| Fan Fiction |
by syu_chun
________________________
Blind
Number is so important for him...
“I'll be counting steps for the rest of my life. Numbers are my friends. The one that will never fails me.”
Day or Night wasn't a problem for him...
“Umma...I want to sleep now. Do not remind me that it is still daylight. Like I care. Hahaha”
He did not used dogs even when people recommend it...
“Dogs are very useful for you. Dogs are trained to navigate around various obstacles. And dogs can indicate when to go up or down step.”
He is a human. And human did not have to rely on animals. At least not for him...
“I prefer white cane. Dogs have limited ability to understand complex directions.”
Once people questioned about how he wanted to work as the front crew in McDonald when he has problem... and he said...
“Because they treat me as 'equal'”
***
Yoochun went to his work place from his house by Light Rail Transit everyday. Everyday he met all types on people inside the train. People talking... chatting... laughing...
He always loved to see various people. Different faces with different attitudes. It was the best place to learn more about people around and most importantly, the best place to learn about himself. Learned his own strengths and weakness.
When he looked at people laughing... he knew that laughed can be the cured of any disease so he laughed along.
When he looked at couple holding hand... he determined to have a partner one day and hold their hand tights. He wanted to felt love.
When he looked at people sleeping... he reminded himself to stop and bought a cup of coffee before started working.
He liked to watch everyone... everyone that appears in front of his eyes in the train.
Until one day... he only looked at one person. The person who was special in certain ways…
***
“Good morning and welcome to McDonald. May I take your order?” Junsu asked politely to the customer as the order taker.
“Good... Good morning. One... hmm... breakfast set please.” Yoochun tried to maintain a straight voice as he was shaking of nervousness.
“One breakfast set and a hot coffee come with it. Would you like to change coffee with mocha or cappuccino?”
“Coffee's good.”
“OK! I read the order again. One breakfast set with coffee and you want to have your breakfast here or take away?” Junsu said with confidence while his hands rubbing the buttons on the computer, pressing the order.
“Yes!” Yoochun almost shouted as he was actually too excited in answering Junsu’s question.
“Here or take away sir? You sound in a hurry.” Junsu patiently repeated his question and almost laughed to his customer’s clumsiness, something that he should not do as the front crew.
“Oo... I mean take away. Actually my office will open in 10 minutes.” Yoochun stated desperately. Suddenly it was a routine for him to buy breakfast first from the same place and most important from the same person before off to work.
“So take away it is. Please kindly put the amounted payment according this the screen as I manage your order”
Kim Junsu quickly instructed the order to his colleges behind. While, Yoochun opened his wallet and put the exact amount of payment as he wanted to lessen the burden of the man in front of him. Then, Yoochun watched Junsu who quickly took a small cup and fill coffee inside it before put it on the counter. Flawlessly, he made everything done without dropping anything. He reached for the money that Yoochun put on the counter and as he grabbed it, Yoochun could see how he touched on the edge of every note before he smiled again to unseen Yoochun in front of him.
“The payment received and this is your order sir. Thank you for choosing McDonald and please come again.”
“Ahh... Thank you to you too.” said Yoochun and clumsily took his meal and rushed to the main door of the fast food restaurant. Steal a looked over Kim Junsu (it was stated on his name tag), he smiled and ran to his office which was five block away. Secretly he prayed that he managed to arrive within 5 minutes. It was impossible to be achieved, but to see Kim Junsu's smile behind the counter again, made him realized, there was nothing such as unachievable in our life.
And so he began to run...
With a ridiculous smile upon on his handsome face...
***
“Yoochun, are you going back at 8 again?” asked Jaejoong as he swung his beg to his shoulder. Jaejoong settled himself sharp at 6 o'clock.
“Yes. There's a little...”
“Stop acting like you have to work overtime when I know the real reason you want to stay back. If you like him so much, then confessed already!”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“McDonald’s breakfast for a week?! It wasn't like you.”
“I don't understand whatever you are trying to say.” Yoochun added quickly but still his face blushed for being caught red-handed.
“Then why are you so red now?”
“Red?”
“I can cook an egg on your face right now.”
“Stop it Jae.”
“OK! I'll stop, I’ll stop… for today!” Jaejoong walked away after his teasing moment and laughed hysterically to the door.
Since last week, the day he found Junsu on the train, he always went back a little bit late from work. He remembered the day he met Junsu on the train in his way back from office. Because of one reporting day, he has to finish his job at that night to meet his tight schedule. As he finished, he walked lifelessly to the transit station and for the first time, the train transit did not full of people like always. He sat on the right side of a metal link chair. He looked at someone on the left side of the chair and the person wearing a black sunglass.
Yoochun cannot help but to look deeper on that person. He was amazingly beautiful with perfect features on his face. Still, did he have to wear that sunglass?
Yoochun took a step closer to take a better look. That man still did not showing any movement and his eyes still darted to the front. Yoochun hold out his head a bit to have better looked of that man from his front. 'Maybe he is blind', told Yoochun to himself. As he reached out his head, that man abruptly got up as the train arrived.
Yoochun also got up and followed closely behind. Like a stalker, he followed that man and once he settled down, Yoochun sat in front of him. Once a while he looked the man's eyes, but he was afraid that his prediction was a mistake, and then he will be caught staring. After all, except that he wore a black spectacle, he did not show any sign of disability. He walked like a normal person without needed any tools on his hand when he walked inside the train.
***
Listen to the announcement of the next transit, Junsu already knew that his transit will arrived in a while. Still, even without been told by the announcer, he already knew where to stop. The possibility of not hearing the announcement because of noises in the train was out of the blue, therefore Junsu made himself more comfortable to know his transit by counting the numbers of stops and also the usual time he reached to his destination.
Why...?
First; he once, missed his transit stop because of the speaker of the train was broken. Then he learned not to rely on announcement, he started to count on how many times the train stops.
Second; after comfortably counting, then there was maintenance on one transit, and so the train did not stopped, therefore, he was exiting to unfamiliar place. Then, he switched to rely on time. Now, he did not have problems on that matter and his conscious was much better everytime. Experience taught him to survive.
***
As the train stop in a transit, that man got up and exited the train. Grunted harshly, Yoochun almost cursed as they did not have the same transit and he did not arrived to his stop yet. The man walked out from the train and stopped after a few steps, Yoochun looked him through the train glasses, and he saw that man reached for something inside his pocket and he took out a small thing. As that man worked on that thing, then Yoochun realized it was a long white cane which was folded inside this pocket pants before. The white cane was a symbol of blindness.
For once, his attention did not for everyone in the train... and for all…
***
Yoochun sat on the same chair from last week. Looked over his watch, he expected that Junsu will came about 5 minutes. Exactly after 5 minutes of waiting, Junsu arrived with a white cane on his hand. Took place on the left side of the same link chair, he folded the long stick and sighed deeply.
Fighting with his inner self, Yoochun did not sat properly on that chair. He wanted to say something but the words choked on his throat. He heard Junsu sighed again. Miserable face he made Yoochun more uncomfortable with the situation. Maybe he has problem so Yoochun shouldn't approached him today. Yoochun sighed deeply too as his courage did not help him today and also days before.
Yoochun almost fall from his seat as Junsu suddenly talked.
“I sense your existence for a few days. Is there anything you want actually?” said Junsu bluntly.
Yoochun's eyes rounded like a ball and his mouth opened which made him look so idiot. He felt unexpectedly grateful because Junsu cannot look at his face now.
“Or maybe I should call the police? Or report this to 'The Blind Association'. We do have rights over stalkers.”
“No!”
“Now you are talking.”
“You sense me?”
“Almost a week. Not only here, at McDonald too.”
“Then why...”
“I'm just being professional in my job. Now tell me, what you want before I really have to report this.”
“I was just... like to look at you.”
“Yes, a blind person was a good item to be joke about.”
“No! It's not like that.”
“Then what? Sympathy?”
Yoochun fall silent for the sudden accusation. Before he can even react, it was Junsu who spoke first.
“I never let attitudes about blindness limits my expectations over my life.” strong words came out from Junsu.
“I'm not sympathy over you. It was more like a mesmerize feeling.” There was no room for reluctance on that time, so Yoochun told Junsu his true feeling.
“What so mesmerized about blind people?” small laughed came out from Junsu.
“I always like to look at people inside the train. Been mesmerized for everything I see. But now...”
Suddenly Yoochun changed his sight and kept on looking at the floor. Then, he began to talk like someone who only muttering on his dream.
“Now?” Junsu asked.
“I don’t know but I only look at you.”
“Should I be proud or make a report for that?”
“Hoping that you look at me too.” ignored the threat from Junsu, Yoochun kept on talking with his dreamy voice.
“Something that I can't do... ever” Junsu stated the facts but once again been ignored completely by Yoochun.
“I think I fall for you.”
“Oo... took you only a week.”
“And hoping then you'll say yes when I asked you out.”
“Yes” answered Junsu simply and keenness.
“But you might say that 'I'm blind and you'…”
Yoochun who looked at the floor all the time quickly changed his gazed to Junsu surprised as he wanted further explanation.
“Ye… Yes?”
“Yes”
“Yes like ‘Yes!’ Or like ‘oo… yeah’” Yoochun sounded so stupid especially when he tried to act like someone saying yes in mocked tantrum.
“Hmm… Yes like ‘Yes’!”
“That easy?”
“Should I change my mind?”
“No! I'm just surprise. But you know, in movies, it always different.”
“I am a positive and progressive person. I set high standards for myself and believe in the normality of becoming a blind. While you, too often wonder about 'whether' when we could be discovering 'how'” Said Junsu as he smiling widely to unknown direction.
“What?” somehow Yoochun did not catch up the ‘whether’ and ‘how’ statement.
“Shouldn't you be asking me out now instead of asking stupid questions?”
“Ahh... would... would you go... out with me?”
“This Saturday, my association held out a function. It was a simple occasion where all of us will chat and having lunch and dinner together. Would you like to come?”
“Don't you work in Saturday? I think that when you work in McDonald, it was compulsory to work in weekends.”
“That was a privilege given for me. No working days on high turnover profit.”
“Ahh... of course I'll come. I can't wait for it.” Excitedly Yoochun said and he almost jumped on his seat like a kid.
“It will not as enjoyable as you think it is. Be with handicap people all around you.”
“Ah... it must be different... But I'll try!” Yoochun quickly added his last word as he didn't want to be someone that Junsu needed to consider.
“Probably it will be a good test for you. If you had enough, feel free to tell me earlier.”
“Please don't...”
“It could happen.”
Yoochun keep his mouth shut after that. Junsu have a point on that and there no reasons to argue. Then, the train arrived and Junsu quickly stood up and walked closer to the railway. Yoochun followed closely behind him before he realized that he did not even have a chance to introduce himself.
“Junsu, I do not tell you my name yet.”
“Haha… What is your name stranger?”
“Park Yoochun and you are Kim Junsu. I know from your name tag.”
“Nice knowing you Park Yoochun.”
“Is this OK? You just know me and my name. Don't you afraid if I'm a cheater or something.”
“Now you think about 'whether' again. Hmm... Well, been a blind for 15 years make me aware about my surrounding. Especially human beings.”
“15? Ah... so you're not originally blind?
“We talk about that later. It's not like we are chasing anyone right?”
“Right...”
On that moment, the train opened its door and Junsu walked and settled himself on a seat and Yoochun reluctant and thinking hard whether to seat in front or beside Junsu.
'Stop thinking about whether anymore!' screamed Yoochun over himself and he sat beside Junsu. They did not talked to each other but Junsu just humming an unknown song by himself. Yoochun just smiled to see how happy Junsu looked, without even thinking his disability. Yoochun looked at Junsu's small hand and determined to hold that hand at least on the third train ride together. 'Or maybe tomorrow' he thought and he laughed to himself.
Just before Junsu's stop, Yoochun managed to ask again.
“I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow. Can I?”
“Please wait.” Junsu simply said. And Yoochun can't help but to smile wider.
“Junsu-sshi, I never thought you can sense my existence.”
“My friends at McDonald told me that you are a cutie.”
“Eh?”
And the train stopped at Junsu’s transit.
“Bye Yoochun-sshi.” said Junsu as his hand reached his white cane inside his pocket and walked away, leaved the dumbfounded Yoochun alone. Yoochun looked over Junsu until the train moved.
“His friends knew? Am I that obvious? Ah...” he sighed and his palms covered his humiliate face. Then he smiled like an idiot. Never knew it would be that easy. And he already learned few things about Junsu.
First; Junsu took his disability as a normal thing. So Yoochun can't treat him like a patient or something.
Second; to be with Junsu, he need to handle new things in his life. First lesson, be friend with Junsu’s friends from association.
Third; learned not to think about 'whether' but more on 'how'!
That was all for now and the rest could come later, as his journey just only began!
[END]