Umbrella
Title: Umbrella
Pairing: Jogin/Kyungsoo (KaiSoo)
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance, AU
Length: 1669w
Summary: In a sea of black, Kyungsoo finds light in a speck of red.
An umbrella.
A blue umbrella to be exact.
It has no fancy designs on its canopy or an automatic-open button on its handle. Sturdy, simple, dependable: as an umbrella should be.
The only constant in Do Kyungsoo’s life.
People come and go. Friends, classmates, colleagues, lovers, passerbys on the hectic Seoul streets. People always change.
But his umbrella remains the same. His umbrella stays by his side. He can only count on his umbrella to protect him from the chilling rain, the blazing sun, the harmful world that has so much to give, but can easily take all the same.
Kyungsoo clutches his umbrella in one hand as he walks down the bustling city walkway, trying to keep up with the brisk flow of sidewalk traffic to the best of his ability. He stares down at the ground, watching his rain boot clad (blue, to match his umbrella) feet squeak slight against the damp cement with every step he takes.
He looks up only when he collides with a back, mumbling a quick sorry and a sheepish smile to the disgruntled businessman, a cellphone plastered to the older man’s ear, before him. Kyungsoo quickly flees the scene, continuing along his way, as the man shakes his head and returns to his phone call.
He stands among a group of people at an intersection, waiting for the red man on the sign to turn green. A single drop of water lands on his sleeve. Kyungsoo tips his head back towards the cloudy night sky as a few more raindrops fall from the sky.
Almost as if life was a choreographed show number, umbrellas instantly pop open over the crowd, hundreds of them black but only one of them blue.
Kyungsoo smiles as his eyes sweep the crowd around him.
‘Black, black, black, red, black, bl - wait. Red?’
He does a little double take and his eyes widen with wonder and curiosity at the red umbrella sticking up in the sky amongst the never-ending field of black. Kyungsoo stands up on his toes and ducks this way and that as he tries to get a better view of the person under the red canopy.
It’s only when people start to cross the street that Kyungsoo is able to catch a glimpse of the red umbrella’s owner. He only sees his face for a second, but that second was long enough.
Plump lips, tan skin, and sleepy eyes all together to make an innocent, almost childlike face. Kyungsoo can feel his jaw drop in awe as he watches the boy with the red umbrella walk away from him as if he’s gliding over the sidewalk.
A sudden realization dawns on Kyungsoo.
The boy is doing just that: walking away from him.
He quickly follows after the boy, weaving through the crowd all while keeping his eyes trained on the patch of red. Much to Kyungsoo’s delight and relief, they both get stopped at the next intersection.
He steps next to the boy, standing at the edge of the sidewalk as cars fly past them. Rain hits both of their umbrellas, drops rolling off the canopies as if they’re racing.
Kyungsoo takes a shy glance out of the corner of his eye, a small smile unknowingly creeping onto face when he sees the boy standing next to him with his eyes closed. Under his red umbrella, the boy takes a deep breath of the fresh air that always seems to tag along whenever there’s a rainstorm.
Kyungsoo almost laughs out loud at the boy’s adorable action but throws his hand over his mouth before any sound can escape. This boy, although almost a full head taller than him, just seems so vulnerable, like a child stuck in an adult’s body. And Kyungsoo thinks it’s adorable.
The boy lazily opens his almond shaped eyes, blinking a few times before turning his head towards Kyungsoo.
The boy under the blue umbrella tenses in shock, his eyes wide as he whips his head to face forward. He feels his ears start to turn red and he prays that his cheeks aren’t doing the same.
God, that would be so embarrassing.
Kyungsoo grips onto the handle of his umbrella as they cross the street. People rushing by cause them to slightly bump into each other, but neither says a word.
When Kyungsoo comes up to the turn he needs to take to get to the subway, he stops in his tracks and looks to his side once again. But this time, his expression dims and his shoulders sag when he sees the red umbrella bobbing down the sidewalk in the opposite direction.
Kyungsoo lowers his head and trudges down the sidewalk.
He didn’t get his name or even hear his voice for that matter. Kyungsoo looks up at his blue umbrella. People really do come and go, he guesses.
He lowers his umbrella to close it as he nears the steps to take him down to the platform. But a gust of wind catches under the canopy, pushing back open. As if his night couldn’t get any worse, he stands in the middle of the walkway like an idiot, struggling to close his umbrella that just doesn’t seem to want to cooperate with him.
Just as Kyungsoo is about to click the darn thing shut, a woman hurrying up the stairs bump into his shoulder. He loses his grip and helplessly watches his umbrella open and get whisked away by the wind.
He stands at the top of the steps, horrified, as his eyes follow his bright blue umbrella fly among the skyscrapers.
Then, Kyungsoo starts running.
He pushes past pedestrians, ignoring the strange stares and sneers he’s receiving as he follows his umbrella that’s soaring over his head.
He doesn’t care that he’s soaked to the bone and his hair is probably a mess. He continues chasing after his umbrella, his companion, his protection.
He lets out a sigh, his breath still heavy from the running and panic, when his umbrella lands on the side of the road, rolling a little on it’s metal tips when it hits the pavement. Without a second thought, Kyungsoo steps onto the asphalt and beams at his umbrella.
The sound of car horns and screaming suddenly meets his ears. He tears his gaze off of his umbrella and his eyes widen with fear as two headlights come hurdling his way.
Fear paralyzes his body and numbs his mind and all he can do is squeeze his eyes shut, curl his shoulders in, and wait for the pain to come.
But it never does.
Is he dead? Killed on impact? Or was it all a dream and he’ll wake up in his small studio apartment?
Kyungsoo hesitantly opens his eyes and finds himself on the ever so busy Seoul sidewalk, a shield of red blocking the rain over his head. He is unable to form words when his eyes connect with almond ones.
The boy, tightly clutching onto his wrist with one hand and the handle of his red umbrella with the other, stares back at him with fear for he just saw Kyungsoo almost get hit by a car and shock that he was able to pull him out the way in time.
Kyungsoo drops his eyes down to his wrist that is still wrapped in the boy’s warm hold.
The boy quickly returns his hand to his side and bites down on his bottom lip, avoiding any further eye contact with Kyungsoo.
Kyungsoo eyes him curiously and opens his mouth to say something but a small movement out of the corner of his eye drags his attention away.
A small gasp escapes his lips when he finds his blue umbrella laying near the gutter at his feet. Kyungsoo gently picks it up, shaking it off a bit, and raises it over his head.
A couple of ribs are broken and the canopy is slightly muddy, but it still works perfectly fine.
Kyungsoo looks away from his umbrella and back at the boy who, surprisingly, is still standing in the same spot on the sidewalk and staring back at him.
The two somehow end up outside a small coffee shop, their umbrellas folded up and leaning next to each other against their table for two.
Kyungsoo plays with his fingers under the table, his eyes trained on the steaming cup of tea on the white saucer in front of him.
“I like your boots.”
Kyungsoo jerks his head up at the deep, husky voice and the boy across the table gives him a half smile as he takes a sip of his cappuccino.
Kyungsoo looks under the table at his blue rain boots and a small smile of his own makes his way onto his lips when he catches sight of another pair of the same exact pair of boots, only red, under the table as well.
“I can say the same about yours,” he laughs, his eyes turning into crescents.
The boy lets out a light laugh as well and Kyungsoo doesn’t know if it’s a good or bad thing that his heart is already skipping beats.
“Thank you,” the boy’s gaze softens at Kyungsoo’s soft voice, “for saving me.”
“It’s no problem. I’m glad I was about to pull you out of the way before it was too late.”
Kyungsoo stares blankly as the boy stretches one of his hands across the table.
“I’m Jongin,” the red umbrella owner grins.
Kyungsoo reaches across the table, his own hand shaking before he slides into Jongin’s, and he revels in the feeling of warmth pour from his hand to the rest of his body when they make contact.
“I’m Kyungsoo,” he grins back.
Kyungsoo thought that he could only count on his umbrella to protect him from the chilling rain, the blazing sun, the harmful world that has so much to give, but can easily take all the same.
But, maybe, he can count on Jongin to protect him too.
---
A/N: First Exo OTP fic and first post on LJ >.< Inspired by masterpiece that is The Blue Umbrella by Saschka Unseld. Thank you to my homegirls, Liana, Mikela, and Tina for pushing me to write this thing. Man, writing KaiSoo is mentally draining but fun none the less!
Pairing: Jogin/Kyungsoo (KaiSoo)
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance, AU
Length: 1669w
Summary: In a sea of black, Kyungsoo finds light in a speck of red.
An umbrella.
A blue umbrella to be exact.
It has no fancy designs on its canopy or an automatic-open button on its handle. Sturdy, simple, dependable: as an umbrella should be.
The only constant in Do Kyungsoo’s life.
People come and go. Friends, classmates, colleagues, lovers, passerbys on the hectic Seoul streets. People always change.
But his umbrella remains the same. His umbrella stays by his side. He can only count on his umbrella to protect him from the chilling rain, the blazing sun, the harmful world that has so much to give, but can easily take all the same.
Kyungsoo clutches his umbrella in one hand as he walks down the bustling city walkway, trying to keep up with the brisk flow of sidewalk traffic to the best of his ability. He stares down at the ground, watching his rain boot clad (blue, to match his umbrella) feet squeak slight against the damp cement with every step he takes.
He looks up only when he collides with a back, mumbling a quick sorry and a sheepish smile to the disgruntled businessman, a cellphone plastered to the older man’s ear, before him. Kyungsoo quickly flees the scene, continuing along his way, as the man shakes his head and returns to his phone call.
He stands among a group of people at an intersection, waiting for the red man on the sign to turn green. A single drop of water lands on his sleeve. Kyungsoo tips his head back towards the cloudy night sky as a few more raindrops fall from the sky.
Almost as if life was a choreographed show number, umbrellas instantly pop open over the crowd, hundreds of them black but only one of them blue.
Kyungsoo smiles as his eyes sweep the crowd around him.
‘Black, black, black, red, black, bl - wait. Red?’
He does a little double take and his eyes widen with wonder and curiosity at the red umbrella sticking up in the sky amongst the never-ending field of black. Kyungsoo stands up on his toes and ducks this way and that as he tries to get a better view of the person under the red canopy.
It’s only when people start to cross the street that Kyungsoo is able to catch a glimpse of the red umbrella’s owner. He only sees his face for a second, but that second was long enough.
Plump lips, tan skin, and sleepy eyes all together to make an innocent, almost childlike face. Kyungsoo can feel his jaw drop in awe as he watches the boy with the red umbrella walk away from him as if he’s gliding over the sidewalk.
A sudden realization dawns on Kyungsoo.
The boy is doing just that: walking away from him.
He quickly follows after the boy, weaving through the crowd all while keeping his eyes trained on the patch of red. Much to Kyungsoo’s delight and relief, they both get stopped at the next intersection.
He steps next to the boy, standing at the edge of the sidewalk as cars fly past them. Rain hits both of their umbrellas, drops rolling off the canopies as if they’re racing.
Kyungsoo takes a shy glance out of the corner of his eye, a small smile unknowingly creeping onto face when he sees the boy standing next to him with his eyes closed. Under his red umbrella, the boy takes a deep breath of the fresh air that always seems to tag along whenever there’s a rainstorm.
Kyungsoo almost laughs out loud at the boy’s adorable action but throws his hand over his mouth before any sound can escape. This boy, although almost a full head taller than him, just seems so vulnerable, like a child stuck in an adult’s body. And Kyungsoo thinks it’s adorable.
The boy lazily opens his almond shaped eyes, blinking a few times before turning his head towards Kyungsoo.
The boy under the blue umbrella tenses in shock, his eyes wide as he whips his head to face forward. He feels his ears start to turn red and he prays that his cheeks aren’t doing the same.
God, that would be so embarrassing.
Kyungsoo grips onto the handle of his umbrella as they cross the street. People rushing by cause them to slightly bump into each other, but neither says a word.
When Kyungsoo comes up to the turn he needs to take to get to the subway, he stops in his tracks and looks to his side once again. But this time, his expression dims and his shoulders sag when he sees the red umbrella bobbing down the sidewalk in the opposite direction.
Kyungsoo lowers his head and trudges down the sidewalk.
He didn’t get his name or even hear his voice for that matter. Kyungsoo looks up at his blue umbrella. People really do come and go, he guesses.
He lowers his umbrella to close it as he nears the steps to take him down to the platform. But a gust of wind catches under the canopy, pushing back open. As if his night couldn’t get any worse, he stands in the middle of the walkway like an idiot, struggling to close his umbrella that just doesn’t seem to want to cooperate with him.
Just as Kyungsoo is about to click the darn thing shut, a woman hurrying up the stairs bump into his shoulder. He loses his grip and helplessly watches his umbrella open and get whisked away by the wind.
He stands at the top of the steps, horrified, as his eyes follow his bright blue umbrella fly among the skyscrapers.
Then, Kyungsoo starts running.
He pushes past pedestrians, ignoring the strange stares and sneers he’s receiving as he follows his umbrella that’s soaring over his head.
He doesn’t care that he’s soaked to the bone and his hair is probably a mess. He continues chasing after his umbrella, his companion, his protection.
He lets out a sigh, his breath still heavy from the running and panic, when his umbrella lands on the side of the road, rolling a little on it’s metal tips when it hits the pavement. Without a second thought, Kyungsoo steps onto the asphalt and beams at his umbrella.
The sound of car horns and screaming suddenly meets his ears. He tears his gaze off of his umbrella and his eyes widen with fear as two headlights come hurdling his way.
Fear paralyzes his body and numbs his mind and all he can do is squeeze his eyes shut, curl his shoulders in, and wait for the pain to come.
But it never does.
Is he dead? Killed on impact? Or was it all a dream and he’ll wake up in his small studio apartment?
Kyungsoo hesitantly opens his eyes and finds himself on the ever so busy Seoul sidewalk, a shield of red blocking the rain over his head. He is unable to form words when his eyes connect with almond ones.
The boy, tightly clutching onto his wrist with one hand and the handle of his red umbrella with the other, stares back at him with fear for he just saw Kyungsoo almost get hit by a car and shock that he was able to pull him out the way in time.
Kyungsoo drops his eyes down to his wrist that is still wrapped in the boy’s warm hold.
The boy quickly returns his hand to his side and bites down on his bottom lip, avoiding any further eye contact with Kyungsoo.
Kyungsoo eyes him curiously and opens his mouth to say something but a small movement out of the corner of his eye drags his attention away.
A small gasp escapes his lips when he finds his blue umbrella laying near the gutter at his feet. Kyungsoo gently picks it up, shaking it off a bit, and raises it over his head.
A couple of ribs are broken and the canopy is slightly muddy, but it still works perfectly fine.
Kyungsoo looks away from his umbrella and back at the boy who, surprisingly, is still standing in the same spot on the sidewalk and staring back at him.
The two somehow end up outside a small coffee shop, their umbrellas folded up and leaning next to each other against their table for two.
Kyungsoo plays with his fingers under the table, his eyes trained on the steaming cup of tea on the white saucer in front of him.
“I like your boots.”
Kyungsoo jerks his head up at the deep, husky voice and the boy across the table gives him a half smile as he takes a sip of his cappuccino.
Kyungsoo looks under the table at his blue rain boots and a small smile of his own makes his way onto his lips when he catches sight of another pair of the same exact pair of boots, only red, under the table as well.
“I can say the same about yours,” he laughs, his eyes turning into crescents.
The boy lets out a light laugh as well and Kyungsoo doesn’t know if it’s a good or bad thing that his heart is already skipping beats.
“Thank you,” the boy’s gaze softens at Kyungsoo’s soft voice, “for saving me.”
“It’s no problem. I’m glad I was about to pull you out of the way before it was too late.”
Kyungsoo stares blankly as the boy stretches one of his hands across the table.
“I’m Jongin,” the red umbrella owner grins.
Kyungsoo reaches across the table, his own hand shaking before he slides into Jongin’s, and he revels in the feeling of warmth pour from his hand to the rest of his body when they make contact.
“I’m Kyungsoo,” he grins back.
Kyungsoo thought that he could only count on his umbrella to protect him from the chilling rain, the blazing sun, the harmful world that has so much to give, but can easily take all the same.
But, maybe, he can count on Jongin to protect him too.
---
A/N: First Exo OTP fic and first post on LJ >.< Inspired by masterpiece that is The Blue Umbrella by Saschka Unseld. Thank you to my homegirls, Liana, Mikela, and Tina for pushing me to write this thing. Man, writing KaiSoo is mentally draining but fun none the less!