Title: Camera Shy 5/18
Pairing: Jongkey, side Onho
Length: 75k words total
Rating: PG15-NC17
Genre: romance, humor, friendship, smut. yeah.
Summary: Jonghyun's life consists of school, webcam chatting with his best friend, Minho, who he's never seen in person, and bothering his roommate, Jinki, about everything under the sun. When Minho sends Jonghyun a video of a dance cover, he doesn''t expect to get so indefinitely hooked to watching a boy in tight pants (who goes by the username Key) do girl group dances. What he expects even less, however, is to run into Key in person.
Jonghyun's phone buzzed in his pocket, causing him to jump in his seat. He'd been dozing off in class, the professor's voice droning on about something historical he could just look up online later, but it woke him up immediately.
Making sure that the professor couldn't see him (he was usually safe in the back row of the room), he pulled out his phone to check.
It was an unknown number.
He ignored the call and stashed his phone back in his pocket.
When he was walking out of the class, his phone rang again from the same number.
Figuring he didn't have anything to lose this time, not being in class, he answered it.
"Hello?"
"Hey frequent customer, your games are late."
Jonghyun grinned at the sound of the familiar voice, ever-dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, hey Kibum."
"Your games are late," Kibum repeated flatly. "Are you planning to give them back anytime soon?"
"Do you really want them back?" he asked for the sake of keeping him on the phone. "You said it yourself, the games suck. So, why would you want those in your store?" Truthfully, he had the games in his bag already, and had been planning to take them back after school anyway. But he didn't want Kibum to know that.
"Because we have an inventory, that's why. There may be more people with shitty taste that want to rent them in the future."
"Did you just curse at work, Kibum?" He clicked his tongue in disapproval.
Kibum let out a heavy sigh.
"When are they due?" Jonghyun asked, though he was quite aware of the due dates.
"Last Friday."
He made an "ooh" sound, nodding exaggeratedly and attracting a few stares from passerby. He'd forgotten that he was still in public, with his classmates around him on campus. "Hmm, they are late, then, you're right."
"I know," he said slowly, patience waning. "That's why I'm calling."
"That's the reason?" he asked mock-disappointedly. "And here I was thinking that you missed me. I'm hurt, Kibum."
"And I don't have time for this," Kibum said shortly. "Can you bring in the games today?"
"But the late fee," Jonghyun reminded him, and even he could tell how annoying he was being at this point. "And I already spent more than I wanted to renting them in the first place, because I didn't get my usual discount, so..."
"You're making my customer service job really difficult," he murmured.
"You're making my wallet really skinny," he countered jokingly.
Kibum went silent for a second. When he spoke again, his tone was of strained patience. "If you return them today, I'll waive the late fee."
Jonghyun held back a laugh.
"Just this once," Kibum added, emphasizing that it was a one-time deal.
"You'd do that for me?" Jonghyun's voice went sickly sweet, face now showing a characteristic mischievous grin.
"I shouldn't, since it's against store policy and everything."
"My hero," Jonghyun sighed dreamily.
"Just bring the damn games back today," Kibum snapped, his patient façade crumbling. "Or even better, drop them in the return box outside so I don't have to deal with you."
"I'll see you later, then." He pointedly ignored Kibum's suggestion. "Wait for me, okay my love?"
There was a click on the other line, and Jonghyun laughed aloud when he realized that Kibum hung up on him.
He didn't think he'd ever met someone he liked to annoy more.
"Ding!" Jonghyun sang happily with the chimes on the door; his eyes immediately found Kibum at the counter, checking out a movie for someone else.
Kibum caught his eyes and he glared discreetly. Only a second later, he turned to his other customer and flashed a bright smile, wishing them a good evening.
Jonghyun actually felt a bit jealous, and he made that known as he approached the counter. "Why were you nice to her? You're never nice to me."
"She wasn't annoying like you are," Kibum said coolly, leaning forward on the counter.
He was about to protest, offended because he was not annoying, but then that afternoon's conversation played over in his mind and he realized, yeah, he kind of was insanely irritating.
"Don't you have something for me?"
"A hello kiss?" Jonghyun asked, and didn't hesitate to duck his head down towards Kibum, lips puckered exaggeratedly.
"Ugh." Kibum backed away, pushing Jonghyun back by the forehead. "Are you this disgusting with every guy you meet?"
"Yes." Jonghyun nodded unapologetically.
Kibum rolled his eyes. "Are you gay or something?"
"Yes." He nodded a second time without any sort of hesitation. If instinct was serving him right, then Kibum wasn't entirely straight either, so he probably wouldn't mind.
His brows shot up.
Jonghyun grinned. "Do you want the games or not?"
"Hand them over." Kibum smiled slightly, holding out both hands for Jonghyun.
Jonghyun dug around in his bag for a moment before he found the games; he set the bag back down and placed them neatly in Kibum's hands.
He couldn't stop his eyes from lingering on Kibum's face as he scanned the games, and after a quick glance, Kibum caught him.
"What?" he asked defensively.
"You really do look familiar," he said, scanning him appraisingly.
"This again?" Kibum asked, voice turning immediately bored.
His eyes narrowed in further inspection. It was the eyebrows and the jawline, he decided: the all-too characteristically thick brows and the sharp angled jawline, the two most masculine features of his face. That was what drew Jonghyun to Kibum the first time when he was at his university. That was what he had so noticeably in common with Key from the videos.
"Stop staring, it's weird," Kibum mumbled, sliding the game cases to the side of the counter.
"Why is your shirt so huge on you?" he asked, noticing once more how baggy the bowler-style polo was on his frame, the color-blocked black and lime sections incredibly tacky.
"Oh…" He tugged at the collar. "Manager is having one made for me, so I have to use one that some guy left when he got fired."
"No, I'm not falling for that." Jonghyun shook his head and pointed accusingly at Kibum.
His brows pulled towards the middle.
"That's what you already said about the name-tag. You can't fool me again." He wagged his finger, proud to have caught on.
Kibum's quick snort escalated into a laugh so loud and obnoxious that it took Jonghyun aback.
He stood still, confused and at the same time entertained by how tickled Kibum seemed, head falling back and mouth opening wide to let out loud barks of laughter.
"No, no," Kibum said once he composed himself enough to speak. "I'm telling the truth this time. The first time I was messing with you, though, yeah." His smile was still leftover from his laughter, and it was so contagious to Jonghyun that he couldn't stop himself mirroring it.
"Can I trust you?" He squinted his eyes in pure suspicion.
"Yes. Do you really think I'd wear something like this if I had a choice?" He pulled the collar, face twisting into a grimace.
Jonghyun shrugged honestly. "I don't know how you dress. I've only seen you once, and you were wearing that thing."
"I appreciate you judging me for my work uniform." Kibum rolled his eyes, but then gave Jonghyun a once-over. "I see that you're pretty style-conscious, too. You really are gay, huh?"
"I wasn't judging," Jonghyun disagreed first off. "And yes, I like to cover up the fact that I roll out of bed and go to class by dressing at least relatively well." He let out a quick laugh before addressing the last point. "And yes, I really am gay. You're judging me for that, aren't you?" he accused, mostly in good nature. He didn't mind if he thought anything of his sexuality. As much as he liked to mess with him, Kibum was still just the guy who worked at the video store, not someone he was pursuing as a lover.
"Not judging, just surprised that you're so open about it, I guess," he said, tone conversational. He bent forward to rest on the countertop, forearms parallel to Jonghyun's. His head turned in order to see Jonghyun, and he could see the scar in his right eyebrow again.
"It's not a big deal." That was the grandest understatement he'd ever said. Of course it was a big deal, outside his secluded little group of friends, one of whom was gay (Minho, of course), the other who was something he didn't often bring attention to, but definitely not heterosexual (the ever-ambiguous Jinki).
"I guess Seoul is a bit more liberal than Daegu?" Kibum smiled weakly.
"I wouldn't know; I've never been." He shrugged, but smiled all the same.
"I never told anyone back there," Kibum admitted, joining his fingers in front of him and looking down at them. "Just my parents. And my grandma, I guess. But only one of my friends. I can't imagine walking up to the cashier at a video store and admitting that."
"It's not brave of me or anything like that," Jonghyun chuckled awkwardly, piecing his messy fringe in front of his eyes for something to do with at least one of his hands. "You asked so I answered. I don't like lying," he spoke nonchalantly, but after a moment of thinking, realized the gravity in Kibum's words. He was obviously alluding that he was gay as well, but to admit to something like that wasn't only extremely personal, but also a huge deal to Jonghyun. If he was being truthful that he'd only told a few people, four in total from the people he named, then that made Jonghyun one of the small handful of people who knew.
And that felt kind of nice, to be the person of the receiving end of his confiding.
Kibum shrugged. "I think it's brave. Maybe I grew up differently."
"Well, here." He slapped his hands on the counter and straightened out his elbows. "I'll ask you the same thing. Then you can decide whether it's brave or not."
Kibum brushed his fringe out of his eyes and his lips quirked in a half-smile.
He drummed his fingers, trying to think of how to tactfully ask-of course, then he remembered that the sum of his tact was virtually nonexistent, so he figured it out on the spot instead. "You made fun of me for carrying a purse before, but then you said you carried one too. What are you, gay or something?"
"Yeah, what of it?" Kibum snapped, the same amount of attitude in his voice as when he started growing irritated with Jonghyun.
Jonghyun grinned.
Kibum's feisty front dropped from his features and his weak smile returned.
"See? Not that big a deal. Unless you wanted to keep it a secret or something," he added playfully. "Because since you admitted it, I'm planning on passing out flyers on the streets with your picture on them that say 'Kibum from the video store-'" He held up his hands to help visualize the words, emphasis on each, "'plays for the other team.' It'll be part of my new 'Certified Homo' series, which will make known every gay man in Seoul for the good of the public."
Kibum's cheeks inflated in attempt to hold it in, but ended up busting into laughter anyway, one of his hands blindly grappling in the air until it found Jonghyun's wrist to cling to.
For the second time, Jonghyun was rendered motionless and grinning as Kibum laughed his surprisingly shameless laugh.
"You're an idiot," Kibum wiped his eye when he came down, releasing Jonghyun's wrist as if he didn't even notice he'd grabbed it in the first place.
"But I have a heart of gold, you can't deny it," Jonghyun joked, shaking his head close to Kibum's for the sake of being childish.
Kibum let out a sarcastic bark of a laugh. "No one I know with a heart of gold keeps videos late and then wheedles their way out of the late fee."
"It's not my fault you're a pushover, Kibum. I can't help that you're so easily won over by my charm."
"Hmm," Kibum rubbed his chin. "From what I remember, it wasn't your charm that did it. It was the fact that I was sick of you being irritating."
"Is there a difference between the two?" Jonghyun asked smartly.
"I guess not for you. You flirt like an elementary student. Being annoying on purpose."
"Hey, it suits me, you know it does."
He rolled his eyes. "Are you going to rent more games to keep past their due dates, or are these it?" He patted the cases beside him.
Jonghyun considered his question for a moment, mentally picking apart his usual weekend routine. Even with games as a pastime, he decided, he would still have ample time to talk to Key if the opportunity arose.
So, he resolutely pushed away from the counter and began to browse. Per usual, he picked out two without paying them much attention.
And just like before, Kibum eyed his choices disapprovingly while he rang them up.
When Jonghyun asked why he still didn't get his frequent customer discount, Kibum was quick to remind him that he'd already saved him some money that day, and then he warned him not to think he was that generous.
Jonghyun left the video store grinning more widely than he had in weeks.
"Hello, darling Internets. You're looking stunning as usual. I like what you've done with your hair today," Minho nodded with his words. "So, here we are at Frog Vlog number one-eighty-eight, and I honestly don't know what I want to talk about today. I have a list of topics I'd like to address on a little notepad here:" He held up a run-of-the-mill notepad with writing scribbled all over for proof, "but I'm not really feeling any of the topics today. I don't know. It's an off day for me.
"I think I'm off my groove because my last video was so incredibly embarrassing." He fixed his hair behind him, only to brush it forward a moment later. "Oh, he saw it, if any of you were wondering. Jonghyun-hyung got him to watch it." He tucked it behind his neck once more, this time leaving it there. "Because Jonghyun-hyung thinks he's being Cupid when he's actually just a nosy jerk." His words were punctuated with a good-natured grin.
He puffed out his cheeks and blew the air out, twiddling his thumbs on his desk. "Should I talk about myself again? Those are at least mildly interesting to you guys, right? And like I said, I'm a bit out of it, so I can't imagine being insightful right now.
"My brother came home from college a few days ago for a week-long visit." He looked the opposite of excited about the fact. "Sorry to seem so miserable about that. It's not that I don't like my brother, I think he's great. It's just painfully obvious who the favorite son in the family is whenever he's around. And, to give you a hint, the favorite son isn't me.
"But again, I do love my brother. And I definitely see where my parents are coming from with liking him better. If I was a parent, I'd probably like him over me, too." He was talking down at his hands, fingers weaving in and out of each other, the habit making it quite clear that this wasn't a pleasant topic for him to discuss. "He's the first-born son, so he's the one who set all the standards from the beginning. The fact that he's good at everything makes it hard to live up to. Hence why, after he left for school-he studies abroad, by the way, at some big-name university in Canada-, my parents started on their 'you'll never be as good as him' spree, which still hasn't ended three years later."
He exhaled heavily. "They're happy that he's back. My mom is spoiling him with all his favorite meals. He gets to sleep in my room because we don't have a guest room, so yours truly is King of the Couch for a week. I mean, I don't mind that my parents pretend I don't exist when he's around, because it's better than them asking over and over what I'm doing to pursue the business degree they want me to get, and how well I'm studying, and if my 'shy phase' is over yet. I get to eat dinner in my room alone, which is nice. Granted, I also have to cook my own dinner because my mom only makes enough for the three of them. But it's all right. It's peaceful. I have more time to talk to Jonghyun-hyung like this.
"He and I are getting along fine. He doesn't bother me about my studies because he knows I don't want to be a businessman, and he's okay with giving me the privacy of sitting in my room all day. He took me to the movies the other day, which was nice. We didn't talk much, but we never have.
"But with all that being said, I'm not too enthusiastic about him being here because I'm dreading when he leaves. Just like every time he leaves, I know my parents are going to drill me twice as hard as before he got here. He tells them all about his successes, and they directly translate those into my failures." He sighed, and began to slowly shake his head. His tone shook slightly with his frustration. "I hate how they constantly compare us. I'm not going to apologize for not being my brother, because I like who I am. So what if I'm not soccer captain or on the honor roll like he was? So what if I don't date a lot like he did in high school, or bring home nice girls to my parents, or have friends over for study sessions? In my free time, I make videos online talking about my life." He gestured to the camera for emphasis. "I'm my own person, and I'm not ashamed of that. But judging by the way they always mention him instead of me when someone asks about their son, my parents are.
"And… I guess that's about all I have to rant about for now." Minho shrugged lamely. "Forgive my juvenile whining about my parents. I'm sure a lot of you have it much worse than I do, and I'm feeling sorry for myself." He chuckled dryly.
"Either way, thank you for watching. I'll see you next time. Maybe I won't be lamenting so much next time."
His wink this time was heartbreakingly lackluster.
___
a/n - it hurts me deep in the kokoro for my sweet baby mango to be sad. sigh.
and this chapter was at least 700% less racy than the last one LOL it's just a bunch of jongkey banter but you know what I LIKE JONGKEY BANTER so there. man they're real cute. and it makes me laugh idk it probably doesn't make anyone else laugh let's just be real here.
right. uhm. I don't really have anything else to say for this chapter ^^;; the next one is a lot of fun tho, so that's good, right??? c:
thank you for reading, and I'll see you on saturday c:
kat
mikssi
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