Kibum lifted his head, rubbing his eyes. It was dark in the room, and the TV was turned off. The earlier events came to him slowly, and then he remembered after dinner, he had begged Jonghyun to watch an old black and white romance movie with him, and the photographer had reluctantly said yes. Jonghyun set up the movie in the living room and Kibum prepared a bowl of fresh popcorn. Once they were settled in the couch, with the blinds closed, Jonghyun lay his head on Kibum’s lap and his hand massaged the inside of the model’s right thigh. Kibum pressed play on the remote, and the beginning credits rolled across the screen. “Yah, this is in English,” Jonghyun had complained.

Kibum shrugged and continued to watch the movie, with Jonghyun poking him in the stomach whispering, “What are they saying?” every five minutes Kibum guessed they had both drifted to sleep somewhere in the middle of the movie, because he didn’t know how it ended. Sighing, Kibum glanced at his watch, its face visible in the dim room. 10:46. Kibum lowered his hand on the arm of the couch, and then poked Jonghyun’s cheek. He stirred, . “No...let me sleep some more..” he mumbled.

“Yah, you can sleep in bed, okay?” Kibum told the older boy. Jonghyun sat up, raking a hand through his hair. His sleepy puppy-like eyes were blinking, trying too focus on the model in the darkness. Jonghyun stood up, stretching his arms, and then picked Kibum up bridal style. Kibum leaned his cheek against Jonghyun’s clothed chest, and listened to the steady heartbeat.

Jonghyun carried the model up the stairs and glanced down at Kibum occasionally, who was about to fall asleep again, his eyes barely open. Jonghyun chuckled and then reached the top of the stairs, pausing to examine the halls around him. He started down the hall to the right and headed to his bedroom. Kicking the door open with his foot, he the lamp and carefully walked over to his bed, setting Kibum down on the mattress. Kibum lay there, unmoving, but his body relaxing. Jonghyun tsked, and then murmured, “You need to get changed, Bummie.”

Kibum only responded by curling up again, and then Jonghyun began pressing soft kisses on Kibum’s neck. “Aish..” Jonghyun gave up when Kibum didn’t budge, and walked to the dresser, pulling one of the drawers open. Kibum opened his eyes, trying to adjust to the lighting of the room. He rolled over to the other side of the bed to face where Jonghyun was, and then his eyes suddenly widened. He caught the sight of broad shoulders, well-toned back muscles, perfectly tanned skin–

“So you are awake.”

Kibum hurriedly covered himself with the edge of the blankets, and Jonghyun smiled at his actions. He set down the shirt he was about to put on at the dresser and stepped over to the bed, sliding his head under the covers, seeing Kibum’s reddened face under the sheet. Jonghyun chuckled and then said, “Why is my Bummie so red?

Kibum yelped when he saw Jonghyun and then covered his face with his hands. “Y-yah! G–go put on a shirt!” Kibum said, quickly.

Jonghyun smirked, the corner of his lips curled up in a mischievous smile. He shifted his body onto the bed, tearing the sheets away from Kibum’s face. “Don’t cover your beautiful face,” Jonghyun told the model, making Kibum red again. He noticed Kibum’s gaze was focused at his chest, and then Jonghyun cleared his throat. “Yah! I said go put on a s-shirt!” Kibum blurted, stuttering with his last words.

“I know you love it,” Jonghyun murmured, as he lowered his head to Kibum’s ear, his breath warm against the model’s cool skin. Kibum’s tempted hands reached up to Jonghyun’s neck, sliding one down the muscular boy’s chest, and above his navel. Jonghyun pressed his lips against Kibum’s neck, on the skin hard. Kibum moaned, and then Jonghyun decided that it was the most iest thing he’d ever heard (Kibum his name out loud would be nice, though). Jonghyun continued to leave marks on the model’s neck. Suddenly feeling floaty, Kibum finally found his words and he said, “I-I have an i-interview tomorrow..”

“Forget that,” Jonghyun said, now slipping his hands under Kibum’s thin shirt, touching every single inch of the snow-white skin and still kissing his neck. Kibum purred in pleasure, and Jonghyun smirked. He stopped kissing the model’s neck, and then pressed his lips onto Kibum’s softly.

“Mm..” Kibum hummed. Jonghyun, his body still hanging over Kibum’s, broke away with a grin on his face. “You’re a good kisser,” was all he said.

He stepped off the bed, and went to retrieve his shirt. Kibum sat up, pouting. “Yah!”

Jonghyun turned back to the younger boy. “What? You want me to keep the shirt off? Okay.”

“Ani...” Kibum trailed off, feeling his lips, the feel of Jonghyun’s lips still lingering on his. Jonghyun smirked again, and slid the tank top over his head, smoothing the material down over his stomach. Kibum found himself staring at Jonghyun’s torso again.

“I told you you’d like it better if the shirt was off,” Jonghyun told him. Kibum wrinkled his nose and he pouted. “Shut up..” Kibum muttered.

Jonghyun smiled and slid into the bed next to Kibum. “Aren’t you going to change? It’ll be uncomfortable sleeping in a shirt like that.” Jonghyun peered up at Kibum.

Kibum looked down at his shirt and sighed. “But I don’t have anything to change into.”

Jonghyun sat up in his bed and hopped off, quickly going to the dresser. He opened the drawer, tugged out a white shirt, then returned to the bed, handing it to Kibum. Kibum took the shirt and opened it up. It was a white, button-up shirt made of material that felt as soft as a cloud. Kibum blinked at the shirt for a moment, and then asked, “Where’s the bathroom...?”

“Ani...stay here,” Jonghyun said. He tugged Kibum’s shirt off, and Kibum whined when the cool air kissed his skin. “You cold?” Jonghyun asked. He sat closer to the model and took the shirt, pulling it around Kibum’s bare shoulders. Jonghyun stopped, examining the darkening spots on Kibum’s collarbone and neck. His gaze dropped to Kibum’s chest, his eyes raking the model’s perfect body. He was not too muscular, and not too skinny. Jonghyun prevented himself from the model’s cute stomach, and continued to put the shirt on Kibum, his hands gently brushing against Kibum’s skin. 

Once the shirt was on, there was a soft voice, “I-I’ll button it up.”

Jonghyun glanced up at the reddened Kibum, and he chuckled again. “You sure?” Kibum bobbed his head. Jonghyun watched the model fumble with the shirt, and then when he was finished, Jonghyun immediately grabbed Kibum’s waist. Burying his nose into Kibum’s chest, he shut his eyes and fell asleep, smiling mischievously. Kibum sighed, and leaned his head back on the pillow, drifting into a deep sleep.

--

Taemin knocked five times already, but no one answered. Taemin frowned. Where could Minho be? Taemin blinked, and then knocked once more. When the door didn’t swing open, Taemin jiggled the doorknob. It clicked, and opened, surprising Taemin. “Oh? He didn’t lock his door?”

Taemin stepped inside and called, “Hyung? Are you here?”

Instead of hearing Minho’s comforting, low voice, he heard a meow from the other room. Taemin’s head lifted, turning sharply to where the noise had come from. Taemin walked to the studio, and opened the door. Bright light flooded his vision, and when he was able to see again, the window was open, the white curtains fluttering from the wind entering the room. Confused, Taemin look around, spotting a little kitten curled up on the desk where Minho kept his supplies. He shifted the strap of the bag on his shoulder and noticed the floor was littered with picture frames, all upside down, on its side, or face down on the floor. Taemin picked up one of the picture frames, and saw the glass was cracked on one side. Noting to be careful, he then examined the picture. It was of two boys; one being Minho and the other....a boy with feline-like eyes and dark, red streaked hair, which was really cool. Who was this boy? Picking up another frame, it was of the boy with red highlights, but this time, his hair was dark brown, shaved on one side and bleached blonde. Now that was even cooler.

After inspecting the other frames, he found that all of them were either of the unknown boy, or of him with Minho. His....friend, perhaps? No–or even.....boyfriend? Taemin frowned and put the frames in a stack on Minho’s desk. He put them down a little too hard, startling the sleeping kitten. It jumped up, and caused Taemin to giggle. “Hi, kitty, what’s your name?” Taemin asked the cat.

The cat tilted its head and meowed. Taemin stepped closer to the cat, seeing a small red collar around its neck with a charm that displayed, ‘Ren’. “So it’s Ren?” Taemin asked, looking into the feline’s eyes. The cat purred in acknowledgement, and then Taemin took the cat into his arms.

“Hm...I wonder where Minho-hyung went,” Taemin asked himself, or to Ren, or no one in particular.

He walked to the kitchen, and sat down at the chair next to the island. Ren hopped out of his arms and leaped onto the island counter, curling up next to a basket of fruits. Taemin glanced over at the counter, noticing a stack of mail next to the basket. The one lying on the top had a thick red stamp on the front, reading, ‘URGENT; CONFIDENTIAL’. He could tell it was already opened. Curious, he picked it up, and a piece of paper slid out of the open flap, fluttering back onto the counter. On the top, it had a heading of ‘EVICTION NOTICE’. Taemin’s eyes widened, and suddenly the door opened. He dropped the envelope down with the paper and pushed it back onto the pile, as if nothing happened. Then, he glanced up to see Minho.

“Taemin?”

--

Minho was half-delighted and half-reluctant when he saw the red-headed angel standing in his kitchen. For one thing, he was glad since he had not seen the younger boy for two weeks now due to no projects being assigned in his figure-drawing classes. For another, he was also partially unwilling since he had just returned from a two-hour long lecture about boringness (he didn’t even know what he was even learning, but he just scribbled down hasted notes in his notebook to catch up with the others).

“Taemin?” he had said, gaining Taemin’s attention.

“Oh, hello, hyung,” Taemin replied, beaming.

There was an awkward pause, for none of them knew what to say. Minho sighed, and decided to break the silence. “I’m sorry but......may I know why you’re here?” Minho asked.

Taemin’s eyes lit up, as he remembered something, and then he reached into his pocket. “Oh, I was meaning to give this back,” Taemin replied, still looking in all of his pockets. Once he had found what he was searching for, he pulled it out. It was a small white envelope with Taemin’s name scrawled on the front.

“It’s the money you gave me,” Taemin explained, stepped to Minho, pressing the envelope into his hands.

“Oh...that money? No, it’s for you, keep it,” Minho said, handing it back to the model.

“I don’t need it, hyung, really. I just wanted to help you for fun, and I really enjoyed it,” Taemin replied, shaking his head. “I don’t need the money.”

“It’s the least I can do for you, Taemin. Please take it,” Minho told him.

Taemin sighed. “No, really. I’m fine.” His eyes ran over the paper on the counter again. “You should keep it....you’ll need it.”

Minho saw what Taemin was looking at, and frowned slightly. “It’s been hard, lately. To get money to pay for rent, I used to work at a cafe part-time every Monday, but they recently closed down. I’ve only been receiving money from my parents for my tuition, but I don’t have any leftover to pay for the place.”

“So that’s why you can keep the money,” Taemin only stated. “Keep it and I’ll help you out, okay, hyung?”

Taemin just gave Minho that cute smile that no one could ever resist, and Minho just sighed. “Alright.”

Taemin pumped a fist into the air, showing victory. “Yay!” he exclaimed, and Minho simply ruffled his hair.

“Only this time, arasso?” Minho told the model. Taemin bobbed his head.

“By the way....do you have a boyfriend?” Taemin asked, nonchalantly.

“What?” Minho blurted. “When did you ever get that idea?”

Taemin shrugged. “Y’know, those frames in your studio, and then the old sketches you had there...that guy was pretty close to you, no?”

Minho fidgeted with the edge of his jacket. “It’s a long story.”

--

“He’s a model too? Oh, that’s awesome!” Taemin exclaimed.

Minho was forced to tell Taemin everything about Kibum, and Taemin was utterly infatuated with this boy he didn’t even know. “Wow, his hair is so cool; I wouldn’t be brave enough to try it,” Taemin said, gushing over the photos again.

“But you dyed your hair red,” Minho pointed out, gesturing to Taemin’s scarlet locks. Taemin reached up to touch his hair, and then shrugged. “It’s probably the only other decent color that’d look good on my head,” he replied.

Taemin decided to bring in the topic of the mystery boy Minho back, and asked, “Hyung, you and Kibum look so cute together~ So is he your boyfriend?”

Minho stared down at his shoes. “.....No.” Taemin grew silent at the response.

“But you guys seemed so....close..and...” Taemin trailed off.

Minho sighed, glancing at the framed pictures of his ex-model. “Love isn’t cliche like those romance movies; it’s much more complicated than that.” Minho paused, turning to face Taemin again. “I really did love Kibum, but I’m sure I didn’t show it enough.

“I don’t know what possessed me to get so mad over one little date...but it was enough to lose my trust for him. Maybe I’m just overreacting.” After explaining (more like ranting) to Taemin about what had happened between them, Minho felt like he just exposed a huge part of his world to Taemin. The model studied Minho’s face for a moment, as if searching for something he was missing. “I’m sure he loves you just as much, hyung. Just forgive him,” Taemin said.

Just forgive him. Tch. If only it was that easy.

--

posted 10-27-12

The fanfiction is moving along so slowly. -.- /shot. I'll make it more interesting in the next chapter. c: bai nao.