If you fail, keep trying (?)

 

 

[not beta-ed, ofc. fail. i'm a fail]

 

1. Kunpimook- -wait. Bambam. Call him with his nickname. His real name is too long.

Anyway, let's start this over again.

Bambam is great at doing a lot of things.

For example, he can perfectly balance seven pens on his head, he can run for two hours without ending up being breathless, he can not sleep for three days straight. 

However, one thing he's definitely not able to do is keeping his voice low and one thing more difficult for him is to stay silent and still in a room. Thus, his best friend Yugyeom should have known better than dragging him in the library.

And if you ask Bambam, the glare that is being directed at him shouldn't be there on Yugyeom's face because damn it, he could have predicted that this was going to happen.

"Shh." Yugyeom hushes him for the umpteenth time. "Can you- -" He makes riduculous gestures at his own mouth "- -because it's annoying and I'm trying to understand Science here." 

Bambam rolls his eyes skyward.

"I'm bored." He whines, petulantly tugging at the other's shirt. He pouts his lips when Yugyeom does nothing but shove him at a side. Again. "Yugyeomie, I'm like super bored. Let's go out- -I want bubble tea."

"No. You. Study. Now." Yugyeom says, frowning at his book.

"But- -"

"History."

"Can't we take a break and then come back here later to reassume our studying session?" is his attempt to persuade his best friend. He knows that he's supposed to concentrate and work diligently and he swears that he tried to do it once, but his attention died after reading the three lines of the paragraph. 

Yugyeom sighs. "No." He repeats sternly. "Besides, you haven't even started yet."

"Hey, that's not true!" Bambam splutters. He would continue defending himself if it's not for the fact that a chorus of 'shh' and a lot of angry looks get thrown at him. Mortified, he squirms under the pressure of all the gazes. He plays awkwardly with his fingers before he turns his head at Yugyeom. "I think- -hey, are we going to buy bubble tea?"

"God, you're embarassing." Yugyeom whisper-shouts at him as he gathers all his stuff, plus Bambam's laptop and then goes to sit at the table at the other part of the library. Far, far, far away.

Bambam interprets that as a 'no' to his question.

"Rude." He comments bitterly. What a jerk, really. Bambam did not even want to be here- -did clearly express that he was opposed to Yugyeom's idea, it was such a very bad idea. It wasn't Bambam who shook his head and declared that 'it's okay, I understand. Just keep me company'. Now, Bambam is left sulking at his spot. He's considering walking out of this area without saying goodbye, but Yugyeom has his laptop. "That bastard."

"I'm pretty sure your friend wouldn't have left if you weren't so damn ing noisy." A very irritated voice says, and Bambam's already ready to point his forefinger to whomever's just kind of cursed against him, but when he looks in the direction from which the voice is coming, Bambam's building anger...

...disappears instantly.

Irritated voice belongs to a guy who's at the seat across his- -Bambam doesn't know when he came here. Because if he knew, he'd have certainly noticed this person.

It's not everyday that you find a face like that.

Bambam has seen a lot of thin kissable lips, little noses and definitely a lot of interesting nice eyebrows, but the facial features of the guy are just so perfectly arranged and each of them is like a piece of art that Bambam- -hey, at least have the decency to blink before you mentally start making out with him.

"Dude, are you alive? You have your mouth open and your eyes are not moving- -you're kind of creepy." Guy-with-little-pieces-of-art-on-his-face is leaning to Bambam, muttering his insult just a couple of centimeters of distance between their mouths.

And that is too good or too bad- -it depends from which perspective you are watching the scene.

Bambam doesn't deny that he's a little awestruck by this guy, and the cologne is a little inebriating, but once he snaps back into reality and the words sink in his brain, hell, he lets nobody offend him.

"I'm not so damn noisy!" And okay, maybe he says that aloud- -God, kill him.

But this time he watches guy-with-little-pieces-of-art-on-his-face's lips twitch at a side at his answer and the sight does something horrible inside Bambam. He can feel a little voice in his head telling him to ask if the guy is single, likes males, wants marriage and adopted babies and- -

Bambam does not know if he should feel glad or annoyed when Yugyeom grabs the collar of his shirt and pulls him out of the library. 

- - - -

2. He's sure that he'd never seen the guy around before that encounter.

Suddenly, he's everywhere, though.

At the campus, outside, in the hall, and Bambam's gaze is always drawn to that familiar hot figure because it's a good view. Bambam actually appreciates that the Earth's decided to bring guy-with-little-pieces-of-art-on-his-face as a refreshing part of the exhausting life that he's conducting at college.

He's this close to drive his eyes up and like, praise the Lord when he spots guy-with-little-pieces-of-art-on-his-face in the middle of the gym for this activity at the campus that Yugyeom thinks can be very fun if given the chance, but someone pushes him from behind.

"Chill." Yugyeom tells him, giving him a look. "Don't start anything, please." Because Bambam is a troublemaker, right?

Please.

"I was just going to ask to the person behind me why he had to push me." He emphasizes the parts of the sentence that need to be heard and he blinks his eyes very innocently at Yugyeom, even though he knows that it's not going to work. "What?"

Yugyeom grimaces. "Why can't you behave?"

"Excuse me? Are you really talking to me?" Bambam is faking an ultra-shocked expression at his friend. "Tell me one time that I did not act like the polite and well-mannered guy that I am."

Yugyeom groans. "It's an endless list and I have no time for that." He says then in dismissal. He's such a kj when he wants. Here is Bambam trying to make conversation before this thing- - that he actually doesn't care the tiniest bit about, but he's here just because of his best friend - -starts and then, there's Yugyeom cutting out everything immediately. 

He concedes for the only reason that okay, Yugyeom wants quiet Bambam? No, he can't get quiet Bambam, but Yugyeom can have squealing Bambam who is one thousand better than teasing Bambam- -now, if he could find guy-with-little-pieces-of-art-on-his-face that would be great.

Except that he's nowhere.

Bambam scowls. He squints his eyes and carefully watches here and there. No traces, though. Damn it. So much for praising the Lord.

He's mumbling when Yugyeom elbows him.

"The professor is talking." 

"Who cares." He huffs.

Yugyeom is practically trying to pin him on the floor and make him regret all the things he's done bad in his existence with a disappointed look. "Two minutes then," he pleads, "play nice for two minutes."

"What did I do now?" Bambam protests, but he throws his hands in the air, surrending a second later.

Which is not a good move at all because his right arm doesn't get to be stretched completely like the other since he hits a guy who's passing next him. 

"Ouch!"

"I'm sorry!" He squeaks. And no, no, no, c'mon, why this? Bambam watches in horror guy-with-little-pieces-or-art look up at him while he's holding his cheek.

He is staring intensely at Bambam with angry eyes, and this must be a joke because the guy is so ridiculously handsome even like this it hurts.

"Clumsy." is the first word that he receives from the other (ouch doesn't count) after one week and five days from the first time they met.

Bambam registers much much later when guy-with-little-pieces-of-art-on-his-face is standing next to the teacher of this sport- - fencing - -that it's not just the face that is particularly relevant. With fascination and by trying to swallow the lump that has formed in his dry throat, he mental-pictures the seemingly-one-size-small-black-shirt that is trapping biceps and chest and oh, my god the guy has milky skin too. Bet he's hiding abs under that shirt. 

So, basically, the guy is a whole piece of art.

No.

He is art.

At its finest.

And of course with the interactions he has held with him so far, Bambam knows that if he tries, he'll have around zero possibilities. Thank you.

- - - -

3. "And I just don't understand what he's so pissed about- -" Jaebum stops talking and that's Bambam's cue to rotate his head back at him, put a hand on his chin, rub his chin and pretend that he's been listening all along when in reality he doesn't even know what their topic is.

He knows from the way Jaebum narrows his eyes at him that he's got caught. "What is more important than listening to your hyung's problems?"

"Absolutely nothing. Your love-life is what I've been thinking about- -"

The thing about Jaebum is that he's unfortunately more clever than Yugyeom and he's curious about Bambam's affairs and this would be really really nice except that it's not at the moment. He turns his head over his shoulder. "You were looking at something behind me- -is it the dude in the red that's ordering, uh, a smoothie?"

How the hell is Jaebum able to always guess right? Bambam clenches his jaw. "No, it's not." He says sharply.

The -eating grin accompanied by the wiggling eyebrows is definitely on the list of Bambam's most disliked characteristics of Jaebum. "He's your type."

"Shut up, hyung." Bambam's fingers are circling the empty can on the table. "I don't have a type."

"Uh-huh." Jaebum is mocking him. His lips are curving in a very devious and evil-looking smile. "So, he's not handsome enough for you?"

Bambam grunts and at the same time, Mark joins them, sliding in the vacant chair next to Jaebum. The new-comer friend greets them. "What's up?" He asks, reaching for the half glass of Coke.

"Jinyoung's mad at me and I don't know why," Jaebum summarizes quickly, "and our little Bambam here has the hots for- -" He puts his hand on Mark's cheek after the latter's finished drinking and turns it first to the cashier, but seeing that guy-with-little-pieces-of-art-on-his-face is no longer there, he turns it right and left before finally stopping when he spots his target. "- -dude in red who's sitting alone and checking his phone."

"It's not like that, hyung." Bambam says, exasperated. He doesn't really 'have the hots for the guy', c'mon. It's just that Bambam is a fan of his face and his body and yeah, he would really like to touch, eh, the face or the bicep, or the abs that the guy may or may have not. 

Okay.

Maybe a little bit.

"You're red just like your dude's t-shirt." Jaebum points out. He's so much more bearable when he's complaining about the misunderstandings in his and his boyfriend's relationship.

"I'm not."

"Seriously, Kunpimookie, how do you expect me to believe you when you're blushing?"

"I'm n- -"

"Oh, but it's Jackson." Mark says, and Bambam's next retort doesn't fully come out. Without realising it, he's staring at guy-with-little-pieces-of-art-on-his-face and he's trying to use this information and- -yes, yes.

Guy can be a Jackson. The name totally fits him. Bambam doesn't know why, but being finally able to refer to that hot person without using a nickname makes him his lips because he's suppressing a happy smile.

"Bambam," Jaebum calls him. He's raising an eyebrow and even though he has a fist in front of his mouth, Bambam can see the edges of his mouth and he's grinning stupidly again, "it's written all over your face."

"It's n- -"

"Jackson!" Mark shouts all of a sudden, flailing his hand in the air. "Hey, Jackson!"

", , hyung, - -" Bambam is widening and he can hear the defeaning sound of his heartbeats in his ears. He gets up from his chair and moves toward Mark and he starts grabbing the other's wrists in an attempt to stop him. In the meanwhile, Jaebum is practically dying in a fit of laughter. "Hyung, what the . Would you stop please? Why are you doing this- -, hyung, he's looking now. Please. Oh, . - -"

The guy- -Jackson is looking at them, puzzled.

Bambam watches him shift his gaze from him to Mark and back and forth thrice before it settles on the older guy. There's a brief moment when Bambam feels relief overtaking panic because after acknowledging them, Jackson stands up and is typing on his phone again. Bambam plops himself back on his seat, drying his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. But then, Jackson puts his device away in the pocket of his jeans, and now he's actually walking to Mark.

"Oh, for the love of- -please tell me he's not really coming here."

"He is." Jaebum snickers.

He doesn't even have a second to scream that he hates Lim ing Jaebum and Mark ing Tuan that Jackson is already clasping Mark's shoulder. And Bambam isn't trying to burn his hyung with the intensity of his stare for being touched by the guy.

"Hey."

"Hey." Mark says back and Bambam isn't thinking god, boring. "This is Jackson Wang, a friend. He and I are both taking dance lessons from Mister Hyukjae. He's pretty good." He informs them.

Holy cow.

So Jackson, besides being the next Leonardo Da Vinci's subject in his work, being a diligent student that studies in the library and being a good fencer (Yugyeom's been telling him that there's this student who's so ing good that the teacher ing applauded him during the first official lesson. Bambam isn't going to share how he knows that his best friend was talking about Jackson then), he's also a dancer.

Bambam can perfectly balance seven pens on his head, though.

"This is my friend Jaebum."

Jackson offers a small smile that gets paid with a radiant megawatt grin.

"And that is Bambam." Mark says, indicating him with his finger.

He is not wishing for a hole to appear under the table so that he could jump into it the moment Jackson, instead of treating him the way he did with Jaebum, looks at him quite perplexed. Bambam is definitely not recalling the two times he made a fool of himself in front of this guy.

"Hi." Bambam breathes out in the end, a tentative smile tugging up his lips. He ignores Jaebum purposely coughing.

Jackson's eyebrow rises. "You have a really...unique name." The pause in the short sentence has somewhat deflated Bambam.

"My real name is Kunpimook." He blurts out.

Jackson's expression slides from contemplating to amused. "Well, that doesn't sound any less unique." 

Wow. He's a jerk.

"You're the kid that can't shut up, aren't you?"

By the end of the day, Jaebum and Jackson have already established a frienship that took origin in their finding pleasure in torturing Bambam. The latter thinks that it is reasonable- -of course people belonging to the same species (in this case to the jerk one) get along. The relevant fact though is that even if Bambam's the center of the two people's jokes and he did say that they  and he hates them both, it's not true.

He doesn't hate his friend Im Jaebum and he absolutely doesn't hate Jackson Wang.

- - - -

4. The worst thing about college is that there is no mom, no dad, no older brother and no older sister than can do the housework for you. Such as cleaning- -but this is not really a big problem since Yugyeom is the bestest friend ever and he does a pretty good job at keeping both of their rooms tidy and smelling good by leaving home fragrance, that Yugyeom's sweet mother always sends to him, on Bambam's desk too. 

Doing the laundry is a completely different story, unluckily. 

Bambam is going to be honest: he doesn't really mind sharing clothes with others as long as they give them back to him. Boxers included. He does not actually comprehend why Yugyeom looks on the verge of having a mental breakdown everytime he asks to borrow a pair of underpants. But then again, Yugyeom's reactions at his 'crazy' requests- - as his best friend calls them - -are better than Mark's gaping mouth and Jaebum's hysterical laugh that will turn to be the most annoying sound after a couple of minutes.

He's been postponing laundry for two weeks.

The only reason that he can provide is that he's been too busy lazily rolling on his bed and surfing the net.

Now that he's left with no more than only two shirts clean, a pair of jeans, no clean socks at all and especially no underwears and he needs to take a bath after a long day, Bambam finds the necessity of doing this hateful thing at 10.47 of the night. He throws his dirties in a basket that he found already in the room when he came in for the first time, and then he heads to the laundry room, hoping that nobody will be there since it's already quite late.

"For 's sake." He curses when he opens the door and he finds a rare half Jackson Wang standing in front of one of the machines. Blood starts circulating furiously all over his body- -Bambam can feel it. His cheeks are definitely coloring.

"Oh, hey, Bambam." Jackson says to him. He has his arms folded on his bare chest. No, let Bambam give you a description of what this person is wearing at the moment: uh, only ing, Calvin Klein boxers. And shoes. White Air-max. Oddly, or not since we're talking about Jackson Wang, he looks glorious in his poor choice of clothing.

"H-hello." Bambam himself hadn't known before tonight that seeing fascinating people's chests and abdominals can make him half-speechless . 

And not only half-speechless. That is not the only reaction that he's having right now.

"You left with no clothes too?"

Yes, but he has definitely more than you.

Bambam doesn't think that he's sounded very eager as he gives his answer. "Yes. Yes. Oh, yes."

 Apparently, Bambam's not the laziest human being in the planet- -Jackson has two piles of t-shirts and hoodies to wash.

For the rest of the time he spends in this not-small-but-feels-like-it-is room, he's very aware of every move that Jackson does. This is probably the beginning of something horrible, is his thought when the other stretches his back and , those abs, seriously?! Can I touch with a hand or with my tongue- -shoot me now! and Bambam has to press his legs tight onto each other. At some point he crosses them.

He zones out everytime Jackson tries to initiate a conversation with him and he doesn't need to wonder why the other stops after a couple of failed times. The washing machine and the dryer announcing with a ti-ting! that Bambam can leave this place are heaven.

However, he doesn't step out of the laundry room as fast as he's desired because Jackson's asking him not to go.

"W-why?" He asks, stumbling, but regaining composure immediately.

The universe hates Bambam, very much- -Jackson Wang is holding pink boxers and he's thinking that they're his, but no. "Not mine!"

"Yeah, sure." Jackson is chuckling, low and seductive. "They fell when you picked up your basket, but of course, they're not yours."

"Maybe they were already in the washing machine! They're not mine! I swear to everything that I love that they're not!"

The other is totally unimpressed. "It's okay, I can keep secrets." He says, patting Bambam's cheek.

Oh, my god.

- - - -