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“You really don’t like me then...?”
Jonghyun could only stare back into a pair of wide and hurt brown eyes peering at him from the face of the very person he had just been talking about.
How do these things happen to me?
---
Several hours prior
“Flight 3150 to Paris, France now boarding. I repeat, Flight 3150 is now boarding.”
Jonghyun ignored the gathering crowds in favor of scrolling through his Twitter feed, knowing that it would be easier to board once most people had found their seats.
...Blue Exorcist Season 3 release date announced…
...Fairy Tail Season 3: What’s Gray Up To?
...New OST solo by Baekho
...Wanna One’s Hwang Minhyun to hold solo fansign in France…
Jonghyun smiled at the news of his friend Baekho’s success. Once upon a time, they had both been idol trainees under the same company along with another boy named Choi Minki, who later used the moniker Ren. However, Jonghyun had dropped out after a year, having felt too guilty relying on the small savings his parents had to continue pursuing the idea of being an idol. Nowadays, he worked in the boring world of business as a salaryman. Mundane, but decent pay to send back to his family.
Not to say that Jonghyun didn’t keep up with kpop idols. He kept up with both Baekho and Ren’s career. It was the reason why he was flying to France, actually. Ren had been invited to be a model at Paris Fashion Week under one of the designers from his company.
“Last call for Flight 3150 to Paris, France.”
Putting phone away, Jonghyun quickly shuffled towards the gate with the diminishing line of people and quickly boarded.
“Excuse me...sorry...pardon….” He squeezed through the narrow aisle and arrived at his seat, only to find it already occupied. Glancing at the assigned seat on his ticket, he looked at the well-dressed man occupying his seat and deep in conversation with the woman next to him. “Ahh...sorry, sir…? Is that seat 35C?”
The man looked at Jonghyun. “Yeah...oh! I see, is this your seat?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Let’s switch seats. I’m sure it’ll be no problem.”
“Wha-”
“Here’s my ticket.” The man stood up and handed over a slip of paper. “As a thank you, feel free to order anything, and they’ll place it on my tab.” He said as he ushered Jonghyun down the aisle.
Bewildered, Jonghyun could only glance back and see that the man was already back to talking to the woman. “...okay...I mean, I’m glad I don’t have to be in that seat…” Jonghyun muttered, before glancing down at the ticket he was handed, only to do a double-take.
He flagged down a flight attendant and showed them the ticket. “Sir, I was told to take this seat? Is that…”
“Of course, right this way, sir.”
I guess he really wanted that woman’s number. Jonghyun could only think, dumbfounded, as he was shown the first-class business class seats. Slumping into one of the comfiest seats he’d ever sat in for public transportation, he looked around and saw that he was the only one in that section.
Settling in, Jonghyun pulled out his earbuds, thinking it would be a quiet flight.
Then a commotion near the door caught his attention as a man with a face-mask and a small suitcase rushed in, looked at the seat numbers, and plopped right beside Jonghyun. The man saw Jonghyun staring and from the crinkles in his eyes, had likely smiled, and said, “Hi! I’m Min!”
“Hi…I’m Jonghyun.”
“Sorry about that, I was running late and thought I’d missed my flight!”
Jonghyun nodded and went back to his phone.
“I have a meeting I’d be very sorry to miss, so I’m very glad I got here in time! I guess it helped that I was booked for business class. That probably helped a lot. So why’re you going to France?”
Jonghyun blinked at the sudden slew of information.
“I’m visiting a friend…”
“That sounds fun! Is it your first time in France? Are they going to show you around?”
“Ahh...no...he’s doing a fashion show and I got roped into attending as his guest or my Kingdom Hearts 3 game gets held hostage…”
“That really sucks about the game, but hopefully you’ll have fun at the event.”
Jonghyun uncharacteristically felt a small blush. Min had very eager eyes and held eye contact with him the entire time. It was both flattering and unsettling, making him want to stop the conversation, but Min continued until they were in the air before he took a nap.
Despite Jonghyun's usually reticent and shy nature, Min had kept him engaged and made him laugh about a number of things, even leading to a brief agreement to visit Jeju together and explore sometime.
It was a few hours later when Jonghyun felt a weight fall on his shoulder and he turned to see that Min had slumped down and over to the side. Min’s really pretty… The thought vaguely passed through his mind as he stared at Min’s long eyelashes, pale and smooth complexion, and the way his hair settled on his features. He also looks kinda familiar…
Jonghyun passed the time watching a few anime episodes, before he opened up and logged into his favorite kpop forum. He scrolled through a couple of threads, scoffing at the ridiculous amount of conversations praising Wanna One’s Hwang Minhyun.
“What’re you doing?” A soft voice sounded from his shoulder.
Jonghyun jolted and almost jumped out of his seat in fright.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!”
“No. No, it’s okay.” Jonghyun reassured. “I’m just looking through a forum.”
“Is that a kpop forum? Are you a kpop fan?”
Jonghyun eyed Min, who had settled his head back on his shoulder and was now peering at his screen. “Not quite? I don’t follow kpop that closely. Just a couple of friends involved in the industry.”
“I see…what’re you looking at now?” Min leaned over the armrest.
Jonghyun shrugged. “Just some kpop idol I’m not a big fan of.”
Min leaned back in interest. “Really?”
“Yeah. He’s very contradictory and there’s just certain things that I don’t like.”
“Like what?”
Jonghyun frowned before reluctantly sharing, “Well, he seems to be a bit of an attention hog...Even though he's part of a boy group, when they do any vlives or other shows, he's always trying to show off his voice and sing."
Min looked confused. "Maybe he just likes to sing? He wouldn't be an idol if he hated singing."
"Yes, but he should give the other group members a chance too."
"I see…”
“And most recently at a concert, he had a solo stage that basically consisted of him taking off his shirt, and that’s it.”
Min furrowed his eyebrows, thinking the descriptions sounded familiar. “So you think he's a show off. That can’t be the only reason you don’t like him, right?"
"Umm well, he also lied about stealing a bike to sound cool. And then his teacher and classmate ended up defending him and clearing up the issue." Jonghyun was not impressed with that story when the truth came out. It wasn't good that Minhyun has stolen before...but it was just as bad that he had lied about and exaggerated the story.
“Huh.” Min pondered. "TV stations often make idols exaggerate to make the stories more interesting and creative..."
"That's one idea. But he still lied.”
"Isn't it good that he didn’t actually steal it though?” Min questioned.
“I guess...” Jonghyun scrunched his nose, “he also said he’s never been in a slump and he’s happy with everything he’s been given.” Jonghyun found that hard to believe. Minhyun’s background wasn’t the easiest. He was a trainee for 7 years, and even had a failed solo debut before he hit it big, afterall.
“He’s optimistic! That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Min looked at him with an unreadable look in his eyes.
“I just find it really hard to believe that he’s that optimistic and has never thought about his experiences negatively after everything he’s gone through.” Jonghyun looked away.
Min tilted his head to regain eye contact. “‘Everything he’s gone through’...so you do follow his career then?”
Jonghyun avoided the question. “It’s an arrogant statement to make.” Jonghyun leaned back to try to break eye contact. “He also stares too intensely at fansigns like you’re doing right now.”
Min leaned in more. “Does that mean you’ve been to his fansigns before then? Are you sure you’re not a fan?”
Jonghyun puffed out his cheeks. “No!”
“It’s okay if you’re a fanboy, you know.” Min teased. “What else don’t you like? I wanna know.”
Jonghyun looked at Min incredulously. “Why don’t you tell me what you don’t like about him instead?”
Min hummed as he placed his head back on Jonghyun’s shoulder. He briefly wondered if Jonghyun realized he hadn't named the idol he had been complaining about yet. “But I’m not the one that doesn’t like him?”
Jonghyun rolled his eyes. “Fine, he’s a giant for one. What did they feed him? Growth hormones?”
“Ooh interesting theory.”
“His face is too perfect. Probably did plastic surgery on it.”
“I could tell you it’s all natural, but I don’t think you’d believe me.”
“He comes off as very cold and emotionless.”
“Ah, that’s true…”
“And most recently at that concert! He took off his shirt for that solo stage. That was pure fanservice and showing off!” Jonghyun fumed and pouted.
Min chuckled. “You mentioned that already. It really sounds like you like him more than hate him…”
“No, I don’t!” Jonghyun whipped around to look at him. “How can you say that?!” He whined.
Min patted Jonghyun’s arm. “It’s okay. Besides, his voice is probably-”
"People exaggerate about him having a 'honey' voice. There's too much hype." Jonghyun scowled.
"Oh..." Min looked a bit put out...or as much as Jonghyun could tell from only seeing his eyes and top of his nose. Especially since Min was still resting his head on Jonghyun’s shoulder.
Then Min reached up to his face mask. And pulled it down.
Tilting his head up to face Jonghyun, he pouted.
“You really don’t like me then...?”
Jonghyun could only stare back into a pair of wide and hurt brown eyes peering at him from the face of the very person he had just been talking about. The man who had been essentially cuddling on his shoulder the whole flight. Wanna One’s Hwang Minhyun.
How do these things happen to me? He felt his cheeks and ears slowly flushing in horror and embarrassment.
"But Jonghyun...you say you don't like my music, but....didn't I see both my solo albums on your playlist earlier...?"
"I...ah...."
"We have landed safely at Charles de Gaulle. The time is 16:53 PM, please make sure you have all your belongings as you exit."
"Igottago." Jonghyun quickly said, red-faced, as he grabbed his backpack and rushed out.
"Wait!" Minhyun called, pouting. He didn't even get his cute anti-fan's phone number. Maybe we'll be on the same flight back. Not that many people fly first class, he decided.
He would've been more offended at the things Jonghyun had been saying, but to be honest, he was more preoccupied with watching Jonghyun's cute facial expressions during his rant. Besides, it was partially his own fault for digging and egging Jonghyun on, too.
As he exited the plane, he picked up his phone and dialed a fellow co-worker.
"Hey Minki! You free for dinner tonight? I know we're not supposed to eat too much before the show, but I'm starving..."