Jongdae The Cheap Prostitute (4/20)
Title: Jongdae The Cheap Prostitute (4/20)
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Suchen (broken!Krisho / slight!Krischen)
Warning: !Please be aware that English isn't my native language and that this is unbetaed!
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. I make no claim to own any of the people in this story. Any similarities between this and any other story is purely coincidental.
Wordcount: 3960
Summary: Destroying a relationship was one thing. Falling for the others partner, who probably detested his every cell after that certain night, was a whole other problem. But how could he not, if the other was such an Angel. Still Jongdae seriously needed to learn to not do everything his friend would request of him. Because sleeping with someone just to help another one, is not exactly what he had in mind when his mother had thought him to always be friendly and helpful...
AU!
Betaed by threds
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 |
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“You have to let me explain! Please, just give me five minutes!” Jongdae pleaded as he slammed his weight against the door. He wasn’t expecting Joonmyeon to be this strong, and he thanked the heavens that he thought of shoving his foot to keep the door from closing entirely.
He’d also thought Joonmyeon (being an angel and all) wouldn’t hurt anyone, but the way his foot was getting squashed definitely showed otherwise. Guess he’s really pissed, Jongdae thought, he does have the right to be though.
“Get lost will you?!” Joonmyeon held tight to his resolve, he wasn’t about to let this homewrecker into his home.
“Hyung, please -”
“You have no right to call me that, you don’t even know me!” Joonmyeon cut him off, anger evident on his voice.
“I’m sorry, I really am sorry. But please, this isn’t about me - it’s about Baekhyun. He’s a wreck now, Joonmyeon. I know you still care for him, please just let me explain.” After the words left his mouth, he felt the pressure on the door subside.
“Five minutes, nothing more.”
Slightly taken aback by the other’s sudden change of heart, Jongdae quickly snapped out of it and entered the apartment before Joonmyeon could take his words back. Guess he’d be able to get somewhere maybe even get Joonmyeon to talk to Baekhyun again. He walked in cautiously, afraid that one wrong move would get him thrown out again.
Joonmyeon had his back towards him, keeping up the cold shoulder. He looked like he was preparing himself for what Jongdae was about to say, so the younger waited patiently for him to turn around, awkwardly playing with his fingers.
When Joonmyeon did turn around, though, nothing had prepared Jongdae for the look of hatred he saw glinting in the other’s eyes. Suddenly, he felt just like when he was standing outside the door. Maybe this was a bad idea. But he had to do this, for Baekhyun. And Joonmyeon himself, as much as he might not feel like that right now.
“Go ahead, you're running out of time. Five minutes is all I’m giving you to explain,” Joonmyeon hissed.
“Oh,” was all Jongdae could get out at first, not daring to look the other in the eye. He didn’t exactly have a plan of what to say so he just blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “I guess, first of all, I’m sorry.”
“I thought this was about Baekhyun, not you. I wouldn't have let you in otherwise,” the older quickly shoot, obviously not intrested in talking with Jongdae.
Hearing Joonmyeon react like that, let something inside of Jongdae snap. Sure, he was doing this for Baekhyun, but how was he going to get through to Joonmyeon if the other wasn’t even giving him a chance? He looked up and held the other’s stare.
“Well, maybe if you’d actually let me finish I could get to the part where it would concern Baekhyun!” The moment the words came out of his mouth, Jongdae could feel the regret building in him, especially when he saw the other’s eyes widen in shock. But it was too late to stop now, so he rather prepared himself for the backlash that was to come.
“How dare you talk to me like this?! You’re the one who wrecked my home, seduced my husband and you’re telling me to listen to you?”
“Yifan didn’t even need seducing to begin with! You need to stop lying to yourself, Joonmyeon!” Jongdae seethed, taking a step closer to the older man. “I know what I did was wrong, but didn’t you finally get to see his true colors? Didn’t he confess all his little affairs to you on that night itself?”
“That does not concern you! What would you know?!” Joonmyeon shouted back, also stepping forward. Both were now only mere centimetres away from each other. The tension in the air was so thick, one could have cut through it with a knife. But neither man was willing to back down now.
“Of course it doesn't! Like you said, I don't even know you! But it does concern Baekhyun, because he's your best friend and he cares for you. And while you were to naïve to notice anything, he saw through Yifan’s mask right from the first day. Do you know how much it hurt him to see you so oblivious to what Yifan was doing?” Jongdae felt like a dam had broken in him and everything he wanted to say was just overflowing beyond his control. He knew he was hitting a sore spot, but if it got Joonmyeon to listen, he wasn’t going to stop. “You were blinded by love and he only wanted to help you out of this horrible relationship. That’s the only reason why he asked me for help.”
“Stop it, don't you dare! We were together for over 3 years! You - you were the one who came in and destroyed it!” Joonmyeon wanted to keep that image of a perfect relationship in his mind, and the only way he could do that was to go against everything Jongdae was saying, as much as he knew it was the truth.
He had had his doubts about Yifan before, but he’d always kept them inside because at the end of the day, his husband did come home to him, he definitely wasn’t going to let this stranger know that though.
The younger on the other hand knew he was testing the other’s patience at this point, but something made him want to rile Joonmyeon up even more. Judging from how long the elder had ignored Baekhyun, he probably hadn’t spoken to anyone about this incident. He definitely needed to let all his suppressed emotions out, and if this was the only way to do it, Jongdae figured it would be better for him to take it out on himself than anyone else.
“Like I said before, Yifan didn’t need me to seduce him, he’s been hitting on me since day one! And it wasn’t just me, alright? I work with him and sometimes during company events he’d disappear mysteriously with some other colleague! What you saw that night was just a small part of what your dear ‘husband’ has been up to all this time!”
“Shut up!”
“You knew he’s been cheating on you, didn't you? Please, Joonmyeon, don’t lie to yourself!”
“You - you’ve over stepped the mark! Enough is enough!” Joonmyeon managed to get out through gritted teeth. “Just get out!”
“All I’ve been saying is the truth! You probably already seen your relationship crumbling. You're just mad at Baekhyun because he made a vague guess into the horrible reality you're in now!” Jongdae shouted back. “You can be mad at me all you want, but Baek only had your interests at heart!”
“JUST SHUT UP AND LEAVE! NOW!” Joonmyeon screamed directly into Jongdae’s face. Shoving at his shoulders to get the younger to leave him finally alone, he could already feel tears forming in his eyes. Joomyeon wasn’t sure how Jongdae knew so much, but it was the truth. He’d always convinced himself that Yifan wouldn’t have cheated on him, regardless of what Baekhyun had told him. His house was a place he always felt comfort in because he could tell himself it was the one place he had Yifan to himself, where he could ignore all the doubts he had. When he’d come home to his ex-husband fucking a total stranger, it was like his whole life just shattered in front of him. There was no longer any use in denying it, and each word that came out of Jongdae’s mouth felt like knives through his heart.
The truth hurt, whether he liked it or not.
“Admit it! Witnessing Yifan and me together was the nightmare you always wanted to avoid.” The moment the words left his mouth, Jongdae felt himself being slammed hard against the door. Joonmyeon had him pinned down with no escape, and if looks could kill, Jongdae would be deader than dead now.
“Go ahead then, hit me! Hit me as hard as you want if it makes you feel better! Do it!” Despite feeling like he was going to choke from the lack of air, he still managed to get out a response. He was prepared for it anyway, riling Joonmyeon up like this. Seeing the elder lift his hand, he took a deep breath and shut his eyes, readying himself for the impact.
But only a gust of air hit his face and a light echo reached his ear. Jongdae slowly opened his eyes to find that Joonmyeon’s knuckles had made contact with the door, right next to his face. The hand that was pinning Jongdae to the door had slackened, and Joonmyeon was now looking at the ground, as if he was hiding his face from the other.
The next moment, he heard small sobs coming from the man in front of him, who had now collapsed to the floor as the sobs grew louder. He looked so broken curling up into himself that Jongdae couldn’t help himself from pulling the elder into his arms. Hugging him tightly while rubbing his back in what he hoped was a soothing manner, he was relieved to find that Joonmyeon didn’t fight him.
Both men stayed in that position until Joonmyeon had finally stopped crying. When he finally detached himself from Jongdae, he quickly moved away while wiping away his tears, not daring to look the other in the eye.
“I’m sorry, Joonmyeon. You were right, It was too much. I’m sorry, I mean, I came to apologise and explain and look what happened.”
“No, it’s alright. What you said was the truth, anyway. I should be sorry for breaking down like that. Normally I’m a lot more in control of my emotions,” Joonmyeon said softly, still not looking at Jongdae. “Guess I’ve been living a lie for too long, huh?”
“At least you’re out of it?” Jongdae tried jokingly. “You should’ve hit me, though. I deserved it. And for everything I said, too. And you can continue to hate me of course, it doesn’t matter. But please talk to Baek? He’s so broken because he thinks he’s ruined your friendship.”
At the mention of Baekhyun, Joonmyeon finally looked up at Jongdae again. For the first time, he saw the whole incident from another perspective. Of course he was a victim in all this, but he realised he wasn't the only one suffering. It must have had been hard on Baekhyun to see him in his marriage. Also, he knew that of all people, Baekhyun hated getting the cold shoulder, and he was probably devastated at being ignored for so long. And here this stranger was asking him for forgiveness - not even for himself, but for their mutual friend.
On Jongdae’s part, he felt guiltier looking at the sincere look in Joonmyeon’s eyes when he mentioned Baekhyun. Also the elder had apologised to him for crying, when Jongdae knew it was because of the things he said. Again, thoughts of how could I have hurt such an angel went through his mind. At least Joonmyeon looked like he was considering talking to Baekhyun again, so this wasn’t a wasted trip that only served to increase his guilt.
“I - I’ll call Baekhyun later and maybe meet up with him. We need to talk, definitely, and I guess avoiding him would do more harm than good,” Joonmyeon said with a sigh. “Going from what he said that day in the café and what you said today, he was just trying to help. Extreme as his methods are.”
“Thank you, Joonmyeon. Really, I mean it. I hope you two can sort things out and I’m sorry for - I mean thank you for listening to me an- and well I, I'm just sorry for all this. For all it’s worth, I would never have slept with Yifan if it weren’t to open your eyes to his cheating ways,” Jongdae quickly said, feeling awkward now that he’d achieved his objective. “Erm, I - I should leave now.”
He turned and opened the door to leave, not expecting Joonmyeon to grab him back by the wrist. “Wait - wait. This is gonna sound weird, but. How about we start over? I’m Kim Joonmyeon.” Joonmyeon said outstretching his hand to the other for him to chake as sign of a new start.
Too startled to reply, Jongdae just stared at the outstretched hand being offered to him. Just a moment ago, he had felt disappointed that he’d possibly never get to speak to the angelic man again. They were only strangers - who would want to talk to the person who your ex-husband had cheated on you with, after all? But now Joonmyeon was doing this, he really couldn’t believe his eyes.
For the first time since the café, Joonmyeon saw the shyer side of Jongdae. He was just standing there unmoving, as if comprehending the situation was too much for him. Joonmyeon took it upon himself to grab Jongdae’s hand, shaking it lightly. He smiled when he felt the handshake being returned, and suddenly it occurred to him how long he hadn’t smiled. Not since the incident, definitely.
Jongdae let himself be guided back into the apartment, still too overwhelmed by everything (and Joonmyeon’s smile) to say or do anything. Never in his thinking did he plan for this, and now that the heavens were granting him a second chance with Joonmyeon, he knew there was no room for screwing up. He jumped again when he heard the other’s voice.
“You being so quiet is unlike you, Jongdae-ssi.” Joonmyeon’s amusement was evident.
“I just didn’t expect you? I mean this, expect this. Thank you?” Ugh, thank you brain-to-mouth filter for failing me, Jongdae groaned inwardly.
“It’s alright. I just don’t really want to talk about the incident any more than I have to, and since you’re Baek’s friend I’m sure you’re not a serial killer so.” Laughing awkwardly at his own joke, Joonmyeon continued. “You know I was just about to cook something before you came. If you'd like, you could stay. But only if you help, since I'm not such a good cook myself. How are your cooking skills, Jongdae?”
“I like food.” Jongdae wanted to kill himself. “I-I mean good, I can cook some things. It's not like I'm a pro or anything but I can do some dishes.” He quickly corrected himself, gaze already lowering. What had gotten in to him? If Joonmyeon started to regret his decision of bringing him in, he wouldn’t blame the other man at all.
Suddenly, Joonmyeon burst out laughing. From the looks of it, he was holding it in for a while. “I'm sor-ry, so sorry!” Finally catching his breath, he didn't hesitate and continued dragging Jongdae into the kitchen. “So that was what Baekhyun meant with you being weird. You’re funny.”
“I'm not weird! I'm just confused with the whole situation!” Jongdae defended himself.
Joonmyeon still laughed sligthly. “I hope you cook better than you speak.”
____________________
Joonmyeon wasn't allowed to do anything.
Jongdae had taken it upon himself to cook, and as far as the older could tell he was quite good at what he did. “Hyung do you have cream?” he asked, still stirring the tomato sauce. “Yeah, sure. In the fridge, at the top. And are we that close for you to be calling me hyung, now?” Joonmyeon asked, a small smirk tugging at his lips.
Jongdae had just opened the fridge and suddenly halted in his moves, slightly hiding behind the fridge door. Not again, shitshitshit, he panicked in his mind. He remembered how angry Joonmyeon had been earlier when he’d called him with such a close term, but with his mind on getting the ingredients for the pasta he hadn’t really been thinking straight. He’s going to hate me again. Closing the fridge door, he was so nervous trying to think of an apology that he didn’t notice the smile on Joonmyeon’s face.
“Did I render you speechless?” Joonmyeon disturbed his thoughts, now laughing slightly.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it, hyu- I mean, Joonmyeon! I know we’re not close and after all I did. I don’t even deserve to call you that please don’t think I’m some ungrateful douchebag?” The jar of cream in his hands looked really interesting, suddenly.
“You’re rambling, Jongdae.” Joonmyeon said. “And what did I say about not talking about it again? And it’s alright, you really don’t have to get so scared or anything. You can call me hyung, I’m fine.” Looking up, Jongdae saw the sincere smile on the other’s face and nearly blushed. “Thanks hyung. I appreciate it. Just wanted you to have a better impression of me. Please tell me I’m not failing.”
“You don’t really think before you do some things, don’t you? To be honest, I kinda like it.”
“Well, I like you too, hyung.” Jongdae answered, going back to preparing the sauce.
“You - you don’t even know me.” Joonmyeon sputtered, slightly take aback.
“Well, if all goes well, I would like to,” the younger continued, returning back to his confident self.
Joonmyeon only laughed to hide his insecurity. He really didn't know how to answer to that, so decided to just keep quiet. This was going to be interesting, he figured.
____________________
When Jongdae had finished cooking the pasta, Joonmyeon handed him two plates and the other prepared the portions for the both of them. They sat down on the table where Joonmyeon had been seated the whole time and started eating in comforting silence.
Truth be told, the spaghetti wasn't anything special although Jongdae swore it was a secret receipt. Joonmyeon couldn't determine any special flavour. He was just about to share his thoughts and tease the younger a bit, when he saw Jongdae looking eagerly at him, awaiting his opinion. For some reason, he couldn't find it in his heart to make any kind of negative remarks. So he lied, if only because Jongdae looked like he’d explode from getting praised.
"It's amazing. The sauce really has an interesting twist to it!"
And just like he had predicted it, Jongdaes sudden smile could have lit up the apartment by itself. "Really? I'm glad." Jongdae said sheepishly. "You know Baekhyun always said I should stop praising my spaghetti so much because it’s, I quote him, just as bullshitty as regular spaghetti. He told me if I wanted to impress someone I should at least learn a Korean dish."
Joonmyeon could be mistaken, but he swears he saw a small pout on Jongdae, making him seem like a kicked puppy. Then he realises what the younger man had said.
"So you wanted to impress me?" he asked smugly, trying to finally make a small joke himself.
“That's your assumption and a theory I do not support.” Jongdae said quickly.
“I didn't mean it like that, I was just trying to make a joke, you know.” Joonmyeon said before clearing his throat and shifting a bit awkwardly in his seat.
“Gotcha!” Jongdae shrieked all of a sudden.
“Way to go, making an awkward situation even weirder.” Joonmyeon replied.
“Your way wasn't any better. So you wanted to impress me, huh.” Jongdae mocked through laughter. “And here I always thought, I was the one full of myself.”
“No, I'm not full of- I never said that I thought- I mean-” Joonmyeon defended. He couldn’t fathom anyone thinking something like that of him.
“I was joking, hyung! I'm sorry, I went overboard. You are most defensively not full of yourself.” Jongdae clarified sincerely and both men laughed. Joonmyeon heaved a sigh.
”You are really one of a kind, Kim Jongdae.”
____________________
In the end, both men finished up their meals and continued chatting a bit. Joonmyeon invited Jongdae to take a seat on the sofa and after talking a bit more about each other the awkwardness had dissipated at least. You could have asked Joonmyeon in the morning what he thought about this Jongdae and he would have answered with something he would be absolutely ashamed of right now.
Of course he still didn't really knew the other, but he got to know a Jongdae he found rather interesting and caring, one that liked music as much as he did and who had favourite band that wasn't commonly known. Joonmyeon didn't know them but they sung ballads and upon hearing that, the older liked ballads, Jongdae had offered to lend him their CDs.
It was weird how different he saw Jongdae right now. He wouldn't have thought his day would have turned out like this. In the morning he was still gloomy about certain past events and holding a grudge against a lot of people. Now he was sitting on his sofa laughing and having fun, with the same person who had brought upon the worst misery he’d felt in his life.
And it was as if someone slapped him right in the face.
“Joonmyeon? Hyung? You're spacing out.” Jongdae brought him out of his trance.
“I'm sorry, I think you should go now.” Joonmyeon said, all serious. It scared Jongdae, making him wonder, because just a second ago he was laughing along with one of his stupid jokes.
“Of course, I'm sorry for stealing your time.” Jongdae wasn’t one to argue. Joonmyeon probably needed more time to himself, and he was being inconsiderate. He stood up and made his way to the door. Joonmyeon kept quiet, but followed him to the door nonetheless.
“Joonmyeon, are you going to be okay?” Jongdae asked before stepping out, concern evident in his voice. The sudden change of attitude couldn't have just been a change of heart.
Had he done something wrong?
Joonmyeon suddenly looked up at the formal term.
Jongdae couldn't explain what it was but he saw something akin to hurt in the other’s eyes.
“Yes I will be. I'm sorry, and thank you for coming by. I had fun, and the food was good.” Joonmyeon said, suddenly behaving like himself again.
“Good, because I had fun too. Then I guess I'll see you when I see you.” Jongdae said slightly smiling and waving at him before he left for good.
____________________
After Jongdae left, Joonmyeon collapsed on the sofa in frustration. He couldn't shrug off the feeling that he was betraying himself. He was befriending the person who slept with Yifan, who said he only did it to help him. And while he trusted Baekhyun enough to believe in the story, he didn’t even know Jongdae well enough to know if what he said was true.
“For all it’s worth, I would never have slept with Yifan if it weren’t to open your eyes to his cheating ways.”
What if Jongdae really was a playboy who enjoyed sleeping with Yifan? He hadn’t seem that unhappy when Joonmyeon walked in on them that night. Images of their first meeting entered his mind - mainly, the scene with Jongdae on the bed, jerking himself off. (He’d question himself later on why that was the first thing he thought of)
Feeling his cheeks heat up, he quickly slapped them to rid himself of thinking of Jongdae. Up till now, he still wasn't sure what to make of this day and figured maybe things would be better if he just talked to Baekhyun. Jongdae wasn't that important now, he would deal with him later.
Getting off the sofa to head to bed, he found a small piece of paper on his coffee table.
I had fun, I hope we’ll get to know each other well, hyung~
- Jongdae :)
Underneath was a cell phone number neatly scribbled down. Joonmyeon should have felt a little angry at how forward the other was being, but he found himself smiling and pocketing the note anyway.
Maybe dealing with Jongdae would be sooner than he thought.
>>>>