Ch 28(ii) - The Longest Day, The Longest Night

A/N: There’s a Hunger Games reference in here that’s kind of a major spoiler if you aren’t familiar with the whole series, so just skip the paragraph when you read someone mention ‘Hunger Games’ if you want to avoid that (the lines are not critical to understanding this fic). Okay, without further ado, I give you April 1…

“Get up.” Jaehyuk’s sharp words and sharper pokes to Jongin’s shoulder pierce through the veil of sleep like a shower of needles.

“What? Why? What time is it?” the dancer asks, groggily turning to look at his phone. The manager snatches it out of his hand. “Hey! What’s your problem?”

“It’s 6am, and Dispatch just gave us a courtesy call that they’re planning to release evidence that you and Krystal are dating. THAT’S my problem. So get your up,” the manager growls out, still in a hushed tone to keep from disturbing the other two sleeping members in the room.

The news produces such a chill down Jongin’s spine, he’s wide awake and bolting up in bed before Jaehyuk says another word. “Wait, evidence? What evidence?”

“These pictures here,” the manager says, ing his phone in the dancer’s face. They’re pictures from their date alright, the one real date he went on with the girl. Jongin curses under his breath.

“How’d they know we’d be there? We’d never even visited that place together before.”

“So you are dating her.  Awesome,” Jaehyuk says flatly, picking up some of the boy’s dirty clothes off the floor and throwing them at him. “Get your dressed. We’re going to headquarters.”

Annoyed, Jongin brushes off the shirt and shorts that land on his face and shoves them between his bed and the wall. “No, Jaehyuk-hyung. I’m not dating her.”

“Mmhmm, save your excuses. I’m in no mood to hear them,” the manager says, turning to wait outside the room.

Jongin grabs his arm and whisper-shouts to get his attention. “I’m being serious! Yes, I did go on a date with her, but it was a one time thing. Nothing happened after that. We’re just friends. And this can’t get out, hyung, please.” He starts to panic, realizing that having these pictures splashed across the news would absolutely wreck his very precarious position with Kyungsoo right now, not to mention what it might to do his friendship with Krystal. Like an earthquake, the scandal would create rifts in all his tenuous close relationships at the moment, the shaky ground opening up and leaving himself, Kyungsoo, and Krystal each on their own isolated island while the press, crazed fans, and misunderstandings come between all of them.

He wants so badly to impart the dire nature of the situation, but recognizes that he shouldn’t share his breakthrough with Kyungsoo in the noreabang the week before. Jaehyuk’s been hellbent on preventing them from reconnecting; he’d probably be all the more eager to let the dating news spread if Jongin told him his true concerns. So he decides to share an alternate motive for his distress.

“Look, Krystal liked me. Maybe still does a little. But we’re only friends. This can’t get out – it’d be terrible for her, for me, to have to pretend like we’re together. Can’t you just explain to Dispatch that they got it wrong?”

“Can I just expl—“ Jaehyuk starts, eyes bugging out of his head incredulously, before cutting himself off. “Maybe you should have thought of the repercussions before you actually WENT on a DATE with her! Tough , Jongin – you know that no one will buy that it was a one-time deal. Hell, the fans might crucify you further if they knew that was the reality, saying you’re just a player or something,” the manager hisses, trying to shrug off the boy’s grip on his arm.

“Hyung, please! I never told Kyungsoo about it and I don’t want him finding out like this,” Jongin finally caves, hoping Jaehyuk will take pity on him and trusting Kyungsoo’s character assessment that their manager really isn’t a bad guy in the end.

It seems to work, as Jaehyuk stills upon hearing his words. After a brief moment of deliberation, the manager is pulled out of his thoughts by the front door of the dorm banging closed. Swearing, he turns and hands the dancer’s phone back to him. “You have exactly one minute before the other manager with me today, Dongkyu, comes in here to confiscate that to get the contents catalogued and wiped. Get rid of anything incriminating on there NOW and text Kyungsoo the heads up. If anyone asks, we didn’t have this conversation and I couldn’t find your phone, got it? I’m heading to SM to try and delay or stop this from getting out, but I doubt that’ll happen so don’t get your hopes up. I expect to see you there within the hour, escorted by Dongkyu.” With that, Jaehyuk spins on his heels and heads out to stall the other manager before Jongin can even thank him for this small act of mercy.

With quivering hands, he looks down at his phone. ‘This isn’t happening.’ Jongin curses the timing. What he really needs is a few hours, not even half a day, until the singer’s back in the dorm. Then, he could actually sit down and talk to Kyungsoo like they’ve planned… but time is one thing he doesn’t have right now. His minute is ticking. Luckily, there’s nothing he needs to wipe from his phone; Kyungsoo, perpetually savvy, had always advised him to be careful with their texts and photos back when they were together. He tries to imagine breaking this news about Krystal to the elder via text and wants to vomit. He’s got to call. But… he hesitates as his mind races down two paths of action. He’s only got time to make one call. Him… or her? He’s got to choose, and choose quickly. “URGH,” he grunts out, frustrated but ultimately opting for what he deems to be the greater good.

He jams the speed dial button and holds his breath. “,” he says aloud when it starts going to voicemail. Can’t anyone ever pick up the damn phone when he calls? He hits redial and prays she was just waking up too slowly to answer the first time. Miraculously, it seems to be the case.

“Hello?” Krystal yawns into the phone. “It’s 6:10, Nini, what’s—“

“Dispatch has pictures of our date. My phone’s about to get confiscated and they’re probably coming for yours, too.”

“!”

“Yeah. Jaehyuk’s trying to stall them. I’ll explain more in person. Meet me in the noodle place I like as soon as you can escape? Don’t let them take you to SM if you can help it – we’ll never get a chance to talk alone if so.”

“Okay, it might take awhile to slip awa—oh , my manager’s here. Wait for me, I promise I’ll be there.” Krystal hangs up right as an unfamiliar person bursts into Jongin’s room. This must be Dongkyu.

“Aha! I knew you’d be tempted to pull it out from hiding if you thought you had a moment alone. Fork it over,” he says, summoning the phone with an obnoxious crooking of his finger.

Jongin sags his shoulders, pretending to be caught off guard, and hands him the phone with a frown. ‘I’m sorry, Soo,’ he thinks as he prays that Jaehyuk will have better luck than anticipated.

“Get showered and dressed so you’re presentable,” Dongkyu grumbles.

Jongin sizes the man up, taking note of the manager’s chunky build, prominent potbelly, and short height. “Can I lean on you for support to get over to the bathroom? My ankle’s been acting up again, and it’s hard to carry my stuff with my crutches all at once. I’d need to make several trips,” he explains with a pitiful look and what he hopes passes for an embarrassed glance at the ground.

“Oh… okay, yeah,” Dongkyu replies, extending an arm with uncertainty. Jongin makes sure to lean most of his weight onto the man’s shoulder as they hobble around the room collecting his stuff. By the time the manager gets him to the bathroom, he’s huffing a bit and sweating from exertion.

‘Perfect,’ Jongin muses. ‘If I just wait for the right opportunity, slipping out should be a breeze.’

.

.

.

Jongin ends up getting to the restaurant first. He orders a cup of tea and slouches down at a table in the back, keeping an eye the TVs in the place for any breaking news. At some point during his eventful morning, Dispatch released the pictures of him and Krystal, so it hangs on Jaehyuk now to delay any official response. Not having a phone on him is both restricting and strangely liberating. While he waits, he sits in deep contemplation, playing an elaborate game of Go against himself using salt and pepper packets on the table. It’s another two hours or more before Krystal arrives. By this time, SM has already confirmed the relationship and all the major news outlets are reporting on it, so Jongin’s keen on them finding a new location ASAP. Luckily, Krystal had already asked Amber to reach out to one of her non-celebrity friends who graciously offered to let them use their officetel for the day. It’s not too far away, and they depart for it immediately.

Once they’re safely inside without incident, Krystal flops down on the white sofa while Jongin opts to lean against the large window looking out across the city. Millions of Seoul residents are out and about, streets packed with pedestrians and cars alike, as people do business or head to lunch. ‘I wonder if Kyungsoo’s out there among them, or back at the dorm yet,’ Jongin ponders, heart worriedly thrumming in his chest. It’s warm today, and the air conditioning against the glass creates condensation on the outside. He traces his fingers over the drops, slowly gliding down the outer panes, trying to come up with the right words to start the conversation with the person he’s physically in the room with, even if his heart is somewhere else.

As it turns out, it’s Krystal who speaks first. “Well, ain’t this some Hunger Games . Hi, my name’s Peeta. Don’t worry: I don’t expect the Mockingjay ending.” She smiles at him, but the bitter sarcasm in her joke is still evident.

He frowns, turning away from the window and settling down on the floor near the sofa to give her his full attention with a pained expression. “Krystal, I’m so sorry.”

“Oh stop. You know I’m kidding. Like, 99% kidding anyway,” she admits with a tight-lipped smile before looking away to stare up at the high ceiling. “This really messes everything up for you, though, doesn’t it,” she says, inviting him to share his thoughts. Jongin had already informed her of drunken Kyungsoo’s revelations (conveniently leaving out any details of their almost hookup) the day after the singer had left for his parents’ house.

“We’re supposed to finally talk today, he and I. I had a feeling he was really going to tell me everything, so I was waiting, trying to be patient, letting him do it on his terms. And you know, perfecting my pout in case he was going to try to avoid me again afterward,” he jokes, attempting to match the humorous tone she’d tried to set for their conversation and lighten the mood some more. She snickers and kicks his shoe.

After sharing a grin with her, Jongin sighs, slumps back on the floor, and stares up, noticing the intricate maze pattern on the ceiling tiles that Krystal has been mesmerized with. The grooved lines meander in sharp angled pathways that don’t repeat like one might expect, leaving Jongin to wonder if there’s actually a way out or if it’s just a random configuration of lines that all lead to dead ends. “After this morning, waiting for him to approach me to offer explanations seems dumb. I’m pretty sure that plan is shot to .”

Krystal hums in agreement.

“But I’ve got a new one,” he says confidently.

Krystal turns to him, eyes wide with astonishment. “You do?”

“Well don’t act TOO surprised, geez.”

She laughs at the scrunched up face he gives her. “Sorry, I just thought… it sounded like you wanted us to connect to figure one out. I’ve been trying all morning, actually, to come up with something ‘cause I figured you needed help. You haven’t traditionally been the one with a lot of pre-formed plans.” He concedes this point with a light tilt of his head. “So what, you wanted us to sneak away to… brag that you’ve got it all figured out?” She gives him her signature ‘really?’ face.

He pulls himself up from his prone position and scootches over to sit beside her on the couch. She sits up, as well, matching his posture and looking at him expectantly. Dropping all traces of humor in his voice, he explains. “No. First of all, I wanted to make sure you were okay.” Jongin tries to convey his heartfelt sincerity through his eyes as he watches her expression carefully.

She holds his gaze a moment before dropping hers to her fingernails, busying herself with the chipped polish on her ring finger. “Nini, I know it’s not real.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.” He pauses, giving her back a lingering pat and looking away to politely give her privacy to deal with the troublesome emotions. It’s weird, knowing that he’s simultaneously a source of pain and comfort, but he figures the least he can do is BE there. She rests her head on his shoulder with a sigh, and they just sit for a minute, friends consoling each other over a terrible morning and drawing solace from a reliable shoulder to lean on.

And then the moment passes, the world stabilizes around them, and Krystal sits back up. “Thanks for that. But really,” she insists, sliding a little further back to face him, “I’m alright.”

“Well, there’s a pretty good chance we’re both going to get some heat from each other’s fans. I apologize in advance for mine.” He puts his hand over his heart in a somewhat dramatic gesture.

It pulls a small smile out of the girl. “Okay, thanks. But since it’s out of our hands and a done deal, apparently, what are you going to say to Kyungsoo?” she asks, mouth twisted in concern.

He clears his throat. “About that…”

-----------------------------------------------

Kyungsoo keeps to himself the last morning with his parents, ritually cleaning his room despite his mother’s protests that he should just go and she’ll take care of it. He wants the distraction, though, and the time to focus. He rehearses the opening lines of what he’ll say to Jongin in his head as he sweeps, mops, and dusts. Once he's made his parents an early lunch to show his appreciation for housing him during the break, he hails a cab and makes his way back to EXO’s neighborhood.

After paying the driver, Kyungsoo takes the elevator up to their floor and strolls up to the dorm’s front door. He cracks his neck from one side to the other before taking a deep breath. He’s ready to do this, to talk to Jongin. He’s finally ready. He’s…

He’s utterly unprepared for the scene in front of him when he opens the door. The whole place is a mess of noise with every member on their phone talking loudly or dialing frantically, most pacing around the common room while doing so. Junmyeon looks like a stockbroker out of a mid-90s movie, with a clipboard tucked under his arm and pen behind his ear, yelling numbers across the room to Sehun who may or may not be listening. In the sea o