Waiting on a Shooting Star (Oneshot)
Pairing: JongKey
Rating: PG
Genre: Song Fic, AU, Fluff and some Angst
Word count: ~2000
Disclaimer: Yeah... no.
Summary: They grow up together, but they only really grow up until much later.
A/N: Inspired by Train’s “Drops of Jupiter”, lyrics are in italics.
_______________
Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken
Your best friend always sticking up for you, even when I know you’re wrong
Can you imagine no five-hour phone conversations
The best soy latte that you ever had
And me
Kibum and Jonghyun had been friends ever since they could remember. They lived on the same street and would often turn up on each other’s doorstep, unannounced. Of course, they would always let each other in and even when it was parents or siblings answering the door, they would simply smile and say “You know where to find him”. Sometimes, their families would joke that they might as well adopt the other boy because they were always at each other’s place anyway. They both shared two homes; half of Kibum’s things were in Jonghyun’s room and half of Jonghyun’s were in Kibum’s. They even wore each other’s clothes, although Jonghyun always needed to plead a bit to wear Kibum’s because the younger boy didn’t particularly like lending his clothes. He made an exception for his best friend - and secretly enjoyed the sight of him begging with big round eyes and jutting lips.
They were a grade apart, but that didn’t really matter because they still found ways to annoy and amuse each other at school. Really, they both had mastered the art of texting in class to the point where they could jointly write a book about how to not get caught, even by teachers with eyes in the back of their heads (or Mad-Eye Moody). Sometimes, they would sneak out of school during lunchtime (because it wasn’t technically allowed) to blow their allowance on fried chicken or soy lattes. Chocolate flavour for Jonghyun and honey dew for Kibum.
They were similar in many ways, shared more than many interests, were both a bit bratty and hard-headed and sometimes it would lead to childish arguments. They would quickly get over them, though, because staying mad at each other was just too hard. They could entertain themselves for hours on end with things that would have other people yawning after a minute. They had each other’s backs and had no problem coming up with intricate lies to explain to their parents why such and such items were broken or missing. They never lied to each other, though. It wasn’t like they could, anyway.
They knew each other’s passwords to online accounts and Kibum knew where Jonghyun hid his porn. They shared iPods and laptops so often that they weren’t even sure which belonged to whom, in the end. If one read a book, the other would read it too, sometimes at the same time even.
But they had also had their differences. Jonghyun had an unmet passion for singing, Kibum liked dance. Kibum’s favourite subject was English, Jonghyun didn’t care about it (though they both hated math). Jonghyun wanted to make music his life, Kibum wasn’t sure what he wanted to do yet.
Jonghyun wanted to move to Seoul to pursue his dream while Kibum was in the middle of completing a major at their university in Daegu.
The older boy left before he could doubt his decision, promising Kibum they would still talk to each other plenty. Kibum tried to act like phones calls, emails and texts were enough.
The older boy got signed by a big agency before the year ended, warning Kibum he might not be able to call him as much. Kibum tried to act like he was happy for Jonghyun, even when Jonghyun stopped calling.
At least he’s amongst stars now, Kibum thinks with bright and teary eyes.
***
Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back to the Milky Way
And tell me did Venus blow your mind
Was it everything you wanted to find
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there
Kibum watches the morning news every day while he eats breakfast, fulfilling his duties as a good citizen. He only has one semester left until the end of his major and still doesn’t know what he’s going to do next.
He’s chewing through a mouthful of soggy cereal - some too-sweet commercial brand that was cheap enough for his student wallet - when he goes still, eyes glued to his old, small cathode ray tube screen.
There’s a picture of a dude with strange dyed-blond hair with a guitar strap over his shoulder and Kibum thinks he might just know him. Or rather, might have.
He stares dumbly at his television for a while, eyes going over and over the line of text at the top: Kim Jonghyun set to debut next week.
He checks his watch and gasps when he notices that if he doesn’t run out right this moment he’ll miss his bus - and his first class, which he absolutely cannot be late for because he has to hand in a twenty three page paper. He almost throws his bowl in the sink and almost forgets to turn off the television. He has to run after the bus, but the driver notices him and let’s him on.
As Kibum understands it, Kim Jonghyun is a huge success. Fangirls (and boys) scream as soon as he walks onto the stage, acoustic guitar on his back. Kibum vaguely wonders when he learned to play, why he learned to play because he was pretty sure his ex-best friend preferred piano. Or used to. Right.
The featured song on the new idol’s first album tops the charts the week of his debut and stays in the top twenty for a few (fourteen, to be exact) weeks after that. He wins a few (three, actually) awards on shows along the way and appears in some very popular variety shows. It’s not like Kibum’s keeping tabs on him. Really.
Kibum finishes his major soon enough, too soon, and once more he is faced with his future.
He enrols for a master’s degree in a renowned university in Seoul because he has the grades for it. It’s not like he’s just doing it to go to Seoul, because he’s serious about his education so he might as well go to a good school. Really.
He packs his bags and lets his parents hug him tighter than is comfortable before stepping onto the train. He waves goodbye to his hometown and hears his mother shout out a promise of phone calls. Kibum spends the ride spilling silent tears into his sweater.
He secretly hopes the other stars are keeping Kim Jonghyun company, because Kibum knows what it’s like to keep yourself company and certainly doesn’t wish it on anyone, especially ex-best friends.
Kim Jonghyun surprises his entire hometown one day by showing up to his parents’ house unannounced. His family is elated to have him home for the first time in two and a half years. He spends half the day with his parents, the other half lying on his old bed going through old pictures. He won’t admit it, even to himself, but he’s putting off what he came there to do. It’s nine o’clock when he finally knocks on a door a few houses down the street and Mrs. Kim answers. Her eyes go wide when she sees him and she smiles for a second or two before frowning a bit. She tells him Kibum moved away, offers him a piece of scrap paper with an address written on it and offers him to come in for some tea. Jonghyun takes the paper but doesn’t enter. He’s not sure for how long he’ll be able to hold his tears if he sets foot inside that house. Mrs. Kim phones her son right after the idol leaves the doorstep but Kibum doesn’t pick up because he’s busy drinking and stuffing his tongue down some bleached-blond guy’s throat.
When Jonghyun is back in Seoul the next day, he tucks the paper in a book he remembers reading with his ex-best friend.
When Mrs. Kim calls her son again in the morning, Kibum is too hungover to understand what she’s saying.
***
Tell me did you sail across the sun
Did you make it to the milky way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated
Kibum is eating breakfast while watching television on a tiny screen in his tiny dorm. His cereal is still too sweet and too soggy but he learned not to care anymore. He’s washing his dishes, ignoring the re-run of Kim Jonghyun’s performance from a week before when he hears his phone vibrate on the table. He picks it up on his way out.
Can we meet up?
The four words gleam white on black on the screen of his mobile phone and Kibum pauses in his steps. It’s been one year, ten months and twenty nine days since he last saw the name “Jonghyun” flash on his mobile. He’s not counting, really. He’d just never deleted the last text he’d sent him. As reference, you know.
He sees his bus pass from the corner of his eye and sprints after it. The bus driver notices him and lets him on.
He doesn’t have time to think about the text until he steps back into his dorm past midnight. School was pretty hectic these days. He stares at it for a good five minutes. He wonders why Jonghyun texted him now, of all times. He wonders why he has no clue what to answer when it used to be so easy to talk to him, when they’d never shut up around each other. He wonders if Jonghyun’s alright, if he regrets anything, if he found what he was looking for and if he might miss his ex-best friend just as much as his ex-best friend misses him.
He doesn’t reply anything in the end, because he doesn’t know what to reply, which is a first.
Jonghyun seems to get the (unwritten) message and doesn’t text him again.
Kibum laughs sadly to himself because despite everything, they’re still the same hard-headed kids.
***
Now that he’s back from that soul vacation
Tracing his way through the constellation, hey hey
Kibum is almost done his Master’s when he goes back to Daegu to spend the holidays with his parents. They’re both very happy to see him, but his mother isn’t fooled by his empty smile. She knows there’s something wrong, she even knows what’s wrong, but she’s tactful enough to not mention it.
A few houses down the street, Jonghyun’s family is greeting him back with open arms and tight hugs. There’s laughter and carols and blessings but his sister doesn’t miss how he spends a little more time than necessary in his old bedroom. She takes it upon herself to call the house a few doors down the street and ask if Kibum is home for the holidays, crossing her fingers behind her back.
Later in the evening, she asks Jonghyun to go to Mrs. Kim’s and ask for a cup of sugar because she wants to bake for their mother. He doesn’t think much of it and walks through the lightly falling snowflakes to knock on the door. Kibum opens it and they both freeze. He still doesn’t know what to say so he just stands there and takes in Jonghyun's round eyes and his shorter build - it's like he didn't age.
The silence is thick and Kibum really wants to close the door, but he’s been raised better than that. So he waits.
“I’m sorry.”
Hey, it’s a few years too late, but Kibum’ll take it anyway. He has some pride though - and feelings - so he crosses his arms on his chest and gives Jonghyun a disbelieving look.
“You know I am.”
Kibum nods, but doesn’t move.
“I miss you?”
Kibum nods again, wants to say “I miss you too” but his breath catches in his throat and all that’s left to do is throw himself into the other boy’s arms, who catches him and holds him tight tight tight. They’re both getting a bit teary but neither of them care.
“I don’t think we’re meant to be apart,” Jonghyun whispers with a throaty voice into Kibum’s neck. His breath warms Kibum inside, makes him feel like everything's alright.
“Took you all this time to figure that out?” Kibum says into Jonghyun’s hair, but his words are more playful than remorseful, a small smile threatening to stretch his lips.
Jonghyun leans back a bit to look at him and Kibum can't hold back his smile anymore, then Jonghyun smiles and he leans forward again, only this time it’s to kiss Kibum softly and show him that no, it didn’t take him all this time to figure it out. To make him understand that he was just too afraid, that he regretted his choice the minute he stepped out of Kibum’s life, that he was then too afraid to come back. Kibum got the gist of it, he thinks, judging by the way he’s kissing him back. Jonghyun wants to tell him that the stars didn’t shine when he wasn’t there, but he doesn’t because he thinks Kibum knows that already.
When they leave to head back to Seoul, they do it together. They pretty much do everything else together too, after that.
_______________
A/N: I DON’T LIKE THE END D: I was listening to the song, more specifically the bit about deep-fried chicken and I was like omg rofl Onew. Boom, JongKey fic is born. Title is lame. Yes, I threw in a HP reference. This turned out completely different to what I’d originally imagined. For the record, the picture at the beginning is falling snow. Anyway, thanks for reading~
Rating: PG
Genre: Song Fic, AU, Fluff and some Angst
Word count: ~2000
Disclaimer: Yeah... no.
Summary: They grow up together, but they only really grow up until much later.
A/N: Inspired by Train’s “Drops of Jupiter”, lyrics are in italics.
_______________
Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken
Your best friend always sticking up for you, even when I know you’re wrong
Can you imagine no five-hour phone conversations
The best soy latte that you ever had
And me
Kibum and Jonghyun had been friends ever since they could remember. They lived on the same street and would often turn up on each other’s doorstep, unannounced. Of course, they would always let each other in and even when it was parents or siblings answering the door, they would simply smile and say “You know where to find him”. Sometimes, their families would joke that they might as well adopt the other boy because they were always at each other’s place anyway. They both shared two homes; half of Kibum’s things were in Jonghyun’s room and half of Jonghyun’s were in Kibum’s. They even wore each other’s clothes, although Jonghyun always needed to plead a bit to wear Kibum’s because the younger boy didn’t particularly like lending his clothes. He made an exception for his best friend - and secretly enjoyed the sight of him begging with big round eyes and jutting lips.
They were a grade apart, but that didn’t really matter because they still found ways to annoy and amuse each other at school. Really, they both had mastered the art of texting in class to the point where they could jointly write a book about how to not get caught, even by teachers with eyes in the back of their heads (or Mad-Eye Moody). Sometimes, they would sneak out of school during lunchtime (because it wasn’t technically allowed) to blow their allowance on fried chicken or soy lattes. Chocolate flavour for Jonghyun and honey dew for Kibum.
They were similar in many ways, shared more than many interests, were both a bit bratty and hard-headed and sometimes it would lead to childish arguments. They would quickly get over them, though, because staying mad at each other was just too hard. They could entertain themselves for hours on end with things that would have other people yawning after a minute. They had each other’s backs and had no problem coming up with intricate lies to explain to their parents why such and such items were broken or missing. They never lied to each other, though. It wasn’t like they could, anyway.
They knew each other’s passwords to online accounts and Kibum knew where Jonghyun hid his porn. They shared iPods and laptops so often that they weren’t even sure which belonged to whom, in the end. If one read a book, the other would read it too, sometimes at the same time even.
But they had also had their differences. Jonghyun had an unmet passion for singing, Kibum liked dance. Kibum’s favourite subject was English, Jonghyun didn’t care about it (though they both hated math). Jonghyun wanted to make music his life, Kibum wasn’t sure what he wanted to do yet.
Jonghyun wanted to move to Seoul to pursue his dream while Kibum was in the middle of completing a major at their university in Daegu.
The older boy left before he could doubt his decision, promising Kibum they would still talk to each other plenty. Kibum tried to act like phones calls, emails and texts were enough.
The older boy got signed by a big agency before the year ended, warning Kibum he might not be able to call him as much. Kibum tried to act like he was happy for Jonghyun, even when Jonghyun stopped calling.
At least he’s amongst stars now, Kibum thinks with bright and teary eyes.
***
Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back to the Milky Way
And tell me did Venus blow your mind
Was it everything you wanted to find
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there
Kibum watches the morning news every day while he eats breakfast, fulfilling his duties as a good citizen. He only has one semester left until the end of his major and still doesn’t know what he’s going to do next.
He’s chewing through a mouthful of soggy cereal - some too-sweet commercial brand that was cheap enough for his student wallet - when he goes still, eyes glued to his old, small cathode ray tube screen.
There’s a picture of a dude with strange dyed-blond hair with a guitar strap over his shoulder and Kibum thinks he might just know him. Or rather, might have.
He stares dumbly at his television for a while, eyes going over and over the line of text at the top: Kim Jonghyun set to debut next week.
He checks his watch and gasps when he notices that if he doesn’t run out right this moment he’ll miss his bus - and his first class, which he absolutely cannot be late for because he has to hand in a twenty three page paper. He almost throws his bowl in the sink and almost forgets to turn off the television. He has to run after the bus, but the driver notices him and let’s him on.
As Kibum understands it, Kim Jonghyun is a huge success. Fangirls (and boys) scream as soon as he walks onto the stage, acoustic guitar on his back. Kibum vaguely wonders when he learned to play, why he learned to play because he was pretty sure his ex-best friend preferred piano. Or used to. Right.
The featured song on the new idol’s first album tops the charts the week of his debut and stays in the top twenty for a few (fourteen, to be exact) weeks after that. He wins a few (three, actually) awards on shows along the way and appears in some very popular variety shows. It’s not like Kibum’s keeping tabs on him. Really.
Kibum finishes his major soon enough, too soon, and once more he is faced with his future.
He enrols for a master’s degree in a renowned university in Seoul because he has the grades for it. It’s not like he’s just doing it to go to Seoul, because he’s serious about his education so he might as well go to a good school. Really.
He packs his bags and lets his parents hug him tighter than is comfortable before stepping onto the train. He waves goodbye to his hometown and hears his mother shout out a promise of phone calls. Kibum spends the ride spilling silent tears into his sweater.
He secretly hopes the other stars are keeping Kim Jonghyun company, because Kibum knows what it’s like to keep yourself company and certainly doesn’t wish it on anyone, especially ex-best friends.
Kim Jonghyun surprises his entire hometown one day by showing up to his parents’ house unannounced. His family is elated to have him home for the first time in two and a half years. He spends half the day with his parents, the other half lying on his old bed going through old pictures. He won’t admit it, even to himself, but he’s putting off what he came there to do. It’s nine o’clock when he finally knocks on a door a few houses down the street and Mrs. Kim answers. Her eyes go wide when she sees him and she smiles for a second or two before frowning a bit. She tells him Kibum moved away, offers him a piece of scrap paper with an address written on it and offers him to come in for some tea. Jonghyun takes the paper but doesn’t enter. He’s not sure for how long he’ll be able to hold his tears if he sets foot inside that house. Mrs. Kim phones her son right after the idol leaves the doorstep but Kibum doesn’t pick up because he’s busy drinking and stuffing his tongue down some bleached-blond guy’s throat.
When Jonghyun is back in Seoul the next day, he tucks the paper in a book he remembers reading with his ex-best friend.
When Mrs. Kim calls her son again in the morning, Kibum is too hungover to understand what she’s saying.
***
Tell me did you sail across the sun
Did you make it to the milky way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated
Kibum is eating breakfast while watching television on a tiny screen in his tiny dorm. His cereal is still too sweet and too soggy but he learned not to care anymore. He’s washing his dishes, ignoring the re-run of Kim Jonghyun’s performance from a week before when he hears his phone vibrate on the table. He picks it up on his way out.
Can we meet up?
The four words gleam white on black on the screen of his mobile phone and Kibum pauses in his steps. It’s been one year, ten months and twenty nine days since he last saw the name “Jonghyun” flash on his mobile. He’s not counting, really. He’d just never deleted the last text he’d sent him. As reference, you know.
He sees his bus pass from the corner of his eye and sprints after it. The bus driver notices him and lets him on.
He doesn’t have time to think about the text until he steps back into his dorm past midnight. School was pretty hectic these days. He stares at it for a good five minutes. He wonders why Jonghyun texted him now, of all times. He wonders why he has no clue what to answer when it used to be so easy to talk to him, when they’d never shut up around each other. He wonders if Jonghyun’s alright, if he regrets anything, if he found what he was looking for and if he might miss his ex-best friend just as much as his ex-best friend misses him.
He doesn’t reply anything in the end, because he doesn’t know what to reply, which is a first.
Jonghyun seems to get the (unwritten) message and doesn’t text him again.
Kibum laughs sadly to himself because despite everything, they’re still the same hard-headed kids.
***
Now that he’s back from that soul vacation
Tracing his way through the constellation, hey hey
Kibum is almost done his Master’s when he goes back to Daegu to spend the holidays with his parents. They’re both very happy to see him, but his mother isn’t fooled by his empty smile. She knows there’s something wrong, she even knows what’s wrong, but she’s tactful enough to not mention it.
A few houses down the street, Jonghyun’s family is greeting him back with open arms and tight hugs. There’s laughter and carols and blessings but his sister doesn’t miss how he spends a little more time than necessary in his old bedroom. She takes it upon herself to call the house a few doors down the street and ask if Kibum is home for the holidays, crossing her fingers behind her back.
Later in the evening, she asks Jonghyun to go to Mrs. Kim’s and ask for a cup of sugar because she wants to bake for their mother. He doesn’t think much of it and walks through the lightly falling snowflakes to knock on the door. Kibum opens it and they both freeze. He still doesn’t know what to say so he just stands there and takes in Jonghyun's round eyes and his shorter build - it's like he didn't age.
The silence is thick and Kibum really wants to close the door, but he’s been raised better than that. So he waits.
“I’m sorry.”
Hey, it’s a few years too late, but Kibum’ll take it anyway. He has some pride though - and feelings - so he crosses his arms on his chest and gives Jonghyun a disbelieving look.
“You know I am.”
Kibum nods, but doesn’t move.
“I miss you?”
Kibum nods again, wants to say “I miss you too” but his breath catches in his throat and all that’s left to do is throw himself into the other boy’s arms, who catches him and holds him tight tight tight. They’re both getting a bit teary but neither of them care.
“I don’t think we’re meant to be apart,” Jonghyun whispers with a throaty voice into Kibum’s neck. His breath warms Kibum inside, makes him feel like everything's alright.
“Took you all this time to figure that out?” Kibum says into Jonghyun’s hair, but his words are more playful than remorseful, a small smile threatening to stretch his lips.
Jonghyun leans back a bit to look at him and Kibum can't hold back his smile anymore, then Jonghyun smiles and he leans forward again, only this time it’s to kiss Kibum softly and show him that no, it didn’t take him all this time to figure it out. To make him understand that he was just too afraid, that he regretted his choice the minute he stepped out of Kibum’s life, that he was then too afraid to come back. Kibum got the gist of it, he thinks, judging by the way he’s kissing him back. Jonghyun wants to tell him that the stars didn’t shine when he wasn’t there, but he doesn’t because he thinks Kibum knows that already.
When they leave to head back to Seoul, they do it together. They pretty much do everything else together too, after that.
_______________
A/N: I DON’T LIKE THE END D: I was listening to the song, more specifically the bit about deep-fried chicken and I was like omg rofl Onew. Boom, JongKey fic is born. Title is lame. Yes, I threw in a HP reference. This turned out completely different to what I’d originally imagined. For the record, the picture at the beginning is falling snow. Anyway, thanks for reading~