Stairs | Key and Onew

WhiteTigeress

If he had taken the elevator, they never would have met.

Kim Kibum practically radiated power and wealth – to the point where most employees would part like the Red Sea the moment they caught sight of his coifed golden locks or heard the resounding tenor of his voice. But, apparently the catering service Jonghyun had hired for the big business meeting did not know their place; they had practically trampled Kibum to get to the elevator. With the lift in use, the man had been forced to take the stairs for the first time in his life.

He had been halfway up to his floor when he had heard it: singing. Kibum hesitated – lingering half on the next step – before returning to the landing. Opening the door, he trailed down the hallway until he found the source of the sound. Through the glass, he could see a rather cute brunette with a rather shy smile on his lips as he was lost in singing. It seemed he was a secretary for Dr. Choi’s dentist office – if the plaque by the door was anything to go by. It was strange, but Kibum seemed enthralled by the rich sound of the other man’s voice as he belted the sultry notes of “Someone to Watch Over Me.” The blond forgot the meeting he was supposed to prepare for, the caterers in the lobby, even the fact his favorite tie was wearing out. All he could think was: Wow. The moment the song finished, though, Kibum gave his head a firm shake and all but ran up the stairs to his office.

But, the next day, Kibum’s lunch break drew him back down to the third floor. And, yet again, he found himself enthralled by the warm honey of the secretary’s voice as he sorted through his files. At one point a mother and son walked past Kibum and into the office – shooting the executive a strange look as they passed – causing the secretary to stop singing. Kibum sighed and returned to his task of procuring sustenance. Day after day found more and more of the blond’s lunch being spent in the hallway listening to the melodious sound of the secretary’s singing. It actually got to the point where Kibum began to pack a lunch, just so he could sit on a bench in the hallway and listen. (Internally, he cringed at the ridiculousness of the situation. He was Kim Kibum, not some silly school girl! But then, why was he acting like one?)

After nearly two weeks of this odd ritual, Kibum decided he needed to do something about the strange feelings he had begun to develop for the other man. He had to sound out the other – see if he were as perfect as his voice belied. Then, of course, Kibum could begin the even more delicate work of figuring out if the man might be interested in him; but, first things first. His plan began to form as he sat in the hallway late on a Wednesday afternoon (Jonghyun had run long during a meeting, which meant Kibum’s lunch was a full hour later than usual). The blond had watched a woman take two little girls into the dentist’s office, and he had watched how the secretary had dropped everything in order to greet them with a sunny smile. Kibum’s eyes glittered. Of course. Everything made sense.

The next day, lunchtime brought a change in ritual. Rather than lurking in the hallway, Kibum boldly pushed open the office door and strutted in. He was resplendent from his designer suit to his gold cufflinks to his perfectly coifed hair. That morning, his employees had not even needed to see his hair to know to get out of the way; his aura alone had been forceful enough to drive them to cling to the walls and scramble out of the main pathway. But, the secretary did not seem nearly so impressed. He simply smiled up at Kibum – his eyes turning into pretty little crescents – and gave him a wiggly- wave. “Hello! Welcome to Dr. Choi’s office. What can I do for you?”

Moving over to the desk, Kibum braced one hand on his hip and struck what he considered his most becoming pose. “I wanted to make an appointment.”

The secretary just resisted the urge to smile even wider – Kibum could see it in the way the edges of his mouth twitched. “What for?”

“Me.” Kibum hesitated. “For a cleaning.”

“Ah.” The brunette nodded. “What is your name?”

The executive smirked. “Kim Kibum.”

“Kibum? That’s a really lovely name.” The secretary leaned his elbow on the desk before cradling his chin in his hand. For a moment, he seemed to size the other man up. “Mr. Kim, I think there’s just one problem with your request.”

Kibum was flustered. How could there be an issue with getting a dentist’s appointment? “Pardon me?”

Laughing, the brunette gestured to the room around him. “This is a pediatric dentist’s office, sir. I think you are at least fifteen years older than our clientele.”

The beginnings of a blush began to heat the back of Kibum’s ears. “Oh.” And now that he paid attention, he could see the bright colors and toys and cutesy drawings that belied that very detail. He had been so caught up in ogling the secretary, he had not even noticed any of that.

“But… I don’t think you came in here for that, did you?” Kibum gaped at the man sitting in front of him. “For weeks I’ve had patients asking about the man sitting in the hallway. They thought you were going to gobble me up.” And at that moment, Kibum desperately wanted to die. But, then the secretary rose to his feet and leaned across the desk – bringing their faces almost uncomfortably close. “You were out in the hall, weren’t you?”

Before he quite knew what he was doing, Kibum nodded. “I was. I was…listening to you sing.”

This time, it was the secretary’s turn to flush, but his was a bright thing that spread all over his features. “Really? That’s very kind of you.”

“Not really,” Kibum protested. “I was very selfish. I couldn’t go a day without hearing you sing; the weekends nearly killed me.”

Rocking back on his heels, the secretary ducked his head. “I saw you watching me. I wondered if you just liked the quiet of the hall or if it was something else… Like, I dunno, me maybe.” He glanced up at Kibum through his eyelashes. “Was it just the singing you came for?”

Kibum gulped. “N-no.” He cleared his throat and attempted to regain as much of his usual cool demeanor as possible. “I was curious about you. I wanted to know if you were as angelic as your voice made you seem.”

“Oh.” The secretary’s eyes went wide. “Wow. That’s – wow.”

“Can I ask you a question?” Seeing the man so flustered seemed to give Kibum a bit more courage. At the other’s nod, he leaned a fist on the desk. “What’s your name?”

That made the secretary laugh brightly. “Not what I expected you to ask! My name’s Jinki, but most of the kids call me Onew.”

“Onew?” Kibum nodded a little. “I like it. I like both of them.” I like you.

Jinki tucked a stray bit of hair back behind his ear; his hair had gotten a bit long for his taste. “Are you…busy tonight, Kibum?”

That made the blond’s little smirk turn into an outright smile. “Dunno. Why’re you asking?”

Humming a little, the brunette paused to write something down on a slip of paper. He then held it out to Kibum with a grin. “Oh, nothing much. I was just wondering if you might be the Key to my heart. If you’re free and interested in dinner, call me.”

Dumbfounded and elated, Kibum took the slip of paper. “I’ll let you know,” he breathed. “And if not tonight, maybe tomorrow?”

Onew just grinned. “Maybe. If you’re lucky.”

If Kibum had taken the elevator, they never would have met. They never would have went on a date that night (and another one the next night). They never would have shared their first kiss on the edge of the pier – moonlight making Jinki’s features glow and reflecting off of Kibum’s hair. They never would have exchanged “I love you”s seven months later; Onew had sung his confession, and Kibum had nearly died from the preternatural iness of the entire experience. And they never would have realized that Kibum really was the Key to Onew’s heart – his one man happily ever after.

Key loved taking the stairs.