| Fan Fiction |
by Take_Flight
Changmin walked over to Nadine’s room only to find that it was empty. “Hmm…” he mused as he walked down the stairs and noted that the house was surprisingly quiet. And the patio glass door was still closed which mean Nadine was not at the backyard. The things in the kitchen did not look as if it’s been used and so was the living room.
“Nadine!” Changmin called out, trying not to freak out at the same time. Where was she?
Changmin then heard a noise coming from the end of the hallway, where the library was. He walked quickly to the room but there was no one there but the hairs on the back of his neck stood up when he saw the door to his office was wide opened. “Oh no she didn’t---“ Changmin hurriedly went to see what Nadine was up to when he heard her laughing to herself from inside. He paused a few feet away from the doorway and decided to take a peek of what she was doing.
Changmin swallowed hard as he leaned in and then saw Nadine sitting behind his study desk and flipping through an old brown A3 sized book. “Crap! My sketchbook!” he muttered under his breath. Changmin stood up straight and felt his face burning with embarrassment. Ever since he had met Nadine, he was slowly getting interested in the Arts. He wanted to know why Nadine had find it so fascinating and decided to find out his inner Picasso or Van Gogh. If he ever had one. Nadine had told him before that anyone and everyone can draw.
“When you take a pencil and simply draw a line on a piece of paper, you’ve already drawn something” Nadine had said.
So Changmin, ever the ambitious one, decided to give it a try. And it was not that easy. He had managed to dig out his school’s art supplies and got to work. He even bought books on the basic techniques on sketching and water color painting. And soon, his inner artist came out of nowhere, but he did not tell Nadine about this though. For most of the pictures he had sketched out were mainly pictures of her. And if he did tell Nadine about it, then she would want to see his works and there’s no way he’s going to show it to her. But somehow Nadine herself had managed to get into his office and found his sketchbook.
Changmin took a deep breath and told himself that he need not have to be afraid about it. Sure his sketches may seem a bit too amateurish, but he wasn’t born to be an artist right? He wrung his arms, suddenly feeling oddly nervous. He took a few deep breaths and then casually stepped into the room. Nadine looked up in surprised and then quickly got up. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry, I didn’t meant to just barge in—
“Nah it’s ok” Changmin assured her, although his insides were feeling like jelly. He stole a glance at the sketchbook lying opened. It was a page where he had drawn a crushed Coke can but the pages before that had drawings of Nadine’s self portrait on it, which means she had already seen it.
“I shouldn’t been here in the first place. I’m…I’m really sorry” Nadine stammered as she hastily closed the sketchbook and wanted to leave the room but Changmin stopped her.
“T..The door was not locked and I…I sort of…wanted to know what’s in here” Nadine muttered, her face turning a slight shade of red. “I’m really—
“Was my work any good?” Changmin asked her instead. Nadine stopped talking and raised her eyebrows at him. “W..What?”
Changmin picked up the sketchbook and handed it to her. “Was I any good?” he asked her again. Nadine took the sketchbook from him and gulped nervously. “Um..t..there’s still…room for improvement?” she said, fingering the edges of the book.
Changmin chuckled when he heard that. “I see—
“I should go upstairs. And…change” Nadine suddenly said as she placed the book back on the table.
“Wait! Nadine!” Changmin called out as he followed her out of the room. He managed to grab onto her arm before she got to the stairs. “What’s wrong?”
“N..Nothing’s wrong. I just feel…like I’ve just intruded your private property—
“Well, yeah. You just did that” Changmin cut in and Nadine pressed her lips together. Changmin thought he saw a streak of fear in her eyes. “And I’m not angry you managed to find out about it”
“Y..You’re not?” Nadine asked, her eyebrows knotting in confusion.
Changmin shook his head. “Nope” he assured her. “Look, why don’t you go on upstairs, have a nice long shower and then we can have dinner together. I’ll cook your favorite beef udon? How does that sound?”
Nadine considered his suggestion and then nodded hesitantly. “S..Sure” she said. “Can I go now?”
Changmin released his grip and Nadine fleeted up the stairs. He saw her giving a nervous back glance at him and then she quickened her pace and ran straight to her room. Changmin scratched the back of his head, feeling guilty that he was scaring her a bit. He didn’t mean to do that.
Changmin went back to his office and headed behind his desk. He pulled out the second drawer and found only some loose bits of paper, much to his relief. He then attempted to open the first drawer and was more than relief to find that it was locked. He had thought he had forgotten to lock that particular drawer.
Changmin got up and went to the bookshelf at the other side of the room where he had placed the key underneath a stack of files. He picked up the key and unlocked the drawer. After pulling the drawer out, he stared at the file sitting inside it. Yunho had gotten it for him, from the police. And Changmin had gone through the file a few times. And at times, he was torn with feeling sorry and mad towards Kim Jaejoong. The file was meant to be confidential but Yunho had somehow discussed things with the authorities. After all, the mystery still hangs in the air, like the undead, as to why Jaejoong suddenly acted that way. Well, Changmin already knew why but Nadine still has no idea about it. And she deserves the right to know. Only not tonight.
Nadine came down to join Changmin in the kitchen and he could sense that she was still tensed about the earlier incident. “Hey I have a question for you” Changmin spoke up. Nadine sat gingerly on the barstool and leaned against the island counter, waiting for Changmin to ask her.
“How….did you manage to not get the cast and the stitch wet? During your shower?” Changmin wanted to know. To his relief, Nadine giggled to herself when she heard his question. “Jung-Ah taught me how to prevent it from getting wet. Just place a plastic bag over the cast and as for the hair, I just try not to get the stitch get wet. But it’s a bit troublesome because of the hair. I’m thinking of cutting it short”
“Short? But why? I like it long” Changmin admitted. He stole a glance at Nadine who was watching him and he felt his face getting warm. “W…What? I…kind of like it t..that way” he stammered, turning to go to the sink. “But you can cut it if you want. I don’t mind” he added as he washed his hands. He then heard Nadine laughing softly behind him.
“So uhh…those drawings that you did…” Nadine trailed off, as she tugged on the sleeves of her shirt. Changmin turned to her. “What about it?” he asked her.
“Nice work” Nadine told him. “Why didn’t you show me?”
Changmin shrugged and went to check on the curry simmering in the pot. “I just…didn’t want to” he mumbled.
“But why?” Nadine pressed him and he immediately picked up the delight tone in her voice. Changmin turned to face her and he saw her grin disappearing quickly.
“I wasn’t ready yet…to show my…hidden talent” Changmin explained as he leaned on the counter so that he was leveled with Nadine’s eyes.
Nadine raised her eyebrows at him. “Those sketches, some of them were amazing. You got the right shadow and captured the light….except the one on page seven”
Changmin frowned slightly. “What’s on page seven? You can remember what’s on that page?”
“I have a photographic memory” Nadine replied. “The one on page seven was a picture of me, sitting in the studio, looking at this finger” she said holding up her right index finger. “The time where I had those paper cuts?”
Changmin smiled nervously and ran his fingers through his hair. “I….” he started out but then nothing came to his mind.
“You drew my arms a bit too long and I don’t have a flat nose” Nadine continued.
“Well…I…I was just starting out during that time so the drawing’s a bit off” Changmin said. “Let’s go eat now ok?” he said quickly as he switched off the stove and hurriedly grabbed two bowls but one of them slipped from his hand and fell to the floor with a loud clatter.
“Woah! You ok?” Nadine asked, getting up but Changmin stopped her. “I’m fine! Really fine” he told her as he placed the dirty bowl into the sink and got out a clean one.
“You got the apple juice right?” Nadine asked as she went over to open the fridge.
“Yeah” Changmin said, scooping up the thick sauce into the bowls together with the udon.
Nadine poured the apple juice for the both of them and joined Changmin at the dining table. Changmin watched as she slowly ate her dinner, having a slight difficulty with the noodles which kept slipping from her fork, but he relaxed a little after seeing her eating with ease.
“I still want to talk about those drawings” Nadine suddenly spoke up. Changmin coughed a little when she said that and gulped down his juice. Nadine giggled and put her fork down. “Why are you nervous about it?” she asked him.
“I’m not nervous” Changmin told her and Nadine rolled her eyes. Changmin shrugged as he took another sip of the juice. “I wanted to show the sketches too you know. I was finding the right time for it but then I didn’t have the guts to do it”
“How come?”
“B..Because I was embarrassed you will laugh at the drawings?” Changmin said, poking his food.
“Hmm…” Nadine mused. “Yeah. I actually did laugh a little” she told him and Changmin gave her a deadpanned look.
“I wasn’t laughing because your sketches look funny or hilarious. I was amazed by the talent that you had!” Nadine said with a grin. “You really should feel proud about them!”
“Well, I kinda do. I like the picture of the Coke can. I think that’s my best work on still life drawings so far” Changmin admitted sheepishly.
Nadine nodded. “It is! And I’m proud of you” she said, getting back to her dinner.
“And?” Changmin prompted her. Nadine glanced at him. “And what?” she asked him.
“Aren’t you going to ask about the….other drawings?” Changmin wondered. He saw Nadine turning a slight shade of pink as she picked up the glass and sipped her juice.
“I drew you because you were my inspiration” Changmin blurted and this time it was Nadine’s turn to choke on her drink. She placed the glass on the table and wiped her mouth with the napkin Changmin handed her.
“I was your inspiration?” Nadine questioned him leaning back on her chair. Changmin nodded.
“How?” Nadine wanted to know.
“Your drive to pursue your dreams in life” Changmin explained. “I saw it in you on the first day we met”
“At the coffee house?”
Changmin nodded again. “Yeap. I was…attracted by the way you wanted to fulfill the students’ dream. The way you talk, and the way you laid down your ideas…I was really impressed by it. You didn’t see it, but you were completely on the roll on that day” he added. When Nadine didn’t say anything, Changmin turned his attention to his dinner but got a surprise when Nadine leaned over and kissed his cheek. Nadine got back to her food while Changmin stared at her for a whole minute.
“Your food’s going to get cold if you keep doing that” Nadine told him.
Changmin hid a smile as he finished off his food, secretly liking that moment. They did not talk after that as they finished their food. The silence was very comforting somehow.
Nadine was helping Changmin wiped the bowls and utensils when the doorbell rang. Both of them looked at each other, wondering who it could be at this hour. “I’ll go see who it is at the front” Changmin told her as he dried his hands.
Changmin stepped out of the house and went to the front gate, and was surprise to find Henry standing there, all bundled up in a tweed jacket and bright red scarf. “H..Hey” Henry greeted him with a hesitant smile.
“Hi” Changmin returned back, unsure of the guy’s presence. “Is there anything I can do for you?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.
“Umm….I got something for Nadine” Henry said, holding up a brown paper bag. “It’s Pop Tarts”
“Pop Tarts? Whatever—“ Changmin started to ask but was interrupted by Nadine who had overheard what Henry had said.
“Oh my gosh! You got them?!” Nadine squealed, standing beside Changmin and peering at the contents of the box. Changmin took a peek as well and saw two boxes of it. He then stole a glance at Henry who was beaming like a little boy in Christmas morning.
“I can’t believe them you got them! That was real quick!” Nadine was still gushing as she took out one box and grinned from ear to ear. “I should pay you back for it! How much was—
“Nah it’s nothing. Considered it as a gift” Henry cut in.
“Oh come on! That won’t be right. You went through all the trouble just to get these and I have to pay you for that” Nadine told him.
“No seriously. You don’t have to—“ Henry began but this time it was Changmin’s turn to interrupt them.
“Why don’t you come inside” Changmin suggested and Henry turned to him in surprise. “Since you’ve helped Nadine in getting …these Pop Tarts, why don’t you come inside….for some coffee?”
“Well…” Henry said with a hesitant look but Nadine agreed to the idea. “And besides, it’s freezing out here. Why don’t you just come in for a while?” she said.
Henry agreed to come in as well but Changmin can’t help but feeling like an outsider as the two of them chattered about the Pop Tarts. Apparently, the two flavors that Henry had got were considered to be the ‘limited edition’ versions.
“Limited editions?” Changmin repeated, placing three mugs on the island counter. He didn’t know that such junk foods could have different editions. He only thought it was applicable to toys, CDs or what have you.
Henry sat on the barstool and nodded. “It’s not really easy getting them in Korea” he said.
Nadine held out one box to Changmin and he took it from her. “Dulce de Leche is MY all time favorite flavor back home. The taste of toasted caramel is just heaven!” she explained and then took out the second box.
“Let me guess, Orange Cream is your second favorite?” Changmin said, reading from the box.
“No, it’s for you” Nadine told him and Changmin was startled to hear that. “F..For me?” he asked.
Nadine nodded with a smile. “I thought you might like it. But if it’s not to your liking, you can have mine” she said. Changmin glanced over at her and he thought he saw something in her eyes but Nadine quickly looked away and started talking to Henry. Changmin went back to making coffee for the three of them.
“You have no idea how ecstatic I am about these babies!” Nadine gushed.
Henry laughed. “Nadine, they’re just….Pop Tarts. Junk foods?” he pointed out and Changmin had to agree with him on that.
“They’re not JUNK” Nadine retorted. “They’re like one of the joyful things in life that I am always looking forward to” she said with a gleeful smile.
“And they make you high” Henry joked and Changmin’s eyes flickered over to him as he poured the coffee into the three mugs but Henry smoothly added in “Seriously Nadine, too much sugar can lead you to diabetes!”
Changmin sat down beside Nadine who did not notice the cover up and was still into her ‘babies’. He somehow did saw the slight discomfort on Henry’s face.
“So is Chloe going to get the Gingerbread flavor?” Nadine was asking as she stirred her coffee.
“Of course she does! She’ll normally order it every Christmas. She said it won’t be Christmas without them” Henry replied.
“Who’s Chloe?” Changmin wanted to know and they both turned to him as if they just realized that he was there.
“She’s my fiancée” Henry spoke and it took Changmin a while to register what he had just heard.
“Chloe was the one who was helping me get the Pop Tarts. Before she left for the States last Tuesday, the both of us were talking about it and then she told me she could get them for me if they were in stock” Nadine explained.
“And I received them in the mail today and decided to bring it over here” Henry continued.
“Oh…” Changmin managed to say. “That’s very nice of her”
“She personally wanted to come down and give this to Nadine but knowing that Nadine couldn’t wait to feast on them, she just mailed them over” Henry said and Nadine laughed. “I am not THAT impatient. A couple days of waiting wouldn’t hurt” she defended herself.
Henry waved off her comment as he drank his coffee. “So when is Chloe’s coming back? Maybe the four of us should have dinner together” Changmin suggested and Nadine looked surprise when she heard that.
“She’s coming back next Wednesday afternoon” Henry told him.
“Hmm..how about dinner on Friday night then? That would give her enough time to get rid of the jet lag and rest right?” Changmin asked and to his surprise Nadine and Henry laughed when they heard him say that.
“That girl doesn’t know what rest means. It doesn’t exist in her dictionary” Henry explained. “Yeah, she’s always on the prowl. Always waiting for the next adventure” Nadine added on. “I still can’t believe she got to do the photoshoot!”
“Photoshoot?” Changmin wondered. “She’s a model?”
“A photographer. She’s just an intern but she got her first gig helping out a photoshoot in the Florida!” Nadine said, her face beaming. “Isn’t that cool or what!”
“Aaah. I see. That’s…cool” Changmin managed to say now finally realizing the bigger picture.
Henry drained the last of his coffee and then told them he should be heading back. “It was nice of you to invite me in” he said as he stood up.
“It’s nothing” Changmin told him as they walked slowly to the front gate. Nadine had stayed in the kitchen to wash the dirty cups.
“I’m sorry about what I said just now. About getting ‘high’ on those Pop Tarts” Henry suddenly said as he stopped walked. Changmin faced him with an unsure expression. “You’ll probably think that Nadine might get offended with that word since, well, it kind of associates itself with the…drugs” Henry tried to explain.
“Oh…yeah” Changmin mumbled. He scratched the back of his neck willing himself to say something but nothing came out.
“She’s still struggling you know” Henry continued. “I know” Changmin said. “And I’m doing my best to make her…forget about the whole thing”
“Chloe says Nadine’s extremely lucky to have a guy like you taking care of her. And Nadine does talk a lot about you” Henry added.
“What does she say?” Changmin wanted to know. He had been hearing it from the neighbors about it but he had no idea what Nadine was telling them.
Henry grinned. “Why don’t you ask her instead?” he said. “Don’t worry. She didn’t say anything bad about you”
When Changmin didn’t say anything, Henry simply patted his shoulders and made his way to the front. “So the dinner is still on next Friday? I’ll bring something over as well” he said.
Changmin nodded. “Yeah. See you next week” he said, bidding Henry goodbye and then closing the gate. When he got back to the house, Nadine was lazing on the sofa with a blissful smile on her face and hugging a cushion.
“Those Pop Tarts really changes the mood around don’t they?” Changmin commented joining her.
Nadine shook her head and tilted her head to face him. “Coffee was great” she said instead.
“What do you mean?”
Nadine giggled. “I haven’t had coffee for a long time. Did you realize that? I had to switch to green tea—
“When you fainted at the NAC and the doctor told you to go easy on the caffeine” Changmin continued and Nadine giggled again. “And since then, I didn’t touch coffee at all” she told him.
“No kidding” Changmin said. Nadine nodded. “And when I finally got to drink it tonight, it tasted like heaven!”
Changmin laughed. “Exaggerating much?” he teased and Nadine playfully nudged his leg. They both lapsed into silence just staring at the TV and stereo set in front of them.
“Do you like Henry?” Nadine spoke up, sitting up straighter. Changmin turned to her and saw her looking expectantly at him. “He’s a nice person” he told her.
Nadine gave him a brief smile and rubbed her left hand on the cast. “You can’t wait to get the thing off?” Changmin asked her and Nadine nodded. “They’re going to cut it through right?” she asked.
Changmin reached out to clasp her hand in his. “Don’t worry. I’m going to be there for you” he assured her, giving her hand a squeeze.
Nadine glanced down at his hand on hers. Changmin scooted closer and placed his arms around her and startlingly Nadine shuffled nearer and leaned her head onto his shoulder. They stayed that way for a while until Nadine started coughing suddenly. “Gwenchana?” Changmin asked, holding her by the shoulder.
Nadine took a few deep breaths and nodded. “Y..Yeah. My throat’s just itchy all of a sudden” she gasped.
“You should go take some cough syrup” Changmin advised her as he gently pull ed her up. “Come on. You’re going to take it and then go straight to bed”
Nadine didn’t argue and followed suit. After taking the medicine, she gulped a glass of warm water and Changmin helped her to get to bed. He watched as Nadine fluffed up the pillow and lay down with a contented smile. He placed the thick blanket over her body and she snuggled comfortably in it.
“Hey, what do you normally do while I’m at work? Besides reading or watching TV?” Changmin wanted to know.
Nadine shrugged. “Sleep I guess? Wae?”
“You’re not a prisoner here you know” Changmin pointed out, brushing away a few strands of hair from her face. “If you must know, Ri In has been trying to contact you, but she said she couldn’t get through you. She had to call me the other day asking permission from me if she can take you out for lunch. Imagine that! She thinks I’m locking you up here”
Nadine bit her lower lip and pulled the blanket to her chin. “Sorry” she mumbled.
“You really shouldn’t switch off your phone like that. It’s not fair for your friends who are concern about you and wants to know how you’re doing” Changmin said. “Shutting out the world won’t help”
“I wasn’t…shutting out” Nadine muttered. “I just want to have some…space”
Changmin nodded as he ran his fingers through her hair. “But I kind of miss Ri In” Nadine admitted.
“Call her tomorrow then” Changmin suggested. “I’m sure she will be really happy to finally hear your voice again.
“Ok” Nadine said, and Changmin noticed that her eyelids were about to close but she was fighting the sleep. “You have to work tomorrow?” she asked.
“Of course. But I try not to be home too late” Changmin said, rubbing her shoulder. Nadine nodded and then slowly she drifted off to sleep. Changmin watched her sleeping figure for a while before kissing her forehead and going back to his room. As he was about to drift to sleep, he rolled over and slid opened the drawer beside his bed where Nadine’s diary laid there. He then thought about the file in his office. Nadine was starting to warm up with the whole recuperating process and he hoped when the time comes for him to break the news to her, she won’t go back to shutting the world out. For good.
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undermickysskin : i am getting the goosebumps everytime i read your comments!! you lucky girl! Yoochun actually LOOKED at you. i would have melted on the spot :P and he waved at you~~ ohmeegosh!!!!
CraazyFilipina : henry's a good addition aye? haha :D enjoy this update!