C H A P T E R 6: The roommate.

Kibum had, had the greatest dream; he had been lying in his bed with Jonghyun by his side who gently had been caressing his back while he was snuggling into the latter’s chest and telling him about the worse accident of his 17 – almost 18 – years old life.

Nevertheless when he then shifted around in his blanket and all of a sudden felt something tighten around his waist in addition to something that definitely felt like an unexpected heartbeat next to his own and a hot moistly breathing against his cheek, he figured that it might haven’t been as much as a dream as he first thought – not that he minded if that was the case.

He just lay there for some time enjoying the other’s presence without moving an inch, afraid that if he did, Jonghyun would wake up and sooner or later leave him.

“Are you awake?” He then surprisingly heard the older question, startling him due to the fact that Jonghyun hadn’t make the smallest amount of movement since he woke up – whenever it was, because Kibum truthfully hadn’t the slightest idea of it.

“A—Are you?” He foolishly asked back, once again causing his stutter and straight away wanting to face palm himself afterwards due to the obviously stupid question.

“Hm,” Jonghyun grunted thoughtfully, not sounding fully awake yet. “Let me think about it for a while and then come back with the answer later, okay?” He joked and finally moved his arm from his waist – not that this was what Kibum wanted, he had just expected Jonghyun to pull away at one time or another, and surprisingly it actually lasted longer than he had hoped for.

He felt his bed faintly ease at some certain points, bearing in mind that Jonghyun apparently sat up with an unnecessarily loud yawn leaving his mouth.

Kibum sat up as well, feeling it awkward to be lying down now the other was sitting beside him. “How comes you’re still here?” He then asked once he had pulled himself together and found courage for it, thinking it would have been most common if Jonghyun had left after he fell asleep.

“Hm,” Jonghyun uttered again, followed by a somewhat staged pause like he was trying to think about a proper answer to his question. “I just think I fell asleep before I got the chance to leave.”

Kibum opened his mouth and was about to answer something like: ‘Oh, right, of course,’ – some pure nonsense, but luckily he was disturbed by a knock on the door, followed by a loud thud beside him and a bed that abruptly felt awful empty compared to just a moment again.

Confused, he heard the door getting opened and a young boy saying: “Jonghyun hyung, are you in here—what are you doing at the floor?”

Then there was some rattling and Jonghyun answering: “Oh, Taeminnie-ah, I just… em… fell.”

Taeminnie-ah?!Who in the world is Taemin?! And why is he asking after Jonghyun? And hell; Kibum felt vulnerable in that moment, with no chance to know what was happening without making a complete fool out of himself.

“O—Oh, okay? Well, I just come to see to you, since you told me yesterday that you would go in to the person next door and then never came back. I mean. I was just wondering, where you went, you know. Um. A—Anyways, is this the Kibum you told me about?” The boy suddenly beamed approving at the last sentence, once again making his heart go crazy just by the words.

Jonghyun have been talking about me? – Oh joy!

“Yeah, right it is.” Jonghyun answered and Kibum felt how he suddenly grabbed onto his hand to get his attention. “Kibum, do you remember the roommate I mentioned for you some days ago? Well, this is him. Lee Taemin. He is a year younger than you.” He explained cheerfully and tightened the grip around his hand.

So, what Jonghyun was saying, was that this boy somewhere in front of them was responsible for the fact that Kibum could spend so much more time with him? “Oh my… It’s nice to meet you Taemin-ah,” he greeted and gave the boy one of the best’s smile he could manage lately.

“It’s nice to meet you too hyung,” Taemin answered, his voice sounding so cute and honest that Kibum most of all wanted to stand up and go over to hug him. – But it was nothing compared to the feelings he felt for Jonghyun, who by now had started to play with his fingers by intertwining and them, almost making Kibum believe that they were a couple. Even though it wasn’t like that at all and he knew that very well, he just liked to trick his mind to think otherwise.

“Yup, it’s all very nice, but you should be lying in your bed right now Taemin, you still aren’t healthy enough to walk around like there was no tomorrow,” Jonghyun then absentminded stated.

“But hyung! It’s so boring to be lying there the whole day! Just to be lying and lying and there is nothing to do! I can’t watch television properly without getting a headache, and you are always in here, so I can’t even talk with anyone beside the stupid old nurses, who only is there because they’re being paid!” Kibum listened carefully as Taemin whined a list of complains up that sounded way too familiar in his ears.

“Don’t worry Taeminnie,” he then eventually blurted, using the nickname from before without thinking further about it. “I fully know how you feel like,” he confronted the youngest.

“Y—You do?” Taemin asked, sounding sorrowful.

Kibum nodded, expecting him to notice, although he actually couldn’t be sure that Taemin was looking at him. “I had it exactly like you, b—before Jonghyun started talking to me. S—So don’t worry, we will take care of you,” he clarified and felt how Jonghyun once again, gently, pressed his hand by mentioning his name.

“Aww, h—hyung, thank you,” Taemin chirped, making Kibum smile.

“Taemin?! Are you in here?” A third desperate voice then approached in his mind at the same time the door made an opening sound and footsteps was heard.

“Huh? Who are you?” Taemin asked confused, after a few seconds of silence had crammed the room and brought an awkward atmosphere with it.

“Minho? Choi Minho?” Jonghyun questioned shocked.