abundance of summer (suho/kai)
title: abundance of summer
pairing: suho/kai (junmyeon/jongin in fic)
rating: r
genre: romance, fluff, angst
warnings: non-explicit smut, child!jongin & junmyeon
summary: how do you rekindle the flames of young love that have been extinguished by time?
Amidst the perpetual winter that dawned upon the lands they walked on, the summer heat in their bones try to make up for it.
That's how Junmyeon and Jongin try to deal with their everyday lives.
Junmyeon was never too fond of places that had harsh winters that lasted for a long time, meanwhile Jongin never really cared as long as Junmyeon was there for him. That was always his prerogative in life, that's why he was so carefree compared to Junmyeon.
Jongin and Junmyeon began as childhood friends, Jongin first met Junmyeon when the two of them were at their neighborhood daycare center, Jongin was always the first to arrive, his parents dropping him off at exactly 12 in the afternoon, just right after Jongin has had his lunch, he would play with the other kids for a while until he sees Junmyeon's tall parents dropping the young Junmyeon off, always at exactly 2:30 PM, everyday. Junmyeon never failed to attend the daycare every single day, except for weekends of course. Jongin knew by instinct that Junmyeon was the only person would could be able to complete his day, his mere presence making up for the loss of love in his heart.
Jongin's parents were both rich entrepreneurs, famous in the business industry. In effect, because his parents took too much time to focus on their business, they eventually neglected taking care of Jongin, they hadn't given him the substantial amount of love a child his age should receive. Jongin's parents left the kid at the daycare every single day to try to make up for the love and education he lacked and that his parents couldn't really give to the young boy because of their tight schedule at work and everything else that seemed more important than Jongin.
As a young boy, Jongin had no idea what was happening to him and as much as he tried, he could never get the attention of his parents with whatever he wanted, even if he ended up crying for hours on end. As he grew up, he began to believe his childhood had been so harsh that it could never be compensated for, even if he ended up falling in love with someone who could.
He tried to take back all his words when the young Jongin met the young Junmyeon that he used to see everyday in the daycare center.
Junmyeon hadn't realized that Jongin used to be that kid who was always so messy, so rude, so undisciplined in the daycare center when he was a child. And yet, Junmyeon hadn't realized at a later point that whenever it was only between him and Jongin, he managed to get a glimpse of that side of Jongin that was reassuring, demure and surprisingly, loving.
Junmyeon never knew the whole story of Jongin's harsh childhood, he only managed to hear snippets of it from his parents who, unlike Jongin, managed to give Junmyeon more than the required amount of attention and love a child his age was supposed to receive. As he grew up, his parents began to talk more openly about that one kid who used to pick fights with other children and make the daycare teachers so stressed because Jongin wasn't the type who wanted to share the toys he always played with.
It's funny because Junmyeon had realized later on that his parents never warned him about approaching Jongin, never. Was it because Junmyeon's parents knew that Jongin took a liking for their young boy? Were they ready to accept the fact that the kid they always heard of from the daycare center was in love with their disciplined child that was nothing like Jongin?
The years that passed in which both men hadn't seen each other, the questions had gone unanswered, but that didn't mean they weren't allowed to seek the answers from each other given the chance they saw each other again.
Junmyeon hadn't realized Jongin was able to attend the same school as Junmyeon did, given that it was quite a prestigious school so Junmyeon had thought Jongin might've had a hard time coming up with the money to pay for his tuition and his books. Then again, he realized how Jongin's parents were rich enough to pay for their son to experience an educated life even at home, and thought that it was more than possible for Jongin to attend the same school as he did.
It was fate that brought them closer to each other, as always. Jongin was never the type who took notice of his classmates, simply because he never really cared about his studies and yet his parents have a way of paying the school administration enough to get him to graduate and be accepted into another prestigious university, and have the whole cycle repeat itself again until Jongin finds himself landing in a high position in his parents' business.
Jongin doesn't realize how much of a good ending he'd have from this point on. But the minute Jongin hears Junmyeon's name on the roll call, he decided to change his future right there and then.
Junmyeon had no idea what was coming for him. All he knew for himself was that he was going to graduate with the highest possible grades in his batch, and enter a famous university that would be able to cater to all his academic needs, therefore allowing him to graduate with a Ph.D and perhaps work as a doctor. As usual, this might include the optional advantage for Junmyeon to find the cure for cancer, but he's giving himself doubts as to whether he's smart enough to do that or not.
He doesn't notice Jongin's name when the professor mentions it on the roll call, but he feels his heartbeat race after that point and yet he doesn't know what's happening to him.
How do you rekindle the relationship with someone you grew up and yet grew apart because of circumstances that weren't considered through the years?
Jongin hated to think of that question not only for its complexity, but because it was a real obstacle with whatever he was planning to do just so he could be close to Junmyeon again. For all he knows Junmyeon could be surrounded by bodyguards everywhere as if preemptively waiting for Jongin to strike at Junmyeon at any minute now.
He's afraid to approach Junmyeon and he doesn't know how to tell anyone else because they wouldn't understand how their relationship came to be and how deep it really was as opposed to seeing it from the point of view of someone else.
So this is where Jongin decided to take circumstances into his own hands after time had decided to keep the two of them away from each other during their puberty years.
As much as possible, Jongin had tried to seat as close to Junmyeon during classes and try to memorize what Junmyeon's class schedule was, because he knew Junmyeon was the smart type, so he'd be confronted with classes that were hard to catch up with if you're the type who dawdles during class hours.
Jongin knew what he was up against, so he had to raise the ante in return. Junmyeon still didn't know anything, ignorance is bliss, is the line he frequently sticks with. However he knows at the back of his mind someone's trying to catch up to him, desperately, he doesn't know who because last time he's checked, he hasn't had any female admirers for quite sometime, or so Kyungsoo, his closest friend always tells him.
Junmyeon and Kyungsoo were partners in crime, or as Kyungsoo would like to call it, nerds in brainbending, even though Junmyeon tells him how bad that really sounds. The two of them were always partners during class projects, partners during lab practices, always found inside the library conducting group studies with just the both of them. The two of them were always in a friendly competition in their grades hence why they always stuck to each other like salt and pepper.
Jongin knew this, of course, he could be a potential stalker at this point. Because of all the classes that he decided to take just so he could be much closer with Junmyeon, he figured he'd be needing help at this point, otherwise he'd fail and perhaps be sent out of the class and transferred to a lower-level class, therefore be distant from Junmyeon.
Kim Jongin was a risk taker, so he took a risk by befriending Kyungsoo.
Jongin found a rare opportunity in which Kyungsoo was all alone in the hallways, organizing his locker with all the thick books that harvested in it. Jongin knew those books were not exactly the key to his good grades all in itself, he wouldn't be able to understand complex theories and trigonometric proving without the help of his intelligent classmates, or so he told Kyungsoo the same thing to be able to suck up.
At this point, Jongin realized Kyungsoo was never the type to be approached for "help" during classes, mainly because he was aware that Junmyeon clearly led in the "looks" category so his classmates would find it much easier to approach Junmyeon for help and not Kyungsoo.
"I'm not really after the looks, I much prefer the brains, just as long as I get to learn something." Jongin tries to sweet-talk his way into Kyungsoo's good side.
Kyungsoo slams his locker door with a loud bang, nearly making the younger man flinch at the sudden sound, "I don't know what you're really after, but fine, consider it done. See me after classes in the library, and bring your own materials."
As Jongin watches Kyungsoo hastily run off to the Chemistry Lab, or at least a lab of some sort (he sees the other student carrying a pair of goggles, so he assumes he's off to a lab), the tall man giggles to himself like a girl, but hides it immediately because the other students know he's not the type to just spontaneously giggle as if Junmyeon told him that he loves him. Nonetheless, even if he wasn't really after Junmyeon, Jongin figures the extra help would be more than necessary because he chose these difficult classes just so he could get closer to Junmyeon.
He blames fate for bringing them together anyways.
Jongin meets Kyungsoo at the library, and as promised, he brings his own books as well as his other paraphernalia to help him answer the questions he's about to answer in his books. The one thing that Jongin didn't expect, though, was to see Junmyeon there with Kyungsoo. The latter never told Jongin that Junmyeon would be there to study and perhaps help the poor young student catch up with his studies. Although, Jongin thinks, why would Kyungsoo even tell him? They're not that close anyways, and besides it's Junmyeon's decision if he wants to join in on the study group with Jongin.
Junmyeon has no idea he's actually confronting the young boy he's always grew up liking ever since they met each other from that daycare center.
"If you simplify these equations to those postulates, you would find it tremendously easier to prove. Got it?"
Jongin never expected to hear Kyungsoo talk so confidently while teaching him proving in trigonometry, it's as if he needs a dictionary just to understand the words that Kyungsoo has been using to teach him the process, and yet he wonders why Jongin never feels the same with their Math teacher who uses the same words in class every single day.
"Come on, Kyungsoo, give him a break. Look at his face, he looks extremely stressed because you're pressuring him too much." Junmyeon cuts in while his highlighter taps on a blank side of a page in his History book. Jongin doesn't even want to think about the extensive amount of reading that he has to do for History, especially because he's not too fond about learning about some other country's old stories, let alone the rest of the world's.
Kyungsoo clicks his tongue as he walks away hastily, perhaps for a bathroom break, allowing Jongin some spare time to even breathe ever since the study group had started.
"I'm sorry he's being like this, he loses his patience quickly if people don't understand what he's telling them." Junmyeon softly smiles to himself while he continues to read his book, his hands slowly following the words that he's reading.
"It's alright, I'm used to that."
"By the way, have we met? I'm Kim Junmyeon, I think we're classmates? I don't think we've been formally introduced, though," he reaches out an empty hand, the other still half holding the highlighter and half holding down the pages of his book.
Jongin takes the offered hand, "Kim Jongin, we're all in the same classes but it's funny how we've never introduced each other."
In reality, Jongin really knows Junmyeon so the introduction's rendered itself useless, he just wants to make things easy for himself and not come out as an obsessive stalker who chose to have the same classes as Junmyeon did on purpose, he doesn't want to go off on the wrong foot so he had to pretend he's never met Junmyeon before.
Meanwhile, Junmyeon slowly begins to remember who Jongin is and starts to recognize the features he's carried ever since he was a child. Junmyeon remembers the soft smile, his flawless skin, the hair that's usually found itself excessively styled and looking like a mohawk at times. He mentally yells at himself for not recognizing Jongin earlier, he's wasted all this time ignoring that young boy he met and loved from the daycare center, not realizing that he was just so close to him all along.
So close and yet so far, Junmyeon thinks.
"Wait, no. I think we've already met before, I just didn't remember all this time." Junmyeon blankly stares at his book, Jongin thinks he's unconsciously reading the words on the page still but realizes soon after that it's been minutes and Junmyeon still hasn't flipped a page on his book.
"You were that boy the parents at the daycare center always talked about." Junmyeon voice becomes softer, softer than his accustomed library voice. Meanwhile, Jongin continues to watch Junmyeon's facial reactions, careful to see if something slips out or something.
Junmyeon registers a nod at his peripheral vision and confirms that this was the Jongin that the kids always fought with. This was the Jongin that the daycare teachers always had a hard time with. This was the Jongin who revealed to Junmyeon the other side of his rowdy personality.
Junmyeon hopes he hasn't lost any time in his silenced feelings for Jongin, because in reality so much time has been wasted that neither of them know how to make up for it.
Within the next few months, Junmyeon and Jongin became good friends again, as if the time that it had taken for the two of them to get used to being apart suddenly disappeared ever since their supposed study group brought them together again.
In return, Junmyeon told Kyungsoo how he and Jongin used to be childhood friends and it would mean so much to Junmyeon if the three of them became good friends, just so it wouldn't be too awkward for Kyungsoo to hang out with them just because the two were closer than Junmyeon and Kyungsoo's relationship as study buddies.
Eventually all three of them graduated with good grades, including Jongin, of course, he knew being friends with Junmyeon and Kyungsoo only reassured that he's bound to graduate with good grades, enough to change the minds of his parents that money's not always the way to success and sometimes a little bit of hardwork and good grades is enough to go by.
Junmyeon still has no idea how much Jongin has to thank for since he's even got around to changing his parents' perspective of life and success.
---
A few years later, and Junmyeon and Jongin find themselves in Switzerland, well adjusted to their new home and ready to live life without their parents. Of course, it took them quite a while to get used to the language as well as getting acquainted with new people in a foreign country. But they were both hardworking in getting things done nonetheless, and it was at the end that they felt so overwhelmed and understood that working this hard would eventually get them to a good life because of all the people that had decided to help them out along the way.
Jongin went from a family of rich business workers to a man who really wanted to live a simple and plain life, ever since he and Junmyeon had moved to Switzerland, he chose to work as a baker in a local bakery just a few blocks away from their home. Jongin's bakery has tons of customers who frequented his place because of Jongin's wise idea to bring in some of the pastries he used to grow up eating while he was in Korea and change up the recipe to fit in the palates of the Swiss. No one told him it'd be easy, neither did Junmyeon think it was a good idea at first, but in the end it proved his bakery successful and the owner's been proud of him ever since.
Junmyeon on the other hand, decided to continue on the rich and wealthy path that his parents have set out for him. At first, Jongin wanted to refute Junmyeon's plan of working in a local hotel's management, thinking that the work might be too much for him, especially for someone who hasn't been staying in Switzerland for quite a long time, he knows Junmyeon would be up against wealthy local people while he was in the business, but he had faith in the older man so he eventually obliged. Just after a few years that Junmyeon tried out for this job, he found himself quickly rising up the ranks and eventually became part of the Board of Directors, giving him enough salary to get him and Jongin by besides the latter's work in the bakery.
There have been special days in which the two of them merely stayed home, Jongin would bake pastries for Junmyeon and eventually the two of them would stay in bed as their bodies mingled between each other under the sheets.
One thing that Jongin hasn't gotten around to asking ever since they started their new life was ask Junmyeon about their childhood and why they had quietly decided to "cool off" all of a sudden.
Junmyeon thought Jongin would never bring up the topic again, but he decided to wait until Jongin did, but when Jongin asked, he did it when Junmyeon was least expecting it - when the latter had received news from a distant relative that his parents had died of old age back in Korea.
"I'm really sorry about your parents, Junmyeon." Jongin couldn't help but blankly stare at the older man, the other had his eyes cast down and his shoulders bent, as if the world came crashing down on him after he received the bad news.
Silence broke in the room, but Junmyeon had wanted to accept Jongin's condolences, he just couldn't bring himself to speak. Meanwhile, Jongin understood where Junmyeon was coming from, he knew why Junmyeon was speechless and couldn't bear to talk at all.
He knew Junmyeon had the better childhood, the better life, the better parents, but still fate had chosen them to meet in that daycare center, but he didn't want to question fate because he believes it was too late to do so and he doesn't regret any of it.
Junmyeon was left with no words and compensated it with immersing himself in Jongin's embrace.
The night lasted for a very long time while the two of them stayed up staring at each other's faces, afraid of what they might say to each other, afraid that they might hurt each other's fragile feelings. They might've shared a relationship for a very long time, but it could shatter at any moment so they had to take care of it as much as possible.
The cold weather outside surely wasn't helping, and with their place supplied without air-conditioning units, they had to get by with using open windows as their source for the cold weather. Wind swept by throughout the entire night, but it had been too cold for them to bear so they laid down close to each other to keep themselves warm.
"I don't think it's my job to ask, but ..."
Junmyeon looks at Jongin with eyes that yearned for longing, but he was curious with Jongin's words so he allowed the younger man to speak.
"Whatever happened during that time we drifted apart? I still don't understand how and why that happened."
Junmyeon didn't want to answer, he wasn't expecting Jongin to ask during this very moment in which he was at his most vulnerable. He didn't want to break Jongin's heart by not answering either so he figured if he settled this now, he wouldn't have to bother with it later on.
"My parents first implanted the idea a few years after we met in the daycare center. They began to hear rumours from the other parents saying there was this kid who always fought with the other kids who often played with their toys in the daycare. I knew that was you since whenever my parents dropped me off, I sometimes see you trying to grab your way through the toy pile with the other kids, trying to grab the most number of toys your arms could carry. You sneaked them off to another corner and play until you saw me and grabbed me by the hand, forcing me to play with you until my parents came back to pick me up."
Jongin hadn't realized the other parents were gossiping about him and his aggressive attitude towards the other children. Of course, he knew his own parents wouldn't tell him this because they were always the last ones to know and they always had this continuous habit of picking Jongin up last, therefore the other parents were never there to see Jongin's parents and alert them of their son's attitude.
It's as if it had been planned perfectly, Jongin knew from that moment on, Junmyeon's parents might have told him that they shouldn't see him hanging around with Jongin in the daycare center. For a while, Junmyeon didn't care what his parents told him, and still he continued to play with Jongin, but from the moment the two of them grew old enough to not stay in the daycare center, things had changed and that was probably what had prompted this.
Nonetheless, Jongin knew it was pointless to get angry still now that Junmyeon knew his parents have both died of old age. It was useless to harbour anger and shame from them, so he decided to clear that off his head.
Jongin gently pulls Junmyeon's head to the crook of his neck, and the two of them remain in that position at least until Jongin falls asleep.
They don't notice the time a couple of hours later, it's just that Jongin was awakened by Junmyeon subtly dropping kisses along Jongin's neckline down to his collarbones. A soft moan escapes Jongin's mouth while he feels Junmyeon smiling on the younger man's skin.
It's odd, they should be asleep but instead Junmyeon's suggesting they go for intercourse on such an ungodly hour like this. Jongin doesn't really care anyways.
Jongin pulls over the sheets and the both of them try to find themselves between cottoned shirts and the thick duvet that's finding itself tangling between their legs and arms.
After they were both spent, Jongin immediately dozed off not knowing Junmyeon had been whispering countless apologies on the younger man's chest until he himself fell asleep.
The morning after leaves them too exhausted to get up and their shorts ending up on both sides of the bed, but maybe last night's last minute plans were Junmyeon's way of trying to get them to forget the past altogether and just focus on their successful lives here.
Amidst the perpetual winter that dawned upon the lands they walked on, the summer heat in their bones definitely made up for the past that had nearly destroyed their relationship.
a/n: don't ask me where the plot went because idek
pairing: suho/kai (junmyeon/jongin in fic)
rating: r
genre: romance, fluff, angst
warnings: non-explicit smut, child!jongin & junmyeon
summary: how do you rekindle the flames of young love that have been extinguished by time?
Amidst the perpetual winter that dawned upon the lands they walked on, the summer heat in their bones try to make up for it.
That's how Junmyeon and Jongin try to deal with their everyday lives.
Junmyeon was never too fond of places that had harsh winters that lasted for a long time, meanwhile Jongin never really cared as long as Junmyeon was there for him. That was always his prerogative in life, that's why he was so carefree compared to Junmyeon.
Jongin and Junmyeon began as childhood friends, Jongin first met Junmyeon when the two of them were at their neighborhood daycare center, Jongin was always the first to arrive, his parents dropping him off at exactly 12 in the afternoon, just right after Jongin has had his lunch, he would play with the other kids for a while until he sees Junmyeon's tall parents dropping the young Junmyeon off, always at exactly 2:30 PM, everyday. Junmyeon never failed to attend the daycare every single day, except for weekends of course. Jongin knew by instinct that Junmyeon was the only person would could be able to complete his day, his mere presence making up for the loss of love in his heart.
Jongin's parents were both rich entrepreneurs, famous in the business industry. In effect, because his parents took too much time to focus on their business, they eventually neglected taking care of Jongin, they hadn't given him the substantial amount of love a child his age should receive. Jongin's parents left the kid at the daycare every single day to try to make up for the love and education he lacked and that his parents couldn't really give to the young boy because of their tight schedule at work and everything else that seemed more important than Jongin.
As a young boy, Jongin had no idea what was happening to him and as much as he tried, he could never get the attention of his parents with whatever he wanted, even if he ended up crying for hours on end. As he grew up, he began to believe his childhood had been so harsh that it could never be compensated for, even if he ended up falling in love with someone who could.
He tried to take back all his words when the young Jongin met the young Junmyeon that he used to see everyday in the daycare center.
Junmyeon hadn't realized that Jongin used to be that kid who was always so messy, so rude, so undisciplined in the daycare center when he was a child. And yet, Junmyeon hadn't realized at a later point that whenever it was only between him and Jongin, he managed to get a glimpse of that side of Jongin that was reassuring, demure and surprisingly, loving.
Junmyeon never knew the whole story of Jongin's harsh childhood, he only managed to hear snippets of it from his parents who, unlike Jongin, managed to give Junmyeon more than the required amount of attention and love a child his age was supposed to receive. As he grew up, his parents began to talk more openly about that one kid who used to pick fights with other children and make the daycare teachers so stressed because Jongin wasn't the type who wanted to share the toys he always played with.
It's funny because Junmyeon had realized later on that his parents never warned him about approaching Jongin, never. Was it because Junmyeon's parents knew that Jongin took a liking for their young boy? Were they ready to accept the fact that the kid they always heard of from the daycare center was in love with their disciplined child that was nothing like Jongin?
The years that passed in which both men hadn't seen each other, the questions had gone unanswered, but that didn't mean they weren't allowed to seek the answers from each other given the chance they saw each other again.
Junmyeon hadn't realized Jongin was able to attend the same school as Junmyeon did, given that it was quite a prestigious school so Junmyeon had thought Jongin might've had a hard time coming up with the money to pay for his tuition and his books. Then again, he realized how Jongin's parents were rich enough to pay for their son to experience an educated life even at home, and thought that it was more than possible for Jongin to attend the same school as he did.
It was fate that brought them closer to each other, as always. Jongin was never the type who took notice of his classmates, simply because he never really cared about his studies and yet his parents have a way of paying the school administration enough to get him to graduate and be accepted into another prestigious university, and have the whole cycle repeat itself again until Jongin finds himself landing in a high position in his parents' business.
Jongin doesn't realize how much of a good ending he'd have from this point on. But the minute Jongin hears Junmyeon's name on the roll call, he decided to change his future right there and then.
Junmyeon had no idea what was coming for him. All he knew for himself was that he was going to graduate with the highest possible grades in his batch, and enter a famous university that would be able to cater to all his academic needs, therefore allowing him to graduate with a Ph.D and perhaps work as a doctor. As usual, this might include the optional advantage for Junmyeon to find the cure for cancer, but he's giving himself doubts as to whether he's smart enough to do that or not.
He doesn't notice Jongin's name when the professor mentions it on the roll call, but he feels his heartbeat race after that point and yet he doesn't know what's happening to him.
How do you rekindle the relationship with someone you grew up and yet grew apart because of circumstances that weren't considered through the years?
Jongin hated to think of that question not only for its complexity, but because it was a real obstacle with whatever he was planning to do just so he could be close to Junmyeon again. For all he knows Junmyeon could be surrounded by bodyguards everywhere as if preemptively waiting for Jongin to strike at Junmyeon at any minute now.
He's afraid to approach Junmyeon and he doesn't know how to tell anyone else because they wouldn't understand how their relationship came to be and how deep it really was as opposed to seeing it from the point of view of someone else.
So this is where Jongin decided to take circumstances into his own hands after time had decided to keep the two of them away from each other during their puberty years.
As much as possible, Jongin had tried to seat as close to Junmyeon during classes and try to memorize what Junmyeon's class schedule was, because he knew Junmyeon was the smart type, so he'd be confronted with classes that were hard to catch up with if you're the type who dawdles during class hours.
Jongin knew what he was up against, so he had to raise the ante in return. Junmyeon still didn't know anything, ignorance is bliss, is the line he frequently sticks with. However he knows at the back of his mind someone's trying to catch up to him, desperately, he doesn't know who because last time he's checked, he hasn't had any female admirers for quite sometime, or so Kyungsoo, his closest friend always tells him.
Junmyeon and Kyungsoo were partners in crime, or as Kyungsoo would like to call it, nerds in brainbending, even though Junmyeon tells him how bad that really sounds. The two of them were always partners during class projects, partners during lab practices, always found inside the library conducting group studies with just the both of them. The two of them were always in a friendly competition in their grades hence why they always stuck to each other like salt and pepper.
Jongin knew this, of course, he could be a potential stalker at this point. Because of all the classes that he decided to take just so he could be much closer with Junmyeon, he figured he'd be needing help at this point, otherwise he'd fail and perhaps be sent out of the class and transferred to a lower-level class, therefore be distant from Junmyeon.
Kim Jongin was a risk taker, so he took a risk by befriending Kyungsoo.
Jongin found a rare opportunity in which Kyungsoo was all alone in the hallways, organizing his locker with all the thick books that harvested in it. Jongin knew those books were not exactly the key to his good grades all in itself, he wouldn't be able to understand complex theories and trigonometric proving without the help of his intelligent classmates, or so he told Kyungsoo the same thing to be able to suck up.
At this point, Jongin realized Kyungsoo was never the type to be approached for "help" during classes, mainly because he was aware that Junmyeon clearly led in the "looks" category so his classmates would find it much easier to approach Junmyeon for help and not Kyungsoo.
"I'm not really after the looks, I much prefer the brains, just as long as I get to learn something." Jongin tries to sweet-talk his way into Kyungsoo's good side.
Kyungsoo slams his locker door with a loud bang, nearly making the younger man flinch at the sudden sound, "I don't know what you're really after, but fine, consider it done. See me after classes in the library, and bring your own materials."
As Jongin watches Kyungsoo hastily run off to the Chemistry Lab, or at least a lab of some sort (he sees the other student carrying a pair of goggles, so he assumes he's off to a lab), the tall man giggles to himself like a girl, but hides it immediately because the other students know he's not the type to just spontaneously giggle as if Junmyeon told him that he loves him. Nonetheless, even if he wasn't really after Junmyeon, Jongin figures the extra help would be more than necessary because he chose these difficult classes just so he could get closer to Junmyeon.
He blames fate for bringing them together anyways.
Jongin meets Kyungsoo at the library, and as promised, he brings his own books as well as his other paraphernalia to help him answer the questions he's about to answer in his books. The one thing that Jongin didn't expect, though, was to see Junmyeon there with Kyungsoo. The latter never told Jongin that Junmyeon would be there to study and perhaps help the poor young student catch up with his studies. Although, Jongin thinks, why would Kyungsoo even tell him? They're not that close anyways, and besides it's Junmyeon's decision if he wants to join in on the study group with Jongin.
Junmyeon has no idea he's actually confronting the young boy he's always grew up liking ever since they met each other from that daycare center.
"If you simplify these equations to those postulates, you would find it tremendously easier to prove. Got it?"
Jongin never expected to hear Kyungsoo talk so confidently while teaching him proving in trigonometry, it's as if he needs a dictionary just to understand the words that Kyungsoo has been using to teach him the process, and yet he wonders why Jongin never feels the same with their Math teacher who uses the same words in class every single day.
"Come on, Kyungsoo, give him a break. Look at his face, he looks extremely stressed because you're pressuring him too much." Junmyeon cuts in while his highlighter taps on a blank side of a page in his History book. Jongin doesn't even want to think about the extensive amount of reading that he has to do for History, especially because he's not too fond about learning about some other country's old stories, let alone the rest of the world's.
Kyungsoo clicks his tongue as he walks away hastily, perhaps for a bathroom break, allowing Jongin some spare time to even breathe ever since the study group had started.
"I'm sorry he's being like this, he loses his patience quickly if people don't understand what he's telling them." Junmyeon softly smiles to himself while he continues to read his book, his hands slowly following the words that he's reading.
"It's alright, I'm used to that."
"By the way, have we met? I'm Kim Junmyeon, I think we're classmates? I don't think we've been formally introduced, though," he reaches out an empty hand, the other still half holding the highlighter and half holding down the pages of his book.
Jongin takes the offered hand, "Kim Jongin, we're all in the same classes but it's funny how we've never introduced each other."
In reality, Jongin really knows Junmyeon so the introduction's rendered itself useless, he just wants to make things easy for himself and not come out as an obsessive stalker who chose to have the same classes as Junmyeon did on purpose, he doesn't want to go off on the wrong foot so he had to pretend he's never met Junmyeon before.
Meanwhile, Junmyeon slowly begins to remember who Jongin is and starts to recognize the features he's carried ever since he was a child. Junmyeon remembers the soft smile, his flawless skin, the hair that's usually found itself excessively styled and looking like a mohawk at times. He mentally yells at himself for not recognizing Jongin earlier, he's wasted all this time ignoring that young boy he met and loved from the daycare center, not realizing that he was just so close to him all along.
So close and yet so far, Junmyeon thinks.
"Wait, no. I think we've already met before, I just didn't remember all this time." Junmyeon blankly stares at his book, Jongin thinks he's unconsciously reading the words on the page still but realizes soon after that it's been minutes and Junmyeon still hasn't flipped a page on his book.
"You were that boy the parents at the daycare center always talked about." Junmyeon voice becomes softer, softer than his accustomed library voice. Meanwhile, Jongin continues to watch Junmyeon's facial reactions, careful to see if something slips out or something.
Junmyeon registers a nod at his peripheral vision and confirms that this was the Jongin that the kids always fought with. This was the Jongin that the daycare teachers always had a hard time with. This was the Jongin who revealed to Junmyeon the other side of his rowdy personality.
Junmyeon hopes he hasn't lost any time in his silenced feelings for Jongin, because in reality so much time has been wasted that neither of them know how to make up for it.
Within the next few months, Junmyeon and Jongin became good friends again, as if the time that it had taken for the two of them to get used to being apart suddenly disappeared ever since their supposed study group brought them together again.
In return, Junmyeon told Kyungsoo how he and Jongin used to be childhood friends and it would mean so much to Junmyeon if the three of them became good friends, just so it wouldn't be too awkward for Kyungsoo to hang out with them just because the two were closer than Junmyeon and Kyungsoo's relationship as study buddies.
Eventually all three of them graduated with good grades, including Jongin, of course, he knew being friends with Junmyeon and Kyungsoo only reassured that he's bound to graduate with good grades, enough to change the minds of his parents that money's not always the way to success and sometimes a little bit of hardwork and good grades is enough to go by.
Junmyeon still has no idea how much Jongin has to thank for since he's even got around to changing his parents' perspective of life and success.
---
A few years later, and Junmyeon and Jongin find themselves in Switzerland, well adjusted to their new home and ready to live life without their parents. Of course, it took them quite a while to get used to the language as well as getting acquainted with new people in a foreign country. But they were both hardworking in getting things done nonetheless, and it was at the end that they felt so overwhelmed and understood that working this hard would eventually get them to a good life because of all the people that had decided to help them out along the way.
Jongin went from a family of rich business workers to a man who really wanted to live a simple and plain life, ever since he and Junmyeon had moved to Switzerland, he chose to work as a baker in a local bakery just a few blocks away from their home. Jongin's bakery has tons of customers who frequented his place because of Jongin's wise idea to bring in some of the pastries he used to grow up eating while he was in Korea and change up the recipe to fit in the palates of the Swiss. No one told him it'd be easy, neither did Junmyeon think it was a good idea at first, but in the end it proved his bakery successful and the owner's been proud of him ever since.
Junmyeon on the other hand, decided to continue on the rich and wealthy path that his parents have set out for him. At first, Jongin wanted to refute Junmyeon's plan of working in a local hotel's management, thinking that the work might be too much for him, especially for someone who hasn't been staying in Switzerland for quite a long time, he knows Junmyeon would be up against wealthy local people while he was in the business, but he had faith in the older man so he eventually obliged. Just after a few years that Junmyeon tried out for this job, he found himself quickly rising up the ranks and eventually became part of the Board of Directors, giving him enough salary to get him and Jongin by besides the latter's work in the bakery.
There have been special days in which the two of them merely stayed home, Jongin would bake pastries for Junmyeon and eventually the two of them would stay in bed as their bodies mingled between each other under the sheets.
One thing that Jongin hasn't gotten around to asking ever since they started their new life was ask Junmyeon about their childhood and why they had quietly decided to "cool off" all of a sudden.
Junmyeon thought Jongin would never bring up the topic again, but he decided to wait until Jongin did, but when Jongin asked, he did it when Junmyeon was least expecting it - when the latter had received news from a distant relative that his parents had died of old age back in Korea.
"I'm really sorry about your parents, Junmyeon." Jongin couldn't help but blankly stare at the older man, the other had his eyes cast down and his shoulders bent, as if the world came crashing down on him after he received the bad news.
Silence broke in the room, but Junmyeon had wanted to accept Jongin's condolences, he just couldn't bring himself to speak. Meanwhile, Jongin understood where Junmyeon was coming from, he knew why Junmyeon was speechless and couldn't bear to talk at all.
He knew Junmyeon had the better childhood, the better life, the better parents, but still fate had chosen them to meet in that daycare center, but he didn't want to question fate because he believes it was too late to do so and he doesn't regret any of it.
Junmyeon was left with no words and compensated it with immersing himself in Jongin's embrace.
The night lasted for a very long time while the two of them stayed up staring at each other's faces, afraid of what they might say to each other, afraid that they might hurt each other's fragile feelings. They might've shared a relationship for a very long time, but it could shatter at any moment so they had to take care of it as much as possible.
The cold weather outside surely wasn't helping, and with their place supplied without air-conditioning units, they had to get by with using open windows as their source for the cold weather. Wind swept by throughout the entire night, but it had been too cold for them to bear so they laid down close to each other to keep themselves warm.
"I don't think it's my job to ask, but ..."
Junmyeon looks at Jongin with eyes that yearned for longing, but he was curious with Jongin's words so he allowed the younger man to speak.
"Whatever happened during that time we drifted apart? I still don't understand how and why that happened."
Junmyeon didn't want to answer, he wasn't expecting Jongin to ask during this very moment in which he was at his most vulnerable. He didn't want to break Jongin's heart by not answering either so he figured if he settled this now, he wouldn't have to bother with it later on.
"My parents first implanted the idea a few years after we met in the daycare center. They began to hear rumours from the other parents saying there was this kid who always fought with the other kids who often played with their toys in the daycare. I knew that was you since whenever my parents dropped me off, I sometimes see you trying to grab your way through the toy pile with the other kids, trying to grab the most number of toys your arms could carry. You sneaked them off to another corner and play until you saw me and grabbed me by the hand, forcing me to play with you until my parents came back to pick me up."
Jongin hadn't realized the other parents were gossiping about him and his aggressive attitude towards the other children. Of course, he knew his own parents wouldn't tell him this because they were always the last ones to know and they always had this continuous habit of picking Jongin up last, therefore the other parents were never there to see Jongin's parents and alert them of their son's attitude.
It's as if it had been planned perfectly, Jongin knew from that moment on, Junmyeon's parents might have told him that they shouldn't see him hanging around with Jongin in the daycare center. For a while, Junmyeon didn't care what his parents told him, and still he continued to play with Jongin, but from the moment the two of them grew old enough to not stay in the daycare center, things had changed and that was probably what had prompted this.
Nonetheless, Jongin knew it was pointless to get angry still now that Junmyeon knew his parents have both died of old age. It was useless to harbour anger and shame from them, so he decided to clear that off his head.
Jongin gently pulls Junmyeon's head to the crook of his neck, and the two of them remain in that position at least until Jongin falls asleep.
They don't notice the time a couple of hours later, it's just that Jongin was awakened by Junmyeon subtly dropping kisses along Jongin's neckline down to his collarbones. A soft moan escapes Jongin's mouth while he feels Junmyeon smiling on the younger man's skin.
It's odd, they should be asleep but instead Junmyeon's suggesting they go for intercourse on such an ungodly hour like this. Jongin doesn't really care anyways.
Jongin pulls over the sheets and the both of them try to find themselves between cottoned shirts and the thick duvet that's finding itself tangling between their legs and arms.
After they were both spent, Jongin immediately dozed off not knowing Junmyeon had been whispering countless apologies on the younger man's chest until he himself fell asleep.
The morning after leaves them too exhausted to get up and their shorts ending up on both sides of the bed, but maybe last night's last minute plans were Junmyeon's way of trying to get them to forget the past altogether and just focus on their successful lives here.
Amidst the perpetual winter that dawned upon the lands they walked on, the summer heat in their bones definitely made up for the past that had nearly destroyed their relationship.
a/n: don't ask me where the plot went because idek