"shotaro," the trainer's voice echoed in the dimly lit training room. "your partner will be arriving shortly."
shotaro acknowledged with a nod, taking a swig from his water bottle.
as the past month had unfolded, he'd struggled to keep up with the relentless demands of the group chat. sungchan and wonbin text a lot.
"is it a boy?" shotaro inquired, breaking the silence.
"one of our best," the trainer replied, his tone laced with admiration. "he's been honing his skills alongside you, though in different training centers. a prodigy, truly."
shotaro pondered the implications. "do i really need a partner? i think i could finish the course alone."
"partnership builds teamwork, shotaro," the trainer insisted. "it's a necessary aspect of debut preparation."
doubt poked at shotaro's worried mind. "i just don't think we'll work well."
"now that's no way to talk about me, taro." at that moment, the door creaked open, revealing a figure wearing a navy blue beanie and a mask. (sm ent protocol).
shotaro centered in on the newcomer, his heart racing as an unexpected sense of familiarity washed over him."who...are you?" his voice trembled, curiosity mixed with apprehension.
with a flourish (i just remembered that word existed so that's a +1 for the author wahoo anyway ill shut up) , the boy removed his mask, unveiling a grin that tugged at shotaro's memories.
in an instant, he was transported back to washington dc, outside his hotel when he shared a longing gaze.
"what? don't recognize your own boyfriend?" the boy quipped (+1 i'm on a roll) , his voice playful.
it was wonbin. park wonbin. the embodiment of shotaro's dreams. "h-how did you—" shotaro began, but his words faltered as wonbin enveloped him in a tight embrace, making him forget the weight of the past month in an instant.
"did you miss me?" wonbin's voice was a soft murmur, filled with genuine emotion.
shotaro's laughter bubbled through the air, relief blossoming in his chest. "you have no idea."
they laughed together.
"so, what's the plan? for like training." shotaro inquired.
"before that, i've got something for you," wonbin replied with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, tossing a container to shotaro, who caught it. the container, adorned with purple and black and white stripes, reminded shotaro of that one science class. "open it," he urged, his voice brimming with excitement.
shotaro complied, unraveling the paper.
"Taro! I miss you! Come back and visit soon!"-Sungchan
"Taro, thanks for helping me with my book report lol"-Ricky
"Shotaro, thank you for happily welcoming me into your friend group"-Anton
"Taro, thank you so much for being there for me in my worst moments"-Seunghan
"Taro, you've always been a good friend to me. Good luck on your debut!"-Keeho
"Taro you owe me $10 from that bet in 5th grade (jk good luck on your debut!)"-Kevin
"Shotaro, thank you for always being kind to me. Good luck on your debut!"-Eunseok
"Taro! Thanks for always being so cool and inspiring. Good luck with the debut thing!"-Sohee
"TAROOOO miss you, man! You better perform at school and get me VIP for your concert!"-Lucas
"Shotaro, thank you for always making my brother happy. Ever since you entered the picture, he hasn't stopped smiling. Good luck, and I'll see you onstage, hopefully."-Jisung
shotaro was already teary-eyed from the amount of love his friends had shown him, that when he got to wonbin's he couldn't keep it together anymore.
"Shotaro, thank you so much for being in my life + my bestestestestestestestest friend. I never knew you were training too until Jisung randomly told me one day, and I knew that I had to debut with you. Jisung pulled a couple of strings, and put us in the same debut group. Thank you for showing me all of the love that you could, and supporting me always. I love you so much."-Wonbin <3
by the time he had finished, multiple tears were glistening down shotaro's cheeks. he clung to his boyfriend. "i love you too." wonbin leant down to peck his forehead. "now what?"
"now? okay, i'll tell you what happens now." suddenly, wonbin's demeanor shifted, now staring down at his boyfriend. "this needs to stop."
he rolled up a sleeve of shotaro's hoodie, referring to the incisions the boy had made there. "sungchan told me. you can't do this to yourself, taro. and now that you're stuck with me, i'm going to make sure you don't do this again."
the japanese boy's laughter filled the air but wonbin remained solemn. he trailed down to shotaro's arm, his touch feather-light as he pressed his lips to the scars.
shotaro shivered, surprised by wonbin's unexpected gesture. "b-bin?" he stumbled over his words, cheeks flushing with warmth.
"let's just say you made me crazy," wonbin panted, rolling shotaro's sleeve back down. "but i will never feel this way towards anyone but you. so im stuck with you until death."
"cliché, but i like it," shotaro giggled, squeezing wonbin's hand. "i'm yours, after all." he petted wonbin's head, reminiscing about their past interactions.
wonbin smiled, humming in satisfaction. "i'm your dream, aren't i, taro?"
"yup," shotaro affirmed. "you always have been."
"funny, because i was the one who chased you this time," wonbin murmured.
shotaro gazed at him, eyes soft with affection. "bin, can i kiss you?"
"yes. yes, you may."shotaro leaned in, but wonbin stopped him.
"wait," he said. "make sure the door is locked."
"why?" shotaro questioned.
"nothing, i just don't want anyone seeing us."
"sure," shotaro agreed, locking the door before turning back to wonbin. "bin, do you wanna try something...different?"
the latter nodded. "whatever you want, honestly. as long as it's not..sex."
"oh—no! definitely not!" shotaro exclaimed, flustered. "just...come here."
"alright," wonbin complied, approaching his boyfriend."oh. oh. do you wanna...like..." he trailed off.
"here," shotaro suggested, switching places with wonbin and pressing him against the door. "is this okay?"
"yeah...yeah, this is good," wonbin breathed heavily, feeling shotaro's hand on his chest. "so...what do we do now?"
shotaro froze for a moment before gently gripping the front of wonbin's shirt. "is this alright?"
"yeah," wonbin nodded.shotaro began to lean towards wonbin. "can i k—"
"yes. i belong to you, taro."
shotaro pressed wonbin gently against the door, their bodies magnetically drawn together after that month that left them both deprived of each other.
unspoken desires fueling their want for each other, in that moment, time seemed to stand still as their lips met for the first time it what seemed like a century. shotaro's fingers tangled in wonbin's hair, pulling him closer with an urgency.
and as they finally broke apart, breathless and flushed after that heated kiss, the first time shotaro had ever shared something that intimate with wonbin, wide smiles underlined both of their features.
"isn't it weird?" wonbin chuckled, fingers intertwining with his boyfriend's.
"what is?" shotaro kissed the back of wonbin's hand.
"if you hadn't taken that step, if you hadn't gathered up the courage to give me that mint box..." the latter imagined, smile falling at the possibility that in a universe, they wouldn't be together. "this would've never happened."
"aw, well thank god i did." shotaro lifted up his boyfriend's chin. "or else i wouldn't be your first and only love."
"right." the younger boy chuckled. "i love you."
shotaro's eyes widened. "you know, i'm gonna have to get used to you being the first one to say it." wonbin jokingly slapped his shoulder. "but i love you too. i really do."
he pressed his lips to wonbin's forehead, moving his hand up to stroke his cheek.
"i always have."
THE END
that is where mint box comes to a close. i hope everyone who read it enjoyed it, it definitely wasn't the best and probably had more plot holes than i intended, but i really tried.
i have some readers to thank.
@Eunstone119
@Alpha143action
@Skangjun
@softlylit
@Moa77_7
@Princessbritt12
@Ro_1315
@Satzutyun
@Iluvseob
i hope i didn't forget anybody!!! also to my irl friends calm down yall are getting a chapter-
i apologize for the constantly changing format because wattpad is such a bitch.
just thank you to everyone who was with me on this journey. i owe it all to y'all.
if you're an nctzen/czennie, my collaboration book with najaeminindisguise is coming out soon so look out for it.
don't leave yet fam another chapter is coming out (though you might not be interested bc it's just photos of them and thanking my friends but idk)
again, thank you.
bye!
-sinsib2000