[CHAPTERED] Project: Choosey Lover (Chapter 16)
Title: Project: Choosey Lover
Author: Lhynne (lhynnechan)
Pairings: YunJae, YooSu, MinRam (Yaoi)
Genre: Romance, Drama, Fluff, Little Angst, Fail Crack/Comedy, Supernatural?
Length: Chaptered
Rating: PG-13, NC-17 to R stuffs later on
Disclaimer: Yun and Jae belongs to each others arms. If they were mine, they're now pornstars X)) And I don't own the plot, I own the story. :)
PCL Summary: Because of wanting to help his lover's business to grow again, Park Yoochun; a mad scientist had created a new discovery again. He experimented and used his scientific abilities to formulate an artificial human being. It was created to the people who are having difficulties in finding their ideal partner in life. Project: Choosey Lover is still unknown to the public because it's currently on the process of testing, and the first one who benefited his creation was his bestfriend; the workaholic Jung Yunho. He knows that Yunho is still single so he decided to give him his first creation as a birthday present. Yunho thinks that this is a great distraction. A ONE HELL GREAT DISTRACTION.
---
'I looked horrible.' Karam thought as he saw his face on the mirror. His eyes were thin slits right now, and his nose is still red. Guess what Karam did last night? Obviously, he cried his heart out.
Crying into sleep is really not a good idea. Look at Karam right now, he was in a horrible state. How would he face the bulk of papers and coffee machine he used to be with when he's at work?
Wait, speaking about work.. this was the reason why Karam cried pitifully last night. He was debating to himself whether to resign or not.
His mind says he should resign right away, because lately he was getting distracted by his feelings for his boss. He just realized how much he loved the guy. Yes, he finally admitted to himself how much he was head over heels for the handsome CEO. His mind tells him to resign because he should apply the ever famous quotation: 'Business shouldn't mix with pleasure.' The boss and the employee must not cross the boundaries.
Well the heart opposes it, obviously. It was stated above that Karam was already in love with Changmin. His heart was bursting with overwhelming feelings he had for him. There's nothing to hide now.
But after debating last night, Karam finally came into a conclusion.. and that is to resign and leave Shim Global Finance Company for good.
The question is, did Changmin really accept his resignation letter?
---
As Changmin walks to the aisle of the company's hallways, he greets every employee with a dazzling smile. Our CEO looks very enthusiastic to go for work today. Why wouldn't he, when a certain beauty is giving him so much inspiration to work hard.
But when he entered the office, he saw Seulgi clearing off Karam's working station. She was holding a large box, organizing Karam's things inside. "Miss Bae, what are you doing?"
Seulgi lifted her head up, only to find Changmin's worried face. "Sir Shim.. goodmorning." She paused, bowing down in respect for her boss. "Isn't that Karam's workdesk? Why are you clearing it up?"
Suddenly, Seulgi walked towards Changmin, a white sealed envelope was in her right hand. "Karam asked me to give this to you, sir." She handed him the letter. Changmin gave him a quizzical look while Seulgi could only shook her head in response. With a small knife he got from his office desk, Changmin tore the envelope open and read the mentioned letter.
His eyes widened upon reading the contents of the letter. It was a letter of resignation.. from Karam himself.
Changmin quickly took out his phone and dialed Karam's contact number, but the phone operator answered him instead. "The number you dialed is currently out of coverage. Please try again later." He harshly closed his phone and slid it back to his pocket. Without hesitations, he tore the letter into shreds. "Miss Bae, cancel my lunch meeting with the board directors."
"B-but Sir Shim.."
With that, he ran out of the building and zoomed his car off the parking lot to search for Karam's whereabouts.
----
Constant scribblings on the newspapers were heard. Karam was checking out the classified ads section, phone on his other hand. He dialed another number he found at the newspaper. Knowing that the company would soon contact his number, he quickly changed it into a new one. "Hello? Ohh, goodmorning sir~ I saw your advertisement at the News Today. I was wondering how much is the salary? Ohh, really? Ahh, okay.. I'll think about it. Thank you and have a good day!" Ending the conversation, he crossed out the mentioned company. He frowned. The salary is too short for their living.
"Karammie, aren't you going to work today? Are you on a day-off?" Loud knocks and a familiar voice made him pause his job hunting. He get up from his bed and opened the door of his bedroom. "Goodmorning umma~" It was his mom. "Aigoo, look at this. Your bed is such a mess, let me fix it." His mom walked towards his bed, wanting to fix it. "Get down, breakfast will get cold."
"Umma, don't--" Before he could stop his mom from rummaging his stuff on the bed, she already realized what her son was doing. She picked the newspaper and asked, "Classified ads? Are you going to apply for a part-time job? But you work 12 hours on Shim Finance--"
"I resigned.."
There was a short pause before she speak again. "What?"
Karam sighed. "It's not like I can work on that company forever."
"Don't tell me you had some issues on the company? Why won't you tell me? Is the company not treating you well? I'll give them some scoldings." Her last sentence was funny. Being the caring mom she was to Karam, she can confront anyone who harms her favorite son. "Umma, don't be like this. I can find another job. I'm just a fresh graduate, I can still explore." Karam shook his head. "I'm fine, no one didn't harm me. They're all accomodating."
But at the back of his mind, he was frowning nonstop; saying that someone did harm him. His heart, mainly.
"Don't lie to your own mother. Silence cannot resolve anything. Speak up, I'll listen." She fidgeted on her seat, wanting to find a comfortable position on her son's bed. Karam sat beside her, whose caressing his jet black hair. "I.. I--"
A knock on the door interrupted Karam's words. It was his sister who opened the door. "There's someone waiting outside the house. He said he was looking for Karam-oppa."
"Me?"
"Yes. Oppa, who is he? Tall, dark and handsome. Kyaaaa~ He perfectly fits my ideal man! His mismatched eyes contrasts well with his dazzling smile and.." While his sister was still busy spazzing about the mentioned man, Karam's mind drifted off to a certain man. The man whom invades his thoughts the past few days.
'It's not Changmin, is it?'
Karam's sister noticed that he wasn't paying atterntion to what she was saying, so she cut off his thoughts. "Oppa, are you alright?"
Without hesitation, he sprinted out of the room, leaving his mom and sister confused behind. He almost tripped himself when he opened the door. There, on a few inches away from him, was his sexy boss hovering the doorway. Everyday, he gets even hotter and sexier and--ohh, what is this. 'You totally lost yourself Karam.' He cringed at the back of his head.
Changmin let out a stifle laugh. "Karam, is Spongebob Squarepants your favorite character?" His mismatched eyes raked towards Karam's clothes.
"W-what.. OHH SH*T!" When Karam looked down, he realized that he's still wearing his thin pajamas with Spongebob Squarepants' face printed on it. Changmin wasn't surprised on why Karam slammed the door close. He can only brush his fingertips on his soft hair and leaned against the wall beside the doorstep, patiently waiting for him once again.
Meanwhile, Karam gasped as he saw his mom and sister standing right at the staircase with a confused face. "Aish, you scared me.." His heartbeat finally subsided. "Oppa, is he gone?" Her sister walked towards the door. "Don't let him in, you rascal!" Karam tried to stop his sister but she already opened the door. She was greeted by Changmin's slight nod and a blinding smile on his face. "Hiii~" Karam's sister shyly shove her bangs on the back of her ear's shell. "Come in, come in~" She led her brother's tall boss on the living room.
Karam's mom cleared off the couch to let Changmin sit there comfortably. "Make yourself at home, young man~ Had breakfast already?"
Changmin's ears perked up. "Breakfast sounds great!" Of course, everything involves food sounds great to Shim Changmin. "Come, follow me. You're just in time for our breakfast." Karam's mom led him to the dining room.
Karam, whose standing on the bottom of the staircase could only stare at them in disbelief.
Her sister walked past him. "Yahh oppa, wear something decent. Your pajamas are almost see-through. And it's Spongebob, have some shame."
And that reminds him of going to his room to change clothes.
---
Wearing a blue sweatpants and a green striped polo shirt, Karam lazily dragged his feet downstairs. He shouldn't be going downstairs, for his boss--ex-boss was ransacking food on their dining room. He had nothing to say to the tall young man. He was speechless on Changmin's appearance, leaving him in awe to his former employer's charisma. But then, he's Changmin's employee; he shouldn't feel that way towards him.
Wait, he's not working for him anymore. This gives him an opportunity to love him freely, free from any guilt.
'But Changmin surely doesn't feel the same..' Karam's thoughts slowly drifted to Changmin and Yeonhee's hands on each other. What happened between Changmin and Karam is just another form of flirting. His boss is a casanova, it's freaking normal.
But then, Changmin's concerns about him.. the moment he saved Karam.. the obvious flirtings.. and the kiss..
How can he not think of Changmin having intentions to him, when the said man was obviously showing affections more than a normal boss to his employee.
'What does he really want from me? He confuses me.'
When Karam arrived at the dining room, they're already done eating. "Ohh, Karammie~" His mom pulled a vacant seat across to where Changmin was sitting and Karam gladly sat down. Slowly, he lifted his eyes only to see Changmin preoccupied with the dishes served at the table; his sister assisting him. Changmin looked adorable and innocent as he tried every dish that was served to him by Karam's sister. She giggled as the tall businessman approved all of it. Karam's mom joined them as she sat down and grab her bowl full of food.
"Oppa, why aren't you eating?" Karam's sister noticed that his brother was looking at them blankly. Everyone stopped from eating. Changmin finally looked up to see Karam staring at him, eyes totally blank and undescribable. 'What's with that innocent look? You looked cute like that, you know.' Karam inwardly bit his inner lip, a way of scolding himself from thinking such thoughts like that.
"Oppa, you're blushing.."
True. Karam's cheeks are burning, face slowly being painted in red.
"W-what are you talking about? Hurry up, you'll be late for school!" He shot back as he cupped his own cheeks, eyes avoiding Changmin's. Changmin could only stare at Karam amusingly, trying his best to hide his smile. But his eyes are showing the obvious, because he has the mismatched eyes.
"What late are you talking abou--OH GOD, umma we're gonna be late!" Upon glancing at the wallclock hanging at the corner, Karam's sister freaked out and wolfed down her entire breakfast. She won't choke, don't worry. She ran towards the sink to gargle her mouth and brush her teeth clean. Her mom followed her afterwards. "Your sister and I will be heading now, I'll drive to her school. You'll get in charge with the house since you don't want to.. uhh.. attend work." She glanced at Changmin once again and smiled. "Nice to meet you again, Changmin-sshi."
Changmin smiled back sincerely. "Thank you for inviting me over for breakfast, although I'm not invited at all." He chuckled.
'Yeah, no one invited you. Why are you even here at the first place?' Karam frowned as he silently ate in his seat, but stabbing the food with slight force. No one noticed the action, the action that shows Karam's stubborness.
When his family members are not in sight anymore, Karam started clearing off the dining table. Changmin, on the other hand was watching him intently doing household chores. It makes Karam very uncomfortable, that's why he finally bursted out and break the ice.
"Aish! What are you doing here?!" Karam accussingly pointed the chopstick on the tall figure leaning against the wall. "Is that how you communicate with your boss?" Changmin questioned back. "You're.. you're not my boss anymore. So you cannot boss me around ever again." Karam averted his eyes away as he walked towards the sink with the dishes preoccupying his hand.
But Changmin followed his steps and now, he's just standing a few inches away from Karam's back. When Karam wore the blue checkered apron, Changmin reached for the strap attached at the back and tied it nicely into a ribbon. That gesture made Karam blush into a deep red tomato.
"So what am I then?" Changmin whispered towards Karam's earshell, making the smaller man squirm and shove him away. "D-don't fool around. Get out of my house, Mr. Shim." Karam sternly said.
"You're really serious about resigning? Aish, I'm getting nuts, not seeing your presence on my office. Now, tell me what's wrong." Changmin gave him a longing stare, making Karam flinch more. "It's.. it's not like that. I just need time to collect myself." He looked away.
And as the silence grew longer, Changmin had to break it. "I think I should say sorry, I must be giving you a hard time."
'No, it's not your entire fault. It's my heart that needs to be scolded.'
"Just.. just leave." Karam could only mutter.
Upon hearing Karam's cold response, he heaved out a big sigh. "Fine. I'll take my leave now. Don't worry, I didn't accept your resignation letter. I'll give you time to ponder things by yourself. Take care." Changmin finally headed outside for his car and drove out of Karam's neighborhood. He couldn't figure out what was the smaller beauty acting like that, being distant to him at all. Could it be he's uncomfortable of his presence? Why?
As the moment Changmin left, Karam's shoulders lumped down; making him sit on the dining chair. He palmed his face helplessly, scolding himself from acting like that.
'Of all the people, why did my heart screamed for your existence? I shouldn't feel this way, you're my boss.'
---
The afternoon weather's fine today. And so, Jaejoong took a stroll outside the house to learn more of the living things. Junsu left the work for Eunhyuk to do it, that's why he's responsible to take care of his own child today; giving Jaejoong a day-off. Jaejoong happily walked outside to explore more the wonders of this world he's living in right now.
As he walked under the blinding rays of the sun, his doe eyes caught a bunch of kids playing freely at the playground. Playground is where the kids are hanging up with their own kind and play until the sun goes down. The kids look happy as they make fun out of the sun, playing games like no tomorrow. Jaejoong smiled at the sight. 'So that's how it feels like, being a kid. I wonder how Yunho is doing when he's still a kid.' He giggled at the thought of it.
And as we all know, Jaejoong didn't entered the stage of childhood. He already grew into an adult when Yoochun created him. He had the sudden urge to know what being a child feels like.
Suddenly, Jaejoong felt something landed on his shoe. He looked down to see a soccer ball hovering his feet. With that, he bent down and took the ball into his hand. A little boy ran towards him and asked for the ball. "Unnie, that's mine!"
'Unnie? Isn't that how you address a woman?' Jaejoong had to look at himself and pouted.
Shrugging it off, he handed the soccer ball to the kid. "Here you go. And I am a man, just so you know." He chortled.
"Ohh, sorry hyungnim. I thought you're a girl. Thank you!" The kid bowed to him and went back to play soccer with his friends.
Jaejoong followed the little kid and he was led to the playground arena. Kids are running here and there; playing with the seesaw, swing and the slide. Jaejoong laughed at the sight of the kids doing teamwork on every obstacle they face. 'They seemed to be having fun.'
But a loud yelp caught his ears. He spun around to see a little girl in pigtail crying under the tree. Her puffy red eyes was focused on the cat sitting on the tree's branch. She was crying nonstop, her cries made everyone gather on the tree. Jaejoong also joined the commotion.
"What happened?" Jaejoong asked one of the kids. "She was crying because her cat Suzy can't walk down. The cat was stuck on the tree." They pointed at the poor orange cat sitting helplessly on the branch and kept meow-ing for help. "Help her, unnie!"
This is the second time the kids mistook him for a lady. He was about to protest when the kid continuously tugged his shirt and asked for his help. Sighing, he obliged to the kid's request. Jaejoong tried his best to reach for the cat but failed. He's too small for the tree, his short arms can't reach for the branch where the cat was seating.
Jaejoong thought of ways on how to rescue the cat. He dragged an enormous hard rock and stood on the top of it. Still, his short hands are disappointing him.
"What's happening here?" A husky voice stopped Jaejoong from reaching.
Jaejoong and the kids turned their attention to the intruder. A tall man's figure arrived at their place.
"Mr. TOP!" Jaejoong nearly fell but he managed not to. He descended carefully in the ground and approached the said man. "Jaejoong, what are you doing?" TOP asked.
"These kids are asking for my help. The poor cat stuck on the tree, and my hands can't reach it." Jaejoong answered. TOP looked up to where everyone is pointing to. He stood up on the top of the rock and tried to reach for the cat. Fortunately, TOP successfully rescued the cat from the branch. He went down and gave the cat to its owner.
Everyone cheered for what bravery TOP has done. "Thank you, ahjusshi!" TOP chuckled at the 'ahjusshi'. Everyone thought at him as an old uncle. "Thank you also for helping me, unnie!" The cat owner smiled at him. Jaejoong could only smile back, it would be a waste if he argued again about his sexuality. TOP noticed it too, but he didn't also interfere about it.
"Hyungnim, we're playing soccer. Do you want to join us?" The little boy from before asked them. "But I don't know how to play it.." Jaejoong refused. TOP patted his shoulder and assuringly said, "I'll help you out, I know how to play soccer."
And thus, let the soccer games begin.
---
What an exhausting day. Yunho finally finished the last file on his workdesk. He stretched both of his arms and did a few exercises. The sun sets down and everyone in the company is ready to go home. He wondered why he hadn't seen the CEO, he always shows up on Yunho each day. 'Did he leave already?'
Yunho fixed his workdesk before he went out of his office. He walked towards Changmin's office to see if he was there. But there's no one in his office; not even Karam, his secretary. 'Did they take their leave early?'
He fumbled on his phone and tried to reach Changmin's number. There's no response, the phone operator said Changmin's phone is out of coverage. 'What happened to that guy, he didn't show up on the company today. Even Karam.'
Shrugging the thoughts off his mind, he proceeded to his car and unlocked it. When he reached for his car keys on his pocket, his hands caught a small box. It revealed Jaejoong's string beaded necklace. Yunho smirked as he examined the simplicity of this necklace. Somehow, he felt warmth seeping to his veins. He remembered what Jaejoong said about the necklace.
/"If it breaks, warmth will never find me ever again.."/
Maybe this necklace was really cursed. Because it gives him warmth that he never felt in his entire life. He smiled at the thought of it.
Snapping out of his daze, he jammed the car keys to the ignition and drove out of the parking lot.
---
TOP went back to the playground with refreshing drinks in hand. He handed the other one to Jaejoong and the latter gladly accepted it. Jaejoong sat down at the swing as he take a sip. "Whew, that was so fun!" He exclaimed in happiness. "Playing soccer for the first time feels like I'm already pro at it! Haha, Mr. TOP, how did you learn about it?"
"This was the last time I played outdoor games. I'm always busy at work."
"Ohh, I see. You're like Yunho then, too engrossed about working. Hmp, what's so fun about drowning yourself on it? Does it give you happiness?"
"No, it gives you the stress. It's plain boring, but I need to work to earn money."
Jaejoong drew circles on the sand using his shoe as he was still sitting down on the swing. TOP stared at him intently. He should be doing investigations now, not flirting with this artificial thing. He drank the last ounce and threw the bottle at the nearest trash bin. "About Yunho.. how did you met him?"
Jaejoong suddenly froze. What should he answer? He shook his head. Making up lies is not good, but it's for the sake of his true identity so.. he should take a risk.
"We.. we met through Yoochun. He introduced me to Yunho. After knowing each other, we started.. dating. Yunho's.. a gentleman, he cares about me. He always scold at me whenever I do something bad that will make him worry. He--"
Jaejoong's words were cut off when TOP leaned down on his face. He was now on the same eye level. "Stop now, I don't wanna hear more. I might get jealous." TOP took out his handkerchief and wiped Jaejoong's dampened forehead. Jaejoong could only blink a few times at the gesture.
Suddenly, a familiar car halted in front of the playground. Yunho clearly saw everything that has happened between TOP and Jaejoong on that time. He already told Jaejoong to avoid the man but what is this scene unfolding beneath his eyes?
Eyes darkened because of anger, Yunho angrily marched out of the car and approached the two subjects of his anger.
Without hesistations, he shoved TOP away from the beauty and punched him square in the face.
"Y-Yunho!" Jaejoong exclaimed
TOP nearly sprawled at the ground but he managed to get up. He cursed when he was punched by this man. "Yah! What the hell is wrong with you?!" TOP shot back as he spit out some blood. He got blisters on his lip from Yunho's punch. "How dare you to touch my property." Yunho sternly said as he glared at the bruised man.
Yunho grabbed Jaejoong's arm and pulled him off the swing. "You. You're coming home with me. I'll show you whom you are belonged to."
#project:chooseylover<3
(Previous Chapters)