Chapter 2 - Exchanging Non-Existent "I Love You's" Through Empty Goodbyes

The Barrier Between the Both of Us -- {Chapter 3 Has Been Added!}

            The subtle "click, click" sound of the door unlocking echoed within the roomy bedroom that Youngmin would once say someday, he slept in. After getting off the bed and re-witnessing his terrible decisions, he was ready to leave. Twisting the handle clockwise, he slowly opened the door and was met with a sudden thumping noise of someone falling onto the wooden floor.  At first, Youngmin had no idea who it was, but he suspected that it would've been Kwangmin. Pulling off the jacket that covered their face, it was sure enough to be Kwangmin. The younger twin shivered as the warmth of the jacket was soon taken away from his grasp and he curled up onto his side like a kitten, mirroring the same way Youngmin had did last night. He had fell asleep against Youngmin's door the whole entire time ever since they last talked yesterday... A feeling of regret pooled in the pit of the older brother's stomach at the sight of Kwangmin's tearstained cheeks. Nonetheless, he probably looked exactly the same anyway. They were twins of course! His own mind was telling him that he should avoid waking up Kwangmin and step over him, but the six-minutes older brother wouldn't dare to step over him. Even though they had this huge fight yesterday evening, Youngmin knew himself that it was all his fault.

             Youngmin clenched his hands into fists as he shut his eyes for a moment and bent down, hovering slightly over the younger twin. "Aish--! I'm so sorry, Kwangmin-ah..." Youngmin hissed at himself before he ran his hand through his own light-brown locks and tugging at them in annoyance of his own behavior. Kwangmin didn't deserve to be treated like this. Kwangmin shouldn't even deserve a sibling like him. He was a terrible older brother, a horrible hyung, that is. Youngmin's only solution for this dilemma is that he should leave. It was the only thing he could think of, actually. Youngmin finally opened his eyes and looked down at Kwangmin, brushing out the locks of hair that got in the way of his younger twin's adorable face.

             Putting down his suitcase, he took a second to ponder about how he would approach this little problem he had before reluctantly started and struggled to pick up Kwangmin bridal style. He messaged Jeongmin earlier to meet up, so he had to decide right then and there. Now, they were both about the same weight with Kwangmin being slightly heavier, so it literally was like picking up himself. He, a few times, nearly tripped over his feet  when he awkwardly and slowly manuevered to Kwangmin's bedroom, which was right across the hallway from his own room. As he held Kwangmin close to his chest, he looked around the hallway, looking at every single picture that was framed and put on the wall. He'd miss all of his after he would leave, but there was no doubt he would end up back here somehow. Now, it took him a while and it strained his arms for an awfully long time, but after fumbling with the doorknob to Kwangmin's room and almost stumbling on the way there, he finally got the door to Kwangmin's room opened and he quickly got inside. Oh dear. It was hell to get through. His brother's room was a total mess. With mangas and books here and stuffed animals (specifically Pikachu ones) on the floor, it was like a field full of mines.

             Gently and as slowly as he could, even with his strength dimishing quickly, Youngmin was able to get Kwangmin into his own bed. Score! A quiet sigh escaped from his throat as he rested his head against the side of his twin's bed. Tired as he was, but he had to get this done. Youngmin tucked Kwangmin in with the bright yellow blanket thrown taht was previously off to the side. Kwangmin nuzzled in the newfound warmth with a small smile. That even made Youngmin chuckle. Even though he was uncomfortable with Kwangmin around now, especially because what he had done, this was different. Kwangmin was asleep. He wasn't realizing what was happening all around him. He never would anyway. Unless someone was spying on him. Or Youngmin gets super drunk and blabbers on about random things to Jeongmin or something. Whatever.

             A small grin spread across Youngmin's face as he spied the way Kwangmin slept and the Pikachu plushie that was halfway to its "death" on the bed. When he and Kwangmin were kids, they always hugged each other in their sleep. The body warmth that they both gave off to each other was one thing that helped whenever they had no access to a night-light at midnight. It gave a sense that they were always there for each other. That also led to them having the same sleeping position... not a surprise, huh? Grabbing ahold of the yellow, electrifiying rat creature plushie, he put it right against Kwangmin's face. The younger twin always liked that character. But, he did hear once during one of his Pokémon geek rambles that he prefered that water-barfing creature named Squirtle. Yet, the joy and happiness was soon washed away in the storm. Youngmin's phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a message from Jeongmin.


[Pabo-hyung-Jjeongman]: "yaaah!!! jo youngmin! dont tell me u woke me up early 4 nothhing!!!  im not going to stay out in da snow 4ever either! come outside and hurri up, will ya???!!!"


             Youngmin let out a sigh and checked the time on his smartphone. It read as 7:54 A.M. He was planning on leaving earlier than that... but Kwangmin and his cuteness totally foiled his plans. Before leaving, the older twin was having a big fight with himself. Should he do something before he should leave? Or not? Would Kwangmin wake up and make him stay? Would Jeongmin probably be screaming at him when they finally meet? Eventually, Youngmin gave up and planted a small kiss on Kwangmin's forehead. It was like an apology except... without words. Yeah. As fast as he could without being a total dork and faceplanting onto the ground in true embarrassment, Youngmin headed back to his room and grabbed his suitcase. After that, he went down the spiral staircase, fixed his beanie, shoved his shoes on and walked out into the freezing cold winter day without even locking the door. He texted back to Jeongmin that they should meet up at the café where both his other friends, Donghyun and Minwoo worked at. He tried hailing a cab after sending his text message to the older male.


             On the other hand... Jeongmin was visibly unimpressed with whatever Youngmin's concerns were at the moment. There were prominent eyebags under his eyes and he slowly and groggily walked over to the café the whole entire time. He flopped into one of the booths inside and both gestured and called over Minwoo to him. The twenty-one year old had tons of snow gathered in his hair and he slumped in his seat as he tried to stay awake. Donghyun and Minwoo usually worked during the same shift, so he knew that Minwoo would be close by. "Yo... maknae-Minwoo-ah.." mumbled Jeongmin as he grumpily tried to pull out his phone for the fifth time. For the seventh time, he finally got it out of his tiny, orange jacket pocket and scrolled down to look at his texts to see if Youngmin replied. He did, fortunately. His response? Pissed off Jeongmin like hell.


[Twin-Numbah-#1-Youngminnie]: "I'm almost there, hyung. No need to complain, especially with that type of way of talking to me. I'll be there in about ten minutes, okay? Just don't fall asleep on me, now."


             Luckily, for Youngmin's sake, Minwoo had realized that one of his hyungs had came by to the café. Youngmin had successfully and somehow evaded a very long and angry message from Jeongmin himself. Minwoo slid into the opposide side of the booth Jeongmin was sitting in as soon as Donghyun took over the order he was working on. "What's up, Jeongmin-hyung? Is this regarding Hyunseong-hyung?" Minwoo asked, his tone having a sense of curiosity.

             Jeongmin groaned and rubbed his head, "I told you Minwoo, we were done with that relationship ages ago. He was my first boyfriend anyway," mumbled Jeongmin as he rested his head against the top of the seat. "Now go get me a cup of espresso... I need to wake up so I can yell at Jo Youngmin for waking me up early for no reason," he ordered, banging his head against the table. "Hey, that reminds me. You need to tell me on your love life with mister Kim Donghyun." Jeongmin added, raising his head and making a "chik, chik" noise with his mouth as he started flipping out his imaginary hand guns.

             "Ah... well, hyung, lots of things happen! That's just how love works. Besides, you act like you've had tons of boyfriends," Minwoo responded with a cute grin. The younger male raised an eyebrow and pulled on a fake surprised countenance, "No way! You're dating the Jo Youngmin? Hah! I knew it!" he joked, sliding out of the booth and onto his feet once again. He mirrored Jeongmin's handguns and made a similiar, "chik, chik" noise. "Alright. I'll get your cup of espresso in a few minutes, also, there's no way I'm telling you about that!" he said, his face flushing to a light pink.

             The older, light brown haired male scoffed and straightened up himself before he shook his head, "No way, Minwoo-ah. Youngmin's too much of a dork for me to handle. I would've probably dumped him after the first date, no joke," he responded, a toothy grin washing over his face. A pout replaced his smile a few minutes later, "Aw! Come on! I don't have a boyfriend to tuck me in and shower my face with kisses anymore, No Minwoo. It also would make me feel better about my own relationship because you guys are first-timers in love, right?" he inquired, snickering just a little. "You guys are probably so awkward in public."

             Minwoo pouted as he held his notepad close to his chest, "First-timers? What do you mean by that, ert-hyung?" he asked, shuffling away in hurry so he didn't need to hear anything too awkward for the public to hear. "Also, we are not awkward!" he quickly added before finally heading off to make that one espresso Jeongmin ordered. He didn't need to hear anything more embarrassing from Lee Jeongmin himself.

             Jeongmin laughed loudly at Minwoo's mortified reaction. Minwoo was probably lying. He's seen the couple with each other before and woo... they were like scarecrows. That's when the bell nearby the door rang and Jeongmin's laughing fit launched into a halt. It was Youngmin... with a suitcase? He wasn't planning on moving in with Jeongmin right then and there... right? There would be no way that Jeongmin would allow that like no way. Besides, that was one overpacked suitcase Jo Youngmin was holding and Jeongmin's apartment wasn't quite so big...

             "What's with that look? It's like you've seen a ghost. Were you watching like Paranormal Activity or something while I left?" Youngmin teased, flopping into the seat opposite of where Jeongmin sat. He put his suitcase that had clothes poking out from inside right onto the table, where the snow that stuck to it was beginning to thaw. He looked at Jeongmin with a tired expression, one that was hiding behind a fake smile.

             "You're not thinking of moving in with me right? Like, I will not let you live in my amazing apartment for no reason--" Jeongmin was soon cut off by the crestfallen look that washed over Youngmin's porcelain-like features. He sighed loudly and shook his head, "Don't tell me you're here to tell me about being rejected once again after a confession and you just thought it was just the last straw . That still doesn't give you an excuse to live at my place--"

             Youngmin sighed and shook his head, "It's not that, pabo. Well... I guess it sorta is, but... me and Kwangmin... we kinda got in a fight. I... started it myself," he mumbled, fiddling with his fingers. He looked away from Jeongmin's surprised expression. "I... I didn't mean it. It just happened and I couldn't handle it." He hid his face with his gloved hands before speaking even more. "It was an accident... I swear."

             "You didn't hurt him... like... hands-on-fighting, right? I'm pretty sure you would never do that. You guys barely fight for long periods of time anyway," Jeongmin asked, speaking in a much quieter tone than usual. "What was the reason that started the fight by the way? You couldn't have just got upset for some small thing, right? The Jo Youngmin I know would never do that. Especially in front of his own twin brother that knows him best." The older male shot an awkward grin at the younger before patting him on the shoulder. "Right..?"

             Youngmin shook his head, "I would never. It's just what I said verbally... I knew it would affect him pretty badly," he murmured, letting his head drop against the table. He ran his hands over the graffiti imprinted on the counter before biting his lip as when Jeongmin questioned about what started it. "I... I... err..." he couldn't find the right words to describe his own scenario. It's not like he wanted to tell Jeongmin either. He opened his mouth to speak, but he quickly closed it again when Donghyun arrived at their table with Jeongmin's espresso.

             "One espresso for a Lee Jeongmin...--hey, what's wrong with him?" Donghyun quickly changed on what he was going to say when he noticed Youngmin slouched over and looking gloomy as ever. He placed the cup of coffee onto the table in front of Jeongmin before resting a hand onto the older twin's back. "He's not sleeping, right? The manager here wouldn't allow that, sorry."

             Youngmin groaned, "I'm not, hyung. I'm facing a huge problem that I have to fix before I go to America--" Apparently so, he was interrupted by his two hyungs screeching in surprise at his own comment.

             "You're going to America!?" yelled Jeongmin, suddenly standing up and slamming his hands against the table which caused everyone to look straight at him. His face reddened when he realized he had caught everyone's attention and then the poor twenty-one year old slumped back into his seat. In a more hushed tone, he continued on what he was going to say, "For what reason? You still haven't told me." He sipped his espresso to take his mind off of the people giving weird looks at him and felt the sleepiness he once had wash away from his body. Ah, didn't that feel good.

             Donghyun narrowed his eyes and put his hands in one of his pockets in his apron. "I don't see why you're deciding to go there so suddenly. Is it for college or something? I thought you wanted to pick the university nearby the ahjumma's store." A frown tugged at the corner of his lips. "Or is there something behind it that you don't want to admit and it's getting in your way?" The oldest out of them all made a gesture for Jeongmin to scoot over, in which the shorter male did so and he plopped down into the booth next to him. "Come on, you can tell us. We won't tell anyone else--"

             "What up?" Minwoo apparently had finished his shift and just finished clearing and cleaning up the tables that cleared out minutes ago. Oh well, there goes all the courage Youngmin had to muster up in order to explain what happened last night... He let out a sheepish chuckle when Youngmin groaned and banged his head against the table, causing the coffee to almost spill. "Did I interrupt something..?" He awkwardly laughed and made a quick gesture for Jeongmin and Donghyun to move over. "Sorry about that, Youngmin..."

             A heavy sigh spilled out from Youngmin. He felt nauseated and ever so not well. He pressed his palm against his forehead and held his stomach, "It's fine, Minwoo. There wasn't really much to know about."  Slowly, the older twin took in shaky breaths, trying to make it less noticable than it already was. He bit the inside of his cheek, unsure if he was ready to tell the three of them about his problem. Nonetheless, he thought he was acting cowardly and utmost very childish in front of them all in public. It was like he was chagrining them in public and it was humilating. His self-esteem was already decreasing as the second passed and at this point, it was like he couldn't tell them anymore. His whole life had been just thrown here and there and Youngmin had no idea where he stood right at this moment. He shut his eyes for a split second before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

             "It's okay, Youngmin. You didn't need to tell us if you don't want to. It's your own choice to tell us or not. We're not trying to force you," said Donghyun, his tone soothing as he spoke quietly. It felt like Donghyun his "I'm the father of the group" tone alright.  Youngmin really wanted to tell them though, but it was like his body barricaded him from doing so. He knew that he would end up being a sobbing mess on someone's floor if he held it in any longer than he should've.

             A shaky exhale came out from Youngmin's mouth as he raised his head slightly, enough to at least to open his eyes and at least have eye contact with them all. "I... I tried to confess," he blurted out, throwing himself against the back of the chair and sliding down it. He literally had to force the words out of him. His nose was red from the cold and he kept sniffing. "It didn't end well..."'

             Jeongmin looked rather uninterested with the older twin's response, "Yeah... Jo Youngmin, it's kiiinda obvious. My question is that who did you try confess to?" He poked the center of Youngmin's head before sitting back in his seat. Honestly, Lee Jeongmin did not wake up at like 6 A.M. and walk in the freezing cold winter for a reply like that. And, he wasn't letting Youngmin loose on this. The older twin was going to get a super long talk with him later  anyway, but he wasn't going to cram it in his head all day.

             Minwoo nodded his head in response to Jeongmin's inquiry, "We won't know what to do unless you tell us about what happened completely!" he stated, banging his hands a few times before Donghyun grabbed ahold of his hands. The espresso Minwoo made for Jeongmin nearly spilled all over the counter once again, so no more banging on the table for them anymore. They wouldn't want to attract more attention to them either anyway.

             Youngmin in a deep breath before exhaling loudly. Man, was it him, or was it getting a little humid in here? It was odd enough, especially since it was all snowy and cold outside. How was he going to explain tihs? He was going to tell them that he had a crush on his own younger twin brother! He didn't want to express this in the most awkward way possible, but really, he was scared on if they would judge him. Though, that's when Youngmin made a mental note in his mind. They would never, ever do that to him. They were all his best friends and never once have they judged one another for it. They accepted it when Minwoo and Donghyun came out of the closet and publicly told him and Jeongmin about their relationship... Isn't this any different? Well.. despite the "brothers" thing... Or... "twins" thing. Nevertheless, it was still love... right? Yet, the feeling of them critizing him... It wouldn't budge. "Promise you won't attack me for what I'm going to say?"

             "Promise," said Donghyun. He was the one who said it first before the other two because he was sure enough that he was never going to hurt one of his dongsaengs' feelings. Jeongmin and Minwoo both nodded their heads in response. A small smile stretched across the twenty-year old's face. He knew he could trust them. They would never try to implement such a cruel thing to say onto a fellow friend like him...

             It took a while, but Youngmin finally brought himself to speak. "I... I couldn't confess to Kwangmin. I've had these tingly feelings for a while and... I don't know... I just got really jealous when this guy named Hyunseong came over and he acted all friendly-friendly with Kwangmin," he murmured, barely loud enough for all of them to hear.

             "Kwangmin? Hah, Jo Youngmin! It was so obvious that you had a crush on him!" Jeongmin snickered as he jokingly punched Youngmin on the shoulder. Actually, to be honest he had a bet with Minwoo and Donghyun that Youngmin was crushing on Kwangmin just yesterday... right after he heard about when Youngmin was trying to get advice. Okay, Jeongmin cannot keep gossip or secrets to himself. Sometimes he just needs to squeal and scream at people as if he were a rabid fangirl... through the phone. He was too busy proving himself right to Minwoo that he didn't hear his own ex-boyfriend's name. "Yah, No Minwoo! Pay up your five hundred won! I told you I was right!"

             Donghyun stopped Minwoo from unhappily giving Jeongmin the amount of money they betted on by grabbing ahold of Minwoo's wrist. "It's okay, Youngmin. There's nothing wrong with that. Doesn't that feel better though? Telling someone about the things you're having problems with?" he asked. The older male smiled a bit at the nod Youngmin gave him. Yet, his expression switched from a meldious, joyful countenance to a rather confused and bewildered expression in a few seconds after realizing the familarity of the name. "Did you say Hyunseong? As in Shim Hyunseong?"

             The older twin was bewildered at Jeongmin's actions. He... he knew!? The older twin tried to maintain a straight face, but it wasn't so easy since Jo Youngmin, himself, had huge doe eyes just like his other two brothers. Made sense why he was so good at the "derp" face. He let out an awkward sigh.Youngmin slumped back into his seat and gave a half-hearted shrug. "I only know his first name and what he looks like," he mumbled. He arched an eyebrow at Donghyun's question. "Why do you ask by the way?" Curiosity began to creep into his mind as he watched Donghyun scramble for Jeongmin's phone, which the twenty-one year old male left on the center of the counter.

             Donghyun rapidly pressed in the numbers, "0, 5, 2, 6". Those four numbers represented the day Jeongmin and Hyunseong started dating. Besides, Donghyun knew about it since honestly, Jeongmin gushed about his ex-boyfriend all the time before and would keep spamming his Instagram with pictures and selfies of them. Minwoo peered over his shoulder as Donghyun pushed away an angry Jeongmin who desperately wanted his phone back. When he was able to find a good picture, one that wasn't super blurry and didn't look like one of those anime screenshots, he shoved it right into Youngmin's face."Did you meet this guy?"

             "Hey! Yah! Give me back... my... phone?" Confusion struck the older male before Jeongmin went quiet when he realized that was Hyunseong, Donghyun showing was showing Youngmin. Okay, maybe once in a while he would feel really bad about breaking up with Hyunseong and maybe take a few glances at pictures they took together at least once... or twice... Whatever. But yeah, he wasn't done deleting the photos from his account, nor his phone just yet. One thing was, he knew that he didn't tell Youngmin a lot of things. He usually blabbered onto Minwoo or Donghyun... but never one of the twins. Well.. uh.. maybe just once.  Just that one time to Kwangmin. On Pepero Day.

             Youngmin flinched when Donghyun shoved Jeongmin's phone into his face. He nodded his head slowly before gently pushing Donghyun's hand away. "Yeah... yeah, that's him. Why do you have a photo of him, Jeongmin-hyung? Have you been stalking or something?" inquired the older twin once again. He furrowed his eyebrows at the sight of the male. Youngmin didn't want to see that guy ever again.

             Jeongmin kept silent before Minwoo whispered something on the lines of; "It's okay, I'm pretty sure Youngmin won't bite. Besides, he'd probably start yelling or hitting you repeatedly if you don't tell him," into his ear. He darted his eyes towards Youngmin and then at Minwoo. That's when he let out a sigh, indicating he was done keeping secrets and hiding things from his own dongsaengs. "Okay, fine, fine." His body slumped a bit before he gulped down his scalding hot cup of espresso. He needed some caffeine in his body before he would start blabbering on about his ex-boyfriend that he broke up a few weeks ago. "So.. there was this guy that I met three months ago, exactly on January 2nd, my birthday of course. Minwoo and I were out at the mall while Donghyun was doing whatever he was doing," he began.

             Donghyun put Jeongmin's phone back onto the counter, looking rather dark and brooding all of a sudden. A sudden "overcast" appeared over his face before he mumbled something along the words, "I was stuck at the cafe and I texted you to help pick me up because my car broke down... But, you didn't come even though you said you'd come," murmured the oldest of them all. It was obvious that Jeongmin didn't hear him though.

             Jeongmin continued to talk and ramble on and on about unimportant things that had no explaination or hint about his relationship with Hyunseong. It was mostly about all the cute and super weird clothes he and Minwoo found on that day. Minwoo let out awkward laughs here and there while his hyung talked. He got the fact that Jeongmin was just trying to stall himself from even mention Hyunseong himself. Although, this was typical Jeongmin they were talking about. "... Oh yeah! there were also these really cute plushies in one of those crane games and Minwoo really wanted to get a banana toy for Donghyun's birthday--"

             "Will ya get at it, Jjeong-hyung?" interrupted Youngmin, his tone showing slight hints of forcefulness. He looked rather annoyed and bothered by the information he, oh so, didn't needed. He just wanted to know the connection between him and that other guy.

             Jeongmin froze for a moment, a little shocked at Youngmin's sudden outburst. He sighed, he totally got the message there. "Okay," he took in a deep breath before exhaling quite shortly, "Hyunseong was my boyfriend for a while. Probably a few months or so on. We had a huge fight at my apartment though. We couldnt patch things up after that and... we broke up." A wave of guilt and sadness washed over Jeongmin's countenance. He didn't mean for that to happen. He regretted it most of the time whenever he was profoundly reminded of it.

             All so suddenly, just out of the blue, Donghyun's phone rang, playing a slow and sweet melody, one that got louder and louder as when Donghyun finally reached it out of his pant pocket to take a willing glance at it. His eyes widened slightly and he plied his eyes off for the screen once to just look up at the older twin in front of him. The blond male shown in the caller's picture... The oldest of them all hesitated for a second, unsure if he were to answer it. "Youngmin... It's Kwangmin. He's calling me."

 


Author's Note: I wanted to make it a little longer, but I had to update for once! Kwangmin's going to be mentioned next chapter though!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter~ :3c


 

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HyperPikachu
Sorry for being late for like.. a month, orz. Chapter three is done! > v

Comments

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BFYourPOV
#1
As long as kwangmin is the 'girl', i will keep waiting for your update author niiim! Update soon!
pikaerryna #2
Chapter 2: I love it~~
maira0408
#3
Chapter 2: Youngminnn....donttt gooooo