C H A P T E R 1 4: Less talking, more bathing.

“…J—Jjong?”

He snapped out of it and eventually shook his head in wonder, before he once again took himself in returning to look at Kibum’s gorgeous feline eyes. “Wow, your—your eyes,” he cleared his throat midsentence realizing that it was dry as hell – probably because he forgot all about sinking his saliva, given the fact that he was busy ogling at the younger boy.   

“What’s with them? They are ugly aren’t they?” Kibum concluded and closed his eyes before turning his head to look away from him.

“No no no!” Jonghyun hurried to utter panicking. He placed both his hands at each of Kibum’s cheeks and carefully but fast turned his head, so he once again was able to look at him – and so Kibum wouldn’t get any wrong ideas, of course. “No, they are really beautiful.”

“…W—What?”

“…Never—Never mind,” Jonghyun retorted and once again cleared his throat as he realized what he just had said. Hesitating he retreated his hands. “What—whatever, we have wasted enough time of this, just... go ahead and get undressed already – I won’t look,” he literally face palmed himself in silence as he turned around in untainted frustration. He even took some steps away, towards the opposite wall of the bathtub, with the consideration to make a distance between them, for now.

Biting himself in the lips, he crossed both of his arms over his chest as he stared into the white wall. Why was he doing this to himself? – To Kibum? Why was it he always was acting like a bipolar jerk in front of the younger boy? – And why was it that Kibum still liked him after all that? Which reasons did Jonghyun even have to be acting like this? It wasn’t even Kibum’s own fault that he had some seriously gorgeous eyes, which made Jonghyun doubt everything he always had believed was wrong – maybe it wasn’t that wrong again?

“Um… This was probably a bad idea,” he heard a low, almost inaudible, voice behind him.

He sighed and let his arms fall down to the sides before he turned around and looked at Kibum again. “I am sorry, I—I can’t stay mad at you.”

“Why… would you be mad at me in the first place?” The younger questioned and turned his head towards Jonghyun with a confused expression.

Jonghyun went over to him again and gently corrected his hospital outfit’s collar, before he nervously started to it. “I really don’t know Bummie,” he admitted truthfully – and a bit confused concerning his own words.

Kibum turned his head down as if he was looking at Jonghyun’s hands while they ed the last button. He didn’t say anything however. Afterwards, Jonghyun snatched a stool which was standing by the sink, and he assisted Kibum sit down on it so he could take his crunched away and pull the shirt off without any problems.   

All this happened without any word being shared between the two of them. For some reason it was a kind of nice silence, though.

Jonghyun helped Kibum up again and the younger boy steadied himself at his shoulder as Jonghyun went down to take his pants off. He felt slightly embarrassed as he stood up once again and accidently looked at Kibum’s pink boxers – nonetheless he chuckled and before he knew it he had already blurted the word: “Cute.”

*

Kibum blushed. He knew exactly what Jonghyun was talking about, even though he never had seen them himself.  “Y—Your mother brought them for me since I didn’t had any belongings when I first arrived here,” he confessed and blushed even harder than before, then he added with a somewhat forced humorous tone: “I will just keep them one for now, to save us self from more awkward scenes.”

“Oh, okay, sounds like a plan…?” Jonghyun answered, but sounded a little bit questioning.

All of a sudden Jonghyun’s arm was around his shoulders and before he got to catch was what happening, he found his legs being swept of under him, as the older boy lifted him bridal style of the floor. “Jong—Jonghyun! What are you doing?” He gasped shocked.

“Less talking, more bathing,” he answered nonchalant, and Kibum felt how the water surrounded his body as Jonghyun slow and carefully placed him in the bath tub beneath him. “And then just lean back and relax, okay? I will take care of the rest,” he heard the stool screech against the floor and he figured that Jonghyun most likely had moved it over beside the tub so he could sit down and relax in his knee, which he probably just had overworked in this exact moment, by lifting him.

*

Jonghyun eventually got Kibum washed and dried up. The only time he stopped helping him and had to turn his back towards him, was when Kibum had to change into some clean and dry boxers – in pink.

That evening, Jonghyun was sitting in his usually and with the guitar in his lap – he wasn’t playing anymore though. He was thoughtfully sitting and watching the sleeping Kibum who had fallen asleep, shortly after they had arrived back from dinner.

The boy was looking so flawless, so perfect, as he was clutching onto a baby-blue blanket and with a sweet smile surrounding his lips.

…So flawless.

…So perfect.

…So kissable.

…Maybe it wasn’t that wrong again?