Look me in the eyes (fic exchange: for dentedsky)
Title: Look me in the eyes
Author: kiccy
Recipient: dentedsky
Word count: 2,273 words
Characters: Changmin, Yunho, and Jaejoong also appears
Rating: PG-13
Author's Notes:
So, this is for dentedsky. Merry (belated) Christmas, dear! (:
I'm actually a bit afraid right now, after seeing others posting great and amazing stories and I have only this. I'm afraid you won't like it. Uh, but I'll just hope that's not the case and it isn't as horrible as I think. [: At first I actually wanted to write for the real love stories prompt, but I simply couldn't manage to finish that story. But the idea is still in my head, so if you don't like this one and would like me to, I'll try to finish that one for you. Yes, it won't be for this exchange anymore, but at least I can try to make up for this one being so bad.
Okay, that's all, hope you will enjoy it at least a little bit, and let me wish you Merry Christmas one more time. ♥
Look me in the eyes
(used prompt: nonverbal communication)
There they were again; looking at each other as if they were the world champions of nonverbal communication, and no one could understand what they were telling each other. No one had even the smallest idea - except for the fans, but they were usually wrong. But that was normal since the whole thing was actually started for them; a kind word, a caring touch and these loving looks - if this was what made the fans love them even more, why not give it to them?
Those looks were fake at first; they were nothing more or better than any look group-mates would share. What made them interesting for the fans is they were shared in the most random moments while the boys should have been concentrating on something else instead of each other.
Later on, when the two of them really learnt how to communicate without words, they started to take advantage of it every time when they couldn’t speak. They still didn’t mean as much as fans would have loved, but the effect was the same - the number of the fans kept increasing.
Still there was someone whose opinion was the complete opposite of the fans’: Changmin. For a while he also found it funny and all, but seeing that his group-mates had a relationship he thought he would never be able to build made those looks painful for him. He always tried to react the best way possible, with a fake smile and behavior like he didn’t even care, just like during that interview, but he still felt like hitting something or shouting or both at the same time.
This time that feeling hasn’t disappeared by the time they got back to their dorm, so Changmin went into his and Junsu’s room immediately after stepping into the flat. He knew he had to calm down before someone would notice his strange behavior, but at that moment he simply wanted to hit the wall or something equally hard.
What prevented him from doing so in the end was a loud knock on the room’s door.
He hasn’t even had time to think about whether he wants anyone to come in and ask him silly questions or not before the door opened and his guest just let himself in without waiting for answer or allowance. He sat down to Changmin’s bed and that was when the maknae finally turned around to see who he was.
“What’s wrong with you?” Yunho asked even before the younger could have said anything. His voice wasn’t angry or imperious, rather worried and caring. That tone made Changmin think for a short moment that maybe he should tell everything to the leader, but he changed his mind immediately.
“What do you mean by that?” Changmin asked and sat down to the other side of the bed, opposite to Yunho.
“You know what I mean; your strange behavior during the interview just now. Tell me what’s wrong!” Yunho tried to look into the younger’s eyes, but Changmin refused letting him do so. “Please!” Yunho added, hoping that it will help him get a proper answer, but he got disappointed. Changmin reacted with a short “It’s nothing, I’m okay” only and gave the leader a weak smile.
Yunho asked him two more times if he was sure and really okay, but left the room afterwards since he didn’t want to have an argument with the younger.
“Don’t be mad at me for saying this, but you’re simply blind” Jaejoong said around half an hour later while placing a mug of steaming hot chocolate to the table in front of Yunho.
“What?” Yunho asked, giving the older a shocked look. “Why?”
“If you think back you’ll realize it isn’t the first time he’s behaving like this” Jaejoong started to explain while putting some washed plates back to the cupboard and taking out another mug. “I’m pretty sure he is jealous.”
Yunho heard what Jaejoong just said, but couldn’t really understand. He had no idea what Changmin could be jealous of... maybe he didn’t let the maknae speak enough?
“Give this to him and talk it over, okay?” Jaejoong gave another mug of freshly made hot chocolate to Yunho and smiled at him before returning to the room he shared with the group’s two rappers.
Yunho watched the door for a while after Jaejoong closed it, as if waiting for him to come back and help him more, but it didn’t happen. In the end he just let out a worried sigh, stood up and headed towards the room Changmin was in - alone, because Junsu decided to go and play card games or something with Yoochun in the other room.
Since he couldn’t knock because of the two mugs in his hands he just pressed the door handle with his elbow and entered the room. He soon realized that knocking would have been pointless anyway, because Changmin had his earphones on. The maknae was sitting at his desk, crooning something silently while writing unrelated words and lines to a piece of paper. Yunho was sure that Changmin was trying to write some lyrics, and he could understand it: writing lyrics always made him calm down, and it was visible that Changmin needed something to make him relax at least a little bit.
That was why he couldn’t help but feel sorry for the younger when interrupting him by putting the mug down to the desk, next to Changmin’s iPod. The younger got surprised at first, but shortly took his earphones out and looked at Yunho who was already sitting on the younger’s bed - again.
“I’m sorry” Yunho started a few seconds later while Changmin was drinking silently. “I know that sometimes I overdo this whole being a leader thing and don’t let you four be in front of the camera enough. But I usually don’t notice it, so please tell me if you are bothered by it and I’ll let you answer more questions during the next interview, okay?” Yunho gave an encouraging smile while looking at Changmin, but the younger kept on staring at his hot chocolate like that was the most interesting thing in the world.
If he wanted to be honest he didn’t even understand what Yunho was talking about. He didn’t notice anything like that even once, and in his opinion Yunho was the best leader anyone could wish for. He cared for his members a lot, usually more than for himself; he listened to them at any time, even if it was at three in the morning or so; he helped him with anything he could; gave them advices, ideas, or just a few kind words if that was what they needed. He did anything and everything he thought was necessary to support the other four as a leader, that’s why Changmin could not understand his sudden apology.
A few more seconds had to pass until he finally realized what was going on and started to laugh silently.
“Are you still talking about that what’s wrong with me thing? If so then you’re wrong. You did not do anything wrong, really” he said honestly with a smile and finally looked at Yunho. The leader thought it would be natural to feel embarrassed in a situation like that, but the only thing he felt was happiness because the smile on Changmin’s lips was finally a real one again.
“If you wasn’t bothered by this then what was the reason? And dare you telling me again that it’s nothing and you’re okay because I won’t believe it!” Yunho said jokingly, trying to keep the younger’s smile but the effect was the opposite; the maknae became serious with a half-worried and half-sad look in his eyes.
Yunho almost told him he doesn’t have to answer if he doesn’t want to when Changmin spoke:
“Do you really want to know?”
Yunho’s reaction was just a simple nod and the appearance of a curious look in his eyes, but Changmin did not continue immediately. He wasn’t sure if that was really a good idea or if he would just make a complete fool of himself. He knew that Yunho wasn’t the type of person to laugh at him or judge him for anything, and that he probably would even help him, but he still was a bit afraid.
“You’ll think I’m childish, but I’ll just tell you then” he said in the end and took a deep breath with closed eyes before continuing. “I think I’m jealous of the relationship you have with Jaejoong.”
The first thing to cross Yunho’s mind was that Jaejoong was right and Changmin really was jealous. Then he suddenly got confused - he thought he had the same relationship with all members and he was pretty sure that Jaejoong did the same, so what would Changmin be jealous of in his relationship with Jaejoong?
Seeing that the leader couldn’t understand him completely Changmin continued:
“You can understand each other with only a simple look, almost as if you could read the other’s mind. I don’t know why but it keeps making me feel kind of jealous” he let out a small sigh. “That’s why I had that strange behavior today, I’m sorry.”
Changmin’s monologue was followed by a few moments of silence broken only by the sounds of Changmin sipping his hot chocolate.
“Do you...” Yunho started suddenly a few more seconds later. “Do you think you are in love with Jaejoong?”
The question was strange and Yunho knew that, but he couldn’t think about any other possible reason. They really all had the same kind of relationships within the group, and the looks he sometimes shared with Jaejoong made their friendship only a little bit different from any of the other ones they had. That’s why he thought that the only reason it would make Changmin jealous was him being in love with Jaejoong.
But Changmin just shook his head. “I’m sure that’s not the case.”
“Then...” Yunho spoke again but with even less confidence this time because he was aware that his next question was not only strange but most probably egoistic as well. “Then with me?” He asked while pointing at himself, and to his biggest surprise the maknae did not shake his head again.
“I’m not sure about that” Changmin answered honestly, and he seemingly found something really interesting in his hot chocolate again. “I have never been in love before, so I don’t know if it is love this time” he took a sip of his drink again and tried to organize his thoughts meanwhile. He tried to choose the most important one but in the end he just asked whatever he thought about first suddenly:
“Wouldn’t that be... strange if it really was love?” The moment he asked this question he regretted it; he got afraid of the answer, of Yunho’s reaction, of the possibility that he may be ruining their friendship.
“Why would it be?” Yunho asked back. “After all those manipulated pictures and random stories the internet is full with, nothing is strange anymore” he reacted with a smile which Changmin returned after finally looking at the leader again. In the end Yunho was really their one and only leader, and just like Changmin thought, he would never laugh at him or judge him for something like this.
“Then what would you do if I said I think I’m really in love with you?” Changmin asked, not being able to defeat his curiosity.
Yunho was thinking for a good minute or two before he could give an answer. The whole situation was such a strange and sudden one he would have never expected to happen, so he wasn’t prepared for questions like this.
Still it was about one of his members so he wanted to help him. He didn’t know what kind of an answer Changmin was waiting for, but he tried to imagine what he would want to hear if he was in Changmin’s shoes. He knew he would want an answer like I would try going out with you or so, and to his surprise, when he thought about him and Changmin being in a more serious relationship, it didn’t freak him out as much as he thought it would. Of course he found it strange, but at the same time it somehow seemed interesting and exciting as well.
In the end he decided not to give a too concrete answer, rather give one that contains a chance for every possible option in the future.
“Since I’m sure Junsu would be okay with sleeping in the other room, I would stay here and just talk about nothings with you while thinking about if it could work. If we could work.
That answer was more than anything Changmin would have ever expected. He thought Yunho will answer something like he will find him a good girlfriend or boyfriend, or that he will just try keeping their friendship, but the leader actually agreed on them becoming a... couple? Changmin wasn’t sure if he could call themselves a couple but he couldn’t find a better word at the moment.
He smiled at Yunho before asking one more question that suddenly came to his mind:
“Would you teach me how to read everything from your eyes just as Jaejoong does?” He stood up and walked over to the bed to sit next to Yunho, leaning his back against the wall. Yunho returned the smile and looked deep into Changmin’s eyes before answering.
“We’ll have even better nonverbal communication than what I have with Jaejoong. I promise.”
The end
Author: kiccy
Recipient: dentedsky
Word count: 2,273 words
Characters: Changmin, Yunho, and Jaejoong also appears
Rating: PG-13
Author's Notes:
So, this is for dentedsky. Merry (belated) Christmas, dear! (:
I'm actually a bit afraid right now, after seeing others posting great and amazing stories and I have only this. I'm afraid you won't like it. Uh, but I'll just hope that's not the case and it isn't as horrible as I think. [: At first I actually wanted to write for the real love stories prompt, but I simply couldn't manage to finish that story. But the idea is still in my head, so if you don't like this one and would like me to, I'll try to finish that one for you. Yes, it won't be for this exchange anymore, but at least I can try to make up for this one being so bad.
Okay, that's all, hope you will enjoy it at least a little bit, and let me wish you Merry Christmas one more time. ♥
Look me in the eyes
(used prompt: nonverbal communication)
There they were again; looking at each other as if they were the world champions of nonverbal communication, and no one could understand what they were telling each other. No one had even the smallest idea - except for the fans, but they were usually wrong. But that was normal since the whole thing was actually started for them; a kind word, a caring touch and these loving looks - if this was what made the fans love them even more, why not give it to them?
Those looks were fake at first; they were nothing more or better than any look group-mates would share. What made them interesting for the fans is they were shared in the most random moments while the boys should have been concentrating on something else instead of each other.
Later on, when the two of them really learnt how to communicate without words, they started to take advantage of it every time when they couldn’t speak. They still didn’t mean as much as fans would have loved, but the effect was the same - the number of the fans kept increasing.
Still there was someone whose opinion was the complete opposite of the fans’: Changmin. For a while he also found it funny and all, but seeing that his group-mates had a relationship he thought he would never be able to build made those looks painful for him. He always tried to react the best way possible, with a fake smile and behavior like he didn’t even care, just like during that interview, but he still felt like hitting something or shouting or both at the same time.
This time that feeling hasn’t disappeared by the time they got back to their dorm, so Changmin went into his and Junsu’s room immediately after stepping into the flat. He knew he had to calm down before someone would notice his strange behavior, but at that moment he simply wanted to hit the wall or something equally hard.
What prevented him from doing so in the end was a loud knock on the room’s door.
He hasn’t even had time to think about whether he wants anyone to come in and ask him silly questions or not before the door opened and his guest just let himself in without waiting for answer or allowance. He sat down to Changmin’s bed and that was when the maknae finally turned around to see who he was.
“What’s wrong with you?” Yunho asked even before the younger could have said anything. His voice wasn’t angry or imperious, rather worried and caring. That tone made Changmin think for a short moment that maybe he should tell everything to the leader, but he changed his mind immediately.
“What do you mean by that?” Changmin asked and sat down to the other side of the bed, opposite to Yunho.
“You know what I mean; your strange behavior during the interview just now. Tell me what’s wrong!” Yunho tried to look into the younger’s eyes, but Changmin refused letting him do so. “Please!” Yunho added, hoping that it will help him get a proper answer, but he got disappointed. Changmin reacted with a short “It’s nothing, I’m okay” only and gave the leader a weak smile.
Yunho asked him two more times if he was sure and really okay, but left the room afterwards since he didn’t want to have an argument with the younger.
“Don’t be mad at me for saying this, but you’re simply blind” Jaejoong said around half an hour later while placing a mug of steaming hot chocolate to the table in front of Yunho.
“What?” Yunho asked, giving the older a shocked look. “Why?”
“If you think back you’ll realize it isn’t the first time he’s behaving like this” Jaejoong started to explain while putting some washed plates back to the cupboard and taking out another mug. “I’m pretty sure he is jealous.”
Yunho heard what Jaejoong just said, but couldn’t really understand. He had no idea what Changmin could be jealous of... maybe he didn’t let the maknae speak enough?
“Give this to him and talk it over, okay?” Jaejoong gave another mug of freshly made hot chocolate to Yunho and smiled at him before returning to the room he shared with the group’s two rappers.
Yunho watched the door for a while after Jaejoong closed it, as if waiting for him to come back and help him more, but it didn’t happen. In the end he just let out a worried sigh, stood up and headed towards the room Changmin was in - alone, because Junsu decided to go and play card games or something with Yoochun in the other room.
Since he couldn’t knock because of the two mugs in his hands he just pressed the door handle with his elbow and entered the room. He soon realized that knocking would have been pointless anyway, because Changmin had his earphones on. The maknae was sitting at his desk, crooning something silently while writing unrelated words and lines to a piece of paper. Yunho was sure that Changmin was trying to write some lyrics, and he could understand it: writing lyrics always made him calm down, and it was visible that Changmin needed something to make him relax at least a little bit.
That was why he couldn’t help but feel sorry for the younger when interrupting him by putting the mug down to the desk, next to Changmin’s iPod. The younger got surprised at first, but shortly took his earphones out and looked at Yunho who was already sitting on the younger’s bed - again.
“I’m sorry” Yunho started a few seconds later while Changmin was drinking silently. “I know that sometimes I overdo this whole being a leader thing and don’t let you four be in front of the camera enough. But I usually don’t notice it, so please tell me if you are bothered by it and I’ll let you answer more questions during the next interview, okay?” Yunho gave an encouraging smile while looking at Changmin, but the younger kept on staring at his hot chocolate like that was the most interesting thing in the world.
If he wanted to be honest he didn’t even understand what Yunho was talking about. He didn’t notice anything like that even once, and in his opinion Yunho was the best leader anyone could wish for. He cared for his members a lot, usually more than for himself; he listened to them at any time, even if it was at three in the morning or so; he helped him with anything he could; gave them advices, ideas, or just a few kind words if that was what they needed. He did anything and everything he thought was necessary to support the other four as a leader, that’s why Changmin could not understand his sudden apology.
A few more seconds had to pass until he finally realized what was going on and started to laugh silently.
“Are you still talking about that what’s wrong with me thing? If so then you’re wrong. You did not do anything wrong, really” he said honestly with a smile and finally looked at Yunho. The leader thought it would be natural to feel embarrassed in a situation like that, but the only thing he felt was happiness because the smile on Changmin’s lips was finally a real one again.
“If you wasn’t bothered by this then what was the reason? And dare you telling me again that it’s nothing and you’re okay because I won’t believe it!” Yunho said jokingly, trying to keep the younger’s smile but the effect was the opposite; the maknae became serious with a half-worried and half-sad look in his eyes.
Yunho almost told him he doesn’t have to answer if he doesn’t want to when Changmin spoke:
“Do you really want to know?”
Yunho’s reaction was just a simple nod and the appearance of a curious look in his eyes, but Changmin did not continue immediately. He wasn’t sure if that was really a good idea or if he would just make a complete fool of himself. He knew that Yunho wasn’t the type of person to laugh at him or judge him for anything, and that he probably would even help him, but he still was a bit afraid.
“You’ll think I’m childish, but I’ll just tell you then” he said in the end and took a deep breath with closed eyes before continuing. “I think I’m jealous of the relationship you have with Jaejoong.”
The first thing to cross Yunho’s mind was that Jaejoong was right and Changmin really was jealous. Then he suddenly got confused - he thought he had the same relationship with all members and he was pretty sure that Jaejoong did the same, so what would Changmin be jealous of in his relationship with Jaejoong?
Seeing that the leader couldn’t understand him completely Changmin continued:
“You can understand each other with only a simple look, almost as if you could read the other’s mind. I don’t know why but it keeps making me feel kind of jealous” he let out a small sigh. “That’s why I had that strange behavior today, I’m sorry.”
Changmin’s monologue was followed by a few moments of silence broken only by the sounds of Changmin sipping his hot chocolate.
“Do you...” Yunho started suddenly a few more seconds later. “Do you think you are in love with Jaejoong?”
The question was strange and Yunho knew that, but he couldn’t think about any other possible reason. They really all had the same kind of relationships within the group, and the looks he sometimes shared with Jaejoong made their friendship only a little bit different from any of the other ones they had. That’s why he thought that the only reason it would make Changmin jealous was him being in love with Jaejoong.
But Changmin just shook his head. “I’m sure that’s not the case.”
“Then...” Yunho spoke again but with even less confidence this time because he was aware that his next question was not only strange but most probably egoistic as well. “Then with me?” He asked while pointing at himself, and to his biggest surprise the maknae did not shake his head again.
“I’m not sure about that” Changmin answered honestly, and he seemingly found something really interesting in his hot chocolate again. “I have never been in love before, so I don’t know if it is love this time” he took a sip of his drink again and tried to organize his thoughts meanwhile. He tried to choose the most important one but in the end he just asked whatever he thought about first suddenly:
“Wouldn’t that be... strange if it really was love?” The moment he asked this question he regretted it; he got afraid of the answer, of Yunho’s reaction, of the possibility that he may be ruining their friendship.
“Why would it be?” Yunho asked back. “After all those manipulated pictures and random stories the internet is full with, nothing is strange anymore” he reacted with a smile which Changmin returned after finally looking at the leader again. In the end Yunho was really their one and only leader, and just like Changmin thought, he would never laugh at him or judge him for something like this.
“Then what would you do if I said I think I’m really in love with you?” Changmin asked, not being able to defeat his curiosity.
Yunho was thinking for a good minute or two before he could give an answer. The whole situation was such a strange and sudden one he would have never expected to happen, so he wasn’t prepared for questions like this.
Still it was about one of his members so he wanted to help him. He didn’t know what kind of an answer Changmin was waiting for, but he tried to imagine what he would want to hear if he was in Changmin’s shoes. He knew he would want an answer like I would try going out with you or so, and to his surprise, when he thought about him and Changmin being in a more serious relationship, it didn’t freak him out as much as he thought it would. Of course he found it strange, but at the same time it somehow seemed interesting and exciting as well.
In the end he decided not to give a too concrete answer, rather give one that contains a chance for every possible option in the future.
“Since I’m sure Junsu would be okay with sleeping in the other room, I would stay here and just talk about nothings with you while thinking about if it could work. If we could work.
That answer was more than anything Changmin would have ever expected. He thought Yunho will answer something like he will find him a good girlfriend or boyfriend, or that he will just try keeping their friendship, but the leader actually agreed on them becoming a... couple? Changmin wasn’t sure if he could call themselves a couple but he couldn’t find a better word at the moment.
He smiled at Yunho before asking one more question that suddenly came to his mind:
“Would you teach me how to read everything from your eyes just as Jaejoong does?” He stood up and walked over to the bed to sit next to Yunho, leaning his back against the wall. Yunho returned the smile and looked deep into Changmin’s eyes before answering.
“We’ll have even better nonverbal communication than what I have with Jaejoong. I promise.”
The end