Spring (Part 2) - YunJae - PG 13
Title: Spring (part 2)
Length: Two shot. (11,348 words)
Author: Guu
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Fluff, Romance
Summary: Yunho, the dancer, works at a music shop. Jaejoong, the (very very hot) violinist comes down to buy a few things one day. Add some Changmin and chaos ensues.
To Part 1
Part 2
This time, it was Changmin's fault, but Haneul had had an awful lot to do with it.
Before Yunho had even decided he had mustered enough courage to ask Jaejoong out, Changmin had somehow talked him into being the one in charge of distracting the violinist and take him somewhere after class so thay the other two could have some alone time with his violin. They would take the instrument to one of Haneul's father's friends (a very experienced luthier) while Yunho and Jaejoong enjoyed their little getaway together, and have it safe and sound and back to the store and into its case for when the two men returned.
Hence Yunho's hysterical pacing through the store that afternoon, as he waited for the beautiful student to pick him up.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," he wailed, turning around the counter for the fifth time that minute. "I can't believe I'm going to date the most gorgeous guy I've ever seen and you guys are going to steal his violin! I... I am so screwed," he added, miserably. Both Changmin and Haneul observed him from either side of the counter.
"You'll be fine, Yunho-yah," said the girl, combing her bangs to the side as she gave her friend a compassionate look. "Just worry about having a good time and maybe getting into the guy's pants and leave the violin business to us."
Yunho sighed in defeat at this. Not even the prospect of actually getting into the guy's pants could lift the feeling of imminent disaster from over his head. He turned to his friends and pulled up his most earnest and hopeful expression.
"Guys," he said, "I really like Jaejoong, and I really want this to work out, so please, please, don't fuck it up."
The doorbell chimed and he saw both of them winking and flashing thumbs up at him before he could turn around.
---
Jaejoong crossed the door like a vision coming true.
Like a celebrity out of a magazine cover, his bright fuschia shirt shone brightly amongst his black leather jacket and the dark fabric of his pants, and Yunho seriously thought he had misplaced his shy violinist and came forth to a Vogue model or something similar.
His voice failed him when the man took off his shades and smiled at him in recognition.
"Yunho-yah," he said in a soft (sultry?) voice. Yunho was too busy picturing a thousand ways to bang him senseless against any surface.
From the back someone coughed, and the tall dancer got his voice back. Right. The scheme.
"Ah, uh. Jaejoong-ah," he replied with a silly grin, "I'm glad you came." The violinist nodded and Yunho brought him further into the shop. "There is something that I, uh, want to show you," he said. "You can leave your stuff over there." He pointed at the counter, and Jaejoong bowed a greeting at both Haneul and Changmin before placing his bag and his violin case on an antique chair that stood next to it.
The girl and her cousin waited very patiently for the two men to disappear through the back door to quickly withdraw Jaejoong's violin from its case and replace it with one of the store's most expensive instruments, just in case. It seemed like a crime, taking out such a beautiful thing without its owner's consent.
Haneul looked warily at the instrument once the case was opened.
"I'm having second thoughts about this," she said as she picked up the thing with utmost care and handed it to her cousin. "By the way, did you see how that guy totally checked Yunho's ass when he turned around?"
Changmin blinked. "Your ADD amuses me." He looked like a professional thief, all quick glances and careful, meditated movements. "This violin better be worth all the troubles."
He inspected the instrument carefully before putting it into the new case. The elegance and finish of the fiddle was too extraordinaire to be some regular violin. If the thing was really a reproduction, its maker had to be an exceptionally good one.
"Alright," he said, "the deed is done. Can't back up now."
Haneul nodded. "Once you kill a cow..."
They closed the lid and watched the violin disappear.
---
Two rooms away from the theft, Yunho guided Jaejoong into the very back of the old shop. His mind was torn between absolute ecstasy and insane amounts of concern. Whatever had driven him to agree to Changmin's scheme was wearing off very fast. However, everytime he turned around and his eyes found Jaejoong's, the worry disipated and gave way to pure bliss.
"This is it," he said in a solemn whisper as he fished for the keys in his pocket and opened the door to the old studio. In it, various unfinished instruments and tools laid forgotten over the tables and the machinery. To the right, a small group of completed works stood proudly agains the wall, next to a huge window that opened to a very small patio. Yunho walked in and Jaejoong followed him with utter fascination.
"The girl you just saw outside," Yunho explained, "is my coworker, Haneul. Her father owns this shop and he used to be a pretty famous luthier around here. He could fix almost any instrument you gave him, and I know he's made a few himself. He was a man full of love and passion for music." He walked around the tables and pointed at a broken violin that had never been repaired. Yunho's face softened at the sight and he lifted the fiddle with something akin to sorrow in his eyes.
"Hansung-sshi," continued the dancer, "lost his pulse to arthritis a few years ago and had to close his studio. Here he keeps the very first instruments he ever fixed, and the first he ever made. Sometimes, one of his luthier friends will come over with a broken instrument and repair it under his direction. He's a very inspiring man, Jaejoong-ah."
Jaejoong observed the old pieces in complete fascination, and then regarded Yunho fondly, falling for the warmth in his face when he looked at each instrument like they were an old friend that couldn't go on anymore.
"This is beautiful," commented the violinist. He had lifted an old burgundy cello that had been standing against a corner. Its strings were perfectly tuned despite the dust around it. "Does anybody play these?"
"I think Haneul does, sometimes. She can't play very well but she can tune any instrument without even looking at its strings. It's, like, her hobby or something. Do you play that?"
Yunho pointed at the cello next to Jaejoong, and the student shook his head.
"One of my sisters does, so she taught me a little, but I like playing my violin better. It's much easier to move around."
"For sure," smiled the dancer. They picked up a few more instruments to inspect them and when Yunho was sure they had been there long enough, he put everything back into place and they left.
"Jaejoong-ah, you probably hear this a lot, but the way you play the violin... it's amazing."
Jaejoong avoided Yunho's face for a few seconds before bursting out laughing loudly and embarrassedly. The dancer pouted before the student could compose himself.
"I really meant that."
"Thank you, Yunho-yah," he said, half covering his blushing face. "I can play for you whenever you want."
Yunho was sure his face must have been a deep shade of red when he re-entered the shop, followed by Jaejoong. Both cousins were sitting inocently by the counter when they returned, having a perfectly normal conversation about their breakfasts that morning. The dancer walked towards them awkwardly and announced their imminent departure. He made all kinds of gestures with his face that Changmin replied with a simple thumbs up.
"We're leaving our stuff here," said the dancer before they left, "so take good care of it, and don't let anybody touch that case over there, got it? Haneul-ah, don't cut the power when you leave. I'll pick up everything else later. See you guys."
The cousins nodded at everything and watched as the two men exited the shop.
---
The original plan was to go out and grab a coffee at a new cafe in the area that was quickly gaining popularity, but Jaejoong suggested going to a little lively restaurant he knew and Yunho was more than glad to agree. He wasn't sure what kind of place he should take Jaejoong to; he supposed the violinist would like to go somewhere fancy, but Yunho wasn't that fond of fancy places. People judged and people looked at the others too much, and Yunho didn't like to be looked at when he went out with another guy. He hoped the place Jaejoong was leading him to was at least comfortable.
On the way to the metro station they made small talk to get to know each other a little better. Jaejoong spoke about his eight sisters and his terrible aversion to women because of it, and Yunho told him about his parents wanting him to be a lawyer, and how he had to work to pay for university because of it; his college fund had gone to a new pool on his parents' backyard.
"But that's okay, you know," he added when he saw Jaejoong's unbelieveing eyes hanging on him, "they were cool when I came out to them, so. I can live better with them not approving of my career choices." His eyes were cast down as he said this: it was already obvious to the both of them that they were both gay, but it was always difficult to put it out there so bluntly to someone they hardly knew. Jaejoong looked a bit surprised at the fake nonchalance in Yunho's voice, but didn't seem to be bothered by his openness.
They kept walking until they reached the metro station and hopped on a somewhat crowded train. A group of girls to their left stared at them and giggled and laughed the whole ride's lenght. Jaejoong seemed completely unaffected by this, however much it was getting on Yunho's nerves. He was very glad the ride was a short one, and he practically shoved the violinist out of the train when the doors opened.
The restaurant of choice was a small lively hall owned by an old and very loud couple that served, according to Jaejoong, the best Korean food he had ever tasted. It was his favourite place to go to, he explained to the dancer as they entered and bowed to the lady at the entrance. She greeted Jaejoong with great affection and leaded the two through the tiny space left between the tables that looked like they had been randomly picked and placed throughout the place. The whole place was odd in a way, with mismatched furniture and wall decorations, and the air of a small town cantine. It was messy but endearing, and Yunho felt relieved that they had come to such a normal, everyday place.
A short wooden table with red and blue motives stood in the middle of the spot the lady took them to. The area was a little bit secluded and far away from the rest of the diners, which Yunho suspected was more than meer chance, if the wink the lady gave the violinist was anything to go by. They sat down and ordered a few soju bottles and some beer and when the lady was gone, Jaejoong suddenly continued with the conversation they had dropped before getting into the metro station.
"My mom almost died when I came out to her," he said, out of the blue, with his eyes stuck on a little crack on the table's surface. "I'm the only son she has." When he realized he had said all of this out loud, he blinked and his eyes dashed upwards, towards Yunho's, with his mouth slightly opened. "I... I'm sorry."
Yunho shook his head and gave him a warm look in return.
"You can talk about it," he said, "I want to know about it."
Jaejoong didn't want to ruin their date with his sob stories, but he let Yunho know the basis of it: it had taken his mother a whole year to be able to look into her son's face again, and his father still believed that he was going through a phase, six years later.
"I think we're good now," he explained, avoiding Yunho's eyes, "they never really tried to change me, despite everything."
Yunho didn't think anybody would want to change anything about Jaejoong: not only was he gorgeous, but he also had something very special about him. He was the right amount of coy and goofy, sexy and boyish. He had earnest eyes and a good vibe, and above all a seemingly big heart. It wasn't like Yunho knew him that well, but he had a good instinct for people, and his gut said Jaejoong was someone to be treasured.
Dinner was a lively affair. The food was just as Jaejoong had described and the booze had loosened them enough that they were still sober but more comfortable around each other. They chatted about light hearted things and serious things, about music and the future and what they hoped to achieve. By the end of it, Yunho was close to crossing the line between infatuation and crazy in love.
They split the bill and left. Outside, the city was seeing the last bits of daylight, and soon the streetlights started popping into life across the roads. The Han was barely a metro station away so they hurried into it and got to see the sun disappearing behind its horizon. Over it, large, grey clouds covered most of Seoul's sky.
Yunho stole a few glances at his companion as his big black eyes were stuck on the skyline. 'Beautiful' could only describe a portion of the image resting before Yunho's eyes. He wanted to reach and touch Jaejoong's face, and maybe make sure this wasn't all a dream, but a buzzing in his backpocket tore him away from his thoughts.
His cell phone was ringing.
---
Haneul and Changmin waited for a while after Yunho and Jaejoong had left to put their plan into action. They took the case containing Jaejoong's violin very carefully outside and closed the store. Haneul switched the power off and locked the doors, turning around the OPEN sign to CLOSED. Changmin guarded the case all the while.
They jumped on her pink Vespa after Changmin's several complaints about the color and his longs legs and parted to the luthier's workplace. The tall boy was the one in charge of guiding them, for neither had been to that part of the city before. After a few wrong turns, they started to question if this had really been a great idea.
"We could have just taken it to your father, you know," he said in an annoyed monotone, when Haneul had just finished criticizing his navigational skills.
"Sure, let's tell him to check a violin that we just stole," she answered harshly as she drove past unknown streets, "let's also tell him it belongs to the guy Yunho is looking forward to screw."
"Or we can just make up a story. Oh, right, you're afraid of lying to your dad."
"I lie to him enough," she answered through gritted teeth, and suddenly brought the bike to an abrupt halt. Changmin had to hold on to her waist to avoid falling from the small vehicle.
"We're here," she said, before the tall man had a chance to insult her.
It had taken them more than an hour to find the man's workshop. The neighbourhood they had come to was upscale and posh, but away from the centre of the city. The houses, most of them bearing a traditional look, were huge but didn't have more than one or two floors, and most of them were surrounded by beautiful gardens. The two cousins were amazed by the imponence of the houses.
The one they were looking for had a red arch over it's entrance. A plaque to its right read "Seong Joong Shin". They got off the bike and ringed the electric buzzer.
A tall lady with long, black hair and delicate hands greeted them.
"Haneul-sshi," she said with a beautiful smile, "my father is waiting for you two."
Haneul smiled back somewhat stupidly, and words failed her. Changmin had to elbow her to get her to walk again.
"When I ask myself why you and Yunho-hyung are friends," he whispered with a large frown on his face, "I will keep this moment in my mind."
Seong Joongshin was a man out of time. He had wrinkles in places neither of the cousins knew there could be. His work room was a huge hall with books and instruments piled or hanging from various shelves randomly attached to the walls. A gramophone sat forgotten on the furthest corner. The faint sound of a piano being tuned filled the space between the old wood and the victorian furniture. Amongst all these things sat Seong Joongshin, the luthier, armed with a small chisel and a magnifying glass. In front of him laid a stringless violin, awaiting for its maker to dote it with a voice of its own.
The man looked up from his work lethargically and smiled at Haneul when he recognized her face. He stood up from his working table and walked to them, and Changmin didn't waste a second in taking out Jaejoong's violin from their case. The man greeted them politely and took the thing in his hands. He examined it for quite a while.
"Where did you get this?" he asked.
"A man sold it to a friend of mine, Joongshin-sshi. He was selling his late grandfather's old possessions. He didn't say anything else about the violin. We all thought it was a good replica of some famous brand."
The old man nodded, looking at the violin like the answer was written somewhere in its wood.
"Kids these days," he sighed. "I'll need it for a while. You two youngsters go and have a drink with my daughter. She gets bored a lot out there. I'll call you when I'm done."
"We are in a little bit of a hurry," said Changmin impatiently, without meaning to sound unpolite.
"All in due time, boy," answered the man, "some things can't be pushed."
The walked outside and Changmin had to suffer through about an hour of shameless flirting coming from his cousin towards the luthier's daughter. Somehow he always managed to surround himself with weird people.
He took his cellphone out to kill some time and dialed Yunho's number.
---
"Changmin-ah," was the first thing Yunho said when he picked up the call, "I'm busy."
"And I'm about to die, hyung," came the answer. It worried the older man.
"Did anything happen?" he said in a tone full of guilt, shooting his eyes up at Jaejoong, who was standing a few meters away from him, observing him in silence.
"Nope, we're at the luthier's house. Sorry to interrupt your date, but your friend is unbearable. Just wanted you to know that. Everything else is going according to plan."
Yunho nodded in relief.
"Are you almost done?" he asked.
"Not sure. The guy has the violin right now. I'll buzz your phone when we're done."
"Cool. Take care."
He shut his little phone and walked back towards Jaejoong.
"Sorry about that," he said. The chocolate haired beauty shook his head.
"All good," he said. "Hey, do you mind if we pass by a drugstore? I ran out of cigarettes."
"Sure, let's go grab a coffee after that, yes?"
Jaejoong's face brightened up at the suggestion and his lips streched into a huge grin full of teeth.
They ended up at the cafe they had originally planned to go to. They had a few coffees and chatted some more, and all the while Yunho's phone stayed quiet. It was getting a little late already, and they would have to head back to the shop sooner or later. After they paid, Yunho made one last desperate attempt at going somewhere, and took Jaejoong to a park that had an artificial hill that overlooked a part of the city. The Han could be seen in the distance. It was getting a little cold, so they took refuge on a bench underneath a little wooden roof. It was dark in the park, but the lights from the city were enough guidance.
"This is really beautiful," commented the violinist, lighting up a smoke. Yunho nodded, entraced by the view. He had always loved this part of the city.
Jaejoong breathed in, savouring the nicotine of his cigarette, and Yunho picked the stick from his hands and took a sip. They smoked together for a few minutes, until the cigarette was almost finished. Jaejoong held it up in his hands and let Yunho have the last bit of it, feeling the taller man's lips soflty caressing the flesh on his fingers as he inhaled. It made him shiver. His hand was still up when Yunho blew out the smoke and gently took the remains of the cigarette from between Jaejoong's fingers to throw it away carelessly and simply kiss his fingertips. He kissed them one by one, and all the while Jaejoong had his big black eyes stuck on the way the dancer's lips pressed against his calloused hands.
Yunho left a final kiss on the center of Jaejoong's palm and tilted his head up, locking eyes with the violinist.
Without wasting a second, he leant forward and kissed Jaejoong's mouth softly. He gave him a few pecks, feeling the other man answering back somewhat shyly, and brought his hand to the violinist's face, rolling it over his jaw and neck. Jaejoong tilted his head backwards to give him more space and hang his arm around him. He made a little sound so they could both accomodate better and opened his mouth eagerly, shedding away his initial coyness. The small, gentle pecks soon turned into a long succession of open mouthed kisses and heated caresses. Jaejoong kissed Yunho fiercely, leaving the dancer no choice but to follow the rhythm of his tongue.
When Jaejoong's hands started creeping up Yunho's leg, a blinding light suddenly pointed at them and startled them from their actions.
They parted at once, eyes closing in surprise. Yunho's hand went up, trying to cover the source of the light. It seemed like a huge torchlight, and someone was standing right behind it.
"What the hell?" said Yunho, surprise melting into annoyance.
"This is not a place for public indecencies," said a deep, stern voice. "You two better go take your depravations somewhere else."
The light went down and after a few seconds their eyes had adjusted to the darkness again.
It was a policeman.
"We weren't doing anything bad," muttered Yunho, letting go of Jaejoong and standing up. The man glared at him and he felt the violinist tugging his elbow.
"Move on before I decide to use my better judgement and arrest you," warned the policeman.
"Let's just go," said Jaejoong. He seemed every bit as upset as Yunho was, but he didn't feel like arguing with an old man when all he wanted was to plaster the man next to him to any welcoming wall.
With quick steps, they walked away from the policeman, who followed their path with his torch like they were criminals on the run. Yunho's backpocket started buzzing before they could reach the borders of the park, and he smiled triumphantly: if Haneul and Changmin were done with the violin, he would have the whole store to himself.
"I have an idea," he said with a smirk as they stepped into the street.
---
The power had been switched off when they got to the store. Yunho frowned at this: he had asked Haneul to leave it on. The building's fuses were old and it would take a while before the energy engine kicked off. This, however, didn't seem to bother the chocolate haired violinist at all. As soon as the door closed behind them, he turned to Yunho with fire in his eyes, grabbed him by the jacket and practically shoved him against the counter, pouncing on him with deadly accuracy. Yunho wasn't about to complain, but the shock didn't allow him to react accordingly. All he could do was gasp and watch as the gorgeous man leaned over him and licked his lips, making him lose every bit of self restraint he might have had. He balanced himself and swapped positions with the violinist in a second, ignoring the fervent buzzing that had started inside his pocket. It wasn't long before they were all over each other again, oblivious to the rain that had started to pour outside and anything other than their bodies and their want.
"I've been... waiting to do this since I saw you that day at SNU," blurted out Jaejoong when he could leave Yunho's mouth for a few seconds, blindly searching with his hands for the hem of the man's shirt to get them into it. Yunho breathed heavily into his neck, moaning an agreement.
"Me too," he said, "god, you're so fucking beautiful." He kissed a spot behind Jaejoong's ear and the birthmark underneath his jaw. He trailed down through the violinist's neck between his chocolate locks, until his mind forced him to acknowledge the constant buzzing in his backpocket. He groaned. What the hell did Changmin want?
He was still debating whether he should pick up the phone or ignore it when the sound of the lock turning made them both freeze one more time. They stood in complete silence, in the dark, until the lock finally clicked open and Yunho motioned them to jump behind the counter and into the back storage room. Jaejoong followed him and once they were safe behind the door, Yunho explained: "If it's the owner of the store, I'm kind of screwed."
The violinist nodded and obeyed when Yunho made a silencing sound and asked him to stay in his place. "I'll go out and check."
He silently crawled outside and closed the door behind him, swiftly moving behind the counter and taking a peek at the door. It was dark but he could see someone moving in the store. At that moment it occured to him that it could be someone else trying to break into the store, but the soft whispering of familiar voices gave him some relief.
"Where is him?" a female voice asked as it came closer to the counter.
"I don't know, he just won't answer the phone," answered another male one.
"Maybe they're fucking and you just interrupted them."
Yunho felt his cheeks burning at the last remark and jumped up and into the open.
"Haneul-ah!!" he said, scandalized by the girl's nonchalance. He almost gave the newcomers a heart attack: they both let out a high pitched scream at his sudden appearance.
"Yunho-yah!!!" yelled Haneul with a hand over her heart. "What the hell!!!"
The lights slowly started to go on in that moment, and Yunho could see the glare in Changmin's eyes as he breathed in and willed his heart to slow down.
"What are you doing here?" asked the younger man through gritted teeth.
"What are you doing here?" asked Yunho, trying to smoothe the wrinkles on his shirt. His hair was sticking out in weird directions, and it soon became obvious what he had been doing there.
"Oh my god!" exclaimed the girl, "you were, you were-- in my dad's store!!"
"Lower your voice!" he hushed.
"Wait, he's here?" interrupted Changmin, holding onto the violin case protectively. "You were supposed to entertain him, not bring him here!"
"You said you would ring when you were done. You rang, I came back!"
"Uh, guys," interrupted Haneul. She was ignored.
"I rang like ten times, didn't that give you a clue that maybe we wanted to tell you something else?"
"Didn't me not picking up give you a clue of something else? What the hell happened with that violin anyways?"
"That's what I would like to know."
Yunho was rooted to this spot at the sound of Jaejoong's voice. That was it: everything had blown out in the worst way. He closed his eyes miserably and turned around.
"J-Jaejoong-ah..."
The violinist was standing at the stockroom's door, arms crossed and eyes burning. He looked nothing like the man that had been eagerly groping Yunho just minutes ago.
"What the hell is going on," he demanded, walking towards the other three, "and what the hell are you doing to my violin."
Haneul looked up with guilty eyes and placed his case over the counter. She had wanted to switch the violins to their original cases, but Jaejoong had interrupted them all.
"This is, this is really stupid," she mumbled in a tiny voice, trying to think of a good excuse that wouldn't leave Yunho looking too bad.
"Yeah?" the violinist asked harshly, "what did he have to entertain me for, mh?" He looked around at Changmin, who lowered his eyes, and then at Yunho. The dancer took one step forward and sighed. Haneul hoped he would say something like 'we wanted to give you a surprise and have your violin checked' or the likes, but she knew Yunho's honesty would betray him.
"We did this stupid bet," he said. Jaejoong fumed at the word bet but listened, "when you came and played here, that the sound of your violin was exceptional and it must have been because you had a really good instrument."
The chocolate haired man looked in bewilderment at the dancer.
"So, so you stole my violin so you could prove that I'm not that good a player??"
Yunho's mouth dropped.
"No!" he said, "Of course not! We were just curious...!" he tried to continue but words failed him, and this time it had nothing to do with the other man's beauty. "Jaejoong-ah, I--"
"I don't care," cut Jaejoong, quicky picking up his things. "You know. For a moment there, I almost bought it that you liked me. I should fucking break your neck."
He snatched his case out of Haneul's hands and stalked out of the store and into the soft drizzle that was covering Seoul.
"Wait, that's not--," started Changmin, but the door slammed before he could finish, "that's not your violin." He sighed. For a few moments there was only silence inside the store, as Yunho stared with longing eyes at the door.
Haneul approached him slowly and tried to put a hand on his arm, but he shook her off.
"Yunho-yah," she whispered.
"Juts go," he said in a quiet voice. "Both of you, just leave, please."
"I'm so sorry," she insisted, desperate at the hurt in her friend's tone. She gave a quick glance at Changmin and he placed the case containing Jaejoong's violin over the counter. "We'll leave now."
They left in silence and Yunho stayed behind. He wanted to put the blame on Haneul and Changmin, but he had been a part of it as much as they had. He had wronged Jaejoong, but he hadn't mean to hurt him. And he had never thought anything less than great things about Jaejoong's music. With a heavy heart, he approached the case by the counter and opened it. Inside Jaejoong's violin stood lethargically, and over it rested a letter of acknowledgement signed by Seong Joongshin himself. The brand of the instrument was written in big black flourished roman letters.
Grand Amati, dated sometime in the mid 1600. One of the few still existing in the modern world.
Yunho shook his head, closing the lid. It didn't matter anymore.
---
The next couple of days went by slowly. A grey cloud had settled over Seoul, and humidity had risen to unbearable levels. Yunho spent half of his time at the store looking miserable, and the other half staring at the violin Jaejoong had left behind. He didn't know how to contact Jaejoong: they had only seen each other at the store, and Jaejoong had yet to transfer to SNU. He didn't know where he lived or where to find him, and the violinist wouldn't pick up his calls or return his text messages.
Haneul had done her part at trying to locate him too, driven mostly by guilt, but had failed to do so as well. She had tried to explain to the dancer that they had left the store's keys at the luthier's house and that had delayed them so much, but Yunho didn't care for explanations. What was done was done.
Changmin was the first one to come in contact with the violinist, four days after the incident. He too had been feeling down because of the whole situation, even when the luthier had proved him right. For once, he didn't feel any good about it.
He had been sitting at the grand piano in one of the practice rooms at SNU without being able to really play anything for half an hour, when a tall man with chocolate hair stormed inside the room and shoved a booklet of scores at him. He looked up indignantly until he saw it was actually Jaejoong who was standing right before him with his violin's case on one arm.
The young, tall man looked down at the title of the booklet in his hands.
Beethoven's 'Spring'.
A piano and violin duet.
Jaejoong looked at him with ice in his eyes, and then proceeded to take out the violin from his case.
"So did you find anything about my violin?" he asked casually, without further introduction. Changmin frowned at this but still placed the scores in front of him and readied his piano.
"It was a Grand Amati," he said, "one in a series out of which eight are left in the world."
Jaejoong nodded pensively, but didn't seem too surprised at this.
"And what about this one?" he said, taking the violin out of his case. It was the instrument Changmin and Haneul had used to replace Jaejoong's Amati while they took it to the luthier's place. The same instrument Jaejoong had mistakenly taken home when he left Yunho at the store four nights before.
"That's just a regular violin," added the pianist, staring at the violinist. He was wondering if the man was going to do what he thought. When Jaejoong placed the violin over his shoulder, Changmin understood that he was. He cracked his fingers and placed them over the white tiles of the grand piano.
"Okay," he said. He breathed in, closed his eyes and thought about his friend back at the store and the pain he and Haneul had caused him. "Okay."
He gave a quick glance at the score and started playing Beethoven's sonata, feeling the soft sound of the pianoforte giving into his commands. Jaejoong joined with his violin and they both played together, making the sounds of their instruments fly and melt between them in perfect harmony.
Jaejoong's violin was very unsual for Changmin's taste: it was shy but strong, it flowed with his piano but it had a life of its own. It had nothing to envy from any other violin Changmin had heard. It was true, the Amati had given him something else; clarity, brightness, a sharper edge, but Jaejoong's ability was all there, and his sound was altogether something esle. Something no simple man could have forged even with a special violin.
The melody came to an end too soon, with both the piano and the violin soflty whispering their last note. For a few minutes, the practice room was silent, and Changmin's eyes were cast down.
"I'm sorry," he said after a while, "we obviously understimated you. However, I think you must know this: Yunho-hyung was the one who was rooting for you."
Jaejoong didn't answer. He picked up the scores from Changmin, picked up the violin and put everything into his case.
Before he left, Changmin made one last attempt at conversation: "I'd like to play with you again."
Jaejoong stopped before walking out the door. He thought about it and turned to look at Changmin with wonder. Their eyes met and the pianist wondered about the unreadable expression on the man's face.
Jaejoong remained silent.
He smirked, he waved and then he left.
---
Yunho was attending class when Jaejoong walked into the store the next time. Only Haneul was there to greet him. She fetched his violin as soon as she saw him.
"I'm so sorry about what happened," she said once they had exchanged instruments. "None of us meant any harm by this. Especially not Yunho. He really does like you."
Jaejoong looked at her coldly, but ultimately gave into the guilt in her voice.
"You could have just asked me, you know."
She nodded, eyes down, "I know. It was stupid. We mauled Yunho into this. We always do that to him..." she said. She looked up and saw that his eyes were soft. He looked sad, or sorry, or pitiful.
"But he's a great guy, you know," she continued, "actually, no. He's the best guy. He just has really bad friends."
Jaejoong held her stare for a while. He didn't like when people lied to him, but Yunho had seemed like an honest guy all along, and his friends were very intent in making up things for him.
"Jaejoong-sshi. If there's anything I could do to make it right..."
"Hm. There might be."
---
KNUA's School of Dance was a huge, square building in the heart of Seocho-gu. It was relatively close to SNU and the music shop.
It had been a while since the last time Haneul had been there, but she could navigate the building pretty well. That day, unlike many others, the school was full of performers. There was an open exhibition in the main hall and an ocean of visitors was streaming in that direction. The girl fought her way against the large crowd and made it to the small board with the day's activities. The auditorium she was looking for opened at 3 p.m..
She strived through the people again and finally managed to get out of the building.
Jaejoong was waiting for her outside.
"Half an hour," she breathed. "We have to go all the way across the building."
They got lost and they were late. They barely managed to take a seat before the lights went out. Five dancers came and went through the stage.
"Are you sure you brought me to the right place?" asked Jaejoong after the last dancer abandoned the stage. Haneul nodded, looking at the map she had snatched from the board.
"He should come out like now," she said. At that moment, a voice announced Yunho's name over the speakers.
The dark stage lit up and out came the young dancer, wearing a simple brown moroccan babucha that hung tight on his stomach, baggy on his hips and tight again from his knee to his bare feet.
He bowed to the audience, oblivious to his two familiar spectators. When the music started, his body came alive in a different way than it usually was. He became one with the music, as if his will and soul belonged to it. He moved to it, with it, for it. His arms became the very strings the melody was moving him from. The violinst never thought that movement could enhance sound in such a way, until it meant something new and it completely changed its significance: the song was powerful and strong, but Yunho's stance only described pure grief.
Jaejoong sat very still at the end of it, watching as the stage became dark again and the roaring sound of applause envolved the auditorium.
The performance had taken his breath away.
On the way back, Haneul pointed out that Yunho had been rehearsing for his performance like a mad man, for that had been his last final exam's dance. He had aced the test and the dean had chosen him to close the five day exhibition. Jaejoong followed her as if in a daze. When they reached the classes that had been used as camerinos, she turned to him with worried eyes.
"You sure about this, right?"
Jaejoong nodded, somewhat lost in his thoughts.
"Yes," he said, "I also like him a lot, you know. If he screws again, this time it would have been my fault."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't," she assured with a trusting smile. She went inside and talked to one of the teachers, and when she emerged from the hallway again, she wasn't walking by herself.
"Hey," said the violinist, when the handsome dancer was close enough to realize he wasn't daydreaming again and it was, in fact, Jaejoong who was standing in front of him.
"Jaejoong-ah," he mumbled, suddenly conscious that half of his body was naked, and that he was sweating and he had make up all over his face. He turned to Haneul, who nodded and winked at him and then excused herself before getting lost in the sea of people.
"Can we talk?"
Yunho nodded and led Jaejoong into an empty classroom.
"Jaejoong-ah, I--"
"It's okay."
They closed the door behind them and Yunho stared stupidly at his bare feet.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I understand why you would be mad at me."
"Yunho-yah," interrupted the smaller man, "it's okay, really. I've already talked to Haneul-sshi and Changmin-sshi and even to your friend Junsu-sshi whom I had never seen in my life before. They already convinced me that you are a great guy and that you deserve a second chance. That's not what I came here for."
Yunho's eyes opened wide and his mouth fell from its place.
"Oh," he said brilliantly, "then... then why did you come?"
"Because," Jaejoong answered, walking towards him and reaching out to move a stray lock of hair from his face, "I wanted to see you dance."
Yunho's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Jaejoong smiled.
"If you keep your friends from stealing my Amati again, I think we can give it another try."
The dancer nodded with all his might.
Jaejoong stepped closer and they shared a small kiss. Yunho was elated, and his hands didn't take long to snake around the violinist's waist. They both smiled into the kiss right before a student burst into the room, looking for Yunho.
They jumped out of their embrace and Yunho glared at the stranger, who apologized profusely before informing him he was needed on the stage in five minutes.
"People have got to stop doing that!" cried the dancer at the sudden (and repeated) interruption. Jaejoong burst into honest laughter, covering his mouth with a hand as he did so.
"Go," he said, "we'll have plenty of time for the rest."
Yunho turned to him and sighed. Jaejoong nodded and the dancer gently took his hand, kissing his fingers before leaving.
"I'll hold you to that."
The awakening of spring would always bring color and life into the streets of Seoul, but this time, thought Jaejoong as he stepped into the great staircase that preceded the School of Dance, this time it might have brought with it something else.
He grinned, facing the sky, as he waited for Yunho to come pick him up.
***
The End :)
And the accompanying piece...
Shigai's art post over here at her comm :)
Copyright belongs to Shigai! Don't steal! :)
Length: Two shot. (11,348 words)
Author: Guu
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Fluff, Romance
Summary: Yunho, the dancer, works at a music shop. Jaejoong, the (very very hot) violinist comes down to buy a few things one day. Add some Changmin and chaos ensues.
To Part 1
Part 2
This time, it was Changmin's fault, but Haneul had had an awful lot to do with it.
Before Yunho had even decided he had mustered enough courage to ask Jaejoong out, Changmin had somehow talked him into being the one in charge of distracting the violinist and take him somewhere after class so thay the other two could have some alone time with his violin. They would take the instrument to one of Haneul's father's friends (a very experienced luthier) while Yunho and Jaejoong enjoyed their little getaway together, and have it safe and sound and back to the store and into its case for when the two men returned.
Hence Yunho's hysterical pacing through the store that afternoon, as he waited for the beautiful student to pick him up.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," he wailed, turning around the counter for the fifth time that minute. "I can't believe I'm going to date the most gorgeous guy I've ever seen and you guys are going to steal his violin! I... I am so screwed," he added, miserably. Both Changmin and Haneul observed him from either side of the counter.
"You'll be fine, Yunho-yah," said the girl, combing her bangs to the side as she gave her friend a compassionate look. "Just worry about having a good time and maybe getting into the guy's pants and leave the violin business to us."
Yunho sighed in defeat at this. Not even the prospect of actually getting into the guy's pants could lift the feeling of imminent disaster from over his head. He turned to his friends and pulled up his most earnest and hopeful expression.
"Guys," he said, "I really like Jaejoong, and I really want this to work out, so please, please, don't fuck it up."
The doorbell chimed and he saw both of them winking and flashing thumbs up at him before he could turn around.
---
Jaejoong crossed the door like a vision coming true.
Like a celebrity out of a magazine cover, his bright fuschia shirt shone brightly amongst his black leather jacket and the dark fabric of his pants, and Yunho seriously thought he had misplaced his shy violinist and came forth to a Vogue model or something similar.
His voice failed him when the man took off his shades and smiled at him in recognition.
"Yunho-yah," he said in a soft (sultry?) voice. Yunho was too busy picturing a thousand ways to bang him senseless against any surface.
From the back someone coughed, and the tall dancer got his voice back. Right. The scheme.
"Ah, uh. Jaejoong-ah," he replied with a silly grin, "I'm glad you came." The violinist nodded and Yunho brought him further into the shop. "There is something that I, uh, want to show you," he said. "You can leave your stuff over there." He pointed at the counter, and Jaejoong bowed a greeting at both Haneul and Changmin before placing his bag and his violin case on an antique chair that stood next to it.
The girl and her cousin waited very patiently for the two men to disappear through the back door to quickly withdraw Jaejoong's violin from its case and replace it with one of the store's most expensive instruments, just in case. It seemed like a crime, taking out such a beautiful thing without its owner's consent.
Haneul looked warily at the instrument once the case was opened.
"I'm having second thoughts about this," she said as she picked up the thing with utmost care and handed it to her cousin. "By the way, did you see how that guy totally checked Yunho's ass when he turned around?"
Changmin blinked. "Your ADD amuses me." He looked like a professional thief, all quick glances and careful, meditated movements. "This violin better be worth all the troubles."
He inspected the instrument carefully before putting it into the new case. The elegance and finish of the fiddle was too extraordinaire to be some regular violin. If the thing was really a reproduction, its maker had to be an exceptionally good one.
"Alright," he said, "the deed is done. Can't back up now."
Haneul nodded. "Once you kill a cow..."
They closed the lid and watched the violin disappear.
---
Two rooms away from the theft, Yunho guided Jaejoong into the very back of the old shop. His mind was torn between absolute ecstasy and insane amounts of concern. Whatever had driven him to agree to Changmin's scheme was wearing off very fast. However, everytime he turned around and his eyes found Jaejoong's, the worry disipated and gave way to pure bliss.
"This is it," he said in a solemn whisper as he fished for the keys in his pocket and opened the door to the old studio. In it, various unfinished instruments and tools laid forgotten over the tables and the machinery. To the right, a small group of completed works stood proudly agains the wall, next to a huge window that opened to a very small patio. Yunho walked in and Jaejoong followed him with utter fascination.
"The girl you just saw outside," Yunho explained, "is my coworker, Haneul. Her father owns this shop and he used to be a pretty famous luthier around here. He could fix almost any instrument you gave him, and I know he's made a few himself. He was a man full of love and passion for music." He walked around the tables and pointed at a broken violin that had never been repaired. Yunho's face softened at the sight and he lifted the fiddle with something akin to sorrow in his eyes.
"Hansung-sshi," continued the dancer, "lost his pulse to arthritis a few years ago and had to close his studio. Here he keeps the very first instruments he ever fixed, and the first he ever made. Sometimes, one of his luthier friends will come over with a broken instrument and repair it under his direction. He's a very inspiring man, Jaejoong-ah."
Jaejoong observed the old pieces in complete fascination, and then regarded Yunho fondly, falling for the warmth in his face when he looked at each instrument like they were an old friend that couldn't go on anymore.
"This is beautiful," commented the violinist. He had lifted an old burgundy cello that had been standing against a corner. Its strings were perfectly tuned despite the dust around it. "Does anybody play these?"
"I think Haneul does, sometimes. She can't play very well but she can tune any instrument without even looking at its strings. It's, like, her hobby or something. Do you play that?"
Yunho pointed at the cello next to Jaejoong, and the student shook his head.
"One of my sisters does, so she taught me a little, but I like playing my violin better. It's much easier to move around."
"For sure," smiled the dancer. They picked up a few more instruments to inspect them and when Yunho was sure they had been there long enough, he put everything back into place and they left.
"Jaejoong-ah, you probably hear this a lot, but the way you play the violin... it's amazing."
Jaejoong avoided Yunho's face for a few seconds before bursting out laughing loudly and embarrassedly. The dancer pouted before the student could compose himself.
"I really meant that."
"Thank you, Yunho-yah," he said, half covering his blushing face. "I can play for you whenever you want."
Yunho was sure his face must have been a deep shade of red when he re-entered the shop, followed by Jaejoong. Both cousins were sitting inocently by the counter when they returned, having a perfectly normal conversation about their breakfasts that morning. The dancer walked towards them awkwardly and announced their imminent departure. He made all kinds of gestures with his face that Changmin replied with a simple thumbs up.
"We're leaving our stuff here," said the dancer before they left, "so take good care of it, and don't let anybody touch that case over there, got it? Haneul-ah, don't cut the power when you leave. I'll pick up everything else later. See you guys."
The cousins nodded at everything and watched as the two men exited the shop.
---
The original plan was to go out and grab a coffee at a new cafe in the area that was quickly gaining popularity, but Jaejoong suggested going to a little lively restaurant he knew and Yunho was more than glad to agree. He wasn't sure what kind of place he should take Jaejoong to; he supposed the violinist would like to go somewhere fancy, but Yunho wasn't that fond of fancy places. People judged and people looked at the others too much, and Yunho didn't like to be looked at when he went out with another guy. He hoped the place Jaejoong was leading him to was at least comfortable.
On the way to the metro station they made small talk to get to know each other a little better. Jaejoong spoke about his eight sisters and his terrible aversion to women because of it, and Yunho told him about his parents wanting him to be a lawyer, and how he had to work to pay for university because of it; his college fund had gone to a new pool on his parents' backyard.
"But that's okay, you know," he added when he saw Jaejoong's unbelieveing eyes hanging on him, "they were cool when I came out to them, so. I can live better with them not approving of my career choices." His eyes were cast down as he said this: it was already obvious to the both of them that they were both gay, but it was always difficult to put it out there so bluntly to someone they hardly knew. Jaejoong looked a bit surprised at the fake nonchalance in Yunho's voice, but didn't seem to be bothered by his openness.
They kept walking until they reached the metro station and hopped on a somewhat crowded train. A group of girls to their left stared at them and giggled and laughed the whole ride's lenght. Jaejoong seemed completely unaffected by this, however much it was getting on Yunho's nerves. He was very glad the ride was a short one, and he practically shoved the violinist out of the train when the doors opened.
The restaurant of choice was a small lively hall owned by an old and very loud couple that served, according to Jaejoong, the best Korean food he had ever tasted. It was his favourite place to go to, he explained to the dancer as they entered and bowed to the lady at the entrance. She greeted Jaejoong with great affection and leaded the two through the tiny space left between the tables that looked like they had been randomly picked and placed throughout the place. The whole place was odd in a way, with mismatched furniture and wall decorations, and the air of a small town cantine. It was messy but endearing, and Yunho felt relieved that they had come to such a normal, everyday place.
A short wooden table with red and blue motives stood in the middle of the spot the lady took them to. The area was a little bit secluded and far away from the rest of the diners, which Yunho suspected was more than meer chance, if the wink the lady gave the violinist was anything to go by. They sat down and ordered a few soju bottles and some beer and when the lady was gone, Jaejoong suddenly continued with the conversation they had dropped before getting into the metro station.
"My mom almost died when I came out to her," he said, out of the blue, with his eyes stuck on a little crack on the table's surface. "I'm the only son she has." When he realized he had said all of this out loud, he blinked and his eyes dashed upwards, towards Yunho's, with his mouth slightly opened. "I... I'm sorry."
Yunho shook his head and gave him a warm look in return.
"You can talk about it," he said, "I want to know about it."
Jaejoong didn't want to ruin their date with his sob stories, but he let Yunho know the basis of it: it had taken his mother a whole year to be able to look into her son's face again, and his father still believed that he was going through a phase, six years later.
"I think we're good now," he explained, avoiding Yunho's eyes, "they never really tried to change me, despite everything."
Yunho didn't think anybody would want to change anything about Jaejoong: not only was he gorgeous, but he also had something very special about him. He was the right amount of coy and goofy, sexy and boyish. He had earnest eyes and a good vibe, and above all a seemingly big heart. It wasn't like Yunho knew him that well, but he had a good instinct for people, and his gut said Jaejoong was someone to be treasured.
Dinner was a lively affair. The food was just as Jaejoong had described and the booze had loosened them enough that they were still sober but more comfortable around each other. They chatted about light hearted things and serious things, about music and the future and what they hoped to achieve. By the end of it, Yunho was close to crossing the line between infatuation and crazy in love.
They split the bill and left. Outside, the city was seeing the last bits of daylight, and soon the streetlights started popping into life across the roads. The Han was barely a metro station away so they hurried into it and got to see the sun disappearing behind its horizon. Over it, large, grey clouds covered most of Seoul's sky.
Yunho stole a few glances at his companion as his big black eyes were stuck on the skyline. 'Beautiful' could only describe a portion of the image resting before Yunho's eyes. He wanted to reach and touch Jaejoong's face, and maybe make sure this wasn't all a dream, but a buzzing in his backpocket tore him away from his thoughts.
His cell phone was ringing.
---
Haneul and Changmin waited for a while after Yunho and Jaejoong had left to put their plan into action. They took the case containing Jaejoong's violin very carefully outside and closed the store. Haneul switched the power off and locked the doors, turning around the OPEN sign to CLOSED. Changmin guarded the case all the while.
They jumped on her pink Vespa after Changmin's several complaints about the color and his longs legs and parted to the luthier's workplace. The tall boy was the one in charge of guiding them, for neither had been to that part of the city before. After a few wrong turns, they started to question if this had really been a great idea.
"We could have just taken it to your father, you know," he said in an annoyed monotone, when Haneul had just finished criticizing his navigational skills.
"Sure, let's tell him to check a violin that we just stole," she answered harshly as she drove past unknown streets, "let's also tell him it belongs to the guy Yunho is looking forward to screw."
"Or we can just make up a story. Oh, right, you're afraid of lying to your dad."
"I lie to him enough," she answered through gritted teeth, and suddenly brought the bike to an abrupt halt. Changmin had to hold on to her waist to avoid falling from the small vehicle.
"We're here," she said, before the tall man had a chance to insult her.
It had taken them more than an hour to find the man's workshop. The neighbourhood they had come to was upscale and posh, but away from the centre of the city. The houses, most of them bearing a traditional look, were huge but didn't have more than one or two floors, and most of them were surrounded by beautiful gardens. The two cousins were amazed by the imponence of the houses.
The one they were looking for had a red arch over it's entrance. A plaque to its right read "Seong Joong Shin". They got off the bike and ringed the electric buzzer.
A tall lady with long, black hair and delicate hands greeted them.
"Haneul-sshi," she said with a beautiful smile, "my father is waiting for you two."
Haneul smiled back somewhat stupidly, and words failed her. Changmin had to elbow her to get her to walk again.
"When I ask myself why you and Yunho-hyung are friends," he whispered with a large frown on his face, "I will keep this moment in my mind."
Seong Joongshin was a man out of time. He had wrinkles in places neither of the cousins knew there could be. His work room was a huge hall with books and instruments piled or hanging from various shelves randomly attached to the walls. A gramophone sat forgotten on the furthest corner. The faint sound of a piano being tuned filled the space between the old wood and the victorian furniture. Amongst all these things sat Seong Joongshin, the luthier, armed with a small chisel and a magnifying glass. In front of him laid a stringless violin, awaiting for its maker to dote it with a voice of its own.
The man looked up from his work lethargically and smiled at Haneul when he recognized her face. He stood up from his working table and walked to them, and Changmin didn't waste a second in taking out Jaejoong's violin from their case. The man greeted them politely and took the thing in his hands. He examined it for quite a while.
"Where did you get this?" he asked.
"A man sold it to a friend of mine, Joongshin-sshi. He was selling his late grandfather's old possessions. He didn't say anything else about the violin. We all thought it was a good replica of some famous brand."
The old man nodded, looking at the violin like the answer was written somewhere in its wood.
"Kids these days," he sighed. "I'll need it for a while. You two youngsters go and have a drink with my daughter. She gets bored a lot out there. I'll call you when I'm done."
"We are in a little bit of a hurry," said Changmin impatiently, without meaning to sound unpolite.
"All in due time, boy," answered the man, "some things can't be pushed."
The walked outside and Changmin had to suffer through about an hour of shameless flirting coming from his cousin towards the luthier's daughter. Somehow he always managed to surround himself with weird people.
He took his cellphone out to kill some time and dialed Yunho's number.
---
"Changmin-ah," was the first thing Yunho said when he picked up the call, "I'm busy."
"And I'm about to die, hyung," came the answer. It worried the older man.
"Did anything happen?" he said in a tone full of guilt, shooting his eyes up at Jaejoong, who was standing a few meters away from him, observing him in silence.
"Nope, we're at the luthier's house. Sorry to interrupt your date, but your friend is unbearable. Just wanted you to know that. Everything else is going according to plan."
Yunho nodded in relief.
"Are you almost done?" he asked.
"Not sure. The guy has the violin right now. I'll buzz your phone when we're done."
"Cool. Take care."
He shut his little phone and walked back towards Jaejoong.
"Sorry about that," he said. The chocolate haired beauty shook his head.
"All good," he said. "Hey, do you mind if we pass by a drugstore? I ran out of cigarettes."
"Sure, let's go grab a coffee after that, yes?"
Jaejoong's face brightened up at the suggestion and his lips streched into a huge grin full of teeth.
They ended up at the cafe they had originally planned to go to. They had a few coffees and chatted some more, and all the while Yunho's phone stayed quiet. It was getting a little late already, and they would have to head back to the shop sooner or later. After they paid, Yunho made one last desperate attempt at going somewhere, and took Jaejoong to a park that had an artificial hill that overlooked a part of the city. The Han could be seen in the distance. It was getting a little cold, so they took refuge on a bench underneath a little wooden roof. It was dark in the park, but the lights from the city were enough guidance.
"This is really beautiful," commented the violinist, lighting up a smoke. Yunho nodded, entraced by the view. He had always loved this part of the city.
Jaejoong breathed in, savouring the nicotine of his cigarette, and Yunho picked the stick from his hands and took a sip. They smoked together for a few minutes, until the cigarette was almost finished. Jaejoong held it up in his hands and let Yunho have the last bit of it, feeling the taller man's lips soflty caressing the flesh on his fingers as he inhaled. It made him shiver. His hand was still up when Yunho blew out the smoke and gently took the remains of the cigarette from between Jaejoong's fingers to throw it away carelessly and simply kiss his fingertips. He kissed them one by one, and all the while Jaejoong had his big black eyes stuck on the way the dancer's lips pressed against his calloused hands.
Yunho left a final kiss on the center of Jaejoong's palm and tilted his head up, locking eyes with the violinist.
Without wasting a second, he leant forward and kissed Jaejoong's mouth softly. He gave him a few pecks, feeling the other man answering back somewhat shyly, and brought his hand to the violinist's face, rolling it over his jaw and neck. Jaejoong tilted his head backwards to give him more space and hang his arm around him. He made a little sound so they could both accomodate better and opened his mouth eagerly, shedding away his initial coyness. The small, gentle pecks soon turned into a long succession of open mouthed kisses and heated caresses. Jaejoong kissed Yunho fiercely, leaving the dancer no choice but to follow the rhythm of his tongue.
When Jaejoong's hands started creeping up Yunho's leg, a blinding light suddenly pointed at them and startled them from their actions.
They parted at once, eyes closing in surprise. Yunho's hand went up, trying to cover the source of the light. It seemed like a huge torchlight, and someone was standing right behind it.
"What the hell?" said Yunho, surprise melting into annoyance.
"This is not a place for public indecencies," said a deep, stern voice. "You two better go take your depravations somewhere else."
The light went down and after a few seconds their eyes had adjusted to the darkness again.
It was a policeman.
"We weren't doing anything bad," muttered Yunho, letting go of Jaejoong and standing up. The man glared at him and he felt the violinist tugging his elbow.
"Move on before I decide to use my better judgement and arrest you," warned the policeman.
"Let's just go," said Jaejoong. He seemed every bit as upset as Yunho was, but he didn't feel like arguing with an old man when all he wanted was to plaster the man next to him to any welcoming wall.
With quick steps, they walked away from the policeman, who followed their path with his torch like they were criminals on the run. Yunho's backpocket started buzzing before they could reach the borders of the park, and he smiled triumphantly: if Haneul and Changmin were done with the violin, he would have the whole store to himself.
"I have an idea," he said with a smirk as they stepped into the street.
---
The power had been switched off when they got to the store. Yunho frowned at this: he had asked Haneul to leave it on. The building's fuses were old and it would take a while before the energy engine kicked off. This, however, didn't seem to bother the chocolate haired violinist at all. As soon as the door closed behind them, he turned to Yunho with fire in his eyes, grabbed him by the jacket and practically shoved him against the counter, pouncing on him with deadly accuracy. Yunho wasn't about to complain, but the shock didn't allow him to react accordingly. All he could do was gasp and watch as the gorgeous man leaned over him and licked his lips, making him lose every bit of self restraint he might have had. He balanced himself and swapped positions with the violinist in a second, ignoring the fervent buzzing that had started inside his pocket. It wasn't long before they were all over each other again, oblivious to the rain that had started to pour outside and anything other than their bodies and their want.
"I've been... waiting to do this since I saw you that day at SNU," blurted out Jaejoong when he could leave Yunho's mouth for a few seconds, blindly searching with his hands for the hem of the man's shirt to get them into it. Yunho breathed heavily into his neck, moaning an agreement.
"Me too," he said, "god, you're so fucking beautiful." He kissed a spot behind Jaejoong's ear and the birthmark underneath his jaw. He trailed down through the violinist's neck between his chocolate locks, until his mind forced him to acknowledge the constant buzzing in his backpocket. He groaned. What the hell did Changmin want?
He was still debating whether he should pick up the phone or ignore it when the sound of the lock turning made them both freeze one more time. They stood in complete silence, in the dark, until the lock finally clicked open and Yunho motioned them to jump behind the counter and into the back storage room. Jaejoong followed him and once they were safe behind the door, Yunho explained: "If it's the owner of the store, I'm kind of screwed."
The violinist nodded and obeyed when Yunho made a silencing sound and asked him to stay in his place. "I'll go out and check."
He silently crawled outside and closed the door behind him, swiftly moving behind the counter and taking a peek at the door. It was dark but he could see someone moving in the store. At that moment it occured to him that it could be someone else trying to break into the store, but the soft whispering of familiar voices gave him some relief.
"Where is him?" a female voice asked as it came closer to the counter.
"I don't know, he just won't answer the phone," answered another male one.
"Maybe they're fucking and you just interrupted them."
Yunho felt his cheeks burning at the last remark and jumped up and into the open.
"Haneul-ah!!" he said, scandalized by the girl's nonchalance. He almost gave the newcomers a heart attack: they both let out a high pitched scream at his sudden appearance.
"Yunho-yah!!!" yelled Haneul with a hand over her heart. "What the hell!!!"
The lights slowly started to go on in that moment, and Yunho could see the glare in Changmin's eyes as he breathed in and willed his heart to slow down.
"What are you doing here?" asked the younger man through gritted teeth.
"What are you doing here?" asked Yunho, trying to smoothe the wrinkles on his shirt. His hair was sticking out in weird directions, and it soon became obvious what he had been doing there.
"Oh my god!" exclaimed the girl, "you were, you were-- in my dad's store!!"
"Lower your voice!" he hushed.
"Wait, he's here?" interrupted Changmin, holding onto the violin case protectively. "You were supposed to entertain him, not bring him here!"
"You said you would ring when you were done. You rang, I came back!"
"Uh, guys," interrupted Haneul. She was ignored.
"I rang like ten times, didn't that give you a clue that maybe we wanted to tell you something else?"
"Didn't me not picking up give you a clue of something else? What the hell happened with that violin anyways?"
"That's what I would like to know."
Yunho was rooted to this spot at the sound of Jaejoong's voice. That was it: everything had blown out in the worst way. He closed his eyes miserably and turned around.
"J-Jaejoong-ah..."
The violinist was standing at the stockroom's door, arms crossed and eyes burning. He looked nothing like the man that had been eagerly groping Yunho just minutes ago.
"What the hell is going on," he demanded, walking towards the other three, "and what the hell are you doing to my violin."
Haneul looked up with guilty eyes and placed his case over the counter. She had wanted to switch the violins to their original cases, but Jaejoong had interrupted them all.
"This is, this is really stupid," she mumbled in a tiny voice, trying to think of a good excuse that wouldn't leave Yunho looking too bad.
"Yeah?" the violinist asked harshly, "what did he have to entertain me for, mh?" He looked around at Changmin, who lowered his eyes, and then at Yunho. The dancer took one step forward and sighed. Haneul hoped he would say something like 'we wanted to give you a surprise and have your violin checked' or the likes, but she knew Yunho's honesty would betray him.
"We did this stupid bet," he said. Jaejoong fumed at the word bet but listened, "when you came and played here, that the sound of your violin was exceptional and it must have been because you had a really good instrument."
The chocolate haired man looked in bewilderment at the dancer.
"So, so you stole my violin so you could prove that I'm not that good a player??"
Yunho's mouth dropped.
"No!" he said, "Of course not! We were just curious...!" he tried to continue but words failed him, and this time it had nothing to do with the other man's beauty. "Jaejoong-ah, I--"
"I don't care," cut Jaejoong, quicky picking up his things. "You know. For a moment there, I almost bought it that you liked me. I should fucking break your neck."
He snatched his case out of Haneul's hands and stalked out of the store and into the soft drizzle that was covering Seoul.
"Wait, that's not--," started Changmin, but the door slammed before he could finish, "that's not your violin." He sighed. For a few moments there was only silence inside the store, as Yunho stared with longing eyes at the door.
Haneul approached him slowly and tried to put a hand on his arm, but he shook her off.
"Yunho-yah," she whispered.
"Juts go," he said in a quiet voice. "Both of you, just leave, please."
"I'm so sorry," she insisted, desperate at the hurt in her friend's tone. She gave a quick glance at Changmin and he placed the case containing Jaejoong's violin over the counter. "We'll leave now."
They left in silence and Yunho stayed behind. He wanted to put the blame on Haneul and Changmin, but he had been a part of it as much as they had. He had wronged Jaejoong, but he hadn't mean to hurt him. And he had never thought anything less than great things about Jaejoong's music. With a heavy heart, he approached the case by the counter and opened it. Inside Jaejoong's violin stood lethargically, and over it rested a letter of acknowledgement signed by Seong Joongshin himself. The brand of the instrument was written in big black flourished roman letters.
Grand Amati, dated sometime in the mid 1600. One of the few still existing in the modern world.
Yunho shook his head, closing the lid. It didn't matter anymore.
---
The next couple of days went by slowly. A grey cloud had settled over Seoul, and humidity had risen to unbearable levels. Yunho spent half of his time at the store looking miserable, and the other half staring at the violin Jaejoong had left behind. He didn't know how to contact Jaejoong: they had only seen each other at the store, and Jaejoong had yet to transfer to SNU. He didn't know where he lived or where to find him, and the violinist wouldn't pick up his calls or return his text messages.
Haneul had done her part at trying to locate him too, driven mostly by guilt, but had failed to do so as well. She had tried to explain to the dancer that they had left the store's keys at the luthier's house and that had delayed them so much, but Yunho didn't care for explanations. What was done was done.
Changmin was the first one to come in contact with the violinist, four days after the incident. He too had been feeling down because of the whole situation, even when the luthier had proved him right. For once, he didn't feel any good about it.
He had been sitting at the grand piano in one of the practice rooms at SNU without being able to really play anything for half an hour, when a tall man with chocolate hair stormed inside the room and shoved a booklet of scores at him. He looked up indignantly until he saw it was actually Jaejoong who was standing right before him with his violin's case on one arm.
The young, tall man looked down at the title of the booklet in his hands.
Beethoven's 'Spring'.
A piano and violin duet.
Jaejoong looked at him with ice in his eyes, and then proceeded to take out the violin from his case.
"So did you find anything about my violin?" he asked casually, without further introduction. Changmin frowned at this but still placed the scores in front of him and readied his piano.
"It was a Grand Amati," he said, "one in a series out of which eight are left in the world."
Jaejoong nodded pensively, but didn't seem too surprised at this.
"And what about this one?" he said, taking the violin out of his case. It was the instrument Changmin and Haneul had used to replace Jaejoong's Amati while they took it to the luthier's place. The same instrument Jaejoong had mistakenly taken home when he left Yunho at the store four nights before.
"That's just a regular violin," added the pianist, staring at the violinist. He was wondering if the man was going to do what he thought. When Jaejoong placed the violin over his shoulder, Changmin understood that he was. He cracked his fingers and placed them over the white tiles of the grand piano.
"Okay," he said. He breathed in, closed his eyes and thought about his friend back at the store and the pain he and Haneul had caused him. "Okay."
He gave a quick glance at the score and started playing Beethoven's sonata, feeling the soft sound of the pianoforte giving into his commands. Jaejoong joined with his violin and they both played together, making the sounds of their instruments fly and melt between them in perfect harmony.
Jaejoong's violin was very unsual for Changmin's taste: it was shy but strong, it flowed with his piano but it had a life of its own. It had nothing to envy from any other violin Changmin had heard. It was true, the Amati had given him something else; clarity, brightness, a sharper edge, but Jaejoong's ability was all there, and his sound was altogether something esle. Something no simple man could have forged even with a special violin.
The melody came to an end too soon, with both the piano and the violin soflty whispering their last note. For a few minutes, the practice room was silent, and Changmin's eyes were cast down.
"I'm sorry," he said after a while, "we obviously understimated you. However, I think you must know this: Yunho-hyung was the one who was rooting for you."
Jaejoong didn't answer. He picked up the scores from Changmin, picked up the violin and put everything into his case.
Before he left, Changmin made one last attempt at conversation: "I'd like to play with you again."
Jaejoong stopped before walking out the door. He thought about it and turned to look at Changmin with wonder. Their eyes met and the pianist wondered about the unreadable expression on the man's face.
Jaejoong remained silent.
He smirked, he waved and then he left.
---
Yunho was attending class when Jaejoong walked into the store the next time. Only Haneul was there to greet him. She fetched his violin as soon as she saw him.
"I'm so sorry about what happened," she said once they had exchanged instruments. "None of us meant any harm by this. Especially not Yunho. He really does like you."
Jaejoong looked at her coldly, but ultimately gave into the guilt in her voice.
"You could have just asked me, you know."
She nodded, eyes down, "I know. It was stupid. We mauled Yunho into this. We always do that to him..." she said. She looked up and saw that his eyes were soft. He looked sad, or sorry, or pitiful.
"But he's a great guy, you know," she continued, "actually, no. He's the best guy. He just has really bad friends."
Jaejoong held her stare for a while. He didn't like when people lied to him, but Yunho had seemed like an honest guy all along, and his friends were very intent in making up things for him.
"Jaejoong-sshi. If there's anything I could do to make it right..."
"Hm. There might be."
---
KNUA's School of Dance was a huge, square building in the heart of Seocho-gu. It was relatively close to SNU and the music shop.
It had been a while since the last time Haneul had been there, but she could navigate the building pretty well. That day, unlike many others, the school was full of performers. There was an open exhibition in the main hall and an ocean of visitors was streaming in that direction. The girl fought her way against the large crowd and made it to the small board with the day's activities. The auditorium she was looking for opened at 3 p.m..
She strived through the people again and finally managed to get out of the building.
Jaejoong was waiting for her outside.
"Half an hour," she breathed. "We have to go all the way across the building."
They got lost and they were late. They barely managed to take a seat before the lights went out. Five dancers came and went through the stage.
"Are you sure you brought me to the right place?" asked Jaejoong after the last dancer abandoned the stage. Haneul nodded, looking at the map she had snatched from the board.
"He should come out like now," she said. At that moment, a voice announced Yunho's name over the speakers.
The dark stage lit up and out came the young dancer, wearing a simple brown moroccan babucha that hung tight on his stomach, baggy on his hips and tight again from his knee to his bare feet.
He bowed to the audience, oblivious to his two familiar spectators. When the music started, his body came alive in a different way than it usually was. He became one with the music, as if his will and soul belonged to it. He moved to it, with it, for it. His arms became the very strings the melody was moving him from. The violinst never thought that movement could enhance sound in such a way, until it meant something new and it completely changed its significance: the song was powerful and strong, but Yunho's stance only described pure grief.
Jaejoong sat very still at the end of it, watching as the stage became dark again and the roaring sound of applause envolved the auditorium.
The performance had taken his breath away.
On the way back, Haneul pointed out that Yunho had been rehearsing for his performance like a mad man, for that had been his last final exam's dance. He had aced the test and the dean had chosen him to close the five day exhibition. Jaejoong followed her as if in a daze. When they reached the classes that had been used as camerinos, she turned to him with worried eyes.
"You sure about this, right?"
Jaejoong nodded, somewhat lost in his thoughts.
"Yes," he said, "I also like him a lot, you know. If he screws again, this time it would have been my fault."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't," she assured with a trusting smile. She went inside and talked to one of the teachers, and when she emerged from the hallway again, she wasn't walking by herself.
"Hey," said the violinist, when the handsome dancer was close enough to realize he wasn't daydreaming again and it was, in fact, Jaejoong who was standing in front of him.
"Jaejoong-ah," he mumbled, suddenly conscious that half of his body was naked, and that he was sweating and he had make up all over his face. He turned to Haneul, who nodded and winked at him and then excused herself before getting lost in the sea of people.
"Can we talk?"
Yunho nodded and led Jaejoong into an empty classroom.
"Jaejoong-ah, I--"
"It's okay."
They closed the door behind them and Yunho stared stupidly at his bare feet.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I understand why you would be mad at me."
"Yunho-yah," interrupted the smaller man, "it's okay, really. I've already talked to Haneul-sshi and Changmin-sshi and even to your friend Junsu-sshi whom I had never seen in my life before. They already convinced me that you are a great guy and that you deserve a second chance. That's not what I came here for."
Yunho's eyes opened wide and his mouth fell from its place.
"Oh," he said brilliantly, "then... then why did you come?"
"Because," Jaejoong answered, walking towards him and reaching out to move a stray lock of hair from his face, "I wanted to see you dance."
Yunho's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Jaejoong smiled.
"If you keep your friends from stealing my Amati again, I think we can give it another try."
The dancer nodded with all his might.
Jaejoong stepped closer and they shared a small kiss. Yunho was elated, and his hands didn't take long to snake around the violinist's waist. They both smiled into the kiss right before a student burst into the room, looking for Yunho.
They jumped out of their embrace and Yunho glared at the stranger, who apologized profusely before informing him he was needed on the stage in five minutes.
"People have got to stop doing that!" cried the dancer at the sudden (and repeated) interruption. Jaejoong burst into honest laughter, covering his mouth with a hand as he did so.
"Go," he said, "we'll have plenty of time for the rest."
Yunho turned to him and sighed. Jaejoong nodded and the dancer gently took his hand, kissing his fingers before leaving.
"I'll hold you to that."
The awakening of spring would always bring color and life into the streets of Seoul, but this time, thought Jaejoong as he stepped into the great staircase that preceded the School of Dance, this time it might have brought with it something else.
He grinned, facing the sky, as he waited for Yunho to come pick him up.
***
The End :)
And the accompanying piece...
Shigai's art post over here at her comm :)
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