The Bet
Title: The Bet
Pairing: JaeMin
Rating: Pg-13
Genre: Humor
Length: Oneshot
Summary: Changmin is 100% sure that Jaejoong is in love with him. Thankfully he doesn't feel the same. Really. He doesn't.
It was a typical scene at DaeKwang high school. Students were milling around, bemoaning their practice test grades and trying to get some time in the sun before the start of after-school tuitions.
In particular, two familiar figures were lounging on the sports' field, one of them fuming as the other stood stoically by.
Changmin sighed as he looked at the smaller male next to him. He picked at his new Badminton uniform as Kim Jaejoong stood by, wearing the exact same outfit, yelling at him as he always did--telling the taller male to go away and stop stalking him.
Right, like Changmin was actually trying to stalk. Like he was trying to "sign up for every club Jaejoong was in" or "trying to end up in every place Jaejoong was".
"I can't help that we tragically share the same interests" Changmin finally drawled. "And we're in the same class, but that's because I'm smart so of course I'd be in the top class. We hang out in the same circles because I'm popular and everybody wants to be my friend. You think I'm stalking you? Get over yourself"
And then he left.
Jaejoong gaped before running after the boy, barking useless comments about the way Changmin looked or how much of an ass he was.
"You're the one running after me and you think I'm following you?" Changmin said.
"You can't just walk out in the middle of a conversation, you insufferable..."
"Oh please, don't bother cursing. We both know that you're just pining over me"
Jaejoong cursed one more time before turning around and going back to his friends. Changmin knew the other boy was probably telling them about how much he hated him, how he wanted to chop up every single part of his body and burn it in some kind of sick bonfire. The group of them started laughing.
But Changmin knew better.
Kim Jaejoong was actually in love with him.
It seemed strange for a guy like Jaejoong to like him. After all Changmin knew he was the smartest person in school, the most popular boy, and had a face that could make both sexes swoon. And as for Jaejoong....well Jaejoong was too pretty for his own good and scrawny and not good at sports. He did have a lot of friends but Changmin thought they were all idiots anyways. Plus, Jaejoong was a clumsy fool who smiled far too often and laughed even more than he smiled. And what a stupid, loud laugh he had. Sometimes when he was in bed at night, Changmin could still hear Jaejoong's laugh. It was that annoying.
So even if it was strange, Changmin knew it was no surprise that a weird guy like Jaejoong would fall for a perfect specimen such as himself.
And Changmin also knew that some part of Jaejoong was waiting for it to become true. That cliched thing that most people loved to read about; enemies turning into lovers. Yeah right. Like that was ever going to happen.
Because even if Jaejoong wished for it, Changmin just didn't like him. Ever since they were in kindergarden together Changmin had disliked the boy with the large eyes and stupid smile. Throughout elementary school he had broken Jaejoong's toys and stolen his snacks at lunchtime. Or stole all his crayons when the smaller boy refused to play with him during art time. See...even as a little kid he didn't like Jaejoong. And nothing had changed.
He didn't like Jaejoong.
He didn't like Jaejoong.
So Jaejoong could dream all he wanted, but nothing was ever going to happen between them.
~~~***~~~
It was Friday afternoon and Changmin walked out of the school only to see Jaejoong sitting on the ground by the front gates, leaning against the fence while reading his practice book. He walked over to the other boy and lightly kicked his side.
Jaejoong looked up in surprise, his cheeks bright red and body shaking slightly. Changmin smirked at the red decorating the boy's cheeks.
"Blushing now, are we?"
"You wish." Jaejoong answered easily. "In case you didn't notice, it's fucking freezing out here. That's why I'm red"
It was a rather cold day--as was expected for November--and Jaejoong was only wearing a light jacket. Changmin frowned at the site. What a stupid kid. He had grown up in Seoul all his life and he still didn't know how to dress properly? Seeing the other boy's shaking body was making him feel heavy in the chest, and that was annoying. He quickly ripped off his scarf and threw it at Jaejoong.
"Put it on, I can't stand to see your pathetic shivering anymore" Changmin mumbled, looking at the bag filled with Pepero that was lying on the floor next to Jaejoong's practice book. "Why the hell did you buy so much Pepero? You're going to get fat."
The other boy looked at the bag and then back up to Changmin with furrowed eyebrows. "It's Pepero day. I got these from random people. You're supposed to give them to someone you like"
Changmin sniffed, wondering why he hadn't gotten any that day. Then the answer dawned on him. Obviously Jaejoong had stolen all the Pepero that people tried to give him because he was jealous. Typical Jaejoong, being crazy and possessive over the object of his affections.
"Half of those are mine, aren't they? You stole all my pepero like a creeper"
"Or maybe nobody gave you any because you're cold and people are afraid of you"
"Everybody loves me"
"Your ego seriously has no end does it?"
A car pulled up and the sound of a horn honking pulled the two boys from their argument. They both looked over to see Jaejoong's mother and at least half of his crowd of sisters sitting in the car, waving at the two with a bright smiles on their faces.
Jaejoong immediately sat up and stuffed his practice book in his rucksack. He looked at his overflowing bag of Pepero and bit his bottom lip.
"We're all going to our uncle's place in Ansan right now" he mumbled. "If they see all the Pepero I got, I'll never hear the end of it. My sisters already tease me about confession letters I get"
"Probably making fun of you since I'm sure you write all those confession letters to yourself"
Jaejoong rolled his eyes and stuffed the bag full of treats into Changmin's arms. "Here, you're like a human trash bin, you take these."
"W...what?"
"I hope you eat so much you explode" Jaejoong said as he rushed past the other boy and to the car before his sisters started yelling and embarrassing him for life.
Changmin stared at the boxes of Pepero now in his arms. There had to be at least 50 of them in the bag, all with hearts and other cute messages drawn on them.
"Oh god, this kid really has it bad for me"
~~~***~~~
A week later, Changmin once again ran into Jaejoong as the boy sat in the entranceway after school. They had just finished their student council meeting (Changmin was convinced that the other boy was still mad at him because he had been voted as President while Jaejoong had to deal with being just the VP) a few moments before and the other members had already left. However Jaejoong...Jaejoong was just sitting on the fence and staring off into space.
Chamgmin knew what was going on. Jaejoong was waiting for him. How desperate was that?
Huffing, the taller boy put on his best sneer and made his way over to the smaller male.
"Are you serious?"
Jaejoong didn't even bother to look away from the tree that he was currently inspecting. "What are you on about this time, idiot?"
"When are you going to tell me that you like me and just get this over with?"
This made Jaejoong turn around. The smaller male's mouth and eyes were wide open. "What the...I don't like you. I can barely stand to be in..."
"Oh, shut up, Kim. I know already. But-"
"You know nothing, you annoying..."
"But" Changmin interrupted loudly. "it's obvious that you're no match for me. I mean, you have no social skills and you suck at making yourself look better. Even if you tried, you aren't my type. And I don't like men. Face it, Kim Jaejoong...I'm out of your league"
Jaejoong's eyebrows flew up the second that the insults started.
"Oh really now, Shim? You think that I can't make you fall for me?"
"I know you can't make me fall for you"
Jaejoong jumped off the fence and strode over to his classmate.
"So if you're so sure, how about we make a bet about it?"
Changmin considered the words before smirking. He did like the occasional bet, especially if they were in his favor. And this particular one was definitely in his favor. There was no way that he would ever could ever fall in love with Kim Jaejoong.
"Sure. You're on"
Jaejoong grinned. "Tomorrow. My house. 7'oclock" And with that he walked past Changmin and to the car filled with girls that was awaiting him.
~~~***~~~
Changmin showed up at 6:58. He had always prided himself on his punctuality, even if it was for a some sort of pseudo-date with a boy that he had hated for the majority of his life.
Jaejoong was already waiting for him in front of his parents' condo. He was dressed like he usually did on the weekends--ripped jeans and a strangely bright jacket over a black tshirt--and Changmin couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that the boy hadn't dressed up. Kim Jaejoong really sucks at this whole seduction thing he thought as he parked his car and walked over to the other boy. When he got closer he noticed that Jaejoong was wearing the scarf he had given him a week ago.
"I do expect you to give that back to me"
Jaejoong looked up and smiled. "You want it back now?"
"Not now, you idiot. Why do you always want to freeze?"
"Why do you always care so much about me freezing?"
Changmin didn't have answer to this to this, nor did he really want to think about what his answer would be. So instead he just mumbled "So what are we going to do?"
Jaejoong stood up straight. "Let's go to the movies"
Movies? Changmin had expected something a little less...amateurish. Or a little less normal in general. Jaejoong was one of the most eccentric people he knew so he had expected for them to go sky diving or take belly dancing classes. The movies were a bit anticlimactic.
"It's your choice" Changmin said as they both settled in his car. Jaejoong immediately changed the radio station to one that was blaring out some sort of Japanese rock song. He turned up the music, rolled down the windows, and started singing along with the band.
Changmin never knew Jaejoong knew Japanese. Or had such a husky singing voice....
"Stop listening to this garbage" he huffed, changing the channel quickly.
"My omma never lets me choose the radio station in her car" Jaejoong said, his lips forming into the pout of the century. Changmin looked at the expression and felt heavy in his chest once again. Gosh, even his body was annoyed with this Kim Jaejoong. He quickly changed the channel back just so that Jaejoong would stop making that face.
"Why don't you get your own car?"
"Chunnie and I failed the drivers license test. We both had food poisoning." Jaejoong answered. "Can't retake it until next year"
"You had food poisoning and you went to take your drivers test instead of going to the hospital?" Changmin asked, feeling incredibly worried about the confession.
"Who goes to the hospital for food poisoning? It wasn't anything major"
"You shouldn't have gone out when you were sick" Changmin sniffed. "No wonder you're so small and frail. You can't even take care of yourself properly"
"Watch who you're calling frail" Jaejoong mumbled. They didn't say anything further as Changmin pulled up to the theatre and parked in a nearby garage. Jaejoong went ahead without him, which confused Changmin. Shouldn't the other boy be trying to be getting to know him better, or something? After all, he was the one who wanted to bet that he could make Changmin fall for him.
What would either of them either win with this bet, though? And what sort of time frame did Jaejoong have to succeed. This bet really wasn't really well thought out Changmin mused as me made his way towards the theatre.
By the time he finally reached the lobby, Jaejoong had already bought the tickets and was waiting in the line for concessions. He looked up and gave Changmin one of his stupid smiles.
"You're slow"
Changmis set his jaw. "And you're annoying me again". This really didn't feel like a date.
They make their way to the front of the line and ordered their snacks. Jaejoong insisted they paid separately and Changmin didn't even feel like asking anymore.
"I heard about this movie from Yoochun and Junsu" Jaejoong gushed as he grabbed his popcorn. "They said it's supposed to be hilarious!"
Changmin frowned. Jaejoong wasn't even talking about him--asking what he liked or disliked or any other small talk things. And hilarious? Weren't date movies supposed to be romantic. Had Jaejoong even been on a date before? Changmin was starting to doubt it.
They made their way into the theatre and the smaller boy picked seats up front. Changmin couldn't help but deepen his frown. Everybody knew that seats in the back were romantic. Seats in the front were anything but.
"What's wrong with you?"
"What're you talking about?" Jaejoong asked, looking up from his seat. He had already stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth and his cheeks were puffed up like a chipmunk's. Changmin felt that strange pain in his chest again.
"Are you even trying to win the bet? What kind of date is this?" he muttered as he took a seat next to Jaejoong.
Jaejoong tensed up and his shoulders started shaking. Changmin's eyes widened. Had he made Jaejoong cry somehow? What was he supposed to do now? He awkwardly put his hand on the smaller boy's shoulder as Jaejoong started to release sounds from his mouth. Sounds that sounded suspiciously like.....giggles.
Jaejoong was giggling. He was laughing at Changmin.
"What the hell is it, Kim?"
"You thought this--" his thin hand waved around, gesturing the theatre "--was a date?"
Oh
Oh shit
"I...I..." Changmin stuttered, caught off guard. "Yeah, I thought it was". Jaejoong started to laugh again, louder this time. His laughter was airy and obnoxious and made everyone around them smile unconsciously.
"I...I never said that it was. You really are an idiot" Jaejoong's laughs calmed down a little and he shrugged off his jacket, leaving on Changmin's scarf. The other boy just sat still; it was still cold in the theatre.
"What the hell is this then?" he gestured around the room violently. Jaejoong shot him a look like he was being stupid.
"I don't know, something to get to know each other better so I can tell what kind of person you really are. I mean, we haven't really been the best of friends--or friends at all--ever. How the hell am I supposed to make you fall for me when I don't know anything about you?"
"That doesn't even make sense"
"What doesn't make sense is us suddenly going on a date after eighteen years of hating each other" Jaejoong said with a roll of his eyes. "And trust me, when I take someone on a date, they know it"
Changmin scowled but couldn't say anything else as the theatre went dark and the previews started to play. All of the movies advertised seemed to be scary and Changmin was getting worried.
"You said this was a comedy movie, right?"
Jaejoong looked with eyebrows raised. "I also never said that. It's a horror movie"
Changmin felt his stomach come up. "What? You said it was hilarious!"
"Most horror movies are hilarious. I mean, have you seen the terrible quality of fake blood these days? And the plots? Why do people always feel the need to stay in a house after they know it's haunted?"
Changmin groaned and buried his face in his hands. Kim Jaejoong was absolutely insane.
"Don't worry, Min. I'll hold your hand if you get scared"
Min? Changmin didn't know why Jaejoong had decided to give him that kind of name but he couldn't bring himself to say anything about it. Not when Jaejoong smiled up at him once again and started exchanging all of his red M&M's for Changmin's green ones.
For the next half an hour both of them sat quietly as they watched the movie. It was incredibly scary and more than once Changmin felt like tucking his head between his legs and keeping it there for the remainder of the film. Then he accidentally made the mistake of looking over to Jaejoong.
The smaller male was tucked strangely in his seat, his knees drawn up and head resting on top of them. His eyes were lit up in amusement. The killer ghost suddenly appeared in the heroine's mirror and Jaejoong let out a chuckle as everybody else in the theatre gasped. He turned his shining eyes towards Changmin.
"Are you scared?" he whispered.
"Anyone who's not a freak like you would be"
Jaejoong unwrapped one of his arms from around his knees and wrapped it over Changmin's shoulder, pulling him closer. So close that Changmin could smell his stupid cologne and see his stupidly pretty face up close and count every one of his too long, too thick eyelashes that framed his too big eyes.
"Why are you touching me, Kim?"
"Oh shush, Min. I'm trying to see what piece of furniture the ghost decides to throw next"
Changmin knew he could easily push Jaejoong's arm off. After all he was bigger and stronger than the other boy could ever hope to be. But Jaejoong smelled so annoyingly good and it was cold in the theatre and Jaejoong's arm was freakishly warm so he decided to just let it stay over his shoulder.
It was a bit awkward for the rest of the movie, but Jaejoong didn't remove his arm so it was at least a comfortable sort of awkward. Though Changmin didn't like the way he could feel every one of Jaejoong's chuckles echoing through his own chest. And he certainly didn't enjoy the way Jaejoong's fingers would curl over his shoulder whenever there was any sort of loud sound or sudden movement on the screen. It made his whole body hurt in a strange way.
The movie ended rather abruptly and it was only when the credits rolled in that Changmin realized he hadn't even been paying attention to the last thirty minutes of the film. He had been too busy thinking about Jaejoong--why the other boy didn't look at him or why he wasn't embarrassed at all to have his arm on his shoulder, or why he liked to bite his bottom lip when he tried to stifle his laughter.
This was a problem.
To hell with it Changmin thought. He didn't give a damn if Jaejoong liked him--he's deal with that. But that night, Jaejoong was driving him absolutely crazy. He couldn't think right and couldn't even pay attention to a movie where ghosts with blood oozing out of them were crawling across the screen practically begging for attention. This...this was messed up.
"So the movie was good, wasn't it" Jaejoong asked happily as the two of them left the theatre. "The fake blood was one of the worst I've seen in a while"
Changmin remained silent and sullen.
Jaejoong rolled his eyes and decided to up his game a little. He unzipped his jacket half way and made sure it slid off his shoulder in just the slightest way. Grabbing onto Changmin's arm, he looked up at the taller boy through his long lashes.
"So what do you want to do now? I know a great dukbokki stand near here. And a club that lets anyone in"
Changmin tensed seeing the boy's shining eyes through the shadows of those lashes (what kind of boy had lashes like that anyway? Jaejoong was certainly a freak). "How could you want to eat after seeing a ghost lady slit a bunch of people open? Let's just go home"
"Fine" Jaejoong sighed, still gripping onto Changmin's arm. He leaned against the other boy as they walked towards the car. When they got in, a song from Sinawe was playing on that station Jaejoong seemed to love and the boy's eyes lit up again.
"I love this song. Kim Bada is an absolute genius" he gushed as he started singing at the top of his lungs, following the rock beat perfectly as he belted out the heartfelt lyrics.
"What kind of music do you like, Min?"
Changmin had never really been interested in music before. His parents were both school teachers and they didn't approve of things that weren't related to academics. His house was usually silent.
"Uh....rock, I guess" he mumbled.
"The only genre worth listening to" Jaejoong agreed. "Yoochun and Junsu love RnB so I can never discuss rock with them..." he trailed off as another Sinawe song came on. Jaejoong started to sing along once again. By now, his jacket was unzipped fully and his too-small black shirt rode up occasionally, flashing peaks of pale skin and what Changmin could swear was a belly button ring.
His body started doing strange things again.
All too soon, Changmin had pulled up in front of the Kim's condo. He parked his car and waited for the boy to get out. Instead he found himself with a lap half full of smiling, excited Kim Jaejoong. The boy was leaning awkwardly over the hand-rest and gear box, yet he made it look as natural as breathing.
"I actually had fun today, Min"
"I....uh....yeah"
"You know" Jaejoong said as he bit at his lower lip again. "It's a tradition to end a date with a kiss"
Changmin's breath hitched. "I thought you said this wasn't a date"
"Well now it is" Jaejoong whispered as he raised his body a few inches. His lips were almost touching Changmin's and in that moment, the taller boy finally realized what he was sure everybody else already knew.
It wasn't Jaejoong that was obsessed. And it wasn't hate that he felt towards the smiling, clumsy, beautiful, and eccentric boy that he had known the majority of lis life.
Love Changmin thought as he closed the gap between their lips.
Just as their lips were about to touch, Jaejoong pulled away. Changmin opened his eyes and looked at the smirking man in front of him.
"And just like that, you fell in my trap" Jaejoong whispered as he opened the car door and sauntered out. Changmin gaped as he saw a completely different side of Jaejoong: confident, sexy...smug. Jaejoong turned back towards him and smiled. "You lost the bet, dumbass"
Wow.
Just wow.
Jaejoong had tricked him. Changmin didn't know what to think. So Jaejoong actually did hate him? He had interpreted wrong all along. He had thought Jaejoong actually loved him.
And, what's worse, Changmin had actually fallen for him. Sometime during the past eighteen years he had fallen hard and hadn't even realized until now. And now he was the laughingstock. The "dumbass". The idiot.
But it was okay.
Because, in the end, Changmin was also the one who was going to make Kim Jaejoong fall for him as well.
Pairing: JaeMin
Rating: Pg-13
Genre: Humor
Length: Oneshot
Summary: Changmin is 100% sure that Jaejoong is in love with him. Thankfully he doesn't feel the same. Really. He doesn't.
It was a typical scene at DaeKwang high school. Students were milling around, bemoaning their practice test grades and trying to get some time in the sun before the start of after-school tuitions.
In particular, two familiar figures were lounging on the sports' field, one of them fuming as the other stood stoically by.
Changmin sighed as he looked at the smaller male next to him. He picked at his new Badminton uniform as Kim Jaejoong stood by, wearing the exact same outfit, yelling at him as he always did--telling the taller male to go away and stop stalking him.
Right, like Changmin was actually trying to stalk. Like he was trying to "sign up for every club Jaejoong was in" or "trying to end up in every place Jaejoong was".
"I can't help that we tragically share the same interests" Changmin finally drawled. "And we're in the same class, but that's because I'm smart so of course I'd be in the top class. We hang out in the same circles because I'm popular and everybody wants to be my friend. You think I'm stalking you? Get over yourself"
And then he left.
Jaejoong gaped before running after the boy, barking useless comments about the way Changmin looked or how much of an ass he was.
"You're the one running after me and you think I'm following you?" Changmin said.
"You can't just walk out in the middle of a conversation, you insufferable..."
"Oh please, don't bother cursing. We both know that you're just pining over me"
Jaejoong cursed one more time before turning around and going back to his friends. Changmin knew the other boy was probably telling them about how much he hated him, how he wanted to chop up every single part of his body and burn it in some kind of sick bonfire. The group of them started laughing.
But Changmin knew better.
Kim Jaejoong was actually in love with him.
It seemed strange for a guy like Jaejoong to like him. After all Changmin knew he was the smartest person in school, the most popular boy, and had a face that could make both sexes swoon. And as for Jaejoong....well Jaejoong was too pretty for his own good and scrawny and not good at sports. He did have a lot of friends but Changmin thought they were all idiots anyways. Plus, Jaejoong was a clumsy fool who smiled far too often and laughed even more than he smiled. And what a stupid, loud laugh he had. Sometimes when he was in bed at night, Changmin could still hear Jaejoong's laugh. It was that annoying.
So even if it was strange, Changmin knew it was no surprise that a weird guy like Jaejoong would fall for a perfect specimen such as himself.
And Changmin also knew that some part of Jaejoong was waiting for it to become true. That cliched thing that most people loved to read about; enemies turning into lovers. Yeah right. Like that was ever going to happen.
Because even if Jaejoong wished for it, Changmin just didn't like him. Ever since they were in kindergarden together Changmin had disliked the boy with the large eyes and stupid smile. Throughout elementary school he had broken Jaejoong's toys and stolen his snacks at lunchtime. Or stole all his crayons when the smaller boy refused to play with him during art time. See...even as a little kid he didn't like Jaejoong. And nothing had changed.
He didn't like Jaejoong.
He didn't like Jaejoong.
So Jaejoong could dream all he wanted, but nothing was ever going to happen between them.
~~~***~~~
It was Friday afternoon and Changmin walked out of the school only to see Jaejoong sitting on the ground by the front gates, leaning against the fence while reading his practice book. He walked over to the other boy and lightly kicked his side.
Jaejoong looked up in surprise, his cheeks bright red and body shaking slightly. Changmin smirked at the red decorating the boy's cheeks.
"Blushing now, are we?"
"You wish." Jaejoong answered easily. "In case you didn't notice, it's fucking freezing out here. That's why I'm red"
It was a rather cold day--as was expected for November--and Jaejoong was only wearing a light jacket. Changmin frowned at the site. What a stupid kid. He had grown up in Seoul all his life and he still didn't know how to dress properly? Seeing the other boy's shaking body was making him feel heavy in the chest, and that was annoying. He quickly ripped off his scarf and threw it at Jaejoong.
"Put it on, I can't stand to see your pathetic shivering anymore" Changmin mumbled, looking at the bag filled with Pepero that was lying on the floor next to Jaejoong's practice book. "Why the hell did you buy so much Pepero? You're going to get fat."
The other boy looked at the bag and then back up to Changmin with furrowed eyebrows. "It's Pepero day. I got these from random people. You're supposed to give them to someone you like"
Changmin sniffed, wondering why he hadn't gotten any that day. Then the answer dawned on him. Obviously Jaejoong had stolen all the Pepero that people tried to give him because he was jealous. Typical Jaejoong, being crazy and possessive over the object of his affections.
"Half of those are mine, aren't they? You stole all my pepero like a creeper"
"Or maybe nobody gave you any because you're cold and people are afraid of you"
"Everybody loves me"
"Your ego seriously has no end does it?"
A car pulled up and the sound of a horn honking pulled the two boys from their argument. They both looked over to see Jaejoong's mother and at least half of his crowd of sisters sitting in the car, waving at the two with a bright smiles on their faces.
Jaejoong immediately sat up and stuffed his practice book in his rucksack. He looked at his overflowing bag of Pepero and bit his bottom lip.
"We're all going to our uncle's place in Ansan right now" he mumbled. "If they see all the Pepero I got, I'll never hear the end of it. My sisters already tease me about confession letters I get"
"Probably making fun of you since I'm sure you write all those confession letters to yourself"
Jaejoong rolled his eyes and stuffed the bag full of treats into Changmin's arms. "Here, you're like a human trash bin, you take these."
"W...what?"
"I hope you eat so much you explode" Jaejoong said as he rushed past the other boy and to the car before his sisters started yelling and embarrassing him for life.
Changmin stared at the boxes of Pepero now in his arms. There had to be at least 50 of them in the bag, all with hearts and other cute messages drawn on them.
"Oh god, this kid really has it bad for me"
~~~***~~~
A week later, Changmin once again ran into Jaejoong as the boy sat in the entranceway after school. They had just finished their student council meeting (Changmin was convinced that the other boy was still mad at him because he had been voted as President while Jaejoong had to deal with being just the VP) a few moments before and the other members had already left. However Jaejoong...Jaejoong was just sitting on the fence and staring off into space.
Chamgmin knew what was going on. Jaejoong was waiting for him. How desperate was that?
Huffing, the taller boy put on his best sneer and made his way over to the smaller male.
"Are you serious?"
Jaejoong didn't even bother to look away from the tree that he was currently inspecting. "What are you on about this time, idiot?"
"When are you going to tell me that you like me and just get this over with?"
This made Jaejoong turn around. The smaller male's mouth and eyes were wide open. "What the...I don't like you. I can barely stand to be in..."
"Oh, shut up, Kim. I know already. But-"
"You know nothing, you annoying..."
"But" Changmin interrupted loudly. "it's obvious that you're no match for me. I mean, you have no social skills and you suck at making yourself look better. Even if you tried, you aren't my type. And I don't like men. Face it, Kim Jaejoong...I'm out of your league"
Jaejoong's eyebrows flew up the second that the insults started.
"Oh really now, Shim? You think that I can't make you fall for me?"
"I know you can't make me fall for you"
Jaejoong jumped off the fence and strode over to his classmate.
"So if you're so sure, how about we make a bet about it?"
Changmin considered the words before smirking. He did like the occasional bet, especially if they were in his favor. And this particular one was definitely in his favor. There was no way that he would ever could ever fall in love with Kim Jaejoong.
"Sure. You're on"
Jaejoong grinned. "Tomorrow. My house. 7'oclock" And with that he walked past Changmin and to the car filled with girls that was awaiting him.
~~~***~~~
Changmin showed up at 6:58. He had always prided himself on his punctuality, even if it was for a some sort of pseudo-date with a boy that he had hated for the majority of his life.
Jaejoong was already waiting for him in front of his parents' condo. He was dressed like he usually did on the weekends--ripped jeans and a strangely bright jacket over a black tshirt--and Changmin couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that the boy hadn't dressed up. Kim Jaejoong really sucks at this whole seduction thing he thought as he parked his car and walked over to the other boy. When he got closer he noticed that Jaejoong was wearing the scarf he had given him a week ago.
"I do expect you to give that back to me"
Jaejoong looked up and smiled. "You want it back now?"
"Not now, you idiot. Why do you always want to freeze?"
"Why do you always care so much about me freezing?"
Changmin didn't have answer to this to this, nor did he really want to think about what his answer would be. So instead he just mumbled "So what are we going to do?"
Jaejoong stood up straight. "Let's go to the movies"
Movies? Changmin had expected something a little less...amateurish. Or a little less normal in general. Jaejoong was one of the most eccentric people he knew so he had expected for them to go sky diving or take belly dancing classes. The movies were a bit anticlimactic.
"It's your choice" Changmin said as they both settled in his car. Jaejoong immediately changed the radio station to one that was blaring out some sort of Japanese rock song. He turned up the music, rolled down the windows, and started singing along with the band.
Changmin never knew Jaejoong knew Japanese. Or had such a husky singing voice....
"Stop listening to this garbage" he huffed, changing the channel quickly.
"My omma never lets me choose the radio station in her car" Jaejoong said, his lips forming into the pout of the century. Changmin looked at the expression and felt heavy in his chest once again. Gosh, even his body was annoyed with this Kim Jaejoong. He quickly changed the channel back just so that Jaejoong would stop making that face.
"Why don't you get your own car?"
"Chunnie and I failed the drivers license test. We both had food poisoning." Jaejoong answered. "Can't retake it until next year"
"You had food poisoning and you went to take your drivers test instead of going to the hospital?" Changmin asked, feeling incredibly worried about the confession.
"Who goes to the hospital for food poisoning? It wasn't anything major"
"You shouldn't have gone out when you were sick" Changmin sniffed. "No wonder you're so small and frail. You can't even take care of yourself properly"
"Watch who you're calling frail" Jaejoong mumbled. They didn't say anything further as Changmin pulled up to the theatre and parked in a nearby garage. Jaejoong went ahead without him, which confused Changmin. Shouldn't the other boy be trying to be getting to know him better, or something? After all, he was the one who wanted to bet that he could make Changmin fall for him.
What would either of them either win with this bet, though? And what sort of time frame did Jaejoong have to succeed. This bet really wasn't really well thought out Changmin mused as me made his way towards the theatre.
By the time he finally reached the lobby, Jaejoong had already bought the tickets and was waiting in the line for concessions. He looked up and gave Changmin one of his stupid smiles.
"You're slow"
Changmis set his jaw. "And you're annoying me again". This really didn't feel like a date.
They make their way to the front of the line and ordered their snacks. Jaejoong insisted they paid separately and Changmin didn't even feel like asking anymore.
"I heard about this movie from Yoochun and Junsu" Jaejoong gushed as he grabbed his popcorn. "They said it's supposed to be hilarious!"
Changmin frowned. Jaejoong wasn't even talking about him--asking what he liked or disliked or any other small talk things. And hilarious? Weren't date movies supposed to be romantic. Had Jaejoong even been on a date before? Changmin was starting to doubt it.
They made their way into the theatre and the smaller boy picked seats up front. Changmin couldn't help but deepen his frown. Everybody knew that seats in the back were romantic. Seats in the front were anything but.
"What's wrong with you?"
"What're you talking about?" Jaejoong asked, looking up from his seat. He had already stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth and his cheeks were puffed up like a chipmunk's. Changmin felt that strange pain in his chest again.
"Are you even trying to win the bet? What kind of date is this?" he muttered as he took a seat next to Jaejoong.
Jaejoong tensed up and his shoulders started shaking. Changmin's eyes widened. Had he made Jaejoong cry somehow? What was he supposed to do now? He awkwardly put his hand on the smaller boy's shoulder as Jaejoong started to release sounds from his mouth. Sounds that sounded suspiciously like.....giggles.
Jaejoong was giggling. He was laughing at Changmin.
"What the hell is it, Kim?"
"You thought this--" his thin hand waved around, gesturing the theatre "--was a date?"
Oh
Oh shit
"I...I..." Changmin stuttered, caught off guard. "Yeah, I thought it was". Jaejoong started to laugh again, louder this time. His laughter was airy and obnoxious and made everyone around them smile unconsciously.
"I...I never said that it was. You really are an idiot" Jaejoong's laughs calmed down a little and he shrugged off his jacket, leaving on Changmin's scarf. The other boy just sat still; it was still cold in the theatre.
"What the hell is this then?" he gestured around the room violently. Jaejoong shot him a look like he was being stupid.
"I don't know, something to get to know each other better so I can tell what kind of person you really are. I mean, we haven't really been the best of friends--or friends at all--ever. How the hell am I supposed to make you fall for me when I don't know anything about you?"
"That doesn't even make sense"
"What doesn't make sense is us suddenly going on a date after eighteen years of hating each other" Jaejoong said with a roll of his eyes. "And trust me, when I take someone on a date, they know it"
Changmin scowled but couldn't say anything else as the theatre went dark and the previews started to play. All of the movies advertised seemed to be scary and Changmin was getting worried.
"You said this was a comedy movie, right?"
Jaejoong looked with eyebrows raised. "I also never said that. It's a horror movie"
Changmin felt his stomach come up. "What? You said it was hilarious!"
"Most horror movies are hilarious. I mean, have you seen the terrible quality of fake blood these days? And the plots? Why do people always feel the need to stay in a house after they know it's haunted?"
Changmin groaned and buried his face in his hands. Kim Jaejoong was absolutely insane.
"Don't worry, Min. I'll hold your hand if you get scared"
Min? Changmin didn't know why Jaejoong had decided to give him that kind of name but he couldn't bring himself to say anything about it. Not when Jaejoong smiled up at him once again and started exchanging all of his red M&M's for Changmin's green ones.
For the next half an hour both of them sat quietly as they watched the movie. It was incredibly scary and more than once Changmin felt like tucking his head between his legs and keeping it there for the remainder of the film. Then he accidentally made the mistake of looking over to Jaejoong.
The smaller male was tucked strangely in his seat, his knees drawn up and head resting on top of them. His eyes were lit up in amusement. The killer ghost suddenly appeared in the heroine's mirror and Jaejoong let out a chuckle as everybody else in the theatre gasped. He turned his shining eyes towards Changmin.
"Are you scared?" he whispered.
"Anyone who's not a freak like you would be"
Jaejoong unwrapped one of his arms from around his knees and wrapped it over Changmin's shoulder, pulling him closer. So close that Changmin could smell his stupid cologne and see his stupidly pretty face up close and count every one of his too long, too thick eyelashes that framed his too big eyes.
"Why are you touching me, Kim?"
"Oh shush, Min. I'm trying to see what piece of furniture the ghost decides to throw next"
Changmin knew he could easily push Jaejoong's arm off. After all he was bigger and stronger than the other boy could ever hope to be. But Jaejoong smelled so annoyingly good and it was cold in the theatre and Jaejoong's arm was freakishly warm so he decided to just let it stay over his shoulder.
It was a bit awkward for the rest of the movie, but Jaejoong didn't remove his arm so it was at least a comfortable sort of awkward. Though Changmin didn't like the way he could feel every one of Jaejoong's chuckles echoing through his own chest. And he certainly didn't enjoy the way Jaejoong's fingers would curl over his shoulder whenever there was any sort of loud sound or sudden movement on the screen. It made his whole body hurt in a strange way.
The movie ended rather abruptly and it was only when the credits rolled in that Changmin realized he hadn't even been paying attention to the last thirty minutes of the film. He had been too busy thinking about Jaejoong--why the other boy didn't look at him or why he wasn't embarrassed at all to have his arm on his shoulder, or why he liked to bite his bottom lip when he tried to stifle his laughter.
This was a problem.
To hell with it Changmin thought. He didn't give a damn if Jaejoong liked him--he's deal with that. But that night, Jaejoong was driving him absolutely crazy. He couldn't think right and couldn't even pay attention to a movie where ghosts with blood oozing out of them were crawling across the screen practically begging for attention. This...this was messed up.
"So the movie was good, wasn't it" Jaejoong asked happily as the two of them left the theatre. "The fake blood was one of the worst I've seen in a while"
Changmin remained silent and sullen.
Jaejoong rolled his eyes and decided to up his game a little. He unzipped his jacket half way and made sure it slid off his shoulder in just the slightest way. Grabbing onto Changmin's arm, he looked up at the taller boy through his long lashes.
"So what do you want to do now? I know a great dukbokki stand near here. And a club that lets anyone in"
Changmin tensed seeing the boy's shining eyes through the shadows of those lashes (what kind of boy had lashes like that anyway? Jaejoong was certainly a freak). "How could you want to eat after seeing a ghost lady slit a bunch of people open? Let's just go home"
"Fine" Jaejoong sighed, still gripping onto Changmin's arm. He leaned against the other boy as they walked towards the car. When they got in, a song from Sinawe was playing on that station Jaejoong seemed to love and the boy's eyes lit up again.
"I love this song. Kim Bada is an absolute genius" he gushed as he started singing at the top of his lungs, following the rock beat perfectly as he belted out the heartfelt lyrics.
"What kind of music do you like, Min?"
Changmin had never really been interested in music before. His parents were both school teachers and they didn't approve of things that weren't related to academics. His house was usually silent.
"Uh....rock, I guess" he mumbled.
"The only genre worth listening to" Jaejoong agreed. "Yoochun and Junsu love RnB so I can never discuss rock with them..." he trailed off as another Sinawe song came on. Jaejoong started to sing along once again. By now, his jacket was unzipped fully and his too-small black shirt rode up occasionally, flashing peaks of pale skin and what Changmin could swear was a belly button ring.
His body started doing strange things again.
All too soon, Changmin had pulled up in front of the Kim's condo. He parked his car and waited for the boy to get out. Instead he found himself with a lap half full of smiling, excited Kim Jaejoong. The boy was leaning awkwardly over the hand-rest and gear box, yet he made it look as natural as breathing.
"I actually had fun today, Min"
"I....uh....yeah"
"You know" Jaejoong said as he bit at his lower lip again. "It's a tradition to end a date with a kiss"
Changmin's breath hitched. "I thought you said this wasn't a date"
"Well now it is" Jaejoong whispered as he raised his body a few inches. His lips were almost touching Changmin's and in that moment, the taller boy finally realized what he was sure everybody else already knew.
It wasn't Jaejoong that was obsessed. And it wasn't hate that he felt towards the smiling, clumsy, beautiful, and eccentric boy that he had known the majority of lis life.
Love Changmin thought as he closed the gap between their lips.
Just as their lips were about to touch, Jaejoong pulled away. Changmin opened his eyes and looked at the smirking man in front of him.
"And just like that, you fell in my trap" Jaejoong whispered as he opened the car door and sauntered out. Changmin gaped as he saw a completely different side of Jaejoong: confident, sexy...smug. Jaejoong turned back towards him and smiled. "You lost the bet, dumbass"
Wow.
Just wow.
Jaejoong had tricked him. Changmin didn't know what to think. So Jaejoong actually did hate him? He had interpreted wrong all along. He had thought Jaejoong actually loved him.
And, what's worse, Changmin had actually fallen for him. Sometime during the past eighteen years he had fallen hard and hadn't even realized until now. And now he was the laughingstock. The "dumbass". The idiot.
But it was okay.
Because, in the end, Changmin was also the one who was going to make Kim Jaejoong fall for him as well.