Moonlight - Chapter two
It had already been a couple of months since Minho first ran into the small ‘Moonlight’ café, and he had already really made it a habit to stay until it was closing time. Jinki helped him with his homework when he needed it, and his marks had went up considerably ever since the first mathematics test.
Now, the weather was already dry enough, so he had football practice every day to make up for the lost time, but that just meant getting to the café later than usual. With his natural talent for sports, he could spend all of his free time studying or chatting with Jinki, and he was still considered the second-year ace of his team.
Minho smiled at the thought, humming happily to himself as he turned a corner and spotted the familiar building. He subconsciously hurried his pace a little, and soon he was opening the door, and being greeted by the pleasant ringing of the bell.
Jinki waved at him from where he was standing, taking note of the order from a group of girls, and Minho smiled back at him, sitting at his usual table. He sometimes wondered how come he always found it empty, and he felt some kind of happy feeling in the pit of his stomach thinking that maybe Jinki went through the trouble of reserving it for him. Then he shook himself back to reality and assumed it was most likely due to people preferring the bigger tables that were near the windows.
“You’re studying today too?” Jinki asked, walking back into the counter, watching him pull out his books again.
“Duh. I have bimestral exams around the corner, so I’m expecting you to help me.”
Jinki laughed as he prepared whatever those girls had ordered, but he also shot Minho a somewhat apologetic look.
“I’m sorry, today there are actually people to attend, so I can’t really sit there with you and help you thoroughly…”
Minho looked around the café and realized that, in fact, it was quite full of people, unlike other days. He surprised himself feeling a little sad thinking that he wouldn’t get to spend as much time with Jinki, and wondered how he had managed to get so attached to the boy in just a few months. Then again, who could not like Jinki, with his brilliant smiles and eye-smiles, his clueless and slightly childish behavior, his cute condition, and…
‘Wait. Oh no. No no no. Choi Minho, you are not…’
“Aren’t you ordering anything?”
Minho looked up to see Jinki directing his curious gaze at him, carrying a tray in each hand, each one filled with different kinds of sweets and drinks. He stared at the other with his mouth hanging slightly agape for a few seconds, before snapping out of it and quickly stuttering he hadn’t decided yet. Jinki gave him a slight frown, but let it pass, since he had other people who were calling.
Minho let out a big breath, that had been a bad time to notice hoe good-looking Jinki actually was. Wait. Anytime was bad for noticing that kind of thing! He was a guy, for the love of…
‘…A good looking guy.’ Some little voice said inside his head, and he couldn’t help but burry his head inside one of his books.
‘…I’m in deep trouble…’
“Minho? Are you okay?”
He almost jumped from his seat when Jinki talked to him, and he would later find it funny how it was usually the other way around. But right now, he could only think about how he was starting to develop his first crush. On a guy. He sighed his brain working as fast as it could to come up with a solution, and no, he was not wondering if there was a chance that Jinki liked him back.
Minho just stuttered something about having to leave already and messily picked up all of his stuff, then ran out the door, and didn’t stop until he had put a considerable distance between the café and him. He leaned against a streetlight; panting heavily from having ran so much. He absentmindedly reminded himself he had once been part of the track team, and was part of the football team, so he had ran a lot for him to be panting like that. Or maybe his legs were shaky for another reason.
‘Nonononononono, NO. This just... it can’t... just no.’
He got off the streetlight, walking towards his home with a slow pace. What was he going to do now...? Admitting his crush to Jinki was a big no. Admitting his crush to himself was another big no. Maybe if he just avoided the other for long enough, those funny feelings would just disappear, and the problem would sort itself out...
.-·ºXº·-.
Okay, so that might have not been his smartest idea. He had completely avoided the café for a little more than a week, and he could already feel all of his thoughts automatically turning to Jinki. He couldn’t pay attention to class, and he had starting messing up at football practice so much that the coach had thought he was sick or something and had banned him from practice until he could do it properly.
His marks had also fallen drastically, partly because he spaced out even at exams, and partly because he didn’t have Jinki’s help in tutoring him anymore. Even Taemin had noticed there was something wrong with him and had taken it as his pastime to interrogate him to try and find out what had happened to cause such a sudden change.
Minho sighed, rolling onto his side, messing up the covers of his bed. How come he was so affected...? He had only met Jinki a few weeks ago, and okay, maybe he was used to spending some hours with him everyday after school, but still... And here he was, thinking of him again, staring at the white roof of his bedroom, instead of studying for that big test he had tomorrow. He really couldn’t go on like this any longer... He had to do something. And the only thing he could think of was facing the problem head on.
Maybe if he only spent time with Jinki like before, he’d end up getting over his crush and being able to see him just like another friend. Or maybe if he just came out clean to him about his feelings, he’d reject him and the feelings would eventually go away. But, if he did that, their relationship might never be as good again... Sure, Jinki didn’t seem like the kind of person that would hate him just for liking another guy, but it would still probably turn out being awkward...
Because, there was just no way that Jinki would like him back. How could someone like him, even consider someone as Minho? Not to mention he was a guy... He sighed yet again, rolling onto his side and curling up into a ball. There was no way he was going to pass his exam tomorrow, but for some reason he didn’t care. There was no avoiding the problem anymore; it had even affected his football... The next day, he had to stop by the café. If just spending time with Jinki as friends and trying to forget his feelings would get him back to normal, it was worth a try.
After all, what was the worst that could happen?
.-·ºXº·-.
Minho caught himself humming happily as he headed through the shortcut he hadn’t used in over a week, trudging through the road he knew would take him to the ‘moonlight’ café. He was already making up an excuse to tell in his mind, one that would explain his absence, without mentioning he had been avoiding Jinki because he had strange feelings towards him. Maybe he could say he was sick. Or one of his parents was. Or things had come up after school.
He soon found himself standing in front of the door, still thinking on what he should say once he stepped in, and was greeted by that brilliant smile, as everyday. He took a deep breath, bracing himself for whatever was going to happen. Except he never did walk into the small café. His hand was already reaching to push it open, but it moved without him ever getting to touch it. He froze in place for half a second, which was enough for someone to come out, not paying attention to what was in front of them, bumping right into Minho, knocking them both down onto the floor.
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“Jinki, get to washing the dishes while I get everyone’s orders!”
“Got it!”
Jinki started his task of washing without breaking anything immediately, while the other male who was also clad in a dark blue apron walked through the tables, noting everyone’s order, then coming back behind the counter. Jinki sneaked a look at his friend, wondering what was going on inside his head for him to actually come to work. He seemed normal though... well, normal within what was as normal as Kibum could be. His hair was cut in a diagonal line, leaving a part of his head bald, and his outfit under the apron was anything but what you’d expect from a waiter in a small café.
“Uh... Kibum?”
“Yes?” Even though Key -he still didn’t get why the other had chosen such a nickname- had indeed answered him, Jinki couldn’t help but feel slightly ignored, since the other male didn’t even bother to look at him, instead continuing to blend some sort of coffee.
“...Why did you come to work today...?”
“Huh? Are you complaining about me coming to help?”
“What? No, I didn’t mean it that way! I was just- aah!”
Crash. Jinki watched in horror as the glass he had been holding slipped from his hands, breaking into several pieces once it came into contact with the floor. He automatically started to stutter a string of apologies, running off to get a broom and a bag to throw way the pieces. Kibum just watched in slight amusement at the other’s hysteric fretting, even though he was already used to his clumsiness.
After Jinki cleaned all the pieces of glass on the floor, now placed securely inside a bag, he noticed their trash was already filled to the brim. He grabbed the bag from the trash can, setting it aside while he put a new one inside.
“I’m gonna go throw the trash out!” He informed Kibum, as he grabbed both bags and headed for the café’s door.
“Take care~”
Jinki turned his head to answer Key while he opened the door, not being able to see what was in front of him as he did so. “I’ll be back in just a- ow...!” Jinki yelped as he collided against something, losing his balance, and causing whatever he had bumped into to do the same. They came tumbling to the floor, and Jinki automatically closed his eyes, waiting for the impact to come. Only it never did.
Instead, he fell against something relatively soft and warm. Something relatively soft and warm that emitted a groan. Jinki slowly opened his eyes, raising his head to see a familiar face framed in long, slightly curly black bangs of hair, but now it was contorted in pain. He took a few seconds to actually process what was happening, before being able to move from his position on top of the other.
“Minho! Oh my gosh, are you okay?! Minho!!”
.-·ºXº·-.
Minho winced, holding a bag of ice to the wounded spot on the back of his head, having a terrible feeing of déjà vu. Jinki had apologized to him a thousand times, then led him to an empty seat, giving him the ice, and leaving to clean up the mess of the trash he had dropped on the door, and going out to throw it away.
He was more annoyed by the fact that he could feel the stare that other guy was giving him, even though he had tried to ignore it for a while. He finally turned to look back at him, finding that even though he had been caught, the slightly strange boy still held his stare towards him. He had been meaning to ask for a while who he was, since he had never seen someone besides Jinki taking care of the café. Now, he was plain annoyed at him. Then again, there was something oddly familiar about him, and he was even more annoyed at the fact that he couldn’t put his finger on it.
“Is there anything you want?” He asked in a slightly aggressive tone, already tired of the stares.
“Hmm... Not really,” The boy -he was too far away to read his nametag- answered, offering Minho a smile, “You’re Minho, aren’t you?”
Minho just blinked at him, unsure on whether to ask how did he know or not. Jinki did mention it while he was apologizing and whatnot, but hadn’t he been too far away to hear it...?
“If you’re wondering how I know, he talks about you a lot.”
His head shot up as he broke out from the train of thought, trying to process what the other was talking about.
“Jinki, I mean. He used to tell me how he’d help you ace a mathematics test, or how you were from our old school.”
“Our?”
“Yup. I was a student at your school until last year. Then I dropped out. The name’s Kim Kibum, by the way. But you can call me Key.”
Minho just gaped slightly, suddenly remembering why Kibum seemed so familiar. He had been the talk of the school ever since he got in, with his stylish outfits and almost disturbing multicolored hair. How could he not recognize him? Then again, he had only seen Kibum once, because they were on different classes and all. Then again, he was pretty hard to forget...
“Hello? Mister alien? Are you still there?”
“Uh, yeah. What’s with the alien thing anyways?”
“Oh, come on, don’t tell me you don’t know. Everyone’s called you that ever since you entered school, and to be quite honest, I have to agree with them. Those eyes are way too large, and your neck is too long.”
Minho frowned, wondering if what Kibum was telling him was true. He never did talk much with the other kids at school, so maybe they did call him that. Not that he minded though. He did know his features and general image were... unique.
“Why are you here anyway? Are you a new employee?”
“Oh, no. I have always been an employee here, I just never bothered to actually work. Since Jinki said he was fine on his own, I could spend all my time doing what I really wanted to.”
“...So you evaded work and forced it all onto Jinki hyung.”
“I didn’t force it! He accepted it quite gladly!”
Minho was starting to feel the urge to bang his head against the table. Of course he would agree to something like that! He had known Jinki long enough to notice how selfless he could be if it was to help others he was close to.
“So, you see each other after he gets out of work?”
“Sort of. We live together.”
“...Oh,” Minho said, shifting the ice bag he was holding against the back of his head.
‘Wait.’
“Wait. What?”
“We live together. In the same apartment. We’re roommates. There aren’t many other ways for me to try to put this.”
Minho’s eyes just widened, his mouth falling open as he processed the information. They lived together. Both of them. Alone.
“Why do you live together? Aren’t you underage??”
“Well, my parents are abroad. And Jinki’s situation is sort of complicated, so...”
Minho was about to keep prodding Kibum for answers, but the ringing of the bell above the door made him turn his head, in time to spot Jinki walking back into the store.
“Sorry I took so long Kibum, those trash bags were kind of heavy...” He said with an apologetic smile, scratching the back of his head as me made his way through the several tables. “Oh, Minho, how’s your head feeling?” He asked, turning to examine the younger one, a little too close for Minho’s comfort.
“Uh, I’m fine, don’t worry... It wasn’t that big of an impact anyway, so...” Minho couldn’t help but shift a little into his seat, wanting to put some distance between Jinki and himself, before he did something he would most likely regret for the rest of his life.
“Oh. That’s good.”
Jinki turned back and headed behind the counter, and Minho could swear he looked a little hurt, or sad. He frowned, wanting to ask what was wrong, but at the same time not wanting to intrude into the other’s personal space... He didn’t have to wonder too llong though, because soon enough Jinki was directing his gaze at him.
“Um, hey, Minho?”
“Yes, hyung?”
“Are you... mad at me for something?”
Minho just stared at him, as if trying to comprehend the words that had just left his lips.
“I mean, at that day, you just left so suddenly, and then you didn’t come for a while week... And even now I get the feeling you’re avoiding me... Did I do something wrong?”
Minho almost laughed at that, but he held it in. It would just seem rude in such a situation. Jinki did indeed have part of the fault as to why he hadn’t been stopping by, but it wasn’t anything he had done wrong. In fact, it was everything he had done right. Minho just directed a warm smile at the older male, trying to reassure him.
“You didn’t do anything, hyung. I was just feeling funny that day, and I’ve had stuff to do ever since. I just managed to make some time to see you today, so please don’t be sad?”
Jinki returned his smile, looking relieved that Minho wasn’t actually mad at him. He then went back to washing the dishes, while Kibum went around serving people’s orders. Now that they were two, Jinki had more time to spend with Minho, who told him about how his marks had fallen into a bottomless pit because he hadn’t been there to help.
Jinki laughed, saying it was his own fault for not stopping by. Minho found the awkwardness he had been feeling around the other had faded away at some point, and he could finally simply enjoy his company. He could only hope it would always be like that, and perhaps, in some near future, he’d be able to think of Jinki as just another person, just a very dear friend, just Jinki. Because right now, all he could think about when he was alone, was how it would feel to hold those warm hands in his, how it would feel to put his arms around that smaller frame, how it would feel to kiss those rosy lips with his own. And it was starting to drive him into a corner.