"In Our Room" [1/1]
Title: In Our Room [1/1]
Pairing: Jonghyun/Minho
Genre: AU, drama/romance
Warnings: None
Words: 8193
Summary: So maybe Jonghyun shouldn't treat the room as his own anymore. Sharing is caring, after all.
Cause you were my sun, the moon
내 전부였던 너 내 방에 있는
모든 것들이 널 그리워하나봐
널 위해 찾다 지쳐서 널 잠시 잊어도
숨겨놓은 우리의 추억이
가득 남아 cause you’re still in my room
Cause you were my sun, the moon
You were my everything and
everything in my room seems to miss you
If I get tired of looking for you and forget,
Our hidden memories
still linger cause you’re still in my room
In My Room - SHINee
Translation courtesy of Grace
Jonghyun was reaching for a kleenex when the door banged open and some guy walked in - serious eyes peering from a sharp, distinctive face, with full lips shaping into a small 'O' of surprise. In the split second it took for them to realize exactly what was happening, Jonghyun was able to process the fact that the guy was very, very tall.
Then he screamed. In a very manly way of course. He would've clutched the blankets to his chest in mortification - if he wasn't sitting on them, himself in full view.
The guy's eyes widened comically and he slammed the door shut behind him. "I'm - I'm sorry!" He stuttered quietly on the other side while Jonghyun shook off the shock and finally grabbed the kleenex and wiped himself off, tucking his dick back in his pants. He was tossing the dirtied kleenex into the trash bin when a tentative knock interrupted his furious monologue with himself, which mostly consisted of 'what the fuck' and 'holy shit some guy just opened the door while I was jacking off!'
"Is it safe to...come in?" The pause seemed to emit an embarrassed air.
"Uh, yeah. Sure. I mean, yes," he cringed as the door opened again, much more slowly this time, to reveal the guy from before. Then he frowned, momentarily forgetting what had just happened. At the guy's feet was a small carry-on. "Wait, who are you?"
"I'm your roommate, Choi Minho," he said in a surprisingly deep voice and bowed politely.
"Really?" Jonghyun glanced at the empty wooden frame next to his own sloppily made bed - he blushed lightly at why his bed looked so sloppy - and sighed. He'd only moved in a few days ago and had assumed, when no roommate had shown up to claim his side of the room, that perhaps he was lucky enough to get the room to himself. "Well, welcome. I guess."
An awkward silence fell while Minho pulled his suitcase past the doorframe and shut the door quietly behind him. They stood at opposite ends of the room and stared at each other, as if facing off on a battlefield on two opposing sides.
As a matter of fact, Jonghyun had rather liked the privacy. He liked being able to laze around the room, wherever he liked. He enjoyed being able to sing without feeling self-conscious due to another presence hanging around or barging in when he least expected it. Most of all, he'd been thinking how convenient having no roommate would be when bringing girls back (although that was looking a bit far into the future, as he didn't even have a prospective lady to hold hands with).
"So." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. There wasn't any point being a jerk about it, especially since he'd assumed rather than ask the landlord whether anyone was going to rent the other half of the room. "You know, earlier, I didn't expect - I don't usually - "
"It's alright," Minho was quick to reassure. He wasn't able to hide the very faint redness that tinted his cheeks though, and Jonghyun was sure he looked the same. "I'll knock next time."
"Yeah. I, uh, I will too. Not that I'm saying you would, that, I mean - " He cut himself off with a short laugh. God, why was he making a fool of himself? It hadn't even been five minutes since they met and they were going to be living together for the rest of the year! And why was he so embarrassed? They were guys! Minho would understand! Guys did shit like that all the time and if they accidentally interrupted each other, then they were supposed to laugh it off and move on. "I'm Kim Jonghyun. You can take that bed and the closet next to it," he said and pointed. "That desk next to mine is yours." He glanced at his own desk and winced - it was covered with stacks of CDs, his laptop, his Ipod, his headphones, his watch, and bits of stationery for classes next week.
Minho smiled slowly and nodded, as if pleased Jonghyun had taken the initiative. "Thanks."
And that was that.
Several minutes later, Jonghyun was lounging on his bed with a book in hand, watching Minho out of the corner of his eyes. The guy didn't seem very talkative. He'd made his bed and was now pulling his clothes out, folding shorts and jeans into drawers and hanging up his shirts. This he accomplished efficiently and with close attention to detail. Once that was done (with Jonghyun peeking above the top of his book discreetly), he set up his own laptop and a small lamp. Finally, he closed his suitcase.
"That's it?" Jonghyun blurted out without thinking and winced.
Minho blinked at him, before dragging his suitcase over to the side of the bed and pushing it under. He stayed crouched for a little while longer, as if contemplating something, and then pulled himself up so he could sit at the edge of his bed. "Maybe we should set some rules."
Flinging the book over his shoulder carelessly - he'd read maybe three lines anyway - Jonghyun swung his legs over the side to mirror Minho's position. "Rules?" He didn't really like the sound of that."
He nodded firmly. "If we don't want a repeat of earlier." Jonghyun opened his mouth to apologize but Minho smiled ruefully and shook his head. "I just mean if we want to get through the year without world war three in here, maybe we should get to know each other and our boundaries."
That was the most he'd said since entering the room. "I've got no problem with that," Jonghyun said cautiously. "I don't really have a lot of boundaries." Then he realized what he'd just said.
Minho chuckled, his deep voice giving it a charming quality.
'Damn,' Jonghyun thought half admiringly, 'the girls are going to love him.'
"I meant whether you prefer to keep the room neat, when you want the room to yourself, what time you want the lights out, stuff like that."
"Uh..." Jonghyun glanced at his desk and Minho smiled again. Jonghyun decided he liked seeing him not quite so serious. "As you can tell, you can be as messy as you like. I don't care when I get the room to myself, and whenever, I'm a night owl."
"So basically, it doesn't matter."
He tilted his head. "Yeah."
"Oh." Minho hesitated, and then continued. "Well, I prefer to keep the room neat, I'd like the room to myself between two to five on weekends, and I sleep at eleven."
Takenback, Jonghyun blinked. "Why two to five?"
His lips thinned. "Why not?" Like someone had flipped a switch, Minho seemed to shut down and his gaze diverted to somewhere on the corner of Jonghyun's bed.
"Hey, that's fine with me," Jonghyun said quickly, surprised by the sudden hostility. "But I think if we start out being friends it'd be easier in the long run than setting up all these rules right off the bat."
Minho stared at him.
"You're not the first roommate I've had, Minho sshi. I'm not that much of an asshole to try to push you around so can you drop the cold act and try to get to know me first? If it doesn't work out, I'm open to making compromises."
"I...suppose," Minho said softly and looked so strangely bewildered that Jonghyun almost laughed.
"Good." Jonghyun stood up and stretched. "Want to get some lunch?"
They looked at each other for a few seconds, before Minho stood up and promptly towered over him. At least he had a smile on his face, even if it was just a quirk at the corner of his lips.
Minho shrugged. "Why not?"
~*~*~
Lunch was a quiet affair (but so were most things involving Minho, as Jonghyun would soon find out).
Jonghyun discovered, through some very thorough needling he was quite proud of, that Minho, like him, came from a family of four. He had an older brother and a soccer coach father, whom he talked about with an excited look on his face. He was eighteen that year and was a first-year student at the same university that Jonghyun attended. He'd gotten a scholarship and was due to study business.
He wasn't sure if he should be offended at the surprised look on Minho's face when Jonghyun mentioned he was in his third year, majoring in mathematics.
He'd monologued his life story, from the good and bad of having an older sister to having the time of his life while performing with his band in middle school. Having run out of things to talk about, he'd started in on the university itself and how he'd introduce his friends to Minho and which restaurants to avoid that were close to campus. Minho let him talk himself out but kept up by offering a question or two when something caught his interest.
After splitting the bill, Jonghyun took Minho on a tour of campus. Minho nodded politely at every sight Jonghyun pointed out, but seemed mostly disinterested in his surroundings.
Finally, their trek across the sports field had Minho surreptitiously edging towards the soccer team currently undergoing practice, with prospective students signing up for tryouts. It was actually rather comical - Minho, with his nearly six feet height, kept looking longingly over his shoulder until Jonghyun finally gave him a push towards the group with an exasperated eye roll. For some reason, while Minho clearly loved the game, he was reluctant to do something about it.
(Slinging an arm around the taller man's shoulders, causing Minho to lean down, Jonghyun laughed. "If you get in I'll be your one-man cheering squad during games."
Minho had laughed loudly for the first time, to his surprise, and agreed.)
By the time they had made it back to the dorm, Minho had also picked up a flier for the dance club and signed up for tryouts for the swim team.
That night he was unable to look Minho in the eye as he crawled into his bed and threw his blanket over his head to hide his burning face.
~*~*~
Minho was gone for much of the next week for his orientation and Jonghyun used the time to serenade himself while he danced around the room. Not being able to let his voice run free was driving him insane, and the guitar sitting forlornly in the back of his closet always sat in his mind.
But while he crooned quietly under his breath as he perused the internet, half his attention spent trying to listen for footsteps outside the door, the guitar stayed in the closet. Though his fingers itched to play, he still couldn't bring himself to.
Despite their awkward first meeting, Jonghyun found that he and Minho weren't completely incompatible as roommates. Sure, he was messy but he always remembered to be considerate about his things and at least pick up his stuff and throw it onto his bed to keep from littering the ground. Minho's side was always impeccably spotless. Abiding by Minho's sleep schedule took awhile for him to adjust, but listening to music before bed helped him sleep earlier and within a week, he was used to sleeping early.
Of course, once school started, sleeping altogether would be another matter (he was a perpetual procrastinator and all nighters was a natural part of his academic routine), but one thing at a time, Jonghyun told himself with a shrug.
It wasn't until the weekend that their first argument came up. Ordinarily, Jonghyun couldn't care less about when someone would want to stay cooped up in their room. But he'd completely forgotten about Minho's request, the weekend before school was to start, and he'd come back to the house sweaty after a game of basketball with several friends at around one-thirty.
It made sense to grab a towel and head for the shower so he could go back out to get some lunch. What didn't make sense, however, was walking into what he'd assumed had been a previously empty room with a towel around his waist and little else, only to be met with Minho's flabbergasted face - and then his furious glare.
Jonghyun, at first, was unaware of the warning signs. He'd merely blinked at him and waved in greeting, calling out an, "Oh, hey," making a beeline for his closet for some clothes. Minho's chair had swivelled around and he was staring slack jawed at him.
"Got any plans for today?" Jonghyun asked, back to him as he rummaged for a pair of jeans and his favourite T-shirt.
"I did," came the dangerously low murmur.
Jonghyun paused, and then turned around cautiously. "Hey, what's up? Did you not make the soccer team?"
"Practices start next week." Minho's eyes were trained on his face. If Jonghyun didn't know better, he would've thought Minho was trying very hard not to look past his neck.
A grin broke across his face. "Congrats, dude!"
"Hyung, did you forget what we agreed on?" Minho suddenly burst out, face pinched. "It's two!"
"What did we - oh, you were serious about that?"
"Of course I was!"
"What do you plan on doing in here for three hours every weekend?"
Minho took a deep breath. "It's not really any of your business - " he tried to explain.
"Well I'd like to know why you're kicking me out of my own room. I didn't know you meant I'm not physically allowed in here under any circumstances."
"I like having some time to myself," Minho said calmly. He had a hand resting on his closed laptop. Now that Jonghyun thought about it, Minho had been using it when he'd walked in.
"Well, I'll be out of here soon enough. But it's not fair, is it? What if it's winter? Am I going to take a three hour walk in a snow storm so you can have your alone time?" Jonghyun responded, annoyed.
"That's - "
"And three hours? That's like six hours a week. I don't mind if you tell me ahead of time you want the room to yourself but a weekly thing is a bit much, don't you think? Look, how about two hours over the weekend and I promise I won't come in?"
"That's incredibly unreasonable - "
"Three hours and that's my final offer."
Minho stared at him and then looked away, frustrated. It almost made Jonghyun feel a little bad. "Alright, fine. Two to three-thirty."
Victory. Jonghyun grinned and extended a hand. "Deal."
Minho gave him a nondescript glare and ignored his hand, turning back to his computer. "And put some clothes on, you'll catch a cold."
"Aw, I didn't know you cared!"
~*~*~
It turned out that the soccer team, the dance club, and classes would keep Minho so busy that Jonghyun barely saw him once school started anyway. Perhaps even Minho didn't foresee just how busy he would be, because Jonghyun noticed that he looked more and more harried as time went by. The fact that it showed through his stoic expression meant, Jonghyun assumed, that it was really bothering him.
The two of them rarely gave each other trouble after that first dispute. Minho would be up at eight in the morning for his morning jog and Jonghyun would be dead to the world, snoozing away despite his nine-thirty morning class. During the day he flitted from class to hanging out with his friends to lingering at the music building like a loser, resisting the urge to peer into the practice rooms to see if anyone was there. It was all kind of pathetic, but he couldn't bring himself to take that extra step and actually do something about it.
It was amazing how easy it was for things to fall into a routine.
It wasn't really necessary for them to talk to each other just because they were roommates. The truth was that after the whole thing about Minho's alone time, they barely spoke unless they had to. Jonghyun felt, to an extent, that it was easy for Minho - the guy barely spoke two words on a regular basis anyway. Still, the fact that he was living with someone this year, as opposed to the two previous years when he'd been able to rent a single room, made him feel that it should feel as though he had company. This routine didn't really feel very different from when he lived by himself.
"Well, if you two just talk." Jessica nuna raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him beneath her long blonde hair and he made a face at her from his position on his bed.
"No way," he muttered.
"Boys," she muttered back at him in English and turned back to her magazine.
The silence in his room dragged on while he fiddled with his headphones. Finally, he threw them off his head and sat up. "Talk about what?" he demanded. "He doesn't even talk about himself. All I know is he likes kicking a ball around all the time."
She perked up. "He plays soccer?"
"Nuna!"
Jessica flicked her hair over her shoulder and tossed the magazine she'd been reading on his desk. "Stop whining. You haven't even introduced him to me yet; how should I know what you can talk to him about?"
"Thanks," he said sarcastically and grumbled under his breath as he leaned back against his pillow thoughtfully.
"So are you going to play or not, Jonghyun?"
He hesitated.
She sighed and smoothed down the summer dress she was wearing. "I don't understand why you keep asking me over if you're not planning on picking up the guitar again."
"I just - That's because - "
"I know, Jonghyunnie," she fixed a serious look at him. "But why are you letting a couple of jerks stop you from doing what you love? I can't understand that."
He stared back at her, and that was when the door opened. Minho stepped into the room, hair damp with sweat, and stared. Jessica's wide-eyed look wasn't lost on Jonghyun and he nearly curled up in a fetal position, because seriously, what the hell?
"You know, knocking was invented to avoid situations like these," he snapped before he could stop himself and Jessica immediately frowned.
Ignoring him, Minho pasted on a polite smile on his face and bowed towards her, shutting the door behind him. "I'm Choi Minho."
"Ah," she quickly stood up and bowed, unable to hide the admiring look. "Jung Sooyeon. Call me Jessica." She smiled somewhat shyly and Jonghyun goggled at her.
"Jessica nuna?" Minho asked with a small smile and when Jessica happily returned it, Jonghyun had about enough.
"C'mon, nuna, let's go," he stood up.
"Go where?" She asked, not moving from her spot.
"To the practice rooms. I've decided to play," he gritted out. He didn't know what it was, but suddenly Minho's presence was really grating on his nerves.
A bright smile broke across her face. "Really?"
"You'll need your guitar, won't you?" Minho said casually, dropping the towel around his neck onto the back of his chair. Then he turned to look innocently at Jonghyun's speechless face.
"How did you - "
He at least had the courtesy to look embarrassed. "You accidentally took one of my shirts when you went to get your laundry - " it was communal within the house, " - and I was looking for it. I didn't mean to be nosy."
Jessica took one look at Jonghyun and stepped forward, a cute smile ready on her face. "If you're going to play, what's wrong with your room, Jonghyunnie? Minho sshi, you're welcome to stay of course. It is your room too."
"I'd be happy to," he said quickly and Jonghyun shut his mouth, surprised.
"Really?"
Minho glanced at him. "Yes, of course."
She clapped her hands and grinned. "Then what are we waiting for?"
Feeling two pairs of expectant eyes on him, Jonghyun shifted nervously. So he'd planned on ditching Jessica at the music building and going to a noraebang by himself, where he could sing to his heart's content, and he definitely hadn't expected Minho's sudden interest in his playing. He was still a little angry - he couldn't understand why - that Minho had seen his guitar. Minho knew that he played of course - he'd talked about it during lunch that first day - but to have someone besides Jessica (whom he'd known for as long as he'd been in university and whom had indulgently gotten him access to parts of the music building, where she often went to for classes to fulfill her minor requirements) know that his guitar was sitting unused in his closet, as if he was hiding it from himself and from the world, made him feel like his privacy had been invaded in the worst way.
He told himself he had wanted him and Minho to get off on a good foot and that maybe this was the way to have them both take the initiative and become actual roommates, rather than two people who just so happened to live together.
Stiffly, he walked over to his closet and pulled out the guitar that hadn't been played for close to three years. He'd been working up to playing for Jessica nuna, a person he both liked and admired (and had a bit of a crush on, he had to admit), but Minho was a whole different story. When the time came to actually pull out the unused instrument, he simply couldn't make himself.
"Hyung?"
It was Minho who called out to him, and he finally sighed and replaced the instrument back in the closet.
"I'm sorry, nuna, I can't do it yet." He couldn't look at her, because he knew she'd been looking at him with the biggest and saddest eyes. He felt humiliated, because he couldn't predict how Minho would be looking at him right now.
"Why don't you sing then?" Jonghyun looked up and Minho had all of his attention focused on him. As if he couldn't look away.
Jessica was surprised. "Sing?"
"What haven't you been nosy about?" he demanded, furious all of a sudden.
"I don't have to be nosy to hear you outside the door or in the shower," Minho said very calmly, and met his glare head on.
Jessica seemed to fade from view as they stared hard at each other trying to figure the other out. Living together for two months had done nothing to make them closer and while Jonghyun had been wary of a roommate at first, as he was sure Minho had also been before he'd moved in, he had wanted to be friends at the very least. A buddy to hang out with and laugh about funny stuff on the Internet or play video games with (if they had a TV anyway). For some reason, the time that had passed just made the two even more awkward with each other, their first meeting notwithstanding. Once they'd progressed past the initial getting-to-know-each-other stage, their relationship had stagnated.
Everything was screaming at him to shut his mouth and walk out of the room so he could calm down. Instead, because he was a stupid, stupid man, he opened his mouth and sang.
He'd never considered being a singer. He was a musician and his instrument of choice was the guitar. Singing had been a passing fancy all his life, but once he'd started the band with his friends, he hadn't needed his voice to be his outlet. Once he'd stopped playing, he'd gone back to his voice, because that was all he had left. But it had never, ever been something he was very serious about.
But he was trying to impress today. So when 'Promise You' by Brown Eyed Soul spilled from his lips, he had to close his eyes, because otherwise he was probably going to show something he had no intention of showing to Minho.
There was absolute silence ringing in the room when he abruptly cut himself off after the first chorus. He cracked an eye open. Minho was watching him with a deep intensity that Jonghyun had never seen before. He was smiling.
For some very strange reason, Jonghyun felt his face redden under the scrutiny.
"Jonghyunnie." They jumped and both turned to stare at her. She had a fiercely determined look on her face. "Come with me?"
"Um, sure - "
She grabbed his wrist and almost dragged him out the door before turning around to smile sheepishly at Minho, who was still watching them. "Minho sshi, it was nice meeting you. I'm going to borrow your roommate for a little while."
He watched as Minho shrugged, as if it was none of his business. It made him feel a little bereft.
It turned out that Jessica, despite her small frame, was able to bodily force him to sign up for auditions for a concert that the music department was holding, open to non-music students and amateur performers. He protested fiercely but she threatened to never talk to him again (he suspected most girls seemed to think that was an effective weapon - he proved her right though, because he was quelled by that possibility).
Three days later, he was told he would be performing at the concert; a song called 'Y Si Fuera Ella'.
~*~*~
"Look, you mentioned something about being friends that first day." Minho looked as if he was trying not to look too concerned and knew he was failing miserably. Jonghyun's impromptu performance seemed to have driven their relationship to a grinding halt and yet had changed something intrinsic about it. Days of awkward silences and non-glances had to build up eventually, but Jonghyun was still surprised Minho was taking the initiative to do something about it.
Jonghyun couldn't be arsed to turn around though, because he was curled up in bed listening to the original version of the song he was going to sing in front of hundreds of people and it was all Minho's fault.
"Maybe we got off on the wrong foot," Minho continued quietly, looking down at his hands with his long legs stretched out in front of him. He was sitting in his desk chair and Jonghyun was facing the wall on his bed, headphones clasped tightly over his head. "I've been thinking that maybe we could start over."
Seeing as Minho rarely spoke, Jonghyun had a niggling thought that perhaps he should be listening. Because he was a stubborn bastard though, he ignored it.
"I..."
Jonghyun closed his eyes and hummed, feeling a sort of vicious pleasure in making it hard for Minho to say what he wanted to say. He couldn't really explain why, but everything about Choi Minho was frustrating him.
"Hyung!"
A split second later, the headphones was ripped from his head and thrown to the side. Jonghyun shot up, ready for a fight, because he was itching to release some of his frustration.
"What the hell - "
He stopped, however, because Minho's expression was neither stoic nor expressionless.
"You're an asshole," he hissed, his face a mask of hurt, and slammed the door on his way out, making Jonghyun jump.
It took him a minute to process what had just happened. "Well, shit."
~*~*~
And Jonghyun would apologize too, because he knew when he was the one in the wrong. That plan went straight to hell when he caught Minho in their room.
Kissing someone.
A guy.
He had to blink several times, door held slightly ajar, to be sure he was looking at what he thought he was looking at. Minho's back was to him (he recognize the long back and the uncovered nape), which gave him a good view of the person he was making out with and that person had none of the softness of a woman.
He quietly backed away and left, mind reeling. It was three on a Saturday afternoon.
~*~*~
With that, Jonghyun went home for the holidays during winter and left Minho by himself in their room.
During the weeks he spent doing absolutely nothing, he couldn't stop thinking about what Minho might be doing, now that he had as much alone time as he wanted. 'Not exactly solitary company,' he thought sarcastically to himself.
His sister dragged him Christmas shopping and he bought a pretty hair clip for Jessica (for which he was teased endlessly). Because he was a sentimental idiot, he bought his roommate something.
When he returned to the room after the vacation break ended, he found it empty. It was telling that within the silence, he suddenly wondered if he'd ever have the opportunity - or the reason - to give it to Minho. But as he looked up and saw snow drifting past the window, he decided not to care. They had already spent four months making each other's lives hell. There was no reason to expect the next four to be any different.
~*~*~
On Valentines Day, he finally worked up the courage to hand Jessica the clip and confess.
That night, he trudged into his room with two cases of beer in his arms. He took one look at Minho hunched over his laptop, concentrating so hard he was unaware he had his tongue sticking out at the corner of his mouth.
"Minho!"
The younger man looked up and eyed him warily.
"Come and help me drown my sorrows." He sat down on the ground, ripped one of the cases open, and popped open a can.
"That's not very healthy," Minho said but complied anyway.
"Who cares?" He grumbled.
Minho grabbed a can for himself, quiet as always. The two didn't talk as they polished off their first cans and opened a second. It wasn't until Jonghyun's third when Minho suddenly spoke up. "What happened?" He was so surprised he nearly dropped it.
Jonghyun turned to stare at him. "What?"
"Why are you drowning your sorrows?" Minho asked slowly, as if Jonghyun was a child.
"Oh. Nothing special. Got rejected by a girl I've liked for two years," he sighed and finished the can in one gulp.
"Jessica nuna?"
He laughed humourlessly. "Was I obvious?"
Minho took some time to answer. "No," he said finally, "only to someone who was paying attention."
"Now I have to sing at that stupid concert. I was only doing it for her, you know. She said she'd never talk to me again. Good riddance. I should just quit."
"Don't say that. That's rude to nuna."
Jonghyun snorted derisively at him and took another swig. "Whatever."
It was after another twenty minutes, during which Jonghyun was beginning to slow down and the world was starting to blur at the edges, when Minho spoke up again.
"Why did you quit playing, hyung?"
"You said it the first day, it's none of your business."
"...Fine."
Jonghyun crumbled up the can and tossed it aside. Twitching, he turned to Minho. "Why do you want to know?"
"I'm just curious."
"Well, that's not good enough."
Minho ignored him and stood up to throw the cans away. He was gathering them up when Jonghyun spoke up again, voice monotonous. He stilled.
"I was in a band in middle school. When we got to high school, all of them stopped playing because their parents made them. I was ready to continue playing in secret because, silly me, I thought we all shared something. They repeated some bullshit back to me about music being useless in the real world and how it was time to get serious. I didn't really care but I couldn't exactly be a one-man band so...I stopped too."
"Why not just form a new band?"
Jonghyun eyed him wryly. "There was a student band in my high school but apparently I wasn't good enough."
He didn't want to repeat the crushing blows that had almost swept him apart, torn him limb from limb. It made playing almost a physical pain. It always reminded him of his closest friends, well ex-friends, telling him exactly how useless his greatest love was. Every time he held a guitar, he wanted to smash it to pieces, to release the hurt and pain that had been bottled up.
"So that's my big secret," he laughed humourlessly. "I'm just a big coward."
Minho was silent, but that suited him just fine. He reached for a can but a hand reached out to stop him. Fingers laced around his wrist and he blinked drunkenly, turning to stare at his roommate.
"I'm a coward too." This was spoken so quietly that he had to strain to hear. He was too inebriated to put his thoughts into words so he kept his mouth shut. Minho was staring down at their hands. "I moved out because I couldn't bear the thought of my father being ashamed of me."
"Because you like guys?" It slipped out before he could stop himself and he tried not to giggle when Minho's face whipped around so fast his hair flew messily around his face.
However, Minho's voice didn't sound shocked, despite his expression. He sounded resigned. "Who's the nosy one now?" he asked tiredly, avoiding his gaze.
"It's your fault," he said childishly, "lock the door next time." Then Jonghyun giggled.
Minho blushed. Seizing the chance, Jonghyun reached up and tugged at his cheeks, stretching them out so Minho was staring at him comically. It made him laugh even louder, until he couldn't stop himself. His fingers slipped and it must have hurt Minho, but tears were running down Jonghyun's face and even he couldn't tell whether he was laughing or crying. All he knew was that there was so much emotion welling up inside him - he wanted to scream, or sing. Mostly, he wanted to play.
Gently, Minho reached around and tugged him forward, so that his head was resting on his shoulder. A quiet voice - its deepness a soothing familiarity - whispered beside his ear, nonsensical things as far as he could tell. What was important was that a hand settled on the small of his back and then he was sobbing so hard he was half-afraid the whole house was going to rush into their room.
It was several minutes before he could get a hold of himself, hiccupping pathetically as he calmed down. God, he was a terrible drunk. He forgot how his father sucked at drinking and how it was genetic.
"Sorry for being an asshole," he hiccupped.
"You're forgiven," Minho said with laughter in his voice.
He wasn't quite sure what made him do it. Maybe it was because he was completely drunk. Maybe the idea had been in his head all along, after he'd seen Minho and the guy in their room. One minute Jonghyun was trying to keep his snot from getting all over Minho's shirt, the next minute he had Minho's hair between his fingers and his mouth on his.
Minho froze completely, his back stiffening with shock. Jonghyun applied only the slightest pressure, discovering instantly that nothing felt better than Minho's mouth opening slightly, his own tongue sweeping the boy's lower lip. Then he lost his balance and tipped them both over.
Minho made a small sound as his back hit the ground, wincing. Jonghyun's entire body covered his, and he would probably blame the alcohol the next morning, but he pressed down and kissed him again, sighing a little as Minho's arms went around his waist and Minho tilted his head slightly, opening his mouth entirely.
When Jonghyun drew away, he looked even more confused. "Minho?"
"Yeah?" His voice had gone even deeper and more breathy, and a shiver ran up Jonghyun's spine.
"You...like me?"
Minho had to fight back a smile, although the fear in his eyes was overwhelming. "Maybe a little."
"Oh." His head fell forward again, only this time he aimed his forehead at the junction between Minho's neck and shoulder. "I'll stop being an asshole then." The body beneath his shook with laughter and he grinned.
"Hyung, do you..."
"I don't know," he said honestly.
"Oh."
"But I like this," he said hurriedly, words slurring, "it feels nice."
Minho did something that felt a lot like he was cradling Jonghyun to his chest. Jonghyun was almost asleep when he heard Minho whisper in his ear again.
"I'm glad."
~*~*~
God, his head fucking killed. Why was he lying on the floor?
Jonghyun sat up, the blanket falling off his shoulders. He had been curled up on the ground, his heavy blanket draped over him. Minho's bed was empty.
He tentatively got up and then had to clutch his head when he nearly keeled over. Finally, he was able to sit down on the edge of the bed and look around without wanting to throw up.
There was a glass of water on his desk and some pills. Without even looking, he swallowed them desperately and lay down to wait for the headache to pass. Unknowingly, he fell asleep again.
He didn't wake up again until that evening, his stomach growling loudly. Minho was again no where in sight. He woke up to fifteen messages from Jessica sounding frantic on his cell phone. That night, he called her and they met up for dinner. It took many awkward silences but eventually Jessica was able to admit that she was dating someone in her vocal class. He teased her about it and asked to meet him but at the very mention of the pronoun, Jessica wilted a little.
Although there was a sinking feeling in the pit of Jonghyun's stomach, he only grinned and wished her best of luck, which brought a smile back on her face. He decided firmly that he'd cry about it later - right now, he just wanted his friend back.
It wasn't until he had his key in the lock afterwards that he finally remembered what had happened the night before.
~*~*~
"Minho!"
"Hey - wait up!"
"The hell?"
He felt somewhat like a cat hunting down a particularly scared but skilled mouse. Every time he approached, Minho was out the door or on his way to the nearest exit. It was impossible to catch him. Minho would be gone from dawn to dusk, and Jonghyun didn't think waking him up from his (pretend, he was sure of it) sleep would be the best way to go about discussing what had happened.
Jonghyun himself was being careful not to think too much about it.
Finally, beside himself with frustration, he decided to check when the next soccer game was coming up. If Minho refused to come to him, he'd have to go to him.
It was the first game of the New Year, since the weather had finally deemed it time to stop acting like a jerk. Jonghyun sat on the bleachers by himself, hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket. There were girls occupying many of the seats and even some milling around the field, camera phones out at the ready. Despite himself, he was impressed - he wondered who was the star that had attracted so many fangirls. He'd never heard the soccer team being particularly popular on campus.
Then Minho came out.
Of course.
The next hour passed by in a blur of cheers and blurry figures bolting down the length of the field. Jonghyun's eyes were trained on only one player, and by the time the game finally ended, in favour of their team, his throat fell raw from shouting. When the team filed into the locker room, he stepped off the bleachers and went to wait where the fangirls were crowding arond the entrance, hanging somewhere behind them. He really didn't want to be mistaken for one of them, for god sakes.
The whole team came out after fifteen minutes, clapping each other on the bag and ruffling each other's hair. Minho was the most popular target and he was laughing happily, dodging the attempts and greeting the fangirls mostly by name. It took him another twenty minutes to get away from them.
When he saw Jonghyun waiting, he stopped short. His eyes widened slightly, but his face quickly fell into the serious expression that Jonghyun was really beginning to get tired of.
"Hyung, what are you doing here?" He approached him with no hesitation. It was as though his game of avoidance hadn't happened at all.
"Can we - talk?" Jonghyun said stiltedly, unable to look him in the eye.
Minho paused, but nodded. They both turned and walked back to the house together. Minho would occasionally greet someone he knew walking towards them. It made Jonghyun grit his teeth but he ignored it, keeping his hands stuffed in his pocket.
When they finally made it back to their room, Jonghyun shut the door behind them and leaned against it, staring down at the floor.
Minho walked forward a few steps and dropped his duffel bag noisily on the ground. Then he turned. "What's up?"
"You're gay, aren't you?"
His face became blank. "Excuse me?"
"You're gay. You like men...?" Jonghyun hesitated.
Minho sighed. "Yes."
"What - what do you do during the weekend? During those three hours?"
"Sometimes I bring men back. Most of the time I study."
"Oh."
"What are you doing, hyung?" Jonghyun looked up. Minho looked back at him, frustrated and angry and hopeless. He was clenching his hands, a fierce frown on his face. "If you want to make my life miserable, you don't need to humiliate me. I'm sure if you told everyone, I'd be kicked out, no questions asked. I'd prefer that to this."
"I'm not going to tell!" He said, shocked.
"I'll keep out of your way if that's what you prefer," Minho continued, as if he hadn't heard. "I'll stay out of this room other than to sleep and I'll avoid your circle of friends. Look, you don't know what I've had to give up to come here. I can't stop you if you want to ruin my life but - "
"Would you shut up for a second?" Jonghyun growled and Minho fell silent. "I'm not going to tell on you! What am I, ten?"
Minho still looked unconvinced.
"Look, I - " He took a deep breath and reached down to turn the lock on the door. Then he took a step forward. He seemed to reconsider his actions, before he made for his closet, flung it open, and began rummaging around.
"Hyung?" Minho blinked.
"Shut up," he muttered, finally wrapping his hands around what he'd been looking for and hefting it up. He shuffled over to where Minho was standing and shoved the object into his hands. "Open it," he mumbled, cheeks red. He looked away.
Minho stared at the cardboard box, and then sat down on his bed. He pried the lid open, set aside the tissue paper, and lifted out a piggy bank in the shape of a soccer ball. "Is this..." He tried to fight a smile, although Jonghyun couldn't see it. "It's for me?"
"It's because you keep tucking bills into your books! That's how people lose stuff, you idiot," Jonghyun scolded, eyes still not lifting from the ground.
"Thank you," Minho said softly, staring at the gift on his lap.
"Look, I know I can be sort of an asshole - " Minho raised an eyebrow. " - Okay, a huge asshole, but I wouldn't do that to you. We're friends, right?"
"I hope so."
"We are." Jonghyun nodded determinately and stood up. "Well, glad we had this talk! I'm really hungry now, are you hungry? Let's go get food."
Minho stood up with him but grabbed his arm just as he was about to go unlock the door.
"Jonghyun hyung."
Jonghyun looked up at him, a scared look on his face.
Minho's eyes softened. "I don't want to play this game with you. Do you like me back or not?"
"That's..."
"It's not fair to keep me hanging. Yes or no?"
Jonghyun stared at him for a long time. Finally, he motioned for Minho to lean down. Then he cupped his hand by the shell of Minho's ear and tilted his head up to whisper his answer.
~*~*~
The night of the concert was a warm one.
Jonghyun stood on stage, dressed in his best suit. His ears picked up the sounds of hundreds of people murmuring beyond the curtains. His hands were shaking.
"You'll be fine," Jessica whispered beside him as she waited with him in the stage wing. She was dressed in a white dress, her hair in curls falling delicately down her back.
"I never should have let you talk me into this. I've got an exam tomorrow," he hissed.
"Shouldn't you be used to the stage?" Minho inquired beside him. He was dressed in a shirt and black slacks, and earlier that evening Jonghyun hadn't been able to resist giving an appreciative glance in his direction. He was really painfully good looking. Damn it.
"This is fancy!"
Jessica rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go over my piece with Seohyunnie again. Minho, make sure he doesn't run away."
"Aye aye, nuna," Minho saluted. Giggling, the older woman walked away and Jonghyun growled low under his throat.
"You're all against me."
Minho turned to look down at him and it was the exact same intense stare, that first time Jonghyun had sung in the room, and he gulped, blinking rapidly.
"You look like you're going to eat me."
A mischievous smile sprang across Minho's face. He grabbed Jonghyun's arm and pulled him forward, ducking behind the second set of curtains behind the main set. He moved forward to press Jonghyun against the wall.
"What are you doing?!" he hissed, panicky eyes attempting to look past the curtain now completely hiding them from view.
"Making sure you don't throw up on your shoes," Minho murmured and leaned forward to press their foreheads together.
Jonghyun's blood pounded in his ears and he shut his eyes, both of their breathing so loud that it drowned out the voices outside. "I'm going to throw up on you," he murmured.
"Please don't; I just got this shirt ironed."
"Smart ass," he said with a grin and leaned forward. His mouth caught Minho's upper lip and the taller boy adjusted accordingly, their mouths opening wetly against each other.
When Jonghyun heard his name announced to loud applause, he drew back quickly and blinked. "Alright," he said, cringing, "time for me to go. Please," he said quickly just as Minho was opening his mouth, "do not tell me to break a leg."
"I was going to say your tie is crooked," Minho said and adjusted it.
Jonghyun rolled his eyes. His hand brushed against Minho's seconds before he stepped out into the bright lights. When the music began and he lifted the mic to his mouth, he could still somehow feel the warmth.
~*~*~
His desk was bare.
Jonghyun sat down on his desk chair and spun himself around several times, whistling a happy tune as Minho snorted from where he was, piling clothes into his suitcase.
They were going to spend the summer at Jonghyun's, because Minho was still reluctant to go home. He hadn't told Jonghyun what had happened yet, but Jonghyun figured there would be time for that.
Just like there would be time for Minho to hear him play. Sometime in the evening maybe, far in the future.
He swung his legs over the chair and sat with his chin on the backrest. Both beds had only the mattresses on the frames. He knew without looking that the closets would be empty. His guitar was going home with him and so was the sheet music hidden in a metal box on top of the closet, where it reached close to the ceiling. Soon, when Minho finished packing, the room would be completely empty for the next student residents.
"What are you thinking about?" came Minho's quiet voice.
"How you need to stop growing," he grumbled, those extra three centimetres over the past year a harsh reminder of his own lack of a growth spurt.
Minho laughed and went back to packing.
An hour later, they were pulling their suitcases from the room. For an instant, Jonghyun looked back. There was that feeling of loss of course, that occurred every time he switched rooms. This time, it was more pronounced for obvious reasons.
Still.
A room was only as much as the occupants made of it. He was rather looking forward to making some new memories.
Pairing: Jonghyun/Minho
Genre: AU, drama/romance
Warnings: None
Words: 8193
Summary: So maybe Jonghyun shouldn't treat the room as his own anymore. Sharing is caring, after all.
Cause you were my sun, the moon
내 전부였던 너 내 방에 있는
모든 것들이 널 그리워하나봐
널 위해 찾다 지쳐서 널 잠시 잊어도
숨겨놓은 우리의 추억이
가득 남아 cause you’re still in my room
Cause you were my sun, the moon
You were my everything and
everything in my room seems to miss you
If I get tired of looking for you and forget,
Our hidden memories
still linger cause you’re still in my room
In My Room - SHINee
Translation courtesy of Grace
Jonghyun was reaching for a kleenex when the door banged open and some guy walked in - serious eyes peering from a sharp, distinctive face, with full lips shaping into a small 'O' of surprise. In the split second it took for them to realize exactly what was happening, Jonghyun was able to process the fact that the guy was very, very tall.
Then he screamed. In a very manly way of course. He would've clutched the blankets to his chest in mortification - if he wasn't sitting on them, himself in full view.
The guy's eyes widened comically and he slammed the door shut behind him. "I'm - I'm sorry!" He stuttered quietly on the other side while Jonghyun shook off the shock and finally grabbed the kleenex and wiped himself off, tucking his dick back in his pants. He was tossing the dirtied kleenex into the trash bin when a tentative knock interrupted his furious monologue with himself, which mostly consisted of 'what the fuck' and 'holy shit some guy just opened the door while I was jacking off!'
"Is it safe to...come in?" The pause seemed to emit an embarrassed air.
"Uh, yeah. Sure. I mean, yes," he cringed as the door opened again, much more slowly this time, to reveal the guy from before. Then he frowned, momentarily forgetting what had just happened. At the guy's feet was a small carry-on. "Wait, who are you?"
"I'm your roommate, Choi Minho," he said in a surprisingly deep voice and bowed politely.
"Really?" Jonghyun glanced at the empty wooden frame next to his own sloppily made bed - he blushed lightly at why his bed looked so sloppy - and sighed. He'd only moved in a few days ago and had assumed, when no roommate had shown up to claim his side of the room, that perhaps he was lucky enough to get the room to himself. "Well, welcome. I guess."
An awkward silence fell while Minho pulled his suitcase past the doorframe and shut the door quietly behind him. They stood at opposite ends of the room and stared at each other, as if facing off on a battlefield on two opposing sides.
As a matter of fact, Jonghyun had rather liked the privacy. He liked being able to laze around the room, wherever he liked. He enjoyed being able to sing without feeling self-conscious due to another presence hanging around or barging in when he least expected it. Most of all, he'd been thinking how convenient having no roommate would be when bringing girls back (although that was looking a bit far into the future, as he didn't even have a prospective lady to hold hands with).
"So." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. There wasn't any point being a jerk about it, especially since he'd assumed rather than ask the landlord whether anyone was going to rent the other half of the room. "You know, earlier, I didn't expect - I don't usually - "
"It's alright," Minho was quick to reassure. He wasn't able to hide the very faint redness that tinted his cheeks though, and Jonghyun was sure he looked the same. "I'll knock next time."
"Yeah. I, uh, I will too. Not that I'm saying you would, that, I mean - " He cut himself off with a short laugh. God, why was he making a fool of himself? It hadn't even been five minutes since they met and they were going to be living together for the rest of the year! And why was he so embarrassed? They were guys! Minho would understand! Guys did shit like that all the time and if they accidentally interrupted each other, then they were supposed to laugh it off and move on. "I'm Kim Jonghyun. You can take that bed and the closet next to it," he said and pointed. "That desk next to mine is yours." He glanced at his own desk and winced - it was covered with stacks of CDs, his laptop, his Ipod, his headphones, his watch, and bits of stationery for classes next week.
Minho smiled slowly and nodded, as if pleased Jonghyun had taken the initiative. "Thanks."
And that was that.
Several minutes later, Jonghyun was lounging on his bed with a book in hand, watching Minho out of the corner of his eyes. The guy didn't seem very talkative. He'd made his bed and was now pulling his clothes out, folding shorts and jeans into drawers and hanging up his shirts. This he accomplished efficiently and with close attention to detail. Once that was done (with Jonghyun peeking above the top of his book discreetly), he set up his own laptop and a small lamp. Finally, he closed his suitcase.
"That's it?" Jonghyun blurted out without thinking and winced.
Minho blinked at him, before dragging his suitcase over to the side of the bed and pushing it under. He stayed crouched for a little while longer, as if contemplating something, and then pulled himself up so he could sit at the edge of his bed. "Maybe we should set some rules."
Flinging the book over his shoulder carelessly - he'd read maybe three lines anyway - Jonghyun swung his legs over the side to mirror Minho's position. "Rules?" He didn't really like the sound of that."
He nodded firmly. "If we don't want a repeat of earlier." Jonghyun opened his mouth to apologize but Minho smiled ruefully and shook his head. "I just mean if we want to get through the year without world war three in here, maybe we should get to know each other and our boundaries."
That was the most he'd said since entering the room. "I've got no problem with that," Jonghyun said cautiously. "I don't really have a lot of boundaries." Then he realized what he'd just said.
Minho chuckled, his deep voice giving it a charming quality.
'Damn,' Jonghyun thought half admiringly, 'the girls are going to love him.'
"I meant whether you prefer to keep the room neat, when you want the room to yourself, what time you want the lights out, stuff like that."
"Uh..." Jonghyun glanced at his desk and Minho smiled again. Jonghyun decided he liked seeing him not quite so serious. "As you can tell, you can be as messy as you like. I don't care when I get the room to myself, and whenever, I'm a night owl."
"So basically, it doesn't matter."
He tilted his head. "Yeah."
"Oh." Minho hesitated, and then continued. "Well, I prefer to keep the room neat, I'd like the room to myself between two to five on weekends, and I sleep at eleven."
Takenback, Jonghyun blinked. "Why two to five?"
His lips thinned. "Why not?" Like someone had flipped a switch, Minho seemed to shut down and his gaze diverted to somewhere on the corner of Jonghyun's bed.
"Hey, that's fine with me," Jonghyun said quickly, surprised by the sudden hostility. "But I think if we start out being friends it'd be easier in the long run than setting up all these rules right off the bat."
Minho stared at him.
"You're not the first roommate I've had, Minho sshi. I'm not that much of an asshole to try to push you around so can you drop the cold act and try to get to know me first? If it doesn't work out, I'm open to making compromises."
"I...suppose," Minho said softly and looked so strangely bewildered that Jonghyun almost laughed.
"Good." Jonghyun stood up and stretched. "Want to get some lunch?"
They looked at each other for a few seconds, before Minho stood up and promptly towered over him. At least he had a smile on his face, even if it was just a quirk at the corner of his lips.
Minho shrugged. "Why not?"
~*~*~
Lunch was a quiet affair (but so were most things involving Minho, as Jonghyun would soon find out).
Jonghyun discovered, through some very thorough needling he was quite proud of, that Minho, like him, came from a family of four. He had an older brother and a soccer coach father, whom he talked about with an excited look on his face. He was eighteen that year and was a first-year student at the same university that Jonghyun attended. He'd gotten a scholarship and was due to study business.
He wasn't sure if he should be offended at the surprised look on Minho's face when Jonghyun mentioned he was in his third year, majoring in mathematics.
He'd monologued his life story, from the good and bad of having an older sister to having the time of his life while performing with his band in middle school. Having run out of things to talk about, he'd started in on the university itself and how he'd introduce his friends to Minho and which restaurants to avoid that were close to campus. Minho let him talk himself out but kept up by offering a question or two when something caught his interest.
After splitting the bill, Jonghyun took Minho on a tour of campus. Minho nodded politely at every sight Jonghyun pointed out, but seemed mostly disinterested in his surroundings.
Finally, their trek across the sports field had Minho surreptitiously edging towards the soccer team currently undergoing practice, with prospective students signing up for tryouts. It was actually rather comical - Minho, with his nearly six feet height, kept looking longingly over his shoulder until Jonghyun finally gave him a push towards the group with an exasperated eye roll. For some reason, while Minho clearly loved the game, he was reluctant to do something about it.
(Slinging an arm around the taller man's shoulders, causing Minho to lean down, Jonghyun laughed. "If you get in I'll be your one-man cheering squad during games."
Minho had laughed loudly for the first time, to his surprise, and agreed.)
By the time they had made it back to the dorm, Minho had also picked up a flier for the dance club and signed up for tryouts for the swim team.
That night he was unable to look Minho in the eye as he crawled into his bed and threw his blanket over his head to hide his burning face.
~*~*~
Minho was gone for much of the next week for his orientation and Jonghyun used the time to serenade himself while he danced around the room. Not being able to let his voice run free was driving him insane, and the guitar sitting forlornly in the back of his closet always sat in his mind.
But while he crooned quietly under his breath as he perused the internet, half his attention spent trying to listen for footsteps outside the door, the guitar stayed in the closet. Though his fingers itched to play, he still couldn't bring himself to.
Despite their awkward first meeting, Jonghyun found that he and Minho weren't completely incompatible as roommates. Sure, he was messy but he always remembered to be considerate about his things and at least pick up his stuff and throw it onto his bed to keep from littering the ground. Minho's side was always impeccably spotless. Abiding by Minho's sleep schedule took awhile for him to adjust, but listening to music before bed helped him sleep earlier and within a week, he was used to sleeping early.
Of course, once school started, sleeping altogether would be another matter (he was a perpetual procrastinator and all nighters was a natural part of his academic routine), but one thing at a time, Jonghyun told himself with a shrug.
It wasn't until the weekend that their first argument came up. Ordinarily, Jonghyun couldn't care less about when someone would want to stay cooped up in their room. But he'd completely forgotten about Minho's request, the weekend before school was to start, and he'd come back to the house sweaty after a game of basketball with several friends at around one-thirty.
It made sense to grab a towel and head for the shower so he could go back out to get some lunch. What didn't make sense, however, was walking into what he'd assumed had been a previously empty room with a towel around his waist and little else, only to be met with Minho's flabbergasted face - and then his furious glare.
Jonghyun, at first, was unaware of the warning signs. He'd merely blinked at him and waved in greeting, calling out an, "Oh, hey," making a beeline for his closet for some clothes. Minho's chair had swivelled around and he was staring slack jawed at him.
"Got any plans for today?" Jonghyun asked, back to him as he rummaged for a pair of jeans and his favourite T-shirt.
"I did," came the dangerously low murmur.
Jonghyun paused, and then turned around cautiously. "Hey, what's up? Did you not make the soccer team?"
"Practices start next week." Minho's eyes were trained on his face. If Jonghyun didn't know better, he would've thought Minho was trying very hard not to look past his neck.
A grin broke across his face. "Congrats, dude!"
"Hyung, did you forget what we agreed on?" Minho suddenly burst out, face pinched. "It's two!"
"What did we - oh, you were serious about that?"
"Of course I was!"
"What do you plan on doing in here for three hours every weekend?"
Minho took a deep breath. "It's not really any of your business - " he tried to explain.
"Well I'd like to know why you're kicking me out of my own room. I didn't know you meant I'm not physically allowed in here under any circumstances."
"I like having some time to myself," Minho said calmly. He had a hand resting on his closed laptop. Now that Jonghyun thought about it, Minho had been using it when he'd walked in.
"Well, I'll be out of here soon enough. But it's not fair, is it? What if it's winter? Am I going to take a three hour walk in a snow storm so you can have your alone time?" Jonghyun responded, annoyed.
"That's - "
"And three hours? That's like six hours a week. I don't mind if you tell me ahead of time you want the room to yourself but a weekly thing is a bit much, don't you think? Look, how about two hours over the weekend and I promise I won't come in?"
"That's incredibly unreasonable - "
"Three hours and that's my final offer."
Minho stared at him and then looked away, frustrated. It almost made Jonghyun feel a little bad. "Alright, fine. Two to three-thirty."
Victory. Jonghyun grinned and extended a hand. "Deal."
Minho gave him a nondescript glare and ignored his hand, turning back to his computer. "And put some clothes on, you'll catch a cold."
"Aw, I didn't know you cared!"
~*~*~
It turned out that the soccer team, the dance club, and classes would keep Minho so busy that Jonghyun barely saw him once school started anyway. Perhaps even Minho didn't foresee just how busy he would be, because Jonghyun noticed that he looked more and more harried as time went by. The fact that it showed through his stoic expression meant, Jonghyun assumed, that it was really bothering him.
The two of them rarely gave each other trouble after that first dispute. Minho would be up at eight in the morning for his morning jog and Jonghyun would be dead to the world, snoozing away despite his nine-thirty morning class. During the day he flitted from class to hanging out with his friends to lingering at the music building like a loser, resisting the urge to peer into the practice rooms to see if anyone was there. It was all kind of pathetic, but he couldn't bring himself to take that extra step and actually do something about it.
It was amazing how easy it was for things to fall into a routine.
It wasn't really necessary for them to talk to each other just because they were roommates. The truth was that after the whole thing about Minho's alone time, they barely spoke unless they had to. Jonghyun felt, to an extent, that it was easy for Minho - the guy barely spoke two words on a regular basis anyway. Still, the fact that he was living with someone this year, as opposed to the two previous years when he'd been able to rent a single room, made him feel that it should feel as though he had company. This routine didn't really feel very different from when he lived by himself.
"Well, if you two just talk." Jessica nuna raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him beneath her long blonde hair and he made a face at her from his position on his bed.
"No way," he muttered.
"Boys," she muttered back at him in English and turned back to her magazine.
The silence in his room dragged on while he fiddled with his headphones. Finally, he threw them off his head and sat up. "Talk about what?" he demanded. "He doesn't even talk about himself. All I know is he likes kicking a ball around all the time."
She perked up. "He plays soccer?"
"Nuna!"
Jessica flicked her hair over her shoulder and tossed the magazine she'd been reading on his desk. "Stop whining. You haven't even introduced him to me yet; how should I know what you can talk to him about?"
"Thanks," he said sarcastically and grumbled under his breath as he leaned back against his pillow thoughtfully.
"So are you going to play or not, Jonghyun?"
He hesitated.
She sighed and smoothed down the summer dress she was wearing. "I don't understand why you keep asking me over if you're not planning on picking up the guitar again."
"I just - That's because - "
"I know, Jonghyunnie," she fixed a serious look at him. "But why are you letting a couple of jerks stop you from doing what you love? I can't understand that."
He stared back at her, and that was when the door opened. Minho stepped into the room, hair damp with sweat, and stared. Jessica's wide-eyed look wasn't lost on Jonghyun and he nearly curled up in a fetal position, because seriously, what the hell?
"You know, knocking was invented to avoid situations like these," he snapped before he could stop himself and Jessica immediately frowned.
Ignoring him, Minho pasted on a polite smile on his face and bowed towards her, shutting the door behind him. "I'm Choi Minho."
"Ah," she quickly stood up and bowed, unable to hide the admiring look. "Jung Sooyeon. Call me Jessica." She smiled somewhat shyly and Jonghyun goggled at her.
"Jessica nuna?" Minho asked with a small smile and when Jessica happily returned it, Jonghyun had about enough.
"C'mon, nuna, let's go," he stood up.
"Go where?" She asked, not moving from her spot.
"To the practice rooms. I've decided to play," he gritted out. He didn't know what it was, but suddenly Minho's presence was really grating on his nerves.
A bright smile broke across her face. "Really?"
"You'll need your guitar, won't you?" Minho said casually, dropping the towel around his neck onto the back of his chair. Then he turned to look innocently at Jonghyun's speechless face.
"How did you - "
He at least had the courtesy to look embarrassed. "You accidentally took one of my shirts when you went to get your laundry - " it was communal within the house, " - and I was looking for it. I didn't mean to be nosy."
Jessica took one look at Jonghyun and stepped forward, a cute smile ready on her face. "If you're going to play, what's wrong with your room, Jonghyunnie? Minho sshi, you're welcome to stay of course. It is your room too."
"I'd be happy to," he said quickly and Jonghyun shut his mouth, surprised.
"Really?"
Minho glanced at him. "Yes, of course."
She clapped her hands and grinned. "Then what are we waiting for?"
Feeling two pairs of expectant eyes on him, Jonghyun shifted nervously. So he'd planned on ditching Jessica at the music building and going to a noraebang by himself, where he could sing to his heart's content, and he definitely hadn't expected Minho's sudden interest in his playing. He was still a little angry - he couldn't understand why - that Minho had seen his guitar. Minho knew that he played of course - he'd talked about it during lunch that first day - but to have someone besides Jessica (whom he'd known for as long as he'd been in university and whom had indulgently gotten him access to parts of the music building, where she often went to for classes to fulfill her minor requirements) know that his guitar was sitting unused in his closet, as if he was hiding it from himself and from the world, made him feel like his privacy had been invaded in the worst way.
He told himself he had wanted him and Minho to get off on a good foot and that maybe this was the way to have them both take the initiative and become actual roommates, rather than two people who just so happened to live together.
Stiffly, he walked over to his closet and pulled out the guitar that hadn't been played for close to three years. He'd been working up to playing for Jessica nuna, a person he both liked and admired (and had a bit of a crush on, he had to admit), but Minho was a whole different story. When the time came to actually pull out the unused instrument, he simply couldn't make himself.
"Hyung?"
It was Minho who called out to him, and he finally sighed and replaced the instrument back in the closet.
"I'm sorry, nuna, I can't do it yet." He couldn't look at her, because he knew she'd been looking at him with the biggest and saddest eyes. He felt humiliated, because he couldn't predict how Minho would be looking at him right now.
"Why don't you sing then?" Jonghyun looked up and Minho had all of his attention focused on him. As if he couldn't look away.
Jessica was surprised. "Sing?"
"What haven't you been nosy about?" he demanded, furious all of a sudden.
"I don't have to be nosy to hear you outside the door or in the shower," Minho said very calmly, and met his glare head on.
Jessica seemed to fade from view as they stared hard at each other trying to figure the other out. Living together for two months had done nothing to make them closer and while Jonghyun had been wary of a roommate at first, as he was sure Minho had also been before he'd moved in, he had wanted to be friends at the very least. A buddy to hang out with and laugh about funny stuff on the Internet or play video games with (if they had a TV anyway). For some reason, the time that had passed just made the two even more awkward with each other, their first meeting notwithstanding. Once they'd progressed past the initial getting-to-know-each-other stage, their relationship had stagnated.
Everything was screaming at him to shut his mouth and walk out of the room so he could calm down. Instead, because he was a stupid, stupid man, he opened his mouth and sang.
He'd never considered being a singer. He was a musician and his instrument of choice was the guitar. Singing had been a passing fancy all his life, but once he'd started the band with his friends, he hadn't needed his voice to be his outlet. Once he'd stopped playing, he'd gone back to his voice, because that was all he had left. But it had never, ever been something he was very serious about.
But he was trying to impress today. So when 'Promise You' by Brown Eyed Soul spilled from his lips, he had to close his eyes, because otherwise he was probably going to show something he had no intention of showing to Minho.
There was absolute silence ringing in the room when he abruptly cut himself off after the first chorus. He cracked an eye open. Minho was watching him with a deep intensity that Jonghyun had never seen before. He was smiling.
For some very strange reason, Jonghyun felt his face redden under the scrutiny.
"Jonghyunnie." They jumped and both turned to stare at her. She had a fiercely determined look on her face. "Come with me?"
"Um, sure - "
She grabbed his wrist and almost dragged him out the door before turning around to smile sheepishly at Minho, who was still watching them. "Minho sshi, it was nice meeting you. I'm going to borrow your roommate for a little while."
He watched as Minho shrugged, as if it was none of his business. It made him feel a little bereft.
It turned out that Jessica, despite her small frame, was able to bodily force him to sign up for auditions for a concert that the music department was holding, open to non-music students and amateur performers. He protested fiercely but she threatened to never talk to him again (he suspected most girls seemed to think that was an effective weapon - he proved her right though, because he was quelled by that possibility).
Three days later, he was told he would be performing at the concert; a song called 'Y Si Fuera Ella'.
~*~*~
"Look, you mentioned something about being friends that first day." Minho looked as if he was trying not to look too concerned and knew he was failing miserably. Jonghyun's impromptu performance seemed to have driven their relationship to a grinding halt and yet had changed something intrinsic about it. Days of awkward silences and non-glances had to build up eventually, but Jonghyun was still surprised Minho was taking the initiative to do something about it.
Jonghyun couldn't be arsed to turn around though, because he was curled up in bed listening to the original version of the song he was going to sing in front of hundreds of people and it was all Minho's fault.
"Maybe we got off on the wrong foot," Minho continued quietly, looking down at his hands with his long legs stretched out in front of him. He was sitting in his desk chair and Jonghyun was facing the wall on his bed, headphones clasped tightly over his head. "I've been thinking that maybe we could start over."
Seeing as Minho rarely spoke, Jonghyun had a niggling thought that perhaps he should be listening. Because he was a stubborn bastard though, he ignored it.
"I..."
Jonghyun closed his eyes and hummed, feeling a sort of vicious pleasure in making it hard for Minho to say what he wanted to say. He couldn't really explain why, but everything about Choi Minho was frustrating him.
"Hyung!"
A split second later, the headphones was ripped from his head and thrown to the side. Jonghyun shot up, ready for a fight, because he was itching to release some of his frustration.
"What the hell - "
He stopped, however, because Minho's expression was neither stoic nor expressionless.
"You're an asshole," he hissed, his face a mask of hurt, and slammed the door on his way out, making Jonghyun jump.
It took him a minute to process what had just happened. "Well, shit."
~*~*~
And Jonghyun would apologize too, because he knew when he was the one in the wrong. That plan went straight to hell when he caught Minho in their room.
Kissing someone.
A guy.
He had to blink several times, door held slightly ajar, to be sure he was looking at what he thought he was looking at. Minho's back was to him (he recognize the long back and the uncovered nape), which gave him a good view of the person he was making out with and that person had none of the softness of a woman.
He quietly backed away and left, mind reeling. It was three on a Saturday afternoon.
~*~*~
With that, Jonghyun went home for the holidays during winter and left Minho by himself in their room.
During the weeks he spent doing absolutely nothing, he couldn't stop thinking about what Minho might be doing, now that he had as much alone time as he wanted. 'Not exactly solitary company,' he thought sarcastically to himself.
His sister dragged him Christmas shopping and he bought a pretty hair clip for Jessica (for which he was teased endlessly). Because he was a sentimental idiot, he bought his roommate something.
When he returned to the room after the vacation break ended, he found it empty. It was telling that within the silence, he suddenly wondered if he'd ever have the opportunity - or the reason - to give it to Minho. But as he looked up and saw snow drifting past the window, he decided not to care. They had already spent four months making each other's lives hell. There was no reason to expect the next four to be any different.
~*~*~
On Valentines Day, he finally worked up the courage to hand Jessica the clip and confess.
That night, he trudged into his room with two cases of beer in his arms. He took one look at Minho hunched over his laptop, concentrating so hard he was unaware he had his tongue sticking out at the corner of his mouth.
"Minho!"
The younger man looked up and eyed him warily.
"Come and help me drown my sorrows." He sat down on the ground, ripped one of the cases open, and popped open a can.
"That's not very healthy," Minho said but complied anyway.
"Who cares?" He grumbled.
Minho grabbed a can for himself, quiet as always. The two didn't talk as they polished off their first cans and opened a second. It wasn't until Jonghyun's third when Minho suddenly spoke up. "What happened?" He was so surprised he nearly dropped it.
Jonghyun turned to stare at him. "What?"
"Why are you drowning your sorrows?" Minho asked slowly, as if Jonghyun was a child.
"Oh. Nothing special. Got rejected by a girl I've liked for two years," he sighed and finished the can in one gulp.
"Jessica nuna?"
He laughed humourlessly. "Was I obvious?"
Minho took some time to answer. "No," he said finally, "only to someone who was paying attention."
"Now I have to sing at that stupid concert. I was only doing it for her, you know. She said she'd never talk to me again. Good riddance. I should just quit."
"Don't say that. That's rude to nuna."
Jonghyun snorted derisively at him and took another swig. "Whatever."
It was after another twenty minutes, during which Jonghyun was beginning to slow down and the world was starting to blur at the edges, when Minho spoke up again.
"Why did you quit playing, hyung?"
"You said it the first day, it's none of your business."
"...Fine."
Jonghyun crumbled up the can and tossed it aside. Twitching, he turned to Minho. "Why do you want to know?"
"I'm just curious."
"Well, that's not good enough."
Minho ignored him and stood up to throw the cans away. He was gathering them up when Jonghyun spoke up again, voice monotonous. He stilled.
"I was in a band in middle school. When we got to high school, all of them stopped playing because their parents made them. I was ready to continue playing in secret because, silly me, I thought we all shared something. They repeated some bullshit back to me about music being useless in the real world and how it was time to get serious. I didn't really care but I couldn't exactly be a one-man band so...I stopped too."
"Why not just form a new band?"
Jonghyun eyed him wryly. "There was a student band in my high school but apparently I wasn't good enough."
He didn't want to repeat the crushing blows that had almost swept him apart, torn him limb from limb. It made playing almost a physical pain. It always reminded him of his closest friends, well ex-friends, telling him exactly how useless his greatest love was. Every time he held a guitar, he wanted to smash it to pieces, to release the hurt and pain that had been bottled up.
"So that's my big secret," he laughed humourlessly. "I'm just a big coward."
Minho was silent, but that suited him just fine. He reached for a can but a hand reached out to stop him. Fingers laced around his wrist and he blinked drunkenly, turning to stare at his roommate.
"I'm a coward too." This was spoken so quietly that he had to strain to hear. He was too inebriated to put his thoughts into words so he kept his mouth shut. Minho was staring down at their hands. "I moved out because I couldn't bear the thought of my father being ashamed of me."
"Because you like guys?" It slipped out before he could stop himself and he tried not to giggle when Minho's face whipped around so fast his hair flew messily around his face.
However, Minho's voice didn't sound shocked, despite his expression. He sounded resigned. "Who's the nosy one now?" he asked tiredly, avoiding his gaze.
"It's your fault," he said childishly, "lock the door next time." Then Jonghyun giggled.
Minho blushed. Seizing the chance, Jonghyun reached up and tugged at his cheeks, stretching them out so Minho was staring at him comically. It made him laugh even louder, until he couldn't stop himself. His fingers slipped and it must have hurt Minho, but tears were running down Jonghyun's face and even he couldn't tell whether he was laughing or crying. All he knew was that there was so much emotion welling up inside him - he wanted to scream, or sing. Mostly, he wanted to play.
Gently, Minho reached around and tugged him forward, so that his head was resting on his shoulder. A quiet voice - its deepness a soothing familiarity - whispered beside his ear, nonsensical things as far as he could tell. What was important was that a hand settled on the small of his back and then he was sobbing so hard he was half-afraid the whole house was going to rush into their room.
It was several minutes before he could get a hold of himself, hiccupping pathetically as he calmed down. God, he was a terrible drunk. He forgot how his father sucked at drinking and how it was genetic.
"Sorry for being an asshole," he hiccupped.
"You're forgiven," Minho said with laughter in his voice.
He wasn't quite sure what made him do it. Maybe it was because he was completely drunk. Maybe the idea had been in his head all along, after he'd seen Minho and the guy in their room. One minute Jonghyun was trying to keep his snot from getting all over Minho's shirt, the next minute he had Minho's hair between his fingers and his mouth on his.
Minho froze completely, his back stiffening with shock. Jonghyun applied only the slightest pressure, discovering instantly that nothing felt better than Minho's mouth opening slightly, his own tongue sweeping the boy's lower lip. Then he lost his balance and tipped them both over.
Minho made a small sound as his back hit the ground, wincing. Jonghyun's entire body covered his, and he would probably blame the alcohol the next morning, but he pressed down and kissed him again, sighing a little as Minho's arms went around his waist and Minho tilted his head slightly, opening his mouth entirely.
When Jonghyun drew away, he looked even more confused. "Minho?"
"Yeah?" His voice had gone even deeper and more breathy, and a shiver ran up Jonghyun's spine.
"You...like me?"
Minho had to fight back a smile, although the fear in his eyes was overwhelming. "Maybe a little."
"Oh." His head fell forward again, only this time he aimed his forehead at the junction between Minho's neck and shoulder. "I'll stop being an asshole then." The body beneath his shook with laughter and he grinned.
"Hyung, do you..."
"I don't know," he said honestly.
"Oh."
"But I like this," he said hurriedly, words slurring, "it feels nice."
Minho did something that felt a lot like he was cradling Jonghyun to his chest. Jonghyun was almost asleep when he heard Minho whisper in his ear again.
"I'm glad."
~*~*~
God, his head fucking killed. Why was he lying on the floor?
Jonghyun sat up, the blanket falling off his shoulders. He had been curled up on the ground, his heavy blanket draped over him. Minho's bed was empty.
He tentatively got up and then had to clutch his head when he nearly keeled over. Finally, he was able to sit down on the edge of the bed and look around without wanting to throw up.
There was a glass of water on his desk and some pills. Without even looking, he swallowed them desperately and lay down to wait for the headache to pass. Unknowingly, he fell asleep again.
He didn't wake up again until that evening, his stomach growling loudly. Minho was again no where in sight. He woke up to fifteen messages from Jessica sounding frantic on his cell phone. That night, he called her and they met up for dinner. It took many awkward silences but eventually Jessica was able to admit that she was dating someone in her vocal class. He teased her about it and asked to meet him but at the very mention of the pronoun, Jessica wilted a little.
Although there was a sinking feeling in the pit of Jonghyun's stomach, he only grinned and wished her best of luck, which brought a smile back on her face. He decided firmly that he'd cry about it later - right now, he just wanted his friend back.
It wasn't until he had his key in the lock afterwards that he finally remembered what had happened the night before.
~*~*~
"Minho!"
"Hey - wait up!"
"The hell?"
He felt somewhat like a cat hunting down a particularly scared but skilled mouse. Every time he approached, Minho was out the door or on his way to the nearest exit. It was impossible to catch him. Minho would be gone from dawn to dusk, and Jonghyun didn't think waking him up from his (pretend, he was sure of it) sleep would be the best way to go about discussing what had happened.
Jonghyun himself was being careful not to think too much about it.
Finally, beside himself with frustration, he decided to check when the next soccer game was coming up. If Minho refused to come to him, he'd have to go to him.
It was the first game of the New Year, since the weather had finally deemed it time to stop acting like a jerk. Jonghyun sat on the bleachers by himself, hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket. There were girls occupying many of the seats and even some milling around the field, camera phones out at the ready. Despite himself, he was impressed - he wondered who was the star that had attracted so many fangirls. He'd never heard the soccer team being particularly popular on campus.
Then Minho came out.
Of course.
The next hour passed by in a blur of cheers and blurry figures bolting down the length of the field. Jonghyun's eyes were trained on only one player, and by the time the game finally ended, in favour of their team, his throat fell raw from shouting. When the team filed into the locker room, he stepped off the bleachers and went to wait where the fangirls were crowding arond the entrance, hanging somewhere behind them. He really didn't want to be mistaken for one of them, for god sakes.
The whole team came out after fifteen minutes, clapping each other on the bag and ruffling each other's hair. Minho was the most popular target and he was laughing happily, dodging the attempts and greeting the fangirls mostly by name. It took him another twenty minutes to get away from them.
When he saw Jonghyun waiting, he stopped short. His eyes widened slightly, but his face quickly fell into the serious expression that Jonghyun was really beginning to get tired of.
"Hyung, what are you doing here?" He approached him with no hesitation. It was as though his game of avoidance hadn't happened at all.
"Can we - talk?" Jonghyun said stiltedly, unable to look him in the eye.
Minho paused, but nodded. They both turned and walked back to the house together. Minho would occasionally greet someone he knew walking towards them. It made Jonghyun grit his teeth but he ignored it, keeping his hands stuffed in his pocket.
When they finally made it back to their room, Jonghyun shut the door behind them and leaned against it, staring down at the floor.
Minho walked forward a few steps and dropped his duffel bag noisily on the ground. Then he turned. "What's up?"
"You're gay, aren't you?"
His face became blank. "Excuse me?"
"You're gay. You like men...?" Jonghyun hesitated.
Minho sighed. "Yes."
"What - what do you do during the weekend? During those three hours?"
"Sometimes I bring men back. Most of the time I study."
"Oh."
"What are you doing, hyung?" Jonghyun looked up. Minho looked back at him, frustrated and angry and hopeless. He was clenching his hands, a fierce frown on his face. "If you want to make my life miserable, you don't need to humiliate me. I'm sure if you told everyone, I'd be kicked out, no questions asked. I'd prefer that to this."
"I'm not going to tell!" He said, shocked.
"I'll keep out of your way if that's what you prefer," Minho continued, as if he hadn't heard. "I'll stay out of this room other than to sleep and I'll avoid your circle of friends. Look, you don't know what I've had to give up to come here. I can't stop you if you want to ruin my life but - "
"Would you shut up for a second?" Jonghyun growled and Minho fell silent. "I'm not going to tell on you! What am I, ten?"
Minho still looked unconvinced.
"Look, I - " He took a deep breath and reached down to turn the lock on the door. Then he took a step forward. He seemed to reconsider his actions, before he made for his closet, flung it open, and began rummaging around.
"Hyung?" Minho blinked.
"Shut up," he muttered, finally wrapping his hands around what he'd been looking for and hefting it up. He shuffled over to where Minho was standing and shoved the object into his hands. "Open it," he mumbled, cheeks red. He looked away.
Minho stared at the cardboard box, and then sat down on his bed. He pried the lid open, set aside the tissue paper, and lifted out a piggy bank in the shape of a soccer ball. "Is this..." He tried to fight a smile, although Jonghyun couldn't see it. "It's for me?"
"It's because you keep tucking bills into your books! That's how people lose stuff, you idiot," Jonghyun scolded, eyes still not lifting from the ground.
"Thank you," Minho said softly, staring at the gift on his lap.
"Look, I know I can be sort of an asshole - " Minho raised an eyebrow. " - Okay, a huge asshole, but I wouldn't do that to you. We're friends, right?"
"I hope so."
"We are." Jonghyun nodded determinately and stood up. "Well, glad we had this talk! I'm really hungry now, are you hungry? Let's go get food."
Minho stood up with him but grabbed his arm just as he was about to go unlock the door.
"Jonghyun hyung."
Jonghyun looked up at him, a scared look on his face.
Minho's eyes softened. "I don't want to play this game with you. Do you like me back or not?"
"That's..."
"It's not fair to keep me hanging. Yes or no?"
Jonghyun stared at him for a long time. Finally, he motioned for Minho to lean down. Then he cupped his hand by the shell of Minho's ear and tilted his head up to whisper his answer.
~*~*~
The night of the concert was a warm one.
Jonghyun stood on stage, dressed in his best suit. His ears picked up the sounds of hundreds of people murmuring beyond the curtains. His hands were shaking.
"You'll be fine," Jessica whispered beside him as she waited with him in the stage wing. She was dressed in a white dress, her hair in curls falling delicately down her back.
"I never should have let you talk me into this. I've got an exam tomorrow," he hissed.
"Shouldn't you be used to the stage?" Minho inquired beside him. He was dressed in a shirt and black slacks, and earlier that evening Jonghyun hadn't been able to resist giving an appreciative glance in his direction. He was really painfully good looking. Damn it.
"This is fancy!"
Jessica rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go over my piece with Seohyunnie again. Minho, make sure he doesn't run away."
"Aye aye, nuna," Minho saluted. Giggling, the older woman walked away and Jonghyun growled low under his throat.
"You're all against me."
Minho turned to look down at him and it was the exact same intense stare, that first time Jonghyun had sung in the room, and he gulped, blinking rapidly.
"You look like you're going to eat me."
A mischievous smile sprang across Minho's face. He grabbed Jonghyun's arm and pulled him forward, ducking behind the second set of curtains behind the main set. He moved forward to press Jonghyun against the wall.
"What are you doing?!" he hissed, panicky eyes attempting to look past the curtain now completely hiding them from view.
"Making sure you don't throw up on your shoes," Minho murmured and leaned forward to press their foreheads together.
Jonghyun's blood pounded in his ears and he shut his eyes, both of their breathing so loud that it drowned out the voices outside. "I'm going to throw up on you," he murmured.
"Please don't; I just got this shirt ironed."
"Smart ass," he said with a grin and leaned forward. His mouth caught Minho's upper lip and the taller boy adjusted accordingly, their mouths opening wetly against each other.
When Jonghyun heard his name announced to loud applause, he drew back quickly and blinked. "Alright," he said, cringing, "time for me to go. Please," he said quickly just as Minho was opening his mouth, "do not tell me to break a leg."
"I was going to say your tie is crooked," Minho said and adjusted it.
Jonghyun rolled his eyes. His hand brushed against Minho's seconds before he stepped out into the bright lights. When the music began and he lifted the mic to his mouth, he could still somehow feel the warmth.
~*~*~
His desk was bare.
Jonghyun sat down on his desk chair and spun himself around several times, whistling a happy tune as Minho snorted from where he was, piling clothes into his suitcase.
They were going to spend the summer at Jonghyun's, because Minho was still reluctant to go home. He hadn't told Jonghyun what had happened yet, but Jonghyun figured there would be time for that.
Just like there would be time for Minho to hear him play. Sometime in the evening maybe, far in the future.
He swung his legs over the chair and sat with his chin on the backrest. Both beds had only the mattresses on the frames. He knew without looking that the closets would be empty. His guitar was going home with him and so was the sheet music hidden in a metal box on top of the closet, where it reached close to the ceiling. Soon, when Minho finished packing, the room would be completely empty for the next student residents.
"What are you thinking about?" came Minho's quiet voice.
"How you need to stop growing," he grumbled, those extra three centimetres over the past year a harsh reminder of his own lack of a growth spurt.
Minho laughed and went back to packing.
An hour later, they were pulling their suitcases from the room. For an instant, Jonghyun looked back. There was that feeling of loss of course, that occurred every time he switched rooms. This time, it was more pronounced for obvious reasons.
Still.
A room was only as much as the occupants made of it. He was rather looking forward to making some new memories.