Out of Reach part2
part 1
It’s not a few more hours later when the door to their apartment opens with a soft click.
“Just go in her room. She’s been asking for you when she woke up an hour or so ago.” Jinki says even before the other asks. “Almost cried too because apparently her phone died while she was sleeping and she says she could have talked to you if she wasn’t so sleepy.” he continues while Jonghyun places the bag that he brought with him on the table. The only girl in the kitchen area stands up from beside her boyfriend and looks at what the other was doing.
“I’ll get this fixed for you, Jonghyun.” Minjung takes the food container from the male and pushes him to the direction of Gwiboon’s room. “ Go.”
“Thanks guys.” He offers them a small smile and proceeds in the room then closes the door quietly. With the small amount of light he can still see her cheeks still a bit flushed. Gwiboon whimpers a little and shifts under the thick layer of blankets. He sits on her bed and combs a hand through her hair and she relaxes.
Although he wants to talk to her, hear her whine about anything and nothing, see her pout because he’d just be smiling at her all that while and of course wrap her in his arms because ‘God, I missed you.’ Seeing the serenity on her face as she moves closer to the warmth of his hand makes Jonghyun think that ‘No, this would be enough for now.’ And so he hums a little tune softly while his hand continues to stroke the girl’s locks.
The engineering student had half the mind to change out of his clothes before hoping back to the car and going to the girls’ apartment because he was such in a hurry to see his girlfriend. However, his noona who learned about the future-sister-in-law having a cold pulled her younger brother back and told him to change out of his clothes while she makes some food for them.
“Who knows what kind of virus you have with those clothes that you are wearing while traveling across time and space?!” Jonghyun knew it was exaggerated but a few more minutes wouldn’t hurt, right? And he wouldn’t want her condition to worsen because of him. But as soon as the food were in their containers, he rushed out of their house to another one and a half drive back to their campus.
And seeing her like this, all cuddled up in blankets and watching the steady riseandfall, riseandfall from her breathing makes him loosen up and at the same time, he realizes how tired he really is.
Gwiboon stirs again when Jonghyun is feeling sleepy himself.
“Jjongie?” she mumbles, her voice a little hoarse and caught up in her throat. She shifts a little from her cocoon to get a better view of the other person in her room.
He gives her a soft “Hey.” And one of those crooked smiles that never fails to make Gwiboon’s heart flutter even if they have been together since she was sixteen or further back in elementary when she was still very much clueless on what that feeling was.
Not even a second passes and she has her arms clinging onto him for dear life, her head on the crook of his neck and their bodies pressing close. A chuckle bubbles in Jonghyun’s chest. This girl is just too adorable for words. He always thinks at the back of his head that he must have done something heroic in his past lives to be blessed with someone like Gwiboon.
“I know.” He says quietly after a while then he shifts a little to sit more comfortably by the edge of the bed, all the while not breaking the hug. “I missed you too.” he kisses the top of her head and pats her back comfortingly. And she just replies by tightening her arms around him.
“Food’s ready guys! Let’s eat dinner!” Jinki calls from the kitchen after a few more minutes.
“Come on, noona made something for you.” he says as he gives Gwiboon a small pat on her lower back before he stands up and offers out a hand to help her up.
“Noooo~” she raises her arms to him instead. “Carry me!”
Jonghyun laughed but complied anyway by giving his back to her. Gwiboon stands up on the bed behind him and wraps her arms over his broad shoulders. He bends a little forward to let her hop on his back and holds her up by supporting the back of her knees.
“Were you eating while I was away, hm? You seem to weigh lighter.” Jonghyun comments as he bounces his girlfriend higher up his back a little.
“I was!” she replies defensively. “Just... not much lately since I’m not feeling well.” She confesses when Jonghyun stays still in their spot, then conceals her face on the crook of his neck. “Also, you’re not here to feed me.” she mumbles as he finally walks out of the room.
Jonghyun chuckles and bounces her again.
“Good thing we’re graduating together then. How would you survive a year without me if I were to graduate earlier?”
“Then I’d probably die.” She replies thoughtfully. Then she raises her head and smiles rather evilly at her boyfriend who is watching her with amusement. “Or I’ll just distract you all the time so you won’t graduate on time. Then we will graduate together!” she finishes enthusiastically with a clap of her hands.
“Aigoo, that’s a bad thing to say.” Jonghyun lets her down on her feet once they arrive in their destination. Gwiboon whines a little and Jonghyun turns around to see her pouting. He smiles at her and pinches her already red nose. “You little diva. You shouldn’t say things like that! What if I really don’t graduate this time and you’d be the one to leave me behind?”
“Well...” Gwiboon taps her chin in deep thoughts as she walks to the sink to wash her hands.
“You are not thinking of leaving me behind right?” she feels Jonghyun hug her waist and squeeze her slightly when she refuses to give him an answer. She looks over her shoulder and sees those beautiful brown eyes that she missed.
“Maybe~” she says with a playful giggle. Jonghyun stares at her with mock surprise which changes quickly to a playful glare followed by a ticklish nip on her neck.
And before they make a mess in the kitchen with their play fight, Minjung calls them again.
It is almost midnight and the movie that they are watching is almost over. Or so Gwiboon thinks. She has no clear idea of what it is about since she has been dozing off in certain parts of the movie. Who can blame her? Jonghyun’s been caressing her hair the moment she laid her head on his shoulder. She is sitting sideways on the sofa with her thighs on Jonghyun’s lap and her feet dangling a few inches above the floor, and her arms loosely hugging his torso. Minjung is sitting on the other end of the sofa with Jinki’s head on her lap as he is sitting on the floor.
When she opens her eyes again -she swears she’s just going to blink! She didn’t know she’ll fall asleep again- it is to the sound of Mingjung’s giggles.
“Aww, look at that. The kitten is awake.” She teases even more, the two males laughing quietly when Gwiboon just murmurs incoherent profanities and hides her face on her boyfriend’s shoulder.
“Let’s give the little kitty some slack now, Minjung-ah.” Jinki says and stands up from the floor. “She’s getting her refill of happy hormones.” He adds, chuckling at their inside joke.
Minjung also stands up beside her boyfriend, her left arm hooking onto his right. “I think I’m craving for some fries. Let’s go on a date?” Jinki chuckles and reaches for her hand to entwine with his.
“Sure, why not?” he says and they walk out of the apartment chuckling to themselves.
Jonghyun can just sigh at the couple and shake his head at their not really obvious attempt of leaving them alone. He looks down at the girl half sitting on his lap, and no, he’s not even complaining.
“Hey, kitty, let’s get you to bed.” he coos sweetly as he brushes a finger on her warm cheek. Gwiboon swats at his hand and nestles her head onto his neck, now sitting completely on his lap with her legs pulled close to her body.
“Wait, you’re hot.” Jonghyun says with a little panic in his voice as he feels Gwiboon’s forehead on his neck. He pushes her a little so he can place a hand on her forehead startling her in the process.
“What? I’m always hot. So just shut up and let me sleep. I’m cold.” Gwiboon goes back to her previous position, ready to go back to dream land but Jonghyun doesn’t want to let it go.
“Kim Gwiboon, I’m not even joking now.” His voice is stern and Gwiboon sort of hates it when he uses that tone on her. She feels like she is being lectured and she hates that so much. “Why are you taking this so lightly?!”
She pouts and moves to stand up from the couch, shivering visibly when her bare feet touched the cold tiles of the floor. Jonghyun follows and continues his scolding. “You should have just told me that you’re not feeling well so I could have just let you sleep in your bed and rest!”
“Just go to your own apartment, Jonghyun.” She mumbles quietly as she takes small steps towards her room. “Let’s talk tomorrow when you’re not mad at me anymore.”
Hearing the fragility of her voice and seeing her sulking shoulders, Jonghyun’s expression softened. He walks toward her and hugs her from behind. He frowns when she tries to get out of his arms.
“I’m sorry Baby. I’m... not mad at you... Just worried...” He sighs when she does not respond. So he pulls away a little to turn her around and cups her face in his hands to make her look at him. “Look at me, Baby... I’m really, really sorry... Now, if you really want me to go to my apartment, I’ll leave you. Just please promise me that you’ll take care of yourself okay?” he leans forward and places a loving kiss on her warm forehead.
Gwiboon still gave no response to him so he gives her a quite good night and turns to leave.
The soft click of the door snaps Gwiboon out of her trance and she looks around her. No one.
“Jonghyun!” she gasps and runs to the door, or at least tries to since her knees are feeling sluggish. How stupid, she thinks, I’ve been wanting to spend time with him all these past days and when he gets here, I shoo him away because he’s worried about me.
She yanks the door open and almost burst into tears when she sees him crouched by their door.
“I knew you’d want me to stay.” He says with a smile. He stands up and dusts his pants.
“I hate you!” she pushes his shoulders and pouts when he just chuckled at her and holds her wrists in his warm hands.
“No you don’t.” he pulls her closer to his body by her wrists and cages her in his arms. “But I’m really sorry for raising my voice at you.”
Gwiboon shakes her head and returns the embrace. “Let’s just forget about it, okay?” she feels Jonghyun nod and the next second she feels herself being scooped off the floor. And with a high pitched shriek, she flails her arms to grab on anything to keep her from falling. When she feels that the world is stable enough-as stable as it can be when your feet are dangling and the only security you have is the strong arms on the back of your knees and shoulders- she opens her eyes to meet with chocolate brown ones looking down at him.
“Now, let’s get you to bed.” he says as he toes off his shoes and walks into her room.
A few more minutes later, Jonghyun has changed into more comfortable clothes that he left in Gwiboon’s cabinet and they are lying under the sheets with Gwiboon using Jonghyun’s right arm as pillow. He finally convinces her to take medicine for her cold after promising that he will stay with her even if she falls asleep.
"Why must Minjung buy the one that has drowsy side effects?" she whines when Jonghyun hands her the capsule and a glass of water.
"It's supposed to be like that, Baby. So you can rest." he explains patiently as he coaxes her to swallow it. "And I already promised you that I'll stay the night and you can have me for all of tomorrow... I mean later, right?"
And soon enough, Gwiboon's eyes are drooping. Their feet are tangled while they lie facing each other with his hand brushing her locks (which are not really helping Gwiboon's attempt of staying awake).
“Gwiboon-ah,” when she does not reply after a while, he thinks that maybe she’s asleep already. So, he pulls her closer and hugs her, his left hand rubbing her back soothingly when she shivered. He kisses her forehead and she opens her eyes blearily.
“Sorry, did I wake you?”
“Yeah... and I was dreaming... about you... But it’s okay.”
“Oh? What was I doing in your dream?” he asks curiously. Shouldn’t Gwiboon be mad at him for waking her up from a dream?
“Lying beside me... but I don’t want... that...” she stretches slightly and curls back to Jonghyun’s chest. “I like this... more... much, much more~” she inches closer to him until there is no space between their bodies.
Jonghyun chuckles at her antics. “You really missed me too much huh?”
“Yeeees~ Isn’t it obvious yet?”
“Well, I see you wearing my shirt...” he says and tugs at the white top. “And I thought I lost it.”
“Now you know you didn’t. But consider it gone because I am not returning it any more~” Gwiboon sings and Jonghyun is so close to losing himself and biting that exposed shoulder.
“Why do you like that shirt anyway? It’s just plain white and too big on you.” he asks, humoring her, because Kim Gwiboon loves colors. She is anything but plain.
“But it still smells like you... even after washing it.”
“Ah, so you love my manly scent?”
Gwiboon hums and buries her nose on the crook of his neck and Jonghyun feels her inhale deeply.
“And that’s all?”
“No~ it feels like you’re... hugging me too.” Gwiboon murmurs, obviously fighting Sandman’s spell on her.
“So are you going to keep on kidnapping my shirts?” Jonghyun doesn’t even hide the amusement in his voice. He loves to talk with his girlfriend when she is sleepy because she doesn’t have smart remarks for him and she is just that cute little girl that he is best friends with since that sunny afternoon in the community playground.
“Yeah... so you can’t get away from me... anymore... because I have all of your...shirts.” she finishes with a yawn and she goes back to snuggling against him.
The room is filled with Jonghyun’s cheery laughter while Gwiboon whines a little because of the noise and the little rumbles that she feels because of it.
“Now you’re holding my shirts hostage?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Well, I have a lot of things I want to do for the future... and I sure want to do them with you. So, don’t worry your cute little face about me leaving.” And it is all true.
Jonghyun is sure that Gwiboon neither hears nor understands him anymore or that she will not be able to recall that they had a conversation in the morning. But he still says it. Just because.
He raises her face by titling her chin up and she sure is in a deep slumber. Jonghyun smiles and connects their foreheads. He feels a bit like a creeper for talking to his sleeping girlfriend and all, but hey, it’s still a bit romantic too... right? So he continues on with his little speech.
“And I’d probably die too if you leave me. That’s why you shouldn’t do that.” he says firmly, as if reprimanding her for having thoughts like that.
He kisses her on the forehead again, and tucks her head under his chin, “I love you, Baby. So much.” then pulls her close. “So fucking much.”
“I love you too, Jjongie.”
It was almost an incoherent murmur, barely there. But he hears it, loud and clear.
Jonghyun succumbs to the Sandman’s spell with a smile. He is aware that they will have to be apart from each other many times in the near future, but he also knows that they will always come back in each other’s arms no matter what.
a/n: i posted this in AFF sometime ago and i decided to post it here to :))
and if you haven’t really noticed it, Gwiboon’s to do = my to-do.
Oh, and “All of the characters and events in this story are fictional. Any similarity to a person living or dead is purely coincidental.” But it’s so cliché so I guess you already know this.
A little trivia about this story: I got the idea for this from the song T-shit and I wrote the “first draft” while I was riding the bus for a 5hr trip to the province. I think it’s my sem break back then, and a few months (a year almost) I got a “better” idea for the fic so I revised it and... tadaaaa~! This is the final product. I was planning on writing just 3K+ words, but now it’s 7.3k+ words. Urgh. What am I even doing with my life? OTL
And I find Minho[Minjung] very caring towards Key [Gwiboon] in real life, like he’s the older, more matured one. Specially if Kibummie is acting all spoiled and childish. I know there is a lot of MinKey in here, but that’s because I see them as cute siblings, nothing more. Haha. Sorry.
I hope you enjoyed it. Even if it’s not edited and it’s in the present tense and my tenses are really mixed up and it is so childish it doesn't even make sense. *headdesk* just tell me that it’s awful. I won’t get mad. TT^TT
I’m talking too much. Sorry. Yeah. Bye. *hidesunderarock*