| Fan Fiction |
by Micah
“I lied. I’m still in love with you. I have yet to figure out why.”
Junsu looked down at his walking feet and tried to figure out what to say. “Love can’t be explained.”
“Along with a lot of other things,” Yoochun sighed. Like why appearances were so important to some people.
The sound of laughing children in the park caught their attention and Junsu finally realized that they were in the middle of a crowded park. Junsu saw people staring.
Yoochun didn’t seem to care. He just kept strolling, smiling at everyone in his path. Some returned his smile with their own genuine smile, some were giving off an uncomfortable smile (either caused by pity or the guilt of being superficial, Junsu could not tell), some just didn’t smile at all as they took their children and walked towards the opposite direction.
Junsu felt that familiar mixture of fear, guilt, and shallowness creep into his mind. That was when Yoochun suddenly held his hand.
Junsu’s body tensed, jaw dropped and he looked down at their connected hands. Then he looked back up at Yoochun who was looking ahead, continuing to walk with casual, relaxing strides.
But Junsu knew. Junsu knew. Yoochun was acting casual and calm, but he was waiting for Junsu to fling his hand away. He was freaking out on the inside, but he looked so calm and collected on the outside.
Junsu wanted to slap himself for even thinking about pulling his hand away. But he took in a deep breath and told himself that True Love was more important than other people’s views.
“It’s okay. It takes time. I’ll be happy as long as you’re willing to give us a chance, no matter how long it takes,” Yoochun murmured softly. He was about to release Junsu’s hand.
Junsu allowed Yoochun’s fingers to slip away and he suddenly felt empty. Since when did such a simple gesture mean so much to Kim Junsu?
“I’m such an idiot. I have my sight back, but I’m still so blind,” Junsu scoffed bitterly. Then, in a promising tone, he tried to assure Yoochun, “I’ll try not to take too long. I promise. I’ll try.”
Yoochun stopped walking and turned to look at him. “Thank you,” he smiled softly.
“No, I should thank you for coming to find me. I’m such a coward and I would have wasted more time than…”
“It’s okay,” Yoochun’s smile turned into a grin. Kim Junsu had just admitted to being a ‘coward’. That didn’t happen often…or perhaps, at all; just like how he didn’t like to apologize.
“Is everything always ‘okay’ for you?” Junsu tilted his head. Yoochun thought the gesture was cute, but Junsu probably wouldn’t want to know.
“My Umma said that ‘Life is too short for regrets.’ She was the one who taught me to always ‘Look on the bright side.’ If I repeat it to myself enough then all difficult situations eventually seem ‘okay,’” Yoochun paused as he eyed an elderly couple from afar who was walking pass them. The husband was staring at Yoochun’s scar while his wife hit him over the head and told him not to be mean.
“So that’s where ‘Look on the bright side’ came from,” Junsu murmured.
“Yeah, it’s all Umma’s fault,” Yoochun smiled warmly at the remembrance of his mother. Then the smile faded (much to Junsu’s disappointment) and Yoochun’s expression grew serious, “No one can guarantee that we’re meant for each other or that we’re going to grow old together like that couple, but at this point in our lives, we’re obviously in love with each other. I want to give a relationship a try even if there is no guarantee of a ‘happily-ever-after’. At least if I try, then I won’t regret.”
“You really think we might not be meant for each other, that we’ll break up one day?” Junsu had to ask.
“Everyone steps into a relationship thinking that it’s their ‘forever,’ but there is no guarantee. Two people can really love each other, but other factors can pull them apart.”
“Unfortunately so,” Junsu sighed at the truth of Yoochun’s words.
“So let’s see how long we’ll last. Starting now, we’re an official couple, at exactly…” Yoochun glanced at his watch, “…4:40 p.m.”
Junsu glanced at his own watch, and then he looked at Yoochun with a smile, “Okay.”
“Want to keep walking? Or you could go home and rest. You look like you haven’t been sleeping well. I wouldn’t want you to pass out.”
Junsu looked around them. There were still people staring. Junsu repeated, ‘Look on the bright side’ and ‘Life is too short for regrets,’ to himself. Then he answered, “Let’s keep walking.”
Yoochun grinned happily. He tried really hard not to burst into a jump of excitement. “Okay! There’s a guy who sells ice cream on the other side of the park. Let’s go!”
Yoochun began to run and Junsu tried to catch up, “I thought you said we were walking, not running!”
“If all the ice cream is sold out, you’ll regret that we were ‘walking’ instead of ‘running’!” Yoochun laughed.
“Wait for me! I can’t catch up with you if I haven’t been sleeping well!”
“That’s a lame excuse! Come on!” Yoochun mocked as he tried to remember what type of ice cream Junsu liked the most.
Then Junsu’s phone rang. Junsu stopped running to answer the call.
Yoochun left him to stand at the beautiful water fountain. Junsu found himself pouting because Yoochun had abandoned Junsu for ice cream, but enjoyed watching Yoochun run to the ice cream man.
“This better be good,” Junsu grumbled into the phone, needing to throw a tantrum at the caller for interrupting such a sweet moment.
“Junsu! I’m outside your house right now! Come out so I can drive you to Yoochun!” Yunho’s frantic voice came from the other end of the line.
“Drive me to Yoochun?” Junsu questioned. His eyes were watching Yoochun pay for two ice cream cones. He was only several feet away.
“Yes! He’s been in an accident up in the mountains! He’s almost dying! You have to get there, quickly!”
Junsu’s eyebrow rose. He was pretty sure that the Yoochun who was running towards him was very much alive.
■■■■■
“Hmm, of course, Jaejoong and his ‘amazing’ plans again,” Yoochun rolled his eyes as he scoffed.
“We were just trying to help!” Jaejoong exclaimed. He, Yunho, Yoochun, and Junsu were sitting in Junsu’s living room.
“By faking my death?” Yoochun raised an eyebrow.
“‘Near death,’” Jaejoong corrected. “You weren’t really going to die.”
“Did you copy this idea from a movie?” Junsu spoke.
“Am I going to get sued for copyright?” Jaejoong retorted. It was a rhetorical question so Junsu didn’t answer. He just chuckled.
“I knew we were missing a step,” Yunho rubbed his chin.
“What step?” Jaejoong questioned.
“I should have been required to wait for your call and know that you’ve got Yoochun drugged and unconscious before I go find Junsu,” Yunho realized.
Jaejoong snapped his finger, “Yes! That would have made my plan perfect! But we went by time instead! Oh, such a horrible flaw!”
“You’re so dramatic,” Yoochun grumbled.
“I was flipping out trying to find you before 4:50 because that was the exact time that Yunho was supposed to go get Junsu!” Jaejoong explained. “I got to your house at 4:45, which was the exact time that I was supposed to have found you and drugged you.”
“You make it sound so illegal,” Yoochun frowned.
“I was just going to give you sleeping pills. But anyway, I was supposed to send you to dreamland and then carry you into my car. Then I was supposed to drive you up the mountain. My perfect plan went down the hill because you weren’t at home and I spent fifteen minutes just trying to find you!” the pretty man rambled. “I thought you had gone to do something stupid because you were so depressed so I lost track of time and went crazy just trying to find you! Aren’t I just the sweetest best friend?”
“You’re the most talkative best friend,” Yoochun drawled sarcastically. Junsu was laughing lightly while Yunho had been enjoying the sound of Jaejoong’s voice.
“I try,” Jaejoong shrugged cutely.
“You two have both been cooped up in your homes for the past days so we assumed that we’d be able to find you there. I guess our assumptions were wrong and we didn’t expect you two to go find each other,” Yunho explained further.
“Yoochun went to find me,” Junsu corrected, sending a gratifying smile towards Yoochun. Yunho and Jaejoong didn’t miss that interaction.
“So you hit the third stage and did what I expected you to do,” Jaejoong hugged Yoochun like a proud mother would hug her child.
“Third stage?” Yoochun was confused.
“Wait, didn’t you say that when Yoochun hits the third stage, he’d either fall into depression, go crazy, or finally realize that he doesn’t love Junsu?” Yunho reminded.
“Go crazy?” Yoochun raised an eyebrow at Jaejoong.
“Finally realize that he doesn’t love me?” Junsu gave Jaejoong an amused glance.
“In his third stage, he did what you DIDN’T expect him to do,” Yunho pointed out innocently.
“That’s enough from you, Cutie!” Jaejoong glared at him. Yunho grinned because Jaejoong had called him ‘Cutie’.
“So what did you expect to happen if your ‘perfect’ plan went through?” Yoochun wondered.
“Oh, he was supposed to see you all bloody and in the middle of the road. Then he’s supposed to hold you and confess his love for you…” Jaejoong answered.
“But how would I know if he’d confessed? I’d have been sleeping because of your drugs,” Yoochun pointed out another flaw. Jaejoong obviously didn’t like that.