A New Raincoat [ Part I ]

[lily_ina]

Onew/Key
PG-13, Humour/Romance

★ Everything can change with a simple habit that goes wrong.



It was early Spring. Most students were sprawled in the grass at lunch time, enjoying the warm breeze. Minho was playing with a white ball he had stolen from the gymnasium storage room a few months earlier. Taemin was silently watching him throw the ball around gracefully, conveniently ignoring the book that lay on his thighs. Under a tree, Jinki was busying himself with notebooks, pencils and calculators, trying to keep his eyes away from Kibum and Jonghyun who were enjoying each other's presence a little bit too much.

Kibum was straddling Jonghyun's legs, his knees pressed firmly against the other's hips. Their mouths were eagerly devouring each other; as if it was the last time they'd be able to be this close in a long while. Kibum had his arms wrapped around Jonghyun's neck loosely while Jonghyun's hands were practically undressing the younger boy's back in his excitement. Kibum was wearing a summer school uniform consisting of (short) shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. That outfit just encouraged Jonghyun to practically rape the younger boy in the schoolyard full of students.

Jinki was pretty sure one of them would die from lack of oxygen soon. There was saliva and tongues and everything you could find in a cheap erotic movie. It was pretty disgusting from his point of view. Especially when Kibum moaned into the kiss -Jinki swore he saw him grinding. A small gasp confirmed his suspicion, but he still liked to believe they were not that indecent.

"Hyung you're staring," Minho sat down beside Jinki, taking advantage of the large tree to keep the sun from burning his skin.

"Isn't this a little, you know," Jinki frowned and tilted his head at the way Jonghyun brought Kibum even closer to him to deepen the already pretty deep kiss. "crossing the line,"

Minho observed the pair for a few seconds and shrugged. "I don't really mind,"

"You never mind anything anyway. They could be naked and you still won't care,"

Minho shrugged for a second time. "You wanna come play with me and Taemin?" He asked, making the ball roll in his hands.

"Sure," Jinki messily stuffed the notebooks and other school accessories in his bag. He turned his calculator off and slid it in one of the many pockets his bag offered him.

"Jonghyun-hyung, you want to come along?" Minho yelled as he walked over to Taemin to help him up to his feet.

Jonghyun turned his head around abruptly and Kibum blinked in surprise. "I'm coming!" He said before giving a final kiss to a reluctant Kibum as he squeezed the latter's buttocks.

"I'll see you later baby,"

"Shut up, I don't like this pet name," Kibum groaned, rolling off Jonghyun to sit in the fresh grass. "Go and have fun without me," He said. Jinki, unlike Jonghyun, noticed the bitter aftertone of his words.

"Don't forget our little rendez-vous!" Jonghyun waved to his boyfriend as he jogged away to follow Minho on the empty basketball court.

Jinki suddenly hesitated between staying to chat with Kibum and playing basketball with his other friends. He bit his lips, his head swinging from Kibum to the three others.

"Are you okay Kibum?"

The younger boy fell on his back, sighing loudly. "I need sleep."

"I'll wake you up when the bell rings?"

Kibum only hummed as an answer. His eyes fluttered close as he placed the palms of his hands behind his head, improvising a pillow. Jinki watched the shadows from the tree dance on Kibum's clothes, oblivious to Minho calling for him from the court.

"Jinki what the hell are you doing, aren't you playing too?"

He jumped. After glancing one last time at Kibum, he ran toward Taemin, Minho and Jonghyun with the excuse that he thought he had forgotten to put something in his bag.

"For a moment there, I thought you were checking out Kibum man," Jonghyun laughed loudly.

"As if I would," Jinki chuckled along. "He's yours,"

Jonghyun slapped his back in a friendly way, a huge grin spreading on his face. They walked to the middle of the court where Minho threw the ball in the air. Jinki grabbed it quickly and they started to play carefreely. Jinki's eyes fell on Kibum laying in the gree grass a few meters away from them.

There were actually three types of people in their high school. There were the girls, the boys and Kibum. The latter couldn't be included in any of the former categories. In the past few years, he had gone out with many other people (who were mostly boys). He had had an older boyfriend before being a freshman, which gave him the privilege to set a foot in the school before the rest of the students from his year. That led him to be known around the school and get popular more quickly than anyone else.

Jinki passed the ball to Taemin who didn't catch it and stumbled on his feet instead. Everyone gasped as the youngest almost fell on the hard ground. He was held up by Minho who had managed to sneak behind Taemin and grab him, earning sigh of relief from the other boys.

"I'm sorry!" Jinki yelled, running to the younger boy's side. "I'm so sorry Taemin!"

"Taemin, you alright?" Jonghyun asked.

"It's okay. Yeah, I just slipped."

Jonghyun shrugged and beamed at the younger boy. He picked the ball from the ground and ran toward the basket to shoot while everyone else was doing their own thing. Minho groaned and jogged after him while Taemin chuckled at his older friends.

Jinki smiled at the scene before instinctively looking where Kibum was sleeping. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Jonghyun throwing him a glare. Blinking, Jinki brushed his thoughts aside and tried to steal the ball from Minho's hands.

---

"Be careful with the tube. It's kind of weak ever since Wooyoung dropped it on the floor,"

Jinki only nodded as an answer as the teacher walked out of the room. He had missed a laboratory a few weeks earlier and the teacher was nice enough to let him borrow a lab after class. Jinki liked Chemistry and he was good at it when he didn't break any material.

He got out a glass that was filled with bright red liquid. Following his course notes, Jinki mixed it with water before placing the glass on the scales as he noted the number shown on the digital screen.

Fumbling with some test-tubes, Jinki managed to pour their contents in a big beaker that he had settled beside the old and stained sink. He looked at the scale on the side of the beaker and scribbled down the amount it created.

Then, pushing the first step of the problem aside, he reached out to grab a funnel. The experiment went on, liquids changed color under Jinki's eyes. The boy knew what to do, but his hands didn't cooperate with his mind very well.

After more than an hour, the counter was messy and covered with brown powder he had struggled with moments ago. Jinki sighed, looking at the last step written in his notebook.

He was preparing a complex structure with tubes and glasses when someone entered the laboratory. Jinki glanced over his shoulder swiftly to acknowledge the person who had just entered without getting his attention away from the fragile framework in front of him.

"Hi Kibum," He said, turning his head back to pour red liquid into a funnel.

"Hi," Kibum replied. "Looks dangerous," He commented pointing at the many tubes linking two glasses and a funnel.

"I'm almost finished," Jinki said as he picked up his pencil to write a word or two on a sheet that had wet spot around the border. "There!" He threw his pencil on the black flat surface before carefully disassembling what he had worked on for the past hour.

Jinki washed a bottle that contained distilled water while Kibum took a seat on the countertop and started swinging his legs back and forth. He was wearing his usual winter uniform now.

"Weren't you going out with Jonghyun tonight?" Jinki asked, putting some beakers on a tray. "To the movie theatre?"

Kibum hummed, looking up at the ceiling. "The movie started half an hour ago," He said and played with air he had gathered inside his cheeks. "Jonghyun ditched me again,"

Jinki blinked. "Is that so? He looked so excited about your little date today," He removed his white apron and placed it on a hanger under the counter.

"I know," Kibum forced a smile on his lips.

Jinki frowned as he took out a towel to clean his work area. The teacher had explained him precisely how to put away the equipment after the whole experiment was done. Jinki had always been neat with his work and he wouldn't want to have a bad reputation just when his teacher had trusted him enough with the laboratory.

"It's not going very well between us lately," Kibum said.

The older boy chuckled bitterly and concentrated whole-heartedly on placing the PH level indicators back into the small box they belonged to.

"I don't know Kibum, you looked quite happy sucking each other's faces off this morning,"

Kibum laughed softly. "Physically it's going well,"

Jinki looked up at him curiously, Kibum had a light blush spread across his cheeks. Jinki distanced himself from his work place and walked near the younger boy perched on the countertop. Something in Kibum's voice was weird and even though there was a smile plastered on his face, it was clear that something was wrong.

"What's going on?" Jinki asked. "Aren't you happy with Jonghyun?"

Kibum cringed and hissed as he thought about the questions. Then he shook his head from left to right and let himself drop on his feet. "Never mind."

"Kibum?"

"Yes, I'm happy."

Jinki could see the way Kibum was avoiding his eyes, but he didn't give it much thought. It wasn't his business anyway. He had confirmation that his friend was okay and that was all that mattered to Jinki. Really.

"Well since Jonghyun's being a bad boy tonight," Kibum smirked, stretching his arms above his head. "Shall we go somewhere together?"

"Sure," Jinki grinned, washing his hands before picking up his bag lying on the floor. "Wherever you want,"

Kibum hummed thoughtfully for a second. "We can go get something to nibble on, then go to the movie theatre and catch another representation of the movie Jonghyun was supposed to take me to, how about it?"

Jinki smiled. "Sounds awesome,"

They walked out of the laboratory and down the already dark hallway. Kibum giggled when Jinki almost ran into an open door and they stepped out of the school with smiles on their faces, chatting about next terms' classes.

As they crossed the school gate under the sunset's warm glow, someone shouted Kibum's name from behind them. Though Kibum didn't catch it, Jinki did and he turned his head around to see Jonghyun running in their direction.

"Kibum!" He shouted again, successfully making Kibum whirl around this time. "I'm so sorry I completely forgot!" He tried to catch his breath. "I saw you through the window and I rushed here,"

"What were you doing?" Kibum said from Jinki's side.

"I was-" Jonghyun blinked. "I was practicing. You know, choir. My mother hates it when I sing in my room. You know that. So I guess I kinda got carried away,"

Kibum looked perplexed, but gave out a smile nevertheless. "Okay then." He said. "Let's go see that movie,"

Jonghyun grinned. "I'll go get my jacket, I'll be right back." He went back inside, disappearing behind the big brown doors.

Jinki pressed his lips together. "I better go home then," He said with fake enthusiasm.

"What? No. You can come along with us." Kibum tugged his arm lightly. "I'm sure it wouldn't bother Jonghyun,"

Jinki smirked, but shook his head. "You two have been waiting for it all week. I'm just going to head home. I need to clean my kitchen up anyway, it's a mess in there."

The younger boy chuckled softly, playing with the skin of Jinki's left arm. "Okay then." He said. "But we definitely have to hang out some other time,"

"Just tell me a time and place!" Jinki caught Kibum's hand and placed it back to his side, his fingers lingering on the cold, pale skin for a mere second.

"Friday night?" Kibum suggested. "Jonghyun has soccer practice,"

The older boy nodded and waved his hand at Kibum. Jonghyun walked up to them and showed his white teeth.

"Bye Jinki!"

Jinki waved again, then stared at Kibum's and Jonghyun's hands intertwining when they started to walk in the opposite direction. He caught Kibum glancing back over his shoulder and winking. Giving a small smile in response, he waved for the third time and finally headed for his own destination.

----

It was Jinki who had introduced Kibum to Jonghyun. He was genuinely pleased at first when he had seen them hitting it off quite well. Their relationship started without Jinki feeling an ounce of uneasiness (though now, in retrospect, that matter could be discussed at lenght). As their bond grew deeper and their touches more blunt, Jinki couldn't help but feel a little smug about the fact that he had been the one to set them up.

He had seen their relationship evolve right in front of his eyes without ever being bothered. However, ever since his conversation with Kibum, he had started to worry about them.

Though one could doubt Jonghyun's faithfulness, Jinki knew Jonghyun would never cheat on anyone (especially when he knew he could get killed for it).

It was the little, seemingly meaningless things that Jinki noticed. How Jonghyun would subconsciously shake Kibum's hand off when he spoke, how he would walk away out of nowhere when Kibum was being affectionate or how the both of them would spend whole days right beside each, kissing and touching, without uttering out a word to each other.

At first Jinki brushed it off as a cold phase of their relationship; he knew this could happen even in the fondest love story. Jinki took it upon himself to be there when Kibum needed to change his mind or when he asked for advices, but nothing more. He didn't want to butt in and be the cause of their potential heartbreaks.

He was walking around the town with Kibum that night, stopping every now and then when someone offered them food samples or suggested to come in and look around their store.

The evening had been nice and though the sky was grey and roared from time to time, the air was still warm enough to wander without a jacket.

"I love this raincoat," Kibum said, showing a bright yellow coat to Jinki. "I should've waited before buying mine," He put the garment back on the hanger.

Jinki chuckled and followed the pouty boy out, fingering every piece of clothing that came his way as they walked out of the store.

"What do you want to do now?" The youngest asked, rolling his sleeve to take a look at his watch. "We still have an hour before my bus arrives,"

"I don't know,"

"What about going to a bookstore?" Kibum proposed, clearly forcing the words out of his mouth. "You love those don't you?"

"You don't like bookstores," Jinki shrugged. "We don't really have to go,"

Wriggling his nose, Kibum looked around as he mumbled. "We don't have time for noraebang..."

Jinki pushed his hands into his pockets. "Do you want to go?"

Seeing the glint of happiness flashing in Kibum's eyes, Jinki smirked and got one hand out of his pocket to grab Kibum's and drag him to one noraebang they both knew very well.

It was in a basement of a café. Taemin had found the place by sheer luck one day and they quickly discovered that it was less crowded and more peaceful than other places they used to go to.

Jinki paid for the room and he and Kibum sneaked in with a bowl of chips.

Kibum was always energetic when he sang. Unable to stand still, he had created his own choreographies for each song. Unfortunately, being a small and relatively unpopular place, the owners didn't update their catalogue as often as bigger, fancier noraebangs.

They both knew Jinki possessed a nicer voice than Kibum. However, that night, Jinki let Kibum have the mike all night long. They sang a couple of songs in duet, but every other song was Kibum's solo.

"I love this place," Kibum had screamed in the mike after a duet, startling Jinki with an impromptu hug. "Thanks for bringing me here,"

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself!" Jinki laughed, letting himself fall on the couch with Kibum's arms still circling his neck. They laughed loudly, probably disturbing the passersby who were walking down the hallway to their own room.

The air was colder when they got out, heads still throbbing because of the loud music. Kibum rambled on about some idol that still wasn't in the noraebang's list and that was most definitely going to be there in a couple of weeks.

They arrived at the bus stop where a business man and a teenage girl waited. Jinki insisted on making sure Kibum get on the bus safely and the younger boy, reluctant at first, agreed.

"I had a great time. Thanks a lot," Kibum said, swinging restlessly on his feet. "Are you sure you don't need me to pay you back? Because I really don't mind,"

Jinki shook his head. "It's my treat. You paid for my drink the other day,"

"It was only a drink,"

"It was only noraebang," Jinki replied.

Kibum grimaced. "And chips and ice cream-"

"It's fine, Kibum!"

"I'll definitely pay you back somehow," Then younger boy said nonchalantly. "Here's my bus!"

"Good night," Jinki smiled. Kibum was the last to join the line, behind the teenage girl and the business man.

"'Night."

Kibum stood in front of the bus' doors with Jinki just behind him on the sidewalk. Then, in one fluid motion, he turned around and planted a light peck on Jinki's lips.

Immediately realising his fault, Kibum's eyes widened and he started to apologise profusely, hands flinging around in embarrassment

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry Jinki, I- It's kind of a habit with Jonghyun and I didn't think! The bus was there and I was just-" He paused, looking at Jinki's shocked expression. "Don't freak out. It meant nothing I swear."

Jinki managed to crack a smile despite his terrified state. "It's okay," His voice was hoarse and he had to clean his throat to talk properly again. "I understand. Don't worry I won't tell."

He was blushing furiously and Kibum was in the same condition. They stared at each other as if a reset button would pop out of the silence.

"Hey boy," A low voice came out of the bus. "Either you hop in or I leave you there," The bus driver warned.

"Right," Kibum squirmed on his feet and looked up at Jinki awkwardly. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Sure."

As Kibum vanished inside the bus, the burning sensation the kiss had left on Jinki's lips intensified.

------
[This was written for the kpop_prompts community challenge, option #1]

Hey everyone! It's been a while again, eh?

I've been pretty lazy lately, I did manage to finish a couple of fics, but sadly they're so bad that I don't think I will ever post them. T__T  I'll try to write the second part to this quickly befre the rush of the midterms surprise me again!

Now Background to the story:

I don't even remember...I've been working on this since last spring...hehe, yeah I'm really slow! I think it's been inspired by the British sitcom Coupling at some point but I don't remember which parts, so...yeah.

Hope you enjoyed! ^^