two sides of a coin
title: the two sides of a coin
pairing: jongin/kyungsoo
genre: angst
length: drabble
Kim Jongin is used to the street life. He grew up on the streets, being orphaned at an early age. He is used to scavenging for food in alleyway dumpsters and the backdoors of fastfood restaurants and diners, only to be chased away by scary men in aprons carrying brooms or sticks. He is used to hiding in abandoned buildings whenever it rained, or when it was dark because Jongin's scared of the dark. Jongin's used to having no interaction with the people around him, because on the streets, the only person you can trust is yourself; and who would talk to Jongin, the boy in tattered clothes, unwashed hair and bloodshot eyes, anyway? He is used to the rough life of a street rat, and didn't really imagine a better life for himself because he was an orphan with a fourth grade education; how could he afford a better life? How could he fill the emptiness inside of him when he couldn't even fill his stomach?
Then there's Do Kyungsoo, son of a business tycoon and a neurosurgeon living in their high rise condominium in the Gangnam district. He is used to maids waking him up every morning to lead him to the dining table where he's served oven-roasted beef sirloin, a ham and cheese omelet, and a tossed Caesar salad with Belgian hot chocolate and freshly squeezed orange juice for breakfast. He is used to being sung lullabies by his nanny whenever he gets scared, because his nanny is always there when his parents aren't. He is used to making plenty of friends, because Kyungsoo is a naturally friendly and cheerful person, and everyone, whether it be the students at the private school he's attending or the people at his parents' social galas, likes the boy with fair, glowing skin, big round eyes and a heart-shaped smile. Do Kyungsoo is a boy that has his whole life ahead of him, but like all things that seem perfect, there's always something missing.
Every night, Jongin dreams of beautiful melodies being sung and round, soulful eyes boring into his. He dreams of an expanse of smooth, pale skin and thick, raven locks. He dreams of rosy cheeks and plump lips, and then he wakes up, because everyone has to wake up and face reality, and Jongin cannot afford to dream when he has to look for his next meal.
Every night, Kyungsoo dreams of a slender silhouette gracefully bending and twisting, body moving fluidly to the silence of an unsung melody. He dreams of tan, sun-kissed skin and mysterious, lidded eyes staring straight into his soul. He dreams of sharp, angled lines and messy black hair, and then wakes up, because Kyungsoo has to go to school.
Do Kyungsoo and Kim Jongin are polar opposites, bound to each other but not quite meeting. They are yin and yang, destined to be each other's contradiction, but tied to each other by fate, always kept at arm's length. When Kyungsoo gets a gift from his father for the latter had found an old, rundown building to make into another commercial center, Jongin falls sick after staying out in the rain because he was kicked out of the same building. When Kyungsoo loses the silver ring he's been wearing on his left index finger since he was a child on his way home from school, Jongin finds it a few hours later and sells it, having enough money to buy some food and a new set of clothes.
When one goes up, the other goes down. Two sides of a coin, the sun and the moon; destined to be together but never seeing each other. When a coin faces up, it's back will never face up as well. When the moon is high up in the sky, the sun will never be there with it. It's how their story was written, predetermined by fate.
But fate makes mistakes, sometimes. It was a mistake to let Jongin be chased by some thugs to the street where Kyungsoo was waiting for his nanny to pick him up. It was a mistake to have Jongin bump into Kyungsoo, the latter's school bag thrown onto the cold, unforgiving asphalt, books and pens spilling out of it. It was a mistake for Jongin to help Kyungsoo pick his things up and dust them off when he should be running away from the drunk delinquents trailing not far behind. It was a mistake to let Kyungsoo and Jongin meet at all when they should never have, because when they both look into each other's eyes, their hearts start beating faster and their heads start spinning, and all they can think about is "I finally found you, whoever you are," because they've found each other, they've found the one they're destined to be with, they finally found what's been missing.
But fate mends as fast as it breaks, sadly. The thugs come, but neither Kyungsoo, who tries to memorize the bronze skin and the sleepy eyes, nor Jongin, who remembers the large eyes and the heart-shaped smile, notice; and one of them has a gun.
[HEADLINE] MASS SHOOTING AT 5TH STREET, GANGNAM-GU: 15 INJURED, DO KYUNGSOO(20) AND KIM JONGIN(19) DEAD, SUSPECTS APPREHENDED