Title: Like roses, so red
Prompt-#: 7
For: colormeaqua
Pairing: JongKey [side!2min]
Author: Blingdom
Word count: 10k+ (3800 part 1)
Rating: PG-13 for Part 1
Warnings: language (explicit ual content in the final part)
Summary: It's a flicker in the corner of his eye, the smallest sign of red. But Jonghyun sees it and realises who his Fated one is. They are connected by the red string of fate - so they must be meant to be. Yet, Kibum doesn't seem so keen on the idea (or is he?)

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A/N: Hello prompter! You might be wondering what happened so here I am explaining it~~ This fic will have more parts! I think 3 or four! The funny thing is I started this writing the finishing parts and then when I started with the beginning and the middle I realised I didn't have enough time anymore to give it the detail and the effort I want. So, this is my solution ^^" I divided it so I could still submit my part! Please look forward to the next parts on my account and also the full fanfiction here once it is done!

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It was early in the morning when Taemin was woken up by the endless ringing of his phone. His hand came up to shield his eyes from the too bright rays of the sun that already filtered through the curtains of his room.
The blonde-haired male cursed under his breath, every muscle of his body feeling heavy and unable to cooperate. Hadn’t he gone to bed like ten minutes ago?
Otherwise he couldn’t explain the feeling in his body – as if he had been hit by a truck. Or maybe a train, judging by the massive headache that was currently graping ahold of him.
The ringing noise could be the cause for that though, so the student finally turned over and reached out to grab the device from his bedside table.
“I should mute it… or at least put it to sleep mode… bloody hell, Jonghyun”, he mumbled, finally swiping over the screen to accept the call.
“What?” he growled, pressing the device against his ear and cuddling back into the sheets.
He was not ready to face the day yet.
Not when it was Sunday.
Yes, Sunday and his dearest friend Kim Jonghyun had decided that being up at 06:53 – as displayed on his screen before – was a wonderful time to give him a call.

“Look, this better be important-“
“I saw it!” was all he got in reply, his friend’s voice curt but b with an unspoken emotion. Taemin blinked, rubbing his feet together underneath his blanket.
This didn’t really make sense yet.
“You saw what?” he pressed, his other hand coming up to ruffle his blonde locks. They were definitely growing too long by now, the black roots shining through easily.

“My string, Taem. I saw my bloody red string!”
Okay. That… was indeed something worth mentioning. Not that Taemin had never seen a red string of fate. He had seen plenty in his life.
Being a descendant of Yue Lao, the moon affiliated matchmaker god, did that to your brain. If Taemin concentrated only just a little, the red bundles and knots of thread became visible to him. Not every single one – there were many reasons why one with moon-blessed blood couldn’t see a string – but what he could see was already plenty and more than enough.
Taemin needed to be careful, lest his vision was swamped with the colour red.
Other people, the ones that were not descendants of Yue Lao, usually took a lot of effort to even catch a glimpse, hence why it was said to be actually impossible.
There were people though who had learned it through countless years of training. His friend Jonghyun was not one of these people, but Taemin had shown him some exercises that strengthened his mind and his focus.
And apparently…
It had been enough?

Taemin knew who was waiting at the other end of his friend’s thread. However, his whole family had kind of sworn an oath to not meddle with the matchmaking business.
He had never told the other who it was and luckily Jonghyun had never pressed him about it either. He was a good friend. The blonde haired really cherished him and trusted him with most of his problems. His secrets… like his ability.
And the curse it brought.

“You need to elaborate, Jonghyun” Taemin said, a smile blooming on his lips.
“I want to know it all.”

So Jonghyun started his tale. Apparently had he been to the GS25 store around the corner of where he lived in the middle of the night and by utter chance had walked into someone he knew.
Who Taemin knew too – it was someone from their high school, from Jonghyun’s grade. Kim Kibum, who was also going to Seoul National University now.
Taemin had enrolled there just one Semester ago and had been glad to at least have one good friend there.
The moment Jonghyun had bumped into Kibum’s body from behind, he had felt a jolt run through him and before he knew it, he had seen red.
Red as in the very thread that bound them together at their pinkies.

The blonde had to grin at that story.
After all, he had known for over three years already that Jonghyun’s string connected him to the outgoing boy that had joined their high school after moving to Seoul from Daegu.
“Finally” he hummed and was glad to hear the happiness in his friend’s voice. He was almost swooning when he talked about the other male.
“And you knew the whole time!” Jonghyun whined into his ear a moment later, obviously regretting not being closer to Kibum in the past.
“I did. But you know that I swore not to meddle. I already did too much with telling you that there is someone waiting for you on the other end and how to improve your focus and everything…”
“I know” Jonghyun said, letting out a sigh
“I wasn’t meaning it in that way, you know?”
Taemin only hummed to that, closing his eyes.
“Still… you could have nudged me a little more! I told you before that I liked him… And wanted to get to know him better… and that was in high school!”

The blonde could only snicker.
Yeah, he remembered that. And he had never complained because he already knew that this was Jonghyun’s Fated one.
“No. It’s up to you.” he said with finality. Taemin didn’t meddle.
“Fine… fine… what do I do now? I mean… wow it’s really him. Kibum from the Design department… Kibum from 3-C. I can’t believe that I am really … you know… connected to him.”
 

Taemin wished he could understand, yet, there was nothing he could base it on.

“You approach him. You’ve dated before, Jjong… I’m sure you can make him go out with you?” A sigh came from the other side of the line
“I hope so. Any news on your side?”
That caused the younger to bite his bottom lip.
“Minho?”
“Yep”

Nothing much really. Yet at the same time so much that it hurt sometimes to think of his best friend Choi Minho.
“Hah… he brings up that person sometimes… the one he likes. But nothing serious…” he trailed off, trying not to read too much into that.
Jonghyun grumbled and Taemin swore he heard the other push around some notes or something like that.
“I hope it’ll pass soon. It doesn’t seem like he will act on it, does it?”
Taemin shook his head on reflex and then added a ‘uh-uh’ for emphasis. Jonghyun couldn’t see him after all.
“Alright. Then it can’t be that serious. Maybe you should talk to him, you know. He is your best friend.”
The blonde could only emit a loud and exasperated sigh at that.
“Jonghyun… we’ve been there. You should concentrate on Kibum now, okay? I’ll be alright”

He hoped.
At least did Jonghyun agree for now and ended the call.

Taemin was happy for his friend, but he couldn’t help to feel a little bitter every time the string brought someone together. It was mischievous and unfair.

If he’d have one, the blonde would have been on the verge of cutting it countless of times already.

Jonghyun couldn’t wait for Monday.
And that was definitely a first. But since that encounter with Kibum in the convenience store on Saturday night… since he had seen the red string between them…his heart had kind of been in a frenzy.
And that was probably not healthy. The brunet wasn’t someone to keep his emotions bottled up inside usually, but after high school he and Kibum had drifted apart. They had been what could be called friends before but university was something else.
Especially if you studied at a SKY university.
Yet, now that he was encouraged by his own thread of fate he felt like he was close to bursting. His confidence had grown after high school, where he had always been too shy to actually approach Kibum with these kinds of feelings.
Now, he felt ready.

He was even up before his alarm rang the next day, his mind already racing, trying to come up with suitable plans to tell Kibum. He even put some extra effort into his choice of clothing that day, something he usually never did.
But he figured that if he finally mustered up all the courage needed to talk to his old high school crush again, using more than just the words ‘good morning’, then he needed to put up some effort. Jonghyun grinned into the mirror, before he left his room and grabbed the sandwich his mum still prepared for him every morning.
The brunet didn’t even know when he would see the other – now donning blonde and blue hair – today. Maybe during the big lunch break, if he checked the library, the cafeteria or generally walked around campus.
The design department and the applied arts department were fortunately combined within the same faculty and so running into the other shouldn’t be that hard.

Taemin’s best friend and long-time crush Choi Minho from the sports department was another calibre. They were located roughly twenty minutes from here, on the whole other side of the campus – much to the youngest’s dismay.
Yet, Jonghyun kind of had the feeling that it wouldn’t be so easy for him. That was just his luck.

It was Wednesday of the same week when he finally got a glimpse of the other.
Jonghyun had been exhausted from his morning lessons, and nearly passed the southern wall of the library without paying the needed attention. It was constructed of glass, giving the students that currently had a study cubicle to themselves a nice view.
Yet, at the same time they could also be watched… which was what the brunet should have been doing earlier as he nearly missed the speck of blonde and blue located at the utmost left cubicle of that library wing.

“Gosh” he mumbled as he immediately changed his plans.
“Only took me three days to find you…”
Still, there was a smile on his lips as he entered the building now and purchased two warm canned coffees at the entrance.
Yes, this university definitely knew what their students needed. Caffeine was always a good start and as it seemed like the blonde was studying did it seem like the perfect ice-breaker to Jonghyun.

No need to panic, he told himself. You two know each other. You hung out before. You did projects together and you roomed together once when they had gone on the school trip with their whole grade. He still remembered Taemin throwing a fit because he was a year below them and therefore couldn’t join them.

He took another deep breath.
Okay, he could do this.
Jonghyun approached the cubicle, Kibum’s back still turned to him. He could see the small white earbuds though. Ah. Kibum was that kind of study type it seemed. Something that Jonghyun couldn’t do – listening to music while he was supposed to memorise something for example. Music… had a very different kind of effect on him.
Anyway!
He grumbled, trying to focus on the task at hand again and that was opening the door and getting the other male’s attention without startling him.
Which might not be as easy as it seemed.

He reached out, his other hand balancing the two cans he had gotten a moment ago and was pleased to find the cubicle unlocked. He squeezed inside, Kibum’s messenger bag on the floor making it difficult but not impossible to fit two people into the small space.
“Hey” he tried then, but didn’t receive a reply. As expected.
So he could only reach out and tap the younger’s shoulder, successfully getting his attention like that. Kibum’s head whipped around, his eyes wide as one of his earbuds fell out.
“Uhm… hi?”
“Jonghyun?”

That was a good thing, right? Kibum still remembered his name.
Okay, now he was definitely overdoing it. Of course he did. They had been casual, but still good friends back then.
“Yep, it’s me” he said, trying not to let it show how nervous he was.
Kibum was close in this enclosed space, his eyes big with surprise.
To Jonghyun, the other always seemed to be glowing a little.
“I brought coffee?” he offered and waved the cans in front of the younger’s face. At that did the blonde’s face brighten immediately.
“For me?”
Jonghyun nodded and chuckled
“You looked like you needed it” he continued and Kibum accepted one of the two cans gladly.
“Believe me, I do”

Jonghyun sat down on the desk, avoiding Kibum’s laptop and his notes, before they fell into casual chatter.
Kibum updated him a little on his academic efforts and achievements and Jonghyun shared his own stories.
It was nice.

And the brunet wondered why they hadn’t done this before.
Why they kind of stopped being friends after high school.

Everytime Kibum started to chuckle did his heart skip a beat. Was this even normal? Jonghyun swallowed, taking the last sip of his now cold coffee. The other had these really expressive eyes that had caught his attention from the first moment he had seen him. He could even recall the incident. They had bumped together, very much like last weekend, in the corridor where both their classrooms had been. Kibum had tumbled to the ground, the contents of his bag spilling everywhere and Jonghyun remembered vividly how he had bowed and apologised, before helping the younger gather his things.

“Why didn’t we do this sooner?” he suddenly said and Kibum looked him right in the eyes. He brushed a strand of hair out of the way, tugging it behind his ear.
“I don’t know” he said, shrugging his shoulders.
“I guess we both became busy. It’s not like I belonged to your close circle of friends”
That was true, but Jonghyun regretted not changing that back when they had still been high school students. Now it was already too late of course to turn back the time.
“Ah, how’s Tae…  Taeyong by the way?”
Jonghyun blinked, squeezing the can in his hand.
“Taemin you mean? Ah, he’s good. He’s studying here too. Performing arts… you know like dance, musical, theatre and so on.”
Kibum nodded.
“That sounds good. I didn’t really know him, but you two were like glued together by the hip. Everyone would have felt bad about coming in between you!” the smaller joked, but the grin didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“What?” Jonghyun was taken aback by that
“We weren’t that bad. We’re good friends yes, but… oh well.”
The brunet waved his hand dismissively.
“Now you know at least. And I had other friends too!” he argued and the next chuckle from the blonde and blue haired boy seemed more genuine.

“Fine, fine Mister Musical Genius. You can bring me coffee more often. But I really gotta finish that paper… so, I guess I have to throw you out for now.”
Jonghyun nodded and though he felt disappointed, he could clearly understand the younger.
“Okay, I see you around? More often now?”
Kibum nodded.
“Sure.”
The brunet grinned happily, his heart just as enthusiastic as it thumped happily. He turned to leave, grabbing Kibum’s empty can as well but stopped in his tracks when a thought occurred to him.
“Ah!” Jonghyun whipped around again and held out his phone to the other
“Punch in your number and I can text you sometime…?”
He hated himself for sounding so insecure about it, but… he still felt like… well, being in Kibum’s presence wasn’t exactly easy when his heart was behaving like that.
He felt like a fool for thinking that his crush had already died down.

Or more like, that this crush wasn’t worth pursuing.

Because Kibum damn well was.

A nod, and his phone was handed back to him a moment later, containing a new contact.

 ***

Jonghyun finally was on his way home. He had been hungry before, craving his mother’s or his sister’s food, but now his mind was too busy to think of his body’s cravings.
He still had a big grin plastered on his face all the way back home and it didn’t vanish for the whole evening.

>Thanks for today. We should catch up again. Jonghyun<
.
.
.
>Sure. Key 'ㅂ'<

***

Catching up was great.
Jonghyun felt like walking on clouds for the next two weeks. He and Kibum managed to meet up almost every second day for either coffee break or for lunch.
Taemin joined too sometimes.
Even Minho dropped by, when his classes matched their schedule. Still, Taemin usually pretended to be busy just so that Jonghyun had some time alone with the blonde-haired male.
Yes, he could read his friend well.
And perhaps, the winking emoticons he sometimes received via text were all the evidence he needed.

Catching up was really great.
And still… Jonghyun felt like he might be rushing things, but… the urge to at least be able to hold the youngers hand was overwhelming.
The thought had crossed his mind almost every day and though the brunet had the confirmation of his red string that this was the right path to take…
He wanted to do this right.
And not up when he asked Kibum for a date.

>You can do it~ I’m sure he won’t say no. The two of you get along well.<
Taemin was always trying to cheer him up, despite his own gloomy mood. Jonghyun tried to encourage the other just as much, but sometimes it felt as if his friend had already given up.
Especially as Minho kept mentioning that crush of his.
It was disheartening.

>Say… even if we are connected by the red thread… I can still up, right? There is a chance that we don’t end up together…<
Great.
Of course he was getting nervous now. He had asked Kibum earlier that day to come meet him after his classes near the library to grab a coffee from the vending machine.
And it was almost time by now.
>…<
Jonghyun bit his lower lip. What was that supposed to mean? But the messenger app notified him that Taemin was still typing and so he decided to wait for the next part.
>Don’t be silly Jong… the red string of fate is no guarantee that the two Fated ones will end up together. It means that you are meant to be and that you complement each other. But how you end up together is your thing. If you manage to untie the knots or if you get caught in one… So, get your together, okay? You and Kibum deserve it.<

Wow.
Well that was a hardcore pep talk he received there.
And it didn’t help him one bit. Jonghyun felt a headache forming as he rubbed his palm on his thigh. His hands were too sweaty to bear and he shifted his phone into the other hand to repeat the process.
A little better.
He stood up from the bench, checked himself in one of the glass doors of the applied arts building and deemed himself ready. At least from the outside.
Judging by his thundering heart he was anything but. Still, did his feet carry him to their meeting point and he felt a pang in his chest when he realised that Kibum was already there, fishing a second can out of the vending machine. Damn, he actually had wanted to make it here first.
Jonghyun wasn’t the type to keep other’s waiting.
He tried his utmost best to actually make it on time. He fished out his phone and checked the time. He was still five minutes early. And that could only mean that Kibum had hurried here, afraid himself that he could arrive late.

The elder smiled.
“Heya.” He greeted the younger and Kibum looked up, winking.
.
That shouldn’t be legal. Not… not when Jonghyun actually had plans. The brunet swallowed, trying to focus again.
Kibum’s smile made that quite the hard task though.
“Hey” the younger greeted back, sending one of the cans flying into his direction and Jonghyun managed to catch it in mid-air.
They both dropped onto the benches that formed a small circle here and offered a nice place to read any book that you took from the library. Yet, the moist autumn air made most students stay indoors now. Which meant they had the area to themselves.
“How’s it going?” Kibum asked and opened his coffee, taking the first long gulp. Jonghyun mirrored him, feeling the warm liquid run down his food pipe.
He shrugged.
“I’ve… been a little distracted lately. We have a project coming up soon, but I haven’t decided on what I want to do yet.”
Kibum blinked at that, his brown orbs focused on him. And damn, Jonghyun had been thinking a lot about this but at the same time his mind had been wandering.
“Distracted?”
Of course the other had to ask that. Not about the project but… the other thing he was actually responsible for.
“Yeah… lots of stuff going on in my mind.”
“Ah.” Kibum said, taking another sip.
“I’m here to listen you know?”

Jonghyun nodded. He knew this… and he actually wanted to tell the other that he couldn’t really concentrate because all he thought about was asking the younger out on a date. But now… he bit his lower lip.
“I know. For starters, I really should think about the project… it’s kind of a big thing we’ll be doing with some other students. We’re supposed to come up with an advertisement, and well, as the music students our part is to come up with the background music and the jingle and everything… so yeah. But that still has time.”
“Wow” Kibum said, genuine astonishment on his face.
“That sounds awesome. Let me know if I can be of help?”

He found himself nodding again. Kibum was… amazing. And though he seemed a little cocky sometimes – which he definitely was – he had this huge caring side to him that was showing right now.
“Ah well… there actually is something…” he muttered, guessing that now might be the best chance.
Better now than never.

“What?! You already thought of something? Maybe I should take that back…” Kibum said, playing surprised and taken aback. This time, the elder could see right through him though.
He was teasing.
“Yah! You were the one to offer me your help!” he said, nudging the younger before getting up and stretching.
“Fine, fine!” Kibum whined and gave in.
“What is it? What can I do to help?”

Jonghyun faced the wall of the library building for a moment. Now.
Kibum was waiting for an answer, probably looking at him with an expectant gaze. The elder confirmed that a heartbeat later, when he turned around, facing confused chocolate brown eyes.
 

“Go out with me”

Part 1 – fin.