one-shot; past in present, rated PG
title: Past in Present
rating: PG
pairing: Jaehyo/Zico
genre: Fluff
summary: High School!AU - A picture can tell a thousand words. A photo album, even moreso.
length: 2,208 words
So much present inside my present
Inside my present so...so much past
Inside my present inside my past
Inside my present
So, so
- Feist, "Past in Present"
It was the end of the school day, and all the students were abuzz with the Christmas atmosphere - because the end of the day was near, and winter break was just around the corner.
"So what are you going to do over break?" asked Minhyuk as he stifled a yawn and adjusted the strap of his backpack.
Jaehyo frowned in response as he turned to face his peer. "I don't know... Catch up on sleep? I stayed up to unholy hours studying for all our finals."
"Pffft, it's only because you're always procrastinating on your studies by watching anime." Yukwon grinned cheekily as he pointed to his t-shirt. "By the way, the new episode of One Piece is amazing."
Jaehyo narrowed his eyes. "I wasn't watching One Piece or any other anime for that matter; I was-"
"Yah, happy holidays, hyung!" Jaehyo turned around at the sound of the familiar voice. It had been none other than that of a certain underclassman, Woo Jiho, and he had the cockiest smirk pasted onto his face.
"Um, tha-OOF!" Jaehyo's thanks was interrupted by a box to the face. "JIHO! God, really, the face of all places?" The older frowned as he rubbed tenderly at his nose.
Jiho smirked before waving. "It's your Christmas present, hyung. Don't sweat the details and just enjoy the gift, yeah?"
The older opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. "Christmas present? Gift?"
"Merry Christmas, hyung! See you later!" With that said, the school bell finally rang, and Jiho left through the double doors of the school... Leaving behind one very confused Jaehyo.
---
"Now or later... Now or later..." Jaehyo mumbled to himself as he paced around his bedroom. He had just returned home from school and Jiho's present was currently sitting on his bed, calling out to him like sirens had called out to sailors of folklore. To be honest, the two of them had not spoken for almost a year. This fact, coupled with Jiho's past history of gift-giving, led Jaehyo to be tentative about opening the present. "Well, if it's something weird, I can always throw it out the window." he reasoned to himself.
(The year before, Jiho had given him a tub of lube; the year before that, Jiho had given him a pair of hot pink panties. Needless to say, Jaehyo had not appreciated either gift.)
It helped that Jiho was actually his next door neighbor too (he wouldn't have to throw whatever the gift ended up being far). With renewed confidence, he opened the cardboard box ("Too lazy to even wrap it, hm?" Jaehyo snorted) and tossed out the red and green tissue paper surrounding the actual gift. His eyes widened slightly at what he had discovered laying inside the box. It was a thickly bound notebook without a name or a title, brown and minimalistic in design. If it weren't for some of the pages sticking out oddly from within, Jaehyo would have deemed the notebook blank. With curious eyes, he gingerly flipped the cover open and paused when he finally realized what the book was. It was a photo album full of pictures from all the time they had spent together. Jaehyo chuckled as he scanned the first page, the hint of a smile beginning to form on his face. The first photograph showed two little boys hunched over a familiar sandbox.
---
Jaehyo was seven and Jiho was five when they first met at the neighborhood playground. Jaehyo had been sculpting (attempting to, anyways) a cannon in the sandbox when Jiho had walked over holding bubble tea.
"What is that supposed to be?" the younger had asked, sipping his drink all the while.
"A cannon... Pew pew pew~" the older had answered with a wide grin.
"It looks stupid." the younger smirked.
The older's face fell (he always had been a sensitive one).
"It needs cannon balls to go 'pew pew pew.'" Jiho uncapped his drink and poured all the milk tea outside of the sandbox - leaving behind only the tapioca bubbles. With a small smile, he dropped the bubbles into the sand. "Pew pew pew~"
The two became the best of friends after that.
---
Returning to reality, Jaehyo allowed himself to flip through a few more pages. One in particular caught his eye - it was a picture of the duo in Jiho's bedroom; the younger was holding up victory signs with both hands and a goofy smile, while the older had his eyes closed, remnants of icing all over his face.
---
Jaehyo was turning fourteen and Jiho was already twelve when the 23rd of December had arrived. "I have a surprise for you," Jiho had winked after succeeding to wake up the older (by this time, Jaehyo's family and Jiho's family had also grown close; Jaehyo's family even treated Jiho like another son, allowing him in and out of their house as he pleased).
"Mrmmph," Jaehyo spoke into his pillow before rolling over to his side and narrowing his eyes at the younger male. "Can't it wait until later? It's my birthday. Can't I sleep in on my birthday?" Jiho frowned before yanking the comforter off of Jaehyo's body.
"It's because it's your birthday that we don't have time to waste, hyung!" Jiho puffed his cheeks before tugging on Jaehyo's hands. "Get uuuuup~"
The older grumbled as he allowed himself to be pulled out of his room and his house. "Where are you taking me?"
"My house, of course!" The younger adolescent rolled his eyes as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. He then proceeded to lead the older into his house, finally stopping inside the kitchen. There, sitting on the counter, was a small cake. It was handmade by the looks of it, and there was red icing atop the baked treat spelling out, "Happy 14th, Ahn Jaehyo!"
Jaehyo gulped. "This is... This is for me?"
Jiho only laughed in response before bringing over candles and a lighter. He set up 14 candles before rapping his own version of the birthday song. Jaehyo kept silent, all the while only observing the movement of Jiho's mouth. He was brought out of his reverie when the younger boy grabbed a fistful of his shirt and brought Jaehyo's face closer to the cake. "Happy birthday, Jaehyo-hyung. Now blow out the candles and make a wish."
Jaehyo blinked his eyes rapidly, before finally closing his eyes and blowing out the candles before him.
"So what did you wish for?" Jiho grinned as he began removing the candles from the cake.
The older boy frowned before shaking his head slowly. "If I tell you, it won't come true."
"In that case..." The younger smirked as he grabbed the back of Jaehyo's head and leaned in. Jaehyo felt his breath catch in his throat, but whether it was because of the close proximity of Jiho's face or the uncomfortable hold on his hair, he wasn't sure. Next thing he knew, his face was inches deep into the cake. Jiho cackled maniacally in the background, pleased with his work.
Jaehyo spent the rest of his birthday trying to get back at Woo Jiho.
By the end of the day, the score was still Jaehyo:0 and Jiho:1.
---
Jaehyo hummed as he continued to flip through the pages. He paused when he remembered how his breath had caught in his throat. He didn't want to admit it, but it was probably on his 14th birthday when he had subconsciously fallen for his childhood friend.
As Jaehyo flipped through the photo album, he came across another photograph that reminded him of when he had consciously realized that he had fallen for his childhood friend. He chewed on his lip as he allowed himself to drown in his memories.
---
Jaehyo was sixteen and Jiho was fourteen when the two had managed to end up in the same theater class in high school.
"I have this odd feeling that you're going to be cast in the role of Snow White," Minhyuk whispered into Jaehyo's ear. The teacher was currently feeling around inside a top hat, ready to pull out a name for the lead role of the spring class production.
Jaehyo stuck his tongue out in response. "I hope not, but if that really happens, I'll give you five thousand won."
"And in the role of Snow White is... Ahn Jaehyo-sshi." The entire class turned to face Jaehyo as he covered his face with his hands.
"So, I think I'm getting five thousand won now."
"Shut up, Minhyuk."
"And in the role of the prince is... Woo Jiho-sshi."
Jaehyo had to do a double take. "What the-" he shooked his head violently, cupping his ears in disbelief. He then averted his attention to his left, where the man in question was smiling like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.
"Oh hey, hyung. Or should I call you noona?"
Jaehyo turned to face his other friend before letting out an exasperated sigh. "Minhyuk... Kill me now."
(Over the course of the next several weeks, Jiho would take to calling Jaehyo "noona" during rehearsals. Jaehyo would never admit it aloud, but there was something enticing about being referred as that by the younger.)
"So," Jiho began in a whisper, as the curtains rose up. It was now showtime, and Jaehyo was busy adjusting his long, black wig. "Jaehyo-noona, what are we going to do about the kiss scene? We never rehearsed that."
The older hesitated, feeling his heartbeat quicken momentarily, before responding with a shrug of the shoulders. He then proceeded to pick up his dress (which was long, even for his 182 cm frame) and shuffled onto the stage.
(Over the course of the play, Jaehyo became really devoted to his role as Snow White. It was this devotion that led to the next turn of events - a turn of events that Jaehyo would soon regret.)
Jaehyo was now laying, eyes closed, atop the makeshift bed the theater class had put together. It was time for the kiss scene, and as Jiho approached closer and closer to the older's form, Jaehyo felt something within him shift. One moment, Jiho's mouth was hovering an inch or two above his. In another, Jaehyo's lips had closed that gap and ended up resting lightly atop the lips of the other.
There was silence before thunderous chaos erupted in the audience at the realization that the main actors had actually, physically kissed each other on the lips.
Jaehyo opened his eyes and was met by the shocked orbs of Jiho, who was covering his mouth with the back of his hand. "Shit," Jaehyo thought, mind going blank. Of course, the show must go on; the rest of the play was carried out awkwardly, but completely. Once the performance had ended, however, Snow White immediately left the stage.
"Damn, Jaehyo, what the hell was that out there?" Minhyuk asked with a raised eyebrow, lightly punching his friend on the shoulder as he was getting dressed.
"I-I don't know, Minhyuk. I just don't know."
---
Jaehyo narrowed his eyes at the photograph in his hands. It was a picture that had been snapped before the play had actually been performed. Jiho's arm was hanging loosely around the older's shoulders, and his face was scrunched up in an attempt to look ridiculous (it had worked). Jaehyo had a timid smile decorating his face, while his hands were fiddling with something on his costume. Jaehyo let out a sigh; Jiho and he hadn't spoken since the play. With heavy thoughts weighing on his mind, he absentmindedly continued flipping through the book before realizing something odd. The rest of the book was filled with snapshots of himself that he had never seen before.
There was a picture of Jaehyo sitting at a lunch table, laughing at something Yukwon must have said. There was another of Jaehyo's profile as he was sitting inside a classroom. Another still, of Jaehyo participating in basketball practice. As Jaehyo continued turning pages, more and more candid photos of himself showed up. Finally, Jaehyo reached the end of the notebook, where only a single Polaroid image was stuck to the back cover. It was a selca of Jiho, looking smug and holding a camera.
Jaehyo ran out of his room after that.
---
"Hey, Jiho..."
"Hm?"
"What made you decide to take photography? Never deemed you for the artsy type,"
"What, my raps aren't artsy enough for you?"
"You know what I mean."
"Hm, well... I just like the idea of being able to capture, in a single frame, something I find attractive."
"Or someone, hahaha~"
"Right. Or someone."
---
Jiho raised an eyebrow as he opened the door to reveal a panting Jaehyo on his doorstep. "Oh hey, hyung. Like my present?"
"That gift. The camera. What you said during freshman year. The kiss. I'm sorry. Let me just-" Jaehyo's rambling was interrupted when the younger suddenly pulled him close for a deep kiss. After several seconds, Jiho released him and Jaehyo fell to his knees on the doorstep. "Um. That. A meeting of lips. An answer. Something. Maybe?"
"Hm, it's something, hyung. It's something."
a/n: this is a continuation of a really short drabble I wrote over here. this is also kind of dedicated to my good friend chateaucartoon, who's just an awesome dude that deserves better than this one-shot. merry (quitequitequite early) christmas ❤
beta'd by the lovely woo to my gyu ❤
rating: PG
pairing: Jaehyo/Zico
genre: Fluff
summary: High School!AU - A picture can tell a thousand words. A photo album, even moreso.
length: 2,208 words
So much present inside my present
Inside my present so...so much past
Inside my present inside my past
Inside my present
So, so
- Feist, "Past in Present"
It was the end of the school day, and all the students were abuzz with the Christmas atmosphere - because the end of the day was near, and winter break was just around the corner.
"So what are you going to do over break?" asked Minhyuk as he stifled a yawn and adjusted the strap of his backpack.
Jaehyo frowned in response as he turned to face his peer. "I don't know... Catch up on sleep? I stayed up to unholy hours studying for all our finals."
"Pffft, it's only because you're always procrastinating on your studies by watching anime." Yukwon grinned cheekily as he pointed to his t-shirt. "By the way, the new episode of One Piece is amazing."
Jaehyo narrowed his eyes. "I wasn't watching One Piece or any other anime for that matter; I was-"
"Yah, happy holidays, hyung!" Jaehyo turned around at the sound of the familiar voice. It had been none other than that of a certain underclassman, Woo Jiho, and he had the cockiest smirk pasted onto his face.
"Um, tha-OOF!" Jaehyo's thanks was interrupted by a box to the face. "JIHO! God, really, the face of all places?" The older frowned as he rubbed tenderly at his nose.
Jiho smirked before waving. "It's your Christmas present, hyung. Don't sweat the details and just enjoy the gift, yeah?"
The older opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. "Christmas present? Gift?"
"Merry Christmas, hyung! See you later!" With that said, the school bell finally rang, and Jiho left through the double doors of the school... Leaving behind one very confused Jaehyo.
---
"Now or later... Now or later..." Jaehyo mumbled to himself as he paced around his bedroom. He had just returned home from school and Jiho's present was currently sitting on his bed, calling out to him like sirens had called out to sailors of folklore. To be honest, the two of them had not spoken for almost a year. This fact, coupled with Jiho's past history of gift-giving, led Jaehyo to be tentative about opening the present. "Well, if it's something weird, I can always throw it out the window." he reasoned to himself.
(The year before, Jiho had given him a tub of lube; the year before that, Jiho had given him a pair of hot pink panties. Needless to say, Jaehyo had not appreciated either gift.)
It helped that Jiho was actually his next door neighbor too (he wouldn't have to throw whatever the gift ended up being far). With renewed confidence, he opened the cardboard box ("Too lazy to even wrap it, hm?" Jaehyo snorted) and tossed out the red and green tissue paper surrounding the actual gift. His eyes widened slightly at what he had discovered laying inside the box. It was a thickly bound notebook without a name or a title, brown and minimalistic in design. If it weren't for some of the pages sticking out oddly from within, Jaehyo would have deemed the notebook blank. With curious eyes, he gingerly flipped the cover open and paused when he finally realized what the book was. It was a photo album full of pictures from all the time they had spent together. Jaehyo chuckled as he scanned the first page, the hint of a smile beginning to form on his face. The first photograph showed two little boys hunched over a familiar sandbox.
---
Jaehyo was seven and Jiho was five when they first met at the neighborhood playground. Jaehyo had been sculpting (attempting to, anyways) a cannon in the sandbox when Jiho had walked over holding bubble tea.
"What is that supposed to be?" the younger had asked, sipping his drink all the while.
"A cannon... Pew pew pew~" the older had answered with a wide grin.
"It looks stupid." the younger smirked.
The older's face fell (he always had been a sensitive one).
"It needs cannon balls to go 'pew pew pew.'" Jiho uncapped his drink and poured all the milk tea outside of the sandbox - leaving behind only the tapioca bubbles. With a small smile, he dropped the bubbles into the sand. "Pew pew pew~"
The two became the best of friends after that.
---
Returning to reality, Jaehyo allowed himself to flip through a few more pages. One in particular caught his eye - it was a picture of the duo in Jiho's bedroom; the younger was holding up victory signs with both hands and a goofy smile, while the older had his eyes closed, remnants of icing all over his face.
---
Jaehyo was turning fourteen and Jiho was already twelve when the 23rd of December had arrived. "I have a surprise for you," Jiho had winked after succeeding to wake up the older (by this time, Jaehyo's family and Jiho's family had also grown close; Jaehyo's family even treated Jiho like another son, allowing him in and out of their house as he pleased).
"Mrmmph," Jaehyo spoke into his pillow before rolling over to his side and narrowing his eyes at the younger male. "Can't it wait until later? It's my birthday. Can't I sleep in on my birthday?" Jiho frowned before yanking the comforter off of Jaehyo's body.
"It's because it's your birthday that we don't have time to waste, hyung!" Jiho puffed his cheeks before tugging on Jaehyo's hands. "Get uuuuup~"
The older grumbled as he allowed himself to be pulled out of his room and his house. "Where are you taking me?"
"My house, of course!" The younger adolescent rolled his eyes as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. He then proceeded to lead the older into his house, finally stopping inside the kitchen. There, sitting on the counter, was a small cake. It was handmade by the looks of it, and there was red icing atop the baked treat spelling out, "Happy 14th, Ahn Jaehyo!"
Jaehyo gulped. "This is... This is for me?"
Jiho only laughed in response before bringing over candles and a lighter. He set up 14 candles before rapping his own version of the birthday song. Jaehyo kept silent, all the while only observing the movement of Jiho's mouth. He was brought out of his reverie when the younger boy grabbed a fistful of his shirt and brought Jaehyo's face closer to the cake. "Happy birthday, Jaehyo-hyung. Now blow out the candles and make a wish."
Jaehyo blinked his eyes rapidly, before finally closing his eyes and blowing out the candles before him.
"So what did you wish for?" Jiho grinned as he began removing the candles from the cake.
The older boy frowned before shaking his head slowly. "If I tell you, it won't come true."
"In that case..." The younger smirked as he grabbed the back of Jaehyo's head and leaned in. Jaehyo felt his breath catch in his throat, but whether it was because of the close proximity of Jiho's face or the uncomfortable hold on his hair, he wasn't sure. Next thing he knew, his face was inches deep into the cake. Jiho cackled maniacally in the background, pleased with his work.
Jaehyo spent the rest of his birthday trying to get back at Woo Jiho.
By the end of the day, the score was still Jaehyo:0 and Jiho:1.
---
Jaehyo hummed as he continued to flip through the pages. He paused when he remembered how his breath had caught in his throat. He didn't want to admit it, but it was probably on his 14th birthday when he had subconsciously fallen for his childhood friend.
As Jaehyo flipped through the photo album, he came across another photograph that reminded him of when he had consciously realized that he had fallen for his childhood friend. He chewed on his lip as he allowed himself to drown in his memories.
---
Jaehyo was sixteen and Jiho was fourteen when the two had managed to end up in the same theater class in high school.
"I have this odd feeling that you're going to be cast in the role of Snow White," Minhyuk whispered into Jaehyo's ear. The teacher was currently feeling around inside a top hat, ready to pull out a name for the lead role of the spring class production.
Jaehyo stuck his tongue out in response. "I hope not, but if that really happens, I'll give you five thousand won."
"And in the role of Snow White is... Ahn Jaehyo-sshi." The entire class turned to face Jaehyo as he covered his face with his hands.
"So, I think I'm getting five thousand won now."
"Shut up, Minhyuk."
"And in the role of the prince is... Woo Jiho-sshi."
Jaehyo had to do a double take. "What the-" he shooked his head violently, cupping his ears in disbelief. He then averted his attention to his left, where the man in question was smiling like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.
"Oh hey, hyung. Or should I call you noona?"
Jaehyo turned to face his other friend before letting out an exasperated sigh. "Minhyuk... Kill me now."
(Over the course of the next several weeks, Jiho would take to calling Jaehyo "noona" during rehearsals. Jaehyo would never admit it aloud, but there was something enticing about being referred as that by the younger.)
"So," Jiho began in a whisper, as the curtains rose up. It was now showtime, and Jaehyo was busy adjusting his long, black wig. "Jaehyo-noona, what are we going to do about the kiss scene? We never rehearsed that."
The older hesitated, feeling his heartbeat quicken momentarily, before responding with a shrug of the shoulders. He then proceeded to pick up his dress (which was long, even for his 182 cm frame) and shuffled onto the stage.
(Over the course of the play, Jaehyo became really devoted to his role as Snow White. It was this devotion that led to the next turn of events - a turn of events that Jaehyo would soon regret.)
Jaehyo was now laying, eyes closed, atop the makeshift bed the theater class had put together. It was time for the kiss scene, and as Jiho approached closer and closer to the older's form, Jaehyo felt something within him shift. One moment, Jiho's mouth was hovering an inch or two above his. In another, Jaehyo's lips had closed that gap and ended up resting lightly atop the lips of the other.
There was silence before thunderous chaos erupted in the audience at the realization that the main actors had actually, physically kissed each other on the lips.
Jaehyo opened his eyes and was met by the shocked orbs of Jiho, who was covering his mouth with the back of his hand. "Shit," Jaehyo thought, mind going blank. Of course, the show must go on; the rest of the play was carried out awkwardly, but completely. Once the performance had ended, however, Snow White immediately left the stage.
"Damn, Jaehyo, what the hell was that out there?" Minhyuk asked with a raised eyebrow, lightly punching his friend on the shoulder as he was getting dressed.
"I-I don't know, Minhyuk. I just don't know."
---
Jaehyo narrowed his eyes at the photograph in his hands. It was a picture that had been snapped before the play had actually been performed. Jiho's arm was hanging loosely around the older's shoulders, and his face was scrunched up in an attempt to look ridiculous (it had worked). Jaehyo had a timid smile decorating his face, while his hands were fiddling with something on his costume. Jaehyo let out a sigh; Jiho and he hadn't spoken since the play. With heavy thoughts weighing on his mind, he absentmindedly continued flipping through the book before realizing something odd. The rest of the book was filled with snapshots of himself that he had never seen before.
There was a picture of Jaehyo sitting at a lunch table, laughing at something Yukwon must have said. There was another of Jaehyo's profile as he was sitting inside a classroom. Another still, of Jaehyo participating in basketball practice. As Jaehyo continued turning pages, more and more candid photos of himself showed up. Finally, Jaehyo reached the end of the notebook, where only a single Polaroid image was stuck to the back cover. It was a selca of Jiho, looking smug and holding a camera.
Jaehyo ran out of his room after that.
---
"Hey, Jiho..."
"Hm?"
"What made you decide to take photography? Never deemed you for the artsy type,"
"What, my raps aren't artsy enough for you?"
"You know what I mean."
"Hm, well... I just like the idea of being able to capture, in a single frame, something I find attractive."
"Or someone, hahaha~"
"Right. Or someone."
---
Jiho raised an eyebrow as he opened the door to reveal a panting Jaehyo on his doorstep. "Oh hey, hyung. Like my present?"
"That gift. The camera. What you said during freshman year. The kiss. I'm sorry. Let me just-" Jaehyo's rambling was interrupted when the younger suddenly pulled him close for a deep kiss. After several seconds, Jiho released him and Jaehyo fell to his knees on the doorstep. "Um. That. A meeting of lips. An answer. Something. Maybe?"
"Hm, it's something, hyung. It's something."
a/n: this is a continuation of a really short drabble I wrote over here. this is also kind of dedicated to my good friend chateaucartoon, who's just an awesome dude that deserves better than this one-shot. merry (quitequitequite early) christmas ❤
beta'd by the lovely woo to my gyu ❤