When we were young...

Everybody loves the things you do, from the way you talk, to the way you move… Everybody here is watching you, ‘cause you feel like home, you’re like a dream come true.

Kyungsoo has had his fair share of heartbreak, his fair share of woe, and pain, and regret. But there’s one thing he regrets more than anything else, and it’s Jongin. He doesn’t regret being with Jongin, he could never regret that, but he regrets the way they parted ways.

He regrets what came of them, because they were something special, he doesn’t care what anyone says, they were damn special.

He knows that he made the right call by accepting that Jongin had cut things off. He knows that it was the right choice, because Jongin had hurt him. Had hurt him pretty damn bad.

He remembers it like it was yesterday. When he’d walked over to Jongin’s after college and let himself in with the spare key. He’d busied himself in putting his bag on the sofa before walking down the small hall way to Jongin’s bedroom, ready to be welcomed into the youngers arms with a kiss like always, but what he’d walked into was something else entirely.

It was the cause of his first real heartbreak.

Jongin was on his back as his class mate, Sehun, rode him into next week. It had taken a moment before Jongin had realised he was there, but when he did, he looked like he’d just seen a ghost. He wasn’t even careful in the way he pushed Sehun off of him and jumped out of the bed to walk over to Kyungsoo, stuttering over his words and telling Kyungsoo that he could explain, that it wasn’t what it looked like.

Kyungsoo hadn’t even been able to speak, he looked at Sehun and saw the guilt in the younger boys eyes, the complete sick look of realisation as it sunk in that Kyungsoo wasn’t just a friend of Jongin’s, that they were together, and he’d played a vital part in destroying that.

Sehun hadn’t know that Jongin and Kyungsoo were in a relationship, that they had been since they were sixteen ing years old. And Kyungsoo remembers how sorry the boy had looked when he’d come to him the next day and apologised over and over, he’d even cried, and honestly, if he hadn’t been feeling so numb, he’d probably have hugged the kid and told him that it was alright, and to just… go.

But the moment in that room would stay with him forever, no matter how much he grew, no matter how old he got.

Jongin had been his everything, and in that moment, his everything became the reason he wanted to scream and cry, and just shout and try to understand what the hell Jongin had been thinking.

Try to understand why… how he could hurt Kyungsoo that way.

But if by chance you’re here alone, can I moment? Before I go? ‘Cause I’ve been by myself all night long, hoping you’re someone I used to know.

Kyungsoo, despite everything that happened, still loved Jongin. He didn’t end it after that night. He couldn’t. He was young and in love, and still naïve enough to believe that it was okay, that everything would be okay.

But Jongin didn’t seem to think they would.

He’d come to Kyungsoo the next day and they’d sat on the sofa of Kyungsoo’s apartment and he’d cried, cried so damn hard.

He’d told Kyungsoo that he was sorry, but he couldn’t do it anymore. He couldn’t be in a relationship. Because he was scared, he was too scared that he would only hurt Kyungsoo again.

They were too young to be thinking of settling down, they were too young to not make mistakes. They were too young to allow themselves to be hurt like this, and act like it was okay.

It had been a mistake, that’s what he’d told Kyungsoo. Not just Sehun. But them too. It had been foolish of them to think they could make it work at such a young age, that maybe they were just holding onto it because it was familiar, that it was comfortable.

And Kyungsoo had kissed him just to make him stop talking. They’d both been crying as they kissed and Kyungsoo thinks that maybe they shouldn’t have slept together that night, but they had and he knows that he’d have regretted it all the more if they hadn’t.

He felt a little dirty when he’d woken up to an empty bed and a crumpled piece of paper.

Kyungsoo,
I’m sorry. I really am.
I love you.
Please don’t follow me. You can do so much better than me.
I’m moving away.
I didn’t know how to tell you. I’m moving overseas.
I suppose I’ve been sabotasing this because I was afraid of how to tell you…
I’m sorry.
I wish this could have been….
But you’ll move on, you’ll find someone that can love you right.
I’ll miss you.

         - J

Kyungsoo had read the note, and he’d cried more than he’d ever cried. More than when he found Jongin in bed with another man. More than when he left his parents for college. More than ever.

But when tears come, so do friends. It hadn’t been too long before his door knocked, and there stood Minseok with a bottle of scotch and a bag of junk food.

He still doesn’t know how Minseok had found out what had happened, but he doesn’t really care. He’d been so ing grateful for the elder in that moment.

You look like a movie, you sound like a song. My God, this reminds me, of when we were young. Let me photograph you in this light, in case it is the last time, that we might be exactly like we were, before we realised, we were sad of getting old. It made us restless, it was just like a movie, it was just like a song.

Kyungsoo had always thought Jongin was his happily ever after.

He really had, and when he looks back on it now, he can’t help but feel bittersweet. Because up until that end, he really had been so very happy.

Young and in love… he really had been. It had been the best, and he doesn’t regret what he had with Jongin, because things were good, they were really good.

He feels sick to know that Jongin had slept with Sehun as scapegoat, instead of telling Kyungsoo straight out what was going on, that he was moving away.

They could have made things work.

But it has to be a two way street, and there was congestion at Jongin’s end. He just didn’t want to get past the roadworks and onto the smooth new layout.

No, Jongin took the shortcut and left Kyungsoo stuck in traffic.

I was so scared to face my fears, ‘cause nobody told me that you’d be here, and I swore you moved overseas, that’s what you said, when you left me.

He didn’t hear anything from or about Jongin for a long time, and he made mistakes like everyone does when they’re young.

He drank more than strictly smart, and Minseok proved to be more than just a good friend, he was a good distraction too. He was good at touching Kyungsoo and taking his mind off of the heartache that Jongin had gifted him.

And when he walked past Sehun one day to see Jongin laughing on the screen of the boy’s laptop as they skyped, he’d gone right to Minseok’s for more of that great distracting he did.

And he remembers crying afterwards, and Minseok had just held him, held him so damn tight.

Minseok had confessed to him that night, and Kyungsoo’s heart fluttered slightly. He told Minseok that he thought maybe he could like him too, but not yet. He didn’t want it to be just a rebound thing and not work out. He didn’t want to make Minseok know how it felt to be in his position, even if by different circumstance.

But Minseok had smiled and told him that he’d wait.

Kyungsoo understood then that he was growing up and things would become easier to bare if he had the right people by him.

But Jongin, he realised, had been afraid of growing up.

You look like a movie, you sound like a song. My God, this reminds me, of when we were young. Let me photograph you in this light, in case it is the last time, that we might be exactly like we were, before we realised, we were sad of getting old. It made us restless, it was just like a movie, it was just like a song.

Jongin should have been the fairy tale ending that everyone craved.

He was the prince that everyone wanted to come sweep them up and run off with into the sunset. But sometimes princes aren’t princes, they’re just frogs. And sometimes they’re only made to be princes in your mind.

Jongin wasn’t a bad person. He was so far from it. He was just young and stupid and had made a mistake. And Kyungsoo wanted to hate him, he did. But he couldn’t because Jongin was his prince. It was just the wrong time for an ending.

Minseok was a prince too, Kyungsoo could see that. They were different though.

Jongin was fluid and light, he was warm and cold all at once, he was that prince that you pictured in your mind as you drifted into your dreams. He was the prince that fought the dragons, the one that saved you from the towers, he was the one that defied your father and stole your heart anyway, but he was only the prince because he was written that way, or because it was foretold.

Minseok was the prince that came out of nowhere but had been there all along.

He was the best friend that you fell in love with, he was the one that had dried your tears when Prince Jongin caused them, he was the one that pulled you into his arms and told you that your path might be uphill, and uneven, but you could meet it. He was the one that told you that you didn’t need love to define you as a person.

He was the prince that made you feel like a King.

Jongin was the prince of your childhood, the bright colours, the pretty patterns, the late nights, the fast car rides.

Minseok was the prince of your adulthood, the early morning coffees attached to cheeky smiles, the sunsets on the beach, the kisses with a glass of orange juice over the morning paper.

They were both wonderful. They were both real.

But one was stuck in the past, afraid to read the news, whilst the other was able to read the paper and still take you on a childish adventure.

When we were young… When we were young… When we were young… When we were young…

It’s hard to win me back, everything just takes me back, to when you were there, to when you were there. And a part of me keeps holding on just in case it hasn’t gone, I guess I still care. Do you still care?

Kyungsoo is sat on the sofa with Minseok, a smile on his lips and a mug of coffee in his hands. He’s content. He’s happy.

He’s grown a lot in the years, and when the doorbell rings, he thinks it might be one of two people; Baekhyun or Jongdae. Maybe even Chanyeol.

But who it was, was the last person he expected, because on his doorstep stood Jongin.

Jongin.

“It’s been a long time, Kyungsoo”

It’s been at least twenty years since Jongin walked out of his life, but in that moment it was like they were nineteen again and nothing had changed.

It was like they were still young and in love and they were getting ready for a cheap date because that’s all they could afford.

But it wasn’t. And they weren’t. And things had changed so much.

“Jongin” Kyungsoo breaths, because he can’t find anything else to say.

Jongin smiles at him, and he looks the same, he even smells the same. He catches sight of the ring on Kyungsoo’s finger and the smile falls from his face.

“Oh..”

“Why are you here?” Kyungsoo asked, trying his best not to show just how breathless he is. Because of all the people to show up on his doorstep and invade the happiness he’d fought so hard to build, it just had to be Jongin.

Jongin swallows, “I came to… It’s stupid now that I think of it. I just thought that maybe… We… I’m back here for good now and I know it was a long shot, but…”

“You came to see if he’d take you back”

They both turn to see Minseok stood in the hallway of the house, a frown on his face as he looks at Jongin.

It’s the look on Minseok’s face that makes Kyungsoo realise where he is, who he is. Who’s really stood in front of him.

And that’s when he really looks at Jongin and see’s that he looks the same. That he even smells the same.

He hasn’t changed.

He’s still the prince of Kyungsoo’s childhood. He’d still in the past, still scared of growing up, still afraid of being an adult, and it hits Kyungsoo hard.

It was just like a movie, it was just like a song. My God, this reminds me, of when we were young.

When we were young... When we were young… When we were young… When we were young…

Jongin is still the Jongin of his youth. He’s still the first person he loved. The first person he kissed. The first person he slept with.

Jongin is his first fight, his first reason for really crying, his first heartbreak.

Jongin is the prince of his childhood.

But they aren’t children anymore, and he has a new prince.

He has Minseok. He loves Minseok.

And there before him is the person that left him, the person he always held onto. Always hoped would come back.

Kyungsoo smiles slightly, “It’s been twenty years, Jongin” he said gently, “We’ve all grown up”

“Yeah, I suppose so” Jongin says back.

“This reminds me of when we were young…” Kyungsoo laughs gently.

“When we were young” Jongin smiles, his eyes glancing up at Minseok, who is watching him with a sad smile. And Jongin knows that Minseok isn’t sad that he’s back, he’s sad because he knows that Jongin is stuck back there.

“Do you want to come in for a drink?” Kyungsoo offers.

One look at Minseok has Jongin chuckle slightly, “No, that’s okay. Let’s meet up at some point, though, yeah? Catch up on life? But I, uh, I came to give you something”

“Oh?”

Jongin nods and hands Kyungsoo a small polaroid picture before turning on his heel and a small goodbye and disappearing.

Let me photograph you in this light, in case it is the last time, that we might be exactly like we were, before we realised, we were sad of getting old, it made us restless. Oh I’m so mad I’m getting old, it makes me reckless!

The picture, as it turns out, is one of them from college.

They’re both grinning at the camera, holding up a little ‘v’ sign and it’s obvious that they’d been laughing before they’d taken it.

In the background, Kyungsoo can make out some of the friends that he’d had back then, some he’d lost touch with, some like Junmyeon and Baekhyun, that he’d kept in contact with.

It was sweet.

Minseok takes the picture from his hands and pins it to their wall, a wall that’s full of photos from their young days. From college, and first jobs. Of friends and the two of them.

It was just like a movie, it was just like a song, when we were young…

Jongin was Kyungsoo’s younger years.

He always would be.

But they weren’t young anymore. They’d grown up, they’d moved on, but they still had the memories.

Kyungsoo didn’t worry about getting old anymore. And he hoped that one day, Jongin would get there too.

When we were young…

A/N: I'm in love with this song right now
So, this happened...
Sorrynotsorry :)