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Entry tags:
Fic: Can You Smile?
Title: Can You Smile?
Fandom: Exo
Focus: Kai-centric, Chen/Kai
Genre: Fluff
Rating: G
Length: Oneshot, 1835 words
Summary: Kai and Chen talk during their predebut photoshoot.
"Lean a little closer to the others, Kai sshi. And smile," the photographer repeats, gesturing at his own mouth encouragingly, "we have probably two memory cards filled with nothing but your sour faces. We're going for casual now. Fun, even." From behind him, Junmyeon is pulling up the corners of his mouth and showing off a wide, goofy grin, silently trying to either instruct Jongin on how to smile or give him a reason to.
Jongin coughs into his hand when Junmyeon abruptly crosses his eyes, more ridiculous than actually funny. His lips barely twitch even as the other members scattered throughout the room laugh with varying degrees of amusement.
"No good, Junmyeon hyung," Jongdae chirps from somewhere on his right. His giggling isn't very loud, but Jongin can feel the mattress shifting underneath him, the tiny breaths Jongdae exhales in-between each bout of laughter as they land on the side of his neck. Even in a heavy knitted sweater that covers more skin than he wore in half of the teaser videos they've already filmed, Jongin feels himself shiver.
"Yeah. No good," he echoes quietly, his voice drowned out by all of the noise in the room.
The photographer takes a few more shots of Jongin cringing as he, Lu Han, Zitao, and Jongdae awkwardly pose on the bed before abruptly throwing up his hands and stalking off. It's a bit offending how he goes storming off while ranting about no-name rookies with no experience loud enough for everyone to hear. A couple of the other photographers who are working on taking shots of the others -- Kyungsoo holding a pillow in unusual positions, Baekhyun and Minseok squatting in front of a wall -- turn to look, but Jongin is used to attention and critique and scrutiny.
Or at least he should be, after years of going through it.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jongin watches Zitao get up quietly, probably still trying to decipher all of the photographer's words; seeing as the man had sprinkled some less-than-appropriate language throughout his rant though, he probably wouldn't get too far. There's the tell-tale sound of Jongdae plopping down on the bed properly, and already Jongin can feel him pushing everyone else off as he tries to stretch and claim the entire mattress for himself. Meanwhile Lu Han lightly shoves Jongin off of his chest once the photographer has completely left the room, but before the stylists start making their way over to fix any stray strands of hair or reapply make-up.
"That asshole," he groans, massaging his own shoulder with too much fuss for it to be taken seriously, "he should try having Jongin's fat head on his chest for twenty minutes."
"Jongin's head isn't fat, Lu Han," Junmyeon chides from beside the abandoned tripod, although he abruptly amends an appeasing "hyung" when Lu Han turns to him with a raised brow.
Jongdae laughs from behind him -- it seems like he's always laughing at something Junmyeon or Chanyeol or Baekhyun say -- and Jongin braces himself. Even though he and Jongdae have rarely gotten to talk since their debut had been announced, he knows that whatever's coming won't be nice.
"Junmyeon hyung is right, Jonginnie's head isn't fat," Jongdae says, smiling brightly at Jongin when they make eye contact. He almost looks innocent. "If anything it's too small."
Jongin feels his face burn when they all laugh, especially when even Zitao, who apparently pieced together Jongdae's words, joins in with the others.
"I'm glad you three are all gonna be in M. In China," he mutters darkly as he sets aside the prop book they'd been using in the shot. He draws his knees up and hugs them to his chest. "If only you'd take Junmyeon hyung with you."
He hears Lu Han and Junmyeon laugh as they walk over to the stylist noonas for touch-ups, in addition to the soft shuffling of Zitao's feet as he also wanders away. It's just him and Jongdae alone on the bed in their own bubble of silence as the rest of the room carries on with the photoshoot, shutters clicking and cameras flashing and instructions being doled out from every corner. Everything Taemin's ever described to him through late-night texts, everything Jongin's dreamt a real photoshoot would be like ever since he walked into SM all those years ago for his first audition.
As he watches a stylist noona tie back Yixing's hair on the other side of the room, he feels something nudge against his side. When he looks over, he sees Jongdae's knee pressing repeatedly against him.
"You don't honestly think you're gonna get rid of us that easily, do you?"
Jongin's lips curl into a pout -- the only other expression he seems capable of managing today besides poker faces and frowns -- and he bumps back against Jongdae's legs with his side.
"A guy can dream, can't he?" Jongin says quietly, a bit petulant.
Jongdae's laughter is loud and bright, just like his voice during the few times Jongin's poked his head into the recording studio during one of M's recording sessions. Something sweet, to be savored. Jongin is sure he'll sound exactly the same at the upcoming music festival SM is letting them perform at.
"Don't lie, Jongin-ah." Jongdae lowers the pitch of his voice so that he sounds like a bad imitation of Junmyeon, or one of their managers, or maybe even Kris. It really is that horrible. "It's a bad habit," he continues, and Jongin decides it's probably Junmyeon.
"You're a bad habit," Jongin replies immediately, but even he cringes at how dumb he sounds.
But Jongdae doesn't call him dumb, doesn't do anything but laugh more and smile brighter. Probably exactly what that dumb photographer meant for the concept of their photoshoot.
He should do well in China, Jongin thinks a little wistfully. He would have done better in Korea, hamming it up on the local variety shows and crooning in their native tongue as Jongin danced carefully choreographed circles around him, but he can probably make it in China. Jongin's rarely visited the country, but he can't think of anything there that could muffle Jongdae's voice or dampen his smile besides his own inability to speak the language.
And even then, Jongdae's the real golden boy -- persistent and stubborn and ever-improving. Not many people debut out of SM with such a short training period. Jongin would know.
"How long do you think it'll take the photographer ajusshi to simmer down?" Jongin asks.
He watches as Jongdae shrugs, propping himself up on one elbow and resting his chin in the palm of his hand. "About as long as it takes for you to relax and take a few pictures," he chuckles. There's no maliciousness in his tone -- he's spent far too little time in the crowded corridors and busy practice rooms of the SM building to have developed the need for thick skin and a sharp, sometimes cruel tongue -- and it's a relief that the only insinuations Jongin has to look for are playful in nature. We are one, Junmyeon says all of the time when it looks like egos are about to inevitably clash. Maybe Jongin should believe in him as much as Jongdae always seems to.
"You don't understand, hyung," Jongin says, "it just all feels so surreal. It's so weird." It's weirder still to talk to Jongdae of all people about this, but in all of the chaos in the room and with Jongdae gazing at him with features that seem softer than usual underneath the studio's bright lighting, the words slip out like the drumming of Jongin's fingers when he hears a particularly attractive beat. Instinctive, easy.
"It's time to stop dreaming and starting doing," Jongdae tells him quietly, uncharacteristically serious in both appearance and tone. He reaches out for Jongin's hand, stroking the back of it soothingly. His own hands are a lot less calloused from a lack of practice -- even though he's older, he's leagues behind in experience compared to Jongin, but that's okay and Jongin doesn't try to pull away.
Jongin still feels small, still feels young as Jongdae hums quietly to fill the silence between them. He feels like himself rather than just a kid lumbering around in Kai's clothes and make-up, posing stiffly for cameras he's not quite used to yet and dancing to impress the world instead of just his reflection.
"Man," Jongdae continues in that soft tone of his as Jongin closes his eyes and focuses on the small circles Jongdae is rubbing into his skin, ready to listen to whatever else his hyung has to share, "I... sounded really cool! Right?"
Jongin snorts before bursting into laughter.
"I sounded like a real idol -- my friends are never gonna believe me," Jongdae keeps going, the pitch of his voice rising with his mood. He sounds ecstatic as his gaze leaves Jongin and he stares off into space dreamily. "Super Idol Chen. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it, Jongin?"
"Oh my God, hyung," Jongin wheezes, taking back his hand from Jongdae's grasp and slumping onto his hyung's stomach. He tries to catch his breath, but even when the laughter starts to fade, he can feel the smile sticking to his face. "Junmyeon hyung and his dumb jokes are rubbing off on you. We're doomed."
His hand lingers on Jongdae's thighs, and he can feel the rise and fall of Jongdae's body underneath his cheek with each breath Jongdae takes. It's a moment both casual and intimate as Jongin curls his fingers around the curve of Jongdae's legs.
"I wish you were in K," he whispers quietly after a few moments of silence. He doesn't know who he would exchange for Jongdae -- doesn't want to think about it, because Kyungsoo is a great roommate and Sehun's one of his best friends and Baekhyun's fun too and almost every memory he has of SM involves Junmyeon and Chanyeol hanging around and he can't imagine either of them missing from his future either -- but he thinks it would have been nice to have Jongdae to perform with on stage, to sit with in the company car as they drive from schedule to schedule, to talk to late at night in K's dorm.
He probably wouldn't have minded Jongdae's hand in his as they bowed on stage, holding tightly to each other as Jongdae's bright laughter echoed in his ears over the roaring of any crowd, no matter how big.
"You're starting to sound like Tao," he hears Jongdae chuckle, "he cries in the dorm every night at the thought of the twelve of us being separated. Are you gonna miss me, baby Jonginnie?"
Jongin hears the click of a camera in the distance, but for the first time that day he doesn't mind it. Jongdae's body is so warm beneath his head.
"Of course not," he lies with a smile.
Original Post: Here
Prompt: Kaichen based off of this photo
Author's Note: Written for 'paca on meme based off of the dynamics she gave me and the teaser-era photo of Kai with his head on Chen's stomach. It's a pretty cute pairing and I hope I captured Chen's shy, but joking tendencies and Kai's awkwardness well enough. I'm a little sorry that Suho slipped in as much as he did, but not very much. I'm sorry that I don't feel sorry lmao. Also, the pose Kai, Lu Han, Tao, and Chen were trying to pull off was based off of this. And those four did perform in one of the gayos in 2011. Also, the title was stolen from an Infinite song. I honestly didn't put much thought into it, maybe I should have lmao
Fandom: Exo
Focus: Kai-centric, Chen/Kai
Genre: Fluff
Rating: G
Length: Oneshot, 1835 words
Summary: Kai and Chen talk during their predebut photoshoot.
"Lean a little closer to the others, Kai sshi. And smile," the photographer repeats, gesturing at his own mouth encouragingly, "we have probably two memory cards filled with nothing but your sour faces. We're going for casual now. Fun, even." From behind him, Junmyeon is pulling up the corners of his mouth and showing off a wide, goofy grin, silently trying to either instruct Jongin on how to smile or give him a reason to.
Jongin coughs into his hand when Junmyeon abruptly crosses his eyes, more ridiculous than actually funny. His lips barely twitch even as the other members scattered throughout the room laugh with varying degrees of amusement.
"No good, Junmyeon hyung," Jongdae chirps from somewhere on his right. His giggling isn't very loud, but Jongin can feel the mattress shifting underneath him, the tiny breaths Jongdae exhales in-between each bout of laughter as they land on the side of his neck. Even in a heavy knitted sweater that covers more skin than he wore in half of the teaser videos they've already filmed, Jongin feels himself shiver.
"Yeah. No good," he echoes quietly, his voice drowned out by all of the noise in the room.
The photographer takes a few more shots of Jongin cringing as he, Lu Han, Zitao, and Jongdae awkwardly pose on the bed before abruptly throwing up his hands and stalking off. It's a bit offending how he goes storming off while ranting about no-name rookies with no experience loud enough for everyone to hear. A couple of the other photographers who are working on taking shots of the others -- Kyungsoo holding a pillow in unusual positions, Baekhyun and Minseok squatting in front of a wall -- turn to look, but Jongin is used to attention and critique and scrutiny.
Or at least he should be, after years of going through it.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jongin watches Zitao get up quietly, probably still trying to decipher all of the photographer's words; seeing as the man had sprinkled some less-than-appropriate language throughout his rant though, he probably wouldn't get too far. There's the tell-tale sound of Jongdae plopping down on the bed properly, and already Jongin can feel him pushing everyone else off as he tries to stretch and claim the entire mattress for himself. Meanwhile Lu Han lightly shoves Jongin off of his chest once the photographer has completely left the room, but before the stylists start making their way over to fix any stray strands of hair or reapply make-up.
"That asshole," he groans, massaging his own shoulder with too much fuss for it to be taken seriously, "he should try having Jongin's fat head on his chest for twenty minutes."
"Jongin's head isn't fat, Lu Han," Junmyeon chides from beside the abandoned tripod, although he abruptly amends an appeasing "hyung" when Lu Han turns to him with a raised brow.
Jongdae laughs from behind him -- it seems like he's always laughing at something Junmyeon or Chanyeol or Baekhyun say -- and Jongin braces himself. Even though he and Jongdae have rarely gotten to talk since their debut had been announced, he knows that whatever's coming won't be nice.
"Junmyeon hyung is right, Jonginnie's head isn't fat," Jongdae says, smiling brightly at Jongin when they make eye contact. He almost looks innocent. "If anything it's too small."
Jongin feels his face burn when they all laugh, especially when even Zitao, who apparently pieced together Jongdae's words, joins in with the others.
"I'm glad you three are all gonna be in M. In China," he mutters darkly as he sets aside the prop book they'd been using in the shot. He draws his knees up and hugs them to his chest. "If only you'd take Junmyeon hyung with you."
He hears Lu Han and Junmyeon laugh as they walk over to the stylist noonas for touch-ups, in addition to the soft shuffling of Zitao's feet as he also wanders away. It's just him and Jongdae alone on the bed in their own bubble of silence as the rest of the room carries on with the photoshoot, shutters clicking and cameras flashing and instructions being doled out from every corner. Everything Taemin's ever described to him through late-night texts, everything Jongin's dreamt a real photoshoot would be like ever since he walked into SM all those years ago for his first audition.
As he watches a stylist noona tie back Yixing's hair on the other side of the room, he feels something nudge against his side. When he looks over, he sees Jongdae's knee pressing repeatedly against him.
"You don't honestly think you're gonna get rid of us that easily, do you?"
Jongin's lips curl into a pout -- the only other expression he seems capable of managing today besides poker faces and frowns -- and he bumps back against Jongdae's legs with his side.
"A guy can dream, can't he?" Jongin says quietly, a bit petulant.
Jongdae's laughter is loud and bright, just like his voice during the few times Jongin's poked his head into the recording studio during one of M's recording sessions. Something sweet, to be savored. Jongin is sure he'll sound exactly the same at the upcoming music festival SM is letting them perform at.
"Don't lie, Jongin-ah." Jongdae lowers the pitch of his voice so that he sounds like a bad imitation of Junmyeon, or one of their managers, or maybe even Kris. It really is that horrible. "It's a bad habit," he continues, and Jongin decides it's probably Junmyeon.
"You're a bad habit," Jongin replies immediately, but even he cringes at how dumb he sounds.
But Jongdae doesn't call him dumb, doesn't do anything but laugh more and smile brighter. Probably exactly what that dumb photographer meant for the concept of their photoshoot.
He should do well in China, Jongin thinks a little wistfully. He would have done better in Korea, hamming it up on the local variety shows and crooning in their native tongue as Jongin danced carefully choreographed circles around him, but he can probably make it in China. Jongin's rarely visited the country, but he can't think of anything there that could muffle Jongdae's voice or dampen his smile besides his own inability to speak the language.
And even then, Jongdae's the real golden boy -- persistent and stubborn and ever-improving. Not many people debut out of SM with such a short training period. Jongin would know.
"How long do you think it'll take the photographer ajusshi to simmer down?" Jongin asks.
He watches as Jongdae shrugs, propping himself up on one elbow and resting his chin in the palm of his hand. "About as long as it takes for you to relax and take a few pictures," he chuckles. There's no maliciousness in his tone -- he's spent far too little time in the crowded corridors and busy practice rooms of the SM building to have developed the need for thick skin and a sharp, sometimes cruel tongue -- and it's a relief that the only insinuations Jongin has to look for are playful in nature. We are one, Junmyeon says all of the time when it looks like egos are about to inevitably clash. Maybe Jongin should believe in him as much as Jongdae always seems to.
"You don't understand, hyung," Jongin says, "it just all feels so surreal. It's so weird." It's weirder still to talk to Jongdae of all people about this, but in all of the chaos in the room and with Jongdae gazing at him with features that seem softer than usual underneath the studio's bright lighting, the words slip out like the drumming of Jongin's fingers when he hears a particularly attractive beat. Instinctive, easy.
"It's time to stop dreaming and starting doing," Jongdae tells him quietly, uncharacteristically serious in both appearance and tone. He reaches out for Jongin's hand, stroking the back of it soothingly. His own hands are a lot less calloused from a lack of practice -- even though he's older, he's leagues behind in experience compared to Jongin, but that's okay and Jongin doesn't try to pull away.
Jongin still feels small, still feels young as Jongdae hums quietly to fill the silence between them. He feels like himself rather than just a kid lumbering around in Kai's clothes and make-up, posing stiffly for cameras he's not quite used to yet and dancing to impress the world instead of just his reflection.
"Man," Jongdae continues in that soft tone of his as Jongin closes his eyes and focuses on the small circles Jongdae is rubbing into his skin, ready to listen to whatever else his hyung has to share, "I... sounded really cool! Right?"
Jongin snorts before bursting into laughter.
"I sounded like a real idol -- my friends are never gonna believe me," Jongdae keeps going, the pitch of his voice rising with his mood. He sounds ecstatic as his gaze leaves Jongin and he stares off into space dreamily. "Super Idol Chen. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it, Jongin?"
"Oh my God, hyung," Jongin wheezes, taking back his hand from Jongdae's grasp and slumping onto his hyung's stomach. He tries to catch his breath, but even when the laughter starts to fade, he can feel the smile sticking to his face. "Junmyeon hyung and his dumb jokes are rubbing off on you. We're doomed."
His hand lingers on Jongdae's thighs, and he can feel the rise and fall of Jongdae's body underneath his cheek with each breath Jongdae takes. It's a moment both casual and intimate as Jongin curls his fingers around the curve of Jongdae's legs.
"I wish you were in K," he whispers quietly after a few moments of silence. He doesn't know who he would exchange for Jongdae -- doesn't want to think about it, because Kyungsoo is a great roommate and Sehun's one of his best friends and Baekhyun's fun too and almost every memory he has of SM involves Junmyeon and Chanyeol hanging around and he can't imagine either of them missing from his future either -- but he thinks it would have been nice to have Jongdae to perform with on stage, to sit with in the company car as they drive from schedule to schedule, to talk to late at night in K's dorm.
He probably wouldn't have minded Jongdae's hand in his as they bowed on stage, holding tightly to each other as Jongdae's bright laughter echoed in his ears over the roaring of any crowd, no matter how big.
"You're starting to sound like Tao," he hears Jongdae chuckle, "he cries in the dorm every night at the thought of the twelve of us being separated. Are you gonna miss me, baby Jonginnie?"
Jongin hears the click of a camera in the distance, but for the first time that day he doesn't mind it. Jongdae's body is so warm beneath his head.
"Of course not," he lies with a smile.
Original Post: Here
Prompt: Kaichen based off of this photo
Author's Note: Written for 'paca on meme based off of the dynamics she gave me and the teaser-era photo of Kai with his head on Chen's stomach. It's a pretty cute pairing and I hope I captured Chen's shy, but joking tendencies and Kai's awkwardness well enough. I'm a little sorry that Suho slipped in as much as he did, but not very much. I'm sorry that I don't feel sorry lmao. Also, the pose Kai, Lu Han, Tao, and Chen were trying to pull off was based off of this. And those four did perform in one of the gayos in 2011. Also, the title was stolen from an Infinite song. I honestly didn't put much thought into it, maybe I should have lmao
