| Fan Fiction |
by Micah
“I knew it was a bad idea to leave them alone with you,” Changmin spoke calmly.
“I was just trying to teach them more about the modern time! And I saved his life! You act like I’m a criminal!” Jaejoong defended.
Yoochun and Yunho were sitting to the side, silent. Yunho no longer glared at Jaejoong, after Changmin and Junsu had explained to them what CPR was.
“Don’t do anything like that again,” Junsu sighed.
“You’re angry at me too?” Jaejoong questioned, hurt in his eyes.
“Jaejoong, it’s just…you should have known better,” Junsu began.
“You’re an imbecile,” Changmin insulted.
“And you’re siding with Changmin? You’re not supposed to side with either of us when we argue!” Jaejoong protested.
“He’ll side with the right side,” Changmin retorted.
Jaejoong glared at him. Then he stood up from the sofa and declared, “Fine! No dinner for any of you tonight!”
The other four men watched as he stomped out of the apartment. Silence lasted for a minute.
“Perhaps we should go after him,” Yoochun spoke.
“No, he’s just being childish. He needs to learn to think of the consequences to his actions,” Changmin explained.
“Jaejoong has a thing for leaping before he looks,” Junsu sighed again. “I’ll order take-out for tonight and Changmin can drop Yunho off at Jaejoong’s house afterwards.”
Yunho sat there watching as Junsu went to make a phone call and Changmin followed him. Yoochun excused himself to the restroom.
Yunho stared at the door that Jaejoong had walked out of. There was a weird feeling in his stomach that he couldn’t explain.
◙◙◙◙◙
Yunho rarely left the guestroom in the middle of the night. He would hear Jaejoong shuffling about and would even lock the door.
Yunho was rarely afraid of anything or anyone. It was awkward that this man, shorter and skinnier than him, would make him feel…fear. What was he afraid of? Why was he afraid? Yunho didn’t know.
Maybe he wasn’t afraid. Maybe he was just uncomfortable around the shorter man. That was why Yunho avoided him. Yes, it wasn’t ‘fear’. It couldn’t be ‘fear’. It was just…‘discomfort’ and ‘unfamiliarity’.
But he’d step out of that comfort zone tonight. Around one in the morning, he heard the door of the house open and knew that Jaejoong was back from his walk in the park. Yunho exited his own room and found Jaejoong in the kitchen.
The man, who looked so fragile to Yunho, was standing at the kitchen counter. He was pouring some tiny, brown spheres into a bowl. Following the solid substance was a white liquid. That was when Jaejoong realized his presence.
“Are you hungry?” he looked at Yunho.
Yunho wondered about his words. What should he say? Then he realized that he only had two words to offer.
“Thank you.”
Jaejoong blinked, a bit shocked. “For what?”
“For saving my life and…I apologize for causing Junsu and Changmin to doubt your maturity. Please do not be angry at them.”
“Oh, they doubt my maturity all the time! And I could never be angry at Su-ie either, but I’m always angry at Changmin, so it doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about it,” Jaejoong chuckled as he picked up the bowl and stuffed a spoonful of the content into his mouth.
Yunho heard the crunching and found himself curious about this late night meal. Jaejoong noticed.
“You want to try some? This is the best food to eat at this time. It’s a late, late second dinner,” he grinned.
“What is it?” Yunho took another step closer to the counter.
“We call it ‘cereal’. You mix in milk and eat it. Best food in the world. This one is my favorite,” Jaejoong began to explain as he prepared a bowl for Yunho. “There are a lot of different types of cereal. This one is called ‘Cocoa Puffs’.”
“‘Cocoa…Puffs’?” Yunho tried to pronounce.
“No, no, you have to say it like me. ‘Cocoa Puffs’,” Jaejoong repeated, puffing his cheeks as he said the second word in the name.
Yunho found it childish and embarrassing. Puffing his cheeks for the sake of a food’s name? Yunho would never have done that in the past, but he felt like he was obligated to follow Jaejoong’s orders. The guilt of making Jaejoong angrily stomp out of Junsu’s house was still there.
“‘Cocoa Puffs’,” Yunho repeated, attempting to puff his cheeks this time. It wasn’t easy.
“Close enough. You just need to practice,” Jaejoong smiled as he slid the bowl across the counter. “Here, try it.”
“Thank you,” he bowed his head and accepted the meal. The first bite tasted foreign and weird. As a matter of fact, he did not want a second bite. Yunho did not like stepping out of his comfort zone and accepting change (or anything new). But the hopeful look Jaejoong was giving him made Yunho take a second bite.
The second bite was better. The third bite even better.
It certainly must be because Yunho was getting used to the taste. It certainly wasn’t because he was staring at Jaejoong’s smile as he took every bite.
◙◙◙◙◙
Junsu was staring for three seconds too long and with too much twinkling in his eyes when Yoochun walked out of his room, looking suave in a tuxedo. Changmin noticed.
“Wow, you look good!” Junsu complimented as he jumped up from his seat to stand next to Yoochun. Something about the way Junsu was standing bothered Changmin.
Junsu had his hands behind his back, his chest thrust forward as if to expose his heart and his legs…one was straight while the other bent (one foot flat on the ground while the other balanced on his toes). He looked like one of those school girls who were trying to impress their crush. Changmin noticed.
Jaejoong noticed to, but he obviously didn’t see the underlying reason for Junsu’s actions. “For some reason, I’m picturing Su-ie in a school girl uniform when he stands like that,” Jaejoong whispered to Changmin.
Changmin rolled his eyes.
“Okay, let’s get going!” Junsu announced.
He, Changmin and Yoochun headed off to Kim Kibum’s estate while Jaejoong and Yunho stayed home. As promised, Yoochun was to report to work in a week.
“We’re here to see Mr. Kim,” Junsu told the butler.
“This way, please,” the old man guided. They were led into a beautiful mansion with high quality designs and decoration.
Junsu’s eyes were glowing as his eyes wandered. Changmin sighed with a smile, ready to tug at Junsu’s arm to return him to reality (because this was something that Changmin was used to doing: snapping Junsu out of his day dreams). But this time, before Changmin could tug, Yoochun had already done it in his place.
“Nice to see you again,” the familiar voice greeted them. Standing in the living room, the three men raised their head to see the owner of the mansion walk down the stairs.
They shared formal greetings and the butler soon left them alone in the living room.
“Um…is it okay if Yoochun tours your house, just to familiarize Yoochun with it in order to better protect you?” Junsu requested. He’s taught Yoochun plenty about modern technology in the house, but he was sure that Kim Kibum’s mansion would consist of things that Junsu’s house did not have (meaning Yoochun would not know what it was).
“Feel free,” Kibum replied.
“Uh…I’ll go with him,” Junsu added as he grabbed Yoochun’s hand and led him away from the living room.
Kibum watched them leave and when they were out of sight, he turned his attention to the remaining man in the living room. That remaining man was giving him an amused look.
“Care for a drink?” Kibum offered.
“Care to feed my curiosity?” Changmin inquired.
“Curiosity killed the cat.”
“I’m not a cat,” Changmin retorted. He was amused. “I’m rather interested in why you would set up the scene in the parking lot.”
“Scene?” Kibum played stupid.
“Not many people know the face that goes with your famous name. The chances of someone knowing what you look like and attempting to kidnap you is…slim.”
“Slim doesn’t mean impossible.”
“Is that your way of admitting that you’d set it up?” Changmin raised an eyebrow.
“I’m admitting to nothing,” Kibum replied with a polite smile, amused that this man had seen through his setup.
“You don’t have to voice your admission. Your smile says it all.”
“A smile is too easily faked to be considered evidence.”
“You’d set up the kidnapping to acquire our attention. The events that followed were enough to give you an excuse to hire Yoochun. I’m sure you’d heard enough of our conversation in the restaurant to know that Junsu is enticed by money and Yoochun may be from the ancient past.”
“Are you accusing me of eavesdropping, Mr. Shim?” he dared with a charming smile.
“I’m accusing you of many things.”
“Yet I won’t be admitting to any of it.”
“You didn’t offer to shake Yoochun’s hand when you introduced yourself to him. I’m sure you knew that he would only stare at your hand in confusion, which is why you avoided the common gesture. You believe he’s from the past and you’re interested. Searching for a guinea pig for your latest experiment?”
Kibum released a sarcastic chuckle and turned his eyes away from Changmin. The man annoyed him, yet amused him at the same time.
“Oh my God, this place is so amazing!” Junsu’s shouting interrupted the conversation. He was jumping up and down with excitement while Yoochun followed calmly behind him. When the giddy man began to run down the stairs, his excitement got the best of him and he tripped.
Changmin jumped up from his seat in fear. Kibum’s head rose in shock. Junsu gasped and covered his face with both hands, bracing himself for the fall. Yoochun easily leapt to wrap an arm around Junsu’s waist to prevent him from falling.
They stood in the middle of the stairs, Yoochun’s arm around Junsu’s waist. Junsu had lowered his hands to cover half of his face while his eyes were free to look into Yoochun’s eyes.
Changmin released one of his fake coughs and Yoochun immediately released Junsu. Standing on his own feet and a good distance away from Yoochun, Junsu murmured, “Thank you.”
Yoochun nodded in acknowledgement. Changmin was frowning. Kibum noticed.