Let's Go on a Round Trip; Taemin/Jonghyun; PG
Let's Go on a Round Trip!
833 words. PG.
- SHINeee; Taemin/Jonghyun.
author onew
summary Jonghyun knows everything about the world. Taemin, meanwhile, knows everything about Jonghyun.
notes Special thanks to Bardo dubulove for the moral support and helping me decide on the path to take for the ending. For Kate keight_michelle, because it's TaeHyun. ♥
o1. It's a little past seven in the morning and Taemin is slumped against the wall of the practice room. The floor feels cold against his skin. When someone pokes him lightly in his side and he opens his eyes, he knows almost instantly he's completely owned and immobilized and, "Hi, I'm Kim Jonghyun. Mind if I join you here?"
Almost instantly, he knows Jonghyun is the one.
o2. Taemin only ever sees Jonghyun when dance practice is over. God-given talent puts them on opposite sides of the building, and Taemin is more than pleased when he catches Jonghyun's eye on his way to the lockers. "I never see you around," Jonghyun calls out. A tentative silence hangs between them and Taemin pauses for a while, then waves. A small smile surfaces on Jonghyun's lips as he shakes his head.
Taemin takes the long route home that day, walking with Jonghyun to the subway and running back to the building once Jonghyun catches the train so he can catch the bus home. Just before the doors of the train close, Taemin feels compelled to say something, so he does. "I never hear you sing!" Taemin's not sure if Jonghyun hears it. Then Jonghyun places his index finger close to his lips as a reply.
o3. They're put together with a certain Kibum, Jinki and Minho to form a group. It's their first day practicing together, and the instructor makes sure to make the session living hell for them. Halfway through vocal practice, Jonghyun raises his hands, asks for a break. Taemin slips from the crowd, peeks at Jonghyun from a good three feet.
"My voice is pretty scratchy somewhere in the refrain." Jonghyun mumbles. Taemin nods thoughtfully, replying with his voice barely above a whisper, "It should sound like this." Then Taemin hits that high note perfectly, and there's a familiar curve in the corner of Jonghyun's mouth. The 10-minute break is consumed by their small vocal practice. At the end of the session, Jonghyun pleads for water.
"They said something about me being lead singer, if we ever debut as a group," Jonghyun whispers when he grabs Taemin by the wrist, pulls him close enough so that whispering looks like he's giving Taemin a kiss. "I think you'll do better." Then Jonghyun lets go and leaves Taemin gasping for air, and when they shuffle to their positions Taemin could only ever think about singing with Jonghyun, and how lovely that would be.
o4. It's their first Mutizen. Taemin fights the tears threatening to fall, and laughs at the mess that Jonghyun is when he finds Jonghyun unable to stop crying. Only he and Minho ever remain tough enough not to cry, and when Jinki gets his act together Jinki goes back to assuming the leader position.
Jonghyun is in Taemin's spot and Taemin is in Jonghyun's so Taemin feels it is but appropriate to sling an arm around Jonghyun and whisper, "You do it best," in an attempt to make Jonghyun stop crying. But to no avail.
So he makes things simpler and gives Jonghyun a quick hug. Just as quickly, Jonghyun's breath hitches and he stops crying.
o5. It's their first Christmas out of the country, together. It feels weird inhaling foreign air on Christmas eve. Kibum's busy unpacking the food they bought and Minho's helping him out. Jinki's the one Kibum has so conveniently sent out to buy the chips they forgot to get earlier this day. Taemin's busy repositioning himself in the whole setting, locked in the room. Even the soft tick-tock of the clock sounds different here.
"You seem lost." Taemin almost jumps when he hears the voice, and he quickly turns around to catch Jonghyun smiling. "Mind if I join you here?" Taemin hears the same old Jonghyun, the one he's met years back, so he lets on and Jonghyun sits beside him, leans in. Almost instantly, Taemin knows what's going to happen - they'd probably share the silence and stare into oblivion until the clock strikes twelve. But then Jonghyun's lips reach for Taemin's and Taemin's a bit too submissive. When Jonghyun pulls back, there's a faint smile on his lips, and he just chuckles and leaves. Taemin clutches tightly at his heart.
Almost instantly, he knows he's in love.
(Their second New Year shouldn't be any different from the previous. It's just like Christmas, too, but this time Taemin's lounging in the balcony. When he hears footsteps, he's certain it's Jonghyun, and he's right. "You seem lost," Jonghyun whispers. Taemin shakes his head, replies, "Not really." And it's like last year's Christmas all over again, except Taemin's the one leaning in and Jonghyun's the one with eyes wide open. There's this newfound courage when their lips meet halfway. There's no trace of submissiveness, no trace of doubt. Jonghyun clutches at Taemin's shirt tightly. When Taemin pulls away, there's a faint smile on his lips and Jonghyun still hasn't let go of his shirt.
He just knows.)