| Fan Fiction |
by etoile
Yoochun remained silent, his eyes firmly on the road in front of him. Awkward silence ensued, indicating that he was going to ignore my question. From the safety of the tinted helmet I was wearing, I scowled at the back of Yoochun’s head to express my displeasure at him being so cloak and dagger about everything. Park Yoochun had ignored all my questions pertaining to where we were going, what we were going to do when we got there and what was going to become of the car I had left behind, including all enquiries I had made petitioning his sanity.
My self-reliant thoughts had diverted my attention from the road, and the next time I looked up, I realised that the scenery around me had changed. Gone were the tarmac and cement slabs that dominated Seoul’s city centre; they had been replaced by a seemingly endless stretch of beach, which stretched out to greet the great expanse of ocean that lay beyond. I inhaled the salty scent of the sea as we slowed to a halt – the scene before me was mesmerizing.
“We’re here.” His tone was terse as he rummaged around in the motorcycle’s storage compartment. I removed the helmet and held it gingerly in my hands, hoping that he would take it from me or tell me where to put it so that I wouldn’t have to stand there like a pumpkin, without a clue as to what to do with myself.
“Beer?” Park Yoochun held out an ice-cold bottle which was currently slippery with condensation. I nodded and grasped the beer bottle in my hands, feeling the chill from the glass exacerbate as I stood in the path of the sea breeze that was slowly blowing inland as dusk gathered. “There’s plenty more in the cooler if you want it.” Yoochun jumped lithely atop a wooden bench and perched himself on the backrest. He dusted the rest of the backrest down, patted it, and grinned at me as the gentle wind caressed his hair. “Won’t you take a seat?”
Begrudgingly, and clinging onto my bottle of beer for dear life, I took my place next to him. We were facing the roaring ocean as the cool breeze wafted over, and as I sat there, feeling the unintentional graze of his shirt as he lifted the beer bottle to his lips to take occasional sips, I couldn’t help but feel my heart beat that little bit faster at the thought of that meagre physical contact. I just sat there, drinking the fizzy beer but not tasting it, desperately willing him to say something to break the awkward silence.
“So, you got my flowers?” His nonchalant question came like a gift from Heaven.
“Yes! Er… I mean, it was you?” Gee, YooLi, could you sound any more excited? I noticed that despite the fact that I was writhing in embarrassment, Yoochun’s mood did not pick up, and he remained as withdrawn and morose as before. The corners of his mouth turned up sardonically, and he gazed out into the far yonder.
“I saw your little helper carrying them home for you on the bus. I’d recognise them anywhere.”
My heart sank. He must have seen Haneul en-route on her commute. Come to think of it, who wouldn’t have seen Haneul? The vibrant red, orange and pink hues of the roses would have attracted the eyes of anyone who had two brain cells to rub together.
I nodded and toyed with the tassel on my mobile phone as I realised the effort that he had put into getting those flowers. To think that I had just tossed them to Haneul without a second thought! I felt incredibly guilty for being so thoughtless. Thank goodness Haneul lived in the same direction as I did – at least I wouldn’t be busted for sending his precious flowers to the other side of Seoul.
He chuckled at my response, before turning towards me. “I still remember the way you were freaking out in your car, yelling ‘Officer! Officer! Don’t arrest me!’” His voice reached an annoying falsetto as he tried (and failed) to mimic me in my previous fragile state. “Have you seen me today? I look more like the gangsters that policemen are after than an actual protector of the law!” I looked at him, from his outlandish hairdo (seriously, what was going on with that?), right down to the tips of his tattered sneakers. I had to admit, he was hot, but he looked nothing like a policeman. Lee YooLi, just what were you thinking? Right now you’re acting like you’re a sandwich short of a picnic.
I rolled my eyes and feigned nonchalance. “Who else knocks on the car windows of normal people like that? Of course my first reaction was to think that you were a police officer!” I could feel my hands getting clammy as I struggled to justify my faux pas. “Anyway, I was thinking about… something my Umma told me, at the time.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have been driving then. You need total concentration when you’re on the road.” His ennui was beginning to annoy me – he was sounding more and more like a stuffy old man instead of his normal cool and hip self. I kicked my shoes off and set my half-drunk beer down on the bench, grabbing his hand as I did. “You’re talking nonsense. Enough of that – let’s go down to the shore.”
The waves broke at my feet as I ran across the sands. “Park Yoochun, don’t just stand there like a block of wood – the water’s cool!” The ocean really brought out the kid in me, and I wasn’t going to let the moody young man standing on the periphery stop me from getting into my element.
“Don’t you just love the ocean? 바다 (bada)… it’s just so beautiful, calm and serene. It really soothes a weary spirit.” My voice tailed off as I realised that I was talking to myself, and all that introspective contemplation was doing a fat lot of good because Park Yoochun seemed to be lost in his own little world.
“Don’t you ever get tired? I mean, of life?” His brow furrowed slightly as he squinted at the setting sun over the horizon. “It tires me, sometimes.” He raised the bottle of beer to his lips and took a swig, before walking off along the meandering shoreline. Huffily, I stomped behind him in a bid to catch up. “Don’t say things like that and then walk away! To the untrained eye, you sound almost suicidal…”
He turned round and smirked with that familiar glint in his eye. “So if I were to jump into the sea right now, you’d jump in and save me?”
“Shut up. Lee YooLi doesn’t ‘do’ rescues. I am not the Coast Guard.”
“Oh, come on. Is saying that you like me that difficult?” He sauntered closer, so that we were almost touching. “I already told you how I feel—” he held up three fingers “—thrice today.”
True, but he won that point purely on a technicality. “I was just about to bring that up. What kind of person writes out the same poem no less than three times in disguised handwriting? Park Yoochun-sshi, I think that you’re just plain crazy.”
My mouth was saying words that made me adamant to prove my point, but I couldn’t help but feel equal parts curiosity and relief. “I bet you didn’t even realize that the flowers spelt their own meaning either right…?” Yoochun dipped his head and grinned slightly as he turned to face the incoming sea breeze again. “What did the florist say again? Red roses mean love and respect, pink roses – romance and appreciation, orange roses – fascination, and Carolina roses…” He grabbed my arm in one sudden movement, bringing me close to him. Without even giving me the time to draw breath, he whispered conspiratorially in my ear. “Carolina roses – love is dangerous. Isn’t it?”
Amazing. He had managed to reel off the meanings that attached to the flowers. What normal guy could, or would do something like that? This Park Yoochun was really something else. I could feel his warm breath next to my ear as I ruminated on this point, and felt my heart beat faster as he moved, bringing his face dangerously close to mine. “All I know is that I’ve never seen a more beautiful sunset.” He looked me straight in the eye. “Or a more beautiful woman.”
“Ah… I…” I never got to finish my sentence because before I knew it, Yoochun’s lips had made contact with mine. The kiss could have gone on for minutes, hours, or even days, but I wouldn’t have known the difference. Yoochun was right. Love was dangerous, and I had already thrown caution to the wind, in the hope that he would be there to catch me.
Park Yoochun. I was falling in love with him.
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A/N: Ta-da! Here's the longer chapter, as promised! I took a litte longer over this chapter as it's a pivotal point in the story (you have been warned!) Hopefully it's good enough to make up for my previous boo-boo~ Well, hope that everyone had a good weekend, and do drop a comment to let me know how you feel! Lots of love, me x
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