SH 2013: for sendmyluv2korea
For: sendmyluv2korea
From: Your Secret Santa
Title: Kiss Me (Like You Mean It)
Rating:
Pairing(s)/Focus: Suho/Kai
Length: 3,500 words
Summary: Maybe Junmyeon has a bubblegum fetish. Maybe all he has is a crush.
Notes: I’m sorry I didn’t write something sexy, here, I hope you like the fluff! ;^;
“Why didn’t you tell me Zhang Yixing plays the guitar?” Baekhyun demanded the minute he entered the room, glaring at them murderously. “He surprised me by performing in the middle of the cafeteria and I didn’t know if I should kiss him right there or drag him here and make him sign the papers.”
From where he was perched on the windowsill, Jongdae laughed, “Because we didn’t know. Also, it’s a little too early for the marriage certificates, don’t you think?”
Baekhyun glared. “Papers for him to join the club, since we need as many talented musicians as we can get.”
Undeterred, Jongdae shrugged off Baekhyun’s clarification, “Same thing. So what exactly did you choose?”
“Neither,” Baekhyun deflated, burying his face in his hands. “I just grabbed Chanyeol and ran for it.” He looked up, thought about it for a moment, then said, “Remind me to never do that again, Yeol has sweaty palms and he can’t run in a straight line.” It was as though he didn’t already know that, given the fact that he had pretty much been raised together with Chanyeol, what with their mothers being the best of friends since high school.
Sniggering, Jongdae waved Baekhyun over with the music sheets he had been scribbling on. “Will do. Or better yet, the next time this happens, you should go for the first choice.”
Baekhyun walked over. “And get rejected by the best looking transfer student to ever grace our campus? No thanks,” he muttered, snatching the papers over to study what Jongdae had composed.
A sound of displeasure escaped Jongdae. “Best? Yixing’s a real catch, I’ll give you that, but he’s got nothing on that tall guy, what’s his name? Kris?”
“Yes, it’s Kris, and no, Kris isn’t all that good looking if you look at him up close, alright? He’s got a funny mouth.” Baekhyun answered, eyebrows knitted in half-concentration as he tried to figure out the tune Jongdae had written for them. “Also, is this for the charity night?”
“He does not!” It registered to Junmyeon that it was weird how Jongdae was getting all flustered while trying to defend someone’s looks. “Yeah, they slotted us in right in the middle before the dance break.”
“Before the dance club, then?” Both Junmyeon and Jongdae nodded, Junmyeon still distracted by his student council duties as he did so. “I like this one,” he approved, then turned to look at Junmyeon, “Hyung, what are you doing?”
“Detention slips, what else?” Junmyeon replied, finishing the form he had been filling for the past minute and capping his pen when he was done. “Can you believe we have six students caught making out in the classrooms after dark?” He shook his head, “What a way to get a detention.”
“Yeah,” Jongdae agreed, “They should’ve locked the door and turned off the lights. Must be freshmen kids, all of them.”
This was how the three of them always spent their Wednesday afternoons. The club room was their favorite place because it was where they could do anything they wanted. Not only was the room soundproof (which meant Jongdae and Baekhyun could pitch-battle for hours and nobody would interrupt them), it was also the most secluded room in Block C, furthest building from the main gate. With the snacks Baekhyun kept bringing in to store in the mini fridge Junmyeon had so generously contributed and more tables and chairs they would need (after all, the jazz club was surprisingly well-funded despite having only a total of six members after the seniors, Ryeowook hyung being their favorite, graduated), all they needed was sleeping bags and they could camp out for days when they had exams coming up or when they had regionals to prepare for. The jazz club was very different from the school chorale and should Junmyeon be allowed to speak his mind without consequences, he would say that the jazz club members were a bunch of significantly less uptight music lovers.
“Come on,” Jongdae said, “The chorale kids are on strict diets to stay in shape and to stay in tune.” He shuddered at the idea of such a strict regime. “I’d kick anyone’s ass if I’m told to stop eating fast food.” He then gestured at Baekhyun and Chanyeol, who were fiercely competing to become the most repulsive chubby bunny Junmyeon had ever witnessed. “We’re the cool kids, alright? With an endless supply of marshmallows and all that jazz.” He grinned, thinking he was being particularly witty.
The one-sided rivalry between the jazz club and the school chorale was why they liked staying in their club room, locked in. For one, Jongdae was constantly harassed by the chorale kids because they felt that he was wasting his god-given talents by staying with the jazz club. “Which is ridiculous,” Kyungsoo pointed out during their most recent semi-formal club meetings, “Because we have actually won, you know, awards.”
“Hyung? Hyung? Hyung!”
Startled, Junmyeon looked up. “What?”
“I’ve been calling you for the past minute,” Baekhyun pointed out. Eyes narrowed, he leaned in so that Junmyeon was forced to meet his eyes, “I was trying to tell you that I met Jongin at the lockers just now and he was asking about you.”
Immediately, Baekhyun had Junmyeon’s full attention. “What did he say?” he asked cautiously, leaning back when Baekhyun pressed in even closer.
“He asked me what you’ve been so busy with,” Baekhyun said. “It’s quite interesting for me to learn that you’ve cancelled your study sessions with him twice in a week.” At this, Junmyeon had to bite down on his lip so he won’t groan aloud, knowing what Baekhyun was going to say. “You’ve been avoiding him, haven’t you?”
To make it worse, Jongdae joined in. “You haven’t been that busy, hyung.” He pretended to think hard for a moment. “Didn’t you use to meet up with Jongin twice a week even though you were weighed down by community service and your internship?”
Smiling, Baekhyun carried on from there, “Jongdae’s right. Aren’t you supposed to have more free time on your hands now, hyung, which explains why you’re here with us, writing out detention slips, instead of rushing around the campus trying to get things signed and stuff sorted out?”
It wasn’t all that uncommon for Baekhyun and Jongdae to gang up against him and as always, Junmyeon found himself at a loss of words, opting to look away instead of coming up with excuses he knew they wouldn’t believe anyway.
“You can’t avoid him forever,” Baekhyun persisted. “Whatever it is, you need to get over it.”
“I wish it’s that simple,” Junmyeon muttered, falling silent once more at the looks Jongdae and Baekhyun were giving him - a mix between pity and disbelief.
“It is,” Jongdae said, “But only if you stop complicating things for yourself.” With a shrug, he backed off, pulling Baekhyun with, “Just so you know, we’re not going to help cover your ass the next time Jongin asks for you, alright?”
With a soft sigh, Junmyeon went back to his task of writing out detention slips, heart throbbing.
///
It started innocently enough. Jongin was the new dance partner Minseok was assigned to and that was how they became friends. (“Every new member is assigned to a more experienced member,” Minseok explained when asked, “Not that it means the new members will always need much guidance. Jongin, for one, is actually miles ahead of me. His techniques are really solid.”) By extension, Jongin had eventually gotten close to the jazz club members as well. Minseok liked dragging him over to their table by the windows whenever the cafeteria got extremely crowded on days the food was edible. He got along well with Chanyeol, Jongdae and Baekhyun, and ended up clinging to Kyungsoo whenever the older boy decided to join them. Even though it had been a little awkward between Junmyeon and him at first, their relationship gradually improved. The eventual arrangement was simple enough: they would meet twice a week for Junmyeon to run through the things Jongin had difficulties with and in turn, Jongin would take Junmyeon’s mind off the more troubling things (college applications, for instance) by telling him stories.
During their Monday meetings, Jongin liked telling Junmyeon about his weekend adventures. One time it was Sehun losing a dare to Zitao and having to dye his rainbow, thus earning him an entire list of rather embarrassing nicknames. The next time it was Taemin still struggling to ride a bike, and them finding out that Zitao took an average of forty-six photos of himself a week. Their Friday meetings always ended with Jongin telling Junmyeon about the new things he had learned during dance practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays, naming terms and more terms before he had to explain each and every one to a very confused Junmyeon. “Keep up,” he would always laugh and Junmyeon would pretend to get angry.
There were times when Junmyeon lived carelessly, vicariously through Jongin and he didn’t expect to enjoy these study sessions so much.
Things got complicated when their time spent together felt more than mere study sessions and when Junmyeon couldn’t stop staring at Jongin’s lips and wondering how it would feel to kiss them, if they would taste faintly of the sugar free mints he knew Jongin carried with him in his bag.
Things got even more complicated when Jongin started chewing bubblegums - no thanks to Sehun - like they were an essentiality. It got even harder for Junmyeon to not stare at him. Alternating between 8 and 10 chews, before popping a bubble, Joonmyun noticed, where they started small -- first pushed out by Jongin's tongue, before he would blow them up to the size of a bottle cap. He would then swallow before chewing once more. The sound of Jongin chewing should be annoying but it wasn’t. It was distracting, of course, but Junmyeon didn’t dislike it. That frustrated him. He knew for one that gum chewing wasn’t allowed. It was one of those trivial things the teachers didn’t think to put down in the school booklet, simply because they assumed all students would know that they shouldn’t be chewing gums when they were in a lesson or an exam. It was also one of those trivial things so trivial, teachers wouldn’t want to punish the students for eating something they wouldn’t swallow. Naturally, Junmyeon couldn’t tell Jongin to stop chewing gums and blowing bubbles just because it made him want to kiss Jongin more.
///
“That’s it?”
Forlornly, Junmyeon nodded.
They were in Junmyeon’s room to discuss a class project and instead of getting some work done, Junmyeon spent the past half an hour telling Kyungsoo about the complications of his relationship with Jongin. He couldn’t possibly avoid Jongin forever and he knew that, but he couldn’t understand why he was feeling what he had been feeling and without this understanding, he couldn’t face Jongin and pretend that everyone was alright.
Kyungsoo shook his head disbelievingly, “This is worse than what Baekhyun told me.” Junmyeon flushed. “You’re hopeless,” Kyungsoo muttered, “Which explains why you need help in something as simple as a schoolgirl crush.”
“It’s not a schoolgirl crush,” Junmyeon quickly denied. “I just. I’m just - ”
“You’re just weirdly attracted to Jongin’s bubblegum chewing, want to use that as an excuse to get a taste, and then proceed to kiss the daylight out of him?”
Despite having known Kyungsoo for four whole years, Junmyeon couldn’t comprehend how he was able to say all of that with a perfectly straight face. Looking away, he fumbled with the things on his desk and succeeded in messing it up for the third time that day. “You’re ridiculous,” he shot at Kyungsoo, “All your assumptions are baseless and invalid.”
He yelped when Kyungsoo flung a pillow at him, catching the whole of his back, “You’re the ridiculous one. I think you know that you’re this flustered because I nailed the issue.” He leaned back, crossing his legs and settling himself more comfortable in the middle of Junmyeon’s bed, “You’re so infatuated.” He shook his head, stifling his laughter at the sight of Junmyeon’s stricken face.
“I’m not,” Junmyeon said. Even to his ears his words were feeble, insincere.
Kyungsoo left sometime past five and Junmyeon took the spot Kyungsoo had been occupying, burying his head under his pillow, defeated. He made a conscious decision to not dwell on the lips - Jongin’s lips - plus bubblegum combination, but his brain ignored him. Lips. Bubblegum. Lips. Bubblegum. Lips. Bubblegum. went on and on until his phone vibrated in his pocket. He didn’t need to see it to know who it was.
[Thu, 10 Oct, 6:42 pm]
Jongin: we’re meeting tomorrow right?
[Thu, 10 Oct, 6:43 pm]
Jongin: pls don’t cancel again :(
Staring at the two text messages, Junmyeon let his fingers hover over the ‘reply’ button.
By the time he was called downstairs for dinner, he still hadn’t replied.
///
“Hyung!”
Oh shit.
Panicking, Junmyeon turned to Minseok for cover, only to have the other boy walking away from him, leaving him a simple “Deal with it.” and rendering him absolutely helpless.
“I need to talk to you,” Jongin called out, grabbing the attention of a few people down the corridor. He paid them no mind, walking straight towards Junmyeon, who stood frozen in front of his locker.
It was only when Jongin was a few steps away that Junmyeon turned to leave. He was slow. Jongin caught his arm and in response, Junmyeon hurriedly fixed his gaze elsewhere, anywhere but on Jongin’s face, his lips. Stupid face, stupid lips, stupid bubblegum. Moving to grab his shoulders instead, Jongin pulled him deep into the shadows, hidden from the other students in the hallway. “I want to know why you’re avoiding me.”
There it was, the inevitable, and yet Junmyeon was looking for an escape route. Shrugging off Jongin’s hands wasn’t an option because contrary to how he looked, the younger boy was awfully sensitive. He would be hurt if Junmyeon was to slap him away right there and then. As if you aren’t already hurting him, a voice in Junmyeon’s head griped. He ignored it in favor of thinking of another way to get himself out of this mess. Jongin wasn’t saying anything now that he was alone, face to face, with Junmyeon. He was watching Junmyeon closely, feeling much like the fool in the relationship they shared, however they should define it. He really didn’t liked feeling this way. Nobody would.
“Look,” Junmyeon muttered, all the words in his head garbled, “I need some time to sort things out. Some things. It’s complicated.” He tried piecing the words into sentences but was failing quite terribly in doing so. “I can’t really explain them, alright? I just need time. Time out.”
Silence reigned. Junmyeon was still trying to grab at the words running amok and Jongin, on the other hand, was trying to understand what Junmyeon said.
“Time out?” he wondered aloud. “Why the hell do we need a time out?”
True, they weren’t in some kind of sports game and they were most certainly not, Junmyeon, get a grip on yourself, in a relationship. A time out, however, was still necessary, Junmyeon decided. “Like I said,” he managed, “I don’t know how to explain it.”
“You don’t know how to explain it or you don’t want to?”
“Jongin…” Junmyeon tried again. His skin felt very hot. Jongin’s gaze blazed and a small, desperate voice in Junmyeon’s brain was trying to get him to tell the truth. He took a deep, quaking breath and got ready. “The truth is - “ His words were drowned out by a shout of Jongin’s name - one of his friends from dance club waving him over - and Junmyeon visibly deflated, courage lost. His brain began flipping through the options he had and as it turned out, just as Jongin turned to look at his friend, Junmyeon settled with the easiest way out and, shutting Jongin firmly from his mind, he walked away.
[Fri, 11 Oct, 11:05 am]
Jongin: i guess we’re not meeting today, then?
[Fri, 11 Oct, 11:35 am]
Jongin: hyung, i think i deserve an explanation from you
[Fri, 11 Oct, 12:01 am]
Jongin: hyung...
///
By lunchtime, the whole table knew about what happened between the two of them. Minseok shot Junmyeon a worried look when he didn’t eat anything from his tray. “You can’t keep running from him forever.”
As if Junmyeon didn’t already know that.
Keeping his eyes on his tray and taking note that his apple juice was starting to oxidize, Junmyeon chose not to say a word. The rest of them - Minseok, Kyungsoo, Baekhyun and Jongdae - seemed to be alright with that, however, because they had lots to say to him. With obvious hints from Minseok, Kyungsoo launched into a discussion with Baekhyun about their future collaboration with the dance club a couple of months after the charity night performance. “Collaborations are good for both parties,” Kyungsoo said, “Because we get to meet new people, make new friends, and step out of our comfort zones to venture into something unexpected, something amazing.” He was looking at Junmyeon as he said this and so were the others.
“I’m not feeling hungry,” Junmyeon started, unbothered that he was making it blatant that he was ignoring all that had been said. “I’ll go return my tray.”
“Wait, hyung,” Jongdae hurried, “Return mine too.”
Normally, Junmyeon would have said no, argued that Jongdae should be the one to return his tray since he was younger, and end up getting bullied by the three younger boys into returning everyone’s tray for them. This time, he picked up Jongdae’s tray and walked off before they could say anything.
///
This time, Junmyeon saw it coming when Jongin seek him out, once again successfully cornering him. Without a word, Jongin pulled him into the studio, locked the door before he turned to face Junmyeon.
“Hyung - ” He cleared his throat, trying to find the best way to go about this.
“You’re chewing gum again.”
“Wait, what?”
“That,” Junmyeon pointed, “Gum.” He wanted to say more but the smile Jongin gave forced his words back. He stopped pointing, feeling more than just awkward. His heart was beating too fast and his lungs weren’t working right either.
“Gum, huh,” Jongin muttered to himself, “Gum.” Then, to Junmyeon, “Do you want a taste?”
Junmyeon stared at him, unable to believe his ears. “What?” His lips felt dry and his face was hot.
“Kyungsoo hyung said something about, um, a fetish,” Jongin said, “He also said you’re being really stupid and I should go easy on you.” Cheeks equally, Jongin didn’t look away. “You want a taste, right?” he asked again, hesitantly.
“That traitor.” Meeting Jongin’s gaze, not knowing what had gotten into him, Junmyeon found himself making a decision. He reached out to take Jongin’s face in his hands, voice barely audible even to himself, strangely unyielding, “What do you think?”
Jongin laughed, breathless. “I think you do.” He paused, “You do, right?”
It was Junmyeon’s cue to laugh, air escaping him easily - a relief, “I do.” The lingering doubt Jongin felt faded with that affirmation. “I like you, Jongin. I might even love you someday.” It sounded promising enough for the both of them and when they leaned in to let their lips meet, warmth on warmth, they sealed the deal.
///
“Hey, you guys, I have a joke,” Jongin said, much to the dismay of everyone sitting round the table. “I came up with it on my own. It’s a good one, I swear!”
“Go on,” Kyungsoo said, always there to give him a chance. He ignored the pleading looks the rest gave him.
“What did one bubblegum said to the other?” Jongin asked.
“...”
“I think I’m stuck on you.”
Slowly, Sehun let out a groan, burying his head in Zitao’s shoulder as Zitao tried to make it look as if he wasn’t trying hard not to laugh at Jongin. Everyone else started busying themselves with their own conversations before Jongin could ask why they weren’t laughing with him. Junmyeon was the only one left to tell Jongin that his joke was the funniest he had ever heard.
Baekhyun had been staring at Junmyeon and Jongin’s entwined hands for the whole morning and now, he turned to Jongdae, eyes blazing with determination.
“Oh no,” Jongdae recognized that look, “You’re planning something.” He tugged on Baekhyun’s shirt, “Whatever it is, don’t do it.”
“I’m going to start chewing gum whenever Yixing’s around.”
From: Your Secret Santa
Title: Kiss Me (Like You Mean It)
Rating:
Pairing(s)/Focus: Suho/Kai
Length: 3,500 words
Summary: Maybe Junmyeon has a bubblegum fetish. Maybe all he has is a crush.
Notes: I’m sorry I didn’t write something sexy, here, I hope you like the fluff! ;^;
“Why didn’t you tell me Zhang Yixing plays the guitar?” Baekhyun demanded the minute he entered the room, glaring at them murderously. “He surprised me by performing in the middle of the cafeteria and I didn’t know if I should kiss him right there or drag him here and make him sign the papers.”
From where he was perched on the windowsill, Jongdae laughed, “Because we didn’t know. Also, it’s a little too early for the marriage certificates, don’t you think?”
Baekhyun glared. “Papers for him to join the club, since we need as many talented musicians as we can get.”
Undeterred, Jongdae shrugged off Baekhyun’s clarification, “Same thing. So what exactly did you choose?”
“Neither,” Baekhyun deflated, burying his face in his hands. “I just grabbed Chanyeol and ran for it.” He looked up, thought about it for a moment, then said, “Remind me to never do that again, Yeol has sweaty palms and he can’t run in a straight line.” It was as though he didn’t already know that, given the fact that he had pretty much been raised together with Chanyeol, what with their mothers being the best of friends since high school.
Sniggering, Jongdae waved Baekhyun over with the music sheets he had been scribbling on. “Will do. Or better yet, the next time this happens, you should go for the first choice.”
Baekhyun walked over. “And get rejected by the best looking transfer student to ever grace our campus? No thanks,” he muttered, snatching the papers over to study what Jongdae had composed.
A sound of displeasure escaped Jongdae. “Best? Yixing’s a real catch, I’ll give you that, but he’s got nothing on that tall guy, what’s his name? Kris?”
“Yes, it’s Kris, and no, Kris isn’t all that good looking if you look at him up close, alright? He’s got a funny mouth.” Baekhyun answered, eyebrows knitted in half-concentration as he tried to figure out the tune Jongdae had written for them. “Also, is this for the charity night?”
“He does not!” It registered to Junmyeon that it was weird how Jongdae was getting all flustered while trying to defend someone’s looks. “Yeah, they slotted us in right in the middle before the dance break.”
“Before the dance club, then?” Both Junmyeon and Jongdae nodded, Junmyeon still distracted by his student council duties as he did so. “I like this one,” he approved, then turned to look at Junmyeon, “Hyung, what are you doing?”
“Detention slips, what else?” Junmyeon replied, finishing the form he had been filling for the past minute and capping his pen when he was done. “Can you believe we have six students caught making out in the classrooms after dark?” He shook his head, “What a way to get a detention.”
“Yeah,” Jongdae agreed, “They should’ve locked the door and turned off the lights. Must be freshmen kids, all of them.”
This was how the three of them always spent their Wednesday afternoons. The club room was their favorite place because it was where they could do anything they wanted. Not only was the room soundproof (which meant Jongdae and Baekhyun could pitch-battle for hours and nobody would interrupt them), it was also the most secluded room in Block C, furthest building from the main gate. With the snacks Baekhyun kept bringing in to store in the mini fridge Junmyeon had so generously contributed and more tables and chairs they would need (after all, the jazz club was surprisingly well-funded despite having only a total of six members after the seniors, Ryeowook hyung being their favorite, graduated), all they needed was sleeping bags and they could camp out for days when they had exams coming up or when they had regionals to prepare for. The jazz club was very different from the school chorale and should Junmyeon be allowed to speak his mind without consequences, he would say that the jazz club members were a bunch of significantly less uptight music lovers.
“Come on,” Jongdae said, “The chorale kids are on strict diets to stay in shape and to stay in tune.” He shuddered at the idea of such a strict regime. “I’d kick anyone’s ass if I’m told to stop eating fast food.” He then gestured at Baekhyun and Chanyeol, who were fiercely competing to become the most repulsive chubby bunny Junmyeon had ever witnessed. “We’re the cool kids, alright? With an endless supply of marshmallows and all that jazz.” He grinned, thinking he was being particularly witty.
The one-sided rivalry between the jazz club and the school chorale was why they liked staying in their club room, locked in. For one, Jongdae was constantly harassed by the chorale kids because they felt that he was wasting his god-given talents by staying with the jazz club. “Which is ridiculous,” Kyungsoo pointed out during their most recent semi-formal club meetings, “Because we have actually won, you know, awards.”
“Hyung? Hyung? Hyung!”
Startled, Junmyeon looked up. “What?”
“I’ve been calling you for the past minute,” Baekhyun pointed out. Eyes narrowed, he leaned in so that Junmyeon was forced to meet his eyes, “I was trying to tell you that I met Jongin at the lockers just now and he was asking about you.”
Immediately, Baekhyun had Junmyeon’s full attention. “What did he say?” he asked cautiously, leaning back when Baekhyun pressed in even closer.
“He asked me what you’ve been so busy with,” Baekhyun said. “It’s quite interesting for me to learn that you’ve cancelled your study sessions with him twice in a week.” At this, Junmyeon had to bite down on his lip so he won’t groan aloud, knowing what Baekhyun was going to say. “You’ve been avoiding him, haven’t you?”
To make it worse, Jongdae joined in. “You haven’t been that busy, hyung.” He pretended to think hard for a moment. “Didn’t you use to meet up with Jongin twice a week even though you were weighed down by community service and your internship?”
Smiling, Baekhyun carried on from there, “Jongdae’s right. Aren’t you supposed to have more free time on your hands now, hyung, which explains why you’re here with us, writing out detention slips, instead of rushing around the campus trying to get things signed and stuff sorted out?”
It wasn’t all that uncommon for Baekhyun and Jongdae to gang up against him and as always, Junmyeon found himself at a loss of words, opting to look away instead of coming up with excuses he knew they wouldn’t believe anyway.
“You can’t avoid him forever,” Baekhyun persisted. “Whatever it is, you need to get over it.”
“I wish it’s that simple,” Junmyeon muttered, falling silent once more at the looks Jongdae and Baekhyun were giving him - a mix between pity and disbelief.
“It is,” Jongdae said, “But only if you stop complicating things for yourself.” With a shrug, he backed off, pulling Baekhyun with, “Just so you know, we’re not going to help cover your ass the next time Jongin asks for you, alright?”
With a soft sigh, Junmyeon went back to his task of writing out detention slips, heart throbbing.
///
It started innocently enough. Jongin was the new dance partner Minseok was assigned to and that was how they became friends. (“Every new member is assigned to a more experienced member,” Minseok explained when asked, “Not that it means the new members will always need much guidance. Jongin, for one, is actually miles ahead of me. His techniques are really solid.”) By extension, Jongin had eventually gotten close to the jazz club members as well. Minseok liked dragging him over to their table by the windows whenever the cafeteria got extremely crowded on days the food was edible. He got along well with Chanyeol, Jongdae and Baekhyun, and ended up clinging to Kyungsoo whenever the older boy decided to join them. Even though it had been a little awkward between Junmyeon and him at first, their relationship gradually improved. The eventual arrangement was simple enough: they would meet twice a week for Junmyeon to run through the things Jongin had difficulties with and in turn, Jongin would take Junmyeon’s mind off the more troubling things (college applications, for instance) by telling him stories.
During their Monday meetings, Jongin liked telling Junmyeon about his weekend adventures. One time it was Sehun losing a dare to Zitao and having to dye his rainbow, thus earning him an entire list of rather embarrassing nicknames. The next time it was Taemin still struggling to ride a bike, and them finding out that Zitao took an average of forty-six photos of himself a week. Their Friday meetings always ended with Jongin telling Junmyeon about the new things he had learned during dance practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays, naming terms and more terms before he had to explain each and every one to a very confused Junmyeon. “Keep up,” he would always laugh and Junmyeon would pretend to get angry.
There were times when Junmyeon lived carelessly, vicariously through Jongin and he didn’t expect to enjoy these study sessions so much.
Things got complicated when their time spent together felt more than mere study sessions and when Junmyeon couldn’t stop staring at Jongin’s lips and wondering how it would feel to kiss them, if they would taste faintly of the sugar free mints he knew Jongin carried with him in his bag.
Things got even more complicated when Jongin started chewing bubblegums - no thanks to Sehun - like they were an essentiality. It got even harder for Junmyeon to not stare at him. Alternating between 8 and 10 chews, before popping a bubble, Joonmyun noticed, where they started small -- first pushed out by Jongin's tongue, before he would blow them up to the size of a bottle cap. He would then swallow before chewing once more. The sound of Jongin chewing should be annoying but it wasn’t. It was distracting, of course, but Junmyeon didn’t dislike it. That frustrated him. He knew for one that gum chewing wasn’t allowed. It was one of those trivial things the teachers didn’t think to put down in the school booklet, simply because they assumed all students would know that they shouldn’t be chewing gums when they were in a lesson or an exam. It was also one of those trivial things so trivial, teachers wouldn’t want to punish the students for eating something they wouldn’t swallow. Naturally, Junmyeon couldn’t tell Jongin to stop chewing gums and blowing bubbles just because it made him want to kiss Jongin more.
///
“That’s it?”
Forlornly, Junmyeon nodded.
They were in Junmyeon’s room to discuss a class project and instead of getting some work done, Junmyeon spent the past half an hour telling Kyungsoo about the complications of his relationship with Jongin. He couldn’t possibly avoid Jongin forever and he knew that, but he couldn’t understand why he was feeling what he had been feeling and without this understanding, he couldn’t face Jongin and pretend that everyone was alright.
Kyungsoo shook his head disbelievingly, “This is worse than what Baekhyun told me.” Junmyeon flushed. “You’re hopeless,” Kyungsoo muttered, “Which explains why you need help in something as simple as a schoolgirl crush.”
“It’s not a schoolgirl crush,” Junmyeon quickly denied. “I just. I’m just - ”
“You’re just weirdly attracted to Jongin’s bubblegum chewing, want to use that as an excuse to get a taste, and then proceed to kiss the daylight out of him?”
Despite having known Kyungsoo for four whole years, Junmyeon couldn’t comprehend how he was able to say all of that with a perfectly straight face. Looking away, he fumbled with the things on his desk and succeeded in messing it up for the third time that day. “You’re ridiculous,” he shot at Kyungsoo, “All your assumptions are baseless and invalid.”
He yelped when Kyungsoo flung a pillow at him, catching the whole of his back, “You’re the ridiculous one. I think you know that you’re this flustered because I nailed the issue.” He leaned back, crossing his legs and settling himself more comfortable in the middle of Junmyeon’s bed, “You’re so infatuated.” He shook his head, stifling his laughter at the sight of Junmyeon’s stricken face.
“I’m not,” Junmyeon said. Even to his ears his words were feeble, insincere.
Kyungsoo left sometime past five and Junmyeon took the spot Kyungsoo had been occupying, burying his head under his pillow, defeated. He made a conscious decision to not dwell on the lips - Jongin’s lips - plus bubblegum combination, but his brain ignored him. Lips. Bubblegum. Lips. Bubblegum. Lips. Bubblegum. went on and on until his phone vibrated in his pocket. He didn’t need to see it to know who it was.
[Thu, 10 Oct, 6:42 pm]
Jongin: we’re meeting tomorrow right?
[Thu, 10 Oct, 6:43 pm]
Jongin: pls don’t cancel again :(
Staring at the two text messages, Junmyeon let his fingers hover over the ‘reply’ button.
By the time he was called downstairs for dinner, he still hadn’t replied.
///
“Hyung!”
Oh shit.
Panicking, Junmyeon turned to Minseok for cover, only to have the other boy walking away from him, leaving him a simple “Deal with it.” and rendering him absolutely helpless.
“I need to talk to you,” Jongin called out, grabbing the attention of a few people down the corridor. He paid them no mind, walking straight towards Junmyeon, who stood frozen in front of his locker.
It was only when Jongin was a few steps away that Junmyeon turned to leave. He was slow. Jongin caught his arm and in response, Junmyeon hurriedly fixed his gaze elsewhere, anywhere but on Jongin’s face, his lips. Stupid face, stupid lips, stupid bubblegum. Moving to grab his shoulders instead, Jongin pulled him deep into the shadows, hidden from the other students in the hallway. “I want to know why you’re avoiding me.”
There it was, the inevitable, and yet Junmyeon was looking for an escape route. Shrugging off Jongin’s hands wasn’t an option because contrary to how he looked, the younger boy was awfully sensitive. He would be hurt if Junmyeon was to slap him away right there and then. As if you aren’t already hurting him, a voice in Junmyeon’s head griped. He ignored it in favor of thinking of another way to get himself out of this mess. Jongin wasn’t saying anything now that he was alone, face to face, with Junmyeon. He was watching Junmyeon closely, feeling much like the fool in the relationship they shared, however they should define it. He really didn’t liked feeling this way. Nobody would.
“Look,” Junmyeon muttered, all the words in his head garbled, “I need some time to sort things out. Some things. It’s complicated.” He tried piecing the words into sentences but was failing quite terribly in doing so. “I can’t really explain them, alright? I just need time. Time out.”
Silence reigned. Junmyeon was still trying to grab at the words running amok and Jongin, on the other hand, was trying to understand what Junmyeon said.
“Time out?” he wondered aloud. “Why the hell do we need a time out?”
True, they weren’t in some kind of sports game and they were most certainly not, Junmyeon, get a grip on yourself, in a relationship. A time out, however, was still necessary, Junmyeon decided. “Like I said,” he managed, “I don’t know how to explain it.”
“You don’t know how to explain it or you don’t want to?”
“Jongin…” Junmyeon tried again. His skin felt very hot. Jongin’s gaze blazed and a small, desperate voice in Junmyeon’s brain was trying to get him to tell the truth. He took a deep, quaking breath and got ready. “The truth is - “ His words were drowned out by a shout of Jongin’s name - one of his friends from dance club waving him over - and Junmyeon visibly deflated, courage lost. His brain began flipping through the options he had and as it turned out, just as Jongin turned to look at his friend, Junmyeon settled with the easiest way out and, shutting Jongin firmly from his mind, he walked away.
[Fri, 11 Oct, 11:05 am]
Jongin: i guess we’re not meeting today, then?
[Fri, 11 Oct, 11:35 am]
Jongin: hyung, i think i deserve an explanation from you
[Fri, 11 Oct, 12:01 am]
Jongin: hyung...
///
By lunchtime, the whole table knew about what happened between the two of them. Minseok shot Junmyeon a worried look when he didn’t eat anything from his tray. “You can’t keep running from him forever.”
As if Junmyeon didn’t already know that.
Keeping his eyes on his tray and taking note that his apple juice was starting to oxidize, Junmyeon chose not to say a word. The rest of them - Minseok, Kyungsoo, Baekhyun and Jongdae - seemed to be alright with that, however, because they had lots to say to him. With obvious hints from Minseok, Kyungsoo launched into a discussion with Baekhyun about their future collaboration with the dance club a couple of months after the charity night performance. “Collaborations are good for both parties,” Kyungsoo said, “Because we get to meet new people, make new friends, and step out of our comfort zones to venture into something unexpected, something amazing.” He was looking at Junmyeon as he said this and so were the others.
“I’m not feeling hungry,” Junmyeon started, unbothered that he was making it blatant that he was ignoring all that had been said. “I’ll go return my tray.”
“Wait, hyung,” Jongdae hurried, “Return mine too.”
Normally, Junmyeon would have said no, argued that Jongdae should be the one to return his tray since he was younger, and end up getting bullied by the three younger boys into returning everyone’s tray for them. This time, he picked up Jongdae’s tray and walked off before they could say anything.
///
This time, Junmyeon saw it coming when Jongin seek him out, once again successfully cornering him. Without a word, Jongin pulled him into the studio, locked the door before he turned to face Junmyeon.
“Hyung - ” He cleared his throat, trying to find the best way to go about this.
“You’re chewing gum again.”
“Wait, what?”
“That,” Junmyeon pointed, “Gum.” He wanted to say more but the smile Jongin gave forced his words back. He stopped pointing, feeling more than just awkward. His heart was beating too fast and his lungs weren’t working right either.
“Gum, huh,” Jongin muttered to himself, “Gum.” Then, to Junmyeon, “Do you want a taste?”
Junmyeon stared at him, unable to believe his ears. “What?” His lips felt dry and his face was hot.
“Kyungsoo hyung said something about, um, a fetish,” Jongin said, “He also said you’re being really stupid and I should go easy on you.” Cheeks equally, Jongin didn’t look away. “You want a taste, right?” he asked again, hesitantly.
“That traitor.” Meeting Jongin’s gaze, not knowing what had gotten into him, Junmyeon found himself making a decision. He reached out to take Jongin’s face in his hands, voice barely audible even to himself, strangely unyielding, “What do you think?”
Jongin laughed, breathless. “I think you do.” He paused, “You do, right?”
It was Junmyeon’s cue to laugh, air escaping him easily - a relief, “I do.” The lingering doubt Jongin felt faded with that affirmation. “I like you, Jongin. I might even love you someday.” It sounded promising enough for the both of them and when they leaned in to let their lips meet, warmth on warmth, they sealed the deal.
///
“Hey, you guys, I have a joke,” Jongin said, much to the dismay of everyone sitting round the table. “I came up with it on my own. It’s a good one, I swear!”
“Go on,” Kyungsoo said, always there to give him a chance. He ignored the pleading looks the rest gave him.
“What did one bubblegum said to the other?” Jongin asked.
“...”
“I think I’m stuck on you.”
Slowly, Sehun let out a groan, burying his head in Zitao’s shoulder as Zitao tried to make it look as if he wasn’t trying hard not to laugh at Jongin. Everyone else started busying themselves with their own conversations before Jongin could ask why they weren’t laughing with him. Junmyeon was the only one left to tell Jongin that his joke was the funniest he had ever heard.
Baekhyun had been staring at Junmyeon and Jongin’s entwined hands for the whole morning and now, he turned to Jongdae, eyes blazing with determination.
“Oh no,” Jongdae recognized that look, “You’re planning something.” He tugged on Baekhyun’s shirt, “Whatever it is, don’t do it.”
“I’m going to start chewing gum whenever Yixing’s around.”