EPILOGUE - HAPPY ENDINGS

The press are surprisingly supportive when Jongin’s coming out and relationship news hits the front pages.

Kyungsoo’s face is plastered everywhere, mainly with captions commenting on his natural beauty, warm smile and hardworking attitude.

Jongin is hailed as a role model; many applaud him for his bravery in coming out at such a young age in such a difficult job.

Most of Jongin’s teenage fan girls (and fan boys) are also surprisingly supportive, fiercely batting down haters and inventing a new ship for Kyungsoo and Jongin, fondly naming them ‘Kaisoo’ thanks to the discovery of one of Jongin’s childhood nicknames. (Sehun is going to die.)

All in all, things are going well.

Kyungsoo officially moves in a few days after the CEO announcement. He feels slightly sad about leaving his old apartment behind (there’s been some good memories made in that place) but at the same time he’s happy to be able to move in with Jongin.

Kyungsoo is determined not to change too much though, and he still walks to work in the morning, and he still pops in to catch up with Soojung some afternoons, he sometimes misses seeing her grin every morning.

Jongin prefers it a lot more now Kyungsoo is finally living with him. It’s nice to come home to a cup of tea and a warm hug, and the late nights are made a lot more appealing when Kyungsoo is there to limp him through.

Currently, Jongin is preparing for his big end of year speech just before the market closes for the Christmas season. November has slowly leaked into December and the snow is already starting to fall, dusting Seoul at first but then appearing all at once in the middle of the night, leaving a thick blanket lying on window ledges and on car rooftops.

Jongin puffs air into his cheeks and lets it out in a steady flow as he looks at the digital clock by his desk. Wednesday 15^th December, 11:52pm.

The graphs and stats are all starting to blur into one before his eyes, but he has to get this finished in less than two days. He’d agreed to work from home for the remainder of the week but that still meant there would be some late nights working.

He’s starting to get a headache and he can tell his body is exhausted but he’s too worked up to sleep, the deadlines running through his mind. He knuckles back down to his work; if he messes any of the important details up it could throw the whole company into turmoil meaning that he would have to work through the Christmas period to fix it again, which he really does not want seeing as it’s his first Christmas with Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo leans in the doorway and watches his boyfriend hunched over his desk with a frown on his face. He works too hard sometimes, and it’s not good for him. He pads his way over with a hot drink and places it on the desk beside Jongin, being careful not to spill it on any of the papers.

Kyungsoo sits himself on a chair beside him and runs a hand through Jongin’s hair, alerting him to the elder’s presence.

“Oh, Soo!” Jongin says, “Is that my drink?”

Kyungsoo nods and Jongin grins “Thanks.”

“It’s late Jongin; you really should be getting to bed.” Kyungsoo says as Jongin leans into his shoulder, resting his eyes.

“I know, but I can’t sleep. I’m too worked up and I just can’t relax, even though I’m exhausted.” He opens his eyes and sits up to look at Kyungsoo, taking a sip of his drink.

Kyungsoo gasps. “Kim Jongin! Have you still got your contact lenses in?”

Jongin nods sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. His eyes look extremely strained and red, and Kyungsoo winces at how painfully dry they must feel. “Jongin I’ve told you before if you’re working late then wear your damned glasses!”

“But I don’t like how I look in glasses.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. “Well I think you look very handsome in them.” He protests. “Plus, they’re much better for you as they won’t strain your eyes as much, they look really irritated.”

Jongin simply sighs and mumbles that they are quite sore at the moment.

Kyungsoo shakes his head and leans down to press a warm kiss to each of his boyfriend’s closed eyelids, hoping that they’ll be soothed by the heat.

Jongin hums in appreciation and Kyungsoo chuckles under his breath. He stands up and pulls Jongin with him. “Come on, go and take your lenses out, you’re coming to bed whether you like it or not.

As Jongin stumbles off to the bathroom Kyungsoo flicks off the lights in the study for him and trudges his way back into bed.

It doesn’t take Jongin long to re-emerge from the bathroom, and soon enough he’s pulling on his chequered pyjama bottoms and crawling into bed beside Kyungsoo. Jongin snuggles his way under the covers and mumbles a soft “Cuddle me,” into the darkness.

Kyungsoo smiles and opens his arms and Jongin shuffles around until he’s lying with his head on Kyungsoo’s chest, with Kyungsoo’s arms around him and his leg thrown over both of Kyungsoo’s. Kyungsoo rests his chin on Jongin’s head briefly, but then rearranges himself and buries his lips in Jongin’s soft hair.

“Just relax Jonginnie...” Kyungsoo says gently, his steady heartbeat and warm arms already lulling Jongin into sleep.

“I’m so wound up over everything though.” Jongin huffs softly, his words partly muffled due to him pressing his lips against the join between Kyungsoo’s neck and shoulder. “Sing for me?”

Kyungsoo smiles at the familiar request. It’s become habit already that when Jongin is stressed about something, all he wants is to be wrapped up in Kyungsoo’s arms and listening to him sing. When Jongin doesn’t say what songs he wants, Kyungsoo smiles smugly. Jongin likes to think he is a cool, mature young businessman, but deep down he’s always had a soft spot for Little Things (even though he’ll never admit it out loud).

“Your hand fits in mine like it’s made just for me, but bear this in might it was meant to be, and I’m joining up the dots with the freckles on your cheeks and it all makes sense to me.” Kyungsoo sings, his hands rubbing at Jongin’s back.

Jongin smiles against his skin and nuzzles closer, already feeling the tenseness in his body loosening and his eyelids feel heavy.

“I won’t let these little things slip out of my mouth, but if I do, it’s you, it’s you they add up to, I’m in love with you, and all your little things.”

Jongin is snoozing before the song has finished, but Kyungsoo continues to the end with a smile on his lips and warmth in his chest. He looks down at Jongin as he sings the final line, and he suddenly feels overwhelmingly complete.

“I’m in love with you, and all these little things.”

8 MONTHS LATER

When the markets re-open after Christmas, it is announced that Jongin inheriting has been the most successful CEO takeover in Korean business history.

The company draws the attention of investors and businesses all over the world, and soon Super Enterprises is recognised as being in the top 5 most successful companies worldwide. It is a phenomenal achievement for Jongin and for all of his staff (who all get very healthy bonuses on their next pay checks).

The increased interest in Super Enterprises obviously means more hard work for Jongin, but he takes it in his stride. Kyungsoo is by his side the whole way, and he is perfectly willing to ply the younger with tea and kisses while he strives his way through important documents. They have their occasional arguments and fallouts; sometimes they go to bed without their goodnight kiss and stay on opposite sides of the mattress, but by the morning there is always an apology from one side or the other in the form of a cup of tea and a plate of toast on the bedside table. Kyungsoo did walk out once, but managed to storm one block away before realising that he was being completely irrational and running back home in tears into Jongin’s waiting arms. The arguments are few and far between, but they always sort things out in the end, and the two never hold grudges.

Ohranghae gains even more attention and popularity, and many more people apply for Kyungsoo’s excellent matchmaking skills. Many question why he doesn’t just quit (Jongin’s salary alone is healthy enough to uphold them both) but Kyungsoo loves his job too much and he’s pretty sure all his staff would throw a tantrum and refuse to let him leave. (He did broach the subject once, right at the start, and Kyungsoo has never been as afraid of a bubblegum-haired Chinese deer as he had in that moment).

Speaking of Luhan, the older seems rather well settled with Sehun. The pair had announced they were dating not long after Kyungsoo and Jongin did, and judging by the occasions where Kyungsoo and Jongin had met up with them they were extremely affectionate. (Kyungsoo is sure he’s seen enough angles of Luhan with his tongue down Sehun’s throat to fill a gallery- ew.) Luhan practically lives in Sehun’s apartment, but the elder is forever in denial and claims he is still living in his own flat, even if everyone (including Sehun) knows that isn’t true.

Tao’s persistent efforts actually scored him a date with Yifan, Mr Kim’s bodyguard. Kyungsoo had a vague memory of Tao trying to chat the other Chinese man up at the Mixer event all that time ago, but he’d had no idea it worked. Apparently Yifan had been drawn to Tao too; he’d just been waiting for his job as Mr Kim’s bodyguard to end so they could date without worry. Kyungsoo hopes it goes well for them.

Jongin met Kyungsoo’s family sometime around Easter, and everyone is very taken with him. Kyungsoo laughed when he first saw how nervous Jongin was, but then he remembered how lucky he was that he’d pretty much been introduced to Jongin’s family from the off and never had to worry about awkward introductions. Either way, Kyungsoo’s family are extremely pleased with what a handsome and polite young man Jongin is, and they’re happy that he will look after Kyungsoo well.

Kyungsoo’s friends were a little harder to come around (especially a rather frosty Jongdae) but once the whole fiasco was explained and they saw everything that had happened (plus some gentle coaxing from Minseok) everyone quickly warmed to Jongin and soon he was accepted as one of their own, with no one batting an eyelid when a multi millionaire CEO strolled into their New Years Eve party or sat in their living room drinking coffee after a night out.

Kyungsoo’s matchmaking skills also worked in their friends’ lives as well: office mother Junmyeon and Yixing finally got round to going out together after much speculation and many periods of are they/ aren’t they dating.  Kyungsoo also struck gold with Kim Hyoyeon, formerly Heechul’s and now Jongin’s secretary. No one would have guessed that both she and the sweet barista Sooyoung would have had a passion for dancing, amongst many other things in common. They were the Super Enterprises equivalent of office speculation, but despite all the prying eyes it seemed to be going well for them as well. (Yuri’s position as a receptionist means she sees all, and of course Kyungsoo is first to get the inside scoop—well, he did set them up after all, he at least deserves to hear the gossip!)

Kyungsoo and Jongin still hear from Heechul and Jinri as well—the last time they checked in they were whooping it up in Hawaii, and Jongin is sure he’s never going to be able to erase the image of his father in nothing but a grass skirt and a coconut bra. (Well, at least the old man’s enjoying himself.)

Two sets of Kyungsoo’s and Jongin’s friends got married up to this part of the year—actually make that three. Kyungsoo and Jongin attended two of the weddings, the first being Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s in May after what seems like decades of being together and secondly Taeyeon and Tiffany’s when they tied the knot in a sweet beach ceremony in Thailand in early August.

The third wedding was not attended by Kyungsoo and Jongin because, well—no one attended it at all, save for the bride and groom themselves. Jihae and her bellboy eloped sometime around Valentine’s Day and wed in secret in a small church on the coast. Upon their return to Seoul, there was certainly a big shock for her father, but in the end he accepted that his daughter and her new husband were very much in love with each other and there was little else he could do about it. They’re currently living in a small loft apartment a few blocks away from Kyungsoo and Jongin, and both of them continue with their working lives as normal. They’ve adopted a dog called Benny and Jihae seems to have a permanent smile on her face every time she gets a spare minute from work to drop in to have a coffee with Kyungsoo. They’re holding another wedding ceremony here in Seoul at the end of September to make it up to the friends and family that didn’t attend the actual ceremony and Kyungsoo is already being fitted for another suit in preparation.

It’s been a busy, but very happy year so far for Kyungsoo, Jongin and all their friends and family. Kyungsoo’s life has changed so drastically over the past year, and most certainly for the better. He might have lost the routines and structure and plain, trouble free life he had before, but he’s gained a whole load of new friends (as well as becoming closer to the ones he already had) , a renewed vigour for life and a handsome kind and loving boyfriend to top it all off. There are so many reasons to be smiling right now that Kyungsoo can’t care to stop.

Jongin is planning on proposing soon. He’s already got the ring, it’s one Kyungsoo pointed out in a jeweller’s window while they’d been on a stroll through Seoul earlier in the year. Jongin had bought it the second he had a chance—he already knows for certain there’s never going to be another person he’s going to want to be with except Kyungsoo. Plus, seeing all their friends get married makes Jongin want that final contentment for him and Kyungsoo too. (The fact that Tiffany practically shoved her pink bouquet into Kyungsoo’s arms whilst giving Jongin a knowing look at her wedding also didn’t do him any favours. There’s no way in hell that was an accidental throw of the bouquet, and Jongin knows it.) 

He doesn’t know when he’ll finally pluck up the courage to get down on one knee and ask, but he’s learnt in his time with Kyungsoo that the moment will come and when it does, it will be right.

(Jongin ends up proposing on their first anniversary. He finally does it after a meal on his rooftop, the same place he confessed to Kyungsoo exactly one year previously.)

(Kyungsoo says yes.) 

a/n: CONTAINS SOME STUFF YOU MAY WANT TO READ

firstly, lets get the boring stuff out of the way. unfortunately, i have no plans for a sequel to this. I can't see anywhere else structured that the sotry can go, so im leaving it here. 

BUT. as people seem to like this story (and i love writing it!) i am considering putting together a folder of short drabbles/one shots relating to the story. there are still some scenes i would like to write, and im sure some of you have some in mind too. if that is the case go to talesfromtheteap.tumblr.com and drop me an ask and if i get enough ideas, i'll write them and put them somewhere. for that reason, stay subbed to this story as I will update you all on what happens. so yeah, anything you want, just do it. be it kaisoo, more hunhan, hell even jihae's wedding or more heechul and jinri, tell me and i'll do it. 

ok, boring info over. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING AND LOVING THIS FIC. YOU HAVE ALL BEEN SO LOVELY AND NICE TO ME. YOU ARE ALL WONDERFUL HUMANS AND I LOVE YOU ALL VERY MUCH. AS CHEESY AS IT SOUNDS I COULD NOT HAVE GOT RIGHT THE WAY TO THE END WITHOUT YOUR SUPPORT. (ifeven if you've been a silent reader all this time, you still mean the world to me and are incredibly precious)

I have adored writing this fic, and i've adored knowing you all enjoyed it. i hope to see more of you in the future, be that if im reading your stories, if you're reading mine, or hell even if we're writing one together. 

until next time my lovelies (THROWING ALL THE SARANG IN THE WORLD BECAUSE YOU ARE ALL VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU)

much love, 

tea xxxxxxx

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