fic // TVXQ // Our Little Princess #13
Title: Our Little Princess
Author: catachrestical
Keywords: Bandfic; hints of JaeHo and YooSu; some original characters.
Rating: PG13 for few language mishaps.
Disclaimer: Do not own, did not happen.
Notes: Kids. TVXQ. Attempts on crack/drama/fluff.
First version beta'd by janeberryblue; current version re-beta'd by bel_chan ♥
Thanks for reading :)
*
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A/N: ... :D;
So. I decided that there won't be an epilogue... because of the way I left this this chapter hanging. So instead you get a whooping 5,000-word update. oh, and this chapter is dedicated to atobekazuki because I promised her something before November and it's juuuust a bit late (sorry >_>;) and bel_chan because she's an awesome beta and trust me, you cannot read this shit without her >_>
... Enjoy!
Our Little Princess
Chapter 13: I'm Yours
"Open up your mind and see like me,
Open up your plans and damn you're free;
Look into your heart and you'll find love, love, love."
- Jason Mraz, "I'm Yours".
→ [ download ]
*
[ Pandora and JooEun || Private Chat ]
pandybox: Are you ditching class?
districtattorney: No. What I am is cranky. This is my fourth cup of coffee. I think I might be really bouncy by noon.
districtattorney: What I'm not, however, is ditching.
pandybox: ...then why are we chatting?
districtattorney: Han sunsaengnim is talking about internships.
pandybox: You'll be doing yours in your father's firm?
districtattorney: Nepotism. I'm against that.
pandybox: You're representing your own brother.
districtattorney: Shut up and let me be pseudo-righteous in peace.
pandybox: So… why are we chatting again?
districtattorney: :)
districtattorney: Phillips & Phillips offered me an internship in their New York office.
pandybox: ...
pandybox: Many congratulations.
districtattorney: Your enthusiasm moves me.
pandybox: Off with the snark, on with the kids.
districtattorney: What makes you think I know about the kids? I haven't seen them since last night. Call your brother. Or ChangMin.
districtattorney: Unless you want a recount of us picking them up in the Arisugawa Residence. Which consists of walking in, scaring the crap out of the grandparents, having them sign custody papers, giving them the DNA test results, bluffing about the Hayashi Incorporated fiasco.
districtattorney: I mean, we had no concrete proof, really, but I think suggestive speculation were enough to scare them. We picked up the kids, had touching reunion moment yada yada yada, caught a red eye back to Seoul.
districtattorney: CALL YOUR BROTHER.
districtattorney: Or ChangMin.
pandybox: ... Why are you singling him out?
districtattorney: Do you really want to pull that thread?
pandybox: Why wouldn't I?
districtattorney: Oh, I don't know. Because it took you ten seconds to answer that question?
pandybox: JooEun.
districtattorney: Panda.
pandybox: For once I met a guy who seems to delight in all my snarks and letdowns and that means I've found my true love?
pandybox: That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard all week. And you know how this week's been.
districtattorney: I'm just saying he's worth the chance, since, you know,
districtattorney: *you* can actually *stand* him
districtattorney: and don't even try to weasel your way out of this. You like his company.
districtattorney: I haven't heard you insult him once
districtattorney: and you're a sucker for smart guys.
pandybox: Gee. You seem to know more about me than I do myself. Why don't *you* date him.
districtattorney: Can't. No time.
pandybox: And you're telling me to date.
districtattorney: Oh, please, Panda. You major in Forestry.
pandybox: And Asian Studies.
districtattorney: Sorry, nothing is harder than law. Except maybe med school.
pandybox: And people say I'm the ambitious one.
districtattorney: We're not talking about me, defendant :)
pandybox: ...
pandybox: This conversation is over.
districtattorney: Mm, suit yourself. Call your brother.
pandybox: If you say 'or ChangMin', I will burn all your textbooks.
districtattorney: Oh, the horror. You're welcome to do that anytime.
pandybox: JooEun. I'm in Virginia. He's in Seoul. We've talked a total of four times. What crack have you been smoking?
districtattorney: Only the legal kind, unfortunately.
pandybox: I hate people.
districtattorney: But you don't hate him~
pandybox: And you're delusional. This conversation is over.
districtattorney: No, this conversation is ADJOURNED.
pandybox: Lay off the caffeine.
districtattorney: ...Yeah, I think that's a good idea.
pandybox has signed off.
*
Twelve fifty-four am and she swept everything on her bed down onto the beige carpet in one quick motion - headphones, wristwatch, the metal blue LG cellphone YooChun sent her last year. The retractable mouse followed next, fingers choosing to ghost over the small touchpad. On the limited space that was her unmade bed, a mouse, however small, would only restrain her movements. Pandora was a dancer, spiritually and physically, and she hated restrictions.
---quagmire: You know, one can argue that a touchpad has even more limited space than a mouse within half a foot square device we know as mouse pads.
pandybox: You know, most people would just mind their own business.
quagmire: ...
quagmire: :)
pandybox: ... a touchpad is more sensitive. And it requires only one finger to operate.
quagmire: Then you're talking about practicality, not restriction.
pandybox: Impracticality is a restriction for me.
quagmire: Now you're just being competitive.
pandybox: I prefer 'difficult'.
quagmire: You're being difficult.
pandybox: Yes, I am.
quagmire: I think I like traditional mouse better.
pandybox: I don't remember asking, but do enlighten me.
quagmire: The touchpad is too sensitive and I always end up clicking things I don't want to click.
pandybox: You just have clumsy motor function.
quagmire: I prefer 'commonsensical'.
pandybox: You have clumsy motor function.
quagmire: Yes I - wait. You're not playing by the rules.
pandybox: Do I ever?
quagmire: ...No, I guess not.---
Having a crush on ChangMin was impractical. Hell, even thinking about it was impractical. Pandora stared at the piece of paper she picked up earlier after class-out of impulse more than anything else. It had EXCHANGE PROGRAM APPLICATION as its header. She crumpled the paper and tossed it to the trashcan on the other corner of the room. It missed.
Pandora had a feeling that she cursed for an entirely different reason.
*
Fr: ChungAe Shim
To: Pandora Park ; JooEun Jung
Re: So...
How did it go?
- ChungAe.
---
[ Message 2 of 4 ] from Pandora Park to JooEun Jung; ChungAe Shim
Re: Ask your brother.
Or ChangMin.
- Pandy.
---
[ Message 3 of 4 ] from ChungAe Shim to JooEun Jung; Pandora Park
Re: Er.
... ChangMin-oppa is my only brother.
- ChungAe.
---
[ Message 4 of 4 ] from JooEun Jung to Pandora Park; ChungAe Shim
Re: Don't mind her.
Lunch tomorrow? :Dv
- JE.
*
[ Far, far away from Virginia || roughly the same time ]
"Oppa's still asleep."
"Are we going to pour water on them?"
JunSu blinked. "I don't know. Are we insane?"
YooChun made a face. "By the look of it, JaeJoong's gonna wake up with a hell - I mean, a very bad neck-ache anyway. So while he's at it, why not-"
"You can swell awound Kane, you know."
"... Huh?"
"Swell. Culls." Still blank looks. Ugh, she hated her lisp.
"I think she meant to say you can swear and curse around her." ChangMin informed them calmly, Akira perching on his hip.
There was a chorus of nods and 'ohh's. Kaneko let out an indignant huff.
"So are we going to pour water on them?"
JunSu gave the other man a speculative look. "Are you feeling particularly suicidal this morning?"
"Like I said-"
"We're hungry. Well, Kaneko and I, at least. So wake them up however you fancy."
"Why don't you wake them up?"
ChangMin waved towards Akira's general direction. Akira, blissfully clueless, blew spit bubbles at them. :D!
"Excuses. Eat JunSu." YooChun countered.
"Hey!"
ChangMin paused for a beat, before, "I can't even begin to tell you how wrong that sounded."
"Huh? Wh-" And then YooChun caught up. "...I totally didn't mean to make it sound like that."
"Right," ChangMin smiled oh-so-sweetly. "of course, you're just a walking sexual innuendo."
"Funny coming from someone who watches too much -"
"I would advise against continuing that." They froze at the familiar, sleep-heavy voice. JaeJoong pressed the back of his hand on his eyelids, trying to block out sunshine filtering through the living room windows. "And keep your voices down, I don't think he's-"
"Oh, but he is," YooChun gestured to a blinking, disoriented YunHo. The leader stared at them blearily, quite a sight with his hair sticking up on one side and the pattern of JaeJoong's sweater stamping his right cheek. He blinked again, as if he were still in a dream, before turning to look at JaeJoong.
"I know you." Leader-sshi murmured, lips curving into a sleepy smile. "We spent the night together."
"And good morning to you, too, sleepyhead." JaeJoong laughed. If one looked closely, they might be able to see a hint of blush on his cheeks.
JunSu cleared his throat, and even though he tried being as unobtrusive as possible, it still sounded like 'Oh my God you guys not in front of the kids please get a room'. YooChun actually winced. ChangMin just rolled his eyes at his lack of tact.
YunHo snapped out of dreamland and quickly scrambled off JaeJoong. JaeJoong sat up, too, and winced when he felt the fragile bones that formed his neck cracking. He wished he'd used an extra pillow.
"What time is it?" YunHo frowned, after deciding that everyone looked fresh-from-shower, instead of fresh-from-sleep, including Kaneko.
"Almost eleven."
"Oppa, hungwy." Kaneko tugged at JaeJoong's hand. JaeJoong took one look at her and rolled off the couch.
"Let me brush my teeth first, yeah? And then I'll make something." He smiled before leaving for the bathroom. Kaneko grinned and started towards the kitchen to see what food she could ask JaeJoong to make.
ChangMin rolled his eyes. It was never that easy for them. In their day-offs, a newly-awakened JaeJoong was a force to be careful around. Asking for food wasn't out of the question, but again, one must be careful. Be very, very careful. Without his skillful bargaining or JunSu's cute acts or YooChun's impressive persuasion, a good breakfast was hard to come by.
Kaneko managed it with two words.
Hmm, he had to establish a negotiation with the little girl about this.
YunHo rubbed the back of his neck, fatigue still looming behind his dark eyes. He gave them a sort-of weak smile and excused himself to the other bathroom with a few murmurs.
The three stared among each other.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Yeah."
"Next time we'll just tell Kane to wake them up."
*
[ ChangMin || Three Hours Later ]
On a holiday, this was how an ordinary afternoon looked like in our household: JaeJoong would putter around in the kitchen, humming a fifties love song under his breath, baking no less than two kinds of pastries and snapping his teeth at anyone who tried to disrupt the process (YunHo-hyung included). Leader-sshi would either be found reading, talking to the managers on the phone, or bothering JaeJoong-hyung anyway. JunSu would assume his place in front of the TV with PS2 joystick in his hands. If YooChun-hyung was in the mood, he'd voluntarily have his ass kicked for a few rounds. If he wasn't, he would sit behind JunSu with his headphones on, replying to fan messages on his laptop and throwing popcorn into JunSu's hair in between. As for me, I would sit on the other end of the couch YooChun-hyung was occupying with either my laptop or my PSP, sharing his popcorn, playing a game, being snarky, or doing whatever one would do with a laptop (studying, entertaining self, not watching porn). Some days we trade activities, but you could always find us sprawled around the vicinity of the living room and the small kitchen connected to it.
The sun had set, though, the cakes were baking, and JunSu finally got bored trying to beat his latest high score. He'd coerced us into watching the newest K-drama DVD he'd asked one of the staff-noonas to pick up earlier: another run-of-the-mill love story with a happy ending (thankfully, no one had terminal illness). Akira was snoozing on YunHo-hyung's lap, the episode was nearing an end, and the male lead was about to kiss the female lead when-
"Oppa, get yowl hands off!" Four pair of eyes turned towards Kaneko-
"Kids are not supposed to watch this." -and YooChun with his hands covering her eyes, looking completely unperturbed.
"I'm six, I'm not stupid!"
"No, but you're undewwaged."
Kaneko gasped at that below-the-belt jab at her lisp and turned towards YunHo-hyung's general direction. "Yunnie-oppa!" Whine pout complain. She'd learned that most of the time, everyone would follow what YunHo-hyung said (and Yunho would succumb to her whine-pout-complain tactic) and of course, she used the knowledge to her advantage.
I really hoped JaeJoong-hyung's parents wouldn't make her watch Sesame Street. Or Teletubbies. I wonder if Akira would start watching Discovery Channel at Kaneko's age.
Speaking of which...
"Hyung," I nudged JaeJoong's calf with my toe. He blinked at me. "Did you tell princess about your parents yet?"
"No." He replied quietly, also in Korean, his voice almost inaudible among the bickering and YunHo-hyung's (futile) attempt to salvage the situation. "They called this morning - they haven't finished moving, but they want to see the kids. Soon. Preferably."
"Are you talking about Kane?"
Three heads turned to us, following her question.
"Why do you think so?" JaeJoong tilted his head and gave Kane a speculative look.
"You spoke Korean." Kane's Korean was slow and broken, but at least she got the grammar and pronunciation right. In spite of everything, I felt a certain pride that she'd absorbed and utilized what we had taught her only in passing. Hyung turned to me. I shrugged.
*
[ ChungAe and ChangMin || Private Chat ]
roguish: Oppa?
quagmire: Hm?
roguish: We passed the letter 'q', yes?
quagmire: ...oh, right.
quagmire: Can we ... nvm give me a sec.
quagmire: I'm in the middle of something. I'll message you later with the new screenname.
roguish: Hm~
quagmire: By the way, 'roguish': Impish. Mischievous.
roguish: That, I am :)
*
[ YunHo || Right About Now ]
Kaneko stayed silent throughout JaeJoong's patient, measured explanation. Silence floated in the air for a few seconds, light and heavy at the same time, during which Kaneko watched JaeJoong with a careful, almost impersonal look - I didn't know kids were capable of doing it. I didn't like it. In spite of everything, Kaneko seemed too mature, too calculated, too understanding.
Too scared.
Perhaps too hurt.
"Ah." She said softly, "I see." And then silence again.
I didn't know which agitated me more, Kaneko's placation or the fact that JaeJoongie actually sounded like he chose his words very, very carefully. I was, however, grateful that Akira was asleep; one less kid to be worried about - at least for now.
"This doesn't mean, in any way, that we don't want you." JunSu said, "It's just - we're not old enough, and there's no way the management would allow us to do it. Having their support on getting you back is one thing, but actually having you live with us, with our schedule-"
I could tell he was also anxious from the way his legs bounced - or the fact that he talked to Kane as if she were sixteen years old, instead of six. But then again, Kaneko was Kaneko, and even if she didn't understand every word, she knew what JunSu was trying to say - all the right things. She nodded. Just that. JunSu fell silent.
And then she looked at JaeJoong, a tight smile on her face. "When?"
JaeJoong hesitated for a second, and then, "Tomorrow. In our house. Just a small party."
"Mm..."
"You won't have to live with them until Monday. We won't go back to work before Monday."
"Okay." And then she slid down the couch with her Hello Kitty plushie and ambled towards her bedroom.
Silence.
Perhaps we should be grateful over the fact that she wasn't being difficult, that she actually understood - we could see it in her eyes - but this wasn't what we expected, either. The resigned acceptance didn't sit well with Kaneko.
I almost wished she'd thrown a tantrum.
I closed my eyes and rubbed the bridge of my nose. I didn't have to look to see that JaeJoong was throwing a desperate look at me.
"I'll talk to her." YooChun stood up. JunSu looked at him.
"And say what?"
Pause. "I don't know. But I'll talk to her."
"You might make things worse."
"As if it could get any worse than this?" When YooChun turned to look at JunSu, voice rising. There was contempt in his eyes - I didn't know whether it was for us, for himself, or the general situation - "Fuck, she's probably crying in that room right now and you want to sit here and do nothing?"
"Hyung -"
"I didn't say that!" JunSu stood up and raised his voice too. Akira stirred. Uh-oh. "I just - you don't even know what to say to her! What are you gonna do? Cry with her? Right, that helps a lot. She's six, Chunnie, she needs someone to fix things for her - and your tears won't." Shit-
("Su-yah!" JaeJoong hissed. YooChun flinched visibly, as if he'd been hit by the force of JunSu's words.)
-Su. Way to strike a chord.
"Stop." ChangMin growled, snapping the lid of his laptop shut and standing up. Now, if there were anything scarier than me scolding them with a pissed-off look in my face, it was ChangMin scolding them with a completely pissed look in his face. "Your fighting and her hearing it isn't helping anything, yeah?" He added in a low voice.
Akira chose that moment to blink into wakefulness. He blinked at me all confused, and then at the raised voices. His lower lip started to quiver. Oh. Oh shit. I quickly made placating noises, rocking him gently in my arms. When it was obvious that it wasn't working, I waved ChangMin over and passed the little guy to him. He'd know what to do.
There was another two seconds of silence, before YooChun turned on his heels and stalked three steps towards the bedroom. "I'll talk to her."
"No. You'll stay here."
"But-"
"No, dongsaeng. Stay and fix your own problem. I'll talk to her." YooChun looked like he wanted to argue, but he knew better. I nodded and tried to smile (and failed)-
(You're Jung YunHo. You're the best. You can fix everything. Damn near walk on water if you have to.)
-before walking towards the kids' bedroom.
[ YunHo point two || seventeen steps later ]
"Hey."
Kaneko looked up from the corner of the room, still with that vacant, slightly accusatory look in her face. I gave her a small smile; she looked away and stared resolutely at the head of her Hello Kitty plush. There was no trace of tears - of course. She clutched it tighter as I took a seat beside her, refusing to talk, to look at me, and I wasn't really surprised to find myself at loss for words.
"Why don't you want Kane to live with you?"
I paused. "It's not that simple-"
"Kane will take ca'e of Akiwa while you wo'k. Kane will be quiet. Kane will be good."
I sighed quietly.
When I imagined myself having a kid, I thought I'd have a normal one that acted like her own age, instead of one whose problems wouldn't go away with just cuddles and a kiss on the temple. But when life gave you lemons, you... what was it, have a bottle of tequila with it?
"It's not about that, Kaneko... We-" Another pause. Did we want her to come with us? Of course we did, but more than that, we wanted her to have a stable life. Education. Friends her age. "What about school? Friends?" Her safety? How did she expect us to take care of her while we were not exactly accident-proof ourselves? And with the fans...
"Kane-"
Pause. Kaneko was crying. Granted she was even sneakier about it than JaeJoong (more silent, even), but there were just some things you couldn't miss - like how tight she was clutching to her stuffed kitty or the small shaking of her shoulders and - Kaneko sniffed. Oh. Damn.
"Kane..." I let out a rush of breath, gathering her into my arms and pressing a kiss on her head. "Oh, Kane-chan, I'm sorry..." One of the things I could never stand was a kid crying. Ever. If she kept this up, I might just-
Kaneko shook her head - she kept shaking her head and clutching my shirt tighter, burrowing her face in my left shoulder. "No -" Sniff. "You don't have to-"
"You know that we have no choice-"
"Kane knows!" She said again, sounding unexpectedly grumpy. I blinked. She calmed down a notch but her arms were still around me and...
"I'm six, I'm not stupid!"
... No, she wasn't stupid, but she was still six. I smiled and pulled her closer, hooking her legs around my waist. And then I stood up. Kane didn't say anything, so I stroked her back and hummed softly, cradling her gently in my arms like how ChangMin usually did to Akira. Kane was built pretty small for a six-year-old - I never noticed this before. Her arms were thin and her bones stuck out. I could feel it when she tightened her arms around my neck.
Five minutes was all it took for her to fall asleep in my arms. She was probably drained by everything that happened today. I laid her on the mattress, gave her the stuffed Hello Kitty, and pressed a small kiss on her forehead.
Hm. Susu might be wrong, after all.
*
[ Message 1 of 6 ] from ChungAe Shim to Pandora Park; JooEun Jung
Re: Unni~
Pandora-unni: ChangMin-Oppa is 'ruthful'.
JooEun-unni: I want to, but Oppa just told me that there's gonna be some sort of big family lunch in their house. We're both invited.
- ChungAe.
---
[ Message 2 of 6 ] from Pandora Park to ChungAe Shim; JooEun Jung
Re: Huh?
- P.
---
[ Message 3 of 6 ] from ChungAe Shim to Pandora Park; JooEun Jung
Re: re: Huh?
And I'm 'roguish' :)
- ChungAe.
---
[ Message 4 of 6 ] from JooEun Jung to ChungAe Shim; Pandora Park
Re: Dear ChungAe,
1. Marry me <3 We shall have cute genius babies and teach them new ways to torture Panda.
2. Oh, yeah. I just called Yunho-oppa. I'll see you there :)
- JE.
---
[ Message 5 of 6 ] from Pandora Park to ChungAe Shim; JooEun Jung
Re: Fuck you both.
And not in the way that could land me in jail.
- P.
---
[ Message 6 of 6 ] from JooEun Jung to ChungAe Shim; Pandora Park
Re: Aww.
Don't worry, Pandy, we'll take pictures ;)
- JE.
*
[ Listen to the music at the moment, come and dance with me~ ]
"Unni~~!" Kaneko barreled past YunHo like a bullet - no, a herd of bulls, he thought - towards the front door two seconds after he answered it. YunHo skidded to the left and quirked his eyebrows at this 'unni' Kaneko was talking about.
"My favorite little girl~~!" JooEun picked Kane up-and frowned. "My favorite, underfed little girl." She kissed her cheek, and put her down again, watching her run back to the kitchen. "What have you not been feeding her?"
"Nice to meet you too." YunHo kissed the top of her sister's head as they hugged - and snatched a pack of cigarettes from her hand. "You're early."
"Anything to get away from the slave-driver that is Appa dear." JooEun wrinkled her nose. "Give me that back."
"No. In here, we smoke after the kids are asleep." YunHo tucked the packet safely in his pants pocket. "Go home if you want to smoke - or at least have the nerve to tell Appa and Umma."
"They'll tell me to quit."
"Well, tough. I thought you're all about feminism and women's independence."
"Not against super lawyer Jung, not yet." JooEun loved how her brother didn't give her a hard (at least not too hard) time about smoking - even though he was trying to quit himself. She gave him another once-over, and the light in her eyes turned serious and just a bit critical. "You don't look well."
YunHo scoffed. "This is me looking semi-well. You should've seen me last week. JaeJoong had a fit."
"Mmhm, I bet he did."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She grinned. "I don't know, why don't you ask him? I'm gonna-" The doorbell rang again. JooEun looked at her brother before she went to look through the peephole. "I think you should get ChangMin. It's ChungAe, with someone that looks suspiciously like her mother."
After that the stream of guests came in steady intervals - well, to be fair, they didn't invite that many in the first place. JunSu's parents came bearing toys-most of which would probably be used by Akira because Kane didn't like playing house. JunSu was torn between amusement and resignation at how Kane seemed to be effortlessly charming everyone with her broken (but progressing very impressively) Korean and innocent antics. Suddenly her lisp wasn't a big deal anymore, and she was diverting his mother's attention from him very well. JunSu was almost sure his mother loved Kaneko more than she missed him.
Very sneaky.
They purposely timed JaeJoong's parents to arrive a bit later, in the hope that Kaneko and Akira would've gotten used to the strangers around her before they saw their step-parents. JaeJoong hugged them long and tight in the door way, exchanged a few quiet words, and then-
-the moment of truth.
In front of their eyes, Kaneko just froze, hiding behind YunHo's leg, suddenly shy. How did you talk to your step-parents if you'd never met them, really?
JaeJoong looked at his mother, sort of hoping she knew how to handle this. Oh, but she did. In her eyes, Kaneko looked very much like JaeJoong the first day they came to pick him up from his real mother.* Kaneko might be a special case, but some things would always stay the same.
A soft smile, and then she leaned forward and offered her hand. "Grandma." Ahh, it had a nice ring to it, didn't it? She thought so. "You can call me grandma if you want to."
*
[ a la one big family ]
"No, Akira-chan, that's not food," ChangMin pulled the throw-pillow out of Akira's reach-one of the corners were damp and decorated with tiny teeth marks. "I swear ever since he learned the wonder of mobility, he just... crawls around and puts everything in his mouth." He sighed and passed the little boy to his mother, who automatically reached for a napkin and wiped the drool off Akira's face.
"Like a vacuum cleaner." ChungAe laughed when Akira clapped his hands in delight, charming her mother and JunSu's mother at the same time. She wasn't quite sure how they ended up talking to each other, but she had always loved figuring out the mysteries of adult conversation.
"Exactly." ChangMin agreed glumly. "He's a pro at swallowing things. Dust bunnies, coins, bugs, probably our cat, too."
"More like you, actually." JunSu chirped from behind him, taking a break from the conversation with his father, YunHo, and JooEun. They were talking law, anyway, he wasn't interested.
"Stay in your own conversation, hyung."
"You guys speak louder than a megaphone." JunSu stuck his tongue out.
YooChun appeared out of nowhere with a fresh pitcher of iced tea, proceeded to take the empty glasses from Mrs. Kim and Mrs. Shim's hands, and refilled them like a pro waiter. "Here you go - can't let our guests stay thirsty." He gave them a dazzling smile.
"Ah, thank you-" Mrs. Shim was watching YooChun with a certain interest in her eyes. "-say, YooChun-sshi, you're such a nice boy. Surely you must have a girlfriend?"
ChangMin choked on his water. "Umma! ChungAe is fifteen years old!"
"Sixteen," ChungAe corrected calmly, before rolling her eyes, "and definitely not in need of a boyfriend. No offense." She had no time - not if she wanted to outdo ChangMin's academic reputation in their school.
YooChun laughed. "None taken. I'm flattered, and your daughter is a lovely lady, Mrs. Shim," YooChun pressed a dry, gentle kiss on the back of ChungAe's hand; ChangMin narrowed his eyes. "But I don't think she'll have me."
"Absolutely not." ChangMin scoffed. ChungAe smiled at YooChun.
"Can't blame your mother for trying, though," Mrs. Kim said, sipping her tea, "I'd be happy if YooChunnie is my son in law." There was a brief pause in which everyone (who knew what) stared at JunSu - who looked tense tense tense - before she added, "But of course, I don't have a daughter." She smiled sweetly.
ChangMin thought he had to step very carefully around this woman.
*
[ It's your godforsaken right to be loved, loved, loved… ]
Two hours later, when the kids were asleep and the grandparents had left, JooEun lingered on the foyer with her brother, a cigarette between her lips. She slipped into her sneakers and let YunHo button her coat.
"You know, I'm kind of glad Umma isn't here."
"Why?"
"I think I might die laughing if she ever hints that JaeJoong-Oppa will be a good husband. For me." JooEun would later congratulate herself for being able to keep a straight face.
YunHo's fingers paused, "But-" so JooEun picked up where he left off, "why wouldn't he?"
"You think so, too?"
"No-I mean, yes. I mean. He looks good. He's warm. He's kind. Funny. Good at cooking. And cleaning. I mean, of course sometimes he's a bit spastic and has the tendency to put his foot in his mouth, but that just means he's honest and -"
"Sounds like he'll be good for you."
Yet another pause. "Wh-" Oh, how JooEun wished she had a camera. "What." Seriously, his brother's expression was a true Kodak moment. "That's crazy."
"Isn't it?" JooEun tiptoed and pressed a kiss on YunHo's cheek; her mission was accomplished. "I'll call you sometime next week. Rest well, OK? Love you."
*
(Thousands of miles away, Pandora uncapped her Superfood Odwalla juice and went through the stack of mails on the island counter.
"Hey, Pandy, did you see my-"
"No, I didn't." Hey, an airmail. For her. From Seoul.
Ricky popped his head from the hallway. "Do you even know what I'm looking for?"
"It's either your iPod, your socks, or your lip balm. The answer is still no. I didn't." Pandora read the return address and frowned. It wasn't from YooChun.
"I don't wear lip balm!"
"You should. The weather's-"
"That's girly!"
"No, that's smart." She rolled her eyes and then ripped open the side of the envelope with her nail. There were two pieces of paper - handwritten letters - the second page significantly shorter than the first. Pandora took another sip from her plastic bottle as she read it-
Seoul, May xx, 2006
Dear Pandora,
I'll be straightforward.
My name is Lee JinSun. I'm the younger sister of your father, your biological father - Lee JinHwa. I obtained your contact information from his files. I'm sure he doesn't want me contacting you, but I'm doing him a last favor as a sister who loves him…
Your father is very sick. The doctors said 6 months, at most.
I would like for you to see him before he dies.
I know he never attempted to contact you before but... please give him the benefit of the doubt, if only for the fact that he keeps your contact information in his files. It would give him peace - even if you don't think that he deserves it.
Please, please give it a thought. I'd appreciate if you can write back to me. My contact info is attached at the end of this letter. You may also contact the company.
Please write back.
Lee JinSun.
-and paused.
"Fuck." She breathed.)
*
A/N: Okay, so. I...
...wasn't really sure of the details of JaeJoong's adoption. I had the impression that he was adopted since he was still a baby, but for the sake of the story, let me just alter the reality a little, yeah?
Um. There will be a sequel to this, though, and it will have more of JooEun, Pandora, Pandora/ChangMin, and how life goes for Kane/Akira. And of course, the continuation of YunJae/YooSu. I'm sad to say that it'll be updated pretty damn slowly, too - probably once every month - big chapters and such.
In any case, let me extend my utmost gratitude to everyone who read, commented, didn't comment, and just generally stuck by this sorry excuse of a fic. Special shout-outs for the commenters, though, you guys are my motivation. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am not worthy.
So.
I guess that's all.
I'll see you in another story :3
Author: catachrestical
Keywords: Bandfic; hints of JaeHo and YooSu; some original characters.
Rating: PG13 for few language mishaps.
Disclaimer: Do not own, did not happen.
Notes: Kids. TVXQ. Attempts on crack/drama/fluff.
First version beta'd by janeberryblue; current version re-beta'd by bel_chan ♥
Thanks for reading :)
*
→ previous: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10 | #11 | #12
A/N: ... :D;
So. I decided that there won't be an epilogue... because of the way I left this this chapter hanging. So instead you get a whooping 5,000-word update. oh, and this chapter is dedicated to atobekazuki because I promised her something before November and it's juuuust a bit late (sorry >_>;) and bel_chan because she's an awesome beta and trust me, you cannot read this shit without her >_>
... Enjoy!
Our Little Princess
Chapter 13: I'm Yours
"Open up your mind and see like me,
Open up your plans and damn you're free;
Look into your heart and you'll find love, love, love."
- Jason Mraz, "I'm Yours".
→ [ download ]
*
[ Pandora and JooEun || Private Chat ]
pandybox: Are you ditching class?
districtattorney: No. What I am is cranky. This is my fourth cup of coffee. I think I might be really bouncy by noon.
districtattorney: What I'm not, however, is ditching.
pandybox: ...then why are we chatting?
districtattorney: Han sunsaengnim is talking about internships.
pandybox: You'll be doing yours in your father's firm?
districtattorney: Nepotism. I'm against that.
pandybox: You're representing your own brother.
districtattorney: Shut up and let me be pseudo-righteous in peace.
pandybox: So… why are we chatting again?
districtattorney: :)
districtattorney: Phillips & Phillips offered me an internship in their New York office.
pandybox: ...
pandybox: Many congratulations.
districtattorney: Your enthusiasm moves me.
pandybox: Off with the snark, on with the kids.
districtattorney: What makes you think I know about the kids? I haven't seen them since last night. Call your brother. Or ChangMin.
districtattorney: Unless you want a recount of us picking them up in the Arisugawa Residence. Which consists of walking in, scaring the crap out of the grandparents, having them sign custody papers, giving them the DNA test results, bluffing about the Hayashi Incorporated fiasco.
districtattorney: I mean, we had no concrete proof, really, but I think suggestive speculation were enough to scare them. We picked up the kids, had touching reunion moment yada yada yada, caught a red eye back to Seoul.
districtattorney: CALL YOUR BROTHER.
districtattorney: Or ChangMin.
pandybox: ... Why are you singling him out?
districtattorney: Do you really want to pull that thread?
pandybox: Why wouldn't I?
districtattorney: Oh, I don't know. Because it took you ten seconds to answer that question?
pandybox: JooEun.
districtattorney: Panda.
pandybox: For once I met a guy who seems to delight in all my snarks and letdowns and that means I've found my true love?
pandybox: That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard all week. And you know how this week's been.
districtattorney: I'm just saying he's worth the chance, since, you know,
districtattorney: *you* can actually *stand* him
districtattorney: and don't even try to weasel your way out of this. You like his company.
districtattorney: I haven't heard you insult him once
districtattorney: and you're a sucker for smart guys.
pandybox: Gee. You seem to know more about me than I do myself. Why don't *you* date him.
districtattorney: Can't. No time.
pandybox: And you're telling me to date.
districtattorney: Oh, please, Panda. You major in Forestry.
pandybox: And Asian Studies.
districtattorney: Sorry, nothing is harder than law. Except maybe med school.
pandybox: And people say I'm the ambitious one.
districtattorney: We're not talking about me, defendant :)
pandybox: ...
pandybox: This conversation is over.
districtattorney: Mm, suit yourself. Call your brother.
pandybox: If you say 'or ChangMin', I will burn all your textbooks.
districtattorney: Oh, the horror. You're welcome to do that anytime.
pandybox: JooEun. I'm in Virginia. He's in Seoul. We've talked a total of four times. What crack have you been smoking?
districtattorney: Only the legal kind, unfortunately.
pandybox: I hate people.
districtattorney: But you don't hate him~
pandybox: And you're delusional. This conversation is over.
districtattorney: No, this conversation is ADJOURNED.
pandybox: Lay off the caffeine.
districtattorney: ...Yeah, I think that's a good idea.
pandybox has signed off.
*
Twelve fifty-four am and she swept everything on her bed down onto the beige carpet in one quick motion - headphones, wristwatch, the metal blue LG cellphone YooChun sent her last year. The retractable mouse followed next, fingers choosing to ghost over the small touchpad. On the limited space that was her unmade bed, a mouse, however small, would only restrain her movements. Pandora was a dancer, spiritually and physically, and she hated restrictions.
---quagmire: You know, one can argue that a touchpad has even more limited space than a mouse within half a foot square device we know as mouse pads.
pandybox: You know, most people would just mind their own business.
quagmire: ...
quagmire: :)
pandybox: ... a touchpad is more sensitive. And it requires only one finger to operate.
quagmire: Then you're talking about practicality, not restriction.
pandybox: Impracticality is a restriction for me.
quagmire: Now you're just being competitive.
pandybox: I prefer 'difficult'.
quagmire: You're being difficult.
pandybox: Yes, I am.
quagmire: I think I like traditional mouse better.
pandybox: I don't remember asking, but do enlighten me.
quagmire: The touchpad is too sensitive and I always end up clicking things I don't want to click.
pandybox: You just have clumsy motor function.
quagmire: I prefer 'commonsensical'.
pandybox: You have clumsy motor function.
quagmire: Yes I - wait. You're not playing by the rules.
pandybox: Do I ever?
quagmire: ...No, I guess not.---
Having a crush on ChangMin was impractical. Hell, even thinking about it was impractical. Pandora stared at the piece of paper she picked up earlier after class-out of impulse more than anything else. It had EXCHANGE PROGRAM APPLICATION as its header. She crumpled the paper and tossed it to the trashcan on the other corner of the room. It missed.
Pandora had a feeling that she cursed for an entirely different reason.
*
Fr: ChungAe Shim
To: Pandora Park ; JooEun Jung
Re: So...
How did it go?
- ChungAe.
---
[ Message 2 of 4 ] from Pandora Park to JooEun Jung; ChungAe Shim
Re: Ask your brother.
Or ChangMin.
- Pandy.
---
[ Message 3 of 4 ] from ChungAe Shim to JooEun Jung; Pandora Park
Re: Er.
... ChangMin-oppa is my only brother.
- ChungAe.
---
[ Message 4 of 4 ] from JooEun Jung to Pandora Park; ChungAe Shim
Re: Don't mind her.
Lunch tomorrow? :Dv
- JE.
*
[ Far, far away from Virginia || roughly the same time ]
"Oppa's still asleep."
"Are we going to pour water on them?"
JunSu blinked. "I don't know. Are we insane?"
YooChun made a face. "By the look of it, JaeJoong's gonna wake up with a hell - I mean, a very bad neck-ache anyway. So while he's at it, why not-"
"You can swell awound Kane, you know."
"... Huh?"
"Swell. Culls." Still blank looks. Ugh, she hated her lisp.
"I think she meant to say you can swear and curse around her." ChangMin informed them calmly, Akira perching on his hip.
There was a chorus of nods and 'ohh's. Kaneko let out an indignant huff.
"So are we going to pour water on them?"
JunSu gave the other man a speculative look. "Are you feeling particularly suicidal this morning?"
"Like I said-"
"We're hungry. Well, Kaneko and I, at least. So wake them up however you fancy."
"Why don't you wake them up?"
ChangMin waved towards Akira's general direction. Akira, blissfully clueless, blew spit bubbles at them. :D!
"Excuses. Eat JunSu." YooChun countered.
"Hey!"
ChangMin paused for a beat, before, "I can't even begin to tell you how wrong that sounded."
"Huh? Wh-" And then YooChun caught up. "...I totally didn't mean to make it sound like that."
"Right," ChangMin smiled oh-so-sweetly. "of course, you're just a walking sexual innuendo."
"Funny coming from someone who watches too much -"
"I would advise against continuing that." They froze at the familiar, sleep-heavy voice. JaeJoong pressed the back of his hand on his eyelids, trying to block out sunshine filtering through the living room windows. "And keep your voices down, I don't think he's-"
"Oh, but he is," YooChun gestured to a blinking, disoriented YunHo. The leader stared at them blearily, quite a sight with his hair sticking up on one side and the pattern of JaeJoong's sweater stamping his right cheek. He blinked again, as if he were still in a dream, before turning to look at JaeJoong.
"I know you." Leader-sshi murmured, lips curving into a sleepy smile. "We spent the night together."
"And good morning to you, too, sleepyhead." JaeJoong laughed. If one looked closely, they might be able to see a hint of blush on his cheeks.
JunSu cleared his throat, and even though he tried being as unobtrusive as possible, it still sounded like 'Oh my God you guys not in front of the kids please get a room'. YooChun actually winced. ChangMin just rolled his eyes at his lack of tact.
YunHo snapped out of dreamland and quickly scrambled off JaeJoong. JaeJoong sat up, too, and winced when he felt the fragile bones that formed his neck cracking. He wished he'd used an extra pillow.
"What time is it?" YunHo frowned, after deciding that everyone looked fresh-from-shower, instead of fresh-from-sleep, including Kaneko.
"Almost eleven."
"Oppa, hungwy." Kaneko tugged at JaeJoong's hand. JaeJoong took one look at her and rolled off the couch.
"Let me brush my teeth first, yeah? And then I'll make something." He smiled before leaving for the bathroom. Kaneko grinned and started towards the kitchen to see what food she could ask JaeJoong to make.
ChangMin rolled his eyes. It was never that easy for them. In their day-offs, a newly-awakened JaeJoong was a force to be careful around. Asking for food wasn't out of the question, but again, one must be careful. Be very, very careful. Without his skillful bargaining or JunSu's cute acts or YooChun's impressive persuasion, a good breakfast was hard to come by.
Kaneko managed it with two words.
Hmm, he had to establish a negotiation with the little girl about this.
YunHo rubbed the back of his neck, fatigue still looming behind his dark eyes. He gave them a sort-of weak smile and excused himself to the other bathroom with a few murmurs.
The three stared among each other.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Yeah."
"Next time we'll just tell Kane to wake them up."
*
[ ChangMin || Three Hours Later ]
On a holiday, this was how an ordinary afternoon looked like in our household: JaeJoong would putter around in the kitchen, humming a fifties love song under his breath, baking no less than two kinds of pastries and snapping his teeth at anyone who tried to disrupt the process (YunHo-hyung included). Leader-sshi would either be found reading, talking to the managers on the phone, or bothering JaeJoong-hyung anyway. JunSu would assume his place in front of the TV with PS2 joystick in his hands. If YooChun-hyung was in the mood, he'd voluntarily have his ass kicked for a few rounds. If he wasn't, he would sit behind JunSu with his headphones on, replying to fan messages on his laptop and throwing popcorn into JunSu's hair in between. As for me, I would sit on the other end of the couch YooChun-hyung was occupying with either my laptop or my PSP, sharing his popcorn, playing a game, being snarky, or doing whatever one would do with a laptop (studying, entertaining self, not watching porn). Some days we trade activities, but you could always find us sprawled around the vicinity of the living room and the small kitchen connected to it.
The sun had set, though, the cakes were baking, and JunSu finally got bored trying to beat his latest high score. He'd coerced us into watching the newest K-drama DVD he'd asked one of the staff-noonas to pick up earlier: another run-of-the-mill love story with a happy ending (thankfully, no one had terminal illness). Akira was snoozing on YunHo-hyung's lap, the episode was nearing an end, and the male lead was about to kiss the female lead when-
"Oppa, get yowl hands off!" Four pair of eyes turned towards Kaneko-
"Kids are not supposed to watch this." -and YooChun with his hands covering her eyes, looking completely unperturbed.
"I'm six, I'm not stupid!"
"No, but you're undewwaged."
Kaneko gasped at that below-the-belt jab at her lisp and turned towards YunHo-hyung's general direction. "Yunnie-oppa!" Whine pout complain. She'd learned that most of the time, everyone would follow what YunHo-hyung said (and Yunho would succumb to her whine-pout-complain tactic) and of course, she used the knowledge to her advantage.
I really hoped JaeJoong-hyung's parents wouldn't make her watch Sesame Street. Or Teletubbies. I wonder if Akira would start watching Discovery Channel at Kaneko's age.
Speaking of which...
"Hyung," I nudged JaeJoong's calf with my toe. He blinked at me. "Did you tell princess about your parents yet?"
"No." He replied quietly, also in Korean, his voice almost inaudible among the bickering and YunHo-hyung's (futile) attempt to salvage the situation. "They called this morning - they haven't finished moving, but they want to see the kids. Soon. Preferably."
"Are you talking about Kane?"
Three heads turned to us, following her question.
"Why do you think so?" JaeJoong tilted his head and gave Kane a speculative look.
"You spoke Korean." Kane's Korean was slow and broken, but at least she got the grammar and pronunciation right. In spite of everything, I felt a certain pride that she'd absorbed and utilized what we had taught her only in passing. Hyung turned to me. I shrugged.
*
[ ChungAe and ChangMin || Private Chat ]
roguish: Oppa?
quagmire: Hm?
roguish: We passed the letter 'q', yes?
quagmire: ...oh, right.
quagmire: Can we ... nvm give me a sec.
quagmire: I'm in the middle of something. I'll message you later with the new screenname.
roguish: Hm~
quagmire: By the way, 'roguish': Impish. Mischievous.
roguish: That, I am :)
*
[ YunHo || Right About Now ]
Kaneko stayed silent throughout JaeJoong's patient, measured explanation. Silence floated in the air for a few seconds, light and heavy at the same time, during which Kaneko watched JaeJoong with a careful, almost impersonal look - I didn't know kids were capable of doing it. I didn't like it. In spite of everything, Kaneko seemed too mature, too calculated, too understanding.
Too scared.
Perhaps too hurt.
"Ah." She said softly, "I see." And then silence again.
I didn't know which agitated me more, Kaneko's placation or the fact that JaeJoongie actually sounded like he chose his words very, very carefully. I was, however, grateful that Akira was asleep; one less kid to be worried about - at least for now.
"This doesn't mean, in any way, that we don't want you." JunSu said, "It's just - we're not old enough, and there's no way the management would allow us to do it. Having their support on getting you back is one thing, but actually having you live with us, with our schedule-"
I could tell he was also anxious from the way his legs bounced - or the fact that he talked to Kane as if she were sixteen years old, instead of six. But then again, Kaneko was Kaneko, and even if she didn't understand every word, she knew what JunSu was trying to say - all the right things. She nodded. Just that. JunSu fell silent.
And then she looked at JaeJoong, a tight smile on her face. "When?"
JaeJoong hesitated for a second, and then, "Tomorrow. In our house. Just a small party."
"Mm..."
"You won't have to live with them until Monday. We won't go back to work before Monday."
"Okay." And then she slid down the couch with her Hello Kitty plushie and ambled towards her bedroom.
Silence.
Perhaps we should be grateful over the fact that she wasn't being difficult, that she actually understood - we could see it in her eyes - but this wasn't what we expected, either. The resigned acceptance didn't sit well with Kaneko.
I almost wished she'd thrown a tantrum.
I closed my eyes and rubbed the bridge of my nose. I didn't have to look to see that JaeJoong was throwing a desperate look at me.
"I'll talk to her." YooChun stood up. JunSu looked at him.
"And say what?"
Pause. "I don't know. But I'll talk to her."
"You might make things worse."
"As if it could get any worse than this?" When YooChun turned to look at JunSu, voice rising. There was contempt in his eyes - I didn't know whether it was for us, for himself, or the general situation - "Fuck, she's probably crying in that room right now and you want to sit here and do nothing?"
"Hyung -"
"I didn't say that!" JunSu stood up and raised his voice too. Akira stirred. Uh-oh. "I just - you don't even know what to say to her! What are you gonna do? Cry with her? Right, that helps a lot. She's six, Chunnie, she needs someone to fix things for her - and your tears won't." Shit-
("Su-yah!" JaeJoong hissed. YooChun flinched visibly, as if he'd been hit by the force of JunSu's words.)
-Su. Way to strike a chord.
"Stop." ChangMin growled, snapping the lid of his laptop shut and standing up. Now, if there were anything scarier than me scolding them with a pissed-off look in my face, it was ChangMin scolding them with a completely pissed look in his face. "Your fighting and her hearing it isn't helping anything, yeah?" He added in a low voice.
Akira chose that moment to blink into wakefulness. He blinked at me all confused, and then at the raised voices. His lower lip started to quiver. Oh. Oh shit. I quickly made placating noises, rocking him gently in my arms. When it was obvious that it wasn't working, I waved ChangMin over and passed the little guy to him. He'd know what to do.
There was another two seconds of silence, before YooChun turned on his heels and stalked three steps towards the bedroom. "I'll talk to her."
"No. You'll stay here."
"But-"
"No, dongsaeng. Stay and fix your own problem. I'll talk to her." YooChun looked like he wanted to argue, but he knew better. I nodded and tried to smile (and failed)-
(You're Jung YunHo. You're the best. You can fix everything. Damn near walk on water if you have to.)
-before walking towards the kids' bedroom.
[ YunHo point two || seventeen steps later ]
"Hey."
Kaneko looked up from the corner of the room, still with that vacant, slightly accusatory look in her face. I gave her a small smile; she looked away and stared resolutely at the head of her Hello Kitty plush. There was no trace of tears - of course. She clutched it tighter as I took a seat beside her, refusing to talk, to look at me, and I wasn't really surprised to find myself at loss for words.
"Why don't you want Kane to live with you?"
I paused. "It's not that simple-"
"Kane will take ca'e of Akiwa while you wo'k. Kane will be quiet. Kane will be good."
I sighed quietly.
When I imagined myself having a kid, I thought I'd have a normal one that acted like her own age, instead of one whose problems wouldn't go away with just cuddles and a kiss on the temple. But when life gave you lemons, you... what was it, have a bottle of tequila with it?
"It's not about that, Kaneko... We-" Another pause. Did we want her to come with us? Of course we did, but more than that, we wanted her to have a stable life. Education. Friends her age. "What about school? Friends?" Her safety? How did she expect us to take care of her while we were not exactly accident-proof ourselves? And with the fans...
"Kane-"
Pause. Kaneko was crying. Granted she was even sneakier about it than JaeJoong (more silent, even), but there were just some things you couldn't miss - like how tight she was clutching to her stuffed kitty or the small shaking of her shoulders and - Kaneko sniffed. Oh. Damn.
"Kane..." I let out a rush of breath, gathering her into my arms and pressing a kiss on her head. "Oh, Kane-chan, I'm sorry..." One of the things I could never stand was a kid crying. Ever. If she kept this up, I might just-
Kaneko shook her head - she kept shaking her head and clutching my shirt tighter, burrowing her face in my left shoulder. "No -" Sniff. "You don't have to-"
"You know that we have no choice-"
"Kane knows!" She said again, sounding unexpectedly grumpy. I blinked. She calmed down a notch but her arms were still around me and...
"I'm six, I'm not stupid!"
... No, she wasn't stupid, but she was still six. I smiled and pulled her closer, hooking her legs around my waist. And then I stood up. Kane didn't say anything, so I stroked her back and hummed softly, cradling her gently in my arms like how ChangMin usually did to Akira. Kane was built pretty small for a six-year-old - I never noticed this before. Her arms were thin and her bones stuck out. I could feel it when she tightened her arms around my neck.
Five minutes was all it took for her to fall asleep in my arms. She was probably drained by everything that happened today. I laid her on the mattress, gave her the stuffed Hello Kitty, and pressed a small kiss on her forehead.
Hm. Susu might be wrong, after all.
*
[ Message 1 of 6 ] from ChungAe Shim to Pandora Park; JooEun Jung
Re: Unni~
Pandora-unni: ChangMin-Oppa is 'ruthful'.
JooEun-unni: I want to, but Oppa just told me that there's gonna be some sort of big family lunch in their house. We're both invited.
- ChungAe.
---
[ Message 2 of 6 ] from Pandora Park to ChungAe Shim; JooEun Jung
Re: Huh?
- P.
---
[ Message 3 of 6 ] from ChungAe Shim to Pandora Park; JooEun Jung
Re: re: Huh?
And I'm 'roguish' :)
- ChungAe.
---
[ Message 4 of 6 ] from JooEun Jung to ChungAe Shim; Pandora Park
Re: Dear ChungAe,
1. Marry me <3 We shall have cute genius babies and teach them new ways to torture Panda.
2. Oh, yeah. I just called Yunho-oppa. I'll see you there :)
- JE.
---
[ Message 5 of 6 ] from Pandora Park to ChungAe Shim; JooEun Jung
Re: Fuck you both.
And not in the way that could land me in jail.
- P.
---
[ Message 6 of 6 ] from JooEun Jung to ChungAe Shim; Pandora Park
Re: Aww.
Don't worry, Pandy, we'll take pictures ;)
- JE.
*
[ Listen to the music at the moment, come and dance with me~ ]
"Unni~~!" Kaneko barreled past YunHo like a bullet - no, a herd of bulls, he thought - towards the front door two seconds after he answered it. YunHo skidded to the left and quirked his eyebrows at this 'unni' Kaneko was talking about.
"My favorite little girl~~!" JooEun picked Kane up-and frowned. "My favorite, underfed little girl." She kissed her cheek, and put her down again, watching her run back to the kitchen. "What have you not been feeding her?"
"Nice to meet you too." YunHo kissed the top of her sister's head as they hugged - and snatched a pack of cigarettes from her hand. "You're early."
"Anything to get away from the slave-driver that is Appa dear." JooEun wrinkled her nose. "Give me that back."
"No. In here, we smoke after the kids are asleep." YunHo tucked the packet safely in his pants pocket. "Go home if you want to smoke - or at least have the nerve to tell Appa and Umma."
"They'll tell me to quit."
"Well, tough. I thought you're all about feminism and women's independence."
"Not against super lawyer Jung, not yet." JooEun loved how her brother didn't give her a hard (at least not too hard) time about smoking - even though he was trying to quit himself. She gave him another once-over, and the light in her eyes turned serious and just a bit critical. "You don't look well."
YunHo scoffed. "This is me looking semi-well. You should've seen me last week. JaeJoong had a fit."
"Mmhm, I bet he did."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She grinned. "I don't know, why don't you ask him? I'm gonna-" The doorbell rang again. JooEun looked at her brother before she went to look through the peephole. "I think you should get ChangMin. It's ChungAe, with someone that looks suspiciously like her mother."
After that the stream of guests came in steady intervals - well, to be fair, they didn't invite that many in the first place. JunSu's parents came bearing toys-most of which would probably be used by Akira because Kane didn't like playing house. JunSu was torn between amusement and resignation at how Kane seemed to be effortlessly charming everyone with her broken (but progressing very impressively) Korean and innocent antics. Suddenly her lisp wasn't a big deal anymore, and she was diverting his mother's attention from him very well. JunSu was almost sure his mother loved Kaneko more than she missed him.
Very sneaky.
They purposely timed JaeJoong's parents to arrive a bit later, in the hope that Kaneko and Akira would've gotten used to the strangers around her before they saw their step-parents. JaeJoong hugged them long and tight in the door way, exchanged a few quiet words, and then-
-the moment of truth.
In front of their eyes, Kaneko just froze, hiding behind YunHo's leg, suddenly shy. How did you talk to your step-parents if you'd never met them, really?
JaeJoong looked at his mother, sort of hoping she knew how to handle this. Oh, but she did. In her eyes, Kaneko looked very much like JaeJoong the first day they came to pick him up from his real mother.* Kaneko might be a special case, but some things would always stay the same.
A soft smile, and then she leaned forward and offered her hand. "Grandma." Ahh, it had a nice ring to it, didn't it? She thought so. "You can call me grandma if you want to."
*
[ a la one big family ]
"No, Akira-chan, that's not food," ChangMin pulled the throw-pillow out of Akira's reach-one of the corners were damp and decorated with tiny teeth marks. "I swear ever since he learned the wonder of mobility, he just... crawls around and puts everything in his mouth." He sighed and passed the little boy to his mother, who automatically reached for a napkin and wiped the drool off Akira's face.
"Like a vacuum cleaner." ChungAe laughed when Akira clapped his hands in delight, charming her mother and JunSu's mother at the same time. She wasn't quite sure how they ended up talking to each other, but she had always loved figuring out the mysteries of adult conversation.
"Exactly." ChangMin agreed glumly. "He's a pro at swallowing things. Dust bunnies, coins, bugs, probably our cat, too."
"More like you, actually." JunSu chirped from behind him, taking a break from the conversation with his father, YunHo, and JooEun. They were talking law, anyway, he wasn't interested.
"Stay in your own conversation, hyung."
"You guys speak louder than a megaphone." JunSu stuck his tongue out.
YooChun appeared out of nowhere with a fresh pitcher of iced tea, proceeded to take the empty glasses from Mrs. Kim and Mrs. Shim's hands, and refilled them like a pro waiter. "Here you go - can't let our guests stay thirsty." He gave them a dazzling smile.
"Ah, thank you-" Mrs. Shim was watching YooChun with a certain interest in her eyes. "-say, YooChun-sshi, you're such a nice boy. Surely you must have a girlfriend?"
ChangMin choked on his water. "Umma! ChungAe is fifteen years old!"
"Sixteen," ChungAe corrected calmly, before rolling her eyes, "and definitely not in need of a boyfriend. No offense." She had no time - not if she wanted to outdo ChangMin's academic reputation in their school.
YooChun laughed. "None taken. I'm flattered, and your daughter is a lovely lady, Mrs. Shim," YooChun pressed a dry, gentle kiss on the back of ChungAe's hand; ChangMin narrowed his eyes. "But I don't think she'll have me."
"Absolutely not." ChangMin scoffed. ChungAe smiled at YooChun.
"Can't blame your mother for trying, though," Mrs. Kim said, sipping her tea, "I'd be happy if YooChunnie is my son in law." There was a brief pause in which everyone (who knew what) stared at JunSu - who looked tense tense tense - before she added, "But of course, I don't have a daughter." She smiled sweetly.
ChangMin thought he had to step very carefully around this woman.
*
[ It's your godforsaken right to be loved, loved, loved… ]
Two hours later, when the kids were asleep and the grandparents had left, JooEun lingered on the foyer with her brother, a cigarette between her lips. She slipped into her sneakers and let YunHo button her coat.
"You know, I'm kind of glad Umma isn't here."
"Why?"
"I think I might die laughing if she ever hints that JaeJoong-Oppa will be a good husband. For me." JooEun would later congratulate herself for being able to keep a straight face.
YunHo's fingers paused, "But-" so JooEun picked up where he left off, "why wouldn't he?"
"You think so, too?"
"No-I mean, yes. I mean. He looks good. He's warm. He's kind. Funny. Good at cooking. And cleaning. I mean, of course sometimes he's a bit spastic and has the tendency to put his foot in his mouth, but that just means he's honest and -"
"Sounds like he'll be good for you."
Yet another pause. "Wh-" Oh, how JooEun wished she had a camera. "What." Seriously, his brother's expression was a true Kodak moment. "That's crazy."
"Isn't it?" JooEun tiptoed and pressed a kiss on YunHo's cheek; her mission was accomplished. "I'll call you sometime next week. Rest well, OK? Love you."
*
(Thousands of miles away, Pandora uncapped her Superfood Odwalla juice and went through the stack of mails on the island counter.
"Hey, Pandy, did you see my-"
"No, I didn't." Hey, an airmail. For her. From Seoul.
Ricky popped his head from the hallway. "Do you even know what I'm looking for?"
"It's either your iPod, your socks, or your lip balm. The answer is still no. I didn't." Pandora read the return address and frowned. It wasn't from YooChun.
"I don't wear lip balm!"
"You should. The weather's-"
"That's girly!"
"No, that's smart." She rolled her eyes and then ripped open the side of the envelope with her nail. There were two pieces of paper - handwritten letters - the second page significantly shorter than the first. Pandora took another sip from her plastic bottle as she read it-
Seoul, May xx, 2006
Dear Pandora,
I'll be straightforward.
My name is Lee JinSun. I'm the younger sister of your father, your biological father - Lee JinHwa. I obtained your contact information from his files. I'm sure he doesn't want me contacting you, but I'm doing him a last favor as a sister who loves him…
Your father is very sick. The doctors said 6 months, at most.
I would like for you to see him before he dies.
I know he never attempted to contact you before but... please give him the benefit of the doubt, if only for the fact that he keeps your contact information in his files. It would give him peace - even if you don't think that he deserves it.
Please, please give it a thought. I'd appreciate if you can write back to me. My contact info is attached at the end of this letter. You may also contact the company.
Please write back.
Lee JinSun.
-and paused.
"Fuck." She breathed.)
*
A/N: Okay, so. I...
...wasn't really sure of the details of JaeJoong's adoption. I had the impression that he was adopted since he was still a baby, but for the sake of the story, let me just alter the reality a little, yeah?
Um. There will be a sequel to this, though, and it will have more of JooEun, Pandora, Pandora/ChangMin, and how life goes for Kane/Akira. And of course, the continuation of YunJae/YooSu. I'm sad to say that it'll be updated pretty damn slowly, too - probably once every month - big chapters and such.
In any case, let me extend my utmost gratitude to everyone who read, commented, didn't comment, and just generally stuck by this sorry excuse of a fic. Special shout-outs for the commenters, though, you guys are my motivation. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am not worthy.
So.
I guess that's all.
I'll see you in another story :3