Part X (522 words)
The Fall

Taemin stood awkwardly in the corner, half- as Jinki flittered about the small office. He was absently hugging his body, obscuring some of his bareness from view even though the older man had seen him like this many times before.

Suddenly, Jinki groaned with frustration, pulling Taemin’s attention as his fingers dragged through his hair. “I’m so sorry, Taemin-ah,” the masseuse was saying, exasperated as he continued his search. “I can’t find the clean sheets anywhere.” He open and shut a few more drawers near his desk before continuing across the room—he had searched there twice already. “Just… just give me a few seconds. I’m sure I’ll come up with something.”

Speechless, the younger just nodded dumbly, opting instead to stare at the way Jinki’s brows furrowed in bewilderment, the way his plump lips pursed, how his jaw clenched. It was then that from the corner of his eye he noticed a cabinet to his left; it was probably the only one Jinki had yet to look in.

Taemin took a few steps forward. “Hyung,” he began, moving closer and bending down in front of the cabinet, finger’s curling around the knob as he gave it a sharp tug. “Hyung, did you check in this one?”

Jinki looked up, hopeful as he watched the door swing open. “What—where?” He stood up and walked brusquely over to Taemin, leaning over the younger man’s body to get a better look. However, when Taemin felt the elder’s body heat against his back, he yelped, attempting to stand but instead colliding with the man above him. Both lost their footing, Taemin landing on his side and Jinki on top of him, immobilized by shock.

A few beats later, the younger turned slightly, breath catching in his throat when he noticed the proximity; Jinki was only centimeters away, close enough to where he could feel the other man’s breath tickling his face. “H-Hyung,” he mumbled, skin flushing red, embarrassment pooling in his gut as he was made aware how he was under Jinki.

The masseuse himself seemed to be stuck in astonishment, staring down at Taemin for a second or two longer before scrambling to his feet; it was the first time Taemin had seen Jinki look so surprised, so caught off-guard.

Coughing to settle himself, Jinki quickly declared “I’ll just get a sheet from a different bed” before making a getaway. Within an instant he was out of there, leaving Taemin alone in the office to gawk Jinki’s retreating back, unable to shake the memory of how intimate they had been just moments earlier.

All of a sudden the younger man pondered would have happened had he bridged the gap between them; he wondered what it would be like to kiss and be kissed senseless by Jinki in that moment of surprise, to have those skilled hands pressing into his body for reasons other than massage….

With those thoughts swimming through his mind, embarrassment lit up Taemin’s face, and he hid the flushed skin behind his hands.

This is Jinki I’m thinking about, for goodness’s sake—what the hell is wrong with me?