1 1 : 1 0
pairing: kai/fem!sehun
rating: pg
word count: ~3.3k words
genre: domestic!au, established relationship, slice of life, light angst
warnings: fem!sehun
author's notes: written for sekaisquad's first fic fest.
1 1 : 1 0
"Maybe later," Jongin says, eyes still glued to the laptop's screen. There is a report he must finish for tomorrow's board meeting that he hasn't been able to finish earlier. Every day, new work keeps piling up, some more urgent, so he has been working overtime a lot for the past weeks, if not months. Those hours are not even paid in wage, but he will be rewarded with chairman Oh's satisfaction and approval instead, both being what he has been constantly working for ever since he knew he wanted to be with Seyoung, chairman Oh’s daughter, forever, until death parts them.
"Later then," Seyoung whispers, and it's not the first time that Jongin feels grateful for having Seyoung by his side. She hasn't complained even once, although he has been neglecting his wife in favor of work. She is understanding, even if she's unhappy seeing him work this much, and she doesn't put pressure on him. On the contrary - she helps lessening the burden by perfectly managing their household, always making sure that their apartment is tidy and feels like home, the fridge always filled, meals and drinks always prepared. At times, she even offers to help with paperwork, although accounting is not her forte. Writing is, so Jongin usually lets her check all his reports and papers for grammar and spelling mistakes. She helps a lot with writing his speeches and presentations, too.
Jongin hums softly and doesn't notice his wife leaving the room, too focused on his work, but about an hour or two later, there are knocks on the door.
"Come in," Jongin says, a bit absentminded, and startles, when someone touches his shoulders. He relaxes once he hears Seyoung's sweet voice.
"Are you still not finished?" She asks, fingers rubbing slowly over his shoulders and nape, pressing, massaging. Jongin closes his eyes for a second, relaxing to the touch. The tension seeps out of his body.
"Not yet," he mumbles. "I'm almost done though."
"The project is ending soon, too, right?" Seyoung inquires, and Jongin hums as reply, a soft smile on his face. He enjoys their short sweet moments together.
"Do you think dad would let me borrow you for a week?" She asks, though they both know the answer. If president Oh's only daughter asks for a thing, her father would always give it to her no matter what. She's an only child, and a kind-hearted and filial one on top of that, so her father is only doting on her more and more.
"He definitely would," Jongin chuckles. "There's nothing president Oh would deny his little princess."
"What about the prince? Is he going to spoil the princess as well?" Seyoung asks. Despite the playful tone, Jongin tenses up. He would love to pamper Seyoung and drown her in his affections, but work - work is so important to him. He doesn't want anyone to think that he's gotten to his position by marrying into the chairman's family. His pride doesn't allow him to slack off and give people room to badmouth him, or worst of all, doubt his genuine feelings for Seyoung which in return might make Seyoung doubt him, too.
"This project is so important, Seyoung," Jongin says quietly. He doesn't dare looking up at Seyoung's face. Her pulling away is indication enough that she is unhappy - because of him. “And there are many more projects waiting to be worked on after that.”
"I know," she responds calmly, but breathily. She must be trying to keep her composure in front of him. She must be suppressing tears. Jongin is stunned for a second, but before he can find the right words to say, his wife speaks up first.
"I'll go to bed now," she murmurs. This time, Jongin is fully aware of Seyoung leaving the room, and all of a sudden, it feels stifling. He is not in the mood to work anymore, all energy drained off him, but he is almost done with this report, so he forces himself to stay up for another hour to complete the document and edit it, not daring to ask Seyoung for help this time.
Seyoung is quiet the next morning. She makes him breakfast, as usual, but there’s no smile on her face, and when he leans closer to kiss her goodbye, she turns her head so he misses and his lips brush against her cheek instead. Seyoung is upset, and as much as Jongin wants to stay at home and talk it out with her, he can’t. He needs to go to work and present his final report. Jongin is sure that Seyoung understands.
“See you later in the evening, love,” Jongin says and is met with silence. He leaves the apartment, feeling sad and upset, too. It’s the first time that Seyoung is showing him the cold shoulder and he thinks it’s not fair. He hasn’t done anything wrong. He is just being a responsible employee and doing his best to prove that his position in the company is justified. Every man who was in his position would do the same thing, right?
It’s almost midnight when Jongin returns home that day. After the presentation of the final report, his team has insisted on going out for a drink. Jongin tried to contact Seyoung, asking her to join, but she declined, telling in a short text message that she was tired. Jongin didn’t stay too long then. When his colleagues went for another round at a different bar, Jongin went straight home, worried about his spouse.
Their apartment is dark. Usually, Seyoung would stay up to wait for him, but she must have slipped into bed for long. Jongin tiptoes around the rooms, not wanting to wake his beautiful wife. He takes a shower and gets dressed for bed, a smile on his face when he thinks about that time Seyoung insisted on buying couple pajamas. They have several pairs of those, but Jongin doesn’t mind. He would do anything to bring a smile to her lips. Today, too, Seyoung has laid out his pajamas for him, probably matching the one she is wearing.
“My lovely Seyoung,” he mumbles when he’s finally in bed and right next to her. Slowly, he inches closer and wraps his arms around her from behind, carefully spooning her. She doesn’t stir, although she’s a light sleeper, and her breathing is off, too. Jongin knows that she must have been awake for some time now. But if Seyoung doesn’t want to talk, he won’t force her either. He just pulls her snug against his body, cuddling with her as usual.
“My lovely, lovely Seyoung,” he murmurs. “I love you so much.”
Jongin pretends he doesn’t hear her quiet sniffling and proceeds to hug her tighter. It’s his quiet apology for making her sad. He hopes that she understands without further explanation.
When Jongin wakes up the next morning, Seyoung is not by his side. It’s not unusual since she always makes sure to get up a bit earlier than he does to have enough time to prepare breakfast. There are no sounds coming from the kitchen though, so he quickly gets up to look for his wife.
She’s not in the living-room, nor is she in the kitchen. The bathroom is unlocked and empty as well. He makes his way over to his home office, and there she is, sitting by his desk and browsing through a book. If she has noticed him entering, she doesn’t show it, her hands still turning the pages quietly.
“Seyoung,” Jongin whispers, his voice coming out more hoarse and scratchy than intended. “What are you doing here?”
Seyoung hastily closes whatever she has been looking at and turns around, the back of her left hand rubbing over her eyes. They are red and swollen and moist. She must have cried a lot the night before, but maybe she has been sitting here, silently crying for a while, too. Jongin wants to ask her about it, but she stops him with a single smile. It’s a forced one, and it stuns him. For the very first time, Seyoung isn’t genuinely smiling at him.
“Sorry, hubby, I’ll go make your breakfast now,” she apologizes and scurries past him. Jongin can only stand there, frozen on the spot.
As Seyoung starts rummaging in the kitchen, Jongin walks over to his desk and examines the book that Seyoung has been looking at. It turns out to be a yearbook. Their yearbook, specifically. Jongin relives fond memories as he, too, sits down to look at every single page, his gaze lingering on some pictures longer than on others, a thumb brushing over photographs of his wife smiling and laughing in a way he hasn’t seen her do for quite a while.
Jongin met Seyoung for the first time in high school. He transferred there in his junior year. Being the new guy, Seyoung, as class representative, has taken him under her wing. She has guided him throughout the first week and helped him with settling in. And much to the jealousy of the rest of the class, she has chosen to stick to him later on, always having lunch with him, too.
Naturally, Seyoung’s friends were seated with him as well and he became one of the cool kids. That didn’t mean that he had no enemies though. There were still a lot of boys, bothered by the amount of attention Seyoung gave him. They never touched him or picked a fight, but he could feel hostile stares wherever he went.
It was clear, that Seyoung was interested in him - in a less platonic and more romantic way. At first, he thought it was his looks that drew her in. After all, in his hometown, he had been the school’s prince, as cliché as it sounded. But Seyoung herself was a princess, too, loved and adored by many, so when Seyoung confessed to him by the end of junior year, he accepted and started dating her, only because he couldn’t reject her and see her sad. He adored her, but didn’t know how much he would grow to love her in the future.
Now, he loves Seyoung like no one else, he adores her and cherishes her with all of him. Her smile is his spring sunshine, warm and bright, her laughter his summer breeze, gentle and soothing, and when she speaks, Seyoung proves him times and times again that she is perfect - smart, charming and compassionate. He wants to keep her by his side and worship her forever. He wants her to be the mother of his children.
Jongin turns to the last pag of Seyoung’s yearbook. My little Goddess, he reads there and almost stops breathing. He barely remembers this message, but unmistakably, it’s his own messy handwriting on the blank page, left for friends to sign and leave messages. He remembers being the last one to write into Seyoung’s yearbook, at least she promised to let him write his message last so only she could read it. Seyoung told him to be as sappy as he wanted to, and Jongin remembers that he left a message so mushy he quickly erased it from his memories, embarrassed by his own words.
I wish I was a poet so I could use a million words to describe just how beautiful you are to me - your eyes, your lips, your smiles, your everything. You’re shining from the inside out, your heart a radiant sun that draws even the coldest people close. You are the center of my solar system, and for as long as it stays that way, for as long as you permit me to stay, I promise to always, always keep you happy and never be the reason for your tears.
Love,
Jongin
Jongin closes the yearbook and puts it back to its place on the shelf where they are storing all their other albums. Although they can keep pictures on their phone and computers now, not needing to spend any money on prints, Seyoung has always insisted on creating albums. Jongin doesn’t mind, spoiling his significant other as always, but he has never taken much time to skim through the pictures, so he takes his time now, although he should get ready for work. Somehow, he feels like doing it.
On every page, he sees colorful landscapes and people, pictures of places they have gone together, sometimes with friends, sometimes just the two of them. His eyes automatically search for Seyoung’s face, his heart squeezing painfully in his chest whenever he sees her cheerful expression. When was the last time he has seen her looking at him like this, with love and adoration in her eyes, her whole existence beaming with happiness? On their wedding and on their honeymoon, perhaps?
“Jongin, breakfast is almost ready,” Seyoung’s voice calls out to him, and Jongin quickly wipes at the corner of his eyes, wondering when he has gotten teary.
“Coming in a bit,” he says and quickly puts all the albums back in their places before he hurries over to the bathroom to get ready.
Seyoung isn’t looking at him. She keeps staring at the bowl of food in front of her, head tilted down, her bangs covering her eyes. Even when Jongin picks up a piece of kimchi and puts it on the spoon she is holding, she doesn’t look up. Her only reaction is a short, quiet thanks that sounds a bit breathy, a bit wobbly, as if she’s holding back tears.
If only Jongin had a free day for her, but he is expected at the company today, so instead of talking to his wife and discussing what is happening around them and more importantly what’s happening with and between them, he gets ready for work. His heart feels heavy when he enters the kitchen to tell her that he’s leaving now. Seyoung is doing the dishes, so he only gets to backhug her and peck her cheek. Seyoung doesn’t turn her head to give him a kiss back, and Jongin knows that she is still upset. And Jongin thinks he deserves it. When was the last time he spent an hour with his wife, not talking about work, but talking about them, about their future, about their dreams? When was the last time he focused on Seyoung, asked her what she needed, what she wanted?
“I’ll try to come home early today, okay?” Jongin whispers, but gets no response. It annoys him, but he holds back a sigh. It’s his own fault, he tells himself. He is the one who turned his loving wife into a cool, passive person. All he can do now is to hope that it’s not too late to apologize and turn her back into her naturally sweet self.
When Jongin comes home later in the evening, he is greeted by laughter. It’s Seyoung, and the carefree sound makes him feel relief, until he enters the living-room and sees her directing a sweet, sincere smile at a man Jongin used to be jealous of. No, used to be is inaccurate. Jongin is still jealous of that man.
“Hello, Jongin,” Junmyeon greets him with a warm smile and straightens up from the couch. Seyoung, too, stands up, a soft smile on her lips. Jongin swallows hard and tries not to feel bitter about the fact that lately his wife hasn’t been looking at him like that.
“Hi, hyung,” he greets back and forces a smile, eyes trained onto the outstretched hand that he takes hesitantly for a handshake. “Are you staying for dinner?”
“Oh no,” Junmyeon says and chuckles, perfect manners on display. “I’m on a short business trip here, so I thought why not paying Seyoung a visit. I need to get going now, so I wish the both of you a wonderful evening.”
“Thanks,” Jongin says through gritted teeth. As he follows Junmyeon to the door, he keeps an arm wrapped around Seyoung’s waist. They say their goodbyes, and the moment the door shuts, he pulls Seyoung into his chest, both arms wrapping around her possessively.
“Seyoung, are you still upset with me?” Jongin asks quietly, worried because Seyoung hasn’t said a word to him since. It must have looked odd to Junmyeon, too, since before, Seyoung only had eyes for him, but now she doesn’t even acknowledge his presence.
She doesn’t respond right away and pushes her hands against his chest instead, forcing him to let go of her. His arms fall uselessly down to his sides and he can read the answer from her face, before she speaks up.
“I’m not upset, Jongin. I’m just tired.”
Of us, of me, Jongin thinks and smiles bitterly. All he can hope for is that it’s not too late to fix them now. He wants Seyoung to turn his way again, for her smile to be directed at him, for her laughter to fill their apartment. He wants a happy marriage, and he has thought about that a lot today while at the company. And when chairman Oh stopped by to visit him at work, he had talked to his father-in-law, too.
“Let’s go on a vacation, just the two of us,” he whispers quietly, his hands reaching out to take hers in his. He is looking at her pleadingly, waiting for her to lift her head and look at him. When she does, the first thing he notices, are fresh tears rolling over supple cheeks. She is blinking, the corners of her lips pulled down.
“When?” She asks, short and full of what Jongin thinks is bitterness. She’s at her limits and he hopes he hasn’t torn her patience yet. “Next year? In two years? Five? Ten?”
Jongin shakes his head. He is suppressing his tears at the sight of his wonderful wife hurting because of him.
“Next week, Seyoung. I’m taking a month off for you. Let me make it up to you for the past months.”
Nothing feels better than to have Seyoung beam at him. It’s their last day on vacation. Jongin has rented a villa with a private beach so they can enjoy their time together. Jongin has even turned off the phone he is using for business matters, using only his private number. And even when his friends from work call him on his private account to ask for his assistance and consultation, Jongin tells them he’s not available for the time being.
“This is almost like a second honeymoon,” Seyoung whispers. They are sitting side by side on white sand, watching the sunset. Their feet are outstretched, the gentle waves licking at their toes. When Seyoung leans into his side, Jongin puts his arms around her, rocking them side to side. He has missed spending time like this, too.
“I wish vacation would never end,” she mumbles. He can hear the sadness in her voice and the worry. Seyoung fears going back to the city, to a life where Jongin will be busy with work and unable to tend to her as much as he has been doing for the past four weeks, though Jongin doesn’t plan on committing the same mistake twice. He has learned his lesson, and this time, he won’t let Seyoung feel neglected. He won’t let her feel exhausted of restraining herself from asking for his attention. This time she will get tired of him for another reason - she will get tired of him fussing too much and always be around, constantly seeking for her instead. Though, looking at the way she is clinging to him now, it seems impossible for her to ever get enough of his presence.
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