2013. January 19 -part 2- (1/2)
Hey everyone! I'm sorry, I changed the date and the note on the second chapter, because it came out to be a pretty long chapter and I didn't want to cut it into 6 parts instead of 3. Sorry for the inconvenience >< Please enjoy this extra long chapter! C: The day went by quickly and by the time Jongin got home, a plate of kimchi spaghetti wrapped in nylon waited for him on the small dining table with a note that said : „Put it in the microwave for 10 minutes.„ The boy did as the note told, and stood there, enduring the grumbling noises that his stomach made for the next few minutes, waiting for the delicious smelling food to heat up. He could get used to it. The thought of coming home after a tough day to a freshly cooked dinner waiting for him on the table was more than pleasing for him. But then again, the thought of coming home to face this Kyungsoo guy, whose first impression wasn't the best and the second time they saw each other was more than shocking (and it was an understatment!)... it gave him goosebumps to even think of it. He jolted back to reality when the microwave signaled the food being done with a sharp beep. The following morning Jongin woke up to the sound of the front door shutting . He sleepily got out of bed and walked out to the kitchen to find freshly cooked eggs and toast on the table with another note „You are late”
„What the...” the dancer looked at the clock on the wall with sleepy eyes, scretching the back of his head, munching on the toast as he did so and his eyes widened when he realised he has less than 10 minutes until his first period starts. He turned around and accidentally bumped his foot into the edge of the little kitchen table as he tried to hurry to his room. „ WHAT THE HELL SERIOUSLY!” he shouted in pain. He hurried to his room, grabbing his sports bag and, after putting on his shoes, he ran out of the dorm. If anyone ever asked Jongin what he hated in this world the most, he would definitely say „failure”. That word simply didn't exist in his dictionary. Although he feared it the most, failure itself wasn't what he was afraid of. He was afraid of the aftermath. The dissapointment of the people who have expected so much from him; the wasted time he had spent for nothing; rejection. Yeah, if anyone ever asked Jongin, what he feared the most, he would definitely say rejection. He was afraid of the feeling of not being good enough. He was afraid of abandonment, because, let's be honest, people are only interested as long as you feed their expectations. No matter how talented you are in the long-run, if you don't catch their attention and don't meet their fantasy in that spare little moment, they will turn to another „plaything” that stirs their interest. That's just how life is, and Jongin knew it all too well so he worked hard, and did everything in order for people to like him enough to give him a chance and watch him do what he is best at: dancing. From hiphop to ballett, he could dance it all. From sunrise till sunset, he could bear it all. But sometimes, even the most hard-working and careful people experience little mishaps and bad days they have no control over. So, if anyone ever asked Jongin what he hated in this world the most, he would say 'bad days'. And today, today was one of those days. „Nice pijama you have there Jongin, I didn't know you were such a fashionista.” laughed Imjong as he handed a water bottle to the panting boy on the floor. The other just took the bottle and chunked down half the water before answering.
„I was late.” was the only thing Jongin said before drinking the remaining water and throwing the empty bottle accross the room, missing the bin in the corner and accidentally hitting one of the girls who were chatting on the other side of the room. „ Can't you be more careful?! Why did you throw it??”asked the girl angrily as her friends glared at the two boys on the other side.
„Sorry, sorry! It seems like the bottle is more attracted to pretty girls than the ugly trash bin.” said Imjong as he hopped up to his feet and jogged to the girl who had the angriest expression. „Let me make it up for you, huh? Do you like bubble tea?” the older put his hand on the girl's shoulder and walked out of the practice room while the remaining girls swooned over his swift move. He was such a flirt. No matter how many times he saw Imjong hitting on girls, he was still amazed at how easy it was for him to turn such events into an opportunity to lure them. Girls..
Eventhough it was hard to believe (and even harder to admit at his age), Jongin has never had a girlfriend in these 19 years. He've had a crush though. He fell for her instantly back then. The way she had called him „Hubby” and how she had faithfully waited for him to get home from work and eat the freshly cooked dinner she put on the table everyday... Yeah, Jongin liked to play pretend when he was in kindergarten the most.
Now? Now, he was just plain awkward and oblivious or maybe, he was just too innocent. If a girl lied in bed naked, calling for him, he would still think he was supposed to lend her some clothes. When girls talked to him, he would be so stunned, he wouldn't be able to even talk or just stutter through the whole conversation. He really admired this side of Imjong. A good dancer, good leader, handsome, popular and knew how to handle girls. „Jongin!” came a high pitched voice from behind. The boy turned his head to meet with a beaming Imhee, squatting down next to Jongin. „I came to see y-”
„Imjong isn't here.” said Jongin before the girl could finish. „He went to drink bubble tea with someone.”
„Perfect!” she exclaimed before realising her sudden outburst and blushing „Ah, I mean, I really want to drink bubble tea right now.”„I think they are still at the cafeteria, you can catch them if you hurry.”„I thought maybe,” at this part she blushed even more, her stare firm „ maybe, we could go together.” The cafeteria was a sophisticated looking grey building which looked more like a lobby of a museum than a university cafeteria. It had big windows to light up the whole hall and on the light grey-ish white-ish walls, the art student's works were displayed. The colourful paintings and statues gave a friendly atmoshphere. Big grey tables and chairs were scattered all over the hall, students eating, laughing and chatting with each other. It was always very lively and noisy here. The students from different departments met here in their breaks so it was kind of like a social gathering than just a simple cafeteria.„Look! There is an empty table!” pointed Imhee at one of the tables in the corner, next to the windows. „ Let's sit there.” she pushed Jongin towards the table when another voice called for the dancer. „Kim Jongin!” came the voice from the side. They both turned to see who it was and saw a young, elementary school-student like boy with huge, shiny eyes, beaming as he was waving at them from one of the tables near the front door. Thanks to that, Jongin didn't pay attention to what was in front of him and not only bumped his leg into a table but fell over a chair when he tried to step back in pain, earning him weird stares from the people in the cafeteria and loud shrieking from girls.„Oh my god!! Jongin, are you okay??!” shouted Imhee shocked, trying to help the fallen Jongin back up his feet. Kyungsoo ran to them as well and held the younger boy's arms, he pulled him up from the floor and helped him sit on a chair.„Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?” Kyungsoo asked worriedly as he looked at the other boy holding his knee in pain.„Of course it hurt him! He scarred his knee!” shrieked the girl as she held Jongin's arm tightly and glared at Kyungsoo. Jongin didn't even look up, just stood up and started to walk out of the cafeteria with limping legs with Imhee glued to his side. They left Kyungsoo there, standing alone in the middle of all the mess. He put the fallen chair back to its place when he found a black wristband „Fearfully and Wonderfully Made” written on it with white letters. He looked at it closely and, without thinking anything more of it, he put it in his pocket and returned to his table. „Stupid Kyungsoo” Jongin mumbled to himself as he put medicine on his scraped knee. After the incident, Jongin decided to go back to the practice room but Imhee insisted on going to the nurse, eventhough it really wasn't a big deal.
„Did you say something?” she asked as she put a band-aid on the dancer's knee.„No, nothing.”
„It's such a shame though.” she continued sitting next to Jongin on the bench and playing with her hair „I was really looking forward to drinking bubble tea with you.” she looked straight at Jongin before turning around, covering her face with her tiny hands. „What am I saying? Please, don't misundersta-”
„I think I need to go back now. Class starts soon” the boy said, standing up and nearing the door. „I'll tell your brother to take you out for bubble tea later. See you!” he flashed her a smile and ran off to practice... again. As the day went by, Jongin felt more and more tired and unlucky as things just didn't seem to turn out good for him. He stumbled through his ballett classes as well as his modern dance classes where his partner fell out of his arms. He got more and more nervous just by thinking about what could go wrong next. He couldn't even fully concentrate on practice.
„Hey! Kim Jongin! Get yourself together, what are you even doing??” bellowed the teacher through the practice room.„I'm-I'm trying!” the boy panted with a scrunched face, trying to get balance by holding up his waist.„Does that hurt?” the teacher pointed at his waist.
„It's nothing” Jongin said. „I'll go through the routine once again.” he wanted to walk back to his position when a hand pulled him back by his shoulder.
„It's not something you can neglect! You are a dancer and a dancer has to be responsible of his body. I know you have been practicing everyday without a stop. I wouldn't be surprised if you get something twisted or fractured sooner or later. You should take better care of yourself, understood?”
„Teacher, it's really nothing. I must have slept in a weird position, that's all. There is nothing to worry about.” he assured him and continued where he left off with the dance routine. The hours flew by quickly and it got darker and colder outside with every passing minutes. Classes have officially ended for the day and Jongin was grateful for the fact that he managed to get through his remaining classes without any difficulties. He pulled his hood up and with hurried steps, reached the front door of the Park dormitory building. Everything was quiet, except the sound of a piano playing in the background. „Probably someone from the music department decided to practice over-time.” thought Jongin, his breath appearing as white fog in the cold air. He rumbled through his sports bag, searching for his keys to get in, but he didn't seem to find it in teh bag, nor in his pockets. Defeated, as the chilly breeze crept up on his bare neck, he got his phone out and started dialing Kyungsoo's number. He could have dialed it but he never asked his roommate about his phone number. He never asked his roommate about anything to be correct. „You are the biggest idiot on the planet, Kim Jongin..” he muttered to himself as he went around the building, searching for Kyungsoo's window. If he got his attention, he could just ask him to let him in, he figured, and there it was, the one next to the living room window with blue curtains. The lights were off in the whole house, which meant that the doe-eyed boy was asleep but considering the fact that spending the night outside in the cold will probably result in Jongin dying either of utter embarrassment or freezing, made him a little worried. He found a pebble and threw it at Kyungsoo's window.
Nothing happened.
He threw another one.. and another.. and another, but still nothing happened until he tried to throw a bigger rock at the window in hopes that it will wake up his roommate. The window cracked and Jongin's eyes widened in shock. Before anyone could see him, he held onto his sports bag tightly and started running back to the front gate where he got even more shocked to see his roommate, Do Kyungsoo, who was supposed to be asleep in his bed, in his room, which now has a cracked window. The dancer just stood there, eyes wide, clunching the strap of his bag while Kyungsoo was trying to fit his key into the lock. He opened the door and Jongin shouted out. „Hold it!” Kyungsoo looked at the owner of the deep voice before smiling and opening the door wider. „Oh, you are here.” he grinned.