"My Beautiful One" [5]
Title: My Beautiful One (CH.5)
Rating: PG-13. Still. This will change eventually Pairing: Onho, others by chapter
Notes: I got behind - sorry ;__; Work and such. I feel kind of like I forced this one, so if it seems… off… that’s why :\ In this chapter: THEY FINALLY GET SOMEWHERE. (and yes there is a very light dusting of 2min because my life is incomplete without it u_u) As usual, not completely proof read D:
[One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six] [Seven]
They arrived back home at an hour that wasn’t exactly reasonable. Jinki wasn’t especially affected since it was roughly the hour he got home from work, but Taemin expressed his exhaustion by falling asleep in the car. When he was younger, similar situations had occurred, and Jinki had simply unbuckled the small boy and carried him to bed. The boy hadn’t gotten any heavier with time, but now he was taller than Jinki, and trying to get a limp body out of a car when it normally looms over you is a little bit awkward. “Taemin, wake up. We’re home.” He gently shook the sleeping youth beside him, helping him out of his position by, at the very least, unbuckling him. Taemin groaned, rubbing his eyes sleepily before patting around blindly for the handle. Jinki effortlessly made his way out of the vehicle, appa instincts kicking in and causing him to go around the vehicle, open the door, and help Taemin to his feet.
Needless to say, the student staggered to his room and passed out almost instantly, most likely with his shoes still on. Jinki, however, at least took the time to wash his face and change into some more comfortable clothing. After taking care of basic hygiene, Jinki sat on his bed and pulled out his laptop. The incident with Joyong had been bugging him the whole day, and until he knew each and every gritty detail about the event, his brain wouldn’t be satisfied. The clack of the keyboard was deafening in the silent room, but Jinki didn’t need to search for hours on end. Joyong’s fire was apparently a pretty popular story… which just made him feel like even more of an idiot.
For the most part, what Taemin had told him had been accurate; the school did burn down 53 years ago, the cause was inconclusive, and many students did lose their lives that day. Upon digging a bit further into the depths of the internet however, Jinki discovered a few more things. One was that it hadn’t been the first time the school burned down, though that was caused by a bad circuit, according to the reports. The second thing was that once after the embers and debris had cleared, one students body was never found. Jinki bit his lip, then slowly scrolled down to continue reading. As he read the text and saw the photo, he briefly considered shutting down his laptop about six or seven times, because clearly it was glitching. Clearly he’d been looking in all the wrong places and found a gag website, because this was just fucked up. The boy had short black hair, large eyes, and a name printed below his photo:
Choi Minho.
- - -
Jinki didn’t sleep that night. He really hadn’t expected to to begin with, but this basically sealed the deal. What hours of the evening were left slipped from between his fingers, and even though slumber never arrived, Jinki thought it best to at least fake it because he knew Taemin would be kicking down his door in roughly twenty minutes. He sprawled out, arm draped over his eyes. He didn’t quite now how to process everything right now, but he supposed he needed to apologize to Minho for accusing him of lying… he’d get right on that, right after the taller male apologized for holding him over a six story drop. “Hyung!” SLAM! Right on time.
Feigning sleep, Jinki removed his arm from eyes, just in time to see Taemin leap on the bed wearing… not much of anything. A towel around his waist kept him decent, and Jinki supposed he could count the tears forming at the corner of his eyes. “What’s wrong?” Not a word slipped from the quivering boys pouting lips. Instead, he extended a hand, pointing a finger out towards the bathroom door. Jinki sighed, rubbing his left eye before rolling out of bed and into the designated room. Fat and happy in the middle of the tub sat a black spider. “What’s the big deal Taeminnie? He just wants to help you wash your back.”
“GET IT OUT!”
Jinki never understood where Taemin’s hatred of bugs came from. Ever since he’d known the boy, he hated flies, beetles, worms, he was fairly sure he didn’t even like butterflies that much, and come on! Who doesn’t like butterflies? The older man shrugged, taking the cup from the sink that was usually used for early morning drinks or rinsing after teeth brushing. Capturing the large critter in the glass, Jinki simply left the room, opened the front door, and was greeted with a torrential downpour. For a moment, he just stared at the rain, then quickly remembered what he was doing and dumped the spider to the left of the stairs, courteous enough to drop it on a dry patch so it wasn’t washed away. After all, he wasn’t hurting anything.
“It’s really coming down out there,” Upon shutting the front door, Jinki realized that he was talking to himself. The shower had started running, and honestly, the water had probably been started the second Jinki was out of there so Taemin could rid the tub of any ‘buggy residue.’ That spider was probably cleaner than he was, but Jinki decided to just hold his tongue on that comment, chuckling to himself all the while. Now, it was time to get breakfast ready, and to continue on with their overall lazy day. The morning meal consisted of coffee, bacon and eggs, and an inquisitive Taemin asking where he had run off too last night and why it took him so long. After Jinki’s face darkened and he gave a short reply of ‘outside,’ the younger boy let the topic fizzle out. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence.
A few hours slipped by, but soon enough, Taemin was once again at Jiniki’s side. “Hyung,” he started. Jinki, currently in the process of cleaning up the breakfast dishes, looked back over his shoulder. The younger boy had a book roughly the size of Jinki’s bicep with various papers sticking out from between the pages, possibly as place markers. Even though he was fairly sure he knew what this was leading up to, Jinki offered an inquisitive hum. Smiling sheepishly, the blonde held his book out at arms length “… can you help me with my homework?” This wasn’t an abnormal scenario. Taemin new all too well that Jinki had finished with top marks in his school, and he also knew that he could easily sucker his hyung into sharing those book smarts simply by acting cute. He shook his head, smiled, and after putting the last dish away, ushered the younger boy out into the livingroom.
“So, what are we learning today then Taeminnie?”
Taemin stared blankly. “I don’t know. That’s why you’re helping me.”
“Touché.” All it took was a quick glance to discover that Taemin’s nemesis for the day was math… and with good reason. Jesus there were a lot of formulas in there. He quickly read the introduction to that particular section, looked up thoughtfully, then nodded. “Okay, so what this is saying is that when you-” there was a knock at the door. “- … hold that thought.” Who could that be? They weren’t expecting any packages, and as far as Jinki knew, Taemin hadn’t invited any of his friends over to join them in this little study session. Maybe it was that damn girl from his English class again. Oooh, if it was, that bitch better run because Jinki was sick of finding the notes when he washed Taemin’s uniform. The least she could do was spell words right if she was going to blab about how ‘prity his hare is’ and that she ‘wants 2 go on a date 2 a nic resterunt.’ The door was opened… and then immediately slammed shut. Unfortunately, Jinki struggled when it came to being an asshole, and as the knock came again, he cringed, beat himself in the head, and honestly felt like screaming. It probably would have alarmed his room mate if he did however, so instead, he groaned, turned on his heels, and opened the door once again.
The rain hadn’t let up at all, but obviously the person on his doorstep thought it was going to. A long sleeved striped shirt and dark jeans clad the tall figure, both of which were beginning to cling from the water that weighed them down. He was lacking a jacket, but Jinki was starting to think this guy was basically immune to all things mundane, and thus, he probably didn’t get sick. He swept the dripping ebony hair from his face, then shook the excess water off of his hand. “You don’t listen very well, do you?” Jinki asked. Minho shrugged, that soft smile starting to pull at his face. “Most people get pneumonia when they pull these kind of stunts, by the way”
“I wanted to see you.”
He should have been flattered. He also should have called the cops. “You couldn’t have just waited until tomorrow?” Minho opened his mouth to answer, but his jaw snapped shut the moment he heard another voice, and the sound of quickly approaching footsteps. Curiosity had pulled Taemin to Jinki’s side, but when he saw the new arrival, his body froze. He could vaguely recognize him as the man seen the previous night, but damn… he was a lot better looking up close. The large eyes shifted to the young boy before crinkling from a smile.
“Hello~” That voice caused Taemin to feel like a three year old. He found himself unable to speak, clinging onto Jinki’s arm and slowly inching himself behind the older - shorter - man. Jinki only spared him a glance before focusing back on Minho. “… Not to impose myself on your household… but it’s wet and a bit chilly out here…” Jinki glared. If he had an issue with the weather, then he could go warm up at whatever hole in the wall death-escapee’s resided at. Unfortunately, Taemin had very different feelings, hissing at him to step aside and let him warm up a bit. Oh, how he wished he could put up with Taemin’s pouting for a day. Then he’d have no issues slamming the door for a second time.
“… come inside.”
“Stay for dinner!”
Jinki winced at the added invitation, stepping to the side to allow the smiling jackass entry to their humble home. He’d make sure Taemin had an extra helping of vegetables tonight for that. Minho removed his boots while Jinki headed into the kitchen to get dinner started. “Taeminnie, just study until dinner’s ready, okay?” The boy groaned, but did as he was told, returning to his place on the couch and burying his nose in his book. Minho remained by the door for a moment before casually striding into the room. He said nothing, and Taemin said nothing. Overall, the air was extremely awkward. When he saw the boy tug at the golden threads at his scalp, Minho had just the push he needed.
“… what are you studying?”
While Taemin was busy crunching numbers, Jinki was busy crunching vegetables. Crunching them out of their frozen mass in the plastic bag that is. It wasn’t a very complicated process, and the steak had been pre-marinated, making the whole dinner a pretty easy thing to throw together. With the meat in the pan and the vegetables boiling in their pot, the librarian figured it was best to check on his son, just incase Mr. Burn-Victim decided it was a good idea to give him a lecture about some other philosophical topic. The sight he walked in on caused a rather unexpected emotion. Both boys were on the couch, Minho’s arm hanging limply around his shoulder, the other pointing at various notes in Taemin’s beast of a math book. “… but under these circumstances, you’d use this equation. You see?” His heart swelled. Jinki was a nice guy, but he really only had one soft spot, and that asshole had found it. Taemin nodded every now and again, asking a question where appropriate, and throwing a triumph fist in the air when he got a correct answer
“… Taeminnie.”
Both boys turned to look. “Hi hyung! Hey! This stuff isn’t so hard!”
Jinki grinned. “I’m glad you’re getting it finally! Hey, do me a favor and get the table set up?” He gave a playful pout. “You’re taller than I am and I can’t reach the good dishes on the top shelf.” Taemin nodded before scampering off. There was silence, which Minho interpreted as his cue to leave. He stood and moved to the door without a word, slipping his feet into the rain-soaked boots. Jinki, just as mute, walked further into the room and stood before him.
“… You’re welcome to stay for dinner.” Jinki shifted uncomfortably. “We have enough.”
Minho smiled, and Jinki almost felt bad for being so bitter towards him. In the end however, the tall male shook his head, declining the offer. “I ate before I made my way over here… but thank you for the offer Jinki.” Jinki nodded, silent as he just… watched. He wasn’t sure what to say, or if the fact that he actually believed his story now should be brought up at all. Instead, he humored himself by noting how oddly he tied his laces. Too bad his thoughts spilled out anyway.
“You really did go to Joyong.” The other boy hummed in agreement.
“As i said, I have no reason to lie to you.”
He stood, and Jinki followed, opening the front door. The rain was still coming down, though much lighter than it was an hour or so ago. At least Minho would be able to get home and not look like he showered with his clothes on. “Then… can I ask you something?” Minho was silent, hands slipping into the pockets of his still damp jeans. Jinki simply took that as the okay to keep talking. “How is that possible?” His voice shrank. “How did you survive? How can you be that old but look as young as you are? Why are your hands always so cold…?”
Minho turned to face him, head tilting slightly. “… Are you afraid?”
“Yes.”
He wasn’t sure if this was another trick, but the last time he didn’t answer, the results were unfavorable. He also wasn’t sure if what he received was a reward for answering correctly, or punishment for being a fool. The gap between them shut as Minho’s lips found Jinki’s, surprising the singer with just how warm the chapped skin really was. It couldn’t have even lasted a full two seconds, and even though he tasted faintly of copper, the kiss left Jinki with weak knees and stars in his eyes. Minho smiled. Jinki had to lean on the wall to keep himself on his feet. “See you tomorrow Jinki.” And with that, he was gone. The door was shut, the sound of his boots splashing in distant puddles growing further and further away.
“Hyung?” Taemin wandered into the room. “Where’d Minho hyung go? Did something happen?”
“… Yeah,” Jinki began, still staring at the shut door, a slightly shaking hand lifting to touch his own lips. “… I’m just not sure what.”
[To Chapter 6 -->]
Rating: PG-13. Still. This will change eventually Pairing: Onho, others by chapter
Notes: I got behind - sorry ;__; Work and such. I feel kind of like I forced this one, so if it seems… off… that’s why :\ In this chapter: THEY FINALLY GET SOMEWHERE. (and yes there is a very light dusting of 2min because my life is incomplete without it u_u) As usual, not completely proof read D:
[One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six] [Seven]
They arrived back home at an hour that wasn’t exactly reasonable. Jinki wasn’t especially affected since it was roughly the hour he got home from work, but Taemin expressed his exhaustion by falling asleep in the car. When he was younger, similar situations had occurred, and Jinki had simply unbuckled the small boy and carried him to bed. The boy hadn’t gotten any heavier with time, but now he was taller than Jinki, and trying to get a limp body out of a car when it normally looms over you is a little bit awkward. “Taemin, wake up. We’re home.” He gently shook the sleeping youth beside him, helping him out of his position by, at the very least, unbuckling him. Taemin groaned, rubbing his eyes sleepily before patting around blindly for the handle. Jinki effortlessly made his way out of the vehicle, appa instincts kicking in and causing him to go around the vehicle, open the door, and help Taemin to his feet.
Needless to say, the student staggered to his room and passed out almost instantly, most likely with his shoes still on. Jinki, however, at least took the time to wash his face and change into some more comfortable clothing. After taking care of basic hygiene, Jinki sat on his bed and pulled out his laptop. The incident with Joyong had been bugging him the whole day, and until he knew each and every gritty detail about the event, his brain wouldn’t be satisfied. The clack of the keyboard was deafening in the silent room, but Jinki didn’t need to search for hours on end. Joyong’s fire was apparently a pretty popular story… which just made him feel like even more of an idiot.
For the most part, what Taemin had told him had been accurate; the school did burn down 53 years ago, the cause was inconclusive, and many students did lose their lives that day. Upon digging a bit further into the depths of the internet however, Jinki discovered a few more things. One was that it hadn’t been the first time the school burned down, though that was caused by a bad circuit, according to the reports. The second thing was that once after the embers and debris had cleared, one students body was never found. Jinki bit his lip, then slowly scrolled down to continue reading. As he read the text and saw the photo, he briefly considered shutting down his laptop about six or seven times, because clearly it was glitching. Clearly he’d been looking in all the wrong places and found a gag website, because this was just fucked up. The boy had short black hair, large eyes, and a name printed below his photo:
Choi Minho.
- - -
Jinki didn’t sleep that night. He really hadn’t expected to to begin with, but this basically sealed the deal. What hours of the evening were left slipped from between his fingers, and even though slumber never arrived, Jinki thought it best to at least fake it because he knew Taemin would be kicking down his door in roughly twenty minutes. He sprawled out, arm draped over his eyes. He didn’t quite now how to process everything right now, but he supposed he needed to apologize to Minho for accusing him of lying… he’d get right on that, right after the taller male apologized for holding him over a six story drop. “Hyung!” SLAM! Right on time.
Feigning sleep, Jinki removed his arm from eyes, just in time to see Taemin leap on the bed wearing… not much of anything. A towel around his waist kept him decent, and Jinki supposed he could count the tears forming at the corner of his eyes. “What’s wrong?” Not a word slipped from the quivering boys pouting lips. Instead, he extended a hand, pointing a finger out towards the bathroom door. Jinki sighed, rubbing his left eye before rolling out of bed and into the designated room. Fat and happy in the middle of the tub sat a black spider. “What’s the big deal Taeminnie? He just wants to help you wash your back.”
“GET IT OUT!”
Jinki never understood where Taemin’s hatred of bugs came from. Ever since he’d known the boy, he hated flies, beetles, worms, he was fairly sure he didn’t even like butterflies that much, and come on! Who doesn’t like butterflies? The older man shrugged, taking the cup from the sink that was usually used for early morning drinks or rinsing after teeth brushing. Capturing the large critter in the glass, Jinki simply left the room, opened the front door, and was greeted with a torrential downpour. For a moment, he just stared at the rain, then quickly remembered what he was doing and dumped the spider to the left of the stairs, courteous enough to drop it on a dry patch so it wasn’t washed away. After all, he wasn’t hurting anything.
“It’s really coming down out there,” Upon shutting the front door, Jinki realized that he was talking to himself. The shower had started running, and honestly, the water had probably been started the second Jinki was out of there so Taemin could rid the tub of any ‘buggy residue.’ That spider was probably cleaner than he was, but Jinki decided to just hold his tongue on that comment, chuckling to himself all the while. Now, it was time to get breakfast ready, and to continue on with their overall lazy day. The morning meal consisted of coffee, bacon and eggs, and an inquisitive Taemin asking where he had run off too last night and why it took him so long. After Jinki’s face darkened and he gave a short reply of ‘outside,’ the younger boy let the topic fizzle out. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence.
A few hours slipped by, but soon enough, Taemin was once again at Jiniki’s side. “Hyung,” he started. Jinki, currently in the process of cleaning up the breakfast dishes, looked back over his shoulder. The younger boy had a book roughly the size of Jinki’s bicep with various papers sticking out from between the pages, possibly as place markers. Even though he was fairly sure he knew what this was leading up to, Jinki offered an inquisitive hum. Smiling sheepishly, the blonde held his book out at arms length “… can you help me with my homework?” This wasn’t an abnormal scenario. Taemin new all too well that Jinki had finished with top marks in his school, and he also knew that he could easily sucker his hyung into sharing those book smarts simply by acting cute. He shook his head, smiled, and after putting the last dish away, ushered the younger boy out into the livingroom.
“So, what are we learning today then Taeminnie?”
Taemin stared blankly. “I don’t know. That’s why you’re helping me.”
“Touché.” All it took was a quick glance to discover that Taemin’s nemesis for the day was math… and with good reason. Jesus there were a lot of formulas in there. He quickly read the introduction to that particular section, looked up thoughtfully, then nodded. “Okay, so what this is saying is that when you-” there was a knock at the door. “- … hold that thought.” Who could that be? They weren’t expecting any packages, and as far as Jinki knew, Taemin hadn’t invited any of his friends over to join them in this little study session. Maybe it was that damn girl from his English class again. Oooh, if it was, that bitch better run because Jinki was sick of finding the notes when he washed Taemin’s uniform. The least she could do was spell words right if she was going to blab about how ‘prity his hare is’ and that she ‘wants 2 go on a date 2 a nic resterunt.’ The door was opened… and then immediately slammed shut. Unfortunately, Jinki struggled when it came to being an asshole, and as the knock came again, he cringed, beat himself in the head, and honestly felt like screaming. It probably would have alarmed his room mate if he did however, so instead, he groaned, turned on his heels, and opened the door once again.
The rain hadn’t let up at all, but obviously the person on his doorstep thought it was going to. A long sleeved striped shirt and dark jeans clad the tall figure, both of which were beginning to cling from the water that weighed them down. He was lacking a jacket, but Jinki was starting to think this guy was basically immune to all things mundane, and thus, he probably didn’t get sick. He swept the dripping ebony hair from his face, then shook the excess water off of his hand. “You don’t listen very well, do you?” Jinki asked. Minho shrugged, that soft smile starting to pull at his face. “Most people get pneumonia when they pull these kind of stunts, by the way”
“I wanted to see you.”
He should have been flattered. He also should have called the cops. “You couldn’t have just waited until tomorrow?” Minho opened his mouth to answer, but his jaw snapped shut the moment he heard another voice, and the sound of quickly approaching footsteps. Curiosity had pulled Taemin to Jinki’s side, but when he saw the new arrival, his body froze. He could vaguely recognize him as the man seen the previous night, but damn… he was a lot better looking up close. The large eyes shifted to the young boy before crinkling from a smile.
“Hello~” That voice caused Taemin to feel like a three year old. He found himself unable to speak, clinging onto Jinki’s arm and slowly inching himself behind the older - shorter - man. Jinki only spared him a glance before focusing back on Minho. “… Not to impose myself on your household… but it’s wet and a bit chilly out here…” Jinki glared. If he had an issue with the weather, then he could go warm up at whatever hole in the wall death-escapee’s resided at. Unfortunately, Taemin had very different feelings, hissing at him to step aside and let him warm up a bit. Oh, how he wished he could put up with Taemin’s pouting for a day. Then he’d have no issues slamming the door for a second time.
“… come inside.”
“Stay for dinner!”
Jinki winced at the added invitation, stepping to the side to allow the smiling jackass entry to their humble home. He’d make sure Taemin had an extra helping of vegetables tonight for that. Minho removed his boots while Jinki headed into the kitchen to get dinner started. “Taeminnie, just study until dinner’s ready, okay?” The boy groaned, but did as he was told, returning to his place on the couch and burying his nose in his book. Minho remained by the door for a moment before casually striding into the room. He said nothing, and Taemin said nothing. Overall, the air was extremely awkward. When he saw the boy tug at the golden threads at his scalp, Minho had just the push he needed.
“… what are you studying?”
While Taemin was busy crunching numbers, Jinki was busy crunching vegetables. Crunching them out of their frozen mass in the plastic bag that is. It wasn’t a very complicated process, and the steak had been pre-marinated, making the whole dinner a pretty easy thing to throw together. With the meat in the pan and the vegetables boiling in their pot, the librarian figured it was best to check on his son, just incase Mr. Burn-Victim decided it was a good idea to give him a lecture about some other philosophical topic. The sight he walked in on caused a rather unexpected emotion. Both boys were on the couch, Minho’s arm hanging limply around his shoulder, the other pointing at various notes in Taemin’s beast of a math book. “… but under these circumstances, you’d use this equation. You see?” His heart swelled. Jinki was a nice guy, but he really only had one soft spot, and that asshole had found it. Taemin nodded every now and again, asking a question where appropriate, and throwing a triumph fist in the air when he got a correct answer
“… Taeminnie.”
Both boys turned to look. “Hi hyung! Hey! This stuff isn’t so hard!”
Jinki grinned. “I’m glad you’re getting it finally! Hey, do me a favor and get the table set up?” He gave a playful pout. “You’re taller than I am and I can’t reach the good dishes on the top shelf.” Taemin nodded before scampering off. There was silence, which Minho interpreted as his cue to leave. He stood and moved to the door without a word, slipping his feet into the rain-soaked boots. Jinki, just as mute, walked further into the room and stood before him.
“… You’re welcome to stay for dinner.” Jinki shifted uncomfortably. “We have enough.”
Minho smiled, and Jinki almost felt bad for being so bitter towards him. In the end however, the tall male shook his head, declining the offer. “I ate before I made my way over here… but thank you for the offer Jinki.” Jinki nodded, silent as he just… watched. He wasn’t sure what to say, or if the fact that he actually believed his story now should be brought up at all. Instead, he humored himself by noting how oddly he tied his laces. Too bad his thoughts spilled out anyway.
“You really did go to Joyong.” The other boy hummed in agreement.
“As i said, I have no reason to lie to you.”
He stood, and Jinki followed, opening the front door. The rain was still coming down, though much lighter than it was an hour or so ago. At least Minho would be able to get home and not look like he showered with his clothes on. “Then… can I ask you something?” Minho was silent, hands slipping into the pockets of his still damp jeans. Jinki simply took that as the okay to keep talking. “How is that possible?” His voice shrank. “How did you survive? How can you be that old but look as young as you are? Why are your hands always so cold…?”
Minho turned to face him, head tilting slightly. “… Are you afraid?”
“Yes.”
He wasn’t sure if this was another trick, but the last time he didn’t answer, the results were unfavorable. He also wasn’t sure if what he received was a reward for answering correctly, or punishment for being a fool. The gap between them shut as Minho’s lips found Jinki’s, surprising the singer with just how warm the chapped skin really was. It couldn’t have even lasted a full two seconds, and even though he tasted faintly of copper, the kiss left Jinki with weak knees and stars in his eyes. Minho smiled. Jinki had to lean on the wall to keep himself on his feet. “See you tomorrow Jinki.” And with that, he was gone. The door was shut, the sound of his boots splashing in distant puddles growing further and further away.
“Hyung?” Taemin wandered into the room. “Where’d Minho hyung go? Did something happen?”
“… Yeah,” Jinki began, still staring at the shut door, a slightly shaking hand lifting to touch his own lips. “… I’m just not sure what.”
[To Chapter 6 -->]