FOR AJIN
Title: Freefall
For: ajin
Pairing: Jaehyo/Kyung, Jaehyo/Zico
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,558
Summary: Sometimes we find what we didn’t know we were looking for.
Notes: Inspired by Haruki Murakami’s ‘ On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning,' and the image of a very tangled red thread. Plus, I really wanted a fic set in a coffee shop for some reason.
An invisible red thread connects those destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstances. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break. - ancient Chinese proverb
Kyung looked up from wiping the counter when he heard the bells tinkling, the sound of someone entering the coffee shop’s front door. His smile was automatic, warm and easy when he saw that it was a couple of girls from the high school a couple of blocks away.
“Good morning! Welcome to Urban Brew!” He slightly leaned forward against the counter as the young girls approached, both of them looking at Kyung with admiring eyes. Kyung’s smile grew wider. “Can I take your orders, ladies?”
They had both asked for frappuccinos, perfect to battle the heat of the almost-summer afternoon. Kyung rang up the payments into the cash register, handed the girls their receipts, making small talk as he did.
“Why don’t you make yourselves comfortable?” He smiled as he moved to make the drinks. “I’ll be with your order shortly.” One of the girls giggled.
He was just about to serve the drinks when Minhyuk, the shop manager, came to the counter. “The new guy will come in tomorrow, and I’m putting you in charge of helping him get acquainted with stuff around here.” Kyung nodded and was about to say something when the phone rang, and Minhyuk stepped back into the office to get it.
Kyung served the orders, chatting with the girls for a while, only to excuse himself when a new customer came in. “Good morning! Welcome to Urban Brew!” He called out brightly.
Jaehyo felt like he was supposed to know something about this shop, like a memory accidentally dislodged out of place. He wasn’t one that got a lot of moments of déjà vu, but the feeling was there, a faint tickle on the back of his neck. He pushed the door open, trying to shake that feeling off.
“Hello sir, I’m afraid we’re not open yet,” a guy in large black-rimmed glasses greeted him apologetically. “You can come back in half an hour.”
“Ah,” Jaehyo felt suddenly sheepish. “I’m the new guy.” A bit frazzled, he bowed twice. “I was told to report to...”
“Park Kyung,” he smiled. “That’s me. You’re Ahn Jaehyo, right?”
Jaehyo finally relaxed. “Right. Hi.” He gave Kyung a warm smile. “Please take care of me well.”
“Welcome to Urban Brew,” Kyung grinned. “I hope you enjoy your stay.”
They’ve had a number of new employees in the last six months, none of who were as naturally comfortable dealing with people and as adept in making drinks as Jaehyo. Kyung thought they had a keeper in this one, and it helped that even more people came in the shop to see the new guy, who turned out to be an internet uljjang. Jaehyo was quick to learn tasks and was able to handle several customers coming in at once, all with a smile. Minhyuk would be glad to know that they may have finally found someone they could actually count on.
Kyung’s been working at Urban Brew with just Minhyuk for a while now, after the other long-time employee got knocked up and moved back to Busan with her parents. The work at the coffee shop wasn’t strenuous, but neither Kyung nor Minhyuk could take a lot of personal or sick days because there wasn’t anyone else to mind the shop. One time, Kyung had to ask his sister to fill in for him when he caught a bad stomach flu. He was glad to know that he could be able to leave the shop in Jaehyo’s capable hands in a pinch.
It had only been a week since Jaehyo started, but it was as if he had worked at Urban Brew all this time, easily making friends with the regulars, and falling into the work rhythm without a hitch. It was a relief for Kyung, because at least they didn’t have to go through an awkward phase.
“Hyung, are you sure we’ve never met before?” Kyung wondered out loud one afternoon. It strangely felt like they’d known each other for a long time.
Jaehyo looked up from wiping the counter. “Feels that way, isn’t it?” He smiled. “Like we’ve always been part of each other’s lives.”
“Yeah,” Kyung smiled back. “It’s really nice.”
There was something in Jaehyo’s smile that made something flutter in Kyung’s stomach.
Kyung wondered if falling in love was always this easy, effortless. His best friend Jiho would laugh if he spoke of it that way, though Jiho was one to believe in fate. Jiho was due to come back from a sudden trip to Japan sometime soon, and maybe Kyung would broach the subject when they meet up.
“I met someone.” Jiho told him over the phone yesterday. “About a couple of months ago. I should have told you sooner, but I got caught up with things, then I had to fly out.”
“What, you keeping things from me now?” Kyung laughed.
“You’d like him,” Jiho said. “You’d like him a lot.”
One day, one of Jaehyo’s friends came over, and it was amusing to see a new side to Jaehyo - mothering, nagging, and even occasionally annoying. Kyung felt kind of bad of Jaehyo’s friend Taeil, who looked uncomfortable at the attention Jaehyo smothered him with. Kyung just found everything amusing. He realized that Jaehyo could do no wrong in his eyes, pretty much. It’d only been weeks since they first met, and Kyung wondered how things could happen so fast. He’d been in love before, but not like this, not quite. It was like everything was in a strange combination of fast-forward and slow motion. Sometimes Kyung forgot to breathe. He wondered if he’d eventually stop breathing completely.
The kiss felt like surfacing for air after years underwater. Kyung didn’t remember how it happened, but he remembered thinking: Finally. Having Jaehyo against him in that corner of the club, amid the sea of strobe lights and sound, the heat between them both foreign and terribly familiar - it was like coming home.
Jaehyo’s eyes were out of focus when they pulled away, and he murmured Kyung’s name like he was saying it for the first time, wonderment and surprise undeniable in the way Jaehyo looked at him. Then there was a smile, another kiss, both of them forgetting everything else. Falling into the moment never felt so good.
They didn’t really talk about it - neither of them felt like they had to. They went back to work the following week, falling into the rhythm of the workday as usual. But they offered each other a small smile as they started the day, and there was a quiet kind of comfort and a different kind of happiness between them. They both went about their tasks, welcoming customers and cleaning the shop.
Kyung looked up from wiping tables when he heard the front door bells tinkle.
“Good morning!” Kyung called out automatically. “Welcome to Ur-” His eyes widened when he saw Jiho standing there, grinning at him.
Kyung dropped the rag he was holding, ran to his best friend. “Yah, you asshole!” He threw his arms around Jiho. “When did you get here?”
Jiho laughed in that loud way of his, hugging Kyung back. “Just now. Went here straight from the airport to see you, jerk.”
Kyung showed Jiho to a table and sat down with him to catch up for a while. Jaehyo was in the back, putting some stuff into storage, but there weren’t any new customers to serve, so Kyung figured he had a few minutes to spare before he needed to get back to work.
Jiho was telling Kyung something about a ghost in a music studio in Tokyo when he paused mid-story. “Yah!” Jiho exclaimed. “Jaehyo?”
Kyung turned around to see Jaehyo back at the counter.
“What the heck are you doing here!” Jiho’s eyes were wide with surprise. He got up from his seat to approach Jaehyo.
Jaehyo looked equally surprised, and then there was genuine gladness in his eyes. “I work here, dummy.” He moved to meet Jiho halfway, and they pulled each other into a tight hug. Jaehyo might have murmured something, but Kyung never caught what he said. Jiho pulled away with a huge grin on his face.
“Kyung,” Jiho turned to face his best friend. “This is the person I wanted you to meet.” He laughed. “But it turns out that you’ve already met.”
Kyung blinked, met Jaehyo’s eyes. There was a flicker of apology in them, and even more faintly, of regret. Kyung looked at Jiho’s beaming face, and smiled back.
“If I had known that Jaehyo was the person you were talking about,” Kyung chuckled. “I would have been tougher on him when he started out here!” Jiho laughed.
Kyung could tell where Jaehyo’s heart was, the way he looked at Jiho. It was the least Kyung could do.
Jaehyo gave Kyung a grateful smile, a look of understanding passing between them.
The front door opened, bells chiming cheerfully as it did.
“Good morning! Welcome to Urban Brew!” Kyung’s smile didn’t come quite as easily, but there was comfort in the routine. Jiho patted his shoulder as Kyung moved to go back to the counter. Jaehyo said nothing as he passed by, but Kyung could feel his eyes on him.
Kyung took a deep breath as he stood in front of the register. “Hi. Can I take your order?”
For: ajin
Pairing: Jaehyo/Kyung, Jaehyo/Zico
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,558
Summary: Sometimes we find what we didn’t know we were looking for.
Notes: Inspired by Haruki Murakami’s ‘ On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning,' and the image of a very tangled red thread. Plus, I really wanted a fic set in a coffee shop for some reason.
An invisible red thread connects those destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstances. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break. - ancient Chinese proverb
Kyung looked up from wiping the counter when he heard the bells tinkling, the sound of someone entering the coffee shop’s front door. His smile was automatic, warm and easy when he saw that it was a couple of girls from the high school a couple of blocks away.
“Good morning! Welcome to Urban Brew!” He slightly leaned forward against the counter as the young girls approached, both of them looking at Kyung with admiring eyes. Kyung’s smile grew wider. “Can I take your orders, ladies?”
They had both asked for frappuccinos, perfect to battle the heat of the almost-summer afternoon. Kyung rang up the payments into the cash register, handed the girls their receipts, making small talk as he did.
“Why don’t you make yourselves comfortable?” He smiled as he moved to make the drinks. “I’ll be with your order shortly.” One of the girls giggled.
He was just about to serve the drinks when Minhyuk, the shop manager, came to the counter. “The new guy will come in tomorrow, and I’m putting you in charge of helping him get acquainted with stuff around here.” Kyung nodded and was about to say something when the phone rang, and Minhyuk stepped back into the office to get it.
Kyung served the orders, chatting with the girls for a while, only to excuse himself when a new customer came in. “Good morning! Welcome to Urban Brew!” He called out brightly.
Jaehyo felt like he was supposed to know something about this shop, like a memory accidentally dislodged out of place. He wasn’t one that got a lot of moments of déjà vu, but the feeling was there, a faint tickle on the back of his neck. He pushed the door open, trying to shake that feeling off.
“Hello sir, I’m afraid we’re not open yet,” a guy in large black-rimmed glasses greeted him apologetically. “You can come back in half an hour.”
“Ah,” Jaehyo felt suddenly sheepish. “I’m the new guy.” A bit frazzled, he bowed twice. “I was told to report to...”
“Park Kyung,” he smiled. “That’s me. You’re Ahn Jaehyo, right?”
Jaehyo finally relaxed. “Right. Hi.” He gave Kyung a warm smile. “Please take care of me well.”
“Welcome to Urban Brew,” Kyung grinned. “I hope you enjoy your stay.”
They’ve had a number of new employees in the last six months, none of who were as naturally comfortable dealing with people and as adept in making drinks as Jaehyo. Kyung thought they had a keeper in this one, and it helped that even more people came in the shop to see the new guy, who turned out to be an internet uljjang. Jaehyo was quick to learn tasks and was able to handle several customers coming in at once, all with a smile. Minhyuk would be glad to know that they may have finally found someone they could actually count on.
Kyung’s been working at Urban Brew with just Minhyuk for a while now, after the other long-time employee got knocked up and moved back to Busan with her parents. The work at the coffee shop wasn’t strenuous, but neither Kyung nor Minhyuk could take a lot of personal or sick days because there wasn’t anyone else to mind the shop. One time, Kyung had to ask his sister to fill in for him when he caught a bad stomach flu. He was glad to know that he could be able to leave the shop in Jaehyo’s capable hands in a pinch.
It had only been a week since Jaehyo started, but it was as if he had worked at Urban Brew all this time, easily making friends with the regulars, and falling into the work rhythm without a hitch. It was a relief for Kyung, because at least they didn’t have to go through an awkward phase.
“Hyung, are you sure we’ve never met before?” Kyung wondered out loud one afternoon. It strangely felt like they’d known each other for a long time.
Jaehyo looked up from wiping the counter. “Feels that way, isn’t it?” He smiled. “Like we’ve always been part of each other’s lives.”
“Yeah,” Kyung smiled back. “It’s really nice.”
There was something in Jaehyo’s smile that made something flutter in Kyung’s stomach.
Kyung wondered if falling in love was always this easy, effortless. His best friend Jiho would laugh if he spoke of it that way, though Jiho was one to believe in fate. Jiho was due to come back from a sudden trip to Japan sometime soon, and maybe Kyung would broach the subject when they meet up.
“I met someone.” Jiho told him over the phone yesterday. “About a couple of months ago. I should have told you sooner, but I got caught up with things, then I had to fly out.”
“What, you keeping things from me now?” Kyung laughed.
“You’d like him,” Jiho said. “You’d like him a lot.”
One day, one of Jaehyo’s friends came over, and it was amusing to see a new side to Jaehyo - mothering, nagging, and even occasionally annoying. Kyung felt kind of bad of Jaehyo’s friend Taeil, who looked uncomfortable at the attention Jaehyo smothered him with. Kyung just found everything amusing. He realized that Jaehyo could do no wrong in his eyes, pretty much. It’d only been weeks since they first met, and Kyung wondered how things could happen so fast. He’d been in love before, but not like this, not quite. It was like everything was in a strange combination of fast-forward and slow motion. Sometimes Kyung forgot to breathe. He wondered if he’d eventually stop breathing completely.
The kiss felt like surfacing for air after years underwater. Kyung didn’t remember how it happened, but he remembered thinking: Finally. Having Jaehyo against him in that corner of the club, amid the sea of strobe lights and sound, the heat between them both foreign and terribly familiar - it was like coming home.
Jaehyo’s eyes were out of focus when they pulled away, and he murmured Kyung’s name like he was saying it for the first time, wonderment and surprise undeniable in the way Jaehyo looked at him. Then there was a smile, another kiss, both of them forgetting everything else. Falling into the moment never felt so good.
They didn’t really talk about it - neither of them felt like they had to. They went back to work the following week, falling into the rhythm of the workday as usual. But they offered each other a small smile as they started the day, and there was a quiet kind of comfort and a different kind of happiness between them. They both went about their tasks, welcoming customers and cleaning the shop.
Kyung looked up from wiping tables when he heard the front door bells tinkle.
“Good morning!” Kyung called out automatically. “Welcome to Ur-” His eyes widened when he saw Jiho standing there, grinning at him.
Kyung dropped the rag he was holding, ran to his best friend. “Yah, you asshole!” He threw his arms around Jiho. “When did you get here?”
Jiho laughed in that loud way of his, hugging Kyung back. “Just now. Went here straight from the airport to see you, jerk.”
Kyung showed Jiho to a table and sat down with him to catch up for a while. Jaehyo was in the back, putting some stuff into storage, but there weren’t any new customers to serve, so Kyung figured he had a few minutes to spare before he needed to get back to work.
Jiho was telling Kyung something about a ghost in a music studio in Tokyo when he paused mid-story. “Yah!” Jiho exclaimed. “Jaehyo?”
Kyung turned around to see Jaehyo back at the counter.
“What the heck are you doing here!” Jiho’s eyes were wide with surprise. He got up from his seat to approach Jaehyo.
Jaehyo looked equally surprised, and then there was genuine gladness in his eyes. “I work here, dummy.” He moved to meet Jiho halfway, and they pulled each other into a tight hug. Jaehyo might have murmured something, but Kyung never caught what he said. Jiho pulled away with a huge grin on his face.
“Kyung,” Jiho turned to face his best friend. “This is the person I wanted you to meet.” He laughed. “But it turns out that you’ve already met.”
Kyung blinked, met Jaehyo’s eyes. There was a flicker of apology in them, and even more faintly, of regret. Kyung looked at Jiho’s beaming face, and smiled back.
“If I had known that Jaehyo was the person you were talking about,” Kyung chuckled. “I would have been tougher on him when he started out here!” Jiho laughed.
Kyung could tell where Jaehyo’s heart was, the way he looked at Jiho. It was the least Kyung could do.
Jaehyo gave Kyung a grateful smile, a look of understanding passing between them.
The front door opened, bells chiming cheerfully as it did.
“Good morning! Welcome to Urban Brew!” Kyung’s smile didn’t come quite as easily, but there was comfort in the routine. Jiho patted his shoulder as Kyung moved to go back to the counter. Jaehyo said nothing as he passed by, but Kyung could feel his eyes on him.
Kyung took a deep breath as he stood in front of the register. “Hi. Can I take your order?”