Stuck #001
Title: Stuck
Author: Puerilebeauty5
Fandom/Characters/Pairing: Winner (Song Mino/Kim Jinwoo)
Rating/Warnings: Gen
Challenge # & Prompt: #1 Fame
Word Count: 644
Mino patted his face to ensure that his mask was still tightly secured. He knew it was unlikely that the convenience store clerk would not recognize him, but he was hoping to avoid a drawn-out conversation.
As Mino placed his packages on the counter, he noticed that the clerk was distractedly staring at the television set in the corner of the room. He curiously tilted his head to get a better view of the screen. Two men dressed in suits were having a very heated discussion. He couldn’t quite tell what the issue was because the captions’ fonts were too small. Just as he lost interest, a familiar face flashed onto the screen- Kim Jinwoo.
Mino took in his appearance- Jinwoo’s skin was even paler than it usually was, his eyes that used to sparkle when he laughed at Mino’s lame jokes were dull and reddened, his lithe muscular frame that had teased Mino countless times over the last two years looked small and frail. Jinwoo did not look good. The reporters crowding around him and shoving their microphones and cameras into his face were certainly not helping matters.
As he watched Jinwoo shove past the pressmen and get into a waiting car, Mino could hear the clerk tsking behind him. He felt tears well in his eyes.
He had known that it would end like this. When the dispatch photographer contacted them and tried to blackmail them with photos from their dates, Mino had suggested paying him off. Jinwoo, ever the headstrong idealist, had convinced him to ignore the photographer and let him handle the situation. Apparently his way of handling the situation didn’t sit well with their CEO, Yang Hyun Suk.
The photos were published the next day, and Mino had stayed up all night crying on Jinwoo’s shoulder. Music was all he knew, and the thought of being ostracized from the industry scared him beyond belief. He had also avoided all his parents’ calls. His parents- they had spent so much money supporting him, and he had fucked it all up when he had finally started getting paid well enough to support his family.
Jinwoo had just stayed by him, silently comforting him and wiping his tears while assuring him that everything would turn out well. Mino didn’t remember falling asleep, but he woke up alone the next morning.
He only found out what Jinwoo had done when he turned on the television. Jinwoo had held a press conference publicly announcing his sexuality and stating that the other person in the photo was not Mino. He had even gotten a random guy named Baro to pretend he was the other person in the photos, and because Jinwoo’s face was the only clearly visible one, the general public had lapped it up. Since then, Jinwoo had been hounded on all fronts. The homophobic members of the populace had directed disgusting, heavy-handed attacks at him, while the lgbt-friendly people had supported him while still criticizing him for not being more vocal. It had to have been a rough couple of months for him.
Mino hadn’t seen him since, and he missed him every day. He missed cooking together, sharing desserts, Jinwoo’s teasing, everything really. His house felt emptier than it ever had.
Mino was pulled out of his deep thoughts by a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see a nervous school girl staring expectantly at him. “You’re Song Minho right? Can I get a photograph with you?” Mino quickly pushed all the thoughts of Jinwoo out of his mind. Jinwoo had made a sacrifice for him, for this career, to help Mino maintain the fame he had thought was so important. He would do everything he could to make sure that that sacrifice did not go to waste. Mino put his arm around the girl and smiled for the camera.
(I posted this on my personal AFF/AO3 accounts, but it was written for this challenge). I can take them down if that's against the rules.)
Author: Puerilebeauty5
Fandom/Characters/Pairing: Winner (Song Mino/Kim Jinwoo)
Rating/Warnings: Gen
Challenge # & Prompt: #1 Fame
Word Count: 644
Mino patted his face to ensure that his mask was still tightly secured. He knew it was unlikely that the convenience store clerk would not recognize him, but he was hoping to avoid a drawn-out conversation.
As Mino placed his packages on the counter, he noticed that the clerk was distractedly staring at the television set in the corner of the room. He curiously tilted his head to get a better view of the screen. Two men dressed in suits were having a very heated discussion. He couldn’t quite tell what the issue was because the captions’ fonts were too small. Just as he lost interest, a familiar face flashed onto the screen- Kim Jinwoo.
Mino took in his appearance- Jinwoo’s skin was even paler than it usually was, his eyes that used to sparkle when he laughed at Mino’s lame jokes were dull and reddened, his lithe muscular frame that had teased Mino countless times over the last two years looked small and frail. Jinwoo did not look good. The reporters crowding around him and shoving their microphones and cameras into his face were certainly not helping matters.
As he watched Jinwoo shove past the pressmen and get into a waiting car, Mino could hear the clerk tsking behind him. He felt tears well in his eyes.
He had known that it would end like this. When the dispatch photographer contacted them and tried to blackmail them with photos from their dates, Mino had suggested paying him off. Jinwoo, ever the headstrong idealist, had convinced him to ignore the photographer and let him handle the situation. Apparently his way of handling the situation didn’t sit well with their CEO, Yang Hyun Suk.
The photos were published the next day, and Mino had stayed up all night crying on Jinwoo’s shoulder. Music was all he knew, and the thought of being ostracized from the industry scared him beyond belief. He had also avoided all his parents’ calls. His parents- they had spent so much money supporting him, and he had fucked it all up when he had finally started getting paid well enough to support his family.
Jinwoo had just stayed by him, silently comforting him and wiping his tears while assuring him that everything would turn out well. Mino didn’t remember falling asleep, but he woke up alone the next morning.
He only found out what Jinwoo had done when he turned on the television. Jinwoo had held a press conference publicly announcing his sexuality and stating that the other person in the photo was not Mino. He had even gotten a random guy named Baro to pretend he was the other person in the photos, and because Jinwoo’s face was the only clearly visible one, the general public had lapped it up. Since then, Jinwoo had been hounded on all fronts. The homophobic members of the populace had directed disgusting, heavy-handed attacks at him, while the lgbt-friendly people had supported him while still criticizing him for not being more vocal. It had to have been a rough couple of months for him.
Mino hadn’t seen him since, and he missed him every day. He missed cooking together, sharing desserts, Jinwoo’s teasing, everything really. His house felt emptier than it ever had.
Mino was pulled out of his deep thoughts by a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see a nervous school girl staring expectantly at him. “You’re Song Minho right? Can I get a photograph with you?” Mino quickly pushed all the thoughts of Jinwoo out of his mind. Jinwoo had made a sacrifice for him, for this career, to help Mino maintain the fame he had thought was so important. He would do everything he could to make sure that that sacrifice did not go to waste. Mino put his arm around the girl and smiled for the camera.
(I posted this on my personal AFF/AO3 accounts, but it was written for this challenge). I can take them down if that's against the rules.)