Kibum has never punched someone in his entire life; he never had the need to. But the fury he felt when Minho spoke ill of his parents like that was nothing like Kibum has ever felt. Nobody talks ill of his parents and gets away with it. His parents were the most patriotic people Kibum ever knew and to call them traitors was just unacceptable.

His knuckles hurt from where they hit Minho’s jaw bone. To be honest, Kibum doubts that Minho was feeling as much pain as he himself was. Blame his inexperience in physical fights for that. Kibum’s doubt was proven right when Minho turned to face him again with nothing but anger. No sign of pain whatsoever.

“How dar-“ Yunwoo began, standing up to make his way to Kibum. But Minho was quicker. Before Kibum knew it, he had been tackled to the ground with Minho straddling him. One hand was grabbing his collar and another was poised in the air, ready to punch Kibum.

“Bloody bastard. How dare you hit me?!” Minho growled.

“Go ahead! Punch me if you dare!  I’m not afraid of bullies like you!” Kibum spat back at him.

Minho could have punched Kibum then. He could have shut Kibum up with a single punch. Even now, he could still punch Kibum. He was already in the optimum position to have maximum impact on Kibum’s face.

But oddly enough, he didn’t. He just looked down at Kibum with those eyes that Kibum had always found so attractive (Not now, Kibum chastised himself.) Breathing hard from his anger, Minho remained in the same pose, unmoving. Kibum couldn’t help but stare back into those orbs, as much as he wanted to kick Minho off of him and land another punch if possible. After a while in that same position, Minho finally let go of his shirt roughly, letting his head hit the ground. He stood up and moved away from Kibum.

Kibum kept his eyes on Minho while getting to his feet.

“You’re not even worth being hit!” Minho said, his back facing Kibum. He then left the barn, never turning back once. Yunwoo gave Kibum a dirty look before going after Minho.

Kibum let out the breath he didn’t even know he was holding. His hands were shaking from the adrenaline rush that he got from the confrontation. And even now, his anger for Minho hadn’t dissipated one bit. How dare he make all this look like it was Kibum’s fault?

Kibum hurried out of the barn. He still had a score to settle with Minho. As soon as he was out the door, he saw Minho and Yunwoo making their way to the hut in the middle of Kibum’s paddy field. He also saw Jonghyun limping his way from Kibum’s house towards the barn.

“Kibum! The-“

“Not now, hyung!” Kibum said, passing him by angrily. He ran to catch up with the two military men. He pushed Yunwoo aside to get to Minho and pulled him back by his shirt.

“This is not over you jerk! Apologize for saying that about my parents!” Kibum yelled in his face, his hands grabbing the front of Minho’s shirt. Minho was a little taller than Kibum so he had to look down slightly to look Kibum in the eye. Kibum met his gaze with an equally angry one.

“Let go of me!” Minho grabbed Kibum’s hands and pushed him back.

“Woah, woah, woah! What’s going on here? Kibum, calm down!” Jonghyun’s voice reached his ears.

“Apologize now!” Kibum yelled, pushing Minho back the same way.

“Kibum, calm down!” Jonghyun grabbed Kibum from behind, keeping him from moving forward. Kibum couldn’t do much to escape his hold.

“Relax, Kibum. Just cool down a bit. Let’s talk this out, okay?” Jonghyun said, in a soothing voice.

“He… he called my parents traitors of the country, hyung,” Kibum said, still struggling against Jonghyun’s hold, although not as forcefully as just moments ago. Hot tears were streaming down his face now. Why was he crying? Stupid tears, they better stop now. Kibum didn’t like looking weak.  

Everyone fell silent. Jonghyun kept his strong hold around Kibum as Kibum continued staring daggers at Minho. Minho, on the other hand, had lost all the angry glow in his eyes and now looked at Kibum, in a somewhat apologetic manner. That was not enough for Kibum, he needed to hear the words from his mouth.

 “What is going on here?” came Kibum’s grandmother’s concerned voice. She took in the positions they were all standing in.

“Halmeoni, Kibum here is upset about something Minho said about his parents,” Jonghyun explained briefly. Kibum looked at her to see her reaction.

“I think it’s best that you two leave now. Jonghyun-ah, take Kibum inside,” she said and just like that the matter was settled. Kibum was not satisfied, though. He continued glaring at Minho the whole time he was being dragged away by Jonghyun. Minho and Yunwoo began walking away towards the forest. Minho kept glancing back to see Kibum with the same apologetic look.

I hate you.

That was all Kibum could convey back to Minho through his eyes. And that was all it took to convey just how hurt he was.

~~~~~

Kibum didn’t sleep much that night. Jonghyun stayed over, just to keep Kibum company. When he woke up in the morning, Kibum had a terrible headache from the lack of sleep. The events of the past day didn’t do much to help get rid of the headache.

Why were the words of a man that was practically a stranger to Kibum, hurt him so much? Kibum had never let words affect him before so why was he reacting like this to Minho?

“Kibum, are you alright?” Jonghyun had asked him in the morning, when Kibum had gotten dressed to go do his chores.

“I’m fine, hyung. Go back to sleep,” Kibum had told him. Jonghyun woke up anyway, not really listening to Kibum.

“I’ll go with you,” Jonghyun said and Kibum heard the unsaid words ringing in his mind.

“To keep you from fighting again,”

Kibum just let him do that. It could be a good thing to have Jonghyun there with him anyway, just in case he lost control of his temper again. Together, they made their way to the barn after having some breakfast.

There he was. The man that irked Kibum to no end, doing his job diligently. As soon as Kibum stepped into the barn with Jonghyun, his eyes immediately became fixated onto Kibum’s. Kibum just ignored the two military men as he went to the opposite side of the barn.

“I’m proud of you!” jonghyun beamed, when they had gotten to where the cows and goat were. He must have been expecting Kibum to start throwing punches once again as soon as he entered the barn. He looked relieved that that didn’t happen, though.

“Whatever, hyung. Here, make yourself useful,” Kibum told him nonchalantly as he passed him a pail to milk the cow. He didn’t bother to even spare Minho a glance but he could feel the latter’s gaze without even looking.

“Me? Milk the cow? I’m an injured person. I can’t…” Jonghyun tried to get out of it, pointing to his cast.

“Yes hyung, you! Milk the cow. It’s your leg that’s injured not your hands. Make yourself useful hyung,” Kibum repeated himself, feeling particularly mean towards Jonghyun today. He knew that he was in for a spectacle. It would take his mind of off Minho.

Jonghyun stared at the cow for a long time like it was something alien to him. Watching Jonghyun made Kibum almost forget the presence of the two military men there (the key word being ‘almost’.)

“Hyung hurry up!” Kibum pushed him.

“Okay, okay! Don’t rush me!” Jonghyun said, finally taking steps towards the cow from the rear. He moved slowly as though he didn’t want to startle the cow. But knowing Jonghyun, that is exactly what he ended up doing. The cow kicked a leg back, mooing loudly. This made Jonghyun jump back a few feet from the cow, dropping the pail in the process.

Kibum snickered behind his hands. Just as expected, Jonghyun managed to scare himself and the cow without even doing anything.

“Kibum, your cow is trying to kill me!” Jonghyun claimed, childishly.

Kibum heard snickering from the opposite end of the barn too. He turned and saw both Minho and Yunwoo snickering. The sight made him stop laughing immediately. Minho immediately put on a straight face too when he saw Kibum.

Minho dropped the paddy he was holding and made his way to Kibum’s side of the barn. He picked up the dropped pail and gestured to Jonghyun to follow him.

“Come on. I’ll show you,”

Jonghyun looked between Kibum and Minho hesitantly for a bit before following Minho. Kibum watched silently as Minho explained to Jonghyun how not to startle the cow and how to actually milk the cow. Kibum wondered how the latter knew so much about all of this if he had been in the military his whole life. All the while, Minho kept stealing glances at Kibum.

If this was his odd way of apologizing to Kibum, well, it’s not working. Kibum does not forgive easily.

“Hyung, just get the eggs and bring the milk outside. I’ll be in the hut,” he told an occupied Jonghyun, who was determined to not make a fool out of himself again.

“Yeah, yeah. Go!” Jonghyun said. Kibum left the barn without sparing anyone a look.

Kibum sat alone in the hut, watching the unharvested half of his field. The golden paddy swayed in the breeze, bending slightly in the middle because of the heavy rice grains on the top. The whole scenery would have had a calming effect on Kibum if it weren’t for the footsteps he heard approaching him just then. He knew exactly who it was without even turning. He continued to watch the paddy field, ignoring the other’s presence.

Minho cleared his throat once.

“Kibum-shii…”

Kibum did not respond.

“Kibum-shii, I’d like to have a word with you,”

“And I wouldn’t,” Kibum replied finally.

“Just hear me out, Kibum-shii,” Minho said, finally entering Kibum’s vision as he took his place on the far end of the bench Kibum was sitting on.

“Yesterday, I said some things that I shouldn’t have….” Minho faltered. Kibum just kept up his cold act.

“It’s not my place to judge you for your opinions and I definitely shouldn’t have said those things about your parents…,”

Kibum looked at Minho and saw a sincerely apologetic expression on his face.

“You don’t even have to forgive me but I hope you would. This thing has just been bothering me. I had to say this to clear my conscience,”

“Well, are you done clearing it? Now you can leave me alone!”Kibum said to him.

“Alright…. I get it. You’re still mad at me. I’m just tired of fighting with you…”

“Really?  ‘Cause you seem to enjoy enraging me more than anything else,”

Minho seemed like he wanted to say something but he must have decided against it as he stopped himself.  

“I would like for us to be friends if it’s not too much of me to ask,” Minho said, after a while.

“Friends?-” Kibum scoffed, “-I don’t think that’s ever possible!”

“Why not?”

“Because I hate you! I hate everything about you. And I hate the fact that you’re in the army the most,-“ Kibum paused before adding under his breath, “- All military men are the same.”

He stood up and walked away from Minho before he had a chance to say anything. Something told Kibum that he was going to regret turning down his offer for a friendship but Kibum ignored the feeling. All that mattered now was that he had the apology he wanted and he had no more reason to talk to the army man.

~~~~~

For the next two days, Minho seemed to have a lot of questions about everything he saw. What does this do? How does that work? How many chickens are there in the barn? (although he could have counted it for himself) How much do they make out of farming?

He continued to pest Kibum with all these totally unrelated questions. Kibum couldn’t understand this guy. When Kibum was still talking to him, all Minho could do was argue with Kibum over everything. But now, when Kibum had stopped talking to the two military men completely, his ‘curiosity’ for every little detail was suddenly overwhelming.

Unfortunately for Minho, Kibum was as stubborn as a donkey when it came to something that he has already decided on. And ignoring the two men, Minho especially, was something that he had decided on ever since he spoke ill of Kibum’s parents. That was just too sensitive a topic for Kibum.

Minho’s questions did not go unanswered, though. Jonghyun who took to sticking to Kibum for the past few days, made it his job to answer Minho’s relentless questions. Minho had seemed annoyed at first whenever Jonghyun spoke on behalf of Kibum. (It was obvious he was trying to get Kibum to talk to him. For what reason, Kibum doesn’t know because really, Minho had no reason to talk to Kibum. In just another day or two, they will be perfect strangers, just like they used to be.)

Soon, Jonghyun and Minho began to get less and less formal with each other. In fact, it got to a point where Minho actually started referring to Jonghyun as ‘hyung’ and no longer ‘shii’ because he turned out to be the same age as Kibum (a few months younger, actually.) They began talking about other things too besides the barn and the paddy field. Kibum felt more and more left out of the conversations as Jonghyun was too interested in learning about a military man’s life and Kibum was not. He took to working himself hard in the paddy fields, harvesting the other half of his field while Jonghyun would be in the barn talking to Minho.

“Hyung, who’s best friend are you? Mine or his?!” Kibum asked Jonghyun once he had gotten tired of being left out.

“Why, Kibum? Are you jealous? You finally realize how good a friend I am and are worried that you might have lost me forever?” Jonghyun asked, mockingly.

Maybe Kibum was just a bit jealous. But it was not for the reasons Jonghyun mentioned. Oddly enough, Kibum missed all the attention he was getting from Minho. He still got it- Minho kept repeating the same questions to Kibum that he had already gotten an answer for from Jonghyun, just to get Kibum to speak to him. Kibum couldn’t help but feel that Jonghyun was beginning to share the attention and he didn’t like it at all.

“No! I just don’t want you talking to him. He might…. He might…”

“Might what? Brainwash me? Kibum, give the boy a chance. He’s a really good person once you get past his sarcastic facade,” Jonghyun explained to Kibum.

“No, hyung! He’s acting! I don’t know why but he is!” Kibum claimed.

“And you call me childish! Kibum, he apologized. What else do you need?”

“I don’t need to be friends with him. He’ll be gone in a few days anyway once this rice deal is done with,”

“Whatever, Kibum. I found a friend in him and I’m not about to lose it because you’re jealous. I’ll always be your best friend first before anyone else, okay?” Jonghyun said, persuading Kibum. Kibum just crossed his arms and pouted at him. Perhaps he was acting a little immature.

Jonghyun reached for Kibum’s hair and ruffled it up, laughing.

“I’ve never seen you this jealous before. You must really love me, huh? You know, there’s only one  solution to this. You become friends with Minho and all problems are solved!”

“In your dreams, hyung!” Kibum said, walking away into his house. Jonghyun followed a few steps behind him.

“Well, at least in my dreams you’re a forgiving saint right?” Jonghyun said.

Kibum just shook his head as he stepped into his room. He slammed the door shut in Jonghyun’s face to get the message across clearly.

Kibum is never befriending Minho. Not in this life. Not ever.

(A/N) Chapter 6 people!!!! Enjoy!!!

Soooo..... I've had this stupid thing nagging in my mind these past few days. This 2min oneshot that I posted two days ago actually has almost the same amount of views and subscription as this Minkey chaptered fic that I posted like weeks ago... So it got me thinking- WHY?? Is it because the oneshot was rated M and people... well, they like M stuff?? Or is it because the pairing 2min is more popular than Minkey?? If it's the second reason, then the Minkey diehard shipper in me wants to know this; HOW ON EARTH CAN PEOPLE NOT FIND MINKEY TOTALLY ADORABLE??!!! I mean, it's the classic 'opposites attract' tale with these two!! Have you seen the way Minho takes care of Key or how Key is like always Minho's personal cheerleader?? Minkey is the best thing on this planet for me (no offence to other shippers!!)

I was just ranting pointlessly guys... Actually, I ship all Shinee pairings (I think you can guess which one is my favourite by now...) except for Taekey. Their image will forever remain as mother and son to me (again, no offence to Taekey shippers...) The reason I ship all of them is because they just look like the bestest of friends ever and I just admire their friendship.

And they are all so NICE!! Did you guys hear about them meeting this girl named Donica?? Such a touching union!! It brought me to tears, especially what Taemin did for her...

Anyways, I digress. Please don't forget to comment and subscribe. I love my readers because you guys brighten up my day!!! Seriously!! Thank you for reading and for putting up with my random (A/N)...

Have a good day!!!