Perhaps, Maybe, But No; Minho/Key
In which Kibum wonders if Minho is right where he should be after watching him on Asian Dream Cup
“Damn it, I’m so angry with myself, Kibum, I had so many chances to score but I miskicked each and every shot I had…”
As he heard Minho’s groan for the umpteenth time that night, Kibum adjusted his grip on his phone and smiled, his eyes on the video that was currently paused on his laptop as he found himself naturally replying, “I know.”
“What?” Minho’s confused reply came in an instant.
And so did Kibum’s answer, because he had no wish for Minho to know he had been watching clips of him at Asian Dream Cup even before his boyfriend’s phone call from Shanghai came. “Nothing, you were saying?”
Not suspecting a thing, Minho, who could still feel the adrenaline from the football match coursing through his veins even though he had been back in his hotel room hours ago, let out a sigh, “I just- I wish I played better. I mean I know I can play better than that. I’m good at soccer, you know?”
“Yes, you’re the best among us idols…”
“I screwed up though. I missed so many chances, I feel like strangling myself. But oh my god Kibum, I never thought I'll ever get a chance to play with Park Ji Sung and Patrice Evra… that was crazy! The feeling was amazing, just standing on the same field with all these mad talented soccer players was fantastic, I’m just so happy and-” All of a sudden, Minho stopped himself short and swallowed before he asked, “Bummie?”
“Hmm?”
“I'm boring you, aren't I?”
“Nope.” Kibum wasn’t lying; there wasn’t a need for him to because if Minho was truly boring him, he would have stopped the rapper ages ago.
“Really?” Minho found that hard to believe as he glanced at the time on the bedside clock and relaxed further into the hotel bed, “I just realized I've been talking to you about soccer for the past 15 minutes and yet you didn't even try stopping me. Are you sure you’re not tuning me out?”
Alone in the hotel room that he had all to himself in Saitama, Kibum leaned back against the headboard of his bed and sighed, “Do you think that little of me?”
“I know you too well, Kibum.”
“Well, obviously, not well enough.”
“So you were seriously listening?”
“Mmhmm.”
“Then you must really miss me right now.”
“What?!” Kibum jolted upright and stared at the wall in front of him as if Minho was right there before him, “How on earth did you come up with that conclusion?!”
“There’s no other reason to explain why you would listen to me talk about something you absolutely have no interest in.” Minho laughed and boldly asked, “You miss me, don’t you?”
Kibum rolled his eyes even though Minho couldn’t see him, “You wish.”
Ignoring his boyfriend, Minho pretended he didn’t hear Kibum and went on to tease, “Aww Kibummie, don’t worry, I’ll be back with you tomorrow. Don’t miss me too much alright?”
“You’re an idiot.” Kibum concluded and changed the subject, “What time’s your flight?”
“Sometime in the morning.” Minho answered uninterestedly.
Kibum hummed and nodded, “You better get to sleep then. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, we have rehearsals the whole day tomorrow once you arrive. You need to be in tip top condition.”
“I know… you too, bummie, get some rest.”
“Mmm, I’m already in bed.”
“You are?” There was something suggestive in Minho’s voice that Kibum could almost imagine Minho wriggling his eyebrows at him.
“Don’t even think about it, Choi Minho.”
“And how do you know what I’m thinking, Kim Kibum?”
“Because I know you too well so goodnight.”
“Oh come on!”
“Night, Minho.”
“Fine.” Minho said unhappily but only allowed his childish temper to last for a moment because he still had something important to say before Kibum ended their conversation, “And just so you know Kibum, I miss you too.”
“Wh-”
Turns out, Minho was the one to end their phone call first as he left Kibum with his mouth open and staring at his phone, a defeated smile slowly growing on his face.
“Aish, this idiot.” Kibum thought out loud as he reconnected his phone to the charger and placed it on the bedside table before he closed his laptop and pushed it aside to the empty space beside him on the bed and lied down.
Suddenly, the double bed that he was sleeping on was too big for him. Perhaps he was too used to having Minho with him at night, fighting for the blanket, the extra pillows or just any extra space they could get on the bed just because they had to win each other over everything and anything. Kibum sighed as he wrapped the comforter tighter around his body. It turned out Minho was right. He was indeed missing his boyfriend even though they had only been apart for two days. And it was all Minho’s fault.
It was the rapper who didn’t even hesitate for a single moment to accept the invitation to play at the Asian Dream Cup in Shanghai even though they were supposed to be fully focused on their second Japan Arena Tour. It must have been fate though, since the timing was just right, fitting perfectly into their busy schedules and allowing this little dream of Minho to come true. Kibum knew what it meant to Minho, to not only play at such a highly talked about football match but also to play on the same field as the soccer players who Minho has been watching and admiring from television all his life. Even without watching the clips and fancams of Minho on the field, Kibum knew how excited and thrilled Minho was. He had seen his boyfriend’s excitement from the moment he accepted the invitation right until he was packing his luggage for the trip to Shanghai. And when he did watch them, Kibum found himself questioning if Minho was truly where he was supposed to be.
Minho had said it himself countless of times before; if he wasn’t in Shinee, he would probably be a soccer player. After all, it was his childhood dream. It was a fact Kibum knew from the day he learned more about Minho but it had no effect on him until now. Suddenly, the blonde couldn’t help but ask himself if Minho belonged to Shinee. Because just watching Minho play on the field at the Asian Dream Cup made Kibum feel like Minho should have been a soccer player instead. True, he might have played badly but to Kibum, it still felt as if Minho was finally in his own element, that he was a natural on the field. And that smile, that joy, that passion he saw in Minho was something Kibum hadn’t seen in a while.
It made Kibum wonder if Minho would leave one day just because he realized what Kibum had realized, that he could go on to fulfill his dream of becoming a soccer player. Kibum trusted Minho not to do such a thing though, but he could still let his thoughts wander, couldn’t he? Even just thinking about Minho having that temptation to quit Shinee was more than enough to scare Kibum and suddenly, the blonde found himself shaking his head to rid himself of such unwanted thoughts. Why on earth was he thinking about such things anyway when he was trying to sleep? All these ‘what ifs’ were invalid since the reality was that Minho eventually chose to pursue another dream and was now in shinee. Full stop. End of story. And with that, Kibum forced himself to stop overthinking and finally closed his eyes as he willed himself to sleep, hoping he would never have such doubts again.
*
Sleep didn’t come easy for Kibum that night, especially without Minho by his side, but it did eventually after he had tossed and turned more times than he could count. So when he woke up to his alarm the next morning, Kibum felt as if he didn’t get a good night’s sleep at all. Thank god it wasn’t necessary for him to get out of bed immediately since the day’s schedules would only begin when Minho arrived. For once, the triple threat of Shinee actually had the luxury of time. So instead of joining the rest for breakfast and a quick tour of Saitama after as planned, Kibum reached for his phone and sent out a message to Shinee’s group chat informing the rest of the members as well as their managers that he was going to skip breakfast and sleep a little more.
Jonghyun’s reply that said a simple ‘ok’ arrived the fastest and with that, Kibum was chucking his phone away under the pillow as he closed his eyes and snuggled under the covers on the bed that suddenly felt more comfortable than ever. It was really much easier to doze off when he woke up feeling even more groggy than before and soon, Kibum was fast asleep, not caring at all that he could be using his free time for something more productive. Sleep would probably do him good and get him energized enough to get through practice and rehearsals later on that day anyway.
When Kibum woke up the second time that morning, it wasn’t to his alarm (because he hadn’t bothered to set another one) but it was to someone shaking his shoulders. As a light sleeper, it didn’t take much effort for Kibum to open his eyes and wipe the sleep away as he dragged his hands over his face.
“Alright alright, hyung, I’m awake.” Naturally assuming it was his manager that had entered his room, Kibum groaned out loud while rolling to lie on his back so he could stretch his arms and legs.
“I don’t think you’re awake yet.” Came a different voice that was accompanied with a laugh which Kibum was certainly not expecting but was still extremely familiar with.
In an instant, Kibum turned towards the direction of the voice and stared at the intruder (who technically wasn’t actually intruding since he was ultimately going to become Kibum’s “roommate” for their time in Saitama). “Crap, I slept that long?!”
“That was not what I was expecting…” Minho (who else could it be?) frowned, but only for a split second, because he was smiling to Kibum in the next, “Haven’t had enough sleep?”
“Welcome back to the life of shinee, Mr Number 99 Choi Minho.”
If Kibum was smiling at him or had used a joking tone with him, Minho would have thought nothing of the blonde’s statement. Yet, things weren’t that way in reality. With Kibum sounding so bitter and somewhat sad with an unreadable expression on his face, Minho knew something was up.
“You don’t seem too happy to have me back.”
With Minho looking blankly at him with a mix of confusion and hurt in his eyes, Kibum cursed in his mind, suddenly realizing that he didn’t think before he spoke and started a topic that he had no wish to talk to Minho about. Obviously, he hadn’t been awake enough yet to filter his words.
“Forget that I said anything.” Kibum didn’t want Minho to find out about the thoughts that were bothering him the night before.
“Kibum.”
“I have to get ready.”
Before Kibum could get off the bed, Minho instantly caught hold of his boyfriend’s wrist and stopped him from going anywhere, “You know you can’t just brush me off like that. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong, you’re back, I’m happy, we have a concert to rehearse for so let’s get going.” Kibum forced a smile on his face, hoping that Minho would just drop it.
“Something’s bothering you.” Minho concluded, not interested at all to let Kibum have his way, “If you’re not going to talk to me, you can forget about leaving this room.”
“Why are you so stubborn?”
“I can ask you the very same question, Kibum.”
Kibum shook his head and sighed, “You’re thinking too much. It’s really nothing, alright?”
“All the more you can talk to me about it then.”
“It’s stupid.”
“You call me an idiot all the time so.” Minho shrugged, looking Kibum straight in the eye, and waited for his boyfriend to speak.
It took Kibum a deep breath in and out before he finally decided, rather resentfully, to break his silence.
“Are you happy to be back?” Kibum questioned instead, sounding Minho out first, since he was unwilling to go straight into the issue and reveal his thoughts immediately.
Minho was puzzled, surprised by the sudden question but he didn’t hesitate to reply, “Of course I am. Why are you even asking me this?”
“You seemed happier to be on the field yesterday…” Kibum mumbled as his eyes shifted away from Minho, “So happy that I bet you wished you could play more.”
“Okay…” Eyebrows creased into a frown, Minho pondered out loud as he pieced what Kibum had said together, “So you’re unhappy that I was happy playing soccer yesterday… am I getting this right?”
“No.” Frustrated, Kibum let out an audible sigh and grumbled, “Just let it go okay, Minho… I told you it was stupid.”
“But you’re upset, Kibum, and I want to-” Minho snapped his mouth shut because suddenly, all was clear to him as he looked at Kibum who he could tell was rather embarrassed and uncomfortable even if he kept a straight expression, “Oh.”
It may have took him a little longer this time round to understand Kibum but Minho could still pride himself for his ability to read Kibum like a book. And upon realizing what was troubling Kibum, the rapper smiled uncontrollably at his boyfriend and resisted the urge to squeeze his cheeks like he would to a kid. Knowing that Minho had finally caught on to what he was thinking, Kibum shifted awkwardly in his position and almost wanted to hide under the comforter just so he didn’t have to deal with Minho and the creepy smile he now had plastered on his face.
“You’re cute, bummie.” Minho finally said just when the silence was starting to suffocate Kibum.
Kibum shot a glare at Minho, “Don’t call me-”
Minho pressed a finger on Kibum’s lips to silence the blonde as he let out a breath and said, “Don’t ever doubt me, alright? There’s nowhere else I'd rather be than here with you, with shinee. How could you even have that little faith in me?”
In a move that caught Minho completely off guard, Kibum opened his mouth and playfully bit Minho’s finger, releasing it when his boyfriend hissed in pain. That was enough to make Kibum smirk in satisfaction.
“It’s your fault for looking too happy when you were playing soccer.” Kibum argued childishly.
Minho stared at his finger, inspecting if there were any teeth marks, before he narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend and used the very same finger to tap Kibum’s nose as he scolded, “You would think that after all this time together, you’d know that shinee is my life… yes, I love soccer, Kibum, but I love shinee, I love you, more than anything else in the world.”
“Alright alright, you didn’t have to go all cheesy on me, I’m sorry okay?” Knowing that he was in the wrong for doubting Minho, Kibum threw his hands up in surrender and pleaded, “Can you just let this go and pretend that I never said anything?”
“No.” Minho showed no mercy.
“Minho…” Kibum was in the midst of pursing his lips into a pout when Minho stopped him with a glare.
“I hate your aegyo the most so don’t even think that that would work.”
“Alright, fine!” Kibum huffed and immediately reached out to grab Minho’s navy blue shirt as he pulled the rapper forward to press a kiss, hard enough to bruise, directly on Minho’s lips before he asked defiantly, “Will this work then?”
Minho fought back a smile as he controlled his expression, making conscious effort to stay as upset and displeased as he should be. He wasn’t going to let Kibum off just like that.
Looking as indifferent and unaffected as he could, Minho lazily rubbed his lips, seemingly soothing the pain away, as he said, “Maybe…”
Fed up with the way Minho was acting, Kibum gave up and used the only way he knew would have an effect on Minho. “Okay. Let’s go to the bathroom then. And I’ll give you exactly what you want.”
“You make me sound like a pervert.”
“So is that a no then?”
“Well…” Minho knew he was supposed to be angry but with an offer like that, he really couldn’t bring himself to say no.
Kibum looked at the time on the bedside clock and upon realizing that they were scheduled to meet at the hotel lobby in roughly an hour’s time, he turned back to Minho and forced him to make a decision, “I have to take a shower no matter what, so either you join me, or you wait your turn.”
“If you put it that way…”
Tired of his boyfriend’s sudden indecisiveness, Kibum grabbed Minho by the arm, pulling the rapper off the bed together with him, and led them straight to the bathroom.
“I’m going to give you the time of your life so you better forgive and forget, Choi Minho.”
It was the first time he was being manhandled by Kibum but the feeling was neither unpleasant nor unwanted. Especially not when he was pushed into the bathroom and suddenly had Kibum’s hands all over his body, swiftly taking off all his clothes like an expert, and trapping him against the cold wall as Kibum went down on his knees; Minho knew he could get used to this. Maybe it was alright for Kibum to doubt him once in a while… as long as they ended up like this.
(No, not having sex, but happy together, what were you thinking?)
“Damn it, I’m so angry with myself, Kibum, I had so many chances to score but I miskicked each and every shot I had…”
As he heard Minho’s groan for the umpteenth time that night, Kibum adjusted his grip on his phone and smiled, his eyes on the video that was currently paused on his laptop as he found himself naturally replying, “I know.”
“What?” Minho’s confused reply came in an instant.
And so did Kibum’s answer, because he had no wish for Minho to know he had been watching clips of him at Asian Dream Cup even before his boyfriend’s phone call from Shanghai came. “Nothing, you were saying?”
Not suspecting a thing, Minho, who could still feel the adrenaline from the football match coursing through his veins even though he had been back in his hotel room hours ago, let out a sigh, “I just- I wish I played better. I mean I know I can play better than that. I’m good at soccer, you know?”
“Yes, you’re the best among us idols…”
“I screwed up though. I missed so many chances, I feel like strangling myself. But oh my god Kibum, I never thought I'll ever get a chance to play with Park Ji Sung and Patrice Evra… that was crazy! The feeling was amazing, just standing on the same field with all these mad talented soccer players was fantastic, I’m just so happy and-” All of a sudden, Minho stopped himself short and swallowed before he asked, “Bummie?”
“Hmm?”
“I'm boring you, aren't I?”
“Nope.” Kibum wasn’t lying; there wasn’t a need for him to because if Minho was truly boring him, he would have stopped the rapper ages ago.
“Really?” Minho found that hard to believe as he glanced at the time on the bedside clock and relaxed further into the hotel bed, “I just realized I've been talking to you about soccer for the past 15 minutes and yet you didn't even try stopping me. Are you sure you’re not tuning me out?”
Alone in the hotel room that he had all to himself in Saitama, Kibum leaned back against the headboard of his bed and sighed, “Do you think that little of me?”
“I know you too well, Kibum.”
“Well, obviously, not well enough.”
“So you were seriously listening?”
“Mmhmm.”
“Then you must really miss me right now.”
“What?!” Kibum jolted upright and stared at the wall in front of him as if Minho was right there before him, “How on earth did you come up with that conclusion?!”
“There’s no other reason to explain why you would listen to me talk about something you absolutely have no interest in.” Minho laughed and boldly asked, “You miss me, don’t you?”
Kibum rolled his eyes even though Minho couldn’t see him, “You wish.”
Ignoring his boyfriend, Minho pretended he didn’t hear Kibum and went on to tease, “Aww Kibummie, don’t worry, I’ll be back with you tomorrow. Don’t miss me too much alright?”
“You’re an idiot.” Kibum concluded and changed the subject, “What time’s your flight?”
“Sometime in the morning.” Minho answered uninterestedly.
Kibum hummed and nodded, “You better get to sleep then. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, we have rehearsals the whole day tomorrow once you arrive. You need to be in tip top condition.”
“I know… you too, bummie, get some rest.”
“Mmm, I’m already in bed.”
“You are?” There was something suggestive in Minho’s voice that Kibum could almost imagine Minho wriggling his eyebrows at him.
“Don’t even think about it, Choi Minho.”
“And how do you know what I’m thinking, Kim Kibum?”
“Because I know you too well so goodnight.”
“Oh come on!”
“Night, Minho.”
“Fine.” Minho said unhappily but only allowed his childish temper to last for a moment because he still had something important to say before Kibum ended their conversation, “And just so you know Kibum, I miss you too.”
“Wh-”
Turns out, Minho was the one to end their phone call first as he left Kibum with his mouth open and staring at his phone, a defeated smile slowly growing on his face.
“Aish, this idiot.” Kibum thought out loud as he reconnected his phone to the charger and placed it on the bedside table before he closed his laptop and pushed it aside to the empty space beside him on the bed and lied down.
Suddenly, the double bed that he was sleeping on was too big for him. Perhaps he was too used to having Minho with him at night, fighting for the blanket, the extra pillows or just any extra space they could get on the bed just because they had to win each other over everything and anything. Kibum sighed as he wrapped the comforter tighter around his body. It turned out Minho was right. He was indeed missing his boyfriend even though they had only been apart for two days. And it was all Minho’s fault.
It was the rapper who didn’t even hesitate for a single moment to accept the invitation to play at the Asian Dream Cup in Shanghai even though they were supposed to be fully focused on their second Japan Arena Tour. It must have been fate though, since the timing was just right, fitting perfectly into their busy schedules and allowing this little dream of Minho to come true. Kibum knew what it meant to Minho, to not only play at such a highly talked about football match but also to play on the same field as the soccer players who Minho has been watching and admiring from television all his life. Even without watching the clips and fancams of Minho on the field, Kibum knew how excited and thrilled Minho was. He had seen his boyfriend’s excitement from the moment he accepted the invitation right until he was packing his luggage for the trip to Shanghai. And when he did watch them, Kibum found himself questioning if Minho was truly where he was supposed to be.
Minho had said it himself countless of times before; if he wasn’t in Shinee, he would probably be a soccer player. After all, it was his childhood dream. It was a fact Kibum knew from the day he learned more about Minho but it had no effect on him until now. Suddenly, the blonde couldn’t help but ask himself if Minho belonged to Shinee. Because just watching Minho play on the field at the Asian Dream Cup made Kibum feel like Minho should have been a soccer player instead. True, he might have played badly but to Kibum, it still felt as if Minho was finally in his own element, that he was a natural on the field. And that smile, that joy, that passion he saw in Minho was something Kibum hadn’t seen in a while.
It made Kibum wonder if Minho would leave one day just because he realized what Kibum had realized, that he could go on to fulfill his dream of becoming a soccer player. Kibum trusted Minho not to do such a thing though, but he could still let his thoughts wander, couldn’t he? Even just thinking about Minho having that temptation to quit Shinee was more than enough to scare Kibum and suddenly, the blonde found himself shaking his head to rid himself of such unwanted thoughts. Why on earth was he thinking about such things anyway when he was trying to sleep? All these ‘what ifs’ were invalid since the reality was that Minho eventually chose to pursue another dream and was now in shinee. Full stop. End of story. And with that, Kibum forced himself to stop overthinking and finally closed his eyes as he willed himself to sleep, hoping he would never have such doubts again.
*
Sleep didn’t come easy for Kibum that night, especially without Minho by his side, but it did eventually after he had tossed and turned more times than he could count. So when he woke up to his alarm the next morning, Kibum felt as if he didn’t get a good night’s sleep at all. Thank god it wasn’t necessary for him to get out of bed immediately since the day’s schedules would only begin when Minho arrived. For once, the triple threat of Shinee actually had the luxury of time. So instead of joining the rest for breakfast and a quick tour of Saitama after as planned, Kibum reached for his phone and sent out a message to Shinee’s group chat informing the rest of the members as well as their managers that he was going to skip breakfast and sleep a little more.
Jonghyun’s reply that said a simple ‘ok’ arrived the fastest and with that, Kibum was chucking his phone away under the pillow as he closed his eyes and snuggled under the covers on the bed that suddenly felt more comfortable than ever. It was really much easier to doze off when he woke up feeling even more groggy than before and soon, Kibum was fast asleep, not caring at all that he could be using his free time for something more productive. Sleep would probably do him good and get him energized enough to get through practice and rehearsals later on that day anyway.
When Kibum woke up the second time that morning, it wasn’t to his alarm (because he hadn’t bothered to set another one) but it was to someone shaking his shoulders. As a light sleeper, it didn’t take much effort for Kibum to open his eyes and wipe the sleep away as he dragged his hands over his face.
“Alright alright, hyung, I’m awake.” Naturally assuming it was his manager that had entered his room, Kibum groaned out loud while rolling to lie on his back so he could stretch his arms and legs.
“I don’t think you’re awake yet.” Came a different voice that was accompanied with a laugh which Kibum was certainly not expecting but was still extremely familiar with.
In an instant, Kibum turned towards the direction of the voice and stared at the intruder (who technically wasn’t actually intruding since he was ultimately going to become Kibum’s “roommate” for their time in Saitama). “Crap, I slept that long?!”
“That was not what I was expecting…” Minho (who else could it be?) frowned, but only for a split second, because he was smiling to Kibum in the next, “Haven’t had enough sleep?”
“Welcome back to the life of shinee, Mr Number 99 Choi Minho.”
If Kibum was smiling at him or had used a joking tone with him, Minho would have thought nothing of the blonde’s statement. Yet, things weren’t that way in reality. With Kibum sounding so bitter and somewhat sad with an unreadable expression on his face, Minho knew something was up.
“You don’t seem too happy to have me back.”
With Minho looking blankly at him with a mix of confusion and hurt in his eyes, Kibum cursed in his mind, suddenly realizing that he didn’t think before he spoke and started a topic that he had no wish to talk to Minho about. Obviously, he hadn’t been awake enough yet to filter his words.
“Forget that I said anything.” Kibum didn’t want Minho to find out about the thoughts that were bothering him the night before.
“Kibum.”
“I have to get ready.”
Before Kibum could get off the bed, Minho instantly caught hold of his boyfriend’s wrist and stopped him from going anywhere, “You know you can’t just brush me off like that. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong, you’re back, I’m happy, we have a concert to rehearse for so let’s get going.” Kibum forced a smile on his face, hoping that Minho would just drop it.
“Something’s bothering you.” Minho concluded, not interested at all to let Kibum have his way, “If you’re not going to talk to me, you can forget about leaving this room.”
“Why are you so stubborn?”
“I can ask you the very same question, Kibum.”
Kibum shook his head and sighed, “You’re thinking too much. It’s really nothing, alright?”
“All the more you can talk to me about it then.”
“It’s stupid.”
“You call me an idiot all the time so.” Minho shrugged, looking Kibum straight in the eye, and waited for his boyfriend to speak.
It took Kibum a deep breath in and out before he finally decided, rather resentfully, to break his silence.
“Are you happy to be back?” Kibum questioned instead, sounding Minho out first, since he was unwilling to go straight into the issue and reveal his thoughts immediately.
Minho was puzzled, surprised by the sudden question but he didn’t hesitate to reply, “Of course I am. Why are you even asking me this?”
“You seemed happier to be on the field yesterday…” Kibum mumbled as his eyes shifted away from Minho, “So happy that I bet you wished you could play more.”
“Okay…” Eyebrows creased into a frown, Minho pondered out loud as he pieced what Kibum had said together, “So you’re unhappy that I was happy playing soccer yesterday… am I getting this right?”
“No.” Frustrated, Kibum let out an audible sigh and grumbled, “Just let it go okay, Minho… I told you it was stupid.”
“But you’re upset, Kibum, and I want to-” Minho snapped his mouth shut because suddenly, all was clear to him as he looked at Kibum who he could tell was rather embarrassed and uncomfortable even if he kept a straight expression, “Oh.”
It may have took him a little longer this time round to understand Kibum but Minho could still pride himself for his ability to read Kibum like a book. And upon realizing what was troubling Kibum, the rapper smiled uncontrollably at his boyfriend and resisted the urge to squeeze his cheeks like he would to a kid. Knowing that Minho had finally caught on to what he was thinking, Kibum shifted awkwardly in his position and almost wanted to hide under the comforter just so he didn’t have to deal with Minho and the creepy smile he now had plastered on his face.
“You’re cute, bummie.” Minho finally said just when the silence was starting to suffocate Kibum.
Kibum shot a glare at Minho, “Don’t call me-”
Minho pressed a finger on Kibum’s lips to silence the blonde as he let out a breath and said, “Don’t ever doubt me, alright? There’s nowhere else I'd rather be than here with you, with shinee. How could you even have that little faith in me?”
In a move that caught Minho completely off guard, Kibum opened his mouth and playfully bit Minho’s finger, releasing it when his boyfriend hissed in pain. That was enough to make Kibum smirk in satisfaction.
“It’s your fault for looking too happy when you were playing soccer.” Kibum argued childishly.
Minho stared at his finger, inspecting if there were any teeth marks, before he narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend and used the very same finger to tap Kibum’s nose as he scolded, “You would think that after all this time together, you’d know that shinee is my life… yes, I love soccer, Kibum, but I love shinee, I love you, more than anything else in the world.”
“Alright alright, you didn’t have to go all cheesy on me, I’m sorry okay?” Knowing that he was in the wrong for doubting Minho, Kibum threw his hands up in surrender and pleaded, “Can you just let this go and pretend that I never said anything?”
“No.” Minho showed no mercy.
“Minho…” Kibum was in the midst of pursing his lips into a pout when Minho stopped him with a glare.
“I hate your aegyo the most so don’t even think that that would work.”
“Alright, fine!” Kibum huffed and immediately reached out to grab Minho’s navy blue shirt as he pulled the rapper forward to press a kiss, hard enough to bruise, directly on Minho’s lips before he asked defiantly, “Will this work then?”
Minho fought back a smile as he controlled his expression, making conscious effort to stay as upset and displeased as he should be. He wasn’t going to let Kibum off just like that.
Looking as indifferent and unaffected as he could, Minho lazily rubbed his lips, seemingly soothing the pain away, as he said, “Maybe…”
Fed up with the way Minho was acting, Kibum gave up and used the only way he knew would have an effect on Minho. “Okay. Let’s go to the bathroom then. And I’ll give you exactly what you want.”
“You make me sound like a pervert.”
“So is that a no then?”
“Well…” Minho knew he was supposed to be angry but with an offer like that, he really couldn’t bring himself to say no.
Kibum looked at the time on the bedside clock and upon realizing that they were scheduled to meet at the hotel lobby in roughly an hour’s time, he turned back to Minho and forced him to make a decision, “I have to take a shower no matter what, so either you join me, or you wait your turn.”
“If you put it that way…”
Tired of his boyfriend’s sudden indecisiveness, Kibum grabbed Minho by the arm, pulling the rapper off the bed together with him, and led them straight to the bathroom.
“I’m going to give you the time of your life so you better forgive and forget, Choi Minho.”
It was the first time he was being manhandled by Kibum but the feeling was neither unpleasant nor unwanted. Especially not when he was pushed into the bathroom and suddenly had Kibum’s hands all over his body, swiftly taking off all his clothes like an expert, and trapping him against the cold wall as Kibum went down on his knees; Minho knew he could get used to this. Maybe it was alright for Kibum to doubt him once in a while… as long as they ended up like this.
(No, not having sex, but happy together, what were you thinking?)