A sequel/companion piece for the previous oneshot Everybody Wants Somebody.

Jinki barged into Kibum’s room, stopping dead in his tracks when he caught sight of Kibum. He stood in the doorway, staring transfixed as the younger male applied eyeliner. His mouth went dry when Kibum’s eyes met his through the mirror.

"Was there something you needed, old man?" Kibum asked, setting the eyeliner down. Jinki smiled slightly at the nickname.

"Nothing. Just wondering what you were up to," he closed the door and flopped down on Kibum’s bed. He noticed immediately when Kibum’s fists clenched on top of the vanity table.

"Well obviously I’m getting ready to go out somewhere," Jinki swallowed, and found himself wishing for the umpteenth time that the awkward atmosphere which had plagued them for months would disappear.

"Ohh?~ Getting ready for a date, hm?" Jinki joked, half-dreading the answer. Over the years, he’d known of Kibum to have plenty of one night stands, but.. he’d never once seen the younger in a serious relationship.

Kibum’s face lit up with a small, buoyant grin. “Yeah, actually.”

There it was. The answer Jinki wished he’d never heard. He shoved his feelings away, and beamed.

"That’s ing /awesome/, man. Who’s the lucky woman?" Jinki’s eyebrows furrowed when he saw Kibum visibly tense up. He could feel it in his bones that he’d asked the wrong question. The moment of icy silence made Jinki want to cringe.

"It’s not a woman," Kibum finally admitted in a stiff voice. Jinki’s heart leapt into his throat. He had never even /suspected/… But he’d hoped.

"Well," he swallowed, forcing a smile for his best friend. "What’s /his/ name then?" Kibum turned around and scrutinized Jinki, his eyes full of suspicion.

"You’re not.. freaked out, or anything?" Kibum looked vulnerable, shrinking in on himself a little. Jinki shook his head.

"Nah," Jinki laughed shakily, running his fingers through his hair. He was definitely /not/ ready to have this conversation. He had barely come to terms with things, himself. "I’m not. In fact..," he sighed, nervously picking at Kibum’s bedspread. "I’ve been attracted to a couple of guys myself before." That was a lie. There was only one, and it had taken Minjung’s help to realize that that was what it was. Attraction.

"Oh," Kibum sounded.. surprised? Disappointed? Jinki couldn’t really decipher his tone of voice. "I didn’t know." Jinki’s lips quirked into a self-deprecating smirk without thinking.

"Yeah, I didn’t either. Until one day someone forcibly opened my eyes," Kibum rolled his eyes, chuckling. Jinki relaxed a little, enjoying the sound. It almost seemed like things were back to the way they used to be in that moment.

"Of course /you’d/ have to have help realizing something like that, ," Kibum caught sight of the time and cursed. ", I’m gonna be late." Jinki wilted after hearing those words, the smile slipping off his face. The moment of comforting familiarity had been broken.

"You look great, Kibum," he complimented sincerely, and the shy answering smile on Kibum’s face made his heart ache.

"Thanks, Jinki. It’s Taemin, by the way. The guy I’m going out with," Jinki’s heart sank like a stone. Taemin had been around a lot in the past few months, and Jinki had perceived right away that he was head over heels for Kibum. They would be good for each other.

Bitter anger and disappointment at himself colored his thoughts. He had waited too long.

"That’s great," he felt as if he was choking on the words. "I hope you guys have an amazing date."

Kibum fiddled with his hands for a couple of minutes before squaring his shoulders, apparently resolved to say whatever it was he was about to say.

"You know, Jinki.. For the longest time, I was /so/ ing in love with this one guy, and I would’ve done anything for him even though he never noticed. But Taemin… He was there for me every time I’d had my heart broken, despite how much it hurt him," Kibum turned to him with a forlorn smile. "Do you wanna know who that guy was, Jinki? It was /you/."

Jinki felt like he’d been punched in the gut. He couldn’t breathe.

"I..I’m sorry," Jinki apologized breathlessly. "I’m so ing sorry, Kibum." The urge to spill everything was almost more than Jinki could bear, but it wouldn’t be fair to either of them to say anything now. Not now, when he could see how happy Taemin made Kibum.

"Jinki? Are you okay? You look really pale," Jinki couldn’t face Kibum. He astutely kept staring at the brushes on Kibum’s vanity table. He’d never been very good at hiding when his feelings overwhelmed him.

"Yeah," he answered as evenly as he could manage. "I’m fine." He took a risk glancing at Kibum and saw that Kibum had an eyebrow raised in disbelief. "Didn’t you say you were gonna be late?" He asked, trying to divert Kibum’s attention. To his dismay, it only half-worked.

"You can’t fool me, Jinki. There’s something wrong, and we’re going to talk about it when I get back, you hear me?" Kibum walked to the door of his room and paused. "Seriously, Jinki.. You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Jinki nodded, thinking of the soju in the fridge. It was enough to get him drunk, anyway. That was all that mattered.

"Sure, Kibum. Whatever you say."

For the people who are seriously wondering, no. I won't delete my account here. I was kind of in a bad mood when I posted that author's note, and I was just too lazy to go back and change it later to say that I won't. I apologize. *bows lowly*

I am working pretty hard on a oneshot right now, a bit longer than these snippets I've been posting lately. ^^; Be on the lookout for it some time in the next couple of weeks~