what makes the world go round?
title: what makes the world go round?
pairing(s): onkey
rating: pg (MAYBE pg-13?)
wordcount: 1993
summary: Jinki is the kind of guy who needs an explanation for everything. Kibum is here to tell him that some things can't be explained.
a/n: So this is for challenge 016 at shawol_haven , based off the prompt "Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love." I guess... I didn't focus on the gravity part so much as just the... scientific/logic-minded part? Yeah. Also, I don't know if the story makes all that much sense, I had to cut a lot out due to the word count restriction haha... but yeah. enjoy!
Jinki tends to overanalyze things. It's one of his weaknesses. It's also why he's spent the past half hour sitting alone in a dingy coffee shop replaying his day in his head to see where exactly he went wrong. He's already considered blaming his alarm clock, his roommate, and his dropping of a borrowed calculator (it wasn't a mirror, but hey, it could probably still bring bad luck).
But the most logical explanation for today's events was the seating chart during the exam, which placed Jinki next to his friend Changsun, who hadn't studied at all due to the two jobs he held outside of school. During the exam Jinki couldn't help but keep glancing over at him, worried that his friend would suddenly have a nervous breakdown. When it was over the two of them met up and Jinki found himself nodding sympathetically to Changsun's complaints and worries that he would flunk out this semester.
And then, somehow, ten minutes later, Jinki found himself breaking into their professor's office to find the exams and help Changsun copy his answers.
Obviously, Jinki muses now, that was a mistake.
They were caught, of course. Rather, Jinki was caught; Changsun got away through the window after hastily hiding all evidence of his visit. Jinki, meanwhile, got stuck with his shoulders through the window and, panicking as the professor entered the room, fell down, hit his head, and passed out.
When Jinki awoke in the university hospital, the head of school wasted no time in interrogating him. Jinki lied and said that he'd wanted to change some answers on his test. The head of school shook his head and said it was a shame, because Jinki was such a good student, but this kind of behavior was intolerable; he was going to have to expel him.
Looking back, Jinki thinks he should have come up with a better lie.
Now he has to wonder: What is he going to do? Where is he going to live? How soon will he have to move out of the dorm?
What are his parents going to say?
Jinki thinks about these things just long enough to give himself an anxiety-induced stomach ache, and then he decides that he needs to eat before he does anything else. And so he ends up at Happy Mart, staring into the eyes of the impatient cashier and wondering how he's going to pay for all of this junk food without his wallet.
"Are you gonna pay or not?" the cashier demands loudly, and Jinki winces.
"Um. What if I came back and paid later?" Jinki says meekly. "Because, you see... I got caught cheating and fell and got expelled in the hospital, so I think that's where my wallet is... but I don't want to go back and face people because, you know, I just got expelled. Maybe I could pay you later tonight? But the thing is, I just really need food right now. But I'll definitely pay you. Eventually."
The cashier looks at him for a long time with feline, unreadable eyes. Finally he says, "Go wait for me at the back. I'll take care of you in a minute."
"Okay," Jinki says, unsure what to make of this. He does as the cashier says, though, going to wait at the back of the store near the door reading 'Staff Only.' After ten minutes the cashier appears, holding the four plastic bags of junk food Jinki had been trying to buy.
"Let's go outside," he suggests, and Jinki really has no choice but to follow.
As it turns out, the cashier is not as intimidating as he seems. His name is Kim Kibum and he's two years younger than Jinki and he loves to talk. He talks and talks until Jinki very nearly forgets his own problems. It's not until it gets dark on the back steps of the Happy Mart that Kibum reminds Jinki that he still hasn't paid for the snacks that the two of them have been munching on.
"Oh, right," Jinki mumbles. "I guess I'll go get my wallet now and then come back. If that's okay."
"Actually," Kibum says, standing up and dusting off his pants, "if it's okay, can I come with you? My shift's over anyway."
"Sure," Jinki says, surprised but pleased to have company.
"So now it's your turn," Kibum says as they set out. "Tell me about you."
"Uh," Jinki says. "I'm not really - "
"Just tell me about your day," Kibum says, and the way he says it is so warm, so persuasive, that Jinki gives in.
By the time they arrive at the hospital Jinki has told Kibum everything, and he's feeling much better now that he's gotten everything off his chest. Stuffing his hands into his sweatshirt pocket, he sighs. "So that was my day. Not one of my best, but you know. Could have been worse."
"That sucks," Kibum says softly. "Are you going to go back to school?"
"Not right away," Jinki says, leading the way through the hospital's double doors. "I think I'd have to retake the entrance exams."
"Oh," Kibum says, "entrance exams. I dropped out of school before I took mine."
"Really?"
"Yup. Didn't even graduate high school. Isn't that pathetic?"
Jinki thinks it is, but he doesn't say so.
"But you know what, who needs school?" Kibum continues. "In real life, when am I ever going to use a sine graph? When am I ever going to need to diagram an English sentence? When am I ever going to need to calculate the pressure of a gas? Never. I'm not a scientist, I'm not a mathematician, I'm not a teacher, so why pretend like I need that crap?"
"Well," Jinki says, "I wanted to be a doctor. I would have needed that crap."
"I'm sure you'd be a great doctor," Kibum assures him, "and you'd make lots of money and have a comfortable retirement plan, and that all sounds nice, but . . . I don't know. I don't feel like I have time to wait for all that, you know? Life is happening now. I don't have the patience you do. Not to mention the brains."
There's quiet between them then, as they walk through the hospital, and Jinki thinks, as he sneaks glances at Kibum's profile every once and a while, that maybe his brain, with all the knowledge he's stuffed in it, is what's holding him back.
One week later Jinki finds himself at the Happy Mart once more, this time holding a job application printed off the internet. Kibum is there again, raising one immaculate eyebrow when Jinki asks to see the manager.
Jinki gets the job easily, and as soon as he emerges from the manager's office Kibum pounces on him.
"What is going on?" he demands. "Are you working here now?"
"Yeah," Jinki says. "I got an apartment, and I have to pay rent, and my parents won't help me out because they kind of hate me right now, and since I had to find a job somewhere I thought it might as well be here."
"Really?" Kibum says, grinning broadly. "Then this is fate! We're going to be friends." And to cement their friendship, the two of them go out for drinks that night, stay out too long, and show up late to work the next morning. All through it, even as Jinki is being berated by his new boss, he's celebrating his good luck; as far as fresh starts go, he thinks he's doing pretty well.
He and Kibum go out together almost every night, to nearby coffee shops, the new Italian place on the corner, Kibum's favorite Chinese restaurant, noraebang - whatever strikes their fancy. Sometimes they just sit at Jinki's apartment and talk. It's easy for Jinki to talk to Kibum, for some reason, easy to open up to him. Jinki thinks about it often, actually: just why does he like spending so much time with Kibum? Is it because they're coworkers and it's a convenient relationship? Because being busy with Kibum gives him an excuse to ignore Changsun's frequent calls? Or because Kibum has such an attractive symmetrical face, which makes him approachable - ?
But as soon as Jinki thinks of that last one, he dismisses it and drops the subject. He'll come upon the answer some other time.
Two months after being hired at Happy Mart, Jinki receives a call from Changsun. Feeling generous, he decides to pick up.
"Jinki-ah," Changsun says breathlessly, "you can come back to school!"
Changsun explains quickly that he's been caught, that he confessed, and that he told the head of school that Jinki was innocent. As a result, the school has decided to readmit Jinki, albeit with a probationary status.
Jinki isn't quite sure what to say. "Changsun-ah, I... I..."
Beep.
"I've got another call coming in. Let me call you back."
"It'll be the school," Changsun says. "Calling to tell you the news. I just wanted to let you know first."
"Thanks," Jinki says. "I'm glad you did."
Then he hangs up and takes the call from the university.
"Why?" Jinki asks Kibum the next morning. They're on their break, sitting on the back steps of the Happy Mart. "Why did I refuse?"
"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Kibum says dryly.
"I can't help but think it's you," Jinki goes on, almost accusingly. "You influenced this. Oh, god, did I make the wrong choice? Will they still take me back after I refused once? I don't think they'd retract the offer. Do you think they would? Gah, I don't know what to think!"
"So stop thinking about it," Kibum snaps.
"But I - "
"How do you feel about it?"
"Well, I feel like it's your fault somehow," Jinki replies with a minute frown.
"I might be okay with that," Kibum says, smirking.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Now tell me how you feel about this." And with that, Kibum is leaning over and kissing Jinki with his soft, warm lips.
Jinki is speechless.
"Hm?" Kibum murmurs.
"I - I don't know," Jinki stammers, his words tumbling out in a rush. "This makes no sense, you're a guy and I'm a guy, so we shouldn't - "
"Damn it, Jinki, not everything has to make sense!" Kibum says impatiently. "You're not in school anymore! Maybe there is no right answer. Maybe there is no explanation. I mean, there's sure as hell no explanation for why I'd fall for a stupid, clumsy, oblivious idiot like you. But I did. And I don't know, from the way you've been acting, I kind of thought you'd fallen for me, too. Was I just completely wrong on that?"
"I - no. I don't think you were wrong," Jinki says shakily, his cheeks flushing. "I just - I don't know that much about this kind of stuff, so - I dont know."
"Why are you such a dork," Kibum sighs, smiling. "Love isn't something you can learn out of a textbook, Mr. Genius Student. You don't have to know about 'this kind of stuff.' Just tell me right now: do you like me or not?"
"Do I like you?" Jinki repeats slowly. He thinks about it - the strange draw he feels toward Kibum, the way his heart leaps in his chest when Kibum smiles at him, the recent thoughts flitting around his head of Kibum's face is really beautiful; Kibum's body is perfect; Actually, Kibum is all-around perfect.
"I think I do like you," he says softly. "In fact, I think I might even be in love with you."
And this time when Kibum kisses him, Jinki doesn't care that this feeling is unexplainable because it's amazing and blissful and if understanding is the price he must pay for this, this inexplicable, wonderful feeling, then he's happy to be ignorant for the rest of his life.
pairing(s): onkey
rating: pg (MAYBE pg-13?)
wordcount: 1993
summary: Jinki is the kind of guy who needs an explanation for everything. Kibum is here to tell him that some things can't be explained.
a/n: So this is for challenge 016 at shawol_haven , based off the prompt "Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love." I guess... I didn't focus on the gravity part so much as just the... scientific/logic-minded part? Yeah. Also, I don't know if the story makes all that much sense, I had to cut a lot out due to the word count restriction haha... but yeah. enjoy!
Jinki tends to overanalyze things. It's one of his weaknesses. It's also why he's spent the past half hour sitting alone in a dingy coffee shop replaying his day in his head to see where exactly he went wrong. He's already considered blaming his alarm clock, his roommate, and his dropping of a borrowed calculator (it wasn't a mirror, but hey, it could probably still bring bad luck).
But the most logical explanation for today's events was the seating chart during the exam, which placed Jinki next to his friend Changsun, who hadn't studied at all due to the two jobs he held outside of school. During the exam Jinki couldn't help but keep glancing over at him, worried that his friend would suddenly have a nervous breakdown. When it was over the two of them met up and Jinki found himself nodding sympathetically to Changsun's complaints and worries that he would flunk out this semester.
And then, somehow, ten minutes later, Jinki found himself breaking into their professor's office to find the exams and help Changsun copy his answers.
Obviously, Jinki muses now, that was a mistake.
They were caught, of course. Rather, Jinki was caught; Changsun got away through the window after hastily hiding all evidence of his visit. Jinki, meanwhile, got stuck with his shoulders through the window and, panicking as the professor entered the room, fell down, hit his head, and passed out.
When Jinki awoke in the university hospital, the head of school wasted no time in interrogating him. Jinki lied and said that he'd wanted to change some answers on his test. The head of school shook his head and said it was a shame, because Jinki was such a good student, but this kind of behavior was intolerable; he was going to have to expel him.
Looking back, Jinki thinks he should have come up with a better lie.
Now he has to wonder: What is he going to do? Where is he going to live? How soon will he have to move out of the dorm?
What are his parents going to say?
Jinki thinks about these things just long enough to give himself an anxiety-induced stomach ache, and then he decides that he needs to eat before he does anything else. And so he ends up at Happy Mart, staring into the eyes of the impatient cashier and wondering how he's going to pay for all of this junk food without his wallet.
"Are you gonna pay or not?" the cashier demands loudly, and Jinki winces.
"Um. What if I came back and paid later?" Jinki says meekly. "Because, you see... I got caught cheating and fell and got expelled in the hospital, so I think that's where my wallet is... but I don't want to go back and face people because, you know, I just got expelled. Maybe I could pay you later tonight? But the thing is, I just really need food right now. But I'll definitely pay you. Eventually."
The cashier looks at him for a long time with feline, unreadable eyes. Finally he says, "Go wait for me at the back. I'll take care of you in a minute."
"Okay," Jinki says, unsure what to make of this. He does as the cashier says, though, going to wait at the back of the store near the door reading 'Staff Only.' After ten minutes the cashier appears, holding the four plastic bags of junk food Jinki had been trying to buy.
"Let's go outside," he suggests, and Jinki really has no choice but to follow.
As it turns out, the cashier is not as intimidating as he seems. His name is Kim Kibum and he's two years younger than Jinki and he loves to talk. He talks and talks until Jinki very nearly forgets his own problems. It's not until it gets dark on the back steps of the Happy Mart that Kibum reminds Jinki that he still hasn't paid for the snacks that the two of them have been munching on.
"Oh, right," Jinki mumbles. "I guess I'll go get my wallet now and then come back. If that's okay."
"Actually," Kibum says, standing up and dusting off his pants, "if it's okay, can I come with you? My shift's over anyway."
"Sure," Jinki says, surprised but pleased to have company.
"So now it's your turn," Kibum says as they set out. "Tell me about you."
"Uh," Jinki says. "I'm not really - "
"Just tell me about your day," Kibum says, and the way he says it is so warm, so persuasive, that Jinki gives in.
By the time they arrive at the hospital Jinki has told Kibum everything, and he's feeling much better now that he's gotten everything off his chest. Stuffing his hands into his sweatshirt pocket, he sighs. "So that was my day. Not one of my best, but you know. Could have been worse."
"That sucks," Kibum says softly. "Are you going to go back to school?"
"Not right away," Jinki says, leading the way through the hospital's double doors. "I think I'd have to retake the entrance exams."
"Oh," Kibum says, "entrance exams. I dropped out of school before I took mine."
"Really?"
"Yup. Didn't even graduate high school. Isn't that pathetic?"
Jinki thinks it is, but he doesn't say so.
"But you know what, who needs school?" Kibum continues. "In real life, when am I ever going to use a sine graph? When am I ever going to need to diagram an English sentence? When am I ever going to need to calculate the pressure of a gas? Never. I'm not a scientist, I'm not a mathematician, I'm not a teacher, so why pretend like I need that crap?"
"Well," Jinki says, "I wanted to be a doctor. I would have needed that crap."
"I'm sure you'd be a great doctor," Kibum assures him, "and you'd make lots of money and have a comfortable retirement plan, and that all sounds nice, but . . . I don't know. I don't feel like I have time to wait for all that, you know? Life is happening now. I don't have the patience you do. Not to mention the brains."
There's quiet between them then, as they walk through the hospital, and Jinki thinks, as he sneaks glances at Kibum's profile every once and a while, that maybe his brain, with all the knowledge he's stuffed in it, is what's holding him back.
One week later Jinki finds himself at the Happy Mart once more, this time holding a job application printed off the internet. Kibum is there again, raising one immaculate eyebrow when Jinki asks to see the manager.
Jinki gets the job easily, and as soon as he emerges from the manager's office Kibum pounces on him.
"What is going on?" he demands. "Are you working here now?"
"Yeah," Jinki says. "I got an apartment, and I have to pay rent, and my parents won't help me out because they kind of hate me right now, and since I had to find a job somewhere I thought it might as well be here."
"Really?" Kibum says, grinning broadly. "Then this is fate! We're going to be friends." And to cement their friendship, the two of them go out for drinks that night, stay out too long, and show up late to work the next morning. All through it, even as Jinki is being berated by his new boss, he's celebrating his good luck; as far as fresh starts go, he thinks he's doing pretty well.
He and Kibum go out together almost every night, to nearby coffee shops, the new Italian place on the corner, Kibum's favorite Chinese restaurant, noraebang - whatever strikes their fancy. Sometimes they just sit at Jinki's apartment and talk. It's easy for Jinki to talk to Kibum, for some reason, easy to open up to him. Jinki thinks about it often, actually: just why does he like spending so much time with Kibum? Is it because they're coworkers and it's a convenient relationship? Because being busy with Kibum gives him an excuse to ignore Changsun's frequent calls? Or because Kibum has such an attractive symmetrical face, which makes him approachable - ?
But as soon as Jinki thinks of that last one, he dismisses it and drops the subject. He'll come upon the answer some other time.
Two months after being hired at Happy Mart, Jinki receives a call from Changsun. Feeling generous, he decides to pick up.
"Jinki-ah," Changsun says breathlessly, "you can come back to school!"
Changsun explains quickly that he's been caught, that he confessed, and that he told the head of school that Jinki was innocent. As a result, the school has decided to readmit Jinki, albeit with a probationary status.
Jinki isn't quite sure what to say. "Changsun-ah, I... I..."
Beep.
"I've got another call coming in. Let me call you back."
"It'll be the school," Changsun says. "Calling to tell you the news. I just wanted to let you know first."
"Thanks," Jinki says. "I'm glad you did."
Then he hangs up and takes the call from the university.
"Why?" Jinki asks Kibum the next morning. They're on their break, sitting on the back steps of the Happy Mart. "Why did I refuse?"
"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Kibum says dryly.
"I can't help but think it's you," Jinki goes on, almost accusingly. "You influenced this. Oh, god, did I make the wrong choice? Will they still take me back after I refused once? I don't think they'd retract the offer. Do you think they would? Gah, I don't know what to think!"
"So stop thinking about it," Kibum snaps.
"But I - "
"How do you feel about it?"
"Well, I feel like it's your fault somehow," Jinki replies with a minute frown.
"I might be okay with that," Kibum says, smirking.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Now tell me how you feel about this." And with that, Kibum is leaning over and kissing Jinki with his soft, warm lips.
Jinki is speechless.
"Hm?" Kibum murmurs.
"I - I don't know," Jinki stammers, his words tumbling out in a rush. "This makes no sense, you're a guy and I'm a guy, so we shouldn't - "
"Damn it, Jinki, not everything has to make sense!" Kibum says impatiently. "You're not in school anymore! Maybe there is no right answer. Maybe there is no explanation. I mean, there's sure as hell no explanation for why I'd fall for a stupid, clumsy, oblivious idiot like you. But I did. And I don't know, from the way you've been acting, I kind of thought you'd fallen for me, too. Was I just completely wrong on that?"
"I - no. I don't think you were wrong," Jinki says shakily, his cheeks flushing. "I just - I don't know that much about this kind of stuff, so - I dont know."
"Why are you such a dork," Kibum sighs, smiling. "Love isn't something you can learn out of a textbook, Mr. Genius Student. You don't have to know about 'this kind of stuff.' Just tell me right now: do you like me or not?"
"Do I like you?" Jinki repeats slowly. He thinks about it - the strange draw he feels toward Kibum, the way his heart leaps in his chest when Kibum smiles at him, the recent thoughts flitting around his head of Kibum's face is really beautiful; Kibum's body is perfect; Actually, Kibum is all-around perfect.
"I think I do like you," he says softly. "In fact, I think I might even be in love with you."
And this time when Kibum kisses him, Jinki doesn't care that this feeling is unexplainable because it's amazing and blissful and if understanding is the price he must pay for this, this inexplicable, wonderful feeling, then he's happy to be ignorant for the rest of his life.