Minho stood in front of his mirror, examining his white, button-up, dress shirt. He fiddled with the buttons on the edge of the sleeves, wondering if he should roll them up slightly, or leave them the way they were. In the end, he settled on rolling them up. It sort of looked awkward, but oh well. Minho took a bottle of cologne from the dresser and sprayed some at his neck and wrists. He sighed, and placed the bottle back down and examined his curly brown locks. Frowning at the mess, he picked up a brush and attempted to brush it down. Afterward, it just looked more frizzy. “Ugh, never mind,” he grumbled aloud.

Ren hopped down from the dresser and curled himself up on Minho’s legs, nuzzling his nose into his owner’s skinny jeans. “Hello, Rennie,” Minho cooed, as he picked the cat up, lifting it into the air and then bringing it to his chest, petting its small head. Ren purred in satisfactory. “I’m going out to see Kibum today, so you stay home and be a good boy, neh?” Minho told the cat. Ren meowed, as if in acknowledgement. Minho smiled and put Ren back on the floor. Minho walked out of the room, heading to the door.

He put on a pair of black Adidas, and glanced at Ren once more. Ren tilted his head, mewling softly. “As I said, be good,” Minho said, giving the cat one last smile before closing the door. The walk to the cafe wasn’t too bad. It was a short ten minute walk through the streets of downtown Seoul. People were wearing sweaters, chatting amongst themselves as they walked along the sidewalk. Minho put his hands in his pockets as he walked casually, passing the boutiques and shops. He glanced into a one window, and saw an intricate red knit sweater on display. It was familiar, and Minho had to stop and think for a moment before he figured out where he saw it.

Then he remembered. Kibum was reading a magazine while Minho was sketching him from a distance. “Ah, Minho! This is what I’ve always wanted!” Kibum exclaimed, as he flipped the magazine so Minho could see. He pointed to a sweater on the page, but sighed. “It’s too expensive for my budget,” he said, sadly. “Isn’t it cute though?” Minho hummed in response, as he looked back down at his paper. “Yah, are you even looking?” Kibum said. “I am!” Minho replied. Kibum just giggled and then resumed reading his magazine.

Minho glanced at the display again. 99,000 won. Hm. Maybe he could get it for him..he was early anyway. Minho stepped into the store, and the bell tinkled, alerting the girl at the counter that he entered. She was a little startled. “A-annyeonghaseyo! Welcome!” she stuttered, quickly standing up from her seat. Minho smiled and nodded. “Annyeonghaseyo. I was wondering, what is the size of that red sweater up at the window?” he asked.

“Er...it’s a small. Do you want it? I can go get a new one for you,” the girl said. Minho nodded. “Yes, please.”

The girl went to the back of the store and retrieved a brand new sweater. She brought it back out, setting it on the counter. She muttered to herself, “Someone had bought the exact thing earlier..how strange.” 

“Is that all?” she then asked, looking back at Minho. He noticed her tag said ‘Victoria’. 

“Yes,” he replied.

“That’ll be 99,000 won, please,” she said, ringing it up on the cash register. Minho placed the bills on the counter and Victoria wrapped the sweater in white tissue paper. She put the sweater carefully into the bag and held it out to Minho. “The receipt is inside. Thank you!” she said, smiling. Minho bowed, and left the store. He stood outside the door for a moment, taking a deep breath. He glanced at his watch. He had a few minutes to get to the cafe.

When he reached the cafe, he stepped inside quickly, and took in the smells of the freshly made coffee and breads. It wasn’t that crowded, so he chose a seat near the window. He glanced at his watch again. 12:03. They had agreed to meet at 12:10. A waitress approached him and he ordered a lemon tea for himself and an cappuccino for Kibum. When she left, it was already 12:08. Any minute now.

The waitress returned with the drinks and placed them on the table. “Enjoy,” she chirped. Minho glanced at her name tag. “Thank you...uh, Tiffany,” Minho said, smiling. The waitress, Tiffany, beamed back and left. Minho sighed, biting his lower lip as he saw the time was already 12:16. Where was he? Maybe he was running late. Yeah. That’s it. Minho pushed Kibum’s drink to the opposite side of the table.

He was completely fine with it until the minutes became an hour. “Where the hell is that boy?” Minho muttered, playing with the straw of the finished ice tea. Kibum hated being late...where could he be? Minho glanced out the window and shook his head. He’d just wait for Kibum a little bit longer. He leaned back into his chair, glancing at the bag on the floor. C’mon, Kibum...

He took another look out, and saw him. What the hell.

Kibum was walking on the other side of the street with a brunette-haired guy, as they chatted about something. Minho’s hands clenched up, and he breathed out heavily. He stood up abruptly, and picked up the bag, leaving the cafe immediately.

--

Earlier, 10:04 am.

Kibum stared down at his red Converse and let out an breath of exasperation. Where could Jonghyun be? Kibum was standing in front of the subway station, hands in the pockets of his slim blue sweatshirt that Nicole chose. She also made him wear a pair of black skinny jeans and a couple bracelets to match the sweatshirt. “Wear perfume! Jonghyun would really like that!” she added. “Nicole, I only wear cologne,” Kibum replied, pushing her hand with the perfume bottle away. Nicole shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”

“Key!” Kibum looked up, and saw Jonghyun running down the sidewalk towards him. About time. “I hope I’m not too late,” he said. Kibum shook his head. “That’s alright,” Kibum replied, in a soft voice.

Jonghyun smiled. “Your voice sounds even cuter when you’re not drunk,” he commented, causing Kibum to blush. “Omo, don’t make me think about last night again,” Kibum said, turning redder.

Jonghyun laughed, and brushed his fingers against Kibum’s cheek. “Aigoo! You’re so red!” he chuckled.

“Okay, it’s a little early, so let’s go shopping first,” Jonghyun announced. Kibum nodded. Jonghyun seemed like the person who talked a lot, and turns out he was right. As they walked down the street, he chatted nonstop about the new shoots he was involved in. Although they were interesting, Kibum just felt overwhelmed by the older boy’s stories.While Jonghyun was in the middle of telling him a story of the time he had to fill in for the model himself, Kibum loudly cleared his throat.

“Yes...Key?” Jonghyun said, glancing at the blonde boy.

“You talk a lot, hyung,” Kibum softly replied. Jonghyun laughed. Kibum could get used to that melodic sound. It sounded so pure and angelic. “Ah..sorry, Key. I tend to do that when I’m nervous,” Jonghyun confessed. “I guess it’s kind of hard to keep cool when you’re around.”

What was that supposed to mean? Kibum just smiled slightly and laughed slightly. “Oh, I see..” Kibum said. Jonghyun beamed.

“Your smile is so cute, Key-ah,” he chuckled. Kibum didn’t say anything and just looked ahead. “Oh, there’s that store I really like,” Kibum said, pointing to a little store painted in a reddish brown. It was tiny, but Kibum liked it. It was quite cozy and he went there often to look around.

Kibum took Jonghyun’s wrist and dragged him through the crowd towards the store entrance. “Oh! There’s that sweater I’ve always wanted..” Kibum sighed, when he saw the window display. They stepped inside, and the girl at the counter sat up, smiling at them. “Hello, Kibum! How are you?” she said, happily.

“Oh, I’m good. Thanks for asking, Vic,” Kibum replied, nodding at her. “This is my friend–” Jonghyun’s hand curled up, tensing. “–Jonghyun, Vic.”

Victoria glanced to Jonghyun. “I’m Victoria, Jonghyun. Nice to meet you.” She stepped around the counter and shook hands with Jonghyun. “Nice to meet you too,” Jonghyun said, smiling.

Victoria turned to Kibum. “Ooh, so you guys are..” She made a gesture with her hands, and Kibum blushed. “Oh, n-no..we’re not...” he said, his voice stuttering.

Victoria winked and then walked back to her place behind the counter. Jonghyun took Kibum’s small hand into his and Kibum immediately felt warm. His already-tinged cheeks flushed more and Jonghyun brought him to the side of the store. “Go ahead and take out the stuff you like,” Jonghyun told the younger boy.

Kibum shyly took out a t-shirt that had a few yellow paint streak designs along the bottom at the side. “Ah, that’d look good with this.” Jonghyun took out a grey cardigan and held it next to the shirt Kibum was holding.

“Oh..it does,” Kibum said, in a surprised tone. Jonghyun chuckled. “I do have some fashion sense, if you were wondering,” Jonghyun told him. Kibum smiled and then felt the material on the cardigan. It was quite soft. “I like that cardigan,” Kibum said, putting the shirt back in the rack. He was going to take the hanger from Jonghyun’s hand, but Jonghyun pulled the shirt out again. “You can get both of them. I’m treating,” Jonghyun said, smiling.

“O-oh...you don’t need to do that, hyung..” Kibum reached out to take the cardigan again, but Jonghyun shook his head. Jonghyun grabbed the shirt again and held them in his arms. “Just go ahead and look around,” Jonghyun said.

Kibum blushed again and nodded. He couldn’t really fight with Jonghyun, yet he was spoiling him right now. Kibum found the sweater he saw in the display on one of the tables and picked it up. His fingers wandered across the cloth until he found the price tag. 99,000 won..that was way much more than what he usually spent. “You can get that too,” Jonghyun said, looking over Kibum’s shoulder.

Kibum flinched for a moment, surprised of how close Jonghyun was. “R-really..?” Jonghyun nodded. Kibum took the sweater and then said, “That’s all I want..”

Jonghyun tilted his head. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Jonghyun brought the things to the counter and Victoria rung it up, putting the clothes in a bag. “Here you go,” Jonghyun said, giving the bag to Kibum.

“T-thank you..” Kibum replied.

Jonghyun bowed slightly to Victoria and took Kibum’s hand, walking him out the door. As soon as they were outside, Kibum said, “You didn’t have to pay for them..seriously.”

Jonghyun shook his head. “No, it’s fine. Let’s go look around some more!” Kibum sighed and nodded. It was an interesting afternoon. After an hour of Kibum being reluctant to letting Jonghyun pay for his new things, Jonghyun walked Kibum to a French restaurant, where they teased each other when they read the menu out loud to each other and dared each other to eat snails. Afterward, they went to a karaoke bar, where Jonghyun beat Kibum by who-knows-how-many points, and impressed him with his amazing voice.

After leaving, they passed by an old movie theater that was showing an old horror movie for a couple won and Kibum desperately wanted to watch it. So there they were, in the small theater by themselves. The movie was quite cliche; all the effects were cheesy and the actors were very bad, but Kibum wanted to see it anyway.

Throughout the movie, Kibum murmured, “ohmygodohymygodohmygodohmygod” and clutched onto Jonghyun’s arm until it turned a odd shade of purple. “Kibum..my arm...?” Jonghyun whispered to the younger.

Kibum released his tight grip and let out a sigh. “Sorry, it’s just..I get excited when it gets suspenseful,” he confessed, shyly blushing.

Jonghyun laughed slightly and pinched Kibum’s cheek. “You’re cute, y’know,” Jonghyun told him. Kibum turned redder, and then faced the screen to avoid Jonghyun’s gaze.

After the movie, it was already getting dark. They walked in the light of the street lamps that lined the sidewalks and told each other about their childhood. Kibum had found out Jonghyun had actually wanted to become a doctor when he was younger, but then when he got his first camera, he was instantly in love with taking photos. “My parents were against it at first, but they accepted it once I was offered a position at the company for a high pay.” Jonghyun shrugged. “It doesn’t matter to me that they just wanted the money. I only want them to be happy.”

As they walked down the dark sidewalk, Kibum led the elder boy to his apartment building and they said their goodbyes in front of the door. “Thank you for taking me out..I had a lot of fun,” Kibum said, bowing.

Jonghyun smiled. “It’s my pleasure. I enjoyed your company.” Kibum’s lips slightly curved up, and he was about to turn to go inside, when Jonghyun took his wrist. Kibum was forced to turn around, and found himself in Jonghyun’s arms.

“I really like you, Key..and...” He trailed off, and Kibum cocked his head. “Jong–”

Suddenly, Jonghyun’s lips were on his. Kibum’s eyes were wide at first, but then he felt himself melt into the kiss. The seconds drew into minutes, hours, and days, and then Kibum came back into reality when Jonghyun pulled away. “Please go out with me again?” Jonghyun asked, giving Kibum a pout and making his eyes look like a puppy’s. Kibum turned red. “Of c-course!” he said a little to excitedly. Kibum covered his face.

Jonghyun chuckled and bumped noses with Kibum. “Mhm. Good night, Bummie,” he whispered, pressing another kiss on Kibum’s forehead.

They stood there for a moment, Jonghyun’s lips still on Kibum, then a security guard told them to leave, for they were ‘loitering’. Jonghyun said goodbye and disappeared into the night. Kibum quickly went inside, stepping into the lobby, feeling floaty. Since it was already past nine, the receptionist was gone from her place behind the desk at the other side of the room. Kibum hummed to himself the song Jonghyun was singing at the karaoke bar, and bumped into someone as he walked over to the elevator. “Oh, I’m so sor–” Kibum glanced up, and nearly stumbled back.

“M-Minho!” he cried, almost dropping his bag.

Minho was standing in front of the elevator, arms crossed. “You had fun?” he asked, in a cold tone. Kibum shivered, afraid what was going to happen. “I-I forgot! It slipped because of l-last night, a-and...” Kibum trailed off, staring at his feet. “Please forgive me, Minho, I’ll never do that ever again...”

Minho scoffed. “Of course...I’m fine,” he remarked sarcastically. “You ditched me, without even telling me. I would’ve been fine if you called or texted me, but no, I didn’t know anything.”

Kibum’s eyes were lined with tears. “Please! Please forgive me, Minho. I’m so stupid...I’m so sorry...” he cried, dropping the bag to the floor. The sweater Jonghyun had bought him tumbled out and spread across the ground at Minho’s feet. Minho let out a little ‘hmph’, and then held something in front of Kibum’s face. The scarlet red material swayed in front of his face, and Kibum’s eyes widened once more. “Y-you..b-bou–”

“Yeah. I got that for you. Have it. I don’t need it.” Minho dropped it into Kibum’s hands, and then he his heel and left the building, leaving Kibum to fall to knees and begin sobbing.

--

i lied. mianhae. o u o /bricked/
this chapter because i didn't know how to really end it..it's bad..but the next chapter will make up for it. promise. > u <

posted: 120824