[Secret Valentine 2012] Onew/Krystal, for withoutchange
Title: this day, of all days
Pairing: Onew/Krystal
Word Count: 2,195 w
Author's Note: I am 305 words short of 2,500 but things have been so hectic in my life that I couldn't think of how to make this longer. Anyway, I hope my lovely secret valentine likes this even though it's late!
Reminder: Authors can not reply to comments before reveals are made. Thanks.
this day, of all days
Onew/Krystal. In which Valentine's Day is just another day until someone special comes along.
There were a lot of things he doesn't think much of.
Like self-help books and purple toy elephants. To Lee Jinki, books that told you what to do and miscolored toy animals annoyed him - and so, he found it so much easier if he just ignored them. They were useless after all, so why bother?
And for a moment there, he remembers a time when he didn't care for her either.
Jinki think he's better when he's alone, but can't complain when one day Jonghyun drags him out to spend the day with his girlfriend and her sister. He doesn't particularly think it's fair that Jonghyun gets to date around SNSD's Ice Princess while the rest of the company has to keep theirs a secret - but it's Jonghyun and his girl is Jessica and no matter what they were still quite perfect in the public's eyes.
And so he relents, at least for the time being. He didn't have any plans on Valentine's anyway.
They arrive a few hours after lunch at the sisters' apartment, huffing cool puffs out of their mouths from the biting wind of Seoul's still-in-winter streets. Jinki doesn't necessarily like the cold, but the city is beautiful and he does like the feeling of snow sloshing under his feet. It only takes a few seconds for the door to open when they arrive and the moment his eyes falls on Soojung by the door, Jinki hears a bell start ringing in his ear.
"Oh, good - you're actually on time, Dinosaur!" She grins, rolling her eyes as Jonghyun pushed past her and ruffled her hair. She offers him a smile after delivering a kick to the former's shin and welcomed them into the living room. "Make yourself at home. Unni will be out in a minute… I think. She's taking forever in the shower and the food's not here yet."
Krystal laughs and knocks her feet onto the table in front of her, sitting back in a way that was too free, too natural- too happy that it makes him feel a little dazed. He'd been too used to seeing her so serious, sitting by herself with her phone in hand and whispering at practices to be shown a side of her that's so relaxed. In his mind, she is Krystal - f(x)'s maknae and ice princess-in-training. He doesn't know her as Jung Soojung - they weren't even friends.
"I'm surprised you managed to get Onew-oppa out today, Dino," she says easily, flicking the TV on with a swish of her hand. One arm is up and behind her head as she sat, watching images float by the screen and speak to Jonghyun as though you weren't there. "I always held the impression that he didn't like going out and chaperone dates with you."
"Well, Sooyeon and I aren't exactly going out on a date today, Soojung," Jonghyun replies, and Jinki wonders how come it's so easy for other people see her as Soojung when he can't even imagine her as anything but Krystal.
His friend continues speaking completely unaware of him, "And who says I let him chaperone me? I would never! Not on Valentine's Day!"
Jinki snorts a little loudly from his seat as Krystal rolls her eyes. "Valentine's Day? Isn't it just a Tuesday today?"
"Am I detecting a hint of bitterness in your tone, my dear Soojung?"
‘Soojung' grins and shrugs her shoulders, flipping her hair in a way that makes Jinki blink at the sudden movement, the sudden gleam of its texture and her skin shining towards him like never before.
And when her eyes turn to catch his staring at her, he relents and chokes back a cough in the back of his throat when her expression turns curious. Her eyebrow shoots up in surprise, and somehow her lips come into view and he turns away just as a heat occupies his face. He doesn't necessarily know why he's so flustered all of a sudden, but it's different and new and-oh Holy ghost why is the word gorgeous ringing in my head right now?
It's lucky that Jessica arrives just as Krystal opened her mouth to speak, giggling and skipping towards Jonghyun as though they hadn't seen each other in ages instead of only a few hours. It's a bit sickening really, how perfectly and nauseatingly in love they are - but Jonghyun's one of his closest friends and it's nice when he's being creepy and cute to someone else.
"Happy Valentine's, baby." Jessica coos, brushing her nose against Jonghyun's while the latter grins and nips at her lips. He repeats her greeting back at her before bringing her close for a kiss, drawing another round of giggles as the couple embraced and murmured sweet nothings. It makes him a little uncomfortable, watching them make out right next to him but he feels paralyzed to move.
It reminds him once again why he shouldn't have agreed to come in the first place. Playing third wheel was never fun after all, not when things got a little too cute and lovey-dovey between couples and not you.
"I might puke, I'm not going to lie." Krystal announces suddenly, standing up and rolling her eyes. She cocks her head at him and shrugs, starting towards another room. "Do you want to watch a movie in my room, oppa? I don't think you would wanna be around them in a few seconds."
For a minute he hesitates, but then when Jonghyun lets out a little moan - Jinki thinks he'd rather be elsewhere than beside him right now. He'd rather be stuck in a room with the little ice princess Krystal and her gleaming skin than be anywhere near the sickly cute coupledom. No, thank you!
But Krystal's room is warmer than he expects and when she mumbles something about getting some juice and cookies for them to eat, Jinki finds himself wandering around the small area in a bit of a trance. The walls are in shade of a light orange-peach, probably, but that's just a guess-and bare of posters he'd at least expected for a girl her age. A bookcase stands solemnly next to a TV at one side of the room filled with English titles even he couldn't be bothered to decipher at the moment, arranged neatly (by book cover color!) against the wall. There's a desk not far off from there and he catches a cartoon panda rolling across the screen, happy and cuddly and cute the way everything else in her room seemed to be - but then something else catches his eyes, and he moves without thinking - striding across the space and stopping short beside her desk.
He's standing by her mirror now, looking at the photos telling the story of her life stuck on the glass. He is one those men who likes to see a radiant smile come at him once in a while, and Krystal's smile is quite radiant (he admits it finally - at least to himself) and he find likes it a lot. It's one she doesn't seem to wear naturally or often enough in public to be captured in still motion. But the pictures on her mirror are proof that they are captured at least, in her private moments and that is beautiful to him.
Stories are useful to him, as smiles are as well - though he could not quite explain.
And it's as his eyes float over the images a third time that he notices something different.
There's a new picture pinned delicately amongst the many photographs, settled in the lower right corner next to a photograph of her and Sulli.
It's a picture of him.
He stiffens and blinks once, twice in surprise recognizing the setting with ease. It was in one of their practice rooms, the one he'd dubbed "The Magic Room" because that was where all the magic happens (and by magic, he means ‘mind-blowing choreography'. Jinki shuddered at the memory of Minho raising an eyebrow and grinning at him with an elbow digging into his side. The boy had been spending too much time with Changmin and Kyuhyun and in effect, had started learning their wicked ways.)
He's smiling broadly in the image, a towel wrapped around his neck and he remembers although he can't see it, that it was the first time that Key actually laughed at one of his jokes for real. They'd been celebrating his birthday with pink balloons and polka dots everywhere when Krystal had excused herself to make her social rounds. Somehow, he realizes now that she must have taken it using Victoria's camera. She had had it hanging from her neck the last he'd seen her then and he frowns slightly, alarmed that he'd really been enjoying himself so much that he hadn't noticed her taking it. He sees that she's gone to the trouble of having it printed on glossy paper, notices that she's also had it cropped - expertly so, making him the main focus of the image, of the story behind it. In fact it almost looks professional and he understands so clearly in that moment that she's done this - that she's put him on her wall - because he's part of her life.
He's become part of her circle; he's one of the people she loves. He's one of the people that she'd do anything for and trusted.
There's a small section of her mirror that belongs to him.
There's a small section of her heart that's dedicated to him.
His face deadpans and he knows that it shouldn't mean this much, but it does.
The feeling of warmth that's spreading into his heart is as unfamiliar as it is spectacular; it's the feeling, he realizes in surprise, of finally having somewhere to belong. He hasn't really felt real acceptance since his debut and even with the love for his work and the love his fans gives him, it was never quite like this. He swallows thickly at the realization and reaches out to touch it lightly, his hands needing to confirm what his eyes are seeing.
"Onew-oppa?" her voice startles him and shakes him from his reverie. He drops his hand immediately, clearing his throat as he tries to blink away and appear nonchalant to what he'd just realized.
"Yeah?" he answers, still not turning to face her hoping to God that his voice doesn't betray him.
"I like that picture of you," she says simply, her voice is soft and gentle and he looks over his shoulder at her, a thousand emotions washing over his face as he basks in the smile she's giving him. He's floored by what she can make him feel with a simple expression; there's a warmth in her eyes, a genuine display of affection towards him that he can't comprehend yet he knows it's the most meaningful thing that she can give him.
He's been rendered speechless as he looks at her with a mixture of awe and confusion and her eyes soften further because no one should be this stunned over a picture.
No one should be shocked by a simple smile.
"I didn't think being your number 5 oppa would give me the right to be up this mirror." He says lightly, motioning a hand towards his picture against the glass. His fingers touch the film and feel a static run through him at the notion of it being real and there and not of his imagination. "I gotta say I'm a little surprised."
"Rankings like that don't really matter when I put up photos there," she replies, shrugging as she set the tray of food down on the floor. "And just because you're in number 5 doesn't mean you're in the lowest rank."
She's radiating again- he realizes that as she walks towards him slowly with a smile, leaning into him just a little. It's a comforting action, small as it is but one that requires no words and he turns back to the picture. Twin smiles are caught on their faces as they stood silently side by side, gazing at the photograph with a quiet sincerity. Her porcelain skin gleams next to him, and her radiant smile brings a warmth to his heart-and for a moment, he thanks Jonghyun for stringing him along on a Tuesday - no, on Valentine's of all days.
"It's a pretty good shot I have to admit, Krystal. I like it," he says quietly, and she nudges his shoulder playfully in response. Her smile widens and she answers him fiercely, poking a finger onto his cheek.
"Good because it's staying. And it's Soojung, oppa. I like that name better."
He thinks that maybe… maybe this could be something more.
"Well, I like Jinki better. Think you could call me that and up my ranking?"
Soojung grins again beside him and shrugs, "I think I can do that. Key-oppa in second place is a little overrated anyway."
Jinki laughs and follows her to their seats on the floor. The TV flickers on and they sit in content side by side.
"I could live with that."
He thinks that maybe… maybe this is happiness.
Pairing: Onew/Krystal
Word Count: 2,195 w
Author's Note: I am 305 words short of 2,500 but things have been so hectic in my life that I couldn't think of how to make this longer. Anyway, I hope my lovely secret valentine likes this even though it's late!
Reminder: Authors can not reply to comments before reveals are made. Thanks.
this day, of all days
Onew/Krystal. In which Valentine's Day is just another day until someone special comes along.
There were a lot of things he doesn't think much of.
Like self-help books and purple toy elephants. To Lee Jinki, books that told you what to do and miscolored toy animals annoyed him - and so, he found it so much easier if he just ignored them. They were useless after all, so why bother?
And for a moment there, he remembers a time when he didn't care for her either.
Jinki think he's better when he's alone, but can't complain when one day Jonghyun drags him out to spend the day with his girlfriend and her sister. He doesn't particularly think it's fair that Jonghyun gets to date around SNSD's Ice Princess while the rest of the company has to keep theirs a secret - but it's Jonghyun and his girl is Jessica and no matter what they were still quite perfect in the public's eyes.
And so he relents, at least for the time being. He didn't have any plans on Valentine's anyway.
They arrive a few hours after lunch at the sisters' apartment, huffing cool puffs out of their mouths from the biting wind of Seoul's still-in-winter streets. Jinki doesn't necessarily like the cold, but the city is beautiful and he does like the feeling of snow sloshing under his feet. It only takes a few seconds for the door to open when they arrive and the moment his eyes falls on Soojung by the door, Jinki hears a bell start ringing in his ear.
"Oh, good - you're actually on time, Dinosaur!" She grins, rolling her eyes as Jonghyun pushed past her and ruffled her hair. She offers him a smile after delivering a kick to the former's shin and welcomed them into the living room. "Make yourself at home. Unni will be out in a minute… I think. She's taking forever in the shower and the food's not here yet."
Krystal laughs and knocks her feet onto the table in front of her, sitting back in a way that was too free, too natural- too happy that it makes him feel a little dazed. He'd been too used to seeing her so serious, sitting by herself with her phone in hand and whispering at practices to be shown a side of her that's so relaxed. In his mind, she is Krystal - f(x)'s maknae and ice princess-in-training. He doesn't know her as Jung Soojung - they weren't even friends.
"I'm surprised you managed to get Onew-oppa out today, Dino," she says easily, flicking the TV on with a swish of her hand. One arm is up and behind her head as she sat, watching images float by the screen and speak to Jonghyun as though you weren't there. "I always held the impression that he didn't like going out and chaperone dates with you."
"Well, Sooyeon and I aren't exactly going out on a date today, Soojung," Jonghyun replies, and Jinki wonders how come it's so easy for other people see her as Soojung when he can't even imagine her as anything but Krystal.
His friend continues speaking completely unaware of him, "And who says I let him chaperone me? I would never! Not on Valentine's Day!"
Jinki snorts a little loudly from his seat as Krystal rolls her eyes. "Valentine's Day? Isn't it just a Tuesday today?"
"Am I detecting a hint of bitterness in your tone, my dear Soojung?"
‘Soojung' grins and shrugs her shoulders, flipping her hair in a way that makes Jinki blink at the sudden movement, the sudden gleam of its texture and her skin shining towards him like never before.
And when her eyes turn to catch his staring at her, he relents and chokes back a cough in the back of his throat when her expression turns curious. Her eyebrow shoots up in surprise, and somehow her lips come into view and he turns away just as a heat occupies his face. He doesn't necessarily know why he's so flustered all of a sudden, but it's different and new and-oh Holy ghost why is the word gorgeous ringing in my head right now?
It's lucky that Jessica arrives just as Krystal opened her mouth to speak, giggling and skipping towards Jonghyun as though they hadn't seen each other in ages instead of only a few hours. It's a bit sickening really, how perfectly and nauseatingly in love they are - but Jonghyun's one of his closest friends and it's nice when he's being creepy and cute to someone else.
"Happy Valentine's, baby." Jessica coos, brushing her nose against Jonghyun's while the latter grins and nips at her lips. He repeats her greeting back at her before bringing her close for a kiss, drawing another round of giggles as the couple embraced and murmured sweet nothings. It makes him a little uncomfortable, watching them make out right next to him but he feels paralyzed to move.
It reminds him once again why he shouldn't have agreed to come in the first place. Playing third wheel was never fun after all, not when things got a little too cute and lovey-dovey between couples and not you.
"I might puke, I'm not going to lie." Krystal announces suddenly, standing up and rolling her eyes. She cocks her head at him and shrugs, starting towards another room. "Do you want to watch a movie in my room, oppa? I don't think you would wanna be around them in a few seconds."
For a minute he hesitates, but then when Jonghyun lets out a little moan - Jinki thinks he'd rather be elsewhere than beside him right now. He'd rather be stuck in a room with the little ice princess Krystal and her gleaming skin than be anywhere near the sickly cute coupledom. No, thank you!
But Krystal's room is warmer than he expects and when she mumbles something about getting some juice and cookies for them to eat, Jinki finds himself wandering around the small area in a bit of a trance. The walls are in shade of a light orange-peach, probably, but that's just a guess-and bare of posters he'd at least expected for a girl her age. A bookcase stands solemnly next to a TV at one side of the room filled with English titles even he couldn't be bothered to decipher at the moment, arranged neatly (by book cover color!) against the wall. There's a desk not far off from there and he catches a cartoon panda rolling across the screen, happy and cuddly and cute the way everything else in her room seemed to be - but then something else catches his eyes, and he moves without thinking - striding across the space and stopping short beside her desk.
He's standing by her mirror now, looking at the photos telling the story of her life stuck on the glass. He is one those men who likes to see a radiant smile come at him once in a while, and Krystal's smile is quite radiant (he admits it finally - at least to himself) and he find likes it a lot. It's one she doesn't seem to wear naturally or often enough in public to be captured in still motion. But the pictures on her mirror are proof that they are captured at least, in her private moments and that is beautiful to him.
Stories are useful to him, as smiles are as well - though he could not quite explain.
And it's as his eyes float over the images a third time that he notices something different.
There's a new picture pinned delicately amongst the many photographs, settled in the lower right corner next to a photograph of her and Sulli.
It's a picture of him.
He stiffens and blinks once, twice in surprise recognizing the setting with ease. It was in one of their practice rooms, the one he'd dubbed "The Magic Room" because that was where all the magic happens (and by magic, he means ‘mind-blowing choreography'. Jinki shuddered at the memory of Minho raising an eyebrow and grinning at him with an elbow digging into his side. The boy had been spending too much time with Changmin and Kyuhyun and in effect, had started learning their wicked ways.)
He's smiling broadly in the image, a towel wrapped around his neck and he remembers although he can't see it, that it was the first time that Key actually laughed at one of his jokes for real. They'd been celebrating his birthday with pink balloons and polka dots everywhere when Krystal had excused herself to make her social rounds. Somehow, he realizes now that she must have taken it using Victoria's camera. She had had it hanging from her neck the last he'd seen her then and he frowns slightly, alarmed that he'd really been enjoying himself so much that he hadn't noticed her taking it. He sees that she's gone to the trouble of having it printed on glossy paper, notices that she's also had it cropped - expertly so, making him the main focus of the image, of the story behind it. In fact it almost looks professional and he understands so clearly in that moment that she's done this - that she's put him on her wall - because he's part of her life.
He's become part of her circle; he's one of the people she loves. He's one of the people that she'd do anything for and trusted.
There's a small section of her mirror that belongs to him.
There's a small section of her heart that's dedicated to him.
His face deadpans and he knows that it shouldn't mean this much, but it does.
The feeling of warmth that's spreading into his heart is as unfamiliar as it is spectacular; it's the feeling, he realizes in surprise, of finally having somewhere to belong. He hasn't really felt real acceptance since his debut and even with the love for his work and the love his fans gives him, it was never quite like this. He swallows thickly at the realization and reaches out to touch it lightly, his hands needing to confirm what his eyes are seeing.
"Onew-oppa?" her voice startles him and shakes him from his reverie. He drops his hand immediately, clearing his throat as he tries to blink away and appear nonchalant to what he'd just realized.
"Yeah?" he answers, still not turning to face her hoping to God that his voice doesn't betray him.
"I like that picture of you," she says simply, her voice is soft and gentle and he looks over his shoulder at her, a thousand emotions washing over his face as he basks in the smile she's giving him. He's floored by what she can make him feel with a simple expression; there's a warmth in her eyes, a genuine display of affection towards him that he can't comprehend yet he knows it's the most meaningful thing that she can give him.
He's been rendered speechless as he looks at her with a mixture of awe and confusion and her eyes soften further because no one should be this stunned over a picture.
No one should be shocked by a simple smile.
"I didn't think being your number 5 oppa would give me the right to be up this mirror." He says lightly, motioning a hand towards his picture against the glass. His fingers touch the film and feel a static run through him at the notion of it being real and there and not of his imagination. "I gotta say I'm a little surprised."
"Rankings like that don't really matter when I put up photos there," she replies, shrugging as she set the tray of food down on the floor. "And just because you're in number 5 doesn't mean you're in the lowest rank."
She's radiating again- he realizes that as she walks towards him slowly with a smile, leaning into him just a little. It's a comforting action, small as it is but one that requires no words and he turns back to the picture. Twin smiles are caught on their faces as they stood silently side by side, gazing at the photograph with a quiet sincerity. Her porcelain skin gleams next to him, and her radiant smile brings a warmth to his heart-and for a moment, he thanks Jonghyun for stringing him along on a Tuesday - no, on Valentine's of all days.
"It's a pretty good shot I have to admit, Krystal. I like it," he says quietly, and she nudges his shoulder playfully in response. Her smile widens and she answers him fiercely, poking a finger onto his cheek.
"Good because it's staying. And it's Soojung, oppa. I like that name better."
He thinks that maybe… maybe this could be something more.
"Well, I like Jinki better. Think you could call me that and up my ranking?"
Soojung grins again beside him and shrugs, "I think I can do that. Key-oppa in second place is a little overrated anyway."
Jinki laughs and follows her to their seats on the floor. The TV flickers on and they sit in content side by side.
"I could live with that."
He thinks that maybe… maybe this is happiness.