Colourful Lunchbox
Onew/Key
PG-13, Romance
★ Jinki wants to quit the gym.
"I want to quit the gym," Jinki said, frowning with determination at the man standing coolly behind the front desk.
"I'm sorry, sir. What?" The man threw him a questioning look. "Are our services unsatisfactory?"
Jinki bit his lips. Each month, the gym took 50 000 won from his bank account and he went only about twice every three months. Plus, he had heard of a discount for students at another, smaller gym nearby. But he couldn't really tell that to the shocked man in front of him. The poor secretary seemed close to a seizure.
"I just. I don't have the time anymore." Jinki scratched the back of his head. "Exams are coming soon and I need to study."
"As you wish." The man snarled. "But you do realise you won't be able to use our new Finnish spa, right?"
Jinki nodded slowly.
Papers were shoved in his hands and he filled them awkwardly with half of the sheets off the desk. After all the lines had been filled, Jinki proudly slammed the pile of papers onto the man's desk and thanked him before heading out.
On his way to the front door, an unsmiling boy went past him. As the boy was looking forward, a thin white object fell from his bag. Jinki looked down and grabbed the device before running after the boy and tapping him on the shoulder.
"What?" He snapped, clearly annoyed.
Jinki held out his hand, an ipod resting in the open palm. "You dropped this."
"I did?"
"It was on the floor," Jinki said as the unknown boy started shuffling through his bags.
"Thank you!" The boy smiled suddenly, brightening his whole face up. "I can't work out without music,"
Jinki gave a shy smirk. "You work out here?" He asked.
"Yeah." The boy said, flicking his bangs out of his eyes. "I'll see you around?"
With a bright blush on his face -which, he wanted to believe, was due to the coldness coming from the door and not to the beautiful stranger in front of him- Jinki nodded frantically.
"Sure,"
"I want to be a member," Jinki said, frowning with determination at the man standing coolly behind the front desk.
"Didn't you quit yesterday?" The same man as the day before questioned amusedly.
Jinki stared thoughtfully for a second, trying to make up a believable lie. "Yes, but I want to join again because of the spa."
"Alright! Let me see what I can do for you!" The man clapped his hands together in glee. "I'll cancel your cancellation," He said, a sly smirk on his lips. "I didn't have time to delete your account anyway,"
Jinki waited and answered questions when prompted. He didn't even know why he wanted 50 000 won to vanish from his bank account each month, but his mother always told him he could be impulsive. And he guessed that this was exactly what his mother had warned him about.
"Here." The man said, pushing a card forward. "You have a free card with your membership."
Jinki took it and made a mental note to throw his old one out once he get to his apartment.
"And of course, with this you have access to our new Finnish spa!"
Red dusted his cheeks as Jinki thanked the guy and walked out, shame pressing on his shoulder like a 50 pounds weight - or 50 gold bars.
Jinki found himself going to the gym much more often than ever before. Between endless studying sessions and long lectures, he'd go work out, hoping and praying he would meet the ipod guy again.
Minho had made fun of him. He told Jinki that no matter how pretty a girl is -he still didn't know about Jinki's sexual preferences- she was not worth losing 600 000 won a year. But Jinki ignored him, Minho was paying much more to stay on the basketball team, the hockey team and the baseball team all at the same time anyway.
Though Jinki was confident at first, he quickly noticed that he didn't know which day and what hour the ipod guy was working out at. Jinki had tried to study in the gym's hall a couple of times in order to meet him again, but it proved vain because he was more focused on the sound of the door opening than the calculus he was supposed to do.
Then some faithful day, Jinki entered the weights room and his eyes immediately fell on a boy pulling at a scary-looking machine. As expected, ear buds were plugged into his ears, letting him be oblivious to his surroundings.
At first Jinki didn't do anything but fight back a smile that attempted to appear on his face. It was on Friday, at 4 pm, that the ipod guy came to the gym to train. Overjoyed by his new discovery, Jinki settled down near the elliptical trainers and brought a thermos of water out of his bag.
He planned to bump into the boy later on, when he was sweaty and manly and desirable.
However, when Jinki got off the machine, ready to face the reason why he was at the gym, the boy was nowhere to be seen.
Jinki cussed all the way back to the locker room.
The next Friday, Jinki stepped in the weights room at 4 sharp, eyes scanning through the room to get a glimpse of a boy with brown hair humming along the way too loud music booming out of his earphones.
Jinki sighed when nobody caught his eyes.
He processed to empty his bag, place his bottle of water on a bench and exchange his usual watch with a sports one - he came to learn that sweat made his watches' bracelets stink.
He was bending down to grab his watch when someone tapped his shoulder.
"Hi!"
Jinki was startled by the chirpy voice and turned around abruptly, almost losing balance on the way.
"Hey," He smiled nervously. "H-Hello,"
"I'm Kibum!" The boy said happily, extending his hand. "You picked up my ipod the other day," He explained, though Jinki's surprise wasn't due to being confused at who the boy was. They shook hands rather awkwardly. Awkwardly on Jinki's part, of course.
"Yes. I'm Jinki." Jinki gulped down some water from his bottle, hoping to look nonchalant, but failing. "I didn't know you trained on Fridays as well,"
Kibum chuckled, sitting down beside Jinki's bag. Jinki' cheeks were a clashing shade of red, but he figured he could just pretend he was working hard.
"I was on my way out actually," Kibum informed and sponged sweat off his cheek with a towel.
Oh Jinki thought. "Oh," He said.
"Maybe we can have coffee some other time!" Kibum proposed as he slung the towel over his shoulder. "See you some other time,"
Jinki couldn't help but stare at Kibum's swaying hips as the boy practically danced his way out. But hey- Where was his towel again?
"I am so sorry I mistook it for mine," Kibum apologised the next Friday. "They look so much the same,"
Jinki chortled timidly. "No problem," He said and took the offered towel in his hand. It was softer than he remembered.
"I cleaned it." Kibum rectified when he guessed Jinki's unspoken question. "My sweat isn't really something you should smell," He joked.
Jinki had trouble giving earnest laughter back, but with great efforts, he somehow managed to.
"Do you want to get coffee after training?" Kibum asked, smiling. "My treat." He added.
It wasn't that Jinki was against the idea, but he wasn't sure his heart would bear caffeine and Kibum at the same time. It was thumping so hard against his chest already.
"Sure." Jinki agreed without being totally aware of it himself. "I'd love to go,"
Kibum grinned and suddenly, Jinki's views on death changed. He could die right then and he would have seen the prettiest sceneries in one shot -sunsets, mountains and rain forests surely didn't match up to Kibum's smile.
"Well, we might as well train together right?" He suggested, flicking his hair out of his eyes again. That seemed to be a habit of Kibum's. "Since you're here early today,"
Jinki found himself being dragged to the stationary bicycles before he could nod.
Training with Kibum had been a lot more fun than training with Minho; first because Minho was much too competitive to be tolerable in a gym and second because Kibum was much more awesome.
"I study fashion." Kibum had said, looking out the giant window in from of their bicycles. "I don't know why,"
Jinki now understood why he always had different clothes when he was training and why his sneakers could probably glister in the dark. Although Jinki was not used to speak to that kind of people - the kind that didn't need to plan out their future before undertaking it - he found himself listening to Kibum very closely. His interest in the boy grew with each word that dropped out of his mouth.
It didn't take an hour that Jinki had already understood that Kibum lead a much more exciting life than he was. It wasn't that Jinki was unhappy with his life or was willing to change everything, it was just all the other things that lead to the statement: 'Hey I've never done this before. I should try'.
They were at a café in warm winter clothes when Jinki asked for Kibum's phone number. The younger boy -younger by 2 years- didn't cringe at his request. He simply smirked and typed his number into Jinki's phone.
It somehow hurt Jinki that Kibum didn't ask for his though.
It quickly became a routine to exercise with Kibum. They were joking and enjoying the time spent together immensely and at some point, Jinki found himself falling for the boy. It wasn't just attraction anymore; it was a much greater feeling. Kibum had become much more than a mysterious stranger who had accidentally dropped his ipod.
It was the first time Jinki felt that way and he wasn't too sure what to make of it.
"Are you okay Jinki?" Kibum asked when he noticed the older boy had been staring at the same weight for a whole minute without moving. "Have you stretched something the wrong way?"
Jinki fumbled with his bottle of water and shook his head to dispel Kibum's worry. "No,"
"Then what?" Kibum insisted. "You're spacing out,"
"It's just-" Jinki sighed. "I'm just tired,"
Kibum looked down for a couple of seconds, thinking about something, then he let go of the handle he was holding and got up.
"You should take care of yourself," He said, placing his hands on his hips, making his grey shirt crumple under his fingers. "You say you spend your days studying."
"I need to."
"There is a limit." Kibum scolded. "If you stuff your head with things it might burst,"
Jinki frowned, unable to grasp Kibum's point. "If I don't I'm going to fail. I need my diploma Kibum."
"Studying is okay, but you have to stay sane!" Kibum grabbed the dancing rope in front of Jinki and threw it aside. "You told me you didn't have lunch today. That can't be healthy."
"But I work out. I train. They say- You say I have to train to be healthy, right?"
Kibum shook his head from left to right slowly. He grabbed Jinki's shoulder and buried in nail there before pulling Jinki up.
"You have to clear your head once in a while Jinki." He said, avoiding the question. "Let's go outside,"
The walk with Kibum around the city did help him sort out his feelings, but it also made him sink deeper in love. Jinki would still be able to study and carry on daily activities. Kibum wasn't consuming him -yet- but he was certainly in his head more often than he should.
Jinki considered confessing numerous times, but Minho -who had somehow discovered who Jinki's crush was- talked him out of it.
"I don't know him, but Kibum might not be gay Jinki." Minho said one evening. "Did he ever tell you he was?"
Jinki thought about it even if he knew the answer. "He never did."
"You see?" The tall, black-haired boy said. "You should start with basic information about the guy if you want to date him."
"I should, right?"
Minho nodded carefully; trying to make sure Jinki had understood his warning. "I just don't want you breaking down because of a stupid crush."
And though Jinki was touched by Minho's concern, he couldn't help but think that he had gotten over the crush phase too long ago.
"Do you think I'm too flashy?"
Jinki detached his eyes from the window to look at Kibum pedaling on his stationary bicycle. Kibum very rarely asked him question like that. Jinki could even wonder if Kibum had ever asked for his opinion before.
"Hum. No." He said, or more, lied because the sneakers really were kind of blinding. "I mean, it's not over the top."
Kibum frowned.
"Why do you ask?"
"A friend of mine told me I looked-" Kibum stopped. He lifted his head to consider Jinki for some seconds. "Never mind. It's not important,"
Jinki decided not to press the issue.
The younger boy didn't seem to happy about the closure of the subject, but Jinki was lost. He had never been good at the whole comforting thing. Not even for himself.
"Hey." Kibum called out as they disembarked their bikes. He pushed Jinki's shoulder lightly and made him stumble a little. "Want to go grab coffee?"
Jinki cocked his head to the side, then the biggest smile drew itself on his face. "Of course!"
"Sorry," Kibum laughed at the blushing waitress who had just asked for his phone number. "I'm gay actually."
When she stepped away, probably hoping to evaporate from the world, Kibum turned to Jinki's baffled expression. "What? You couldn't tell?"
Jinki shook his head violently and Kibum chuckled awkwardly.
"Oh well, now you know." He said. Jinki clearly remembered every moment passed with Kibum and he was affirmative that it was the first time he had ever seen the younger boy's cheeks flush. "It doesn't really change anything, does it?"
"No. Of course not."
But it did. It changed everything. Jinki started trembling, sensing his desire to ask Kibum out grow by ten.
"And you- you have a boyfriend?"
"No." Kibum smiled as he stared at Jinki being everything but calm. "You don't have to ask if it makes you uncomfortable you know."
"I'm not!" He said a little bit too rapidly. "I'm not..." He repeated on a softer tone.
"Then what are you shaking so much for? Are you cold? You want hot chocolate?"
"Actually, I'm-"
The waitress stood beside their table, hiding her face behind her notepad. "We've run out of caramel coffee beans. Can I interest you in a latte?"
Kibum shrugged. "Whatever. As long as it's hot."
The young girl glanced at Jinki whose eyes were looking down to the floor. She turned back to Kibum who had draped an arm around the back of the empty chair next to him.
"Can I get anything for your boyfriend?"
Jinki gasped and opened his mouth to protest furiously.
"He'll have a hot chocolate." Kibum cut him off. "With marshmallows."
The waitress nodded and went behind the counter where the cashier stood. Jinki didn't look though. She could be growing wings and floating over there for all he cared.
"I'm- She called me your-" Jinki took in a deep breath. "boyfriend."
Kibum stretched his arms above his head lazily. "She did?" He let them drop on the table between them. "I didn't notice."
Jinki spent the next few days trying to come up with the best way to confess; a way that would let his feelings be known while preventing him from looking like a total idiot.
"You could get him flowers." Minho suggested. "Does that work for boys too?"
Jinki shook his head. "He doesn't seem like the type to expect flowers."
"Chocolate?" Minho stopped walking when he reached his locker. Jinki stood beside him, deep in thought. "In a heart-shaped box,"
"I doubt he'll eat them. He's healthier than any person I've met before."
"Black chocolate then." Minho pushed his books into his locker and grabbed his schoolbag. "With fruits."
The older boy pouted. "He'll think I'm a freak."
Minho sighed, closing his locker with more force than necessary. "A teddy bear. Everybody loves teddy bears."
"Come on Minho. He's nineteen, not ten." Jinki said. "And he's not that girly."
The taller boy glared at Jinki. "I don't have time for this Jinki." Minho pointed out. "People are waiting for me."
Jinki ended up buying- well nothing. He couldn't choose and figured that no rule forced him to bring anything anyway. Besides, with his luck, he could get Kibum something he loathed and that would make him feel like a jerk.
He thought he had the whole thing planned out; he would enter the weights room where he always joined Kibum on Friday afternoon, then he'd invite him out for dinner and he'd confess there without any fanfare and tap-dancing; a simple confession that he wouldn't be able to mess up even if he wanted to.
With that in mind, Jinki entered the room he was aiming for and immediately spotted Kibum. The younger boy was standing beside the row of stationary bicycles, his back pressed against the window as he giggled to whatever it was that the other man with him had told him.
Jinki's confidence collapsed when he saw them and he contemplated turning on his heels and going back home without even trying to voice his feelings for Kibum. He waited a second too long to make up his mind though, and Kibum waved at him.
There was no way Jinki could just ignore him, so he gloomily made his way through the machines and the people. By the time he reached his friend, the unknown man was gone somewhere else -probably exercising his already big muscles.
"What took you so long?" Kibum scolded, shoving his shoulder. "You're ten minutes late! And don't tell me you were studying because I'll go burn down your damn books. Isn't your exam session over anyway?"
Jinki pouted, tugging at the towel hanging on his shoulder. "You looked busy enough," He said sulkily.
"What?"
"You were flirting with that guy. Weren't you?" Jinki unconsciously pursued his lips, unable to keep the feeling of betrayal out of his heart -though there was no betrayal per se.
"Hum." Kibum straightened his back, unfamiliar with Jinki being straightforward. "Yeah. So? Don't you do it too?"
"I- I don't! I can't!" Jinki protested, squeezing his towel tightly. "I'm not nearly as hot as you are," Oh, God. Did I just say that? Jinki thought in disarray.
Kibum frowned. "Jinki, you're-"
"A-And I don't like it that you flirt with random guys and not with-" He stopped with an intake of breath, suddenly realising that he was staring into Kibum's eyes and not to the floor. "It bothers me."
Kibum looked elsewhere, nervously shifting his gaze from Jinki's eyes to the floor and to the other people working out around them. "Why would it bother you? It's not like I'm doing anything wrong,"
Jinki gulped and licked his dry lips. "It bothers me because I don't flirt with people." He said, sensing tears from anxiousness and panic form in his eyes. "I- I don't flirt with them because I-" He sensed his body shiver and stiffen. "-because I love you."
Jinki watched Kibum's hand instinctively going up to his mouth in surprise. He lowered it slowly as the initial shock faded, but his eyes stayed wide open, fixed to a red-faced Jinki.
"You really do, don't you?" He said, as if he was replaying every moment shared with Jinki in the past months. "I'm sorry, I didn't notice it earlier. I'm- I'm so sorry."
Jinki didn't have the courage to talk anymore. He knew Kibum was rejecting him and he knew he shouldn't even have fed his hopes to begin with. Without another word, he successfully went back to the locker room without stumbling in the weights scattered all around the floor. He managed to hold in his breakdown until he was out of the gym, in the street, hoping Kibum didn't look from the window.
As it turned out, Kibum did look at Jinki from the window and he ran out after him, still in his gym clothes, fighting the frozen air.
Jinki was too lost and confused to care about anything. He was in daze, walking like a drunken penguin as he wiped the tears that didn't stop flowing. His winter coat was half buttoned up and the wind chilled him to the bones.
Humiliated and desperate, he would have followed anyone at that moment. He was lucky Kibum was the one who came to him first.
The next thing Jinki knew was that he was in an apartment that he guessed was Kibum's. It was colourful, with pictures hanging on walls and oddly shaped pillows resting on the bed.
Kibum had settled him down on the couch just beside his bed. Jinki was covered by a dark green blanket that considerably warmed him up, but didn't stop his trembling.
"So you love me." Kibum stated, standing in front of the pitiful older boy. "Hm. I've seen stranger things."
Jinki made a noise as if he was going to talk but it ended up sounding more like a whine.
"I don't see the point in moping," Kibum stopped to cross his arms above his chest. "Do you think I'm going to like you more if you ignore me and cry on your own?"
Jinki looked up, a tear stuck in his eyelashes falling to his cheek to tickle his skin.
"Do you?" Kibum insisted. "Because if you do, you're wrong."
It was hard to argue when Kibum wore such a rough expression, but Jinki tried his best to open his mouth to talk. "This- I'm sorry. I...panicked,"
"Why? You didn't even hear me out,"
Jinki stared owlishly, clearly wanting to hear what Kibum had wanted to say; an answer maybe. He braced himself for the worst, trying to keep his emotion in so he wouldn't be weeping like a little girl in front of Kibum.
The younger boy, sensing what the other's gaze meant, sighed as he let himself fall beside Jinki on the couch. He rested his head on the backrest, hair sprawling around. Jinki found himself staring again as he snuggled up in the blanket.
Kibum looked back at him, his lips forming a thin line that made his face unreadable.
"I could see myself with you." He said. "Really. I could. But you see, I broke up with my boyfriend about a month ago and I'm still not totally over it."
Jinki eyed the flowery material of the couch. The answer in itself wasn't as negative as he thought it would be, but the possibility of it being only a cover to lead Jinki on was conceivable and it upset him.
"It's not that I don't like you or anything." Kibum added hurriedly, seeing Jinki's expression sadden somewhat. "It's just that I'm not quite there yet. Heck, I didn't know you could like me this way,"
"Yeah, I wasn't really...obvious about it."
Kibum chuckled. "It's okay." He whispered, grabbing a blue pillow and hugging it closely. "My ex-boyfriend often scolded me for being too flamboyant." He said, smirking sorrowfully. "No wonder none of my friends liked him,"
Jinki rubbed his left eye and settled down more comfortably, with his legs up on the couch.
"They all said he was a jerk. He wasn't so bad." Kibum explained and he seemed pleased that Jinki lent him an ear. "I did end up breaking up with him though and I do want to get over him quickly."
"What made you...?" Jinki bit his bottom lips. The subject was too touchy and it was too easy to mess everything up with a word too many.
Kibum chortled and he reached out to rub his thumb against Jinki's hand.
"I'd be lying if I said you had nothing to do with my decision." He said, still laughing softly. "When you asked for my phone number, I thought of leaving my boyfriend for you. But then you never called and when you learned I was gay, you didn't say anything. So I assumed you just wanted to be friends and that was all," Kibum explained. "I never thought you'd confess like that,"
Jinki looked away, withdrawing his hands under his blanket. "I was an idiot,"
"No. No you were not!" Kibum snuggled up clumsily by his side. "It's okay,"
The older boy stiffened, gazing at the top of Kibum's head on his shoulder. His breath itched and he coughed to clear the thick feeling in his throat.
"Look, Jinki." Kibum whispered, pushing his head against Jinki's shoulder. "I know kissing is not dating, but we can just do that for now."
"I've nev- hm..."
A soft pressing of lips was enough to make Jinki jolt up. He panted lightly but upon seeing Kibum's calmness and confidence, he relaxed and tried to respond. He was too self-conscious to enjoy it at first. Then Kibum started to push against him and he suddenly remembered that he was not alone in this.
Jinki was feeling more and more at ease -though not much more active in the kiss- when Kibum pulled away gently.
"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" He asked, smiling. Eyelashes tickled Jinki's nose as Kibum went back to cushioning his head with the older boy's shoulder. "I'm sorry," He said. "I'm sorry I can't give you a final response today,"
"It's okay," Jinki squeaked. He snaked an arm around Kibum like he recalled seeing in a few movies.
"I know it must be hard for you," He mumbled, eyes fluttering closed. "It is for me too,"
"Then why are we waiting?" Jinki laid his head onto Kibum's as his eyelids covered his brown orbs.
Kibum hummed and drifted off, barely registering Jinki's question. The older boy secretly cracked an eye open. Pulling at his blanket so it would cover the both of them, he looked at Kibum and wondered if the younger boy was going to dream of him.
-----
[This was written for the kpop_prompts community challenge, option #1]
I've so totally been ABSENT lately! I am so sorry!!
But I did write! A lot in fact! Work's been boring and horrible, but I managed to sneak in my external disk drive and now I can write fics!! YAY!
But yeah, this fic started off with me watching my Friends's DVD collection! I stumbled into the episode in which Chandler tries to quit the Gym and I thought it might be a nice idea for a fic and well...here it is!!
I hope you liked it! I enjoyed writing it immensely! (Though I do think I should have spent more time on the ending XD)
By the way, I wasn't really into it when I corrected it, so there might be many mistakes I didn't see. You can ignore them, or tell me and I'll correct it! ^^
And please look forward to my next fic!!
PG-13, Romance
★ Jinki wants to quit the gym.
"I want to quit the gym," Jinki said, frowning with determination at the man standing coolly behind the front desk.
"I'm sorry, sir. What?" The man threw him a questioning look. "Are our services unsatisfactory?"
Jinki bit his lips. Each month, the gym took 50 000 won from his bank account and he went only about twice every three months. Plus, he had heard of a discount for students at another, smaller gym nearby. But he couldn't really tell that to the shocked man in front of him. The poor secretary seemed close to a seizure.
"I just. I don't have the time anymore." Jinki scratched the back of his head. "Exams are coming soon and I need to study."
"As you wish." The man snarled. "But you do realise you won't be able to use our new Finnish spa, right?"
Jinki nodded slowly.
Papers were shoved in his hands and he filled them awkwardly with half of the sheets off the desk. After all the lines had been filled, Jinki proudly slammed the pile of papers onto the man's desk and thanked him before heading out.
On his way to the front door, an unsmiling boy went past him. As the boy was looking forward, a thin white object fell from his bag. Jinki looked down and grabbed the device before running after the boy and tapping him on the shoulder.
"What?" He snapped, clearly annoyed.
Jinki held out his hand, an ipod resting in the open palm. "You dropped this."
"I did?"
"It was on the floor," Jinki said as the unknown boy started shuffling through his bags.
"Thank you!" The boy smiled suddenly, brightening his whole face up. "I can't work out without music,"
Jinki gave a shy smirk. "You work out here?" He asked.
"Yeah." The boy said, flicking his bangs out of his eyes. "I'll see you around?"
With a bright blush on his face -which, he wanted to believe, was due to the coldness coming from the door and not to the beautiful stranger in front of him- Jinki nodded frantically.
"Sure,"
"I want to be a member," Jinki said, frowning with determination at the man standing coolly behind the front desk.
"Didn't you quit yesterday?" The same man as the day before questioned amusedly.
Jinki stared thoughtfully for a second, trying to make up a believable lie. "Yes, but I want to join again because of the spa."
"Alright! Let me see what I can do for you!" The man clapped his hands together in glee. "I'll cancel your cancellation," He said, a sly smirk on his lips. "I didn't have time to delete your account anyway,"
Jinki waited and answered questions when prompted. He didn't even know why he wanted 50 000 won to vanish from his bank account each month, but his mother always told him he could be impulsive. And he guessed that this was exactly what his mother had warned him about.
"Here." The man said, pushing a card forward. "You have a free card with your membership."
Jinki took it and made a mental note to throw his old one out once he get to his apartment.
"And of course, with this you have access to our new Finnish spa!"
Red dusted his cheeks as Jinki thanked the guy and walked out, shame pressing on his shoulder like a 50 pounds weight - or 50 gold bars.
Jinki found himself going to the gym much more often than ever before. Between endless studying sessions and long lectures, he'd go work out, hoping and praying he would meet the ipod guy again.
Minho had made fun of him. He told Jinki that no matter how pretty a girl is -he still didn't know about Jinki's sexual preferences- she was not worth losing 600 000 won a year. But Jinki ignored him, Minho was paying much more to stay on the basketball team, the hockey team and the baseball team all at the same time anyway.
Though Jinki was confident at first, he quickly noticed that he didn't know which day and what hour the ipod guy was working out at. Jinki had tried to study in the gym's hall a couple of times in order to meet him again, but it proved vain because he was more focused on the sound of the door opening than the calculus he was supposed to do.
Then some faithful day, Jinki entered the weights room and his eyes immediately fell on a boy pulling at a scary-looking machine. As expected, ear buds were plugged into his ears, letting him be oblivious to his surroundings.
At first Jinki didn't do anything but fight back a smile that attempted to appear on his face. It was on Friday, at 4 pm, that the ipod guy came to the gym to train. Overjoyed by his new discovery, Jinki settled down near the elliptical trainers and brought a thermos of water out of his bag.
He planned to bump into the boy later on, when he was sweaty and manly and desirable.
However, when Jinki got off the machine, ready to face the reason why he was at the gym, the boy was nowhere to be seen.
Jinki cussed all the way back to the locker room.
The next Friday, Jinki stepped in the weights room at 4 sharp, eyes scanning through the room to get a glimpse of a boy with brown hair humming along the way too loud music booming out of his earphones.
Jinki sighed when nobody caught his eyes.
He processed to empty his bag, place his bottle of water on a bench and exchange his usual watch with a sports one - he came to learn that sweat made his watches' bracelets stink.
He was bending down to grab his watch when someone tapped his shoulder.
"Hi!"
Jinki was startled by the chirpy voice and turned around abruptly, almost losing balance on the way.
"Hey," He smiled nervously. "H-Hello,"
"I'm Kibum!" The boy said happily, extending his hand. "You picked up my ipod the other day," He explained, though Jinki's surprise wasn't due to being confused at who the boy was. They shook hands rather awkwardly. Awkwardly on Jinki's part, of course.
"Yes. I'm Jinki." Jinki gulped down some water from his bottle, hoping to look nonchalant, but failing. "I didn't know you trained on Fridays as well,"
Kibum chuckled, sitting down beside Jinki's bag. Jinki' cheeks were a clashing shade of red, but he figured he could just pretend he was working hard.
"I was on my way out actually," Kibum informed and sponged sweat off his cheek with a towel.
Oh Jinki thought. "Oh," He said.
"Maybe we can have coffee some other time!" Kibum proposed as he slung the towel over his shoulder. "See you some other time,"
Jinki couldn't help but stare at Kibum's swaying hips as the boy practically danced his way out. But hey- Where was his towel again?
"I am so sorry I mistook it for mine," Kibum apologised the next Friday. "They look so much the same,"
Jinki chortled timidly. "No problem," He said and took the offered towel in his hand. It was softer than he remembered.
"I cleaned it." Kibum rectified when he guessed Jinki's unspoken question. "My sweat isn't really something you should smell," He joked.
Jinki had trouble giving earnest laughter back, but with great efforts, he somehow managed to.
"Do you want to get coffee after training?" Kibum asked, smiling. "My treat." He added.
It wasn't that Jinki was against the idea, but he wasn't sure his heart would bear caffeine and Kibum at the same time. It was thumping so hard against his chest already.
"Sure." Jinki agreed without being totally aware of it himself. "I'd love to go,"
Kibum grinned and suddenly, Jinki's views on death changed. He could die right then and he would have seen the prettiest sceneries in one shot -sunsets, mountains and rain forests surely didn't match up to Kibum's smile.
"Well, we might as well train together right?" He suggested, flicking his hair out of his eyes again. That seemed to be a habit of Kibum's. "Since you're here early today,"
Jinki found himself being dragged to the stationary bicycles before he could nod.
Training with Kibum had been a lot more fun than training with Minho; first because Minho was much too competitive to be tolerable in a gym and second because Kibum was much more awesome.
"I study fashion." Kibum had said, looking out the giant window in from of their bicycles. "I don't know why,"
Jinki now understood why he always had different clothes when he was training and why his sneakers could probably glister in the dark. Although Jinki was not used to speak to that kind of people - the kind that didn't need to plan out their future before undertaking it - he found himself listening to Kibum very closely. His interest in the boy grew with each word that dropped out of his mouth.
It didn't take an hour that Jinki had already understood that Kibum lead a much more exciting life than he was. It wasn't that Jinki was unhappy with his life or was willing to change everything, it was just all the other things that lead to the statement: 'Hey I've never done this before. I should try'.
They were at a café in warm winter clothes when Jinki asked for Kibum's phone number. The younger boy -younger by 2 years- didn't cringe at his request. He simply smirked and typed his number into Jinki's phone.
It somehow hurt Jinki that Kibum didn't ask for his though.
It quickly became a routine to exercise with Kibum. They were joking and enjoying the time spent together immensely and at some point, Jinki found himself falling for the boy. It wasn't just attraction anymore; it was a much greater feeling. Kibum had become much more than a mysterious stranger who had accidentally dropped his ipod.
It was the first time Jinki felt that way and he wasn't too sure what to make of it.
"Are you okay Jinki?" Kibum asked when he noticed the older boy had been staring at the same weight for a whole minute without moving. "Have you stretched something the wrong way?"
Jinki fumbled with his bottle of water and shook his head to dispel Kibum's worry. "No,"
"Then what?" Kibum insisted. "You're spacing out,"
"It's just-" Jinki sighed. "I'm just tired,"
Kibum looked down for a couple of seconds, thinking about something, then he let go of the handle he was holding and got up.
"You should take care of yourself," He said, placing his hands on his hips, making his grey shirt crumple under his fingers. "You say you spend your days studying."
"I need to."
"There is a limit." Kibum scolded. "If you stuff your head with things it might burst,"
Jinki frowned, unable to grasp Kibum's point. "If I don't I'm going to fail. I need my diploma Kibum."
"Studying is okay, but you have to stay sane!" Kibum grabbed the dancing rope in front of Jinki and threw it aside. "You told me you didn't have lunch today. That can't be healthy."
"But I work out. I train. They say- You say I have to train to be healthy, right?"
Kibum shook his head from left to right slowly. He grabbed Jinki's shoulder and buried in nail there before pulling Jinki up.
"You have to clear your head once in a while Jinki." He said, avoiding the question. "Let's go outside,"
The walk with Kibum around the city did help him sort out his feelings, but it also made him sink deeper in love. Jinki would still be able to study and carry on daily activities. Kibum wasn't consuming him -yet- but he was certainly in his head more often than he should.
Jinki considered confessing numerous times, but Minho -who had somehow discovered who Jinki's crush was- talked him out of it.
"I don't know him, but Kibum might not be gay Jinki." Minho said one evening. "Did he ever tell you he was?"
Jinki thought about it even if he knew the answer. "He never did."
"You see?" The tall, black-haired boy said. "You should start with basic information about the guy if you want to date him."
"I should, right?"
Minho nodded carefully; trying to make sure Jinki had understood his warning. "I just don't want you breaking down because of a stupid crush."
And though Jinki was touched by Minho's concern, he couldn't help but think that he had gotten over the crush phase too long ago.
"Do you think I'm too flashy?"
Jinki detached his eyes from the window to look at Kibum pedaling on his stationary bicycle. Kibum very rarely asked him question like that. Jinki could even wonder if Kibum had ever asked for his opinion before.
"Hum. No." He said, or more, lied because the sneakers really were kind of blinding. "I mean, it's not over the top."
Kibum frowned.
"Why do you ask?"
"A friend of mine told me I looked-" Kibum stopped. He lifted his head to consider Jinki for some seconds. "Never mind. It's not important,"
Jinki decided not to press the issue.
The younger boy didn't seem to happy about the closure of the subject, but Jinki was lost. He had never been good at the whole comforting thing. Not even for himself.
"Hey." Kibum called out as they disembarked their bikes. He pushed Jinki's shoulder lightly and made him stumble a little. "Want to go grab coffee?"
Jinki cocked his head to the side, then the biggest smile drew itself on his face. "Of course!"
"Sorry," Kibum laughed at the blushing waitress who had just asked for his phone number. "I'm gay actually."
When she stepped away, probably hoping to evaporate from the world, Kibum turned to Jinki's baffled expression. "What? You couldn't tell?"
Jinki shook his head violently and Kibum chuckled awkwardly.
"Oh well, now you know." He said. Jinki clearly remembered every moment passed with Kibum and he was affirmative that it was the first time he had ever seen the younger boy's cheeks flush. "It doesn't really change anything, does it?"
"No. Of course not."
But it did. It changed everything. Jinki started trembling, sensing his desire to ask Kibum out grow by ten.
"And you- you have a boyfriend?"
"No." Kibum smiled as he stared at Jinki being everything but calm. "You don't have to ask if it makes you uncomfortable you know."
"I'm not!" He said a little bit too rapidly. "I'm not..." He repeated on a softer tone.
"Then what are you shaking so much for? Are you cold? You want hot chocolate?"
"Actually, I'm-"
The waitress stood beside their table, hiding her face behind her notepad. "We've run out of caramel coffee beans. Can I interest you in a latte?"
Kibum shrugged. "Whatever. As long as it's hot."
The young girl glanced at Jinki whose eyes were looking down to the floor. She turned back to Kibum who had draped an arm around the back of the empty chair next to him.
"Can I get anything for your boyfriend?"
Jinki gasped and opened his mouth to protest furiously.
"He'll have a hot chocolate." Kibum cut him off. "With marshmallows."
The waitress nodded and went behind the counter where the cashier stood. Jinki didn't look though. She could be growing wings and floating over there for all he cared.
"I'm- She called me your-" Jinki took in a deep breath. "boyfriend."
Kibum stretched his arms above his head lazily. "She did?" He let them drop on the table between them. "I didn't notice."
Jinki spent the next few days trying to come up with the best way to confess; a way that would let his feelings be known while preventing him from looking like a total idiot.
"You could get him flowers." Minho suggested. "Does that work for boys too?"
Jinki shook his head. "He doesn't seem like the type to expect flowers."
"Chocolate?" Minho stopped walking when he reached his locker. Jinki stood beside him, deep in thought. "In a heart-shaped box,"
"I doubt he'll eat them. He's healthier than any person I've met before."
"Black chocolate then." Minho pushed his books into his locker and grabbed his schoolbag. "With fruits."
The older boy pouted. "He'll think I'm a freak."
Minho sighed, closing his locker with more force than necessary. "A teddy bear. Everybody loves teddy bears."
"Come on Minho. He's nineteen, not ten." Jinki said. "And he's not that girly."
The taller boy glared at Jinki. "I don't have time for this Jinki." Minho pointed out. "People are waiting for me."
Jinki ended up buying- well nothing. He couldn't choose and figured that no rule forced him to bring anything anyway. Besides, with his luck, he could get Kibum something he loathed and that would make him feel like a jerk.
He thought he had the whole thing planned out; he would enter the weights room where he always joined Kibum on Friday afternoon, then he'd invite him out for dinner and he'd confess there without any fanfare and tap-dancing; a simple confession that he wouldn't be able to mess up even if he wanted to.
With that in mind, Jinki entered the room he was aiming for and immediately spotted Kibum. The younger boy was standing beside the row of stationary bicycles, his back pressed against the window as he giggled to whatever it was that the other man with him had told him.
Jinki's confidence collapsed when he saw them and he contemplated turning on his heels and going back home without even trying to voice his feelings for Kibum. He waited a second too long to make up his mind though, and Kibum waved at him.
There was no way Jinki could just ignore him, so he gloomily made his way through the machines and the people. By the time he reached his friend, the unknown man was gone somewhere else -probably exercising his already big muscles.
"What took you so long?" Kibum scolded, shoving his shoulder. "You're ten minutes late! And don't tell me you were studying because I'll go burn down your damn books. Isn't your exam session over anyway?"
Jinki pouted, tugging at the towel hanging on his shoulder. "You looked busy enough," He said sulkily.
"What?"
"You were flirting with that guy. Weren't you?" Jinki unconsciously pursued his lips, unable to keep the feeling of betrayal out of his heart -though there was no betrayal per se.
"Hum." Kibum straightened his back, unfamiliar with Jinki being straightforward. "Yeah. So? Don't you do it too?"
"I- I don't! I can't!" Jinki protested, squeezing his towel tightly. "I'm not nearly as hot as you are," Oh, God. Did I just say that? Jinki thought in disarray.
Kibum frowned. "Jinki, you're-"
"A-And I don't like it that you flirt with random guys and not with-" He stopped with an intake of breath, suddenly realising that he was staring into Kibum's eyes and not to the floor. "It bothers me."
Kibum looked elsewhere, nervously shifting his gaze from Jinki's eyes to the floor and to the other people working out around them. "Why would it bother you? It's not like I'm doing anything wrong,"
Jinki gulped and licked his dry lips. "It bothers me because I don't flirt with people." He said, sensing tears from anxiousness and panic form in his eyes. "I- I don't flirt with them because I-" He sensed his body shiver and stiffen. "-because I love you."
Jinki watched Kibum's hand instinctively going up to his mouth in surprise. He lowered it slowly as the initial shock faded, but his eyes stayed wide open, fixed to a red-faced Jinki.
"You really do, don't you?" He said, as if he was replaying every moment shared with Jinki in the past months. "I'm sorry, I didn't notice it earlier. I'm- I'm so sorry."
Jinki didn't have the courage to talk anymore. He knew Kibum was rejecting him and he knew he shouldn't even have fed his hopes to begin with. Without another word, he successfully went back to the locker room without stumbling in the weights scattered all around the floor. He managed to hold in his breakdown until he was out of the gym, in the street, hoping Kibum didn't look from the window.
As it turned out, Kibum did look at Jinki from the window and he ran out after him, still in his gym clothes, fighting the frozen air.
Jinki was too lost and confused to care about anything. He was in daze, walking like a drunken penguin as he wiped the tears that didn't stop flowing. His winter coat was half buttoned up and the wind chilled him to the bones.
Humiliated and desperate, he would have followed anyone at that moment. He was lucky Kibum was the one who came to him first.
The next thing Jinki knew was that he was in an apartment that he guessed was Kibum's. It was colourful, with pictures hanging on walls and oddly shaped pillows resting on the bed.
Kibum had settled him down on the couch just beside his bed. Jinki was covered by a dark green blanket that considerably warmed him up, but didn't stop his trembling.
"So you love me." Kibum stated, standing in front of the pitiful older boy. "Hm. I've seen stranger things."
Jinki made a noise as if he was going to talk but it ended up sounding more like a whine.
"I don't see the point in moping," Kibum stopped to cross his arms above his chest. "Do you think I'm going to like you more if you ignore me and cry on your own?"
Jinki looked up, a tear stuck in his eyelashes falling to his cheek to tickle his skin.
"Do you?" Kibum insisted. "Because if you do, you're wrong."
It was hard to argue when Kibum wore such a rough expression, but Jinki tried his best to open his mouth to talk. "This- I'm sorry. I...panicked,"
"Why? You didn't even hear me out,"
Jinki stared owlishly, clearly wanting to hear what Kibum had wanted to say; an answer maybe. He braced himself for the worst, trying to keep his emotion in so he wouldn't be weeping like a little girl in front of Kibum.
The younger boy, sensing what the other's gaze meant, sighed as he let himself fall beside Jinki on the couch. He rested his head on the backrest, hair sprawling around. Jinki found himself staring again as he snuggled up in the blanket.
Kibum looked back at him, his lips forming a thin line that made his face unreadable.
"I could see myself with you." He said. "Really. I could. But you see, I broke up with my boyfriend about a month ago and I'm still not totally over it."
Jinki eyed the flowery material of the couch. The answer in itself wasn't as negative as he thought it would be, but the possibility of it being only a cover to lead Jinki on was conceivable and it upset him.
"It's not that I don't like you or anything." Kibum added hurriedly, seeing Jinki's expression sadden somewhat. "It's just that I'm not quite there yet. Heck, I didn't know you could like me this way,"
"Yeah, I wasn't really...obvious about it."
Kibum chuckled. "It's okay." He whispered, grabbing a blue pillow and hugging it closely. "My ex-boyfriend often scolded me for being too flamboyant." He said, smirking sorrowfully. "No wonder none of my friends liked him,"
Jinki rubbed his left eye and settled down more comfortably, with his legs up on the couch.
"They all said he was a jerk. He wasn't so bad." Kibum explained and he seemed pleased that Jinki lent him an ear. "I did end up breaking up with him though and I do want to get over him quickly."
"What made you...?" Jinki bit his bottom lips. The subject was too touchy and it was too easy to mess everything up with a word too many.
Kibum chortled and he reached out to rub his thumb against Jinki's hand.
"I'd be lying if I said you had nothing to do with my decision." He said, still laughing softly. "When you asked for my phone number, I thought of leaving my boyfriend for you. But then you never called and when you learned I was gay, you didn't say anything. So I assumed you just wanted to be friends and that was all," Kibum explained. "I never thought you'd confess like that,"
Jinki looked away, withdrawing his hands under his blanket. "I was an idiot,"
"No. No you were not!" Kibum snuggled up clumsily by his side. "It's okay,"
The older boy stiffened, gazing at the top of Kibum's head on his shoulder. His breath itched and he coughed to clear the thick feeling in his throat.
"Look, Jinki." Kibum whispered, pushing his head against Jinki's shoulder. "I know kissing is not dating, but we can just do that for now."
"I've nev- hm..."
A soft pressing of lips was enough to make Jinki jolt up. He panted lightly but upon seeing Kibum's calmness and confidence, he relaxed and tried to respond. He was too self-conscious to enjoy it at first. Then Kibum started to push against him and he suddenly remembered that he was not alone in this.
Jinki was feeling more and more at ease -though not much more active in the kiss- when Kibum pulled away gently.
"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" He asked, smiling. Eyelashes tickled Jinki's nose as Kibum went back to cushioning his head with the older boy's shoulder. "I'm sorry," He said. "I'm sorry I can't give you a final response today,"
"It's okay," Jinki squeaked. He snaked an arm around Kibum like he recalled seeing in a few movies.
"I know it must be hard for you," He mumbled, eyes fluttering closed. "It is for me too,"
"Then why are we waiting?" Jinki laid his head onto Kibum's as his eyelids covered his brown orbs.
Kibum hummed and drifted off, barely registering Jinki's question. The older boy secretly cracked an eye open. Pulling at his blanket so it would cover the both of them, he looked at Kibum and wondered if the younger boy was going to dream of him.
-----
[This was written for the kpop_prompts community challenge, option #1]
I've so totally been ABSENT lately! I am so sorry!!
But I did write! A lot in fact! Work's been boring and horrible, but I managed to sneak in my external disk drive and now I can write fics!! YAY!
But yeah, this fic started off with me watching my Friends's DVD collection! I stumbled into the episode in which Chandler tries to quit the Gym and I thought it might be a nice idea for a fic and well...here it is!!
I hope you liked it! I enjoyed writing it immensely! (Though I do think I should have spent more time on the ending XD)
By the way, I wasn't really into it when I corrected it, so there might be many mistakes I didn't see. You can ignore them, or tell me and I'll correct it! ^^
And please look forward to my next fic!!