Blossoming
Pairing: MinKey, mentions of JongKey
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Angst, Romance
Word Count: 4,005
Warnings: Mentions of terminal illness
It started with Gardenias. The soft white petals spilled from his mouth onto the counter in front of him. Minho had of course heard of this phenomenon, when you loved someone so much that a flower took root within you. Hanahaki disease they called it. However he had never expected it to happen to him. Of course there was no doubt about who it was that had caused this sudden onslaught of floral coughing. Kim Kibum AKA Key was possibly the most perfect person to exist of the planet. Minho was completely in awe of his vibrant and outgoing personality.
* * *
Choi Minho was a 20 year old pediatric occupational therapy major. He loved kids and he wanted to work with them and help them have better lives. Kim Kibum was a 20 year old musical theatre major. He loved nothing more than being on stage and the thrill of performing in front of a crowded theatre. It was an odd thought that the two had ever crossed paths but history was a required course to graduate. It was unfortunate for Minho that History of Modern Science was closed and that his only other option was History of Korean Musical Theatre. It was fortunate for Kibum that History of Korean Musical Theatre was taught by a professor who he was close with and so he managed to snag a spot in the already full class.
Minho glanced around the room and took stock of the optimal place to sit on a Tuesday morning at 9 am. There weren’t many people there yet and so there was a wide variety of seats to choose from. Minho went for a desk three rows from the front. Close enough that he would have no problem paying attention but far enough away that hopefully the teacher wouldn’t always call on him. As it grew closer to 9:30, more and more people made their way into the room and picked seats. Minho subtly glanced around to see if he could spot any familiar faces but he didn’t expect to know anyone. Musical theatre was not his show and he didn’t have any reason to take arts classes with his major. Two minutes before the class was scheduled to begin, the door to the room burst open and in came possibly the most beautiful (and unusual) person that Minho had ever seen. The boy was quite pale and thin which made his lilac and periwinkle hair stand out all the more. He had in contacts that made his eyes a vibrant shade of blue. His heans were ripped all the up to his thighs and his jacket was black leather. For some reason he also had a red flannel shirt tied around his waist but Minho didn’t dwell on that for long. Minho looked up just as the boy scanned the room and made eye contact with him. A slight grin tugged at the other boy’s lips and he made his way over to sit next to Minho. The boy was just sitting down as the professor walked in so Minho didn’t have time to introduce himself or ask for the boy’s name. The teacher ran the class until the very last minute so Mingo barely had time to gather his things before hurrying out of the room in order to make it to his next lecture.
Minho did not forget the boy for the rest of that, nor the next. Come Thursday morning, Minho couldn’t wait to see if the boy would be there again, perhaps earlier this time so he could properly introduce himself. Minho himself arrived to his lecture at his prompt time of 9 am and took the same seat that he had sat in on Tuesday. Like the previous class, not many people had arrived yet. It was 9:15 this time when the purple haired boy walked into the room. He made a beeline straight for the desk where Minho was sitting and flopped down into the chair beside him.
“My name is Kim Kibum, but you can call me Key.” Today the boy’s eyes were light brown and they sparkled with excitement.
“My name is Choi Minho but you can just call me Minho. It’s nice to meet you.” Minho’s own response to the boy, Key he reminded himself, seemed oddly stiff and formal.
Key’s answering eye-smile was worth it as his whole face lit up and his cheeks dimpled.
“So what is your major? I don’t think that I’ve seen you around the theatre department before. Unless you’re a freshman in which case welcome! But you don’t strike me as a freshman.” Key talked all at once and then stopped.
“Um...I’m a junior and I’m a pediatric occupational therapy major. So I guess you wouldn’t have seen me around before.” Minho’s words were carefully chosen and precise.
“Wow, I’ve heard that program is really hard to get into. You must be incredibly smart. I’m a junior as well and I’m a musical theatre major. Don’t worry, this professor is awesome and us theatre majors and the friendly sort. You’ll have no problem here!”
Key’s praise made Minho feel all warm and fuzzy inside. There was just something about the way he seemed so genuine in all of his words. Minho smiled back at Key and the slight look of surprise in his eyes was worth it.
* * *
The month of September passed by in something of a blur for Minho. The highlight of his week was when he spent his hour and fifteen minutes in the world of musical theatre and the whirlwind of colour and emotion that was Kim Kibum. They traded phone numbers after the second class and messaged each other back and forth a couple of times a week. Suddenly October and autumn were upon them and the mornings grew colder. Minho picked up a hot drink in the mornings before he went to class so that his hands would stay warm. One Tuesday, he sent Kibum a quick message asking him if he wanted a drink while Minho was still in the coffee shop. Key responded back with a smiley emoji and a request for an Americano. Minho blinked for a second at the cute emoji that was making kissy lips at him before the barista cleared her throat and asked if he was ready to order. Minho’s cheeks flushed slightly and he order an Americano for Key and a cappuccino for himself. When he walked into class and pushed the cup towards Key, the answering dimpled smile made his heart beat just a little bit faster. It became a routine for the two to buy each other a drink in the morning, trading off days so that no one paid every time.
Drinks became lunch on Wednesday when Minho had a break from long lectures and Key didn’t have a class until later in the afternoon. Lunch turned into going to each other’s houses a few nights a week to study together or to watch movies or play video games. When he looked back on the time that they had spent together and reflected on how quickly their relationship had grown, Minho supposed that this should have been an obvious outcome. Key had become his best friend, the one who he turned to when his anatomy class was stressing him out or when he needed an opinion on what to wear to his next interview. Minho was the one Key turned to when he needed help studying for his biology exam or when he wanted advice on how to deal with a particularly persistent fangirl.
The first time it happened and the petals spilled from his lips, Minho brushed it off as a fluke. The second time was harder to ignore but he had an important exam coming up that he had to pass and so he pushed it to the back of his mind as something to deal with later. After the exam was over, Minho finally had a chance to meet with Key again and the two decided to go out to dinner together to their favourite Italian place. It was when the waiter was listing off the specials and making cow eyes at Key that Minho felt it again, a faint tickling at the back of his throat. He waited until Key finally chose the Fettucine Alfredo pasta and he chose the carbonara for himself. Then, as the waitress was picking up the menus, he excused himself to the bathroom. He had barely shut the door before he had to brace himself against the counter as the coughs tore from his throat and the silky white petals came tumbling out. As he stared down at the flowers, he knew that he could no longer deny that this might be a problem.
As far as Minho knew, Key wasn’t gay. He vaguely recalled Key mentioning that he wasn’t interested in a girlfriend right now because he wanted to focus on his career. Minho decided that he would wait and see what would happen. The incidents with the petals were still few and far between so he wasn’t too worried yet. Minho made his way back to the table and smiled and reassured Key that he was fine, that he was sorry that he had taken so long. They caught up over their pasta and Minho felt the tickle creep back into his throat but he stubbornly forced it away.
* * *
It was at the very end of October that Key announced that he had a crush on someone. He was in a new musical and one of his co-actors had caught his eye. Minho had only had a few other incidents with the white gardenia petals but hearing this news brought that accursed tickle right to the forefront of his mind and his throat. He forced it down and smiled at Key.
“Who is it? Do I know them?”
Key had made a point of introducing Minho to many of the members of the musical theatre department, claiming that if you were going to know one, you may as well know them all. Minho liked them well enough, even if he thought them slightly strange at times.
“Hmmm…let me think. Yes actually, you do! It’s Kim Jonghyun, that short kid who you said reminded you of a puppy. He has the most amazing voice and he’s super sweet as well.”
So it was a him. Minho felt something tighten in the pit of his stomach but pushed it aside and continued to smile.
“Yeah I remember him! He was quite short. Isn’t he older as well?” Minho would be happy for Key, even if it meant choking on more flower petals.
“Yeah but only by a year. You should come to one of our performances so that you can hear him sing! I could even introduce you two afterwards.” Key’s eyes were twinkling again and it was doing funny things to Minho’s chest. He couldn’t bear to say no and so, reluctantly, he agreed.
At the end of the musical, Minho knew two things for sure. One, Kim Jonghyun was an amazing singer. Two, Minho was going to lose Key.
Slowly, Minho made his way backstage to where Key had said he would wait for him so that he could introduce Jonghyun. Key was standing there with a slightly nervous Jonghyun by his side. Their fingers were entwined and Minho had to clear his throat so that he didn’t start coughing again.
“Minho, I would like you to meet my co-star and boyfriend, Kim Jonghyun. Jonghyun, this is Minho, my best friend.” Key’s slightly formal introduction was the only indicator of how nervous he was.
“It’s nice to meet you Jonghyun. You were amazing in tonight’s performance. And so were you Kibum.”
“Thank you for the compliment Minho! It’s very nice to meet you as well. Key talks about you all of the time.” Jonghyun had a nice speaking voice as well.
“I’m really sorry Kibum, but I can’t stay. I have to write a paper for my anatomy class.” Minho didn’t think that he could bear to be around Kibum for much longer. If he tried to hold back his coughs any longer, he might explode.
“That’s okay Minho, I know how demanding you major is. Thank you for coming to see the show and meet Jonghyun.” Key smiled softly at him and he and Jonghyun both waved as he turned to walk away.
Minho turned the corner and then practically sprinted to the bathroom. He stated coughing almost immediately but this time when he drew his hand away, instead of the white Gardenias that he had gotten used to, there lay a handful of marigold petals. He quickly dumped them into the trash and then made his way out of the building. Key looked so happy with Jonghyun and Minho wasn’t going to ruin that for him with some silly flowers.
* * *
Minho threw himself into his work in November, studying harder than he ever had before. It was hard though because now Kibum spent much of the time that he had shared before with Minho with his new boyfriend. Minho’s coughing became worse and he couldn’t eat as much thanks to the constricting of his lungs. He was tired and often woke up several times a night choking on the petals that never seemed to end. Key didn’t seem to notice his steady decline in health, too wrapped up in his musical and his dates with Jonghyun. It was Minho’s friend Jinki, a graduate student who was a few years older, that was the one to find out about Minho’s secret first.
It really was an accident that he found out. Minho had been in his favourite café, trying to study for his midterm in his health care class. He looked up and stretched only to notice that Key and Jonghyun were in a corner booth, obviously on a date together. Minho had to choke back a cough as he gathered his things. On his way out of the café, he bumped into someone. As he looked up to see who it was, his eyes widened as he recognized Jinki. He opened his mouth to apologize and greet his friend when suddenly he began to cough. Marigold petals came pouring out of his mouth and Minho gasped as he tried to get a breath. Jinki’s eyes grew wide with concern as he grabbed Minho’s arm to steady him. Jinki lead him over to a bench that was nearby and helped him to sit down. Finally Minho’s coughing subsided and he took several gasping breaths.
“Jinki! It’s so nice to see you. How have you been?” In the back of his mind, Minho knew that Jinki wouldn’t let him get away with his attempted diversion tactic but there was no harm in trying.
“Minho, as glad as I am to see you, I am more concerned about the flower shop that just exploded from you.” Jinki was never one to mince his words.
“It’s nothing, just a small annoyance.” Actually it was killing him but Minho didn’t like to dwell on the negatives.
“That ‘small annoyance’ is going to kill you if you don’t do something about it. Why don’t you just confess to whoever it is?”
“That someone has a boyfriend and is very happy with him. Who am I to intrude upon that?” Minho just wasn’t that sort of person at all.
“Well if you won’t tell them, why don’t you get the surgery? It is completely safe. There is no need for you to do this to yourself!” Jinki seemed to be slightly exasperated with his younger friend. Really, what was the use of risking death when there were perfectly safe alternatives.
“I don’t think that I could bear to do that. Honestly, I’m sure that this will go away soon.” Minho knew in his heart that this was slowly killing him and that it was his own stubbornness to blame.
Jinki didn’t say anything else on the topic after that. Instead, he turned the conversation to his own boyfriend, a boy named Taemin who was majoring in dance. Jinki enquired after Minho’s studies and they chatted for a little while longer before Minho made his excuses and headed home. As he walked, he reflected on his conversation with Jinki and wondered why he didn’t just go and get the surgery. Jinki was right, the surgery was perfectly safe and there was no reason to cling onto his feelings for Kibum. Kibum was perfectly happy with his lovely boyfriend and really Minho was being ridiculous. He decided that he would call the doctor and schedule an appointment to do the surgery once he got home. He reached his door when a coughing fit hit him only instead of Marigolds, dozens of yellow daffodils tumbled to the ground. Minho blinked at them for a moment before sweeping them aside with his foot.
It was only twenty minutes later when Minho was browsing for a hospital that could perform the surgery that he needed when he heard a knock at the door. Minho looked up and glanced at the clock, trying to think of who it could be. He got up and slowly made his way to the door, peering out of the peep-hole to see who it was. He blinked in surprise to see that it was Key. Quickly unlocking the door he pulled it open to reveal that it was indeed his best friend standing there. Key’s eyeliner was smudged and his eyes were red rimmed as if he had been crying. Minho ushered him inside without saying a word. It wasn’t until Key was settled on the couch under a blanket with a mug of coffee in his hands that Minho said anything.
“What happened Kibum?” Minho’s voice was soft, as if he were afraid Key may start to cry again.
“Jonghyun just broke up with me. He says that he was only dating me because it made our chemistry better for the musical but now that the musical is over he thinks that we should see other people.” Key’s voice was slightly raspy and quivered when he said Jonghyun’s name.
“That bastard! I ought to kill him! He seemed so nice too. Don’t worry Kibum, guys like him aren’t worth your tears.” The passion in Minho’s voice must have startled Key because he looked unsure as to whether he should laugh or cry.
“Oh Minho. This is why you’re my best friend. I’m so sorry that I’ve been neglecting you. Let’s have a movie night? Like we used to?”
Minho nodded and went to go pick out a movie. They snuggled together on the couch and Minho hit play on the movie. Maybe it was Kibum’s presence next to him, or maybe it was knowing that Kibum had broken up with Jonghyun. Whichever thing it was, it kept the coughing at bay and Minho’s evening was blissfully free of flowers for the first time in a while.
* * *
December came and brought with it the rush that happened around finals. Students migrated to the library and could be seen toting various papers with them from place to place. Minho was confident that he would do well on all of his exams, especially on his musical theatre exam. Key was more nervous. A lot of his studies had fallen to the wayside when he was in the musical and dating Jonghyun so he was struggling to catch up. Minho’s coughing fits had returned, although with a smaller frequency. Still, they happened often enough that Minho struggled to put on weight and look rested enough. Kibum took notice and would often making joking comment about Minho looking like the one who was struggling to catch up in his classes.
It was a Friday afternoon close to Christmas when Key discovered Minho’s secret. Minho had excused himself for the third time during their study session to go to the bathroom and Kibum decided that he wanted to find out what was going on. He waited until Minho was out of sight and the slowly followed him to the bathroom. As he gently pushed open the door he heard the wracking coughs of someone who sounded seriously ill. He quickly pushed the door the rest of the way open and gaped as he was Minho hunched over the sink, coughing up dozens of soft yellow petals. Slowly, he backed out of the bathroom and hurried back to their little table, mind racing. He too had heard of Hanahaki disease but he had never known anyone with it. Key decided that he wouldn’t say anything about it unless Minho said something first. His mind was racing as he tried to think of who it could be that Minho was in love with.
Minho returned to their table pale and shaky and Key pointed out that maybe they had studied enough for today and suggested that they go back to Minho’s house to relax for now. Minho readily agreed and the two packed up and left. It wasn’t until late that night when they were snuggled up on Minho’s couch when Minho had dosed off that Key had his epiphany. He knew that Minho didn’t have many people that he regularly spent a lot of time with and so there was a limited amount of guessing to be done. When it clicked in his mind, Key almost cried. It was him. Minho was dying because he was in love with Key. Key decided that he would force Minho to tell him and that the best way to do that would be to force Minho to cough in front of him.
He didn’t have to wait long to put his plan into play. Minho got restless a short while later and began to cough. Moments later daffodil petals appeared on his lips and he jolted awake. He coughed loudly and his shoulders shook with the force of his coughs. Soon there was a small pile of petals in front of him. Minho went to sweep the petals into his hands when he froze and looked up to see Key looking back at him.
“When were you going to tell me?” Key’s voice was shaky and soft.
“I…um…you…I didn’t…Look Kibum this isn’t what it looks like. I can explain.”
“Oh really? So you aren’t dying of Hanahaki disease and suffocating on flower petals because you are too stubborn to get surgery or confess to the person that you are in love with?”
“Okay well maybe it’s exactly what it looks like. But it isn’t that simple.” Minho sounded weary in a way that Key had never heard before.
“It sounds pretty darn simple to me! Man up and tell the person that you love them or get the surgery! Don’t you dare die on me Choi Minho. I won’t let you. I lo-“ Key’s confession was cut off by a soft press of lips to his.
Minho had leaned forward and pressed his lips to Key’s to cut off the other boy’s rambling. It had seemed like a good idea at the time but as he pulled away his eyes went wide and he opened his mouth to say something. Before he got the chance, Key pulled him back down and crushed his lips against the taller boy’s again. They kissed for what seemed like an endless moment before Key pulled back.
“I love you Choi Minho and I won’t let you die.” Key’s voice was no louder than a whisper, as if he were afraid to break the magic of the moment.
Minho opened his mouth and then closed again. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His eyes snapped open and he looked at Key.
“It’s gone! I can breathe again! I don’t…I mean I haven’t been able to really breathe in such a long time and now I can.” Minho’s excitement was contagious and it permeated the air.
“I love you too Kim Kibum. I love you so so so much and I will never ever leave you. Thank you.” Minho leaned down and pressed his lips to Kibum’s once more.
The End.
* * *
A/N: This fanfic is based off of the fictional Hanahaki disease, a disease that causes you to vomit flowers as a symptom of one sided love. The cure is to have that love returned. You can have surgery to get the flowers removed but it also takes all of your feelings for that person as well. I did not invent this disease. Also, I feel so bad about making Jonghyun the bad guy here but I needed to for plot reasons! I hope you understand -_-…Anyways, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!
Gardenia symbolizes secret or one sided love, Marigold symbolizes grief or jealousy, and Daffodil symbolizes unrequited love.