A First Time for Everything (Drabble Challenge 100!)
Title: A First Time for Everything
Author: Eliza
Word count: 6 x 100
Concrit?: Yes, please.
Author's Notes: The first five drabbles relate directly to stories told on the Korean variety show “Come to Play” broadcast in October '08. I made up everything else. Rana gave her approval of the project.
When management finally concedes they are all old enough to admit on television that they've kissed someone, Junsu decides to tell the truth.
He's always the happy face, the first to put a smile over the roughest patches. He's also been at SME the longest and Yoochun sees where the rough patches left scars. He won't tell the whole story of the anniversary date in the garage, or repeat the words spilled between the tears after it, but he'll say enough to be a reminder that no one gave them the opportunity to stand on stage--they paid for it.
~~~
Yoochun has always professed the philosophy that each time you kiss someone for the first time, it's a “first kiss.” It's his excuse for having a new story every time the ubiquitous question is asked. It's become a game for the rest of them to try and guess which parts of the story are true, because Yoochun's interview answers always have what he calls a balancing element of bullshit.
Changmin plays along this time, too, but he knows which parts are a lie; he remembers the snow and the cold and the warmth. The trust and the comforting silence.
~~~
Jaejoong always tells the same story when asked about his first kiss, a true one about it being taken instead of shared. He was only twelve, he says, and, no, she didn't become his girlfriend; it gets brushed-off as an amusing childhood event.
But it hurts Yunho's heart every time he hears it, because he's seen the sequels to the story. He's seen how Jaejoong retreats to the gym after having to sidestep propositions, smile at leers, and tolerate intruding hands as part of being in this business, building strength as a safeguard against anything else of value being taken.
~~~
Yunho tells his story to Junsu first, in quiet tones while the rest bang around in the kitchen. It's similar to Jaejoong's tale, told from the opposite point of view, shocking only in how common it is, how easy it is to believe Yunho, at that age, would take what he wanted because he had been told that's how a man behaves. “Should I?” he asks, shame seeming to battle with a desire for atonement.
Junsu nods slowly. The others should hear it first; they are the first-hand witnesses to how much Yunho has grown from that thoughtless boy.
~~~
Changmin's making his story up. On principle. The complete choreography of his personal life grates against his nerves like steel-wool. He's not giving away the few pieces which are still his alone.
The others smile as he rants, comfort found in a familiar theme. And they help create the story, the highlight being a reveal of Changmin's hidden talent with a knife.
“Now you can be the one stuck in the kitchen in all the stories,” Jaejoong says wryly, avoiding Changmin's swipe easily. He can tell Changmin's pleased to find something he wants to give the fans--something true.
~~~
When Dong Bang Shin Ki finally decide they are old enough to admit that they'd been taken advantage of, they can't decide what should be done. They debate the value of promises made under conditions half-disclosed or withheld, and come to no conclusions.
For the first time since their début, they let their individual hearts dictate their paths, but they agree on one other thing: if they can't speak the truth in their hearts then they will say nothing. No pretty stories to pacify the fans. No statements to appease management on either side.
They seal it with a kiss.
Author: Eliza
Word count: 6 x 100
Concrit?: Yes, please.
Author's Notes: The first five drabbles relate directly to stories told on the Korean variety show “Come to Play” broadcast in October '08. I made up everything else. Rana gave her approval of the project.
When management finally concedes they are all old enough to admit on television that they've kissed someone, Junsu decides to tell the truth.
He's always the happy face, the first to put a smile over the roughest patches. He's also been at SME the longest and Yoochun sees where the rough patches left scars. He won't tell the whole story of the anniversary date in the garage, or repeat the words spilled between the tears after it, but he'll say enough to be a reminder that no one gave them the opportunity to stand on stage--they paid for it.
~~~
Yoochun has always professed the philosophy that each time you kiss someone for the first time, it's a “first kiss.” It's his excuse for having a new story every time the ubiquitous question is asked. It's become a game for the rest of them to try and guess which parts of the story are true, because Yoochun's interview answers always have what he calls a balancing element of bullshit.
Changmin plays along this time, too, but he knows which parts are a lie; he remembers the snow and the cold and the warmth. The trust and the comforting silence.
~~~
Jaejoong always tells the same story when asked about his first kiss, a true one about it being taken instead of shared. He was only twelve, he says, and, no, she didn't become his girlfriend; it gets brushed-off as an amusing childhood event.
But it hurts Yunho's heart every time he hears it, because he's seen the sequels to the story. He's seen how Jaejoong retreats to the gym after having to sidestep propositions, smile at leers, and tolerate intruding hands as part of being in this business, building strength as a safeguard against anything else of value being taken.
~~~
Yunho tells his story to Junsu first, in quiet tones while the rest bang around in the kitchen. It's similar to Jaejoong's tale, told from the opposite point of view, shocking only in how common it is, how easy it is to believe Yunho, at that age, would take what he wanted because he had been told that's how a man behaves. “Should I?” he asks, shame seeming to battle with a desire for atonement.
Junsu nods slowly. The others should hear it first; they are the first-hand witnesses to how much Yunho has grown from that thoughtless boy.
~~~
Changmin's making his story up. On principle. The complete choreography of his personal life grates against his nerves like steel-wool. He's not giving away the few pieces which are still his alone.
The others smile as he rants, comfort found in a familiar theme. And they help create the story, the highlight being a reveal of Changmin's hidden talent with a knife.
“Now you can be the one stuck in the kitchen in all the stories,” Jaejoong says wryly, avoiding Changmin's swipe easily. He can tell Changmin's pleased to find something he wants to give the fans--something true.
~~~
When Dong Bang Shin Ki finally decide they are old enough to admit that they'd been taken advantage of, they can't decide what should be done. They debate the value of promises made under conditions half-disclosed or withheld, and come to no conclusions.
For the first time since their début, they let their individual hearts dictate their paths, but they agree on one other thing: if they can't speak the truth in their hearts then they will say nothing. No pretty stories to pacify the fans. No statements to appease management on either side.
They seal it with a kiss.