| Fan Fiction |
by Micah
Se7en nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt the hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see that it was Changmin.
“Don’t do that!” he exclaimed, in his own voice.
“Your voice…” Changmin began.
“What about it?”
Changmin decided that there were more important matters at hand. He held up the folder in his right hand. “Look at this! I have all the information! Your name isn’t Micky. It’s Park Se7en! You’re not an employee at the college, you’re a student! You’re not Junsu’s Micky! Ha!”
Se7en blinked. “Your point?”
Changmin was confused. Wasn’t Se7en scared that Changmin had uncovered his secret?
“You’re not Micky,” Changmin repeated, looking lost.
Se7en took the folder and flipped through it. “Man, you disappeared all these days to go dig up my profile?”
“Um…yes?” the taller man paused. “And I sort of had to stay away from you.”
“Why?”
“Just in case the information came out with you really being Micky.”
“And?”
“And I actually can’t be with you because ‘Micky’ is my best friend’s love interest,” Changmin looked down shyly.
Se7en smiled a little, “What makes you think I’ll be with you even if I’m not Micky?”
Changmin’s head shot up. “Well, I…um…I mean…”
Se7en sighed and closed the folder. “Do you know what’s been going on in the past days?”
“No, not really. I stayed away from Junsu, which includes staying away from Yunho, because Junsu is angry at me and I stayed away from you because…”
“Junsu already knew. Everyone knows. I’m not Micky. My brother is.”
“Junsu already knew?”
“I thought you were smart, Doctor Shim,” Se7en drawled.
“Book smart doesn’t mean love smart. Love is a pain in the ass for the reason that it blinds even the smartest mind.”
“Good point. As much as I’d like to stand here to debate with you, I need to rush home. My brother’s heart is still broken…even though he acts like nothing is wrong.”
“Wait, what happened while I was busy digging up stuff at your college?”
Se7en sighed and explained.
Three minutes later…
“Wow,” Changmin was awed by the ending. “So Junsu…”
“He’s a shallow and a big phony. He’s never going to find someone who’ll love him as much as my brother did…does…did. Whatever.”
‘Does’ means Yoochun still loves Junsu.
‘Did’ means Yoochun loved Junsu in the past, but not in the present and probably won’t be loving him in the future.
“‘Does,’” Changmin decided. “You really can’t believe that your brother is no longer in love with him.”
“I know, but I can’t understand why.”
“Love can’t be explained. And you have to understand, Junsu grew up in a surrounding where looks is everything. He entered the business world at an early age. In the industry, the dependent on a person’s façade is even more extreme. It’s almost as bad as the entertainment industry!”
Se7en sighed, “But…”
“And you grew up different. You grew up with your brother, you’ve seen him hurt,” Changmin explained.
“You’re telling me to put myself in his shoes.”
“People try to put themselves in other people’s shoes. It works sometimes, but it doesn’t work all the time. No matter how much you try, if you’ve never experienced what that person has then you won’t ever, truly know.”
“Then what do we do? Do I keep watching my brother hurt? If he doesn’t fall out of love with Kim Junsu then he’s just going to keep hurting. Maybe hyung and I should kidnap Jaejoong and move out of Seoul…”
“No!” Changmin immediately protested. He didn’t like the thought of never seeing Se7en again. “I mean…um…let’s call Yunho and Jaejoong out to talk about this. It’s lunch time.”
Se7en checked the time on his watch. With a sly smile, he asked, “Are you treating?”
“Only you.”
Se7en grinned. “Okay. Let’s go to ‘Timeless’ to eat. I’m craving salad.”
■■■■■
“If we don’t die from him secretly poisoning us, we’re going to die from ‘mad cow disease’.”
“What?”
“We’re eating steak every day! The cows are going to get mad at us and kill us in our dreams!”
Se7en tried to shove Jaejoong off the chair for being weird. Yunho reached out to catch Jaejoong (although it really wasn’t necessary). The three were sitting at an outside café with Changmin.
“He’s been feeding the both of you steaks for the past days?” Yunho observed.
“Every meal,” Se7en shuddered at the thought. “I like meat, but I think I’m starting to miss my veggies.”
“It’s a process,” Jaejoong murmured, almost like he was telling a scary story around a campfire. “In the first stage, he acts like nothing is wrong. As days pass, he starts to unconsciously do things that show that he still cares. That would be the second stage.”
“What’s the third?” Changmin wondered.
“I don’t know. Everyone is different. He could go crazy or fall into depression. Or maybe he’ll realize that Kim Junsu isn’t worth it and really, finally let go.”
“Is Junsu going through that process too? He’s been hiding in his room for the past days,” Yunho questioned.
“I hope he cracks and his head explodes,” Se7en mumbled with vengeance in his eyes.
“Too bad that’s against the law of science,” Jaejoong sighed.
Yunho and Changmin exchanged glances.
“How do you know all this?” The two tallest men were looking at Jaejoong with curious eyes.
“I’m a psychiatrist. Want a copy of my business card?”
“No, thanks,” Changmin refused.
“I should take one for Junsu,” Yunho suggested, wondering if Jaejoong (being weird like he is) would have his cell phone number on the business card.
“No, I might make him crazy on purpose.”
“There’s no need. He’s crazy enough,” Changmin pointed out.
“He’s not crazy, just shallow and stupid,” Se7en somewhat defended.
“Why are we spending our time talking about this? Love isn’t the only thing in this world, you know? Yoochun will get through this. He’s not hurting as much as we think,” Jaejoong lectured.
“But you made it sound so dramatic! And what about those three stages?” Changmin exclaimed.
“I never said I was a good psychiatrist.”
“That’s true. My brother is stronger than that. Don’t underestimate him,” Se7en added.
“So there really is nothing we can do?” Yunho wondered. “We’re just talking about this because there’s nothing else to talk about?”
Jaejoong suddenly snapped his finger. “Well, if you insist on doing something to help them, then I have a plan.”
■■■■■
Yoochun was sitting in the quiet living room. He was analyzing a page in the newspaper, a marker in his hands. He was supposed to be putting an ‘X’ over job ads that he wouldn’t apply for and circling an ‘O’ around job ads that he would apply for. Yet he was doing the complete opposite.
Unable to concentrate, he dropped the marker and leaned back into the comfy sofa. He closed his eyes and wondered if he should take a nap.
He tried. He failed. Who would be able to nap at this time of the day?
So Yoochun stood up and walked into the kitchen. He’d bake. Se7en would love Tiramisu. That’s what Yoochun will bake.
He went through the drawers and finally found the apron. He was about to put it on when he saw the words sewn on it: ‘Look on the bright side.’
[F.l.a.s.h.b.a.c.k]
“You have no idea what ‘happy’ is.”
“I suppose you do?” Yoochun countered. Mr. Kim remained silent so the skinnier man continued, “I know you’ve been unhappy about losing your sight, but can’t you look on the bright side?”
“‘Look on the bright side’?” his employer cocked a sarcastic eyebrow as he turned towards Yoochun’s voice.
[E.n.d.F.l.a.s.h.b.a.c.k]