, “nice and shy, too.”
“Shut up,” Sungmin scowled at his friends.
Eunhyuk pulled back defensively. “It wasn't me.”
Kibum cleared his throat. “Regardless of whether or not it was just a game,” he continued, his voice shaking slightly due to the eyes of every student in the dining center resting on him, “I just can't really stop thinking about it- well, you and the-”
“The threat?” Sungmin asked incredulously. “Well, I apologize then.”
“N-no,” Kibum stuttered, “can we talk somewhere else?”
Sungmin eyed his friends, as if asking for help.
“It's a love confession, idiot,” Donghae rolled his eyes out of boredom, “not that you need any more of those.”
Eunhyuk chuckled. “You're just jealous Sungmin gets all the girls.”
“And boys, apparently,” Donghae sighed.
Sungmin looked up at Kibum, who was blushing, and blushed just slightly along with the younger boy.
“It'd be really nice if we could go out to that tree again,” Kibum forced himself to say, promising himself they'd be his last words until the two were alone.
“Again?” Eunhyuk teased.
Sungmin shot his friend a glare. “Just sit down, Kibum.”
“S-sit?” Kibum stuttered. It was the first time Sungmin addressed him by his name, and to be honest, it sounded good. “B-but I-”
“If you don't sit,” Sungmin glared up at him, “you really are asking me to fulfill my threat.”
It took not a second longer for Kibum to drop down into a seat beside Sungmin, garnering low laughs from the other two boys at the table with them.
“Bring your friend with you next time,” Sungmin muttered between bites.
“Siwon?” Kibum asked, “Why?”
“Shouldn't I get to know your friends?” Sungmin asked candidly.
It didn't take a genius to know what Sungmin was getting at. Sungmin was never well with his words, neither was he efficient at expressing himself, but Kibum was able to feel Sungmin's sincerity and read between the lines.
“O-okay,” Kibum grinned, the killer grin that was so famous amongst the population, “Siwon will love you.”
Sungmin raised a brow. “Really?”
Kibum nodded, “He loves everyone, truthfully, and he said you were a looker.”
“When?” Sungmin asked.
Kibum bit his bottom lip. “That one day you were glaring at me-”
“Oh,” Sungmin coughed.
So it truly wasn't just his paranoia gnawing at him like Siwon said; Sungmin really was staring.
For the rest of lunch there wasn't much space for Kibum to speak amongst the three friends but he preferred it that way. He learned, from the short amount of time he spent with them, that aside from being a little rash, too playful, and violent, they were actually very nice guys.
While they were finishing up, Sungmin stood and offered to walk Kibum to class. Oddly, it made Kibum feel slightly uncomfortable; he wasn't a girl or something.
“It's okay,” Kibum smiled, “I can go on my own.”
Sungmin shrugged, nodding slightly at the younger boy before turning to leave with Donghae and Eunhyuk.
Kibum wasn't sure what it was, but he couldn't fight the sudden urge to pull Sungmin around and give him a small peck on the lips. Perhaps it had something to do with the way Sungmin pursed his lips while he spoke, or the way he pouted when Donghae and Eunhyuk stole food out of his plate, or even the way he licked his lips when he felt awkward during certain topics.
Whatever it was, it made something bubble at the pit of Kibum's stomach.
Sungmin grinned and kissed back, just long enough to make that bubble pop and spread all over Kibum's body. Before Kibum could react, properly at least, Sungmin pulled away and ruffled the younger boys hair. “I'll see you later, Bum.”
Kibum nodded, his smile reaching from ear to ear.
“Yeah,” Kibum uttered to himself as he watched Sungmin leave with his friends, “definitely.”
The stares, mostly of disbelief, didn't bother Kibum the rest of the day. Actually, the stares lasted all throughout the rest of the school year, from students to professors, because no one could believe that the school's top student was dating the school's top delinquent, but none of it mattered to Kibum.
The threat that once set the two apart was, in the end, what kept them together. For that, Kibum learned to be grateful.
----
A/N: Check out kendayawind 's challenge of the same couple here
♥So, because Sungmin is in this fic, I just wanted to say: I'm so excited that Sungmin and Eunhyuk are in SJM and they all look absolutely lovely in the teaser photos! (I thought Sungmin looked pretty. lol.) Really looking forward to their official activities and SJM releases! Happy Saint Valentine's Day!