Uncle Kris [2/2]
Title: Uncle Kris [2/2]
Author: FloweryMisha
Pairing: KrisHo
Warning: BoyxBoy love. Enough said.
Summary: This isn’t just about love story between two persons. This is a love story about a family.
[1]
Yifan did really call him on the next day.
Funny how such a simple gesture could instantly light Junmyeon’s mood up. At first it was awkward, and the phone calls didn’t last long because Yifan just happened to call at the wrong time (either when Junmyeon’s break was over or the boys were being really clingy). But as it evolved to days, it was becoming a routinity. If Yifan didn’t call, he usually would send a text to Junmyeon, which made the latter smile even more. Sometimes, Junmyeon found himself smiling whenever he remembered Yifan and how patient the tall male was when it came to Sehun. However, his smile faltered at the next thought.
Does it mean Yifan is all right with the boys...?
Junmyeon shook his head and decided to concentrate on his work.
It was too early to decide about that.
Days passed by in a breeze, and it was finally Friday.
From the moment he woke up that morning, Junmyeon’s heart was beating so fast, anticipating what was going to happen tonight. What if Sehun was even louder this time? What if Yifan didn’t like their apartment? Worse, what if Yifan didn’t like his cooking...?
The negative thoughts occupied Junmyeon’s mind since morning, making the day passed by painfully slow. Junmyeon had never been happier before when it was finally the time to go home, but it soon turned to a hopeless sigh as he gathered his things.
I just hope everything goes well. It’s just a thankful dinner after all...
“Junmyeon-hyung!”
Junmyeon looked up to see Kyungsoo waving his hand at him. He only smiled in return, shoving the last document into his bag just as the younger male approached him. “Hey, Kyungsoo-yah.”
“Are you going out with the boys? You’re going home early today.”
“No, actually I’m going to go shopping...”
“Ah, did you promise to have dinner at home?”
“Um, yeah, and we’re kind of expecting a guest, too... I don’t know if you know him, but Wu Yifan is coming over, and I need to cook...”
Kyungsoo frowned. “Oh? The vice president of the other company?”
Junmyeon stopped in his tracks. “Vice...president?”
“Yeah. He came here the other day, right? I think it was a few weeks ago, on our presentation day... Wait, does it mean you’re dating the vice president?” Kyungsoo squealed. “Are the boys okay with it?”
“N-not dating, it’s just-he-the boys invited him to dinner and he paid the bills and this is just a token of his gratitude for the other day...” Junmyeon ignored the way Kyungsoo smiled teasingly at him. “It’s a long story.”
“Then it means the boys like him! I’m really glad for that. I hope the date goes okay,” Kyungsoo winked at Junmyeon and he cackled somewhat evilly at Junmyeon’s faltered expression. “I’ll see you on Monday, then.”
“Wait. Kyungsoo...?”
“Yeah?”
“A-about Yifan...”
Kyungsoo stared at Junmyeon questioningly. “Yeah? What about him? ”
Junmyeon trapped his tongue between his lips, pondering, but then he shook his head and smiled apologetically.
“No, it’s nothing...”
***
Yifan showed up looking extremely handsome that night. Not that Junmyeon didn’t expect it, since Yifan was really good-looking-whatever he wore would definitely look great. Sehun squealed upon seeing the Chinese male by the door while Zitao’s jaw dropped involuntarily in amazement. Funny how the boys were the more excited ones when it came to Yifan, compared to Junmyeon.
Junmyeon didn’t think his heart had ever beaten so fast in his life before, not even when he thought he was in love with his ex-boyfriend-or that one time when he watched horror movies with the twins. Yifan’s attention were on the twins, which was why Junmyeon almost forgot how to breathe when the former gave him a bouquet of fresh flowers. He awkwardly received the flowers.
“You didn’t have to...”
“I want to,” Yifan replied with a head-shake as he closed the door behind him.
“Uncle Kris! Uncle Kris!” Sehun ran to Yifan excitedly and extended his hands to the taller male. “What took you so long? Uncle, do you want to see my collection of plushies?”
“Dinner first, Sehun-ah,” Junmyeon sternly told the blond boy. Sehun pouted at his father in disappointment, but he nodded anyway. “I’m sure Uncle Kris would love to see your collection, but after we eat, okay?”
“Okay!”
Zitao rolled his eyes. “Kids.”
Junmyeon’s hunch about the dinner was right. Sehun was being loud as usual, along with Zitao who sometimes joined his twin’s rambling, but Yifan didn’t seem to mind. In fact, the handsome male really treated Sehun and Zitao very well, as if...
Junmyeon gulped.
...as if Sehun and Zitao were his own sons.
Yifan seemed to notice Junmyeon’s quietness throughout dinner, but he said nothing about that.
After they were done, Junmyeon told the boys to take Yifan to the living room while he washed the dishes. They didn’t use that many plates, but Junmyeon took a really long time in the kitchen. He washed the same plate twice, just so that he would be able to stay alone a little bit longer. The faint laugh of Sehun in the living room snapped Junmyeon out of his daze. He quickly dried his hands with a rag and drew in a deep breath. The male was about to take off his apron when he saw the (neglected) flowers that Yifan had brought.
Roses.
Junmyeon pressed his lips into a thin line.
When he walked into the living room, Yifan had just stepped out of the twin’s bedroom.
“Are they asleep...?”
“Yes,” Yifan chuckled earnestly. “With all that talking, I will be surprised if they don’t. Especially Sehun...”
“Yeah, Sehun’s really loud...”
“I know. But not that it’s bad.”
“I guess...”
Neither of them moved from where they were standing. Junmyeon had his eyes fixed on the carpeted floor, unsure with what he felt. He finally looked up when Yifan started talking.
“Don’t get this wrong, but...I’m glad that now we have some time for us. Care to join me?” The taller of the two unabashedly motioned the couch. “It would definitely be different compared to texts and phone calls...”
Junmyeon simply smiled. Nodding, he took the empty spot beside Yifan. The television was turned on, but Yifan had set the volume down, so that they would be able to talk. Junmyeon leaned his back against the soft cushion, feeling himself relaxing. Yifan’s warmth beside him was nice. It had been a while since he felt like this.
“How was the food...?”
“Are you kidding me? Did you count how many times I asked for more?”
Junmyeon giggled timidly. “Quite a few times...”
“So that question is really unnecessary,” Yifan gave him a playful look and Junmyeon continued to giggle. The male then absentmindedly changed the channels on the screen. “Junmyeon? Uh...I don’t mean to be rude, but...do you mind if I ask you about their mother...?”
Junmyeon feebly shook his head. “Eventually you will ask, right? She...died in a car accident two years ago.”
“Oh. I’m sorry... It must’ve been hard for you to lose your wife like that...”
“Yeah, but...” Junmyeon batted his eyelashes rapidly before turning to stare at Yifan. “Wait a minute, you think I’m married?”
Yifan looked confused. “Huh...? You’re not...? I mean, you weren’t?”
Junmyeon burst out laughing. However, it was obvious that it was a relieved laugh instead of a painful one. “Yifan, no... I mean, Sulli is my sister. Was.” His laugh slowly deceased, and Junmyeon’s eyes were distant as he reminisced. “It was a really a hard time for me... I lost everything back then. My mother. My job. Even my boyfriend... And then suddenly, her lawyer showed up, saying that I could take them or just send them to the orphanage.”
Yifan waited patiently for Junmyeon to continue.
“I didn’t really understand it at first...what did he mean by ‘them?’ But then I was brought to the lawyer’s car, and then I saw who he meant. They were sleeping, cuddling together underneath a blanket. At first I didn’t know what to do...I was pretty much broke at that moment. I couldn’t even take care of myself. But then...Sehun woke up, and he just...smiled at me.”
Junmyeon’s eyes become teary.
“He smiled at me, even though he probably didn’t have any idea who I was. His face just reminded me of my sister. Sulli...she ran away from home because our mother didn’t approve her relationship with a much older man. But according to the lawyer, when she died in that car accident, she was with her husband...which meant that everything was all right. She was...she was probably happy with him.”
Junmyeon shut his eyes close, and Yifan regretted asking the question.
“I’m sorry... I’m sorry I made you remember, Junmyeon,” Yifan shifted closer to Junmyeon and pulled the shorter male into a hug. “I’m sorry...”
“Now-now you know... They’re the reason why I didn’t date anyone. I’m just scared no one would accept them...”
“I accept them.”
Junmyeon sniffled. “You do?”
“Yeah. I know that you’re tired... You’ve been taking care of them all by yourself, without no one helping you.”
“Mm. I’m so tired I can sleep right now...”
“And...uh...I want to be the person to help...wait, help isn’t the right word to describe this. This might sound weird, but...I want to be a part of this family, Junmyeon. I want to be with you and the twins. So would you please...go out with me?”
A soft snore was the only response Yifan heard.
Yifan wanted to groan in protest, but it all disappeared when he saw Junmyeon’s sleeping face. It was definitely a miracle of how someone could look exhausted and yet still adorable at the same time. A huge feeling of wanting to protect Junmyeon and twins bubbled greatly within Yifan as he gently brushed his thumb over Junmyeon’s lips.
“Next time, then.”
***
Junmyeon’s relationship with Yifan grew deeper.
They weren’t exactly dating, but what happened between them was natural.
The boys had grown even closer to Yifan-especially Sehun-that sometimes they took the freedom to call Yifan from Junmyeon’s cell phone. The three of them would chat over the phone like they were the same age, and the view of that amused Junmyeon. (It usually would end with Junmyeon blushing madly when the twins handed him his cell phone back, saying “Uncle Kris wants to talk to you, Papa!”)
There were times when Junmyeon got even busier than usual, and this week was one of those. He was starting to have lack of sleep and sometimes he didn’t even have the time to eat. Junmyeon ignored the way his body screaming for rest. His throat hurt, like something was stuck in it, but he didn’t bother to take a medicine. They were in the middle of an important project, with the deadline in a few days. That was why Junmyeon forced himself to work, telling himself that he would be able to rest once it was over.
However, when it was done, Junmyeon’s body temperature was abnormally high. He was definitely sick. When Junmyeon got home, the boys greeted him by the front door as usual.
“Papa! Look at what I draw today! Mine is better than Zitao’s!”
Junmyeon sneezed loudly underneath his palm. “Ah, that’s really good, Sehun-ah, but I need to rest... I will take a look at it in the morning, okay?”
“Papa, are you okay? You have Panda Eyes. Oh my God, Papa!” Sehun stared at him in horror. “You got the Tao illness!”
Zitao flicked Sehun at the back of his head. “What exactly is Tao’s illness anyway?”
“Zitao, don’t hit your brother...” Junmyeon coughed as he took off his coat. He didn’t even bother to hang it this time. Junmyeon threw his coat onto the couch, and he even had to drag himself toward his bedroom. “Zitao, do you think you can reheat the food for dinner? I really need to rest. I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to kiss you goodnight...so goodnight, boys.”
The twins followed Junmyeon silently into the bedroom, and Sehun gasped mutely when he saw his father passing out the second his face touched the pillow. Sehun carefully shook Junmyeon’s feet, but the latter didn’t even stir. Zitao then pressed a hand against Junmyeon’s forehead, and he grimaced at the body temperature.
“Appa is sick,” Zitao said. “We need an ambulance.”
“We need a doctor, Tao,” Sehun corrected. “Or both. But how are we going to call them?”
Zitao’s eyes widened in realization as he snapped his fingers. “Uncle Kyungsoo. Uncle Kyungsoo knows everything.”
“Right!” Sehun scooted over to grab the cell phone from Junmyeon’s bag. “But wait, why not Uncle Kris? Uncle Kyungsoo might be with Uncle Jongin right now and they might not want to be disturbed.”
Zitao stared. “You’re right. Uncle Kris, then.”
The boys sat on the carpeted floor while dialing Yifan’s number. It didn’t take Yifan long to pick up, and the first Sehun did was scream.
“Hello?”
“UNCLE KRIS HELP-“
“Sehun, lower your voice!” Zitao hissed. “You don’t want to wake Appa up!”
“Oh, right. Hi, Uncle Kris, please help us. We’re in danger.”
“Sehun? Zitao? What’s wrong?”
“It’s Appa. He’s sick, Uncle. His temperature is very high,” Zitao’s voice trembled in worry as he spoke. Despite his calm appearance, he was just as worried as Sehun. “He just came home and then he went straight to bed. Please, can you come over to check on him? We don’t know what to do.”
“I’ll be right there, okay? In the meantime, could you please drown a cloth in a basin of cold water and place it on your father’s forehead...?”
“Yes, Uncle Kris!”
Sehun immediately went to the kitchen to do as he was told. Zitao soon followed him after ending the call.
“Uncle Kris knows everything. He’s a doctor!”
Zitao sent Sehun a judging look. “No, idiot. He drives an ambulance.”
***
Junmyeon’s throat was painfully dry when he woke up.
His surrounding was dark, and he groaned weakly at the sudden headache. The male slowly pulled himself into a sitting position. Junmyeon felt something sticky was on his forehead, and he was a bit dumbfounded when he realized it was a fever patch. He pressed his palm against his forehead, wondering where the boys got one, because he didn’t think he had a stock in the first-aid kit. Junmyeon needed a glass of water so badly, but it didn’t seem like he was going to be able to call Sehun or Zitao’s name with his condition.
Sighing, Junmyeon got off of the bed. He frowned slightly when he saw the light in the living room was still on. Are the boys still awake...? He slowly stepped toward the door, the coldness of the wooden floor somehow cooled his hot feet.
Junmyeon’s heart almost stopped beating at the sight.
Yifan was sleeping on the couch with the twins cuddling against him by his sides. They looked so peaceful and happy...like they were a real family. Junmyeon froze in his tracks, a huge pang formed within him as he stepped closer. He examined the twins with a sad smile, wanting to apologize for making them worry, but what he couldn’t seem to stop doing was to stare at Yifan’s sleeping face. Even when he was fast asleep, the handsomeness didn’t fade...
Junmyeon’s heartbeat quickened, and he instinctively lifted up a hand to brush few strands of hair on Yifan’s forehead. Yifan’s eyes fluttered open at the simple gesture, and Junmyeon held his breath when their eyes met.
“Hey...”
Junmyeon visibly gulped, not wanting for the boys to wake up, which Yifan quickly understood. The taller of the two carefully swept Sehun into his arms, carrying the boy as quietly as he could into the boy’s bedroom. He did the same to Zitao, and by the time he was done, Junmyeon was already sitting on the couch, looking really pale.
“Hey. How are you feeling?” Yifan asked softly as he walked closer to Junmyeon.
“Thirsty,” Junmyeon answered shyly. “And hungry.”
“There’s water by the nightstand.”
“Oh? I must’ve missed it...”
“I’ll just grab you another glass of water. What do you want to eat? You need to take your medicine.” Yifan headed to the kitchen and Junmyeon slowly got up to follow him. “I made kimchi fried rice, by the way. There’s still some left, I can reheat it if you want.”
“You made it...?”
“The boys were whining for me to come over quickly, and I didn’t have the time to stop by anywhere. Fortunately I still have those fever patches at home, and a bit of cooking skill, even though it’s rusty.”
Junmyeon fidgeted nervously. “They...called you?”
Yifan nodded as he handed Junmyeon a glass of water. “Yeah. I was really scared. I thought something bad happened.”
Junmyeon accepted the glass and drank the liquid down in three gulps. A small smile graced upon his lips when he was done. “Was it Sehun...? I’m sorry, he’s always like that. He really takes after Sulli. Sulli, too, she got panicked easily over small things...” Junmyeon shrugged. “I guess Zitao takes after his father...”
“There’s a little bit of you in him, too,” Yifan smiled, taking the empty glass in Junmyeon’s hand to refill it. “Sometimes I look at Zitao and I think he’s really you.”
Junmyeon dropped his gaze to his ankles. “Yifan...why didn’t you tell me?”
“About what?”
“That...that you’re the vice president of the company.”
Yifan’s expression changed. “What good would it be if I tell you?”
“Did my proposal get accepted...because of you?”
“Seriously? I’m not that low, Junmyeon. It was accepted because you were great at presentating it. And besides, I had nothing to do with the presentation anyway. I just happened to be there. It wasn’t even my schedule to come by to your company that day.”
Junmyeon bit his lower lip. “Can I believe that...?”
“Please, I would never lie to you,” Yifan said. “And I would be very sad if you don’t believe me.”
They stayed silent for a moment, but Junmyeon’s sincere smile was enough to let Yifan know that he believed him. Yifan wouldn’t mind spending all the time he had just to stare at Junmyeon, but the latter’s pale face made him realize that he needed to eat. Yifan turned around to the stove to start cooking.
“Just sit by the table. I’ll make you something to eat.”
“Kimchi fried rice sounds delicious,” Junmyeon mumbled as he unconsciously hugged Yifan from behind. Yifan visibly tensed at the hug. It came across his mind that oh my god he really hugged him, but he was so shocked that he was unable to move. “Thank you, Yifan...”
“Junmyeon...?”
Yifan waited until Junmyeon realized what he was doing. Junmyeon would probably jerk out of his dreamy state and let him go-that it was just accidental. But as seconds turned to minutes, it didn’t seem like Junmyeon was going to change his mind. Yifan closed his eyes, feeling Junmyeon’s body heat transferred to his. The taller male made sure he was not going to be rejected before slowly turning around to face Junmyeon.
Junmyeon flinched a little, but he still didn’t let go.
Yifan bravely grasped Junmyeon’s chin before lifting it up.
And then their lips met in the slightest kiss.
***
A few weeks had passed by since their kiss, and it was also a few weeks since they were officially dating.
Junmyeon didn’t say it directly to the twins, but he had a feeling they knew. Sehun grinned too much whenever Yifan came by to their apartment, probably anticipating them to kiss, and the way Zitao glanced at Yifan was somehow judging. (They only kissed if the boys had gone to bed...and after making sure that they were asleep...and locked the door so they couldn’t peek-just in case.)
Everything was going all right.
Junmyeon had never felt this happy before. His feelings for Yifan was real, and he was even happier knowing that the twins didn’t have anything against his relationship with the Chinese male.
But maybe it was too soon to think so.
“Appa,” Zitao suddenly said. The boy didn’t seem to have any appetite that night because all he did was playing around with his fork.
“Yes? Don’t play with your food, Zitao...”
“I change my mind, I hate Uncle Kris.”
Junmyeon almost choked on his food. He hastily wiped his mouth with a napkin. “W-what? Why do you say that...?”
“Because he was walking with a girl and I don’t like it.”
“He was walking with another girl??” Sehun gasped in shock as he turned to Zitao. “When? Where?”
“I said a girl, not another,” Zitao retorted in annoyance. “It was this afternoon when we came back from school.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Sehun whined. “I would’ve kicked that girl and told her to leave Uncle Kris alone!”
“Because they looked really good together.”
Both Junmyeon and Sehun were stunned in their seats.
“Besides, I didn’t want you to ruin Appa’s image by kicking her violently, which was exactly why I didn’t tell you,” Zitao snorted as he put on his fork on the table, deciding that he wouldn’t be eating anymore. “But I’m serious, Appa. Maybe you should stop seeing Uncle Kris.”
Zitao’s gaze on him was stern, and it was the first time Junmyeon had ever seen the boy acting like that. He opened his mouth to say something, but truth be told, he didn’t know what to say.
Junmyeon just felt completely betrayed.
***
Junmyeon knew that he shouldn’t trust anyone’s words easily, but Zitao was not anyone. If the boy said so, then it must have really happened.
He just wished that there was an easier way to ignore Yifan.
It occurred to him to confront Yifan straight away, but Junmyeon was scared. What if Zitao was really right? What would he do, then? That was why Junmyeon decided to act casual like nothing was wrong, no matter how hurt he felt. He kept on taking Yifan’s calls, and he constantly replied to the latter’s texts.
However, no matter how hard Junmyeon tried to hide it, he would eventually break apart.
One day, when Yifan came to his office to pick him up, Junmyeon just kind of snapped. It had been days, and it hurt Junmyeon because just how much longer Yifan would continue to act this way? If there was no way for them to keep the relationship, then wouldn’t it be better if they ended it sooner?
Yifan looked confused as he ran after Junmyeon. “Junmyeon, tell me what’s wrong...what did I do?”
“What’s wrong?” Junmyeon whispered, his fingers loosely curled into a fist. “That girl. She’s what’s wrong...”
Yifan was surprised at the fact that Junmyeon knew, but he quickly got a hold of himself. He grabbed Junmyeon’s wrist to prevent the latter from walking further. “Junmyeon, listen to me. She’s no one, I assure you.”
Junmyeon weakly shook his head. “Zitao said you two looked great together...”
“Zitao...? He said that...?”
Junmyeon looked away sadly. “It’s okay, Yifan. I understand, I mean...you’re the vice president of a great company, surely your parents expect you to marry someone they choose... I can totally understand that...”
“Junmyeon,” Yifan said sternly as he tightened his grip on the beautiful male’s arm. “Please, don’t say that. You mean everything to me. If you told me to choose you, I would. Please, just say the magic word and I will take care of everything.”
Junmyeon gazed into Yifan’s black orbs deeply, wanting to oblige, but his expression was hesitant. He finally shook his head with a heavy sigh. “No, Yifan. I can’t tell you to do what I want...”
“You can, because you’re my boyfriend.”
“Not in this case,” Junmyeon helplessly answered. He slowly let go of Yifan’s hand, bowing slightly before turning around to leave.
“Junmyeon,” Yifan called out desperately and it got Junmyeon to halt his steps. “Please...don’t leave me. Or else, it will happen in two days. Two days, and if until then you’re still stubborn about your decision, then I’ll...”
Junmyeon shut his eyes as he whispered, “Goodbye, Yifan.”
Yifan then went home feeling brokenhearted.
***
It had been a day since Junmyeon came home with tears all over his face. ‘It’s going to happen in two days, and I should let him go...’ were what Junmyeon sobbed to himself over and over again the moment he arrived home, and Sehun felt like crying upon hearing it.
Ever since then, Junmyeon just kind of locked himself in the bedroom. He even skipped work yesterday. Junmyeon only stepped out of his room whenever he needed to cook for the twins. At times like these, Sehun showed Junmyeon that he wanted to comfort his father, but the latter only shook his head in return. After he was done serving everything on the dining table and the three of them ate in silence, Junmyeon headed back to his bedroom.
Their father looked so hurt, and both Sehun and Zitao mentally cursed themselves for it.
Especially Zitao.
“Papa looked so sad...”
“It’s his fault,” Zitao said bitterly as he looked away. “I told him to stop seeing Uncle Kris.”
“But I don’t want Papa to stop seeing Uncle Kris! Tao, we have to do something about this,” Sehun growled as he banged his fist loudly against the table. “I don’t want any other girl to interfere with our father’s love story!”
“Yeah, well, what can you do about it?” Zitao rested his chin on his fist with no interest. “No, what can we do? It’s happening tomorrow, whether you like it or not.”
“We should make a bomb and bring it to Uncle Kris’ house to sabotage the wedding!”
Zitao frowned. “Wait, what? Wedding...?”
“Yes! You heard it yourself, Papa said, ‘It’s happening in two days.’ What else can it be unless wedding?”
“Uh...okay. Well, if we want to sabotage the wedding...do you happen to know where Uncle Kris lives?”
Sehun grimly puffed his cheeks. “No. But why don’t we ask him ourselves?” The blond boy took out Junmyeon’s cell phone out of his pocket. He ignored the surprised look that was chiseled on his twin’s face. “What?”
“You have Appa’s cell phone all along?”
“Yeah. Only since yesterday, though.”
“And you turned it off??? ...it’s your fault if Appa thinks that Uncle Kris doesn’t even try to call him.”
“When Papa is on confused mode, he doesn’t even care about his cell phone,” Sehun rolled his eyes. “Anyway, shut it. Let’s just try.”
The cell phone was placed on the table while the two boys hovered above the device. The name of Wu Yifan was displayed on the screen as they made the call.
“Papa is so not romantic,” Sehun mumbled. “Why didn’t he change Uncle Kris’ name into something more romantic? Like, Giant Kris or something.”
Zitao held the urge to smack Sehun’s head. “He’s not picking up.”
“I don’t want to give up! Let’s try it again!”
Sehun continued to press redial. The calls went to mailbox whenever it wasn’t picked up, but Sehun really didn’t want to give up. After a few (long, boring) minutes, it was finally picked up. The two of them gasped when it was a girl’s voice instead of Yifan’s.
“Tao it’s a girl! Is she the girl or is she another girl? What should I say should I say I will kill her if she doesn’t stop the marriage?” Sehun hissed in a rather audible voice.
Zitao nudged Sehun’s rib mercilessly, causing the latter to cough and he decided to take over the phone. “Hello. Please excuse my brother. This is Zitao. Is this Wu Yifan’s cell phone?”
“Yes, but unfortunately, Yifan is-“
“May I know your name?”
“...I’m Amber...Josephine.”
“I’m gonna call you Amber from now on,” Zitao calmly said and Sehun stared at him in shock. “Auntie Amber, may I know Uncle Kris’-that’s our nickname for him, by the way-home address? We need it very badly. It’s a matter of life and death. You don’t want our beautiful father to kill himself because of Wu Yifan, do you? If you do, just think about how your family’s reputation is at stake...”
It was then Sehun realized that Zitao’s hidden skill was probably blackmailing.
***
Yifan dragged a hand down his face in frustration. He had been trying to get a hold of Junmyeon, but the latter didn’t seem to change his mind. Junmyeon didn’t reply to any of his texts, and he had his cell phone turned off. Yifan stared at his phone while desperately biting his nails.
Please pick up. Please...
“Yifan?”
The soft voice of a woman made Yifan instinctively end the outgoing call. He shifted his eyes to the pretty female who sat across him. “Yes, Jessica...?”
“Is everything okay? You look...pissed off.”
Yifan gazed down at the screen of his phone. He wished his phone would ring any moment now. He wished it would be from a certain
beautiful male who had two loud sons. “Yeah...kind of. Even though I don’t even have the right to feel so.”
“What happened...?”
“I...I made a stupid mistake. It was something I shouldn’t have done in the first place, and yet I did it because I wanted to know his reaction...”
Jessica pursed her lips worriedly. “And are you going to do something to fix it? Did you try calling him?”
“I’m trying my best,” Yifan sighed. “He’s not picking up my call since this morning. His phone was turned off yesterday...”
Jessica was about to say something more, but she got distracted when the secretary of Yifan’s father walked into the room. “Thank you for waiting. Mr. Wu is requesting your presences in his room now.”
Yifan quietly thanked the secretary. It irritated him that despite the fact they were father and son, his father still needed the help of someone else whenever he wanted to speak. His old man couldn’t even speak directly to him. Sadly, Yifan grew up with that kind of condition. He didn’t think that his father had ever hugged him, or even carried him on his back just like he did to Sehun.
Now that he thought about it, it was probably why Yifan felt instantly clicked with the twins. Sehun always spoke out his mind. Even though Zitao wasn’t as obvious as his brother, but he wasn’t afraid to say what was on his mind. Maybe, just maybe, Yifan felt a bit envious. He wanted to have a family where they were allowed to express their feelings freely.
A family that would include Junmyeon.
Jessica was the first to stand up, and she gave Yifan a calming smile.
“Are you ready...?”
Yifan shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah...I guess this is it.”
“Alright-“
“NOOOOOOOO YOU CANNOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTT!!!”
A shrill voice was heard and Yifan almost broke his neck for snapping it so fast to see who it was. Jessica’s shoulders flinched in shock as she followed Yifan’s line of sight.
“NO YOU CANNOT MARRY HER, UNCLE KRIS!!” Sehun screamed from the doorway in tears. “YOU CANNOT!!”
“S-Sehun,” Yifan stuttered. “How the hell-“
“Ah, they’re with me.”
Yifan stared at his sister in shock. “Amber?”
“These boys said they have something to say to you,” Amber was standing by the doorway behind Sehun and Zitao with obvious amusement was all over her face. “I honestly can’t understand what this one is saying, though,” she pointed at Sehun. “But something about you getting married?”
“Uncle Kris!!” Sehun cried as he threw himself to Yifan’s arms. “Don’t you like us? Don’t you want to be with Papa? Then why do you have to marry this girl?” He asked with puppy eyes, pointing rudely at Jessica.
Jessica gaped. “What-“
“Oh my God, you’re pretty, Tao was right,” Sehun mumbled dreamily at how beautiful Jessica was and shook his head hard. “No, even if you’re pretty, you’re not prettier than my Papa! Junmyeon-papa is the prettiest in the whole world!”
Jessica opened her mouth, but she closed it back when Yifan held a hand toward her direction.
“Sehun,” Yifan said. “Are you saying that you want me to be your father...?”
“Yes,” Sehun cried and sobbed into his hands. “Yes, I want you to be our father. And please, knock some sense into Papa’s brain. He said he would let you go, but he cried! I don’t like to see him crying...”
“Okay,” Yifan nodded eagerly, unable to contain his happiness. He wiped Sehun’s tears before shifting his eyes to Zitao. “How about you, Zitao...?”
Zitao lazily glanced at Sehun and shrugged nonchalantly. “What he said.”
“Very well,” Yifan said with a wide smile and laughed in extreme delight as he took Sehun into his arms. “Then let’s go and see your Papa. Let’s tell him how much I love him.”
“YAY!”
The trio then left the room with extremely loud noises-mostly just Sehun, though. Sehun waved his hand in excitement at the two girls in the room while Zitao only nodded politely at them. Both Amber and Jessica looked at each other after Yifan and the boys’ weren’t in their eyesight anymore.
“...what was that about?” Jessica blinked.
“Beats me,” Amber genuinely laughed. “Although, I have a feeling I will love those twins...”
***
When Junmyeon woke up, the whole apartment was dark.
The clock by the nightstand indicated that it was already evening. Junmyeon sleepily rubbed his eyes, absently thinking that perhaps the twins fell asleep in their bedroom. He slid off of the bed and turned on some lights before heading to the twins’ bedroom.
It was empty.
Junmyeon frowned. He tried to look for them in the bathroom, but it was also empty.
“Sehun? Zitao?”
It took him merely seconds to realize that the twins weren’t in the apartment.
Junmyeon almost went hysterical at the thought. He had to lean against the nearest wall to take a deep breath. Oh my God, it is my fault... I’ve been ignoring the boys lately... Junmyeon fearfully closed his eyes, trying to think of a few places where the twins would go if they were upset. He hastily grabbed his jacket and was about to dash out of the front door, when he heard some very familiar voices.
His knees went weak when he saw the twins were with Yifan.
“Papa!” Sehun chirped. “We’re home! And look who we bring along!”
Junmyeon couldn’t suppress his tears as he knelt and cried in relief as he pulled Sehun his arms. “Thank goodness... I was so panicked when I couldn’t find you anywhere!” He tugged Zitao closer to join the hug. “I thought... I thought you guys were mad at me...”
“We were,” Zitao replied apologetically. “But then...we decided to make things right for you.”
Junmyeon blinked in his tears. “Huh...?”
“Appa, Uncle Kris has something to say to you. Please, listen to what he has to say this time.”
“Papa, the wedding is canceled,” Sehun whispered furiously in Junmyeon’s ear. But it wasn’t really whispering when Zitao and Yifan could hear it too. “And I saw the girl. She was pretty, Papa, but don’t worry, her beauty is nothing compared to you!”
Junmyeon earnestly laughed at Sehun’s words as he patted the boy’s hair, because he knew Sehun was just being biased. He took a moment to gather his courage to look up, to look at Yifan, and the butterflies in his stomach was enough to tell him that he shouldn’t make the same mistakes again-by letting Yifan go. Their gazes met, and Junmyeon could sense that Yifan’s orbs were deep with emotions.
Too deep.
“I want to be a part of this family, Junmyeon,” Yifan said. “Please, will you let me...?”
Junmyeon only bloomed into a beautiful smile before standing to reach out for Yifan.
End.
Junmyeon stared at Yifan in disbelief. When his boyfriend (yeah, it was really official this time, witnessed by the twins) told him that he had something to confess, Junmyeon didn’t think it would be this, of all things.
“So it was actually your idea?? And Zitao volunteered to make it happen??”
“Yes. Jessica is my cousin. She’s here because my father wants her to help the company, that is all.”
“B-but the wedding-“
“I never said there would be any wedding. You, and should I add, Sehun, assumed it all by yourselves.”
“B-but ‘It will happen in two days???’”
“In two days, Jessica was supposed to meet my Father.”
Junmyeon’s face turned red because of anger. “You-you should’ve said something, Yifan! I was sad for days and I even skipped work because of it-”
“But it works,” Yifan said, a hint of sadness was laced underneath his tone. He hastily snatched Junmyeon’s wrists so that he wouldn’t get hit. Yifan kind of knew where Zitao got his habit to hit Sehun. “Honestly, it’s the only thing I can think about. And if it doesn’t work, I don’t know how else to convince you that I am serious with you. I am madly in love with you, Junmyeon...”
Junmyeon’s anger dissipated instantly to heaven-knew-where at the sweet words. He sighed in defeat as Yifan leaned to press a chaste kiss on his lips.
“Forgive me and love me forever?”
Junmyeon rolled his eyes in mock anger, but his smiled indicated otherwise. “Apology accepted. But really, I should be the one to bow down to you. If it was Sehun, I wouldn’t be surprised, but...you’re really great at winning Zitao’s heart. He usually won’t listen unless it’s me or Sehun.”
“Ah...about that,” Yifan scratched his nape. “Would you be angry if I said I kinda tricked him? I told Zitao that by helping me to succeed, I would spend a lot of time with Sehun while he can have you to himself. But seriously,” Yifan paused with a nervous laugh. “There’s no way I would let him do that, right?”
Junmyeon blanched.
Zitao snorted at the end of the room. “I knew I would get that answer.”
Author: FloweryMisha
Pairing: KrisHo
Warning: BoyxBoy love. Enough said.
Summary: This isn’t just about love story between two persons. This is a love story about a family.
[1]
Yifan did really call him on the next day.
Funny how such a simple gesture could instantly light Junmyeon’s mood up. At first it was awkward, and the phone calls didn’t last long because Yifan just happened to call at the wrong time (either when Junmyeon’s break was over or the boys were being really clingy). But as it evolved to days, it was becoming a routinity. If Yifan didn’t call, he usually would send a text to Junmyeon, which made the latter smile even more. Sometimes, Junmyeon found himself smiling whenever he remembered Yifan and how patient the tall male was when it came to Sehun. However, his smile faltered at the next thought.
Does it mean Yifan is all right with the boys...?
Junmyeon shook his head and decided to concentrate on his work.
It was too early to decide about that.
Days passed by in a breeze, and it was finally Friday.
From the moment he woke up that morning, Junmyeon’s heart was beating so fast, anticipating what was going to happen tonight. What if Sehun was even louder this time? What if Yifan didn’t like their apartment? Worse, what if Yifan didn’t like his cooking...?
The negative thoughts occupied Junmyeon’s mind since morning, making the day passed by painfully slow. Junmyeon had never been happier before when it was finally the time to go home, but it soon turned to a hopeless sigh as he gathered his things.
I just hope everything goes well. It’s just a thankful dinner after all...
“Junmyeon-hyung!”
Junmyeon looked up to see Kyungsoo waving his hand at him. He only smiled in return, shoving the last document into his bag just as the younger male approached him. “Hey, Kyungsoo-yah.”
“Are you going out with the boys? You’re going home early today.”
“No, actually I’m going to go shopping...”
“Ah, did you promise to have dinner at home?”
“Um, yeah, and we’re kind of expecting a guest, too... I don’t know if you know him, but Wu Yifan is coming over, and I need to cook...”
Kyungsoo frowned. “Oh? The vice president of the other company?”
Junmyeon stopped in his tracks. “Vice...president?”
“Yeah. He came here the other day, right? I think it was a few weeks ago, on our presentation day... Wait, does it mean you’re dating the vice president?” Kyungsoo squealed. “Are the boys okay with it?”
“N-not dating, it’s just-he-the boys invited him to dinner and he paid the bills and this is just a token of his gratitude for the other day...” Junmyeon ignored the way Kyungsoo smiled teasingly at him. “It’s a long story.”
“Then it means the boys like him! I’m really glad for that. I hope the date goes okay,” Kyungsoo winked at Junmyeon and he cackled somewhat evilly at Junmyeon’s faltered expression. “I’ll see you on Monday, then.”
“Wait. Kyungsoo...?”
“Yeah?”
“A-about Yifan...”
Kyungsoo stared at Junmyeon questioningly. “Yeah? What about him? ”
Junmyeon trapped his tongue between his lips, pondering, but then he shook his head and smiled apologetically.
“No, it’s nothing...”
***
Yifan showed up looking extremely handsome that night. Not that Junmyeon didn’t expect it, since Yifan was really good-looking-whatever he wore would definitely look great. Sehun squealed upon seeing the Chinese male by the door while Zitao’s jaw dropped involuntarily in amazement. Funny how the boys were the more excited ones when it came to Yifan, compared to Junmyeon.
Junmyeon didn’t think his heart had ever beaten so fast in his life before, not even when he thought he was in love with his ex-boyfriend-or that one time when he watched horror movies with the twins. Yifan’s attention were on the twins, which was why Junmyeon almost forgot how to breathe when the former gave him a bouquet of fresh flowers. He awkwardly received the flowers.
“You didn’t have to...”
“I want to,” Yifan replied with a head-shake as he closed the door behind him.
“Uncle Kris! Uncle Kris!” Sehun ran to Yifan excitedly and extended his hands to the taller male. “What took you so long? Uncle, do you want to see my collection of plushies?”
“Dinner first, Sehun-ah,” Junmyeon sternly told the blond boy. Sehun pouted at his father in disappointment, but he nodded anyway. “I’m sure Uncle Kris would love to see your collection, but after we eat, okay?”
“Okay!”
Zitao rolled his eyes. “Kids.”
Junmyeon’s hunch about the dinner was right. Sehun was being loud as usual, along with Zitao who sometimes joined his twin’s rambling, but Yifan didn’t seem to mind. In fact, the handsome male really treated Sehun and Zitao very well, as if...
Junmyeon gulped.
...as if Sehun and Zitao were his own sons.
Yifan seemed to notice Junmyeon’s quietness throughout dinner, but he said nothing about that.
After they were done, Junmyeon told the boys to take Yifan to the living room while he washed the dishes. They didn’t use that many plates, but Junmyeon took a really long time in the kitchen. He washed the same plate twice, just so that he would be able to stay alone a little bit longer. The faint laugh of Sehun in the living room snapped Junmyeon out of his daze. He quickly dried his hands with a rag and drew in a deep breath. The male was about to take off his apron when he saw the (neglected) flowers that Yifan had brought.
Roses.
Junmyeon pressed his lips into a thin line.
When he walked into the living room, Yifan had just stepped out of the twin’s bedroom.
“Are they asleep...?”
“Yes,” Yifan chuckled earnestly. “With all that talking, I will be surprised if they don’t. Especially Sehun...”
“Yeah, Sehun’s really loud...”
“I know. But not that it’s bad.”
“I guess...”
Neither of them moved from where they were standing. Junmyeon had his eyes fixed on the carpeted floor, unsure with what he felt. He finally looked up when Yifan started talking.
“Don’t get this wrong, but...I’m glad that now we have some time for us. Care to join me?” The taller of the two unabashedly motioned the couch. “It would definitely be different compared to texts and phone calls...”
Junmyeon simply smiled. Nodding, he took the empty spot beside Yifan. The television was turned on, but Yifan had set the volume down, so that they would be able to talk. Junmyeon leaned his back against the soft cushion, feeling himself relaxing. Yifan’s warmth beside him was nice. It had been a while since he felt like this.
“How was the food...?”
“Are you kidding me? Did you count how many times I asked for more?”
Junmyeon giggled timidly. “Quite a few times...”
“So that question is really unnecessary,” Yifan gave him a playful look and Junmyeon continued to giggle. The male then absentmindedly changed the channels on the screen. “Junmyeon? Uh...I don’t mean to be rude, but...do you mind if I ask you about their mother...?”
Junmyeon feebly shook his head. “Eventually you will ask, right? She...died in a car accident two years ago.”
“Oh. I’m sorry... It must’ve been hard for you to lose your wife like that...”
“Yeah, but...” Junmyeon batted his eyelashes rapidly before turning to stare at Yifan. “Wait a minute, you think I’m married?”
Yifan looked confused. “Huh...? You’re not...? I mean, you weren’t?”
Junmyeon burst out laughing. However, it was obvious that it was a relieved laugh instead of a painful one. “Yifan, no... I mean, Sulli is my sister. Was.” His laugh slowly deceased, and Junmyeon’s eyes were distant as he reminisced. “It was a really a hard time for me... I lost everything back then. My mother. My job. Even my boyfriend... And then suddenly, her lawyer showed up, saying that I could take them or just send them to the orphanage.”
Yifan waited patiently for Junmyeon to continue.
“I didn’t really understand it at first...what did he mean by ‘them?’ But then I was brought to the lawyer’s car, and then I saw who he meant. They were sleeping, cuddling together underneath a blanket. At first I didn’t know what to do...I was pretty much broke at that moment. I couldn’t even take care of myself. But then...Sehun woke up, and he just...smiled at me.”
Junmyeon’s eyes become teary.
“He smiled at me, even though he probably didn’t have any idea who I was. His face just reminded me of my sister. Sulli...she ran away from home because our mother didn’t approve her relationship with a much older man. But according to the lawyer, when she died in that car accident, she was with her husband...which meant that everything was all right. She was...she was probably happy with him.”
Junmyeon shut his eyes close, and Yifan regretted asking the question.
“I’m sorry... I’m sorry I made you remember, Junmyeon,” Yifan shifted closer to Junmyeon and pulled the shorter male into a hug. “I’m sorry...”
“Now-now you know... They’re the reason why I didn’t date anyone. I’m just scared no one would accept them...”
“I accept them.”
Junmyeon sniffled. “You do?”
“Yeah. I know that you’re tired... You’ve been taking care of them all by yourself, without no one helping you.”
“Mm. I’m so tired I can sleep right now...”
“And...uh...I want to be the person to help...wait, help isn’t the right word to describe this. This might sound weird, but...I want to be a part of this family, Junmyeon. I want to be with you and the twins. So would you please...go out with me?”
A soft snore was the only response Yifan heard.
Yifan wanted to groan in protest, but it all disappeared when he saw Junmyeon’s sleeping face. It was definitely a miracle of how someone could look exhausted and yet still adorable at the same time. A huge feeling of wanting to protect Junmyeon and twins bubbled greatly within Yifan as he gently brushed his thumb over Junmyeon’s lips.
“Next time, then.”
***
Junmyeon’s relationship with Yifan grew deeper.
They weren’t exactly dating, but what happened between them was natural.
The boys had grown even closer to Yifan-especially Sehun-that sometimes they took the freedom to call Yifan from Junmyeon’s cell phone. The three of them would chat over the phone like they were the same age, and the view of that amused Junmyeon. (It usually would end with Junmyeon blushing madly when the twins handed him his cell phone back, saying “Uncle Kris wants to talk to you, Papa!”)
There were times when Junmyeon got even busier than usual, and this week was one of those. He was starting to have lack of sleep and sometimes he didn’t even have the time to eat. Junmyeon ignored the way his body screaming for rest. His throat hurt, like something was stuck in it, but he didn’t bother to take a medicine. They were in the middle of an important project, with the deadline in a few days. That was why Junmyeon forced himself to work, telling himself that he would be able to rest once it was over.
However, when it was done, Junmyeon’s body temperature was abnormally high. He was definitely sick. When Junmyeon got home, the boys greeted him by the front door as usual.
“Papa! Look at what I draw today! Mine is better than Zitao’s!”
Junmyeon sneezed loudly underneath his palm. “Ah, that’s really good, Sehun-ah, but I need to rest... I will take a look at it in the morning, okay?”
“Papa, are you okay? You have Panda Eyes. Oh my God, Papa!” Sehun stared at him in horror. “You got the Tao illness!”
Zitao flicked Sehun at the back of his head. “What exactly is Tao’s illness anyway?”
“Zitao, don’t hit your brother...” Junmyeon coughed as he took off his coat. He didn’t even bother to hang it this time. Junmyeon threw his coat onto the couch, and he even had to drag himself toward his bedroom. “Zitao, do you think you can reheat the food for dinner? I really need to rest. I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to kiss you goodnight...so goodnight, boys.”
The twins followed Junmyeon silently into the bedroom, and Sehun gasped mutely when he saw his father passing out the second his face touched the pillow. Sehun carefully shook Junmyeon’s feet, but the latter didn’t even stir. Zitao then pressed a hand against Junmyeon’s forehead, and he grimaced at the body temperature.
“Appa is sick,” Zitao said. “We need an ambulance.”
“We need a doctor, Tao,” Sehun corrected. “Or both. But how are we going to call them?”
Zitao’s eyes widened in realization as he snapped his fingers. “Uncle Kyungsoo. Uncle Kyungsoo knows everything.”
“Right!” Sehun scooted over to grab the cell phone from Junmyeon’s bag. “But wait, why not Uncle Kris? Uncle Kyungsoo might be with Uncle Jongin right now and they might not want to be disturbed.”
Zitao stared. “You’re right. Uncle Kris, then.”
The boys sat on the carpeted floor while dialing Yifan’s number. It didn’t take Yifan long to pick up, and the first Sehun did was scream.
“Hello?”
“UNCLE KRIS HELP-“
“Sehun, lower your voice!” Zitao hissed. “You don’t want to wake Appa up!”
“Oh, right. Hi, Uncle Kris, please help us. We’re in danger.”
“Sehun? Zitao? What’s wrong?”
“It’s Appa. He’s sick, Uncle. His temperature is very high,” Zitao’s voice trembled in worry as he spoke. Despite his calm appearance, he was just as worried as Sehun. “He just came home and then he went straight to bed. Please, can you come over to check on him? We don’t know what to do.”
“I’ll be right there, okay? In the meantime, could you please drown a cloth in a basin of cold water and place it on your father’s forehead...?”
“Yes, Uncle Kris!”
Sehun immediately went to the kitchen to do as he was told. Zitao soon followed him after ending the call.
“Uncle Kris knows everything. He’s a doctor!”
Zitao sent Sehun a judging look. “No, idiot. He drives an ambulance.”
***
Junmyeon’s throat was painfully dry when he woke up.
His surrounding was dark, and he groaned weakly at the sudden headache. The male slowly pulled himself into a sitting position. Junmyeon felt something sticky was on his forehead, and he was a bit dumbfounded when he realized it was a fever patch. He pressed his palm against his forehead, wondering where the boys got one, because he didn’t think he had a stock in the first-aid kit. Junmyeon needed a glass of water so badly, but it didn’t seem like he was going to be able to call Sehun or Zitao’s name with his condition.
Sighing, Junmyeon got off of the bed. He frowned slightly when he saw the light in the living room was still on. Are the boys still awake...? He slowly stepped toward the door, the coldness of the wooden floor somehow cooled his hot feet.
Junmyeon’s heart almost stopped beating at the sight.
Yifan was sleeping on the couch with the twins cuddling against him by his sides. They looked so peaceful and happy...like they were a real family. Junmyeon froze in his tracks, a huge pang formed within him as he stepped closer. He examined the twins with a sad smile, wanting to apologize for making them worry, but what he couldn’t seem to stop doing was to stare at Yifan’s sleeping face. Even when he was fast asleep, the handsomeness didn’t fade...
Junmyeon’s heartbeat quickened, and he instinctively lifted up a hand to brush few strands of hair on Yifan’s forehead. Yifan’s eyes fluttered open at the simple gesture, and Junmyeon held his breath when their eyes met.
“Hey...”
Junmyeon visibly gulped, not wanting for the boys to wake up, which Yifan quickly understood. The taller of the two carefully swept Sehun into his arms, carrying the boy as quietly as he could into the boy’s bedroom. He did the same to Zitao, and by the time he was done, Junmyeon was already sitting on the couch, looking really pale.
“Hey. How are you feeling?” Yifan asked softly as he walked closer to Junmyeon.
“Thirsty,” Junmyeon answered shyly. “And hungry.”
“There’s water by the nightstand.”
“Oh? I must’ve missed it...”
“I’ll just grab you another glass of water. What do you want to eat? You need to take your medicine.” Yifan headed to the kitchen and Junmyeon slowly got up to follow him. “I made kimchi fried rice, by the way. There’s still some left, I can reheat it if you want.”
“You made it...?”
“The boys were whining for me to come over quickly, and I didn’t have the time to stop by anywhere. Fortunately I still have those fever patches at home, and a bit of cooking skill, even though it’s rusty.”
Junmyeon fidgeted nervously. “They...called you?”
Yifan nodded as he handed Junmyeon a glass of water. “Yeah. I was really scared. I thought something bad happened.”
Junmyeon accepted the glass and drank the liquid down in three gulps. A small smile graced upon his lips when he was done. “Was it Sehun...? I’m sorry, he’s always like that. He really takes after Sulli. Sulli, too, she got panicked easily over small things...” Junmyeon shrugged. “I guess Zitao takes after his father...”
“There’s a little bit of you in him, too,” Yifan smiled, taking the empty glass in Junmyeon’s hand to refill it. “Sometimes I look at Zitao and I think he’s really you.”
Junmyeon dropped his gaze to his ankles. “Yifan...why didn’t you tell me?”
“About what?”
“That...that you’re the vice president of the company.”
Yifan’s expression changed. “What good would it be if I tell you?”
“Did my proposal get accepted...because of you?”
“Seriously? I’m not that low, Junmyeon. It was accepted because you were great at presentating it. And besides, I had nothing to do with the presentation anyway. I just happened to be there. It wasn’t even my schedule to come by to your company that day.”
Junmyeon bit his lower lip. “Can I believe that...?”
“Please, I would never lie to you,” Yifan said. “And I would be very sad if you don’t believe me.”
They stayed silent for a moment, but Junmyeon’s sincere smile was enough to let Yifan know that he believed him. Yifan wouldn’t mind spending all the time he had just to stare at Junmyeon, but the latter’s pale face made him realize that he needed to eat. Yifan turned around to the stove to start cooking.
“Just sit by the table. I’ll make you something to eat.”
“Kimchi fried rice sounds delicious,” Junmyeon mumbled as he unconsciously hugged Yifan from behind. Yifan visibly tensed at the hug. It came across his mind that oh my god he really hugged him, but he was so shocked that he was unable to move. “Thank you, Yifan...”
“Junmyeon...?”
Yifan waited until Junmyeon realized what he was doing. Junmyeon would probably jerk out of his dreamy state and let him go-that it was just accidental. But as seconds turned to minutes, it didn’t seem like Junmyeon was going to change his mind. Yifan closed his eyes, feeling Junmyeon’s body heat transferred to his. The taller male made sure he was not going to be rejected before slowly turning around to face Junmyeon.
Junmyeon flinched a little, but he still didn’t let go.
Yifan bravely grasped Junmyeon’s chin before lifting it up.
And then their lips met in the slightest kiss.
***
A few weeks had passed by since their kiss, and it was also a few weeks since they were officially dating.
Junmyeon didn’t say it directly to the twins, but he had a feeling they knew. Sehun grinned too much whenever Yifan came by to their apartment, probably anticipating them to kiss, and the way Zitao glanced at Yifan was somehow judging. (They only kissed if the boys had gone to bed...and after making sure that they were asleep...and locked the door so they couldn’t peek-just in case.)
Everything was going all right.
Junmyeon had never felt this happy before. His feelings for Yifan was real, and he was even happier knowing that the twins didn’t have anything against his relationship with the Chinese male.
But maybe it was too soon to think so.
“Appa,” Zitao suddenly said. The boy didn’t seem to have any appetite that night because all he did was playing around with his fork.
“Yes? Don’t play with your food, Zitao...”
“I change my mind, I hate Uncle Kris.”
Junmyeon almost choked on his food. He hastily wiped his mouth with a napkin. “W-what? Why do you say that...?”
“Because he was walking with a girl and I don’t like it.”
“He was walking with another girl??” Sehun gasped in shock as he turned to Zitao. “When? Where?”
“I said a girl, not another,” Zitao retorted in annoyance. “It was this afternoon when we came back from school.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Sehun whined. “I would’ve kicked that girl and told her to leave Uncle Kris alone!”
“Because they looked really good together.”
Both Junmyeon and Sehun were stunned in their seats.
“Besides, I didn’t want you to ruin Appa’s image by kicking her violently, which was exactly why I didn’t tell you,” Zitao snorted as he put on his fork on the table, deciding that he wouldn’t be eating anymore. “But I’m serious, Appa. Maybe you should stop seeing Uncle Kris.”
Zitao’s gaze on him was stern, and it was the first time Junmyeon had ever seen the boy acting like that. He opened his mouth to say something, but truth be told, he didn’t know what to say.
Junmyeon just felt completely betrayed.
***
Junmyeon knew that he shouldn’t trust anyone’s words easily, but Zitao was not anyone. If the boy said so, then it must have really happened.
He just wished that there was an easier way to ignore Yifan.
It occurred to him to confront Yifan straight away, but Junmyeon was scared. What if Zitao was really right? What would he do, then? That was why Junmyeon decided to act casual like nothing was wrong, no matter how hurt he felt. He kept on taking Yifan’s calls, and he constantly replied to the latter’s texts.
However, no matter how hard Junmyeon tried to hide it, he would eventually break apart.
One day, when Yifan came to his office to pick him up, Junmyeon just kind of snapped. It had been days, and it hurt Junmyeon because just how much longer Yifan would continue to act this way? If there was no way for them to keep the relationship, then wouldn’t it be better if they ended it sooner?
Yifan looked confused as he ran after Junmyeon. “Junmyeon, tell me what’s wrong...what did I do?”
“What’s wrong?” Junmyeon whispered, his fingers loosely curled into a fist. “That girl. She’s what’s wrong...”
Yifan was surprised at the fact that Junmyeon knew, but he quickly got a hold of himself. He grabbed Junmyeon’s wrist to prevent the latter from walking further. “Junmyeon, listen to me. She’s no one, I assure you.”
Junmyeon weakly shook his head. “Zitao said you two looked great together...”
“Zitao...? He said that...?”
Junmyeon looked away sadly. “It’s okay, Yifan. I understand, I mean...you’re the vice president of a great company, surely your parents expect you to marry someone they choose... I can totally understand that...”
“Junmyeon,” Yifan said sternly as he tightened his grip on the beautiful male’s arm. “Please, don’t say that. You mean everything to me. If you told me to choose you, I would. Please, just say the magic word and I will take care of everything.”
Junmyeon gazed into Yifan’s black orbs deeply, wanting to oblige, but his expression was hesitant. He finally shook his head with a heavy sigh. “No, Yifan. I can’t tell you to do what I want...”
“You can, because you’re my boyfriend.”
“Not in this case,” Junmyeon helplessly answered. He slowly let go of Yifan’s hand, bowing slightly before turning around to leave.
“Junmyeon,” Yifan called out desperately and it got Junmyeon to halt his steps. “Please...don’t leave me. Or else, it will happen in two days. Two days, and if until then you’re still stubborn about your decision, then I’ll...”
Junmyeon shut his eyes as he whispered, “Goodbye, Yifan.”
Yifan then went home feeling brokenhearted.
***
It had been a day since Junmyeon came home with tears all over his face. ‘It’s going to happen in two days, and I should let him go...’ were what Junmyeon sobbed to himself over and over again the moment he arrived home, and Sehun felt like crying upon hearing it.
Ever since then, Junmyeon just kind of locked himself in the bedroom. He even skipped work yesterday. Junmyeon only stepped out of his room whenever he needed to cook for the twins. At times like these, Sehun showed Junmyeon that he wanted to comfort his father, but the latter only shook his head in return. After he was done serving everything on the dining table and the three of them ate in silence, Junmyeon headed back to his bedroom.
Their father looked so hurt, and both Sehun and Zitao mentally cursed themselves for it.
Especially Zitao.
“Papa looked so sad...”
“It’s his fault,” Zitao said bitterly as he looked away. “I told him to stop seeing Uncle Kris.”
“But I don’t want Papa to stop seeing Uncle Kris! Tao, we have to do something about this,” Sehun growled as he banged his fist loudly against the table. “I don’t want any other girl to interfere with our father’s love story!”
“Yeah, well, what can you do about it?” Zitao rested his chin on his fist with no interest. “No, what can we do? It’s happening tomorrow, whether you like it or not.”
“We should make a bomb and bring it to Uncle Kris’ house to sabotage the wedding!”
Zitao frowned. “Wait, what? Wedding...?”
“Yes! You heard it yourself, Papa said, ‘It’s happening in two days.’ What else can it be unless wedding?”
“Uh...okay. Well, if we want to sabotage the wedding...do you happen to know where Uncle Kris lives?”
Sehun grimly puffed his cheeks. “No. But why don’t we ask him ourselves?” The blond boy took out Junmyeon’s cell phone out of his pocket. He ignored the surprised look that was chiseled on his twin’s face. “What?”
“You have Appa’s cell phone all along?”
“Yeah. Only since yesterday, though.”
“And you turned it off??? ...it’s your fault if Appa thinks that Uncle Kris doesn’t even try to call him.”
“When Papa is on confused mode, he doesn’t even care about his cell phone,” Sehun rolled his eyes. “Anyway, shut it. Let’s just try.”
The cell phone was placed on the table while the two boys hovered above the device. The name of Wu Yifan was displayed on the screen as they made the call.
“Papa is so not romantic,” Sehun mumbled. “Why didn’t he change Uncle Kris’ name into something more romantic? Like, Giant Kris or something.”
Zitao held the urge to smack Sehun’s head. “He’s not picking up.”
“I don’t want to give up! Let’s try it again!”
Sehun continued to press redial. The calls went to mailbox whenever it wasn’t picked up, but Sehun really didn’t want to give up. After a few (long, boring) minutes, it was finally picked up. The two of them gasped when it was a girl’s voice instead of Yifan’s.
“Tao it’s a girl! Is she the girl or is she another girl? What should I say should I say I will kill her if she doesn’t stop the marriage?” Sehun hissed in a rather audible voice.
Zitao nudged Sehun’s rib mercilessly, causing the latter to cough and he decided to take over the phone. “Hello. Please excuse my brother. This is Zitao. Is this Wu Yifan’s cell phone?”
“Yes, but unfortunately, Yifan is-“
“May I know your name?”
“...I’m Amber...Josephine.”
“I’m gonna call you Amber from now on,” Zitao calmly said and Sehun stared at him in shock. “Auntie Amber, may I know Uncle Kris’-that’s our nickname for him, by the way-home address? We need it very badly. It’s a matter of life and death. You don’t want our beautiful father to kill himself because of Wu Yifan, do you? If you do, just think about how your family’s reputation is at stake...”
It was then Sehun realized that Zitao’s hidden skill was probably blackmailing.
***
Yifan dragged a hand down his face in frustration. He had been trying to get a hold of Junmyeon, but the latter didn’t seem to change his mind. Junmyeon didn’t reply to any of his texts, and he had his cell phone turned off. Yifan stared at his phone while desperately biting his nails.
Please pick up. Please...
“Yifan?”
The soft voice of a woman made Yifan instinctively end the outgoing call. He shifted his eyes to the pretty female who sat across him. “Yes, Jessica...?”
“Is everything okay? You look...pissed off.”
Yifan gazed down at the screen of his phone. He wished his phone would ring any moment now. He wished it would be from a certain
beautiful male who had two loud sons. “Yeah...kind of. Even though I don’t even have the right to feel so.”
“What happened...?”
“I...I made a stupid mistake. It was something I shouldn’t have done in the first place, and yet I did it because I wanted to know his reaction...”
Jessica pursed her lips worriedly. “And are you going to do something to fix it? Did you try calling him?”
“I’m trying my best,” Yifan sighed. “He’s not picking up my call since this morning. His phone was turned off yesterday...”
Jessica was about to say something more, but she got distracted when the secretary of Yifan’s father walked into the room. “Thank you for waiting. Mr. Wu is requesting your presences in his room now.”
Yifan quietly thanked the secretary. It irritated him that despite the fact they were father and son, his father still needed the help of someone else whenever he wanted to speak. His old man couldn’t even speak directly to him. Sadly, Yifan grew up with that kind of condition. He didn’t think that his father had ever hugged him, or even carried him on his back just like he did to Sehun.
Now that he thought about it, it was probably why Yifan felt instantly clicked with the twins. Sehun always spoke out his mind. Even though Zitao wasn’t as obvious as his brother, but he wasn’t afraid to say what was on his mind. Maybe, just maybe, Yifan felt a bit envious. He wanted to have a family where they were allowed to express their feelings freely.
A family that would include Junmyeon.
Jessica was the first to stand up, and she gave Yifan a calming smile.
“Are you ready...?”
Yifan shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah...I guess this is it.”
“Alright-“
“NOOOOOOOO YOU CANNOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTT!!!”
A shrill voice was heard and Yifan almost broke his neck for snapping it so fast to see who it was. Jessica’s shoulders flinched in shock as she followed Yifan’s line of sight.
“NO YOU CANNOT MARRY HER, UNCLE KRIS!!” Sehun screamed from the doorway in tears. “YOU CANNOT!!”
“S-Sehun,” Yifan stuttered. “How the hell-“
“Ah, they’re with me.”
Yifan stared at his sister in shock. “Amber?”
“These boys said they have something to say to you,” Amber was standing by the doorway behind Sehun and Zitao with obvious amusement was all over her face. “I honestly can’t understand what this one is saying, though,” she pointed at Sehun. “But something about you getting married?”
“Uncle Kris!!” Sehun cried as he threw himself to Yifan’s arms. “Don’t you like us? Don’t you want to be with Papa? Then why do you have to marry this girl?” He asked with puppy eyes, pointing rudely at Jessica.
Jessica gaped. “What-“
“Oh my God, you’re pretty, Tao was right,” Sehun mumbled dreamily at how beautiful Jessica was and shook his head hard. “No, even if you’re pretty, you’re not prettier than my Papa! Junmyeon-papa is the prettiest in the whole world!”
Jessica opened her mouth, but she closed it back when Yifan held a hand toward her direction.
“Sehun,” Yifan said. “Are you saying that you want me to be your father...?”
“Yes,” Sehun cried and sobbed into his hands. “Yes, I want you to be our father. And please, knock some sense into Papa’s brain. He said he would let you go, but he cried! I don’t like to see him crying...”
“Okay,” Yifan nodded eagerly, unable to contain his happiness. He wiped Sehun’s tears before shifting his eyes to Zitao. “How about you, Zitao...?”
Zitao lazily glanced at Sehun and shrugged nonchalantly. “What he said.”
“Very well,” Yifan said with a wide smile and laughed in extreme delight as he took Sehun into his arms. “Then let’s go and see your Papa. Let’s tell him how much I love him.”
“YAY!”
The trio then left the room with extremely loud noises-mostly just Sehun, though. Sehun waved his hand in excitement at the two girls in the room while Zitao only nodded politely at them. Both Amber and Jessica looked at each other after Yifan and the boys’ weren’t in their eyesight anymore.
“...what was that about?” Jessica blinked.
“Beats me,” Amber genuinely laughed. “Although, I have a feeling I will love those twins...”
***
When Junmyeon woke up, the whole apartment was dark.
The clock by the nightstand indicated that it was already evening. Junmyeon sleepily rubbed his eyes, absently thinking that perhaps the twins fell asleep in their bedroom. He slid off of the bed and turned on some lights before heading to the twins’ bedroom.
It was empty.
Junmyeon frowned. He tried to look for them in the bathroom, but it was also empty.
“Sehun? Zitao?”
It took him merely seconds to realize that the twins weren’t in the apartment.
Junmyeon almost went hysterical at the thought. He had to lean against the nearest wall to take a deep breath. Oh my God, it is my fault... I’ve been ignoring the boys lately... Junmyeon fearfully closed his eyes, trying to think of a few places where the twins would go if they were upset. He hastily grabbed his jacket and was about to dash out of the front door, when he heard some very familiar voices.
His knees went weak when he saw the twins were with Yifan.
“Papa!” Sehun chirped. “We’re home! And look who we bring along!”
Junmyeon couldn’t suppress his tears as he knelt and cried in relief as he pulled Sehun his arms. “Thank goodness... I was so panicked when I couldn’t find you anywhere!” He tugged Zitao closer to join the hug. “I thought... I thought you guys were mad at me...”
“We were,” Zitao replied apologetically. “But then...we decided to make things right for you.”
Junmyeon blinked in his tears. “Huh...?”
“Appa, Uncle Kris has something to say to you. Please, listen to what he has to say this time.”
“Papa, the wedding is canceled,” Sehun whispered furiously in Junmyeon’s ear. But it wasn’t really whispering when Zitao and Yifan could hear it too. “And I saw the girl. She was pretty, Papa, but don’t worry, her beauty is nothing compared to you!”
Junmyeon earnestly laughed at Sehun’s words as he patted the boy’s hair, because he knew Sehun was just being biased. He took a moment to gather his courage to look up, to look at Yifan, and the butterflies in his stomach was enough to tell him that he shouldn’t make the same mistakes again-by letting Yifan go. Their gazes met, and Junmyeon could sense that Yifan’s orbs were deep with emotions.
Too deep.
“I want to be a part of this family, Junmyeon,” Yifan said. “Please, will you let me...?”
Junmyeon only bloomed into a beautiful smile before standing to reach out for Yifan.
End.
Junmyeon stared at Yifan in disbelief. When his boyfriend (yeah, it was really official this time, witnessed by the twins) told him that he had something to confess, Junmyeon didn’t think it would be this, of all things.
“So it was actually your idea?? And Zitao volunteered to make it happen??”
“Yes. Jessica is my cousin. She’s here because my father wants her to help the company, that is all.”
“B-but the wedding-“
“I never said there would be any wedding. You, and should I add, Sehun, assumed it all by yourselves.”
“B-but ‘It will happen in two days???’”
“In two days, Jessica was supposed to meet my Father.”
Junmyeon’s face turned red because of anger. “You-you should’ve said something, Yifan! I was sad for days and I even skipped work because of it-”
“But it works,” Yifan said, a hint of sadness was laced underneath his tone. He hastily snatched Junmyeon’s wrists so that he wouldn’t get hit. Yifan kind of knew where Zitao got his habit to hit Sehun. “Honestly, it’s the only thing I can think about. And if it doesn’t work, I don’t know how else to convince you that I am serious with you. I am madly in love with you, Junmyeon...”
Junmyeon’s anger dissipated instantly to heaven-knew-where at the sweet words. He sighed in defeat as Yifan leaned to press a chaste kiss on his lips.
“Forgive me and love me forever?”
Junmyeon rolled his eyes in mock anger, but his smiled indicated otherwise. “Apology accepted. But really, I should be the one to bow down to you. If it was Sehun, I wouldn’t be surprised, but...you’re really great at winning Zitao’s heart. He usually won’t listen unless it’s me or Sehun.”
“Ah...about that,” Yifan scratched his nape. “Would you be angry if I said I kinda tricked him? I told Zitao that by helping me to succeed, I would spend a lot of time with Sehun while he can have you to himself. But seriously,” Yifan paused with a nervous laugh. “There’s no way I would let him do that, right?”
Junmyeon blanched.
Zitao snorted at the end of the room. “I knew I would get that answer.”