006: 그대 한걸음만 다가와요. [5/12]
This chapter takes place around the time of DBSK's Mirotic concert in Seoul last year. \*^*/ (Ahhh, my earlier days in K-Pop fandom...)
Special appearances by Jaejoong and Yoona in this chapter. I especially enjoyed writing about the former, though. /hides bias But ANYWAY.
Hope this update is enjoyable enough...and expect the next chapter to be posted by later tonight. :')) ♥
V. 내 맘을 모르는 그대라도…
[ Even if you don’t know my feelings… ]
They went to Dong Bang Shin Ki’s last concert on the Mirotic tour to support them - but also to support Kibum, who would be a guest .
Most of the noona-deul from SNSD and the hyung-deul from Super Junior were there, too. Minho couldn’t find Sunny or Hyoyeon, but he spoke with Yoona for a good five minutes catching up on life since they had seen each other on the set of Gee. Half of that time was spent telling the other girls that appeared where Kibum was.
The other half of that time was spent looking around every five seconds for Taemin, who disappeared with Yunho nearly ten minutes ago.
He shouldn’t have been so nervous, really (Yunho was a trustworthy guy, and Minho had always thought of him as everyone’s big brother), but backstage had become an absolutely chaotic place now and he didn’t want to lose track of where everyone else was. It was hard enough to find anything in the throng of staff members and idol group members wandering in and out of the dressing area.
“Hi.” Suddenly, Jaejoong came up to them, sending Yoona a brief glance and an apologetic nod. “Could I talk to you for a second? Sorry about this, Yoona-sshi.”
“No problem, oppa!” Yoona’s gentle eye smile appeared, the kind that was charming and unreadable all at once. “He’s all yours.” With a light wave. “See you around, I guess?”
Jaejoong led him all the way to the bathroom at the end of the hall - and all the while, Minho followed him fighting back the apprehension building in the pit of his stomach.
Truthfully, he didn’t know Jaejoong all that well. He didn’t even know why he agreed to have this private talk. But he heard lots of things from Jinki (who was surprisingly close with the older man) about Jaejoong. And one of the things Jinki warned him about came to mind the moment he pulled Minho aside.
If Jaejoong wants to ‘talk with you’ privately, it’s usually to talk about one of three things: a favor, a rumor, or romance.
Minho hoped it wasn’t the former, but he really hoped it wasn’t the latter.
“Minho-yah.” Jaejoong’s tone was soft and melodious, but it was - as always - filled with sentiment untold. “There’s a couple of things I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
Minho felt his heart skip a beat, eyes wide. “Like what, hyung?”
“…I guess I should just be upfront about this.” Running a hand absently through mussed brown locks, Jaejoong sighed. “Minho-yah, you’re happy, aren’t you? Right now?”
“Of course I am,” was Minho’s automatic reply. He had a group of four friends who were like brothers to him, a career that was just taking off, and a promising future ahead of him. “That’s…kind of a weird thing to ask, isn’t it-?”
“Second question.” Jaejoong pressed on without any hesitation, but his next words were punctuated by a warm smile. “Do you have anything you couldn’t stand to lose right now?”
Minho hummed, carefully turning the question over in his mind. “Something…or someone?”
“You’re a smart boy, Minho-yah.” Jaejoong grinned, ruffling Minho’s hair. “I figured you’d know what I meant.”
Minho shut his eyes, thinking of all the things he had in his life to be grateful for. His parents, who both loved him dearly, definitely were first on the list. His brother, who he tried his best to still keep in contact with, was another person. SHINee, of course, the group that had become like his family.
He thought of Taemin - his bright-eyed, energetic, precious dongsaeng - and how quickly they had become friends in the past months he had spent with SHINee.
“There’s too much I’d be scared to lose,” Minho admitted, adjusting the collar to his jacket. “I guess it’s selfish of me, but…I would be afraid to lose anything in my life right now.” He chuckled. “I’m happy, so I guess that’s why.”
The simple response rendered Jaejoong speechless. Minho blinked a few times, wondering if the thoughtful expression on his hyung’s face would disappear soon enough. It didn’t.
But to his surprise, Jaejoong suddenly bumped shoulders with the tall boy, wrapping him in a quick but firm hug.
“Third and final question.” After he pulled away, Jaejoong smiled. “You’ll take good care of Taemin-ah, won’t you?” There was a serious undercurrent to his voice. “He’s a good boy. Yunho-ah told me he cares about you a lot, so-”
“I will, hyung. I’ll take care of him.” Minho nodded, letting his gaze show how much he meant every word. “I promise.”
(Later, when Taemin found him standing between the speakers and the stage light controls, Minho took the smaller teen’s hand and squeezed it tightly, letting their fingers entwine and laughing off the ache in his heart that came from Jaejoong’s last words and the slow but sinking realization that this would be what he couldn’t stand to lose, after all.)
=====
Part 6