Bright Side
Bright Side | Jongkey-ish | PG | 670 words | Kibum doesn't look happy. His head hangs low, eyes staring at the open palms resting in his lap. "Everyone else is happy. Why can't I be?"
A/N: I'm in a weird mood tonight, and this story is the result of that. It's not meant to be an overly happy story, but I feel like this is the type of story that will get various reactions. Enjoy.
They’re in a garden.
Jonghyun looks down at his feet. Vibrant purple flowers crowd around his sneakers. It may just be a trick of the light, but it almost looks as if they’re glowing, their purple light floating up and around his ankles.
He walks slowly through them, trying to crush as little as possible. It’s hard, since they’re literally everywhere. Not just purple flowers, either. Flowers of every color, flowers of every shape, flowers of every height, and flowers of every scent surround him. They turn into a maze. Jonghyun should be worried about getting lost, but he’s not. His mind is clear and his feet lead him around corners, through a tunnel made of roses, over a bridge constructed of nothing but sunflower stems.
Eventually a clearing forms ahead of him. He walks toward it, his face spreading into a smile when he sees Kibum sitting on a wooden bench next to a tall oak tree.
Kibum doesn’t look happy. His head hangs low, eyes staring at the open palms resting on his lap.
“What’s wrong?” Jonghun asks, his voice sounding oddly far-away.
“Everyone else is happy. Why can’t I be?” He shakes his head, blonde locks falling over his watery eyes. When he sighs, the branches above him shake slightly in response. Jonghyun watches as a leaf falls softly, turning to bright red the moment it falls on Kibum’s knee. The younger boy regards it with a sad expression as it shrivels up and falls to the ground.
“Look at them. They look so content.” He points a shaking finger in front of him. The older boy follows it with his eyes and holds back a gasp when a turquoise river appears about fifty yards away from them. Minho, Taemin, and Jinki sit on the riverbank, laughing as they dip their feet into its shining waters. “I’m trying, I really am. It’s hard, Jonghyun…”
Jonghyun stares into the cloudless blue sky stretching in front of them of them as his friend starts quietly crying next to him.
He catches sight of their manger off in the distance, talking to a very familiar looking man. It takes him a few seconds to realize it’s the pilot of their plane. For the first time since arriving in the garden, Jonghyun feels confusion rip through his brain.
“How…” he mutters into the air, “did we get here?”
He turns back to Kibum, who lifts his head up to show Jonghyun a red and tear-stained face. His eyes are wide, arms still shaking violently as he grabs the older boy’s hands.
It’s only then that Jonghyun notices the bruises all over the boy’s face, neck, arms...the bluish purple flesh striking a hard contrast next to his pale skin.
An image of a plane comes to mind. Jonghyun’s heart jolts at the memory, his body reacting to it before his mind can grasp it.
He feels sick to his stomach. For a split second, he has the overwhelming the urge to scream, to yell until his throat is raw, to run straight to the river and plunge himself into the inviting waters.
“Do they know?” he asks softly, his eyes going back to the three boys on the riverbank smiling and talking amongst themselves.
“Maybe.” Kibum lets out a sad chuckle as he wipes at his eyes. “I guess it’s true, what they say. Everybody deals with it differently.”
Jonghyun feels part of the sadness ebb away as he looks at his best friend. Around them, all of the trees sway slightly as their leaves progress from green to red in mere seconds. The landscape is a kaleidoscope, shifting and altering before his eyes.
“This may be a terrible thing to say, but I’m glad that it was all of us at the same time. I’m glad we’re together.”
Kibum sighs one last time before resting his head on Jonghyun’s shoulder. “I guess you’re right. Might as well look on the bright side.”
Jonghyun laughs, and it’s a beautiful, musical, ethereal sound. “Kibum. This is the bright side.”
A/N: I'm in a weird mood tonight, and this story is the result of that. It's not meant to be an overly happy story, but I feel like this is the type of story that will get various reactions. Enjoy.
They’re in a garden.
Jonghyun looks down at his feet. Vibrant purple flowers crowd around his sneakers. It may just be a trick of the light, but it almost looks as if they’re glowing, their purple light floating up and around his ankles.
He walks slowly through them, trying to crush as little as possible. It’s hard, since they’re literally everywhere. Not just purple flowers, either. Flowers of every color, flowers of every shape, flowers of every height, and flowers of every scent surround him. They turn into a maze. Jonghyun should be worried about getting lost, but he’s not. His mind is clear and his feet lead him around corners, through a tunnel made of roses, over a bridge constructed of nothing but sunflower stems.
Eventually a clearing forms ahead of him. He walks toward it, his face spreading into a smile when he sees Kibum sitting on a wooden bench next to a tall oak tree.
Kibum doesn’t look happy. His head hangs low, eyes staring at the open palms resting on his lap.
“What’s wrong?” Jonghun asks, his voice sounding oddly far-away.
“Everyone else is happy. Why can’t I be?” He shakes his head, blonde locks falling over his watery eyes. When he sighs, the branches above him shake slightly in response. Jonghyun watches as a leaf falls softly, turning to bright red the moment it falls on Kibum’s knee. The younger boy regards it with a sad expression as it shrivels up and falls to the ground.
“Look at them. They look so content.” He points a shaking finger in front of him. The older boy follows it with his eyes and holds back a gasp when a turquoise river appears about fifty yards away from them. Minho, Taemin, and Jinki sit on the riverbank, laughing as they dip their feet into its shining waters. “I’m trying, I really am. It’s hard, Jonghyun…”
Jonghyun stares into the cloudless blue sky stretching in front of them of them as his friend starts quietly crying next to him.
He catches sight of their manger off in the distance, talking to a very familiar looking man. It takes him a few seconds to realize it’s the pilot of their plane. For the first time since arriving in the garden, Jonghyun feels confusion rip through his brain.
“How…” he mutters into the air, “did we get here?”
He turns back to Kibum, who lifts his head up to show Jonghyun a red and tear-stained face. His eyes are wide, arms still shaking violently as he grabs the older boy’s hands.
It’s only then that Jonghyun notices the bruises all over the boy’s face, neck, arms...the bluish purple flesh striking a hard contrast next to his pale skin.
An image of a plane comes to mind. Jonghyun’s heart jolts at the memory, his body reacting to it before his mind can grasp it.
He feels sick to his stomach. For a split second, he has the overwhelming the urge to scream, to yell until his throat is raw, to run straight to the river and plunge himself into the inviting waters.
“Do they know?” he asks softly, his eyes going back to the three boys on the riverbank smiling and talking amongst themselves.
“Maybe.” Kibum lets out a sad chuckle as he wipes at his eyes. “I guess it’s true, what they say. Everybody deals with it differently.”
Jonghyun feels part of the sadness ebb away as he looks at his best friend. Around them, all of the trees sway slightly as their leaves progress from green to red in mere seconds. The landscape is a kaleidoscope, shifting and altering before his eyes.
“This may be a terrible thing to say, but I’m glad that it was all of us at the same time. I’m glad we’re together.”
Kibum sighs one last time before resting his head on Jonghyun’s shoulder. “I guess you’re right. Might as well look on the bright side.”
Jonghyun laughs, and it’s a beautiful, musical, ethereal sound. “Kibum. This is the bright side.”