Fear Less, Love More; Minho/Key
In which Minho and Kibum have to deal with getting caught by Kibum's parents.
Author's Note: can be read as a standalone or in the same verse as Five Steps Closer. i hope you enjoy the read and thank you for taking the time to read this! ^^♥
Date night was not supposed to turn out like this.
Not with Kibum as silent as the dead, holding back his tears that were already threatening to fall and looking completely devoid of life as Minho drove them back home. Truth be told, Minho was doing everything he could not to stop the car and comfort Kibum because he knew all Kibum wanted right now was to hurry home and hide himself from the world in the comfort of his room. Minho hated how his boyfriend dealt with problems but if it made him feel better, he could only let Kibum be.
Especially if the problem was partly Minho’s fault…
Minho didn’t know if he should regret choosing Kibum’s favourite restaurant to dine in. After all, they had been having the time of their lives… right until they met Kibum’s parents. It was one of those rare nights Minho and Kibum had the luxury to treat themselves to a wonderful dinner. The ambience of the restaurant was so lovely that they enjoyed the food and the wine so much more, and were more than ready to end such a perfect night on a good note. They were so happy, so relaxed that for once in their lives, they let their guard down and were leaving the restaurant hand in hand. Yet, they had to pay for their one moment of carelessness when they came face to face with Kibum’s parents who were leaving the restaurant at the same time. Kibum’s parents had been delighted to see them both but when they noticed their interlocked hands, the delight that was clearly visible on their faces had disappeared in a flash. It was only then that Kibum and Minho recovered from their shock, quickly letting go of each other’s hand, but it was already too late.
Like how Minho hadn’t enter Kibum’s room in time before Kibum swiftly shut and locked the door, leaving Minho outside and looking worriedly at the door to Kibum’s room.
“What happened?”
Jinki’s voice travelled from behind and Minho turned around with an expression so troubled that the leader of shinee instantly put down his cup of ramyun, a frown forming on his face.
“What happened, Minho?” Jinki repeated his question, this time more serious than the first.
Minho shook his head, and walked away from Kibum’s room, towards their living room. The moment he dropped himself on the couch, Minho leaned back and let out a huge breath. By then, Jinki had joined him on the couch and was more anxious than ever.
“Is this something I should be worried about?”
Minho shook his head once more but this time, finally broke his silence, “Nothing that would affect shinee, hyung… I don’t think it will… maybe just… Kibum and I.”
“That makes me even more worried.” Jinki sighed, “Kibum locking himself in his room is definitely not good at all... he did lock his room door right?”
Minho nodded, sadness in his eyes, “I can’t do anything, hyung, you know him as well as I do…”
Jinki placed a hand on Minho’s shoulder and squeezed him encouragingly, “Give him time, he’ll have to come out sooner or later.”
“I’m not so sure he would this time round… especially when we don’t have any schedules to attend.”
Jinki cringed, “That bad?”
“Yeah… we got caught.” Minho finally explained as a bitter smile appeared on his face, “By his parents.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t get caught by public… but you get caught by his parents?” Jinki double checked, bewildered at the situation, “How on earth are you two this unlucky?”
The pained look Minho gave as he met Jinki’s eyes was enough for Jinki to leave the questions for another day.
“You both have been through so much already… don’t let this defeat you… or Kibum. I’m not sure how… but I know you both will get through this too.” Jinki patted Minho twice on his shoulder and smiled reassuringly, “I’ll just get back to my soggy ramyun now… just know, if you ever need someone…”
“Thanks hyung… we know, and I’ll make sure we’ll get through this too.” Minho didn’t need Jinki to say anything else for him to understand once more why Jinki was their leader, “And hyung?”
“Yeah?” Jinki replied, all ready to return to his supper, as he stood up from the sofa and turned to look at Minho.
“Cut down on the unhealthy food.”
Jinki huffed, rolling his eyes, as he walked away and mumbled grumpily, “Not everyone has someone special to have a nice dinner with…”
Minho couldn’t help but smile at his endearing leader but upon the mention of someone special, his thoughts returned to Kibum. Minho pulled his phone out of pocket and decided it was best to send Kibum a message first rather than do nothing at all.
I’ll be in my room.
Returning to his room with a heavy heart, Minho knew he could do nothing more but wait until Kibum was ready.
*
Three hours later, Minho realised his patience was being put to the test. He might have been lying in bed the entire time but sleep was the last thing on his mind. In fact, all he could think about was Kibum. He was confident that Kibum would come to him like always, perhaps join him in bed so he could be the listening ear Kibum loved, but as the minutes (hours) went by, Minho got more and more worried. And now, he couldn’t stay still anymore. In the next moment, he was out of bed and striding across the hallway to stand in front of Kibum’s room.
Hand on Kibum’s door knob, Minho took in a deep breath and prayed that it would turn easily. He didn’t want to knock for fear that he would wake Kibum up if his boyfriend managed to fall asleep. So when he turned the knob and the door opened easily, Minho let out a sigh of relief. The lights in Kibum’s room were still on but as he stepped inside and walked closer to Kibum, Minho realised his boyfriend was asleep. Sitting down on the floor right next to where Kibum slept on the lower bunk, Minho felt his heart ache once he noticed the tear tracks on Kibum’s cheeks.
Minho didn’t want to wake Kibum up but he couldn’t hold himself back from reaching out to cup Kibum’s face in his hand.
“Idiot…” Minho mumbled to himself, thinking that Kibum had been so silly to cry this much. His eyes must have been tired from crying; both his mind and body exhausted from what he had gone through that Kibum had naturally fallen asleep.
Just as Minho was stroking Kibum’s cheek softly with his thumb, a hand reached out to hold his own hand in place. Minho gasped, surprised that Kibum was awake. It was then he realised that Kibum hadn’t been asleep at all. True, Kibum was a light sleeper but he still needed time to fully wake himself up. So for him to react this fast, Minho knew Kibum was actually awake the entire time.
“I’m not an idiot.” Kibum muttered, slowly opening his eyes to stare at Minho, “You are.”
Minho found himself smiling as he moved to join Kibum in bed. Scooting backwards to create space for Minho on his bed, Kibum made enough room for his boyfriend to lie down with him as his hands naturally rested against Minho’s chest. At the same time, Minho pulled Kibum gently into his arms, hugging his boyfriend close, and adjusted their bodies so they could both fit nicely in Kibum’s bed. When he met Kibum’s swollen eyes at such a close distance, Minho felt yet another piece of his heart break.
“I look horrid, don’t I?” Kibum smiled bitterly, voice hoarse and soft.
“I can’t look any better.” Minho answered, returning the same smile to Kibum as he pressed a kiss on Kibum’s forehead before asking, “How’re you feeling?”
“As horrid as I look.” Kibum simply replied, burying his head in Minho’s chest and speaking into his shirt, “I don’t know what to do, Minho.”
“I don’t know either… but it’s not something that we can solve overnight, bum…”
“I’ve thought about this a million times, you know?” Kibum looked up and into Minho’s eyes, “About my parents finding out about us… I know- I always knew it’ll be difficult and still, nothing could have prepared me for what happened just now. They didn’t even want to acknowledge us, Minho… they just… walked away and pretended we didn’t exist. How am I even supposed to work things out when they’re like that?”
“Bum, it was too shocking for them… let’s give them some time.” Even though he wasn’t confident, Minho still went ahead to say, “They’ll come around and we’ll talk to them then.”
“What if they never do?” Kibum voiced out Minho’s exact worries, “What if they’ll never accept us? Or me? What if… they’ll never accept me?”
“Your parents love you, Kibum.” Minho said, more certain than before, “They just need time to adjust. Don’t just think about the worst case scenario alright?”
Kibum sighed, nodding reluctantly as he then closed his tired eyes. Minho thought Kibum was going to try to sleep and so he remained silent. As the minutes ticked by, Minho himself decided to close his eyes and try to get some rest as well but what he didn’t expect was for Kibum to suddenly speak again after a long moment.
“I won’t give up on us, Minho.”
Minho opened his eyes and met Kibum's gaze. He found himself unable to reply immediately because of the impact of Kibum’s statement.
“…bum?”
“Just thought you should know...” Kibum smiled as he rolled away from Minho, just enough for him to lie flat on the bed and stare at the bottom of the upper bunk, “Even if my parents won’t accept us, nothing will change between us… unless you… give up on us first?”
“Are you crazy, Kibum?” Minho instantly scolded, unable to control his anger hearing that Kibum still had his uncertainties about him, about their relationship, “Can’t believe you would even think that way… How could you? After all these years? You know me well enough. I would never-”
“I know.”
When Kibum turned to him with a grin, Minho realised he had been tricked.
“Don’t have to be all dramatic, Minho.”
Minho narrowed his eyes at Kibum, “You…”
“Just wanted to see you get all worked up.” Kibum laughed softly, “It’s not fair that I’m the only one crying tonight.”
“Kibum…”
“What?” Kibum raised his chin up defiantly, “Got a problem with me?”
Minho let out a breath and began laughing out loud.
“I love you.”
Kibum raised an eyebrow at his weird boyfriend’s sudden declaration of love.
“Are you alright, baby?”
“I am…” Minho’s laughter died down and he turned to look face to face with Kibum, “I will be, as long as you’re here.”
“Yeah… you’re alright. Still as idiotic as ever.” Kibum rolled his eyes, “Don’t know why I even love you…”
Minho smiled. Why wouldn’t he when he obviously knew that was Kibum’s way of saying he loved him too? Sometimes, he really didn’t understand how a straightforward person like Kibum couldn’t just say those three words to him as it is.
“Hey Kibum?”
“What?”
“Thank you.”
“For?”
“For fighting for us.”
“Wh-”
“And for not giving up no matter how tough you know it’s going to be.”
With Minho looking at him so seriously, so sincerely, Kibum found himself becoming as serious as his boyfriend. He let out a breath and reached out to touch Minho’s face as he stared into his eyes with a warm smile.
“You’re worth it.”
One sentence was more than enough for Minho to break into the most genuine smile Kibum had ever seen. It made Kibum’s heart so full that he himself couldn’t handle the sudden shift in the atmosphere and the next thing he knew, Kibum had pushed Minho’s face away and quickly flipped his body so his back was now facing Minho.
“Don’t make me regret this.” Kibum said as he closed his eyes and prepared to sleep, “Now go back to your room and off the lights on your way out, I need to sleep.”
Although he knew Kibum was feeling embarrassed about his heartfelt confession, Minho decided not to tease him as he kept quiet and did what he was told. As Kibum settled into a comfortable position, Minho got off the bed and switched off the lights. But instead of going back to his room, he joined Kibum back in bed and pulled his boyfriend back into his arms.
With a pair of arms suddenly circling his waist, Kibum gasped and looked back, “I thought I told you to-”
“Good night, Kibummie.” Minho cut his boyfriend off and buried his nose in the crook of Kibum's neck, "Sleep well."
“I hate you.”
Although Kibum's mouth said one thing, his body did another as he relaxed into Minho's comforting warmth and closed his eyes.
Minho kissed Kibum on his shoulder and replied, “Me too.”
It was one hell of a rough night but they ended up smiling themselves to sleep.
Everything was going to be okay... as long as they had each other.
Author's Note: can be read as a standalone or in the same verse as Five Steps Closer. i hope you enjoy the read and thank you for taking the time to read this! ^^♥
Date night was not supposed to turn out like this.
Not with Kibum as silent as the dead, holding back his tears that were already threatening to fall and looking completely devoid of life as Minho drove them back home. Truth be told, Minho was doing everything he could not to stop the car and comfort Kibum because he knew all Kibum wanted right now was to hurry home and hide himself from the world in the comfort of his room. Minho hated how his boyfriend dealt with problems but if it made him feel better, he could only let Kibum be.
Especially if the problem was partly Minho’s fault…
Minho didn’t know if he should regret choosing Kibum’s favourite restaurant to dine in. After all, they had been having the time of their lives… right until they met Kibum’s parents. It was one of those rare nights Minho and Kibum had the luxury to treat themselves to a wonderful dinner. The ambience of the restaurant was so lovely that they enjoyed the food and the wine so much more, and were more than ready to end such a perfect night on a good note. They were so happy, so relaxed that for once in their lives, they let their guard down and were leaving the restaurant hand in hand. Yet, they had to pay for their one moment of carelessness when they came face to face with Kibum’s parents who were leaving the restaurant at the same time. Kibum’s parents had been delighted to see them both but when they noticed their interlocked hands, the delight that was clearly visible on their faces had disappeared in a flash. It was only then that Kibum and Minho recovered from their shock, quickly letting go of each other’s hand, but it was already too late.
Like how Minho hadn’t enter Kibum’s room in time before Kibum swiftly shut and locked the door, leaving Minho outside and looking worriedly at the door to Kibum’s room.
“What happened?”
Jinki’s voice travelled from behind and Minho turned around with an expression so troubled that the leader of shinee instantly put down his cup of ramyun, a frown forming on his face.
“What happened, Minho?” Jinki repeated his question, this time more serious than the first.
Minho shook his head, and walked away from Kibum’s room, towards their living room. The moment he dropped himself on the couch, Minho leaned back and let out a huge breath. By then, Jinki had joined him on the couch and was more anxious than ever.
“Is this something I should be worried about?”
Minho shook his head once more but this time, finally broke his silence, “Nothing that would affect shinee, hyung… I don’t think it will… maybe just… Kibum and I.”
“That makes me even more worried.” Jinki sighed, “Kibum locking himself in his room is definitely not good at all... he did lock his room door right?”
Minho nodded, sadness in his eyes, “I can’t do anything, hyung, you know him as well as I do…”
Jinki placed a hand on Minho’s shoulder and squeezed him encouragingly, “Give him time, he’ll have to come out sooner or later.”
“I’m not so sure he would this time round… especially when we don’t have any schedules to attend.”
Jinki cringed, “That bad?”
“Yeah… we got caught.” Minho finally explained as a bitter smile appeared on his face, “By his parents.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t get caught by public… but you get caught by his parents?” Jinki double checked, bewildered at the situation, “How on earth are you two this unlucky?”
The pained look Minho gave as he met Jinki’s eyes was enough for Jinki to leave the questions for another day.
“You both have been through so much already… don’t let this defeat you… or Kibum. I’m not sure how… but I know you both will get through this too.” Jinki patted Minho twice on his shoulder and smiled reassuringly, “I’ll just get back to my soggy ramyun now… just know, if you ever need someone…”
“Thanks hyung… we know, and I’ll make sure we’ll get through this too.” Minho didn’t need Jinki to say anything else for him to understand once more why Jinki was their leader, “And hyung?”
“Yeah?” Jinki replied, all ready to return to his supper, as he stood up from the sofa and turned to look at Minho.
“Cut down on the unhealthy food.”
Jinki huffed, rolling his eyes, as he walked away and mumbled grumpily, “Not everyone has someone special to have a nice dinner with…”
Minho couldn’t help but smile at his endearing leader but upon the mention of someone special, his thoughts returned to Kibum. Minho pulled his phone out of pocket and decided it was best to send Kibum a message first rather than do nothing at all.
I’ll be in my room.
Returning to his room with a heavy heart, Minho knew he could do nothing more but wait until Kibum was ready.
*
Three hours later, Minho realised his patience was being put to the test. He might have been lying in bed the entire time but sleep was the last thing on his mind. In fact, all he could think about was Kibum. He was confident that Kibum would come to him like always, perhaps join him in bed so he could be the listening ear Kibum loved, but as the minutes (hours) went by, Minho got more and more worried. And now, he couldn’t stay still anymore. In the next moment, he was out of bed and striding across the hallway to stand in front of Kibum’s room.
Hand on Kibum’s door knob, Minho took in a deep breath and prayed that it would turn easily. He didn’t want to knock for fear that he would wake Kibum up if his boyfriend managed to fall asleep. So when he turned the knob and the door opened easily, Minho let out a sigh of relief. The lights in Kibum’s room were still on but as he stepped inside and walked closer to Kibum, Minho realised his boyfriend was asleep. Sitting down on the floor right next to where Kibum slept on the lower bunk, Minho felt his heart ache once he noticed the tear tracks on Kibum’s cheeks.
Minho didn’t want to wake Kibum up but he couldn’t hold himself back from reaching out to cup Kibum’s face in his hand.
“Idiot…” Minho mumbled to himself, thinking that Kibum had been so silly to cry this much. His eyes must have been tired from crying; both his mind and body exhausted from what he had gone through that Kibum had naturally fallen asleep.
Just as Minho was stroking Kibum’s cheek softly with his thumb, a hand reached out to hold his own hand in place. Minho gasped, surprised that Kibum was awake. It was then he realised that Kibum hadn’t been asleep at all. True, Kibum was a light sleeper but he still needed time to fully wake himself up. So for him to react this fast, Minho knew Kibum was actually awake the entire time.
“I’m not an idiot.” Kibum muttered, slowly opening his eyes to stare at Minho, “You are.”
Minho found himself smiling as he moved to join Kibum in bed. Scooting backwards to create space for Minho on his bed, Kibum made enough room for his boyfriend to lie down with him as his hands naturally rested against Minho’s chest. At the same time, Minho pulled Kibum gently into his arms, hugging his boyfriend close, and adjusted their bodies so they could both fit nicely in Kibum’s bed. When he met Kibum’s swollen eyes at such a close distance, Minho felt yet another piece of his heart break.
“I look horrid, don’t I?” Kibum smiled bitterly, voice hoarse and soft.
“I can’t look any better.” Minho answered, returning the same smile to Kibum as he pressed a kiss on Kibum’s forehead before asking, “How’re you feeling?”
“As horrid as I look.” Kibum simply replied, burying his head in Minho’s chest and speaking into his shirt, “I don’t know what to do, Minho.”
“I don’t know either… but it’s not something that we can solve overnight, bum…”
“I’ve thought about this a million times, you know?” Kibum looked up and into Minho’s eyes, “About my parents finding out about us… I know- I always knew it’ll be difficult and still, nothing could have prepared me for what happened just now. They didn’t even want to acknowledge us, Minho… they just… walked away and pretended we didn’t exist. How am I even supposed to work things out when they’re like that?”
“Bum, it was too shocking for them… let’s give them some time.” Even though he wasn’t confident, Minho still went ahead to say, “They’ll come around and we’ll talk to them then.”
“What if they never do?” Kibum voiced out Minho’s exact worries, “What if they’ll never accept us? Or me? What if… they’ll never accept me?”
“Your parents love you, Kibum.” Minho said, more certain than before, “They just need time to adjust. Don’t just think about the worst case scenario alright?”
Kibum sighed, nodding reluctantly as he then closed his tired eyes. Minho thought Kibum was going to try to sleep and so he remained silent. As the minutes ticked by, Minho himself decided to close his eyes and try to get some rest as well but what he didn’t expect was for Kibum to suddenly speak again after a long moment.
“I won’t give up on us, Minho.”
Minho opened his eyes and met Kibum's gaze. He found himself unable to reply immediately because of the impact of Kibum’s statement.
“…bum?”
“Just thought you should know...” Kibum smiled as he rolled away from Minho, just enough for him to lie flat on the bed and stare at the bottom of the upper bunk, “Even if my parents won’t accept us, nothing will change between us… unless you… give up on us first?”
“Are you crazy, Kibum?” Minho instantly scolded, unable to control his anger hearing that Kibum still had his uncertainties about him, about their relationship, “Can’t believe you would even think that way… How could you? After all these years? You know me well enough. I would never-”
“I know.”
When Kibum turned to him with a grin, Minho realised he had been tricked.
“Don’t have to be all dramatic, Minho.”
Minho narrowed his eyes at Kibum, “You…”
“Just wanted to see you get all worked up.” Kibum laughed softly, “It’s not fair that I’m the only one crying tonight.”
“Kibum…”
“What?” Kibum raised his chin up defiantly, “Got a problem with me?”
Minho let out a breath and began laughing out loud.
“I love you.”
Kibum raised an eyebrow at his weird boyfriend’s sudden declaration of love.
“Are you alright, baby?”
“I am…” Minho’s laughter died down and he turned to look face to face with Kibum, “I will be, as long as you’re here.”
“Yeah… you’re alright. Still as idiotic as ever.” Kibum rolled his eyes, “Don’t know why I even love you…”
Minho smiled. Why wouldn’t he when he obviously knew that was Kibum’s way of saying he loved him too? Sometimes, he really didn’t understand how a straightforward person like Kibum couldn’t just say those three words to him as it is.
“Hey Kibum?”
“What?”
“Thank you.”
“For?”
“For fighting for us.”
“Wh-”
“And for not giving up no matter how tough you know it’s going to be.”
With Minho looking at him so seriously, so sincerely, Kibum found himself becoming as serious as his boyfriend. He let out a breath and reached out to touch Minho’s face as he stared into his eyes with a warm smile.
“You’re worth it.”
One sentence was more than enough for Minho to break into the most genuine smile Kibum had ever seen. It made Kibum’s heart so full that he himself couldn’t handle the sudden shift in the atmosphere and the next thing he knew, Kibum had pushed Minho’s face away and quickly flipped his body so his back was now facing Minho.
“Don’t make me regret this.” Kibum said as he closed his eyes and prepared to sleep, “Now go back to your room and off the lights on your way out, I need to sleep.”
Although he knew Kibum was feeling embarrassed about his heartfelt confession, Minho decided not to tease him as he kept quiet and did what he was told. As Kibum settled into a comfortable position, Minho got off the bed and switched off the lights. But instead of going back to his room, he joined Kibum back in bed and pulled his boyfriend back into his arms.
With a pair of arms suddenly circling his waist, Kibum gasped and looked back, “I thought I told you to-”
“Good night, Kibummie.” Minho cut his boyfriend off and buried his nose in the crook of Kibum's neck, "Sleep well."
“I hate you.”
Although Kibum's mouth said one thing, his body did another as he relaxed into Minho's comforting warmth and closed his eyes.
Minho kissed Kibum on his shoulder and replied, “Me too.”
It was one hell of a rough night but they ended up smiling themselves to sleep.
Everything was going to be okay... as long as they had each other.