Bonzo.
Title Bonzo.
Pairing Yunho/Jaejoong - Yunho/Yoochun - Jaejoong/Changmin - Junsu/Yoochun
Warning Infidelity. Sex.
Rating NC-17
Summary Yunho and Jaejoong are married with a son named Haesik. Yunho’s medical duties are stressing him out, and Jaejoong doesn’t have as much time to spare on intimacy as he used to, causing Yunho to turn to infidelity in an old friend named Yoochun, working as a Lawyer in a firm around the corner. Junsu is the new intern for the law firm and is beginning to show a romantic interest in Yoochun while Changmin is hired as a nanny to pick up on the duties that Yunho is so suddenly neglecting around his and Jaejoong‘s house. Throughout it all, Bonzo, Jaejoong’s dog, is the only one clear enough to see straight, and even he catches himself chasing his tail from time to time. (A/N inside)
a/n: Sorry this took forever! I haven't checked it for mistakes yet, but will do so later. Uhm - I'm not a lawyer. I'm actually a linguist, so.... if I've got some errors of understanding of their job duties, I apologize. Enjoy!
Junsu is not the only intern in the office. There are two other girls, presumably his age, that work for both of Yoochun’s acting partners. Their names are Yoona and Tiffany and they rely on small gossip and fabricated rumors to keep their office life interesting. Occasionally, they’ll ask Junsu for his opinion to settle a debate that bares no relation to their work. Other times they’ll inquire about Yoochun and his increasingly short temper.
It’s raining when Yoochun finally arrives at work an hour late. He has nothing to say to any of the office workers and stalks straight up to his oak doors, eyes set determinedly in front of him. Junsu thinks to grab his attention with a question about a clients recent name change, but decides against it when the oak door of Yoochun’s office produces a resounding crack as it’s thrown open.
Both Yoona and Tiffany gape in the direction of the noise before pointedly returning to work, no doubt mentally rehearsing the conversation they plan to have at lunch. Junsu, who has convinced himself that the personal life of his boss has no bearing on his work performance, returns to work. However, he finds himself frustratingly distracted by Yoochun’s mood change and, for some reason he can’t explain, starts counting the papers he has to file. He makes it to 196 before Yoochun (who neglected to close the door to his office door after his arriving performance) approaches him.
“Do you have the Kim file on hand?” He asks, clearly exasperated.
Junsu removes his glasses and lays them on his desk before turning to face Yoochun with an amused spark in his eye. “Yoochun.” He says. “You do know that ‘Kim’ is the most common family name in Korea, don’t you?”
Yoochun becomes flustered, suddenly on the defensive. “Damnit, Junsu, this is no time for statistics. We’ve only got one case open with that specific name, so please get it for me.”
Junsu silences himself. He folds his hand in his lap and stares at Yoochun for a full minute before resigning himself to a brutal honest comeback that, with any luck, won’t get him fired.
“Park Yoochun. We currently have four case files open with the last name Kim attached to them. Kim Hyun Joong for spousal abuse, Kim Ki Bum for child neglect, Kim Heechul for assault of an officer outside of a transgender club, and Kim Taeyeon for helping him. I understand that you were gifted enough to not be pegged with this last name like most of Korea, however, disregarding the people responsible for the job you seem to cherish is unprofessional. Unless you want to be a law firm without morals or recommendations I suggest you draw a neat line between who you’re overexerting yourself with in your sex life - don’t gimme that look. I saw you limp in here - and who you’re helping in your office.”
Junsu doesn’t expect anything less then a dismissal for the day. He keeps his arms folded neatly in his lap and waits for a response that doesn’t come, because Yoochun turns around and heads right back to his office, slamming the door closed behind him.
Yoona and Tiffany keep their heads down, but their eyes are abnormally large and they‘ve begun to write scribbles on their notepads. Junsu curses under his breath and resumes counting until the door to Yoochun’s office opens a second time and he calls Junsu back.
“Don’t go, don’t go, Junsu!” Tiffany hisses, not moving her head. “He’s going to fire you. Act like you don’t hear him.”
“I’ll be fine.” Junsu says, standing up and wiping at the wrinkles in his pants. He probably won’t be fine; he was way out of line, especially in an intern position he was very lucky to have been chosen for in the first place. Besides, he’s almost positive Yoochun can hear what they’re saying. The building they work in is like a large hall, separating the three elite who have earned their degrees from the lesser-forms who are working on it. Everything that’s said reverberates off of the walls like a boom box cranked up to it’s maximum potential in a gym.
Junsu sighs and continues to fidget with his clothes until he reaches the office, not bothering with the subtleties and stepping on in.
“Close the door.” Yoochun says.
Junsu doesn’t hesitate. He closes the door.
“Take a seat.”
Junsu doesn’t hesitate. He takes a seat.
Yoochun delves right in.
“I was out of line. I apologize. While I don’t overtly appreciate you telling me how to do my job I realize that I‘ve had a lot of heavy material on my mind recently and it‘s starting to get to me. You‘re right, I‘ve been acting unprofessional and that‘s not okay.”
“Please.” Junsu says, putting a hand up. “I should be the one apologizing. Arguing with your boss less then a month after you’re hired isn’t exactly good work ethic. And I’m sorry to hear that you’re dealing with a lot. Are you getting enough sleep?”
Yoochun wants to scoff and say, no. At night I go home for my second job as a home wrecker, but holds his tongue and says, instead, “Not nearly enough. I’m long overdue for a vacation.”
Junsu readily accepts this excuse, rolling his eyes and tilting his head to look out of the window at the ever increasing amount of rainfall.
“I’ve heard Lawyers get stressed easily. Something about getting on a personal level with their clients.”
Yoochun quickly catches himself glancing at Junsu’s choice of dress, yet again. The young man is donning a gray double breasted waistcoat with matching trousers. Beneath the waistcoat is a white collared shirt and a necktie of complimenting colors, while overlaying the entire top is an admirably tailored dark gray dress coat. Together, the suit is magnificent and fits to a T.
“You really dress to impress.” He says, trying to sound as if he’s only mildly interested in the subject.
Junsu slowly turns to him. “Are you impressed?”
“Yes.” Yoochun responds. Outwardly, he manages to keep his composure when, inside, his resolve is slowly crumbling around what exquisite taste this man has. Continuously praising him might lead to Junsu getting the wrong idea about their relationship as employer and employee. Holding his tongue may do even more damage. Yoochun doesn’t know what to do, but he feels compelled to spell it out for Junsu when the man comes in everyday obviously having spent time on his appearance. “The suits look good on you. Do you have a private tailor?”
Junsu thinks for a second before saying, “No Bespoke. I just happen to know all of the sizes that compliment my body type.”
Yoochun laughs. “Well good for you.” And he opens his arms wide, leaning back in his chair to show off his new dress shirt. When Junsu doesn’t say anything about it he clears his throat.
Thirty seconds later, still nothing.
“What’s… what’s the matter?” Junsu asks, suddenly panicked because he realizes Yoochun is waiting for something and they‘ve been silent for almost half of a minute. “Did I say something wrong?”
Yoochun huffs but waves it off. “No, just admiring your new outfit.”
“It’s not new.”
Yoochun looks at him incredulously. He instantly catches himself and puts a smile on his face. “Well! Of course it isn’t. How about you get me those files on Heechul so that I can learn more about transgender assault charges.”
Junsu complies, standing up and heading towards the door. Before he leaves the office, he turns around and says, “By the way. Nice shirt. It… fits you.”
Yoochun looks down to confirm his suspicions that the shirt is little too large, as it was when he bought it but didn’t have enough time to get it readjusted, and he looks back up to confront Junsu’s condescension. Junsu, however, has long since walked out the door.
- - - - - -
“God, God!” Jaejoong hisses angrily.
Changmin stands outside of the bathroom door, clearly uncomfortable. “Erm… how do you know he’s cheating?”
Jaejoong looks up at him, eyebrows creased and water welling in the corners of his eyes. “How would I not know! We’ve been married for seven years. I know how he acts when he’s fucking something up and I know how he looks when he’s…You know what? Never mind. Forget it. I - I shouldn‘t be talking about this with you. Maybe I‘m wrong.”
Changmin opens his mouth to say something, but Jaejoong continues, “Let’s get some lunch. Preferably before Haesik wakes up.” He rubs his eyes and takes a deep breath before standing up and walking out of the bathroom.
“Yeah, yeah. I just have to go to the bathroom.” Changmin says.
“I’m sorry.” Jaejoong says when he realizes that Changmin’s been standing outside of the bathroom waiting for twenty minutes. He doesn‘t specify what his apology is regarding, but he lightly grazes Changmin‘s arm with his hand in what he hopes is a comforting notion and says, “We‘ll grab something to eat when you‘re done.”
Changmin nods and steps into the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind him.
Jaejoong slowly makes his way to the stairs, taking a small detour and peering into Haesik’s room. When glancing through the crack of the door isn’t enough, he makes his way into the room and walks over to the crib. His son is laying peacefully on his back, legs tangled up in his monkey blanket. As much as he tries, Jaejoong can’t keep his hands to himself. He reaches into the crib and lets his fingers dance along the soft skin of his sons cheek, thinking that maybe he‘s never loved another human being as much as he loves this boy.
Jaejoong doesn’t realize he’s crying until a small teardrop lands on Haesik’s face and the child twitches in response. Startled by his emotions, Jaejoong holds his free hand to his mouth as he begins to cry uncontrollably, small noises escaping his lips and dancing into the air of the nursery.
How many minutes pass until an arm winds its way around his body, Jaejoong doesn’t know. He’s vaguely aware of Changmin leading him back out into the hall and then, not to the stairs, but back to the master bedroom.
“You need to take a nap.” Changmin says firmly, nudging Jaejoong onto the mattress. “Go to sleep for a few hours. I’ll grab Haesik and feed him when he wakes up.”
“I don’t need sleep!” Jaejoong retorts. He takes a deep breath and shudders violently. Realizing how bad he looks, he puts his hand to his head and rolls over onto the mattress, renewing his sobbing fit into the cover that Yunho bought them for their fourth anniversary.
“Just an hour.” Changmin reasons, rubbing his hand along Jaejoong’s back. “One hour. I promise I’ll come and wake you up.”
Jaejoong doesn’t say anything else. He cries into the mattress until he runs out of water and his mouth goes dry. Then he lays with his face against the comfortable duvet and thinks about Haesik and Yunho. He thinks about what he wants. He thinks about why Yunho isn’t crazy about him anymore. He thinks about Changmin. He thinks about why he can hear a dog in his back yard through his open window. Eventually, he doesn’t think about anything but shapes and colors he wont remember when he wakes up.
Changmin looks at the clock. Half an hour has passed and there’s a dog who is going crazy in the back yard. What is going on in his life and how much does he get a week to deal with this shit? Oh yeah, enough to pay back his college bills.
“Welp.” He says quietly to himself, cautiously standing from his sitting position beside Jaejoong’s limp frame and exiting the room. He quickly makes his way downstairs and heads straight for the back door. One push of the curtains reveals a small ball of fluff with its paws pressed against the glass as it stands on its hind legs. Its tongue is hanging out of its mouth and its tail is waggling affectionately.
Changmin is well aware that Jaejoong doesn’t own a dog. However, as far as companions go, they are man’s best friend. An opportunity like this doesn’t present itself without meaning and, as far as Changmin is concerned, Jaejoong needs someone he can talk to without restraint. Changmin unlatches the lock and opens the door wide enough for himself to slip through without allowing the dog to enter the house.
“Hi.” He whispers. “You have to be quiet.” As if he’s talking to a person and the dog will understand.
He kneels on the back porch and the dog bounces all over him. Changmin has to control his laughter, because dogs have that affect over people and there are two people sleeping inside. This is exactly what Jaejoong needs, Changmin decides.
“Do you have an owner?” He asks, checking the dog for tags. There are none, but that doesn’t exclude the possibility of the dog having slipped out of his owners house. Changmin reckons he’ll have to put up ‘found’ posters later. The dog can stay in the backyard for now if it wants to. “Maybe, maybe not, huh? I’d better get you some water so that you don’t dehydrate yourself, putting your tongue all over everything.”
Changmin makes his way back to the kitchen. He mulls over what he’d name a dog if he ever got one. It takes him until he fills a bowl with water to remember a cartoon his grandfather gave to him when he was seven. George Studdy created an ugly, fowl, creature resembling a dog. Ugliest cartoon Changmin’s seen in a long time, but the name!
“Bonzo.” Changmin says triumphantly.
He grabs the bowl of water and makes a pit stop by the fridge for a bowl of leftover chicken before heading to the backyard again to continue hanging out with his new friend.
- - - - - - -
Yunho’s had a long day. 12 hour shift plus he’s on call, so when he manages to head to Yoochun’s office his cellphone buzzes and he has to sit in the parking lot spelling out medicinal names and explaining that particular patient ’A’ has somehow managed to, once again, find and manipulate her instruction board.
Yoochun isn’t expecting Yunho to show up. In fact, when Yunho walks into his office he yelps and kicks Junsu out of his office so fast the younger man has to double check to make sure he’s actually out of the office. The blinds are shut hastily and Junsu just stares at the golden plaque bearing Yoochun’s name on the outside of his office door.
Junsu hesitates and looks over his shoulder at Yoona and Tiffany who both shrug their shoulders. If he presses his ear up to the door, he’s almost positive he’ll hear their entire conversation. But if one of Yoochun’s partners walks out of their offices (he seldom sees from them; they clearly work ten times harder then Yoochun does) and catches him in that position, he won’t be spared a second time. In fact, Yoochun might fire him, rehire him and then fire him again just to be spiteful.
“Leave it alone,” Yoona calls from her seat.
But Junsu can’t leave it alone. He’s nothing if not observant, and this whole charade doesn’t strike him as a business meeting. It may be friendly. It may be more then that. But the way Yoochun manhandled him out of the room makes Junsu think that this may be collateral. Besides, he’s only taking one apology a day. Yoochun needs to learn work etiquette.
Junsu walks over to his desk and doesn’t question. He’ll discuss the matter with Yoochun later. But later comes and it’s time to go home. He doesn’t see Yunho leave. The blinds are still closed, the door is still shut. The clock reads 6:57 and the stack of papers on his desk with sticky notes attached to them yells at him to get up and slide them under the door and go home.
“We’re leaving.” Tiffany calls, approaching Junsu on her way out and pecking him on the cheek. “We’ll see you tomorrow morning, yeah? I’ll bring the donuts.”
Junsu nods in her direction in affirmation, but doesn’t move until they’ve both packed up and left the office for good (Yoona and Tiffany both running back and forth between the car and office for forgotten documents).
The room is silent.
Everything echoes.
And it’s not Junsu that’s panting and moaning.
Son of a bitch.
Junsu has to hold on to his pants leg to keep himself from throwing all of the items on his desk around the room. Did Yoochun know nothing about appropriate work behavior? Yes, Junsu has his suspicions about this young Lawyer who managed to skirt his way through Law school because he was good at bullshitting, and he passes the brunt of his workload on his partners who take it with a grain of salt and do an awesome job of defending their clients because they’re good at it. Junsu has never been so upset about a work position. His reservations for Yoochun are far and few between, and he manages to keep his composure despite the steady sound of banging and gasping escaping Yoochun’s office through the crack in the bottom of his door. This is ridiculous!
Junsu decides to call it quits and leaves the papers on his desk. He packs up his things, which takes a little longer then expected when he discovers his cell phone is missing. He glances around his work area, lifting everything and checking in every crack. When he can’t find it, he settles on his leaving it at home and picks up all of his things. When he looks at the clock, it’s 7:24.
Junsu adjusts the strap of his messenger bag over his shoulder and pushes his chair into his desk, not noticing that Yoochun’s office door has opened and closed. Yunho hastily walks down the aisle to the exit. Junsu doesn’t look at him, but follows him out with all of his things in tow.
When Junsu gets home, Yoochun calls him. As was suspected, Junsu had neglected to take his cell phone to work. Yoochun is probably looking for the papers, but Junsu sits in front of his heater, legs pressed tightly together and pulled in to his body while he warms his feet. It’s not at all cold outside, but Junsu’s toes are freezing for some reason. Bad circulation, perhaps.
His cell phone rings a second and third time. Junsu ignores it. When the familiar shrill of ‘swan lake’ restarts for the fourth time, Junsu grabs his phone and hits the end button without looking at the caller ID, holding down until the phone says goodbye and turns itself off.
Junsu doesn’t know if he’s angrier about the fact that Yoochun is currently seeing someone, or if it’s that that someone is married. Choosing either one is admitting that Yoochun is a bad person and that he somewhat cares about Yoochun‘s personal decisions. Infidelity ranks on Junsu’s top of the list, and Yoochun’s carelessness about the subject is even worse. The way he steps out with someone else’s husband and sleeps with them on work hours, on work premises, in the vicinity of co-workers and employees, it’s unheard of. Well, not unheard of. It happens in those cheesy romance novels all of the time and it makes Junsu cringe.
But at this point, Junsu can’t deny that he’s been attracted to Yoochun since he met him and, despite in work relationships being frowned upon, he would have disregarded the rules to go on a date with the man.
Junsu lays his head on his knees, waiting for the headache that hasn’t come to go away.
- - - - - -
Changmin curses, closing his cell phone for the third time.
Junsu won’t answer any of his calls.
- - - - - -
Yunho arrives home at 7:33.
Jaejoong is sitting on the couch reading a book called “The good Psychologist”.
“Hey, Jae.” Yunho says from the doorway, smiling.
“Hey, Yunho.” Jaejoong responds, looking up from his book and craning his neck to get a good look at his husband. “You’re home early.”
“I told you I’d cut back.” He says, trusting his knowledge of Jaejoong to assume that he knows nothing about doctors hours and that you can’t just ‘cut back’. That the hours he was supposedly working he wasn’t really working.
“Is hae asleep?” Yunho asks, gingerly taking a seat beside Jaejoong.
“He tired himself out. Changmin found a dog in the backyard and he won’t leave, so we’re keeping him back there until we can make some ‘lost and found’ posters to hang up. I let the dog in earlier and he played with him.” Closing his book, Jaejoong turns his body so that he’s facing Yunho, curling his legs into one another and sitting comfortably, Indian style. “You look tired.”
Yunho sighs. “You don’t know if Haesik is allergic to dogs.”
“And how will I know if I never put him around a dog?”
“I could have administered an allergy test. Besides, the dog was found outside, Jaejoong. That was a stupid decision to make, putting a child in a room with a dog you know absolutely nothing about.”
Jaejoong is taken aback, but he doesn’t show it. He holds his tongue and takes a deep breath before standing up with his book and making his way to the stairs. Yunho sits quietly, slowly becoming impatient with Jaejoong’s behavior.
He follows the man up the stairs and when he gets into their bedroom, he closes the door. Jaejoong has already slipped out of his clothing and exchanged them for a fresh set of pajamas.
“What’s the problem?” Yunho asks.
Jaejoong seems to think for a second. He climbs into bed, laying on top of the blankets because his window is open and his room is a mini-inferno at the moment. Maybe that’s his anger heating his body.
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t have a lapse in judgment, Yunho. I’d seen and played with the dog myself before I let him inside. Changmin, too. It’s a puppy. He’s no bigger then Haesik and he can’t do damage that I can‘t prevent. Despite what you seem to be implying, I‘m a good parent and the decisions I make regarding my son are done so with a lot of care and consideration. However, I’ll admit that I can see why you‘d be so doubtful in my ability to make good choices. I married you, after all. ”
Yunho holds his temper, loosening his tie. “What is this, Jaejoong?” He asks, holding his tie away from his neck before slipping it over his head and throwing it harshly across the room. “You regret marrying me because I told you that letting our son play with a stray dog is a bad idea?”
“This has nothing to do with Haesik!” Jaejoong yells, temper flaring. “This has to do with the way you’re treating me! I don’t care if you’re upset that I made a decision for my son! You leave me with him which I assume means you either a - trust him with me or b - don’t care about him-”
“Don’t you dare say I don’t care about him.”
Jaejoong pins Yunho with a look of absolute loathing. “Fuck you, Yunho. If you would just come clean, you wouldn‘t be in such a bad mood all of the time.”
Yunho opens his mouth to respond, but finds his voice caught in his throat. Jaejoong sits up in bed, staring at Yunho until he says, “There’s nothing to come clean about.”
Yunho sleeps in the guest bedroom of his own volition.
Pairing Yunho/Jaejoong - Yunho/Yoochun - Jaejoong/Changmin - Junsu/Yoochun
Warning Infidelity. Sex.
Rating NC-17
Summary Yunho and Jaejoong are married with a son named Haesik. Yunho’s medical duties are stressing him out, and Jaejoong doesn’t have as much time to spare on intimacy as he used to, causing Yunho to turn to infidelity in an old friend named Yoochun, working as a Lawyer in a firm around the corner. Junsu is the new intern for the law firm and is beginning to show a romantic interest in Yoochun while Changmin is hired as a nanny to pick up on the duties that Yunho is so suddenly neglecting around his and Jaejoong‘s house. Throughout it all, Bonzo, Jaejoong’s dog, is the only one clear enough to see straight, and even he catches himself chasing his tail from time to time. (A/N inside)
a/n: Sorry this took forever! I haven't checked it for mistakes yet, but will do so later. Uhm - I'm not a lawyer. I'm actually a linguist, so.... if I've got some errors of understanding of their job duties, I apologize. Enjoy!
Junsu is not the only intern in the office. There are two other girls, presumably his age, that work for both of Yoochun’s acting partners. Their names are Yoona and Tiffany and they rely on small gossip and fabricated rumors to keep their office life interesting. Occasionally, they’ll ask Junsu for his opinion to settle a debate that bares no relation to their work. Other times they’ll inquire about Yoochun and his increasingly short temper.
It’s raining when Yoochun finally arrives at work an hour late. He has nothing to say to any of the office workers and stalks straight up to his oak doors, eyes set determinedly in front of him. Junsu thinks to grab his attention with a question about a clients recent name change, but decides against it when the oak door of Yoochun’s office produces a resounding crack as it’s thrown open.
Both Yoona and Tiffany gape in the direction of the noise before pointedly returning to work, no doubt mentally rehearsing the conversation they plan to have at lunch. Junsu, who has convinced himself that the personal life of his boss has no bearing on his work performance, returns to work. However, he finds himself frustratingly distracted by Yoochun’s mood change and, for some reason he can’t explain, starts counting the papers he has to file. He makes it to 196 before Yoochun (who neglected to close the door to his office door after his arriving performance) approaches him.
“Do you have the Kim file on hand?” He asks, clearly exasperated.
Junsu removes his glasses and lays them on his desk before turning to face Yoochun with an amused spark in his eye. “Yoochun.” He says. “You do know that ‘Kim’ is the most common family name in Korea, don’t you?”
Yoochun becomes flustered, suddenly on the defensive. “Damnit, Junsu, this is no time for statistics. We’ve only got one case open with that specific name, so please get it for me.”
Junsu silences himself. He folds his hand in his lap and stares at Yoochun for a full minute before resigning himself to a brutal honest comeback that, with any luck, won’t get him fired.
“Park Yoochun. We currently have four case files open with the last name Kim attached to them. Kim Hyun Joong for spousal abuse, Kim Ki Bum for child neglect, Kim Heechul for assault of an officer outside of a transgender club, and Kim Taeyeon for helping him. I understand that you were gifted enough to not be pegged with this last name like most of Korea, however, disregarding the people responsible for the job you seem to cherish is unprofessional. Unless you want to be a law firm without morals or recommendations I suggest you draw a neat line between who you’re overexerting yourself with in your sex life - don’t gimme that look. I saw you limp in here - and who you’re helping in your office.”
Junsu doesn’t expect anything less then a dismissal for the day. He keeps his arms folded neatly in his lap and waits for a response that doesn’t come, because Yoochun turns around and heads right back to his office, slamming the door closed behind him.
Yoona and Tiffany keep their heads down, but their eyes are abnormally large and they‘ve begun to write scribbles on their notepads. Junsu curses under his breath and resumes counting until the door to Yoochun’s office opens a second time and he calls Junsu back.
“Don’t go, don’t go, Junsu!” Tiffany hisses, not moving her head. “He’s going to fire you. Act like you don’t hear him.”
“I’ll be fine.” Junsu says, standing up and wiping at the wrinkles in his pants. He probably won’t be fine; he was way out of line, especially in an intern position he was very lucky to have been chosen for in the first place. Besides, he’s almost positive Yoochun can hear what they’re saying. The building they work in is like a large hall, separating the three elite who have earned their degrees from the lesser-forms who are working on it. Everything that’s said reverberates off of the walls like a boom box cranked up to it’s maximum potential in a gym.
Junsu sighs and continues to fidget with his clothes until he reaches the office, not bothering with the subtleties and stepping on in.
“Close the door.” Yoochun says.
Junsu doesn’t hesitate. He closes the door.
“Take a seat.”
Junsu doesn’t hesitate. He takes a seat.
Yoochun delves right in.
“I was out of line. I apologize. While I don’t overtly appreciate you telling me how to do my job I realize that I‘ve had a lot of heavy material on my mind recently and it‘s starting to get to me. You‘re right, I‘ve been acting unprofessional and that‘s not okay.”
“Please.” Junsu says, putting a hand up. “I should be the one apologizing. Arguing with your boss less then a month after you’re hired isn’t exactly good work ethic. And I’m sorry to hear that you’re dealing with a lot. Are you getting enough sleep?”
Yoochun wants to scoff and say, no. At night I go home for my second job as a home wrecker, but holds his tongue and says, instead, “Not nearly enough. I’m long overdue for a vacation.”
Junsu readily accepts this excuse, rolling his eyes and tilting his head to look out of the window at the ever increasing amount of rainfall.
“I’ve heard Lawyers get stressed easily. Something about getting on a personal level with their clients.”
Yoochun quickly catches himself glancing at Junsu’s choice of dress, yet again. The young man is donning a gray double breasted waistcoat with matching trousers. Beneath the waistcoat is a white collared shirt and a necktie of complimenting colors, while overlaying the entire top is an admirably tailored dark gray dress coat. Together, the suit is magnificent and fits to a T.
“You really dress to impress.” He says, trying to sound as if he’s only mildly interested in the subject.
Junsu slowly turns to him. “Are you impressed?”
“Yes.” Yoochun responds. Outwardly, he manages to keep his composure when, inside, his resolve is slowly crumbling around what exquisite taste this man has. Continuously praising him might lead to Junsu getting the wrong idea about their relationship as employer and employee. Holding his tongue may do even more damage. Yoochun doesn’t know what to do, but he feels compelled to spell it out for Junsu when the man comes in everyday obviously having spent time on his appearance. “The suits look good on you. Do you have a private tailor?”
Junsu thinks for a second before saying, “No Bespoke. I just happen to know all of the sizes that compliment my body type.”
Yoochun laughs. “Well good for you.” And he opens his arms wide, leaning back in his chair to show off his new dress shirt. When Junsu doesn’t say anything about it he clears his throat.
Thirty seconds later, still nothing.
“What’s… what’s the matter?” Junsu asks, suddenly panicked because he realizes Yoochun is waiting for something and they‘ve been silent for almost half of a minute. “Did I say something wrong?”
Yoochun huffs but waves it off. “No, just admiring your new outfit.”
“It’s not new.”
Yoochun looks at him incredulously. He instantly catches himself and puts a smile on his face. “Well! Of course it isn’t. How about you get me those files on Heechul so that I can learn more about transgender assault charges.”
Junsu complies, standing up and heading towards the door. Before he leaves the office, he turns around and says, “By the way. Nice shirt. It… fits you.”
Yoochun looks down to confirm his suspicions that the shirt is little too large, as it was when he bought it but didn’t have enough time to get it readjusted, and he looks back up to confront Junsu’s condescension. Junsu, however, has long since walked out the door.
- - - - - -
“God, God!” Jaejoong hisses angrily.
Changmin stands outside of the bathroom door, clearly uncomfortable. “Erm… how do you know he’s cheating?”
Jaejoong looks up at him, eyebrows creased and water welling in the corners of his eyes. “How would I not know! We’ve been married for seven years. I know how he acts when he’s fucking something up and I know how he looks when he’s…You know what? Never mind. Forget it. I - I shouldn‘t be talking about this with you. Maybe I‘m wrong.”
Changmin opens his mouth to say something, but Jaejoong continues, “Let’s get some lunch. Preferably before Haesik wakes up.” He rubs his eyes and takes a deep breath before standing up and walking out of the bathroom.
“Yeah, yeah. I just have to go to the bathroom.” Changmin says.
“I’m sorry.” Jaejoong says when he realizes that Changmin’s been standing outside of the bathroom waiting for twenty minutes. He doesn‘t specify what his apology is regarding, but he lightly grazes Changmin‘s arm with his hand in what he hopes is a comforting notion and says, “We‘ll grab something to eat when you‘re done.”
Changmin nods and steps into the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind him.
Jaejoong slowly makes his way to the stairs, taking a small detour and peering into Haesik’s room. When glancing through the crack of the door isn’t enough, he makes his way into the room and walks over to the crib. His son is laying peacefully on his back, legs tangled up in his monkey blanket. As much as he tries, Jaejoong can’t keep his hands to himself. He reaches into the crib and lets his fingers dance along the soft skin of his sons cheek, thinking that maybe he‘s never loved another human being as much as he loves this boy.
Jaejoong doesn’t realize he’s crying until a small teardrop lands on Haesik’s face and the child twitches in response. Startled by his emotions, Jaejoong holds his free hand to his mouth as he begins to cry uncontrollably, small noises escaping his lips and dancing into the air of the nursery.
How many minutes pass until an arm winds its way around his body, Jaejoong doesn’t know. He’s vaguely aware of Changmin leading him back out into the hall and then, not to the stairs, but back to the master bedroom.
“You need to take a nap.” Changmin says firmly, nudging Jaejoong onto the mattress. “Go to sleep for a few hours. I’ll grab Haesik and feed him when he wakes up.”
“I don’t need sleep!” Jaejoong retorts. He takes a deep breath and shudders violently. Realizing how bad he looks, he puts his hand to his head and rolls over onto the mattress, renewing his sobbing fit into the cover that Yunho bought them for their fourth anniversary.
“Just an hour.” Changmin reasons, rubbing his hand along Jaejoong’s back. “One hour. I promise I’ll come and wake you up.”
Jaejoong doesn’t say anything else. He cries into the mattress until he runs out of water and his mouth goes dry. Then he lays with his face against the comfortable duvet and thinks about Haesik and Yunho. He thinks about what he wants. He thinks about why Yunho isn’t crazy about him anymore. He thinks about Changmin. He thinks about why he can hear a dog in his back yard through his open window. Eventually, he doesn’t think about anything but shapes and colors he wont remember when he wakes up.
Changmin looks at the clock. Half an hour has passed and there’s a dog who is going crazy in the back yard. What is going on in his life and how much does he get a week to deal with this shit? Oh yeah, enough to pay back his college bills.
“Welp.” He says quietly to himself, cautiously standing from his sitting position beside Jaejoong’s limp frame and exiting the room. He quickly makes his way downstairs and heads straight for the back door. One push of the curtains reveals a small ball of fluff with its paws pressed against the glass as it stands on its hind legs. Its tongue is hanging out of its mouth and its tail is waggling affectionately.
Changmin is well aware that Jaejoong doesn’t own a dog. However, as far as companions go, they are man’s best friend. An opportunity like this doesn’t present itself without meaning and, as far as Changmin is concerned, Jaejoong needs someone he can talk to without restraint. Changmin unlatches the lock and opens the door wide enough for himself to slip through without allowing the dog to enter the house.
“Hi.” He whispers. “You have to be quiet.” As if he’s talking to a person and the dog will understand.
He kneels on the back porch and the dog bounces all over him. Changmin has to control his laughter, because dogs have that affect over people and there are two people sleeping inside. This is exactly what Jaejoong needs, Changmin decides.
“Do you have an owner?” He asks, checking the dog for tags. There are none, but that doesn’t exclude the possibility of the dog having slipped out of his owners house. Changmin reckons he’ll have to put up ‘found’ posters later. The dog can stay in the backyard for now if it wants to. “Maybe, maybe not, huh? I’d better get you some water so that you don’t dehydrate yourself, putting your tongue all over everything.”
Changmin makes his way back to the kitchen. He mulls over what he’d name a dog if he ever got one. It takes him until he fills a bowl with water to remember a cartoon his grandfather gave to him when he was seven. George Studdy created an ugly, fowl, creature resembling a dog. Ugliest cartoon Changmin’s seen in a long time, but the name!
“Bonzo.” Changmin says triumphantly.
He grabs the bowl of water and makes a pit stop by the fridge for a bowl of leftover chicken before heading to the backyard again to continue hanging out with his new friend.
- - - - - - -
Yunho’s had a long day. 12 hour shift plus he’s on call, so when he manages to head to Yoochun’s office his cellphone buzzes and he has to sit in the parking lot spelling out medicinal names and explaining that particular patient ’A’ has somehow managed to, once again, find and manipulate her instruction board.
Yoochun isn’t expecting Yunho to show up. In fact, when Yunho walks into his office he yelps and kicks Junsu out of his office so fast the younger man has to double check to make sure he’s actually out of the office. The blinds are shut hastily and Junsu just stares at the golden plaque bearing Yoochun’s name on the outside of his office door.
Junsu hesitates and looks over his shoulder at Yoona and Tiffany who both shrug their shoulders. If he presses his ear up to the door, he’s almost positive he’ll hear their entire conversation. But if one of Yoochun’s partners walks out of their offices (he seldom sees from them; they clearly work ten times harder then Yoochun does) and catches him in that position, he won’t be spared a second time. In fact, Yoochun might fire him, rehire him and then fire him again just to be spiteful.
“Leave it alone,” Yoona calls from her seat.
But Junsu can’t leave it alone. He’s nothing if not observant, and this whole charade doesn’t strike him as a business meeting. It may be friendly. It may be more then that. But the way Yoochun manhandled him out of the room makes Junsu think that this may be collateral. Besides, he’s only taking one apology a day. Yoochun needs to learn work etiquette.
Junsu walks over to his desk and doesn’t question. He’ll discuss the matter with Yoochun later. But later comes and it’s time to go home. He doesn’t see Yunho leave. The blinds are still closed, the door is still shut. The clock reads 6:57 and the stack of papers on his desk with sticky notes attached to them yells at him to get up and slide them under the door and go home.
“We’re leaving.” Tiffany calls, approaching Junsu on her way out and pecking him on the cheek. “We’ll see you tomorrow morning, yeah? I’ll bring the donuts.”
Junsu nods in her direction in affirmation, but doesn’t move until they’ve both packed up and left the office for good (Yoona and Tiffany both running back and forth between the car and office for forgotten documents).
The room is silent.
Everything echoes.
And it’s not Junsu that’s panting and moaning.
Son of a bitch.
Junsu has to hold on to his pants leg to keep himself from throwing all of the items on his desk around the room. Did Yoochun know nothing about appropriate work behavior? Yes, Junsu has his suspicions about this young Lawyer who managed to skirt his way through Law school because he was good at bullshitting, and he passes the brunt of his workload on his partners who take it with a grain of salt and do an awesome job of defending their clients because they’re good at it. Junsu has never been so upset about a work position. His reservations for Yoochun are far and few between, and he manages to keep his composure despite the steady sound of banging and gasping escaping Yoochun’s office through the crack in the bottom of his door. This is ridiculous!
Junsu decides to call it quits and leaves the papers on his desk. He packs up his things, which takes a little longer then expected when he discovers his cell phone is missing. He glances around his work area, lifting everything and checking in every crack. When he can’t find it, he settles on his leaving it at home and picks up all of his things. When he looks at the clock, it’s 7:24.
Junsu adjusts the strap of his messenger bag over his shoulder and pushes his chair into his desk, not noticing that Yoochun’s office door has opened and closed. Yunho hastily walks down the aisle to the exit. Junsu doesn’t look at him, but follows him out with all of his things in tow.
When Junsu gets home, Yoochun calls him. As was suspected, Junsu had neglected to take his cell phone to work. Yoochun is probably looking for the papers, but Junsu sits in front of his heater, legs pressed tightly together and pulled in to his body while he warms his feet. It’s not at all cold outside, but Junsu’s toes are freezing for some reason. Bad circulation, perhaps.
His cell phone rings a second and third time. Junsu ignores it. When the familiar shrill of ‘swan lake’ restarts for the fourth time, Junsu grabs his phone and hits the end button without looking at the caller ID, holding down until the phone says goodbye and turns itself off.
Junsu doesn’t know if he’s angrier about the fact that Yoochun is currently seeing someone, or if it’s that that someone is married. Choosing either one is admitting that Yoochun is a bad person and that he somewhat cares about Yoochun‘s personal decisions. Infidelity ranks on Junsu’s top of the list, and Yoochun’s carelessness about the subject is even worse. The way he steps out with someone else’s husband and sleeps with them on work hours, on work premises, in the vicinity of co-workers and employees, it’s unheard of. Well, not unheard of. It happens in those cheesy romance novels all of the time and it makes Junsu cringe.
But at this point, Junsu can’t deny that he’s been attracted to Yoochun since he met him and, despite in work relationships being frowned upon, he would have disregarded the rules to go on a date with the man.
Junsu lays his head on his knees, waiting for the headache that hasn’t come to go away.
- - - - - -
Changmin curses, closing his cell phone for the third time.
Junsu won’t answer any of his calls.
- - - - - -
Yunho arrives home at 7:33.
Jaejoong is sitting on the couch reading a book called “The good Psychologist”.
“Hey, Jae.” Yunho says from the doorway, smiling.
“Hey, Yunho.” Jaejoong responds, looking up from his book and craning his neck to get a good look at his husband. “You’re home early.”
“I told you I’d cut back.” He says, trusting his knowledge of Jaejoong to assume that he knows nothing about doctors hours and that you can’t just ‘cut back’. That the hours he was supposedly working he wasn’t really working.
“Is hae asleep?” Yunho asks, gingerly taking a seat beside Jaejoong.
“He tired himself out. Changmin found a dog in the backyard and he won’t leave, so we’re keeping him back there until we can make some ‘lost and found’ posters to hang up. I let the dog in earlier and he played with him.” Closing his book, Jaejoong turns his body so that he’s facing Yunho, curling his legs into one another and sitting comfortably, Indian style. “You look tired.”
Yunho sighs. “You don’t know if Haesik is allergic to dogs.”
“And how will I know if I never put him around a dog?”
“I could have administered an allergy test. Besides, the dog was found outside, Jaejoong. That was a stupid decision to make, putting a child in a room with a dog you know absolutely nothing about.”
Jaejoong is taken aback, but he doesn’t show it. He holds his tongue and takes a deep breath before standing up with his book and making his way to the stairs. Yunho sits quietly, slowly becoming impatient with Jaejoong’s behavior.
He follows the man up the stairs and when he gets into their bedroom, he closes the door. Jaejoong has already slipped out of his clothing and exchanged them for a fresh set of pajamas.
“What’s the problem?” Yunho asks.
Jaejoong seems to think for a second. He climbs into bed, laying on top of the blankets because his window is open and his room is a mini-inferno at the moment. Maybe that’s his anger heating his body.
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t have a lapse in judgment, Yunho. I’d seen and played with the dog myself before I let him inside. Changmin, too. It’s a puppy. He’s no bigger then Haesik and he can’t do damage that I can‘t prevent. Despite what you seem to be implying, I‘m a good parent and the decisions I make regarding my son are done so with a lot of care and consideration. However, I’ll admit that I can see why you‘d be so doubtful in my ability to make good choices. I married you, after all. ”
Yunho holds his temper, loosening his tie. “What is this, Jaejoong?” He asks, holding his tie away from his neck before slipping it over his head and throwing it harshly across the room. “You regret marrying me because I told you that letting our son play with a stray dog is a bad idea?”
“This has nothing to do with Haesik!” Jaejoong yells, temper flaring. “This has to do with the way you’re treating me! I don’t care if you’re upset that I made a decision for my son! You leave me with him which I assume means you either a - trust him with me or b - don’t care about him-”
“Don’t you dare say I don’t care about him.”
Jaejoong pins Yunho with a look of absolute loathing. “Fuck you, Yunho. If you would just come clean, you wouldn‘t be in such a bad mood all of the time.”
Yunho opens his mouth to respond, but finds his voice caught in his throat. Jaejoong sits up in bed, staring at Yunho until he says, “There’s nothing to come clean about.”
Yunho sleeps in the guest bedroom of his own volition.