That Saturday, Key walked into the store with three books tucked under his arm. He had a pent stashed behind his ear and – surprisingly enough – a big smile spread across his face.
Ever since Key and JongHyun had begun their tutoring together that summer his attitude had began changing. Day by day, bit by bit, his mood had transitioned from bitter, fearful (since that incident still haunted him no matter how much he tried to hide it) and angry to happy-go-lucky mood.
Right now, Key seemed to be in one of his better moods. He didn’t even seem to notice when his shirt caught on the postcard stand and sent it tumbling to the floor.
“Good morning,” Onew greeted. He had to admit, he liked this Key much more than the one he’d been dealing with for years.
“Great morning!” Key exclaimed.
“Even if I asked you to take JongHyun’s shift?”
“Anything for JongHyun hyung!”
Onew shook his head. As much as he wanted Key to find love he thought that he had found it in the wrong person. It was obvious that JongHyun wasn’t into guys like him… Key was setting himself up for heartbreak – and he didn’t like that.
“You’re crazy,” Onew mumbled under his breath. He bent over to pick up the mess of postcards Key had made upon his arrival. As he worked he tried to think of how to protect Key from getting hurt – and where to move that damn postcard stand so it wouldn’t tip at every movement anyone made.
He was so oblivious… So clueless to what he was setting himself up for… And Onew, despite all his tries at trying to figure something out, was powerless to do anything about it.
~
JongHyun returned to the shop slightly disheartened. TaeMin had been so depressed with his condition. Even with MinHo there you could tell that he had lost the sparkle in his eyes. And about ten pounds, too.
With the cold weather closing in fast, TaeMin would need all the physical and mental strength he could get. If things kept up like this, TaeMin was sure to end up in the hospital again. Maybe this time for good…
All these doleful thoughts weighed down on JongHyun’s shoulders as he walked into the store.
“Hyung!” Key greeted happily when he stepped in. “Welcome back! I made you a sandwich!”
Almost like it was second nature to him, a forced smile extended across JongHyun’s face. He contorted his features to duplicate a look of contentment hoping that it would be good enough to trump the younger. Luck seemed to be siding with him this one time as Key went to the back room to fetch him his supper and resumed with his work - completely oblivious to the negative emotions brewing in the cave of JongHyun’s heart.
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A Sparkly Encounter (A JongKey Fanfic)
FanfictionJongHyun is a college student struggling to live on his own and keep up with his studies. When he meets Key in a chance encounter he thinks that there's no one more annoying than him. However, after finding Key beatened badly on a return trip to the...
