Remember Me!?! Chapter 19: Crystal Tears Part 2/2

[shinetae]

Remember Me!?! PART TWO
Chapter 19: Crystal Tears
Couple: JongKey/MinKey
Genre: Romance, Drama, Triangle, Crack, Fluff
Rated: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own SHINee, Super Junior, Girl’s Generation, DBSK, Soccer, ect.
Summary: Part One: When Kibum promised Jonghyun that he was going to try to cool down a little and start over just as (temporarily) friends, Jonghyun had almost gotten a chance to be optimistic for the next morning and the days following. However, when Daegu University gets a new transfer student and a new soccer coach in training, Jonghyun’s not only personal life, but professional life gets tossed up and down.
Part Two: Softly spoken words from a lover’s mouth sooth the soul and dry bitter tears. Years later when the same words are said, is it possible for them to have the same effect...even if it’s from another’s mouth?


             Kibum reopened his eyes quickly upon hearing Minho’s words. However, when he opened the once-tightly-closed eyes, the tears he had been concealing slipped down his cheeks quicker than before. The soft and sweet words whispered in his ear from a lover once caused for him to smile again in comfort, but when he heard the same words after so many years, his heart felt even more alone. For this time...the lover who had whispered it...wasn’t Jonghyun. He found himself grasping Minho’s shirt tighter before quickly burying his face as the memories came back to him.

~~~~~

Kibum: Age 6

Kibum watched as the other boys in front of him laughed proudly as each of them lined up, seeing who could pick up the largest log they could find in the back wooded area of the playground.

“Wow! Look everyone! Doyang-ah just picked up a really, really big log! He’s so strong!” Shouted one of the girls who were sitting in the sandbox watching the boys show off their puny little six-year-old muscles.

Kibum made a face and pouted slightly as he glanced away from the show-off boys and walked backwards a little before pushing off of the ground, beginning to swing a little bit. So what if Doyang could lift the biggest log in the back of the play yard? He wasn’t as good as Kibum’s Superman. Kibum’s Superman could lift five of those logs with one hand if he wanted to! Plus, Jonghyun was already eight years old and a second grader. It was so much more impressive than Doyang.

Suddenly, there was a call from the corner of the sandbox that caught Kibum’s attention again. “Kibumie~!! Kibum-ah~why don’t you come over and see how big of a log you can lift, like everyone else?? I wanna see how much you can lift too!” Kibum’s little secret admirer (who still seemed to be in denial with the fact that Kibum had never looked at her twice) called quickly.

Kibum glanced back towards the other kids with curiosity. They wanted him to play with them? That was possibly the first time that he had ever been asked to join the rest of the boys in his class with playing. Normally, the boys just ignored him and continued playing with their toy planes or comparing how tall they were with each other. This was the fist time that Kibum had been invited to play that didn’t end in him wearing the black and pink princess dress bossing all of the amateur princesses around. However, he couldn’t show his excitement to the others and ruin his baby-diva image.

“Why should I play with that? What’s so good about lifting sticks anyway? They’re all dirty and will get my nails dirty. I already promised Jessica she could paint them tomorrow.” He asked after a moment, flipping his hair behind his ear.

The girl in the sad box pouted before glancing down slowly. “B-but I wanted to see how much you could lift too, Kibum-ah. Why don’t you just play with everyone else for a little while? Teacher will help you wash your hands again during snack time anyway!” She tried reasoning with the diva-boy.

“Well, if I have to...” Kibum muttered after a moment, but secretly half smiled after a moment before getting off of his swing and walking towards the other boys. Maybe he’d actually have fun if he played with them. He always thought that playing with other boys looked more fun than always having to play with girls. Now if only they would play actual fun games with him instead of lifting up dirty logs (Jonghyun was the only boy he had ever convinced into playing Prince and Princess with him, but he kept going on about someone named Juliet instead of Princess Kibum, causing for him to have a tiara chucked at his face and a very angry Princess Kibum stomping away from him). However, regardless to how stupid of a game he would be playing, he couldn’t lie and say that he wasn’t looking forward to playing with the rest of the boys.

Suddenly, there was a shout from one of the boys that made Kibum stop dead in his tracks. “Yaah! Don’t invite Kibum over here! I don’t want him to play with us!!” Doyang suddenly shouted from where he was playing.

Kibum stopped completely before looking up quickly, upon hearing what Doyang had just shouted. Doyang only continued to glare at him before looking back towards the rest of the guys to get support. “We don’t want Kibum to play with us! All he’ll do his complain about getting dirty, then drop it on his foot and then Teacher will get upset with us and forbid us from playing this game anymore!” He said quickly. “Hurry and go back to playing Princess with all the girls, Kibum! That’s the only thing you’re good at! We don’t want you! Hurry, leave before you make it worse like you always do!! We don’t want to play with you, we don’t like you!!”

Kibum stopped completely, but felt angry and hurt tears immediately well up in his eyes. He gnawed his bottom lip tightly and clenched both of his small fists at his side to try to keep his emotions from flowing too rapidly. “Shut up!! What do you know!!?! Who wants to play with you guys anyway!?! You guys are just big mean, dumb, bullies anyway! You guys are just dumb!! I’m too good to play with you!! Meanies!!!” He shouted quickly, before quickly setting off, running across the street blindly towards the second grade classroom.

~~

Jonghyun: Age 8

Jonghyun glanced down slowly at the little candies that he held in his hand, contemplating carefully what he was going to do next.

“C’mooon, Jonghyun-ah! I’ll give you all my blue gummies if you give me your strawberry one!! I love strawberries, but there were no pinks in my package! It’s a fair trade! All four of my blue gummies for one pink one!! Pleease?“ Jonghyun’s classmate whined as she stared at the little pink-strawberry flavored gummy-fruits that they were given during snack time, in Jonghyun’s hand.

Jonghyun glanced down at his gummy before pressing his lips together tightly with thought. When he thought about it, it was an awesome trade. He always liked the blue gummies most, and always hated the pink ones. The only thing was that pink-strawberry happened to be a certain Kibum’s favorite flavor. He had been planning on saving it for Kibum after school before suddenly being offered the great sounding deal.

“Ohh man, Jiminy Cricket, not again...” The eight-year-old whined as he pouted his lips before shaking his head slowly to his classmate, rejecting her offer half-heartedly.

The girl whose offer had just been rejected pouted and was about to open her mouth to offer away half of her yellow gummies, when all off a sudden there was a loud scream from behind, and Jonghyun was plowed over with a balling Kibum attached to his waist before anyone could even blink.

Jonghyun winced as he was pushed over onto the dirty ground of the play yard as Kibum suddenly attacked him from behind, but was automatically worried the moment that he heard the sobs coming from Kibum behind him, and felt the wetness of Kibum’s tears against his school uniform.

“Ki-Kibum??” Jonghyun managed to stutter out as he unlatched Kibum’s arms from around his waist for long enough to turn around and look at the sobbing boy’s face, but continued to sit on the muddy ground along with the younger boy. “What’s the matter? What are you doing at my school? Why are you crying?” He asked quickly.

Kibum continued to sob, but looked up at Jonghyun slowly. “J-Jonghyunnie-ah.....” He wailed out after a long moment. “Nobody likes me!! Everyone hates me!! No one wants to play with me!! Everyone wants to tease me, and everyone wants me to leave school! They all tease me so much, Jonghyunnie! I don’t wanna be at school anymore! I hate them all!!” He screamed quickly, pulling on his long dark brown hair angrily.

Jonghyun half smiled comfortingly before opening his legs and allow for the younger one to crawl into his lap to be hugged closely and tightly, as they both continued to sit on the muddy playground ground. “No they don’t, Kibum! What did they say? It couldn’t have been that bad, right?” He asked, after a moment.

Kibum sniffed the best he could, rubbing his red cheeks raw with the wrist of his sweatshirt to get the tears to stop flowing, as he crawled into his best friend’s lap to be snuggled closely. “They all hate me Jonghyunnie. They all said that I was no good and that all I do is mess things up. They said that I couldn’t play with them because they don’t like me! I never did anything to them, Jonghyunnie!! They all hate me, and I didn’t do anything to make them! A-a-and Doyang said that I shouldn’t ever ever try to play with them and-and-and that I’m just no good!!” He wailed, wrapping his arms around Jonghyun again, snuggling his head under Jonghyun’s chin.

Jonghyun pressed his lips tightly together to suppress the negative feelings he suddenly started having towards Kibum’s classmates, before slowly taking Kibum’s shoulders and pulling him away from him just enough to look him in the eyes, and stuffing the strawberry gummy in his mouth so that he would be quiet and listen to him.

“Kibum, don’t listen to them!! There are a lot of things that you’re good at!! You’re good at wearing your hair nicely, and good at drawing makeup, and good at making cookies, and good at singing with me, and good at dancing to The Wiggles, and good at impersonating people, and good at bossing people around, and good at decorating my birthday cake last month, and good at making me smile all the time!” He said happily, causing for Kibum to reveal a slight smile behind his sobbing lips. Jonghyun smiled as well, but continued on.

“Now. Kibum, there is only one bad thing that you’ve done, and that is letting them have your tears!” Jonghyun said quickly. Kibum glanced up quickly, looking back at him curiously, so Jonghyun explained. “You see, Kibum, people like Doyang are secretly pirates, did you know? And they’re trying to make you cry so that they can steal your treasure.” The eight-year-old said boldly, after a moment.

Kibum twisted his lips together as he stared up at Jonghyun disbelievingly. “Wh-what do you mean, Jonghyunnie? Wh-what treasure would they want to steal from me? I don’t have the kind of expensive toys that Daesung-sunbae has.” He asked, staring up at Jonghyun.

Jonghyun smiled before gently pushing a tear out of Kibum’s right eye slowly, and rubbing the tear-stains off of his cheek. “Your treasure isn’t like the kind of things that Daesung-sunbae has, Kibum. Your treasure is worth so much more than any expensive toys! Your treasure will make anyone who owns it rich, it’s so expensive!!!” He said, quickly.

Kibum kept staring at Jonghyun with a new interest, but Jonghyun had somehow managed to pull his mind off of Doyang and the other boys who had just bullied him. “M-my treasure? Wh-what is it? How come I never knew about any special treasure before...?” He asked, quietly.

Jonghyun smiled even brighter before rubbing another tear from Kibum’s eye and holding the small and clear droplet on his index finger, but held it out for Kibum to see. “It’s your tears, Kibum. They’re made out of crystal! You have crystal tears, Kibum, and they’re so valuable that everyone wants them, so that’s why they’re bullying you!” He said, quickly.

Kibum stared at his tear on Jonghyun’s finger with big eyes for a minute before looking back at Jonghyun quickly. “M-my tears are crystal!? Really?” He asked, excitedly.

Jonghyun nodded quickly as he continued to stare at Kibum. “But, but! Kibum! You have to promise me one thing! You have to promise me that you’ll never, ever let somebody-and I mean nobody-make you cry again, because nobody deserves your precious crystal tears!! Your tears are beautiful and precious, and stupid pirates like Doyang don’t deserve them!! Don’t cry anymore for them and let the mean pirates get any more of your special treasure, okay??” He asked, quickly.

Kibum only smiled widely before quickly plowing Jonghyun over again with an excited and tight hug. “I promise you, Jonghyunnie~~!” He sang quickly. “You’re the only one special enough to have my crystal tears!! I promise you I won’t let anyone else steal them!!”

Jonghyun smiled as well as he heard Kibum’s promise before hugging him back tightly as well. “And the only thing more valuable than your crystal tears, is your smile!! Don’t give me your tears, Kibum, give me your special smile. I’ll be a lot happier!!” He said, happily.

Kibum giggled contently before snuggling his head under Jonghyun’s chin quickly. “Then, then! I’ll give you my smile instead!! I love you, Jonghyunnie!!”

~~~~~~~~
Kibum: Age 19

“Key....” Minho whispered quietly in Kibum’s ear, gently. “I don’t know what Jonghyun said to you, but whatever it was, there is nothing that comes out of that guy’s mouth that is worth your tears. Your tears are beautiful and precious, and no one in this world should be allowed to steal them away from you. Don’t give them to him. Don’t cry anymore...”

Kibum felt his heart shift and fall as Jonghyun’s words returned to him...but this time through Minho. The soft words whispered in his ear from a lover, suddenly returning to him after so many years. But...why was it, that this time, the lover who had whispered it so softly in his ear....was Minho? Could the same words really have the same meaning as before? All he could do was wrap his arms tighter around Minho and bury his face in his jacket, trying to fill the empty space in his heart by pulling Minho as close as possible to the left side of his heart, as if it would make it stop aching. 
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My note: This is PART TWO. Part One should have been posted eariler. Oh thank god I FINALLY got this up!!! I have been without internet for a really long time, so I couldn't get any chapters uploaded!! Finally I got chapter 19 up, and chapter 20 should be up by Friday night, if not Saturday evening. Sorry for the late posting~
Okay, we're finally getting the towards the middle bread of this story, so the quick moving but important parts shall be coming up soon! Next chapter's probably the deepest flashback, but is critically important to Jonghyun and Kibum's relationship. Minho's going to be coming in more, Onew's getting a bigger part (Super Junior characters are probably going to get less attention now....) and the great appearence of someone very important (at least to me and his fans) *cough cough Taemin cough* has to come. So, hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next one will be up soon! Love~