Unexpected Encounters (2/?)
Unexpected Encounters (2/?): When the Universe Hates You
Pairing(s): kaisoo, side!hunhan
Genre: Romance, Humor, Drama, Fiction
Summary: Found hanging onto the windowsill by his fingertips with the intention of robbing the place, Jongin isn’t sure how to explain the situation he’s in and he doesn’t fancy the idea of going to jail, and the guy who found him is kind of cute so Jongin blurts the first thing that pops in this head. “…You wanna make out?”
Jongin slammed the door to his and Sehun’s shared apartment, ignoring the younger’s startled yell and stomped to his room before throwing himself into the bed after stripping of his clothes minus his underwear.
Throwing the blankets atop of him and burying his face in his pillow, he screamed his muffled frustrations, mentally hitting himself for even trying something so stupid. Shit, he nearly died, twice. And almost went to jail.
God, he was such an idiot.
He barely slept that night, too busy thinking about his short lived burglary career and that cute and astoundingly menacing home owner (not that he was that cute, okay).
The next morning was a rough one. He’d managed to sleep a couple of hours but it wasn’t nearly enough that he needed and he felt nauseas and sluggish, and dammit why couldn’t he have another version of him to go to classes.
He shrugged on some clothes that were lying on the floor, grabbing his backpack before making his way to the kitchen where he was met with his roommate Sehun (the jerk) eating what looked to be a bowl of crushed Oreos and milk.
Jongin’s lips formed a thin line as he stared at Sehun’s food choice in annoyance. “Please tell me those are not the last of the Oreos I was saving…”
“Okay, they’re not, but we’re gonna need to get more,” Sehun answered, his mouth half full of his Oreo cereal.
Lost in irritation, Jongin slammed his hand down on the table loudly, startling Sehun.
“Dude, chill! They’re just cookies!”
“I’m so going to kill you.”
“What’d I do this time?!”
“Dude, what do you think?” Jongin’s eye twitched as he thought of the previous night’s events.
Sehun stared blankly at his angry friend before he finally remembered. “Oh, that,” he said. “So did you do it?”
Jongin huffed, sinking into the chair across from his friend, resting his elbows on the tabletop. “No. I couldn’t even manage to break in without the guy’s help,” he moaned pathetically.
Sehun perked his head up. “What guy?”
“The owner of the apartment I was breaking into.”
Sehun deadpanned. “You mean to tell me that you actually needed help breaking into the apartment from the guy who owned it?”
Jongin nodded, looking ashamed. Sehun shook his head in disbelief.
“Wow. That is pathetic. Jongin, you’re pathetic!”
“No need to remind me! I’m lucky he decided not to call to cops on me! Yet, that is,” Jongin exclaimed, running his hands through his messy hair, clearly stressed. “And I know it’s pathetic, but you try climbing to the third level and try to open a locked window!”
“Which I’m assuming the guy unlocked for you. Was there a fire escape?”
“No! I was like fucking Spider Man, the way I climbed that wall!”
Sehun squinted his eyes. “Dude, why did you even go up that high? Why not bust into one of the ground level apartments and not try to kill yourself?”
Jongin shrugged, not sure how to answer that. “I don’t know, it just seemed cooler.”
“Well, it was a failure. Was the guy pissed?”
“Yes, naturally. And shit man, I thought he was going to kill me, he was so intimidating! I almost jumped right back out the window!” He purposely left out the part where he thought the guy was cute.
Sehun shook his head as he processed Jongin’s story. “Did he ask what you were doing?”
Jongin nodded. “Yeah, and uh…it’s a good thing I got outta there when I did. I didn’t even mention the worst part of it all.”
“And what is the worst part?” Sehun asked skeptically.
“I broke the urn in his living room.”
Sehun’s jaw dropped in shock, eyes wide as he watch Jongin sulk once again. “You’re kidding!”
“I wish.”
“Shit, I’m glad I decided not to go.”
Jongin’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t seem at all concerned for my wellbeing.”
“Well you’re here and breathing, aren’t you? Now, did the guy have muscles?”
Jongin sighed before answering, “Not that I could tell. He was wearing a shirt, but his arms didn’t look very muscular.” However, they looked smooth and soft, even in the dark and he sort of wished he could have touched them.
“Huh, and what about tattoos?” Sehun continued as if marking off a mental checklist.
“Er, again not that I could see.”
“Uh huh, and was he tall?”
“No, not really. I mean, I was taller than him by quite a bit.”
Sehun’s eyes closed. “So you got outmanned by a most likely harmless dude?”
“Hey!” Jongin exclaimed offensively. “If you’d seen the guy, you would’ve hightailed it the other way, too!”
“Maybe, maybe not. I guess we’ll never find out, will we?” Sehun teased cheekily, leaning back in his chair.
Jongin felt nearly ready to smack his so-called friend upside the head, but was interrupted by a knocking on the door. “Is that Lu Hua?”
Sehun nodded, standing up and dumping his bowl in the sink. “Yeah. She said she wanted to talk to me about something. You have classes today?”
“Yeah, I should probably get going,” Jongin answered, following Sehun to the door to say a quick hello and grabbed his shoes, slipping them on quickly.
Sehun opened the front door revealing his longtime girlfriend, dressed in her usual tomboy attire of jeans and Manchester United hoodie.
“Hey, baby,” Sehun said, leaning down and pecking her cheek as she entered the apartment.
“’Sup, Lu Hua?” Jongin greeted her, waving from behind Sehun, smiling brightly at the older woman.
Lu Hua rolled her eyes before grinning at Jongin. “Even after three years of dating Sehun, you’re still calling me by my full name?”
Jongin shrugged. “It’s got a nice ring to it, don’tcha think?”
“If you say so.”
Jongin noticed Lu Hua’s smile falter quickly and judging by her slightly slumped figure, it was apparent she probably wasn’t in the best of moods. He thought it best not to ask since she was here for Sehun anyway.
“Um, well I need to get going now. Will you still be here later, Lu Hua?”
Lu Hua bit her lip and hesitantly side looked at her boyfriend who was watching her. “Probably not.”
Jongin nodded understandingly. “Alright. Later, guys.”
He threw his bag over his back and left the couple, closing the door behind him before quickly making his way from the apartment complex. Hopefully everything would still be fine when he returned.
His morning class was droning on like forever as always and also due to his lack of sleep the night before, he found himself nodding off in the middle of the lecture off and on. He really wasn’t looking forward to his ballet class after his History of Dance course, and judging by the way he was feeling now, he was hoping he didn’t puke in the middle of it.
Fortunately, he did not throw up, which he was grateful for. And now all sweaty and even more tired than he was before, he trudged back to his apartment complex at two in the afternoon, throwing his bag on the pile of shoes after he walked through the door.
“I’m back!” he called out to the quiet flat, listening for any movement. There wasn’t any, not even a yell in return. Jongin checked the living room and kitchen, finding no one, then knocked on Sehun’s closed bedroom door. Which was odd, because he didn’t normally close it unless Lu Hua was around and also occupying the bedroom.
“Sehun, I’m back. Is Lu Hua still here?”
He heard the sound of footsteps and a muffled creak of the bedsprings before Sehun replied in a wavered voice, “No, she left earlier.”
Jongin’s lips twitched in a small grin. “Sure, man,” he said, not believing his friend and turned on his heel. “Just try not to be too loud, alright? I’m gonna take a nap.”
He didn’t stick around in case Sehun yelled at him some more and escaped to his room, deciding against a shower despite his probably dislikable stench from the dancing. Instead he tore off his shirt and collapsed onto his welcoming bed, breathing slowly only for a few short minutes before drifting off to sleep.
Later that evening he awoke well-rested to the aroma of greasy pizza wafting in from the living room. He followed the smell to find three pizza boxes (one already completely eaten) and a lazy Sehun on the couch, shoveling pizza into his mouth while watching some drama on the TV.
“You’ve finished one box and you’re still eating?” Jongin questioned in awe before leaning down and snagging a slice of meat-topped pizza.
“Hungry, s’all,” Sehun grunted, mouth full of pizza as he stared emotionlessly at the television screen.
Jongin noticed the mood descend from the usually happy atmosphere to a dark, sullen one. Jongin looked closer and saw an unusual added whiteness to Sehun’s already pale face, decorated with red-rimmed eyes and dark circles. Suddenly, Jongin wasn’t feeling so good anymore. Peeking down the hall to Sehun’s now open bedroom door, there was no sign that Lu Hua had even been there.
“Dude, is everything alright?” he asked concernedly, eyed knitting in a worried expression.
Sehun didn’t answer, only continuing to stare into the void of moving pixels but not really watching. It was like he wasn’t really there.
Jongin decided not to press further, figuring it had something to do with Sehun’s girlfriend’s weird behavior earlier that day. It wasn’t really his business anyway, so he figured he’d better stay out of it.
Grabbing another couple slices of pizza, Jongin retreated back to his room and stayed there for the remainder of the night. He didn’t hear Sehun return to his room or the TV shut off.
Perhaps Sehun would be back to normal the next morning, Jongin wished hopefully.
However, Sehun wasn’t back to normal.
The remainder of that week wasn’t normal following that off-kilter Tuesday. Every day when Jongin awoke, Sehun was like a walking, lifeless meat sack, answering questions with short, curt answers. He went to classes and did his homework, but he didn’t play video games when Jongin offered and stayed up late in front of the TV every night, stuffing popcorn and chips in his mouth. And in the mornings, Sehun would sit at the table in the kitchen, but he wouldn’t eat anything.
At least he still showered, Jongin thought helplessly to himself as he watched Sehun stare emotionlessly at the smooth tabletop in the kitchen.
And oddly, Sehun wasn’t talking to Lu Hua, or that Jongin knew of at least.
No chatting phone calls, no home visits, no Facebook messages or status updates about their lovey-dovey relationship. Jongin was even beginning to miss the constant beeping of Sehun’s text notifications.
Something definitely happened between the couple and it wasn’t good.
He really hoped they didn’t break up. Lu Hua made the best brownies.
When Sunday finally rolled around and neither roommates had classes, Jongin decided he was fed up with stagnant, lifeless Sehun. That morning, Jongin stomped into the living room and shoved awake a snoring Sehun on the couch.
“Go get dressed, Sehun,” he ordered, crossing his arms.
Sehun squinted at the morning light, spotting a blurry looking Jongin standing over him. “Leave me ‘lone,” he mumbled tiredly, resting his head back on his arms.
Jongin sighed heavily and harshly slapped the small go Sehun’s back, earning a yelp from the younger man. “Sehun, wake up and get your clothes on. I want to get some lunch.”
“Then go get lunch,” Sehun growled in response, glaring at his friend unamused. “You don’t need me to take you there.”
“You need to get out of the apartment and do something.”
“I went to class yesterday, so shut up.”
Jongin pursed his lips in annoyance. “Dude, you’re not okay. You’re acting like a fucking zombie and honestly, it’s a little unnerving to me. I get that you’re upset or whatever, but just try to go out with me today, okay? And eat something healthy for once or you’re not going to fit into your pants for the showcase next month.”
Sehun groaned and hid his face in his arms once again, huffing in a defeated manner. “I don’t wanna go out, though…”
Jongin could practically feel the depression invading his own self. “Did you and Lu Hua have a fight or something?” he asked calmly, trying to sympathize with his crestfallen friend.
Sehun exhaled loudly, lifting his head again, but not looking at Jongin. “No, but…,” he trailed off, squeezing his eyes shut. “Look, I really do not want to talk about it. If I go out with you, will you promise not to ask about it?”
Jongin nodded immediately, “Yeah, of course.”
“Better yet, just not talk about…her.”
Jongin felt a strange pull at his heartstrings as the sound of his friend’s depressed and broken sounding voice, but obliged and agreed to the terms. “Be ready in thirty minutes, alright?”
Jongin took a quick shower and got dressed, slipping his ratty sneakers on along with his university sweatshirt, waiting by the front door. A few moments later, Sehun followed suit, actually dressed like a human being for the day.
They two walked to a vegan restaurant a good walk from their apartment, much to Sehun’s dismay, and took a seat at a table in the far corner of the joint. Sehun grimaced at the menu items, looking at Jongin with a stink eye. “I’m picking the place next time.”
“Hey, you’ve eaten probably a hundred pizzas in the last week. Excuse me for wanting to detox your body with something that’s actually good for you,” Jongin replied before taking a sip of his water.
Sehun shook his head in sheer disappointed as he argued, “You’re punishing me for being sad by forcing me to eat rabbit food. That’s just cruel.”
“You’ll get over it.”
They ordered their food and talked about their courses and the upcoming showcase for their dance class, avoiding any topic related to Sehun’s (ex?) girlfriend the best they could, the restaurant door jingling the bells on the doorknob together with every entering customer.
They were just about to eat when a stranger approached their table, crossing their arms defensively as they stared at Jongin with a menacing smile and intimidating, focused eyes Jongin vividly remembered.
“Oh fuck,” Jongin gasped, ignoring Sehun’s questioning look, and stared appalled up at the man he truly wished to forget.
The man, the owner of the apartment Jongin had attempted to burglar earlier that week, greeted him.
“Fancy meeting you here, asshole.”
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