hello (1/2)
hello (part 1 of 2)
au, pg
het!jongtae (jonghyun/taeyeon)
6,149 words
warnings: genderswitch, confusing plot, etc
a/n: here's a little tiny summary before we get started: basically jongtae switch phones and it's shenanigans from then on. ANYWAYS hello~ i'm on winter break now (thank god finals are over) but i started work again and my boss had the awesome idea to put me on days so i always go to bed early and am tired, etc ;~; but! i wanted to post up the beginning of this fic, because i haven't had the motivation to finish it just yet and i have been itching to post something. so! this is it, haha. i hope you like it! i wrote the first half like 3 years ago, no lie. and then i finished it/am finishing it. so.... you'll definitely see a difference in writing pattern ^^; i'm about to go to bed right now actually, i have work again tomorrow but i'll try to finish the fic asap!! enjoy~
01 ;; Lee Taeyeon
Quiet beeping sounds and cute music played from Lee Taeyeon's phone as she swayed this way and that, pressing at the buttons rapidly so she could beat the game. Her tongue stuck out of her mouth and she stared at the small screen in concentration, hurrying to finish and win for another time. She muttered softly to the screen, telling the game to let her win as if it could listen and answer back.
Taeyeon felt a stare on the top of her head and she tried to shake it off, but it felt awkward. She glanced up, and saw the young man who was working the counter staring at her with a weird glint in his eyes. He looked like he wanted to say something so she cleared her throat and spoke first.
"Are my clothes almost ready?"
Hanging out in a dry cleaners for the day wasn't Lee Taeyeon's definition of "fun". Spilling coffee on her brand new, white, 500 dollar Armani coat wasn't the way she wanted to start a sunny Monday morning. Picking up her bosses’ dry cleaning instead of sketching out new designs for the clothing line wasn't exactly what she did for entertainment.
"Not really." The boy at the counter left the room with his snooty tone and she sighed. No one else was around the tiny shop and everything was taking forever. She'd already been here an hour.
Taeyeon was a busy girl. Taking care of her little sister, Eunsook, while their parents were world traveling. Trying to have a love life, or at least a life. Paying bills, working her ass off day and night just for some recognition while still trying to keep everything under control.
She was also personal assistant to the biggest fashion designer in all of Seoul.
Taeyeon thought that being a personal assistant would be fun, that the boss would see her drawings and she would be a big star, that they would become friends and she'd become famous!
She became a dog. A lap puppy to greater authority. She swore on her life that wasn't what she was going to become, yet she fell into the trap. Sure the money was good, but her life had gone down the drain.
Looking down at her cell phone screen with a sigh, she realized the game she had been playing was long over and she had lost. Again. For the tenth time that hour.
"I used to be so good.." Taeyeon whined lightly to herself, then set her cell phone in her lap. She glanced at the clock hanging above the welcome sign and read it. 10:14. She was late to a meeting that she didn't really have to go to. It all started that morning, at 9:01, right when she walked to her desk.
Taeyeon rushed into the building, holding a purse in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other. She slid into the elevator and bounced impatiently as the doors closed and it started moving up. She woke up late this morning and was officially late to work by a good half hour. Her hair was a mess, she hadn't bothered with makeup. Once the elevator reached her floor she zoomed out, running as carefully as possible to her desk.
She hadn't seen the package sitting on the floor (the mailman was out to get her, she swore) and in her mad rush to get seated, she conveniently tripped over it. She had great balance from years of being a ballerina but that didn't seem to help her as she tumbled to the floor with a dull thud. She laid there for a couple minutes, just staring at the ceiling, not in the mood to get up, feeling the coffee seep into her coat. It was only when her coworker walked by with two coffees in her hand, looked down at her said, "That sucks." and walked away did Taeyeon even attempt to get up.
She grabbed a nearby towel and tried to wipe the liquid off her jacket but it was no use. The jacket was starting to get stained. She couldn't leave work to go to the dry cleaners because she was late in the first place. Things seemed to get worse when her boss strolled out of her office, looking fabulous as usual.
"Oh god, my brand new carpets!"
Taeyeon sighed and took off her jacket, drying what she could. Her favorite and most expensive jacket was now definitely ruined. And all her boss cared about was the carpet. She didn't even seem to notice she wasn't on time.
"I'm sorry, it's just.. the package is for you and they put it there and I tripped and--"
Her boss seemed to notice the damaged jacket and she shook her head a little. Grabbing her package, she disappeared into her office before coming back out with a small stub and a blank check.
"Get your jacket drycleaned, and while you're there you can pick up a couple things that I have there. It's really not a lot. I have more things for you to do so hurry back. Make sure you have your cell phone in case I need you." She blew kisses and walked back to her office, leaving Taeyeon to sigh by herself.
"And now I'm here.." She muttered to herself, picking up her cell phone. Her lifeline. If her cell phone was lost, she wouldn't know what she what she would do. Her sister texted her when she needed her most, her family called to check on her, her boss called if she wanted some special American peanuts down at the store.
It wasn't long before her phone shrieked again, playing the all familiar tune she was tired of hearing. A picture of her sister came on screen letting Taeyeon know exactly who was calling and she thanked whoever was listening for a distraction from the creepy place.
"Hello my dear sister, aren't you supposed to be in school?" Taeyeon said a bit blandly, voice showing she was not amused.
Sounds were muffled from the other end of the phone line and Eunsook let out a soft "yes" and proceeded into an explanation why she wasn't at school. She felt sick because of the flu, and she pretended to be Taeyeon on the phone to the office so she could stay home. Taeyeon just smiled a little bit and answered with the real reason.
"You have a date tonight with a really popular boy and you want to be totally ready, right?"
Another muffled "yes". Taeyeon knew what she was talking about sometimes, especially when it came to her little sister. Tired of sitting, she stood and took her phone call outside. She shivered a little, only dressed in a spring dress, green and hugging her curves, and matching green high heels that made her look taller than she actually was. It was only March and the cold weather was still around, making goosebumps form on her skin.
"So tell me about this boy."
The sisterly talk began and time passed -- another hour went by and she still stayed outside, watching people pass by, listening to her sister rant about school and drama and sluts. She was about to go inside again when something caught her eye -- well, someone caught her eye. He was sort of tall -- well, atleast taller than her, for sure -- and he was buying flowers for some reason at the flowershop across the street. He was smiling and Taeyeon thought hard as she stared at him. He was familiar, very familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She lingered for another second before walking back inside, finally getting back to the conversation with her sister.
"Sorry, what?"
"Taeyeon, you're not listening to me! I said that.."
Another half hour passed and Eunsook finally seemed to run out of breath, after explaining for the one hundredth time about how her date tonight had the more gorgeous eyes and perfect hair and the sexiest voice ever. Taeyeon smiled to herself and played with the hemming of her dress, humming softly as Eunsook explained what was going to happen on the date.
"No kissing." Insisted Taeyeon in a motherly tone. "I'm going to be inside eating ice cream, crying over dramas. But when I see you pull up, I will be watching~"
"If you are home.." Eunsook mumbled, but Taeyeon caught it. Her heart squeezed and she fumbled for the right words to say in the now awkward silence.
"Sorry Eunsook-ah. I haven't been the best sister since I got this job.. we'll have a girl's day soon, I promise. Go finish your hair, okay? You'll look great. I'll be there to see you off on your date, I promise."
When Taeyeon made promises, she always kept them. No matter how far she had to go or how much she had to endure. A promise was a promise. The sisters said goodbye and hung up with each other leaving Taeyeon to lean back in her chair and sigh again, setting her phone back in her lap. Not a minute later, her name was called and she grabbed her phone, walking up to the counter. She paid with the blank check her boss gave her earlier and the clerk walked into the back room for a second.
Once he came back, Taeyeon's eyes widened. "A few things" turned out to be ten items, all in seperate bags. Plus her coat.. she would have to carry eleven things back to her office, ten blocks away in high heels. The things she did for a job.
Taeyeon took the bags and laid them across both of her arms, all stacked on top of each other. The teenage clerk from earlier set her cell phone on top on the pile with a wicked grin, probably expecting her to trip and fall on her way out. An older lady walked into the store and held the door for her, and Taeyeon walked out, thanking her with as much of a bow as she could.
Sighing, she faced the way she had to go. Ten blocks to the right on a busy Monday morning. With a small pout, she started walking, trying to ignore the pain in her feet. After four blocks, she had to stop and rest for a second, her feet screaming in pain.
"It's okay feet, we can make it, I swear." People probably thought she was crazy talking to her feet like this but she didn't mind. She thought she was crazy already anyway. She started her journey again and weaved in and out of pedestrian traffic, trying her best not to hit anyone. She stopped another three blocks later at a crosswalk with a lot of people, waiting to cross the street. Three more blocks to go, she gave herself a pep talk in her head, three more then you can sit down again.
Once the light turned green, the mass of people crossed the street, Taeyeon bringing up the rear. Halfway through the street she heard someone call her name and she turned around quickly -- one of the worst decisions she had made in a long time. She saw a friend of hers waving one moment, and the next she was on the ground, the bags of clothes scattered around her, two exact same cell phones on the ground near her. She scrambled up and began picking up the bags again, hurrying to try and get out of the street. The person who bumped into her was apologizing profusely but she ignored it and looked around again, also trying to ignore the car horns beeping at her. She saw a hand place a cell phone on top of her bags again, and she thanked the person without even looking at them. She ran across the street as careful as she could, and let out a breath when she made it just as the light changed color.
Taeyeon walked the rest of the way back to her office without even realizing.
02 ;; Kim Jonghyun
Loud music pounded from Kim Jonghyun’s earphones as he walked along the streets of Seoul, bopping his head left and right as he weaved in and out of people. Today was going to be a bad day, he could already feel it. So he called in sick from work (his composing could wait a day or two, he decided) and made his way out into the fresh air for a little walk.
Something kept him up last night, and though he didn’t know what it was, he tossed and turned all night, sweat clinging to his forehead. He usually never got this bad, but when he woke up, his dark circles could probably be seen from Mars. That was when he knew it was going to be a bad day.
Today was the 3rd anniversary of his grandmother’s death.
He was always close to her, so it hurt when the day came around and passed like it was nothing. And it didn’t help that his brother, Minho, was off in Incheon with their parents, too busy to come up and see him. (How difficult was being a scientist anyways?)
The fresh air helped a little bit, but he was still tired. Sunglasses helped hide his bags, but they couldn’t hide his yawns or his coughs.
Maybe some coffee then he decided - even though he hated it - and he jumped into the nearest coffee shop with a smile.
Café mocha with a shot of espresso, and though it was almost too much to swallow, once he drank it all, he felt better. He actually felt awake enough to drag himself to the nearest flower shop.
When he walked back outside, the cold air hit him hard, but he ignored it in favor of the American bass pumping out of his earbuds. Music was always a passion of his - dropped out of high school for a music school, in fact - and the day he got hired as a composer was one of the proudest moments of his life. His parents were sad to see him leave Incheon, but he had to, because it was his dream come true.
He almost didn’t hear his phone shrieking at him but during a song change, he felt it. He sighed when he saw that picture of his brother, and he gave a little shake of his head before answering the call.
“Hello?”
“Hey. Sorry I can’t make it.”
Minho didn’t seem to be sorry, but Jonghyun ignored it in favor of looking to the sky. Thanks to his glasses, it was a tinted shade of brown though he knew it was blue as always.
“No big deal, I’m just gonna visit for a second.”
There was a thick silence on the other end as if Minho was looking for something to say but Jonghyun didn’t know what it could be.
“Look, I know you’re mad at me-“
“I’m not mad,” Jonghyun told him, but it was too fast, too harsh to be the truth and he sighed an apology under his breath. “You’re just busy curing cancer or something like that so I understand, I’m sure she does too. Not a big deal.”
The conversation didn’t last too much longer after that - a quick, hasty “goodbye, I’ll call later” before they both hung up the phone in defeat.
Jonghyun was bitter, that was for sure. His parents didn’t mind him becoming a composer, but they preferred Minho, the smart scientist with the usual life, lots of money and a pretty girlfriend. It wasn’t that Jonghyun couldn’t get those things, no he could have them if he really wanted. But he wanted something else out of his life that they just couldn’t understand.
He stopped at his favorite flower shop and greeted the auntie there with a little bow and a smile. She was an old family friend and he definitely wasn’t allowed to go anywhere else, not thanks to his mother. But it was okay because her flowers were always the best anyway.
He got a pinch on the cheek and a happy coo for even stopping in because it had “been a while” and he “never visited.” He didn’t complain or say anything even thought it had only been three days since he stopped by, but hey, she was getting older and he didn’t want to bring that up.
“I have the perfect flowers for you.” She told him and brought it out to him, already wrapped in green parchment paper, neatly cut and tied up with a red bow.
“Ah, Rose of Sharon, her favorite.” He smiled and lifted the flowers to his nose, taking in the scent for just a second. Fresh and perfect, as always.
He paid and thanked her with a little bow, putting his headphones back into his ear and turning to walk down the street with a slight hum.
Maybe the day was getting better. It was starting to get a little warmer; the sun was coming out from behind a few stray clouds. He looked to his left to scope out the people walking down the street and he saw her.
She looked freezing without a jacket on in the March cold, rubbing her arms and she paced back and forth on the phone. She looked pretty like that though, her brown hair in waves around her face, her matching green headband and green dress fluttering with the breeze.
She also looked familiar, that was for sure. He had definitely seen her before, somewhere, but he couldn’t figure out where from.
But his time looking at her was cut short, because his phone vibrated in his pocket. Ah, work was calling again even though he had called in sick. They always did. They couldn’t understand when he just needed time off.
“Hello?”
And there it was, the bullshit excuse that he needed to come in now or else he’d be in trouble, sick or not. He sighed and agreed to come in later but no, that wasn’t okay, not at all. He stopped at a street light a couple blocks from the flower shop and he sighed, rubbing his temples as best he could with the flowers in his hands. His phone beeped at him - low battery - but he wasn’t in the mood to deal with it.
He got off the phone with a sigh, messing through his contacts, and that was the last thing he saw.
Something - someone - had bumped into him, sending him scrambling to the ground as he tried to cross the street. His flowers and his phone hit the ground just like he did, and car horns blared at him from the side. There were two phones near him and he just grabbed the first one he saw, putting the other one on top of her big bags, hurrying before the light changed colors and he was a dead man.
“Sorry.” He heard her say and he apologized again and again, and he would bow at her if he could. But he walked away before his pride got even more smeared.
He sighed when he made it across the street just as the light changed color, and he kept on walking without even realizing.
03 ;; Lee Taeyeon
“There you are!”
She had barely made it up the elevator before she was attacked by her boss, hands ripping the bags from her hands. Her head was spinning as she watched Gwiboon expertly walk back to her office with 10 bags without even a hesitation - and she even had time to turn around and stare, almost barking, “Well, are you coming?”
Taeyeon prayed to God that the stain was out of her coat (because she hadn’t had time to look at it just yet) and walked in after her with a bite of her lip.
She wouldn’t really consider herself close to Gwiboon, but they always somehow chatted and made plans (that usually involved dinners that she wasn’t invited to.) She guessed it was because Gwiboon was so busy that she didn’t have time for anything but meetings, dinners and jetsetting across the world.
“-but I hate it sometimes. I never get to go out and meet boys or meet friends. It’s annoying, all these fake people in the business. Don’t even get me started on idea stealers. They are the worst. That haggard bitch-“
And that was when Taeyeon tuned her out. She didn’t really like gossip though she heard an earful in the break room or the bathroom. She sighed, watched Gwiboon pace around the room on her tirade, sometimes huffing to sip at her caramel frappuccino.
“Er… boss, shouldn’t we get to talking about other… things?” Taeyeon tried but Gwiboon just sent an icy glare and went on to talk about how her ex-best friend Nicole had stolen her boyfriend back in high school.
It was a long day of complaining and sitting around doing nothing. She could have been working on sketches but no, she had to listen to Gwiboon’s whole life story for a couple of hours while she drew out her own sketches.
And then 2 PM rolled around, and Gwiboon realized she was hungry and ordered Taeyeon to go get her something light to eat because she was just so hungry.
The job had its perks, really. At least, she liked to pretend it did. The atmosphere was friendly, the catering was always good…
Hell, who was she kidding. The job sucked, plain and simple. Fashion was her passion of course, and she knew she would be just a runner for a little while, but she never guessed it would be that bad or take up most of her time.
She got a salad from the refrigerator in the break room, and she puffed out her cheeks as she walked all the way back to hand it to her.
Then, the talked some more, Gwiboon with her mouth full and Taeyeon with her stomach grumbling. And all Taeyeon could think about was being home at 4 PM, sitting with her feet up as her sister scurried around to get a better outfit, as she lounged in pajamas on the couch.
“I’m serious though, she’s- Oh god, I’m late for a meeting. Why didn’t you tell me! Shit… shit, I have to go!”
Taeyeon blinked as Gwiboon suddenly started to shove papers everywhere, her Prada bag immediately on her shoulder, and then Taeyeon was suddenly out on her ass alone.
It was weird how fast Gwiboon could work and Taeyeon felt awkward just standing there by herself. She pouted, walking over to her desk with a sigh.
Where had the day gone? It was almost 4, her time to leave, and she hadn’t gotten anything done other than gossip and lunch that she didn’t even get. She checked her phone and her pout increased when it wouldn’t turn on.
“What? I thought you were charged.” She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, mumbling to herself until 4 PM hit.
She usually stayed later, way later than she should have, but today was important so she almost raced to the bus (in heels no less!) and she thanked whoever that she actually made it on time.
It was about 4:30 when she got home, and she was ready to collapse on the couch but it was nearly impossible, because her sister had clothes laid out everywhere, and there was barely room for her at all.
“Eunsook, what is this?! I can barely see my floor!!”
“Unni!!”
There was a sudden flash of dark, black hair and a bright smile attached to her hip and Taeyeon had to smile because Eunsook just looked so excited.
“I’ve been texting you all day, did you not get them? Where are the mints?”
“Oh, I’m sorry baby, my phone died.”
“Well… whatever, whatever, let’s get ready!!”
Taeyeon didn’t have time to sit down, eat or even think about her phone, because Eunsook was trying on outfit and outfit. And then she was complaining about her hair, and then she was complaining about her complexion and her acne.
It was 6 PM before she even had the chance to plug her phone in and get some food in her, but it was short lived because Eunsook came running up with her makeup everywhere over her outfit and they had to pick out another one.
At 7 PM, there was a small knock on the door and Eunsook almost had a heart attack right there in her seat.
Taeyeon opened the door and smiled at the boy there - he was a bit short, but his hair hung in his face with a crooked smile, hands stuffed deep into his jeans pockets, and Taeyeon thought he looked a bit like a girl.
“Oh, hello.” She smiled and would have made more conversation but Eunsook almost pushed her over to get to the door.
She left before she could tell Eunsook to be home before 12! and when she shut the door, she was on her own again.
The place was a disaster, but Taeyeon didn’t care, her body instinctively going to find her phone before anything else.
It was a little charged at least, so she took it to the living room and settled into her couch to watch whatever was on TV.
But it was short lived because soon her phone was ringing, and she cursed at herself for even thinking Gwiboon could leave her alone (cause who else would it be?) She picked up the phone and stared at the number - it wasn’t Gwiboon.
It was her.
“Huh?”
How could she be calling herself? She blinked, staring hard at the number, deciding what to do.
She pressed talk.
“Hello?”
04 ;; Kim Jonghyun
“Couldn’t this wait til later or something?” He sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he waited on whoever to come into the studio for a meeting.
“You don’t look sick to me, Jonghyun-ah. Did you have a date?” Seohyun, his assistant for two years now, asked with a blank look on her face, fingers tapping into the clipboard she was holding.
“I would make a joke, but my grandmother wouldn’t appreciate it.”
Seohyun went silent after that, biting down on her bottom lip. It was an awkward atmosphere - not that it usually wasn’t, Seohyun could be a bit awkward most times.
“Well, it should be over soon, I’m guessing.”
“Over soon” meant hours of meetings and fake smiles and “Yes, I’ll write a couple more songs by next week, don’t worry.”
It was almost 4 hours later when he got out of there and the sun was beating down on the street and the people by then, and his flowers were even brighter in the sun.
It took him almost a half hour to get up there, because it was in the back country somewhere that he had to walk, and he usually would have minded but this time he didn’t.
He didn’t stay long at his grandmother’s grave. He prayed, talked to her a little bit, sang a song, told her about his life, but it really wasn’t that much. The flowers stayed in front on her gravestone and he watched them for a moment as he walked back to the main city, feet dragging as he weaved in and out of people.
It was almost 2PM by then and he didn’t feel like doing much but going home and working on music, so that’s just what he did. He sat himself down on his piano bench, phone and papers on the seat next to him.
But he didn’t get to do much composing before his phone went off with some girly, Japanese ringtone, the name “Eunsook!!” appearing on screen.
Jonghyun sure as hell didn’t know anyone named Eunsook, and he thought hard about it. So he ignored the call, but he couldn’t ignore when she texted right after that.
“Can you go to the store and pick up mints for me, please?! I shouldn’t have eaten that extra chicken, my breath smells so bad!! Thank you, unni~!!”
“What the fuck?” He blinked a couple of times before shaking his head, ignoring it. It must have been a phone glitch or something.
He got another hour of work in before he sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose before he decided a shower would be a good idea.
He took as long as possible, rubbing at his neck because it hurt from writing and composing, and he took his time in picking out an outfit for the rest of the day. He wasn’t really doing much, so he decided on sweats and he came out, rubbing the towel into his hair. Then he checked his phone and-
“Good god.”
14 missed calls from some girl named Gwiboon, and he definitely didn’t know any girl like that let alone have her number in his phone.
“What the fuck is going on?”
And she was calling again, her ringtone some cute, upbeat American song and he hesitated to answer, but he still did.
“Oh dear God if she doesn’t pick up, I swear to God she’s going to get fired, I hate h-hello?! Taeyeon?!”
“No, this is Jonghyun. Who is this?”
Jonghyun wasn’t really in the mood to play games but it seemed neither was she because she grunted, some banging in the background of the phone.
“This isn’t some joke asshole, put Taeyeon on the phone, now. God, how can she be with a guy already, she barely left the office! I didn’t even know she knew any guys-“
“Hey lady, there isn’t anyone named Taeyeon here, alright? You have the wrong number.”
“The wrong number?! How dare you, this is definitely not the wrong number! If you could stop playing games, that would be awesome. I need Taeyeon.”
“Look, I’m Jonghyun, okay? I don’t know any Taeyeon, you might want to check the number or something-“
“You might want to check your number, because this is the number I always call, it’s in my speed dial, fucker! I’ll call back later when you finally get some brains and put her on the phone.”
The beeping heard after that only pissed Jonghyun off more and he growled, slamming his phone into the couch across the room.
“What the fuck was that?” He ran his hand through his hair, pacing around the room with a frown before picking up the phone and beginning to look through it.
It definitely isn’t his phone.
He didn’t have pictures of asian guys saved into his memory, and he didn’t have girly ringtones and he definitely didn’t have any schedule that started with ‘Gwiboon’ and ended with ‘Gwiboon.’ And that definitely wasn’t him in the background, but it was some girls instead and he had no idea who they were.
“What the fuck is going on right now…” He muttered to himself, and he checked through the text messages as quickly as possible, scanning over them.
Eunsook wanted mints, she wanted company, she wanted bulgogi for a snack.
Gwiboon wanted peanuts, she wanted the designs done by 10 PM, she wanted-no, needed whoever to get to her apartment ASAP because she was lonely.
Her mother wanted a phone call.
He felt bad going through her - well, what he guessed was a her - phone but curiosity got the best of him. When did they switch? Whose phone was it? How did he get it?
Questions swam through his head as he dialed his own number, biting down on his bottom lip with a slight sigh.
It went straight to voicemail.
“Hey, this is Jonghyun, leave a message-“
Something was definitely fucked up about all of this.
He kept calling and calling, but she wasn’t answering, it kept going straight to voicemail.
What was he supposed to do in the first place? If he couldn’t reach whoever had his phone - Taeyeon, or whatever - then he couldn’t get his phone calls, and his parents, his work… well, he was fucked.
He worried about it for a couple hours, kept calling and calling, but it was the voicemail every time. He never thought he’d say it, but he got tired of his own voice.
It was 7 PM and he groaned into his palm. What was her problem? Did she want to avoid this Gwiboon chick so much?
And then, by some grace of whoever, the phone actually rang.
“Shit.” He breathed and sat up in his seat, feet tapping against the wood of his floor, waiting on baited breath for her to answer-
“Hello?”
05 ;; Lee Taeyeon
“Hey, um… hey.”
Taeyeon blinked, shifting around in her seat awkwardly. Who was this guy who was calling her? And from her number?
“Um, if this is some sort of prank, my refrigerator is running-“
“No, this isn’t a joke, um. Well, I guess… were you downtown today?”
Taeyeon’s breath caught in her throat. This seriously was some sort of joke, right? But it was freaking her out, biting down on her lip with a nod that whoever couldn’t see.
“Um… yes, I mean… why?”
“We bumped into each other.”
Oh God. Was he calling for an apology? Was he calling to yell at her? How did he get her number?!
“Oh, I’m… I’m really sorry, I mean, I couldn’t see walking down the street, you know? My boss, she-“
“Is it Gwiboon?”
She was having a panic attack. Was he watching her? She got up immediately, looking out her apartment window with a small sound.
“Um, yes, how did you-“
“I have your phone. You have mine.”
Speechless. She pulled the phone away from her ear and stared, studying it but… nothing was different about it. But then again, she was calling herself and…. She was confused.
“I mean… how?”
“I don’t know, but Eunsook really wanted mints and whoever Gwiboon is, she gave me an earful. What a bitchy woman, I swe-“
“Watch your mouth, that’s my boss!!”
It went silent for a moment, and Taeyeon felt bad about yelling but he didn’t have to go that far… did he?
“Sorry.” He muttered and she scoffed under her breath, watching out the window. Her neighbors across the way were fighting again, and another was playing with a dog, and another was just sitting, watching TV..
“What should we do?”
There was a silence over the phone before he started laughing and loudly at that, and her cheeks flared up into a blush she was happy he couldn’t see.
“We should probably meet up then, don’t you think?”
There was another silence, and then she started laughing this time, biting down on her lip to shut herself up.
“Nn… yeah, probably.”
Should she go to his apartment? Should he come to hers? She didn’t want that awkward moment when he invited her in, they switched phones and then awkwardly parted. She just wanted to meet up somewhere to get her phone back and get it over with.
“Where?”
“How about that new café on… oh, what street is it? I don’t remember, but on the corner… it’s got the cute little lilacs on the windowsill inside and the cute umbrellas with the fruits on them? But I bet the umbrellas are closed cause it’s only March so-“
“Hey, calm down, I know where that is. So… tomorrow, do you have time? Around 3?”
Taeyeon scrunched up her nose. Gwiboon would probably keep her late, but hey, she needed her phone back, and this was a perfect opportunity.
“Oh, sure, I mean… I can be there. Just call me… you. Call yourself… er-“
“I’ll call you, um…”
“Taeyeon.” She said softly and she heard him repeat the name under his breath, as if testing it out a little bit.
“I’m Jonghyun.”
Jonghyun, huh? It was a nice name, and he didn’t sound too scary over the phone… she guessed that it wouldn’t be too bad tomorrow. A bit awkward yes, but not too bad.
“Oh, um… I guess I should let you go then… Jonghyun-ssi, and I’ll… call you tomorrow? Yes, I’ll call you tomorrow, goodbye! Goodnight!”
She hung up the phone as fast as she could, before he could say anything and it went completely silent in the apartment.
Then her - his? - phone rang again and she looked at the screen groaning when she read the message.
You’re a damn spazz, you know that?
Yes, she already knew that, but hell, if she wasn’t feeling awkward and everything. She sighed, rubbing between her eyes, leaning back against the couch with a groan. It was going to be a long night.
to be continued
au, pg
het!jongtae (jonghyun/taeyeon)
6,149 words
warnings: genderswitch, confusing plot, etc
a/n: here's a little tiny summary before we get started: basically jongtae switch phones and it's shenanigans from then on. ANYWAYS hello~ i'm on winter break now (thank god finals are over) but i started work again and my boss had the awesome idea to put me on days so i always go to bed early and am tired, etc ;~; but! i wanted to post up the beginning of this fic, because i haven't had the motivation to finish it just yet and i have been itching to post something. so! this is it, haha. i hope you like it! i wrote the first half like 3 years ago, no lie. and then i finished it/am finishing it. so.... you'll definitely see a difference in writing pattern ^^; i'm about to go to bed right now actually, i have work again tomorrow but i'll try to finish the fic asap!! enjoy~
01 ;; Lee Taeyeon
Quiet beeping sounds and cute music played from Lee Taeyeon's phone as she swayed this way and that, pressing at the buttons rapidly so she could beat the game. Her tongue stuck out of her mouth and she stared at the small screen in concentration, hurrying to finish and win for another time. She muttered softly to the screen, telling the game to let her win as if it could listen and answer back.
Taeyeon felt a stare on the top of her head and she tried to shake it off, but it felt awkward. She glanced up, and saw the young man who was working the counter staring at her with a weird glint in his eyes. He looked like he wanted to say something so she cleared her throat and spoke first.
"Are my clothes almost ready?"
Hanging out in a dry cleaners for the day wasn't Lee Taeyeon's definition of "fun". Spilling coffee on her brand new, white, 500 dollar Armani coat wasn't the way she wanted to start a sunny Monday morning. Picking up her bosses’ dry cleaning instead of sketching out new designs for the clothing line wasn't exactly what she did for entertainment.
"Not really." The boy at the counter left the room with his snooty tone and she sighed. No one else was around the tiny shop and everything was taking forever. She'd already been here an hour.
Taeyeon was a busy girl. Taking care of her little sister, Eunsook, while their parents were world traveling. Trying to have a love life, or at least a life. Paying bills, working her ass off day and night just for some recognition while still trying to keep everything under control.
She was also personal assistant to the biggest fashion designer in all of Seoul.
Taeyeon thought that being a personal assistant would be fun, that the boss would see her drawings and she would be a big star, that they would become friends and she'd become famous!
She became a dog. A lap puppy to greater authority. She swore on her life that wasn't what she was going to become, yet she fell into the trap. Sure the money was good, but her life had gone down the drain.
Looking down at her cell phone screen with a sigh, she realized the game she had been playing was long over and she had lost. Again. For the tenth time that hour.
"I used to be so good.." Taeyeon whined lightly to herself, then set her cell phone in her lap. She glanced at the clock hanging above the welcome sign and read it. 10:14. She was late to a meeting that she didn't really have to go to. It all started that morning, at 9:01, right when she walked to her desk.
Taeyeon rushed into the building, holding a purse in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other. She slid into the elevator and bounced impatiently as the doors closed and it started moving up. She woke up late this morning and was officially late to work by a good half hour. Her hair was a mess, she hadn't bothered with makeup. Once the elevator reached her floor she zoomed out, running as carefully as possible to her desk.
She hadn't seen the package sitting on the floor (the mailman was out to get her, she swore) and in her mad rush to get seated, she conveniently tripped over it. She had great balance from years of being a ballerina but that didn't seem to help her as she tumbled to the floor with a dull thud. She laid there for a couple minutes, just staring at the ceiling, not in the mood to get up, feeling the coffee seep into her coat. It was only when her coworker walked by with two coffees in her hand, looked down at her said, "That sucks." and walked away did Taeyeon even attempt to get up.
She grabbed a nearby towel and tried to wipe the liquid off her jacket but it was no use. The jacket was starting to get stained. She couldn't leave work to go to the dry cleaners because she was late in the first place. Things seemed to get worse when her boss strolled out of her office, looking fabulous as usual.
"Oh god, my brand new carpets!"
Taeyeon sighed and took off her jacket, drying what she could. Her favorite and most expensive jacket was now definitely ruined. And all her boss cared about was the carpet. She didn't even seem to notice she wasn't on time.
"I'm sorry, it's just.. the package is for you and they put it there and I tripped and--"
Her boss seemed to notice the damaged jacket and she shook her head a little. Grabbing her package, she disappeared into her office before coming back out with a small stub and a blank check.
"Get your jacket drycleaned, and while you're there you can pick up a couple things that I have there. It's really not a lot. I have more things for you to do so hurry back. Make sure you have your cell phone in case I need you." She blew kisses and walked back to her office, leaving Taeyeon to sigh by herself.
"And now I'm here.." She muttered to herself, picking up her cell phone. Her lifeline. If her cell phone was lost, she wouldn't know what she what she would do. Her sister texted her when she needed her most, her family called to check on her, her boss called if she wanted some special American peanuts down at the store.
It wasn't long before her phone shrieked again, playing the all familiar tune she was tired of hearing. A picture of her sister came on screen letting Taeyeon know exactly who was calling and she thanked whoever was listening for a distraction from the creepy place.
"Hello my dear sister, aren't you supposed to be in school?" Taeyeon said a bit blandly, voice showing she was not amused.
Sounds were muffled from the other end of the phone line and Eunsook let out a soft "yes" and proceeded into an explanation why she wasn't at school. She felt sick because of the flu, and she pretended to be Taeyeon on the phone to the office so she could stay home. Taeyeon just smiled a little bit and answered with the real reason.
"You have a date tonight with a really popular boy and you want to be totally ready, right?"
Another muffled "yes". Taeyeon knew what she was talking about sometimes, especially when it came to her little sister. Tired of sitting, she stood and took her phone call outside. She shivered a little, only dressed in a spring dress, green and hugging her curves, and matching green high heels that made her look taller than she actually was. It was only March and the cold weather was still around, making goosebumps form on her skin.
"So tell me about this boy."
The sisterly talk began and time passed -- another hour went by and she still stayed outside, watching people pass by, listening to her sister rant about school and drama and sluts. She was about to go inside again when something caught her eye -- well, someone caught her eye. He was sort of tall -- well, atleast taller than her, for sure -- and he was buying flowers for some reason at the flowershop across the street. He was smiling and Taeyeon thought hard as she stared at him. He was familiar, very familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She lingered for another second before walking back inside, finally getting back to the conversation with her sister.
"Sorry, what?"
"Taeyeon, you're not listening to me! I said that.."
Another half hour passed and Eunsook finally seemed to run out of breath, after explaining for the one hundredth time about how her date tonight had the more gorgeous eyes and perfect hair and the sexiest voice ever. Taeyeon smiled to herself and played with the hemming of her dress, humming softly as Eunsook explained what was going to happen on the date.
"No kissing." Insisted Taeyeon in a motherly tone. "I'm going to be inside eating ice cream, crying over dramas. But when I see you pull up, I will be watching~"
"If you are home.." Eunsook mumbled, but Taeyeon caught it. Her heart squeezed and she fumbled for the right words to say in the now awkward silence.
"Sorry Eunsook-ah. I haven't been the best sister since I got this job.. we'll have a girl's day soon, I promise. Go finish your hair, okay? You'll look great. I'll be there to see you off on your date, I promise."
When Taeyeon made promises, she always kept them. No matter how far she had to go or how much she had to endure. A promise was a promise. The sisters said goodbye and hung up with each other leaving Taeyeon to lean back in her chair and sigh again, setting her phone back in her lap. Not a minute later, her name was called and she grabbed her phone, walking up to the counter. She paid with the blank check her boss gave her earlier and the clerk walked into the back room for a second.
Once he came back, Taeyeon's eyes widened. "A few things" turned out to be ten items, all in seperate bags. Plus her coat.. she would have to carry eleven things back to her office, ten blocks away in high heels. The things she did for a job.
Taeyeon took the bags and laid them across both of her arms, all stacked on top of each other. The teenage clerk from earlier set her cell phone on top on the pile with a wicked grin, probably expecting her to trip and fall on her way out. An older lady walked into the store and held the door for her, and Taeyeon walked out, thanking her with as much of a bow as she could.
Sighing, she faced the way she had to go. Ten blocks to the right on a busy Monday morning. With a small pout, she started walking, trying to ignore the pain in her feet. After four blocks, she had to stop and rest for a second, her feet screaming in pain.
"It's okay feet, we can make it, I swear." People probably thought she was crazy talking to her feet like this but she didn't mind. She thought she was crazy already anyway. She started her journey again and weaved in and out of pedestrian traffic, trying her best not to hit anyone. She stopped another three blocks later at a crosswalk with a lot of people, waiting to cross the street. Three more blocks to go, she gave herself a pep talk in her head, three more then you can sit down again.
Once the light turned green, the mass of people crossed the street, Taeyeon bringing up the rear. Halfway through the street she heard someone call her name and she turned around quickly -- one of the worst decisions she had made in a long time. She saw a friend of hers waving one moment, and the next she was on the ground, the bags of clothes scattered around her, two exact same cell phones on the ground near her. She scrambled up and began picking up the bags again, hurrying to try and get out of the street. The person who bumped into her was apologizing profusely but she ignored it and looked around again, also trying to ignore the car horns beeping at her. She saw a hand place a cell phone on top of her bags again, and she thanked the person without even looking at them. She ran across the street as careful as she could, and let out a breath when she made it just as the light changed color.
Taeyeon walked the rest of the way back to her office without even realizing.
02 ;; Kim Jonghyun
Loud music pounded from Kim Jonghyun’s earphones as he walked along the streets of Seoul, bopping his head left and right as he weaved in and out of people. Today was going to be a bad day, he could already feel it. So he called in sick from work (his composing could wait a day or two, he decided) and made his way out into the fresh air for a little walk.
Something kept him up last night, and though he didn’t know what it was, he tossed and turned all night, sweat clinging to his forehead. He usually never got this bad, but when he woke up, his dark circles could probably be seen from Mars. That was when he knew it was going to be a bad day.
Today was the 3rd anniversary of his grandmother’s death.
He was always close to her, so it hurt when the day came around and passed like it was nothing. And it didn’t help that his brother, Minho, was off in Incheon with their parents, too busy to come up and see him. (How difficult was being a scientist anyways?)
The fresh air helped a little bit, but he was still tired. Sunglasses helped hide his bags, but they couldn’t hide his yawns or his coughs.
Maybe some coffee then he decided - even though he hated it - and he jumped into the nearest coffee shop with a smile.
Café mocha with a shot of espresso, and though it was almost too much to swallow, once he drank it all, he felt better. He actually felt awake enough to drag himself to the nearest flower shop.
When he walked back outside, the cold air hit him hard, but he ignored it in favor of the American bass pumping out of his earbuds. Music was always a passion of his - dropped out of high school for a music school, in fact - and the day he got hired as a composer was one of the proudest moments of his life. His parents were sad to see him leave Incheon, but he had to, because it was his dream come true.
He almost didn’t hear his phone shrieking at him but during a song change, he felt it. He sighed when he saw that picture of his brother, and he gave a little shake of his head before answering the call.
“Hello?”
“Hey. Sorry I can’t make it.”
Minho didn’t seem to be sorry, but Jonghyun ignored it in favor of looking to the sky. Thanks to his glasses, it was a tinted shade of brown though he knew it was blue as always.
“No big deal, I’m just gonna visit for a second.”
There was a thick silence on the other end as if Minho was looking for something to say but Jonghyun didn’t know what it could be.
“Look, I know you’re mad at me-“
“I’m not mad,” Jonghyun told him, but it was too fast, too harsh to be the truth and he sighed an apology under his breath. “You’re just busy curing cancer or something like that so I understand, I’m sure she does too. Not a big deal.”
The conversation didn’t last too much longer after that - a quick, hasty “goodbye, I’ll call later” before they both hung up the phone in defeat.
Jonghyun was bitter, that was for sure. His parents didn’t mind him becoming a composer, but they preferred Minho, the smart scientist with the usual life, lots of money and a pretty girlfriend. It wasn’t that Jonghyun couldn’t get those things, no he could have them if he really wanted. But he wanted something else out of his life that they just couldn’t understand.
He stopped at his favorite flower shop and greeted the auntie there with a little bow and a smile. She was an old family friend and he definitely wasn’t allowed to go anywhere else, not thanks to his mother. But it was okay because her flowers were always the best anyway.
He got a pinch on the cheek and a happy coo for even stopping in because it had “been a while” and he “never visited.” He didn’t complain or say anything even thought it had only been three days since he stopped by, but hey, she was getting older and he didn’t want to bring that up.
“I have the perfect flowers for you.” She told him and brought it out to him, already wrapped in green parchment paper, neatly cut and tied up with a red bow.
“Ah, Rose of Sharon, her favorite.” He smiled and lifted the flowers to his nose, taking in the scent for just a second. Fresh and perfect, as always.
He paid and thanked her with a little bow, putting his headphones back into his ear and turning to walk down the street with a slight hum.
Maybe the day was getting better. It was starting to get a little warmer; the sun was coming out from behind a few stray clouds. He looked to his left to scope out the people walking down the street and he saw her.
She looked freezing without a jacket on in the March cold, rubbing her arms and she paced back and forth on the phone. She looked pretty like that though, her brown hair in waves around her face, her matching green headband and green dress fluttering with the breeze.
She also looked familiar, that was for sure. He had definitely seen her before, somewhere, but he couldn’t figure out where from.
But his time looking at her was cut short, because his phone vibrated in his pocket. Ah, work was calling again even though he had called in sick. They always did. They couldn’t understand when he just needed time off.
“Hello?”
And there it was, the bullshit excuse that he needed to come in now or else he’d be in trouble, sick or not. He sighed and agreed to come in later but no, that wasn’t okay, not at all. He stopped at a street light a couple blocks from the flower shop and he sighed, rubbing his temples as best he could with the flowers in his hands. His phone beeped at him - low battery - but he wasn’t in the mood to deal with it.
He got off the phone with a sigh, messing through his contacts, and that was the last thing he saw.
Something - someone - had bumped into him, sending him scrambling to the ground as he tried to cross the street. His flowers and his phone hit the ground just like he did, and car horns blared at him from the side. There were two phones near him and he just grabbed the first one he saw, putting the other one on top of her big bags, hurrying before the light changed colors and he was a dead man.
“Sorry.” He heard her say and he apologized again and again, and he would bow at her if he could. But he walked away before his pride got even more smeared.
He sighed when he made it across the street just as the light changed color, and he kept on walking without even realizing.
03 ;; Lee Taeyeon
“There you are!”
She had barely made it up the elevator before she was attacked by her boss, hands ripping the bags from her hands. Her head was spinning as she watched Gwiboon expertly walk back to her office with 10 bags without even a hesitation - and she even had time to turn around and stare, almost barking, “Well, are you coming?”
Taeyeon prayed to God that the stain was out of her coat (because she hadn’t had time to look at it just yet) and walked in after her with a bite of her lip.
She wouldn’t really consider herself close to Gwiboon, but they always somehow chatted and made plans (that usually involved dinners that she wasn’t invited to.) She guessed it was because Gwiboon was so busy that she didn’t have time for anything but meetings, dinners and jetsetting across the world.
“-but I hate it sometimes. I never get to go out and meet boys or meet friends. It’s annoying, all these fake people in the business. Don’t even get me started on idea stealers. They are the worst. That haggard bitch-“
And that was when Taeyeon tuned her out. She didn’t really like gossip though she heard an earful in the break room or the bathroom. She sighed, watched Gwiboon pace around the room on her tirade, sometimes huffing to sip at her caramel frappuccino.
“Er… boss, shouldn’t we get to talking about other… things?” Taeyeon tried but Gwiboon just sent an icy glare and went on to talk about how her ex-best friend Nicole had stolen her boyfriend back in high school.
It was a long day of complaining and sitting around doing nothing. She could have been working on sketches but no, she had to listen to Gwiboon’s whole life story for a couple of hours while she drew out her own sketches.
And then 2 PM rolled around, and Gwiboon realized she was hungry and ordered Taeyeon to go get her something light to eat because she was just so hungry.
The job had its perks, really. At least, she liked to pretend it did. The atmosphere was friendly, the catering was always good…
Hell, who was she kidding. The job sucked, plain and simple. Fashion was her passion of course, and she knew she would be just a runner for a little while, but she never guessed it would be that bad or take up most of her time.
She got a salad from the refrigerator in the break room, and she puffed out her cheeks as she walked all the way back to hand it to her.
Then, the talked some more, Gwiboon with her mouth full and Taeyeon with her stomach grumbling. And all Taeyeon could think about was being home at 4 PM, sitting with her feet up as her sister scurried around to get a better outfit, as she lounged in pajamas on the couch.
“I’m serious though, she’s- Oh god, I’m late for a meeting. Why didn’t you tell me! Shit… shit, I have to go!”
Taeyeon blinked as Gwiboon suddenly started to shove papers everywhere, her Prada bag immediately on her shoulder, and then Taeyeon was suddenly out on her ass alone.
It was weird how fast Gwiboon could work and Taeyeon felt awkward just standing there by herself. She pouted, walking over to her desk with a sigh.
Where had the day gone? It was almost 4, her time to leave, and she hadn’t gotten anything done other than gossip and lunch that she didn’t even get. She checked her phone and her pout increased when it wouldn’t turn on.
“What? I thought you were charged.” She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, mumbling to herself until 4 PM hit.
She usually stayed later, way later than she should have, but today was important so she almost raced to the bus (in heels no less!) and she thanked whoever that she actually made it on time.
It was about 4:30 when she got home, and she was ready to collapse on the couch but it was nearly impossible, because her sister had clothes laid out everywhere, and there was barely room for her at all.
“Eunsook, what is this?! I can barely see my floor!!”
“Unni!!”
There was a sudden flash of dark, black hair and a bright smile attached to her hip and Taeyeon had to smile because Eunsook just looked so excited.
“I’ve been texting you all day, did you not get them? Where are the mints?”
“Oh, I’m sorry baby, my phone died.”
“Well… whatever, whatever, let’s get ready!!”
Taeyeon didn’t have time to sit down, eat or even think about her phone, because Eunsook was trying on outfit and outfit. And then she was complaining about her hair, and then she was complaining about her complexion and her acne.
It was 6 PM before she even had the chance to plug her phone in and get some food in her, but it was short lived because Eunsook came running up with her makeup everywhere over her outfit and they had to pick out another one.
At 7 PM, there was a small knock on the door and Eunsook almost had a heart attack right there in her seat.
Taeyeon opened the door and smiled at the boy there - he was a bit short, but his hair hung in his face with a crooked smile, hands stuffed deep into his jeans pockets, and Taeyeon thought he looked a bit like a girl.
“Oh, hello.” She smiled and would have made more conversation but Eunsook almost pushed her over to get to the door.
She left before she could tell Eunsook to be home before 12! and when she shut the door, she was on her own again.
The place was a disaster, but Taeyeon didn’t care, her body instinctively going to find her phone before anything else.
It was a little charged at least, so she took it to the living room and settled into her couch to watch whatever was on TV.
But it was short lived because soon her phone was ringing, and she cursed at herself for even thinking Gwiboon could leave her alone (cause who else would it be?) She picked up the phone and stared at the number - it wasn’t Gwiboon.
It was her.
“Huh?”
How could she be calling herself? She blinked, staring hard at the number, deciding what to do.
She pressed talk.
“Hello?”
04 ;; Kim Jonghyun
“Couldn’t this wait til later or something?” He sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he waited on whoever to come into the studio for a meeting.
“You don’t look sick to me, Jonghyun-ah. Did you have a date?” Seohyun, his assistant for two years now, asked with a blank look on her face, fingers tapping into the clipboard she was holding.
“I would make a joke, but my grandmother wouldn’t appreciate it.”
Seohyun went silent after that, biting down on her bottom lip. It was an awkward atmosphere - not that it usually wasn’t, Seohyun could be a bit awkward most times.
“Well, it should be over soon, I’m guessing.”
“Over soon” meant hours of meetings and fake smiles and “Yes, I’ll write a couple more songs by next week, don’t worry.”
It was almost 4 hours later when he got out of there and the sun was beating down on the street and the people by then, and his flowers were even brighter in the sun.
It took him almost a half hour to get up there, because it was in the back country somewhere that he had to walk, and he usually would have minded but this time he didn’t.
He didn’t stay long at his grandmother’s grave. He prayed, talked to her a little bit, sang a song, told her about his life, but it really wasn’t that much. The flowers stayed in front on her gravestone and he watched them for a moment as he walked back to the main city, feet dragging as he weaved in and out of people.
It was almost 2PM by then and he didn’t feel like doing much but going home and working on music, so that’s just what he did. He sat himself down on his piano bench, phone and papers on the seat next to him.
But he didn’t get to do much composing before his phone went off with some girly, Japanese ringtone, the name “Eunsook!!” appearing on screen.
Jonghyun sure as hell didn’t know anyone named Eunsook, and he thought hard about it. So he ignored the call, but he couldn’t ignore when she texted right after that.
“Can you go to the store and pick up mints for me, please?! I shouldn’t have eaten that extra chicken, my breath smells so bad!! Thank you, unni~!!”
“What the fuck?” He blinked a couple of times before shaking his head, ignoring it. It must have been a phone glitch or something.
He got another hour of work in before he sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose before he decided a shower would be a good idea.
He took as long as possible, rubbing at his neck because it hurt from writing and composing, and he took his time in picking out an outfit for the rest of the day. He wasn’t really doing much, so he decided on sweats and he came out, rubbing the towel into his hair. Then he checked his phone and-
“Good god.”
14 missed calls from some girl named Gwiboon, and he definitely didn’t know any girl like that let alone have her number in his phone.
“What the fuck is going on?”
And she was calling again, her ringtone some cute, upbeat American song and he hesitated to answer, but he still did.
“Oh dear God if she doesn’t pick up, I swear to God she’s going to get fired, I hate h-hello?! Taeyeon?!”
“No, this is Jonghyun. Who is this?”
Jonghyun wasn’t really in the mood to play games but it seemed neither was she because she grunted, some banging in the background of the phone.
“This isn’t some joke asshole, put Taeyeon on the phone, now. God, how can she be with a guy already, she barely left the office! I didn’t even know she knew any guys-“
“Hey lady, there isn’t anyone named Taeyeon here, alright? You have the wrong number.”
“The wrong number?! How dare you, this is definitely not the wrong number! If you could stop playing games, that would be awesome. I need Taeyeon.”
“Look, I’m Jonghyun, okay? I don’t know any Taeyeon, you might want to check the number or something-“
“You might want to check your number, because this is the number I always call, it’s in my speed dial, fucker! I’ll call back later when you finally get some brains and put her on the phone.”
The beeping heard after that only pissed Jonghyun off more and he growled, slamming his phone into the couch across the room.
“What the fuck was that?” He ran his hand through his hair, pacing around the room with a frown before picking up the phone and beginning to look through it.
It definitely isn’t his phone.
He didn’t have pictures of asian guys saved into his memory, and he didn’t have girly ringtones and he definitely didn’t have any schedule that started with ‘Gwiboon’ and ended with ‘Gwiboon.’ And that definitely wasn’t him in the background, but it was some girls instead and he had no idea who they were.
“What the fuck is going on right now…” He muttered to himself, and he checked through the text messages as quickly as possible, scanning over them.
Eunsook wanted mints, she wanted company, she wanted bulgogi for a snack.
Gwiboon wanted peanuts, she wanted the designs done by 10 PM, she wanted-no, needed whoever to get to her apartment ASAP because she was lonely.
Her mother wanted a phone call.
He felt bad going through her - well, what he guessed was a her - phone but curiosity got the best of him. When did they switch? Whose phone was it? How did he get it?
Questions swam through his head as he dialed his own number, biting down on his bottom lip with a slight sigh.
It went straight to voicemail.
“Hey, this is Jonghyun, leave a message-“
Something was definitely fucked up about all of this.
He kept calling and calling, but she wasn’t answering, it kept going straight to voicemail.
What was he supposed to do in the first place? If he couldn’t reach whoever had his phone - Taeyeon, or whatever - then he couldn’t get his phone calls, and his parents, his work… well, he was fucked.
He worried about it for a couple hours, kept calling and calling, but it was the voicemail every time. He never thought he’d say it, but he got tired of his own voice.
It was 7 PM and he groaned into his palm. What was her problem? Did she want to avoid this Gwiboon chick so much?
And then, by some grace of whoever, the phone actually rang.
“Shit.” He breathed and sat up in his seat, feet tapping against the wood of his floor, waiting on baited breath for her to answer-
“Hello?”
05 ;; Lee Taeyeon
“Hey, um… hey.”
Taeyeon blinked, shifting around in her seat awkwardly. Who was this guy who was calling her? And from her number?
“Um, if this is some sort of prank, my refrigerator is running-“
“No, this isn’t a joke, um. Well, I guess… were you downtown today?”
Taeyeon’s breath caught in her throat. This seriously was some sort of joke, right? But it was freaking her out, biting down on her lip with a nod that whoever couldn’t see.
“Um… yes, I mean… why?”
“We bumped into each other.”
Oh God. Was he calling for an apology? Was he calling to yell at her? How did he get her number?!
“Oh, I’m… I’m really sorry, I mean, I couldn’t see walking down the street, you know? My boss, she-“
“Is it Gwiboon?”
She was having a panic attack. Was he watching her? She got up immediately, looking out her apartment window with a small sound.
“Um, yes, how did you-“
“I have your phone. You have mine.”
Speechless. She pulled the phone away from her ear and stared, studying it but… nothing was different about it. But then again, she was calling herself and…. She was confused.
“I mean… how?”
“I don’t know, but Eunsook really wanted mints and whoever Gwiboon is, she gave me an earful. What a bitchy woman, I swe-“
“Watch your mouth, that’s my boss!!”
It went silent for a moment, and Taeyeon felt bad about yelling but he didn’t have to go that far… did he?
“Sorry.” He muttered and she scoffed under her breath, watching out the window. Her neighbors across the way were fighting again, and another was playing with a dog, and another was just sitting, watching TV..
“What should we do?”
There was a silence over the phone before he started laughing and loudly at that, and her cheeks flared up into a blush she was happy he couldn’t see.
“We should probably meet up then, don’t you think?”
There was another silence, and then she started laughing this time, biting down on her lip to shut herself up.
“Nn… yeah, probably.”
Should she go to his apartment? Should he come to hers? She didn’t want that awkward moment when he invited her in, they switched phones and then awkwardly parted. She just wanted to meet up somewhere to get her phone back and get it over with.
“Where?”
“How about that new café on… oh, what street is it? I don’t remember, but on the corner… it’s got the cute little lilacs on the windowsill inside and the cute umbrellas with the fruits on them? But I bet the umbrellas are closed cause it’s only March so-“
“Hey, calm down, I know where that is. So… tomorrow, do you have time? Around 3?”
Taeyeon scrunched up her nose. Gwiboon would probably keep her late, but hey, she needed her phone back, and this was a perfect opportunity.
“Oh, sure, I mean… I can be there. Just call me… you. Call yourself… er-“
“I’ll call you, um…”
“Taeyeon.” She said softly and she heard him repeat the name under his breath, as if testing it out a little bit.
“I’m Jonghyun.”
Jonghyun, huh? It was a nice name, and he didn’t sound too scary over the phone… she guessed that it wouldn’t be too bad tomorrow. A bit awkward yes, but not too bad.
“Oh, um… I guess I should let you go then… Jonghyun-ssi, and I’ll… call you tomorrow? Yes, I’ll call you tomorrow, goodbye! Goodnight!”
She hung up the phone as fast as she could, before he could say anything and it went completely silent in the apartment.
Then her - his? - phone rang again and she looked at the screen groaning when she read the message.
You’re a damn spazz, you know that?
Yes, she already knew that, but hell, if she wasn’t feeling awkward and everything. She sighed, rubbing between her eyes, leaning back against the couch with a groan. It was going to be a long night.
to be continued