Fallen Angels [2/?]
Jan. 29th, 2013 03:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
themuziqloverA/N: Because Jongin is just. ASLDKFHJGKLH. Admit it.
A week later finds Jongin getting ready to attend his very first day as a college student. He makes himself a quick breakfast of cereal and milk, the only thing he’s learned how to do as it requires no cooking whatsoever, and runs down to the bus stop on his street to wait. The early morning is cool and a the sky is still gray with only faint tinges of light orange bleeding between streaks of blue. The streets are still quiet and hardly anyone is around. Jongin settles down on the low bench and closes his eyes. The silence is peaceful and a welcome break from his hectic first week on Earth.
“Um.. Hi... Again.”
Jongin’s eyes fly open and he jerks slightly as a voice to his right interrupts his train of thought. Standing next to him is a boy with impossibly wide eyes blinking at him steadily. Why does he look so familiar? Jongin observes the boy curiously. He’s huddled in a fluffy hoodie, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans and backpack hanging on his shoulders. One earbud is stuffed into his left ear, the other hanging across his chest.
“Hello.” Jongin says slowly.
“Um.. I sort of met you last week? At the restaurant.”
“Oh! Yes, hello. I remember you now.” Jongin says as he recalls his first night in Seoul. He offers him a quick smile and pats the space next to him, signaling the boy to sit next to him. The boy smiles and plops himself down into the seat.
“I didn’t know you lived around here. I’ve never seen you around before.”
“I... just moved here. A week ago. That night at the restaurant was my first night here.”
“Ah, I see. So, where are you off to so early in the morning?”
Jongin gestures at the backpack at his feet. “First day at university. I'm transferring in as a second year and I’ve honestly, no idea what I’m doing.”
The boy starts at this, sitting up straight suddenly and grin forming quickly across his face.
“You’re going to the university? The one like five streets down? I’m a student there too! What major?”
Jongin thinks back quickly to the documents Chanyeol sent. “Dance.”
At this, the boy only gets more excited, practically hopping up and down in his seat. “I’m majoring in Voice and Classical Composition. That means we’ll be in the same building like all the time!”
Jongin can’t help but laugh at him as the bus pulls up in front of them. They’re the only two people at that stop and he pushes the other boy forward gently as the doors open. He watches curiously as the boy pulls a card out from his pocket and swipes it over a gray device. There’s a soft bleep and the boy moves forward so Jongin can step up.
“Um....”
Jongin glances up at the bus driver blankly and then back down at the gray device. Jongin’s gaze narrows to a glare. Chanyeol hadn’t sent him anything like the card the other boy had, nor had he said anything about how public transportation worked (stupid Chanyeol). Jongin pulls out his wallet and pretends to search for something (more to buy time than to actually do anything about his current problem).
“Here, don’t worry, I’ve got it.” Jongin looks up in time to see the boy swiping his card again. The device bleeps gently and the bus driver lets Jongin move into the bus.
“Thank you. I’ve never really - Well, I don’t really know how these... things work.” Jongin mumbles out, settling into a seat next to the boy.
“Don’t worry about it! I bet you’re from outside the city or... out of the country perhaps?”
“You could say that.”
“Well, like I said, don’t worry! I’ll teach you anything you need to know.”
Jongin smiles. “Thanks. I’d really appreciate that.”
(Are all Humans this nice?)
“By the way, we never really properly met. Hi! I’m Do Kyungsoo and I’m a 93-liner.”
He doesn’t think it’s possible but Jongin’s smile only gets wider. He reaches out to take Kyungsoo’s offered hand. It’s nice and warm beneath his own palm and Jongin almost doesn’t want to let go.
(Are all Humans this warm?)
“Kim Jongin.”
“Kim. Jongin. Will you stop?”
Jongin laughs and only walks faster. Kyungsoo has become an almost permanent fixture in Jongin’s new life and this, Jongin thinks, this is nice and comfortable and everyday’s just one carefree 24-hours after another. Kyungsoo eventually catches up, pulling indignantly at the hood of Jongin’s sweater.
“Yah. I told you to stop!”
Kyungsoo’s frowning at him but there’s a twinkle in his eye and Jongin has learned to interpret this to mean he isn’t actually mad at him. He grins and lets Kyungsoo fall into step beside him.
“So, where’re you headed off to anyway?”
“Home, I guess?", Jongin shrugs.
He’s never really deviated from his usual routine of home-school-home and, come to think of it, he’s never actually considered going anywhere else. Not after he’s just gotten the hang of taking the bus on his own now.
“Aw, you never go anywhere besides school and home. Why don’t you come out with us tonight?”
Jongin stuffs his hands into his pockets, watching their feet as they walk down the sidewalk. Much as he hates to admit it, he’s just... not sure he’s ready to venture out a little further just yet. He’s supposed to be learning about Humans but the thing is, that would mean getting out of the comfortable box he’s just built. And he rather likes his box. His nice box of home, school, and Kyungsoo. I mean, he thinks, who knows what’s out there? But then, Jongin figures he is kind of pathetic for having hardly talked to anyone in any of his classes in the weeks he’s been attending.
“Come on, Jongin! It’ll be fun. You can meet some of my friends and we’ll watch a movie, have dinner, maybe go to a noraebang afterwards! You up for it?”
No. Jongin needs more time to get his feet on the ground. Going out recklessly would be a bad idea. And these outings usually involved alcohol didn’t they? That’s at least one thing that’s remained consistent in all the Human centuries he’s lived through. No. Jongin needs to focus on his job, what he was sent down here to do in the first place.
But then, isn’t going out like this an important part of Humans he needs to learn about as a part of said job? He chances a glance at Kyungsoo only to come face to face with an expression that’s so hopeful and yet so similar to an abandoned puppy.
(How can anyone be cruel to an abandoned puppy?)
“Sure, why not?”
Kyungsoo was right, going out with them was fun - for the most part, at least.
The night starts out tame. They meet two of Kyungsoo’s friends outside a movie theater in the middle of town and Jongin decides they’re nice enough. Baekhyun, Jongin vaguely remembers from that first night at the restaurant. His thick eyeliner is as perfect as ever and he smirks at him for a second before letting his expression fade to a friendly smile. Jongin decides he likes him a lot better when he’s smiling. He’s outgoing and sociable and talks Jongin’s head off within the first five minutes of their official meeting. Chanyeol is very much the same and Jongin can definitely see how they became such good friends. Chanyeol is just as outgoing, if not more, and whenever he laughs, everyone ends up laughing along with him. He’s tall and, sometimes, Jongin thinks Chanyeol’s resemblance to an awkward giraffe is tragically accurate.
They decide on a new horror film and it’s an interesting experience to say the least. Jongin spends half the movie observing Baekhyun and Chanyeol from the corner of his eye and he can’t help smiling amusedly to himself when he sees Baekhyun jump at a particularly scary scene and latch onto Chanyeol’s arm - for once, no signs of the confident smirk he had first greeted Jongin with. He makes a mental note to ask Kyungsoo about them later. On his other side, Kyungsoo’s eyes never leave the screen, growing wider with every new plot twist and development. Even by the end of the movie, Kyungsoo’s eyes remain fixed on the screen, eyes even wider than when he’d bumped into Jongin and hands gripping the armrests tightly. Jongin sneaks an arm around him, sliding a cold hand up his neck, and he can’t say he regrets it even after his arms receive multiple beatings.
(Kyungsoo will forever deny he shrieked like a girl. Because he is a manly man, excuse you.)
He meets too many people to properly match names to faces later on, over dinner at a local Korean place where they feast on meat and chicken. There’s Yixing, Wufan, Yixing, and Tao, Chinese exchange students who’d gotten close to Kyungsoo when he’d asked for help passing his Mandarin class, Sehun, Luhan’s boyfriend, Jongdae and Junmyeon from Kyungsoo’s vocal classes, and finally, Minseok, Kyungsoo’s former roommate last year.
It’s when they reach the later part of the night, though, when their group has moved from meat to dessert to alcohol, when they’ve had more than enough to drink to feel light and uninhibited, when they’ve spent well over an hour singing and dancing in the noraebang, that Jongin somehow ends up trying to comfort a sobbing Kyungsoo on his shoulder.
“Jongiiiiiiiiin.”
“Hyung? Are you okay?”
(No, Kyungsoo is definitely not okay. If Jongin can tell he’s not okay, he’s definitely not okay.)
Kyungsoo slides up next to Jongin on the couch, head nuzzling into his shoulder. His hand is wrapped tightly around a bottle of soju and his head droops down occasionally before he remembers to pick it up again. Jongin watches him warily from the corner of his eye as he looks around the room at the rest of their group.
Luhan is huddled on the other end of the couch, whispering something into Sehun’s ear and giggling every time Sehun slides a hand up his leg. Jongin looks away quickly. On the other side of the room, Wufan is nursing his sixth bottle of beer in a dark corner while Yixing and Tao spin each other in circles to see who falls over first. Jongdae and Baekhyun are belting our Rihanna’s parts in Love the Way You Lie at the top of their lungs, accompanied by stilted rapping from Minseok and Chanyeol. Jongin’s eyes search desperately for his last hope for salvation. But alas, on Kyungsoo’s other side, Junmyeon is passed out cold against a pile of throw pillows.
“Jongiiiiiiiin.”
Jongin’s gaze flickers back down to Kyungsoo, who has begun to cry. Kyungsoo is crying. Kyungsoo’s eyes are pouring waterfalls on his shirt. Kyungsoo is crying. Holy Heaven, what do Humans do in situations like this? Jongin flails frantically as Kyungsoo moves from leaning on his shoulder to hugging him tightly around the waist.
“Jongiiiiin... WHY DID I AGREE TO THIS STUPID NIGHT OUT WHEN I KNEW HE WAS GONNA BE HEREEE?”
“Um...”
“WHY IS HE STILL MY FRIEEEEEND?”
“I don’t... know?”
Kyungsoo gazes up at Jongin, all glazed eyes and creepily happy smiles that are completely out of place on a face that’s just been crying its eyes out. Jongin swallows uncomfortably.
“Jongiiin... why do people have to love other people? It’s ridiculous isn’t it? I could just be living happily on my farm with some of Wufan’s alpacas. ALPACAS ARE NICE. Unlike him.”
“Um... who? Alpacas? What?”
“Junmyeon. WHY. Why must Junmyeon be so nice to everyone. Even to ME. And WHY. Can he not be an alpaca instead?”
“Hmm... I.. don’t think he’d like being an alpaca?”
Jongin’s given up trying to understand Kyungsoo’s train of thought at this point and he settles for awkwardly patting Kyungsoo’s head. He starts when Kyungsoo suddenly lets out several soft giggles.
“Junmyeon as an alpaca. Hehehehehehehehee...”
“...”
“Jongiiiiiin?”
“Yes?”
“You’re so pretty. I think I hate you now too.” Kyungsoo pouts.
“Huh?”
“You’re too pretty.” Kyungsoo giggles again. “Like an angel. Except you don’t have wings. And angels have pretty wings.”
Jongin stiffens slightly but relaxes when he remembers there’s no way Kyungsoo could possibly know what he really was. Jongin’s arm settles on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. Breathe, Jongin, breathe.
“An angel, huh?”
“Yup. ‘Cause you’re definitely way too pretty to be a real person.”
A week later finds Jongin getting ready to attend his very first day as a college student. He makes himself a quick breakfast of cereal and milk, the only thing he’s learned how to do as it requires no cooking whatsoever, and runs down to the bus stop on his street to wait. The early morning is cool and a the sky is still gray with only faint tinges of light orange bleeding between streaks of blue. The streets are still quiet and hardly anyone is around. Jongin settles down on the low bench and closes his eyes. The silence is peaceful and a welcome break from his hectic first week on Earth.
“Um.. Hi... Again.”
Jongin’s eyes fly open and he jerks slightly as a voice to his right interrupts his train of thought. Standing next to him is a boy with impossibly wide eyes blinking at him steadily. Why does he look so familiar? Jongin observes the boy curiously. He’s huddled in a fluffy hoodie, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans and backpack hanging on his shoulders. One earbud is stuffed into his left ear, the other hanging across his chest.
“Hello.” Jongin says slowly.
“Um.. I sort of met you last week? At the restaurant.”
“Oh! Yes, hello. I remember you now.” Jongin says as he recalls his first night in Seoul. He offers him a quick smile and pats the space next to him, signaling the boy to sit next to him. The boy smiles and plops himself down into the seat.
“I didn’t know you lived around here. I’ve never seen you around before.”
“I... just moved here. A week ago. That night at the restaurant was my first night here.”
“Ah, I see. So, where are you off to so early in the morning?”
Jongin gestures at the backpack at his feet. “First day at university. I'm transferring in as a second year and I’ve honestly, no idea what I’m doing.”
The boy starts at this, sitting up straight suddenly and grin forming quickly across his face.
“You’re going to the university? The one like five streets down? I’m a student there too! What major?”
Jongin thinks back quickly to the documents Chanyeol sent. “Dance.”
At this, the boy only gets more excited, practically hopping up and down in his seat. “I’m majoring in Voice and Classical Composition. That means we’ll be in the same building like all the time!”
Jongin can’t help but laugh at him as the bus pulls up in front of them. They’re the only two people at that stop and he pushes the other boy forward gently as the doors open. He watches curiously as the boy pulls a card out from his pocket and swipes it over a gray device. There’s a soft bleep and the boy moves forward so Jongin can step up.
“Um....”
Jongin glances up at the bus driver blankly and then back down at the gray device. Jongin’s gaze narrows to a glare. Chanyeol hadn’t sent him anything like the card the other boy had, nor had he said anything about how public transportation worked (stupid Chanyeol). Jongin pulls out his wallet and pretends to search for something (more to buy time than to actually do anything about his current problem).
“Here, don’t worry, I’ve got it.” Jongin looks up in time to see the boy swiping his card again. The device bleeps gently and the bus driver lets Jongin move into the bus.
“Thank you. I’ve never really - Well, I don’t really know how these... things work.” Jongin mumbles out, settling into a seat next to the boy.
“Don’t worry about it! I bet you’re from outside the city or... out of the country perhaps?”
“You could say that.”
“Well, like I said, don’t worry! I’ll teach you anything you need to know.”
Jongin smiles. “Thanks. I’d really appreciate that.”
(Are all Humans this nice?)
“By the way, we never really properly met. Hi! I’m Do Kyungsoo and I’m a 93-liner.”
He doesn’t think it’s possible but Jongin’s smile only gets wider. He reaches out to take Kyungsoo’s offered hand. It’s nice and warm beneath his own palm and Jongin almost doesn’t want to let go.
(Are all Humans this warm?)
“Kim Jongin.”
“Kim. Jongin. Will you stop?”
Jongin laughs and only walks faster. Kyungsoo has become an almost permanent fixture in Jongin’s new life and this, Jongin thinks, this is nice and comfortable and everyday’s just one carefree 24-hours after another. Kyungsoo eventually catches up, pulling indignantly at the hood of Jongin’s sweater.
“Yah. I told you to stop!”
Kyungsoo’s frowning at him but there’s a twinkle in his eye and Jongin has learned to interpret this to mean he isn’t actually mad at him. He grins and lets Kyungsoo fall into step beside him.
“So, where’re you headed off to anyway?”
“Home, I guess?", Jongin shrugs.
He’s never really deviated from his usual routine of home-school-home and, come to think of it, he’s never actually considered going anywhere else. Not after he’s just gotten the hang of taking the bus on his own now.
“Aw, you never go anywhere besides school and home. Why don’t you come out with us tonight?”
Jongin stuffs his hands into his pockets, watching their feet as they walk down the sidewalk. Much as he hates to admit it, he’s just... not sure he’s ready to venture out a little further just yet. He’s supposed to be learning about Humans but the thing is, that would mean getting out of the comfortable box he’s just built. And he rather likes his box. His nice box of home, school, and Kyungsoo. I mean, he thinks, who knows what’s out there? But then, Jongin figures he is kind of pathetic for having hardly talked to anyone in any of his classes in the weeks he’s been attending.
“Come on, Jongin! It’ll be fun. You can meet some of my friends and we’ll watch a movie, have dinner, maybe go to a noraebang afterwards! You up for it?”
No. Jongin needs more time to get his feet on the ground. Going out recklessly would be a bad idea. And these outings usually involved alcohol didn’t they? That’s at least one thing that’s remained consistent in all the Human centuries he’s lived through. No. Jongin needs to focus on his job, what he was sent down here to do in the first place.
But then, isn’t going out like this an important part of Humans he needs to learn about as a part of said job? He chances a glance at Kyungsoo only to come face to face with an expression that’s so hopeful and yet so similar to an abandoned puppy.
(How can anyone be cruel to an abandoned puppy?)
“Sure, why not?”
Kyungsoo was right, going out with them was fun - for the most part, at least.
The night starts out tame. They meet two of Kyungsoo’s friends outside a movie theater in the middle of town and Jongin decides they’re nice enough. Baekhyun, Jongin vaguely remembers from that first night at the restaurant. His thick eyeliner is as perfect as ever and he smirks at him for a second before letting his expression fade to a friendly smile. Jongin decides he likes him a lot better when he’s smiling. He’s outgoing and sociable and talks Jongin’s head off within the first five minutes of their official meeting. Chanyeol is very much the same and Jongin can definitely see how they became such good friends. Chanyeol is just as outgoing, if not more, and whenever he laughs, everyone ends up laughing along with him. He’s tall and, sometimes, Jongin thinks Chanyeol’s resemblance to an awkward giraffe is tragically accurate.
They decide on a new horror film and it’s an interesting experience to say the least. Jongin spends half the movie observing Baekhyun and Chanyeol from the corner of his eye and he can’t help smiling amusedly to himself when he sees Baekhyun jump at a particularly scary scene and latch onto Chanyeol’s arm - for once, no signs of the confident smirk he had first greeted Jongin with. He makes a mental note to ask Kyungsoo about them later. On his other side, Kyungsoo’s eyes never leave the screen, growing wider with every new plot twist and development. Even by the end of the movie, Kyungsoo’s eyes remain fixed on the screen, eyes even wider than when he’d bumped into Jongin and hands gripping the armrests tightly. Jongin sneaks an arm around him, sliding a cold hand up his neck, and he can’t say he regrets it even after his arms receive multiple beatings.
(Kyungsoo will forever deny he shrieked like a girl. Because he is a manly man, excuse you.)
He meets too many people to properly match names to faces later on, over dinner at a local Korean place where they feast on meat and chicken. There’s Yixing, Wufan, Yixing, and Tao, Chinese exchange students who’d gotten close to Kyungsoo when he’d asked for help passing his Mandarin class, Sehun, Luhan’s boyfriend, Jongdae and Junmyeon from Kyungsoo’s vocal classes, and finally, Minseok, Kyungsoo’s former roommate last year.
It’s when they reach the later part of the night, though, when their group has moved from meat to dessert to alcohol, when they’ve had more than enough to drink to feel light and uninhibited, when they’ve spent well over an hour singing and dancing in the noraebang, that Jongin somehow ends up trying to comfort a sobbing Kyungsoo on his shoulder.
“Jongiiiiiiiiin.”
“Hyung? Are you okay?”
(No, Kyungsoo is definitely not okay. If Jongin can tell he’s not okay, he’s definitely not okay.)
Kyungsoo slides up next to Jongin on the couch, head nuzzling into his shoulder. His hand is wrapped tightly around a bottle of soju and his head droops down occasionally before he remembers to pick it up again. Jongin watches him warily from the corner of his eye as he looks around the room at the rest of their group.
Luhan is huddled on the other end of the couch, whispering something into Sehun’s ear and giggling every time Sehun slides a hand up his leg. Jongin looks away quickly. On the other side of the room, Wufan is nursing his sixth bottle of beer in a dark corner while Yixing and Tao spin each other in circles to see who falls over first. Jongdae and Baekhyun are belting our Rihanna’s parts in Love the Way You Lie at the top of their lungs, accompanied by stilted rapping from Minseok and Chanyeol. Jongin’s eyes search desperately for his last hope for salvation. But alas, on Kyungsoo’s other side, Junmyeon is passed out cold against a pile of throw pillows.
“Jongiiiiiiiin.”
Jongin’s gaze flickers back down to Kyungsoo, who has begun to cry. Kyungsoo is crying. Kyungsoo’s eyes are pouring waterfalls on his shirt. Kyungsoo is crying. Holy Heaven, what do Humans do in situations like this? Jongin flails frantically as Kyungsoo moves from leaning on his shoulder to hugging him tightly around the waist.
“Jongiiiiin... WHY DID I AGREE TO THIS STUPID NIGHT OUT WHEN I KNEW HE WAS GONNA BE HEREEE?”
“Um...”
“WHY IS HE STILL MY FRIEEEEEND?”
“I don’t... know?”
Kyungsoo gazes up at Jongin, all glazed eyes and creepily happy smiles that are completely out of place on a face that’s just been crying its eyes out. Jongin swallows uncomfortably.
“Jongiiin... why do people have to love other people? It’s ridiculous isn’t it? I could just be living happily on my farm with some of Wufan’s alpacas. ALPACAS ARE NICE. Unlike him.”
“Um... who? Alpacas? What?”
“Junmyeon. WHY. Why must Junmyeon be so nice to everyone. Even to ME. And WHY. Can he not be an alpaca instead?”
“Hmm... I.. don’t think he’d like being an alpaca?”
Jongin’s given up trying to understand Kyungsoo’s train of thought at this point and he settles for awkwardly patting Kyungsoo’s head. He starts when Kyungsoo suddenly lets out several soft giggles.
“Junmyeon as an alpaca. Hehehehehehehehee...”
“...”
“Jongiiiiiin?”
“Yes?”
“You’re so pretty. I think I hate you now too.” Kyungsoo pouts.
“Huh?”
“You’re too pretty.” Kyungsoo giggles again. “Like an angel. Except you don’t have wings. And angels have pretty wings.”
Jongin stiffens slightly but relaxes when he remembers there’s no way Kyungsoo could possibly know what he really was. Jongin’s arm settles on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. Breathe, Jongin, breathe.
“An angel, huh?”
“Yup. ‘Cause you’re definitely way too pretty to be a real person.”
