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Jonghyun's eyes flicked from his laptop screen to look at the younger, tapping his blunt nails along the rim of the empty mug. "What is it Tae? You're going to stare a hole right through me."
"It's cold outside..." He trailed off, nodding towards the open door that let in new faces and a gust of frigid air. The weather outside took a turn for the worst, the wind whistling angrily and the clouds hanging low. Taemin was awfully ill prepared for this sort of weather, clad in just a simple sweater that did not do much to keep him warm.
"Dude, I told you to take a jacket." Jonghyun nagged, snuggling closer into his fluffy scarf with the next jingle of the bell on the door. Whereas Taemin was underprepared, Jonghyun was the opposite with three layers of clothing. His closet was occupied with a large stock of comfy sweaters — a majority of which are ugly and Christmas themed— to brace the harsh weather. "It's so warm on this side of the table." He laughed taking extra time to rub it in.
"And I told you not to be an asshole about this sort of stuff, but you didn't listen to me either," the younger smiled, shooting Jonghyun the best sympathy arousing look he could muster. "Just give me your jacket."
"Are you sure babe? I wouldn't want you to overheat or anything." He teased.
"Well, I'd rather not have frostbitten nipples either." They both favored the summer, but Jonghyun was smarter at facing the cold. Before they dated, He periodically carried an extra sweater with him, although it became a habitual thing after realizing how forgetful his boyfriend actually was.
"You should consider being more prepared, Tae. It could save lives or nipples." Jonghyun liked to bother him about it more than the younger liked, along with Taemin's tendency to forget the important things in his life. For instance, their three month anniversary, Jonghyun didn't speak to Taemin afterwards for two days. It went hand in hand in his boyfriend's opinion. He forgot to check the weather this morning thus resulting in him forgetting his jacket. Jonghyun knew that he didn't need to act like an asshole about it every time, but there was something about Taemin getting red in the face because of his teasing that made him laugh.
"Jong, please." The younger whined, Jonghyun couldn't resist his plea.
"Fine, I'll give you a jacket," the younger lit up at the words. "But, you'll have to buy me another hot cocoa to go."
"Deal!" He bounced off his chair, ready to bolt towards the line.
"And, give me a kiss before going on the line." The older added with a cheeky smirk.
The younger hummed in contemplation, "hmm maybe later."
"Asshole." A year ago, the word would be laced with venom. If someone had told him then that they would be so utterly in love, a string of profanities would have streamed from his mouth. Simply mentioning the name Taemin would elicit a groan and a matching eye roll. All thanks to an annual competition in the drama club, Jonghyun was the happiest guy in the world.
~*~
"Jinki, I don't think you understand." He followed closely behind the president of the drama club, Jinki, as he packed up his stuff with the closure of the meeting. They grew close over Jonghyun's last three years in the club, and just maybe if he begged, he'd be able to get out of working with him. "I can't work with Taemin."
"It's not like I want to work with you either." Taemin's voice grated at his eardrums.
"You'd be the luckiest guy on the planet to work with me." He spat. He was the reigning champ of the competition. Having him as a partner easily put whomever was graced to be his partner into a position of success.
"Yeah right," Taemin scoffed. "As lucky as the spider I had to kill this morning."
"Listen, I'd love to help you both but I'm not going to break years of tradition for you." Jinki spoke in the sternest voice he could muster. Every year a singer was paired with a dancer with the intention of making a song and an accompanying dance, for the ability to assist in choosing the end of the year musical. Last year, Jonghyun learned just how important winning is —picking the right musical meant him getting a lead role, getting a lead role meant being noticed on stage.
"No seriously, you don't understand we'll end up murdering each other." Taemin urged.
"I don't need to hear him bitching all day." Jonghyun remarked.
"Oh really?" The youngest released a throaty chuckle. "Who's the one bitching now, you bleached blonde asshole?"
"Look you two, if you give a crap about your position in the drama club, you'll work it out."
"But—" Jinki interrupted the protests before they began. "I don't want to hear it alright? You guys were friends once and you can be friends again." Angry Jinki rarely reared its ugly head, and when it did it left all in silence. "Now if you don't mind, I've got actual issues to attend to." Tension hung in the air after Jinki had left them, tension that could chill even the warmest summer day.
The older of the two broke the silence, taking the higher route. "I'll have the song done by the end of the week, I'll send the file to you and then you can start on the dance." Okay maybe not that much higher, but it was definitely something.
"Shouldn't I help you with the song? It's called the Pair Project for a reason." He spoke with a contemptuous air, that's what the older abhorred the most about the other.
"We won't be a pair much longer if you keep talking like that." He threatened.
"I don't get any say whatsoever?"
"Do you like slow, sensual songs or fast upbeat ones? Love songs or no?"
"Fast ones are cooler to dance to but slow ones are fine too. I can dance to anything. I don't have a preference."
"Great," he smiled, "you contributed absolutely nothing. See you on the weekend!"
"Why can't you get it? How hard is it to slide, spin, body roll, and go on the floor?" Taemin huffed. They'd been at this for the past two hours and Jonghyun had not gotten past the first verse.
"If I had known that you were more like a drill Sergeant than a teacher, I would have quit while I was ahead." He mumbled.
"Believe me it is not too late to quit."
"I'm sorry that I'm not a fucking dance prodigy, alright?" He was trying his hardest; he definitely didn't want to lose his reigning title. Working with Taemin just made it increasingly difficult to focus, maybe from some underlying desire to spite the dancer. "Can't you just make it easier?"
"Don't tell me what to do with my dance, if I can't tell you what to do with your song."
"But it's a good song isn't it? I can't say as much for your dance." A simple sensual song didn't need such a flashy dance.
It was a better song than the dancer would like to admit, but the singer was insulting his abilities. "Are you trying to say that my dance sucks? Excuse me for making a dance that matched the song."
"Wow fuck you Taemin. Companies would pay me thousands for a song like this."
"Well if you don't want to learn my dance then fine!" He grabbed his gym bag, heading towards the door. "I'm done here."
"Fine! I don't need you anyways!" He called after him.
"Jinki, aren't you listening to me?" He ranted into the phone. Another week wasted because of their pride. "He fucking bailed on me."
"I'm hearing you, I just get the feeling you're not telling me the whole story." Jinki couldn't pick sides even if he wanted to. They were both being extraordinarily stupid. He himself felt stupid for naively believing they would sort out their differences because of one weak scolding.
"The only side of the story that matters is mine, Jinks."
"I doubt he'd just walk out on you without being provoked by you."
"When have I ever provoked him?"
"You called him twinkle toes and a Twilight wannabe."
"Some people actually take that as a compliment y'know."
"You insulted his boyfriend last year."
"He was an ass shat and deserved it. Why do you think Taemin broke up with him soon after?"
"Well I'm not denying that, you could have just approached it better." Maybe, just maybe, cursing him out right in the middle of practice was not the most proper thing to do, but neither was catcalling the dancers. Jinki was lucky he didn't throw a fist, his self-restraint was impeccable. "I don't even know why you hate each other; you have so much in common. You're both rock headed, dumb, and passionate."
"Ugh, don't even relate me to that guy. He could jump to conclusions faster than I could jump off the nearest cliff."
"I thought you guys were such great friends in high school. What made you guys hate each other's guts?"
"At this point I'm not even sure but Taemin started it." Thinking about the whole situation left a bitter taste in his mouth. Everything was fine until a fist collided with his jaw. His jaw may have come out unscathed but their friendship came out frayed.
"Well you'll never get closure if you don't talk about it."
"Why do you always say that, Jinki?" It wasn't only Jinki, it was also his sister, his mom, and everyone else who knew what they were like before college. Each and every one of them could not help but mention how unfortunate it was that they were no longer friends. Well how did they think he felt? Hours of late night chats, sneaking out, and shared secrets vanished in mere seconds without reason. No one was more confused about the whole situation than Jonghyun. "It isn't going to happen."
The younger could hear him sigh over the phone. "Squash it for the competition. Think about it, if you hit it big you'll have to work with plenty of people that you hate. Picture this as practice."
"I'll try, but I can't guarantee anything. Taemin is dense when he thinks he's right."
"Yeah, just like you." Jinki commented snickering to himself. "Call him; I'll send you his number. Or better yet text him, less interaction that way. Just work it out."
"Yeah whatever."
"I believe in you!"
The next day they met after Jonghyun sent Taemin a simple insincere "I'm sorry" and a practice spot. They mutually decided they would put aside whatever issues they had under the rug for the time being. Their drive to win out weighed their hate for each other. Taemin redesigned the choreography to make it easier for the singer to learn. They worked as a well-oiled machine, Jonghyun leading with his smooth vocals and Taemin grooving to the beat. They were a match made in music heaven.
Their differences seemingly disappeared on chill days in the practice room. They had almost perfected their act, much to Jinki's surprise. Sometimes they would spend time dancing and singing crazily to random jams on Taemin's phone, other times they would pack up early and just stay there doing homework. It was times like these where he missed the friendship they had. He reminisced about it more often than he would rather admit. More than anything Jonghyun noticed the stark contrast between sixteen year old Taemin and the Taemin now.
The lanky naive kid that followed the older around the halls of their high school wasn't around anymore. This Taemin was filled with curt remarks and profanities that were difficult to go up against, and most did not. From Jonghyun's knowledge, the younger did not have many close friends besides Kibum — who in Jonghyun's opinion was even worse with his words than Taemin, although he was a nice guy. The Taemin he once knew was easy to read, and Jonghyun read every page when they were friends. Now he could not even decipher the words that left Taemin's mouth, or maybe he never truly understood Taemin to begin with. After three years of no contact, Jonghyun was unsure as to why he expected Taemin to remain the same.
But it was times like these where he remembered how much he loathed Taemin, with the competition a week away, Taemin nit-picked at the most minute mistakes. Forgetting to put his arm in an eighty-five degree angle after snapping or pointing his toe after a certain glide wasn't imperative to the success of the dance. Maybe Taemin just wanted to add a cherry on top of the asshole sundae he served Jonghyun every time they were forced to interact.
"Jonghyun I swear if you forget to fucking point your toe one more time, I swear I'm gonna walk right out of here."
"You know what fine, leave then! I don't need you anyways!" He shouted, throwing up his hands in surrender. He was tired of trying to be cordial with someone who didn't want to reciprocate the jesters. "I'm tired of you acting like such an ass when I never did anything to you!"
"So you want to act like that shit never happened?! It's been haunting my life for three fucking years and you just want to act like it never happened?"
"What the hell are you even talking about? All I remember is one day kissed me and the next you were socking me right in the face and walking straight out of my life."
"I trusted you and you ruined everything!" Taemin enunciated each word with a punch to Jonghyun's chest. The more tears bunched around the corner of his eyes, the weaker his resolve became.
"Taemin, I truly have no clue what you're talking about."
"You outed me to your girlfriend and she threatened to tell the whole school."
"She did what?!" Why hadn't he ever heard of this before? If there was one thing about Jonghyun's high school career that he regretted besides leaving his broken friendship unresolved, it was dating that girl. He didn't even remember her name because that was a scene in his life that he wanted to delete. She was such a blatant asshole to everyone, he was unsure as to how he did not notice it while they were dating.
Taemin took a moment to study the elder's face before bursting into a fit of laughter. "That is just like her. What a fucking bitch."
"Would you care to inform me on whatever insane revelation you just came to?"
"I spent the last three years hating your guts for no reason."
"Tell me something I don't know." Taemin divulged some elaborate story about how it was Jonghyun's mission in life to get rid of him. Jonghyun wasn't surprised, it sounded like something she would do. Three years wasted due to a genuinely evil and manipulative person.
"Well I say that we bury all of this under a rug and become friends again."
"Yeah I like the sound of that."
"Wait so you're telling that you had a major crush on me in high school?" Jonghyun brought up the story again as they wrapped up for the night.
"Jonghyun, I kissed you. Please don't tell me that you're that dense?"
"I thought that you were just discovering yourself or something. How was I supposed to know?"
"You're kidding right?"
"Fine, I was a dumbass."
"I've got to admit I've missed your dumbass-ness."
"Well then you're in luck," he slung his arm over the younger's shoulder. "A fresh shipment of idiot has arrived with a lifetime supply."
"You're such a dumbo." Jonghyun saw his cheeks tint pink before he shyly squirmed from Jonghyun's grasp.
"Jonghyun, I'll give you five more minutes and you're on whether you want to be or not." Jonghyun nodded and glanced at the door for the third time in the last five minutes. Jinki was running late and there was no way he could start without him being there and dragging Taemin along.
He made his way onstage the moment he got a peek of a fluff of black hair at the door. This was one of the best crowds that there have been at this open mic night. The perfect audience for his perfect plan for a perfect boy. He spotted the boy in the crowd, farther away from the more heavily populated areas but near the center so that he had a great view of the stage, before clearing his throat. Setting Jinki up on a date with his cousin was such a good deal.
"For those of you whom are new, I'm Kim Jonghyun. Tonight I'll be singing a song that I began writing when I had lost a friend in high school and did not finish until that friend recently came back into my life. He's here tonight but I won't point him out right now because he gets embarrassed easily. Uh please enjoy the song."
Look at us in our memories for a moment
You and me, the two of us inside good memories
We're laughing, we're crying
We've shared so many moments together
What kind of memories are you left with?
Was I really that indifferent towards you?
I want to ask you, I want to know
Am I really the only one left with good memories?
This song contained his heart and soul and he had to convey all of what he felt back then and what he still feels now to Taemin. His confusion, his hurt. If what Taemin felt in the past was even a quarter of what he felt, he couldn't imagine the pain Taemin went through. This song was an apology, not for what he was proven not to have done, but for the things he did do. He did let Taemin walk out of his life without trying to hang on to any line that was thrown at him and he regretted that decision for three years.
"I'm sorry." He sang the last note opening his eyes to a booming crowd and an unreadable face from Taemin. "Uh, before I end for the night I want to ask that special person to go out with me. I might be four years late but it's better late than never. Thank you everyone." He exited the stage, his heart beating a mile a minute. He was high off of the adrenaline from the performance and giddy from the nervousness any person would feel after confessing.
Walking towards Taemin felt like one of those teenage rom coms everyone dreamed about. The chattering crowd turned into a distant roar and the only person whom he could see was Taemin and his angelic aura.
"What the hell Jonghyun? I didn't sign up for this." He laughed, flicking the tears from his eyes away. "I can't believe that you wrote that for me."
"Yeah, well I had three years to finish it."
"That was fucking beautiful; I could choreograph a modern dance to it."
"So you liked it then?"
"Are you kidding?! I love it!"
"So uh," Jonghyun couldn't seem to find to courage to ask the question again. The younger seemed to intentionally avoid the question, and Jonghyun wouldn't bring it up if all the younger wanted to talk about was the song itself.
"You know when I was seventeen; I used to dream about dating you." He reminisced. "Seventeen year old me would be dying right now."
"And twenty year old you?" Jonghyun inquired hopefully.
"Twenty year old me is just better at concealing my excitement." He smiles. "You know I quite like the sound of boyfriend, don't you?"
~*~
It's been six months since and Jonghyun could not be happier. Taemin was the light of his life although he wasn't always sweet. Like now when he's complaining.
"Why is it so fucking cold? This is gross." Taemin shrunk lower into the scarf his boyfriend lent him as the brutal chill hit his face. "I hate the winter."
The elder intertwined their fingers before smiling. "I love the winter because I can do this as much as I want. And cuddling, I love cuddling. And you but I don't think that I even need to mention that."
"Hand holding isn't winter exclusive. Neither is your love for me." The bumped shoulders as they walked towards the crosswalk. "The only good thing about it is that I get to see you in big sweaters, and scarves, and beanies. I love that."
"You have a thing for me in winter wear?" He side eyed his boyfriend. Taemin had never mentioned it before.
"Don't look at me like that alright? You just look so huggable."
"Well you can hug me anytime to fulfill your urges." He said as they came to a stop in front of the now red crosswalk. "Hey, do you want to hear a joke?"
"Go ahead cornball."
"Are you from South Korea? Because I think that you might be my Seoul mate."
"That was such a terrible joke, I'm getting second hand embarrassment." Taemin ran across the street as the crosswalk turned green.
"Hey wait up!" Jonghyun called scurrying after his boyfriend. "You owe me a kiss!"
