[fic] Minho/Key - SHINee - High Maintenance - Chapter 5/10
Title: High Maintenance; Chapter 5/10
Author: fonulyn
Rating: NC17 (overall)
Pairing: Minho/girl!Key (Minho/Gwiboon)
Other characters: Jonghyun, Onew, Zhou Mi, Boa, girl!Taemin (some are around more than others)
Warnings: --
Wordcount: 47 200 (overall); 4585 for this part
Disclaimer: I own no one, only my dirty imagination.
Summary: When Gwiboon's car breaks down she expects the repairs to be an annoying hassle. Not in her wildest dreams had she hoped for an illegally hot mechanic to be there to ease her hardships.
Comments: Previous parts: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4
“Please don’t tell me you never had milkshakes either or I might cry for your sad childhood,” Minho says as he hands the large beverage over to Gwiboon. He receives a slap on his arm, but it’s not like it hurts and it doesn’t even make him stop laughing. It’s a beautiful day so they’re in the park again, after having walked along a street window shopping. Minho is still sort of traumatized by those price tags, but thankfully they hadn’t bought anything. He’s not sure he would’ve lived through something like that.
It’s definitely a punishment to him, Minho thinks, as Gwiboon sulks and closes her lips around the thick straw, pretending to enjoy his milkshake so much that her cheeks hollow a little. It sends a whole other set of images through Minho’s mind and he can’t hold back the groan, quickly forcing his mind on a more innocent path. They’re in a park, for god’s sake, a park full of children and their parents and no one needs to be scandalized.
“I’ve had some before, thank you very much,” Gwiboon says when she finally releases the straw, but not without chasing after it with her tongue for one more sip. “Besides my childhood wasn’t sad. I got a swimming pool for my birthday when I turned six.” She arches an eyebrow, as if to dare him to argue, and he just holds his hands up in surrender, still grinning.
A moment passes in silence and then Gwiboon huffs. “Okay it fucking sucked. It’s not like having gigantic presents made me feel more at home while mom and dad were out there being busy. But I turned out alright.” She shrugs, this time focusing on her milkshake for real, instead of only as a way to tease Minho. It hadn’t been all bad, she knows her parents care for her in their own way, and she’s always known it. Yet she can’t deny it had been lonely growing up, until she’d turned old enough to attend the official parties and dinners.
Minho steps a little closer and sneaks an arm around Gwiboon’s shoulders, pulling her along just when she absent-mindedly almost walks straight into a jogger. They continue down the path, and although neither of them says anything it’s not a bad kind of silence. It’s comfortable, companionable, and if they’re being honest it’s something neither of them has really experienced before. Not like this.
As soon as both their cups are empty, Gwiboon shoves them into the nearest trash bin. What she doesn’t expect is that before she even manages to turn there are strong arms around her waist, lifting her up and twirling her in the air. Her first instinct is to screech but it turns into full-blown laughter seconds later, and she tries to aim a weak punch at Minho somehow. “Let me down, caveman! This isn’t how you treat a lady!”
“It isn’t?” Minho asks, laughter in his voice as he speaks right into her ear, spinning her around a couple of times more. “This lady doesn’t seem to mind.”
“Oh, I’ll show you -!” She never gets to finish that thought before she feels her left shoe slip from her foot, and she dearly hopes it won’t end up smacking some poor innocent bystander straight in the forehead. “Minho stop! Stop, my shoe!”
This time Minho listens, carefully slowing them down and allowing her down on the ground again. She has slight troubles balancing on only one foot, but she’s not going to walk barefoot on a path like this, where there could be anything, thank you very much. Thankfully Minho is right there so she leans against him shamelessly, using him for support. “Did you see where it flew?” she asks, trying to look around. They’re in a less crowded part of the park, only a few people around to give them amused or appalled looks.
“You’re not going to like this…” Minho begins slowly, his cheeks a little pale as his eyes are fixed somewhere. Gwiboon tries to follow his line of sight, but it takes her a moment to finally locate her missing shoe. In the middle of the fountain. It’s right there, almost blocking the spray of water, already soaked thoroughly and absolutely ruined, Gwiboon knows that. As much as she loves her designer heels, she knows they’re not much for extreme conditions, and she’s going to have to forget about that one.
She sighs. “Great.”
“I can get it for you,” Minho offers immediately, looking at her apologetically. “It’s not like the water is deep, I can just walk to the centre.”
“It’s no use.” She shakes her head. “It’s ruined already, there’s no way I’m going to walk in it anymore. Actually, there’s no way I’m walking at all anymore unless you fetch me another pair of shoes since it’s not like I can hop forward on one leg…” She tries to grin but it falls a little bit flat. Those were one of her favourite shoes, after all.
“C’mon.” Minho’s smile is genuine, and he crouches down, gesturing for Gwiboon to climb on his back. “I’ll carry you.”
“You…” Gwiboon can’t help but burst out laughing. “Honestly? You’re not going to carry me.”
“It’s either this or bridal style, your choice.” Minho shrugs, still looking up at her expectantly.
She only takes a second to consider her options before she sighs and straddles Minho’s back in a quick movement. She can’t deny, it feels really nice being pressed up against it, with his strong arms holding her up with little to no effort. Grinning, she shamelessly runs her hands over Minho’s chest, before settling her arms loosely around his neck.
“Who said you could feel me up?” Minho asks. There’s no way to deny he’s enjoying it too, though, he’s not even trying to cover it up.
Gwiboon only hums, happily, swinging her legs a little bit. “You do realize we’re turning into a romantic comedy? Like, those super-cheesy ones for people who still need to believe in something like true love.”
“Yes,” Minho answers easily. “But somehow I don’t have a problem with that.”
Briefly, Gwiboon considers if she does. When she can’t find a single thing that’d annoy her in the current situation - except losing her shoe, obviously - she plants a wet, loud kiss on Minho’s cheek. “No. Me neither. Not a problem at all.”
He turns to grin at him and so she aims the next kiss on his mouth. She misses, hitting his nose instead, but it makes them both laugh even more so it’s not like it’s anyone’s loss.
Apparently, having a super-hot and charming boyfriend has its negatives too. The universe has to keep some sort of a balance, and there can’t be too many nice things for one person at once, Gwiboon decides. There’s no other explanation for why she’s had such a craptastic week. If it had been only one day, okay, she would’ve cried against Jinki’s shoulder or taken her frustrations out on Minho in the form of a rough roll in the sack.
Yet it’s been a sucky seven day marathon and the worst part is that all of her friends - including her boyfriend - have been as busy as she has been so she’s lived with practically no desirable social interaction. She hasn’t seen Minho all week, has only received one text from him, and it’s not like she’s gotten much more attention from any of her friends either.
She’s had three different projects due in the past two days, and she knows it’s her own fault for procrastinating on them earlier but working for a few nights in a row with less than three hours of sleep isn’t really good for her mood. She’s also managed to lose her wallet, which lead to cancelling all of her credit cards and starting everything from scratch, including getting a new ID. Then there’s been four phone calls from her mother and one from her father that all left her feeling inadequate and a failure as a daughter.
So she picks up takeout and heads to the garage the first chance she gets, hoping to get some remedy for her sour mood.
But as if she hasn’t had enough shit this week, she has to walk in on her boyfriend twirling another girl in the air, both of them laughing freely. It hits a bit too close to home and Gwiboon clears her throat, before discreetly kicking at the nearest shelf to make a whole pile of tools clatter on the floor loudly. It makes Minho and the girl both jump, turning towards Gwiboon with their eyes wide open in shock. “Gwiboon!” Minho breathes out, a smile spreading on his lips as he finally snaps back to reality. “When did you come in?”
It’s the wrong thing to say. Maybe not the worst, but awfully wrong anyway, and Gwiboon can already feel tears of frustration prickle in the corners of her eyes. She blinks them away, raising her chin stubbornly as she glares him down. “Just a second ago. Why? Am I interrupting something special here?”
The girl smiles then, sort of disarmingly, and if Gwiboon wasn’t so angry to begin with she might’ve had a more favourable first impression of her. She’s shorter than Gwiboon, slender and almost fragile looking, has really kissable lips and perfect skin framed by dark strands of hair. The girl is beautiful, and although Gwiboon doesn’t have any illusions about her own appearance it does sting.
Stepping forward, the girl raises her arm as if to offer her hand to Gwiboon in a greeting. “Yes, actually! I’m Tae-”
“I don’t care who you are!” Gwiboon practically spits out. She flings the takeout cartons towards the two, her aim horrendous as always, and seconds later there’s noodles and sauce and stripes of chicken all over the garage floor at Minho’s feet. Nothing phases her now though, hurt and anger boiling into a huge fiery ball that simply explodes. “So this is it? This is it!?”
Minho only opens his mouth, unable to get a word out, his eyes comically wide as he stares at her.
“Screw you, Minho,” Gwiboon begins, lowly and threateningly. “I thought I could trust you!”
She spins around so fast she almost stumbles, before storming out of the garage. She doesn’t need to stand there and listen to Minho’s explanations, she’s seen enough. If she’s this easily replaced she doesn’t want to hear another word, she knows it’d only cause for her to get even more mad and she would start throwing wrenches goddamnit, until one of them would hit their mark and someone would bleed.
As good as Gwiboon is at running in high heels, she obviously can’t match Minho and his ridiculously long legs. That becomes evident as strong arms stop her from marching forward, spinning her around to face a slightly flushed Minho. That’s when she lets her palm connect with Minho’s cheek in a slap so hard it leaves both her hand and Minho’s face reddened and throbbing with the impact.
“Let go of me,” Gwiboon shrieks, trying to aim a kick at him. He manages to dodge, a bit too easily, but does loosen his grip on her immediately.
“Look, Gwiboon, please just listen!” Minho pleads, searching for eye contact. “Please don’t run away, okay?” Already as he’s speaking he lets go of her completely, allowing her to go free if she wants to. She doesn’t know why she stays there, rooted to the spot, when a moment earlier she’d been ready to kick and scream for as long as it would take to get out of there.
There’s a short, breathless pause, but Gwiboon grows tired of it really fast. “Speak.”
“It’s not what you think it is -”
That’s when her patience snaps another time and she raises her voice to interrupt him. “It’s not what I think it is? So it’s not a sequel to your last romantic comedy, one in which you’ll actually stay with the girl in the end? I’m so sick of liars, Minho, I’ve had to handle enough of them for several lifetimes. You were different, you didn’t lie to me and go behind my back, like everyone else before. Or so I thought. If you don’t want me, then say it to my fucking face, don’t go have another storybook romance on the side!”
“But she’s not my -”
“This was stupid anyway!” Gwiboon interrupts, again, throwing her arms in the air. “How did I think I’d pull it off? My parents would never approve of someone like you! My whole life is light years away from yours!”
She’s ready to say more but there’s something in Minho’s expression that stops her automatically. He seems hurt, as if she’s the one who took his feelings and trampled all over them in the last ten minutes. Yet she snaps her mouth shut, so tight it hurts, and glares him down.
Finally, Minho sighs. “Look, Gwiboon,” he says, runs his fingers through his hair and manages to look both adorable and attractive at the same time. Gwiboon sort of wants to kick him right now. In the face. But she lets him go on. “That girl over there, she was Taeyeon. She is Jonghyun’s wife. They just had twins and I haven’t seen her since I visited them at the hospital, and she came to invite me, to invite us, over for dinner.”
The anger doesn’t go away just like that. Yet Gwiboon can feel herself deflating slightly, the worst edge of the agitation melting away as she sees nothing but sincerity in Minho’s eyes when he looks at her. “I’m not cheating on you, Gwiboon. I’m not having an affair with her. She’s the love of my best friend’s life. You just didn’t let me say anything before you stormed off.”
“Right,” Gwiboon begins, but instead of an angry snarl it turns into a choked sob, “so now it’s my fault, of course. Like everything else is.”
“No.” Minho shakes his head. He moves slowly, gives her every chance to pull away or stop him, but finally circles his arms around her and pulls her into a warm embrace. “C’mon. Wanna talk about it? Were you already upset before you walked in on that?”
It’s probably an educated guess, but it still makes the stubborn tears re-appear in Gwiboon’s eyes. “I just… I’ve had the shittiest week in the shitty history of shitty weeks. And then I come here and think I’ve lost you too.” She buries her face into his shirt. Who cares if he’ll have makeup smudges on it later, or if she needs to touch up her face before going anywhere public.
She doesn’t want to go back to the garage to face Taeyeon right now, so they go in through the back and lock themselves into the kitchenette. It feels good to pour out all of the crap that has been happening all week, and she just talks and talks until her voice is hoarse. After they’ve cleared up the air, everything seems already brighter again.
Maybe, Gwiboon thinks, she can have her storybook romance, after all.
The argument is at least good for something, as it seems to clear the air and Gwiboon feels a lot less stressed after it, when things seem to slip back to how they were before. They both agree that going a week with barely any contact isn’t good for either of them, much less for their relationship, and thus agree on hanging out as much as they can. It’s not easy, with how much work Minho has to do, but now that Gwiboon’s workload has dropped drastically she often sits at the garage with him, usually both focused on their own work.
For the longest time, it used to be Gwiboon’s favourite pastime to sit there and watch Minho work. The obvious reason is of course how good he looks, especially when it gets hotter and he begins sweating a little, his tanktop clinging to his skin. Yet she also finds it somehow calming, almost domestic, how they can share space even without constantly filling it with chatter.
One day, Gwiboon brings a sketchbook along, and from then on it begins to get filled with numerous drawings, almost all of them of Minho. Drawing is something she used to be good at, back in high school, but she hasn’t had any interest in it for years and it sort of feels like she has to learn everything all over again. It’s not like she complains, though. She could spend hours upon hours drawing the lines of Minho’s back, or shadowing the light stubble, or trying to get those Adam’s apples just right.
She might have several sketches of Minho’s butt in there, too. But it’s not her fault. It’s a glorious bottom, anyone would want to practice drawing it. Anyone.
Minho’s sitting at the desk, pulling hair to get the paperwork down, while she’s working on yet another drawing, a full-body one this time, aiming to get most of the shading right this time so that she might actually find this worthy of being shown to someone. Jonghyun has left home already a couple of hours ago, so it’s just them in the silence of the garage, until the sound of the buzzer cuts through the air.
“What?” Gwiboon frowns, raising her gaze from her work to meet Minho’s. “The place is closed, can’t they read the sign?”
“Maybe it’s an emergency.” Minho shrugs. He obviously isn’t so keen on the paperwork so he gets up, gesturing for her to wait while he goes to the door to check who it is. Gwiboon isn’t certain how often things like this happen, yet after a while she’s pretty sure it shouldn’t take so long for Minho to at least pop back to tell her what’s going on. She closes her sketchbook and follows, feet padding softly on the concrete floor in the slippers she’s stolen from Minho.
“Minho?” she calls as she steps into the main hall. She spots him a bit further away, talking animatedly with a middle-aged couple, and she figures that she can as well go see what it’s all about. Naturally, she stops to stand next to Minho, tugging a little on his belt as he notices how askew it is. Might as well make her man seem presentable.
That earns her an amused look from the woman, who is the first to acknowledge her. “Minho,” she addresses him, even though her eyes are still on Gwiboon, “care to do the introductions? I’d like to know who this young lady is.”
Minho clears his throat and sneaks an arm around Gwiboon’s waist, gently pulling her a little closer. “Uhm, well. This isn’t how I planned the whole meet-the-parents thing but, mom and dad, this is Gwiboon. Gwiboon, these are my parents.”
Only now does Gwiboon realize how much the man actually looks like Minho, and how there are similar mannerisms even in the way he stands. The woman has some similar features, too, and her smile is completely heart-melting, just like her son’s. They seem nothing but friendly, immediately greeting her, but she freezes completely for a couple of seconds. She doesn’t even remember when she was last introduced to a boyfriend’s parents.
Somehow she manages to utter polite greetings, but that’s as far it gets before there’s a brief but awkward silence. Thankfully Minho’s mother seems to be an expert at filling those. “So we didn’t really mean to stop by, as I was telling Minho, but we were driving home from visiting his brother so we decided we’d come say hi.”
Minho nods, turning to look at Gwiboon, as if to make sure she’s alright with the situation. She wants to scoff and say that of course she is, she’s not a child anymore, but the truth is that she’s sort of enjoying Minho’s silent support and his arm around her, so she doesn’t say anything. “They asked if I’d eaten,” Minho says, “and if I’d have dinner with them.”
“Which means,” Mrs Choi cuts in immediately, “that you are invited as well, dear. There’s this little place just down the street that means a lot to us.” She glances at her husband, smiling. “At least to a sentimental fool like me. We’re headed that way now, so if you’d just join us?”
“That’s very kind of you,” Gwiboon finally manages to answer, digging out the polite front she’s so used to bringing up in every formal party her parents have brought her to. “But I wouldn’t want to intrude. I’ll let you catch up with your son properly instead of being in the way.”
“Nonsense!” Mrs Choi announces. “We insist.”
There’s not much Gwiboon can say to that, so she gets roped into having dinner with Minho’s family. She excuses herself long enough to find her purse and to switch back to her heels from the slippers, and before she even knows what happened they’re sitting in a corner booth in a charming traditional restaurant, waiting for their orders to arrive.
It’s more than a little overwhelming, to say the least. Yet Minho keeps giving her apologetic smiles and squeezes her hand underneath the table, and Mrs Choi keeps up the friendly chatter until everyone is more or less relaxed. It’s somewhere around the delicious dessert that Gwiboon realizes she’s really enjoying herself, liking the quick chats she can strike up with Minho’s mother and the silent and gentlemanly way his father presents himself.
It’s like they’ve already taken her into the family, even if it seems to be way too soon, and she can’t help but feel genuinely appreciated by that. The dinner turns out to be nicer and friendlier than any of the ones she’s shared with her own parents, as messed up as that is. When Minho’s father wants to have a word with his son in private, Gwiboon doesn’t even think twice before leaving together with Mrs Choi to wait for the men outside.
“I’m so happy you agreed to join us,” Minho’s mother announces as soon as the door falls shut behind them and they take the first steps in the gentle, warm breeze. “I don’t know why Minho has been hiding you, you’re absolutely everything a mother could wish for her son.” The words leave Gwiboon taken aback, even though she already knows how Mrs Choi is prone to exaggeration. She doesn’t have even the slightest chance to reply before the following words. “Aren’t you miles out of his league though?”
“Oh please,” Gwiboon huffs, momentarily forgetting her manners and acting like she would around her friends instead of someone she needs to impress. “Have you seen him?” Only a little belatedly she realizes how that could be interpreted wrong, and hurries to go on. “No, really, I’m not. He’s …probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me?” It comes out as a question, because she surprises herself as much as anyone by even saying things like that out loud. She doesn’t even try to take it back, though. Not when she knows it’s the truth.
Mrs Choi smiles warmly, taking both of Gwiboon’s hands in her own. “Trust me, a mother knows her son, and he is completely gone. I’ve never seen Minho this smitten over someone. And I’m more than glad to welcome you into our family.”
It seems like a huge thing, and it is, which is why Gwiboon does nothing but nods dumbly. She’s not going to run off to get married with Minho anytime soon, and they’ve made it clear to his parents that their relationship is still fresh. And yet here she is, being welcomed with open arms, in a way she could never imagine anyone in her own family behaving. It’s equal parts wonderful and terrifying, and she’s glad to be saved by the men finally following them outside.
Minho’s skin is warm under Gwiboon’s touch as she traces a random pattern down his chest, burrowed close to his side. They’ve been silent for a good while, coming down from their high and soaking in each other’s presence, so Minho’s voice is gruff when he finally speaks up. “I’m sorry about today.” He brings a hand to the back of Gwiboon’s head, threading his fingers through the soft curls. “I know my mom can be really intense and I… I didn’t plan on forcing them upon you just yet.”
“No,” Gwiboon shakes her head, the tiniest bit not to lose the touch, before pressing her nose against his shoulder. “It’s okay. They were both really nice. Your mom might be planning the wedding already, though,” she chuckles, a little nervously. She likes Minho, more than she has liked anyone in a long time. Like might not even be a strong enough word for what she’s feeling. But marriage? She’s not ready for things like that.
Easily, Minho uses his free arm to haul Gwiboon upwards, to press a firm kiss on her already reddened lips. “Don’t take her too seriously,” he whispers, his fingers trailing down Gwiboon’s spine in a way that makes her shudder. “We’ll take our time and see where this goes, just as we agreed.”
“I know,” she smiles, shifting until she’s straddling his hips, aiming for as much of skin on skin contact as she can possibly get. “I’m not stressed, I promise. You can’t scare me away just with a dinner with parents. If you want to get rid of me, you’ve got to try something way worse.”
He laughs, the low and infectious laughter that makes them both shake. He doesn’t reply, not with words, but instead captures her lips in another slow kiss. His answer is in every touch, in every sigh, and she knows that there’s no hurry. They’ll make their own pace. Then he has to go and shatter the calmness that has already settled by speaking up again. “Dad asked me when they’re going to get grandkids.”
“He what!?” Gwiboon isn’t proud of the way she shrieks, quickly pulling back to look at Minho from huge eyes. “No no no. I’m sorry, but no.” She babbles so fast she doesn’t even realize the way Minho is grinning, not before he actually has the audacity to laugh again and that finally makes her snap back to reality. “You ass,” she huffs, and punches him out of spite. If the following kiss takes a little away from her alleged annoyance, she doesn’t really mind.
“He didn’t really ask that, did he?” she asks a moment later.
“He actually did,” Minho answers calmly, soothingly stroking slow circles on her sides. “But I told him that they’ll just have to be patient about it. I… I mean, we haven’t even been dating for that long yet, right?” There’s the slightest bit of uncertainty in his voice, and it immediately manages to melt her heart.
“We’ll just have to make it that long,” she smirks. “I am so not ready for a family yet. But I’m not saying I won’t ever be.”
Neither of them knows whether or not they’ll get that far together. Right now, it doesn’t matter, though. What matters is that they’re in this together, that they’re slowly growing closer and closer, enjoying every minute of it. Time will tell the rest.
Chapter 6
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it’s all thanks to koukaiaru (as usual ♥) that this is betaed at all, but I think I probably made more new mistakes while fixing it than I actually managed to get rid of so please excuse them ok ;; I’m so tired I literally can barely see straight so this is as good as it’ll get now, sorry.
@DW.
Author: fonulyn
Rating: NC17 (overall)
Pairing: Minho/girl!Key (Minho/Gwiboon)
Other characters: Jonghyun, Onew, Zhou Mi, Boa, girl!Taemin (some are around more than others)
Warnings: --
Wordcount: 47 200 (overall); 4585 for this part
Disclaimer: I own no one, only my dirty imagination.
Summary: When Gwiboon's car breaks down she expects the repairs to be an annoying hassle. Not in her wildest dreams had she hoped for an illegally hot mechanic to be there to ease her hardships.
Comments: Previous parts: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4
“Please don’t tell me you never had milkshakes either or I might cry for your sad childhood,” Minho says as he hands the large beverage over to Gwiboon. He receives a slap on his arm, but it’s not like it hurts and it doesn’t even make him stop laughing. It’s a beautiful day so they’re in the park again, after having walked along a street window shopping. Minho is still sort of traumatized by those price tags, but thankfully they hadn’t bought anything. He’s not sure he would’ve lived through something like that.
It’s definitely a punishment to him, Minho thinks, as Gwiboon sulks and closes her lips around the thick straw, pretending to enjoy his milkshake so much that her cheeks hollow a little. It sends a whole other set of images through Minho’s mind and he can’t hold back the groan, quickly forcing his mind on a more innocent path. They’re in a park, for god’s sake, a park full of children and their parents and no one needs to be scandalized.
“I’ve had some before, thank you very much,” Gwiboon says when she finally releases the straw, but not without chasing after it with her tongue for one more sip. “Besides my childhood wasn’t sad. I got a swimming pool for my birthday when I turned six.” She arches an eyebrow, as if to dare him to argue, and he just holds his hands up in surrender, still grinning.
A moment passes in silence and then Gwiboon huffs. “Okay it fucking sucked. It’s not like having gigantic presents made me feel more at home while mom and dad were out there being busy. But I turned out alright.” She shrugs, this time focusing on her milkshake for real, instead of only as a way to tease Minho. It hadn’t been all bad, she knows her parents care for her in their own way, and she’s always known it. Yet she can’t deny it had been lonely growing up, until she’d turned old enough to attend the official parties and dinners.
Minho steps a little closer and sneaks an arm around Gwiboon’s shoulders, pulling her along just when she absent-mindedly almost walks straight into a jogger. They continue down the path, and although neither of them says anything it’s not a bad kind of silence. It’s comfortable, companionable, and if they’re being honest it’s something neither of them has really experienced before. Not like this.
As soon as both their cups are empty, Gwiboon shoves them into the nearest trash bin. What she doesn’t expect is that before she even manages to turn there are strong arms around her waist, lifting her up and twirling her in the air. Her first instinct is to screech but it turns into full-blown laughter seconds later, and she tries to aim a weak punch at Minho somehow. “Let me down, caveman! This isn’t how you treat a lady!”
“It isn’t?” Minho asks, laughter in his voice as he speaks right into her ear, spinning her around a couple of times more. “This lady doesn’t seem to mind.”
“Oh, I’ll show you -!” She never gets to finish that thought before she feels her left shoe slip from her foot, and she dearly hopes it won’t end up smacking some poor innocent bystander straight in the forehead. “Minho stop! Stop, my shoe!”
This time Minho listens, carefully slowing them down and allowing her down on the ground again. She has slight troubles balancing on only one foot, but she’s not going to walk barefoot on a path like this, where there could be anything, thank you very much. Thankfully Minho is right there so she leans against him shamelessly, using him for support. “Did you see where it flew?” she asks, trying to look around. They’re in a less crowded part of the park, only a few people around to give them amused or appalled looks.
“You’re not going to like this…” Minho begins slowly, his cheeks a little pale as his eyes are fixed somewhere. Gwiboon tries to follow his line of sight, but it takes her a moment to finally locate her missing shoe. In the middle of the fountain. It’s right there, almost blocking the spray of water, already soaked thoroughly and absolutely ruined, Gwiboon knows that. As much as she loves her designer heels, she knows they’re not much for extreme conditions, and she’s going to have to forget about that one.
She sighs. “Great.”
“I can get it for you,” Minho offers immediately, looking at her apologetically. “It’s not like the water is deep, I can just walk to the centre.”
“It’s no use.” She shakes her head. “It’s ruined already, there’s no way I’m going to walk in it anymore. Actually, there’s no way I’m walking at all anymore unless you fetch me another pair of shoes since it’s not like I can hop forward on one leg…” She tries to grin but it falls a little bit flat. Those were one of her favourite shoes, after all.
“C’mon.” Minho’s smile is genuine, and he crouches down, gesturing for Gwiboon to climb on his back. “I’ll carry you.”
“You…” Gwiboon can’t help but burst out laughing. “Honestly? You’re not going to carry me.”
“It’s either this or bridal style, your choice.” Minho shrugs, still looking up at her expectantly.
She only takes a second to consider her options before she sighs and straddles Minho’s back in a quick movement. She can’t deny, it feels really nice being pressed up against it, with his strong arms holding her up with little to no effort. Grinning, she shamelessly runs her hands over Minho’s chest, before settling her arms loosely around his neck.
“Who said you could feel me up?” Minho asks. There’s no way to deny he’s enjoying it too, though, he’s not even trying to cover it up.
Gwiboon only hums, happily, swinging her legs a little bit. “You do realize we’re turning into a romantic comedy? Like, those super-cheesy ones for people who still need to believe in something like true love.”
“Yes,” Minho answers easily. “But somehow I don’t have a problem with that.”
Briefly, Gwiboon considers if she does. When she can’t find a single thing that’d annoy her in the current situation - except losing her shoe, obviously - she plants a wet, loud kiss on Minho’s cheek. “No. Me neither. Not a problem at all.”
He turns to grin at him and so she aims the next kiss on his mouth. She misses, hitting his nose instead, but it makes them both laugh even more so it’s not like it’s anyone’s loss.
Apparently, having a super-hot and charming boyfriend has its negatives too. The universe has to keep some sort of a balance, and there can’t be too many nice things for one person at once, Gwiboon decides. There’s no other explanation for why she’s had such a craptastic week. If it had been only one day, okay, she would’ve cried against Jinki’s shoulder or taken her frustrations out on Minho in the form of a rough roll in the sack.
Yet it’s been a sucky seven day marathon and the worst part is that all of her friends - including her boyfriend - have been as busy as she has been so she’s lived with practically no desirable social interaction. She hasn’t seen Minho all week, has only received one text from him, and it’s not like she’s gotten much more attention from any of her friends either.
She’s had three different projects due in the past two days, and she knows it’s her own fault for procrastinating on them earlier but working for a few nights in a row with less than three hours of sleep isn’t really good for her mood. She’s also managed to lose her wallet, which lead to cancelling all of her credit cards and starting everything from scratch, including getting a new ID. Then there’s been four phone calls from her mother and one from her father that all left her feeling inadequate and a failure as a daughter.
So she picks up takeout and heads to the garage the first chance she gets, hoping to get some remedy for her sour mood.
But as if she hasn’t had enough shit this week, she has to walk in on her boyfriend twirling another girl in the air, both of them laughing freely. It hits a bit too close to home and Gwiboon clears her throat, before discreetly kicking at the nearest shelf to make a whole pile of tools clatter on the floor loudly. It makes Minho and the girl both jump, turning towards Gwiboon with their eyes wide open in shock. “Gwiboon!” Minho breathes out, a smile spreading on his lips as he finally snaps back to reality. “When did you come in?”
It’s the wrong thing to say. Maybe not the worst, but awfully wrong anyway, and Gwiboon can already feel tears of frustration prickle in the corners of her eyes. She blinks them away, raising her chin stubbornly as she glares him down. “Just a second ago. Why? Am I interrupting something special here?”
The girl smiles then, sort of disarmingly, and if Gwiboon wasn’t so angry to begin with she might’ve had a more favourable first impression of her. She’s shorter than Gwiboon, slender and almost fragile looking, has really kissable lips and perfect skin framed by dark strands of hair. The girl is beautiful, and although Gwiboon doesn’t have any illusions about her own appearance it does sting.
Stepping forward, the girl raises her arm as if to offer her hand to Gwiboon in a greeting. “Yes, actually! I’m Tae-”
“I don’t care who you are!” Gwiboon practically spits out. She flings the takeout cartons towards the two, her aim horrendous as always, and seconds later there’s noodles and sauce and stripes of chicken all over the garage floor at Minho’s feet. Nothing phases her now though, hurt and anger boiling into a huge fiery ball that simply explodes. “So this is it? This is it!?”
Minho only opens his mouth, unable to get a word out, his eyes comically wide as he stares at her.
“Screw you, Minho,” Gwiboon begins, lowly and threateningly. “I thought I could trust you!”
She spins around so fast she almost stumbles, before storming out of the garage. She doesn’t need to stand there and listen to Minho’s explanations, she’s seen enough. If she’s this easily replaced she doesn’t want to hear another word, she knows it’d only cause for her to get even more mad and she would start throwing wrenches goddamnit, until one of them would hit their mark and someone would bleed.
As good as Gwiboon is at running in high heels, she obviously can’t match Minho and his ridiculously long legs. That becomes evident as strong arms stop her from marching forward, spinning her around to face a slightly flushed Minho. That’s when she lets her palm connect with Minho’s cheek in a slap so hard it leaves both her hand and Minho’s face reddened and throbbing with the impact.
“Let go of me,” Gwiboon shrieks, trying to aim a kick at him. He manages to dodge, a bit too easily, but does loosen his grip on her immediately.
“Look, Gwiboon, please just listen!” Minho pleads, searching for eye contact. “Please don’t run away, okay?” Already as he’s speaking he lets go of her completely, allowing her to go free if she wants to. She doesn’t know why she stays there, rooted to the spot, when a moment earlier she’d been ready to kick and scream for as long as it would take to get out of there.
There’s a short, breathless pause, but Gwiboon grows tired of it really fast. “Speak.”
“It’s not what you think it is -”
That’s when her patience snaps another time and she raises her voice to interrupt him. “It’s not what I think it is? So it’s not a sequel to your last romantic comedy, one in which you’ll actually stay with the girl in the end? I’m so sick of liars, Minho, I’ve had to handle enough of them for several lifetimes. You were different, you didn’t lie to me and go behind my back, like everyone else before. Or so I thought. If you don’t want me, then say it to my fucking face, don’t go have another storybook romance on the side!”
“But she’s not my -”
“This was stupid anyway!” Gwiboon interrupts, again, throwing her arms in the air. “How did I think I’d pull it off? My parents would never approve of someone like you! My whole life is light years away from yours!”
She’s ready to say more but there’s something in Minho’s expression that stops her automatically. He seems hurt, as if she’s the one who took his feelings and trampled all over them in the last ten minutes. Yet she snaps her mouth shut, so tight it hurts, and glares him down.
Finally, Minho sighs. “Look, Gwiboon,” he says, runs his fingers through his hair and manages to look both adorable and attractive at the same time. Gwiboon sort of wants to kick him right now. In the face. But she lets him go on. “That girl over there, she was Taeyeon. She is Jonghyun’s wife. They just had twins and I haven’t seen her since I visited them at the hospital, and she came to invite me, to invite us, over for dinner.”
The anger doesn’t go away just like that. Yet Gwiboon can feel herself deflating slightly, the worst edge of the agitation melting away as she sees nothing but sincerity in Minho’s eyes when he looks at her. “I’m not cheating on you, Gwiboon. I’m not having an affair with her. She’s the love of my best friend’s life. You just didn’t let me say anything before you stormed off.”
“Right,” Gwiboon begins, but instead of an angry snarl it turns into a choked sob, “so now it’s my fault, of course. Like everything else is.”
“No.” Minho shakes his head. He moves slowly, gives her every chance to pull away or stop him, but finally circles his arms around her and pulls her into a warm embrace. “C’mon. Wanna talk about it? Were you already upset before you walked in on that?”
It’s probably an educated guess, but it still makes the stubborn tears re-appear in Gwiboon’s eyes. “I just… I’ve had the shittiest week in the shitty history of shitty weeks. And then I come here and think I’ve lost you too.” She buries her face into his shirt. Who cares if he’ll have makeup smudges on it later, or if she needs to touch up her face before going anywhere public.
She doesn’t want to go back to the garage to face Taeyeon right now, so they go in through the back and lock themselves into the kitchenette. It feels good to pour out all of the crap that has been happening all week, and she just talks and talks until her voice is hoarse. After they’ve cleared up the air, everything seems already brighter again.
Maybe, Gwiboon thinks, she can have her storybook romance, after all.
The argument is at least good for something, as it seems to clear the air and Gwiboon feels a lot less stressed after it, when things seem to slip back to how they were before. They both agree that going a week with barely any contact isn’t good for either of them, much less for their relationship, and thus agree on hanging out as much as they can. It’s not easy, with how much work Minho has to do, but now that Gwiboon’s workload has dropped drastically she often sits at the garage with him, usually both focused on their own work.
For the longest time, it used to be Gwiboon’s favourite pastime to sit there and watch Minho work. The obvious reason is of course how good he looks, especially when it gets hotter and he begins sweating a little, his tanktop clinging to his skin. Yet she also finds it somehow calming, almost domestic, how they can share space even without constantly filling it with chatter.
One day, Gwiboon brings a sketchbook along, and from then on it begins to get filled with numerous drawings, almost all of them of Minho. Drawing is something she used to be good at, back in high school, but she hasn’t had any interest in it for years and it sort of feels like she has to learn everything all over again. It’s not like she complains, though. She could spend hours upon hours drawing the lines of Minho’s back, or shadowing the light stubble, or trying to get those Adam’s apples just right.
She might have several sketches of Minho’s butt in there, too. But it’s not her fault. It’s a glorious bottom, anyone would want to practice drawing it. Anyone.
Minho’s sitting at the desk, pulling hair to get the paperwork down, while she’s working on yet another drawing, a full-body one this time, aiming to get most of the shading right this time so that she might actually find this worthy of being shown to someone. Jonghyun has left home already a couple of hours ago, so it’s just them in the silence of the garage, until the sound of the buzzer cuts through the air.
“What?” Gwiboon frowns, raising her gaze from her work to meet Minho’s. “The place is closed, can’t they read the sign?”
“Maybe it’s an emergency.” Minho shrugs. He obviously isn’t so keen on the paperwork so he gets up, gesturing for her to wait while he goes to the door to check who it is. Gwiboon isn’t certain how often things like this happen, yet after a while she’s pretty sure it shouldn’t take so long for Minho to at least pop back to tell her what’s going on. She closes her sketchbook and follows, feet padding softly on the concrete floor in the slippers she’s stolen from Minho.
“Minho?” she calls as she steps into the main hall. She spots him a bit further away, talking animatedly with a middle-aged couple, and she figures that she can as well go see what it’s all about. Naturally, she stops to stand next to Minho, tugging a little on his belt as he notices how askew it is. Might as well make her man seem presentable.
That earns her an amused look from the woman, who is the first to acknowledge her. “Minho,” she addresses him, even though her eyes are still on Gwiboon, “care to do the introductions? I’d like to know who this young lady is.”
Minho clears his throat and sneaks an arm around Gwiboon’s waist, gently pulling her a little closer. “Uhm, well. This isn’t how I planned the whole meet-the-parents thing but, mom and dad, this is Gwiboon. Gwiboon, these are my parents.”
Only now does Gwiboon realize how much the man actually looks like Minho, and how there are similar mannerisms even in the way he stands. The woman has some similar features, too, and her smile is completely heart-melting, just like her son’s. They seem nothing but friendly, immediately greeting her, but she freezes completely for a couple of seconds. She doesn’t even remember when she was last introduced to a boyfriend’s parents.
Somehow she manages to utter polite greetings, but that’s as far it gets before there’s a brief but awkward silence. Thankfully Minho’s mother seems to be an expert at filling those. “So we didn’t really mean to stop by, as I was telling Minho, but we were driving home from visiting his brother so we decided we’d come say hi.”
Minho nods, turning to look at Gwiboon, as if to make sure she’s alright with the situation. She wants to scoff and say that of course she is, she’s not a child anymore, but the truth is that she’s sort of enjoying Minho’s silent support and his arm around her, so she doesn’t say anything. “They asked if I’d eaten,” Minho says, “and if I’d have dinner with them.”
“Which means,” Mrs Choi cuts in immediately, “that you are invited as well, dear. There’s this little place just down the street that means a lot to us.” She glances at her husband, smiling. “At least to a sentimental fool like me. We’re headed that way now, so if you’d just join us?”
“That’s very kind of you,” Gwiboon finally manages to answer, digging out the polite front she’s so used to bringing up in every formal party her parents have brought her to. “But I wouldn’t want to intrude. I’ll let you catch up with your son properly instead of being in the way.”
“Nonsense!” Mrs Choi announces. “We insist.”
There’s not much Gwiboon can say to that, so she gets roped into having dinner with Minho’s family. She excuses herself long enough to find her purse and to switch back to her heels from the slippers, and before she even knows what happened they’re sitting in a corner booth in a charming traditional restaurant, waiting for their orders to arrive.
It’s more than a little overwhelming, to say the least. Yet Minho keeps giving her apologetic smiles and squeezes her hand underneath the table, and Mrs Choi keeps up the friendly chatter until everyone is more or less relaxed. It’s somewhere around the delicious dessert that Gwiboon realizes she’s really enjoying herself, liking the quick chats she can strike up with Minho’s mother and the silent and gentlemanly way his father presents himself.
It’s like they’ve already taken her into the family, even if it seems to be way too soon, and she can’t help but feel genuinely appreciated by that. The dinner turns out to be nicer and friendlier than any of the ones she’s shared with her own parents, as messed up as that is. When Minho’s father wants to have a word with his son in private, Gwiboon doesn’t even think twice before leaving together with Mrs Choi to wait for the men outside.
“I’m so happy you agreed to join us,” Minho’s mother announces as soon as the door falls shut behind them and they take the first steps in the gentle, warm breeze. “I don’t know why Minho has been hiding you, you’re absolutely everything a mother could wish for her son.” The words leave Gwiboon taken aback, even though she already knows how Mrs Choi is prone to exaggeration. She doesn’t have even the slightest chance to reply before the following words. “Aren’t you miles out of his league though?”
“Oh please,” Gwiboon huffs, momentarily forgetting her manners and acting like she would around her friends instead of someone she needs to impress. “Have you seen him?” Only a little belatedly she realizes how that could be interpreted wrong, and hurries to go on. “No, really, I’m not. He’s …probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me?” It comes out as a question, because she surprises herself as much as anyone by even saying things like that out loud. She doesn’t even try to take it back, though. Not when she knows it’s the truth.
Mrs Choi smiles warmly, taking both of Gwiboon’s hands in her own. “Trust me, a mother knows her son, and he is completely gone. I’ve never seen Minho this smitten over someone. And I’m more than glad to welcome you into our family.”
It seems like a huge thing, and it is, which is why Gwiboon does nothing but nods dumbly. She’s not going to run off to get married with Minho anytime soon, and they’ve made it clear to his parents that their relationship is still fresh. And yet here she is, being welcomed with open arms, in a way she could never imagine anyone in her own family behaving. It’s equal parts wonderful and terrifying, and she’s glad to be saved by the men finally following them outside.
Minho’s skin is warm under Gwiboon’s touch as she traces a random pattern down his chest, burrowed close to his side. They’ve been silent for a good while, coming down from their high and soaking in each other’s presence, so Minho’s voice is gruff when he finally speaks up. “I’m sorry about today.” He brings a hand to the back of Gwiboon’s head, threading his fingers through the soft curls. “I know my mom can be really intense and I… I didn’t plan on forcing them upon you just yet.”
“No,” Gwiboon shakes her head, the tiniest bit not to lose the touch, before pressing her nose against his shoulder. “It’s okay. They were both really nice. Your mom might be planning the wedding already, though,” she chuckles, a little nervously. She likes Minho, more than she has liked anyone in a long time. Like might not even be a strong enough word for what she’s feeling. But marriage? She’s not ready for things like that.
Easily, Minho uses his free arm to haul Gwiboon upwards, to press a firm kiss on her already reddened lips. “Don’t take her too seriously,” he whispers, his fingers trailing down Gwiboon’s spine in a way that makes her shudder. “We’ll take our time and see where this goes, just as we agreed.”
“I know,” she smiles, shifting until she’s straddling his hips, aiming for as much of skin on skin contact as she can possibly get. “I’m not stressed, I promise. You can’t scare me away just with a dinner with parents. If you want to get rid of me, you’ve got to try something way worse.”
He laughs, the low and infectious laughter that makes them both shake. He doesn’t reply, not with words, but instead captures her lips in another slow kiss. His answer is in every touch, in every sigh, and she knows that there’s no hurry. They’ll make their own pace. Then he has to go and shatter the calmness that has already settled by speaking up again. “Dad asked me when they’re going to get grandkids.”
“He what!?” Gwiboon isn’t proud of the way she shrieks, quickly pulling back to look at Minho from huge eyes. “No no no. I’m sorry, but no.” She babbles so fast she doesn’t even realize the way Minho is grinning, not before he actually has the audacity to laugh again and that finally makes her snap back to reality. “You ass,” she huffs, and punches him out of spite. If the following kiss takes a little away from her alleged annoyance, she doesn’t really mind.
“He didn’t really ask that, did he?” she asks a moment later.
“He actually did,” Minho answers calmly, soothingly stroking slow circles on her sides. “But I told him that they’ll just have to be patient about it. I… I mean, we haven’t even been dating for that long yet, right?” There’s the slightest bit of uncertainty in his voice, and it immediately manages to melt her heart.
“We’ll just have to make it that long,” she smirks. “I am so not ready for a family yet. But I’m not saying I won’t ever be.”
Neither of them knows whether or not they’ll get that far together. Right now, it doesn’t matter, though. What matters is that they’re in this together, that they’re slowly growing closer and closer, enjoying every minute of it. Time will tell the rest.
Chapter 6
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it’s all thanks to koukaiaru (as usual ♥) that this is betaed at all, but I think I probably made more new mistakes while fixing it than I actually managed to get rid of so please excuse them ok ;; I’m so tired I literally can barely see straight so this is as good as it’ll get now, sorry.
@DW.