Beautiful Life II

“Kim Kibum! Kim Kibum! Kim Kibum!”

Fans keep chanting and Jinki watches with awe as the raspberry coloured light sticks colours the concert hall. He’s waving his own light stick in rhythm to the chants just like everybody else.

Beside him on his right sits his best friend Junghee with a raised eyebrow. On her right is her boyfriend Minho bouncing in his seat excited. Junghee is their excuse. She’s also the only one of them that isn’t acting like a fangirl. She sighs and Jinki turns to look at her with a wide smile.

“Enthusiasm!” he shouts to be heard over the loud chorus of fans. Junghee rolls her eyes and squeaks when Minho surprises her with a quick kiss.

“Come on babe, it’s gonna be great!” he says and Jinki nods to confirm Minho’s words.

“But I wanted to explore Tokyo now that we’re actually here!”

She pouts a little and Jinki rolls his eyes. This won’t be their last trip to Japan, he’s sure. They’re here because Kibum is having his first Japanese concert and Jinki wouldn’t miss it for the world.

He hasn’t told Kibum that he’s here because he’s supposed to be on Jeju Island studying Indo-Pacific Bottlenose dolphins but as much as he loves the sea mammals, he loves his fiancé more.

Junghee is about to protest again when the light dims and the fan chants reach deafening heights. Even Minho has to wince at the sound for a second before he jumps from his seat and screams his lungs out. Junghee accepts that her boyfriend is a fanboy and Jinki sends her a smile as he is blinded by the sight of his fiancé on the large screen in a VCR.


The concert is exactly what Jinki had wished for it to be. Kibum performs flawlessly like always, his dance moves sharp and his voice strong. He laughs on stage during his ments and even sheds a few tears in the end when fans write out a message to him.

Jinki is bursting with pride as he stands from his seat when the lights slowly lights up the venue to lead fans safely out. He’s not leaving the venue, however.

As people slowly file out, Jinki drags his friends with him towards the stage. There are staff cleaning the area from balloons and confetti and she an eyebrow at him. Jinki reaches out towards his chest to find it empty. Right, he doesn’t own a backstage pass now.

Junghee rolls her eyes when they’re asked to leave the venue and fishes through her pockets to find her cell phone.

“Hey Jinks,” she says and Jinki looks up with a soft smile. “Don’t make a sound.”

Jinki blinks a few times before he realises what Junghee’s plan is and he sends her a wicked smile. He can hear her voice as she talks on the phone with presumably Kibum, demanding that he lets them backstage now that she and Minho are actually there.

There are still fangirls around them, but none of them seem to take notice of the phone conversation as they discuss the greatest concert they have just attended.

5 minutes later, when a staff member arrives in casual clothing and asks them if they’re Junghee and Minho, Junghee grabs Jinki’s hands and assures the staff member that he must join them. Jinki isn’t really sure it’s a good idea when the staff member eyes him suspiciously.

Maybe he should just call Kibum and tell him that he’s here as well. Junghee insists, however, and she can be persuasive when she wants to be.


Backstage is a confusing maze of hallways and doors and Jinki would undoubtedly get lost if he was on his own. The A4 paper on the door says Kim Kibum and as the staff member knocks on the door and gestures for them to go inside, Jinki bites his lower lip in anticipation.

He only gets to peep inside before he hears “what the ” from the couch in the other end. As he steps inside, he’s yanked forward by his shirt and strong arms embrace him in a hug. Jinki closes his eyes as he inhales and lets the familiar scent of his fiancé take over.

When Kibum pulls back he sends Jinki a smile before he presses their lips together. The kiss is sweet, passionate, bordering on longing until Junghee clears behind them and Kibum slowly lets him go.

“Oh,” he says and looks over Jinki’s shoulder to look at her. “Hey Junghee.”

Then he turns back to Jinki and presses their lips together again in a sweet and innocent kiss.

“I thought you were on Jeju this week?” he questions when he pulls Jinki into the room and the door is shut behind Minho. Junghee places herself in the make-up chair and reaches towards a half-eaten plate of sushi and Minho sinks onto the couch as he stretches his long arms above his head. Jinki doesn’t care much for his friends as he leans in to press a kiss to Kibum’s nosetip.

“But it’s my fiancé’s first concert in Japan. That’s more important.”

Kibum shakes his head slightly but still smiles wide as he pulls away from Jinki. He intertwines their fingers, his forehead still sweaty from the concert. Jinki loves him like this. Jinki loves him in whichever way he is, but especially like this. Tired but filled with adrenaline from his performances. Sweaty and hot and with his heart beating loudly in his chest in excitement. The pure joy in his eyes is what Jinki lives for.

Kibum pulls him towards the couch before he plops down beside Minho and Jinki sinks down in his lap, hands wrapped around Kibum’s shoulder so he can feel as close as possible. Kibum turns to Junghee and scolds her for eating his dinner and she sticks out her tongue and eats the last piece of sushi.

Jinki and Minho bursts into laughter at the childish retort. Kibum smells of shampoo and love and Jinki buries his head into his chest.


They’re lying in the bed in Kibum’s hotel room, Kibum slowly letting his nails over Jinki’s back in a comforting motion. The adrenaline from the concert has been replaced with comfort and love and exhaustion yet they’re still awake.

“Thank you,” Kibum whispers against Jinki’s temple and Jinki pulls away so he can look at Kibum. Kibum with his black hair cut in the newest trend, his dark brown eyes without the contacts and the flawless skin that highlights just how beautiful he truly is.

Jinki was lucky when they met, really. He still doesn’t really understand how they fell in love but even when it’s difficult at times, even when they’re apart, it feels like they’re together. It may actually help them that they’re apart at times, it makes it easier to miss each other.

“I love you,” Jinki says and in those words lie so much more than just love. They mean “I’m proud of you” and “I admire you”. They mean “I want to spend my entire life with you because you’re the only one for me” and they mean “I’m so happy you’re here with me right now”.

Kibum just chuckles and presses his lips to Jinki’s forehead. Jinki closes his eyes as Kibum lets his eyes drift to his nose until they land on his lips. Their kiss is soft and vulnerable but so pure it makes Jinki’s toes curl with love.

Kibum’s light scratches stop as he deepens the kiss and lets his hands rest on Jinki’s chest instead and Jinki lets his fingers find their way to Kibum’s pyjama shirt.

author's notes

Right, so this is like a huuuuge leap in time from part I which was literally their first meeting, but yeah, here they are, engaged and happy and Kibum just had his first solo concert in Japan. Honestly, I wrote this first as a request, but you know what, the AU was too good, so I had to write more (which is where part I comes into play, I know, it's strange). 

Either way, Jinki is still a marine biologist, focusing on marine mammals (with a love of whales and dolphins because you gotta put a little of yourself in every character, no?) and you can't fight me about it. It's the best occupation any of my characters have ever had. 

I love this AU, I really do. But whether or not I'll write more for it - time will tell.