| Fan Fiction |
by W99
“Hell!” he muttered, sitting up and rubbing at his head gingerly. He carefully swung his legs over the side of the bed, taking care not to move too fast. The whole world looked like it was mimicking a merry-go-round going on super speed.
“I thought I heard a noise,” Jiro popped in. “So you’re awake. Just as well. We need to report in two hours time.”
“Is he up already?” Arron’s voice could be heard in the distance.
“Yep, and looking very unhappy too!” Jiro called back.
“Good. It’s the least he deserved, after all the trouble he caused last night,” Arron sounded snippy.
Chun winced. “Could you guys maybe, keep it down a little? My head hurts like the devil!”
Jiro pulled on the superior, it’s-entirely-your-own-fault look he always had when he thought a person had no right to complain. “You shouldn’t have drunk so much last night then,” he said pointedly, leaning against the wall.
Chun groaned again, falling back to the bed in a heap. “Shit. This is the worst hangover I’d ever experienced. Just how much did I drink?”
“A lot.”
“Hey Dong, I’m done! Your turn with the shower!” this time, it was Calvin. From the sound of plates and glasses clinking, Chun deduced he was hanging around in the kitchen. “Chun’s up hey?”
“With a horrible hangover!” Arron sounded a little too happy about it, so Chun rolled over to glare. And since the only person he could see was Jiro, he directed his stare at him.
“What?” Jiro raised an eyebrow. He pushed himself away from the wall and walked over to his wardrobe. “Here. Lun and Cal are loaning mine at the moment as well,” He threw a white tee towards Chun. “Though they keep complaining it’s too loose for them. Is it my fault they’re puny and in sad need of some muscles?”
Chun ignored Jiro’s rambling. “Remind me again, why are we at your place?”
Jiro turned, and there was no mistake the evil look in his eyes. “You’re seriously asking me that?”
Chun looked back up, confused. Last night was hazy at best. The last thing he could remember was a gust of cold air, followed by a chorus of loud noises and intense flashes. Anything after that was a foggy blur to him.
“You mean to tell me you don’t know how much trouble you caused?” Jiro demanded, looking incredulous.
Slowly, Chun shook his head, taking care not to move too much in case his head burst out into another series of painful throbs.
Jiro’s face was a comical mixture of annoyance and disbelief. After a short pause, he retorted, “Well all I can say is, nobody’s going to be very happy with you for a long time, Mr Wu. Especially Calvin. He’s been climbing walls the moment he woke up, trying to figure out a way to explain your conduct to HIM as well as think up a suitable excuse to tell the reporters.”
“Tell him he owes me a lifetime of servitude and deferential bowing and scraping before me!” Calvin called.
“You heard him,” Jiro glanced at Chun. “And on that note, I’ll be heading to the shower. Best get your ass out of MY bed soon,” he turned and left.
Chun slowly wobbled to his feet, reaching out to grab the bed post for support.
“Oh look, it’s the man himself finally up and about,” Arron’s tone dripped sarcasm when Chun made his way towards the dining table.
Chun sighed. Oh great, Arron was in one of his snits.
“Enough Lun,” Calvin said, noticing Chun’s pained expression, but his warning came with a smile to show that he meant it in a good way.
He was the only one who could keep the youngest member in line. For some very odd reason, serious, no-nonsense Arron looked up to playful, lively Calvin, and he seldom contradict what the older guy said.
Arron rolled his eyes, but he gave in to Calvin’s orders and went back to wolfing down his sandwich.
“I take it I did something really wrong?” Chun asked tentatively, accepting the glass of juice Calvin pushed towards him with a grateful nod.
“Darn right you did,” Arron apparently found it hard to keep his mouth shut over this particular topic. “You threw up all over a reporter! It was a sight, I tell you! It would have been really funny if it wasn’t so painfully disgusting.”
Chun blinked. “You’re joking,” he said, a blank look on his face. He couldn’t possibly have done that, could he? He didn’t recall a single millisecond of the incident! He turned towards Calvin for confirmation.
“I can’t believe this! He caused what I can safely say, the biggest uproar of the year and he can’t remember anything!” Calvin’s face mirrored Jiro’s earlier hilarious mix of disbelief and exasperation.
Arron apparently found Calvin’s expression highly amusing for he snorted into his milk, sending up a major coughing fit.
“I’m sorry?” Chun said weakly.
Arron snorted some more, which earned him another coughing fit.
Calvin sighed and stared down at his own plate. “I have no idea what I’m going to tell the media,” he said gloomily. “It sucks to be the spokesperson.”
“Say his cat died and he was mourning over him,” Arron suggested unhelpfully. “I even thought up the perfect name, Fido-Dido.”
Calvin’s face, if possible, pulled out into an even more exasperated expression. “You are so not being useful,” He glared at Arron. He spoke up again after a moment’s deliberation, “And no one in their right minds would ever name their cat Fido-Dido. It sounds ridiculous!”
Arron shrugged. “Well they’re nosy enough to ask for a name. I thought I was being extremely helpful. Or wait! Say it’s a goldfish then. Nobody names their goldfish! We don’t need to rack our brains trying to figure up a name then!” he brightened up at his idea.
“If a pet doesn’t have a name, chances are its death won’t be mourned over,” Calvin’s replied dryly. “Maybe I could say his cousin died from liver cancer?”
“No go,” Arron shook his head. “We used that one with Da Dong a year ago, remember?”
“Oh yeah, so we did. How about this? His aunt suffered a heart attack?”
“No. That was used to explain away my moodiness six months before.”
“Aaargggh, ok. Uncle drowned?”
“Na ah. One of my earlier excuses too.”
“Fine!” Calvin was getting slightly edgy. “We’ll change it to breast cancer then. It sounds too ludicrous to be fake don’t you think? I mean, nobody’s uncle dies from breast cancer! The reporters won’t suspect anything. They’d never dream we’re crazy enough to use this as a cover story!”
Arron descended into another coughing frenzy, occasionally interrupted with gasps of laughter. “You’re getting desperate, aren’t you?” he asked after he had gotten himself under control.
“YES,” Calvin chewed at his lower lip agitatedly.
Chun offered up another apologetic “I’m really sorry.”
Calvin waved his right hand distractedly. “I think I’m really going to go with the breast cancer theory. What do you think?”
Chun shrugged. “Sounds fanciful, but I suppose they might buy it. Only problem is, I only have one uncle. A little research and they can find out that he’s actually alive, kicking and doing very well.”
“We’ll change it to some long-lost uncle then!”
“Only Chun won’t be grieving over him so deeply since he very likely doesn’t even know him that well,” Arron pointed out.
“Or wait! Wait wait wait, I’m being whacked on the head by a big-ass idea right now. Chun was hit with some random stomach virus! Which explains why he couldn’t walk properly and threw up!” Calvin smiled expectantly, looking very pleased with himself.
Arron looked slightly impressed. “Well, it’d sound really good if not for the fact that it doesn’t explain why we were in a pub in the first place. And I’m sure that stupid, tattletale waiter would have testified that he saw Chun drinking his ass off the whole night. Face it, the reporters know for a fact he was staggeringly drunk.”
“I give up!” Calvin slumped on to the table with a loud thump. “Let’s just stick with the Fido-Dido story.”
“I told you it was a good one,” Arron said condescendingly.
Chun looked down at his glass of juice, guilt slowly creeping into his heart, squeezing at it until he felt breathless. He hated that he had caused so much trouble (though he really couldn’t recall a single minute of anything), and he hated that Calvin had to clean up after him.
Calvin felt a certain responsibility towards them, both as the official voice of Fahrenheit, and as a friend. He never really complained when he had to rack his brains trying to do damage-control on any mischief they got themselves into. He just swallowed it all in, flashed his trademark, sunshine-boy smile, and quietly cleared up after them, methodically working through one mess after the next.
They all knew it was difficult being a member of Fahrenheit, but it was especially difficult being Calvin Chen. He had to memorize all their contract and work details and present them up confidently when asked by the media or by their company. He had to keep his cool in any given situation, and act like he was always happy and on top of the world. He wasn’t allowed any weaknesses; his flaws couldn’t exist when he was parading about under the spot light.
It was excruciatingly suffocating to be in Calvin’s shoes, to be the one that guided them all on the correct paths and kept them all in line, to be the one who had to constantly live with the knowledge that every single decision he made was crucial for Fahrenheit as a whole. And the other three understood. So they tried, very very hard indeed, to make up to him in many little ways.
Arron turned into a big baby whenever Calvin appeared within his sight, following him up, down and around like a little puppy. He jokingly threw tiny little tantrums that demanded Calvin’s attention, mischievously teasing and provoking playful, light-hearted fights out of Chun and Jiro so Calvin always had to come in and break them all apart, running to him whenever he felt angry or was upset over something.
In his own unique brand of logic, he was trying to show his support for the older guy, that he valued his presence and guidance above all others, that he knew it was tough playing the role of the intellectual, optimistic voice of the band, and that he understood that sometimes, Calvin needed silly, stupid little distractions to keep him sane and afloat in the sea of immense responsibilities he had to shoulder.
Jiro was more materialistic in his show of comradeship. He frequently bought Calvin little gifts, anything from a tee-shirt that caught his eye, to a packet of Calvin’s favourite gum whenever he happened to be passing by any stall that he saw was selling it.
Chun on the other hand, often dragged him out for long games of basketball or lengthy sessions of jogging or running. It was his own little way of helping his fellow band member de-stress and forget the burdens and responsibilities of life, even if it was only for a measly few hours.
Other than this, the three had no idea how else they could make it up to him. This was all really the only thing they could do, just stand by him and try their best not to attract any extra trouble for Calvin to take on.
Only now, Chun thought bitterly, he had apparently made the mother of all messes and Calvin looked like he was about to tear his hair out in frustration trying to think up a suitable comeback to explain their latest fiasco.
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“I can’t believe this! What on earth were the four of you thinking?”
Arron cringed, staring steadfastly down at the table while Jiro cowered in his seat, pretending he was utterly fascinated with the painting hanging on the opposite wall.
“I’m sorry,” Chun said softly.
“You’re sorry? YOU’RE SORRY? Do you think a simple apology can atone for the damages you four caused to the company?”
“It was a mistake. But I have everything under control,” Calvin spoke up quietly. “We’ll tell the media it was wrong to indulge so much in the drinks, but that Chun was upset because his godfather was involved in a life-threatening car crash.”
“And you think this will make everything ok?” the sentence came out in a snarl. “The reports are all over the place! ‘Staggering drunk Wu Chun throws up over innocent reporter’! They’re playing the whole story up to make it sound like you’re an alcoholic who purposely puked all over the reporter because you didn’t like the questions she asked! A simple ‘sorry’ will NOT make everything right! By now, courtesy of the bloody internet, practically the whole world would know what a mess you’ve made of Fahrenheit last night!”
“I’m sure the public will understand. Even if the reporters don’t buy the excuse, the fans will. They’ll sympathize with Chun’s position, and this will garner sympathy votes in our favour,” Calvin’s calm, tranquil expression never wavered. “The incident last night will buy us exposure and interest. The reporters are bound to produce a few more follow-up reports and everyone’s focus will be kept on us for a little bit longer. But the public won’t be turned against us even if this is technically a negative coverage, because they’d empathize with Chun’s plight. It’s a win-win situation. We don’t lose either way.”
KP, one of the many very important chairmen working under HIM’s headquarters, glowered furiously back at Calvin. But there was no mistaking the fact that he was slightly impressed with the argument Calvin had pulled together.
There was a short, deafening pause as KP continued pacing angrily up and down before he whirled around to face them once more. “You’d better make sure this doesn’t affect both the group’s and HIM’s image. Or somebody’s going to be very sorry,” he hissed at the tallest member of the boyband. “And don’t be getting too cocky, Calvin Chen. There are only a number of times Fahrenheit is allowed to make mistakes, before even your most loyal, die-hard fans will begin turning against you!” with that, he turned and stormed out the door.
The shield of confidence Calvin had kept around himself the moment he stepped into the conference room collapsed into pieces, tumbling rapidly to the floor. He slumped onto the table wearily. “Thank god he bought it!” a deep, shuddering breath escaped his body.
“That was scary,” Jiro remarked, his earlier expression of nervousness slowly dissolving as he stood up to stretch lazily.
“I know right. Maybe he’s PMS-ing,” Arron made a feeble attempt at a joke, trying to lighten the still-tensed atmosphere. “But hey Cal, great work. I bet it pissed him off no end that he couldn’t find any holes in your argument.”
Chun kept quiet, head bowed and stance rigid. He couldn’t fight past the feelings of guilt clawing at him. He couldn’t have picked a better time to make a mess. Fahrenheit had been suffering from a series of unflattering press-exposures lately. What with rumours circulating around accusing him and Jiro of arguing over who got to be the top boy in the group, and the gossips speculating that the reason behind why one of Arron’s movies had been stopped filming was that he had been on the outs with his co-star, the boyband really didn’t need anything else to tarnish their reputations further.
“Come on, let’s go hang in the lounge. Surely I’m not the only one who needs an extra dose of caffeine?” Jiro suggested, making his way towards the door.
Calvin pulled himself out of his chair reluctantly when Arron nudged him insistently. “Aren’t you coming?” he turned back to look questioningly at Chun.
“Nah, it’s ok,” he really wasn’t in the mood to stand around and indulge in idle chit-chat. Especially when he had to look at Calvin and be continuously reminded of the muck he had made last night and the trouble he had caused him.
“Let’s go! Don’t get all moody and depressed on us now,” Arron slipped behind the older guy and started pushing persistently until Chun gave in and allowed himself to be shepherded to the front of the room. “It’s not your fault and KP was just being an ass. Don’t take things to heart.”
“Well I hope the preacher can learn from his preaches too,” Jiro said with a laugh. “You’re damn good at telling people not to get upset, but who’s normally the one that starts being all dramatic and stupid whenever things turn out wrong?”
Arron turned one dark look towards Jiro and gave him the evil eye. “If you’re talking about me, might I advise you to shut up?”
“Or else what?”
A second later, a pen went hurling towards Jiro and hit him dead centre on the forehead. “I always carry a pen or two around me and my aim is unbelievably accurate,” the smile on Arron’s face was vicious.
Calvin stifled a laugh as Jiro growled and lunged towards Arron who quickly shot behind Chun for protection.
“Ok ok, time for coffee,” even Chun couldn’t help but feel his mood lifting at the childish antics of his band mates. “Arron, pick up the pen and no chucking them at Jiro anymore.”
“Not unless he’s being an idiot again,” Calvin added, much to Jiro’s ire.
“It’s not fair Cal! You’re always sticking up for him! Just because he’s the youngest doesn’t mean he can get away with everything!” Jiro howled, keeping up his barrage of complains all the way up to one of HIM’s many big, airy lounges.
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Oh dear, I seemed to have gotten a teensy-weensy bit carried away while describing the guys, especially Calvin. I'm painting him out to be this perfect perfect human being that can do no wrong. He's starting to sound really God-like HAHA.
And Arron seems like a huge, overgrown kid doesn't he? Whooops, would you believe I'd never plan for him to turn out this way? I'd initially mapped him out to be the cool, calm, quiet type but he's turning to be the exact opposite.
*Shrugs*
Anyway, thank you so much for all the comments people! I felt really happy when I read them. =D
-W99