The Importance of Being Earnest - Chapter One
Title: The Importance of Being Earnest - Chapter One
Pairing/Character(s): Nichkhun/Wooyoung
Rating: PG (R for later chapters)
Summary: Based somewhat off of Oscar Wilde's life and his play, The Importance of Being Earnest. Nichkhun is a famous poet/writer, Wooyoung is the son of an ambassador. Complications arise when Nichkhun falls in love with him. Set in modern times.
A/N: I've wanted to write this since my friend got me interested in Oscar Wilde. Also after he showed me this http://imgur.com/rIAL5.png. :)
Prologue
The days drawl on, eventually dragging on into weeks, and before Nichkhun realizes it, a whole month has passed. He attends press conferences, book signings, and meetings with various types of producers. Once again, his ego is blown up to gigantic proportions due to the adoration and admiration he gets from his readers. He can't remember to feed himself properly, so he obviously can't remember a certain conversation from a month before. For the moment, his life is back to being the bliss he once knew.
At the end of the month, he and Taecyeon decide to take a day off from their hectic lives to hang out. They go out of their way to make time for each other because, honestly, the high life and the people that come with it are not always what they're cracked up to be. In a sense, they are each other's anchors to the ground. The pair became best friends in middle school and only separated when going to college. Nichkhun decided to complete his four years at a university near their hometown, whereas the multi-talented Taec went onto study at a performing arts university in the city. After Nichkhun graduated, he also migrated to the city, dreams of success and fame clutched tightly in his hands in the form of manuscripts.
- - - -
Nichkhun descends the stairs of his upscale apartment, donning a trench coat and a pair of very large sunglasses in an attempt to be inconspicuous. He phones Taecyeon, tells him they'll meet at the series of small stores and cafés not far from his home. He takes a seat at an outside table of a small coffee shop as he waits for his friend to arrive. There are a lot of people around so he turns himself in the direction facing the least dense population. He twiddles his thumbs, checks his teeth in the back of his phone, orders a coffee, but Taecyeon takes his sweet time. Eventually, he begins people-watching. A woman comes out of a boutique with more bags than he has fingers or toes. A man discreetly slips into an equally discreet adult store wedged in between two larger buildings. A boy stomps his way out of a bookstore with-
"Hey, that's my book." Nichkhun says to himself. When he brings his eyes back up to the a strikingly familiar face, "Hey, it's him." Memories of his party float back to him. He particularly remembers how 'charming' the stranger had been and furrows his brows in confusion as he watches from his table. Eventually, he figures Taecyeon will continue to act as if time revolves around him, and before he really knows what he's doing, he's making his way across the street towards his number one fan. He thinks for a moment that maybe his eyes were mistaken, because surely, the other couldn't have suddenly been interested in his novel, but as he gets nearer to the rigid figure partially obscured by a bookstand, he finds that yes, it's definitely chubby faced Wooyoung.
"Hey." he says casually. Wooyoung peers up at him confusedly for a moment. "It's me," he laughs awkwardly and removes his sunglasses, "Ni-"
"Ernest!" Wooyoung suddenly blurts, "You look a lot different in a tux, though." Wooyoung is smiling and all he can do as he mentally kicks himself is smile dumbly back.
"Yeah, I have a cold." he picks at his trench coat, "So, what are you doing here?" Wooyoung stops smiling and suddenly looks angry again.
"My father," he answers, pinching the bridge of his nose as he shakes Nichkhun's book angrily in the air, "He's making me read this! I keep telling him how sucky this author is, but he keeps saying it'll teach me a lot of things. If I wanted a boring book that teaches me stuff, I'd buy a TV manual or something just as stupid, you know?" A nauseating sense of déjà vu overcomes the young author as he is, once again, at a loss for words. Nichkhun's never met a single person who hasn't liked him, and being hated is something he doesn't know how to deal with. He feels even more conflicted since there's just something that draws him to Wooyoung, whether it be an urge to find out what fuels the other's spite or something else entirely, he doesn't know.
"Well, e-er..." he tries to grapple his brain for a coherent reply. Wooyoung has the unusual talent of always leaving Nichkhun feeling like an idiot.
"And it's not like I'm just saying that either." Wooyoung glares intently into his eyes as if Nichkhun were the object of his contempt - ironically - and lowers his voice to a loud whisper, "I've secretly already read this, but I don't get anything he's saying! It's nonsense, Ernest, it really is. Or maybe I'm just not crazy enough to understand what he's trying to tell me, I don't know." Nichkhun dies a little on the inside.
Finally, he's able to choke out a complete sentence. "I-If you want, I could help you read through it." Nichkhun scratches the back of his head and smiles sheepishly, "I...I read it. It's not completely nonsense. I could help, I don't know, translate it for you...if you want." The ends in more of a question as Nichkhun's confidence dwindles away. Wooyoung squints his eyes skeptically and Nichkhun can tell that Wooyoung's mentally evaluating him. Wooyoung looks him up and down, stares unwaveringly at his face, taps his chin, and repeats the process all over again. About a minute of silence goes by as Wooyoung considers Nichkhun's offer and Nichkhun thinks it's the longest sixty seconds he's ever experienced. It's not until a loud vibration startles them both out of their trance that Wooyoung hastily agrees.
"Yeah, okay." Wooyoung says hurriedly and jabs his free hand out towards Nichkhun, who's halfway to reaching for his cellphone. Nichkhun blinks, hesitantly extends his hand out to return the confirmatory shake, only to have his arm enthusiastically wrenched up and down. Wooyoung grins at him so widely that it makes him laugh, wiping away any worries that Taecyeon might be waiting impatiently at the coffee shop twenty meters away.
It's only until a black luxury car slides up behind Khun, missing him by a couple of inches, that Wooyoung looks dampened again. He sighs dejectedly, tells Nichkhun, "I'll call you," sidles into the car, and is long gone before Nichkhun even has time to register in his mind that they never exchanged numbers.
- - - -
Taecyeon slaps, or more wrestles, not only his own knee but Nichkhun's as well as a loud wave of laughter rips through him.
"TV MANUAL!" he roars, "And he said called you crazy!" Nichkhun stares bemusedly as his friend struggles to breathe. They're in a musty bar where Taecyeon's cackles aren't even close to being the loudest noise in the room. He gulps down the rest of his beer, watches the other pretend to clutch his ribs in pain.
"Taecyeon," Nichkhun says sternly, "It's not that funny." Taecyeon immediately sobers up.
"You're right, it's not." he says, very obviously suppressing snickers, "Why'd you offer to help him? How are you gonna help him? Maybe he's just stupid."
Nichkhun sighs. "I don't know, but I mean, if you understood it..." Taecyeon punches his arm, "Just kidding, just kidding. I just don't want somebody to hate me without having a real reason, you know." There's something unintentional in his voice that betrays his false nonchalantness.
Taecyeon smiles slyly, "Yeah, okay. Sure," he makes a show of enunciating each word, as if the sarcastic tone wasn't enough. Nichkhun opens his mouth to insult his friend, but a vibration interrupts him for the second time today. Fishing out his phone from his pocket, he reads the text message from an unknown number.
Are you free tomorrow noon? -JW
Pairing/Character(s): Nichkhun/Wooyoung
Rating: PG (R for later chapters)
Summary: Based somewhat off of Oscar Wilde's life and his play, The Importance of Being Earnest. Nichkhun is a famous poet/writer, Wooyoung is the son of an ambassador. Complications arise when Nichkhun falls in love with him. Set in modern times.
A/N: I've wanted to write this since my friend got me interested in Oscar Wilde. Also after he showed me this http://imgur.com/rIAL5.png. :)
Prologue
The days drawl on, eventually dragging on into weeks, and before Nichkhun realizes it, a whole month has passed. He attends press conferences, book signings, and meetings with various types of producers. Once again, his ego is blown up to gigantic proportions due to the adoration and admiration he gets from his readers. He can't remember to feed himself properly, so he obviously can't remember a certain conversation from a month before. For the moment, his life is back to being the bliss he once knew.
At the end of the month, he and Taecyeon decide to take a day off from their hectic lives to hang out. They go out of their way to make time for each other because, honestly, the high life and the people that come with it are not always what they're cracked up to be. In a sense, they are each other's anchors to the ground. The pair became best friends in middle school and only separated when going to college. Nichkhun decided to complete his four years at a university near their hometown, whereas the multi-talented Taec went onto study at a performing arts university in the city. After Nichkhun graduated, he also migrated to the city, dreams of success and fame clutched tightly in his hands in the form of manuscripts.
- - - -
Nichkhun descends the stairs of his upscale apartment, donning a trench coat and a pair of very large sunglasses in an attempt to be inconspicuous. He phones Taecyeon, tells him they'll meet at the series of small stores and cafés not far from his home. He takes a seat at an outside table of a small coffee shop as he waits for his friend to arrive. There are a lot of people around so he turns himself in the direction facing the least dense population. He twiddles his thumbs, checks his teeth in the back of his phone, orders a coffee, but Taecyeon takes his sweet time. Eventually, he begins people-watching. A woman comes out of a boutique with more bags than he has fingers or toes. A man discreetly slips into an equally discreet adult store wedged in between two larger buildings. A boy stomps his way out of a bookstore with-
"Hey, that's my book." Nichkhun says to himself. When he brings his eyes back up to the a strikingly familiar face, "Hey, it's him." Memories of his party float back to him. He particularly remembers how 'charming' the stranger had been and furrows his brows in confusion as he watches from his table. Eventually, he figures Taecyeon will continue to act as if time revolves around him, and before he really knows what he's doing, he's making his way across the street towards his number one fan. He thinks for a moment that maybe his eyes were mistaken, because surely, the other couldn't have suddenly been interested in his novel, but as he gets nearer to the rigid figure partially obscured by a bookstand, he finds that yes, it's definitely chubby faced Wooyoung.
"Hey." he says casually. Wooyoung peers up at him confusedly for a moment. "It's me," he laughs awkwardly and removes his sunglasses, "Ni-"
"Ernest!" Wooyoung suddenly blurts, "You look a lot different in a tux, though." Wooyoung is smiling and all he can do as he mentally kicks himself is smile dumbly back.
"Yeah, I have a cold." he picks at his trench coat, "So, what are you doing here?" Wooyoung stops smiling and suddenly looks angry again.
"My father," he answers, pinching the bridge of his nose as he shakes Nichkhun's book angrily in the air, "He's making me read this! I keep telling him how sucky this author is, but he keeps saying it'll teach me a lot of things. If I wanted a boring book that teaches me stuff, I'd buy a TV manual or something just as stupid, you know?" A nauseating sense of déjà vu overcomes the young author as he is, once again, at a loss for words. Nichkhun's never met a single person who hasn't liked him, and being hated is something he doesn't know how to deal with. He feels even more conflicted since there's just something that draws him to Wooyoung, whether it be an urge to find out what fuels the other's spite or something else entirely, he doesn't know.
"Well, e-er..." he tries to grapple his brain for a coherent reply. Wooyoung has the unusual talent of always leaving Nichkhun feeling like an idiot.
"And it's not like I'm just saying that either." Wooyoung glares intently into his eyes as if Nichkhun were the object of his contempt - ironically - and lowers his voice to a loud whisper, "I've secretly already read this, but I don't get anything he's saying! It's nonsense, Ernest, it really is. Or maybe I'm just not crazy enough to understand what he's trying to tell me, I don't know." Nichkhun dies a little on the inside.
Finally, he's able to choke out a complete sentence. "I-If you want, I could help you read through it." Nichkhun scratches the back of his head and smiles sheepishly, "I...I read it. It's not completely nonsense. I could help, I don't know, translate it for you...if you want." The ends in more of a question as Nichkhun's confidence dwindles away. Wooyoung squints his eyes skeptically and Nichkhun can tell that Wooyoung's mentally evaluating him. Wooyoung looks him up and down, stares unwaveringly at his face, taps his chin, and repeats the process all over again. About a minute of silence goes by as Wooyoung considers Nichkhun's offer and Nichkhun thinks it's the longest sixty seconds he's ever experienced. It's not until a loud vibration startles them both out of their trance that Wooyoung hastily agrees.
"Yeah, okay." Wooyoung says hurriedly and jabs his free hand out towards Nichkhun, who's halfway to reaching for his cellphone. Nichkhun blinks, hesitantly extends his hand out to return the confirmatory shake, only to have his arm enthusiastically wrenched up and down. Wooyoung grins at him so widely that it makes him laugh, wiping away any worries that Taecyeon might be waiting impatiently at the coffee shop twenty meters away.
It's only until a black luxury car slides up behind Khun, missing him by a couple of inches, that Wooyoung looks dampened again. He sighs dejectedly, tells Nichkhun, "I'll call you," sidles into the car, and is long gone before Nichkhun even has time to register in his mind that they never exchanged numbers.
- - - -
Taecyeon slaps, or more wrestles, not only his own knee but Nichkhun's as well as a loud wave of laughter rips through him.
"TV MANUAL!" he roars, "And he said called you crazy!" Nichkhun stares bemusedly as his friend struggles to breathe. They're in a musty bar where Taecyeon's cackles aren't even close to being the loudest noise in the room. He gulps down the rest of his beer, watches the other pretend to clutch his ribs in pain.
"Taecyeon," Nichkhun says sternly, "It's not that funny." Taecyeon immediately sobers up.
"You're right, it's not." he says, very obviously suppressing snickers, "Why'd you offer to help him? How are you gonna help him? Maybe he's just stupid."
Nichkhun sighs. "I don't know, but I mean, if you understood it..." Taecyeon punches his arm, "Just kidding, just kidding. I just don't want somebody to hate me without having a real reason, you know." There's something unintentional in his voice that betrays his false nonchalantness.
Taecyeon smiles slyly, "Yeah, okay. Sure," he makes a show of enunciating each word, as if the sarcastic tone wasn't enough. Nichkhun opens his mouth to insult his friend, but a vibration interrupts him for the second time today. Fishing out his phone from his pocket, he reads the text message from an unknown number.
Are you free tomorrow noon? -JW