Black & White
Black & White
Black & White
[Word count: 2077]
December 31, 2012
11:35 PM
Kyungsoo doesn’t even want to be here.
He hates people.
It’s nothing personal, Kyungsoo decides as he chews on a piece of fancy cocktail shrimp. He would just rather be home, curled in a warm blanket with a good mystery novel. Anything but this stupid New Year’s Eve party that his aunt is hosting, the one his parents have selfishly forced him to attend so that they can show off their perfect son. Kyungsoo believes that there is a right place for everything, and his place is not at this party.
Half of Kyungsoo’s relatives are already drunk, and the other half are well on their way. Kyungsoo sighs, settling himself in an armchair as far away from the rest of the crowd as possible. He detests drinking, and can not stand drunk people.
“Kyungsoo-ah!”
Yes, Kyungsoo observes wryly as he watches his mother and aunt approach, holding on to each other carefully. They are both well on their way to the world’s worst hangover tomorrow morning.
“What are you doing all the way over here by yourself?” his mom asks, patting Kyungsoo clumsily on the head. “Do you want some champagne?”
“No thanks,” Kyungsoo replies, voice pained.
His aunt doesn’t listen, and instead shoves a flute of sparkling wine into his hands. Then, she grabs the nearest passing person she could reach and yanks, causing the man to let out a yelp.
“Here, talk to him,” his aunt says, carelessly. Then she takes a look at who exactly she had grabbed, and a smile splits her already gleeful face.
“Hey, umma,” the man says with a sigh. “Maybe you should stop drinking; it’s not even midnight yet.”
Umma?
Kyungsoo takes a closer look at the man and places him to also be in his late twenties, and dashingly handsome, but utterly unfamiliar.
“Nonsense, Joonmyunnie,” Kyungsoo’s aunt drawls, shoving the man down into the chair across from Kyungsoo.
“This is your cousin, Kyungsoo-ah” his mom informs, pointing to the other man.
“Well, by marriage, anyway,” his aunt concedes. “This is Joonmyun. He’s an absolute angel, the son of my ex-husband from his first marriage.”
Kyungsoo wants to ask if that was the one who got married five times, but thinks that is not an appropriate question for the moment.
“Dad’s had a lot of wives, so I’ve had a lot of ummas,” Joonmyun says, as if reading his mind.
“But I’m his favorite,” Kyungsoo’s aunt butts in. “Anyway, you two enjoy your lovely conversation; I want more champagne.”
11:43 PM
Kyungsoo feels like he is the specimen under one of his microscopes as he feels Joonmyun look at him. The “absolute angel” is dressed in a tacky Christmas sweater, yet still somehow looks fashionable.
Almost as soon as the older women left, Joonmyun drops his charming smile.
“So what’s the deal,” Joonmyun drawls, leaning back and making himself comfortable in the armchair.
“What?”
“Why are you here in a corner being a total wet blanket?”
Kyungsoo’s mouth opens wordlessly; he cannot believe that this man, this supposed “angel” had just called him a wet blanket.
“I know you,” Joonmyun continues, smirking at Kyungsoo’s uncomfortable expression. “Well, I know your type. I bet all you do every day is work, eat, and sleep. Can you name a single movie out in theaters right now? Do you even have friends?”
“I don’t have to sit here and listen to you insult me,” Kyungsoo replies numbly. Was this really the same guy who had just minutes ago been so respectful and polite to his mom and his aunt?
“But you’re still here, listening to me, because you know it’s true,” Joonmyun shrugs, grinning. “You’re so easy to make fun of.”
“Thanks,” Kyungsoo grumbles.
“In fact,” Joonmyun leans forward, eyes gleaming, “I bet you’ve never even had a lover before – what, girlfriend? Boyfriend?”
“Boyfriend,” Kyungsoo shoots back, eyes narrowing. “And just because I don’t have one now does not mean – ”
“You’re going to end up alone forever, Kyungsoo-ah,” Joonmyun replies, tauntingly.
“No, I’m not!”
“I bet you can’t even get a guy to look twice at you in that way,” Joonmyun says decisively. “Well, tonight is your lucky night, because you have met me, The Kim Joonmyun. Don’t worry, I will make you datable.”
Kyungsoo feels even more offended. “I don’t need your help to be ‘datable’,” he defends, turning redder by the minute. This Kim Joonmyun might be the most annoying asshat in the world, he thinks.
“Look, this is a matter of pride as a man, right? Let’s make a bet. If you can’t get a boyfriend in, say, two months, I win. If you do, then you win. I’ll even help you out, Kyungsoo-ah, because that’s what cousins-by-marriage do for each other.”
It is the condescending tone in Joonmyun’s voice that really sets Kyungsoo off.
“Fine,” he barks, just wanting to wipe the annoying smirk on Joonmyun’s face off.
To his horror, Joonmyun’s grin widens and he stands up, snatching Kyungsoo’s untouched flute of champagne.
“Fine,” Joonmyun echoes, taking a long drink. He looks down, checks the expensive watch on his hand, and smirks, running fingers through his already perfect hair and sticking the flute back in Kyungsoo’s hand. “Well, it’s five minutes to midnight, so I’m going to go find someone fun to kiss. Have fun in your corner, cousin.”
Kyungsoo is torn between yelling after Joonmyun to never return and chasing him down to give him a quick kick in the shin. He compromises by downing the rest of the champagne in one gulp.
January 12, 2013
6:38 PM
“You’re late.”
“Fashionably so.”
“More like annoyingly so,” Kyungsoo grumbles, not at all amused. He has been waiting in front of Valencuts Hair Salon for close to ten minutes already, and the marble fountain he has been sitting on is cold and unforgiving.
“It’s going to be worth the wait,” Joonmyun promises, pulling Kyungsoo into the salon.
The workers inside know Joonmyun by name, and they seat Kyungsoo immediately in front of large vanity mirrors.
“Style it,” Joonmyun commands. “I know that hair is a train wreck, but do what you can, noona.”
Kyungsoo starts to argue, but instead gets sprayed by a faceful of water.
January 14, 2013
11:20 AM
Kyungsoo spends more than he has ever spent before on one shopping spree when Joonmyun decides that he also needs a new wardrobe. However, as he admires his new look in the reflection from the café’s window, he admits that he is impressed.
The new clothes fit him well and have a hipster-casual look. The new haircut is flattering and emphasizes all the rights parts of his face.
“I know; I’m a miracle worker,” Joonmyun decides, finally nodding in approval. “Do you remember those pick-up lines I gave you?”
“Those are vulgar. I’m not using them,” Kyungsoo insists.
“I’m telling you, they do the trick every time,” Joonmyun shrugs. “Speaking of doing the trick, I think you should put your new skills to test.”
Kyungsoo wants to protest, but is too late; Joonmyun has caught the eye of the cute waiter carrying the menus and waves him over with an outrageous wink.
February 23, 2013
4:10 PM
Kyungsoo wins the bet with more than a week left to go. Byun Baekhyun, the waiter from the café, becomes his first boyfriend. Kyungsoo finds that maybe, Baekhyun’s place is in his heart.
April 12, 2013
11:22 PM
Maybe not just his heart, Kyungsoo decides. Maybe his bed too.
May 6, 2013
9:29 PM
Kyungsoo learns the hard way that maybe Baekhyun does not belong in his heart either.
He blames the heartbreak on Joonmyun, who was the one to introduce the two.
“Sometimes…sometimes…” Joonmyun trails off, seeing Kyungsoo’s tearstained face. “Sometimes, it’s not like the dramas in real life, Soo,” he finally says. “Baekhyun wasn’t the right guy for you. Sometimes, it takes a few tries to get it right.”
May 22, 2013
10:01AM
Kyungsoo doesn’t get Joonmyun. The man acts like an angel in front of everyone else, but is the devil in front of Kyungsoo. He gets used to it though, and Joonmyun helps him get over stupid Byun Baekhyun.
June 6, 2013
8:39PM
Sometimes, it takes a few tries to get it right.
Kyungsoo takes that advice to heart, and that is why when, after getting a tad tipsy at an office party, he makes out with Sehun, the intern, in a coat closet.
June 25, 2013
1:42 PM
Kyungsoo meets Chanyeol through a mutual friend and is ridiculously attracted to his long legs and charming smile.
“He can make any pair of jeans look like the most perfect creations on earth,” he gushes to Joonmyun over the phone, half daydreaming. “I just…his body is perfect.”
Joonmyun lets out a noncommittal noise, grumbles about Kyungsoo’s “serial dating,” and says he needs to get off the phone.
July 5, 2013
8:46 PM
Chanyeol’s long legs are only a passing phase, but Jongin stays in Kyungsoo’s heart. Lying on the roof of his apartment building on a balmy summer night, counting stars together, Kyungsoo feels complete again. He’s found a missing part of himself, and temporarily stops the search.
“Hyung, look, the stars shine extra bright tonight, just for you,” Jongin says, flashing his perfect white teeth.
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
October 19, 2013
5:10 PM
Kyungsoo learns that not all breakups have to end in tears and betrayal. Sometimes, the relationship just fizzles out, leaving behind only fond memories and solid friendships.
He finds that Jongin is just one of those, and after three months, the two mutually call it quits.
Kyungsoo is optimistic about the future, and looks forward to whatever it may hold for him.
October 27, 2013
8:03 AM
Maybe, just maybe, he has been looking in the wrong place. The realization hits Kyungsoo like a brick to the head, and he almost, almost, wants to dry heave.
October 28, 2013
9:15 PM
Kyungsoo suffers a different kind of heartbreak. He can’t decide if it’s worse or not, when a relationship is ended before it even starts.
Because Joonmyun has a boyfriend.
Kyungsoo isn’t sure when this whole development occurred, because he has been looking for his perfect half in all the wrong places for the past months. He has overlooked the person closest to him, and now, it is too late.
November 27, 2013
7:58 PM
Kyungsoo only realizes how much Joonmyun has become a part of his life until he tries to live without him. He makes a conscious effort to distance himself from the man, but realizes that he has no one else to call when he is bored on a Saturday night.
Normally, he would call Jongin, but ever since Kyungsoo set him on a date with Sehun, the ex-intern, the two have been attached at the hip. No, more like attached at the lip.
Life is lonely without Joonmyun’s presence, Kyungsoo decides.
December 23, 2013
10:21 PM
The scene is bittersweet in a familiar way. Kyungsoo’s aunt is hosting yet another party, this time for Christmas, and Kyungsoo arrives alone, yet again. Joonmyun is there with his boyfriend, and Kyungsoo is forced to make polite conversation with the guy who is dating the man who holds his heart.
Life is unfair, he thinks, so unfair.
December 31, 2013
11:45 PM
Kyungsoo goes out to norebang with Sehun and Jongin on New Year’s Eve, but then leaves them alone for the rest of their date to walk home alone in the biting cold.
It wasn’t even that he had to be alone on New Year’s Eve. Despite what he had originally thought, Joonmyun’s pickup line worked extremely well, and Kyungsoo would easily have been able to find a date.
However, going on a date with anyone that was not Joonmyun just did not make sense, so Kyungsoo chooses to be alone.
When Kyungsoo enters his apartment, Joonmyun is waiting for him, having used the hidden key under the doormat.
“What are you doing here?” Kyungsoo asks, confused.
“I broke up with him,” Joonmyun replies, shortly.
“What? Why would you – ”
“Because I love you, not him. Did you hear me, Do Kyungsoo? I love you.”
Kyungsoo used to see the world in black and white, that is, until a certain man named Joonmyun barreled in and lit up his world.
[A/N]: No sequel; don't even ask. Honestly the exo-k parent couple and the bap parent couples are my favorites <3 so adorable. Also, yayy ninja!sekai. #sorrynotsorry because I ship sekai so hard.
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