A Chance At Long Distance; Minho/Key
The New Year arrives and Kibum & Minho get a chance at a long distance relationship...
Well, that is only if you consider Daegu and Incheon as long distance.
Author's Note: happy new year, dear readers! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖° here's a oneshot to hopefully get 2014 off to a good start. thank you for finding your way here and i hope it'll be a good read! ^▽^
It was the first morning of the New Year and the dorm was a little too quiet for Kibum’s liking. There was nothing odd about this though since all five of them had waited long enough for this holiday to arrive - three full days of holiday where they could all return home and spend time with their family. Since their houses were near to the dorm, Jonghyun and Taemin had wasted no time in going back to their own homes after their schedule at MBC ended. Jinki had returned to the dorm with them but only to grab some necessities and he was out of the dorm in no time, all ready for the drive back home. By the wee hours of the morning, it was just Minho and Kibum left in the dorm. Both of them had only caught about 3 hours of sleep before their alarms went off. Kibum had booked the ticket for the earliest train out of Seoul to head back to Daegu while Minho offered to drive Kibum to Seoul Station before he made his way back to his own home in Incheon.
At 4.50am, Kibum was just about ready to leave. He was sliding his laptop into its sleeve when there was a knock on his door.
“Ready?”
Without even needing to look up to know who it was, Kibum nodded and mumbled a yes as he stuffed his laptop into his bag and grabbed his phone off his desk. When he was about to carry his bag, a hand appeared from behind to take his bag for him. Although thankful, Kibum turned around and raised an eyebrow in question.
“You look tired.” Minho simply replied with a small smile and began walking out of Kibum’s room, “Did you get a good sleep?”
Dragging his feet on the ground as he followed behind his boyfriend, Kibum answered with a yawn, “Not really.”
“Then you better sleep on the train ride back home.”
“Yeah.” Kibum said as he wore his shoes and then asked, “You look like you slept well?”
“Bummie, if I looked like you, it wouldn’t be the safest idea for me to drive…”
“True…” Kibum absently replied.
“Alright, come on.” Chuckling to himself, Minho placed his hand on the small of Kibum’s back as he urged his sleepy boyfriend out of the dorm and towards the lift, “Catch forty winks in the car alright? I’ll wake you up when we reach.”
♡
Even though Kibum did nod when Minho was nagging at him, he didn’t fall asleep in the car. Instead, he spent the entire car ride staring at his boyfriend. The roads were rather empty with hardly any traffic around in the early morning. So upon realising that they would reach the train station faster than the usual 20 minutes needed, he determinedly tapped Minho on his forearm when they finally stopped at a red light.
“Hmm?” Minho diverted just enough attention to Kibum, puzzled at what he was asking for.
Staying silent, Kibum placed his hand on Minho’s thigh, palm up, making it obvious that he wanted Minho to hold his hand.
Minho smiled and took one hand off the steering wheel to give in to his boyfriend’s request. Rare were the times Kibum was this affectionate with him so he would be an utter fool if he were to reject. Besides, Minho was confident in driving with one hand.
Looking at their intertwined hands, Kibum couldn’t help but smile. Even though leaning on the passenger seat with his body facing Minho wasn’t the most comfortable position to be in, he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Excited to go back home?” Minho started a conversation with a similar smile on his face.
“A little... I guess.” Kibum replied, “I just met up with my mum a week ago so it’s more of seeing Halmeoni that I’m excited about.”
Minho hummed in understanding, “Send my regards to her and your parents… or maybe just call me when you reach and put me on speaker.”
Kibum laughed, “Sure… and maybe I can do that for your family too…”
“Sounds like a good idea.” Minho squeezed Kibum’s hand, “Do you think any of them will realise we’re more than just friends?”
Kibum shrugged, “I know you put in special effort to greet my family, Minho, but all of us are already as close as family so I don’t think they suspect a thing.”
“Should I be happy that we have such a perfect cover up?” Minho asked jokingly.
“Of course!” Kibum was serious though, “It’s probably for the best.”
Kibum’s smile turned bittersweet. Even though Minho couldn’t see it, he could hear it in Kibum’s voice and so he lifted Kibum’s hand and kissed it lightly. They remained silent for the rest of the car ride, which wasn’t too long or unbearable since they had reached Seoul station in the next few minutes. Minho parked the car at the drop off point and then leaned forward to give Kibum a quick hug.
“Call me when you reach alright?”
Returning the hug, Kibum spoke into Minho’s cardigan, “You’ll be reaching home earlier than me so text me first so I know you’re safe.”
“Are you going to miss me?” Minho couldn’t help but ask when he released Kibum from his arms.
“Don’t ask stupid questions.” Kibum rolled his eyes as he pulled his bag to the front, “Drive carefully okay! I’ll see you when we get back.”
Minho nodded, “Stay warm, bummie.”
“You too.” Kibum waved a goodbye and was finally out of the car. He slammed the door shut and winked teasingly at Minho before he walked into the train station without looking back.
Minho sighed as he reluctantly drove out of Seoul station. How could he be missing his boyfriend already? Suddenly, he didn’t know why he had been looking forward to this holiday. Now, Minho only wished the next three days would go by in a flash.
♡
When Kibum woke up from his nap on the train and checked his phone, he found himself smiling helplessly at the messages from his boyfriend. In the next moment, his fingers got to work.
With that, Kibum made it a point not to look at his conversation with Minho. What was the point of going back home to spend the holiday with his family if he were to be so engrossed in chatting with Minho the entire time? Besides, the train was about to reach Daegu very soon and Kibum reminded himself that his family was his priority right now.
♡
It turned out that Kibum couldn’t get his priorities right. He had managed to last a grand total of 15 hours before he gave in to temptation and opened his chat with Minho. Catching up with his parents and grandmother over home cooked food had been everything Kibum wanted his holiday. Still, Kibum blamed his family for being early sleepers because the whole house was quiet by 10pm and he was left by himself with nothing better to do than play with his phone on his bed.
You could suggest that Kibum could catch up with his friends in Daegu but the reality was that Kibum didn’t have much, or actually, any friends from his hometown that he was still in contact with. Growing up, he spent more time in Seoul than Daegu and when shinee debuted, he could even count the number of times (it was pathetic) he stayed in Daegu. Even friends who he had that came from Daegu were friends he met in Seoul. So his family was probably his only motivation to return home. After all, a major part of his life was built in Seoul… and this included the person who Kibum had just realized left him only 4 messages to read.
Obviously, Kibum expected more. He didn’t think Minho would give up that easily. But he did; and a little part of Kibum was disappointed. Still, he was thoroughly entertained with his boyfriend’s antics to play the poor, neglected boyfriend. Kibum found it kinda cute anyway, how possessive Minho could get over him. It might seem that Minho loved him more in their relationship but they both knew that wasn’t the case. After all, it was Kibum who was the first to realise he couldn’t do without Minho in his life. That wasn’t to say Kibum loved Minho more; they just didn’t feel the need to compare their love for each other. What mattered the most was that, in a world where single souls searched for their significant other, they found each other.
Kibum missed Minho. There was no doubt about it. Yet, Kibum didn’t expect to miss his boyfriend that much in only one night. He was tempted to send a message to Minho but knowing that it would just be defeating the purpose, he resisted the urge to do so and threw his phone aside. As he closed his eyes to sleep, Kibum promised himself that these three days were just going to be for his family. No shinee, no friends, especially no boyfriend, just family.
♡
The second day of the New Year saw his parents returning back to work so Kibum spent the entire day with his grandmother. After savouring his grandmother’s special galbitang with rice for breakfast, Kibum then accompanied her on a short walk around the neighborhood. At the same time, his grandmother ran some household errands so Kibum was there to help her. When they got back to the house in the early afternoon, Kibum spent some time in his room, browsing the internet, sorting out stuff and doing some early spring cleaning. There wasn’t much to do after a while and so he wandered into the living room where he found his grandmother on a drama marathon.
Kibum honestly didn’t understand why his grandmother was such an avid fan of these dramas. But since he had the luxury of time, he decided to join her on the sofa and find out for himself. Two episodes later, Kibum sort of understood why. As much as the plot for every Korean drama was roughly the same, this particular drama that his grandmother was hooked on had both compelling characters and a witty script. Kibum found himself wanting to watch the next episode but his grandmother had suddenly paused the dvd to talk to him.
“Kibum ah…” His grandmother tapped his thigh and looked at Kibum with a proud smile, “Do you know why I’m only watching this now?”
“Why?” Kibum was confused, having no clue what his grandmother was trying to say.
“It’s because I watched Medical Top Team first.” His grandmother replied, her excitement so obvious that it was almost contagious, “You know, especially for Minho!”
For a moment or two, Kibum didn’t know how to react. However, when his grandmother began blabbering on and on about how much Minho’s acting had improved, he found himself listening intently and smiling along with the elderly woman.
“You have to tell Minho that he did well!” His grandmother emphasized, “The boy should know that he acted so well… did you watch it, Kibum? Did you boys encourage him?”
Kibum almost didn’t have the heart to tell his grandmother that he did none of the above but his straightforward character wouldn’t allow that to happen.
“No, Halmeoni… I didn’t. We didn’t have time to-”
Kibum wasn’t able to complete his sentence and explain himself because a hand slapped him on the back of his head. He let out a groan and rubbed the back of his head as he pouted at his grandmother.
“He’s your group member! How could you not support him?!”
“But you haven’t like any of our title songs ever since noona neomu yeppeo, Halmeoni!”
“That's because they’re all so noisy!” His grandmother objected, “But you see, at least I still listen to them once… and I like your slow, soothing songs, Kibummie… I still support you.”
“Okay okay, fine.” Kibum found himself defeated by the woman who brought him up as he huffed, “I’ll watch Minho’s drama once.”
“No, that’s not-”
“AND I will make sure I tell him what you said plus encourage him too okay?”
Kibum’s grandmother nodded in satisfaction and patted Kibum’s head softly.
“I can’t believe Choi Minho can get me into trouble when he’s not even here.” Kibum mumbled to himself, silently remembering to smack Minho once when he returned to the dorm.
“What did you say?” His grandmother asked.
“Nothing…”
His grandmother decided to let him go and went on to say with a sigh, “I haven’t seen Minho in so long… I should meet him personally one day to talk to him myself. He’s so handsome, and talented, I’m so proud of him…”
“Halmeoni!” Kibum groaned and complained, “Your grandson is right here and you’re not even saying anything to me…”
“Omo, what are you saying, Kibum ah?” His grandmother looked at him with a shocked expression, “Minho is family too! He’s practically my grandson already!”
Although Kibum couldn’t deny he felt a tad jealous when he heard his grandmother’s words, it was at that moment in time when Kibum realized something more important that he couldn’t deny. And it was that which made Kibum leave Daegu the morning after and return back to Seoul a day earlier.
♡
Sometimes, Kibum hated how impulsive he was. That was the exact reason why he was scolding himself the entire ride back to their dorm. The train ride itself was long and gave him enough time to calm down and think rationally. And when it hit him how impulsive he was to leave Daegu a day earlier and return back to what he knew was going to be an empty dorm in Seoul, he couldn’t believe how stupid he actually was. His mood was absolutely horrid. It didn’t help that he had no outlet to vent his frustration. There was just no one he was willing to talk to because he had no wish to share his stupidity with his friends especially the other three members. He couldn’t even talk to Minho, even though he was the best option, because Kibum knew what his sweet boyfriend would do once he heard Kibum was back in the dorm. With no one to talk to, everything was pent up inside and Kibum just felt like he was about to lose his mind the entire two and a half hour journey back to Seoul.
By the time Kibum finally reached the door of their dorm, he was more exhausted than anything. He couldn’t even find it in him to be angry, annoyed or frustrated anymore. Kibum decided it was best to sleep on it and hopefully, when he woke up, he wouldn’t feel like it was such a bad decision to come back to the dorm earlier.
Except Kibum didn’t have to wait until then.
Because when he opened the door to their dorm and instantly saw that the lights were on in his favourite room, Kibum walked straight there and found the reason why he decided to return to Seoul earlier lying in bed with a book.
“Bum?!”
Minho had immediately looked up once he heard noise and that was all he could say. In the next second, Kibum had dropped his bag on the floor and came towards Minho, giving him no time to react when he unexpectedly plonked himself on top of his body.
“Oomph!” Minho let out a strangled noise as he suddenly found himself with an armful of his favourite person. “Bum…??”
Removing the book that was squashed between their bodies and throwing it onto the floor, Kibum rolled off Minho and forced his boyfriend to make space for him on the bed before he snuggled comfortably into Minho’s warmth.
“You’re home.” Kibum said with a blissful sigh, “I can’t believe you’re home.”
“You’re home early too… and not that I don’t like it but being a little too friendly… did you miss me that much?” Minho laughed as he tightened his hug around his compliant boyfriend.
“No… I just realised that I should be spending the holidays with you too.”
Minho raised an eyebrow, “Don’t you already get enough of me on a daily basis?”
“That’s different… you’re Choi Minho of SHINee then.” Kibum replied, resisting the urge to close his eyes because of how comfortable it was, “I hardly get to spend time with Choi Minho, my boyfriend… and well, you are family so it’s only right I get to spend this holiday with you too.”
Minho smirked, “Just admit it, you missed me!”
“Yeah, I missed you... happy?” Kibum rolled his eyes and punched Minho on his side.
“Absolutely.” Minho grinned, pressing a kiss lightly onto Kibum’s nose, “And I’m glad we think the same, bummie.”
“Huh?”
“When I was in Incheon, it just felt like something wasn’t right and I was so distracted at home, I knew I had to come back here and wait for you to come home.”
“Home…”
“Yeah.”
Minho and Kibum smiled at each other, both knowing they were thinking the exact same thing. Home was wherever the other would be.
It was moments like this that Kibum reminded himself how lucky he was to have Minho in his life. He lifted his hand and gently placed it against the side of Minho’s face, his thumb stroking Minho’s cheek lovingly. Tilting Minho’s face gently to the perfect angle, Kibum slowly grazed his lips from Minho’s jawline, covering every inch of his boyfriend’s skin with tiny kisses before finally connecting their lips in that long awaited kiss.
How long had it been since he could kiss Minho like this? Slow, unhurried, without holding back one bit, not having to worry about anything, as if they had all the time in the world and nothing was going to get in their way. Kibum couldn’t love this feeling more; he particularly loved having Minho’s undivided attention as his boyfriend took control and kissed him long and deep, and just the way he liked it. Kibum always found it hard to breathe when Minho traced his lower lip with his tongue and when he went a step further to suck on Kibum’s upper and then lower lip with his own lips, Kibum would almost always be at Minho’s mercy.
It was as if Minho was out to make him breathless today. And to save his own life, Kibum pulled away from Minho’s lips and urged his boyfriend to work his magic on his neck instead. With his lips unoccupied, Kibum laughed breathlessly while he tangled his fingers in Minho’s glorious red hair.
“You know what, baby…”
“Hmm?”
“I think we’ll fail horribly at long distance relationships.”
At that, Minho gave Kibum’s shoulder a hard suck as a way of punishing his boyfriend for even thinking about it before he looked up and said, “Don’t worry, we’ll never have to do that… I promise you.”
Kibum nodded distractedly as he tugged on Minho’s shirt and inched it upwards, “Hey Minho?”
“Yeah?”
“We have the whole house to ourselves…”
“So what do you want us to do?”
“I don’t know… what do you think we should do?”
Minho looked at Kibum for a moment before they both shared a mischievous smile with each other.
It was time to wreak havoc.
An hour later, the 91 line of SHINee managed to get back whatever that was rightfully theirs (and some that weren’t theirs but they wanted to borrow) from the other rooms in the dorm. It was the best fun they had in ages.