[CHAPTERED] Boomerang's (CH. 18)
Title: Boomerang's
Rating: G-PG13-R-NC17
Pairing: YunJae
Summary: What if fate wasn’t a red string, but a boomerang instead? Yunho's first memory of being in love was when he was 7 years old. Meeting Kim JaeJoong was the start of a nearly 20 year long love that spanned many separations. After being unexpectedly ripped apart at 7, they meet again 10 years later as soccer players on opposing high school teams. On a tragic night, they are pulled a part once again only to find each other 11 years later as adults working at the same hospital. This time, their new complication resides in JaeJoong's memories; or the lack there of. The complications don't stop there. Yunho's fiancé, Song Hyun Gi, is less than pleased to have Yunho's first love back in his life and will stop at will stop at nothing to keep them a part. Will the boomerang return a 4th time, or will the distance finally become too far?
CHAPTER 18 - Tangles
JaeJoong handed a steaming cup of tea to Changmin as he sat down next to him on the bench with his own tea in hand. Changmin smiled his thanks and took a sip. He hummed and leaned back.
“Thank God winter is over. If I get any paler my patients won’t be able to see me.” He said jokingly and JaeJoong laughed.
“I think we’re all grateful to see the sun again. It’s been so dark and dreary.” JaeJoong commented as he stared out at the hospital park. Patients and their family members were out walking, and nurses were pushing patients in wheel chairs. With Spring finally here, everyone could get back outside again.
“So how was the conference?” Changmin asked after a few moments of silence. JaeJoong bit his lip. Changmin had already beat him to the reason JaeJoong had asked to meet in the first place. After getting home yesterday, he had thought a lot about what to tell Changmin concerning Yunho. In the end he decided that ultimately, being straight forward was the best.
“Boring. I’m pretty sure I’m never going to go to another one again.” He answered and Changmin laughed.
“I practically shouted 'no' when I was asked. I’ve gone to so many and they’re all the same dreadfully boring event. But the hotels are always nice.” JaeJoong nodded and looked down at his cup. His stomach was grumbling nervously.
“Initially I was worried I’d have an even worse time because I didn’t know anyone that was going. But it turns out Yunho was there too.” He began, trying to make the transition in conversation as natural as possible. He looked at Changmin who’s eyebrows were raised.
“Oh? Well I guess that makes sense. He wants to be promoted to Department Head this year.” Changmin replied, but he seemed irritated. JaeJoong swallowed, his nerves intensified.
“Ah, so I guess you’re close then?” JaeJoong asked and Changmin shrugged.
“We’re friends. We just haven’t talked lately. Mostly because I’m pissed with him.” He said and JaeJoong tilted his head in question.
“Why? I mean if you don’t mind telling me.” In response to JaeJoong’s question, Changmin gave him a sheepish grin.
“Well it actually involves you.” JaeJoong’s eyes widened at Changmin’s answer.
“Me!” He exclaimed. Changmin chuckled.
“It’s nothing bad. We just had a bit of a disagreement when I told him I asked you out on a date. He’s engaged, but I think he has a bit of a crush on you. I gave him shit about it cause he wasn’t admitting it. Now that I think about it, I’m more disappointed in myself for being mad at him. It’s silly.” He finished and took a sip from his tea. JaeJoong nodded and took a drink from his own cup. Yunho’s voice telling him that he was in love with JaeJoong suddenly began to echo in his head.
“Geez, everyone know's that he’s engaged except for me.” He said offhandedly. Changmin looked at him in surprise.
“You guys have hung out quite a bit. He never mentioned Hyun Gi?” Changmin asked, clearly shocked. JaeJoong laughed and shook his head no.
“No. But then again that may have something to do with the crush you said he had. I never asked if he had anyone he was seeing either.” JaeJoong admitted. Changmin smiled knowingly down at his cup.
“Probably for a reason. I guess his crush wasn’t one sided.” Changmin’s words had JaeJoong’s palms sweating and it wasn’t because of the hot cup he was holding. Changmin had already reached the conclusion before JaeJoong even got near it.
“I... well yeah. I’m sorry.” He apologized and Changmin turned his handsome smile on JaeJoong.
“Don’t be sorry. I had a wonderful first date and I got to confirm that you are as awesome as I thought you’d be. Just because there won’t be a second date doesn’t mean we can’t be friends, right?” His eyes crinkled at the edges cutely when he finished. JaeJoong couldn’t help but return the smile.
“I’d be honored to have a friend like you. I hope you’re okay with forever.” Changmin chuckled at JaeJoong’s response. He held up his pinky to JaeJoong.
“Forever sounds really cool. Promise you mean it?” JaeJoong nodded in response and linked their pinkies.
“Absolutely!” They both shared a laugh before they settled back into comfortable silence. After a few minutes had passed, Changmin was the first to speak.
“So was there something else you wanted to talk about now that you’ve confirmed we won’t be getting married one day.” He teased making JaeJoong laugh again.
“Well it turns out that Yunho and I actually have history. The thing about it is I don’t remember, and he does...vividly.” Changmin made an ‘o’ shape with his mouth at the confession.
“You’re the friend that loss his memory in a car accident. Holy crap! He’s such a damn idiot. He should have just told me right away. I don’t know where his head has been lately.” Changmin said as he shook his head. JaeJoong leaned forward on the bench.
“So, he’s not usually so secretive?” He asked to which Changmin shook his head no.
“Yunho is a good guy and an even better doctor and friend. I think seeing you again may have really shaken him up. Not that it’s your fault of course. I think he’s just caught in a rock and a hard place.” The understanding in Changmin’s voice was making it hard to keep the ice around his anger with Yunho from melting.
“I guess I’m having a difficult time getting where he’s coming from because I can’t remember the things he does about us. And knowing that he’s engaged now has given me some serious mixed feelings on what to think of him considering how over friendly he was with me.” He hated the way that sounded coming out of his mouth. Instead of being fired up, his defenses were crumbling rapidly.
“He was wrong for being anything more than a platonic friend so I’m definitely not condoning that behavior. But I’ve known Yunho for almost 6 years now and he’s the most loyal person I know. I think that he honestly made a mistake being caught in a situation he couldn’t have possibly been prepared for.” Changmin’s voice of reason chipped away another piece of the thick ice. JaeJoong fiddled with the cup as he thought of what Yoochun said about him not being a bad judge of character. Despite not having any memories of their time together as teens, JaeJoong had still been inexplicably drawn to Yunho almost instantly which had to count for something.
“Oh.” He said dumbly. Changmin leaned over to peak at him under his bowed head.
“You deserve the right to be pissed. When or if you’re calm enough to talk to him, then make sure it’s on your terms so you get the full story.” He kissed JaeJoong gently on the cheek and went back to his side of the bench before JaeJoong could react. JaeJoong raised his hand to his cheek and chuckled.
“Hey! Friends don’t pull kiss sneak attacks.” Changmin shrugged and gave him a sly grin.
“Huh? I’ll try to remember that next time.” He said smugly making JaeJoong shove him playfully.
Talking to Changmin had been more productive than he had expected it to be and he was extremely glad he had gone through with it. Now it was up to him to decide how he was going to handle Yunho.
-
On Monday morning, Yunho stood at the nurse’s station talking to his nurse when he noticed the hushed whispering that seemed to fill the hallways suddenly. He frowned at Nurse Lee who had stopped talking and was looking behind him.
“Oh my.” She gasped and covered her mouth.
“What is it?” Yunho asked and in response, she pointed behind him. He turned and immediately felt his face get hot. A large poster with JaeJoong’s picture printed next to the picture of a youthful looking woman, covered the entrance to the Cardiology department. He read the sentence beneath the picture and instantly felt sick to his stomach.
“Kim JaeJoong’s mother was a home wrecker and so is he.”
“What the hell!” He rasped angrily as he ran over and tore the poster down in large pieces at a time until it was completely gone. He balled up the paper and tucked it under his arm before rushing to the elevators that would take him to the Pediatrics department. When he stepped off the elevator, he was met with a horrifying sight. The bridge leading into the main hall of the department was covered in the same exact posters only smaller. He quickly began ripping them down as fast as he could but there had to be nearly a hundred of them. Changmin appeared moments later and began to help Yunho.
“They’re all over the fucking hospital. Who the hell did this?” Changmin asked, his face twisted into a deep scowl.
“I’ve got a sneaking suspension of who.” He replied through gritted teeth.
“Guys, you can stop.” JaeJoong emerged from the long hallway that led to the patient waiting area. He had both of his hands tucked in his doctor’s coat, his glasses perched on top of his head. Yunho could feel his heart breaking at the sight of him looking so sad. His spoked again. “I already called the janitorial crew for this side of the hospital and they said they’ll be here soon.” Yunho reached out to him and JaeJoong stepped back to avoid him.
“Don’t. I just want to be alone for a bit.” JaeJoong said in a low voice. He hurried around Changmin and Yunho, keeping his head lowered as he passed by the other doctors and nurses who were in the hall. Changmin sighed and crushed up the last of the posters he could reach. He looked at Yunho.
“So, I guess I’ve missed a lot since we last spoke, huh?” Changmin asked and Yunho nodded in response.
“I should probably start with where we last left off. You were right. I do like JaeJoong…a lot and I was extremely jealous of you. I’m sorry for being stupid and not just telling you the truth.” He apologized, relieved that he finally had the balls to admit it. Changmin was his friend, and the time they had spent not talking had sucked.
“You’re a huge idiot, but you’re like a brother so I’m going to have to forgive you. But next time you omit the truth about anything, I’m going to punch you so hard you’ll see constellations.” Changmin said seriously and Yunho allowed himself to smile.
“Duly noted.” Yunho replied and glanced down at his watch. “Hey, when you get a chance, go check on JaeJoong. I gotta go somewhere really quick.” Changmin nodded and patted Yunho on the shoulder.
“Going to handle who did this?” He asked and Yunho clenched his jaw and nodded before turning and heading back to the elevators. When he was back in the Cardiology department, he walked back to the nurse’s station and banged loudly on the desk to get the gossiping nurse’s attention.
“Please push all of my appointments back today and reschedule when necessary.” Without waiting for Nurse Lee’s reply, Yunho continued out of the double doors to the set of stairs that led to the parking garage. As he finally got in his car to drive away, he was practically seething with anger.
He sped out of the garage at a speed that was probably too fast for a parking lot and immediately turned to get on the expressway. He drove without hesitation to a place he had been many times in the last 5 years.
….
“Dr. Jung you can’t-” Yunho ignored the young woman as pushed past her and went straight towards the board rooms. The walls of glass made it easy to see inside so his search wouldn’t take long. He stormed past all of them until he finally found the one Hyun Gi was in. He pushed open the door and walked right up to him.
“We need to talk.” He said loudly and Hyun Gi frowned up at him from his seat.
“Yunho I am in the middle of a meeting-” He began to say, but Yunho cut him off before he could finish.
“Now, Hyun Gi.” He leaned over so that his mouth was level with Hyun Gi’s ear. “Get up on your own so I don’t have to drag you out of here.” Yunho threatened between gritted teeth. As always, Hyun Gi put on his best face and excused himself. He walked around Yunho and led the way out of the room. It was only a few minutes later when they got to Hyun Gi’s office.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!” He yelled at Yunho as soon as the door was shut.
“That’s what I’m here to ask you. Why did you do it?” He asked and Hyun Gi put his hands in his pockets.
“Do what?” He replied, playing dumb.
“You know what I’m talking about, Hyun. Why did you put up those posters about JaeJoong in the hospital?” He asked again with dwindling patience. Hyun Gi tilted his head.
“Doesn’t sound like the kind of thing I have time for.” Hyun Gi sadi with a smug grin on his face. Yunho was quickly starting to lose his patience.
“Stop playing with me, Hyun Gi! Dumb doesn’t suit you.” Yunho finally said, his temper at its peak.
“If you really want to get specific, I didn’t put up the posters.” Hyun Gi said. Yunho sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose to fight back the headache he felt coming on.
“Then who did?” He asked again, his voice low and tired. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before asking his next question. “Just tell me why?” He asked again and waited for Hyun Gi to reply.
“Because I felt like it.” Hyun Gi answered as he sat down on the edge of his desk. “Is that all?” He asked flippantly. Yunho rubbed his hand over his face before finally looking at Hyun Gi again.
“I know you’re angry with me, but you have no reason to take it out on JaeJoong; he didn’t ask me to end my engagement to you. You don’t have to be mean to him.” Hyun Gi laughed.
“But I do! Because being mean to him hurts you more than it would if I went after you directly.” Hyun Gi said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Yunho couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“So, you’re going to behave like a child now? Is this where we’re at?” Yunho asked and Hyun Gi’s expression became guarded.
“You brought us here, Yunho. You have no one to blame but yourself.” Hyun Gi refused to look at him now. “You broke my heart after I asked you not to.” Yunho inhaled and let it out slowly at the response.
“I don’t disagree with your anger with me. But I’ve never known you to be an unreasonable person. Attacking JaeJoong won’t achieve anything.” He said, trying to reason with Hyun Gi. He could see that it wasn’t working.
“I beg to disagree. Because by going after him, I get to dig into you. I have the pleasure of watching you hurt as much as you hurt me.” Hyun Gi admitted as he folded his arms over his chest.
“How long will you make me pay? Do you want me to beg you?” Hyun Gi rolled his eyes at Yunho’s question.
“Beg? Do you have a single prideful bone in your body?” He questioned and Yunho felt like he was trapped. He didn’t hate Hyun Gi, he cared for him, even loved him still, but he wasn’t in love. Not the way he used to be. And the more time they spent a part, the more he realized that he may have fallen out of love with him a long time ago. Loving and being in love were two different things and Yunho had never tried to examine the difference and now he was paying for his ignorance.
“I guess I don’t.” He said as he got down on both knees and bowed his head. “Please don’t hurt JaeJoong anymore.” When he raised his head, Hyun Gi was looking at him with an unreadable expression.
“Get out of my office before I call security.” Yunho didn’t move. “Didn’t you hear me! I said leave!”Hyun Gi shouted at him.
“Not until you tell me you won’t make any more attempts to hurt JaeJoong.” Yunho insisted. Hyun Gi walked over to Yunho and bent down so that they were face to face.
“You’ve humiliated yourself this afternoon for nothing. I will continue to do what I damn well please and no amount of begging or pleading will change that.” He pointed to the door. “Now leave.” Yunho felt a chill run down his spin at the obvious disgust in Hyun Gi’s voice. Was this side of Hyun Gi always there? Yunho got to his feet and began to walk towards the door. But before he left, he turned to his ex.
“This isn’t who you are. I know you and the man I loved wouldn’t be this hurtful.” Hyun Gi didn’t react to Yunho’s words. Instead, he walked around and sat in his desk chair.
“Then you clearly didn’t know me very well.” He pulled out a file and flipped it open. “Goodbye Yunho.” Clearly dismissed, Yunho made his exit. On his way back to his car, his mind was working overtime to process what just happened and what was going to come next. He hated surprises more than anything, but he had a feeling that they were going to be a regular occurrence now that Hyun Gi was out for blood. His only hope is that he would be able to shield JaeJoong from it the best he could.
....
A/N: So Hyun Gi hasn't chosen the murderous path. But, he's still out to do some damage. And Yunho is out here doing the absolute most in the name of LOVE and I'm rooting for him...well of course I am. This chapter was a little short, but we're getting closer to the end so I'm stretching things out a bit. We're about 3 or so chapters away from the end of the fic. Can you believe how time flies! Thanks to all of you who have subscribed and left comments and become friends with me. Reading your comments really makes me happy! See you again on Sunday!