It's Complicated - Part 8
Title: It’s Complicated
Author: Me! (2theChangmin)
Pairing: Bao-Zhai/Changmin (as well as all the cast and pairs of Heart Problems)
Rating: PG-13 (for language)
Summary: Bao-Zhai was not a stalker. But, she was admittedly acting like one a little bit. This guy just wouldn’t get out of her head. And she’d talk to him, only she’s pretty sure he hates her; and with good reason. Why? Well… It’s complicated.
The sequel to Heart Problems has arrived!
Bao-Zhai couldn’t stop smiling the rest of that afternoon. But could anybody blame her? She was forgiven! She felt like she was floating on an invisible cloud of cake. … Yes, cake.
“Bao-Zhai!”
She turned around at the call and saw a grinning Junsu running up to meet her. “Hey Junsu.”
“Hey,” he gasped as he hurried to catch his breath. “I wanted… I mean… I was wondering…” Bao-Zhai cocked her head to the side as she waited for him get enough air to finish a sentence. “What are you doing tonight?”
“Tonight?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I thought… Maybe, um…” he licked his lips and smiled nervously. “I was wondering if maybe you wanted to do something. Together. With me.”
“Oh.” She smiled. “Well I’m going to a concert later, actually.”
“Oh.” He looked slightly disappointed. “What band are you going to see?
“Gold Magic.” Junsu frowned like he was trying to remember where he had heard that name before. “Yunho manages them.”
“Oh. Right. Yeah. He’s told me about them. They’re performing tonight?”
“Yeah. It’s kind of a big deal. They usually perform at small local venues and bars but tonight they have a gig at that new club that opened last month.”
“Oh. Wow. That sounds like you’ll have a lot of fun.”
“Yeah.” She smiled. “You should come.”
“What? Really?” he asked in excitement.
“Yeah. The more the merrier. The girls and I are going to take the bus later tonight if you want to tag along. You can meet us at the bus stop around 8.”
“Um. Yeah. That sounds great. I’ll see you then.”
“Okay. I’ll let the girls know you’re coming.”
“Okay.” His grin almost broke his face as she waved and turned away to continue on to her dorm.
She smiled as she thought about Zhou Mi’s reaction later tonight when she walked into the club with a man. It didn’t matter that Junsu was just a friend or that Zhou Mi had met him before, her brother would still overreact. On the plus side, the band would be happy she was bringing another audience member. Her smile turned wicked as she wondered whether or not the vein in her brother’s head would make an appearance later if she wore a skirt?
********
Junsu barged into Changmin’s room unannounced. “I need your help, which shirt looks better with these pants?”
Changmin looked up from his half written report and frowned. “How did you get in here?”
“I used my key.”
. . .
“You have a key to my room?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, putting aside the ‘how’ of that for a moment… Why do you need my help picking out a shirt? What’s wrong with the one you have on?”
“She already saw the one I have on. I want to wear something nice… that she hasn’t seen yet.”
Changmin shook his head. “Okay, I’m lost. Who is this ‘she’ and what are you talking about.”
“Bao-Zhai,” Junsu sighed like this should have been obvious.
“Oh, of course,” Changmin shook his head. “What about her?”
“I have to meet her in one hour and I can’t figure out what to wear!”
“Oh…” Changmin minimized his report and set his laptop down on his bed before standing up. “So, you finally asked her out?” He took the two shirts his friend was holding up and after a moment, handed back the blue one.
“Well, not exactly…” Junsu took back the blue shirt and started to change. “Thanks.”
“What do you mean ‘not exactly’?”
“I mean, I was going to… I tried to. Um. But she was busy tonight. She and some friends are going to see a band, Gold Magic, perform at a club tonight.”
“Gold Magic?”
“The band Yunho manages?”
“Oh, right.” Changmin nodded.
“Anyway,” Junsu frowned. “She invited me to come along. So I have to meet them at the bus stop in forty minutes. Should I tuck this in or leave it out?”
“Leave it out.”
“Thanks.” Junsu brushed invisible lint from his shirt. “I’m a little nervous.”
Changmin smiled. “I can tell.”
“It’s just, I really like her. So… Aish.”
Changmin sighed and handed his friend the rejected shirt. “You’ll be fine Su. Just be yourself.”
“Who else would I be?” Junsu joked.
Changmin chuckled. “Cheeky bastard.”
Junsu fiddled with the bottom button on his shirt for a while. “Hey, what are you doing tonight?”
“Homework.”
Junsu rolled his eyes. “It’s Friday night. You have all weekend to do homework.”
“But if I get it done now then my weekend is freed up.”
Junsu snorted. “Freed up so you can do what? Extra-credit assignments? Oh no, wait. You must mean so you can take your nonexistent girlfriend out.”
“Shut up,” Changmin smiled. “Just because you like someone, or rather someones doesn’t mean we all have to suddenly be in love. And I do plenty with my free time I will have you know.”
“Yeah… I guess you’re right.”
“Of course I am.”
“It’s just…”
. . .
“Yeah?” he prompted.
“Well… I really like her.”
“Noted.”
“But when I’m around her I kind of turn into … a bit of an idiot really.”
Changmin snorted. “So what else is new?”
“Shut up,” His friend reprimanded playfully. “I’m being serious here.”
“Okay,” Changmin put on his ‘serious’ face. “What do you want?”
“A wing man.”
“Come again?”
“Please? If you were there then you could stop me before I make too much of a fool of myself, I just know it. Plus her brother might be there and he kind of scares me so it would be good to have you there for that. And this way you could finally meet her. It’s a win-win-win! … Please!” Junsu sat at the foot of his bed and pulled out the most pitiful face in his arsenal.
“That face hasn’t worked on me since middle school.”
“You suck,” Junsu grumbled, but he did pull in his pout. “Okay, how about this… I will pay for the bus fare and your entrance into the club.” Changmin raised an eyebrow. “And I’ll buy you a beer?”
“Fine. But just this once.”
Junsu sighed in relief. “Of course. And trust me, you are going to really like her when you meet her.”
“Oh…” Changmin hesitated for a second before Junsu’s inquisitive look won over. “I actually already know her. I talked to her a bit at the café earlier.” There. That wasn’t a complete lie.
“Oh. Isn’t she great?!” Junsu gushed.
“Yeah,” Changmin smiled. “She seems sweet.”
“And pretty too, huh?”
“Yeah. She’s pretty.”
“Yeah…” Junsu smiled goofily.
Changmin laughed. “Oh no.”
“What?”
“That smile. I used to only see that smile when you were talking about Yoochun.”
Junsu blushed. “Oh…”
“Hey, what ever happened to her anyway? I thought she was your world or something but this week you’ve barely said her name.”
“Yeah well…” Junsu was back to fiddling with his shirt button. “I mean… Yoochun and I are really just friends. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to… I mean, aside from not wanting to ruin the friendship… What if Yoochun doesn’t like me the same way? … And then there’s the fact that…”
“The fact that what?”
“Nothing.” Junsu said overly bright and avoiding eye contact.
“What’s wrong with this girl, is she moving or something?”
“Yeah. Or something.” Junsu coughed before he stood up and made to leave. “I’ll meet you down at the bus stop in twenty minutes, yeah?”
“Okay,” Changmin frowned as he watched his friend leave, closing the door behind him. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought up Yoochun. But then again, how was he supposed to know it was a bad subject, his friend had been swooning over the girl for months. He looked down at his unfinished work and sighed. He supposed he had better change… Unless club dress codes have changed, he didn’t think sweats would cut it.
********
“I thought you’d never show up.”
“Junsu, calm down. No one else is here yet.”
“Yeah, but I was starting to worry that maybe the girls would arrive before you did.”
“And that would be a bad thing?” Changmin arched his brow. “’Su, get a grip man. You’ve spoken to her plenty of times before. Stop being nervous.”
“Easy for you to say. This is the first time I’ve seen her in a… well… almost… maybe… what could possibly be construed as in a group date capacity.”
“Right,” He sighed. “I still say you need to calm down. And would you stop looking over my shoulder? Turn around and face the street would you? You need to chill out before you pass out.”
“Oh har, har, very funny,” his friend sneered. But, Changmin couldn’t help smiling as the man did as he was told and turned around.
“See? Now instead of watching for the girls, you can watch for the bus.”
“Shut up.”
********
“Choon-Hee! Just pick something. We need to leave now or we’ll be late.”
“I know, I know… One second!”
Bao-Zhai fell backwards on her friend’s bed and groaned. “Why is she choosing tonight to act all…”
“Girly,” Li Yin suggested from the swivel chair she sat on.
“Yeah.”
Li giggled before stage whispering. “I think she likes someone.”
What? Bao-Zhai sat up, eye’s gleaming. “Who?”
“I don’t know. But, think about it. This is the girl who got her hair done ‘pixie’ so that she wouldn’t have to hassle with it. She’s never like this,” she indicated the closed bathroom door with a flip of her wrist.
“You’re right. I wonder who it is… Why haven’t I noticed she was crushing on someone.”
“Well, you’ve been worried about the whole ‘Changmin hates me’ debacle. Not that I’m any better…” she blushed. “I hadn’t realized either.”
Bao-Zhai smiled as the bathroom door finally opened. “Whoa~!”
Li Yin whistled playfully. “Hot mama!”
Choon-Hee scowled at them both and grabbed her keys and jacket from the desk. “Shut up. Let’s go or we’ll be late.”
Bao-Zhai and Li Yin hurried after their friend, failing to stop giggling. “Sorry,” Li said as they caught up to either side of her. She slipped her right arm through Choon-Hee’s left as Bao-Zhai did the same on the girl’s other side.
Choon-Hee rolled her eyes and smiled as she gave in to being trapped in the middle. She gave them each a quick glance before stating. “You aren’t going to just let this go.”
“Nope,” Li smiled back.
Their friend sighed again, in a very put upon manner. “Fine. Get it over with.”
“Who is he?” Bao-Zhai asked straight away.
“What? No one… Okay. I don’t want to tell you yet. I don’t even know if I really like him, I just… He’s fun to be around. And anyway, I don’t think he likes me like that, so…”
“Okay, we won’t demand to know,” Li smirked before adding, “yet.”
“He will be at the club tonight though, right?” Bao-Zhai wheedled.
“No, she just spent an abnormally long time in the bathroom, doing her make-up because she felt like it,” Yin said sarcastically with an eye roll.
Choon-Hee groaned. “I hate you both.”
“No you don’t.”
“You love us, really.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah…”
“Just tell me that you haven’t finally cracked and decided to seriously go for Siwon,” Bao-Zhai teased. “Because, I know you think the man is a god, but I can assure you he is very much in love with a man.”
Choon-Hee laughed. “No, I am not crushing on Siwon. Well,” she amended, “not any more than I usually do.” That had them all laughing. “What? The man is a god. I swear. But, not to worry, my love for him is purely aesthetic.”
After the laughter died down Choon-Hee started fidgeting. “Maybe I shouldn’t have spent so much time on my make-up.”
“You look good,” Li was quick to assure her. “We were just having fun earlier, but you look really pretty. Different, but nice.”
“Do I really look that different?” She asked worriedly.
“You still look like you,” Bao-Zhai smiled. “Just… you know, you’re wearing lip gloss and a skirt.”
“So? You’re wearing a skirt too.”
“Yes, but I wear skirts quite a bit. You don’t usually wear them unless we’re in dance class.”
“Maybe I should have just worn jeans.”
“Would you stop? You look amazing. Really.”
“Whoever he is, he is going to be blown away.”
“Okay then… If you’re sure I don’t look odd.”
“You don’t look odd,” Li and Bao-Zhai said at the same time.
Choon-Hee smiled and squeezed her friend’s arms. “You’re the best. Hey, is that Junsu?”
“Yeah, I ran into him earlier and invited him along. Oh! I forgot to tell you. Sorry. I hope that’s okay?”
“No need to say sorry,” Choon-Hee laughed. “He’s nice.”
“Uh-oh,” Li Yin stopped, which in turn made the others stop.
“What?”
“Isn’t that… I mean… Changmin with him? Are you going to pull another cheese shop on us?”
Bao-Zhai snapped her neck back to the guys at the bus stop. Holy shit, it was Changmin. Her heart started racing. What was he doing there? … Wait. Cheese shop? Oh.
“No,” she smiled back at her friends, fully aware that her cheeks were rosy. “I forgot to tell you that too…”
“What, you knew he’d be here?” Choon-Hee asked in disbelief.
“No, I didn’t know he’d be here.”
“Okay. Back-up, since when are you not running in fear that he’ll smite you?”
“Um…” Great, now she was full out blushing. “Since this afternoon when I saw him at the café and we talked and I apologized.”
Her friends were looking at her in disbelief. “That’s it,” Choon-Hee said before starting off again towards the bus stop. “I am never being ‘girly’ again. The things I miss while shut up in a bathroom…”
Li Yin giggled and said something that Bao-Zhai didn’t catch. She was too busy trying to slow her heart beat and cool her cheeks.
“Hello Junsu.”
Bao-Zhai was brought back to the conversation with Li’s greeting and realized that they had already reached the guys. Shit.
Junsu turned around and smiled. “Hello girls.”
“Hi,” Bao-Zhai smiled at her friend as she tried to avoid looking at Changmin for fear of going tomato-red again. She chanced a look anyway. Damn. He looked good.
“This is my best friend, Changmin.” Junsu made the introductions. “Changmin, this is Choon-Hee, Li Yin, and Bao-Zhai.” His smile seemed to get even bigger and he actually seemed to bounce for a moment. Aw, he reminded her of her brother when he did that.
She smiled back at him before turning to Changmin. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“You to,” he nodded.
“The bus is coming.” Li informed them.
“Shall we?” Junsu asked with a theatrical sweep towards the entrance. “After you ladies.”
********
“After you ladies?” Junsu whispered in mortification before boarding the bus himself. Changmin, the only one who had heard him, shook his head and patted his friend on the back in silent comfort. They found seats toward the back. Changmin doing the proper wingman thing, subtly arranged for Junsu to sit next to Bao-Zhai. His friend smiled at him as he passed to take the seat behind them.
The girl named Li Yin, a pretty petite thing with long lashes sat next to him while the one named Choon-Hee, a caramel haired beauty, sat across the aisle. He was surrounded by pretty girls, so why did he feel slightly uncomfortable? He couldn’t help but notice, after a moment, that Junsu and Bao-Zhai seemed into some sort of fast paced conversation.
And where he sat: crickets. He should probably say something. Aish. They probably thought he was rude. What should he say?
“So… Changmin, what do you major in?”
He blinked and looked over at Choon-Hee who had asked. “History,” he smiled at her. “Sorry, I’m not the best conversationalist.”
“Li Yin is shy too, when you first meet her,” Choon-Hee staged whispered. “After that, of course, you’ll have a hard time shutting her up.”
Li Yin scowled at her friend and blushed prettily. “Don’t be a…” she frowned and then said something in Chinese. Clearly she hadn’t been able to think of the correct phrase in Korean. Whatever she had said though caused Choon-Hee to look good-naturedly affronted and Bao-Zhai to laugh.
Changmin turned his head to find the girl in front of him had turned in her seat and was smiling at Li Yin. She had a nice smile, he noted. “Where did you get that mouth Li?” Bao-Zhai teased.
“What did she say?” Asked Junsu, who had also turned to join the conversation.
“I’d tell you, but I’m too much of a lady.” Changmin snorted which had the others looking at him instantly. Bao-Zhai’s eyes were sparkling with mischief as she conceded. “Well, okay, maybe I’m not a lady all the time.”
Changmin couldn’t help smiling back at her. “Certainly not when coffee is involved.”
“What can I say,” she grinned. “I’m more of a tea person.”
That had him laughing, along with Choon-Hee and Li Yin. Junsu looked confused. “Did I miss something?”
“Is this the first time you’ll be seeing Gold Magic?”Choon-Hee diverted expertly.
Changmin didn’t hear Junsu’s answer, he was too busy watching the pink expand across Bao-Zhai’s nose before she threw her friend a thankful look and slid back to sit in the seat correctly. She really was awfully cute, he decided a moment before his stomach fell out. What was he doing? His best friend was trying to date her. Was he out his mind? He was supposed to be Junsu’s bloody wingman. He was not supposed to find the girl appealing. At all.
Shit.
He turned to Li Yin and tried to seem interested in what the pretty girl was saying. He did not glance at the back of Bao-Zhai’s head, or wonder if her hair was as soft as it looked. Nope. Not once.
…
Fuck. Okay, maybe once.
Things were so much easier when he’d hated the girl.
********
Changmin was relieved when they got to the club. Until they actually got into the club. It was crowded. He stuck close to Junsu and the girls as they made their way around the perimeter. Bao-Zhai stuck her hand up and waved at one point, a moment before a tall man was hugging her tightly. Changmin looked at Junsu to gauge his response. If Bao-Zhai already had a boyfriend, his friend would be crushed. Junsu was looking, well, not crushed… scared? He was clearly missing something.
“Alright, alright, my turn,” an even taller man said as he joined their group. “She is my sister after all.”
“Yah!” The man hugging Bao-Zhai shouted indignantly, but he let her go. The moment he did the other one hugged her.
“Zhou Mi, I just saw you earlier today,” she complained.
“So what? You’ll hug Heechul, but not your own brother?” He asked affronted as he stepped back and pouted.
“Heechul doesn’t bruise ribs in his enthusiasm.”
Oddly enough this made the man smile again. Until- “What are you wearing?”
“What does it look like?”
“A skirt!”
Which, of course, made Changmin look down at her bare legs. Her bare, shapely legs. Right. Not good. Back to eye level.
“Good observation.”
“Why are you wearing a skirt?!”
“I’ll let you in on a secret Mi, I’m a girl. And girls wear skirts. Sometimes, they even wear dresses!”
The man called Heechul cracked up. “Leave her alone Zhou Mi. The girl is twenty-one.”
“They do this every time,” someone whispered in his ear. Changmin turned his head to find Choon-Hee smiling at his perplexed look. “Zhou Mi is a… slightly over protective big brother.”
“Ah,” Changmin nodded.
“When does the band go on?” Li asked.
“Ten minutes?” Heechul guessed. “Hey, did you see the new poster Stacey painted? It’s up by the front of the stage. I don’t know if you’ll be able to make it close enough without being smashed by the crowd, but I’m sure you could see it after.”
Changmin let their conversation fade into the overall noise of the club until his name was said. “… And you remember Junsu. Changmin, this is my brother Zhou Mi.”
Bao-Zhai was closer. As was her brother, who he realized was being introduced to them. Zhou Mi was tall, and had a friendly face. Or at least, he did earlier when he was hugging his sister. Now the man was scowling at him and didn’t seem too friendly at all. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said.
Zhou Mi’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll be watching you…” He turned to Junsu. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten you either.” … And now he knew why Junsu was afraid of Bao-Zhai’s brother. Did the man blink? Ever?
“Mi,” the other man was there suddenly. “Don’t kill Zhai’s friends. It would be bad press for the band.” Zhou Mi suddenly smiled and Changmin let go of the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “I’m Heechul by the way,” the man continued. “Bao-Zhai’s unofficial other brother.” Changmin took the man’s offered hand and shook it.
“Nice to meet you… Hey, do I know you?”
Heechul smirked. Creepy. “Perhaps you’ve seen me around.”
“Right…”
Heechul then smiled and waved at someone behind him. “Micky! Over here.”
Changmin looked down and grimaced at his friend’s sudden death grip on his arm. “What?” he whispered to his paler than a ghost face.
Another man, presumably the one Heechul had been calling over, came over to Changmin’s left. “Glad you could make it,” Heechul was saying.
“Yeah, thanks for letting me know,” Micky said before turning to Changmin and Junsu, who was about to break his arm if he didn’t lighten up with the claws. The man blinked. “Junsu?”
Wait. They knew each other? Changmin looked over in time to see Junsu swallow nervously.
“Hi,” his friend squeaked before clearing his throat and trying again. “Hey Yoochun.”
. . .
Wait.
Wait.
Wait.
WHAT?!
Changmin whipped his head around to see ‘Yoochun’ smiling at his still paler than pale friend. He didn’t understand. How was… And why didn’t… And what…?
“Yoochun’s a man?”
A/N: Hey y'all. I'm back. *sheepish smile* And I am so, so, so, so, SO, SO, SO SORRY for my long absence. I know most of you are probably going, 'huh? who is she? what story is this?I am sorry! :( There is no excuse or justifier good enough. But I do apologize. Part 9 to be up shortly. I hope even just a few of you remember me? ^.^
Author: Me! (2theChangmin)
Pairing: Bao-Zhai/Changmin (as well as all the cast and pairs of Heart Problems)
Rating: PG-13 (for language)
Summary: Bao-Zhai was not a stalker. But, she was admittedly acting like one a little bit. This guy just wouldn’t get out of her head. And she’d talk to him, only she’s pretty sure he hates her; and with good reason. Why? Well… It’s complicated.
The sequel to Heart Problems has arrived!
Bao-Zhai couldn’t stop smiling the rest of that afternoon. But could anybody blame her? She was forgiven! She felt like she was floating on an invisible cloud of cake. … Yes, cake.
“Bao-Zhai!”
She turned around at the call and saw a grinning Junsu running up to meet her. “Hey Junsu.”
“Hey,” he gasped as he hurried to catch his breath. “I wanted… I mean… I was wondering…” Bao-Zhai cocked her head to the side as she waited for him get enough air to finish a sentence. “What are you doing tonight?”
“Tonight?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I thought… Maybe, um…” he licked his lips and smiled nervously. “I was wondering if maybe you wanted to do something. Together. With me.”
“Oh.” She smiled. “Well I’m going to a concert later, actually.”
“Oh.” He looked slightly disappointed. “What band are you going to see?
“Gold Magic.” Junsu frowned like he was trying to remember where he had heard that name before. “Yunho manages them.”
“Oh. Right. Yeah. He’s told me about them. They’re performing tonight?”
“Yeah. It’s kind of a big deal. They usually perform at small local venues and bars but tonight they have a gig at that new club that opened last month.”
“Oh. Wow. That sounds like you’ll have a lot of fun.”
“Yeah.” She smiled. “You should come.”
“What? Really?” he asked in excitement.
“Yeah. The more the merrier. The girls and I are going to take the bus later tonight if you want to tag along. You can meet us at the bus stop around 8.”
“Um. Yeah. That sounds great. I’ll see you then.”
“Okay. I’ll let the girls know you’re coming.”
“Okay.” His grin almost broke his face as she waved and turned away to continue on to her dorm.
She smiled as she thought about Zhou Mi’s reaction later tonight when she walked into the club with a man. It didn’t matter that Junsu was just a friend or that Zhou Mi had met him before, her brother would still overreact. On the plus side, the band would be happy she was bringing another audience member. Her smile turned wicked as she wondered whether or not the vein in her brother’s head would make an appearance later if she wore a skirt?
********
Junsu barged into Changmin’s room unannounced. “I need your help, which shirt looks better with these pants?”
Changmin looked up from his half written report and frowned. “How did you get in here?”
“I used my key.”
. . .
“You have a key to my room?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, putting aside the ‘how’ of that for a moment… Why do you need my help picking out a shirt? What’s wrong with the one you have on?”
“She already saw the one I have on. I want to wear something nice… that she hasn’t seen yet.”
Changmin shook his head. “Okay, I’m lost. Who is this ‘she’ and what are you talking about.”
“Bao-Zhai,” Junsu sighed like this should have been obvious.
“Oh, of course,” Changmin shook his head. “What about her?”
“I have to meet her in one hour and I can’t figure out what to wear!”
“Oh…” Changmin minimized his report and set his laptop down on his bed before standing up. “So, you finally asked her out?” He took the two shirts his friend was holding up and after a moment, handed back the blue one.
“Well, not exactly…” Junsu took back the blue shirt and started to change. “Thanks.”
“What do you mean ‘not exactly’?”
“I mean, I was going to… I tried to. Um. But she was busy tonight. She and some friends are going to see a band, Gold Magic, perform at a club tonight.”
“Gold Magic?”
“The band Yunho manages?”
“Oh, right.” Changmin nodded.
“Anyway,” Junsu frowned. “She invited me to come along. So I have to meet them at the bus stop in forty minutes. Should I tuck this in or leave it out?”
“Leave it out.”
“Thanks.” Junsu brushed invisible lint from his shirt. “I’m a little nervous.”
Changmin smiled. “I can tell.”
“It’s just, I really like her. So… Aish.”
Changmin sighed and handed his friend the rejected shirt. “You’ll be fine Su. Just be yourself.”
“Who else would I be?” Junsu joked.
Changmin chuckled. “Cheeky bastard.”
Junsu fiddled with the bottom button on his shirt for a while. “Hey, what are you doing tonight?”
“Homework.”
Junsu rolled his eyes. “It’s Friday night. You have all weekend to do homework.”
“But if I get it done now then my weekend is freed up.”
Junsu snorted. “Freed up so you can do what? Extra-credit assignments? Oh no, wait. You must mean so you can take your nonexistent girlfriend out.”
“Shut up,” Changmin smiled. “Just because you like someone, or rather someones doesn’t mean we all have to suddenly be in love. And I do plenty with my free time I will have you know.”
“Yeah… I guess you’re right.”
“Of course I am.”
“It’s just…”
. . .
“Yeah?” he prompted.
“Well… I really like her.”
“Noted.”
“But when I’m around her I kind of turn into … a bit of an idiot really.”
Changmin snorted. “So what else is new?”
“Shut up,” His friend reprimanded playfully. “I’m being serious here.”
“Okay,” Changmin put on his ‘serious’ face. “What do you want?”
“A wing man.”
“Come again?”
“Please? If you were there then you could stop me before I make too much of a fool of myself, I just know it. Plus her brother might be there and he kind of scares me so it would be good to have you there for that. And this way you could finally meet her. It’s a win-win-win! … Please!” Junsu sat at the foot of his bed and pulled out the most pitiful face in his arsenal.
“That face hasn’t worked on me since middle school.”
“You suck,” Junsu grumbled, but he did pull in his pout. “Okay, how about this… I will pay for the bus fare and your entrance into the club.” Changmin raised an eyebrow. “And I’ll buy you a beer?”
“Fine. But just this once.”
Junsu sighed in relief. “Of course. And trust me, you are going to really like her when you meet her.”
“Oh…” Changmin hesitated for a second before Junsu’s inquisitive look won over. “I actually already know her. I talked to her a bit at the café earlier.” There. That wasn’t a complete lie.
“Oh. Isn’t she great?!” Junsu gushed.
“Yeah,” Changmin smiled. “She seems sweet.”
“And pretty too, huh?”
“Yeah. She’s pretty.”
“Yeah…” Junsu smiled goofily.
Changmin laughed. “Oh no.”
“What?”
“That smile. I used to only see that smile when you were talking about Yoochun.”
Junsu blushed. “Oh…”
“Hey, what ever happened to her anyway? I thought she was your world or something but this week you’ve barely said her name.”
“Yeah well…” Junsu was back to fiddling with his shirt button. “I mean… Yoochun and I are really just friends. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to… I mean, aside from not wanting to ruin the friendship… What if Yoochun doesn’t like me the same way? … And then there’s the fact that…”
“The fact that what?”
“Nothing.” Junsu said overly bright and avoiding eye contact.
“What’s wrong with this girl, is she moving or something?”
“Yeah. Or something.” Junsu coughed before he stood up and made to leave. “I’ll meet you down at the bus stop in twenty minutes, yeah?”
“Okay,” Changmin frowned as he watched his friend leave, closing the door behind him. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought up Yoochun. But then again, how was he supposed to know it was a bad subject, his friend had been swooning over the girl for months. He looked down at his unfinished work and sighed. He supposed he had better change… Unless club dress codes have changed, he didn’t think sweats would cut it.
********
“I thought you’d never show up.”
“Junsu, calm down. No one else is here yet.”
“Yeah, but I was starting to worry that maybe the girls would arrive before you did.”
“And that would be a bad thing?” Changmin arched his brow. “’Su, get a grip man. You’ve spoken to her plenty of times before. Stop being nervous.”
“Easy for you to say. This is the first time I’ve seen her in a… well… almost… maybe… what could possibly be construed as in a group date capacity.”
“Right,” He sighed. “I still say you need to calm down. And would you stop looking over my shoulder? Turn around and face the street would you? You need to chill out before you pass out.”
“Oh har, har, very funny,” his friend sneered. But, Changmin couldn’t help smiling as the man did as he was told and turned around.
“See? Now instead of watching for the girls, you can watch for the bus.”
“Shut up.”
********
“Choon-Hee! Just pick something. We need to leave now or we’ll be late.”
“I know, I know… One second!”
Bao-Zhai fell backwards on her friend’s bed and groaned. “Why is she choosing tonight to act all…”
“Girly,” Li Yin suggested from the swivel chair she sat on.
“Yeah.”
Li giggled before stage whispering. “I think she likes someone.”
What? Bao-Zhai sat up, eye’s gleaming. “Who?”
“I don’t know. But, think about it. This is the girl who got her hair done ‘pixie’ so that she wouldn’t have to hassle with it. She’s never like this,” she indicated the closed bathroom door with a flip of her wrist.
“You’re right. I wonder who it is… Why haven’t I noticed she was crushing on someone.”
“Well, you’ve been worried about the whole ‘Changmin hates me’ debacle. Not that I’m any better…” she blushed. “I hadn’t realized either.”
Bao-Zhai smiled as the bathroom door finally opened. “Whoa~!”
Li Yin whistled playfully. “Hot mama!”
Choon-Hee scowled at them both and grabbed her keys and jacket from the desk. “Shut up. Let’s go or we’ll be late.”
Bao-Zhai and Li Yin hurried after their friend, failing to stop giggling. “Sorry,” Li said as they caught up to either side of her. She slipped her right arm through Choon-Hee’s left as Bao-Zhai did the same on the girl’s other side.
Choon-Hee rolled her eyes and smiled as she gave in to being trapped in the middle. She gave them each a quick glance before stating. “You aren’t going to just let this go.”
“Nope,” Li smiled back.
Their friend sighed again, in a very put upon manner. “Fine. Get it over with.”
“Who is he?” Bao-Zhai asked straight away.
“What? No one… Okay. I don’t want to tell you yet. I don’t even know if I really like him, I just… He’s fun to be around. And anyway, I don’t think he likes me like that, so…”
“Okay, we won’t demand to know,” Li smirked before adding, “yet.”
“He will be at the club tonight though, right?” Bao-Zhai wheedled.
“No, she just spent an abnormally long time in the bathroom, doing her make-up because she felt like it,” Yin said sarcastically with an eye roll.
Choon-Hee groaned. “I hate you both.”
“No you don’t.”
“You love us, really.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah…”
“Just tell me that you haven’t finally cracked and decided to seriously go for Siwon,” Bao-Zhai teased. “Because, I know you think the man is a god, but I can assure you he is very much in love with a man.”
Choon-Hee laughed. “No, I am not crushing on Siwon. Well,” she amended, “not any more than I usually do.” That had them all laughing. “What? The man is a god. I swear. But, not to worry, my love for him is purely aesthetic.”
After the laughter died down Choon-Hee started fidgeting. “Maybe I shouldn’t have spent so much time on my make-up.”
“You look good,” Li was quick to assure her. “We were just having fun earlier, but you look really pretty. Different, but nice.”
“Do I really look that different?” She asked worriedly.
“You still look like you,” Bao-Zhai smiled. “Just… you know, you’re wearing lip gloss and a skirt.”
“So? You’re wearing a skirt too.”
“Yes, but I wear skirts quite a bit. You don’t usually wear them unless we’re in dance class.”
“Maybe I should have just worn jeans.”
“Would you stop? You look amazing. Really.”
“Whoever he is, he is going to be blown away.”
“Okay then… If you’re sure I don’t look odd.”
“You don’t look odd,” Li and Bao-Zhai said at the same time.
Choon-Hee smiled and squeezed her friend’s arms. “You’re the best. Hey, is that Junsu?”
“Yeah, I ran into him earlier and invited him along. Oh! I forgot to tell you. Sorry. I hope that’s okay?”
“No need to say sorry,” Choon-Hee laughed. “He’s nice.”
“Uh-oh,” Li Yin stopped, which in turn made the others stop.
“What?”
“Isn’t that… I mean… Changmin with him? Are you going to pull another cheese shop on us?”
Bao-Zhai snapped her neck back to the guys at the bus stop. Holy shit, it was Changmin. Her heart started racing. What was he doing there? … Wait. Cheese shop? Oh.
“No,” she smiled back at her friends, fully aware that her cheeks were rosy. “I forgot to tell you that too…”
“What, you knew he’d be here?” Choon-Hee asked in disbelief.
“No, I didn’t know he’d be here.”
“Okay. Back-up, since when are you not running in fear that he’ll smite you?”
“Um…” Great, now she was full out blushing. “Since this afternoon when I saw him at the café and we talked and I apologized.”
Her friends were looking at her in disbelief. “That’s it,” Choon-Hee said before starting off again towards the bus stop. “I am never being ‘girly’ again. The things I miss while shut up in a bathroom…”
Li Yin giggled and said something that Bao-Zhai didn’t catch. She was too busy trying to slow her heart beat and cool her cheeks.
“Hello Junsu.”
Bao-Zhai was brought back to the conversation with Li’s greeting and realized that they had already reached the guys. Shit.
Junsu turned around and smiled. “Hello girls.”
“Hi,” Bao-Zhai smiled at her friend as she tried to avoid looking at Changmin for fear of going tomato-red again. She chanced a look anyway. Damn. He looked good.
“This is my best friend, Changmin.” Junsu made the introductions. “Changmin, this is Choon-Hee, Li Yin, and Bao-Zhai.” His smile seemed to get even bigger and he actually seemed to bounce for a moment. Aw, he reminded her of her brother when he did that.
She smiled back at him before turning to Changmin. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“You to,” he nodded.
“The bus is coming.” Li informed them.
“Shall we?” Junsu asked with a theatrical sweep towards the entrance. “After you ladies.”
********
“After you ladies?” Junsu whispered in mortification before boarding the bus himself. Changmin, the only one who had heard him, shook his head and patted his friend on the back in silent comfort. They found seats toward the back. Changmin doing the proper wingman thing, subtly arranged for Junsu to sit next to Bao-Zhai. His friend smiled at him as he passed to take the seat behind them.
The girl named Li Yin, a pretty petite thing with long lashes sat next to him while the one named Choon-Hee, a caramel haired beauty, sat across the aisle. He was surrounded by pretty girls, so why did he feel slightly uncomfortable? He couldn’t help but notice, after a moment, that Junsu and Bao-Zhai seemed into some sort of fast paced conversation.
And where he sat: crickets. He should probably say something. Aish. They probably thought he was rude. What should he say?
“So… Changmin, what do you major in?”
He blinked and looked over at Choon-Hee who had asked. “History,” he smiled at her. “Sorry, I’m not the best conversationalist.”
“Li Yin is shy too, when you first meet her,” Choon-Hee staged whispered. “After that, of course, you’ll have a hard time shutting her up.”
Li Yin scowled at her friend and blushed prettily. “Don’t be a…” she frowned and then said something in Chinese. Clearly she hadn’t been able to think of the correct phrase in Korean. Whatever she had said though caused Choon-Hee to look good-naturedly affronted and Bao-Zhai to laugh.
Changmin turned his head to find the girl in front of him had turned in her seat and was smiling at Li Yin. She had a nice smile, he noted. “Where did you get that mouth Li?” Bao-Zhai teased.
“What did she say?” Asked Junsu, who had also turned to join the conversation.
“I’d tell you, but I’m too much of a lady.” Changmin snorted which had the others looking at him instantly. Bao-Zhai’s eyes were sparkling with mischief as she conceded. “Well, okay, maybe I’m not a lady all the time.”
Changmin couldn’t help smiling back at her. “Certainly not when coffee is involved.”
“What can I say,” she grinned. “I’m more of a tea person.”
That had him laughing, along with Choon-Hee and Li Yin. Junsu looked confused. “Did I miss something?”
“Is this the first time you’ll be seeing Gold Magic?”Choon-Hee diverted expertly.
Changmin didn’t hear Junsu’s answer, he was too busy watching the pink expand across Bao-Zhai’s nose before she threw her friend a thankful look and slid back to sit in the seat correctly. She really was awfully cute, he decided a moment before his stomach fell out. What was he doing? His best friend was trying to date her. Was he out his mind? He was supposed to be Junsu’s bloody wingman. He was not supposed to find the girl appealing. At all.
Shit.
He turned to Li Yin and tried to seem interested in what the pretty girl was saying. He did not glance at the back of Bao-Zhai’s head, or wonder if her hair was as soft as it looked. Nope. Not once.
…
Fuck. Okay, maybe once.
Things were so much easier when he’d hated the girl.
********
Changmin was relieved when they got to the club. Until they actually got into the club. It was crowded. He stuck close to Junsu and the girls as they made their way around the perimeter. Bao-Zhai stuck her hand up and waved at one point, a moment before a tall man was hugging her tightly. Changmin looked at Junsu to gauge his response. If Bao-Zhai already had a boyfriend, his friend would be crushed. Junsu was looking, well, not crushed… scared? He was clearly missing something.
“Alright, alright, my turn,” an even taller man said as he joined their group. “She is my sister after all.”
“Yah!” The man hugging Bao-Zhai shouted indignantly, but he let her go. The moment he did the other one hugged her.
“Zhou Mi, I just saw you earlier today,” she complained.
“So what? You’ll hug Heechul, but not your own brother?” He asked affronted as he stepped back and pouted.
“Heechul doesn’t bruise ribs in his enthusiasm.”
Oddly enough this made the man smile again. Until- “What are you wearing?”
“What does it look like?”
“A skirt!”
Which, of course, made Changmin look down at her bare legs. Her bare, shapely legs. Right. Not good. Back to eye level.
“Good observation.”
“Why are you wearing a skirt?!”
“I’ll let you in on a secret Mi, I’m a girl. And girls wear skirts. Sometimes, they even wear dresses!”
The man called Heechul cracked up. “Leave her alone Zhou Mi. The girl is twenty-one.”
“They do this every time,” someone whispered in his ear. Changmin turned his head to find Choon-Hee smiling at his perplexed look. “Zhou Mi is a… slightly over protective big brother.”
“Ah,” Changmin nodded.
“When does the band go on?” Li asked.
“Ten minutes?” Heechul guessed. “Hey, did you see the new poster Stacey painted? It’s up by the front of the stage. I don’t know if you’ll be able to make it close enough without being smashed by the crowd, but I’m sure you could see it after.”
Changmin let their conversation fade into the overall noise of the club until his name was said. “… And you remember Junsu. Changmin, this is my brother Zhou Mi.”
Bao-Zhai was closer. As was her brother, who he realized was being introduced to them. Zhou Mi was tall, and had a friendly face. Or at least, he did earlier when he was hugging his sister. Now the man was scowling at him and didn’t seem too friendly at all. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said.
Zhou Mi’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll be watching you…” He turned to Junsu. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten you either.” … And now he knew why Junsu was afraid of Bao-Zhai’s brother. Did the man blink? Ever?
“Mi,” the other man was there suddenly. “Don’t kill Zhai’s friends. It would be bad press for the band.” Zhou Mi suddenly smiled and Changmin let go of the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “I’m Heechul by the way,” the man continued. “Bao-Zhai’s unofficial other brother.” Changmin took the man’s offered hand and shook it.
“Nice to meet you… Hey, do I know you?”
Heechul smirked. Creepy. “Perhaps you’ve seen me around.”
“Right…”
Heechul then smiled and waved at someone behind him. “Micky! Over here.”
Changmin looked down and grimaced at his friend’s sudden death grip on his arm. “What?” he whispered to his paler than a ghost face.
Another man, presumably the one Heechul had been calling over, came over to Changmin’s left. “Glad you could make it,” Heechul was saying.
“Yeah, thanks for letting me know,” Micky said before turning to Changmin and Junsu, who was about to break his arm if he didn’t lighten up with the claws. The man blinked. “Junsu?”
Wait. They knew each other? Changmin looked over in time to see Junsu swallow nervously.
“Hi,” his friend squeaked before clearing his throat and trying again. “Hey Yoochun.”
. . .
Wait.
Wait.
Wait.
WHAT?!
Changmin whipped his head around to see ‘Yoochun’ smiling at his still paler than pale friend. He didn’t understand. How was… And why didn’t… And what…?
“Yoochun’s a man?”
A/N: Hey y'all. I'm back. *sheepish smile* And I am so, so, so, so, SO, SO, SO SORRY for my long absence. I know most of you are probably going, 'huh? who is she? what story is this?I am sorry! :( There is no excuse or justifier good enough. But I do apologize. Part 9 to be up shortly. I hope even just a few of you remember me? ^.^