Chapter Text
"Ya~ Kibum-ah! How much longer?"
"Just a few more minutes, Nicole. I'm almost there."
Kim Kibum sounded quite unenthusiastic. He had been like this ever since he dumped his girlfriend for cheating on him. Moving to a boarding school did nothing to improve his mood, though he was at least grateful to have his good friend Nicole with him.
Kibum made his way to his assigned dorm at Genie Prep School. Someone had already moved in since their belongings were present, but the owner was nowhere in sight. Kibum realized that the shower was on, and the occupant must have been his roommate.
He collapsed on the closest bed and looked up at the white ceiling. He didn't like any of it. Being sent away to a private school that was now his "home". Being with a bunch of complete strangers, aside from Nicole. What his ex did to him...
As much as he tried not to think about the breakup, it still depressed him. It had only been a month since he caught her with another man.
"Yahh!" Kibum shot right up at this sudden disruption in his thoughts. His eyes met those of a student with wet brown hair and a towel around his waist. "I guess you’re my roomate?"
Kibum was caught off-guard by his roommates figure. Something about his appearance left me captivated. He was pretty tall - just a bit taller than Kibum - and his physique was impressive: muscular arms, broad shoulders, an impressive set of abs – he must have been athlete.
Kibum realized he was staring, so he quickly nodded to answer his question.
"Yea. I'm dorming here as well." He quickly stood up and bowed his head slightly. "Kim Kibum."
"Choi Minho." The stranger replied coldly. He didn’t mean to come across that way; he just felt a bit awkward with this red-haired kid just looking at him. Was he just being polite, or was he really that shocked by seeing Minho half-naked? Had he never been in a locker room before?
"Nice to meet you." Kibum answered curtly.
"You too." Minho said.
They went silent after that. Minho broke eye contact to make his way to his luggage. "That's my bed."
"Sorry?"
"I already picked that bed. Yours is over there." Minho elaborated, pointing his thumb to the bed across the room.
Kibum had already made himself comfortable on the current bed, but he wasn't in the mood for arguing with someone on the first day, so he rolled his eyes, picked up his stuff, and moved to the new bed.
They didn’t talk or see each other for the rest of the day. Kibum had gone out to meet with Nicole, and by the time he got back, Minho was already sound asleep.
As Kibum lay down for the night, he wondered why Minho’s appearance had caught him off guard earlier.
It wasn’t as if he had never seen another naked man before. And he couldn’t be attracted to him because he was still jaded over his breakup, and he was a complete stranger.
He brushed off his confusion as he drifted to sleep.
Interestingly enough, Minho, Kibum, and Nicole all ended up in the same core classes. It seemed as though they would be seeing each other quite often.
All the male first years changed in the locker rooms for phys ed. Kibum was already becoming overwhelmed by the sheer number of jocks. He couldn’t care less about athletes, as he himself was interested in studying fashion.
As he dressed, though, he caught a glimpse of his roommate across the room. Even while he was getting dressed, Kibum paid closer attention to his face this time. He was quite handsome, with a striking complexion and a sharp jawline.
Kibum quickly turned away, anxious that someone might have caught him staring, but not before Minho noticed.
The first-years ran laps on the field. Minho was accustomed to this due to his years playing soccer, but he was surprised to see Kibum catch up to him in the next lane. Kibum didn’t look like the athletic type, and he panted heavily, which made his running figure look funny. Minho held himself back from laughing at his form.
He continued running past Kibum. The latter caught up quickly, and they ended up competing. They laughed as they kept surpassing each other for the rest of the run.
During the break, Kibum helped himself to some ice-cold water from the coolers. After a few sips, he poured some over his head. He sighed as the chilling water ran down his back. He then noticed Minho approaching with two white towels.
"Yah~ you shouldn't waste good water on a day like this." he remarked.
"Why should you care? I'm hot as fuck from all those laps."
Minho chuckled. “Hey, now’s not a good time to brag about your looks.” Kibum’s eyes widened at this comeback while Minho smiled widely. “Here, take this.” He tossed one of the towels to Kibum, who easily caught it. “You’re not an athlete, are you?”
Key rubbed his sweat-soaked hair with the towel. “I can run, but that’s about it. I don’t have much interest in sports.”
“That’s… interesting…”
“What is?”
“Nothing, I just thought they’d put me with someone on the soccer team.”
“Soccer?”
"KIBUMMAH~~" Kibum’s friend Nicole called out as she walked over. Miraculously, she didn’t have a drop of sweat on her, even after all those laps.
"Hey Nicole, what’s up?"
"Not much. Sure is hot out isn't it?" she asked. Kibum almost thought she was being sarcastic because all the male students were gross and sweaty, while she was radiant and fresh as ever.
"Not that much." Kibum retorted sarcastically.
"Anyway, I was just wondering if you wanted to see Titanic this weekend. They've rereleased it in theaters."
He hesitated. He didn’t really want to go, but he liked hanging out with Nicole and could use a night out. "Yea sure I'll come."
Key turned back to introduce his friend to his roommate, only to realize that Minho had already left and was nowhere in sight.
While Kibum was busy talking with his friend, Minho had gone over to his childhood friend, Lee Taemin. They chatted about their classes and dorm setup, and then Taemin told him about his plans for the weekend. He wanted to set up yet another double date, this time between him, Minho, and two other girls at the school. Minho rolled his eyes, but gave in. He didn’t have any plans for the weekend, but truthfully, he wasn’t interested in these dates either. Taemin was struggling to find a girlfriend and wanted Minho’s company, but rather than bring him along awkwardly as a third wheel, he would usually set him up with another girl. Nearly every time, Minho was paired with someone who only cared about his looks. They either couldn’t hold a conversation or would get annoyed at the most petty things. After being burnt out, Minho had lost interest in dating altogether.
Even so, he didn’t want to leave his friend hanging, so he tagged along.
It was Saturday, and Minho was deciding which jacket to wear.
“Going on a date?” Kibum chimed from his desk.
“How did you know?”
“It’s not every day an athlete wears hair gel.” He replied, motioning to Minho’s upright hair. As Minho rubbed the back of his neck, Kibum gawked at his face. “Who applied your makeup?”
“…I did…why?”
Kibum rolled his eyes and dug his hand into one of his bags. “It looks like a bear applied it.” He pulled out a big poofy brush and a small cylindrical container. Minho scoffed. He didn’t expect his roommate to be so frank.
Kibum walked up to Minho, standing just inches apart from him. He held out a free hand. “Where’s your BB Cream?” Minho gave him the bottle from his desk. Key squeezed a drop onto his hand and spread it on Minho’s face, mixing it with the layer he had applied before. “Right now, it’s too patchy. You need a little more to get a smooth, even layer.”
Once the BB cream was fully smoothed out, Kibum used the brush to powder his face. Minho had no choice but to stay still as Kibum took the reins. He quietly observed as Kibum was laser focused on nothing but his craft. Once he was done powdering, he delicately held Minho’s chin with his fingers and tilted his head upward.
“What are you doing?” Minho whined.
“Hang on!” Kibum turned Minho’s head to the left, then to the right, examining the lighting from each angle. At last, he turned it until their eyes met. Kibum smirked and released his chin. “There, now you should be good for your date.”
“You didn’t have to do all that.”
“I did. I couldn’t let you go out looking like that.” Kibum checked the time on his phone. “Shit, I’m gonna be late.” He slipped on his shoes, grabbed a jacket, and made his way to the door. Without skipping a beat, he added, “Go with the gray jacket. It works better with your shirt.”
“Um, thanks? I guess…” Minho quietly replied, but Kibum was already gone.
Minho spent the next few minutes sitting at his desk, looking at himself in the mirror, and reflecting on the recent sequence of events. Whatever Kibum did to his face, it worked because his skin looked noticeably smoother.
He hovered a hand over his face, remembering how confidently Kibum walked up to him and worked on his face without a second thought. His hands were surprisingly delicate and soft…
Minho looked at the time on his phone. Ready to head out, he got up, draped on the gray jacket, and left the dorm for his date.