Paint Me A Rainbow (JJ Project)

Pink

The snow had stopped falling as the chilly weather started rising in temperature. Gone all the thick outerwears, and the layer of clothes people were wearing lessened bit by bit. In place of the blanket of white smothering the earth, plants grew and flowers blossomed. And along with the spring, came Jaebum with his new hair color.

Jinyoung was lounging on the couch reading a book, papers almost against his nose, when he heard the clicking of the lock opened. He didn’t even bother to raise his head knowing who that was, too immersed in the story typed on the pages, merely murmuring a welcome home.

“I bought groceries on my way home. What do you want to eat?”

Only then he looked up, feeling his eyes sparkled. Jaebum’s cooking was his favorite, second to his mother’s, and it would always had his best interest. He parted his mouth to talk, only to leave it gaping open as his eyes caught Jaebum’s hair, the shade so bright except for the area around the roots which was still black.

“What happened to your hair?” Jinyoung asked after he found his voice.

Jaebum chuckled, maybe finding his expression funny. “I dyed it pink.”

“Pink? What, like the cherry blossom?”

Jaebum knitted his brow, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he leaned on the kitchen’s cabinet, thinking. “Pretty much, yeah.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s spring, sweetheart,” Jaebum grinned, “and also to celebrate our date tomorrow. You haven’t forgotten, right?”

Right, that date. It had been almost a month since he agreed to Jaebum’s unreasonable condition. It was always getting pushed back thanks to their piled up assignments and project, but since the semester had almost ended, they were finally free. Jinyoung looked down, nervously fumbling with the paper edge. “Do we really have to do it?”

Jaebum frowned. “What? Don’t tell me you change your mind. You can’t pull back your promise, you’ve agreed to it.”

“I know, but…”

Jaebum walked up to Jinyoung, gently lifting his chin so he met with his eyes. He looked so sad and Jinyoung felt something tugged at his heart. “Do you really hate going on a date with me that much?”

“No! That’s not it,” Jinyoung let his book fall free to the couch, forgetting that he hadn’t marked the last page he read yet. He took Jaebum’s hand in his, holding it tightly, cursing himself for making the other misunderstood. “It’s just, I never go on any date before, so I don’t know what to do. The way it’s put out as a date makes me nervous. Can’t we just hangout like we always do?”

Jaebum’s eyes popped wide, stunned. “You’ve never gone on dates?”

Jinyoung nodded, blushing, for the first time feeling embarrassed of his nonexistent love life.

“Not even once?”

Jinyoung nodded, blushing even deeper.

“So tomorrow is your first? So I’m your first date?”

Jinyoung nodded again, and a wide grin beaming up Jaebum’s face, his eyes disappeared into crescent. The pinkhead raised their hands together, kissing the back of Jinyoung’s hand while smiling playfully, and he stopped breathing.

“Don’t worry, leave it to me. I’ll give you a first date you’ll never forget your whole life.”

--

Jinyoung tossed and turned on his bed, unable to stay still. He couldn’t sleep, and it was still too early anyway. He just turned in early because he was too nervous being around Jaebum. He could’ve treated tomorrow as a another hangout instead of a date, but that was the problem, he couldn’t. He wondered what would be different? Would it be different because of the way Jaebum treated him? Would Jaebum treat him differently? Not as a friend, but as a date? How did Jaebum treat all his date? He remembered how the other kissed his hand, and he felt the blood in his veins rushed to his face. Was that Jaebum treating him as a friend? Or a date?