Up & Down
Title: Up & Down
Pairing: Minho/Key (Gwiboon)
Rating: NC-17 (overall)
Length: 3/9
Summary: Gwiboon is having a horrible day. It’s snowing (she hates snow), it’s cold (she hates the cold), and she forgot her scraper for her frozen block of ice that is posing as a car. When a handsome stranger saves her sanity (and her designer boots), she starts to question everything she knows.
[ Previous]
6:15
“Jonghyun I swear to God if you don’t get out of the bathroom right now I’m going to murder you! And your girlfriend! And your unborn child!”
Gwiboon banged furiously on the locked bathroom door, throwing her body weight against it. Jonghyun’s chuckles from inside only infuriated her more as she jiggled the handle with one hand, knocking loudly with the other.
“I have a date in forty-five minutes and if I’m not ready by then I will flat-iron your pubes!”
“Where do you even come up with these threats?” Jonghyun asked around chortles.
Letting out a suppressed scream, Gwiboon stomped her foot. “Jonghyun this is important to me! He’s probably going to be on time - something you have no concept of, I know - and if I’m late then that’ll make me look like a hypocritical loser!”
“You aren’t one already?”
“OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR SO I CAN SHOWER!!”
The latch clicked and the door opened, steam billowing out as Jonghyun gave a lopsided smile and exited, a towel slung low on his waist, “Enjoy your shower, sis.”
Gwiboon shoved him out of the way and slammed the door behind her, locking it and getting undressed to shower.
Outside, Jonghyun whistled as he grabbed a beer from the fridge.
“YOU TOOK ALL THE HOT WATER!?!??!”
--
At 6:57pm Gwiboon was in front of her full-length mirror in her bedroom, doing some last minute preparation on her hair, some tiny adjustments to her make-up. Her hair was wavy, hanging down around her shoulders elegantly, a small white flower pinning back some of her bangs. She decided to not wear a dress, since she didn’t know where they were going, and instead opted for some form-fitting slacks and a ruffly powder pink button down shirt. Her black, lacy bra was barely visible but just enough of a tease as she turned this way and that, her eyes moving over her form.
From her doorway Jonghyun whistled lowly, leaning against the frame and running his eyes up and down her form.
“Dang sis, if you weren’t related to me I’d-”
“You’re the scum of the Earth,” she snapped, glaring at him before softening her features to run her index fingers under her bottom eyelids to make sure her eyeliner wouldn’t smudge.
Satisfied, she straightened and grabbed her white pea coat as she stepped into a simple pair of black boots (she would not be slipping on the ice tonight), moving to the doorway and waiting for Jonghyun to move.
He didn’t.
“Jonghyun, move,” she sighed.
“Is this guy safe?” Jonghyun asked, arching a brow. “I mean is he a criminal. You know, axe murderer, rapist, child molester… Does he illegally immigrate aliens into the country?”
“If all of the above are nine-to-five jobs, then yes. Now move,” Gwiboon pushed at Jonghyun’s chest and he moved out of the way with a shrug and a chuckle.
“Well I can’t have my baby sister show up dead on my door step.”
“Maybe he’ll be nice and dump me in a river,” she pulled a tube of lipstick out of her purse and paused by the mirror at the door, applying it evenly and carefully. “Save you the trouble.”
“If he did that I’d ask you to keep him around, how gentlemanly of him,” Jonghyun flopped down onto the couch and turned on the television, picking up his beer from the coffee table. He glanced over and Gwiboon felt his eyes on her, as she turned around and gave an expectant look. He smiled softly, “You look good.”
Their true sibling love moments were far and few between and they always left Gwiboon with an extra spring in her step. This was no exception; she hadn’t been on a date in God knows how long and the fact that her brother was basically telling her good luck was all the pep talk she needed.
Headlights shone through the window next to the door and she put her lipstick away, closing her purse and smiling back at Jonghyun as she opened the door.
“Love you,” she said.
Jonghyun waved two fingers, “Love you too.”
Minho was standing and leaning against his car, hands in the pockets of his casual but nice jeans, looking like a model out of a magazine. His hair was ruffled like he hadn’t even bothered to comb it, a white v-neck shirt underneath a black blazer.
“Aren’t you cold?” Gwiboon asked as she moved out into the parking lot.
He shrugged and shook his head, moving over to the other side of his car to open the door for Gwiboon. She looked back at her floor-level apartment and saw the porch light flick on, and then she slid into the car and tucked herself in as Minho shut the door.
“Do you like Italian?” Minho asked as he put his car in gear and started to exit the complex.
“Mmm yes, especially desserts,” Gwiboon admitted, buckling up and getting comfortable. The car didn’t look terribly expensive but it was definitely new and kept clean, a pleasant scent coming from the heater vents as they quietly warmed the car.
“Good.”
The drive was quiet, Gwiboon resisting the urge to flip down the visor and check her appearance. She didn’t want to seem any vainer than she really was, considering that Minho was pretty aloof and didn’t seem to care too much for her physical appearance in the first place.
Which was new and different, seeing as how usually men started out with the line “you’re beautiful”, followed by “let me treat you to dinner and show you what a real man is like”.
None of them were real men.
It didn’t take long to reach the restaurant, Minho finding parking in the back of the building. He even got out and opened the door for her, something no guy had done before, and she tried hard to not blush as she slung her purse over her shoulder and let him lead her into the restaurant. She wanted to do something girly, like hold onto his arm or the elbow of his blazer but couldn’t bring her pride down low enough to do it. So she just walked next to him with her head held high, starting to wish she would have wore heels because damn this guy was tall.
“Two for Choi,” Minho lifted up two fingers as he spoke to the hostess, who checked her little book.
She smiled and nodded, motioning for the pair to follow her; Gwiboon glanced around and suddenly almost wanted to turn around and walk out.
While she hadn’t been paying attention on the way to the restaurant, or even when they walked in, she knew where they were now. Fernando’s was the only five-star Italian restaurant on this side of the city, with low lights and candles lit for mood, reservations hard to acquire at the last minute. How Minho had managed to do that, she didn’t know - she didn’t want to know. They were led to a table and Minho pulled her chair out for her and she sat down awkwardly, scooting forward and staring down at the menu.
“There’s no prices on the menu,” she said, as she lifted it up and peered over a few items.
“Don’t worry about it,” Minho said, as he waved over a waiter and ordered a bottle of wine that Gwiboon knew she would never be able to pronounce. He smiled softly and turned to her, tilting his head. “I hope this isn’t too much. I couldn’t get a reservation at the other restaurant I wanted to take you to.”
Gwiboon snorted, “Do you have restaurants on speed dial or something?”
Shaking his head, Minho laughed. “Just the ones I like.”
They fell quiet as Gwiboon looked over the menu, Minho offering suggestions of what he knew to be good, even though he insisted that all of the food was good. She settled on shrimp scampi and a starter salad, while Minho ordered yet another item that she knew she could never pronounce even if she tried to study Italian. Their menus were taken and the wine was poured, and Gwiboon sat a bit stiff, unsure of what to say.
“You don’t strike me as the quiet type,” Minho said, swirling his wine in his glass before taking a sip.
“If I talk too loud people will know I’m an intruder,” Gwiboon stage-whispered, glancing around a bit before cracking a small smile.
Minho chuckled and nodded, setting down his wine glass and leaning forward on his arms. “Are you going to tell me why you were crying, now?”
Gwiboon fidgeted with the neatly folded napkin on the table, “… I got fired from my job.”
Minho’s face fell with concern, “Are you ok?”
“I was crying, wasn’t I?” she snapped, before biting her lip and sighing. “I wasn’t even getting paid. It was just an internship after I graduated. But my boss said that I need to go back and study more.”
“How long have you been in school?”
“Since I graduated high school.” She rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair. “I’m twenty-four years old, single, jobless, no designers want to look at my fashion line and my brother is going to be married before me.”
“Sounds like a rough life,” Minho said with an arched brow, before smiling. “Are you so concerned about that stuff?”
The napkin was almost destroyed by the time Gwiboon answered, “My mom…she really wants me to find a nice guy and get married and pop out babies. She calls me every day asking if I have a boyfriend yet, telling me to skip condoms and birth control and if I get pregnant and end up being a single mom then she’ll share custody with me. What kind of mom does that?” She threw what was left of the napkin down onto the table, taking off her pea coat and draping it over her chair. A waiter came by and picked it up, probably to take it to a coat room, but Gwiboon folded her arms over her chest and tried not to be bothered by it.
“So get married,” Minho said.
Gwiboon arched a brow, “And it’s just that simple.” Her voice was disbelieving.
“Sure, if you find someone to marry you, right?” Minho shrugged.
The subject was dropped when food arrived, the interruption preventing them from speaking any further. Gwiboon picked up a fork and started in on her salad, managing to get a few bites before the hair on the back of her neck prickled and she looked up to see Minho staring at her.
“What,” she wrinkled her nose.
“That’s the dinner fork.”
She looked down at her salad, then the other fork that lay untouched on the table, then at the fork in her hand.
She shrugged and kept eating, Minho smiling in amusement.
--
By the end of the night Gwiboon was full of wine, rosy-cheeked and laughing as she relayed a story from her childhood; one of her managing to convince Jonghyun to dress up as a girl for the school play.
”And you wouldn’t believe how many boys asked for his number the next day!” Gwiboon hit the table lightly with her laughter, throwing her head back. People were staring, but she didn’t care because Minho didn’t care, either. “He was such a pretty girl~ his waist has always been narrower than mine!”
Their laughter died down and Gwiboon fanned her face, taking another sip of wine and leaning back in her chair, smiling.
“I didn’t think I was going to have fun tonight, to be honest,” she admitted, tapping the table with a manicured finger.
Minho looked mildly offended, though a smile broke out on his features when Gwiboon giggled so violently she snorted.
“Let’s get out of here,” Minho said, as he gathered his credit card from the bill fold and tucked it into his wallet, standing up and pocketing it.
Gwiboon nodded and stood up, the waiter from before appearing out of nowhere and helping her into her coat. She stumbled a bit, Minho’s arm going around her waist as he helped her button up her coat, his own fingers a bit clumsy since apparently being tall didn’t make him any more tolerant of alcohol than the next guy. Together they exited the restaurant, making their way to Minho’s car, Gwiboon leaning heavily into his side.
“You can’t drive us, you’re sloshed,” she said, hitting his abdomen lightly as they walked.
“So what do you suggest? Wanna call your pretty brother to pick us up?” Minho teased. His lips became looser and looser with every glass of wine.
“Nooo you might hit on him and leave me in the dust!” Gwiboon pouted, and the next thing she knew Minho was swooping down and kissing her pursed lips, his scent, his taste, everything about him empowering her and consuming her entirely.
--
The sun filtered in through the curtains and landed right on Gwiboon’s face, making her nose wrinkle and her brows furrow. Since when did the rising sun shine in her room? She rolled over to try and get away from the offensive brightness, only to find something warm and solid blocking her way.
“Jonghyun, move over, you’re crowding the bed,” Gwiboon mumbled sleepily, pushing at the other person’s side.
The other person’s side which wasn’t very delicate.
In fact it was quite thick and solid.
Gwiboon’s eyes opened to see Minho sleeping soundly, his features relaxed and his t-shirt slightly wrinkled. Shooting upright, Gwiboon quickly patted her body down, finding herself dressed in her bra and panties, her socks still on her feet. Sighing in relief, she glanced around and deduced that they were in some hotel room, a rather fancy one if the flat screen and giant bathroom in the corner were anything to go by.
Her hands moved between her legs, fingers exploring for a second just to make sure everything was ok.
Another sigh of relief, and she ran her hand through her hair - only to pause when something snagged on her hair clip.
Her left hand lowered and on her finger was a giant wedding ring, the diamond glimmering prettily in the morning sun, the silver band a perfect fit to her slender finger.
It took her three seconds to register what it was.
It took Minho .5 seconds to wake up to the blood-curdling scream that Gwiboon unleashed upon the world.
[ Next]
Pairing: Minho/Key (Gwiboon)
Rating: NC-17 (overall)
Length: 3/9
Summary: Gwiboon is having a horrible day. It’s snowing (she hates snow), it’s cold (she hates the cold), and she forgot her scraper for her frozen block of ice that is posing as a car. When a handsome stranger saves her sanity (and her designer boots), she starts to question everything she knows.
[ Previous]
6:15
“Jonghyun I swear to God if you don’t get out of the bathroom right now I’m going to murder you! And your girlfriend! And your unborn child!”
Gwiboon banged furiously on the locked bathroom door, throwing her body weight against it. Jonghyun’s chuckles from inside only infuriated her more as she jiggled the handle with one hand, knocking loudly with the other.
“I have a date in forty-five minutes and if I’m not ready by then I will flat-iron your pubes!”
“Where do you even come up with these threats?” Jonghyun asked around chortles.
Letting out a suppressed scream, Gwiboon stomped her foot. “Jonghyun this is important to me! He’s probably going to be on time - something you have no concept of, I know - and if I’m late then that’ll make me look like a hypocritical loser!”
“You aren’t one already?”
“OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR SO I CAN SHOWER!!”
The latch clicked and the door opened, steam billowing out as Jonghyun gave a lopsided smile and exited, a towel slung low on his waist, “Enjoy your shower, sis.”
Gwiboon shoved him out of the way and slammed the door behind her, locking it and getting undressed to shower.
Outside, Jonghyun whistled as he grabbed a beer from the fridge.
“YOU TOOK ALL THE HOT WATER!?!??!”
--
At 6:57pm Gwiboon was in front of her full-length mirror in her bedroom, doing some last minute preparation on her hair, some tiny adjustments to her make-up. Her hair was wavy, hanging down around her shoulders elegantly, a small white flower pinning back some of her bangs. She decided to not wear a dress, since she didn’t know where they were going, and instead opted for some form-fitting slacks and a ruffly powder pink button down shirt. Her black, lacy bra was barely visible but just enough of a tease as she turned this way and that, her eyes moving over her form.
From her doorway Jonghyun whistled lowly, leaning against the frame and running his eyes up and down her form.
“Dang sis, if you weren’t related to me I’d-”
“You’re the scum of the Earth,” she snapped, glaring at him before softening her features to run her index fingers under her bottom eyelids to make sure her eyeliner wouldn’t smudge.
Satisfied, she straightened and grabbed her white pea coat as she stepped into a simple pair of black boots (she would not be slipping on the ice tonight), moving to the doorway and waiting for Jonghyun to move.
He didn’t.
“Jonghyun, move,” she sighed.
“Is this guy safe?” Jonghyun asked, arching a brow. “I mean is he a criminal. You know, axe murderer, rapist, child molester… Does he illegally immigrate aliens into the country?”
“If all of the above are nine-to-five jobs, then yes. Now move,” Gwiboon pushed at Jonghyun’s chest and he moved out of the way with a shrug and a chuckle.
“Well I can’t have my baby sister show up dead on my door step.”
“Maybe he’ll be nice and dump me in a river,” she pulled a tube of lipstick out of her purse and paused by the mirror at the door, applying it evenly and carefully. “Save you the trouble.”
“If he did that I’d ask you to keep him around, how gentlemanly of him,” Jonghyun flopped down onto the couch and turned on the television, picking up his beer from the coffee table. He glanced over and Gwiboon felt his eyes on her, as she turned around and gave an expectant look. He smiled softly, “You look good.”
Their true sibling love moments were far and few between and they always left Gwiboon with an extra spring in her step. This was no exception; she hadn’t been on a date in God knows how long and the fact that her brother was basically telling her good luck was all the pep talk she needed.
Headlights shone through the window next to the door and she put her lipstick away, closing her purse and smiling back at Jonghyun as she opened the door.
“Love you,” she said.
Jonghyun waved two fingers, “Love you too.”
Minho was standing and leaning against his car, hands in the pockets of his casual but nice jeans, looking like a model out of a magazine. His hair was ruffled like he hadn’t even bothered to comb it, a white v-neck shirt underneath a black blazer.
“Aren’t you cold?” Gwiboon asked as she moved out into the parking lot.
He shrugged and shook his head, moving over to the other side of his car to open the door for Gwiboon. She looked back at her floor-level apartment and saw the porch light flick on, and then she slid into the car and tucked herself in as Minho shut the door.
“Do you like Italian?” Minho asked as he put his car in gear and started to exit the complex.
“Mmm yes, especially desserts,” Gwiboon admitted, buckling up and getting comfortable. The car didn’t look terribly expensive but it was definitely new and kept clean, a pleasant scent coming from the heater vents as they quietly warmed the car.
“Good.”
The drive was quiet, Gwiboon resisting the urge to flip down the visor and check her appearance. She didn’t want to seem any vainer than she really was, considering that Minho was pretty aloof and didn’t seem to care too much for her physical appearance in the first place.
Which was new and different, seeing as how usually men started out with the line “you’re beautiful”, followed by “let me treat you to dinner and show you what a real man is like”.
None of them were real men.
It didn’t take long to reach the restaurant, Minho finding parking in the back of the building. He even got out and opened the door for her, something no guy had done before, and she tried hard to not blush as she slung her purse over her shoulder and let him lead her into the restaurant. She wanted to do something girly, like hold onto his arm or the elbow of his blazer but couldn’t bring her pride down low enough to do it. So she just walked next to him with her head held high, starting to wish she would have wore heels because damn this guy was tall.
“Two for Choi,” Minho lifted up two fingers as he spoke to the hostess, who checked her little book.
She smiled and nodded, motioning for the pair to follow her; Gwiboon glanced around and suddenly almost wanted to turn around and walk out.
While she hadn’t been paying attention on the way to the restaurant, or even when they walked in, she knew where they were now. Fernando’s was the only five-star Italian restaurant on this side of the city, with low lights and candles lit for mood, reservations hard to acquire at the last minute. How Minho had managed to do that, she didn’t know - she didn’t want to know. They were led to a table and Minho pulled her chair out for her and she sat down awkwardly, scooting forward and staring down at the menu.
“There’s no prices on the menu,” she said, as she lifted it up and peered over a few items.
“Don’t worry about it,” Minho said, as he waved over a waiter and ordered a bottle of wine that Gwiboon knew she would never be able to pronounce. He smiled softly and turned to her, tilting his head. “I hope this isn’t too much. I couldn’t get a reservation at the other restaurant I wanted to take you to.”
Gwiboon snorted, “Do you have restaurants on speed dial or something?”
Shaking his head, Minho laughed. “Just the ones I like.”
They fell quiet as Gwiboon looked over the menu, Minho offering suggestions of what he knew to be good, even though he insisted that all of the food was good. She settled on shrimp scampi and a starter salad, while Minho ordered yet another item that she knew she could never pronounce even if she tried to study Italian. Their menus were taken and the wine was poured, and Gwiboon sat a bit stiff, unsure of what to say.
“You don’t strike me as the quiet type,” Minho said, swirling his wine in his glass before taking a sip.
“If I talk too loud people will know I’m an intruder,” Gwiboon stage-whispered, glancing around a bit before cracking a small smile.
Minho chuckled and nodded, setting down his wine glass and leaning forward on his arms. “Are you going to tell me why you were crying, now?”
Gwiboon fidgeted with the neatly folded napkin on the table, “… I got fired from my job.”
Minho’s face fell with concern, “Are you ok?”
“I was crying, wasn’t I?” she snapped, before biting her lip and sighing. “I wasn’t even getting paid. It was just an internship after I graduated. But my boss said that I need to go back and study more.”
“How long have you been in school?”
“Since I graduated high school.” She rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair. “I’m twenty-four years old, single, jobless, no designers want to look at my fashion line and my brother is going to be married before me.”
“Sounds like a rough life,” Minho said with an arched brow, before smiling. “Are you so concerned about that stuff?”
The napkin was almost destroyed by the time Gwiboon answered, “My mom…she really wants me to find a nice guy and get married and pop out babies. She calls me every day asking if I have a boyfriend yet, telling me to skip condoms and birth control and if I get pregnant and end up being a single mom then she’ll share custody with me. What kind of mom does that?” She threw what was left of the napkin down onto the table, taking off her pea coat and draping it over her chair. A waiter came by and picked it up, probably to take it to a coat room, but Gwiboon folded her arms over her chest and tried not to be bothered by it.
“So get married,” Minho said.
Gwiboon arched a brow, “And it’s just that simple.” Her voice was disbelieving.
“Sure, if you find someone to marry you, right?” Minho shrugged.
The subject was dropped when food arrived, the interruption preventing them from speaking any further. Gwiboon picked up a fork and started in on her salad, managing to get a few bites before the hair on the back of her neck prickled and she looked up to see Minho staring at her.
“What,” she wrinkled her nose.
“That’s the dinner fork.”
She looked down at her salad, then the other fork that lay untouched on the table, then at the fork in her hand.
She shrugged and kept eating, Minho smiling in amusement.
--
By the end of the night Gwiboon was full of wine, rosy-cheeked and laughing as she relayed a story from her childhood; one of her managing to convince Jonghyun to dress up as a girl for the school play.
”And you wouldn’t believe how many boys asked for his number the next day!” Gwiboon hit the table lightly with her laughter, throwing her head back. People were staring, but she didn’t care because Minho didn’t care, either. “He was such a pretty girl~ his waist has always been narrower than mine!”
Their laughter died down and Gwiboon fanned her face, taking another sip of wine and leaning back in her chair, smiling.
“I didn’t think I was going to have fun tonight, to be honest,” she admitted, tapping the table with a manicured finger.
Minho looked mildly offended, though a smile broke out on his features when Gwiboon giggled so violently she snorted.
“Let’s get out of here,” Minho said, as he gathered his credit card from the bill fold and tucked it into his wallet, standing up and pocketing it.
Gwiboon nodded and stood up, the waiter from before appearing out of nowhere and helping her into her coat. She stumbled a bit, Minho’s arm going around her waist as he helped her button up her coat, his own fingers a bit clumsy since apparently being tall didn’t make him any more tolerant of alcohol than the next guy. Together they exited the restaurant, making their way to Minho’s car, Gwiboon leaning heavily into his side.
“You can’t drive us, you’re sloshed,” she said, hitting his abdomen lightly as they walked.
“So what do you suggest? Wanna call your pretty brother to pick us up?” Minho teased. His lips became looser and looser with every glass of wine.
“Nooo you might hit on him and leave me in the dust!” Gwiboon pouted, and the next thing she knew Minho was swooping down and kissing her pursed lips, his scent, his taste, everything about him empowering her and consuming her entirely.
--
The sun filtered in through the curtains and landed right on Gwiboon’s face, making her nose wrinkle and her brows furrow. Since when did the rising sun shine in her room? She rolled over to try and get away from the offensive brightness, only to find something warm and solid blocking her way.
“Jonghyun, move over, you’re crowding the bed,” Gwiboon mumbled sleepily, pushing at the other person’s side.
The other person’s side which wasn’t very delicate.
In fact it was quite thick and solid.
Gwiboon’s eyes opened to see Minho sleeping soundly, his features relaxed and his t-shirt slightly wrinkled. Shooting upright, Gwiboon quickly patted her body down, finding herself dressed in her bra and panties, her socks still on her feet. Sighing in relief, she glanced around and deduced that they were in some hotel room, a rather fancy one if the flat screen and giant bathroom in the corner were anything to go by.
Her hands moved between her legs, fingers exploring for a second just to make sure everything was ok.
Another sigh of relief, and she ran her hand through her hair - only to pause when something snagged on her hair clip.
Her left hand lowered and on her finger was a giant wedding ring, the diamond glimmering prettily in the morning sun, the silver band a perfect fit to her slender finger.
It took her three seconds to register what it was.
It took Minho .5 seconds to wake up to the blood-curdling scream that Gwiboon unleashed upon the world.
[ Next]