Dancing In The Rain (Part 2)

Summary: Kangin was successful, the money, the job, the perks. He find happiness that he hadn't realized was missing from his life when he meets an old friend from college, Sungmin. When Sungmin disappears, what's going to happen to Kangin?

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AN: This is part 2. You can find Part 1 here. And yes. This is the last part.

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Three months later, Kangin went to work and switched his computer on to find an email from his old business management professor at college asking if he would mind being a guest lecturer for a day, the students needed to see a live case study. Essentially, he was supposed to go over there and talk about how he saved the magazine. He wasn’t interested. He had typed out a polite letter of declination when his secretary came in with his coffee and his schedule for the day. By the time she was gone, he had changed his mind. Kangin thought that he really should just ask his secretary for a printed copy of his meeting timings, he couldn’t remember the last time he paid attention to her.

A week later when Kangin drove in through the university gates, he felt an unfamiliar thumping in his head. He tried to tell himself that it was only because he hadn’t been there in a while. He wasn’t quite sure if he believed it.

It wasn’t hard to find the professor’s room. It was in the exact same place it had been a few years ago. After the usual formalities and pleasantries he told Kangin that he would be addressing the senior class and the freshmen, was that okay. Kangin nodded, then called his secretary to free his schedule.

Soon after, the professor led him to the freshmen class. He spent most of the lunch hour wandering around campus, answering questions for eager freshmen, rejecting some of the too eager ones. He ended up with a pocket full of phone numbers but he just tipped them into the waste basket.

He pretended he didn’t know what or who he was looking for. Deep inside, he knew he wanted to see Sungmin but he was ignoring that part of his mind for the time being. One half of his mind wanted to meet Sungmin, and ask him why he had disappeared from his life all of a sudden. The other half was prepared to run away and hide if he saw Sungmin’s face in the crowd. He was usually so rational; he couldn’t explain why he was so illogical and indecisive about this. He wondered why he was so disappointed when the bell rang at the end of lunch and he still hadn’t met Sungmin.

He met the senior class then, and soon it was over. The excuse he had to be hanging around the campus was now invalid. He walked towards the parking lot.

It would have been a scene plagiarized from a cheesy movie if he found Sungmin right then, as he was walking to the parking lot. Kangin thought it would be even cheesier if Sungmin came running up to him as he was driving out through the gates. Cheesy and predictable. Also something he was hoping for.

The next morning the sound of fists pounding on his door woke Kangin from his alcohol induced stupor. He had fallen asleep in the early hours of the morning and he wasn’t quite sure just how much beer he had drunk. He scrambled up from the floor, nearly tripping over empty beer bottles numerous times before reaching the door and pulling it open.

Kangin blinked once, then twice. The beer must have been playing tricks on him. He reached out and touched the face in front of him, whispering the name of the person he could see in a twisted alcohol slurred haze.

“Sungmin…”

Then he promptly passed out.

***

When Kangin woke up it was dark outside. He slowly sat up and tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He felt the vestiges of a throbbing headache in the back of his head and stood up very slowly, trying not to aggravate it.

He walked into the living room and turned the soft lights on, expecting to find a mess to clear up. There wasn’t. He didn’t find his beer bottles or filled ashtrays. What he did find was the hallucination from that morning waking up from where he was lying on his couch and walking towards him.

***

About an hour later, Kangin was eating what Sungmin had made, not really tasting it, mainly because of the million questions that were running through his mind. Sungmin noticed him looking, smiled and said, “After you eat, hyung. We’ll talk then.”

There was a knock on the door. Kangin tried to get up but sat back down halfway through because of the renewed pounding in his head. Sungmin stood up, “Hyung, don’t strain yourself. I’ll get the door.”

He heard the door open, then a woman’s voice said, “What are you doing here?” He didn’t hear Sungmin’s reply. Lee Ha Ni walked into the room, Sungmin following her a few steps behind.

Though Kangin had too much of a hangover to look up at her, he could almost imagine her expression when she said, “OH! Youngwoon-oppa! How are you? Oh, don’t eat that. I’ll make you something that’s good for hangovers” and pushed Kangin’s bowl away from him before flitting off into the kitchen. Flitted. Like an insect.

Kangin mumbled, “Crazy fucking bitch” and pulled his bowl back towards him. To Sungmin he added, “Tell her that if she’s going to make eggs I’ll kill her.”

Sungmin chuckled. “Hyung, don’t say that, she’s your girlfriend isn’t she? She just cares about you.”

Kangin thought he had heard wrong until he looked up to find Sungmin’s eyes on him, almost waiting for an answer. “What? Her? My girlfriend? Who told you that?”

Kangin watched Sungmin’s expression change from playful to astounded, then apologetic, “Oh sorry, I didn’t know you guys broke up.”

Now Kangin was sure that he was mirroring that astounded expression Sungmin had on only seconds ago, “We were never dating, Sungmin.”

“Oh. She told me you were. And not to come here anymore. That’s why I-”

Sungmin’s voice broke off as Ha Ni came back into the room. Kangin thought he saw a dirty glare directed at Sungmin flash on her face before she switched back to sickly sweet as she sat herself on the arm of Kangin’s couch. Sungmin looked awkward and seemed to be trying to leave. Kangin somehow never wanted to let him out of his sight again. It felt like he’d never come back if he left this time.

“Did you tell Sungmin that we were dating?” Kangin asked Ha Ni quietly. Sungmin’s eyes widened and he whispered something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Oh shit’ while Ha Ni reddened visibly and fought to keep an expression of nonchalance.

“Yes and I had my reasons oppa, we’ll talk about that later.”

Sungmin slowly slipped out as their voices rose and leaned his head back against the door and closed his eyes, bracing himself, awaiting the inevitable.

Then she said the words that made Sungmin feel like his whole world had just collapsed beneath him and he held on to the door handle for support as he waited to hear Kangin’s reaction, terrified of the words that were about to come.

“So what?”

Kangin’s voice saying just those two words rang inside Sungmin’s head, the noise resonating in his mind. What was that supposed to mean, disgust or indifference? Or could he dare to imagine that he was defending him from Ha Ni’s words, ‘I only told him that to protect you. That kid is delusional! He thinks he is in love with you!’

The rush of blood to his head prevented him from focusing on much of the rest of the conversation, so he stood there, supporting his wobbly knees up by his hand on the door knob and was thrown quite out of balance when the door flew open and Lee Ha Ni stormed out, giving him a look that could kill.

Kangin came out of the room slowly, and looked relieved (Relieved? Why would he be relieved?) when he saw Sungmin at the door, “Oh I thought you had left me (He wants me to stay?) again (Again? Does it really matter to him when I’m gone?). Come in.”

Sungmin wasn’t sure if he should but just in that short exchange he had been confused by Kangin’s words so many times he had to go in to make sure he knew what was going on.

They sat on the couch and Sungmin was too nervous to make eye contact and so he decided to stare at his hands instead. Kangin decided he ought to break the awkward silence so he cleared his throat. Sungmin looked up at him for a fraction of a second then looked back down as soon as he met Kangin’s eyes.

“Did you hear what she said?”

An almost indiscernible nod.

“Was she making it up?”

Sungmin took a deep breath then shook his head. He looked up and said, “If it creeps you out, I’ll leave.”

Kangin thinks he’ll never forget the expression on Sungmin’s face just before Kangin leaned in and kissed him all of a sudden. Sungmin thinks it is sweet the way Kangin began to pull away from the kiss when Sungmin was too shocked to respond, interpreting it as dislike. Kangin replays the moment over in his head, when Sungmin wrapped his arms around his shoulders, threading his fingers through his hair, pulling him closer as he had begun to pull away.

Sungmin breaks the kiss, leans his forehead on Kangin’s, panting slightly, his lips curling into a small smile when their eyes met.

Kangin can’t help grinning as he leans forward and nibbles on Sungmin’s full, pink lips and loves the sound of Sungmin’s suppressed giggle escaping through the kiss.

That proves to be their breaking point and they both laugh for a good five minutes at the end of which Kangin decides that Sungmin’s laugh has to be the cutest thing in the world.

Then the bowl of food that Lee Ha Ni made gets almost toppled over with all their laughing and shaking and Kangin rewrites his list of Cutest Thing in the World, deciding that it is Sungmin’s get-down-to-business face.

Sungmin makes sure Kangin eats and that all the bowls are washed before kissing Kangin again, tackling Kangin so he falls back onto the couch.

Later that night, they sit together on the very same couch they spent so much time making out on, watching TV, eating popcorn and fighting for the last bottle of beer. Sungmin gets up, offering to go buy some more and Kangin reaches out to pull him back but it is too late.

Five minutes later, Kangin swears silently, switches off the TV and locks the door behind him as he runs after Sungmin.

It is drizzling and Kangin laughs as he is reminded of the day he met Sungmin after a very long time, the drenched guy in the white shirt. He sees Sungmin coming towards him, barely looking at anything around him, trying to get back as fast as he can. Kangin stops right in front of him and Sungmin narrowly avoids collision and says, ‘Sorry’ before trying to duck around him. Kangin holds him firmly and says, “You shouldn’t say sorry when someone bumps into you.”

Sungmin looks up and gives him an impish grin, “I wanted to get back to you.”

They stand that way for a while and then Kangin lets go of him, feeling conscious that they were in the middle of a street. They start to walk back to the apartment together.

“You know what? I think I fell for you when I saw you standing in the rain with your arms wide open.”

Sungmin smiles and slips his hand into Kangin’s, “Maybe because you could see my sexy body through my thin white shirt.”

Kangin looks indignant and Sungmin falls in love with that expression, maybe that’s why he’s a second late to start running away from him. A smile spread across Kangin’s face as he chased him down the street, their finally expressed feelings connecting them with an undeniable bond, the threads of which were running alongside them, dancing in the rain.

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Dancing In The Rain (Part 1)

Title: Dancing in the Rain
Pairing: Kangin, Sungmin, Kangmin
Word Count: 4k. Wow.
Warnings: AU
Genre: Fluff, AU
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the people I mention. The plot and story however, are all mine.
And this is going to be a two shot (as in two parts so the second part is linked to at the end of this one)

Summary: Kangin was successful, he had the money, he had the job. He couldn't have been completely happy though, otherwise where's the story. Enter Sungmin, who brings the happiness with him.

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The yellow numbers told Kangin that it was 12 am. He drummed his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel as he tried to keep the angry red glare of the traffic light from irritating his headache. The only thing he hated about his job was the hours. He was heading back early today by comparison, sometimes he didn't even come home; he just slept at his table.

Not that he had anyone to blame but himself for his working hours.  Two years out of college, he was the youngest ever editor of one of the biggest magazines in South Korea. He could, if he wanted to, make one of his subordinates stay back late to perfect the layout and re-check the articles but he didn't. He didn't get the same satisfaction from making others work that he did when he did it himself.

The heavy rain made it impossible to see anything that was more than a foot away from the front of his car, even with the windshield wipers on in the highest possible setting. It was freezing cold outside, Kangin was grateful for the warmth of his car. His GPS told him it was about 2 degrees Celsius outside, he thought that it might be snowing tomorrow morning.

It was almost miraculous that he noticed him then, the young man standing near the bus stop. There were many others at the bus stop, huddled together in the dry space, wrapped in padded jackets and coats, holding umbrellas that were dripping water. This man, however, was standing in the middle of the footpath in a thin white shirt with his arms spread wide open and his face turned up towards the sky.

The traffic light turned yellow, then green. It was only when the cars behind him began to honk angrily that he finally tore his eyes away from that man and drove forward.

A few minutes later, he was headed in the opposite direction from his flat. His GPS directed and redirected his route at least twenty times before the noise began to annoy him and he switched it off. He didn't know why he was driving back to that bus stop but he knew he had to. Maybe that man had got on the next bus, maybe he was still there. All he knew was that he needed to go back there.

His phone was lying on the passenger's seat, it began to buzz angrily. He looked at the lit up screen and saw 'Lee Ha Ni.' He knew he's have a lot of explaining to do later but he ignored the call. Ha Ni was not his girlfriend, just a close friend. He knew she was interested in him but he hadn't ever resisted or encouraged her advances. He just maintained an air of indifference, hoping she'd understand without him having to hurt her. Because no matter how much you sugar coat it, a bitter pill stays a bitter pill.

The phone buzzed some more. When it stopped, he leaned over and switched it off. Now he'd have even more to explain but he didn't care about it at the moment. He didn't stop to think about what he was doing, he knew that if he did, he would turn around and go back to his apartment.

The rain had reduced to a slight drizzle. He parked the car on the side and walked towards the bus stop. He couldn't explain the way his heart leaped with joy at the sight of a person in a white shirt sitting at the bench. He subconsciously began to walk faster, coming to an abrupt halt when he was a few steps behind the man because it was only then that he recognized him.

"Sungmin?"

The man turned around. "Oh. Youngwoon-sunbae! It's been a long time!"

His whole face lit up in a smile, he was just as cute as Kangin remembered him to be. Then he noticed that Sungmin was dripping wet and shivering slightly.

"Why are you wet?"

He laughed, "Oh, I was waiting for the bus when it started to rain, and all of a sudden I wanted to be dancing in the rain so I did."

Kangin laughed and sat down on the bench next to him, taking off his jacket and handing it to him. He shook his head, "I'm just going to get it wet."

"Where are you headed anyway?"

"I and a few friends are living outside the dorms in a flat but we couldn't get anywhere close. So we're living at the ABC flats? Yeah, two stops away. And I got held up with a project so my flat mates left."

"Oh."

They sat there in silence for a while, and then Kangin realized Sungmin was still freezing cold.

"Hey Sungmin, you'll catch a cold if you try to get back home. Come over to my place, it’s not very far away." I stood up and gestured over to where my car was.

He looked up at me, once again, his smile lighting up his whole face, "You sure it's okay?"

"Yeah, come on."

***

They reached Kangin's apartment after Sungmin fussed around for a while making sure that he wouldn't drip water on Kangin's seats.

Kangin took something clean out of his cupboard for Sungmin to wear while he showered, and then, though he would usually have slept without dinner, searched his fridge for something that could be turned into a decent dinner. Then they sat down to dinner on Kangin's couch, eating off the plates Kangin found in the back of a cupboard. He had never had company at his apartment; he was home only at the oddest of hours.

Sungmin was a friend from college. Not as much of a friend than a junior he was friendly to. Kangin was in his senior year when among the new batch of freshmen there was an exceptionally cute boy. Kangin's best friend, and head of the ragging patrol, Leeteuk was the one who pointed him out to Kangin.

"Yah! Youngwoon-ah! Get your ass off that chair, let's go!"

It was a few years ago, it might have been that or something along those lines that Leeteuk told Kangin that evening after dinner.

Kangin was in the cafeteria, it had been a long day and that made him incredibly lazy, so it was almost inaudible when he grunted his reply, "Why?"

"Look at that cute one... Must think of himself as some kind of kkotminam. Let's see how long he holds up."

Kangin had looked up but not seen anything special. The usual crowd of freshmen, some of them looking scared, some of them cocky, but he knew that by the end of the night they'd be terrified of Leeteuk.

Then he noticed the guy Leeteuk was talking about. A white hoodie, blue jeans, black hair that fell to his eyes, eyes that sparkled when he laughed.

Kangin shook his head, poor kid, he had thought. Wonder if he'd smile like that when Teukie was done with him.

Leeteuk had everything played out to his advantage. He had kind eyes, a youthful face and a skinny physique. Even if somebody complained, none of the teachers would believe it. Because he was Leeteuk, the perfect student. Sometimes when he was drunk he'd tell Kangin why he did it.

"The need to experience it you know," he'd say, beer splashing out of his bottle and onto the floor, "and some of the other guys wouldn't know when to stop. To know how to stand up for themselves and all that crap. At least I wouldn't rape them."

Kangin thought he had a twisted sense of right and wrong but didn't complain. Besides, he was sloshed too, he couldn't say for sure if Leeteuk really said it.

Anyway, that night Sungmin was the only one who didn't break down during that night's event. Leeteuk had thought up a boxing competition between the first years, unlike the usual cursing or stripping. What Leeteuk didn't remember the next day, (he was always sloshed on initiation day) was that Sungmin had not only beaten all the new kids but managed to land a few punches on Leeteuk and some of the other guys as well. Somehow Sungmin earned Leeteuk's respect. And that's how they became friends.

Kangin snapped out of his reverie when Sungmin said, "Youngwoon hyung? You okay?"

"Yeah Sungmin-ah, sorry. You were telling me about Hyesun-nuna."

Hyesun was an old girlfriend of Kangin's. Somehow it seemed she was still in contact with Sungmin. Kangin was in contact with no one. Not even Leeteuk.

Sungmin was always a noona's boy. The senior girls fawned over the new addition to Leeteuk's crew. Kangin was sure that he would have had a fan club even if he wasn't Leeteuk's friend. That was just how Sungmin was.

People mistook him for some kind of playboy. So did Kangin, before he got to know him. He just had that sort of a personality, the one that made women adore him. Heechul once said that he could fall into Sungmin's eyes, they were that deep. Sungmin had laughed and batted his eyelashes at Heechul, promptly earning a slap from the hyung.

After dinner, Sungmin offered to do the dishes and Kangin didn't protest, he went to try and find an extra blanket.

Later when Kangin fell asleep, he was happy. He didn't know whether it was because he had a proper dinner after a long time, or because he had heard stories about so many people who were once his genuine friends unlike the guys he shook hands with nowadays at business meetings. Maybe it was because he felt like he had a friend. A friend to fight with about who sleeps on the couch and who sleeps on the bed. Or maybe, just maybe, he was happy for no reason at all.

***

It was about a month later that they met again. They'd kept in touch in the time in between, texting whenever they were free and talking on the phone sometimes while Kangin was making dinner and Sungmin was outside a bar he didn't want to be at in the first place, late at night or sometimes in the early hours of the morning.

Sungmin was, Kangin told himself, like a little brother he never had. Someone to annoy, someone to advice, and someone to protect. Sungmin was, Kangin then told himself, the best friend he'd lost since college. Someone to call up in the middle of the night when he was bored, someone to talk to about work and the annoying coworkers, someone to miss, someone to love.

But that was all Sungmin was.

Sungmin sometimes slept over at Kangin's house. When he was late from college and was too tired to go home. When he and his friends went out drinking and he was too drunk to drive home. It was easier for Sungmin that way, Kangin's flat was closer to the campus and their favorite drinking haunts. But those nights he never met Kangin.

Kangin left a spare key under his welcome mat just in case Sungmin wanted to stop by. Whenever Sungmin came Kangin either wasn't home or he was already asleep. Sungmin found water to drink and fell off to sleep on Kangin's couch.

When Sungmin woke up it was always on the bed. He'd turn over to find Kangin on the other end. Kangin never woke up when Sungmin was there. But when he did wake up, he'd know Sungmin had been there. The dishes that had piled up in the sink the past week would all be washed. The laundry Kangin had washed but piled up on his chair to save the trouble of folding them would all be folded, kept in his cupboard even.

"It’s like having a wife, only he doesn't keep wanting stuff" laughed Heechul when they met, narrowly avoiding a blow to the head from Kangin, "Yah! Youngchoon-ah, you've got yourself a little wife!" They had met for the first time in two years and the reason was that Sungmin set them up on a 'blind date' of sorts. He'd asked them both to turn up at a cafe, saying it was an emergency, but when they both did get there, Sungmin was nowhere to be seen. When they met each other, they realized Sungmin really had no plans of meeting them there after all. Kangin couldn't explain why he felt disappointed.

The day they met for the first time was a Tuesday, Kangin remembers. The day they met after a month, was also a Tuesday.

Kangin liked to call it 'his' magazine, though it wasn't really his brainchild. He didn't like to brag so nobody really knew whether it was true that he was the reason the magazine narrowly escaped a financial breakdown. He revamped everything about it, from a daily it went to a weekly, hired new designers, he was even picky about which articles he let be published. That earned him criticism from some of the older staff, especially since he was so young. His redeeming quality was how hard he worked. There was never a time when he left earlier than midnight on a Tuesday before the magazine went to the printers on Wednesday. The criticism ceased to muted mutters.

He was done surprisingly early that Tuesday. When he opened the door to his apartment, he found himself being welcomed by the smell of sizzling meat. He walked into the kitchen to find Sungmin, who had managed to procure a meat grill from somewhere, setting two plates with grilled vegetables and meat.

“Oh hyung! You’re home early!” Sungmin smiled up at Kangin.

Kangin felt a little confused. Then again, he thought, he hadn’t ever explicitly mentioned that Sungmin couldn’t have friends over. He tried not to get mad, “So, who does the other plate belong to?”

Sungmin’s face reflected the concentration with which he was turning the last piece of meat over on the grill, making sure it was cooking evenly. Kangin wondered why he felt hurt that Sungmin appeared to have a dinner date. You stupid fool, you got used to the idea of having a little wife didn’t you? It was only after that last piece of meat was on one of the plates that Sungmin looked up, “Which other plate?”

Kangin fought to maintain his cool. “The plate other than the one for you. Is it someone special?”

Sungmin looked up at him and smiled, “Yeah. Very special. Go wash up and join me.”

Kangin did as he was told but was astounded. How could that little punk still be acting cute and ordering him around at a time like this? Didn’t he realize it was wrong to invite girlfriends to his friend’s apartment?

It was only about twenty minutes later that Kangin calmed down and asked Sungmin why his friend hadn’t arrived although they were halfway through their meal. Sungmin smiled and said his friend had already arrived. Kangin muttered something inaudible and looked down at his plate. Sungmin had laughed and pushed plate with the extra meat towards him. Kangin couldn’t explain why Sungmin’s words and his laugh gave him a fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach. He tried to tell himself that it was just because he was eating meat on a stomach that had been empty for several hours. He wasn’t very convinced.

Kangin remembers that night. They were both tired and for once, they didn’t fight about who slept on the bed and the couch. They climbed into bed, spoke for a few minutes, then Sungmin smiled said ‘Goodnight hyung’ and turned over and fell asleep. Kangin wondered why it affected his heart rate so much to watch Sungmin’s slender body rise and fall with every breath.

***

Kangin remembers that night, though it was a long time ago. Just because he hasn’t met Sungmin since then.

It’s not that Sungmin had been coming over and the only thing Kangin saw was the folded laundry and washed dishes. Sungmin hadn’t been coming over at all. Kangin noticed on the second day.

Though he had been coming after work to an empty apartment for almost three years now, his apartment felt lonely now. His thoughts seemed to bounce off the walls and the echoes began to suck him into an odd sort of depression.

Work seemed extremely boring, but he still tried to finish up before coming home each night. He wondered if he should drop by the college campus; try to bump into Sungmin that way. Procrastination is a terrible thing.

He tried not to notice Sungmin’s absence, folding the laundry and washing the dishes himself, so that when he woke up in the morning he could console himself by saying that Sungmin had come over and fallen asleep on the couch. There was no change because everything had already been cleaned.

Kangin tried to believe it. He didn’t. Not one bit.

****





AN: I hope you like it so far. And you can find Part 2 here.

KangMin

Disclaimer: The pictures aren't mine. The people in them aren't mine either. :(  :P

Just issuing a warning to all you readership not initiated to the wonderful world of Korean music, Super Junior, and of course, KangMin.

A friend said that she googled 'Kangin' and found he was a Korean super star and asked me if he was my new love.

I said no, Sungmin is my love.

Anyway, a little background for those interested.

Super Junior is a South Korean band consisting of 13(+2) members and just for the fun of it I'm going to list them here: Leeteuk, Heechul, Hangeng(forever and always x), Kangin, Yesung, Shindong, Sungmin, Siwon, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Ryeowook, Kyuhyun, Kibum(you too x) and Zhoumi and Henry.

The names are in no particular order, I thought I would go in descending order of age but then I got confused so whatever.

Getting to the point, KangMin is a fan pairing Kangin+Sungmin and they are my absolute favourite OTP(One True Pairing) apart from maybe EunHae (Eunhyuk+Donghae).

That's Sungmin

And that's Kangin

Also, being the absolutely awesome and ridiculous fanbase that we are, we write fiction about our favourite people, hence the term 'fan fiction' or 'fiction written by fans.'

(It's not just me, I swear. Try googling 'Drarry' sometime. Or maybe 'Dramione' or even 'Harmione' or 'Klaine')

Two of my posts here, are KangMin fan fictions and I will try footnoting them so that non-fan readers can get some sense out of it.

My KangMin fan fictions:

1. Who Was That Anyway?
2. How To Tell If A Guy Is Into You

And I hope that makes everything a little more clearer.

Oh and, to all the fan fiction readers, I'll make a more comprehensive list as I post more.

Love and x's

Who Was That Anyway?

Title: Who Was That Anyway?

Genre: Fluff
Word count: ~1.6k Pairing: Kangmin (Kangin/Sungmin) Warnings: AU, OOC Disclaimer: Once again, I wish I owned Eongmin and Raccoon and Anchovy and Fishy. Sadly, I don't. Summary: Uhm.. I think this except should do it.

"Sungmin's last few months of junior year would have gone along pretty much the same way except for one Incident."

----

Sungmin's life was going great. He might not have been exceptionally popular but he had a group of friends he hung out with frequently, had decent grades, got along fine with his parents, even managed to not fight with his brother on most days. He had one more year left of high school and would be content spending the next one year with no major changes whatsoever. He spent most of his time playing video games at his best friend, Hyukjae's house, eating cookies Hyukjae's mom baked, Sungmin was even closer to Hyukjae's pretty noona than Hyukjae himself was. Until Hyukjae went and got himself a boyfriend, their classmate and local heartthrob, Lee Donghae. Sungmin often wondered out aloud why Lee Donghae, who was probably the most sought after guy in their year, (except maybe Choi Siwon) would fall for Hyukjae. Skinny Hyukjae with his gummy smile. He liked to see Hyukjae's face change as he said that. A little sadness would creep into those almond shaped eyes, only to disappear as soon as Donghae'd lean over him, kiss Hyukjae's cheek and call him beautiful. Hyukjae'd blush and Sungmin'd be happy just seeing his friend be happier than he'd ever seen him. Sungmin didn't mind being Wheel No. 3, neither did Hyukjae or Donghae. He didn't mind going out for long walks, or staying home while Hyukjae and Donghae got some privacy. Donghae loved Sungmin's company. Sungmin's last few months of junior year would have gone along pretty much the same way except for one Incident. Sungmin thought it deserved to be capitalized, Hyukjae and Donghae thought it ought to be made a movie. Said Incident, occured one beautiful summer afternoon, just as Sungmin was about to head back into his class. Someone asked him out. That's happened to Sungmin before, it's his gorgeous eyes, Donghae says, and none of those deserved capitalization. The person who asked him out was a senior. That wasn't uncommon either. Sungmin was the guy all noonas he was acquainted with had a thing for at some point in their lives. The person who asked him out was a male senior. Now at this point, Sungmin felt he had to clarify. He was completely fine with homosexuality, his own best friend was gay. The shocking part though, was how public the confession was. Hyukjae and Donghae, no matter how cheesy when it was just the three of them, did no more skinship with each other than with Sungmin when they were in public. Sungmin might have been open minded, the rest of the world wasn't. Hence, the Incident was significant. Sungmin was asked out in public by a male senior. Whose name Sungmin didn't even know. Sungmin finds out later, the senior he turned down (very politely, given how shocked he was) was called Kim Youngwoon, more popularly known as Kangin. He'd heard of Kangin, he'd seen the guy around before, he'd just never made the name-face corelation. He tries the name out one night lying in bed, as he replayed the Incident in his mind, playing with the syllables. Kim Youngwoon. On said beautiful summer afternoon, Sungmin was returning from one of his 'long walks' and had just grinned at Hyukjae waving at him from across the football field when he heard a voice saying his name. Sungmin turns around to find the guy, Kim Youngwoon (he tries saying the name out aloud again) looking at him. Sungmin had politely acknowledged Kangin and waited to hear what it was that this guy wanted to say. "I really like you and I really want to go out with you. Please go out with me." The guy said, bowing low at the last five words. Replaying the Incident for the billionth time in his head, Sungmin can vaguely remember Hyukjae's and Donghae's faces, wearing identical 'Holy-Mother-of-God' expressions. Sungmin, though he hadn't got over the shock, managed a coherent reply, "I'm so sorry sunbae-nim. I don't really want a relationship at the moment." He'd bowed too. The senior rose, gave half a smile, nodded and left. The news spread all over the school like wildfire. Sungmin got curious stares all the time. He honestly didn't care, he played it cool. If anyone asked him about it, he said it like it wasn't a big deal, with none of the horror or disgust any other straight man would have expressed. Most of the time he'd avoid the question, smoothly changing the topic with a smile. He wondered if the older boy was doing okay, all the jeering Sungmin got, Youngwoon probably got more. He sighed and flopped onto his stomach. Unless it was some big joke only to make Sungmin look stupid in front of everyone. He had plenty of people with grudges against him, calling his smile and demeanour fake and him all sorts of things. Nobody had taken this approach before though. It was with all these complicated (and slightly depressing) thoughts playing in his head that Sungmin finally fell asleep. He woke up early from a dream in which he was being chased by faceless people who were laughing at him. He was running, and he runs into a tall person coming around the corner. He turns around to see Kangin and woke up with the shock. The part that annoyed him the most about the dream, was how tall Kangin was. 'He isn't all that much taller than me in real life,' he mused during his English class, just before his teacher called on him to answer a question. Sungmin did well in English, he managed to answer, but before asking him to be seated, his teacher gave him a pointed look and asked him to stop dreaming in a teasing tone. Sungmin sat down with a sigh, ignoring the voices of the guys in front of him saying 'KangMin!' Kangmin sounded good though, Sungmin admitted to Hyukjae and Donghae later that evening, when Donghae talks about a bunch of girls asking him if Sungmin really was dating Kangin. Donghae laughs, asking what kind of a name Kangin was anyway and Sungmin defends the older boy, 'It's a cool name' he says. After a particularly rough day with a senior girl approaching him in the middle of the corridor during lunch and accusing him of turning her boyfriend gay (in a loud, screechy voice), Sungmin who is usually unaffected runs away to hide in the library. He doesn't attend any of his afternoon classes, sitting at a table in between the least frequented shelves, pretending to read a book on - pause internal monolouge to check title - Advanced Particle Physics. Physics wasn't even his main subject. His phone buzzed during the second lesson and it's a text from a worried Hyukjae, asking him if he wants company. Sungmin replies that he just wants to be alone. He puts his phone back into his pocket and looks down at his book to see a shadow fall over the page. "Mind if I sit down?" It's Kangin. Sungmin's mind doesn't quite register, his brain is too busy telling his subconscious, 'Ha! I knew he wasn't all that much taller than me!' but he shakes his head anyway and Kim Youngwoon plops into the seat in front of him. Sungmin is terribly confused but looks back down at his book - which seemed like the best option - until Kim Youngwoon says, "Um.." Sungmin looks up and maintains eye contact with his sunbae while Kangin struggles to frame a sentence that was more eloquent than his last. "I'm sorry you're going through all this because of me." Sungmin's first response is, "You're not all that much taller than me." but bites it back just in time to say, "You're- I mean, it's not your fault." And just because Sungmin is really hurt and gets really bitchy when he's hurt, he adds, "Unless of course, you did it only to make me look -" but stops midway. There's something in those eyes that makes Sungmin think that all that Kangin said - the confession the other day, the apology today - was all sincere. He's not sure why he is relieved to know that. Kangin smiles, "Yeah, I should have thought it through. It seemed like I did it to make you look stupid, didn't I?" Sungmin doesn't know what to say and Kangin continues, "Would it have been better if I said I've been crushing on you and I'd like to get to know you?" Sungmin doesn't know whether that question was rhetorical but he answers, rather blurts out an answer anyway, "I'd like to get to know you too." Sungmin stops mentally slapping himself when he sees Kangin's expression change. Hope creeps into those soft eyes and Sungmin, for some weird, unfathomable reason, wants to keep Kangin happy. Kangin looks like he doesn't dare to believe what he just heard Sungmin say. Sungmin finds himself waiting, heartrate increasing as his brain slowly caught up to what his subconscious already knew. Kangin blinks, shakes his head and asks, he looked a little silly in Sungmin's opinion, and asks, "What?" Sungmin can see where this is headed and though the sensible part of his brain is flashing bright red lights and yelling 'RETREAT!' he leans forward and says, "I'd like to get to know you too, Youngwoon-sunbae." Kangin's sudden smile is beautiful, and Sungmin is a little shocked at the choice of words. He realizes in a few months that he'd started to understand Donghae, who calls skinny Hyukjae with his gummy smile beautiful. Kangin grins for a few seconds before he says, "Call me Kangin." A few minutes later when they get thrown out of the library for talking too loudly, Sungmin is embarrassed, sure. Deep inside though, he just likes seeing Youngwoon smile. -end-

How To Tell If A Guy Is Into You

Title: How To Tell If A Guy Is Into You

Pairings: Kangmin (Kangin/Sungmin)

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 1k

Disclaimer: I do not own Super Junior or any of the gorgeous men I mention. How I wish I did.

The tips in italics are not mine either. Credit: WikiHow.

Summary: Kangin attempts to figure Sungmin out using a list he finds online. *sigh* Sungmin however, doesn't turn out to be as textbook as Kangin hopes.

Also available in |Russian| (Translated by @belletortue1582)

If you wish to translate into your language, tweet me at @Saf51594

1. He mimics your body language. When people are listening to one another, they tend to subconsciously imitate each other’s body language.

Kangin was sitting at the dining table when Sungmin walked in from his room, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

He smiled when he spotted Kangin, 'Morning hyung.'

'Morning Sungminnie'

Sungmin sat down opposite Kangin after he had poured himself a mug of coffee from the kettle on the stove.

Kangin leaned forward and took a sip of his coffee. Sungmin continued to talk but made no move to drink his coffee.

'Maybe his subconscious didn't notice.' Kangin took another sip of his coffee, this time a little more coffee. Sungmin, who was waiting for Kangin to reply to something he'd asked, waited patiently, but still made no move towards his coffee.

That conversation didn't last very long, as when Kyuhyun sauntered in during a pause in the conversation, Sungmin turned to him saying, 'Kyuhyun-ah, did you take my black coat? I was searching for it in the morning and couldn't find it.'

Kangin finished the rest of his coffee in a gulp and ignored his scorched tongue and throat as he dumped his mug in the sink and left the room before he was humiliated any further.

Don’t waste this experiment on a ho-hum conversation; if his mind isn’t absorbed in what you’re both saying, it probably won’t work.


---

2. He smiles and sustains eye contact. Platonic guy friends smile at each other. They also make plenty of eye contact. But if your guy makes prolonged eye contact while flashing you a big grin, he’s being far more intimate than most straight guys are around each other.

That evening, backstage just before Kangin's big comeback. The stage is wet and slippery and everyone is worried. Kangin catches Sungmin's eye over the make up girl who's fixing his hair and the stylist who's pinning Sungmin's jacket in place. He smiles and Kangin smiles back. Kangin maintains eye contact, just to see how much longer Sungmin will keep smiling. Sungmin seems completely comfortable, smiling and mouthing a comment about Kangin's new hair. Until Eunhyuk comes up behind Sungmin and leans his forehead onto Sungmin's back in a rare display of weakness and Sungmin immediately turns to his friend, pulling him into a comforting hug.

---


3. He steals glances. If you catch him looking away suddenly when you turn to face him, it means he watches you when you’re not looking.
Kangin comes clean to Leeteuk the next night and the latter can't stop laughing.

'Sungmin? Of all the guys in the world you had to pick the straightest one.'

Kangin argued that Wook was probably straighter, his personality at the dorm is so different from what he portrays on shows. Leeteuk grins, calls Kangin clueless and asks, 'Hasn't Heechul told you who's been fucking him lately?'

After Kangin got over the initial shock at that revelation, he focused on more important matters. Enlisting Teukie to help him conquer Sungmin's heart.

A few days later Teukie reports, 'He's looking at you.'

'Huh?'

'Sungmin. He's looking at you. He has been looking at you for a while now.'

Kangin casually turns around to look at Sungmin, or if he were to be more discreet, turns to look "in the general direction" of a certain Lee Sungmin. Kangin was pleased to see (his heart actually skipped a beat) that Sungmin was indeed looking at him. However, he didn't seem the least bit flustered when he caught Kangin's eyes, smiling warmly and nodding a greeting.

Kangin pretends not to notice how hard Teukie is laughing as he turned back to face him.


---

4. He wants to know all about you. Guys aren’t known for their ability (or desire) to untangle the threads of their guy friends’ personal lives. If your guy asks a lot of questions about your life, interests, hobbies, friends, and, most importantly, feelings, he isn’t content with chitchat and wants to get to know you on a deeper level. Or, you're his best friend.

Kangin is sitting at the downstairs dorm late at night on the couch with his laptop. He's waiting for Sungmin to come back from radio, though he refuses to admit it.

Sungmin and Ryeowook come into the dorm and Ryeowook looks exhausted, smiling tiredly as he ruffles Kangin's hair asking, 'Had dinner, hyung?'

Kangin nods and Ryeowook mutters something about being exhausted as he goes to his room.

Sungmin on the other hand, makes his way to the kitchen, and after rattling spoons and pans for a few minutes, reappears with a big bowl of ramyun.

He sits opposite Kangin on the couch, picks up the laptop and puts it aside, keeping the bowl between them instead.

Two hours later when Kangin finally finds himself in his bed upstairs, he can't stop smiling. He'd just spilled his deepest, darkest dreams, hopes and worries (except the ones involving the listener, of course) in the longest conversation he's ever had with Sungmin, yet, he wasn't feeling self conscious or exposed. Just happy. Because it didn't matter anymore if Sungmin was gay or not, all it mattered was that Sungmin cared.

---

5. He touches you unnecessarily. If your guy lets his hand brush against yours, puts his hands on your shoulders while standing behind you, gives frequent hugs, or finds an excuse to pull something of your hair, he’s probably trying to kick the intimacy up a notch – or even test how you react to his advances.

Two weeks after their comeback, they all have some free time and decide to watch a movie together. Kangin can't remember which movie it was when he goes to sleep that night. All he remembers is that sometime during the first five minutes, Sungmin's knee was touching his. He pretended he didn't even notice but all he remembers of the first hour of the movie is the feeling of Sungmin's thigh against his.

Midway through, Sungmin's breath tickles his ear as he whispers that he was getting really bored, it was at least the fifth time he was watching it. Kangin smiles and says he's seen it already too. Sungmin promptly moves closer and spends the rest hour or so whispering comments into Kangin's ear.

Kangin on the other hand, pretended he didn't have tingles shooting through his body, originating from the parts that could feel Sungmin's warmth as he responded with the appropriate answers.

By the end of the movie, Sungmin was sleepily snuggled onto Kangin's shoulder and Kangin thought he could die happy.

---

6. He’s nervous around you. Does he get sweaty palms, laugh awkwardly, or have trouble speaking when you’re around? Then he’s nervous about what you think of him – which means he’s trying to impress you.

Kangin's narrating the story of his first variety show appearance to Kyuhyun the next morning at breakfast when Sungmin walks in. All of a sudden he's fumbling for words and tripping over letters, much to Kyuhyun's amusement. Sungmin, who'd overheard the last part as he entered comes over and puts his arms around Kangin's shoulders as he says, 'We were so proud of hyung that day.'

---
 
7. He gives you a nickname. A group of guys will often bestow a nickname on a friend when he does something memorable, but if your guy comes up with a nickname for you on his own, especially if you haven’t done anything remarkable to earn it, he’s making a point of how special your relationship is.

Kangin's always called Sungmin 'Ming' in his head. He accidentally lets it slip that day during a conversation with Teukie, and Leeteuk dies laughing.

A few minutes later, however, Kangin ignores both his flaming cheeks and the dumbfounded expression on Leeteuk's face when Ming, his Ming, comes in after radio and calls him 'Kanging~' instead of his usual 'Youngwoonie-hyung' and asks him if he wanted to go work out together.

---

Test the Waters

1. Try subtle touches. Let your hand touch his "accidentally". If he doesn't mind or even better, returns them, you know what it means.

Sungmin leans his forehead onto Kangin's back as they wait for the car to come pick them from the gym.

Kangin leans back into Sungmin's warmth and asks, "Tired?"

"Yeah..."

Sungmin snakes his arms around Kangin's waist, and leans onto him, supporting himself on Kangin.

The car comes and Kyuhyun's asleep in the passenger's seat beside the manager.

Sungmin asks what happened. "He was prepping for next week's Radio Star. Been there all evening."

The get into the car and after a while Sungmin lies down onto Kangin's shoulder. Kangin's hormones are too exhausted to overreact and soon he's slowly drifting off to sleep.

The car stops and Kangin opens his eyes, Sungmin sits up a little and asks, "What is it, hyung?"

"Need to pick up some groceries. Will you guys wait?"

Kangin's says it is no problem, and the manager leaves.

Sungmin asks Kangin about how he's been doing since the last time they spoke for a substantial amount of time, and they have a casual conversation.

Kangin decides that he'd never know if he never tried and gently shifts so that his arm is around the younger, and his head is resting on Kangin's chest. Sungmin acts like nothing has happened and keeps still.

Sungmin gets up a few minutes later and leans forward between the front seats and turns the air conditioning down. He sits back, and makes sure Kangin's arm is around his shoulder when he does. Kangin feels his heartbeat racing as he notices that Sungmin was sitting right next to him, leaving most of the seat empty.

The manager comes back in a few minutes and switches on the FM as he turns into the highway. It's their song, Sungmin's part in Bittersweet. His voice is low and sweet and sexy and Kangin finds himself holding Sungmin a little closer. Sungmin interlinks his fingers with Kangin's. Kangin stays still, he's not quite sure if he is imagining it.

It switches to Ryeowook's voice and Kangin's pretty sure he wasn't imagining it. He was holding hands with his Sungmin.

Kangin squeezes Sungmin's hand lightly. He feels Sungmin shift in his arms, his nose now against Kangin's neck. For just a moment, Kangin feels soft lips against his neck, warm breath tickling his skin.

Sungmin returns to his initial position and Kangin finds his heart beating so hard it feels like it's going to find its way out of his chest.

Kangin leans forward a little, heart racing, and softy touches his lips to Sungmin's forehead. Sungmin shifts and for just one breathless, beautiful moment, their lips meet. Blood pounds in Kangin's ears as Sungmin pulls away, smiles, then leans in and takes Kangin's lower lip in his mouth and gently runs his warm tongue along it.

They keep kissing; soft, warm, mind-numbing kisses. When Kyuhyun stirs in the front seat, Sungmin pulls away a little and it takes all of Kangin's self control to not push Sungmin back against the seat and continue.

---

2. If you are still in doubt, you should just say say you are attracted to him and make no bones about it. If he smiles or nods, that's a good sign.

Later when Kyuhyun has gone back to sleep, Kangin moves a little closer to Sungmin and whispers, barely audible over Mighty Mouth on the radio, "I like you Sungmin-ah."

Sungmin turns around and looks at him, his chocolate brown eyes deep black orbs in the low light. He smiles and Kangin thinks he's never seen Sungmin look quite as perfect as when he takes Kangin's hand in his and says something that leaves Kangin smiling for the rest of the week.

"I like you too, hyung."

-end-