So Maybe
Title: So maybe
Author: jaaycakes
Rating: PG
Pairing: Jongho
Genre: Fluff? Romance
Summary: So maybe all he ever wanted for Christmas was a puppy. And maybe it was finally time his Christmas wish came true.
a/n: Idek what this is anymore, lulz D: It’s kinda long (well, longer than I usually write), and it’s semi-plotless. It’s a simple love story, and it’s just idek anymore. I hope it’s not too boring and I hope you still enjoy <3 Merry Christmas!
-
So maybe all he ever wanted for Christmas was a puppy. Ever since he was a little kid, that was all he had ever asked for. But he never received his Christmas wish, and he began to doubt the existence of the so-called Santa Clause. Because he knew quite well that he was a good boy year and year after.
Not once did Choi Minho ever talk back to his parents, even though he sometimes wanted to. Not once did Choi Minho’s grade slip below his parents requirements, even though he tired himself out working hard for those grades. Not once did Choi Minho ever complain when his parents came home late at night, even though it left him having to care for himself. Not once did he ever complain that he didn’t have nice clothes or toys or school supplies or electronics as his classmates did, even though it left him out of the loop and made him the center of ridicule. Not once did he do such things in his innocent years, all because he just wanted one puppy to name and call his own. But not once did he ever receive one.
And then finally, at an earlier age than most, he didn’t believe in Santa Clause. He didn’t write him lists, and he didn’t have the same Christmas spirit he once bursted with. Yet he still, deep down, wanted a puppy to call his own. Even as he grew into a teenager, he found himself subconsciously wanting a puppy whenever he saw one at the park, going for a walk with it’s owner.
But it wasn’t as bad as before, when he was younger. Because even when he got a job and earned enough money to be selfish and buy a puppy for himself, he didn’t. He had to take care of himself and his parents, even though they didn’t raise him too well themselves - he was never the one to hold such a grudge, especially when it came to his now-helpless parents. And that was why he hesitated when it came to moving out and living his own life out in Seoul.
Anger, resentment, tears, yells, and even louder yells filled the living room the day Minho announced to his parents that he was leaving them to go to Seoul. He had been accepted to a university there, and he had always dreamed of moving to the city, making this the perfect opportunity for him. But apparently, his parents didn’t think so.
“Yah, what happened to the college that accepted you here? That’s a perfectly fine college as well! You don’t need to move to some fancy city to get a better education! How can you leave us! You need to stay here!” His dad was the only one arguing (more like yelling and demanding) against it, while his mother was crying hysterically against his dad’s chest. All Minho could do was sigh and turn away from the sight, it would only guilt-trip him to stay, and he knew that would be the worst decision of his life.
“How could I leave you? What about you two? You were never there for me, and when I was capable and you weren’t, I was here for both of you, but now I think it’s time I live for myself.” Although Minho didn’t necessarily hold a grudge over his parents, the fact that they were never there for him still hurt him deep inside, and that was the first time he had ever admitted it (and talked back to his parents).
The sudden, soft-spoken words seemed to have acted as piercing arrows, because his dad became speechless, his mom stopped sobbing and looked up at her son with disbelief, and an awkward silence settled within the room.
“What did you say? We weren’t there for you? Do you know how much extra money we spent just to make sure you had clothes on your back and food for you to live on and not to mention a house to live under?” His dads voice wasn’t loud and deafening anymore, it was cold and threatening, and Minho could easily sense the hurt he had caused. Yet he didn’t regret saying what had been hidden deep inside of his thoughts since long ago. It deserved to be out in the open, even if it did result in situations like this.
“Get out” Were the first two words Minho heard his mother say since the moment he shared the news. And those two were the most hurtful of all, but Minho didn’t expect less, and all he did in reply was simply nod and venture out into the cold air. With a sigh and a twist of his car keys in his hands, Minho entered his car (which already held his luggage that he had packed and loaded earlier) and left the small town.
He was almost certain that he would never come back to that town ever again. Seoul was his new destination, and the beginning of his new life.
-
So maybe all he wanted that Christmas season was someone to spend it with. Ever since he had left his parents (never to hear another word from the pair), he had entered the university and lived alone in his condo. Since then, he had been quite the loner, given the few friends he had made that invited him to hang out every once in a while. But still, he wasn’t close enough to any of them to fill in his lonely weekends or days off school and work. It was lonely, he was lonely, and the upcoming holiday season just didn’t feel the same. Was someone to spend it with too much to ask for?
Maybe it wasn’t, because the moment Choi Minho realized he no longer had enough money to keep up with paying his rent, he had immediately thought of a situation. A roommate. Minho didn’t have to think twice about his, what he considered a, brilliant solution. Within an hour or two, he had printed out more than enough advertisements, and had posted them up in every area he figured was safe - after all, he didn’t want some creep in the streets picking up his flyer and becoming his future roommate.
Once he returned home, a grin played on his lips, excited to check his email or wait for someone to call his cell phone. But of course, as the hours passed on by, not a single email or a single call reached him, leaving Minho to sulk all by himself on his couch, wrapped in a blanket while eating junk food after junk food. Little did he know, though, that he was too expectant to receive interest so fast, because not even a week later, he received a promising e-mail.
Choi Minho,
I saw your roommate advertisement, and I’m interested in possibly becoming your new roommate. We can go over the little details when I come over to meet you and check the place out. So when would be the best time for us to meet up at the condo? I hope the offer still stands, thanks.
Kim Jonghyun
It hadn’t said much, but it was enough to excite Minho, who immediately replied with no hesitation.
Kim Jonghyun,
Yes, the offer still stands, and I’m happy that you’re interested. As for meeting, any day is fine with me, so this all depends on your schedule. How about tomorrow (12/2) at two in the afternoon? Or whenever else you’re available, feel free to drop by to the following address, as long as it isn’t Tuesday or Thursday. Otherwise, you can come any time you want. Hope to meet you soon!
Choi Minho
He didn’t want to sound too eager, and in fact he had hit the backspace button one too many times before he came up with that somewhat calm email. Still, he couldn’t help but look desperate, he needed someone to help pay the upcoming rent soon, and he was just sick and tired of being alone. So he awaited a reply, or a doorbell, or a knock. Anything to help better his lonely mood.
And before he knew it, a doorbell came to him just hours after he had sent his reply. In all honesty, Minho wasn’t expecting the man to come so soon, but the initial shock turned into joy as he opened to door, inviting not only his possible-new roommate, but the cold, crisp air of winter as well.
“Kim Jonghyun?” Minho questioned, cautiously flashing the shorter man a small smile. Inwardly, he had hoped that the man would answer yes (and he pretty much expected it, because who else would come to his door?), because the shorter male looked close to his own age, and fun to hang out with (and not to mention amazingly good-looking in Minho’s opinion).
The male dressed in a red plaid jacket layered over a navy blue t-shirt and black skinny jeans just nodded, offering Minho a bright smile, “Ne, that’s me.”
Looking over Jonghyun’s appearance, Minho looked down at himself, realizing that he wasn’t looking quite as presentable, in his black sweat pants and white v-neck, and immediately he felt a bit embarrassed. Not so great of a first impression. Jonghyun seemed to notice his worries, though, and instantly assured Minho that he looked fine, and in fact, he didn’t care what Minho was wearing, it had actually made him look much easier to approach and more comfortable to live with. And with that, Minho chuckled slightly and let out a small sigh of relief, letting Jonghyun enter the warmth of his condo. Luckily, his condo wasn’t as messy as he had appeared.
Immediately the two started talking business, and Minho decided that Jonghyun wasn’t some sort of creep or thief and that it was perfectly fine (in fact it would be great) if he moved in. And that was that, it was decided. Jonghyun would move in by the end of the week, they figured out the payment, and they set down the living arrangements and rules. There wasn’t much, really, and in fact it seemed as if there was little to none. Jonghyun just preferred that if Minho was ever going to touch or borrow his stuff, he would ask beforehand or tell him afterwards, and giving back whatever it was in perfect condition. The same went for Minho to Jonghyun, and that was that. Privacy was an unspoken common-sense agreement as well, and they both knew they both agreed to it.
So with that, Jonghyun and Minho shook hands on every little detail and deal they had made, nodding each other goodbye as Minho watched Jonghyun leave the condo to pack his stuff. Minho couldn’t help but smile silently to himself with his back against the closed door once Jonghyun left. As he talked to Jonghyun, Minho deducted that the man was the joking type, a comfortable man to talk to, and would definitely be fun to just hang around with. His hopes soared through the roof, wanting to become close to his roommate as time went by. And he just couldn’t wait for him to move in.
It was only three days after their initial meeting that Jonghyun showed up at the condo - key already in his possession - with his items packed in luggages and boxes. Minho had been, not surprisingly, home all day and was willingly ready to help Jonghyun move all his items into his - or their - condo.
Minho saw that time as an opportunity for the two of them to bond, chat, learn more about each other, because although Minho got a good vibe in their first meeting, they hadn’t talked outside of details of him moving in. The most hew knew about Kim Jonghyun was that he was in fact close to his age - only one year older. But other than that, and the minor details he observed just by watching the man, Minho knew next to nothing about his new roommate. But he figured if he utilized this time wisely, they would become close friends in no time.
However, Minho was wrong. Although he could easily tell Jonghyun was the talkative type, Jonghyun didn’t speak much while they unpacked and only answered Minho’s questions in one to three word sentences. It seemed that Jonghyun was in a hurry to unpack his stuff, and then get out of there, most likely to meet someone, thus not wanting to waste time chatting it up with Minho. It disappointed Minho, of course, but he decided that maybe this was a one time thing, and later they would become closer. After all, friendships take time, and he didn’t want to force anything upon his new roommate.
But it wasn’t just a one time thing. In fact, it was a frequent thing - Jonghyun was hardly ever home. Of course, there were times when they would talk for a little bit anytime they were both home at the same time, and Minho would pick up little things about Jonghyun, and vice versa. Yet it still wasn’t enough to satisfy Minho, he found himself wanting to spend more time with that charming Jonghyun. He wanted to know more about him. Minho never expected that having a roommate would feel so empty and lonely.
Later, Minho found out that the one and only reason (other than his job) that Jonghyun was going out, was because of his girlfriend. It was a new relationship - it was only two months long when Jonghyun moved in with him - and so the sparks were flying like crazy, of course.
It was a logical explanation, Minho thought, and he was happy for the man - Jonghyun had been smiling so much that it became contagious, until Minho found out why he had been smiling so much. He knew he probably shouldn’t have, but Minho felt some weird feeling in his stomach when he found out Jonghyun had a girlfriend. It was a mixture of disappointment, and a little of something else. Minho couldn’t figure out why he had such feelings towards Jonghyun and the fact that he had a girlfriend, so he tried pushing it away from his thoughts. But the thoughts lingered.
And he never got his Christmas wish that year either. He found himself alone at home on Christmas Eve, in his pajamas, comfortable in a big blanket, watching re-runs of timeless Christmas classics. When the clock hit twelve, all Minho did was simply whisper to himself, “Merry Christmas.”
-
So maybe after that year, he gave up on Christmas and holiday wishes. He stopped wishing for the new year to bring him a puppy or a few good friends to lean on. No one listened to his wishes anyways, so it was better for him to not get his hopes up, only to get them knocked down. But the funny thing was, even though Minho stopped wishing, one wish came true.
Because Kim Jonghyun entered his life - this time, staying there. It was rocky at first, because Jonghyun and his girlfriend had broken up on new year’s eve. It was a painful breakup in which the guy was hurt and looked more pathetic than the girl in the situation. His girlfriend had claimed that he was too clingy and she needed space to breathe. She had also simply said that she was done with him, he was now boring to her and that she wanted someone new (and Jonghyun found out later that she actually already found someone new, even while they were still together). The words had hurt Jonghyun like two bullets to his heart, and he was in, what seemed like, severe depression in the few weeks that followed.
At first, Minho was there for him, taking advantage (but not too much) of his emotional state to become closer to his hyung. He felt bad for him, and the depressed state that he was in hurt Minho too much to watch some times, so he tried to cheer the man up in various ways - usually by taking him out of the condo, because after all, they lived in Seoul.
That ended up failing, though, because every place they went - Namsan tower, Insadong, Namsan Park, Lotte World, the mall, random restaurants, and more - all reminded him of his ex-girlfriend. So instead, Minho tried finding ways to cheer him up within their condo. He had tried karaoke, watching scary movies, baking or cooking, and even working out with him to try and get Jonghyun’s mind off of his ex, but it always seemed to drift back towards that bitch of a girl (or well, that was what Minho called the girl inside his head).
After a full month of trying to magically cure Jonghyun, Minho decided (by himself) that one month was a long enough ‘grieving’ period. Minho was growing tired of his complaints about how perfect he was to her, how perfect he thought she was, and how he thought she could have been the one. So when the new month of February came, Minho stormed into Jonghyun’s room, forcefully opened the blinds, and yanked Jonghyun out of his bed.
“Yah, hyung, listen to me. You need to stop wallowing in self-pity. The girl was a bitch, she doesn’t deserve you, you don’t need her, there’s someone better out there for you, and it happened a month ago. Please, get over it and her and become the energetic Jonghyun that I knew for a month before that bitch tore you apart.”
And that was how their friendship really started to pick up. Jonghyun stared at Minho with disbelief and shock obvious in his expression, blinking quite a few times before finally cracking a smile - the first genuine and blindingly bright smile Minho had seen in what felt like years.
“Ah, thank you Minho-ah, I think that was all I needed to hear, and coming from mister charisma makes it even better,” Jonghyun chuckled and suddenly attacked Minho, squeezing him tightly as he mumbled into the taller ones chest.
“Now, what did you say about that one restaurant again?” Jonghyun asked eagerly, ready to finally step back into the real world, accompanied by a tall Choi Minho.
They both became practically attached at the hip after that, and Minho finally understood what it was like to have a roommate, and more importantly a friend to trust and lean on. Lonely was no longer a part of his vocabulary, although longing later become a part of it.
-
So maybe for a while, Minho forgot Christmas wishes, birthday wishes, wishes in general. Because after that faithful day in February, Minho had everything he ever wanted and needed. Although sometimes he found himself longing for a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Jonghyun, he was content with just having Jonghyun always by his side, no matter what they were doing.
“Yah, Minho. Some people take this very seriously, you know,” Jonghyun chuckled softly while he eyed the bland, plain large lock that Minho handed him - very forcefully, Jonghyun’s throbbing hand would add.
“Who said we weren’t? We’re locking our friendship forever. No one ever said that the locks had to be for romantically-linked couples!” Minho argued, then waved the problem away as soon as he finished, arranging all of the art supplies on the kitchen island standing between them.
“Just whatever, let’s decorate it to make it more personalized and so that it’ll stand out from the rest!” Minho stared down at all the art supplies happily, unsure of where to even begin. Jonghyun just laughed, observing how Minho was very serious about doing this. It was cute, and charming even, that Minho was doing this and taking it quite seriously. If anything, it had made Jonghyun feel very secure about their friendship, although sometimes he found himself feeling something odd and different, silently wishing their friendship was something more.
“Hyung, take a picture, it lasts longer,” Minho teased (lamely, Jonghyun would say), smirking and looking up at Jonghyun, who hadn’t realized that he had been staring at Minho for quite some time while he was lost in his thoughts.
“Yahh, I was just..” Jonghyun mumbled and looked down at his lock, purposely trailing his voice off to avoid the embarrassment. Minho just smiled, staring at the now-embarrassed Jonghyun. For one reason or another, Minho felt his heart thumping a bit faster, and he could hear the thumps in his ear upon looking at the shy Jonghyun. He had felt that sensation before whenever he was around Jonghyun, but he still couldn’t put his finger on why he had felt it, or what it was, really. So like he had always done whenever he felt it, he pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind and continued decorating his lock.
About an hour or so later, the two of them had finally finished decorating their locks, ready to share their designs with each other. Jonghyun was especially excited to see what Minho had done to his, because for the past hour, all Minho did was burst out laughing at random times while decorating the lock. Whenever Jonghyun asked, “Pabo, just let me see your lock! What’s so funny?” Minho would simply shake his head, hiding his lock from the puppy-eyes of Jonghyun, “Ah, hyung, aniyo, you’ll see it later.” Then making sure to let out an obvious sigh of frustration, Jonghyun would get back to work on his own lock.
Now, Jonghyun was excited to see Minho’s lock as they settled down on the couch in the living room, ready to share each other’s designs. When Minho finally revealed his newly decorated lock to Jonghyun, Jonghyun was confused. All it was, was a chibi Minho doing the peace sign with one hand and holding a soccer ball in the other. “What? That’s it? What’s so funny about that?” Jonghyun punched Minho’s arm slightly, laughing slightly with confusion.
“That’s not it, ready?”
Jonghyun nodded, curious and impatiently waiting for Minho to finally turn the damn lock around.
“Ta-da” Minho sang, bursting into laughter as soon as he turned the lock.
“What’s so funny about a mini dino-” Jonghyun started, before realizing that it was supposed to resemble him - in two different insulting ways, his height and the fact that Minho claimed he looked like a dinosaur.
“YAH!” Jonghyun shouted at the realization, grabbing a pillow from behind him, attacking Minho (who was still in hysterics over his own joke).
“Why do you get to look like your handsome self while you make me look like a dinosaur?!” Jonghyun questioned (or screamed), still hitting Minho with the pillow repeatedly.
Minho was still laughing, though he started to calm down a bit, enough to answer in a question, “You think I’m handsome?” He then wiggled his eyebrows at Jonghyun, who’s face seemed to get a bit redder at the statement, only leading to Minho busting up in laughter once again. “Aish, that’s not the point! Answer my question!” Jonghyun demanded, not realizing that once he stopped attacking Minho, he was straddled on top of the taller man’s lying body.
“I can’t help it if you look like that, besides look at it, at least it looks cute, almost puppy-like, even though it’s still a dinosaur,” Minho managed to answer, his laughter dying down while he showed the lock to Jonghyun (who Minho didn’t fail to realize was resting on top of him, and he could once again hear his own heart beating).
Jonghyun just swatted Minho’s hand away, not bothering to take a second look at the lock - because he would have preferred to look down into Minho’s eyes once he finally noticed he was on top of him.
“Oh.” Was all Jonghyun could mutter when the realization entered his mind, and his face grew red again, once more causing Minho to tease his hyung.
“So, I take it you do think I’m handsome, huh?” Minho teased, referring to the fact that he was on top of him and could no longer make eye contact.
“Shut up,” Jonghyun mumbled, getting off of Minho (although for some odd reason, he hesitated, not wanting to get off of him just yet). But pushing the incident away, Jonghyun quickly changed topics and showed Minho his own lock. On one side, it was the two of them also in chibi form, posing with cringe-worthy aegyo. On the back, it read “Jongho forever~ ke ke ke”
On one hand, Minho felt touched that Jonghyun had taken the whole thing sincerely, even though he refused and questioned the idea in the beginning. On the other hand, though, Minho suddenly felt a pang of guilt for making Jonghyun a dinosaur on his own lock. The atmosphere suddenly felt a bit awkward, at least for Minho who was feeling guilty. But he tried to change it up again, snaking his arm around Jonghyun’s waist and resting his head on his shoulder, “Aw who knew you could be so sweet, hyung?”
Jonghyun jumped a bit at the sudden contact, but played it off and went along with it, wrapping his arm around Minho’s neck, “And who knew you could be such a jerk?” Minho just smiled silently in reply, still staring down at what the hangul read on the lock. Neither of them realized that they had sat there in that position for at least a minute in comfortable silence, Jonghyun unconsciously playing with Minho’s hair, and Minho unconsciously running his hand up and down Jonghyun’s side.
When they both finally snapped out of it, though, they instantly got out of the position and stood up almost immediately. “Alright, well, I guess we should head to the tower now, right?” Minho broke the sudden tension that settled between the for a split second. Jonghyun nodded, nervously chuckling a bit, “Yeah let’s go.”
It was a cold winter night, their favorite weather and time of day to hang out together, when they reached the fence full of locks.
“Damn. Is there even any room for ours?” Jonghyun looked down at his own lock, which now looked quite insignificant in comparison to the sea of locks in front of them.
“We’ll make them fit,” Minho answered, looking around for an area where there’s could stick out the most. It was nearly impossibly to find such an area, but they finally decided on one area that looked slightly less spectacular when compared to their personally decorated locks.
“There we go,” Minho announced with a breath of satisfaction, smiling at their locks locked together (his dinosaur facing the viewers).
“Looks good. So should we throw our keys away?” Jonghyun suggested, holding up his own key, motioning for Minho to do the same.
“Yeah, on the count of three.” Minho held his key up, nodding at Jonghyun. They both faced the fence, Minho starting the count.
“Hana”
“Dool”
“Set!” They both shouted, throwing their keys over the fence at the same time.
“And now I’m stuck with you forever,” Minho teased, but had a nice, sincere smile settled on his face, making Jonghyun smile brightly to himself at the sight.
“Yeah. Forever.”
-
So maybe when Christmas came closer that year, Minho had second thoughts, and he did in fact have a wish. He wanted Jonghyun to be his. And not only linked as close friends, but as more, as ‘lovers’ as some would call it. Because he had finally realized as time went on and the heart beats got stronger, that it meant he was falling for a certain Kim Jonghyun in a way he thought he shouldn’t have. But even if he questioned the right of it, he couldn’t help his feelings, or the butterflies he felt in his stomach, or the extra loud thumping of his heart. And he definitely couldn’t help wishing that he could kiss those lips, telling him that he was falling for him as the seconds fluttered by.
But Minho was used to not getting his wishes on Christmas or even his birthday, so he definitely didn’t expect such a wish to come true. It was way out of the question, even farther than a puppy was back then. So he tried to settle for just an extremely close relationship with Jonghyun, who then knew almost everything about Minho, and the same went for Minho about Jonghyun. Of course, there was still much more for the both of them to figure out about each other, but no secrets (except for their undeniable love for each other) went unspoken, no basic facts went unknown. They even scared each other, sometimes, with how much they knew about each other. But it was comforting to Minho, and Jonghyun as well, that someone else knew more about them than they knew about themselves. It was something Minho never experienced before, and he was glad Jonghyun was the one he could experience it with.
“So who are you going to spend Christmas with this year, hyung?” Minho asked Jonghyun randomly one day, sipping on a cup of hot chocolate.
Jonghyun was close to his family, very much unlike Minho, and so Minho figured that, because of a lack of a girlfriend that year, he would spend it with his family. The thought disappointed Minho a bit, but he knew it was inevitable, although a little part of him hoped that Jonghyun would stay with him that year since they had grown quite close.
“Family, my aunt’s coming from Busan and I haven’t seen her in years, so my mom told me to be there or else. I’ll be there until New Years,” Jonghyun answered calmly, waiting for his bagel at the toaster.
And every little hope Minho held onto was let down. “Ah, I see.”
Jonghyun didn’t bother reciprocating the question, because he knew about the bad terms Minho and his family were on, and that he would probably spend it alone, because he was his only companion. Knowing that gave Jonghyun a feeling of guilt inside of him, but he tried to act as if nothing was wrong, and proceeded to change the subject, bringing them into their usual routine of teasing and fake bantering.
Then it was the night of Christmas Eve, and even though he technically had Jonghyun, Minho still failed to have the Christmas spirit, just like every past year. Because he knew that on Christmas day, he would still be alone, and none of his wishes would come true. Like it was every year. Just another day.
“So, I’ll see you next year, Minho-ah!” Jonghyun joked, embracing the taller man in a tight squeeze before ‘leaving’. It was common body contact, for them to hug each other. In fact they had tons of other skinship moments throughout that whole year. Yet every single time any part of his body brushed against the other’s, Jonghyun’s heart would skip a beat and he would find himself wanting more. But every time, he would ignore the sensation and just laugh it off.
But not that time. Jonghyun had finally acknowledged the feelings, and he wanted to share them. He wanted to truly have no secrets unspoken. Even if it made him look like an idiot. Even if Minho didn’t feel the same way, Jonghyun wanted to reveal his feelings. And so he did.
On Christmas morning, Minho woke up at eight in the morning as usual, stretching and rubbing his eyes as he kicked the blankets off. For a second, Minho had forgotten that it was Christmas, but when he stepped into the living room, a large box was wrapped, towering over the makeshift mini Christmas tree the two of them had made (and decorated quite poorly).
“Eh, what’s this?” Minho muttered to himself, rubbing his eyes again to check if he was just seeing things. But when his vision cleared up once again, the box was still there. Upon closer examination, he found a card stating that it was from Jonghyun to him, and that Jonghyun was sorry for leaving him on Christmas, but he hoped that this present would make it up to him.
Minho chuckled lightly to himself while he read the card, touched by the fact that Jonghyun still thought about him on Christmas. He set the card down on the table behind him, staring at the large present, wondering what such a large box could contain. “Yah, Kim Jonghyun, if this is a big box just filled with rocks and other boxes before finally getting to the real gift being only a Starbucks giftcard, I swear I will hit you when you come back,” Minho threatened to no one in particular, though he still smiled as he stared at the gift. He was sure that no matter what the gift was, he’d still be happy because it came from Jonghyun.
Finally, after smiling at the gift for a few more seconds, Minho started tearing the wrapping paper apart, revealing a large box. It said nothing on it, still not revealing what exactly was in the present, but when Minho opened the top of the box and peered inside, he was shocked to hear a voice exclaiming, “Surprise! Merry Christmas!”
He let out a yell and jumped back a few steps, almost slipping on the wrapping paper he threw carelessly on the ground. “Yah! What the hell!?”
All he got in response was laughter and the sound of Jonghyun punching the box as he laughed, “Get me out of here, your present isn’t done yet, pabo.”
Recognizing the familiar voice, Minho crept back up to the box and peered inside again, finding Jonghyun still laughing and grinning up at him. “You scared the hell out of me!” Minho shouted, shaking the box slightly as revenge, receiving complaints from Jonghyun to stop.
When he figured he had enough revenge, Minho ripped the box apart to let Jonghyun step out and get some nice, fresh air.
“Were you surprised?” Jonghyun teased, nudging the taller man with a few chuckles that he hadn’t gotten over during his previous laughing fit.
“Well, no shit hyung. So tell me again, what are you doing here? And what did you mean by my present wasn’t done yet?” Minho settled down on their comfortable couch, Jonghyun following suit and plopping down beside Minho. It was another common act between the two, but neither of them failed to feel butterflies in their stomachs at the close contact.
“I’m your present.” By then, Jonghyun’s arm was around Minho’s neck, who at that time turned to face him.
“What?” Minho questioned softly, snaking his arm around Jonghyun’s waist.
“I want to be yours. And I mean.. More than just friends. Choi Minho, I’ve fallen for an alien freak that shares your name. I have indescribable feelings whenever I touch you or even just see you and that charismatic smile of yours. I.. I love you Minho, and I want to be locked to you as more than just friends.”
It was a shy answer, and Jonghyun couldn’t even keep eye contact with the other man once he started his explanation. But Minho placed his warm hand on Jonghyun’s cheek, turning his head softly to face him.
“Kim Jonghyun, I love you too.”
It was a simple reply, but his point was clear. The two of them shared a smile, then a touch, then a kiss, then their love.
-
So maybe Choi Minho finally got his Christmas wish that year. In fact, he figured he received two of them. He could officially call Jonghyun his own, his one true love. He could kiss those lips whenever he wanted, he could hold him longer than they had before, they could share more intimate touches. And finally, after all those years, Minho had a puppy to call his own, and his name was Kim Jonghyun.
-
a/n: Merry Christmas again!~ I know I said I was gonna make a chaptered holiday Jongho fic, but I got lazy and only mustered up a oneshot. I hope it still suffices D: Besides, I’m thinking of writing a sequel to this, a very plotless, fluffy sequel. The ideas are already there, so it’s likely. But yeah, hope you enjoy and have a great holiday! (: Also, sorry this is more narration-like, in fact my writing style in general is more narration than it is descriptive and stuff. If you don’t like that, sorry, I’m trying hard to become more descriptive.. but I just can’t, ‘cause I fail too much at it and it ends up sounding like a 5th grader wrote it ;-;
Btw, I realize the Namsan tower locks are called “locks of love” and I think it is specifically for couples, but let’s pretend in this world, they’re just for locking relationships (which Minho loosely translated as friendship too as well as love/couples) together forever~
Author: jaaycakes
Rating: PG
Pairing: Jongho
Genre: Fluff? Romance
Summary: So maybe all he ever wanted for Christmas was a puppy. And maybe it was finally time his Christmas wish came true.
a/n: Idek what this is anymore, lulz D: It’s kinda long (well, longer than I usually write), and it’s semi-plotless. It’s a simple love story, and it’s just idek anymore. I hope it’s not too boring and I hope you still enjoy <3 Merry Christmas!
-
So maybe all he ever wanted for Christmas was a puppy. Ever since he was a little kid, that was all he had ever asked for. But he never received his Christmas wish, and he began to doubt the existence of the so-called Santa Clause. Because he knew quite well that he was a good boy year and year after.
Not once did Choi Minho ever talk back to his parents, even though he sometimes wanted to. Not once did Choi Minho’s grade slip below his parents requirements, even though he tired himself out working hard for those grades. Not once did Choi Minho ever complain when his parents came home late at night, even though it left him having to care for himself. Not once did he ever complain that he didn’t have nice clothes or toys or school supplies or electronics as his classmates did, even though it left him out of the loop and made him the center of ridicule. Not once did he do such things in his innocent years, all because he just wanted one puppy to name and call his own. But not once did he ever receive one.
And then finally, at an earlier age than most, he didn’t believe in Santa Clause. He didn’t write him lists, and he didn’t have the same Christmas spirit he once bursted with. Yet he still, deep down, wanted a puppy to call his own. Even as he grew into a teenager, he found himself subconsciously wanting a puppy whenever he saw one at the park, going for a walk with it’s owner.
But it wasn’t as bad as before, when he was younger. Because even when he got a job and earned enough money to be selfish and buy a puppy for himself, he didn’t. He had to take care of himself and his parents, even though they didn’t raise him too well themselves - he was never the one to hold such a grudge, especially when it came to his now-helpless parents. And that was why he hesitated when it came to moving out and living his own life out in Seoul.
Anger, resentment, tears, yells, and even louder yells filled the living room the day Minho announced to his parents that he was leaving them to go to Seoul. He had been accepted to a university there, and he had always dreamed of moving to the city, making this the perfect opportunity for him. But apparently, his parents didn’t think so.
“Yah, what happened to the college that accepted you here? That’s a perfectly fine college as well! You don’t need to move to some fancy city to get a better education! How can you leave us! You need to stay here!” His dad was the only one arguing (more like yelling and demanding) against it, while his mother was crying hysterically against his dad’s chest. All Minho could do was sigh and turn away from the sight, it would only guilt-trip him to stay, and he knew that would be the worst decision of his life.
“How could I leave you? What about you two? You were never there for me, and when I was capable and you weren’t, I was here for both of you, but now I think it’s time I live for myself.” Although Minho didn’t necessarily hold a grudge over his parents, the fact that they were never there for him still hurt him deep inside, and that was the first time he had ever admitted it (and talked back to his parents).
The sudden, soft-spoken words seemed to have acted as piercing arrows, because his dad became speechless, his mom stopped sobbing and looked up at her son with disbelief, and an awkward silence settled within the room.
“What did you say? We weren’t there for you? Do you know how much extra money we spent just to make sure you had clothes on your back and food for you to live on and not to mention a house to live under?” His dads voice wasn’t loud and deafening anymore, it was cold and threatening, and Minho could easily sense the hurt he had caused. Yet he didn’t regret saying what had been hidden deep inside of his thoughts since long ago. It deserved to be out in the open, even if it did result in situations like this.
“Get out” Were the first two words Minho heard his mother say since the moment he shared the news. And those two were the most hurtful of all, but Minho didn’t expect less, and all he did in reply was simply nod and venture out into the cold air. With a sigh and a twist of his car keys in his hands, Minho entered his car (which already held his luggage that he had packed and loaded earlier) and left the small town.
He was almost certain that he would never come back to that town ever again. Seoul was his new destination, and the beginning of his new life.
-
So maybe all he wanted that Christmas season was someone to spend it with. Ever since he had left his parents (never to hear another word from the pair), he had entered the university and lived alone in his condo. Since then, he had been quite the loner, given the few friends he had made that invited him to hang out every once in a while. But still, he wasn’t close enough to any of them to fill in his lonely weekends or days off school and work. It was lonely, he was lonely, and the upcoming holiday season just didn’t feel the same. Was someone to spend it with too much to ask for?
Maybe it wasn’t, because the moment Choi Minho realized he no longer had enough money to keep up with paying his rent, he had immediately thought of a situation. A roommate. Minho didn’t have to think twice about his, what he considered a, brilliant solution. Within an hour or two, he had printed out more than enough advertisements, and had posted them up in every area he figured was safe - after all, he didn’t want some creep in the streets picking up his flyer and becoming his future roommate.
Once he returned home, a grin played on his lips, excited to check his email or wait for someone to call his cell phone. But of course, as the hours passed on by, not a single email or a single call reached him, leaving Minho to sulk all by himself on his couch, wrapped in a blanket while eating junk food after junk food. Little did he know, though, that he was too expectant to receive interest so fast, because not even a week later, he received a promising e-mail.
Choi Minho,
I saw your roommate advertisement, and I’m interested in possibly becoming your new roommate. We can go over the little details when I come over to meet you and check the place out. So when would be the best time for us to meet up at the condo? I hope the offer still stands, thanks.
Kim Jonghyun
It hadn’t said much, but it was enough to excite Minho, who immediately replied with no hesitation.
Kim Jonghyun,
Yes, the offer still stands, and I’m happy that you’re interested. As for meeting, any day is fine with me, so this all depends on your schedule. How about tomorrow (12/2) at two in the afternoon? Or whenever else you’re available, feel free to drop by to the following address, as long as it isn’t Tuesday or Thursday. Otherwise, you can come any time you want. Hope to meet you soon!
Choi Minho
He didn’t want to sound too eager, and in fact he had hit the backspace button one too many times before he came up with that somewhat calm email. Still, he couldn’t help but look desperate, he needed someone to help pay the upcoming rent soon, and he was just sick and tired of being alone. So he awaited a reply, or a doorbell, or a knock. Anything to help better his lonely mood.
And before he knew it, a doorbell came to him just hours after he had sent his reply. In all honesty, Minho wasn’t expecting the man to come so soon, but the initial shock turned into joy as he opened to door, inviting not only his possible-new roommate, but the cold, crisp air of winter as well.
“Kim Jonghyun?” Minho questioned, cautiously flashing the shorter man a small smile. Inwardly, he had hoped that the man would answer yes (and he pretty much expected it, because who else would come to his door?), because the shorter male looked close to his own age, and fun to hang out with (and not to mention amazingly good-looking in Minho’s opinion).
The male dressed in a red plaid jacket layered over a navy blue t-shirt and black skinny jeans just nodded, offering Minho a bright smile, “Ne, that’s me.”
Looking over Jonghyun’s appearance, Minho looked down at himself, realizing that he wasn’t looking quite as presentable, in his black sweat pants and white v-neck, and immediately he felt a bit embarrassed. Not so great of a first impression. Jonghyun seemed to notice his worries, though, and instantly assured Minho that he looked fine, and in fact, he didn’t care what Minho was wearing, it had actually made him look much easier to approach and more comfortable to live with. And with that, Minho chuckled slightly and let out a small sigh of relief, letting Jonghyun enter the warmth of his condo. Luckily, his condo wasn’t as messy as he had appeared.
Immediately the two started talking business, and Minho decided that Jonghyun wasn’t some sort of creep or thief and that it was perfectly fine (in fact it would be great) if he moved in. And that was that, it was decided. Jonghyun would move in by the end of the week, they figured out the payment, and they set down the living arrangements and rules. There wasn’t much, really, and in fact it seemed as if there was little to none. Jonghyun just preferred that if Minho was ever going to touch or borrow his stuff, he would ask beforehand or tell him afterwards, and giving back whatever it was in perfect condition. The same went for Minho to Jonghyun, and that was that. Privacy was an unspoken common-sense agreement as well, and they both knew they both agreed to it.
So with that, Jonghyun and Minho shook hands on every little detail and deal they had made, nodding each other goodbye as Minho watched Jonghyun leave the condo to pack his stuff. Minho couldn’t help but smile silently to himself with his back against the closed door once Jonghyun left. As he talked to Jonghyun, Minho deducted that the man was the joking type, a comfortable man to talk to, and would definitely be fun to just hang around with. His hopes soared through the roof, wanting to become close to his roommate as time went by. And he just couldn’t wait for him to move in.
It was only three days after their initial meeting that Jonghyun showed up at the condo - key already in his possession - with his items packed in luggages and boxes. Minho had been, not surprisingly, home all day and was willingly ready to help Jonghyun move all his items into his - or their - condo.
Minho saw that time as an opportunity for the two of them to bond, chat, learn more about each other, because although Minho got a good vibe in their first meeting, they hadn’t talked outside of details of him moving in. The most hew knew about Kim Jonghyun was that he was in fact close to his age - only one year older. But other than that, and the minor details he observed just by watching the man, Minho knew next to nothing about his new roommate. But he figured if he utilized this time wisely, they would become close friends in no time.
However, Minho was wrong. Although he could easily tell Jonghyun was the talkative type, Jonghyun didn’t speak much while they unpacked and only answered Minho’s questions in one to three word sentences. It seemed that Jonghyun was in a hurry to unpack his stuff, and then get out of there, most likely to meet someone, thus not wanting to waste time chatting it up with Minho. It disappointed Minho, of course, but he decided that maybe this was a one time thing, and later they would become closer. After all, friendships take time, and he didn’t want to force anything upon his new roommate.
But it wasn’t just a one time thing. In fact, it was a frequent thing - Jonghyun was hardly ever home. Of course, there were times when they would talk for a little bit anytime they were both home at the same time, and Minho would pick up little things about Jonghyun, and vice versa. Yet it still wasn’t enough to satisfy Minho, he found himself wanting to spend more time with that charming Jonghyun. He wanted to know more about him. Minho never expected that having a roommate would feel so empty and lonely.
Later, Minho found out that the one and only reason (other than his job) that Jonghyun was going out, was because of his girlfriend. It was a new relationship - it was only two months long when Jonghyun moved in with him - and so the sparks were flying like crazy, of course.
It was a logical explanation, Minho thought, and he was happy for the man - Jonghyun had been smiling so much that it became contagious, until Minho found out why he had been smiling so much. He knew he probably shouldn’t have, but Minho felt some weird feeling in his stomach when he found out Jonghyun had a girlfriend. It was a mixture of disappointment, and a little of something else. Minho couldn’t figure out why he had such feelings towards Jonghyun and the fact that he had a girlfriend, so he tried pushing it away from his thoughts. But the thoughts lingered.
And he never got his Christmas wish that year either. He found himself alone at home on Christmas Eve, in his pajamas, comfortable in a big blanket, watching re-runs of timeless Christmas classics. When the clock hit twelve, all Minho did was simply whisper to himself, “Merry Christmas.”
-
So maybe after that year, he gave up on Christmas and holiday wishes. He stopped wishing for the new year to bring him a puppy or a few good friends to lean on. No one listened to his wishes anyways, so it was better for him to not get his hopes up, only to get them knocked down. But the funny thing was, even though Minho stopped wishing, one wish came true.
Because Kim Jonghyun entered his life - this time, staying there. It was rocky at first, because Jonghyun and his girlfriend had broken up on new year’s eve. It was a painful breakup in which the guy was hurt and looked more pathetic than the girl in the situation. His girlfriend had claimed that he was too clingy and she needed space to breathe. She had also simply said that she was done with him, he was now boring to her and that she wanted someone new (and Jonghyun found out later that she actually already found someone new, even while they were still together). The words had hurt Jonghyun like two bullets to his heart, and he was in, what seemed like, severe depression in the few weeks that followed.
At first, Minho was there for him, taking advantage (but not too much) of his emotional state to become closer to his hyung. He felt bad for him, and the depressed state that he was in hurt Minho too much to watch some times, so he tried to cheer the man up in various ways - usually by taking him out of the condo, because after all, they lived in Seoul.
That ended up failing, though, because every place they went - Namsan tower, Insadong, Namsan Park, Lotte World, the mall, random restaurants, and more - all reminded him of his ex-girlfriend. So instead, Minho tried finding ways to cheer him up within their condo. He had tried karaoke, watching scary movies, baking or cooking, and even working out with him to try and get Jonghyun’s mind off of his ex, but it always seemed to drift back towards that bitch of a girl (or well, that was what Minho called the girl inside his head).
After a full month of trying to magically cure Jonghyun, Minho decided (by himself) that one month was a long enough ‘grieving’ period. Minho was growing tired of his complaints about how perfect he was to her, how perfect he thought she was, and how he thought she could have been the one. So when the new month of February came, Minho stormed into Jonghyun’s room, forcefully opened the blinds, and yanked Jonghyun out of his bed.
“Yah, hyung, listen to me. You need to stop wallowing in self-pity. The girl was a bitch, she doesn’t deserve you, you don’t need her, there’s someone better out there for you, and it happened a month ago. Please, get over it and her and become the energetic Jonghyun that I knew for a month before that bitch tore you apart.”
And that was how their friendship really started to pick up. Jonghyun stared at Minho with disbelief and shock obvious in his expression, blinking quite a few times before finally cracking a smile - the first genuine and blindingly bright smile Minho had seen in what felt like years.
“Ah, thank you Minho-ah, I think that was all I needed to hear, and coming from mister charisma makes it even better,” Jonghyun chuckled and suddenly attacked Minho, squeezing him tightly as he mumbled into the taller ones chest.
“Now, what did you say about that one restaurant again?” Jonghyun asked eagerly, ready to finally step back into the real world, accompanied by a tall Choi Minho.
They both became practically attached at the hip after that, and Minho finally understood what it was like to have a roommate, and more importantly a friend to trust and lean on. Lonely was no longer a part of his vocabulary, although longing later become a part of it.
-
So maybe for a while, Minho forgot Christmas wishes, birthday wishes, wishes in general. Because after that faithful day in February, Minho had everything he ever wanted and needed. Although sometimes he found himself longing for a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Jonghyun, he was content with just having Jonghyun always by his side, no matter what they were doing.
“Yah, Minho. Some people take this very seriously, you know,” Jonghyun chuckled softly while he eyed the bland, plain large lock that Minho handed him - very forcefully, Jonghyun’s throbbing hand would add.
“Who said we weren’t? We’re locking our friendship forever. No one ever said that the locks had to be for romantically-linked couples!” Minho argued, then waved the problem away as soon as he finished, arranging all of the art supplies on the kitchen island standing between them.
“Just whatever, let’s decorate it to make it more personalized and so that it’ll stand out from the rest!” Minho stared down at all the art supplies happily, unsure of where to even begin. Jonghyun just laughed, observing how Minho was very serious about doing this. It was cute, and charming even, that Minho was doing this and taking it quite seriously. If anything, it had made Jonghyun feel very secure about their friendship, although sometimes he found himself feeling something odd and different, silently wishing their friendship was something more.
“Hyung, take a picture, it lasts longer,” Minho teased (lamely, Jonghyun would say), smirking and looking up at Jonghyun, who hadn’t realized that he had been staring at Minho for quite some time while he was lost in his thoughts.
“Yahh, I was just..” Jonghyun mumbled and looked down at his lock, purposely trailing his voice off to avoid the embarrassment. Minho just smiled, staring at the now-embarrassed Jonghyun. For one reason or another, Minho felt his heart thumping a bit faster, and he could hear the thumps in his ear upon looking at the shy Jonghyun. He had felt that sensation before whenever he was around Jonghyun, but he still couldn’t put his finger on why he had felt it, or what it was, really. So like he had always done whenever he felt it, he pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind and continued decorating his lock.
About an hour or so later, the two of them had finally finished decorating their locks, ready to share their designs with each other. Jonghyun was especially excited to see what Minho had done to his, because for the past hour, all Minho did was burst out laughing at random times while decorating the lock. Whenever Jonghyun asked, “Pabo, just let me see your lock! What’s so funny?” Minho would simply shake his head, hiding his lock from the puppy-eyes of Jonghyun, “Ah, hyung, aniyo, you’ll see it later.” Then making sure to let out an obvious sigh of frustration, Jonghyun would get back to work on his own lock.
Now, Jonghyun was excited to see Minho’s lock as they settled down on the couch in the living room, ready to share each other’s designs. When Minho finally revealed his newly decorated lock to Jonghyun, Jonghyun was confused. All it was, was a chibi Minho doing the peace sign with one hand and holding a soccer ball in the other. “What? That’s it? What’s so funny about that?” Jonghyun punched Minho’s arm slightly, laughing slightly with confusion.
“That’s not it, ready?”
Jonghyun nodded, curious and impatiently waiting for Minho to finally turn the damn lock around.
“Ta-da” Minho sang, bursting into laughter as soon as he turned the lock.
“What’s so funny about a mini dino-” Jonghyun started, before realizing that it was supposed to resemble him - in two different insulting ways, his height and the fact that Minho claimed he looked like a dinosaur.
“YAH!” Jonghyun shouted at the realization, grabbing a pillow from behind him, attacking Minho (who was still in hysterics over his own joke).
“Why do you get to look like your handsome self while you make me look like a dinosaur?!” Jonghyun questioned (or screamed), still hitting Minho with the pillow repeatedly.
Minho was still laughing, though he started to calm down a bit, enough to answer in a question, “You think I’m handsome?” He then wiggled his eyebrows at Jonghyun, who’s face seemed to get a bit redder at the statement, only leading to Minho busting up in laughter once again. “Aish, that’s not the point! Answer my question!” Jonghyun demanded, not realizing that once he stopped attacking Minho, he was straddled on top of the taller man’s lying body.
“I can’t help it if you look like that, besides look at it, at least it looks cute, almost puppy-like, even though it’s still a dinosaur,” Minho managed to answer, his laughter dying down while he showed the lock to Jonghyun (who Minho didn’t fail to realize was resting on top of him, and he could once again hear his own heart beating).
Jonghyun just swatted Minho’s hand away, not bothering to take a second look at the lock - because he would have preferred to look down into Minho’s eyes once he finally noticed he was on top of him.
“Oh.” Was all Jonghyun could mutter when the realization entered his mind, and his face grew red again, once more causing Minho to tease his hyung.
“So, I take it you do think I’m handsome, huh?” Minho teased, referring to the fact that he was on top of him and could no longer make eye contact.
“Shut up,” Jonghyun mumbled, getting off of Minho (although for some odd reason, he hesitated, not wanting to get off of him just yet). But pushing the incident away, Jonghyun quickly changed topics and showed Minho his own lock. On one side, it was the two of them also in chibi form, posing with cringe-worthy aegyo. On the back, it read “Jongho forever~ ke ke ke”
On one hand, Minho felt touched that Jonghyun had taken the whole thing sincerely, even though he refused and questioned the idea in the beginning. On the other hand, though, Minho suddenly felt a pang of guilt for making Jonghyun a dinosaur on his own lock. The atmosphere suddenly felt a bit awkward, at least for Minho who was feeling guilty. But he tried to change it up again, snaking his arm around Jonghyun’s waist and resting his head on his shoulder, “Aw who knew you could be so sweet, hyung?”
Jonghyun jumped a bit at the sudden contact, but played it off and went along with it, wrapping his arm around Minho’s neck, “And who knew you could be such a jerk?” Minho just smiled silently in reply, still staring down at what the hangul read on the lock. Neither of them realized that they had sat there in that position for at least a minute in comfortable silence, Jonghyun unconsciously playing with Minho’s hair, and Minho unconsciously running his hand up and down Jonghyun’s side.
When they both finally snapped out of it, though, they instantly got out of the position and stood up almost immediately. “Alright, well, I guess we should head to the tower now, right?” Minho broke the sudden tension that settled between the for a split second. Jonghyun nodded, nervously chuckling a bit, “Yeah let’s go.”
It was a cold winter night, their favorite weather and time of day to hang out together, when they reached the fence full of locks.
“Damn. Is there even any room for ours?” Jonghyun looked down at his own lock, which now looked quite insignificant in comparison to the sea of locks in front of them.
“We’ll make them fit,” Minho answered, looking around for an area where there’s could stick out the most. It was nearly impossibly to find such an area, but they finally decided on one area that looked slightly less spectacular when compared to their personally decorated locks.
“There we go,” Minho announced with a breath of satisfaction, smiling at their locks locked together (his dinosaur facing the viewers).
“Looks good. So should we throw our keys away?” Jonghyun suggested, holding up his own key, motioning for Minho to do the same.
“Yeah, on the count of three.” Minho held his key up, nodding at Jonghyun. They both faced the fence, Minho starting the count.
“Hana”
“Dool”
“Set!” They both shouted, throwing their keys over the fence at the same time.
“And now I’m stuck with you forever,” Minho teased, but had a nice, sincere smile settled on his face, making Jonghyun smile brightly to himself at the sight.
“Yeah. Forever.”
-
So maybe when Christmas came closer that year, Minho had second thoughts, and he did in fact have a wish. He wanted Jonghyun to be his. And not only linked as close friends, but as more, as ‘lovers’ as some would call it. Because he had finally realized as time went on and the heart beats got stronger, that it meant he was falling for a certain Kim Jonghyun in a way he thought he shouldn’t have. But even if he questioned the right of it, he couldn’t help his feelings, or the butterflies he felt in his stomach, or the extra loud thumping of his heart. And he definitely couldn’t help wishing that he could kiss those lips, telling him that he was falling for him as the seconds fluttered by.
But Minho was used to not getting his wishes on Christmas or even his birthday, so he definitely didn’t expect such a wish to come true. It was way out of the question, even farther than a puppy was back then. So he tried to settle for just an extremely close relationship with Jonghyun, who then knew almost everything about Minho, and the same went for Minho about Jonghyun. Of course, there was still much more for the both of them to figure out about each other, but no secrets (except for their undeniable love for each other) went unspoken, no basic facts went unknown. They even scared each other, sometimes, with how much they knew about each other. But it was comforting to Minho, and Jonghyun as well, that someone else knew more about them than they knew about themselves. It was something Minho never experienced before, and he was glad Jonghyun was the one he could experience it with.
“So who are you going to spend Christmas with this year, hyung?” Minho asked Jonghyun randomly one day, sipping on a cup of hot chocolate.
Jonghyun was close to his family, very much unlike Minho, and so Minho figured that, because of a lack of a girlfriend that year, he would spend it with his family. The thought disappointed Minho a bit, but he knew it was inevitable, although a little part of him hoped that Jonghyun would stay with him that year since they had grown quite close.
“Family, my aunt’s coming from Busan and I haven’t seen her in years, so my mom told me to be there or else. I’ll be there until New Years,” Jonghyun answered calmly, waiting for his bagel at the toaster.
And every little hope Minho held onto was let down. “Ah, I see.”
Jonghyun didn’t bother reciprocating the question, because he knew about the bad terms Minho and his family were on, and that he would probably spend it alone, because he was his only companion. Knowing that gave Jonghyun a feeling of guilt inside of him, but he tried to act as if nothing was wrong, and proceeded to change the subject, bringing them into their usual routine of teasing and fake bantering.
Then it was the night of Christmas Eve, and even though he technically had Jonghyun, Minho still failed to have the Christmas spirit, just like every past year. Because he knew that on Christmas day, he would still be alone, and none of his wishes would come true. Like it was every year. Just another day.
“So, I’ll see you next year, Minho-ah!” Jonghyun joked, embracing the taller man in a tight squeeze before ‘leaving’. It was common body contact, for them to hug each other. In fact they had tons of other skinship moments throughout that whole year. Yet every single time any part of his body brushed against the other’s, Jonghyun’s heart would skip a beat and he would find himself wanting more. But every time, he would ignore the sensation and just laugh it off.
But not that time. Jonghyun had finally acknowledged the feelings, and he wanted to share them. He wanted to truly have no secrets unspoken. Even if it made him look like an idiot. Even if Minho didn’t feel the same way, Jonghyun wanted to reveal his feelings. And so he did.
On Christmas morning, Minho woke up at eight in the morning as usual, stretching and rubbing his eyes as he kicked the blankets off. For a second, Minho had forgotten that it was Christmas, but when he stepped into the living room, a large box was wrapped, towering over the makeshift mini Christmas tree the two of them had made (and decorated quite poorly).
“Eh, what’s this?” Minho muttered to himself, rubbing his eyes again to check if he was just seeing things. But when his vision cleared up once again, the box was still there. Upon closer examination, he found a card stating that it was from Jonghyun to him, and that Jonghyun was sorry for leaving him on Christmas, but he hoped that this present would make it up to him.
Minho chuckled lightly to himself while he read the card, touched by the fact that Jonghyun still thought about him on Christmas. He set the card down on the table behind him, staring at the large present, wondering what such a large box could contain. “Yah, Kim Jonghyun, if this is a big box just filled with rocks and other boxes before finally getting to the real gift being only a Starbucks giftcard, I swear I will hit you when you come back,” Minho threatened to no one in particular, though he still smiled as he stared at the gift. He was sure that no matter what the gift was, he’d still be happy because it came from Jonghyun.
Finally, after smiling at the gift for a few more seconds, Minho started tearing the wrapping paper apart, revealing a large box. It said nothing on it, still not revealing what exactly was in the present, but when Minho opened the top of the box and peered inside, he was shocked to hear a voice exclaiming, “Surprise! Merry Christmas!”
He let out a yell and jumped back a few steps, almost slipping on the wrapping paper he threw carelessly on the ground. “Yah! What the hell!?”
All he got in response was laughter and the sound of Jonghyun punching the box as he laughed, “Get me out of here, your present isn’t done yet, pabo.”
Recognizing the familiar voice, Minho crept back up to the box and peered inside again, finding Jonghyun still laughing and grinning up at him. “You scared the hell out of me!” Minho shouted, shaking the box slightly as revenge, receiving complaints from Jonghyun to stop.
When he figured he had enough revenge, Minho ripped the box apart to let Jonghyun step out and get some nice, fresh air.
“Were you surprised?” Jonghyun teased, nudging the taller man with a few chuckles that he hadn’t gotten over during his previous laughing fit.
“Well, no shit hyung. So tell me again, what are you doing here? And what did you mean by my present wasn’t done yet?” Minho settled down on their comfortable couch, Jonghyun following suit and plopping down beside Minho. It was another common act between the two, but neither of them failed to feel butterflies in their stomachs at the close contact.
“I’m your present.” By then, Jonghyun’s arm was around Minho’s neck, who at that time turned to face him.
“What?” Minho questioned softly, snaking his arm around Jonghyun’s waist.
“I want to be yours. And I mean.. More than just friends. Choi Minho, I’ve fallen for an alien freak that shares your name. I have indescribable feelings whenever I touch you or even just see you and that charismatic smile of yours. I.. I love you Minho, and I want to be locked to you as more than just friends.”
It was a shy answer, and Jonghyun couldn’t even keep eye contact with the other man once he started his explanation. But Minho placed his warm hand on Jonghyun’s cheek, turning his head softly to face him.
“Kim Jonghyun, I love you too.”
It was a simple reply, but his point was clear. The two of them shared a smile, then a touch, then a kiss, then their love.
-
So maybe Choi Minho finally got his Christmas wish that year. In fact, he figured he received two of them. He could officially call Jonghyun his own, his one true love. He could kiss those lips whenever he wanted, he could hold him longer than they had before, they could share more intimate touches. And finally, after all those years, Minho had a puppy to call his own, and his name was Kim Jonghyun.
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a/n: Merry Christmas again!~ I know I said I was gonna make a chaptered holiday Jongho fic, but I got lazy and only mustered up a oneshot. I hope it still suffices D: Besides, I’m thinking of writing a sequel to this, a very plotless, fluffy sequel. The ideas are already there, so it’s likely. But yeah, hope you enjoy and have a great holiday! (: Also, sorry this is more narration-like, in fact my writing style in general is more narration than it is descriptive and stuff. If you don’t like that, sorry, I’m trying hard to become more descriptive.. but I just can’t, ‘cause I fail too much at it and it ends up sounding like a 5th grader wrote it ;-;
Btw, I realize the Namsan tower locks are called “locks of love” and I think it is specifically for couples, but let’s pretend in this world, they’re just for locking relationships (which Minho loosely translated as friendship too as well as love/couples) together forever~