[fic] pretty the world, jonghyun/minho
title: pretty the world
author: loverotations
pairing: jonghyun/minho
rating: pg
genre: friendship, romance.
summary: despite choi minho being deaf, he and jonghyun find new ways to understand each other.
anyone that knows kim jonghyun knows that his heart lies in the strum of his guitar, amongst messy a-minors and half-crumpled sheet music. he is not only characterized by a brilliant smile but by ink-stained fingers and marks left on his cheeks from nights passed out on his piano. and anyone that knows kim jonghyun knows the air he breathes is like the melody he sings, and life is music itself.
he pushes through another set of doors before breaking out into a sprint while being as careful as possible with his guitar because i'm late, i'm late, i'm late and that too, on his first day of being voluntold to keep the son of his mother's friend company every so often. he can see the coffee shop from where he is, at the end of the mall's phase and he sprints through the crowds to reach it somewhat on time.
the cafe is quiet and almost empty when he reaches its entrance, only the faint jazz in the background and jonghyun's panting heard, along with the sound of the rag the barista was cleaning the counters with. the barista looks up at him; he's rather tall and cute young man, younger than jonghyun himself, with long copper-red hair and a smile on his face. he bows respectfully; and jonghyun bows back before he peers around the cafe for a guy that looked his age.
he sees him settled in the back corner of the cafe, in a rounded booth that looked as though it had caved into the wall. there's a cup of coffee in front of him, but as jonghyun approaches he can see the non-dairy creamer floating atop the surface.
"excuse me," he says quietly. he doesn't look up, he doesn't even flinch in surprise at the sound of his voice. he just turns the page of his slightly-worn novel and keeps reading.
"excuse me," jonghyun says again, this time louder and a little agitatedly. nothing. he takes a step closer.
as soon as he shifts closer the other glances up and smiles. all of jonghyun's previous annoyance melts away and he smiles back.
"are you choi minho?" he pauses for a moment, as though he was composing something in his mind, and then he simply nods.
"great! i'm kim jonghyun, i think my mom knows your mom? yeah, she told me to come hang out with you cause you needed some friends your age--but you're really handsome! so i wonder why i--what? is there something on my face?" minho starts to go red, blinking a few times shyly before he scrawls something down on a page of a notebook (that he hadn't noticed before) and pushes it over to him.
i can't hear you.
-
jonghyun and minho talk through the notebook for four hours, until the barista shyly lets them know the shop is going to close, but if they want to stay late another time he can let them.
he walks minho home, keeping him close even though he's been deaf since birth and can do things on his own and he's built pretty well (exceptionally well), seoul city was busy and dangerous. minho lets jonghyun slide his arm through his own as they walk home. it's just to be safe, right?
just to be safe.
-
for a few months (jonghyun's lost count himself), jonghyun meets minho almost every day when university and work permitted. each time, minho has a different novel. some days, he's tapping away on his macbook. jonghyun never knows what, but it always makes minho look like an genius novelist like on tv.
he finds out that because of his deafness, minho doesn't attend regular university classes. sometimes, he does attend the mathematics courses that he can, but otherwise his parents have brought in a world-class sign language professor to teach him, one on one. minho's intelligent. he likes sports, especially soccer. his favorite color is blue. he likes to watch fred astaire films even though he cannot hear the songs in them. jonghyun learns minho's smile is the brightest thing he's ever seen (and he's seen a lot of things), that minho's gentle embraces when jonghyun's stressed and a wreck because of songs that won't flow correctly make him feel like he can write a million more during the few seconds the hugs last.
jonghyun learns that minho is really, really wonderful.
and without fully knowing, he stops bringing his guitar to these meetings.
but despite how much fun he has with minho even though most of the time minho's reading his lips or they're writing down in the notebook, jonghyun disappears for two weeks from minho's carefully created world, under the guise of classes being demanding.
-
it's one fateful day when jonghyun's mother tells him they've been invited over to the choi manor for dinner. he puts on his best semi-formal wear and even the glasses he so rarely wears out before he and his mother drive over to the address given.
"hoooooly crap," is all jonghyun can say when they reach the building. his mother snickers a little bit at him, nudging him along the path woven through perfectly cared-for, brilliant green grass up to the entrance.
"aish, this kid...he didn't tell me his house was a frickin' castle," jonghyun grumbles, flicking his hair haphazardly out of his eyes and clutching the bouquet of flowers they'd brought while they wait for the door to be answered. it takes a minute or so (no surprise there) for someone to answer it and he watches while his mother (tiny like him) is swept up into the girlish embrace of a much taller woman.
"yunhee-ah! oh, it's been far too long..." the woman, after ushering in jonghyun's mother and himself, flashes a gentle, all-too-familiar smile at jonghyun. she reaches out and gently rests her hand on his cheek.
"and you must be jonghyun, hmm? i'm choi eunah, minho's umma. minho tells me all about you. he says your studies have been occupying you lately, i hope they are going well." jonghyun's heart flutters when he hears minho talks about him and shares a glance with his mother before bowing respectfully to the tall, willowy woman and offers the flowers, which she takes with that same radiant smile. she's beautiful, in almost the same way his own mother is, but with wider eyes and softer features.
it's no surprise to jonghyun they're friends, though, when the two women link arms, already giggling and chatting, and lead the way to the dining area. jonghyun awkwardly follows along after sliding his shoes off as his mother had done, when they come to a halt at a set of long, extravagant stairs.
"aigoo, my son..." mrs choi grumbles, shaking her head goodnaturedly. she unlinks her arm with mrs kim's and rests her hands on her hips. curiously, jonghyun peeks around her tall frame and his eyes lock onto a sheepish minho dressed in sweats and a hoodie. the taller boy shifts from foot to foot on one of the stairs as his mother eyes his clothing, scratching the back of his neck. his hands move quickly as he grins at his mother, and mrs choi's frown curls into a resigned smile. she still points up the stairs and he sighs. his eyes lock briefly with jonghyun's, almost coldly, before he jogs up the thousands of stairs, presumably to change.
jonghyun stares down at his own clothes and feels disgustingly overdressed.
mrs choi sighs and turns to jonghyun with an apologetic smile.
"i'm sorry about minho. he's a little sensitive lately...why don't you go up there to him?" his own mother hums in agreement, nudging jonghyun forward slightly.
"i--" but jonghyun has no time to protest because he's cut off by mrs choi nudging him as well, up the stairs.
"really, maybe i can wa--"
"no no, you two will have more things to do than to hang out with us old people downstairs. turn left at the top of the stairs, his room is the door at the end of the hallway.
when jonghyun reaches the door (after a while, since there are like eighty frickin' doors on that side of the second floor), he raises a fist to knock on the surface when he realizes that knocking would be useless. so he inhales deeply and twists the doorknob, opening the door up himself. and luckily (mostly) minho just finished pulling on a black v-neck over fitted jeans and jonghyun's mouth hangs open a little. minho must've noticed the door opening out of his peripheral vision because his head snaps to where jonghyun is standing at the entrance. minho's body relaxes when he sees it's only jonghyun there, and returns to looking into the large mirror above his dresser covered with expensive perfumes that still look full. jonghyun takes another step in and minho makes no more motions of acknowledging him.
he bites his lip, fixing his blazer while minho runs a hand through his short, black hair in an effort to make it look semi-styled.
jonghyun knows minho's upset. but he waits anyways, for more acknowledgment.
"don't be mad," he mouths into the mirror. he can see the wheels in minho's head turning and jonghyun feels relief wash over him. the taller turns to face him and sighs, hands in his pockets. he looks apologetic, but there are no notebooks around to communicate with.
jonghyun starst to move his hands.
my name is kim jonghyun. i am twenty years old. i am sorry i stopped meeting you for so long. this is why.
minho's eyes grow wide and he bites his lip, cheeks turning a delicate pink color. his hand forms a fist and he presses it to his mouth, chocolate-colored orbs filling with unshed tears before he beams bashfully, swiping at his eyes. minho starts to move his hands as well, slow and steady for jonghyun to be able to understand.
thank you. but i am learning your language, too.
he takes a step forward, reaching out to take jonghyun's small hand in his large one--and jonghyun notices tiny cuts that weren't there before at the tips of minho's long fingers. he's lead further into minho's room (which happens to be the size of his living room), brows furrowed and thoughts confused.
his language?
minho gently nudges him down onto his bed and for once, jonghyun obeys obediently. he's still confused and impatient until minho drags out a guitar case, opening it up to reveal one of the most beautiful acoustics jonghyun's ever seen. minho settles cross-legged on the floor in front of jonghyun, the guitar comfortably in his lap, and he starts to play a melody jonghyun recognizes. it's a little off-key and minho is playing very slowly and concentrated but it somehow sounds so beautiful to jonghyun's ears, that the scene in front of him is oh so beautiful (minho, the guitar, the music) that when minho looks up at him he's already crying and the younger boy scrambles to wipe his tears with his hands.
"did you learn that by yourself?" all knowledge of his own capabilities to sign are pushed aside temporarily. minho pauses, focused on his mouth and then nods shyly, embarassed.
"jesus...how?" he points to the strings and then his fingers.
vibrations, he signs. jonghyun leans forward, cupping minho's cheek with the proudest expression he can manage through tears.
"you're brilliant." minho smiles shyly again, lifting his hand to say something but before he can, jonghyun captures his lips in a gentle kiss, that lingers, and speaks the most universal language of all.
love.
saranghae.
-
anyone that knows kim jonghyun knows that now, his heart does not only lie in the strum of his guitar, amongst messy a-minors and half-crumpled sheet music, but in intertwined fingers and guitar lessons and the moments when he sings with minho's mouth pressed against the front of his neck to feel the beautiful vibrations.
it lies in minho's smile, it lies in minho's embrace. it lies in the gentle moments of exchanging good-morning smiles in the sunlight as they stretch awake.
music might have been jonghyun's life, but it has meaning this time around, now that he's got minho.
author: loverotations
pairing: jonghyun/minho
rating: pg
genre: friendship, romance.
summary: despite choi minho being deaf, he and jonghyun find new ways to understand each other.
anyone that knows kim jonghyun knows that his heart lies in the strum of his guitar, amongst messy a-minors and half-crumpled sheet music. he is not only characterized by a brilliant smile but by ink-stained fingers and marks left on his cheeks from nights passed out on his piano. and anyone that knows kim jonghyun knows the air he breathes is like the melody he sings, and life is music itself.
he pushes through another set of doors before breaking out into a sprint while being as careful as possible with his guitar because i'm late, i'm late, i'm late and that too, on his first day of being voluntold to keep the son of his mother's friend company every so often. he can see the coffee shop from where he is, at the end of the mall's phase and he sprints through the crowds to reach it somewhat on time.
the cafe is quiet and almost empty when he reaches its entrance, only the faint jazz in the background and jonghyun's panting heard, along with the sound of the rag the barista was cleaning the counters with. the barista looks up at him; he's rather tall and cute young man, younger than jonghyun himself, with long copper-red hair and a smile on his face. he bows respectfully; and jonghyun bows back before he peers around the cafe for a guy that looked his age.
he sees him settled in the back corner of the cafe, in a rounded booth that looked as though it had caved into the wall. there's a cup of coffee in front of him, but as jonghyun approaches he can see the non-dairy creamer floating atop the surface.
"excuse me," he says quietly. he doesn't look up, he doesn't even flinch in surprise at the sound of his voice. he just turns the page of his slightly-worn novel and keeps reading.
"excuse me," jonghyun says again, this time louder and a little agitatedly. nothing. he takes a step closer.
as soon as he shifts closer the other glances up and smiles. all of jonghyun's previous annoyance melts away and he smiles back.
"are you choi minho?" he pauses for a moment, as though he was composing something in his mind, and then he simply nods.
"great! i'm kim jonghyun, i think my mom knows your mom? yeah, she told me to come hang out with you cause you needed some friends your age--but you're really handsome! so i wonder why i--what? is there something on my face?" minho starts to go red, blinking a few times shyly before he scrawls something down on a page of a notebook (that he hadn't noticed before) and pushes it over to him.
i can't hear you.
-
jonghyun and minho talk through the notebook for four hours, until the barista shyly lets them know the shop is going to close, but if they want to stay late another time he can let them.
he walks minho home, keeping him close even though he's been deaf since birth and can do things on his own and he's built pretty well (exceptionally well), seoul city was busy and dangerous. minho lets jonghyun slide his arm through his own as they walk home. it's just to be safe, right?
just to be safe.
-
for a few months (jonghyun's lost count himself), jonghyun meets minho almost every day when university and work permitted. each time, minho has a different novel. some days, he's tapping away on his macbook. jonghyun never knows what, but it always makes minho look like an genius novelist like on tv.
he finds out that because of his deafness, minho doesn't attend regular university classes. sometimes, he does attend the mathematics courses that he can, but otherwise his parents have brought in a world-class sign language professor to teach him, one on one. minho's intelligent. he likes sports, especially soccer. his favorite color is blue. he likes to watch fred astaire films even though he cannot hear the songs in them. jonghyun learns minho's smile is the brightest thing he's ever seen (and he's seen a lot of things), that minho's gentle embraces when jonghyun's stressed and a wreck because of songs that won't flow correctly make him feel like he can write a million more during the few seconds the hugs last.
jonghyun learns that minho is really, really wonderful.
and without fully knowing, he stops bringing his guitar to these meetings.
but despite how much fun he has with minho even though most of the time minho's reading his lips or they're writing down in the notebook, jonghyun disappears for two weeks from minho's carefully created world, under the guise of classes being demanding.
-
it's one fateful day when jonghyun's mother tells him they've been invited over to the choi manor for dinner. he puts on his best semi-formal wear and even the glasses he so rarely wears out before he and his mother drive over to the address given.
"hoooooly crap," is all jonghyun can say when they reach the building. his mother snickers a little bit at him, nudging him along the path woven through perfectly cared-for, brilliant green grass up to the entrance.
"aish, this kid...he didn't tell me his house was a frickin' castle," jonghyun grumbles, flicking his hair haphazardly out of his eyes and clutching the bouquet of flowers they'd brought while they wait for the door to be answered. it takes a minute or so (no surprise there) for someone to answer it and he watches while his mother (tiny like him) is swept up into the girlish embrace of a much taller woman.
"yunhee-ah! oh, it's been far too long..." the woman, after ushering in jonghyun's mother and himself, flashes a gentle, all-too-familiar smile at jonghyun. she reaches out and gently rests her hand on his cheek.
"and you must be jonghyun, hmm? i'm choi eunah, minho's umma. minho tells me all about you. he says your studies have been occupying you lately, i hope they are going well." jonghyun's heart flutters when he hears minho talks about him and shares a glance with his mother before bowing respectfully to the tall, willowy woman and offers the flowers, which she takes with that same radiant smile. she's beautiful, in almost the same way his own mother is, but with wider eyes and softer features.
it's no surprise to jonghyun they're friends, though, when the two women link arms, already giggling and chatting, and lead the way to the dining area. jonghyun awkwardly follows along after sliding his shoes off as his mother had done, when they come to a halt at a set of long, extravagant stairs.
"aigoo, my son..." mrs choi grumbles, shaking her head goodnaturedly. she unlinks her arm with mrs kim's and rests her hands on her hips. curiously, jonghyun peeks around her tall frame and his eyes lock onto a sheepish minho dressed in sweats and a hoodie. the taller boy shifts from foot to foot on one of the stairs as his mother eyes his clothing, scratching the back of his neck. his hands move quickly as he grins at his mother, and mrs choi's frown curls into a resigned smile. she still points up the stairs and he sighs. his eyes lock briefly with jonghyun's, almost coldly, before he jogs up the thousands of stairs, presumably to change.
jonghyun stares down at his own clothes and feels disgustingly overdressed.
mrs choi sighs and turns to jonghyun with an apologetic smile.
"i'm sorry about minho. he's a little sensitive lately...why don't you go up there to him?" his own mother hums in agreement, nudging jonghyun forward slightly.
"i--" but jonghyun has no time to protest because he's cut off by mrs choi nudging him as well, up the stairs.
"really, maybe i can wa--"
"no no, you two will have more things to do than to hang out with us old people downstairs. turn left at the top of the stairs, his room is the door at the end of the hallway.
when jonghyun reaches the door (after a while, since there are like eighty frickin' doors on that side of the second floor), he raises a fist to knock on the surface when he realizes that knocking would be useless. so he inhales deeply and twists the doorknob, opening the door up himself. and luckily (mostly) minho just finished pulling on a black v-neck over fitted jeans and jonghyun's mouth hangs open a little. minho must've noticed the door opening out of his peripheral vision because his head snaps to where jonghyun is standing at the entrance. minho's body relaxes when he sees it's only jonghyun there, and returns to looking into the large mirror above his dresser covered with expensive perfumes that still look full. jonghyun takes another step in and minho makes no more motions of acknowledging him.
he bites his lip, fixing his blazer while minho runs a hand through his short, black hair in an effort to make it look semi-styled.
jonghyun knows minho's upset. but he waits anyways, for more acknowledgment.
"don't be mad," he mouths into the mirror. he can see the wheels in minho's head turning and jonghyun feels relief wash over him. the taller turns to face him and sighs, hands in his pockets. he looks apologetic, but there are no notebooks around to communicate with.
jonghyun starst to move his hands.
my name is kim jonghyun. i am twenty years old. i am sorry i stopped meeting you for so long. this is why.
minho's eyes grow wide and he bites his lip, cheeks turning a delicate pink color. his hand forms a fist and he presses it to his mouth, chocolate-colored orbs filling with unshed tears before he beams bashfully, swiping at his eyes. minho starts to move his hands as well, slow and steady for jonghyun to be able to understand.
thank you. but i am learning your language, too.
he takes a step forward, reaching out to take jonghyun's small hand in his large one--and jonghyun notices tiny cuts that weren't there before at the tips of minho's long fingers. he's lead further into minho's room (which happens to be the size of his living room), brows furrowed and thoughts confused.
his language?
minho gently nudges him down onto his bed and for once, jonghyun obeys obediently. he's still confused and impatient until minho drags out a guitar case, opening it up to reveal one of the most beautiful acoustics jonghyun's ever seen. minho settles cross-legged on the floor in front of jonghyun, the guitar comfortably in his lap, and he starts to play a melody jonghyun recognizes. it's a little off-key and minho is playing very slowly and concentrated but it somehow sounds so beautiful to jonghyun's ears, that the scene in front of him is oh so beautiful (minho, the guitar, the music) that when minho looks up at him he's already crying and the younger boy scrambles to wipe his tears with his hands.
"did you learn that by yourself?" all knowledge of his own capabilities to sign are pushed aside temporarily. minho pauses, focused on his mouth and then nods shyly, embarassed.
"jesus...how?" he points to the strings and then his fingers.
vibrations, he signs. jonghyun leans forward, cupping minho's cheek with the proudest expression he can manage through tears.
"you're brilliant." minho smiles shyly again, lifting his hand to say something but before he can, jonghyun captures his lips in a gentle kiss, that lingers, and speaks the most universal language of all.
love.
saranghae.
-
anyone that knows kim jonghyun knows that now, his heart does not only lie in the strum of his guitar, amongst messy a-minors and half-crumpled sheet music, but in intertwined fingers and guitar lessons and the moments when he sings with minho's mouth pressed against the front of his neck to feel the beautiful vibrations.
it lies in minho's smile, it lies in minho's embrace. it lies in the gentle moments of exchanging good-morning smiles in the sunlight as they stretch awake.
music might have been jonghyun's life, but it has meaning this time around, now that he's got minho.