SSS 2011: For hikaritsubasa
For: hikaritsubasa
From: Your Secret Santa
Title: Uprising
Pairing: Onew/Jonghyun
Rating: NC-17
Wordcount: 4129
Summary: Because age is nothing but a number, and your parents' blessings are what matters most.
"I know that you're tired of me, so why don't you just leave?!"
"And you think I'll leave Taemin in the hands of someone like you?" Jinki retaliates, eyes not once meeting the other's.
"What makes you think Taemin will choose to live with you?"
"I'm not even using my brain to think, Sooyeon."
"Take anything, but not the child," Sooyeon begs, "please, he's the only thing I have left!"
"Take anything?" Jinki scoffs, "I want you out of this place before Christmas."
"You're pathetic, get out of my way." Jinki says, glancing at the woman down on her knees before leaving the house.
--
Jinki hadn't been planning on leaving the house. Well, at least not today. He leans against the glass panel, breath fogging up the window. I mean, I'm already thirty-seven.
And he decides that it is probably his fault after all. If he hadn't devoted all of his attention to his job, Sooyeon wouldn't have looked for other men to keep her entertained. Jinki's kid wasn't in hell going to stay with a mother like her.
He remembers the first time they met, when they were seventeen years young in high school. Intimate actions were taboo in their time, so it was normal for the both of them to run out when night fell, climbing up to Jinki's roof top and drinking the liquor Jinki stole from his father.
When they were eighteen, Sooyeon ran over to Jinki, tears marring her perfectly set make-up.
"I'm pregnant, Jinki."
His world shook.
Sooyeon was thrown out by her parents, but Jinki's parents were much more understanding; they were young, and these kinds of things were unavoidable. Maybe this incident would teach them to be more mature, learn a lesson or two, and get settled down early.
Taemin came into the world in 1993, all rosy cheeks and dainty features. Jinki and Sooyeon had never felt happier. Their world was finally complete, and they believed that such perfection would continue, till death did they part.
But apparently not.
Jinki graduated from university and went on to be a lecturer in an arts college, immersing himself in work a little too much. Sooyeon could take care of Taemin all by herself, couldn't she? Jinki was bringing in big bucks so she could have the life she'd always wanted.
But Jinki had miscalculated it. Taemin was growing, and he couldn't help but feel a little worthless without his father there to guide him. He turned rebellious, as every teenager would, and started to return back late and sleep in. Sooyeon had told Jinki a couple of times to settle the problem of finding different bottles of hard liquor in Taemin's room. Has that been solved?
Speaking of Taemin, what was he doing in the college?
--
"Hey," Taemin inhales deeply before continuing, "This is Jonghyun. Hyung, this is my father."
"Wait, so you're telling me that Lecturer Lee is your father?"
"Yes."
"Awesome!" Jonghyun muses.
Jinki is stumped. Is this boy in his class? Well, if he's calling Jinki 'Lecturer Lee', he should be. But that is hardly possible, isn't it? It would be most definitely impossible to not have taken notice of Jonghyun with his great, big eyes and toned body (Why, yes. Yes, yes. Jinki might have to explain why he's been staring at male body figures. Yes, he sure does have to explain that… But for some specific reason, he can't. Let's just leave it at that.). Why then, how long has he been in Jinki's classes?
Thinking back, Jinki probably does have a Kim Jonghyun in his class.
But is that him? Is that -- is that Kim Jonghyun? The Kim Jonghyun who had been absent for the entire week of orientation and opening lectures just because he'd thought school didn't start until a week later?
Hadn't he been that skinny monkey with three-toned hair just a couple months back?
"I see you've been well, Onew!" Jonghyun exclaimed.
"Onew?" Taemin asks, interest mildly piqued.
Still as messed up as before, isn't it?
"You might want to cleanse your mouth with a bottle of bleach before--"
"Onew? Dad, you're that Onew?" Taemin laughs.
As in, Taemin laughs. It is almost unimaginable to actually witness Taemin laugh. The atmosphere back at home is tense and the family members hardly ever meet each other unless required (i.e. family gathering with grandparents).
Jinki decides that maybe Jonghyun isn't such a bad kid for Taemin to hang out with after all, if he could make Taemin this happy.
"Hey, Onew, it's lunch time! Let's all go out to grab a bite together," Jonghyun says, turning to look at Taemin.
"Maybe next time-" And he realizes Taemin is having a stare-down competition with the new pair of shoes Jinki had gotten him for his birthday. "You know what? Music theory doesn't start till three, and I have to be there to make sure you attend classes."
"Lunch is on you!" Jonghyun shouts, pulling a giddy Taemin along.
Taemin smiles a little when he thinks Jinki isn't looking. He's wrong, anyhow. Isn't it almost out of the question for Jinki not to stare at the kid he has been raising (or sort of raising) for nineteen years (and it just so happens that out of the nineteen years that passed, he'd only seen him for less than half of those tiring years)?
"So, Onew," Jonghyun speaks, his mouth stuffed.
"Jonghyun, mind your manners. We are not on school grounds." Jinki pulls on the napkins, before offering some to the above-mentioned.
"Thanks, but you really have loosen up a little!" Jonghyun says as he tugs on Jinki's sleeve, pulling on the arm. "Woah, I should've guessed by the nickname, 'Onew', but - you're so soft!"
Onew chokes and Taemin doubles over in laughter, causing a {small} scene in the small family diner.
"I mean, I never would've guessed that he's your father. Actually, I never would've guessed that he's married." Jonghyun pressed his face against his pillow, letting out an exasperated sigh through his chapped lips.
"You could try. It doesn't hurt, right? My parents are getting a divorce anyway. To be honest, I'd rather them stay separated. You don't even know the feeling of being at a family dinner with them. Air-quoting family dinner, by the way," Taemin rolls his eyes.
"Right. This isn't the brightest idea, is it? Urging me to even try to date a guy twenty freakin' years my elder. Moreover, he's your dad! And did you roll your eyes? I can't see it."
"I did, you're totally psychic," Taemin laughs. "Either way, my dad is a nice guy. I don't know, my mom totally moved out three days back. Bitch. Never really liked her anyway, always bringing those disgusting men back. And sixteen, Jonghyun. My dad's older than you by sixteen years."
"Your mom's pretty well-maintained for her age, unlike my mom. Sixteen, twenty, they're the sa-- hey, hold on." Jonghyun grumbles out.
Taemin hears the fumbling of sheets and the opening of a door, before Jonghyun starts talking to someone. Oh? Mom's calling me down? Huh? Alright.
"Hey Taemin, mom problems again. Gotta go." he mumbles, obviously sounding unamused.
"Okay. Good luck with that."
"Yeah, thanks. Bye!"
Taemin knew that his parents' marriage had been on the rocks ever since Sooyeon started dressing up. She started fixing her hair, then she got her nails done. It slowly escalated to a point where she came back with a man who had been extremely good to Taemin. He'd buy him toys and whatever the newest gadgets were. Jonghyun had always envied Taemin for the nice uncle who had gotten all that stuff for him. It was still alright till Taemin started wondering why all the different uncles came and went, but his father had never seemed to be around.
He thinks back, and chuckles.
It was the day Jonghyun found out that college had already started, when his mother received a call from school, supposedly informing him that he'd been absent for a week from lectures.
Jonghyun called Taemin immediately after college had ended for the day, telling him how he'd met the guy of his dreams. Apparently his nickname was 'Onew', as what he'd heard from the seniors and that he was thirty-six years old. Months passed, and all Jonghyun could talk about was how great this 'Onew' person was. He knew that Onew was a workaholic and a really clumsy person. Taemin had taken an immediate dislike for him, as soon as he knew that. His own dad was a workaholic too, and they hardly had time to speak; when Jinki had returned home from work, Taemin would have long been in slumberland. It was weird, but Taemin had never known what his father worked as -- Sooyeon would tell him, "He's a teacher," and shrug the questions off, and Taemin would just assume that Jinki was working as a high school teacher.
Taemin received another call two months back from a whining Jonghyun, where he kept asking, "Thirty six isn't that old, isn't it?" Jonghyun had told Songdam, his sister, about his crush on his lecturer, and she had then told their parents about it. They were angry, of course. Jonghyun was only twenty, when 'Onew', was thirty-six! They took it as a passing crush, but lectured him about it nonetheless.
"It's not pedophilia! Gosh, my parents are so fuckin' uptight about this stuff!" Jonghyun told him while they were in McDonald's.
"I'm already twenty, and if they support my sexual orientation, they should be alright with me liking Onew, too!" he shouted as he threw a french fry on the tray.
"Hyung, pedophilia is disgusting. The liberty to love doesn't apply to such repulsive behavior."
"Whatever alright? You get my drift. And I said, it's not pedophilia!"
Either way, Taemin was pretty sure Jonghyun's parents' wouldn't object to someone as nice as his father.
It's still a really big coincidence, nonetheless. If Taemin hadn't insisted on having a tour around the school, he would never have known that Jinki was a college professor. Knowing that somehow made his heart swell with pride. How many people were actually able to walk out and tell others, "Hey, my dad's a college professor, and he sings"? Well, he wasn't too sure about the last point, but Jonghyun told him that Onew could sing really well. Like, singer-well.
If he hadn't insisted on having a tour around the school, he would never have had that lunch with his father, would never have told Jonghyun to just fuck what his parents thought, and take the chance.
He knows what kind of person Jonghyun is -- nothing more than one of those playboys who drifts past lovers like he's speeding on a highway. It's the first ever that Taemin has seen Jonghyun so lovestruck. As corny as it sounds, it is horribly true. Jonghyun would look so down whenever he came back from a discussion with his parents thanks to Songdam's peskiness, and the moment Taemin ever-so-slightly breached the topic of how his day at school had been, he'd look like a sunflower blooming in a glorious field.
--
The next time Taemin Saturday morning. He's decided that he is going to make a change by waking up early for once, and it is a rather good decision. Women's instincts… No? Men's instincts it shall be.
"You're up," Jinki muses, "Your mo -- Sooyeon told me that you usually don't wake up till noon."
"Yeah. I just… woke up."
"Since you're up, do you wanna," Jinki glances at the door, nervously wiping his hands on his pants, "get some breakfast?"
"Sure."
--
It is as though they are in a cold war, sweat trickling down the sides of their faces and the entire table being in complete silence, other than the occasional waitress coming up to them. It is then that Taemin realizes Jinki is dressed in casual slacks -- something different from his work attire.
"You're not dressed for work," Taemin states, breaking the stillness between them.
"Ah, yes, I'm not -- I'm not going to work today."
Surprise, surprise. A workaholic not attending to his work.
"Are you…" Taemin starts, but trails off, feeling a little weird with this peculiar warmth in his heart.
"Am I what?"
"Are you… feeling unwell?"
Jinki pauses at that. He doesn't know how to deal with the little bit of concern Taemin is showing him. It's just… strange and unfamiliar. He should probably opt with being honest, that's how parents should always be with their children, shouldn't they? At least that's what he'd always hoped how his parents' would be towards him.
"Oh -- oh, no. I'm just… Just trying to avoid someone in school today," Jinki mutters under his breath, hoping the other doesn't catch it.
"Jonghyun?" Taemin blurts out.
Jonghyun.
Taemin knows.
"You know?"
"Yeeep," Taemin purses his lips and nods modestly.
"Taemin!" Jinki frowns. "You know it's impossible for someone as young as him to even- I can't- It's just not proper. You should tell him to stop before it's too late."
"How -- how is loving someone wrong? Is it because he's a guy?" Taemin rebuts.
"No!" Jinki cries out, effectively shocking both himself, and Taemin. And that waiter who is bringing them their breakfast.
"I- I'm sorry for that outburst. What I mean is, gender, it isn't a problem for me, alright?"
"Then why?" Taemin whines.
"There's no 'why' to that question! He's 21, I'm 37. There's this huge sixteen year gap between us, and it's--"
"Well, it's not pedophilia, Dad."
"It's just that Taemin, at my age, I just want to --" and it seeps in, "You called me 'Dad'."
Taemin flushes, he hadn't even known that he'd let the word slip out that easily. He blinks and preferred to look down at the plate of omelette the waiter had brought.
Jinki clears his throat before continuing, "As I was saying, son, at my age, I just want to settle down. At Jonghyun's age, he just wants to fool around and have a couple of experiments. I've been through that stage." He concludes his sentence with an audible sigh, voice weary.
"Dad, please. Just reconsider this. I mean, if you don't like him, you can always break things off at a later stage."
"Taemin --"
"No, Dad, listen to me," Taemin is strong-willed, he needs Jinki to know, "I've been friends with Jonghyun-hyung for almost ten years and this, this -- Everything, ever since he got to know about you, has made him change so much. So much so that he's not even the Jonghyun I knew of ten years back when I was in grade school! I just… I really hope that you'll give him a chance to show you that not all guys in their early twenties are douchebags! And you know, give me a chance to show you that I'm not all hanging out with bad influences and stuff…"
"Taemin," Jinki says in a warning tone.
"Dad."
"Taemin, don't start. This argument is over, okay?"
"Dad. Dad. Dad. Daaaad. Dad. Onew. Onew. Onew. Faaather --"
"God, I'm never going to win this, am I?" Jinki laughs at his plate of food.
"Nope," Taemin smiles.
"Don't you dare pull this on me again," Jinki bites on his thumb. "Goodness gracious what in the world am I getting myself into?"
"A whirlwind romance!" Taemin chirps.
"Your grandparents are going to kill me, Lord."
"Fuck grandma."
"Oh great, and I don't even know where you get your potty mouth from. Just eat your food."
--
Jonghyun almost screams in frustration when Jinki tells him to come over. Just what is his decision? He asked for a week, and it's been two.
"Now listen, Jonghyun. If it had not been for my son, I wouldn't even be considering this. At all. I want to set some ground rules while the both of us are together. You shall not, at any moment, call me 'Onew' or by my name or even show any form of affection while we are on school grounds. Not 'till we're at a safe distance from college, are you allowed to do so. You will call me Professor Lee in school, and physical intimation is not allowed at any time." Jinki says, eyes squinted, clicking the ballpoint pen in hand.
"Not even when we're alone?"
"No."
"But --"
"I'm not done with my rules," Jinki has one of his brows raised, "so, listen. if at any time I find out that Taemin is upset with you, this thing between us? Over. Also, if I feel uncomfortable with you anytime, it's also, over. In this… relationship, you'll have to be patient because I like patient partners. Otherwise, it's --"
"Over. Yeah yeah, can I kiss you now?"
And Jonghyun doesn't even wait till Jinki replies before launching himself on the other. They don't break away until Jinki knocks down the tiny metal clock which Sooyeon gave him on their tenth anniversary. (He threw it away later, of course, it was for the best after all. But them hooking up was never a mistake; she gave him a beautiful son by the name of Taemin. It was really them trying to continue with the already broken relationship that was a mistake.)
"What did I tell you, Jonghyun?"
"Uh, no touching?"
"Jonghyun, you're not taking me seriously."
If there is one thing Jinki dislikes, it is dishonesty. The situation at hand doesn't really relate to being dishonest or whatnot, but heck, if Jonghyun isn't going to play by the rules, they're done. He knows it. Jonghyun is just too young to understand what commitments are, and if he isn't even able to adhere to these simple requirements, how are they even going to spend their lives together? Jinki just wants to settle down. Taemin acknowledging his presence and authority as a father is good enough, and then he just has to get involved with a boy sixteen years younger than he is.
"I'm sorry, I'm… really sorry. I was just so overwhelmed with everything, I mean -- I've been looking forward to this day for… practically forever."
"Just… Shut up..." Jinki's breath is uneven as he mutters out the last couple of words which Jonghyun doesn't seem to get.
"Wh- What?"
"I said, just shut up and kiss me again."
Rules and regulations be damned. Jinki is still going to hell at the end of the day.
"You're so beautiful," Jonghyun pants, hands gripping onto Jinki's hips.
"F-fuck-- just go deeper there --"
Jinki isn't sure how this was happening. This -- Jonghyun on top of him and fucking him into oblivion? He's never imagined this. Is this -- is this right? I mean, if this is wrong, Jinki never ever wants to be right. He feels so full and raw, and containing Jonghyun just sends him to the heavens.
Jonghyun has Jinki pushed face-down against the bed, ass up, fingers interlaced and placed on Jinki's pelvis. God, if he'd known them fucking was so good, he'd have skipped all the disgustingly fake girls and jumped straight to college. The little noises Jinki lets out whenever he thrusts in are practically melodic.
"Yes, yes -- fuck yes," it's just like a little mantra of expletives Jinki is reciting.
Not that Jonghyun doesn't already know, but he thinks he has fallen even harder in love. Like in full force.
Yeah.
By the time the both of them wash up and get an insignificant amount of rest, it is nightfall. Jinki almost trips on the table when he sees Taemin eating a bowl of cereal, and sitting right in front of their room. Right... in front.
"You know, now that the both of you are together… It does feel a little wrong. Are you very sure this isn't pedophilia?"
"Dude, why are you sitting there?!" Jonghyun exclaims, still topless and holding onto Jinki.
"This is my sixth bowl. You guys sure stayed in there for a long time. And I thought I was a slow eater."
"Goodness, were you listening to us?"
"Yes."
A simple reply from Taemin crushes Jinki, knowing that his son has just heard him having intercourse with his son's very own best friend.
"Though Dad, I have to say something."
Jinki isn't very sure if he wants to listen, but he nods his head anyway.
"I know where I got my potty mouth from."
--
Jinki is unsure of this entire thing about him and Jonghyun getting together once again. He is supposed to be meeting Jonghyun's parents today, and here he is! Sitting on the couch with the second love of his life, who is so much younger than him, and waiting for his parents to walk down the stairs. Taemin had told him that Jonghyun's father was once a navy officer, and that the elderly man is all against Jonghyun being with a man sixteen years his senior, so Jinki can't help but be extremely terrified. What if he says something wrong? Does Jonghyun really trust Jinki that much to bring him back to his parents?
"I want to back out of this deal --" Jinki whispers into Jonghyun's ear, on the verge of breaking down.
"No, nonono, listen. My dad is a real nice person --"
"Liar. Taemin told me he was scary!"
"God -- don't make that face -- I just wanna kiss you so hard right now but I can't. And you're the father! Don't let Taemin rule you over!"
"Well Jonghyun, I see that you've brought your… significant other along to meet us today."
God.
Jinki turns frigid when he sees Jonghyun's parents walking towards the opposite couch. Jonghyun's father… looks just like every other navy official. Stern, always ready for combat, and just a tinge of insanity in him like all other retired officers.
Although what Jonghyun's father says next very honestly shocks Jinki.
"You're already forty? You look like you're in fucking high school."
"Dad," Jonghyun warns.
"I-It's okay. I do get that a lot. But yes, I'm thirty-eight this year." Jinki is so nervous that he doesn't even know what he's talking about.
"Tell us about yourself, darling," Jonghyun's mother, on the other hand, speaks out.
"I'm Lee Jinki. I'm a lecturer at K-ARTS and I have a son, his name is Lee Taemin." Jinki looks over to Jonghyun for just practically any sign to tell him that he is doing great.
"You said you have a son, how old were you when you had him?"
"I was eighteen then. We were carried away with our youth and took things a little too far. He's currently twenty-one."
Jonghyun sees Jinki fidgeting and so obviously cowering in his father's presence. He's mad at himself for having to put the other through such a situation, and he promises Jinki that no matter what his parents think of him, nothing would ever change what they share. Jonghyun isn't trying to prove to his parents that he is rebellious, but he just wishes for them to see that this is what he wants - a future with Jinki. He doesn't need blessings from his parents, but he wants them to understand that if a life with Jinki is what he wants, he will get it.
"And his son happens to be my best friend and a really awesome dancer. So I honestly don't care what the hell you guys say, I'm sticking with him." Jonghyun stands up, grabs Jinki and pulls him to the door.
Is this-- is this really the Jonghyun Jinki knows? He's so different. He's like the gallant prince coming to Jinki's rescue. Not that Jinki's a girl, but it's just so- ugh, shut up explanatory sentences.
They leave the house just like that. It isn't the best way to meet your significant other's parents, but well, it's over. Finally.
"Why did you do that?" Jinki panics, "What if they don't have a good impression of me?"
"I don't need you to please them, baby. I just want them to know that I'm not seeking for their permission, I'm just telling them." Jonghyun has both his hands grasping onto Jinki's shoulders.
"But--"
"Moreover," he fishes out his phone out of his coat, and {flips} it open to show the text message which has just arrived.
From: Mom
Your Dad & I wish you & Jinki a Merry Christmas.
Stay happy, & don't bully Jinki. He's such a sweetie.
"See? They loved you."
Jinki smiles at the message, his tight clasp on the phone slightly loosened when Jonghyun pulls him closer.
"And I love you too, Merry Christmas, Jinki."
From: Your Secret Santa
Title: Uprising
Pairing: Onew/Jonghyun
Rating: NC-17
Wordcount: 4129
Summary: Because age is nothing but a number, and your parents' blessings are what matters most.
"I know that you're tired of me, so why don't you just leave?!"
"And you think I'll leave Taemin in the hands of someone like you?" Jinki retaliates, eyes not once meeting the other's.
"What makes you think Taemin will choose to live with you?"
"I'm not even using my brain to think, Sooyeon."
"Take anything, but not the child," Sooyeon begs, "please, he's the only thing I have left!"
"Take anything?" Jinki scoffs, "I want you out of this place before Christmas."
"You're pathetic, get out of my way." Jinki says, glancing at the woman down on her knees before leaving the house.
--
Jinki hadn't been planning on leaving the house. Well, at least not today. He leans against the glass panel, breath fogging up the window. I mean, I'm already thirty-seven.
And he decides that it is probably his fault after all. If he hadn't devoted all of his attention to his job, Sooyeon wouldn't have looked for other men to keep her entertained. Jinki's kid wasn't in hell going to stay with a mother like her.
He remembers the first time they met, when they were seventeen years young in high school. Intimate actions were taboo in their time, so it was normal for the both of them to run out when night fell, climbing up to Jinki's roof top and drinking the liquor Jinki stole from his father.
When they were eighteen, Sooyeon ran over to Jinki, tears marring her perfectly set make-up.
"I'm pregnant, Jinki."
His world shook.
Sooyeon was thrown out by her parents, but Jinki's parents were much more understanding; they were young, and these kinds of things were unavoidable. Maybe this incident would teach them to be more mature, learn a lesson or two, and get settled down early.
Taemin came into the world in 1993, all rosy cheeks and dainty features. Jinki and Sooyeon had never felt happier. Their world was finally complete, and they believed that such perfection would continue, till death did they part.
But apparently not.
Jinki graduated from university and went on to be a lecturer in an arts college, immersing himself in work a little too much. Sooyeon could take care of Taemin all by herself, couldn't she? Jinki was bringing in big bucks so she could have the life she'd always wanted.
But Jinki had miscalculated it. Taemin was growing, and he couldn't help but feel a little worthless without his father there to guide him. He turned rebellious, as every teenager would, and started to return back late and sleep in. Sooyeon had told Jinki a couple of times to settle the problem of finding different bottles of hard liquor in Taemin's room. Has that been solved?
Speaking of Taemin, what was he doing in the college?
--
"Hey," Taemin inhales deeply before continuing, "This is Jonghyun. Hyung, this is my father."
"Wait, so you're telling me that Lecturer Lee is your father?"
"Yes."
"Awesome!" Jonghyun muses.
Jinki is stumped. Is this boy in his class? Well, if he's calling Jinki 'Lecturer Lee', he should be. But that is hardly possible, isn't it? It would be most definitely impossible to not have taken notice of Jonghyun with his great, big eyes and toned body (Why, yes. Yes, yes. Jinki might have to explain why he's been staring at male body figures. Yes, he sure does have to explain that… But for some specific reason, he can't. Let's just leave it at that.). Why then, how long has he been in Jinki's classes?
Thinking back, Jinki probably does have a Kim Jonghyun in his class.
But is that him? Is that -- is that Kim Jonghyun? The Kim Jonghyun who had been absent for the entire week of orientation and opening lectures just because he'd thought school didn't start until a week later?
Hadn't he been that skinny monkey with three-toned hair just a couple months back?
"I see you've been well, Onew!" Jonghyun exclaimed.
"Onew?" Taemin asks, interest mildly piqued.
Still as messed up as before, isn't it?
"You might want to cleanse your mouth with a bottle of bleach before--"
"Onew? Dad, you're that Onew?" Taemin laughs.
As in, Taemin laughs. It is almost unimaginable to actually witness Taemin laugh. The atmosphere back at home is tense and the family members hardly ever meet each other unless required (i.e. family gathering with grandparents).
Jinki decides that maybe Jonghyun isn't such a bad kid for Taemin to hang out with after all, if he could make Taemin this happy.
"Hey, Onew, it's lunch time! Let's all go out to grab a bite together," Jonghyun says, turning to look at Taemin.
"Maybe next time-" And he realizes Taemin is having a stare-down competition with the new pair of shoes Jinki had gotten him for his birthday. "You know what? Music theory doesn't start till three, and I have to be there to make sure you attend classes."
"Lunch is on you!" Jonghyun shouts, pulling a giddy Taemin along.
Taemin smiles a little when he thinks Jinki isn't looking. He's wrong, anyhow. Isn't it almost out of the question for Jinki not to stare at the kid he has been raising (or sort of raising) for nineteen years (and it just so happens that out of the nineteen years that passed, he'd only seen him for less than half of those tiring years)?
"So, Onew," Jonghyun speaks, his mouth stuffed.
"Jonghyun, mind your manners. We are not on school grounds." Jinki pulls on the napkins, before offering some to the above-mentioned.
"Thanks, but you really have loosen up a little!" Jonghyun says as he tugs on Jinki's sleeve, pulling on the arm. "Woah, I should've guessed by the nickname, 'Onew', but - you're so soft!"
Onew chokes and Taemin doubles over in laughter, causing a {small} scene in the small family diner.
"I mean, I never would've guessed that he's your father. Actually, I never would've guessed that he's married." Jonghyun pressed his face against his pillow, letting out an exasperated sigh through his chapped lips.
"You could try. It doesn't hurt, right? My parents are getting a divorce anyway. To be honest, I'd rather them stay separated. You don't even know the feeling of being at a family dinner with them. Air-quoting family dinner, by the way," Taemin rolls his eyes.
"Right. This isn't the brightest idea, is it? Urging me to even try to date a guy twenty freakin' years my elder. Moreover, he's your dad! And did you roll your eyes? I can't see it."
"I did, you're totally psychic," Taemin laughs. "Either way, my dad is a nice guy. I don't know, my mom totally moved out three days back. Bitch. Never really liked her anyway, always bringing those disgusting men back. And sixteen, Jonghyun. My dad's older than you by sixteen years."
"Your mom's pretty well-maintained for her age, unlike my mom. Sixteen, twenty, they're the sa-- hey, hold on." Jonghyun grumbles out.
Taemin hears the fumbling of sheets and the opening of a door, before Jonghyun starts talking to someone. Oh? Mom's calling me down? Huh? Alright.
"Hey Taemin, mom problems again. Gotta go." he mumbles, obviously sounding unamused.
"Okay. Good luck with that."
"Yeah, thanks. Bye!"
Taemin knew that his parents' marriage had been on the rocks ever since Sooyeon started dressing up. She started fixing her hair, then she got her nails done. It slowly escalated to a point where she came back with a man who had been extremely good to Taemin. He'd buy him toys and whatever the newest gadgets were. Jonghyun had always envied Taemin for the nice uncle who had gotten all that stuff for him. It was still alright till Taemin started wondering why all the different uncles came and went, but his father had never seemed to be around.
He thinks back, and chuckles.
It was the day Jonghyun found out that college had already started, when his mother received a call from school, supposedly informing him that he'd been absent for a week from lectures.
Jonghyun called Taemin immediately after college had ended for the day, telling him how he'd met the guy of his dreams. Apparently his nickname was 'Onew', as what he'd heard from the seniors and that he was thirty-six years old. Months passed, and all Jonghyun could talk about was how great this 'Onew' person was. He knew that Onew was a workaholic and a really clumsy person. Taemin had taken an immediate dislike for him, as soon as he knew that. His own dad was a workaholic too, and they hardly had time to speak; when Jinki had returned home from work, Taemin would have long been in slumberland. It was weird, but Taemin had never known what his father worked as -- Sooyeon would tell him, "He's a teacher," and shrug the questions off, and Taemin would just assume that Jinki was working as a high school teacher.
Taemin received another call two months back from a whining Jonghyun, where he kept asking, "Thirty six isn't that old, isn't it?" Jonghyun had told Songdam, his sister, about his crush on his lecturer, and she had then told their parents about it. They were angry, of course. Jonghyun was only twenty, when 'Onew', was thirty-six! They took it as a passing crush, but lectured him about it nonetheless.
"It's not pedophilia! Gosh, my parents are so fuckin' uptight about this stuff!" Jonghyun told him while they were in McDonald's.
"I'm already twenty, and if they support my sexual orientation, they should be alright with me liking Onew, too!" he shouted as he threw a french fry on the tray.
"Hyung, pedophilia is disgusting. The liberty to love doesn't apply to such repulsive behavior."
"Whatever alright? You get my drift. And I said, it's not pedophilia!"
Either way, Taemin was pretty sure Jonghyun's parents' wouldn't object to someone as nice as his father.
It's still a really big coincidence, nonetheless. If Taemin hadn't insisted on having a tour around the school, he would never have known that Jinki was a college professor. Knowing that somehow made his heart swell with pride. How many people were actually able to walk out and tell others, "Hey, my dad's a college professor, and he sings"? Well, he wasn't too sure about the last point, but Jonghyun told him that Onew could sing really well. Like, singer-well.
If he hadn't insisted on having a tour around the school, he would never have had that lunch with his father, would never have told Jonghyun to just fuck what his parents thought, and take the chance.
He knows what kind of person Jonghyun is -- nothing more than one of those playboys who drifts past lovers like he's speeding on a highway. It's the first ever that Taemin has seen Jonghyun so lovestruck. As corny as it sounds, it is horribly true. Jonghyun would look so down whenever he came back from a discussion with his parents thanks to Songdam's peskiness, and the moment Taemin ever-so-slightly breached the topic of how his day at school had been, he'd look like a sunflower blooming in a glorious field.
--
The next time Taemin Saturday morning. He's decided that he is going to make a change by waking up early for once, and it is a rather good decision. Women's instincts… No? Men's instincts it shall be.
"You're up," Jinki muses, "Your mo -- Sooyeon told me that you usually don't wake up till noon."
"Yeah. I just… woke up."
"Since you're up, do you wanna," Jinki glances at the door, nervously wiping his hands on his pants, "get some breakfast?"
"Sure."
--
It is as though they are in a cold war, sweat trickling down the sides of their faces and the entire table being in complete silence, other than the occasional waitress coming up to them. It is then that Taemin realizes Jinki is dressed in casual slacks -- something different from his work attire.
"You're not dressed for work," Taemin states, breaking the stillness between them.
"Ah, yes, I'm not -- I'm not going to work today."
Surprise, surprise. A workaholic not attending to his work.
"Are you…" Taemin starts, but trails off, feeling a little weird with this peculiar warmth in his heart.
"Am I what?"
"Are you… feeling unwell?"
Jinki pauses at that. He doesn't know how to deal with the little bit of concern Taemin is showing him. It's just… strange and unfamiliar. He should probably opt with being honest, that's how parents should always be with their children, shouldn't they? At least that's what he'd always hoped how his parents' would be towards him.
"Oh -- oh, no. I'm just… Just trying to avoid someone in school today," Jinki mutters under his breath, hoping the other doesn't catch it.
"Jonghyun?" Taemin blurts out.
Jonghyun.
Taemin knows.
"You know?"
"Yeeep," Taemin purses his lips and nods modestly.
"Taemin!" Jinki frowns. "You know it's impossible for someone as young as him to even- I can't- It's just not proper. You should tell him to stop before it's too late."
"How -- how is loving someone wrong? Is it because he's a guy?" Taemin rebuts.
"No!" Jinki cries out, effectively shocking both himself, and Taemin. And that waiter who is bringing them their breakfast.
"I- I'm sorry for that outburst. What I mean is, gender, it isn't a problem for me, alright?"
"Then why?" Taemin whines.
"There's no 'why' to that question! He's 21, I'm 37. There's this huge sixteen year gap between us, and it's--"
"Well, it's not pedophilia, Dad."
"It's just that Taemin, at my age, I just want to --" and it seeps in, "You called me 'Dad'."
Taemin flushes, he hadn't even known that he'd let the word slip out that easily. He blinks and preferred to look down at the plate of omelette the waiter had brought.
Jinki clears his throat before continuing, "As I was saying, son, at my age, I just want to settle down. At Jonghyun's age, he just wants to fool around and have a couple of experiments. I've been through that stage." He concludes his sentence with an audible sigh, voice weary.
"Dad, please. Just reconsider this. I mean, if you don't like him, you can always break things off at a later stage."
"Taemin --"
"No, Dad, listen to me," Taemin is strong-willed, he needs Jinki to know, "I've been friends with Jonghyun-hyung for almost ten years and this, this -- Everything, ever since he got to know about you, has made him change so much. So much so that he's not even the Jonghyun I knew of ten years back when I was in grade school! I just… I really hope that you'll give him a chance to show you that not all guys in their early twenties are douchebags! And you know, give me a chance to show you that I'm not all hanging out with bad influences and stuff…"
"Taemin," Jinki says in a warning tone.
"Dad."
"Taemin, don't start. This argument is over, okay?"
"Dad. Dad. Dad. Daaaad. Dad. Onew. Onew. Onew. Faaather --"
"God, I'm never going to win this, am I?" Jinki laughs at his plate of food.
"Nope," Taemin smiles.
"Don't you dare pull this on me again," Jinki bites on his thumb. "Goodness gracious what in the world am I getting myself into?"
"A whirlwind romance!" Taemin chirps.
"Your grandparents are going to kill me, Lord."
"Fuck grandma."
"Oh great, and I don't even know where you get your potty mouth from. Just eat your food."
--
Jonghyun almost screams in frustration when Jinki tells him to come over. Just what is his decision? He asked for a week, and it's been two.
"Now listen, Jonghyun. If it had not been for my son, I wouldn't even be considering this. At all. I want to set some ground rules while the both of us are together. You shall not, at any moment, call me 'Onew' or by my name or even show any form of affection while we are on school grounds. Not 'till we're at a safe distance from college, are you allowed to do so. You will call me Professor Lee in school, and physical intimation is not allowed at any time." Jinki says, eyes squinted, clicking the ballpoint pen in hand.
"Not even when we're alone?"
"No."
"But --"
"I'm not done with my rules," Jinki has one of his brows raised, "so, listen. if at any time I find out that Taemin is upset with you, this thing between us? Over. Also, if I feel uncomfortable with you anytime, it's also, over. In this… relationship, you'll have to be patient because I like patient partners. Otherwise, it's --"
"Over. Yeah yeah, can I kiss you now?"
And Jonghyun doesn't even wait till Jinki replies before launching himself on the other. They don't break away until Jinki knocks down the tiny metal clock which Sooyeon gave him on their tenth anniversary. (He threw it away later, of course, it was for the best after all. But them hooking up was never a mistake; she gave him a beautiful son by the name of Taemin. It was really them trying to continue with the already broken relationship that was a mistake.)
"What did I tell you, Jonghyun?"
"Uh, no touching?"
"Jonghyun, you're not taking me seriously."
If there is one thing Jinki dislikes, it is dishonesty. The situation at hand doesn't really relate to being dishonest or whatnot, but heck, if Jonghyun isn't going to play by the rules, they're done. He knows it. Jonghyun is just too young to understand what commitments are, and if he isn't even able to adhere to these simple requirements, how are they even going to spend their lives together? Jinki just wants to settle down. Taemin acknowledging his presence and authority as a father is good enough, and then he just has to get involved with a boy sixteen years younger than he is.
"I'm sorry, I'm… really sorry. I was just so overwhelmed with everything, I mean -- I've been looking forward to this day for… practically forever."
"Just… Shut up..." Jinki's breath is uneven as he mutters out the last couple of words which Jonghyun doesn't seem to get.
"Wh- What?"
"I said, just shut up and kiss me again."
Rules and regulations be damned. Jinki is still going to hell at the end of the day.
"You're so beautiful," Jonghyun pants, hands gripping onto Jinki's hips.
"F-fuck-- just go deeper there --"
Jinki isn't sure how this was happening. This -- Jonghyun on top of him and fucking him into oblivion? He's never imagined this. Is this -- is this right? I mean, if this is wrong, Jinki never ever wants to be right. He feels so full and raw, and containing Jonghyun just sends him to the heavens.
Jonghyun has Jinki pushed face-down against the bed, ass up, fingers interlaced and placed on Jinki's pelvis. God, if he'd known them fucking was so good, he'd have skipped all the disgustingly fake girls and jumped straight to college. The little noises Jinki lets out whenever he thrusts in are practically melodic.
"Yes, yes -- fuck yes," it's just like a little mantra of expletives Jinki is reciting.
Not that Jonghyun doesn't already know, but he thinks he has fallen even harder in love. Like in full force.
Yeah.
By the time the both of them wash up and get an insignificant amount of rest, it is nightfall. Jinki almost trips on the table when he sees Taemin eating a bowl of cereal, and sitting right in front of their room. Right... in front.
"You know, now that the both of you are together… It does feel a little wrong. Are you very sure this isn't pedophilia?"
"Dude, why are you sitting there?!" Jonghyun exclaims, still topless and holding onto Jinki.
"This is my sixth bowl. You guys sure stayed in there for a long time. And I thought I was a slow eater."
"Goodness, were you listening to us?"
"Yes."
A simple reply from Taemin crushes Jinki, knowing that his son has just heard him having intercourse with his son's very own best friend.
"Though Dad, I have to say something."
Jinki isn't very sure if he wants to listen, but he nods his head anyway.
"I know where I got my potty mouth from."
--
Jinki is unsure of this entire thing about him and Jonghyun getting together once again. He is supposed to be meeting Jonghyun's parents today, and here he is! Sitting on the couch with the second love of his life, who is so much younger than him, and waiting for his parents to walk down the stairs. Taemin had told him that Jonghyun's father was once a navy officer, and that the elderly man is all against Jonghyun being with a man sixteen years his senior, so Jinki can't help but be extremely terrified. What if he says something wrong? Does Jonghyun really trust Jinki that much to bring him back to his parents?
"I want to back out of this deal --" Jinki whispers into Jonghyun's ear, on the verge of breaking down.
"No, nonono, listen. My dad is a real nice person --"
"Liar. Taemin told me he was scary!"
"God -- don't make that face -- I just wanna kiss you so hard right now but I can't. And you're the father! Don't let Taemin rule you over!"
"Well Jonghyun, I see that you've brought your… significant other along to meet us today."
God.
Jinki turns frigid when he sees Jonghyun's parents walking towards the opposite couch. Jonghyun's father… looks just like every other navy official. Stern, always ready for combat, and just a tinge of insanity in him like all other retired officers.
Although what Jonghyun's father says next very honestly shocks Jinki.
"You're already forty? You look like you're in fucking high school."
"Dad," Jonghyun warns.
"I-It's okay. I do get that a lot. But yes, I'm thirty-eight this year." Jinki is so nervous that he doesn't even know what he's talking about.
"Tell us about yourself, darling," Jonghyun's mother, on the other hand, speaks out.
"I'm Lee Jinki. I'm a lecturer at K-ARTS and I have a son, his name is Lee Taemin." Jinki looks over to Jonghyun for just practically any sign to tell him that he is doing great.
"You said you have a son, how old were you when you had him?"
"I was eighteen then. We were carried away with our youth and took things a little too far. He's currently twenty-one."
Jonghyun sees Jinki fidgeting and so obviously cowering in his father's presence. He's mad at himself for having to put the other through such a situation, and he promises Jinki that no matter what his parents think of him, nothing would ever change what they share. Jonghyun isn't trying to prove to his parents that he is rebellious, but he just wishes for them to see that this is what he wants - a future with Jinki. He doesn't need blessings from his parents, but he wants them to understand that if a life with Jinki is what he wants, he will get it.
"And his son happens to be my best friend and a really awesome dancer. So I honestly don't care what the hell you guys say, I'm sticking with him." Jonghyun stands up, grabs Jinki and pulls him to the door.
Is this-- is this really the Jonghyun Jinki knows? He's so different. He's like the gallant prince coming to Jinki's rescue. Not that Jinki's a girl, but it's just so- ugh, shut up explanatory sentences.
They leave the house just like that. It isn't the best way to meet your significant other's parents, but well, it's over. Finally.
"Why did you do that?" Jinki panics, "What if they don't have a good impression of me?"
"I don't need you to please them, baby. I just want them to know that I'm not seeking for their permission, I'm just telling them." Jonghyun has both his hands grasping onto Jinki's shoulders.
"But--"
"Moreover," he fishes out his phone out of his coat, and {flips} it open to show the text message which has just arrived.
From: Mom
Your Dad & I wish you & Jinki a Merry Christmas.
Stay happy, & don't bully Jinki. He's such a sweetie.
"See? They loved you."
Jinki smiles at the message, his tight clasp on the phone slightly loosened when Jonghyun pulls him closer.
"And I love you too, Merry Christmas, Jinki."