It's Complicated - Part 9
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! ^.^
Part 9 - In the Club
“Yoochun’s a man?”
. . .
“Yeah,” the man named Yoochun smiled oddly. “Last time I checked, I was a man.”
Wait. What? Oh, no. Had he said that out loud? Everyone else was looking at him funny, so he must have.
Well, shit.
“Sorry. I mean, of course you’re a man. I didn’t mean…” Damn, he hoped he wasn’t turning red. He held out his hand. “I’m Changmin.”
“Nice to meet you Changmin,” Yoochun grinned and took the offered hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Changmin just nodded. What was he supposed to say? Yeah, me too; but I thought you were a chick? Speaking of thinking Yoochun was a chick…
Changmin turned to his pale friend, who still had his arm in a death grip and frowned. Why had Junsu let him believe Yoochun was a woman? What was that all about? . . . And the guy really needed to stop pinching off his blood circulation!
“Ow, hyung,” he whispered.
Junsu blinked before flushing red and releasing his friend’s limb. “Sorry,” he murmured.
“So… I take it you guys already know each other?” The man named Heechul raised his eyebrows and shared an unreadable look with Bao-Zhai’s brother.
Junsu swallowed before laughing strangely. “Yeah.”
Heechul smiled. (‘Did this man have a smile that wasn’t creepy?’ Changmin wondered silently.) “Great. No problem, then.” He turned back to Bao-Zhai and Zhou Mi, one of whom was looking highly confused (at least Changmin wasn’t the only one here) and the other seemed to be excited about something. “Let’s head over to our table before Shindong gets distracted by something pretty in a skirt and forgets to hold it.”
And that was how, five minutes later, Changmin found himself cramped like a sardine between his best friend and the friendly, perfectly normal (he hoped) guy whom he had just met, named Shindong. The group Changmin was with was large. He hadn’t realized there would be this many people; they took up two of the tables that lined the club walls. A crowded dance floor occupied most of the space in the large room and Changmin could make out the stage set up toward the back of the place.
Was that Yunho? It was. Changmin smiled, glad to see another familiar face even though that face was by the stage and nowhere near Changmin himself.
Changmin felt awkward and out of place. The fellow on his left was turned around in his seat talking with people at the other table, Bao-Zhai and her friends were on the other side of Shindong but he wasn’t really comfortable starting a conversation with them, besides which, the music was so loud he would have to shout to be heard anyhow. Bao-Zhai and her brother (who kept glaring at him periodically… what was that about?) were talking. The man in between Zhou Mi and Heechul, Changmin had been briefly introduced to before sitting but was also too new and too far for Changmin to feel comfortable trying to engage conversationally. Hangeng, the man’s name was, was looking to the dance floor and Changmin got the feeling he wouldn’t be staying at the table for long anyhow. Heechul was talking to the Yoochun guy. And Junsu, his supposed best friend, was too busy staring at the table to talk to him. Even though the guy had dragged him here to begin with!
Arg. Fine. Whatever. He didn’t care.
. . .
Okay, that was a lie.
Changmin looked over at the other table and wished he was there. At least he knew most everyone there. He knew Lee Teuk and Kangin (admittedly not well, but he still knew them). Kyuhyun and his girlfriend, Jessica, were there too. And Jessica’s friend who, okay he didn’t know. But look: Young-Soon! And… Jaejoong! Damn it, why couldn’t he be sitting over there? Even the two men he didn’t know, that were talking to Shindong, seemed nice.
He sighed as he looked around his table again. He needed a drink. He looked at his quiet friend. Junsu looked as uncomfortable as he felt. His friend was still pale and frowning at the table like the piece of furniture was insulting his mother.
Changmin didn’t see what Junsu had to be uncomfortable about. He was the one who had been lied to by his best friend. Supposed best friend, he corrected silently.
How could he have made Changmin think that Yoochun was a girl? After all these months? What kind of sick joke was that? What was the purpose?
Changmin frowned. What was the purpose? It didn’t do anything except make Changmin feel like a fool now that he knew the truth. He had even thought that Junsu had liked Yoochun! Huh. Looked like the joke was on him.
Aish. Why didn’t Junsu just tell him that…
Wait.
Changmin had thought that Junsu liked Yoochun. His friend had certainly acted smitten. And even earlier that night…
“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.”
Changmin’s eyes widened. Junsu liked Yoochun. Male Yoochun. He had just let Changmin assume Yoochun was a girl because… Oh. And that was also probably why he had never introduced them.
Junsu shifted nervously and inched closer to Changmin. Oh geez. Changmin just realized how much worse this situation was probably for Junsu. Junsu, who had come here trying to get closer to the girl he liked and then ran into the man he liked.
Aish, Changmin cringed, that had to be awkward.
And on top of that, his friend was probably afraid that Changmin was upset at him. Which, okay, he was still pretty upset that the man had not felt he could simply tell Changmin about how he was feeling. (Were they not best friends after all?) But he wasn’t upset or weirded out that Junsu liked a man. And he could always yell at the man for lying later. Right then, Junsu needed him.
He elbowed Junsu in the ribs and smiled when his friend frowned up at him. “Come on, let’s go to the bar,” he suggested. “You owe me a beer, remember?”
Junsu looked relieved as he nodded and hastily stood up. Changmin followed after him until they were at the bar and Junsu was putting in the order for two beers.
“So… Yoochun seems nice,” Changmin said as they waited.
Junsu tensed up and smiled nervously. “Yeah. I guess.”
“So, what do you want to do?”
Junsu frowned. “About what?”
Changmin nodded in the general direction of their table. “About Bao-Zhai and Yoochun. Did you still want to get closer to Bao-Zhai or … have your priorities… shifted?”
Junsu laughed harshly. “You noticed, huh?”
“I’m not an idiot. . . . I have sparkling written praise from my professors to prove it.”
Junsu smiled somewhat less worried. “Aren’t you… upset or… something?”
“Well, you know we’ll be talking later, right?” Junsu nodded. “Good. For now… have fun.” Junsu blinked up at him like he was talking crazy. Changmin took their two beers and started back for the table slowly.
“What do you mean, ‘have fun’?” Junsu asked as he caught to his side. “How am I supposed to do that? I am so tense I might actually self-combust.”
Changmin laughed before he stopped walking. “I mean, use me tonight. I’m here as your wing-man, right? So… I’ll wing it or something.” His friend raised an eyebrow and failed to suppress a snicker. Changmin rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever. You know what I mean. Just don’t worry about anything. Talk to Yoochun if you want. Dance with Bao-Zhai if you feel like it. Or vice versa. Or don’t talk to either. Just do what you want and know that I will be here if you need me to distract or talk up your good points or … whatever. I’ve got your back.”
And suddenly he was on the receiving end of a real Junsu, too bright, mega-watt, smile. “Thanks.”
His friend took one of the beers from him and they continued on to their table where things stopped being as awkward and Changmin stopped feeling out of place. He had a mission now. He would be the best damn wing-man ever, he vowed as he watched Junsu engage Yoochun in conversation.
********
By the time Bao-Zhai finished her conversation with Zhou Mi, Hangeng, Young-Soon, and the stooges were on the dance floor and Changmin and Junsu were returning from the bar. … When had they left? … Right, not important.
“Li, Choon-Hee,” she turned to her friends. “Let’s dance.”
“Okay!” Choon-Hee was up and ready in an instant.
Li took one look at the packed dance floor and cringed. “I think I’ll pass.”
“Oh come on Yin,” Choon-Hee tried to coax.
“No, really, I’d rather stay here. You guys go.”
“Okay. But promise to come out later?”
“. . .”
“You will dance later.” It was not a question that time.
“We shall see.”
“Hey, where are you guys going?”
“Dance floor!” Bao-Zhai answered enthusiastically.
“Dance floor? You can’t dance like that, you’re both in skirts.”
“It’s fine Mi,” Bao-Zhai sighed. “It’s not like we’re going to be doing cartwheels.”
“Don’t worry Zhou Mi,” Choon-Hee added. “We have bike shorts on underneath.”
“Choon-Hee,” Bao-Zhai hissed before grabbing her friend’s wrist and dragging her towards the dance floor.
Honestly, she didn’t know why she felt so mortified. It was true. Bao-Zhai always wore bike shorts beneath her skirts, ever since she was fifteen and a sudden unexpected gust of wind showed her friends what color underwear she had been wearing. Thankfully only her friends were with her at the time but the experience had still been embarrassing. What if they had been at school? Choon-Hee had been one of the girls there and had over the years also taken to wearing them. But still, her brother did not need to know what she wore underneath anything.
Thankfully, Bao-Zhai was able to put the discussion behind her as they wove their way through the pack of bodies until they found a spot that would fit them both and started dancing.
Bao-Zhai loved to dance. She loved all types of dance, but there was something about dancing like this, here, that made her almost giddy. With everyone around you doing their own thing, here was no pressure of anyone watching you. There was no choreography on this floor, just the beat from the speakers and her own body. This type of dancing required no thought. She could simply listen to the music and let herself go. It was freeing.
Choon-Hee was mouthing the words to the song going on as they danced. Some English pop song Bao-Zhai had never heard before. The beat changed and she laughed as her friends facial impressions got more intense.
After a few minutes on the floor, Bao-Zhai was confronted with the only thing she disliked about dancing at a club: there was a strange man’s arm around her waist. Ugh. She gently removed his arm and shook her head, smiling so as not to seem rude or cause a scene. The man shrugged good-naturedly and moved on. Easy enough but she still hated it.
When did it become okay to press up against a stranger without even a simple by your leave? Didn’t anyone ask if they could dance with you anymore? Were manners dead?
It wasn’t that she had a problem dancing with a guy, even one she had just met that night. But it made her uncomfortable to suddenly have some stranger ‘all up on her’. And they always approached from behind too. What was with that? It’s like a sneak attack!
Aish.
Choon-Hee was laughing at her. She stuck her tongue out in the adult manner she was accustomed to.
Young-Soon found them during the next song, shortly after which Bao-Zhai decided she needed some water. Damn, it was hot on the dance floor and she was starting to sweat. She told Choon-Hee and Young-Soon she was going to the bar and got a nod and a thumbs-up in response.
At the bar she ordered three waters and only had to wait a moment before the bottles were handed to her. They were cold. She held one up to her forehead as she made her way to the table. Ah, she was in heaven.
“That was quick,” Heechul grinned.
“Aish. It is so hot on the floor, oppa,” she complained.
“Good. Then you can stay with us.” Zhou Mi nodded.
She gave him a look that clearly told him he was crazy. “I’m not staying here. I’m just on a water break.”
She heard faint chuckling and turned to see Changmin smiling at her. She looked away and knew that her cheeks were redder than they had been a moment ago. Hopefully he wouldn’t notice. She had actually forgotten that he and Junsu were here. Aish. She was so stupid.
Choon-Hee flopped down next to her and grabbed one of the remaining bottles. Bao-Zhai smiled. The girl always did have impeccable timing.
“Is that for me,” Young-Soon asked, pointing to the last bottle and flopping into Li’s vacant seat. Bao-Zhai nodded. “Thanks.”
Hey, wait… “Where’s Li?”
“She’s talking to Jessica and Stacy about something,” Heechul waved his hand toward the other table, almost smacking Zhou Mi’s nose in the process.
“Hey,” Zhou Mi caught the flapping wrist and brought Heechul’s arm down. “Do you want to damage my face or something?”
Heechul smirked. “Or something.” Zhou Mi grinned.
Before anyone could say anything else (like forbid any ensuing mushiness that may have spilled from her brother’s mouth) the music stopped. Groans could be heard from the dance floor. The complaining was short lived though. Bao-Zhai, along with everyone else at the surrounding tables, cupped her mouth and shouted her approval as Gold Magic took the stage. As soon as Gold Magic started playing the dancing began anew and everyone was happy.
“I love this song!” Choon-Hee, the perpetual Siwon fan-girl, exclaimed before jumping back up and dragging Bao-Zhai and Young-soon back to the dance floor.
********
Changmin smiled as he watched Bao-Zhai being willingly pulled to the dance floor. He heard Junsu say something and shook his head. He had to stop staring at that girl, he chastised himself before turning guiltily to his best friend. “What was that ‘Su?”
“Yoochun and I are heading out to the dance floor, you coming?”
Changmin smiled, partially because Junsu seemed happy, and partially because he hadn’t been caught staring at the woman his best friend liked. “No, I’m okay here. You go ahead.”
“You sure?” His mouth asked while his eyes screamed ‘don’t come’.
“Yeah. I’m sure.”
“Okay then~!”
Changmin shook his head fondly as his best friend and Yoo(still can’t believe he’s a man)chun headed toward the sea of bodies.
“Yah, Changmin!”
Changmin blinked and turned toward Heechul. “Yes?”
Heechul patted Yoochun’s vacant seat. “Move down and talk to us. You don’t have to stay on that side of the table by yourself.”
Right. That man scared him. But, Changmin quickly realized, he didn’t really have a way out of it. . . . Crap. He nodded politely before moving down the two seats.
“. . .”
“. . .”
Awkward.
“So-”
“What-?”
. . .
“Sorry, you go first.”
Heechul smiled… and it wasn’t creepy. Would you look at that? “Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Yeah,” Changmin blinked before letting himself relax a bit.
“How long have you known Bao-Zhai?”
Uh… Well he couldn’t exactly answer ‘a few weeks, but I thought she was a bitch’, could he? He glanced at her brother. Nope. “Not long.” There. That was nice and simple.
Heechul smirked. Creepy. Changmin brought his beer up to his mouth. “How much of that time have you been crushing on her?”
He sputtered. Aish. Beer stung when it went up one’s nose, Changmin learned. “Wh-what?” He coughed out.
Heechul was grinning. Zhou Mi was frowning. “Oh come on, I saw the way you were looking at her.” Changmin paled. Crap. Maybe he hadn’t been as covert in his glances as he thought he’d been.
“A blind man would see how he looks at her,” Zhou Mi muttered darkly.
“Yah! That doesn’t even make sense,” Heechul scolded. Changmin needed another drink. But with what happened last time… Yeah, probably safer not to risk it. “Well?”
‘Well’, what? Oh, right the question.
He cleared his throat. “I uh… don’t like her like that.”
Nice one.
Real convincing.
Idiot.
“Sure you don’t. That’s why you’re here after all.” And there was the smirk again.
Aish! What was with the third degree? “What is with all the questions? Do you like her or something?”
And then Heechul was suddenly slumped over the table in hysterics. Zhou Mi was also hysterically laughing, though he had arranged himself draped over Heechul.
Okay. Changmin blinked.
. . .
He had missed something. Clearly. He had thought, maybe the man was trying to warn him off of his territory or something, but…
“Oh my God,” Zhou Mi gasped out before breaking into more laughter.
Yep. Just… confused.
Kangin, Lee Teuk, and Kyuhyun were giving them odd looks. Changmin smiled back in the hopes that they would stop. Okay, maybe it was more of a grimace. It still worked. Though, Kyuhyun’s parting glance made him think that the man thought him touched in the head.
Once Heechul’s laughter was under some form of control, the man pushed Zhou Mi off and addressed Changmin. “No,” Heechul chuckled. “What are you stupid?” That question caused Zhou Mi to burst into fresh peals of laughter.
Was he stupid? … Apparently, because he still didn’t get it. What exactly was so funny? How was he supposed to know that Heechul didn’t like her? Had the man seen her?
“I mean, I love Bao-Zhai,” Heechul continued. “But not like that! I’ve known the girl for years, ever since Zhou Mi and I started dating forever ago. She’s like my little sister.”
Wait.
What?
“Hey, you make us sound old!”
Heechul was dating Zhou Mi?
Heechul’s response was to give Zhou Mi’s hand a squeeze. . . . They’re holding hands. Changmin blinked. Had they been holding hands the whole time? . . . Wow. What was with him tonight? He used to think he was so perceptive… And Heechul was smirking at him now.
“Sorry,” he said as he realized he had been staring. He hoped he wasn’t blushing. Then again, would anyone notice in this lighting? Probably not. Yay? “I can’t believe I didn’t realize that you guys were together.”
“It’s alright,” Heechul assured him. “Hangeng was sort of acting as a buffer earlier,” the man joked. “And your cluelessness was hilarious.” Zhou Mi smiled in agreement. Whoa, that smile was much nicer than the glares he had been previously receiving.
Changmin smiled back at them.
“So,” Heechul grew semi-serious again. “Now that you know I am not competition, and I understand why you would have felt inferior, I mean look at me,” Heechul jested. “Are you going to ask our girl on a date or something?”
The smile was gone. “What? No, of course not.”
“Why? You like the girl.”
“I… I don’t…”
“You are a terrible liar.”
“You think we can’t tell when someone likes my sister?” Zhou Mi glared. “I can tell.”
Heechul patted Zhou Mi’s knee absently. “We already established that you like her. What we haven’t been able to figure out is that if you like her, why haven’t you said two words to her all night?”
“I… it’s not… I can’t…” Changmin sighed. Why was everything so complicated? He glanced at the dance floor and made a quick decision. “Look…” He took a deep breath. Junsu was going to kill him. “Don’t… Just don’t tell Junsu, okay?” Heechul and Zhou Mi blinked as one. Alright, so maybe that hadn’t been what they’d been expecting. But, in for a penny, in for a pound. “Bao-Zhai is… nice. And sweet. And pretty,” he admitted. “And she is also the girl that my best friend is crushing on.”
Heechul blinked.
Zhou Mi blinked.
Heechul and Zhou Mi blinked.
“I thought he was gay?”
“What about Yoochun?”
“Great, I finally let my guard down only to find out that the man is interested.” Zhou Mi glared at nothing. “I knew he liked her…” he poked Heechul. “I am never listening to you again.”
“Hey!” Heechul rubbed his shoulder. “I thought the man liked Yoochun!”
“He does.”
. . .
Why were they staring at him like that?
. . .
Oh, shit, had that been out loud?! Aish. This was really not his night. He needed to go home, crawl into bed with his homework and not leave his dorm until class on Monday.
“What do you mean ‘he does’?”
Shit. Shit. Shit!
“Um… nothing.”
Heechul snorted. “Bullshit.”
He was dead. His would be the first ever death by Junsu glare.
“He… he liked Yoochun… but then he met Bao-Zhai a few weeks ago and started to like her as well. Uh. He likes both of them?”
“My sister isn’t good enough? He has to like someone else too?”
“Either he’s selfish or he’s in denial.”
“Hey, you don’t know him.”
“So? He should figure it out. Better yet, he should figure out that you like Bao-Zhai already and then let her go.”
“Honestly, I think she can do better than either of you.”
“Zhou Mi!”
“She can!”
“Can we please talk about something else?” Changmin exclaimed. He was highly embarrassed as it was, thank you very much. “I know Junsu. I can assure you that he won’t ask Bao-Zhai out until he sorts out his feelings. So if he asks her out, you can be sure that he likes her and that he isn’t just in denial.”
“And what about you?”
“What about me?”
“You like her too.”
“So? I already told you. Junsu likes her and he’s my best friend. So I won’t ask her out while he still cares for her.”
“And what if she asks you out?”
“She wouldn’t,” Changmin frowned. “Would she?”
“Bao-Zhai, ask a guy out? It has been known to happen,” Heechul said wryly.
Well, that was a set of problems he did not need to think about! Changmin shook his head. “I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.”
Zhou Mi nodded. “I think I like you.”
“Uh… thanks?” He was confused again.
Zhou Mi nodded again. “If you wait long enough, you’ll miss your chance.” He smiled. “And then I’d like you even more.”
. . .
Right. He wasn’t going to comment on that.
Changmin took another sip of beer and turned back to the band playing. Maybe if he seemed so engrossed in the performance, they would stop asking him potentially dangerous questions.
. . .
It seemed to be working.
. . .
Yes!
“So Changmin, what’s your major?”
Crap.
********
Bao-Zhai collapsed into the chair next to her brother and downed the remainder of her water quickly. Ah. Water. She loved water. She would marry it if… okay, no she wouldn’t. But she still loved it! Water: so refreshing!
A burst of laughter drew Bao-Zhai from her mental water rhapsodizing. She smiled. Changmin seemed to be having a good time with her brother and Heechul. She was actually surprised to see Zhou Mi smiling so widely; no glaring or death threat to be seen. This had to be a first, she thought.
Changmin had a nice laugh.
. . .
Wait. What were they laughing about? Bao-Zhai quickly went through all the embarrassing stories her brother had on her.
He wouldn’t though… Would he?
. . .
Oh, this was so not good! They needed to stop talking! Changmin should never talk to her brother, ever: no good could come from talking to him! And Heechul? Ha!
She needed to think of something.
“You sound like the teacher from Hell.”
“Yah! I will have you know that my students love me.”
Oh… She sighed in relief. Maybe it wasn’t so bad then. “You’re back,” her brother turned to her.
She must have sighed louder than she’d thought.
“Yep.”
“Your face is all red.”
. . . What color did her brother expect her face to be? It was hot out there, for crying out loud.
“Zhou Mi, time to dance,” Heechul was on his feet and dragging her confused looking brother behind him. ("I thought you hated dancing in crowds?")
And then it was just her and Changmin. She suddenly found her empty water bottle to be very fascinating. . . . Well, at least her face couldn’t get any redder, right?
Aish, this was silly. “So... Having fun?” Wow. Nice opening Bao-Zhai, she sarcastically scolded herself. Oh, then again, Changmin was smiling at her so maybe she hadn’t done so bad after all.
“Yeah,” Changmin nodded.
“. . .”
Well… great. What was she supposed to do now?
“. . .”
Why did her words have to fail her around him of all people?
“The band is really great!”
“Do you want to dance?”
. . .
Oh no, had she just asked him to dance? Did those words actually come out of her mouth? … Judging by his deer in the headlights expression, she’d have to go with ‘yes’. Well, there was no turning back.
“Uh…” And now he wasn’t looking at her. Great. “I don’t think… I’m not much of a public dancer,” he said.
She smiled. “You can’t be worse than Heechul.” Changmin chuckled, which she found encouraging. He hadn’t flat out refused yet, anyhow. She stood up. “Come on, you don’t want to be the only one sitting here, do you?”
“Er… But if I’m not here, who will save the table?”
“Kangin and Lee Teuk will keep an eye on it,” she assured him. Then she stood and waited while it looked like he had an internal battle with himself. She may have forgotten to breathe while this happened. She remembered to take a deep breath though, when Changmin stood up and gestured for her to lead the way onto the dance floor.
She couldn’t help but grin madly as she did so. Thankfully he was behind her and couldn’t see it. But seriously, dancing with Changmin? Pinch her, she must be dreaming.
*******
He was going to Hell.
What in the world possessed him to agree to this? He should have said no. He should have stayed seated. He should not have even looked at her flushed face or given in to her soft smile. Or…
Bao-Zhai apparently found a spot she liked on the dance floor because she turned to him then with that same smile and started to move.
Oh, this was not good.
Someone fell into his side with a muffled apology before flailing away. Right. He was on a dance floor. So… he should be dancing.
She laughed as he grimaced and started swaying side to side. He could admit that the awkward swaying was not his best. He considered himself an alright dancer normally. No, really. Don’t let the present arm movements fool you. He could dance. Just, how was he supposed to think about dancing, or even listen to the music at all when his mind was ninety-nine percent full up with ways Junsu was going to kill him later?
Exactly.
(The other ten percent may have been focused on Bao-Zhai’s hips. He wasn’t really sure. … That is his story and he is sticking to it damn it!)
“Hey, you finally joined the fun!” A voice to his right shouted and was barely heard above the electric violin that just kicked in.
Changmin grimaced mentally as he grinned at Junsu. He was so dead. “Yeah.”
“Care to explain,” Junsu screamed in between an odd jumping turn move. Oh no, here it was. Changmin braced himself. “Why your moves are older than my grandma?!”
. . .
Oh. No. He. Did. Not.
But the smile on Junsu’s face clearly showed that he had, in fact, just said that.
“Oh, it is on!” He screamed before entering a dance off that he was almost positive he was doomed to lose. But, hey, he couldn’t let his dancing pride be dissed without throwing down, yo. You know?
Yeah, dance offs brought out Changmin’s fail gangster-ness.
. . .
He was not proud of this.
. . .
He was also not proud of that move he just whipped out. What was that? Yeah, he just lost this. It was over.
But Junsu was laughing, that Yoochun guy was doubled over, Bao-Zhai was smiling at him and … Oh, hey, he was laughing too. It could have ended worse.
At least he was no longer doing a bad version of the electric slide.
*******
Changmin didn’t know how long they were on the dance floor. Five? Six songs? He did know that he was sweaty and panting by the time they pushed their way through the crowd and back to the table. On second thought, he could really use some water. “I’m going to the bar,” he shouted to the others so that they’d hear.
“Oh, good idea,” Junsu panted. “I’ll come too. Anyone else want water?”
Bao-Zhai, Yoochun, and the Donghae fellow (who had joined them somewhere around song three) all nodded. Changmin chuckled. Right. We’ll be back.
“This was so much fun,” Junsu smiled after they had put their water orders in. “Thanks for coming Changmin.”
“No problem,” Changmin grinned back. He was having a much better time than he had originally anticipated.
“The band is great, too,” Junsu exclaimed as a new number began. “I’m bummed that I haven’t heard them before.” Changmin nodded as he took up three waters. “Did you see Bao-Zhai move out there?”
Changmin stumbled. “Uh…” Had Junsu seen him watching her? Shit.
“She’s really good, right? I bet she’s taken classes. There’s no way she can move like that naturally.”
Changmin let out a relieved sigh. “Yeah, she’s great.” Aish. Get it together, he scolded himself. No thinking of Bao-Zhai. Absolutely not. He needed to find some way to knock the woman out of his head. Changmin tossed Donghae a bottle as he thought. Well, if he didn’t look at her then he wouldn’t have a problem, right?
Okay then. Problem solved.
“Thank you.”
“Huh?” Changmin blinked and looked down to where Bao-Zhai was smiling up at him. She waved the water he had just handed him and her eyes were clearly laughing at him. . . . He was doomed. “I said thanks, Changmin.”
He was definitely going to hell.
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! ^.^
Part 9 - In the Club
“Yoochun’s a man?”
. . .
“Yeah,” the man named Yoochun smiled oddly. “Last time I checked, I was a man.”
Wait. What? Oh, no. Had he said that out loud? Everyone else was looking at him funny, so he must have.
Well, shit.
“Sorry. I mean, of course you’re a man. I didn’t mean…” Damn, he hoped he wasn’t turning red. He held out his hand. “I’m Changmin.”
“Nice to meet you Changmin,” Yoochun grinned and took the offered hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Changmin just nodded. What was he supposed to say? Yeah, me too; but I thought you were a chick? Speaking of thinking Yoochun was a chick…
Changmin turned to his pale friend, who still had his arm in a death grip and frowned. Why had Junsu let him believe Yoochun was a woman? What was that all about? . . . And the guy really needed to stop pinching off his blood circulation!
“Ow, hyung,” he whispered.
Junsu blinked before flushing red and releasing his friend’s limb. “Sorry,” he murmured.
“So… I take it you guys already know each other?” The man named Heechul raised his eyebrows and shared an unreadable look with Bao-Zhai’s brother.
Junsu swallowed before laughing strangely. “Yeah.”
Heechul smiled. (‘Did this man have a smile that wasn’t creepy?’ Changmin wondered silently.) “Great. No problem, then.” He turned back to Bao-Zhai and Zhou Mi, one of whom was looking highly confused (at least Changmin wasn’t the only one here) and the other seemed to be excited about something. “Let’s head over to our table before Shindong gets distracted by something pretty in a skirt and forgets to hold it.”
And that was how, five minutes later, Changmin found himself cramped like a sardine between his best friend and the friendly, perfectly normal (he hoped) guy whom he had just met, named Shindong. The group Changmin was with was large. He hadn’t realized there would be this many people; they took up two of the tables that lined the club walls. A crowded dance floor occupied most of the space in the large room and Changmin could make out the stage set up toward the back of the place.
Was that Yunho? It was. Changmin smiled, glad to see another familiar face even though that face was by the stage and nowhere near Changmin himself.
Changmin felt awkward and out of place. The fellow on his left was turned around in his seat talking with people at the other table, Bao-Zhai and her friends were on the other side of Shindong but he wasn’t really comfortable starting a conversation with them, besides which, the music was so loud he would have to shout to be heard anyhow. Bao-Zhai and her brother (who kept glaring at him periodically… what was that about?) were talking. The man in between Zhou Mi and Heechul, Changmin had been briefly introduced to before sitting but was also too new and too far for Changmin to feel comfortable trying to engage conversationally. Hangeng, the man’s name was, was looking to the dance floor and Changmin got the feeling he wouldn’t be staying at the table for long anyhow. Heechul was talking to the Yoochun guy. And Junsu, his supposed best friend, was too busy staring at the table to talk to him. Even though the guy had dragged him here to begin with!
Arg. Fine. Whatever. He didn’t care.
. . .
Okay, that was a lie.
Changmin looked over at the other table and wished he was there. At least he knew most everyone there. He knew Lee Teuk and Kangin (admittedly not well, but he still knew them). Kyuhyun and his girlfriend, Jessica, were there too. And Jessica’s friend who, okay he didn’t know. But look: Young-Soon! And… Jaejoong! Damn it, why couldn’t he be sitting over there? Even the two men he didn’t know, that were talking to Shindong, seemed nice.
He sighed as he looked around his table again. He needed a drink. He looked at his quiet friend. Junsu looked as uncomfortable as he felt. His friend was still pale and frowning at the table like the piece of furniture was insulting his mother.
Changmin didn’t see what Junsu had to be uncomfortable about. He was the one who had been lied to by his best friend. Supposed best friend, he corrected silently.
How could he have made Changmin think that Yoochun was a girl? After all these months? What kind of sick joke was that? What was the purpose?
Changmin frowned. What was the purpose? It didn’t do anything except make Changmin feel like a fool now that he knew the truth. He had even thought that Junsu had liked Yoochun! Huh. Looked like the joke was on him.
Aish. Why didn’t Junsu just tell him that…
Wait.
Changmin had thought that Junsu liked Yoochun. His friend had certainly acted smitten. And even earlier that night…
“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.”
Changmin’s eyes widened. Junsu liked Yoochun. Male Yoochun. He had just let Changmin assume Yoochun was a girl because… Oh. And that was also probably why he had never introduced them.
Junsu shifted nervously and inched closer to Changmin. Oh geez. Changmin just realized how much worse this situation was probably for Junsu. Junsu, who had come here trying to get closer to the girl he liked and then ran into the man he liked.
Aish, Changmin cringed, that had to be awkward.
And on top of that, his friend was probably afraid that Changmin was upset at him. Which, okay, he was still pretty upset that the man had not felt he could simply tell Changmin about how he was feeling. (Were they not best friends after all?) But he wasn’t upset or weirded out that Junsu liked a man. And he could always yell at the man for lying later. Right then, Junsu needed him.
He elbowed Junsu in the ribs and smiled when his friend frowned up at him. “Come on, let’s go to the bar,” he suggested. “You owe me a beer, remember?”
Junsu looked relieved as he nodded and hastily stood up. Changmin followed after him until they were at the bar and Junsu was putting in the order for two beers.
“So… Yoochun seems nice,” Changmin said as they waited.
Junsu tensed up and smiled nervously. “Yeah. I guess.”
“So, what do you want to do?”
Junsu frowned. “About what?”
Changmin nodded in the general direction of their table. “About Bao-Zhai and Yoochun. Did you still want to get closer to Bao-Zhai or … have your priorities… shifted?”
Junsu laughed harshly. “You noticed, huh?”
“I’m not an idiot. . . . I have sparkling written praise from my professors to prove it.”
Junsu smiled somewhat less worried. “Aren’t you… upset or… something?”
“Well, you know we’ll be talking later, right?” Junsu nodded. “Good. For now… have fun.” Junsu blinked up at him like he was talking crazy. Changmin took their two beers and started back for the table slowly.
“What do you mean, ‘have fun’?” Junsu asked as he caught to his side. “How am I supposed to do that? I am so tense I might actually self-combust.”
Changmin laughed before he stopped walking. “I mean, use me tonight. I’m here as your wing-man, right? So… I’ll wing it or something.” His friend raised an eyebrow and failed to suppress a snicker. Changmin rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever. You know what I mean. Just don’t worry about anything. Talk to Yoochun if you want. Dance with Bao-Zhai if you feel like it. Or vice versa. Or don’t talk to either. Just do what you want and know that I will be here if you need me to distract or talk up your good points or … whatever. I’ve got your back.”
And suddenly he was on the receiving end of a real Junsu, too bright, mega-watt, smile. “Thanks.”
His friend took one of the beers from him and they continued on to their table where things stopped being as awkward and Changmin stopped feeling out of place. He had a mission now. He would be the best damn wing-man ever, he vowed as he watched Junsu engage Yoochun in conversation.
********
By the time Bao-Zhai finished her conversation with Zhou Mi, Hangeng, Young-Soon, and the stooges were on the dance floor and Changmin and Junsu were returning from the bar. … When had they left? … Right, not important.
“Li, Choon-Hee,” she turned to her friends. “Let’s dance.”
“Okay!” Choon-Hee was up and ready in an instant.
Li took one look at the packed dance floor and cringed. “I think I’ll pass.”
“Oh come on Yin,” Choon-Hee tried to coax.
“No, really, I’d rather stay here. You guys go.”
“Okay. But promise to come out later?”
“. . .”
“You will dance later.” It was not a question that time.
“We shall see.”
“Hey, where are you guys going?”
“Dance floor!” Bao-Zhai answered enthusiastically.
“Dance floor? You can’t dance like that, you’re both in skirts.”
“It’s fine Mi,” Bao-Zhai sighed. “It’s not like we’re going to be doing cartwheels.”
“Don’t worry Zhou Mi,” Choon-Hee added. “We have bike shorts on underneath.”
“Choon-Hee,” Bao-Zhai hissed before grabbing her friend’s wrist and dragging her towards the dance floor.
Honestly, she didn’t know why she felt so mortified. It was true. Bao-Zhai always wore bike shorts beneath her skirts, ever since she was fifteen and a sudden unexpected gust of wind showed her friends what color underwear she had been wearing. Thankfully only her friends were with her at the time but the experience had still been embarrassing. What if they had been at school? Choon-Hee had been one of the girls there and had over the years also taken to wearing them. But still, her brother did not need to know what she wore underneath anything.
Thankfully, Bao-Zhai was able to put the discussion behind her as they wove their way through the pack of bodies until they found a spot that would fit them both and started dancing.
Bao-Zhai loved to dance. She loved all types of dance, but there was something about dancing like this, here, that made her almost giddy. With everyone around you doing their own thing, here was no pressure of anyone watching you. There was no choreography on this floor, just the beat from the speakers and her own body. This type of dancing required no thought. She could simply listen to the music and let herself go. It was freeing.
Choon-Hee was mouthing the words to the song going on as they danced. Some English pop song Bao-Zhai had never heard before. The beat changed and she laughed as her friends facial impressions got more intense.
After a few minutes on the floor, Bao-Zhai was confronted with the only thing she disliked about dancing at a club: there was a strange man’s arm around her waist. Ugh. She gently removed his arm and shook her head, smiling so as not to seem rude or cause a scene. The man shrugged good-naturedly and moved on. Easy enough but she still hated it.
When did it become okay to press up against a stranger without even a simple by your leave? Didn’t anyone ask if they could dance with you anymore? Were manners dead?
It wasn’t that she had a problem dancing with a guy, even one she had just met that night. But it made her uncomfortable to suddenly have some stranger ‘all up on her’. And they always approached from behind too. What was with that? It’s like a sneak attack!
Aish.
Choon-Hee was laughing at her. She stuck her tongue out in the adult manner she was accustomed to.
Young-Soon found them during the next song, shortly after which Bao-Zhai decided she needed some water. Damn, it was hot on the dance floor and she was starting to sweat. She told Choon-Hee and Young-Soon she was going to the bar and got a nod and a thumbs-up in response.
At the bar she ordered three waters and only had to wait a moment before the bottles were handed to her. They were cold. She held one up to her forehead as she made her way to the table. Ah, she was in heaven.
“That was quick,” Heechul grinned.
“Aish. It is so hot on the floor, oppa,” she complained.
“Good. Then you can stay with us.” Zhou Mi nodded.
She gave him a look that clearly told him he was crazy. “I’m not staying here. I’m just on a water break.”
She heard faint chuckling and turned to see Changmin smiling at her. She looked away and knew that her cheeks were redder than they had been a moment ago. Hopefully he wouldn’t notice. She had actually forgotten that he and Junsu were here. Aish. She was so stupid.
Choon-Hee flopped down next to her and grabbed one of the remaining bottles. Bao-Zhai smiled. The girl always did have impeccable timing.
“Is that for me,” Young-Soon asked, pointing to the last bottle and flopping into Li’s vacant seat. Bao-Zhai nodded. “Thanks.”
Hey, wait… “Where’s Li?”
“She’s talking to Jessica and Stacy about something,” Heechul waved his hand toward the other table, almost smacking Zhou Mi’s nose in the process.
“Hey,” Zhou Mi caught the flapping wrist and brought Heechul’s arm down. “Do you want to damage my face or something?”
Heechul smirked. “Or something.” Zhou Mi grinned.
Before anyone could say anything else (like forbid any ensuing mushiness that may have spilled from her brother’s mouth) the music stopped. Groans could be heard from the dance floor. The complaining was short lived though. Bao-Zhai, along with everyone else at the surrounding tables, cupped her mouth and shouted her approval as Gold Magic took the stage. As soon as Gold Magic started playing the dancing began anew and everyone was happy.
“I love this song!” Choon-Hee, the perpetual Siwon fan-girl, exclaimed before jumping back up and dragging Bao-Zhai and Young-soon back to the dance floor.
********
Changmin smiled as he watched Bao-Zhai being willingly pulled to the dance floor. He heard Junsu say something and shook his head. He had to stop staring at that girl, he chastised himself before turning guiltily to his best friend. “What was that ‘Su?”
“Yoochun and I are heading out to the dance floor, you coming?”
Changmin smiled, partially because Junsu seemed happy, and partially because he hadn’t been caught staring at the woman his best friend liked. “No, I’m okay here. You go ahead.”
“You sure?” His mouth asked while his eyes screamed ‘don’t come’.
“Yeah. I’m sure.”
“Okay then~!”
Changmin shook his head fondly as his best friend and Yoo(still can’t believe he’s a man)chun headed toward the sea of bodies.
“Yah, Changmin!”
Changmin blinked and turned toward Heechul. “Yes?”
Heechul patted Yoochun’s vacant seat. “Move down and talk to us. You don’t have to stay on that side of the table by yourself.”
Right. That man scared him. But, Changmin quickly realized, he didn’t really have a way out of it. . . . Crap. He nodded politely before moving down the two seats.
“. . .”
“. . .”
Awkward.
“So-”
“What-?”
. . .
“Sorry, you go first.”
Heechul smiled… and it wasn’t creepy. Would you look at that? “Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Yeah,” Changmin blinked before letting himself relax a bit.
“How long have you known Bao-Zhai?”
Uh… Well he couldn’t exactly answer ‘a few weeks, but I thought she was a bitch’, could he? He glanced at her brother. Nope. “Not long.” There. That was nice and simple.
Heechul smirked. Creepy. Changmin brought his beer up to his mouth. “How much of that time have you been crushing on her?”
He sputtered. Aish. Beer stung when it went up one’s nose, Changmin learned. “Wh-what?” He coughed out.
Heechul was grinning. Zhou Mi was frowning. “Oh come on, I saw the way you were looking at her.” Changmin paled. Crap. Maybe he hadn’t been as covert in his glances as he thought he’d been.
“A blind man would see how he looks at her,” Zhou Mi muttered darkly.
“Yah! That doesn’t even make sense,” Heechul scolded. Changmin needed another drink. But with what happened last time… Yeah, probably safer not to risk it. “Well?”
‘Well’, what? Oh, right the question.
He cleared his throat. “I uh… don’t like her like that.”
Nice one.
Real convincing.
Idiot.
“Sure you don’t. That’s why you’re here after all.” And there was the smirk again.
Aish! What was with the third degree? “What is with all the questions? Do you like her or something?”
And then Heechul was suddenly slumped over the table in hysterics. Zhou Mi was also hysterically laughing, though he had arranged himself draped over Heechul.
Okay. Changmin blinked.
. . .
He had missed something. Clearly. He had thought, maybe the man was trying to warn him off of his territory or something, but…
“Oh my God,” Zhou Mi gasped out before breaking into more laughter.
Yep. Just… confused.
Kangin, Lee Teuk, and Kyuhyun were giving them odd looks. Changmin smiled back in the hopes that they would stop. Okay, maybe it was more of a grimace. It still worked. Though, Kyuhyun’s parting glance made him think that the man thought him touched in the head.
Once Heechul’s laughter was under some form of control, the man pushed Zhou Mi off and addressed Changmin. “No,” Heechul chuckled. “What are you stupid?” That question caused Zhou Mi to burst into fresh peals of laughter.
Was he stupid? … Apparently, because he still didn’t get it. What exactly was so funny? How was he supposed to know that Heechul didn’t like her? Had the man seen her?
“I mean, I love Bao-Zhai,” Heechul continued. “But not like that! I’ve known the girl for years, ever since Zhou Mi and I started dating forever ago. She’s like my little sister.”
Wait.
What?
“Hey, you make us sound old!”
Heechul was dating Zhou Mi?
Heechul’s response was to give Zhou Mi’s hand a squeeze. . . . They’re holding hands. Changmin blinked. Had they been holding hands the whole time? . . . Wow. What was with him tonight? He used to think he was so perceptive… And Heechul was smirking at him now.
“Sorry,” he said as he realized he had been staring. He hoped he wasn’t blushing. Then again, would anyone notice in this lighting? Probably not. Yay? “I can’t believe I didn’t realize that you guys were together.”
“It’s alright,” Heechul assured him. “Hangeng was sort of acting as a buffer earlier,” the man joked. “And your cluelessness was hilarious.” Zhou Mi smiled in agreement. Whoa, that smile was much nicer than the glares he had been previously receiving.
Changmin smiled back at them.
“So,” Heechul grew semi-serious again. “Now that you know I am not competition, and I understand why you would have felt inferior, I mean look at me,” Heechul jested. “Are you going to ask our girl on a date or something?”
The smile was gone. “What? No, of course not.”
“Why? You like the girl.”
“I… I don’t…”
“You are a terrible liar.”
“You think we can’t tell when someone likes my sister?” Zhou Mi glared. “I can tell.”
Heechul patted Zhou Mi’s knee absently. “We already established that you like her. What we haven’t been able to figure out is that if you like her, why haven’t you said two words to her all night?”
“I… it’s not… I can’t…” Changmin sighed. Why was everything so complicated? He glanced at the dance floor and made a quick decision. “Look…” He took a deep breath. Junsu was going to kill him. “Don’t… Just don’t tell Junsu, okay?” Heechul and Zhou Mi blinked as one. Alright, so maybe that hadn’t been what they’d been expecting. But, in for a penny, in for a pound. “Bao-Zhai is… nice. And sweet. And pretty,” he admitted. “And she is also the girl that my best friend is crushing on.”
Heechul blinked.
Zhou Mi blinked.
Heechul and Zhou Mi blinked.
“I thought he was gay?”
“What about Yoochun?”
“Great, I finally let my guard down only to find out that the man is interested.” Zhou Mi glared at nothing. “I knew he liked her…” he poked Heechul. “I am never listening to you again.”
“Hey!” Heechul rubbed his shoulder. “I thought the man liked Yoochun!”
“He does.”
. . .
Why were they staring at him like that?
. . .
Oh, shit, had that been out loud?! Aish. This was really not his night. He needed to go home, crawl into bed with his homework and not leave his dorm until class on Monday.
“What do you mean ‘he does’?”
Shit. Shit. Shit!
“Um… nothing.”
Heechul snorted. “Bullshit.”
He was dead. His would be the first ever death by Junsu glare.
“He… he liked Yoochun… but then he met Bao-Zhai a few weeks ago and started to like her as well. Uh. He likes both of them?”
“My sister isn’t good enough? He has to like someone else too?”
“Either he’s selfish or he’s in denial.”
“Hey, you don’t know him.”
“So? He should figure it out. Better yet, he should figure out that you like Bao-Zhai already and then let her go.”
“Honestly, I think she can do better than either of you.”
“Zhou Mi!”
“She can!”
“Can we please talk about something else?” Changmin exclaimed. He was highly embarrassed as it was, thank you very much. “I know Junsu. I can assure you that he won’t ask Bao-Zhai out until he sorts out his feelings. So if he asks her out, you can be sure that he likes her and that he isn’t just in denial.”
“And what about you?”
“What about me?”
“You like her too.”
“So? I already told you. Junsu likes her and he’s my best friend. So I won’t ask her out while he still cares for her.”
“And what if she asks you out?”
“She wouldn’t,” Changmin frowned. “Would she?”
“Bao-Zhai, ask a guy out? It has been known to happen,” Heechul said wryly.
Well, that was a set of problems he did not need to think about! Changmin shook his head. “I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.”
Zhou Mi nodded. “I think I like you.”
“Uh… thanks?” He was confused again.
Zhou Mi nodded again. “If you wait long enough, you’ll miss your chance.” He smiled. “And then I’d like you even more.”
. . .
Right. He wasn’t going to comment on that.
Changmin took another sip of beer and turned back to the band playing. Maybe if he seemed so engrossed in the performance, they would stop asking him potentially dangerous questions.
. . .
It seemed to be working.
. . .
Yes!
“So Changmin, what’s your major?”
Crap.
********
Bao-Zhai collapsed into the chair next to her brother and downed the remainder of her water quickly. Ah. Water. She loved water. She would marry it if… okay, no she wouldn’t. But she still loved it! Water: so refreshing!
A burst of laughter drew Bao-Zhai from her mental water rhapsodizing. She smiled. Changmin seemed to be having a good time with her brother and Heechul. She was actually surprised to see Zhou Mi smiling so widely; no glaring or death threat to be seen. This had to be a first, she thought.
Changmin had a nice laugh.
. . .
Wait. What were they laughing about? Bao-Zhai quickly went through all the embarrassing stories her brother had on her.
He wouldn’t though… Would he?
. . .
Oh, this was so not good! They needed to stop talking! Changmin should never talk to her brother, ever: no good could come from talking to him! And Heechul? Ha!
She needed to think of something.
“You sound like the teacher from Hell.”
“Yah! I will have you know that my students love me.”
Oh… She sighed in relief. Maybe it wasn’t so bad then. “You’re back,” her brother turned to her.
She must have sighed louder than she’d thought.
“Yep.”
“Your face is all red.”
. . . What color did her brother expect her face to be? It was hot out there, for crying out loud.
“Zhou Mi, time to dance,” Heechul was on his feet and dragging her confused looking brother behind him. ("I thought you hated dancing in crowds?")
And then it was just her and Changmin. She suddenly found her empty water bottle to be very fascinating. . . . Well, at least her face couldn’t get any redder, right?
Aish, this was silly. “So... Having fun?” Wow. Nice opening Bao-Zhai, she sarcastically scolded herself. Oh, then again, Changmin was smiling at her so maybe she hadn’t done so bad after all.
“Yeah,” Changmin nodded.
“. . .”
Well… great. What was she supposed to do now?
“. . .”
Why did her words have to fail her around him of all people?
“The band is really great!”
“Do you want to dance?”
. . .
Oh no, had she just asked him to dance? Did those words actually come out of her mouth? … Judging by his deer in the headlights expression, she’d have to go with ‘yes’. Well, there was no turning back.
“Uh…” And now he wasn’t looking at her. Great. “I don’t think… I’m not much of a public dancer,” he said.
She smiled. “You can’t be worse than Heechul.” Changmin chuckled, which she found encouraging. He hadn’t flat out refused yet, anyhow. She stood up. “Come on, you don’t want to be the only one sitting here, do you?”
“Er… But if I’m not here, who will save the table?”
“Kangin and Lee Teuk will keep an eye on it,” she assured him. Then she stood and waited while it looked like he had an internal battle with himself. She may have forgotten to breathe while this happened. She remembered to take a deep breath though, when Changmin stood up and gestured for her to lead the way onto the dance floor.
She couldn’t help but grin madly as she did so. Thankfully he was behind her and couldn’t see it. But seriously, dancing with Changmin? Pinch her, she must be dreaming.
*******
He was going to Hell.
What in the world possessed him to agree to this? He should have said no. He should have stayed seated. He should not have even looked at her flushed face or given in to her soft smile. Or…
Bao-Zhai apparently found a spot she liked on the dance floor because she turned to him then with that same smile and started to move.
Oh, this was not good.
Someone fell into his side with a muffled apology before flailing away. Right. He was on a dance floor. So… he should be dancing.
She laughed as he grimaced and started swaying side to side. He could admit that the awkward swaying was not his best. He considered himself an alright dancer normally. No, really. Don’t let the present arm movements fool you. He could dance. Just, how was he supposed to think about dancing, or even listen to the music at all when his mind was ninety-nine percent full up with ways Junsu was going to kill him later?
Exactly.
(The other ten percent may have been focused on Bao-Zhai’s hips. He wasn’t really sure. … That is his story and he is sticking to it damn it!)
“Hey, you finally joined the fun!” A voice to his right shouted and was barely heard above the electric violin that just kicked in.
Changmin grimaced mentally as he grinned at Junsu. He was so dead. “Yeah.”
“Care to explain,” Junsu screamed in between an odd jumping turn move. Oh no, here it was. Changmin braced himself. “Why your moves are older than my grandma?!”
. . .
Oh. No. He. Did. Not.
But the smile on Junsu’s face clearly showed that he had, in fact, just said that.
“Oh, it is on!” He screamed before entering a dance off that he was almost positive he was doomed to lose. But, hey, he couldn’t let his dancing pride be dissed without throwing down, yo. You know?
Yeah, dance offs brought out Changmin’s fail gangster-ness.
. . .
He was not proud of this.
. . .
He was also not proud of that move he just whipped out. What was that? Yeah, he just lost this. It was over.
But Junsu was laughing, that Yoochun guy was doubled over, Bao-Zhai was smiling at him and … Oh, hey, he was laughing too. It could have ended worse.
At least he was no longer doing a bad version of the electric slide.
*******
Changmin didn’t know how long they were on the dance floor. Five? Six songs? He did know that he was sweaty and panting by the time they pushed their way through the crowd and back to the table. On second thought, he could really use some water. “I’m going to the bar,” he shouted to the others so that they’d hear.
“Oh, good idea,” Junsu panted. “I’ll come too. Anyone else want water?”
Bao-Zhai, Yoochun, and the Donghae fellow (who had joined them somewhere around song three) all nodded. Changmin chuckled. Right. We’ll be back.
“This was so much fun,” Junsu smiled after they had put their water orders in. “Thanks for coming Changmin.”
“No problem,” Changmin grinned back. He was having a much better time than he had originally anticipated.
“The band is great, too,” Junsu exclaimed as a new number began. “I’m bummed that I haven’t heard them before.” Changmin nodded as he took up three waters. “Did you see Bao-Zhai move out there?”
Changmin stumbled. “Uh…” Had Junsu seen him watching her? Shit.
“She’s really good, right? I bet she’s taken classes. There’s no way she can move like that naturally.”
Changmin let out a relieved sigh. “Yeah, she’s great.” Aish. Get it together, he scolded himself. No thinking of Bao-Zhai. Absolutely not. He needed to find some way to knock the woman out of his head. Changmin tossed Donghae a bottle as he thought. Well, if he didn’t look at her then he wouldn’t have a problem, right?
Okay then. Problem solved.
“Thank you.”
“Huh?” Changmin blinked and looked down to where Bao-Zhai was smiling up at him. She waved the water he had just handed him and her eyes were clearly laughing at him. . . . He was doomed. “I said thanks, Changmin.”
He was definitely going to hell.