[iKON; Jinhwan/Junhwe] A World Apart

[concordances]

Title: A World Apart
Fandom: iKON
Pairing: Jinhwan/Junhwe
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 6,029 words
Summary: Junhwe eventually loses track of the number of times he encounters Jinhwan.
Warnings: (temporary) illness, (temporary) character death
A/N: Originally written for exchangekon, as a gift fic for halfpastwo! Also on AO3.

Comments

[heartbells]

hello! yey you're finally back with a new junhwan fic, i've missed your works!

okay, honestly!!! this is so brilliantly written!!! every scene (or lifetime) hits right into the feels T______T

i personally love love love these few parts (they were the ones that set off my waterworks in particular T____T)

“Hyung,” Junhwe says, desperation edging its way into his voice. “It’s me.”

He wants to say, look at me, but then Jinhwan does, expression morphing immediately into something apologetic. “I’m so sorry,” he says. And then: “I have a really bad memory for faces. Are you… you were at the fansign in Busan, right?”

Junhwe’s heart sinks. Jinhwan is peering at him, not a hint of recognition on his face. “It’s me,” Junhwe mumbles, even though it’s obvious that it won’t do any good. “It’s Junhwe.”

not only junhwe's heart sunk, mine sunk along with his..!!!!
//
the entire story at the bar scene was my most favourite one?? like.. i personally loved how jinhwan was opening up to junhwe, when he didn't mean to but it just happened so naturally like jinhwan felt the most comfortable with junhwe. jinhwan felt at home with junhwe..

There are so many things that could go wrong, but for the moment, Junhwe does what feels right.

He leans forward and kisses Jinhwan.

I LOVE THIS. junhwe taking a leap in faith and doing what he has always wanted to do bc it was THE moment. oh my god. it led me thinking to a lot of possibilities about them after that kiss.
//

“Morning, Jinhwan-hyung,” Junhwe mumbles as he passes him, right before his sleep-deprived brain remembers that he definitely, absolutely isn’t supposed to know who Jinhwan is in this lifetime.

Jinhwan looks up, surprise turning to confusion.

“We’ve met before,” Junhwe explains hastily. And then, for some reason, sleep deprivation spurs him on to add, “I know that you have a sister, and you like listening to John Mayer, and you think poetry is dumb.” If he didn’t look apprehensive before, Jinhwan does now.

“So, yeah, we know each other,” Junhwe rambles. “Obviously, I wouldn’t know any of that stuff if we didn’t.”

flustered!! koo junhwe!! absolute cutest!! omg!! pretty sure jinhwan found that super adorable yet suspicious at the same time tbh. so cute. but way to go hanbin to save the awkward atmosphere.
//
“We’re soulmates,” Junhwe tells Jinhwan over their burgers. “Destined to meet in every lifetime, except you don’t remember me.” He keeps his eyes on his food, tells himself he doesn’t care if Jinhwan thinks it’s a joke. At this point, Junhwe wants the say the words aloud no matter how ludicrous they sound, get it out of his system.

“Yeah?” Jinhwan sounds interested, eyes sparkling in amusement. His expression isn’t one of disbelief.

this. was. the. part. when. i. lost. my. shit. like idk jinhwan sounding interested but also, like 'eh? let's go along with this.' mode as if he didn't wholeheartedly buy whatever junhwe was saying ;;;;; ughhhhh i could even hear junhwe's voice tremble.
//
“Are you going to tell me why you’re really here?” Jinhwan asks. It’s an honest question, not loaded or accusatory.

“I’ll tell you,” Junhwe promises. “After you’re discharged.”

i love love love how jinhwan probably already knows but he wants to hear it from junhwe personally but then junhwe sounded positive (though feeling very..despaired bc jinhwan T___T)

and did.. jinhwan die in this part?????
//
LASTLY
i love how jinhwan was trying to keep up a convo with junhwe at the coffee shop just like how junhwe wanted to keep talking to jinhwan at the bookshop omg so cute!!!
and how jinhwan encouraged junhwe to pursue dancing bc he believed in him, although they /just/ met..
then how the both of them met again while being trainees (for ikon) omg FINALLY THE BOTH OF THEM ARE GETTING THE DEJA VU FEELS!!!!! it felt like the 'love at first sight' 'i've seen this person before, i know i have.. is it in my dreams? or did i meet him somewhere else? he's just so so so darn familiar..' feeling T____T

i'm so sorry that this comment is looooong? (i'm awful at writing comments) i just wanna let you know that i truly enjoy reading your ikon works, especially junhwan ones! thank you for writing a new one after so long, i'll be waiting for the next <3

[concordances]

Omg ;__; first of all, I'm so sorry it took me so long to reply, but THANK YOU SO MUCH for this wonderful comment!!! It was my first attempt at a soulmates AU, and it's such a popular/established genre that I'd never considered writing for before... but as you pointed out, there are things that make soulmates AUs kind of magical, like meeting someone again and again and always having some sort of spark with them ;u; I hadn't thought too much about it before, but I think I grew to understand the appeal through writing this!

I'm really happy you liked the bar scene! When I was outlining this story I was quite fond of it, especially because it was one of the more 'mundane' scenes, without any special sort of chance meeting. And yet there was still something there? Like you said, jinhwan was comfortable with junhwe, and a leap of faith is honestly a perfect way of putting it into words! Re: the hospital timeline, did.. jinhwan die in this part????? yes he did u__u I'm sorry if it wasn't clear, but anyway, it was only a temporary death!

i'm so sorry that this comment is looooong? Noooo, not at all! I don't think you'll find (m)any writers who don't like receiving long comments?? I'm really touched you took the time to leave your thoughts, I really enjoyed reading your reactions! ;__; I'm also very happy you liked this fic (and others I've written as well /o\). So thank you!!! And have a lovely week <3